High above Ponyville, higher than most Pegasi would soar, a Dragon flew. A rather small, green and red Dragon by the name of Draco, but a Dragon none the less.
The Flygon was riding the thermals, which were actually quite good for this late hour. It was almost seven, the sun was setting over the horizon, and Draco wanted to catch some of the last warming rays before he turned in for the night.
Watching the town below, Draco spotted Applejack’s hatch-mate taking an empty cart back towards their farm. He also spotted the little non-Pokémon Dragon, Spike, closing up the library-tree.
Draco sighed. He could see the entirety of Ponyville from his vantage point. Though he couldn’t see the true colors, his natural lenses which protected his eyes from sand whenever he flew in the desert also left the entire world tinted red.
But that wasn’t what had him upset. He wished he could’ve gone with Gene, but his trainer turned Pokémon had told him that Princess Twilight wanted to not draw too much attention to their group. So Draco had stayed behind, promising Gene that he’d look after the town while they were away.
Draco glided to the ground below him, landing next to a large lake that had recently been refilled. “I suppose they’re turning in for the night right about now,” Draco guessed. Not guessing what his trainer was actually up to.
Draco leaned his head down and took a sip from the lake. One thing he could appreciate about Equus was that there was next to no pollution. Sure, Earth had gotten a lot better in recent years, especially after the cataclysmic events following Lord Groudon and Lord Kyogre’s awakening. But Equus just seemed so...pure.
As Draco began to consider heading back to Lady Rarity’s, he heard a small splash from the center of the lake. Draco cocked his head and looked up to see ripples emanating from the center of the pond.
The Flygon smiled. “Probably just a Tympole or something,” He told himself. Turning his back on the lake, he heard the sound again, but once he turned back, whatever it was had once again gone.
Draco rolled his eyes. “Odd little Pokémon, though I suppose it could be a local of some kind.”
The Flygon spread his wings and began to lift himself off the ground. Then he once again heard the sound of something rising out of the water, accompanied by a soft whimper. The Mystic Pokémon whirled around in the air in time to see the top of a blue head disappear beneath the surface.
Grunting, the Flygon flew out over the lake and looked down where the ripples had gone, seeing nothing, he shook his head and flew off.
A blue and white head poked through the waters surface as he left.
Later that night, Draco lied awake in the front room. Lady Rarity had brought down all manner of pillows and blankets to make him comfortable, but inspite of that, something kept the Flygon awake.
Sighing, he pushed himself out from under the blankets and made his way to the front door. “Perhaps a quick flight will soothe me to sleep.”
A few minutes later, Draco was once again in the skies above Ponyville. The night was actually rather warm, so he didn’t need to worry that much.
Looking up at the star, Draco attempted to find on familiar to him. Aside from the North Star, none stood out. It was then that he heard it. A soft, cooing, mournful sound the echoed throughout the night.
Draco’s antenne flicked, focusing in on the vibrations. “The lake,” He said.
Making his way to the same lake from before, the song grew louder, and Draco could’ve sworn it sounded... familiar.
As Draco passed the treeline and got a clear view of the lake, he understood why. All manner of Pokémon, and even animals had gathered at the lake front. Pokémon such as Lotad and Goldeen stuck their heads above the water to get a clear earshot of the songstress.
In the center of the lake, rising out of the water in an almost hypnotic manner, a Dragonair floated, partially submerged, more and more of her slender body slowly rising from the lake.
Draco smiled, he slowed his wing beats until he was just remaining airborne, not wanting to interrupt the song.
The Dragon Pokémon continued her song until her body rose fully from the water, and she sat curled atop the waters surface. Her tail glowing bright blue, illuminating the clearing.
Then she stopped.
Turning her head, the Dragoness locked eyes with Draco, the Flygon smiled and flew out to meet her.
“Draco?” She asked shakily. “Is it really you?”
“River,” Draco sighed. “I’m glad you’re alright.”
A grin spread across River’s. “Draco!” She cried happily, flinging herself at her friend and wrapping around him. “I missed you.”
River laid her head next Draco’s and nuzzled him. “Where’re Gene and the others? Did you find them? Are they ok?”
Draco laughed. “Counting you, we know where all but one of our little family is, and... I’ll explain everything soon, I promise. There’s a place nearby where a friend of Gene’s is letting us stay. I’ll tell you everything there, alright?”
River pouted, but agreed. And soon the two Dragons had taken off into the night. One of them hoping Lady Rarity wouldn’t mind another house guest.
“I don’t know... isn’t there a saying, ‘let sleeping Dragons lie’?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s Beartic’s.”
“I thought it was ‘don’t poke the sleeping Ursa’.”
Iris grumbled and cracked open an eyelid. She saw Rainbow Dash, Korrina, and Pinkie standing in front of her, all three of them smiling nervously. Pinkie waved.
The Haxorus rolled onto her back. Covering her face with a pillow to block the early morning sunlight. “What do you want?” She mumbled.
“Oh, Gene told us if we didn’t wake you up, you’d sleep until noon,” Pinkie answered with a smile.
