//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Pokemon the Movie: Rival and Darkness 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

With the battle tournament booked up, Flash and his friends had nothing else to do except return to the Pokémon Center. There they all sat around, deciding what to do tomorrow, though Flash was just staring at the stadium in the distance, "Lightning," Flash whispered as he remembered the three on three battle he was competing in.

"You gotta forget about it, man," Spike chimed in from the seat next to him. "So he's here. So what?"

"Spike's right," Twilight added, "I get you probably wanted to battle him, but that'll have to wait until the Equestria League."

"That means you've got more time to train," Doc pointed out. "If you wanna beat him, you will need to be at the top of your game."

"Yeah..." Flash sighed while slowly nodding, "I guess you're right." He punched his fist into his palm, "But he better be ready, cuz I'm taking him down the next time we face off."

They all smiled at that, only for the doors of the center to open up, revealing the trainer they were talking about. Lightning Blitz moved over to the main desk, his eyes darting over to the four before getting to the counter, where he handed his Pokeballs to Nurse Redheart. As he did this, more trainers came in, all handing their Pokeballs over, only for one of them to notice a certain blue-haired teen.

"Wow!" They ran over to him, "Flash Sentry!" The teen let out a sigh, having hoped this would be done for today. The trainers all gathered around him, asking what he was doing there and if he was in the tournament. And as they did this, Lightning glared at the sight before walking away, only Twilight noticing the scowl on his face.

"What's up with him?"





Later that night...

In the streets outside the Pokémon Center, a cloaked figure made their way through the darkness to the hospital. They avoided the light of the streetlamps, disappearing into the shadow of the building before moving around to the back.

There it found a fenced off area, the figure climbing over and finding multiple metal boxes that were connected to the center. Once there, the hooded figure moved over to the boxes and from their cloak, they took out a small coin-shaped device. Attaching it to them, it did the same with the others before walking back and holding up their arm. The arm had a device wrapped around it that had a touchscreen on the top that projected a holographic screen above it.

They typed away for several seconds before the devices all started beeping and lit up. They unleashed an electrical current that flew into the boxes, frying the instruments inside before the coins exploded, leaving no proof they were ever there. "Perfect."





The next morning...

Interested in seeing as much of the city as possible, Twilight woke the rest of them up at an incredibly early hour. In other words, the sun was just now rising as Flash and Spike woke up, moaning in pain as they prepared for the day. But when they went to get a shower, they found the water was ice cold and refused to warm up....along with the lights refusing to switch on, and none of the power sockets were generating any electricity. The entire Center had lost power.

The four quickly headed to the reception, now finding multiple people talking to Nurse Redheart about the power outage. "I know," she told them. "I know. For some reason, all our generators cut out last night. I've already sent a messenger Pidove to Horizon Incorporated to tell them about the problem."

"Are our Pokémon healed up?!" One of them asked, "The first round of the tournament's today!"

"Yes," Redheart nodded. "All your Pokémon are still in top form. I didn't get my medical degree just by learning to push buttons."

The trainers nodded as Redheart's Chansey walked into the room pushing trolleys of Pokeballs. Flash glanced around, only to find no sign of Lightning Blitz. As he did this, Doc moved over to Nurse Redheart, "Would you like me to take a look at the generators? I am kind of a genius when it comes to these things."

Redheart shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't. The generators were donated by Horizon Incorporated. Having anyone except them look at it violates the warranty."

Doc nodded right as the sound of the center's doors opened. They turned to see a bunch of people wearing jumpsuits walk in carrying tool boxes. At the front of the pack was a young girl around Flash and Twilight's age, with pink skin and purple and blue hair. She was wearing a green short sleeve shirt under a black open vest and ripped gray jeans, a pink wool hat on her head with black boots on her feet. On her left arm was a wrist band that covered her whole forearm with a glass top.

Besides her was a young pink skinned girl with blue curled hair wearing a white dress and white sandal shoes. She was carrying a large briefcase that was almost as large as she was.

The two girls marched up to the reception desk, Doc stepping aside, "Morning," the older girl told the nurse. "Sorry about the generators. I have no idea how they could have all broken down."

