//------------------------------// // Alola, Nightmare! // Story: The Moment No Pony was Waiting For (A Death Battle Parody) // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// Advisory: Please set your “Formatting” to “Dark” to ensure that brightly colored text is legible. Thank you. For the sake of this Death Battle, I won’t be using any of the lore or mechanics from the Ultra versions of Sun and Moon. Properties in this chapter belong to Hasbro, ScrewAttack, Nintendo, and Game Freak. --- The Moment No Pony was Waiting For Season the Seventh ~Boom, boom, boom… even brighter than the moon, moon, moon…~ Whether it’s werewolves or aliens, something grips the mind when it comes to using the moon for telling stories. Today’s combatants have their very lore tied to the moons of their world. Lunala: the full moon Pokemon! And Nightmare Moon, the legendary Mare in the Moon. Reader beware; you’re in for a kick*ss fight! For this Death Battle, we will be looking at their capabilities as originally presented to the public. This means no Dawn Wings Necrozma and no Nightmare Rarity. He’s W and I’m B. And it’s our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle. ///Death Battle\\\ Lunala -“Full Moon” Pokemon -Type: Ghost/Psychic -High HP and Sp. Atk; low Def. -Cosmog’s (Nebbie) final evolved form in Pokemon Moon -Move set: Moongeist Beam (Ghost), Moonblast (Fairy), Moonlight (HP recovery), Cosmic Power (Def. and Sp. Def. up), Confusion (Psychic), Hypnosis (Sleep), Dream Eater (HP Absorb), Night Daze (Dark), Phantom Force(2-turn; Ghost; can break through Protect moves) -Can open portals to the Ultra Dimension when the story calls for it -Super weak against Dark and Ghost-type moves -Shadow Shield: Reduces damage taken when at full health Some years ago, one woman thought of creating a paradise where Pokemon would be protected from all harm. Between that and her children, she couldn’t be happier. Let me guess, something goes horribly wrong and sends paradise careening into purgatory. Hmm, sort of. A wormhole opened up and brought a creature that would later be dubbed an Ultra Beast arrived and- Holy crap! It’s an alien jellyfish! *Ahem* Yes, well… Nihilego had the uncanny ability of super-charging the attribute of desire within the first person it came in contact with. This person just so happened to be Lusamine, filling her with the insatiable desire to go to the Ultra Dimension so that she would be surrounded by Nihilego forever. So… tentacle-mind-rape? Pretty much. Gross! To achieve this desire, Lusamine experimented on the Pokemon called Cosmog, draining almost all of its energy to open a wormhole that took her right into the Ultra Beast’s clutches. This left Cosmog in a dormant state, leaving Lusamine’s daughter Lillie and a silent protagonist to try and bring it back. Then they travelled around some islands that are Hawaiian knock-offs, found a couple legendary flutes, and played a song atop some ancient ruins on a mountain. Actually, that looks more like a plateau. *B groans.* And it worked. The song unlocked Cosmog’s final form: Lunala. After saving Lusamine from Nihilego’s clutches and giving her back some of her sanity, the protagonist battled and caught Lunala to take it on an adventure with thrilling battles. Lunala looks like a flashy and skeletal vampire bat. It’s got a third eye on its forehead like those enlightened monks, and the subtitles for its cry look like a mockery of Deus Ex MacGuffins. “Mahi-i-i-na!” Lunala's stats focus on high health points and special attack, while lacking a little in speed and physical defense. As a dual-type with ghost and psychic, it’s completely immune to normal and fighting-type moves, at the expense of being extremely weak against dark-type attacks. Its signature attack is Moongeist Beam, a powerful laser that apparently has ghost-like properties that it can shoot by opening its wings into a nearly full circle. This Pokemon can also shoot a blast from the moon that acts like a dragon-type’s worst nightmare. Confusion is a psychic-type attack that can occasionally scramble the thoughts of its opponent, and Night Daze is available for dealing dark-type damage and causing enemies to flinch. Lunala can also call on the power-cosmic to increase its defensive stats, or recover its health just by bathing in Moonlight. Then there’s its really mean move combination: putting opponents to sleep with Hypnosis and then stealing their health by eating their dreams! Who does that? Lunala’s ability Shadow Shield is an interesting defense in that it lowers the power of incoming enemy attacks, but only when it has full health. In other words, it’s important for Lunala to maintain control of the battle at the very start. Otherwise, an aggressive enough opponent might overwhelm it. “Nebbie! You evolved!” “Mahi-i-i-na!” ///Death Battle\\\ Nightmare Moon -Alicorn corrupted by jealousy and hatred -Originally Luna, Princess of the Night -Above average strength, flight, and magic -Can move the very moon across the sky -Examples of magic: levitation, teleportation, shape-shifting, lightning -Example of strength: crushing five stone orbs with her bare hooves… without even touching -Example of dark magic: floating in a cloud form faster than Rainbow Dash; manipulating fog density; eroding cliffs -Vulnerable