The Royal Unova. The Pokemon Festival. 1:00 AM
The ship had left Nimbasa City and was now sailing North during the night. Very soon, the ship will reach an area where high amounts of Equestrian Magic is currently flowing. And Drake, the captain in charge of this ship, knows that they'll arrive there and there'll be a spectacle for the passengers. Whatever that spectacle might look like.
Everyone was having a blast. Pinkie Pie had gathered all the pastry she could find as she was ready to chow down on it all until she knocks herself out with a full stomach.
"Where to begin...!" Pinkie rubbed her hooves together as she was panting like a dog. "You want some, Fluttershy?"
"Oh no. I'm just waiting for the small Pokemon Relief Zone to be open. I can't wait to go in there with all those Shiny and Regional Pokemon! This person next to me is just as excited." Fluttershy was referring to James.
"Hm?" James shot up as he turned to Fluttershy. "Oh yes, I am!" He nodded. "More than excited! I spotted new Regional Variants that I've never seen before. I wonder how they feel?"
"I know right?!" Fluttershy shot up! "That Meowth looked like it had such soft fur! Like a beard of some sorts. Wonder which region it came from."
"Ain't as soft as mine." Meowth scoffed.
"Mmm!" Pinkie devoured some food. "You think there's gonna be some Regional Variants for Equestria?"
"Regional Variants for Equestria?" Fluttershy gasped when hearing that. "That'd be amazing! But, I'm not sure that's possible."
"Nothing is impossible when it comes to Pokemon, my little pony!" James raised his finger. "Everyone knows that!"
"And if it ain't possible yet then someone's gotta make it possible." Meowth wagged his paw.
"Oh. I suppose you're right!" Fluttershy nodded. "No shame in getting my hopes up then. Say. You've probably seen a lot of Regional Pokemon yourself. Can you tell me about the ones you know?"
"I sure can. My time in Alola can help with that." James kneeled as he pointed over at the Pokemon over at the small park, ready to tell Fluttershy amazing facts about the Alola Pokemon.
Over at the premium cabin, Ash and his Pokemon had fallen asleep after tiring themselves out. The same goes for Twilight's Pokemon, although, she and Absol were still awake.
Twilight wasn't fully asleep yet. She still had a bit of energy left in her. She was busy reading more about the Pokemon World while also looking outside the window. Hearing the seas move during the night was peaceful to the ears and gives a great sensation to the body.
That wasn't the only noise Twilight was hearing. Outside, the festival was continuing throughout the rest of the ship with music playing and passengers having a good time. Twilight was tempted to join but spending time with Ash, even if he was asleep, was a bit more worth it.
"I'm gonna be the greatest master of them all..." Ash spoke in his sleep as he raised his arm, pretending to hold and throw a Poke Ball.
"Pikachu..." Pikachu was in sync with Ash's dream as he pretended to use Iron Tail in his sleep.
Twilight used her magic to lift both Ash and Pikachu from the couch, slowly carrying them over towards the bed with care. She placed the duo on the bed while also using her magic to grab the bedsheets. With precision, Twilight put the sheets over Ash and Pikachu.
She watched them both sleep in perfect unity, knowing they had a brother-like bond, even if they weren't related. Twilight looked over at her Pokemon as well, knowing that she had a powerful bond with them, but maybe not on the same level as Ash and Pikachu. Absol was a good example of that. Even after becoming Twilight's Pokemon, the Disaster Pokemon still has a bit of work for bonding since he's been living in the mountains by himself for so long.
"You're gonna keep staying up, Absol?" Twilight went up to the Dark-Type.
"Sol." He nodded. Absol would keep watch because of his sensitive horn. If any threats come along, he'll be ready to take action as soon as possible.
"Alright. I'm counting on you to keep watch." Twilight patted Absol on the back.
"Absol." Absol nudged Twilight as he nodded.
"Alright. Time for some shut-eye." Twilight went over to the windows of the cabin, using her magic to close them as the breeze stopped coming through. She wanted to close the curtains, but the moonlight was too beautiful to miss out on. So she left it on.
