Equestria. Ponyville. Local Hospital. Nightfall.
Frozen and unresponsive, Nightmare Moon's frozen stony body sat there on the hospital bed. Not that it was doing much to heal her at all. This required magical influence. And at this moment, Princess Luna arrived, meeting with her alter-ego and seeing the state she was in.
After hearing what she did for Luna's Pokemon, Luna herself found respect for her. Previously, she was worried about what Nightmare Moon would do once she became her own separate entity. But her fears and worries had been staved off after how she sacrificed herself for the greater good.
"So, all of that turned her into this?" Luna placed her hoof on Nightmare Moon's body. And when reacting to this, even Team Rocket started weeping. They formed their own special bond with Nightmare Moon over the past few days.
"Say it ain't so!" Meowth wept.
"It should've been me! Not her!" James cried.
"Please! Please tell us you can undo this!" Jessie had her hands together, praying to Luna. "I mean, this has happened before with that Discord guy hasn't it?!"
"This isn't like Discord at all. Her body is in this way because she expended so much magic." Luna deduced. "Maybe the Elements of Harmony can reverse it still, even if it's a different scenario."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go and grab them!" Team Rocket whistled.
"Impossible." Luna shut them down instantly. "That would require the power of Twilight and the others. They are the current wielders of the elements and hold the greatest capacity with them. Even so...it's hard to tell if the elements will work on Nightmare Moon at all."
"It has to work." Celestia, who was also in the room stated. "We'll free her, Luna. Not to worry. We just have to meet with them up at Pegalysium."
"While you're all doing that, I'll meet with Krookodile and the rest of the Pokemon via their dreams," Darkrai said, aiming to retrieve the stolen Pokemon from the Pokemon House. Hopefully, Matori's group haven't returned to their base just yet.
"Allow me to join you." Luna offered. "You won't be doing it on your own. We'll save those Pokemon together. And soon, Nightmare Moon. Sister. Can you go up to Pegalysium instead and get help?"
"I'll be coming with you instead, Luna." However, Celestia would choose to help Luna rescue the Pokemon instead. "We can sort this one out next."
"Oh...Okay then. Darkrai. Get ready. By now, any one of the Pokemon should be falling asleep. Possibly by exhaustion."
"Safe Travels!" Team Rocket exclaimed in unison. It was time for them to enter the Dream Realm. And the one to join them this time would be Princess Celestia. By this time, many humans, ponies, Pokemon and other species would be asleep. Now was the best time to enter the Dream Realm as Luna engulfed all three of them in a pitch-black field. In seconds, they were already in another realm, separate from her.
As for Nightmare Moon, her body would be guarded by Team Rocket in case something awry happens. Her freedom would come later as the method to this undoing stony form had yet to be revealed.
Kanto. On the road. Nightfall.
As for the Matori Matrix, they had yet to return to their base. Mainly due to how their helicopters had been damaged after the events that happened back at the Pokemon House. A few of them were arrested, but the rest of them were still free, carrying some Pokemon from the Pokemon House with them.
Chasing them down were Officer Jenny and fellow officers. Thanks to the damaged helicopters, Jenny and the other officers were able to track her down. Losing the law was difficult for Matori's group since they made such a scene that escalated thanks to the Plasma Spheres.
"Still gaining on us?" Matori said, eyeing down Jenny's group. "If only we had more of those spheres... and especially my pen!" For Matori, her resources dwindled thanks to the conflict back at the Pokemon House.
Thanks to that scuffle, valuable items were expended or even destroyed there. Without those destructive creations, defending themselves wouldn't be so easy. The Pokemon within the cages tried all they could to break free. However, thanks to Dynasite, that was impossible.
After being carried through the skies for a while, some of them fell asleep while others were exhausted from trying to break free. This was just what Luna and Darkrai needed. However, events out of the Dream Realm were just as crucial.
Seeing as they struggled to escape from Officer Jenny while carrying so many Pokemon, Matori and her group chose to land somewhere else while they had the chance. The closest place was a nearby forest. The helicopters would descend but even still, Officer Jenny could easily spot them.
