Equestria. The Crystal Empire. The Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon.
Here at the Crystal Empire, a new gateway had been opened. Done by Lucas who was assisted by Twilight, a gateway between the Isle of Armor and the Crystal Empire was formed. There was now another gateways that properly connected between different locations. Slowly, but surely, the gateways were returning and Lucas was to thank for it all.
"Ahaaaaa..." Falling flat on his face after emerging from the gateway was Lucas, who drained himself once more. He figured that creating new gateways would help him improve, just so he wouldn't feel so woozy and perplexed afterwards. This was his second time making a gateway so there was still a ways to go if he was to bring back the gateways that were lost.
"Great work, Lucas. Get yourself some rest," said Celestia. She was the one who requested easy access to the Crystal Empire by making the Isle of Armor one of the starting points. She and everyone else would pass through the gateway, entering the Crystal Empire. Already, Celestia and Luna went their own way upon arriving.
"Got it..." Lucas groaned as his face was focused on the many crystals. "Ow..."
"Zera..." Entering the Crystal Empire as well was Zeraora, who was now part of this group. But only temporary until things with her get sorted out and any sign of a rampage was subdued.
"Counting on you. I know you'll do well and make Zeraora feel safer." Peering her head through the gateway was Kidd Summers. "If there's any destruction, we'll be there by using this gateway. See you soon~"
When looking at the Crystal Empire, Zeraora also saw some familiarity. She felt as if she had seen this place before somewhere. But before she could think of where and when, the noises of the festival quickly broke her concentration. Now that she was in a place where the Pokemon Festival was heavily active, she would have to expect all this noise. It wouldn't be the first considering the places she's been to.
"Don't just look. Take a swing at all of this." Rainbow Dash spoke. "We're gonna have to show you how sweet something like this can be."
"Zera..." She'd rather not. While she was glad that there wasn't a rampage going on, Zeraora walked off on her own, deciding to go completely solo.
"Come on! You're missing out!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You remember when we were talking about who was faster? Now's our chance to put a rest to it. With that! Check that out!"
"Zera?" Her attention was turned to an attraction here at the Crystal Empire. It wasn't a Racing Attraction, but it did involve speed. It was a Speed Game involving building up energy to reach a certain score. And the prizes there were very much valuable. A good chunk of them were Poke Balls of different types. And the highest-ranking ones were Ultra Balls, Quick Balls and Timer Balls. No sign of a Master Ball.
"How about it? Whoever moves the fastest to build up a ton of energy gets a lot of rewards. Anything they want
"Zeraora..." Zeraora shook her head. To waste her speed on something so childish would be pointless.
"What? Scared?" At that moment, she said a sentence that was sure to get a rise out of someone. Even the Thunderclap Pokemon.
"Rrr!" She flashed her eyes at Rainbow Dash who kept up a smug smirk. Zeraora didn't take too kindly to that callout. How could she be scared when she was so fierce? But this is exactly what Rainbow Dash wanted.
"Rainbow Dash...The whole point of this is to not anger her." Fluttershy whispered.
"Heh. Don't worry. I got this." However, Rainbow Dash had experience with scenarios such as this. After all, she wasn't a stranger to serious and stubborn Pokemon. "I mean, unless yo don't have the speed for it. Everything that happened back at the Isle of Armor wasn't a bluff, right? I bet I can build up enough speed without even trying and so can Rarity's Pheromosa."
"Well, of course, my sweet Pheromosa can do it. Why wouldn't she?" Rarity scoffed. "When it comes to the land, she's the fastest."
"Yeah, on land. But who's beating me in the air? No one." Rainbow Dash proudly said. "And that game works for all types of speed, so it'll be a cinch."
"Zera!" Zeraora found the notion to be ridiculous. She prided herself on her speed, knowing that she was fast. Among the fastest Pokemon out there.
"Really? Wanna prove it then?" Just like that, Rainbow Dash dragged Zeraora into it. Just like how she dragged Mienfoo into something despite how stubborn she once was. "Okay. Let's take a swing at it."
They would approach the game, ready to see who could build up enough. Spearheaded by employees of BigTime Ben, many have already tried this game to achieve rewards. For the most part, horsepower has been used on this machine that resembled a globe but completely hollow. The results were impressive and smaller or average ranked rewards were given out. Naturally, the Pokemon would try it out and they presented better results which scored higher points.
