Equestria. Magehold. Day.
Hidden past the Hyperborean Island was Magehold. Home to the Dread League which consists of vampires and skeletons. Dark Magic and Curses could be found here along with other ominous and horrid forces. Ruled by the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta, this hidden nation and its inhabitants had one goal. Destroy all life with the power of the Destruction Pokemon Yveltal. This was the Black Crusade. Spearheaded by Rosa Maledicta, all that would remain would be her, the vampires and skeletons and a new world of skeletal beings. All for Rosa to command.
But aside from that, there was one individual who was different from the rest that lives here. A human who once had a life at the Sinnoh Region's Hearthome City as a Gym Leader. The Gym Leader and Contest Expert Fantina. For months, she had been living here, unaware of her true home and only having memories of her Pokemon along with the remains of her skills. Everything was a blur. Just as Rosa Maledicta intended.
There was no sunlight in Magehold. Only the view of the moon as its rays would pierce the windows of Fantina's home but she would not awake from that. Instead, her alarm clock was a draconic crow that would roar as loud as it could, awakening the Hearthome Gym Leader.
"Oh!" Fantina gasped, sitting up after the alarm clock did its job. "Hah...I don't think I can get used to that..." She sighed, sitting there for a moment as she looked out to view the endless night sky that only existed here at Magehold at all times.
Fantina would prepare herself for the day which always the night. For this place. Here in Magehold, she was brought here for one reason. To be a teacher for the vampires here when it comes to Pokemon. And since she is a teacher at the Pokemon School, she was a perfect choice in the eyes of Rosa Maledicta.
However, though a few months have passed. Most have not warmed up to Fantina or even accepted her presence here. She would step out of her home and immediately gain the sharp and judgemental eyes of the vampires. Mainly because of how she affected the children. The children certainly grew attached to Fantina because of her Ghost-Types and some of her own traits. They feared that Fantina could weed out their ways from the young ones.
But Fantina was not mindful of them. She even seemed oblivious to them all as she would skip along the crooked streets of Magehold. Despite how ominous this place was, she was still her happy self, even if she had no idea of her memory loss and how she came here in the first place.
"Today, I get to explore the rest of this place instead of teaching," Fantina said. "I haven't gotten that chance all that much. I've mostly been teaching the young ones and visiting that school more than anywhere. And maybe visiting old sites. That changes today though~" Fantina was looking forward to today. She was eager to check out the rest of Magehold.
It was a large place after all, despite being hidden behind an island that was somewhere near the Crystal Empire. A place this large was impossible to miss and yet no one else could enter it or find it due to what masks it and resides outside of it.
"So...This is a good place to start!" Fantina entered a shop, opening the door with high energy. But the second she did so, a vicious plant with electric eyes, multiple fangs and blades on the side would fly in her direction, hissing with poison around it. "Gyaaah!" Fantina screeched, performing a stylish but terrified twirl that would allow her to evade this massive plant. Pure instinct.
The plant would crash into the walls, sinking its sharp teeth into them and spreading its virulent poison all around. Fantina would freeze, pulling off a pose even in the face of fear. Everything she does, she does with style. Though her expression wasn't exactly stylish as it showed a startled expression.
"Ah, nice evasion. Not many can avoid her when they enter." The botanist at this shop would speak, grabbing Fantina's attention. She would glance over to see a vampire covered in various thorns with poison points around them, using them as pillows.
"Ah, thank you..." Fantina said with a light chuckle, shifting her eyes towards this plant. The plant would then face Fantina, quietly growling at its new prey.
"She won't bite. Not when you've managed to dodge her when entering. But she will try again." The botanist giggled as Fantina could expect another surprise attack from this plant. "Fantina, right?"
"Yes, that's me. I just came by, visiting this place first on my day off. I'm not teaching the young ones today." Fantina explained.
"Great choice coming to my shop. You're the one who's been teaching my daughter and well...I should thank you." She would close her eyes, manipulating one of the thorns to slide towards the Hearthome City Gym Leader. "The eagerness she brings has been elevated."
"Oh, has it?" Fantina said while eyeing down the thorn as it would approach slowly, slithering like a snake.
"That's what the other parents have said anyway. It's all because of you they're so chipper. More than usual. I would say it's the Pokemon that are responsible for this. But they do bring you up a lot of the time. My daughter has grown her fair share of plants at a more abundant level."
"Ah, it was my pleasure." Fantina giggled before witnessing the thorn wrap around her. "Ehh..."
"It's just what she needed, since she rarely takes things seriously, calling gardening boring. So that's one change I greatly appreciate. Since you're visiting here for the first time, take a gander at what we have. How do you find my Despair Plants? You can only find them here at Magehold?"
"They're interesting," Fantina replied, gulping at the poisonous thorn. Eventually, it would slither away, freeing her from any harm. "Ahh..."
