Cadance groaned as she returned to the waking world, raising a hoof to her head as she lay on her back, wings spread out. She opened her eyes and looked around to see the others recovering as well, glancing down at her stomach when she felt pressure there and seeing Spike and Pikachu pressing themselves up. After they slid, or rather stumbled, off, she used her wings to raise herself into a sitting position and gasped when she saw what the others were also starting to notice.
The pinkish sky and orange sun that had been revealed by Groudon’s Drought was still above and behind the group, but almost directly in front of them was a sky filled with thick gray clouds. There was still a destroyed city under the clouds, but instead of lava, water surrounded the buildings, the rain falling from the clouds causing water to spill out of some of them. What couldn’t be seen from the building the group was in were the two rifts marking where the two contrasting cityscapes joined together, electricity being generated by the break in time and space along with a strange purple mist seeping out from the break that was difficult to see.
“What… What happened?” Cadance breathed as she stood up and walked forward as far as she could go, the others joining her.
Yoshi looked at Sonic and asked, “Yoshi yoshi? (Isn’t that Station Square, Sonic?)”
The blue hedgehog looked at him, “How’d you know that, Yoshi?”
The green dinosaur shrugged, “Yoshi yosh yoshi? (Wasn’t there an ice skating show where it was the backdrop or whatever?)”
Sonic nodded, “Ah, right. Forgot about that.”
Spike spoke up, “Okay, I don’t know what you guys are talking about, but this looks way more urgent right now. Why does it look like that other destroyed city we saw earlier is in front of us? And what’s keeping both the lava and the water from spilling over into the other?”
Sonic replied, “Pretty sure that’s what it is, Spike. That’s Station Square after Perfect Chaos flooded it.”
Lucario continued, “As for how, it’s safe to say that both Groudon and Kyogre have created their own Passage of Time in order to reach each other. The place where they’re meeting is acting as a dam, holding back the water and lava and keeping the two cities from merging together.”
Suicune looked to her right, ~Unfortunately, that’s not going to stop them from resuming their feud.~ The others looked as well and saw both Groudon and what they assumed to be Kyogre in relatively clear spots devoid of buildings, Groudon standing in the lava and Kyogre floating on the surface of the water. The two were currently staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Suicune exhaled before looking at Station Square again and saying, ~We’ll work on pulling them apart, but first I need a moment.~ Without another word, she leapt from the building over to the Station Square side, landing on the roof of a smaller building that was tilted and laying down to let the rain fall on her.
While staring at the Aurora Pokémon, Lucario reached for his badge and said, “I’d say you’ve done more than you actually agreed to do. It’s time for you to go back to your little Char; we’ll handle it from here.” He tapped the back of the badge against Charizard’s chest, the orange dragon letting out a brief growl of protest before he teleported away. After Lucario clipped the badge back onto the Treasure Bag, Pikachu leapt up and clambered onto his right shoulder, the Aura Pokémon jumping and using ExtremeSpeed to get over to Suicune.
“We should go over there too. I’m getting a little tired of all this heat myself. A little time under the rain should do us some good,” Cadance said as she looked at Sonic, Yoshi, Spike, and Link.
“Aw, man,” Sonic groaned, Cadance flying up behind him after Spike climbed onto her back and picking him up under his shoulders with her forelegs before flying towards Team Defenders. While she was doing that, Link climbed onto Yoshi’s back and the green dinosaur ran back and took a running jump, using his Flutter Jump to help him get over the rest of the way.
As they all rested for a moment on the rooftop, they heard Groudon and Kyogre both let out a roar at almost the same time. Turning to look, they saw Groudon starting to move towards Kyogre, a rush of water from a Hydro Pump attack coming from Kyogre’s side shortly afterwards. Groudon intercepted it by swinging one of his claws in a Slash attack, breaking up the geyser of water and reducing its power, the drops of water that flew off being much less damaging to him. Groudon glared at Kyogre after the attack ended, the Sea Basin Pokémon doing the same.
“Those two are starting up,” Sonic said.
Spike looked at Team Defenders and asked, “What do we do now?”
Suicune, while still lying on her front and soaking up the rain, responded, ~We can’t simply jump into the middle of that fray. We must approach this situation smartly.~
Lucario held his right paw up in front of him, “I’ll start by using my Aura to scan the area around us. Since this is a different city, there could be different circumstances present that we’ll have to take into account.” He closed his eyes and began to reach out with his Aura, his dreadlocks shaking and a purple flame appearing in front of his paw. After several moments, he spoke, “The area closest to Kyogre and Groudon’s fight appears to be empty, but I’m detecting the presence of Auras nearby.”
Cadance asked, “What are you able to see from here, Lucario?”
The Aura Pokémon replied, “They’re at the edge of my vision and they appear to be close together, but they appear to be friendly. As for where they are…”
Spike suddenly called from one edge of the roof, “Look! Down there!” Sonic, Cadance, Yoshi, and Link quickly ran over to him, standing at his sides as they looked down to where he was pointing. Not too far away, above the surface of the water, they could see several figures staggering out of an opening in some of the rubble, its position likely allowing for a good view of the fight going on. They appeared to be dressed fancily, the hats and jackets they had on looking far too stylish at first glance to be suited for all the water around them, but there was something familiar about the designs, especially since most of them appeared to be walking on all four legs.
