Pegalysium. The Pokemon Festival. Day.
A new day has come and the aftermath of Daybreaker and Gardevoir unlocking the power of Mega Evolution left a striking consequence on the world, especially to one area in particular. And despite it all happening in one area of Sinnoh, it was potent enough to start affecting other locations.
But instead of going for anything on the ground, the skies were the first victims. Residents of Pegalysium who were nearby could feel the effects even from here. A ripple of energy that seemed to transcend the boundaries of their own nation. The once serene and free-flowing clouds above started to react strangely, displaying vibrant hues of swirling colours as if the very fabric of the atmosphere was affected.
"Hoo! What's happening back down at Equestria?!" A pegasus exclaimed, holding onto her hat. Other pegasi would gaze at the effects from their homes. The pegasi also found it challenging to control the weather as the magical currents became more turbulent and difficult to predict.
"Hold tight, everypony! Looks like something major is going on down there!" Another pegasus shouted, her wings flapping to keep herself steady amidst the atmospheric turbulence. But that was no good. The very clouds and air that they were the masters of were seemingly out of their control. The pegasus went flying, losing control as the clouds would aggressively spiral, matching that of a storm.
As the pegasi struggled to maintain control, the once-clear skies became a canvas for an unexpected celestial display. Brilliant streaks of light, vivid and chaotic, danced across the heavens, creating an otherworldly spectacle that defied the usual order of Pegalysium. The sky seemed to protest, resisting the attempts of the pegasi to restore its calm.
Unpredictable currents of air clashed, creating ethereal patterns in the cloud formations. The colours shifted rapidly, ranging from intense purples to fiery reds, reflecting the turmoil in the skies above. Thunderous roars echoed through the sky, accompanied by unpredictable lightning strikes that arced across the clouds. The traditional harmony between the pegasi and their skies had been shattered, replaced by a tempestuous upheaval.
However, thanks to its height, Pegalysium wasn't as affected and it wouldn't last for that long. But was still potent nevertheless and that was just the first time such a power was released.
As the skies began to settle, Pegalysium gradually returned to a semblance of normalcy, but the memory of the celestial upheaval lingered in the collective consciousness of its residents.
Sinnoh. Hearthome City. The Pokemon Festival.
News of this event would undoubtedly spread across regions, further intensifying the sense of unease that had gripped the world for one night. But not only that, there was a bit of a weather change involved. Sinnoh got the worst of it since the ray of light crashed down there and the effects were showing.
"Oooh...Hot all of a sudden."Over at Hearthome, Fantina felt a change in the weather. The weather patterns were thrown into disarray. Clouds of various colours gathered in unusual formations in the far distance, causing spontaneous rain showers of glittering water droplets. Sunbeams refracted through the coloured clouds, creating stunning rainbows that arched across the sky.
Those at Hearthome were hoping this wasn't another Dread League situation. After what happened last time, they could do without any of that.
"Queen Fantina!" Suddenly, arriving here at Hearthome was Dimstar, a former member of the Dread League. She came all the way from Magehold to Sinnoh, flying overnight.
"Morning, Dimstar." Fantina greeted, unbothered by what had just occurred. Being around vampires, skeletons and other terrifying things throughout her life has granted her such an immunity.
"Are you alright?! I came to check up on you!" Dimstar frantically questioned, coming to her queen's aide.
Fantina chuckled lightly, her demeanour seemingly unfazed by the abrupt weather change and the extraordinary events that had unfolded.
"Oh, dear Dimstar, you don't need to worry about me. This weather isn't so bad." Fantina responded with a theatrical flourish of her hand.
"I don't know about that..." Dimstar squinted her eyes when looking up at the disrupted skies. She was glad that she was half Lich, granting her some resistance to the sunlight. "But did you feel it? Last night, an incredible surge of power happened and it seems that it originated from Sinnoh. It felt reminiscent of the Dread League's ominous presence, and I couldn't help but rush here to ensure everything was alright. I feared the worst, given our history."