"One of a kind. The Lich Queen herself uses magic that summons and controls these. These plants are the pride and joy of Magehold. At least when it comes to Plant Life. We have other pride and joys here. Would you like to shop here or even do a test run with these?"
"Test run?" Fantina repeated.
"Mhm. I sometimes let new customers have a free sample and make them grow their own flowers. But..." The botanist thought for a moment. "Since you've helped out my daughter, I'll make it free immediately. Fantina. Why don't you make a special flower of your own?"
"Ooh? Of my own?" Fantina approached the counter as her interest in these deadly flowers have been raised.
"Yes, yes." The botanist would have the thorns lift her while also grabbing a flower pot and a seed. This seed was as black as the night sky, emanating an ominous black aura around it. "Go ahead. I'll tell you all you need to know."
"How exciting!" Fantina did not mind the ominous energy coming from the seed at all. She was too eager to grow a plant of her own. And judging by what the botanist was saying, it would be relatively swift.
"The most important thing...is envisioning it!" The botanist exclaimed, widening her eyes which would sharpen. "Her Majesty is one of the few to master this, but these plants can have their own unique appearances."
"Unique appearances?"
"That's right. It's such a shame that we rarely, if never get to see the true form of her majesty's plants. They always appear so standard but there's something so amazing hidden behind them!" The botanist bit on the thorns, agitated by this. "No one else seems to get creative here either! So many of their plants look the same! Large mouths with poison and maybe fire! Is it too much to ask for something new?"
"Hmm...So you need variety." Music to Fantina's ears.
"Of course! My daughter doesn't even have that kind of uniqueness when it comes to making her own. They all appear identical that it's become the common choice at this point." The botanist sighed, greatly disappointed by the lack of unique Despair Plants. "I mean...it doesn't make the plants weak. I just like quality over quantity. But I suppose a mixture of both is the obvious choice."
"Envision what I want the plant to look like." Fantina would hold the Black Seed, gazing at its ominous aura for a bit. Fantina was already brewing something. Something that would stand out from a plant that just had a big mouth with deadly claws. The botanist was patiently waiting for Fantina's next move.
"Oh? Miss Fantina?" Coming down the stairs was one of the students over at the Magehold School, spotting her Pokemon Teacher.
"Je sais!" Fantina had something as she snapped her fingers with excitement. After deciding on what she wanted, she would drop the seed into the flower pot as the dark soil would instantly suck it up as if it was a black hole.
And right as she dropped it along with the little filly's arrival, the Black Seed and the Soil would react instantly. The botanist's eyes lit up as this was faster than even she expected. Before she knew it, there was an outburst of plant life that would grow out of this pot, blowing her, Fantina and the filly vampire back.
But it went further. What looked like a tree would break through the shop, startling everyone nearby, which was a lot. This massive tree would ascend to great levels, already overtaking the shop while surpassing many buildings in Magehold. With their jaws dropping, everyone would bare witness to a new kind of tree. It had a unique shape to it. One that was almost human-like.
Opal Vivacity, who was doing her mane, would glance outside, witnessing the titanic tree. "W-What in the-?!" She dropped her accessories in disbelief. Many would stop what they were doing as the tree would quickly reach its end.
The height of it was so large that it nearly matched the castle of the Lich Queen. The full appearance of the tree had been revealed. Cherry blossoms would drop from the very top, which would resemble the head of a human with beautiful hair. In fact, this hair seemed to resemble Cresselia.
This whole tree had the appearance of a beautiful who was gracefully resting, putting her hands together. There was no sugarcoating what it appeared as. Fantina was covered by the cherry blossoms while everyone stared in awe.
"T-That'll do...That's the best one I've seen yet." The botanist said, feeling dizzy.
"Thank you. Apologies for your shop...I didn't expect it to grow so large..." Fantina apologized for the mess she made. It was a rather towering mess.
"Wow, Miss Fantina..." The little filly crawled out of the cherry blossoms, admiring this mysterious woman. "Is that you? Compensating much?"
"No, my little pony." Fantina laughed, shaking her head. This woman was certainly not her. "This is not me at all. I envisioned something great. And that something, was Cresselia."
"Cresselia?" The filly repeated, hearing Cresselia's name for the first time.
"More specifically, it's who Cresselia resembles." Fantina softly smiled before closing her eyes while resting on the soft cherry blossoms. "Legend has it that Cresselia resembles a Heavenly Maiden who created the Milky Way. I remember that story vaguely. So, I decided on this. Cresselia is a beautiful Pokemon and this Heavenly Maiden is usually drawn to be as well."
"Well...You've granted my wish." The botanist barely managed to crawl out of the cherry blossoms. "That's the fastest anything has ever grown from that. A bit too bright for my taste but...it's impressive, Fantina. You have an eye for creation. Next time, do you think you could make something more our style?"
