Holon. Holon Settlement. Afternoon.
The Holon Region's settlements had been found and were revealed to be misplaced. Spotted in a massive crater while being surrounded by a spiral of magic with strange symbols coming out, Ash's group which was assisted by a few Delta Croagunk would investigate this strange misplacement. After all, this magical field was blocking out the Xtransceiver.
Breaking through the spiral of magic right at the top of it was Twilight who was utilizing Rift Magic to make this possible. The Rift Magic pierced through the magical field, forming a hole of entry. Once there was an entrance, they would all descend with Dragonite, Flygon and some magical levitation as their means of transport.
The main settlement, which was named after the region itself, was the first destination. Ash's group found themselves at the town. When arriving here, for the most part, the buildings looked normal, apart from the ambience from the magical spiral which made everything appear slightly dim.
Everything was in one piece even within this massive crater which was taller than everything else here. Sounds from the crater would continuously howl, giving it an ominous presence, as if something was in there.
"We're here." Ash hopped off Dragonite. "Everything looks fine so far. But this mist..." And immediately, after they arrived, they were met with company. Up ahead, a few people would approach Ash's group, moving through the somewhat concealed mist.
"Good afternoon! Welcome!" The voices of the people cried out as their silhouettes were starting to vanish to show their full appearances.
"Oh hey! Goo-" Twilight froze up. It was a good sign to see some people here but she definitely couldn't predict what they would appear as when moving through the mist. Ash, Goh, Starlight and all the other Pokemon would have the same reaction as Twilight. Stunned and caught off guard by what they were witnessing.
Once the people left the mist and showed themselves, they were revealed to have new parts to them. Pokemon Parts. Their bodies had been altered, possessing traits from different Pokemon that had merged with these humans. One of them had the arm and claw of a Beartic. Another had the tail of an Aggron. The horns of a Houndoom. The jaw of a Mawile which was connected to the ponytail of a woman and many other strange mutations.
"W-What the...?" Goh stuttered as he was stunned by what his eyes had witnessed.
"Mutations...?!" Starlight immediately thought of the first thing that this could be. Mutated People that happened to receive Pokemon parts. But they certainly didn't have these the last time they visited Holon.
"Apologies for our appearances...We should've warned you at first." An old man with the teeth of a Sharpedo said.
"This is new...What happened here?" Twilight questioned. "Why do you all have Pokemon Traits on you?"
"I think it might have something to do with that magic around the area. And maybe those weird symbols." Starlight uttered, relating it back to the magical spiral. "Most likely. What else is there?"
"So...It's a curse!" Twilight gasped, immediately thinking about the possibility of a curse. "Or an infection?"
"It's a curse...without a doubt." A lady with an Omantye Arm would reply, waving her tentacle around. "It's a very efficient one that's lasted for quite a while."
"It feels like it's been a year but it's only been a few months." A little boy who had the feet of a Blastoise spoke.
"This has been around for a few months?!" Flabbergasted by this duration, Twilight's eyes nearly flew out of her face. "How did you live like this...?"
"Our Pokemon are very helpful. They are experts when it comes to living like them after all. Bahaha!" The old man would chuckle but not everyone else would laugh with him. Ash and the others would view the rest of the town, seeing how everyone had been affected by this magic. Seemingly, no one was spared from this effect as they would all receive unique parts in different places that were most likely uncomfortable and hard to live with.
"This is...So cool!" But Ash loved this. Instead of fearing these mutations, he was starstruck by them. This confused the People of Holon. Twilight, Starlight and Goh were certainly freaked out but not Ash.
"...Huh?" The people of Holon would collectively gawk in disbelief. Somehow, Ash's response was far more surprising than this mutation phenomenon.
"It's like you fused with the Pokemon! Or you're turning into Pokemon! Or anything like that! You've got horns and stuff! I bet you can shoot out ice with that Beartic arm! Or even control that Mawile jaw too! There's a lot to think about with this!" He got giddy as his brain sparked up a plethora of ideas.
"Well...We appreciate the compliment." The people said. "It's not what we were expecting..."
"Of course you'd find this appealing, Ash. But that's probably for the best, isn't it?" Twilight shrugged as this was all natural for Ash. No matter what someone looked like, he could always appreciate them in some way. No matter how sudden it may be.
"Who did this to you? And why?" Goh asked.
"Well...We'd be rather hard-pressed to say his name. He's a very avid listener and probably knows about your arrival, I'm afraid." The old man trembled. By his words, it was confirmed that whoever was behind all of this was currently present in Holon.
"Say the word and we'll meet with him." Ash was eager to encounter this mysterious individual.
