Raichu, Defender of Equestria
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Chapter 38
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The Last Peaceful Dream
Twilight was now sitting on her crystal throne with Spike by her side, all her friends already in their respective thrones. A chandelier made of tree roots and memory gems just above the Cutie Map brought brightness into the gloomy atmosphere present inside the room.
Starlight sat on a pillow next to Spike. Despite her mentor’s insistence, she had refused a throne of her own, as she didn’t feel worthy of such an honor yet.
As the silence and gloomy faces remained, Dash spoke up in an excited tone, “That sure was an epic adventure! I gotta say Twilight, your mother should join us whenever Equestria is in danger and stuff. She has some decent reflexes with her magic.” Rainbow Dash said with a wide smile on her dreamy face, her wings flapping in excitement. “And when she said, ‘Beam away or beam bang to the face,' it was a cool one-liner.”
“I heard you did not make much of a difference, darling. Your parents and their befriended Raichu had to come to your rescue,” Rarity spoke up, receiving an annoyed frown from the pegasus. “Not that I blame you. Even in my unlady-like rage, I would not accomplish much without the help of those nice beam-shooting bears.”
Fluttershy tapped her forehooves together. “Ummm… to be fair, if not for Nica and other friendly pokemon, I fear of what would happen to our families. Even if those mean pokemon we faced were way weaker than Darkrai, I fear we wouldn’t stop them on our own.”
Twilight nodded. “I must agree. Nica did tell us in her reports that pokemon often fight each other to improve themselves. Even if some of them aren’t stronger than ponies, they still surpass us when it comes to combat experience.”
“Maybe they know a lot about how to give a beatin', but they ain’t out of free will, unlike the monsters that attacked our farm. Green eyes with a dark aura escapin’ them… Eeyup, totally brainwashed,” Applejack pointed out.
Fluttershy raised her forehoof. “Maybe Darkrai doesn’t want to brainwash other pokemon like he did with the monsters. He did give Nica a choice to join him or return back to her world. He must respect other pokemon while looking down on us.”
Rainbow Dash smashed her forehooves together. “The nerve of him, thinkin’ we’re some animals or pests he can conquer and rule.”
“To be fair,” Applejack said, “when Ah found Nica at mah farm, Ah thought of her to be a pest. Ah took her to the vet later on, as if she was a critter.”
“I reread some of her reports. According to Nica’s memories, humans from her world often took care of or trained pokemon how to fight. While pokemon like to cooperate with humans, they are often looked down upon like pets and even exploited.” Twilight rubbed her chin. “With all the information we have thus far, I believe he’s thinking that humans treat pokemon like slaves and ponies are no better. He probably want to bring pokemon into our world and conquer us, showing that pokemon aren’t just pets to exploit.”
“Well… Ah must admit, Ah didn’t see Nica as an equal, even if she deserved it,” Applejack said with her head lowered in shame.
Twilight looked to the side. “I admit, I also started thinking of her like a adorable loyal pet and test subject for my experiments.” She tapped her forehooves together as her ears drooped. “I couldn’t help it. She’s so small and cute and fluffy, and she liked when I stroked her.”
“And I enjoyed our cuddling session and belly rubs, though she rubbed my belly in kind,” Fluttershy said with a warm smile.
Pinkie showed a toothy smile. “She sure loved my sweets and was soooo cute. I think she was happy playing the role of our pet and enjoyed our affection. She wanted to make us happy and be proud of her.”
Spike spoke up, “I don’t think she minded. Even if Nica is smart, when we took care of her she was lost and confused. She acted like our pet because she looked up to us.”
Starlight nodded. “That’s true, but she changed. As she recovered more of her memories, she started showing her intelligence, skills and initiative. She solved a friendship problem and started to work as a mercenary. She was our equal.”
“Speaking of her, I came to a decision,” Twilight said as she narrowed her eyes. “We need to convince her to accept Darkrai’s offer and return back to her world.”
“What?” Applejack said with slam of her forehoof against the round table. “After everythin’ she has done, all the blows she took for us, all the burns she endured, all the sweat of exhaustion she dropped. After all her struggles as she risked her well-being to protect our families while endurin’ agony, ya want her to leave! Just like that?” Applejack’s eyes watered as she held back her tears. “She jumped into a Hydra’s mouth to save Apple Bloom for Celestia’s sake, endured its sharp teeth and the only thin’ on her mind was to fight for us.”
“I know!” Twilight snapped back as she stood up from her throne and spread her wings. “But that’s the problem. Ever since we started taking care of her, I noticed that she doesn’t care about herself. She tried to banish herself after electrocuting fillies and colts which wasn’t her fault to begin with. She begs for forgiveness after giving someone a bruise but doesn’t care if she herself ends up covered by them. While I find such selfless behavior to be admirable, it’s also very sad.”
Rainbow Dash nodded as she crossed her arms. “No kiddin.' Her self-esteem is waaay too low. A large boost of ego would do her good.”
Twilight nodded as she continued with a depressed tone, “Her body may be incredibly tough, but her heart is delicate. She’s so easy to guilt and so willing to push herself in the line of fire for others. If she stays in Equestria any longer, I fear she’ll give up her very life to protect us.”
Starlight whimpered, her ears drooped and tear slid down her cheek. “If it wasn’t for her, Darkrai and Chrysalis would grow more powerful under our muzzles, only to take over Equestria with little resistance. Again and again she ruined his plans and now she’s suffering because of that.” She wiped tears from her watering eyes. “He knows… he knows he can’t beat her, so he’s trying to break her. I can’t even fathom the guilt weighing on her poor heart.”
“Not to mention that the moment Nica returns back home, Darkrai will stop targeting our families,” Rarity pointed out.
Applejack frowned. “Ah doubt that. Ah mean, he knew where we and our families live and had a plan of attack.” She crossed her arm, her face grumpy. “Ah bet he planned to target them if we got in his way.”
“I can’t deny that possibility, Applejack,” Twilight said before showing a confident smile. “However, thanks to Nica; our families are now safe and with us in this very castle, scholars from Canterlot are searching and dispelling his curses as we speak, and Chrysalis is locked in the changeling hive with Pharynx guarding her. We learned about our enemy, his tricks, strengths and weaknesses. And most importantly, not every pokemon he summons are sharing his vision of conquest.” She poked her own chest. “I believe that from now on we’re capable of keeping Equestria safe on our own. The least we can do is to spare Nica more suffering.”
The silence overtook the room.
“Let’s settle it with a vote. Who’s in favor of telling Nica to accept Darkrai’s offer to return home, please, raise your hoof,” Twilight said as she raised her own foreleg and looked between her friends.
Starlight grit her teeth as she slowly raised her foreleg, only to lower it, her mind a mess.
