Sinnoh. Michina Town. Michina Ruins. Afternoon.
A Despair Plant had appeared over at the Michina Ruins. During Twilight, Starlight and Goh's exploration of the Michina Ruins where the Time-Space Axis could be found, Twilight and Espeon spotted Despair Plant Scorpio.
"Is that...a Despair Plant?!" After spotting Scorpio from the corner of her eye, Twilight would do a complete turn, seeing the real deal above her. Scorpio stood on the ceiling ruins, hissing at Twilight Sparkle and Espeon. It didn't take long for Starlight and Goh to notice Scorpio. Not just one Scorpio, but multiple Despair Plant Scorpios.
"W-Why are there so many of them?!" A startled Goh would back up, gazing up at many Scorpios that would gather. Really, it was the abundance of them and their eerie skittering that intimidated him as he and Starlight would both grimace, grabbing onto each other.
One by one, each of the Scorpios would pop up from the walls and ceilings, infesting this part of the ruins. And of course, since they were all here, that meant one thing. The Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta's voice could come through as she saw everything through the non-existent eyes of the Despair Plants.
"Hello, Princess Twilight." For the first time, Twilight Sparkle heard the voice of Rosa Maledicta. And of course, Goh and Starlight would be aware of this voice as well.
"Who is this?!" Twilight navigated her head across the area, searching for that echoing voice.
"I wasn't expecting my darlings to encounter you now. Especially here of all places. My darlings can spare some time to terrorize you before heading for their prey."
"You...You're the Lich Queen, aren't you?!" Putting two and two together, Twilight immediately figured out that this was the Lich Queen speaking to her. This news didn't help Goh and Starlight ease down. "Where's Fantina?!"
"Don't worry about that. You should be worried about yourself. It'd be a shame if Equestria was suddenly down a princess. Especially someone as important as you, who helped make this combined world possible." Just as she said that, the Despair Plant Scorpios would all ready their massive three stingers that was connected to their bulb-like tails.
"These are things that gave the Gym Leaders such a hard time..." When swivelling to face each Despair Plant Scorpio, Twilight already knew how volatile and risky this could get. The Gym Leaders, who are top-class trainers, struggled against these plants and just managed to escape from them.
"Correct. You should feel at least pleased that this town isn't their main target. My Despair Plants will be gone soon, leaving it a complete wreck. Anything to better my chances at finishing the Black Crusade."
"As if that would happen." Twilight replied, scoffing at Rosa Maledicta. "Michina Town will be left in one piece. A place like this just feels like it would."
"Maybe let's not argue against the Lich Queen..." Starlight pleaded, fearing what the Lich Queen could do after learning about all the things she's already done. The vampires by themselves caused massive damage and she didn't want to imagine what kind of damage Rosa Maledicta could cause.
"And how are you going to stop me? You should know what happened to your precious Gym Leaders. They're lucky to have escaped but they won't be lucky a second time."
"I don't mean to diss them, but I have access to magic, if you haven't figured it out." Twilight put on a cocky smirk. Though she could not see Rosa Maledicta, judging from the abrupt silence, she could tell that the Lich Queen had a rather grumpy expression on her face.
And she would be right. Back at Magehold, where the Lich Queen was still healing up, a disgruntled and disdainful expression appeared on her face in response to Twilight's words. She hated the fact that Twilight had a point. None of the Gym Leaders had access to the vast array of magic that Twilight Sparkle had.
"Tch." Rosa finally spoke after these few moments of silence. "Let's see how useful that magic of yours is when my darlings poison you from all fronts!"
With those words, the many Despair Plant Scorpios attacked. They all used their triple stingers at once, utilizing the poison from within to unleash poisonous streams. From the sides and above, these poisonous streams would all converge, closing in on Twilight, Espeon, Starlight and Goh for a quick finish.
"Quick, Eve! Psychic!" Acting quickly on her hooves, Twilight, alongside her partner Espeon would form a telekinetic field that would instantly hold the poison streams.
