//------------------------------// // Storming the Magehold Chamber // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Magehold. Day. Returning to Magehold was Opal Vivacity and her group of vampires that terrorized parts of Kalos. As always, it was back to the tubes, however, they didn't spend too long in it. After entering the tubes by blowing themselves up, Opal and her group left the tubes early, especially Opal, who took massive damage previously. Her body had been hit with a Burn Up from Coalossal thanks to the Pokemon Rangers getting involved, catching the Dread League by surprise. "Hah...Much better." A rejuvenated Opal spoke after leaving the tube. "Too many close calls lately. Those pesky Pokemon Rangers ruined my mane..." Opal would take a look at her mane, using the tubes as mirrors. They received some harsh burns, even making holes in it. This was the farthest anyone had gotten to greatly damaging Opal Vivacity's mane but no one had been able to seal the deal just yet. Once back, Opal would simply use her magic to repair her mane. It was good as new with a dash of magic, but even Opal knew that things were getting too close recently. Since her mane was such a massive target, different ways to take it out were popping up and were it not for the Pony of Shadows interfering, she might have lost that mane by now. "What about Xerneas? Should we go after it still?" A vampire asked. "Xerneas can wait. Ponyville is still far even when returning to Magehold. Besides, if we continue our path of destruction, we'll surely bring Xernes out eventually. All that matters is that we lay waste to as much as life as possible." Opal still kept Xerneas in mind, wanting to snuff it out as quickly as possible before it reverses all the damage done. Other vampires could be seen returning to Magehold, most likely recently escaping fierce confrontations. There was no telling how many locations were under attack right now by the Dread League. But nevertheless, as long as one location falls, another will be targeted and so on. Opal was set to head over to Ponyville next and even if she doesn't find anything there, the gateway to Pallet Town was still a possibility. As Opal was making her leave, she stopped by one of the tubes to see none other than Fluttershy here. The pony she aimed to bring over to Magehold was finally here, but not from her own actions. Fluttershy was still undergoing a change, slowly becoming a bat pony once more. With a smile on her face, Opal was expecting a powerful ally to the Dread League fairly soon. Fluttershy had a powerful connection with Pokemon, understanding them very well thanks to her already amazing skill of connecting with Equestrian Creatures. Opal would love to have that kind of perk on her side. "Well...Isn't this lovely?" Opal commented on this, appearing next to Sweet Fang and Shrivel. "You actually got her." "It was I who managed to bring her here," Shrivel said. "I pretended to be gone, fooling those Ponyville residents completely and stole her from them at the right moment. Not too complicated, honestly." "Good. How is Ponyville right now? What condition is that town in before I head there?" "Totalled. They managed to save their town either way but they've retreated elsewhere it seems. They went through that Pallet Town gateway and are hiding from us. But we know their location, unfortunately for them." "Hmph. Pallet Town, is it? Home of Ash. If I were to go there and deal some damage to it, it would be rather marvellous. The look on Ash's face would be absolutely delicious as he feels a great sense of dread." Opal had plans for Pallet Town already. Specifically, Ash's Mother. She would not hold back when it came to her targets, making sure everyone related to that target felt incredible dread. "I suppose I won't have to do anything to Ponyville at all. But why didn't her majesty tell me about this sooner?" "About that...Her Majesty received a surprise attack out of nowhere," said Sweet Fang, bringing up the Light Attack from before. She was hit by it and so far, no one knows where it's come from. Your brother went over to the Pokemon Contest to ask everypony else there." "I'm sorry, did you say Pokemon Contest?" A red alert in Opal's ears went off. Those weren't the words she wanted to hear. Now she caught wind of the Pokemon Contest as well. Already, she figured out who was behind this. "Fantina..." "I'm guessing you'll be heading there first before anywhere else?" Sweet Fang could already tell where Opal Vivacity aimed to go before anywhere else and that was straight for the Contest Hall which had just been built. This entire time while Opal was in Kalos for weeks, the Pokemon Contest was free from her petty actions. "But I'm afraid we have another problem that needs to be addressed.. It's that mysterious vampire, Dimstar. She-" Right before Shrivel could