Fluttershy whimpered before raising her forehoof. “I… I really love Nica. She was always so incredibly nice, maybe even nicer than me, but when I saw her pulling a broken leg, when I saw her crying eyes... “ She looked to the side, resisting the urge to cry. “She told me… she told me how the ponies in Cloudsdale hated her, how they hurt her thinking she was an enemy. She told me that it hurt more than the broken leg. I hate that she needs to leave, but she doesn’t deserve to suffer more.”
Pinkie’s mane became grey as she raised her foreleg. “I want to make her happy… If staying here with us will keep making her sad and hurt her… she should return to her friends at home. They’ll cheer her up.”
Applejack turned on her throne and crossed her arm. “Ah’ll protect her with mah life if Ah have too, Ah owe her that, but if she’s willin’ to fight for us, we should respect that.”
Dash nodded. “That’s right. She may be too humble and think little of herself, but protecting others means life to her.” Dash’s wings spread and she raised a forehoof up to her chest. "I know how she feels. Once we kick Darkrai's butt, she's not gonna care about the pain, she'll be too happy. She believes the stronger you are, the more you gotta help. Taking this chance away from her is totally uncool." She flew up, now hovering above her throne. “Once this mess is over, I’ll find those stupid pegasi who dared to hurt her and make them apologize.”
Spike raised his hand as he looked Twilight in the eyes. “It seems I’ll not get to know her better after all, but I agree that she’s too selfless. If we won’t make her stop taking blows for us, who will?”
Rarity raised her forehoof. “The poor dear endured too much. When I brought her to Manehattan so she could work for my friend Miss Coco Pommel as a bodyguard, she took it upon herself to take down a criminal organization. I fear if we will let her stay with us, she will sacrifice her own life. She needs to leave.”
Twilight nodded before looking at her student. “What about you, Starlight, have you made up your mind?”
“I did. As much as it pains me to see her suffer like that, I know her well enough. She would feel guilty for abandoning us for the rest of her life.” She raised her head, now giving her teacher an even look. “It is true that she thinks little of her own worth, that she’s ready to put her own life at risk, but she made a decision to dedicate her life to be as useful to those in need as possible. I… I can’t rob her of the opportunity to make use of her powers. If she survives, the joy of playing a vital role in saving Equestria will be worth it. It will make her happy… like she’s worth something.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. “I see your point, however, the votes are five to three in favor of her returning back home. Not to mention that her mother no doubt wants her safe and sound. The moment she recovers, we’ll need to convince her to leave.”
Dash and Applejack groaned while Starlight didn’t dare to raise her lowered head.
Fluttershy stepped from her throne and said, “I hope she’ll recover. I know that Dr. Fauna is with her right now, but maybe it would be better if we left her at hospital.”
Rainbow Dash flew over to the other pegasus and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. During her training, Nica brought herself to a critical condition and managed to recover. Just give it time and her leg will be as good as new.” She placed a forehoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, who returned it with a cheerful smile.
“How is she holding up,” Apple Bloom asked as she looked up at Dr. Fauna with puppy eyes, only a few wrong words away from bursting into tears. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were by her side. With their friend recovering in the softest bed found in the castle, her injuries being a result of saving the young Apple filly, they quickly came to look after the long-tailed critter.
“She’s recovering quite quickly,” Dr. Fauna said with a cheerful smile as she pointed at the bandaged Raichu perched on a large pillow. A rat and green spider sat on a nearby table, keeping watch over their friend. Another Raichu lay curled on a pillow next to Nica, keeping her daughter company. “Her breathing and heartbeat are stable.” She gestured over to a fully bandaged and immobilized rear leg. “Her leg is the only part of her body to worry about, but if what Princess Twilight told me, pokemon are capable of recovery far above ours. Miss Dash even mentioned that Nica is a special case due to her dangerous training regime.”
“Wooooow, I knew she was cool, but not like that,” Scootaloo said as her tiny wings kept her in the air for three seconds before giving up. “I mean, being chewed by a Hydra, defeating it and fighting mean pokemon despite an injured leg. Next to Rainbow Dash, she’s definitely second.”
“Second, in what?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Awesomeness level, duuuh…”
“Sssshhh…” Apple Bloom shot her friends a glare of disapproval before climbing up onto the bed, giving the critter a sad look. “She needs peace and quiet.” She glanced at Dr. Fauna. “Ah brought a basket with apples and a blanket. Maybe she’s cold?”
“I believe eiderdown is good enough.” Fauna paused upon seeing the sad eyes of the filly. “I suppose adding a soft blanket won’t hurt.”
Apple Bloom jumped from the bed with a grin. “I’ll bring the blanket, be back in a moment.” She ran out and into the room with bronze blanket in her mouth, her head raised in pride. The blanket itself covered by numerous tiny apple decorations.
Winona walked into the room and lay in front of the bed, whimpering sadly. Her burns covered in bandages.
“Thank you… for everything.” Apple Bloom added her blanket into the mix, covering both Nica and her mother, and then gently stroked Nica in between her ears. “Sweet dreams, you deserve them.”
The following weeks inside the secret base were… eventful… as the technicians recovered a copy of Guardian’s database and gained access to their spy satellite. A solid first step in criminal control.
Inspired by Nica’s development, power and her character, a few Pichu willingly arrived at the bunker, pleading for its residents to let them join on their adventure. Out of respect for Nica and Astra, three combat-orientated guardians agreed to train one Pichu each. Not that the tiny rookies were going to be useful anytime soon, but their determination was nothing to sneeze at.
One of the Pichu who joined a fellow guardian was Nica’s youngest brother, who was looking at her in admiration whenever they meet. The downside being Astra’s Umbreon who called himself Nica’s younger brother, resulting in a few arguments and displays of jealousy whenever interacting with the Pichu.
Now inside the testing area, Flint and his Infernape stood across from Astra and Nica. Numerous cameras were present in the room while reinforced glass separated them from technicians, computers and other advanced devices.
“You know. When you told me what you’re trying to accomplish here, I thought you were in over your head,” Flint said as he rubbed his afro. “Yet here you are, having a secret base on your own abandoned island with former criminals working for you. Are you sure you’re not planning to take over the world or something?”
“As if,” Astra said with a shake of her head. “In order to get intelligence and proof of corruption in Kanto and Johto, we need proper equipment and staff. My pokemon team have firepower and I may be a good strategist, but this requires a more stealthy approach.”
“Sure, sure, and don’t worry, your secret will be safe with me,” Flint said as he patted himself on the chest. “Now, are you ready to test this new Z-move of yours?”
Infernape taunted with his hand. <Give me your best shot.>
Astra nodded before performing a new dance, and she still couldn't tell how she discovered it. When testing if the new Z-move was reacting to one of Nica’s attacks, failing each time, she decided to try a combo instead. The moment Nica attacked with two attacks at the same time while Astra tried to connect with her pokemon, an odd sensation overcame them, one she couldn’t explain. As if everything she knew about Nica and their bond of trust suddenly started becoming something deeper.
