//------------------------------// // Sir Aaron's revelation // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Ponyville. Nightfall. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had been successfully escorted back to Ponyville along with everyone else. The same went for Chloe who was back in Vermillion City at her home. Here in Ponyville, with the current invasion going on, a shelter had been made. In fact, it was made before the invasion even began. And this shelter was located right underneath Town Hall. And of course, Mayor Mare was the one who originally made it. This shelter has been here for years and was a bit dusty. But nothing a little cleaning could do. Everypony in Ponyville had gone down this shelter as everypony was starting to enter the shelter one by one in a perfect line. Even Team Rocket were heading inside this shelter plus Zecora. "How long do we have to stay here?" A pony asked. "Until the invasion ends." Mayor Mare responded. "I'm sorry but that's that. Besides, you all aren't cramped in here, are you?" "No. Seems fine here." Snips looked around, seeing that no one here was actually cramped. The shelter was fairly expansive. "Mhm." And Snails nodded in agreement. "Ah, it'll be over sooner than you think. Just give it at least 40 minutes." Just then, Jessie spoke within the crowd as everypony turned to face her and Team Rocket. "Just 40 minutes? Seriously?" said Lyra. "How do you know that?" Applejack asked. "It's normal," Jessie smirked. "Here's how it'll all go. Just wait for the twerp and his pals to deal with whatever huge threat comes their way, they'll take care of it in a few minutes, maybe something gets lost or destroyed during it and that's the end of that. Simple as." "And it works every time." James gave a thumbs up. "With zero failure!" Meowth nodded. "Wobbuffet!" "They are kinda right." Cold Colt said. "That is how it usually goes. Ash and his friends do kinda do that all the time." "Well yeah! Ash is cool like that!" Scootaloo grinned. "Hm." Mayor Mare nodded before looking up at the hatch. "Is everypony here? I already know that Ash and Princess Twilight are off doing what they can to help." "Uhh...Sunset, Adagio and the others are at Undella Town for a few days..." Cold started to recall who was present here. "Nyx is out there helping to stop the invasion and I think that's about it, right?" "Uh...Big Mac's not here!" Apple Bloom noticed. Her big brother was nowhere to be found. Granny Smith and Winona were certainly here. Even Golett was here even though it was commonly seen with Applejack. But not this time. "I beg your pardon?" Mayor Mare turned to Apple Bloom. "Oh yeah..." Granny Smith just remembered something. "He went off for some big errand just yesterday morning. He should've been back a few hours back now that I think about it." "A few hours ago?!" Many ponies gasped. "T-Then, he's probably in trouble!" Apple Bloom stood up. "Him and Machamp! We gotta go get him before...before...uh...I don't know! Something bad will happen to him out there with all that invasion stuff!" "Calm down, calm down." Mayor Mare soothed Apple Bloom's panic, causing her fellow earth pony to simmer down. "We'll get him back here. Do you know where he went?" "He was going to a really big market somewhere near Trottingham. It was really early in the morning since it was so far away." Apple Bloom explained. "Don't you worry, alright?. I'll head out myself with Stoutland. Does anypony wish to accompany me?" Mayor Mare looked around. Feeling like he could really impress Apple Bloom if he did this, the one pony who chose to assist Mayor Mare in finding Big Macintosh and his Machamp was of course the pony infatuated with Apple Bloom. "I'll go!" Cold Colt stood up, raising his hoof. "Just you?" Mayor Mare asked. "Um..." The Rift pony looked around to see if there was anyone else. But no one else was willing to get out of here. They were just going to sit and wait. "Looks like it." "Alright, then. It'll actually be helpful with the magic of a Rift by our side. Let's go. Stoutland. Cold Colt. Everypony, stay here and don't attract anything else. Just wait for us to return." Mayor Mare carefully opened up the hatch. "Stoutland!" "No need to worry. We'll be back with Big Mac in no time. Won't even be that tough." Cold Colt let out a confident grin, mainly towards Apple Bloom as he tripped on the ladder due to him not paying attention, causing the little pony to fall flat on his face. "Ough!" That caused some chuckles in the crowd, especially from Apple Bloom. Cold felt a bit embarrassed as he quickly scurried up the ladder, exiting the secret shelter. Big Mac and Machamp are essentially in a massive red zone by this point. Most of Equestria was being invaded. So far, the only place untouched was Ponyville. For now at least. It did make everypony fear if Big Mac was alright since he's been gone for hours. And the sun was almost up as well. Kanto Region. The Rota Kingdom. Cameran Palace. Night. Ash had finally returned to Rota and Cameran Palace. He saw that Cameran was victorious over the Empress' forces. He still had the staff within his grasp plus the received Time Flower. Right now, Ash was inside of the room that Sir Aaron constantly rested in when he had suffered from the effects of Delayed Aura Ataxia. Here they could find out about how Sir Aaron eliminated Delayed Aura Ataxia. Lady Ilene was still in one piece. She had found a safe hiding place during the siege of the kingdom. After her side won against the Empress' side, she came out of hiding and met with Ash in the room. "Now, Ash. See if you can go back to the day Sir Aaron broke the curse. Before the war began." Ilene said. "Got it." Ash nodded as he held the Time Flower out, focusing all of his Aura onto it. Once he did so, the Time Flower reacted to Ash's Aura, creating a beautiful pulse of blue and light blue energy. The room was lit up with this beautiful light as a projection of what happened in the far past during the time Sir Aaron was still around was showing. The projection was being properly visualized by what Ash and his Aura were thinking of. Even Lucario's dreads started to tremble from it. And so did the staff. The projection had shown itself in the form