The Dark of Midnight

by TaiKetchem

Ash meets Twilight

Author's Note:

Alright, let’s try to make this chapter a little shorter… just a little bit. Happy Late New Year everyone.

And with that out of the way, I wanna point out how I messed up. I added the story to a group that only accepts crossovers with Acceleracers and had to have it removed, so there’s some embarrassment on my part.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Gary was lying in his bed, tossing a Pokeball into the air before catching it and repeating again. He sighed before stopping and looking at his window, he saw his Pokemon: Umbreon staring outside at the starry night. He got up, walked over to the Pokemon, and rested his elbow on the windowsill, staring out with him.

(Flashback, earlier that day)

“And, done.” A man with a bandana named Tracy says as he puts his pencil down. “What do you think?” He says while showing off a drawing.

“That looks awesome.” Ash says.

“Pika!” Pikachu also says.

“I’ve had some time to make a few others. I gotta say, you’ve caught a lot of Pokemon over the years. I’m surprised you haven’t overloaded this place with your own.” Tracy continues to explain.

“Yeah, save some Pokemon for the rest of us.” Gary laughed as he and his Alakazam placed down a few bowls full of kibble. “Alright, dinner’s ready!” He then called out as many Pokemon came out and began eating.

“No can do. Can’t end a habit.” Ash laughed back.

“He’s not wrong about that.” Tracy states.

“What can I say? I’m next in line to becoming a Pokemon Master, aren’t I?”

“Right, right.” Gary chuckles. “Don’t you have another journey to go on or something?”

“Hey, I just got back from one. I wanna relax a bit before I do another.”

“Relax? That didn’t seem to stop you when you wanted to go to Kalos.”

“Uh…” Ash then scratched his face before laughing nervously. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, ya did.”

“Well, this time, It’s different. After what I just went through in Kalos, I think the next region I travel to can wait.” The boy simply laughed before suddenly gripping his head and groaning in pain.

“Woah, woah! Ash, are you okay?” Tracy says as he, Gary, and Pikachu came to his aid.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Ngh.” Ash says as he straightened himself. “Just a small headache is all.”

“My butt that was a small headache! It’s been happening all day.” Gary spoke out.

“Pika, pika!” Pikachu also spoke up.

“I really think you should see a doctor or something. This can’t be a good sign.”

“It’s nothing I haven’t-” Ash began to say before getting cut off.

“Ash, maybe Gary is right. It’s pretty concerning.” Tracy tells him.

Ash hummed a bit in thought. “Alright, I’ll go get it checked out if it keeps happening.”

“Thank you.”

Despite his protest, Gary continued to look on with concern.

(Flashback over)

“Still so stubborn.” Gary says before sighing. “I wish he would just settle down. Someone like him needs a break for once.”

“Umbreon.” Umbreon spoke up.

“Hopefully he doesn’t do anything brass.” The boy says while scratching his Pokemon’s head. “At the very least, hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.” He heard Umbreon yawn before seeing him hop off the windowsill and over to his Pokeball. “Yeah, maybe I should save it for the morning.” He says as he goes and picks it up. “Rest well, bud.”

And so, he returned the Pokemon to the ball. With a yawn of his own, he placed the ball on the desk before getting back in his bed. With one more look outside, he turned and laid his head on the pillow before letting sleep overtake him.

Chapter 4: Ash meets Twilight

Gary was awoken by a loud, boom. Frightened, he shot up from his pillow before hearing a crackling outside and looked out his window, seeing a fading flash. He then looked a little annoyed.

“Great. A thunderstorm. What are the odds?” He says sarcastically to himself as he was about to lie down.

Then he heard screaming as he looked back at the window, before hearing more crackling and getting out of his bed and going over to the sill. He looked out and his eyes widened at the sight.

“Or… not.”

After getting changed, Gary ran out of his house, and the sight that beholds him brought the fear back to him. All around town, there were some kind of vortexes bursting open in the sky, some revealing some kind of land with some Ponyta-looking creatures, some revealing a city he didn’t recognize. Many of the townsfolk shared his reaction, some more fearful upon seeing such.

