//------------------------------// // Pikachu Mech! A Brief Look into the Past // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Pegalysium. Ethereal Pavilion. Within an Alien Ship. Afternoon. In this ancient futuristic city, when exploring its ruins, Ash and his friends came across something that they never saw before but all of a sudden, it just appeared unexpectedly. A giant robot. More specifically, a giant robotic centaur. It was also covered in moss while having broken metal parts that were cut off, smashed into it or even crushed. From what they could tell, this centaur robot that looked somewhat similar to Tirek had been through something for these broken parts to exist. Time itself wouldn't do this. "A mech...Awesome!" Ash found this to be another great discovery. The concept of mechs was already something he absolutely loved in every way. "A centaur mech...It doesn't look like an alien centaur though. It looks like any centaur on earth." Twilight observed, noticing how there wasn't anything alien about it. Only the material was otherworldly. Ash approached the centre with Pikachu and Hilbert. They immediately placed their hands on the mech, feeling the texture. Once again, despite being rusted, it was still smooth. At this point, they weren't going to question it at all. Alien technology just had its own boundaries. But Twilight and others who were too curious would definitely try and solve it. "How come we didn't see it before?" Fluttershy questioned before seeing Rainbow Dash within the space pod arrive. She recently learned how to mange this pod without needing to do much. The pod would do most of it for her. "I didn't even hear it. Then again, I don't think I would've." "Maybe it fizzled in or something?" Hilda shrugged. "No one could exactly guess how it showed up." "Check this out. Here's an entrance." Ash instantly found an entrance when climbing this massive Centaur Mech. His suspicions were right. When finding an open hatch that was also cracked, there was a cockpit. A seat could be found along with a control panel, similar to the pods but with extra parts. "Pikachu!" Alas, the control panel in this mech didn't withstand the test of time that much. All the controls were covered in moss or even disjointed and broken. Ash would get a good feel of the inside. The cockpit was large enough for him to fit in but everything else was tailored to these aliens. It was certainly small enough for Pikachu to take a seat but not Ash. Pikachu made himself comfortable but this was the one seat where he couldn't get comfortable at all. "Pika..." "Feeling in charge, buddy?" Ash kneeled to face the Mouse Pokemon. Pikachu smirked before grabbing onto the handles. He began pulling on them to try and see what reaction would come from this mech. Perhaps some sort of engine. Alas, there was nothing. Either way, Pikachu still felt like he was controlling a mech. "This area here is strange." Bertha observed a part of this run-down mech. There was a hole that had multiple effects around it. "It looks like this part has burnt, poisoned, shocked, shredded and disintegrated at the same time." "What do you mean by that?" Wanting to get a look, Twilight and the others would soon see what Bertha meant by that description. Indeed, parts of this robot received multiple destructive effects that likely lead to its downfall. "Oooh..." "Most likely, this robot must have taken a lot of punishment in whatever war there was." Bertha theorized. "It was either these effects or something else that ruined this city." "But how are those effects still there? Is it recent?" Hilda asked, wondering how all these effects were active. The flames still burned, the poison still flowed and the electricity crackled even to this day. "Oh! Try starting it up!" Rainbow Dash opened up the pod, wanting to see this mech in action. "It'd be so cool if we could make it start up. Imagine it...Piloting a giant robot. It'll be just like what Second Wind does but not evil." "Yeah, we would if it could start up." Hilbert knocked on the mech. "But it's totally dead." "You all just casually tamper with these objects even when knowing the potential dangers that come with it?" Cobalion said as he witnessed how so far, they've interacted with different objects even though they could cause some dangerous scenarios. But alas, that didn't bother them. "That's how they are," Celestia replied. "Adventurers thrive when it comes to these things." "Does this mech not run on the same power source as those cannons and that pod?" Luna questioned. "Doesn't look like it. Nothing back here either." Applejack looked at the back of this giant mech as there was another open hatch but no visible power source. "Hmm..." Ash pondered for a second. It would be splendid for them to see this thing in