My Little Pokémon: Grander World

by Amarvax

The Lich Queen Moves

Equestria. Magehold. Magehold Contest Hall. Day.

The Pokemon Contest went on with no interference at all. The coordinators were free to enjoy themselves with no knowledge of the brawl happening at the Magehold Chamber right now. The second stage went on swimmingly with the battles going on and right now, the last coordinator win the first round of the battle stage was none other than Eccentrick, who already had an impressive showing earlier.

She had won her own battle, advancing into the next round with her partner Inkay. Eccentrick's hopes were looking up for her and she most definitely made Fantina proud. The Hearthome Gym Leader was pleased to see Eccentrick develop, even if she was only supposed to do one thing. Eccentrick's years of losing entertainment were being made up at last. Of course, she had to speak to those who didn't make it all the way through and had dropped out. Whether it was at the Performance Stage or the previous battles.

"You all did well for your first time. Those skills you showed back at the Fashion Show came in, little ones. And as for the older ponies, good work. You don't have to worry about not winning this one because there will always be another year."

"I had a lot of fun though, even if I lost. I've never felt something like this in...well forever." A vampire slumped herself on the couch, lying next to her Duskull. "I've missed this."

"We all have. Thanks for making this for us, Ms Fantina." Another vampire thanked. "You've changed Magehold a lot for only doing a few things."

"Oh, it's nothing~" Fantina giggled. "I just want to see you all smile. And with the power of entertainment, that's all that matters. We still have the rest of the contest to go and I already have something brewing up after this is all done."

"It won't be right away, will it?" A vampire asked, a bit worried that there might be a back-to-back event.

"No, no. But I am good at doing multiple events in one day." Fantina laughed once more, causing the others to laugh too. The Hearthome Gym Leader then looked over at the stage where the battles took place, preparing to head back out there and be the announcer once more. Fantina was well aware of the events happening outside but did not get involved. Not when she had so many ponies to entertain,

And with Fractured Note involved, none of the Magehold citizens even noticed everything else happening over at the Chamber. However, Fractured Note soon received a telepathic message from the Lich Queen herself. The message came in, prompting Fractured Note to turn all of his attention to it and make sure everything seemed fine so that the Lich Queen was none the wiser.

"Yes, your majesty?" Fractured Note said.

"I need you here at the chamber at once. Currently, I'm approaching it and I have Yveltal with me just in case. Have you found out who generated all that light?" Rosa questioned, still wanting to know who caused that light that harmed her. She wasn't even aware that she actually became a vampire for a moment and that was the main reason for her taking so much damage. Her first time being a vampire was a rather painful one.

"Not yet." He was lying, obviously knowing that Eccentrick did it. But for the sake of Magehold's future, he kept it a secret, refusing to let Rosa Maledicta know. "Apologies. It looks like nopony here saw it happen."

"Really now? A gut feeling mine feels like it could show up again. Either way, come to the chamber at once. We have the most interesting intruders possible. Those nuisances from Equestria plus Kanto have shown up and the Crystal Empire is also making their move here. They should be at the Hyperborean Island by now."

"The Crystal Empire's coming here?" Fractured Note gasped for a moment before putting his hoof on his chin, pondering for a moment. "This could get out of control very soon if more keep showing up. The citizens won't see it coming at all even if they've been huddled up in here."

"It could get out of control. The intruders are not to be taken lightly after all. If something goes wrong, we will have to resort to one of our many plans. We'll have to move Magehold."

"Move Magehold? Will it come down to that?" Fractured Note looked around, hoping no one else was listening to this. He wouldn't want the citizens to start freaking out, especially since the concept of moving Magehold was apparently a possibility. And at this crucial moment, that possibility could come to pass depending on what happens.

"I hope it doesn't. Because I'm planning on ridding them all right here and nowhere else."

---

Magehold Chamber.

"Where are we now?" Currently, Ash and his group were closing in on the three noticeable Auras but their movements had been stopped once they came across a room that was once tidy and well-built. Thanks to the battle, it was absolutely crushed with plenty of rubble everywhere. This room also seemed to be a dead-end even though Lucario's Aura Sense was still active.

