//------------------------------// // Strategic Retreat // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Unova. The Glittering Island. Nightfall. "Mana..." Manaphy had just received Nightmare Rarity's magic due to Tempest Shadow. Once receiving it, she was given a command by Tempest. One that would be carried out without Manaphy being able to resist. The Seafaring Pokemon stood there, gazing into the horizon as she was zoned out. Nothing was snapping her out of this. Except for the group that was approaching. "Manaphy!" Ash's voice echoed out. "Mana?" Finally being brought back to reality thanks to that cry, Manaphy turned to see Ash, Pikachu and Adagio showing up to the scene. "Great that everyone's okay so far." He said, coming to a screeching halt. "Sorry if I made you worry about that volcano thing back there." "Pikachu." "Mana...Phy." Manaphy blinked for a moment before remembering how Ash had been swallowed by the Rift Volcano earlier this nightfall. "Mana! Mana-Mana!" Happy to see that he was okay, Manaphy leapt into the air, receiving a hug from Ash. "Alright. Now, all we need to do is finish things up here. Luna's the only one here who can reverse the spell, right?" Ash turned to Adagio as Manaphy sat on his head. "Only. I haven't figured out how to reverse the spell myself. Luna might be occupied and-" Just as Adagio spoke, a light blue with some red lights mixed in shot up into the air, originating from the sea. Ash and the others gasped, witnessing this light emerge. This belonged to Lunar Ire. "Pika?! "Mana?!" "W-What in the...?!" Adagio pulled back with awe in her eyes. But judging from the colour of the ray, Ash knew that Luna was behind it. "She's got everything under control." He said with a confident smirk, knowing just how well Luna can do under certain circumstances. The Grand Equestria Ship. Luna was currently half Lunar Ire, only borrowing the magic of Sorrowful Rage magic for one moment. She didn't use all of it. Just a fraction. Luna knew how risky it could be. The magic was safe to use in the Dream Realm due to it being outside of reality. But in reality, that could cause some unnecessary problems. She was currently underwater, going against those that were using magnetic pulls to bring the Grand Equestria towards the Rift Blockade. As part Lunar Ire, accepting a bit of the Sorrowful Rage magic, Luna was about to see just how well this magic fares in reality. Electrical discharges came from the underwater airships. And coupled with water, they would deal a lot of damage. But nothing that Luna couldn't deal with it. By using Lunar Ire's strength, she reversed the electricity, sending it right back at the ships that fired them. "Ow-ow-ow!" The ponies inside of the ships cried out, feeling the volts pass through them. Luna knew that she couldn't let anyone perish, even if they were an enemy. Otherwise, Lunar Ire would fully take over, no matter what. So out of the good of her heart, she flew onwards, deciding to save those being shocked. But the moment she tried slicing the ship apart via a magic beam, only to find out that these ships were more durable than expected. Not as durable as Pegalysium's Dynasite but fairly resilient. However, Luna still sliced through either way. "Aaaah!" A pilot screeched after Luna appeared. "I will not harm you," Luna reassured before smirking. The Lunar Ire in her was showing some more. "But, I can't say the same for Adagio when we keep you as prisoners." "H-Huh?" The pilot said before having her body wrapped around a magical rope. Soon, Luna went to the rest of the pilots who had their ships malfunction from this re-directed electrocution. After slicing the ships, she would then toss them out of the water for their own safety. But not before putting them all to sleep, rendering them unable to continue. And she did it with such precision too. However, some of the ships wouldn't let themselves be defeated so easily. Some of them attacked Luna with the weapons they had to offer. Similar to the Empress' forces, Daybreaker's forces also had access to magic as their weapons. Luna was struck by a surprise magical ray to the side of her wing. She flinched for a second before being suddenly bombarded by all these magical rays. Meanwhile, above and on the Grand Equestria, all of Luna's Pokemon were doing their best to keep the Golurk safe. The Golurk were pushing the Grand Equestria far from the Rift Blockade. Aurorus froze the wings of Flying-Types that got close with her Aurora Beam. And once their wings were frozen, Darkrai would come in with Dark Void, putting them to sleep which would transition into Musharna coming in with Dream Eater to seal the deal. "Musha!" And she got a lot of dreams with each one she devoured thanks to Darkrai. "King's Shield!" Shining Armor command as Aegislash protected his allies from any attacks with King's Shield. Ships continued unloading weapons onto the King's Shield, trying to break through it. And Aegislash was feeling the pressure as he couldn't use the move forever. Luckily, after blocking all attacks that came this way, Gliscor and Flash Sentry's Pidgeot would pass Aegislash. "Pidgeot, use Twister!" "Pidgeot!" Pidgeot used Twister, creating a draconic tornado whilst Gliscor used Sone Edge. The Twister would catch some ships