//------------------------------// // Digital Danger // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Kalos. Tropezete Town. The Pokemon Festival. Late Afternoon. Returning to Tropezete Town was Ash, who was the only one who could pass through the gateways. With him, he brought Nadya's parents back to their home, free from the Pokemon Black Market. And speaking of Nadya, after Ash successfully brought her parents back, they immediately reunited with their daughter. All it took was Ash bringing Nadya back. The Pokemon Black Market could not stop Ash's group, allowing Nadya safe passage back to her home. "Mom! Dad!" Rushing to her parents and embracing them with a hug was Nadya. "You were okay after all! I thought J was bluffing and she-" "It's alright. We're fine." Nadya's Mother added. "These past few months have been scary but we're still here." "As for this gateway, if we had Lucas here, we would be able to move it away from here," said Celestia when looking at this gateway. "Rest assured, you won't have to worry about its existence after we're done with it." "Oh, thank you so much, Princess Celestia! All of you!" Nadya's father showed stellar gratitude, shaking Celestia's hoof. "Your town doesn't have to live in fear of the Pokemon Hunters anymore. That Pokemon Black Market has been dealt with." Luna added. "But I'm afraid we don't have time to continue chatting. Not when Daybreaker and her group are off to the Diamond Domain." "Right. We understand. We're oh-so grateful for your help. But...you should also know this." Nadya's Father had something of great value that had to be shared. "During our time as hostages at the Black Market, we managed to hear some crucial information. Plenty of it." "Hmm...Ash. Go on ahead." Celestia turned to Ash, wanting to hear this information closely. As Ruler of Equestria, she had to listen to it. "We'll catch up with you eventually." "Alright! This way!" Ash would lead the way to the Diamond Domain which was near the Allearth Forest. It would be Celestia and Luna who stuck around for a while. Much like how Hunter J has been using Nadya to gather valuable information, Nadya's parents would do the same. During the path to the Allearth Forest, Daybreaker's group ended up coming to a halt for a while. This was due to Gardevoir taking the time to test out more of this Magical Aura, but what followed next was not truly of her own volition. Daybreaker saw it. This was similar to what happened with Necrozma during the Sea Temple mission but this time, Twilight Luminaria was involved. She wasn't fully gone. Due to Gardevoir absorbing the Magical Aura for herself, Twilight Luminaria left something behind to ensure that her enemies would not have an easy advantage. Surrounding Gardevoir was the Digital Energy she previously discovered and unlocked and now she was ready to unleash it as it started affecting the land. This bizarre energy only originated from Prisma's world and now it found itself in this world under a menacing grip. "What does she think she's doing!?" Second Wind closed one eye as a wind pressure was forming around the area. "Curse that Twilight...Even in such a weakened state, she manages to get in our way. Gardevoir's losing control again! But it's different this time!" Daybreaker answered. As for who Gardevoir's first experiments would be, she targeted those in her alliance. The troops of Second Wind were immediately targeted as the Digital Energy began swirling around them. "W-Wait!" One of them cried out before being picked up by the data particles. Once surrounded, each of these troops found themselves being transformed. Their bodies were becoming pixels. They found themselves becoming separated and smaller than before. Gardevoir gravitated them towards her, holding these pixel ponies in her hand. With a devious smile, she then absorbed their Aura. Even if they had been transformed into these smaller forms, their Auras were still present. Next were Daybreaker's troops who were also being lifted but in that instance, Daybreaker used her magic to cancel it out, sending a powerful flare of magic that intercepted the Digital Energy. "Snap out of it, Gardevoir! I thought you would have overcome this already!" Daybreaker shouted. But Gardevoir had already lost herself. This Twilight Luminaria's ace in the hole and it showed. Her best method was by encouraging Gardevoir's actions, in exchange for her losing any sense of reason. The land was being affected as well by this Digital Energy. The ground itself was being digitized, becoming nothing but pixels. Naturally, this made it extremely fragile as the chariot was already feeling the effects. The pixels were as light as they appeared, being as plentiful as grains of sand on a beach. Daybreaker and Second Wind each took flight as well as those who could fly. Salamence would do the same, carrying the chariot with her while Hunter J stayed completely seated. "Will you have to go into her mindscape again?!" "Not this time," Daybreaker revealed that heading into Gardevoir's mindscape wouldn't do any