Kalos. Tropezete Town. The Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon.
A town that has now been enveloped in total darkness. This isn't the first time Kalos has been swallowed by darkness but it was the first time all the light had been taken away from it. Now, this town was only keeping one form of light and that was Nadya's Home and the single lamppost that managed to survive.
Led into Nadya's Home to hear everything that happened here during Daybreaker's group showing up here was Celestia's group. Upon entering they saw the ruined and crushed furniture after what happened on the other side. Present here was Luca, who has been hiding from Daybreaker's group the whole time. Luckily, he wasn't found and neither was his Aura siphoned from him.
"That's the gist of it," Luca spoke, explaining why he was present here. After Nadya told him everything, he knew he had to get involved. "I told the Battle Frontier about it and it soon went to the authorities. Unfortunately, we couldn't do much about it.
"Nadya. If your parents were being held hostage, why didn't you tell anyone at once?" Twilight questioned, wondering why Nadya took a while to tell someone, let alone anyone here at Tropezete Town.
"Because they would've hurt them. The Hunters could hurt my parents at any time and they showed up without us expecting it so we weren't ready. I've tried battling Hunter J but...I ended up losing. She was too strong, even for me."
"So you're saying that there's a random gateway in your fridge?" Celestia added. "Of all places? I mean, I would be very surprised but...not too long ago we learned about a gateway located behind a door."
But what truly mattered was the gateway located in the fridge. Thinned but still large enough to fit the fridge, it was the bridge between this world and a lost city involving Prisma. Nadya would show them her kitchen which was currently housing the gateway to the lost universe.
"Nadya. You've had this gateway?! Since when?!" Rainbow Dash stood before the slim gateway. "And it's so slim too..."
"It was only a short while after Jirachi put everything together. It showed up here on my fridge. I wanted to tell everyone about it, but the Pokemon Hunters came along with it."
"That must've been another example of something from the lost universe being revived..." Luna already knew the answer to this. "Just how quickly did some of them return after the wish?"
"So, they're right past that gateway. But we can't enter? Are you sure?" Ash wondered, checking out the gateway. Despite the slim appearance, it was still a gateway at the end of the day.
"Pika..."
"Why a fridge exactly? The mansion made sense since it honours Prisma. But what does this fridge have to do with Prisma?" A strong question from Twilight that made Rainbow Dash and Pinkie nod in agreement.
"Well, you know...It could be Prisma's fridge? Or something like that?" For Rainbow Dash, she immediately believed that Prisma used to own this fridge or someone connected to him.
"No. This is my fridge, I'm sure." The Frontier Brain answered. "But there's something else you should know. I did something in return for them. Not just keeping the gateway a secret..." Nadya put her hangers together, nervous about this next part. "I...shared information with them. I'm sorry. I didn't want my parents getting hurt so I had no choice."
Valuable information has been shared with Hunter's J group and by extension, it will soon be shared with Daybreaker's group, giving them stark advantages. With Nadya being present in Manehattan's Battle Frontier, it was only natural that meaty information about Equestria here and there would be gathered. For that, she was sorry and had no choice in the matter if she wanted her parents to be safe.
"It's alright, Nadya." Celestia understood Nadya's struggles. In her position, she would prioritize her own parents. "You don't have to worry anymore now that we're here."
"Thank you so much!" Nadya caught Celestia off guard with a hug. "I'm so glad to hear that! But...my parents are still trapped and I can't get through that world."
"Hmm..." Rainbow Dash trotted over to the gateway, checking it out for herself. And by placing her hoof through the gateway, she was immediately repulsed. A strong shockwave launched the Earth Pony into the air, sending her flying and crashing into the couch. She was absolutely perplexed as her mane started smoking too. "Oooh....! Yeah. There's something wrong with it."
"If I could, I would go after my parents and break them out of there!" Nadya puffed her cheeks, irritated by the nature of this gateway. "I don't get how Hunter J can go through it but I can't! It's not fair!"
"Did she do something to the gateway?" The Princess of the Moon asked. "If so, what could it be??"
"Well, she used something called a Desire to mess with the gateway. That's all I know. I didn't think it'd have such an effect though..."
