Miraculous Evolution!
Defeat the Ultra Beast
We return to Lively Town, where a mighty battle was about to begin. An “Ultra Beast” – known to the reader as Buzzwole – was facing against the combined forces of the Straw Hat Pirates and their new friends from the Expedition Society. They stood opposite each other, neither making a move. Everyone was ready to fight, but not everyone was present.
“Well?” spoke Pinkie Pie suddenly, making everyone look at her confused. “We’re waiting?”
“Who’s waiting?” asked Chopper.
“We are!” Pinkie Pie answered with a musical tone.
Buzzwole let out a loud grunt and charged forward. Ampharos and Luffy were the first to react and met the creature midway through its charge. Buzzwole threw out a punch, and the two fighters countered with the same. In doing so, Ampharos’ fist began sparking with electricity. The three fists collided and the combined effort of both Luffy and the Light Pokémon, along with the added sting of electrical energy, knocked back the Ultra Beast. The two combatants then separated away, allowing a clear line of sight for the others.
“Exploding Star!”
“Weapons Left!”
“Party Cannon Blast!”
Usopp. Franky, and Pinkie Pie all fired their respective weapons. The unicorn fired from his slingshot, the Kabuto. The pink Earth pony shot an assortment of items you had somehow collected like rocks, broken wood, fruit, and a rubber duck. The Minotaur fired from his cannon built into his arm. All three attacks hit Buzzwole resulting in an explosion engulfing it. The creature still stood, looking to have been barely affected by the blasts.
“Damn,” Franky commented. “That barely did anything to it.”
Ampharos believed the same, which made him contemplate a back-up plan. He shouted out to Team Indigo, speaking in Pokémon. From his gesture, he was telling the team to head towards the Expedition Society building. When finished, Riolu nodded, and he took off for the structure. Pichu and Eevee remained with the group, ready to fight.
“What did you tell him?” asked Robin.
“I asked Riolu to co-lect some i-tems. In case we need more power.”
Robin asked no further questions, deciding to trust the Light Pokémon’s judgment. She instead focused on the battle ahead, which was still at a stalemate despite their numbers. It was time to change that, Robin thought. “Doce Fleur,” she said crossing her forelegs.
Instantly, pony legs sprouted over Buzzwole, sixteen in total. The Ultra Beast was immediately confused seeing these abnormal appendages appear on it. Then, the legs began to interconnect and lock the creature’s movement.
“Clutch,” spoke Robin.
Now at a standstill, while also resisting impressively, Buzzwole was now open for attack. Applejack, Sanji, Chopper, Mawile, and Funkfreed charged on the Pokémon. Robin immediately disengaged her ability as she could get her through her summoned limbs. Only free for a moment, Funkfreed reached the Ultra Beast first and caught him in his tusks. The elephant trumpeted ferociously and tossed the creature back. There, waiting for it, was Chopper, now in Heavy Point form, and Mawile whose fist was glowing.
“Heavy Gong!” Chopper shouted as he threw a strong punch.
Having been captivated with the yelling of attack names, Mawile too joined in. “Power-up Punch!”
Both fists hit Buzzwole and sent it flying up. Now in the air, before it could recover, Sanji made his own attack along with Applejack. He jumped and spun to be above the creature. Meanwhile below, Applejack positioned herself under the beast. Both then launched down and up respectively with their back legs launched out.
Sanji shouted, “Confiture* de…”
“Apple!” finished Applejack.
The two strikes met in the middle with Buzzwole caught between them. The creature let out an audible grunt in pain. Sanji then jumped away from the Pokémon grabbing his partner in the process. With the two fighters out of the way, it allowed another of their group to attack. Rainbow Dash, who has been gaining momentum, was flying straight at the bug being.
*French for jam
“Rainbow…” shouted the Pegasus as she reeled her hoof back. As she met the falling bug, she threw out her hoof. “Smash!”
