My Little Pokémon

by Amarvax

Back to Form

Equestria. Ponyville. Afternoon.

The black flames raged on with residents of Ponyville and their Pokemon trying to extinguish them. Ghetsis had caused quite a storm as many homes had been damaged and nearly obliterated by these flames.

As for Ghetsis himself, once more, just like his first, second and now third time, he had an encounter with Ash. And in this instance, Ash's body had been swapped with Derpy after Ghetsis managed to avoid Heart Swap. Now Ash, who was on the back of Lucario, was standing before Ghetsis while the flames consume this part of Ponyville.

And coming to his aid was Twilight who tried to descend. But the black flames were abundant, making it hard to land almost anywhere. The flames were rising to the point where even the skies would be inaccessible. Smoke from these devious flames started infecting the air as Twilight observed from above.

"Ash!" Twilight exclaimed from above. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah. But I can't stay around here. Even Lucario too." said Ash as Lucario was starting to sweat from these flames. He was a Steel-Type after all.

"Running away? I thought you never backed down from a battle, boy." Ghetsis smirked. "Perhaps this is a good time to permanently get rid of you at last?"

"I don't. And I never will. But I'll defeat you later. Until I save everyone from these flames. Lucario, clear the way with Aura Sphere!

"Luca...Rio!" Lucario then held out his arms, summoning an Aura Sphere to try and blow the flames away. He formed the sphere before launching it towards Ghetsis.

"!" Ghetsis gasped, thinking that he was about to be hit by Aura Sphere. But instead, Lucario aimed for the flames behind him, just scraping Ghetsis. The Aura Sphere had managed to counteract the black flames with its Aura, blowing them back with considerable and effective results.

"Lu!" After that, Lucario jumped over Ghetsis with an impressive leap, heading for the streets of Ponyville. Ghetsis watched the outstanding leap as Lucario landed in the safest area. The one where his Aura Sphere cleared a way. Afterwards, the Aura Pokemon zoomed off to help others. But not without Ash improvising.

"Catch me if you can!" He stuck his tongue out at Ghetsis while looking back.

"Don't think you can escape, boy!" Ghetsis exclaimed as Twilight flew after Ash to help her friends and everypony in Ponyville as well. Ghetsis would give chase to them, knowing how big threats they can be when working together. And especially when Ash gets in the mood of things.

---

Heading towards the Crystal Empire was Rainbow Dash. The Heart Swap from Manaphy was a failure. It was meant to hit Ghetsis so that he and Ash return to their original bodies. However, Ghetsis, using Derpy as a substitute, meant that Derpy was prone to be sent to the dungeon unfairly.

A rush to help Derpy and tell Cadence the others was made. But not without interference. The remaining clones that Ghetsis had made were on the scene, making sure that Rainbow Dash would not ruin Ghetsis' plans. They were all currently disguised as Nidoking to try and blend in with the environment.

But this time, with the usage of the Shift Stone, they would become another Pokemon. They knew the direction to the Crystal Empire, so cutting Rainbow Dash off was straightforward. Each of them had transformed into different Flying-Type Pokemon.

Pidgeot, Fearow, Honchkrow, Swellow, Skarmory, Staraptor and Mandibuzz respectively. With the Shift Stone, mimicking the flight of the Pokemon was simple. They then took the skies, heading where Rainbow Dash was also headed.

"Hang on, Derpy," said Rainbow Dash. "We'll get your original body back, have Manaphy use Heart-" But she was cut off when a Honchkrow flew beside her. "Huh? Honchkrow?"

After saying its name, Fearow and Staraptor appeared as well. From the other side and behind, forcing Rainbow Dash to look around. This was an odd sight as she was unaware of the clones next to her. And once the rest of the Flying-Types showed up, they started attacking her.

It started with Swellow bashing into Rainbow Dash from the side. A small tackle but enough to kickstart things. "Hey! What are you-" But she was cut off by an even harder hit from Skarmory. And that metal body made it worse. "Ow!"

Soon, they all started bashing and tackling Rainbow Dash from all sides, disrupting her motion in the air and her flight in general. Anything to stop her from reaching the Crystal Empire.

Rainbow Dash didn't have Braviary by her side for this one. He was busy trying to stop the black flames and saving others in danger. Altaria as well. But she did have one Pokemon still with her. Always within her saddlebag.

"Castform!" Out came Castform, using Weather Ball by gathering the power of the sun. He had sent a sphere of fire that had hit Skarmory. And upon striking the clone, Skarmory and the clone Ghetsis, in general, had faded away.

