Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
The Unown were continuing their attack on Equestria. They had already remodelled parts of it for Second Wind's wishes but were promptly interrupted by the residents of each respective location and their Pokemon. Big or small, it was being defended.
And amidst all of this conflict against the Unown, there one was who the most exempt. Technically an Equestrian resident who rarely shows up was Discord. Ruler of Chaos.
Discord opened a torn door into this world, coming from his own dimension. "Hm?" Upon showing up, mainly at the Pokemon House near Fluttershy's cottage, he was greeted with the sight of the Unown. "Is this another invasion? This soon?" He said before witnessing the Pokemon of the Pokemon House going up against these Symbol Pokemon.
That included his Krookodile, who he rarely interacts with and never brought back with him to the Chaos Dimension. Discord's connection to Pokemon wasn't grand at all. In fact, some could say he had the weakest connection to these Strange and Wonderful Creatures more than anything.
But that didn't stop him from being curious about them. He ventured across Ponyville, starting from the Pokemon House while the conflict was ongoing. Discord, only a few seconds of being out here with all of these Pokemon attacks being utilized, ducked underneath some stars of Swift.
Discord took the time to admire it all, seeing Hidden Power clash with various moves of varying types. He made himself some popcorn that flew alongside him, entering his mouth each passing sound, even flowing perfectly with a small melody inside of Discord's imaginative head.
Some of the more circular Pokemon tumbled when being hit by Hidden Power, making Discord chuckle slightly once he saw them roll. There was always something amusing about seeing a perfectly round Pocket Monster roll in any scenario.
"Krook?" Krookodile noticed his trainer before fainting an Unown with Shadow Claw. "Krook! Krookodile!" He cried out for Discord. Krookodile know how much help Discord could be as he kept on shouting to try and bring the Spirit of Chaos over. But Discord was too focused on everything else to pay attention to Krookodile.
"Krook..." Krookodile sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed that yet again, his own trainer had neglected him, barely giving him the attention. Krookodile yearned to have a bond with Discord that other Pokemon have with their trainers, but that wasn't happening.
As for Discord, he eventually found himself in the main streets of Ponyville, witnessing more of the action go along. He saw how it was everypony against the Unown, allowing him to indulge in yet another chaotic event.
"Ponyta, use Flame Charge!" Scootaloo commanded her Ponyta.
"Piplup, Bubble Beam!" So did Sweetie Belle with her Piplup. Ponyta, who had envelope himself in a cloak of fire had tackled one of the Unown, fainting it and receiving an increase in speed too. The bubbles from Piplup's Bubble Beam also knocked some of the Unown out of the sky with consecutive hits.
"Huh? Hey, it's Discord!" Apple Bloom pointed out, alerting her friends. Others were alerted after taking care of some of the Unown, witnessing the Spirit of Chaos' appearance. For once, seeing Discord didn't fill them with a sense of nervousness or even annoyance.
This was the one instance where they were happy to see him.
"Oh, Discord! Can't believe I'm thrilled to see him!" Octavia sighed, chuckling for a moment alongside her Furfrou. Furfrou was also stepping on one of the Unown after fainting it. Due to the great cooperation of the Ponyville residents and how they all knew each other very well, Pokemon included, they stood a great chance against the Unown, who were also great at working with each other. It was their whole motif and source of power after all.
"I don't usually venture out here that often, but right now I do and you're all fighting against letters?" Discord spoke.
"I'm surprised you can tell they are letters..." Mayor Mare commented. "But then again, not too surprised."
"Discord! Can you please help!" Scootaloo pleaded. "These Unown keep on coming and they're everywhere in Equestria!"
"It'd be appreciated if you could stop these Wild Unown!" Amethyst Star shouted, holding her Skitty in the air who was using Charm to lower the attacks of the Unown. "My Skitty can only charm so many!"
"I don't know..." Discord scratched his chin, causing his small goatee to drop some hair that became sentient, hopping around. "You all seem like you're going well enough. I mean, you're all students and proteges of Ash, aren't you? I'm sure you all have that spurt of victory inside of you."
"It doesn't work like that!" Carrot Top shouted in the distance with Sunflora using an overpowering Solar Beam that shot through the skies, hitting multiple Unown in a straight line. "Though I wish it did..."
