My Little Pokémon

by Amarvax

Weakness to Pain

Equestria. Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival. Nightfall.

The black dust settled. After a fierce struggle to try and free Mayor Mare from the possession of the Memory Demon, it worked but in the end, the demon fought back in a destructive way. Though the mayor was safe, the demon itself was still active as Twilight, Bayleef and Victini had been caught up in the outburst that came right after the mayor's freedom.

Dropping out of the ink-blotted explosion were the three unfortunate ones to be caught up in it. And unfortunately, they took some visible and serious damage in the process. Twilight, Victini and Bayleef dropped to the ground with a plethora of bruises on them.

Twilight writhed on the floor as there was already a chunk of Bayleef's missing. Not only that but the majority of her leaf was covered in ink from all sides. Victini wasn't any better.

"Twilight! Victini! Bayleef!" Rushing to their side was Ash, followed by Espeon, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"Bay..." With a chunk of her leaf missing and also having some ink around it, Bayleef groaned. The moon was still up so there Sun wasn't here to regenerate it at all. Thanks to Bayleef, it was easy to see that she was the reason why they didn't fully perish in the explosion. Bayleef was once again the best possible saviour but at the cost of her own health. In this instance, the explosion was fierce enough to still damage them even when Bayleef used her power.

"Audi! Use Heal Pulse, quickly!" Fluttershy uttered. Audino would get to work, spreading healing energy around all three of them as soon as she could. Applejack and Rarity held Mayor Mare, who was currently unconscious.

"Twilight! Wake up!" Ash held her up as so far, Twilight was unresponsive. So were Victini and Bayleef. But thankfully, they could still make noises, confirming that they were still with them. Twilight would soon groan, narrowing her eyes to see Ash and Pikachu staring at her.

"Ash...Pikachu... It worked. We got her out of there. But even still..." Twilight breathed in and out as all those explosions made her horn smoke. These bruises also had burn marks on them, only elevating the pain. Twilight, Bayleef and Victini did well, but even so, they took some heavy damage in the process.

Espeon whimpered when witnessing Twilight in this state. It was rare for her to be this injured. Worried, the Sun Pokemon would nudge Twilight's face.

As for the Memory Demon, there was seemingly no sign of it. But in reality, it was everywhere at once. After the explosion, blots of ink scattered across Ponyville. Roofs, rubble, grass, trees, etc. The demon truly made sure most of itself was nearly everywhere. Each of these blots would vibrate before all moving. The blots of ink then started gathering in one place.

Once more, the demon was starting to regenerate. Even after all that, the endless resource of its own element was enough to bring it back. This was followed by horrific howling and maniacal laughter. Before they knew it, the Memory Demon had returned.

"No way...it's back?!" Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her eyes. All the ink, apart from the ones that were stuck to Bayleef's leaf, were pulled together in one spot, reforming the Memory Demon as it took on a different form, no longer appearing as Mayor Mare.

Instead, it now showed up in its original form that was more familiar to Ash and Pikachu when they first saw it months ago. But instead of one eye, it now had multiple eyes, even showing its bat wings.

"That was risky on my own part. Obviously, it didn't take them out. I still need those memories. But you're all certainly giving me enough trouble as it is."

"Hang on...that's a totally different demon!" Ash gasped as he quickly remembered another demon that looked just like this one. This didn't seem to be the Memory Demon's true form for what he remembered. "That's the one before the Memory Demon showed up with Opal!"

"Ah, you noticed!" The demon spoke while continuing to recollect itself. "You wouldn't be wrong! In actuality, we're both different in what we can do but we can also share the same appearance! I can appear as that other demon thanks to my power to borrow memories! When I was in there, I stole its appearance along with many other demons! So no matter what, you'll always catch me in a different form! And once I take your memories, I'll steal your appearances and know everything about your life! So that way, I'll know everyone I've met as if we were always good buddies! How fun is that?!"

"That's just great. We could have our lives stolen by this thing?" Applejack snarled.

"I left something behind for you three friends there. The ink that's around Bayleef's leaf will keep that amazing power of hers in check. But I'm impressed, Princess Twilight. Using Magic Coating around yourself to prevent my ink from getting on you. Too bad it didn't protect you from harm."

"Ash. Everyone...Listen." Twilight groaned as she was still conscious, but barely. Her wings fluttered weakly as Ash would help her up. "That ink is tricky. It's ink from the underworld, so its properties are obviously different to what we know and expect...but its weaknesses are the same."

