• Published 2nd Jan 2021
  • 1,495 Views, 524 Comments

Pokémon: Equestrian Champions - Banshee531



Flash Sentry's journey through the Equestria Region continues as his greatest battles await him. And as his team train to overcome any challenge, can he claim victory, or will the opposition be to much to handle?

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Flash in the Forest

Continuing their journey to Manehatten City and Flash's seventh Equestria Gym Challenge, our group were still making their way to Seaward Shoals. Currently, they were running through a forest, now reaching the edge of the trees. Flash, Springer and Astro were the first ones out, the trio finding themselves on a cliff that overlooked another forest. But on the other side of that forest, the open ocean could be seen.

"Wow...we're almost there." Flash whispered before seeing Astro now staring at the big blue sea, "Pretty cool, huh Astro?" He reached down and patted the Starvern's head, Astro's eyes sparkling in wonder. Flash had agreed to allow Astro to stay out of his Pokeball and experience the wonders of the world, though as long as he behaved...and stopped trying to chomp Flash's hand. "That's the ocean Astro. It covered most of the planet, and it's awesome to swim in. Just don't drink any of it."

"Vern?"

"Just trust me on that."

Twilight and the others then walked up, the girl speaking up, "Seaward Shoals should be on the other side of the forest. Then we can grab the boat heading to Manehatten." She looked down at her journal, but the screen was showing a buffering symbol, "That's odd...I can't get a signal."

"Well, its not like its far," Spike pointed out. "As long as we keep going straight, we'll get there in no time."

"Maybe..." Twilight sighed, "But we don't know what's in that forest."

"I think we'll be fine. There's no sign for danger or anything." Flash commented, "I think we should go for it."

"I guess you've got a point," Twilight replied as they began to walk down a route off the cliff, "Alright, let's get going." The others nodded, all scaling the path before reaching the other forest. The place was quite dark, the canopy being so thick that they couldn't see any of the sky or sunlight. Its floor was covered in thick roots, Astro soon having trouble with his little legs. Flash quickly picked him up, Astro roaring a thank you as he did so.

"Anyone else getting a creeped out vibe?" Spike asked as they continued through the place.

"Yeah..." Doc responded, "It kinda feels like...someone's watching us." He glanced around, soon noticing something. "Wait...this forest is empty."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, why would a forest like this be so empty? Surely there would be some Bug Pokémon or Grass Pokémon. Even Dark or Poison-Types would be at home here."

"That's a good point." Twilight nodded, "Being this close to the ocean, you'd think there would be a few Wingull or something."

"What does that mean?" Spike asked.

"That there's something here keeping those Pokémon away," Flash answered for him. This made Spike grimace, Astro and Springer doing the same. Their pace slowed down, the groups' eyes glancing around. They kept trying to look everywhere, glancing at the bushes and branches, staring beyond the trees.

But none of them payed any attention to the trees themselves. For as they walked past one of them, a single red light appeared on the bark of the tree before turning to the retreating humans and their Pokémon. The gentle rustling of leaves followed this, the light now following them.

"Let's just get out of these woods before whatever is in this place decides to come out and say hello," Twilight told the others, all of them nodding in agreement. But as they did this, Springer suddenly heard something.

"Ri?" He looked behind them, but saw nothing.

"You okay bud?" Flash asked, Springer closing his eyes as he tried to sense some aura.

"Ri?" Springer replied as he opened his eyes, shaking his head. They began to start walking again, only for another sound to ring out, "Ri!" Springer spun around, now seeing some slight movement near the tree, the Riolu forming an Aura Sphere in his paw. "RIOLU!" He fired the orb at that tree, expecting to hit it...only to phase right through it.

"What the heck?!" Flash yelped, only for a red round light to appear on the tree. Seconds later, the tree's branches began to move as they suddenly pulled themselves free.

The tree began to move, Twilight now going wide-eyed, "Trevenant!" She cried as the Elder Tree Pokémon glared at them.

"That explains why there aren't any Pokémon in the forest," Doc gasped as Trevenant raised its arms up, the foliage around them beginning to glow. "Everyone move!"

The Trevenant then unleashed a Magical Leaf attack, almost hitting the group. "Trev!" It roared as its branch like fingers began to glow purple, the Ghost Grass-type charging while swiping at them wildly.

"RIOLU!" Springer roared as he tried to use Extreme Speed to kick Trevenant, only to go right through it.

"Trevenant's a Ghost-type Springer!" Twilight yelled, "Your attacks won't work on it."

"Why does this keep happening?" Flash groaned as Trevenant turned to Springer, ready to use Shadow Claw.

"Star!" Astro leapt out of Flash's arms , the Trevenant turning at the sound of his voice. "VERN!" He leapt up and bit its arm, making Trevenant flinch.

