//------------------------------// // Half a dozen Ash // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Ponyville, Twilight's Castle. "Alright. Remember, Cold. Focus. All you have to do is increase the size of this quill just a tiny bit." Twilight was speaking to Cold Colt at the moment. They were going through magic lessons to help the little colt improve on his second-rate magic capabilities. "Sure...Focus." The young colt closed his eyes, focusing all of his magic into his horn. He wasn't planning on doing any major spells at all. Just something simple like increasing the size of an object by 2x. In this case a quill. Eve and the others leaned in to see if the spell would be pulled off successfully. From the way his horn was radiating, it looked to be that way. But then, for a split moment, he hesitated. He was afraid that because his magic was still destructive by nature due to him being created by the Rift, he feared the worst possible outcome. Like him making the quill so big it destroys the entire castle or he accidentally hits something. He ended up going for it anyway, but due to his magic still being somewhat unstable even when Togetic's joy dust was given to him. Cold built up too much magic in one spot when he was supposed to just make a little bit of it. Thus, his light on his horn started to gradually increase in size. Twilight and her Pokemon gulped as they saw how large the light was getting as it filled the entire room with its icy blue glow. Meanwhile, outside at Ponyville, Ash was currently helping his friends improve on their battling skills as always, going over various ways they can gain the advantage over their opponents without having to rely on typings. But after a short while, they took a break to eat some lunch. "Okay! I can't wait to eat more of that Pastry Palace! There are parts of it I haven't even tried yet!" Ash rubbed his hands together, getting psyched to eat the remaining food from Hearth's Warming and Christmas. "Ooh...Sorry, Ash. But just yesterday, it all ran out." Pinkie apologized. A certain Mythical Pokemon ended up devouring it all in one night, unfortunately. "Huh?!" Ash pulled back. "Bummer...Then I'll have the shortbread instead! That's just as good!" He managed to change up his option in a second. "Shortbread it is!" Pinkie placed down a box that had a bunch of shortbread biscuits inside. "That was some fast thinking, Ash. I thought you were going to get sad there for a sec." Rainbow said. "Well, I've got other options besides the Pastry Palace, ya know. If I couldn't have that, it would be the shortbread or apple pie that I could have." "You thought that far ahead?" Rarity spoke. "Mhm! It's just like all my battles. If one battle strategy doesn't work out, I can always utilize the rest that my Pokemon and I have in store. Know what I mean?" Ash took a single shortbread, biting half of it off. "Pikachu!" "Mighty fast decisions. I like that." Applejack nodded. Back at Twilight's castle, Cold was completely frozen in place, still building up a ton of power in one single spot without showing any signs of stopping whatsoever. "Uh...Cold. I think you've got it at a good enough level!" Twilight yelled. After hearing that, the colt unleashed the magic from his horn finally. But even when firing it, the ray didn't even make contact with the quill. Instead, it bounced off the crystal walls of Twilight's castle. Twilight and Cold yelped as this frantic beam of magic was had so much dynamic energy going across the room. Twilight yelped as she attempted to stop it with her own magic, but it was moving too fast to keep up with. Eventually, the beam of magic went outside of her castle by flying out the balcony. The two ponies rushed outside to see where it would land. But it didn't land on something nor did it increase the size of it. Instead, it landed on someone and performed a completely different result that wasn't a size increase. Ash was the one who had been struck by the magic ray. But it didn't grow him 2x his size. "Pikapi?!" "W-What is this?!" Ash shuddered. The rest of his friends noticed how that random blast of magic came out of nowhere, hitting him when he least expected it. Although, this magic blast had a ton of Rift energy infused in it, meaning that it was only a tiny bit of magic apart of it. And due to the unpredictable nature of Rift energy, Ash didn't grow in size at all. Instead, he multiplied into 6. "What?!" Fluttershy and the other's gasped. "I see one, two, three, four, five...six Ash's!" Pinkie exclaimed. "What the...?" Each of the multiple Ash's suddenly started speaking, wondering what just happened. After all, they had just been multiplied into 6 separate entities. "Oops..." Cold flopped his ears down. "Oh no." Twilight gulped. This was the last thing she was expecting. Worried in a heartbeat, she immediately teleported herself to her friends. "Ash! Are you alright?!" "Never better!" The