//------------------------------// // Full Force Foals // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Canterlot. Canterlot Stadium. Afternoon. The Canterlot Junior Cup is nearing its end. Five competitors remain as the next match would be Scootaloo vs Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle vs Lucky. Diamond Tiara had just finished her match, defeating Gelidity in a surprise twist. "Alright. It'll be you two next, Scootaloo. Apple Bloom." Nurse Joy said after tending to Diamond Tiara's now evolved Liepard and Gelidity's Alolan Ninetales. "After that, it's you two, Sweetie Belle. Lucky and...Umm..." Just then, Nurse Joy froze up, scanning the area and looking at the current trainers for a bit, noticing something was amiss. "Is something wrong, Nurse Joy?" Scootaloo asked. "Hmm..." The nurse pondered for a moment. "Something's off here. If either of you wins your matches, who goes up against who?" "Well, If I beat Apple Bloom, I'm battling Diamond Tiara," Scootaloo replied. "And if Sweetie Belle beats Lucky, then she'd probably battle...uh...Who'd you battle?" "That's easy." Sweetie Belle shrugged. "My next opponent would be..." But much like Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle froze. Her sentence couldn't be finished as she just now realized exactly what Nurse Joy was getting at. And so did everypony else in the room. "W-Wait! Who would I face?!" "I knew you'd figure it out," said Nurse Joy. "We're one trainer short of a bracket." "Seriously?!" The foals all bellowed. "H-How'd that happen?!" Apple Bloom stammered. "I thought we were all equal in numbers?!" "That doesn't seem to be the case. It appears there's a slight discount. How are we going to solve this...?" Nurse Joy pondered for a bit. "That's where I come in!" Entering the scene at the right moment was BigTime Ben alongside his Gothitelle. "I suspected that something was amiss. It all seemed so standard in the beginning too." "What now? If we're down one pony then..." Scootaloo paused on her sentence, wondering what the next approach to fix this was. "Unfortunately, entries are closed. But!" Ben raised his finger. "We can have an extra match." "Extra match?" The foals all repeated. "Right, right. Sweetie Belle. Lucky. You two are at the end of the bracket. Depending on which one of you wins, you'll go through an extra battle before you enter the Semifinals." "Ooh. Against who?" Sweetie Belle leaned forward. "Why, me, of course." Ben proudly crossed his arms. "If one of you makes it past the final quarter-final match, you will face me in battle. And if you win, you'll be able to advance to the semifinals. Not too bad of an offer, right?" "That's a good suggestion." Nurse Joy walked over. "But if that's the case, if either of them wins, the finals will still end up having one extra trainer. A 3rd one. That doesn't seem right for the third trainer." "You're right about that. Which is why I've devised the perfect finale for the finals." Ben then grinned with his moustache flaring up. "How does this sound, my little ponies? A three-way battle?" "Three-way battle?!" Once again, the foals repeated his words. "Of course! It'll be three trainers battling against each other. Definitely a vast stark from the usual one-on-one finales, but depending on how the battle turns out, it could come down to one on one." "Is that even allowed?" Diamond Tiara asked. "It is now. I'll oversee it with Princess Celestia as well. So, do we have a deal?" "Deal!" Sweetie Belle yelled before looking over at Lucky. "I'll win this and have the chance of beating you! Right, Lucky?" "Sure. It'll be fun." Lucky was fine with it. Not exactly bombastic or excited about it. It was a good offer. "Splendid!" Ben nodded his head, proud that this offer was agreeable to everypony here. "Now then. Scootaloo. Apple Bloom. Why don't you go on ahead and finish your battles?" "Got it! Let's do this!" Scootaloo cheered as she and Apple Bloom ran out, ready to have themselves a friendly battle with a sprinkle of competitive spirit within it. Ben would be waiting for whoever would win the last match between Sweetie Belle and Lucky and would decide on who would get to advance to the finals and have that three-way battle. For now, the battle between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom was now. Two good friends would be battling against each other as they stood apart from different sides of the arena. And while looking at each other from afar, they were both already having thoughts about how they were going to approach this battle. Not with the way the battle could turn out but what Pokemon they would use. "I've got mostly Grass-Type Pokemon on my side. So Scootaloo's probably gonna go for either Rapidash or Quilava. Unless I psyche her out and go with Emogla. But she might already know about that..." Apple Bloom thought to herself, worried that Scootaloo might counter-pick her. This was probably the worst opponent to battle while having mainly Grass-Types and only one