//------------------------------// // Signs of Evolution // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Manehattan Gym. 11:02 The battle between Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer continues. Currently, both of them have lost one Pokemon each. Twilight's Cinccino and Sunset's Fletchinder. The score was even. Now it was Twilight's Espeon vs Sunset's Volcarona. "Espeon..." "Volcarona..." The two Pokemon were eyeing each other down, anticipating the commands of their trainers. Twilight was thinking of a way to approach Volcarona since it was so powerful and so far had a lot of variety with its moves. "The only Bug move she has is Quiver Dance... but not attacking ones." Twilight thought to herself. "None of my Pokemon are really threatened by any of her moves...But still..." "Why are they not moving, exactly?" Luna asked Celestia. "Twilight and Sunset are both assessing the situation right now," Celestia explained. "One of the few things they both have in common, I've noticed." "That Volcarona's got a lot of stuff to deal with her Pokemon, doesn't it?" Aria said. "Yeah, but only Psychic and Fire Blast won't work on Absol and Ninetales," Ash replied. "Pikachu." Pikachu nodded. "Alright...I know what I can do." Twilight smiled. "Hey uh...Are you two gonna continue battling or what?" Sonata asked them. "Yeah, we will. Eve! Use Dazzling Gleam and fire it up!" "Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon became surrounded in a rainbow-coloured sphere as she sent multi-coloured rays into the air instead of directly towards Volcarona since Dazzling Gleam is originally a physical move. "What's she planning?" Sunset Shimmer looked up. She saw how the rainbow rays covered the ceiling before raining down from above. Then, she realized that this was a bombardment attack instead of a direct head-on attack. "Not good...Dodge them quick!" "Volca!" An attempt was made to dodge the raining rainbow-rays. Volcarona's speed had already been increased thanks to Quiver Dance. So there was a chance of her dodging these raining Dazzling Gleams successfully. Volcarona flapped her wings ferociously, evading the rays of Dazzling Gleam with a beautiful dance. It almost looked like she was performing yet another Quiver Dance. As the rays were evaded, they hit the ground, creating large rainbow smoke clouds upon contact. These smoke clouds continued to form each time a Dazzling Gleam fell by missing Volcarona. However, this is what Twilight wanted. If all of the Dazzling Gleams didn't hit Volcarona in the end, she would still have something to bank on. And indeed, none of them hit the Bug-Fire-Type so it was time for her second plan to be put into action. As the rain of Dazzling Gleams came to an end, rainbow smoke clouds filled the battlefield, obstructing the vision of Volcarona and Sunset Shimmer both. "Can you see them, Volcarona?" Sunset asked her partner. "Rona..." Volcarona navigated her eyes across the field but she couldn't spot Eve so far. "I can't see a thing either." Eventide narrowed his eyes, trying to find the Psychic-Type. "Using the smoke as a means of camouflaging is a perfect way to keep your opponent on their feet!" Sunlight clapped her hooves together. "Or in this case...stinger?" "Quick Attack!" Twilight suddenly yelled. "Espeon!" Suddenly, out of the smoke, Eve appeared moving at lightning-speeds under Twilight's command. Volcarona gasped as she had been tackled by her fellow Sun Pokemon. "Caro!" Volcarona had been knocked back. But Eve didn't stop there. She was going for another Quick Attack as she became masked in the smoke of rainbows. "That's what she was up to!" Sunset realized. "Ascend, Volcarona!" "Vol!" Volcarona shook her head as she flapped her wings ferociously, ascending into the air as she avoided the second Quick Attack in time. "Espeon?" Eve looked up as she faded into the smoke of rainbows. With Volcarona being high above the air, she could get a better view of the battlefield. She was able to spot Eve's silhouette inside the rainbow smoke, moving around with Quick Attack. While Sunset couldn't see it since she was on ground level, Volcarona certainly could. "This is risky but...Fire Blast!" "Volca!" Volcarona summoned a stream of red-yellow fire that was shaped like an 大. The large blast of fire could be seen by Eve who was still masking herself in the smoke. She used Quick Attack to cleverly evade the Fire Blast while remaining in the rainbow smoke. However, once Fire Blast hit the floor, it caused an explosion so violent that it obliterated the rainbow smoke in one go with a furious flame. With the smoke gone, Eve had finally been revealed as she was no longer being masked by the rainbow smoke thanks to Fire Blast. "Eon?" "There you are! Psychic!" "Caro..." Volcarona's eyes flashed gold as she sent out a light blue beam of invisible Psychic energy from her body. "I don't think so. Psybeam! "Esp!" Eve countered with her own Psychic move by shooting Psybeam from the gem on her forehead. The