Equestria. On the seas. Sea Temple. Samiya. Late Afternoon.
Travelling the large seas of Equestria was the Sea Temple, Samiya. In search of Galaxy Master while also being guided by one of the crystals, Ash and his friends were currently onboard. And of course, this gave way to some amazing sights.
With the afternoon sun nearing its end, Daisy and Fluttershy stood on a balcony, where they viewed the seas of Equestria and all the Pokemon that passed by it. Swimming in droves was a group of Mantine, leaving streams of water with their speed. The streams they left behind would cross paths, making multiple 'Xs' before jumping into the skies.
Water droplets would glisten beautifully with the orange sun, leaving sparkles behind with each leap that the Mantine performed. The Mantine would even find the time to wave at them while soaring through the air for a bit.
"Do you think I could swim like them?" Daisy said after catching the wonderful view of the Mantine. And there were more views for her to see.
"I don't think so, unfortunately. You remember what happened when water got on you back at the Pokemon School, right? You still have the texture of a flower."
"Oh right..." Daisy slowly nodded.
"Your majesty, wear this!" Meanwhile, Ash was rather occupied with the People of the Water. Sitting on his excellent throne, the King of the Sea was met with various clothing options that would only fit on a king such as himself. With the right size, of course. Many of them gathered around the throne, holding out royal clothing that was in the style of the Sea Temple.
"Looking uh...almost good, Ash!" Pinkie Pie shrugged as each royal clothing Ash tried on didn't exactly hit that mark for many eyes. Great in concept, but when on the King himself, it wasn't as amazing as they pictured it to be. But that didn't stop many of them from sharing more clothes.
"Gee...This is a lot..." Ash scratched his hair as his hat was currently away from him at the moment. Pikachu was taking good care of it as always before he then put it on Espeon's head.
"You'll be truly presented as a full-on king after this, your majesty," Alo said, seeing the array of clothes pass by. His voice was almost drowned out by the constant chatter and yells of the People of the Water, who kept speaking about the clothes they made for Ash.
"I made this in your likeliness, your majesty!" A lady exclaimed, holding out a robe that had edges on the side, resembling Ash's hairstyle.
"This is fit for a king! How about this wonderful Gold Staff?!" One of them brought an accessory instead of clothes. It was a golden staff that had Ash's face on it. Although, it had a goofy appearance to it when being modeled after Ash's face. His tongue was sticking out which didn't exactly replicate high royalty that much.
"Geugh..." Twilight, who was watching Ash receive all of these fashionable gifts, grimaced and shuddered when spotting the staff. Something about it made her wince.
"Accept at least one of them, boy," Sombra spoke, crossing his arms as he steered clear away from this mess despite being the substitute king. "Otherwise, it'll keep coming back."
"Make way! Make way!" Moving through the crowd of people was none other than Adriel. He would rush in as fast as he could to reach the King of the Sea, being possibly his biggest fan and all. "I have something that trumps all! Here, your majesty!"
His Water Weaving skills had come in the form of royal clothing for Ash. In his hands, a royal mantle was held out, flowing elegantly with the familiar motion of water. The water itself was as bright as it could be, moving in a consistent pattern with small ripples happening everywhere within the mantle.
"This is more like it, right, your majesty? A Mantle that was made by Water Weaving. You won't have to worry about getting wet. Water Weaving ignores those issues."
"Oooh! This is what Water Weaving does?!" Amazed by the Water Weaved Mantle, Ash would hold it in his hands. Naturally, he was flabbergasted by this. "It does feel nice. Not wet at all. Awesome stuff, Adriel."
"Mhm!" Adriel rapidly nodded his head, feeling delighted from hearing Ash's praise. "I knew I made the right call to make your own royal clothing!"
"But, I'll pass." However, Ash would pass on it. "Thanks anyway, guys. These clothes are nice and all, but I'm cool with how things are."
"Huh?" Adriel and many others were stunned by this. Ash would not wear any royal clothing to make himself truly look like a king despite how many gifts were thrown his way. "T-Then...What will you wear, your majesty?"
"What I'm wearing now is fine with me." Ash preferred his current outfit. "And anything I wear on my journeys works for me, honestly. Especially this. This is my Royal Outfit. Made by Rarity."
"Aw, I'm flattered, darling." Speaking of Rarity, she would arrive on the scene with Milotic, loving Ash's compliment. And around her and MIlotic's neck was another piece of fashion that was made from Water Weaving. Water Scarves.
"Nice scarf ya got there," Applejack said, complimenting the Water scarves and how they had the motions of a tsunami on them as opposed to the mantle which had ripples only.
"Why thank you. MIlotic made them herself after being taught how to Water Weave. It's a rather difficult skill but it pays off excellently, as you can see. I believe I'm going to thoroughly enjoy myself here at the Sea Temple with these opportunities. So, how about Galaxy Master? Are we close?"