action. And there was only one way to give it power. In the same way most things gain power. "In that case...Pikachu." "Pika!" Pikachu knew what needed to be done. His eyes flashed yellow as sparks of electricity flared out of his red sacs. It was time for a Thunderbolt. "PikaaA...Chuuuu!" With a surge of power, Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt inside the mech. This would mean that Ash would take some electricity as always along with Pinkie Pie and Hilbert. "Gggghhhh!" Ash and the others uttered after receiving 100,000 volts. But this amount of power was enough. The volts permeated the mech, reaching its power source from the back which forced Applejack back. A sound theN came from the mech. It wasn't exactly the sound of an engine but it was certainly unique. It almost sounded like a choir shout. The visor from this Centaur Mech was the first thing that lit up. Everyone looked up to see the visor gain an azure blue colouring as those volts did the trick. The mech was online. After being slumped over for so long, the mechanical limbs from this mech started moving at last. The sound of age could be heard from this rigid movement as many parts within it were starting to recover. Naturally, since this was a mech, the one sitting in the cockpit would be in control. Instantly, Pikachu found himself being strapped into the seat with a seatbelt forming. "Pikachu?" Since the inside of the mech could only fit a few individuals, that's when the wonders of this machine showed themselves in two different ways. The first way was transforming the inside to create new seats. Powered by the volts from Pikachu, three new seats were made in the presence of Ash, Hilbert and Pinkie Pie. And to top it all off, even the appearance of it started changing. Everyone backed up as the Centaur Mech changed its appearance by rearranging every single part. The shape of this mech would no longer be consistent. Instead of the strong and sturdy build of a centaur, it would soon take the shape of something friendlier, softer and strikingly recognizable. Short, somewhat chubby and shaped like a squirrel with a lightning bolt tail, everyone marvelled at the appearance of the mech and how it adjusts itself to fit the current pilot. No longer was it the Centaur Mech. It was now the Pikachu Mech. It perfectly resembled the Mouse Pokemon, even getting his red sacs by using neon lights to do so. The coat of paint was absent due to the age of this mech so these neon lights became the substitute, turning most of it yellow. "No way...!" Hilda's jaw dropped as pictures of this were being taken on the double. Everything here would receive a picture. "That's crazy!" "It's just like the cannons! It changed based on who's wielding it! Or in this case, piloting it!" Twilight pointed out. This mech acted in the same way as the cannons, showing that these two specific items were potentially involved in this mysterious battle. "Lucky you, Pikachu!" Rainbow Dash was in awe. "I could've had one based on me..." "For something like this to exist and for the city to be so in ruins...did the aliens know that somepony would find the ship one day? Is that why it was invisible at first until Windkiss discovered it?" said Luna. "Whatever it is, they certainly didn't leave it for us." Nightmare Moon added. "Unless they knew of other life on our planet, they might've tried to ask for help. But nothing in that diary mentions any assistance from aliens at all." "Look at you, Pikachu! You're in charge now!" Ash gave a thumbs-up to his partner. "A whole mech based on you! Ain't that something?" "Pika-ka-ka-ka!" Pikachu laughed with a boasting tone. His voice even reached the outside of the mech, having an echo effect. There have been plenty of times when Pikachu has felt largely powerful. But this was a new level. It was somewhat similar to Dynamax but Pikachu still had his average-sized appearance. Now that he had control of this mech, he wished to move it around. And amazingly, it didn't require him to do much. The moment he thought about moving it, the Pikachu Mech would move. It even walked in the same way a Pikachu would when standing in a bipedal position, albeit with a greater weight to it. Everyone nearby would back away once the Pikachu Mech went ahead. Reacting to Pikachu's own thoughts, the Pikachu Mech took a stroll. It was a jolly one too. Once everyone was out of the way, they watched as the Pikachu Mech happily walked forward, accidentally crushing the pod that Rainbow Dash was using. "Aw! My pod!" "Pikachu! How are you controlling that thing?! Since when can you control something like this?!" Twilight questioned, yelling from below. "Pikachu!" "Pikachu says...He doesn't know how. He's not really doing anything on his own except just sitting there." Fluttershy