//------------------------------//
// Zeraora's Struggles 
// Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

Galar. The Isle of Armor. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.

Finding Zeraora at a cave here at the Isle of Armor, were two faces that were all too familiar to the Thunderclap Pokemon. Unfortunately, Twilight Sparkle and Sci-Twi resemble Empress Twilight strikingly. In Twilight's case, she had a similar stature to the Empress and in Sci-Twi's case, she gave off the lingering presence of Midnight Sparkle who ended up being the Empress.

"Zera...!" Unable to properly control her emotions, Zeraora was ready to lash out once more.

"Wait, Zeraora! It's not who you think it is!" Attempting to protect her friends, Rainbow Dash flew in front of Zeraora, holding her hooves out and frantically explaining things. "It's the same thing with Princess Celestia!"

"It is Zeraora!" Taking out her Pokedex to read up on it was Sci-Twi after finally gazing upon this Pokemon. Zeraora tried restraining herself once more, but it was rather difficult. She just couldn't help but see Empress Twilight in both of them. However, after Rainbow Dash convinced her that Celestia wasn't Daybreaker, she would do the same with Twilight and Sci-Twi.

"Zeraora..." Since Rainbow Dash was there to be that bridge, Zeraora calmed down and thus, she didn't break out into a wild rage.

"Phew...That could've been bad." Thankfully, she prevented any potential conflict and defended her friends from any damage.

"You already found Zeraora, Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah, not too long ago." The pegasus sighed. "And it's been...something. Princess Celestia and Luna found her and they're  right around the corner." She also revealed that Celestia and Luna were present in this cave, however, they chose not to show themselves. Specifically, Celestia, who resembled Daybreaker.

Now that Twilight and Sci-Twi had shown up, alongside Fluttershy, this meant that many others were closer to Zeraora. Such as the Pokemon Rangers. Overhearing this were the Rangers and Kidd Summers, who would not advance just yet. They would keep their distance since Zeraora was completely calm. No sign of a rampage just yet.

"Check that out..." Kidd whistled after seeing Rainbow Dash stand casually next to Zeraora.

"Sorry, Zeraora. I was meaning to tell you about Celestia being around but...I didn't want a rampage going off." The pegasus apologized.

"Ora." Zeraora sighed. She was already tired of seeing familiar faces that she despised. Twice she has felt boiling rage but only once has she managed to maintain it. But even though she maintained this rage, there was a caveat. And unfortunately, this was thanks to Ghetsis' influence. After her rage subsided, Zeraora once again felt her head vibrate as she got on her knees.

"Are you alright?!"

"Zera..." Unexpectedly, Zeraora passed out. She dropped to the ground, unconscious. This caused stellar concern from Rainbow Dash, Castform and now those that have shown up. Zeraora was definitely not in te best state. From the scratches and bruises around her to the sudden knockout she received after subduing her rage.



10 Minutes Later.

10 Minutes had passed. Still unconscious, Zeraora was placed somewhere to rest. In this case, it was a comfortable flower bed here at the Isle of Armor. Surrounding this area were the Pokemon Rangers and Kidd. She was given some more peace after the damage she caused. While minimal since a full-on rampage didn't happen, it was still noticeable.

"Well, she'll wake up eventually. But she expended herself which is a surprise. A Pokemon like her shouldn't be able to burn out so quickly. Zeraoras can run for days after all." said a Pokemon Ranger.

"What happened to her exactly"? Rarity asked.

"It might have something to do with her rage." Scanning Zeraora was Kidd Summers, who immediately saw her heat signature. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened. We saw Zeraora expend herself after going on a rampage but she never knocked herself out before. This is new and it's also the first time it's happened where she hasn't fully erupted."

"Poor girl." A disheartened Fluttershy said. "It's because she saw different ponies when looking at both Twilights and Princess Celestia. What did she go through when she was with them? Plus, she was Ghetsis' Pokemon."

