Sinnoh. Lake Verity. Afternoon.
Over at Lake Verity, the process of finishing this new Luna-based Sea Temple Crystal was still ongoing. Luna waited patiently with the People of the Water while also meeting with the Emotion Pokemon Mesprit. As for Mesprit, it ended up splitting Nightmare Moon from Luna simply by giving the Moon Princess a tap on the head.
Nightmare Moon was restrained, unable to move thanks to Luna's magical chains around her hooves. They even restricted her from using any magic.
"Oooh. So that's why?" Luna spoke to Mesprit as the Emotion Pokemon finally communicated with her. Luna requested to know why Mesprit would do this and that answer would be given out at this moment. "You split me and Nightmare Moon apart because I haven't overcome her yet."
"And you never will!" Nightmare Moon bellowed, still trying to break free.
"I don't understand though. Lunar Ire is proof that I overcame Nightmare Moon." Luna shrugged. "I shouldn't have much to worry about now. Should I?"
"Mes-Mes." However, Mesprit disagreed. It wanted to give Luna a warning that she couldn't ignore.
"Nightmare Moon could appear again because of future events?" Luna translated. "Hm-hm. I understand."
"What does that mean, Princess Luna?" Alo and the People of the Water slid over, curious about their conversation.
"It seems that Nightmare Moon will only stay around unless I solve something that could happen in the future. The problem is...I'm not sure what it could be." Luna grumbled. "It could be anything. I already have to deal with this Galaxy Master issue. And then there is the looming threat of the Dread League along with Universe 11. Either one of those scenarios can bring out the worst. Which could it be, Mesprit?"
"Mesprit." But Mesprit didn't have the answer to that. It could only tell Luna about how Nightmare Moon could return. Luna showing up to Lake Verity could be considered a stroke of luck. Just as Luna pondered about what could cause Nightmare Moon to return, a dazzling flash of light came from the lake.
Everyone's attention steered towards the lake as this light greatly resembled that of Arceus. It shot so high up that it even touched the clouds, piercing them.
"Ah! It's finished!" Alo exclaimed as at last, the new crystal had been completed. Immediately, it emerged from the lake after its completion, no longer submerged. A new crystal had been completed with the sole purpose of reversing another crystal's effect.
"All this is just for Galaxy Master." Luna pulled out the crystal from the lake, holding it up with her magic."With this, I can possibly undo the creation of his existence. Fairly terrifying, now that I think about it. But...I've been thinking about what to truly do about Galaxy Master."
"Isn't the goal the same, Princess Luna?" A maiden questioned.
"Well, this crystal is merely the ace-in-the-hole. After what Darkrai shared with me, I've had some time to think about what to do next. But anyway, thank you all for sharing this idea with me. And Mesprit. I feel glad to have met you."
"Mesprit."
"Ahem. What about me? You don't think keeping me here forever will change things, will it?" Nightmare Moon chimed in, disgruntled that she had little to do.
"Mesprit brought you out of me for a reason. As much as I hate to see you again, I've yet to overcome what I'm truly feeling inside. That's definitely the reason why Mesprit came to me. It sensed the emotions that I was harbouring and how they could spring out of control yet again. Right now, you're separate from me so...You'll be under my watch."
"A pony as big as me?" Nightmare Moon chuckled. "I'm as tall as Celestia. I'm the picture-perfect pony that you wanted to be. Shortie."
"Don't call me short...! I'm just a small grower compared to my sister...!" Luna grumbled as Nightmare Moon struck a nerve. It was to be expected. Nightmare Moon was Luna so she knew everything about Luna. Especially her insecurities.
"Either way, it doesn't matter what this creature tells you or does. You already accepted Lunar Ire and as much as I hate to say it, she's far more powerful than I am. So why not accept me as well?" Nightmare Moon continued. "It'll happen one day anyway."
"Pfft. You wish. Either way, I can't let you roam around freely. Surely, there has to be a way to send you back inside."
Luna approached her alternate self, knowing that keeping Nightmare Moon out in the open was prone to cause some issues. Was there a way to keep her hidden? There was. And Luna soon found it out the moment she decided to touch Nightmare Moon.
Luna felt an instant adrenaline rush through her body. Her coat and mane flew the other way as if she was being pulled by gravity. Nightmare Moon felt the same way, having a terrifying grimace. In a flash, Nightmare Moon re-entered Luna's body and much to Luna's horror, she witnessed it happen.
