Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
The time had come for Canterlot's first Tag Battle. Originating in Hearthome and then later latching onto other regions, it had finally reached a new world.
Many were excited. Especially those aiming to make it to the top of the Equestria League. And for them to enter, they would need an entree card with a number on it.
Ash already received his as he was entree number 7. He then gave the rest of his friends that wanted to enter their own cards. The one pony exempt from this was Starlight due to her limited number of Pokemon. AKA just Hatterene. Goh was also exempt as he would prefer to watch. Not much of a battler type.
"Here you go, Fluttershy. Your card." Ash gave the last one to Fluttershy as she was number 20.
"Thanks, Ash. I'm pretty excited to take part in a competition like this. I missed out on the Canterlot Tournament months ago." Fluttershy took the card.
"You'll have only three Pokemon while Applejack only has two to use. Are you sure you two will be okay in this tag battle?" Twilight asked.
"I got faith in Sceptile and Golett." Applejack seemed calm about this. No problem."
"Well, Discord said it was okay if I could use his Krookodile for the meanwhile. So I guess I have four Pokemon with me," said Fluttershy. That'll be enough I think."
"I'm psyched." Ash got all giddy along with Rainbow Dash. "I haven't been in a tag battle for a long time. Can't wait to get started!"
"Pikachu!"
Canterlot. Day.
It was time. Of course, it would take place in the Equestria League Stadium. The poor Canterlot Stadium had been left out for this ever since the Equestria League Stadium arrived. What a shame.
Many Trainers had shown up here. Human and pony. After the gateways had been warped thanks to Ghetsis, directions were readjusted immediately. Thankfully, the ones that could make it had gateways that were connected to locations closer to Canterlot, eliminating the struggle of getting here.
And the one being the announcer for this was the same announcer for the Canterlot Tournament, reprising his role. "It's battle time! He shouted as everyone cheered. "Get ready for some action! We're going to have a fine time here and nothing more! And I should know. I'm announcing this."
"I've been waiting for this," said Ash. "Good thing I cleared a bunch of stuff up before this could happen, right?"
"Mhm." Rarity nodded. "I do enjoy these Pokemon competitions honestly. Hopefully, I'm not as burnt out as the Canterlot Tournament."
"We get to see who's the best out of all of us! But uh...bit unfair if you're here, Ash." Rainbow Dash spoke.
"Why. Scared that Ash is gonna win this?" Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash while chuckling.
"N-No! Besides! There's a chance we could pair up, ya know." She crossed her hooves.
"Sorry if you got a bit lost getting here. Gateway problems and all that. Happened during the gala. But now that you're here, we can get this started. All you have to do is just take out your registration cards as I was told."
Everyone then took out their cards as they all had their respective numbers on them. Ash was 7, Twilight was 14, Rainbow Dash was 31, Fluttershy was 20, Applejack was 15, Spike was 32, Rarity was 18 and Pinkie Pie was 24.
"Now look at the monitor. Whoever shows up next to you will be your tag team partner throughout the competition. Time to see who's who!"
After everyone took out their cards, a tournament bracket showed up on a giant monitor with their faces being revealed. 44 challengers were there in total as each of their numbers showed up on the brackets in duos.
"Okay. Now find your partner!"
Everyone immediately got to searching, looking at the monitors and the numbers on their cards. They were all excited and nervous about who their partners could be.
"Uh. I'm number 15!" Applejack had Sceptile raise her card, searching for her partner. She would be paired up with someone who was number 10. She looked around until number 10 came her way.
"Right here." Number 10 was revealed to be Barry. He had returned to Equestria just for this moment. Anything to battle after all.
"Oh, you're..." Applejack squinted her eyes, trying to remember Barry's name. "Who are you again?"
"Barry. Ash's equal." He gave a confident smile before beating his own chest. Applejack looked to the sie, doubting him as Ash's equal. Not likely at all.
"Right...Looks like it's you and me. If you gave Ash a tough time before, then I can count on you, right?"
