Pokémon and Ponies
#49-The Pokemon Festival Part 5
Day 5 of the festival had arrived.
Ash, Twilight and the others were headed back to the Crystal Empire to continue their unfinished fun. They haven't really gotten the chance to fully enjoy themselves, not after what happened yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, everyone had ended up seeing the portals to various multiverses, pop up. They had also seen the one where Ghetsis had conquered, and how he threatens to conquer their world as well, expanding his Harmonia Kingdom rule. But the one that couldn't really leave Twilight's mind, was the universe where she saw herself as a tyrannical ruler. One that had an entire fleet of spaceships behind her. She only thought those existed in those silly comics that Spike reads. But in alternate universes, anything is possible. Twilight was on the train, worried about that version of her. But what about that alternate Twilight? What is occurring in her universe?
The universe where Twilight reigns supreme of even the cosmos.
The empress of the universe, Twilight Sparkle sat down on her throne which was located in space via a floating empire. It was clear that this universe's technology had far exceeded that of even magic. But, magic was still essential here. Empress Twilight was currently thinking about universal travel. After hearing about it, she yearned for an ability like that. If she was to continue her conquest, it wouldn't hurt to even conquer other universes. Both she and Ghetsis shared a similar goal. Total domination over everything.
Her entire empire floated in the grandiose scape of the universe. She already established her rule over her Earth. Everypony on Earth served under her, even the alicorns. The Celestia, Luna and Cadence of this universe were now degraded to just lowly servants who serve beside Twilight. Luna was her royal advisor while Celestia ended up being given the role of a maid. As for Cadence, she was tasked with keeping watch of the prison cells, making sure nopony that Twilight deemed as traitorous would try and escape.
As for her friends, she found no use for them. Instead, they were locked up in the intergalactic prison for attempting to try and stop her. Twilight in this universe was already an alicorn, so they barely stood a chance, but not only that, the reason why and how she was capable of achieving a feat this grand is due to what happened at a certain point in time.
In this universe, Chrysalis, Tirek and a pony by the name of Cozy Glow ended up forming an alliance to get their revenge on Twilight. Their source of revenge was the Bewitching Bell that Grogar owned. Ultimately, they were overcome by the magic of friendship, however, the Rift had intervened, causing Twilight to instead, take the bell for herself. Because of this, all the magic, including Discord's chaos magic had been transferred to Twilight. It was this moment in time were Twilight's motivations had been shifted. All those friendship lessons she had taught everypony and all the friends she had made meant nothing now. Once she had all the power, she immediately overtook the entirety of Equestria. Soon her intelligence was heightened, causing her to be able to build space ships and advance technology further.
It wasn't long until she managed to conquer her own universe, and eventually reaching space. She ordered everypony to build her empire, establishing her absolute rule over every single creature. It wasn't just limited to Equestria. Even the lands were Tirek hailed from were overtaken by the tyrannical alicorn.
She was no longer the Princess of Friendship. Not anymore. Instead, she became Empress Twilight Sparkle. And her empire was known as Twilight Imperium. And her total rule meant a whole new look. Her appearance had changed greatly. Her mane was now the same ethereal mane as Celestia and Luna. Not only that, but she was the same height as Celestia now. Her empress attire was a dark purple robe that had her Cutie Mark on the sides along with regalia that illuminated a purple glow. She really went all out for it.
"Universal travel. Perhaps there is a spell that can allow me to do so." Twilight spoke. She used Discord's chaos magic to try and summon a portal to another universe, but to her surprise, nothing happened. It seems as though the Rift, who she was aware of had blocked her from casually travelling to other universes, forcing her to find another way. "Tch. How annoying. The Rift decides to change my motivations in order to obtain all this power, yet he denies my access to other worlds. No matter. I'll find a way eventually." She used her chaos magic to teleport a multitude of books in front of her as she started reading. "Let's see...universal travel." She ended up easily finding a page where it describes Planewalking. "Aha. Planewalking. The magic to move between other dimensions and realities. It seems my studies aren't over yet."
Back to the other world, Twilight still continued to think about the tyrannical version of herself she saw. Seeing it made her realise that Equestria will have to deal with a plethora of threats. Adagio is roaming around, Ghetsis has already established control over Saddle-Arabia and is aiming for everywhere else, and there is also the looming threat of Starlight Glimmer who she has not seen ever since. And Twilight isn't even aware that Chrysalis had escaped from the dungeon thanks to Colress. Needless to say, Equestria's threats were larger than they have ever been.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy suddenly spoke to her, snapping her out of it. "Are you alright? You're completely zoned out."
"Eevee?" Her Pokemon, Eve looked up at her.
"I'm fine. Just thinking about some stuff. But, I'm kind of curious about one thing..."
"Yes?" Fluttershy leaned in.
"Why are you two still here?" Twilight turned to Cocoa and Rosestar, who haven't left this universe yet.
"Well...we had a chance to go back...but Cocoa here insisted that we stay around until the festival ends." Rosestar sighed.
"If we just leave without being there on the last day, it'd be so underwhelming. You get what I mean right?" Cocoa said. "And besides, we'll just get Cold Colt to send us back when we ask Victini for help, no biggie."
"Yeah. But uh, please don't use me as a personal ride." Cold Colt uttered.
Suddenly, the train came to a halt, stopping all of a sudden.
"Why'd we stop? And can trains just suddenly stop on the tracks?" Twilight asked.
"Uh. Small issue everypony. It seems we have a bit of a problem in the middle of the train tracks." The Conductor popped his head out of the door.
What the problem was...a flock of Wooloo were resting on the train tracks. The reason why the train stopped is because a Snorlax was with them, resting as well. Twilight and the others looked outside to see this sight.
"Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash said. "Fluttershy. Can you tell them to buzz off?"
"I'll talk to them." Fluttershy fluttered out of the windows to try and talk to the resting Pokemon. "Um, excuse me. Wooloo? Snorlax? I hope you don't mind, but could you please move? Our train has to get somewhere and so does everypony."
"Wooloo...Woo."
"Oh. You've found a perfect place to take a nap? And you don't want to give up this special spot that you've been searching for a while now?"
" ." The Pokemon nodded their heads.
"Hm. Okay, I see. And I guess I can't convince a Snorlax to move, even if I gave it my all. Well then, maybe you could rest here for a bit and when you're ready to go, we can continue our train ride? Please?"
"Loo."
"You will? That's great!" Fluttershy fluttered back to the train, ready to inform them all. "They said that they've been looking for a perfect spot to rest at for a while now. And this spot is the perfect place to rest. They'll leave once they're fully satisfied."
"Okay. But what about the Snorlax then?" A pony asked.