Iris groaned. They were right though, the Unovan girl was NOT a morning person. Pulling herself from the nest she had made on the bed. “Coffee?” She asked.
“Next room. Everyone’s waiting,” Korrina replied.
Had Iris been a little more awake, she would have felt bad about that. Being as it were, she just wanted coffee.
Shifting to a quadrupedal gait, so as to avoid hitting her head on the doorframe, Iris made her way into the adjoining room. “Morning Iris,” Twilight greeted. “How you feeling?” She still felt a little guilty for what had happened yesterday.
Iris mumbled something in reply, then went to pour herself a cup of coffee. Two things stopped her. “Professor, is this going to do anything weird to me now that I’m a Pokémon?”
Juniper shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Iris looked down at the mug she was holding, then turned to the rest of the group. “Does anyone else want any?”
“Most of us had some already,” Twilight answered.
Iris nodded. “Alright then.” She grabbed the coffee pot, then made her way to the center of the room and curled up on the floor.
Twilight stared at her for a second, then shook her head. “Ok, let’s get right to the point. That last plan failed. Miserably.”
“That’s an understatement,” Mage snorted.
Twilight glared at the Ghost-type, but continued. “However, we can’t let this one failure crush our spirits,”
“Wouldn’t it be two, since we ran into this guy once before, and he got away?” Korrina commented.
Twilight ignored her comment and continued. “And since we’re not giving up, that means that we need a new plan.”
This elicited several groans from around the room, but true to form, Twilight didn’t stop. “So, what did we learn yesterday that could help us now?”
“We learned he’s not alone,” Iris said, rubbing a sore spot on her chest. “And that his teammates are no pushovers.”
“We know that he’s either a former human, or the leader of a group of wild Pokémon,” Belle stated. “The Mawile and Lucario obviously saw him as the leader, and they retreated once he suggested it.”
“And we now know that even if we get him alone, the other two are likely somewhere nearby,” Gene added. “And they’re both protective of him, which kinda reinforces the idea that he’s a former trainer.”
Twilight nodded. “Good. Now, how can we use this to our advantage?”
For a moment, no one spoke. “Other than being prepared for them next time?” Mage snarked, before continuing. “This all seems to work against us.”
“Don’t think like that Mage,” Twilight said. “There are plenty of ways we can use this. We could set a trap and... no we tried that. But this time we would know the other two are coming so... but it’s not like he’d be stupid enough to fall for something like this a second time... and those two are powerful...”
Twilight zoned out for a minute, then snapped back to reality. “Sorry about that, anyone have any new ideas?”
“Oh, oh! We should do a stake out!” Plusle suggested. “Like when you were trying to dig up dirt on that Pokémon Smuggler in Sinnoh,” She said to her partner.
Solana smiled. “Just one problem with that. We don’t know where to look for him.”
Plusle’s ears drooped. “Oh yeah...”
“We could set an actual trap,” Mage suggested. “Like a pit trap or something.”
“I think we’d be more likely to catch an innocent pony with that,” Twilight said. “Plus, we don’t have any bait.”
“Oh! I know,” Pinkie pulled a flyer out of her mane. “Maybe they’re-”
“We’re not going to Vinyl’s concert Pinkie,” Twilight said.
“But Twilight! I heard from some ponies who already saw it that she really improved her light show! It’s all like. Pew, pew, pew, pew! Wooahaooa.”
Twilight looked at her friend with concern. “Pinkie, have you been drinking coffee again? I thought you promised you’d only brew it.”
Pinkie shook her head. “I’m serious! Vinyl must’ve learned some new illusionary spells or something. Everypony near the concert hall was talking about it!”
“That’s where you went yesterday?” Rainbow asked. “No wonder we couldn’t find you.”
“Come on Pinkie,” Twilight said. “You’ve seen Vinyl’s shows before, and she probably doesn’t have that much time to practice new spells.”
“Nuh uh!” Pinkie defended. “The ponies said she was making waves of smoke that looked like little heads.”
“Heads?” Twilight asked.
Pinkie smiled and nodded. “Yeah, they said the mist was dark blue and these tiny purple heads were floating around in it.”
“That sounds like a Gastly,” Gene commented. “First form of Gengar, they’re basically floating heads, a little too round to be human heads though, or Pony.”
“And some other guys said that she had lightning flickering around the stage at one point!” Pinkie was jumping up and down with excitement. “And a mini tornado filled with mini-mini music notes,”
“Pinkie,” Twilight tried to get her attention.
“And that near the end, there were these three bird things that flew around the stage, one was made of fire, one was made of lightning, and one was made of ice.” Pinkie stopped and thought for a moment. “Actually, the way they described it, the ice one probably looked like Articuno.”
“Arctic-who now?” Dash asked.
“No silly, Articuno. She was one of the Legendary Pokémon at my ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ extravaganza.”
At this point, Juniper realized something. “Pinkie, did you say three birds? One of fire, ice, and lightning?”
“Uh huh, and it sounded really cool!” Pinkie answered.