"Sure you can. Watch and trust me." Barry slid over. "We'll win this before the next day even begins. You hear that Ash?!" He then shouted, grabbing Ash's attention.
"Huh?" Ash then looked over, spotting one of his few Sinnoh Rivals nearby as he gasped. "Barry! You're here?!"
"Pika?!"
"Surprised?" Barry snapped his fingers. "Get ready to lose in this one, Ash. Consider yourself lucky, 'cause I won't have to give you a fine if I win."
"And I win?" Ash asked.
"Then it's a fine at lightspeed!" Barry pointed his finger at Ash, making this a statement. A declaration. One that involves him swearing to defeat Ash and anyone in this Tag Battle Competition.
"Heh. We'll see." The Alola Champion smirked before looking at his partner. "Lucky. Guess we're teaming up, aren't we?" Ash looked at his card as he and Fluttershy were partners in this."
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded in response.
"Those two working together is already pretty scary..." Twilight shuddered as she knew she pitied the one to go against Ash and his Pokemon. She then looked around for her partner while holding up her number.
Lo and behold her partner for this was Aria Blaze who went up to Twilight. Or rather, she showed up behind Twilight, giving her a fright after saying a word. "Hey!"
"Oh!" Twilight jumped back after hearing her, turning around.
"Are you number 14?" Aria spoke.
"Aria? Yeah. Number 3?
"Right here." Aria raised her card, revealing herself to be number 3. "We're a team now, Sparkle."
"Do you have to call me by my last name like Adagio?" Twilight said nervously. "Wait, don't you have just Popplio with you as your only Pokemon?"
"I got busy. Plus, once this thing got announced, Sonata forced me to catch some more Pokemon. So now I'm up to three Pokemon total."
"That's great. Gives Popplio a chance to rest, doesn't it? Which Pokemon do you have?"
"These two," Aria revealed her newly caught partners, sending them out of Quick Balls. They were Croagunk and Ledian. And once Ledian came out, Twilight froze before jumping back and screaming once more.
"Aaaaah!"
"What are you screaming about this time?!" Aria exclaimed.
"Ladybug!" She pointed her hoof at Ledian while Espeon held her with Psychic.
"Ledian?" Ledian realized she was talking about her. Aria then facehoofed after that.
"Please don't tell me you're gonna lose focus because of Ledian being around?" The siren groaned.
"Mmm...no way!" Twilight scrunched her face. "I won't let it break my focus...Even if it's bigger than an average ladybug." She then shuddered as Aria returned Ledian.
"Espeon." Espeon sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed by her trainer's fear of anything related to ladybugs.
As for Rarity, she was searching left and right for her partner who was meant to be number 1. She looked ahead to see somepony raising the number 1 sign. And to her surprise, Ember was holding it. She came all the way here from the Dragon Lands just to partake in this competition. It was made public after all. Not just for humans and ponies.
"Ember!" Rarity teleported in front of Ember, startling her and Gible.
"Oh!"
"Gible!"
"Number 2, right? Number 18 right here." She used her magic to wave the card around. "I can tell we might make a great team, don't you think?"
"Uh, sure. At least it's someone I know." Ember scratched her head. "Not sure if I would do well with someone else I don't know."
"By the way...this completion lasts more than a day so...shouldn't you be at the Dragon Lands instead?" Rarity asked.
"Bah, it's fine. They can handle themselves for a week or more." Ember shrugged. "Besides, dad's filling in for me in the meanwhile. He's still got the qualities of a Dragon Lord."
"Gible."
"Me." Ember pointed her thumb at herself. "I came here cause I'm sick of battling against Dragon Trainers all day. I need to battle something new. That's why I came here. Getting better with Dragon Pokemon doesn't mean I can't try new Pokemon that aren't Dragon Types. Have to reach the top other ways after all."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were aiming to be a Dragon Master like Spike? And even take part in the league."
"Nah, pass. That Equestria League stuff's not my interest. I'll stick to being a Dragon Lord than a champion."
