The Badlands. In the air. Captain Celaeno's Ship. Afternoon.
In the skies of the Badlands, green flashes could be seen in the clouds. That was the result of the Storm King using the power of Zygarde and the power of two Sea Temple Crystals. But they were more than just flashes in the cloud. At this moment, the land and sea were being affected by the Storm King's reckless power.
Random locations were currently being targeted but even though they were random, the ecosystems were taking heavy hits at the moment. And even for a place such as the Badlands, its own ecosystem was being threatened despite how rugged and rough it may be.
"Hey. What's that?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, soon seeing the green flashes in the clouds.
"It looks like it's coming from the clouds," said Twilight. "I don't think that's lightning. Do you know what that is captain?"
"Not a clue." Celaeno couldn't answer that at all. "Nothing like that exists in the Badlands."
The more the ship moved through the air, the more these green flashes became visible. And the first example of what it could do despite it happening on land and sea had been shown. The sheer power of this energy would expand, shooting out green rays that pierced the clouds. But more importantly, they attacked the airship. The rays delivered a power blow to the ship, making it rock as Celaeno held onto the ship's wheel, keeping her balance.
More of them would start flying out, going wild and piercing the clouds continuously at a frantic pace. They were completely aimless but destructive, only having the power to ruin ecosystems and destroy other things not related to that ecosystem.
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, can we get away from it?!" Spike yelled while holding onto his Axew. Celaeno was already on it. And a part of her was excited about this as she put on a smile. It has been a long time since she's had something intense in the air happen. Being Delivery Birds for the Storm King stripped her away from this excitement and how it has returned. Ironically, it was the Storm King who was causing this and brought that excitement back for her.
She could experience that thrill once more as the airship was already speeding up, barely managing to evade one of the rays that nearly hit the back of the ship. As these rays flew by, they would start combusting continuously, separating many cloud formations. Unbeknownst to them all, the Storm King was now approaching the Badlands, possessing some of Zygarde's power. But at the same time, he was forcing Zygarde to follow him to the Badlands.
The Airship would be manoeuvered as fast as possible, drifting through the air. Because of its size, it was easy for some of the rays to crash into it, causing further damage to the airship. The Purrloin would all gather together to keep each other safe while the Golurk hold onto to anyone struggling to keep their balance. The Golurk did seem to have a better handling of rocky situations.
"Look over there! What's That?!" Suddenly, Fluttershy's attention was brought elsewhere as she and Audino heard something massive passing through the sky. The Storm King arrived here sooner than expected. But that was mainly thanks to the power of the crystals. He used them to boost the speed of his airship, making it travel faster than it normally would.
"It's the Storm King!" Celaeno said, recognizing that Airship anywhere. The Storm King had shown up at his home territory, the Badlands, just for an advantage over Zygarde. He knew all about this place after all and even though he was currently using an airship, he did have a castle to return to. He was a King after all and it's obvious he would have a castle. The airship was simply just for travelling.
With the Storm King present here, the risk has been greatly elevated. For the most part, they were only encountering small instances of danger. The Large Palossand and the Bodyguards were all they had to worry about. Now, the one who was after conquest had shown up.
"Ah, look at that!" The Storm King would soon notice Celaeno's Airship. He would take a closer look, using the crystals to enhance his vision. He would see Celaeno and her crew, witnessing what they were wearing. He felt a bit nostalgic, seeing them in their Pirate clothes and not their Delivery Clothes. It was clear that they have returned to their occupation as Pirates, rejecting the Storm King. But while that got on his nerves, something else quickly interested him, raising his hopes up. "Oh? And would you look at that? One of the Princesses is on board."
Twilight Sparkle had been spotted. Along with her friends. It was unusual to see ponies here since the Badlands was filled with all kinds of species that are not normally seen in Equestria. The fact that they were here, plus two Humans, raised high curiosity and intrigue. And of course, major benefits for the Storm King.
"Shall we go after them, your excellence?" Tempest Shadow questioned.