"It's alright," she replied, "But do you think you can fix them? With the tournament about to start, I might end up with some Pokémon needing serious medical care."

"Don't worry," she responded, "We'll get them up and running in no time." She turned to the workers, "Let's get to work people! We have a lot to do and barely any time to do it!" The men all nodded. "What are you all waiting for?! Go! Go! Go! Go!"

The men ran for the generators, Twilight commenting on the sight, "Wow. She's certainly got those guys well trained." She turned to the pair, wondering why a pair of young girls were the ones calling the shots. "Who is she?" This was heard by the pair, who turned to her.

"Name's Starlight Glimmer," the girl their age replied as the younger one handed her a file. She opened it up, reading the information before finishing, "You shouldn't worry. We'll get the generators working soon and your Pokémon will be healed up in no time."

"Oh, don't worry. All our Pokémon are perfectly fine."

Starlight looked up from the folder at this, only to go wide-eyed, "Wait..." she whispered, "Are you-"

"Flash Sentry," he finished for her. "Yeah. I've been getting that a lot."

Starlight smiled and nodded, "I see. Your little speech certainly got a lot of people excited. And I heard you were the one that beat that overgrown lawn ornament." Flash nodded, "Well, its nice to meet you." She turned to the rest, "All of you." Then, a beeping sound came from the band on her arm, holding it up as a holographic screen appeared. "Well, I've gotta get going." She began to head for the door, "Come along Cozy."

"Coming," the little girl replied.

Once they were gone, the six all stared at the door, Doc commenting, "She certainly acted a lot older then she really is."

"You gotta wonder how smart she is if she's in charge of that group," Twilight added, "Anyways, we should get going. This is a big city, and there's a lot to see."

They nodded and headed out, the group beginning their journey on foot instead of using a transport platform. They soon found themselves in a shopping district, finding an arcade, multiple stores selling different Pokémon items and even a small store that sold rugs covered in Pokémon patterns.

Eventually, lunch time came around and they enjoyed themselves at a nice little café full of different Pokémon themed foods. "What to get?" Spike asked himself as he looked through the menu. "So many choices..."

Flash was about to reply, only to hear something from a nearby TV. "Next up in the Battle Tournament, Lightning Blitz verses Conway." Flash looked up at the screen, Twilight and the others soon watching. "What Pokémon will these two trainer use in this battle?"

"Venomega!" Lightning threw his Pokeball and the giant purple lizard with a large frill appeared, roaring as it swung its poisonous claws and tail around.

"So his Frillace also evolved," Doc commented as his opponent sent out a Dusknoir. "That's gonna be tough to deal with in a League match."

Flash said nothing as he stared at the battle. If he couldn't compete, he could at least see how strong Lightning had gotten. And as battle started, the waitress took their orders and soon brought their food over, the group now seeing Venomega easily overpower the Ghost-type.

"Cross Poison!" Lightning ordered as the lizard crossed its arms, the blades on them glowing purple.

"Ven!" It swung its arms, slashing at Dusknoir in an X formation. The blow knocked the Gripper Pokémon flying, eye now turning to a spiral as it hit the dirt.

"That's it! Lightning Blitz wins! He'll be moving onto the second round." Flash then saw Lightning recall Venomega with a yawn, Flash glaring at the sight as he knew what would probably happen next.

"That was good," he turned to Spike and saw he was talking about the large burger he had just finished. Flash looked down at his plate, now seeing it was empty, the teen too focused on the match to realize he was eating. Twilight and Doc had also finished at this, soon paying their bill and left the café.

"So what do you guys wanna see next?" Flash asked as they walked off their meals.

"I'm not sure." Doc replied, "There's so much to see here that it could take a month to see the whole place in detail...:

Twilight snapped her fingers at this, "I know the perfect place." She pointed at a nearby transport platform on the side of the road, all soon climbing on board. She then typed in a location as she said, "I've always wanted to go here. Now's my chance." She hit the enter button and the doors behind them closed before the machine began to fly over the road.

"So where are we going?" Spike asked before Doc looked over Twilight's shoulder, smiling at the sight of the name on the screen.

"Alright! I wanted to check that place out too! This should be fun."

