//------------------------------// // Hoopa Unbound // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Hoenn. Mossdeep City. Battle Carnival. The Pokemon Festival. Day. Standing at a whopping 21'04" and 6.5 metres tall was the Unbound form of Hoopa. Hoopa Unbound was the correct term. After deciding to get serious, Hoopa emerged in his Unbound Form, shocking everyone. This was Hoopa's way of getting serious and no other form in Pokemon history screamed 'Getting Serious' as much as this one. "Sweet Celestia..." Gazing at the sight of this titan of a Pokemon made Cloudchaser shudder. Her friend Flitter had a larger reaction after witnessing Hoopa's true form, almost passing out. "They're right...Big things do come in small sizes..." Hilda commented. "I've never seen Hoopa's other form until now." "Now you wanna agree on that metaphor?" Hilbert replied as Hoopa was loving what he was hearing. Specifically, the sounds of everyone gawking at his new form. Hearing this not only brought validity to the Mischief Pokemon who was now a Psychic-Dark-Type, but it fueled him with joy. "Man...You really went into it, huh, Hoopa?" Ash gawked, raising his hat. "But are you okay in that form?" "Hoopa's fine! Hoopa is stronger this way!" Hoopa Unbound bellowed with his new voice which had a gruff and deeper tone to it, in contrast to his playful and high-pitched voice. "Hoopa can do anything!" "But can you defeat me?" Bertha added. "You seem highly confident in that form. More-so than usual." "Hoopa can beat anyone!" "Alright then. Let's keep going, Hoopa! Hyperspace Hole! Or should I say..Hyperspace Fury" Ash continued the battle, commanding Hoopa's Unbound form and giving everyone the treat of witnessing this form of Hoopa battle. Hoopa Unbound formed six of his rings around Hippowdon, forcing the Heavyweight Pokemon to look in various directions. Bertha was on high-alert as now Hoopa was using more rings than he usually does. With his Unbound Form, his Hyperspace Hole had changed into Hyperspace Fury. "Hippowdon! Dig!" "Hippo!" The best thing to do was to avoid them. Hippowdon got to work, burrowing a hole. However, in this form, Hoopa had a greater speed increase than before as noted by the emergence of a fist. Hoopa landed one strike on Hippowdon's face, halting his burrowing process, preventing him from going underground. Hoopa then repeatedly struck Hippowdon with not one, not two, but six of his fists through the rings, while watching the Heavyweight Pokemon through one of them, just to make sure he had him in his sights. Hippowdon was forced away from the hole as he was juggled via Hoopa's fists. The Mischief Pokemon wouldn't allow him to even touch the ground once. "Crunch!" "H-Hippo!" Hippowdon used this chance to bite on Hoopa's hands once more. With his mouth wide open, he managed to find an opening biting down on Hoopa's hands. "That doesn't hurt Hoopa as much anymore!" But now that he was a Psychic-Dark-Type in this form, Hoopa resisted it thanks to his Dark Typing. After tanking it, Hoopa launched Hippowdon away, releasing his grip on his fists. So far, Hoopa was already showing the massive increase in strength in his Unbound Form. "Good stuff, Hoopa! Use Shadow Ball next!" "Hippowdon! Iron Head!" "Pow!" Hippowdon wouldn't go down so easily, as to be expected from Bertha's Ace Pokemon. Upon witnessing the arrival of Shadow Ball, Hippowdon fought back by pulling his head back, hardening it with the might of Iron. Once Shadow Ball was thrown his way, Hippowdon, with brute force alone, not only managed to counter Shadow Ball, but even repel it back to Hoopa. "Hm?!" Hoopa's eyes widened as he was smacked in the face by his own attack. Once again, he was no longer weak to Ghost-Type attacks after gaining the Dark Typing, but that didn't mean that any attack that came his way wouldn't hurt. Getting smacked in the face by his own attack certainly made him growl. "For such a big target, I'll need an easier time hitting him. Return, Hippowdon." Bertha chose to return Hippowdon for a bit until he was needed again. "Go, Whiscash!" "Whiscash!" Whiscash had returned in substitute for Hippowdon. Whiscash certainly had some extra speed going for her in comparison to Hippowdon. It wasn't much, but it'll do. "Earthquake!" "Cash!" Whiscash started off strong as the goal was to take down Hoopa Unbound before things get worse for Bertha. A large barrage of golden shockwaves was a potential option as they came rushing in after Whiscash slammed her entire body on the ground. "They're coming in hard, Hoopa! Protect!" "Hoopa