//------------------------------// // A Beautiful Fate // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Magehold. Lich Queen Rosa's Castle. The dreaded land of Magehold. Hidden past the Hyperborean Island and somewhere around the Frozen North where vampires and skeletons reside. Over at her throne, Rosa Maledicta was already aware of what Opal had achieved. The power to change fate itself. Truly, a terrifying ability to have. It would fit perfectly at Magehold. "Well done, Opal. But...will your own weaknesses be your undoing?" Rosa said to herself. "I hope not. You never know what could stand in your way." Rosa knew that Opal wouldn't be unstoppable with this newfound power. Even if she had the power to change fate, there was always a weakness somewhere. It would only take someone to bypass it. All Rosa Maledicta hoped for was that Opal would surpass that. But her hubris might say otherwise. Alola. Poni Island. Poni Plains. Afternoon. "I can feel it...Is this what Bayleef feels?" Opal Vivacity had succeeded in one of her goals. She successfully achieved Bayleef's unique ability that only she could utilize. The power to change fate. And upon gaining it, Opal could already feel a stark difference within her. "I'll be honest. It feels lightyears better than my magic and that already felt glorious." "Bayleef! Are you alright?!" Fluttershy shook Bayleef, who was unconscious with non-existent pupils. Audino used Heal Pulse, trying to recover the Leaf Pokemon if possible in this shocking state. "Why you...!" Seeing Bayleef in such a state aggravated Applejack. While her friend was in pain, Opal Vivacity was busy giggling and enjoying the new ability she possessed. "Hmm...So, that grass dinosaur sacrificed her leaves to make this amazing power work." Opal pondered, focusing on the main crux of this ability. "I wonder what I have to sacrifice?" "You won't get that chance. I bet ya don't even know how to use that power!" Applejack bellowed. "Honey, I perfectly mimicked all your Goletts abilities. I think I'll be fine. But if you're so confident, why not test it out? Let's see what I can do." Cocky and confident to the core, Opal stood up in a bipedal position, spreading her front hooves as she was encouraging Applejack to attack her. "Gladly! Riolu, Dark Pulse!" Applejack was easily swayed due to the anger she was feeling. Just what Opal wanted. "Applejack, wait!" But knowing this, Fluttershy pleaded with Applejack not to attack. But it was too late. Riolu had already unleashed Dark Pulse. A turbulent pulse of darkness streamed over the blades of grass and all the rubble caused by this battle. Opal just stood there. Unbothered and not even showing signs of flinching, she was truly going to stand there and let the attack come her way. She had full faith in this newfound power of hers and with the diva that she was, showing off was the best way to try it out. "That does look like a sure-fire hit." said the vampire with a haughty voice. Dark Pulse was inches away from connecting as it looked like it would fully land without issue. "Too bad it didn't happen." That is when it happened. Opal Vivacity harnessed the power that she felt within for the first time, releasing it. And what was the catalyst? Much like how Bayleef had to sacrifice her leaves, Opal's mane had been sacrificed too. Four strands of hair came flying out before touching her next. Opal got to witness just what part of her body would lead to this ability setting off. And as to be expected, the second Dark Pulse got close enough, that's when fate had been altered in her favour. Instead of a silver flash, a jet-black burst went off, covering the area around Opal. And by warping space itself, the pulse of darkness had swayed to the other side, completely missing Opal. It didn't even graze her as the vampire casually stood there with a pompous, proud smirk whilst Dark Pulse blew up behind her. Applejack expected this but she truly didn't expect Opal to get a hang of it so easily. This one usage of this power was a grim reminder of what has been gained by Opal Vivacity. She was already terrifying in her own right. But this power only elevated that terror. "Yes...That's the look that I want to see!" Opal grinned, witnessing Applejack's absolute shock. Similar to the Sirens, the vampires enjoyed anything that was deemed negative as it was a positive to them, minus the absorption of magic. And in this case, seeing Applejack stunned