and Pokemon, spiralling them around. The stones from Stone Edge would then strike the Pokemon and ships with precise aim, the ships had been dented with the stones while the Flying-Types, apart from Skarmory, certainly felt super-effective damage. And it wasn't just Aegislash protecting everyone. Florges was their best support. Once a flock of Skarmory had powered through the Twister and Stone Edge combination, they had each used Flash Cannon and Air Slash, striking Gliscor, Pidgeot and even breaking through Aegislash's King's Shield due to it being overused. "Florges!" Florges would deal with that issue immediately. To make all of her teammates more resilient, he had used Flower Shield. She raised her arms, summoning an array of flowers around all of her allies. The flowers then made a hexagonal shape while also resembling a shield. Soon, everyone's defences had been increased with a mysterious power. Gliscor, Pidgeot and Aegislash immediately recovered, getting back into the action. "Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace!" "Aegislash, Night Slash!" "Pidgeot!" Flying at great speeds, Pidgeot attached two opposing Flying-Types with a swift tackle. However, a Mandibuzz also did the same, using Aerial Ace to tackle the Bird Pokemon. "Pidgeo!" "Mandi!" Mandibuzz had then used Steel Wing, whacking Pidgeot away. Pidgeot hurled through the air, only for Darkrai to catch him. The Pitch Black Pokemon then used Thunderbolt with one arm out, shocking the Bone Vulture Pokemon. "M-Mandi!" While all of this occurred, the Golurk had moved the ship far enough to keep it away from the blockade. Thanks to them being defended plus the assistance of the one steering the ship, they were just out of the blockade's range. "Hmmm...!" Spitfire, with her magical glasses, saw that the Grand Equestria was no longer in range of the blockade. "For such smaller numbers, they're pretty good at keeping us all far away as they can." She then looked to the skies. "But it's that Darkrai that's the biggest threat here. Now might be a good time to get as aggressive as we can." Spitfire was aiming to do more than just force them at the blockade. Defeating them all here was on her mind. And she had the weapons to do so. Not just from her group and their ships but the Sunstorm itself. She knew that it had a weapon that could be accessed and used to its fullest potential. "I say we bomb them." She came up with a plan. "Turning them and everything to stone with our bombs isn't a bad approach. I'll show them just how much work my Aviation branch builds up to." "You can stop all of your planning now." Showing up to the scene was Tempest on the back of a Honchkrow. She had weaselled her way through the entire sky feud with ease. "What?" Spitfire turned to her. "That Manaphy's now full of Nightmare Rarity's magic as we speak. She'll continue leading her friends to the Sea Temple, but also us. So, best not to waste time with this battle that looks like it won't have a winner, don't you think?" "Hmph. And I just had something fun in mind. Okay, sure." Spitfire shrugged. She then communicated with her group via her earpiece. "Alright, all of you. Let's call it a night and end this battle. Manaphy's affected." With the message passed on, the troops and opposing Pokemon had stopped all of a sudden. They had no reason to continue. Besides, it seems as if this ocean battle would go on for a while with both sides seeming to be equal. The ships redirected themselves while also returning the Pokemon with the same Poke Balls used before. Unfortunately, not all Pokemon since some of the ships had been defeated by Luna, so they would just have to go onboard the Sunstorm instead. Flash Sentry and everyone watched as their enemies had ceased partaking in this battle. The Golurk were about to jump into the action after pushing the ship away, but they were too late to do so. "D-Did we win?" Flash asked. "Not sure." Shining Armor shook his head. "But it looks like it's all over. Let's not give chase to them. We need to keep on moving with repairs and to the Sea Temple." This battle was declared a stalemate for the meanwhile. The Golurk and other Pokemon descended to the upper deck, finally having some time to take a break. Although, Golurk don't need breaks at all due to them being Automatons. As for the Sunstorm and opposing ships, unexpectedly, the Sunstorm started giving off a solar magical glow that coated all of the other ships. This glow resembled Daybreaker along with flames sparking out. Shining Armor and the others weren't sure of what this meant. It could be another attack. Except it wasn't. It ended up being teleportation. The entire ship and the others plus the Pokemon that were nearby had been transported out of thin air via teleportation spell of grandiose nature. Tempest certainly wasn't responsible for this due to the magical aura not belonging to her. The enemies were gone. For now. But the crew knew that they would return. Luna looked to the horizon, dispelling Lunar Ire's fraction of magical power. Luna was nervous about that massive teleportation. If anything, that meant that they would return in a flash. "Now there are only a few things we have left to do," Luna spoke before facing the island. Only three things were left. Repairing parts of the