//------------------------------// // The Heart of Unova // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// The Unova Region. A personal favourite of many. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Fluttershy decided to go with Unova and their first destination was the ever so popular metropolis Castelia City. The City of Grandeur. This was to be their first time to really explore Castelia and see what it was really about. They've heard a lot from it so it must be a city like no other. After all, Castelia is the heart of the Unova. "Ah, Unova. I'm pretty fond of this region honestly." Twilight took in Castelia's air. "Same here. Unova's got this feeling to it that reminds me of home." Rainbow Dash nodded. "So. What's first?" Spike asked. "It's a visit. Whatever we want. Ooh, but I do want to check out this place called Castelia Park." Fluttershy poked her hoof at the map. "I'll take a look at...that! The Battle Plaza! Apparently, it's new from what I've heard." Rainbow chose the battle plaza which was right next to the Pokemon Center. "Come to think of it...where's Ash? He promised to help show us around. But I haven't seen him all day." Twilight wondered. "Maybe he's helping the others out first and then he'll come to us," Fluttershy responded. "Maybe...Or he's still asleep and running late again...isn't here?" "I wouldn't put it past him." Rainbow laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a plaza to battle in!" Rainbow Dash flew off towards the battle plaza, ready to battle to her heart's content. "What about you, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. "I'll just explore Castelia City at random. You all go on ahead. And you, Spike?" "Well...I'm a bit interested in what Rainbow Dash's is going to. I have to make sure Goomy gets stronger, ya know." "Alright. Have fun everypony." Twilight waved goodbye to Spike and Fluttershy as it was just her, Eve, Minccy and the Vulpix from her lab. "Now. Let's see what Castelia and Unova are really about." Rainbow Dash and Spike had entered the battle plaza of Unova. It's a fairly new building so its sort of still in its infancy. But there are still many options here. One of them being Double Battles. Many trainers had gathered up to either battle solo or with a friend. And the one running this plaza was one of the many members of the Don George family. "Double battle. Want to team up with me, Spike? Eh?" "Me? I haven't actually been in a Pokemon battle before...at least not yet. I wanna focus on being a Dragon Trainer, ya know. So I'll just sit this one out and watch for now." "Alright. Then maybe I can go solo in battle." "Won't have to, Dash." A familiar voice responded to her with a hoof on Rainbow Dash's back. She turned around to see the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire. Right there by herself even without any of the other Wonderbolts beside her. "Spitfire? You're here too?!" "That's right. I decided to join the visit as well. Just for a small bit though until I head back. So you wanna join in a Double Battle, do ya?" "Yeah! Of course!" "Then in that case, would it be cool if you and I ended being partners for this?" She held up her Pokeball which was actually a Great Ball. "Sure! I'd love to!" Rainbow Dash nodded, agreeing immediately. "Plus, I'll get a chance to see you battle." The stage had been set for two opposing teams. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were being put up against two trainers who seemed to be somewhat new but experienced Pokemon trainers. The boy and girl juggled their Pokeball, ready to go against their opposing team. Spike sat down with a small crowd who were currently ready to see how this battle will play out. "Good luck, Rainbow Dash!" Spike said from the stands. "Alright, you two. Rules are simple. Two Pokemon each making it 4 Pokemon total for both trainer teams. 