Pegalysium. Newcloud Path. The Pokemon Festival. Afternoon.
Up at Pegalysium, Lena's group came across the Indigo Union who work for the Grand Queen Second Wind. An unfortunate time to run into this union during the search for the shards. Surrounded by these soldiers who were in enemy territory away from Pinnaculum Pegalysium and the Unown which were encircling them with their massive eyes, this was quite the unlucky predicament.
"You're not Ash Ketchum but you look a lot like her. Either way, it's a shame you ended up here." One of the soldiers spoke when pointing out Lena's face. Seeing Lena, they made that connection to Ash which only gave them a stronger reason to threaten them. Then again, anyone outside of Pinnaculum Pegalysium was seen as an enemy and would eventually be under the rule of Second Wind.
"Lena Ketchum's the name. I'm his ancestor." Lena spoke to them before seeing one of the Unown getting closer to her. At any point, she could be hit with a Hidden Power.
"What do we do?" Diadora questioned since this was her first encounter with the Indigo Union.
"Just stay still and they won't zap you..." James silently answered.
"Excuse us. But we have to get going, please." Lena put her hands together, requesting that she and her group leave as soon as possible to continue their quest. "We'll be out of your hair fairly soon."
"They're humans so they come from below. Either way, they're already in this vicinity. Capture them. This one is the most valuable." He aimed his polearm at Lena, seeing value in her. "The Ketchum relation is too important to ignore.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Jessie frantically waved her arms, only to be silenced by the Unown and their cries. She scrunched her face, standing completely still as she had no say in this. Neither of them did. Such was the way of the Indigo Union.
The guards ordered them to keep moving while they had their eyes on them. When moving ahead, having the Unown and Polearms pointed at them.
Lena didn't have time for this. She had to continue on her quest and something like this couldn't hold her up. But she knew that making a move right now with these numbers wouldn't be the best idea, even if she was thinking about it. Right now, her group were captive, appearing at the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily for Team Rocket and Diadora, there was a solid ground up ahead for them to step on since Lena couldn't make a new platform at the moment.
After touching the solid ground, their eyes met with something shocking and the reason for the Indigo Union being here. The Indigo Union were working on something here at Pegalysium. Under the noses of the original Pegalysium, a factory was being built.
A Factory of Rift Energy.
It was hidden behind a huge mass of clouds that also packed some mist to further conceal it. This Rift Factory was a sprawling complex of interconnected buildings, each one towering and angular, with metal walkways spanning the gaps between them. Standing in the middle of it all was a massive cloud stands a colossal machine, its gears turning and pistons pumping as rune-covered conduits pulse with cosmic energy.
It seems that Pegalysium wasn't devoid of the Rift Energy all that much even after the two worlds became one. But the existence of this factory was already a sign that it wasn't as perfect as the Indigo Union would like. Lena was aware of Rift Energy but it wasn't her biggest concern. Just the shards. And yet, this still caught her interest.
"It's a Factory of Rift Energy? They built this?" Jessie observed. It did not look that recent at all. Something like this would've taken time to make. But just by looking at the Unown, she could see that being a possibility.
Speaking of the Unown, there were more of them present here, using their power to upgrade the Rift Factory. Clearly, the Indigo Union and mainly Second Wind, were trying to recapture Rift Energy. At the moment, the factory was only unleashing the energy and it has yet to be utilised.
Second Wind obviously wanted that cosmic power for herself since she got a taste of it before she altered time. Even after the drawbacks it brought, the Grand Queen sought this power yet again.
"Who are these?" One of the workers here questioned after spotting Lena's group.
"I told you trespassers would show up here eventually. Especially during this festival. And this one right here is apparently the ancestor to Ash Ketchum. You can tell by the face."
"Ancestor? Mmm, that's the least of our worries, honestly. You might want to take this one to Queen Second Wind. She's just returned after all and she'd love to see this one. Drop the others through the clouds."