"And what's worse, the Pokemon Black Market on the other side has guards. They'll be expecting someone to come and save Nadya's parents." Luca added.
"Hmm..." Celestia stood there for a moment, thinking to herself. "How about Ash goes through instead, then?"
"Me?" Ash pointed at himself.
"This is connected to Prisma. And since his soul is within you, I can imagine that the gateway won't deny you, even with the Desire. Plus, if it does, you have high amounts of Aura that can respond to the Desire."
"Ooh! Great thinking Celestia! Let's make sure your parents are A-Okay back there, Nadya. After that...we're gonna go where they went." Ash stood proudly as he would be the one to approach the gateway next.
"How? They're already long gone. What are you going to do to find them?" To Nadya, it would be difficult to find Daybreaker's group since they were already gone.
"Hehe." With a bright grin on his face, Ash had quite a few answers. But only one of them could given at this time. The rest were dependent on the rest of his friends who were elsewhere. All it took was Pikachu taking something out of Ash's bag.
From it, the Time Flower that Ash kept was revealed. "Pikachu!" Taking it out, Pikachu raised it for Nadya and Luca to see. This was the perfect way to know where Daybreaker's group had gone to.
"That flower...Isn't that a Time Flower?! I only saw those in story books!" Luca was aware of the Time Flower, but they were merely in story books. Nothing but legend.
"Well, they're as real as they can be! With this, we can know where they went right away." Ash was passed the Time Flower by Pikachu, having the chance to tap into its power. I can only use it one time until it shuts itself down so let's see what they were planning."
"Hold on. They didn't say any words though." Luca halted Ash. "How are you going to know where they're going?"
"Who said I needed to hear them talk?" Ash giggled before unleashing his Aura on the Time Flower. The flower went off, unleashing an Aura pulse around the area and quickly looking into the past.
The Time Flower showed Ash and the others what happened right after the town was enveloped in darkness. Daybreaker and her group did not speak any information to Nadya. All they knew was that they had to be somewhere else but here to advance their plans. With Daybreaker taking the lead, they mainly followed her and would speak of their plans there.
However, Ash didn't need to hear their outward voices. Only their minds. At that moment, Ash was able to hear what Daybreaker's mind was saying and only he could hear it.
"Gardevoir might start doing whatever she wants. I should at least let her have that much freedom and to have her grow with this Aura. Perhaps the next location that would greatly please both Daybreaker and Necrozma could be the Diamond Domain."
"So that's where they're heading! They know about the Diamond Domain too?" That name was all too familiar to Ash. It was a good thing his adventures allowed him to truly discover many sacred and unique places in the world.
"Ash? What did you hear?" Celestia questioned, knowing that Ash read Daybreaker's mind. But Nadya was just confused, moving her head around, wondering what was said.
"H-Hear what? I didn't hear anything." The young Frontier Brain shrugged. Did she mishear something or did it slip by her?"
"That's because Ash could hear their minds," Twilight answered.
"You can read minds?! Amazing!" Nadya's eyes lit up. Not even Rainbow Dash was aware of this as she had a similar reaction to the Young Frontier Brain.
"I've been making sure my Aura's at my best. Reading minds came with it. But it only works with Time Flowers though. In any case, I know where they're heading. The Diamond Domain."
"The Diamond Domain? That's where the Carbink live. Or so I've heard. And there should be a Diance there."
"There is. I know Diance from there." Ash confirmed it. That place has a ton of light and Diance has Mega Evolution which is packing plenty of Aura. If we hurry now, we can catch up to them before they get there!
"Can we? It took us a while to show up here. If the world wasn't bigger then maybe we wouldn't have taken that much time." However, Twilight wasn't sure that they could reach them in time at all. It was already late in the afternoon and Daybreaker's group left around a few hours ago.
"It's a neighbour to the Allearth Forest. I know the way, so count on me and Pikachu." Luckily for them, Ash and Pikachu knew some paths that could be taken. He knew where the Allearth Forest was as well which was a strong bonus. "But let's get your parents back first."
The Lost Universe. A ruined city. New Pokemon Black Market.
