You, Me, Ponies, and Pokémon

by DJSkywalker

V - Equestria

Chapter Five: Assertion

When we last left our hero, Ash had just encountered the first member of the Elite Four, Prince Blueblood. With the crowd roaring around him and a smirk on his face, the human was ready to show the world once again why he was the first champion of Equestria. But first, to deal with the so called “Stallion of Steel”.

“Are both trainers ready?” Raven called out to Ash and Blueblood.

“Of course! I am always ready for a challenge,” the prince responded with a smile. Ash heard the mares in the audience swoon, catching a few of them with a hearts in their eyes. Though he swore a familiar posh voice was shouting “boo”. Putting that out of his mind, he smirked at Raven.

“I’m ready to battle! Let’s begin!”

Raven nodded, holding out two red flags in her light raspberry magic. “Trainers! Send out your first Pokémon!”

“You first, your highness,” Ash said with a wide smile.

“Such a gentlestallion,” the prince admired. “As you wish, Red, but you will soon regret such a pleasantry!” Blueblood lifted out a gem encrusted pokéball and chucked it out into the field. “Time for battle, Ferrothorn!” The pokéball opened, releasing a light blue light that solidified into a Pokémon resembling a flattened durian fruit. Its metallic body was covered in thorns, with three black stripes circling its width, the middle stripe having triangular decorations below the eyes., which had green rims, yellow scleras, and dark pupils. There was a green spike at the top of its body, and extending around it were vine-like, long green appendages tipped with spiky metal disks.

“Ferro!” the Pokémon cried out as the crowd went wild. In the stands, the mane six, and Spike, watched on, Twilight and Applejack watching intently. Rainbow and Fluttershy also kept their eyes trained on the field, but not quite to the same intensity as their friends. Rarity was too busy glaring daggers at Blueblood due to what happened two years prior at the Grand Galloping Gala. Pinkie was smiling brightly as usual, munching on a large bucket of popcorn. None of her friends knew how she was doing that, considering there were no snack stands around the field.

“So Blueblood starts with Ferrothorn,” Twilight said to herself mostly. “That thing’s got some good power to it. Certainly not his strongest Pokémon, but it’s stronger than most.”

“Looks well taken care of ta boot,” AJ commented. “Blueblood may be a pompous lout, but at least he can take care of his ‘mons alright.” She looked over to Ash with her eyes narrowed slightly. “But let’s see what Ash has in mind for this.”

“I hope it’s one of the famous ones,” Rainbow said, holding her hooves close in anticipation. “I wanna see something great!”

“You said it, Rainbow!” Spike said, standing on the bench due to his smaller stature. “Go get ‘im, Ash!”

Ash looked at Ferrothorn for a moment before smirking. “This might be easier than I thought,” he muttered, the brim of his hat covering his eyes. He looked down to Blue, who returned the look with one of acknowledgment. Ash looked back up, pulling out a regular, red pokéball. “You’re the one who’s gonna regret that choice, Bluey!” he declared, lobbing out the ball. “Let’s show them who’s the real champion… CHARIZARD!”

The pokéball opened, releasing a draconic, bipedal Pokémon. It was primarily orange with a cream underside from the chest to the tip of its tail, which burned with a sizable flame. It had a long neck, small blue eyes, raised nostrils, and two blunt horns protruding from the back of its rectangular head, where two fangs were visible in the upper jaw. Two large wings with teal undersides sprouted from its back, and a horn-like appendage jutted out from the third joint of each wing. Its arms were short and skinny compared to its robust belly, and each limb had three, white, sharp claws. It had stocky legs and cream-colored soles under its feet. Around its neck was strange, trapezoidal shaped metal necklace with a small orb placed in the center.

Charizard landed on the ground, throwing his head up into the air and unleashed a massive roar that silenced the entire chamber, sending up a cloud of dust as well. His head lowered when the roar ended, a fire raging in his eyes after over a thousand years in stasis. Despite the initial shock, the crowd roared up again nearly as much as Charizard with cheers and whistles. A certain pegasus being one of the loudest among them.

“Dang,” Applejack muttered, her eyes wide. “Ah knew the legends said Red’s Charizard was incredibly strong, but that… that was unreal.”

“I concur,” Rarity gasped, a hoof on her chest. The roar had torn her glares away from Blueblood to stare in disbelief with her friends. “Such a beast and yet, it looks so… divine! I can see the muscles from here! Oh, what I wouldn’t give to meet a stallion that was half as mighty looking! And just look at the jewelry! That beautiful jewelry!”

Spike crossed his arms, grumbling to himself as he looked away. He knew Charizard wasn’t actually a dragon, but it didn’t lessen the sting by much.

Twilight couldn’t help her usual thirst for knowledge, pulling out a red, rectangular device. On the device was several semi-circle ridges spreading inward from the four corners and was split in the middle by a light blue glass. The middle also had two silver lines running parallel, with black semi-circles in the middle, giving it the appearance of a pokéball. Twilight kept the device in her magic, using her hoof to press the center, extending it out to make the central glass larger. She angled the device to look at Charizard, causing a screen to appear in the glass with images of the Pokémon as a female voice spoke from the device.

“Charizard, the flame Pokémon, and the final evolved form of Charmander. Charizard flies around the sky in search of powerful opponents. It breathes fire of such great heat that it melts anything. However, it never turns its fiery breath on any opponent weaker than itself.”

“Ah think that pokédex might finally be wrong there, Twi,” Applejack said, adjusting her hat slightly. “Ah don’t think that Charizard has any problem taking on an opponent, whether it’s weaker or not.”

“I don’t think there is anything that isn’t weak to it,” Fluttershy mumbled, shaking a bit from the power of the fire-type.

Blueblood was one of the few ponies in the stadium that wasn’t completely affected by the flame Pokémon’s ferocity, but it was certainly enough to shake him slightly. “Hmph,” he muttered, adjusting his bow tie. “A mighty looking beast indeed. The legends might have underspoken the power of your Pokémon, Mr. Ketchum, but I will not be deterred!”

“Ferro!” Ferrothorn challenged, glaring at Charizard.

“The first battle,” Raven shouted, holding the flags out. “Charizard versus Ferrothorn… begin!”

“Pin Missile!” Blueblood ordered. The ends of Ferrothorn’s vines glowed white before firing white orbs surrounded in green, arrow-shaped streams of light that went right for Charizard. They impacted on Charizard’s unprotected belly, creating an explosion that covered the fire-type in white smoke.

As the crowd held their breath, Ash smirked under the shadow of his hat. “Pitiful,” he said simply.

“What?” Blueblood asked, only for his question to be answered as the smoke cleared, showing Charizard completely unharmed. “That’s-That’s not possible!”

“Charizard… Flamethrower.”

Charizard huffed before inhaling deeply. In an instant he threw his head forward, opening his mouth with a roar as he released a massive torrent of burning red, white, and orange fire that instantly engulfed Ferrothorn. The fire raged for a moment before dissipating, leaving the thorn pod Pokémon blackened all over with swirls in his eyes.

Raven raised the flag that was facing Ash. “Ferrothorn is unable to battle. The winner is Charizard!”

Once again, the crowd was dead silent, but this time the quiet remained as Blueblood shakily returned his Pokémon to his pokéball. Even the main six (seven) were completely stunned.

“I… I can’t believe it,” Twilight whispered. “Blueblood’s Ferrothorn is easily in the sixties, level-wise. Yet, it was taken out with a simple Flamethrower attack. How strong is that Charizard‽”

“Strong enough!” Rainbow giddily said. “GO CHARIZARD!” she shouted, spawning a fresh wave of cheers from the crowd. Celestia herself held a knowing look in her eye as she looked down on her old friend.

“He hasn’t changed,” she muttered to herself. Luna overheard and nodded along.

“Quite, sister. You might be in for a challenge today, after all.”

Blueblood sucked in a calming breath before taking out another pokéball. “Beginner’s luck.” he muttered to himself, despite knowing that to be far from the truth. “It’s time to battle, Bisharp!”

Out of the pokéball came a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon. It had a round, red and black head, similar to a war helmet, topped with a golden, double-headed axe blade. Its face was primarily yellow with a black outline. The helmet shrouded most of its yellow-and-black face, although its triangular eyes were visible. Resembling shoulder pads, its red shoulders projected slightly over its arms and had a thin yellow line where they met its black torso. It had white, metallic hands that resembled gloves, with retractable, blades attached. Encircling its torso were two blades, which created the impression of a ribcage. Its thighs were red and become progressively thinner as they connected to the knee. Both of its feet were metallic and split down the middle, resembling cloven hooves. though seemed much closer to warboots.

“Round 2 of Blueblood vs. Red will begin!” Raven shouted, flags outstretched. “Charizard vs. Bisharp, begin!”

“You won’t defeat my Bisharp so easily this time, Ketchum!” the prince roared. “Bisharp, Slash!”

“Sharp!” the sword blade Pokémon declared, shooting forward with his left blade extended by white energy. Bisharp approached Charizard without a problem, bringing the blade up for a horizontal strike on Charizard. Just as the attack was about to connect, Charizard’s claw shot out and grabbed the Slash attack, stopping the steel-type cold.

“What‽” Blueblood cried.

Ash smirked again. “Flamethrower.”

“Bisharp get out of there!” But it was pointless. Charizard flame burst all over the steel-blade Pokémon, once again burning the opponent to a crisp. The fire-type dropped his fainted, burnt opponent like nothing.

“Bisharp is unable to battle!” Raven declared. “Charizard is the winner!”

“Wahoo! Two in a row!” Pinkie cried, getting popcorn everywhere as she threw up her hooves.

“Woah,” was all Spike could manage to say, Twilight and Applejack nodding along.

A red light returned Bisharp to his pokéball, Blueblood inwardly seething if the grinding of his teeth was any indication. ‘Keep your cool, Blueblood. You’re a prince of Equestria. Can’t go losing your cool on live television. What would the tabloids say‽’ He took another calming breath and pulled out the next pokéball. “You’re quite the challenge, Mr. Ketchum. But this is where your winning streak ends!” He tossed out his next Pokémon.

Its body was comprised of a golden sword with the blade pointing downwards. The edge of the blade was white and somewhat serrated near the tip. Its single eye, which was purple with a white, linear pupil, sat where the blade met the hilt, where it was surrounded by black coloration. The handle was thick at its base, tapered as it progressed to the end, and was striated. Two cloth-like arms emerged from the sides of the hilt, each one primarily black and ended in lavender, transitioned by a slight whorl between the two colors. It carried an ornate shield in one of its arms.

“Behold! My Aegislash!” the prince proudly declared.

“Oooh, shiny,” Pinkie commented.

“Not once Charizard is done with it,” Rainbow snarked with a smirk.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that Rainbow,” Twilight said, closing her eyes as she recalled her memory of that particular Pokémon. “Blueblood’s Aegislash is incredibly well trained and not so easily-” Her voice was cut off by the sound of rushing fire. She opened her eyes, only to have to rub them again as she saw Aegislash laying on the ground, burnt black, with a swirl in his one eye. “HOW‽” Twilight shouted, having to stop herself from tearing out her hair. “How in the hay is that fire lizard so strong‽”

If Twilight was freaking out, Blueblood was close to having an aneurysm from pent up rage. With his precious Aegislash returned to his Pokéball, he continued grinding his teeth as he resorted to lifting out the next one with magic. “This time it won’t be so easy,” he seethed. “Time for battle, Klefki!”

Klefki was a small, grayish-white Pokémon resembling a key ring with four keys on it. It had a spherical head with a white face and a small, pink oval on its forehead. Two black circles and a keyhole formed its eyes and mouth. Below its head was its pink, teardrop-shaped body with a white marking in the middle. Extending from the top of its head was an appendage, which resembled an old-fashioned key with two wide, blunt teeth. A thin loop surrounded Klefki, and connected at either side of the "key". Hanging from the loop were various keys that this Pokémon had collected, some looking to be made of precious metals. “Klefki,” it cried out cutely.

“D’aww,” several mares in the audience cooed at the little Pokémon.

Blueblood smirked. “This will not be so easy, Ketchum! Klefki is a fairy type as well as a steel type! There will be no easy way to beat her this time!”

“Flamethrower,” Ash said in an almost bored tone. Charizard equally so, barely putting any effort into the flame this time, yet it still knocked the key ring Pokémon out. The mares and Blueblood had their jaws on the ground. Ash smirked. “It maybe a fairy type, but a fire type can still take it down easily. I was around before fairies were considered ‘new’; can’t throw me off that easily, Bluey.”

Clenching down on his rage, Blueblood lifted his next pokéball and lobbed it to the field. “This one should give you plenty of challenge,” he seethed between his teeth. “Time for battle, Klinklang!”

Klinklang resembled four interlocking gears, with six teeth on the smaller two gears and eight teeth on the larger gear. The fourth gear was on its lower side, and was red-topped with a thin, spiked rim below it. The teeth of the smaller gears were a light gray, while their central regions were much darker. The teeth of the larger gear were a medium gray and its central region was darker. The left eye of the smaller gear was a white "X", while its right eye had a black pupil and a white sclera. It had a round green nose and a small mouth. The largest gear appeared to have a face with a black square for its left eye, a black circle for its right eye, and a sharply angled white frown.

“Klinklang,” it droned in a robotic voice.

“Quickly! Use Zap Cannon!”