"Duh, yes. They're the next stage of our plan, of course. Get that princess and uh...maybe that one human. The one in the blue." He ordered, focusing on Ash just as much as Twilight.
"Blue? Do you mean Ash Ketchum?" Grubber said, recognizing only one human who famously wears that.
"Right, him. That's his name. He's got something in him that has everyone in Equestria raving, apparently. Whatever it is, I want it. And I'll continue to do what I do best with this Staff." He looked at his staff as it had green energy crackling out of it. "Maybe I'll assist you here and there as we make our way back to my castle.
"On it." Tempest Shadow would carry out the order. She was still expecting the Storm King to repair her horn in return nd that would only happen until his goals were fully achieved. While this ship was just for travelling, it did come with its offensive capabilities.
And that was shown by a massive anchor flying out of the bottom, moving straight for Celaeno's ship instead of weighing the ship down like any other anchor would. The anchor crashed right through the ship, dealing more damage to it and knocking even more of the crew and passengers over. It was rather impressive that Celaeno's ship could take this much damage and still keep on flying.
And with the anchor holding onto the ship, it allowed the Storm King's Airship to come in closer as the anchor was pulling it forward. And outside of the airship was Tempest Shadow, preparing to hop on board.
"Check it out..." Ash gazed over at Tempest Shadow as his eyes would soon widen in amazement. He also recognized Tempest Shadow. But not because he's met this one before. It was the Universe 6 Variant of Tempest Shadow that he recalled seeing during his trip to the Sea Temple. "So this is our world's Tempest."
"Pikachu..."
"You have to go! Now!" Celeano shouted, telling them to leave as soon as possible. "Secure the rigging! Lock down the cargo! Everyone, prepare to be boarded!"
"Down there?! We don't even know where we are!" Goh bellowed, fearful of what was down below.
"You're near Mount Aris! You can go further from there!"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Suddenly, an elevated voice spoke out. And that was from Tempest using a megaphone. She had Sneasler to help out with that, holding the megaphone up to her mouth. "Give up your magic." And it was straight to the point as Tempest let her know what she was here for.
"What?!" Twilight gasped.
"With this anchor, at any moment, we can take your ship down, crashing into the cruel ground of the Badlands," Tempest warned them, threatening to bring the ship down. "Your magic is one of the few things the Storm King needs. We've already taken the power of the crystals and some of Zygarde's power."
"They've got some of Zygarde's power already...?" Rainbow Dash uttered, surprised by what he was hearing. This also meant that Zygarde was potentially nearby.
"Who's that Pokemon?" As for Ash, he would take out his Pokedex, noticing Sneasler and reading her Dex Entry.
"Sneasler. The Free Climb Pokemon. Because of Sneasler’s virulent poison and daunting physical prowess, no other species could hope to best it on the frozen highlands. Preferring solitude, this species does not form packs."
"We also know about how your princesses are trying to stop us. They're still trying to get in our way but soon, they won't be a threat thanks to how smoothly things are going for us. So give it up. Right now." Tempest ordered. "Or you'll feel the explosive wrath of the Storm King and his newfound power."
"Yeah, right!" Ash shouted back. "Like that's ever gonna happen!"
"Pikachu!"
"Alright then. So be it." Tempest Shadow shrugged, seeing that they made up their choice. "Drop it." She did what she promised to do, dropping the anchor so that the ship would come down as well. Everyone prepared themselves as they could hear the anchor moving, changing its angle position, finally acting like how every other anchor does.
However, the Golurk of the Canterlot Guards said otherwise. The moment the anchor tried going down, it failed to do so, only slightly making the ship jerk but not fully pulling it back to the ground. That was thanks to the Golurk. They held up the airship, preventing the anchor from bringing it down. And with so many of them holding it up, the anchor meant nothing.
"Golurk!"
Tch. Fine then. Sneasler. Dire Claw!"
"Snea!" Sneasler would leap off the ship, landing perfectly on the chain with no error whatsoever. And when on the chain, she would start running on it at high speeds, holding her claws out which were laced with poison.
"Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu would intercept her Dire Claw, hardening his tail and lunging off the ship. With his tail, Pikachu clashed with Sneasler's Dire Claw, ignoring the Poison Effect thanks to the Steel Protection. The clash lasted for a moment before both Sneasler and Pikachu jumped back with Sneasler still staying on the chain while Pikachu went back on the ship. However, Sneasler wouldn't have to stay on the chain for long as the Storm King's Airship was close to Celaeno's ship now.
And now that they were close, the Storm Creatures could jump onto the ship, storming it. Capper grimaced at this sight as he was incredibly close to the Storm King's forces. And even the Storm King himself. Being here, especially this high in the air, was the worst possible moment.
As for the anchor, the Golurk grabbed onto it, using their bare hands to rip it apart. The anchor came straight off, removing one vital part of the Storm King's Airship. They won't be using it to latch onto other ships from now on. But that didn't matter as they weren't using the anchor anymore and instead just hopping onto the ship.
Tempest Shadow would soon do the same, joining her Sneasler. And once Sneasler got on board, she would continue to use Dire Claw, going straight for Twilight Sparkle, using those swift legs of hers while Tempest prepared one of the Obsidian Orbs.
"Iron Tail, again!"
Pikachu!" Pikachu would get in Sneasler's way once more, using Iron Tail to counter her Dire Claw. Another clash between the two occurred as Pikachu and Sneasler went back and forth. Iron Tail and Dire Claw crashed into each other continuously with sparks flying. Pikachu would duck one of the slashes, going for a leg sweep. Only for Sneasler to hop over his sweep, spinning in the air for a moment and swinging both her claws downwards. Pikachu was quick at reacting just like Sneasler, performing an upwards Iron Tail.
The two of them matched each other once more, sliding back on the floorboards. As for the Storm Creatures, they started charging at the group, mainly focusing on Twilight Sparkle as she was the most important target here. Twilight gasped as Espeon would immediately stand in front of her, refusing to let these creatures touch Twilight for even a moment.
"Psychic!"
"Esp!" The Red Gem on her forehead would glow along with her eyes, gaining a beautiful blue colouring. That same colour would outline the Storm Creatures that got too close as Espeon would hold them in place. After doing so, she launched them with a telekinetic push, sending them into other Storm Creatures.
But their goal wasn't to battle here. Their goal was to get to the Hippogriffs. Goh had already gotten a head start, running as fast as he could as he threw one of his Poke Balls out, sending out his Flygon. Once Espeon pushed back the Storm Creatures, Twilight, Ash and Pikachu would follow their friends.
Making sure that they would get away safely were Celaeno and her group. On top of that, there were also Canterlot Guards and Golurk who would stick around just so Celeano's crew isn't at a massive disadvantage. The Golurk would hold their hands out, stopping some of the Storm Creatures in their tracks. However, what surprised them was the fact that the Storm Creatures had some weight to them. When crashing into the hands of the Golurk, the Automaton Pokemon felt some pushback.
The only way out of this was to jump out of it. And they were certainly willing to take that risk but also had the means to fly. Goh had already used his Flygon, getting on its back. Joining Goh on the back of Flygon were Spike, Rarity and Applejack while everyone else either flew by themselves or had Dragonite carry them.
Tempest, refusing to let them get away, would send out her other Pokemon in the midst of this chaos. And that Pokemon ended up being her Noivern, who would help her through the air. Twilight and her friends had left the ship of Celaeno, taking flight. Or in this case, they were starting to descend.
Getting on Noivern's back, Tempest Shadow was already on the move, pursuing her targets. But getting in her way was none other than Celeano's Pidgeot. It wouldn't let her pass at all and neither would these Golurk, much to Tempest's annoyance. Watching this play out was the Storm King, seeing the crew that worked for him once now returning to the time when they first encountered him. But much like that first time, the Storm King simply saw them as weaklings since he had the means to defeat them a second time.
