Ch.4 - Search Party - Pt.1
A Little Adventure in Alola
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Chapter 4
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Search Party - Pt.1
A soft breeze and warm sunlight brushed against Dash’s face as she flew through the sky, soaring above a large body of water and leaving an island with a volcano in the middle behind her. Her attention focused on yet another island, this one had a very tall mountain with snow dusting the top. She glanced at the passengers on her back while her wings repeated strong flaps.
“So, let me get this straight,” Dash said as she looked at the two trainers she had met not long ago. While their weight on their own wouldn’t be much of a problem for her to carry, the armor they wore was slowing her down. Her usual speed which surpassed the speed of sound was now no higher than a hundred kilometers per hour. “Three days ago the sky turned black and numerous portals opened all over Alola. You both defended the vacation resort on that island we just left, but didn’t join the main battle that took place the next day.”
“Can you blame us?” Emily asked, her rear legs positioned on both sides of Dash’s rear legs, her hands wrapped around her boss’ belly. “Most of our pokemon vanished a week ago, leaving us with only a small part of our forces.”
Astra spoke up, “Even with the team members I kept in reserve, Emily had only three pokemon while I was left with two. Aside that, we lacked intel about our enemy and lacked means of capturing defeated beasts since regular pokeballs didn’t work. I wanted to avoid unnecessary risk without Nica watching my back. I know it was a bit cowardly of me… but...”
Pikachu withdrew his forepaws from Dash’s neck and turned around, now looking up at the Pokemon Master. “Nica mentioned that you’re more of ‘think first and then act’ trainer, and she wasn’t there with you to help you out. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Thank you,” Astra said with a look of relief. “Defending the resort against two Ultra Beasts wasn’t all that difficult, but it was very time-consuming since we couldn’t simply catch them. It turned into a game of Rattata and Meowth.”
Emily added, “After finally knocking them out and ensuring that the civilians were safe, we asked for means of transportation that we could use to get to the Aether Foundation. If we had any at hand, we could have used a water or flying pokemon to transport us, but… you know,” she mumbled, referring to the portal that abducted their team. “They let us use a tourist ship and we took the defeated beasts with us.”
Dash pointed at a big, white construction in the distance, one surrounded by water. “You mean that fortress? Building something like that on water sure is radical.”
“That one,” Pikachu said with a nod before grabbing the pegasus’ neck again. “They got you the beastballs, right?”
“Correct,” Astra said, nodding. “The Aether Foundation worked on a way to deal with Ultra Beasts for a long time. They helped us imprison the ones we captured and gave us some beastballs, though we weren’t the only ones who came looking for their aid.”
“You mean Ash?” Pikachu asked, looking over his shoulder at Astra.
“Most likely.” She gave a nervous chuckle, lifting her arm up to rub the back of her neck. “I... did my best to avoid them.”
“Avoid them, why?” Pikachu asked, tilting his head to the side.
Astra blushed and looked to the side.
Emily laughed. “You have to forgive my boss. She’s trying to keep a low profile and she’s determined to avoid meeting with your trainer. She’s a bit shy about it.”
Astra hit Emily with her elbow, giving her disapproving glance before continuing, “Anyway… Miss Lusamine told me that the Kahunas were planning to attack the largest Ultra Beast alongside their guardians tomorrow morning. She asked if we would join the attack, but I refused.”
“Why?” Dash asked.
“Lusamine told me that many Ultra Beasts are gathered near the largest one and local reporters showed footage how this massive creature defeated a few beasts, taking control of the rest. I feared the attack was destined for failure,” Astra explained before pointing far into the distance. “I took a few beastballs and borrowed a faster boat to retreat to my main base instead.”
Emily spoke up, “First we rallied the former Guardians who once worked for Astra’s parents, then we put combat gear on.” She poked her own shield, causing the noise of clashing metal to reach others’ ears. “While preparing a plan of counterattack, we gave one of the beastballs to our engineers in case they could produce more. What we learned from them was very worrying.”
