//------------------------------//
// The Pokérus Training Ground 
// Story: Pokémon: Equestrian Champions 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Welcome back to the world of Pokémon.

A land brimming with untold adventures, where humans and Pokémon work together to train, battle, compete or just live their everyday lives. And now, the adventures of Flash Sentry continue as he works to one day compete in the Equestria League. He has already faced many hardships, but his greatest challenges are about to unfold.





A week had passed since the adventure in the Dragon Kingdom. The group still felt the stinging loss of their friend, even with the egg they had received meaning there was joy of a new approaching friendship.

"Augh!" Spike yelled as they made their way through some rocky terrain, "How much longer is it gonna be before it hatches?!"

"Be patient Spike," Twilight responded, pushing her glasses up her next, "That egg could have just been lain for all we know. It could be weeks before it hatches."

"If not longer," Doc added.

"But its from the Dragon Kingdom! That means its gotta be something awesome!" Spike whined while pointing at the egg, "Why won't you hatch?!"

Doc chuckled at his reaction, "You just have to wait. Besides, whatever's in there, I'm sure it'll be something amazing." He turned to Flash, "After all, Drayce had that look in his eye when he gave it to you." But as he said that, he saw Flash was looking away with a long frown on his face, "Flash? You okay?"

He then put a hand of his shoulder, making Flash jump and glance back at them, "What?!"

"I asked if you're okay," Doc replied, "You looked...out of sorts."

"I'm fine," Flash muttered before cutting into a sprint, Springer following beside him before the teen looked back at them, "Come on! We should try getting out of this area before it gets dark!" He began to power-walk ahead as he spun around, the others sharing a glance.

"Is he still missing Hopper?" Spike asked with a glum frown.

"Not sure," Twilight sighed, shaking her head, "But I think it's more than that."

And as Flash walked ahead, a singular thought was swimming through his head. One he knew he couldn't talk about. It was a certain voice ringing through his mind. A trainer that had beat him.

"If it's not right, then answer me this. Why did I win?"

"Why...why did he win?!" Flash whispered to himself.

"I knew gramps was going senile when he thinks someone like you is actually worth something."

"Maybe...he's right." Flash muttered, his ears now hearing his friends trying to catch up to him. He put his hand up to his face, closing his eyes as one last thing rang through his head.

"That's your problem. You keep picking up trash on the road, thinking you can make them into great Pokémon...but you won't. Real Pokémon are strong from the start."

"Why?! Why are mine so...weak?!" He silently said, his sprint slowing down before feeling something tug his leg.

"Ri..." Springer called out, making Flash look down and see his Riolu pulling his jeans. But as he stared at him, the Riolu slowly morphing into a certain Skeidran in his distracted eyes, making Flash want to tear up. He knew his mind was playing tricks on him, but he couldn't help it.

"Hopper..."

"Flash!" He spun around at the voice, now seeing his friends catching up. The frowns on their faces made him want to backpedal, not wanting to even talk to them as he knew they were worried.

But as they reached him, his mind told him to talk. He cleared his throat as he said, "Guys-"

KABOOM!

Suddenly the entire area shook, the group letting out a yelp, only for the shaking to quickly stop. "What the heck was that?" Spike screamed, "An earthquake?!"

"I don't think so," Twilight shook her head. "That was way too quick."

But as she said this, a series of crashing sounds along with a small explosion rang out. They quickly turned to the noise, now seeing it was coming from an area right over the rocky hills. "Come on!" Flash cut into another sprint, the others soon on his tail. They all ran to the top of the hill, soon finding themselves looking out over a vast stone box canyon filled with cracks in the ground that were either a few inches, or several feet deep.

A large mansion could be seen on the far side of the canyon, towering over the place like a watchtower. And inside the canyon itself were multiple trainers, either battling against one another or training their Pokémon using the rocks of the canyon wall.

"Wow..." Spike whispered, "What is this place?"

"Must be some kind of training area," Doc replied.

"But what's it doing here?" Twilight asked, "There doesn't seem to be any other form of civilisation."

"Simple. They're here for the Pokérus." The four and their Pokémon turned to the voice, now seeing a brown skinned man with light brown hair standing atop a large boulder. He wore a white training gi with a black-belt around his waist, white headband and red armbands. He was completely barefoot as well. "Welcome. My name's Swift Knuckles." He leapt off the rock, ding several flips before landing. "Owner of this land, and guardian of the Pokérus."

Twilight and Doc gasped at this, Spike and Flash raising an eyebrow at this. "Pokérus?" Flash asked as Twilight moved in front of him.

"You mean it actually exists?!" She exclaimed, Knuckles nodding before gesturing them to follow. The group made their way over to a natural ramp that ran down the wall of the canyon, all of them soon moving around the edge of the canyon.

"Here in my training field, trainers and their Pokémon work hard to power up." They turned to see two trainers battling with their Grapploct and Marowak. "And thanks to the Pokérus, that training is well rewarded."

"Does someone wanna tell me what the heck Pokérus is?" Flash asked as they arrived at the mansion.

"Pokérus is a disease that Pokémon can get," Doc replied, "But instead of being harmful, it actually has a positive effect on them."

"And it's not even really a disease," Twilight added, "It's a form of microscopic life that attaches itself to Pokémon."

"And it lives right here," Knuckles finished, "In the cracks of the canyon, a certain moss grows that Pokérus loves, allowing it multiply."

"But how does it benefit Pokémon?" Spike asked next, Twilight letting out a hum in thinking how to explain.

"Spike, you know how in a video game when you level up, your stats increase?" Spike nodded. "Well, think of it like that. Whenever a Pokémon trains, its own version of stats increase. Usually it just goes up by a little bit at a time, but with Pokérus, the growth is doubled and maybe even tripled." This made Spike and Flash go wide-eyed as she continued, "However, Pokérus is incredibly rare and it's not permanent."

"She's right," Knuckles added, "Usually a Pokémon infected with Pokérus will become immune within a few days. That's why the trainers here are training so hard. To get as strong as they can before their Pokémon lose the Pokérus." As he said that, a large group of trainers made their way over to them. "For example..."

He walked over to the group, all moving to flat area beside the mansion. They then noticed Knuckles reach into his gi, taking out some kind of device while the Pokémon all lined up. He waved the device over them, hearing a beeping noise. Any Pokémon that didn't make the device beep were returned while those that did make it beep returned to the training ground with their trainer.

