Equestria. Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash's Home. Day.
"There we go." Rainbow Dash took the time to admire her greatest achievement to date. By placing her Gym Badge Case on the table, all eight badges were now hers with the most recent one being the Endurance Badge. Earned by defeating Brock, she had completed all the Equestria Gyms.
From the Veld Badge all the way up to the Endurance Badge. Truly, she has grown as a trainer. Even though the final Gym required the assistance of Princess Luna in the form of a Team Battle, it was still worthy of the pegasus.
"Alright, you guys. With this, we can enter the Equestria League!" Rainbow Dash turned as all of her Pokemon were currently out of their Poke Balls, here to witness this crowing achievement. "Are you ready?!"
"Whilripede!" Whirlipede and all of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon unleashed their signature cries in response, moving and jumping around in Rainbow Dash's room. This group of colourful monsters felt exceedingly proud of themselves.
"I'm so glad I met you guys. It's because of you and all my other friends that I made it this far. Pokemon, I'm glad I met you. It's made my life all the more awesome and fun ever since you all came along. You're the best. And here's to winning the Equestria League and becoming the Champion! You're all gonna be Champion Pokemon after that!"
"Now uh...We just gotta wait for everyone to get there. I'm gonna give them the best of luck for when they reach Brock. That's gonna be rough." All Rainbow Dash had to do was wait for multiple trainers to make it past all eight Gyms. "And plus, there's a party waiting for us over at SugarCube Corner just for this. It's time to celebrate!"
Rainbow Dash would depart from her home with her Pokemon to further celebrate her achievement. Over at SugarCube Corner, a party was waiting for them. It was for all of her Pokemon. After all, Rainbow Dash would not have made it without the help of all 7 of her Pokemon.
Braviary, Castform, Altaria and Whimsicott would all fly out while Whirlipede, Luxray and Mienshao would be carried or hitch a ride on some of them. And outside, on this bright and sunny day, news about Rainbow Dash's achievement has already been spread out.
Multiple pegasi and their Pokemon spotted Rainbow Dash, waving and cheering her own. A storm of applause came in the direction of the multi-coloured maned mare. "Great job making it this far!" A pegasus said to her. It was a big deal. Just as much as when she first took part in a Gym Battle four years ago.
"Gee, thanks. I was pretty great, wasn't I?" The pegasus proudly crossed her hooves while flying by. This kind of praise was enjoyable her and filled Rainbow Dash's thirst for greatness. She could only imagine what it would be like when she emerges as the first Equestrian Champion.
"So, you had to get past Brock by battling him again? Isn't that a bit of bad luck for us?" Another pegasus asked, worried that this might be too difficult for him to achieve due to how strong Brock was. He was so strong that it took the combined might of Princess Luna and Rainbow Dash a second time to achieve victory.
"Yeah, sorry. That's kinda how it is." Rainbow Dash shrugged as that was the harsh reality. "But hey, keep trying. Those defences are tough, but you can get through them. Hopefully." She laughed before thinking to herself. "I hope enough of them can do it. I know for sure Spitfire can make it through. And so can Daylight Blazer. But everyone else..."
Rainbow Dash would then think about the other trainers who were well-known in Equestria. Spitfire and Daylight. Both have been troublesome opponents for Rainbow Dash. Which is why Rainbow Dash had full hope that they could make it to the Equestria League. Hopefully soon.
Ponyville. SugarCube Corner.
"Congratulations!" Upon appearing at SugarCube Corner, her friends were there waiting for her. Many of them. Not just hr main friend group but those were part of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club. Organized by Pinkie Pie herself, Rainbow Dash's achievement was further celebrated. Noticeably, Princess Luna was not here, and neither has she been brought up.
"Nice work, Dash!" Ash cheered. "All Gyms are done for the first time and You're off to the League now!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu would run up to Rainbow Dash's Pokemon, congratulating them as well.
"How does it feel? Beating every Gym that's out there?" Rarity asked. "That's even before we can have our own Elite 4."
"Best feeling yet..." A satisfied Rainbow Dash put on a proud smile while grabbing a cup of cider. "I mean, nothing's gonna beat when I become the Champion but this is just the best."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself." Twilight warned Rainbow Dash. "It's great to revel in something like this, but you shouldn't underestimate who else is taking part in this. You never know who can catch up and grow in strength."
