Equestria. One day before Christmas and Hearth's Warming.
Today, Ash had decided to visit a new location in Equestria along with Twilight and her friends.
This location was known as Evolution Valley. A valley where Pokemon evolve with one method only. Evolution stones.
"Check that out!" Ash gawked over at the valley that had numerous Pokemon that only evolve with stones. Its grandly timbered and fertile appearance was built specifically for these Pokemon as it expanded far with a lake nearby. There were hills galore with a few streams here and there. An area like this had its own gateway that led straight to Undella Town.
The Pokemon here mostly consisted of ones that could evolve with the Fire Stone, Moon Stone, Shiny Stone, Dusk Stone and Sun Stone.
Over at the valley, two Pokemon Breeders could be seen. They seemed to be the caretakers of this entire valley and the Pokemon that live here. From their similar hair and eye colour, they were most likely twins.
The girl breeder had a basket of evolution stones of all kinds with a Panpour and Eevee surrounding her. The boy breeder was currently feeding a Jigglypuff and Sunkern some Pokeblocks.
"Vee! Eevee!"
"Sunkern!"
The group made their way towards the valley to get a closer look at it. Once they got closer, the two breeders noticed them and their arrival along with the Pokemon here.
"Hm? Hey there. What brings you to Evolution Valley?" The boy asked. "You here to evolve some Pokemon maybe?"
"This place is specifically for evolution?" Twilight spoke.
"That's right." The girl answered. "Every Pokemon you see here is capable of evolving with these." She held up the basket of evolution stones.
"So, you here to evolve or sightsee? Cause I can see three Pokemon in particular who work well with evolution stones." The boy was referring to Pikachu, Minccino and Vulpix.
"Ah, no. We're just curious and wanted to check this place out." Ash answered. "So you guys the owners of this place?"
"Nah. We're just the caretakers. Well, we're actually Pokemon Breeders. My name's Forrest and this my younger sister Skye." He introduced himself and his sister.
"Hi-Hi!" Skye waved at them.
"Pokemon Breeders? Like Brock?" said Fluttershy.
"Right. But we're not average breeders. We specialize in breeding Pokemon that can only evolve with these evolution stones. And nothing else." Skye explained.
"Just the stones?" Ash kneeled, giving a Petilil a head pat.
"Peti!"
"Just the stones." Forrest nodded. "Because Pokemon that evolve with stones are some of the best around. Like Fossils. We breed these specific Pokemon and raise them to reproduce specific improvements and for better health and friendship."
"And to make these little cuties much more compatible with their stones." Skye rubbed Eevee's chin.
"Ee!"
"Aren't they already compatible?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, normally. But a lot of them are kinda struggling to evolve. Look at this." Forrest held a Sun Stone, placing it next to the Petilil that was with Ash.
Usually, the reaction between the stone and Pokemon would trigger with lights flashing about. But not this time. Nothing happened to Petilil at all.
"See? Nothing." Forrest picked up the Sun Stone. "That's why we're taking care of these Pokemon. All of them can't evolve for some reason."
"That is pretty weird." Ash's eyes widened.
"Pika..."
"Well...it could be because we're in Equestria." Twilight theorized. "After all, Pokemon act a bit differently compared to their original homeworld, remember?"
"Oh, yeah." Pinkie nodded. "Like how evolutions look totally different."
"You think that may be it?" Forrest raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that could be a possible reason." Rarity responded, holding a Cottone in her hooves.
"Cotto!"
"This world's pretty different from ours anyway. But I didn't even think about magic being involved." Skye scratched her hair.
"So none of them have been able to evolve at all?" Fluttershy looked over at all the Pokemon who were still in their first or second stage evolutions, unable to go beyond that.
"Well...There is one breeding method that has worked so far." Forrest responded. "Whenever we breed a Pansage and a Cottonee, it works out fine. They evolve no problem. Everyone else, not so much." Skye shook her head.
"Because of that, Pansage and Cottone are the Pokemon bred the most. But that's kinda making our progress so flat." Forrest sighed.
