Carousel Boutique. Afternoon.
"Sweetie Belle." Rarity spoke, entering the room of her little sister. She could hear Sweetie Belle crying and she could not ignore it at all costs. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Are you nervous about the next contest?"
"No..." She sniffled as she was holding Meowstic for comfort. Meowstic patted her trainer on the head.
"Well then, why are you upset?" Rarity went up to her. "What happened?"
"Ash yelled at me today. And my friends." She answered as Meowstic used her telekinetic abilities to bring over a handkerchief, wiping her trainer's tears. "It was really scary."
"Ash yelled at you? That's hard to comprehend." Rarity's eyes widened. "Why did he yell at you? What happened?"
"Well...He said he was going to the Everfree Forest alone. And we wanted to come with him, but he didn't want us to. Then he yelled at us." Sweetie Belle gave a simplified explanation of the scenario. And it was accurate too.
"Oh, well he must've been bothered or stressed out by something that caused him to yell. But I'll talk with him. This doesn't mean Ash hates you, darling." Rarity comforted her sister with a hug.
Twilight's Castle.
Meanwhile, at Twilight's Castle, Ghetsis had performed less than pleasing actions. He came here for Cold Colt and would use his usual force to make this happen. And what occurred was a horrible sight.
The room had been trashed, showing signs of struggle. And there indeed was struggle. Ghetsis had attacked the little pony and Starlight at the same time. The result was a sudden sneak attack that caught them all off guard. Right now, Starlight was on the ground with Hatterene by her side.
And the more terrifying notion was that Ghetsis did not rely on any of Ash's Pokemon. Only what he knew and had. That's all he needed ever since his increase in magic. He held Cold Colt around his arm before dusting himself off.
Espeon was here as her time to relax had been gravely interrupted. She was taken aback by Ash suddenly attacking her. And because of this sneak attack, no one was prepared. They were all harmed while Ghetsis was fine and healthy.
"Ash...Why?" Starlight groaned.
"You put up quite a fight, there," said Ghetsis. "I'll admit, that's impressive. But you're all still so inexperienced. And now I get to have everything that I deserved. You brat. I was robbed of having all the Rift Magic I could get with you. Now, I won't miss out on this chance."
"W-Wait..." Cold thought for a moment, thinking of why Ash would say that But very soon, he realized that only one person would say this to him. "Ghetsis?!"
"G-Ghetsis?!" Starlight gasped.
"There goes that cover. Unfortunately, for you. You won't be around to see tomorrow's light. But I'll still need some of your magic for a while." Ghetsis wanted to take Starlight out of the equation. He put his hand out, sending out a spiral of flames that had gone towards Starlight while she was on the ground.
"Hatterene!" Acting as her shield, Hatterene got in the way, taking the hit for her trainer. Hatterene was hit by the flames, but she maintained herself. If she were to fall here then that would leave Starlight vulnerable.
So, to make the situation better, Cold Colt had bitten on Ghetsis arm. "Gah!" Ghetsis cried out as he lost his grip on the little pony. "Why you...!"
"H-Hatterene...!" Hatterene groaned as she fell to the floor beside her trainer.
"Body Swap. That's what that is, right?" Cold said.
"Right on that." Ghetsis used his magic to heal himself. "And what an opportunity this is! I've already taken so much power for myself. How could I not use Ash Ketchum's influence and trust with everyone else to its full advantage."
"Then where's Ash?!" Cold exclaimed.
"Hopefully far from here. But by the time he potentially arrives, it'll be too late. I'll have all the magic I need, and very little can stop me. And I use the term little loosely."
"I can stop you." Cold declared. He was dead serious as he made a statement with that one line. A statement that Ghetsis could not take seriously at all.
"You? Hah!" Ghetsis pointed at Cold Colt. "What can you do to me? Besides, you don't want to harm the body of your friend, do you? I wouldn't take that risk."
"I can't harm Ash. No." Cold shook his head as Ghetsis was right about that. "But I can do this!" Via teleportation, the little pony appeared in front of Ghetsis latching his hooves onto him.
"Wh-" Before Ghetsis could finish his sentence, he could feel Cold Colt's magic surrounding him. Ghetsis did want to absorb magic from Cold Colt, but this wasn't what he had in mind. Instead of absorbing his magic, Ghetsis felt something else when he tried touching Cold to rip him off. "What are you doing?!"
Ghetsis was feeling weak. His knees were starting to tremble as Cold's body kept radiating an azure light. His signature magic colour. It was so bright that only did it light up the room, but it had also passed through the windows for a few citizens to see.
