//------------------------------// // The Volcano that lives // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Unova. Out in the sea. The Grand Equestria ship. Nightfall. During the journey towards the Sea Temple, a sudden attack of Equestrian Scrafty had happened upon the ship known as the Grand Equestria. They swarmed the ship, but they did not attack anyone. Instead, the Scrafty came for the gold that the ship was made out of and other shiny objects. Such as parts of Flash Sentry's armour and some of the armour that belonged to the Canterlot and Crystal Empire guards, a few things from the leisure room and most importantly, Adagio's necklace. Adagio was especially furious about this since that necklace had a gem that was given to her by her mother years ago. It was unknown what horrible things she might end up doing to the Scrafty once she gets her hooves on them. The ship could still function even with missing parts, but if something wasn't done soon to repair them, the Grand Equestria could be drifting forever. They had reached the island where the Scrafty had retreated to. When getting close to the island, they noticed how it glistened, especially when nightfall approached. The moon had just arrived, giving the island some extra shine and a better view from a far distance. Except there was one issue. The Rift blockade that was in the way. It may be underwater, but its force was ever-present. Luckily, there was a solution to that. "I'll head underwater and try to get you guys past it," Ash said as he would use his Aura to negate this. Aura is one of the few things that can interact with Rift Magic after all. He stood on the edge of the ship, ready to jump in. "Ash, wait! Without any equipment for underwater?" Luna halted him. "You'll be wet afterwards." "It'll be fine." He looked back at her. "Just gonna make this as quick as I can. But uh...I am gonna need that underwater breathing spell, hehe." "Hurry it up already and get rid of it. I need my necklace back now." Adagio said with a scornful face. Instead of Luna, she cast the underwater breathing spell on Ash. It would last 20 minutes for him. Just enough time. "Okay." Ash stretched his muscles before jumping off the ship and into the water. By making a splash, he was now in Rift-infested waters. "Just to be safe..." Luna took out one of her Poke Balls with her magic, sending Frillish out. She didn't want any harm done to Ash, so some underwater assistance was due. "Frillish." "Frillish. Go with Ash underwater and keep him safe." Luna ordered. "Lish." The Floating Pokemon would do just that. He followed after Ash, descending to the Rift-infested waters, acting as Ash's bodyguard. Once inside, Ash had noticed the arrival of Frillish. "Hey, Frillish. Watch my back, okay?" Ash waved at him before advancing towards the Rift blockade. When approaching it, he could hear the sounds of the Rift howling from it. Even underwater, anything RIft related was still the most notable and bizarre thing here. Ash wasn't sure if interacting with this would result in the outcome as interacting with the gateways. Only when Ghetsis' magic is involved. So far, from his experiences, Ghetsis' magic coupled with Rift energy results in either the befuddling of gateways or even Ataxia. Ash took that risk, however. The blockade, as far as he knew, wasn't affected by Ghetsis' magic. But just to be safe, Ash had something to try and help him through this. "Staff! Enlarge!" Ash called out the staff of Sir Aaron, holding his arm out. The staff had enlarged, appearing in front of Ash as he gripped it. After showing up, Sir Aaron's staff reacted to the Rift force in front of it, but Ash kept it steady. Ash was hoping to be better protected with the staff. He came into contact with the blockade to immediately feel a sting on his arm. But Ash didn't budge. He just grimaced at the sting and kept going. His Aura worked well underwater, blending beautifully with the deep blue. It swerved through the small gaps of the blockade. The staff started trembling before responding to Ash's Aura. It personally put a protective shield of Aura around his body once Ash came into contact with the blockade. Ash couldn't feel an intense pressure beating down on him because of this. The staff was so far, the only way to defend himself from situations such as this. After realizing this, Ash put his all, exuding more Aura into it. Soon, his body radiated this potent lifeforce as the blockade started trembling. However, that's when the blockade started fighting back against the Aura. Ash shuddered as the Rift Energy was starting to push him back. Now, he could feel the strain. "Man this smarts...!" He groaned, trying to keep his Aura steady. "Frillish?!" Frillish