Flash and Spike both shared a glance at this, only to soon see a skyscraper coming into view. It was the tallest in the city and was made out of metal and glass. It actually looked like several buildings stacked on top of one another, each one getting smaller the higher up it went. And at the top was a large flat surface that looked like it could fit several helicopters on it, the very base around the same size as the city stadium, with many people coming in and out.

"Welcome to Horizon Incorporated!" Twilight exclaimed as the platform stopped in the building's parking lot. They all got off as she added, "This place is one of the best tech innovators in Equestria."

Doc nodded, "It's advancements are only rivalled by Silph Co and the Devon Corporation." They moved up to the building and saw a large group of people gathering around the front. "And it looks like we might be right on time for the tour."

"Tour?!" Spike yelped, "You brought us here to take a tour of a building?!" Twilight rolled her eyes and grabbed his collar before he could make a break for it, dragging him along.

"This building had built some of the best technology around the world. And if we're lucky, we'll get to see it in action." She pulled him into the back of the group, Flash and Doc moving up with them as a woman walked over to them.

"Welcome. I'm guessing you're all here to take a tour of our facilities?" All but Spike nodded, "Good. Then please follow me and take a visitors badge," She pointed to a table with multiple key-card objects with strings tied around them. They each put on a badge, the tour guide leading them through the building. "Here are Horizon Incorporated, our vision is to make the world a better place using the power of Pokémon and all their mighty abilities."

They headed down one of the hallways and found a wall to their left was made entirely out of glass, allowing them to see inside. Multiple scientists there were attaching heavy objects to a hook being suspended by a thin string. "This wire is being developed to use on mountain research. Being so high up, one would want a wire that's both strong and flexible. And so, we've been developing this wire using the String Shot attacks of specially trained Pokémon, who have worked hard to improve the power of the attack."

To prove her point, a Spinarak scuttled onto one of the tables and fired a String Shot onto to the roof. The scientists then gathered around and began taking samples while the tour continued on. They then saw a clock that was designed to be as accurate as a Hoothoot. Equipment that was being developed to be used by Rotom, including the normal ones like a washers, freezers and ovens. There were also ones like jackhammers, boomboxes and even a digi-pet, along with a lab where they were developing new forms of medicine using different Pokémon attacks or abilities.

"See that man over there?" The tour guide asked, the group turning to see a man holding a jar of yellow liquid. "He's currently working on developing a new form of antiseptic using the honey of Combee and Vespiquen."

"Honey?" Spike asked, "How is that an antiseptic?"

Twilight smiled and chose to explain instead of the tour guide. "Honey contains hydrogen peroxide, which may account for some of its antibacterial properties. It also has a high sugar content, which can help stop the growth of certain bacteria. Additionally, honey has a low pH level. This works to pull moisture away from bacteria, causing the bacteria to get dehydrated and die off." She turned to her brother, whose brain was now producing smoke, "It just is, okay?"

"O...k," Spike replied as they continued to watch the scientists work. The honey guy placed the jar onto a trolley full of the stuff and began to roll it out to the corridor, passing by the group as the smell of honey filled the air, making both Peewee and Springer lick their lips.

"Well," the tour guide told the group, "we should head to our next destination." As she said that, the scientist pushed the trolley around a corner. But when he did, the cart suddenly jerked and fell on one corner, one of the jars falling off. It thankfully didn't break, instead rolling away as the scientist saw one of the cart's wheels had come off.

"Not again." He grabbed the wheel and put it back on, completely unaware of the jar that rolled around the corner, its lid slowly coming off. And as the aroma of the honey filled the air, it caught the attention of a certain Pokémon.

"Terra?" Peewee turned to the jar and smirked, jumping off Spike's shoulder. The boy spun around at this, following his Pokémon before seeing Peewee land near the jar and started licking up the spilled contents.

"Seriously?! You're gonna eat off the floor?!" Peewee glanced up and shrugged before continuing, Spike letting out a moan. "Great...can we go now?"

"Terra," Peewee jumped back onto his shoulder, Spike looking back at the tour...only to see they had vanished.

"Uh-oh." The pair ran down the hallway and found themselves at a section with three exits, "Oh, come on!" He turned to Peewee, "Don't suppose you can smell them?" Peewee shook his head. "Well that's just great." He turned back to the three possible directions and picked one, "Twilight's so gonna kill me."