Once the last Pokémon was gone, Knuckles showed the device to the group. They saw it was a small scanner similar to a geiger counter. "This device is specifically designed to scan for Pokérus, beeping whenever it detects the organism." He waved it over Springer and Peewee, the device remaining silent to show they were Pokérus free.

At this point, Flash's brain was working overtime as he turned to the training field. "So if me and my Pokémon train here, we'll get twice or three times the results?!"

"Yes indeed," Knuckles replied.

A smile appeared on Flash's lips before he turned to Twilight and held out his Pokémon egg. "Hold onto this for me." Twilight took the egg Flash then took out his other four Pokeballs and threw them into the air. In a flash of red light, all of his Pokémon appeared.

"Tore/Spran/Leaf/Carrr!" They cheered as Flash turned to Knuckles.

"So how do I get them infected?"

"Just being around other infected Pokémon should do it," Knuckles responded, "That or coming in contact with the moss."

"Alright! Come on guys. It's training time!" The others cheered before they ran off, quickly going back to the canyon walls. They leapt into the first crack, finding a large amount of moss lining the walls. "Brush up against it guys! Let's get infected!" His Pokémon did so, Springer and Riptide running their hands through it while Skyler used his wings and both Viper and Prongs brushed against the walls. They also got as close as possible to any Pokémon they came across, Springer even leaping onto the shoulder of a Rhyperior.

Knuckles and the others watched this, the gi wearer turning to the others. "He's quite a determined lad, isn't he?" They nodded before he pointed at the egg. "Come with me. I have somewhere you can keep that while you train." He led them into the mansion, now finding it was like a hotel for trainers to rest and recuperate. It even had its own Pokémon Center, staffed with its own Nurse Redheart. It was here that they placed Flash's egg, the nurse promising to tell them if anything happened with it.

Once they returned outside, they found Flash and his Pokémon already back. "That was a pretty good warm-up," Flash replied before turning to Knuckles. "So, do they have it?"

Knuckles took out his scanner and waved it over the five, getting beeps from each of them. "Yup. Confirmed Pokérus infection for all of them." Flash nodded before turning to the others. "Okay guys, from this point we'll be training non-stop. Lets put this Pokérus to good use!"

They then ran back into the canyon, Twilight and the others also joining them as Knuckles watched with a smile on his face.

But as they did this, on the roof of the mansion was a trio of men, all watching the trainers and their Pokémon with greed in their eyes. "Just look at them boys," Big Score chuckled, "A literal gold mine just waiting to be plundered."

"Maybe..." Rickashay replied as they stared through the binoculars. "But it's those kids again. What if they mess up our plans like before?"

"Oh, don't worry," Score responded, "I have a plan. We'll wait until they've completely exhausted themselves training, then go in for the steal. And I know just what we need to do to get those little money makers. All we have to do is wait for nightfall."





Hours later...

"Drain Punch!" Flash yelled as Springer threw a punch at the opposing Armaldo, knocking the Bug Rock-type back.

"Metal Claw!" The Armaldo's trainer ordered, the Pokémon swinging its glowing claws around. As Springer began to evade the attack, the rest of his team were doing their own training. Riptide was practising his Rock Smash on a stone wall while Viper and Skyler were sparing against each other. Prongs was busy running, trying to build his speed and stamina.

In another area, Doc was training with Flitanium and Lairon while Twilight and Spike were practise battling with Shine and Peewee. "Air Slash!" Doc yelled as Flitanium swiped its wings, firing a blast of razor sharp air that Lairon endured with every hit. "Now, Flash Cannon!"

"Dragonbreath!" Spike commanded as Peewee unleashed a burst of blue fire.

"Fairy Wind!" Shine swung her tail, a glittery wind coming out to stop the flames.

"Aura Sphere!" Flash yelled as Springer threw an orb of energy at Armaldo, the sphere exploding while knocking it off it's feet. "Yes!" He cheered as the trainer ran over to Armaldo.

"You okay?" Armaldo picked itself up and nodded, "I think that's enough."

"What?!" Flash yelped, "But your Armaldo can still fight!"

"Yeah, but if we keep it up, one of our Pokémon will get knocked out. Then we won't be able to train at all." He patted Armaldo's shell, "I think they could both use a rest."

"You might want to rest, but we've still got a lot more training to do." He turned to Springer, "Ready to go find another trainer?" Springer was panting, but nodded as the two ran off.

As this happened, Twilight blinked at the exchange, "That's strange. Flash wouldn't usually say no to letting his Pokémon rest after a tough match." She watched as he and Springer began another battle against someone's Donphan.

"Well, we are on a time limit," Doc reminded her. "He's just trying to get as much out of his training as possible. He and the others will probably get some rest when the sun goes down."

"I guess..."





But as the hours began to pass, Twilight saw something new. Flash wasn't stopping. As the sun hit the horizon, the many trainers returned their Pokémon and headed to the mansion...but Flash didn't.

"Come on guys!" Flash yelled as his Pokémon kept using their attacks on one of the fissure walls. "Don't just attack wildly. Pick a spot and keep trying to hit it." The Pokémon each let out a cry as they continued, Flash now doing a series of push-ups.

"Flash." The teen stopped and looked up to see Twilight, Doc and Spike standing on the edge of the fissure's opening. "Aren't you gonna come in? You've been training all day."

"You guys go on," Flash replied as he continued to do push-ups, "We're gonna keep going a little longer."

"But you've been going all day long." Twilight countered, only for Flash to try to shake his head at her.

"No, we need to keep going. We'll be fine."

The group turned to the Pokémon, seeing them all panting as they continued to fire off attacks. They shared a glance before Doc said, "Well...don't push yourselves. If you train too much, you could do more harm than good."

"I'll be careful," Flash replied, "We're just gonna do a little bit more. We can handle this, right guys?" The five let out cheers, the others frowned.

Twilight bit her lip at this, "Alright...if you're sure."

The trio spun around, walking back to the mansion. Twilight first went to check Flash's egg before they all sat down for something to eat. They all hoped that Flash would return, but he remained outside training. And as they ate and did their nightly activities, they found themselves going to bed.

But Flash never returned, all three off in dreamland without seeing the teen.

