There are only 5 days left until Hearth's Warming comes by in Equestria. And for the Pokemon World, Christmas. So there's a lot of downtime going across both worlds
But one individual is having a well-deserved downtime after all that's happened to her. And her Pokemon deserves it as well.
Princess Celestia and her Kirlia named Passion. They've been gladly given some time off after the whole Passion incident. Pyrestar and Luna promise to handle things until their downtime comes to an end. Celestia is planning to enjoy herself for 2 days. Quite generous considering that she saved both worlds. Everypony would rather she take an entire month off due to that, but Celestia being Celestia went the short route. Just for her subjects.
Currently, they were both taking a break at a newly created area in Equestria. One known as Enkindle Island. A gigantic island that is larger than even an entire canyon. It is an area inhabited by mostly Fire-Type Pokemon. Plus, the sun here is pretty potent and strong thanks to the existing Fire-Types. The heat is so intense, that it blocks out the snow, essentially making winter non-existent here. The way it shined in the blue skies whilst beaming through the clouds was a treat. It also had some water that surrounded it. Almost like a beach. Although, due to it being heavily populated with Fire-Types, the water is more warm or hot than cold. However, there was a gigantic gorge that existed around this island. One where the heat is so intense that even Fire-Types stray away from it. These were blue flames, meant to indicate how hot they are. If anything, they were equal to that of dragon fire.
"Ah...This is more like it." Celestia laid on a chair. Sunglasses on, regalia off whilst basking in the golden sun. Passion sat on a smaller chair, laying on her back as well. She and Passion enjoyed the sound of the seas hitting across the land whilst some Basculin and Mantine jumped around in the water. Over at the distance, you could see a Wailord hanging about as well.
"Kirlia."
"Just you, me, the Pokemon, the sun and some cake. I needed this." Celestia nodded as she ate some cake. These moments were the most calming moments of her life, besides when she was extremely young and still new to the world. She and her Pokemon spent some time relaxing for a total of 40 minutes. "Up you go!" Celestia picked up Passion, tossing her up and down, over and over again. She then took Passion for a ride as they soared high up into the skies. Up there, they got a good glance at all the beautiful Pokemon flying by. Some Beautifly could be seen along with a flock of Staraptor flying in a synchronized arrow formation. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Kirlia..."
They took some time to bask in the beauty of the skies. The Pokemon really made it feel alive. As they continued to stay airborne, Passion felt something fly by. She couldn't make it out but it seemed to be up in the Ozone layer. She looked up to see some sort of green figure, almost in the shape of a snake zoom over the clouds. But, that was about all she got to see from it. After that, the mysterious green figure seemed to fly higher up, leaving behind a cry akin to that of a dragon.
"Hm?" Celestia heard the cry, but it was very faint. She assumed that it might've been one of the Flying-Types that made that cry.
During those 40 minutes, something else was occurring on the other side of Enkindle Plains.
Further beyond the wide expansive island, an Arcanine was attempting to save a young Flareon. The Flareon had recently injured itself trying to save its fellow Flareon's. Enkindle Islands, while perfect for Fire-Types, has a few areas that can be risky for even a Fire-Type Pokemon. Especially that gorge with the overwhelming flames. Arcanine succeded in saving a few of the Flareon's, however, many of them were still deep within the gorge. They were standing on a cliff inside the gorge, the only thing keeping them from falling into the azure flames. These blue flames ended up catching Arcanine's legs, causing a horrible burn wound on them. As a result, Arcanine was only capable of saving four Flareon's.
Arcanine placed the fourth Flareon right next to its brothers and sisters. The Legendary Pokemon felt the sting of the blue flames, falling on the floor.
"Flareon!" The Flareon all gathered around Arcanine, worried about his state. Their fellow Fire-Type was struggling to stand. Each time he tried, the wound only worsened. But Arcanine didn't care. He had the full intention of saving the rest of the Flareon's from the gorge. Even if it meant his life. However, even Pokemon like Arcanine need to know when they have their limitations. As a result, the Legendary Pokemon fainted from both the wound and the intense blue flames exposing heat equal to that of the sun.