"Ooh. I'm afraid I can't do anything about that. Nopony or Pokemon is getting a Snorlax to move from its resting spot.
"So what, we're stuck here until they're satisfied?" said Rainbow Dash.
"That's right. But I can bet it won't be too long. Probably an hour or two."
"Even to my own kingdom?" Cadence spoke. She was on the ride as well since she was returning back to the Crystal Empire. "Oh well. I guess we can wait for them to finish their nap."
"It's not so bad. We could use some rest and relaxation. Especially after the past few days." said Rarity.
"Wait!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "That means we're gonna have a train sleepover! Even though it's not night, but still!"
"Hold on...Staying in here with all of you for an hour?!" Aria winced. She wasn't up for this.
"It's gonna be fun right, Aria?!" Sonata smiled along with Pinkie Pie. The unenthusiastic siren shook her head, denying the inevitable fun.
"I'm off to see what kind of food this train has." Cocoa hopped off her seat as Rosestar followed her, just in case nothing goes wrong.
"If that's the case, then how about we let the Pokemon run around for a bit." Ash let his Riolu, Farfetch'd, Gengar and Riolu out of their Pokeballs as everyone did the same. "Have fun, you guys. In the meantime...Let's kick back, relax and take a load off us."
Riolu and the other Pokemon besides Pikachu and Eve ran off to do whatever they want inside the train while time passes by.
"We're not just gonna stay here and do nothing, are we? Come on, there has to be something we can do to pass time." Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Glad you asked, Rainbow Dash. I always have a contingency for every situation. Especially one like this." Twilight had used her magic to bring out what appeared to be a board game box with Pokemon on it. "Behold. I got this from when all of Ponyville attended the trading event. It's called Pokemon: Horrors and Heroism."
"Oh. Just like Ogres and Oubliettes?" Spike said. "I have a whole set if you didn't know."
"You want us to try this, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Mhm. I'm not the biggest board game fanatic, but this piqued my interest. Plus, from what the human told me, it teaches you even more about the Pokemon World. And I haven't even scratched the surface of Pokemon, no matter how many books I borrow. So what do you say?" Twilight gave off a wide grin.
"Well. If you're excited to try it, then we'll give it a go too. Right everypony?" Fluttershy looked over to the others. Rainbow Dash looked somewhat interested in it, Pinkie Pie was up for any kind of fun, Rarity thought that this a bit out of character for her, Applejack was willing to try and so were Cadence and Ash.
"Great! I did the honour of going through the instruction manual and its pretty complex. Just how I like it." Twilight used her magic to remove the cover of the box as it revealed a large game board that took up a lot of space. The whole board was designed in a sort of ancient and medieval-style setting. It even went the extra mile by having interactive caves, castle and other fun pieces to mess with. "Pretty wide right?"
"Very wide. This is the most detailed board game I've ever seen." Spike gazed. "Some human just had this?"
"Well, he said it came straight from Accumula Town and then it was passed down from region to region, city to city. So this thing's been around a lot. And apparently, everyone who's owned it gave it away...like they didn't want it at all." Twilight explained.
"Wonder why anyone would wanna give up something like this so casually?" Rainbow Dash wondered. Once she placed her hoof on the board game, something unexpected occurred. A flashing image of what appeared to be a Dusknoir had shown up. And in an instant, Ash, Twilight and the others felt their bodies being sucked into the board game.
Sonata and Aria had witnessed this, but they did not bat an eye. Not at all. And their Pokemon, other than Pikachu and Eve were completely unaware of this since they were running about in the train.
Twilight's eyes were closed for a small bit. She was still recovering from being pulled into this board game. The first thing she saw was an entire grassy plains landscape. As green as it can be. She stood up from the ground, looking at her hooves. Everything was still there, but something was different. It felt like she was wearing something, but she couldn't picture what.
"Twilight? You okay?" Applejack's voiced call for her. She turned around to see her friend. She looked the same but she was wearing what seemed to be the robe of a Decidueye. She had the quills and everything.
"Applejack. What are you wearing?" Twilight asked.
"I...don't know. What are you wearing actually?"
What Twilight was wearing, she had a dress that resembled the colours of the Legendary Pokemon Xerneas. The Life Pokemon. Not only that, but she was also wearing a crown that resembled Xerneas's antlers. Everyone else was wearing something that was similar to a certain Pokemon.
Fluttershy had a dress that was of a Gardevoir, Rarity a Milotic, Rainbow Dash a suit of a Greninja, Pinkie Pie who for some reason was in a Bewear suit rather than a dress, cloak suit or a robe, Spike with an Axew gear, and Cadence who was wearing a dress that resembled her signature Pokemon Sylveon. They all had Pokemon-themed outfits.
"Oh. I can see why no one wanted this board game anymore." Twilight sighed. "So it just pulls anypony in?"
"Just like what happened with that Power Ponies book, right? All we gotta do is finish this one and we're home free. Should work the same." Rainbow Dash said.
"I don't know about you all, but I think I might like this. Just look at how fabulous I am." Rarity was in awe at her Milotic dress. She had no idea that her Feebas can evolve into this beauty of a Pokemon. "What about you, Ash?"
Ash wasn't wearing anything Pokemon themed, instead, he was wearing a simple blue hero outfit that resembled that of an Aura Guardian a small bit along with a red cape. Not only that but he was given a sword and a shield. He still kept his hat though. His Pikachu on the other hand remained the same along with Twilight's Eevee. "I like it as well. Check it out." Ash was getting a good look at his outfit. "Am I meant to be someone?"
"Pika?"
"I think we all are," said Fluttershy. "I can see Princess Cadence is her Sylveon and Rainbow Dash a Greninja. Although I don't recognize the other Pokemon. Mostly because I haven't seen them yet.
"So...if we're in this board... What are we supposed to do even?" Rainbow Dash wondered. Her answer given by a thunderstorm that struck in the far distance. Against all odds, there was a dark castle up ahead. They definitely knew what they had to do now. Defeat whoever the big boss of that place is. "We've got this. We conquered Power Ponies, so this'll be a cinch!" Rainbow Dash was ready to fly, but she just suddenly realised she couldn't. Her wings were gone. "My wings! Where'd they go?!"
"Oh, dear. Mine are gone too. Fluttershy looked at herself.
"I've only got my horn!" Cadence exclaimed. "And you too Twilight!"
"Huh?! But why?!"
"I think the board game changes us based on what Pokemon you all are. The Pokemon that you all resemble obviously can't fly. Although, Gardevoir kinda can a small bit." Ash explained.
"How are we gonna make any progress without our wings then?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. But to her surprise, she was surprisingly nimble and fast in the Greninja suit. She took one step and immediately she went from the ground to a tree. "Oh. That answers my question. I'm as fast a Greninja now? Oh, that's pretty awesome."
