It's been exactly one day since Ash, Twilight and the others saved Equestria from Tirek.
And right now, some repairs are being made. Their battle ended up causing some damage here and there. Thankfully, Ponyville wasn't totally flattened due to the trainers being extra careful. Ash, Pikachu and Twilight's new titles have been acknowledged. Princess of Friendship, Heroic and Noble.
BigTime Ben had arrived at Ponyville to do what he does best. He looked around, seeing the dam
"Hm. This place looks a bit different. Don't you think Gothitelle?"
"Gothitelle..."
"Oh, hey Mr Ben! You should've seen what happened yesterday!" Along came Scootaloo and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"It was the coolest and scariest thing ever!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.
"Our eyes were blessed!" Sweetie Belle bellowed.
"Sounds like yesterday was an event and a million."
"Oh, it was. That's why we made a drawing to show you what it looked like." Sweetie Belle showed him a crayon drawing. It was badly drawn as it was also hard to make it out. Ben tried to figure out what he was looking at.
"A giant spewed all over Ponyville and Ash?"
"No, no! A centaur battled against Ash and everypony. It was so cool!" Scootaloo corrected him.
"A centaur?!"
"Mhm! Ash came in and acted all heroic and awesome like he always is! And then the princesses started to be awesome too!" said Scootaloo.
"Yeah! And speaking of heroic, Ash and Pikachu got new titles. They're now Ash the Heroic and Pikachu the Noble! Should we start calling them that?" Sweetie Belle replied.
"Well, it sounds like it was a day to remember. Wish I could've seen it. Anyways, I'm here to inform you all about the Pokemon Festival. Remember, it's not too far away from now. Only 6 days left."
"We can't wait! I can't wait to catch some more Pokemon!" Apple Bloom said.
"Well, you three are in luck. I have here front row tickets to the show that will happen at the festival." Ben took out 3 tickets for them.
"A show?" The 3 asked.
"Mhm. Viewing and catching all kinds of Pokemon isn't the only thing you'll get to do at the festival. There will be many other activities, such as a live show, games, and even a signed autograph from a famous trainer."
"Wow! Thank you so much Mr BigTime!" Apple Bloom thanked him as they all took the tickets, running off.
"Hm. Kids. Now then Gothitelle. Let's give everypony a reminder about the festival shall we?"
"Goth."
While those two go along, Ponyville was about to be met by not one but two interviewers. A news crew from Jubilife TV in the Sinnoh Region and one from Manehattan. They had come here to interview Twilight and her friends since they caught news of what happened yesterday. It wasn't that hard to miss Tirek considering how huge he had gotten.
"Come on! Let's get some info! How about... that pony over there!" Hearsay Hoof, a popular news pony pointed her hoof over at Amethyst Heart and her Skitty. "You there!"
"Hm? What do you want?"
"Skitty."
"You're a resident of Ponyville. Wanna tell us any information on what happened yesterday? Or better yet! What about Princess Twilight Sparkle and Ash Ketchum? Can you tell us anything about that?"
"Oh, yeah. That. Yesterday was... something. That Tirek guy was pretty imposing. I swear, every time he walked, my house was shaking. All that valuable glass... gone."
"What about Ash and Twilight? What can you say about those two?"
"Them? I didn't think too much about them at first. After all... before Twilight came to Ponyville, I was the best organizer around. And before Ash came along with Pokemon, this whole town was fairly peaceful. But, after some days, weeks and months, I've gotten kinda used to those two and the hijinks they got on with their friends."
"Skitty! Skitty!"
"Oh! Really now?! Pretty good info there! On to the next one!" Hearsay and her news crew dashed off to another pony. This time they went over to Granny Smith. "Hello, th-"
"Out of the way, pony!" A human newslady pushed her out of the way, wanting to get this coverage for herself. "So, miss. Can you tell us about what happened here? Because apparently from what we've hear, some sort of creature that size of skyscrapers almost destroyed this place and ate magic?"
"Oh that. That there Tirek was a real beluga of a feller. But that didn't stop my little Applejack and her friends from giving it to him, eh?"
