Unova Region. Castelia City. Afternoon.
Right now, Ash was still touring Princess Fluttershy around involving Pokemon and what she can look forward to. And what better place to be at than Castelia City. It is quite a favourite location among the ponies in Equestria. Many ponies do tend to enjoy Unova over other regions. Alongside Ash and Princess Fluttershy was this world's ordinary pegasus Fluttershy.
A bit of a nice synergy between two ponies who were essentially the same entity.
"Mmm." Right now, Princess Fluttershy was helping herself to some ice cream. The famous Casteliacone of course. She found ecstasy within the flavour of the cone. "Ah..."
"Great, isn't it?" Ash spoke while giving Pikachu and Angel Bunny some of the cones. Both Angels.
"It is. I should be heading back soon. I still have important duties to fulfil back home after all. But, for the time I was here, it was enjoyable. I had the chance to meet so many wonderful Pokemon. Probably not even half of them!"
"So you'll come back, right?" Fluttershy asked her older self.
"Pikachu?"
"Certainly." She nodded. "It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Ash Ketchum." She stood up from the bench. "Pikachu and umm...me. And every Pokemon so far. I hope I can meet more. And stay safe and be ready for Ghetsis and the Empress, alright?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash nodded giving a thumbs up. "You can count on us, Fluttershy!"
"Pikachu."
"Hm. AH!" Just then, as she gave an innocent smile, her eyes flashed open with a pink and yellow spark emanating. Princess Fluttershy gasped as she looked to the ground in shock.
"What happened?!" Ash and Fluttershy noticed this sudden shock.
"Pika?!"
"I just had another premonition...It's horrible..." Princess Fluttershy breathed in and out as she shuddered in fear.
"W-What was it?!" Fluttershy stuttered.
"I couldn't make it out. It was too fast." She sighed as she raised her head. "But I believe I saw Ghetsis in there for a second."
"Ghetsis again?"
"Sorry for the surprise. New premonitions do tend to pop up within me at random. When I least expect it as well." She rubbed her horn.
"It's fine. Whatever it is, we'll be ready for it. Right, buddy?"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Right. I'm counting on you. I'll inform you if something comes up again. Until we meet again, Ash. Pikachu. And my younger self." And with that, she could depart, right back home.
But she'll be back for sure. Probably with more premonitions and information. Mostly for the Pokemon. Definitely for the Pokemon. But since she shares the same love for them as Ash and this world's Fluttershy it was only natural.
She opened a gateway with butterflies spiralling around it. Dragonite gave the alicorn Fluttershy one last hug along with Pikachu gifting her a small jolt to her horn. Afterwards, she gave her goodbyes along with her own Angel Bunny before entering the gateway.
"Okay...What next?" Ash pondered for a moment on his next escapade for the day.
"Already planning on a new adventure, Ash?" Fluttershy said.
"Yeah. Oh!" Ash put a fist into his hand. "I could head to the human world where Sunset is. I did say I was gonna do that. How does that sound, Pikachu?"
"Pika-Pika."
"What about you, Fluttershy? Wanna come along?"
"Oh, me? Well...Maybe next time." Fluttershy shrugged. She wasn't too enthusiastic about heading to the human world as compared to experiencing the Pokemon World. Although, just like how Equestria has Equestrian Pokemon, Fluttershy thought that maybe, just maybe, there are exclusive Pokemon in the human world too.
As for Ash, he's always going to explore everywhere he can. No matter what.
A Universe known as Universe 25.
In this universe, this is where Ghetsis and Team Plasma retreated to. They had taken control of a weaker version of Equestria in this world and made it their own. A sort of substitute for Ghetsis' Harmonia Kingdom ever since it was destroyed.
However, right now, Ghetsis could care less about being here. Ever since he had to retreat from Ash and failed to use baby Flurry Heart's power for his own, it was safe to say that Ghetsis was frustrated. However, instead of breaking out into a fit of rage, Ghetsis had made a decision. One that he felt like he should have done a long time ago.
"Lord Ghetsis. All of our resources are still here in this world. So it's not all lost." Colress spoke to Ghetsis.
"I know that." Ghetsis replied in a low tone. He clearly wasn't happy at the moment as he had his hands together, blocking his face.
"By a few months or less, we could advance this kingdom to-"
"An Empire." Ghetsis suddenly interrupted Colress. "I'm seeking an Empire. Forget the entire kingdom business."
"An Empire? My that's a leap, Lord Ghetsis." Colress bit his teeth. "But, it is to be expected. You did want to rue over Unova before."
"I want more than just an Emire, Colress." Ghetsis then raised his head, showing his single red eye glowing. "Take care of everything here while I'm gone."