Once again, a Psychic-Type had stopped Scorpio's most deadly trait via the advantage over Poison. But this time, it was redirected at them. Twilight redirected the streams of poison back at the Despair Plants, giving them a taste of their own virulent medicine. However, some of the Scorpios would skitter away to evade the incoming poisonous streams before then closing in on their prey.
"Now's a good time as ever to have a Fire-Type out! Go, Cinderace!" Goh would step back, quickly sending out his Cinderace.
"Come out, Hatterene!" And for Starlight, her only Pokemon was still Hatterene. But she was reliable thanks to her strength.
"Cinderace!"
"Hatterene!"
"Fire?" Judging by Rosa's voice, the presence of a Fire-Type wasn't all that favourable. The power of Pokemon was so vast that even creatures that were not Pokemon were susceptible to the Type Advantage and Disadvantage. It was only natural and in this combined world, it would matter even more.
"Go, Cinderace! Pyro Ball!"
"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!"
"Cinder! Cinder!" The fact that this was an ancient place meant that there were plenty of rocks to go about for Cinderace's Pyro Ball. Cinderace repeatedly kicked a rock, igniting it into a flaming soccer ball. It then performed a full-throttle sideways kick to the fireball, launching it. This was followed up by Hatterene's claw being swung around so aggressively that tearing blades of Psychic Energy would come rushing out.
The Despair Plants used their large stingers against the incoming attacks, attempting to pierce them. However, when trying to pierce Cinderace's Pyro Ball, a Despair Plant would only find themselves receiving a blazing explosion. Making direct contact with Pyro Ball was a terrible idea.
The body of this Despair Plant was set ablaze. It was still a plant after all and it didn't help that it was also a bug, making it highly vulnerable to flames. Some of the stingers intercepted the Psychic Blades of Psycho Cut but some of them managed to knock over the Despair Plants.
"In that case...Go, Ninetales!" Seeing this advantage, Twilight would send out her next Pokemon. Her nine-tailed friend, Ninetales.
"Ninetales!"
"Ninetales! Charge through them all with Flare Blitz!"
"Nine!" Once Ninetales entered the battle, he would exert a blazing aura of flames that erupted violently. After unleashing them, the Fox Pokemon would launch himself like a rocket, leaving behind a scarlet trail. Ninetales crashed through some of the Despair Plant Scorpios with Flare Blitz, sending them flying and knocking some of them over as if they were bowling balls. This was followed by Twilight using her magic to zap at as many Despair Plants as she could.
Rosa Maledicta witnessed how Twilight's group were so far, managing to keep these Despair Plants at bay. But the Lich Queen knew that would not last. Not for long. Altogether, the Scorpios would unleash their stingers, separating them from their bodies. The stingers would fly in, threatening to pierce and poison their targets in the same way they poisoned some of the Pokemon from the Gym Leaders.
However, this time, the stingers would multiply. No longer coming in pairs of three, these stingers would be extremely abundant, littering most of this part of the ruins. Twilight and her friends had their eyes widen at the number of flying stingers. Immediately, they all had the instinct to either dodge or knock them away. Twilight would take flight, using her flight to fly back from these stingers. But she would soon find out that these stingers already had homing properties as they would immediately pursue Twilight in the air, having the ability to fly.
"They can fly?!" Twilight gasped before increasing her flying plant. But those stingers would only keep pace with her speed instead of letting Twilight get ahead.
"C-Cinder!" And from all the battling, it was hard to keep a track of all the Despair Plants. Cinderace found that out when one of the stingers struck its back when attempting to evade all of them. These evasion tactics didn't take the Striker Pokemon far with how some of these stingers pincered. He even received a sting on his knee.
"Ah! Cinderace!" Goh gasped before receiving a stinger to the back of his leg as well. "Ngh!"
"Goh!" Starlight gasped before sensing one of the stingers coming her way. She would quickly put up a protective shield, guarding herself and Hatterene against these stingers in the nick of time. Twilight would zap away at these stingers, destroying them with each consecutive magical ray.
However, with so many stingers, some of them would eventually hit their mark. And in this case, the ones from above that managed to get over Twilight. She was too late to look up and retaliate as these stingers managed to hit the back of her head. "Gah!"