"Alright Astro!" Flash cheered, only to see Trevenant swing its arm, forcing Astro to let go. "Uh oh!"

"Trev!" It roared as it unleashed a Magical Leaf, hitting Astro head on.

"STAR!" He cried, knocking him flying back, landing right into Twilight's hands.

"Gotcha!" She yelped while catching him, "You okay?"

"Star..." Astro moaned in pain.

"Love the energy bud, but you're still a bit off from fighting against something this strong." Flash said as he took out a Pokeball as Trevenant glared at them. "If we wanna beat this thing, I'm gonna need my ghost-buster. Skyler, let's go!" He threw the Pokeball, unleashed his Tornavian as it squawked while taking flight. "Go get it bud!"

"Tore!" Skyler roared as he charged at Trevenant.

"Tornado Burst!" Skyler began to spin, forming a tornado around his body, but Trevenant was ready.

"Trev!" It slammed its root like feet into the ground, seconds before a bunch of roots suddenly shot out of the forest floor.

"That's Terror Root!" Doc gasped as the roots formed a wall, Skyler now exploding out of the tornado with a burst of speed. Alas, the wall was too strong, making him bounce off with a cry of pain.

"Skyler!" Flash yelled as the root wall split apart, the roots them charging at them. Before they could do anything, the roots began to wrap around the group and lift them upward, "AAAH!" They all screamed as they felt the roots tightening around them.

"Can't...breath..." Spike moaned as he and the others squirmed in pain.

"Terra!" Peewee cried as the roots increased their grip just as the Terragon tried to use Incinerate, only to whine in pain.

"Riolu!" Springer yelled, unable to even summon some aura in the pain.

"I can't...reach...my Pokeballs," Twilight stuttered out.

"Me neither!" Doc yelped.

As this happened, Astro turned to see Flash, Springer and Skyler all being squeezed before looking at Trevenant, seeing it wasn't paying any attention to him. "Star..." he hissed as he quickly built up the power in his mouth, the Trevenant turning to him as he yelled, "VERN!" A Dragon Rage shot out, striking the Elder Tree Pokémon.

"TREVENANT!" It cried, staggering back as the roots all flinched from the blow. Screams came next as the roots loosened, everyone now feeling the roots swing them around wildly. And as the roots threw the group around, Flash was thrown away from the others.

"FLASH!" Twilight screamed as she saw Flash get thrown up into the forest's canopy, disappearing in the forest's darkness. The rest of the group feeling themselves falling towards the ground and spinning so much, they lost track of which way they had come from.

While this happened, the Elder Tree Pokémon recovered from the surprise attack as it hissed, "Trev..." It scuttled over to a nearby tree, placing its hand on it, both it and the tree beginning to glow. Through the ghostly energy that made up its very being, the Ghost Grass-type sent a message into the tree, a message now going through the timber before zipping through the forest's long intertwining roots. Moments later, the many other trees in the forest suddenly gained an eye, all beginning to move as anger appeared on every face.


Twilight let out a moan as she sat herself up, turning to see almost all her friends trying to recover as well, "Everyone okay?"

"I've been better," Spike moaned.

"Nothing I can't walk off," Doc added as he stood up. As he did this, he noticed Astro running around, letting out a series of cries.

"Star?! STARVERN!" He yelled, about to tear up before Springer went over and patted his head.

"Ri," he said while Skyler nodded. "Rio ri."

"Springer's right," Twilight responded as she leaned down to Astro's level, "Don't worry about Flash. This isn't the first time he's been separated from us. He'll be fine."

Doc nodded in agreement before turning to Skyler, "Can you try and look for him from the sky? And could you tell us where the ocean is from here?" Skyler replied by taking off, only to return and point to a certain direction.

"Tore."

"So the ocean's that way?" Twilight pointed in said direction, the bird nodding, "Then that's the way we should go. Go find Flash Skyler."

"Tore!" he replied while flying off again.

"But what about Flash?" Spike asked.

"Flash will be heading to the ocean as well," she responded, "If we want to meet up, that's the way we should be going. This forest is way too big to start searching aimlessly."

"She's right," Doc added, "And Flash has Riptide, who can detect water. He'll head to the ocean."

"But what about the Trevenant?

"He's got Viper," Twilight reminded him. "And both Riptide and Prongs have moves that work well against Grass-types." She reached down and picked Astro up, "He'll be fine."

Astro gave her a frown in response, only to feel Twilight pat her head. He saw a kind smile on her face, but it didn't relieve the big frown on his face.


