//------------------------------// // The Bisharp Pirates // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Outside the Board Game World, Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival 11:50. On the outside, the board game was just casually lying on the ground while the Pokemon Festival goes on. But that was to be expected. After all, entering the Board Game World doesn't bring the box along with the players. "Melo?" Meloetta, who had originally gone for some ice cream to bring to Ash, came back to find that he was completely missing. Along with her rival Twilight and her friends. She was unaware that they had actually gone into the board game world via Discord's influence. The Melody Pokemon flew away, searching for Ash, just to share the ice cream with him. But with the board game just lying on the ground, it wouldn't go unnoticed. Everyone who passed by it could obviously spot it, but they don't really think too much about it. All except for one earth pony who has a secret admiration for board games. Although, it's not a secret because everypony knows about it. That was Big Macintosh of course. Curious and interested in what he was seeing, his love for board games had compelled him to approach this particular board game on the ground. And with the game enchanting him, Big Mac couldn't resist getting his hooves on it. But, he didn't want to seem too obvious, even though everypony knows his secret. He used his sisters' rope to grab ahold of the board game, dragging it along. The game didn't suck him in since it didn't make direct contact with Big Mac. He brought the board game all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres, where he could indulge himself in its enjoyment. Little did he know that this board game is not what it seems. But very soon, he was about to find out as he placed it on a table with his Machamp coming over to see what he had brought over. "Machamp?" Big Mac was raring to get into this game. Both figuratively and literally. The excited Earth pony was ready to get this started as he decided to place his hooves on the board game for the first time. And once he made direct contact with it, he would soon find out that this game was not what it seemed to be. A flashing light came out of the board game as it had engulfed both Big Macintosh and Machamp in one go. Both of them let out echoing screams and that was the end of that. Granny Smith and her Drampa came into the room as she thought she heard both Big Mac and Machamp yell. But quickly came to find out that there was nopony in here. Little did she know that they were both in another world. The Board Game World, Sky Borealis. 11:52 The Bisharp Pirates were here and they were already pillaging this entire city in the sky. But of course, there were those that would stand up to the pirates. Mainly Ash and his friends alongside the Gallade's who are soldiers. The pirates had already scattered with their pillaging, which prompted the Gallade's to scatter as well as Ash and his friends decided to confront Bisharp with the CMC staying close to them all as protection. Going straight for the captain and defeating them can most of the time guarantee an immediate surrender of the entire crew unless there's a first or second mate involved. Thankfully, Twilight and Gumshoos were already bringing along the navy million soldiers who reside in this city as they were formulating a plan on how to defeat the Bisharp Pirates. "Wait. You're challenging me?" Bisharp said to Ash. "You should know that it's not a wise idea to challenge the captain first if you don't know what you're getting into, boy." "Yeah, I get that a lot!" Ash grinned. "That's not gonna stop me from stopping you!" "I like your spirit, boy!" Bisharp chuckled. "But you're way in over your head, you know that?" "Over your head!" Chatot repeated. "We'll see! Pikachu! Iron Tail!" "On it!" Pikachu hardened his tail as he immediately went for Bisharp by jumping into the air and spinning around, going for an overhead hit. But Bisharp didn't react at all nor did he attempt to block Pikachu's Iron Tail. This was because one of his crewmates, a Toxicroak had defended Bisharp from being hit by using Poison Jab to block Iron Tail. "Huh?!" Pikachu gasped. "Sorry. But you're not touching the captain!" Toxicroak pushed Pikachu back. "Alright. You lot handle this. I've got my own task to accomplish." Bisharp turned around, leaving everything to his crewmates as he walked off back to his ship. "Yes, captain!" Toxicroak said as he stood in front of Ash and Pikachu, preventing them from reaching his captain. "Guess it's not gonna be that easy to get to him, huh...?" Ash said to himself as he knew what he was getting himself into. But, Ash loves excitement and in truth, despite this being a somewhat serious scenario, this was just another one of Dusknoir's fun creations. The whole point of this was to just have fun. Although, rescuing Dusknoir from the pirates was fairly serious since Kathleen did want him back. As for the other pirates, the situation had already escalated. Since they've all scattered, some of them went into groups. Being that there were thousands of them, it would be a bit of a mess if they all gathered in one spot." All the buildings were no longer occupied since the residents made a run for it, so the pirates were free to loot everything inside without the owners being here. "What do we do...? There's too many of them. And Twilight hasn't come back yet..." Apple Bloom