The Sun.
The glorious Sun. With its rays beaming down on Earth, it brought the wonderful day for all. And with two Suns active thanks to the united worlds, an even brighter day was made for the world. However, at this moment, there was a slight pulsation occurring within both of them.
Something was happening back on Earth for this reaction to become a possibility. From the way they were pulsating, it made it sound like the two Suns were singing.
Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon House. Afternoon.
As a result of using the power of a Rift Stone way more than expected, Incineroar was going through the same experience those who use too much of that power go through. Such power should not be expended by those not born of the Rift and the consequences were showing.
"Incineroar!" His Cosmic Aura raged on like a firestorm, growing to such wild levels. Incineroar couldn't control this power anymore, the effects deciding what to do on their own. And some of those effects correlated with fire as the area was starting to heat up.
"So hot...!" Dawn groaned while holding onto Piplup. Even Piplup was feeling the heat despite being a Water-Type.
"Piplup...!"
"Knock it off, Incineroar!" Lightning Dust yelled while using her wings to cover herself. "You're gonna burn everything down!"
"I don't think he can hear you right now! You gotta return him, now!" Rainbow Dash yelled at her, her voice barely getting through the Cosmic Firestorm.
This was the one time she had to agree with Rainbow Dash as she immediately held out Incineroar's Poke Ball. "Incineroar! Return!" She shouted. However, to her shock, nothing happened. "What?! Return!" She tried again, only to end in failure once more. "Why isn't it working?!"
"The Rift Stone must be interfering with the signal!" Ash realized. "If that's the case, then there's no way to stop him!"
"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Zoey questioned.
"I don't know! But we've gotta do something!" Ash replied.
"Roar!" Incineroar roared, the Cosmic Firestorm growing stronger and the heat becoming unbearable. It was so hot that it was melting the ground beneath them. The grass was turning into ash, the trees were catching fire, and the sky was darkening.
Fluttershy was aghast seeing what was happening to her beloved sanctuary. All that hard work might come undone at this rate and be for nought. Her eyes widened, the pegasus unable to believe what she was seeing.
"My Pokemon House...!" Fluttershy whimpered, tears forming in her eyes. Rainbow Dash noticed this before facing Incineroar, grizzling her teeth.
"Then there's only one way to stop him! We'll just knock him out! Castform, use Hurricane!"
"Cast!" Castform would unleash yet another Hurricane, attempting to stop the Fire-Dark-Type's dangerous emanation. The mighty gust of wind moved forward as Incineroar looked directly at it with shaking pupils.
"In!" Incineroar retaliated by unleashing a powerful blast of fire from his mouth. The fire was surrounded by a cluster of stars as it easily burned through the Hurricane, flying towards Castform.
"C-Cast...!" Castform cried out, the Weather Pokemon being engulfed by the attack. An explosion occurred as Castform was sent flying back, crashing into the ground.
"Castform!" Rainbow Dash cried out, seeing her Pokemon was defeated by that devastating counterattack. His body started smoking as stars were flying out of it.
"Castform..." Castform grunted, the Weather Pokemon struggling to get up.
"Return, Castform." Rainbow Dash returned Castform to his Poke Ball. "You did great out there. Take a good rest."
After defeating Castform, Incineroar would suddenly stare directly at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus gasped, seeing that he was looking at her.
"Cine!" Incineroar roared, the Heel Pokemon charging right at her next, seeing her as a clear target even though she wasn't a Pokemon.
"Rainbow Dash!" Ash exclaimed, seeing that Incineroar was going after her.
"Pika!"
"W-Whoa!" Rainbow Dash flew into the air, avoiding Incineroar's attack. She was able to fly away from him, but that didn't stop him from chasing her. He was still burning bright, the Cosmic Firestorm raging on.
"Cineroar!" Incineroar roared, the Heel Pokemon leaping into the air.
"He's coming after me?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, seeing that Incineroar was trying to catch her. He missed once more with Rainbow Dash zipping to the side, but it was clear that Incineroar was still in the heat of battle.
"That's enough, Incineroar! Knock it off!" Rushing over to stop her partner was Lightning Dust, who tried holding onto him. She wrapped her hooves around Incineroar, hugging him while her wings wrapped around him.
"Ow! Ow! That's hot!" Lighting Dust groaned, feeling how warm he was. The Cosmic Firestorm continued as the mare was getting burned from this. But she held on, trying to get Incineroar under control.
"In...! In!" Incineroar growled, trying to get out of Lightning Dust's grasp. He struggled to do so, moving about aggressively. Lightning Dust couldn't handle the heat as she pulled back, falling on her back right afterwards.