Having been slammed through the trees and foliage, Flash had landed face up on the ground. He was currently unconscious from the impact, though the heavy foliage of the trees had slowed him down enough for it not to be fatal. "Ow..." he groaned before sitting up, "Just once, I'd like to enter some unknown territory without getting attacked by something." He let out a long moan, now standing up to see no sign of anyone or anything.

"Okay...need to find the others. And I hurt all over." He commented before crossing his arms, "Gotta think...what would Twilight do?" He reached down for his remaining Pokeballs. "She'd probably head for the port and get help. That's where I need to go."

He threw the balls up, unleashing his Spranitor, Chitaleaf and Anahakka. "Tore/Leaf/Car?" They asked before turning to Flash.

"Alright guys, we're in trouble. We've been separated from Springer and the others, and there's a Trevenant out there that's in a real bad mood. We've gotta get out of here before it's too late." The three nodded as Flash turned to Riptide, "Can you sense where the ocean is?"

"Tore..." Riptide fell onto all fours, circling around the group.

Flash looked back at Prongs and Viper. "Okay guys, if that Trevenant shows up again, be ready. Viper, you're best suited for taking it down." Viper nodded as Riptide suddenly picked something up, letting out a cry before pointing in one direction, "That way?" Riptide nodded. "Sweet. Let's get out of here before something else shows up to attack." He began to walk forward, but after a few feet, he suddenly found the ground beneath him disappear. "WHOA!"

The others saw their trainer disappear, now hearing several cries of pain. They ran over, now seeing Flash had fallen down a hill he hadn't noticed, now laying at the bottom while clutching his foot.

"Ahhh!" He groaned as the others carefully stepped down the hill, "My ankle..." He pulled his hands away, now seeing it was already turning red and swelling. "Well...this complicates things."


Twilight and the others had now arrived at the edge of the forest, having been lucky enough to not run into any more angry Pokémon. When they got there, they found themselves on the edge of another cliff with a nearby ramp leading down to the sea-level. And on the very edge of the land was a small town with several ports, boats and a large amount of mist. "Seaward Shoals..." Twilight commented as they made their way down the ramps. "Let's see if we can't find someone who can help us."

They quickly ran into the town, all beginning to ask around for anyone that would know how to help them find Flash. But in every building they went to, the people said that they didn't go that deep into the woods. "Please," Twilight asked a woman working at a bakery, "Isn't there anyone in town who knows how to find him?"

"I'm sorry, but you knew the risks when you went into that forest." the woman replied, "Didn't you see the signs?"

"What signs?!" Twilight yelped while Astro raised an eyebrow, "We didn't see any signs!"

The woman hummed at this, "Must have fallen over. Or one of the Trevenant destroyed it."

"One of them?!" Twilight gasped, "How many Trevenant are there in that forest?!"

"Oh, many. It's why nobody goes in there. Those Trevenant are very territorial."

"We noticed," Twilight sighed while Astro growled. "Isn't there anything you can do?! Maybe there's an Officer Hard Case we can talk too."

"I'm afraid not," she replied. "This town is so quiet that there usually isn't any need for one to be here. I'm sorry, but your friend will have to get out of there on his own." Twilight sighed again as she walked out of the bakery, only to see Doc and Spike running up to her, "Anything?"

"Nothing," Spike responded, "The people in this town are complete cowards."

Doc nodded in agreement. "I'd say we should just go back into the woods and find him ourselves, but with its size, it would be impossible to find him unless we split up. And if we do that, then we would be even more separated with no way of contacting one another if we found Flash. It'd be a continuous cycle of trying to find one another."

"Tore!" They looked up and see Skyler flying down, landing with a frown on his beak.

"Did you find anything?" Twilight asked, the Tornavian shaking his head. "Well, we can't give up." She took out a Pokeball, "Owlicious." In a flash of red, the Owlolar appeared and took to the air. "Go help Skyler search. The two of you should be able to cover a wider area together."

"Make that three." Doc said as he unleashed his Flitanium. "You've got to find Flash. And be careful to not fly too low. You don't want to attract the Trevenant's attention."

"Fly," he nodded before taking to the air.

Skyler was about to do the same, but then Springer leapt onto his back. "Riolu!" he exclaimed while the others turned to him.

"You want to help look too?" Twilight asked, getting a nod from Springer. "Okay. Good luck you guys." With that, the four Pokémon took to the air. "If they can't find him, we should go in there and look for ourselves."

"There might still be someone willing to help us. We should keep looking." Doc added, both nodding back before running through the town again.


"Ow..." Flash moaned as he tried to put pressure on his foot. "I'm no expert, but I think it might be sprained."

"Chit..." Prongs sighed as he turned to where Riptide and Viper were. The two had been gathering leaves off the ground, bringing them over as he asked in his tongue, "What are those for?"