was something that Opal hoped to see after the earth pony slowed her plans down. "Ain't that just great..." Applejack growled. "Don't worry. It's not like I'm completely passive about this. After all, I have my own Pokemon." Opal waved her hoof before revealing a Poke Ball. "Truth is, I would've never been out of options from the start. Go, Metagross!" "Metagross!" Emerging out of the Poke Ball was Metagross, surprisingly. The Iron Leg Pokemon had arrived. "As for the rest...can you continue?" Opal looked at the two demons that were assisting her. The Bandage Demon still had bandages to spare whilst the Typhoon Demon was weakened, showing signs of fatigue. "Hmph. Looks like one of you is nearing the end. But I need you to stay around just for the skies. No way we'll let the sun rays appear at all." "If you can use it from your hair, then all I gotta do is have you expend it." Applejack, despite fearing what she could pull with this power, knew that it came with a drawback, just like Bayleef's leaves. "Hope you're not too worried about going bald." "Pah. You mistake me for your fashionista friend." Opal Vivacity scoffed, having the perfect response. "Do you know why I'm so beautiful?" Just then, Opal flipped her mane, using her magic on it as a dark purple light emerged from her body, forcing Applejack and the others to squint. From that light, a silhouette of Opal's mane could be seen changing. Her mane extended, reaching a length that was as long as a Serperior. It even stood up, floating constantly as if she had the same ethereal energy as Celestia and Luna. Once the light vanished, they got to see the radical length change in Opal's mane. Despite being comically long, it was still elegant and fabulous. "It's because I'm always making sure I'm beautiful. And I have the magic to do so. So what was that about my mane expending? I never have to worry about going bald." "Me and my big mouth." Applejack sighed. "Whatever! Still worth a shot! Ya can't be quick enough to use it a lot of times. Sceptile, Frenzy Plant! Riolu, Dark Pulse!" "Scep...Tile!" By smashing his hands into the ground, Mega Sceptile had formed a massive array of roots that came charging out. Alongside those roots was Dark Pulse as the number of roots would be used just to try and outpace Opal. While the hair sacrifice was out of the question, Applejack knew that Bayleef needed to be fast to use her ability. Surely, the same applies to Opal Vivacity. "Why need speed when I have Metagross? Use Hammer Arm." Opal ordered before then causing eight strands of hair to fly out. It barely made a difference as her hair was so massive. The strands then touched Metagross who also knew exactly what to do thanks to its supercomputer brain. All it had to do was just stand there. Fate was changed. This time, with a time reversal. Time was rewound to the point where the attacks never happened. Frenzy Plant and Dark Pulse were sent back. But for Metagross, its movements were not reversed at all. Right as the attacks went back to their original users, the Iron Leg Pokemon came flying in with Hammer Arm, appearing in front of Riolu. "Rio!" Riolu was stunned as in the blink of an eye, Metagross was in front of him even though it was a matter of time being affected. Right after that, the Delta Variant was smashed by the force of the Hammer Arm, receiving super-effective damage in the process. "R-Riolu!" "Riolu, no!" Applejack gasped as Riolu was launched far by this blow. Next was Sceptile, who was soon targeted for Hammer Arm as well. "S-Sceptile! Thunder Punch!" "Tile!" Sceptile acted as quickly as he could. Luckily, he had the speed advantage here as he immediately blocked the incoming Hammer Arm with his bladed arms in the nick of time. It was a heavy clash despite how fast it was, sending sparks flying. But that wasn't all Sceptile had to worry about. The bandages were still a problem along with the weakened but still active Typhoon Demo. Coming his way were gusts of wind and those endless bandages that proved to be the most troublesome force here. Metagross made away for these attacks as the Forest Pokemon was struck by all of them. From being whipped and smacked by the bandages to receiving a strong knockback from the gust of winds, Sceptile was assaulted. "See? I've gotten the hang of it. I don't mean to be all cocky...wait, yes I do. I'm practically unbeatable now! So, what's stopping me from going all out? Metagross, Bullet