floated over. "I'm fine, Frillish," Ash said, reassuring the Water-Ghost-Type. "Just need to push a bit more!" Ash was willing to push himself and take the risk. He wouldn't allow the blockade to get the better of him. His arm was trembling, but he gave one final push. And that final push of Aura did something. It didn't get rid of the entire blockade, but it did leave a massive crack that eventually shattered, eliminating parts of the RIft completely. There was now a gigantic gap in this stellar-wide Rift blockade. It wasn't the whole wall, but it was wide enough for the Grand Equestria to pass through. "Ugh...!" Ash groaned as he held his arm. He started feeling a horrible force within him as using his Aura in that last spurt did a lot to him. The Staff of Sir Aaron was drifting as Frillish went over to hold Ash. "Frillish!" "Did it..." Ash sighed as his arm felt weak. He then noticed that the staff was drifting off once he let go of it. However, as soon as he noticed it, one of the Equestrian Scraty had shown up, using String Shot to grab it. "Oh!" "Scrafty!" There was something shiny about Sir Aaron's staff. Mainly the gemstone that was on it. The Equestrian Scrafty couldn't resist after all as the staff had been pulled away. "Fril!" But not while Frillish was here. The Floating Pokemon took action, approaching the Equestrian Scrafty. "Scrafty!" Seeing the incoming threat, the Equestrian Scrafty had used Dark Pulse against the Water-Ghost-Type, sending a horrible aura imbued with dark thoughts. "Lish!" Frillish promptly evaded it by swaying to the side. The Floating Pokemon promptly replied with Shadow Ball, hurling a blob of shadows from his hands. "Scra!" Scrafty was struck by the blob but took minimal damage that almost looked like it didn't matter to it. Even as an Equestrian variant, it kept its Dark typing. "Lish! Frillish!" Frillish then decided to use Dazzling Gleam, a move that Scrafty would not take kindly to. He emitted a powerful flash in the form of rainbows, sending it towards the Equestrian variant. "Scrafty!" Scrafty had been blinded by this light with the grip of the staff being weakened because of this. That allowed Frillish to get one last hit in. Hydro Pump. He unleashed a high volume blast of water from his mouth to force the Equestrian Scrafty away. "Scra!" Scrafty was blown back by this high pressure, being forced away from the staff. Scrafty hurled through the sea before bumping into some rocks. Ash quickly swam over to grab the staff before it could drift further away. The Equestrian Scrafty, after witnessing Frillish's impressive power, made a tactical retreat, swimming back to the island it came from. After making their way and preventing the staff from being stolen, Ash and Frillish could return to the surface. Frillish would help with that. He grabbed Ash, carrying him out of the water. "Nice save, Frillish." He complimented him. "Frill-Frill." "Did you do it?" Luna went up to them once they returned to the surface and upper deck of the Grand Equestria. "Yeah. It's not much, but it should be enough for us to pass through. I made a huge hole there." said Ash after being set down. He made the floor of the upper deck wet due to his drenched body. But Flash Sentry had a solution to that. Flash had his Pidgeot use Heat Wave mildly, cooling Ash off with the flap of his wings. "Good. I'll go by sea." Adagio then walked past the others, aiming to swim to the island herself. "By yourself, Adagio? By the time we get there, who knows what will happen?" Luna turned to her. "I'm not alone, I have Kricketot. And I'm not gonna waste time while those chumps have my necklace. If anything happens to it...!" Her eyes seethed with anger as she jumped into the water. There was no stopping her at this point. "Can't let her get ahead of us, can we?" said Ash. "Let's hurry and get to that island." Everyone prepared themselves for the island to get what was stolen back. This time, it would be Adagio who would lead the way as she swam through the sea at impressive speeds, even more than Manaphy who was just behind her. The Glistening Island. Nightfall. They had reached the island as the boat had promptly stopped. Once they arrived, they could see just how shiny it was. It worked well under the moon, giving the lights some major emphasis to their shine. So shiny that it was blinding to the eyes. Luckily, there was an easy answer to that. The useful Go-Goggles that can protect anyone from the battering sandstorms, hails and even sharp lights. Truly a versatile eyewear to keep around. But there were few Go-Goggles to wear for everyone onboard. Thankfully, not all of them were going out to the island. Ash, Luna, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and