doesn't need to defend! Hoopa can take on anything!" Suddenly, Hoopa denied using Protect. His hubris was starting to show, radiating pride to the point where he felt confident in tackling Earthquake head-on. "Eh?" Ash was stunned by that response. So was everyone else since Hoopa was vocal about it. Hoopa faced the golden pillars, flexing his muscles as he decided to take the attack directly. The result was an eruption of energy from the impact which engulfed Hoopa. "Hoopa!" "What was he thinking?!" Flitter covered her eyes, shaking them in disappointment. "This is the Pokemon that beat us?" Cloudchaser sighed. "Haha!" But, Hoopa wasn't bragging at all. He immediately blew away the dust, not allowing it to settle. He did indeed take the attack head-on and come out still conscious, stunning everyone as he led out a proud laugh. "See?! Hoopa told you!" "Yeah, but you still took the damage, blockhead." Hilda lowered her eyes, already having enough of Hoopa's new personality. "That's the kind of confidence we love to see!" Hilbert had a differing opinion as he teared up. Hoopa's hubris matched his, seeming identical even. "And I thought my Rapidash was stubborn. This is a new level of stubborn." Sci-Twi added before chuckling. She found this to be amusing. "Man...Guess it can't be helped." Ash shrugged. "But you gotta be careful, Hoopa. You're tougher in that form, but this an Elite 4 Member we're talking about. If we're not careful, we'll get slumped before we know it. Try and take less hits if that's okay." "Hoopa will try." Hoopa nodded in agreement. He'll try to do so but appearing tough was what his Unbound form thrived for more than anything. It was a sense of superiority, proving that he was the best. "Great stuff! Let's give Whiscash a multi-shot Shadow Ball!" "Let's see if that hubris of yours sticks around. Scald!" "Cash!" Whiscash fought back by using scalding hot water. Meanwhile, Hoopa used all six of his arms, summoning blobs of shadow from them. With all six Shadow Balls generated, he launched them all at once. Whiscash would have to find a way to deal with six different Shadow Balls. Luckily for Whiscash, she could. The size of Scald was large enough to cover two Shadow Balls. The stream of water pierced through two blobs but was quickly stopped by the remaining four. "Hyperspace Fury!" Ash thrust his fist repeatedly as a way to represent Hoopa's attack. Hoopadid just that, using his rings and his fist once more. This was Bertha's chance. A chance to capitalize. "Jump on those fists, Whiscash!" "Cash!" Whiscash had her chance. She couldn't use water to her advantage. With a mighty leap, she managed to land on one of Hoopa's fists after evading the first initial swing. ANd from there on, Whiscash would have all the advantages she needed so as long as Bertha made the right call. "Scald!" But Bertha always makes the right call when battling. "Whiscash!" Whiscash, while on Hoopa's fist, sprayed the Mischief Pokemon in the face with a scalding hot blast of water. "Gah!" Hoopa growled before using one of his hands to try and catch Whiscash. But this was all part of the plan. After the second fist came along, Whiscash hopped onto the next, spraying Hoopa again. A double whammy. First, Hoopa received a blast of hot water to the face and afterwards, he hit his own hand after failing to strike Whiscash yet again. Just as Bertha intended. She could already expose one weakness from Hoopa among many weaknesses. Irritation. Whiscash kept hopping an blasting from hand to hand each time Hoopa tried to catch her. "Grr! Stand still for Hoopa!" Hoopa furiously roared. "Hoopa! Let's switch it up! Use Psychic!" "Cash!" But before he could do so, Whiscash got uncomfortably close to Hoopa, blasting his face with water. This was the hottest so far as it was directly in his eyes too. And with that up-close blast, the additional effect of Sclad had kicked in. The Burn. Hoopa was lit ablaze suddenly once Scald's additional effect arrived. Due to his large body which was larger than any Pokemon in this room, the flames were massive, lighting everything up. It was the biggest Burn effect anyone had seen so far as Hoopa cried out. "Hoopa! Are you okay?!" Ash gasped. "Ugh..." Hoopa flew back, touching the ground instead of levitating as he held his head. "Hoopa can't be hurt like this..." "I know, Hoopa. But that's how it is sometimes in a Pokemon Battle." said Ash. "Hoopa can't lose to this Pokemon" Agitated, Hoopa's hand was on his face, growling at Whiscash. Whiscash had been giving him some huge problems already. But it