The Flareon each pulled on Arcanine's tail, trying their best to get him to safety. Or at least, someplace where he can rest. But the heat had gotten to them too since they were inside the gorge earlier. Eventually, they felt like fainting as well, unable to think properly at the moment.
This is where their beam of hope started to reveal itself. Passion has the power to sense emotions. Whether positive or negative, she can tell when someone has a powerful emotion from a faraway distance. Every Kirlia can do this, but due to Celestia's Kirlia being a unique Kirlia, this power is heightened.
"Kirlia?" Passion turned to the direction of the emotion, hopping off her chair.
"Passion? What's wrong?" Celestia raised her sunglasses, looking at her Pokemon.
"Kirlia! Lia!" The Emotion Pokemon spoke to Celestia by aggressively pointing her hand at that specific location. One where many trees can be spotted. Celestia could actually understand Passion to an extent. Their experience in that white void managed to connect them even further. Now Celestia can tell what Passion is trying to say via body language, hand motions and at times, if Passion tries hard enough, she can use telepathy to muster some words, similar to her mother Gardevoir, but it puts a large strain on her body so not much comes out.
"Something's happened?! There?" Celestia looked over to the tree-filled area.
"Kirlia!" The Psychic-Fairy ran off, following the powerful emotions coming from the area.
"Passion! Wait!" Celestia got off her chair, following her Pokemon to wherever she's headed.
They arrived, spotting the fainted group of Flareon along with the fainted Arcanine. They were just on the floor, unconscious and unresponsive. A Pokemon battle didn't do this. This was much worse than a battle. And Celestia could tell. She looked over to see the injuries dealt at Arcanine's legs, spotting the burn wounds.
"What happened here?" Celestia gasped. She ran over to the fainted Fire-Types, seeing that only Arcanine had been greatly injured. The others just simple had scratches on them.
"Kirlia." Passion tried to wake the Pokemon up by nudging the Flareon. Which worked actually. A Flareon had woken up, spotting the trainer and Pokemon before it.
"Flareon...?" The Flame Pokemon slowly stood up, regaining its consciousness. However, its legs were weak, feeling like falling over again. Passion had caught Flareon, helping the Fire-Type to stay balance.
"Kirlia?" Passion asked what happened, requesting that she had the information of what caused this.
Flare..." Flareon gave her an answer by going over what happened. Its brothers and sisters had ended up falling down into the gorge where blue flames dwell. This gorge was known as the Draconic Gorge, mostly because of how they resembled the colour of draconic fire, which is mostly blue. Arcanine had come to the rescue, risking his own life to save every single one of the Flareon's. However, the heat was too intense for him and as a result, he only managed to save four of them. What's worse is that a sudden burst of fire managed to catch Arcanine's legs, horribly damaging them with burn wounds. As a result, he passed out from the heat and wounds as did the Flareon.
"Kirlia?!" Passion had taken in the entire story, understanding the situation. "Lia." Passion had looked up to Celestia, telling her what happened. She tried using telepathy to give the rundown. The Psychic-Fairy tapped into its psychic abilities, attempting to speak through telepathy. She strained herself, struggling with such an ability, but she managed to let out a few words that travelled through. Those words were gorge, others, Flareon, trapped. They weren't coherent sentences at all. But Celestia could understand, judging by the scenario.
"Gorge, others, Flareon, trapped?" The sun princess looked over at the Flareon that were here and the Arcanine. She then noticed that Flareon had run off back to the location of the gorge whilst Passion followed. The Flame Pokemon tripped, however. "Oh! Are there other Flareon's trapped in the gorge?!"
"Flareon..." The Flame Pokemon nodded.
"Arca..." Arcanine was finally waking up, recovering from passing out. The Legendary Pokemon powered through the wounds on its paws, only setting his mind on saving the other Flareon. Celestia noticed that he was struggling, on the verge of falling back down. She went over to help the Fire-Type up, keeping his balance. "Arcanine..."