There were no signs of any entryways. No secret one either. It was if they had also been lost in the destruction. However, Lucario could still feel Fluttershy, Cadence and Flurry Heart's Auras.

"It's a complete dead-end and completely destroyed. What happened here?" Twilight wondered, knocking away some of the rubble with her magic to find an entryway. But she would find nothing at all.

"Can you still sense them, Lucario?" Ash asked.

"Rrr." Lucario hadn't lost them at all. It was just getting to them that was the biggest issue. As much as he had a complete grasp on their Auras, it could only do so much right now.

"Okay...Let's just break everything down and make our own entryway." Ash opted to make a new entryway and the best way to do that was by destroying what was already destroyed.

"Lu?!" Before that could happen, Lucario sensed something else. Something overwhelming. His heart skipped a beat. A new Aura had been sensed. A truly powerful one. Lucario wasn't the only one who felt it. Ash did too as he was connected with Lucario right when searching for his friends.

"!" The Aura that both of them were sensing was absolutely fierce. Not in the sense that it was a great wealth of Aura but in the sense that the individual possessing it was terrifying. "Do you guys feel that?"

"I don't feel anything. What's wrong?" Twilight questioned, unable to sense the Aura. But she could definitely sense something else. The Magic. Twilight gasped, soon sensing an overwhelming amount of magic, similar to what Ash does with Aura. Both of them could feel something similar but different at the same time. And yet, it was coming from the same individual.

"That kind of Aura...I'm sure of it! It's the Lich Queen without a doubt!" Ash immediately thought of the Lich Queen Rosa Maledicta. And judging by what Lucario's Aura Vision managed to capture with his eyes closed, that seemed to be the case.

The Lich Queen was here in the Chamber, making her move at last.

---

"Dodrio!" A Dodrio had used Tri Attack, blasting at the opposing vampires and Despair Plants with three elements. The vampires received the flames, moving away from their other weakness while the Despair Plants received Electricity and Ice. While they couldn't be defeated with these moves, that didn't mean they were ineffective. One of the Despair Plants had been frozen by the ice, restrained for the moment as that much was possible when dealing with these verdant villains. Another had been paralyzed, slowing down with electricity crackling out of its body.

"Breloom!" A Breloom had come in for a dive kick, knocking over the frozen Despair Plants off the stairs that they fought on. The Despair Plants found themselves, falling without being able to move at all. On top of that, a Snorlax was charging through the halls of the chamber, knocking over as many vampires as it could.

All the Pokemon from the Pokemon House and some parts of PokePark were doing everything in their power to buy as much time as possible. They were only here to save those who had been kidnapped after all.

"Bisharp!" Bisharp and his many Pawniard troops were also charging forward. He met with the Triantis, engaging in a bladed clash with one of them. However, this was where Bisharp exceeded. His swordsmanship skills exceeded what the Triantis could do. He easily overpowered their claws, knocking them aside and cutting their main weapons off.

The claws of the Triantis went flying after Bisharp sliced through them but this still wasn't enough to get rid of them. However, Bisharp could relieve them of their greatest weapons. Joining Bisharp and his Pawniard Troops was Dewott who would use his Scalchops against the Triantis.

"Dewott!" Dewott wasn't as skilled as Bisharp but could still contest with the sharp claws of the Triantis either way. He blocked two slashes from a Triantis, nearly being pushed back only to counterattack with a swift upwards slash. He sent the Triantis upwards, allowing a Tranquill to fly in and tackle the Triantis midair.

"Serperior!" Queen Serperior got in on the action too, leading all the Pokemon from the Arbor Area that she commands into battle. She cleared the way for her subjects, using Leaf Storm to do so. A powerful storm of leaves came crashing in, moving across this tight space at this part of the hallway as it blew away some of the Despair Plants up ahead. Once their massive bodies were thrown to the side, this allowed the Pokemon to rush in.

With the rush of victory coursing through their bodies, neither side was exactly winning yet that only gave them the drive to fight even harder and with more tenacity. Neither have even thought about stopping or slowing down. No Pokemon wished to go home when their dearest friends needed their help. After all, they won't have a home if something isn't done.