"I-I beg your pardon?" Colress stuttered as Ghetsis stood up from the throne.
"I will be out for a while, venturing on my own. In the meantime, you are in charge of Team Plasma and everything else while I am away. You can contact me with communications at any time if you wish."
"W-What's this sudden choice of decisions, Lord Ghetsis?"
"I want to become stronger and gain-no..." Ghetsis stopped suddenly before looking at his only arm, covering it with darkness. "Becoming stronger won't do it. I need to pursue more than that if I ever want to be fully successful without fail. I want to never lose ever again. Not to anyone."
"I-I see." Colress stammered as Ghetsis held his hand out, summoning another gateway. This gateway actually led to his own homeworld, Unova. Of all places, he chose to head back to where he originally came from.
"I'll be travelling different worlds for the time being. If you wish to attack Equestria or anywhere else, you're free to do so. Do what you can. I can rely on you to take things from here, Colress."
"U-Understood, sir! I'll make sure that none of our resources will go to waste! I can also call upon the other Team Plasma's from alternate worlds for assistance!"
"Don't worry about that."
"Eh?"
"When I'm back, I'll have more resources than ever." And those were Ghetsis' last words before he passed through the gateway. Afterwards, it had closed.
Ghetsis was now on his own with some Pokemon by his side. He was going on his own journey to better his capabilities. From this point onwards, he was going to make sure that he's always standing above everyone else, he had to improve constantly over time. No time for breaks or anything.
Ghetsis was going to make sure that eventually, no one, not even the very best of them all could stand in his way or stop him.
Equestria. Canterlot Castle. Afternoon.
Deciding to go to the human world to visit Sunset Shimmer and see what actions are occurring there, Ash was walking alongside Twilight and Goh for this. Goh, for the sake of having an adventure with him always and Twilight since she wanted to see Sunset again. Spike, being Twilight's assistant, also chose to come along.
They had just arrived upstairs where the mirror to the other world could be found.
"So, this other world. It's like Equestria but with...humans?" Goh said.
"Yeah. Their world got introduced to our world a bit later than ours. Everyone there's super familiar. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you name it." Ash nodded.
"It's a bit of a bizarre sight to look at," Twilight spoke. "I know it was perplexing to me when I first went there. Spike didn't seem too bothered by it."
"Nah." Spike crossed his arms, shaking his head.
"Well, good luck in there all of you," Celestia spoke to them each. "Say hello to Sunset Shimmer for me, won't you? And maybe our other-selves. Oh, and I've decided we shall visit Pegalyisum next week."
"Okay! Come on you guys! Let's go!" Ash, as enthusiastic as ever, jumped into the gateway without hesitation and with his fist out along with Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Wait!" Goh then followed afterwards, jumping in as well.
"Hey, Sparkle." But before Twilight could jump in there, Adagio interrupted, having something to say herself. "When you get there...can you buy me something?"
"Buy you something?" Twilight repeated, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah...There's uh..." Adagio regretted asking Twilight for help. "A really cute dress in that one fashion shop that I couldn't get. C-Could you get it for me? I know you won't though."
"Oh, sure! I can do that!" Despite their feelings towards each other, Twilight was willing to help Adagio out now that she was an ally. Adagio felt like throwing up in her mouth from how sincere and generous Twilight was being, but she did appreciate it as both Twilight and Spike entered the portal. "Bye!"
Human world.
And with one pass, they had entered the human world. Of course, Ash remained the same as he was considering he's not originally from Equestria or anywhere related to it. And the same went for Goh. They stayed as their original selves.
Twilight and Spike changed, however, entering their human and dog forms. It was also the first time Goh would get to see Twilight and Spike with a new look.
"Here we are." Ash crossed his arms after passing through. He got a good look at the school in front of his eyes as the golden sun beamed down on it.
"Pika-Pika."
"Oh...Not bad." Goh rubbed his eyes after that portal transportation, gawking at Canterlot High. But as he turned around, he was met with Twilight and Spike's new appearances. "Oh!"
"Surprised?" Twilight flipped her hair. "You haven't seen anything yet, Goh."
"Mhm." And Spike replied with an approving nod.
"Okay." Ash clapped his hands, looking around. "Since it's summer, no one's gonna be here right?"
"Well, there's always Summer School."Goh raised a finger. "But...what are we even gonna do here? I mean, compared to everywhere else..."
"Who knows? Better find out!" Ash immediately ran ahead with Pikachu, setting off to do whatever they can here.
"Pikachu!"
"Wait up, Ash!" Twilight cried out as she, Spike, Espeon and Axew followed after him. Goh scratched his head, finding no purpose for being here. If anything, whenever he's around Ash's company, everything always moves so quickly.