"Oooh. And what about those supposed friends? How did th-"
Hearsay interrupted the newslady, having her turn next. "Move it, lady! So. What can you tell us about those friends? Specifically, the two that everypony's talking about. Princess Twilight and the now Ash the Heroic?"
"Those two? I knew they had something in em that would really show someday. Hah! Guess yesterday was that day."
"Thank you so much for the interview, ma'am."
"You're welcome, little missy." Granny Smith walked off.
The newslady shoved Hearsay out of the way. "This news story is mine, pony!"
"Fah! You wish! I've been at this job longer than you here. So beat it!"
The two of them locked eyes, staring each other down as both their news crews were terrified of them both.
"How about we see who can get the most coverage then?" The Jubilife TV newslady challenged Hearsay.
"You're on." She took the challenge. The two off them split off, heading interview as many as they can.
"Oh, yesterday? Yeah, it was something. To be honest, I thought it was game over for all of us." Snips said.
"Eeyup. The biggest thing I ever saw." Big Mac commented. "Made me feel inferior."
"When I saw that behemoth, I thought to myself, ugh! Not another one. Lately these past days have been so destructive and loud it's hard to concentrate on your work." Octavia babbled.
"We were so scared that we hid underneath our rug! You should've seen Aria! She was shaking!" Sonata exclaimed.
"I was not!" Aria denied.
"Yeah right. No shame in admitting it scaredy-pony." Sonata booped Aria's nose, ticking her off as Aria lunged on Sonata as the two started fighting, knocking the camera over.
"Hm. What about Ash? I'd say for a guy who dresses in nothing but blue and has a pet yellow mouse on his shoulder at all times, he's surprisingly skilled. Oh and those other Pokemon he has. I think one of them's meant to be a ghost I think? But I don't see it." said Diamond Tiara.
"Twilight? Forget that! What about the princesses, did you see them?! They were letting their Pokemon totally let that Tirek guy have it!" Thunderlane shouted.
"Twilight and that Ash guy? Just between you and me... I think those two totally have a thing going on." Silver Spoon whispered.
"Oh, I'm truly grateful for what they've all done for my town. Being Mayor it's hard to run a town when you know it's 5 seconds away from a Pokemon or Centaur attack. But those 8 sure know how to take a lot of stress of your back." Mayor Mare laughed.
"To be honest. I'm surprised Pikachu was capable of going up against something huge." said Lyra. "What do you think Bon Bon?"
"Pssh. Not that surprising to me. I totally knew they could do it. You should've seen them when that Misdreavus thing came along and the Royal Wedding."
"Oh yeah... Guess size doesn't matter huh?"
The interviews were plenty, that's for sure. Both sides got their own good coverage.
"We're running out of ponies to interview. We gotta expand, folks!" Hearsay said to her crew. "Can't let that human beat me at my own game!"
"Then...how about we go over to that castle?" The camera boy pointed his hoof at Twilight's Castle.
"Genius! And it even has Princess Twilight's Cutie Mark on it. This is gonna be a big one!"
Moving away from Ponyville, and all the way to Canterlot, Hollow had come in for this week's class.
"Alright. Morning you all." Hollow yawned, entering the classroom.
"Mr Hollow! You're here! You missed out on yesterday!" Sunrise Sprint said to him.
"Huh? What happened yesterday?"
"There was this centaur that came along! All big and stuff!" A unicorn exclaimed.
"A centaur?"
"It started eating up all our magic! Even our parents!"
"Eating magic?"
"But then a rainbow came out of nowhere and starting fixing everything." Sapphire Flash explained.
"A rainbow? Sounds like a lot happened yesterday."
"A lot did, Mr Hollow. It was... pretty uncomfortable having all our magic being taken from us though." Sapphire replied.
"Mhm. I never wanna experience something like that ever again!" Sunrise exclaimed.
"Well then. Why don't you all draw me what happened that day? And also, I'm gonna give you all these." Hollow put his bag down, opening it as inside revealed to be Pokemon eggs.
"Woah! Eggs?" A pony said.
"Not just eggs. Pokemon Eggs. Inside them is a random Pokemon. I want you all to have them and raise them to see which Pokemon you'll get. Now grab the egg of your choice and make sure you take good care of them."