“It knows Zap Cannon‽” Applejack asked aloud, her eyes showing her surprise more than her voice. “That’s the most powerful electric move there is!”

An orb of electricity with a glowing red center formed in front of Klinklang before the gear Pokémon fired it at Charizard. It shot forward at incredible speed… only for Charizard’s claw to stop it dead just like he did for Bisharp. The claw slowly clenched on the Zap Cannon, before it pierced through the electrical energy, causing it to disperse in an explosion that blew dust right back at Blueblood and Klinklang.

When his sight returned, Blueblood was horrified to see Charizard standing over his Pokémon. “Klinklang, get out of there!” The gear Pokémon freaked upon seeing its opponent so close, attempting to get away. But there was no saving it from Charizard.

“Flamethrower,” Ash ordered, arms crossed over his chest. Fire rained down on the poor steel type, the battle over once again in seconds. Klinklang was succinctly returned to its pokéball.

Blueblood clenched his teeth hard, grinding them together as a vein popped in his forehead. “That is it!” he shouted, fury filling his voice. “I will not be defeated by some old creature that dragged its way on to the field of battle!” He pulled out a solid gold Pokéball and chucked it out to the field. “Now you will face defeat! Time for battle, METAGROSS!”

The pokéball opened, releasing a seemingly robotic Pokémon with a turquoise, disc-shaped body and four legs. The main body appeared to serve as both head and body, and the Pokémon’s overall construction gave it the appearance of a mechanized arachnid. A large, metallic cross was situated in the center of its face. On either side of the cross, a red eye peered out from a space in Metagross's metallic armor. Its four legs were joined to the main body by ball-and-socket joints. While the upper portion of the legs was relatively thin, they were considerably thicker below the knee. Each leg had three short claws on the end and a flat, blunt protrusion extending over the knee.

“Meta!” the iron leg Pokémon cried out, power resonating from its deep voice.

Twilight frowned a bit, watching the field. “Uh oh, Blueblood’s losing control.”

“What else would you expect of such a ruffian,” Rarity said with a flick of her hair and a “harrumph”.

“Thanks for yer two bits there, Rares,” Applejack deadpanned. She shook her head before looking back at the match. “That Metagross there may cause an issue fer Charizard, though. A ‘mon like ain’t gonna be no pushover.”

Back down on the field, Ash had a smirk slowly appear on his face. “So that’s your big number one?” He popped the joints in his knuckles, Charizard mimicking his trainer. “Then bring it on, your highness!”

Raven held her flags aloft. “The sixth match; Charizard vs. Metagross. Begin!”

Blueblood practically screamed at his Pokémon. “Bullet Punch!” Faster than the eye could see, Metagross lept at Charizard, its four appendages glowing a bright red as they repeated struck Charizard at lightning speed. One after another slammed into Charizard’s belly, stopping after what seemed like hundreds of punches. Blueblood smirked, until it fell from his face when seeing Charizard simply looking bored and observing his own claws. “That… that’s not possible. How could that have done no damage at all‽”

“Because it’s a steel type attack, duh,” Spike commented. “Even if it looks like it’ll do a ton of damage, it’s still not gonna do much on a fire type.”

Twilight smiled a bit at her assistant. “You really have been paying attention in your classes.” Spike smiled back, enjoying the praise.

Ash adjusted the brim of his hat with that wry smile still plastered on his face. “You really must not be accustomed to fighting fire types, are ya? Charizard, let’s finish this one up in style. Time for-”

“I won’t give you the chance!” Blueblood cried out. “I will not be made the fool of! Metagross, Psychic!”

“Meta!” Metagross cried, its eyes glowing a bright blue. An outline of the same color formed around Charizard, the flame Pokémon grunting in surprise as his movement was stopped completely.

“Good call on that one,” Twilight muttered. “Psychic prevents the opponent from moving while doing some good amount of damage. Type difference won’t save Charizard from this one.”

“Ah yes, the pinnacle of psychic moves,” Ash said wryly. “Oh whatever shall we do? Charizard?” A fire raged in the Pokémon’s eyes as he stared down the steel type. He started to flex his muscles, struggling to escape the psychic field.

“Don’t even try it!” the prince smirked in confidence. “My Metagross’ powers cannot be so easily overcome from brute force. You might as well surrender now before…. before…” Blueblood’s words trailed off as his confidence was slowly being overridden before his very eyes. A sweat was forming over his Pokémon’s body as Charizard continued to struggle, his arms, tail, legs, and wings slowly breaking Metagross’ hold. “B-b-but how? This isn’t possible. It can’t be possible,” he whispered to himself.

To the utter shock of the crowd, however, it proved to not be so impossible. With a mighty roar, Charizard broke through the Psychic attack, throwing his wings out wide.

Blueblood quickly shook himself from his stupor, knowing that hesitation now would mean the end of the battle. “Metagross, get out of there!” Metagross quickly headed its trainer’s words, levitating into the air and hovering farther away from Charizard.

“Now you’ve gone and ticked off Charizard, Bluey.” Ash smirked, letting a shadow dip over his face thanks to his hat. “Ya shouldn’ta did that. Charizard… Blast. Burn.”

Twilight and Applejack both paled, leaning back in shock. “Did he just say…” Twilight began.

“Blast Burn‽” Applejack finished.

“That’s so awesome!” Pinkie cheered. She stopped and whispered to Spike, “What’s Blast Burn?” Spike faceclawed for an answer.

“Blast Burn is the most powerful fire type attack possible,” Twilight explained, her eagerness to share knowledge averting some of the fear. “But no trainer has been able to get a Pokémon to fully master it.”

“I think Ash is about to break that,” Spike said, leaning closer on the edge of his seat.

Charizard roared, echoing out his power, raising up his fist in the air. It suddenly sparked as an unnatural fire started around the claw; it glowed a burning red, yet was slightly translucent, almost as if created with magic. The fire type clenched his fist tighter before slamming it to the ground, nearly vibrating the whole stadium with the amount of power it released. The stadium went eerily quiet as they awaited for the result of the legendary fire attack. A cracking sound slowly started to pierce the silence, the source of which appearing beneath Metagross.

Blueblood discovered this one second too late. “Metagross move!” he shouted, but there was no point. Metagross looked down, unable to see what was brewing beneath it. This hesitance and lack of reaction time sealed the iron leg Pokémon’s fate. The cracks worsened at an alarming rate, the center of which grew so hot that a large red spot was visible. Just as Metagross began to head its trainer’s orders, the ground below it exploded as a massive column of fiery energy engulfed the Pokémon, blasting to the top of the thirty-some foot ceiling. The pillar didn’t last long, maybe thirty seconds before the energy faded, leaving the ground scarred and scorched, as well as a very well-done Metagross.

Raven raised a flag towards Charizard. “Metagross is unable to battle! The round goes to Charizard, the match won by Ash Ketchum!”

“No!” Blueblood cried, sinking to his knees as he wallowed in defeat.

Charizard let out a roar of victory as Ash returned him to his pokéball. He smiled down at the ball, “Thanks, Charizard. You did amazing.” He clipped the ball to his belt, a small thought running through his head, ‘That metagross had plenty of power behind it. So why is it that Blueblood didn’t release it?’. He shook those thoughts free before addressing his opponent. “Hey Bluey!” The unicorn looked up at Ash, a hint of anger in his eyes, yet still Ash smiled. “That was a great match. Just get better and try again someday! I’ll always take a good challenge again.”

“A good challenge?” Blueblood muttered, looking at Ash with his eyes slightly wider. Realizing he was being praised for his battling skills, the prince got back to his hooves and returned his defeated Pokémon to its ball. “Ah, yes. Yes, it was quite the battle, Mr. Ketchum. I am glad the legend did not speak unwisely of your battling prowess.” He bowed politely, causing the crowd above to finally burst into cheers.

“Wowie!” Pinkie exclaimed as she clapped her hooves. “That sure was fun and super-duper amazing!”

“I must admit, Charizard may seem like a brute, but his attacks! Oh, such flare, such style! It’s getting me all tingly with ideas!”

Applejack rolled her eyes at Rarity. “Always with the clothes, that one,” she muttered to herself. She watched the field, seeing Blueblood make his way off of the field, no doubt heading up to the royal box where the princesses were waiting and watching as well. The farm mare tipped her hat unseen to Ash. “That human sure knows how to raise a powerful ‘mon. Ah don’t think Ah’ve seen such a powerhouse in a long while. Not even Chrysalis’ Scolipede was that strong.”

“Charizard would have roasted that big bug in seconds!” Rainbow declared. “It was so awesome!”

Spike stared down at the battlefield as it was quickly repaired by unicorn magic, his eyes wide and sparkling. “And he’ll be my teacher…” He turned to Twilight, a fire burning in those green eyes of his. “I’m gonna be as great as that, Twilight! You’ll see; once I have my first Pokémon, we’ll get powerful allies and become the strongest trainer ever!”

Twilight smiled with a bit of mirth. “Of course you will, Spike. But your tenth birthday is still a couple months away. Willow doesn’t even have the new starters in just yet. Just keep up on your studies and when it does roll around, you’ll be on your way to accomplishing your dream.”

The dragon nodded with a big grin. “Yes, ma’am! I’ll do my very best!”

She pulled him into a hug with a little giggle. “I know you will, Spike.”

“That’s so cute,” Fluttershy commented, finally coming out of hiding from when Charizard had used Blast Burn. “Little Spikey is growing up!”

Spike’s cheeks instantly flushed, pushing himself out of Twilight’s grip. “Aw come on! Can’t I ever just have one moment without being cutesied?!”

“Enope,” Applejack said with a big ol’ grin, imitating her older brother’s, Big Macintosh, typical speech pattern.

“Dangit!”

“Language, Spike,” Twilight lightly scolded, holding back a few more giggles.

The poor baby dragon’s “suffering” no doubt would have continued had it not been for Raven’s voice echoing once again throughout the stadium. “The challenger, Ash Ketchum, has bested the first of the Elite Four, but now he faces a true power of our world! Please give a grand hoof for the fairest of them all, the beautiful battler, the crystal pony princess herself, Prrrrrrrrrrrincess… Mi Amoré CAAAADEEEENZAAAA!”

The stadium erupted in applause once again, as a comparatively tall, alicorn mare took her position opposite Ash. The mare’s pink fur was clearly well cared for, her tri-color mane and tail of violet, rose, and gold hanging long and curled at the ends. Her light purple eyes looked at Ash with compassion and love, yet he could tell that there was a fire hidden within those orbs. “A pleasure, your grace,” Cadance said with a soft, melodious voice, taking a small bow to Ash.

A slight grin formed on the human’s face. “I can see why the stallions, and mares, go wild for you. That voice alone is as divine as the sirens of myth of my homeland.”

Cadance’s cheeks reddened for a second, giggling lightly. “Oh my, don’t let my husband hear you say that.”

“Too late for that!” an angry male’s voice came from the sidelines. Ash looked over, seeing a muscular, white stallion standing to the sidelines behind Cadance, cerulean eyes glaring back at the former champion. The stallion shook some of his sapphire blue hair, snorting as a bit of anger leaked from him.

“Heh, sorry about that. Only paying a lovely lady her dues. I meant no offence.” The stallion pointed a hoof at his own eyes before pointing it Ash. “And it went right over his head.”

“Sorry about Shining. He gets… protective,” Cadance said in an apologetic tone.

“I can see that. Well, hopefully he won’t mind how bad his wife is about to get beat.” Ash was silent for a moment thinking that over. “That sounded so much better in my head.”

“Yeah, it really did!” Pinkie called out from the stands.

“Anyway!” Raven declared, raising her two flags. “The match between Ash Ketchum and Princess Cadance is about to begin! Are both trainers ready?”

Cadance lifted up a pokéball that looked to be made of blue crystal. “Ready!”

A smirk graced Ash’s lips again as he got pumped for the battle. He looked down at Blue who nodded back with a smirk of his own. “We’re ready over here!”

Raven nodded, raising her flags high. “BEGIN!”

Cadance was first to throw out her pokéball. “Release! Mr. Mime!” The ball opened, releasing a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon with a round, white body that had a red spot in the middle. Its light pink arms and legs were connected to its body by red spheres and its knees had small, white coverings. There were red pads on the tips of its white fingers, and its black feet curled upward at the tips. Blue growths extended from the sides of its pale pink head, and there were red circles on its cheeks.

“Mime!” the Pokémon said with a somewhat high-pitched voice, holding his hands out as if they were pressed against something.

“Go Cadance! You got this!” Twilight cheered, waving her hooves around.

“Jeez Twi, can ya be any more biased on this one?” Applejack chuckled.

“Oh shush! I’m gonna cheer all I want for my sister in law!” She pointed a small glare at Spike, causing the drake to flinch. “You too buster.”

“Yes ma’am,” Spike said with a gulp.

Down on the field, Ash narrowed his eyes with a scrutinizing look at the psychic/fairy type. Ideas and theories ran through his head at incredible speeds until… He reached behind him and pulled out the black and yellow ball. He pressed the central button, returning it to its full size before tossing the ultra ball out to the field. “Come on out, KROOKODILE!”