“Sounds like the Legendary Birds to me,” Solana added.
“What’s... who are they?” Twilight asked.
“Articuno and her siblings, Moltres and Zapdos,” Lunick answered. “They represent the forces of nature... or at least some of the forces of nature. They travel a lot, but mostly they’re associated as the Legendaries of the Kanto Region and the Orange Islands.”
Twilight tapped her chin. “So... Vinyl is putting up illusions of Pokémon?”
“Looks like it,” Gene answered. “Why?”
“Well,” Twilight began, trotting to the center of the room. “For starters, how does she even know about them? The Gastlys I kinda get... They’re rather common Pokémon, right?”
“No Ghost-types are exactly common,” Mage corrected. “But more people know about them compared to some other species.”
Twilight nodded. “But that doesn’t explain how she would know about Legendary Pokémon, let alone how she knows what they look like well enough to produce a somewhat realistic look alike.”
“Maybe there’s a Pokémon helping her,” Juniper suggested. “A Psychic-type might be able to share images via psychic connection.”
“Or maybe she has a Pokémon that makes illusions,” Twilight said. The moment she said this, it felt like a little light bulb was switched on in their heads. “You don’t think…”
“Does that mean?” Pinkie began.
“I think so Pinkie, this means that-”
“We get to go to Vinyl’s concert!”
Twilight resisted the urge to facehoof. “N-... well, yes. But I meant that maybe Vinyl knows something about the Zoroark, or maybe she’s with the Zoroark.”
“If that’s true, then we need to get to the concert hall,” Rainbow said.
“She’s right,” Twilight replied. Picking up the flyer with her magic, she read over the showtime schedule. “The next shows not until tonight.”
“Does that mean we have time for breakfast?” Pinkie asked.
Twilight chuckled. “Sure Pinkie, come on.” Twilight and the others made their way out of the room. But Iris stopped Twilight before the Alicorn could leave.
“We need to talk,” Iris told Twilight.
“Everything alright Iris?” She asked.
“Yeah, it’s just... I don’t think I’m going with you guys this time,” She said. “Pretty sure they’d see me the moment I set foot within a hundred feet of that place.”
“Oh... I guess that does make sense,” Twilight admitted.
Iris nodded. “Plus, I just went on a rampage and destroyed a city block,”
“It was mostly them, not you,” Twilight countered.
“Either way, I think I’ll just stay here, maybe go for a walk later on. One that keeps me far away from town hall.”
Twilight laughed nervously. “Have I said I’m sorry for what happened yet?”
“About a dozen times,” Iris answered. “And I forgive you. But seriously, taking me with this time would just ruin what little chances you guys have of catching these guys.”
Twilight wanted to argue, but stopped herself. She felt guilty leaving Iris alone like this, but she had to admit that Iris was right.
“Hey Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called. “You coming?”
“We’d better go,” Iris said. Twilight nodded and trotted towards the door. “And Twilight?” Twilight turned back to see the shiny Haxorus smiling. “Catch these guys for me, would ya?”
Twilight smiled. “You got it.”
Rarity was having a lovely day. Sure she had been surprised to wake up to yet another Pokémon in her home, but River was such a sweetheart. And the Dragonair had inspired a few designs for the Pokémon line she was designing.
Now Rarity was enjoying a quiet lunch date with Keldeo, the Colt Pokémon telling her about his training with Cobalion and the other Swords of Justice, while Rarity told him about her and her friends various misadventures.
“So how often do you meet with the other Legendaries?” Rarity asked. “I assume having all of you in one place is rather... intimidating.”
Keldeo chuckled. “Actually, this is the first time that ALL of us have been assembled,” He took a sip if his water, thankful for the straw, and explained. “Landorus use to tell me that when the older legends, the ones who’d been around before Arceus was imprisoned, use to meet in the Hall of Legends, Arceus was the only reason they all showed up.”
“Really?” Rarity asked. “I thought you were all family.”
“Yeah,” Keldeo said with a sigh. “But some of them are like estranged cousins or annoying uncles to each other, plus some of them are literally each other polar opposites.”
“Family reunions can get hectic,” Rarity agreed. “Mine usually gets together around Hearth’s Warming but as troublesome as it can be to set up it’s always worth it to see everyone together.”
Keldeo smiled. “True, but some of the other Legendaries, Yveltal for example, just aren’t very social, and Groudon and Kyogre haven’t ever gone even ONE meeting without challenging each other to a battle. Doesn’t help they insist on keeping score...and they’re roughly tied, though Kyogre has the SLIGHT advantage right now.”
Rarity chuckled. “That does sound rather hectic. How have the other Legendaries been adjusting anyway?”
Keldeo shrugged. “Some of them, in fact most of them, are quite taken with this new world. Others... well, Rayquaza is just tired of being cooped up, Yveltal and Kyurem haven’t left their rooms, and I can’t figure out how the Regi’s feel about... anything. Come to think of it, I wonder if they even CAN feel, considering they are well...golems.”
“Golems?” Rarity asked in curiosity.