Surrounded by an aura of power from her head to the tip of her tail, Nica ran at Infernape.
“Use Close Combat!” Flint commanded.
Both Nica and her trainer grinned. Astra took a step back and raised her hand as if holding a shield, while Nica with quick movements of her shining tail intercepted and soaked the power of each punch as cracks appeared on the metal on her tail. She followed up by swinging her tail against Infernape’s belly while Astra punched the air.
Infernape took slow steps backward as he held his stomach in pain.
Astra jumped forward and spin kicked the air while Nica slammed her head into Infernape’s face in a massive explosion of electricity.
The moment the dust settled. Infernape dropped to one knee, his face covered by burns.
Nica was breathing heavily as her tail was covered in bruises. She sat and waited for her trainer to finish talking with her technicians. Her patience was soon rewarded as Astra approached her.
“It seems that unlike ‘Gigavolt Havoc’ which focus on attacking opponents at a distance with as much power as possible, your new Z-move focuses on defense and skills," Astra explained as she lowered herself to Nica's face level. "First, you soak physical attacks with your tail and counter, the stronger their attack, the more damage you’ll do. You follow it up with something similar to ‘Volt Tackle’ which seems to do extreme damage if you score a critical hit.”
Nica tilted her head to the side.
“Your Z-move is very situational. If your opponent uses weak physical attacks or uses special attacks instead, your tail strike will be weaker, and if you fail to skillfully hit your opponent's head or other weaker spot, your follow up won’t do much damage either.” Astra poked Nica’s forehead. “In other words, depending on the situation and your skills, this Z-move will either do only a small portion of ‘Gigavolt Havoc’ damage, or maybe even thrice as much. It seems incredibly powerful against very strong physical attackers.” She pointed at Nica’s tail. “Still… your tail got damaged. I think this Z-move combines and boosts properties of ‘Iron Tail’ and ‘Volt Tackle.' Since Infernape attacked with ‘Close Combat’ which is super effective against steel types, your ‘Iron Tail’ suffered. Let’s avoid using this Z-move against fighting and fire-types from now on.”
Nica nodded. So this Z-move seems to be using and boosting two of my attacks at the same time. Neat. I prefer combos over raw power anyway.
“I think this is an improvement,” Flint commented as he recalled his wounded pokemon into his pokeball. “Your Raichu is incredibly skilled and durable, but her attack power is no better than that of a well-trained Pikachu, which would greatly limit the power of your Z-move. This new version takes the advantage of your opponent’s strength and use Nica’s skill, making up for her weaker attack power.”
“I agree.” Astra said before sitting in front of her pokemon. She grabbed Nica and placed her on her knees as in the good old days. “By the way, I finally have solid data about you. Wanna hear what we learned?”
Nica’s ears perked up. <Do tell, do tell.> Her tail flapped left and right from excitement.
Flint approached and exposed his right ear.
Astra took a deep breath and spoke, “As you may know already, while some pokemon species are weaker and some are more powerful, there are very rare situations when a weak pokemon may become way stronger, surpassing the limitations of their species. It’s not just getting tougher with hard training. Pokemon with weak defenses may endure hits that can take down pokemon with greater durability. Pokemon with four times weakness to water may start enduring it. Slow and big pokemon may move and act faster than others of their species.”
“That’s true,” Flint said with a nod. “Such cases are very rare, but I saw them with my own eyes. My Infernape is a good example. His endurance is far greater than others of his species and training with you made him even stronger.”
Nica nodded. Was she one of those rare cases? She had to be.
Astra continued, “According to the gathered data, due to years of fighting against the odds, especially when you started pushing yourself to a critical condition, your body developed in desperate attempt to keep you alive.” She poked Nica’s belly. “It sacrificed some of your attack and special attack, but in return your body gained a lot of endurance and stamina. While most Raichu are fragile, especially when it comes to their defenses, you can endure a lot of punishment and then some.”
Flint shrugged. “I’m not surprised. Most others pokemon would either die or give up from pain alone.”
Astra lowered her head. “To be honest… your willpower and determination to endure all pain, the motivation to repeat your harsh training over and over, my presence to get you into Pokemon Center in time, my medical knowledge I learned from the Nurse Joy and Blissey’s ability to share her vitality to keep you alive… If even one of those things were missing…” She gulped. “I fear… I fear for you…”
Nica stood on tips of her ear paws, now staring at the tears in her trainers eyes. <I’m sorry…> She wiped the tears from her trainer’s cheeks.
Astra took a deep breath while stroking her. “Sadly, I have bad news for you. According to gathered data, taking a break from your harsh training caused your body to weaken. In order to keep your survivability on the highest level… you need to keep pushing yourself. I fear training even harder would affect your mental health in negative way… if it is even possible.” She sighed. “In short, you can’t surpass your new limits and you can’t stop pushing yourself if you want to remain strong. Your change is both a blessing and a curse.”
Nica smiled warmly, trying to comprehend her trainer’s words. Curse? That’s one way to put it, but I’ll manage. As long as it will keep me strong and help me save lives, I’ll endure. She stepped from her trainer, raised her forepaw and clenched it, her face filled with confidence. <I won’t stop doing my best, no matter what hardship we’ll need to face, I swear.>
Astra grabbed Nica’s tail and stroked it. “Still, while you can’t grow stronger and more durable than you already are, I believe there’s a lot of room for improvement in the skill department. Your new tail must be harder for you to master, but in return there’s plenty of techniques to discover.” She raised Nica’s rear leg and tickled the bottom of her paw, causing her to giggle. “Maybe you can still improve your speed and your jumping. It’s worth a try.”
“Astra, it’s an emergency!”
Nica withdrew her rear leg and looked towards the source of the voice as Guardian Emily looked back at them with a shocked face.
“According to the TV news, the weather has gone crazy while water started freezing around one of the populated islands. The snow is covering everything!” Emily shouted in panic, her breathing unstable. “I used the spy satellite to check the area. Some kind of large flying fortress was shooting at Articuno.”
Nica stomped and narrowed her eyes as bolts of electricity started escaping dots on her cheeks. She sensed anger coming from her trainer who’s hands started trembling. It had been a long time since they interacted with Articuno, a pokemon they befriended. In the past they worked together to stop Team Rocket from catching Moltres and Zapdos, and it helped them escape from Kanto to Hoenn before the criminal organization could retaliate. She was soooo going to fight to protect their friend and restore the natural order.
When Nica balanced herself on a kayak which her trainer used for transportation, facing strong waves and later strong blizzards, she expected to sneak onto the large flying fortress and capture the owner before freeing the legendary pokemon. Surely Articuno would listen to her and help to salvage the situation for the old time’s sake.