"Have you tried breeding them both with other Pokemon?" Applejack questioned.
"Tried it. Nothing works." Forrest answered. "It's only these two."
"There has to be something we can do to evolve them." Pinkie poked a Skitty.
"Well, yesterday, we've been thinking of finding new stones. Maybe it's just these current ones that are faulty." Skye looked at the basket of stones.
"Are there any evolution stones located here in Equestria?" Ash wondered.
"Pika?"
"Not sure. These stones came straight from Unova, so they don't originate here. But, we did find a single Fire Stone nearby one time when we came here." Forrest answered him.
"Oh! Try that Fire Stone then!" Twilight recommended.
"Okay then." Forrest dug into his bag, searching for the Fire Stone that he found in Equestria. He decided to use it on an Eevee to see if it would work.
And the result? The stones were actually reacting to the Evolution Pokemon by emanating a red and orange glow.
"Ee?"
"OH!" Everypony leaned in with their eyes widening.
Eevee felt his body being engulfed in flames as the stone suddenly shattered into tiny little pieces. The Evolution Pokemon had a ball of fire around him that spun around rapidly.
Since this was Equestria, the look of an evolution process is sometimes different from the original world due to the difference in magic here.
The orb of flames scattered into the air as Eevee's Fire form had been revealed. Flareon.
"Flare!" The Flame Pokemon bellowed.
"It worked!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"No way!" Forrest kneeled, looking at the newly evolved Pokemon. "About time we made some progress!"
"So that's it!" Twilight flew up. "They can only evolve with the stones found in Equestria! That solves that problem."
"It sure does." Skye laughed. "If we had known that earlier, that would've saved up a lot of trouble..."
"Then it's settled!" Ash stood up. "We'll help you find evolution stones here in Equestria."
"Pikachu!"
"You will?" The twins turned to Ash.
"Yep! Pinkie bounced up. Anything to help somepony in need!"
"Besides, the evolution stones can't be too hard to find. They kinda stick out with their flashy looks." Twilight said.
"Oh, many thanks!" Skye smiled.
"But can we even find them here?" Fluttershy looked around.
"Well, that one Fire Stone was found here. So it's safe to say there might be others." Forrest answered. "Usually wherever there's one evolution stone, others can be found nearby."
"So we'll just search the entire valley then until we find some more." Ash nodded.
"Pika!"
The twins were relieved to hear that their evolution problem would be sorted out. It was thanks to the arrival of Ash, Twilight and the others that they were given this opportunity.
However, they all weren't alone in this valley. Someone was spying on them. Or rather, three someones.
Team Rocket. Their break had finally come to an end after so long. And because of that, they obviously went back to doing what they do best. Steal some Pokemon and hopefully, grab that special Pikachu. All three of them poked their heads out of some bushes with Oran Berries.
"Hear that? Seems like we've got an opportunity to snatch those stones before they do." Jessie spoke.
"I didn't even think about the magic messing with them at all." James shook his head. "You think maybe that would explain a few things lately...?"
"Probably. But who cares about this world's voodoo. Let's just find those stones so the boss can have evolutions up the wazoo!" Meowth exclaimed.
"Wobbuffet!"
So now there were two groups set on finding evolution stones. One for the sake of evolving the Pokemon in this valley and the other for Giovanni to keep.
The first place to start looking was the hills themselves. They were so pyramidal and steep, scaling them proved to be a bit difficult for those who couldn't fly. Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash didn't have any problems though.
Once they got past the hills, they reached the other side of the valley, searching high and low for any evolution stones. They had sent out their Pokemon to assist in this.
Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff's could prove to be extra useful here due to their sensitive nose. Evolution stones do have a distinct scent to them due to the energy they radiate.
"Pika?" Pikachu picked up a familiar scent with his nose. He knew of only one stone that smelled like that. "Pikapi!"
"Hm? You found one, buddy?" Ash turned to his partner.
"Pika." Pikachu ran over to a flower patch of daisies. He separated the daises to find the stone that he knew he recognized.