"My scanner's picking up on something in her," Kidd observed. She wasn't just seeing Zeraora's Heat Signature, but also a strange energy. It crackled within Zeraora, clashing with the electricity she managed to store. In fact, it looked like it was one with her electricity. An extension of her. 

"What is it? What do you see?" Twilight questioned.

"Hmm...It looks like there's another energy within her. Doesn't look like her electricity at all. Now that we're finally getting a closer look at this Zeraora, I think we've found a reason for these rampages. Looks like something's merged with her electricity.

"Oh?" Using magic, Twilight would find her own way to look into Zeraora. By using her Rift Magic, Sci-Twi would observe Zeraora. However, instead of seeing what was within her, her Rift Vision instead focused on what was on the outside. Twilight saw a strange yet familiar aura around Zeraora, lightly and silently looming. "That magic...Doesn't it look a lot like Sombra's magic?"

"Well, she was with Ghetsis, after all. Plus, she's still his Pokemon, so it makes sense for some of his stolen magic to be around here." Rarity shrugged.

"But this feels different..." Twilight pondered. "Some of it is Rift Energy. This is probably what causes her to fall unconscious."

"If I had to guess, Ghetsis must have placed something within her to cause this," Celestia said, approaching her fellow alicorn. "It'd be a shame if she went through another experience such as this just by seeing us."

"Well, we want to solve her rampaging problem and get her back home. To do that, we'll have ot do something about that energy within her. It's clearly not suppossed to be there. I can trust that any one of you is capable of removing it?"

"Oh, for sure!" A few of them said. Indeed, some of them had methods for removing energies within others. Such as Souls and Rift Energy. 

"Let me take a swing at it." Applejack stepped forward, holding one of her Poke Balls out. By throwing it into the air, she summoned her Delta Lucario.

"Lucario!"

"Lucario. I need ya to use Dark Matter on Zeraora. Don't hurt her though."

"Rrr!" Nodding in understanding, Delta Lucario knew what needed to be done. Holding his hand out, he gathered the dark forces of the universe, forming it into a single attack. This attack was then unleashed a wave but was weakened to prevent any harm from being done.

Once the wave entered Zeraora, at that moment, it was then forced out. Everyone gasped as a black energy expunged the Dark Matter, knocking it out of Zeraora. The force of it also reached Lucario, pushing him back. The Anubis Pokemon groaned as he went stumbling, bumping into some of the Pokemon Rangers.

"Lucario! Are you alright?!" Applejack rushed over.

"It forced his Dark Matter out?! How?" Sci-Twi gawked. "Dark Matter shouldn't be dealt with so easily!"

"That can't be right. Maybe it wasn't a soul then..." Twilight pondered. "I figured a part of it would be since Ghetsis is involved in this. Maybe the Rift Magic can be pushed out."

"Maybe..." Ash took out his own Poke Ball as well. But not just that, on his other hand, he managed to summon the Staff of Sir Aaron. Ash then brought out his own Lucario to try and force at least the Rift Energy out of her. Everyone watched as Ash's Lucario and the Aura were summoned for Zeraora. 

With Ash holding his staff out and Lucario transferring Aura over, this universal energy would reach the Thunderclap Pokemon. And this time, it lasted longer than the Dark Matter, however, there was still some pushback. Ash and Lucario groaned, feeling the pushback from the energy that Ghetsis had placed within Zeraora. The Aura was being fought against by the Dark Magic and the Rift Energy, making sure that no one would break Ghetsis' influence over the Electric-Type. But Ash wasn't one to give up.

Putting more Aura into this, the clash intensified as the Rift Energy was being affected the most. Compared to the Dark Magic, the Rift Energy was minimal since Ghetsis was mainly using Sombra's power at that time. Speaking of Sombra, he transferred his own magic over to deal with his magic, boosting Ash. Alas, they couldn't remove the essence of Ghetsis within her as it was well protected.

Just as Ghetsis said, he would make sure that it would grow to a point where no amount of Aura could remove it. And since enough time has passed predating this very day, the essence of Ghetsis was greatly strengthened. But even with this strength, Sci-Twi and Kidd saw that the Dark Energy was starting to tremble. There was a sign of it weakening. The Rift Energy was diminishing a bit but the clash had come to an end for it to go any further.