"Just help us against these Unown! Otherwise, you won't have a familiar place to be at anymore!" Roseluck exclaimed, having her Roserade battling by her side as always. Roserade had used her thorns to wrap some of the Unown once they were defeated, restrained.
"It would be very much appreciated." Mayor Mare commented as the sound of Vinyl and her Pokmon using their sound-based moves echoed throughout Ponyville. Mainly from Exploud and Noivern.
"And necessary right about now." Sliding next to Mayor Mare was Cherry Jubilee. "These Unown work together well just as our Pokemon do. If they succeed, nothing will be left."
"Hm. You all make it sound like it's a problem of an existential scale." Discord thought about it. He then realized that if he would help them, he would gain a second hero status in the end. Similar to how he gained that status during the Invasion of Equestria. Then again, practically almost everyone was titled a hero since they all helped save their homeland. "Alright, alright. You said they're Wild Unown, right?"
"Yes?" Amethyst Star nodded.
"Fluttershy has suggested I get in touch with the Pokemon World so more. IN that case, this will work best!" Discord already had the best way to stop the Unown. And it would also work in tangent with Fluttershy's wishes. With a snap of his fingers, Discord had then summoned a massive array of Poke Balls.
Poke Balls of different varieties covered the skies, much like how the Unown did at first when they showed up to Equestria. The Unown and everyone stopped what they were doing just to look at the skies. Poke Balls that everyone had seen before plus new ones that their eyes had never graced before until now.
This also spanned across Equestria. Not just Ponyville as DIscord was told about the scale of the Unown and how they were all across Equestria. So the best response was to summon Poke Balls that could most definitely cover an entire nation.
And to let them all drop, Discord lowered both his talon and his lion paw, causing them to descend immediately. The billions of Poke Balls rained down, targeting only the Unown and no other Pokemon. Immediately, the first POke Ball struck the first Unown, sending it within the capturing objective by first shrinking.
And much like a regular Poke Ball, even in the skies, it dropped onto the ground, shaking. It shook three times before catching the first Unown. And instantly, the other Unown realized the severity of this as they scattered at once.
The Pokemon Trainers ceased any further action to see all of the Unown fleeing from these adorably fun-sized objects that cannot cause any physical harm due to how light yet magically effective they were. Unown were being sent within the POke Balls each time the billions of them dropped.
Discord also acted as a music conductor, even wearing the right clothes as he manually moved a plethora of Poke Balls in a nice rhythm that clashed well with the singing of the Unown. Fitting.
If anything, this whole scenario perfectly mirrored the Unown attacking Equestria at the start of all of this, threatening to erase everypony. They were essentially gaining the same treatment with the Poke Balls. Except their lives weren't in danger.
Despite being owned by Second Wind, Pegalysium and its lack of Poke Balls made these Symbol Pokemon ripe for the picking in Discord's eyes and practically anyone else who was interested. Unfortunately, no one would get that chance as DIscord also pulled the Poke Balls towards him once they captured one Unown after the other.
Shrinking after shrinking, the light from the Poke Balls grabbed these Symbols. The Unown tried preventing any more of them from being captured as they used their reality-bending powers when together, focusing on the Poke Balls. However, they did not account for a being who could also twist reality to his will.
When they destroyed the Poke Balls, Discord regenerated them and made them bulkier. When they teleported the Poke Balls away, Discord simply brought them back. When they turned the Poke Balls into other objects, Discord changed them back and only multiplied them to overwhelm the Unown.
Discord then made something similar to a tennis ball machine. Only in this instance, it was a Poke Ball machine. And it did exactly as it was expected to do. It rapidly shot out Poke Balls in various directions, catching each of the different Unown of the alphabet flawlessly. Other methods were used by Discord each time the Unown tried resisting.
The Unown created a small dimension around themselves to avoid the Poke Balls, only for DIscord to extend his arm as if he was made out of rubber, and unzip the dimension, causing it to open as the Poke Balls flocked inside immediately, catching them.
Everywhere in Equestria, they witnessed the Unown being captured left and right, flying over to Ponyville to their new trainer. An unlikely Pokemon Trainer yet the one who made the most sense to have them.
The Unown, seeing that Discord also had the power to change reality to his will, although the difference was that he didn't need multiple of himself, decided to retreat. The remaining Unown fled Equestria, ascending to the skies to return to Pegalysium and pass off this information to Second Wind, who was not truly their trainer due to an unregistered amount of Poke Balls.