The Thunder Stone.
"Oh! A Thunder Stone!" Ash picked it up, getting the first one so far. "Nice find, Pikachu."
"Pikachu."
With the first stone being found, the others were still on the hunt for more. Applejack, Skye and Rarity came across a cave area that was engraved in one of the hills.
"Caves and underground areas usually have a Moon Stone," Skye explained. "We should be able to find one here."
Rarity used her horn to light up the cave for better clearness. Inside this cave, some Drilbur's and Boldore's could be seen along with a few Aron's.
Applejack noticed a dark blue glow coming from the corner of the caves themselves. Curious on whether it was from a stone or just some gemstones, the earth pony galloped over to see for herself.
It was indeed a stone. The Moon Stone to be precise.
"Aha!" Applejack picked up the stone with her mouth. "Got one!" She said with her mouth full.
Rarity used her magic to grab the Moon Stone from Applejack's mouth, wiping it with a cloth. "Excellent, find. This is almost too easy."
"Right you are on that!" A familiar voice rang through their ears. Well, familiar to Applejack and Rarity. Before they knew it, the Moon Stone had been snatched from above by a fast-moving figure. "Too easy!" That voice belonged to none other than Jessie.
"Ah! Rarity noticed that the Moon Stone was no longer in her possession. By turning her head around, she, Applejack and Skye had spotted Team Rocket themselves. "Team Rocket?!"
"Who are they?" Skye was confused.
"Ya'll are back to doing this?!" Applejack growled.
"Break's over! Team Rocket's back in business!" James smirked.
"Hope you don't mind, but these stones now belong to the property of the boss!" Meowth giggled.
"Sayanora, suckers!" All three of them made a run for it, dashing out of the cave as fast as they could.
"Urgh! Team Rocket! Get back here!" Applejack and Rarity pursued them, leaving a confused Skye behind.
"Hm?" It took a moment for her to snap out of it as she followed afterwards. "Oh! Wait for me!"
Back outside, Twilight, Forrest, Pinkie and Fluttershy came across an area in the valley that connected to the lake. This was where the gateway to Undella could be found.
"Slur..." Slurpuff kept using its expert nose to sniff out the stones. Unfortunately, this was all new territory for the Meringue Pokemon. It has never really detected an evolution stone before. It's always been pastries and Pokemon. But that didn't it stop it from trying.
"Ccino." Minccy used her tail to sweep away the sand nearby the lake. By moving the sand, she was hoping to find a stone buried somewhere, but there wasn't.
Eve wishes that she could take her psychic abilities one step further and sense the auras of stones, like a Lucario. Unfortunately, she wasn't that kind of Psychic-Type. What a shame.
Eventually, Slurpuff had picked up on a brand new scent that its nose had never identified before. "Puff! Slurpuff!" The Meringue Pokemon called for Pinkie Pie.
"Did you find one, Slurpuff?!" Pinkie dashed over.
"Slur!" Slurpuff nodded as it pointed its stubbly little arms over at the lake. There was possibly a stone down there.
"The lake huh? Well, your nose is never wrong." Pinkie held her breath in, ready to dive in as she jumped up into the air.
"Hold on, Pinkie." Twilight used her magic to grab Pinkie Pie's tail, stopping her movements. "You don't need to head in there at all. There's an even better way to interact with the water."
"There is?"
"Mhm. Your Spinda knows Secret Power, right?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie nodded.
"And you already know that Secret Power can work differently based on the location?"
"...Uhh..." Pinkie thought for a moment. "No, not really. Wait, how does that work?"
"Secret Power can allow a Pokemon to interact with the environment around them in various ways depending on where they are. And this lake over here definitely counts." Twilight explains. "So, you can use your Spinda to manipulate the water and possibly bring the stone out."
"Oooh...Alright then. Spinda!"
"Spin!" Spinda popped out of Pinkie Pie's mane since she hangs around there a lot.
"Use Secret Power on the lake."