wasn't the fact that Whiscash was being a problem, it was the fact that Whiscash, to many, was a standard Pokemon. "Hoopa's not facing a Legendary." "Hoopa?" Ash noticed that something was amiss. Mainly Meloetta, who hid behind Ash's leg. "Hoopa's the strongest...!" "Hoopa.Come back for now and take a rest. Pikachu and the others can handle things from here." Ash chose to return Hoopa, seeing that he had taken some damage and was now suffering from a burn effect. "Ashkan will be down a few Pokemon because of Hoopa." Hoopa continued before raising his body. Right now, not only was he thinking about how a standard Pokemon like Whiscash was embarrassing him but he also thought about how this would impact Ash's chances. "Hoopa can't let that happen!" Hoopa took action. It was out of the goodness of his heart but perhaps not the best option. By using his ring, he was ready to mess with space once more as everyone wondered what was going on. And without wasting any time, Hoopa already found someone. The goal was to increase Ash's chances and the best way to do that in Hoopa's opinion was to bring him another Pokemon. But no one expected which Pokemon to emerge. Appearing from the ring was a certain serpentinte-shaped Pokemon that resembled a missile. Green and red in various parts and the guardian of the skies and Ozone layer. Everyone's eyes shot up as the Pokemon that is the most popular within the Hoenn Region had emerged. "I-I-Is that?!" A woman in the crowd gasped as her pupils shrunk. Everyone recognized this Pokemon immediately as they couldn't believe their eyes. Altogether, they shouted out one name. "Rayquaza!" "What's all that noise?" Elsewhere in the Battle Carnival, Rainbow Dash was still having her battle with Cadence and Shining Armor. Their battle had a smaller crowd after learning about Bertha's presence. The sound from Bertha's battle was already reaching here, especially when Rayquaza showed up. "Don't get distracted! Moonblast, Sylveon!" Cadence cried out. "Oh! Braviary, hit it back wth Superpower!" "Braviary!" Braviary's talons lit up as he smashed them onto Moonblast. The force of Braviary's hit had sent the ball rocketing back to Sylveon, blowing up around her. "Sy-Sylveon!" Sylveon was struck by her own attack before being sent flying from the explosion. "I gotcha! Aegislash, Sacred Sword!" Shining Armor chimed in as Aegislash flew to Sylveon's side. By using his shield, he managed to catch the Intertwining Pokemon. And as for Sacred Sword, he could mult-task coating his bladed body in an orange light. "I don't think so! Brave Bird, go! Gengar, Shadow Ball!" "Viary!" Braviary and Ash's Gengar worked side by side with Braviary flying ahead. Two blobs of shadows followed him as he clashed directly with Aegislash's Sacred Sword. The clash was heavy, but this allowed Braviary to keep Aegislash in one place, allowing the Shadow Balls to appear. "Aegis?!" Aegislash gasped as the two Shadow Balls flew past Braviary, crashing into the Royal Sword Pokemon. Just as planned. A super-effective blow, one that launched Aegislash back, dropping SYlveon in the process. "Catch him, Sylveon!" "Syl!" Sylveon repaied the favour by catching Aegislash with her ribbons. But much like before, it would all come crashing down now that they were both in one spot. "Now! Brave Bird! Charge in!" "Vi!" Braviary took advantage of this. Once they were in one spot, he came charging in at full force, smashing his blazing body into both of them. Braviary managed to get a double strike, sending the two of them crashing. Braviary suffered massive recoil damage but it was all worth it. Sylveon and Aegislash simultaneously crashed into the bumper cars before then dropping to the floor. All that reecoil was worth as that did the trick. Both Braviary and Aegislash had fainted, granting Rainbow Dash the victory. "Finally! That took forever!" Rainbow Dash groaned after claiming victory. For her, this battle felt like it went on forever. And that was mainly because of an outside force they couldn't control. The Witch. "Aw...We lost." Cadence went over to Sylveon. "Oh, well. It was bound to happen eventually. It only took two days for that happen. Great work Sylveon. "Great work to you too, Aegislash." But this closure wouldn't last. While the battle was over, the sounds from the other battle were still ever-present. Rumbling even came through, echoing across this room. "What is that?" "It sounds like a Dragon..." Sylveon added. "Maybe someone Mega Evolved their Dragon-Type. Possibly." "It's getting pretty noticeable too." said Rainbow