“It’s Tails, Shining, and the girls!” Sonic said after a moment, his hunch being proven right when the only one walking on two legs pulled his hat off to reveal Tails’ face. Upon seeing how dazed he and the others looked as the rest of them came out, Spike climbed onto Cadance’s back and Sonic held his arms out, allowing the Princess of Love to lift him off the ground again. Sonic called “Hey!” as Cadance flew towards the toppled building the rubble was sitting on top of.
Tails’ ears caught the call and he turned to look, seeing Cadance flying towards him while carrying Sonic with her forelegs. “Hey guys, look!” the fox said, catching Shining and the Main Six’s attention as they turned to look. It didn’t take Cadance long to reach them, the princess setting Sonic down first before landing as well.
“Cadance! Spike! Sonic!” Twilight started, surprised.
Shining quickly took over the conversation. “What are you doing here?” he asked Sonic in an annoyed tone. He didn’t wait for an answer, instead looking at Spike and Cadance and saying, “Cadance, Spike, I thought we agreed he was supposed to sit this one out! And what happened? You look like you were in a fire.”
Cadance replied calmly, “That’s kind of because we were, Shining.” She gestured backwards with her head, “We just came from that burning city that’s now sharing space with Station Square. As for Sonic, yes, I did protest when he wanted to leave the train, but I wasn’t going to fight with him over it, and considering how bad this situation has become now, even I wouldn’t try to stop him from helping.” They all heard humming behind the three a moment later, Sonic, Cadance, and Spike turning to look as well and seeing Yoshi and Link coming towards them, Yoshi humming as he did a Flutter Jump and landing on his rump close to everyone.
Tails looked surprised when he saw the green dinosaur. “Yoshi? What are you doing here?” he asked.
Yoshi stood up and said as Link got off of him, “Yoshi! Yoshi yosh yoshi yoshi! (Beats me, Tails! I was taking a nap when I suddenly woke up on your train!)”
Tails held a hand to his chin, “You just woke up there? Nice as it is to see you again, that can’t be good…”
Rarity asked, “You can understand that… green thing, Tails?”
Sonic looked at the fashionista, pointing a thumb back at Yoshi as he said, “Yeah, that ‘green thing’ can understand you too, Rarity.” Indeed, Yoshi did have an annoyed look on his face due to Rarity’s question.
They all turned to look again when they heard splashing water and saw Suicune with Lucario and Pikachu on her back running on top of the water towards them, leaping when she was close enough and landing near Sonic, Cadance, Spike, Yoshi, and Link. Suicune looked at Tails and the other ponies for a moment before turning to Cadance and saying, ~So these are the others you mentioned. They ran afoul of Kyogre after all.~
Spike noticed the others looking around in confusion at Suicune’s words and deadpanned while pointing at Suicune, “Will you guys calm down? She said that. She’s telepathic or whatever. Ain’t no need for no mares to catch no ghosts.” Suicune and Twilight both gave him an odd look at that while some of the others seemed surprised to learn that Suicune was a girl.
While Lucario climbed off of Suicune’s back with Pikachu on his shoulder, Cadance spoke, “This is Lucario, Pikachu, and Suicune of Exploration Team Defenders. Like Link and Yoshi here, they’re from another world that’s being affected by what that creature we’re after is doing.”
Pinkie popped up with an “Ooh!” at what Cadance said as she looked at the newcomers. Her eyes soon focused on Pikachu as she said, “Look at that mouse’s red cheeks! They’re so cute!” She began to bounce over to Lucario, “I bet they’re squishy! I have to feel them!”
Before Lucario or Pikachu could react, Sonic zipped over into Pinkie’s path and caught her as she was coming down, saying, “Pinkie, no! No touchy!” He set her down, “Pikachu’s cheeks are filled with electricity and they’re sensitive. So unless you want to find out how much more curly your hair and tail can get…” Pinkie simply stood still and looked back at him blankly at this.
Tails peered over at Pikachu, “The cheeks have electricity inside of them?”
Lucario spoke, “They contain electric sacs if you want to be specific, and yes, they are very sensitive to being touched.” A few noticeable sparks came from Pikachu’s cheeks to further prove it.
Tails said, “They can contain electricity with minimal danger of self-electrocution? That’s amazing.” Twilight as well looked surprised by this.
Applejack spoke, “Yeah, it’s really somethin’, Tails. Now would someone mind explainin’ what they’re doin’ here and what’s goin’ on now?”
Sonic said, “Well, I don’t think we really have time for the full explanation, so I’ll give you the shortened version.” He turned and pointed towards the brawling Legendaries, “The big whale-looking dude is Kyogre, and the big dragon/dinosaur guy is Groudon.” He gestured to Team Defenders, “In their world, the world of Pokémon, which is what they all are, Kyogre created the sea and Groudon created the land. They both made homes for Pokémon, but they don’t exactly get along with each other. They’ve fought before, and now that our situation has thrown them far from home, they’re at it again. Link and Yoshi ended up here by chance, but our Exploration Team here came all this way to find Groudon and Kyogre and get them back to their world.” He looked at Lucario, “Did I miss anything?”
