Equestria. Up in the sky.
Team Rocket's Rocketship. Originally belonging to the Empress and her forces was now under the ownership of Team Rocket, fittingly dubbed the Rocketship. But right now, ironically, they weren't the ones within the ship, taking it to the skies.
Commandeering this vehicle while Team Rocket was elsewhere was Pokemon Ranger Jackie. On this ship, he was joined by Canterlot Guards, Chrysalis and her changelings, setting off to reach the Galaxy Tower which was currently in outer space.
"Alright. I've got my space gear ready. But...not sure about you all. You aren't equipped to enter space with armour like that, are you?" Jackie said, speaking to the Canterlot Guards as Chatot repeated his sentence.
"Chatot! Aren't equipped!"
"Well...no." One of the guards lowered her head. This was the sad truth. Despite how eager they were to save their rulers, they still didn't have the means to breathe in space. The only thing that could protect them from the vacuum of space was this ship.
"Yeah, that's a problem. Unless we can find a way to get you all to reach that tower without any breathing problems, only Casey and I are gonna survive out there. But hey. You can be moral support." Jackie chuckled.
"Hang on. There might be something here for us to wear." It might not be a total loss. One of the guards rushed off to find something specific. Something that the guards from the invading universe once wore while piloting these ships. There was a chance that they might be tailor-made for space of all things considering this ship had the capability to reach outer space.
When searching for them, these suits of armour for the ponies that once piloted these ships could be found. They were placed in a mechanical wardrobe, sitting them and not even looking like they have aged a day. The titanium around them hadn't even rusted at all, making them appear fresh and new.
The ponies and changelings started putting on these suits of titanium armour as their best shot at surviving in space. And this was backed up by the helmets they had to wear which protected their faces.
"This'll do." The guards all said, appearing in this new armour.
"Hm. It might work." Jackie looked back, not having much to say about this before then kicking the ship into high gear and accelerating higher into the sky. The only one missing was Chrysalis. And to an extent, the mysterious unicorn. Right now, Chrysalis followed this mysterious unicorn to the next room just to find out who she was.
This hooded unicorn stood away from everypony else, standing in the corner silently. She then noticed the changeling Queen Chrysalis approaching, knowing exactly why she came here.
"You still want to know who I am?"
"Of course, I do. It wouldn't hurt too much, would it? Especially with what you shared with us and how you knew how to open that door." Chrysalis added. "Show yourself. Whoever you are."
"I didn't want to do it in front of a large crowd. But, since it's just you, Queen Chrysalis, I can trust you with who I am." The unicorn chose to reveal herself but only in front of one individual and that would be Chrysalis. Plus her Ribombee who always tagged along. The identity of this unicorn would be revealed just with the flip of a hood.
"Oh! Aren't you...?!" Chrysalis' eyes shot up as the identity of this unicorn was one that made too much sense considering what has been learned today.
It was none other than Skyblue Shine. The sky blue-coloured horn and the knowledge of this ship made so much more sense now that she showed her face.
She returned to this universe after being absent for a long time, hiding from the rest of Equestria after the dual events involving the Empress. From the invasion of Universe 1 to the kidnapping of her own daughter.
"I've only decided to get involved with this event." Skyblue Shine spoke. "You can understand why. My daughter, Premium Polish is up there with them."
"I thought you were away in another universe You knew?"
"I've been visiting this universe from time to time in secret without giving myself away. And each time, I've been watching my daughter, making sure she was doing alright under Princess Celestia's care. I've not yet shown myself to everyone else to this point, but one day, when the time is right, I'll return."
"Afraid to be caught, hm?" Crysalis nodded. "I understand. It's family, so risks need to be taken. But now it makes sense as to why you know so much. But who was it you were referring to when you said a pony could breathe in space?"
"My daughter can breathe in space. Not just her. But so can I. We're both androids. We don't have to worry about the vacuum of space since our lungs are artificial along with many other parts of us.
"Seriously? Lucky..." Chrysalis had some envy of that. These two had the capability to breathe in space only because they were artificially made. No other pony had this capability, making them unique in that part. "Anyway, you don't have to worry about showing yourself to everyone else up there."
"I don't?" She tilted her artificial head.
"Not at all. For you see..." Chrysalis nudged her head, prompting Ribombee to take a certain action. The Bee Fly Pokemon understood clearly before digging her hands into Chrysalis' mane.
Out of it came a Shift Stone, one that Chrysalis carried around with her in secret, greatly confusing Skyblue Shine as to why she of all species would need something like that.
"A Shift Stone? On you? Why?" Naturally, the android needed to know.