two beams of Psychic energy clashed as they entered a struggle. This time, they didn't cancel each other out at all. Both of them were fighting for dominance in a beam struggle. "Vol...Volcorona...!" "Esp...Espeon...!" "Oooh!" Sonata gawked as she was eager to see who would come out on top in this struggle with her head moving from left to right rapidly. "Oh!" "Come on, Volcarona!" Sunset exclaimed. "You can do it!" "Push through, Eve!" Twilight bellowed as the rest of her Pokemon were cheering for their teammate. "Esp...! Espeon...!" Eve's legs were jittering back as she was struggling to overcome this struggle. The same could be said for Volcarona. Despite Quiver Dance boosting her special attack, Eve was still very formidable. Both of their beams were growing in size as the entire gym was lighting with purple and blue energy flowing all over the place, showing how intense their struggle was. But only one of them could come out victorious. And that was Eve. She ended up winning the struggle with her eyes flashing blue as her Psybeam grew to a size that was larger than Volcarona's Psychic. The enlarged Psybeam engulfed the Psychic along with Volcarona. "Vol!" Volcarona didn't take too much damage from Psybeam since she was part Bug but it certainly did knock her back due to a psychic explosion. "Oh! Volcarona!" Sunset gasped. "Now charge in with Dazzling Gleam!" "Espeon!" Eve created a rainbow coloured sphere around her body as she lunged forward with a dazzling shine coming out of the sphere. "Fire Blast!" "Carona!" Volcarona quickly recovered as she immediately summoned a destructive blast of fire instead of charging it up. Eve was right in front of her face so the moment she fired Fire Blast, both Dazzling Gleam and Fire Blast collided, causing a violent and furious explosion that blew both Pokemon back. Both Sun Pokemon tumbled on the floor after that explosion knocked them away as both their trainers gasped, hoping that their Pokemon were alright. "Eve! Are you okay?!" "You alright, Volcarona?!" "Espeon..." Eve stood up from the floor, shaking her head as she was still standing even after an explosion that fierce. However, there was a downside to this. Eve now had a burn effect after Fire Blast hit her directly as a burst of fire engulfed her body for a moment, causing Eve to yell in pain. "Rats! Burn effect...!" Twilight stomped her hoof on the floor. Luckily for Volcarona, she didn't get any status conditions since Dazzling Gleam doesn't have any. Plus, she resisted Fairy so she immediately got back up. "Volca." "This doesn't look too good..." Twilight grumbled. "Eve can't take much more." "Absol!" Absol went up to Twilight suddenly. "Sol!" "Huh, Absol?" She looked over at him. "Ab. Absol!" Absol was requesting that Twilight should swap Eve out for him. "You want to swap?" "Sol." He nodded. "Esp!" But Eve refused. She wanted to win this by herself without anyone weakening her opponents for her. Absol respected her choice so he backed away. "Alright, Eve. It's all you!" Twilight exclaimed. "Espeon!" "I thought she would've switched out by now..." Sunset was impressed. "This is getting me excited. Let's keep this up, Volcarona!" "Vol." "Psybeam and Dazzling Gleam won't do a thing. So we're going all-in for this one. Eve! Use Quick Attack, repeatedly! And don't stop!" "Espeon!" Espeon was going to use just one move continuously without end in hopes of knocking Volcarona out. Moving at lightning-speeds and becoming a blur, the Sun Pokemon approached her fellow Sun Pokemon. "Ascend and use Quiver Dance!" "Volca!" Volcarona ascended to the sky, avoiding Eve's Quick Attack. Once she did, she did a mystical dance in the air, once again, raising her Special Attack, Special Defence, and Speed all at once. She was now stronger than ever. However, her physical defence remained the same since Quiver Dance does not raise it all except for everything else. "Now use Fire Blast!" "Ca!" Volcarona was about to fire a stream of flames towards Eve but the Psychic-Type kept moving around without staying in place whatsoever. Using Quick Attack, she was disappearing and reappearing all over the battlefield without any signs of stopping. This was a bit tricky for Volcarona to follow but she released the attack anyway in hopes of landing a hit. But unfortunately, she missed as Fire Blast hit the battlefield without making contact with Eve. With an explosion emerging, Eve used the smoke to her advantage, moving in and out of it. However, because of the burn condition, Eve was slowly taking damage every single time, even when running all over the place. But she didn't let that stop her as she kept on dashing about. "Ca...Ca...Volca." Volcarona was finding it hard to keep up with her. "Keep firing Fire Blast!" Sunset commanded. "Volcarona!" Perhaps the better way to hit Eve was to continuously fire attacks to try and catch her. And that's what Volcarona did. She repeatedly unleashed Fire Blasts that formed in front of her, trying her best to hit Eve who was