The Aura Pokémon replied, “No, I think that about covers it.”
There was silence for several moments save for the rain hitting and the sound of the two Legendary Pokémon fighting in the background. Finally, Shining said, “Uh, that WAS short, but it was still a lot to take in.”
Sonic replied, “Yeah, well, it was a lot shorter than what we were told, believe me.”
Pinkie piped up, “You mean the one in the long flashback you had?” Sonic gave her a knowing look in response.
Tails spoke, “Uh, well, it would appear you guys found, uh… the ‘Pokeys’ you were looking for. So what are you going to do now?”
Lucario turned to look at the fighting as he said, “Well, we certainly don’t want to bring THIS home with us if we can help it. It would be best if we could find a way to calm them down before we call in Dialga and Palkia to take them back.”
Spike asked, “Well, you guys know how to do that, don’t you? I mean, you’ve dealt with them before, right?”
Lucario answered, “Individually, yes. We don’t have a lot of experience of getting in between them when they’re fighting. I’m sure very few ‘mons have gotten between those two on purpose to stop them and lived to tell it.” He looked at Sonic, “You were right about your situation being a big reason why they’re fighting again. With the connections we have, we usually have a number of Pokémon that can keep an eye on these two as well as the other Pokémon on our team that don’t get along so well. Without them here, we’ll have to figure something out.”
Sonic looked at the others, “Anyone got any ideas they want to throw out?”
After a moment, Fluttershy spoke up, “Um, what about the Elements of Harmony?”
Rainbow said, “Ha! Got it in one, Fluttershy!”
Pinkie added, “Of course! It’s so simple; I’m surprised Twilight didn’t bring it up!”
Lucario spoke, “Wait, hold on! What are these ‘Elements of Harmony’ you’re all talking about?” Pikachu, who was still on his shoulder, also looked confused.
Shining explained, “Uh, well basically, they’re these six gemstones my sister and her friends found on their first adventure together. They were picked because of the virtues they represent: honesty, kindness, laughter, loyalty, generosity, and magic. Together with these gemstones, they’ve been able to defend Equestria and resolve serious threats that they normally wouldn’t be able to… alone.” He added the last part when he noticed Rainbow giving him a look.
The cyan pegasus soon said, “The point is, we’ve done some pretty awesome thing with these gems, and we can totally fix this fighting problem with them too! Isn’t that right, Twilight?”
The lavender unicorn spoke carefully, “Well, it’s true that this seems like the kind of situation where we would use the Elements of Harmony to resolve it, and of course they’re still with us.” She reached up with a hoof and took off the fancy rain hat she was wearing, revealing the Element of Magic underneath it. At the same time, her friends pulled down on the front of their coats to reveal they still had their necklaces on. After glancing up at the tiara for a moment, Twilight continued, “But we did just use them recently, and we’ve never had to use them so soon afterwards. What if they need time to recharge?”
Rainbow said, “Ah, you worry too much, Twi’! I’m sure we can use them right away! We took care of Perfect Chaos with them, now we’ll take care of these guys and put an end to their fighting!”
Suicune communicated, ~How exactly will your ‘Elements’ resolve this situation, I pray tell?~
Pinkie piped up, “Super-powered rainbows!”
Applejack said, “Well, they kinda work differently dependin’ on the situation, but the rainbow they make is usually involved somehow. Uh, when Princess Luna returned from her banishment and she was still Nightmare Moon, the Elements removed the darkness from her and left her magic weakened fer a little while. When Discord broke free and was spreadin’ chaos all over Equestria, the Elements turned him back into stone.”
Rainbow took over, “And earlier, they totally removed Perfect Chaos’ power and broke that water monster down to nothing! See, they always do something different, but they always fix things, and in this case…”
Suicune interrupted, ~They will be useless.~ Rainbow got an angry look on her face, both at being interrupted and for hearing someone who was supposedly their ally call the Elements of Harmony useless, something the other girls save for Fluttershy looked annoyed about.
“What do ya mean they’ll be useless?” Applejack asked.
Before Lucario could say something, Suicune explained, ~Your lavender friend has a point. Do you have any idea how those stones work beyond them all needing to be together? They may need time to recharge like she said. But more importantly, it sounds as though you’ve never used them against more than one adversary, and, I’m going to hazard a guess, no adversary you’ve used them against was quite like Kyogre and Groudon.~
Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Okay, so they’ve got us beat in the weight competition. What does that matter?”