"It's just a backup plan of mine. Well, actually, it was Thorax's backup plan for every changeling. He recommended that we all had to hold a Shift Stone of ours. Because if there was ever a moment my own shape-shifting abilities fail us or something else happens to expose us, such as overwhelming...well, now it's overwhelming hatred and greediness instead of love, we always have this to use as a backup. For now, use it for yourself."
"Ah. Thank you." Skyblue Shine now had a way to continue concealing herself. "I just need to make sure my daughter's safe up there."
"I guarantee she'll be safe considering who she's with right now. Stay out of sight by turning into a Canterlot Guard if that helps." Chrysalis turned away. But before she could walk off, there was something else she could learn from Skyblue Shine while she had the opportunity. "Ah, there's something else I need to ask. Where have you been this entire time?"
"I've been staying in a universe that's outside the reach of Empress Twilight and her allies. That's because this universe used to be mine." Skyblue Shine revealed where she had been. "I used to be a human along with my daughter before a horrible force came along and tore our world apart. That world was another Pokemon World but without the existence of Pokemon. But, I'm somewhat inclined to believe that strange entity was a Pokemon of some sort. That universe has been labelled as extinct but the land remained, making it a perfect place to hide."
"You're staying in a practically destroyed world that used to be yours? You sound just like my mother." Chrysalis chuckled as Skyblue Shine's story shared similarities with her mother Mellifera. "Well, do you possibly know how to get to Universe 11 then?"
"Sorry. But Daybreaker's protected it with perfect efficiency. As far as it goes, no one can get to Universe 11 unless Daybreaker permits it. And even if we do...there's something there waiting for us. A massive flame that tears through space."
"A flame that tears through space?" Chrysalis repeated. "I beg your pardon?"
"It seemed to have been left behind by Daybreaker. Universe 11 as it stands now, cannot be entered."
Outer Space. Galaxy Tower.
"What do you mean we're in outer space?!" Sci-Twi had been hit with a shocking revelation. This entire tower was up in the stars instead of the underground of Equestria. If there was ever a bad time to be under attack by a cosmic being, it would be now considering everything here was cosmic-related. "H-How did this happen?! When did this happen?!"
"It's the Rift's way of keeping us in check. It even placed a veil of its power around the tower. As it stands, we're stranded u here unless something is done." Cynthia added. "I suggest that we force the Rift out of Galaxy Master's body. That way, Galaxy Master will turn on him. Hopefully."
"R-Right. But only Aura can harm the Rift, right? Where's Ash?"
"Arcanine and I have been looking for him. But it's not just Aura. Pokemon Attacks work well obviously and so does the magic of Celestia and Luna. But if we want to push the Rift out, then a good shock to its system will have to do."
"Uh, yeah. But um...we have another problem. I got separated from Ms Bertha. The Rift brought along these versions of Dialga and Palkia to help it. They can warp space and manipulate time just like the originals but to a lesser degree. Even so...I was pulled away from Ms Bertha." Sci-Twi lowered her head. "Maybe the Rift doesn't see me as worth its time."
"Don't say that." Cynthia put her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "You'll be worth its time. If you underestimate yourself then so will the Rift. You'll show the Rift what you're made of. It should know that since it's been watching most of us."
"Right! Thank you, Ms Cynthia!" She gave a beaming grin to the Sinnoh Champion. Arcanine would lead the way, bringing Sci-Twi, Alpha Pikachu and Hisuian Zorua with her as well as they left this room to find Ash. "Oh! I remember something! I should probably tel you this. Before we encountered the Rift, Ms Bertha revealed a weakness that Galaxy Master has."
"A weakness?! What would that be?" Cynthia questioned while zooming through the hallways, needing to know what this singular weakness was.
"Based on the books and the story they told, Galaxy Master will always win but noticeably, battles against Luna and Darkrai have either ended in a tie or unresolved. She told me that powerful trainers can make up for this unbeatable nature. And I mean powerful trainers. Like you.
"
"Oh, how sweet of you." Cynthia enjoyed the compliment. "But this is great to hear. So, powerful trainers are his weakness? Hm. That's so simple, yet it makes sense."
"Uh...it does? I was inclined to believe that he'd be unstoppable just because that's how the story made him out to be."
"But that's the thing, Twilight. In the beginning, a younger Ash made him out to be that way. But, he never went past the first issue. Neither did he finish making that issue. There are still blank pages there. Do you know what that means?"
"That means..." Then it clicked with Twilight. All it took were these few words from Cynthia to make her realize the key to this mystery. She thought back to the first issue and the other books that ended up sprouting into existence due to Galaxy Master's adventures. "The new books created his weakness!"
"That's right. His new adventures are filling in the blanks and developing his character some more. Because what's a story without development? This is the Sea Temple Crystal's response to that. He appeared unbeatable in the beginning..."