Another crackling was heard, and more vortexes burst open.

“Everyone!” He heard as he turned and found his grandpa was the one calling out. “Whatever is happening, I ask that you please return to your homes-”

He stops listening to his grandfather trying to direct the people and calm them down in spite of the situation at hand. A loud caused him to jump forward and turn around, looking up and seeing one of the vortexes open just next to his house. Now he didn’t want to go back inside.

“Ash!” He turned his head and spotted Delia running around. “Ash! Where are you?!” She called out as he ran over to her. “Ash! Ash!”

“Mrs. Ketchum, what are you doing?!” He asked, concerned.

“My son! I can’t find him anywhere!” She yelled.

“Wha…?” He says before looking around, noting that his former rival was nowhere in sight. “The hell? Where is he? He’d be the first one on this case.”

“Gary, Mrs. Ketchum, please, get back indoors-” Professor Oak starts to tell them.

“Professor, my son is missing.” Delia cut him off.

“What?!” He says in disbelief.

“One hell of a time to run off.” Gary says before another crackling made them jump.

“Okay, okay, wherever he is, I’m sure he’s fine. This shouldn’t be anything new to him.” The professor says.

“How do you know?!” Delia shouted, tears forming in her eyes.

“Well, I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to be reckless at this time.” Gary says again. “I mean, he’s gotta at least be cautious, right?”

Then suddenly, the crackling stopped. They looked puzzled before looking up, then the vortexes suddenly started closing up. As they did, sighs of relief filled the town. Now it was like everything was back to a normal starry night.

“Okay, that’s anti-climatic.” Gary says, directed at no one.

Delia then looked around before running off as the boy and his grandpa followed her to her house. As she went inside, they could hear her calling for her son. The brunette sighed, about to go inside after her before she comes out, with a look of fear and worry.

“Wha-What? What’s-” He was about to ask before she handed him a letter she found. He took it, and read it before his eyes widened. “Oh, you cannot be serious.”

(Meanwhile)

Sunset looked freaked out of her mind. She stared into the starry night sky for about a minute, contemplating what she had just witnessed before her. She didn’t want to believe it, wanted to believe that what she saw wasn’t real and maybe this was some kind of dream.

“Dream… dream…” Sunset says to herself before she turned and started walking away. “No, that’s the excuse everyone uses. Maybe… maybe that wasn’t Twilight. Maybe that was just someone else.” She says as she took out her phone. “And she’s still at home right now.” She then dialed her friend’s number.

She held it up to her ear, hoping she’d answer. But then she heard a ringing and turned around before running to the source. She crouched and found a phone in the street. Twilight’s phone, just next to her ponytail accessory.

“No…” She says as her call went to voicemail. “No, no…” She fell to her knees. “Why?”

(The next day)

The girls gathered around at Twilight’s front yard and- “SHE WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash had screamed out. “Are you kidding me right now?!” She then says before grunting in frustration before stomping around in a circle.

“I know.” Sunset says with her hands covering her face.

“Ain’t she in Equestria or somethin’? Can’t we just, ya know, go through the portal and get her?” Applejack asked.

“If it were that simple, I could’ve just done it easily without anyone knowing. But… I don’t think she’s in Equestria.” The redhead explained. “The portals that Midnight created, I saw what was on the other side. It’d be one thing if it was a place in Equestria where I haven’t been, but the creatures I saw… those weren’t creatures from Equestria.”

“Can we go for a month-no a year, A YEAR, without dealing with some magical crisis?!” Rainbow yelled in annoyance. “We had to deal with Sirens not that long ago, a week ago we had to deal with Midnight Sparkle, and now not even a week of peace before she just pops up, and Twilight is stuck in some other world we have no access to!”

