“Fascinating,” Alakazam was saying, several hours later. “You’re saying that friendship and love are such powerful forces in your home dimension that they can actually render a subject immortal?”
“And more,” Celestia confirmed.
“Well, I can’t exactly say that they don’t exist here, but insofar as I know they can’t make one a demigod. They can cause the evolution of certain Pokemon, such as Rioulu, Togepi, or Eevee, for instance, but none of those evolved forms are a species of extremely rare immortal. On the other hand, while the effects seem less powerful here they are orders of magnitude more common. Perhaps that spreads the power out more evenly somehow? Hmmm… Could it be that the differing nature of the transformations induced by friendship across our dimensions is not caused by different inherent properties but by a simple variance in concentration?” he stroked his mustache. “Whatever the case, if the chance ever comes, I should very much like to meet this Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps in the company of my dear friend Espeon – a result of friendship with his master causing an Eevee to evolve. I would like to compare their experiences.”
“I’m afraid that that may be difficult,” Celestia explained. “My old student is still on the other side of the dimensional and – if I know that mare at all – working nonstop to try and bring me back as swiftly as possible. I do not know if you will have a chance to meet. But if one should come, I am certain that Twilight would be very eager to meet with you and have a discussion on your theory.”
“Well, one can always hope, no?”
“Of course,” Celestia nodded.
“Another interesting experiment might be to compare a Mega Stone, also capable of inducing a temporary transformation and providing a boost in power when paired with friendship, to these Elements of Harmony that you’ve described.”
“If they could be safely removed from the tree.”
“Naturally. I wonder what similarities might be found between my Alakazamite and these Elements.”
“That would be-”
“Hello!” a third voice interrupted their conversation. Celestia’s eyes shifted, and she saw James standing at the end of the isle where she and Alakazam sat. “Oh, I see you’ve made a new friend. How nice,” he walked a bit closer. “But I’m afraid it’s about time to go. The sun is starting to set and we really do need to be getting back with Jessie soon.”
Celestia blinked. “Has it really been that long already?”
“Time flies when you get older, it seems,” Alakazam noted.
“You have no idea,” Celestia muttered, getting to her hooves. “I suppose I had better depart for the moment.”
“You’re going to leave so soon?”
“I do feel a little bit of… well, fondness for my so-called trainer,” Celestia admitted.
“Even though he does not believe your story?”
“Yes. Besides, at present I expect us to be here a while,” Lumiose City was some distance, and she didn’t feel prepared to make the trek on her own yet. Besides, a little patience might deliver some more valuable information her. And this Alakazam was the best she’d had – not to mention a pleasant source of conversation. “Might you be interested in continuing our discussion tomorrow?”
“I would.”
“How about we meet at the market square at midmorning?”
“I…” Alakazam scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. “Prefer to sleep in. I actually came here almost first thing after waking today. I’m not as spry as I once was.”
“Midday, then.”
“That sounds reasonable,” he nodded, before looking at James. “Would you like me to try and convince this “Team Rocket” of your story’s veracity? Perhaps an outside source would be enough to change their minds.”
“Are you coming?” James beckoned.
“Just a moment,” Celestia answered. “What can you do that I can’t?” she asked Alakazam.
“I could project images from your memories into their minds,” he said. “Assuming, of course, that you and they allow for it. I would never enter another’s mind without express permission. I can also use telepathy to talk to them directly, if you think that could work.”
Celestia mulled it over briefly. “Hmmm…” she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Not right now at any rate. They’re pretty convinced I’m delusional, and projecting images doesn’t help. You could, so far as they know, be making them up, or they could be simple results of my head injury from that horrible Pikachu.”
“That seems reasonable.”
“As it stands, they simply don’t have a reason to trust you.”
“Do you?” he pointed out. “We’ve just met. For all you know I could be a spy for some outlawed Pokemon poaching organization simply attempting to gain your trust to lure you into a trap at some point in the future.”
“Are you?” the corners of her mouth rose slightly.
Alakazam’s eyes twinkled. “If I was, I wouldn’t tell you, now would I?”
“But if you were, you wouldn’t bring it up in casual conversation.”
“Unless of course I were trying to cause you to subconsciously dismiss that exact possibility as too ridiculous to contemplate.”
“Mmm, you’ve thought this through. Should I be worried?”
“In my experience? Always.”
The two shared a brief laugh.