Punch!" "Meta!" Metagross continued the assault once Sceptile was on the ground, heading for a high-speed blow. "Sceptile! Dodge it!" "T-Tile!" But that didn't happen. Metagross' Bullet Punch moved quick enough to prevent that as multiple steely blows were delivered to the Grass-Dragon-Type, staggering him constantly. And it wasn't just Metagross. The bandages chimed in, assaulting Sceptile yet again. Some of them were even starting to wrap around his body as the bandages were looking for another victim to control. "S-Scep! S-Sceptile!" "Sceptile, no!" Applejack bellowed with a shaky voice. There wasn't much she could do to stop this assault. But that didn't mean she was out of options. "Riolu!" "Rio...!" Riolu could barely stand. That Hammer Arm was too potent. Delta Riolu got on his knees, struggling to fully get up as he was catching his breath. If something wasn't done, Sceptile could be taken over. "Ah, never mind him." Opal suddenly walked past the demons and her Metagross, approaching Applejack. "You have to worry about yourself. As you already know, a vampire is stronger than the average pony. I can do my fair share of action and I doubt an Earth Pony can match me in strength. Aside from that, Fluttershy's still coming with me." "I ain't low on options! Golett!" Applejack called out for the rest of her Pokemon. The only problem was that those Golett were still occupied with the vampires underground. Right underground, the Golett were hoping to tire out the vampires with their constant movements underground, but alas, that never came to pass. The vampires didn't show a sign of tiring out as they eventually caught up to the Automaton Pokemon. And of course, the vampires had their own Pokemon to assist them in battle. "Expecting us to get tired? Sorry. But we have longer stamina than an average pony. Neat, right?" A vampire taunted one of the Golett. Golett...!" The Golett would find that this was getting a bit troublesome. But they could still hold their own. At that moment, that's when Applejack's voice rang through the underground, resonating with the Golett. "Gol?" All 10 of them heard that voice correctly. Applejack needed assistance above. They had to stop what they were doing underground just to help her. Postponing their battles with the vampires, the Golett then took mighty leaps but that didn't mean the vampires wouldn't follow them. This was now turning into a battle where the vampires were gaining favourable odds. All it took was the theft of one ability. Bursting out of the ground were all 10 of Applejack's Golett, here to defend their trainer like the bodyguards that they were as they gained some airtime upon emerging. "Oh?" Opal looked up with an unimpressed expression. Altogether, the Golett had used Shadow Punch in unison, attacking Opal Vivacity once they saw she was getting too close. But it wasn't just Opal. Some of these shadowy hands went for Metagross and the bandages. "I wonder...What if I did this?" Opal would test the boundaries of the Fate Changing Ability. She knew one thing that was clear to everyone. The second it touches any of its allies, any form of danger will be negated. But Opal had to wonder if she could redirect it. Now was the time to test that theory as she made multiple strands of her mane fly out. Some of them touched her while the rest touched the bandages and Metargoss. Fate was changed. But this time with a violent outcome. As the jet-black burst returned, space had been warped. Shadow Punch was one inch away from Opal, who didn't flinch at all, knowing that she wouldn't be the one to receive a shadowy blow. It would be the Golett. The Shadow Punches all flew back to Golett, hitting them back consecutively. They received super-effective hits from their own attacks which were unfavourable considering what they had to deal with the underground. "Gol-" Applejack was about to cry out the names of the Golett before having her mouth covered by the shadows. She forgot about another thing. Opal had also used the Parasite Demon to take the abilities of her Golett. This involved intangibility and control over spectral shadows as her mouth had been restrained by these shadows. "Can we all agree that I've won? I can't be touched. I can't be threatened and I certainly can't run out of options." Opal spread her wings menacingly before then shoving Applejack aside. Thanks to the stolen strength of the Golett, Applejack felt a tremor-like force affect her