But, he went along either way.
When moving through the grounds of Canterlot High, it didn't seem so empty at the moment. There was indeed a Summer School here as students could be seen being present. Goh noticed that some of the humans living here matched the appearance of ponies had seen before.
It seriously threw him for a loop, no doubt about it. He was expecting to see familiar faces in the forms of humans. It was bizarre, jarring and fascinating all at the same time.
Twilight took out her Xtransceiver, seeing if she could contact Sunset. Being a human, using the Xtransceiver with hands now was fairly useful. Even though these were built for ponies and anyone with hooves. It was certainly a nice feeling. Twilight, despite being freaked out as a human when she first came here, had gotten used to being one.
She didn't have to call for Sunset Shimmer because just up ahead, the one they were looking for was already there, sitting in the park with her friends. Familiar faces of friends. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie respectively.
"Sunset!" Twilight cried out, waving to her fellow student of Celestia. She ran ahead of Ash while Sunset also approached.
"Twilight! Ash!" She as well cried out. When coming in contact with each other, they both performed a high-five, similar to what Ash and Dawn are known for doing. "Glad you made it here. And during summertime too."
"Yeah. We were planning on coming later but Ash planned." Twilight grinned as they broke up the high-five. The rest of the human counterparts to the Mane 6 rushed over to see their friends from separate worlds. "How has everyone been? You all adjusted to the Pokemon yet?"
"Uh...Kinda?" Pinkie shrugged. "It's going...good."
"Not that great, honestly." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "But Fluttershy's doing good." She then pointed over at Fluttershy who nodded in confirmation.
"B-But it's okay!" Sunset gave a thumbs up. "Since I'm pretty well-versed in Pokemon, I'm teaching them all about it. But uh...Can't say the same for everyone else."
"This whole world hasn't gotten adjusted to Pokemon yet?" said Spike.
"Well, there's a lot. They didn't go through the same type of merging event like ours." Twilight faced Spike. "Plus, Sunset's the only Pokemon expert here."
"Wish we got something like yours. No fair." Rainbow Dash groaned.
"It's a bit worse than it looks." Sunset rubbed the back of her hair. "Since no one really knows too much about Pokemon, they're kinda defenceless. I've been trying my best but there's so many to deal with in this world it's insane." She sighed while lowering her head."
"Yeah. Even after that...what's his name? Arceus guy fixed everything, everyone's just lost." Rainbow Dash spoke, following up on Sunset's words.
"And what's worse is that some people are being reported missing all of a sudden." Fluttershy put her own words in.
"Missing?" Ash, Twilight, Spike and Goh collectively said.
"Yeah. We've been trying to find them but...eh?" Sunset shrugged. "We have no idea where they went to. They could be anywhere at this point."
"Might be a Psychic, Ghost or even Fairy-Type Pokemon for that." Twilight theorized. "Sunset, I didn't know this world was struggling so much with Pokemon."
"Yeah. I just figured it out not too long ago. Just days before I learned about the invasion so...My bad for being a bit late."
"But hey!" Rainbow slid over to Ash. "We have an expert on Pokemon right here, don't we? You can help us out, Ash, huh? Huh?"
"Oh yeah!" Ash nodded in agreement. It was a no-brainer for him. He already helped Princess Fluttershy become accustomed to Pokemon. Why not do the same for this world? "You can count on us."
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Nice! And uh..." Rainbow's eyes then shifted over at Goh. "Who are you?"
"Oh? My name's Goh!" Goh quickly introduced himself. "And I'm going to catch every Pokemon out there!"
After exclaiming his name and his goal, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie paused for a moment before looking at each other. Then, the three of them collectively spoke together with one word. "Is that even possible?"
"It totally is!" Goh replied as he felt a bit shot in the heart after their response.
"So how many are missing?" Ash asked.
"Not sure. Maybe a few? A lot? Don't know. We just know that they up and vanished one day. It could just be the magic here..." Sunset grumbled, thinking about the possibilities.
"Okay!" Ash put his hands together. "Looks like we have something to do! We're gonna find everyone's that's been captured pronto!"
"Pikachu!"
"How?" Applejack asked.
"Ah." Ash quickly squinted his eyes before coming up with a plan. And in just a few seconds, he came up with something. "Hmm...You've all got Pokemon of your own right?"
"Yeah, we've got some." Rainbow Dash responded, holding out a Poke Ball. "Sunset helped us all catch some. "Why?"
"Pinkie. Fluttershy. Do you two have a Slurpuff and Audino?"
"Audi...no? Oh, sorry. I haven't actually caught a Pokemon of my own." Fluttershy shook her head. Out of all of her friends, she did not have a Poke Ball at her disposal, nor does she have Pokemon of her own. "I've seen the Pokemon Audino if that counts for something."