Meanwhile...

Twilight was now staring at another room, now seeing someone place a dummy inside a strange looking suit. "This area is dedicated to developing clothing that can withstand different Pokémon attacks, such as trainers who are having a hard time training ones who enjoy setting them on fire or freezing them solid." As she said that, a Snom appeared and unleashed an Ice Beam that struck the suit. But no matter how much it fired, the blue lightning was unable to create any ice on the dummy.

Then, a Geckolar appeared and unleashed a Flamethrower which hit the suit. It too was ineffective against the suit, leaving the dummy untouched. However, when a Joltik appeared and unleashed a Thunderbolt, the suit began to fry, a particular smoky smell now filling the air.

"As you can see, it's, err, still a working progress."

The people on the tour laughed, Flash turning to Spike. "Maybe you should get something like that for Peewee when he sneezes on your-" He stopped as he glanced around, "Huh? Uh...guys?" Twilight and Doc turned to him, "Where're Spike and Peewee?"

Their eyes went wide at this, now seeing that the teen was missing. "Oh no," Twilight whispered as she looked back at the way they had originally come. "They must have gotten separated."

"What do we do?" Doc asked, "Tell the tour guide?"

But before they could think to do that, Springer clapped his paws together and unleashed a burst of aura, soon locking onto to a certain pair. "Ri!" He sprinted off, Flash and the others following without the tour or its guide noticing them leave.

"I just hope he hasn't gotten into any trouble..."





Spike and Peewee were now wandering down the fifth corridor they had gone through. "Ugh....this is so bad." He moaned as he turned another corner, only to see another corridor that looked like the other ones. "Augh!" He ruffled his hair in frustration, "All these hallways look the same!"

"Terra..."

They then took yet another corner, only to go wide-eyed as he saw something at the end of the hallway: An elevator.

"Yes!" He exclaimed as he ran over it, "Maybe this will be able to get us to the lobby." But when he reached it, he found there was no call button, instead just a slot for a card, "Huh?" He looked down at the key-card around his neck, "I wonder..." He slashed it through the slot, but nothing happened. "Oh, come on." He slotted it again, only for still no results. "Please...." Again, but no response. "Come on!" He slashed it again, and this time the elevator actually dinged. "Seriously?"

But as the door opened, the door opened to reveal someone inside. It was the blue haired girl he had seen with Starlight earlier, the girl raising an eyebrow at him, "What are you doing here?!"

"Umm..." Spike muttered out.

"This is a restricted section."

"I'm sorry," Spike bowed, "I got separated from the others and...wait," he looked up at her. "Why are you here? You're even younger than me!"

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, "I might be younger than you, but I'm allowed here because I work here!"

Spike's eyes went wide at this, only for another voice to call out, "Spike!" He turned to see his friends running over, "What are you doing here?!" Twilight asked, "Do you have any idea how worried we were for you?!"

"Sorry guys," Spike replied while slightly glancing away, "Peewee distracted me, and when I turned back, you guys were gone." The group then turned to the girl, who was staring at them all with raised eyebrows as Spike added, "Apparently, we're in a restricted section."

Twilight tilted her head at the girl, "Oh, are you lost too? Need us to help find your mom and dad?"

"I'm not lost," the girl snapped back, "And I work here, so I don't need any parental guidance." They then heard a beeping, the girl glancing down at a device similar to the one Starlight had been wearing. "And now I'm late..."

She turned to run down the hallway, only for Twilight to ask, "Hey! Which way gets us back with the tour?" The girl stopped and let out a sigh, then gestured for them to follow.

A few minutes later, they got to a doorway as the girl said, "Please stay here." She walked inside and returned a minute later, now carrying a small box. "Alright, stay close and don't touch anything."

The others wondered what she meant as she headed back down the hallway, getting to the elevator again. She pulled out a key-card and slashed it, opening the elevator as they all walked in, only to feel themselves moving upward. "Wait...I thought you were taking us back to the tour?" Twilight asked.

"I will," she replied. "But first I have to deliver these parts." They looked at the floor numbers on a nearby screen, which kept going higher and higher.

