The Alpha and the Omega - Epilogue
O-T and F-T Sonic and Tails, with a little aid from Raikou, stopped pushing the Tornado and came to a stop, the red biplane sitting next to Yoshi’s kart under a tree on the grass in a small clearing not far from a paved path. They stepped back and looked at the plane for a moment before looking around. Aside from the path, they were surrounded by trees and grass, but even from where they and the rest of the group were standing, they could see tall buildings past the tree line no matter which direction they looked that, despite their cold exterior, seemed to be full of life compared to the two cities that had served as a battleground.
“Empire City. Nice out-of-the-way choice, bud,” F-T Sonic complimented after a moment, his hands on his hips as he continued looking around.
Everyone turned and looked over as Raikou asked, ~What do you mean by that, Sonic? This ‘Empire City’ seems quite large from here; it doesn’t exactly seem ‘out-of-the-way’ to me.~
F-T Tails answered, “Well, what he means is that the continent Empire City is on didn’t have a Gaia Temple on it, so it wasn’t really a major stop during our world adventure to stop Dark Gaia and repair the planet. If it weren’t for the fact that we got word that Dark Gaia’s minions and Eggman’s robots were targeting it, we might not have needed to stop here during that time at all.”
Raikou wanted to inquire further, but Entei came over and said, ~I do not like being here. There may be trees and grass here, but we are clearly surrounded by intact buildings, buildings that likely house humans. This location may be one of the least affected in your world by this crisis, but I would hardly call it safe.~
Raikou looked over at Entei at that, but F-T Sonic held up his hands as he replied, “Relax, big guy, we’re fine here. It’s daytime here and we’re in the middle of Meridian Park. I think that’s what its name is, anyway…”
F-T Tails glanced at him for a moment before continuing, “Part of the reason you don’t have to worry is because this park is so big. It’s roughly 2.5 miles long and half a mile wide, or 843 acres of land.”
Applejack and the other ponies were wide-eyed at that, the orange mare saying, “Whoa Nelly! That’s more acres than even Sweet Apple Acres!”
F-T Tails nodded, “Yeah, you could probably fit part of another major city here.”
Suicune asked, ~What’s the other part of the reason we don’t have to worry about the humans that live here?~
F-T Sonic answered, “Well, basically the fact that you’re hanging around us.”
The Aurora Pokémon tilted her head, ~Are you saying that if they see us near you two, they’ll just let us be? Forgive me, but I don’t think that will happen.~ As if to put the blue hedgehog’s words to the test, everyone began to hear loud music and turned to look. On the paved path, they saw that the source of the music was a teenaged human male walking along the path. He was wearing a black tank top and shorts, and had a white skull cap on his head. His right arm and hand were supporting a jambox on his shoulder and he was moving his left hand in an erratic manner, his steps bouncy as he moved along to his music.
For a minute, it seemed like he was too caught up in the loud music to be paying attention to his surroundings, but as he passed in front of the group, he came to a stop as his right eye shifted to the side and he caught sight of everyone. His jambox still rested on his shoulder, still playing the loud music as he turned to look at Yoshi, the Pokémon, and the Equestrians, both Sonics and Tails stepping forward after a moment. The teenager’s eyes shifted to them and after several seconds, he held up his left hand, his fingers curled inwards save for his pinky and thumb, which were both sticking out. He waggled the hand a bit questioningly and both Sonics and Tails by holding up their hands the same way. The teenager nodded after a moment and let his hand drop, turning back to the path and resuming his walk in the park.
“Wow. Looks like you weren’t kidding, Sonic,” Lucario said as he continued to watch the teenager walk.
“Yeah, he didn’t even look all that surprised when he saw us! He must’ve realized that we’re awesome and there was nothing to worry about!” Rainbow added.
F-T Tails spoke up, “I could give you several reasons why I believe the way he reacted was due to that loud, obnoxious music he’s listening to… but I’m guessing you don’t want to hear them.”
Rainbow shrugged, “Yeah, not really.”
Suicune turned to Sonic, ~So it would appear you were right.~ She then addressed everyone, ~No doubt it will take Dialga and Palkia some time to repair the damage done to time and space, so unless we receive word that we have to move or someone comes along that decides to raise a stir, I suggest we remain here for the time being.~
Shining asked, “So Dialga and Palkia will contact us when they’re all done?”
Suicune answered, ~Perhaps not them, but naturally someone will travel here and let us know. We will have to return to our world after all. And of course, the displaced ones will have to return to their proper worlds or times.~ She glanced over at Riolu at that; she did not know when he came from, but she knew Lucario did not want his past self to know too much about his own future.
Rainbow flapped her wings to hover as she placed her hooves behind her head. “So what should we do while we’re waiting? We’ve got a whole undestroyed city around us!” she said.
Lucario spoke, “I don’t think we should leave this park. That… person’s reaction is probably not representative of how other people in this city would react to us. Some might be as easygoing, but I doubt all of them are.”
Rainbow groaned and asked, “So what are we supposed to do instead? Just sit here?”
Everyone heard a rumble a moment later followed by Spike groaned. They turned to look at the baby dragon to see him clutching his stomach with his claws. “Those gems earlier were delicious, but with all the running around we’ve been doing, I’m starving now…” he complained.
“Hm. Come ta think of it, Ah could go fer a little somethin’ mahself,” Applejack said.
“Me too, actually,” Shining admitted. He looked over at Yoshi, Link, and Greninja. Yoshi seemed excited to hear food being talked about, Link’s knees were bent as the boy crouched down and held both hands to his stomach, and Greninja didn’t look like he was leaning one way or the other.
Lucario slid his Treasure Bag off and set it down on the ground, kneeling down next to it as he said, “Let’s see what I packed in here.” He opened it and began looking through it, raising one eye a moment later. “Hm. This is nowhere near full. Some of the supplies I packed must’ve gotten washed away earlier,” he grunted.
“Pika Pikachu?” Pikachu asked.
“Looks like all the apples are still here, but we lost most of the berries. There’s not much left, certainly not enough for everyone,” Lucario answered.
O-T Tails looked up at his future self, “I guess we’re going to have to find some more food if we all want to eat, huh?” The older two-tailed fox nodded in agreement.
Suddenly they all heard a voice call, “Corndogs! Fresh corndogs here!” Everyone looked at the paved path and saw a man pushing a white cart in front of him. The vendor stopped and stared at the gathering on the grass for a moment before turning back to the path and continuing on, calling, “Corndogs! Get your corndogs here!”
Shining looked intrigued as he watched the vendor walk away. “Corndogs?” He turned to F-T Sonic and asked, “What are corndogs?”
The blue hedgehog replied, “Well, there’s no corn in them, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Twilight looked at him and asked, “Then why are they called corndogs?”
Sonic shrugged, “I guess ‘cause they come on a stick. You know, kind of like…”
Twilight nodded as she said, “Oh, like corn on the cob. Right.”
Applejack snorted, “Pft. Ya don’t need sticks to eat corn on the cob. You just pick it up by the ends and hold it between yer hooves while you’re eatin’.”
F-T Sonic spoke, “Hm. Well, I know a few good eating spots around the city. I can go get some stuff and bring it back here.” He glanced over at Rarity and saw that the white mare was trying to get her mane back to its normal appearance with her hooves. He stared for a moment before turning to Twilight and asking, “Uh, you wouldn’t happen to have a brush or something she could borrow, would you, Twilight? I know where there’s a mirror here in the park.”
Rarity halted her meager efforts at that, turning and trotting over to the older blue hedgehog while saying, “A mirror?! Where?! You must show me! Take me there!” She was up in his face by the time she finished and she turned away to look at Twilight as she said, “Twilight, please tell me you have a brush for emergencies like this!” The lavender unicorn stared at her silently for a moment before using her magic to make a brush appear out of thin air that Rarity eagerly took with her own magic. “Excellent. Thank you, darling. Now please show me to this mirror,” she stated while starting to walk and tug F-T Sonic with some of her magic.