The young colts and fillies took the egg of their choice, mostly due to the colors and patterns that they preferred. Dew Drops was the last to take her egg as she held it close to her.
"Great. Now I wanna see those drawings so I can get a good gist of what just happened yesterday."
"Okay!" The whole class yelled.
Over at the throne room, Celestia and Luna were also helping with cleanup. They were repairing the damage done to the floor the other day. That's when Celestia thought of something that could help Canterlot. Greatly.
"I've been thinking Luna."
"What is it, sister?"
"Well. I believe that we may be able to help Canterlot more by giving the guards something in return. After all, they do their best to try and protect everypony. But they're missing something to give them that extra oomph."
"What are you suggesting?"
"A Pokemon."
"Pokemon for the guards? Are you sure, sister?"
"Of course I'm sure. Ash has shown me that even without magic you still have Pokemon that can your sword and shield. So the same can apply to our swords and shields. The guards."
"I suppose so. But which Pokemon do you think will be good guardians to be by their side?"
"It has to be a Pokemon that is solely made to protect all. Ponies, people or Pokemon. It doesn't matter what."
Luan thought for a bit and sparked up an idea. "Why don't we ask Hollow? He might know of a Pokemon that fits that category."
"Good idea Luna. I wonder what it could be? A Dragon-Type maybe?" Celestia and Luna walked over to the class, seeing the students draw away along with all the eggs around them. There was paint everywhere along with paper spread across the classroom "Oh my. What is going on here?"
"Morning Princess Celestia! Morning Princess Luna!" The students all greeted them.
"Sorry for the mess. These kids get pretty wild when they're creative." said Hollow. "So. Do you need something princesses?"
"Oh uh yes. Of course." Luna cleared her throat. "We wish to ask you. What Pokemon do you believe will be a perfect choice for our Royal Guard? One that can protect them and everypony else."
"A Pokemon that protects huh? Hmm." Hollow thought about it for a bit, thinking of every Pokemon he knows until he found the perfect one. "I think I've got the Pokemon for you and your guards."
"You have?" Celestia and Luna both said.
"Mhm." Hollow took out his Pokedex, scrolling through the list of Pokemon until he came across the one he was talking about.
Golurk.
"This one right there." He pointed at it as the dex began to spill out Golurk's dex entry.
"Golurk. The Automaton Pokemon. Golurk were created to protect people and Pokémon. They run on a mysterious energy. It flies across the sky at Mach speeds. Removing the seal on its chest makes its internal energy go out of control. It follows its master’s orders faithfully."
"Amazing! It's the perfect Pokemon for our guards!" Celestia spoke.
"Although that part where it mentioned its seal worries me greatly." Luna said.
"Don't worry. As long as it doesn't come off, we're all fine. Besides, it's very rare for that seal to even come off. And if it does, we can just put it back on."
"Well, it's settled. Golurk will be apart of the Royal Guard." Celestia declared. "Now where do we find a Golurk?"
"Oh uh... hmm. Well, they're pretty tough to come across. A Pokemon like Golurk is super rare. But they're mostly in common in Unova. I'll head to Unova and catch as many as I can."
"Thank you, Hollow." Celestia and Luna thanked him as paint suddenly hit their faces. The young ponies gasped as they were about to freak out.
Celestia removed the paint off her face as the pony who did it looked at her, terrified. "S-SORRY!"
"It's fine. Kids are wild when they are creative after all." Celestia laughed.
All the way over at the Crystal Empire, Cadence was enjoying having all her magic back. Shining Armor, on the other hoof, is still perplexed after what happened the other day.
"I can't believe that I got into my first Pokemon Battle. Right Sylveon?" Cadence said to her Pokemon.
"Sylveon!"
"What was it even like battling with a Pokemon?" Shining Armor asked her.
"What was it like? It was... unlike anything I've ever experienced before! The rush! The excitement! The adrenaline! It was amazing!" Cadence was getting excited. "Sylveon was so great in it!"
"Sylve!"
"Hrmm... Why don't I have a Pokemon? Even Twily has two of her own..." Shining Armor sat in the corner, sulking.