After what happened here, the secret Pokemon Black Market continued. The Pokemon caged here came from either Universe One, or the lost universe, such as the Riolu. They possessed a strange Aura that was connected to Twilight Luminaria and now Gardevoir had some of it with her.
Standing near the gateway were Pokemon Hunters who worked for J. Some stayed behind just in case any intruders showed up and were ready to alert them. However, someone already passed through and they had no way of knowing.
Moving through the gateway and having full access was none other than Ash Ketchum. But right now, he was currently invisible. An invisibility spell had hit the King of the Sea, allowing him to elude the guards.
"Rio?" The second he appeared, each of the captured Riolu and some of the Pokemon who lived here noticed his presence instead of the guards or anyone else. The Riolu felt the shift in the Aura change. With the strange Aura residing in this land, it was easy for them to read it.
Ash's Aura immediately triggered the Aura lying across the land, but he did not sense it himself. Right next to him was none other than Pikachu. Lo and behold, Pikachu was also able to cross through, but it was unknown if it was because he was on Ash's shoulder.
Ash observed the new Pokemon Black Market which was located at the tower. "Looks like we can get through this way. Time to bring the others in. Pikachu, use Iron Tail on them."
"Pika!" The Invisible Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder, targeting the guards at the gateway. With no way of knowing about Ash's presence, they were immediately struck in the head by a hardened tail one by one.
"Gouh!" They gasped as bumps instantly showed up on their heads. Immediately, they dropped to the ground, unconscious for a while. But these weren't the only guards to worry about. Ash knew for a fact that there would be more in the Black Market.
Which is why he needed all the support he could get. Thankfully, he was well prepared. In his bag were many Poke Balls that housed all of his Pokemon who tagged along for the Pokemon Festival. They could thankfully appear in this world since Ash's bag passed through. But beyond them, there was the rest of Ash's friends on the other side.
He had to hurry before the guards wake up and before Daybreaker's group get too close to the Diamond Domain. He was hoping they haven't taken a quick path as well. Daybreaker was well aware of the Diamond Domain. Whether it was because of those in her alliance or by looking into Universe One, she wasn't about to let it slip away from her now that she has finally managed to return to this world.
"Alright! You all can come through!" He put his head through the gateway, briefly gazing at his friends over at Universe One. "Try grabbing onto me and you'll go through."
"Uh..." Twilight wasn't sure where Ash was at all since he was invisible but she would do so either way. By simply putting her hoof near the gateway, she felt Ash's chest. Celestia used a spell on Ash to briefly reveal his body. She was the one who turned him invisible in the first place.
Ash's arm was visible instead of everything else, prompting everyone else to know what to touch. Rainbow Dash, Zeraora, Celestia and Luna each touched Ash's arms, making direct contact. This would work just fine for Ash, so as long as they were making contact with him. Ash slowly backed up, allowing everyone to pace with him.
Twilight was soon allowed into this world along with everyone else. Rainbow Dash was previously repulsed by it, but now she had full access to the place.
"Hm?" But this wouldn't be a tower without someone at the top. The Pokemon Black Market here covered every room in this tower, even the top. And at the top, one of the people nearby spotted the arrival of familiar faces that threatened the Pokemon Black Market. Upon seeing Princess Celestia, that was an immediate red alert. This Black Market wasn't about to catch a break with this group present here. He had to quickly warn the others about the arrival of Celestia's group, even though they shouldn't be able to show up here at all after what J did to the gateway.
Ash placed his arm through the gateway once more, calling out for Luca and Nadya. It as their turn to pass through. Nadya wasted no time, showing no fear whatsoever anymore. Now that she had those who were taking action in saving her parents, her confidence was greatly elevated.
"Mom! Dad! I'm coming!" Nadya was ready to sprint off to find her parents. In her eyes, she was thinking about tearing the place apart just to find them. And with Delphox on her side, that could be achieved.
"Slow down!" But Rainbow Dash held the Frontier Brain back. "Don't rush in there. They'll hurt your mom and dad for sure if they see you. Stay behind us and hidden and we'll take it from here."
"Once your parents are safe, you're free to go wild," Celestia promised that Nadya would have her time to unleash her fire.