Pokemon that was a different type. "She's got a lot of Grass-Types...but some of them can totally be a problem for my Quilava or Rapidash." Scootaloo was having a similar issue in her head. "I can't choose Horsea at all which is a bummer. Sorry, Horsea. Maybe another time. But if she's gonna go for Emolga...then I know who I can choose." "Look at those eyes." Applejack pointed out. "Those are the eyes of heavy thinkers right there. Great stuff happens when my little sis starts thinking heavy." "They look stuck too." Starlight pointed out. "Must be their Pokemon choices, right?" "Probably it," Twilight replied. "Apple Bloom has a lot of Grass-Types while Scootaloo has two Fire-Types. But since she caught so many, there's bound to be some that resist fire or are neutral to it. But Scootaloo's got her picks, especially since there's one Pokemon that also resists fire." "Both trainers. Please, send out your Pokemon." The referee ordered as the eyes of the fillies flashed. "I've got it! I know who I'll pick!" Both of them had then decided on who they wanted to send out. And in unison, they both shouted out the same command. "I choose you!" "Gible!" "Appletun!" "Huh?!" Once they both sent their respective Pokemon out, they were equally stunned. "I thought you were gonna pick Emolga! That's why I picked Gible!" Scootaloo bellowed, aiming her hoof at Apple Bloom. "Or even Lombre or Lotad even!" "I picked Appletun because I thought you were gonna psyche me out by picking Quilava or Rapidash when I thought you wouldn't! And I guess you didn't. "I know that feeling." Twilight laughed along with many others once the two foals realized how the opposing Pokemon they wanted wasn't out there. "Either way, this works in my favour." Scootaloo grinned right afterwards. "I've got the right Pokemon to battle Appletun." "Same here. My Appletun's a good pick against your Gible too." In the end, despite them both having different Pokemon out, they each had an advantage and a disadvantage. It would be Dragon vs Dragon. "Battle start!" "I'm first! Gible, use Dragon Claw!" "Gible!" Gible went first, holding his claw out as it was then enveloped in a draconic green energy. The Land Shark Pokemon then advanced, approaching his fellow Dragon-Type. "Appletun! Use Apple Acid!" "Aaaaa!" In response, Appletun would use its signature move. Apple Acid. By using the tart apple body that it had on its back, Appletun then harnessed all the juices within the apple, adding acid to it before spraying it out in a vicious stream. "Gible?!" "Try powering through it, Gible!" "Gible!" Gible would do just that. He also resisted Apple Acid, believing that it would be a cakewalk for him to power through the attack. But the moment he approached and made contact with the stream of acid, that was not the case. "G-Gible!" Instead, Gible's body shuddered from the acid, slowing his movements down. The stream then forced Gible back, preventing him from touching Appletun. "Bad move right there! Gible's weaker now thanks to that attack! And all of my attacks are gonna work well against him." Apple Bloom smirked. "Oh yeah?! I'll just keep coming with Gible! Bulldoze!" "Dragon Pulse!" "Gible!" "Appletun!" In unison, Gible and Appletun had used Bulldoze and Dragon Pulse. It started with Gible stomping on the ground, summoning golden shockwaves right afterwards. Followed up by that was a dragon-shaped shockwave by Appletun. The shockwave and the pulse collided, entering a temporary struggle. Neither attack seemed to be superior than the other and thus, they cancelled each other out in a wide combustion. But that's just what Scootaloo needed, capitalizing on Gible's superior speed compared to Appletun. "Dragon Claw, go!" "Gible!" Out of the smoke, Gible appeared, lunging into the air. This time, he was closer to Appletun, giving him some extra time to attack. "Ah! Above you, Appletun! Dragon Pulse!" "Apple...!" Appletun raised his head, charging up Dragon Pulse but it was too late now. Gible managed to slash Appletun before Dragon Pulse could be unleashed. Dragon Pulse had been stopped entirely as the fierce slash from Gible had knocked Appletun over. "Tun!" "Ah! Appletun!" "Aaa!" After being knocked over, Appletun started spinning on the ground while on its back before then tilting to the side. "Hehe! Now, Dragon Claw again!" "Gi...!" A second Dragon Claw was about to arrive as a follow-up as Gible landed on the ground, running towards Appletun while it was on the ground. "Get up, Appletun! Hurry and use Headbutt!" "Appletun...!" Appletun just barely managed to get itself back up by forcefully tilting its entire body, overcoming its weight. By the skin of its non-existent teeth, Appletun evaded Dragon Claw as Gible almost grazed Appletun's body. And right after evading the attack, now that Gible was this close, the Apple Nectar Pokemon could strike. "Tun!" Appletun did so by immediately smashing its head onto Gible's own head. "Gible!" Gible cried out as he flinched immediately. He staggered