My Little Pokémon: Grander World

by Amarvax

Strong-willed Shards

Unova. Virbank City. PokeStar Studios. Day.

At Virbank City, Rarity was in the middle of filming another PokeStar Studios film. And this time, she was doing it alongside her Human Counterpart. This whole time, while there were angels present, higher beings putting Ash and Jirachi on trial plus Lena Ketchum searching for the shards and ending up in the Changeling Lands, Rarity was just making movies, doing what she loves.

"I could get used to this~" Showing up here, the Human Rarity obviously had to pass through the portal between Equestria and Canterlot High, the magic of Equestria immediately turned her into a pony.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Equestria's Rarity said, loving how her Human Counterpart was already adjusting well to her new appearance. Rarity was always the quickest to adapt to something, no matter which version appears as the opposite entity.

"Good to see you enjoying yourself as always Rarity and...Rarity." Mr. Gold, the owner of PokeStar Studios said, walking in on this movie production. "I'm still not sure what to call you both since you're exactly the same. Which one of you is the Rarity I've seen the most?"

"That would be me. But if you're having trouble, sir, try calling my other self Rare." Rarity already picked out a nickname for her counterpart.

"Oooh, I like that." And she already approved of it.

"Wonderful. Well, by the time you're done making this new film of yours, this year's Pokemon Festival might already start. About that...How would you like to be one of the representatives of the Film Festival that'll be in the Pokemon Festival?"

"Oh, yes, please!" Rarity violently shook her head along with her Pokemon. "I'd absolutely love that."

"Great. We'll have plenty of headliners for this from across other regions. And I want you to be Equestria's Headliner. You come here the most, so it only adds up."

"What about me? Do I still count?" Rare aimed her hoof at herself. "I mean, I'm technically Human. Or was I always a pony and deep down?"

"If your world was as accustomed to Pokemon, probably." Rarity answered. "Maybe. I'm not sure. If we still had those gateways around, the answer would be clear as day. You'd have everyone from your world flocking over instantly. But, I doubt everyone is ready to turn into a Human."

"About that...Have you made any new gateways yet?" Rare asked, hoping that there was another gateway to use aside from the elusive and mysterious Infinity Gateway.

"Mmm." Alas, no new gateways. Twilight still hasn't figured it out. "Forget about that. That isn't going to stop you from being in this year's Pokemon Festival. Three weeks of entertainment at its finest. And the best part about all of this? Now that most of the nuisances have been dealt with, this year's festival is going to go by swimmingly!"

---

The Changeling Lands.

At the Changeling Lands, after Lena showed up with Diadora and Team Rocket, she requested the chance to search for these mystical shards which were supposedly underground. With Queen Chrysalis still being elsewhere, Thorax was in charge and he granted permission to Lena to find these shards.

At this moment, a hole had been dug in the Changeling Lands, done by Ursaluna. Team Rocket were chiming in, using shovels to speed up the process while some of the Changelings watched.

Pharynx was rather disappointed by this. His brother was too kind and accepting, even if he had every reason to be accepting in this instance. "They're alright, but what if someone else would've shown up here who we also didn't know about?"

"Well, you have a point there. But I'm sure that if that was the case, at least one of the Fairy-Types here would've figured out that someone was suspicious. I mean, not even a disguise could get past them."

Unfortunately, a disguise did get through them. Team Rocket was the prime example of this. Still to this day, their disguises have fooled many, being completely flawless, only for them to come to an end later on.

But in this case, Team Rocket were using disguises for monetary gain, wanting the shards just so they could sell them for money. Or, as an alternative, use the mysterious power they apparently possess. Either one would be very beneficial to them. The widest grins were on their faces when shovelling through the Changeling Lands.

"Luna?" Suddenly, while digging through the earth, Ursaluna paused for a moment. Its nose went off and all movements came to a halt, followed by a light roar.

"Oh! Found something, Ursaluna?" Lena asked. Indeed, Ursaluna found something to dig up. By rapidly moving its arms, the rest of the ground was being ripped away to reveal what was hiding there. Glistening through the darkness of the ground was a beautiful pink and light green glow.

At last, some of the shards have been found. Lena was right to show up at the Changeling Lands after failing to find some around the colder parts of Equestria. It was a double find as these shards were light green and pink instead of just one colour.

"Yes! The Fairy and Bug Shards!" And upon finding them, Lena already knew which shards these were. Hopping off Ursalunas back, Lena's hands touched the dirt-filled earth but that didn't matter to her. Scooping up the shards, Lena finally found her first batch. This was just the beginning.

Returning to the surface, her hand could be seen appearing first with the shards in her hands. The shards would glisten, letting out a golden light that temporarily blinded everyone who saw it. The Changelings never actually thought that there were shards underneath their home.

Team Rocket dropped their shovels, quickly zipping over to Lena. Their eyes would finally gaze upon these shards. They were just as beautiful as they expected.