of Sir Aaron himself sitting in the bed. This was when the war was taking place and when it was on the verge of truly escalating. Sir Aaron gasped as he sat up from the bed. The bright Aura shine that surrounded the entire kingdom had just faded away when he woke up. The staff itself, which was previously glowing, had simmered down afterwards. The now awoken Sir Aaron had small Aura particles flowing out of him as he held his head. "It's gone..." The Sir Aaron of the past looked at his hands. "So that's how it's done. Facing yourself is the key to it." "Facing yourself?" Ash repeated. "Pika...?" "That thing was the manifestation of Aura itself. I've heard about it but I didn't think it was really real, just a myth at first." "Manifestation of Aura itself? Ilene silently said as this was the first time she's ever heard of this." "But..." Sir Aaron sighed as he looked to the floor. "It was far too powerful. I barely managed to overcome it. If it's that strong for even me, then I don't think anyone else could stop it. There has to be an easier way to get around it for all Aura users." Sir Aaron continued to ponder before hearing roars in the distance. "Oh! The war!" Remembering about the war after waking up, Sir Aaron immediately grabbed his staff and placed his hat on before rushing outside to assist his allies in the war. Or in this case, during this specific point in time as shown by the Time Flower, this was when Sir Aaron was heading for the Tree of Beginning to put an end to the war for good. And that was the end of the projection. "What's that," Ash said as he placed the Time Flower on the bed. "Guess we learned something big today, didn't we?" "Pikachu." "Certainly. I think I may know what Sir Aaron meant by all of that. And it might relate to the theory my ancestor, Queen Rin thought of." Ilene looked at Ash. "He said that it was the manifestation of Aura itself. Something that involved facing himself." "So what does that mean?" Ash asked. "It must mean that deep within an Aura user's mind, or possibly beyond it, there is a pure being of Aura waiting for those suffering from Universe's Malison. Aura is universal and perhaps that being is one single entity. An entity that shows up for all Aura users since it is one with everyone in existence." "Oh..." Ash slowly nodded as he was starting to get it. "So what Sir Aaron said about overcoming it means..." "Maybe, overcoming that manifestation is the true key to eliminating the curse. But, if Sir Aaron was the only one to do so then that means the same must go for everyone else. They must go deep in their mind or beyond and defeat their manifestation as well. At least, that's what I assume." "But your highness..." The lady in waiting for Queen Ilene spoke. "There are so many people in the world. Is that even possible for all of them to do so?" "Sir Aaron said struggled with his. He said that with how powerful it was for even him, no one else might be able to stop it if they suffer from the Universe's Malison. But, If I recall correctly, Ash, you did something similar to what Sir Aaron did last month correct?" "Huh? Oh yeah. Back at Johto, my Aura covered a lot of stuff." Ash nodded. "Here in Rota, no one else but Sir Aaron suffered from it and the light only surrounded the kingdom. That might be because he was the only one within his mind. Perhaps, the key to this is to expand your Aura to all of those in the world and find a way to have everyone simultaneously head deep into their mind or beyond." "Woah! Like a giant Aura that goes everywhere?!" Ash gasped. "Pika-Pika?!" "Queen Rin might have been onto something truly with her theory. Ash. You must carry out what Sir Aaron had discovered. This is a massive breakthrough." "I sure will. I don't know how big I can make it but I'll try. If it's going deeper into our minds and stuff, then I'll make sure that I'm synced up with everyone. We'll get rid of this curse for sure. Together." "That's good." Ilene smiled. "You certainly do have Sir Aaron's spirit in you." "Thanks. I should probably check up on everyone else." Ash took out his Xtransceiver, ready to call his friends to see if they were still searching for him. However, when Ash went to select one of his friend's Trainer numbers, starting with Fluttershy, he soon found out that there was no response. The Xtransceiver rang for around 15 seconds but Fluttershy didn't pick up. "Hm. Fluttershy's not answering. Maybe Rarity?" Ash then swapped to Rarity's Trainer number, trying to call her. But after 15 seconds, even she didn't pick up. "Not even Rarity?" Ash then went through the rest of his friend's numbers. "Starlight? Twilight?! Goh?! Pinkie Pie?! Seriously?!" "Pikachu?!" "Did something horrible happen to them?!" Ilene gasped. "I hope not...Come on...Maybe Rainbow Dash?" Ash then chose Rainbow Dash's Trainer number, hoping that there was an answer. And there certainly was. Rainbow Dash ended up answering the call. "Ash!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Oh..." Ash sighed with relief. "Hey, Dash. Where's everybody else?" "About that...We've got a problem. We all got separated from each other. That giant ship started chasing us down then Chikorita's leaf changed our fate and that's how we all split up. They're still after that staff right now. But I found Spike, he's here with me. "Heya!" Spike was on Salamence's back as he waved to Ash from the screen. "Split up, huh? Are they alright?" "We don't know. I was flying through the sky and I saw a bunch of explosions everywhere. From two sides. One was super big and bright and the other was just a bunch of them moving all over the place. We can't find anypony anywhere. They won't even pick up their Xtransceiver." "Same here." Ash nodded. "I'll be right there to see if they're alright!" "We'll do it, Ash." Spike insisted. "You gotta keep that Aura staff away from anyone seeing it after all. Maybe you can help stop the invasion happening back home." "Invasion? Wait it's started?!" Ash gasped. "Pika?!" "Yeah. We should help out too but...Spike and I gotta see if they're alright." Rainbow Dash responded. Ash was always one to put his friends and family before anything else. If they're in danger, he'll be there to see if they're alright. However, he