The trip back through Laverre was pleasant enough. Even though the sun was slowly setting behind the horizon, it still cast enough of its orange light over the city to illuminate the way. The marketplace, though down from its midday peak, was still buzzing with people and dozens of different types of Pokemon following them about. Outdoor restaurants and cafes were hitting their own height as people came out for dinner in the cool evening. Small pink Pokemon Celestia now knew to be called Spritzee floated gently over the diners, spreading their sweet, pleasing scents all through the air. Street performers and other entertainers were out in force, with some acts incorporating Pokemon and some not. Celestia spied jugglers, magicians, singers, and even one odd young woman with a Ditto that kept transforming into miniature Pokemon.
The trio passed hundreds of people on their way back through the city. Most were friendly, giving smiles, nods, or other acknowledgements as they passed. They even passed the same flower stand from earlier in the day, earning a cheerful hello and wave from Ellie and Flabebe. Celestia found the journey rather enjoyable, the warmth around them reminding her somewhat of that found back in Equestria.
And then something else arrived on the scene.
Celestia felt it before she saw it. The air around her seemed to the princess to chill, just ever so slightly. The background noise became dimmer, the fine scents wafting through the air lost a slight bit of the sweetness. In short, everything around her seemed to be losing its better qualities in tiny but perceptible amounts. Glancing at James and Meowth, she saw immediately that they weren’t reacting at all. So this was all in her head.
The princess was no fool – she recognized a premonition when she saw one. How she was having one with her Equestrian magic gone was another question altogether. And, premonition of what? As Celestia looked around, she didn’t anything that seemed to be sinister, openly or otherwise. Yes, there were some oddities, like that off-color Eevee and the man with the strange red hairstyle, but…
Celestia did a double take and looked again at the man passing them by. He was tall and well-built, one of the more physically-imposing humans that she had yet seen. He was also well-dressed, sporting a fine black suit with bright red trimming along its edges and matching fingerless gloves around his hands. Around the neck the man’s suit featured an open collar of fine white fur, while his neck itself was concealed by an artfully-tied red scarf. His bore well-defined, regal features and was a mask of powerful determination. Above all, it was the man’s hairstyle that drew her immediate attention: a full, neatly-trimmed red beard, along with an extremely dramatic flair from all directions of his head. It rather gave off the impression of a mane.
As the man passed by James, Meowth, and Celestia, the latter caught a quick glimpse of the belt underneath his suit. He had several of the by now familiar red and white Poke Balls about it, and… was one of his Poke Balls a striped black orb? Just looking at it for the second that she did gave Celestia the impression of ice water trickling down her spine, and she could sworn that there was the faintest echo of a high-pitched scream bouncing around inside her head. And then the man was swallowed up by the crowds around them, and both sensations faded away as quickly as they had come. In the space of a blink, everything returned to normal all around her.
What, she thought as the trio made their way back to camp, had that been about?
The guy at the end probably has Luna.
1. You update fast.
2. Wouldn't hurt to find an editor
3. I'm going to call it. The screaming heard was Twilight.
She has gotten her first glimpse at the enemy.
I wonder what that screaming bit was all about.
6119813
Twilight is all the way in Kanto with Dr Oak (At least that's the last place I remember him living) after Ash captured her. Celestia and Team Rocket are in the Kalos region.
More likely it's Luna or another of the main 6.
6119803 How can you tell?
Lol, I noticed the reference. Duplica and Little Dit.
Hah, she saw a shiny Eevee. I've been breeding those little bastards nonstop lately trying to make one with perfect stats for a Vaporeon, and I actually got a damn shiny, but still haven't gotten one with the stats I want. But I'll keep at it, damn it! Anyway, another great chapter. The fact that she gets premonitions is pretty cool, and that it happened when she passed by Lysandre is a pretty big red flag for later I bet. This has seriously become one of my favorite stories! More!
How the hell did he get his hands on a Dark Ball? Assuming that's what that is, of course.
6119831 Twilight has already been shown to be elsewhere, the rest of her friends are also tagged but I doubt one of them is powerful enough to warrant the use of a specialized pokeball. This is all just theory right now but I assume that because she's having a premonition what's she's seeing hasn't happened yet, from that I'm assuming the guy is the boss of the rival organization who needed the specialized ball (a prototype planned to be stolen from the factory like the Rockets stole the master ball) to capture either Celestial herself or Luna.
Looks like we've got ourseleves a new villain, huh?
It's Lysandre with Xerneas.
Xerneas and Celestia are both at least part fairy, all but confirmed Gods, and have a deep connection to their respective worlds. It's God synergy.
6119978 seems legit.
6119814 Me too. Particularly since a black ball with stripes fits the description of a Luxury Ball. Luxury Balls raise a pokemon's Friendship stat.