"It's alright," Celestia said to the wounded Pokemon. "You've done an excellent job in trying to save those Flareon. Leave the rest to us, alright?"
"Arcanine..." The Legendary Pokemon appreciated Celestia's help, but he also wanted to continue doing his best to save the Flareon as well. Acranine ran off on his own, returning to the location of the gorge.
"Wait! Arcanine!" Celestia and Passion chased after him.
The remaining Flareon's who were still standing on a ledge had passed out due to them being close to the heat. Each of them didn't have the strength to get back up. Some were even starting to slip from the rocky ledges.
"Flareon! Flare!" The single Flareon had reached the gorge, looking down to see its brothers and sisters on the verge of falling off the ledge. Their combined weight was even forcing the rocky to slowly break, which made things much worse. Small pebbles dropped into the blue flames, disintegrating the moment they made contact.
"Oh my! This is much more serious than I expected!" Celestia gasped, gazing at the scenario.
"Arcanine..." Arcanine was about to jump in, ready to risk its life once more to save the Pokemon. However, Celestia used her magic to stop him, placing him back.
"Arcanine, please! You are too injured to head in there! Let me do so."
"Kirlia!"
"Arca...Arcanine..." Arcanine was overexerting himself. He sat down on the ground, breathing in and out. Passion held the Legendary Pokemon, comforting the Fire-Type. Celestia looked down at the gorge, seeing the imminent doom circling beneath the Flareon's.
"These flames...They're hotter than anything I've ever come across...They might hotter than the sun itself." Celestia gulped as she was sweating from the heat of the gorge. She wasn't even in it yet. But this was no time to time to worry about the heat. At any moment, those Flareon could fall to their doom. "Passion. Take care of Arcanine."
"Kirlia." The Emotion Pokemon nodded.
"Here goes nothing." Celestia took in a deep breath. If she wanted to withstand the heat, the best option was to cover herself. And that's what she did. Celestia had used a cloaking spell that sends a magic coating over her body. This is essentially another form of a barrier spell, except instead of staying in one place, you can move freely with it. Unfortunately, it's not as potent or durable as the barrier spell, which is probably why it's rarely used.
The Sun Princess could already feel the heat of the gorge getting to her. The heat here was exactly 18,000 degrees F. That is the exact same amount of heat that a Magcargo has for its body temperature. And since the heat here is equal to that, it essentially means that it is in fact, hotter than the sun itself.
The only reason why the Flareon all haven't melted yet is that they are Fire-Types at the end of the day and because a Flareon's average body temperature is between 1,300 and 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. In their internal flame sac, temperatures reach 3,000 degrees. Meaning they can resist it. But not for long.
"Flareon..." One Flareon was waking up, sweating bullets along with its brothers and sisters. The Flame Pokemon thought it was hopeless until Celestia came. The ruler of Equestria picked up two Flareon's in her hooves, flying back up to the top with them.
"I've got you." She placed the two Fire Eeveelutions down on the ground, right next to Arcanine. Celestia was already feeling like she was about to pass out. Just being in there for a few seconds was capable of that. "Alright. Just a few more." Celestia turned around, preparing herself to head back in. There were 13 Flareon out of the group in total. Which means that all she has to do is save 9 more.
However, once she reentered the gorge, her magic cloaking was starting to melt away. It had previously managed to withstand the heat of the flames when it first entered. But reentering made the flames pick up where they left off. Celestia could feel her head aching from this excessive heat. Her coating was being melted away by the blue flames, slowly negating her spell. All of a sudden, before she could place her hooves on the next Flareon, the flames went through a sudden burst, erupting upwards. Celestia gasped as she was blown away by the erupting flames. Thankfully, her magic cloaking managed to shield her from the damage, but the flames had ended up tearing a large portion of it off. Celestia grunted as she tumbled on the ground, rolling next to Arcanine.