"What beats out ink?" Rainbow Dash asked immediately. A clear answer to stopping this demon and its tricky ink would be greatly beneficial. "I felt it when that explosion reached me. And judging from all the explosions we've experienced, Fire won't work at all. That demon can detonate them too so ice is probably out of the question, even if it's liquid."

"So if Fire and Ice won't work, then what will?" Spike added.

"The only thing that could bypass the explosions is water. It's like the Pokemon Type Chart we're so used to. The explosions can be held back by the wetness of the water. Water normally washes away ink and it seems to also have some sharpness to it, much like Steel. Steel isn't very effective on Water-Types so try and use that logic to win this. And make sure you kick up a gust of wind too to permanently get rid of it. Give it an air-dry."

"Right. Thanks, Twilight. Rest up, okay?" Ash thanked her before gently letting the Princess of Friendship down, leaving her to Espeon. The Sun Pokemon would stand by Twilight, taking a break from this battle just to shield her trainer.

"Thanks...But I can still do something even like this." But Twilight refused to stay out of the action. "But...healing up doesn't sound so bad right now. I just hope Mayor Mare is doing better than us right now."

"Hoopa."Ash turned to face Hoopa, knowing what needed to be done. Water and Air-Drying. Only two Pokemon-Types were experts in that category. Water and Flying-Types. But they also had Pokemon on their side that could also fulfil that role. Ash, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Spike each had a Pokemon that could either generate water or even air dry.

"Hoopa's got this!" What better way to beat out the ink demon than to use overwhelming numbers? Truly overwhelming numbers that would bring about great elemental forces. After Twilight revealed the weakness of the demon, it was time to go all in. By raising his ring, Hoopa selected random Pokemon that would get the job done.

Flying-Types soared out of the ring with grace. Hoopa wasn't exactly creative with which Flying-Types he chose. He just simply picked out as many as he could. But at the same time, when trying to summon Water-Types, he ended up bringing the sea with him.

The moment the Flying-Types emerged, trying to look cool with their aerial tricks, they were immediately caught off guard by the massive stream of water that came crashing down. Their eyes widened as various Water-Types came along with the sea and very soon, so would Ash and everyone else.

"Hoopa, wait!" But it was too late. Rarity exclaimed moments after she and her friends were caught in this rampant wave. Everyone screamed as Espeon would instinctively carry Twilight with Psychic, but the wave was far too strong to avoid. All the Water-Types were greatly confused. One minute they're casually in their homes and the next, they find themselves in an ink-covered town.

But despite how reckless it was, it was the best way to go due to how massive this wave was. And by the look of the Memory Demon's expression, once it fully recovered, this wave made its eyes bulge out.

"That's good..." Twilight groaned while being splashed by the water. "Get rid of its resources too. As long as there's some ink around, it'll find a way to retaliate..."

"Silly Genie! I can do the same!" Just like before, the demon could create a tidal wave of ink that viciously formed together by using the seemingly endless resource of ink. Soon, the ink tidal wave would meet with the natural tidal wave, resulting in a titanic clash of elements. Blue and Black respectively.

Of course, such a clash would generate aggressive splashes and water flows that would affect both sides. But one side clearly had a beneficial skill. The demon could manipulate the ink even as a tidal wave. The demon would notice how the water would begin overlaying over its ink as indeed, water was a great response to this. To try and avoid this, the Memory Demon would try and raise the ink to higher levels, attempting to escape from the tidal wave.

"A-Audino!" Audino became a surfboard for those who managed to land on her back. But the other Water-Types would act as ways to traverse the water as they weren't bothered by the tidal wave at all. And of course, none of them were avoiding this battle.

As always, Hoopa had the ability to not only summon whatever he wanted but even those who are summoned by him worked for him automatically. Whether it was his Restrained Form or Unbound Form. Even though his Unbound Form certainly did it by absolute force. The Water-Types and even the befuddled Flying-Types would cooperate, understanding the assignment.

Different Water-Type attacks would meet with the ink, washing it away and dwindling the demon's resources. They were not infinite at all. All they needed to do was get rid of every last drop. And with this massive tidal wave, this could potentially clean out the town.

"So they figured out my weakness!" The demon would exclaim, confirming that Twilight found a breakthrough.

"Go, Dragonite!" Ash would send out his Dragonite post-haste. By throwing the Poke Ball in the air which would soon gravitate back to his pocket automatically, emerging at last was the Dragon Pokemon of Kanto. Dragonite.