"Da!" The Spot Panda Pokemon hopped off her trainer's head, looking over at the body of water. "Spin..." By concentrating all of her power into one spot, a pinkish aura surrounded Spinda's body.
Secret Power was capable of interacting with the water for sure, but not in the way Twilight and Pinkie were expecting. They were expecting Spinda to raise the water, but instead, she summoned some opalescent bubbles that rose into the air. It was beautiful for sure, but it didn't bring anything out.
"Hmm..." Pinkie squinted her eyes. "I don't see anything. Just a bunch of pretty-looking bubbles."
"Spinda." Spinda returned the bubbles to the lake.
"Strange. I thought that would work for sure." Twilight scratched her mane in confusion.
"Oh, no. You're thinking of Nature's Power, my little pony." Forrest replied.
"Nature's Power?" Twilight and Pinkie turned to him.
"Right. It's a bit different from Secret Power. The move is exactly what it sounds like. Using the power of nature itself. That's what's gonna help you really control the water itself." He explained.
"Oh, I see. Does your Spinda know Nature Power, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. Not that I know of anyway." Pinkie shook her head.
"Spinda can't learn Nature Power. Only Grass and Water-Types can. Sorry."
"In that case...we'll have to head underwater after all." Twilight used her magic to conjure up the spell that allows anyone to breathe underwater for about 20 minutes as purple magic aura's surrounded Pinkie, Forrest and the Pokemon. "Please don't let there be any Sharpedo's..." She was hoping.
Back with Team Rocket, they were still making a getaway from Rarity, Skye and Applejack. Jessie, James and Meowth are unnaturally fast. Probably due to all the times they've been pursuing Ash and his Pikachu.
"Leavanny! String Shot!" Rarity commanded.
"Van!" One of Rarity's Leavanny's used their string to try and grab Team Rocket. It managed to latch onto Meowth's tail, cutting the movements of the Scratch Cat Pokemon.
"Gotcha!" Rarity grinned.
"Not for long!" Meowth cackled. He easily broke free of Leavanny's thick string by using Scratch to do so. "See ya later!"
"Leavan?!" Leavanny gasped.
It looked like Team Rocket would get away until Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy noticed the trio making a run for it whilst escaping the rest of their friends.
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash quickly averted her attention to Team Rocket, forgetting about the stones completely. She made a tiny little shockwave once she dashed downwards.
"Hm? Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy heard the shockwave travel through her ears. She recognized it as Rainbow Dash's since she's the only pony to do that constantly.
The sound of something moving at high speeds could be heard through Team Rocket's ears. They weren't exactly sure what was causing it.
"Huh?" Meowth turned around, spotting Rainbow Dash who was closing in. "EEK! JE-" Before he could warn his teammates, Rainbow Dash crashed into all three of them at the same time, leaving behind a large smoke cloud. The Moon Stone they had stolen had even fallen out of their possession.
The smoke cleared as Rainbow Dash was on top of Jessie. "Gotcha!"
"Ugh! Get off me you multicoloured maned menace!" Jessie kicked Rainbow Dash in the stomach, forcing the pegasus off her before getting back up.
"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?!" Applejack ran over.
It took Rainbow Dash interfering for them to catch up to Team Rocket.
"Alright, Team Rocket! Return that Moon Stone!" Rarity demanded.
"Hmph! You wish we would!" Jessie retorted. "We're gonna make the boss one happy trainer once he gets a bunch of fully-evolved Pokemon for free without the hassle!"
"Plus it's Equestria-Made so that ups the value!" Meowth giggled.
"All this for one guy?" Applejack facehoofed.
"Gatcha come on!" Team Rocket called for the Rocket Prize Master Gatcha Machine.
"PELL! Along came Pelliper as always, dropping the Gatcha machine from above. It almost crushed Rainbow Dash if she didn't fly back.
"Set!" James put Meowth's charm inside of the machine whilst Jessie turned the crank. Two Team Rocket Poke Balls were dispensed out of the machine for temporary use.
"Who's it gonna be?" Jessie picked up the Team Rocket Poke Ball, sending out the Snow Land Pokemon Froslass.