“No one’s been around them much, since they’ve kinda been sealed away since Arceus was imprisoned, but they haven’t actually SAID anything this entire time so... maybe I’ll ask Regigigas about them.” Keldeo figured he should at least make an effort to learn about his extended family.
The two returned to their meals, occasionally asking a question or two. “So how’s the Pokémon fashion thing going?” Rarity had told him about her little project at Pinkie’s party.
Rarity’s eyes lit up. “Oh it’s wonderful, I’m starting off with outfits inspired by Pokémon, so many unique designs. I’m certain they'll be a hit... at least once things calm down a bit.” Rarity developed a worried expression. “Tell me, do you know what Arceus is planning?”
Keldeo shook his head. “He hasn’t said anything yet, though he’s met with Celestia a few times. And yesterday he was asking for help from some of the... darker, Legendaries. I think he even went to Yveltal,” He visibly shuddered at that, wondering what could have been so bad that Arceus would go to the member of the Mortality Duo who represented Death itself.
Rarity noticed his reaction. “Something wrong? You seem worried.”
Keldeo forced a smile. “Nah, just wondering what Arceus needed help with.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Well then, who is this... Yveltal, you’ve mentioned him quite a bit.”
Keldeo laughed nervously. “He’s the other half of the Mortality Duo. You met Xerneas at the party didn’t you?”
Rarity’s eyes lit up once more. “Indeed I did, are those actual gems in her antlers, or are they just for show?”
“They’re part of her antlers, and I don’t think they come off.” He noted Rarity’s slight disappointment. “Like I said, Yveltal is the other half of the Mortality Duo, and whereas Xerneas represents life...”
The shock in Rarity’s eyes was enough to tell she had made the connection. The fact that some of the color drained from her face just cemented it. “Oh my... you're saying that Yveltal is...”
“The physical representation of death?” Keldeo asked. “Pretty much.”
Rarity stared at Keldeo in disbelief. “So you’re saying there’s a being who, in essence, is the embodiment of death, and he’s no more than a days walk away?”
“Well, when you put it that way...” Rarity looked nervous, and possibly scared. “Look, Yveltal isn’t inherently a bad guy. He’s definitely not the nicest Pokémon you’ll meet, but it’s not like he’s going to fly here and kill anyone just for the heck of it. That’s not what the Legendaries were created for. Heck, I was always told that our role is to help maintain the balance. That’s why each group of legendaries usually have members who are opposites of one another. To balance each other out, and in the Mortality Duos’ case, its life and death.”
Rarity visibly relaxed. “You’re right darling. Can’t judge a book by it’s cover.” She was still unsure, but if Discord was getting a second chance then Yveltal at least deserved a chance before they judged him.
The pair chatted for a while longer, then Rarity excused herself, saying she had to finish up an outfit for a client up in Canterlot. The two said their goodbyes and promised to get together again soon. “Until next time Keldeo.”
“See you then Rarity,” Keldeo said with a bow. The Colt Pokémon turned and made his way back towards the Everfree and the temple deep within. “Looking forward to it.”
Twilight looked at the concert hall, watching the various ponies heading in. “Alright, we need to go over our plan.” She looked to her assembled friends. “I’ll take a group and try to get in through the front. I need a volunteer to stand guard and make sure he doesn’t get out that way.”
Mage smirked. “That sounds great, see you inside.” The Mismagius disappeared, chuckling as she flew towards the building.
Yeah, I knew she’d do that,” Gene rubbed his eyes. “So, who’s going to check out the back exit?”
“I’ll go,” Korrina volunteered. “Not sure how much good I’d do inside.”
“I’ll go as well,” Lucario added immediately.
“We’ll go with them,” Solana and Lunick stepped forward. “We have experince with this kind of thing.”
“You guys have missions like this a lot?” Gene asked.
Solana and Lunick looked at each other, thinking about the events that had led to their Top Ranger status, and the rock band those missions involved. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”
“Dash,” Twilight said. “Could you go with them? Just in case they need a pony for something?”
“Sure thing Twilight, you guys just be careful in there.” Rainbow said with a smirk. “And Pinkie? Try to stay focused.”
After going over the plan once more, the groups separated. Korrina leading her group behind the building. “Now, where’s the exit?” Korrina asked, looking around.
“Be on the lookout for guards,” Lunick warned. “These places always have guards.”
Lucario rolled his eyes. “We’re in a back alley, wouldn’t the bouncers be out front?”
“Not always,” A voice replied. The group turned and saw another Lucario and a Mawile standing in front of the back exit.
“It’s them,” Solana whispered. “They’re the ones who attacked us near town hall.”
“We attacked you?” The Mawile asked. “Your Dragon was the one who attacked our friend first, and with a Guillotine too.”
“Enough talk,” The Lucario said, her tone cold. “Either leave now, or we will make you leave.”
Korrina was about to say something, but Lucario stopped her. “We are not leaving,” He answered.
The other Lucario sighed. “So be it,” A glowing blue club of aura appeared in her paws. “Bone Rush!”