while moving back after Appletun's Headbutt connected, almost making him fall over. Gible regained his balance before then shaking his head. "T-Tun!" But there was a catch. Gible's Ability, Rough Skin. Appletun felt some blowback from hitting Gible up close, receiving some damage. "Come on, Scootaloo! You've got the speed!" Rainbow Dash bellowed. "You can do it, little sis!" Meanwhile, Applejack cheered her little sister on. Both ponies had their personal favourites whilst Pinkie Pie rooted for both of them, waving two flags. "How's that?" Applebloom giggled. "Not so slow, right?" "Guess not. But I still won't let it beat me. Gible and I are gonna reach Ash. You understand, right Apple Bloom?" "I do. But boy golly, I'd be lying if I said I didn't wanna battle Ash too. Let's see who gets to him. Appletun! Withdraw!" "Apple!" Just then, Appletun sat down for a moment as its entire body flashed red. By doing this, it had increased its defence, giving it a greater resistance to Gible's attacks. "That won't stop us! Gible! Hone Claws!" "To counter Appletun's defence boost, Gible had sharpened his claws by rubbing them together, immediately increasing his attack. Gible had attack power while Appletun had defensive power. Only one of them could overcome the other. "Now, Dragon Claw!" "Gible!" Now that his strength had been boosted, Gible went in for a Dragon Claw with his eyes flashing red, leaving behind a small red trail. "Apple Acid!" "Appletun!" And just like before, Appletun would simply spray some acidic apple liquid. "Not this time! Run to the side and strike!" "Gible!" Gible then zoomed to the side, evading the stream of water before then homing in on Appletun. Appletun's defence would be tested as Gible slashed the side of the Apple Nectar Pokemon's body, knocking it back. "One more time, Gible!" "Gib!" Gible leapt forward, going for another Dragon Claw. "Headbutt!" "Apple...Tun!" Meeting with Gible's Dragon Claw was Appletun's headbutt. Covered in white Infinity Energy, Appletun had smashed its head onto Gible's claw, initiating another clash. The two dragons growled at each other trying to overpower each other. "Come on, Gible!" "Go, Appletun!" "G-GIble...!" Gible roared, trying hard to break past Appletun's hard defence. Meanwhile, Appletun was trying to overpower Gible's attack power. They were equal right now, as seen by everyone watching. Thus, the two of them backed away once a shockwave from their attacks emerged. And yet again, Gible's Rough Skin had come into play, damaging Appletun in the process. "Dig, Gible!" "Gible!" Gible then burrowed his way through the ground as fast as he could, leaving behind some rubble. Afterwards, the Ground-Dragon-Type disappeared into the ground before then advancing on Appletun from below. "Get ready and use Dragon Pulse, ya hear?!" "Apple!" "Gible!" Gible would strike above Appletun's belly. And once a crack and a mound started appearing underneath Appletun, now was the right time to use Dragon Pulse as its mouth flared with blue draconic energy. Gible burst out of the ground, hitting Appletun's stomach. The impact managed to raise Appletun off the ground, but not high enough. Once Gible raised Apletun, striking the Grass-Dragon-Type in the chest, he found out that Appletun barely felt it thanks to his resistance to Ground-Type attacks and its increased defence. And thanks to this durable body, not only did Appletun not stagger, but it also allowed it to successfully pull off Dragon Pulse without any delay. "Apple!" Right next to the ground where Gible stood, Dragon Pulse had been unleashed, causing a draconic explosion that not only blew Gible back but also Appletun as it was a great risk. "T-Tun!" "Gible!" Both Dragon-Types took super-effective damage as they were separated. Appletun managed to stay on its feet while Gible rolled on the ground before then jumping back up, recovering afterwards. "Not strong enough? Fine then! Dragon Pulse! Let him have it!" "Tun!" Right after being pushed back, Appletun let out a short-burst Dragon Pulse that moved far quicker than Appletun could ever move. "Not good! Block it with Dragon Claw!" "Gible!" Gible put his draconic energy claws up, using them as an extra layer of defence. Right on time as the blast had smashed into his claws, being larger than his entire body, almost touching his head. But, the claws of Dragon Claw held the attack back, but there was still a struggle. Dragon Pulse started pushing Gible back as his legs scraped on the ground as he put his all in trying to keep this attack back. It was truly a battle of dragons, having the intensity of one. "Can you do it, Gible?!" Scootaloo cried out, encouraging her partner to give it his all. "G-Gible!" Gible managed to just barely overpower Dragon Pulse by screaming at the top of his lungs. There was a slight echo as Gible blew the Dragon Pulse back with the strength of Dragon Pulse, proving that he still had the attack advantage. Appletun gasped as its own attack was sent back at