"Fair." After all those words, Rarity just nodded in understanding. "But let's make a great team, shall we?"
Meanwhile, Pinkie was searching high and low for her partner. Her partner's number was 16 as she couldn't spot them yet. She squinted her eyes, watching over the sea of trainers before finding number 16.
And her partner ended up being one of the students of the Pokemon School. The younger one. Sunrise Sprint as he spotted Pinkie Pie. After spotting the pink pony waving at him, Sunrise grimaced before turning away with embarrassment.
"Oh no..." He said as Pinkie Pie bounced in his direction. He wanted to have a cool and stylish partner by his side like Ash or even his brother. Daylight. "Why didn't I get my brother?"
"Hey there!" Pinkie showed up. "Looks like we're partners! Isn't this exciting?!"
"Mmmrgh...I guess so." Sunrise grumbled. "At least you have a Mew, that's strong. Wait, where is your Mew?"
"Oh. Since some humans are here, Mew's gonna keep a low profile. Right, Mew?" Pinkie looked up at her mane as Mew popped his head out of it.
"Mew-Mew!"
"Oh! Mew!" But Barry instantly saw Mew's head and heard his voice, pointing at him. Everyone turned to face where Barry was pointing instantly after hearing about Mew. Pinkie Pie squeaked as the New Species Pokemon hid back in Pinkie's mane, lowering his head.
"Uh...Now all of them know." Pinkie Pie giggled.
"Mew."
"Everyone's getting their Tag Team partner but...where's my partner?" Rainbow Dash wondered, currently unable to find hers in this massive stadium.
"How come I'm getting paired up with you?" Just then, a familiar voice spoke in the direction of Rainbow Dash. The pegasus then turned around to see who her partner was. And it was the one pony she wasn't expecting.
Lightning Dust.
She was number 27 as Rainbow Dash gasped, stepping back after seeing her fellow pegasus. "It's you?!" She cried out in shock, dropping her card.
"Just my luck." Lightning Dust said. "Guess we're in this together, aren't we?"
"Aw seriously?" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I'm stuck with you?"
"Hey, isn't that Lightning Dust?" Twilight observed as she and Aria were close to Rarity and Ember. "What are the odds of those two getting paired up?"
"Luck of the draw is what they call it, right?" Rarity replied as Spike and Scootaloo agreed. Spike ended up partnering with Scootaloo, becoming small tag partners together.
"I don't have a choice anyway cause of this thing." Lightning Dust spoke, waving the card around. "Just don't lag behind me, okay?"
"Lag behind-" Rainbow Dash stuttered, squinting her eyes. "What are you getting at?"
"I want to win this and show everypony I've got what it takes to enter the Equestria League and become Champion. And show her most of all." Lightning Dust then pointed her hoof at a group of trainers competing in this.
Up ahead was a dangerous duo that had managed to be paired up, Spitfire and Daylight Blazer. But Spitfire was Lightning Dust's main focus after she had been kicked out of the Wonderbolts after all. Rainbow Dash pieced it together instantly.
"Yeah, well, the champion's gonna be me. I already swore on it." Rainbow Dash retaliated.
"No way!" Lightning Dust scoffed. "I'm not gonna let you steal my thunder again. Not for something this big."
"As if we can even beat those two combined." Rainbow Dash nudged. "Maybe if I was with one of my friends..."
"And remember, in a tag battle, the real key to success is to create the spirit of partnership between both Trainers and their Pokemon. To learn to truly rely on each other. At least, that's what I've been told." The announcer said. "And so, to the team that emerges victorious, the grand prize for this competition are these!"
He had then revealed the major prize to everyone here. That prize being something of great value. Rare to come by yet a powerful took for all Pokemon Trainers.
"10 Master Balls!"
"10 MASTER BALLS?!" They all gasped and bellowed. That was a sight to behold. The most powerful Poke Ball. And 10 of them were up for the taking depending on who wins.
All that friendly spirit had been swapped out for competitive spirit after their eyes were laid upon these objects. Many of them wanted those Master Balls no matter what. Some didn't care or were unaware of how effective a Master Ball can be.