translated. "So...is that thing moving on its own then?!" "Pika." Pikachu wasn't aware of how the mech worked and the fact that it interacted with his thoughts. But it didn't matter. To him, this was absolutely amazing. Pikachu then felt a bit hungry as his stomach growled, echoing from the mech. "Pi." Craving some bites, the Mouse Pokemon patted its belly. And by doing so, the Pikachu Mech would do the same, patting its stomach too in response to the pilot's actions. That's when it clicked in Twilight's head. "Hmm...Pikachu! Jump!" Twilight shouted, wanting to test something out. A theory was brewing in her head about this special mech. "Pika? Pikachu!" Listening to Twilight, Pikachu would give it a try. Once again, the mech would react to his thoughts, repeating Pikachu's thoughts. When strapped to the seat, Pikachu couldn't move as much but that didn't stop the mech from moving. It jumped, getting some impressive ample airtime before then landing. The ground would shake a bit. "Woah! You didn't even jump at all to make that happen, Pikachu!" Ash gawked. "Pika..." Pikachu blinked for a bit, still trying to process this. "He didn't even move at all! But the robot did?" Pinkie Pie leaned in. "What's up with that?! And why is every seat in this city so comfortable?!" "Without him moving? Pikachu! Maybe it reacts to your thoughts!" Sci-Twi exclaimed. "I watched a movie about something like that once! But it involved a lot of neural wires connected to a head. It's probably the same thing here. Whatever you might think of doing next, the mech does it for you." "Pikachu!" Pikachu understood it now. It made perfect sense. And now that he knew how this machine worked, he was going to take full advantage of it. His next thought was to dance with it. Any dance move would do. By thinking of it, the Pikachu Mech would lean back, using the tail to balance itself. Once the Pikachu Mech balanced itself, it started spinning. Right now, a breakdancing mech was gracing their eyes. Ash, Hilbert and Pinkie Pie held on tight as the mech become a golden blur. What else could be said about this mech? It was self-explanatory. It could change appearances based on who was piloting it and only needed some new power to restart it. More about this alien city's technology would be revealed. Some of them would take time to try and understand, but they were certainly making progress. Twilight would then look into the diary of Windkiss, wondering what else she had to say about this city and if there was anything here that was worth spotting. Once again, Windkiss' voice magically spoke out of the book. "Needless to say...whoever ended up here is long gone. But my guess is that they didn't just randomly crash here. Not when the ship is clearly invisible to everyone else. The items here are amazingly functional despite how old they seem. I wonder what kind of power source they run on? Anyway, I got some answers at the floating library here but I still couldn't understand the language there. However, even without knowing the language, the actions spoke louder than words. And I saw something grand there." "So...That's a library." Twilight eyed down the floating building which was the only floating structure here, confirming that it was the library. In there, they would learn something about what happened here so long ago. They ended u preaching the library with Pikachu using his newfound mech to carry most of them who couldn't fly. They were raised up as those who could fly already reached the floating building that was shaped like a doughnut. Feeling hungry just by looking at it, Pinkie Pie would pass her box of doughnuts to Pikachu, satisfying his hunger. Pikachu would leave his mech by hopping out of the cockpit. It was now on standby, waiting for its pilot to return. Right now, Pikachu wanted to explore more on his bare feet. "Pika..." When entering the library which had open holes that made it easy to enter, the place was trashed. Books could be seen either scorched or ripped apart, proving that the devastating scuffle even involved this library. However, even with the books being destroyed, they were floating surprisingly, emanating bioluminescent lights of different colours for each book. No matter how dead it looked, this city brought some form of life with it. "Floating books. Sure. It fits with the theme." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Maybe I'll find some sweet alien stories here. Do you think they've got their own Daring Do?" "Only one way to find out. What book stands out the most to us?" Bertha asked. "The one book Windkiss mentioned will show us exactly what happened here." Twilight ready the diary. "Apparently, it's a book that has four different colours around it. Every other book here only has one glowing colour each." "Just find the one with four glowing colours? Gotcha." Ash replied as they would seek this one specific book. They would scatter just to try and find this book, moving through the ruined library. "This isn't the kind of date I envisioned Cobalion. It's not exactly romantic." Celestia said to the Iron Will Pokemon. "Neither was our time at Alola. But it was enjoyable. I suppose I enjoy spending time around you even when there's no romance involved. I'm not exactly well-experienced in romance too after all." Cobalion smiled, finding this to be better than romance just for the wonders it brought. "Fair enough. And it is too much fun not to get out there and explore the unknown. That sometimes beats out romance, to be honest." Celestia replied. "In a way, this is romance." Rarity appeared in between them. "It's romanticism." "Romanticism?" They both repeated. "Mhm! It's the movement of grand fantasy with a pinch of reality. Attitudes, ideas and feelings. This would fit it perfectly. Who said it had to be about fancy restaurants and dreamy sights? Although...those are wonderful in their own rights." Rarity explained. "I wish I had some of that right about now." "Well, she said it." Cobalion nudged his head. "I'm feeling the romance for certain." "Oh stop it you!" Celestia laughed, hitting Cobalion's hoof after that joke. "Eugh. If I am to live side by side with her from now on, will I have to be tortured by this?" Nightmare Moon shuddered at this sight, sticking her tongue out. "At least you are nothing like her, my lesser self." "Why thank you. Wait! Lesser?!" Luna growled as Nightmare Moon had a cheeky chuckle. Despite burying the hatchet with Luna, she was still snarky, cocky and pompous as ever. Their search for this one book continued. They passed by many floating books, taking a peek at them to see what could catch their interest. They got to see more pictures of alien life and technology as well as the strange language. Thanks to Pheromosa and Fluttershy working together, this language would not block them from understanding anything. Twilight would grab a floating book that was a dictionary. Just what she needed to learn this language some more. Of course, when she gets back, she'll have to request help from Rarity's Pheromosa back to back. But it would be worth it just to learn another language from the stars. Storybooks were also here but these stories were hard to follow mainly because of the language. Ash and Rainbow Dash would find these as the only thing within these books to help them understand it would be the pictures. Pictures spoke a universal language after all. No matter the world, stories were stories and most were easy to follow and understand even if there was an entirely different language to try and understand. Fluttershy found some specific books that interested her. Beastiary Books. The alien wildlife already captivated here back at the throne room. She needed to know more, even if they weren't here. Fluttershy and Twilight certainly knew which books they were taking home with them. "This is it!" Eventually, Hilda would be the one to discover this book. Everyone would soon rush to Hilda's location once she made the announcement. Hovering in front of her was a book with four colours. Red, Blue, Green Yellow. Compared to every floating book, this one also spun just for style points. "So...this is the book that'll tell us what we need to know right?" Sci-Twi questioned. "That's right. Whatever's in there will show us the story of this city and what happened. I hope so. Go for it, Hilda. Open it up." Twilight requested that Hilda should be the one to open it. "Got it. Let's see what's up with this?" With her hands clutching the four-coloured book, the trainer from another world would then open the book. Immediately, four lights flared out of the book with bombastic energy. It was similar to Windkiss' diary in the way it just unleashed so much light. And just like Windkiss' magic, it would show them the story via visions. Everyone's eyes had been captivated by the lights as they would consecutively flash. Before they knew it, they were instantly met with the sight of this city under a different circumstance. A circumstance that led to this destruction. They were out of the library, appearing outside instead. But much like the touchstones that Windkiss made, they were yet again looking at a projection of the past. This time, everything was outlined in neon colours. "Another projection?" Twilight said before looking up to see the cosmic skies. No longer were they on Earth. This was somewhere else. At least, at this moment in time that the book was showing. The advanced vehicles were now abundant. Many pods could be seen in the air along with majestic chariots moving around. The buildings were even grander when repaired, sporting sleek