This Pokémon, this “Krookodile”, had a thick maroon-colored body, black back, and white stomach, its head slightly pointed and containing a distinctive black membrane that surrounded both eyes. The outline of the membrane angled upward sharply, coming to points above the top of Krookodile's head, though it was hard to tell due to . It had five triangular spikes on its back: four around the middle of its back and one large one at the beginning of its tail. Each of the smaller spikes on its back were linked to black, triangular spikes that reached around to its front, slightly overlapping its stomach. The largest spike sat at the beginning of its long thick tail, which had three, thick, black stripes, the last stripe covering the tip of the tail. Its legs were very short and directly attached to its feet, which were wrapped in black and had three white claws facing forward. Krookodile's arms were short and thin with a black stripe around the elbow; its long, thin fingers are each tipped with a white claw.

Its most notable feature was its long snout, containing a black stripe around the bridge, and large pointed nostrils on the end. Four of its rear and two of its front incredibly sharp teeth slightly overlap its lower jaw. Said jaw opened a bit to let it cry out, “Krookodile!” to the crowd as it slammed its tail on the ground in a show of power.

“Ow wowie!” Pinkie said with a wide-eyed laugh. “Now that’s a gator! It could eat up Gummy in one bite!” The pink party pony suddenly stopped at what she said, turning in horror to Fluttershy. “H-he wouldn’t do that, right?” Fluttershy patted her friend’s shoulder comfortingly, no words needing to be spoken to relieve Pinkie of her underserved fear.

“But why a krookodile?” Twilight asked to nopony in particular. “It makes no sense to use a dark type against Cadance. She’s using a fairy team.”

“Maybe it’s because she’s using Mr. Mime?” Spike put in his own two bits. “It is primarily a psychic type afterall. Maybe he thinks she’s a psychic user?”

Before Twilight could reply, Applejack responded with a, “Nuh uh.” Her friends turned to look at the earth pony who was watching the field carefully. “Ah may not know Ash all that well jus’ yet, but he ain’t gonna be fooled so easily. Ah think he knows more than he’s lettin’ on. So les’ jus’ see what the varmint’s got in store.”

“Oh, um, Twilight? Could you pull up Krookodile on your pokédex?” Fluttershy asked. “I’d like to see what it says about him.”

Twilight smiled, eager to share knowledge with her friends. “Sure, Fluttershy.” She pulled out the pokédex and aimed its sensor at the ground/dark type. The pokédex slid open, giving a full three-sixty degrees look at Krookodile as it read aloud the entry:

“Krookodile, the intimidation Pokémon and the evolved form of Krokorok. Very violent Pokémon, they try to clamp down on anything that moves in front of their eyes. They never allow prey to escape. Their jaws are so powerful, they can crush the body of a steel carriage.”

Fluttershy made an “eep” sound at the entry, shaking a bit as she and Pinkie held each other, Pinkie’s fear of the large reptile refounded.

“Another brutish Pokémon?” Rarity asked the open air. “I would have suspected the great champion of Equestria to have Pokémon with a bit more… flare.”

“Flare isn’t going to help in battle, Rarity,” Rainbow scoffed. “Save that for those lame contests you’re always watching on TV. In a battle, brute force is your only true ally!”

Before the girls could converse any further, Raven held her flags high again. “The first round, Krookodile versus Mr. Mime! Begin!”

“You didn’t pick quite the right choice, Mr. Ketchum!” Cadance declared. “Mr. Mime, use Miracle Leaf!”

“Miiiiime!” the barrier Pokémon cried as it summoned a storm of glowing, green leaves that charged forward at Krookodile, each one ready to shred into the intimidation Pokémon. But his trainer wasn’t gonna let that happen.

“Earthquake!” Ash ordered. Krookodile’s tail glowed with a light brown energy, slamming it down on the field. An incredible shockwave shook the stadium, cracking breaking the ground apart. One particular piece jutted up right in front of the ground/dark type, Mr. Mime’s leaves planting themselves in the slab of rock instead of Krookodile.

“Clever boy,” Cadance mused. “But not enough! Mr. Mime-”

“Foul Play!” Ash shouted, interrupting the princess of love. The rock barrier Krookodile suddenly started charging at Mr. Mime, a dark purple energy radiating from behind it.

Cadance was forced to act quickly as the dark type attack encroached on her Pokémon. “Mimey! Use Protect!”

“Mime!” the Pokémon shouted fearfully, sweating as he put his hands out, creating a green barrier around himself. The rock didn’t stop, however, charging right at Mr. Mime. It shattered against the barrier, Krookodile’s Foul Play completely negated by the Protect. But that left Krookodile in a prime position as the barrier faded away.

Ash’s smirk grew as the end play came down. “Krookodile! IRON TAIL!”

“What‽” Twilight practically screeched.

“B-but steel type attacks are…” Cadance said to herself as she came to realization too late. “Mimey! Protect! NOW!”

Mr. Mime attempted to put up another barrier, but it was a fruitless attempt. Krookodile’s tail took on a metallic shine, almost as if the entire powerful appendage became steel. He adjusted his footing slightly before sideswiping at Mr. Mime. The attack hit home, sending Mr. Mime flying into the far right wall, imbedding there with swirls in his eyes.

“Mr. Mime is unable to battle! Krookodile is the winner!” Raven shouted.

Cadance returned Mr. Mime to his ball, whispering to the ball, “You did well, get some rest.” She put the ball away before looking at Ash. “That’s why you sent out Krookodile isn’t it? That Iron Tail attack. It’s your ace against fairy types.”

Ash snapped his fingers with a grin. “Bingo! Krookodile here can match any fairy type, no matter how strong. Ain’t that right, slugger?”

“Krook!” Krookodile cried, flexing his flimsy arms. There was a slight glow to them, but went unnoticed, mostly. A certain farm mare caught the quick glow, narrowing her eyes at the intimidation Pokémon and his trainer.

“Alright Ash, what’s yer game here?” AJ whispered to herself, staring intently at the field.

Cadance gave Ash a bit of a stink eye, narrowing dangerously. “Alright then, buster. Guess I need to kick it up a notch.” She lifted up the next ball, still glaring at Ash.

“Uh oh,” he muttered to himself. “I know that look.”

“You’re boned!” Shining called out with a laugh.

“Shaddup!” Ash replied with a shake of his fist. The stallion nearly fell over in laughter as Ash huffed. “Just get on with the battle already.”

“With pleasure,” Cadance replied, sending out her next crystal ball. What was released was a small, brown bipedal Pokémon with a vaguely ram-like appearance. There was a cotton-like substance covering its back, neck, and forehead. Behind it was a green, star shaped section similar to the area where a plant connected to its produce. It had orange, oval-shaped eyes and green, curled horns, or ears it was difficult to discern. “Let’s get this over with, Whimsicott!”

“Whimsi!” the windveiled Pokémon cried out, looking cute while doing it. Ash swore he heard several mares in the audience “d’aww” at the little critter, including a certain shy pegasus.

“Well this could be a challenge, eh slugger?” Ash said to Krookodile who simply looked back at him, pulling down his sunglass. The look he received from the Pokémon said it all. “Yeah, I that’s what I was thinking. Let’s take them down.”

“Krook,” he replied with a nod.

“The second round, Krookodile versus Whimsicott may now begin!” Raven shouted out.

“Razor Leaf!” Cadance ordered. Whimsicott’s body shuddered for a moment, several leaves shaking out before being lifted by an invisible force. The leaves took on an unnatural shine before flying at high speed in Krookodile’s direction.

For a moment, Ash pondered if Cadance was trying the same thing she did with Mr. Mime only minutes prior, but he knew better than to underestimate an opponent like that. He wasn’t willing to let the alicorn enact any new tactics, either. “Show them your stuff, Krookodile! Iron Tail!”

Krookodile’s tail took on the metallic sheen again as he charged forward at a speed that shouldn’t have been possible for a creature with his body type. What was a surprise to Cadance was that the reptile was heading right into her Whimsicott’s attack.

“What’s he think he’s doing‽” she asked aloud.

“What I like to think I’m good at,” Ash smirked in response. “Winning!” Before she could refute that statement, Krookodile roared. She saw him sliding right into the Razor Leaf, but he turned slightly and used his Iron Tail to sweep the leaves harmlessly away. Cadance gaped, but wasn’t given any time to recover as Krookodile used his swing’s momentum to send him right back at a charge towards Whimsicott. “Do it!” That hesitation of Cadance’s sealed the round as Krookodile’s tail came down hard on Whimsicott, slamming the poor grass/fairy into a small crater in the field, completely knocked out.

“Whimsicott is unable to battle! Krookodile is the winner!” Krookodile flexed again, using his left claw to clutch his right arm as he did so, another faint glow going unnoticed by the opposing trainer.

Cadance’s jaw kept opening and closing a few times before she could finally return to the world mentally, returning Whimsicott to his ball and wishing him a good rest. She took a deep breath before addressing Ash. “That’s some talent there, Mr. Ketchum. You seem to not even need to direct your Pokémon to perform certain moves.”

“Hey, when you live with people long enough, you know how to work together,” he shrugged before chuckling a bit. “Even when it’s only because you have to. My team and I spent years training in synch to be able to battle like this. So come on, princess. Let’s give the audience a show.”

“You’re a coordinator now?” she said with a slight smirk, knowing how some battlers hated being called that. But to her moderate surprise, he actually chuckled a bit, a little sparkle in his eye as he replied,

“I’ve had my experience in the field. You’d have to, to keep up with Serena.” Ash adjusted his hat slightly, casting a shadow over his face.

“Serena?” Cadance asked, her curiosity slightly curiosity piqued. Unseen to her, Luna and Celestia shared an uneasy glance at one another.

“Yeah, the woman I loved. The one that was stolen from me.”

Cadance couldn’t help it if she tried, gasping loudly as she looked on with a gaping mouth and wide eyes at him. “S-stolen‽”

The audience was silent, watching Ash with interest. Within that crowd, several ponies were looking at Twilight now.

“Uh, Twilight, what’s he talking about?” Rainbow asked.

The purple pony princess let out a light sigh. “Do you all recall the legend of Red? Specifically of what happened at the end of his ‘reign’?”

“O’ course,” Applejack nodded. “The legend states that Red stayed at the cliffs of the western coast, starin’ at the horizon for ages until finally turnin’ to stone. What about it?”

“Do you remember why he was standing at those cliffs?”

“Well sure, it was because he lost his… special… some… pony…” Applejack trailed off as she and the others suddenly came to the realization of what Ash was referring to. “Oh mah Celestia…”

“Oh poor Ash,” Fluttershy and Pinkie said simultaneously.

Rarity, being her dramatic self actually started bawling. “It’s so saaaad!” she cried, holding a hankie to her leaking eyes, no doubt more to save as much mascara as she could.

“Ya could never tell lookin’ at ‘im,” Applejack whispered, holding her hat to her heart. Rainbow stayed silent the whole time, keeping her emotions internal.

“Of course not,” Spike said, surprising them all. “What would it do him any good to be sad all the time? From what you told me, Twilight, Ash isn’t just moping about. He’s still trying to live his life. It doesn’t do his special somepony any good if he’s just sitting on his butt the whole time.”

“That’s… that’s a very mature thing to say, Spikey,” Rarity of all ponies commented, her tears subsiding for the moment. Spike puffed up his chest a bit, feeling no reason to push his luck any more than it was. Twilight smiled, though internally she was smirking due to a feeling he was just quoting one of those comic books he could never put down.

Back down on the field, Cadance was trying to fully comprehend what Ash was telling her. “Y-you had the love of your life stolen from you‽”

Ash nodded. “Yes, taken by monsters. One day, I’ll get her back, no matter what it takes. And I’m sorry, Cadance, but the first step is to retake my title as champion of Equestria.”

“But what will being champion give you that could help you get Serena back?” she questioned.

Ash chuckled a bit. “Sorry, but spoilers,” he said with a bit of melody to his voice. “I can’t go giving out a master plan before it’s even begun. Now come on, princess. Let’s get back in the battle!” He lifted his head, discarding the shadow to show a big smile with bright, beaming eyes.

Cadance looked right into those eyes, seeing that tint of sadness lingering, but there was a fire raging that overtook that sadness. A fire set to keep him moving forward to reclaim what he had lost. The alicorn smiled a bit, lifting her next pokéball up. “Alright then, Ash. Let’s! Release! Togekiss!” The pokéball opened, releasing a white, avian Pokémon with an ovoid body and relatively flat face with small, black eyes.. While its feet were small and situated closely together, its wings were broad and triangular. Red and blue triangular markings ran over its underside, and it had a short tail consisting of three feathers. On the back of its head were three spikes: a red tipped on the right, a blue tipped one on the left, and a pure white one in the middle.

“Togekiss,” the Pokémon softly spoke, curtseying the best she could to Ash and Krookodile.

“Pikachu,” Blue commented, crossing his arms.

“Oh hush, Blue,” Ash chided. “She looks quite well trained. Now to put it to the test, eh?”

“The third round, Krookodile versus Togekiss may now begin!”

“Your speed won’t be enough to stop Togekiss!” Cadance challenged. “Fairy Wind!”

“Toge!” the jubilee Pokémon cried as her wings began to glow with a faint sparkling energy.

“Get ready, Krookodile!” Ash called.

“Krook,” he replied, planting his feet on the ground firmly.

Togekiss began to lightly flap her wings, slowly whipping up a small wind. Ash and Krookodile stared down the fairy, waiting for the full attack to finally make its strike. Togekiss’ wings suddenly pulled back farther than they had and she flapped hard, sending out a torrent of sparkling wind that was aimed straight at the reptile Pokémon.