30 minutes on the clock. If each of your Pokemon are unable to battle, that's the match." Announced Don George. "You've got it... Now send out your Pokemon!" "Allow me! Let's go Luxio!" Rainbow Dash had sent out her Luxio first. "Luxio!" "Watch and learn and be amazed at our amazing battling skills!" The two trainers said. "Go!" Both of them sent out Pokemon that compliment each other. Alakazam and Beheeyem. Two Pokemon of great intelligence and psychic prowess. "Check those two out." Rainbow pulled her dex out. "Alakazam. The Psi Pokemon. Alakazam's brain can outperform a supercomputer. Its intelligence quotient is said to be 5,000. It's brain continually grows, making its head far too heavy to support with its neck. This Pokémon holds its head up using its psychokinetic power instead. The spoons clutched in its hands are said to have been created by its psychic powers. Anything you eat with that spoon is apparently delicious and Alakazam will give it to whoever it trusts." "Beheeyem. The Cerebral Pokemon. It can manipulate an opponent’s memory. Apparently, it communicates by flashing its three different-coloured fingers. With its psychic powers, it even rewrites its opponents’ memories. You, too, may have already had your memories rewritten." "These two sound pretty formidable. Especially that 5,000 IQ part. I didn't even know it could get that high." said Rainbow Dash. "Don't worry. I have a Pokemon that can deal with those two easily." Spitfire tossed her Great Ball forward, sending out her partner and signature Pokemon. Scizor. The Pincer Pokemon. "SCIZOR!" "Oh, awesome! You've got a Scizor!" Rainbow Dash gawked at it. "Mhm. He's pretty sweet, ain't he? This guy's the reason why I've taken a ton of passion into Pokemon battling. Right Scizor?" "Sciz." He nodded in response. "Both trainers ready?" Don George looked to both sides to see that they were indeed ready. "Then let the battle begin!" "Who cares about Type matchups when you have teamwork and skill!" The boy exclaimed. Alakazam! Use Tri Attack!" "Ala!" The Psi Pokemon generated three beams consisting of Fire, Electric and Ice. If any of these make contact, it could result in one of three status effects. "Beheyeem! Psyshock!" The girl followed suit. Beheyeem materialized odd psychic waves that were capable of even dealing physical damage despite being ranged. "Let's blow it all away! Luxio! Discharge!" "Lux...io!" The Spark Pokemon emitted a discharge of electricity that connected with both the Tri Attack and Psyshock. It managed to cancel both of them out, showing Luxio's progression in strength. "Beheeyem! Energy Ball!" The Cerebral Pokemon dashed in, getting up close and personal to Luxio, who was surprised at the sudden speed this Pokemon had. "No, you don't. Bullet Punch! Both sides!" Spitfire went next as Scizor managed to strike both Alakazam and Beheyeem at the exact same time with blinding speeds. It struck them both with tough punches as fast as bullets and thanks to its steely metal claws, they both felt the hard impact of Scizor punish them. "Follow up with X-Scissor!" Scizor continued the attack by dashing past both Psychic-Type Pokemon. He managed to send them both flying in the air, taking out Beheyeem and making it faint. However, Alakazam held on strong. "Not my Beheyeem!" The girl got on her knees, screaming in the air. Rainbow Dash was vastly impressed. Spitfire's Scizor managed to deal that much damage to both Pokemon on its own and even take out one of them. And her Luxio didn't even get to do much. All it did was cancel out two moves, which was still impressive in its own right. "Lightwork. Good job Scizor." "Scizor." Scizor nodded as steam was coming out of its pincers, showing just how much damage it caused during those two attacks. "Awesome..." is all she could say. "It isn't over yet. Out you come!" The girl tossed her second and last Pokemon out. A Donphan. "Donphan!" "This time, you won't get the jump on us. Not if we outspeed you! Alakazam! Trick Room!" The Psi Pokemon turned everything around by creating a bizarre room around them. Now all Pokemon on Alakazam's team that are slower get to move faster than the other team for a while. "Donphan! Rollout!" The Armour Pokemon curled up into a ball, rolling towards both Scizor and Luxio. "Luxio! Intercept with Wild Charge!" "Not so fast. Telekinesis!" Alakazam halted both Luxio and Scizor's movements by holding them in place with its mind. Now they weren't able to anything against Rollout as Donphan smashed into Luxio first and Scizor second, getting some nice hits off. This made Rainbow gasp and even surprised Spitfire who had control of the battle earlier even. "Now toss them around!" "And use Fire Fang while they're being tossed!" The two of them went for a combination of moves. Alakazam slammed the two Pokemon on the ground by continuing to control them whilst Donphan lunges forward with flames surrounding its mouth. It was aiming right for Scizor, ready to chomp it down with Fire Fang. "Not good! Discharge! Quick!" Rainbow Dash attempted to get them out of it, but Alakazam