"I can still use my magic, actually." Cadence showed some sparks in her horn. "So, we still have something going for us."
"Well. Let's get moving. The sooner we finish this game, the sooner we can get back to the festival. Hopefully, the Wooloo and Snorlax have moved by then." Twilight started to walk off as everyone else followed with her. The distance from here to the castle seemed fairly fair.
Everywhere they looked they could see Pokemon about in the plains. Fairly standard stuff considering this takes place in the world of Pokemon. But more than that, it takes place in the earlier years of the Pokemon World.
The first place they came across was an old town with your standard villagers residing in it. Along with some Pokemon beside them. Oddly enough, these villagers, despite being in ancient times, seemed to have some modern equipment with them. More specifically, glasses, a Pokedex and a Pokeball. Objects that did not exist in the earlier years of the Pokemon World.
"That's strange. Why do they have such advanced equipment in this town? I thought this was meant to be accurate to the history of Pokemon?" Twilight wondered.
"It's just a board game, Twilight. Probably just there for fun." Spike said.
Just then, one of the humans saw Ash and the others, running towards them like crazy. The look in his eyes seemed like he had gone crazy as he had bags under them. "Oh! Thank Arceus! Are you here to save us?!"
"Uh...I think? What happened?" Ash asked.
"We've been trapped in this board game... for so long... so so long." He got on his knees.
"Wait! You're from real life too?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Every single one of us in this town have been sucked into this world. All of us fell for that seller. He was so convincing."
"So that explains the Pokedex and other stuff. How long have you been in here?" Twilight asked.
"It's only been 4 months actually, but it feels like it's been an entire year or two. Time is weird in this world."
"We've been trying to get out of here by attempting to complete the main objective of this board game." A woman walked up. "But we can't get past that." She pointed over at the castle. "Dusknoir Castle."
"Dusknoir Castle? So a Dusknoir's behind this?" Ash said. "That explains the flashing image."
"How could a Pokemon do this, actually?" Rarity asked.
"Dusknoir has the abnormal power to drag and pull anyone into other worlds. It always goes for the spirit world but I guess this one just decided that it wanted to bring others to a game world instead." The man explained. "Please stop Dusknoir. I'm missing out of my favourite show!"
"And I have a deadline to attend for work! I may already be way behind it by now!" The woman groaned.
"Alright. We'll get everyone out of here. All we have to do is just get to Dusknoir, defeat him and we're home free." Ash commented.
"Not that easy. Dusknoir's got defences all over the place. I should know." A man revealed some injuries on him as bandages were wrapped around his arms and legs. "You won't just get through it all willy-nilly. If you're not careful, Dusknoir and his Pokemon goons will send you flying out of that castle in no time."
"Got it. We'll be careful. Let's get moving, everypony." Twilight nodded her head as they continued their quest towards Dusknoir Castle. The humans and Pokemon were patiently anticipating their victory and their freedom.
At Dusknoir Castle.
The Gripper Pokemon sat down on its throne, overseeing the newcomers to his game world.
"Newcomers? It seems that this world is becoming more and more populated. Does that make you happy Kathleen?" Dusknoir suddenly spoke as it turned its head to a little girl who was looking out the window. She had frilly red hair and a dress that was made out of nothing tattered leather.
"I love it Dusknoir! They look the most promising. Can we make the challenges more fun? The last ones were pretty boring." Kathleen said.
"I will. I'll make sure that you are satisfied." Dusknoir levitated off its throne as its gripping hands emanated a purple aura. The area around the group was slowly changing. Out of the earth, itself emerged a dungeon. Just out of the open. Here in this world, Dusknoir had all the power. Even creation.
The group backed away as this behemoth of a dungeon was blocking their pathway to the castle. The only to get there is to make their way through it all.
"A dungeon? Where did it even come from?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Please do not tell me we have to through...there!" Rarity winced at the damp dungeon. It had an uneasy atmosphere just oozing out of it.
"It's blocking our way, so we have to." Applejack went ahead, looking deeper inside of the dungeon. "What's even in here?"
Her answer came in the form of some hostile Pokemon. Specifically some Golbats and Zubats. And like every other Golbat and Zubat, they do what they do best. Continuously attack anyone in sight. They immediately went towards Applejack, ready to use Poison Fang. Applejack gasped as she ran away from the Bat Pokemon.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded Pikachu to stop their movements by shocking them all with Thunderbolt. One hit and they were all down. Seemed like it would be the end of it, but another group of them came along, this time unleashing Air Slashes against the party.
"Even in Pokemon form...I hate bats!" Applejack bellowed as she suddenly shot out an arrow from her robe, hitting a Golbat out of the air. Those dresses and robes weren't just for show. They possessed the moves and talents of the Pokemon they are based off.
"Woah...Applejack. You just shot out arrows!" Ash said.
"Pika!"
"I did...How in tarnation...?" She looked at herself, seeing if there was something in her.
"Does that mean that these aren't just clothing?" Rainbow Dash wondered. She remembered how she moved at quick speeds on foot, even without her wings. The Greninja suit may have taken her wings away, but they kept her speed and added it up to the natural speed of a Greninja. The rainbow maned pony took another step as she was on the walls, hanging upside down. "Oh, awesome!" She dropped down from the walls, sending a group of Zubat's down with her by placing her hooves on their wings.
"Oh! So that's what these are." Cadence was getting it too. Since her partner Pokemon was a Sylveon, he had a pretty good idea of what moves she can pull off. Her first move that she pulled off was Fairy Wind. A flowing gale of fairy magic blew towards the Bat Pokemon, pelting them with tiny little specks of fairy dust.
"What could I possibly do with this? I mean it's fabulous don't get me wrong..." Rarity commented. She was met with a Golbat that flew right in front of her face. Rarity let out an ear-shattering scream of terror, but that scream had unleashed a Disarming Voice that sent the Golbat and the others flying. "Oh. I mean to do that!"
"I don't know about you girls, but this stuffed bear costume is the best!" Pinkie was constantly in a bipedal stance due to the Bewear costume. But this costume shared the same overwhelming strength as the actual Pokemon. Any Zubat's that got near were immediately knocked out in one hit by a mere arm swing of Pinkie's paws.
"Oh so cool!" Ash was amazed by what he was seeing. "Man, I wish had some sort of clothing to let me do that."
"Pika-Pika!"
"We have to get going! We can't stay around dealing with these Golbats and Zubats forever!" Twilight exclaimed as she blasted down some of them with some standard magic. The party decided to advance further, heading deeper and deeper into the grand cave, leaving behind the Bat Pokemon.