finish her sentence, every other vampire here that had left their tubes were disturbed by something. Something rather loud to the ears that they've never heard before but have seen and done before. Just not on this level. Magehold was about to be visited by its most common enemies. Within the chamber where all the vampires end up after combusting, a destructive explosion went off on the higher levels of this room. This explosion surpassed what most vampires could conjure, mainly because it was done by a Hybrid Vampire. None other than Dimstar. She brought Ash and his many friends here of her own volition, giving them an easy way to get to Magehold. They didn't have to go that far at all to show up. It was thanks to the vampire's surefire getaway plan that they were able to appear here at last. "What the?!" A vampire witnessed this out-of-nowhere arrival for herself. Since the explosion was so massive and different, no one ended up in the tubes. There were far too many of them here to fit them all in as Dimstar simply dropped them off out in the open. "Okay! We're in!" Ash grinned as he was the first face the vampire saw. Everyone else's faces would show up too. Ponies and Pokemon alike and the majority of them came from PokePark and the Pokemon House. They already filled up a majority of the upper floor with their numbers and they were ready to be as wild as they can in this place. "T-They made it in?! Here at the Revival Chamber?!" Another vampire shouted, noticing Ash's group appearing here at the Revival Chamber. "Let's find all of them as soon as possible! Fluttershy or anyone will do as long as we save them!" Twilight ordered, looking back at all of her friends. "Got it! I'll have my Slurpuff sniff them out!" Pinkie Pie excitedly raised her hoof. As for the vampires who saw them, one of them would immediately try and alert Magehold as soon as possible, bolting away. The other vampires here would stay to confront the intruders. "Here goes! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted, punching the air and focusing on the vampires in front of him. "Pikaaa...Chuuu!" Pikachu made the first move. By slapping his red sacs, he unleashed a fierce blast of lightning from his body. The vampires in front of Ash's group would receive 100,000 volts which shocked them all at the same time, latching onto them with its area-wide effect. And once Pikachu made the first move, everyone else went for it. All the Pokemon were free to go wild. And go wild they did. They immediately spread out, scattering themselves in the upper floor of the chamber, beginning their own rampage. The nearby vampires freaked out as they were not ready for this sudden attack in the chamber. If they were ready, they were expecting them to first enter Magehold from the outside, not directly on the inside. Ash, Twilight and the others would leave most of the chaos to the Pokemon from PokePark and the Pokemon House. Their friends were on their minds instead. They weren't sure where to go but the chamber seemed like a good starting place. Leading the way was none other than one of Pinkie Pie's Slurpuff, using her powerful nose to track down any one of them. There were plenty of scents here but Slurpuff always remembered which ones stuck out. And of course, the vampires here didn't stick out compared to her friends. "Bad news! We're under attack!" A vampire quickly rushed to Opal Vivacity and the other vampires on the lower level. "The King of the Sea and the Princess of Friendship have shown up with others!" "Impossible?! They got in!? So soon?!" Opal roared out in disbelief. Right as she got back, there was already some pandemonium here. "It was probably Dimstar who was behind this," Shrivel spoke about Dimstar, instantly assuming that she was behind this. And she was most definitely correct. "Twilight and Ash are here...I knew it." Cadence, who was near Fluttershy's tube, put on a soft smile, glad to know that her friends showed up after all. She never doubted them for a second and could always count on them to make an appearance thanks to how tenacious they can be. "Tch. Take the tubes and leave with them at once! And make sure the chamber's locked off from any exit or entry!" Opal commanded, knowing that they could come straight for the captives first before anyone else. That was their main goal after all and each of these captives were important in their own way. Yveltal was also important but not in the way Fluttershy, Cadence and Flurry Heart were. Cadence tried one last attempt to break herself out of this tube, but still lacked the strength to do so. She had to count on Twilight and everyone else to free her now. She was most certainly not leaving this tube now that a ruckus was being made in the chamber. The tubes that they resided in were suddenly removed from the floor, becoming portable. This was done by Sweet