//------------------------------// // Those that lurk in the dark // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// The Pokemon Festival. 6:30 PM The sun was going down. Soon, the dark blue skies of the night would come out and envelop the entire world, transitioning into nightfall. But even then, that wouldn't stop everyone from enjoying the festival. Although, there was one thing to consider when the night arrives. "Victory is mine, Pinkie Pie. But well played." Eventide had just finished his Escavalier Joust with Pinkie as he helped her up from the ground. "Aw!" Pinkie pouted. "I got wiped." Let's compete against each other in the next attraction!" "Deal!" Eventide laughed as he looked up. "Hm. It's already close to nightfall. What say we-" When Eventide turned to face the others, he realized that they had already left. Off to take part in other festival activities. "Hm?! They've left already!" "They're probably having loads of fun right now!" Pinkie climbed on Eventide's back. "We can keep on having loads of fun too!" "Aye. Come, Pinkie Pie. There is much to do before the day ends." Eventide and Pinkie went off to do whatever it is they can involve themselves in. Ash and the others had split up long ago, going their own separate ways to enjoy the festival. Some are still sticking in groups instead of going solo. Speaking of Ash, he and Pikachu were being followed by both Twilight and Meloetta who have been giving each other looks for a long time now. Alongside Fluttershy who was intrigued by Meloetta. "You know, you two have been acting pretty weird with each other." Ash pointed out. "You okay?" "Hm? Fine. Totally fine." Twilight let out a fake grin. "Meloetta." So did Meloetta. They both tried to play it off like there was nothing wrong, but clearly, there was. Once Ash turned around, the two of them got back to giving each other disdainful looks as they also growled. "Oh my." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "I hope this doesn't last the entire festival." "Audino." "I should also check up on Chikorita. She must still be enjoying that pool." Fluttershy nodded. "Pika...Pikachu..." Pikachu yawned, feeling the calming aura of the orange sunset. That was an indication that he was running low on steam for the day after having so much fun. "Feeling tired buddy?" Ash said to his partner. "Pika." "Alright. We'll get you to bed up there." He pointed up at the castle, referring to the many guest rooms inside. "I'll put him to bed, Ash." Fluttershy flew up to him. "Thanks, Fluttershy." Ash gave Pikachu to Fluttershy, allowing her to take it from here. Seeing Fluttershy take Pikachu and hold him in her hooves made Twilight and Meloetta realize that Ash was flying solo now. Pikachu, for the most part, is always by Ash's side and they are rarely apart from each other. So with this revelation, the two of them decided to take advantage of the situation. As their eyes met, they were thinking the same thing. But it was a matter of who would pull it off first. Once Fluttershy left with Pikachu, it was just these three. "Okay..." Ash took a deep breath. "What to do before I clock out?" "Oh!" Twilight flew over to him. "Ash! Before you rest, we can both head to the balcony and watch the sunset together. At night, the stars look extra beautiful, especially here in Canterlot!" "Melo?!" Meloetta gasped. "Really? That'd be nice to look at actually." Ash grinned as he was considering it. Which didn't bode too well with Meloetta. And she didn't have anything that could 1UP Twilight's suggestion, which almost made it seem like Meloetta had lost this time. "Hm." Twilight rotated her head to face Meloetta as she had a smug look on her face, knowing that she had bested the Melody Pokemon. At least, that's what she thought. "Etta." Meloetta landed on Ash's shoulder, insisting that she could come along. "Hm? Meloetta? Do you wanna come along?" "Huh?!" Twilight screeched. "Meloetta." She nodded gently whilst having one eye close and the other looking over at Twilight with cockiness involved within it. She let out a tiny little chuckle that riled Twilight up. "Etta-Etta." "Alright. We'll all go up to the balcony then." "Meloetta!" "Yeah, great..." Twilight growled as she then started to whisper to Meloetta whilst they all made their way towards the castle. "You haven't won yet, you hear me? You can't convex him for long. I'm going to spend time with him one way or another." "Etta. Melo. Meloetta." She whispered back with her own disdainful words. But Ash was thinking about something else himself. "Wonder what Rainbow Dash and Soarin are doing right now? Did they continue their Gym Battle?" With Rainbow Dash and Soarin, they were both just casually hanging out instead of continuing their Gym Battle. They had already involved themselves in attractions and other activities and with the sun going down, they decided to just take things slow. "I can see why you like