The intense pressure came to an abrupt halt without dying down as Luna's body stayed static. She couldn't believe what just happened. The shock factor was still kicking in for her too. She needed to process it as even the aftermath was stunning to her body. Luna just stayed there for a bit before moving via wobbling.
"Are you alright, Princess Luna?" Alo asked.
"I'll be...fine. At least I know that Nightmare Moon is still within me." Luna held her head before exhibiting the aura of Nightmare Moon from her horn. An entity she thought she got rid of was now visible to her once more. Straying away from Nightmare Moon in her mind, she focused on the specialized Crystal, focusing on what mattered more right now. "I have more impressing matters to take care of."
Sinnoh. Solaceon Town. Solaceon Town Contest Hall. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Over at the Contest Hall, the battle stage of the Pokemon Contest had occurred with only 4 coordinators qualifying. Livadi, the former Team Plasma Grunt, managed to succeed in that stage just so she could have the chance to battle Princess Celestia.
Some would say she won with flying colours, using her Malamar and Klefki. As for Celestia, her options ranged from Gardevoir, Reshiram, Kommo-o and Arcanine. This time, she toned it down. Instead of using Reshiram again, she ended up using Arcanine.
"Arcanine! Flare Blitz! Passion, Plasma Bolt!"
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would charge in, emanating the blazing aura of Flare Blitz while approaching his two opponents, who ended up being Solrock and Frost Rotom.
"Garde...Voir!" Assisting Arcane was Passion had unleashed Plasma Bolt by combining Mystical Fire and Thunderbolt to replicate this 4th element. The blast of plasma met with Arcanine, adding to his Flare Blitz Aura. The combination of Flare Blitz and Plasma Bolt created a beautiful shine that Arcanine carried.
But instead of crashing right into his opponents, the Legendary Pokemon ran circles around them, creating a loop that was formed by the energies of Fire and Plasma. There were even golden sparks within them. Right after looping around Rotom and Solrock, the energy let out a dazzling outburst that engulfed both Pokemon.
The aftermath was a Red and Blue flash of energy, representing both energies. That combination did the trick. Not only did it earn Celestia some points but after the flashes died down, Solrock and Rotom both fainted, granting Celestia the victory.
"That's all she wrote! Princess Celestia takes this one!" Marian announced as the crowd had noticeably louder cheers just for Princess Celestia. They chose to respect royalty to their fullest even if Celestia wanted no favours.
Livadi expected this. By watching from the waiting room, she wasn't surprised by this at al. If anything, after seeing Celestia's performance in the first stage, it was already clear to her that Sun Princess would have the capabilities to advance to the next round and claim victory. Livadi never doubted Celestia even before she started performing. And to think this was only Celestia giving Contests a quick try instead of making it a full-time goal.
But while Livadi was about to prepare herself for her battle with Celestia, walking up to her was Cynthia, who was tagging along with Celestia in her exploration across the Pokemon World.
"Cynthia. What business do you have with me?" Livadi asked before facing Cynthia. "Unless you already know about me? In which case, I'm glad about that. I'm getting some nice notoriety."
"I do know who you are. I've been noticing your actions over the past months. I'm just wondering what's your angle here?" Cynthia questioned. "You have access to magic. Equestrian Magic to be exact."
"I'm still working around it." Livadi shrugged. "Equestrian Magic is simple to use and learn but has so many complexities that make me work a bit harder than I'd like to. And don't worry about what I've done previously. As a former Team Plasma Grunt, my criminal days are slowly dying out. Can't a girl take a break with a contest?"
"Hm. You're only here to be in the Pokemon Contest. Can that be true?"
"Don't doubt me, please. Besides...there's a reason I haven't been turned in yet." Livadi chuckled before backing up, leaving Cynthia with a foreboding question. "Time for me to go and grant a Princess her first major loss~"
The final round of the Solaceon Town Pokemon Contest was here. Competing for that ribbon, both Celestia and Livadi would approach the stage. But not before Celestia went through the process of bringing Reshiram in once more. Reshiram re-ented the stage after being pulled in. His entire body took up most of the stage, making him a big target but some could say he was a massive obstacle for any contest moves.
"Time for the final round! Princess Celestia vs Livadi! Whoever wins this gets the Solaceon Town Ribbon without having to wait for a few months just to participate in another contest! Such are the benefits of the Pokemon Festival.
"Go, Princess Celestia!" Premium Polish stood up as she and other ponies within the crowd were cheering for their benevolent ruler. But even Livadi had her fans who cheered for her as well.
"Well, this is the last one. Let's enjoy ourselves, okay?" Celestia said with a smile on her face.