Fang, Opal and Shrivel who tapped what appeared to be a hoof print on the back of the tubes. It read each of their hooves, releasing the three tubes from the floor as they were raised. The vampires here were then tasked with keeping the tubes away from Ash's group, using their strength to carry them. As for Opal Vivacity, she turned her focus away from Fantina's Pokemon Contest and instead went for the intruders. She would soon be joined by Sweet Fang while Shrivel would oversee the three tubes, making sure that they were completely hidden from the eyes of the intruders. "Slur!" However, it wasn't the eyes that she had to worry about but the nose. And even the ears. Slurpuff could pick up on three familiar scents while Audino was listening closely for any indication of Fluttershy. Slurpuff had the clearest path, sensing Fluttershy, Cadence and Flurry Heart's scents specifically. Unfortunately, Fantina's scent hadn't been picked up yet. "Stop right there!" A group of vampires intercepted Ash and his friends from advancing, meeting them on a cobblestone bridge. "You're in our way! Dazzling Gleam, Eve!" "Espeon!" Espeon would ascend into the air, generating a beautiful flash of Fairy Magic that the vampires had to are witness to. They hissed at this fabulous light which then threw multiple rays of magic. The vampires were hit by the rays from above which would light up when crash landing. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" "Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" "Pika!" Moving through the smoke was Pikachu as he approached at lightning speeds, tackling the other vampires that were up ahead. It was a direct hit to one of the vampire's heads, causing him to bump into another member of the Dread League while Pikachu suffered no recoil damage whatsoever. "Tile!" This was then followed up by Sceptile delivering a swift and sharp Leaf Blade past the Dread League. Since they were in the Rejuvenation Chamber, there was no point in combusting to save themselves if things got ugly. Their opponents would simply find them. Once those vampires were pushed aside, Ash and his friends continued on their way, following Slurpuff. It was a full-on assault on Magehold, at least here in the chamber. Lich Queen's throne Room. "What did you say?! They got in?!" And this news instantly met with Rosa Maledicta's ears. She was made aware of this by her forces. Something like this had to reach her first before anyone else. "And it's the chamber no less..." "They showed up unexpectedly at the chamber and started attacking. We're not sure how they got in here." A vampire explained. "We're positive that they're going straight for the three captives we have back at the chamber." "Nevermind how they got in. Magehold's best protection has been weakened because of that light so Celestia and her forces might push through. This new field hasn't been nurtured like the previous one at all. Just deal with them all at once and use the Necropillars to nullify their magic if there are any ponies among them." "Yes, your majesty!" The ponies collectively saluted before leaving the throne room. As for the Lich Queen, she now had to turn her attention to the intruders. This was a rather annoying turn of events as it conflicted with parts of her plan. "It's a good enough time to test out Yveltal's power on these intruders. If things get too out of hand, I might have to resort to another defence mechanism." Rosa Maledicta would suddenly take out a Master Ball. The same Master Ball that was used to capture Yveltal. Now that Yveltal was fully under the control of the Lich Queen, he became the weapon the Dread League greatly wished for that did not spell great news for the world. Magehold Contest Hall. Meanwhile, the residents of Magehold were none the wiser. News about what happened to Rosa Maledicta had not reached them and neither has the news of the intruders. All of them were too busy enjoying the Pokemon Contest, just now finishing the feast they were a part of. And this was all thanks to Fractured Note. Because he chose to approach them, he stayed silent about the whole time, making sure no one here knew about the attack on the Lich Queen. And the vampires that were alongside him were on his side, also aiming to put an end to this Lich Cycle as soon as possible. "Things are going great right now," said Fractured Note. "But it seems something else has started over at the Rejuvenation Chamber. Fantina will have to keep this up for a bit longer. The Battle Stage is about to begin soon." "Alright, everyone!" Speaking of Fantina, she spoke to the crowd once more, ready to begin the next and final part of the Pokemon Contest. "Now that the break is over, we can go on to the next stage! We took all the judges' votes into account and were able to find who will move on to the next stage! Only eight of them will