As they went further in, they noticed that the caves had special gems that were glowing and emanating all across the walls, ground and even inside some rocks. They had reached the more rich area of the cave. Rarity gasped as she dashed over to the gems.
"Rubies and sapphires! Diamonds and pearls!" She was ready to pick up all the gems in here. "I should visit Pokemon caves more often!"
"I wonder which region this used to be in the past? Sinnoh? Hoenn? Kalos?" Twilight theorized. "Whichever one it was, they could make a profit out of this."
"Makes you wonder who that Dusknoir is? Maybe it's an old Pokemon Folklore," said Fluttershy.
"So these clothes...they give us the moves and talents of Pokemon?" Spike looked at his Axew gear. "How come they stopped using these?" He looked up at Ash.
"I didn't even know they existed. Even when I travelled back in time to help Arceus I never saw any special clothes." Ash replied.
"Wonder why we became these Pokemon specifically? And what Pokemon am I even meant to be?" Twilight asked Ash.
"Oh, you're Xerneas. The Life Pokemon."
"Life Pokemon?" They all stopped once Ash said that.
"It's exactly what it sounds like. A Pokemon that gives eternal life." Ash nodded. "And looks like you ended up getting clothing based on it. Lucky."
"A Pokemon that grants you eternal life? How wonderful that must be." Rarity commented.
"Pokemon really can do everything, huh?" Twilight looked up. The party eventually reached a new area, hidden in the caves. If they were to get out of here, they had to complete this section.
And in the section was a good old fashioned dungeon boss. An Onix.
"Onix!" The Rock Snake Pokemon cried out. It smacked its tail on the ground to cause an intimidation factor to them all.
"An Onix?!" Spike exclaimed.
"Even it won't let us through. Don't worry everypony." Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "I've got the type advantage. This'll be a walk in the p-" Before she finished her sentence, Onix sent her flying with a Gyro Ball. This was a dungeon boss for a reason, and with Dusknoir in control, this won't be easy at all.
The 28'10 height Rock Snake Pokemon looked down on the party. Compared to most Onix's this one seemed to wield a ferocity unlike any other. It was under the influence of Dusknoir as well.
Rainbow Dash got up from the rocks, shaking her head after getting hit by a pretty strong Gyro Ball. "Cheap shot, pal!"
"ONIX!" The Rock Snake Pokemon wasted no time attacking. It had smacked its tails on the walls, causing a Rock Slide to form from above.
"Look out!" Twilight exclaimed as the entire party split up to avoid the falling heavy rocks. Onix didn't let them breathe for a second as it then slithered towards it.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash called out as his buddy turns his tail iron. The Electric Mouse ran towards Onix, slamming its hard metal tail on the Rock Snake's face. Onix shook its head as it retaliated by firing Dragon Breath out of its mouth. It grazed Pikachu, missing him by a mark.
Fluttershy hid away from Onix, not really being up to face a Pokemon of that stature, especially in an enclosed space like this with rocks flying all over the place in a frenzy. A boulder was about to land on her but she was luckily saved by Applejack who broke the boulder into pieces with a single arrow. She was getting the hang of this. "Now ain't the time to hide, Fluttershy. Why don't you do the same thing you did back in Power Ponies?" said Applejack.
"I don't think that exists here. And I don't know what a Gardevoir is capable of!"
"It's the evolved form of Celestia's Kirlia. So that obviously means its got Psychic and Fairy moves. Use em!" Rainbow Dash commented as she ran past them.
"Psychic and Fairy...okay... I can do this." Fluttershy poked her head out from the rock she was hiding from as she was ready to unleash whatever mystical power a Gardevoir can. "Come on Psychic..." The shy pony put her hooves on her head, attempting to draw out the hidden psychic prowess. She had never released used a lot of magic before. The only bit of magic she has actually wielded was the Elements of Harmony.
Thankfully for her, it was fairly easy to pull off moves. So her first move she performed was a simple yet effective Magical Leaf. The mystical leaves had pelted Onix, but even with the type advantage, the Rock Snake Pokemon bypassed it like it was nothing. Onix used Screech to stop everyone in their tracks, but Pikachu and Eve were taking this much worse than the others.
"This sound is horrible!" Rarity covered her ears. She returned the favour by using Disarming Voice to negate it. "Ah. Much better."
But Onix was still on the attack. It had wrapped its tail around Pikachu, grabbing a hold of him.
"Pi..Pika!" The Electric Mouse was straining, trying to get out.
"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail to break free!" Ash went for an escape attempt. Pikachu's tail turned into hard iron as he was able to break out of the grip by swinging his tail to the side. Onix let out a cry, but it quickly recovered, using Gyro Ball once more. The Rock Snake Pokemon was enveloped in pure steel, spinning at high speeds as it was headed towards Pikachu, but Cadence got in the way, using her magic to halt it in place.
"ONIX!" The Rock Snake Pokemon cried out.
"This thing's relentless!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "If only I had my Pokemon with me, this would be a cinch!"
"You can still do this without your Pokemon!" Ash replied as he used his shield to block Onix's tail. "Just use Greninja's mobility and agility well with Water-Type attacks and you're in the clear!"
"Right! Mobility...I am a pro at mobility. I got this!" Rainbow Dash was ready to utilize the capabilities of what a Greninja can do. She did it effortlessly against the Zubats and Golbats, so this Onix shouldn't be any different. The rainbow pony moved past her friends, landing on top of Onix's head. The Rock Snake Pokemon moved its head up to see Rainbow right on top of it. "Whichever water move I have...please be good!" Dash raised her hooves up as she unleashed Water Pulse, forcing Onix to be knocked down to the ground for a bit. "Yes!"
Onix however, smashed its body against the walls in order to shake her off. Rainbow Dash held on, continuously loading the Rock-Ground Type with pulses of cold water.
"Keep it steady, Rainbow!" Applejack exclaimed as she was aiming Decidueye's arrows directly at Onix's head. It was moving around like crazy, trying to get her off so it wouldn't be easy to land an arrow. AJ didn't have the same perfect accuracy and precision as a Decidueye, but it was good enough.
Her arrow was shot right towards Onix, striking it square in the face. Not only that but Onix was hit with another Water Pulse at the same time. The Rock-Ground Type was finally showing signs of being overwhelmed. But that didn't mean it was down and out. Onix had used Screech once more, halting everyone's movements once more. Rainbow Dash took the worst of it along with the Pokemon she was the closest to Onix. She was finally forced off Onix, giving the Pokemon a chance to continue attacking the others without any distractions. And just like that, it unleashed a blazing Dragon Breath once more. This time, it left behind a fiery explosion of blue fire. This caused a large part of the dungeon walls to be destroyed, leaving behind a smoking trail.