on the run. The Fire Blasts rained down from above, exploding repeatedly as the entire battle was being covered in smoke at this point. This was only making Volcarona's vision worse as she was starting to get tired. "Volca...Volca..." She breathed in and out as she had no success in landing Fire Blast. "Espeon!" Finally, Eve decided to strike as she poured all of her strength into this next Quick Attack. She leapt from the floor with a burst of speed so gallant and powerful that it almost looked like Giga Impact. She had picked up so much speed from all that running to a point where it was nigh-impossible to keep track of her. Especially for Volcarona who was exhausted. Eve smashed into Volcarona with all her might, creating a powerful shockwave that flew across the gym. Eve gained a bit of a concussion after that powerful hit as Volcarona was sent flying so far that she hit the ceiling. "Ca!" The Sun Pokemon gasped upon impact! "Oh, no! Volcarona!" Sunset screeched. "Volca..." With that hard impact on the ceiling, the Bug-Fire-Type fell from above with her eyes closed. Eve watched as her fellow Sun Pokemon descended from above while spinning. Volcarona hit the floor, tumbling for a small bit. She didn't get back up which meant only one thing. She had fainted. "Volcarona..." "Owch!" Sonata winced. "Volcarona's been squashed! Eve wins!" But the moment Sonata declared victory for Eve, one final burst of fire surrounded the Psychic-Type as Eve suddenly fell over, fainting as well. The Burn condition did her in. "Espeon..." "Oh." Sonata winced. "Eve's also out! Which means uh...Double knockout! Which means the score's even! I think." "Aw! Double knockout?!" Both Twilight and Sunset groaned, raising their heads. "Stupid burn effect..." Twilight grizzled her teeth as she flew over to Eve. "Well done, Eve. Sorry that you ended up getting a burn." "Espeon." Eve licked Twilight's face. "Return, Volcarona." Sunset returned Volcarona. "Thanks for getting that burn on Espeon. Really saved us from having a disadvantage. You know, Twilight! Using only 3 moves with your Pokemon and still coming out on top is no small feat!" "Yeah. I could've used Double Team in that instance but I didn't think about it." She laughed nervously. "But do all of your Pokemon have Quick Attack?" Sunset asked. "Oh, uh...about that." Twilight scrunched her face. "My Pokemon don't exactly have the most versatile moveset out there." "They don't?" Sunset jerked back. "Uh..." Twilight turned around. "Hold on." Sunset Shimmer pulled out her Pokedex to see what Twilight's Pokemon were capable of. She soon came to find out that only two of them have a full moveset and each moveset had one consistent move that kept showing up. "Espeon. The Sun Pokemon. Psybeam. Quick Attack. Double Team. Dazzling Gleam. "Ninetales. The Fox Pokemon. Extrasensory. Quick Attack. Mystical Fire. Incinerate." "Absol. The Disaster Pokemon. Dark Pulse. Quick Attack. Night Slash." "Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon. Tri Attack. Quick Attack. Aqua Tail." "...Oh." Sunset's eyes widened. "All of them have Quick Attack?" "Ehehehe..." Twilight squeed. "Gotta have Priority, ya know. But I swear I'll give them all new moves eventually! I was thinking of giving Ninetales Wonder Room." "Nine?" Ninetales, who was licking his paw, looked up after hearing that. "You work on that. As for my Pokemon, we've got a lot of variety." Sunset took out her next Poke Ball. "It's your turn again! Braixen!" Out came Braixen for the second time. "Braixen!" "Braixen again, huh? Do you wanna go up against her again, Ninetales? Or should we give Absol a shot?" "Tales!" Ninetales offered to go against his fellow Fox Pokemon once more as he dashed forward. "Oh, we're still going?" Sonata shot up. "Okay then!" "If you're thinking about trying to land Attract again, we'll just burn those hearts up, Sunset!" said Twilight. "We'll see..." Sunset grinned. "We've got a lot more to offer. "Braixen, use Psybeam" "Braix!" Braixen pulled her stick out of her tail as she pointed it at her fellow Fox Pokemon. From the stick, a peculiar ray of psychic energy burst out, racing towards Ninetales. "Dodge it with Quick Attack!" "Nine!" Ninetales's body was outlined with a silver aura as he used Quick Attack to dash to the side, avoiding Psybeam. Not only did he avoid it, but he also rushed in with Quick Attack, tackling Braixen and knocking her back. "Xien!" Braixen whimpered as she skidded on the floor. "Now use Extrasensory!" "Tales!" Ninetales followed up with a second attack by shooting a beam of psychic energy from his eyes as Braixen watched it approach her. "Psybeam, again!" "Braixen!" Braixen held her stick out to try and counter Extrasensory but it was too late. Ninetales's move had connected before Braixen could pull it off, further knocking Braixen back and harming her more. "Braix!" "She's really getting aggressive with Ninetales, isn't she?" Aria said. "Twilight's trying to end this battle quick from the looks of it." Ash