//------------------------------// // Unlikely Ally // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// The Human World. Sci-Twi's Home. Late Afternoon. "Hoooh..." Waking up was Lucas, who was refreshed. His energy was replenished, ready to craft a new gateway, only to eventually drain himself once more. Lucas actually kept track of time and realized that it didn't take almost an entire day for him to be back to his full strength. 7 hours was still enough time for the afternoon to stick around. "Only 7 hours this time. Maybe I am getting better at this." Rejuvenated, Lucas would hop out of the couch, ready to tackle the rest of the day, even if it was rather late. As soon as he strolled out, feeling brand new, he was startled by the faces he saw in front of him. Multiple grins that belonged to the faces of Sci-Twi's friends. "Gah!" Lucas bellowed after seeing their wide grins. The way they were smiling was eerily creepy, even if Sunset Shimmer was the only one showing a different expression. A rather gutted one after her loss against Volo. It wasn't just an ordinary loss though. There was something about it. "You're up? Great!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Now you can get us started on the Pokemon Festival by making a new gateway!" "Right away, huh? I mean I was thinking that but I wanted to do something else before that..." Lucas scratched the back of his head. "You'll pass out again, right? That's okay. We came prepared." Rarity wagged her finger, bringing a positive to this. "You did?" He blinked, wondering if Rarity and the others truly had a solution to Lucas's blowout after making a gateway. "Oh, great! That's great! What is it?!" "I'm not exactly a doctor...but I do know of something that can soothe the body. And it's all in this!" Whipping out an object that she kept behind her, Rarity revealed a needle syringe. And when looking at that needle, a primal fear emerged from Lucas for a moment, prompting him to jerk back. "Y-You know...maybe you can try something else?" Lucas backed away. "Oh, no, no, no, darling. I had to rush to the store to get this readily available. It's meant to soothe the body and reduce pain, wooziness and other irritating symptoms. I'm confident it will work on you." Rarity uttered when stepping forward, intimidating Lucas. "Anything to ease the pain." "Uh, actually...Maybe we can just use the gateway to Arche Valley. I mean, that's easy, right? You don't wanna just go to Eindoak immediately, right?" Lucas was trying to get out of this. "Plus, who needs needles?" But Rarity wasn't having it. The two of them looked each other in the eyes, communicating via eye contact alone. While Lucas was inclined to believe that this needle would help, there was obviously a sense of fear there. Rarity saw it but she also wished to heal Lucas and remove those irritations. And to also get a trip to Eindoak which will lead to Unova. She's already been to Unova as a pony, taking the mirror, but she'd love to do it as a human. "...Hold him down!" Rarity ordered and Applejack and Rainbow Dash would do just that. The two of them threw themselves onto Lucas, attempting to restrain him. "Wait, wait!" Lucas pleaded as he narrowly avoided the hands of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. He zipped to the side, jumping over the table nearby which prompted Rainbow Dash to fall over. Lucas was quite nimble, making it difficult to immediately inject him. Applejack slid to the side, trying to intercept him, only for Lucas to use the couch pillow as a shield. He quickly took it out of the couch, holding it up to block Applejack's advances. The farm girl found herself slamming her face against the pillow, completely blocked. "We can have a battle to settle it!" Lucas suggested. It was a back-and-forth between the two sides with Lucas doing everything in his power inside of Sci-Twi's own home to avoid getting an injection. It was clear that he feared needles in some way. Fluttershy simply stood by watching while Pinkie Pie would join in since this just seemed fun to do. Running around and trying to catch Lucas was a blast. All the while, Sunset stood there, thinking about her battle with Volo. After a few minutes of rapid movements, Lucas ran out of space to flee. Mainly because he was finally cornered by Applejack and Pinkie Pie finding the perfect spot. Twilight's fridge. Making a last attempt to run, he tried charging through them, only to fail thanks to Pinkie Pie using a party mask to startle Lucas. Caught off guard by the mask, Lucas fell down, prompting Rarity to finally make her home. "Gotcha!" Rarity got on top of Lucas, holding the needle high. Lucas, trapped by the girls who held onto his arms, was too late to save himself. His pupils shrunk once he saw the tip of the needle approaching him. Rarity spared no mercy for the Trainer from Another Sinnoh. The needle came crashing down, touching Lucas's shoulder. Afterwards, a bloodcurdling scream from Lucas powered through. In the end, it wasn't painful at all but that was only natural since Lucas did have a fear of needles. "Aahh..." Lucas groaned as he was finally let go. But Lucas would lie there for a moment, taking in what just happened. It was if his life flashed before his eyes even if it was just an injection. "There we go. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Rarity said, putting the syringe away. "The next time you make a gateway, you'll be completely fine." "Sunset. Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, noticing Sunset's sudden silence. "Oh. I'm fine. Just a bit tired since it's getting late." Sunset answered, obviously lying. "Maybe we should get some rest back at the next world." In her mind, she thought back to Volo's words and what they meant. "Everything here is just what I need to reach Arceus. Don't you understand? What I tried to accomplish in the past, I can get it done in the present and carry it over. You and your friends are great for chiming in. But I'm hoping you'll see beyond just a simple fetch quest. Alright?" "Girls. Do you think we should really go through with this whole shard thing?" Sunset asked, wanting answers from her friends. "Why not?" Pinkie asked. "Volo wants to do more than just find them. His goal is to meet Arceus and receiving answers. That sounds fine but...don't you feel that something's off?" "Not really." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "I wanna meet Arceus too! My counterpart's already got that chance more than once!" "Are you saying Volo creeps you out?" Rainbow Dash nudged. "Don't worry about it." "Maybe it's just me then..." Sunset pondered. "I can be too careful. The last time we trusted someone, they tried to control us. Twice. And I was one of them." "I understand your concerns. Volo's a curious character." Rarity agreed. "But he did sell me some divine items!" "Once we find those shards, we'll know what comes next." Applejack looked at the end goal of all of this. "Besides, if we collect 'em, we'll be keeping 'em for ourselves. Volo's gonna only have a few when ya think about it." "I guess so..." Sunset saw where Applejack was coming from. It never crossed her mind. "That's why I have all of you around. No way I could've thought of anything else on my own." "Let's start by enjoying this Pokemon Festival, shall we?" Rarity winked. "It's back to Eindoak and from there, we'll explore this world at last. We've all waited too long for this! Even if I've already been there a few days ago..." "I'll get started." Lucas sighed, ready to open up a gateway to Eindoak. Of course, it had to be somewhere else and never in the same spot. He already had a gateway for Arche Valley around Sci-Twi's house, so now it was time for somewhere else to receive Eindoak's gateway. And there was no better location than the forest where Eindoak's gateway originally sat. Equestria. Las Pegasus. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall. Switching back to Las Pegasus, the city was 10x more beautiful during the night. All the lights came on at this very moment. Resting here was Celestia's group, who stayed behind this entire time. But not for long. They would soon depart elsewhere during this festival. Sound asleep was Zeraora, who was seen lying next to Rainbow Dash in the Las Pegasus Hotel which once belonged to Gladmane. No one was losing any sleep at the moment, except maybe Celestia. She was still thinking about where Daybreaker could be. On top of that, there was the thought of Cobalion. Quite a bit to think about. And one thing she would definitely do would be dreaming about meeting with Cobalion again. But before that, coming up to her was Princess Diancie, who was currently carrying a plethora of items. The Jewel Pokemon found herself participating in all the activities of Las Pegasus, even winning some games. "Welcome back." Celestia greeted. "How was it?" "The best!" Diancie said with enthusiasm before covering her mouth, realizing that others were asleep. "Oh...Sorry." "Glad you're enjoying yourself, Diancie. I am too. Perhaps not as much as I want too..." Celestia's smile transformed into a frown for a moment. "Even if you're a ruler, you can evade your duties during your free time." "Hmm...Not me." Diancie smiled as she didn't have to face