can still count on his other friends to do the same. While Rainbow Dash and Spike can deal with checking up on her friends, Ash can head off and do the rest while having faith in his friends. "I got it. Good luck, you two" Ash gave his best wishes to Rainbow Dash and Spike as the multicoloured-maned mare hung up on the Xtransceiver, flying off with Spike to see if their friends were okay. Those explosions didn't bode well for them. "So it's already started. We need to get Equestria and fast." "Wait, Ash!" Before Ash could bolt off with his Pokemon, Lady Ilene stopped him for something major. She went over to the Staff of Sir Aaron that was lying next to the wall, picking it up and bringing it to Ash. "Take this with you." "Huh? T-Take the staff? Seriously?" "Pika?" "The Staff was clearly of great importance in dealing with the Universe's Malison. It would only be fitting and helpful if a great Aura wielder such as yourself would utilize it. Your Aura pattern is similar to Sir Aaron so it will respond to you greatly." "I guess so. But what about the Guardian of the Aura event that happens every year?" "We can cover that without the staff. And when you do end up breaking this horrible curse, you can return it to us safely." "Hm..." Ash looked at the staff, sensing the Aura within himself reacting to it. He was taking massive risks at this point but then again when doesn't he? Ash knew of the major responsibilities that would be placed upon him with this staff. But, he's always ready to tackle anything difficult, no matter how out there it may be. "Alright. I'll keep it safe and use it as well as I can." He ended up taking the staff, gaining ownership of it. "Pikachu." "Thank you, Ash. And good luck. Save your friends from that invasion and break this life-threatening curse. Finish what Sir Aaron couldn't do in time." "You got it!" "Pikachu!" "Lucario!" Kanto Region. Out in the wilds. Night. Only 3 hours until the sun rises. "Ugh..." Twilight Sparkle groaned. Once more, she had been knocked unconscious before starting to wake up. This is the second time this has happened in the night. First with Chikorita's leaf and now the sudden large explosion that came from the Pokemon. But this time, it wasn't such a pleasant result from her. Even her protective magic shield couldn't fully defend her from the explosion. It's how she was knocked out in the first place. Her body had taken some damage with visible scratches around her. The young alicorn slowly got up from the ground, moving the rubble around her away. But she wasn't the only one awake. After all, next to her was another pony who had put up a shield to try and negate the explosion. Skyblue Shine of course. The android had also woken up as her own body had been damaged too. Not just that, but the ship was pulled towards the large explosion, flying in this direction. They came to see if it had anything to relate to the staff. But it didn't. However, when they arrived there, they saw Skyblue Shine, the one that led their ship, damaged. Troops were immediately sent down from the ship to check up on their leader as some of them also surrounded Twilight Sparkle from all sides. "Urgh..." Skyblue Shine held her head, looking over to Twilight. It seemed that Twilight was taking some time to properly assess the situation. She had just now noticed that she was surrounded by many enemies. "W-What?" A befuddled and injured Twilight looked around. "That was close..." Skbylue sighed. "Have you found the staff yet?" "Not yet, commander." A troop shook her head. "We've searched most of these wilds and nothing about the staff." "Tch. Then he's probably left this area by now. Either back somewhere in this world or Equestria." "Oh, Ash..." Twilight said quietly, hoping that Ash was okay. But right now she needed to make sure that she was okay due to her being surrounded. Plus, her Pokemon as well. They were within the cave too. "What should we do about her?" One troop asked. "Take her in obviously. The Empress needs all the alicorn magic she can get. And this one might have spells that could be of great use to her." "I won't let you!" Even though she was a bit hurt, Twilight had a lot of magic left in her. After all, while the shield couldn't fully protect her, it at least decreased the damage of the explosion of her. Refusing to be caught, Twilight used her magic to create an expansive magical dome, blowing everyone else away with it. The troops fell back from Twilight's amazing force. But not Skyblue Shine. She still had a lot of magic in her as well, especially thanks to her upgrades. "You're still going to resist even now!" Skyblue Shine bellowed as she lit her horn up. "You're just wasting your time! You could be there helping to stop our invasion by now!" "Not until I make sure you don't get that staff at any costs!" Twilight gave a retort as she and Skyblue Shine clashed magic beams together. Yet again, the two of them were still battling against each other as they were both trying to break their beams through with all they had. But this time, Skyblue Shine had some assistance. After being blown back by Twilight's expanding field, the troops raised their electric staffs, aiming them at the young alicorn before shocking Twilight Sparkle with 20,000 volts of electricity. Twilight's eyes widened after the shock, her magic concentration had dropped, causing her magic beam to fade away, allowing for Skyblue Shine to send hers through. Twilight cried out as she was being shocked by 20,000 volts of electricity but she had also been hit by Skyblue Shine's magic afterwards. Twilight was already a bit injured but now she was even more injured than before. After being hit by Skyblue Shine's beam, the young alicorn dropped to the ground. But even when being knocked down, the electric shocks wouldn't end. The troops kept the pressure on, covering Twilight Sparkle with constant electricity, keeping her there. Twilight groaned as she was doing her best to endure this. But so far, it seemed that no one would be there to save her. "Alright. That's enough. We need her after all." But even Skyblue Shine knew when limitations were needed. The troops immediately stopped shocking her as Twilight's body twitched. She was