four guards would head out to retrieve the stolen objects. Adagio and Manaphy had reached the island before the rest. But they soon found out about the bright lights. "You look pretty nice in those goggles, Darkrai." Shining Armor nudged the Pitch Black Pokemon. Darkrai had his arms crossed, looking both cool and somewhat silly in those goggles. "Rushing headfirst is an admirable trait. But not always the best solution, Adagio Dazzle." Luna said, holding out the Go-Goggles. "Mrrrgh...!" Adagio growled as she ended up coming right back to everyone, taking the Go-Goggles along with Manaphy. She was bold to get her necklace back, but she didn't think about everything else. "Don't say a word." "Our lips are sealed." Luna grinned. "So, what exactly makes this island glow so much? Is it Rift related again?" "I don't think so, Princess Luna. Look." Shining Armor was the first to notice the cause of these lights. Everyone could see the shine of many valuable materials such as rubies, gold and sapphires. Among many other things. They were either piled up into massive landfills, hung from trees, dug into the dirt or hidden in piles of leaves. Either way, there was something shiny here, explaining the abundance of illumination. "Whoa...Have the Scrafty been gathering all this stuff?" Ash gawked as he and the others started moving through the island. "Pika..." "I would think that pirates used to come and leave their treasure here." Flash picked up a crystal chalice. "But then again, pirates are very good at hiding their treasure, aren't they?" "What do you think they want them for?" A guard asked. "I've read and learned about the regular Unovan Scrafty before." Luna turned to the guards. While mostly known for having the temperament of an aggressive ruffian, Scrafty are Pokemon that take very good care of their family, friends, and territory. They will, as far as I know, never tread on another's territory, backstab or even steal." "And these ones do." Shining Armor replied. "Mhm." And as another response, Luna gave a nod. "Well, not sure about the backstab or territory treading part. But they certainly do steal. Regional Forms apparently have alternative motives and actions than their cousin forms. Such as how Alolan Grimer removes filth and toxins while Kantonian Grimer spreads it." "I didn't know that." Flash scratched his mane. "So these Scrafty are greedy then?" "Probably. But they must have a good reason for it." Luna shrugged. "Who cares what their reason is." Adagio scoffed. "For taking my necklace, they're going to pay dearly for that." "B-But we're not gonna be too aggressive about it, are we?" Flash chuckled nervously. "I mean, we could do it without any casualties, that works too." "I'm afraid that will be difficult considering the importance of that necklace, Flash Sentry." Luna slowed down to walk next to Flash. "You see, that necklace is not just an accessory for glamour. It's mainly the gem inside that's important." "Huh?" Flash leaned in to hear Luna clearly. Luna watched, hoping that Adagio wasn't listening. But she was. "The gem inside was given to her by her mother, Vivace. As a parting gift due to an incident that happened years ago that Adagio would rather not tell us. That necklace and gem have stayed with Adagio for years now. Far past when you were even born. It even relates the gems my sister has on her regalia." "And I can't have anyone take it from me." Adagio turned to Luna and Flash. "That gem is the last thing I have of my mother. If I end up losing it forever or having something horrible happen to it, I would never forgive myself. And I don't think my sisters would I either." "Oh. I uh...Didn't know." Flash felt embarrassed a bad, unaware of how important the necklace and gem were. "Sorry." "Whatever." Adagio turned away. "You can forget about it when we find it. And we'll never talk about it again." "Wait." Ash suddenly stopped everyone as he and Pikachu heard something up ahead before anyone else. They all promptly stopped from Ash's command. He gave the right call to stop. But he didn't stop from the sound of a potential Equestrian Scrafty. Instead, he heard the sound of what sounded like a volcano bubbling with its usual rumbling. But that was odd. If there was a volcano, they would've noticed it from afar. Volcanoes are impossible to miss after all. But there is the existence of volcanoes that are lower and not their usual skyscraper sizes. Ash went in to investigate closer as everyone else followed him. The sound that Ash and Pikachu heard wasn't too far. It was right near a cliff. Rather, below the cliff. The group reached this cliff on the island as they came across a furious sight. There was a volcano yes. But not the usual kind. For