to the villain’s Achilles Heel: Monologue It is written that on the "Fourth Day", God created the stars, the sun, and the moon. To the sun, he gave the name "the greater light". The moon, he called "the lesser light". That sounds like something that would piss off anyone whose entire theme is the moon. The pony princess of the night took great exception to being the lesser of anything. So, after a few years of hiding her feelings by helping her sister postpone threats like a magic-hungry centaur, an evil king who sounds like a Mexican hat, and the embodiment of chaos himself, Luna went into a temper tantrum and transformed into another black fan-made character. Uh... no. Slowly building negative emotions eventually corrupted her and transformed her into Nightmare Moon, and she threatened to bring about an eternal night. However, she was stopped. The first time, her sister sadly resorted to using the land's Elements of Harmony. With only one pony using them, the Elements decided the best course of action was to banish Nightmare Moon into the very moon she represented for one thousand years. Then, after she returned, she was stopped again by six new wielders of the Elements. Only this time, her corruption was removed and Princess Luna was given back her place in the world. Yeah! That's exactly what I meant! You're an idiot, B. For the duration that she existed, Nightmare Moon created a sense of dread and fear that spawned a number of legends among ponies over the years. Some say part of her essence stayed behind to wander her old castle. Others say she comes down every Halloween-esque night to take candy tributes and gobble up any children that refuse to pay. Legends, schmegends! What are the real facts that involve how she can kick butt? I'm glad you asked. For starters, Nightmare is an alicorn, capable of feats that require super strength, flight, and a wide array of magic. She can crush five solid stone orbs by stomping the ground in the middle of them. She can glide through the air effortlessly. As for her magic, her spells include shape-shifting, earth rupturing, cloud compacting, lighting strikes, magic beams that can cut through solid stone, and even move the moon itself to create a solar eclipse. Meh... my ex-wife can cause an eclipse just by standing around a beach. I thought your ex-wife was a vampire? Yeah, but not those cool vampires that turn into ash in sunlight. She's more like one of those sparkling fakers from that comedy book series. ... I understood that reference. Anyway, we were talking about black horses and magic rock-breaker beams? Right. Her magic is apparently capable of obliterating timber wolves, creatures that can usually reconstruct themselves within a minute of being broken apart. Not as cool as a shotgun, but it gets the job done. There is, however, a drawback and fatal weakness to Nightmare Moon. She starts monologuing? Yes, when she starts talking about how her enemies are doomed to fail and how her night will last forever, she is vulnerable to standing completely still. Even when the speech is coming from a potential enemy, she just stands there in disbelief. Hey, maybe she's got a better shot now. This new challenger doesn't say much. The scene shows Luna's original transformation. As she floats up in a daze, dark energy spins around her and warps her features: eyes get slits, teeth turn into fangs, and her voice deepens into an evil cackle. ///Death Battle\\\ Alright, the combatants are set. Let's settle this debate once and for all. It's time for a Death Battle! ///Death Battle\\\ A bright moon shines upon this battlefield. There is a rock formation that looks like it forms a path far above a valley made of spikes and unfortunate corpses. On another formation in the background, it looks like a half-naked movie actor is glowing green and kicking at a guy made of fire. But that's not where the story is. In the foreground, a skeletal bat with golden edges around its wings flies above one of the rock-pillar doors. Across from it, a dark pony flaps its wings and hovers over the opposite pillar. "Mah-i-i-i-na!" "You're kidding, right?" The pony raises a brow under her helmet. "The only one who should rule over the night is me!" "FIGHT!" Lunala used Cosmic Power! A bit of sparkle appears around the edges of the Pokemon's wings. Helpfully, the animators add two up arrows marked with "Def" and "Sp. Def" respectively. Nightmare Moon calls a whirlwind of dark clouds via her mane. Lightning strikes down across the battle field. Lunala barely seems fazed by the surge of electricity. Lunala vanishes from sight! True to the subtitle's commentary, Lunala flaps its wings and seems to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Nightmare Moon glares around herself. Where is her enemy? Lunala used Phantom Force! With that prompt, Lunala appears right behind Nightmare Moon and claps its wings. Nightmare growls and turns into her own purple smoke cloud. This cloud dashes around in circular paths. Each swift contact seems to cut against Lunala's body. These small cuts appear all at once. Lunala cries out and flies upward. However, the cutting smoke quickly follows after it. Lunala used Night Daze! A black force erupts from Lunala's body. It ripples out like a shock wave, pushing the Nightmare smoke