Grand Equestria, reversing the Want-it-Need-it spell, and the third one had already been solved by Ash. However, there was an extra one. The enemies that had been defeated thanks to Luna. They would have to be kept in confinement with the ship. Thankfully, the Grand Equestria had cells, just in case pirates would invade. The guards rounded up and restrained all the defeated forces from the Empress and Daybreaker's side. 10 minutes later. Luna reversed the Want-it-Need-it spell easily with a flash. All Scrafty had snapped out of it as they were all previously fighting over this tree, hugging onto it. The tree itself was on the verge of collapsing too. Once that was said and done, the Rift Volcano worked its magic, causing the cosmic magma to touch all of the Scrafty here. With just a touch, the Equestrian Forms had been eliminated. Even the mixture of Unovan and Equestrian Scrafty was free to be whole once again. "Scraf! Scrafty!" The Scrafty rejoiced after returning to their original forms. It felt like pure bliss. Now they no longer had the urge to steal anything shiny or valuable. And speaking of which, the gold parts from the Grand Equestria were gathered by the guards, taken back to the Grand Equestria for repairs. "Glad that's over with..." Adagio said before putting her necklace on. Manaphy had walked over, unaware of the control that Tempest had put on her. The effects of Nightmare Rarity were lurking the same way Lunar Ire was lurking within Luna. Except that Luna was at least aware of this magic. "I give my apologies if you can accept it." The Rift Volcano spoke. "I had no purpose. Frankly, I'm not sure what purpose I can strive for. Your friends Cold Colt and Jade Skies already have their own, after all." "You think about what you wanna do," Ash replied. "Skies the limit with your magic after all." "Pikachu." "How is that you did not melt at all?" Luna asked. "Magma is magma after all." "Hehe. Guess I had a pretty good instinct using Aura, huh?" Ash chuckled as a response along with Pikachu. "Pika-Pika-Pika!" "Ty. Scrafty." The Scrafty thanked Ash and the others for helping them. They also could just barely accept the apology of the Rift Volcano. Thankfully, Scrafty can be kind-hearted so some leniency radiated from them. "Now that we know the Empress and Daybreaker's forces are going for the Sea Temple as well, slowing down is not an option anymore," said Luna. "Yeah but...can we at least get some sleep?" Flash questioned with a nervous grin. "It's practically almost midnight at this point. And Manaphy looks a bit tired." "I'll agree with him on that." Adagio nodded. "I need my beauty sleep too if you must know." "Alright, fine. Sleep is necessary and I do need to govern the Dream World. Hurry and repair the ship so that we can sail safely." Choosing to depart from the island as soon as possible Luna led the way. As for the Scrafty, despite the apology the Rift Volcano gave them, they chose to stay at the neighbour island they originally came from, reuniting with their friends and family. And for the objects, while everyone went ahead, Adagio decided to smuggle some valuable gemstones for her own glamorous needs. As long as nobody's watching, everything was alright in her eyes. However, as Manaphy felt sleepy, ready to clock out for the night, Nightmare Rarity's lurking magic was gradually waiting for the right time. The time when the opposing force would have their chance to reach the Sea Temple. The Grand Equestria. "Mana..." Manaphy yawned as Ash placed her on a bed. "Get some rest, Manaphy. We'll stop by the nearest town or city and you can get rolling tomorrow." "Pika-Pika." "A shame that we might be sailing blind without Manaphy for the night. We may bump into another force similar to the Rift Blockade." Luna pondered. "What to do..." "If it helps, your majesty." Shining Armor went up to her. "The Golurk can't get tired. They can be on the lookout for another potential blockade." A good idea from Shining Armor. One that Luna gladly agreed to. "And what about the prisoners?" Adagio asked. "I say we just dump them to that Officer Jenny person when we get to whatever town or city's nearby." "Maybe. But there could be a gateway connecting back to Equestria. We'll keep that in mind if I wish to interact with my sister again." Luna would keep it in mind. "In the meanwhile, questioning them is a good alternative as well. Everyone else, get some sleep. "Pikachu." Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, ready to sleep. But not before he and Ash ran up to the upper deck. They looked on the outside, witnessing a bridge behind the Grand Equestria. The Rift Volcano had formed a bridge with its cosmic lava, connecting it to the neighbouring island. They had also seen the Scrafty residing back in their home island, reunited with their family and friends. Ash and Pikachu gave their goodbyes via wave from afar. The Scrafty could definitely see it. "Which town or city is nearby exactly?" Luna asked Shining Armor. "Since the Sea Temple is never in one region, we were grateful to receive maps of various regions." Shining Armor said as a guard had brought over a map of the Unova Region. Shining Armor then used his magic to open the map. "The closest place for us to be in is Lentimas Town, looks like. We can