"Fading away into dust?" Rainbow Dash gasped after seeing the clone vanish into dust. "What's up with that?!"

"We're fragile, remember? So don't take too much damage." said the Pidgeot clone. Rainbow Dash recognized the voice as Ash's voice, quickly putting the pieces together.

"Ash? No, wait. Ghetsis!" From each side, she was cornered by Ghetsis clones. Minus the one that had been obliterated. All the clones then focused their attention on Castform, who could easily make them disappear with Weather Ball or Energy Ball.

The clone Skarmory had grabbed the Weather Pokemon with his talons. Skarmory's talons were bigger than Castform's entire body so this was an easy grab. "C-Cast!"

"Castform!" Rainbow Dash cried out before dashing over to Skarmory. But she was quickly stopped after Staraptor had bit her tail, halting the pegasus. "Hey! Let go!" Instinctively in a way Rainbow Dash only knew, she kicked the face of Staraptor to try and shoo him.

The other Flying-Types then swarmed Rainbow Dash, closing the gap on her. They used their talons to hold her, preventing the pegasus' chances of escaping. Castform was being squeezed by Skarmory's talon as both of them were dragged down.

After being dragged down, the group of cloned Flying-Types then pinned Rainbow Dash and her partner to her ground. Delays were now made towards the Crystal Empire. But at this rate, Rainbow Dash might never make it there.

"C-Castform!" Castform cried out, trying to break free as he wriggled his tiny body. But Ghetsis had his Skarmory talon squeeze tightly, preventing him from escaping.

And speaking of prevention, one of the other clones ripped off Rainbow Dash's saddlebag where all of her Pokemon were inside of. Elimination of every chance of escaping was in session.

"Just wait. Once we get you to our real self, all of your magic will be gone. In fact, you're the one we're looking forward to the most." One of the clones said.

"M-Me?" Rainbow stammered.

"You're responsible for that Sonic Rainboom, aren't you?? That spark that led up to you and your friends meeting on a fateful day. You even have some of that Rainbow power in you from what I recall. So, the magic brimming within you must be excellent."

"You won't get a bit out of me!" Rainbow Dash growled before having her face further slammed into the ground. Rainbow Dash had to act fast somehow. And she knew one way to do so. Castform was her answer to that. Rainbow Dash's eyes navigated the area before spotting a Corvisquire moving through the air. "Castform! Reflect Type up there!"

"C-Cast...Form!" Castform looked over at the sky, also spotting Corvisquire. While he may be held down by Skarmory, he could still use Reflect Type either way. He gazed at Corvisquire before copying his typing. And by doing so, Castform's radioactive cells started acting up.

Upon gaining the typing of Normal-Flying, his cells allowed him to create a dual pulse of two Types. Normal and Flying. White energy and an array of feathers burst out of him as all of the clones had been blown back by the pulse. It was so mighty that it ended up destroying them in the process. It was just the right amount of force.

These clones were down and out. And after their defeat, from a great distance at Ponyville, Ghetsis felt this, knowing that his clones had failed. Thus, all of the information and locations of magic that he aimed to discover had been ruined thanks to Castform's highly reactive cells.

"Great job, buddy!" Rainbow Dash hugged the Weather Pokemon. "Didn't even break a sweat!"

"Castform!"

"Now come on. Let's hurry and get Derpy out of there. Then we gotta find the right spot to use Heart Swap on Ghetsis." She picked up her saddlebag as Castform went inside of it. Since it had been ripped off, it could not be placed on Rainbow Dash anymore, unfortunately. But she could still carry it. Once Castform was in, Rainbow Dash held the bag with her mouth before taking to the skies, heading north.

---

Ponyville. Afternoon.

Meanwhile, Ghetsis had to change his plans after he felt his clones being destroyed. Now, there was a likely chance for the Heart Swap to come through again with Rainbow Dash successfully escaping. After feeling it, he lost Ash within the flames.

Speaking of Ash, he was helping out as much as he could with Lucario blowing away the flames with Aura Sphere. But Ash was mostly looking for Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Buddy!" He cried out for his partner. But, now that he was Derpy, his voice wouldn't be recognizable to his partner at all.

But that's why Lucario exists.

Lucario closed his eyes, searching for Pikachu's Aura. And it was an instant find. Lucario bolted towards the Aura signal while covering his body in Aura as protection.