currently immobile and numb all over. Twilight breathed in and out, looking up at Skyblue Shine who had a cocky smirk on her face. She knew that at this point, victory was hers. And there wasn't much Twilight could do to change things up. Except for one thing. Twilight had learned something from Olympia that she believed could benefit her. She just had to use it at the right time as the troops approached the young alicorn to pick her up and enter the ship. However, Twilight wouldn't need to use the lessons of Olympia in this case. Because a saving grace was coming her way. In the form of one of her friends. "Salamence! Hyper Beam!" "Sala!" From high above the skies, a giant orange blast of Hyper-Energy came flying down, hitting the ground near the troops. A ferocious outburst of explosive energy emerged, blowing most of the soldiers back as everyone had been alerted to the sky. Spike and Rainbow Dash were here. "Braviary! Steel Wing! Castform! Weather Ball! Altaria, Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash ordered her partners. "Braviary!" Braviary hardened his wings to match steel as he soared downwards while Castform and Altaria stood by, sending down attacks of Fire and Ice. The flames struck the ground, melting away the aluminium armour and weapons that the troops wielded. Meanwhile, the ice had frozen some of them the moment it made contact. Afterwards, Braviary moved in, smashing his metal wings onto the soldiers that hadn't been frozen yet. Mainly the ones that lost their armour thanks to the flames of Weather Ball. "Get Twilight, Axew! Transform!" "Xew!" Axew understood as he jumped off Salamence's back from a high height. But while falling, the Tusk Pokemon covered himself in that same golden light, changing his shape. The moment he hit the ground, he emerged as the mighty and hard armoured Haxorus. And this time, he transformed into his Unovan form instead of his Equestrian form. "Haxorus!" Naturally, one of the many things the ponies are afraid of is dragons. And for a good reason. Haxorus roared the troops as he smashed his fist onto the ground, causing the ground itself to shatter, intimidating the troops while also causing them to lose balance. Haxorus ran over, heading straight for Twilight as he was ready to knock anyone who would dare stand in the way of his friend. "Kh! I don't need this...!" Skyblue Shine scoffed as she backed away. She actually wasn't returning to the ship. Instead, she was heading off to try and find Aggron who had been caught up in the explosion and destruction of the cave. Skyblue Shine still cared for her Pokemon as much as the average Pokemon Trainers does for their own Pokemon as she galloped away, heading towards the larger rubble in the cave. "She's getting away!" Spike pointed. "No, she's not! Braviary! Everyone! Take care of things from here!" Rainbow Dash flew past her partner as she was going to pursue Skyblue Shine herself. "Haxorus." Haxorus picked the numb Twilight Sparkle, carrying her and holding the young alicorn close. "H-Haxorus?" Twilight looked up at the Unovan Haxorus. "Xo." Haxorus essentially said that he would keep Twilight safe with him holding her. The troops that got close were immediately met with a tail whip from the Axe Jaw Pokemon, knocking them aside. "Haxo!" "Salamence!" Salamence used the attack Flamethrower as he started breathing fire from high above. The soldiers screamed as flames started raining down, threatening their armour as they were heading back for their ship. "That ship's gonna be a problem over and over again. Let's take care of it. Salamence! Flamethrower!" Spike commanded. "Salamence!" Salamence turned his attention to the large ship in the sky that the soldiers were retreating to. Spike wouldn't allow them to get away. Not after what they did to his friend. Salamence flew over to the ship, breathing flames onto it. The ship's magic cannons obviously took notice of this as they were aiming themselves at the Dragon Pokemon. "Vi!" Braviary swooped by, heading straight for the underneath of the ship. He was going for Superpower. And for a good reason. Braviary has had about enough of those cannons so he was going to personally take them out. The cannons fired their rays towards both Flying-Types. Salamence and Braviary each started to evade the incoming rays of magic collectively while Spike ducked for cover. Salamence unleashed his Flamethrower to counteract the magic rays, creating constraint struggles between them. And each time, the Flamethrower and the magic rays would just cancel each other out. As for Braviary, he used Steel Wing to hit back the rays of magic, hitting the ship or even using them to shield himself. But aside from that, his eyes were still locked onto the ship. Braviary then used Brave Bird to speed himself up, soaring faster through the air as he was closer to the cannons now. "Braviary!" After he was close enough, Braviary switched into Superpower, lighting his wings and talons in an orange-red energy. The Valiant Pokemon then smashed his wings and talons onto one of the cannons, splitting them in half and removing them from the ship. Afterwards, Braviary moved onto the next cannon, smashing his talons through them, destroying it in one hit. That was the end of the ship's cannons as flames from Salamence started to melt the aluminium exterior, showing visible damage. Salamence even moved upwards, breathing fire on the surface. "Taria!" Altaria chimed in, using Dragon Pulse while Castform used Weather Ball. The ship was taking immense damage as the surface of the ship had been melted off thanks to Salamence. A large hole with melted steel dripping through could be seen. "Salamence!" The Dragon Pokemon then landed on the top of the ship with his face peering over the hole. Everypony inside of the ship started screaming after witnessing Salemence's face. Spike grinned, giving a wave to them. Salamence roared at all of the ponies inside, spreading his flames inside of the ship to give them an even larger scare by continuing to melt it. Braviary continued to repeatedly hit the ship with Close Combat, dealing continuous damage to it. But, while the ship may have lost its main weapons, it still had some backup defences. First, the ship