"Drop?!" Jessie and James collectively said. Turns out, they weren't going to be taken captive. Instead, they would be dropped off Pegalysium from a high height which was far worse.
"Don't worry." Lena turned to face them. "No one's being dropped. This is just a small hiccup."
"You're taking this far too casually..." Diadora grumbled as she couldn't understand how Lena could stay so calm in this scenario. She was being threatened to be taken captive just because of her connection to Ash while Team Rocket and Diadora would be dropped off Pegalysium.
"A shame you won't be able to move all that much though. Unown. Hidden Power."
The Unown would conjure up something that would restrain Lena Ketchum, making sure that she wouldn't be able to try something. Knowing that this was Ash's ancestor, the drive to do something wild was very much there. Lena looked up as the crimson rays struck down on her while Team Rocket and Diadora closed their eyes.
However, to the shock of everyone, nothing happened. No chains, cuffs, ropes or anything that could restrain Lena appeared. She was still herself, free as she could be. Lena looked at herself as she even expected something to happen. But alas, she was completely fine. She then looked at the soldiers and the Unown with a straight face. They were rather confused as to why nothing happened. The Hidden Power has never failed before.
"...Try again." The Unown would take a second wind at it, unleashing another Hidden Power, causing Lena to flinch and close her eyes. But once again, nothing happened. Lena simply scratched her hair, confused and completely lost. She thought that she was supposed to take damage or lose access to moving at all based on what the Indigo Union said.
"What is this?!" The soldiers and workers pulled back. "Why isn't it working?!"
"Hidden Power should always work no matter what..." Diadora gawked before realizing what could be giving Lena Ketchum this surprising immunity to the same attack that struck fear into those over at Equestria. Diadora thought about the egg that Lena ate and how that connects to the Unown. "Unless...!"
"Hm. I don't have a clue myself...Maybe it's because of that thing!" Lena then turned everyone's attention to the massive machine in the centre. But this is exactly what she wanted. This was a fake out by Lena, who immediately harnessed the power of the Fairy Shards once more. She kept them concealed in her hand the entire time, hidden from the eyes of the Indigo Union.
A brilliant pink flash went off in her hand, eclipsing her body and the bodies of those around her. She used more of the Fairy Shards unique power as if she were a Fairy-Type Pokemon. By doing so, she trapped the soldiers and workers nearby in a Magical Spheres. The soldiers soon realized that they had been juked and trapped by a magical bubble. It was rather embarrassing that they fell for the oldest trick in the book, but the way Lena said it was rather convincing.
"Hey! You..." Before he could say anything, the bubble had a secondary effect. A calming mist that would go off, immediately soothing their souls. "Aaah..."
"Time to go!" Lena and her group would take off now that they had the chance. But of course, their actions didn't go unnoticed by the other soldiers around here. They were on the run, attempting to flee from this factory and continue their mission.
"Lena! How did you ignore it?!" James questioned while carrying the massive bag on his back.
"Isn't it obvious?! It's the egg that she ate!" Diadora answered. "The Unown are too closely related to Arceus for her to completely ignore the Hidden Power! But I didn't think it wouldn't have an effect on her!"
"Oh! Great thinking, Diadora!" Lena grinned. "That changes everything! Which means this will be a breeze getting through!"
"Will it?! They can still hurt you!" James pointed out that Lena wasn't invincible. She was still vulnerable to damage, much like anyone else. It was just the Hidden Power that didn't matter to her anymore.
"Woah!" Lena came to a halt was she nearly fell into what appeared to be a cauldron of Rift Magic, similar to what Zecora has. But this one looked far more volatile than that cauldron. In fact, when getting a closer look at the Rift Energy in this factory, Lena's group saw how virulent it appeared. Something was very off with this Rift Magic.
It was aggressively bubbling as if it was lava and some smoke was coming out of it. It was very much an imperfect version of what everyone knows and for a good reason. The Indigo Union was merely trying to replicate that Cosmic Power that was once plentiful prior to the unification of the two worlds.