"I'm taking some of your magic away!" Cold said as he was twitching a bit. "I've learned some neat tricks too! Thanks to Twilight!"
"Get off!" Ghetsis tried his best to pull Cold Colt away. Deciding to help, Starlight found the strength to move. And with the movement she could muster, she had grabbed Ghetsis' leg.
Ghetsis could feel himself losing power by the second. Cold Colt had grown significantly. Before, he had the magic potential of a baby unicorn. Now, he's essentially two unicorns in one with how much he's grown in magic capability.
"H-Hatterene...!" Hatterene also chimed in by having her claw move out. The claw had wrapped around Ghetsis' other leg to stop him from moving as Cold kept going.
"Enough!" Ghetsis cried out as he used his Dark Magic to blow them all away. The three of them were pushed back along with every object in the room. Or worse, they had been obliterated as Cold tumbled on the floor.
It was a good thing Rift Ponies don't get tired. Otherwise, Cold would've been burnt out from that stunt he pulled. Ghetsis breathed in and out as he held his head. He wasn't expecting the unicorn he underestimated before to perform such an amazing feat that almost knocked the wind out of him.
Ghetsis could feel that certain magic reservoirs from him were gone. And he could tell which ones were gone too. He felt that his ability to move within the shadows had been wiped out along with even the crystals that he stole from Sombra. Then again, he stopped using the crystals when gaining new tricks.
A few other things were gone from Ghetsis as he balled his fists out of frustration. He then turned to Cold Colt, aiming to fire a black bolt at him. But he soon came to realize he couldn't do it anymore.
"My magic..." He uttered. "You nuisance! How much did you take?!"
"Just enough." Cold Colt held his head before getting up. "Ow. Anyone can steal magic, but being a Rift Pony, I can do it with ease. Well, now I can. Couldn't do it before.
Cold Colt wasn't lying. Ghetsis then tried one of the newer magic he obtained. One from the Mirror Pool. But considering how much magic was from the Mirror Pool, that was affected as well. Ghetsis realized that higher forms of magic were absorbed quicker than the rest.
Ghetsis could no longer clone himself with the power of the Mirror Pool. And to make it worse, he had already ruined the original Mirror Pool, so no point in going back there.
Naturally, Ghetsis was frustrated by this. To think that the one who would reverse his magic capabilities wasn't someone of higher status like Celestia, Luna, Cadence or even Chrysalis. It wasn't even Ash who was responsible for this. In the end, it was a colt who was just starting to regain what he had lost.
And unfortunately for Ghetsis, since Cold Colt can never get tired and never runs out of magic at all, playing the waiting game was pointless. Plus, it could end in a never-ending chase.
"I underestimated you, boy," said Ghetsis. "But that only gives me a larger reason to steal the rest of your magic with how you are now."
"I won't let you. Bye!" Cold quickly ran over to Starlight and Hatterene to get them out of here. Ghetsis immediately went after him. He still had some magic left within him. Ghetsis could still use the black flames from his arms. And he did exactly that, sending a stream of black fire towards the little unicorn.
"Oh!" Cold gasped, quickly putting a protective shield of magic. Ghetsis stated pouring flames onto the shield, trying to break through it.
"Uh, Starlight. I'm gonna need you or Hatterene to send us out of here!" Cold exclaimed as his shield started trembling. "Can't multi-task over here!"
"I'm hurt but I can still try." Starlight stood up with her knees weak. Ghetsis had really given her a beating. But, perhaps that experience during the invasion boosted her endurance much like everyone else. Unfortunately, Starlight couldn't get up as Cold Colt's barrier was breaking. Starlight fell to the ground as she had been hurt far too much.
"H-Hatterene." But she wasn't alone. Hatterene then decided to share the little amount of Fairy magic she had with Starlight. She gave her the strength to carry on. Only for a bit.
"Thanks, Hatterene." Starlight smiled before getting up. The Fairy Magic was helping greatly as Starlight held onto her partner, picking her up. She then held onto Cold Colt, thinking of one area they could escape to. Anywhere but here.
Ghetsis increased the intensity of his flames, but it was too late to catch his prey. Starlight thought of the quickest place to be at. The Pokemon House.
"You want to go somewhere? Here!" But Ghetsis wouldn't allow such a swift getaway. He put his other arm out, using the power of the gateway to his advantage. Now he was thinking with portals. Right before Starlight could use what she had left, Ghetsis unleashed a gateway from below. Cold's shield was in the shape of a dome, meaning below was fairly exposed.