But Discord was now the owner of many Unown. He gathered all the various Poke Balls that held the many Unown, officially keeping them for good. He formed a large bag that he placed all of them inside. "All done. Wait until Fluttershy hears about this." Discord commented.
"They're fleeing!" Mayor Mare shouted out. "Oh, well-done Discord!"
"Finally, it's over!" The younger ponies were happy about this Unown attack coming to a close. They couldn't quite hear it, but across Equestria, they were happy about the Unown being defeated and some of them fleeing.
"Alright. Where's my medal?" Discord focused on the tributes of victory immediately, moving his head to find a reward instantly. He could just make one, but straight from high authority, AKA Mayor Mare, was what he sought.
"You'll get your medal no doubt," said Mayor Mare. "Perhaps even a...A..." Just then, Mayor Mare yawned on the spot, cutting off her own sentence. Truthfully, she and many others were tired.
Despite Second Wind's tampering of time changing only Pegalysium, it ended up switching night from day across all of Equestria. Some ponies were way past their bedtime at this point. "Oh, sorry..." Mayor Mare groaned. "It was nightfall a while ago."
The same could be said for the Pokemon World. However, since it was not affected by time, it was still nightfall over there, free of any time mishaps. And speaking of which, coming to their aid, right through the Pokemon World was the Trainer that Scootaloo called for. Someone that she and everypony in Ponyville or Equestria, in general, could put their trust in.
Arriving just seconds after the Unown attack was Ash and his partner Pikachu. He came through that gateway, previously unaware that it had been erased before. Joining him was the slightly more tired Goh who couldn't wait to sleep.
"Hey, guys. Is everyone okay?" Ash asked.
"Pikachu?"
"This late and there's already trouble being caused..." Goh yawned. "Can't you all catch a break for at least a month?"
"Ash!" Discord appeared next to Ash in the blink of an eye. "Just short on time. I've beaten you to the victory haul for once, dealing with all those Unown. And catching them too." Discord then revealed the massive bag of Poke Balls, each having an Unown inside.
"Oh! You caught all the Unown?!" Ash was stunned by this, witnessing the sheer number of Poke Balls. Possibly the biggest number hes' seen ever.
"Not all of them, but a sizable amount enough to scare the rest away." Discord replied.
"I hope you're caught up to speed, Ash."Mayor Mare walked over to him. "Because right now, even if these Unown had been fended off, I'm afraid the pony responsible for sending them here won't exactly give up so easily."
"Yeah, I heard from Scootaloo. You all met Arceus?" Ash was given information about them meeting Arceus. And some details of what was occurring in Pegalysium.
"Something about time happened up there." Sweetie Belle aimed her hoof to the sky. "Arceus said that Second Wind changed time. Rarity and Fluttershy are still up there."
"But Rainbow Dash and the others went up to help," Scootaloo interjected.
"Wait?" Discord's attention was truly caught once Fluttershy was brought up. "Why didn't you say that sooner?"
"All we needed to hear. All we gotta do is get up there and help out, right?" Ash said, shooting his eyes to the skies. It was Destination Pegalysium. "Discord. Can you get us to Pegalysium quickly?"
"I certainly can." Discord brought Ash, Pikachu and Goh together. If there was a quick way to travel, he was the one to do so. Goh and his baggy eyes took a moment to process what was about to happen.
With a wave of his hand, Discord had sent all three of them out of here. He would come along with them too. To not only add to his heroic reputation but also help a friend.
"Oh..." Mayor Mare and the others sat or fell on the ground, feeling exhausted and wanting to sleep already. Some had already fallen asleep on the spot. Stoutland acted as a cushion for Mayor Mare, making herself feel comfortable while also carrying her back to her home.
Across Equestria, once the Unown attack had finished, they could all rest. Almost all of them. Some were more alert than others. Mainly Chrysalis, Shining Armor, Cadence and Flurry Heart respectively. Giratina had been healed to full strength by Sylveon's Wish, which allowed the Renegade Pokemon to retaliate and overwhelm the Unown.
Giratina stood over a pile of fainted Unown, reigning victorious among other Pokemon. Now that the attack was over, their attention was drawn to the skies, fixated on Pegalysium and Second Wind. After everything Arceus told them, they knew what to expect.