"Well, his name is rather difficult to say. How do you say it again?" The old man, unfortunately, was unable to speak his name properly. "Nyu...Ny...Nylon? Nyun? What was it? It started with an N and Y."
"No clue..." The others had no idea how to say this mysterious name. The best they could do was the first few letters of it.
"I barely remember it. He only refers to himself as the Trickster Dragon." A lady revealed the title of this individual. "That's what he prefers to be called since it's easier that way. He's the one who mutated our bodies."
"A Trickster Dragon? Is that a Pokemon?" Goh questioned, wondering if that was just a species name for this mysterious entity.
"I'm afraid not. He is not a Pokemon. Instead, he is apparently a demon from what he shared with us." The old man explained, revealing this entity to be a demon.
"Demon? 100 Demons?!" Only one category of demons came to mind for Twilight and Starlight. The Box of 100 Demons that the Dread League owned. Most likely, they were dealing with another Dread League case.
"What about Professor Pine?! Is she alright?!" The Princess of Friendship would then ask about the Holon Region's Professor, looking up at her lab in the distance.
"She's safe. The Professor tried her best to keep that demon entertained with whatever she could, but it wasn't enough. The demon decided to find new entertainment and started causing chaos. This is just an example of what he has done." The old man continued. "That demon...it was stuck to her like glue."
"But Professor Pine got the worst out of all of us. She almost looks like a full-on Pokemon." Another one of the people added, revealing that Professor Pine was apparently further into this Pokemon Mutation than everyone else here.
"Full on?" Twilight repeated. And in the blink of an eye, she would teleport away, going straight for Professor Pine's lab to see this for herself.
"But Toxicroak's here somewhere too, right? Croagunk. Did you see Toxicroak anywhere here before?" Ash asked the Croagunk. Unfortunately, the Croagunk have not been here at all to confirm it. All they knew was that their boss was dragged into this mess by the Trickster Dragon. "Hmm...Okay. Just tell us everything, and we'll get right on it!"
Professor Pine's Lab.
"Professor?!" Twilight entered the Professor's lab in a flash. Like everything else, it was all intact. No damage had been done to Professor Pine's lab even though a demon had been in here. All her essentials were in one piece, untouched.
Twilight would move into the next room, wanting to see if the Trickster Dragon was present here since he apparently stuck around Professor Pine more than the others. Her assistants were spotted in the next room, also receiving some Pokemon mutations. The mutated scientists would turn to see the arrival of Twilight Sparkle as the eyes of a Joltik would focus on her.
This was the one oddity the scientists could not solve mainly due to it being magical in origin. Their mutations were unable to be studied with science. The only professor who could delve into this was Twilight herself she was an expert in both magic and science, but mostly magic.
As for Professor Pine herself, when passing by the mutated scientists, they would pale in comparison to what had become of the main professor. Her lab coat and long hair could be seen from the back but that was only natural. Everything else, not so much. Poking out of her lab coat were the wings of a Gliscor as that was the first sign of her full mutation.
"Oh? Twilight?" The rest of Professor Pine would be revealed once she heard Twilight's voice. With a swivel, her full mutated appearance was shown as she truly did get the worst out of everyone. The skin of a Nidoqueen replaced her natural skin. Her eyes were now Beedrill eyes as her singular glove had been slightly damaged thanks to her new nails. These nails and even both her hands belonged to a Salazzle. She had a mixture of four different Pokemon on her as she truly appeared as a different person.
"They weren't kidding...You're leaning towards an actual Pokemon." Twilight spoke before covering her mouth with her hooves. "Oops! Sorry!"
"Ah, so they've already told you." Professor Pine giggled. "Yes. As you can see...I've been mutated. All around but not fully."
"I heard everything. About how a Trickster Dragon did this to you." Twilight approached the mutated professor. "Sorry I didn't hear about this before."
"Ah, it's fine. No one would've known. Not with how occupied he kept this place. Plus, Holon is a relatively small region after all." Professor Pine modestly said. "But it's wonderful that you showed up and even managed to get past that barrier."
"Where is he? Is the demon still here?" Twilight looked around, searching for this Trickster Dragon Demon.
"I'm afraid not. He left the moment he got bored with me. It's a shame too...I thought my ideas were entertaining enough but for a Draconequus, I guess not."
"Draconequus?!" Hearing that word sparked a loud reaction from Twilight. "As in...Discord and Cosmos' species?"
"Oh, he did bring up two others with that name." Professor Pine casually nodded. "But yes, he's only partially a Draconequus. The other half is a demon. A being who spreads nothing but chaos and I assume you already knew about that."