“Spike isn’t here!” Fluttershy cried out as she ran out of their friend’s house. “I looked everywhere, in every room, everywhere he could be hiding, but I can’t find him!” She says worriedly.

“Twilight and Spike.” Rainbow then says holding up a finger. “Twilight and Spike are stuck in a world we can’t get to.”

Sunset sighed. “At least she isn’t alone.”

“Still stuck in a world we can’t get to-”

“Rainbow, ya really ain’t helpin’ right now.” Applejack says.

“Oh, they must be scared out of their minds right now.” Rarity says with just as much worry.

“But what if they’re not in danger? What if it’s a cotton candy land full of happy gingerbread men and-” Pinkie was starting to go off.

“Okay, it definitely ain’t that.” Applejack interrupted her imagination. “Then again, she might be right about not being in danger or anythin’. Maybe she found someone there to help her.”

“Yeah, as much as it sounds awesome having a week off of school, I’d rather have it any other week.” Rainbow says.

“Girls!” They heard as they turned and saw a familiar boy running up to them.

“Flash? What are you doing here?” Sunset asked as he stopped in front of them.

“Well uh, I don’t know if I can do anything to help with this magic stuff but…” Flash then pulls out his phone before showing the screen. “You might wanna see this.” He then plays a video.

“Oh man, oh this is so crazy!” The guy recording the video yells before showing the vortexes in the sky. “I don’t know what’s going on. These… things started popping out of nowhere, I don’t-I think this may be the end of the world or some kind of apocalypse or something.” He continues to say while showing more of the torn-up sky.

“Ugh, so much for keeping on the down-low.” Sunset groaned while covering her face.

“There’s definitely gonna be questions now.” Fluttershy says.

“It’s not just that. There’re news articles about this happening in other cities other than Canterlot.” Flash continues as he shows them the sites.

“Oh, you cannot be serious.” Rainbow groaned.

“Wait…” Flash says before looking around. “Where’s Twilight?” He says worriedly.

“Uh…” Sunset started to say.

“Should we tell him that last night Twilight turned into Midnight Sparkle and started creating all these portals around the city which freaked a ton of people out, and then left the world into another and is now stuck in that world that we don’t have any way of getting to?” Pinkie says in one breath again as everyone stared at her, mouths agape. “What?” She says, clueless as Rainbow facepalmed.

“So, where is she now?” Flash asked.

“I don’t know.” Sunset says before looking up. “But wherever she is… I hope she’s okay.”

(Meanwhile)

Twilight groaned as she shifted in her sleep. Sunrays in her face as she shielded her eyes as best as she could. Though, as irritated as she was from the light, she felt something off. Her bed felt way more prickly than she remembered and her pillow felt much furrier than she recalled, not to mention, she felt the weight of several small objects atop of her.

As she opened her eyes, her vision was blurry, though she could make out at least that there was something lying not that far from her face. Her other arm seemed to be held down by more of… whatever was on her. She attempted to pick one up but as soon as she touched one… it moved.

It was then that her eyes widened and she screamed as she sat up and all the things a top of her jumped off.

“WHAT?! What is-Wha-!?” She says while looking around before frantically searching the ground and coming across something furry. “Spike?! Spike?!” She says as she picked up what she thought was her pet. “Spike what is going on?!” She says while holding it up to her face.

“Eevee?” She then heard which puzzled her.

“It’s a long story.” She then heard his voice behind her as she put down whatever she was holding and turned to him.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here.” She reached and felt him give her her glasses which she put on. “I was so worried, I thought-” She then was about to reach out to embrace him, but stopped when seeing his new form. “Uh… S-Spike?” She asked, eyes wide.

“Like the new look?” Spike asked while raising one foreleg.

“W-w-w…” She stuttered before seeing that he was wearing the same collar she got him. “W-what happened to you?... What are you?”

“Like, I said, long story.” He says again.

Seeing her friend the way he was, Twilight then took a look around her. She saw several small creatures that she could only assume to be the ones on top of her. A pair of gray doves with lighter feathers in the shape of a heart on their stomachs, some little blue lion cubs with black forelegs and what looked like a star at the end of their tails and what looked like some purple rats with curled up tails.