"I'll be enjoying myself only. I came here to win. You simply came here just to have fun, your majesty." Livadi taunted, making Passion growl. She was getting tired of Livadi insulting her trainer constantly.
"Well, yes. I did. I'm not doing this full-time. I just wanted to try out the contests for a bit." Celestia chuckled, revealing just how carefree she was feeling. With all this freedom, it doesn't matter what happens next. I'll be leaving here satisfied."
"Hmph." Livadi scoffed as her taunts were not reaching Celestia at all. She was completely immune to them. "You're the princess for a reason. Nothing gets past you."
"That's not true." Celestia shook her head in disapproval. "I may not look like it...but truth be told, I've had many things in my century-long existence get past me. And on top of that...I know what it's like to experience great loss."
"Hm?"
"Not in battle, but through my entire life. Being an alicorn may seem amazing and a princess on top of that, but these benefits come with great losses." Celestia closed her eyes, deciding to take some time to speak with Livadi. Everyone kept quiet just for Celestia's speech as the battle hadn't begun yet. "Living for so long means that you get to meet so many new friends from all walks of life. But...that also means you experience more losses than many do. Many of my friends from the past have come and gone. And some of them, I barely knew because of my role as a Princess. I wished to play with them in the playground, participate in plays, get into childish squabbles. All the things a child should experience. But I never got that chance. I know what it's like to experience a colossal loss. But because of the losses I've experienced, I've grown from them."
Reshiram approved greatly as Passion nodded her head in absolute joy from what Celestia was spouting. While she was now the Embrace Pokemon, she could still feel emotions either way.
"Losing so many in my life was an existential revelation that my young self couldn't accept. Sometimes, I wished I never had the blessings of an alicorn. But through the years, my growth has changed that. And even better, thanks to the Meteors from Meteor Mountain, I can reunite with my friends. Which is why that seeing so much in each world can bring some form of joy. Who cares if you win or lose as long as there's something out there to make it better?"
"Tch. Well...I can't say much about that, luckily for you." Livadi sighed as Celestia had defeated her argument entirely. And with such a soft tone too. Premium Polish bawled out oily tears while many others applauded Celestia after taking the time to listen to her speech. That's why she was the Ruler of an entire Nation. Apart from Mayor Mare, she knew just how to give a speech. "Anyway! Let's get started! Malamar! Klefki! Go!"
"Malamar!"
"Klefki!" Malamar and Klefki had been sent out as Livadi wanted to get to the battle already. She heard enough.
"You have some experience with Malamar, don't you?" Livadi got her last words in before starting the battle. "Let's hope that doesn't drag you down, your majesty."
"Okay, girls! We've had a heartwarming comment so now it's time to perform! Let the final stage begin!" Marian gave the call for the battle to start.
"We'll start off strong, you two! Reshiram, use Dragon Pulse! Passion! Follow up with Psychic!" Celestia bared her arms and fangs out as if she was a dragon, once again using her motions to battle. Reshiram shot a Dragon Pulse into the air, sending a massive dragon-shaped blast into the air.
After that, it was Passion's cue. By using Psychic, she wrapped a pink Psychic aura around the azure dragon blast, manipulating it. Passion now had full control of the dragon as she brought it her way. And thanks to her immunity to Dragon-Type attacks, what happened next was stunning.
"Gardevoir!" Passion jumped on the Dragon, taking a ride on it whilst manipulating it with Psychic. And thanks to the absolute size of Reshiram's Dragon Pulse, it looked like Passion was riding a real Dragon as it raced towards Malamar and Klefki.
"Amazing! She's taking a ride on the Dragon!" Marian commented. "Being immune to Dragon-Types has its benefits in certain scenarios! We just have to keep finding those specific scenarios."
"Impressive! But, what will you do against this?! Shadow Ball!"
"Malamar, use Rain Dance on yourself! Klefki, Flash Cannon!"
"Malamar!" Suddenly, Malamar began spinning on spot, using Rain Dance as the clouds gathered up with a darkened appearance. However, Rain Dance would be utilized in a new way. Before that, it was revealed that this entire time, there was a hatch on top of the hall that opened up.
This entire time, Reshiram could've flown through there instead of the walls. But the walls were certainly more fun to look at and it was too late to go back. However, once those droplets of rain came crashing down, instead of hitting the floor, they gravitated towards Malamar, orbiting him.
Soon, Malamar used the showers of Rain Dance to create a water whirlpool around his body, shocking everyone. This was certainly new and fresh.