Suicune glared, ~It matters quite a bit, impetuous one. I’m willing to bet they would need to charge longer to have an effect on those two, and let’s go back to the point of your previous adversaries. From what little I’ve heard from you, they were all either being affected by some outside force that had to be banished or they were so twisted that imprisonment was the only option available. There is no Bittercold, no Dark Matter, no falling star affecting Groudon and Kyogre. The damage to time and space that’s been done might be pushing them to go primal, but what we’re witnessing is normal for them. This is nothing more than what some would call sibling rivalry. Now let’s go back to the ‘weight competition’ as you put it. If it takes your Elements a long time to charge up and they can only affect one of them, it will have been a waste of time and energy because the other will simply spark the rivalry again. In case it hasn’t become clear yet, we don’t have time to waste with guesses and empty boasting.~
Rainbow glared at the Aurora Pokémon, her body shaking angrily as she flapped her wings to hover in the air, but silence filled the air again as her words settled in. “Shot that idea down like Eggman’s Egg Carrier shot down the Tornado,” Tails uttered after several moments as he scratched the side of his head.
Sonic spoke, “Okay, so that option’s in the ‘maybe’ pile along with using the Chaos Emeralds. Instead of deciding right away what we’re going to do, let’s go back to the basics first.” Noticing the looks he was getting, he clarified, “Lucario already scanned the area around Groudon and Kyogre to see if anyone was going to be in danger from their fighting. He was sizing up the situation, so let’s keep doing that.” He turned to Suicune, “Now I’m aware that this is probably even more basic, Suicune, but I’d like to clarify.”
The Aurora Pokémon asked, ~Yes?~
Sonic said, “So let’s say we were doing this on, like, paper. Kyogre vs. Groudon. Going off of everything we’ve learned so far, is it safe to say that Kyogre, a Water Type Pokémon like you, has the advantage over a Flame Type Pokémon like Groudon?”
Suicune responded, ~It’s Fire Type, and Groudon is actually a Ground Type Pokémon. But yes, your scrutinizing is correct. On Type matchups alone, Kyogre does have an advantage over Groudon.”
Tails scratched his head, “‘Type matchups’?”
Sonic looked back at him, “No idea how they did it, but they’ve got this whole thing figured out. Think Rock Paper Scissors, basically.”
Tails nodded, “Okay, I can wrap my head around that. I’m learning.”
Everyone looked at Cadance when she spoke, “Seems like with the Types, things tend to work like they would in nature. So Ground Type moves might have some impact on Water Types, but Fire Type moves would definitely be weaker.” She looked at Suicune, “What’s the basic victor over Water? Is it like a Plant Type?”
Suicune corrected, ~Grass Type.~
Tails held a hand to his chin, “Right. Grass and other plants soak up water.”
Spike asked, “Does Groudon know any Grass Type moves?”
Suicune replied, ~That move he used earlier to defeat that monster, Solarbeam, is a Grass Type move, but it will not be much help here.~ She turned her head to look at the fight, ~In the strong sunlight, Solarbeam charges up in almost no time at all, but under a downpour, it loses power.~
Sonic said, “So as far as Types go, he’s kind of swamped. In theory, anyway.”
Applejack asked, “So what are we gonna do with all this?”
Sonic said, “Still trying to figure that out, Applejack. We need to be prepared since their fight’s probably not going to end the ideal way.”
Lucario spoke, “More than likely it won’t. The ideal ending would be for them to come to their senses and stop on their own, but as far as we know, they’ve never simply stopped in the middle of a battle. The next best scenario would be for one of them to win and that be the end of it, but if the time-space damage is making them lose their senses like Suicune suggested, that might not happen either. If the victor didn’t stop, we would have to step in and finish the fight ourselves.”
Rainbow said, “Well, Sonic said Suicune’s a Water Type. If Groudon were to win, she could probably do something to him, especially if he’s weakened.”
Shining asked, “But what if Kyogre is the winner? Like they were saying, that’s more likely, and it doesn’t seem like there are any Grass Type moves available to us that would help us take him down quickly.”
Cadance looked at Lucario and Pikachu, “What about Electric Type moves?”
Lucario replied, “They are effective against Water Types, and Pikachu has given Kyogre some nasty shocks in the past, but even then, Kyogre was not easy for us to defeat in our initial encounter. We’ve all gotten stronger since then, but if we had to stop Kyogre quickly, I’m not sure Pikachu will have enough power to defeat him with one Electric attack. It would partly depend on how much strength Kyogre has left.”
Twilight groaned, “Ugh, I’m starting to lose my train of thought here.”
Tails nodded, “I know. I’m spinning my wheels here too.” He stopped as he considered what he’d just said. “Wait, wheel. Wheel… Spinning wheels can generate electricity,” he mused.
“Like a waterwheel?” Rarity asked.
“How is that gonna help us?” Rainbow questioned.
Tails held a hand to his forehead, “I’m thinking, I’m thinking… I’m thinking something smaller, more streamlined, more… portable…” He took his hand off of his forehead, “I have an idea.”
Soon…
Sonic looked back over his shoulder, “You sure this is okay, Lucario?” At the moment, he, Yoshi, and Link were each standing on top of the pedals of bicycles that Rainbow had managed to locate in the ruins of Station Square, the bikes upside-down and damaged by the flood. All three bikes had generators on them, the generators in position against the back wheel with wires running from them. Tails was currently attaching the wires coming from Link and Yoshi’s bikes to Pikachu’s left cheek while Lucario was attaching the wires coming from Sonic’s bike to the mouse’s right cheek. The entire group was currently on a section of road that was a reasonable distance away from Groudon and Kyogre’s scuffle.