"Auntie Celestia and Luna are still up there." Cadence pointed out.
"So is Twilight. Arceus said they were fine, but I'm worried it won't be for long." Shining Armor said.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Flurry Heart was already ahead of the curve, hopping onto the back of Giratina. Even though she could fly, there was something satisfying about riding a giant dragon. "I say we go up there and help!"
"Hey-hey!" Cadence rushed over. "Not so fast! We still have an empire to protect here. We shouldn't leave now in case the Unown come back."
"Aw..." Flurry Heart pointed, slumping her head on Giratina's back. They wouldn't head for Pegalysium yet. Not with the looming threat of the Unown still being prominent, even after many of them had been caught by Discord.
Pegalysium. An island near Big Sky. Afternoon.
Meanwhile, at an island just near Big Sky, Rarity had been caught up to speed by Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp. Thanks to the Unown, Fluttershy and Thunder Stamp kept those memories.
"So...that's what happened. What a head-turner." Rarity commented. "But I wonder how we can get home at this point. These three Unown don't seem to have the collective power to do as fantastic things as say ten or more Unown."
"We'll find our way back. And to our friends too," said Fluttershy. "These three Unown might not be able to do much, but they can still help. We were thinking of going for that Clock Door."
"And return time to its normal flow? How will we know how to do such a thing? Everything about time travel just seems so difficult and hard to understand." Rarity pouted, not too fond of anything involving time travel. A first for her but a common thing for many.
"Mmm..." Thunder Stam, who always communicated by grumbling, spoke to Fluttershy once more.
"You're right, Thunder. It could get harder since a second light came through. We were lucky to still have the Unown protect us from it. But I wonder what else has been changed?"
"Audino?" Just then, stopping her tracks was Audino. Her ears, finally able to be used at their fullest once more, hear something in the distance. Something familiar. And they were almost music to Audino's ears. Almost. Looking up at the sky, Audino heard the sound of engines being utilized. "Audino!"
By alerting her friends she brought their attention to the skies. But, they would've seen it either way. Looking up, they had witnessed the Rocketship. A familiar object. "The Rocketship! Team Rocket!" Fluttershy bellowed with glee.
"Bay? Bay-Bay!" And seeing Fluttershy outside the window was Bayleef once they were near the island. They had finally found their friends.
"Looks like we found them. Finally." James said. "Now, let's-"
"Bay!" Happy to see Fluttershy again, Bayleef, with zero hesitation, jumped out of the window, breaking it just to reach her partner.
"GAAAH!" Naturally, this caught Team Rocket off guard once they saw this. It came out of nowhere and was by far the most volatile thing they had ever witnessed.
"Baaaaaay!" But Bayleef didn't care as she was free-falling from a high height. Then again, everything here in Pegalysium is a high height. But for Bayleef, even if it was high, she had her leaf to rely on and Fluttershy's wings.
"Bayleef!" Fluttershy spread her wings out, flying towards her partner. They had finally reunited as Bayleef jumped into Fluttershy's open hooves, embracing her in a full-on hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! I knew you'd be okay!"
"Bay!"
"That Bayleef is unhinged...More than the twerp's I think..." Jessie sighed, feeling genuinely worried for Bayleef after seeing her jump out of the window. Now they would have to make repairs to that too.
"Ugh..." And all it took was that window crash and screaming to finally wake Garnet up. As if the previous attack couldn't do it before. Garnet was gaining consciousness once more with her eyes slowly opening. James descended the ship towards the island as Garnet could already feel the altitude. "W-What...?" An awoken Garnet noticed the streamlined interior of the Rocketship.
She was moving at a snail's pace in the case of processing everything in front of her. She saw objects that she had never seen before and seemed advanced to her. "Wha..." The stunned and dazed Garnet started collecting herself as she noticed someone staring at her face along with a black boot.
"Hey. I think she's waking up." Meowth was the one looking at her with Jessie's black boot being next to her.
"What the...?" Soon Garnet was fully awake, moving her head up to see the slender body of Jessie and James in the background, piloting the ship. A few blinks later and Garnet had a natural reaction to this. "Aaaaah!" She screeched, jumping back before banging her head on the walls of the ship. "Ouch!"