6119829 Duh, I forgot about that.
6119978 Wouldn't Celestia be a Psychic/Flying type?
6120129 Celestia is confirmed Fairy/Fire, right?
6120129 Did you read what Ash's pokedex was saying?
6120129 Nah, we have Lugia, Xatu, Swoobat, and Sigilyph for that. Fairy/Fire is, AFAIK, a unique type.
My first instinct is to say that Lysandre has got Yveltal in there, but... well, I reconsidered that as shown in my first comment response below.
I'm pretty sure that's a Dark Ball from the anime and it is almost certainly a Legendary in there--if only because I think Celestia would recognize Luna's screams (it would certainly be dramatically appropriate, wouldn't it?).
Also, were those character tags always there? I seem to remember it being just Celestia and Other.
Where's Luna? The rest of the Mane Six? Did Pinkie Pie decide to just hop into a different story? Is she already proficient at all her moves?
They're going to all get spread out, aren't they? Celestia with Team Rocket, Twilight (and likely most of the girls) with Ash & Co., at least one being brought in by Team Flare and not being told they're helping omnicide, possibly one of them making some sort of alliance with wild Pokemon against humanity... hell, Pinkie Pie could be a Pokemon Trainer!
...
Alright, I'll admit that only the first two are like (the Team Flare thing might have a bit of possibility to it, though).
Also, doing Type predictions. I'm assuming that all ponies are Fairies; in brackets I'm putting alternate typings for those who aren't able to use active magic.
Luna: Dark/Fairy (Look out, Cresselia and Darkrai!)
Twilight: Fairy/Psychic
Applejack: Fairy/Plant [Plant/Ground)
Rarity: Fairy/Rock (hey, Carbink and Diancie)
Fluttershy: Fairy/Normal (Look, this one was hard, ok?) [still Fairy/Normal]
Rainbow Dash: Fairy/Flying [Electric/Flying]
Pinkie Pie: Fairy/??? (that's a pseudo-real Type, not a placeholder word) [???]
6119978 Isn't Yveltal still be in its cocoon at this point?
6120129 She's all but the incarnation of the sun, and Fairy is the type closest to magic. Fire/Fairy makes sense.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
The Sun Sets... is it Sunset Shimmer?
6120024
Luxury Ball (Left):
cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/d/dc/Luxury_Repeat_Ball_anime.png
Dark Ball:
cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/9/90/Masked_Marauder_Dark_Ball.png
Considering the Luxury Ball makes the captured Pokemon more friendly, and the Dark Ball strips of the captured Pokemon of its free will, I think we can assume the thing Celestia saw wasn't a Luxury Ball.
6119904
Psychic
Hyper Voice
Future Sight (maybe Extrasensory, possibly Miracle Eye if you stretch it)
----
Seems legit.
I guess, this was Doctor Oak and the scream Celestia heard was Twilight. Most of all, it is stated, Celestia senses it with her Equestrian magic, so it would make sense. Now I am curious!
6120269 Actually, as of gen 5, ??? type no later longer exists. Curse became a ghost move. Struggle counts as a normal move with some special traits. And I think you mean grass, not plant.
Also, I don't think they'd all be fairy. RD is better suited for fighting/flying, and AJ grass/fighting or grass/ground. Rarity could be Fairy/Ice (even if rock is more viable). Pinkie could be part ghost, or just plain fairy.
Then there's abilities. Celestia could have solar powered or drought - though she hasn't got overloaded by sunlight or caused the sky to clear. She could have Telepathy, but not figured it out yet. Or just simply flame body (though I find that unlikely). Alternatively, she could have anticipation, she shuddered because of the (probably dark) pokeball. Or another prediction ability.
But, she might also have a completely new one. Though I expect her to use the move sacred fire at some point.
6120458 Would he use a Dark Ball?
6119803 People dislike your comment because they don't want that to happen
6120590
I'm kind of leaning towards something like Solar Power for one of her abilities at this point. There was that one line where she mentioned feeling weaker after the sun set a few chapters ago, and I can't think of anything pokemon related that would cause something like that besides whatever her ability is. I haven't seen any real hints towards the others at this point unless this premonition is an indicator of one, which seems likely.
6120590 Not sure how the ??? typing would work in the anime universe, so not really sure if it still exists (or had never been in the first place). Though I think your other points have several reasons for me to trust in.
6120842 Solar Power damages the Pokemon in sunlight in exchange for an attack boost. It comes at a cost, thus I doubt that's it.
So she now has Future Sight?
Also, I am a bit confused by the tags. It would make sense for Twilight to follow and maybe even the rest of the Mane Six, but with Celestia gone Luna would need to remain in Equestria. Why would she leave their country leaderless, and let the moon and sun fall out of cycle? Search and rescue, dangerous missions and otherworldly exploration is what armies and the Mane Six are for.