good. Gardevoir had to be stopped another way and it was the most common and usual way to stop someone. "The best thing to do is simply subdue her from the outside before she subdues us." The pixels from below were rising as Gardevoir was using them as a means to absorb Aura. Kalos was a region where Aura was indeed plentiful. Whether it was the power of Mega Evolution, the Aura Trio or the Bond Phenomenon, the Embrace Pokemon could get an amazing fill. Each of these pixels pulled Aura towards the Aura Vampire, fueling her and increasing her lifespan. Absorbing Aura had never been so easy for her before. "Unown! Hidden Power!" Second Wind ordered. The many Unown unleashed crimson rays from their eyes, targeting Gardevoir. However, as soon as their power came across the Digital Energy, it created a sudden reaction. Gardevoir immediately digitized their power, turning the red beams into small pieces of code. After transforming them, Gardevoir reorganized them. She attempted to manipulate the aspects of the Hidden Power, changing its properties. There were signs of this succeeding as seen by the alteration of Hidden Power's energy. However, it was a tie as she was unable to fully transform them. After failing to transform the Hidden Power, she would simply use everything else she's managed to obtain. The Digital Energy around the ground would spread, soon summoning what appeared to be Subspace Pokemon. Daybreaker's group gasped as they witnessed the Subspace Pokemon for the first time. Vastly different from Equestrian Variants, Alolan Variants, Holon Variants and so forth. This category of Pokemon was the most unique out of them all. And this time, they weren't in that strange dimension that Galaxy Master currently occupies. With their bodies being out of that dimension, they could truly show their shine Their digital shine that is. This enigmatic Digital Energy was connected to the Subspace Pokemon which still had a lot unknown about them. But right now, Gardevoir was about to discover their mysteries. "What kind of Pokemon are those...?" Second Wind questioned but no one here was able to answer that. Not Daybreaker and not even Hunter J. They had their usual azure colours but with a digital touch to them. The Pokemon that appeared were Orbeetle, Vespiquen, Pyroar, Galvantula and Gogoat. All of which appeared in their Subspace forms. Immediately, Subspace Galvantula spread its digital essence, spawning smaller Subscape Joltik. It had its own version of creation but on a smaller scale compared to what Gardevoir could do. Vespiquen did the same, using the power of Subscape to generate smaller Combee. Each of these insects had their use and that was by siphoning away at the Aura all over the place. They would do Gardevoir's job for her, skittering and flying across the area. The Joltik had the ground covered while the Combee targeted the skies and most notably, Daybreaker's group. Some of them split off to find other targets while a majority of them went straight for the Unown and the troops. "Salamence! Blast them away with Flamethrower!" "Salaaa!" Intercepting these mini Subspace Pokemon was Salamence who released a stream of scarlet flames from his mouth. Even if they were Subspace Pokemon, they were still Bugs and very much vulnerable to Fire. The Subspace Combee were knocked back, fizzling out as their bodies became nothing but digital energy after all. The energy flew back to Gardevoir who would immediately suppress it. She compressed the Digital Energy, keeping it intact in a different and more suppressed form. Afterwards, she would bring it back to her. More of the Combee arrived as Vespiquen kept generating more of them. The goal was to overwhelm Daybreaker's group with numbers and with so many Combee showing up, that could be managed. "Pyroar!" As for the Subspace Pyroar, just by unleashing a roar, it managed to disrupt the very atmosphere itself. The air would wobble and shake, immediately throwing the chariot off balance. Salamance was certainly knocked off balance by this atmosphere-disrupting roar. Daybreaker's group certainly found themselves in a peculiar situation that could bode many dangers for them. All of this was thanks to Twilight Luminaria. And with Gardevoir eager to unlock the vast catalogue of energies, this would not only threaten Daybreaker's alliance but everyone else in Kalos. Lunice Hills. Lunice Hills. A small area here in the Kalos Region that sits on the pebbly shores with a community of fishermen. Naturally, Allearth Forest was largely connected to the beautiful grasslands of Kalos. Beyond these grasslands was a large sea and ahead of that was even more land that would gradually take anyone to Allearth Forest. The group could be seen moving down a hill where a road was nearby. Ash's group were making their way to the Diamond Domain near the Allearth Forest, taking a path that Daybreaker's group hadn't. To make sure that her group wasn't near the Diamond Domain, Absol was out in the open as a way to detect any incoming disasters. "Sol?!" Absol came to a halt but this wasn't