"Hmm...I didn't feel it but I know everyone else did. I was asleep during that time." Alas, Fantina didn't feel the power. Much like Ash and Pikachu, she was having a good night's sleep.
"There's no way you slept through that...Who could possibly sleep through that?" She said, unbeknownst to Ash and Pikachu.
"But something happened. Everyone is saying it came from the North." Fantina pointed to the north of Sinnoh. The Gym Leader looked past Mount Coronet and anything else in the distance, saying what everyone else learned.
"Rain and intense heat? At the same time? What did that ray of light do..." A stunned Dimstar spoke. "My father spoke about something like this to me when I was young. About a light so strong it affects living things and nature, impacting them in various ways. Is this what he meant?"
"I don't think we can do anything about this one, Dimstar. But someone can." said Fantina.
"Oh! But, your majesty! Another reason I showed up here is because Princess Celestia called for me. She's making a quick meeting over at Canterlot."
"Hm?" The most crucial part was revealed. Dimstar's second reason was still concerning this sudden event and it all traced back to Princess Celestia. In two ways, really.
"Well...You said you can't do much about it. So, would it be best that if I spoke in your place?" Dimstar requested. "Right now, my father is off to meet with his half family, so he can't speak instead."
"You'll do great, Dimstar." But Fantina had full faith in Dimstar for this role. She did have that serious disposition that her father carries here and there and she knew for a fact that Dimstar was capable enough to discuss these matters.
"Right! My greatest thanks, your majesty!" Dimstar expressed her gratitude and left Hearthome City, her graceful wings carrying her towards Canterlot.
Kalos. Out at Sea. The Sea Temple Samiya.
Despite the Sinnoh region being a target for the ray of light, the issue did start at the Kalos Region in the first place. And the seas of Kalos, much like the seas in other regions, would violently move. Unfortunately, the Sea Temple and the residents living there had to face the turbulent issue from last night to today when moving across the seas of Kalos. The grand halls of the Sea Temple resonated with the echoes of crashing waves and the creaking of the structure against the surging tides.
"Oh goodness!" Alo, the Royal Advisor, held onto his staff and beard while leaning back against the wall. "Even into a new day?!"
The once serene seas surrounding the Sea Temple now churned with uncontrollable energy, mirroring the unrest caused by the unleashed power of Daybreaker and Gardevoir. The Sea Temple, normally accustomed to the gentle ebb and flow of the waves, found itself caught in the throes of a tempest.
"I think I'm going to be sick...That's not possible for us, right?" The young Enola covered her mouth. The People of the Water have had to deal with these movements since last night and the seas have not tempered for them at all. The Water Pokemon that lived here weren't having an easy time either.
Not even Manaphy, who was Prince of the Sea. He would hold onto the nearest pillar to gain some balance. "M-Mana...!"
"Royal Advisor, Alo! We've tried using the power of the crystals and even they're struggling to keep things at a steady pace!" One of the guards screamed at Alo.
"The crystals too?!" This surprised Alo. The fact that the power Sea Temple Crystals were having trouble came as a shock. This didn't mean they weren't capable of stopping it, but they couldn't easily temper the sea.
"What's causing this?!" A woman asked. The People of the Water couldn't understand how their crystals weren't as efficient at the moment. They voiced their concerns upon learning about the crystals' difficulty in maintaining control. The revelation added another layer of complexity to the situation, leaving the temple's residents bewildered and seeking answers.
"It seems...that the disturbance in the seas is a consequence of a significant upheaval in the power of Mega Evolution," Alo said with a grumble. "I'm not sure what but the natural power of Mega Evolution must have been trying to make sense of something."
"What do you mean by that?" But it wasn't clicking with any of them.
"His Majesty has probably seen it somewhere in the world. There has been a great upset in the power of Mega Evolution." Alo commented. "We might have to move the temple to his majesty's location if we can reach him." The decision to reach out to Ash had been made. But first, they had to calm the seas down. They were greatly disturbed after all in many regions.