Leaving the factory was the first objective since they had no other reason to be here. But one thing was for sure, the existence of this place wasn't so hidden now that Lena's group has seen it. With a group of Unown behind them, they had to keep moving. Hidden Powers were used, bringing down a red rain that was not that threatening to Lena, but very much Team Rocket.
Jessie screeched as she was nearly struck by one of the rays which would blow up behind her. Meowth would hold onto Lena's legs, knowing he could get around faster by sticking around with her.
Pinnaculum Pegalysium. Second Wind's Palace.
While all of that played out, Second Wind was back in her palace, lazily sitting on her throne. She was just glad to be back after having to stay on a strange island for a while and moving from place to place. She was not yet aware that her hidden factory was currently holding the ancestor of her enemy.
But even after getting away from all of that, her duties as the Queen were not finished. While slumped over on her throne, she was looking at a projection yet again. And once more, it was of Daybreaker.
"It's settled then. We haven't been paying too much attention to this whole Prisma thing but now we have a good reason to do so." Daybreaker said.
"Let it wait another time." Second Wind grumbled. "We already had to go through that mess. The only benefit from that, at least in my case, was learning about that secret lab and what lies beyond it."
"There isn't enough time to slow down, Second Wind. Those in your universe are growing stronger and stopping them will be harder than it needs to be unless Necrozma can catch up."
"That won't be an issue for long..." Second Wind groaned. "I'd wager that very soon, my secret Rift Factory will be ready for use. That way, I can tap back into that cosmic power."
"I doubt it. Controlling that power has been difficult for even us. The gateway we made was very limited so your factory might not do much for us."
"Bah! Nonsense!" Second Wind bellowed, sitting up from her throne. "It's just taking some time. I can guarantee you something marvellous will come from it! And in any case, what's your next plan? I'd rather not get up for this one."
"Depends. After what we learned about Prisma, one thing's for sure. Ash Ketchum must be kept alive." At that moment, Daybreaker brought up Ash's name. "The benefits he could bring up are just too big to ignore."
"I'd rather he be wiped from existence but...whatever." Second Wind wasn't too big of a fan of keeping Ash around. "As long as he gets to live a miserable life, that's fine."
"Great!" Daybreaker grinned. "As for our next mission, we can put all our efforts into gathering as much light for Necrozma. We've been focused on taking light from the land, but now, we should be aiming higher. The Legendary Pokemon should be our next goal."
"Legendary?" Second Wind's eyes slightly opened. Legendary Pokemon were worth paying attention to due to how powerful and important they were. "Hm. Go on."
"Reading up on Necrozma, there seem to be two Pokemon that are closely connected to him. They are Solgaleo and Lunala. I know of this long ago, and yet, I couldn't find those two Pokemon. I searched many universes but came across neither a Solgaleo nor a Lunala. Apparently, this is because of a place known as Ultra Space, which I cannot reach. But that can all change fairly soon and your universe is the best place to take that chance."
"Hmph. Alright then. How are you going to do it with this world now on high-alert after the Jirachis put everything together? I've heard that Celestia gathered many rulers across the world, and I wasn't invited...They'll know that we're up to something. They already figured us out after what happened in Tropezete." Second Wind questioned, pointing out the drawbacks.
"Cozy Glow, of course. She's learning at the Pokemon School, acting as our perfect spy. I can guarantee that she'll come back with something valuable."
Equestria. The Pokemon School. Afternoon.
Speaking of Cozy Glow, she was currently still present at the Pokemon School during the Pokemon Festival. Instead of heading out there and partaking in the festival, this year, she was staying in the school. But it wasn't just her. There were still students present in the school, but they were actually taking the time to enjoy themselves. The school was filled with Festival Attractions and many other things to entertain the youth.
All the while, Cozy Glow sat there alone, reading the news. She recently found out about what happened in Tropezete Town, seeing the actions of Daybreaker and Necrozma. Princess Celestia made sure that it got out to the world, just to remind everyone that not everything was fine and peachy even with a unified universe. Tropezete Town was still a dark place, unable to generate any light thanks to Necrozma.