first Ash spoke up. "Check all of this out!" He went up to the second Ash, dashing around his double like a lightning bolt! "How cool is this?!" "Holy moly...Did we get blasted with magic and split? Woah..." The second Ash's eyes widened as he looked up at the sky, starstruck. "This is surreal...But nothing I've never seen before." Pinkie Pie shrugged since she's been in a similar situation like this only on a larger scale. "Pikachu..." Pikachu was the one most perplexed by this. His favourite person in the world had just separated in front of his very eyes. But he wasn't complaining. The more Ash the better. "Pikapi!" He hopped on the first Ash's shoulder. "Where'd that magic blast even come from?" Rainbow Dash wondered. "Sorry about that..." Cold appeared next to them, shifting his eyes from left to right. "I kinda got carried away and scared with my magic. My bad!" "So it's Rift energy is it." Rarity nodded. "Well, you're still learning, Cold, darling. So don't be too stricken about it." "Yeah but like...what do we do about this?" Rainbow pointed her hoof at the multiplied Ash's. "There's six of them now." "I think it's more than that. Look." Pinkie noticed how it went above just body separation. "Their personalities have been split too!" "Personality split?!" The rest of her friends collectively said. "Mhm! And I can tell what's up with each of them." Pinkie bounced over to the first Ash. The one who was moving around like crazy, stretching his muscles and jumping up. "Alright!" The first Ash exclaimed. "Let's go above and beyond for our training! If we're gonna take down Ghetsis and save Pyrestar's world, we gotta get a move on!" He punched the air. "Ash number one is meant to be his go-getter side. He's all about getting stuff done with a bunch of momentum!" Pinkie placed her hoof around Ash's neck. "Then what about this one?" Applejack turned to the second Ash. "This is pretty neat... I've never had my body separated into 5 before." The second Ash grinned, rubbing Pikachu's belly and making the Electric Mouse Pokemon giggle. "Wouldn't it be sweet if you had a multiple personality split too, buddy?" "Pika-ka-ka-chu!" Pikachu got on his back, giggling as he sparks of electricity came out of his cheeks. "Pika!" "I can tell you about this one." Fluttershy flew over to him. "Ash number two is the side of Ash that loves Pokemon and the world around him. And possibly the simple things in life." "Got that right." Ash 2 replied, nodding. "I'm already psyched to find a new Pokemon out there! I wonder if there's really an alicorn Pokemon out there somewhere..." "Then I can probably tell what Ash number three has in store." Rarity turned over to the third Ash, seeing his personality and how it differs. "Counter Shield Greninja. Counter Shield Charizard. Counter Shield Sceptile. Counter Shield Heracross." The third one was constantly spouting the same words about having Counter Shield on the rest of his Pokemon whilst having his arms crossed and eyes closed. "This seems to be Ash's calculative side. The one who's an expert at battle strategies." Rarity explained. "Yes!" The third Ash exclaimed. "No one is getting past that Counter Shield no matter what! Heracross's Hyper Beam's gonna help so much!" "If there's a bunch of us now, we've got a better chance at doing everything from returning Pyrestar home, stopping Team Plasma and reaching Jirachi." The fourth Ash went to Cold Colt. "This makes things so much easier..." He started to tear up. "Thanks, Cold!" The fourth Ash picked up the little pony, getting all emotional. "Ash number four looks like his emotional side. That's easy enough," said Applejack. "Then what's up with this one?" Rainbow looked over at the 5th Ash who was in a somewhat similar pose as Ash number three but thinking about something else. "Everyone keep it down a bit. Trying to think. If we split into 6 with different personalities...then we'll have to figure out how to battle in the World Championship without making things confusing for everyone. But...if we were to go up against any enemies like Ghetsis, we could psych them out by confusing them." "Ash's administrative side from the looks of it." Twilight noticed. "Not a bad idea!" Ash 1 ran over to Ash number five. "Ghetsis won't see it coming! It'll be like using Double Team!" "Those all fit Ash to a T." Pinkie Pie nodded. "But wait, there was a 6th one right? Where'd he go?" "Right there." Spike pointed his claw over at the final Ash. This Ash was more distant than the others, standing on his lonesome without facing the direction of his friends. "It's not gonna be that easy to manage this..." He said in a toned-down voice. "Huh?" They all collectively said. "With all six of us, it's gonna bring up a bunch of complications. What if this just makes things worse...What if someone like Ghetsis or Chrysalis takes advantage of there being more than one of us!" He held his head with his