"But as new adventures were popping up, his character got new additions to make him feel more complete." Sci-Twi finished Cynthia's sentence. "Only his name and appearance were complete. And uh...a few other things."
"We're the ones who will make new pages in those books. And we'll overwrite the potential outcome. Sometimes, it's interesting for a villain to win in the story, correct?"
"W-We're the villains?!" Sci-Twi gasped as she was now labelled a villain.
"Sweet." Spike liked the sound of that surprisingly. He didn't mind it at all. It made things interesting to him.
"As it stands now, that's what we can do to elevate things. When I was a child, I remember reading a book where the villain won with overwhelming strength. But this time, we'll make sure the hero doesn't make a comeback. And if he does...let's have it be on our side."
"Gar!" Just then, Cynthia's Garchomp had returned. She was still under the Rift's control, breaking through the walls to appear before the Sinnoh Champion and the Rookie Pokemon Trainer.
"Garchomp?!" Sci-Twi gasped.
"The Rift got to her." Cynthia narrowed her eyes, standing in front of Sci-Twi to protect her. "She's been hesitating to attack me but even still, the control the Rift has on her is powerful. I don't want to harm her but..."
"Don't you have Lucario to help you?"
"Not now. My Lucario's back home with my other Pokemon. If only I could reach Lucario..." Cynthia closed her eyes before then holding out two Poke Balls. "For now, if I want to calm her down, I have to battle her. Go, Kommo-o! Togekiss!"
"Kommo-o!" There was no other choice. Garchomp was going to slow them down when trying to reach Ash. She didn't want to throw away Celestia's wishes of not hurting her own Pokemon but at this point, battling was the only way the Rift's control could leave.
"Toge!"
"Let me help please!" Sci-Twi stepped forward instead of staying back, launching her own Poke Ball. "Go, Heracross!"
"Heracross!" Alpha Heracross was here as this would be Sci-Twi's first time battling alongside him. It hadn't even been a day. It would be Alpha Pikachu, Alpha Heracross, Kommo-o and Togekiss against this one Garchomp. It was crucially necessary against this specific Garchomp even with this number gap.
West of the tower.
Exempt from all the chaos were the three Mythical Psychic-Types. Victini, Meloetta and Hoopa only ended up frolicking in a room where various Pokemon Toys could be found. It didn't take long for their enjoyment to be disrupted, prompting them to investigate all the ruckus.
"Ashkan?" Hoop searched for Ash or anyone else. "Pikan?" Right now, these three Mythicals were unaware of the conflict happening within the tower and even their surroundings. But only one of them had nothing to worry about when it came to outer space.
"Etta? Meloetta!" Meloetta gasped, shouting at her fellow Psychic-Types to stop in their tracks.
"Tini?"
"What is it?" Hoopa asked, only to receive his answer via the entity up ahead. His pupils shrunk along with Victini's as this entity ended up breaking down the doors as an entrance. A dramatic one too as even the walls were crushed.
The one responsible for this Dragonite. Galaxy Master's Dragonite appeared, blowing the smoke away with a single footstep. In its arms was Phione who had just been abducted by the Dragon Pokemon. Phione was currently unconscious as the goal was to bring him to Galaxy Master. After all, Phione had Arceus' blessing inside.
"Meloetta?!"
"Dragonite...!" But aside from Phione having Arceus' blessing, there were three other targets that were crucially important in the eyes of Dragonite.
The Victory Pokemon Victini. The power to have a massive boost of power from an endless source of energy that will always lead to victory was something the Rift wanted. Hoopa. The Mischief Pokemon. Possessing the power to summon almost anything he wanted with his rings while also boasting ludicrous power in his Unbound Form.
And then there was Meloetta, who was the odd one out. Compared to her Psychic Mythical Friends, she didn't have a power that could rival that of Infinite Energy or Endless Summoning. But, Dragonite wouldn't miss out on grabbing a Mythical. "Dragonite!" Victini was the first target that Dragonite locked onto as it approached with an intimidating stroll.
"Ooh...It wants trouble?" Hoopa grinned, unbothered by Dragonite's walk. He's already seen intimidating Pokemon before and summoned some. He would know. In his Unbound form, he's already intimidating. "Bad move!"
"Gonite!" But Dragonite could care less as it spread its wings out, moving faster while preparing a Dragon Claw for a quick and easy grab.
"Tini!" But now wasn't the time to float around. Victini and Hoopa gasped once Dragonite came in at great speeds. The first to move out of the way was Victini, who was almost snatched by an incoming Dragon Claw. Hoopa quickly dropped his cheeky smile, barely managing to fly away from Dragonite's claw.
"M-Melo!" Meloetta was the only one who got out of the way faster than the others without having a close call.