Lucario answered while still working, “It’ll be fine, Sonic. It’s true that storing too much electricity in a Pikachu’s cheeks can cause a fever, but once the excess electricity is discharged, the fever will pass, with exhaustion afterwards being the worst thing that happens. If we have to do this as a Last Resort, it won’t matter because Pikachu will be able to use the extra electricity to stop Kyogre.” After a few seconds, Lucario took his paws away from Pikachu’s cheeks and stood up, stepping back while Tails doubled-checked his own wiring work and the jackal’s.
After a second, the fox stood up and stepped back too. “Okay, everything looks good. If Kyogre wins and doesn’t stop, this should allow you guys to give Pikachu some extra power in case he needs it,” Tails said.
Fluttershy asked, “Are you sure this is really what it will come to?”
Lucario looked at her, “Battling is in our nature, I’m afraid. It’s one way for us ‘mons to understand each other better. A number of the members of our team fought with us before they joined.” He knelt down and looked at Pikachu, “You ready for this, pal?”
The yellow mouse nodded, “Pikachu!”
Spike asked, “You know, I’ve been wondering… how come we can’t understand him like we can understand you and Suicune, Lucario?”
Lucario glanced back at the baby dragon, “That can wait, Spike.” He stood up and turned to Suicune, saying, “All right, Suicune. We’re all set; we’ll be waiting on your signal.” The Aurora Pokémon nodded and turned around, leaping off the road down onto the water and dashing off towards the fight on the surface of it.
Everyone watched as she ran, water splashing out from underneath her. “She sure is fast,” Shining commented.
Lucario nodded, “She is the embodiment of the north wind for a reason.” He turned back to the others, “We just have to wait and see what happens.” They all nodded, Sonic, Link, and Yoshi leaning forward and getting ready.
While they continued to watch the fight as best they could from where they were, Suicune navigated the ruins of the city, moving through the rubble and getting on a rooftop that was closer to Kyogre and Groudon’s fighting. It was much more dangerous, as evidenced by Suicune needing to drop down seconds after landing on the rooftop, part of an errant Fire Blast from Groudon just barely missing her. She stood up and looked back after the heat had passed to see the weakened attack collide with the side of a smaller building.
Turning back to the fight, she saw Kyogre unleash a Hydro Pump attack at Groudon, the Continent Pokémon holding both of his claws up in front of himself to block it. The force of the water pushed him back some, but as it did, it also became more exposed to the intense sunlight on Groudon’s side, causing it to become weaker. After several moments, Groudon swung his claws outward, breaking the attack and sending water droplets flying. As Suicune watched the droplets fall, she noticed the purple mist seeping out from the connection between the two cities, now seeming more noticeable. She looked at curiously for a few moments, not sure what it was, but soon shook her head and returned to watching the fight.
The battle continued for a while with Groudon and Kyogre both fighting fiercely, the attacks that missed their mark flying off into the other’s city and causing damage. Some of Groudon’s Fire Blasts and Solarbeams even came hit close to where the others were positioned, and they always felt the effects of his Earthquake attack, but they all did their best to remain steadfast as they waited for a sign from Suicune. It seemed to be an even fight between the two for a while, but Kyogre eventually began to land more hits on Groudon than he was able to respond in kind with.
Despite all the hits, Groudon refused to back down from the fight, though it was becoming clear that all the damage he had suffered was starting to become apparent, and he was well aware of it. Gathering his strength for one final attack, he held his arms out and let out a roar as his body began to glow red. Spears of land began to emerge under the water as Kyogre swam towards Groudon, but before they could burst up, the Sea Basin Pokémon leapt into the air, managing to get above them. While in the air, his body began to glow blue as he let out a roar, three blue spheres forming around him, one above him and the other two above his fins. Once they had formed completely, they each shot a series of watery shots at Groudon, each one striking him hard due to leaving himself open. The last ones that hit him pushed him backwards through the lava, the Continent Pokémon crashing into a large building that collapsed on top of him.
When the dust from the collapse had cleared, Groudon was lying on his back amidst the building’s remains, his eyes closed. Suicune noticed he didn’t seem to be moving and looked up, noticing that the sunlight was starting to become weaker. Her attention was redirected when she heard Kyogre let out a low growl; moving to another rooftop for a closer look, she saw that the Sea Basin Pokémon was slowly starting to move towards Groudon’s side. ~Kyogre, stop this now! You have won; there is no need to fight further!~ she attempted to communicate, but Kyogre did not heed her words. She wondered briefly if his behavior had anything to do with the purple mist, but she did not dwell on it; it was time for their backup plan. Turning her head in the group’s direction, she looked skywards and unleashed a rainbow-colored beam from her mouth.
Lucario looked up and saw the Aurora Beam fly across the sky, the beam’s power diminishing the further it went. “That’s the signal!” he said. He turned to Sonic, Yoshi, and Link, “Go!”
