//------------------------------// // Obscured Leader and City // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. The Pokemon House. Afternoon. A map of the new world has been made for all to use. At least, how it appears now. Cartographers worked hard to make this possible. And now that both worlds have come together to make one world, whatever happens in the future had to be tracked. And of course, the maps that Starmap from Pegalysium had made would come in handy. With her special talent, this world and everything it now entailed would not be missed by the Pegasus Cartographer. Gazing at this new map was Fluttershy along with the many Pokemon from the Pokemon House. "Look at this. Some places are a bit farther away from each other than before." Twilight noticed how certain areas had been slightly distanced thanks to the change in landmass. "Maybe with how things have changed, new Pokemon will show up here, right? I think Snowdrop had one Pokemon that I heard about. Cetoddle, was it?" "Audino." Audino, with her perceptive hearing, also had great memory thanks to this special trait. The name of that Pokemon's cry did not escape her. "Any of you can put this up your walls. If we ever get lost, we have these to rely on." Fluttershy offered up the map as it was taken by Throh. "But I'm curious...Now that everything's done, what about the stairway? Is it going to stay there forever?" "It's slowly fading away." Here at the Pokemon House were the rest of Fluttershy's friends, interacting with the various Pokemon that called this place their home. Twilight would respond to her. "Now that Phione's gone home and the wish has been granted, there's no need for the Golden Stairway. Although...I am going to miss it." "Yeah. It was pretty cool, wasn't it?" Ash said, surrounded by various Electric Rodents that were family members to his partner Pikachu. "But we've still got pieces of Arceus with us. Twilight's got her Z-Ring. Sci-Twi's got that pendant too." "You haven't used it at all, have you, Twilight?" Rarity, who would grant some of the Pokemon decorations and glamour added. These Pokemon would prefer to look fancy and they could rely on Ponyville's Fashionista for that. "You only used it once when battling Olympia correct?" "That's right. And no one else. But it's a strong Z-Move that works differently from others." The Princess of Friendship brought out the Twilightium Z, placing it on her hoof. "Which means, it has more room to grow for something so new. When I first used it, it felt like I was working alongside Arceus. Like he was chiming in. After all...We're all friends of Arceus, even if he doesn't show it." "I think he shows it." Pinkie Pie spoke, sliding over. "He just can't emote with how his face is built. Arceus totally sees us as friends. He's already friends with Ash and Pikachu." "You could ask him yourself." Rainbow Dash hovered next to Pinkie Pie. "I mean....if you can reach him, that is. Phione's gone so our only way to reach him is out of the picture." "It is? Can't Twilight's Z-Crystal do it?" Pinkie referred back to the Twilightium Z. "I guess..." Twilight shrugged. "I met him in a different Z-Crystal and he could occasionally show up here. What about my counterpart's pendant? Baraz and Meray told her quite a bit after all." "I don't think she can hear anything yet," Fluttershy added. "But maybe that's the best way to reach Arceus. Baraz and Meray might have a way of doing it over at Arche Valley." "Everyone there's so lucky. They probably get to speak to Arceus anytime they want." Applejack nodded, believing everyone over at Arche Valley speak to Arceus more than anyone. "Well...It's not just them." But Ash knew someone else as a smile graced his face, grabbing the attention of his friends. "I know someone who can talk to Arceus. The same goes for Dialga, Palkia and Giratina too. She's got a special talent for it that no one else does." "A special talent? Who?" Spike asked. "Her name's Sheena," Ash revealed the name of another good friend of his in the vast Pokemon World. "How do I put it...She has the power to read the hearts of Pokemon. Even Arceus. It's thanks to her and Kevin, I heard and learned about Arceus for the first time." "Read the hearts of Pokemon? Like a...metaphorical or physical?" Pinkie Pie questioned. "More like Spiritually. It's so cool!" Ash's eyes lit up after thinking back to Sheena's special ability. "Man, the way she says it too! With that power, she can calm down any Pokemon! Unless their rage is too strong, that is." "Spiritually?" Twilight and her friends imagined how that was done. The pictured a hypothetical visage of Sheena, sending out a spiritual wave that would interact with a Snorlax. They weren't sure how it was done