them so much." Rainbow Dash said as she ate a pie with Soarin. "Mhm!" He nodded in response whilst munching down on his favourite food. "Say, Rainbow Dash. I got a quick question." "Yeah?" "This whole Equestria League. Why do you wanna win it so badly? Besides becoming the first champion anyway?" "Hm. That's easy. I just wanna win it and come out on top. That's all." "Oh. I guess I should've expected that. Much easier than everypony else's?" Soarin devoured a pie. "What about everypony?" "Mmm!" He swallowed the pie. "Some of them wanna be the champion for completely different reasons, ya know. Way different than having fun." "Like?" "I don't know." Soarin consumed three pies at once. "But I can tell you that some are more personal than others." "Huh. Personal..." Rainbow Dash began to think about something for a moment. About what she'll end up doing if she becomes the first champion of Equestria. It's a huge goal but one that seems to be the be all end all of a Pokemon Trainer aside from the fabled and rare Pokemon Master role. Rainbow thought about how Ash himself is a champion but he hasn't stopped going on countless journeys and creating new memories. Ash himself even said that even if he becomes a Pokemon Master one day, he'll most likely never stop going on brand new adventures. After all, Ash knows that there is always something else out there waiting to be explored. It's why his adventure truly seems timeless. But for Rainbow Dash, she wasn't so sure. If she wins, does she retire, continue being the champion until somepony beats her or something entirely unexpected. That was up in the air for her. But for now, she was going to keep on advancing through the ranks until she reaches the Equestria League and goes up against the best of the best. "What about you, Soarin? Why do you want to be the champion?" "Hm? Nah. I'm not planning on being the champion." "You're not? Then why are you taking part in the Equestria League?" "Not sure myself. I guess I'm doing it for the same reason you are. Just to have fun. Minus the champion part." "Well...What are you gonna do when you become the champion?" "Eh..." Soarin winced. "No clue. If I do become the champion somehow then...I guess I'll keep battling until I find somepony stronger who can beat me. Or I'll just chill and relax like Cynthia." "Hm. I guess that would work..." Rainbow Dash said under her breath. "Anyway...I'm slumped." Soarin yawned. "Might have to go to the Crystal Empire tomorrow for some new attractions." "Aren't you gonna stay here and run the gym?" Rainbow asked. "Hm? Nah." He shook his head. "The other pony's gonna take my place. I wanna enjoy this thing to the fullest, you know what I mean?" "I hear ya." She nodded. "But we're still gonna finish our battle right?" "Oh sure." Soarin ate the last pie. "I'll be at my best and we'll have a blast." "Great. Then get yourself to bed, Gym Leader." "Okay! But uh...Mind if I have a few more pies?" "Sure..." Rainbow sighed before laughing afterwards. Inside of Canterlot Castle. "Alright, Pikachu," Fluttershy spoke as she placed the Electric Mouse Pokemon on a guest room bed. "You get yourself some great rest." "Pika..." Pikachu stretched his arms, feeling the soft and comfortable mattress of the bed he was on. He placed his arms behind his back, wagging his tail as he was in pure bliss right now. "We should check up on Chikorita. Audi. She must've fallen asleep in the pool by now." "Dino." The trainer and Pokemon left the room, leaving Pikachu to rest his nerves away as they turned off the light, closing the door in the process. But they weren't leaving the castle just yet. Not because they wanted to stay around for a little while longer, but because Audino's feelers were picking up on something. "Audino?" Her head turned east. "What is it, Audi? What did you hear?" "Audino..." What she heard sounded like someone falling to the floor. Soon, she and Fluttershy spotted a very familiar green glow right around the corner with familiar tentacles as well. They looked at each other, knowing what move that was. Secret Power. More specifically the Secret Power that causes sleep. Which means that the sound that Audino heard was the sound of someone falling asleep without full control. They quickly rushed to the corner to see that the guards of Canterlot Castle had all been put to sleep. Most likely just now since the green energy was fading away. "Oh, dear!" Fluttershy gasped as she flew over to the guards. "Um, wake up please." She gently nudged the sleeping guards with her hooves, trying to wake them up. "Dino." Audino did the same but she made no progress either. "Oh. I wish Refresh also worked on sleep effects...But who could've done this?" "Audino." Audino reminded Fluttershy of how Jackie mentioned that the Umbrage Thieves were here in Canterlot. And previously, their first encounter with them involved Secret Power that was meant to put them to sleep. "Oh right. The Umbrage Thieves. But it's not yet night." Fluttershy looked around. She noticed that other than the guards and her and Audino, nopony else was present inside of Canterlot Castle. At least, that's what they thought. Because behind them, a shadow loomed over, which already gave the two of them a horrible vibe and uneasy feeling. Fluttershy gasped as Audino quickly got in front of her trainer, ready to protect her from whatever threat would cause any form of harm. But it was quickly revealed that it wasn't a threat. The shadow was just Darkrai rising back up as he towered over Audino and Fluttershy. "Oh, Darkrai. You scared me." Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry. But it seems I was too late." Darkrai spoke. "They certainly know how to disappear with barely any trace. All I can see is some sort of a swift blur." "Who? You mean the Umbrage Thieves?" "Hm? Do you know of them?" "Mhm." Fluttershy nodded. "We first met them back near Ponyville. And they used the same Secret Power to try and put us to sleep. Pokemon Ranger Jackie told us that they'd be here." "So I'm not the only in pursuit of them then..." "They strike only at night, but the sun hasn't fully gone down yet." Fluttershy looked out the window. "Whenever they strike, they're slippery. I've only managed to find one of them earlier this afternoon. I sensed more of them but now they've just suddenly vanished." "Dino..." Audino tried to chime in by using her feelers to pick on any trace of the Umbrage Thieves. But she didn't get a single thing. All her ears picked up on were the sounds of the guards snoring and mumbling in their sleep. "Audi can't find them either." Fluttershy pointed out. "They're most likely using a Pokemon to mask their presence. The previous thief used a Dusclops to try and steal the eggs from the Pokemon Breeding Room. But I'm not sure which Pokemon they're using for Secret Power or completely vanishing." "Well..." Fluttershy stood up. "Officer Jenny revealed that they can sometimes leave a trace of hair behind. Like how one of them left a yellow strand of hair." "Yellow strand of hair you say?" That caught Darkrai's attention. The pony he encountered earlier had a yellow mane and is most likely apart of the Umbrage Thieves. "Fluttershy. Audino. Will you help me find them?" "Of course!" Fluttershy flew up "I can't let them get away with stealing Pokemon! Especially Pokemon who belong to trainers!" Saying that made Fluttershy realize that both Chikorita and Pikachu were alone without Fluttershy or Ash being present with them. "Oh, no...Chikorita! Pikachu!" Worried, she rushed towards the guest room where Pikachu was resting, hoping that he hadn't been taken by the Umbrage Thieves. Thankfully, Pikachu was fine and snug in the bed. "Pikachu..." The Electric Mouse Pokemon sighed. "Oh thank goodness..." Said a relieved Fluttershy. "But what about Chikorita?! They could've grabbed her from the Relief Zone!" "Audino!" Audino told Fluttershy that Chikorita was fine since she could still hear the snoring of the Leaf Pokemon from afar by the pool Thanks to Audino being inside of Canterlot Castle and instead of outside, she was able to focus her feelers clearly on one specific sound rather than having to try and navigate her hearing through the crowded streets of the Pokemon Festival. "Oh. Okay. But I'm still worried. Let's pick her up as soon as we can! Oh, but I don't want to leave Pikachu here!" "Don't worry, Fluttershy. I can solve this." Darkrai flew over to her. "Y-You can?" "All of you. Come out." Darkrai had suddenly ordered for the arrival of Luna's Pokemon who were all still inside of the Moon Princess's bedroom. From Luna's room, her Pokemon had exited. From Frillish phasing through the walls to the others just simply using the door to exit, they all listened to Darkrai since he had so much authority over them. "Frill!" "Excadrill!" "Gli!" All of them spoke rapidly, wondering why Darkrai had called them out. "All of you. I need you to keep a lookout. For a certain group of ponies called the Umbrage Thieves. Their main objective is stealing Pokemon, specifically ones that are already owned by trainers." "Oh! And they wear these black suits with green lines around them!" Fluttershy went into a bit more detail. "Right. That too. Keep the guards safe and one of you is going to give me the signal if you catch them. Chatot. You're the loudest out of all of us, so you'll know what to do." "Chatot! Know what to do!" Chatot replied. "Thank you so much, Darkrai!" Fluttershy flew up to the Pitch Black Pokemon, surprising him with a loving hug. "Mrrgh..." Darkrai grumbled at the hug. "Just go and get your Chikorita." "Right! Audi, let's go quick!" Fluttershy hopped on Audino's back. "Audino!" Like a trusty steed, Audino made a run for it. She wasn't the fastest Pokemon but she tried her best. "Xatu. Those 4 eyes of yours can always come in handy." Darkrai spoke to