"I did. I just didn't think it would be this kind of problem." Twilight wasn't expecting a Draconequus to be involved. The chaos was raised to an all-time high because of this. "You don't seem too bothered though, Professor Pine. The same goes for everyone else here."
"It scared us in the beginning, but after a few months passed, we got used to it. It's not easy though and we'd prefer to return to our original forms. Do you perhaps have a spell for this?"
"She probably does." One of the assistants spoke. However, his voice was suddenly warped, gaining two different voices. Mainly because one of these voices wasn't his own. This assistance would suddenly grow a second head, startling Twilight. This second head had a relatively long neck that was similar to that of a dragon.
After this second head was revealed, Professor Pine recognized that face. It was none other than the Trickster Dragon, making his entrance and revealing himself to Twilight Sparkle for the first time.
"Hello, Princess." The Trickster Dragon spoke as the main head was currently unconscious. Right now, the demon had full control over his body. "I've been expecting you. Or someone like you. Mainly anyone from your friend group since I've heard so much about them."
"You must be the Draconequus that's responsible for this." Twilight's tone and expression instantly changed upon setting eyes on this dragon.
"My name is Nyzzaghaidenunxulbiad if you must know. But you can call me the Trickster Dragon. It's easier that way." He revealed his long and difficult-to-say name. "Already caught up with everything you need to know?"
"I have everything I need. You were sent here by the Dread League, weren't you?"
"Yes, but it's been a while. I've been away from every other demon for a few months now and I couldn't be happier." The demon continued. "Those vampires might not even know that I'm absent from the box and I'd like to keep it that way. Anyway, do you like what I've done with the place? Well...the buildings aren't exactly different, are they?"
"Why do this? Why turn them into Pokemon? Or at least, give them Pokemon Traits."
"Why not? I can do whatever I want. For the most part. I was running a bit dry on ideas and then I figured that the best possible idea was to mix and match parts of Pokemon with humans. And I'm satisfied with how things turned out! I think I'll do something better than this eventually. I just have to come up with it."
"As if." Twilight scoffed. "Your visit's gone on long enough. You'll turn everyone back to normal or else we'll have to force you to do it in the best way we know how."
"Bah. You don't scare me." The Trickster Dragon blew his tongue at her. "This is the most freedom I've had for so long and I can't let you and your friends stop that. Why would you ever want to stop entertainment in the first place?"
"Where are you? Unless this head of yours is physical?" Twilight's horn lit up, aimed at the Trickster Dragon's head.
"I'd love for you to try and find me, princess." The dragon giggled before descending into the assistant's neck. His entire head would vanish as the only thing remaining for a few seconds would be his voice. "Good luck. I can't wait to see what you'll do."
"Gah!" The assistant regained consciousness as he was startled by this sudden awakening, having no recollection of what happened to one side of his body. "What? What happened?"
"It's just like the Rift..." Twilight sighed, knowing that a handful was coming her way. "This kind of entertainment is pushing it. Alright...Holon's a pretty small region so there won't be too much to cover, thankfully. But if he's anything like Discord, it'll be a headache trying to find the right spot. Professor Pine. Any clues?"
"Well...I have talked to him for a while so I know a bit about him." Professor Pine replied. "Judging by how he acts and what he says, it's hard to say. He's quite unpredictable. I barely got any sleep because I tried so hard to keep him entertained for as long as he could. I couldn't tell you where he usually hangs out that isn't my lab."
"That's fine. We'll find him." Twilight would look out the window, witnessing Ash's prolonged conversation with the people of Holon. It wasn't long until she saw him and the others bolt off. They already decided that they would find this Trickster Dragon as soon as possible even if they had minimal information about where he was.
There were a few settlements to choose from. Settlement Foxtrot. Settlement Oscar. Settlement Alfa and the final settlement, Juliet. But even though the biomes were not surrounded by any magic, Twilight considered those locations as well.
"Alright, I'll be right back. Wish me luck-" But right as Twilight was ready to depart, a tail would suddenly wrap around her. The young alicorn found herself being held back, prevented from teleporting out of the lab by this interruption. "W-What?!"
"Sorry, Twilight." Professor Pine spoke as she was revealed to have another Pokemon trait on her. The tail of a Haxorus as the other assistants would gather around the Princess of Friendship. All of them had one thing in common. Eyes of silver that were constantly flickering. "But I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
The first action of the Trickster Dragon had been revealed. Attempting to keep Twilight back and preventing her from solving this issue was the first action. And when looking outside, Twilight noticed how the eyes of the people would also start flickering. The Trickster Dragon was already ahead of them by this point. Now, it was all a matter of catching up with this draconequus that had a few months of chaos at his disposal as the journey continues.
Chapter 5 End.