"Where are we going?" Doc asked.

"To the top floor," she responded, "Where Horizon Incorporated's most high-tech lab is located."

At that moment, the elevator dinged as it came to a stop. They walked out and found they were in an office, the center of the room having a large wooden desk with two people sitting at it. One was Starlight, who was looking at a bunch of different documents while the other was another teen Flash and Twilight's age. He was an orange skinned teen with red hair and glasses, wearing a blue button up shirt with a dark blue blazer and grey pants.

Starlight looked up from the papers, "Cozy, good timing. Did you-" She stopped when she saw Flash and the others step out of the elevator. "Cozy?"

"I'm sorry," the girl bowed. "They got lost and were in a restricted section. I'll take them back to the lobby and-"

"No, no." Starlight got up, "This is quite a rare treat. The hero that saved Equestria, in my office. Such a pleasure." She reached out with a hand, Flash taking it.

"Sorry if we've caused any trouble," he replied, "Unfortunately, this is kinda what usually happens to us."

"Yeah," Twilight nodded, "We usually blunder into these situations and end up getting involved. That's kind of what happened with Team Shadow."

"I see," Starlight giggled, "Well anyway, I'm happy to have you here." She then turned to the boy at the desk. "Let me introduce you to my closest friend and fellow genius inventor here at Horizon Incorporated."

"Call me Sunburst," he responded before pushing his glasses up. He then got up and shook their hands as well, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And it's a pleasure to be here," Doc replied, "This company is so amazing. Even more amazing now that we know it's being run by a pair of teens even younger than me."

Starlight shook her head, "It's actually a recent situation. This place was my uncle's, but then he decided to retire and left me in charge. Sunburst and I have been helping since we were Cozy's age, and knew the place better then anyone, so we were really the only choice to put in charge."

"Wow..." Twilight whispered. "You guys must be amazing if you were allowed to help out at such a young age."

The two chuckled before Cozy walked up and held out the box she was carrying. "Oh good. The new part is here. Hopefully this should make it more usable."

"What is it?" Spike asked, Twilight then flicking his ear.

"Don't be rude. It's probably something classified."

"It is," Starlight responded before turning to Sunburst. "But what do you say? Should the hero of Equestria be given a sneak peak?"

"I don't see why not," Sunburst shrugged, "As long as they promise to stay quiet about it." They all nodded, agreeing before the pair gestured for them to follow into the next room, which was another large lab full of different equipment. "Just don't touch anything." Spike instantly pulled his hand away from a floating ball as Starlight went into another room.

"So what are you working on?" Flash asked before Sunburst pressed a button, causing a nearby wall to open and reveal a glass window. On the other side was a man and a Sandslash, the man currently brushing the Ground-type.

"This is Solid Granite," Sunburst explained, "He and his Sandslash are well known around here as having a particularly strong bond, and that bond will hopefully allow them to use our latest creation."

In that moment, Starlight walked in with a metal briefcase. She opened it up and Solid reached inside, taking something inside before Starlight shut the case and left the room. They then saw the man held up his Pokeball and returned Sandslash before holding up the device. It was a kind of curved metal plate with a hole in the middle of it. He placed the Pokeball inside the hole, the red section of the Pokeball still visible as a glass covering appeared out of the device and locked the ball into place.

"Let's hope it works this time," Starlight commented as she walked up to Sunburst as he sat at a computer in front of the window.

"Alright," Sunburst said into a microphone, "Prepare for stage one." Solid nodded, whilst Sunburst reached up and pressed something on the side of his glasses. When he did, a flashing red light appeared next to the lenses. "We're now recording." 

Starlight nodded and turned to Solid, as he lifted the chest-plate up. "And...activate!" He pulled the plate toward him and attached it to his chest. As soon as it did, the device lit up and unleashed a bright light that consumed his entire body. Everyone watched as the light around him began to take shape, giving him a very spiky appearance...and then the light began to fade.

Solid Granite was now wearing a set of armor based on Sandslash. He was wearing a white body suit with the chest plate on top of it, now linked to his body by connecting to a metal shell on his back that was covered in brown spikes. His arms and legs had yellow armoring around it, and on the end of his arms were a pair of long white claws. His boots also had claws and his head was covered by a helmet shaped around Sandslash's head. The Mouse Pokémon's nose was sticking out of his forehead with its eyes and ears above it, the man's eyes were where Sandslash's mouth was, with an orange visor covering them.