"This is it. Just what I need and it will be one step closer to getting back home." Lena excitedly said.

"Nice! So, use it! They obviously have a special power in them!" Jessie got all giddy, wanting Lena to demonstrate their power.

"Well, on their own, they have no power since they're just shards of a previous item. But they're still important."

"Alright. You've got what you wanted. Are you going to leave now?" Pharynx questioned.

"Mhm. We won't bother you anymore now that we have one of the shards. Thank you for letting us dig here." Lena thanked the Changelings, mainly Thorax. "We have a lot more shards to go through, but if we can get them all, the shards can come together and return to what they were."

"Where to next then?" Jessie asked, wanting to find the next shards as soon as possible

"Hmm...Another place came to mind when I started my search. The shards have a will of their own and much like how I found these in the Changeling Lands, they probably target locations that they're the strongest at. This place is centered around Bug and Fairy Types."

"Is that how you did it?" Now James and his friends were curious. Lena had a method to how she chose certain locations. The reason she picked the Changeling Lands was because of how the shards represent the 18 Types.

"It is. And if I choose the right location, I can find the shards I need. That's why I chose Vanhoover since I thought I would find the Ice Shards, but I suppose not."

"Well, you're in luck! We can take you anywhere that's type-focused~" Jessie had Lena covered, rubbing her hands as she knew plenty of locations in Equestria that were catered to certain Pokemon.

Now that Lena had some shards at her disposal, it was off to find the rest. Lena would have to tackle specific locations to find all of them. With the shards entering her massive bag, it was off to the next area. The day was still young after all.

"Before that, clean yourself up." Jessie pointed out how Lena was completely dirty after going underground.

"It's fine. I can go like this." Lena saw no issue with this, however. She could go on with dirty clothes and dust all over her skin and hair.

"This isn't the past anymore, Lena. You can't head out into the world looking like this." James said. Team Rocket would freshen her up before that could happen. After all, they weren't going to be travelling alongside all of this dust.

---

The Human World.

Currently, Sci-Twi was also searching for the shards. Already departing from her home, she was relying on the Arceus Pendant around her neck to guide her. The pendant glowed when near some of the shards, so perhaps, it can do it once more if she was near any.

She was expecting Ash to show up eventually, but for now, she was going to have to go solo. But she wasn't alone. She had Spike and her Pokemon by her side. At this moment, Sci-Twi was at a Subway Station.

The Subway station stretches out before her, a vast underground labyrinth of concrete tunnels and metal tracks. The stark white fluorescent lights overhead cast an eerie glow on the grimy tile walls. The echoing sound of trains rumbling in the distance reverberates through the station, creating an atmosphere of constant movement and urgency.

In a place like this, some Pokemon were bound to be present. Moving across the walls was a Kecleon while some Digletts could be seen travelling the ground. The sound of skittering from a Spinarak travelled through as well.

"Mmm...Nothing here." The pendant wasn't reacting right now. The subway might be lacking in shards. "The subway's a bust, it looks like."

"Twilight. I know we just got here, but this is going to take forever at this rate." Spike spoke.

"I know, I know. But I have good faith in this pendant. But..." Sci-Twi held up the pendant. "It's not that big of a help in such a big world. Even if it's a radar for it, the time it would take to find these shards would be rough."

Sci-Twi had just started with this search and already, she was stumped. But something she said yesterday came up instantly. It was Dahara City. The lady who gave her this pendant entrusted it to her and she even went to Arche Valley to learn a bit more about the power of Arceus. "Maybe I should've gone there first. They know more about Arceus than me."

"That means you'll have to take the portal since there aren't any more gateways." Spike pointed out.

"Uh, I'll just use the Shift Stone I was lent. That way, I'll still be myself." Sci-Twi scrunched her face.

"Why are you so scared to become a pony? I can turn into anyone and I'm not scared." For Zorua, it didn't bother her and she was rather shy compared to Sci-Twi.

"That's because your body is built for it. I'm not ready for that." Sci-Twi explained. "Everyone else is fine with it but it might freak me out. If we still had those gateways, I wouldn't need to carry the Shift Stone."

"One of these days..." Spike uttered, believing that Sci-Twi would follow through with the pony transformation and it might be by accident. Sci-Twi would depart from the subway station since there were no shards present. Somewhere else would have to do. But thanks to the upcoming Pokemon Festival, she might get that chance. One way, or another.

When leaving the Subway Station, she ran into someone she wasn't expecting to see so soon. Unexpectedly, Volo was right there in front of Sci-Twi. "Gah!" She shrieked before catching her breath. "Ah, Volo...It's just you."

"Sorry for the scare. I was just checking up on your progress. It hasn't been that long but I trust you've gotten somewhere?"

"Well...Not really." Sci-Twi pouted. "I haven't come across any shards and I've been trying to use this pendant of mine as a guide but, nothing yet, I'm afraid. It's just that I'm worried they might be across the entire world and that could take a long time."