6120824
Well, the point is, I do not watch Pokemon, so I do not know every character. But I get the most important ones and that's enough.
6120870
I haven't played any of the pokemon games since abilities were a thing. I was just using that as an example since I don't know of any others that would show themselves in a story format by making the pokemon feel stronger during the day and weaker at night. And since Celestia hasn't been under the effects of what the game would consider "Intense sunlight" so far, it's still a possibility.
Not to mention that, though she is a pokemon now, she is (by all appearances) a legendary pokemon, so there's also the possibility that her connection to the sun in Equestria is still present in her pokemon form in some fashion, possibly making her immune to the damaging effects of that particular ability. Legendary pokemon in the stories and such get all kinds of weird abilities and effects, so the possibility of her not following the standard rules is actually fairly likely.
6120987 Or she just has a different ability.
6120955 Me neither. But I read other comments, and found out what a Dark Ball is through that, and remember Oak being back with Twilight. And from the games that Oak wasn't that... evil.
6121010
Okay. Then I am curious, who that other dude is.
6121005
I know it could be a different ability. I distinctly remember saying that I was using it as an example because I don't know what other possible abilities could cause her to gain power in the sunlight and lose it at night.
So unless you've got a different idea as to what could cause it that you just haven't felt like mentioning for some reason, I see no reason to believe that it's not Solar Power.
6121093 Foresight or mindreader? Those are the closest I can think of off the top of my head.
6121327 I think you replied to the wrong comment because those are both moves that cause the next attack to always hit.
6121010 Nah, that's totally ridiculous. Anyways I'm pretty sure this guy was the villain from one of the movies, where he was using dark balls and such in pursuit of Celebi. I think. So many pokemon movies, and I only watched like two of them. ^^; That or he's, more likely, one of Team Flare's lead players.
6120590 But it existed at one point. I know this is set during VI gen, but since it was canonical at one point (and they even made an Arceus model for it), it isn't unreasonable to imagine that Pinkie Pie could have the type.
Or maybe she'd have it especially because it shouldn't exist anymore.
I'm pretty certain her Ability is unique. Her strength growing and waning with the movement of the sun doesn't match up with any other Ability, as you pointed. There are also surprisingly few moves related to the sun, and none of them could emulate the Celestia waxing and waning with the sun.
Although, If we considered that it might be pa preexisting one:
Anticipation has a good possibility (although I personally don't think that's it). However, Anticipation only works on a Pokemon current in play. It also doesn't explain why she heard screaming. Although a Dark Ball might set off Anticipation for a Legendary...
There's also a chance it could be a subconscious use of Miracle Eye; if it is Yveltal, her subconscious may have pulled it in response. I think the most likely option is that it is Extrasensory, like 6120446 suggested. It normally involves overloading another Pokemon with more senses than they can comprehend, but remember that extrasensory is short for Extra-Sensory Perception. Standard ESP powers would definitely give its user the ability to feel something like the pain/malevolence coming from a Dark Ball.
6121897 Or she'd just be a plain normal type to screw with the system.
Eeeie--I was so happy when I saw an update! Keep up the awesome work--I wonder what was in that pokeball. o.o'
6121116
I suggested Future Sight mostly because Celestia called it a premonition.
6120185 Unknown Pokemon, for both Tia and Twily.
6120179
6120185 Unknown Pokemon, for both Twi and Tia. It also said that Tia used a psychic move.
6120179 6120269 6120204 Her levitation and other moves were psychic, and they were unicorn/alicorn magic. Minus hyper voice, of course. Fire or Flying would work for slot 2.
6124061
We learn Celestia's type almost right away--that was back in the second chapter, and her typing has been mentioned a number of times since then.
Also, there are 38 Pokemon who can learn Telekinesis without being Psychic-type and 148 who can learn Psychic without being Psychic-type. 13 of these can learn it without a TM.
Pokemon being good at attacks outside their element isn't surprising. The most notorious one though, would be Psyduck, a terribly misnamed Pokemon that is a pure Water-type. He is mentioned in every single Pokedex entry in all of the main games as having psychic/mysterious powers.
ohh Suspense!
With the mention of megastones, I feel like this is relevant:
6115006
Uh, that's not even slightly what I was saying. Did you by any chance respond to the wrong comment?
6124495 Speaking on that, Steel is resisted by Fire types. If she is a Fairy/Fire type, how is Iron Tail super effective? It should only be neutral, right? Just a thing that's been bugging me.