pass this one. Here they are!" Fantina turned everyone's attention to the screen which would gradually show the qualified coordinators. The first two ponies were shown on the screen. One came from Fantina's class and the other was a random vampire. Watching this intensively was Eccentrick as she was hoping that she made it. She most definitely succeeded in what she needed to do as she was the one responsible for harming the Lich Queen. But even when accomplishing her goal, Eccentrick was striving for more. The energetic vampire didn't want an opportunity like this to just suddenly leave her because of a simple plan. Eccentrick wanted to win the whole thing. The second row of trainers were shown as they made it in, but nothing from Eccentrick yet. The third row came in and Eccentrick put on a nervous grimace, afraid that she didn't make it. She scrunched her face, gently holding onto her partner Inkay and bracing for the final row. Eccentrick wouldn't see too much of a loss if she never made it but it would certainly gut her since this was something that she strived for and was taken away from her thanks to Opal Vivacity. However, her goals were not yet gone. The final row had been shown after the fourth came and went, revealing something pleasing to the eyes. Eccentrick made it. Her amazing display was enough to get her into the battle stage. And it was all thanks to the usage of light. Using the power of light while also not harming anyone in the process certainly helped. "Yes! I made it!" She would instantly jump for joy, taking flight and hitting the ceiling itself. A part of the ceiling had been cracked thanks to Eccentrick's powerful and excited leap. "Ough!" "Oh, are you okay, Eccentrick?!" A fellow coordinator asked after she hit the ceiling hard. Eccentrick's eyes would roll as she slowly descended, feeling a little bit of pain. "Y-Yeah...I'm going to be just fine!" The pain didn't matter to her as it would soon subside. Her happiness trumped it completely. All the while, Fantina put on a smile. This wasn't because Eccentrick was involved with a specific plan, it was because her performance was just that good. If she got through the first stage because of that, it wouldn't feel all that earned. "Okay, Inkay. There's one last thing I want to try for the next stage. But we're going to do it when we get to the final round. And we will get to the final round." "Inkay!" Magehold Chamber. Back at the Chamber, the Pokemon were going wild, attacking all the vampires they came across in this massive chamber. Since there were so many tubes, a plethora of vampires would obviously be down here. A flurry of Pokemon attacks of all kinds were being thrown out, causing continuous damage to the chamber. The vampires had to try and outnumber the Pokemon since most of them scattered into their own groups, wreaking havoc everywhere. Led by Queen Serperior, they were tasked with giving Ash, Twilight and all the others enough time. Just enough for them to save their friends. "How close are we?" Meanwhile, Emerald Aura spoke, wondering how close they were to Fluttershy. They passed by multiple regeneration tubes, searching for any of their friends. "Slurpuff's still sniffing 'em out! I don't know how big this place is though!" Pinkie Pie replied. "Every one of these tubes looks like they hold vampires whenever they return here! With so many members of the Dread League, this chamber is definitely massive!" Twilight answered, already figuring out that this place had to be colossal just by the number of tubes here. And this was just one of the floors. From what they could tell from Slurpuff's direction, Fluttershy was on another floor away from here. But right as they advanced, the chamber would retaliate all of a sudden. Right as they crossed a bridge, the bridge would move. It swiftly moved to the side, disrupting everyone's balance. At least those on the ground. Rainbow Dash found herself exempt from this along with Mew. Ash and the others though felt the bridge shift to a different position, attempting to throw them off. And at the speed it went, it certainly managed to do so to some of them. "Oh! Woah!" Applejack was thrown off the bridge along with Pinkie Pie and Slurpuff, screaming at the top of their lungs. Seeing them fall, the Forest Pokemon held his hands out, quickly using his vines. So did Bayleef as she unleashed them from her body. However, right as the vines wrapped themselves around Applejack, Slurpuff and Pinkie Pie, they would be destroyed afterwards. Another bridge had appeared from the walls. It was never there in the first place and just suddenly appeared. Right as it appeared, it broke the vines in half, splitting them away from Applejack, Pinkie and Slurpuff, blocking them from Sceptile and Bayleef's sights. "T-Tile?!" Sceptile gasped as his vines were cut off from this new bridge. But