Dash. "Just what's going on with those other battles?" "Rayquaza?!" Everyone gasped as the Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza had emerged, in all its glory. Naturally, Rayquaza was equally as confused as everybody here. The appearance of the Sky High Pokemon was not planned by anyone except for Hoopa, who brought it here. Rayquaza looked around for a bit emanating a crimson glow in its eyes. That glow meant one thing. It was fully under Hoopa's control. Since Hoopa summoned Rayquaza, he had full control of the Sky High Pokemon with ease. There wasn't even a struggle involved. If Hoopa wanted to show off how powerful he was, this was a good example of that strength. "Lucky! You're gonna have Rayquaza on your team!" Hilbert exclaimed, seeing this as a positive. "No way..." But Ash thought otherwise. This looked to be a repeat of the past. "Hoopa, wait!" "Hoopa can't lose!" After summoning Rayquaza, Hoopa stated how he can never lose. And being embarrassed by Whiscash only increased his drive to say that but also annoyed him. Bertha observed Hoopa's new actions, seeing how this battle overall was changing him. "Hoopa won't lose!" Immediately, without Ash's command, Hoopa had swung his fists towards Whiscash, focusing all of his frustration on this one Pokemon who was simply doing her best to keep Bertha in the game. "Hm. Whiscash, dodge and use Scald!" "Cash!" By raising her body, leaping into the air, Whiscash performed yet another successful jump. And yet again, Hoopa received a scalding hot blast to the body. Speaking of which, the burn effect was also adding to Hoopa's agitation. Never before had he experienced this kind of feeling. After missing and receiving a hit once again, Hoopa's anger rose. And in response, he had Rayquaza take action. Rayquaza flew further out of the ring, revealing its entire body. Luckily, the Battle Carnival was big enough to fit them both in miraculously. "This is getting out of hoof, don't you think?" Pinkie Pie scrunched her face. "Hoopa stop!" Ash cried out as his voice tried to reach Hoopa. But his voice wasn't working as Hoopa and Rayquaza were both on the offensive. Whiscash was now a major target as the movement of Rayquaza was enough to cause wind pressures within this room. Everyone was almost forced out of their seats as Rayquaza's tail came crashing down. The impact of Rayquaza's tail hitting the floor caused a tremor while Whiscash was simply jumping around to try and survive at this point. The crowd weren't sure how to feel about this. While it was entertaining, some danger was forming from this. The area trembled as there were even cracks forming on the wall from Rayquaza and Hoopa's movements. Ash looked around, knowing that if this continued, it could be a repeat to what happened with Hoopa years ago. That couldn't happen again and he promised Baraz and Meray that it wouldn't. "Alright. We've got our options. Meloetta. Do what you do best." Ash said to Meloetta, putting his faith in her. "Melo!" Meloetta nodded in agreement. If there was one thing Meloetta specialized in, it was the ability to soothe others with her voice. That was what Ash was banking on, however there were other options. "Melo~" Meloetta began a melody specifically meant to reach Hoopa. As Hoopa managed to finally grab Whiscash with one of his hands, ready to smash the Whiskers Pokemon into the floor, that's when Meloetta's voice came through. Hoopa paused to listen to this voice and all of its harmonic bliss. Hoopa looked dup as the singing was enough to attract everyone within the room. They couldn't help but listen to it. Meloetta was controlling Hoopa's emotions right now with her beautiful voice, singing a song of comfort that only Pokemon would understand but everyone else could feel. A soothing aura came across this room. "Hey, Twi. Can you hold the pendant up for a bit?" Ash then went over to Sci-Twi, focusing on the Arceus Pendant. That was another option he was going to utilize. "Oh, sure." By holding it up, moments later after it radiated a golden light, Victini had placed his hand on the pendant. By doing so, Victini added some of his endless power into the pendant, allowing it to not only shine brighter but direct it towards Hoopa. The combination of Arceus' light and Meloetta's voice halted the Mischief Pokemon, lowering his grip on Whiscash. Then, Ash's voice finally came through, causing Hoopa to turn around. "Hoopa. We don't wanna go through that again, do we?" said Ash. "You've already conquered that part of yourself, so let's make sure it doesn't get