gulped. "No need to worry. I've got something that can keep all of these pirates occupied." Ash grinned as he turned to face Sweetie Belle. "Hm? Why are you looking at me?" Sweetie Belle wondered. But she quickly found out that the reason why everyone was facing her was because of what Pokemon she currently was. An Espurr. And there is one thing Espurr is known for that it regrets. "Oh...I gotcha!" "Whatever you're planning won't work!" Toxicroak ran over to the group as he was ready to attack them all at once with Poison Jab. "I think not!" Rarity dashed past everyone with her amazing Pheromosa speed as she used Triple Kick to block Toxicroak's Poison Jab. "Sweetie Belle! Do it!" "Okay!" Sweetie Belle nodded as she knew what she had to do. This could be considered their ace in the hole. Of course, it was obviously Espurr's latent psychic energy that can blast everything within 300 feet. For this to be done, Sweetie Belle opened her ears up which showcased the yellow organs. Once the organs had been revealed, she could finally unleash all of that dormant energy. And release it she did. Just like with what happened back at Las Pegasus during Sweetie Belle's third contest, a destructive pulse of psychic energy shook the entire area in seconds. The entire Sky Boreali was not safe from the psychic energy of Espurr, even with its amazing size and scope. Everyone in the entire city stopped what they were doing as these pulses were attacking everything. Unlike the Las Pegasus Contest, Sweetie Belle wasn't planning on dropping the psychic energy until she's defeated all of the pirates. Thankfully, Fluttershy used Protect by standing in front of her friends, shielding them from the devastating psychic waves that Sweetie Belle was emitting. The pirates felt this immense psychic energy flow through the city as they were being pushed back by Sweetie Belle's sheer power. All the loot they had collected had been dropped instantly because of their balance being thrown off. Not even the residents were safe from this. The one who was the most affected was Toxicroak because of his Fighting-Poison-Typing, so he was immediately sent flying like a rocket because of these blasts. But Bisharp wasn't affected at all because of his Dark-Typing. Either way, Sweetie Belle had managed to put the pillage on pause because of this one action. However, Sweetie Belle couldn't fully withstand the overwhelming psychic power that Espurr wields. So as such, she couldn't do it forever. But before putting an end to these pulses, she went out with a bang by releasing a seismic wave of psychic energy that engulfed the entire city. "Ow..." Sweetie Belle felt dizzy as she wobbled around "Excellent work, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity picked up her little sister who was still recovering from using all that Psychic power. "Ugh..." As expected, many of the pirates had been affected by Sweetie Belle's attack. Most of them were confused and befuddled by it. All except for the Pokemon who could resist the Psychic-Type. Sweetie Belle managed to seriously damage at least hundreds of them. Not a thousand but it was still very impressive and it greatly helped to make this battle a bit easier. But even better, because the Gallade's were also Psychic-Types, they resisted this, so they had an advantage over their opponents now. Bisharp looked down as he had witnessed the entire thing occur. He could see that Sweetie Belle was a major threat to his entire crew since she can attack them all at a ridiculous range. "Finally. A challenge." Bisharp said. "I've been waiting for something like this." "Here. Let me heal you." Fluttershy went over to Sweetie Belle as she was about to use Heal Pulse. "Alright! Now's our chance! Let's head straight for the ship! Dusknoir's on it!" Ash had already bolted off with Pikachu, heading straight for the ship. Not many could stand in his way now because of Sweetie Belle's actions. Many of the Pokemon were too dazed to stop Ash. But there were still those who were able to continue and prevent anyone from reaching their ship and captain. A Solrock and a Lunatone descended together as they both used Stone Edge to attack Ash and Pikachu at the same time. But that was quickly dealt with because of two reasons. Now seeing that he was a Lucario, rocks were essentially not a problem for Ash and Pikachu just had Iron Tail. Ash charged through the glowing crystal stones as they did absolutely nothing to him whilst Pikachu jumped over his partner, using Iron Tail to hit both Solrock and Lunatone at the same time with a swinging motion. "Nice, Pikachu!" Ash said to his partner. "Thanks!" Rarity, who was now the fastest among her friends, ran past Ash and Pikachu while everyone else followed behind. Whether it was the ground or the sky. All the while, Bisharp saw that they might actually have a chance of getting close to his ship. And he did not want to let that happen. Yet at least. And of course, none of his crewmates would allow that either. "Ah-Ah!" A Chandelure appeared in front of Rarity, startling her. "I'm afraid you can't do that!" "Ah!" Rarity came to a screeching halt as she phased through Chandelure, almost losing her balance. Chandelure cackled as he used Psychic to hold all of them in place, preventing them from advancing any further towards Bisharp's ship. "You're forbidden to go anywhere near our captain," said Chandelure. "Isn't that right, fellas?" "Right!" A group of Starmie's suddenly surrounded the group as