"Ash!" Twilight bellowed before flying beside him. "Lucario's Aura can protect him from those flames it looks like. Maybe your Aura could do something about these flames too."

"Really?"

"Really. But you're a bit too weak right now. And I don't want you getting Ataxia now of all times. Let's just focus on-" As Twilight spoke, right in front of them, Lucario had almost bumped into someone. But Twilight certainly did. And what she bumped into was a Golurk. Right in the chest too. "Ough!"

After the initial hit, Twilight fell on her back as Lucario managed to avoid the crash. He then stayed on guard against this Golurk, despite having no moves to deal with it. But, there was no need to worry as a head poked out from the side.

And that head was Starlight. Along with Cold Colt and Espeon. They were each behind not just one, but two Golurk. The same Golurk that attacked them in the underground of the White Ruins.

"Espeon!" Espeon cried out, jumping off of Golurk and landing on Twilight, happy to see her trainer again. Upon descending, Espeon started licking Twilight's face out of happiness.

"Eve!" Twilight hugged her partner. "I'm so glad you're okay! And you two as well! Where were you anyway?"

"Ghetsis sent us somewhere in Unova. We couldn't tell at first, plus we met with these Golurk that attacked us," said Cold Colt. "It was pretty rough. Battling against Golurk isn't easy."

"But thanks to Cold here, we managed to get them on our side. He did it by learning a trick from yours truly." Starlight nodded as Twilight narrowed her eyes. She looked closer to see that the Golurk were under mind control. Not control from Hatterene but this time, Cold Colt. A bit nostalgic since Cold Colt's first encounter was mind-controlling a group of Weavile.

Starlight wasn't kidding when saying yours truly.

"Oh right!" Cold gasped. "Twilight! Ash isn't-"

"I know." Twilight then cut him off before nudging her head over at Derpy. "There's Ash. Right over there." After showing them, Ash waved his hoof with his signature smile being shown via the appearance of Derpy Hooves. He still kept that smile either way.

"Oh." Cold and Starlight said. "Wait a sec..." They then realized how confusing this was. Ash was in Derpy's body while Ghetsis was still in Ash's body. That threw them for a loop. "Huh?"

"Look. All we need to do now is help everyone and try and get Manaphy's Heart Swap in position. Ghetsis isn't going to just stand around and let it happen after all. We need to find a way to make him stay still."

"How about I live up to my name and freeze him cold?" Cold suggested.

"Any spell that could make him immobile could do the trick. If we can get past his magical defences." Starlight followed up. "Golurk. You all save nearby Pokemon."

"Golurk."

"We'll have to come up with a plan. But I think I know of a way to handle these flames." Twilight then turned to Ash and Lucario. "Ash. Lucario. Your Aura can protect not only you both but even others. Remember when you used it in Pegalysium?"

"Yeah. We made it break right through Dynasite." He replied.

"Well, then how about this? Out you come, Ninetales!" Twilight threw up her Poke Ball, summoning Ninetales into the scenario.

"Ninetales!"

"Wait! Hold on a sec!" Starlight got in front of Twilight in a rush. "You're not seriously thinking what I think you're thinking?! Right?!"

"Right." Twilight nodded as he already knew where Starlight was going. "It's the one way I can think of getting rid of these flames. But with Aura added onto it. Ninetales. I need you to use your Flash Fire to absorb all the black flames here. Ash. Can you use Aura to protect him? Ninetales can't absorb too much fire or he'll be hurt. I believe Aura's the only way to sustain it."

"We'll give it a shot." Ash was all for it. Granted, this was a risky decision and he knew it. But, it wouldn't be the first time he's taken risks.

---

Meanwhile, with all of these flames, many were starting to get tired. Mainly the ponies. Pokemon have longer stamina than ponies and most of their trainers in general as they were still going. However, even they couldn't last forever.

And showing up to the scene was Ghetsis, appearing before everyone else. Everypony and Pokemon looked over to see Ghetsis coming over the horizon. They saw it as Ash coming to help. An excellent sign as the sun radiated.

"Oh. Perfect timing, Ash!" Mayor Mare cried out as Pikachu heard Ash's name called out.

"Pika?" With high hopes, Pikachu looked ahead to see the silhouette of his best friend. A smile graced his cute and cuddly face. "Pika-Pi!"

Everyone else was happy that seemingly, Ash was here as the sun could not have had better timing. When seeing Ash, they felt safe every time. But this wasn't the case. As soon as his visage came through, Ghetsis then smirked, knowing what was coming next.