It looked like they had been hit with it, but Twilight had guarded them by using Light Screen. "Phew! That was a close one!" Twilight sighed. "But, we're wasting to much time on one Pokemon. We need to finish this as soon as possible. The sooner we rescue all the people and Pokemon trapped in here and defeat Dusknoir, the sooner we can get back to the festival."
"I hear ya, Twilight." Rainbow Dash replied. Everyone stepped forward with Fluttershy hanging in the back, in order to finally get past this Onix. The Rock Snake Pokemon had taken some considerable damage, so now was a perfect opportunity to attack it while it was weakened. "Just leave the heavy hits to yours truly."
"I'll just stay back here, giving my 100% support..." Fluttershy uttered.
"ONIX!" The Pokemon was ready to make another move, this time going all out. It slithered towards the group like any snake would, ready to smash its body into them all. This time it was moving much faster, making sure that the party don't get a chance to properly react in time.
However, Ash had gotten in the way by putting his shield forward as Onix smashed onto it. Ash felt the shockwave, but Onix felt it even more. The shield was ridiculously durable and hard. Pure steel. Not a good sign for Rock-Types. This staggered Onix for a bit, giving the others plenty of time to make their moves. "Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu and the others made their move with the Electric Mouse being ahead. A swift Iron Tail was met with Onix's head, pushing it back. Applejack had finally shot more than just one arrow out this as multiple of them stuck onto Onix. The arrows had a ghostly aura around them thanks to Decidueye's typing. Cadence had used Dazzling Gleam by creating a powerful flash that struck Onix's whole body.
Rainbow Dash had stood from afar, throwing Water Pulse's towards Onix, making sure not to get hit at all. The pulses of liquid were being bombarded on Onix's face. The Pokemon was on the verge of fainting. But it didn't want to go out yet, so it went for another Screech to stop everyone from making any actions. But it didn't take into account Rarity's Disarming Voice which had pushed back the Screech.
"Let's finish this. Eve! Swift!" Twilight commanded her Eevee to deal the finishing blow by having the Evolution Pokemon fire rapid moving stars towards Onix. Each of them hit Onix square in the face. Due to all the damage it had taken, the small and simple Swift was enough to make it finally faint.
"O...nix..."
"Whew. Finally." Rainbow Dash sat down on the ground along with the rest of the party. The persistent Onix was finally knocked out. "What was up with that Onix? It was so freakishly strong."
"I can only imagine what it must've been like to encounter it back in the past. But we can't focus on that now and take a break. We have to keep moving." Twilight stood up. No time to waste. They have a Dusknoir to reach.
At Dusknoir's castle, the Gripper Pokemon and Kathleen had overseen the party and how they dealt with Onix. This pleased Kathleen a small bit, but to Dusknoir it wasn't enough. It needed to make sure that she was happy. "That was really fun. The way they handled that Onix was so cool!" Kathleen raised her arms up at Dusknoir. "Can we give them another challenge that's just as fun?"
"I will. I'll make sure it is of the utmost peak of fun." Dusknoir was ready to change the world once more in order to up the anty. "What do you wish for them go up against?"
"Um...I want..well anything you can think of! You've got a lot of great ideas, right Dusknoir?"
"Very well. I shall give them a plethora of challenges." Dusknoir put his hands together, affecting the board game world a second time.
As the party were on their way, they felt the earth trembling once more. What could possibly be next? What did end up following next was an entire Maze, created by Dusknoir in a few seconds flat, seen in the distance near the grand mountains. The Pokemon around the area ran away from the shifting earth.
"Is it me, or did that maze just appear?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"It definitely wasn't there before. Just like the dungeon. That means that someone's changing the earth itself." Twilight theorized.
"You think it might be Dusknoir?" Fluttershy turned to Twilight.
"It has to be. Dusknoir's the one behind it all anyways." She responded.
"That means Dusknoir's trying to slow us down by bringing up more and more obstacles," said Cadence. "And it's doing a pretty good job at it."
"Do we have to go through the maze? Can't we just walk around it?" Rainbow asked.
"Not really. It's right on those mountains. And they are some pretty steep and tall mountains as well. Not only that, but the castle is also right beyond there, and who knows what else Dusknoir will bring up the moment we get past the maze. So this is our only bet." Twilight explained. "It's times like this where I wish I had my wings."
"You're not the only one." Rainbow Dash, Cadence and Fluttershy sighed.
The party advanced forward with their only pathway being the maze. And like any maze, it was frantic all over the place. They set foot and hoof into this erratic area, hoping that they don't get lost immediately.
"Okay. This time, let's not split up. Last time we did back at Canterlot's Maze it was a disaster. Let's just stick together in groups." Twilight commented.
"I'll stick by Ash and Pikachu if that's okay." Fluttershy flew to the two.
"Me and Rainbow Dash then." Applejack went to Dash.
"Twilight, Eve and I will stick together. Two fairies can be pretty effective." Cadence chose Twilight and her Eevee.
"Then that leaves me with Spike and Pinkie Pie. I'm sure we'll all get through this with ease." Rarity went to the two of them.
"Alright. We've all got our partners. Then let's choose a pathway. If any of us ends up finding the exit, we'll make sure to come over as soon as we can if you make a call." Twilight finished her speech as the party went towards different pathways.
Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy ended up in a more closed space. Each maze had different spaces, whether they were tight or open. The spot that these three were in had ancient paintings on the walls of the maze. From the appearance, it seemed to be the infamous paintings of Mew. Perhaps this is one of the earlier paintings of the Mythical Pokemon found usually in the caves.
"This place feels oddly familiar," Ash said, feeling like he's been here before. "In fact, this entire area...from the dungeon to this maze feels so familiar."
"Do you remember being here, Ash?" Fluttershy asked.
"I think so. Feels like I've journeyed here before."
"Pika..."
"Well, Twilight did say that this was all based in the past. So maybe it's from one of the regions you've been to. Just really long ago."
"Yeah, probably." Just then, Ash had stopped Fluttershy but outstretching hands. Something was inside the grass of the maze. "Something's there."
"W-What is it?" Fluttershy hid behind Ash as Pikachu jumped forward. The grass rustled forward as some estranged sounds echoed from them. Ash and Pikachu tried to pick up what Pokemon that sounded like. It was a bit of a faint cry.
Out of those bushes emerged the Little Bear Pokemon Teddiursa.
"Teddi?" It looked up to them with its paws on its mouth.
"Aww. It's just a little Teddiursa. Hello, little one." Fluttershy fluttered over to it as Ash and Pikachu had nothing to fear. Fluttershy placed her hoof on the Little Bear Pokemon, petting it. But what she didn't expect was Dusknoir's control over it. This cute and cuddly Pokemon suddenly attacked Fluttershy by using Slash, cutting a piece of her dress off. Fluttershy squealed as she backed away. Now, this singular Pokemon was their enemy. And its eyes were emanating a ghostly aura.