She whimpered, holding her head as Jessie and Meowth just stood there while James was too focused on getting the ship down. "W-Who are you...cats and humans?!" She asked. "Where am I?! What's going on?! Where do I go?! Get me out!" She was starting to panic.
"Relax. We would've thrown you out long ago if Bayleef didn't insist we kept you along." Jessie shrugged.
"Yeah. She's obviously got something big planned for ya. So sit tight, my little pony." Meowth chuckled, alerting Garnet to realize that she was looking at a talking Pokemon.
"Talking...Pokemon...Ooooooohhh." Garnet felt like passing out again as she slumped onto the wall. She didn't quite faint like before. At this point, she was just tired.
The door of the ship opened up, revealing Team Rocket plus Garnet to everypony outside. It's always rare to feel relieved when seeing Team Rocket, but this was a perfect instance of it.
"I can't believe I'm glad to see you three." Rarity said before spotting Garnet. "And oh? Is that Garnet?"
"Please help me I am lost." Garnet pleaded, wanting answers and a way home.
"Bay. Bay-Bay-Bay." Upon reuniting with her friends, Bayleef quickly told Fluttershy everything crucial that had happened, not wasting any time.
"Oh, I figured, Bayleef. Everypony's memories are lost of what happened. We helped Rarity get them back thanks to these Unown." Fluttershy said, showing Bayleef the Unown. Bayleef felt threatened by them, almost jumping away from Fluttershy. "It's fine, Bayleef! These Unown are our friends."
"Bay...?"
"Can you please tell m what's going on?" Garnet asked with a lowered head. She was done with all the surprises right about now. Fluttershy nudged her head in the Unown's direction, telling them to do what they needed to do.
And they would. Garnet felt intimidated by the appearance of the Unown. The fact that they were just black objects with eyes that could never close. The three Unown flew over to the Garnet, using their combined power to interact with her. Garnet was met with a similar treatment that Shooting Star received when his memories were altered.
A similar crimson and soon golden light engulfed her, causing Garnet to be put in a subconscious trance. And once she could view nothing or hear nothing, her memories that had once been altered, but barely kept thanks to Bayleef, were now coming back.
The lights faded as the already perplexed Garnet fumbled around, feeling overwhelmed from all these current events. But on the bright side, she now remembered the true timeline. "Oh, Sweet Alta..." And much like before, she fainted on the spot, falling over.
"Oh. It happened again." Jessie commented. "She's a fragile one, isn't she?"
"Wobbuffet."
Pinnaculum Pegalysium. Afternoon.
But in the midst of hope being brought back, the Unown, who had fled from Discord, returned to Pinnaculum Pegalysium. And it was certainly a higher Pegalysium. A grander nation.
The Unown approached a new capital. It was located much higher than any part in the first Pegalysium, still surrounded by clouds and fog, only the height could almost go beyond the limits of the sky. Some would say space if it was any higher.
And the one building large enough to nearly reach space was a castle. One that stood atop the clouds instead of being surrounded by it. High enough that perhaps even the stars themselves could grace it. The Unown entered the castle, going to only one pony.
Of course, the pony who was behind all of this. Still holding onto the title of Grand Queen, but was now the sole ruler of not just this Pegalysium, but the first one too, proclaiming and setting herself as ultimate form authority.
Second Wind.
She kept the same appearance from the first altered timeline as she witnessed the Unown coming her way. Once they showed up, the Unown, using their singing and electromagnetic waves had communicated with Second Wind once more, letting them know of the ongoing events and their failure to turn Equestria into the new and third land that she could rule.
"I see..." Second Wind commented as she grit her teeth. She was showing agitation and frustration once more, even as a high ruler. "Yet again, they find a way to bend the rules. Only I should be the one to bend everything to my will. Curse you Equestria."
Equestria was getting on her last nerve. Even with the changed timeline, that one land and its inhabitants, despite the distance, thanks to the height of Pinnaculum Pegalysium could still bother her.
"They'll probably focus on the Royal Family before anything. Especially Shooting Star. New order, Unown. Stop them at once. Even if you can't rid them from this existence, do whatever it takes to make sure that this new reality remains. I need it more than anything."
The Unown were off to do just that. They left the castle, continuing to fulfil Second Wind's wish. It was a habit of them. Unable to restrain themselves from those who have high wishes and the will to make it happen.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 720 End.