activated its next defence, summoning a circular field of electricity around it. The electricity had shocked Salamence and Spike, forcing the Dragon Pokemon to fly back. And it certainly harmed Braviary as he also flew back. "Mence!" "Viary" "Geez, it's tough. But it won't last that's for sure. Salamence. Are you ready to cut it apart?" Spike held out his Mega Ring. "Mence!" Salamence nodded as he understood what needed to be done. Spike immediately tapped on the Mega Stone around his ring, intimating the Mega Evolution sequence. Red and gold lights flew out of both keystones as Spike closed his eyes with all lights flowing in, forming the DNA Symbol, all surrounding Salamence. Afterwards, Mega Salamence emerged from the Mega Evolution energy. "Salamence!" "Okay, Salamence...Cut right through it!" Spike pointed forward. "Sala!" Salamence roared as he did just that. With his rampaging instincts kicking in, the Dragon Pokemon took off like a jet, causing a sonic boom through the air before approaching the ship. Before the ship's defences could kick in again, the Dragon-Flying-Type cut right through the middle part of the ship, splitting it half with a perfectly symmetrical shape. Everypony onboard gasped as they had just witnessed their ship sliced in half in just a split-second. The ship was definitely falling now as all of its functions were useless now. Salamence kept flying, cutting through the nearby mountains and hills with his rampage. But, Spike wouldn't let Salamence rampage any further. He put his claws on the neck of the Dragon Pokemon, using dragons light to try and calm Salamence down. And he's certainly improved. By covering Salamece in that bright golden light, he was able to soothe the rage and pain that the Dragon-FLying-Type was feeling, calming him down and causing him to cease his absurd speed a smidge. "S-Salamence..." "It's okay, Salamence. You did great." Spike congratulated Salamence with a comforting pat on the neck. "Mence!" As for the ship itself, everyone onboard jumped ship, using their parachutes to escape. They wouldn't dare approach Haxorus let alone Salamence as they were now making their escape. Meanwhile. Just a few miles away from Spikes group, a large pile of rubble was starting to move. The cave was littered with rubble thanks to the explosion. Out of the rubble, Absol had emerged. "A-Ab...Absol...!" The Disaster Pokemon breathed in and out as he was hanging in there. Out of all the Pokemon here, he was the one who withstood the ferocious explosion the most. He looked back to see if his friends were okay. The Dark-Type moved the rocks aside with his claws and horn to see if they were anywhere. And they certainly were. Absol had found Espeon, Cinccino and Togekiss all laying on the ground. They had fainted from the destruction but they could be taken care of with some healing. "E-Espeon..." Espeon groaned as Absol helped her up, carrying the Sun Pokemon on his back. Togekiss was also getting up as she had actually shielded Cinccino from most of the damage, taking it herself. But Cinccino had fainted otherwise. "T-Togekiss." "Ccino." Absol and everyone had gotten up with scratches all over their bodies. Togekiss' wings were damaged, making it hard for her to fly but they would recover later on with proper medical attention. But they weren't the only ones to get back up. Rising from the larger rubble, out came Aggron. Just like Absol and his friends, he had emerged. He obviously fainted but got back up later on. Much like Absol and the others, he was exhausted himself. "A-Aggron...!" "E-Esp?!" Espeon and the others gasped after seeing Aggron getting back up while Absol growled at him. He was ready to go for another round, which was fitting for Absol's persistent and stubborn nature. Togekiss held Cinccino close as the two opposing sides stared each other down. However, their second-round wouldn't happen now. Because arriving here was the trainer of Aggron. Skyblue Shine. "Aggron!" Skyblue called for her Pokemon. "Ggron?" "Are you okay?!" Skyblue Shine went over to her Pokemon, seeing how badly damaged Aggron was. She had no idea what had just happened to him a few minutes ago. The android unicorn put her hooves around the Iron Armor Pokemon, seeing the damage given to him. "Agg..." Aggron groaned. "We're leaving. We'll get you healed up afterwards, alright. Return." She then took out the Poke Ball, recalling Aggron and placing it away. Skyblue then looked at Absol and the others, not bothering to waste time with them. "There you are!" But showing up by easily catching up to her was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus arrived at the area, looking down at Skyblue Shine. But she also noticed Absol and the others badly injured and exhausted. "Absol? Guys?" "Absol..." Absol groaned as he adjusted his back, making sure that Espeon wouldn't fall off. "I don't have time to deal with you right now. Get lost and return to your world. After all, don't you want to stop the invasion?" Skyblue Shine said. "I do but not until you're stopped." Rainbow Dash replied. Skyblue Shine really wasn't planning on continuing this any further. She was only here for the staff but that has taken too long to even complete. She wasn't even sure where Ash was by now. "I see...But maybe you should tend to them first, don't you think?" Skyblue Shine pointed her hoof at Absol and the others, causing Rainbow Dash's attention to change somewhere else. But that's exactly what she wanted. While Rainbow Dash looked to the side, Skyblue Shine used her magic to teleport away, not engaging with Rainbow Dash. "Huh? Hey!" Rainbow Dash bellowed after hearing the sound of magic teleportation. Before she knew it, Skyblue Shine was out of here. But, she couldn't chase after her now. Rainbow Dash chose to assist Absol and the others. "Hold on you guys. I've got some stuff in my bag that can help." Equestria. Night. Right now, an unusual sight laid before the opposing side. A giant robotic octopus-like creation sent through the gateway and a gigantic rampaging adult Spike from the otherworld where the Empress resides were each within their sights. Naturally, this already difficult situation had only been amped. This was a Spike that was only here