The moment her hoof hit Buzzwole, the rainbow-colored sonic boom – better known as a “Sonic Rain-boom” – exploded out from the impact. The hit sent the Pokémon hurtling back down and crashing into the ground, forming a crater as a result.
“Alright!” cheered Usopp, Spike, and Pinkie Pie. Pichu also did the same.
Then, Buzzwole began to glow. Floating feathers appeared around it, and then everything all together disappeared. The creature immediately stood up and vigorously began to flex, showing off its recovery.
“Aw,” said the same group disappointed.
Sanji gritted his teeth. “Shitty bastard,” he cursed.
“Its defense is impressive, and as long as it has Roost, it’ll recover quickly,” Mawile stated observantly. “Perhaps we should use some Special Attacks.”
“What does that mean?” asked Spike.
“This!” shouted Ampharos excitedly. The Light Pokémon’s whole body began to spark with electricity, impressing the pirates.
“T-underbolt!” All the electricity produced by Ampharos was shot forth in one single strike. It hit the distracted Buzzwole and electrified it.
“I get it,” Twilight said understanding wholly. She then raised her hoof, and her magic began to form around it. She then commanded, “Magic Lightning!”
Like with Ampharos, lightning shot forth. The magenta bolt struck Buzzwole immediately after her Pokemon ally’s attack ended. Again, the Ultra Beast was in complete shock: literally.
Then, once Twilight finished, everyone noticed a dark cloud form above their opponent. Everyone saw that it was of Nami’s doing, who kept feeding the cloud more and more until she felt it reached a suitable size. As soon as she finished, she then sent out a Thunder Orb into the cloud. It absorbed the energy and immediately began to thunder.
“Thunderbolt Tempo!” she shouted. On command, several lightning bolts struck down from the cloud and hit Buzzwole.
Everyone began to cheer; they were all a safe distance away from being hit by the attack. Once the lightning stopped, the crater started smoking from the charred earth and – potentially – their defeated opponent. Before anyone could check, a ball of light began to shine through the black smoke. It then dissipated to reveal Buzzwole still standing, though slightly singed. In its palms held close together, it was forming its next attack.
“Oh no!” Ampharos shouted in fear.
Unfortunately, it was too late; Buzzwole thrust its hands out and launched the sphere. No one could react fast enough to stop or destroy it. The attack flew nearly straight towards them, but it, fortunately, had been aimed too low. The ball instead hit the ground near the group, but it exploded in front of them. The blast scattered and injured everyone. It was an enormous burst of explosive energy that knocked even the large Funkfreed backward onto the ground.
Buzzwole immediately let out another grunt, like proclaiming its victory. At the same time, it became more evident of its success when the creature began to glow again with orange aura, doing so only three times.
The group slowly recovered, but they quickly noticed that the move had severely damaged a few of their number. Funkfreed was wholly out, Fluttershy got knocked out as well, and finally, Eevee had fainted entirely. Pichu noticed his friend immediately and attempted to wake her up to no avail. Chopper swiftly went to work attending to everyone starting with Fluttershy.
“Anyone who can’t fight, stay back!” shouted Twilight immediately, attempting to control the situation. “That ‘Ultra Beast’ has already powered up thrice now! We can’t let any pony else be defeated.”
Everyone agreed to the notion. Those that could still fight – Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Franky, and Mawile – would continue to keep the Pokémon at bay through their strength. Both Usopp, Twilight Sparkle, and Ampharos were well enough to support them, leaving the others to help Chopper attend to the fallen.
Unfortunately, for them, Buzzwole used the move Roost once again to bring it back to health, making this battle far more difficult. The group of fighters once again attacked with all their strength and power, but the now ten times-enhanced Pokémon was too powerful. Many of the group’s strikes no longer affected it as before. It was even handling the firepower from the support group. It was not long before it began to add to its victories: first came Applejack with a single punch. The result was an enraged Sanji attempting to avenge her, but that only lead to his defeat with a well-placed Dynamic Punch. The power of Buzzwole was growing exponentially.