"E-Esp!" Espeon, when trying to hold them back with Psychic, would find herself being stabbed by the ones that came later, hitting her tail. So far, almost all of them had received a poisonous jab. Seeing Twilight and Espeon receive damage sparked a reaction in Ninetales.
"Ninetales!" Ninetales would flare his body up with a blazing aura once again. This time, he used it to burn away the stingers that would approach him. This was an effective tactic as the stingers were unable to go any further. They would all disintegrate from Ninetales' aura. Not only that, but Ninetales' heat would even force some of the Scorpios to back up.
Afterwards, Ninetales would use Flamethrower, unleashing a scarlet stream from his mouth. These flames would strike the nearby ground, blowing away the Despair Plants. All the stingers would melt and drop from the presence of these flames as Ninetales managed to stop this assault.
"T-Thanks, Ninetales." Twilight stammered before slowly descending. The poison was already affecting her by this point along with the others. Goh and Cinderace got on their knees while Espeon would breathe in deeply. There were visible holes in all of them with poison leaking out.
"Does anyone have a Refresh...?" Goh groaned before feeling his leg twitch. Standing up was tricky at the moment because of the poison that was at the back of his leg.
"Hang on, you two!" Starlight quickly rushed over. "I can heal Espeon and Cinderace with antidotes, but you two might need a Refresh since they won't work on you."
"That's fine..." Twilight uttered. "It's a good thing Audino can handle that." But their worries were not yet over. The Despair Plant Scorpios were still active, even with these effective flames around.
Ninetales would growl at the Scorpios with all nine of his tails standing up, showing hostile intent. These Despair Plants had already received Ninetales' hostility the moment they poisoned Twilight.
"Impressive. But the Gym Leaders did better, as to be expected. So much for magic as an advantage, Twilight Sparkle. However, I shouldn't be wasting time letting you survive for this long. I'll weed you out, leaving this town vulnerable to whatever comes next. You won't be there to stop it at all, Princess Twilight." Rosa spoke after witnessing this display. It was mainly Ninetales who held the Despair Plants back because of his flames. However, he couldn't do anything about his poisoned friends.
"And what's that...?" An injured Twilight said as the holes in the back of her head didn't just allow the poison to spread, but the wind that blew into it made her twitch. After all, those stingers were sharp and left a visible wound that was not to be ignored.
"Witness!" Just as her voice boomed, the Scorpios would each glow, emanating that dark light once more. Twilight and the others attempted to stand tall in whatever could come next. However, not all of them could stand tall in their current states. Mainly Cinderace and Espeon, who were suffering from the poison.
The Scorpios were about to fuse once more. But this time, it would be with Cobra but with the same species as the lights would all come together, initiating a multi-fusion.
"Abandon all hope when my plants unleash the extent of their capabilities! Their true strength is unleashed when they fuse to form unstoppable predators that you could never hope to overcome! Appear, Despair Plants Amelidies and Chimera!
"F-Fusion?!" A stunned Starlight gasped. Multiple fusions of two different Despair Plants had appeared. The first one was something they were all familiar with. Chimera had returned but this time, it was joined by another species. Emerging from the dark light was a four-legged creature that had a massive stalk on its back followed by red markings on its green body that resembled that of flames. The end of its tail was a massive stinger that was closer to what the Scorpios all had.
Despair Plant Chimera and Despair Plant Amelidies. With how many Scorpios fused, there were now multiple fusions present here. Granted, it was fewer than the Scorpios since they all merged but it was still an overwhelming amount.
Twilight would grit her teeth, attempting to stay strong in the face of these fused plants, despite her poisoned condition along with the numerical disadvantage. The only ones able to continue without much of an issue were Ninetales, Starlight and Hatterene, but even that wouldn't be enough.
"Want to call it quits?" Rosa suggested. "I'll be kind enough to try something with you, princess. Your friends...maybe not so much. You should know when you're on the verge of losing."