to cause destruction. And the same went for the robotic octopus with sharp and rigid tentacles. "Is that...Spike?" Soarin looked up at the gigantic Spike, stunned to see such a familiar face like this in a different sight. "No time to be dazed!" Spitfire snapped him out of it. "Look! Here they come!" These two giants started moving with the many tentacles of the robotic monstrosity piercing through the buildings with ease, either leaving enormous holes or even destroying them in general. The sharp appendages also hit the ground, nearly hitting the soldiers below. Even if they missed the soldiers, the impact of the appendages was enough to cause tremors and cracks in the ground and even pressures great enough to push anyone nearby away. The Wonderbolts tried the same tactic they did against the ships on the giant squid. The rain from Buizel's Rain Dance was still active as the trainers that owned Electric-Types or Pokemon that had Electric moves, ordered their Pokemon to use their Electric-Type attacks in the air. The rain poured down on the robot mainly while also pouring on Spike. The Electric attacks then flew into the air, ready to go haywire with the rain. However, by using its own intellect, the robot octopus had negated this. And it did this by spinning its body and many tentacles around at unexpected speeds while also moving like a spinning disc. The speed that it moved at was enough to remove all the water from its body. Not only that, but it could even evade the lightning-fast Electric-Type attacks. And even if it was hit by them, unlike the other metallic creations, this robotic octopus had the intellect to conduct the electricity onto its body. And that's what it did. It had weaponized its opponents own electricity by merging it with its aluminium body. It kept spinning along, cutting buildings off by just its spinning movements. The pegasi flew away as fast they could, escaping from the giant robotic octopus and the rest just galloped away. The robot then used the electricity it had gathered, shooting out massive volts out of its body and attacking its prey. And it did this while still spinning. Because of its spiralling movements, the electricity moved haphazardly while still having an amazing aim. All thanks to those multicoloured spheres on its body. The pegasi had all been struck by lightning themselves, causing them to fall out of the sky. The Flying-Type Pokemon weren't spared by this either. Anyone in the air was caught by the robotic octopus' surprisingly stellar aim. It didn't help that the rain from Rain Dance had made them all wet too. Essentially, they had received a taste of their own medicine. The octopus then stopped spinning as it had other ways to cause destruction. But not before Spike caused his own. The adult dragon swiped his claws, hitting a single building before sending it flying. The force of his swing and the launching of the single building was so great that it crushed the nearest building while also creating a strong wind pressure that tore through the air. Spike roared as his swing had also knocked some soldiers away. Even the pegasi and Flying-Types who had already been struck by lightning were met by Spike's wide-area claw swing. As if that wasn't enough, Spike then breathed green fire from his mouth, torching the area before him. The buildings were caught up in these flames along with anyone nearby that had armour on them. It was on the verge of melting apart. More Flying-Type Pokemon were approaching the area, shooting air-based attacks like Air Cutter, Gust, Air Slash and more at their targets. Spike let out another roar as the many aerial attacks landed on him, forcing him to put up his claws to block them. The adult dragon swung his claws into the air, blowing the Flying-Types away. The robotic octopus then caused more destruction by violently swinging its appendages at its prey. The Pokemon that were in its path had been smacked aside like ragdolls, either flying into buildings or crashing into them. The Pokemon obviously fought back with their moves. A barrage of ranged moves came towards the robotic squid from all sides. To counter this, the octopus spun around once more, using its hyper-fast movements to knock away any approaching ranged moves that came from the Pokemon. It had either deflected the moves or reflected them at the original users, damaging them instead. However, some attacks proved to be more effective than others. Some moves managed to actually damage the robotic octopus, but not by much. They needed a sure-fire heavy hit to really give it pressure. "Electi!" Electivire had caught Spitfire who had also been hit by the electricity. Spitfire groaned as her own body was twitching with Electricity flowing out. To heal her, Electivire used his main ability. Motor Drive. With Motor Drive, he absorbed the electricity around Spitfire, curing her in seconds. "Ugh...Thanks, Electivire. Now quick! Use Thunder Punch, go!" "Vire! Electi...!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon placed Spitfire down before approaching the octopus, lighting his arms up with electricity. The robotic octopus' many spheres started glowing as it suddenly unleashed a giant bright light that eclipsed the area, blinding anyone who saw it. And a lot had witnessed these epileptic lights and that also allowed Spike to catch them off guard. Spike swung his tail, blowing the buildings back and nearby ponies and Pokemon that were in the way of his tail. The buildings had also flown so high up that some of them were about to land on the soldiers who were still blinded. Luckily, not everyone was blinded. Soarin was one of them. He had quickly sent out one of his Pokemon to assist in this. A Pokemon that could certainly melt the metal of the robotic squid and possibly give Spike a hard time. "Torkoal! Come out and use Lava Plume!" "Torkoal! Tor...!" Torkoal emerged as he knew what he needed to do. And due to Torkoal arriving, his ability Drought kicked in, removing Rain Dance and giving him some of that solar energy to power himself up. Even if the sun wasn't up yet. The Coal Pokemon's shell started glowing as he summoned an inferno of scarlet flames that torched the buildings themselves. The buildings had been