noticed. "Pika." "Alright, Ninetales! Looking good!" Twilight and her Pokemon cheered for Ninetales. "Ninetales!" "Braixen..." Braixen puffed her cheeks as she saw how she was getting outplayed by Ninetales. Which didn't sit well with her. So far, Ninetales was proving to be the superior Fire-Type who was also classified as the Fox Pokemon. She was getting frustrated to a point where her fur was lighting up with fire. "Keep your cool, Braixen" Sunset calmed her down. "Let's try something new! Run forward while using Shock Wave!" "Xien!" A new approach was made. Instead of standing in one spot and attacking, Braixen held her stick out and ran towards Ninetales while charging a blast of rapid electricity. "She's getting up close?!" Twilight gasped. "Ninetales! Blast her away with Extrasensory!" "Tales!" Ninetales stood up tall as he fired a rainbow-coloured beam from his eyes. The moment he did that, Braixen unleashed Shock Wave from her stick as it clashed with Extrasensory. But things were different. Because Braixen was running towards the attack while firing Shock Wave, she was actually able to slightly push Extrasensory back. However, Extrasensory was still strong enough to match as she was trying to also keep her footing while in a beam struggle. "X-Xien...!" Braixen used both of her hands to hold her stick as she was slowly pushing Extrasensory back. "Nine...!" Ninetales wasn't about to let himself get bested. So he started to walk forward himself while firing Extrasensory. Very soon, both attacks were getting smaller in length with both Pokemon getting closer to each other. "Oh, they're getting close to each other!" Aria stood up. "If those two attacks meet at such a short distance..." Sunlight shuddered. "Braixen..." Braixen was losing her footing as she couldn't keep this up for long. Her grip on her stick was weakening as the distance between her fellow Fire-Type was diminishing. "Xien...!" It was very clear which Pokemon was superior in power. Ninetales was just a cut above Braixen. Unfortunately for Braixen, she wasn't able to match Ninetales's superior special attack as Extrasensory was eating Shock Wave entirely. She closed her eyes, waiting for the attack to finish her off. But Sunset was betting on this as she let out a small smirk. "Now! Attract!" "B-Braix...Xien!" By opening one eye, Braixen sent a stream of hearts forward while still holding back Extrasensory. This is what Sunset Shimmer was planning. She did say that eventually, she would get Attract off on Ninetales. And with Ninetales focused on using Extrasensory, his eyes were exposed to the hearts as he had finally become infatuated as his pupils shifted into hearts. "Nine?!" "Uh oh!" Twilight gasped. "Yes! It worked! Now, go Braxien!" "Braxien!" With Ninetales infatuated, Braixen was able to push Extrasensory back. The two moves were equal in power as an explosion occurred, blowing the two Fox Pokemon back. But now things were different. Ninetales was now madly in love with Braixen as he was wagging his tails back and forth repeatedly. "Tales! Ninetales!" He wasn't in his right mind at all at the moment. "So that's why she wanted Braixen to get close..." Twilight sighed. "Told you we'd get it off, Twilight." said a proud Sunset Shimmer. "Braxien." Braxien crossed her arms, also feeling proud of herself. "Alright. Well played. Ninetales, Re-" "Nine!" Twilight couldn't finish her sentence because Ninetales suddenly dashed towards Braixen out of nowhere, kicking up a ton of smoke from his speed. "X-Xien?!" Naturally, Braxien was surprised as she witnessed Ninetales coming her way. She saw how huge his heart-shaped pupils were as she made a run for it. "Ninetales!" Very soon, Ninetales was in hot pursuit of Braixen as he was chasing her down, running across the entire battlefield. "Ah! Ninetales!" Twilight gasped. "Stop!" "Oh." Sunset made a poker face. "Usually they just stand around and take hits but...I didn't take this into account." "Ninetales come back!" Twilight called for Ninetales to return. But he didn't return. He was too madly in love with Braixen to attack her. "Braix!" Unfortunately for Braixen, this all backfired on her heavily since Ninetales was naturally faster than her. So it didn't take long for him to catch up which terrified Braixen since it seemed that she couldn't outrun him no matter how fast she ran. "Pokemon battles certainly have many unique scenarios, don't they?" Celestia said as everyone nodded, agreeing with her. "Braix!" Braxien jumped onto the seats as a means of getting away from Ninetales. But of course, Ninetales jumped onto the seats as well, continuing to pursue her. "Xien!" "Wait...we can use this..." Twilight came up with a brilliant idea. "If Ninetales wants to get close to Braixen then so be it. Quick Attack!" "Nine!" That was a command that Ninetales could get around since it involved getting close to Braixen. With a burst of speed, Ninetales bolted off the ground as he lunged towards Braixen. "Braixen?!" Braxien looked back