"Surprised?! I could only pull this off by injecting Malamar with some Equestrian Magic. And it works so many wonders." Livadi chuckled as this was only possible with Equestrian Magic within Malamar. "But I'm sure that someone out there can make it work without magic. Go, Klefki!"
"Klefki!" As for Klefki, it chimed in by using Flash Cannon, targeting Malamar. The beam of light energy met with Malar's Rain Dance Tornado, gravitating towards it as well. And the moment it did, the energies from Flash Cannon were scattered everywhere thanks to Malamar's rapid movements.
"V-Voir!" Passion was struck by these sparks of energy that were sent everywhere. Not only did it send beautiful lights everywhere, but the constant barrage of sparks knocked the Embrace Pokemon off the giant dragon with super-effective hits. Reshiram received some blows as well from the rampant sparks. But even though they struck him, he resisted it and barely even moved from the same spot.
"Ah! Passion!" Celestia gasped as Passion dropped to the floor. As for the giant Dragon, it was no longer being controlled by Gardevoir. But Celestia had a second option. "Reshiram is only allowed to 4 moves...so out of his massive arsenal, I chose to use Extrasensory!"
There was a backup. Being that Reshiram had an access to various moves that he could use in any quantity, for this contest, he could only use 4. And Celestia picked the right one to use too. To make up for the loss of Psychic, Reshiram would use another Psychic attack to keep the momentum going.
Dazzling gold energy started to form around him, resulting in his body to become encased and dressed in a sun-like golden aura. He then opened his wing-arms as three rings of rainbow-coloured energy came bursting out of his body all around him. As the rings of energy expand, they left behind that multi-coloured aura, mixing it with Dragon Pulse. This expulsion of energy allowed Dragon Pulse to keep its momentum while adding power to it.
The sparks of Flash Cannon had been obliterated by the giant Dragon before then crashing into Malamar. It managed to overpower his Rain Dance tornado, obliterating it. The impact of the attack was even strong enough to push Klefki away thanks to its light body. "M-Malamar!"
"Klef!"
"Nice reversal there!" Mariam cheered. "Keeping the momentum with Extrasensory helped out! That Rain Dance Tornado is all but gone now as each Pokemon have traded hits now!"
"Hmph! This isn't all! Flamethrower, Malamar! Klefki, use Secret Power!"
"Klefki!" Thanks to what Malamar had summoned, Secret Power would react to the rain, switching to a Water-Type attack. Out of Klefki's body, an orb of water had encased it with Malamar adding to that. By breathing out flames from its mouth, the scarlet flames were layered over Klefki's body. Thanks to Rain Dance, all Fire-Type attacks had been weakened, allowing Klefki to be fine when Flamethrower was around its Water Orb. "Ki!"
After gaining this second layer of energy, Klefki then unleashed both of them. Two streams were sent out. Fire and Water as they spiralled around each other to form a helix.
"Two can play at that game! Thunderbolt and Dazzling Gleam!" Celestia crossed her arms, using her magic to replace the two elements in her hands.
"Gardevoir!" Passion would respond to this accordingly. By crossing her arms, Passion had two different attacks ready. On her right, Thunderbolt and on her left, Dazzling Gleam. With full force, Gardevoir smashed them both against the dual streams. Thunderbolt met with the stream of water whilst Dazzling Gleam clashed with Flamethrower. Passion would try and hold them back as the electric current ran through the water, reaching Klefki.
"K-Klefki!" It didn't help that Klefki's body was also made out of metal, making it a conducted as the electricity began throwing its balance off course. There was also Dazzling Gleam which sent rapid rainbows to pierce through the flames.
"I think not! Malamar! Night Slash!"
"Mala!" Along came Malamar to distract Passion, leaping into the air with dark-coated arms.
"Now's your cue, Reshiram! Fusion Flare!" Celestia roared, expanding a golden magic from her body. Now it was time for Reshiram to do the same but with a staggering amount of fire.
Reshiram did it exactly how Celestia envisioned it. Instead of unleashing it from his mouth, he used the energy from his body. The result was a bright flash of light so immense it could rival the sun. The flash of light had completely caught Malamar off guard, blinding him. Reshiram and his sun-covered body, ascended to the top, reaching the skies.
Everyone else wasn't affected by the light as it was only Malamar. Once Reshiram reached the skies, he made the flare bigger and brighter than before. And this vast expanse of energy ended up obliterating the rain that fell from above, affecting the skies themselves.
"Brighter! Break those grey skies, Reshiram!" The clouds parted, giving way to the sun's rays. Everyone watched in awe as Reshiram majestically brought back the sunlight with his power alone. He even looked like a second sun up there.