"Yeah, yeah I know. But I'm feeling pretty good about myself, Twilight. So do Braviary and the others. For now, I'm sitting pretty." Rainbow Dash drank her cider proudly, laughing afterwards.
"That's right my protege." Suddenly, a voice replied to Rainbow Dash which made her spit out her cider. Her head swiftly turned as she recognized that voice. So did Ash and his friends. That voice belonged to only one individual who was much prouder than Rainbow Dash and had gone to great lengths.
They all turned to see an unexpected face in SugarCube Corner, who managed to slip by them completely. It was none other than Hilbert. A Pokemon Trainer from another Universe.
"Keep your head high! Haha!" Hilbert laughed, lounging on a seat while drinking some cider as he if was here the entire time. But no one even knew he was here.
"Hilbert?! You're here?!" Ash gasped.
"When did you get here?!" Twilight and a few others questioned, wondering where he came from. They would've noticed him since not many humans visit Ponyville consistently unlike Ash and Goh. "How did you get here?!" There was also the fact that Hilbert left his own universe despite how there were no more gateways except for the one at Ponyville and the mysterious Infinity Gateway that hasn't been spotted yet.
"Why are you here?!" Rainbow Dash sat up, demanding questions as to why Hilbert was here all of a sudden.
"What? I can't celebrate my protege's big moment?"
"I'm not your protege...!" Rainbow Dash grizzled as Hilbert still made her his unofficial protege. "Why'd it have to be now of all days that you show up?"
"Gahaha! You're one step closer to greatness, Rainbow Dash!" Hilbert hopped off the seat, nearly spilling his cider. "Not as great as me, but still. Keep at it, alright? And one day, you can prove yourself."
"I don't need to prove anything to you!" Rainbow Dash vehemently pointed her hoof at him. "You could've at least shown up for the Gym Battle instead of here!"
"Nevermind that. Hilbert, who did you make it here? After what Jirachi did, it should be almost impossible to reach here from other universes." Twilight asked. "And is Hilda with you?"
"Oh yeah. But Hilda decided she wanted to explore on her own. So did I. But we'll meet up again. As for how I got here...the good people back in my universe figured out a way to bring us back without gateways. But...it's not as easy as gateways." Hilbert shrugged, dropping the cider from his movements which prompted Mew to consume it by intercepting the falling liquid. "Gotta go through this whole process of standing still, letting the machine read you and yadda-yadda-yadda-yadda."
"Oh, so you have something that can bring you here? It might be similar to what my counterpart pulled..." Twilight theorized that Twilight Moonlight was possibly using a machine to also reach here. "Is that the same for Red and the others? Now that I think about it...do you all come from the same universe or separate ones?"
"The same. Why'd you think it was separate?" Hilbert would then consume an apple. "Anyway, what's next, protege? You've beaten all the Gyms but you don't have an Elite 4 System just yet. And everyone else here is uh...not exactly making waves with their battles or even getting that far."
"Hey, we're taking our time." A pony who was participating in the Equestria League spoke out. "It's pretty tough too."
"I'll be challenging the 4th Gym soon." Another pony spoke, revealing where he was in terms of Gym progress.
"Mine's the 6th." More would reveal where they were progressing on their path to the Equestria League. Hilbert would hear various answers from them all and he would find that all of them were either halfway there, nearly there or still at the early stages.
"Hm. Well, you've got all the time in the world to chill out, relax and take a load off, Dash." Hilbert said. "Or, you could keep training. That's my choice."
"Yeah. That's what I'm gonna do. I still have more Pokemon I wanna find and catch. I'll have a ton of Pokemon to help me through the league. I can't have everyone know which Pokemon I'm gonna battle with."
"Good call!" Hilbert exclaimed. "Glad I came to check up on you and celebrate your big moment. Man, I'm proud of you." He would then tear up, flicking his tear away.
"But you weren't even here for all of them..." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, confused as to why Hilbert was getting so emotional all of a sudden. He hasn't even known her for that long. It was only during the Pokemon Festival after all. "Oh well. At least you're here to congratulate me. Whatever that's worth."
"So, Hilbert. How are you going to get home now?" Fluttershy asked. "You said the machine brought you here but is it also here somewhere?"