“All right, I’ll show you! Geez, don’t get your mane in a mohawk, Rarity,” the blue hedgehog said as he pulled ahead of her, everyone watching as they walked away.
Soon…
F-T Sonic raised the chili dog in his left hand up as O-T Sonic did the same with the chili dog in his right hand, both bumping the back of their hands and dogs together in a toast of sorts before taking their first bite. They and everyone else were enjoying a nice post-victory meal, all of them currently sitting at or around one of the picnic tables nearby as they ate the food that F-T Sonic had picked up. They had popcakes, pizza slices, cookies, grapes, salads, kebabs… And of course, Rarity’s mane and tail were back to their usual flowing appearance, the fashionista able to enjoy having Spike feed her grapes now that she was happy with her appearance again.
“Mmm! This food is pretty good,” Rainbow said as she enjoyed a pizza slice with her popcake.
~It surprisingly is. I still think you could stand to add a little something more to what you’re eating, Rainbow,~ Suicune communicated while gingerly eating a salad.
“Nah, I’m good. I’m more of a get up and go pony, so I sometimes get through a day on quick eats and sugar-filled treats. This is more my kind of meal,” the cyan pegasus replied.
“Well, I get by super just eating the treats at Sugarcube Corner! Any kind of meal is great for me, but those are by far my favorite!” Pinkie piped up.
~Hm. The cyan one is clearly active, so her diet shouldn’t do her much harm. I’m not so sure about you though, pink one. Hopefully you have similar habits, because otherwise…” Raikou said, trailing off at the end.
Twilight spoke, “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Pinkie, Raikou. She takes great care of herself.” Pinkie beamed proudly at that.
F-T Tails looked at F-T Sonic and asked, “Where’d you get this pizza, Sonic?”
The blue hedgehog replied, “Eh, I had to leave the park to find a couple things. Bumped into Wentos while I was getting stuff, got a few things from him as well.” He looked over at Suicune and noticed she had not touched her hamburger. “What’s the matter, Suicune? Not interested in that anymore?” he asked.
The Aurora Pokémon answered, ~No, I’m sure it’s good. It’s just that… I haven’t sampled cooked food often, and what I have had hasn’t been palatable.~
Spike said as he took a bite of his burger, “Mmm! Put it behind you! This is great! The sear on this is perfect!”
Entei spoke up as he eyed the meat on his burger, ~Is this what you and humans call a sear, little one? This hasn’t been cooked properly! It’s not black enough! Do humans know anything about fine cooking?~
Suicune turned back to F-T Sonic at that and said, ~He has provided most of the cooked food that I’ve eaten. He apparently likes it, but I don’t enjoy eating something that’s almost as black as charcoal.~
The blue hedgehog nodded, “Hm, good point.”
Lucario and Pikachu looked over at Link and Yoshi, the latter using his long tongue to eat up the fruits and berries, especially the ones they had had in the Treasure Bag, while the former was happily tearing into his kebabs, oblivious to anyone who might have been watching him. Lucario looked down at his partner and smiled, “Those two would fit right in with the other Guild members, don’t you think?” Pikachu laughed while nodding in reply.
Twilight looked at the Aura Pokémon curiously, “What do you mean by that?”
He answered, “Well, let’s just say it’s probably a good thing that the Guild is on the edge of town. Dinner there can be quite the spectacle; once they’re given the signal, everyone starts devouring their food and the whole hall fills with the sound of eating. I’m sure the ‘mons in town would be complaining if they had to listen to that every night.”
Pinkie threw some berries and a regular apple in her mouth, swallowing everything before saying, “Mmm! This stuff is really good and energizing! It makes sense why you guys carry this stuff around with you!” She extended her long tongue out of her mouth and slid the end of it under a particularly big apple. Before she could slurp up her prize, Yoshi’s tongue shot out and wrapped around the other side of it. Both tongues pulled, leaving the fruit hanging in the air at the end of both tongues.
Both Pinkie and Yoshi glared at each other for a moment before they began having a tug-of-war for the fruit. For a moment, it seemed like Pinkie was going to win, but Yoshi suddenly leaned back and pulled both the apple and Pinkie into his mouth! Almost everyone stared in alarm for a moment as Yoshi’s stomach bulged and then shrank as he deposited an egg behind him. It shook wildly for a few seconds before it broke apart, Pinkie seeming no worse for the wear as she stood up on her hind legs and yelled at Yoshi, “Hey, no fair!” The green dinosaur ignored her, simply putting his hands on his cheeks in bliss as he enjoyed the apple’s lasting flavor.
Link had stopped eating as he looked over at the two and was suddenly startled out of his reverie by a wet feeling scraping across his cheek. He turned to his right and saw that Greninja had snatched up a piece of fruit that had ended up on his cheek, the tip of the frog’s tongue going over his ‘scarf’ and dropping it in his mouth. The boy smiled softly and made his way over to the Ninja Pokémon. Greninja watched him come closer, a neutral look on his face the whole time. He then tensed up and gave a happy croak when Link cautiously raised his hand to the frog’s tongue-scarf and began rubbing it, closing his eyes in pleasure.
“Is he actually enjoying that?” Riolu asked as he looked on.
“Of course he is. It’s not surprising that you don’t know that yet,” Lucario said.
~I would hope that it was only now that you learn just how sensitive a Greninja’s tongue can be,~ Entei half-joked.
Raikou looked at Suicune, ~Considering the way that we know anything about humans, it’s nice to see that they’re good in their natural form too.~
Suicune replied, ~Well, the ones we’ve seen so far have been good to us, even if their vernacular is a bit… unusual.~ She turned to F-T Tails and asked, ~What exactly is a ‘selfie’, Tails?~
The older fox groaned, “Please tell me you’re not going to take that word back with you…”
As they kept talking, F-T Sonic glanced over at Fluttershy. With how much she loved animals, he would’ve guessed she’d be intently observing what Link was doing and trying to learn all that she could, but as he looked at her, he saw that she was instead looking at him with a worried expression that she tried to cover up as she quickly looked away. At this, he knew immediately she was still thinking about what had happened earlier before everything that had happened today had gone from a fiasco to a complete crisis. He didn’t know what happened after her, her friends, Shining, and Tails had left the train without him, but he could guess she was blaming herself for how she handled the Eggman Nega attack.
Before he could try to reassure her, he felt a push on his shoulder and heard F-T Tails call, “Hey Sonic, are you listening?”
The older blue hedgehog shook his head and looked at the fox to his left, asking, “Huh? Sorry, I was… thinking about something. What’d you say, Tails?”
The older of the two foxes replied, “I was saying that, while we were waiting for you to get back, Lucario went and talked to Greninja about how he changed back on the mountain.”
F-T Sonic looked at the Aura Pokémon and asked, “Oh? What did he tell you?”
Lucario answered, “He said that, essentially, it’s a form change that hasn’t been seen for a very long time back where he comes from. It’s some sort of unique Ability that only manifests itself when his feelings synchronize with someone else’s. I thought it was something like that since I could feel it in the air and see it with my Aura. It seems his ‘Trainer’, his partner if I understood him right, is the one he normally shares such a strong bond with.”
Cadance added, “From what Lucario was translating earlier, it sounds like he generally synchronizes with anyone that’s as courageous and selfless as he is.”
Rainbow spoke up, “Is that what triggers it? I was too busy sitting in one of the trees here earlier to pay attention. If that’s what it is, then he could’ve syn… synth… He could’ve connected with any of us back there, couldn’t he? We were all being amazing like we always are, especially me.” She spread her wings and flapped her way over to Link and Greninja, wrapping a foreleg around the latter’s shoulder as she asked, “You probably teamed up with me, didn’t you? That’s how great we are together: we aren’t even aware of it when it happens because we’re so busy being awesome all the time.”