Equestria. Canterlot.
"Oh, man...This all happened last night?" Ash caught up with the news. Naturally, since a place like Canterlot would be among the first to be informed immediately. Sci-Twi told him what she saw last night as well as holding out the newspaper to him and Pikachu.
"Pika..."
"I have no idea how you managed to sleep through all of that..." Much like Dimstar, Twilight couldn't understand it. "But, yes. A ray of light just showed up in the sky. Apparently, it hit somewhere in Sinnoh and no one knows where it came from. And look at what it's done in just one night."
"There's snow and hot weather near each other?" Ash was reading the effects that this damage left behind. He even saw the massive hole that it made. The image of this hole was taken for everyone to view and it was absolutely colossal. Entering Canterlot were some members of royalty, invited here by Princess Celestia.
Celestia had to cut her time with Cobalion and essentially the entire Pokemon Festival just for this. As such, Cobalion was over at the Canterlot Gardens. But he knew he wouldn't be here for long. He was waiting for the rest of the Swords of Justice, knowing that they had to be on the move since something colossal attacked the world.
At that moment, Sci-Twi's phone would start ringing. All the way from another part of the world was the phone number of Sunset Shimmer. "Sunset?" She would answer it.
"Uh, Twilight...Just calling to see if you're doing alright." Sunset spoke to her with a nervous tone.
"What happened? Is everything alright for you?" Sci-Twi asked. "What's going on over there? Are you and the others okay?"
"Well, it sounds like you're fine, but we're not." Sunset Shimmer grumbled. "You have to be here to see this. Something wild just happened around us." As soon as she said that, an odd sound could be heard through the phone. Sci-Twi's eyes widened at Sunset's words, a mix of concern and curiosity filling her expression. "We were just exploring parts of Unova and out of nowhere, this ray of light showed up."
"I saw it too. A lot of people did. But are you all okay?"
"It was just a scare. No one got hurt, thankfully. What do you think caused something like that?" Sunset questioned.
"Mmm...No clue." Ash crossed his arms. "But when I think about it, there's only a few Pokemon and stuff that can do this."
"Hang on, Sunset. We'll be there as soon as possible." Sci-Twi opted to meet with the rest of her friends to see what they've come across. Their time in Canterlot was coming to an end either way, so might as well had to the next location. It was back to Unova once more.
Canterlot Castle.
Meanwhile, inside Canterlot Castle, some of the rulers were seated. There were still a lot missing from this, but this wasn't the Royal Phantasy and yet it required a lot of attention. "Thank you for coming on such short notice." Celestia began, her voice carrying authority and concern.
As you may have already heard, a disturbance of great magnitude has occurred, affecting not only Equestria but regions beyond our borders. We are facing a grand upheaval, and I believe I know who is responsible for this."
"Is it Second Wind? Has she finally made her move?" King Paramount immediately believed it to be Second Wind. The power of the Unown can be cataclysmic if many of them are involved. While Second Wind's number of Unown has been greatly cut down thanks to Ash and his friends, they were still a force to be reckoned with.
"Isn't it obvious? It's probably Team Plasma. They've stayed hidden for a while now and it would only make sense for them to catch us all by surprise by pulling this." Another ruler spouted.
"I had to cut my conte-" Queen Novo, Queen of the Hippogriffs paused as she almost exposed herself. "Cut my practice sessions short because of that pressure. Right. That's it."
"I say it's probably another one of our old problems. This level of destruction was last matched by Yveltal, who nearly took the lives of everyone. And the ones who can prompt such an event are-" Another ruler uttered, treading back to the Dread League.
"It wasn't us this time..." Dimstar narrowed her eyes once the Queen looked her. The relations between the Dread League and many others were still weak, obviously.