so this was the best that they could do. "It'd be great to see her again. I wonder what she's doing now..." "Pika..." "Where is she?" Twilight brought a few maps over, showing each of them to Ash. Any one of them could show Ash where Sheena was residing. Thankfully, he knew where she could be fun. "Hmmm..." Ash raced his finger around the map of Sinnoh, which had also been expanded thanks to the power of Jirachi, searching for a specific town. "She lives over at a place called Michina Town. That's it right there. Ah, but it's too far..." "Too far? How far are we talking?" Goh asked. "I mean far..." Ash laid back on a tree. "Michina Town's definitely one of the farthest places I've ever had to reach. We set our sights on it and arrived there 7 days later. It's not a quick trek. Not even a plane could help us if we use it." "Pika-Pika." Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Is it really that far?" said Fluttershy. "But you still want to head there anyway, don't you?" "Yeah." Ash chuckled. Not even great distances were enough to keep him having a good adventure "Well, stay sharp as well. You should know that this new world isn't favouring some Pokemon." Twilight added. "I mean, we saw it coming anyway. But some Pokemon have been disturbed this change. Reports of unrest from different Pokemon have been flying in." "I can only imagine. It all happened so fast for them." Rarity shook her head. "I'd love to come with you to Michina Town, but I will be busy at PokeStar Studios." "Same here. I'll be occupied." Applejack and Pinkie Pie said in unison. "Don't worry about it. We'll go another time." Ash stood up. "I got my own stuff to take care of too. Goh and I heading off to Hoenn for a bit. See ya around."' Everyone would part ways, setting off on their own activities for the rest of the day. But at least they all agreed on heading to Michina Town one day. The Pokemon here would bid their daily farewells to these common visiting friends. As for Fluttershy, when preparing to continue her daily routine, she would receive a surprise encounter with Team Rocket. "Oh! T-Team Rocket. Did you need something?" "Mhm! We heard you were heading to the Sinnoh Region, right?" Jessie would hold Fluttershy close, shifting her eyes in numerous directions. "Good call. Do you remember what we told you about what we heard a few months back?" "A few months back? Oh, you mean about the rest of Team Rocket?" "Not just that. You remember, Cresselia, right?" James nudged. "Oh, right. They were going for Cresselia afterwards. How did that go?" Fluttershy asked. Team Rocket referred to the Matori Matrix and how they set their sights on the Legendary Pokemon Cresselia during the Pokemon Festival, hunting that Pokemon down. "Looks like that wish had a lot of benefits. Get a load of this." By holding out her Rotomphone, it showed news reports about Team Rocket being spotted in the Sinnoh Region. This news report revealed a failed mission by Team Rocket when they attempted to capture a Cresselia. Cresselia made the news because of this as it was shown that the result of them failing to do so was because of Ash's wish. Because of the Jirachi, the expanded landmass led to Cresselie being distanced from Team Rocket when pursuing the Legendary Pokemon. Officer Jenny and the police were involved which held the Matori Matrix back from achieving their goal. A lot went into this news story as Matori's group managed to escape, still after Cresselia. "Oh, that's great!" Fluttershy applauded. "But Cresselia's still being hunted down by them. Do you know where we could find it?" "Mmm...Nope." Jessie shook her head. There was no lead on Cresselia. "But we'll let you know. It's only been 6 days after this change after all. If I know her, she's already scrambling to find Cresselia again." Jessie grizzled her teeth once she thought about Matori. "We were thinking of messing up whatever they're planning next with Cresselia. But...if we get involved, the twerp might get suspicious and mess us over as always." James sighed. "It's fine. Ash will understand." Fluttershy thought otherwise. "You and him may have your clashes here and there and you may be sent blasting off, but he'll know." "She's not wrong," Meowth added. "There's a been buncha times where he's helped us and we've helped him. So a common enemy ain't nothing new. Unless he mixes us up with her group." "I'll be heading to the Pokemon School tomorrow. We're reopening now after so long. I'm going to trust you all as always to keep things safe here." Fluttershy patted Jessie and James on the back, prompting Audino to hug them all. "Audino!" Audino's hugs weren't as strong as Dragonite's but they certainly carried weight to them, making Team Rocket puff their