"W-What do we do? Do we stay here and keep going?" Goh asked with one eye closed. This whole time, while the Despair Plants were fusing, Starlight took the time to use Antidotes on the Pokemon, removing the poison. Ninetales certainly had the strength to go on, ready to torch these plants.
"It's best that we make a run for it!" Twilight chose the most logical thing to do now. Flee. Flee while they had the chance. Most were in agreement. Maybe not Ninetales but still had to follow Twilight and keep her safe. He would stay behind everyone to guard them against any incoming attacks.
Thus, they would all make a run for it. At least, those who could. Starlight would use her magic to carry Goh while Hatterene used her claw to pick up Cinderace. Hatterene wasn't known for being fast so it would take Starlight to drag her and Cinderace along as well. Twilight still had the strength to fly as she would soar through the air.
"Run all you can! Your scent is already theirs and there's no way you'll escape!" Rosa cackled as all of the Despair Plants immediately chased Twilight and her friends down. It was now a full pursuit through the rest of these ruins. The Amelidies' were certainly the fastest thanks to their four legs. Chimera's build did not allow it for swift movements.
But what it lacked in speed and versatile movement, it made up for one of its devastating abilities. Each of the Chimeras would slam their massive vines onto the ground, sending a vicious spore that would rapidly spread across the room, pursuing their targets. Everything about these plants was all about pursuit, from the way they could track scents, the stingers and now this spore that had electricity crackling out of it.
"This is similar to that move, Stun Spore. That's what it's called right?" Rosa said as this move was identical to Stun Spore. Not just from the way it appeared but by what it could do. When holding back the Despair Plants with Flamethrower, Ninetales would be the first to receive the spore.
"N-Ninetales!" Ninetales cried out as his entire body would feel a strong paralysis come through. His body would freeze on the spot, throwing his balance off immediately. He was now paralyzed but unlike Stun Spore or any other paralysis effect, this spore had a stronger punch to it. Ninetales' vision would be attacked by this electrifying force, making him lose sight of his opponents for a bit.
This allowed one of the Amelidies to slap him with its massive tail with the stinger at the end. Ninetales would find himself being knocked back, unable to retaliate or evade in any way. And with his body paralyzed, he wouldn't be able to recover for a safer landing.
"Ninetales!" Twilight would catch Ninetales with her magic, still having the strength to use her spells. The poison hadn't rendered her powerless after all. After catching Ninetales, the Princess of Friendship would blast the ceiling above. This was a way to form a temporary blockade as a large pile of rubble would come crashing down.
It pained Twilight to harm this historical building but she would be in even bigger pain if she didn't heal up and evade these Despair Plants. She managed to form a temporary blockade with the rubble, blocking off the Despair Plants. With what she could utilize, she would add a layer of magical protection onto the rubble, giving them extra durability to spare some time. Now that they had some time to take a breather, it was all a matter of making the next move. And they had to think fast as the Despair Plants were already starting to break apart the rubble.
"Now what?!" Goh asked.
"There are other rooms in here...but those plants will track out scents down. Let's just keep moving!" There was no choice but to keep moving. The plants would track them down anyway so it was best to evade them until something could be done. There were other rooms in these ruins and the ones that stuck out to them were the stairs that lead to the lower parts of the ruins.
Looking at those lower parts gave Twilight an idea she hoped would work as her friends would all rush downstairs. The rubble along with the magical protection was being smashed and obliterated by the raw power of the Despair Plants as one of them looked through the gaps, spotting Twilight and her friends heading downstairs.
When downstairs, they would come across many other rooms. One of which was an old kitchen that was unusable at this point with all the utensils rusting over.
"Hah..." Twilight sat down as the poison on the back of her head was slowing her down as much as it slowed down Goh, Cinderace and Espeon. "Alright...I may have something that could work."
"Hopefully it does work. What about Roseluck though? Is she finished with whatever she was working on?" Goh questioned before being helped up by Starlight. Starlight would also use use a Full Restore on Ninetales, curing him of his paralysis immediately. So far, Starlight was the healer in this situation. Bringing on protection and carrying an assortment of healing items. Unfortunately, there was none for Twilight or Goh.