"Teddi...ursa!" It raised its paws up, attempting to look intimidating. This didn't look like a Pokemon that was here to make friends and cuddle. The Little Bear Pokemon ran towards them, ready to get aggressive on them.
"It's hostile too? Alright then. Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash and Pikachu got past this Pokemon easily as Pikachu rushed in at blinding speeds, taking out the Little Bear Pokemon in one hit to the face.
The Little Bear Pokemon held its face, upset at its immediate loss. But the ghostly aura around its eyes had faded away. And like any child, it called for its parent. And emerging from the maze, breaking straight through the grass of the maze was the Hibernator Pokemon Ursaring, running towards its child call, furious at Ash, Pikachu and Fluttershy.
"Pika?!"
"Oh, dear! we probably shouldn't have done that!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"It's fine! Pikachu! Dodge Ursaring!" Pikachu had avoided Ursaring's Fury Swipes as the grass and walls around the maze were torn apart by the swipes. Then, Ash took a good look at Ursaring's eyes, seeing a ghostly aura around them. Just like Teddiursa when it suddenly attacked Fluttershy. "They're under mind control...I didn't even know Ghost-Types were capable of that. I thought it was just Psychic-Types."
"The poor things. Ash, you have to snap them out of it!"
"Will do, can do! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...chuuu!" Pikachu sent a fast bolt of lightning towards Ursaring, shocking it with 10,000 volts of electricity. The Hibernator Pokemon powered through all of a sudden as it ran towards Pikachu, using Hammer Arm and whacking it away. "Pika!" The Electric Mouse had luckily recovered fast enough.
"Don't tell me it's freakishly strong too... So Dusknoir's influencing their minds and strength?" Ash said.
"URSA!" Ursaring used Fury Swipes once more, continuing its rampage. Pikachu had avoided the swipes by jumping onto the Normal-Types arms, staying there. Ursaring looked up at Pikachu, growing it at it as it raised its other arm to try and hit Pikachu. But the agile Pokemon jumped off at the right second, causing Ursaring to hit its own arm. Pikachu then placed its foot on Ursaring's face, stomping on it and using it as a launcher to bounce off. "Ur...saring." This staggered Ursaring for a bit.
"Great job Pikachu! Let's snap Ursaring out of it with a good hard Iron Tail!" Ash gave the final command. His buddy moved up towards Ursaring's head, smacking it with Iron Tail. This was enough to snap Ursaring out of its control, eliminating the ghostly aura in its eyes. The Hibernator Pokemon sat down, holding its head as its cub went towards it to see if it was okay.
"Oh, dear. Are you feeling better now?" Fluttershy went over to the dazed Pokemon.
"Ursa..." It shook its head.
"Sorry about that. But we had to free you from that mind control. Hope we weren't too aggressive." Ash said.
Fluttershy helped Ursaring get back up on its feet as the parent and the cub waved goodbye to them, thanking them for breaking the mind control. The first obstacle in the maze had easily been dealt with.
"We're making pretty good progress, huh?" Ash looked at Fluttershy.
"Mhm. All we have to do now is find the exit. Maybe the Ursaring and Teddiursa know where it might be." Fluttershy said.
"Yeah. Wait a second..." Ash turned his head towards the walls were Ursaring tore through, seeing it as a chance to gradually get out of the maze. "I got it! Pikachu. Can you use Iron Tail on the grass and walls?"
"Pika-Pikachu."
Over at the other side of the maze, Twilight, Eve and Cadence ended up in a more open area with much more space.
"Do you see anything yet, Twilight?" Cadence asked.
"No. Even with all this space, it's hard to tell where the exit leads to. Matter of fact... doesn't it feel like this one path just leads to nothing?"
"What do you mean?" Cadence stopped as she turned to Twilight.
"Call me crazy, but I think we've already passed here before. It's not like a maze to just suddenly have an endless path."
"Are you saying that this part of it is infinite? That's not possible. Mazes always have an endpoint. No matter how frustrating they are." Cadence laughed.
"Yeah. But this one doesn't feel like it does. Maybe it's just another one of Dusknoir's tricks. Yeah...that's what it probably is." But Twilight wasn't wrong. This part of the maze was confusing to the eye. From a birds-eye view, the maze looked like any other regular maze. It has a start and finish and a ton of twists and turns. But inside the maze, this one particular part of it was infinite. It never stopped and it seemed to go on forever. Which would greatly confuse anyone since its physically impossible for that to happen. For it to be possible, the maze would have to be larger than the entire world.
But their seemingly endless trot was cut short as Cadence's hoof activated a secret trap door that was cleverly coated in the grass. The people who made this maze seemed to be experts in traps and secrets. The 2 alicorns and the Pokemon fell down the trap door as it had closed. They both screamed as they fell flat on the hard ground.
"Ugh...what...when was that there?" Twilight groaned.
"Trap doors...every ancient civilization has one." Cadence put her hoof on her head, a bit dazed. Once they got up, the first thing they were met with was an underground city, just right up ahead. "Uh, Twilight...look."
Underneath this trap door, this city seemed to be built by those who preferred to live underground. There, some Ground-Type Pokemon could be seen with some humans who were wearing drags. Twilight assumed that they were also trapped in this board game, but from the way they all looked, they way they dressed and especially the way they were talking, they seemed to actually belong in there, as if they were made in the board game itself.
"This day is so weird...even for Pokemon standards." Twilight held her head. How could this day get any more bizarre?"
Dusknoir and Kathleen watched over, seeing the entire party end up in different areas with various situations. This wasn't the biggest obstacle they were to face. Dusknoir had other plans. All in order to keep Kathleen happy.
No matter what.
Deep underneath the trap door, where the underground city lies, Twilight and Cadence were trying to get out of here. They attempted to push through the trap door, hoping to open it. They tried everything from their hooves to even their magic and some Pokemon moves. But no luck. It seems like the hatch is only unlockable from the surface, not the underground. Not only that but there were strange electric webs just leaking from above. As if there was something else around.
"Are you kidding me?! We can't get through!" Twilight groaned.
"Totally shut. Talk about Grade A design huh?" Cadence spoke.
"Too Grade A if you ask me. Now, what do we do?"
"Why don't we ask the people living here? They might know a way out of here?" Cadence suggested, nudging her head over to the underground city. The people and Pokemon there didn't even notice Cadence, Twilight and Eve had crashed down here. They were too busy working. Building from the looks of it. Too focused on their work.