And as this happened, Score was watching Flash and his team work. "Come on....go to bed already!" He lowered his binoculars, "We can't get to work until we're sure nobody will interrupt us."

"Why don't we just take his Pokémon now?" Rickashay asked, "They must be pretty tired."

"And give away our plan?! Five Pokémon aren't gonna fill our pockets!" He hissed while looked back through his binoculars. "No, we'll wait until we can get loads of them and really hit pay dirt."





The next morning...

As the sun rose back into the sky, the trainers walked out of the mansion. Knuckles was the first, followed by Twilight and the others. "Anything?" She asked Doc, only to get a shake of the head from the teen.

"Nothing. His bed doesn't look like it's even been touched."

"Then where is he?" Spike asked, only to get an answer as an explosion rang out from the canyon. The three and their Pokémon shared a glance, quickly running after the sound. They soon found the teen standing between Springer and Prongs as they fought, Riptide and Viper sparring a ways off while Skyler was busy practicing his Aerial Ace on some rocks. They were all filthy and covered in bruises, bags under their eyes.

"Flash!" He turned to them, his eyes slightly out of focus. "What are you doing?!"

"Training," he replied, "What else would I be doing?"

Twilight's eyes went wide-eyed at this, "Flash...don't tell me you've been out here all night." Flash and his team looked away, making her glare at him, "Well?!"

"You told me not to say anything," Flash responded before turning to Doc. "Wanna battle? Me and the others are raring to go."

Doc gave him a deadpan stare, "Flash, you need to rest."

"We have been resting. Short ones every now and then."

"That's not enough," Twilight almost yelled, "If you don't take a rest, you might end up killing yourself."

"We're fine," Flash replied, waving his hand. But as he did this, he saw nothing but glares from them, making him sigh, "Okay...if you're not gonna help with our training, we'll just find someone who will."

With that, he walked off, the group frowning at the action before glancing over at Viper and Riptide. "Carrr!" Viper roared as he unleashed a Flamethrower at Riptide.

The Spranitor quickly jumped back, the fire shooting over him without even a singe. But as this happened, Riptide turned to see where the flames were going and yelped, "TORE!"

Flash turned to see the fire now about to hit him, "WHOA!" He cried, barely managing to bring his arms up to defend himself as the flame struck him. "Augh!"

"Ri/Nay/Tore/Leaf/Carrr!" His Pokémon screamed while his friends gasped.

"Flash!" Twilight yelled as they ran up to him, seeing Flash fall over. Everyone gathered around him next as she asked, "Are you okay?!"

"I...think so?" He barely replied, only to see everyone looking at him with wide eyes. "What?"

Nobody said anything while Twilight took off her glasses and held them up to his face. The reflection in the glass made him now see that his hair had been slightly burnt with black bits covering the tips along with parts of his jacket. Everyone flinched, ready to see him react as they knew how much he liked the way his hair was styled.

"Tore/Car," Riptide and Viper tried to apologize as Flash stood up.

"It doesn't matter," he responded before getting up. "Come on, we're wasting time."

His Pokémon shared a glance before seeing their trainer walk away, following him as his friends stared at the sight. "This is going too far," Twilight sighed.

"But what can we do?" Spike asked, "He's not gonna stop."

And as he said that, Flash continued to train his Pokémon throughout the day, only taking short breaks and rapidly eating any food. The others watched him from a distance, unable to find a way to stop him. They knew simply telling him wouldn't work, and begging him felt a little pathetic. Once again the day passed and Flash stayed outside to train into the night. But his Pokémon weren't looking so good.

"Come on guys!" He yelled as the five came to a stop. "Don't quit on me now!" The Pokémon all groaned but did as they were told, the group continuing to train while Flash started running laps around the canyon.

From their room in the mansion, Flash's friends watched as Doc commented, "He's gonna kill them."

"We have to do something," Twilight added, "If we don't, his Pokémon are either gonna drop down dead or mutiny against him."

As this happened, Knuckles stood atop the mansion roof, watching as Flash continued to run through the canyon. "Flash Sentry...you came second in the Hoof Cup and Hoofington Battle Tournament. Your Pokémon are strong, but I could see that it was you that led them to that strength." He let out a long sigh, "But the boy I see before me is not the same one I watched with admiration. Has your loss to that one opponent really pushed you this far? Why? Was there another motive to that battle?"

At the same time, Score and his goons were hiding on the other side of the roof, Score growling, "This is getting ridiculous."





It was day three of training, everyone in the canyon now amazed to see Flash was still training despite not having any proper sleep in the last seventy or so hours.

"Energy Ball!" Flash yelled as Prongs fired the sphere at Riptide, "Water Gun!" Riptide unleashed a blast of water that cut the sphere in half, causing the attacks to explode. "Good." he turned to the others as they were doing push-up, wing-ups or dragging large rocks by their tail, "Keep it up."

"FLASH!" They turned to the voice, seeing Twilight leading the others. "We need to talk."

Flash let out a sigh, "What now?! I've only got a day or so before the Pokérus wears off."

"No, you need to stop," Doc growled while pointing to his Pokémon. "Look at them. They can barely stand." To show his point, Springer appeared to be asleep on his feet while Riptide spat water straight up so it would fall back on his face to wake him up.

"They're fine," Flash replied while waving his hand, "We'll rest once we're done training. Until then, we don't have a second to waste."

"Flash! What's the matter with you?!" Twilight barked back, "You've never been this serious about training, and you've never pushed your Pokémon like this before."

"Well, maybe it's time I started," Flash hissed, "If I want to win the Equestria League, I need to break my limits."

"The only thing you're gonna break is your Pokémon," Twilight yelled, "They're not mindless machines that do you bidding, you know. If you keep this up, it's only going to end badly for you."

"I know what I'm doing," Flash replied before turning away, "If I'm not gonna try my absolute best, then what's the point of even being on this journey? I'm in this to win it. Nothing else matters."