The closest location here was Fuschia City which was the closest to Celadon, where the entirety of Team Rocket's Headquarters could be found. Despite that, getting to their secret base would be difficult if the law was eyeing them down. Despite their victory over Nightmare Moon, the alter-ego of Luna ended up bringing one detriment to the Matori Matrix as a form of karma.
Hyperdream.
The Hyperdream. For the first time, Celestia could view it in all its glory. The endless array of Dreams that have happened, are currently happening or will happen. It was all here, spanning both worlds.
"This is it?!" Celestia marvelled at this sight. "Wonderful! I've been missing out on not coming here with you! Mainly because I'm asleep by then. So...how does this work, exactly?"
"All it takes is finding the most recent dreams. The biggest challenge is finding a specific Pokemon. Every Pokemon in existence have too many lookalikes to count. Mainly because of how their species biologically are. If we're to find the ones from the Pokemon House, we need to be specific."
"That is difficult, indeed." Celestia nodded as finding the dream of a particular Pokemon was astronomically difficult since so many of them looked the same. Luckily, thanks to her control over this realm, Luna could find the right dreams via categories. All she had to do was sort them.
She had Alphabetical Categories for dreams. Dreams by oldest to youngest. Dreams that are focused on family lines or even friend groups. And of course, a category for locations. She used her magic to rearrange the Hyperdream for a bit, focusing on dreams that come in location. Celestia watched her little sister perform this stellar spell that she herself could not do. This was all exclusive to her after all. Celestia could certainly enter the Dream Realm and influence dreams. She's been doing it ever since her sister went into the moon as a substitute. But never on this level.
"Here. Ponyville. And this sub-category contains the Pokemon House." By bringing over the Dreams of everyone living in Ponyville, Luna then revealed sub-categories since the Pokemon House was within Ponyville itself. These sub-categories appeared as smaller but still exceptionally large bubbles.
All the Pokemon from the Pokemon House and their dreams were revealed. And on addition, Luna would focus on the most recent ones. They had been spotted immediately. The most recent dreams flashed blue, making it a great indicator of which dreams Luna should focus on.
"There they are. These are the dreams we need, sister. And for this instance, it's best to focus on a nightmare rather than a good dream."
"Why is that?"
"Nightmares can sometimes take place in the same location where the unpleasant event is happening in reality. So if we enter a nightmare, we can know where they are. Or at least, follow their steps. And the one I'm eyeing down is Deerling." Luna selected a dream. In this case, it would be the dream of a Deerling. If there was a Pokemon that would have a nightmare about its current circumstance, it would be this one.
Deerling's Dream. Out in a Forest.
Indeed, this Deerling was dreaming about its current predicament. The same forest that the Matori Matrix went to was embedded in Deerling's mind. Obviously, since it was a dream, it was all exaggerated. Especially Matori herself, who appeared as a giant.
Deerling was hiding from this gigantic Matori and the other Team Rocket Grunts who towered over every tree here. They cast massive shadows over not just Deerling, but the other Pokemon captured by them. The trees were little more than irrelevant obstacles that were easily knocked down by them.
The massive hand of Matori attempted to catch some of them, crushing the trees that got in her way. This was the right dream to be in. Luna, Celestia and Darkrai arrived, hitting the jackpot. Not only was this Deerling's dream, but it was a connected one.
"Aha! Multiple Pokemon means that they are sharing the same dream!" Luna realized before feeling her mane blow from the giant swings. Just the movements of these large figures were enough to cause a turbulent force. Some of the Pokemon ended up being caught by Matori's group before being pulled in. One by one, they were getting picked, struggling to get away.
"Why don't we turn this nightmare into a pleasant dream?" Celestia would go ahead, taking action before the nightmare could worsen. The moment Matori's hand went to reach Deerling and a few other Pokemon, she was quickly blocked from doing so.
A magical wall stood in her way, materializing into existence. Matori grimaced the wall felt incredibly hot as if the Sun had just shown up on earth. She cried out as Deerling imagine her roar to be terrifying. It just viewed Matori as terrifying in general.
When moving back, she obliterated more of the land behind her before stumbling. More of these walls would appear, blocking the Team Rocket Grunts and burning their hands even if they had gloves on Deerling and the rest of them would glance over at Celestia as she was the ray of hope they needed. This nightmare would soon shift into a pleasant dream, as said by Celesta.