“Dammit!” cursed Luffy angrily. After another of his friends get hurt (Sanji), he had enough holding back. He got into a familiar stance and placed his fist on the ground. The pony’s legs began to pump unnaturally, while natural for him being a rubber pony. His skin started to sheen and steam began forming off his body; he was ready to fight more seriously now.
“Second Gear!” the Earth pony roared out before disappearing. He instantly reappeared in front of Buzzwole, ready to attack. “Jet Pistol!”
The red pony’s hoof smashed into Buzzwole at an incredible speed. The bug creature had not the time to defend itself; yet, all the attack did was force it back. It was still holding steady, but now it was more invigorated to fight.
Watching this, Ampharos became worried. “I hoo-pe Riolu gets he-ear soon wh-ith t’ose Mega stones.”
No one knew what the Pokémon was speaking of, but they were hopeful that whatever it was would bring the fight to their favor. Regardless, watching the battle as is was frustrating. Pichu especially appeared dismayed as he stood next to his recovering friend. Eevee was slowly recovering but still in no condition to fight. She was able to open her eye to see Pichu, who was immediately relieved at her recovery. The little fox creature also caught sight of the battle behind her friend and that it was utterly one-sided. Looking back to her teammate, she felt the need to help in any way.
Eevee uttered out softly, “Vui… Vui-vui.” She then began to glow. The light around then condensed into a ball and floated over to Pichu, much to his surprise. The sphere then bursts and covers the mouse in the same white aura once on Eevee. Pichu was startled by the action and looked to his teammate confused. Eevee said one last thing with a proud and confident smile.
“Vui…”
Pichu gasped but then nodded his head determinedly. He turned around and saw the fight still raging on with little change. As his cheeks began to spark, his determination to help was evident with his expression.
“T-un-” Ampharos was about to fire another Thunderbolt when he suddenly saw a small but bright ball of energy sped past him. Despite its speed, the Light Pokémon recognized it. “Pichu?!”
“Pi-pi-pi-pi!” Pichu roared as he sped towards Buzzwole with its whole body covered in electricity. Despite the energy hurting him, the little mouse Pokémon was determined to hit its opponent with everything it had.
As for the fighters, they all saw Pichu rushing towards them. The attack looked powerful, which caused all of them to grin. A glance passed between each other, and they all understood what they needed to do. Without hesitation, they all attacked Buzzwole. The goal was not to defeat it quickly but to keep it in place for the incoming attack. The group’s attacks were quick, coming at the Ultra Beast one at a time to distract it. The bug creature had no time to defend itself from Pichu's attack.
“Pi-Chu!” shouted Pichu as he collided dead center to Buzzwole’s chest.
Buzzwole let out a grunt but remained standing. It then flexed knocking Pichu back, who was caught be Luffy. Looking unfazed by the attack, the creature began emitting a noise that sounded much like mocking laughter. It did not last long. Fortunately, as when the Pokémon brute tried to move forward, its entire body became covered in electricity that instantly halted its movement.
All the pirates were confused, even Pichu too, but luckily, Ampharos had the answered. “Sta-tic!” he exclaimed. “Da Ul-tra Bee-st is par-lyzed!”
“What?” asked Rarity.
Mawile explained, “Pokémon have Abilities that can aid us under certain conditions. Pichu’s is Static, which means any physical contact may result in paralysis.”
“Witch will re-str-ict its speed!” concluded Ampharos.
Everyone was impressed, especially Luffy. Being understand enough, the young captain placed the mouse down and flashed it a cheerful grin. “Good work, Pichy!” he said proudly.
Despite the language barrier, Pichu understood the pony's gesture. He was utterly happy to have helped his friends. The joy and comradery swelled inside the mouse’s body that felt like new energy for the Pokémon.
And then, Pichu began to glow blue.