"Fros!"
"Out you come!" For James, he ended up getting the Lightning Pokemon Jolteon.
"Jolteon!"
"In that case...Come out, Braviary!" Rainbow Dash had chosen Braviary to deal with this.
"Viary!"
"Not so fast. Blizzard!" Jessie had made sure that Rainbow Dash wouldn't get the chance to do anything.
"Froslass!" The Snow Land Pokemon summoned a horrible beam of wind that took up most of the area that they all stood on.
This move was actually bad news for most of the Pokemon here. More specifically, Braviary, Grovyle and Leavanny as they all took a super-effective hit from it. But what's worse is that Froslass's ice can reach -60 degrees Fahrenheit when it goes all out. As such, it can freeze its opponents in a matter of seconds. Specifically, the ones who are weak to ice.
And that's exactly what happened to the Pokemon. They had been frozen. Along with the ponies and Skye.
"Too bad so sad! Jolteon! Grab the stone!" James commanded.
"Jolt!" The Lightning Pokemon dashed over at high speeds, picking up the Moon Stone with its mouth.
"Buh-bye!" All three of them said as they ran off laughing.
"Team Rocket..." Rainbow Dash strained.
"G-Grovyle...Dragon Breath!" Applejack commanded whilst speaking through the ice.
"Vyle..." The Wood Gecko Pokemon could barely move his limbs and body. But he could still pull off Dragon Breath, even when encased in ice.
A blue and purple light glowed inside of the ice as Grovyle let out a mighty roar filled with draconic energy. Draconic fire was hot enough to melt ice instantly thankfully. Grovyle was the first to break free from the ice.
"Gro!" He then turned to his friends, using Dragon Breath on their icy prisons as well, freeing them.
Once they were released, they could feel a chill run through their bodies as they were shaking uncontrollably.
"GH...Thanks, Gro." Applejack shuddered. "N-N-Now...After them!"
Whilst the pursuit for Team Rocket continued, underwater, Twilight, Forrest and Pinkie were still searching for a possible Evolution Stone. They had to get it over with since there are only 15 minutes left with the spell.
"See anything yet?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. Just a bunch of Water-Types" Pinkie shook her head. Whilst gazing at the endless sea, she noticed a Bruxish come to her. "Oh, hello there. Are you gonna help us find the stone?"
"Brux." Bruxish had its signature beguiling grin that it always carries with it. But that same grin is what fools everyone who comes across the Gnash Teeth Pokemon.
After all, those teeth are strong and sharp enough to even fend off Mareanie's heavily lethal spikes. Not even a Shellder's shell is a match for this Water-Psychic-Type.
Thankfully, they're not mischievous Pokemon in the slightest. At times, they assist those in the sea. Which is exactly what this Bruxish was here to do.
"Xish." The Gnash Teeth Pokemon knew where to find an Evolution Stone. Two actually. The Water-Psychic-Type had looked back at Pinkie Pie, giving her the indication that she should follow along. Bruxish's gesture was fairly easy to read.
"OH, you do!" Pinkie gasped. "Twilight! Forrest! Over here!" She swam along with her Slurpuff and Spinda, following the Gnash Teeth Pokemon.
"Hm? Pinkie, wait!" Twilight and her Pokemon did the same along with Forrest. Hopefully, they would finally find some stones in this lake.
Bruxish led them to a small cave where those two specific stones resided. Once they got there, the stones had been revealed to be two Water Stones.
"Aha! Water Stones!" Forrest pointed out.
"Really? Great find, uh...whatever your Pokemon name is." Pinkie thanked Bruxish.
"Bruxish." The Gnash Teeth Pokemon gave her name to Pinkie Pie.
"Bruxish. Got it." Pinkie Pie swam over to the cave picking up the two Water Stones with her hooves.
"Now, let's go. I think I heard a Sharpedo nearby." Twilight gulped. She had developed a fear of Sharpedo's over the past few months. Then again, a lot of ponies have.
