//------------------------------// // Short: Broken Bonds // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Unova. Castelia City. Castelia Hospital. Nightfall. After a heated battle between two friends, Sci-Twi had officially gone with Volo. Not just to continue finding the shards with him, but distancing herself from her home, confirming that she wouldn't be showing up tomorrow for school or even for when Summer Vacation arrives. "Ash?" Sunset woke up to see the face of Ash. She had been brought to the Castelia's Hospital to be looked after, being given a private room to rest. "Awesome, you're awake." Ash sighed in relief. "How are you feeling, Sunset?" "Ugh...Totally horrible." She grumbled. "Well, the doctor did say you're suffering from mental and physical exhaustion." Ash recalled. "She did mention that the emotional toll from the fight with Sci-Twi contributed to your collapse. And with the way you were hitting the ground, your hands were starting to bruise. Carlita told us everything that happened." "Right...What happened at Ventstone Pass. Volo..." She gripped the bed sheets, clenching her teeth. "He went with her. I can't believe it. After all of that...she went with him. Ugh, she's so stubborn." "Sunset." "I just don't get it, Ash. I thought our friendship was stronger than that. I didn't mean to hide it all from her, but I didn't know how to tell her. And the more I hid it, the more it was difficult to come out and say it. Why didn't I just say anything from the start?" "You don't have to beat yourself up too much about it." Entering the room was Lena Ketchum. Upon arriving, Sunset was shocked to see someone else who strongly resembled Ash. "It's Volo's speciality. "W-Who are you?" Sunset gasped, leaning back at the sight of Lena. "Apparently, this is Ash's far-far ancestor." Carlita explained. "She's also from the past, just like Volo. But she's been through time twice." "T-Twice?!" "I come from a time before Volo. Centuries upon centuries ago is where I'm from. I was sent forward through time, ending up in the same era as Volo. And for a second time, I was sent to this era." Lena broke it down easily. "I've had a bit of experience with the man myself when I showed up a Hisui. Something like this has happened before. "It has?" Sunset blinked. "Well, not in this scenario. Volo and I were close. Very close. I even had feelings for him. He had some feelings for me too. But his quest to find Arceus drove him mad to the point where I didn't recognize him." "And Twilight's with that guy...? She sounded lik she was obsessed with finding Arceus too. If I had told her sooner, she wouldn't have joined him. It's all my fault." Beating herself up for it, Sunset also had to wonder about Midnight Sparkle and Daydream Shimmer, who were now their own beings. She saw the two of them fly off in to the distance, doing-who-knows-what. "I wish I got there sooner. When we were trying to find you, this one place called Blizzard Ridge got messed up by a strong snowstorm. All the Pokemon there needed our help, so we couldn't show up right away." Ash revealed. "Sorry we were late." "Don't apologize. It's not like you knew any of this was gonna happen." Sunset looked down, absolutely gutted and unsure of how to take all of this. "I swear, we'll find Volo and get Twilight back." Ash put his hand on her shoulder, wanting her to know that everything will be okay. "No way we're gonna let them leave our sights, alright?" "You can't even contact her anymore, Ash." Carlita approached him. "Your phone keeps getting disrupted when you try calling her, so how are you gonna find them?" "I found you guys thanks to Pinkie Pie helping me out. Her Slurpuff tracked Twilight's scent. Even if she's with Volo, we can always find her because of that." That was the biggest positive in all of this. The Slurpuff and their powerful sense of smell was truly a trump card in so many situations when trying to reach someone. This was no different. "Hm." Lena smiled when hearing his descendant's words. "This isn't exactly what I expected when I finally met you, Ash. To be honest, I thought we'd spend some time together as a family. Even if it was brief, my mission comes before everything else it seems." "Yeah. That happens a lot around here." said Ash when facing his ancestor. "But it's fine. We'll get that chance. First, I gotta focus on finding Twilight more than anything right now. If they're looking for the shards, then they're gonna be all over the place." "Then let's go, Ash." Sunset stood up, wanting to do the same. "Woah, hold on. You need to rest, Sunset." Ash tried to stop her. "Just for a bt, alright? Until you feel better. If you ask me, you should head home and get some strength back there. I'll take care of it from here." "A-Alright." "And talk to the others back home," Carlita added. "I know