Unova. Eindoak Town. Day.
Waking up to a new day at Eindoak Town was Carlita. In this new world that was free to explore with how it was bigger than ever, Carlita, alongside her Hydreigon were sitting atop a hill that was near the town and the Castle. Looking over at her home, Carlita spotted it.
One of the few gateways left in this world. The first was the one that went from Pallet Town to Ponyville and that was seemingly the only one left. However, there was another one here at Eindoak. But more importantly, it had a different shape. Dubbed the Infinity Gateway by Pinkie, this gateway got its name because of its shape. Since it has been a few weeks since the Super-Earth was formed, this gateway was just as recent as this new unification. And yet, it had a lot of mystery behind it. Why exactly is it shaped like Infinity? That was something Carlita wanted answers to.
"Hm?" Leaning in, something was finally happening with this Infinity Gateway. Someone was coming through. And that would be Ash who made his arrival at Castelia City. "Oh, it's Ash! Is it actually safe to go through it?"
"Pika!" Joining him was Pikachu who had also jumped through. But that wasn't all. Taking this risk, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer and Sci-Twi had also shown up. Safely, they had all made it to Endoak.
"Alright! Safe and sound!" Ash raised his arms after still being in one piece. All of them were untouched.
"Ah...I'm still here!" Twilight kneeled, feeling relieved. "Thank goodness!"
"Aw...I was kinda expecting something. Just a bit." Rainbow Dash crossed her arms, disappointed that nothing special happened when she passed through the Infinity Gateway. The gateway was thankfully safe even with its obscure shape.
"Welp, here we are." Ash helped Twilight up. "But we've still got ways to go until we can reach Galar. The nearest airport is over at Castelia City, so it was a good call to come here."
"Can we go by boat this time? I'd love to take the Royal Unova again!" Pinkie Pie jolted up with her eyes gaining stars, wishing to tour the Royal Unova for a second time. She and her friends only went in it once during the second Pokemon Festival and it was such a wonderful time.
"That sounds fun but Professor Oak's already paid for my flight. I wouldn't want to waste his money." As enticing as it sounds, Twilight would stick with the plane.
"Hey, you guys!" Approaching Ash and his group was Carlita. And she would do so by sliding down the hill nearby. Hydreigon moved ahead of her, stopping place as the Dragon Trainer then hopped off the hill, landing perfectly on the Brutal Pokemon's back.
"Oooh!" Pinkie Pie would applaud that trick as Carlita pulled it off effortlessly.
"Hey, Carlita!" Ash waved back with Pikachu hopping on his shoulder to get a better view of the Dragon Trainer and the Dark-Dragon-Type.
"Where are you going this time?" Carlita asked before descending with Hydreigon. "And you really passed through that weird-looking gateway?"
"Nothing happened. It's totally fine, see?" Ash aimed his arm at the gateway which hadn't brought any strange effects. "It just looks different, that's all."
"But why does it look different? It's the first time we're seeing it like this." Sunset Shimmer wondered. Even though it was safe, the appearance still threw her off. Never before has a gateway appeared this differently. The only exceptions were different-sized gateways but they all had the same consistent shape. This was an unorthodox one.
"Searching for Alpha Pokemon?" Carlita approached them after hopping off Hydreigon. Hydreigon would greet Pikachu, allowing the Mouse Pokemon's tail to touch one of his head-arms.
"We're going for three. The first one's over at Galar's Wild Area." Replying to Carlita, Ash held three fingers out. "But there's also one here at Unova. Are the ones from before still here?"
"Nah, they're long gone by now. Good luck finding them again though." Carlita shrugged. "I'd say you'll need even more luck over at Galar since that's further."
"Oh, are you Carlita?" Pinkie Pie slid over to meet with Carlita.
"Uh, we've met before, Pinkie. Or...are you the other one from Equestria?" Carlita caught on to which Pinkie Pie this was. With a nod from Pinkie and an appearance from Mew within her mane, she got all the confirmation she needed along with a jumpscare from Mew. "Wait, Mew?!"
"Don't worry about that." Rainbow Dash pulled Pinkie Pie up, rapidly moving her arms to tie up her mane just to hide Mew. Pinkie Pie now had a stylish ponytail. Courtesy of Rainbow Dash.
"Mew?" Mew's voice came from within the mane as he transformed himself into a Tynamo. Appearing as a smaller Pokemon, he poked his head through the mane, gazing at Carlita and Hydreigon with Tynamo's blank stare. "Tynamo."
"Uh...M-Maybe we should worry about that!" But there was something to genuinely worry about, as seen by Sunset Shimmer who alerted her friends. Everyone would swivel, facing the issue that Sunset Shimmer spotted. And it was a shocking one.