away. Nightmare shape-shifts into three separate pegasus ponies, each wearing a Shadowbolt uniform. The three of her split up and surround the opponent. Each pegasus flies in to make contact. Lunala used Moonblast! Energy turns pink in front of the skeletal bat. It unleashes that energy in three large orbs, one for each of the pegasi. Two of the Shadowbolts evaporate on contact. The third quickly circles around and up to dodge the blast. She gathers the remains of her other thirds and regains her armored alicorn form. It appears she's gathering dark magic atop her horn. Lunala used Hypnosis! Lunala's third red eye opens upon its forehead. All three of its eyes glow and create a rippling light effect. Nightmare Moon's pupils dilate against the intense waves. Her magic falters and she starts descending out of the sky. Her wings barely flap long enough to land on the bridge with minimal damage. Lunala used Dream Eater! A strange cloud escapes Nightmare Moon's head, unbeknownst to her. Lunala opens its maw and slowly sucks in the cloud. At this point, Nightmare blinks a couple times and gasps. What's left of the cloud disperses with a pop. She grits her fangs and charges her magic. This time, she closes her eyes for the duration. Lunala used Moongeist Beam! The Pokemon gains some altitude before spreading its wings to full span. Smaller beams trickle from its bones toward the center of the circle. As soon as Nightmare Moon blasts out a large beam of blue magic, Lunala fires out a similar white beam in the opposite direction. The lasers hit each other and fight for control of the night sky. Eventually, the air caught between is what yields. An explosion spreads out from the collision of the blasts, blinding the camera from what is happening. ... After some time passes, we get a visual of the battlefield. Nightmare has regained some air and is flying above the bridge. Meannwhile, Lunala is sitting on the stone while breathing heavily. It tries spreading out its wings. Lunala used Moonlight! A stream of light particles flows down from the moon, heading towards Lunala's body. It continues breathing hard while holding this position. "Are you...?" Nightmare glares at her opponent. "You dare siphon power from my moon?!" Her horn ignites. "If I can't have its power to myself, then no pony can!" Her bluish magic aura surrounds the moon, and it moves below the horizon. The sun tries to peak out from the opposite side of the sky. The particle stream ends, leaving Lunala with about as little stamina as it had after the beam explosion. It opens its mouth and creates a black and purple sphere. Lunala used Sha- "Enough!" Nightmare Moon flies to the side of the bridge and unleashes a magic beam. It cuts straight through the section of the bridge that Lunala is sitting on. It also seems to knock the wind out of the Pokemon. Lunala falls down, down, down... getting impaled in so many awful places on the spike-covered ground. "FATALITY!" ///Death Battle\\\ Whoa-ho-ho! Holy crap! Did somebody leave Mortal Kombat running? Being a cover art Pokemon may mean you're ridiculously strong, but that doesn't mean you're guaranteed victory against outside franchises. Both Lunala and Nightmare Moon had access to moves that could make them intangible, but Nightmare Moon's was far more consistent and readily usable. Pokemon are incredible compared to their real-world animal counterparts. Make no mistake about that! But as powerful as Lunala was, it had its attack rhythm that it was most comfortable with. Opponents that have been around as many years as Nightmare Moon can remember, which includes both her own and Princess Luna's, could no doubt start figuring out what Lunala was up to. And it's not likely that Lunala's sleep-inducing and dream-eating combination would do much, since Nightmare Moon knows a lot about dream magic from Luna. Also in terms of raw power, while Pokemon can damage each other fairly consistently, Nightmare Moon's destruction of stone cliffs and stone castles is more impressive than the output that Lunala has been shown to be capable of in-game. But why couldn't Lunala escape into its original home, the Ultra Dimension? One, escaping would mean that it doesn't actually get to win in the short time that a Death Battle setting takes place. And two, it has been stated that it has to remain still long enough for a portal to stay open. And since Nightmare Moon can outpace a Rainbow Dash pursuit, staying still would lead to an opening in its flank that it just could not afford. I just had another thought: How did Nightmare even hurt Lunala? Aren't ghosts technically already dead? Certain ghost-types are allegedly undead souls of the deceased. However, Lunala is only like a ghost in its resemblance to a skeletal bat. Besides, there are plenty of physical strikes that can cause harm to other ghost-type Pokemon. They may be immune to normal-type attacks, but the things that magical ponies unleash are anything but normal. When you factor in that Lunala's base stats give up speed and defense for its higher than average striking power, it had a lower chance of enduring something to the same effect as the cloud form of Nightmare. The battle's end was decided when Lunala was denied its dose of moonshine. The winner is Nightmare Moon. ///Death Battle\\\ ---