The three nodded, Sonic saying as Link put his bunny ears on, “One supercharged Thunderbolt coming right up!” They then began to pump the bike pedals as fast as they could, Yoshi going “Hmmmmm!” as he pedaled. Link’s Bunny Hood gave him the extra speed to generate about as much electricity as Yoshi while Sonic’s legs were a blur, generating more electricity than either of them could produce on their own. The electricity ran along the wires to Pikachu’s cheeks, mingling with the electricity he already had stored up.
Pikachu began to groan as the electricity began to build, his eyes clenched shut as he tried to keep it all in. Lucario and Tails stood close off to the sides while Spike and the ponies tried to stand at a safe distance, especially as small bolts of lightning began to come off of his cheeks. Tails especially kept a close eye on the yellow mouse, trying to gauge in his head how close he was to overloading his electric sacs. It didn’t take long for him to move forward, ripping the wires off of Pikachu’s cheeks as quickly as he could and saying, “That’s enough!”
Lucario moved forward next, grabbing Pikachu with his paws and swinging his arms in Kyogre’s direction as hard as he could, sending his partner flying as he yelled, “Do it, Pikachu!” Once the mouse was far enough away, Twilight and Shining combined their magic to generate a force field around the group, knowing the electricity would probably travel quite far. Suicune, meanwhile, saw Pikachu up in the air and, when she saw him looking ready to unleash his electricity, lowered herself close to the ground and then jumped up as high as she could, trying to get far away from the water.
As he felt himself begin to get pulled down, Pikachu knew he could hold the electricity he was carrying no longer. “PIKACHUUUUUU!” he screamed as he unleashed it all. He had no idea where he was in relation to Kyogre, so he simply shot it downwards, knowing everything was wet enough from the rain that it would find its way into the deep water one way or the other. He hung in the air, temporarily suspended where he was as the electricity left him. Above the sound of the discharging electricity, he could swear he heard Kyogre roaring in pain.
Sonic and the others looked around as the electricity from the Thunderbolt ran along the surface of Twilight and Shining’s shields, the two unicorns groaning as they continued to pour their magic into it to keep it strong. They both had their eyes shut, perspiration beginning to form on their brows as magic surged around their horns. The others could only watch and hope that Pikachu’s overload would run out of power before they did.
Suicune, meanwhile, had reached the height of her jump and looked down as she began to fall to see she was headed straight for water. She gritted her teeth as she fell, seeing electricity still running through the water below. As it began to get closer, she opened her mouth and unleashed a strong, cold wind, a Blizzard attack. It began to freeze the water as soon as it hit, freezing some of the water and causing a column of ice to begin to rise from it. She cut off the attack and planted her paws on the top of the ice column, letting out a cry as she leapt forward, feeling a shock. She managed to reach the side of a building and twisted herself around to plant her paws against it, leaping off of it and heading straight for the frozen water. She shut her eyes as she got closer, not knowing what to expect.
She crashed through the ice on the surface, but aside from the impact, she felt no pain. Opening her eyes and looking up, she saw she was under the ice she had created and swam out until she reached the water that hadn’t been frozen before resurfacing. She looked around, seeing and feeling no electricity running through the water around her. Remembering Kyogre and Pikachu, she began to swim, looking for her teammate first.
Back with the others, they were currently making their way towards Kyogre’s location, Lucario leading the way with his Aura, Twilight sitting on Yoshi’s back due to Shining insisting. The rain seemed to be letting up some, but they had to be sure. They soon came to a stop on a toppled building and saw Kyogre not far away. The Sea Basin Pokémon appeared to be floating on top of the water, sparks of electricity coming from his body every few moments. He didn’t appear to be moving.
“Is he…?” Cadance asked as Twilight got off of Yoshi.
Lucario held his right paw forward and closed his eyes, feeling with his Aura. He opened his eyes after a few moments and said, “He fainted. He’ll be all right, though.” He lowered his arm, “Looks like your plan worked, Tails.” Looking up, everyone noticed that the rain seemed to have come to an end, further indicating Kyogre’s defeat.
“But… what happened to Pikachu?” Fluttershy asked after a moment.
“And Suicune! Did she manage to escape that shock?” Twilight added.
Before Lucario could scan the area, they all heard a “Pika!” coming from behind them. They turned and saw Suicune swimming towards them, her head above the water and Pikachu atop her forehead. The Aurora Pokémon soon reached the building and allowed Pikachu to climb up first, the yellow mouse quickly being scooped up into a hug by Lucario while Suicune pulled herself up out of the water.
Rainbow whistled, “Wow! I don’t know what you did, Suicune, but it must’ve been impressive if you managed to avoid getting shocked!”
Suicune gave a wry smirk as she shook her back left leg, ~Well, I didn’t miss it entirely.~ She looked at Lucario, ~What of Kyogre?~
While still holding Pikachu, Lucario replied, “He’s fainted. The battle’s over.”