At the same time, Zygarde was still after him so he had to keep moving towards his Castle. Something like this was just in the way. While he wished to deal with Celaeno's crew after betraying him, he'd much rather focus on his mission. Getting the magic of the Princesses and all of Zygarde's power for himself.
"Bah, this'll take too long." He groaned, seeing that this battle could last a while and he could do without it right now. To speed it up, he would use the power of his staff to end things as soon as possible. The Storm King would finally exit his ship, coming through the doors for many to see. The Canterlot Guards definitely saw him, as well as Celaeno's crew.
With the Storm King out, having the dark clouds compliment his appearance and arrival, he brought that air of intimidation for someone who babbles a lot of time. With his staff being aimed, he would take the shot, using the combined power of Zygarde and the Sea Temple Crystals. He closed his eye, focusing on the ship in front of him.
And with one shot, he unleashed a dark green and dark yellow beam that flew in at high speeds. Celeano gasped as the colouring around the area had changed thanks to the intensity of this beam. With Ash and his group, they didn't look back when leaving the ship.
However, the sound of something combusting in the distance could be heard. That was the sound of the Storm King's power going off, leaving behind a loud explosion as well as a bright flash that blew away more of the cloud formations. They weren't sure what has happened there but they couldn't slow down to find out. They had to keep moving. After all, Mount Aris was within their sights.
Mount Aris.
At last, they had left the Badlands. While they haven't been there for long, it certainly gave them a lot to take in. But now that they were out of it, finally, they had arrived at Mount Aris. They had Celeano's crew to thank for this. Dragonite, Flygon and those with flight would land on the mountain, slowing down after the adrenaline rush they went through for a moment.
"Great. Now we're being hunted!" Rarity groaned after dropping off Flygon's back. "There's always someone who loves hunting us down! I should be flattered but enough is enough already!"
"It is what it is," Twilight said. "I should've expected this since the Storm King was chasing down the power of the Crystals and Zygarde. Alicorn Magic would be one of his other options. But we don't have to worry about taking any more steps to our destination. Because now we're finally here."
"We are?" Goh replied as he would take small footsteps, witnessing the piece of land that stood before him. It took a while for him to realize it but his eyes along with others would soon widen. They got to where they needed to be at last and the appearance it had did not disappoint.
"So this is it!" Ash gawked at what his eyes had witnessed.
A large mountain stood before them. And the way this mountain appeared was truly unique and distinct from others. It appeared in the form of two massive creatures that resembled ponies but had their own style. Most likely, these were statues of the Hippogriffs. Truly one of the most graceful structures they've seen. And to think, right next to it were the Badlands.
But something was rather off. While the structures were beautiful as the Sunlight would beam down on them, they looked rather old. Moss could be seen on the statues along with some wilted trees. They would pass through the massive structures, seeing what else they could find. But the sunlight would soon vanish as there was only a tiny bit of it around.
When advancing further, their eyes were met with a rather terrifying sight. An old one. There were indeed structures here. Buildings could be seen, having their own shapes as some trees still had leaves on them. So many of the buildings looked destroyed and deserted as if a massive battle had happened here. Through the thick fog, they could barely see the shape of what appeared to be a castle, but that seemed ruined as well. This was a total Ghost City.
There seemed to have one existed a gentle road that led to the castle but was now indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape. Gardens grew beyond their artificial borders and began claiming parts of the streets and houses but were now half-dead.
Most doors still stood sturdy in their frames. They were a little dirty, but if they only focused on the doors they'd expect Hippogriffs to come out as if nothing had changed. Many roofs had collapsed and in some cases had taken the entire building with it. Others looked in decent shape and were simply dirty.. This was most likely once a growing community of hundreds of families was now but an eerie shell of its former self. There was a fountain in what appeared to be the town square, lacking any water that would flow here.
"Oh, man...What happened here?" Ash wondered.
"Pikachu..."
"Are we sure this is the right place?" Rarity questioned, wondering why nothing else was here.