out of hand anymre, okay?" "Ashkan..." Hoopa commented before calming down. The soothing sounds and auras were just enough to bring serenity. Hoopa's crimson glow within his eyes had faded away as well as Rayquaza's. Everyone watched in awe as Ash had quickly put a stop to a potential disaster. If this never happened, the worst possible scenario could've happened all because Hoopa couldn't successfully hit one Pokemon. Rayquaza, feeling a bit dazed, ascended, flying back into the ring that was still active and out there. The Sky High Pokemon didn't even want to think about what was going on. The only thing on its mind was leaving to where it originally passed through. And of course, the influence of Hoopa sent it away. Speaking of Hoopa, upon calming down, he suddenly dropped to the floor, fainting. His impact was fairly heavy from his size increase as that was enough to take the Psychic-Dark-Type out surprisingly. It wasn't an attack that did him in, though the Burn effect was another catalyst. "Hoopa is unable to battle! Whiscash wins!" There it was, Hoopa was down and out in his Unbound form. And right afterwards, everyone started applauding. For Hoopa specifically. Applauds for Hoopa came flooding through as they all rather enjoyed what they witnessed, despite what could've been. "Why are they clapping?" Hoopa groaned. "Hoopa lost...so they're clapping at Hoopa's loss." "No, Hoopa. They're clapping because of the show you put on." Ash reassured him, kneeling to face Hoopa's level. "You may have almost lost it there, but they're all clapping for all the cool stuff you did. You showed them a Legendary Pokemon. Especialy one that's the most popular in this region." "Really?" "Really. You may have lost, but you impressed everyone. From summoning Rayquaza and turning into this form. You know how to leave an impression Hoopa." Ash's words already brought solace to the Mischief Pokemon. Even if a Pokemon is aggressive and twice his size, Ash could handle it either way. "Next time we battle, let's do it with full control, okay?" "Okay. Hoopa won't lost next time. For Ashkan." Hoopa gave his promise before then diminishing into his Confined Form. Wth the darkness leaving his body, the Confined Form of Hoopa was returning. From his small and cute appearance to his squeaky yet appealing voice. The applauds still came through just for Hoopa before slowly ending. "Hm. Well...it was a great idea to have you team-up with Hoopa, Ash." Bertha commented. "Had it been anyone else, I doubt they would've solved this problem." "Thanks, Bertha. I've always gotta look out for my friends." Ash held Hoopa in his hands like a baby. "Twilight. Take care of Hoopa, okay?" "Gotcha." He referred to Princess Twilight as she used her magic to carry the Mischief Pokemon with her. Hoopa was out of the picture for this battle. "Alright. Let's finish things from here." Ash adjusted his gloves as the battle was still ongoing. "After this, let's take Hoopa somewhere to kick back and relax. Unova's PokeStar Studios sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?" "Agreed." Bertha nodded in agreement. "Now then...Bring out your next friend." "You got it! Pikachu! I choose you!" "Pika!" Pikachu was up next. His tried and true partner as he stood in front of Ash, staring down the Water-Ground-Type. Pikachu would take care of things from here. "Hang on! Pikachu won't do a thing to Whiscash! Or any of Bertha's Pokemon! So why'd he send him out?" Sci-Twi wondered, confused by Ash's decision. Others were just as confused. This seemed like a poor decision as Pikachu's strongest attacks won't even budge any of Bertha's Pokemon. "Just watch uh...me." Twilight flew over while holding Hoopa. "This is Ash's speciality. Overcoming weaknesses." "Aw...I wanted Hoopa to go on. Think of the publicity if he brought in more Legendary Pokemon." Meanwhile, the owner of the Battle Carnival was rather disappointed that Hoopa didn't bring any more Pokemon in. "Oh well. This'll make my carnival popular either way. Battle continue!" "Let's rock, Pikachu! Quick Attack!" "Meet it with Zen Headbutt, Whiscash!" The battle between Ash and Bertha would continue from here and soon reach its climax. A surprising showcase by Hoopa had ust come and gone. No one expected his Unbound Form to appear and neither the appearance of Rayquaza. All the more better for the crowd. The battle between the Alola Champion and the Sinnoh Elite 4 Member would rage on until one of them emerges victorious. And after this, it was sweet peaceful times as the journey continues. Chapter 880 End.