they each added on their own Psychic to Chandelure's Psychic. Now things had become increasingly hard for them. "Great..this is just what we needed...!" Rainbow Dash growled. "Now restrain them!" Chandelure ordered. As if things couldn't get any worse, a swarm of Yanmega's used String Shot to further keep Ash and the others restrained from doing anything. Now the thick strings of String Shot had been added on to the Psychic's that were holding them. "N-No fair!" Scootaloo groaned. "I-I can't use any moves!" Rainbow Dash squirmed around as she was unable to use Steel Wing to break out of this. "Hm. How disappointing." Bisharp scoffed. "I was expecting something more. Thought I was finally gonna get a real challenge from all of you. Oh, well. All of you! Put everything on board! We're leaving!" "Wait!" Ash exclaimed, grabbing Bisharp's attention. "It isn't over yet...! You've still got a friend of ours on board! We're not leaving without him!" Ash had one major advantage as a Lucario. Aura, of course. He was exhibiting high amounts of aura from his body, similar to Sir Aaron's since they both share the same Aura. This powerful and dominant aura was just enough to combat the large array of Psychics and String Shots that were holding him and his friends. The strings had been vaporized as Ash's aura blew away all of the Starmie's and Yanmega's that were surrounding him and his friends. Chandelure managed to stay firm, however. "That's more like it!" Bisharp nodded as he was thrilled that they hadn't lost yet. "You're showing great signs of endurance! All of you! Let's keep this up!" "Keep it up! Chatot mimicked. "Keep this up?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "I'm a bit lost. Aren't we facing off against each other?" "Sounds to me like he's only doing this for fun," said Applejack. "Hah! Of course, I am!" Bisharp chuckled. "Wait! This is just for fun?!" "Precisely! If there's one thing I enjoy as a pirate...it's having pure uncontrollable fun!" Bisharp raised his arm. "Especially if it's someone who can really match against my crew! I've spent years trying to find someone worthy enough to go against me and my crew. But no one has even come close. I was afraid that my journey as a pirate would end up being lacklustre with no challenge whatsoever. Not even this navy with a million soldiers are fun. They lose so easily. But you lot...you're different." "Different!" Chatot repeated. "I can feel it. There's something about you all that's incredibly promising! I've been looking for a challenge all these years! And you all might just be the ones to give me that challenge! And best of all, you're only a small group compared to my thousands!" "Hold on!" Spike interrupted. "You mean that none of this is serious?!" "Of course it's serious. I just dislike it when there's no challenge. If everything were easy, it would be no fun at all." "He's got a point." Ash nodded. "Mhm." Pikachu did the same. "Since you've all shown so much promise lately and have managed to take out most of my crew with just one Pokemon...I can finally up the anty a bit. Send out the chains." "Chains?" Ash and the others said. The second Bisharp uttered the word chains, the Dark Steel Ship had opened up multiple holes on the side. Out of these holes, strange purple chains that were harder than even Bisharp's entire body came flying out at high speeds, immediately slamming into the Sky Borealis's ground. The impact of the chains' were powerful enough to make the entire island tremble as they even went through some buildings, breaking them apart. These chains latched onto the Sky Borealis, restraining the entire city as the chains wouldn't stop coming. Everyone was losing their balance from the tremors being caused by the chains. No one knew what Bisharp was planning except for Bisharp himself and his crew. But from how the chains were latching onto the Sky Borealis, there might be a possibility that Bisharp is trying to utilize the island in some way. The Bisharp Pirates who were on the Sky Borealis were suddenly leaving the city instead of staying behind. But there was a good reason why they were leaving, which would soon be revealed. "W-Woah!" Rainbow Dash, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom, the only four who could fly, immediately took to the skies to avoid the tremor. That only made sense. However, Bisharp with his years of experience came prepared for opponents who can fly. From the holes in his ship, some extra chains came out as they served a different purpose. To capture opponents in the sky. More specifically, the chains flew at a different angle. This time, the chains rapidly circled the Sky Borealis like a cage. In fact, it essentially was a cage as these chains were thinner than the chains that latched onto the ground but they were superior in numbers. These chains went into the millions as they had incredibly close gaps with thin appearances but were just as hard as the wider chains that were smaller in numbers. Very soon, the entire island was caged and restrained by these mysterious chains. Not even those that can fly could escape from here. With Twilight and Gumshoos, they were inside of the naval office. The plan to gather all the million soldiers to go up against the pirates was still being laid out. Mostly because Twilight soon came to find out that all of the soldiers here aren't exactly acting like soldiers. They were all afraid. Afraid of the Bisharp Pirates, that is. Because the navy has been