Greninja glanced at her for a second after she finished speaking and then quickly brought his webbed hands together in front of him with a “Gre!” A moment later, he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a surprised Rainbow with nothing to wrap her leg around.
“He’s gone!” Pinkie exclaimed in shock. She then looked off to the side and flatly said, “Oh no, wait, he’s on that tree branch.” Everyone looked over at the tree and saw that Greninja was indeed on one of its branches, his webbed feet on the side of it with his toes on top as he hung upside-down with his arms crossed. He raised himself up a second later and turned before sitting with his back against the tree’s trunk, his arms still crossed.
Applejack let out a chuckle before saying, “Ah think that’s his way of sayin’ ‘no’, Rainbow.”
Lucario nodded, “I agree, Applejack.” He turned to Rainbow, “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but Link is the one he shares a special bond with, not you.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, a bit annoyed at that. She pointed to Link with a hoof as she spoke, “What, him? The kid that’s quieter than Fluttershy usually is? I mean, we all saw the weird mask he used and the glowing mark he has, but how do you know that he’s the one? What makes him so different from the rest of us?”
Lucario started, “I know it’s him because I sensed his and Greninja’s Auras merging together before Greninja changed. And you probably didn’t notice the way Link reeled in pain despite not getting hit by anything when Greninja was delivering the meteorite to Rayquaza…”
Rainbow interjected, “No, but I was able to hear him grunting, and if you remember, we were all busy fighting then! Plus I noticed the way your Aura thing seemed to get brighter and stronger the more damage you took! I can recall every time I noticed a change in it!”
Lucario was struck silent for a moment before he continued, “Okay, but my point is still valid: they had become so connected that they could feel each other’s pain. As for what makes him so different, I wouldn’t know. I would say it’s as much a mystery as that mark he bears.”
Before Rainbow could say anything back, Entei huffed at her, ~I hope you, and by extension those you surround yourself with, are not normally this petty.~
Raikou looked over at him and said, ~Be that as it may, Entei, you have to admit that this form change that that Greninja is capable of is highly unusual. Like Lucario said, it’s not exactly a common thing from wherever he comes from, and we’ve been watching over the Pokémon in our world wherever we go. I know I’ve never heard of anything like this before; have you?~
Entei somewhat conceded, ~No… But if it’s something that only humans can bring out, then there should be pockets of other ‘mons, or at the very least Greninjas, that are capable of exhibiting it there as well.~
Shining spoke up, “It was pretty amazing. Too bad there was no chance to really step back and see how it started and really appreciate the change. I’m sure that would’ve made it a little easier to understand, don’t you, Twily?” He looked over at his sister as he finished talking, the lavender unicorn nodding agreement.
O-T Tails said, “That would be pretty cool, but in order for it to happen again, wouldn’t Greninja need to be in some sort of… I don’t know, tense situation?”
F-T Tails nodded, “Probably, and that’s unlikely to happen since there’s nothing serious going on here. The only way we might be able to do it now would be to create a situation, and there’s no way we can do that here.”
Suicune held a paw to her muzzle. ~Actually… there might be,~ she communicated after a moment, catching everyone’s attention.
Soon…
“So… I don’t really want to be that mare, but I’m not really sure what all of this… is,” Twilight said, mainly to Entei and Raikou as they seemed to be the only ones who might know what was going on. The group had moved away from the picnic area back into the clearing after Suicune had explained her idea to Lucario, the Aura Pokémon dragging his Bone Rush staff through the grass and dirt to make lines that formed two rectangles standing on their sides connected to the sides of a larger square while Suicune moved around the perimeter of the area, creating some sort of invisible barrier. F-T Sonic stood in one of the rectangles across from Rainbow and Link while the rest of the group was spread out away from the battlefield, Raikou and Entei in front of them and off to the sides as well.
Without looking back, Raikou explained, ~Lucario is tracing right now to show where the participants may stand and where the battlefield is located, and Suicune is using a variation of her Mirror Coat to ensure that no stray attacks cause any damage to this park or anywhere else. They may bounce a bit, but they will not do any harm, especially not to you since she has already protected this spot.~
Shining started, “So, uh, this fight…”
Suicune, as she walked behind the group still working on the Mirror Coat barrier, corrected without breaking stride, ~Not a fight, Shining Armor. It is a battle. There’s a difference.~
Shining shrugged, “Okay, battle. This battle is going to help Greninja change?”
Raikou nodded, ~Yes. Once Lucario is done, he will stand with Sonic to complete the setup. Do you see it now?~
Shining wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at, but Cadance soon said, “I think I do. Greninja will be on Link and Rainbow’s side and Pikachu will be on Sonic and Lucario’s side. Link is supposed to be the one who triggered the change while Rainbow thinks she’s the one who did it. I’m not sure how Lucario fits in, but Sonic shares some of Greninja’s personality, so maybe he can cause it as well, even if he is on the other side.”
Entei communicated, ~That is correct.~ Suicune soon walked over to the edge of the square and faced the completed field while Lucario joined Sonic in his box. Entei glanced at Pikachu and Greninja and said, ~To your positions, both of you.~ They both nodded and stood up, making their way over to the square.
As Pikachu got down on all fours in front of Lucario and Sonic and Greninja stood in front of Rainbow and Link, Fluttershy looked over at Entei and nervously asked, “Um, are you sure this is okay? With them?”
Entei simply replied, ~Yes. They both agreed to do this. Greninja seemed especially eager to be a part of this demonstration. He must be used to battling a lot. And this battle will not be like the ones you have seen; it will not go to the point of exhaustion.~
Cadance said, “I have to admit, I find it amazing that this is one way that you all become closer to one another. Back home, most of what could be compared to battling tends to involve the fate of Equestria.”
Raikou communicated back, ~Understandable. Now that you have a chance to properly sit back and observe, you may come to understand its appeal better.~
Twilight murmured, “Hmm, I wish I’d brought a quill and something to write on. I’d sure like to take some notes.”
Applejack glanced from the unicorn to F-T Tails and noticed he had his radar out. “You wanna take notes too, Tails?” she asked.
The fox absently answered, “Hm? No, I was just curious about the readings around here. They seem to be steady. No time-space anomalies or anything of the like.”
O-T Tails looked at the older fox in awe. “Wow. It’s amazing that you made something that sophisticated out of spare Badnik parts. I hope what I know and what I’ve learned helps me get to your level soon,” he said, F-T Tails looking up and smiling at him. The silence of the moment was broken by a snort, both foxes and everyone else in the group turning to see that it had come from Yoshi, the green dinosaur seemingly having been put to a snooze by his full belly, his head tilted slightly forward.
Suicune spoke, catching everyone’s attention, ~This practice battle between Pikachu of Team Defenders and Greninja from parts unknown will begin momentarily. Lucario and Sonic will serve as Pikachu’s partners while Link and Rainbow Dash will serve as Greninja’s. Partners may encourage and support in any way that falls under the rules, which brings us to the first rule.~ She turned her head and glared at Rainbow, ~Partners are to remain INSIDE of their box for the duration of the battle!~
Everyone looked over at the cyan pegasus and saw that she was hovering halfway over the line. “Aw, come on! You said we could help! Why are you making that a rule?” Rainbow complained.
Suicune calmly, though with a hint of irritation in her voice, answered, ~This is a battle between Pokémon. Last time I checked, you did not identify yourself as a Pokémon, therefore you do not belong on this field.~
Rainbow gestured back at the rectangle with a hoof as she said, “Come on, you can’t expect us to stay in these boxes when there’s fighting action going on!”
Suicune, the irritation in her voice growing, responded, ~It’s BATTLING action, and yes I do. If that’s too hard for you, I can ask someone else to take your spot.~ She glanced over at the rest of the group as she said, ~Someone like Applejack, perhaps.~
At that, Rainbow backed up into the rectangle and dropped down onto the ground as she groaned, “Ugh, fine!”