The whole battle paused as everyone’s attention focused on the glowing Pichu. None of the pirates understood what was going on, but the Pokémon knew full well what was happening to their member. “He’s evolving!” Again, none of the pirates understood what Ampharos meant until Mawile quickly explained it.
“When we Pokémon reach a critical point, whether in life or in battle, and-or we meet certain conditions, we can transform or ‘evolve’ into a stronger version of ourselves.”
The group was flabbergasted by the information, but none looked away from the spectacle they were witnessing. The little Pichu before them was growing, though only slightly. The proportions of its body were shifting into a new shape. The triangle ears straightened, and his tail elongated into a lightning shape. Finally, the blue light around the newly transformed Pokémon bursts off him, revealing the new Pokémon in front of everyone.
“Who’s that Pokémon?” asked all the Straw Hat Pirates.
Ampharos and Mawile answered excitedly, “It’s Pikachu!”
“Vui-vui!” called out Eevee happily.
The newly formed Pikachu then posed holding up the victory gesture. “Pi-Pikachu!”
Having waited long enough, Buzzwole let out another loud grunt-roar. It attempted to move forward, but the effects of Static were still working against him.
Pikachu saw his opportunity. With his red cheeks sparking, the Mouse Pokémon jumped into the air and performed his next move. “Pi-ka-Chu!” He produced a massive lightning bolt that struck the paralyzed Buzzwole. Unlike before, the attack was doing more damage to the beast than before.
“Keep it up!” shouted Rainbow Dash before bursting forward fast.
Immediately, all the fighters and support attacked. Rainbow Dash performed a quick punch, Mawile used an attack with her upper body glowing steely called “Iron Head,” and Zoro slashed at Buzzwole with all three swords with the “Oni Giri” technique. Both Franky and Luffy shot forth their extending-arm moves, “Jet Rifle” and “Strong Right,” hitting the bug creature squarely in his chest. Twilight, Ampharos, and Usopp all then laid down suppressing barrage of attacks to finish off the Ultra Beast hopefully.
As the smoke cleared, Buzzwole was still standing, but it now looked incredibly damaged and exhausted. That changed as it once again performed the move “Roost” and regained some of its health. The action frustrated all the fighters, who were becoming increasingly tired.
“We just ne-ed one more pu-sh,” said Ampharos encouragingly.
Then, there came a bird sound. “Koo-kooo!” Everyone, even Buzzwole, looked up to see Tapu Koko floating above them. Before anyone could comment or speak, the Guardian Pokémon dropped down to where Luffy and Pikachu stood together. It then took Luffy’s hat, much to the pony’s surprise, and placed it on Pikachu. Before Luffy could angrily retort, the Tapu gave him a crystal shaped like Pikachu’s tail and a black lightning bolt inside.
“Huh?” asked Luffy baffled by the crystal.
Tapu Koko then began to perform a stance. First, it fist-bumped, then high-five, and then threw its fist out. Neither Luffy nor Pikachu understood what the Pokémon was saying, but they were fortunate to have some guidance. While Ampharps spoke to Pikachu in Pokémon about what it meant, Mawile spoke to Luffy to explain.
“It’s a Z-move! Perform those gestures together with Pikachu to unlock a powerful move.”
Luffy understood and looked to Pikachu curiously. Like him, the Mouse Pokémon did the same. While neither could communicate with the other, the two fighter’s determination and willpower spoke for them. They knew what they were going to do.
“Alright!” Luffy shouted with a grin.
“Pi!” Pikachu said happily.
Then, Pikachu and Luffy fist-to-hoof bumped before high-fiving with Pikachu using its tail. The Pokémon and pony then stood side by side and threw their fists out as Tapu Koko did. Suddenly, Pikachu began glowing with a yellow aura, ready to attack. Luffy too then prepared himself.
“Gear Third,” the pony said before biting into his hoof, the same one holding the crystal. “Bone Balloon.” He then began blowing in a large amount of air that began to inflate his body part to a gigantic size.