How was she going to sneak into the fortress? Simple. She would reach it by riding on Gliscor’s back. Her loyal companion may not have been the best or fastest flier, but still good enough to reach a fortress of such size. That… or she would simply jump. She could reach two hundred meters of height with her best jump. Or she could jump from Gliscor’s back. With help of her ‘Iron Tail’ she could quietly pierce the hull of the fortress and get in, or pierce it with ‘Volt Tackle.' Everything had a weak point after all, and just because it was very big didn’t mean it was all that sturdy.
The first obstacle they encountered being a big gathering of ice, making the kayak useless. They didn’t expect it would spread on such distance so quickly. Trying to scout ahead, she ran ahead of her trainer as her paws made contact with ice and snow, reaching a large gathering of confused pokemon which blocked her way. With a sense of urgency, she jumped from one big pokemon to another, trying to make her way ahead of the large crowd. Finally, ahead of the other pokemon, she examined the situation.
Articuno and its two counterparts ceased fighting one another and instead attacked… a trainer a few kilometers ahead of her? Whoever seemed brave enough to face the legendary trio was pulled by a red fire-breathing pokemon with wings she remembered as a Charizard. Holding a forepaw above her head, she tried to recognize the other pokemon in the trainer’s company who were brave enough to face the wrath of the legendaries, yet their size proved too small at such distance for her to recognize.
She raised a forepaw over her mouth as the trainer and his pokemon nearly ended up caught by a wave of water, which Articuno froze in an instant.
The legendary trio started fighting each other once again.
Nica’s ears drooped. As much as she wanted to help, reaching such a distance on her paws at her full speed would take a minute, and two people riding a pontoon equipped with some sort of device provided the trainer with means of fast transportation, only increasing the distance. Much to her relief, another large white pokemon with massive wings did its best to protect the trainer from harm.
Upon noticing a damaged fortress on top of a snowy mountain, she pushed herself through the numerous pokemon and regrouped with her trainer. Unsure what was going on and how to help, they made their way towards what was left of the large fortress, their plan being to capture and interrogate the ones responsible for this mess. Whoever was inside though tried to capture the largest legendary pokemon, who blown him up along with his fortress.
With the largest legendary pokemon falling into the water too far away for them too asist and the legendary trio being nearby, Nica unleashed a warning ‘Thunderbolt,’ catching their attention. <Hey, stop fighting!> Her call was answered by an ‘Ice Beam,’ ‘Flamethrower’ and ‘Thunderbolt’ heading in her direction.
As her trainer summoned ‘Light Screen’ with the help of her shield, Nica ran towards the angered pokemon, zipping in between their attacks before jumping towards Articuno, wrapping her tail around its legs. <Hey, it’s me, Nica! Snap out of it!>
<N-Nica?> Articuno asked before looking at its legs, now staring her in the eyes.
Nica grabbed its leg with a forepaw while waving with the other one. She gasped and pointed ahead. <Watch out!> Using her own ‘Thunderbolt’ she intercepted ‘Flamethrower’ before jumping in front of Articuno, taking the ‘Thunderbolt’ upon herself while ‘Light Screen’ halved the damage. She landed on Articuno’s neck from the recoil with barely noticeable burns on her fur. That’s odd. My attack actually managed to stop Moltres’ ‘Flamethrower.’ The legendary trio must be really exhausted after non-stop fighting.
<Thank you… but what are you doing here?> Articuno asked in confusion.
<I came to help you all and do what I can to stop this mess, only to find you fighting each other and attacking innocent trainers. What’s wrong with you?>
Articuno flapped its large wings, hovering high in the air as a blush formed on its shining cheeks. <I… was lost in my rage… it’s a long story.> It flew up, evading the attacks from the other two legendaries.
<In that case just remain calm and don’t let the heat of battle get to your head again. If you can help me reach Moltres and Zapdos, I’ll try to get some sense into them,> Nica said as her large ride flew as close as it could while under fire. Nica took the opportunity, leaping onto Moltres’ back while enduring its weakened flames with little difficulty, a show of how much her durability had improved since she encountered the legendary trio as a Pikachu.
She held the neck of the wriggling ride with her paws and tail. <It’s me, Nica! Do you remember me? We saved you from Team Rocket over a year ago.> She felt flames once again burning her fur as bolts of electricity started escaping from the dots of her cheeks. She was going to calm down the legendary birds before they could cause any more damage, and if she couldn’t do it with words, she was ready to use her electricity.
Nica’s efforts in calming Moltres and Zapdos, while successful, proved pointless as the snow-covered land and frozen water was surrounded by a green aura. In less than a minute the ice melted and everything returned to normal.
Unsure what happened, Nica and Astra stepped to sidelines, subtly asking left and right in search for information while staying out of sight. Revealing that a new champion of Sinnoh was visiting Kanto would attract too much attention after all.
It didn’t take long before they learned the name of the pokemon trainer who took the greatest risk and played a major role in freeing the legendary birds and restoring the natural order.
Overcome with curiosity about the brave hero, Astra looked into the name Ash Ketchum while searching for proof of corruption in Kanto’s police. According to Lt. Surge, this trainer earned his badge a year ago, while further investigation unraveled that he failed to reach the finals during the Kanto League and defeated the champion of the Orange Islands.
Nica sat at the edge of the cliff with Astra by her side, staring at the endless water before them which reflected rays of the descending sun in a golden spectacle with a bronze sky in the background. Behind them were six stone pillars, a place where a trainer named Ash delivered the last artifact needed to restore the natural order, almost freezing in the cold water in the process.
“I was such a fool…”
Nica glanced at her trainer in confusion. Fool? Why?
“All this time I thought with enough effort, good planning and preparations, I would be able to continue my parents’ legacy… that I could make them proud as they watched me from another plane of existence.” Astra sighed and lowered her head as she wrapped her hands around her knees. “I thought I was doing something really special, but now I fear I was waaay too careful and hesitant in my approach.”
<What do you mean?> Nica asked. She picked up the notepad from her trainer’s bag and wrote the question before presenting it to her trainer.
Astra clenched her hands before speaking in a depressed tone, “I walked the safer route, too afraid of taking risks. I was gaining information about criminal organizations, asserting their strength and waiting until we’re strong enough to take on their elite. It took us three years before we interrupted Team Rocket plans in capturing the legendary trio and retreated to another region afterwards.”
Astra glanced at pillars behind her and added, “But this trainer… Ash Ketchum, he had no more than one year of experience and didn’t win the Kanto tournament. While defeating the champion of the Orange Island is a solid achievement, the pokemon he faced were nowhere near the strength of the Elite Four.” She looked at Nica with saddened eyes. “And yet, despite a lack of a powerful team and experience, Ash was brave enough to face three legendary pokemon, enduring hardship and cold temperatures. Side by side with his friends he freed the legendary trio from the flying fortress and stopped a disaster.”