Suicune said, ~I’m glad we understand each other. And just so you know, that still stands. If you continue trying to cross the line, someone else will stand in for you and you will get to sit in the corner until the battle is over… in a block of ice.~ Rainbow looked stricken at that, but Suicune looked away as she returned to her explanation, ~As for the battlers themselves, there will be no restrictions on what moves may be used, however I will be watching you both closely. If an attack might breach the perimeter or you start to go too far, I will step in and end the battle. Pay attention to your own limits as your partners will be watching out for you as well.~
As she continued to explain the rules, Applejack said, “Huh, Ah guess there is a difference between battlin’ and fightin’. One’s got a whole bunch of rules ta put limits on it and the other… doesn’t.”
Rarity commented, “I suppose that the occasional fisticuff isn’t such a bad thing, but I still think there’s a thin line between the two. I mean, some of your competitions with Rainbow Dash have certainly gone that way, Applejack. One moment you’re competing as you should be, the next you’re literally at each others’ throats. This feels very much like the latter; how could anyone enjoy watching that?”
Her question was seemingly answered a moment later. “Go, Pikachu! You’re stronger than that ninja frog! Show him whose boss!” Riolu called, the younger Pokémon still a bit annoyed that a random Lucario was picked to be his best friend’s partner instead of him. A sweat drop ran down the side of Pikachu’s face at that while Lucario held a paw over his eyes as he wondered if he really was such a loudmouth prior to his evolution.
Pinkie piped up, “You wish! Pikachu may be a real shocker, but there’s a reason Rainbow Dash and Greninja are together: they both rigorously train!” She then cheered, “Go ninja, go ninja go ninja!” Spike looked like he wanted to cheer as well, but he caught himself as he glanced in Twilight’s direction, the unicorn noticing as he looked away when she looked over at him. The baby dragon felt himself get pulled by magic a moment later followed by a foreleg wrapping around him. He looked up and saw Twilight giving him a smile, a smile that he returned as he snuggled up against her, seeing now that she held nothing against him.
After she finished laying out the rules, Suicune asked, “Challengers, ready?” Both Pikachu and Greninja gave affirmative grunts in response. “Partners, set?” she continued, getting nods from both sides. After a moment, both of her streamer-like tails raised up slightly as she said, “Begin!”
Pikachu was the first to move with Greninja quickly following, both beginning with a Quick Attack. They both shot at each other, going along each other’s side several times before backing off. As Greninja came to a stop afterwards, he glanced back over his shoulder and saw that Pikachu was readying a Thunderbolt, the mouse’s cheeks already sparking with electricity. He leapt up out of the way when the hundred-thousand volts came at him, the attack hitting the ground and fizzling out.
As he landed, Greninja turned towards Pikachu and brought his webbed hands together, creating and throwing several Water Shurikens. The yellow mouse responded by using Agility, dodging around the spinning stars and making his way towards the Ninja Pokémon. As he got closer, he suddenly leapt up and came to a stop in midair as he seemed to build up energy, soon launching forward and hitting Greninja with a Skull Bash attack. Despite getting hit hard, the frog quickly recovered and grabbed the yellow mouse before he could land, lashing at him with his long tongue several times before throwing him onto his back.
“Yeah, that’s it, Greninja! Show him what you’ve got!” Rainbow cheered, the Ninja Pokémon standing up straight and glancing back as he waved his right hand.
Lucario grunted, “Hm. I might be surprised if we didn’t already know what he’s capable of.” He then called to Pikachu, “Don’t give in, Pikachu! Keep up the pressure!” The yellow mouse flipped over onto his paws at that, ready to continue.
As the two Pokémon continued battling, F-T Sonic glanced at Lucario and asked, “Hey, uh, you mind telling me why we have to stand in these spots, Lucario? You might have mentioned that to Suicune, but I don’t remember you telling the rest of us.”
The Aura Pokémon replied, “I have a feeling we need to be close to the battle to trigger Greninja’s transformation. This team set-up seems like the best way to bring that out; we all agreed to it.”
F-T Sonic said, “Yeah, but… it just seems odd since we’re basically acting as a cheering squad here, something we could do just as well sitting with everyone.” A cheer rose up from the sideline a moment later as if to prove his point. “We’re watching, but that’s about it. It’s not like we’re telling them what they should be doing, which would make this spot make a little more sense if we were.”
Lucario looked at him for a moment before looking back at the battlefield, a thoughtful look on his face. Suicune hadn’t questioned him when he suggested that the two boxes be added onto the sides of the field and he didn’t think of it much at the time, but now that he took a minute to look at it, he did have to wonder why he did it. Was it something he was used to from… before? Pikachu had been a bit confused by it, but Greninja, despite not being part of the conversation, seemed like he had seen it before during the tracing process. Were Trainers similar to partners? He didn’t know, and the only one that might…
He was drawn out of his introspective by a loud yell from the sideline. Looking up, he saw that Pikachu had managed to hit Greninja with an Iron Tail, knocking the frog back. He looked over at the others and guessed that it had been a surprising move since everyone looked surprised. Well, almost everyone; he noticed that Fluttershy still had a worried look on her face as she watched. He also noticed F-T Sonic was looking at her instead of focusing on the battle, meaning they both had been distracted for a short time.
Shaking his head to banish the thoughts, the Aura Pokémon held a hand to his chin as he went back to observing the battle. Greninja surprised Pikachu from behind with a Shadow Sneak, kicking the yellow mouse away. After recovering from the hard landing, the Mouse Pokémon looked back to see Greninja coming at him with a Night Slash and countered with another Iron Tail attack, quickly swinging his glowing tail to block the purple energy sword in his right hand. After the last swipe, Pikachu managed to catapult himself over Greninja, landing on the grass behind the Ninja Pokémon as he stumbled slightly. Seeing an opening and feeling a sense of familiarity, Lucario called, “Shock him, Pikachu!” At that, Pikachu quickly charged up and released a Thunderbolt as Greninja was turning around, catching him off-guard.
The attack lasted for several seconds; when it ended, Greninja let out a groan as his body shook, sparks coming off of him as he tried to stay upright. Pikachu smiled at this, as did Lucario. “Paralysis,” the Aura Pokémon said.
Both Rainbow and Link looked worried for Greninja as he didn’t seem to be able to move much. “Come on, Greninja, don’t give up!” Rainbow cried. Link gave a shout as well, but there were no words in it.
Lucario called to the two, finally causing F-T Sonic to look back to the battle, “This battle might still be able to continue, but Greninja’s in a bad spot now. That paralysis won’t wear off…” Before he could finish, Greninja’s eyes shot open and he glared in Lucario’s direction, causing the Aura Pokémon to stop speaking. Mustering up all of his strength, Greninja brought his arms up and around in front of them and, with a shout, thrust them out, causing the sparks to fly off of his body. As he brought them back down, it seemed that he no longer had any problems moving. “What?!” Lucario exclaimed, Pikachu looking surprised as well.
“You were saying?” Rainbow called, feeling confident now that Greninja was able to keep going.
On the sideline, Shining said, “Greninja shook off the effects of that Electric attack fast, even with the Type disadvantage.”
Twilight uttered, “I really should be checking my saddlebags for a quill and paper, but… this is really exciting to watch!”
Spike nodded, “I know, right?” With the exception of Yoshi (who was STILL asleep) and Fluttershy, everyone else seemed to agree with them.
Lucario continued to stare at Greninja in shock. “How did he recover that fast? I’ve never seen anyone shake off a Status Effect that quickly…” Looking past Greninja, he noticed that Link had the same look on his face as the Ninja Pokémon. “They’re both… Is it about to happen?” he wondered.