faces before they soon melted with love. Canterlot. The Pokemon School. The Pokemon School was once again open. Those that still had a lot to learn about Pokemon would return. And they certainly did. It wasn't too long ago when they realized another fact about Mega Evolution that was completely new to them. Meeting up in the staff room would be the teachers, AKA the various Gym Leaders. Roxanne, Brawly, Roxie, Drayden, Valerie, and Olympia had gathered here. Of course, not all of them were present in the staff room or the Pokemon School. Some were still busy as Gym Leaders and even some Elite 4 Members. "Feels pretty great to be back. But it's a bummer...now we don't have fast travel." Roxie said, sitting on the many desks with her guitar. "That gateway to Canterlot helped out a lot. Now there's only one and it's all the way at Kanto." "Sounds like you had trouble getting here, Roxie," Drayden replied. "Equestria is now in between Unova and Kalos, so the distance shouldn't too intimidating." "Mhm. It's easy for us." Valerie nodded as she and Olympia would have an easy time getting here due to where Equestria was now placed. "Not for us though." But then there were the Hoenn Gym Leaders. Roxanne and Brawly. "I do wish we had another gateway here. This means I'll have to travel back and forth from Hoenn to Equestria constantly. I've never had to move this far." "Ah, it's not so bad." Brawly shrugged. "It's great exercise too. Haha!" "For you." Roxanne pouted as Brawly managed to benefit from this mainly because of his physique and outgoing personality. "Princess Celestia said she's handling that," Olympia spoke. "Besides, some of us have our ways of travelling don't we, Mr Mayor?" "Mm." Drayden nodded. Being the Mayor of Opelucid Town meant that he had many ways to travel quickly with enough money to do so. Everyone else here either had a way of travelling fast or had to find ways to do so. "Everyone else will find a way. No matter which region they may be from. Cynthia and I have received their messages and they'll be here shortly for the new semester." "I haven't gotten any from Fantina though," Roxie added. "Not for a while, anyway." "Fantina? Haven't gotten in touch with her either." Brawly also revealed that he received no word from Fantina as well. "I wonder what she's doing lately?" "None of her messages have come through compared to everyone else's," Drayden grumbled, pondering for a moment. "Has anyone heard from her for a while?" "I spoke with them earlier about it. Volkner hasn't." Roxanne checked her Rotomphone, confirming in an instant. She would scroll through more messages. "Neither has anyone. In fact, no one's gone over to Hearthome to check up on her." "She almost invisible. Like a Ghost!" Brawly made a quick joke. "But seriously. What's up with that? Is something up?" "If something was up, she would have told us or any of her fellow Gym Leaders. She has been silent for quite some time now." Drayden crossed his arms. "No one's heard from her for a while. Especially after the Pokemon Festival and a few months have already passed by." "Worse...No one's managed to advance to the Pokemon League as of recently." Roxanne, who continued using her Rotomphone, confirmed another oddity. She would show it to Drayden and everyone else, revealing the shocking news. "No one can get Fantina's badge at all. In fact...no one can get to Hearthome City at all." "Yeesh. Did Jirachi's power affect Hearthome that badly?" Brawly gasped. "Everywhere else seems completely fine, doesn't it?" Valerie uttered. "Nothing's happened to my gym or the town at all. Why Hearthome?" "I don't think it's Jirachi's power." Roxanne shook her head, revealing more about it. "It says here that this happened during the Pokemon Festival. So this is way before that." "Does this mean Fantina has been unresponsive since the Pokemon Festival?" Olympia added. "That doesn't seem right. She loves festivals. Something is not right." For Olympia, she immediately deduced that something was very off. Fantina was unresponsive. No one had heard from her. No trainers from Sinnoh could advance to the Pokemon since there was one Gym Leader missing along with one Gym Leader. And on top of all of that, Hearthome City was going through its own mystery as well. None of them have yet to discover what was the cause of this. But Drayden was already set on solving this. His eyes narrowed as he knew this was not the result of something as simple as a break or hiatus. Or anything similar to that. This was something more. With his mind made up, he would face his fellow Gym Leaders, speaking these words. "We'll do our duties as teachers here. And after that..we're going to Hearthome City." As the journey continues. Chapter 10 End.