Those with fast Pokemon took on this attraction and gained easy points and rewards. But so far, the scores they've reached have been around 4000 or 3000. 5000 was one of the highest and the hardest one to reach was 15,000.
"Oh, you guys?" The employee said, recognizing Rainbow Dash's group immediately. "I had a feeling you'd show up."
"Awwww!" Naturally, those who also knew about this group groaned. They were about to break the high scores with ease, unfortunately. Those high-ranking rewards that surpass 3000 or 4000 were about to be nothing. Either one of them will reach 15,000.
"Come on. You all saw this coming, right?" Rainbow Dash shrugged it off. "Just watch how a real speedster does it. I can break those records and get myself some Ultra Balls. Catching Pokemon will be easier than before!"
"Alright then. Just enter this globe and generate enough speed to reach 15,000 or anything else." She instructed. "The globe will move as fast as your speed and that'll determine the points. And you don't have to worry about it breaking apart."
"Okay. I'll go first!" Declaring the first go was Rainbow Dash, who would look back at Zeraora. The Thunderclap Pokemon kept her serious face while also doubting Rainbow Dash's speed. Even after seeing the pegasus keep up with her back at the Isle of Armor, she had her doubts.
When entering the globe, it shut itself, making sure that Rainbow Dash could fully use her speed without worrying about flying out or anything similar to that. Rubbing her hooves, Rainbow Dash was about to show off her speed. But most already knew what she could do at her best. The Sonic Rainboom was the prime example of Rainbow Dash's absolute best.
In terms of speed, she excelled at speed. While she was a good runner, she was born to master the skies. Taking flight, Rainbow Dash started flying around in circles, building up her speed. By doing so, the globe reacted to her speed, spiralling at the same pace as well. Zeraora watched closely, waiting for the moment that Rainbow Dash showed off her best speed, which apparently wasn't all that.
But as soon as she gained enough speed, the numbers were rising. Quickly shooting from 500 to 1000 instantly. Impressive, but it still wasn't her best. At that moment, Zeraora would witness Rainbow Dash's speciality for the very first time. As soon as she was about to dismiss Rainbow Dash's speed, the Sonic Rainboom suddenly went off.
Rainbow Dash reached her top speed, unleashing that signature acceleration that created a strong shockwave. Thankfully, the globe was built to handle plenty of damage, including a Sonic Rainboom. Zeraora was shocked to see such a display of speed. It was rather colourful too. With this burst of speed, Rainbow Dash reached 7000 points.
"Hah! 8000!" She cackled, flying out of the globe once it opened up. "Top that! I've been working on myself too. I wasn't satisfied with my own speed knowing there were Pokemon out there even faster than me."
"Congratulations. That's deserving a Poke Ball of your choice. You will only get one Ultra Ball for reaching 8000 while the others can be chosen in many quantities. If you want more than one Ultra Ball, you must reach the top score." As for the prizes, Rainbow Dash could pick, but with some limitations.
"Well, I think I'll take one Ultra Ball. That's about it." She only chose one reward out of multiple. That Ultra Ball was just too valuable to pass on.
"Zera!" Zeraora immediately moved past the others, wanting to beat that score instantly. She has now seen what Rainbow Dash could do and she was definitely impressed. A Sonic Rainboom was something she's never seen before. But she felt like she could overcome that.
Everyone here at the Crystal Empire had never seen such a Pokemon before. Their interests were piqued and their Pokedexes were up and ready. Stepping into the sphere, Zeraora was ready to blow them all out of the water. Even those who haven't tried the attraction yet
"Well actually, if I recall correctly, it's Pheromosa that's-" Lucas had the answer as to who was the fastest out of the three, but that was soon interrupted when the sound of thunder came crashing through the ears of everyone. Zeraora started running, refusing to use any buildup whatsoever. She was just going straight for it. The globe moved rapidly in an instant as the points started from 0 and immediately shot up to 3000.
Flashes of lightning filled up the globe, turning it light blue. Zeraora was racking up plenty of points, surpassing 3000 and reaching 8000 as well. But she didn't stop there. While she managed to reach Rainbow Dash's speed, she surpassed that as well. To Rainbow Dash's shock, the Thunderclap Pokemon's maximum speed was 10,000.
"Zeraora!" Zeraora roared, raising his arms into the air after successfully surpassing 10,000.
"Did you make this globe just for Pokemon like her?" Twilight asked. The fact that Zeraora reached this speed that was a part of the rankings made it too obvious that lightning-fast Pokemon were eligble.