"Zeraora!" Zeraora certainly wasn't listening at all. Celestia gasped as the Thunderclap Pokemon already rushed in, having the same idea as Nadya.
"Wait! Gah, Zeraora!" Rainbow Dash groaned, pulling on her mane. A part of her should've seen this coming but she was too late to stop it. She might as well get involved with it. The pegasus swiftly followed Zeraora, ready to back her up. Travelling through the shadows and going straight for Nadya's parents was Darkrai.
As soon as everyone makes themselves aware, they were immediately about to start a ruckus. It was best for Darkrai to find Nadya's parents first and he was the right Pokemon to do so.
Breaking through the walls of the Black Market instead of the doors was Zeraora. She shattered the doors, sending some debris flying. Those in the Pokemon Black Market gasped as Twilight Luminaria wasn't the only one they had to worry about anymore.
The Thunderclap Pokemon stared them all down with an intense stare. She already had a disdain for them, especially since they were connected to Daybreaker. Zeraora would be glad to bring this whole place down while also focusing on the Pokemon who were captured.
"Riolu..." The Riolu and the Pokemon who come from this universe sensed this familiar Aura getting closer. It was mainly coming from Ash, but there was a second one nearby. This one was closer to what Gardevoir absorbed and is what the Riolu were holding.
It was coming from Twilight Sparkle.
"Gardevoir!" Speaking of Gardevoir, Passion flew through the destroyed wall, hovering above Zeraora. With her presence here, she instantly reminded everyone here of the Aura Vampire Gardevoir but with the original colours. It was clear this wasn't the Gardevoir they previously saw.
It was too late to prepare for this surprise attack or to be warned of it, allowing Ash's group to gain a stark advantage. All of the Pokemon here had different reactions to these two familiar Auras. Fear and Joy.
These two Auras brought a different feeling to each of them, mainly due to who Ash and Twilight were connected to. But while they were thinking about these Auras and feeling them, there were already Pokemon attacks being thrown, mainly from Zeraora.
Luna stepped in front of some of the grunts with a smile on her face. To defeat these types of people would bring her great joy. And the same went for Nightmare Moon who would briefly appear as a flash. The Princess of the Night immediately sent one of her Pokemon out to confront those working at the Black Market. In this case, it was her Aurorus.
Ash was moving through the Pokemon Black Market while still completely invisible which gave him quite the advantage. He and Pikachu passed by some grunts who were immediately challenging the opposing trainers in front of them. Ash saw some Pokemon trapped and immediately had Pikachu destroy the cages.
By using Iron Tail, these cages were shattered with ease along with anything else keeping these Pokemon restrained. However, when moving through the Pokemon Black Market, Ash quickly came to a stop once something caught his attention. Or rather, something interacted with his Aura to the point where he had no choice but to stop. it was right in front of a group of Pokemon who had yet to be freed.
"Huh?" Ash paused as his Aura went off unexpectedly upon gazing at these Pokemon.
"Pika-Pi?" Pikachu would also stop, wondering what Ash managed to feel.
"Something's up here..." The Trainer from Kanto observed. "It's weird. It feels like I've been here before. It's a lot like the mansion but, something's different..."
"Pikachu..."
Ash paused for a moment before having his Aura do the talking. And it certainly talked. It was connecting with the Strange Aura that resides here, creating a reaction. This tied back to the Pokemon that were trapped here. Not all of them come from this world but a few of them did. Ash heard their Auras, feeling the weight of them.
But he didn't hear cries for help. Instead, he heard cries of fear. Ash gasped as the other Aura was sending signals that confirmed the Pokemon here were afraid of him.
They feared Ash just like how they feared the Pokemon Hunters. It shocked Ash to find this out. He looked at the Pokemon in front of him who were absolutely mortified by his appearance. In their eyes, they didn't see Ash. They saw Prisma. His serious face overtook Ash's confused face in their eyes. Ash's words perfectly showed just how surprised he was to feel this. This fear wasn't about the Pokemon Hunters. It was about him.
"You're...Afraid of me?"
As the journey continues.
Chapter 321 End.