"Dragonite!"

"Come out! Milotic!" Covering her eyes from all the splashing water, Rarity was able to send out her own Water-Type in the form of Milotic who would immediately carry Rarity upon arriving. To make things easier for the unicorn and her little sister, Milotic would carry them both on her back.

Spike would soon send out his Goodra and Salamence respectively as he could cover both elements respectively. Goodra would generate the Water while Salamence would generate the wind.

"Milotic! Use, Hydro Pump!"

"Goodra, Surf!"

"Flap your wings, Dragonite! Hurricane!"

"Braviary! Do the same with Superpower!"

"Milo...!" Milotic and Goodra would go before Dragonite, Braviary and Salamence. They needed to wet the ink before they could air-dry it. And by combining her Water attacks with other Water-Types, the Hydro Pump would blast a hole through parts of the ink due to the overwhelming pressure. Goodra only added to the tidal wave by creating an equally large wave.

The tidal wave had already affected the opposing ink wave so the time to flap their wings was now. Dragonite and other Flying-Types would generate gusts of wind in the best way they knew how. Giant gusts of wind blew in the direction of the tidal wave, focusing on the parts that had been softened up for them. Braviary did so by using Superpower to clap his wings together, making the pressure even greater than what his standard wing beats could make.

Just as Twilight said, it worked. The remaining weakness of ink had been exposed as parts of the opposing wave were being washed away. Following up was the mighty barrage of wind pressures that would then dry the ink out, rendering it useless. The Memory Demon's many eyes watched as its resources were being dried out or even fading into the wind.

"Nice! It's working!" Ash pumped his fist as this approach was the best method against the Memory Demon, even though everyone else was being carried away by the water.

"Can't there be a better way?!" Lyra screamed while rolling in the water. As for everyone's homes, a ton of cleanup would be needed after this. That is if they can win this.

The Memory Demon would also even notice how droplets of water started crashing down. Someone had used Rain Dance. Whichever Pokemon did it, it would only put pressure on this demon some more. When trying to regenerate, its resources were being taken away by the ever-increasing number of water.

"I'm losing ink faster than I can regenerate it!" The Memory Demon gasped. And with how fast the wave spread along with Ponyville being a town instead of a city, the possibility of finding some space was incredibly slim. As such, the Memory Demon tried escaping, using the remainder of its ink to slither into the sky.

"You won't get away! Dragonite, go!"

"Rrr!" Dragonite would pursue the Memory Demon along with Salamence and Braviary, refusing to let it leave. The demon would slither through the skies like a snake, moving over the roofs while also using its bat wings to gain extra acceleration.

From below, every part of it was being washed and dried away, limiting how far it could go. It was rare to see a demon being the one that was chased down but when it comes to Pokemon, that can change. However, the Memory Demon's cunning nature would still find a way to strike back even when being pushed back. Even its eyes were being taken away, leaving very few to view with.

"You surface, sky and bottom dwellers shouldn't get too ahead of yourself...!" It retaliated with the remainder of its strength and resources in the best way it could think of. But before that, something else was said by it. "It's risky to make a second contract in a row...but I'll make another one with the gate!"

The contract in the sky was still there. Even with all the rain pouring, the paper was not affected at all. However, upon hearing the Memory Demon take the contract for a second time in a row, that's when the paper mysteriously pulsated its signature red colours. No one knew what this meant except for the Memory Demon.

Before the demon could do so, a familiar voice echoed in its head. For a moment, all of its actions stopped just to listen to this voice that only it could hear. This was none other than Opal Vivacity's voice.

"Another contract?" Opal spoke through the demon's mind from whereabouts unknown. "Are you sure about that? You know what happens when you make another dark contract with the gate, don't you?"

"I do...but they're getting the better of me, wiping away my resources. I can't regenerate fast enough to best them at this rate and I haven't even taken all of their memories!"

"If you want to take that risk, then sure. But you know the consequences. And they'll be difficult to recover from. Practically impossible unless you find a way to cheat. Do you still want to take the second contract?"

"I do! In exchange for billions of years off my lifespan, I will gladly have a chance to pull off one successful move!" The Memory Demon declared. Judging by what it just spouted out, its lifespan, which was extremely long considering that it had been inside the box for centuries, would be cut short. But it would all be worth it for one successful move. A move that was so successful that it would work with maximum efficiency.