they're worried about you and Twilight." "Okay. I will. I promise." Sunset said, getting up. "Now!" Ash put his fist in his palm. "I'm not wasting any time here. If that's what Volo's deal is all about, then I'm game. We're going after him, but we'll be travelling in a different way. "A different way?" Lena tilted her head while Carlita already knew what Ash was suggesting. "Yeah. We're going by Sea." Ash grinned. "I can ask the Sea Temple to carry us across the seas while we track them down. And hey, we might even find some shards along the way." "But aren't you like the King of the Sea? Why do you need to ask?" Carlita nudged Ash, stating the obvious authority that he had in all of this. "But it's nice to ask." For Ash, it was just good manners. "Alright. Then I'm coming with you." Lena stepped forward. "I have a score to settle with Volo myself. And I suppose...this'll be another way for us to bond as a family, right Ash?" "Sounds good to me." Ash gave a thumbs-up. "But before we go, there's something I gotta finish at Alola first." Before they could all set out to sea, Ash had one final thing to take care of back at the Alola Region. Alola. Melemele Island. Hau'oli City. Afternoon. Back at Alola, its first-ever film was nearing completion as the people here was truly having the time of their lives, getting to dabble in PokeStar Studios. By this point, the film was in its final stage with just a few things left to tackle. And once Ash returned, he spoke of what he was about to do next after this. "Really? You'll be going on Sea?" Mallow spoke, sitting on a rock. "Yeah. We're gonna search the entire world if we have to. We'll be going by Sea to cover more ground and find Volo and Twilight." Ash would say, standing next to his Pokemon. "Ash is leaving so soon?" Yona, the star of this film, would approach him. "She was hoping he'd stay around longer. Even longer than this." "It's alright, Yona. We're nearly done with the movie and I came here to finish the rest of it with you all." Ash kneeled to get to her level. "You'll still see the movie to the end with me." "Aw! But Yona invited friends over for extra parts!" "Friends?" Ash repeated. It seems that despite the movie nearing its end, Yona wanted some of her friends to join. And those specific friends were none other than the other students from the Pokemon School. Ash looked ahead to see that Smolder, Sandbar, Gallus and Ocellus were here at Alola as well. However, there was no sign of Silverstream. "Oh, you're here too?" "Heeey." Smolder waved, her eyes half-lidded. "Yona invited us over and I knew we had to come over! I missed out on the trip to PokeStar Studios last time. I was too busy getting dre-" She paused, not wanting to expose herself. "Finding the right costume. Not gonna miss out on it this time." "And the movie is pretty much almost done." Sandbar said. "It didn't seem like a bad idea to show up for the last moments. Yona said she wanted us to have a cameo here." "Yona did want friends to appear. So Yona invited all her friends! Except for Silverstream, though." The girl revealed that the Hippogriff was nowhere to be seen. "Silverstream is still stuck at her place." "Oh, right, because of the Dragon and Fairy Matter. But how come you showed up Gallus? Is your place safe now?" Ash glanced at Gallus. "No way!" Gallus scoffed. "I had to sneak out even with the terrain being messed up. And I didn't want to miss this either. If I'm getting a cameo, I'll make it count. I'll be on screen as long as I can!" "I'm not sure that's what a cameo is..." Ocellus silently said, not wanting to burst his bubble. "I should maybe give you all detention for sneaking out while each of your respective homes are trying to minimise any harm." Princess Twilight, also being the Principal of the Pokemon School, narrowed her eyes at the five of them. "But, I don't want to ruin your fun. Not in this moment." "Hah..." The students sighed with relief. "By the way, Ash. If you're going, then we're all going." Twilight faced Ash. "If my counterpart's having trouble, then I'll be there for her. Just like how you're gonna be there for Sunset Shimmer. And that's why you have to let us tag along, right?" "Yeah, yeah." Rainbow Dash flew over. "After what happened last time, there's no way we're letting you go at this by yourself. We're going together." "That's right. She's our friend too after all." Rarity agreed. "Thanks you all. Glad I could count on you. But uh...What about Rayquaza? He's still resting up at your castle, Twilight. You're not gonna leave him there are you?" "Well uhh...About Rayquaza." Twilight rubbed the back of her ne. "That's a good point. I don't think Spike can take care of him for too long while I'm gone. But, Starlight, Daisy and Paradise will be there to make sure he's kept out of harms way until he's brought back to full