it. "A-Apple!" Appletun felt that one. A super-effective blow from its own attack that left it staggering, almost falling over once again on its apple body. This battle had great progress behind it. The crowd went wild over this Dragon Battle as both Gible and Appletun had certainly exerted themselves. Appletun had the defensive advantage, but all of those Dragon Claws caused it to feel the pressure and Gible's Rough Skin had come into play. On the other side, while Gible's defence had been lowered thanks to Grav Apple, he still managed to hang in there and had an attack increase. "This is great...just what I wanted, Apple Bloom." Scootaloo chuckled. "I'm getting pretty exhausted from this one." "Same here." Apple Bloom laughed alongside her friend. "I ain't much of a battler, but this is so much fun!" "Isn't it?" "Eeyup. But...I'm gonna end it now, Scootaloo. And I'm gonna do it with this." Just then, Apple Bloom had revealed a massive game-changer. It was high time she pulled out her ace in the hole as her hoof rummaged through her mane, revealing an item. The Grassium Z. A Z-Crystal. "GAH!" Scootaloo almost passed out from seeing that. "Your Z-Crystal?!" "I had it ready for most of my Pokemon except Emolga. All of my Grass-Types can use this beauty right here and now's a good chance to try it out for the first time." "Oh, rats!" Scootaloo put her hooves on her head, growling. "I should've gone with Quilava and Rapidash! Then I'd get to use my Z-Move too!" "Here I go, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom had also taken out a Z-Ring from her mane. Once the ring had been put on, the crystal could be inserted. The Grassium Z touched the mould before then letting out a spark of energy that showed the Z-Crystal's symbol. Scootaloo gulped as she readied herself. The power of Alola had once again entered Equestria, responding to Apple Bloom's spirit. Immediately, the earth pony got into a bipedal position, ready to pull off the necessary poses. "So excited to finally use one. And I can already hear something. I hear nature itself. From Deerling Forest and even the Pikachu Highlands." Apple Bloom spoke, performing the poses as the crystal let out bigger flares of light that were aimed toward Appletun, covering the Grass-Dragon-Type in this golden energy. "It's pretty nice to hear...I can hear my home too! All the apples and plantlife everywhere!" "Tun!" "Gible! Get ready!" Scootaloo said to the Land Shark Pokemon with an audible gulp. Gible stood strong in the face of this incoming attack. "I need to reach Ash. I want to!" "APPLETUN! BLOOM DOOM!" "APPLETUN!" After pulling off the poses. Appletun then became surrounded by a light green aura, causing the battlefield to be covered in flowers. Flowers of all kinds could be found here for everyone to gawk and marvel at. The energy surrounding Appletun formed into an orb in the air, which was then fired in the shape of a massive verdant beam. "Here goes nothing! Dig! Now!" "Gible...!" Gible's eyes flared as the beam approached him fast. And at the same time, he smashed his claws into the ground. The light of the beam made everything bright and hard to see as moments later it struck the ground, resulting in a massive green explosion. The wind blew fiercely from this nature-powered attack as it was destructive as it was beautiful. The explosion then turned into a pillar-shaped one before shooting into the sky. The light was starting to fade along with the massive cloud of smoke that had been formed. Everyone gasped as Gible was nowhere to be found. All that was left was a hole. "A hole?" Apple Bloom leaned forward. "Wait...then that means..." "Now! Go! Dragon Claw!" "Gi...Ble!" Gible had returned. Bursting from the ground, he now appeared behind Appletun instead of underneath. Gible had managed to work his way around Bloom Doom. "Your Dig worked?!" Apple Bloom gasped. Scootaloo's plan to use Dig managed to save Gible as entering the ground was a smart play. "Sure did! It was a gamble, but entering the ground was the best thing to do! It was the only option too!" Scootaloo chuckled. The Ground-Type move Dig was the greatest option in this instance. Every other attack would've failed miserably and done nothing, except for Dig, which allowed Gible to stay away from Appletun and the surface. And especially away from a gigantic beam. "No fair, Scootaloo! Dragon Pulse!" "Too late!" "Gible!" Gible was ahead of Appletun. The moment Appletun turned around, charging up Dragon Pulse, Gible's Dragon Claw had already landed. The Land Shark Pokemon then slashed past the Apple Nectar in the blink of an eye. Before Appletun knew it, Gible was already on the other side. "Apple?" His attack had landed faster than Appletun could react. And when he did react, the result was as expected. A moment of silence occurred before Appletun had then fallen to the ground after that super-effective strike. "Appletun..." Appletun had fainted. "Appletun is unable to battle! Gible wins! Thus, the victor is