to see Ninetales right in front of her face. Before she knew it, Ninetales's head smashed into hers, creating a heavy collision as both Braixen and Ninetales were sent flying back. But Braixen certainly had the larger knockback. And that knockback was enough to seal the deal as Braixen tumbled on the seats, finally fainting after a long and hard battle. "Braixen..." "Oh!" Sonata walked up to the seats to see Braixen's condition. With those swirly eyes, it was clear that she was done for. "Braixen's finished! Ninetales wins!" "Ninetales..." When Ninetales's head smashed into Braixen's head it actually knocked him out of the Attract due to how powerful the impact was. "Ninetales?!" "That's why it's always best to improvise!" Twilight grinned as Sunset's jaw dropped. The odds were now in Twilight's favour. She had 2 Pokemon remaining, whilst Sunset was down to just one. Her Litleo, who was essentially her ace and strongest Pokemon despite being the smallest of the rest of her Pokemon. "Return, Braixen." Sunset returned Braixen to her ball. "Sorry that the Attract backfired. Get some rest." "Hm." Luna raised her head. "This is where Twilight Sparkle will experience a true challenge with Sunset's next Pokemon." "Really? But I thought you aced the Gym, Luna?" said Ash. "Pika?" "I did. I effortlessly defeated her Braixen and Fletchinder. But her Litleo is a force to be reckoned with. It knows how to keep you on your hooves." "We've seen it from the Ambrosial Plane." Sunlight spoke. "How can something so adorable be so lethal?" "Never underestimate your opponent dear." Eventide placed her hoof around Sunlight. "No matter what their appearance may be." "Just one Pokemon left...Litleo..." Twilight said to herself. "Here goes." Sunset looked at Litleo's Poke Ball. "Let's show Twilight what we can really do. Go! Litleo!" She tossed the Poke Ball forward, sending out the Lion Cub Pokemon. "Litleo!" "There he is." Twilight grinned. "Let's keep this up, Ninetales! Extrasensory!" "Ninetales!" Ninetales's eyes widened after being freed from Attract as he was ready to continue battling. He cocked his head back before unleashing a mighty beam of psychic energy forward. "Let's go, Litleo! Charge through it with Strength!" "Leo!" The Lion Cub Pokemon's body became surrounded by a red aura as his body seemed to grow larger. Litleo bolted forward with pure power surrounding his body. This raw strength was enough to let Litleo charge through Extrasensory as if it was nothing. He ran at mediocre speeds but exhibited raw power. "Nine?!" A surprised Ninetales was shocked that Litleo could effortlessly charge through Extrasensory like that. Litleo let out a mighty roar as he smashed his head onto Ninetales with Strength, dealing some devastating damage. "T-Tales!" Ninetales's eyes widened as he was sent flying from that Strength. "Now! Use Crunch!" "Lit!" Litleo's battling style was vastly different from his teammates. He was aggressive and unrelenting compared to his friends. Litleo ran after Ninetales with his teeth being embedded with a dark aura. "Quick, Ninetales! Recover and use Quick Attack!" "...Nine!" Ninetales opened his eyes as he was able to successfully recover by veering on the ground. He then became surrounded in a silver light, using Quick Attack to boost himself forward. Both Pokemon were approaching each other with Ninetales moving faster than Litleo. The Fox Pokemon smashed into the Lion Cub Pokemon, causing a seismic wave to fly across the battlefield. But even with a hit that powerful, Litleo did not fly back as expected despite his small body. Instead, he was able to keep his footing as he bit onto Ninetales's fur. "Tales?!" Ninetales gasped as his fur had been hit with an explosion of dark energy occurring after Crunch made contact with him. It was Ninetales who was sent flying once more. Not Litleo. Ninetales could barely keep his balance after that Crunch bit into him. "Ninetales! Extrasensory!" "Smash it with Strength!" "Nine!" Ninetales could see that things were getting aggressive as Litleo was proving to be a challenge. Ninetales quickly let out an instant Extrasensory that was a bit weaker since it was faster and less focused. "Litleo!" Litleo, yet again, surprised everyone with how fierce and formidable he was by smashing his head into the beam of psychic energy with Strength. Upon contact, Extrasensory had imploded on itself from the sheer power Litleo was showing off. "No way!" Twilight gasped. "So much pressure is being put on Ninetales!" Celestia stood up. "This is exactly what I had to deal with." Luna narrowed her eyes. "That Litleo is too fierce for his own good. His strength is almost otherworldly in a sense." "There's more where that came from! Go crazy with Bulldoze!" Sunset Shimmer stood up in a bipedal position as she allowed Litleo to go ballistic with his attacks. "Leo!" And that's what he did. Litleo's body became surrounded in an orange aura as he stood on his hind legs. He then stomped his front two feet on the