"Kirlia!" Passion ran over to her trainer to see if she was alright. Celestia had taken a huge hit from that. One that wasn't expecting. She surely wasn't expecting the fire to just burst and erupt all of a sudden. And there wasn't even any warning. It was just instant.
"I'm fine Passion." Celestia breathed in and out with her body sweating. She feared that if she went back inside there a third time, her coating would be erased at a much quicker rate than before. And Passion could tell. There was no way Celestia was going to save all those Flareon. At least, not by herself. "Let's try this again." Celestia closed her eyes, bracing herself for a second dive in. The sun princess hopped inside the gorge one more time, this time, planning to power through it all.
Passion realized that this was far too risky. Celestia needed help. Huge amounts of it. And since some Water-Type Pokemon hang out around here, perhaps they'll help. The Emotion Pokemon quickly made a run for it, heading back to the beach area of the island, off to tell the Water-Types the current scenario. Arcanine watched as he saw Celestia essentially do what he's been doing. Risking her own life to save others, even if there's a slim chance she'll make it out.
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon had arrived near the water section of the island. "Kir! Kirlia!" She called for the Water-Types, grabbing some of their attention. The Water-Types swam up to Kirlia, heeding her call. She was glad that they all decided to come close and listen to her. The Emotion Pokemon went on about the whole Flareon situation. She spoke in a worried manner. Rightfully so. At this moment, her trainer could be meeting her end.
The Water-Types understood the situation. They wanted to help. However, even they knew how dangerous the gorge is. Any Water-Type that swims near it will feel its aggressive heat beat onto them. Even a Vaporeon, a Pokemon whose cellular structure is similar to water allowing it to blend in with water by melting, can't stand being near it. So essentially, there was nothing they could do, because they risk getting injured by the gorge as well. This saddened Passion greatly. But a Lapras still wanted to help someway or another. It's in its nature to help those in need.
"Lapras!" The Transport Pokemon let out a cry that reached the sky. That cry was made to signal the Staraptor's, calling for them.
"Staraptor!" The Predator Pokemon flew down, responding to the call of the Water-Ice-Type. "Star?"
"Lapras. Lap." Lapras had explained the situation to the entire flock, giving them a quick and simple explanation. The Staraptor all looked at each other, nodding in unison. They were up to assist in whatever way they can. And they had an idea. The idea that the Staraptor came up with was simple. The heat of the gorge is only dangerous if you get too close to it. However, being above the gorge is relatively safe. The heat can still reach you, but it's only intense if you head down further near it.
So, the Staraptor aim to carry the smaller Water-Type Pokemon on their backs, flying them over to the gorge. Then, the flock of Staraptors and Water-Types shall unleash moves to put out the flames. Ranging from the usual Water-Type moves to ranged Flying-Type moves such as Air Cutter, Air Slash, Gust and Hurricane. If they can combine all those moves together, it should be enough to push the intense azure flames back. Hopefully.
Celestia was going through an unsightly endeavour. The flames had already burnt away parts of her coating. And as she feared, each time she reentered, it would tear it off faster. However, due to her deciding to power through it, she managed to save four more Flareon's from the gorge, leaving five of them left. While her persistence was great and proving to be useful, it, unfortunately, won't last.
"Just a bit more..." Celestia returned to the top, on the verge of fainting from the heat. She couldn't take anymore. This was more than her body could handle. But yet again, she persisted. She was determined to save those Flareon. "Just hold on..." Celestia wiped the sweat off her head. She went in one more time, aiming to save the final five. This was to be the breaking point. Her coating was diminishing down to a point where it was only covered her horn, hooves and face. Very little of it even. "Come on..." Celestia attempted to grab onto all five Flareon's. However, her hooves could only grab three at best.
With a stroke of unfortunate luck, the flames erupted once more. This time, they broke through the last of Celestia's coating, causing the Sun Princess to scream. She had been pushed back, but this time, not the surface. Instead, she was knocked in the hard walls. The worst part is that the walls themselves were scorching. So once Celestia's back hit them, she felt a horrible burn as a result. Celestia dropped the three Flareon's, falling on the ledge with them.