Lucario jumped forward and intercepted her attack with a Bone Rush of his own. The two struggled against each others strength for a moment before they broke away. However, upon landing, Lucario immediately dismissed his Bone Rush, before dashing forward, his right paw glowing brightly. “Power-Up Punch!” he called out, before punching the other Lucario right in her chest, sending her skidding back while knocking the wind out of her, though she quickly shook it off.
“Not bad,” Lucario admitted as a red aura glowed around him briefly, the second effect of Power-Up Punch raising his physical strength temporarily. “Though I wouldn’t have started out with such a head on attack. As you just learned, that leaves you open to a counter attack.”
The other Lucario glared at him as she rubbed the spot he had punched her, before smirking. “You’re not bad yourself. But if that’s all you’ve got, you don’t stand a chance against me.”
“We’ll see about that,” Lucario smirked. “Swords Dance,” he calmly said, as ethereal swords suddenly surrounded him, raising his power again. “Bone Rush!”
Lucario shot forward, another Bone Rush in his paws. Acting quickly, the other Lucario countered with her own Bone Rush. However, instead of a repeat of their previous clash, Lucario’s Bone Rush struck her Bone Rush, and promptly broke it.
The female Lucario gritted her teeth, before quickly going into a defensive stance, just as she was struck by the attack. “Metal Sound!” she declared as she was struck multiple times. Her attack managed to break Lucario’s concentration enough to interrupt his Bone Rush and force him to jump back to get away from the noise, but not before he managed to strike her three times. Digging her feet into the ground, she managed to avoid getting knocked away, and when Lucario jumped away, she quickly brought her paws together, forming a ball of energy, aiming it at her still disoriented opponent.
Korrina’s eyes widened when she saw what the other Lucario was about to do. “Lucario, look out! Its a Focus Blast!”
The other Lucario glared at her in annoyance. This was a battle between the two of them. She had no right in interfering. Either way, she fired the Focus Blast, just as her opponent regained his senses thanks to the warning. However, by that time it was too late to dodge, so instead he planted his feet and braced himself while using his arms to protect himself. The attack impacted hard, and due to his weakened Special Defense, it hurt more than it normally would have. Despite that, he managed to endure it, though he fell to a knee after the attack ended. Looking up, he noticed that his opponent had also fallen to her knee, the damage from his earlier attacks quickly catching up to her.
Seeing the state they were in, their friends were about to jump in to help, but both of them raised a paw, signalling their friends to not interfere. One glance shared between them was enough to tell what each other was thinking. This was a battle between the two of them, with both of their prides on the line.
Getting back on his feet, Lucario shot forward. “Low Sweep!” he declared, and attempted to knock her feet out from under her.
However, she saw the attack coming, and pushing her tired muscles, jumped into the air. “Rock Smash!” The female Lucario came down hard, slamming her fists into Lucario’s back, causing him to slam into the ground.
“Lucario!” Korrina called out in worry. The quick glance he had given them earlier was enough to get the point across, but it didn’t stop her from worrying, or wanting to help him, unfamiliar Pokémon body be damned.
“Korrina, stay back!” Lucario shouted, pulling himself back onto his feet. He didn’t think that Korrina would actually jump in, since she knew him enough to know that he wanted to fight this battle one-on-one. However, he wasn’t taking any chances, and if Korrina tried to intervene she might end up getting caught in the middle of the battle, and with her still being unfamiliar with her new body, AND weak to the attacks they were throwing around...he didn’t want to think about what might happen.
The female Lucario forced a confident smirk on her face, despite the fact that she had taken quite a bit of damage too. However, when she heard what her opponent had called the other female Lucario, her eyes widened in shock. “Korrina? As in, the Gym Leader of Shalour City Gym?”
“That’s right,” Korrina answered. “And you are?”
The Lucario didn’t answered. Instead she just got into a stance. “I won’t let you get him.”
Korrina took a step back, confusion filling her expression. “Get who? I don’t know what you mean.” The Lucario didn’t answer, instead she advanced on the Gym Leader.
“Whoa there!” Solana stepped between the two. “Everyone just calm down.”
The Mawile, who’d been standing on the side, apprehensively watching as her stubborn friend was taking and dishing out punishment, looked at the Medicham and noticed Solana’s headband. “Rangers...” She whispered, before a cold feeling settled in her gut at the implications.
Overhearing what she said, Lunick turned towards the Steel-type. “Oh...”
“They’re Rangers!” The Mawile warned, her eyes wide with panic. Gym Leaders aside, she KNEW what Rangers felt about a certain subject, and if these two found out about her friends...
The Lucario’s eyes widened as she realized the implications as well. However, she quickly got over her shock as her expression steeled. The stakes just got higher, and she’d be damned before she lost a battle this important. With that thought, her aura began to flare brightly, before a blue orb started to form in her paws.
Seeing this, Lucario jumped into action.
“Aura...”
“Sphere!”