The two alicorns and the Pokemon headed towards the city. And as they got closer, they could feel the air around them thicken. The sounds of liquids hitting the ground and echoing around the area. Even some of the gems from the dungeon could be seen here. Some Zubats and Golbats hung around, but they weren't as hostile as the ones from the dungeon. If anything, this place was the safer version of the dungeon.
"Excuse me." Twilight went up to a human who was pulling a rope. The tattered man turned to her. "I'm sorry, it looks like you're pretty busy at the moment. But could you please tell us a way out of this cave, maybe?"
"Hm? A way out. Well, you came at the right exact moment. What we are all doing is planning a way out of here." The man explained.
"Wait. That's what you're doing?" Cadence said. "Are you building some sort of device maybe?" She and Twilight looked over to what seemed to resemble a drill of some sorts.
"Something similar to that. We are all currently working on a contraption that can break through these sturdy walls. We were originally planning to have the Pokemon use Drill Run, but these walls are much more powerful than we anticipated. Which is why we and the Pokemon are creating a contraption that has the strength equivalent to a hundred Drill Runs. Eventually, we'll be free from this horrible area."
"Oh. That's actually impressive." Twilight was impressed by all this hard work that the humans had put in. "How close are you to finishing it?"
"We have been working on it for 6 years now. Our progress has been a long one. But we are close to our completion. If we can just gather the right amount of strength, our freedom will come sooner than we think."
"If that's the case..." Cadence placed her hoof on her chin, thinking for a small bit. "We'll help you get it to the right amount of strength."
"We will?" Twilight turned to Cadence.
"You will?" The man said as the others heard Cadence's words.
"Mhm. We'll make a team effort to give everyone here their freedom. Including the humans who are trapped up there. After all, everyone does want some freedom right about now."
"That is true. But how can we possibly finish it in t-" Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Cadence pointed to her friend's horn and her own. "Oh right. Magic."
"If my memory's correct. We have a spell that can accelerate results. Although the last time you used it Twilight, it was a bit of a chaotic mess."
"Ehehe. Right." Twilight blushed, recalling the moment she first tried the acceleration spell.
"You two strange creatures can accelerate the process?" A woman asked.
"Yes, we can. Although, it'll only speed up the building process. The strength part is something we have to put our sweat blood into.
The humans started talking amongst each other, chatting about how these strange creatures possess the power to accelerate anything and were wearing clothing based on Pokemon. They thought for it for a second and realised that they do need the help. They've been underground for who knows how long. Some major progress would be nice right about now. "Very well. Help us. In whatever way you can."
"Right. Stand back, everyone." Cadence stepped forward towards the contraption as everyone else just backed away to see this magic happen. Cadence's horn emanated its usual magical aura. However unbeknownst to her, since she had the added magic of a Sylveon, her magic was much more potent and effective. The drill contraption was surrounded by the magical aura as the sight of it being completed were being bestowed up the eyes of the humans and Pokemon.
They could see it spinning around at high speeds that were high to keep up. Cadence was in deep focus, making sure not to break it apart due to how fast it was moving. The drill in the front was being polished in seconds. The hard texture on it was much more visible, showing just how much they've worked on it. Cadence had finished using her spell as the aura vanished. And just like that, in a few seconds, their contraption had been completed.
"Oh my Arceus...she did it effortlessly." A man said, starstruck by what he saw along with everyone else.
"That truly was magic!" A woman exclaimed. "This saves up so much time!"
"Now all we need is the strength. It's strong but, not quite enough to break through these dense walls." A man explained.
"If you need strength, why don't you just have all the Pokemon that know Drill Run use it in a combined state?" Twilight asked.
"We did try that. But continuous Drill Runs are not enough. They can definitely damage parts of the wall, but that is only a minimum amount. It needs to be capable of breaking chunks out." A woman answered.
"Capable of breaking chunks out you say? I think we can help with this one as well." Cadence said. "From what I can tell, you mostly have Ground-Types that all know Drill Run. But you're in luck. Twilight and I have access to certain Pokemon moves. Maybe those will help."
"Right we do. But are they strong enough?" Twilight turned to Cadence.
"Well... I don't know how Fairy-Type moves compare to other types in terms of power, but it's worth a shot. We'll try and see what moves can really benefit us. And I think I know one move that can help the Pokemon as well..."
"Please do. We cannot wait to see the surface once more." A man nodded his head. The plan to get out of here continued on.
Meanwhile, back up at the Maze, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were unaware of the incoming obstacles that each part of the maze has. Ash and Fluttershy had already dealt with a Teddiursa and Ursaring problem, Twilight and Cadence were dealing with an underground situation and who knows what the others might get themselves into. Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her Greninja suit, holding the tongue scarf that came along with it.
"So, AJ. When we're out of here and the festival's done...are you gonna catch any Pokemon?" Dash asked.
"Me? Catch a Pokemon. Shucks, I don't know about that. Don't know if I really want a Pokemon, honestly."
"Why not? Everypony in Ponyville has a Pokemon of their own. Don't you technically have those Applins?"
"Well, those little fellers just hang around the orchard and the farm. I don't really own em. And if I were to catch a Pokemon, I couldn't decide. Too many of 'em. Even though Apple Bloom has one of her own...even Big Macintosh and Granny Smith have some. For all I know my entire family's got some of their own."
"Heh. You don't have to worry about that. Just leave it to me. I'll find a Pokemon that really fits you." Dash smirked.
"Really? Which one?"
"Well...ummm.. I got nothing. But I'm sure I'll find one. Maybe we can get you a pretty awesome Fighting-Type if we can." As they continued trotting along, the maze had found a challenge for the two of them next. In the form of an ambush. But this wasn't a traditional ambush with huge enemies and bandits. Instead, the maze sent Bug-Type Pokemon to perform the ambush. More specifically, a group of Joltik. One of the smallest Pokemon ever. Only standing 0.1 metres tall. And these Joltik were influenced by Dusknoir as the ghostly aura could be seen in their eyes as well.
"What's up with those Joltik?" Rainbow Dash looked at the Attaching Pokemon, noticing the ghostly aura. Applejack did the same as well. Then, the Joltik were suddenly increasing in numbers with more and more popping out of the grass. They were cleverly hidden in them due to how tiny they are. And just like that, they all attacked the two ponies by lunging at them and attaching themselves to their faces and body.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash started screaming as there hundreds of the little Bug-Electric Pokemon crawling and sticking onto them. To make matters worse, Joltik can't normally produce electricity on their own, so they always attach to others, more specifically Pokemon and suck up all the static electricity in them. And since every living creature has some form of energy running through them which always some static involved, this makes it a buffet to the Joltik. So they unleashed Thundershock that shocked both Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
Getting tired of the bugs on them, Rainbow Dash was about to blast them away with Water Pulse, but the Attaching Pokemon had used String Shot to wrap Rainbow's hooves together. And you can't just casually rip apart String Shot. It's much more thick and potent than a regular string. So Dash was stuck at the moment with bugs crawling over her.