He was proven right a moment later when the mark on the back of Link’s hand began to glow as it did before, catching everyone’s attention. At that point, Link and Greninja began to move in synchrony; they both held out their left hand as they clenched it into a fist and they both brought their heads forward as they let out a yell. Remembering what had happened before, Lucario closed his eyes and reached out with his Aura. Sure enough, he could see both Greninja and Link’s Auras fusing together, with Greninja seemingly being the only one remaining. This time, however, the Aura Pokémon saw something he didn’t see before. Before it joined with Greninja’s, there seemed to be four Auras hovering behind Link’s Aura like spirits. Two of them seemed to be children while the other two looked like adults, and they all bore an undeniable resemblance to Link in appearance and clothing. “One of them could be him as an adult without that mask, but the others… Who are they?” Lucario wondered. He didn’t have time to ponder further since a twister made of water surrounded their combined Auras.
Upon opening his eyes, he saw that a sphere of water had surrounded Greninja and that everyone was watching intently. It soon burst into a multitude of water droplets and Greninja dropped down, his change complete. He pressed his right hand against the ground and held his left arm out to the side as a large solid Water Shuriken formed on his back, growing like a butterfly spreading its wings. Both Greninja and Link looked up a moment later, the latter now able to see through the former’s eyes.
Link nodded his head forward and, in response, Greninja shot forward, preparing a Night Slash blade in his right hand that he grabbed the hilt of with his left hand. Seeing this, Lucario called, “Pikachu, you’ve got to throw him off!” The yellow mouse got what his partner was implying and, when Greninja got close enough to slash, he leapt into the air. As Greninja looked up at him, he suddenly split into multiple Pikachus that all landed at the same time, surrounding the Ninja Pokémon. As the frog looked around, Pinkie screamed off on the sideline, “AAHH! Too many Pikachus! There’s too much cuteness here!”
After recovering from the loudness of Pinkie’s scream, Twilight said, “That’s… what was it called… Double Team, right?”
Cadance nodded, “I believe so, Twilight.”
Lucario smirked, “Let’s see you deal with this.” At that, all of the Pikachus’ bodies became surrounded by electricity, all of them converging on Greninja in a Spark attack. Link let out a grunt and Greninja pirouetted in response, his own series of copies forming as he did a Double Team of his own. All of the Pikachus passed through the Greninja doubles, indicating none of them hit the real one. As the Pikachu doubles regrouped, all of the Greninja doubles leapt up each one with their arms starting to glow light blue as they went into a dive towards the Pikachus. Lucario wasn’t sure which move was being used, but he had an idea how to stop it. “Pikachu, use Discharge to stop it!” he called. All of Pikachu’s doubles disappeared a moment later as he unleashed multiple bolts of electricity at the Greninjas, each one disappearing as the bolts went through them. Lucario smiled again, but it soon faded as he noticed something was wrong: the real Greninja was nowhere to be seen.
He looked over at Link and saw the boy shoot him a smirk. Suddenly, Greninja appeared shooting towards Pikachu surrounded by a white light. “It’s a Quick Attack!” Lucario yelled, Pikachu dashing forward to counter it with another Spark attack. Just as he was about to tackle the frog, however, he vanished, causing Pikachu, Lucario, and F-T Sonic to gasp in surprise. In one quick flash of movement, Greninja reappeared and slashed at Pikachu with his still-glowing arms, sending the mouse flying back. As Pikachu got up, Lucario grunted, “So that’s what he did… A combination of Double Team, Aerial Ace, and Quick Attack. Clever…”
Pikachu glared at Greninja and decided to try another Discharge attack. Greninja leapt back before the bolts started flying towards him to try to give himself more time to find a way to avoid as much damage as possible, but as he stared at the approaching lightning, they suddenly seemed to slow down. It was only in his eyes, though; in reality, the bolts were coming as fast as they were before, but upon realizing that he was still moving normally, the ninja frog saw a way to avoid the attack altogether. As the first bolt came at him, he stepped to the side to avoid it and almost immediately afterwards ducked to avoid the one coming from his right. He then rolled forward to get past two more and made a small leap over another.
As he continued dodging, off on the sideline, Spike said, “Wow, look at him go!”
Everyone else was staring in amazement too as what they were witnessing should’ve been impossible. “How in the hay is he dodgin’ all that lightnin’ so easily?” Applejack asked.
“Is he as fast as Sonic?” O-T Tails wondered, causing O-T Sonic to give him an odd look.
F-T Tails spoke, “I don’t think so… but at the very least, he’s got heightened reflexes.”
Greninja dropped to the ground to avoid another bolt, pressing his back against the grass as he rolled his head to look to his right at Pikachu. Several smaller bolts were flying right towards him, but just as they were about to hit, he vanished and reappeared a short distance behind Pikachu. Lucario’s eyes widened, realizing that Greninja had once again used Shadow Sneak, this time in a defensive way. “Pikachu, behind you!” he yelled. The yellow mouse turned around, his attack over, but it was already too late. As he turned around completely, two small Water Shurikens hit him one at a time that were followed up by a larger third one that once again knocked the mouse back.
As Pikachu got up, Greninja saw that he was getting frustrated and would likely want to end the battle in one attack. Noticing the way that the yellow mouse was gathering electricity into his body, he could only think of one attack that he could be preparing. As the electricity began to surround Pikachu’s body, Greninja grabbed the Water Shuriken off of his back and held it up. As he held it over his head, it began to increase in size, becoming much larger than him. As Pikachu began running towards him in a Volt Tackle, Greninja threw the giant shuriken at him at a slight diagonal angle. Pikachu ended up being faster than the projectile and collided with it before it had flown very far, causing an explosion that raised smoke over the field and sent the leftover electricity flying in Greninja’s direction. Everyone leaned forward with bated breaths, waiting for the smoke to lift.
The smoke soon lifted, revealing that Pikachu and Greninja were both still standing. Greninja had a new Water Shuriken on his back and he had sparks of electricity coming off of him while Pikachu stood across from him on all fours. Both were panting heavily as they stared each other down. After a few seconds, they both made a small leap forward and Greninja held out his right hand, Pikachu taking it in his right paw after he stood up on his hind legs. Seeing this, Suicune nodded and raised her tails as she said, ~And that will bring this battle to a close!~
Everyone looked in her direction and Pinkie Pie asked, “What?! That’s it?!”
The Aurora Pokémon looked back at her as she responded, ~Yes. This battle has gone on longer than expected, but neither one has fainted so we are still within the rules and they have reached a stalemate. There is no need to continue further.~ As she was speaking, Greninja’s body glowed as he reverted back to his normal form.
F-T Sonic ran a hand along his quills, “Whew. For a practice battle, that got pretty intense.”
As she and the others started getting up, Rarity said, “I certainly agree, but I must say,” she looked at Raikou, “I believe you were right. I do believe I have a better understanding of the battling appeal.”
While Suicune began nullifying the Mirror Coat barrier, making them all visible to outside eyes once again, Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, I don’t even care about the whole connection with Greninja thing anymore. That was great!” She looked at Link, “Hey, and I’m sorry about what I said before, Link. It’s awesome that you and Greninja get along so well.” Link smiled back at her, showing that there were no hard feelings.
Lucario looked at Link as Greninja walked over to him and Rainbow, the Aura Pokémon having still so many unanswered questions about the boy, but as Pikachu came running up to him, he decided they weren’t important. He scooped up the mouse and stood up, saying, “That was a tough battle, Pikachu, but I say you did an amazing job. It’s another reminder of how far you’ve come since we started this team together.” His partner smiled up at him at that as F-T Sonic looked on.
Suddenly Riolu, who had come running to comfort Pikachu, piped up, “What are you talking about? Pikachu and I started a team together; we’re partners! When did you…” He stopped short as he thought about what Lucario said. “Wait… if you know he’s changed a lot and you started a team with him… does that mean…?”
He stopped short when a yellow circle with a red-orange vortex inside and colored lines rising up out of it opened up in the grass nearby, catching everyone’s attention. Lucario was thankful for the distraction and calmly turned to look at the vortex with the other Pokémon while everyone else looked at it warily. “What is that?!” Twilight asked.