"Watch," Riptide replied before clutching his now glowing fist before slamming it into a leaf. Doing so caused the leaf to grow cold, freezing over before putting it over Flash's hurt foot. The chill went through the leaf, beginning to cool Flash's foot, flinching at the action. But once his foot got used to the cold, he sighed as he felt the pain go away.

"Thanks guys," their trainer sad as the three added more leaf bandages to him. "But we still have to get out of here...and I don't think I can walk."

That statement made them grimace, only for Prong to let out a neigh, "Leaf!" He leaned down beside Flash.

"Thanks Prongs, but I don't think you can carry me." He then saw a look of determination of Prong's face, making him sigh, "Alright." Riptide helped Flash up to his feet...and the trainer threw his leg around Prongs. The Chitaleaf stood tall, bracing himself to take Flash's weight, only to feel himself immediately having trouble.

"Chit..." he groaned as he tried to move, his legs shaking, "Leaf!" He cried out as he and Flash fell to the ground, Flash almost crushing his stomach under his weight.

"Told you," Flash replied as he got off him. "Now what?" The Pokémon turned to him, soon getting up as they looked around for something else. But as they did this, Riptide spun around and began to whisper to the other two Pokémon. "What are you scheming?

They didn't reply, instead running off. Flash called out to them, but they remained silent as they began to look around. It was here that Viper slithered up a tree to collect some vines while Prongs used Energy Ball to break several strong branches off the tree. Riptide caught them, returning to Flash while Viper dropped the vines. Being the only one with hands, Riptide used the vines to tie the branches together in order to make a pair of wooden As.

Flash raised an eyebrow at this, now seeing Riptide use Ice Punch to freeze the ropes in place. But then he turned them around, placing the points on the ground. "Wait...did you guys just make a pair of crutches out of wood and vines?" They nodded before Riptide held them out.

Their trainer took the crutches, carefully put his weight on them. And to his surprise, they didn't break. "Awesome!" He replied, starting to limp forward, but not too quickly. "Beartic Grills, eat your heart out." He turned to the others, "Let's go!" They nodded back as the four quickly made their way further through the woods.


Back at Seaward Shoal, Twilight and the others were still searching for anyone willing to help them. Alas, they continued to get the same response from everyone else. Nobody wanted to risk going into that forest, meaning the three were on their own. The only place they hadn't asked was near the docks, but they found only one boat there.

"Hello?" Twilight called out as they walked up to the admittedly large sail boat, "Anybody up there?"

They waited for a second, no reply until someone leaned over the side of the ship, "Ahoy hoy." It was a middle-aged bald man with a white beard, "What can I do for you landlubbers? Wanting to ride my boat to Manehatten Town?"

"You're the boat that goes to Manehatten?" Twilight asked.

"Town." He replied. "It's a small village close to the city, but yes. I'm Captain Algae. You want on the next voyage?"

"Well...yes," Doc responded, "But we have bigger concerns right now. We got separated from our friend in the forest."

"The Trevenant Forest?" He asked, getting a nod from the others. "I'm sorry to hear that. If your friend is lost in those woods, he's in serious trouble."

"We know," Twilight sighed, "Which is why we need help to find him."

"Nobody else is willing to help," Spike added, only for the three to turn and see a large group of people arrive on the docks, all heading for the ship.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Algae replied, "And I'd love to help, but I've got a job to do." He moved over and dropped a gangplank, allowing the other people passage, "I already promised these people I'd leave for Manehatten Town today."

Doc frowned at this, now asking, "When are you gonna be back?"

Algae hummed at this, "You've actually caught me at a bad time. After I arrive at Manehatten Town, I'm going to have my boat's yearly inspection to make sure it's up to code. So about two weeks if there's nothing wrong with it, but possibly a month if there is."

"A month?!" Twilight yelped, "When are you leaving then?!"

"My ship off time is in an hour, but if you want to wait to see if your friend shows up, I'll be willing to make it two hours. But no later than that I'm afraid."

Doc turned to them, "What do we do?"

Twilight frowned, holding Astro tighter in her arms. "If we leave, he might ship off before we get back. So even if we find Flash, he'll spend the next month moaning that he has to wait for his Gym Battle."

"So we wait here?" Spike asked.

"I don't see any other choice for us," Doc replied while Astro let out a moan. "We'll just have to hope Springer and the others locate Flash."


Meanwhile...

Springer and the Flying-types weren't having much luck. They were making another pass over the forest, but not seeing a thing. It didn't help that the canopy was so thick, impossible to see through, no sound coming out of either.

"Ri..." Springer closed his eyes, holding his paws out. But as he tried to sense Flash's aura, he found nothing. It was like a blanket of dark energy was covering the forest, the canopy making it impossible for him to break through it. "Dang it!" He cried in his own language.