constantly losing to the Bisharp Pirates without even having a single victory over them for all these years made the once proud and brave navy highly fearful of the Bisharp Pirates. And rightfully so. Bisharp and his crew have a lot to offer other than just massive numbers, even if they're not as large as the millions of navy soldiers in the navy. Those mysterious chains were just an example of the mysteries that the Bisharp Pirates wield. Twilight could see that it would be difficult to convince these soldiers since they're so terrified of the pirates. And Gumshoos certainly couldn't do anything either. "This is a tough one. " Twilight sighed. "None of you are willing to fight against the pirates? What happened to the usual fighting for your home and country?" "Against them? No thank you." A Mightyena shook his head. "They're a lost cause, as you can see," said Gumshoos. "All these constant losses have really degraded my soldiers and decreased their morale. No matter what I try, I simply cannot get their spirits up." "Losing over and over again to one enemy without any success can be humiliating and morale damaging..." Twilight turned around before facing the soldiers once more. "Even with your million numbers surpassing their thousands?" "It's not the number difference at all..." A Seismitoad replied. "The Bisharp Pirates may have fewer members than our entire navy, but they wield a wide arsenal of weapons and equipment that continue to overwhelm us." "An arsenal?" "Ah, I should've probably mentioned that." Gumshoos nodded. "Yes, it's true. Those pirates have more than just cunning natures with them. They seem to have an antithetical response to every possible situation. Bizarre contraptions that I cannot even understand." "Such as?" Twilight asked as she was curious. Very soon, all the soldiers began spouting out the vast arsenal that the Bisharp Pirates wield, one by one. "They possess massive chains that can drag entire islands and imprison them!" "Their ship can shoot out large steel spikes that can also explode after a certain amount of time!" "Their Dark Steel Ship can even harden up like steel itself!" "It can blend in the shadows, even in daylight somehow." "Well...this isn't a contraption but...they can call upon a gigantic Tyranitar that dwells somewhere in this land." "Huh..." Twilight had heard enough. Those few revelations were enough to make her realize that the Bisharp Pirates are way worse than she initially thought. She didn't expect them to wield such ferocious objects from what the navy had ended up telling her. Her plans would have to go through an overhaul yet again. But before she could think of a new plan, the entire navy office felt a tremble as everyone inside wobbled from the sudden tremor. This tremor was of course from the chains that had latched onto the island. "What was that?!" Twilight gasped. "They've sent the chains out..." Gumshoos whimpered. "That can only mean one thing. They're planning to bring the island with them." "Bring the...You mean they're going to drag it along?!" Twilight screeched. "That is correct." Gumshoos nodded. "The Bisharp Pirates do not just steal treasures. They steal islands and cage them up for their own collection and possession. Many islands have been captured by them. And still to this day, they are trapped. They're most likely going to do the same to the Sky Borealis as well." "I knew this day was coming! We're doomed!" A Breloom started to panic along with the entire navy. They had essentially accepted defeat because of the intimidating Bisharp Pirates. There was nothing they could do to stand up to them and their large arsenal. "Not yet..." Twilight wasn't about to give up just yet. She knew that there was a way around this. "It isn't over yet." "It practically is..." Gumshoos replied. "Not if you keep thinking that it is. There's a way around this. And I can come up with a few ideas that might work. Everything they use other than the Tyranitar is primarily steel, correct?" "Well..yes and no. See, they use a very specific type of steel. One that is so powerful that it cannot be destroyed by any Fire or Fighting Pokemon at all. " "What kind of steel is that?" "It's called Virulent Steel. And it's more than just durable." Back on the outside. With the entire city caged along with the island, the residents believed that their days of freedom had finally come to an end because of the Bisharp Pirates. "Pssh! You think these are gonna stop us?" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Watch this!" She was about to use the move Superpower to break through these chains. Little did she know that Superpower would prove to be ineffective against the Virulent Steel. And Bisharp was waiting for someone to try and hit the steel. Not just because it was super-durable but because of the effects it gives to anyone who makes contact with it. Rainbow Dash let out a mighty roar as she smashed her powered-up wings onto the steel chains but quickly came to find out that not only did her wings bounce off the chains with zero damage as the chains didn't even shatter or shake, but she had also been poisoned. "Gah!