"The temple is moving relatively fast now. We should be entering another region fairly soon. Apart from all of these clothing options and the Water Weaving, what other activities do you wish to partake in, your majesty?" Alo asked.
"Anything there is. I'm actually itching for some exploration! And maybe some battling! Ash pumped his fists. "You got any battling-related stuff here?"
"Well, I believe you should come with us then. There are more famous figures from the Sea Temple aside from just our previous rulers." Alo certainly had something else to show Ash. The Sea Temple had various surprises that were waiting in store.
An unknown Area. Galaxy Tower. Late Afternoon.
Galaxy Tower. Home of Galaxy Master. The previous one had been destroyed after the conflict in the stars last year and now a new one had been made. No one was aware of another one existing after what happened to the last one and neither did anyone know where it could be found.
This entire area was rather unknown. The tower could be found around a group of mountains with multiple spring trees next to it. However, these spring flowers were constantly glowing, letting the light of the stars each time one of the flowers would drop. The sky itself was a lighter shade of blue, looking rather obscure.
Highly specialized plants, which closely resemble the corals of Earth, cover nearly everything on the mountainside, only adding to the obscurity of this place. Their colors are bright and numerous, something they share with the Earth corals. But their shapes and sizes are far beyond anything ever seen on Earth or anywhere else we've discovered. They looked rather titanic. Not as large as the mountains, but still rather colossal. And at the moment, Galaxy Master was not the only one within it. His Pokemon and the pony known as Potion Nova were with him.
"Alright. We can't apprehend the vampires at all. If we do, they'll just self-destruct and return to their headquarters." Galaxy Master said, sitting on his chair while going over the Dread League, which he recently confronted back at Galar.
"No way to stop it either. Well, there is possibly one way." Potion Nova said, walking up to Galaxy Master with a plethora of potions that she carried with her magic. "The only way they're able to explode is by unleashing all of their magical energy, becoming bombs in the process. All we have to do is prevent their magic from leaking out."
"You have a potion for that, don't you, sidekick?"
"Why do I have to be considered your sidekick? I'm helping you out but...not like that." Potion Nova grumbled. "Anyway, I can try and make it. I've never made a potion that just...shuts down magic. I mean I love magic too much that I barely even think about doing such a thing."
"Hm. But it is necessary. Magic in its entirety has never been about good or evil. It all depends on how it's used and who uses it. For better and for worse. And for the Dread League, it's the absolute worst. Their Black Crusade is rather outlandish. Wiping out life across all universes is the worst possible outcome. But since they mostly rely on Dark Magic, shutting some of them down will slow their progress."
"Sure, but there's one problem...Yveltal's with them. I'm not sure we can stop that. Can we?" Potion Nova questioned, placing the potions on the table which prompted Pikachu to crawl up to them.
"Pokemon are Magical Creatures. Yveltal is no exception. But it will be difficult dealing with such a Pokemon, especially since they've captured it. All we have to do is free Yveltal and their Black Crusade will miss another massive player. Shall we move on to our next mission?"
Galaxy Master interacted with his monitor, searching for activities across the world that were worth paying attention to. Specifically, the Dread League.
"I should be heading back home. I can help out later. Next time I show up, I'll be sure to help you out and won't be too late. Unlike-"
"Great Nebulas!" Galaxy Master yelled, cutting Potion Nova off as something urgent came up that sparked such a reaction.
"What?! What is it?!"
"Seems they took my interference to heart. Another garden is resurfacing! And fast!" Galaxy Master pointed out as on the screen, another Dark Garden could be seen forming yet again. Just when he got rid of the previous one.
"So soon?! But we just stopped one of them and that took days for them to make!"
"Pikachu?!"
"There's something about this one..." Galaxy Master took a closer look at the screen, seeing the garden forming up in the sky. For starters, the fact that it was in the sky is what was rather odd. Specifically, within the clouds. The crux of it seemed to be growing from the clouds themselves. When zooming in, Galaxy Master found out what was truly growing in this new Dark Garden. "Despair Plants!"
Despair Plants were the crux of the Dark Garden, growing it themselves. Fangs were sprouting from the garden in response to the Despair Plants' physiology.
"Well, we have one more piece of work to do, Potion Nova. Let's head out at once! It looks like it's forming over Equestria instead. So we'll be close to your home either way."
"So soon...?" Potion Nova sighed. "At least let me get new potions before we head out. And some rest..."
"Justice never sleeps!" Galaxy Master would jump out of his seat, ready to take action. So were his Pokemon who would soon join him. Once more, the fictional character would intercept another Dread League plan for his grand return. "It's off to Equestria as soon as possible!"