She looked behind her and saw what looked like a large hound with navy blue fur, brown fur on its head and paws, and what looked like beige fur on its forehead and seemed to be making a large mustache. It lifted its head and turned to face her as she leaned away before feeling something furry rub against her wrist and she turned around, seeing what looked like a small brown fox with a beige main rubbing against her.

“Eevee.” It cooed.

“Yeah, the locals are actually pretty friendly once you get to know them.” Spike says before she looked at him.

“W-why are you acting so calm right now?” Twilight asked him.

“I mean, I did have some to adjust to this new look… well, not exactly the new look, but I did get to know some of these guys.”

“... Right, um…” She says before looking at the creatures again. “What are these things?”

“Apparently they’re called, ‘Pokemon’ from what I was told. Which is what I am too.”

“Poke… uh… hi, little… Pokemon.” She says while looking a bit uneasy.

The Pokemon then gave Twilight their best smile which relieved her to see. Then she finally took notice of her surroundings. As she began to look around, she not only realized that she had found herself sitting in grass but that she was in a small field surrounded by trees around her. She rubbed her eyes under her glasses, hoping she was imagining things, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Where… where are we?” She asked.

Before she could say anymore, she heard a loud huff before they looked to the source and was frightened to discover an orange dragon lying not that far from her, asleep. He huffed some steam out of his nostrils before shifting a bit into a more comfortable position.

“Ya see, that’s what I expected to become when coming here.” Spike says while pointing at the dragon Pokemon. “This is disappointing.”

“Y-you’re not afraid of that thing?” Twilight whisper yelled.

“I mean, I was before, but like I said, he’s actually pretty friendly once you get to know him.”

“Uh-huh…” She says before looking at the tail and seeing the flame. “Isn’t that… concerning.”

“Actually, that’s kinda normal for him. From what I heard anyway.”

She scratched her head before rubbing her templates. Then she remembered all that happened the night before. She felt around each part of her body that she remembered feeling pain, checking for any kind of bruising, but she couldn’t find any result.

Then she heard some groaning before turning back to the dragon and seeing something lying on top of his stomach. She thought maybe it was another Pokemon, but it appeared to be another person. Whoever was on top of the dragon then shifted and turned his head to face her, still asleep.

When she saw his face it was then that she recognized what he was. It was the boy that freed her from… whatever place she was in. She pulled herself to her feet nearly stumbling a bit before she started to walk up to him.

“Scuse me, sorry.” She says while trying to make her way through the small crowd of Pokemon.

They got out of her way as she finally got to him as she heard another grunt before the boy’s eyes opened. His vision cleared up quickly as they made eye contact with each other. They stared for a bit before his memories seemed to kick in.

“Hey, it’s you.” He says, recognizing her instantly.

“Uh… y-yeah. I…” She stammered out.

He then started to push himself up before he heard a yawn next to him and turned to his side. She saw what seemed to be some kind of yellow rabbit with red cheeks and a tail in the shape of a thunderbolt stirring awake. As he and the boy saw each other they both looked happy.

“Pikachu!” The boy says happily as he pulled the Pokemon into a hug.

“Chaaaa!” The Pokemon says while returning it.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see you buddy.”

Then there was a bit of a growl before they turned their attention and found the dragon rising his head. Twilight stood back, a bit afraid, but not the boy.

“Charizard.” He says before the dragon looked happy and reached its arm around to hug the boy while nuzzling its head against his. “Aha, I’m happy to see you too.” He laughed.

Seeing how he acted around them, she started to understand that maybe she didn’t need to worry too much. She then heard a buzzing, turned and saw Spike fly up next to her, he went and nuzzled against her as she giggled a bit before hugging him. When done, the boy remembered about her, then slid off of the dragon as the one called Pikachu got hopped onto the ground before he got in front of her.