Suicune nodded, ~Good. We have to get in touch with Dialga and Palkia and have them send Kyogre and Groudon back. Hopefully they can repair the damage that has been done here.~ She looked at Tails and, after a moment, said, ~It was a good plan.~ The fox rubbed the back of his head in reply.
Suddenly, Kyogre let out a loud roar, catching everyone’s attention. They looked and saw him thrashing in place, his fins and tail flailing as his body shook. “Yoshi, yoshi?! (Hey, what’s going on?!)” Yoshi exclaimed.
“What’s he doin’?!” Applejack asked.
~Something’s wrong. He should not have regained consciousness so quickly!~ Suicune said.
Lucario held out his left paw and closed his eyes, focusing his Aura to scan Kyogre. “He’s in a blind panic, like he’s experiencing a nightmare! He’s not really awake!” He scanned further for several moments before saying, “Wait, I sense something inside of him, something that wasn’t there before! It appears to be some kind of creature that’s made of water…”
Tails, Shining, Sonic, and the girls’ eyes went wide. “Chaos!” Tails exclaimed.
“How did he end up inside Kyogre?!” Sonic asked.
“What’s he doing in there?!” Rainbow added.
Lucario gritted his teeth as he tried to continue his scan. “I… can’t tell! The only thing I can tell is that he’s surrounded by darkness! It’s closing him off from me!” he said after several moments.
Cadance looked back up at Kyogre, but soon noticed something past him, off in the distance on Groudon’s side. She looked closer and gasped. “Look!” she said, pointing with a hoof. Everyone looked and saw a swirling mass of fire floating in front of Groudon.
“Is that Iblis?!” Spike asked. Nobody was able to answer him as they watched, the fire suddenly shooting towards Groudon and disappearing into him. The Continent Pokémon’s eyes shot open for a moment before they closed, a loud roar escaping him as his entire body began to twitch erratically, much like Kyogre’s. It was as if they were trying to fight back against their invaders.
Suicune soon looked from Groudon back to Kyogre and realized that the Sea Basin Pokémon’s form was sinking into the water, his struggles starting to die down. She could only stare as he sank completely, getting the sense that he was losing whatever battle he was caught in. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, as Lucario soon looked down and noticed Kyogre sinking, but something else had caught his attention as well. “I feel something,” he said, catching everyone’s attention. “It feels like a buildup of power, and it’s concentrated around Kyogre…”
Suicune thought about what he said and what she knew about Kyogre and Groudon and her eyes grew wide a moment later as she remembered something, something that had happened recently. “No… That shouldn’t be possible! But if they are…” She spoke, ~We must get to higher ground at once!~ Everyone looked at her as she turned and began moving towards a spot where they could all climb higher, all of them hurrying after her. They began to climb up after her, but a bright flash from behind them caught their attention. They turned to look and saw it coming from where Kyogre was, the water around that spot churning furiously. They tried to keep climbing, but suddenly the water formed a large tidal wave that was headed in their direction! Everyone tried to help each other climb faster, but the wave was upon them before they could get much farther, pushing them into the water along with the rubble they’d been on. Suicune managed to leap up on top of the building she’d been leading them to and, as she saw her teammates and the others get washed away, telepathically screamed, ~NO!~
Sonic gave muffled groans as he flailed his arms and legs. He was disoriented and his eyes were shut, but he knew he was sinking like a rock. He was able to open his eyes after a few moments to look around and saw pieces of rubble sinking around him, but no sign of the others. He could see the surface overhead and kept swinging his arms and legs to try to get himself up to it, but to no avail as he kept sinking. He looked around for something, anything that he could use to help him out of the water. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a humanoid figure swimming towards him. He stopped flailing as he got a better look at it. It looked like some kind of light blue fishman. He had no idea what it was, but he quickly noticed the brown gauntlets and boots and green skirt it was wearing and got an idea of who it was.
The figure swam past him and turned itself around, using its legs to propel itself forward while it pressed its hands against Sonic’s back, pushing him up towards the surface. Sonic let himself relax slightly as he was being pushed up, leaving the swimming and avoiding the sinking rubble to the expert. As they neared the surface, he felt the figure’s right hand leave his backside, the two of them breaking through to the surface moments later. Sonic let out a loud gasp and coughed out water while trying to breathe, the figure behind him taking a considerably smaller breath and seeming smaller now. Sonic felt an arm wrap around his neck and across the right side of his chest and, as his head fell back, he looked back to see a familiar face. “Thanks for the save, Link,” he breathed, the boy panting slightly as he nodded in reply.
They soon heard a splash nearby and looked to see Tails poking out of the water, the fox coughing and taking a gulp of air before looking down at the water as he kept himself afloat. “Oh no! I’ve got to go back down there for…” While he was talking, his eyes had been looking around and he soon saw Sonic and Link floating not too far away. “Sonic?” he asked, the blue hedgehog raising his left hand out of the water to wave at him. “How did he…?” Tails started to wonder before a splash close to him caught his attention. He turned to his right and saw Rarity panicking as she tried to get her bearings. He noticed her fancy rain hat and coat were gone and felt with his hands, realizing his were gone too.