“Now, Krookodile! Earthquake!”

‘What is he thinking? Cadance thought to herself. ‘He of all ponies should know that ground attacks don’t work on flying types.’

Krookodile’s tail once again glowed with the ground type energy, but this time the energy started to extend past the tail as a series of stripe. The ran down to Krookodile’s feet and up his arms to his claws. Krookodile slammed his claws into the ground below, shattering it up on impact that spread out in cracks along the field, though he didn’t stop there. Faster than anypony’s eye could follow, the ground/dark type dug into the ground, disappearing below the stage just as the Fairy Wind blew over the spot he’d once been.

“W-what‽” Cadance exclaimed. “Di-did Krookodile just use an Earthquake to use Dig‽ How is that possible‽”

“It’s brilliant!” Twilight said to herself, quickly making a note of Krookodile’s technique. “Dig is a near essential standard of the sandile evolutionary line, but much more powerful attacks have been known to take its place. Ash decided to teach Krookodile a way to still be able to dig without actually knowing the technique. That’s… that’s…”

“Remarkable?” Rarity suggested with a smile.

“Yes, that!”

Once Fairy Wind had subsided, Togekiss began to look around the field worriedly. “Stay on guard, Togekiss!” Cadance instructed. ‘He has to be around here somewhere…’ A sudden cracking sound drew her attention to below her Pokémon, seeing the ground quickly beginning to split. “Togekiss, get out of there!”

“Toge‽” Togekiss cried in shock as she took to higher air to avoid the sudden attack from her opponent below. Krookodile came blasting out of the underground with a roar, leaping into the air as well.

“Oh no!” Cadance cried.

“Oh yes!” Ash countered. “You know the drill! Iron Tail!” Krookodile’s tail took on the now infamous metallic sheen and slammed the appendage up into Togekiss’ chest. The jubilee Pokémon cried out in a mixture of shock and pain as the force of the strike flung her high into the air, striking the high ceiling of the stadium. The sheer force of the impact was enough to make the crowd wince, even more so when Togekiss fell back down to Equestria, swirls in her eyes and groaning.

“Togekiss is unable to battle! Krookodile is the winner!” Raven declared.

Cadance sighed, returning her Pokémon to her pokéball. “You did well, my friend.” She looked up at Ash and gave him a smile. “Don’t count me out just yet, Ash. You may want to be champion for reasons of love, but that doesn’t mean you’re gonna walk your way through me.”

Ash returned the smile with his smirk, Krookodile returning to his side of the field, the glow on his arms subsiding as he did so. “I would certainly hope so, your highness. Now come on, put those words into action!”

“So you wish!” Cadance grabbed her next crystal pokéball and tossed it up. “Release! Florges!” From the stylized ball came a Pokémon whose green lower body resembled a mermaid's tail; two large leaves blooming on either side of the flukes. Its upper body was white and slender, with sylphlike arms that ended in three dainty fingers; it had two black, diamond-like shapes on each side of its svelte torso. Florges' head was rounded with a pointed, upturned nose and long teardrop-shaped ears, while its dark-colored eyes were framed by lengthy green lashes. Surrounding its head was a large, ornate bouquet of red flowers with four, pink, streamer-like flowers around the edges as well.

“Fleur,” the garden Pokémon softly cried, landing softly on the field with grace and elegance.

Ash let out a soft whistle at the fairy type’s arrival. “Now that’s a contest Pokémon. Beautiful, spectacular, reeeemarkable!” He chuckles a bit to himself before that fire burned brightly in his eyes. “Too bad we gotta mess her up.”

“We’ll see about that!” Cadance called back.

Raven raised her flags. “The next round, Krookodile versus Florges, may now begin!”

“End this fast, bud! Iron Tail!” Krookodile grunted in response, flying forward with his tail charged with the metallic energy.

A smirk formed on Cadance’s muzzle as Krookodile approached. “Grass Knot,” she cooly commanded. Florges’ eyes took on a slight green glow to them, her attack beginning its effect. A little ways away, two small vines punched through the ground and knotted themselves into a loop, right in Krookodile’s path.

“Krook!” he cried, his foot catching in the loop and causing him to fall forward.

“Krookodile! Use the momentum!” Ash quickly called out, a bit of sweat forming on his brow.

The intimidation Pokémon had to act quickly, curling his body as he took the fall. Pain wracked his body as it hit the ground, but the momentum carried him forward still. His body began to roll like that, Iron Tail still powered as he barreled towards Florges.

“Now that’s clever,” Applejack said, watching the match with a keen eye. “Takin’ the forward motion of the trip has made Krookodile into the equivalent of a Rollout attack.”

“Florges stop him!” Cadance cried, surprised and disappointed her Pokémon’s attack wasn’t enough to stop Krookodile.

“Oh no you don’t! Krookodile, Foul Play!” A glint appeared in Krookodile’s eye at his trainer’s plan, his body surrounding in purple energy again. His rolling speed quickly increased thanks to the energy, enough to ram his Iron Tail right into Florges’ body. The speed and power of the attack blasted the fairy type back into the far wall, being cratered into it and instantly knocked out.

“Florges is unable to battle! The winner is Krookodile!”

“Dile,” he smirked, popping a few joints as he returned to Ash’s side of the field, his arms glowing again.

The alicorn of love couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed, staring blankly as she returned Florges to her pokéball. She shuddered slightly, going over all that was happening in her head. ‘Was this what Blueblood felt?’ she asked herself, looking across the field at her opponent. ‘This fear? We’ve worked for years to get this strong. And it’s worthless against this trainer. No,’ she corrected. ‘This legend.’ With a gulp, she raised her next ball. ‘But I won’t give in. I’m still a Pokémon trainer; I have to show that no matter the task, I won’t give up.’ With that resolve burning through her, Cadance lobbed the pokéball out into the field, releasing its inhabitant. What appeared was a purple, bipedal, bulldog-like Pokémon. It had a prominent lower jaw with two long, fang-like growths, while its upper jaw had two smaller fangs. On the sides of its head were flat, curved ears, and a small, black nose. There was a black collar around its neck with two small white markings on it. Around its wrists were two black band markings, and it had a short tail.

“GrrrrranBULL!” the fairy Pokémon growled loudly. Her eyes narrowed on Krookodile and snarled at the ground/dark type. Surprisingly, Krookodile actually backed away a bit.

“What the‽” Rainbow blinked, pushing herself back to a better posture. “Why the hay did Krookodile do that‽ It’s just a granbull!”

“Exactly,” Twilight nodded. “Granbull are one of many Pokémon with the Intimidation ability. When they enter battle, the ability activates, weakening the other Pokémon’s attack power slightly.”

“Which is exactly what might give Cadance the edge she needs,” AJ added.

Returning to the field, Raven raised her flags up. “The fifth round, Krookodile vs. Granbull may now begin!”

“Let’s put as much damage as we can, Granbull! Play Rough!” With the attack ordered, Granbull raced over to Krookodile and lept at him.

Ash smiled at Cadance’s ploy. ‘Play Rough, eh? So Granbull is meant to lower her opponent’s Pokémon’s attack stats. Smart. With Intimidation mixed in, it could do a pretty decent chunk of pain in the physical attack range. Too bad it won’t be enough.’ He adjusted his hat slightly to fit better on his hair. “Iron Tail.”

Cadance was afraid of that, but there was nothing she could do as the metal-encased tail slammed into her Pokémon, smacking the fairy type aside with a yelp, her body landing in a heap with swirls in her eyes.

“Granbull is unable to battle! The winner is Krookodile!”

Krookodile’s arms glowed unnoticed once again as he looked at Cadance with what would be the equivalent of a raised brow. Almost as if he was asking her “Really?”.

Cadance returned Granbull to her pokéball, sighing softly. “Thank you for trying, honey. But that may have just been what we need to win.” She placed that ball away and pulled out her final one. Though this one was different; instead of the blue-ish crystal the others had, this one appeared to be a light pink with a diamond like pattern etched into the crystal.

Ash’s brow quirked at the sight of the odd ball. ‘Now what kind of Pokémon could that contain?’

She hefted the ball in her magic before tossing it out, “Release! Diancie!” A gray, sylph-like Pokémon with a white chest and arms that resembled a dress was what appeared from the ball. It had a headdress which consisted of pink crystals; four short ones cresting along top pointing upward and two long ones on either side of its head pointing downward, with a diamond-cut centerpiece framed by its slim gray ears. A smaller pink crystal was also embedded in the back of its head, and a gold nugget is embedded in its forehead. Its eyes were red with pink irises. A gold crescent circled its neck, with the ends joined by a rhomboid gem. Its lower body resembled a large oblong chunk of stone, with a large pink crystal protruding from it.

The former champion actually did a double take at the sight of the legendary Pokémon. “I don’t believe it. I knew there was a Diancie in connection with the Crystal Empire! I freakin’ knew it!”

Cadance giggled a bit at his reaction. “Indeed there was. Deep beneath the palace, we discovered a long lost cavern filled with carbink and this Diancie protecting them. Upon a… certain event occurring, the two of us bonded and became partners. And now, the two of us are gonna take you down!”

“Cie!” Diancie added with the same fire in its tone.

“Really?” Ash said with a hint of interest. “Ooh, I’m getting fired up! Ready Krookodile!”

“Dile!” the Pokémon responded in kind.

Raven nodded to both trainers. “The next round, Krookodile vs. Diancie shall now begin!”

“Iron Tail, Krookodile!” Krookodile surged forward with his metallic appendage once again, clearly intending to end the battle before it had even begun.

However, Cadance had other plans. “Not this time, Ash! Diancie, Trick Room!”

Diancie’s little hands started to glow with a crystalline energy, throwing its hands to the ground. From there, the energy spread out over the field, covering it and the trainers before extending up and in, forming a glass-like box around the battle.

Cadance smirked before calling out, “Now Diancie, Diamond Storm!” Diancie’s hands once again glowed with energy, only this time it was a pure pink. She spread its arms, the energy condensing into many different diamond-like shards that shot out, striking right into Krookodile.

Krookodile cried out in pain, being forced back from the sheer numbers and force of the Diamond Storm. The intimidation Pokémon did not look happy at being stopped like that. Nor did his trainer, who was slightly grinding his teeth.

“Trick Room. Just had to be Trick Room,” he muttered.

“U-um, Twilight?” Fluttershy spoke up. “Wh-what’s Trick Room do?”

Twilight smiled at her friend as she started to explain. “Trick Room is a special status move that switches up the plays between Pokémon. So long as it’s active, the fastest Pokémon move last, while the slowest move first.”

“An’ based off what Ah’ve been seein’, speed is certainly Ash’s go-to stat,” Applejack added in. “Lessee how he takes this set back.”

At that moment in time, it wasn’t well. “Now, I’m all for strategy and everything, but this,” Ash gestured at the attack surrounding them, “that’s just plain rude!”

“Rude‽” Cadance gaped at him. “It’s legitimate strategy!”

“Yeah well, it sucks being on the wrong end of it, okay?” Ash brought a hand up to his face and rubbed it a bit. “Alright, no more holding back. It’s time to take you down!”

“Oh really?” A smirk appeared on the princess’ muzzle, one of true confidence. “I don’t think so. You see, Diancie is what you would call a ‘wall’. Its defenses have built up significantly over the years where there is no attack that could ever one-shot her. So don’t you… think… you can… why are you laughing?”

Indeed, Ash was softly chuckling under his breath as Cadance had continued speaking. “S-sorry. Just that, well, you’re wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“About the one-shot thing. You see, at the start of the battle, you’re absolutely right. There’s no way Krookodile could have one-shotted your friend here. However, Krookodile has a special trick up his sleeve.”

“And what’s that?”

Ash grinned. “He has the Moxie ability.”

At that instant, two ponies had very different reactions. Cadance paled at the implications, while up in the stands, Applejack had a look of understanding. “That’s what that glowin’ was! The Moxie ability!”

“Moxie?” Rainbow asked. “The hay is that?”

Twilight took over there. “Moxie is an ability that causes a Pokémon’s attack power to increase with each successful victory. Which means...:”

“...Which means Krookodile has been growing stronger with each battle he’s fought,” Cadance unknowingly finished. “That’s why you kept him fighting. Returning him would have removed the stat boost!”

“Yep!” Ash replied with a bright, wicked smile. “And you know what that means.”

Cadance gulped. “That means…” She looked to Diancie who was unconsciously moving back away from Krookodile who was staring down the jewel Pokémon down. She shook her head vigorously. “No. No! Not this time! Trick Room is my win! We’ll just finish Krookodile off before he can attack! Diancie, Moonblast!”

Diancie put its hands together, building a glowing pink energy within them. The energy grew brighter and brighter, condensing into a ball of lunar energy. With all its might, the fairy type fired the attack right at Krookodile.

“Let’s end this, bud! IRON EARTHQUAKE!”

“What‽” Applejack, Cadance, and Twilight all shouted in shock.