"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu then ran over, wanting to be by Ash's side. The poor Mouse Pokemon was unaware of what was truly afoot. When he got close, Ghetsis then held his arm out.

Just then, the beautiful glow that the sun gave out, was suddenly being blocked out by the black flames, eventually forming into a gigantic array of dark smoke. The fire had raged on for so long that Ponyville had a dark ambience with an abundance of black fire. Soon, the azure skies had been coated by darkness with tiny parts of blue lights shining through. The sun was also barely shining through with small light rays.

"Pika?" Pikachu then came to a screeching halt as everyone looked up at the sky and its dark appearance now. This was foreboding and did not spell wonders or happiness. After doing so, Ghetsis took advantage of everyone's shadow.

After putting his arm out, he then balled it, starting with the shadows of Applejack and her Sceptile. And it soon spread out to all of their shadows. From below and even the skies themselves, shadow tendrils came out. With both arms and control from every shadow in every nook and cranny, he had grabbed everyone by catching them off guard.

And due to them being friends with Ash, it was easy for Ghetsis to catch them all off guard. Everyone gasped as their mouths were agape with shock. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ash was the one attacking them. But not only that, with his eyes glowing, he also controlled the flames, causing them to swarm around the group.

"Ash! What are you doing?!" Applejack cried out.

"If this is a prank, it isn't funny, okay?!" Some of them bellowed. Soon, other words came flooding in with the ponies wondering what Ash was doing.

"Pika-Pi!" Especially Pikachu. He wanted to know why his trainer was doing this during a dangerous situation that could spell the end of Ponyville.

"Quiet!" Ghetsis used a spell to make his voice echo as it had shut everyone up. The tendrils then restrained them all as Ghetsis could feel them even from a distance. With this, Ghetsis knew he could absorb their magic with this grip. They all started groaning and screaming once their magic was being taken away. Whatever ounce they had in them that is.

And so he did so. He started pulling their magic from their bodies with his shadow grip while also heating them with flames. However, some of the Pokemon started resisting. Mainly Spike's Dragon-Types. Goodra and Haxorus were starting to break free from their strength alone as they fought back against Ghetsis' grip.

"Accursed Dragons!" Ghetsis growled as his focus on absorbing magic had been cut off. Haxorus started biting the shadows, tearing them apart in the process. Goodra used his horns to try and break free. "Your strength is admirable. But soon that strength will belong to me once I control you! I've come this far! So I won't let anyone stop me!"

Ghetsis' yell prompted him to push himself further. He started exuding more magic to try and realize his goals. By exuding more, he had tapped into the remaining reserves of Sombra's magic, using it to his advantage. And with the little amount of Sombra's magic he had left in him, he had utilized the vision of fears to his advantage.

The flames had then trapped everyone as a black smoke of fears went towards the Dragon-Types and even everyone else. They may resist the flames, but fears, that was another story. The smoke had entered their nostrils as they had accidentally breathed them in. And the same went for everypony else and their Pokemon.

Soon, with the influence of King Sombra, they were all starting to experience their worst fears with their eyes whiting out afterwards. Ghetsis took some time to breathe as he had already used up so much magic just to hold this many ponies. It may look easy but the output is tremendous. This would've been a different story if Cold Colt never meddled.

And speaking of Cold Colt, he, Ash, Twilight and Starlight arrived, just in time to see their friends be put into a fear state while also being gripped by shadows and surrounded by black flames that could burn them out at any time. They were too late to stop Ghetsis from draining everyone's magic but not too late to stop Ghetsis.

After absorbing the magic, Ghetsis then opened a gateway below them. This gateway led to another part of the Pokemon World. And joining all of them would be the flames. He was aiming to burn them all out in another world.

"Now's our chance!" Ash capitalized on the situation. Right on time as even his best friend Pikachu could be dragged through and incinerated. Lucario! Double Team into Aura Sphere!" After giving out the command, the others then commanded their Pokemon.

"Eve, Quick Attack! Ninetales, get the flames!"

"Hatterene, Psycho Cut!"

"Cubchoo, use Frost Breath!"

"I would make this town the place where you all rest. But it seems I was too late to change my-" As Ghetsis boasted and taunted, he was met with a surprise attack. From behind. He heard the sounds of someone running, immediately rotating.

In came Espeon at lightning speeds, hitting Ghetsis from the side before he could make a full 180. "Esp!" With that tackle, she had staged Ghetsis.