Twilight's eyes narrowed at this, "Flash...just because you lost to Lightning doesn't mean you have to start acting like him!" This caused Flash to spin around, glaring at her. But despite this, she crossed her arms with a long frown, "You heard me. Don't deny it, because you're acting just like him." Flash's entire body began to shake, "If something's bothering you-"

"You know what's bothering me?!" he suddenly yelled, "A bunch of know-it-alls that think they can just boss me around and stop me from doing what needs to be done!" The others backpedaled at this, seeing Flash's face glow red as he pointed at them, "You know, maybe the reason I keep losing to Lightning is because I've had you guys dragging me down and holding me back! Maybe I'd be better off on my own! Did you ever think of that?!"

They all stood there slack-jawed, now seeing Flash pant as they could see his face was showing multiple emotions. Rage, despair, confusion and sadness in there, only for it all to harden as he turned back to his Pokémon. "Come on guys." He growled as he began to walk away, Springer and the others glancing between him and their friends. They gave them a wave before following their trainer, Twilight and the others just staring at the retreating trainer.

The day continued on like this, Flash and his team training and battling as much as they could. Despite how exhausted they all were, they still managed to be a challenge for anyone they faced. And as this happened, Twilight and the others kept their distance due to Flash's earlier threat. And as the day turned to night, almost everyone was at the mansion, resting up after a hard day's work. Everyone except Flash and his Pokémon.

"Is he still out there?" Knuckles asked the three watching Flash from the window.

"Yup," Twilight replied.

"I have to admit, I didn't think he could keep going this long." Doc added, "I figured he'd finally break today. That guy's too stubborn for his own good."

Spike moved over to Twilight, his sister looking down to pull him in a hug as he said, "Is Flash really gonna leave us?"

"Of course not," she responded, trying to show a smile. But as she glanced back at the window, the night covered where Flash would have been. "Flash..."





Back at the canyon, Flash continued to run. The teen was panting, his body waving back and forth, "No..." he moaned, "Must...keep...going." He felt himself getting slower, just about to reach the area his Pokémon were training in. But when he got there, he found them all laid out on the ground, "Come on guys!" He barely yelled, "Get up! We can't...we can't stop training."

The five all let out groans, the Pokémon just twitching in their sleep at the command. Flash opened his mouth to try to yell again, only to suddenly feel his face hitting the ground. His legs had gone out, his eyes shutting close as everything went black.

And as Flash tried to open his eyes, he went wide-eyed at the next sight. He was standing in a large stadium, gasping as his eyes darted around. His eyes grew even more as he then saw a new sight, all his Pokémon laid out on the field. But before he could even say anything, he saw another Pokémon standing above them, laughing.

It was Gorillamp, a giant grin on its face as it raised its fists. Flash looked down at what it was about to hit, now seeing an already knocked out Springer and Riptide under him.

"NO!" Flash screamed, only to find himself unable to move as both fists slammed into his Pokémon. Roars of laughter followed this as another voice called out.

"That's it!" He looked up to see Present Mic yelling into a microphone, "The winner, and new Equestria League champion is...LIGHTNING BLITZ!"

The podium Lightning was on appeared next, the biggest grin on his face as he laughed at Flash, "I told you, you worthless loser! I told you that you were nothing, and now...everybody knows it! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

And as he laughed, the podium continued to grow as Flash began to hear people in the stands call out.

"Well, that was disappointing."

"Why did that trainer even try?"

"I guess Lightning was right all along. Only special Pokémon have what it takes to be great."

"I'm gonna get rid of all of mine and get newer, better ones."

"No...that's not what I-" Flash tried to say, only to see his Pokémon suddenly get up. "Guys?"

They all turned away but Springer, the Riolu staring at him as he spoke up, "We're leaving."

"Leaving?! But-"

"Why would we want to be trained by such a weak trainer?" Springer interrupted, "After all, isn't that why Hopper left you?"

"That's not...no..." Flash muttered out, only to see Springer look away before they all disappeared. "NO! COME BACK!"

But before he could do anything, another voice called out, "Flash...Flash..."

"No...don't-"

"FLASH!"





The teen's eyes shot open, "GAH!" he screamed as his head shot up, gasping and panting until he saw Twilight kneeling besides him. "Twilight?" He rubbed his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"I woke up and found you still hadn't come back," she replied, "I came to see how you were doing, but then I found you all passed out."

Flash let out a long groan, "Oh...how long have I been out?"

Twilight shrugged at this. "I don't know, but it's almost sunrise." She turned to his Pokémon, "And before you try anything, I suggest letting them rest a little longer. You too. You've all been pushing yourselves way too hard."

"We can't rest," Flash pushed himself back to his feet. "We're wasting time. It won't be long until the Pokérus wears off. We can't afford to let any of this time pass without training."

"And all this training will be pointless if you kill yourselves training," Twilight instantly chimed in as she stood up. "You're pushing them too hard."

"I know what I'm doing," Flash grumbled without looking at her. "It's for their own good."

"Is it? Is it really?! Or are you just letting what happened get to you?" Flash turned to her at this, now seeing her arms crossed with a dark glare on her face, "You know Flash, I'll admit that none of us have said anything, but we know you're taking your loss against Lightning hard."

Flash immediately looked away, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do!" Twilight yelled, grabbing his shoulder, only for Flash to shrug it off. As he did this, she grabbed it again and yelled, "Don't do that! Don't pretend you're not upset Flash! Don't you remember what we told you?!" She let out a long sigh, "Its...its okay to be down about losing." Her grip intensified as she said these next words, "But it's not okay to push your Pokémon past the breaking point."

"Maybe they need to be broken," Flash replied as he turned back to her with a glare. "Maybe the only way for them to break through their limits is to break themselves first, then rebuild themselves as the strongest Pokémon in all of Equestria. Maybe then we can finally beat him!" But as he said this, a disgusted look appeared on her face. "What?!"

"So that's it?! You're willing to cause your Pokémon serious, fatal or even permanent harm, just so you can beat Lightning in a battle?!"

Flash spun around again, "You don't understand."

"Then tell me," she said as she walked around him, making him look at her, "Help me understand."

"I lost to him!" Flash screamed in her face, his eyes twitching as his face turned red. "Again and again I keep telling him he's wrong, and again and again he keeps beating me! I promised Grand Hoof I would beat him and show him his way is wrong, but I couldn't!"

"That's not your fault."

"Yes it is! Grand counted on me!" Flash screeched, pointing at himself, "I'm the trainer! ME! I'm the one that gives out the commands! I'm the one that switches them out! I'm the one that...that keeps training them. And because of that..." His hands clenched into fists, his eyes closing as he grit his teeth, "Lightning beat me."