Xatu. "I can most definitely count on you." "Xatu..." "I'll continue searching for them. And remember, give me a signal." Darkrai said his last words to them as he descended into the shadows, off to continue his search for the Umbrage Thieves. The Relief Zone. Finally, the sun had set. It was time for the moon to arrive. Over at the area with the pool, Chikorita was fast asleep with her head poking out of the pool. It was a good thing she was a very light Pokemon. All the Pokemon near here had already fallen asleep themselves due to the calming aura of the late afternoon that then transitioned into the night. With the relaxing sound of the pool moving about, it seemed peaceful and sombre here with barely anything to break that peace. The trees of this relief zone were met with an ominous and violent wind, one that was enough to wake the Leaf Pokemon up from her rest. "Chiko?" She opened her eyes to see that it was now night. But that wasn't all. Chikorita felt as if something was off the moment she woke up. From how the wind was blowing on the trees along with an unknown howl, the Grass-Type had gotten an uncomfortable feeling run through her. "Chiko!" She called out for her trainer Fluttershy. Chikorita is a bit of a little child. In which she can get terrified easily over anything that may seem suspicious or unknown. And she had every right to be a bit terrified. The ominous wind had suddenly stopped abruptly. The eerie howling in the wind had ceased with pure silence filling the air. Chikorita thought that everything was clear now as she got out of the pool. "Chikorita!" The sound of Fluttershy echoed through her ears. "Chiko?" "Chikorita!" Fluttershy and Audino had arrived in time to see their friend completely fine and still in the same spot. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" "Chiko!" The Leaf Pokemon hopped into the arms of Audino. "Audino!" "Phew...I suppose they only really strike at a very late night." Fluttershy smiled. "Rita?" "I'm just glad that you're alright. And all the Pokemon here as well." "Audi." Audino nodded in agreement. But once again, her feelers were picking up on something new. This time, it sounded like a whimper. "Audino?" The whimper wasn't too far away since it was approaching the direction of Audino, Fluttershy and Chikorita. They could each hear it now as it was revealed that a Klefki was making those whimpers. "Klefki..." "Oh, a Klefki. What's wrong?" Fluttershy flew over to the whimpering Key Ring Pokemon, seeing that it was in a state of sadness. "Ki...Klefki." The Key Ring Pokemon closed its eyes, giving a sort of apology to Fluttershy and her Pokemon. "Hm? What do you mean by... I'm sorry?" Fluttershy translated as she tilted her head, wondering why Klefki would say that. "Ki." The reason why the Steel-Fairy-Type apologized was because of one reason. When it opened its eyes, a blue outline of Psychic energy surrounded the bodies of Fluttershy, Audino and Chikorita. "Audino?!" "Chiko?!" "H-Huh?!" The shy pegasus gasped as she and her Pokemon were now being held in place by the Psychic grasp of this small little Key monster. "Bravo, Klefki." It wasn't Klefki doing this on purpose. Instead, it had been ordered to use Psychic on the three of them. And the trainer who ordered the Key Ring Pokemon was an Umbrage Thief. More specifically, the one that Fluttershy and her friends first encountered down in the caves. From her tall stature to her lengthy horn. "Y-You?!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "The ability to hear anything. From how somepony is feeling or an egg hatching." The Umbrage Thief went up to Audino, circling the Hearing Pokemon. "We could use that." "D-Dino?!" "You're not getting your hooves on my Audino!" Fluttershy growled. "Hmph." The unicorn smirked underneath the mask as she looked over at Chikorita. "Chiko...!" "Hm. Nothing special about this one. We'll just sell it." "Chiko?!" "I don't think so! Audi! Hyper Beam!" "Audi..." A ball of energy formed in Audino's mouth as a means of escaping the hold of Psychic. She didn't want to harm Klefki but she wasn't about to let this thief sell her friend and use her for personal gain. "Slam them." "K-Klefki!" Klefki closed its eyes as it slammed all three of them down on the ground, interrupting Hyper Beam as the trio felt some pain enter their system from getting slammed onto the solid ground. The Key Ring Pokemon kept them on the ground with their faces being flat on the ground. They were unable to move as all they could see was the ground now. "Hm-hm." The unicorn chuckled. "Easy." She walked up to Chikorita and Audino, already having a way of capturing them each. The unicorn wasn't alone. From the shadows, other Umbrage Thieves revealed themselves. Eighteen of them in total as they all surrounded Fluttershy and her Pokemon. But they couldn't see the thieves since they were just in a face-flat position. "Y-You won't get away with