“Was something wrong with the beastballs?” Pikachu asked.
“They were sabotaged,” Astra said with a firm tone, her eyes narrowed.
“W-what?” Pikachu and Dash said in unison as their ears straightened.
“The next day when we were about to move out, our engineers warned us that someone tampered with the beastballs.” Astra explained, “There was a little device installed in them that would free trapped pokemon upon receiving a long-range signal of sorts.”
Pikachu’s ears drooped. “So… the Kahunas… and Ash... If they caught any beasts…”
“It would all be for nothing,” Dash commented.
Astra looked at the water in the distance, her tone now slightly depressed. “We split up and tried to warn the Aether Foundation and the Kahunas, but our efforts were in vain. All beasts held in the Aether Foundation were rampaging all over the area, while the Kahunas, four guardians and a couple brave trainers who assisted them, were scattered in the chaos at Melemele.”
Emily spoke up, “Together with Astra, we tried to save the Aether Foundation, but as we fought the beasts, suddenly numerous members of Team Rocket swarmed the area. Those criminals were equipped with flawless beastballs and other devices that helped them catch any Ultra Beast who tried to attack them. They simply used the raging chaos to their advantage, and managed to take over.”
Dash glanced at Astra, winking at her. “I bet you kicked their flanks. You’re not the Pokemon Master for nothing after all.”
Pikachu shook his head, speaking before the girl could answer. “Considering that most of their pokemon were in Equestria, I doubt they could defeat them.” He gave the girl a sad glance.
Astra sighed. “Team Rocket timed their attack, waiting for the beasts to weaken the Foundation’s defenses. Our pokemon were too exhausted at that point.” She raised her head, narrowed her eyes and raised a tightened fist. “I knew we couldn’t win, but I came up with an emergency plan. We knocked out around ten of Team Rocket’s members and took their beastballs before retreating.” She looked down, observing the ruined town from above. “Together with my men, we searched for the Tapus and Kahunas so we could give them working beastballs while also capturing any Ultra Beast we came across.”
“Our meeting with Tapu Koko was interrupted though,” Emily pointed out. “The beasts on Melemele were very interested in this particular guardian for some reason, and we were no match for the giant’s deadly ‘Discharge.’”
Dash grit her teeth as her attention focused on some sort of tall wall surrounding a ruined town, but she decided to fly over it for the time being. “So that’s why Tapu Koko had those beastballs with him.” She rubbed her chin. “Still, he mentioned that even captured beasts won’t simply follow orders. Those mob guys can’t use them, right?”
“Well…” Astra said, looking at the pegasus with a sheepish smile, one which only filled Pikachu with worry. “Team Rocket somehow managed to control the largest Ultra Beast. Let’s say that Team Rocket members could go to Melemele and release any Ultra Beasts they captured, letting the giant show its dominance and order them to do what the Rocket members say. For the time being it was enough for Team Rocket to control a powerful army. Taking back Melemele and the Aether Foundation was simply out of the question.”
Dash grit her teeth before descending into the forest, landing near the tall city wall. The moment two armored trainers and one light Pikachu were no longer weighting on her back, she shut her wings and stretched her limbs and back. It would be a lot easier to fly with them if I had a chariot. A five minute break for my wings is all I need.
Pikachu jumped onto the pegasus’ head to her annoyance, now staring at Astra. “But we defeated Big Buzz with the help of pony magic.”
Astra smiled warmly. “And thanks to this, it is only a matter of time before the beasts will rebel against Rocket members, and they certainly can’t recruit more. There may be a bit chaos involved, but without anyone in command, we can capture them one at a time.” She swung her armored hand energetically. “And once we retake the Aether Foundation, we can research a way to get the beasts back where they came from.”
“Now we’re talking,” Dash said before standing on her rear hooves, punching the air, nearly shaking the pokemon from her head, forcing Pikachu to hold her mane tightly. “Until now everyone was fighting except me. I can’t let others do all the work. I can fight too!”