voice rising in volume. "Is he okay...?" Rainbow asked. "Um. Ash number 6. You doing alright there?" Pinkie went over to the final Ash. "Even if there's six of us now... it might mean we're not at our best. We're only half a dozen as strong..." Ash 6 lowered his head. "Then we're just weaker than ever!" He shuddered. "So...this is the Ash that imagines the worst-case scenario's...?" Rainbow Dash examined. "Looks like it." Twilight nodded. "I never would've thought Ash had that kind of negative side to him..." Rarity commented. "But it's still Ash either way," Fluttershy replied. "Come on guys! Let's think big now! We're gonna get a lot of stuff done in one day!" Ash 1 one yelled. "Like what?" Everyone except for the 6th Ash turned to him. "First, we're gonna get stronger with training, travel through worlds, defeat Team Plasma, find Jirachi and we're smooth sailing from there on!" "That's impossible! We can't do that in one day!" Pinkie shook her head. "Then...two days! That'll do!" "That's still gonna be beyond the bounds of possibility..." Twilight facehoofed. "Never know unless you try! Come on, let's battle! I've got a good feeling about this! "Hold it." Ash 3 interrupted. "If we're going to train super fast, then we'll need to think of brand new fresh battle strategies before that. We could have Pikachu re-learn Volt Tackle and combined it with Braviary's Brave Bird and Eve's Dazzling Gleam." "Pika?" "I think the better option is to find a way to bring you all back together," said Rarity. "Wouldn't you say?" "Aw...do we have to?" Ash 1 groaned. "Yes. After all, this was an accident." Twilight nodded her head. "But how do we do it...?" "There isn't a spell that can reverse this?" Pinkie turned to Twilight. "Well, this isn't like the magic mirror pond at all where it's nothing but clones. They're the same entity just split." The young alicorn explained. "Plus, this might be Rift energy at work here." "Sorry again!" Cold apologized a second time. "So then...there might not be a spell that can work if its from the Rift..." Ash 6 spoke. "We're gonna be like this forever..." "Let's not lose hope yet, pal." Ash 1 rushed over to Ash 6. "We've got Celestia and Luna. They might know of something!" "Pikachu!" "You might be on to something, Ash 1. Alright. We'll head to Canterlot and see what the princesses have to say." Twilight declared. Everyone collectively agreed except for Ash 6, who said absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. Canterlot. Celestia's Throne Room. "Well...this is interesting..." Celestia was bug-eyed once she gazed her eyes on the 6 different Ash's and how they each acted. "Interesting is an understatement," said Luna. "6 different personalities yet the same being." Celestia examined. "So, judging by how surprised you all are by this, there's no spell for this is there?" Twilight responded in a worried tone. "Actually, there is." Celestia reinstalled hope in their hearts. "Something similar to this would be the Body Separation spell. Except that one is only capable of splitting somepony into two." "We're actually surprised because this is the first time we've seen something like this happen before. My sister and I have only ever heard of it in our studies." Luna explained. "First time for everything, huh?" Ash 2 commented. "So what's the spell that can bring them all back into one?" Rainbow asked. "Not a spell. But by willpower alone." "Willpower?" The Mane 6 collectively said. "Right. The one who has been separated must accept their other-selves to become a single entity once more. That is how the spell can be undone without using any magic." "That's no problem! We've got a strong connection to Azelf, so this'll be a cinch! Right guys?" Ash 1 looked over at his other-selves. "Right you are on that." Ash 2 nodded. "Should we try it now?" "Already on it." Ash 1 went over to Ash 2 as the split personalities fist-bumped. Once they made contact, a surge of blue energy erupted from both of their bodies as they were pulled towards each other, becoming one single entity. Ash had just regained both his boundless optimism and gentle nature. Now there were only 4 left. "Yes! Success!" The double merged Ash grinned. "Huh. Guess we don't need to overthink it at all. If it's this easy." said Ash 5. "I can add the battle strategies I just thought of into my original self! Score!" Ash 3 rushed in, giving the merged Ash a high-five as they became 3 in 1. "Phew...I was getting worried there." Ash 4 let out a sigh of relief. "Although, it would've been cool to have a 6-Ash team though...What a missed opportunity!" He was getting emotional again. "Alright. Come here, pal." The Merged Ash went over to Ash 4, giving him a pat on the back as they become 4 in 1 this time. "Well. That gets rid of all the complications. And the psyching out part, unfortunately. But hey...what can you do?" Ash 5 casually touched the shoulder of Merged Ash, bringing