starters, this volcano had blue and purple magma. An odd colour combo for magma in general. But it was the fact that it had the colours of blue and purple while also radiating particles. This wasn't just a volcano. This was a Rift Volcano. "Cool!" Ash, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry and the guards all said, gawking at this phenomenon. "Pikachu!" "A volcano formed by the Rift...?" Luna said with an agape mouth. "Is there no limit to what this cosmic force can do?" "Who cares about any of that?" Adagio quickly interrupted everyone, turning their attention away from the Rift Volcano. "Let's just keep going until we-" Adagio wouldn't have to bring up the topic of the Equestria Scrafty. Because with the turn of the head, a few of them could be seen over yonder, just near another cliff. And one of them had Adagio's necklace, wearing it around its neck. "Aha! There you are!" The siren exclaimed before spreading her wings. She didn't want to waste time staring the Equestrian Scrafty down. She just wanted her necklace back as she flew over the cliff, pursuing the regional variant. "Scrafty?!" The Scrafty could see the unbridled anger in Adagio's eyes. It felt like if they looked at her funny, they would be turned to ash on the spot. Speaking of Ash, he and the others followed Adagio's lead this time. The Equestrian Scrafty quickly ran off, not engaging in battle against Adagio despite the number difference. They even slightly outnumbered Ash and everyone else here. They gave chase to the Equestrian variants as Darkrai moved through the shadows. He moved faster than everyone else due to his advantage in the shadows. The night only boosted that advantage due to the abundance of darkness and little light around. The Scrafty all jumped through a large tunnel cave that led to the other side of the island. But as everyone pursued the Scrafty, Ash noticed something from the side in the far distance. The second island and how some Pokemon could be seen residing there. Ash looked closely as all of the Pokemon were just stationary. But that did not matter at the moment as they all moved through the tunnel. On the Grand Equestria. Meanwhile, on the Grand Equestria, the rest of the guards, plus the workers on the ship were waiting for Princess Luna and her group to return so that they continue their sail towards the Sea Temple. The remaining guards, which were fairly plentiful, stood on Watch for any potential surprise Equestrian Scrafty's that show up. But so far, none have arrived at the ship ever since the whistle sound came through. But one guard did notice something. He took the skies, using his binoculars to try and see what was up ahead. These binoculars came with an option to see further than usual as the guard used that option. And once he did, he saw another ship that was roughly the same size as the Grand Equestria coming this way. But not just that, but ships in the sky as well. This was the Sunstorm, belonging to Daybreaker. And within the ships were Spitfire's group. They had found the Grand Equestria and those pursuing the Sea Temple. And they were getting close, mainly the aerial ships considering they moved faster. "We have a problem!" The guard cried out, alerting the others. They all came to his side as he passed on the binoculars to his fellow guardstallions. They all took turns using the specialized binoculars, witnessing the view of the Sunstorm and the aerial ships coming this way. And coming in hot. They collectively gulped, knowing how high octane this could get. "Right now when we've stopped?!" A guard groaned. "It's okay! We have an answer to that!" Another then moved back as all eyes were on him. "Well, I mean....the clear answer is to engage them but we can try another approach to deceive them." "And what's that?" "The blockade. Ash only got rid of a gap. Not the entire thing. And only Manaphy was the one to notice it. So what we can do is lure them towards the rest of the Rift Blockade and watch the unpredictable nature of the Rift work its charm." "Oooh..." All of the guards started chatting, agreeing with the approach of this plan. While it would not conceal them from the approaching enemy, it would lead to catching them off guard. "One of us has to go warn Princess Luna while the rest of us diverge the ship through the gap of the blockade while being near it for them to collide with it all." "But can we do it in time?" A guard asked as another flew off to warn Princess Luna of the sudden approach. "Not with this speed, but we could do it with the amazing strength of our Golurk." The Glistening Island. The group chased the Scrafty down for a few minutes. They were just as quick, if not quicker than their Unovan variants thanks