"Deerling!"
"Deerling! No need to worry now that we're here." Luna flew in, reassuring safety to Deerling and the others. They certainly felt safe now, but their nightmarish threats were still here, growling, hissing, snarling and roaring at the Royal Sisters.
"Luna. Ask them quickly while I sort this out." Celestia chose to handle the major problem while Luna handle the rest. She spread her wings out, approaching the Matori Matrix.
"Listen to me, all of you. Where are you? I can see it's a forest but what kind of forest exactly?" Luna questioned Deerling and the others.
"Deer! Deerling!" Deerling and all the Pokemon bombarded Luna with a barrage of words. The location of this forest, while it looked like most other forests, did have a nearby location. They recently saw it next to a roadside. More importantly, it was close to a city. But they couldn't exactly say which city it was.
Darkrai would fly out of the forest to investigate further. After all, this dream was centred around the locations Deerling and the other Pokemon saw. Since they all shared a dream, there were various angles to choose from. The Pitch Black Pokemon ascended, spotting the road they passed by earlier. And of course, he saw the city.
"That city...That's Fuchsia City." Darkrai said, spotting Fuchsia's appearance. It would only make sense considering how close Celadon and Fuchsia were to each other "That's where we'll find them."
"Fuschia City? Understood. Do not worry you all. We'll find you." Luna rubbed Deerling's head as comfort. "But...as a guarantee for us to truly spot you, can you do this for us? Let out as many cries as you can. Cry as if you were singing your heart out. Let your voice echo through the night sky. One of you has to wake up and start the call. That will help wake others up, prompting them to do the same. Understood?"
"Deer-Deer." Deerling and all the Pokemon would do just that. Anything to be free. Thankfully, compared to past and future dreams, current dreams affect the real world as opposed to the other two affecting nothing for the dreamers.
"Sister! It's time for us to go!"
"Understood!" Celestia replied before unleashing a large flash of golden magic which would engulf each of these giants. The Matori Matrix would fall over, unable to handle the force of Celestia's flare. Everything about it mimicked the Sun too well.
She set out to make this dream pleasant for the dreamers and for the most part, it was successful. She and Luna brought smiles to their faces, quickly changing the properties of this dream in its entirety. But they couldn't stay here forever to make the dream better. That would only waste time. To make sure this dream would never come up for them again, it was back to reality.
Near Fuschisa and Celadon. Out in a forest. Nightfall.
The helicopters finally ended up landing somewhere. However, the moment Officer Jenny and her officers showed up, the helicopters were revealed to be empty. The helicopters had no one inside. Not a human or a Pokemon to be found. They had been abandoned. The cages of Dyansite were gone as well.
"Hmm..." Officer Jenny narrowed her eyes. "They can't move faster than a helicopter, that's for sure. They're somewhere here in the forest. Arcanine."
"Arcanine!" Arcanine would sniff them out. After all, it had the scent from the helicopter to go off from. The search for the Matori Matrix would continue.
As for the Matori Matrix, after leaving behind the helicopters, they dragged along the Dynasite Cages. Thankfully for them, the cages were light despite how strong the metal was. They fled to the north of the forest, using their own hands to carry the cages while keeping a low profile from the law. All they had to do now was reach Celadon City without their helicopters.
Matori herself contacted Givaoni, updating him on the situation. The progress she made was splendid but the ending had yet to come as it brought some unwanted problems.
"So, as you can see, sir, we're not out of the clear yet," Matori said to Giovanni via her phone. "It will be difficult getting back to Celadon like this. That alicorn is to blame."
"I see." Giovanni nodded. "Well, I can cover that for you. I'll send an immediate envoy who'll be undercover. You know what he looks like anyway. You're certainly too far to take the secret pathway at this point."
"Underst-"
"Deeeeeer!" Interrupting her was none other than Deerling. It was the first one to wake up. All the dragging certainly helped wake it up.
"What now?" Matori turned to face the Deerling who was ordered by Luna to start crying. Cry like it has never cried before. It interrupted Matori and everyone else with this bellowing cry that would soon wake others up. By itself, Deerling could not do much.