"Man...!" Ash groaned after being forced back by the energies within. "Sorry. I didn't get enough time with it."

"Luca..."

"You did your best." Kidd touched Ash's shoulder. "Zeraora will be waking up soon and all of that will still be in her, making it nigh-impossible to prevent her from erupting into a rage constantly."

"But she won't anymore, right? Rainbow Dash explained the similarities to her, so when she wakes up, she won't attack any of us. It'll be A-Okay!" Believing that nothing could go wrong was Scootaloo, along with her friends.

"I'm afraid not." Unfortunately, Kidd shut that down. "The rampage that Zeraora goes on dismisses her friends as well, especially when it gets to a certain level. If she lets her rage overcome her, it won't matter if Princess Celestia or Both Twilights are different from the ones she saw."

"Oh..." That killed the mood for the CMC.

"Zeraora..." Rainbow Dash sighed as it was rather sad what Zeraora's condition was. Not only was she cursed by this rage-inducing energy that Ghetsis put this influence over but she was clearly lost, away from her own universe. And speaking of Zeraora, she started groaning as that was a sign of her getting back up.a

"Zera?" When opening her eyes, the first person she saw was Rainbow Dash, followed up by Ash. The Thunderclap Pokemon grumbled as her body twitched. Next were the faces of Celestia and Twilight, but she didn't immediately resort to seeing the Empress and Daybreaker. She still recollected the memories of what Rainbow Dash told her and remembered knocking herself unconscious.

Awake, Zeraora stood up, seeing more faces around her. Ranging from ponies to Humans. The Pokemon Rangers were here. And immediately, making a light gasp, Zeraora recognized them all. It was why she started running the second she saw the ship in the sky.

"Zera?! Ora!" Zeraora growled at the Ranger Union while holding onto her arm which was trembling a bit. She wasn't hostile towards them, but instead, she showed a different emotion. One that preferred the Ranger Union not being here.

"She said that she doesn't need your help." Fluttershy translated. "She can handle herself."

"Oh. Is that why you've been running away from us?" One of the Rangers commented. At least the union now knew why Zeraora was hard to reach for them."

"Ze." Zeraora scoffed.

"Well, you've been causing destruction whenever you suddenly break out into a rage, so we have no choice but to get involved." Another Ranger said. "We're surprised you knew that we existed though."

"Zeraora. Are you feeling better now? How come you passed out like that earlier?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Ora...Zeraora." Zeraora sighed. She then took a seat, wanting to rest for a little while longer but without being unconscious.

"She said that she's been doing it accidentally." Fluttershy was thankfully here to finally give context to everything. With her present, they could now understand Zeraora's sudden outbursts. "There's a voice that speaks to her in her mind and she struggles to deal with it. Whenever it comes up, she tries to force it away."

"Do you think it's Ghetsis' voice? It has to be since that's his magic in there." Twilight spoke.

"Zera..." All it took was Zeraora confirming it with a head nod. She also knew Ghetsis' name and that was indeed his voice.

"Zeraora also says that she only breaks out into a rage because she can't help it. The voice of Ghetsis forces her to break out into a rampage. Ghetsis wants Zeraora to turn since he still has her Poke Ball. Every time she fights back against Ghetsis' voice and energy, she hurts herself, as if Ghetsis expected this."

"Oooh, even from this distance, Ghetsis is downright annoying!" Rarity groaned. Of course, Ghetsis just had to make things difficult for everyone, resulting in volatile destruction. 

"Well, now we know. This is going to be tough for us to handle though." Kidd Summers tapped her feet, wondering how to overcome this issue. "Stuff like this is out of my expertise. I think the same goes for the Ranger Union. If anything, this sounds like something all you from Equestria can handle. It's magic-related. But we can still minimize any damage done to the place."

"What do we do though? We couldn't force the energy out of Ghetsis."