"Oh! But I've got the Slurpuff!" PInkie raised her arm. "They came by my home all of a sudden! I think it was the sugar cakes I made. They just helped out of nowhere now that I think about it."
"The same with Rarity and a Pokemon called Sewaddle. Rarity woke up one day and It started weaving clothes for her. It was actually generous of it." Fluttershy smiled, nodding as this world's Rarity met with Sewaddle in a similar way the pony Rarity did. The same went for Pinkie Pie.
"Oh, I know what you're getting at. Nice thinking Ash." Twilight nudged Ash. "Audino can hear for their voices and Slurpuff can track their scents down." She then explained the use of Audino and Slurpuff to her human friends. "We have the Slurpuff but...Audino might be tricky."
"We just need to find someone those people were related to for Slurpuff's scent to really kick in." Ash then further laid out the plans. "Maybe we can skip out on Audino if we don't have one."
"Pikachu!"
"Where do we even start?" Goh questioned.
"There's one place we can start." Sunset stepped forward. "This world's Everfree Forest."
Canterlot Park.
Everfree Forest.
Much like its Equestria counterpart, this world has its own Everfree Forest. One that hasn't been affected by any Rift Magic of seeds of chaos. But there is something else from another world that lurks within it.
The layout was different from its Equestria counterpart. Expecting a fun summer adventure, the group was now graced with the task of finding missing humans that have been supposedly taken by Pokemon. Or worse, the Everfree Forest might have gotten them either way by some chance.
Everyone had their own Pokemon and thanks to Sunset, the human counterparts of the Mane 6 were well equipped for this. But their Pokemon battling abilities might be a different story.
They had entered the forest, no problem. Nothing was preventing them from entering. It's what was inside this forest that they had to worry about. But with experienced trainers like Ash, Twilight, Spike and Sunset, they might be in the clear.
"So, Ash. You're aiming to become a Pokemon Master, right?" Rainbow Dash spoke while they moved through the stillness of the forest. "What's that all about? What is a Pokemon Master?"
"Yeah. Sounds pretty important." Pinkie nodded.
"Ah, that's an answer Ash can't fully give out yet," Twilight responded to her human friends with her head shaking. At least, not until he finds that answer.
"Finds that answer?" Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both said.
"Yeah. You see, I wanna become the first Pokemon Master ever. Being a Pokemon Master means more than just battling all the time, becoming champion and so on. It's something that I want to make happen in my way. Beating the league is one step closer to being one."
"The first? No other masters have existed before?" Sunset questioned.
"Apparently not." Twilight shook her head. "And when Ash finds out what being a Pokemon Master means, then the next generation of Trainers will have something to know about if they want to be Pokemon Masters themselves."
"Ooh..." The four of them each understood it clearly now. While the role of being a Pokemon Master was one shrouded in mystery, it was still something that could be at least properly understood on what it may be."
"Pika." Pikachu's ears twitched as he heard something nearby. The moment he twitched, that prompted Ash to come to a halt, and later everyone else.
"You sense something, Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner.
"Pika..." The Electric Mouse Pokemon narrowed his eyes while Eve also stayed on guard.
Everyone shuddered a small bit, ready to throw out their Poke Balls to whatever might be coming their way. Electricity sparked around Pikachu's red sacs footsteps could be heard, making the grass crunch.
However, what came into view wasn't something that seemed dangerous. Appearing from the acre of trees, there was a single person. Someone certainly familiar somewhere in Equestria.
Everyone spotted this random boy walking about. But the way he was walking was a bit odd. His eyes were closed, his mouth was open, his back hunched and his arms lowered.
"Hehe...That sounds nice..."And out of his mouth, he let out a small little laugh.
"Oh. Seems clear." Rainbow Dash sighed. "But what's up with him?"
"No idea. Looks kinda out of it." Sunset squinted her eyes. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"Looks more like he's experiencing some form of happiness. Maybe a delicious fruit in this forest?" Fluttershy gave her own two cents on why this man was walking and expressing in such a way.
Just as they spoke about him, the man then turned to face Ash and the others with that same expression. It was a bit intimidating in all honesty when he ended up facing them. Why he wasn't changing his expression was unknown. But what was known was that something was not right here.
Because right behind Fluttershy was another sound that passed through her ears. She immediately turned around, wondering what new sound was heading their way, or at least near them.
And as she turned around, she spotted the sight of a few people running away from a Male and Female Pyroar, screaming for their lives.
"Oh! Look!" Fluttershy called for her friends, pointing at the view of the Pyroar chasing down some people. "Some sort of lion Pokemon!"