"Well...Yes." Indeed. The employee saw something like this coming. It wasn't too farfetched to think so.
"Ze?" Zeraora put on a smug smile, gazing at Rainbow Dash's disgruntled face. She knew she surpassed him and it was absolutely satisfying. This was Rainbow Dash's speciality when it comes to bonding with Pokemon. All of her friends have their ways. From Ash's way of supporting Pokemon to Fluttershy's way of caring for their wounds, Rainbow Dash's speciality was all about being competitive. Her competitive nature resonated with Pokemon that can give off a competitive spirit.
"Alright, alright." Rainbow Dash grumbled. Even though she accomplished what she wanted, she still wished to be faster than Zeraora. Such was the price of being competitive. "You're faster than me. But not for long...I just have to get faster eventually."
"Take your pick. What would you like?" The rewards were offered up to Zeraora. She wouldn't have a need for any of the Poke Balls but there were still other items beneficial to the Pokemon. Pokemon Toys, Training Items, Accessories, Clothes and more. But all Zeraora truly cared for was the food.
Specifically, the singular chocolate bar that she managed to spot in the pile of prizes. Her eyes lit up as she snagged the chocolate bars from the table in a flash, choosing them only.
"That's it? What a waste..." The employee sighed. A huge chunk of these prizes might not be used all that much and there were very few Pokemon that could reach that kind of speed.
"You two girls did well." Rarity walked past both of them, holding out Pheromosa's Poke Ball. Out of it emerged the Ultra Beast, ready to do her best. "Unfortunately, you're nothing compared to Pheromosa."
"As if." Rainbow Dash scoffed. So did Zeraora. Both of them fittingly knew about Pheromosa's speed and in their minds, they were worried. The two of them knew that Pheromosa could be ludicrously fast, especially with her signature ability, Beast Boost.
"Pheromosa...!" Pheromosa stretched before preparing to enter the globe. She wouldn't take it too seriously compared to Rainbow Dash and Zeraora. She was just here to have fun. However, for an Ultra Beast, having fun involved using everything at their disposal considering how Alien they were.
She leapt into the globe which immediately shut itself. It was time for Pheromosa to show off. But she never has the intention to show off. Pheromosa simply does her best and knows Rarity will be proud of her. And this was certainly the time to be proud.
Much like Rainbow Dash, she started building up speed, slowly walking to eventually jogging. The globe followed her speed, moving at a standard pace. Afterwards, she started accelerating without using her signature ability Beast Boost to amp herself. Pheromosa was simply going to use her base speed.
Lo and behold, her base speed was more than enough. As soon as she accelerated, the points were quickly going up. Pheromosa already hit 5000 points with this acceleration and this wasn't even her best display. Zeraora started sweating, seeing the Lissome Pokemon accelerate.
Going from 5000 to 9000 and soon, she surpassed Zeraora's 10,000. And she was still going. Pheromosa was eligible for multiple rewards as the points would continue to increase. Looking at the spinning globe, Pinkie Pie instantly fainted out of dizziness,
15,000 points had been reached and they would most likely go higher if the points were allowed to. Pheromosa was still going as she had surpassed the maximum score.
"That's that! 15,000 points!" The employee shouted, prompting Pheromosa to slow down. After hearing that she reached the maximum of 15,000 points, she excitedly jumped out of the globe. In response, she hugged Rarity, picking the unicorn off the ground.
"Man...I miss when I was the fastest around ." Rainbow Dash sighed. Her time as the fastest was over. Even though she was trying to improve her speed consistently.
"Zera..." Zeraora was beaten. She wasn't the fastest around either. So far, Pheromosa was above them both. And this is exactly what Lucas was trying to tell them.
The prizes that Pheromosa was offered were the absolute maximum. She was the one that was capable of choosing as many Ultra Balls as she wanted. To Pheromosa and by extension, Rarity, she didn't really need plenty of Ultra Balls. However, she would still take them but with a twist. After selecting the Ultra Balls and holding them in her arms, she passed them over to Rainbow Dash and Sci-Twi.
"H-Huh?! You're giving it to us!?" Rainbow Dash gasped.
"All of it?! Really?! I thought Rarity would've wanted them!" Sci-Twi uttered in disbelief.
"Mosa-Mosa!" Pheromosa put on a cheerful smile. Her generosity was as strong as her trainer and it truly showed.
"Y-You're too generous, Pheromosa!" Rainbow Dash stuttered, tearing up a bit as she would gladly take all of these Ultra Balls. So would Sci-Twi since this would help her in her missions.