strength. I'll send a letter to Paradise telling her. It's a good thing we can do that." "Good call." Ash nodded. "Before we leave, we should probably go and speak to Pheromosa, Mew and Kartana one more time." Rarity added. Her Pheromosa, Pinkie Pie's Mew and Twilight's Kartana were still injured and at Unova's Pokemon Center. "Just so we know that they're alright and we'll be off to sea for a little bit." "Gotcha. Before we do that though..." Ash rubbed his hands. "Let's finish up this movie, everyone!" "Yeah!" The Pokemon, ponies, yak, dragon and humans cheered, being ready to finish this film. As the afternoon sun let out its majestic glow across the region, it was a sign of something coming to an end. The movie itself was a wild ride from the start and it was about to get even crazier. Lena watched as the people of Alola, including the students of the Pokemon School, would be working on the film. And even when it was reaching its final moments, she was amazed by the whole ordeal. "Amazing. I've never seen such technology. This is truly the future..." Lena said with awe. She then saw her descendant running up to her, carrying Yona on his back. "Hey, Grandma! Come on! Join in!" Ash said with a beaming grin. "Have a part in the movie!" "Oh! I get to have a part?!" Lena sat up with elated eyes, sharing the same enthusiasm as her descendant. "Wonderful!" Just like that, Lena joined in with the fun, doing her best to give her best performance. "Wow. They really are alike." Mallow giggled, seeing the two. "Hahahaha!" Ash and Lena would both be on the set, acting out their roles, Lena only got a cameo but she made the most out of it. Much like her descendant, the two of them would be at their happiest. And for Lena, it was even more special since she was a woman of the past, getting the chance to enjoy all the new things. And on top of that, Alola felt familiar to Lena. Though she was born in Kanto, the region had a homely feeling to it. She was treated to the warm environment and the sun, making her feel like she was back home at her village. That was how Ash felt when he spent his time in Alola. Just a wonderful feeling. In fact, being here in Alola was able to temper any issues and hardships they encountered. Lena hung out with Burnet and Olivia, spending time with them as they would even start dressing Lena. Lena wasn't all for dresses, but she didn't mind it. Olivia and Burnet giggled when seeing their friend wearing a beautiful dress. "Oh my! It looks lovely on you." Olivia commented. "You're a real looker now, Lena!" "It's a bit tight though...Are all dresses this tight?" Lena questioned. "Only when they fit you." Olivia chuckled. "You're looking great though. I guess your looks as wonderful through time since you're technically far older than all of us combined." Yes, it was a wonderful time. And at last, the final part of the film had been completed, bringing it to an end. With the film being finished, all that was to do was send it to the actual PokeStar Studios in Nimbasa City and soon, they would have the video processed and brought back to them. Once done, Ash stood at the beach, staring into the vast ocean. He could hear the waves crash against the shores and the sound of Wingull and Pelipper chirping above. A calm, serene day that was the perfect atmosphere. With a smile on his face, he knew that the Sea Temple was coming soon, ready to pick him up and the others who would travel by sea. He did this by placing his hand in the water, letting his Aura flow. This was the only way to call for the Sea Temple and it was perfect since he was the King of the Sea. In the distance, the Sea Temple could be seen approaching in a flash of light, responding to Ash's Aura. Using the Light Speed mechanism they invented, the Sea Temple would leave its current destination, where it was in the world and minutes later, arrive at Alola, right where Ash was. The Sea Temple, Samiya. It made quite the splash when arriving at Alola, causing the waters to ripple and even creating a small wave that would move further and further. The people were in awe when seeing this gargantuan structure emerge from the depths. There it was. Samiya. Seeing it also brought some peace around the area. And as the Sea Temple emerged for the people of Alola to see and marvel at, taking a peek and keeping their distance were Yona and her fellow students. With the filming done, they could just go home right now and call it a day. However, something else was on their mind. Only two of them to be exact. Smolder and Gallus mainly. They weren't quite finished yet since they only got brief roles in this movie, appearing as cameos. While they had fun, they were craving something else. And the moment the Sea Temple showed up, an idea was brewing. A rather troublesome idea. As the journey continues. Chapter 458 End.