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked, getting her attention.

“Yeah, I think so.” Twilight answered.

“Good, I was hoping I didn’t mess up.” He sighed.

Spike then made his way up on the girl’s shoulder before speaking up. “Yeah, he really did a lot to help out.”

“Really?” She says before the boy’s eyes bugged out.

“Hold on, you can talk?” He says, shocked.

“Yeah, not the first time I’ve heard that.” Spike says while raising a hand… paw?... “Stick around with me long enough and you’ll get used to it.”

“Well, not the first time I’ve seen a talking Pokemon before.” The boy says before Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder while Charizard placed a hat on his head. “Thank you.” He says as the dragon growled with glee.

As he adjusted his hat, Twilight recalled the looks he gave while rescuing her before running up to him and grabbing his hands. “I just wanna say thank you! I-I didn’t know if I could’ve gotten out of… whatever that was. I was so scared I didn’t think I was gonna get out of that!”

“H-hey, it was nothing. You needed help and I just did that.” He tells her.

“You do not know how happy I am to finally get out of that nightmare.” She says while letting go of his hands.

“You should be thanking the big guy here. You two would’ve been pancakes if it weren’t for him.” Spike says, referring to Charizard who growled while blushing a bit.

“Haha, yeah, thank you, buddy.” The boy then scratched the dragon on the chin.

Twilight started to smile at the sight.

The boy then turned back to her. “Oh, right. My name is Ash Ash Ketchum, and these are my buddies, Pikachu and Charizard.” He tells her as said Pokemon happily waved. “What about you? What’s your name?”

“Huh?” Twilight says before realizing. “O-oh, right. Sorry. Uh…” She says before adjusting her glasses. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is my do-” She was saying before realizing. “P-Pokemon, Spike. Nice to meet you.” She corrects herself before looking around. “So, uh… do you… know where we are?” She asked.

“I’m not sure.” Ash says as he took a step away. “I don’t remember seeing this place before.” As he said that, he then recalls something. “Yeah, now that I think about it, I don’t really get why I’m here. Me and Pokemon followed a light that led us to this island without an explanation. I don’t know anything about this place.”

“I could provide you with some details.” They heard as they turned and saw a man in blue walk into view with a tall anthropomorphic jackal by his side.

“Riley?” Ash says, recognizing him.

“It’s good to see you’re back to normal, Ash. Maybe now we can have a proper reunion.” The man says with a smile as the jackal next to him nodded his head.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.” The boy says, happy as well.

“Oh yeah, he also helped with the whole, you know.” Spike then mentions.

“Really?” Twilight says, astonished before going up to him and bowing. “Thank you for saving me from that, I am… uh… what’s the word?” She mumbles to herself.

“There’s no need to bow. A simple thank you is enough.” The man says while holding his hand up.

“Okay, then… thank you.” Twilight stood up straight again.

“You're welcome.” Riley says before clearing. “I’m sure you have many questions-”

“Yeah, no kidding I have questions.” She interrupted him. “Where am I? What happened to me? What is with this place? And what is a Pokemon?!” She practically yelled the last question.

“Okay, okay, calm down. I can answer them, one at a time.” Riley explained with his hands up.

“I just wanna know! I’m so lost on what is going on here.” She says as one of Ash’s eyebrows rose.

“Wait, wait, wait, did you ask what Pokemon are?” The boy asked her, confused.

“Because I don’t know what they are!” She says while turning to him.

“You…” He shook his head for a moment, dumbfounded. “Y-you don’t know what Pokemon are?”

Twilight stared at him, thinking for a moment. “No, I don’t.”

“But… isn’t Spike your…” Ash trailed off.

“Well, maybe we should start with where we are.” Riley states. “This here island is unmarked and unnamed. As far as we know, this island has been inhabited by Pokemon for the longest time and only few humans find this place which you can see.” He then refers to the Pokemon.

“Okay, so that explains where I am… but what about the other three questions?” Twilight asked, still a little freaked out.