"But that doesn't justify all of this!" Twilight yelled while pointing at his Pokémon, "Lightning may be a strong trainer, but that doesn't make what he does right."

"Then why did he win?!" Flash screamed again, his voice echoing throughout the canyon. "If it isn't right, then why was he on the winner's podium?! Why did I fail Grand?! Why did Lightning get to lord his victory over me and laugh in my face and call my Pokémon garbage and prove it to all of Equestria?! Tell me why Twilight!"

And as he screamed that, he began to pant, gasping for air as Twilight didn't respond. Seeing this, Flash walked past the girl, "That's what I thought." He went over to the edge of the canyon, sitting down before staring into the darkness of the night.

A minute or so later, Twilight walked over and sat down beside him. "Flash...I might not be the most knowledgeable when it comes to battling-"

"Don't sell yourself too short," Flash grumbled, "You did better than me against him in the tournament."

"That's not..." Twilight tried to reply, only for her brain to go over how both matches went, remembering Flash only won half the match while Twilight won two-thirds. "Oh...right."

"Yeah. You're better than me already." He looked away from her, "Makes you wonder why you're not the trainer going for the league."

"Flash..." Twilight let out a sigh, shaking her head before patting his shoulder, "Look at me." His head slowly shifted over, soon staring at her as she showed a small smile, "Flash, if there's one thing I've learned since the day we've met, its that the way you train Pokémon is definitely the best."

"Then why did I lose?"

Twilight closed her eyes at this, taking a deep breath before opening her eyes and replying, "Listen...Lightning's methods may have made his Pokémon stronger than yours right now, but that won't last forever." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, about to respond before Twilight continued, "Lightning's Pokémon are stronger right now, but that's only physical strength. And physical strength has its limits. Eventually, Lightning's Pokémon are gonna reach a point where they can't get any stronger just by training alone."

"But that's...that's not..."

Twilight shook her head again, putting both hands on his shoulders, "Flash, your Pokémon can surpass his." She felt him trying to backpedal at this, only for her to increase her grip. "Don't. Listen Flash...they can surpass him. Do you know why?" He shook his head, "Because your Pokémon have another kind of strength. One which doesn't have any limits." She placed her hand on his chest, "Their hearts. The body might have limits, but the heart and soul of a Pokémon can grow to an infinite amount. That's something you've helped me learn."

Flash's eyes went wide at this, barely able to respond, "Twilight..."

Her smile grew as she continued, "Flash, there'll come a point when both you and Lightning get your Pokémon to their physical limit. But while Lightning's will be stuck, your Pokémon will continue to grow and reach their true potential. And eventually, they'll not only catch up to Lightning's Pokémon, they'll surpass them. I know they will." But as she said this, she saw the frown on Flash's face grow. "Flash?"

"That won't work." Flash replied, looking away again, "Lightning's right...I'm worthless. And I'm even weaker now than I was in our last battle. I don't have Hopper with me anymore! I...I don't know what to do!"

"Flash...stop saying that." He opened his mouth to respond, but she shoved her hand over it. She began to glare at him, despite still showing him her calm smile, "Listen to me Flash. You're not weak, and you're not worthless! You're a great trainer."

Flash just stared at her, tears appearing in his eyes. He couldn't respond, his mind swirling as memories of Hopper and Lightning both shined in his head. And as this happened, his brain went back to reality, seeing Twilight staring right in his eyes as she spoke up, "Flash...you're a wonderful trainer." She removed her hand as her smile grew, "And I know you're sad about Hopper, and you have every right to be. But you have a Pokémon egg that'll hatch soon. And when it does, I'm sure it'll be much happier getting trained by the real you then it would the you who's trying to be like Lightning!"

"But...but what if the real me isn't strong enough?"

Twilight shook her head, "Flash...who was it that trained Hopper and helped him beat Cadmus before becoming the King of Dragons?"

Flash looked away at this, "Me."

"And who was it that saved Sonata from Guile Hideout and helped her free Sirenity and save their city?"

"Me."

"Who was it that helped Champagoon when it went on a rampage in Canterlot?"

"Me."

"And who was it that earned Celestia's respect enough for him to be entrusted with being the person I travel with? Who was it that showed Doc there's more to life than facts and statistics, so much so that he asked to come with him? Who was it that saved me and Shine from Piedoom, despite the danger to himself?"

Flash slowly glanced back at her, "Me."

Twilight nodded at this, "And who was it...that Pegasoar revealed himself to?"

"Me." He replied again, feeling a tug in his heart at this, a certain seed of doubt now vanishing.

"Exactly. You, not Lightning. Because you're not just strong, but you're also brave, caring and loyal. Even if Lightning beats you a hundred times, me, Springer, the rest of your team and every other friend you've made know that you are the one worthy of being the next Equestrian champion. The only one who doesn't know that...is you."

Flash remained silent at this, Twilight seeing the frown still on his face. Despair was shaking in his eyes, showing his heart was trying to get rid of the doubt. But as she watched this, a certain memory shined in her head, making her reach into her bag. The next thing Flash knew, Twilight placed something on the ground beside him, seeing it was a package, "What's this?"

"Rarity gave it to me. She said to give it to you when you were feeling better. Hopefully, that's now." She picked herself up, "Please don't change who you are Flash." She then looked away, "We care about you, but its this version of you we really care about. If you let yourself become like Lightning just to beat him, then he'll have truly won."

With that, she began to walk away as Flash stared at the ground. He remained like that for an unknown amount of time, unable to look away. His eyes only began to look away when he heard a noise. Turning to it, he saw his Pokémon were gone.

"Ri," Flash then saw his Pokémon standing a ways off, each showing large frowns.

"Guys..." he muttered out, Twilight's words echoing through his head. Before he could say anything else, he kneeled down and put his head to the ground, "I'm so sorry." The five went wide-eyed at this, "I let Lightning get in my head, and because of that, you all suffered." He looked up at them, tears in his eyes. "Can you ever forgive me?"

The five just stared at him, only for smiles to slowly appear on their faces. And with a united joyful cry, they ran over and tackled him. "Whoa!" he yelped as he was pinned, the five all rubbing up against him. "I'll take that as a yes." They replied with their own cries before getting off, Flash picking himself up, only to see the many scratches and scrapes all over their bodies. "Twilight's right. We can't keep training like this. It's not right for me to push you like this."