Feeling exhausted, Twilight was ready to clock out and head to bed while Absol takes everything from here. But, before she went to bed, something else would end up grabbing her attention.
As Twilight approached the couch, suddenly, a strange and enigmatic titillation ran through her body as she froze in place from this sensation. Her eyes widened, her wings had spread out and her horn was glowing automatically.
Twilight didn't forcefully cause her horn to light up. It was almost as if something was forcing her to do so. Twilight's wings were flapping aggressively from the tingling sensation as she couldn't help but jitter.
"Esp?!" Eve was also going through the same sensation as she had woken up from her sleep. The gem on her forehead was flashing uncontrollably all of a sudden.
"Sol?" Absol was unaffected as well as the rest of Twilight's Pokemon, including Ash and his own Pokemon.
"Woooh! W-What's happening?!" Twilight shuddered as sparks of magic were flying out of her horn. This sensation wasn't painful, it was just bizarre and frankly, fairly harmless. But Twilight wasn't sure why she was feeling this way and what was causing it.
But one person, in particular, knew the reason for this.
And that was Captain Drake, of course, who let out a confident grin that graced his old face. There was a reason why Twilight and her Pokemon's bodies were acting strange and only Drake knew why. Because he was so in touch with Dragon-Type Pokemon, he could sense magic from all around him.
But he wasn't the only one who was in touch with dragons. Spike as well, who was in the Sports Deck, drinking some berry juice, felt that similar sensation as he tingled.
"Eeugh!" Spike jittered as he almost spilt his juice. "Hoo! Hoo!"
"You okay there, Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Did something get you?" said Scootaloo.
"I-I'm fine. I feel a bit woozy though..." Spike held his head. He wasn't sure why he was getting this tingling sensation. He thought that it was only a one-time thing but quickly came to find out that it wasn't. Because as soon as he held his head, he started breathing out green fire. "Blah!"
He did this constantly as his berry juice had been heated up by his own flames. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo witnessed Spike breathe out fire uncontrollably as he kept breathing it ever 5 seconds. He couldn't finish his berry juice because of this.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash and Braviary both were going through a sensation too as Braviary came out of his Poke Ball, waking up from his sleep.
"B-Braviary!" Braviary's feathers were being rustled as he had no idea what was going on. He kept shaking his body around with some of his feathers flying off him.
"Guhh!" Rainbow Dash winced as she and Braviary were both flapping their wings in unison. Not only that, but a rainbow aura was coming out of both her and Braviary. "I feel totally weird!"
"Uhh...what's going?" Scootaloo looked around, confused. She moved back as she wasn't sure why this was only happening to them and not her.
But it wasn't just Twilight, Eve Rainbow Dash, Braviary and Spike. Two more individuals were feeling this sensation. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were the extra two.
Because of their Fairy Physiology that they now had, they were also undergoing strange actions themselves. Fluttershy's wings were flapping furiously while Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down, similar to how she reacts with her Pinkie sense.
Alongside that, Both Chikorita and Audino were reacting differently, much like their trainer. Chikorita's leaf was spinning like a hurricane while Audino's feelers were shuddering.
"D-Dino...!"
"Chiko...Chiko!"
"Oh...my!" Fluttershy's eyes widened.]
"Are you alright?!" James gasped.
"This is pretty f-f-f-fun!" Pinkie Pie was moving all over the deck as passengers watched in confusion.
Noticeably, they were the only ones being affected by this strange sensation. No one else was experiencing this. Not Applejack, the CMC or even Rarity, which made it all the more confusing.
And this sensation seemed to increase the further the ship was sailing. There was something closeby that was influencing them without warning. But it wasn't inherently harmful to them. It just made them feel off and funny.
Eventually, they each simmered down with their strange actions coming to an end. Spike stopped breathing fire constantly, Twilight's magic wasn't acting up on its own, Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and so on. After their actions had stopped, each of them felt wobbly as their eyes and heads were spinning.
"Oh..." Twilight sat down on the couch with her hooves quivering. "What a rush..."