Arcanine jumped into the blazing gorge, aiming to now protect both Celestia and the Flareon. The Legendary Pokemon had used its own fur to shield them from any other approaching flames that decide to erupt. "Arca!" Arcanine had grabbed Celestia by biting on her hoof. The Legendary Pokemon barely had enough strength to carry anyone at the moment, but he kept on trying.
At any point in time, the flames could erupt without warning. Truly making them a destructive force. And Arcanine couldn't take another one considering how a single burst managed to wound him greatly. Thankfully, the Staraptors had arrived with the Water-Types above them, along with Passion.
"Kirlia!" The Emotion Pokemon gave off the command to unleash all of their attacks in order to push back the fire. And it was a good call. The gorge erupted another time with the flames rushing towards them. A combination of wind and water had been released by every single Pokemon. All in order to save Celestia, Arcanine and the remaining Flareon's.
The combined efforts of Pokemon was actually enough to push back the flames. The azure fire had been pushed back, heading further down into the lower levels. A Staraptor had flown down, attempting to grab the group out of the gorge.
"Star!" The Predator Pokemon could also feel the overwhelming heat, unfortunately. No Pokemon could withstand these flames. Staraptor had grabbed onto both Celestia and Arcanine at the same time, utilizing its amazing strength. The Normal-Flying-Type flapped its wings ferociously, trying to escape from the heat. Unfortunately, the flames erupted once more. This time, they made contact with Staraptor. "STAR!" Staraptor had cried out in pain, dropping both Celestia and Arcanine. The Predator Pokemon flew back up, landing on the ground as its wings had been injured.
But Celestia and Arcanine had taken the worst of it. The flames had now affected their face, leaving burn wounds on them as well. Celestia groaned as she was trying to stay conscious.
"It's not over yet." Celestia groaned as she grabbed onto Arcanine. She was aiming for a last-ditch effort attempt. She tried to fight back against the flames herself. The Sun Princess raised her horn up, blasting a mighty magical beam downwards at the gorge. It was powerful enough to slightly push back the flames, but not by much. Passion commanded the Staraptors and the Water-Types to do the same. Soon, it was a combined effort between the Pokemon and Celestia. Each trying to diminish these flames with everything had. With Celestia's magic added on, the flames had actually been pushed back greatly. Celestia then zoomed over towards the remaining five Flareon's, using her magic to grab all five of them whilst still holding Arcanine.
Arcanine helped out as well. He noticed that Celestia was on the verge of falling due to her wings taking some damage from the erupting flames. She couldn't fly up on her own. Especially when carrying 6 Pokemon. So there was only one thing to do. Give her a boost. The Legendary Pokemon unleashed Fire Blast down towards the gorge. The reason it did this was simple. The force of Fire Blast was powerful enough to send Celestia upwards due to the shockwave it leaves behind. And it was a helpful attempt. Celestia had managed to gain higher ground thanks to Arcanine's efforts.
Unfortunately, the added Fire Blast only increased the might of the flames. It increased the blue flames so much that the entire gorge started shaking. This was an indication that the gorge was about to unleash an overwhelming burst of fire. Larger than any of the ones it has ever unleashed. Celestia flapped her wings ferociously whilst the Staraptors quickly flew off, not wanting to get struck by these flames.
"Almost there..." Celestia strained. She was about to faint at this point. And if those flames hit, it's over.
"Kirlia!" Passion called out for her trainer's name. She attempted to help by jumping off of the back of a Staraptor, heading towards her trainer. She was aiming to use her psychic abilities to carry her, but who knows if she could do it in time before the flames caught her and the others. It looked like it would be the end as the azure flames had skyrocketed towards them all, letting out a sound equal to that of a roar. Celestia closed her eyes, holding Arcanine tight and bracing herself for the worst.
But their hope had finally arrived. Straight from above. The mysterious green figure from earlier had revealed itself, zooming through the clouds. It was none other than the Sky High Pokemon.