those problems. "But I've never had to do much, honestly. I didn't even know there were other princesses out there for the longest time." "But it's not all bad. I have my friends and family with me. And one day, I wish to start my own family." She closed her eyes, already thinking about the past. In her mind, she envisioned herself with Cobalion and the thought of it gave her a dumbfounded face. "Wonderful..." "Tomorrow is a new day. No idea what to expect but that's what makes it so much fun...and terrifying at the same time." Celestia would make herself comfortable, using her magic to cover herself with the sheets. "Whatever comes my way, I'll be ready for it as always. That's my job as Equestria's Ruler." Diancie watched the Sun Princess clock out, peacefully resting under the Equestrian Moon. At the same time, Twilight Moonlight was also sound asleep, resting while still restrained. Diancie would soon get ready for bed as well, placing her prizes down. However, Twilight Moonlight, while restrained, was still passively up to something. Without even being awake, her magic was active, all thanks to the Moon. She did say that under the Moon, her magic is limitless. And while Celestia's magic was superior, managing to restrain her, it was clear that it was still trying to make a reversal. Twilight Moonlight wasn't one to give up so easily. By now, the Pokemon Festival, which would only last for 3 weeks was still young with more time left on its plate. And yet, things will not slow down. Not just in terms of the entertainment, but also what was lurking in the festival. Zeraora was still having issues with her rage and it didn't change while asleep. The Thunderclap Pokemon was having dreams about her home, wishing to return to it. But she couldn't, unfortunately. It was taken away after all by the darkness that was Necrozma. While her rage wouldn't explode in her sleep, it would certainly get her riled up, turning it into a nightmare. That was all that Zeraora saw. A nightmare. And this nightmare would continue since she was still being hunted herself, lost from her own universe while the main threat was still out there, attempting to ruin this world as well. Universe 11. The Solar Empire. Nightfall. Back at Universe 11, Empress Twilight and Nightmare Rarity were currently discussing matters with Princess Starlight. A Starlight who managed to win in her world and make everyone truly equal. While also keeping herself in power, obviously, emerging as an alicorn. "Nightfall has dropped and still nothing from Daybreaker. She only has a day left until the gateway brings her back. Something is clearly wrong." Empress Twilight Spoke with them. "We need Daybreaker to reach our ultimate goals, so we can't have her running into trouble already. I'm guessing it's the result of that world's Celestia and that intrustive Ash Ketchum." "Probably. Or something else might've gotten in her way." Starlight answered. "Either way, it would be lucky for us if she never came back, "But there is something else we're not focusing on. Even if our Daybreaker fails...What about the next?" Empress Twilight's eyes narrowed. "The next?" Nightmare Rarity and Starlight collectively said. "I received news from Team Plasma a few months ago. It was about a situation that happened back at Hoenn. Apparently, there was an instance where that goody-two-shoes Celestia almost awoke as Daybreaker. Don't you realize what that means? That Celestia has a high enough chance to become Daybreaker." "Mmm, you have a point. What's stopping her from releasing that alter-ego of hers? If another one shows up, it could be even worse for us." Nightmare Rarity saw the angle, already thinking about the worst possible scenario. "Oh, that's just awful to think about, darling." "There is no other Daybreaker in existence aside from the one we have. But for another one to show up...that would make things harder for us." Empress Twilight leaned forward. "We've been sheltering ourselves from their eyes for too long. Eventually, we'll have to launch a counterattack on that universe. They defeated me but I won't back down so easily." "You're thinking of heading to that world again, aren't you?" Starlight questioned. "The last time you went there, it ended poorly for you. Even in another world, you lost. Horribly." "Not this time. Perhaps later on. But there is something I wish to do and it involves Necrozma. The ultimate goal of that Pokemon is to gather enough light to satisfy itself and you can bet it'll absorb absolutely everything to realize that goal. And we can use that to our advantage." "Are you thinking about capturing Necrozma? If