slammed Luxio down on the floor, breaking its focus. "Grab Donphan." Spitfire suddenly commanded. Scizor utilized its pincers to their best abilities by grabbing onto Donphan's trunk. Alakazam attempted to slam Scizor down, but that would also risk harming Donphan since Scizor was really gripping onto its trunk. "Don...Donphan?!" "Yikes! Pull Scizor back Alakazam!" Alakazam was doing its best to push Scizor away, but those pincers were stuck on the trunk like glue, showing just how powerful Scizor's grip is. "Donphan! Try using Rollout to break free!" But that didn't work either. It needed to curl up its trunk as well, and that wasn't happening at the moment. "Don't worry. You can have it back. Toss it!" "Scizor!" The Pincer Pokemon finally let go of Donphan by tossing it directly at Alakazam. This dealt some Damage to Alakazam as Donphan was now on top of its fellow teammate. "Acrobatics into X-Scissor." Spitfire finished the job by having Scizor flip towards the two Pokemon, whacking them both with its pincers whilst it was nimbly moving around like an acrobat. The attack kept on going as Scizor grabbed the two Pokemon with its pincers, tossing them in the air. Before the trainers could give out a command to escape, Scizor smashed both its pincers on their heads with X-Scissors, causing Alakazam's 5,000 IQ to scramble for a bit. And the finishing touch, Scizor grabbed them both once more by latching onto Donphan's trunk and Alakazam's ears, dashing downwards and slamming the two opposing Pokemon, causing a large dust cloud to form from the impact. This caused Donphan to faint and even finally did the trick on Alakazam, causing it to faint as well. "Don..." "Ala..." "That's 3 Pokemon down! Only one Pokemon left on the opposing team!" Don George announced. "Holy moly..." Rainbow Dash had been outshined by Spitfire and her Scizor. It's like the two of them had a unique synergy and bond together. Her Luxio once again didn't get its chance to really shine. But even Luxio was impressed. In fact, it saw Spitfire's Scizor as an awesome Pokemon as it had stars in its eyes. To Luxio, that was the coolest thing it had ever seen. "Luxio..." Luxio had found itself a sort of personal idol. The first one even. "No way. By herself." The boy's jaw dropped. "Wanna continue? Scizor and I still have a lot more to show." Spitfire extended her hoof as she revealed to have a keystone with a mega stone inside, just for her Scizor. Seeing this made the duo realize that if they continued any further, they'd be tortured a second time. So for the sake of their Pokemon's health and their pride, they forfeited. "We give up!" They bowed, forfeiting the match. "Both trainers have forfeited! Thus the winners are the opposing team!" Don George announced both Rainbow Dash and Spitfire to be the winners of this match. "Bummer. Oh well. Maybe if I have time for a second match, we'll mega evolve. Keep yourself energized for the next one, Scizor." "Scizor." The Pincer Pokemon nodded. "You have a mega stone, Spitfire? Awesome! I wish I had a mega stone for one of my Pokemon too, ya know." "Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon ran up to Scizor, immediately being a fan of him. He had never seen a Pokemon act so stellar and awesome such as Scizor. Not at all. "Sci?" Scizor was a bit confused by this though. He had no idea what Luxio was coming up to him like this. "Uh, Luxio. You're a bit too close to Scizor there." Rainbow Dash pulled her Pokemon back. "Sorry about that." "No problem. And sorry that I kind of took up most of the battling there. Got a little too into it." "It's cool. I was pretty starstruck by those moves you Scizor pulled off anyways. It was pretty aggressive actually." "Yeah. Scizor tends to get a bit intense when battling. Maybe a bit too intense sometimes." Spitfire patted Scizor on the back. "Sciz." "Wanna continue going for doubles? At least, with the time I have left. Hopefully, it's enough." "Sure thing! And next time I'll make sure to land some hits in! Right Luxio?" "Lux!" "Sweet. Was kind of hoping I'd get the chance to battle alongside Ash but...doesn't look like he's here." Spitfire was looking around for Ash. "You looking to battle with Ash?" "Mhm. I've been keeping track of him ever since I started to get into Pokemon battling myself. If there's one guy I can learn from and improve my skills with, it's him. So where is he actually?" "About that...he promised to come along and help with the visit. But nopony's