"A battle? Okay! Hoopa loves battling!" Hoopa still stayed cheery, immediately using Shadow Ball in response to Dragonite's Dragon Claw. A direct hit. Dragonite was met with a blob to the face that soon combusted in front of it with shadows galore.
But it didn't even take a second for the Dragon Pokemon to fly out of the smoke. There wasn't a pushback or anything of the like as Dragonite ascended, catching Hoopa y surprise. "Hoo-" Hoopa's words were cut off as he was then pushed against the wall by the Dragon-Flying-Type. Once slammed, Dragonite gripped his neck, already grabbing a hold of the Mischief Pokemon that easily.
Hoopa's grin faded upon being grabbed. And it was a vicious one too. This grab was the equivalent of a pebble being stuck between two boulders.
"Tini!" Seeing his friend was already in a potentially dangerous scenario considering who they were facing. In unison, Victini and Meloetta used Psychic, creating a Psychic outlined around Dragonite. Starting with a blink, Dragonite was forced off the Mischief Pokemon via a Dual Psychic Push which was definitely enough to launch it even with its size.
But not without Phione. Phione's body had been grabbed via Psychic as well. They had to ensure he was safe and away from Dragonite's shoulder. Once he was away, the two Psychic-Types let Dragonite have it.
"Dragonite!" Dragonite was sent through another door by the force of this Psychokinetic push before then going through a wall next.
"Gah..." Hoopa could now breathe, rubbing his neck promptly. "Thank you, Vikan. Melokan...Hoopa's neck stings..."
"Tini! Tini-Tini!" Victini rambled, grabbing Hoopa's disconnected hand which still connected to his body. Instead of continuing the battle, Victini and Meloetta agreed that leaving was the best option. They chose not to continue battling with Dragonite. Not when it's been blasted that far away.
"Huh?! What about Hoopa's battle!?" But of course, Hoopa enjoyed battles in all shapes and sizes. He barely got a chance to land a few good hits.
The sudden arrival of Dragonite confirmed the worries of these Mythicals. Something was certainly happening in this tower that did not spell good news. If Dragonite could already cause that much ruckus just from making an entrance, what could the rest be entailing? They had no idea yet.
"Dragonite!" Speaking of Dragonite, jump scaring the Mythical Trio, it appeared once more, bursting through the walls. The three of them were stunned that Dragonite reappeared so quickly. That Dual Psychic Push looked powerful enough to keep any Pokemon at bay for a while. But this Dragonite was a different story.
Upon making a surprising return in a short period of time, it instantly struck all three of them since they were grouped up. Each of them were hit by Dragon Claw. A triple hit in just one strike. The slash of the claw sent them each in the same direction at the same velocity.
The three Mythicals hit the back of the walls instead of flying through them. But the impact on the walls was still devastating. They bounced off the walls before then dropping to the floor.
Dragonite, with just one attack, manage to absolutely bewildering these three Mythical Pokemon. But that didn't mean it won yet. Victini was the one holding Phione close to him before getting back up. So did Meloetta and Hoopa.
"Lucky shot..." Hoopa growled upon recovering. "It's Hoopa's turn now."
"Meloetta..." Meloetta also got back up with her back aching. But this one strike spelt a potentially bad omen. And it didn't get any better with all the noise happening across the rest of the tower.
"Dra." Just then, Dragonite scoffed at them. Immediately, the three Mythicals took offence to this. Basically, Dragonite was essentially saying that they wouldn't be worth its time even though it was here to capture them. It called them weak compared to its power.
"Weak?!" Hoopa translated. Being called weak is certainly a grave offence to a Pokemon who prides himself on being powerful. And while Victini and Meloetta weren't as crazy about it, they still saw themselves as powerful Pokemon after battling alongside Ash at the Battle Carnival.
"Gonite." Dragonite felt like it was getting the short end of the stick with who it was facing. It already defeated Rarity and other Pokemon Trainers. Not even these three could gain its full interest apart from retrieving them.
"Victini...!" Victini had flames boiling around his body, irritated by Dragonite's dismissal of his strength and essentially calling him a too to be used for the Rift.
"Short end of the stick...!" Hoopa pouted, repeating what Dragonite said. "We'll show you!"
"Meloetta!" It even angered Meloetta to the point where she immediately transformed into her Pirouette Forme. But there weren't any flashy transformations.
"Victini." Victini chose to protect Phione, knowing that he would be harmed in this battle if he wasn't protected by something. Hoopa and Meloetta would be the ones to face off against Dragonite.
Victini then carried Phione away, backing up as Dragonite confidently crossed its arms in front of them both, only further showing disrespect. But even after being riled up, Meloetta knew that Dragonite's strength was not to be ignored after what she saw. If the wrong moves are made, then everything Dragonite said would be true to the core.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 912 End.