"Espeon..." Eve's eyes were moving about as she laid on her back.
"That feeling" Twilight breathed in and out. While she was unsure of why this suddenly happened, she had a fairly good theory for the cause. "It was a magical reaction."
"Esp?"
"I thought it was Pokemon magic but...it felt so much like Equestrian Magic instead. That's odd." Twilight was on a very good hunch with her theory.
"Espeon?"
"Sol?"
"Well, maybe it was just a coincidence." Twilight laughed nervously. "I mean, Everything about Pokemon is unpredictable. Even the magic itself even if it's so small compared to other forms of energy."
Espeon and Absol looked at each other, both showing unsure and nervous looks on their faces. Seeing their trainer suddenly spark magic out of nowhere while making wacky sounds was a bit of a red flag to them. But since Twilight had calmed down, there was seemingly no need to worry. But they were still put on high alert.
2 hours had passed and everything had calmed down once more. No one was bouncing around, emanating a rainbow aura or even breathing fire repeatedly. Then again, the entire Pokemon Festival, especially on a cruise ship, wasn't really calm in the first place.
Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep after eating a ton of pastry, lying on the stomach of Audino since she can be considered a very soft pillow. Rainbow Dash was resting in Braviary's feathers as she was only half-asleep. Not yet fully.
James and Fluttershy were bonding since they both shared a strong love for Pokemon, much like how fast Ash and Fluttershy bonded. James even went beyond Alolan Pokemon as he even taught Fluttershy new facts about familiar Pokemon that she had never learned before.
"You sure do know your Pokemon um..."
"Oh uh...my name is...J...Jonathan!" James made a fake name on the spot.
"Nice save," Meowth said.
"Jonathan. Are you a Pokemon Professor by any chance?"
"Me? No, no." James shook his head. "I could never be a Pokemon Professor. That'd be too much work. Even for me to handle. But I certainly have the smarts of one."
"And your friend here?" Fluttershy turned to Meowth.
"Count me out. I'd rather do the talking to the Pokemon than do all the studying." Meowth raised his paw.
"Chiko..." Chikorita yawned while resting on Fluttershy's back.
"Let's get you someplace comfortable." Fluttershy grabbed Chikorita. "Um...Where to rest you..."
"Rest on this." James patted the nearby couch, prompting Fluttershy to place the Leaf Pokemon on the couch. James helped out by using his jacket as a coat.
"Rita..." Chikorita became cosy on the couch with James's jacket.
"Thank you so much, Jonathan. I'd better get some rest as well." Fluttershy rubbed her eye.
"There's a good amount of sofas over at the library deck from what I've checked." James pointed his thumb towards the south.
"Alright. You'll show me what the Alolan Pokemon are capable of in the morning, right?"
"Certainly." James nodded in agreement, making a promise with Fluttershy.
"Great! I can't wait!" Fluttershy flew off with excitement, anticipating the morning.
"Smooth, James." Meowth patted his partner on the back. "That shy pony's not so bad, ya know."
"Not so bad at all. If Growlie likes her then she's good in my book."
"Wobbuffet!"
The Bridge. 3:00 AM.
On the bridge, Drake could tell that the mood was starting to turn. But for the better. He was waiting for the moment when the Watchkeeper would notice it.
And notice it he did. The ship's watchkeeper, aided by the able seaman, who was keeping watch aboard the Royal Unova, noticed something peculiar starting to reveal itself with his binoculars.
"Hm. That's curious..." The Watchkeeper spoke.
"What do you see?" The able seaman asked.
"They look like...wisps?" The Watchkeeper further enhanced his binoculars to see what on earth was in the distance. Once he did, he witnessed the unexpected.
There were millions upon millions of blue wisps floating out of the ocean and appearing in the far distance. These wisps that were emanating a blue light, lit up the ocean and even the night sky as the Watchkeeper gawked at the sight.
"Oh! Captain!" The Watchkeeper exclaimed. "Do you see this?!"
"I see it. We're entering Equestrian Magic Territory now." Drake smirked.
"W-What does that mean, captain?" The helmsman questioned.