floor, creating an orange ring of aura pulsating from where he stomped, causing the floor and entire gym to shake. Fierce white shockwaves then crashed towards Ninetales. "Dodge it, Ninetales!" "N-Nine!" Ninetales winced as he attempted to dodge this Ground-Type move. He tried to run away, but the shockwaves were everywhere, making it impossible to escape. The destructive shockwaves eventually engulfed Ninetales. "Nine! "Ninetales!" Twilight bellowed as she witnessed her Pokemon fly into the air by the sheer force of the shockwaves. "Jump and use Strength!" "Leo!" Litleo hit the floor with Strength, launching himself into the air with the amount of power he exhibited. He then continued his attack as he was above Ninetales. "Tales?!" "Ninetales! Quick! Use Quick Attack to dash down!" "Nine...tales!" Ninetales, with haste, turned around, using Quick Attack to dash back down to the ground, escaping from Litleo. "You won't get away! Combine Bulldoze with Strength!" "Litleo!" Litleo fell from above as he continued to put pressure on his opponent. The moment his paws hit the floor, he combined Strength with Bulldoze, creating an even larger array of shockwaves that raced towards Ninetales. There was no way he could work around an attack this devastating. The mighty shockwaves engulfed the entire battlefield, covering the Fox Pokemon entirely. Twilight closed her eyes as she could hear the explosion going off, knowing that Ninetales took some serious damage after that. But she was hoping he was still standing. But once she opened her eyes, Ninetales was seen flying out of the smoke, rolling on the floor. He wasn't getting back up after that. Not at all. He had finally fainted. "Ninetales..." "Holy moly..." Sonata went up to Ninetales. "He's definitely out! Litleo won that one!" "Ah..." A perplexed Twilight was speechless. The last time she saw Litleo battle, he wasn't that aggressive and ferocious. "Huh..." "That's how it's done." Sunset crossed her hooves together as if she was still in the human world. "Leo!" "That was a bit one-sided," Adagio said. "But you know...this is actually a lot of fun to watch..." She smiled. "I could get used to these Pokemon battles." "Now it's just down to one Pokemon each!" Ash was getting excited as he sat up. "Pikachu!" "Ninetales?" Ninetales looked back at Twilight who flew over to him. "Nice job, Ninetales." She helped him up. "Sorry. But I didn't expect Litleo to be so fierce...He definitely wasn't like this with Rainbow Dash." "Tales." "Absol. Sol-Sol." Absol ran over as he didn't need Twilight to tell him that he was up next. "Sol!" He growled at Litleo who growled back at him. "Leo!" As Twilight placed Ninetales on the seats next to Eve and Minccy, it all came down to just Absol and Litleo. And in a sense, Absol is potentially just as fierce as Litleo. They're both aggressive when it comes to battling so this battle was already bound to be fast-paced and fierce. "Alright, Absol. This will be our first real battle together." Twilight said. "Are you ready?" "Absol!" He nodded. But the moment Absol and Twilight prepared themselves for battle, Twilight suddenly got the vision of the Mega Evolution symbol once more as well as Absol. It was just like their first meeting and during the Darkest Day as even the headaches had returned. But they weren't as violent. This time, the headaches were more akin to normal headaches that are just annoying instead of frustratingly painful. "That vision again..." Twilight breathed in and out slowly. "Don't lose focus, Twilight." "Alright, you two. Last battle. Let's go!" Sonata gave the call for the last battle to begin. "Litleo! Use Strength!" "Leo!" Litleo was the first to approach his opponent as that same red aura surrounded his body with his size slightly increasing. "Here he comes! Use Night Slash Absol!" "Sol!" Absol bolted forward with his horn lighting up with a dark aura around it. Once both Pokemon approached each other, their attacks had clashed with Absol's horn colliding with Litleo's paw. "Leo!" Both Pokemon were fighting for dominance by pushing their horn and paw forward. However, Absols's naturally amazing attack power allowed him to gain the upper hand as he pushed Litleo back, beating out Strength. "Absol!" "Again!" Sunset commanded. "Leo!" Litleo slid on the floor as he ran back at Absol, going for Strength yet again. Absol kept Night Slash up as both he and Litleo began going back and forth with Strength and Night Slash. Each time Litleo's paws collided with Absol's horn, the floor beneath them was slowly shattering with each hit, showing that things were already getting destructive early on. Litleo raised both of his paws, going for an overhead smash. But Absol, without Twilight's command, used Quick Attack to evade the incoming overhead as he zipped to the side. He then lunged forward, slashing his horn onto Litleo's back. "Lit!" Litleo winced as he was knocked back. "Block with Strength!" "Leo!" When Absol rushed in for another Night Slash mixed with Quick