"It's Pyroar!" Ash exclaimed as turning the focus back to the strange-faced man revealed more like him. Appearing out of the acre of trees, more people with the same face and body posture as the man had shown up, each of them making unintelligible sounds while experiencing some sort of happiness.
But that wasn't all. Aside from those that were being chased by the Pyroar. Some were being chased by other Pokemon such as Seviper and Zangoose. Usually, Zangoose and Seviper are enemies towards each other, but this time, they could make an exception.
"What is going on?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed, watching the mishap unfurl.
"Most of the people are from the Animal Shelter!" Fluttershy quickly noticed the people that she was seeing before her eyes. Most of them. She didn't recognize that strange-faced man but she did recognize the others who came out of the acre of trees along with the ones being chased down by Pokemon. "I was wondering where they all went last week!"
The Pyroar let out a collective roar as they chased their prey towards Ash and the others from the direction they were running in. The people tried putting some extra strength in their muscles. Unfortunately, they weren't strong enough to fully outpace a Pokemon for long.
The two Pyroar then breathed fire from their mouths, trying to burn down their prey. Trees and plants were caught up in these flames and obliterated on sight as some of them almost hit the people.
"Uhh...They're coming this way!" Pinkie Pie screeched as the Pyroar were also aiming at attacking Ash and the others too once they got close enough.
"Not good. Pikachu! Electroweb!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu hopped off his Trainer's shoulder, summoning a single orb of electricity. By throwing that orb with his tail, Pikachu formed an electric web. "Chu-Pi!"
The web flew over the people, forcefully missing them while only focusing on two targets. The Male and Female Pyroar. And with precise aim, the web had landed on the two Royal Pokemon, stopping them in their place.
"P-Pyroar!" The two Pyroar roared at Pikachu as the Electric Mouse Pokemon landed on his Trainer's shoulder. The people who had been chased by the Pyroar came to a halt after they had been saved. But there was still the issue of the Zangoose and Seviper.
But Twilight would handle that.
"Eve! Let's see how good your range is! Psychic!" Twilight turned to face the Seviper and Zangoose, pointing at them.
"Espeon...!" And with a blue light outlining her, the Sun Pokemon managed to get a good range towards her targets. From just 10 metres, Eve had sent an invisible wave of Psychic energy that travelled through the ground, moving the blades of grass and chipping the trees.
"Zan!"
"Seviper!" Before Seviper and Zangoose could attack their prey with Poison Fang and Crush Claw, their bodies were blown back by something they were unable to see. An invisible Psychic wave sent them hurling through the air, forcing them away from the people they chased. And the Seviper took the worst of this for being Poison-Types.
The natural enemies were sent further into the forest, far away from the people they were chasing down. And speaking of those people, they had taken a moment to catch their breath. All the time they needed. They either sat down or got on their knees, showing that they were exhausted.
All that was left were the strange-faced people but they seemed like they were currently safe and not in danger of being harmed in any way or fashion. The Pyroar couldn't break free of the Electroweb, making them fully restrained for the time being.
"Oh...Thanks." One girl said, breathing and out as he found some peace at last. "That was too close."
"Are you all alright?!" Fluttershy went over to her friends. "Is this where you've been all this time?"
"For five whole days." Another responded to Fluttershy as she held her head. "Sorry for the concern."
"Why were you all out here in the Everfree Forest of all places in the first place?" Sunset asked them.
"Sorry. We didn't plan on coming here. We were lured here. We tried to work better with the Pokemon since ya know...they kinda look like regular animals, don't they?" A girl shrugged.
"So we thought we could treat them the same way we treat normal animals. That backfired." A boy lowered his head. "Pokemon aren't like animals."
"Well I mean, they kinda are." The other shrugged.
"At least you're all okay." Fluttershy could smile with relief. "But what about them? Why are they acting like that?"
"No clue. When we got here, they were acting all funny with those faces. A bunch of them have been here for a bit." A girl swirled her finger around while pointing at them. "We saw them yesterday too. They might be new and got lost here as well."
They weren't just wondering aimlessly. They were all heading in one direction. Where they were headed was unknown, but they had a destination for sure. The Pyroar growled as they were trying to break out of Pikachu's Electroweb.
"Hold on." Fluttershy went over to the two Pyroar to see if she could calm down them. The two Royal Pokemon collectively snarled at her, trying to chew out of the web. Naturally, her friends, aside from Ash, Twilight and Spike were worried about this.
Pyroar was a Pokemon that was certainly deadlier than a regular lion. Not just the superior strength but the searing flames that come with it. Their flames were already erupting from their fangs as Fluttershy kneeled down to face them.