All three of them and their Pokemon made their way back to the surface, completely unaware of the whole Team Rocket situation that was ongoing. But at least they got some Water Stones for whichever Pokemon are compatible with them.
Ash and Pikachu had gathered up a Fire Stone, Shiny Stone and Dawn Stone for the past few minutes. They made some pretty good progress.
"That's good." Ash bounced the Shiny Stone in his hands. "I think we've cleared up this area, buddy."
"Pikachu." The Electric Mouse Pokemon nodded.
Whilst they continued searching for some more stones, the two came across Twilight, Pinkie and Forrest who were soaking wet from being underwater.
"Oh. Did you guys find some?" Ash asked the drenched trio.
"Sure did. Ta-dah!" Pinkie showed off the Water Stones.
"At the cost of our warmth..." Twilight was freezing a bit. Going underwater while it was winter wasn't exactly the wisest move.
"We're sure to evolve the rest of the Pokemon here in no time." Forrest nodded.
"Pikachu." From the corner of Pikachu's ear, he heard some footsteps nearby. "Pika?" He assumed it would be the rest of his friends, but that was far from the case.
Nearby, Team Rocket could be seen dashing away with the Moon Stone. They had already lost Applejack and the others with ease thanks to their absurd running speed.
"Team Rocket?!" Ash gasped.
"PiPi-Pikachu?!"
"Hm?" Jessie screeched on the ground as her teammates all came to screeching halt. "Twerp!"
"What are you guys up to this time?!" Twilight exclaimed
"Espeon!"
"Mind your own business, Twerp and Twerpette! What we do is Team Rocket classified!" Jessie crossed her arms.
"Is that a Moon Stone?" Ash noticed that Jolteon had the Moon Stone in its possession.
"Don't mind us! Just giving this to the boss!" James grinned.
"Hang on a sec! The twerp's got a lot more on him!" Meowth pointed out Ash's possession of more than one stone.
"You're right! A bonus steal! Jolteon! Double Edge!" James commanded.
"Jol!" Jolteon spat the Moon Stone out of his mouth as he set his sights on his fellow Electric-Type "Teon!" The Lightning Pokemon had bolted forward with an outline white light surrounding his body.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash had quickly retaliated, initiating a Pokemon Battle.
"Pika!" Pikachu left behind a trail of white lines with his own afterimages as he as well rushed over to his opposing Electric-Type.
Both Pikachu and Jolteon had butted heads, entering a clash. They had a small struggle until the two of them pushed each other back.
Due to Ash and Pikachu grabbing the attention of Team Rocket, that gave Rainbow Dash and the others enough time to catch up to the trio.
"There they are!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Eh? Geeh!" Meowth squealed. "Ponies at 12 o'clock!"
"Already?!" Jessie gasped. We'll just freeze them again! Froslass! Blizzard!"
"Lass..." Froslass was prepared to immobilize all of them for the second time in a row. But Applejack wasn't having any of that.
"Push it back with Dragon Breath, Grovyle!"
"Gro!" The Grass-Type held his breath in, building up all that latent draconic energy that he posses. Both Pokemon had unleashed their attacks with Dragon Breath clashing against a large chilling wind. They cancelled each other since Grovyle's Dragon Breath is much stronger than a normal one.
"Leavanny! String Shot on the Moon Stone!"
Leavann!" Leavanny had used her string to grab the Moon Stone from Jessie's hands, retrieving it with success.
"Huh?! Hey!" Jessie looked at her hand, realizing that the stone was gone. "Give back what we stole from you! Froslass! Ice Shard!"
"Fros!" The Snow Land Pokemon summoned a chunk of ice with a flash-freeze faster than anypony could see coming. The shard struck both Grovyle and Leavanny, forcing them to the ground.
"Braviary! Aerial Ace!"
"Brav!" By swooping in from above, Braviary had slashed his wings past Froslass whilst flying by.
"Ash! Grab the Moon Stone!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Right!" Ash ran over, picking up the Moon Stone from the ground.
"I'll be taking that! Thank you very much!" Meowth had jumped over Ash, snatching the evolution stone before Ash could reach the Moon Stone himself.