appearances. The roads were also higher, having curved highways that made loops and different turns. Only diamonds, pearls and platinum could match the beautiful incandescent lights that shined across the city. In the distance, four different moons could be seen. And as for the cosmic skies, when looking at them again, Twilight noticed how there was a swirling galaxy above this whole planet and city. It looked like it was so close but that was only because of its size. The skyline is crowded with luxurious cosmic-textured skyscrapers as they had aspects which represented past, present and future designs that resembled eras from Earth. Both Earths to be exact. Its allure was matched by the backdrop of modest hills which have helped shape the city. Hundreds of cafés, bistros and coffeehouses offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy one of the many parks, nature, an amusement park or one of the many other recreational venues. This was all before Celestia was even born. Potentially even before Sunlight and Eventide were born. Cobalion was still a mystery. But that didn't change the fact that this old city was so far ahead of everything else at the time. It looked truly futuristic. However, this marvellous sight would not last forever. Instead of having the chance to see how this city worked during its prime, this book would cut to the chase, focusing on what caused all this destruction. From above, Pikachu saw a crimson light break straight through the cosmic clouds. "Pika?" It was then revealed that this was a fireball. A fireball with stardust around it. This fireball came crashing down at great speeds, smashing into the nearest building. That building was met with a blazing combustion that destroyed parts of it. Everyone gasped as things were already escalating. They had yet to even get a good look at these aliens at all since they were standing near the outskirts of the city. Just then, after the first fireball dropped, no time was wasted. Another came from above. And another. And another. Very soon, the skies were raining Stardust Fireballs. The cosmic clouds were coloured red with their flaming auras as the sound of thunder cracked through the skies. It was hard to tell if anyone saw this coming at all. But judging by the screams of some aliens, it was clear that some of them might have not. But some did. "What the?! What's that above it all?!" Hilbert focused back on the sky, seeing something just below the swirling galaxy and above the fireballs. The Stardust Fireballs all came from one source. An even bigger fireball. Specifically, a Sun. There was an entirely different Sun that could be seen submerging from the cosmic clouds, having a dark red appearance that perfectly matched the flames. It was responsible for spawning more of them, attacking this city. The aliens who were terrified ran in fear, using whatever way of travel they could utilize. Whether it'd be their own bodies or the vehicles. As expected, the pods would evade any form of danger as seen by how they saved Fluttershy. The same couldn't be said for the buildings which were being absolutely punished thanks to their massive sizes, making them easier targets. This would force other aliens out of these buildings who would use their wings to fly out, no matter how many of them they had on their backs. "Is that the Sun?!" Fluttershy gasped. "No...That can't be the Sun we know! It's something else!" Celestia's eyes dilated. "I'm sensing something sinister from that..." But it would only get worse. The aliens who didn't flee were the ones standing up to this threat. Upon getting a closer look, Ash and the others saw that half of these ponies were actually standing against each other. They wore specialized armour that was only unique to them as aliens while also carrying those cannon weapons. This confirmed that a war happened here. As the innocents were fleeing the city, the two sides of these aliens would attack each other while Stardust Fireballs were still raining viciously. Different lights from these cannons were unleashed, blasting against each other from all sides. But it wasn't limited to the ground. Up in the skies, those pods were also offensive, not just defensive. They would reveal cannons of their own as they were joined by massive ships that showed up in the distance. These alien ships would put Empress Twilight's ships to absolute shame for how grand they were. Light beams from each side were unleashed, flying bout in a frenzy as this was a truly wild light show. There was one ship that seemed to resemble a giant fish. Albeit an alien-looking fish. But still a fish, no less. Standing in the front of this ship without being inside was a relatively tall alien pony wearing technological armour that was strikingly regal at the same time. His