And with one kneel, she allowed them to see her welcoming and comforting face. And with an aura as calming as hers, the Pyroar's had lowered their flames. For better clarity on how harmless Fluttershy was, she put her hands on the muzzle of the Female Pyroar. She knew her animals. Even the wilder ones. And Pyroar being lions were no exemption.
The Pyroar had been calmed down by Fluttershy's own natural talents. Their anger had settled as Fluttershy rubbed their faces and head.
"My. Your fur is hot, isn't it?" Fluttershy giggled as she could feel the heat from Pyroar's fur. But both Pyroar's had simmered their flames so that Fluttershy wouldn't be harmed.
"How does she do that...?" Pinkie whispered to Rainbow Dash but Rainbow could only shrug. It was just something Fluttershy was skilled at. Best not to question it.
"Sounds like these two were just a bit mad at something. There was a sound here that was aggravating them to chase the people down." Fluttershy explained to everyone. "Sorry that you had to hear that sound you two."
"Well, now that that's done. What do we do about them?" Rainbow Dash turned to the strange-faced people.
"Leave that to me. Eve, Psychic."
"Espeon." Espeon swivelled, using Psychic one more time. The blue light of Psychic outlined them each, promptly freezing them in place. Afterwards, Espeon went straight for their minds by using her own mental capabilities.
With her great Psychic powers, the Sun Pokemon was able to interact with their minds, giving them a small invisible blast. Essentially performing an instant lobotomy.
"Oh!" After having their minds attacked by Espeon's Psychic, they had all snapped back to reality, letting out synchronized gasps as they opened their eyes.
Immediately, they were only befuddled as they just realized the state of their consciousness. Being attacked in the mind was a bit painful to them though.
"What happened?" A boy said, groaning as he felt out of it. The others were groaning. One second, they looked satisfied, now they seemed to be disgruntled.
"That worked. Great job, Eve." Twilight lowered herself, giving Espeon a high-five. Since she was a human now, she was naturally taller than Espeon, requiring her to get to a lower level. Before, she and Eve used to be roughly the same height with Twilight edging out a bit.
"Espeon!"
"You all feeling okay?! You looked pretty good before but now..." Pinkie Pie rushed over to the disgruntled group.
"Uh...I don't know...What was I doing?" One girl held her face. "And how did we get here?"
"They don't even remember how they got here? Is this just the forest being weird again." Rainbow Dash asked.
"Maybe. Are you certain you all don't remember anything?" Sunset further questioned them, wanting to know at least something. The forest is known for being bizarre, that much is natural in its own right.
"Well...I think we came here because we heard something nice in the forest. I think it was nice. It sounded nice." A younger girl finally answered. Seems her memory was still holding valuable information.
"Oh, really? What kind of sound was it?" Goh questioned.
"Not sure...But the Pokemon were heading for it." She then pointed up north. "I saw more people show up here days ago. Tons of them."
"Wait, so there's more?" Sunset gasped. "How long has this been going on for exactly...?"
"All of them up there?" Twilight looked up north. "That means something big is drawing them in. Which Pokemon could do that?"
"It could be a Pokemon that's singing. Just like how Flygon lured those people into the sandstorm." Goh theorized.
"Then let's get them back." ASh got up, immediately bolting ahead of everyone else.
"Ah! Ash! Can you at least wait for a bit?!" Twilight cried out, chasing after Ash as usual. As for everyone else, they desperately needed to head back home. They have been declared missing for a few days so heading back would be the best option.
And the same goes for the other missing people who have yet to be found. But, perhaps up north is where their answer lies.
North.
Arriving north, Ash came to a screeching halt with Pikachu. His halt led him to a den of leaves that exist within the forest. Ad near that den, many people could be seen lining up, all having the same hunched position and expression on their faces.
They were indeed here as they either stood outside or inside the den of leaves, staying completely still. None of the people were moving at all strangely enough. To keep her friends safe, Espeon kept Psychic up, holding it around their heads. Just in case they were affected by whatever noise there was.
"Looks like they're all here," Sunset said. "But where's the noise coming from?"
"Might be that den right there. What's inside of it anyway?" Twilight squinted her eyes, trying to look further inside. Ash advanced towards the den with the others as the people didn't even notice them walk by. They were too entranced.
And as they got closer to the den, very soon, Ash and the others could hear what exactly this sound was. They had picked up on strange soundwaves that were hard to explain. It made them twitch a bit while the Pokemon growled at this sound wave.
"Pika...!"
"Espeon...!"
"Pikachu? What's wrong?"
"A-Are you feeling okay, Eve?"
Both Ash and Twilight were concerned for their partners. They could see their faces changing shape to one of aggravation. Something was aggravating them. And that something was that same sound.