The Infinity Gateway had suddenly ascended, leaving the spot that it was previously at. Their jaws dropped as the gateway then pulsated before zooming off, leaving behind a blue and purple trail.
"Wait! No! Stop!" Sci-Twi bellowed, attempting to run after it but that was a pointless endeavour as the gateway already got a headstart over everyone else here. It would then flash in the distance, disappearing after gaining an impressive buildup of speed.
The Infinity Gateway was gone. It had travelled elsewhere becoming a glitter in the azure skies for a moment. The way to Twilight's home was gone as she dropped to her knees in shock. Twilight's glasses nearly fell off as she was bewildered by what she had just witnessed.
"That was my ticket home..." Twilight uttered with a weak voice. The way she travelled from her world to this world had just left. At least they found out why the gateway was shaped like that. That Infinity Shape might be the reason why.
"It just got up and left like that..." Rainbow Dash whistled. "Weird. Didn't that happen when Red and Blue showed up and then they left?"
"That did happen." Ash nodded after Rainbow Dash brought it up. "I guess the same thing happened with this one. It's been a while since we've seen a gateway move away.
"So where do you think it went?" Pinkie Pie wondered while playing with her new hairstyle.
"No clue." Carlita shrugged as neither were taking this seriously. Well, except for maybe Sunset Shimmer who was also stunned by this. And especially Twilight.
"We need to have a clue!" Twilight stood up. "It's gone and that was my way home!"
"It's not your only way home though." Pinkie Pie nudged the Human Counterpart of Princess Twilight Sparkle. She would wink at her, referring to the other way that Sci-Twi could head back. "Eh? Eh?"
"Mmm...!" Twilight's face scrunched up as she would have to pass through the Pallet Town gateway, entering Equestria and appearing as a pony just to return to her original home. She would then lower her head, holding her arm out to Sunset Shimmer. Understanding the body language, Sunset Shimmer would pass the Shift Stone to ScI-Twi just for this kind of predicament.
"If it's gone somewhere else, we could find it again someday. Come on, let's hurry to Galar." Ash would continue despite the departure of the gateway. "See ya around, Carlita."
"Pika-Pika!"
"Hold it!" Before everyone could fully get going to Galar, Carlita would stop them in their place. "You can just show up here and expect me to just greet you for a few minutes. As if."
"Oh? Do you want to come along?" Sunset Shimmer questioned.
"I don't have School like you all. Neither does Ash and that's why we're so free since we finished our School. Well...as free as I can be. I don't get around that much. It's mainly only Unova after all."
"We don't mind if you tag along. The more the merrier." Ash didn't mind at all.
"But! Since you're not taking the Royal Unova...I will." Carlita pointed at herself. "You're heading to the Wild Area, right? So by the time you get there, I can count on the ship to get me there first. Let's make it a race."
"A race? Deal!" Ash and Rainbow agreed on that. That was music to their ears. They loved a good challenge with how competitive they were.
"Please. If you see the gateway anywhere, tell us." Twilight pleaded. "Uh...Do you have an Xtransceiver or any kind of phone by the way?"
"Nope. Not in Eindoak." Carlita was exempt from that. With her arms making the shrugging gesture, they were unable to contact her by usual means. They would have to wait until they meet up with her, much to Twilight's chagrin. After talking with each other, they would all leave for Castelia where each of them would take different means of transport.
Hoenn. Southern Island. Afternoon.
South Island. Located in the south of Hoenn, This small island is surrounded by a mysterious veil that makes approaching it impossible for many. At least, that's how it usually seems.
At this very moment, startling the Pokemon nearby, especially those in the air, a large airship had approached the island, appearing above it. This airship reached this unreachable island, using its jets to blow away the wind and fog.
This airship belonged to none other than Pokemon Hunter J. Another one of the few trainers who was searching for Alpha Pokemon. Then again, She and Sci-Twi were the only ones.
"Kricketune should be here." And much like Sci-Twi, she knew about the location of an Alpha Pokemon. Kricketune was said to be spotted at Hoenn and while Sci-Twi was headed to Galar for Lopunny, J had shown up at Hoenn for Kricketune.
In fact, over the past months, she had been busy, avoiding her greatest enemies and getting her jobs done. And it paid off for her. Right behind Hunter J was a collection of Alpha Pokemon that she managed to turn into stone with her arm cannon that were being kept within cases that differed in size based on the Pokemon inside.
Stantler, Bibarel, Tangrowth, Pachirisu, Carnivine, Skuntank, Roserade, Raichu, Rhyhorn and even a Sligoo that looked different than what it usually appears as, having a shell underneath it instead of behind it. By this point, she had captured more Alpha Pokemon than Twilight had.