"I need those..." Rainbow Dash's mouth was agape, gazing at the 10 objects.
"Now there's a must-have!" James exclaimed as he, Jessie and Meowth were currently working their food job for Glittercook. They were concessions for this. "With those, who cares how much you have to struggle against a Pokemon?!"
"That's basically a 100% catch rate staring us in the eyes!" Jessie gawked, rubbing her hands together.
"Makes our inventions irrelevant but who cares?!" Meowth giggled as Team Rocket posed together afterwards.
"Don't look and don't stop." A mare and her child passed by Team Rocket after their little stylish pose.
"Now that you've all found your Tag Battle partners, the battle festivities will commence this afternoon, so you've got time to prepare and practice. I'll be eating in the meantime."
"Let's work together at the Canterlot Gardens, Fluttershy. I hear Rainbow Dash helped Chikorita out when you swapped Pokemon, didn't she?" Ash said.
"Mhm." Fluttershy nodded in reply. "Like you always say. It'll be a blast!"
"Pikachu!"
"I've got a team fit to go against a champion, so don't worry." Barry wagged his finger to Applejack. "But your Sceptile looks pretty good too."
"Of course he is. Sceptile's my one of a kind partner. Isn't that right, buddy?" The earth pony patted Sceptile on the back as everyone started leaving the stadium to practice.
But not all of it was in good spirits. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust were already making the atmosphere tense due to their not-so-pleasant relationship. Them being partners and bonding might be a greater challenge than any opponent they have to go against.
Celestia was excited about this most of all. Luna couldn't be here to participate as she was out there catching more Pokemon to become a better trainer for the eventual Equestria League. But even if Luna wasn't here, she could still watch over her friends and what they have to offer. Adagio was mainly watching since one of her sisters was participating.
2 hours later.
The afternoon was here. And the first matchup was about to begin for the first bracket. And in the first bracket was Twilight and Aria, going up against a combination of a Human Trainer plus an earth pony trainer.
"Alright!" The announcer returned to his seat. "I made it! Almost was late. Anyway, here are the rules. Each trainer is allowed to use one Pokemon with no time limit. There won't be any substitutions. Well...apart from the move Substitute but you get what I mean! Whichever team ends up being unable to battle is defeated. Then tomorrow, the winners will advance to the second round battles. Now today our first battle will be the A Block. So...it's off to the Pokemon Battlefield! Let's go!"
"You're first, Eve! Go!" Twilight chose Espeon as her first partner.
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon ran forward, standing in front of her trainer.
"Mmm...Croagunk." Aria decided on who would be first, sending the Toxic Mouth Pokemon out.
"Croa."
The opposing team had sent out a Vikavolt and a Heat-Rotom. Sonata was in the stands, cheering for her big sister by trying to be the loudest in the group. Her voice was almost drowned out by the crowd.
"OK! Battle start!" The announcer gave the order for the battle to finally begin.
"We'll get the first hit!" The earth pony exclaimed. "Vikavolt, use Thunderbolt!"
"Rotom, Ominous Wind!"
"Vika...!" Vikavolt's huge jaws generated 100,000 volts before shooting them out. Joining it was Rotom which had created a gust of repulsive wind, ready to throw it out.
"Eve! Use Shadow Ball!" Twilight chose to cancel out the incoming bolts of electricity and hopefully Ominous Wind too.
"Croagunk! Sucker Punch!"
"Croa...!" Croagunk got the first hit out of all of them. He took off from the ground at a high speed, before suddenly hitting Rotom with a darkened arm. He did it before Rotom could get a move in. "Gunk!"
"Ro...!"
"Es...Peon!" The Sun Pokemon lunged into the air, opening her mouth as a blob of shadows had emerged. She then released it, creating a bit of push back on herself as the sphere of shadows met with Thunderbolt. They ended up cancelling each other out.