"They'll bring us back with that same machine. I don't know how, honestly. And I don't know how they're gonna communicate with us from here...Oh well! At least we get to check out this new world! I'm ready to explore Unova for the second time in a row. But for now, let's just celebrate!"
Aside from boasting and hyping himself up all the time, Hilbert would celebrate Rainbow Dash's achievements. They didn't mind having Hilbert here at all. Even if he talks a lot. Mostly about himself and sometimes about Rainbow Dash. And they celebrated to their heart's content, looking forward to the future in which the Equestria League could show the best that Equestria has to offer.
"I wish Luna was here as well. We even prepared it for her as well." Ash thought about Luna, who was not present for this celebration. He had to wonder what she was doing now that she won all Eight Gyms.
Canterlot. Canterlot Castle. Day.
Luna was back home, of course. And much like Rainbow Dash, she would admire her achievements. But as for Luna, she decided to go above just displaying her badge case. She wanted something bigger. And with her being royalty, that was made possible immediately.
All 8 Gym Badges had been displayed on the walls, super-sized to match that of curtains, drapes and windows. Luna had them placed individually in the hallways as they glistened beautifully with the Sun reflecting them. Visiting the castle to admire these badges were residents of Canterlot. This right here was a way to let everypony know of Luna's accomplishments.
And as a bonus, a way to admire the stylization of the badges. Not many really appreciate the Gym Badges for their appearances and only see them as a means to advance to the Pokemon League. But for some, the way they were designed was wonderful, especially for the artists who came to view this.
"Hmm...The way the Climate Badge appears has a wonderful double meaning to it." A posh-sounding artist said when reviewing the Gym Badges. All of them had something to say about each of these badges, focusing more on their style rather than what it took to get them.
After all, with all eight of them on display, only two trainers have managed to achieve the very last one and the last two. The others are still ones that many trainers have yet to accomplish. Really, there was no deeper meaning behind these Gym Badges when they were made. It was all for the sake of creativity but that didn't stop the artists from trying to find it. In a way, the way they were creatively made could be seen as deep by some.
Luna herself was in her room, resting peacefully. After winning all of her Gym Battles, the Moon Princess wanted to take the time to relax. She would still train her Pokemon but now was not the time.
"Nice display there, Luna." Entering Luna's room was her big sister Princess Celestia. "You even put some in your room."
"Mhm...I've been thinking after deciding to place them on the walls." Luna spoke with her eyes closed. "When we do install an Elite 4 System, perhaps we should also commission some sort of badge for those battles. Do Elite 4 Battles involve badges, actually?"
"Not at all. But for other battle facilities in Equestria that could come, we can have whatever reward they give out placed on the walls for all to see. If that's what you want." Celestia suggested and Luna's slow nod confirmed that it would be wonderful.
"Truly...I would love to have our own Battle Frontier one day." Luna opened her eyes, raising her hoof as she was planning out what she wished to see next in her career as a Pokemon Trainer. "I've heard how special they are. Perhaps that Battle Carnival that was meant to be a Battle Frontier could work. Oh, and those Battle Clubs over at Unova are always so fun to watch, despite how niche they may be."
"I get it. Battle Facilities of all kinds." Celestia walked up to her, understanding what Luna wanted. "With this new world, Equestria has room to grow when it comes to Pokemon Battles. I can envision what it will look like in the future. I for one am all for a Pokemon Eating Contest Facility."
"That? That has a larger niche than the Battle Club?" Luna looked over at Celestia with her eyes squinting. "Is it for the cake?"
"It's for the Cake." Celestia confirmed why she wanted such a facility. "And other delicious delicacies that can come from it."
"Of course...Well, I look forward to it. And when I become the first and only Champion, I can sponsor those facilities. But aside from that...what of the Dread League? Are they still at Galar?"
"My forces have reached Galar by now. They should be using the Shift Stone to transform themselves into vampires. We'll use this opportunity to try and enter Magehold or at least find a fault." Celestia focused on what truly mattered right now. The Dread League. "But there is one consistent way to get past that barrier. And it just happens to be the highest amount of power we can gather."
"What about what they're up to? What are the Dread League planning now?"