“Well, for what Pokemon are, I can tell you what they are.” The man says before looking towards Ash. “Would you like to help a bit with explaining.”

“Me?” The boy says, getting a nod in return before smiling. “Alright!” He says while adjusting his hat and going up to Twilight.

“Get ready. This explanation is probably gonna go for a long time.” Spike whispered to his partner as her mouth fell agape.

“Okay, now where do I begin.” Ash started. “For the most part, Pokemon don’t really need much of an explanation. There are many different types out there. Flying through the skies, swimming through the waters and running through the fields. Some live in-”

“I-I’m sorry, could you… give me like… the short version?” Twilight interrupted while tapping her fingertips.

“Um… well, that’s kinda the basis for the most part. I’ll try to shorten it.” The boy put his hand to his chin, thinking for a moment. “Well, there’s only more is needed to be explained. For the most part, Pokemon are creatures that can do so much amazing things.”

“Like… magic?”

“I guess you could say that, but I wouldn’t put it that way.” The boy explained as the girl rose an eyebrow. “We have Pokemon battles to test their abilities and even compete in tournaments.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, you make these things fight each other?” She asked, astonished.

“Wha-No! We don’t make them fight each other. It’s natural to them. They like battling. Ya know it’s kinda like a sport and all.” The boy quickly cleared up. “The point is, while there is the fun of Pokemon battles, Pokemon are also treated as family. What really makes them more powerful than anything is the love they get from their trainers.”

“So, like the power of friendship then?”

“Exactly.” He finishes.

“T-then this has to be Equstria right? I-I mean, mythical super powered animals, the power of friendship, this has to be it, right?” Twilight asked having a look of hope.

Hearing that, the boy and the Pokemon all looked dumbfounded, confused even. She looked back and forth between the only two humans before her face started to drop.

“Um… actually not the case.” Spike states.

“B-but, but, but, but, but…” She stuttered before stepping back.

“I’m afraid this place isn’t what you call Equestria.” Riley spoke up. “Much less, this world.”

“Huh?” Ash asked, confused.

“What, what are you talking about?” Twilight asks, getting worried.

“Oh boy.” Spike says before he starts flying in front of her. “Okay, whatever you do, don’t. Freak. Out.”

“Why? Why? Why are you telling me not to freak out?” She says only getting even more worried.

“Listen. We might be in… a different world.” He tells her.

Her eyes widened after he said that.

“Wait, what?” Ash asked, shocked.

“Yeah, I kinda had a talk with your pals about this last night.” The little Pokemon continued to explain.

“Wha-” Ash then looked at Pikachu before looking at Charizard, both of which scratched their heads a bit. “Wait a second.”

(Flashback)

Ash struggled to get himself to his feet, still holding his stomach looking up at the horror as more tears in reality began to open around the island. While he had seen so much destruction in his past, he never thought he’d wake up to find something like this out of nowhere.

“Why is this-?” He started to ask himself as he tried to walk, only to trip and almost fall into the ground.

(Flashback Over)

He gasped as he remembered. “What a sec, you…” He pauses before recalling what he saw through the portals. “Last night, I… I saw that other world.”

“Finally starting to catch on.” Spike says.

“Through those portals right?” Riley asked as the boy nodded. “Figured as much.” He says before approaching the girl. “Listen I know this may sound unbelievable, but I believe something mustive happened to you that brought you here in the first place.”

“What is it then?!” Twilight practically yelled.

“Uh, Twilight…” Spike says, getting her attention. “Ya remember what I said about not freaking out?”

“Spike, just tell me already!”

“Okay!” He says, hands up. “You see uh… the reason you’re here… it’s because of Midnight Sparkle.” The mention of the name made Twilight her gasp.

Twilight was still desperately trying to break the chains.

“She sorta took over and did the whole, you know-”

Dark energy soon began to slither around her and envelop her body.

“Opened a few portals here and there-”

“Help!”