Pikachu then jumped high into the air. Storm clouds began to form in the sky above as the Mouse Pokémon started to produce an overwhelming amount of electricity. Not only this but he was also pulling in various colors of the same energy from the storm above.
Everyone watched with sheer amazement at the scene. Even Ampharos and Mawile were astonished by what their new member was about to perform. As for Buzzwole, it began to panic at what both were doing, For once, it did not want to face these attacks. It attempted to run away, but its paralysis stopped it from going anywhere.
“Pi ka-ka-ka!”
“Giant…”
“Pika-pika!/Pistol!”
From Pikachu, all the electricity it had gathered was finally let free. From its body, seven colors of electrical energy burst out into spheres and fly towards Buzzwole. Luffy merely threw out his enlarged hoof – and partial leg – forward at the same target. The two attacks then combined to form an electrically-induced hoof the size of a building with the balls gathering around at the head of Luffy’s attack. Together, the two attacks hit the immobile Ultra Beast.
BOOM! The combined attacks both smashed and exploded at the same time. Buzzwole had no time to recover, and the attack blew it away. The creature sailed high into the sky, unconscious, until it vanished into the blue, leaving only a twinkle of light behind. Before long, it soon began falling back towards the ground. It was about to land in the Berry Grove, but it instead crashed through the opening it originally exited. The small bit of electricity left on it immediately affected the portal, and it closed soon after.
The group had only witnessed their opponent soaring into the sky and disappearing. Much relieved by its disappearance, the entire group collapsed to the ground tired. Luffy and Pikachu even fell over from near exhaustion. Tapu Koko looked over the scene with some intrigue but decided to leave the group alone for now. It then flew off into the forest, presumably to check where the creature landed.
Despite being tired himself, Ampharos wanted to say something. He lifted his arm as he proclaimed weakly, “And vic-tory goes to…” he paused a moment and fell over, but his arm remained raised, “us.”
“Yay,” said everyone equally as weak.
Meanwhile, far from Lively town...
From any location on the vast continent New Earthia, there is one landmark that was always in sight. From seas to the forests, on the mountains, in the deserts, across the grasslands, and through snow and wind. It is a monument as Canterlot was for the ponies of Equestria, both similar in many regards. It was a massive tree yet not a plant. It is the carved out top of a lone mountain located in the exact center of this land. The design looked very much like a tree as it had foliage growing and covering most of its surface. Gaping holes made the structure more treelike while also revealing a broad network of caves that crisscrossed throughout. In many of the tunnels, crystals protruded out that provided dim light through the caverns.
It was indeed a magnificent place and one that holds profound importance for the Pokémon of this continent.
That is why, when an echoing screech, like nails on a chalkboard, reverberated through the mountain, shaking it to its core, the Pokémon of the surrounding area became frightened. All manner of Pokémon fled from the place with great urgency. None wanted to be around to see the owner of that horrifying sound.
Then, from a large opening at the base of the treelike structure, a creature began stepping out. It was a substantial being as tall as the actual trees growing in the area. The being had an equine-like shape with golden pointed hooves. A massive, golden, and cross-like wheel was around its midsection with green jewels on each point. Before stepping into the light, its red pupil was already glowing like fire with rage in its green eyes.
Once entirely out of the cave and in the open, the creature let out the same screech heard earlier. It was even louder this time and felt as if it were coursing throughout the land and making it quake. When it finished, everything was silent for a moment. It did not stay quiet for long. The wind suddenly began to pick up, and the ground started shaking even more violently than before and echoing cries in the distance called back in response. Soon, shapes of other creatures began to appear from afar both in the sky and within the forests. Some, much smaller, were also exiting the tree structure. Among them were the three Tapus, Bulu, Fini, and Lele. All were heading for the creature like obeying a command.
That is because this being was none other than the lord of all Pokémon itself. The Original One, the Alpha Pokémon Arceus.
And it was furious.
TO BE
CONTINUED...