“For now it will be best if we avoid fighting. We have more important priorities,” Astra pointed out as she walked forward, gesturing for others to follow her.
“Boring…” Dash mumbled, dipping her head down.
“I agree with Astra,” Pikachu said as he placed forepaws on his hips and shot a pointed look at the pegasus beneath him. “We need to find Nica.”
“Finding my trusty partner is important, but it is not a priority at the moment,” Astra said, causing Pikachu to gasp.
“W-what?” Pikachu narrowed his eyes and jumped, landing on the girl’s armored shoulder. He grabbed Astra’s face with his little paws, forcing her to look at him. “What can be more important than saving your partner? Answer me!” Bolts of electricity started escaping his cheeks.
Dash bit her bottom lip. Wow. That was bold.
Astra picked Pikachu up from her shoulder, now holding him with both hands on his sides and staring at his angered face. She returned his furious gaze with a calming one. “I have faith in my partner. I put a lot of effort in over the years to ensure that she can overcome any odds, and she worked herself way harder than I expected of her. It would take more than a couple attacks from a big bully to take her down.”
“I know you believe that she’s fine, but what is more important than finding her? Don’t you care about her?” Pikachu asked, his voice sharp and demanding.
“I care about her, but reuniting you with your trainer takes priority!” Astra snapped before masking her emotions with a firm stare. “Don’t you miss your trainer? Don’t you want to make sure he’s healthy and finally reunite with him? He must miss you as well. You’re his partner after all.”
Pikachu grew conflicted, his loyalty to Ash and his loyalty to Nica clashing against one another. “W-what? I mean… I want to reunite with Ash, like… a lot… but…”
“Listen,” Astra said firmly as she kept walking at a steady pace, the pegasus on her left and Emily on her right. “You, alongside your trainer endured great dangers and peril, facing many legendary pokemon and those who wanted to abuse their power. The world… the pokemon and humans living in it… they owe you both a lot for all you have accomplished.” She withdrew one hand, now holding it to her chest as Pikachu balanced himself on her arm. “You deserve to be reunited with your trainer, no matter the crisis, and I will do everything in my power to help you.” She looked to the side. “I… I am worried about Nica, but I have to believe that she’s fine, and I am certain she would want me to help you before searching for her.”
Pikachu frowned before talking a calming breath. He walked across Astra’s hand before balancing himself on her shoulder. “So you hold us in such high regard after all. Nica was the same.” He frowned and murmured quietly, “Even if we don’t deserve it...”
Dash lightly booped the girl’s side, catching her attention. “You really shouldn’t sell yourself and your partner short. If it wasn’t for Nica, Equestria would be conquered by now. And I heard that even when her memories were sealed away, she worked very hard to make up for it.” She flew up, now hovering in front of Astra while flying backward, noticing a small smile on the girl’s face. “Not only did she save Equestria from slavery, but also protected your world as well.” She crossed her forehooves. “I saw with my own eyes how our magic can make pokemon a lot stronger. Just imagine Darkrai leading an army of pokemon boosted by magic to get his revenge against humans…it wouldn’t be pretty. That’s one and a half world-savings on her account.”
Astra smiled brightly.
“Wow, I haven’t seen you smile like this for a long time,” Emily commented. “It’s both heartwarming and creepy.”
Pikachu looked to his right, turning to Astra and said, “When Litten, Rowlet, Lycanroc and I ended up in Equestria, I was lost and confused inside a dangerous forest. Nica found me, escorted me to Ponyville, helped me to find the rest of the team, and then she volunteered to become my guardian and take care of me.”
Dash held forehoof in front of her mouth and chuckled. “Which involved quite a lot of misunderstandings and drama… and a very long event involving Pikachu chasing after Nica. Oh, and that one tiny adventure. Now that was epic.”
“Drama?” Astra asked, staring at the pegasus in confusion.