Krookodile’s tail began glowing with the iron sheen of Iron Tail before the light brown energy of Earthquake overlaid it. The intimidation Pokémon leaped into the air, narrowly missing Moonblast as it shot off passed. Krookodile performed a small front flip as he headed back down to Equestria, his tail being the first to hit the ground. And what a hit it was. The two energies clashed before melding together; the ground splintered apart at the impact before splashing out like a tidal wave, accompanied with a silver wave of energy that filled the cracks. Once the cracks hit Diancie, it was the end; the two attacks’ energy completely overtook the jewel Pokémon, causing an explosion on impact.

“Diancie!” Cadance cried out. When the smoke cleared, Diancie was on the ground, unconscious with swirls in its eyes.

Raven raised the flag towards Ash. “Diance is unable to battle! The victor is Krookodile! The match goes to Ash Ketchum!”

Ash smiled, snapping his fingers. “Simple as that.” But something bugged at Ash’s thoughts again. ‘Another one with the capabilities to be released. What’s going on here?’

The stands were going nuts at the Ash’s victory, save for two ponies who were too stunned for coherent words. Both Twilight and Applejack were completely gobsmacked by what they had just witnessed.

“What’s up, Twilight?” Spike asked.

Pinkie giggled at their slack jawed faces. “You two look funny!”

Rarity rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s antics before addressing her two friends. “Darlings, you should really close those. Wouldn’t want any, ick, bug types getting in there.”

Applejack was the first to do so, shaking her head to get the blood flowing again. “Sorry, Rares. But Ah jus’ can’t believe it. Ah’ve never seen somepony combine two moves like that.”

“It shouldn’t be possible,” Twilight whispered, finally managing to come back to reality. “There’s no way those two attacks should have been combinable in the first place!”

“Why not?” Spike asked.

“Because they’re… well it’s… it’s just not done!”

“I thought it was a good strategy,” Fluttershy whispered, but when she looked up to see her friends looking at her, she realized she was still heard. This caused her to shrink back behind her mane again.

“Well, I thought it was just awesome!” Rainbow cheered, jumping into the air for a moment. “Two powerful moves for the price of one!”

“It was rather incredible,” Rarity admitted. “Though, it almost seems like cheating.”

“Why would it be cheating? Isn’t a Pokémon being able to use all of its power to the fullest the point of a Pokémon battle?” Spike pointed out.

The girls all stopped for a moment, thinking on those words. Twilight was the first to speak. “You… you do have a point, Spike. I suppose it’s just so surprising to see it actually work like that.”

“Makes ya wonder, though,” Applejack said, sitting back comfortably in her seat. “What else does that feller have up his sleeves?”

As the crowds continued cheering, Cadance recalled Diancie back to its ball, softly whispering it a job well done. She looked up just as Krookodile was returned to his own ball. “That was an exciting match, Ash. I very much enjoyed it. Though, it would have been more so if I had done a bit better.”

Ash tipped his hat to the mare. “Don’t take it too hard, Cadance. It was a fun battle, and I hope the two of us can do it again sometime.”

Cadance smiled, bowing to the human before making her way for the exit. “Keep it up, Ash! Slacking off against my husband won’t do you any favors!”

“Husband?” Ash muttered, watching Shining and Cadance share a quick nuzzle and kiss before the stallion started heading for the trainer box. “Aw crapbaskets.”

With Cadance going up to join her aunts and cousin, Shining took his place opposite Ash. “I was wondering if I’d get my crack at the great legend himself. I’m somewhat glad you did defeat my wife. Though, that just means I have to beat you even worse.”

“That phrasing,” Ash muttered, shaking the bad tasting thoughts from his head. “Well, this’ll be fun.” He chuckled before grabbing a pokéball from his belt.

“Preeesenting, the stallion’s stallion! The protector of Canterlot for many years! The former Captain of the Guard and prince of the Crystal Empire! The Fierce Fighter himself! SHHHHINING ARRRRMORRRR!” Raven shouted above the crowds, Ash noting that there were many, many, female screams in the audience.

‘Somepony’s popular,’ Ash mentally noted.

“Are both trainers ready?” Raven asked.

“Anytime!” Shining said, lifting up a standard pokéball.

“Let’s do this!” Ash responded in kind.

“Alright! The third match, Ash Ketchum versus Prince Shining Armor, shall now begin!”

Shining threw the simple, red pokeball out to the field, “Attention, Poliwrath!” The ball opened, releasing a blue, bipedal Pokémon with muscular arms. It had bulbous eyes that protruded from the top of its head and its belly was covered by a white and black swirl. There appeared to be white gloves on its hands, and it had rounded, digit-less feet.

“Poliwrath!” the Pokémon cried, flexing his powerful arms. Several of the mares in the audience sent up cheers as Poliwrath continued to flex, Shining’s smug smile making all the more irritating to Ash.

“Alright, so you’ve got a Poliwrath, big whoop!” he did his best not to growl. If there was one way to get on Ash’s nerves, it was soaking up praise and being smug about it before there was proof. There was a gasp from the mares and fillies, though Ash focused solely on Shining. “I think we’re gonna have to knock the smugness out of you, bub. Eh, Blue?”

“Pika,” the pikachu responded with a bit of disdain.

Shining chuckled a bit. “Sorry about the fans. They get a little excited when we come out.”

Ash respected that at least the stallion had a bit of humility, but it wasn’t enough yet. “Then I guess we’re gonna have to disappoint them. Let’s get it on, Grovyle!” Ash lobbed his pokéball out, the center opening and releasing a bipedal Pokémon similar in appearance to a theropod dinosaur; its body was primarily green with a red underside and a belt-like green stripe across its belly. Grovyle's hands had two clawed fingers, and powerful legs with bird-like feet; it had three long leaves on its wrists, a large leaf on top of its head, and two tails that had a leafy appearance.

“Grow,” the wood gecko said quietly, placing a small twig in his mouth.

“Uh oh,” Spike muttered. “Looks like Shining is gonna have some issues. Grass types have the advantage against water types like Poliwrath.”

“Don’t count my BBBFF out so early, Spike,” Twilight said with a bit of pride. “Poliwrath is only his way of testing his opponent to see how well trained they are.”

“I dunno, Twi,” Rainbow said, hovering a bit over her seat, much to chagrin to those in the stands behind them. “The way Ash has been battling, I don’t think there’s anything that’s stopping him! Hay, he still has two Pokémon left we haven’t even seen!”

“Two?” Twilight asked.

“Well duh. Blue is down there for a reason after all. Why would the Red leave out his best player‽”

“Dashie makes a good point!” Pinkie added helpfully.

“I suppose that’s a fair assumption. Hmm…” Twilight hummed a little before bringing out a large tome and opening it up to read it..

“What in Celestia’s name is that, Twilight?” asked Rarity.

“It’s an old book on Red and Green. I’ve been looking through it over the past day to see if it had any information on their old teams. Unfortunately it seems to be rather lacking.”

“How so?” asked Applejack.

“It only lists a few Pokémon for Red. Blue, of course, Charizard, Pidgeot, and Grovyle. Krookodile isn’t even mentioned in here, nor are any others that could be possible clues. Just this vague part here saying that Red was in the possession of a cursed Pokémon and an impossible Pokémon.”

“A c-c-cursed Pokémon?” Fluttershy stuttered. “Oh that poor creature.”

“Don’t it have anythin’ else?”

“No,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. She closed the book with a huff. “Drat, I was really hoping it could give us a better hint at what’s ahead.”

“Why don’t you just read ahead like I do, silly?” Pinkie giggled.

Twilight just rolled her eyes. “Nopony can do like you do, Pinkie.”

“Oh, right!” The pink pony just giggled some more as the others returned their view to the match.

“Alright Poliwrath,” Shining called out, “let’s kick this off right! Use Ice Punch!”

“Poliwrath!” the tadpole Pokémon cried. He pulled back his fist as pale blue energy began swirling around it, glowing said color. Fist raised, Poliwrath charged at Grovyle, aiming the attack right for the wood gecko Pokémon.

Grovyle, for his part, simply stood there, chewing lightly on the edge of his twig while his trainer remained idle as well. Said trainer, keeping a close eye on the approaching opponent. It would only be a couple more strides until Poliwrath was on Grovyle, but Ash wasn’t worried in the slightest. And it was time he showed everypony why.

“Grovyle,” he started, taking a slight pause for Grovyle to glance at him, “show ‘em.” The grass type smirked with a gentle nod. He turned back toward the poliwrath bearing down on him, moving his feet into a ready position, and then… he was gone.

In less than a blink, Grovyle was standing behind Poliwrath who was stopped in his tracks, standing still. The wood-gecko Pokémon looked no worse for wear; no damage or change, save for one arm now having a glowing, green scythe blade protruding out from it. The Leaf Blade faded back into the three leaves it was as Grovyle bowed his head.

At that exact moment, Poliwrath let out a soft groan as the damage finally sank in, dropping to the ground with swirls in his eyes.

“Poliwrath is unable to battle, the winner is Grovyle!”

The crowd was stunned into silence, the only ones looking even the slightest unaffected by the display being the two princesses. Shining stared at his Poliwrath in complete shock, his jaw hanging open, mirrored by many in the audience, including his own sister and her friends.

“Wh...what just happened‽” he exclaimed.

Ash simply chuckled he looked at his opponent. “As you may have noticed, friend, I happen to have a lot of speedy Pokémon at my disposal. But you have never seen anything like Grovyle, my fastest Pokémon on land. He’ll dodge, weave, and duck out of anything you send his way. Ain’t that right, bud?”

“Grow,” Grovyle responded with his arms crossed, looking rather disinterested in the bantering.

Shining bristled slightly at the grass type’s bored response, grabbing his next Pokéball in his magenta magic. “Even if he is fast, speed alone isn’t gonna win you this battle. Attention, Hawlucha!” With a push, Shining lobbed the Pokéball onto the field, causing it to open and release his next Pokémon. This one was a small, bipedal bird-like Pokémon with red, cape-like wings that were connected to its tail with green undersides and small clawed hands. It had red chest feathers, a white abdominal area, and legs with small yellow feet. It had a green, mask-like face with an orange stripe down the middle, as well as orange rings around its eyes. It had a small, red beak, and a white patch underneath it also having three orange tassel-like appendages jutting out of the back of its head. Its eyes had black sclera and large yellow irises.

Hawlucha spread his arms and wings out wide with a cry. Again, the mares in the crowd sent out cheers, renewing even more with each new flex Hawlucha performed for them, soaking up the attention.

Ash could feel a tiny vein in his forehead pulsing more than usual as he watched, very glad his hat hid his forehead well. “Well… someone likes attention. Are all your Pokémon like this?”

“A few,” Shining admitted with a shrug.

“Well, this will be very...I’m not sure theraputic is the word, but what the heck. Let’s go with it. Start the round.”

“I was getting to it!” Raven huffed, her cheeks slightly pink. She raised her flags as she let out a soft breath. “The second round, Grovyle vs. Hawlucha is about to begin! Now!”

“Don’t give them a chance this time! Use Flying Press!” Shining quickly ordered. Hawlucha cried in acknowledgement, jumping high into the air with his wings spread wide. He glided right over Grovyle as his body was outlined in a white energy. As quickly as he rose into the air, he came crashing down, intending to land directly on Grovyle.

“He can’t avoid this one!” Twilight exclaimed with a small smile on her muzzle. “Flying Press is a special move that is both a fighting and flying type attack! One hit with that and Grovyle takes massive damage!”

“I don’t think that’ll be an issue,” Rainbow said smoothly.

“Oh? And why’s that?” the purple pony princess asked with a raised brow.

“Because Grovyle doesn’t seem to have an issue with what’s happening.”

Dash’s words were true as Grovyle stood stock still, just casually watching Hawlucha above him, fastly approaching.”Grow,” he idly mused. He tilted his head slightly to glance at his trainer, a small question in his look. All Ash needed to do was nod before a small smile crossed the wood gecko’s mouth. He bit down slightly on his twig before once again disappearing from sight, moving faster than anypony could see.

Hawlucha gasped in shock before feeling a weight on his back. The wrestling Pokémon glanced back to see Grovyle kneeling there, getting a two-fingered salute with a smug look from the grass type.

“H-how did-?” Shining started before he was interrupted by his opponent.

“X-Scissor!” Ash called out. Grovyle jumped above Hawlucha’s back, pushing the fighting/flying type closer to the ground, and performed a backflip as the leaves on his arms merged into twin, light-green blades of energy. Grovyle quickly aimed himself down and sped forward as he crossed his blades on Hawlucha’s back, getting the Pokémon to cry in pain as the two slammed into the ground, kicking up dust from the impact.

“Hawlucha!” Shining cried in shock and worry, watching the dust clear. Grovyle stood up from the crater he created from Hawlucha’s body, checking over his opponent before stepping off of him and moving to his own side of the field.

As Grovyle reached that point, a moving of dirt alerted him to looking back at Hawlucha who was kneeling in the crater now, glaring Grovyle down with a fire in his eyes. In a normal situation, Grovyle would have simply ended the battle there, but the passion for the battle he could see in Hawlucha’s eyes made him rethink a quick victory. Instead, he smirked turning to fully face the fighting bird and getting into a defensive position. Grovyle gestured with his hands for Hawlucha to come at him.

“What is he thinking‽” Rarity gasped at the display. “Why on earth would he give his opponent another chance to attack him‽”

“Because he recognizes Hawlucha.” Of all ponies, it was Fluttershy who had spoken up. Her friends all turned to the pegasus who was staring raptly at the battlefield.