Rayquaza.
Rayquaza had come to their rescue, flying past the Pokemon at intense speeds. The Sky High Pokemon had blown away the Staraptors just by flying by as it opened its mouth wide. It unleashed a mighty Dragon Pulse. One that could tear through the earth itself. This Dragon Pulse had not only pushed back the azure flames, but it also managed to put out the fire completely. What followed as an aftershock from the Dragon Pulse. The entire gorge trembled as a great rising shockwave filled the area, forcing everyone out of it. And just like that, they had been saved in the most unexpected way possible.
Celestia tumbled on the ground whilst still holding Arcanine. But she didn't need to hold him anymore. They were all on safe ground now. And the heat from the gorge had vanished thanks to Rayquaza.
"Is everyone okay...?" Celestia asked, standing up. She was able to stand despite her body being harmed from the flames. She had burn wounds all over her body. And they were they enough to really put a strain on her. But she was strong enough to stand.
"Arcanine..." Arcanine nodded as Celestia helped him up. All the Pokemon had let out cries of relief, glad that they all managed to come out of there alive. The Flareon's ran to each other, happy to see their brothers and sisters alive and well. They lunged on each other, playing around. Passion rushed over to Celestia, looking at her wounds.
"It's fine, Passion. Fluttershy's Audino will gladly help and heal me." Celestia smiled as her hooves were a bit weak. "But who saved us?"
"Arcanine!" The Legendary Pokemon raised its head up, looking at the Pokemon that saved them all. Rayquaza. Celestia and everyone else looked up to see the Sky High Pokemon there.
"Who are you...?" Celestia gawked.
Rayquaza only responded with a cry. Its job here was done. It was time to leave. The Legendary Pokemon turned around, taking to the skies. It was headed back to the Ozone Layer, where it dwells. The Pokemon all thanked Rayquaza for saving their lives at the final minute. But they also thanked Celestia for doing her very best and the Flareon's gave their thanks to Arcanine as well.
"You're welcome, everyone." Celestia took their thanks as a Talonflame flew around her. Arcanine looked over at Celestia, licking her face as a show of gratitude. So did the Flareon. They ended up licking Passion, which made her a bit uncomfortable. "And you're welcome too, Arcanine. That was close wasn't it?"
"Arcanine." The Legendary Pokemon nodded.
"Well.. glad everyone is alright. And it looks like that huge Pokemon managed to put out the flames for good. Just be careful not to end up somewhere dangerous again, okay?" Celestia said to the Flareon's.
"Flareon!" They all responded. They promise to never end up somewhere dangerous ever again. Most of the time.
Celestia and Passion felt like taking their leave. Mostly because Celestia was injured and those wounds need to be treated asap. But before they did, Arcanine went up to her.
"Arcanine!"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Arca." The Legendary Pokemon walked up to the alicorn, nudging his nose at her. He was trying to tell her something.
"Kirlia. Kir?" Passion spoke to Arcanine. Whatever she said, Arcanine nodded in response. The Emotion Pokemon then channelled the last of her Psychic power, attempting to speak through Celestia. The words were "Catch me."
"Catch me...? Arcanine...do you...want to come along with us?" Celestia looked down at the Fire-Type.
"Arcanine." He nodded, sealing the deal.
"Really now? That's unexpected. But great! I'd love to have you along Arcanine."
"Kirlia!"
"Arcanine!" The Legendary Pokemon pounced on Celestia, licking her as a dog would to its owner.
"Okay!" Celestia giggled. "I get it, Arcanine! At least let me rest up for a bit!"
Today wasn't what Celestia and Passion were expecting. They were expecting some downtime but then this had to happen. But to them, they didn't care that they lost the rest of their relaxation time. They had the urge and spirit to help those in need no matter what. And it was that urge and spirit that allowed Celestia to gain the respect of Arcanine. So much so that he decided she shall be his trainer. For Celestia, her experience with the Pokemon World is growing ever more just as it is for everypony else as the journey continues.
Chapter 186 End!