“That’s… not important…” Pikachu sheepishly said as he gave Dash a disapproving glare, who only smirked in return. He looked back at Astra and said, “What’s important is that I was stuck in Equestria for the time being, and Nica did everything she could to make my stay enjoyable. Whenever she was around, I felt happy… as if I was with Ash.” He stood on his rear paws and waved his forepaws. “And we had an amazing adventure and training together. It was so much fun.”
Dash grinned and punched the air in front of trainer’s face, causing her to take a step back. “Not to mention that this team of amazing chu’s with help of Twi and Starlight’s magic bested that giant.” She spread her forehooves. “That was awesome!”
Pikachu nuzzled Astra’s cheek. “Nica saved me from that muscular Ultra Beast, came up with some great plans, took that deadly discharge upon herself to protect me, and was brave enough to fight that giant in close combat. Her brother was amazing too, delivering the finishing blow.”
A lone tear slid down from Astra’s watering eye as an even wider smile was present on her lips.
“Is… something wrong?” Dash asked.
The master wiped her face with her armored hand, forcing Pikachu to hold her shoulder for balance. “It’s… it’s just… it makes me happy. It’s like a dream come true.” She lowered her hand, now looking at Dash and then at Pikachu as more tears started to slide down her cheeks. “I can’t even describe the amount of pride I feel towards my trusty partner. Our dream, becoming a reality.”
“H-hey… don’t cry,” Emily said in a joking tone. “You’ll make me cry as well at this rate.” She looked up at the sky, shaking her head in amusement. “Ace, you clever Raichu. I knew your secret technique would prove useful someday. Even if I never knew when.”
“You sound surprised, Emily. Wasn’t such an incredibly powerful combo useful before?” Dash asked.
“Well… Considering that Ace needs to be near water and how long it takes to charge this exhausting combo, it is not always the best option,” Emily pointed out. “Aside from it’s cons, most pokemon wouldn’t even survive it. I am just glad that Ace finally got a perfect opportunity to use it. I believe that the pokemon you all took down together was not only ancient, but the aura surrounding it made it more powerful than even pokemon like a mega-evolved Rayquaza.”
Astra glanced at Pikachu, her smile still wide and warm. “Not only did she finally get an opportunity to put her skills and power to good use, but she cooperated and protected you. I hope wherever she is, she’s as happy and proud of herself as I am now.”
“If that’s the case, why don't we look for her? After everything she has done, she deserves to be rescued immediately,” Pikachu suggested.
Astra’s smile vanished as she now stared at Pikachu suspiciously. “You planned it from the start, didn’t you?”
Pikachu blushed and looked to the side. “Guilty as charged.”
Astra sighed. “How about this? We will look for your trainer and for Nica at the same time.” Pikachu’s ears raised as he looked at her with hopeful stare. “I glanced at Nica only for a moment when she was flying through the sky, but I suspect she landed either in Ulu’ula Meadow, or somewhere in this vast forest. We’ll just need to take the risk and explore this place on our way to the Tapu Village.”
“Tapu Village?” Dash asked.
“It is a small ruined town, damaged by an angered Tapu many years ago. According to Milan, this is where Ash and his friends evacuated after the Melemele fiasco,” Emily pointed out.
“Milan?” Dash asked, “A friend of yours?
“You could say that. He’s actually my subordinate and a former Guardian,” Emily answered.
“Guardian? Like Tapu Koko?” Dash asked, causing Pikachu to facepalm.
“Members of the organization that Astra’s parents lead were titled as guardians as a show of respect to the four guardian deities who protected the islands,” Emily corrected. “Milan was in recon and is working for us.”
“Cool,” Dash said before pointing at the trainers accusingly. “Still, you guys are moving like snails. We need to speed up.”
“Dash, what are you planning?” Pikachu asked, tilting his head to the side.
“I’ll provide recon from the air, duuuh. If Nica is somewhere in this forest, I’ll find her in no time.” With a strong flap of her wings, she flew into the air, piercing through the leaves and branches of local trees.