Nica nodded, suspecting what weighted on her trainer’s heart.
“Do you remember how I told you that the greater power one posses, the greater achievements they need to accomplish to be worthy of this power?” Astra asked, receiving a nod of confirmation. “Ash Ketchum has way less experience than me and his team is unevolved and inferior to mine in terms of power and skills. Even his partner is still a Pikachu, and yet…” She chuckled in a creepy way. “He was brave enough to face danger and achieved something that took us three years of preparations. I may be a Sinnoh champion, but compared to him, I’m nothing…”
<Nothing?> Nica asked as her own ears drooped.
Astra glanced ahead of her at the calm water in the distance. “I thought we were doing something special and could protect our world as my parents did, but now another trainer with less experience and a weaker team is achieving the same. It was a large pill of humility to swallow. Now I understand that there are trainers superior to me.”
Astra forced a smile and continued, “We gained great power during our journey, and now we need to work even harder and do everything we can to weaken the criminal organizations and get rid of the corruption. Unless we can accomplish more with so much power at our disposal, we’re worthless.” She rubbed top of her head. “Remember well, Nica, humility is important. Only if we understand how insignificant we are, can we stop thinking about ourselves and keep our ego in check, and only then can we push ourselves to try harder for the sake of others.”
Nica lowered her head and her ears drooped. According to what she had learned, Ash Ketchum had a partner, a strong Pikachu who was brave enough to face the legendary pokemon and protect his trainer.
<If an unevolved pokemon much weaker and less experienced than me managed to accomplish so much… it means without doubt that he’s superior… he’s a hero I inspire to be.> She clenched her forepaws and narrowed her eyes, feeling a surge of determination. <I may be inferior, but I’ll try harder. I’ll take the inspiration of his bravery and put others well-being above my own. No matter the danger or struggle, I’ll face it head on.> She stood up and slammed her tail against the rocky ground. <I admit it, I am a powerful Raichu, I’m nearly unbeatable, which means I’m also worthless, but I’ll prove myself! I won’t rest until my deeds are on par with my strength. Even if I fail, I’ll just keep trying again and again, I swear!>
So this is where your humility and determination comes from. A familiar voice echoed in her mind as she looked around in confusion, the scenery of her dream became blurry. To think that because of your trainer’s ideology, you willingly diminished your own worth and abandoned your pride. To think that all this time my plans were ruined by someone so blinded to its own achievements and greatness. I pity you. It brings me great sadness that I need to break you in my own domain.
“Dr. Fauna! Dr. Fauna!” Apple Bloom shouted alongside Winona’s barking.
The door shot open as a worried yellow earth pony ran into the room.
“Nica… something’s wrong… she’s wriggling…” Apple Bloom said between breaths as she pointed at the pokemon and her pained expression. “What’s happening to her?”
Dr. Fauna approached the bandaged Raichu, examining her with a worried look. Increased breathing speed, drops of sweat, wriggling, hastened heart rate, high temperature, violet color present above the nose. Whatever was happening, Nica’s condition was turning for the worse.
The other Raichu jumped to a standing position before looking between Dr. Fauna and her suffering daughter. <What’s happening to my daughter? Why’s she suffering so much.> She held her forepaws together, knelt and looked at the doctor pony with the most pleading stare she could muster. <I beg you, please help her!>
Hello, Darkrai
The problem for Darkrai is that until now he was the only that could do anything in the dream realm, but Luna is not where. The clash in dreams.
Luna where are you? Nica needs you stat! I hate to stay this but in this situation he had a prophecy in his corner, at least in the American version, and he does have something looking out for him as he has survived far more then he should have done so reasonably. Now hopefully victory will not completely break poor Nica.
Astra is obbsessed with stopping criminals but ash just loves pokemon. that is why ash can reach an understanding with pokemon and astra can not.
So Astra is where Nica got her problem from. Interesting.
9061954
9061957
Eeyup. Darkrai will soon learn that he's not the only one who rule the realm of dreams. The question is, will Luna react in time, or will Darkrai manage to break Nica before that happen.
9061974
I must respectfully disagree. Astra may be obsesed with fighting crime and continuing her parrents work, but she love pokemon in her own way, which is why she wants to protect them so much. She knows how it feels to be abandoned, so while Ash Ketcham capture many pokemon in one region, only to replace them with another group of pokemon in another region, Astra is afraid of catching many pokemon since she want to care for them all. She had five pokemon during Kanto League, six during Johto, and she caught one pokemon each region, and she's doing her best to let every pokemon she have get a chance to shine. (I know i failed to show it in the dream sequences, since I was focusing mostly on Nica's backstory and the story itself was already long enough, but I assure you, every pokemon under Astra's command is a veteran with many years of experience.
Astra even started releasing some of her pokemon, but still alowed them to accompany her on her jorney. That way she had six pokemon in her pokeball and the rest of her team accompanied her during the jorney.
What I try to say is that Astra love pokemon in her own way, she treat her team like family and show Nica great respect and trust, even sharing her ideology and teachings with her. Saying that she can't reach Ash's greatness because she doesn't love pokemon as much as he does is quite unfair.
9061992
Students do sometimes take after their teachers. Since trainer with only a bit more than 1 year of experience managed to achieve something that Astra did with great struggle when she had 3 years of experience (saving Zaptoss, Moltress and Articuno from Team Rocket), she views him as superior and a hero, an idol. By trying to teach her pokemon humility and to make sure that she'll not let her victories get into her head, she accidently set Nica into idolising Ash's Pikachu while growing an inferiority complex.
I believe that if it's a good or bad thing is up to debate. On the good side, Nica is selfless, think of others before herself and is ready to risk her own life to protect others. She's dependable and extremely brave, ready to jump into fire or even lava to help others. On the bad side, she don't care about her own needs and health, ready to give up her own life for the greater good without hesitation. Her mental stage isn't exacly healthy and she's vunerable to guiltt-rips. She's so focused to please everyone that she don't notice that by hurting herself and not taking care of herself, she make those who cares about her sad.
In the end, Nica's main goal in life is to be as helpful as she can be to others, but because of her inferiority complex and because another less experienced trainer is always ahead in keeping the world save, she feels that nothing she do is good enough. Because of her weakness, she'll never reach happiness because in her eyes, the goal she tries to achieve is unattaindable. In a sense, it is a bit tragic (while she have determination and power, she set the bar way too high for herself).
so does that mean we're not gonna learn how Nica got into Equestria, because all we know right now is that Palkia and Dialga sent her there.