F-T Sonic soon recognized it and turned to Suicune, asking, “Isn’t that one of those Magnagate things you guys mentioned?” The Aurora Pokémon nodded in reply, causing everyone to calm down as they knew someone recognized it. A figure soon began to appear out of the Magnagate, and as the light faded, a number of them stared in surprise as they saw what it was.
It was a colt from the look of it. Aside from having a slightly different look to it, it looked like it could’ve been a pony from Equestria. Its body from the top of its hooves up to below its neck was cream-colored, as was its face up to just behind its eyes and up to its curved horn. It had a long red mane that stuck out over the back of its neck, long, dark blue protrusions above its eyes that were ridged and looked like eyebrows, blue hooves, and light blue fur running from the back of its head down its neck. Its tail had similar light blue fur, but it also had a few white spots on it.
Due to its appearance, Rarity couldn’t help but swoon as she got a good look at it as it looked at its surroundings. Its attention was soon redirected when Suicune called, ~Keldeo.~ The colt ran over to her and began speaking in the Pokémon language, but Suicune soon stopped him, ~Hold on, Keldeo. If you want everyone to understand you, you’ll have to talk like this. Not everyone here can understand our language.~
The Mythical Pokémon stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a breath before he began using telepathy as well. ~Is that better?~ he asked, noticing F-T Sonic hold up his thumb in confirmation. Nodding in reply, he turned back to Suicune and communicated, ~Anyway, as I was about to say, Dialga and Palkia have already sent the other Legendary Pokémon home and have managed to undo as much damage as they could to Time and Space. They sent us to let you know and get everyone back to where they belong so they can close the rifts, but they didn’t tell us where you were so I didn’t know where I was going to end up or where to look and…~
Suicune cut him off, ~You’re rambling, Keldeo.~
Lucario asked, “Who’s ‘us’?”
Keldeo replied, ~Oh yeah. We finally managed to track down your team’s missing fourth member. Turns out this whole mess threw him for a loop as well. He couldn’t catch up with you because he was busy trying to find a way back home. He was sent through one of those Passages of Time instead of a Magnagate, but don’t worry. He’s here and he’ll make sure the whole time-traveling thing won’t mess with anything.~ While he was talking, both Link and Greninja sensed something behind them and turned to look. They saw a figure standing under a nearby tree looking back at them, the shade doing little to hide its white and purple body. Its body shape was recognizable, but one look into its purple eyes kept Link from tensing up. The last time he had seen those eyes, they had been filled with a desire for fighting, but this one’s eyes were different. While they were still cold, these eyes had a definite spark of intelligence in them, and beneath that there was something resembling respect.
The two looked back as Suicune said, ~Well, that’s a relief. So how do we get everyone back to where they belong?~
Keldeo replied, ~I believe they said they’ll be opening some kind of portal that will take them home. The way they described it, it kind of sounded like a Hoopa ring to me.~ Not long after that, three portals and two Passages of Time opened up behind where everyone had been sitting during the battle. One portal showed a forested area, another showed a tropical island, and the last showed a field with a castle in the distance.
Raikou turned to look at O-T Sonic and Tails and said, ~Looks like this is it. You all have to go back to where you were before all this happened.~
O-T Tails replied, “Well, it would be nice if we could stay longer, but we probably should get back to our time.” He looked at O-T Sonic, “Now that Eggman’s Death Egg has been destroyed for good, we really should let everyone else know since they helped us find where it crashed. Maybe after that, we can finally get a chance to do the things we want to do instead of trying to track him down.” The younger blue hedgehog nodded in reply.
Entei asked, ~‘Death Egg’? ‘Tracking down’? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it sounds like you two are in a team yourselves. That or similarly some type of group of rogues.~
F-T Sonic shrugged, “Eh, rogues, rebels, freedom fighters… I prefer Resistance myself, but I guess it all kind of means roughly the same when you think about it.”
Greninja looked towards the portal showing the forested area and saw two small green figures come through it, looking at him. He recognized them as the two Zygarde Cores that had flown off into the distance after the battle. Much as he would’ve liked to hang around with this interesting group a little longer, he knew he and the two Cores still had a job to do as well. He started walking towards the portal without looking back. “Whoa, he’s going already?” Shining asked as he looked on.
Lucario glanced at the stallion, “Well, he did say something about having to stay behind to deal with the remnants of something that threatened the world. I didn’t get all the details, but it sounded important.” He then looked at the Ninja Pokémon and called, “Good luck, Greninja! Hope you get to reunite with your Trainer soon!” The blue frog looked back over his shoulder at everyone and raised his right hand in a wave at that. He soon reached the portal and walked through it, both Cores following him through before it closed.
Yoshi began to stir afterwards, the green dinosaur opening his eyes and looking around sleepily. His gaze soon fell on the island portal and he woke up completely, recognizing it as home. He leapt up with a “Wow!” and ran towards it. As he ran, he called back, “Yoshi! Yoshi yosh! Yoshi! (Bye, guys! I’ve had enough of this adventure for one day! I’m gonna go get some real lunch!)” He then vanished through the portal.
“Uh, that was even quicker than Greninja,” Twilight uttered.
“Well, that’s Yoshi sometimes. One five-minute nap and he’s ready to eat again,” F-T Tails said.
F-T Sonic ran over to Yoshi’s kart and began pushing it towards the portal as he called, “Hey Yoshi, you forgot your ride!” He was able to get it to roll through the opening before it closed. As he turned back to everyone, they all heard a soft tune ring through the air. They all saw it was coming from Link, the boy standing near a bush as he played his ocarina. It was a short song, but it really resonated in the equines present for some reason, especially Applejack.
Suddenly, they all heard a neigh and an orange-red pony with a white mane and tail that was slightly taller than Keldeo and the Equestrians came through the bush as Link finished his song. She stepped over to Link and nuzzled the side of his face, surprising him for a moment before he took the brown end of her muzzle in both hands and smiled at her. He then stepped around to her side and climbed up onto her back, patting the side of the pony’s neck as she looked back at him. As he began to turn her around towards the portal, he caught sight of everyone and gave them all a small smile and nod. The pony then started walking towards the portal, taking them both home, though it was anyone’s guess if they were going back to a life of peace or if there were still more fights to be fought as they watched.
Once the last portal had closed, Suicune turned to Riolu and O-T Sonic and Tails as she said, ~All that’s left now is to get the rest of you back to when you belong.~
O-T Tails nodded and said, “I’ll get the Tornado ready!” He turned and ran over to the red biplane, climbing into the pilot’s seat and getting it ready.
As he turned his attention away from the younger fox, Lucario caught sight of F-T Sonic looking in Fluttershy’s direction and the pink-maned pegasus deliberately avoid his eyes again. This was the third time that he had noticed this display and he couldn’t stand it any longer. “Hold on,” he said loudly. Even O-T Tails stopped what he was doing to look in the Aura Pokémon’s direction. He walked over to F-T Tails and asked, “Tails, do you still have that ring of yours?”
The older fox raised an eyebrow, “The Warp Ring? Yeah, why?”
Lucario replied, “I need to borrow it real quick.” He then pointed in F-T Sonic and Fluttershy’s direction, “And them.”
His words surprised everyone. “What?! Why?!” Rainbow exclaimed.
Lucario looked at her, “You don’t trust me, Rainbow?”
The cyan pegasus countered, “That’s got nothing to do with this! You just up and tell Tails to give you the Warp Ring we’ve been using all day and let you take Sonic and Fluttershy with you without saying why, and we’re supposed to be okay with that, especially when we’ve got a monster to defeat?!”
Lucario said, “I won’t be long.”
Rainbow asked, “Well, what do you need them for? Can you at least tell us that?”
Lucario was silent for a moment. He then said, “To put them at ease.” His words were met with confused looks, but he ignored them and turned back to Tails, saying, “Let me see the ring, Tails.”