"Don't worry," Skyler responded, "Flash will be alright. Riptide and the others are with him."

"Maybe..." Springer sighed, "But that doesn't make me feel any better not knowing what's happening." He stared back down at the forest, "Flash...guys...please be alright."


Flash and his Pokémon were still moving through the woods, slow going due to Flash's foot. The crutches were helping, but the forest's uneven terrain was still making it difficult. It was here that they found a five foot ledge that seemed to go on forever in both directions. "Leaf!" Prongs used Bouncer to jump onto it before turning back, Viper wrapping the end of his tail around Flash's wrist. He then slithered up the ledge before zipping around Prongs.

"Thanks guys," Flash said as Prongs backpedaled, pulling Flash up while using Viper like a rope. Riptide was behind him, pushing him up from behind.

"Tore," Riptide groaned, saying it was nothing. Flash soon got up the ledge, Riptide passing him the crutches before they continued on.

"How much further until we're at the ocean?" Flash asked Riptide as he hobbled along, Riptide bringing his hands a good distance apart, then shorted the distance by half. "So we're halfway there?" Riptide nodded back, "Alright, then we shouldn't waste any more time."

They all nodded, though the Pokémon's eyes were all darting around. "Carrr?" Viper asked if the others two tried to sense anything, only to reply with a shake of their heads.

"We need to keep a watchful eye out," Flash assured them. "That Trevenant could show up at any moment. Or another Pokémon looking to pick a fight." They then shined them a big grin, "But I'm not worried. If anything shows up, I know we'll be fine. After all, I've got you guys."

"Tore!" Riptide happily replied.

"It's true. You've all grown so much stronger since the day we all met." He responded, chuckling as a few memories went through his head, "We may have lost our fair share of battles, but we've grown a lot since then. And now, I'm confident there isn't a challenge on this whole planet that we can't overcome together. Right?"

"Tore/Leaf/Carrr!" They cheered, thinking the same as Flash as they knew that they never would have gotten as strong as they were without him.

But as they said this, Prongs suddenly yelped, "LEAF!" He quickly leapt at Flash, tackling him to the ground and breaking his crutches. Flash was about to yell at him, only to see a bunch of Magical Leaf attacks to fly over the two, making the teen grimace.

"Oh no." He whispered before they all turned to see a certain Trevenant scuttle out of the darkness, "Great. I had really hoped we'd seen the last of you."

"Trev..." it growled as Flash's Pokémon got into a battle stance.

"We can take it. It's three against one." Flash replied, only to hear the Trevenant begin to laugh. "It is three against one...right?" He got his answer when the dark woods around him were suddenly illuminated by a bunch of single red eyes, their owners scuttling out to reveal themselves. Soon enough, Flash and his Pokémon were surrounded by a horde of Trevenant.

"Oookay, this could be a problem." As he said that, the Trevenant swung their arms around, unleashing another wave of Magical Leaf. "Flamethrower and Water Gun!" Riptide and Viper leapt up and spun around, a stream of fire and water now striking the leaves as they incinerated or pushed back that attacks to their sources.

"Trev!" Several of the Trevenant charged, their branch-like fingers glowing blackish purple.

"Energy Ball!" Flash yelled, Prongs spinning around while firing several spheres of nature energy. The Energy Balls struck the Trevenant, causing them to stagger back. But as this happened, more trees now charging and thrusting their hands forward. Doing so caused their fingers to suddenly grow, slamming into Prongs and Riptide, making them cry out while Viper used his serpentine body to evade the attacks.

"Crunch!" Flash ordered, Viper turning to one of the extended branches and biting down.

"Trev!" The owner of that root cried, quickly swatting his branch as it flung Viper off.

"Flame Wheel!" Viper curled up and bit his tail, spinning as his body igniting before falling onto a Trevenant. At the same time, Riptide and Prongs picked themselves up, using the distraction to charge at the other trees.

"Tore!" Riptide roared as he used Ice Punch, striking a Trevenant in the chest while Prongs used Bounce to slam into another one. At the same time, Viper struck another Trevenant with his flaming body.

The three cried out as one felt itself being frozen solid, another being sent flying back while the third tree was seemingly being burnt alive. But as this happened, the lead Trevenant gave a cry of command and the other's bodies glowed. "TREV!" They screeched as large roots shot out of the ground.

"Leech Seed!" Flash yelled as Prongs fired several seeds from his antlers, the seeds hitting the roots and breaking open to unleash strong vines that wrapped around the roots, stopping their movement. "Now, Aqua Tail and Flamethrower!" Riptide and Viper struck the roots, cutting them down. But as they did this, the Trevenant fired a barrage of Magical Leaf that struck the three.