"RIO/TORE/SPRAN/CHIT/CARRR!" They roared, shaking their heads before getting back into a battle stance.

Flash raised an eyebrow. "What?! You wanna keep training?" They nodded, "But-"

"Riolu!" Springer yelled, walking up to him. He began to speak, and though not exactly knowing what he was saying, Flash understood what he was trying to convey. "We wanna get strong enough to beat Lightning too. To prove him wrong. We'll get stronger...the right way." He then held out a paw, "But we need your help."

Flash stared at the paw for several seconds, then glancing at the others. "Are you sure?" They all nodded, Flash slowly smiling and taking the paw. "Alright." He stood up at this, "But this time we do it the right way. We train until we can't go on, then we stop and rest. The training will be pointless if we overexert ourselves to the point of self-destruction."

The others nodded, Flash then looking down at himself. He saw how badly his clothes had been damaged in the training along with his hair, seeing some it about to fall apart any minute. As he did this, he remembered the parcel and crouched down to open it, going wide-eyed at his contents.

And as he reached inside, something new caught the corner of his eye. A light off in the distance made him look up to see the sun was beginning to rise. Flash moved over to the edge of the canyon, the light of the new day washing over him as his Pokémon walked up beside him. Flash then felt something radiate inside his heart, new confidence filling him up.

He took off his jacket and held it in his hands, closing his eyes as he remembered everything he had been through up to this point. Every adventure, every victory and every failure. Everything he had learned. "A new beginning...and it starts right now." With that, he let go of his jacket, the wind picking it up from his grasp.

And as the jacket was blown away, it took with it everything holding Flash back.





Later...

The day was half over now, many of the trainers spending that time to work their butts off. But as they did this, Flash was strangely absent along with his Pokémon. Back at the mansion, Twilight, Doc and Spike watched as the trainers returned to see if their Pokémon still had the Pokérus.

"Anything?" Knuckles asked as he walked up to them.

Twilight shook her head while holding Shine in her arms, "No. I don't see him anywhere."

"You don't think he left, do you?" Spike asked with a gulp, remembering Flash's earlier threat despite Twilight telling them what he had told her.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Knuckles responded, "After all, he needs to come back and see if his Pokémon still have Pokérus. Plus, you have his bag and the egg is still at the center."

As he said that, the last of the trainers arrived, moving their Pokémon to Knuckles. But as they did this, the sounds of multiple Pokémon suddenly cried out, everyone turning to see the trainers' Pokémon had all vanished. "What?!" Knuckles yelped as the group soon ran over to the area, only to find a large hole in the ground with the Pokémon inside. "What's the meaning of this?"

His answer came from a loud holler of laughter, making them look up to see a balloon appear from behind the mansion, everyone seeing a certain trio inside. "You guys?!" Twilight growled, "What are you doing here?!"

"What do you think?!" Score barked back as he pressed a button. "Selling these super strong Pokémon will seriously put us in the green!" As he said that, a metal cord came out of the bottom of the basket that had a metal box on the end of it. "And we'll barely have anything cutting into a profits because we got all our merchandise at a real steal." Four lines shot out of the metal box, striking four corners of the pit.

Everyone gasped as the lines pulled back, pulling a net out of the pit. The Pokémon inside cried out, trying to pull themselves free until Score pressed another button, this one electrifying the net. They screamed out as they were zapped, the trainers gasping again.

"That's it!" Doc took out a Pokeball, "Flitanium!"

"Fly!" The bird squawked as it appeared, Shine and Peewee jumping out to help him.

"How cute," Score chuckled as Flitanium flew upward. "Boys?" Boulder and Rickashay took out a Pokeball, throwing them as light began to take shape to reveal two Pokémon, one falling right on Flitanium.

"FLY!" It cried as the shape tried to slam it into the ground, the armored bird barely able to slip away before the Pokémon hit the dirt. A large dust cloud appeared at this, slowly fading to reveal two new Pokémon. The first was one Twilight and her friends recognized, that being the Tusk Pokémon: Stalorn.

The other Pokémon was a large bulky humanoid creature the size of an Abomasnow. It's entire head was covered in the light blue cone seen on a Stompice's head, a pair of ice near the bottom of it and a mouth underneath that made the bottom of the cone look like a moustache. The rest of its body was covered in white, with large arms and legs that were covered in light blue ice. "FROSTORGE!" It roared.

"What's that?" Spike asked as Twilight reached into Flash's bag and grabbed his Pokedex.

Name: Frostorge
Category: Bigfoot Pokémon
Type: Ice/Dark
Info: The evolved form of Stompice. This Pokémon's hostile nature make them difficult to train if caught in the wild. Their most common expression of strength is seeing how much stuff they can break in an allotted time.

"Seems their Stompice evolved." Doc replied, "We'll still take them out. I'll deal with Stalorn while you guys take Frostorge."

"Right," they nodded as Flitanium charged.

"Iron Head!" Flitanium slammed his head into Stalorn, causing it to stagger back.

"Mystical Fire/Incinerate!" The two unleashed their fire moves at the ice ogre, the giant crossing its large arms for the attack.

"Alright Spike," Twilight turned to her brother, "The bigger they are..."

"The harder they fall!" Spike finished.

"Steel Wing!" Flitanium unfurled its wings, now slashing at the Stalorn with rapid speed.

"That's the way," Knuckles commented as the other trainers cheered.

But as this happened, Score chuckled, "Don't count your Torchics till they hatch," he took out a Pokeball, throwing it as it revealed a third Pokémon. The energy shot down between Shine and Frostorge, the Galarian Ponyta jumping back...only to gasp as it saw the new creature appear. Score's Jesterror had evolved into a Pokémon Shine knew more than any other.

"Piedoom…" it hissed.

"Nee..." Shine's entire body shook as the Phantom Clown looked down at her.

"Shine, get away from that thing!"

"Oh? Scared, are we? Perfect! Slash!" Piedoom drew two of its swords, Twilight gasping as she saw the blades about to slice the pony.

"SHINE!"

"Flitanium!" Doc yelled, the armored bird turning to the sight.