stop there and prepare for tomorrow's journey." "Noted. Darkrai and I will be in the Dream Realm. Keep an eye out in case they return." Luna ordered as they all saluted in response. She already went ahead, using her magic to leave this plane of reality with Darkrai following afterwards. "We're going to be meeting them a lot the whole way through, aren't we?" Flash Sentry spoke to Shining Armor. "I thought we were one step ahead since we had Manaphy. How did they know where we were? They wouldn't even know about how the gateways in the Pokemon World are corrupted and blocked off, would they?" "It's odd that they would show up tonight on the same day we departed. Almost as if they predicted our departure." Shining Armor's brain was starting to accelerate. "Either somepony's been hiding in Canterlot, those spycams from that Colress person, or something else." "Should we warn Princess Celestia about this?" A guard asked. "Maybe there might be someone hiding in Canterlot that caused this. We should tell her soon." Sceptical about how their enemies managed to find them at this exact sea and know their exact departure date was ominous. The guards were already on high alert, but the same would have to be passed onto the guards back at Canterlot. If there was somepony responsible for this information. The next day. Canterlot. The older Flurry Heart from another world came by to the castle today to play with Premium Polish. For both Pokemon Cards and Contest moves. At the same time, Celestia had received information about what had happened last night out in the seas of Unova. And it was done via Ash's Xtransceiver. Shining Armor had borrowed it, speaking to Celestia through it. "So, they found you right after. Not even a whole day once you entered Unova's seas?" Celestia said. "Right at the same spot. We're not sure if it was the shine from the island, more of Colress' spycams or if someone in Canterlot told them." "If the third one is the case, then either somepony from Empress Twilight's world might be hiding here. Or perhaps somepony from Daybreaker's world." Celestia theorized. "Aunt Daybreaker doesn't have spies." Flurry Heart spoke after hearing Celestia's theory. "She doesn't do that." "Hm? Flurry Heart?" Celestia turned to the younger alicorn. "What do you mean by that?" "Great Aunt Daybreaker's not like that. I've been around her universe before." She explained. "She wouldn't do that. It might be Aunt Twilight. She has something like that." "I see. But why would you think she wouldn't do that exactly?" Celestia asked as Luna's face came into the view of the Xtransceiver. "That is a good point. If anything, she seems likely to do so since she's on an alliance with Ghetsis and Empress Twilight." Luna spoke. "N-No offence, sister." "None-taken," Celestia replied. "I just know." Flurry Heart pouted. "She's not from my universe but she's my great aunt either way. She even treats me like a niece and all that. And I know Great Aunt Daybreaker would never do that." "Well, it's your experience, Flurry. So you have weight to what you say. Plus, you do seem to have some care for your Great Aunt from what we're hearing." "I do." She scratched her mane. "It's because I feel bad for Great Aunt Daybreaker. Especially why she's like this." "Why's that?" Celestia and the others within the Xtransceiver asked. "Well, you see..." Flurry Heart was ready to reveal what she knew. Something vital. Something about Daybreaker's past and how she came to be. This would be something passed on to even this world's Celestia as they all wanted to hear this. Even Premium Polish chose to stick by and listen as she recalled how Daybreaker essentially saved her life during her abduction. "It all happened 35 years ago. Just right after Chrysalis and the Changelings attacked Canterlot during the Royal Wedding of my parents. Great Aunt Daybreaker believed that everything was at peace again. It's just like this universe and how everything went. Minus the Pokemon. But after that, so much went wrong that Great Aunt couldn't control." Universe 11. 35 years ago. Equestria. Canterlot. The Equestria of this universe was no different from the one in the main universe. Thriving and wonderful in every way. At this time, Shining Armor and Cadence were together, Celestia had her little sister Luna back after her redemption and more. But as time went on, certain events built up to less than favourable situations. The cataclysmic battle between Tirek and Princess Twilight Sparkle almost left Equestria a wasteland if Twilight and her friends hadn't prevailed. But there was more to it. A foe by the name of the Storm King came along, causing massive pandemonium to Canterlot and almost Equestria with the power he had gained, only to be stopped However, even with all of the threats stopped, a new kind of weight was given to the Princess Celestia of this universe. A weight that she was not prepared for in the slightest and hoped to avoid. With how much trouble came to Equestria, the citizens of this nation quickly realized how their world was changing. And this one story in another world, one event with unfavourable situations lead to a terrifying transformation that erased a once benevolent ruler. A story that Flurry Heart knows best. As the journey continues. Chapter 605 End.