"Tore/Leaf/Carrr!" They cried as they were knocked flying back, rolling on the ground. The trio quickly tried to jump back up, trying to recover as several more Trevenant charged forward. They were all trying to use Shadow Claw or Branch Poke, but Riptide and Prongs were quick to intercept them, firing Water Guns and Energy Balls before using Aqua Tail or Bounce to knock back the closer ones. They had to remember to not use Rock Smash and Body Slam, the attacks unable to do anything. Meanwhile, Viper stayed back, unleashing Flamethrower after Flamethrower, deflecting the Magical Leaf attacks while also cutting through any of the Terror Root attacks.

Flash watched the clash, frowning as he saw his Pokémon being forced on the defensive. If he could run, they could just create an opening and escape. But since that wasn't an option, the three could only fight and protect him until the Trevenant hopefully gave up.

It was then that he noticed the lead Trevenant suddenly melting into the ground, the teen looking down and noticing a purple portal under him. "Where's it going?" He asked as his Pokémon continued to do battle, trying to protect Flash while several Trevenant grouped up and fired another Magical Leaf barrage.

"Tore/Leaf/Carrr!" The three leapt side by side, using Water Gun, Energy Ball and Flamethrower to stop the attack. But as they did this, a purple portal appeared behind them.

"Oh no...GUYS!" Flash yelled as the Pokémon turned to him, but it was too late. The Trevenant shot out of the portal and swung its arms around.

"TREV!" It screeched as its arms bashed against the three.

"TORE/LEAF/CARRR!" They screamed as they were thrown back, their bodies smacking the dirt as the Trevenant laughed while walking back to its horde.

"GUYS! You've gotta get up!" The three tried to scramble up, but that last attack had done some critical damage. They tried again, only for all three to slump over. "No..." he whispered before hearing the Trevenant scream out as their bodies glowed.

"TREVENANT!" The ground began to shake before more giant roots broke out of the ground.

"NO!" Flash yelled as the roots surrounded them, Riptide, Prongs and Viper groaning as they picked their heads up. The roots then slammed down, all intending to crush them. "Augh!" Flash screamed as he flinched, closing his eyes. But as he did this...he felt nothing. "Huh?" He slowly opened his eyes, only to let out a gasp.

His Pokémon had all picked themselves up, all now standing over him as the roots slammed down into their backs, heads and crossed arms in Riptide's case. The three were straining to keep the roots back, pain surging as the roots kept lashing down on them.

"Guys..." Flash whimpered, the sight of his Pokémon in pain making him freeze in place. His mind shrunk, memories of the three now racing through his head. Catching them, the challenges they had gone through, the trials and adventures...his whole life with them flashed before his eyes. He could feel his brain telling him it was over. He had failed yet again.

But this thought came to his mind, he clenched his teeth, growling at the negativity in his mind. And with a mighty roar, he yelled, "You can do it!" The three opened their eyes, seeing tears now going down Flash's face as he showed an expression of pure determination. "I believe it you! There's no way these overgrown weeds can beat you! Show them why you're the best of the best!"

The trio's eyes went wide at this, the group's eyes narrowing as they all roared, "Tore/Leaf/Carrr!"

And as they let out this unison cry, the three began to glow, Flash's eyes going wide as Riptide, Prongs, and Viper's bodies started growing and changing. "No way."

Outside the root cocoon, the Trevenant saw the light, only to notice more pressure pushing on the roots. But before they could fight back, the light suddenly exploded with a surge of force, knocking the roots away. And as the trees backpedaled from the sudden change, they now saw three new Pokémon standing before them. Flash could only stare in wonder at the sight before him, the teen now seeing his Pokémon had all evolved at the same time.

Prongs now stood at about six and a half feet. His body was mostly dark green, with brown running from the end of his nose to his lower mouth and to the front of his neck and underbelly. It was also at the end at his flank, and had a pair of brown spots on his back, one on either side, along with a large brown spot on his rear. A large patch of grass could be seen sprouting out of his chest, growing up and around his neck and around the shoulders while also down his front legs. From his rear was a whole bushel of leaves, and a pair of brown antlers growing out of his head, complete with leaves as well.

Viper was now more cobra-like, the total length of his body being about ten feet from head to tail. The top half of his body was crimson red, with his lower jaw being dark yellow. There was also a dark yellow line running down the front of his body, and had several black circles running in a line from the back of his head to the end of his tail. Finally, he had a large yellow tube shaped appendage on the very end of his tail.