The fox wasn’t exactly happy with how cryptic the Aura Pokémon was being, but he could see that he was intent on not going into any further details regarding his requests. He reached his right hand into his namesakes and came back with the ring in the palm. “Here,” he uttered.
Lucario took the ring and eyed it for a moment before he looked back at the fox and said, “This shouldn’t take long.” He turned and tossed the ring away from him, causing it to grow to its full size. He walked over to it and placed his paw on it, setting the destination before he looked over at Fluttershy and F-T Sonic, “Come.” They both looked at F-T Tails for a moment, the fox shrugging while giving them an unsure look, before they complied, walking over to the ring and stepping through it.
As they came out of the ring, the two found themselves in a seemingly normal location. They were standing on a dirt path that had grass on both sides, with a pair of trees off to their right. In front of them off to the side was a green bush with a mostly red flag next to it. They looked back a moment later as Lucario came through the Warp Ring with Pikachu and the Treasure Bag on his shoulders. They watched him catch the ring in his left paw as it shrunk down, looking down at it for a moment. “Where are we?” Sonic asked, breaking the silence.
Lucario looked at him as he answered, “Sharpedo Bluff.” He walked between him and Fluttershy over to the bush and pulled it away to reveal a set of stairs going down into the ground. He looked up at the two and explained, “This is where Pikachu lived before he joined the local guild, and it’s where we’ve lived since we graduated.” He waved them over, “Come on in. We’ll have some privacy down here.” Sonic and Fluttershy glanced at each other before making their way over and going down the stairs, Lucario following them down while Pikachu put the bush back in place.
As he got to the bottom of the stairs, Lucario noticed Fluttershy and Sonic admiring different parts of the Team Base. Fluttershy was looking out at the view of the ocean while Sonic was looking at the small spring in the corner. They both looked up when Lucario dropped the Treasure Bag beside the barrels next to the doorway, the blue jackal leaning against the frame with the Warp Ring in his paw and Pikachu came down and stood on one of the last steps. “Okay Lucario, what’s this all about?” Sonic asked.
The Aura Pokémon replied, “I know you guys are in a hurry, so I’ll cut right to the point. Ever since we stopped in that Empire City, I’ve noticed there’s something going on between you two. You look at her and she turns away, and I get the feeling that it’s not for the reason that most others would suspect. I decided to get you both to come here so that you would be away from prying eyes and ears. I don’t enjoy that and I certainly don’t enjoy infighting, so you two start talking and work out whatever problem you have. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can get back to fixing the larger problem at hand.”
The two stared at him. “Problem? There’s no problem between us,” Sonic said after a moment.
Fluttershy looked over at the blue hedgehog and said, “Yes there is.”
Sonic looked at her, “No there’s not! You didn’t do anything wrong, Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy exclaimed, in a voice that was only slightly louder than normal, “Yes I did! I lost faith in you! You got badly hurt because of me and I didn’t even try to help you!” Her face scrunched up as her eyes grew wet, “You could’ve died because of me…”
Sonic stared at her for a moment before walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, so Eggman Nega, whether he meant to or not, ended up bringing out that kindness in you that we all know and got you to lower your guard. I don’t blame you for that, Fluttershy. It’s not your fault that he’s a creep,” he assured her.
Fluttershy opened her eyes to look at him as she said, “It’s not that… It’s… Terios.” Sonic looked at her intently at that. She bowed her head slightly, “I don’t know how, but when I thought I was comforting him, he… part of him somehow got into my head. After he fell, until we used the Elements of Harmony on Perfect Chaos, I kept hearing him in my head. He kept getting me to question everything… Not just you, but Twilight and the others as well… He was trying to get me to let him take over…”
Sonic stared at her worriedly. He’d had no idea how close she’d come to losing herself to his dark doppelganger. “But… the Elements of Harmony drove him out, right?” he asked carefully.
Fluttershy nodded, “I think so. I can’t hear him anymore. But… it’s not just that you struck him down, um, the way you did that’s the only reason.” She looked away shamefully, “I’ve actually been wondering about you since you told us what you did to Erazor and his lamp…”
Sonic stepped back and glanced down as he said slowly, “Well… I can’t really blame you for that either. I mean, Shahra and I did make the decision to do that together, but he definitely crossed a line with me that day.” His eyes closed partway as he kept looking down, “I can never really get that image out of my head, of Shahra dying because she wanted to protect me and he thought she was useless to him. It’s kind of haunted me since and, when I saw Terios raise that claw like he was going to slash at your back and everyone panicked… I guess it was kind of like I was reliving that, only someone I cared about was the one being targeted. When he just went crazy after you were away from him, I thought he was going down the same road and I acted on instinct.”
Fluttershy looked at him, “You did what you thought was right.”
Sonic met her gaze, “And so did you.”
Lucario spoke up, “That’s really all any of us can do.” Sonic and Fluttershy looked at him, surprised. He pushed himself away from the wall and said, “Sorry for interrupting. I’m not going to pry, but what you both were talking about… it got me thinking about something.”
Fluttershy tilted her head, “What?”
Lucario thought about it for a moment before saying, “Here, I’ll show you.” He walked over to the other side of the room while Pikachu watched him with a concerned expression. Sonic and Fluttershy walked over to him as he came to a stop in front of the tree roots that stuck out of the wall. He looked back at the two for a moment before pulling back one of the roots, revealing a small piece of paper stuck to the wall. It appeared to be a small poster, but it looked to be rather old. The writing was faded and the picture in the center was going yellow, but from what they could tell, it was a picture of a green Pokémon with a long leaf on its head and red running from under its jaw down its chest.
“Who is that Pokémon?” Fluttershy asked.
“Is that a ‘Wanted’ poster?” Sonic added.
Lucario nodded, “It is. It’s a poster for a Pokémon called Grovyle. At the time, he was believed to be doing something that would do great harm to this world.” He looked back at the poster, “He was also my friend from my past life.”
Sonic and Fluttershy looked at him, the former asking, “What does that mean?”
While still looking at the poster, Lucario put his paws on his hips as he explained, “I’m certain of the reason you’re able to understand me when I talk. You see, I wasn’t always a Lucario or a Riolu. I used to be a human.” Sonic and Fluttershy blinked in surprise at this, but he kept going, “Not just any human either. I was a human from a dark, time-stopped future of this world.”
Sonic raised an eyebrow, “‘Time-stopped’?”
Lucario looked back and nodded, “Yes. We both came from a world where time had stopped completely. No day, no night, no clear skies… just darkness no matter where you went. What Grovyle had been doing was stealing the Time Gears, mystical objects that keep time flowing normally in this world, and disrupting the flow of time in the areas where the Gears were located. What we were told was that this would be what caused that future to exist in the first place, but in reality, Grovyle and I traveled back in time to try to prevent that dark world from ever coming to pass.”
Sonic started, “So how did, uh…?”
Lucario answered, “We were apparently attacked when we were traveling back in time. I was separated from Grovyle, suffered amnesia, and was turned into a Riolu. I still can’t remember anything from when I was a human. I do sometimes feel like something seems familiar nowadays, but back then, I never got that feeling. Thus when Grovyle and I met again, we were enemies and Pikachu and I were allied with Dusknoir, a Pokémon that tried to make sure the future wouldn’t change and followed us back to the past, presenting himself as a great explorer.”
Fluttershy asked, “So… he fooled you?”
Lucario nodded, “He fooled us all. It wasn’t until he had Grovyle and dragged him and both of us back to the dark future with him that we learned the truth, about him and who I was.” He turned back to the poster, “I guess sometimes, you can’t really know for sure about someone. Sometimes all you have is your instinct to rely on.”
Sonic asked, “So what happened to Grovyle?”