"Lightning Dust!" Ash rushed over to her side, helping her up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine...But I can't hold him down. And my ears are ringing..." Lightning Dust shook her head, rubbing her ears. "Incineroar! You need to calm down! Come on! Listen to me!"
However, Incineroar was too far gone. The Heel Pokemon would soon lunge at Lightning Dust, the Cosmic Firestorm getting larger. At this rate, he might harm everyone here with this raging firestorm. Lightning Dust was gutted by this. This wasn't how things were supposed to go as her gaze directed towards her rookie trainers, seeing how terrified they were.
"That's as far as you go, pal." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, throwing her next and final Poke Ball out. Returning to the battlefield was Braviary.
"Braviary!" Braviary let out a mighty call before flapping his wings.
"If she doesn't have the strength to battle anymore, then I'll just finish it off for her!" Rainbow Dash said before looking at Lightning Dust and then back at Braviary.
"This isn't how it was supposed to go though..." Lightning Dust looked away. "My first time battling with these kids went so well...And now, everything has gotten out of hand."
"It's okay! We can still turn this around!" Ash assured.
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's not over yet. Since it's the power of the Rift that's making him do this, pass the stone over. I'll try and negate it." Ash held his hand out. His Aura could counter the power of the Rift with ease and now was a great time for it to be used.
"Alright..." Lightning Dust nodded before handing Ash the stone, giving it to him.
Ash took the stone into his hands, examining it for a moment. He gripped the stone, letting his Aura flow through it. And then, he let it shine bright, emanating a bright blue light from his body. Incineroar reacted to this, snarling at Ash in response. His body would pulsate, feeling the Aura interfere with the Cosmic Energies from within.
The two energies clashed against each other, fighting for supremacy. It was a fierce battle as Ash pushed his Aura further, willing it to combat the powers of the Rift. The two energies were like a wildfire and a typhoon. Both were powerful in their own way, but there could only be one victor. However, there was one other factor. The second Rift Stone within Incineroar. It was still active, causing Incineroar's rampage to stay in motion. it was also helping Incineroar resist the Aura.
"No good! The other stone's still inside of him!" Lightning Dust bellowed. Thanks to this second Rift Stone, negating the first one won't matter all that much, even if it was holding Incineroar back for a bit.
"I got this one! Braviary! Use Superpower!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Braviary!" Braviary clenched his talons, ready to strike. He flew into the air, approaching the Heel Pokemon. Incineroar would try and attack Braviary with an intense blast of fire, but Braviary would move to the side, avoiding it.
"Roar!" Incineroar roared as his fiery fist missed Braviary, the Fire-Dark-Type struggling to control himself. His eyes continued to flash aggressively, the cosmic energy raged on as Braviary came crashing down on him with a mighty punch. A shockwave occurred, sending Incineroar flying back. The Rift Stone was still intact, glowing bright.
Thanks to Ash's interference, he was disrupting Incineroar's focus, allowing Rainbow Dash and Braviary to go on the offensive. They were able to get hits on him thanks to Incineroar being unable to fight back. Even when Incineroar retaliated, his moves were too sloppy to land. But it didn't look like they were getting anywhere due to that Rift Stone still affecting him.
At that moment, his eyes would flash as he suddenly grabbed onto Braviary's wings, holding him in place. Rainbow Dash gasped seeing this as Incineroar brought up his burning claws. He then used Darkest Lariat, spinning with Braviary in tow. Braviary was spun around at high speeds, the cosmic fires gradually burning his body.
"Bravi...!" Braviary groaned as he was knocked into the ground. An explosion occurred as Braviary was sent skidding across the grassy field. He left a trail of burnt grass behind him, stopping just short of hitting the trees.
Incineroar was relentless with his attacks as he unleashed cosmic stardusts as projectiles while using his claws to slice them apart. These cosmic darts flew towards Braviary at lightning speed, the Valiant Pokemon barely managing to dodge the rapid strikes. He would take to the air, flying about, attempting to avoid the barrage of projectiles. However, they were able to keep up with him as they continued to follow Braviary.
The Valiant Pokemon zoomed across the area, trying to outmaneuver the projectiles. But no matter what he did, they continued to track him down. In fact, it was like they were homing in on him. And soon enough, they would land a direct hit, striking Braviary from multiple directions.
"Braviary!" Braviary cried out as he fell down, crashing into the ground. He rolled around before coming to a complete stop, falling over on his side.
"Braviary, are you alright?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, concerned for her Pokemon.
"Incineroar!" Incineroar rushed at Braviary once more, ready to deal another blow. Quickly, Braviary used his wings to block the next hit, preventing him from being struck down by the flames. As a result, Braviary was burned by the Cosmic Firestorm, but he stood his ground against it.