that wasn't the only bridge appearing. More would show up, flying out of the walls as they perfectly blended in with the cobblestone to the point where they were invisible. Some more targeted Ash's group who were still on the shifted bridge, attempting to strike them from behind. More of them were popping up from different positions, creating an abundance of bridges that would place themselves on the other floors. The sounds of Applejack and Pinkie Pie screaming could be heard as they were seemingly still falling. "Mew?! Mew...!" Mew would notice this right before anyone else could. Quickly, the New Species Pokemon would transform into the first Pokemon he could think of. He turned himself into a Steelix, using the durable body of the Steel-Ground-Type to his advantage. "Steelix!" Right on time, he managed to shield Ash and everyone from the incoming bridge as it would shatter the second it hit this powerful body. The material flew everywhere, barely even making Mew flinch. "Nice save, Mew! You should go after Pinkie, Slurpuff and Applejack! We'll go on ahead!" Ash opted to have Mew go for Pinkie, Applejack and Slurpuff. Someone had to make sure they were alright and he could count on Pinkie Pie's trainer to do that. Unfortunately, this meant that the group wasn't as close as it was before but with all of this ruckus, they believed they were bound to join up with some of the Pokemon here. "Steel!" Mew was already planning on it. He summoned an Aura Sphere in his mouth, aiming it at the bridge that cut him off from his best friends. After the bridge took some damage from the Aura Sphere, splitting in half, Mew used Steelix's body to hop off the upper bridge, taking a dive. But he would do it with a nimble body. Right after jumping off this bridge, he transformed once more, this time, taking on the form of a Staraptor for a quicker mode of transportation. "Staraptor!" With Staraptor's body, Mew would soar at swift and agile speeds, passing through the gap in the bridge and following where Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Slurpuff went. "We don't have Slurpuff with us though! How are we gonna find them now without at least one Slurpuff?!" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing out how Slurpuff's powerful sense of smell was the main way that they could find Fluttershy and the others. "They'll be back! I know it! We just have to keep going!" Ash continued on his way. Until they met up with their friends once more, they had to keep moving. At the same time, now they had to be careful of the hazards that were present here. There were still bridges flying out, attempting to strike down the intruders as it felt like the chamber had a mind of its own. Pikachu would use Iron Tail the second he saw one of the bridges flying towards his beloved friends. His hardened tail broke the bridge in half. Sceptile would use Dragon Pulse, destroying some of the bridges in the way before they could emerge, getting an early victory. And right above them, the Pokemon were all going crazy. Everywhere around them, they could hear a plethora of crashes, flashes, blasts and so on, especially Audino. All Audino wanted to do was listen for Fluttershy in some way. But alas, Fluttershy was unconscious, unable to speak at all. The group entered the next floor, going down deeper levels and seeing more tubes. Their eyes met with other vampires who were inside of this tube, regenerating and unaware of this sudden attack on their home. There was no point in attacking the tubes as only their friends were within their sights, but they were not afraid to battle their way through some vampires. The Dread League were starting to take all of this in. While the attack from the inside was surprising since the intruders didn't even use the entrance, they knew what had to be done. So as long as the intruders were destroyed, it would all be fine. And Twilight Sparkle's alicorn lifespan was still a target for them. More vampires appeared, standing in their way once more. But these ones came prepared. They had Dark Magic at the ready, unleashing it at the intruders in the form of collective magical beams. This was met by Twilight's own magical beam which would intercept one of them. The magic from both sides would cancel each other out, damaging the pathway in front of them. But it wasn't just magic that they had to worry about. The Dread League had a lot at their disposal. Especially the dreaded Despair Plants. Since they were at the home of where the Despair Plants resided, they were bound to encounter plenty of them. Right as the smoke from the magical clash cleared, some Despair Plants had already made their arrival. Triantis and Cordyceps were the first two species that appeared, creeping around the corner of this floor. Despair Plants were certainly a powerful blockade, only being weak to one thing