And with a gateway opening below, the dome-shaped shield and everyone within it had been sent through. And Ghetsis made sure the height was high enough for the intent to break concentration. However, he felt as if there was no need to fear, considering where he sent them.
But even after doing that, Ghetsis knew that Cod Colt had gotten the better of him. Something he never thought would happen. Ghetsis released his anger, knowing that many forms of magic he had stolen were now gone. Especially the more recent ones.
"Curses!" Ghetsis smashed his fist onto the wall out of frustration. "I thought if I had this body I would accomplish even more...! Those wretched ponies! But i's fine." He held his face, keeping his cool. "I still have more to give. You haven't won yet, boy.
Ghetsis then started looking around. Even though he lost the Mirror Pool's abilities, his clones were still out there, disguised as Nidoking. He still had some cards to play. But Ghetsis knew there was no need to worry about him being exposed now that Espeon, Cold, Starlight and Hatterene were away from this world. And after all, every gateway to the Pokemon World was his to control.
Except for the Pallet Town gateway.
"I have to move." Ghetsis said to himself, knowing that there could be others suspicious of him. Especially the CMC. "I have to do something or else it'll all be for nought." He made his next move swiftly. He had to make sure no one in Ponyville could stand in his way. Plus, he wasn't worried about Twilight returning or even Ash considering what he had done to the mirror portal.
But Ghetsis by now knew not to get too safe.
The Human World. Canterlot High. Afternoon.
Over at the human world, Twilight had already arrived to warn Sunset Shimmer and the others about Ghetsis But what she was unaware of was that the only way back home had been destroyed due to Ghetsis' actions.
As for Ash, after making the subway ride here, he had finally arrived at where he needed to be. But not without an issue. He had to be cautious still. While most everyone in the school would not recognize his appearance, Sunset Shimmer would.
"Gotta be extra sneaky about this..." Ash said while having his back behind a tree. He observed his surroundings to see if any familiar faces would spot him. Not only did he have to watch out for Sunset, but if he used the portal, everyone would want to use it and that could lead to problems.
The Kid from Kanto shuffled around, zipping from tree to tree. He looked silly doing it while having the appearance of Ghetsis as some nearby Pokemon witnessed this. It was currently lunch so everyone was either in the cafeteria or outside of it.
Some people noticed Ash shuffling from tree to tree. They couldn't help but stare and wonder. "What's with that guy? Is he looking for something?"
"Uh...Just ignore it."
And speaking of the cafeteria Twilight was speaking with her friends in there.
"So. You know what to do?" Twilight asked.
"Totally! When we see that Ghetsis guy, it's instant battling!" Rainbow Dash raised her Poke Ball. "That's easy."
"Um, I don't know if I could do that. He seems way too scary." Fluttershy shook her head.
"Pssh. He doesn't sound all that." Applejack scoffed.
"We don't know when he'll show up. I'm afraid of my other self being harmed." Twilight bit her thumb. "But we'll be ready, right girls?"
"Sure-Sure." Pinkie Pie nodded. "Tall guy with green hair and a black cape-robe thing. That's not hard to miss. By the way, is your Absol okay?"
"Absol..." Absol was currently being held and hugged by many people who found him to be adorable. And Absol didn't take kindly to it, but he couldn't attack innocents.
"It's so fluffy and cute!"
"It reminds me of my dog! Wait, is it a dog?"
"It looks like one? But a cat at the same time too."
"Who cares?! It's adorable!"
"Absol..." Absol sighed, wanting this to be over. He looked for a safe place to hide from all of these people. But as soon as he looked at the window, that's when he saw who he assumed to be Ghetsis. "Sol? Absol!"
The Disaster Pokemon immediately blew away the students by unleashing a loud howl. Strong enough to create its own pressures of winds as they were forced back from the Dark-Type
"Did you find him, Absol?!" Twilight turned to him. Absol immediately started moving, lunging through the air and breaking through the window. Soon, after the window had been broken, Twilight and the others had seen what appeared to be Ghetsis.
"Ghetsis!" They cried out.
"Uh-oh!" After his eardrums received the shout through the cafeteria, Ash looked to the side with a nervous scrunched face. This was the one scenario he was hoping to avoid.
"She's gonna have to pay for that," said Granny Smith.
"W-We know. We'll handle it." Sunset laughed nervously before following Twilight. Absol had arrived on the outside first, instantly having the instinct of attacking Ash.
"Absol!" And he did so by using Dark Pulse instantly. Out of his mouth came a pulse imbued with dark thoughts. Ash only managed to narrowly evade it. But in the process, part of the cloak had been torn off.