so, that's impossible since he already has a Poke Ball." "Not unless we break it. Once a Poke Ball breaks, the Pokemon that was connected to it will be absolutely free. It's as simple as that. But making it happen is a true task. We'll take Necrozma's Ultimate Power for ourselves when he's complete. And the only thing that could make that happen is the Magic Siphoning Jar." "Pssh! Good luck finding that!" Nightmare Rarity cackled. "It's long gone by now." "But it's not impossible to make." Empress Twilight made a quick retort that silenced Nightmare Rarity. "After all, I absorbed Grogar's essence, making him a part of me. I know how to make another Magic Siphoning Jar." "Then why not make one, darling?" Nightmare Rarity questioned. "This one is taking its sweet time. I need this jar to be the best that it can possibly be. Enough to steal power from the mightiest of Pokemon. It will far surpass the previous one. With Grogar's knowledge, I can make it happen." "Alright then. When will you go through with it? Surely you know when and how to make it happen." Princess Starlight asked. "Daybreaker has already decided on one thing. One day, she will launch an attack on Universe 1. The biggest threat to us all. It will be Universe 1 vs Universe 11. Obviously, my forces will be there since I want to see Universe 1 absolutely crushed. But once everything reaches its climax, the deciding moment will come. The day both worlds will fall and I rise to power once more. But I need to make sure it all falls into place perfectly." "With no setbacks or flaws? Impossible. Your resources have taken an absolute dive!" Nightmare Rarity taunted. "I know!" Empress Twilight barked. "But we'll play our part as well. I'm pursuing something else that isn't conquering. The nightmares that I have to offer have expanded ever since Universe 1 got their wish." "As for me? I stayed out of your invasion against Universe 1 and everything else." Starlight said. She didn't really do all that much during the invasion or anything related to that. "I spent all that time making the Pokemon in my world equal. But...I have enough time on my hooves so I know what to do." "As for me, I'm going to make my move. It's been a while but...I'm going back as a Human." Empress Twilight revealed that she would be returning to who she originally was. Before becoming a pony by entering Equestria, she was another version of Sci-Twi who emerged as Midnight Sparkle. It has been years since that fate-changing day. However, before they could all split up, at that moment, the gateway outside would suddenly make a noise. The gateway would pulsate aggressively, prompting the scientists to move back. Something was happening and someone was passing through it at this very moment. The Empress, Nightmare Rarity and Princess Starlight quickly made their way to the lab to see what all the ruckus was about, postponing their plans for this one moment. "No way..." Much to Empress Twilight's chagrin, Daybreaker had returned. She moved through the gateway and right behind her was none other than Necrozma, who was free from the diamonds. They still had one day left but they all returned sooner than expected. Daybreaker put on a smile, looking far more optimistic than before. In reality, the problem she came across was solved and she found her way back home. The mysterious island on Alola was only a mild inconvenience to her. "I'm back." Daybreaker declared. "Sooner than you thought I'd return. I had to because I ran into a rather confusing inconvenience." "Tch." The Empress scoffed. She was hoping that this remaining day would be used to her advantage, but it seems not. Daybreaker chose the worst possible time to show up. "But I've also made quite the discovery." Daybreaker didn't come back empty-handed. While she didn't get Necrozma all the light in the world and failed to defeat Celestia, she did discover something. And it was back at the mysterious island which had a connection to Prisma. "What were you even doing?" Empress Twilight questioned, genuinely curious about what Daybreaker went through. While everything else would be easy to understand, the last bit of information was on a different level. Daybreaker saw something at the island which had a secret area. Something that apparently freed Necrozma from his diamond restraints and more. "You'll be pleased to know...that we have the best possible ally with us," Daybreaker answered. She was not referring to Necrozma, who was considered a great ally thanks to his grandiose potential. But there was someone else. Someone who could be considered unlikely. As the journey continues. Chapter 343 End.