"Roseluck wouldn't be able to make it here in time, sadly." Starlight shook her head. The distance from Michina Town to Equestria was far too great. It wouldn't matter at all and would take a whole week or more for Roseluck to show up here.
"We came here to see if we could get Sheena's help against those Despair Plants. But in reality...we've had a piece of Arceus with us this whole time. And now's a good enough time to use it." Out of her saddlebag, Twilight revealed her Twilightum Z. Made up by the power of Arceus and a dash of her own magic, this was one of the few items in the world that were connected to the Alpha Pokemon.
"Oh yeah! It's got Arceus' light in it! That has to work, without a doubt!" Starlight grinned. There was always something that could come in handy and with the bond that most of her friends have with Arceus, the light of the Creator Deity was always close. Even if Phione was gone, there was always something to bank on. And in this case, it was the Twilightium Z.
"Hopefully. And I hope I have the strength to do it. But all this battling should alert Ash and the others." Twilight stood up, ready to place on her Z-Ring. "With Ash getting involved that should give me enough time to-"
But unexpectedly, right as Twilight was ready to gear up, from above, an elongated tail would drop in, grabbing her Z-Crystal. It was the tail of a scorpion. Or in this case, Despair Plant Scorpio. With an audible gasp, everyone looked up to see that there were already other Despair Plant Scorpios around here.
The one that stole the Twilightium Z would be guarded by the other Scorpios, preventing anyone from getting close to it. Not only that, but the blockade from upstairs was falling apart rapidly. The roars of the Despair Plants could be heard as they were almost through the magical protection.
"I always keep a few standard Despair Plants around while the fused ones deal most of the damage." Rosa Maledicta spoke through the Despair Plants once more. "So...this crystal has Arceus' light in it? Interesting. I can't have that around. Crush it, my darling!"
"No!" Twilight cried out, spreading her wings out. But that only caused her further harm, slowing her down yet again. Espeon, Starlight and Cinderace would try and act as fast they could. Espeon used Dazzling Gleam along with Hatterene, Cinderace used Pyro Ball while Ninetales used Flamethrower.
They all targeted the Despair Plants that shielded the singular Scorpio, using themselves as meat shields. And with how many of them appeared, they were set to fully guard that one Despair Plant, removing any chance of their opponents retrieving the Z-Crystal. The singular Scorpio began tightening the Twilightium Z with its pincers, ready to shatter it into pieces.
"I won't let you!" Twilight's body flared with magic, ready to use whatever she could to stop this from happening. She had her options and all that mattered was how she could execute them.
"Arceus' light is too valuable to keep around. There will be no remaining light of this kind in the world I will create. And I will see to it!" Rosa laughed maniacally as the Pokemon were doing their best to get past the wave of Scorpios while the one that possessed the Twilightium Z was crawling away to gauge some distance. And at last, the fused Despair Plants had broken through the blockade, immediately tracking down Twilight and her friends as vicious footsteps from Amelidies were approaching rapidly.
"No, you won't...He won't let it happen either." Twilight said, referring to Arceus. She would then use her magic to affect the Twilightium Z from afar, not needing to touch it. After all, it was her Z-Crystal and was closely tied to her as she managed to get a telekinetic hold on the crystal.
"Right you are, Twilight."
Suddenly, with a mightier voice than Rosa Maledicta's, someone took action before Twilight did. It was none other than the voice of the Alpha Pokemon himself. Rosa gasped as she could feel this mighty voice coming from the Twilightium Z, affecting her from Magehold even at this distance.
It was none other than the voice of Arceus. The Twilightium Z would glow, unleashing a potent light that immediately enveloped the Scorpio along with the other Despair Plant Scorpios in this room.
"Arceus!" Twilight gasped as the light would stun the Despair Plants, making them cry out. "A-Are you...are you here?"
"I am not fully here. You and I formed a bond on that night. The strength within your Z-Crystal harbours my strength as well." Arceus spoke. "My power is your power as well. That has already been established, remember? However, not all of my power is within it. This crystal is made up of the crux of your power. By doing this, your crystal will lack some power for a bit, so not all of my strength will emerge from it."