The Lucarios each launched their signature move at each other, the attacks met in the middle, the two attacks fighting for dominance, before a large explosion happened, covering the battle field in a thick cloud of smoke and dust. However, this did nothing to deter the two combatants, as they reached out with their Aura Sense. Locating their opponent, they charged at each other, matching each other blow for blow…
Meanwhile, Twilight, Pinkie, Gene, Belle, and Juniper carefully made their way through the crowd of ponies. By a stroke of luck, they had managed to purchase the last five tickets for the show. “Wowie! It sure was lucky that we got the last tickets!” Pinkie grinned, bouncing along.
“Do you think she even remembers we’re supposed to be looking for the Zoroark?” Gene muttered with a deadpan expression.
“I really don’t know,” Twilight sighed, once again resisting the urge to facehoof.
Of the ponies, and Pokémon present, only one had ever been to concert before, so none of them had known what to expect once they got inside. What they hadn’t expected was something that seemed more akin to how a rave was usually described.
“It’s so loud in here,” Twilight noted. “And the show hasn’t even started.”
“Don’t worry,” Belle said. “I’ll set up a psychic connection once we figure out how we’re going to do this.”
Twilight nodded and looked around the sea of ponies. Vinyl had yet to emerge from backstage so the crowd wasn’t as packed as it was likely to get once she started to perform. “Alright, we’re going to have to split up. Pinkie I... Pinkie!”
The Earth Pony had struck up a conversation with another concert goer, probably about how awesome-tacular the show was going to be.
“Sorry Twilight, I was just talking about how awesome-tacular the show’s going to be! I’m so excited!” Pinkie was bouncing like so fast it looked like she wasn’t touching the ground.
“Pinkie, remember why we’re here,” Twilight said. “The Zoroark?”
Pinkie looked at her in confusion for a moment, then laughed. “Of course I remember silly, I was asking around to see if anypony had seen a giant shadow fox.”
Twilight actually did facehoof this time. “Pinkie! We’re trying to be discreet, you can’t go telling everypony why we’re here.”
Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Oooohhh, so we’re being all secret like on this mission, got’cha.” Pinkie sunk down and tiptoed out of view.
“Should we go after her?” Gene asked.
Twilight thought for a moment, on one hoof, it would be better if they all knew what the others were doing, on the other, it was Pinkie... “You have that psychic thing set up?” Twilight asked.
Belle nodded. She had set up the link once Pinkie snuck away.
“Then don’t bother. If she’s playing Pinkie Spy then she might actually find something.”
Gene and Belle had to hold back their laughter over Pinkie’s newly given title. “So what’s the plan?” Gene asked.
Twilight sighed. “For now just spread out, see if you can spot anything that seems... off.”
Just as Twilight finished off her instructions, the lights dimmed and a cheer went up from the assembled ponies. “Here we go,” Belle said.
The three split up. “If you find Mage, tell her to check backstage,” Twilight said.
After a few minutes, Vinyl came out and gave an introduction, smiled and said she was happy to see a few Pokémon in the audience, then said she was going to start off with something a little different tonight.
(Play Me!) As the music started, so too did the illusions.
“Vinyl’s right,” Pinkie said. “This isn’t the kind of show she’d normally start out with- Ooh, something floaty!”
Twilight sighed, and was going to try to get Pinkie back on track, when she realized just what she was talking about. “Whoa.” Was all she could say
Several medium sized balls of water were floating around the room, and in them were what Twilight assumed to be Water-type Pokémon. “Gorebyss, Huntail, Seel, Goldeen,” Gene listed off a few of the ones he spotted.
“This is seriously complex if it’s magic,” Twilight said, watching as a school of pink fish-like Pokémon shaped like hearts did an underwater dance in one of the orbs, though she jumped back when it was interrupted as a Manta Ray like creature swam through the school. “I’m not sure if Vinyl Scratch is even capable of supporting an illusion this complex.”
Twilight hadn’t talked to Vinyl that often, but she had gotten into a conversation with the mare at her brothers wedding. Turns out Vinyl had almost gone to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns but chose to attend a performing arts academy instead.
“Well, even if she is, she has to be getting help from somewhere,” Gene said. “See the big pink fish?” Twilight searched a little and spotted the Pokémon Gene mentioned. “That’s an Alomomola. They don’t like being near cities, so unless Arceus dropped one in a lake, then someone else showed her what these Pokémon look like.”
The group continued their search, as they did, Twilight realized something, the Pokémon weren’t confined to one orb, and while some did jump from one to the other, they more often swam between them, like windows into a very large aquarium. “How do Zoroark illusions work?” Twilight asked.
“No one really knows,” Juniper replied. “There aren’t that many willing test subjects and the results from the few studies that have been done have been inconclusive.”
As the song neared its climax, Gene started to notice something, actually two somethings in the bubbles. One was a blurry shadow just out of view, the other was a blue streak that moved from one bubble to another too quickly to be made out.
Just as the song hit a low note, the blue blur shot off into the distance, and towards the shadow. After a moment, Gene realized the shadow was getting large, more accurately, it was getting closer.
“Guys, watch the orbs, something’s happening.” Soon, everyone’s attention was on the approaching figure. This soon included everyone in room as the Water Pokémon scattered in its wake.