And from this height, within her sight, she spotted it. The Alpha Kricketune. It was unfortunate that Alpha Pokemon had to be larger variants of their species. That only made it easier to find them as they stuck out easily. The airship would descend with J getting ready to set out along with her men. She would try and add another Alpha Pokemon to her list while racking up some other Pokemon.
In both her arms, she had her reliable gadgets. Her arm cannon which turns Pokemon into stone and the Protean Gauntlet that could cover different types. However, the gauntlet had received some changes. Now, it looked more like a vambrace than a gauntlet.
"Kricketune?" Kricketune looked up, spotting the airship just like every other Pokemon that was alerted by it. And coming down from the airship instead of waiting for it to land was J as she used a mobility bike that acted as both a motorcycle and a glider. It had jets coming from underneath as she now didn't need to keep using Salamence to get around in the air.
"You're mine, Kricketune!" J held out her Arm Cannon, immediately planning to end this as soon as possible.
"Tuuuneee!" But sensing the threat and hostility that came from Pokemon Hunter J, Kricketune acted accordingly, doing what it does best. It used Bug Buzz, vibrating its wings with enough intensity to generate a damaging soundwave which would emerge from its body.
The soundwave rustled the leaves on the trees as most of it was targeted at J. Hunter J gasped as the irritating sound from Bug Buzz was loud enough to reach her from this height, especially when she was descending. She would halt the bike, keeping it in the air for a bite while grimacing at this sound.
"Ghhh!" The Pokemon Hunter growled as she was even being pushed back by this sound.
"Why don't you just cancel it out with an equally elated noise?" Speaking to her was the Desire of Twilight Sparkle. To this day, it was still around, residing with Pokemon Hunter J and acting as her partner and even advisor.
"I know that!" J yelled at the Desire within her before using the Protean Vambrace. With all of these types, she had many to choose from. But if she wanted to cancel out the noise, she needed something loud. J gazed at two options. Electric and Dragon.
That was when another feature of the weapon that was made by Colress of Team Plasma had been revealed. This gauntlet didn't just have the power to shoot out elements of different types, but with the tap of the Dragon Crystal inside of it, it could emanate sounds.
And in this case, the sound of a Dragon. A dragon's roar came from the vanbrace, powering through Kricketune's soundwave. It resembled that of a Salamence which was fitting for what her Ace Pokemon was. The roar of the Salamence even intimidated Kricketune as it was louder than its cry. The Pokemon of this island that heard this roar would also feel intimidated, fearing that a fierce Salamence was nearby.
"Thank you for the upgrade, Colress." It was revealed that this upgrade was done by Colress himself. J was working with Team Plasma at this point after Colress found out about his Protean Gauntlet and what became of it. This kind of unity was terrifying.
Hunter J would then hop off her bike once it was low enough as her jacket flowed thanks to her descent. After landing, her eyes through the visor would give off an intense glare. Kricketune, despite being an Alpha Pokemon, couldn't help but feel like it wasn't the biggest force here now. Whenever Hunter J enters the scene, the mood always swings and it feels like the worst kind of predator has emerged.
"Here. I'll humour you." Hunter J would then quickly hold out a Poke Ball. "Alpha vs Alpha. By throwing the Poke Ball upwards, Pokemon Hunter J revealed that she didn't just catch and petrify the Alpha Pokemon, but knowing how powerful they were, she knew that using their strength would be incredibly useful. Thus, she took advantage of the Alpha Pokemon and their strength. And emerging from the Poke Ball was an Alpha Dusknoir.
"Dusknoir!"
"Dusknoir! Let's wrap this up quickly! Crush Kricketune with Fire Punch!"
"Noir!" With its hand being held out, a blaze of flames would engulf the Gripper Pokemon's powerful hands. After that, Dusknoir would approach, going in for a close-up hit.
"Tune!" Kricketune was aware enough to avoid something like that. The Bug-Type swiftly jumped over Dusknoir's Fire Punch once it was swung at it. Dusknoir looked up, missing the Cricket Pokemon. Above, Kricketune would then take the chance to attack. And that was by using Night Slash. A flash of darkness appeared around Kricketune's arms, ready to deliver its own super-effective blow to the Ghost-Type.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Hunter J, playing fair was nonexistent to her. The moment Kricketune dodged and was ready to retaliate, J would use the Protean Vambrance to intercept the Cricket Pokemon She went straight for the Fire-Type, shooting out a stream of flames.
"Kri!" Kricketune was interrupted by this stream of flames which would engulf it. The Bug-Type received a super-effective attack at the end of the day, tumbling on the ground after being intercepted. "Kri...Kri!"