Just in time for Cubchoo's Frost Breath to come in. The breath of ice swarmed Gehtsis, rapidly giving him a flash-freeze around his arms, legs and torso. "Choo!"

"Luca.!" Lucario then split himself into clones as each of the clones had destroyed the shadows with multiple Aura SPheres. Everyone held by this grip had been freed thankfully as there were enough Lucario's to severe the shadows. And including Hatterene, who had used Psycho Cut to slice the shadows in half.

"You!" Ghetsis growled with his eyes glowing red along with parts of his body. Ninetales came into the fray, jumping straight in the black fire itself. He would be the vacuum for all these dark flames. But not without Ash protecting him. Ash began sharing Aura with Ninetales, at risk of bringing Delayed Aura Ataxia into this.

"Now, Cold! Do it!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Okay!" And of course, there was the one who took away most of his magic before. Cold Colt. He leapt in, ready to take everything away from Ghetsis this time.

"I think not!" Ghetsis shouted with an echo as his glowing red eyes managed to coat Cold's body. These eyes were used as a form of telekinesis. He held the little unicorn in place. Midair too. He prevented Cold Colt from moving forward.

"Oh come on!" Starlight groaned.

"P-Pika...?" The only one resisting the fear magic was Pikachu. He blinked a bit as he had heard what was happening in front of him while also seeing it. "Pikachu?"

"I won't dispose of these ponies and their Pokemon just yet," said Ghetsis as he made the Dark Aura melt the ice away. He freed himself just like that. "Before that, I'll make them see you as their worst fear!"

Ghetsis cackled before causing the visions of fear on everyone to change. They were still seeing what they feared most. But with a change from Ghetsis, it had been altered. Now, the things they hate most were targeted towards Ash, Twilight, Cold and Starlight. They had a burning desire to get rid of what they despised.

"Oh geez..." Cold gulped as all eyes were on him and the others. They even had the signature colours that Sombra used to have when his magic was radiating. "Rainbow Dash, please hurry."

"Nine!" Ninetales had absorbed what he could. The black flames were poisonous to his body. But thanks to Ash, he was able to withstand them. They still stung as they entered his body. Ninetales twitched with black sparks exuding out each second.

His Fire-Type moves were now powered up with a tint of darkness. As for Ash, he was already drained in Derpy's body as using Aura only boosted that. Now he would have to deal with his friends who were being controlled by fear.

"What now?" Starlight started panicking as Ghetsis was leading most of Ponyville.

"It isn't over yet." Ash stood in front of the others before facing down his fear-controlled friends. "We're not losing here. Not like this."

"Give it up already," said Ghetsis. "I've drained the magic of your friends, now using them as my own puppets and I still have your body to boot. I may have lost a lot, but I retrieved a good amount of magic. You and this town will be left in the history books. History books that I myself will form."

"No way," Ash replied before almost fainting. "It isn't gonna happen. Not when I've got my friends to stop that."

"You're still able to continue? You should know when you're beaten, Ash Ketchum." Ghetsis scoffed as all of the fear-controlled residents had surrounded Ash and the others. Pikachu instantly saw Derpy as Ash afterwards. He ran to his partner's side, finally reuniting with him.

"Pika-Pi!"

"I don't want to hurt my friends. Not sure if I have the same strength as Rainbow Dash to do it." A sweatdrop met with Twilight as the sky was not pitch-black dark with no sign of the sun.

"Same here." Cold Colt felt the same way. He didn't want to harm Applejack, who felt like family to him. "Oh, this blows! I wish I was at my best right now!"

"Thanks for the tip about that Sea Temple, princess. I'll keep that in mind too." Ghetsis said to Twilight, shocking her. "And I think I can get used to this. Yes...I'll live like this! I'll be Ash Ketchum! A new Ash Ketchum for those to look differently at. And an Ash Ketchum to rule. One with a younger age. This body swap is the absolute greatest thing to happen so far!"

"You sure are something, Ghetsis." Ash then replied before closing his eyes. "You're just one guy and yet you came this far on your own."

"Hm?" Ghetsis then paused his monologue once as Ash cut in.

"You've managed to outsmart and get ahead of us each step. Even when things look rough for you, you find a way to bounce back and take control of things in your favour." Ash went on.

"Ash?" Twilight looked at Ash.

"Maybe if you were someone different, I could've had a fun and awesome Pokemon Battle with you at all times." He then stood up tall. "Maybe there's a universe out there where that's possible."