Riptide was now a taller humanoid-lizard whose head to toe height was about six feet. He had light blue skin with a dark blue belly and light blue long arms, but his hands and three fingers were dark blue. His tail was as long as his was tall, being entirely dark blue and connected to the dark blue patch on his stomach. He had a pair of strong light blue legs with dark blue feet, and also had three white fin like appendages on his head, two coming from either side of his mouth while the third was a foot and a half long dorsal fin that ran from the tip of his nose to the back of his head. The lizard also wore a blue eye visor that went from one eye, over his head to just above his nose, then to the other eye. It looked like it was made of water, giving it a bubbly-like appearance. Each of the fins had a bright red tip, and with the fin on his head, his height was increased to about seven and a half feet.

"Guys?" Flash asked, the three turning to him with giant smiles.

"Rep," Riptide gave him a thumbs up.

"Stag," Prongs held his head up in pride.

"Vi," Viper smirked, his smile turning to a sly grin.

Flash smiled back as he pulled out his Pokedex.

Name: Stagrowth
Category: Forest Antler Pokémon
Type: Grass
Info: The evolved form of Chitaleaf. Stagrowth's horns are constantly growing. To prevent them from growing too heavy, this Pokémon carves them on trees. It's said that the horn debris takes root and becomes new trees.

Name: Vipeacon
Category: Viper Pokémon
Type: Fire/Poison
Info: The evolved form of Anahakka. When hunting, this Pokémon wraps itself around its enemies and then lights its entire body on fire. Its sharp fangs can either inject poison or fire depending on its battle needs.

Name: Reptidal
Category: Tidal Wave Pokémon
Type: Water
Info: The evolved form of Spranitor. When storms appear, this Pokémon tests its strength by swimming straight through it. Legends speak of how many Reptidal gather to test their strength, the winner gaining the title Ocean Champion.

"Awesome," Flash whispered. "Too awesome."

But as he said this, roars from the Trevenant echoed around them. Several pointed their arms at the group before unleashing a barrage of Magical Leaf attacks. And as they tried to hit the team, Viper fired a Flamethrower while twisting his body around, creating a flaming circle that burned the Magical Leaf to a crisp.

As this happened, one of the trees hadn't used Magical Leaf, instead charging while using Shadow Claw, but Prongs charged up to meet the attacker. "Stag!" His horns started to glow light green, growing taller and larger, surprising Trevenant and Flash. Before either of them knew it, Prongs thrust the horns into the tree. "GROWTH!" He roared as Trevenant was sent flying back as sparkling green orbs of energy flew out its body and into Prongs.

"Wow," Flash gasped, "Was that...Horn Leech?"

"Trev!" Another yelled as it charged, only for Viper to slither up to him. It tried to use Branch Poke, but Viper easily side-stepped before leaping at the tree. Trevenant then found the Vipeacon wrapping his body around it, Viper biting onto the end of his tail before breathing down it. Doing so caused his entire body to explode, wrapping the two in flames. "TREVENANT!" It screamed as Viper leapt off the burning elder tree.

"Pyro Coil?" Flash asked before hearing the other Trevenant cry out.

They weren't happy about this, the group now encircling the four before using Terror Root again. Flash gasped at this, but suddenly Riptide leapt in front of him and brought his closed fists together. "Rep..." he began to pull them apart, "Tidal!" As he did this, a long blade of water formed between the fists, soon allowing the lizard to hold a long sharp katana of water.

"Aqua Break?" Flash whispered as Riptide began to swing the blade around, slicing the approaching roots to ribbons. "Wow..."

The Trevenant stared at the three starters, the trio now standing around their trainer in a triangular back to back position. "TREVENANT!" They all screamed, now unleashing rapid Magical Leaf, Shadow Claw and Terror Root attacks. But these attacks were quickly deflected with bouts of Flamethrower and Aqua Break, Prongs then firing several Energy Balls to knock the Trevenant down.

"Alright!" Flash cheered as he pushed himself back to his feet, "You guys are doing awesome!" It was then that a Trevenant phased out of the ground behind him, having used Phantom Force before grabbing him and lifting him up. "Hey!" The starters turned to their trainer, all gasping as they saw the tree grab him.

"Rep!" Riptide pulled his fist back, charging an Ice Punch, only for Trevenant to hold out Flash right in front of the lizard. He then threw the punch, Flash flinching at the incoming blow...but felt nothing but a cold breeze. He opened his eyes to see Riptide had stopped inches away from his face. "Tidal," Riptide smiled, only to reach out and grab the Trevenant's arms, "Reptidal!" He called out to Viper, who slithered around to the elder tree's back.

"Vipe..." Viper took a deep breath, "CON!" He unleashed a Flamethrower right into Trevenant's back, making it cry out and release Flash. Riptide let go of the tree's arms, quickly grabbing his trainer before throwing him straight up.