The figure approached the bubbles at an alarming rate. “What is it?” Twilight asked.
“I think it’s-” Juniper answer was cut off as whatever it was swam right up to the spheres, causing them all to burst in a shower of water.
As the resulting mist cleared, everyone stared in shock and awe at what the figure revealed itself to be. Or themselves, as it actually was.
“Kyogre,” Belle said. “And Manaphy.”
The two Legendary Pokémon seemed to examine the ponies for a moment before returning to the underwater ballet, the various Pokémon now swimming and dancing around them. The multiple orbs now one enormous one in the center of the room.
As the song reached its end, some of the other Water Pokémon had returned, before they began swimming around the two Legendaries forming a living helix. As the Pokémon slowly stopped moving, Manaphy’s antenna glowed red, the light soon covering the entire bubble, causing the orb to burst and once again shower the ponies below with illusionary water.
(end music)
For a moment, the room was silent, then the applause started. “That was....” Twilight failed to find the right words.
Fortunately, Pinkie was there to help. “That was so super-duper amazing-tacular! All the Pokémon were dancing! I didn’t even know you could dance underwater!” Pinkie continued to rant about the awesomeness of the performance.
“I’m guessing from your reactions that those were Legendaries?” Twilight asked.
“Kyogre and Manaphy,” Juniper repeated. “The two Legendaries supposedly tasked with upholding the balance of the worlds oceans.”
Twilight thought for a second, weighing what she had just seen with what she knew already. “Alright, it’s settled,” She decided. “Vinyl had help with those illusion. I wouldn’t be able to do something like that unless I studied for weeks, and I’m one of the most magically gifted Unicorns on the planet.”
“Alright, so we know someone’s helping her, and telling her about Pokémon that she has no real way of knowing about on her own,” Juniper said. “Unfortunately, I doubt they’ll be out here. So we need to check backstage.”
“I have an idea,” Belle said. “I can use my powers to check backstage, while I can’t very well probe a Dark-types mind, at least not without express permission, I should be able to sense if one’s back there.”
“Go for it. Gene? See if you can find Mage.”
As the next song started, Belle expanded her mind towards the stage. Ignoring the ponies in the crowd and the DJ, she began to search backstage.
She sensed a lot of stage ponies, a few Zubat’s in the rafters, and a Klink that seemed to be accompanying one of the ponies who worked on the speaker system.
Belle almost gave up on the endeavour, until she sensed a blank spot in the rafters just above the stage. “I’ve got something,” She said. “Have you found Mage yet?”
“Not yet... do you think you could find her?”
Belle turned her attention from the rafters to the crowd and soon enough, found a familiar mind floating above the heads of the ponies... bopping her head in time with the music. “Mage!” Belle shouted, startling the Ghost-type.
“Yahh! Oh, hi Belle, what’s up?”
“What have you been... actually, that doesn’t matter, I need you to check something,” Belle pointed Mage to the spot she had found the Zoroark in.
“Well, I’m here and I’m not finding anything.” Mage said.
Belle groaned. “He must’ve moved.”
The rest of the show was spent in a futile attempt to locate the Zoroark, but he was either moving around to avoid being found, or he had managed to hide the space left by his mind to Belle’s senses... or he left.
At the end of the show, everyone regrouped while the rest of the ponies filed out of the building. “Well, that didn’t work either,” Twilight sighed.
Pinkie wasn’t letting this ruin her mood. “Don’t give up just yet, if we hurry maybe we can catch Vinyl when she leaves.”
The six rushed outside and pushed to the front of the crowd around the door where Vinyl was supposed to exit. It was there they waited, hoping to talk to her about the Zoroark.... and they waited... and waited... and waited. “Hang on a minute.” Mage floated past the rope holding back the crowd, through a very startled bouncer, and through the door.
A few minutes later, a perturbed looking Mage floated back out. “Yeah, she’s not in there. Either she went out another way, or whatever did that illusion thing got her past us.”
Twilight eye twitched, the stressed out Alicorn turned around and marched her way out of the crowd. Once she was clear, she threw her hooves in the air and shouted into the night sky. “Why are they always one step ahead of me?!!!”
Juniper patted Twilight on the shoulder. “Don’t worry Twilight, we’ll figure this out.”
Twilight took a deep breath and sat up. “You’re right... hey, we haven’t checked in on Korrina and the others yet. I wonder how they’re doing?”
Earlier, during the show...
“Raaaaggghhh!!!” The two Lucarios roared, before they promptly slammed their respective paws into the side of each others muzzle. The force of the blows, added by their own natural weakness to Fighting-type moves, sent both of them tumbling back, before staggering to their feet. The cloud that their clashing Aura Spheres had caused had dissipated by now, revealing both Lucarios battered and bruised from their unseen battle. Clearly both of them were dangerously close to the point of exhaustion, evident by the heavy breathing and unsteady stances.