"Rotom!" Rotom ended up using Ominous Wind anyway, sending it for Croagunk. Croagunk jumped back, but it was too late to avoid it as the wind had hurled the Toxic Mouth Pokemon. But, Croagunk recovered afterwards, sliding on the ground.
"We'll be fast too! Go and use Quick Attack, Eve!"
"Espeon!" Moving at lightning speeds, Espeon bolted towards Vikavolt while leaving white afterimages behind.
"Stop Espeon with Swift, Rotom!"
"Vikavolt, Air Slash on Croagunk, go!"
"Rotom!" Rotom started spinning, sending out star-shaped rays that moved just as fast as Espeon's Quick Attack, forcing her to be on her feet. The Sun Pokemon started evading the rays, trying to get close to Rotom.
Unfortunately, Rotom's spinning and constant usage of Swift forced Espeon to stay back as the stars ended up hitting her. The Psychic Type took damage, falling back as she tumbled on the ground.
"Esp...! Eon!"
"Eve!" Twilight gasped before Espeon recovered, standing upright and shrugging the damage off.
"Vikavolt!" As for Vikavolt, it had sent multiple cutting waves of wind at the Poison-Fighting-Type hoping for super-effective damage.
"Croagunk, Vacuum Wave!"
"Gunk!" Croagunk put both his arms together, sending a wave of pure vacuum that collided with the slashes of wind. Both attacks equalized each other out.
"Aria. Let's try something quickly." Twilight spoke to Aria, already having a plan. "Let's see if we can give them both status conditions. Paralysis or poison. Your Croagunk has Poison Touch as an ability, right?"
"No, but he's got Poison Jab. Why? What are you getting at?"
"Just watch. It'll be worth it. Eve! Jump in there and use Dazzling Gleam on Vikavolt!"
"Espeon!" Espeon then covered herself in a sphere of rainbows before jumping into the air, ready to unleash her rays.
"Thunderbolt, go!"
"Rotom, use Discharge!"
"Vikavolt!" All at once, Vikavolt and Rotom had used Electric-Type moves. One that can hit a single target while another that hits both targets. Thunderbolt was aimed for Espeon while Discharge went for her and Croagunk.
"Croagunk, dodge and use Poison Jab!"
"Croa!" Croagunk tried to avoid Discharge, but it was of no use. The move was too widespread as Croagunk had been shocked by 50,000 volts. "Croa!"
"Curses!" Aria stomped her hoof as Croagunk slid on the ground. But Twilight stuck to her plan as Espeon has yet to unleash Dazzling Gleam.
And because of that, Thunderbolt and Discharge had struck the Sun Pokemon. She felt 100,000 volts and 50,000 go through her body. But she endured it. Allowing for her ability to take motion.
Synchronize.
After allowing all those volts to hit her, Espeon had been paralyzed. But not before sending the effect back to Rotom Rotom's Discharge is what paralyzed her. Thunderbolt only added to the damage. Heat Rotom was now paralyzed, just as Twilight planned.
"Yes! Just as planned! Too bad we couldn't poison Vikavolt!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I can fix that! Poison Jab, again!"
"Croagunk!" Croagunk moved forward, going for Vikavolt while it and Eve have slowed down thanks to the Paralysis.
"Thats' why I have this move on Rotom! Rotom use Hex on Espeon!"
"Vikavolt! Vise Grip on Croagunk!"
Vikavolt got in front of Rotom as a shield. Its massive jaws glowed as it went straight for Croagunk, ready to snap and grab him. But Twilight wouldn't let that happen.
"I don't think so! Eve! Switch and unleash Dazzling Gleam go!"
"Espeon!" Espeon still had the aura of Dazzling Gleam active. After keeping it there for a while, she allowed the rays of rainbows to come flying out rapidly, forcing Vikavolt to stay away from Croagunk. Vikavolt went for Croagunk, only to be blocked by the incoming rainbow rays.
And at the same time, Rotom's eyes glowed purple and red. It then created a sphere of black energy with a red-eye in the middle. The eye then unleashed multiple dark blue rings of energy at the opponent.