Piedoom swung its sword down, only for a clang to go out as Flitanium's wing blocked it. "Fly!" He squawked, growling as he began to push the blade back.

Piedoom and its trainer smirked as Stalorn turned to them. "Rock Blast!" Its horn glowed, firing a light that morphed into rocks as they flew toward Piedoom and Flitanium.

"Shadow Sneak!" Piedoom shifted into a shadow that the rocks flew through, causing Flitanium to get knocked back by the rubble.

"Tay!" It cried as he was thrown back.

At the same time, Peewee continued to battle Frostorge alone. "Steel Wing!" Peewee flew up with glowing wings, slamming into Frostorge, who used its bulky arms to defend.

"Ice Shard!" In its other hand, a large ice ball appeared, throwing right into Peewee's face.

"PEEWEE!" Spike screamed as he saw the dragon fall back, hitting the ground with a rolling thud.

As this happened, Shine was still frozen at the sight of Piedoom. The sight made Doc and Twilight glance at each other, "They need help."

They reached for their Pokeballs, only for Score to yell, "Dark Pulse!" Piedoom turned to them and fired the burst of dark energy, hitting the ground in front of them, an explosion coming next that knocked them off their feet.

"Fly!" Flitanium cried as Peewee and Shine spun around to their trainers. Shine forgot her fear at this, about to charge for her trainer, only for Piedoom to suddenly appear in front of her.

"Pied!" It roared before slamming its foot into Shine, knocking her back. At the same time, Frostorge ran up and used Ice Punch on Peewee before he could get up.

"NEE/TERRA!" They cried as they were thrown back.

"Excellent!" Score cheered before seeing Flitanium charging at Piedoom. "Now, Trump Sword!" Piedoom reached back and grabbed its other swords before throwing them, only for portals to open up in front of them. They shot through the portals and vanished, confusing the bird, only for four portals to appear around it.

"Look out!" Doc yelled as he tried to get up, but it was too late.

The blades struck, making the bird scream before Boulder spoke up, "Stone Edge!" His Stalorn slammed its feet into the ground, unleashing a line of rock spikes that struck Flitanium with ease.

"FLY!" the bird cried before flopping over, spirals in his eyes.

"Good." Score pressed another button and three more nets shot out of the box, the nets grabbing all three Pokémon.

"SHINE/PEEWEE/NO!" Their trainers yelled as their Pokémon were pulled up, the nets electrifying to prevent their escape.

"Well, this has been fun," Score chuckled as the three returned their Pokémon. "But we really must be off." He began to laugh as the trainers picked themselves up, all groaning from their injuries. "But don't worry. I'll be sure to find some lovely trainers for these Pokémon....ones with big, money-filled pockets. HA!"

But as he began to laugh, an orb of blue energy suddenly stuck the balloon. "Huh?!" he yelped as a loud popping sound signalled their sudden descent, the Pokemon inside the net screaming in fear. But before they could hit the ground, a burst of fire suddenly struck the top of the net, burning it before a black blur flew in and grabbed the net.

In a burst of speed so great that nobody could follow it, the net was flown down and was gently placed in front of the trainers. The criminals did not get such a gentle landing, the balloon hitting the ground, making them roll out of the basket.

"Shine!" Twilight cried as the Pokemon pulled themselves free of the net, her Ponyta running up and leaping into her arms, "Oh thank goodness..."

"Nee..."

"It's okay....its okay." She whispered as everyone else checked their Pokémon, finding them to be okay while the criminals started to get up.

"Okay, who's the wise guy that just ruined my big score?!" Score barked as he turned to where the attack had come from.

And as the rest did the same, they all saw five figures walking up to them, a sixth flying back to join the group. Their features were blocked by the light of the sun behind them, only Twilight, Doc and Spike all recognised five of the outlines, Twilight speaking up as they watched the sixth one walk up. "Flash?"

Flash and his Pokemon smiled back, Flash's friends seeing he was sporting an entirely new look. He had cut off the burnt parts of his hair, which was now much shorter and had a sleek mature vibe to it. His clothes were the biggest difference, now wearing a black zipped up jacket with the lightning shield emblem on the shoulders. The teen's pants were now more tight fitting and ended at his shoes, which were now a mixture of black and white with yellow lightning bolts on the sides.

But the biggest difference was the look on his face. It wasn't his normal goofy smile, but instead the anger and determined glare one that he wore in problematic situations. It was his confident yet serious smirk he would always wear. Twilight couldn't help but be reminded of her brother when she saw that look, remembering all the times seeing him wear it.

"Not this kid again!" Score screamed.

"Big Score...glad you're here. We needed someone to test our training on." Flash chuckled as he turned to the others, seeing they were trying to get into a battle stance. "Hold back guys. I've got this." The others blinked at him, only to then see his Pokemon tense up.

"You've got nothing!" Score yelled as they took out their Pokeballs, unleashing their three Pokemon.

"Huh...so they evolved. Even better for a test run." He turned to his team, "You guys ready?" They all nodded as Flash pointed at the enemy, "Alright then, Springer and Viper, take out the Ice-type. Prongs and Riptide, Stalorn's all yours. Skyler, think you can handle Piedoom on your own?"

"TORE!" Skyler squawked back while the others cheered.

"Then let's go!" With that, Flash and his team charged. Skyler being the fastest, reached the phantom clown and grabbed it before anyone could say anything, lifting it into the air.

"Pied!" It cried as it tried to struggle, but Skyler dropped it before it could do anything, making it land a good distance away.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Stone Edge!" The two fired their attacks, everyone watching in horror at the speed the attacks were going at Springer and Riptide. But as they were about to hit, the two disappeared.

"Where'd they go?!" Spike asked as Springer and Riptide suddenly reappeared right in front of their opponents, leaping at them as Flash called out an attack.

"Drain Punch and Rock Smash!" The two roared as they swung their punch and kick, striking the two back.

"Amazing," Twilight whispered, "Springer didn't even use Extreme Speed."

Knuckles was fully wide-eyed at this, "Incredible. I've seen some impressive results from Pokérus training before, but never to this degree."

"Slash!" Score yelled as Piedoom pulled its swords out, trying to slash at Skyler. But as it did this, the bird zipped around every swipe.