Attack, Litleo used Strength to block the next hit as his paws were on Absol's horn. Absol growled as he used Quick Attack to force himself back. "Is it me...or is Absol acting on his own?" Aria noticed. "Ah." Eventide nodded. "I've noticed it as well. Twilight Sparkle hasn't given out another command yet. Absol seems to be truly acting on his own accord." "Sol!" Absol went in for another attack as he lunged in the air, getting ready to slash Litleo from above. "Calm down, Absol!" Twilight yelled as she noticed that Absol was getting a bit too greedy with his attacks. "Ab?" Absol listened to Twilight as he ceased his attack, landing down as he looked at the Lion Cub Pokemon with menacing eyes. If Twilight hadn't told him to stop, Absol would've kept on attacking ruthlessly. "He's just as wild as Litleo..." Sunset pulled back. "Litleo! Use Overheat!" "Lit...Leo!" The Lion Cub Pokemon's body glowed red as fire then surrounded his body. Litleo then unleashed a big stream of fire from his body at Absol. "Use Dark Pulse!" "Absol!" Absol returned the favour by opening his mouth as he then fired a beam of black and purple circles from inside his mouth. Dark Pulse and Overheat cancelled each other out but instead of waiting for Twilight to say something, Absol took the opportunity to use Quick Attack while there was smoke covering the battlefield. "Sol!" Absol used Quick Attack, dashing through the smoke as he smashed into Litleo with blinding speed. "L-Leo!" "Hey! Cheap shot buddy!" Sunset growled. "Absol!" Twilight gasped. "Oh...Why does he keep acting on his own?" "Alright! If that's how you're going to play then we won't pull any punches! Litleo! Strength at full power!" "Litleo!" Litleo was going all-in for this next attack. He poured all of his power into his body as he ran forward, going straight for a devastating headbutt. "Let's capitalize! Jump and use Dark Pulse!" "Absol!" Instead of charging in and clashing with Litleo like usual, the Disaster Pokemon jumped into the air, charging up a Dark Pulse in the process. "Leo!" Litleo looked up to see that he was about to be met with a blast of dark energy. But he wasn't about to let that happen. He kept Strength active as he stood firmly on the ground, waiting for Absol to fire. And when Absol did fire Dark Pulse with a large dark beam falling from above, Litleo gathered all of his strength into his head as he headbutted the Dark Pulse directly. The contact between Dark Pulse and Strength created a new outcome. In which, a potent shockwave flowed through Dark Pulse, hitting Absol out of the air. "S-Sol!" But there were repercussions for Litleo. Headbutting Dark Pulse left his head a bit injured due to direct contact with it. Litleo can sometimes get a bit carried away with his headbutts. Litleo unfortunately, was a Glass Cannon. Like Pikachu. He's a hard hitter but his defence is lacking severely. As such, he fell on his back, feeling a bit dizzy. "Ab!" Absol recovered from the ground as he was ready to attack Litleo with Night Slash. "Absol, don't!" Twilight stopped him from attacking without order. "Sol?" Absol turned to face her. "Don't rush in like that. Wait for my command." "Absol." "You doing okay, Litleo?" "Leo..." Litleo stood up, shaking his head. "Let's finish this with all we have! Bulldoze, go!" "Leo!" Litleo smashed his paws on the floor, sending potent white shockwaves towards the disaster Pokemon. If Ninetales couldn't avoid this then Absol surely couldn't avoid them either. "This is risky but...Rush through with Quick Attack!" "Ab!" Absol was ready to take the risk of charging through the shockwaves of Bulldoze. His body was outlined in a silver light as he bolted forward, bracing for impact. When he came across the first shockwave, his body was consumed entirely by it as it was a direct hit. He couldn't just power through something that potent. Not at all. As a result, he was blown back by Bulldoze. But yet again, without heeding Twilight's commands and waiting, Absol rushed in with Quick Attack after being hit by Bulldoze. Seeing Absol approach him made Litleo gasp as he was tackled by Absol who moved at blinding-speeds. "Leo!" "Overheat!" "Litleo!" Litleo, rolled on the floor as he immediately recovered, jumping into the air as he fired a stream of concentrated fire forward. "Dark Pulse!" "Sol!" Yet again, Dark Pulse and Overheat clashed with both attacks imploding on each other. But when the attacks cancelled each other and a smoke cloud formed, Absol randomly fired a Dark Pulse without letting Twilight say anything. "Why does he keep acting on his own...?" Twilight said to herself. "Blow it back with Strength!" "Litleo!" Litleo smashed his paws on Dark Pulse with Strength, destroying it completely. "Let's finish this!" Both Twilight and Sunset yelled. "Use Night Slash!" "Finish it with Overheat!" "Absol!" Absol charged in while Litleo stood in one spot. A stream of deadly fire came out Litleo's mouth as Absol's horn had clashed with the stream head-on. There was now a