"I will try. But I do love grace." Fantina grinned as she certainly earned the respect of this family. It started with the daughter and now the mother.
As for the Heavenly Maiden Tree, no one would ignore it. Despite the fact that the cherry blossoms were the opposite of everything dark and grim in this place, there was something about its presence that completely captured the eyes of the vampires.
"She's beautiful..." And the beauty of this maiden would be acknowledged without a doubt. It was not the cherry blossoms that caught their attention but the maiden herself. And to an extent, the size of the tree since it was now the second tallest structure here.
"Who made this?" The vampires would speak, keeping the topic around the tree.
"It must've been that Fantina. Those colours are definitely not it."
"It's already eye candy to some of them here. Do you think she's actually trying to change things up here?" Discussion about Fantina would continue about her running the Magehold way of life. And this massive tree only accelerated that discussion further.
"Look at that Miss Opal. Isn't she beautiful?" Back with Opal, a few vampires would gush at this Heavenly Maiden, enamoured by her appearance, even if they were just looking at a tree.
"Hmph. She's not that beautiful." Naturally, Opal Vivacity was rather jealous of this tree's appearance. She would prefer if she was the only beautiful pony around. "I can't believe I'm getting jealous of a tree...Where did this thing even come from? And who is that supposed to be anyway?"
Fantina would continue her day, waving farewell to the Botanist Family. She could stand proud knowing she had now left an impact on Magehold in the form of this tree. Her next destination would be one with some familiarity. She had made a few friends here. And one of them was an excellent potion maker.
Ebony Rhyme. Magehold's special potion maker. She took this role due to her lack of magic, making her oddity in the eyes of Magehold when it comes to vampires. Not a semblance of magic was within her, thus, potions were her only source of magic.
"She said this was her home. I never got the chance to visit it until now." Fantina would look up at Ebony's home, which was distant from most other buildings. It was rather isolated, surrounded by nothing else. Just looking at it brought a sense of loneliness to this house. Just then, the door would automatically open, welcoming Fantina inside.
The darkness within that masked the indoors of this building would clear up, showing glowing eyes from within. These eyes belonged to Ebony Rhyme, who would stare at Fantina with her blank and expressionless eyes. But upon seeing Fantina, the only thing that was expressive was her mouth, which formed a smile.
"Fantina. You actually showed up." Ebony said. "It's been months and you haven't been in here before."
"First time for everything. It's my day off, so I'm feeling adventurous. Fantina would enter. Immediately, she would be smacked in the face by the scent of various potions. This whole room was filled with potion scents of all kinds, startling the Gym Leader.
"Like it? They all go well together." Ebony uttered, unbothered by the scent.
"It's super-effective..." Fantina twitched before shaking her head, recollecting herself. "Anyways, I just dropped by to spend time with you. After all, we're friends."
"We are. By the way...what's up with that thing outside?" Ebony would fixate on the Cherry Blossom Tree of the Heavenly Maiden. Even in this isolated home, the tree was impossible to miss.
"Ah. That's my creation. I visited a botanist and she gave me a free test run." Fantina explained. "Beautiful isn't it? It's of the Heavenly Maiden who's said to have created the Milky Way."
"Impressive. You made that? Today?"
"She said it was faster than usual. I didn't even plan for it to be this big?" She would laugh. "Maybe you have some potions in here that will bring about something big as well?"
"Not really. Not yet, anyway." Ebony shook her head before having something crawl up on her head. That would be a Salandit. Her own Pokemon. "Would you like something to drink? Some Henbane?" Ebony would then bring over a glass drink that had a very obvious black skull on it, emanating a poisonous smoke.
"H-Henbane?" Fantina shuddered. "Ah, that's fine. Say. We went to catch some Pokemon for you. Why don't we just get out there and spend some more time as friends? The whole of Magehold to ourselves."
"Mmm. No." Ebony denied the offer. "I'd rather not explore Magehold."
"No? Oh, but it's so vast and interesting." Fantina thought otherwise, wanting to view more of this eerie place. "But you've already seen all of it if not a lot of it, probably."
"I've seen enough of it," Ebony replied. "If I try and venture the place...the number of eyes I'll get will be too plentiful to count."
"Ah. I see." Fantina knew why Ebony rejected the offer. It was mainly for her lack of magic and how many vampires viewed her. Ebony refused to go across most of Magehold just for that sole reason. "Ebony. I don't have any magic of my own, remember? You've already proved that having magic isn't everything."
"I know. But you left an impression." Ebony Rhyme turned away. "That tree's the newest impression with how everyone's looking at it."
"You can leave an impression too." Fantina leaned on the desk, doing her best to encourage Ebony Rhyme. "The children are certainly impressed by your potions."
"I have you to thank for that. But really, for everyone else, I'm not just an oddity, but I might as well be invisible. I haven't done much at all except pass on healing potions or anything that they need to satisfy their destruction. I'd prefer not to make an impression, honestly."