"Steel Wing!" Skyler's wings glowed before slashing at the opponent, the wings clanging against the swords. The attacks easily pushed the clown back, making Flash smirk before seeing Viper and Prongs charge their opponents. "Flamethrower and Leech Seed!"

"Hack...CARRR!" Viper unleashed a stream of fire while Prongs shot the seeds from his horns, the flames hitting Frostorge before the vines appeared and strung up the Pokémon instantly.

"Little twerps," Rickashay growled as Frostorge fell to its knees. "Use Ice Shard!"

"Rock Blast!" Their Pokemon fired a large chunk of rock and ice at Prongs and Viper, only for Springer and Riptide to leap in front of them.

"Aura Sphere and Water Gun!" The two countered the chunks with their attacks, both shattering the ice and rock before striking their opponents. At the same time, Skyler managed to get past Piedoom's blades, slashing it down the chest.

"DOOM/LORN/FROST!" They cried while staggering back, the crowd's jaws dropping at the sight.

"He's wiping the floor with them!" Spike cheered as Knuckles gasped.

"This is more than just the Pokerus," he told the trio, "I've never seen improvement of this magnitude."

Twilight was thinking the same thing, her gaze completely on Flash and seeing the smile on his face. The changes he had undergone weren't just psychical, but mental. "Flash..."

"Flame Wheel, Energy Ball and Tornado Burst!" Prongs fired the orb of green energy while Viper and Skyler charged, spinning their bodies in different ways as they were surrounded by their elements. The Energy Ball struck Stalorn, knocking it back as Viper slammed into Frostorge, Skyler then exploding out of the tornado and striking Piedoom with a single speedy blow.

Stalorn and Frostorge were knocked onto their backs, looking close to defeat while Piedoom managed to land on its feet before disappearing into a shadow. It slithered over to its teammates as the trainers ran over to them. "Get up!" Score yelled as Piedoom materialized, Skyler moving over to the rest of his team. "Piedoom, get them!" The ghost clown charged while pulling out its blades again.

"Time for something new." Flash looked up at Skyler, "Get ready." Skyler nodded and flew up as Flash turned to Viper, "Use Crunch!"

"Carrr!" Viper hissed before slithering forward.

"Trump Sword!" Piedoom threw its swords as portals began to appear.

"Flash, LOOK OUT!" Doc yelled as Flash saw the portals appear around Viper.

"Springer, Double Team!" Springer charged as four copies of him appeared, the copies leaping up as the swords shot out of the portal. Each sword was blocked by the Springer clones, which were all dispelled at the same time.

Viper then took this moment to leap at the Dark Ghost-type, wrapping his tail around its waist! "CAR!" Viper bit into Piedoom's shoulder, making the Phantom Ghost cry out.

"Let's finish this Skyler!" Flash exclaimed as his Tornavian squawked back, Viper taking this moment to let Piedoom go before leaping back. "Giga...IMPACT!" Everyone gasped at those words, seeing Skyler began to dive down as a purple aura with yellow stripes spiralled around his body.

"Ha! Idiot." Score laughed, "Take that attack head on Piedoom. It won't hurt you." He turned to the others, "Get ready boys." They all nodded as Piedoom leapt in front of them and crossed its swords, Skyler now completely encased in energy.

Everyone else watched as Skyler reached Piedoom, expecting the attack to do nothing, only for Piedoom to cry out. "DOOM!" It roared as the attack pushed it back, shocking everyone as Skyler smashed through his blades before hitting the ghost's chest before-

KABOOM!

Everyone flinched at the explosion that occurred, Skyler being gently pushed back as the criminals and their Pokémon were sent rocketing into the sky.

"WHAT?! That's impossible!" Score screamed, "Ghost-types aren't affected by Normal-type moves! That the rule!"

"Maybe somebody changed the rule?" Rickashay chimed in, "People used to think a bunch of Fairy-types were actually Normal-types, so maybe this is one of those things."

"Oh, shut up!" Were Score's last words before the six disappeared into the distance.

With them gone, everyone turned their focus back on Flash as Skyler glided down, the teen chuckled as he patted Skyler's head. "Gotta love that Scrappy ability."

"FLASH!" He glanced over to his friends as they ran up to him, "You're still here!" Spike cried, tears of joy flowing out of his eyes.

"And you look...different," Doc added.

"Yeah..." Flash replied while rubbing the back of his head, "My old clothes were pretty beat up. Rarity sure knows how to make something cool." He turned to Twilight with a slight blush on his face, "What do you think?"

Twilight looked him over before a smile appeared on her face. "I like it. Makes you look a little more...mature."

Flash chuckled back, "Well, I think it's time I started acting more mature." He then let out a low sigh, a frown appearing on his face, "And starts with me saying...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let Lightning get in my head and make me act like that. I'm sorry for what I said to you guys yesterday and...I understand if you don't want to travel with me anymore."

This statement made the trio go wide-eyed, Doc exclaiming, "What are you, nuts?! Of course we want to still travel with you!"

"Yeah!" Spike added.

"That is, if you're okay with us dragging you down and holding you back," Twilight finished as Flash turned to her, a blush on his face as he looked away.

"Yeah...sorry. If anything, it's only thanks to you guys I've made it this far."

"And don't you forget it," Twilight giggled before putting a hand on his chest. "Because we're more then just travel partners and friends. We're family." She and Flash shared a smile before she turned to the rest of the Pokémon, "All of us." They all cheered before running over, everyone soon sharing a big hug as they felt their bonds reaffirm themselves, now growing stronger than ever.

And as they did this, Knuckles moved over to them. "Thank you Flash. Thank you for stopping those criminals. It looks like the Pokérus really did help them all grow stronger." He then took out the scanner and waved it over, not hearing a single beep. "But it looks like that's the end of the help it'll give you."

"That's fine," Flash replied, "We'll keep training, the right way." He turned to his team, "Because we won't let anything or anyone tell us we're weak. We have our own strengths, even if it's not easy to see them. And one day, all of Equestria will see them. Right guys?"

"RIO/TORE/SPRAN/LEAF/CARRR!" They all cheered.

Throughout their adventures, Flash and his team had faced many challenges and had not always been victorious. But no matter how many times they fall, they would continue to rise once again. Their strength, both mentally, psychically and emotionally, would continue to grow. And no matter what anyone else said, they would never let the belief they had in themselves and each other waver ever again. As the journey continues.