"Hmm...That would take a while. It's a tall order. Something I was doing solo but now I have some help. I should've given you a heads-up though, but I guess I was also too carefree." Volo chuckled. "There is an easier way I should've mentioned before. But I suppose the pendant around your neck gave me a good feeling."

"Really? What is it? I can guess it might be a lot of help, whatever it may be."

"Well, what if I told you that these beautiful shards have a mind of their own?" Just like Lena, Volo brought up the fact that the shards had minds of their own

"I'm sorry, what?" Sci-Twi wasn't expecting that answer.

"They're just beautiful items to gather, but they also have something special about them. They tend to sometimes act on their own. And what I mean by that is that you can find them in certain areas. They have a preference it seems."

"Have they always had a mind of their own?!"

"Not always. They started out as just average shards until some strange happened with them. But for the most part, they're just shards. And I've been trying to head to places where I think they may be. Unfortunately, not only is this place so different from what I'm used to, but everything looks and feels the same for me to find a specific location. Am I making sense?"

"I get what you're saying. What locations did you have in mind that you think the shards would show up?"

"Well..." Volo smirked. "The purple ones you found ended up in the one place I least expected them to be. But I'm sure that was a one-time thing or it's just the way this world was. The blue shards would probably be somewhere near a lake, river, moat or anything related to water. Hopefully not an ocean or a sea. The green shards come in two colours. They could either show up in a forest or maybe somewhere filled with bugs."

"I get it, I get it..." Sci-Twi was keeping up swiftly, knowing where Volo was going with this. "That does make things easier. And pretty fitting. They just know what places to head to just because of their colours. It sounds a lot like the 18 Types actually."

"Spot on!" Volo snapped his fingers. "The best part about them is how they resemble all those types. So, it only makes sense that they would choose certain areas."

"Purple is either Psychic or Poison but I have no idea why it would be in a place where there's no Poison or Psychic energy at all." That part wasn't clicking for Sci-Twi. "But that's fine! At least I have a good idea of where I should go. What about you, Volo?"

"Believe me, I've been trying. It's not easy for a merchant such as myself. If I wanted to find the red ones, I'd go to a volcano but...I'm not sure I want to take that risk just yet." Volo whistled before swivelling his head to the other side. "At least, you have a better grasp of this world than me."

"Okay. I can use your suggestion as a guide. And then, the pendant might glow afterwards." Sci-Twi excitedly said. "Thank you so much, Volo! I can get somewhere with this. If I go to certain locations, I'm guessing I might find the shards in about...a month maybe!"

"A month? Great confidence. Far beyond a year or so. I was even thinking about an entire year passing as well."

"I have to get home and rethink things! I'll see you soon!" Sci-Twi would have to change up her game plan. A new approach was about to be made and it was back to the drawing board for this. Volo watched her leave, putting on his smirk once again. Hisuian Zorua would look back at Volo, seeing his smirk yet again, but just like before, Zorua felt something off about Volo.

She just couldn't tell what it was. Volo would then hear footsteps nearby, prompting him to depart as well. He would continue searching for the shards even if this world was beyond his time and very much confusing for him.

---

Equestria. Out at Sea. The Sea Temple, Samiya.

Moving across the Seas of Equestria was the Sea Temple, heading wherever it could. The People of the Water were aware of the Pokemon Festival coming up and it was unknown if they would get involved. But it wasn't out of the question for them. The sound of crashing waves and Wingulls filled the air, creating a symphony of maritime melodies over the beautiful and calming sea.

The Samiyans were just living their lives, especially Donomoa, who was looking into her crystal ball. As always, she was viewing multiple outcomes for others and even customizing them to create alternate endings. She knew how to have fun with such a serious object. But when the time to get serious comes up, she knows what to do.

And in this instance, when looking at the future of someone, the visage of this bubbly outcome was starting to change. Donoma's smile dropped after seeing the change which she didn't cause at all. This was being done by the crystal ball itself. Curious, Donomoa leaned in, wondering what the crystal ball was about to show her. "It looks like something has come up. What can you tell me, crystal ball?"

In response, the crystal ball would show something that Donoma was not prepared for. A figure was starting to appear. A shadowy one that was hard to make out so far. Behind this shadowy figure standing there. It wasn't anyone she recognised since it wasn't clear enough. It could be anyone.

"Who is that..."? But the closer she viewed this image, she saw that the shadowy figure multiplied, splitting into what looked to be 9 more figures.

On top of that, the figure was becoming a bit clearer. Donoma gasped as the shadowy figures were now silhouettes. Silhouettes that strongly resembled Ash, Red and the others who are all counterparts. After seeing this and reading into the crystal ball, Donoma's pupils shrank. She did not like the implications of this future, even though it was not set in stone and could always change. But the fact that this was being shown to her raised a bad feeling that felt like it was just somewhere around the corner.

"No...It can't be. His majesty?"

As the journey continues.

Chapter 277 End.