“No, wait!”
“Come back!”
She ignored the calls from the trainers, now scanning the area from above. As the sea of trees blocked most of her vision, she descended, deciding to scout from a lower attitude. This forest is too dense. If Nica is here, I’ll need to fly close to the ground to find her. She shrugged. Oh well. Zipping in between trees is no challenge for me. Much to her surprise, a round object flew from between the trees, speeding in her direction. “Wait… is that a beach ball?” Dash asked, blinking. Why would anyone play with those at times like this? The round object flashed with a blinding red light, only to explode two meters away as if an anti-air shell.
Dash screamed in pain, pushed away by the force of explosion. She yelped again as she pierced through the branches, crashing into the ground as her shoulders sank at least three centimeters deep in the dirt. A few burns now decorated her fur. What the heck was that? She pushed against the ground, forcing herself to sit before massaging her aching head. Her hearing was still null, ringing from the force of the blast. After shaking her head and rubbing her ears, waiting for her hearing to return, she looked around.
“Another Alolan variant? Interesting.”
Dash narrowed her eyes, now staring at a tall, human creature. Said human seemed to be wearing a grey suit with ten yellow buttons decorating it. The trousers were grey as well, and she noticed very polished black boots. Looking up, she glanced at his head, spotting a satisfied grin while bronze hair decorated top of his head. One look at his face was enough to tell her that he wasn’t a survivor lost in the woods.
“It seems Blacephalon scored quite a rare catch. Should we add it to your collection, boss, or sell on black market?” spoke a female voice.
Dash looked at the approaching duo, who flanked their supposed boss from both sides. On the right she could see a female human with golden hair with two ponytails. She wore very long white boots and gloves, her skirt black and short. Her face radiated confidence. On the left of the boss, she spotted a human that had more male features. The uniforms were nearly identical, black trousers covering half of his legs. Aside from having green hair, his face looked like it was begging to be punched. Both uniforms had a big red ‘R’ decorating their chests.
“Who are you?” Dash asked before pointing accusingly. “You all certainly look like the bad guys! Were you the one who blew me from the sky?” She snorted, narrowing her eyes. “Not cool.”
“It talks, or maybe it is a ‘he.’ That’s quite a tomboyish tone for a pokemon,” the male human spoke, getting more than ire from the pegasus. He picked a pokeball from his belt, which had a mix of red pokeballs and some beastballs. “I like your design, so much better than that stupid, talking Meowth.”
“Can we catch it, boss? A talking pokemon of such size with wings would complement our motto and look great while doing so.” The female trainer looked at the tall man with expectations in her eyes, holding her hands together in a pleading gesture. “We’ll train him hard to make him far more competent than that small disappointment of a pokemon.”
“Granted, but be quick,” the boss said, causing his subordinate to jump in excitement.
With a firm movement of her hand, she deployed a pokemon into battle, one covered in yellow fur and some sort of mix between necklace and watch in his hand.
Dash stomped and spread her wings. “Okay, first, I am a female! Rainbow Dash’s the name.” She stomped again. “Second, I’m not a pokemon, I’m a pegasus pony!” She stomped again. “Third, who are you jerks. An introduction would be nice.”
The female glanced at her partner before waving her hand at the pegasus. “Our boss is in a hurry, so we can’t afford a full introduction, but you can call me Cassidy, your new master.”
“You wish,” Dash huffed.
The male seemed to pointedly ignore her comment and added, “My name is Butch, and don’t worry, we’ll give you a full rundown of our glorious motto when we have time to practice our choreography. Just be a good … ummm… pegasus… and don’t resist.”
“Hypno, attack with ‘Hypnosis,’” Cassidy commanded as her pokemon started moving his device in front of his face.
Dash looked to the side before flying into the air, feeling some aching leftovers in her bones from endured explosion. She rounded the bad guys, circling around them while zipping between the trees. As the circle shrank, she started to fly around the pokemon.