this! Darkrai-" "Oh, we're aware of Darkrai." She interrupted Fluttershy. "The Pitch Black Pokemon who's capable of nightmares? We've dealt with that." "But Darkrai can go into the shadows of everypony! You can't-" "Ah, but there is only one Darkrai here. We took the pleasure of distracting him." She walked up to Fluttershy, raising her head, revealing the rest of the Umbrage Thieves to her. "S-So many..." Fluttershy gawked. "Yes. Our black suits are what will keep that Dark pest out of our manes...They're not just for show you know." "Yeah!" A pegasus flew up to Fluttershy. "These babies are made out of-" "Hush." The unicorn shoved her hoof in the pegasus's mouth, forcing her to stop before she reveals their secret. But these suits were indeed capable of masking them from a Pokemon such as Darkrai. The best that Darkrai can spot is a blur. Fluttershy picked up on that fast. Darkrai mentioned that he could only see a swift blur. Even with a Pokemon such as himself, he couldn't trace the Umbrage Thieves. This would also explain why the Officer Jenny's had so much trouble tracking the thieves down until one of them left a mane that allowed them to get a trace of the Umbrage Thieves. Which led Fluttershy to theorize how they were able to do it. "You used magic..." Fluttershy uttered. "Perhaps." She chuckled. "Alright. Time to go." The unicorn, seemingly the leader of the group, approached Audino and Chikorita as her horn was glowing. "No!" Fluttershy exclaimed. She tried to reach for her Mega Ring but Psychic wouldn't let her. "Sssh...Go to sleep now. Orbeetle. Hypnosis." The unicorn uttered as an Orbeetle descended from above, floating in front of the unicorn. "Orb." The Seven Spot Pokemon sent hypnotic waves of psychic energy that travelled from its eyes. Fluttershy tried to close her eyes, but the unicorn used her magic to keep them open. "No closing them." She grinned. Hypnosis had put Fluttershy into a drowsy state, causing the shy pegasus to feel exhausted immediately. She was powerless in this situation. At least, it seemed like that was the case. Until Darkrai arrived. "Found you!" He emerged from the shadows, firing a barrage of Dark Voids that rained down from above. "What?!" The unicorn gasped as she witnessed multiple black orbs of darkness heading straight towards her. She quickly put a defensive barrier to shield her from the Dark Void but the others weren't so lucky. Each of the other Umbrage Thieves were hit by Dark Void, putting them all into a slumbered state. Klefki had been hit by the Dark Void as well. "Accursed Darkrai...!" Knowing that Darkrai had found them despite their seemingly perfect plan to hide and distract him had failed, the unicorn decided to leave without her fellow thieves. Orbeetle got in the way by using Protect to shield the unicorn from the rain of Dark Voids from above. This plan was a failure thanks to Darkrai. She used her magic to teleport away, abandoning not only Klefki and her fellow thieves, but even Orbeetle who got in the way to protect her. "Beetle?!" The Seven Spot Pokemon noticed that she had abandoned it, causing Orbeetle to let its guard down. And once it did, Dark Void hit it, putting the Psychic-Bug-Type into a sleep state. Fluttershy was freed from the grasp of Psychic due to Klefki falling asleep as Darkrai looked over, noticing that one of them had escaped. More specifically the tall unicorn. "Ugh..." Fluttershy groaned as she quickly got off the ground. "Fluttershy! Are you alright?!" Darkrai descended. "Audino...Chikorita..." Fluttershy whimpered as the thought of her Pokemon almost being stolen like that hit her so hard that she fainted from the shock. Darkrai caught her with his claws, preventing her from falling onto the ground. The Pitch Black Pokemon saw how Audino and Chikorita were a bit injured from Klefki slamming them onto the ground. It was wonderful that Darkrai came to their rescue. With Fluttershy fainted and the others asleep, Darkrai now had a lot that he had to do. His first decision was making sure that the thieves don't go anywhere when they wake up. And the second decision was getting Fluttershy to a bed so that she can rest. But, he thought of a better idea. He flew over to Audino, giving the Hearing Pokemon her trainer. "Get her to the guest room." "Audino!" Audino understood clearly as she and Chikorita made a run for it whilst Darkrai would stay here in the relief zone, keeping an eye on the thieves. A heroic save from Darkrai. But the mysterious unicorn who seems to be the leader of all of this was now a major red flag to take notice of. It is unclear if this unicorn was still in Canterlot after her plan managed to result in a huge failure since Darkrai found her. But with the rest of the thieves asleep here in Canterlot, Darkrai has a lot of information to give out while the first day of the Pokemon Festival slowly comes to an end as the journey continues. Chapter 303 End.