after all. Luckily, Twilight had that at her disposal in the form of the Twilightium Z, but she already knew that she might have to pull it off multiple times. And there was already the fear of waiting for it to recharge. More Despair Plants were showing up as all attention was brought to the chamber. Since that was where all the intruders were, the Dread League sent all of their current forces there. The walls suddenly opened up as secret entryways were revealed. This chamber had more to offer than just being a place for the vampires to regenerate. With the many secret entryways opening, the Despair Plants would appear out of them, including new species. One of which ended up being a Despair Plant that resembled an Aerodactyl but clearly wasn't. This was its own creature based on another creature originally from the far past before the worlds united. This Despair Plant's body was rather rotund and yet its wings were powerful enough to keep it in the air. Its mouth was just one big poisonous trap while the edge of its wings appeared to be thorns. This Pterodactyl Despair Plant roared while appearing above its new prey, having a voice so strong that it even caused some cracks to appear on the walls. "We can try talking to them. And if something goes wrong, we'll heal you all, alright?!" Daisy said to Twilight. The two Flora Ponies were capable of countering Magehold Diseases were here for support as their presence was enough to soothe a Despair Plant and befriend them. And with the Sun up, they could also heal themselves now, not having to worry about the lack of any sunlight. However, they were in a dark area and not even the Sun could reach this place as the Moon was always up. And as for the Despair Plants, they weren't being soothed at all with the presence of Daisy and Paradise. Triantis would make a move, lunging in and using its sharp scythe-like claws to attack its new prey. Sceptile already had experience battling these Despair Plants but he wouldn't let the Triantis best him anymore. "Scep!" The Grass-Type used Leaf Blade, blocking Triantis' downward swing. The other Despair Plants would soon attack, especially the one above them all. "It didn't work?! What gives?!" Paradise gasped, wondering why the Despair Plants didn't instantly calm down when near them. "Melt away them away, Pterathes! Now!" A vampire ordered, calling out the name of this Despair Plant. Pterathes would hold its breath in before suddenly coughing something out. It appeared to be some sort of fireball that had a green aura around it instead of the usual orange. Everyone moved out of the way as the fireball would not combust. Instead, it would sink through the floor, having an acidic effect. Ash and the others quickly realized they were too close to each other, making them vulnerable to being snuffed out in one go. They would instantly space themselves out to avoid that possibility. Pterathres shot another acidic fireball, targeting its prety once more but this time, there was some interception. "Go, Lucario!" Ash would be the one to intercept this. By throwing his Poke Ball into the air, he summoned a Pokemon that could easily ignore the acid thanks to his Tying. Lucario would emerge from the Poke Ball, meeting with the Acid Fire Ball. "Lucario!" And instantly, he would bash his body through the attack, nullifying it as all of it covered him instead. And since he was a Steel-Type, Lucario was sitting pretty, completely immune to the deadly attack this Despair Plant possessed. And while in the air, Lucario even took the time to tackle Pterathes, knocking it back into the wall. "I don't want us to split up at all...but we can't stay like this," Twilight said. "Some of us should try and find either of our friends. Whether it's Fluttershy, Cadence or Flurry Heart. Or even Fantina." "I'll try and meet up with Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Slurpuff then." Rarity opted. "I have my precious Pheromosa who can certainly get far." "As if you all are going anywhere." A vampire scoffed. "And even if you did, you have no idea what this chamber has in store for you. The entryways and the bridges are just the beginning." "That's fine with us." Ash grinned, looking forward to this. While he was serious about saving his friends, he was also willing to take on whatever Magehold had to throw at him. That was his adventurous spirit talking. All of his friends would move out, going in different groups. Rarity would team up with Rainbow Dash while Twilight stuck by Ash. Daisy and Paradise made sure to stay by Ash and Twilight too, adding to their numbers. They also had to take that vampire's word seriously. They have yet to see what Magehold can truly do. And now that they were within enemy territory, the best of Magehold would be unleashed upon them with no holds barred. As the journey continues. Chapter 165 End.