This statement right here explains the character Nica more than anything else. She does not care about herself at all, does she?
9062091
I believe you just answered your own question. You already know that Darkrai was summoned by Chrysalis and Nica was sent after Darkrai by two legendary pokemon. But don't worry, there will be a bit more detail about that (I think in the epilogue).
9062096
Pretty much.
Nica's strong dedication to helping others, believes that being powerful and durable means that she has a lot of responsibility, and her big inferiority complex. All of those together make Nica focus all her attention and efforts into pleasing others at the cost of her own needs.
This is a big part of Nica's character. It's up to debate if it is a good or a bad thing.
Twilight is wrong in this idea of sending Nica home. In fact, Darkrai well only send more pokémon to attack the ponies to take the world for his own.
9062031
Well this is not entirely true it's true that he starts over in the beginning of each new region it's mainly to help his new pokemon gain exp. around the time of League events he uses his other pokemon to round out weaknesses and to surprise his opponents.
9063962
That may have been the case in Kanto League, but let's be honest, situations where he calls for his old comrades into action are very rare (he have so many of them and most of them never get to leave Oak's fields.
Astra limited number of captured pokemon for two reasons: First, she knew that while it is understandeable to change main team before an important battle, in order to overcome leagues, elite four and go for title of champion and master, she needs a team that she doesn't just train for 1 year but for many years. Second reason is that with the less pokemon she has, the more she can bond with them and send into pokemon battles: 5 Kanto, 6 Johto, 8 Sinnoh, 11 (after visiting two more regions and revisiting Alola). This number allow her to strategically change her team while also training them all continuously and make sure none feels forgotten.
9063962
Also, a fair tip, Astra's team doesn't have repetitive typing (with one exception):
Raichu = Electric,
Ninetales = Fire,
Starmie = Water/Psychic,
Venusaur = Grass/Poison,
Blinsey = Normal,
Lucario = Fighting/Steel,
Gliscor = Flying/Ground,
Umbreon = Dark,
The missing pokemon that she capture later are: Bug/Steel, Dragon, Fairy/Ghost.
So yeah, she thinks very ahead.
9063985
not just in the Kalos League he did it in the Hoenn League but that was because he was in the finals i think. he did it in a few rounds in the Sinnoh League and like the last half of his Unova journey
We aren't going to see how she actually came to Equestria? I would think we would have had at least one more.
9064453
It is a bit harsh. She was just trying to help repel the invasion. Providing Nica with aid because she made a mistake wasn't something she was obligated to do. If changelings would invade and ponies accidently attacked the one who was hurt and wasn't fighting back, they wouldn't be obligated to aid it while the invasion is still going on.
In the end it was just Darkrai's set up to ruin NIca's reputation. In a sense it worked.
9064988
You're right.
Well... I relocated some scenes, it should make way more sense now.
9065710
Don't worry, you will learn it, just not with dream. I have something else planned.
9065766
Yes they were. If they attacked an innocent, it doesn't matter if they look like the enemy, it's their obligation to provide aid. Even if they didn't attack her, it's their job to protect the innocent.
No matter how you look at it, they were obligated to help Nica. Spitfire is guilty of dereliction of duty, a very, very severe crime in the armed forces.
9065769
Wonderbolts aren't exacly armed forces, they're most likely a semi-military group turned into sport/entertainment field.
The reason why Spitfire's team is fighting against the invaders is because their uniforms are greatly protecting them from electricity and because they have enough discypline to work together as a team even under heavy pressure. While Nica wasn't agreesive towards them, they still lacked intel about the situation (who the enemies are, why are they attacking, if all of them are agressors or not). The only thing they knew was that if beaten hard enough, the invades would magically disapear, that all invaders look alike with a few metalic birds being an exception, and that the city was still under attack.
If Spitfire ordered one of her wonderbolts to get Nica to the hospital, she would be spliting her forces a bit (and there was no telling if the hospital would even be able to accept Nica, considering that there must be many ponies with post-electric burns), and if the whole team took Nica to the hospital, there was a risk that in the meanwhile more ponies will get hurt. It was a harsh decysion, but I think it was at least somewhat justified.
9065789
Even if they were civilians, they have a moral obligation to help someone they attacked by mistake. If nothing else, she could have convinced some bystander to help her. She's enough of a celebrity that she could have.
The fact is she attacked an innocent and just said 'fuck it' and left as if she didn't do anything wrong. It was messed up, and I really want to see Rainbow kick her ass for it.
Oooohh, I know when it's happening. X)))
Ash is there, yeah. =)
Yeah, a Meowth is probably not visible from such distance. X)))
Godamnit, Lawrence. You had to go and upset the tri-balance. Idiot.
9065856
Yeah, Spitfire in this story might need some correction writing. You can't just beat up on someone, find out they are non-hostile and just leave them for dead, essentially. That wouldn't look good ANYWHERE. Not in civillian sports branch, not in military unit. Granted, Wonderbolts ARE semi-military. Celestia founded them after that one time to fight threats around Equestria.
9070037
I don't think it needs to be changed, as it honestly feels in character for her. Let's face it, Spitfire, in canon, is a bitch and a downright bad pony a lot of times. I just want to see her get her comeuppance.
9070087
You can be a bitch all you want, but you CAN'T leave ANYONE that is wounded and is not an enemy behind. For the love of... Spitfire STOPPED somepony, who wanted to help. This is not acceptable by ANY SPORT or MILITARY code. It should be corrected, how? I'm not really sure.
9070220
I agree with you that what she did was horrible. That's what I said in my first post. What I'm saying is that it shouldn't be changed as it still fits her character. Instead, there needs to be consequences for what she did.
Luckily, Rainbow already expressed a desire to do just that.
9070285
Rainbow is not the best pony to do that, she's too much #1 fan. She wouldn't be able to pound Spitfire into dust, like she wanted to do with the ponies who harmed Nica. Also, character MUST take backseat when you're on duty. If she ALLOWS herself to be bitchy on duty - she's not fit to be a Wonderbolt and should be relieved. It NEEDS to go.
Also, had to think just a little bit, since I at the same time read a story where Rainbow is captain of her own recruit squad Foxtrot. X)
9062031
Ash's pokemon have an UNUSUAL connection not just with Ash, but with other pokemon from Ash's team. Hell, Pikachu broke free of mind control of Colress' mind control device. So I would say that only Ash has peak understading/synergy with pokemon.
9030625
Do you remember WHY Meowth speaks and at what cost he learned to speak? He cannot learn any more moves, and he had a specific reason to talk and walk like a human.
9070027
I get the impression that you were really looking forward to the time for Ash to make his apperance in Nica's backstory dream.
At this distance all small pokemon are barely visible. It doesn't help that most of Ash's pokemon are very tiny, making it impossible for NIca to learn about Ash's team at first glance.