Braviary's talons dug into the ground, leaving claw marks as he was pushed back. He wasn't going to be knocked away this easily! "Brav...!" Braviary yelled at the top of his lungs, unleashing a powerful gust of wind from his wings, pushing Incineroar back. This allowed him to put some distance between himself and the raging fire.
Incineroar held onto his face, grunting in pain as it was beginning to become unbearable. At this rate, he would harm himself even more than what he's doing to everything and everyone else. Ash's Aura was managing to slow down the rapid Rift growth a bit thanks to his Aura, but as long as that second Rift Stone was still active, the outcome may be greatly unfavourable.
Seeing this, Rainbow Dash decided to truly unleash the full extent of what she and Braviary could do. To take down Incineroar in this powered-up yet violent state, she needed to win as soon as possible. "Here goes...We'll use Rainbow-Braviary!" The eyes of Rainbow Dash and Braviary flashed as the two of them immediately started being in synch with each other.
The duo yelled at the top of their lungs as a Rainbow engulfed both of the, surrounding them in a dazzling light show. Their bodies were radiating in a rainbow aura, mixing together. In fact, it was like their very souls were becoming one. As this happened, the cosmic energy of the Rift began to mix with the Aura, forming an incredibly bright blueish light that shined bright.
"Braviary!" Rainbow-Braviary had arrived. Thanks to the power of the Harmony Phenomenon, they had powered-up greatly to this state.
However, as soon as Rainbow-Braviary emerged, he would feel something in his heart, making him gasp and by extension, Rainbow Dash since their souls were connected. "V-Vi!"
"Ngh!" Rainbow Dash put her hoof on her chest, feeling her body pulsate out of nowhere. "W-What the?! What is this?!
"B-Bay!" Suddenly, the same would happen to Fluttershy's Bayleef as she would start grunting. All three of them were feeling this strange sensation as cosmic stardust started flying out of them. To the shock of Ash, Incineroar was beginning to pull their power from them.
"Oh no! Bayleef!" Fluttershy rushed over to her Pokemon, her tears persisting.
"What now? What's going on?!" Zoey questioned.
"The Harmony Phenomenon's only possible thanks to the Rift. So right now, anything related to the Rift is being affected!" Ash realized.
"Does that mean he can just steal the powers of everyone who has used them?!" Dawn exclaimed. This would mean Bayleef's ability to change Fate and Braviary's ability to enter this state would be greatly disrupted.
And right now, they were getting the answer to that. Incineroar's form started changing a bit. His body would tremble as he looked back at Lightning Dust, startling her. Lightning Dust, despite not having any Rift Energy in her, felt her body shake too thanks to Incineroar's state. She screamed in pain as Ash held onto her.
Right before everyone's eyes, Incineroar was gaining Lightning Bolt streaks on the side of his face and his elbows. He would then receive an electric charge around his body, allowing him to discharge electricity at will. Much like Rainbow-Braviary, he was taking on his own form that was a representation of him and Lightning Dust's bond.
A great burst of lightning struck him down, soon giving him his new form. However, since it was not done out of a positive reaction, the form was incomplete, and more erratic. The firestorm he was emitting was growing wilder by the moment as it soon changed colour to yellow, looking more dangerous than before.
This Lightning-Incineroar was very much flawed due to the current situation. The Rift Energy clearly tried forcing this transformation into a reality without understanding what truly makes it complete.
The sky itself was starting to go out of whack as thunder and lightning was striking throughout. Dark clouds loomed over the area as rain began pouring down. The entire scenery was suddenly becoming darker as a result of Incineroar's power. He was completely out of control, even more so than when he first activated the stone.
"Incineroar..."
"I gotta stop him...!" Rainbow Dash grit her teeth while still feeling her body shake. "Braviary! Aerial Ace!"
"Viary!" Rainbow-Braviary flew into the air, flying towards Lightning-Incineroar. He attempted to strike at Lightning-Incineroar with the intent to knock him out. But the Heel Pokemon saw this coming, letting out a fierce roar. It was enough to stop Rainbow-Braviary in his tracks for a moment.
This was enough time for Lightning-Incineroar to counterattack. He would punch Rainbow-Braviary, sending him crashing down onto the ground. An explosion occurred as Rainbow-Braviary was sent sliding across the dirt. Rainbow Dash also felt it too since they were connected.
"Gah!" Rainbow Dash fell onto her knees, gritting her teeth. But she would still continue battling. "Aerial Ace, one more time!"