Alo lead Ash and his friends to a hallway that was surrounded by multiple fountains. And at the end of this hallway, a gallery of statues could be found. Statues of Humans and Water-Type Pokemon that stood next to them, pulling off triumphant poses.
"Oh, what's this? Who are they?" Paradise asked.
"The Sea Temple's famous figures extend past royalty. Some people have made names for themselves in the past. Some of which were excellent warriors. We may be protective but there was a time when our ancestors would be rather interested in a thrill of a battle. An example of this is the Hallway of Heroes. Brave People and Pokemon who have done heroic acts that gave them a name here."
"Sweet!" Ash and Rainbow Dash collectively yelled before rushing up to these statues.
"Built many centuries ago even before my time, these statues at this quiet hallway shore are here to act as a reminder of the struggles and sacrifices made during the cruel revolution that changed Samiya forever. Its position within this community is meant to represent the intertwining of all lives in this community and the strength that comes with unity."
"So as time went on, you stopped having warriors around, right?" Twilight said, noticing how these figures came before Alo's time which was around the time the Sea Temple become rather protective.
"Right, Princess Twilight. Time has gone on and that has been changing a bit. But we do prefer the peaceful times we have now. Perhaps, we should give some statues to those who helped save our temple for the second time in a row. Princess Luna and um...who else?"
"Adagio, Shining Armor, Flash and all the Canterlot and Crystal Empire Guards that came with us," Ash spoke their names. "You already gave me a statue when I first came here, so they gotta have some of their own, for sure."
"Right! I still remember their faces. That one certainly had a playful hairstyle." Alo chuckled, referring to Adagio's massive mane and how Kricketot would pop out of it constantly. "As for battling, we let the temple handle that as seen by our traps. Our battling days are over after the generations went by. Plus, being sealed within the temple for so long does do that. But if you wish to battle now, we can arrange that, your majesty. The way you battle is always so excellent and captivating."
"Yeah! I'm ready for one!" Ash grinned with excitement. "Who am I gonna throw down with?"
"Your majesty! There's something above us approaching" Suddenly, rushing into the room was a group of guards, having urgency in their voices.
"Huh, what's up?" Ash asked before nearly touching one of the statues.
"It seems to be some sort of flying garden..." The guards said, trying their best to describe what they had just witnessed. In their words, there was a flying garden above them that was approaching the Sea Temple despite the pace it was moving at.
"Garden?" Ash and many others repeated. Above them, a loud howl passed through, equally as strong as the howling winds. Some of them close their ears in response to this powerful howl as it could be felt from above. Quickly looking up, a large shadow was being cast over the Sea Temple. And yet, this shadow was of something that was rather far away but spoke volumes to how gigantic it was.
It was the Flying Garden. More specifically, the Despair Plant Garden. Spawned within the clouds of Equestria, this garden started moving across the azure skies. Everyone rushed to see this for themselves and with the windows of the Sea Temple, they caught a glimpse of what was coming their way.
From this distance, it looked like a massive meteor was approaching them. They've seen their fair share of floating lands before. Pegalysium was proof of this. But this was unlike the floating islands of Pegalysium. This Flying Despair Plant Garden had something far more malicious to offer.
"No way...It is a Flying Garden!" A stunned Ash Ketchum shouted.
"Pikachu!"
Magehold.
And speaking through it was none other than the Lich Queen herself. Rosa Maledicta. Speaking of which, she has been recovering as of recently. However, at the moment, her hooves were trembling uncontrollably with dark magic leaking out of them. That also involved her horn, which is where most of her magic comes from. Rosa would rest her entire body once again in the chamber, groaning in the process.
"Are you alright, your majesty?" Fractured Note asked.
"I'll be fine. I've wasted a plethora of magical energy making this possible. It was easy to have them plant the seeds in the cloud but only this level of magic can keep it there and make it grow as if it was on land. This Despair Plant Garden will suffice for now. But that Galaxy Master...I didn't expect him to return. I believed he was out of our way with how absent he's been."
"Apparently not. What should we do about that, your majesty? Now that he's back in the picture and everything..."
"As if I'd leave him out of this. His light is threatening to us. That goes for my Despair plants. I'm sure of it. And most definitely, he will come for this garden as well."
Naturally, Rosa Maledicta was rather annoyed by this. Galaxy Master put a massive wrench in her plans. Along with Xerneas and other factors, her Black Crusade was being held back further and further, having issues that could ruin everything for her.
The Dread League may be persistent in their pursuit of destruction but their enemies share the same level of persistence when it comes to protecting their homes. Fractured Note would leave the room so that the Lich Queen can heal on her lonesome and vent out some frustrations. Once he was out of there, Fractured Note spoke to himself with no one around to hear him.
"Frankly, I'm hoping for the best outcome from this. I wonder how long that garden will last for. And how long until Fantina gets involved."
As the journey continues.
Chapter 68 End.