to their legs. Eventually, their chase came to an end as the gang stopped near a crag area. When they stopped, they were met with the vie of practically every single Scrafty from the island in this one spot along with the most amount of items in this sparkling island. The golden parts of the Grand Equestria could also be seen amidst the pile. "Sweet Celestia..." Flash's jaw dropped after seeing the overwhelming size. "It's like an army of them." "Do we have to go through all of that?!" An intimidated guard asked Princess Luna. "If it comes down to it...So far I'm not fond of how the scene looks so far." Luna replied, gulping for a bit. "We've dealt with large groups before." "Pika...!" Pikachu was ready as well for the worst to come. Adagio was currently thumping her hoof, staring down the Scrafty that had her necklace. She could tackle it at any moment. But no conflict happened. Instead, the Scrafty all parted, giving way for another Scrafty to pass through. But there was something off about this Scrafty. Even more so than the Equestrian Variants as everyone would soon come to notice. They looked in awe and shock as what seemed to be the leader of the Scrafty had shown itself. It was an abnormal sight that they never thought they would see. This Scrafty was a mixture of both Unovan and Equestrian. One half of it was Unova, the other half was Equestria but it was abysmal. It looked uneven and unbalanced, similar to how chocolate sometimes melts to this side. This Scrafty looked to be in pain as it stood there with sadness in its eyes, despite Equestrian Scrafty's cheeky smile. "Oh my goodness!" Luna exclaimed as the guards were frozen in fear. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." Adagio felt like hurling as she turned around. She ran to a nearby bush, just in case. "What the...Both of them?" Ash uttered at the sight of this Scrafty. "Pikachu?!" "Scrafty. Scra-Scrafty." The mixture Scrafty spoke to Ash and the others with a combination of both its standard and regional form. "What's it saying, Darkrai?" Ash asked for a translation. "He said that he's glad that we've shown up Darkrai translated." "Glad? How so?" Luna turned to her partner. "Ty. Scrafty." "Because we're the only ones to ever make it this far without running away." Darkrai continued the translation further on. Adagio didn't quite hurl but she was on the verge of doing so. She used a spell to temporarily block out her view in the meanwhile. "And it seems that whistling came from the Scrafty over there." "Just...Ugh..." Adagio groaned, still shuddering from the sight. "Just tell them to hand over my necklace. And everything else I guess." "Scrafty-Scraf." "He says that now that we're all here, they're requesting our help. All of us." Darkrai pointed at himself and then later at the entire group. They were all ready to listen closely, but not Adagio. She just wanted her mother's heirloom back. "Help, huh? What do they need help with?" asked Ash. "If it's about the body then understandable," Luna whispered to Darkrai and Ash. "Scrafty-Scrafty." "You're right about the body. But it's not just for him. It's for all the Scrafty." Darkrai said before floating over to the mixture Scrafty to speak with him further. "They all want to return to normal. It seems that they don't wish to be like this." "Scrafty." All of the Scrafty said in unison. Indeed, despite their smiles, they did not wish to be in these forms. These penny-pinching forms. Usually, most if not all Pokemon enjoy their alternate forms. But not these Pokemon. "I get it." Ash snapped his finger. "Did the Rift blockade force everyone else that almost came here back because it messed with them?" "Scrafty." He nodded in confirmation. Thanks to Ash, this group was the first and only to ever arrive here without being unable to pass through the blockade without something happening. "Scraf-Scraf." "He also says that it was the volcano that did this to them." Darkrai turned to Ash and the others, revealing to them of how the Scrafty became like this. It was obvious that Rift magic was responsible for this. Much like the few Equestrian Pokemon that exist or have existed. But they would've thought the blockade in the water was the cause. Not the volcano. "They came to this island from the one separate to it. Right there." Darkrai pointed his claw at the neighbour island, explaining the story he had heard. "For an extra place to live in case something went wrong. But, when they showed up here, the Rift Volcano was already active. The result was a furious outburst of Rift Magma that flooded the entire island in seconds." "Oh my..." Luna made a silent gasp. "But, strangely, the magma didn't affect the land. Instead, it only targeted the Scrafty. Once