"Hmph. I would call this pointless babble, but I'll admit this. You truly do know how to give a retort, don't you? But, you should learn when to quit, Ash Ketchum. Know when you're beaten!" Ghetsis exclaimed as all the fear-controlled ponies and Pokemon attacked Ash and the others.

Twilight and Starlight combined their forces, making one large forcefield of magic. One from an alicorn and the other from a high-level unicorn. Pokemon moves were thrown at them, causing the combined forcefield to shake.

Ash didn't want to harm his friends. He was holding onto one last thing. Ninetales was the same as even though he had so much fire in him, he would risk incinerating them all. The barrier was starting to break as Twilight and Starlight could not hold it for much longer. Ghetsis turned around, recovering himself as he was waiting for the shield to break.

But Ash had the right idea to always count on hope. And especially count on one of his friends who just so happens to be one of the fastest individuals he's ever met.

Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash had returned. And alongside her was Cadence and Manaphy. Plus, the body of Ghetsis that had Derpy within. Manaphy was now closer to Ghetsis, which meant that Heart swap could travel at a faster distance. Cadence held Manaphy into the air. Her antennae connected with Derpy's head as the pink energies began moving.

From only a few feet, the pink light rushed at great speeds, targeting Ash to reverse the swap. It passed through the rubble and leftover flames that Ninetales couldn't manage to absorb. None of that mattered as it was going at full force. And if it could travel through those, it could certainly travel through a nearly destroyed barrier.

The pink light then struck Ash's body as the swap could begin. In a flash of pink light that illuminated the dark ambience, Ash and Derpy had swapped. Their souls moved rapidly with the balance almost being resorted. Once they swapped, Ash was more active in Ghetsis' body. He was both wide awake and healthy still.

And now with one body swap successful, there was one more left as Manaphy used Heart Swap again, touching the back of Ash's hair.

"Go, Ash!" Cadence exclaimed.

"Okay!" Ash nodded before rushing off to the scene. His body was radiating a pink light as the light was also following him to Ghetsis, being his guiding light. Ghetsis, after recovering, saw that the barrier broke. Twilight, Cold and Starlight were now vulnerable.

"I didn't get the chance to finish absorbing all of your magic, princess. Alicorn magic is what I yearn for." He spoke before approaching her. Lucario, Ninetales, Pikachu, Cubchoo, Hatterene and Espeon stood in the way, however.

"Ghetsis!" Just then, Ash called out Ghetsis' name. Ghetsis pulled his hand before facing the other side. But as soon as he did so, he was immediately met with Ash holding his arm out.

"You!" Ghetsis gasped after seeing Ash leap towards him. It was so sudden and rapid too, giving him no time to counter this with a spell. And not only that, once Ash touched Ghetsis, the light of Heart Swap came through.

It felt like time froze once they connected. The speed of Heart Swap was the reason for that. With this up-close contact, the swap was instant. Both of them felt the rush of adrenaline pass through as a dome of pink light formed before fading away.

And with that, the swap was successful. Ash's true heart returned to his body while the same went for Ghetsis. Manaphy's Heart Swap was truly the only way to fix this. With the transfer over, both Ash and Ghetsis fell to the ground.

But not before some tumbling. They both started tumbling away before coming to a halt. Ash got up first with Ghetsis second. They both then noticed something familiar. For starters, their voices were back to normal and they were still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.

"Ah! Yes! It worked!" Ash cheered with his arms up. "Thanks, Manaphy!"

"Ash! You're back!" Twilight gleed with giddy as Cadence arrived at the scene.

"Pika-Pi!"

"Twilight. I'll deal with this issue." Cadence knew how to deal with those that saw fear. Ghetsis was using Sombra's magic, so the solution was simple. And she had the magic to do so.

As for Ghetsis, after he stood up, he witnessed Pikachu and Lucario hug him. His plan to stay in Ash's body was a failure as he was back in this. "No! This can't be! Manaphy! No worries. I can always-" He went for Hydreigon's Poke Ball, only to find that it wasn't there anymore. Along with his other Pokemon. "What?!"

"Hah! Tough!" Rainbow Dash grinned with her hooves crossed. "I did the honour of taking your Pokemon away. Ya won't be needing them for a while, will ya?"

"Why you...!" A vein appeared on Ghetsis as he wasn't too happy about that.

"Let's end this! Ninetales! Let all of your flames out!"

"Nine...Tales!" Ninetales could finally use the black flames that he had absorbed. And he did so by unleashing a giant burst of black and red fire that went straight towards Ghetsis.