Hex had passed through Dazzling Gleam, but it did not negate the attack. Vikavolt was struck by a barrage of Rainbows. And not without timing. Both Espeon and Vikavolt had taken damage. Major damage. They were both sent flying back after Hex and Dazzling Gleam struck. But once Rotom finished with that, along came Croagunk for Poison Jab, switching to Rotom instead of Vikavolt.
"Croagunk!" The Toxic Mouth Pokemon moved through the smoke, almost as if he was invisible. He had then jabbed his hand right into Rotom with poison.
"R-Ro!"
"Croa...Gunk!" Croagunk then followed up with a second Poison Jab, slapping Rotom away.
As for Espeon and Vikavolt, they both fell to the ground. And after taking that much damage from Discharge, Thunderbolt and now Evil Eye which was super-effective, Espeon, being the glass cannon that she was, had fainted.
But not before taking out Vikavolt with her powerful Dazzling Gleam grabbing Vikavolt's attention. Both of them had fainted.
"Both Espeon and Vikavolt are unable to battle!" The unicorn referee exclaimed.
"That was super risky, Sparkle." Aria looked at Twilight. "But thanks. Now you've made Croagunk faster than that thing because of this."
"No problem. It was worth the risk." Twilight stuck her tongue out as she picked Espeon off the ground. "Good job, Eve. You did your job. Now it's time for us to win."
"Esp."
"Rotom! Use Swift, quick!" The trainer said, starting to worry.
"Sucker Punch!"
"Croa!" Moving faster than Rotom could, Croagunk had vanished and reappeared beside the Plasma Pokemon, giving it a surprise punch to the side.
"R-Ro!" Rotom cried out before spinning, sending out the star-shaped rays. However, Croagunk was now the fastest Pokemon here as he could easily keep his distance from the rays.
"Easy! End it with Vacuum Wave!"
"Gunk!" After avoiding the rays, Croagunk jumped into the air, firing a giant wave of wind. The wind had blown away the stars of Swift, consuming Rotom afterwards.
Rotom spun around before crashing to the ground next to Vikavolt. And with that final hit coupled with Sucker Punch, the verdict had been made. Heat Rotom had fainted.
"Rotom..."
"Rotom is unable to battle! Which means the winners are Espeon and Croagunk!" said the referee. The first battle had been decided.
"And the exciting first battle of the A Block has been done and done!" The announcer said as everyone cheered.
"Phew." Twilight sighed. "Got through it. Was a bit nervous there. It's a good thing Eve's built to deal with status effects, no matter which ability she gets."
"Nice. But you had to be thinking ahead to come up with a plan like that." Aria turned to Espeon.
"Not really. Ahem." Twilight cleared her throat. "You see, Electric-Type Pokemon have the least weaknesses out of every type. Only weak to Ground. I figured that since most trainers would go for an Electric Pokemon due to their single weakness and incredible speed, having a Pokemon that has the ability to turn their abilities against them was an obvious strategy choice. Plus, it's not easy to paralyze an Electric-Type."
"Huh," Aria replied as Twilight's lengthy explanation. "Well, you know what you're doing so I can't complain. We're going to win this and maybe not make Adagio mad after this."
"Uh...sure. Not make Adagio mad." Twilight chuckled. After the battle, both teams showed respect afterwards. Twilight and Aria were wished good luck for the future battles.
"With Twilight on Aria's side, she can't lose! Go, sis! GO!" Sonata cheered, waving a flag with a poorly drawn Aria face on it.
The next matchup between other trainers could begin. And after that, it would be Barry and Applejack battling against another team. Applejack was trusting Barry despite the eccentric energy that he holds.
In the meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust still weren't taking kindly to each other. But, they would have to put up with each other for this tournament. Both of them wanted those Master Balls and they would have to work together no matter what.
The day was young for this Canterlot Tournament as it had just begun. Everyone here could have some chemistry that could bounce off each other. Good or bad. As the journey continues.
Chapter 568 End.