“Whaddya mean, ‘Shy?” asked Rainbow, more than a little surprised at her friend.

“Grovyle sees Hawlucha as another battler; an equal. He wouldn’t disrespect Hawlucha with a quick defeat like that.” Fluttershy gently pressed her hooves together in a silent prayer. “Grovyle will allow Hawlucha his honor.”

The girls, and Spike, weren’t too sure what Fluttershy meant, but they turned back towards the fight, hoping it would be the solution to their questioning.

Ash couldn’t help the smile on his face, seeing Grovyle like this. ‘This might be a better battle than I thought. Shining may have some showboating Pokémon, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t fighters. If this is what you want, Grovyle, then let’s put our all into this battle.’ “Alright, Grovyle! Let’s show Hawlucha that ol’ fighting spirit!”

“Grovyle!” the grass type cried, his leaves extending into the darker green Leaf Blade.

Shining, who had understood from the first glance what had happened out there, smirked slightly. “You heard ‘em, Hawlucha! Show the former champion what we can do!” Hawlucha cried out as he stood once again on two legs. “Aerial Ace!” Hawlucha’s wings instantly began to glow a bright blue, spreading them wide as he suddenly rushed at Grovyle, who moved in turn.

The two fighters crossed each other, both attacks striking out as the moved by, landing several feet from each other. Both opponents’ energy’s ebbed away as one fell to the ground, landing in defeat as it was clear he was no longer able to fight.

Raven raised her flag as she declared the winner. “Hawlucha is unable to battle! The winner is Grovyle!”

Despite their favorite being defeated, the crowd still cheered for both fighters, having easily enjoyed seeing such an honorable fight. Even Shining couldn’t help the smile on his face as he returned Hawlucha to his Pokéball. “You did good, my old friend. Rest now and your brothers and sister will continue the fight.”

A serene smile graced Ash’s lips at overhearing Shining’s words. “Ya know,” he called out, grabbing Shining’s attention, “I may have judged you too early, pal. You may have a bit of a showy attitude, but it’s clear from Hawlucha that you and your Pokémon are true masters of the craft. Hawlucha had that fighter’s spirit that I haven’t seen in years. So come on, Shiny! Bring that spirit out to its full potential! Gimme everything you got!”

Shining blinked a few times at Ash’s words, truly stunned by the sudden praise of a legend. A smile quickly grew across his muzzle as the next Pokéball was lifted. “You asked for it!” Shining said with a slight chuckle. “This one is my big heavy hitter! Attention, Throh!” The Pokéball opened to release the next entrant, a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon with a bulky, red body and rocky skin. Its head was round and low on its shoulders with a T-shaped black feature that formed its nose and brow. Its hands and feet each had three digits, with its fingers being rounded. It wore a white judogi with a black, v-neck collar that extended down to its black belt. The gi had an integrate diamond pattern on its sleeves and a black, square patch on the bend of its knees.

With a mighty cry of “Throh!”, he planted his feet in the dirt, one after the other in a fashion similar to sumo wrestlers. Grovyle narrowed his eyes slightly at his new opponent, already have an inkling feeling the back of his mind.

“A throh,” Ash said to himself, lifting a closed hand to rest against his chin. “Certainly a tougher opponent. They’re renowned for their defensive capabilities and notoriously high endurance. This one may take a little extra reinforcement.” He glanced down to Blue. “Whaddya think, bud?”

Blue shook his head, gesturing to Grovyle, “Pika pikachu pika pikachu!”

Ash smirked a bit. “You’re right. Grovyle’s got this; he’d never forgive me if I pulled him out of this fight.” He turned back to the field, adjusting the brim of his hat. “Ready Grovyle?”

“Grow,” he responded with a smirk and a thumbs up.

“Both combatants are ready! The next round, Grovyle vs. Throh begins… now!”

“Leaf Blade!” Ash cried, to which Grovyle was on the move nigh instantaneously. His blades returned again, rushing up to Throh and striking his left one against the judo Pokémon’s chest. A loud grunt of pain echoed from Throh, but the fighting type was otherwise fine, glaring at the grass type that dare attack him.

Shining barely hid a smug little grin as called out to Ash, “Sorry, but one hit knock-outs aren’t gonna happen with Throh on the field. Show him your strength! Use Superpower!”

“Uh oh,” Ash couldn’t help but mutter. Throh’s body suddenly began to glow with a fiery, blue aura as it grabbed at Grovyle, but the wood gecko was too slippery for Throh. With quick movements, Grovyle ducked weaved as Throh pursued after him to get the grass type in his grip.

‘This is no good,’ Ash thought to himself, watching Grovyle continually dodge Throh who simply wouldn’t give up. ‘Throh has enough power and will to keep Grovyle moving for a while. One of them will trip up sooner rather than later, so let’s see if we can force the trip.’ With a small smirk, he called out, “Giga Drain!”

Grovyle possessed the same smirk at that moment, jumping back from Throh’s latest grab attempt. The blades on his arms retreated, but continued to glow before shooting out as glowing, green vines that jabbed right into Throh’s chest, causing the Pokémon to grunt in pain. The vines began to pulse, sending energy from Throh to Grovyle through them. As each pulse ran down the length, Throh got visibly weaker, dropping to his knee with pained breath.

“Throh, get out of there!” Shining helplessly called out. “Break the vines; tear them out; do something!”

After a moment, Grovyle did that for him, yanking his arms back as the vines retracted back into the leaves they were.

“Alright,” said Ash, fidgeting with his hat again, “End this round, Grovyle. Leaf Blade.”

Grovyle nodded, his leaves reforming into the green, sicle-esque blades. He began to slowly step towards Throh, who was still stunned from the Giga Drain.

“Get out of there!” Shining repeated, desperate to get his Pokémon out of the inevitable strike. Despite Shining’s calls, Grovyle swiftly moved again, slashing with Leaf Blade. Throh let out a soft cry before crumpling to the ground in a heap, his eyes swirling in defeat.

“Throh is unable to battle! The round goes to Grovyle!” Raven declared.

“Grow,” the grass type muttered, walking back to his position on Ash’s side of the field, missing his opponent being recalled to Shining’s pokéball.

“That was very smart of Ash,” Twilight muttered, rubbing her chin slightly. She made a quick note about it before continuing, knowing full well the others were listening. “Giga Drain took all the steam out Throh’s already weakened state. Thus, leaving him wide open for the finishing blow.”

“How was he weakened?” asked Rainbow, her forelegs crossed with a brow quirked. “I mean, I guess that X-Scissor hit well, but it didn’t seem to do much.”

“It’s the fault of Superpower. Such a high powered technique is bound to have some repercussions. Superpower’s case being that it weakens its own power and defense with each use. And while Giga Drain isn’t a physical move to abuse that weakened state, Throh was already getting exhausted from continual use of the move and Grovyle just depleted the rest of his stamina. Ergo, Superpower led to Throh’s destruction, if you will.”

“Wowie, the irony!” Pinkie giggled, looking back down at the field.

“Nice try, big guy,” Shining spoke to the silent ball before stowing it away and pulling out the next one. “Attention, Sawk!” He lobbed the ball up, letting it split open to reveal a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon with a lean, blue body and rocky skin. Its head was oblong-like and low on its shoulders, with an ornate sideways z-shaped black feature that formed its nose and its left brow. Its hands and feet each had three digits, with its feet and toes coming to a sharp point. It wore a light blue Karate gi with a black, v-neck collar that extended down to its black belt. The gi had an intricate diamond pattern on its sleeves and a black, square patch on the bend of its knees.

“Saaaaawk!” the new fighting type exclaimed, flexing his muscles for the crowd for a moment before getting into a low fighting stance.

Ash couldn’t help but smirk at the new opponent. ‘Just enough showboating to get the crowd into it before getting right to business. I like this one.’

“This one isn’t gonna be so easy, Ketchum!” Shining shouted with a smile. “Sawk is one of my best fighters; he won’t gonna be defeated by your little lizard!”

Grovyle quirked a brow at Shining as if to say, “Did you really just call me that?”. He uncrossed his arms before cracking his knuckles. Grovyle lowered himself into a runner’s stance, clearly ready to fight.

“The next round, Grovyle vs. Sawk, shall now begin!”

“Leaf Blade!” Ash ordered, causing Grovyle to take off with his blades at the ready.

“Quick Guard!” Shining cried out. Sawk raised his arms together vertically, blocking his view of Grovyle, but also creating a shield for himself. His arms began to glow red just as Grovyle struck with Leaf Blade, the strike glancing off the shield. The rebound of his move, caused Grovyle to cry out in surprise as well as stumble back slightly. “Double Kick!”

“Grow?” Grovyle questioned just as Sawk’s foot slammed into his gut. The wind was completely knocked from the wood gecko, though the attack was only half over. Sawk twisted from the jabbing kick, putting the first kicked foot down to jab his other foot into Grovyle’s face, sending the grass type skidding through the dirt back to his own side of the field. “Grovyle…” he groaned, picking himself up out of the dust, glaring at Sawk.

“Hoo-wee,” Applejack muttered, scratching at her head under her hat. “That’s some power Sawk’s packin’. Ah think that’s the first for this entire day where Ash’s ‘mons took proper damage.”

“Yeah, but Grovyle isn’t gonna take it lying down,” said Spike.

True to the drake’s words, Grovyle was already standing and looking ready to fight. Or, more precisely, win. “Nice trick,” Ash complimented, sporting a grin.

“Coming from you, I’ll accept the praise,” Shining retorted. “Let me guess, you’ve got another trick up your sleeve to counter me?”

“You’re learning. Good; it means you’re a good trainer. As to your guess, I have many tricks. And here’s an old favorite of mine. Grovyle, Leaf-Scissor!”

“Leaf-what‽” Shining shouted in shock. Before the audience’s eyes, Grovyle’s Leaf Blades sprung to life again, but that’s where the similarities ended. The sickles were suddenly outlined with the lighter green energy of X-Scissor, the tips of the blades extending with the same color, creating enormous, twin blades jutting out of Grovyle’s arms. “Oh ponyfeathers,” Shining cursed under his breath before shaking his head back into the battle. “Sawk, Quick Guard, now!”

Sawk was quick to follow orders, bracing his arms again as the red shield flowed through them. Grovyle surged forward and, to the trained eye like Shining’s, he was faster than before, as if the power of the combined technique had flowed into his very being. In less than a blink, he was on Sawk, crossing his blades against the Quick Guard. The two struggled against another, trying to push the other away, sweat pouring from their brows as both opponents refused to give.

But poor Sawk simply didn’t have the power to repel Grovyle. As the power struggle continued, Sawk felt his stamina depleting, causing him to take a knee and give Grovyle his chance. The wood gecko backed off momentarily, giving surprise to Sawk and allowing Grovyle to cross his blades down on the off-guard Pokémon’s shield. That strike was enough to stagger Sawk out of the technique, his arms being shoved apart and his chest being struck by the combined might of Leaf Blade and X-Scissor.

The attack was powerful enough to cause an explosion on contact, sending up dust that shielded the results of the round from the crowd. When the clouds cleared, it was Grovyle standing tall with Sawk on the ground, an ‘x’ burned into his gi.

“Sawk is unable to battle, the winner is Grovyle!”

Grovyle slightly panted before picking his twig off the ground and gripping it in his teeth. “Grow,” he sighed, moving back to Ash’s side of the field.

“Another combination move,” Twilight breathed, quickly jotting it down in her already bursting notepad. “It seems that Krookodile wasn’t the only one Ash has created unique moves for. If my hypothesis is right, than it’s possible that each of his Pokémon has special combination techniques out of their already existing moveset.”

“And what does that mean?” Rainbow asked, quickly getting lost in Twilight’s babble.

“It means...well, it means that even if we know all four of his Pokémon’s moves, Ash still has tricks hidden to spring at any moment.”

“‘Cept right now, we don’t know all four moves,” Applejack said, leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, staring intently at the field. “Leaf Blade, X-Scissor, an’ Giga Drain. That’s what we know Grovyle has under his belt. That still leaves an unknown one hidden in the wings. An’ Ah for one don’t like that. Charizard only needed his Flamethrower to knock most of Blueblood’s ‘mons out, save for the overkill of Blast Burn.”

“There’s no kill like overkill!” Pinkie giggled, snorting a little too.

Applejack rolled her eyes with a grin before continuing. “Right. An’ Krookodile too only showed three: Earthquake, Iron Tail, an’ Foul Play. Ah’m not likin’ how much we’re learning ‘bout his Pokémon yet still so much remains a mystery.”

“But, um, that’s not really being dishonest. Is it?” questioned Fluttershy, looking between her friends.

“No it ain’t,” Applejack shook her head. “But it ain’t bein’ honest neither. He’s hidin’ his ace cards; keepin’ ‘em fer just the right moment. What that is, though, is what’s got me on edge.” The girls went silent from that, turning their heads back to the match with even more thoughts running through their minds.