burnt to a crisp, saving the ponies from being crushed by them. And not only that, Torkoal's flames spread out to the point where they even hit the giant octopus' metallic body. It obviously flinched after taking such a furious flame that had the potential to melt its body. The Golurk, who were also here with the Canterlot soldiers as always, had assisted. By using their amazing strength, they grabbed the buildings. Not only that, since they were artificial, being blinded was essentially pointless to them cause their vision is not natural at all. Being a Ghost and everything. "Earthquake!" "Koal!" Torkoal then smashed his feet on the ground, causing large white shockwaves to form around the area with cracks as well. These white shockwaves raced forward as the soldiers that owned Golurk' had ordered their Golurk to use Ground-Type moves as well. The shockwaves had hit the robotic octopus, capitalizing on anything metal being weak to the ground itself. The octopus was consumed by the shockwaves as its hard aluminium body had been damaged, but not by much. And it looked like Spike would be next. Except for one thing. Spike by this point, had wings. And he had revealed them to everypony by spreading them out so wide that they made a loud flapping sound. The adult dragon flapped his wings as he took the skies, evading the Ground-Type moves entirely. And now that he was in the air, he could also breathe fire while flying. As if it wasn't difficult already, the Empress' forces seemed to up the anty every passing minute or second. The ponies started screaming as green flames were raining down from above, scorching the city as Spike's wing flaps along were enough to cause wind pressures that could rival simple tornadoes. Nearby buildings were blown away by his wing flaps or even scorched into ash by his flames. The Pokemon fought back by constantly attacking Spike from afar. SO far, none of them have gotten up close and personal. "Go! Scizor! Bullet Punch!" Spitfire had sent out her ace to deal with this. Scizor emerged from his Poke Ball as he soared towards Spike with his pincers glowing. "Corviknight, use Brave Bird!" So did Soarin. And everyone else. Corviknight flew into the air with an orange aura around his body. He flew beside Scizor along with the Golurk and other Pokemon that could fly. Spike roared as he had been smacked in the face by Scizor's lightning-fast bullet punch. He flinched from it before breathing fire towards Scizor. Obviously, Scizor is a Pokemon that doesn't bode well with fire thanks to him being a Bug-Steel-Type. "Zor?!" Scizor gasped as he quickly ascended into the air, avoiding the flames of Spike. Corviknight then hit Spike's chin with Brave Bird, knocking his head back. But Spike quickly retaliated by swatting Corviknight away. "Cor!" Corviknight cried out as he was sent flying, crashing into a Swellow, causing them both to take damage. "Golurk!" The many Golurk attacked by either using Flash Cannon to attack from afar or physical moves. They mainly went for the robotic octopus with some of the Golurk smashing their heavy fists onto the face of the octopus, leaving visible dents. Flash Cannon had also gone for Spike, hitting the adult dragon with a sharp beam of metallic energy. The octopus retaliated by wrapping its tentacles around the Golurk, holding them within its clutches or either using them to knock the Automaton Pokemon away. Spike also retaliated by grabbing some of the nearby Golurk, using them as weapons. The adult dragon roared as he whacked any nearby Pokemon with Golurk before slamming the few Ground-Ghost-Types to the ground. The octopus suddenly used its other appendages to grab the nearby Wonderbolts after moving forward. It still had the Golurk within its grasp but that didn't last long as the Golurk used their intangibility to phase through. Unfortunately, the Wonderbolts didn't have the same advantage as the Golurk. Some of them looked back, witnessing the giant octopus and dragon chasing them down. Spike's aerial movements were enough to blow away tall buildings that were fairly durable, just by one flyby. They couldn't escape as Spike and the robotic squid grabbed many of them with their claws or tentacles. Mainly the robot which could hold more. The Wonderbolts screamed as the Flying-Type Pokemon tried helping their trainers collectively. But, the octopus responded by using that same flashing light to confound them. And it didn't help that Spike was breathing fire into the sky. "Quick! Froslass! Icy Wind!" Spitfire had another one of her Pokemon out. This time it was Froslass. "Froslass!" Froslass spun around as she created a flowing wind of cold snow, sending it towards Spike. Since Spike was a dragon, he was still a cold-blooded creature. And anything cold was not pleasant or healthy for his body. Spike cried out as he could feel the chills of Icy Wind flow through his scales. His grip on the Wonderbolts loosened as Soarin, who had Eiscue, also chimed in. Unfortunately, Soarin and Spitfire were the only ones with Ice-Type Pokemon because no one was expecting a giant adult Spike to appear and battle against them. The ice was effective against Spike as he despised the cold entirely. He flailed his claws around, trying to ignore the chills that were bestowed upon him. With even more fury, Spike decided to let out a big. The biggest flame so far. He aimed his head down before firing his largest green flame yet. The flame met with the ground, erupting upon contact as a giant burst of green flames spread across the area, charring the ground, engulfing the buildings and soon the ponies and Pokemon that stood before it. It was fairly large so flying high up might not be as effective due to its ludicrous range. Ten Golurks stood in the way, attempting to shield everyone with Protect. It was successful, but the flames didn't end. They were now spreading like wildfire. Immediately, any trainer that had a Water-Type Pokemon with them got to work by using their Water moves to put out the flames. Spike then dived down with the octopus slamming its tentacles down, harming the ponies and Pokemon that it was holding. The adult dragon opened his mouth in an attempt to bite someone. He ended up sinking his large teeth into