"Yikes!" Ash cried out.
"Ghetsis!" Twilight stepped outside of the broken window, her friends by her side. Most of them. Fluttershy was standing back for a safe spot.
"Twilight!" Ash cried out before thinking of a way to get out of this issue. He was hoping to avoid them and pass through the portal. But that wasn't happening right now. "Oh, geez, what am I gonna say?"
"That's Ghetsis?" said Pinkie Pie.
"He doesn't look that intense like you said he would. Or even how you mentioned him." Rainbow Dash whispered. "Are you sure this is the right guy?"
"That's because he and Ash have swapped eyes. I don't know how. But it does look pretty weird when Ghetsis looks all...peaceful like that." Twilight grimaced at Ghetsis' new expression. "Why'd you do it, Ghetsis?"
"Swap eyes? There's a spell for that?" Ash said before shaking his head. "No! The reason why our eyes are different is because we swapped bodies!"
"Body swapping? Oh, this day became far more interesting." Rarity smiled with an interested no. "Wait, did you know about this Twilight?"
"As if. I'm not letting you get the best of me, Ghetsis." But Twilight wasn't buying it. She was expecting Ghetsis to take out any of his Pokemon. Or even use his magic. But nothing yet.
"I'm serious! I'm not here to harm anyone. Especially not you guys." Ash pleaded.
"Maybe he's telling the truth," said Fluttershy. She could read Ash's emotions. "He seems like he is.
"I don't know..." Twilight uttered, staying vigilant the whole way through.
"Gah, forget it!" Rainbow Dash stepped forward with a Poke Ball in her hand. "You said he was dangerous right? Let's just get this over with!"
"Aw, come on..." Ash looked over at the portal. "I just wanna head home right now. We can talk about this..." He was building up the right time to run. "Later!" And he found that moment as he bolted off. Ash wanted to at least get back to Equestria.
But as he ran towards the portal, he immediately crashed into it instead of passing through. Upon the immediate crash, Ash fell over as everyone felt that impact even if they weren't the ones to take it. "Oh geez...!" Ash groaned after falling on his back. "That smarts...W-Why didn't it go through?"
"What?" Twilight gasped after witnessing this. That sight did not spell good news. She then saw Ghetsis sit up, holding his head. She looked at him for a moment, seeing that he had yet to attack her or any of her friends. Twilight looked closer to see that his movements matched that of Ash. Everything did. Twilight then looked at their eyes once more, deciding to ask him something.
"Hey...Are you lying? Are you really Ash?" Twilight asked. She was still on the fence.
"Yeah. Sorry if I don't look like it right now." Ghetsis chuckled. "Was kinda hoping I'd charge through the portal and make a run for it. Maybe get the Shift Stone or have Manaphy turn me back."
"Wait. Is the body swap thing real?" Sunset asked. "Did they really swap bodies or is this just one good act?"
"Only one way to find out." Twilight was still cautious as she wanted to try one thing. "Ash. If you really are him. Do you know what the name Ash means?"
"What kind of question is that?" Rarity questioned. "Ash is an average name. Right?"
"It's average. But for my family line, it's pretty special. Mom told me my name means clear thinking and quick-witted. It's small but it's there. Just like how her name means Luster." And after answering her, Ash had truly revealed himself to everyone.
Only Ash and his mother would know about his family's history with certain names. And of course, his father would too. Twilight gasped before realizing the meaning behind those eye swaps. It wasn't a spell. Just an example of body switching. Usually, eye changes arent used with body swaps. "It really is you."
And she now realized that Ghetsis was within the vicinity of her friends.
"Oh. Oh no..." Twilight said before looking at the portal. Previously, Ash failed to pass through. She wanted to see if the same was for her. She went over to the portal, placing her hand on it.
Lo and behold, it did not pass. Shock and fear struck Twilight's hearts as she was now conscious of the situation she was in. And the situation that Ash was in.
"T-Twilight. Why didn't your hand go through?" And it stood to reason that Sunset would be worried as well as her eye was twitching.
"I don't know!" Twilight pulled on her hair. "It was working minutes ago!"
"It's Ghetsis." Ash went up to Twilight. "Since he's in my body, he's gonna wanna know everything I know. He found out about the portal, didn't he?"
"Yeah...And I led him to it." Twilight sighed. "I messed up big time. Guess he ended up getting the best of me either way."
"No need to worry, Twilight." But, despite being in the body of a terrifying individual, Ash was there to comfort her along with the rest of her friends. "It was just something that caught us off guard. That's all."