"They can't seem to stay away from their plants. It seems that they're forming some sort of garden." Celestia gave out what her forces have shared so far. "I can only guess that it involves the Despair Plants if that's the case."
"Those things? Ugh..." Luna groaned, pulling on her sheets. "Those Despair Plants are the newest thorn in our sides."
"Heh. Good one." Celestia got the joke as she and Luna laughed in unison. "But seriously. It might be the Despair Plants again or something completely different. But this time, we're ready for those plants."
"Are you referring to what Roseluck has suggested?" Luna sat up, bringing up Roseluck's special potion that was once used by Rosa Maledicta before she became the Lich Queen.
"That's right. We've been saving it until the time to use it on those plants would come again. Courtesy of Zecora and Twilight, of course. "We only have one bottle of it now. A fairly large one. But it can be of great use when utilized. For now...we just have to wait and see what they plan to do with this garden of theirs."
Galar.
In the far north-west coast of mainland Galar was a bay area. A mile-long sandy beach is what was the most prominent part of this bay area. Isolated and rather quiet as barely any Pokemon could be seen here. But, such is the law of the Pokemon Universe, there is always a Pokemon somewhere. And while it may be a small amount, they were still here, mainly in the oceans.
And with such a quiet and isolated area, this garden of theirs has already made an impressive amount of progress as the Dread League had all the room in the world to make it grow without seemingly any interruptions. And it was truly one that was befitting of Magehold.
An overrun bed of dark grass was surrounded by well-kept flower bushes and shrubs which also had mouths of their own. A fountain stands near the left edge of the garden, spouting poisonous water in the air as they took the time to add these decorations. The smaller flower bushes are forming a miniature world of their own, full of mysteries and wonder; they're full of hidden potential. Various stones hint at paths around the garden, almost taking people by the hand in order to show them the best sights. Direful plants and ghoulish, sharp flowers are seemingly content with their positions in the garden, none trying to reach beyond, at least not yet.
"Queen Rosa will love this. Her newest garden will spread out much larger than what we have now." And this was all for the Lich Queen, Rosa Maledicta. She was known for her plants after all and this was a garden in her name.
"It'll take some time until the Despair Plants can grow here." And indeed, Despair Plants were involved in this. In her hooves, a vampire held out a bag that had multiple seeds within them. These seeds were then planted into the ground of this growing garden that had yet to reach its full potential.
When placed in the soil of the garden, the seeds would make howling and roaring sounds before then cutting up the soil itself. These were some rather vicious seeds with how they reacted to being planted. Truly unusual but befitting of the shuddersome Dread League.
And watching these were the Canterlot Guards. Or rather, disguised vampires. Thanks to the power of the Shift Stone, they could perfectly blend in, having the physiology and biology of a vampire in this condition. But none of their special abilities carried over. That was the only flaw of the Shift Stone.
But who exactly were they? Not even the vampires knew as quite a handful of them had shown up in this area. They all blended in well with each other, hiding in the shades away from the Sun and wearing whatever they could to protect them from the light.
Staying silent, they would simply go along with what the Dread League were doing. And that was by gardening. To make this garden grow, the Dread League were involved in working on this garden. The Canterlot Guards would have to throw in some gardening skills to try and fit in, much to their dismay.
And the only way to stay disguised was by copying those who actually knew what they were doing. The ones who were disguised eyed down the real vampires, following their every movement when growing the garden.
"How long will this take us?" A vampire asked.
"Since a week ago, it's grown this large. But we haven't covered the whole bay area yet. I'd say 3 or 4 weeks and we can have this garden branch out. The Despair Plants will grow well here." Another vampire spoke, knowing what he was talking about.
"Hm-hm." The vampire who asked him nodded in understanding. With a smile on his face, he was without a doubt a Canterlot Spy. This Canterlot Spy would eye down his fellow spies as they all would nod together. Gathering information was crucial but there was also the goal to try and sabotage them.
"Now, if only we could head to Magehold next...I hope won't have to wait long." With the Shift Stone on them, the power to do whatever they can was theirs with some limitations. All it would take was for them to utilize whatever transformation they can think of to the best of their abilities. For now, they were stuck here, working for the Dread League unsuspectedly while passing on information to the Sun Princess. As for entering Magehold itself, so far, nothing has come up from it.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 58 End.