Everyone's jaws dropped as Spike muttered out, "What...just happened?"

"Did he just...fuse...with a Pokémon?" Twilight asked as they stared at the human-Sandslash Hybrid.

"Indeed," Starlight nodded, "This is what will revolutionize the Pokémon world. The Poké-Arms System."

"Poké-Arms?" Flash asked as he watched the armored figure begin to move around. "I don't understand."

"It's more than just a simple cosmetic change," Sunburst replied, "The Poké-Arms System is designed to allow the user to wield all the power of the Pokémon that the armour is mimicking. Their attacks, their abilities, and even the special powers that that Pokémon possess. In fact, we believe that the system has the power to allow a trainer and Pokémon to mentally communicate with it."

"Incredible," Doc whispered. "Think of the possibilities." The others turned to him with raised eyebrows, "Think about it. Imagine a situation where using this would be so much better than having the Pokémon do the work instead of you."

"Exactly," Starlight nodded. "Imagine that a miner is down a tunnel they can barely fit in and they come across a rock they can't break through. Usually, you'd have a Pokémon like Rhydon use its drill to cut through it, but the tunnel's so small that it can't fit."

"So using the armor would allow the miner to cut through the rock instead..." Twilight finished.

"Exactly." Sunburst nodded before turning to Solid. "Alright, time for phase two." He pressed a button and an opening appeared in the wall, a large chunk of rock being rolled out on a platform. "Try using Metal Claw to cut this thing in half."

"Understood," he nodded before turning to the rock. He held up a clawed arm, everyone seeing the claw beginning to glow. "Metal-AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" He screamed as the claw started sparking, followed by the rest of the armor. "Get it off!" Everyone gasped as they saw this, Sunburst typing away at the computer. As he did, the chest plate exploded off of the man, the armor fading into light as this happened.

Solid fell over at this, everyone running into the room as the plate's glass covering retracted and Sandslash jumped out of its Pokeball. "Sand!" It cried as it tried to help its trainer.

"I'm okay buddy..." Solid gasped, "I'm...okay."

Starlight let out a sigh as she moved over to the Poké-Arms plate, "Another failure."

"What was that?" Twilight asked, Starlight turning to her.

"That was the major issue we've been having with the system," Starlight picked it up and placed it inside the case. As she did this, Flash noticed a second plate within it. "The system's able to generate the armor, but the synchronization system isn't fully functional yet. So whenever the wielder tries to use a move, it goes haywire and loses control."

"We've been working on this for months," Sunburst went on, "Improving the system bit by bit...but no matter how hard we try, the system just can't fully synchronize the user and their Pokémon enough to use it. We thought using someone that has a strong bond with their Pokémon might work, but as you can see, we're far from completing this project."

"Still..." Twilight added, "The fact you were able to get this far is incredible."

The others all nodded, all now thinking what they would look like in armor based on their best Pokémon as Starlight replied, "Thanks..." She turned to Flash, "Say...why are you actually here? I would have thought you'd be in the battle tournament."

Flash smiled as he scratched the back of his head, "I wanted to, but I missed registration and there weren't any spaces left."

"That makes sense," Sunburst nodded. "Sorry you guys couldn't compete."

"That's alright," Twilight responded, "It meant we had more time to look around this amazing city....and we haven't even seen half of it yet."

Starlight held up a finger, "Have you guys been to the ruins? That's something everyone should check out during their trip here." The others shook their heads. "That's a shame. Say, why don't we show it to you?" She looked down at the Poké-Arms plates. "We've gotta file a report on this test, but after that, our day's pretty free."

"That would be great," Flash replied, "Thanks a lot."

"No problem," Starlight turned to the girl named Cozy. "Why don't you take them down to the lobby so the tour doesn't get worried and we'll meet you there."

"Alright," Cozy nodded before turning to them, "Follow me." With that, she skipped back into the office and headed for the elevator, the others following behind. Their trip to Horizon City had already been one they would never forget, and it was only just the beginning.