The frequency it was put at seemed to enchant humans with what sounded like joy but infuriated with Pokemon with something that could provoke them.
"Oh! Look!" And Goh was the first to spot this cause by looking past the crowd of people. Sitting on a large mound of leaves was one single object.
A music box. Of all things. But not just an ordinary one. It seemed to have custom additions. And those additions were antennae. Those antennae were the ones emitting the soundwaves.
"Well, there's our answer." Rainbow nodded. "But who left it here? And is the song that bad?"
"It doesn't sound so bad. Doesn't sound like a song either. More like something that's made to attract creatures in, like a dog whistle." Fluttershy responded. "That's probably what aggravated the Pyroar and the other Pokemon here."
"But dog whistles only like...make dogs happy and bring them closer. Is it like a human whistle or something?" A confused Pinkie Pie twirled her playful mane.
"No..." Twilight quickly realized what was occurring with her fast-thinking brain. "This sound is meant for the Pokemon. And right now, it's aggravating them."
"Then what are we waiting for. Let's turn it off and get home already." Rainbow Dash wanted to put an end to this immediately. She approached the music box sitting on the mound of leaves,s ready to shut it off.
But what she didn't expect was that bursting out from the other large pile of leaves here was the Daunting and Fighting-Dark-Type Pokemon.
Pangoro.
"Pango!" The moment Rainbow Dash even dared to try and shut the music off, bursting out of the leaves was Pangoro with a mighty yell as it raised its arm high.
"Woah!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she moved back. Pangoro's arm came flying down, hitting the ground and almost striking Rainbow with it. The Daunting Pokemon growled as it was obviously aggravated by the sound. But oddly enough, despite it being provoked by the sound, Pangoro chose to protect it.
"Pangoro?!" Ash gasped.
"Goro!" The Daunting Pokemon roared as it stood in front of the music box.
"It's protecting the music box!" Fluttershy pointed out.
"W-Why?!" Rainbow Dash asked while sitting on the ground. "Don't they hate the sound?!"
"Just like a dog whistle, it can be made to modify specific behaviours. That sound is both provoking the Pokemon, but also causing them to protect the sound!"
"Who would do that? And who even left this here?!" Sunset bellowed as Pangoro was on the verge of attacking them each at full strength to protect this sound.
"I'll try and calm-" Fluttershy was about to try her hand at calming Pangoro down. But that's when Rainbow Dash interfered.
"Nah. I got this, Fluttershy." She grinned as she held out her Poke Ball. "I've been looking for some fun like this and I could catch this Pangoro too if I tried. Go! Staraptor!" By throwing her Poke Ball, she unleashed the Predator Pokemon Staraptor, revealing it to be her main Pokemon.
"Staraptor!"
"Panagoro!"
"Get a load of this! Aerial Ace, go!"
"Star!" Staraptor cawed as he flew at the Daunting Pokemon and back-flipped in the air. The Predator Pokemon then dived down at Pangoro, his body becoming surrounded by white streaks.
"Pan!" Pangoro was already prepared to use a move the moment Staraptor got close. Unfortunately, it couldn't keep up with Staraptor's blazing speed as the Predator Pokemon slammed into Pangoro before passing it. "Goro!"
"Starap!"
"Pan!" But after being struck, Pangoro recovered quickly, grabbing onto Staraptor's talon on time before he could fly back to this trainer.
"Star?"
"Goro!" Pangoro had used Vital Throw. By holding tight to one of Staraptor's talons, the Daunting Pokemon then spun around with the Normal-Flying-Type with all of its speed.
"S-S-Star!" Starapator cried out after being spun around.
"Ah! Staraptor break free!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"Goro!" Pangoro did that favour for Staraptor. Afterwards, it tossed the Predator Pokemon with the full force of Vital throw, sending him flying through the air as some leaves were blown away.
Some of the people here were almost hit but surprisingly, they were unphased by the Pokemon Battle. The music frequency was just that strong and enchanting. Staraptor then recovered himself in the air after being thrown like that.
"Okay! Close Combat, go!"
"Staraptor!" Staraptor them zoomed downwards while Pangoro was about to return the favour with the move Poison Jab. The Predator Pokemon stuck his talon out while Pangoro's fists were covered in poison. The talon and fist came into contact with sparks flying out.
They separated as Staraptor moved in for another hit, this time with his wings. Pangoro swung its poison-clad fists as they clashed with Staraptor's wings and talons. The two of them were striking at high speeds with their wings, talons and fists, leaving afterimages.
"Star!" Staraptor found an opening for having the superior speed to Pangoro. With that opening, the Predator Pokemon struck his wing onto Pangoro's face.
"G-Goro!"