But even without his Pokemon, Ghetsis was still dangerous. He put his arm out, forcing a protective force of magic. He still had some to spare. However, having his own magic be turned against him in the form of a powered-up Fire-Type attack was difficult. "I-I won't lose!"

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash instantly commanded Pikachu to take action.

"Pika...!" Pikachu jumped into the air, slapping his red sacs before sparking up some volts. His body was enveloped in a beautiful golden electric aura that broke through the darkness. "Chuuu!" The Mouse Pokemon then curled up a bit before sending a bolt of 100,000 volts.

Combining that with Ninetales' attack and did the trick. Ghetsis failed to defend himself against such a combo. It broke through his defences and blew him back. His eyes widened before that, knowing he was beaten. And now, Ghetsis knew what Team Rocket felt like. However, in this case, he was flying forward instead of upwards.

And with good timing. Cadence broke everyone's fear with her magic, preventing this scenario from escalating any further. They all came back to reality.

"Hah..." Ash took a deep breath as there was no sign of Ghetsis. Talk about a launch. Now, it was over. And with that, Ash fell on his back with relief. "Finally...It's over."

But it wasn't. There was one major issue. Ghetsis had given Ash a bad look to everyone in Ponyville. They now saw Ash as the victim of this attack as they saw him use the flames as well. Ash sat up before noticing meany horrid looks at him.

"Oh...uh...Hehehe." He laughed nervously. "Guess there's that problem, huh?"

"Ash...!" Carrot Top growled as many were ready to say what they wanted to say and even do less-than-pleasant actions to Ash. Some involved attacking.

"How could you...?" Roseluck muttered with disbelief.

"Were you just planning on doing this the entire time or what?!" Bon Bon roared.

"Hold on, hold on!" Twilight and Cadence got in the way. They could vouch for Ash along with Cold Colt, Rainbow Dash and Starlight."Hear this before you say anything!"

---

Bidoof Beach.

As for Ghetsis, he was blasted all the way towards the end of Bidoof Beach. Ghetsis laid on the sands with his clothes damaged. He almost went unconscious from that combination attack. He had lost once more. And he hated it more than ever.

"No..." Ghetsis stood up, getting on one knee before slamming his fist on the ground. "No! No! No! How?! How could I lose again?! I don't understand!"

Frustrated beyond belief, Ghetsis could only take out his anger by hitting what he could. He had no more dark magic to show his anger right now. "Again and again! What am I doing wrong?! Why can't I win!" He screamed into the sky, demanding answers to his loss against Ash and his friends.

"My. I thought I could get heated." But here to speak with him was somepony else. Somepony that was still an ally to him. Ghetsis paused for a moment as a gateway was right behind him. And passing through that gateway was Daybreaker.

"Daybreaker?" He said.

"I heard it all." She replied afterwards. "You losing. Again. What a shame. But, Ash does have a point. It's commendable that you made it this far by yourself with no assistance. You're almost a one-man-army. Almost. But there's a reason you lost?"

"And what's that?"

"You're too dependent on yourself. You think you can take on everything on your lonesome." Daybreaker shrugged. "I swear. You worked better with your Team Plasma. You're strong Ghetsis. And very stubborn. But you can't win something like this alone. You need help."

"Tch." Ghetsis scoffed. But Daybreaker had a point. Most of Ghetsis' earlier wins in Equestria were the result of him and Team Plasma. One cohesive group that had great teamwork. Ever since Ghetsis went on his own to improve, he lost sight of that. Thus, leading to this failure.

"But don't worry. I can help. Partner Team Plasma with the Solar Empire. I mean we already are. Stay in my universe for a while. Empress Twilight is there too."

"Her? Why?"

"She lost horribly as well. Although, she actually had support in that instance. But then again, she's still young and has much to learn. You and she are so alike."

"We are?" Ghetsis squinted.

"Mhm. You're so eager for power. Just hungry for it non-stop. And I don't blame you. Power is irresistible. You want as much as you can get, no matter what. But, it can only get you so far. That's why you need to spice it up. Find alternate ways to gain power. You and Empress Twilight failed to see how your relentless thirst for endless power was moving too fast, costing you all. You might be threatening and certainly have an arsenal worthy of recognition. But there are limits."

"..." Ghetsis could not argue back against that. For once, he had no clever or cocky retort. He just closed his eyes, balling his fist in defeat.