"I-I understand!" Twilight nodded in understanding. She was just grateful for Arceus doing this for her, even if it was momentary. The Scorpios would all drop from Arceus' light as Twilight's theory was correct. Much like how Galaxy Master's light greatly affected the Adaptable Roots, Arceus' light greatly affected the Despair Plants.
"My darlings!" Rosa gasped after seeing her Scorpios drop. The intensity of the light was so strong that even the Despair Plants that were approaching this area couldn't help but stand back for a bit. A great sense of caution and danger was sensed by them. "So, this kind of light is what it takes to threaten my darlings. I can take some solace knowing that, I suppose."
"Now, Twilight Sparkle! Smite your foes with the symphonic blaze of the stars!" Arceus commanded as the Z-Crystal would float to the Princess of Friendship once the Despair Plant was blown back by it. It would gracefully descend, placing itself within Twilight's Z-Ring.
"Thank you, Arceus. I'll do just that!" Heeding Arceus' command, Twilight would slide the Z-Ring on flawlessly before standing upright. Even with the poison that was within her, she wouldn't let it stop her. "Eve! Ninetales Get ready!"
"Do you worst." Rosa was feeling confident in herself despite what was about to be unleashed. Perhaps it was eerily confident as she didn't sound worried at all.
The lights started flowing in the direction of Espeon and Ninetales. Twilight moved her hooves around in two different ways. The motion of water, swishing from left to right as well as making an arch shape with her hooves. After making the arch, she then spread her wings out as they became a part of the pose too. The Princess of Friendship had then put both her hooves forward.
Espeon and Ninetales would feel their bodies light up with the Magic of Friendship exuding out of them along with drops of Arceus' power. Twilight's eyes opened as her voice suddenly echoed throughout the ruins. That's when the golden figure of Arceus materialized behind her, growing to such a height that it even went outside of the ruins.
All of Michina Town would be seen the sudden emergence of Arceus' figure, glowing beautifully in the azure skies. This involved Ash and his friends who had yet to know about the scuffle happening within the Michina ruins. Twilight then pulled off the star pose by putting both her front hooves out, maintaining her balance. That was the end pose as the lights then reached their peak.
"Eve! Ninetales! Harmonic Twilight Starblaze!"
The attack had been initiated. Millions of Cutie Marks that represented Twilight's had shown up in small sizes, flowing into the sky before then merging. They combined to form a gigantic version of Twilight's Cutie Mark.
Espeon and Ninetales then jumped into the air as they were pulled into the Cutie Mark. Their bodies resonated with it as the star started vibrating rapidly, letting out stardust. The Despair Plants would arrive once they tracked down their prey, only to encounter the potent light that threatened them.
"Espeon!" Espeon and Ninetales had cried out with all of their might as a devastating purple blast was shot out of them with brilliant radiance, blazing through the air.
"Two can play at that game! Go, my darlings!"
The Despair Plants had their own response. With so many of them around, they combined their strength once more, using the poison from Scorpio to form the largest poison stream yet. It was a direct clash between the massive streams of poison along with the magical beam.
The streams were holding back the Z-Move, startling Twilight. She didn't expect them to successfully keep it at bay, but then again, there were so many of them that they had the collective strength to fight back. After all, the Gym Leaders struggled against them and even with this Z-Move, Espeon and Ninetales were struggling.
"It's not working?!" Starlight gasped, shocked that the Z-Move didn't instantly win this. "How come!?"
"It has to work!" Twilight whimpered from all the pain she was receiving at the back of her head. "Go, Eve! Ninetales!"
"E-Espeon!" Espeon and Ninetales put more of their strength into it. The beam would shine brighter than before, growing in size to push back the stream. The Despair Plants were forced to put some more effort in as well as this Z-Move was a genuine threat thanks to Arceus' light.