"Whoever it is, one thing is for sure...It's the fault of a Pokemon. As much as it pains me to say this, no pony, griffon, dragon or any creature that originally came from our time could do such a thing. "You've all gotten a bit too comfortable with them. Yveltal should have been the final straw if you ask me."
"What Pokemon would do this? Yveltal was being controlled. It wouldn't have a good reason to cause such destruction. And besides, it was a ray of light, not darkness." Dimstar added, defending Yveltal.
"We haven't really thought about it all that much. We were made to adjust to the Pokemon World by the Rift. But now with the Rift being so absent and us being left with this larger world, should we start thinking about how the Pokemon affect us in the long run? They're here to stay forever, so things like this can't be ignored."
"Exactly! This isn't the Royal Phantasy but you started it form some new rules for this new world. That Threat Level chart isn't going to do us any good if we can't keep an eye on these creatures." One king vehemently argued that the Pokemon residing in their lands might be responsible for the disruption. He pointed fingers at the mystical creatures, claiming that their unknown powers and origins made them a potential threat to the stability of the realms.
"Ridiculous!" Queen Nova scoffed. She stressed the need for unity and cooperation rather than casting blame on innocent beings. "We can be just as powerful and dangerous as them. They just have easier access to that kind of power."
"That's the problem though..." The king grumbled.
The room continued to buzz with discussions, and tensions rose among the gathered rulers. Each leader had their own concerns and perspectives, leading to a cacophony of voices that echoed through the grand hall in Canterlot.
"It could be just a magical imbalance." One ruler suggested that the disturbances might be a consequence of the magical imbalance caused by various magical entities, not limited to Pokemon alone. His viewpoint aimed to diffuse the growing tension and encourage collaboration. And he technically wasn't wrong. Daybreaker was involved after all, but she was only one entity.
The bickering continued, with accusations and counter-accusations escalating. Princess Celestia, in an attempt to restore order, raised her hoof to call for attention.
"In a way, you're all right." Celestia closed her eyes. "The one responsible for this disruption is none other than Daybreaker."
"Daybreaker?!" All of them collectively bellowed.
"That's right. What she did wasn't anything new, technically. It's the same power Passion and I have when we emerge as Celestial-Gardevoir. I felt it. We're the only ones who have ever used something like that. And now...Daybreaker might have tapped into that same power."
"What? How?" Cadence asked. "She's eligible for Mega Evolution and the Harmony Phenomenon? Can that even work based on what she wants and how she acts?"
"Daybreaker has her own view of Harmony and I'm guessing the phenomenon reacted to her in some way. And probably, the Gardevoir who absorbs Aura was involved."
"That light was her?" Dimstar's eyes widened, equally shocked to learn that Daybreaker, the alter-ego of Celestia was capable of such a thing. Albeit with support from Gardevoir.
"I already knew it was her. When I took the time to sleep for a while, Luna came to me in my dream, speaking about how Rainbow Dash and the others encountered Daybreaker's Forces on Alola. They were very much here last night, away from Universe 11."
"Are we under attack then?!" Queen Nova gasped, fearing that this might be Daybreaker's Empire launching an attack.
"Not yet. But Daybreaker has eyes on this universe. Without a doubt, it possesses the most light out of any universe out there that we know of. Not even her Necrozma can absorb it all in a short time. "The fate of not just Equestria but the entire world, no...universe could be at stake just because she wants to feed Necrozma as much light as possible."
"So then...What do we do?" Cadence questioned.
"What we can and always have done. We've come this far to make this new world of ours possible." Celestia faced all the rulers. "I've seen a lot of worlds. Similar to ours but different all the same. The things they've been through were already hard enough and knowing Daybreaker, she won't skip out on them. We've always done what we can to protect our world so let's not stop now and go above and beyond that."
They all can certainly agree to that. At the end of the day, they wanted their world to be safe. No one wanted a Yveltal situation again but on an even worse scale, as the entire universe was being threatened.