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as the poison immediately hit her. It had a similar effect to the move Toxic from how instant the poison was as Rainbow Dash fell from above, landing on the ground. "Rainbow Dash!" Her friends gasped as Fluttershy ran over to her. Fluttershy saw how Rainbow Dash was writhing and squirming on the ground as a purple blush appeared on her face, giving a clear indication that she had been poisoned. This was Rainbow Dash's first time being poisoned ever and naturally, she wasn't very fond of it as she was suffering greatly. "Hold on!" Luckily, Fluttershy could fix this by using the move Refresh as she cast a green aura around her friend. The green aura engulfed Rainbow Dash's body as the poison within had been wiped out, curing Rainbow. "Ah..." Rainbow Dash breathed in and out as she could no longer feel the horrible poison from within. "T-T-Thanks Fluttershy..." "I'll just burn it down then!" Spike said as he held his breath in, ready to use the move Flamethrower. He breathed out scorching flames that would usually melt steel in mere seconds. But not this steel. When the fire was released onto the Virulent Steel, nothing happened. It was as if Flamethrower didn't connect at all. "...Oh that's not normal..." "Now!" Bisharp stomped his foot. "So far, you've all impressed me as of late. Now let's see if you can keep it up by overcoming my Virulent Steel!" "Virulent Steel?" Pikachu said. "Right. And I assume you're all smart enough to know what it does from the name and your friend over there." "These chains are poisonous?" Ash navigated his head, gazing at the chains. "If they're poison then..." Seeing that he was a Lucario, a part Steel-Type, all poison would have zero effect on him. He tested it out himself by smashing his paws onto the chains and of course, he wasn't poisoned. Rarity was a similar case. Being a Pheromosa, a part Bug-Type, the poison wouldn't really do much to her. She'd get affected but not by much. As for everyone else, the best thing they could do was stay away from the chains. But they were trapped now and they had to get out. But the only way out is by getting through these chains. "We're in a real rough spot now..." Applejack spoke. "Alright! Start moving!" Bisharp ordered for the ship to get a move on as he was about to drag the entire island with him as stated by Gumshoos. The Dark Steel, which had the Sky Borealis in its clutches, began to move, aiming at heading somewhere else. And as to be expected, the movement of the ship forced the Sky Borealis itself to start moving as well. The Sky Borealis was now a moving island that was being contained by the Bisharp Pirates and so far, there was nothing they could do to get through this. But ideas were already brewing up. The Noir Pride seemed to have a mind of its own since it was the one that brought Ash and the others up here in the first place. This ship was brimming with Dusknoir's spirit. And because of this, it could sense when its friends were in danger. So, with a mind of its own, the Noir Pride turned around, facing the Dark Steel as it immediately bolted forward, leaving behind a shockwave that separated the clouds behind it. With blinding speeds, the Dusk Noir suddenly smashed into the Dark Steel at full-force, penetrating the side of the ship and leaving a massive impact on it. The crew were obviously surprised by this sudden impact as the ship moved so fast, they never saw it coming. "What?!" Bisharp gasped as he got on his knees, turning around to see the Noir Pride currently next to his own ship. "Ooh! Nice hit, Noir!" Pinkie clapped. But it didn't stop there. Since Dusknoir made this ship specifically for Ash and the others and as a way to go against the Bisharp Pirates, it came with its own specialities that could potentially counteract the Bisharp Pirates' vast arsenal. This is Dusknoir's world after all and he makes the rules. Even if he's currently being held captive. "Oh, so this is your ship is it?" Bisharp stood up. "Excellent! I knew you'd all continue to impress. A living ship with a mind of its own is definitely something else!" "Uh...I don't think that part is all our work though..." Scootaloo chuckled. The Noir Pride backed away from the Dark Steel as it was going for a different approach. It was now aiming at getting Ash and the others out of there. And it had one way of doing that. By attacking of course. The Noir Pride had its own weapons designed specifically to battle the Dark Steel and other ships of course. It too had holes on the side of the ship as they shot out the traditional pirate cannonballs. These cannon balls were much stronger than a traditional cannonball since they were packed with Ghost-Type energy. Upon contact, the cannonballs blew on the Dark Steel, already leaving some more damage to the ship. The Bisharp Pirates could now see that they had to face off against a living ship with a mind of its own and this greatly pleased Bisharp who was looking for excitement. The Dark Steel obviously had those steel spike weapons as stated by the navy soldiers. There were extra holes on the ship that did not hold the chains this time. Out of the holes, steel spikes with explosive energy came flying out of the Dark Steel. The spikes ended up stabbing into the Noir Pride as any normal spike would. However, after 3 seconds, the spikes then combusted with a fierce explosion. But even with a sharp spike and an explosion going off, the Noir Pride barely took that much damage, making it clear that this was a ship made to withstand devastating results, which further increased Bisharp's enjoyment. An official battle in the sky was about to take place between the Noir Pride and the Dark Steel. All the while, Twilight was still coming up with a plan to get these soldiers motivated as the journey continues. Chapter 331 End.