"Zeraora..."

"Zeraora says that Ghetsis prepared for this. He put as much of his power into her so that when enough time passes, it'll be difficult for anyone to remove it. Zeraora's only managed to push it back at most but it won't leave her." Fluttershy explained. "Poor Zeraora's had to keep moving to keep places safe."

"Tell you what. You're probably not okay with sticking around in a lab or anything like that." Kidd approached Zeraora. "So, we won't take you anywhere. We can't exactly return you to your original universe just yet since your problem hasn't been solved. We also can't reach your universe since we don't know which one it is. So for now, how about you just relax wherever."

"Zera?"

"That's right." Kidd winked. "You come here to the Isle of Armor for a reason. My guess is that you have one back in your universe. Or, it's just a nice place for you to be in. It's better for you to be out here in the open instead of back at the Ranger Union. But you'll also need someone to keep an eye on you just so you don't lose it and I'm already looking at them.

"Rrrr..." Zeraora grumbled for a moment before looking at Rainbow Dash's group. Kidd was obviously referring to them. And Zeraora saw where she was coming. Rainbow Dash was simply the first example of the safety they brought, even if one of them entered a small scuffle with her.

"You don't gotta worry about a thing, Zeraora." Rainbow Dash flew over, shrugging her hooves. "I'll have you know, we're used to something like that. If you're having trouble, count on us. If you go on a rampage, will simmer you down. I mean, I already did it two times in a row, so how's that?"

"Don't get cocky, Rainbow Dash..." Twilight shook her head.

"What? I'm not. Watch. The next time she gets riled up, she'll be chilling out in no time."

"I think that voice in her head is going to make it difficult though," said Fluttershy. "We can't hear it at all so when it comes up, we'll have to be ready. We don't want Zeraora going on a rampage across the Pokemon Festival."

"Well. We're counting on you to prevent Zeraora from destroying anything. As for the destruction she's caused, we'll repair what's been done. We'll catch up with you and Zeraora soon once we're done here at the Isle of Armor."

"Are you saying we should go beyond the Isle of Armor?"

"Yes? Why not?" Kidd smiled. "My Weavile were also pretty troublesome Pokemon but there's something about taking a Pokemon that's struggling with something out there that works wonders. After all, Zeraora loves getting out there."

Kidd and the Rangers would minimize the damage done by Zeraora while Ash's group handled the Thunderclap Pokemon. Zeraora then looked at them all, realizing she was going to be seeing these faces for a while. This involved Celestia, Twilight and Sci-Twi.

But she did see a positive to this. Because these were the faces she would be seen, it would at least be better than what she saw when she was captured. There was still one issue to look out for. The voice of Ghetsis. At any point, his voice could return and start Zeraora's rampage. It didn't have to be familiar faces that kickstarted the rampage after all.

"Check out the Pokemon Festival! Trust me! You're gonna love it!" Rainbow Dash suggested that Zeraora tried out the Pokemon Festival. To her, that was the best place to start from here. Zeraora paused for a moment before going along with it. She had nothing else to do after all and she wasn't exactly in the best spirits. She did need something to elevate her from this rough spot.

Thus, Zeraora had temporarily joined the party. Now, they could leave the Isle of Armor just to experience the rest of the Pokemon Festival. But they would return here eventually, mainly for Sci-Twi to show up once enough time with Kubfu had been spent. A Legendary and Mythical Pokemon had both joined the party on the same day. One was bold and headstrong while the other was lost and struggling.

"Well, the Crown Tundra will have to wait." Celestia prioritized the safety of everyone else during the festival over continuing her search for Cobalion. "By the way, Lucas. Do you think you could open another gateway for us?"

"Sure. I've been itching to try it again. I can probably improve the move I do it." And this time, Lucas was up for it. Giving a thumbs-up, it was time for him to yet again summon a gateway for everyone to use. All Everyone had to do was give a suggestion, come to an agreement and that gateway could open up.

As the journey continues.


Chapter 310 End