"They're here to take us."
"T-Take us?"
All of a sudden, the millions of blue wisps started to move as they all faced the Royal Unova, locking onto the cruise ship, which made the helmsman, watchkeeper and able seaman back up as they were a bit intimidated.
The wisps then flew towards the Royal Unova, like millions of fireflies flying together in the night. That is essentially what it replicated. Drake was unbothered as he knew that this wouldn't be harmful whatsoever. He was just waiting for something like this to happen so that the passengers can have a wonderful view.
The blue wisps, once getting close to the Royal Unova from the front, suddenly split into three directions. One on the left, one on the right and one above the ship. The wisps also seemed to leave blue trails of light each time they moved. Whether large or small.
The wisps were all circling the ship, lighting it up as their light shined through the windows. The sounds the wisps made were unnatural and unidentifiable. It sounded a bit angelic to the ears. It even sounded like singing.
Naturally, everyone noticed this outside the glass windows or even just the open windows without curtains. Immediately, their eyes were glued. The angelic sounds were enough to wake up those that were asleep as the wisps were giving everyone a chance to witness this spectacle.
They were actually waking everyone up with their angelic sounds instead of the passengers waking up of their own will as the wisps continued to follow the ship while circling it.
Pinkie Pie's eyes opened up at lightning speeds as they immediately saw the wisps floating around the ship lighting it up.
Spinda came out of her mane, also witnessing this light show.
"Ooh! What's this?!" Pinkie dashed over to the window.
"I have no idea. It's beautiful." Fluttershy gawked.
"Beautiful is right." James nodded along with Meowth.
"Audino...!" Audino was able to hear deeper into the wisps because of her amazing feelers. And what she heard was wonderful to the ears. She had a wide smile on her face because of this.
"If Audi's this happy, then these wisps must sound beautiful from within," Fluttershy said.
"But where did they come from?" James wondered.
"Who cares? They're so pretty!"
On the sports deck, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Scootaloo witnessed the wisps floating about, showing off their azure radiance. That and every other Pokemon Trainer who were battling on the sports deck, put their battle on pause, for now, to witness this sight.
"Awesome..." A starstruck Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah." Both Spike and Scootaloo agreed by nodding together.
Rarity, Jessie and Sweetie Belle all pressed their faces on the window glass, locking eyes on the wisps that surrounded the ship. Their eyes lit up from the wisps as they found them to be truly beautiful.
"Gorgeous!" Rarity and Jessie said together as they were taking each other's space up while Sweetie Belle stood on Jessie's head for a better view.
And of course, up at the premium cabin, Twilight witnessed this along with her Pokemon. Ash was slowly waking up as the blue wisps cast a beautiful light upon him.
"Ash! Wake up! You have to see this!" Twilight shook Ash, even though he was waking up either way.
"Mrrgh..." Ash grumbled as he sat up with Pikachu also waking up. "What's up?"
"Pikachu...Pika?"
Both Ash, Pikachu and his Pokemon had woken up, just on time to also spectate the event that was happening just outside of the Royal Unova. Noticeably, the wisps were closer to the premium cabin as some of them flew inside instead of staying outside.
"Woah!" Ash got up from the bed. "When did this happen?!"
"Just now! Look at all these wisps! They're so beautiful!"
"And they look kinda familiar..." Ash felt like he had seen these wisps before as he witnessed two wisps fly over him and Twilight respectively.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his arm, trying to see if he could make contact with the wisps. But his hand went right through the wisps instead.
The cabin was lit up as well by the wisps as it was like a disco in here because of their presence. They even had a unique trait in which they made everyone's hair or fur shine. A shame that it doesn't affect those who don't have hair. Like Gengar and Dragonite.
The two wisps flew around Ash and Twilight for a bit as they seemed to be pulled towards the both of them specifically. They let out angelic voices while spinning around the human and the pony as they dropped tiny little blue stardust on them. After that, the wisps then flew back out, joining the other wisps.
Soon, the wisps had all flown away, heading back to where they first appeared to perform one final action before disappearing. Everyone looked outside the ship to see where the wisps were going.