Shining stowed Sawk’s pokéball away just after he returned the Pokémon, taking a deep breath to steady his emotions. ‘This trainer is unlike anything I’ve ever faced. The only time this has happened before was when I fought Luna. Even then I was at least able to take out a few of her Pokémon. With just one, first level evolution he’s been able to take out all but my two best fighters. I can’t get lax around him, or he’ll knock me out without any issues. It’s time to take this fight to the highest level!’ Shining grabbed his next pokéball, and tossed it out with a spin. “Attention! Toxicroak!” The ball hit the ground, releasing this pokémon with the typical blue-white glow. This “Toxicroak” was a dark blue and teal, bipedal Pokémon resembling a poison dart frog. Its head bore a gently-upward curling spike which seemed to be a part of the skull. Its eyes were bright yellow, sinister and intimidating, with a small snake-like pupil. Its mouth gave an appearance of a mouth-guard, with its red upper lip curling upward at the ends in a very intimidating manner. Underneath its chin was a bulbous red vocal sac, though it wasn’t very large. It had three fingers and one large red claw on the back of each hand, while its forearms had two black rings encircling them. Its legs were muscular and seem to be adapted for speedy attacks. It had three toes on its feet, with a red middle toe on each foot, and a sharp spike which jutted out of its heels. Underneath the pelvic area were two white horizontal lines. Thick black lines ran down the sides of its body and surrounding its limbs, making them seem as if the limbs were detachable. The black lines went up into its face and surrounded the eyes before meeting in the middle of its snout, just above the upper lip.

“Croooooak,” the poisonous Pokémon wheezed, her vocal sac inflating and deflating with each breath, giving the impression that the creature was sickly.

Grovyle, however, knew far better than to assume as such, his eyes narrowing at his new opponent. He let out a small growl as he got into a defensive position.

“A toxicroak?” Ash muttered to himself. ‘This one will be the most difficult, I’m sure. The poison typing gives Shining the advantage and none of Grovyle’s moves are very effective against that type. Then again, when has that stopped me?’

“Both combatants are ready to begin. The fifth round, Grovyle vs. Toxicroak, shall now begin!”

“Let’s take care of that troublemaker, Toxicroak! Use your Poison Jab and take care of him!”

“Croak!” the toxic mouth Pokémon replied. She crossed her arms, giving the audience and her opponent a full view as both claws on the back of her hands began to glow a sickly purple. They extended out even sharper, coursing with deadly, poisonous energy.

“This could be bad for Ash,” Twilight said, having for once set down her notes. “My brother’s Toxicroak possesses an extremely deadly toxin even for her kind. With just one hit, it doesn’t matter what level Grovyle has reached, he’ll be down for the count.”

“Oh dear. I hope he’ll be okay,” Fluttershy mumbled out.

“Crud,” Ash cursed under his breath. “Don’t let that thing near you, bud!”

“Pipika!” Blue shouted as well, inwardly worried for his fellow teammate.

Grovyle didn’t dare even glance back at his trainer and fellow Pokémon, knowing taking his eyes off of Toxicroak would be nothing short of a knock out. Then, with a quick step, Toxicroak was on the move, reaching striking distance of Grovyle quicker than he was ready for. “Grow!” he cried in shock.

Luckily, Ash was on guard for this. “Energy Ball! Now!”

Acting quickly, Grovyle held his hands apart as a swirling ball of green energy formed between them. At that moment, Toxicroak jabbed forward with her attack, incidentally striking the newly formed Energy Ball. The collision caused a chain reaction that caused the Energy Ball to detonate, throwing both battlers back a fair distance apart.

“Clever,” Twilight thought aloud. “And there’s Grovyle’s final move too,” she said, giving Applejack a glance, which quickly turned to confusion at the frown on her friend’s face. “Something wrong?”

“Ah’m not sure,” the farm mare replied.

“Aw come on, Jackie!” Pinkie whined. “You saaaaid you wanted to see all of Grovyle’s moves, and now you have! What’s so suspicious now‽”

“That’s just it. Ah don’t know. Energy Ball is a powerful technique fer sure, but why hide it for so long into the battle? There jus’ somethin’ in mah gut sayin’ that there’s somethin’ else goin’ on with that move that Ash ain’t showin’. An’ I have a feelin’ it’ll be the end of Shinin’s chance at winning when it does show up.”

Twilight couldn’t have held back her gulp if she tried, turning back to the match with a new trepidation towards Grovyle.

“Alright, time for the kiddie gloves to come off,” Ash declared, once again adjusting his hat. “We can’t go easy on this one, Grovyle. Give her your X-Blade!”

“Wait, what‽” Twilight nearly screeched, thankfully muffled by the crowd’s gasp. Before their very eyes, they witnessed a reverse of the Leaf-Scissor from before; from Grovyle’s arms sprang the light-green energy of X-Scissor before the darker-green of Leaf Blade outlined and extended the previous technique, creating a perfect reverse-overlap. “Two different variations using the same techniques‽ That’s brilliant! Why has nopony ever done this before‽”

“Probably because it takes years of practice to be able to do something like that,” Rainbow answered the rhetorical question. “I mean, my own moves that I’ve used for stunt shows for the foals took me years to get down perfect. No doubt it’s the same for them.”

“How very profound of you, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity compliment with a smile. Dash smirked before giving a belch, causing Rarity’s nose to crinkle in disgust. “I may have spoke too soon.”

“Shush!” Pinkie chastised, putting a hoof to Rarity’s mouth while stuffing her own with popcorn. “Dis ish da bes’ par’!” she said through a stuffed face.

“Don’t back down, Toxicroak!” Shining barked out. “You can take him down! Use Poison Jab and end it!”

Toxicroak wheezed out in response as her claws illuminated with poisonous energy again. Just as she had her move ready, Grovyle’s was prepared as well, resulting in the two surging forward at the same moment. Only a moment later did they clash, X-Blade striking against Poison Jab with such ferocity that it caused a surge of power to burst around them, cracking through the ground. The two battlers pushed against one another, matching in strength and causing them to back off the attack before clashing again with even more power.

Strike after strike, the two repeated their respective techniques with a vigor unseen through the whole battle. Neither was willing to give to the other, both Pokémon performing a deadly dance for their completely captive audience. The ground cracked and split around them, each blocked strike sending waves of energy flowing through the field. It seemed as if the two would be stuck in this rhythm for the rest of time…

Until the moment struck.

One of Toxicroaks jabs glanced off of Grovyle’s blade at just the right angle, causing Grovyle’s eyes to widen then instantly narrow. He quickly pressed forward, moving under Toxicroak’s blocked arm. The poison/fighting type wheezed highly in surprise as Grovyle moved right in her face. Before she could react, the wood gecko’s arms crossed in an upward ‘x’, the full power of his combination move being flooded into Toxicroak’s body. The toxic mouth Pokémon cried out in pain as the move detonated on her, once again kicking up dust from the arena.

When the dust cleared, it was only Ash’s Pokémon that was still standing.

“Toxicroak is unable to battle! Grovyle is the winner!” The crowd was stock still, not a single sound being heard.

And then they erupted into a grand applause, cheering and whistling for both Grovyle and Toxicroak.

Grovyle watched as Toxicroak was recalled to her ball, letting his move recede back into the three leaves on his arms, slumping slightly from the exhaustion he was beginning to feel. He nearly dragged himself back over to Ash’s side of the field, giving a thumbs up to Ash who had a worried expression on his face.

“You sure?” he called to Grovyle.

“Grow,” the Pokémon answered back along with a nod, turning back to Shining who was thanking Toxicroak for her hard work.

With a soft sigh, Shining put away Toxicroak’s ball and picked out his final battler. “Alright, my old friend. Everything rests on you now. Attention! LUCARIO!” The ball went high into the air, the Pokémon being released landing on the ground hard enough to lift dirt into the air. The light disappeared, revealing a bipedal, canine-like Pokémon, with fur that was predominantly blue and black. It possessed a short, round spike on the back of each forepaw, in addition to a third on its chest. It had a long snout and ears along with four, small, black appendages on its head. When its mouth opened, it had two pairs of pointed teeth, one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. It possessed cream-colored fur on its torso, and blue fur on its thighs that resembled shorts. It had a medium length tail of the same blue color as well. It stood on its toes rather than on its entire foot. It opened its eyes, showing fierce, red eyes that showed a deep fire for battling within them.

Lucario growled softly as he spread his legs into a fighting stance, clearly ready to get into battle. He stared down Grovyle who similarly got into a stance, his arms ready to form his signature blades again.

Raven raised her flags, looking between both combatants. “The final round of the third match, Grovyle vs. Lucario, begins… now!”

“Leaf Blade!”

“Bone Rush!”

There was no exchange of pleasantries this time around. Shining and Ash knew that this was where things would go down and they knew their Pokémon would put everything they had into it. Grovyle’s sickle-like blades of energy clashed instantly against a glowing, blue, energy bone-staff that Lucario had formed of his aura.

If the audience had believed that Grovyle against Toxicroak had been the highlight of the fight, they were sincerely mistaken. The very instant the attacks collided, a burst of energy could be felt across the entire stadium, blowing back the manes of stallions and mares alike. The ground beneath the fierce fighters cracked, split, and eventually shattered from the sheer power they displayed.

Lucario and Grovyle pushed each other back, but they swung at each other once again, repeating their show of power. This continual repetition occurred again and again as they clashed. Grovyle would swing his Leaf Blade down and Lucario would meet it with an upward strike of his Bone Rush. When Lucario would lunge, Grovyle would parry, neither giving the other any form of advantage.

From the stands above, Spike was in utter awe of what he saw. “Holy cow! Look at them go! Now this is a Pokémon battle!” Most of the girls were too stunned by the display to respond, only nodding with wide-eyed expressions. Only Twilight was able to speak, her notes dropping as her own shock stopped her levitation spell.

“I… I can’t believe what I’m watching,” she breathed, trying to keep track of each fast-paced blow. “I’ve seen Lucario battle before, but nothing like this. This, this is unreal. Such power; such speed; such… everything. This is unlike anything Equestria has seen in over a thousand years.”

Even in the box for the princesses, Luna and Celestia had their full attention on the battle at hoof, their experienced eyes following each blow. It was only a few moments into the battle when Luna spoke, “You student’s brother certainly is no slacker in training that Lucario. Being able to keep up with Grovyle on this level is very impressive.”

“Perhaps,” Celestia mused, her mane being blown back by another burst of air from the battle. “But you and I both know Ash still hasn’t started fighting with his all.”

“Nor is he humoring Captain Armor,” Luna replied in a neutral tone. “Grovyle is enjoying a battle that it hasn’t had even from before his trainer’s stasis. Neither of us ever could give Grovyle a battle like this; not with the Pokémon we hold.”

“Too true, my sister. But let’s just see how far Shining can push our old friend.”

Grovyle ducked a swing of Lucario’s bone-staff, slicing his blade at his opponent’s unguarded torso. With quick precision and skill, Lucario jutted his staff in reverse, blocking the attack at his stomach before twisting his whole body around to swing his staff over his head and down on Grovyle’s. The wood gecko was moving instantly, bring his twin blades to cross above his head, catching Lucario’s staff before slicing up and pushing his opponent away.

As Lucario skidded back from Grovyle, Shining took his chance. “Aura Sphere!” The aura Pokémon dismissed his staff, putting his forepaws slightly apart and gathered his aura into a bright shining, blue ball of pure energy, looking almost like a miniature blue star. Lucario poured even more of his aura into the sphere, doubling its original size to the point where it was slightly larger than his own head. He threw his arms above his head before throwing them forward, launching the deadly attack right at his opponent.

“Get rid of it, Grovyle!” Ash ordered and Grovyle was quick to respond. He rushed forward without fear, jumping right into the path of the Aura Sphere and slashed through it with Leaf Blade. He passed by the attack before it detonated, the explosion giving him a kick forward towards Lucario. “Now! Energy Ball!” Grovyle gathered the necessary energy in between his hands as he approached his opponent at a fast pace.

“Get ready, Lucario!” Shining said, Lucario getting into a defensive stance. “Prepare to-”

“Giga Drain!” Ash called out, interrupting his opponent. Grovyle jumped high into the air in response, his blades reforming into vines that reached out and… latched onto the Energy Ball‽ Before anypony could even fathom what they were doing, Grovyle drained his own attack into himself before crying out as his body lit with a green, fiery aura. “X-Blade!” Ash followed as soon as he could, Grovyle’s vines once again reforming into the Leaf Blade-enhanced X-Scissor. The blades weren’t as large as they previously had been, taking a sharper appearance where it looked like the blades were lined by a saw blade; giving Grovyle the appearance to be wielding twin knives with serrated edges, given a far more intimidating presence with the aura surrounding him.

“There it is,” Celestia whispered with a small smile.

Twilight’s jaw went slack at the sight of what just happened. “What has he done?” she whispered to herself, trying to wrap her head around the four-technique combination she was just witness to. The other girls, and Spike, were just as shocked, none being able to say a thing to properly cope with the sight before them.

Had Shining not been in the battle himself, he may have been in a similar state. This time, however, his eyes were narrowed and focused, quickly coming to terms with the power that was bearing down on him. Neither he nor his battle-ready Lucario would be deterred. “Lucario! Bone Rush!” A quick thought ran through Shining’s head, causing him to make an additional command. “And Close Combat!” he shouted with all his might. Lucario’s fists and feet became ablaze with a copper, fighting aura, his paws slamming together to form his bone-staff, now having that same aura swirling along its length. Grovyle dipped down towards Lucario who jumped right towards his opponent with enough force to shatter the very ground he had been standing on.