As for Lawrence, I am certain that Astra and Nica could easily infiltrate his fortress and defeat him, not to mention that since Articuno is their friend. It would make it easier to prevent the trio from causing world-wide damage.
The only downside was distnce/time/information. When Astra learned about the situation, Ash was already there. While Astra didn't have enough information how to restore the damage that is being done, Ash learned about a ritual that can restore everything back to normal.
On the other side, if Ash wasn't involved, the three legendary birds would still be trapped in the fortress. It would be only a matter of time before Astra/Nica and rest of the team would infiltrate it, capture the criminal and free three legendary pokemon in more peaceful enviroment (Nica would be able to calm down all three pokemon by talking with them since they know her, and Astra's team is strong enough to easily knock them out if necesery. The fact that Ash freed all three legendary pokemon in the heat of the moment kind of started the battle royale between them.
I suppouse in both scenarios day would be saved, just in Astra's case, it would take longer and wouldn't require the ritual. As it is, Astra and Nica ended up as second line of defense, one that wasn't needed in the end.
9070637
I must disagree. While I admit that Ash/Pikachu connection is very strong as they were together for years, in case of his other pokemon, they are with him only for one league at best before being swapped. Astra on the other side threat her team like family and she spend every moment of her time with them for years (she even allow company of more than 6 pokemon by simply freeing a few of them so they could stay with her out of their pokeball).
The reason why I didn't show much of that is because this story is already unbelievably long, and most readers are here to see Nica's adventures in Equestira (and they somewhat tolerate the dream scenes since it provide them with Nica's backstory). If I tried to show Astra's interaction with her other pokemon, situation where she had to use muscles and atheletic skills rather than her mind and a bigger synergy between Astra, Nica and the team, this story would jump from 40 chapters to 60, and not many would like to read through chapters that doesn't involve ponies in any way.
What I try to say is that for the sake of the story, I limited myself in terms of Astra's backstory and her interaction with her pokemon (most scenes of the past focus on Nica's development and her most important moments). But there's more to Astra that meets the eye.
First, consider the fact that her adventure started by climbing up a mountain and fighting a Pichu for half a year (if this doesn't build muscles and durability, I don't know what do).
Next, she spend half a year teaching Pichu how to read/write. She cares about Nica and view her like a partner rather then a pokemon.
She created a connection with Ninetales who hated her as they both have common goal. They managed to master a Z-move thanks to that.
She captured only 1 pokemon each region, handicaped herself and the team just so she and her pokemon would learn how to overcome great odds stacked up against them.
Eevee/Umbreon consider her to be a mother (as he was raised from an egg).
She often put Nica as second in command of the team, trusting her and believing in her inteligence and dedication.
Her training under Nurse Joy for two months helped her improve in terms of atheltic skills as much as in terms of medical knowledge, and while I failed to show it, she isn't afraid to use her psychical strenght to help her team when facing a problem. (She may be a long-term strategist thanks to teachings from her dad, but she also takes form her mother who isn't afraid to rush into action personally. She just try to balance herself between long-term planning and jumping into action directly.)
She spend 6 years with Ninetales, 5 years with Nica, 4 years with her Blissey, Venusaur, Starmie, 3 years with Gliscor, 2 years with Umbreon, 1 year with Lucario (their pre-evolutions included). She may be more distant than Ash is, but she still think of her team as family and did her best to never let any of her pokemon feel abandoned.
Outside of connection between Ash and his Pikachu, i think it is a great injustice saying that his connection to pokemon is far greater than Astra's. I just couldn't show Astra's interaction with the whole team without shifting from main focus of this story into a pure pokemon fic. I only managed to show Astra's strategic side but couldn't show her athletic/bold side. Sorry about that.
9070882
Meowth. Ash' pokemon. Riiight...
Doubt that. Those weird cages could not be damaged from inside, and they constantly shocked the captured pokemon, making it impossible for them to get out. It would be like a game wall. Impossible to get out, no matter who or what you are...
Yeesh, that's a lot of backstory. I wasn't talking that her pokemon don't care about her. I only said that Ash for one reason or another has stronger connection. New form of Greninja is called Ash's Greninja. He discovered Dusk Lycanroc. He was at about EVERY(save several) doomsday event. Mewtwo, Lawrence, Kodai, Keldeo and Kuirem... I, at this moment, can think of only one instance, when he wasn't stopping bad guys. Team Rocket grunts caught Raikou, and another trainer with Typhlosion saved him. He just seems to have an interesting life. X))
9070977
I was simply refering to all pokemon that were in distance. It included both Ash's pokemon and Team Rocket with their Meowth. I am surpriced you didn't figure it out, thinking that I called Meowth as Ash pokemon. It seemed obvious when I was replying.
Sigh... I can't believe that you are so willing to follow the rules that movie/pokemon show provide, but at the same time say how wrong I am at so many things.
In the movie, Ash Ketchum, someone who is at this point only 11 years old and have only 1 year of experience as a pokemon trainer (he's still a very weak trainer at this point), managed to get into the fortress and free the legendary birds. But Astra with pokemon who managed to defeat elite four and even Sinnoh champion, pokemon who are strong and trained well enough to defeat legendary pokemon in direct fight, wouldn't be able to penetrate such barriers.
In the movie, the fortress was gigantic and heavy armed, and yet three legendary birds managed to pierce its armor like knive cut paper. A few attacks were enough to destroy most weaponry and knock the fortress from the sky. And in the end one of Lugia's blind beams managed to blow up what was left from it (even Ash Ketchum and his pokemon in movies endure more devastating blows that that gigantic fortress did). I refuse to accept that fortress that was so easily shot down by Moltress/Articuno and Zaptoss wouldn't be easily infiltrated by Astra and Nica (Nica alone with help from a flying pokemon would be able to pierce armor with Volt Tackle and go for the leader, and Astra's team have way more firepower than that.
I refuse to see Ash as the great chosen one who is the only one who can save the day every single time. Just because he's main character doesn't make him special. In the end he's just a trainer who gets easily defeated by Elite Four member or legendary-pokemon user like Tobias. He's just in right time and right place and he have a lot of willpower and luck to face the odds, but it doesn't mean that someone more experienced can't do the same or better if they were in his place.
Long story short, I examined the arsenal main villain of that movie had, how vunerable and easy to destroy his gigantic fortress was, how he was stupid enough to let main characters stay in storage where he kept his legendary pokemon traped, and how his equipment that kept pokemon trapped could be destroyed from the outside by pokemon that are waaay weaker than some of his future teams. The way I see it, Astra, Nica and the rest of the team could easily deal with him, and thanks to their previous interaction with three legendary birds, they could calm them down and free them without starting a gigantic battle-royale, Their only disadvantage would be distance, but let's be honest, fortress of such size isn't easy to hide and didn't seem all that fast.