struggle between the two. Absol was trying to push through Overheat with Night Slash while Litleo was trying his best to engulf Absol. Absol's horn was being burned by Overheat since he himself was trying to push through it. Absol winced as he could feel the heat flow through his horn as his body was also sweating. But Litleo wasn't looking too great either. His little body meant that he couldn't keep this up for much longer. He was still a cub at the end of the day. Because of this, Absol was able to overcome Overheat by sliding his horn through the stream of fire with Night Slash. Absol actually managed to cut Overheat in half as he slashed past Litleo in the process. Overheat, which was now split in half, scattered across the battlefield as Litleo could feel Night Slash pierce right through him. "L-Leo!" An aftershock happened once Litleo had been hit by Night Slash. It felt like 10 blades cutting him at once as his eyes widened with a shockwave coming out. That final Night Slash was enough to put an end to this as Litleo had fallen over, fainting. "Lit...Litleo..." "Litleo is out cold! Absol wins! Oh wait....that's like 4 Pokemon gone. Then that means...Twilight wins!" Sonata made the call. "Oh, finally it's over..." Twilight sighed as she sat down, exhausted. "Aw!" Sunset groaned. "How enjoyable!" Celestia flew up, enjoying that battle from start to finish. "Having this battle happen is one of the best decisions I've made so far!" "Thank goodness that I did not have to experience this myself..." Luna let out a powerful sigh of relief. "Great work, Absol but...please don't rush in and attack without my word." Twilight pleaded. "Sol." "Good job, Litleo." Sunset went over to the Lion Cub Pokemon. "Maybe we'll win next time, buddy." "L-Leo..." Litleo was glad that Sunset was proud of him. He was a bit upset that his little body meant that he had a ton of limitations and couldn't continue battling for much longer. He wished he could evolve into a Pyroar already. "An amazing battle you two!" Celestia teleported in between Twilight and Sunset. "I can see that you two are truly formidable Pokemon trainers!" "Thank you, Princess Celestia." Twilight said. "I won't lie, I got a bit nervous back there. Going up against a Gym Leader who's also in the Equestria League." "Yeah but uh...Your Absol seemed to keep attacking without you saying a word at times." Sunset pointed out. "Yeah, I know." Twilight nodded. "I guess because Absol's been in the wild for so long his instincts just kick in?" "That usually does happen at times." Celestia chimed in. "But besides that, you two enjoyed yourselves, didn't you?" "Sure did!" Twilight and Sunset both said. "This just makes me wanna battle again...!" Ash grit his teeth as he was psyched up from seeing that battle. "Pikachu?" "That was pretty fun..." Adagio smiled. "But, I actually wanted Sunset Shimmer to win that one." "You enjoying yourself now, Adagio?" Aria asked. "Yes. I'll admit it." Adagio gave in. "I could get used to these 2 weeks." "Kricketot!" Their Gym Battle had ended. And despite how intense and long it was, the 4th day was still in its early stages. In fact, it was currently 12:00. Barely any time had really passed, showing just how slow and relaxed the 4th day was. No matter what they do, this day will take its time. Although, it was hard to tell if the next days would be at this pace. Pinkie Pie had just finished making her movie with the ponies she was working with at the Pokestar Studios attraction. Although, the ponies were exhausted since they worked so hard. "This'll really catch em!" Pinkie looked at the film reel in her hooves. "Spinda!" Pinkie then spotted Ash, Twilight and the others, seeing that they had finished their little battle as they were walking by the attraction. "Oh! Did you finish your battle, Twilight?" Pinkie asked. "Sure did." Twilight nodded as she patted Absol's horn. But she quickly gained a burn on her hooves since Absol's horn was still smoking from Overheat. "Ow!" "Sorry we couldn't help you with your film, Pinkie." Ash went up to her. "Pssh, that's fine." She flailed her hooves. "Besides. I was planning on making a second just now! Wanna help out with this one?" The ponies quickly heard that Pinkie was making a second one as they all immediately dashed off, not wanting to go through that torture again. "Oh! Sunset! I didn't know you were here!" Pinkie dashed over to Sunset. "Yeah. My first festival too and-" "Well if it's your first then you've gotta start with this! It'll be a real blast!" Pinkie exclaimed. "This? I can't make a movie." Sunset shook her head. "I don't have that much experience anyway." "No need to worry. I can teach you everything I've learned just now." Pinkie Pie grinned. Although it was a grin that would make anyone worried. The 4th day is now in the afternoon stages. The Festival is not yet close to ending. But who's keeping track anyway? It's all too much fun to even notice how slow time was moving as the journey continues. Chapter 319 End.