seen him today. Twilight thinks that he's still asleep." "Well. Doesn't matter. You'll show me your battling skills for real, right Dash? I mean, you hang out with him the most and you're participating in the Equestria League, so you've got your unique style right?" "You bet I do! Just watch me!" Rainbow Dash said proudly. Speaking of Ash, Twilight's assumptions were actually correct. He was still asleep. Again. He had an unusual problem with always managing to oversleep on important days that he continuously says that he'll make it there in time. Delia opened up the door to see Ash still dozing off with Pikachu laying on his leg. She shook her head, losing count on how many times this has happened before. "Ash Ketchum! Are you still asleep?!" Delia climbed up his bed, holding her son's face. "You're running late! Today's the day that you promised to show your pony friends around during the visit!" "Mhm...Pony friends...visit." Ash mumbled in his sleep. Delia flicked his head, which managed to wake him up finally. "Huh? AH! MOM WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP ON TIME?!" "You said you wouldn't forget and you would be on time last week!" Delia responded. "Pika?" Pikachu had woken up as he overslept as well. "Pika!" He fell off the bed, realizing that they were late. "Get going. I'm 100% sure that your friends have already crossed the gateways to our world not too long ago." Ash fell off his bed, grabbing the clothes Rarity made for him. He was in a rush to catch up to everyone as fast he could. The young trainer and his Pokemon dashed out of their home, instantly passing through the gateway that led to Ponyville. Once they got there, they saw that it was completely deserted. Everypony had passed through already. Well. Almost everypony. Derpy was still here. "They're already gone?!" Ash's jaw dropped. "Pika?!" "Oh, hey Ash. Did you just get back?" Derpy flew to him. "No. I just woke up. Man, I can't believe I overslept." Ash facepalmed. He still didn't realize he had a problem with oversleeping at this point. "Wait, why aren't you at the other world, Derpy?" "Oh. I overslept too. But no need to worry. Better late than never after all." "Guess so. Alright. Now I have to figure out which gateway they each passed through." "Oh, speaking of that. I was wondering if you could help tour me. I haven't been to the other world yet myself, you know." "Tour you? Yeah sure, I can do that. I might meet the others along the way too and catch up with them. Where to first, Derpy?" "Pikachu?" "Uhh...that Unova place sounds fun from what I've been hearing lately. I really wanna go there." Derpy nodded her head aggressively. "Unova, huh? Then the nearest one is Castelia City. We'll go there first! Sound good?" "Mhm! I can't wait to see what they have there." Derpy smiled as Pikachu hopped on her back. The remaining trio had made their way towards the location of Castelia City, hoping that they weren't too late considering how long they were asleep for. Back at Castelia, or rather, very close to it, Applejack, Rarity and the Crusaders were heading there as well. Mostly to warn Twilight and the others about Adagio's presence. If they can at least tell Twilight, she'll be able to tell the others, thus making their caution rise up. But Adagio knew this already. It was obvious that they would be onto her and keeping an eye out for her. And considering this was apparently the final phase of her plan, she wanted to play this out carefully. She had already failed with the others, so she couldn't afford to fail now. Twilight at the moment was at the busiest part of Castelia. Where many clerk workers and school kids were in a hurry. Busy, busy, busy. No time to waste for any of them. She came across a stand that was selling custom necklaces for Pokemon and for anyone that was interested. And Twilight was indeed interested. "Custom necklaces for Pokemon?" "That's right. I can make a necklace completely custom for you and your Pokemon. Only costs 5 Pokedollars ya know." The man at the stand said. "You want one for your Espeon, Minccino and Vulpix there?" "Oh, no. This Vulpix isn't really mine...but I think it wouldn't mind having a necklace. Right Vulpix?" "Vulpix." Vulpix indeed wanted a necklace, even if it wasn't Twilight's Pokemon. "Splendid! Then I'll grab inspiration from...there!" The man pointed at Twilight's Cutie Mark. "That'll do." "My Cutie Mark?" "Correct. Just sit back and wait and I'll have your necklaces