9071014
First of all, I said Meowth, you said Ash's pokemon. How else do I take it?
Next up we have cages and fortress.
Cages could not be escaped from INSIDE. One bird escaped, it lightly attacked other cages, they fell apart. But the thing is, for that Ash had to damage one cage. On account of the big thing? I recall it not having all that much armor? It was like a plane, built to withstand air strain, but when someone would attack it - it would not be that hard to damage. Then again, I've seen it all a long time ago, so I might be wrong.
Also, it can be inflitrated, but what about confrontation itself? In other word, you can enter, but can you fight? I doubt this guy would have went down that easely.
The only reason Ash lost to Tobias is because he didn't have much of legendary or semy's in his "arsenal". Nobody ever even shot down his Darkrai, Ash took down TWO of his pokemon before losing, as I recall.
You examined it, but Astra didn't. She would be going in blind. She would be taken by surprise by traps. She basically, despite being a strategist, would be in a position Ash was in. And the only improviser there was Nica. In short, too many things to predict how their battle would have went.
9071129
Sigh...
It is obvious that Astra and NIca would free legendary birds from outside similar to how Ash did it, but Nica would first talk to the legendary pokemon to calm them down before doing that (she have friendly relationship with Articuno, so it wouldn't be a problem. Moltress or Zaptoss may get angry anyway, but Nica already defeated a legendary pokemon when she was a much weaker Pikachu, and she would have type advantage against Moltress. Quickly defeating two legendary birds with Articuno on her side wouldn't be a problem).
Another thing is that Ash already infiltrated the fortress, and he have way less experience than Astra, not to mention way weaker team, and yet he still managed to get to the legendary pokemon and free one of them. Astra would have even greater chance to overcome any traps that would get in the way, especially with Nica who is a master bodyguard at this point. Nica's fighting style is all about keeping others safe so she can counter traps better than Ash's whole team would. Also, direct confrontation against who? The fortress had only one guy controling it, and Nica is expert at evading and surviving even when put against great odds. If she infiltrated the fortress of her own, she would either sneak around the fortress or she would just rush into with 'Volt Takckle' and 'Iron Tail,' going directly for the criminal controling the fortress. Since he didn't seem to have a single pokemon to defend himself, and since his advanced technology seemed effective only in captuirng outside targets (or else he would easy capture Ash and his pokemon and win), Nica would be able to overcome his defenses and force him to surrender.
Not to mention that while Ash rushed into the fortress blindly, Astra would take a moment to plan attack. True, she lacked information, but she could try to gather some, for example analyzing where the command center is and how to get to it. There's a massive gap in power and experience between Ash and Astra at this point (one became a champion and have inteligent partner who can survive the most deadly circumstances, the other was easily defeated by elite four member and barely won orange island trophy (Drake seem to be way weaker than elite four members). Astra may need more time to take action against the villain in this case since she was far away and didn't have much intel, but she had way stronger team, more experience and resources at her disposal. It would take longer, but she would win without the need of the ritual.
9071178
Well, I have nothing to counter those arguments. Keep writing.
Well in actuality, Ash is eternally 10, boy be immortal
9071178
Beating the birds would have accomplished nothing.
They would have just gone back to fighting when it was done.
Ash summoned lugia to restore the balance.
Also Ash is more in sink with his pokemon than astra.
Her stopping her pokemon from evolving when THEY want to is like when someone forces a pokemon to evolve against their will. It is their bodies and they should decide what happens.
Astra is a not chosen by the legendaries because she is tainted.
She does not want to defeat criminals because of her sense of justice but for revenge.
Even if she destroyed team rocket she would just find a new target.
She is just ignoring her feeling over what happened to her parents.
9255750
No. Beating them would calm the situation and slow down the disaster that their fighting caused. Also, Articuno would already be on Astra's side, so if they could convince other legendary birds to see the reason and stop acting on anger and adrenaline, they would actually assist in salvaging the situation rather than making it worse.
Also, if Nica was the one who freed the legendary birds. If they started fighitng each other, Nica with Articuno's help (and maybe even some heavy hitters from Astra's team), would be able to knock some sense into Moltress and Zaptos before their battle would start doing any damage. (The reason why the disaster started happening is because Ash hastly freed the legendary birds without having any means to stop them from fighting each other. Ash needed ritual because the damage was already happening, while Astra would take action to prevent the catastrophe from happening).
No, he didn't. Lugia came to his rescue and because it tried to salvage the situation. It just happened that Ash was involved into the fighting. It would no doubt assist Astra as well if necesery, or arrive to help, only to find Moltress and Zaptos unconcious and Articuno being very appologetic.
Sigh...
Astra didn't force anything, she just asked her pokemon to hold back their evolution for the sake of challenge. Her pokemon agreed to do this, trusting her, and their trust paid off as her team became the strongest in the world. Her only miss was with Nica who took her suggestion too heart way too seriously, and then pushed it way too far, something that Astra couldn't even stop until it was too late.
Also, Astra cares for her pokemon like a family. She is with all of them for years, doing her best to let every single pokemon shine. Astra is doing with her whole team what Ash only is doing with his Pikachu.
Now, I know that Ash is main character of the pokemon show, and that he got lots of movis where he played an important role in saving the day, but he was quite often shown as "act before you think" kind of character, often making stupid mistakes or forgetting important information. Some of his victories came from Ash comming up with something out of nowhere or getting miraculous power up that help him save the day. I really find it odd that so many people defend Ash, trying to make him look waaay better than he really is or argue how his assistance can't be replaced by anyone in the world.
Now, I would understand defending Ash from later seasons, especially the season where he actually have powerful team and act like competent trainer, but saying that Astra can't handle the disaster better than Ash from the Orange Island is nothing but insulting. It makes me feel that it doesn't matter how I develop Astra or what argument I use, because it will be shut down in one way or another.
Now, I do not say that Ash is a looser, or else I wouldn't make Astra and Nica respect Ash and his Pikachu so much, but comments telling how Ash is such a great trainer while Astra don't care about her pokemon is just too much. Astra is thinking of her pokemon like family and didn't abandon a single team member for 8 years. If this isn't a proof that she cares about them more than Ash about his, I don't know what is.
9255755
Umm I think that over the years it became less corrupted by revenge and more corrupted by self devaluation and also ash was never chosen by the legendaries (this can be cannon to your story I don't care this is just my view and a few facts)
The movies are not cannon to the series heck the previous ashes aren't even cannon anymore (hoen to kalos) the current one doesn't even know any travelling companions other than Brock and May so the only "ash is the chosen one" that is cannon is sun and moon where he gets chosen to look after cosmog
The One Where Rainbow Dash Quits The Wonderbolts
Oh
This is happening now.