"Hello?! Is anypony home?!" Rarity shouted.
"It's pretty dead, isn't it?" Goh pointed out. "I don't hear anything else."
"No Hippogriffies here!" Pinkie Pie was already zipping around, searching for any Hippogriffs, even though she had no idea what they looked like. All she could use as an indication were the statues. Or here! Or here! Or here or here or here! It is totally dead!"
"But... Celestia... The map. They have to be here." Twilight was rather bewildered by this. How could this place be completely empty? It seemed like such a waste, feeling like they did all of that for nothing.
"This is a total Ghost City..." Goh looked around, noticing a statue of a Hippogriff that was covered in moss. Most likely of a famous Hippogriff.
"I don't suppose you still got that Time Flower with you, Ash?" Applejack asked.
"Audino?" But just then, while their worries were building up, they heard something. They could always count on Audino to pick up on something. Even in a place as dead as this, her ears would not fail her.
"I think Audi hears something. Two things, actually." Fluttershy translated. Apparently, Audino's ears were catching two things. One of which sounded like singing and the other sounded like a Pokemon as both were coming from two directions entirely. "Singing...and what sounds like a Pokemon."
"A Pokemon? Here?" said Twilight as Audino was walking towards the direction of the Pokemon, prompting everyone else to follow. Both the singing and the Pokemon sounded like they were close to each other.
"Any Pokemon can call a place their home if it's suitable enough for them," Ash answered. Which Pokemon do you think it is?"
"Probably...that one!" Rainbow Dash was the first to notice the Pokemon before anyone else. Sitting there, right next to a large pool that still had water in it was indeed a Pokemon. But it was a Pokemon none of them have ever seen before. And it was rather small. One of the smallest they've seen next to Joltik, Cutiefly and Tynamo.
"Tatsugiri."
"Who's that?" Of course, this required the Pokedex as Ash took it out.
"Tatsugiri. The Mimicry Pokemon. Curly Form. This is a small dragon Pokémon. It lives inside the mouth of Dondozo to protect itself from enemies on the outside. Tatsugiri is an extremely cunning Pokémon. It feigns weakness to lure in prey, then orders its partner to attack."
"Aw, it's cute." Twilight gushed at Tatsugiri's small size.
"Hello there." Fluttershy waved at the Mimicry Pokemon, approaching it. Her fears were staved once seeing a new Pokemon that was absolutely adorable. It was just sitting there so casually, not really doing anything. It merely looked at Ash and the others, blinking for a small moment. Seeing this one Pokemon here alone was rather saddening but Tatsugiri didn't seem to mind at all. It seemed content with its current surroundings. "What's your name, little-"
But out of nowhere, with no warning and with barely anyone to predict it, jumping out of the water and creating a big splash was a Pokemon that surpassed Tatsugiri in size easily. And that went for every other Pokemon here, plus, the humans, ponies and baby dragon.
"DONDOZO!"
"What is that?!" Ash bellowed as he didn't have enough time to scan Dondozo's Dex Entry since it came out of the pool instantly. And after doing so, it seemingly ate Tatsugiri, sending it in its mouth. Fluttershy stood there absolutely flabbergasted and bewildered by what she saw.
She was as stiff as a statue as Tatsugiri was gone in an instant. And all that was left behind was the massive Pokemon that shouted out its name and was mentioned in the Pokedex. Dondozo.
However, there was another Water Pokemon here. And this one had peered its head. A few of them did. Some Water Pokemon could be found in this area. Some that Ash and the others haven't seen before just yet. Tatsugiri and Dondozo were the first examples.
And next to them was a being that was not a Pokemon. Some were familiar, such as a Primarina. The evolved form of the Popplio family who was right next to this individual. Flying next to the individual was Gorebyss which bumped its head only to be helped by an unknown Water-Type Pokemon which seemed to almost resemble a Dugtrio. But it wasn't quite a Dugtrio.
"Oh, I see it, all of you. And it's completely real!"
As the journey continues.
Chapter 207 End.