for a 5 in 1 Ash. "Now that just leaves Ash 6." Twilight flew over to the final Ash. "You ready?" "...Hmrrgh..." Ash 6 sat alone in a corner, yet again being on his own without facing anyone. "Pikapi?" "I don't think it's a good idea for me to go back." Ash 6 suddenly said. His response shocked everypony since that was the last thing they'd expect to hear. "Oh come on. Don't say that." Pinkie bounced over to Ash 6. "Why wouldn't you wanna go back to being you?" "I think I understand his theory." Celestia already got what Ash 6 meant. "If there's not a single negative side, then that creates a hyper-positive and powerful Ash. Ash 6 stood up, feeling like his negative aura wasn't helping the mood at the moment. "Sorry. I'll be on my way now." He let himself out of Canterlot without facing anyone, yet again. "Wait!" Twilight flew after him. "You have to go back! To make Ash whole again!" "Thanks, Twilight but...I'm not really willing to head back. It's best if this version of Ash exists. That way nothing's gonna wear him down." Ash 6 made up his mind, continuing to walk away from Canterlot. "Don't worry! It'll be okay! After all. It is still Ash. So he'll work things out eventually." Pinkie reassured. But Twilight wasn't so sure about that. Something felt off about Ash 6. Over at the Canterlot Tournament Stadium, the 5 in 1 Ash or Merged Ash as he's now titled gathered his friends outside to continue their training at that specific stadium. It was wide and flat. Perfect for practice. "Let's make this a super-effective training! And I know just how to do it!" Merged Ash yelled. "Couldn't we just head back to Ponyville?" Applejack asked. "This is much closer so we don't have to take a long trip. Now. Ash number 3 had a pretty good suggestion. Let's combine a bunch of moves and see how things go!" "We did one move combination when going up against Obsidian. It was pretty neat. My Braviary looked so cool in it!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "Can we pull it off with our new Pokemon?" Rarity wondered. "Only one way to find out. Pikachu, help them out. Farfetch'd can join in as well." Merged Ash held out a Poke Ball. "Pika..." Pikachu was actually feeling a bit worried at the moment. And it involved the final Ash. Despite this version of Ash having the sunny personality he loves, he felt like something important was missing. "It's about Ash 6, isn't it?" Merged Ash said. "Pikachu..." The Electric Mouse nodded. "Hmm...Alright. You can sit this one out and go after him. That cool?" Merged Ash suggested. "Pika." Pikachu agreed to that suggestion. He hopped off his trainer's shoulder, heading off to find Ash 6. "Alright! I've got a perfect way we can make a new move combination! How about we have Grovyle use Dragon Breath, Altaria use Dragon Pulse and combine it with Eve's Dazzling Gleam! Since it's a Fairy-Type move, both Dragon moves won't affect her for a second!" "Oh...that's actually pretty clever..." Rainbow nodded. "Mhm! Then we'll have an extra addition! We'll have Audino Mega Evolve in the mix! So that's double the fairy power." "But What will Audi do? She only has Hyper Beam to really deal any damage." Fluttershy held her Audino. "Dino." "That's exactly what we'll need. Plus, we can always try triple electricity with Braviary's Steel Wing. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and I will cover that part and...Wait." "What's wrong, Ash?" Rarity noticed that Ash suddenly froze on the spot. "Something doesn't feel right." Merged Ash shook his head. "I had a pretty flow going with the move combination plan but...feels like I'm missing something." "Maybe you're forgetting a move or two?" Pinkie shrugged. "No, that's not it." Merged Ash shook his head. "My plan sounds impossible to fail, something's missing from it." He sat down, sighing. "What is it?" That's when those exact words hit Twilight's brain like a truck. When he said Impossible she knew what Merged Ash was trying to figure out. And it was pretty clear as day that it involved Ash 6. "Hold on, everypony. I'll be right back." Twilight spoke them all. "Where are you going, Twilight?" Applejack asked. "To Ash 6. Don't worry, I'll make this quick." Twilight flew off in the direction both Ash 6 and Pikachu went. And that was Canterlot Gardens. Ash 6 sat alone on a bench, not making a single word throughout the entire time he has been here. Not even a mumble. He wouldn't be alone for long as his best buddy Pikachu came along, spotting his trainer. "Pikapi!" Pikachu called out. "Pikachu?" Ash 6 turned around. "Pikapi. Pikachu?" The Electric Mouse Pokemon hopped up the bench, wondering if Ash 6 was managing to sort this out according to Pinkie Pie's words. "Sorry that you have to see me like this, buddy. Guess you're not a fan of my downside, huh?" "Pika. Pikachu." Pikachu didn't care about any of that. Despite whatever mood Ash may be feeling or any personality that he might