it showered and flooded them, they were all turned to their Equestrian Variants. And with this, they gained the undesirable greed to obtain anything valuable. Shiny things to be exact. But this Scrafty over here managed to resist it, resulting in this." "Scrafty." The main Scrafty sighed, continuing to explain things further. "They haven't been able to return to their original island nearby since their greed has been blocking them from doing so. Only the main Scrafty can keep them from going too far and bring them back with the whistle he makes." "But you guys could go out of the island. We saw it." Shining Armor stepped forward. "Why not go back to the island, it's not too far from what we've seen." "Ty..." He lowered his head. "They can't. Because the Rift Volcano orders them not to." After Darkrai dropped that revelation, even Adagio's attention was slightly grabbed. "It's alive. Speaking to them. It even has authority over this main Scrafty." "A volcano that's alive...?" A guard sighed, removing his helmet. "Why do we even bother being surprised at this point?" "This Rift Volcano told them to gather as many valuable objects as they could and sacrifice them to it. Only then would the volcano revert them to their Unovan forms. But...that has not happened yet, has it?" Darkrai turned to the Scrafty. "Getting tricked by a volcano...Isn't that something? A guard asked. "I told you, we shouldn't bother." The other guard shook his head, accepting everything as unusual now. "Clearly, the volcano's only playing them. They haven't returned to their original forms yet and have been kept away from their family and friends for a year now. It even seems that this volcano has a high-level of mind control." "Then that settles it!" Ash didn't have to hear anything else. Everything he's heard already made his mind clear. "Scrafty. Don't you worry..." "Scrafty?" They looked at Ash. "We'll get you back to that island and to the rest of your family and friends. And we'll stop that Rift Volcano and make you look like your Unovan selves again." "Pikachu." "Mana-Mana." "Adagio, if you wish to-" Luna spoke to Adagio, expecting her to avoid this. "It's fine." Adagio paused Luna, however. "I'm still peeved about my necklace. But I can't ignore anything that has to do with Family." She was in, offering to assist the Scrafty. "But I am gonna need my necklace back before it gets tossed in that lava. Now." "And I can fight back against the mind control with my Aura. Everyone just come close for a moment." Ash encouraged the group to come closer to him so that he can break the control. "Princess Luna!" Showing up just now after flying high in the skies was one of the guards. Luna and a few others looked up to see the guard. "We have trouble! An enemy ship is approaching! I believe they're aware of our ship!" "Wait there!" The Princess of the Night shouted before lowering her voice. "Let's hurry and at least break the mind control first." "Right. Here goes." Ash was ready to do what he could. But as soon as he went to try and affect the Scrafty, the volcano reacted. A mighty outburst could be heard across the island, making the ground shake. The Rift Volcano was aware of Ash's Aura and how much of a threat it posed. Aura was too strong to ignore. So, the volcano took action, increasing the power of its mind control on the Scrafty. "Ty...Scrafty!" One Scrafty attacked Ash suddenly, using Brick Break on his chest when he wasn't expecting it. "Gouh!" Ash cried out before being knocked back. Scrafty in this form still keeps tremendous strength. And it showed as Ash rolled on the ground. "Ash!" They all cried out as Pikachu stood in front of the Scrafty with his red sacs flaring. Soon, everyone saw how the Scrafty had turned against them. But not of their own will. The will of the Rift Volcano. Their eyes were all glowing blue and purple as they stood before Ash's group with intimidating malice. The main Scrafty tried whistling to get to them, but it was no use. The volcano's mind control had been strengthened to a point where not even the boss could command them all. That was one of Scrafty's worst nightmares. "This creates a problem...!" Luna growled, knowing that there were two problems now. The enemy ship that was approaching and this. None of this was expected. But something was to be expected when going on an adventure in the Pokemon Word. Getting to the Sea Temple was not easy. Not in the slightest. There were bound to be challenges in the way. And this was one of them. The team are now faced with the incoming forces of Daybreaker and Empress Twilight combined while facing off against an alive Rift Volcano and Scrafty that were under its control as the journey continues. Chapter 602 End.