The rest of the stones that Ash had in his possession wouldn't stay safe and undetected for long. Jessie had decided to take all of those stones from him.
"Froslass! Blizzard!" Yet again, the Snow Land Pokemon summoned a devastating wind of ice that spun around like a hurricane.
"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail to block it!"
"Chu-Pika!" Getting creative, Pikachu had ironized his tail, using the Steel-Types advantage over Ice as a means of defence. Once he put his tail up, the iron had easily absorbed the Blizzard, protecting Pikachu from any damage.
However, that didn't stop it from freezing someone else. And that someone ended up being both Minccy and Vulpix.
"Vul?!"
"Minccino?!"
Completely frozen solid out of nowhere.
"Ah! Minccy! Vulpix!" Twilight gasped.
"This is getting redundant now. Leavanny! X Scissor on Froslass!"
"Grovyle! Leaf Blade on Jolteon!"
Both Applejack and Rarity had decided to put an end to this once and for all. Both of their Pokemon charged forward with the strongest moves they had on them at the moment.
"Jolteon! Double Edge!"
"Froslass!" Ice Beam!"
Jolteon forced himself towards his opponents whilst Froslass stood from afar, conjuring up a chilling beam of ice. The Lightning Pokemon connected with Grovyle's arms whilst Leavanny's X Scissor had clashed with the beam, trying to push it back. Twilight went up to her Pokemon, trying to find a way of thawing them out.
"Vulpix! Try using Incinerate!"
"Vul..." The Fox Pokemon attempted to break free by melting the ice. But unfortunately, he wasn't as strong as Grovyle to perform it.
Ash had already found a solution to Twilight's problem in the form of the stones that he held. It was surely one effective way to break her Pokemon free.
"Twilight! Use these!" Ash tossed the Fire Stone and Shiny Stone over to his alicorn friend as an assist. "Put them near Vulpix and Minccino!"
"Alright!" Twilight nodded. She did exactly that. By placing the Fire Stone and Shiny Stone near her two partners, she was hoping that this would free them from their chilling prison.
And indeed it did with style. The stones reacted to the two Pokemon, emanating a blazing hot red and dazzling star-like shine. Everyone stopped what they were doing as they noticed the lights going off near Twilight.
All of a sudden, nine fireballs had materialized out of thin air, circling Vulpix as they were shaped like a 9. For Minccy, the star-like lights moved around like angel wings, wrapped the ice prison that encased her.
It was a beautiful sight to behold honestly. It was so beautiful that even Team Rocket couldn't help but gaze at it. The way it looked could only mean one thing.
Evolution.
Both Minccy and Vulpix were no longer their young, small baby forms. In a few seconds, they had become the better versions of themselves as a pillar of fire melted the ice whilst the stars shattered them.
Ninetales and Cinccino were here.
"Ninetales!"
"Cinccino!
"OH!" Twilight's eyes widened as she was in awe of what had just happened. Obviously, taking our her Pokedex was the next logical thing to do as she scanned her newly evolved partners.
"Ninetales. The Fox Pokemon. According to an enduring legend, 9 noble saints were united and reincarnated as this Pokemon. It has nine long tails and fur that gleams gold. It is said to live for 1,000 years. Ninetales are highly intelligent—it can understand human speech and each of its tails is loaded with supernatural powers."
"Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon. The white parts of its coat are covered in an oil secreted from its body that helps it deflect attacks, such as punches. For people troubled by bad skin, this oil is an effective treatment. The oil fetches a high price at market."
"Oh, finally!" Pinkie squeed.
"That's another successful evolution today!" Skye exclaimed.
"Alright! Ninetales! Minccy! Let's see what you can do now. Use Incinerate and Aqua Tail on Jolteon and Froslass!"
They had something better in store. Upon evolving, both of them had learned some new moves they could use.
For the newly evolved Cinccino, it was Tri Attack. By summoning a ball of yellow electric energy, light blue ice energy and orange fire energy. As was the nature of Tri Attack. Three simultaneous attacks of three elements had been fired with Minccy's strongest move so far.