"Stag!" Prongs fired another Energy Ball, knocking down a Trevenant before looking up and seeing the falling Flash, "Stagrowth!" He quickly used Bounce, flying up and catching Flash with his back before landing onto a Trevenant, smacking it back before getting back to the ground.

"Trev!" The tree screamed as it was knocked back, Prongs now feeling Flash hold onto his antlers.

"Guys!" Flash yelled, "Let's just get out of here!" Riptide and Viper nodded before jumping away, dodging another Trevenant attack. Riptide then used Aqua Break to slash down a few more trees, smacking a barrage of roots before Viper unleashed a volley of flames around them.

"Vipeacon!" He roared, cutting a trench in the ground in front of them, causing it to explode. The Trevenant quickly found themselves trapped in a wall of flames, the trees roaring as they fired roots and leaves at the fire, but they had no effect. And as this happened, the four disappeared into the forest.


Back at the docks, Twilight and the others were still waiting. At the same time, the captain of the boat walked up to them, "Alright kids, I'm running behind now. I have to leave, so are you getting on or not?"

"Just a few more minutes..." Spike pleaded, "Please..." Twilight and Doc also wanted to do the same, but they knew it wasn't fair on the captain.

"Tore/Owl/Fly!" They turned to see the Flying-types flying down, all landing on the dock. Springer leapt off Skyler's back and ran up to them, a frown on his lips telling them the outcome of their search.

"Did you find anything?" Doc asked, clinging to one last shot of hope, only to get a shake of the head. He let out a sigh before turning around, telling the captain to go ahead. At the same time, both Springer and Astro looked down at the ground, only for Springer to suddenly gasp.

"Ri! Riolu!" He turned around, catching the others' attention as they followed him with their eyes. They now saw mist surround the dock, three figures making their way through the fog. The sight felt imposing, Twilight, Doc, Spike and their Pokémon all getting into a battle ready pose while the captain and those on board stared over the edge.

But then, the figures got closer, soon revealing the final evolved forms of the Equestrian Starters. And sitting on the back of one was their friends, "FLASH!" They exclaimed as Flash climbed off the Stagrowth, making sure not to put any weight on his ankle.

"Are you alright?" Twilight asked, looking him over.

"I've been better," Flash moaned out, "But I'll be alright."

As he said that, the others turned to the Pokémon, Doc whispering, "Flash, are these-"

"Yup," Flash nodded. "Riptide, Prongs and Viper all fully evolved."

"No way! I can't believe they've all evolved!" Spike yelled before looking away, "And I missed it..."

"Sorry bud," Flash laughed before suddenly getting tackled by his two smallest Pokémon. "Hey guys!" He laughed while Astro and Springer hugged him, the teen patting their heads, "Sorry if I worried you guys. But I'm okay...more or less."

"What happened?" Twilight asked while examining his three evolved Pokémon, Doc helping Flash up and letting him lean against him to take the weight off his foot.

But before Flash could say anything, the captain called out, "Hey, you getting on or not!?" They all gasped and helped load Flash onto the boat, the boat then pulling out of the harbor while they sat Flash down at the front. Doc began to examine his foot, applying some bandages as Flash explained everything that happened.

"And now we're back here," Flash finished as his Pokémon nodded.

"Amazing..." Twilight gasped, "I can't believe all three of them evolved at the same time. Though I guess it's not surprising. With how much you've been training them lately, I'd be more surprised if they hadn't evolved at this point."

Doc nodded at this, "And now that they're evolved, they'll be stronger, faster and be able to stand up to more punishment."

"Yeah..." Flash turned back to the three starters as they smiled back at him. "Thanks guys. I really owe you one." They nodded back, Riptide even giving him a thumbs up. Flash then stood up, being sure to keep his weight off his foot. "Now that you're evolved, nothing's gonna stop us from beating the last two gyms and winning the Equestria League!" He turned to the front of the boat, the open ocean that the sun was beginning to grow closer too. "You guys ready to go all out?" He asked while throwing his fist into the air.

"RI/TORE/TIDAL/STAG/VI/STAR!" They yelled out, Springer, Skyler and Riptide doing the same as Flash while Prongs, Viper and Astro opened their mouths as wide as possible.

A seriously dangerous run in with a horde of angry Trevenant has allowed Flash's Pokémon to evolve and grow stronger. Now, one can only wonder how this will affect the rest of his adventure as he aims for the top. As the journey continues.

Author's Note:

YEAH! That was awesome. Who can guess where I got the idea for the three evolving together like that? A cookie for whoever figures it out.

But as much as I love how this chapter turned out, there's one thing I hate. That's Riptide's new move. Liquidation is an awesome looking move with a cool effect, but it's name is terrible. So I'm asking, who's okay with me changing it to its Japanese name of Aqua Break?

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