The two roared at each other as the Energy X-Blade collided with the Bone Combat, the fierce contact sending a burst of pressure that crashed down onto the field and the crowd, causing them to scream in surprise mixed with a twinge of fear. Grovyle and Lucario stared each other down in mid air before shoving apart, landing on the ground only to speed against one another again, clashing with just as much ferocity.

Ash and Shining watched with sweat-coated brows as their partners clashed with power unseen in modern day Equestria. Each class destroyed more and more of the field, not that the two Pokémon cared, their minds solely focused on the battle of their lives. Blade met bone time and again, neither backing down or giving anything to the other.

This, to the ponies that watched, was a clash of warriors. A true battle.

And then it happened.

Lucario adjusted his grip on his bone-staff, holding it like a bat and gave a powerful, horizontal swing at Grovyle. The wood gecko brought his right arm up to block, the bone meeting it with such intensity, that the bone shattered apart.

Shining and Lucario’s eyes went wide.

And so did Ash’s.

“NOW!” he cried out and Grovyle responded instantaneously, using everything he had left in himself to strike at Lucario with his left blade. Lucario cried out, but Grovyle wasn’t done, striking with his right.

Then his left.

Then his right.

Again and again, Grovyle slashed Lucario with his entire being. Most of the crowd lost count after the first few strikes, but Celestia kept track until the final cross slash threw Lucario into the air.

‘One hundred and five. Very impressive, old friend. This truly is the battle you’ve been waiting for.’

Lucario landed to the ground, kicking up the dust of the obliterated field, groaning slightly with swirls in his eyes.

Shakily, Raven lifted a flag towards Grovyle. “Lucario is unable to battle. Grovyle is the winner. The third match goes to Ash Ketchum!”

Like before, silenced reigned over the field. Not even a kricketot could be heard.

Then the loudest cheer in history roared over Ash, Shining, Grovyle, and Lucario. They applauded with all their might, screaming at the top of their lungs, and whistling with the brightest smiles ever.

Grovyle dropped to his knees before falling on his butt, panting hard as all of his attack energy diminished. Ash came up behind his Pokémon and put a hand on Grovyle’s shoulder. The wood gecko looked up at his trainer, seeing the bright smile before smiling back with a thumbs up.

“You did good, bud. You did good.”

“Pika pikachu pika!” Blue agreed, jumping to Grovyle’s other side. The grass type smiled widely at the double praise, before looking over at Lucario. Shining had moved on to the field as well, carefully helping the fighting/steel type to sit up, wincing in pain with the slightest movement.

Ash could overhear Shining congratulating his own Pokémon over such a spectacular battle. ‘Shining’s a fierce competitor. Had he been able to fully unlock that potential, Grovyle more than likely wouldn’t have been enough to end things. He’s a true trainer, through and through.’ He stood back up to his full height, getting a questioning “Pika” from Blue.

The crowd calmed down, watching with interest on what the legend would say, Shining and Lucario both eagerly curious without showing it. Ash adjusted the brim of his hat with a small smile. “Shining Armor, that battle was absolutely amazing. It’s been years since I’ve seen Grovyle be pushed like that and I was glad it was you and your team that gave it to us. You’re the prime example of the kind of trainers I wanted to help nourish this world; you have a good heart and a good head on your shoulders, even if that ego can mess with it at times.” The crowd chuckled a bit with him as Shining softly smiled. “So keep training with that team of yours and break through your limits to a new horizon. Then someday, I want a rematch.”

Shining’s jaw slacked. “A-a-a rematch‽ Really‽”

“Of course! I wanna see how strong you become.” He grinned widely. “Whaddya say?” Ash held out his hand. The stallion stared at it for a moment before shakily extending his foreleg and pressed it to outstretched palm. Ash wrapped his fingers around the fetlock and they shook on it, getting a wild cheer from the crowd. “And keep working on that Bone Combat there. It really works for you.”

“Bone Combat, huh?” Shining mused, rubbing his chin. “I like it! Until then, Ketchu-... Ash. Next time it won’t be so easy.”

Ash chuckled softly. “Can’t wait. Now get Lucario patched up so you can enjoy the rest of the show.”

Shining nodded, returning Lucario to his pokéball. He stowed the ball away and nodded one last time to Ash before walking off the field, the crowd cheering as he left the arena. A team of four unicorns quickly ran out to the field, using their magic to begin repairing the field, the surface slowly altering.

“I can’t believe Shiny lost,” Twilight slumped, picking up her dropped notes to shuffle them so nothing poked out of the sides. “I really thought Lucario could have won.”

“Poor critter jus’ might ‘ve had it not been luck that his bone done-gone and got smashed. Lucario was fresh inta things and Grovyle had already fought five other hard battlers. All things considered, Lucario should’a won.”

“Maybe in a normal battle, AJ,” Rainbow chimed in, “But this is Ash we’re talking about here. A legend at work! Nothing’s gonna stop him!”

Rarity raised a brow at Rainbow. “Oh really? What about the princesses, hm? Are you so eager to believe that he can defeat Princess Luna and Princess Celestia?”

“W-w-well I…” Rainbow stuttered, but Twilight came to the rescue.

“Maybe,” she said simply.

“W-what‽” Rarity gasped, her jaw slack at her friend. The others stared at Twilight as well, save for Spike who was watching the field still with stars in his eyes.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but legends say that Red and Green were the only trainers never to bested by the princesses. That may have been centuries ago, but we’ve seen that Ash isn’t going to be deterred. His battle skills, quick thinking, and ingenuity are giving him the big edge in this game. As much as I’d like to think the princesses could beat him, I wouldn’t place any bets for it.”

Before the girls could continue the debate, Raven shouted out to the crowd, “And now ladies and gentlecolts! Fillies and colts of all ages! We have the final member of the Elite Four! The ruler of the night and the dreams within it! Descended from the moon onto us lowly mortals; the mare of mystery herself! PRRRRRINCESS LUUUUUNNNNAAAA!” The crowd roared and cheered as Luna took air from the royal box and descended to her own side of the field, opposing Ash directly. The field between them now lush with green grass instead of the barren, rocky field of before.

“Pika,” Blue muttered, seeing the smirk on Luna’s face as well as his trainers.

“Now,” Ash whispered, “we begin the real battle.”

What a show! With three of the Elite Four already defeated, can our hero continue on to take down both Luna and Celestia? Or will Ash’s challenge be over before he knows it? Stay tuned to find out.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while since you've seen or heard from me, but I hope this makes up for the silence as I try to get back into the swing of things. I've got more coming for everyone in due time, so please continue to be patient and thanks for reading.

Comments

[KiaraGate]

That is a huge update. Time to read it.

[darkmagician41]

Holy...Shit...

vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/walkingdead/images/6/68/Whatthefuck-did-i-just-read.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140821030229

[wiccanminnesota]

7503253 I have to admit to you fully when I saw that Bert picture I actually fell out of my chair laughing that was by far the highlight of my day.

[RBronyReader446]

Now that is how you write a battle. Too awesome for words and it only took how long.... oh... That long, well it was worth it

[MTDragonslayer7]

I find it both startling and unsurprising that Blueblood forgot about Type advantage.

[GIGA-XISBASS]

That was awesome. Not many can take down the Elite Four with just 1 pokemon per battle. That in itself is almost unprecedented.

[Fictional Fanatic]

“The final round of the third match, Grovyle vs. Lucario, begins… now!”

Well isn't that rude! Raven is already declaring this round Red's win.

[Saiyan of the North Star]

KO awesome chapter, totally worth the wait Ash defeated three of the Elite Four and now it's Luna's turn! Wonder what Battle will it be against the royal sisters of Equestria?

[darkmagician41]

7503284

Not a problem, but don't tell me you didn't think the same thing with that last clash between Grovyle and Lucario?

[KiaraGate]

Looks like Ash might be using his "Ultimate Team".

[ponylover2]

man this chapter is SO SUPER AWESOME can't wait for the next chapter update u really got me so hooked ad more chapters like this

[ChaosOverlord65]

Good chapter, though I have to ask why does Ash have Grovyle and not Sceptile?

[OmegaRuby]

Well time to wait another year for another awesome update, worth it

[NightmareKnight]

Holy shit. Update out of nowhere and it's almost 20k words. Jeez.

[DJSkywalker]

7504689 Personal choice. I prefer Grovyle's design to Sceptile's.

[cyberlord4444]

7505432 Nice, hope I can cross with this.

[DJSkywalker]

7505717 At the moment, I only plan to have this story crossover with other Pokémon displaced. I want to keep this story straight with its theme rather than letting crossovers happen because reasons.

[cyberlord4444]

7505952 Fair enough, I just thought that Ash wouldn't mind if Cruger helped find Serena, it'd take him about 10 seconds to open the portal.

[DJSkywalker]

7505957 I think you just said the whole reason why those things won't happen.

[cyberlord4444]

7505973 Okay, can't wait to see his actual plan.

[cyberlord4444]

7505973 By the way, whatever the plan is, Dialga should be a part of it. If that was your idea, sorry if I spoiled it.

[DJSkywalker]

7506239 As I've already said, there are no dragon types. Dialga is a dragon type, ergo he can't be a part of it.

[cyberlord4444]

7506346 Explain Trixie's Gibile

[Xain357]

“Now, Krokorok! Earthquake!”

Krookodile suddenly devolved back into a Krokorok.

[KyleeTheShinyStealer]

Holy crap. That was a very long chapter. Well done!

[Closet-Bronie-333]

need more now please

[Goldspoon]

All in all I have to say that was a god damn good chepter, so I would have liked it more, when you could have split it bitween the fights. Such big chepters are just a bit to time consuming I think, just saying.
one big thing that bothers me, and that is entirely because of my love for realism, is this thing with typ specification.
Like I said, I just think that an experienced trainer would know that a one typ team could easily get wiped out by one pokemon with one effectiv attack.
See exhibit 1: Krookodile

I know myself, it's funny to bild a one typ team. But practical? No.

I just hope that this story will not be like the games, were just the hero uses variety, and all others go with one theme.

Otherwise, good writing and good story, please keep it up.

[Gale the Anarchist]

7506405
Trixie from Equestria Girls has a Gible/Gabite, yes. However, that is another world, where it would seem that the Pokémon are a new and rare occurrence. In fact, if memory serves, I think the Pokémon stated to have been caught in that world are only Dragon Types.

Makes ya think...

[MidnightRain]

7533450 It's fairly obvious what is being referenced here, though. As in the anime and games alike, the Elite Four(Excluding the Champion), like the Gym Leaders, are type specialists, meaning while, experienced as they are, you can plow through with the right advantage regardless. Case in point: Karen from HGSS or Bruno from RGBY/FRLG. Both can be blasted through pretty quick with a Fighting type or a Psychic type respectively, despite(In Bruno's case because I haven't battled Karen in ages and don't remember her entire team anymore) a deviation from the specialization.

[ponylover2]

7505432 what's taking so long with the next upload for this story I've been waiting for a long time and it's already 2017 please upload more chapters soon I'll be waiting my friend and keep me posted on the story thanks

[KiaraGate]

7864755 given the sheer lent of the last chapter, I would say that combined with personal life.

[ponylover2]

7905598 oh OK then sorry about that I just really wanted to read this story alot more because this is the best story I'm reading so far and please let Ash have a gwenninja and have both of them become Ash-gwinninja I want to see the look on Celestia's and everypony's faces please add that to this story please I'm sure that u might get more likes if not I'll still b supporting u and ur story

[KiaraGate]

7905789 I'm not the author, DJSkywalker is. I am just a fan of the story like you.

[ponylover2]

7906911 oh sorry for that I just really love this story

[ponylover2]

7506346 please upload more chapters please

[DJSkywalker]

7926386 It's in the works, but personal life is interfering.

[ponylover2]

7928854 OK but please try to upload more chapters my friend when u have the time

[Closet-Bronie-333]

whens the next chapter

[ponylover2]

7974081 I also want to know when the next chapter upload is coming I've been reading these chapters over about ten times already please upload more soon and I hate cliffhangers

[DJSkywalker]

7983482
7974081 The next chapter is in the works. I'm just dealing with things IRL at the moment and it's draining me.

[Closet-Bronie-333]

7984860 okay

[ponylover2]

7984860 oh okay sorry about that I'll be waiting my friend and keep me posted on the story thanks and battle on my friend

[denneylaw]

7984860 like playing sun and moon?

[Closet-Bronie-333]

is the next chapter done yet

[Noctis Prism]

This'll be soooooo awesome! I'm beyond eager to see Luna and the undoubtedly Dark and Psychic types she has, plus Ghosts too. Hmm, wonder if Trixie has a team and is any good?

I could see her with this team:
Gardevoir
Zoroark
Alakazam
Torkoal
Sylveon
Cloyster

It has a magician vibe, and a show vibe in tricks. Her with this team would be good, and if she's before Alicorn Amulet it could be Ash helps her get over the issue of Ponyville blaming entirely for the Ursa Major since it was the Dumb and Dumber colts of Snips and Snails that caused it.

I'm eager for the Sunset battle too. Hopefully the Rainbow Rocks event with Serena will cement a good friendship easier this time.

[The_Poket_Umbreon]

Curse you good sir and your cliffhangers and hiatus, why must you deprive me of such a great story!?

[StarBlaster]

When are you going to update this?

[GoldenHeartofMorioh]

METAL RISING IMPACT!!!!!

[Mkchief34]

Ever going to update?

[DJSkywalker]

10216958
It is in the works.