because his horn was going off. The disaster he felt was also seen by everyone else. All of their eyes focused on what was up ahead. It was only just now that they were nearing the seas of this area. The sea that would usually be crossed was surrounded and covered by the Digital Energy. "What happened to the water?!" Rainbow Dash made a prolonged gasp. The Digital Energy showed off its particles which had numbers involved in them. "It looks kinda cool..." "Zera..." Zeraora wondered if she could even run on this with her speed. It might cause some drawbacks for her if she touches it. The small group of Fishermen who showed up with their boats already had their rods deep into the Digital Sea. This was rather recent and already, Gardevoir's newfound power was spreading fast. "Hm. This isn't so bad." One of the Fisherman commented, not really bothered by the sudden change in texture. "Might get something new in all of this." "Do you think Daybreaker's group is behind this?" Ash kneeled, getting closer to the Digital Energy as he asked Twilight what she thought about this. However, Twilight was blankly staring at the Digital Sea, not responding at all. Once again, that strange feeling returned. The same one that occurred when she was in the tower and gazing at that Apology Letter. After all, this was related to Twilight Luminaria. "Twilight?" "...Wha?" Twilight blanked out for a moment before responding. "Oh, right. Not sure. And I'm not positive we should be moving across this. We should probably just go by air in the meantime." "Oooh! I got something!" At that moment, one of the fishermen managed to hook something from the Digital Sea. He began the traditional struggle with the entity below the water, hoping to pull it up. "Let's see what it is today!" He managed to reel his catch in, pulling it out of the Digital Sea. The way the water moved was different too. It would glitch this time due to how digital it made itself out to be and the droplets were just numbers and particles. As for what was pulled out of the sea, it was a Pokemon. But it wasn't just any ordinary Pokemon. "Swampert!" Emerging from the Digital Sea was a Subspace Swampert. With its mouth on the end of the rod, it had its massive hands wide open, ready for an attack the instant it emerged from the sea. On Swampert's back were Subspace "A Subspace Pokemon!" Ash and Twilight collectively said, instantly knowing what type of Pokemon this was thanks to the energy. As soon as Swampert appeared, it controlled all the digital water, forming a stream that flew alongside it. The Fisherman was in awe with a wide smile on his face. Truly a spectacular catch but it wouldn't matter all of that much if he was crushed and had no one to tell about it. Quickly, Zeraora grabbed the Fisherman, pulling him out of the way as Swampert crashed into the ground. The Digital Stream also made a splash, immediately pixelating the ground. The group watched as a part of the ground was turned into pixels, gaining an all-new look. Even Swampert carried the same ability as Gardevoir but on a smaller scale. "A Subspace Pokemon showed up here?! How?!" Twilight gasped. Subspace Pokemon were only seen in that strange dimension and now one of them was present here. "Pert! Swampert!" Showing aggression, this Swampert would violently roar. The roar of the Swampert wasn't like an average Swampert's roar. This one had a bit of static behind it. But it was still intimidating, prompting the fishermen to all back away. The boats here were already being affected as soon as Swampert arrived, causing quite the splash. They watched as their boats were being turned into pixels, losing their original foundation for something filled with digital blocks. That wasn't all. Swampert had its own interaction with the pixels. By creating another stream, it started covering the land with water pixels, gradually turning everything else into this digitized texture. "What's all of this?! Is it dangerous?!" Rainbow Dash asked while viewing it from above. "I don't want to find out!" Twilight took flight, avoiding the incoming pixels. "Just what is all of this? Is this what Subspace Pokemon are capable of?" By covering the ground in Digital Water, the pixels started constructing digital rocks that came sprouting out of the ground. These rocks were large enough to reach Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the air, similar to how Stone Edge can reach Flying-Types. The winged duo grimaced before quickly zipping out of the way to avoid these rocks. "Ab...Sol!" Cutting the rocks down so they would reach the innocents was Absol, who used Night Slash to do so. However, as soon as his horn came into contact with the rocks, the Digital Energy reacted with his horn. A part of his horn was hit with a glitch. At that moment, his attack failed to properly connect. "Ab?!" The Disaster Pokemon gasped. His Night Slash was just outright ignored. Thus, Absol took the hit, receiving repeated blows from the rising stones. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" "Chu...Pika!" However, Pikachu managed to get a hit off against the rising rocks after they knocked Absol aside. He destroyed one of them with a powerful swing and immediately went on to the next. But as soon as he destroyed the second rock, the third rock would also perform a glitch. "Pika!" "What the!?" Ash cried out as Pikachu was then hit by this one rock that ignored his Iron Tail. He wasn't sure why the first and second rocks managed to take damage but the third was invulnerable. Pikachu slid back, growling at the bizarre rocks. "Zera...Ora!" Putting a stop to their movements from a distance was Zeraora. She unleashed plasma against the Digital Stones, however, some of them were ignored by these glitches yet again. Thankfully, Zeraora kept up a consistent stream of it just so that each of these rocks would take continuous damage. Just like that, they had been destroyed. "It was a like glitch from a video game!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "It just ignored here and there!" "That makes sense...But how'd it show up here?" Ash pondered. But right now, he had to worry about stopping the Subspace Swampert as soon as possible. And unfortunately, Swampert wasn't alone. Emerging from the Digital Seas were other Subspace Pokemon. A Subspace Lanturn, Lumineon, Swanna and other Water-Types appeared, cloaked in that Subspace energy. The Fishermen would be so elated if their lives weren't in jeopardy. Obviously, these Pokemon were very hostile at the moment. It was quite the sight to behold even if it boasted plenty of danger. Ash and the others wished to reach the Diamond Domain as soon as possible, but it seemed like they would be behind, occupied by the situation happening around this small fishing community. Just past those seas was the extended path that would help them get to Allearth Forest, but they couldn't leave during this crucial moment. However, unbeknownst to them, Daybreaker's group was going through the same thing. Thanks to Twilight Luminaria, they were lagging behind as well, unable to immediately head to the Diamond Domain. Both sides were essentially going against Gardevoir, who was currently losing it and going mad with power. Not uncommon, but the reasoning behind it was different from before. Tropezete Town. Back at Tropezete Town, Celestia and Luna were taking in all the information Nadya's parents managed to receive during their time as hostages at the Pokemon Black Market. Quite a juicy amount of information came their way and the majority of it involved Hunter J's work with Team Plasma. "What?! His own kingdom?!" Celestia gasped. News about Ghetsis' own kingdom finally reached her. The Harmonia Kingdom was now present in Celestia's mind. "I could've sworn I heard something like that during my last encounter with him..." Luna thought for a moment. This was ringing a bell but she never got any further context or anything else involved with it afterwards. She was defeated by Ghetsis right afterwards after all. "That's what we heard." Nadya's mother said. "Hunter J and her group have been finding new resources from that kingdom." "Most likely from Colress and the minds of Team Plasma," Luna spoke. "But how? How do they get so much back even after we topple plenty of their resources? Especially with our worlds united, they should be struggling to do so with no other gateways to use." "A lot of the items from the Pokemon Black Market come from the Harmonia Kingdom. But we don't know where it is though." Alas, Nadya's father and her mother couldn't tell where the kingdom was located. But Celestia already had an inkling. Knowing Ghetsis, he would like to stay in the Unova Region. Taking a deep breath, Celestia gathered enough information from the family that she could take home with her and decide on future plans. "Alright. Thank you for sharing with us. In the meanwhile, you all should probably get away from Tropezete Town for a little while." "Why's that?" Nadya asked. "Your town has lost a gigantic majority of its light. Even with your home still having light, you won't be able to survive at all. You need light otherwise your body clock will be thrown out of sync with a lack of light around." The Moon Princess explained. "The Pokemon Festival is how you can truly get out. The same goes for everyone else living here in Tropezete." "Is there a way to get our light back? Surely there is. I mean, we don't know much about Necrozma but..." said Nadya's mother. "I'm sorry. I don't know if there is a way." Alas, Celestia couldn't give a positive answer. "But...I'll see what I can do. For now, we should get going before Necrozma absorbs more light. Let's hurry and catch up, Luna." It was time for the Princesses to depart. But little did they know, they weren't behind at all. Due to Gardevoir's actions, both groups were stuck in one place at the moment, unable to advance towards Allearth Forest and straight to the Diamond Domain. At this rate, the land around them might be altered to the point where reaching their destination may become unrecognizable. As the journey continues. Chapter 323 End.