Lucario answered, “We were able to get back to the proper time with him, but when we were in the Hidden Land trying to get the Time Gears to Temporal Tower to prevent the planet’s paralysis, Dusknoir traveled back from the future one last time to try to stop us. In order to stop him, Grovyle dragged him back with him to the dark future. That was the last time we ever saw either of them.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head, “Dialga was eventually able to restore me, but Grovyle…”
Sonic muttered, “He couldn’t bring back someone who wasn’t around, huh?”
Lucario replied, “No. Someone who I’m sure was a very dear friend to me is gone forever, and so is any chance of me ever finding out what things were like back then.”
Sonic and Fluttershy looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the Aura Pokémon. “Well… not necessarily,” Sonic offered after a moment. Lucario opened his eyes and glanced back at him with a slightly angry look, but Sonic kept going, “I mean, there’s probably no way to say for sure now. Like you said, you guys prevented the event that led to that dark future, but who knows? Grovyle, Dusknoir, anyone else you might’ve known or met before… maybe they weren’t all erased from existence just because you changed the past.”
Fluttershy began to perk up at that and added, “He’s right. You said you were brought back from being erased; maybe, somehow, that world did change, but everyone was able to live in it without being changed too. They could all still be alive in the future.”
Lucario turned away and grunted, “I doubt it. Dialga is the one who brought me back here; in that future, he had been driven mad by the collapse of Temporal Tower and had become a tyrant, and he was already starting to become that due to the tower already starting to collapse when we reached it. I don’t see how…” He suddenly stopped short as he remembered something.
Sonic tilted his head to the side, “What? Why’d you stop?”
Lucario started slowly, “I… I’m not certain because it was an emotional time, but the night that Dialga brought me back, when Pikachu and I were reunited… Thinking back to it, I might’ve heard Grovyle’s voice saying something about how they were alive…”
Sonic smiled, “Hey, see? There could be a chance he’s still alive.”
Fluttershy nodded, “Maybe the reason you haven’t seen him is because he and others are trying to rebuild and prevent a dark future from happening again.”
Sonic said, “Maybe he and Dusknoir have patched things up, maybe not. Maybe they’re having picnics together or maybe they’re still at each other’s throats, but one thing is for sure: you can hold onto that hope that your old friend is still alive and well.” Lucario turned around at that, now with a small smile on his face. In the stairway, Pikachu smiled at this, getting the feeling that a great weight had been lifted from his friend’s shoulders.
A minute later, the four of them exited the bluff and stood on the path. As he looked down at the Warp Ring, Lucario had an idea. He turned to Sonic and gave him the ring, saying, “Here, get the ring all set up. I’m going to run into town for something and I’ll be right back.” He then turned and ran down the path into Treasure Town. Fluttershy looked down at Pikachu and the mouse shrugged up at her. Sonic looked down at the ring in his left hand and glanced at the trees along the path. He walked down the path and dropped the ring in front of them, causing it to grow to its full size.
Almost as soon as he placed his hand on it, Keldeo came rushing through it, the Mythical Pokémon’s eyes widening as he realized how little room there was in front of him. With a yelp, he planted his hooves against the ground and managed to come to a stop at the edge. Sonic, Fluttershy, and Pikachu glanced back at the ring as Raikou, Suicune, and Entei similarly came through the ring and did the same thing, all of them crashing into Keldeo’s backside. Amazingly, nobody went flying off. “Sorry, my bad!” Sonic called once they were all sure nothing else bad was going to happen.
Entei wheeled on the hedgehog and stomped over to him, saying, ~Yes it is your bad! Were you trying to get us all killed?!~
Sonic asked, “Hey, why would you go rushing through a gateway if you didn’t know where you were going to end up?” Keldeo gave him a sheepish look at that.
Entei bristled, ~Regardless of that, what were you doing?! Do you know how long you’ve been gone?!~
Sonic shrugged as Fluttershy stepped up beside him, “Five minutes?”
Entei growled, but Suicune stepped up next to him saying, ~I don’t know if that’s exactly right or not, but it certainly hasn’t been as long as Entei is making it out to be. Still, you two really should get back there; Mewtwo is getting impatient and while we were able to toss Riolu back to his time, your and Tails’ past selves are refusing to leave until you return.~ She looked around, ~Where’s Lucario?~
Fluttershy answered, “He said he had to run into town to get something.”
The blue jackal soon returned with something wrapped in a blue handkerchief. He made his way around the Legendaries uttering, “Sorry, sorry. I’m sure we’ve been gone longer than expected and it seems like I’m prolonging it, but this is important.” As he nudged Entei a bit to get him out of Sonic’s face, a blue berry fell out of the handkerchief, the Aura Pokémon grabbing it off the ground and dusting it off.
~An Oran Berry,~ Raikou said.
“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked.
Lucario inspected the berry for a moment before looking up at the pegasus and saying, “It’s a berry that’s filled with energizing and restorative juices.” He held it out to her, “Here, give it a try.” Fluttershy leaned forward and took a small bite, leaning back as she chewed it.
A moment later, she gave a gasp as her entire body perked up; her wings even extended straight up. She snatched the berry out of Lucario’s paw and quickly devoured the whole thing in seconds. She finished chewing and swallowing before saying, “Mm, wow! I feel amazing!”
Lucario nodded, “As you should.” He looked at Sonic and said, “I remembered that you and most of your friends looked pretty beat when we showed up. We lost most of the Oran Berries in the Treasure Bag in that wave, but we’ve collected lots of them during our adventures and keep them in storage in case we ever need them.” He held the handkerchief out to Sonic, “Here, there’s enough here for you and the others. It’s not much in terms of payment for your services, but I figured it’s something you could use.”
Sonic briefly wondered why he didn’t offer him or Cadance or Spike one when they first met, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind. He took the handkerchief and shook Lucario’s paw, “Thanks, Lucario. This’ll work great for us, actually.”
They let go of each other a moment later and Lucario said, “I know you guys will be able to take care of that monster you’re after. Until we meet again, take care of yourselves.” Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder and said what Sonic and Fluttershy assumed was a farewell. None of the Legendaries said anything, but they did smile and nod, indicating they agreed with Lucario. With that, Sonic turned and placed his left hand on the Warp Ring, reopening the passage to Empire City. Fluttershy went first and he followed her through.
Lucario and Keldeo moved to one side of the Warp Ring a moment later while Suicune, Raikou, and Entei moved to the other. Sure enough, not long after, Mewtwo shot out of the ring and flew straight out over the ocean seeking solitude, the Warp Ring closing and vanishing as he disappeared off into the distance.
As the silence returned, Keldeo turned to Lucario and talked normally, no longer needing to use telepathy to be understood, “Do you really think they’ll be able to handle the creature responsible for all this, Lucario?”
The Aura Pokémon nodded, “Absolutely.” He looked up at the sky, “For as messed up as things got, it was a real honor to get to meet all those different heroes today.”
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First
Amazing as always I loved the battle with greninja and pikachu and loved all the emotional scenes in there as well. This was a great chapter
Nice little end, my friend...
Was the scrapped Corphish appearance intended as a joke or would it have been more than that?
8341581
More a joke than anything.
static1.e621.net/data/8a/f0/8af035ffae42a7bc2e6e01e4441c9f79.jpg
Some extra song selections that aren't tied into what happens in this chapter.
This feels like a fitting mash-up that covers everything that happened during this arc.
This might be a hard one to make work, but it's something I might try to use in the upcoming sequel.
"Hey, Sonic! Enjoy your future! It's gonna be great!"
A touching end to an arc that brought the heroes of different worlds and times together. I'm surprised you managed to find a way to include a Pokèmon battle despite using the Mystery Dungeon incarnations. And I'm glad to see Sonic and Fluttershy made amends at last.
In general, this arc was really fun and a neat way to tie recent events together into something bigger. And even though the guest heroes returned home, I have a feeling O-T Sonic and F-T Sonic are gonna meet again someday. Call it a hunch.
8342681 Pretty good choices. I'm gonna guess you want to use it for Boom.