"Bravi!" Rainbow-Braviary took flight once more, becoming a rainbow streak with the speed he was moving at. Incineroar attempted clawing at Rainbow-Braviary, only for the Valiant Pokemon to skillfully evade.
The two would engage in a series of hits and dodges, both trying their hardest to land a clean hit on the other. Despite this, the Harmony Phenomenon was beginning to fade away. Rainbow-Braviary's light was starting to become duller while his body became slower. And the same went for Rainbow Dash, who felt herself weakening.
Soon, Incineroar would get a lucky blow, striking Rainbow-Braviary right in the face. The King of the Skies was knocked back as he tumbled around. The Valiant Pokemon managed to recover from this as he turned to face Lightning-Incineroar once more. The two were glaring each other down, seeing the threat they were facing.
"Roar!" Lightning-Incineroar roared, letting out a powerful burst of electricity. It shot towards Rainbow-Braviary with intense power. The electricity even had cosmic particles around it for extra strength.
"Block it with Steel Wing!" Rainbow Dash called out.
"Brav..." Rainbow-Braviary held up his wings as they glowed white. He then crossed them together, creating a veil of light that formed into steel. He then guarded against the full brunt of the blast. He managed to withstand it, but the force behind it was enough to make him dig his talons into the ground.
Lightning-Incineroar wasn't done yet as he continued pushing the electricity forward. It was enough to slowly push Rainbow-Braviary back. The King of the Skies was struggling to keep the defence up. His feet were scraping the dirt beneath him as he was pushed farther back.
Thankfully, all that lightning was conducting with the steel around his wings, dispersing some of its power. However, his body was beginning to feel sore, his feathers beginning to wilt. Even though the Cosmic Electricity was going through his Steel Wing, it didn't mean it wouldn't affect him in some way. "Vi...!" Rainbow-Braviary grit his beak, not wanting to lose here.
Rainbow Dash started breathing in and out as she was losing control of this power. There was very limited time for her right now so there was no tie to end this battle but now.
"I don't have much time left...All that energy's stripping our strength away. So we're finishing this in one attack!" The eyes of the pegasus flared and so did Braviary's. Their bond grew stronger than before, ready to do this final attack. "Superpower!"
"Braviary!" Gathering all of his current strength, Braviary's wings and talons each lit up with an orange energy that soon gained a rainbow tint to them. The Valiant Pokemon would fly at high speeds, leaving behind a shockwave from this take-off alone. He was flying right towards Lightning-Incineroar, who was still releasing a large amount of electricity.
But what he wasn't aware of was that Braviary was able to use the lightning itself to increase his speed even further. Once close enough, he would use the momentum from the electricity to increase the power of his Superpower attack, throwing his wings and talons into Lightning-Incineroar's face.
An explosion occurred as an array of stars was set free from Incineroar's body. The Cosmic Firestorm around Lightning-Incineroar was extinguished as the Harmony Phenomenon faded away completely. Rainbow Dash and Braviary were sent flying back, their forms separating in the process.
The two were hurt badly, the battle taking a lot out of them. But they managed to land on their feet, coming to a complete stop as they were gasping for air. As for Lightning-Incineroar, he would faint as the energy would fade away from him completely. He fell down, crashing into the ground as the Rift Stone within him would cease all actions. It had been deactivated due to being worn out after overdoing it for so long.
"Incineroar..." Incineroar groaned silently, his body returning to normal. A small trail of smoke flew off his body as he collapsed in front of Rainbow Dash, exhausted from the battle.
"W-We...did it...!" Rainbow Dash breathed out, managing to find a bit of strength to smile.
"Bravi...!" Braviary also smiled, satisfied by this outcome. They were both drained from the battle, barely having the energy to stay standing. This meant Rainbow Dash had won the battle but with a huge technicality.
Lightning Dust went over to her downed partner, placing her hooves on him. "Incineroar..." She whimpered, feeling guilty. Immense guilt even. She didn't expect the power of the Rift Stone to lead to this. Lightning Dust was only using it for fun and for extra strength. Not this. She would then return him to his Poke Ball.
After returning him, Lightning Dust would suddenly fly away without saying anything else. "Hey hold on!" Rainbow Dash yelled, trying to follow her. However, she wouldn't be able to move another step as her legs gave way. Her body finally couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to the ground.
For once, it wasn't because of the overuse of Rainbow-Braviary. It was because of this sudden Rift Overload that originated from Incineroar. The Pokemon House was safe and sound along with everyone here but the event was truly something to behold.
The winner of this battle, if she even was the winner based on those final moments, was Rainbow Dash. But even Rainbow Dash knew that it was all off. Even she knew it wasn't supposed to be like this.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 507 End.