"I'm sure you'll find one for yourself, dear. There's loads of Pokemon to choose from after all."
"Sylveon."
"Easy for you to say. The Crystal Empire is the one place where Pokemon aren't that common. What even happened to all those Sableye that were here once?"
"If it makes you feel any better...I'll help you catch one someday."
"You will?!"
"Mhm." She nodded along with Sylveon.
All the way back at Ponyville, the news crew had attempted to enter Twilight's castle, but it was currently closed.
"No luck. Nopony's home. How are we gonna interview them if the place is closed?" Hearsay said.
"Maybe we should just come back another time?" A member of the news crew said.
"Aw. I wanted my scoop though."
"Oh! There's Fluttershy! Maybe she can talk to us!" A pony noticed Fluttershy and her Audino as they all raced to her.
"Fluttershy! Thank goodness! A pony involved with stopping Tirek! What can you tell us about what happened yesterday?"
"Oh um.. I'm on the news?" Fluttershy hid behind Audino. "Umm...It was pretty scary... but we eventually won. That's all I have to say!" Fluttershy squeed.
"Well, can't you tell us about that rainbow thing? It was all over the place?"
"Oh that. Well, it was the magic of our friendship that spread across Equestria. That's what it was really."
"The magic of friendship huh? Is friendship really that powerful?"
"Oh yes. Very. Whether it be a pony, human or pokemon. Or even a Draconequus. It's everywhere and potent." Fluttershy hugged Audino.
"Such motivating words!" Hearsay and the news crew started to tear up. "Thank you so much, Fluttershy!"
"Um. You're welcome."
"Oh! Over there! It's Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The news crew pointed out again. So they went over to her next.
"Princess Twilight!" Hearsay skidded on the ground as her entire crew bumped into her. "We've been waiting for this! We heard that you've just recently become the Princess of Friendship! Can you tell us how you feel?"
"Oh. Well, where do I start? I suppose it was a nice feeling. At first, I didn't know what part I would play as the fourth princess, considering I'm fairly new. I was so unsure of myself. But after I ended up seeing how much I care for my friends, deciding to take them over the alicorn magic, I finally realised what I role I wanted to play. Coming to Ponyville for the first time, I didn't know much about friendship. But these past months, days and weeks with everypony, Pokemon and human have made me realise how valuable friendship truly is. And it wasn't until my friends were in danger that I realised that."
"Oooh. That's so much good information! The best so far! So what can you tell us about your friends! What role do they play now?"
"Well...Fluttershy over there is still the same really." Twilight looked over to Fluttershy who waved at her. "Actually, all my friends are the same. They have their own goals that they want to achieve. But we're still friends either way."
"Does that include Ash and Pikachu? What about them?"
"Yes. Even those two chuckleheads. Despite how brash and reckless they can be, they have a strong sense of justice and will always help anypony out. Doesn't even need to be a reason. That's why I've formed a special friendship with them."
"Special friendship? Are you two like a thing?"
"W-What?! N-N-No! Not like that!" Twilight turned red.
"Well, then what's so different about him from your pony friends?"
"I-I...that's.."
"Eevee!" Eve jumped off Twilight's back, landing on the camera. She didn't like seeing her trainer like this so she used Swift on the camera, destroying it in the process.
"AH! MY CAMERA!" The camera pony yelled.
"MY NEWS STORY!"
Eve then looked at the news crew with a scowl, scaring them off.
"Uh. Thanks, Eve. But that was a bit excessive don't you think?"
"Eevee."
High up at Cloudsdale.
"We can't let the Tirek thing slow us down. We've got an upcoming Gym Battle to win. And win it we shall!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Braviary and Swablu were floating as Whirlipede was on her bed. "So, the next time some big threat comes along, we'll also be able to thrash them. Got it?"
"Braviary!"
"Swablu!"
"Whirlipede."
"That's the spirit! Now I wanna teach you all some new moves. I think they'll be useful against the next gym. Which is uh..." Rainbow Dash pulled out the Equestria Pokemon League. "Aha! The next gym is a theme-based gym. A speed one. I know a lot about speed so this'll be my territory. But we gotta make one of you faster. Braviary, you're already fast and Whirlipede you've got Speed Boost as an ability. All we need is to find a way to make you faster Swablu."