The other Pokemon who were still awake would do the same. Deerling's cry also meant getting everyone else involved. After hearing what it had to sound out, those Pokemon would let out their signature cries too.
"Cherrim!" A Cherim would follow right afterwards. Then a Corsola, followed by a Spheal which would then cause a domino effect. Pokemon after Pokemon started crying out, amping up the volumes. Their cries were targeted to the skies themselves as they even sang a melody while they were at it. It was a melody that only they knew.
A melody that Fluttershy plays to them. Very soon, this would wake up the other Pokemon who shared Deerling's dream. Ad upon waking up, they knew what needed to be done. They would indulge in this song.
"What are they doing?!" Matori exclaimed as all she could hear was the singing of Pokemon from all sides. Their soundwaves came together to create a greater volume. A volume that would reverberate across the forest for all to hear.
And that involved Officer Jenny, who was searching for them. It wouldn't just be Arcanine's scent that would help track them down but the voices of the Pokemon themselves. Arcanine, by instinct, ended up doing the same thing by howling.
"They're going to attract them! Shut them up!" Matori ordered. She knew if this continued, this would attract Jenny and her officers.
"None of our Pokemon are healed up though!" A grunt shrugged as this was the result of their actions. Because of how they harmed their own Pokemon back at the Pokemon House with those Plasma Bombs, they weren't at full strength at all.
"Matori...don't mess this up." Giovanni narrowed his eyes as now the pressure was being put on Matori.
"I assure you, I won't. I just have to keep them quiet, that's all. I still have my Meowth and Exploud. They'll shut them up." Matori was the only one who had Pokemon who could do something. Exploud was damaged but still had enough energy. The same went for Meowth.
"Deeeeer! Deeeer!"
"That's enough out of you!" Matori yelled before throwing both Poke Balls into the air, summoning Alolan Meowth and Exploud. "I wish I could have Exploud outperform you, but I need to keep a low profile still. But I can knock you all out for good. "Exploud! Meowth! Hammer Arm and Shadow Claw!"
"Exploud!" Exploud would spin its arms up, looking forward to slugging each of these Pokemon while Alolan Meowth unveiled its claws, approaching the caged Pokemon.
"Deer?!" Naturally, they were intimidated by this, pulling back a bit. But Deerling and its fellow Pokemon wouldn't stop, even when threatened. They believed in Celestia and Luna to find them. "Deerling! Deerling!"
Their cries continued, going so far to the point where they would reach out of the forest itself, meeting with the road for any passerby to hear. And three important passersby ended up hearing them clearly. They all huddled up in the Dynasite Cages, still crying out loud while also being genuinely terrified.
But before Exploud and Meowth could do anything, that's when the impossible happened. In the dead of night, where the moon was beautifully shining above the world, it had been replaced. The solar light of the Sun suddenly appeared. In the blink of an eye, the Sun had shown up with the moon vanishing.
Daylight appeared earlier than before and with a powerful hit. The gleaming rays of the sun pierced the eyes of Exploud and Alolan Meowth along with Team Rocket.
"Is that...the Sun?!" A grunt gasped.
"It is! But it can't be daytime already!" Another grunt added.
"But that's impossible! How can that be?!" Matori couldn't believe this. How could the Sun be up so early when it was meant to be nighttime? Fairly early nighttime too.
There was only one explanation for this. Or rather, two explanations. But the first one was the most likely. Their jaws all dropped as two silhouettes could be spotted in the middle of the sun's beautiful light. Their wings spread out gracefully as the ones who had the power to control the Sun and the Moon, even if it does not come from their own world were none other than the Royal Sisters.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
They indeed arrived as promised, becoming that ray of hope for the Pokemon. Figuratively and literally Needless to say, when they revealed themselves. And when they descended, they met with the Matori Matrix at last. This time, the true version of Luna would encounter them.
And there was one stark difference between Luna and Nightmare Moon. Something that the Matori Matrix would soon discover. The howling worked. Coming together to let out sky-piercing cries alert many across the forest and even outside. Especially those searching for them.
Giovanni was still on the phone, witnessing Celestia and Luna for himself. Instead of hanging up, the Team Rocket Boss would stay around to watch. He had his reasons for watching. Reasons that related back to their greatest enemies.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 941 End.