"With this many Ultra Balls, catching Alpha Pokemon won't be too difficult." Lucas walked over, observing the quantity of Ultra Balls. "Looks like you can catch at least 20 of them. I mean...if you don't fail the first time."
"I'll make good use of these!" Sci-Twi squeed. Thankfully, Poke Balls are always minimized from the get-go so even with these many Ultra Balls at her disposal, she could carry them. Just like how many of Ash's Pokemon's Poke Balls were in his bag.
"Hang on. Aren't you..." Suddenly, one of the ponies here finally recognized Lucas. Since his name and photo was spread after he opened a gateway, his existence was very much well-known by many across Equestria. In such a short time too.
"Yeah?" Lucas faced them. This whole time, everyone's been focused on Zeraora and for a good reason. She certainly stuck out being a new Pokemon that they've never seen before and the fact that Ash's group showed up to this speed game. But now, Lucas was the one sticking out Even more than Lucas.
"You're Lucas! You're the one who can open gateways!" She cried out Upon screaming Lucas's name, others soon took notice, having their ears perk up and their attention steer elsewhere. "Hey, everypony! Lucas is here!"
"Really? Aw, great timing! I need you to open up a gateway for me!" Soon, many ponies were already flocking over once the one who could open gateways was spotted.
"Same here" Do you think I could get a quick gateway to Kalos?"
"I need one too. But for Equestria only. It's such a hassle getting to work and it takes 2 hours." Soon, Lucas was flooded with requests from ponies who wished to have easier transport. Twilight and the others immediately found themselves in a crowded area wich wasn't that crowded from the start.
"H-Hold on. I'm kinda low right now. I just did it and-" But Lucas' words weren't reaching them. Soon, this one area was flooded with ponies. "Ghh!" Requests by the dozen were flying in.
"Zera?" Zeraora was already away from the crowd, watching as all the attention was given to Lucas. It was rather pleasing to Zeraora, knowing that she wasn't the centre of attention. She certainly wouldn't prefer this kind of attention and poor Lucas was receiving it.
"I gotta go!" Lucas managed to break free before it got too crowded for him. With his own burst of speed, the Trainer from another universe bolted away.
"Come back!" Unfortunately for Lucas, this prompted them to follow him. There was no way they were going to let someone like him get away. Not when they've been yearning for gateways ever since the Wish was made.
"Hold on, everypony! Don't just chase him down!" Twilight screamed, but her words did not reach them. A stampede of hoofsteps could be heard. Lucas screeched when looking back to see a horde of ponies and some Pokemon coming his way. Twilight and others were knocked aside by this stampede as plenty of the ponies here were after Lucas. "Geez...They really missed those gateways, didn't they?"
"Well, we'd better catch up before things get worse for him." Ash was already off to help Lucas before he becomes a pawn of Gateway spawning.
"Mind helping out, Zeraora?" Rainbow Dash asked. "This might be a good time to see who can reach Lucas faster.
"Zera!" Zeraora was up for the challenge. She had to try and prove herself as the fastest once more after Pheromosa beat her and catching Lucas was another way to prove it.
Rainbow Dash was already off, joining her friends to try and save Lucas from this horde. Pheromosa placed Rarity on her shoulder before soon going ahead of the others. Already, Lucas managed to get far, instantly using whatever he could to elude the horde since his face was very much recognizable. Everyone here knew who he was so he had to keep running.
But right as Zeraora started moving, trying to catch up Lucas, her eyes met with something else. Or rather, someone else. Looking in the distance, she saw yet another familiar face. And that familiar face saw her as well.
It was the older Flurry Heart from another universe. And of course, this Flurry Heart was once in the alliance of Ghetsis, Daybreaker and Empress Twilight. At some point, these two had seen each other.
But this time, unlike Empress Twilight and Daybreaker, the appearance of the older Flurry Heart wasn't different to what Zeraora once saw, so there was no mistaking her for somepony else. Zeraora recognized that face anywhere.
"That Zeraora..." Flurry Heart also recognized Zeraora. She didn't mistake it for another one. She knew which Zeraora this was. And when both looked at each other from a distance, in unison, they each had memories flood in. Memories of Zeraora's previous universe.
It was on the same day Zeraora was captured by Team Plasma and forced to become a fuel for their weapons via Plasma. It was a universe where the light across the world had been completely absorbed and taken away as the journey continues.
Chapter 311 End.