"Now, Dusknoir! Grab it at once!"
"Dusk!" Dusknoir moved in one Kricketune was bewildered by the stream of flames from Hunter J. With its powerful hands with would lean in, going in for a direct grab.
"T-Tune!" Kricketune found itself being gripped by the Gripper Pokemon. With the strength of multiple canes, Dusknoir had the Bug-Type in its grasp, raising it into the air.
"I've got you now!" Now that Kricketune was restrained, J would go for her Arm Cannon. Kricketune attempted to use Bug Buzz to damage their ears, but unfortunately, Dusknoir's hands held onto the wings as well, making that impossible.
Kricketune still had options. In this case, it was by using Sunny Day. By manipulating the Sun, Kricketune would intensify the brightness of the great star in the sky, using it to create blinding light.
"D-Dusk!" And it was certainly blinding to Dusknoir as the rays beamed into its eyes. But not J's. She had her visor to protect her from blinding lights. Dusknoir's grip had weakened, allowing Kricketune to break free. However, this moment of freedom would not last.
"Dusk!" Dusknoir would persist, using its other arm to quickly grab Kricketune's leg before it could fly off. Once again, Kricketune was held back by Dusknoir.
"Kricke...Kricketune!" Another attempt to escape was made. This time, with more options since it was only its leg. Bug Buzz was a prime option to try and bewilder Dusknoir.
"Now!" But that was when J found her chance to strike. A beam came flying out of the Arm Cannon, hitting the Cricket Pokemon's head. Kricketot's Bug Buzz was promptly interrupted and ceased once the beam shot its head. The Bug-Type went silent for a bit as the effect of the cannon kicked in immediately.
From the very bottom, Kricketune's body was perishing under the effect of this cannon, rapidly turning to stone. Dusknoir would drop Kricketune, allowing it to fully succumb to this energy as once it was dropped, the full body of Kricketune was consumed by the stone. It failed to defend itself from Hunter J's clutches.
Unfortunately, another Alpha Pokemon had been caught by the Pokemon Hunter. And it was one of the Pokemon Sci-Twi learned about and was definitely too late to reach at this point.
"Return, Dusknoir." J returned to Dusknoir before approaching Kricketune's perished body. "Kricketune. Welcome to the team. You'll join the lineup of your fellow Alphas now."
J had done what she came here to do. Fairly quickly too. This was one of her quicker captures. Ever since she was brought back by the Rift, the Pokemon Hunter had made a strong comeback, receiving the attention of the Officer Jenny family once more.
The stone body of Kricketune was brought back up to the Aircraft, placed inside a canister as it would become another one of J's Collection. And by extension, another Pokemon for her to battle with. And without the limitations of school that Sci-Twi has, J would have an easier time getting ahead of her foes.
That was another Alpha Pokemon off her list as there were more to catch. But more than that, J was aware of the most crucial thing that was known by everyone across the world by now. It was this new Super-Earth. When returning to the ship, she would gaze at the news to see what it had to report. This was how she could reach any potential Alpha Pokemon after all.
And of course, on the news, the unruly Pokemon along with the appearance of Alpha Pokemon in this new world is what she took advantage of and she certainly wasn't going to slow down even if everyone was celebrating this beautiful unity. But with J around, the beauty could be tarnished or even taken away.
"That's Kricketune done. So far, only two have been spotted this time. Lopunny and Scyther." J looked over at the list of Alpha Pokemon. Only Lopunny and Scyther were on it. No updates yet on any new Alpha Pokemon but she would definitely stay alert.
After catching Kricketune, she would open up a cabinet that was right next to the control panel. When opening this, a plethora of Poke Balls could be seen. Standard, Great, Ultra, Quick, Dusk, Timer and more. But most notably, the newest Poke Ball that was made by Colress could be seen.
The Poke Ball that had the capability of capturing ponies. And this wasn't just thanks to Colress, but also J. After all, she was the one who thought of it in the first place, mainly due to how she once captured Sweetie Belle. But that was only with the Arm Cannon. Now, these Poke Balls had been duplicated by Colress and it was a terrifying reality for Hunter J to have some at her disposal. But she wouldn't use it just yet. Right now, only a Poke Ball would be used on Kricketune.
"Set a course for Galar." J ordered while assigning Kricketune to this Poke Ball. She had her next destination in mind and her next Alpha Pokemon. This time, it would be Alpha Lopunny. Now two of them were travelling to meet with this Alpha Pokemon at the Wild Area. Ash's group and J's group.
It was all a matter of who could get there first. And definitely a matter of which aerial machine could move faster. The plane or the air carrier. Despite agreeing to have a race with Carlita, there was a third contender in this race. An utterly horrifying contender.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 29 End.