As Celestia's words echoed in the hall, the assembled leaders began to discuss strategies and formulate plans. The cosmic upheaval had brought nations together, forging alliances against a common threat that transcended borders and realms. Celestia, while she would miss out on the rest of the festival, focused on her duty as Ruler of Equestria and its safety.
Unova.
Sunset Shimmer and her friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy, were around this area that was affected by the ray of light and power surge. They were somewhere near Chargestone Cave, witnessing how a simple forest was affected overnight.
The group had chosen a picturesque clearing deep within the forest, surrounded by ancient trees and vibrant flora. As they gazed at the aftermath, they noticed a peculiar sight not far from their chosen spot. A mysterious mist began to seep out from the base of a colossal, twisted tree with glowing vines.
"Well...would you look at that." Volo was the most interested in this, looking up at the damage. He was with them as well, witnessing the ray of light in all of its glory. "That light...could it have been from Arceus? No...Probably not. Arceus would never do this."
"Please don't tell me the shards are somewhere there..." Rarity gulped as they ended up here when focusing on that shard-collecting mission Volo started.
Intrigued yet cautious, the friends gathered around the strange area. Rainbow Dash, always the fearless one, flew up to get a better view. "Hey, guys, check this out! It's like the mist is coming from some kind of portal or something!" Curiosity piqued, Sunset Shimmer approached the mist cautiously. The air felt charged with magic, and the mist sparkled with enchanting colours.
Fluttershy, on the other hand, noticed the distant sounds of mysterious creatures emanating from the other side. "Um, guys, I think we should be careful. There might be some Pokemon there that we've never seen before."
Applejack, ever the practical one, nodded in agreement. "Eh. It's just Unova. We've seen a lot of 'em here and there, ya know. I don't think the Pokemon changed a lot like this place. And if they did..."
"This is soooo cool! What if there's a whole new world on the other side, filled with magical parties and super-duper fun stuff?" Pinkie Pie, with her Pinkie Sense tingling, bounced around with excitement.
"Why would there be another world past the mist? Although at this rate..." Sunset Shimmer, considering the possibilities, thought for a moment. "Nevermind. I don't think we have much of a safe distance here. The heat around here is hotter than yesterday. But there shouldn't be mist at all." As they watched, the mist shimmered even more around the heat. The weather was still trying to fix itself.
The group found themselves at the threshold of adventure, torn between the allure of the unknown and the safety of their Pokemon Festival experience. The once-static foliage began to exhibit a pulsating energy, causing the trees and flowers to glow in brilliant hues.
Volo kept a smile on his face, unbothered by all of this, but very much intrigued. To Volo, this appeared as an opportunity instead of something to gawk at.
"That light was dangerous...Right?" Sunset Shimmer gawked when looking at this. The dangerous possibilities haven't been shown to her and her friends yet, aside from the power surge and the ray of light. But the aftermath and how it transformed the area looked rather dazzling.
But that was just one part of what the light had done.
Not too far from here, nestled within the dense Chargestone Cave, where a community of Steel, Rock, Electric and Ground-type Pokémon thrived such as Joltik, Drilbur, and Magneton. The energy ripple that originated in Sinnoh triggered a chain reaction, sending shockwaves through the very essence of Chargestone Cave.
As the energy permeated the cave, the magnetic fields became intensely charged, causing disruptions in the natural equilibrium that Electric-type Pokémon relied on. The once-stable environment now crackled with erratic energy, sending jolts of confusion and distress through the Pokémon residing there.
Galvantula, known for their intricate web networks that glowed softly in the cave's ambient light, found their homes disrupted. The normally calm and collected Elektross began to show signs of agitation as the magnetic interference affected their ability to navigate the cave's dark passages.
This energy had an effect on the Pokemon themselves. Not just the environment. The disruption in Chargestone Cave reached a tipping point, leading some Pokémon to enter a berserk state. The damage done to that verdant part of Sinnoh was not the end of it. Not at all.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 381 End.