the Golurks, breaking Protect and carrying the Automaton Pokemon. He soared into the air, holding the many Golurks in his mouth as he also breathed fire on them. He poured the flames onto the Automaton Pokemon before tossing them aside, sending them straight for Froslass and Eiscue to eliminate his Ice-Type problem. While this battle continues, high above the skies, someone was watching all of this unfold. Someone with great power who absolutely adored antics that can result in mass destruction and anarchy. That, someone, was Discord. "This invasion was worth the wait, wasn't it?" Discord spoke as he spectated with cloud binoculars. He had actually shown up 9 minutes ago, witnessing the pure chaos of the invasion happening across Equestria. "It's a shame really. I would help but who would be crazy enough to want to end something like this?" He chuckled, eating the clouds like popcorn as he admired the view. He was a little bit late to the party as the sun was gradually starting to rise but he was here either way. However, after getting a quick view of everything, Discord had something in mind. He knew that Ash and Fluttershy, two of his closest friends weren't here a the moment. Before this, Discord already knew that they had gone to Kanto to sort out Ash's Aura problem. Discord believed that since they were away from Equestria, his two closest friends were safe and unharmed. Well...one of them was unharmed. While Discord ate the clouds, watching Spike and the giant robot octopus go against the Wonderbolts, Canterlot Army and Pokemon, someone else was watching him. Empress Twilight's world. Night. The Empress herself. Her eyes were already set on many things at this point. The invasion was all she could keep an eye on. Even very literally with her Grand Eye Spell. The effects of her spell were still active. She wanted a good eye on everything possible and since Discord was within range, he was within her sights. "Discord..." The Empress said as she narrowed her eyes, knowing how big of a threat he was. She already knew how to handle Discord. After all, she was Twilight Sparkle at the end of the day. But before doing so, a gateway had suddenly opened in front of her. One that was activated by a Travel Sphere. and out of that gateway, Skyblue Shine emerged, damaged and tattered up from all sides. She hadn't taken the ship since Salamence had just sliced in half with barely any effort. So this was the easiest way out without drawing too much attention. "E-Empress...!" She stuttered. "Skyblue Shine...Where is the staff?" The Empress looked down at Skyblue with visible disappointment in her eyes. Skyblue shuddered, knowing that she brought nothing but failure with her. "I-I apologize Empress. I was unable to retrieve the staff. Ash Ketchum has it. HE evaded us and we were unable to find him anywhere. One of our ships had also been destroyed." "Of course..." Empress Twilight sighed. "You failed me on this one, but I trust you won't fail me again with the rest of the invasion. I expect you to at least assure victory for us." "Of course, Empress! I'll make sure that our victory will be instant." "Yeah, yeah, sure. Head off and assist them. Seems I'll be revisiting that world a few times today. First, I'll handle Discord. Then, I'll retrieve what was stolen from me by Flurry Heart, then I'll personally deal with that brat myself, and afterwards...well I'll take things from there." "Discord? Empress... that's a powerful force you'd be dealing with. Are you sure?" "Hmph. Absolutely. I obliterated my world's Discord already. I'll do the same to this one. And hopefully, I can tap into chaos magic this time. That magic has eluded me for too long." The Empress opened up a gateway herself as she was getting into the action more often. Usually, the leaders of invasions don't jump into the action that much unless the time calls for it. But for Empress Twilight, that was a different story. She's certainly the type to take things into her own hooves if she feels like it or is needed for something above her subjects. Truly a terrifying force that not many would want to encounter early on. Pyrestar's world. Night. And speaking of a terrifying force, another one was about to make his move soon. The tyrannical ruler of his new kingdom and wielder of Dark Aura. Ghetsis. "Lord Ghetsis." Colress turned to Ghetsis. "It seems the invasion is underway. Earlier than expected too." "Excellent." Ghetsis chuckled with his eyes flashing red. "Shadow Triad." He called for his three best servants who had emerged from the shadows. "Yes Lord Ghetsis." "It's time. We're heading for the Crystal Empire." His sights were set on one individual. The baby of the Crystal Empire known as Flurry Heart. His main plan was to strike while the invasion was happening so that everyone was caught up in the chaos and battling. And now was the perfect time to do so. Kanto Region. Far out in the wilds. With the many craters caused by the ship's cannons, it seemed like there was truly nothing there. As if everything had been vaporized. But, deep within the largest crater here, something remained. Or rather, a group of individuals. And another group had found this other group. Goh and Starlight, who had also been separated, came across the crater as they saw Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and their Pokemon laying there, unconscious. They had survived the onslaught of magical rays. And they had Mew to thank for that. His Psychic shield did most of the protection, saving his friends from suffering a cruel fate. But at the cost of them fainting due to how many there were. Goh and Starlight quickly jumped down the crater to attend to their fainted friends. "Guys! Are you alright?!" Goh asked. "Come on! Wake up!" Starlight nudged Pheromosa, trying to see if they could regain consciousness. The situation right now was escalating at this point as their world was at great risk of being conquered. That was something they wouldn't allow. Fluttershy groaned as she seemed like she would be the first to wake up. But she was still greatly unconscious. Goh and Starlight would have to carry them out and take them to safety before they perish in the cold night. As the journey continues. Chapter 452 End.