body, causing him to slide to the ground instead of traditionally falling over. "Audino...!" Audino looked to be that last line of defence at this moment as she held out her arms. But Opal knew this was pointless after she previously phased through Audino's Protect. "All that's left is you, Fluttershy. I wonder what Queen Rosa will think when I get back? I might finally be her most reliable pony. Yes...that's what'll happen. Her amazing magic and my power to change fate. No one can stop us. In fact...I can already guess that we'll reach Yveltal in no time. "Dino!" "As for you, Audino...you have good hearing. I recall Cosmos weakening it or cutting it off. Let me do the same to you with my power over the senses." Opal threatened Audino, knowing exactly what Cosmos did to her during that event. Audino gasped. Something like that could never happen again. Audino didn't want it to happen as it struck fear in her heart. As if things couldn't get any worse, they got worse. The vampires from underground returned, right on time to witness everything in their favour. At the end of the day, the numbers were still too vast, no matter what Applejack's group could do. At least, that looked to be the case. "R-Riolu...!" Then there was Delta Riolu, still trying to get back up and help his friends. That Hammer Arm truly did a number on him. The Embalming Pokemon put his all into his muscles when trying to get back up. His eyes flashed gold as his Aura emanated from his body. He held his arm out, channelling all of his Aura into his singular paw. Right then and there, he unleashed his Aura. A pulse of it came flying over at full force with all of Riolu's passionate spirit behind it. For the sake of Applejack, his Aura was heightened. Opal casually looked at the Aura, unbothered as she knew exactly what to do here. "Pitiful." Opal released one of her strands of her before showing pity to Riolu. But that's when it happened. The second Opal utilized the power to change Fate, Riolu's Aura resonated with it. Specifically, it resonated with the Rift Energy. Unexpectedly, the Aura managed to accelerate when responding to the Rift Energy coming from Opal, beating out her hair strands of her hair in a race as she had been smashed in the face by this pulse of Aura. The impact was even louder than expected from something some average-sized. Opal's head cocked back along with her hair as everyone looked in awe. They couldn't believe what just happened. Riolu had bypassed the ability, causing Opal to fall over with a painful grimacing face too. The impact on her even allowed the shadows around Applejack to vanish as the Fate-Changing Vampire tumbled. "R-Rio...!" "W-What...What was THAT?!" Naturally, Opal was flabbergasted to the core. She put her hands over her face as her strands of hair only touched the ground, not changing fate at all. She held her face in pain from that direct meeting with the pulse of Aura before viciously glancing at Riolu. "That's it!" Fluttershy gasped. "I didn't know why I never thought about this before. All of that power comes from the Rift at the end of the day. And the one thing that can injure and greatly affect the Rift...is Aura!" There it was. The major weak point to this ability aside from the sacrifices that had to be made for it. Anything Rift-Related whether it'd be an entity or a force of power or anything of the like, Aura was the biggest enemy to it. Of course, there were other forces out there but Aura seemed to always be that one spark in the dark. "Oh, right!" Applejack sat up. "I didn't think it counted for that. This changes everything. Way to go, Riolu!" "I-It changes nothing!" Opal furiously yelled as she was already losing her cool. "You mangy mutt! Get him, now!" She took all her anger out on Riolu instantly, commanding the demons to go after him instead. But losing her cool was one of Opal's greatest weaknesses. Because she focused on Riolu, this allowed Sceptile some freedom from the Typhoon and Metagross. "I don't think so! Now, Sceptile! Dragon Pulse!" "Sceptile!" First, Sceptile immediately kicked his leg up, ripping apart the bandages that tried to capture him while also using his sharp blade arms to rip apart the ones that were around his arms. His best friend was a target for these demons and if there was one chance he could save him, now was that chance. Out of Sceptile's mouth, Dragon Pulse had been unleashed at full power, intercepting not only the