“And well, went through one of them, which led us here.”

“Please, you have to help-MMPH!”

Suddenly, Twilight’s legs felt weak and she fell to her knees which made the others worried at the sight.

“Twilight!” Spike flew to her side.

“Hey!” Ash says as he ran over to her.

“No… no… no…” She starts muttering to herself as darkness was starting to emit from her. “It can’t… she’s… she’s not real, no… she’s…”

“Twilight, snap out of it!” The boy says while crouching down to her and grabbing her arms.

“She can’t-she can’t do anything! There’s no way!” Her voice was suddenly starting to rise.

“Calm down!”

Suddenly, Ash’s hands started to glow blue which surprised him at first, until he noticed that the darkness was starting to slowly fade and Twilight started to calm down. Once it was gone, the glow from his hands faded. She then looked up and made eye contact with him and started to feel more relaxed.

“Just as I expected.” Riley says as they turned to him, seeing his now stoic face. “I think it’s safe to say that you two are in the same situation.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ash asked while helping Twilight to her feet.

“What I mean is that you two seem to have some kind of dark entity continued within your bodies. I can sense it easily.” The man explained.

“What?”

“You don’t remember? You were like… this evil version of yourself.” Spike states while gesturing with his hands. “You had this like, glow to you, your eyes were red and your voice was… so deep and… really frightening.”

“Oh, what’s the matter? Don’t tell me, you’re tired already?”

Ash put a hand on his head as recalled more memories. “Was… was that what was happening to me?”

“Seemed like it. You seemed like your own version of Midnight or something.” The little Pokemon continued.

“Ash, I don’t think that light that led you here to this island led you here for no reason.” Riley starts to explain again.

“What reason then?” Ash asked again.

“It’s just a hunch, but I think that it might’ve known of the darkness in you and possibly led you here to avoid causing destruction.” The man says before walking up and putting a finger up to the boy’s chest. “And whatever dark entity you hold is clearly after your aura, and gaining access to it is what caused so much destruction in the first place.”

Ash rested his hand on his chest, recalling even more of the damage he saw last night. He opened his mouth, but no words formed.

“As for your case, Twilight-” Riley then said, looking over to said girl. “I don’t know if this has anything to do with you or if your involvement is pure coincidence, but it’s clear that whatever darkness inside you is also just as dangerous.” He then took a step back to face both of them.

“So, what now?” Ash asked.

“Considering the circumstances, I believe that they’re both after one thing. Your aura’s power was what brought the darkness to you to begin with, so training you to use it is probably the best.” The man states before turning to Twilight. “And while I don’t know if aura is something you have in your world, maybe it’s best I teach you how to use it as well.”

“What?!” She says in shock. “But… b-but if it’s from your world, how could I use it?”

“It’s worth a shot, but teaching you how to use it will help you. Once you learn how to use the better of aura you might just be able to overpower whatever this evil energy is within both of you and be rid of it.”

Ash looked at Twilight who seemed to be nervous. Then again, what wasn’t nerve-racking about what they were just told? He then looked down at his hands and clenched one fist before putting a hand on her shoulder to assure her.

“I’ll do it.” He says, which caught her attention. “Where do we start?”

Before any answer could be given, a loud growl interrupted them. The whole tone was broken in just an instant and everyone looked at the boy. He had sheepish look on his face before putting a hand on his stomach.

“Sorry.” He nervously laughed.

Riley simply chuckled before speaking. “We’ll start with breakfast, then step one. Come on.”

With that he turned around and started walking away, gesturing for them to follow. Ash adjusted his hat and started to follow with his Pokemon just behind. Twilight stayed though, looking at her own hands before looking uneasy.

“You okay?” Spike asked, still on her shoulder.

“I… I don’t know.” She answered. “I mean… the fact that Midnight had…” She sighed. “If she was still here then… will this ‘aura’ really stop her?”

“Like the guy said, it’s worth a shot.” The small Pokemon says.

“I hope so.”

To be continued