Hypno looked repeatedly left and right before his body started to shake, overwhelmed by the zip of colors speeding around him. His confusion only grew as he tried to stop the pegasus. The world started circling before his very eyes.
Using her momentum, she turned and stretched her rear leg, sending the pokemon crashing quickly into the tree with a solid kick. “How did you like that?” She started hovering in mid-air, forelegs on her hips and head raised in pride. “I’m not going to fall for some cheap tricks.”
“Wow, that’s some nice speed.”
Dash looked to her right. “Thanks, Butch.”
“My name is! Wait… you got it right,” Butch said before recovering his composure. “Now I want you on the team even more.”
Cassidy raised her hand, pointing at the pegasus. “Hypno, time to get serious. Catch her with ‘Psychic!’”
Dash bit her bottom lip. She flew for the trees, but her body stopped moving before she reached the cover. She yelped as she was pushed and slammed into the ground in front of Hypno. And here I am eating dirt. So embarrassing… She felt something hit her head lightly a moment later, only to feel some sort of force affecting her body. She closed her eyes struggled, resisting whatever was happening to her as if flying against powerful wave of wind. With the final push, she landed on the ground, free of whatever was affecting her.
“Seems he’s not tired enough,” Cassidy said in annoyance.
“Wait, I thought she was a female,” Butch commented. “A female Rainbow Dash. It is impolite to mistake someone's name or gender.”
“She, he, whatever. Hypno, attack with ‘Mega Punch!’”
Dash raised her head and stood up on her trembling legs, seeing the fist of the pokemon flashing with power. The way Hypno’s hand stretched, it indicated a powerful uppercut, something she wasn’t ready for. She jumped to the side, only to feel the other hand of her opponent to grab her wing. Her eyes became wide before she closed them, awaiting for the impact and steeling herself for the blow. Instead of experiencing pain though, she heard a harsh, clashing noise.
Opening her eyes, Dash spotted Pikachu’s ‘Iron Tail’ clashing with Hypno’s flashing fist. Taking this opening, she kicked the hand holding her wing before flying away.
“Hypno, attack with ‘Psychic!’” Cassidy commanded.
The medallion held by the psychic pokemon flashed with power while bolts started escaping from Pikachu’s cheeks. A flashy ‘Thunderbolt’ struck Hypno a moment later, who in return retaliated by throwing Pikachu through a tree, before slamming him into another one. Burn marks littered the grass and scattered fragments of wood filled the area.
Dash bit her bottom lip, watching as the electric mouse pushed himself free from the tree and took a fighting stance by her side. She looked over her shoulder, watching as Astra and Emily ran through the bushes to join the party.
“Rainbow Dash, that was reckless of you! There are many Ultra Beasts in this… forest…” Astra paused before her attention focused on the enemy officer. “You!” She stretched her arm as a longsword emerged from her armor.
“Well, well, well. If it’s not the famous Pokemon Master and the destroyer of the criminal elite. After all those years we once again meet face-to-face. Such an honor.”
Dash looked between Astra and the enemy boss, both staring at each other as if they were two chimeras ready for battle to the death. She narrowed her eyes and took a fighting stance. She was representing ponykind in battle against evil, and she wasn’t planning on losing.
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Hm, so the pokeballs do recognize ponies as pokemon. I was wondering about that.
Oh dayum Rainbow almost got caught
You have no idea Astra. No idea...which I'm really hoping the same stuff doesn't happen with Astra and Ash.
9655806
well to be fair I'm pretty sure they're specifically designed to NOT recognize humans as pokemon and ultra beasts might not even register as living things because of how alien they are
9655806
To be honest, I bet that pokeball don't catch humans is because humans made them (so they wouldn't want to catch themselves and they would set up this device so it wouldn't be used against them). Ponies don't get such privilige.
9655930
And by none other than Butch from rival group of team rocket. He wants to turn Dash into Meowth of their team.
9656048
I am certain that Nica and Pikachu will try to prevent that, if they will be there with them of course. For the moment everyone is scattered.