The wounded on one side are abundant and lay in rubble around the chamber and the faces of the fighters are hopeful with adrenaline rushing through their bodies, they take on their enemies. Thankfully, there were healers for the side of the Pokemon. Some of them have been hit with Magehold Curses thanks to the Despair Plants and unlike Bullfrog, everything here was fatal.

The Pokemon that healed those that have been afflicted could only hold the diseases back. They could not cure them. Of course, that was why Daisy and Paradise were here, however, they were currently with Ash's group. Right now, some of the afflicted would just have to hold on until then.

Arachnorchids struck from above, using their thick strings to catch their prey while sticking to the walls. Right as Dewott went to slash a vampire, his arm was held back by the strings, ceasing his attack. Dewott gasped as it wasn't just his arm that was being restrained. The web was starting to reach across the rest of his body, already taking over his entire arm and soon one side of his face.

The Arachnorchids did the same to all the Pokemon they laid eyes on, shooting out their webs. But these webs had something extra around them. Fire. These Flaming Webs could not only restrain but also cause damage as well. The Pokemon who were too busy dealing with one opponent were caught by these Fire Webs which would harm them first before wrapping around their bodies.

Some of them were being pulled up, leaving the ground and getting closer to the Arachnorchids while others were fighting to break free. Bisharp managed to break free instantly thanks to his body being a blade in of itself. He slashed the flaming webs apart but not without taking any damage. Even though he could cut the webs, the flames still harmed him, causing the Dark-Steel-Type to wince.

It was even worse for his Pawniard troops who weren't as strong as him in any way. Some Pokemon just couldn't break free at all. This quickly turned the tide of battle as some of the Pokemon scattered trying to avoid these Flaming Webs from reaching them. And to those who were already restrained, they were already having Magehold Curses enter their bodies. The most fatal and brutal curses were only being chosen as opposed to anything common like before.

"Krookodile!" However, reversing this was Krookodile, who used Earthquake on the walls themselves. He slammed his foot against the wall, sending a tremor through it which would appear in the form of a golden shockwave. The shockwaves moved across the walls rapidly, breaking them apart and those that were on it such as the Arachnorchids.

The Despair Plants would lose their balance on the walls as they came crumbling down. The walls would fall down on the Arachorchids from every direction. Krookodile's Earthquake went the extra mile, breaking down the walls in this specific area while also dealing damage to the Arachnorchids.

Fierce confrontations such as this were happening all over Magehold as the Chamber was only still stable thanks to its gargantuan size. But during this battle, the tubes have been damaged. So many attacks have been thrown along with constant destruction to the point where the Rejuvenation Tubes were put out of commission indefinitely.

And watching over this while moving across the Chamber was Rainbow Dash, alongside Sceptile and Raboot. The three of them looked below to see the power struggle from the two sides. Rainbow Dash left a rainbow streak behind thanks to her movements, allowing vampires to easily track her down even with her speed. A vampire did move fast when flying but as fast as Rainbow Dash.

But while Rainbow Dash's group was moving on along, the multi-coloured maned pegasus spotted something that she just couldn't ignore. A certain pony was below, just now arriving at the Magehold Chamber. Just by looking at her, Rainbow Dash's pupils shrank as well as her body shaking too.

It was none other than Rosa Maledicta. She had appeared at last and her first targets were right in front of her. Even though she has never seen the Lich Queen before, the similarity to Roseluck, the foreboding presence and regalia she wore was a dead giveaway.

"That's the Lich Queen..." Rainbow Dash came to a hold, peering her head over the stairs to gander at the Ruler of Magehold and the Vampires. Her presence was so great that even the Pokemon paid attention to it. Many stopped what they were doing, looking over at the Lich Queen who was right behind them, casually walking over.

"Snorlax?" Snorlax was even wide awake for this. Rosa Maledicta required all the possible attention in the world right now, even from the laziest individuals.

"Intruders. You only made my job easier. You came to me instead." Rosa spoke to them as her eyes lit up, captivating all of the Pokemon who glanced at her. Even Rainbow Dash was captivated even if she was upstairs. The atmosphere went silent. It had to, now that the Lich Queen had arrived, in front of so many Pokemon too.