As for Ninetales, the move he had learned was none other than Mystical Fire. By breathing gently, the Fox Pokemon exhaled a special fire filled with mystical energy. Despite how gentle Ninetales breathed it, the attack itself was insanely destructive. It had the same power as a rocket going off as a red-orange stream of flames tore through the grass itself.
"Ah! Froslass! Use Ice Beam!" Jessie gasped.
"Jolteon! Discharge!" So did James.
The two Team Rocket owned Pokemon retaliated with their own ranged attacks, however, due to the rush of evolution granting a Pokemon immense power for a few minutes, Tri Attack and Mystical Fire had easily overpowered the opposing ranged attacks without any issue.
Tri Attack had hit Jolteon whilst Mystical Fire engulfed Froslass. The aftermath of both attacks hitting their marks resulted in an explosion of Magical fire, normal fire, ice and electric energy that blew Jolteon and Froslass back as they crashed into their temporary trainers at top speeds. The resulting crash sent Team Rocket into their usual airborne state.
"Done in by stones!" Jessie growled.
"Totally blown." James sighed.
"Looks like the boss is yet again gonna be alone." Meowth bit his tail.
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Off they went as usual. Into the sky as a twinkle.
"Phew. Glad that's over with." Applejack sat down.
"Minccy! Ninetales! You two finally evolved! That's great! And you learned Tri Attack and Mystical Fire!" Twilight went over to hug her newly evolved partners. Once she did, she could suddenly hear Ninetales speak to her telepathically. After all, the Pokedex did say it has supernatural powers. "Ninetales...did you...speak to me?"
"Nine." The Fox Pokemon nodded.
"Talk about a huge success, huh?" Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"A double success. We've got some stones that are finally gonna evolve every Pokemon here in the valley." Forrest responded. "That saves up a lot of trouble. Could you imagine if we never thought of searching for new ones here?"
"Please...I don't even wanna think about it." Skye held her head.
They all laughed, celebrating their small victory along with the inclusion of two newly evolved members to the group. Now all of Twilight's Pokemon that were present with her had reached their final evolutions.
But, it wasn't over yet. They retrieved some more stones laying around the valley since the number they had so far wasn't enough. Eventually, after 23 minutes, the gang had gathered up enough evolution stones for most of the Pokemon here.
Returning to the Pokemon, it was time to let them all evolve finally. They've been waiting for this for so long and now their wish shall be granted.
"Alright! Everyone scatter!" Forrest tossed all the stones in the air as they scattered across the ground. All the Pokemon ran over to the stones they were compatible with, out of excitement.
Once they did, constant chain reactions went off with various evolution appearances. For the Pokemon who were compatible with the Moon Stone, the symbol of a crescent moon flashed around them or lifted them as a platform.
For the Ice Stone, pillars of ice or even an overly large snowflake. Point is, it was beautiful to look at. Now a large majority of them had reached their final forms.
From Wigglytuff to Simipour to even the slightly ominous Chandelure.
With their work done here, Ash and the others had decided to head back home. They still had Hearth's Warming and Christmas preparations to finish up after all. But of course, they gave their farewells to Forrest and Skye.
"Thanks so much for helping us out you guys." Forrest thanked them.
"No problem. Glad you got your little problem solved." Ash replied.
"Pikachu."
"Hope that you can find some more stones for the rest of the Pokemon here. And the ones that come after." Fluttershy said.
"We will. But uh...we might have to venture past the valley if we wanna find some more." Skye scratched her hair.
"Well, if you ever need some help with that, you can come by over to Ponyville and we'll be there," Twilight reassured.
After that, they all waved goodbye to the twins and the fully evolved Pokemon, leaving Evolution Valley, in all its radiative glory.
With two of Twilight's Pokemon reaching their final evolutions and the solution to Evolution Valley's stone problem, new areas across Equestria that involve Pokemon are constantly being revealed with others waiting to be discovered out there as the journey continues.
Chapter 238 End.