But there was another factor they had to worry about. Twilight's magic. After all, the Magic of Friendship was embedded within the Z-Crystal. And with Twilight pouring her own magic into this beam, it only helped boost the Z-Move. The crux of the Z-Move had been added, giving it an extra flare of power.
However, in such a small space, this amount of energy was highly volatile and destructive for both sides. Eventually, the clash would end as the resulting effect ended up forming a gargantuan dome-shaped purple explosion that then turned into a tall purple pillar that pierced the ceilings of the ruins. Everyone here would find themselves being blinded by this expanding light.
Rosa Maledicta's vision was immediately forced out of it as a dash of Arceus' light got in her eyes. Back at Magehold, she would gasp once she got a taste of that light. As for the Despair Plants, being exposed to some of Arceus' light would greatly affect their bodies, even more so than what Ninetales and Cinderace could do with their flames.
The Michina Ruins would suffer some damage from this, but there could be only one result. And with the light enveloping Twilight, she was hoping that it swung her way.
"Twilight?! Guys?!" Rushing in here, minutes later, was none other than Ash and the rest of his friends. If they weren't alerted by the massive Arceus figure in the sky, the loud explosion from within was enough to do so. Audino had heard this explosion that was caused by the Z-Move as all of Twilight Sparkle's friends would rush into the ruins, following the trail of destruction.
By following this destructive trail, they ended up downstairs, coming across the aftermath of this battle. And the result wasn't what either expected. Neither Twilight nor the Despair Plants won.
It was a tie. The Despair Plants were on the ground along with Twilight and the others. The aftermath had knocked them all over as both sides received after effects. Twilight and Goh were still poisoned while the Despair Plants had something radiating out of them.
"What happened here...?" Rarity gawked, glancing over at the Despair Plant fusions. The light of Arceus was starting to flow out of them eradicating parts of their bodies. Suddenly, moments after Ash and the others arrived, the Despair Plants would start sinking. As if they were intangible, these demonic plants would sink through the ruins mysteriously. They would not make any more sounds.
"D-Did we do it...?" An injured Twilight said, looking up at her friends as the Z-Crystal powered down after working its magic. That was all the energy she could use for today.
"Not sure what's happening to them...but you did good, it looks like." Ash and the others helped them up.
"Sorry, we didn't show up. Audi and I didn't hear it all happen over here at the ruins." Fluttershy apologized. Even with Audino's stellar hearing, being around a crowd of people in this town while minimal noise came from the ruins until the big moment as a drawback of hers.
"It's fine. As long as you're here." Starlight, who was in a better condition than the others, would stand back up. "We just managed to withstand that. That Z-Move of Twilight's is something else..."
"Wish we used it before." Goh struggled to get up thanks to the poison on his leg. Thankfully, now that Audino was here, they could rest easy knowing that a Refresh was coming.
"Listen...By extension, we had a run-in with Rosa Maledicta. Those were her Despair Plants. And they're just as dangerous as expected. I was right about Arceus' light being effective but it looks like it didn't do enough to overpower them. They were still so strong and capable of stopping us. If it wasn't for Arceus..."
"Don't worry about it, Twilight," Ash added. "You stopped those plants and you confirmed your theory. The next time we see those Despair Plants, we'll give 'em another surprise."
"Thank you, Ash. But I'm more fixated on Roseluck. Her way is still a possibility. If my Z-Move can't surpass these Despair Plants, then I'm hoping her way is effective." Twilight replied, hoping that Roseluck's plan was efficient.
"Gotcha." Ash helped Twilight up. "Let's head home now."
Now was a good time to head home. But if the danger of the Despair Plants wasn't clear enough, it has certainly been elevated. Michina Town was safe thanks to the efforts of Twilight, Starlight and Goh. It was a struggle since there were only three of them but thanks to Arceus' power, it felt like they were being assisted by multiple forces.
However, the sinking of the Despair Plants was not to be ignored. No one knew what this meant. Some assumed that was their way of being defeated as they did not leave a trace behind. Rosa Maledicta's voice was gone, along with her vision of this place. And yet, Twilight couldn't help but sense an ominous presence in the air.
Something told her that this was not over.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 17 End.