Even the Despair Plants were quiet and immobile. They are usually so eager to leap into action but with Rosa Maledicta here, they stayed silent and still. The silence was so outstanding that even the battles from nearby were quiet. All ears were on the Lich Queen as right next to her was a Master Ball.

The Master Ball containing Yveltal.

"And that's probably Yveltal..." Rainbow Dash's eyes focused on the Master Ball, knowing that Yveltal was probably in it. That was the Pokemon the Dread League needed more than anything. A shadow was cast over this part of the chamber, darkening the area.

"Y-Your majesty!" A vampire cried out as his voice echoed across the halls.

"You'll all become skeletons for this evergrowing empire. And to do that...I'll need your souls. All of them." Rosa Maledicta took a step, sending a fearsome and intimidating dark presence around. Some of the Pokemon gulped immediately, already terrified. They were previously fearless when entering Magehold but in the presence of the Lich Queen, that was a different story and a different level they had to contest with.

A Whimsicott put her arms up, trying to stay strong ut she was also trembling as seen by her rustling cotton. Krookodile even felt something shaking in him ut it wasn't as visible as everyone else. Snorlax took a step in front of everyone else, opting to be their shields since he was the biggest here. But a part of him made him think that being a shield wouldn't be enough.

"Every one of you will fall here and never see tomorrow's light!" With that yell, the Lich Queen attacked. And she did so with thorns that she summoned from the floor itself. These thorns emerged at great speeds, already hitting their first targets before they could do anything. And among them was Snorlax, who didn't last that long as a shield at all. The thorns smashed into his chest, having enough power to knock back such a large and heavy Pokemon.

"Snor!" Snorlax yelled before crashing into the other Pokemon behind it as the thorns pushed him further ahead. The Pokemon in the way were either being pushed along with Snorlax or went flying elsewhere.

Some Pokemon tried to retaliate, only for the thorns to catch them immediately as seen by how a Poliwrath had its arms restrained right when it throw a punch. "P-Poli?!" That Poliwrath was slammed into the ground, right upside its own head. Rosa dug the Poliwrath into the ground, causing its lower body and legs to dangle in the air.

The thorns would go wild, swinging and attacking all the Pokemon that it came across in a wild frenzy. The Pokemon had to think fast. Insanely fast if they wanted to avoid the worst possible hits. A Heatmor had used Fire Lash, only for its tongue to be caught by the thorns.

"H-Heatmor!" Despite Heatmor possessing incredible heat, the pain of the thorns constricting its tongue far surpassed that. It winced before being swung into its fellow Fire-Types. Left and right, the Pokemon were whipped and slapped by these thorns which deal critical amounts of damage and for Rosa, she didn't have to do all that much. She was just walking by all the Pokemon her thorns had reached, making her way to the deeper parts of the Chamber.

"Rai-Rai!" Not all Pokemon would go down without getting something off. Raichu took action, jumping into the air and using Thunder. A powerful blast of lightning came shooting down, grabbing Rosa's attention. She narrowed her eyes before using the thorns to shield her. But not only did the thorns block the blast of lightning, but Rosa also manipulated them to the point where they gained spring-like properties.

With this spring-like nature, the thorns would push the Thunder away. The blast of light went flying into the crowd of Pokemon nearby, hitting them instead. Some were fine such as the Ground-Types but the other Pokemon weren't as the Thunder was much more powerful when Rosa launched it compared to what Raichu could put out.

"N-No way..." Rainbow Dash was downright flabbergasted by this.

"Graveler!" Attempting to catch her from a different angle, a Graveler had used Dig, entering the grounds of the chamber while two other Pokemon attacked Rosa from the side. Ice Beam and Flamethrower were both used by Glaceon and Flareon, hoping for either status effect to land. If she gets frozen, that would be a huge benefit and they would've imprisoned the Lich Queen and if she gets burnt, she'll be thrown off focus, suffering continuous damage.

Unfortunately, neither happened as Rosa Maledicta suddenly jumped, finally making a major action as she avoided Graveler's hands when they tried grabbing her hooves. As for the Ice Beam and Flamethrower, Rosa left behind a Dark Veil on both sides. The attacks passed through the veils, missing their targets but gaining new ones.