bandages but the Typhoon Demon and Metagross thanks to its size. This was before Opal had the chance to use her newfound power as she was too late in response to this high-speed Dragon Pulse. "M-Meta!" Metagross was knocked over despite receiving minimal damage thanks to its Typing. But the Typhoon Demon wasn't doing as well. It was already weakened from before and this full-power Dragon Pulse only made things worse. The Dragon Pulse bit into the Typhoon Demon with its fangs. The Typhoon Demon tried resisting, but alas, that was not the case. And this direct contact with the opponents resulted in the Dragon Pulse combusting. The explosion engulfed the Typhoon Demon and the rest of the bandages, incinerating them. "Told ya! Ya gotta be quick enough to use it! Even Bayleef knows that!" Applejack taunted whilst the explosion went off, blowing her mane and forcing her to keep her hat on. Opal snarled with her vampiric fangs showing. "Applejack! We should try and leave! Please! To heal everyone else!" Fluttershy pleaded. At this point, she didn't want to continue battling. She wanted to escape and keep everyone safe. "I hear ya. Return, Riolu!" Applejack agreed as now would be the time to retreat. Though they managed to make a surprising reversal all thanks to Riolu, it was only temporary as this explosion was their only form of cover at the moment. "You won't escape from me!" Opal shouted spreading out her wings once again along with the other vampires. They were ready to enter a high-speed chase with them if that's what it took. But there was one major obstacle in the way. The Typhoon Demon was defeated by that final Dragon Pulse. And that meant only one thing. The dark clouds that came from the demon had vanished. And during summertime, there was only one celestial force in the sky that was ready to show itself at this time. The Sun. The golden dazzling sun of the universe had shown itself, at last, no longer being limited to just sun rays. Its beauty graced the world once more, spreading its light everywhere. Beautiful to everyone else, absolutely volatile to the vampires. Much like Aura to Rift Energy, the Vampires were threatened as they immediately hissed at the sunlight. Their bodies were already starting to smoke from it. "D-Darn it...!" Naturally, they couldn't advance and pursue them at all. Not with this sunlight. The only place that was safe right now would be Resolution Cave. Thus, they were forced to retreat as Metagross covered Opal's body. This confrontation had come to an end. Seafolk Village. The one place they could head to was Seafolk Village. Applejack and Fluttershy showed up here, having a moment of solace. Immediately, their first location was the Pokemon Center after what happened to their Pokemon, especially Bayleef. With her pupils whitened out, she was in a worse state than most, fully unconscious. Luckily, with the Sun out, her leaves could heal now but everything else might need something else aside from the Sun. "There you two are!" Rushing indoors was Spike who was searching for them. "I've been occupied with those bandages...they got in my way before suddenly up and vanishing. A-Am I late?" "It's alright, Spike. You were just busy with those things as much as we were." Applejack replied. "Wish you did show up sooner after what just happened. But I don't know if it would've changed much." "Why? What happened?" Spike asked. "A lot happened," Applejack added. "I'll fill you in on it." "Is Bayleef going to be fine?" Fluttershy asked Nurse Joy before looking through the window, witnessing Bayleef comfortably snug in a bed. "Oh yes. She just received a massive shock through her system. It's rare for a Pokemon to go through that but she'll be alright. But it's almost like something entered her. What exactly happened to your Bayleef?" Fluttershy also had a lot to say. But right now, there were only two things that mattered the most. Bayleef and Opal. Right now, Opal had access to a terrifying power. The power to change Fate. With someone as cunning as her, there was no telling what she would be able to get away with now that she has that ability on her side. But it was not all doom and gloom. Now there was an answer. An answer that was always there from the beginning. After what Riolu did, the dependency on Aura skyrocketed. The one thing that can bypass that fate-changing power. Time would only tell what would happen next as the journey continues. Chapter 891 End.