The wisps all lined up in a perfectly straight line instead of spreading out in random different directions. Then, the wisps all shot out blue beams in unison as the beams all flew into the water.
Soon, the entire ocean was covered with these blue beams while still facing the Royal Unova. The passengers watched as the beams were pinning the ocean like chains.
After a few seconds, something unimaginable happened. The ocean was starting to rise. But not in the traditional sense like a tsunami. Instead, the ocean was rising and transforming at the same time.
The ocean had transformed into some sort of gate that stood in front of the Royal Unova. The beams had also lit up the ocean, giving it an azure glow as the ocean gate was filled with the beams, adding some colour to it.
This was only the start of something wonderful. And that gate was the entrance to the unimaginable and unexplainable as Drake smiled.
"W-What is that...?" The helmsman gawked.
"That is the Ocean Gate. It'll lead us to the heart of the Equestrian Filled Sea."
"Where is that, exactly?" The Watchkeeper asked.
"The Arcane Sea."
"Arcane Sea?" The helmsman and Watchkeeper each said.
"Full speed ahead!" Drake ordered. "We're passing through that gate."
"Aye, captain!"
The decision was made. They were going straight through the gate. What lies beyond that gate is something that Drake wanted everyone to see and experience for themselves on this cruise during the Pokemon Festival.
The ship had increased in speed as it was now travelling at a faster pace, locking onto the Ocean Gate. Ash and everyone witnessed the gate as they themselves were wondering what was beyond it with their eyes lighting up.
"We're heading straight for that gate-looking thing? Is it safe?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No clue." Applejack shook her head. "Drake's gotta know what he's doing if he's gonna send us through."
"Looks safe to me." Coco appeared with her head in-between Applejack and Apple Bloom.
Drake did know what he was doing. There was a reason why he was chosen to command the Royal Unova out of any other captain out there.
The ship had approached the Ocean Gate with everyone holding their anticipation in. They were wondering if they were going to go straight through it like ordinary water.
But instead, the Ocean Gate actually opened up like an actual gate. They were not going through it like normal water. There was something truly unique about this part of the ocean.
The ship had passed through the Ocean Gate without making any contact with it. Once the Royal Unova passed through, that's when things started to change.
As the gate behind them had closed, the millions of wisps from before had all flown back to the ship once more. But this time, they weren't surrounding them. Instead, the wisps all grew in size as they each let out bright flashing blue lights that were aimed directly at the Royal Unova.
Everyone closed their eyes as the blue lights ended up engulfing the entire ship, perfectly creating a sphere around it. But Drake didn't close his eyes at all because he knew what was coming.
"Pikachu...?" After the flash, the lights had vanished, prompting everyone to stop closing their eyes. With the wisps gone, they were given a spectacle, unlike anything they've ever seen before.
They were in space, but there was an entire ocean as well. Various streams of water flowing in its space, and dwelling within these waters are a large variety of Water-Type Pokemon. But these Water-Type Pokemon were all given blue auras, similar to the wisps.
The water itself was a perfect shade of blue, similar to the wisps as the stars in the background were blue as well with stardust flowing everywhere, giving the ocean some blue sparkles in the mix.
"What is this?!" Twilight gasped.
"Awesome!" Ash grinned. "It's a space ocean!"
"Pikachu!"
"Espeon!"
"Finally, we're here!" Drake said as he turned on the ship's announcement audio. "The Arcane Seas!"
"Arcane Seas?" Everyone on the ship said.
"What you're all looking at is the result of Equestrian Magic merging with Pokemon Magic. Two different forms of magic coming together to create one beautiful phenomenon." Drake explained. "Get ready. Everything here is unpredictable."
"Equestrian Magic and Pokemon Magic created this?!" Twilight's head looked around. "I didn't even know that was possible!"
"Unpredictable, huh? That sounds like a load of fun! Right buddy?!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
The Arcane Seas had been discovered by many at this point in time. What happens next is a mystery that the Royal Unova and everyone on board will get to experience themselves as the journey continues.
Chapter 341 End.