The people of Tropezete have left their beloved town which distanced themselves from the Pokemon Hunters. As for the Pokemon Hunters, heading back to Tropezete Town would do them no good anymore now that their spot had been given away. At this moment, Tropezete Town was a ghost town of an area that was once beautiful and vibrant.
"That should be me..." Cozy Glow puffed her cheeks as there was a strong sense of jealousy when reading this. She flipped the pages, turning to see something else with Daybreaker's group involved. This time, it was the scenario over at the Diamond Domain. While that was more contained than Tropeze Town, it was still on the news and the Pokemon Rangers were also on the image.
"I could be out there right now." Her eyes lit up with flames as she aggressively smushed and crumpled the paper. "It's not far! They get to go places, search for Rare Pokemon and mess around with Rift Energy. I should be doing the same. I'm part of this alliance too, darn it!" Her frustration came from the fact that she wasn't seen as important enough to be highly active.
After all, they sent her to be a spy here at the Pokemon School. And while that was still a job, Cozy Glow wished to tackle the bigger missions. Hunter J, Team Plasma, Second Wind, Gardevoir and even Malamar have all of these opportunities, being incredibly versatile.
"I bet I could do something better than them. I can't just sit around here forever. But there has to be something..." Her eyes shifted from place to place, trying to find something to do. Alas, there wasn't much. Well, nothing that Cozy Glow was interested in. While kids her age were participating in party games and thinking about what other fun activities they could do, Cozy Glow was only thinking about absolute power.
"Drat." She lightly hit the table. "Not much. But...I guess there's one thing I could try. I've only been in this school for a few weeks, but I doubt anyone really knows about me. It's a larger world now and there's way too much out there for me to ignore. I could start by making some friends."
Rubbing her hooves together, the little filly had a plan. Making friends was a rather sweet plan but there was an ulterior motive behind it. For the most part, Cozy Glow has been keeping a low profile, mainly because she didn't want anyone knowing she was with Daybreaker's alliance. As long as she was seen as an ordinary pony, that was all that mattered and so far, she was pulling that off expertly.
Eyeing down the students, there were plenty of species here, all new to Pokemon. Cozy Glow at least had the advantage of being around Pokemon longer than the Dragons, Hippogriffs, Yaks and Griffons. Knowing this, she could use that benefit. Why not throw out some teaching of her own?
She would hop off the table, prancing forward and finally getting herself involved in the Pokemon Festival. But as soon as she went to try something, she was grabbed a nearby Dragon, who swept her off the floor. "Gah!"
"Drop everything you're doing!" The Dragon exclaimed, being rather enthusiastic about something. They were all rather enthusatic since something had caught their attention. "We're going to view a Pokemon Battle for free!"
"All Pokemon battles are free." A colt said. "Except the ones with tickets."
"W-What's going on?"
"It's another Frontier Brain battle. We missed out on Princess Celestia's battle over at Magehold. Apparently, it was amazing!" News about Celestia's battle would obviously travel fast. Why wouldn't it? She was the most important figure in Equestria and it's not often they get to see her battle.
But while the students missed it, there was another incoming. It did not involve Celestia, but it did involve Rainbow Dash. She did say that today, she would tackle the next Frontier Brain and after Celestia's fierce battle with Dimstar, that battle was about to commence.
The students of the Pokemon School were invited to come and view the battle and after that, it was right back here. This was one major benefit of being in this school. They get to go anywhere since the best way to experience Pokemon was via exploration and up close experiences.
"Great..." Cozy Glow wasn't too fond of it, but she would fake a smile before forcing herself off the excited Dragon. But, this could at least bring some interest. Cozy Glow knew one thing. Ash's friends were the sworn enemies of Daybreaker's group so watching them battle could be seen as a positive. She'd at least get to know how they battle and relay whatever valuable information she could to Daybreaker's group. But really, Cozy Glow wished she could do more than just be a spy.
Chapter 349 End.