Scootaloo!" "Whew! That was close!" Relieved, Scootaloo fell on her back, laughing. "Hahaha! I did it!" "Gible!" Gible then ran over to Scootaloo, pouncing on her. Afterwards, he put his massive mouth on her head, excitedly gnawing at it. "Ow, Gible!" "Aw..." Apple Bloom sighed before then walking over to Appletun. "Well, we tried. Thanks a bunch for doing your best, Appletun. "Appletun." "That's a shame." Applejack lowered her hat, saddened that her sister wouldn't be making it into the semifinals. However, she smiled right afterwards. "But, I can say this. My sister's extra strong, ain't she?" "Mhm." Her friends agreed. Truthfully speaking, if Scootaloo hadn't chosen Dig, Bloom Doom would've most certainly won Apple Bloom the battle. "Looks like you're making it to the end, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom said before returning Appletun. "You're the battler out of all three of us after all. Good luck out there." "Thanks, Apple Bloom. And for the battle too." She sat up before the returning Gible to his Poke Ball. The two fillies then gave each other a high hoof before then heading back to the waiting room. "Best one so far!" Night Sprout commented while eating the food, enjoying herself. Premium Polish ate alongside her too as well. "Coming to this tournament was worth it!" "Right?" Premium Polish agreed before drinking some apple juice. "Mmm." "How are you able to drink that stuff without going haywire? Aren't you made out of metal?" Night Sprout asked before continuing to stuff her face. "Part flesh remember." "Oh. Right." Night Sprout continued feasting away as she couldn't get enough of the food. But as she was enjoying herself, that's when she got herself a message. A message from her home. Magehold. Specifically from the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta once again. Time had passed since their last conversation today as the Lich Queen got into the little vampire's head yet again. "Night Sprout. Night Sprout, how goes your progress? It's getting rather late." "Queen Rosa?!" Night Sprout also spoke to Rosa Maledicta while using her mind. "Ah, my progress. Well, uh, I kinda got captured. Sorry. But I'm here also having a pretty good time, if that makes sense. The ponies here are pretty nice to boot." "So, you were unable to et anything about Yveltal then." "Nope. My cover's blown, so I doubt I can do it solo. You're gonna come and rescue me, right?" She squeed in her mind. "You will return to Magehold. But, we won't need anypony to bring you back here." "Huh? What do you mean by that?" "You will be reborn right away. The Infinite Revival will be used on you, my little pony." "Oh...I get to have it be used on me? Yes!" She laughed before then deciding to speak out in the open. "Well, Premium. It's been pretty fun, but I've gotta go." "Huh? But aren't you trapped here?" Premium Polish questioned as the guards slid over. "She's right. You can't just leave, understood?" A guard added as there were too many guards for Night Sprout to go anywhere or try anything. "I totally can. I'm going to explode now, so see you around!" "Explode?" Premium Polish repeated. And once she did, that's when it happened. Night Sprout's body lit up with lights flaring out as the guards and Premium Polish backed away. Before they knew it, just like what Night Sprout said, she exploded. A combustion of Curse Magic emerged inside of the golden magic bubble with Night Sprout's entire body vanishing. The guards and Premium Polish were naturally flabbergasted. They had just seen a pony blow up right before their eyes. Premium Polish immediately fainted before being caught by one of the guards. This was going to be a bit difficult to explain to Princess Celestia. Magehold. Within a chamber. Back at Magehold, there resided a chamber of great size. This chamber was not used for storing any items, much like a normal chamber. Instead, this chamber and its creepy atmosphere with bones sticking out from the side possessed what seemed to be pods. Massive pods in massive numbers were located within this chamber that had not a drop of light anywhere. They had a mysterious purple and green liquid inside of them that let out howls each time a bubble popped. And watching over this room was none other than Opal Vivacity. She stood in front of one pod as something was forming inside of it. "Welcome back. Night Sprout." Opal Vivacity commented as Night Sprout's body suddenly reformed itself in this pod. Her entire body was brought back after combusting back at Canterlot. But right now, she was asleep instead of waking up as she rested within the mysterious cursed liquid. A failed mission on Night Sprout's part. But, the Dread League wouldn't simply stop after some failed missions. After all, just like what Rosa Maledicta said, there are other vampires out there working hard to search for Yveltal. Night Sprout groaned within the pod as her time at Canterlot was over. But not the Canterlot Junior Cup as the journey continues. Chapter 818 End.