I...I have to end this soon. I can’t let them catch him… the female Lucario thought, her vision starting to get blurry as pain and exhaustion started to catch up to her. Despite that, she pushed through, the belief that the one she cared for was in danger giving her strength to keep fighting. With that in mind, she decided to put everything she had into the next few attacks, as she had a feeling that despite how exhausted her opponent was, he wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Calm Mind, she thought.
On his side, Lucario was also on the brink of passing out. This Lucario was good. Heck, if he didn’t know better, he would have guessed he was fighting another Gym Leader Pokémon, with how tough this Lucario was. However, the only other Gym Leader who was known to own a Lucario was Maylene, the Gym Leader of Veilstone City in Sinnoh, and he was pretty sure this Lucario wasn’t that one, as not only was this Lucario female, but the Mawile with her shot down the idea that she was from the Veilstone Gym, since Mawile weren’t Fighting-types, and these two were CLEARLY a team. Any further musing was stopped when he noticed her forming another Aura Sphere, acting quickly, he moved to counter with another one of his own.
“Aura…” Both of them glared at each other, their expressions full of determination.
“SPHERE!!” They both roared as they pumped in as much of their energy as they could afford at the moment into their attacks. Once again, the two attacks clashed, both fighting for dominance. However, the female Lucario’s Aura Sphere began overpowering Lucario’s Aura Sphere, before breaking through.
Lucario’s eyes widened just before the attack hit him, throwing him backwards and slamming him against a wall, his vision swimming as he fell to the ground.
The Aura Pokémon groaned as he pushed himself up. That last attack had really hurt, and considering his already exhausted state, it was a miracle he hadn’t already collapsed. He didn’t have the strength to either make or take another hit like that, but he wasn’t about to go down that easily. “Time to try a different plan of attack... Metal Claw!”
Lucario jumped forward, taking advantage of the fact that his opponent was also quite exhausted from launching her last attack, and raked his claws across her chest while her guard was down.
“Gahh!” she cried out, as despite her resistance to the Steel-type attack, she was weakened enough that it hurt as much as a regular attack would. Despite that, she managed to stand her ground and even force another confident smirk.
“Nice try,” She said, though the words didn’t come out easily. “But...you’re not getting through...me! Dragon Pulse!” she said, her body straining as she launched the attack. She had to end this soon. She couldn’t take much more.
Lucario saw the attack coming, but he couldn’t dodge it. He was too tired for that. “Iron Defense!” he called out, trying to protect himself as much as possible.
Lucario endured the attack, though he was mentally screaming in pain by now as he forced his body to endure the attack. When the attack ended, both Lucarios fell to their knee again.
The Mawile was REALLY looking worried now, and had to almost physically restrain herself from jumping in to help one of her best friends. She knew that all she could really do right now was have faith...and pray to Arceus for her friend’s immediate health.
Korrina on the other hand, was nearly trembling at this point. As a Gym Leader, she and Lucario had been in countless battles, both ones they won and ones they lost. But none of them were like this. Having been with Lucario for years, she could tell that he was beyond exhausted at this point, yet he was still pushing himself. “Lucario! That’s enough! You don’t have to go through with this! It isn’t worth going this far!” She pleaded. She hated it when Pokémon got really hurt whenever a battle was taken too far, and she could clearly see now that this battle had gone beyond that point. Unfortunately, her pleas fell on deaf ears.
The two Lucarios glared at each other, knowing they were at their limit, yet not willing to back down. Going into a stance one more time, both of them prepared to end this battle. “Close Combat!”
The Lucarios shot forward at each other so fast that for a moment their forms blurred as they closed the distance between each other in a matter of seconds. “RAAHHH!”
The attacks collided and the shock wave threw up a cloud of dust, concealing the Pokémon for a few second. “Lucario!?” Korrina called out, now very afraid for her dear friend. Close Combat was easily one of the strongest Fighting-type moves, and unlike Focus Blast, it had a VERY high accuracy rate. That, added with the consideration of the state both fighters were in...they’d have to end the match now, or this battle might become one that is to the death.
As the dust settled, the Pokémon saw both Lucario, still standing. Korrina smiled, relief starting to fill her heart.
Then Lucario’s knees gave out and he fell to the ground. “Lucario!” Korrina rushed forward and kneeled next to her partner. Lifting his head onto her lap, she looked down at him, worry in her eyes. “Hang in there! Lucario!” She shouted frantically upon seeing the state he was in. His normally pristine fur was filthy from all the dust that had been kicked up in the fight, his body was covered in bruises from the various attacks he had endured, and his breathing was shallow.
Lucario groaned, trying to focus on her, but his vision was getting blurrier by the second. “K-Korrina...” He mumbled, before his vision went black.
“Lucario! Wake up! Please!” Korrina shouted frantically, before turning to Lunick and Solana. “That’s it, we’re getting out of here now!”
Both of them nodded in agreement, before helping the Gym Leader heft her partner onto her back, before they beat a hasty retreat.
As the group fled, The Mawile quickly ran to the other Lucario’s side, a worried look on her face. The Lucario gave her a reassuring smile, before she too collapsed and fell into blissful unconsciousness as her body finally gave out.