"Now, Passion! Plasma Bolt!"
"Gardevoir!" Passion wasn't even close to her full strength. Her eyes flashed gold before then switching from Dazzling Gleam to Mystical Fire, fighting fire with fire. But her fire was greater. With pure power alone, she managed to pull in her two attacks, merging them by clapping her hands. With this combination, Passion had summoned Plasma once more.
And with Plasma being the greater element here, not only did it obliterate the water and fire shield but the plasma scattered to the point where it reached Malamar. Livadi gasped as both her Pokemon were shocked by Pure Plasma. But there was one final flash of action coming.
Reshiram.
He then absorbed the flames around his body as if he was a vacuum, sucking them back up into his mouth. Now it was time to use Fusion Flare in the proper way. Reshiram fired a large sphere of flames with two rings surrounding it from his mouth at both of them. When the sphere struck, it created a beautiful explosion instead of a violent one.
Rainbows Flames and Plasma emerged from the explosion, creating a brand new sight that many have never seen before. They all looked in awe with Livadi putting her eyes over her face, growling. Meanwhile, Celestia just looked unbothered, calm, cool and collected.
Once that beautiful amalgamation of energies ended, dissipating, the outcome had been revealed. After such a nice display of teamwork, Malamar and Klefki were both on the floor. They had fainted.
"Malamar..."
"Klefki..."
"That's it for Klefki and Malamar! Gardevoir and Reshiram claimed this victory! That means the winner of the Solaceon Town Pokemon Contest is Princess Celestia!"
"It was risky but it worked!" Celestia gleefully pranced over to them both. "Passion! Reshiram!"
"Gardevoir!" Happy that she granted Celestia her victory and satisfied that she got back at Livadi, Passion embraced Celestia as they both started hovering over the floor. Reshiram descended, putting on a smile. While he wasn't up for a hug, that smile said everything.
"I knew it! I knew it!" Premium Polish stood with thunderous applause coming across the hall. "That's my princess!"
"Hmph. I suppose I shouldn't have expected much." Livadi walked over, helping Malamar and Klekfi up. "You two did well."
"Livadi! Thank you for the battle.!" Celestia, showing good sportsmanship, thanked Livadi for a fun Contest Battle. "It was worth trying out Contests for the first time. I might give a swing at them again if I'm honest."
"Well...you've proved your point before this battle began in the first place." Livadi shrugged, returning her Pokemon. "I'll admit...I'm not too struck by this loss. But now I refuse to lose to anyone else since you defeated me. That'd just make me seem like a punching bag."
"Hahaha! Well, do your best to be ahead of the curve." The Sun Princess chuckled in response, seeing Livadi off. Their conversation didn't end in spite. Instead, some form of respect and mutual feeling had been born from this. All it took was a battle to solidify it.
"Your majesty! Now that you won, it's time for you to grab what you've earned!" Marian slid over, standing next to Reshiram just to get that sweet camera shot that'll be legendary for years. "
"Oh, right. There's a ribbon for these." Almost forgetting what the prize was, Celestia was too invested in the battle to even think about the ribbon until now.
Cynthia watched Celestia go up to the podium, ready t receive what was rightfully hers. But her eyes soon averted to Livadi, wondering where she would go from here. But the moment she tried to spot her, Livadi was gone. Cynthia gasped as the former Team Plasma Member left without a trace.
Mysterious indeed. And to Cynthia, it was probably the reason why Livadi mentioned how no one has caught her yet. But now that she attends contests, Cynthia has a good idea of where to look next time. Three weeks of investigation help support that.
"Princess Celestia. We are proud to grant the Solaceon Ribbon." Mr Contesta said as he, Sukizo and Nurse Joy stood next to the Ruler of Equestria with Nurse Joy getting excited to stand beside Royalty.
"Oooh." Celestia got a good look at the ribbons. Their appeal was now understandable. Whoever designs these ribbons knows how to make them dazzling.
"Very soon, the first ever Grand Festival over at Equestria will arrive." Mr Sukizo commented. "It'll be a Remarkable moment for all coordinators when it happens."
"And I'll be looking forward to seeing what they can all do," Celestia replied before looking at Premium Polish, trusting her to reach the Grand Festival as well. Even if it doesn't end up being the first, the second and the rest that follows suit will grant her that wish.
For now, this was another successful day for Princess Celestia and she was going to keep her stride going, especially as a human now as the journey continues.
Chapter 885 End.