"Hmm. I understand." Fantina nodded in understanding, respecting Ebony Rhyme's decision. She wasn't set on leaving a big impact that would make everyone gawk and gaze at her.
"Besides, my existence to them is already enough to garner some attention. Not the best kind of attention." Ebony Rhyme continued. "But you...You do things differently. You know that they hate you, right?"
"I do." Fantina was already aware of the looks she received from the other vampires. "But I do not mind or pay any attention to it. I just go on about my day, Ebony, enjoying what I can."
"I see. That must've been even better for you back home. You didn't have to worry about strange looks, probably."
"Back home?" However, due to Rosa Maledicta's magic, Fantina had no recollection of her home over at Hearthome.
"You remember...right? You didn't just pop up out of nowhere, Fantina. You obviously have a home that's the original instead of the one you have now." Ebony leaned forward.
"I do...Don't I?" Fantina scratched her hair, unsure of her words. Nothing about her home was managing to spark up in her mind, even if she tried. "Don't I?"
"Hmm..." This was peculiar to Ebony Rhyme. More importantly, it was the first time, she witnessed Fantina's confusion about her original home.
"Ah, my head hurts." Fantina would then feel a slight pain in her head, but it would soon subside. "A-Anyway, what do you wish to do, Ebony? How about we make potions together? I'd like to hone my skills after all~"
"Right. We'll do that." Ebony replied but with a different tone. She would choose to make potions with Fantina, however, her suspicions about Fantina's origin were now starting to brew. It was strange to her that Fantina had no memory of her home and just appeared one day. But there was one thing that was obvious. Rosa Maledicta was the one who brought her here.
Speaking of Rosa Maledicta, still to this day, she was still healing after her scuffle with Yveltal. Yveltal himself was also being contained until the time to use him was ready. But that time would only come when the Lich Queen was up and ready. But even though she was immobile and kept within a healing chamber, the Lich Queen still had some power.
Right as Fantina attempted to remember anything about her home, that sharp pain would come from Rosa Maledicta's magical influence, preventing those memories from emerging.
"I can't have you remembering, Fantina. Not until the Black Crusade is over, anyway. Besides...you're leaving an impact on Magehold, so it's too soon for you to start heading home." Rosa Maledicta spoke before staring at the massive tree that was seen by all.
The way the tree was positioned made it look like the Heavenly Maiden was staring at everyone with a welcoming and loving smile. The cherry blossoms even brought a welcoming presence each time they would drop. The tree was beautiful to the point where even Rosa Maledicta couldn't deny its beauty.
"I would've preferred something sharper." But of course, the vibrance of it was not her style. "But apparently, this of a Heavenly Maiden? It seems that Arceus isn't the only force in the Pokemon Universe that I have to watch out for. Or perhaps...our universe now. Now that the two worlds have become one, that makes things easier for me. Less work...but I do feel a further distance from us. Roseluck."
Indeed. To this day, she still had her sister on her mind. Her little sister Roseluck who resides in Ponyville. But just as she was about to think about her sister some more, something else came up. A new visage entered Rosa Maledicta's mind. The visage of Hearthome City.
"Hearthome?" Rosa Maledicta uttered. "This is a future vision. This means...someone's trying to enter very soon? Again? Interesting...But it will probably end the same way it did for many others who've tried."
Sinnoh. Above the region. Afternoon.
By now, Drayden and a few other Gym Leaders noticed Fantina's disappearance and the silence that was around Hearthome City. Lessons at the Pokemon School over at Canterlot would go by as usual. And once all the students would depart, the teachers would leave, but not to their respective regions.
Drayden, Roxie, Brawly, Roxanne, Valerie and Olympia had already decided to head out and investigate this for themselves. This was another Gym Leader who they had not heard from for a while. They would arrive at Sinnoh, nearing Hearthome City.
They would take a plane to this region, courtesy of Drayden. And being high in the skies, they would get a good look at the region itself. But more importantly, the view of Hearthome from afar.
"Hey...What's up with Hearthome?" Brawly was the first to notice the oddity around Hearthome City. The city itself had lost its colours. And not in the sense of the electricity being shut down. More in the sense of it being completely devoid of any form of vibrance. Bleak and dull.
"It looks so...dead down there." Valerie gawked as her eyes would flicker at this dull sight. "What happened to it?"
"Something is definitely wrong here..." Olympia placed her hand on her chest as she shuddered for a bit. As a Psychic-Type specialist, she was already sensing ominous vibes just by looking at the city.
However, if they wanted to find Fantina, whatever was up with that city, Hearthome was the perfect place to start. But most definitely, neither were looking forward to visiting this once vibrant city that was famous for having a vibrant Pokemon Trainer as the journey continues.
Chapter 11 End.