masculine face shot through the crimson lights that came from above and made a scarlet ambience as on the other side, another ship that resembled a creature had shown up. This time, it looked like a bird. An alien bird to be exact. It was an all-out war. The city was littered with technological armour, shattered technology and buildings and wounded soldiers. Red, grey and black are the new colours of what was once a spirited city, which has now become the stage of a heated war. Why did this war happen? It could be for any reason. The air which would normally carry the sound of working civilians and advanced technological tools is now thick with the stench of energy beams. Some of them resembled plasma as seen by Celestia. Two armies fight each other for an unknown reason, but the battle was in nobody's favour yet. The wounded of one side are spread around the city and the faces of the troops were hopeful with their muscles tense and anxious and weapons clenched in their special limbs, they push harder and harder on the enemy With no way to know if they'll survive, the other side fights with fear flowing through their hearts and heads. All kinds of technology were being unleashed. Frequency waves that disrupted vehicles only for another device to rearrange the vehicles, making them stronger than ever. The aliens would decode each other's arsenals to try and gain the advantage, but their intellects were evenly matched, making this is a stunning back-and-forth. Elements could also be seen forming. Aside from the fireball raining from the sky, one of the ships unleashed a chilling wave of ice that would freeze over parts of this city and the opposing enemies, only for the fireballs to counteract them. Thanks to these elements rising up with the ground splitting. Defensive shields were put up from both sides to gain greater defence. They all had the same idea in mind. The innocents tried fleeing with their pods, however, they wouldn't be safe for long. Something was able to get past the safety measures of the pod. Something came from the strange Sun in the sky. It suddenly stopped firing fireballs to do something else. Blue cracks formed around the Sun as a gigantic claw broke straight through it. There was an entity living inside this Sun. A roar that seemed to resemble that of a dragon bellowed out, breaking through the sound barrier of the cosmic skies while also throwing ships off balance. And emerging out of that Sun was a Dragon. Not just a regular Dragon. A Space Dragon. Its body let out an aura that flared brighter than the Su that it broke through. Its scales were textured in the same way as the cosmic skies while having a rather muscular stature. It spread out its wings, showing its dominance over the battlefield. In response to this gigantic dragon, that's when the Centaur Mech which was now the Pikachu Mech in the current day showed up in tip-top shape, having a platinum coat. This Space Dragon would then absorb the power of this Sun that it came from, using its power. It looked like it was charging a breath attack up with cosmic lights flaring from its body. A devastating attack was incoming, only for the projection to end. Before they could even see the Dragon attack, the book just ended the story right then and there, bringing everyone back to the library. "Wait, that's it?!" Hilda gasped before looking at the book. That's when she noticed something. A few pages were torn out. Pages that most likely told more of this story and how the battle truly was. "It only starts at the moment this battle went down." Twilight noticed as the first 18 pages were gone. "We're missing pages from it." "Man...That got intense fast. That explains all of this." said Ash. "So it was a war. But we barely got to see everything from it. That Dragon might've been the reason that the crater is there. We still don't know how the ship got to this world though." Cynthia replied. "Hm...Well, I want to solve this myself." Twilight held the book alongside Windkiss' diary. "The throne room still hasn't been fully explored either along with the rest of the ship. I'd like to take some of these home with me." They were almost finished here. They got to see many wonderful items and even saw Pikachu obtain his own mech. Pikachu would hope back into his mech, wanting to do more with it. Twilight wanted to see if there was more she could discover to try and piece this story together. But they certainly made a stunning discovery. Even if they wouldn't find the rest of the story, they would still leave with wonder in their minds. What caused this grand war? What was that Sun in the sky? Who was that strange alien pony that stood on top of a ship? Who was that Space Dragon? These were questions that were waiting to be answered as the journey continues. Chapter 948 End.