Yoshi was the next to resurface, followed by Applejack, Fluttershy, Cadance, Pinkie Pie, Shining Armor, and Spike, all of them coughing out water and taking breaths of air once they were out. Spike swam over to a floating board and draped himself over it as he breathed, calming down slightly. He then looked around and realized who was missing. “Where’s Twilight?! And Team Defenders?!” he cried. Twilight burst out of the water a moment later, her saddlebags in her mouth. She hurriedly swam over to what used to be part of the outside of a building, dropping her saddlebags on it and letting her head and forelegs drop on it as she took ragged breaths, her body aching for oxygen.
“Twilight, are you okay?! What happened?!” Cadance asked as she swam over to the unicorn along with Shining and Spike.
Twilight spent several moments taking long breaths before she recovered enough to raise her head up and say, “My saddlebags were knocked off! I had to grab them before they sank!” She reached over and opened the flap on one bag with her hooves, peering inside. “They’re still in here. The Elements of Harmony are still here,” she breathed upon seeing the tiara and necklaces inside, closing the bag afterwards.
Seeing that she seemed to be okay now, Sonic asked, “So where’s Team Defenders?”
Tails started, “I think I saw Suicune jump, but…” He was cut off when Lucario and Pikachu surfaced near Sonic and Link, Pikachu in Lucario’s paws.
Sonic pointed at them, “You guys okay?”
Lucario replied after catching his breath, “Yeah, we’re fine. The Treasure Bag stayed on.” He looked down at Pikachu, “And I didn’t lose you…” The yellow mouse leaned against his chest around his spike and he hugged him in reply.
Shining looked up and around as he treaded water, soon spotting Suicune on top of a nearby rooftop. “Suicune…!” he said, everyone else looking as well. The Aurora Pokémon looked down at all of them. Despite the neutral expression on her face, she was relieved that they all seemed to be okay. She soon turned her head upwards, looking up at the cloudy sky.
Everyone followed her gaze and saw that the gray clouds now looked darker and allowed very little sunlight through, making Station Square seem darker. “Oh, this doesn’t look good…” Sonic muttered.
Rainbow, on the other hoof, started speaking aloud, “Come on, it’s gotta be over! The rain just stopped! You can’t…” She was cut off by a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder, and an even heavier amount of rain falling. “You did,” she grumbled.
Rarity let out a cry and asked, “How much worse is this going to get?!”
Lucario looked up and noticed Suicune take off across the rooftops. “Suicune!” he called, but she was already out of earshot. He looked down at the others and said, “I have a bad feeling it’s going to get much worse. Come on.” He shifted Pikachu to his shoulder and swam over to a piece of rubble behind Sonic and Link, using his paws to climb up. Once he was on top, he turned around and brought his paws close together before pulling them away, creating a staff made of Aura between them. He then took the staff in both paws and crouched down, holding it out. “Grab on!” he said as Link swam over.
The boy grunted as he used both hands to push Sonic up towards the staff, the blue hedgehog wrapping his hands around it and feeling Link’s arms wrap around his torso. As Lucario pulled them both up, Link felt something wrap around his waist and looked down to see that it was Yoshi’s tongue, the green dinosaur dangling like he was on a hook below him. Pinkie Pie suddenly leapt out of the water and wrapped her forelegs around Yoshi, saying, “Hey, I wanna come too!” Despite the additional weight, Lucario was able to pull them all up to his level while Tails, Cadance, Rainbow, and Fluttershy began airlifting Spike and the other ponies out of the water. Once they were all out, they began to search for Suicune.
Despite the heavy rainfall making things slipperier, they were able to move through the destroyed city in the direction Suicune had gone fairly easily. As they moved, Lucario picked up on her Aura signature and led the way. They soon found her on the roof of another building and joined her. They looked to see that they could see the other city again from the rooftop as well as Groudon and Kyogre.
It was not hard to see the two Legendary Pokémon considering they both had gotten much bigger than they were before; they were both about double the size they had been. The lines and markings on their bodies were glowing brightly, Kyogre’s red and Groudon’s blue. While their bodies were still blue and red respectively, the coloring had become more saturated, making them look darker. Kyogre’s body also appeared to be tinted purple while Groudon’s body glowed brightly, almost like he had lava inside of him. When they opened their eyes, Groudon’s eyes were glowing red with no pupils or irises and Kyogre’s irises had changed to a green color, his eyes looking more reptilian as the pupils narrowed to slits. The sunlight on Groudon’s side appeared to be even more intense than it was before, some of the light spilling over to Kyogre’s side, though very little made it through the cloud cover.
“What… is this?” Cadance breathed, unsure of what to say.
~I can’t believe it…~ Suicune muttered.
Lucario looked at her and asked, “What happened to them?”
Suicune responded while still looking straight ahead, ~I don’t know how it’s possible, but somehow, combining with Iblis and Chaos has caused… this.~
Sonic asked, “Well, what IS this, Suicune?”
Suicune replied, ~What you’re seeing is the form Kyogre and Groudon took when they originally created the sea and the land. These are their true forms, so to speak.~ Her tone turned grave, ~They’ve achieved Primal Reversion.~