"Blu!"
"And I think I have the solution. I'll let you race against Braviary and Whirlipede in order to get faster. What do you say?"
"Swablu. Swa!"
"I'll take that as a yes. Come on!" Rainbow Dash returned Whirlipede to its Pokeball as her and her two Flying-Types flew out of Cloudsdale with her.
All the way back down at Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres.
"Ugh. All that noise the other day. It was ringing in my ears." Cold Colt exited out of the barn. He sat down as he grabbed an apple about to eat it, but it ended up being an Applin which shot a Dragonbreath at his face. "OW!"
"Don't be eating the apples unless you look at the back." Applejack laughed at him. "Come on you. I've got some mighty fine delicious apple pie as a celebration."
"Aren't you the one who defeated Tirek though? It isn't my celebration."
"For a family it is." Applejack held a Sweet Apple in her hoof. The Applin on her back smelt it as it lunged over at it. "Huh?"
The Applin exited out of its apple shell, revealing its Wyrm form as it chomped on the Sweet Apple. Once it took that bite, its body started to glow. This could mean only one thing.
"It's evolving?!" Applejack exclaimed. "Come see this ya'll!" Applejack called for her family who were just arriving back from Ponyville. They dashed over to see this evolution happening.
Applin was changing shape as the other Applin's watched from afar. It seemed to get bigger and bigger as it had a huge sweet apple on its back. It's natural body changed as well, finally gaining limbs to stand on.
"Woah nelly. It's the evolution!" Applejack said.
"Eeyup."
"But... what's its name?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I think it's called..." Cold Colt dug into his brain. "Appletun. The Apple Nectar Pokemon. Can't believe this thing is still considered a dragon..."
"Well, it's the most huggable dragon I've ever seen next to Ash's!" Apple Bloom hugged the sweet apple on its back.
"So do they evolve when they eat apples?" Applejack asked.
"Not really. They have to eat two specific apples. Sweet Apples and Tart Apples. I guess you must've found one when you bucked those trees." Cold Colt explained.
"Why not just eat one of the two apples?" Apple Bloom questioned.
"That's because Appletun has two different evolutions depending on which apple you give it. Heh. I've got some good knowledge about Pokemon myself, ya know." Cold Colt boasted.
"Oooh. I wanna see one of these Applin's evolve with a Tart Apple! Let's go find some!" Apple Bloom was ready to set out.
"I'm not sure your world's tart apples will have the same effect as the Pokemon world's." Cold Colt stopped her.
"Aww."
"B-But I'll go and get one for you Apple Bloom!" Cold Colt exclaimed, trying to win her over.
"You will?"
"Mhm!"
"Alright then. Go on then. On your own." Applejack said.
"O-On my own?"
"Yep."
"...On second thought, I can wait a few days."
Equestria has obviously had a long day yesterday. But what of the Pokemon World right now?
Ash was at Cerise Laboratory, looking at his ranking.
"Hey, Ash." Goh called to him.
"Yeah?"
"I hear you got yourself a title over at the world."
"Oh yeah, I did! Not just me but Pikachu too."
"Pikachu!"
"Really now? What was it?" Professor Cerise asked.
"Ash the Heroic and Pikachu the Noble. It's kinda growing on me, ya know."
"Pika-Chu-Pika."
"Lucky! I can't wait till I get my own rank. Once I catch them all, they'll probably call me uh..Goh the Collector!"
"Collector? Really?" Chloe said.
"It sounds cool okay! It's gonna happen someday!"
"Raboot..."
Ash laughed as he looked at the friendship band on his wrist. Seeing this reminded him and Pikachu of how much fun they've had so far in the other world. And this also made him more alert about Ghetsis. Celestia's premonition about him was still lingering, and he already knew how big of a threat he can be. So for now, he'll continue to do his best in both worlds. He'll stop Ghetsis, defeat Leon, and continue on his path to becoming a Pokemon Master.
Chapter 86 End!