"But don't worry." Daybreaker then faced the gateway to Universe 11. "I will show you what it means to truly obtain power. Come. We have much to do."

---

Ponyville. Late Afternoon.

After explaining everything to everyone, the residents of Ponyville understood it all. Body swapping can lead to scenarios such as this. Ash could finally catch a break as he was glad his reputation and status hadn't been tarnished and sabotaged fully.

Ponyville was a wreck. The flames had damaged so much it was absurd. Thankfully, Cold Colt had a friend who could fix this. Emerald Aura. Ponyville was back to normal after Cold got in touch with her.

Emerald was of great help. She even agreed with Cold's request to restore the magic stolen from everyone. After doing so, she would leave. "Great to come around and see you like always, squirt," said Emerald. "Next time, you should try and solve these problems when your magic improves."

"Oh, I will. Trust me."

But Ash just wanted to get away from that body-swapping nonsense. Once more, he was hungry. Luckily, Pinkie Pie saved the food that Delia brought him. It was still in one piece, undevoured.

"Ah...Finally..." Ash sighed before looking at the amazing food.

"I totally knew it wasn't him!" Scootaloo said with a cocky smile, acting tough. When in reality, she was still affected by Ghetsis' yell. "Ash would never yell at us like that."

"Yeah right..." Sweetie Belle silently replied.

"Sorry for that, you three." Ash apologized to them all. "And everyone."

"But you didn't do anything, Ash. It was Ghetsis," said Rarity. "Responsible for causing so much harm to us, stealing our magic and so forth."

"I know. But I kinda feel like I gotta you. My mouth after all." He chuckled. After all of that, he went back to things as if they were normal. "But. We can't slow down now."

"We can't?" Twilight repeated.

"No way. That body swap wasn't from Manaphy. If I had to guess, Lucien and Sienna were because of it. We can't let them keep doing stuff like this. Or else next time, it could be even worse. Plus, I promised to bring the Rift back to its parents.

"I suppose you're suggesting we finally take action on those two?" Rarity spoke.

"Yeah. Plus, there's the Sea Temple too now that Ghetsis knows about it. We can't let him find out how to get to it as well. We'll have to give it more than 100% percent if we want to protect everyone and everything we love."

"I hear ya, Ash." Rainbow Dash patted him on the back. "Good to have you back anyway."

"Good to be back. Now let's eat!" Ash clapped his hands together before beginning his devastatingly wild devouring of the food in front of him.

"Pikachu!"

And of course, he shared with his friends. They deserved some food to eat after that rough experience. And after going through what felt like a nightmare, they were stronger than ever. They grew as stronger Trainers and gained extra resilience to black fire now. Neat.

High above the skies, Lucien and Sienna watched as it all came to a close. Sienna then laid on a cloud, feeling proud of her achievement. "Well, that's that. I wanted it to last a bit longer but that was great either way. Best plan ever. Top that?"

"Technically, I made this entertaining." Lucien interrupted.

"What?!" Sienna then stood up with a roar. "It was my idea!"

"True. But I was the one who gave Ghetsis his Dark Aura and magic even in Ash's body. Face it. If I didn't do that, this would've been over sooner. Gonna have to try and beat that."

"Oh, I will. Just you watch. I'll have something beyond the body swap. And it won't be focused around Ghetsis this time!" She crossed her arms as their rivalry continued.

"I'll be waiting."

As the journey continues.

Chapter 586 End.

Comments

[GamePlayer64]

Happy that Ash is back in his body and Ghetsis' Pokemon confiscated but the damage that Ghetsis cause in Ash's body did, damage his reputation as a hero in Ponyville. Who knows how the rumors of Ash created destruction will spread? I think Ash should stay out of Ponyville for awhile, until the residents can trust him again or until the fear effect is out of their systems

[ArcticAce01]

Ash is back in his body. But Ghetsis did a lot of damage while being in it. And now Ghetsis is gonna be teaming up with Daybreaker. While he doesn’t have his Pokémon no more he is still dangerous. And with knowledge of the sea temple. That’s more bad news

Hopefully are Heroes are prepared for what’s to come

[Cyberboy]

"C-Cast...Form!" Castform looked over at the sky, also spotting Corvisquire. While he may be held down by Skarmory, he could still use Reflect Typ either way. He gazed at Corvisquire before copying his typing. And by doing so, Castform's radioactive cells started acting up.

Reflect Type?

[Amarvax]

11049498
Thanks.

[Cyberboy]

11049531
(: happy to help.