9656049
That's my theory as well.
9656389
I know...it was just my only complaint with the previous story is that the existence of Ash and his Pikachu is the source of all Nica's problems in terms of self-worth and confidence. I know it really isn't, but it feels like that's the only thing hammered in repeatedly, and its showing Astra is just as bad. I don't want a repeat of that.
And sorry if that sounds mean. I love this series, I just find that problem a little too...I don't know. I'm not sure how to describe it. Sorry.
Astra found the team rocket is around...
this is great hope to see more soon
Another nice chapter however two little issues.
First, whenever its about Rainbow Dash you use the term "forepaws" when it should be "forehooves"
And secondly at the first mention of Cassidy's name she immediately reffered to as a he before being reffered to as a she afterwards.
9661525
Fixed, thanks.
I suppose the side effect of having Nica and Pikachu being important characters of the story made me accidently write paws instead of hooves when Dash was mentioned. My mad.
9661734
glad to have helped
I wonder if dynamax would be part of this now that would be a cool and optional addition to this
9663820
That concept was added recently and the story is already written in advance, so no giant Nica in this story, sorry (besides, she's already powerful, she don't need to grow bigger, though seeing a giant Raichu in that trailer put a smile on my face).
In any case, we already had Pikachu, Nica and Ace boosted with pony magic fight against gigantic Ultra Beast surrounded by red aura of power, so in a sense, idea I used in the story was ahead of time (I actually find it ironic that they would introduce concept of enlargered pokemon for Shield and Sword while my story had a team up fight against Kaiju Ultra Beast, that's a funny coincidence).
9664036
True what a funny coincidence that happened to be though maybe a story through the galar region a month or two or three after it comes out would be fun also even with the knowledge of dynamax they had no way to do it without their trainers so it wouldn't have mattered anyway but it not happening is fine though imagining a giant Pikachu and Nica would have been great fun.
9664092
Well, there was already size changing in prequel where Pikachu became a Pichu (and later he became a Raichu temporarly) and Nica shrank to micro size, so tiny Raichu sitting on Pichu shoulder or standing on his paw was a thing already. As for size-changing, I can imagine Nica encouraging Pikachu to do it instead of her, and maybe she would even agree to battle against him. (Since Nica have stronger body thanks to her evolution, Pikachu becoming a giant would in her eyes make their fight fair.)
9664098
So true though dynamax will no doubt last longer in the story then the time in the games Astar and ponies tagging along with Ash to the Galar region would be a fun idea for a future story and then later on Astar challenge’s Leon (or Leon challenges him) to a 1v1 pokemon battle without him using dynamax(depends if you want Astar to train hard with dynamax or not)
9664980
Personally, I am more of a fan of Tapu from the game (so I took example from both anime and the game). In any case, while I can see why he would be a bit mistchievous, when situation is dire he should step up and become more reasonable and serious.
Also, I don't think if "erratic aura" would tell Nica much if it is enemy or foe, and Tapu had good intention when he aproached them.
9665084
In episode where Pikachu learned "Iron Tail" I am certain he used "Thunder" at close range to take down Geodue (apperantly, he hit so hard and from close enough distance that ground type immunity wasn't even a thing). In any case, there were a few cases where Pikachu's electricity worked against ground types, even without the need of water.)
9665106
I must disagree.
First off, this group of Sharpedoe is hunting with numbers on their side. It is quite common for a group of predators (wolves, female lions or even wild dogs) to swarm a larger creature. Their hit-run tactic, tracking their prey, draining it from its stregnth and stamina. It is a common thing.
Also, do I need to point out that Scolded Whishiwashi (and not a totem one but just regular one) is a water type, while Shadpedoe is water/dark. Most of Whishiwashi's attacks that are water-type will be resisted while Shadpedoes' bite and dark type attack won't (and since they are dark type, they can hit with dark move with full force). So yeah, big or not, 5 pokemon with type advantage against one, easy picking.