ready in no time." The man got to work, grabbing three necklaces for each Pokemon. He examined Twilight's Cutie Mark with laser-focused eyes. He got together some diamonds and pearls that he kept stored, meshing them together. The speed of his hands at work was quite impressive. Twilight didn't expect a human to work that fast even without Pokemon. And just like that, he managed to create three customized necklaces for the Pokemon. They all had the same appearance. A gold chain with Twilight's Cutie Mark in the middle. Right to a T. "Here you go." "Oh! That's amazing!" Twilight used her magic to grab the necklace. She placed it on the neck of each of the Pokemon. All three were made to fi them perfectly due to some being bigger or smaller than the other. Once they were placed on the Pokemon, it made Twilight think of the Elements of Harmony and how they're designed in almost the exact same way. She paid up the man the amount of money he needed. "Espeon." Eve touched the necklace, loving the look of it. "Minccino!" Minccy tidied the necklace by using her tail. "They all work so perfectly on you three. Thank you so much." Twilight thanked the man. "No problem. If you've got any other pony friends, I'd love to make a necklace around their mark as well." "Alright! I'll make sure to tell my friends about this place! Speaking of which, let's go check up on Fluttershy you three." Twilight made her leave with her Pokemon and Vulpix. They now had some pretty neat jewellery they can keep to themselves. Plus, it lets everypony know that they're Twilight's Pokemon, aside from Vulpix. Adagio, being the sneaky siren that she is, had overseen Twilight and her little necklace moment. Now all she had to do was follow Twilight and she'll lead her right to the rest of her friend's location. But before that, her Kricketot noticed the necklace stand as well and wanted in on it too. It hopped out of Adagio's hair, jumping on the stand. "Hm? Hey!" Adagio called for her Pokemon. "Oh? A new customer already? You want one too just for your trainer there, little guy?" The man pointed at Adagio "Kricketot!" The Cricket Pokemon nodded aggressively. "Uh, I don't need a necklace, thank you very much." "You sure? They're pretty good looking..." The man held the necklace up, dangling it about. Adagio actually did like the way they looked. She had a bit of vanity in her that she wasn't afraid to show. "Well...they do look good...Fine, I'll take one." She took the offer but wanted to make this one quick. "Excellent! Only 5 Pokedollars." "5, huh?" Adagio looked around as she stole some money from a passing schoolkid with her magic, gently removing it from her bag without anyone noticing. "Here." "Great." The man took the money as he then set his eyes on her Cutie Mark as well. He made sure to get that perfect music note Cutie Mark on her to a 100% replica. And he did just that, showing off his expert skills once more. "Here you are." He made one for both Kricketot and Adagio. "Hm. Not bad." Adagio nodded as she took the necklace, placing it on her. Kricketot did the same, loving the look of it. This one action actually caused Adagio's horn to emanate that golden light once more. The dazzling light filled the man with joy, making his already happy mood accelerate. "Ah...I feel great all of a sudden." He slumped on his chair. "Alright. Let's get going." "Kricketot!" Her Pokemon hopped back in her mane as it was back to the usual revenge plan. "Le'ts make sure this is the last time I run around chasing her. And this time, I think I have a pretty good idea on how to actually win against her. But it'll involve the cooperation of... everyone else in this entire city." It's been a good 38 minutes now. The visit so far has been going well. And in the span of those minutes, many ponies have been going back and forth, exploring different parts of the Pokemon World and various other regions. Applejack's group have finally reached Castelia. They were here to warn Twilight. The same for Pinkie and Jade. Although, having fun in Castelia isn't out of the question either. And finally, Ash and Derpy who were the last two to arrive due to them both oversleeping. Five groups in one spot. Two here were to have fun, two were here to warn their friends and one was here to exact revenge. How this will play out can only be determined by the actions that will occur once Adagio finally comes face to face with Twilight for the final time as the journey continues. Chapter 150 End!