The two elemental attacks ended up going to the opposite sides instead once they passed through each of the veils. Glaceon was hit by Flamethrower while Graveler was struck by Ice Beam once it left the ground. Glaceon took a super-effective hit while Graveler was frozen immediately.

After she leapt into the air, she would then shoot Dark Magic out of her horn, using something else other than her thorns. But her Dark Magic was equally as fierce, blasting Flareon away as it was consumed by a black explosion. "Flareon!"

And even though she had no wings to fly, she used levitation to keep herself airborne, using this to her advantage. But this only prompted the Flying-Types to attack as some used Air Slash to try and knock her out of the sky. Her thorns followed her, intercepting the Air Slashes and deflecting them with a cracking whip sound. The slashes of air couldn't even cut the thorns apart as they would smack the Flying-Types who would dare try and harm the Lich Queen.

"Swellow!" Swellow and some other Flying-Types came in from with Aerial Ace, moving as fast as they could. But while they had speed, Rosa Maledicta had utility. She didn't even have to look behind her and the thorns already took action, racing towards the Flying-Types. Swellow and the others would evade in the air, using their speciality as Flying-Types to avoid any serious damage but that only prompted the thorns to chase them down.

But they also had to remember one thing. There were Vampires and Despair Plants here as well. They would obviously back up their Queen, who gave them a massive disadvantage. The Arachnorchids used this opportunity to shoot their Fire Webs at the FLying-Types who tried evading from the thorns. The thorns were already troublesome enough to force the Pokemon to accelerate as fast as they could and with the involvement of the webs, it became even harder as they were sandwiched by these two slim yet powerful forces.

Rosa Maledicta descended back to ground level as she was about to be met by an incoming Dynamic Punch from a Machoke, who took this opportunity immediately. But even when an opponent was close to her, Rosa simply looked up at Machoke, flashing her eyes at it.

"M-Machoke!" Machoke was suddenly paralyzed by Rosa Maledicta's glare as a Dark Magic enveloped its body, making it immobile and unable to attack. This allowed the thorns to slap Machoke away who could not land its Dynamic Punch at all.

"Move it. I have alicorns to absorb lifespans from." Rosa continued on her way, assaulting more of the Pokemon that tried stopping her but were struggling to slow her down.

"No way..." Rainbow Dash was bewildered, perplexed and blown back by what she was witnessing. The Lich Queen showed off just what she was capable of when finally confronting her foes. And after all these months and the past year, the fear behind her was very much. She moved back, hoping the Lich Queen hasn't noticed her yet.

This was one battle Rainbow Dash would not try and engage in. Instead, she would continue to try and find the rest of her friends before Rosa could find them. However, from what the Lich Queen just said, the best way to find Cadence and Flurry Heart was by following her. If Rainbow Dash follows the Lich Queen, she could find her friends.

"Hm." Right as Rosa Maledicta continued on her way, she came to a halt. But not by a Pokemon. Instead, it was somewhere past the Chamber. Rosa felt it as it was coming from the barrier. She focused on the massive magical field around Magehold, sensing what was happening outside the barrier and seeing everything happening around it for herself.

It was none other than the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor and his forces have arrived at last, already attacking the barrier. And with the barrier no longer in its prime, they were already making it pulsate from the pummelling they were giving it.

"The Crystal Empire's here...But the Windigos should've stopped them with the order of the Dread League. What exactly made them get through with no issues." It didn't make sense to Rosa Maledicta. She expected the Windigos from the Hyperborean Island to deal with the Crystal Empire's Forces but it seemed like that never happened. At all.

There wasn't anything on them that indicated the Windigos did anything. They arrived here freely, knowing where Magehold was thanks to the Hyperborean Island and now their fears of the barrier had been staved. While looking at the Crystal Empire's forces from afar, she even heard Shining Armor speak while he zapped at the magical field and Aegislash swung his bladed body, chipping bits of it off.

"Wait for me, Cadence! Flurry Heart!"

As the journey continues.

Chapter 172 End.