"I'm coming for you...Fluttershy!" It eyed down Fluttershy, suddenly wanting to target the pegasus.

It would then use the rest of its body as a weapon, unleashing a blunt tendril of ink. Dragonite and the other airborne Pokemon would simply fly to the side, evading a potentially hard blow. Fluttershy didn't have the power of Bayleef to save her. So her own instincts and reaction were needed for this. But before she could do that, Audino would get in front of the pegasus, using Protect. "Audino!"

"Just kidding~" But it was all a lie. It would shift its ink elsewhere, avoiding Audino's Protect as the main target was actually Hoopa. Not Fluttershy. Saying Fluttershy's name was a dud. The tendril wasn't going for her at all. The Memory Demon grinned, knowing exactly who it was going for.

It was going for Hoopa.

Hoopa was the real target, being potentially the biggest threat just because of his power to pull anything from space. Any counter to the Memory Demon could be made if this were to continue.

With a sudden speed-up, the blunt tendril ink would reach Hoopa within seconds, right as the Mischief Pokemon realized who it was truly aiming for. It bypassed every Pokemon, ignoring them completely and focusing on the strongest link. Hoopa attempted to save Ash by using his ring, hoping to send the ink elsewhere.

Alas, someone would be the target instead. Ash got in the way, taking this massive tendril to the chest to defend Hoopa. He was the only one who saw the true target. He successfully pushed Hoopa out of the way, but in the end, he wasn't fast enough to get himself out of the way.

A direct hit. Ash received this hit from the ink to the chest. He grimaced before staggering. After everything that happened, the demon managed to strike another target successfully, but not the one it was expecting. Upon hitting Ash, he would then be taken out by the remainder of rain and wind that was kicked up.

"Ash!" Everyone yelled as Ash moved back, holding his chest which was now caught by the ink. It went straight through his jacket and shirt instead of just making a mess.

"Pika-Pi!"

"Oh...man...!" Ash groaned before kneeling. Right as the Memory Demon's resources came to an end, it took the chance to get a few licks in. And by hitting Ash, it succeeded. Partially. Obtaining memories from everyone else was a bust. Everything calmed down as the tidal wave came to an end. All the ink had been washed away. The Memory Demon was seemingly nowhere to be found.

Ash took a deep breath, holding his chest and panting at every moment. He held himself together instead of dropping directly to the ground. All his friends would gather around him with Audino quickly dropping her barrier to come to his aid.

"Ash! Are you alright?!" Fluttershy asked as Audino was already fixated on healing him next. She had a lot of work to do because of the Memory Demon.

"Ashkan!" Seeing that Ash saved him yet again, Hoopa would bounce over. Much like Hoopa, Ash was also reckless, but in the best way he could be. Although, it could also be dangerous to himself at times and this was one of them. "Is Ashkan okay?!"

"Meloetta?!"

"I'll be fine...but man this hurts..." Ash growled as he quickly lowered the top of his shirt. Since the ink didn't mess his clothes up, it stands to reason that it was potentially his skin. Indeed it was. Right above his chest, a black spot could be seen. Courtesy of the Memory Demon. "Ggghhh!" It didn't seem like it was getting any better as Ash would then drop to the ground.

"Ash..." An equally harmed Twilight uttered with a weak voice as not even Ash would be exempt from heavy bodily harm. His friends would try and help him up, but helping him up wasn't enough. He needed to be taken to a hospital immediately while Bayleef and Victini needed the Pokemon Center at once.

And while everyone was concerned about their friend and their wellbeing, there was no sign of any ink blots at all. All of them had been cleared out with every building being drenched in water and dried off afterwards with tiny droplets remaining.

However, there was one ink blot that was away from everyone's view. Just near the outskirts of the town, this ink blot remained and still had sentience. The blot of ink, which was still the Memory Demon would slither away, moving through the cracks in the ground to conceal itself. Unbeknownst to them, the Memory Demon may have been defeated, but it was not gone yet.

And unfortunately, that was only one of the 15 Demons that had been unleashed. 14 were still out there. And no one was quite sure what to expect from them. All they could do was prepare for the worst as the journey continues.

Chapter 968 End.

Comments

[ArcticAce01]

Man, things aren’t looking really good. Ash got really hurt and Bayleaf and Victini are of need of the Pokémon center to

These Demons really don’t mess around

[Magic135]

I think it was cute that Ash held Twilight to help her. Possible shipping in the future it looks like.