"Ash. Sorry for, um, almost attacking you there." She laughed nervously before frowning. "But now what we do? The only way back to Equestria's out of the picture now."
"Absol."
"Not yet." But Ash knew there was still hope. And there indeed was. Something he recalled from his time with the other Twilight. "There's a gateway that leads to Eindoak Town in this world."
"Eindoak Town?" Twilight looked over.
"It's a town somewhere between Castelia and Nimbasa City. The Unova Region. And since it's close to those places in Unova, you know what that means?"
"I can teleport to Pallet Town..." Twilight uttered with a slight gap. The rules of teleportation did specify that the user had to have visited a certain location to remember it for future transportation.
And Twilight has been to Pallet Town plus Castelia and most of Unova a lot. Truly, there was still hope. Even if this portal was unable to properly work. "Ash, you're a genius! Where's the gateway?!"
"It's at a pretty far forest. But we can get there quicker if we run for it." He explained, looking up north. The forest was the same forest he and the other Twilight tend to do their research together. "We'll get to Pallet Town or maybe Manehattan and warn everyone."
"Wait. How are you gonna get back to your original body?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Oh wait! There's a spell for that, duh. Right?"
"Actually...there isn't. Not that I know about." Twilight shook her head as Rainbow Dash and the others were surprised.
"Wh-...No body swap spell?!"
"No. But there's one that could work well enough. Manaphy's Heart Swap. Hopefully, that's enough to do the trick." Keeping that optimism made Twilight's confidence and smile radiate even more.
"Yeah. Let's go! We'll head to Ponyville and then the Crystal Empire!" Ash raised his arm before hearing and feeling his stomach growling. He hasn't eaten ever since the body swap after all. "But first I gotta eat something..."
That was indeed Ash as Twilight sighed. Ash performs at his best with a healthy and full stomach. Luckily, his friends still had some food for him to eat.
Unova. The White Ruins. Afternoon.
The White Ruins. Built around a dormant volcano, and are located near the Dragonspiral Tower and Icirrus City. This was where Ghetsis and Team Plasma faced off against Ash and his friends with events involving Reshiram and the Light Stone.
And underneath it, that was where Ghetsis had sent Cold, Espeon, Starlight and Hatterene. Buried right underneath it. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea of what location they were in. Cold knew of the White Ruins, but not the underground due to what his memories of the timeline held.
"Are you all okay?" Cold asked them.
"F-Fine...But my hoof hurts." Starlight groaned, laying on a wall. "Wish we never received that sneak attack."
"It'll be okay." Cold said before walking up to Starlight. Thankfully, he had some healing capabilities with him. The little unicorn illuminated his horn, focusing it on Starlight's hoof. He also started healing Hatterene too.
"Espeon." At the same time, Espeon aimed to find a way out of here. And fast. They were fairly deep underground. In fact, they were closer to the buried volcano from this positioning. This underground was murky due to certain events affecting it over time.
But, considering this was an underground system, that meant that Pokemon lived here, no matter what. And the Pokemon living underneath here had shown themselves. With the size of this underground, it was perfect for large Pokemon to reside here.
And considering Ghetsis had experienced the White Ruins, he knew which Pokemon could be found here. Some live above the White Ruins. Conkeldurr, Pidove and Sawsbuck respectively. But underground was a different Pokemon.
Golurk.
"Golurk...!" The sounds of Golurk echoed throughout the area before their silhouettes came into view. Espeon paused for a moment as the ground shook. She looked to the side to see the arrival of two Golurk.
"E-Espeon?!" Espeon gasped before stepping back. But she soon snarled at the incoming Golurk. Little did they know, this was their territory.
"Did Ghetsis plan this?" Starlight groaned while having her injuries healed.
"I wouldn't put it past him. But we're far from home now!" said Cold Colt. "If we don't hurry, we could be too late to warn everyone about Ghetsis!"
"I know, I know." Starlight tried getting up despite her state. Cold had healed her enough thankfully to at least last for a while. "Hatterene. Can you stand too?"
"Hatterene." Hatterene could, thanks to Cold Colt. Soon, they all faced the Automaton Pokemon, knowing that they would have to get past them to reach their friends.
Ghetsis, while losing some of his magic, hadn't given up yet. With his body still in Ash's, he will use any opportunity to gain what he can. Plus, his clones are out there still.
As for Ash, he and Twilight were making their way back. Back to Equestria via a different method of travelling and a way to bring Ash's body back. The only way for it to happen was with Manaphy's Heart Swap. So it was off to Eindoak to Ponyville as the journey continues.
Chapter 583 End.