"Star!" after that, he followed up with a second and final hit via a kick to Pangoro's chest with his talon. The Daunting Pokemon was blown back by the Close Combat kick, taking super-effective damage from that.
It slid back so far that it almost hit the music box behind it. But, the Fighting-Dark-Type regained its composure, making sure not to break the box or harm it in any way.
"Pangoro!" After recovering, Pangoro lunged forward with Night Slash, opening its mouth wide while having darkness around its hands.
"Use Close Combat again!"
"Starap!" Staraptor went for a second Close Combat. But this time, Pangoro was ready for him. The Predator Pokemon swung the first wing. Pangoro saw it coming as it swayed its body to the side, evading the first strike of Close Combat. "Star?!"
"Pan!" Pangoro found its own opening. It then struck Night Slash onto Staraptor's neck. Afterwards, it staggered the Predator Pokemon, delivering multiple hits with Night Slash. Staraptor was being pummeled by a barrage of hits from Pangoro with darkness flying out.
"S-Starap!"
"Goro!" Pangoro then gave Staraptor an uppercut, sending him to the sky with the last hit of Night Slash. Staraptor already looked like he was about to give in with that damage he took. "Pango!" Pangoro was ready for one final hit as it looked up at Starptor. It was going for Poison Jab for the last hit.
"Revenge, go!"
"Raptor!" Staraptor opened his eyes as he immediately boosted through the air, he flew around some of the people here as his body emanated an orange aura.
"Pangoro!" Pangoro roared, raising both of its poison-coated arms for a powerful slam. Staraptor narrowed his eyes as he spun around in the air, bringing the leaves up from the speed he moved at, allowing the leaves to spin around him too.
"Starap!" Staraptor then used the leaves to distract Pangoro, sending them towards the Daunting Pokemon. Pangoro had been given a whiff with the leaves, instinctively using Poison Jab on them.
"Pan?!"
"Star!" And with that bluff, Staraptor smashed its wings onto Pangoro's face, dealing massive damage to the Daunting Pokemon after the previous damage he took.
"Pango!" And with one mighty hit, Pangoro was knocked back like a slingshot, flying so far that it crashed through the mound of leaves that held up the music box, causing it to fall. The antennae had been disrupted by this, causing the frequency to stop.
And with the sound stopping, everyone here had snapped out of it immediately, letting out collective gasps, grunts and moans. They felt perplexed and lost at the moment and for a good reason. Their ears and minds were being met with an odd sound they had no control over.
"Goro..." Pangoro had also snapped out of it as it held its head, groaning.
"Here goes! Poke Ball, go!" Rainbow Dash took the chance to catch Pangoro, tossing the ball forward. The Poke Ball hit the Daunting Pokemon directly, sending it inside with the red light appearing. Afterwards, it dropped to the ground, ready for the shaking process to start.
1...2...3...Gotcha! Pangoro was caught.
"Haha, yes! Score!" Rainbow ran over, grabbing the Poke Ball. "Finally I got another Pokemon! And it's a super cool one too!"
"Staraptor!"
After stopping the music and obtain a Pangoro, the people here were given a quick rundown on what happened. Just like the people before, they wanted to understand the Pokemon more. But their goal to do so led them to the Everfree Forest and that's when the sound got them.
But aside from that, they just wanted to head home. And so they did. Now their closest friends won't have to worry any longer about their missing disappearances.
"Well. We dealt with that. But still...who put that box there?" Pinkie Pie wondered, turning around as Goh was holding the music box.
"No idea. Whoever did it must've been trying to search for something...Or...I don't know." Goh grumbled.
"Well, whatever the reason was, at least we solved the problem. Now we can just relax and have fun, can't we? I mean, that's why you all came here, right?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah. I wanna see what your world has to offer." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, you're gonna love it, Ash!" Rainbow Dash put her arm around Ash. "Trust me! But uh...not sure it's gonna be as great as what you have over at your world."
"No need to worry. Best to find out either way and have fun, right?" Ash stayed positive as always.
"Pika-Pika!"
Everfree Forest.
Back at the Everfree Forest, right in the mounds of leaves that used to be here, someone else had approached this place. This, someone, stood before the leaves on the ground, knowing that an object was here.
This certain individual also had someone as company. A dog. But a very familiar dog. One that looked like Spike when he passes through the gateway. And this was confirmed by the voice who spoke here.
"Looks like that experiment was a failure." A feminine voice spoke, leaning down as she grabbed the broken antennae from the music box, holding it up. It was soon revealed, through the sun moving away and taking the shadows with it that this individual was none other than...
Twilight Sparkle.
"Something's up with these Pokemon creatures. And I'm going to find out what."
As the journey continues.
Chapter 487 End.