possess within himself, he was still the trainer that Pikachu loved to the very core. And that will never change. "Thanks, buddy. You're always here for me." Ash 6 rubbed Pikachu's head. "Pika..." "Ash!" A third member joined the scene. Twilight had arrived, calling out for her friend's name. "There you are." "Twilight?" "Ash. I need to tell you something!" "It won't work...I've already made up my mind Twilight. The current Ash is the best one there is. What good is a trainer who's dragging himself down with a negative side like me?" "Ash..." "Pikapi..." "Besides...that gives him a better shot at achieving his dream. He can become a Pokemon Master in no time. I swore that one day I would become a Pokemon Master but...it's been how many years now?" "But you can still become a Pokemon Master, right? You-" "It's not even an official thing, honestly." He interrupted. "I made up the title of a Pokemon Master when I was young. Because I believed there was something greater than a Champion. I'm practically aiming for a goal that doesn't even exist." Ash 6 stood up. "Ash. Even if that's true, you've still got a lot of goals that you can achieve. Like us reaching Jirachi or saving Pyrestar's world from Ghetsis!" Yeah. But I ended up dragging my mess to your world. Everyone here in Equestria's still new to Pokemon. And so many of them have had their lives endangered because of it, including you and the others when Pheromosa attacked. Even Celestia took a pretty bad hit from Hydreigon once." "You didn't rope us into this Ash. It just happened out of nowhere! Nopony could've predicted something like this!" "Pikachu!" "Ash... The reason why your true self can rush in the way he does is that you're a part of him, anticipating the worst-case scenario." "What...?" "You have your doubts sure. But that hasn't stopped you before, has it? You're always able to bounce back with determination and a smile? Don't you see? anticipate the risk for everything you do. You even manage to save the lives of others with that anticipation. That's one of the many reasons why I like about you a lot." "Pikapi." "For your true self to blaze on the way he does...he needs you, Ash." Twilight placed her hooves on Ash's shoulder. "Then...it'll be alright if I come back?" Ash looked up at her. "She's right." A voice agreed with Twilight. That voice belonging to Merged Ash. "If I didn't have you then...I wouldn't be able to make the right decisions." "W-What?" Ash 6 stuttered. "When I went over to the battle plan for the move combination, I felt like something was missing. After hearing what Twilight said, I think I get it." "Pikachu?" "I wasn't thinking about the risk that involves the others. Even if I'm confident there's a 99% chance that it'll work out, there's a 1% chance that it could lead to a bad outcome." "Bad outcome...?" "You're the most important part of me. The one who reminds me of what I need to be aware of. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today." "Then... do you think we can actually make a Pokemon Master a real thing?" "We'll be the first and greatest master of them all." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Now bring it in, pal." "O-Okay!" Ash 6 nodded his head as he ran over to his Merged Self. The two embraced each other with a hug as the final azure light emanated from their body. A pillar of light rose as if it was piercing through the skies itself. The light could be seen all the way from every corner of Equestria, no matter how far. The light spread out like wings as Ash's true self had returned. He was finally whole again. "Yes!" He roared. "Back to being me!" "Pikapi!" "Welcome back, Ash!" Twilight flew over to him as both her and Pikachu gave the trainer an embracing hug "It's good to be back." Ash carried both Pikachu and Twilight on his shoulders. Celestia and Luna had seen the whole thing play out. And they couldn't be more proud of Twilight and Ash for helping the doubtful side of Ash. "So. That move combination. I finally figured out what I was trying to say. Here's how it's gonna work." Ash rambled on about how the team attack will play out whilst also telling them what not to do to avoid any casualties. Even Celestia and Luna took in this information as it could help them in battle. Ash is certainly an interesting individual. With all those ecstatic, colourful and joyful personalities he has at his disposal, nopony ever predicted him to have a side that was doubtful to a large degree. But even still, Ash knows how to break past those doubts and always finds a way to press on. He'll always have his doubts, sure, but his earnestness, rashness, and determination have remained. Never straying from his goal, he will always remain loyal to his friends, family, supporters, and of course, Pokémon. The timeless adventure of Ash and his partner Pikachu will always be filled with boundless energy as the journey continues. Chapter 245 End.