Applejack managed to get some of them off thanks to her strength, but that didn't last long either as the Joltik's used Electroweb to halt her. She couldn't break out of this one. Not that she didn't have the strength to, but because she was being shocked and held down at the same time by the web, making it difficult to focus. Even worse, she was also caught by the String Shot.
"D-Darn Joltik!" The farm pony shouted. She used Decidueye's arrows, but since the Joltik were so small, they all ended up missing a large majority of them and only really hit two Joltik.
"Let me go! When I get out of here I'm gonna squash you all!" Rainbow Dash squirmed about, trying to get the strings off her. The Joltik had their prey as they called upon some accomplices. They weren't alone in this at all. The second Bug-Types that came along were the Iron Ant Pokemon Durant. Working alongside the Joltik. Only two of them came along, but that was more than enough. One Durant is capable of lifting 7000lbs, meaning that they can lift even the heaviest Pokemon like Snorlax, Wailord and even the Legendary Pokemon Groudon like they were nothing, making them one of the most physically strongest Pokemon out there. So these two were lightwork for them as they lifted up Rainbow Dash and Applejack, carrying them. The Joltik followed suit as they were headed to a secluded part of the maze.
Beyond the grass was a fusion of both spider webs and an ant colony. There were numerous electrowebs all over the place with Pokemon and human skeleton stuck onto them. Along with some of them laying all over the ground.
And standing at the very top of the dirt hill inside the colony was Galvantula. The Elespider Pokemon. It was running this entire group, giving orders to its pre-evolution and the Durant, making it the top Pokemon here. Not only that but this Galvantula was built. Seemingly much bigger and wider than a normal one.
"Woah nelly..." Applejack was taken aback by the sight of this. From the skeleton bones to the Galvantula and the insane amount of Joltik and Durant around.
"Gal...GALVANTULA!" The Elespider let out a cry as it was commanding the Durant to bring the two ponies to it. They escorted the captives to the Elespider Pokemon. AJ and RD looked at Galvantula, gazing at its many eyes as it was gazing back. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a bit on the peckish side. It was rubbing its two fronts legs together like it was getting ready to feast. The two ponies gulped as they realised that they were about to be fed to this Pokemon.
"This is not good. Not Good! I DON'T WANNA BE EATEN BY A SPIDER!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she was starting to freak out. She went crazy and dived into a panic by shooting Water Pulse's frantically, but since her hooves were trapped, they ended up missing their marks completely. And when they eventually hit one of the Pokemon, it barely did any damage. Mostly because Water-Type moves are weak to both Electric and Steel.
The Durant tossed the trapped ponies over to Galvantula, ready to feed it. Rainbow's panicking levels were skyrocketing. That's when Applejack hatched an idea. Even if she was stuck, there had to be something she could do. So she looked over to Galvantula and the Joltik and realised something.
The Joltik were difficult to handle since they were so small. Because of this, they could easily attach onto them without any struggle whatsoever. And since there were so many of them, Applejack's arrows couldn't even hit them. Only two. And she couldn't hit the Durant because they were under her when they were carrying her and Rainbow Dash. But Galvantula is the evolved form of Joltik. And this one is a giant of a Pokemon. Meaning that the chances of the arrows hitting just went up by a large degree. It was a risky move, especially with all these Pokemon surrounding them. But she had to take it. Applejack conjured up Decidueye's ghostly arrows as she fired two of them right towards Galvantula's eyes. The two arrows hit the Elespider's most prominent eyes, the two big ones of the side as it cried out in pain.
"Bullseye!" Applejack grinned. Galvantula out of pure anger, ran towards Applejack, ready to attack her. But this is what Applejack was waiting for. She turned her body around, causing Galvantula to attack the String Shot that was holding her hooves together. The Elespider Pokemon used Fury Cutter to try and attack Applejack and then caused the strings to be destroyed. The only way to get rid of them is by other Pokemon means after all. And since Galvantula is electric, it could bypass the Electroweb, making this a cinch for Applejack to make her escape. "Yeehaw! Fell for it!" She then returned the favour by shooting the arrows through Rainbow Dash's string, freeing her hooves.
"Galvuntula!" The huge Pokemon commanded all the bugs to attack the two ponies. The bugs scurried on over, heading towards the hill. Rainbow Dash broke out of the web by using Greninja's speed to throw it off her. Now she could finally do something.
Both her and Applejack looked down to see the Joltik and Durant climbing up the hills after them. In order to slow them down, Rainbow Dash unleashed Water Pulses downwards. Even if they didn't do that much damage at all, they could still be used as a distraction. Applejack shot multiple arrows down at the Durant since they were bigger than the Joltik.
Galvantula appeared behind the two of them, raising its legs up as it was about to dig its legs in them. Rainbow Dash quickly jumped over Galvantula as Applejack ran to the side, avoiding it. The less hit the hill, causing it to shake. And that shaking managed to throw off the Joltik and Durant.
"I think I've used enough of the same move. Let's switch it up." Rainbow Dash decided to utilize more of a Greninja's capabilities. She went for the move Water Shuriken, and in her hooves was a large shuriken made out of pure water. She tossed it towards Galvantula, hitting it, but not dealing that much damage. Applejack switched it up as well. She may not know a lot about Decidueye other than the fact that they can fire arrows. But she did know that it was a Grass-Type. And Grass-Types are very good against Electric-Types. So she ditched the arrows for now and went for the move Razor Leaf. By tapping into the magic within the Pokemon, she summoned sharp leaves that flew towards Galvantula, bombarding and pelting the Elespider Pokemon with these leaves.
"Let's get a move on, Rainbow Dash! I don't wanna stay here much longer!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Good call!" Rainbow Dash quickly moved around like a ninja, grabbing Applejack by the tail with her teeth. Galvantula wasn't ready to give up as it commanded the other bugs to use String Shot. And they did, grabbing onto Rainbow Dash's hoof which stopped her movements. "Oh come on!" Rainbow Dash groaned. Now her hooves were trapped by multiple strings from both Joltik and Durant. Applejack quickly used the arrows and Razor Leaf to try and free her. They were breaking the strings, but since there were so many of them, it was taking a while. And Galvantula was starting to close in on them. Dash tried to speed up the process by using Water Shuriken to cut through. They were getting somewhere, but the other Joltik and Durant had used more String Shots to make sure they don't go anywhere.
"Come on!" Break darn it!" Applejack was giving it her all as Galvantula was about to use Gastro Acid on them.
But thankfully, luck came their way. From beneath. Because right below them, a giant drill broke through the colony grounds, sending all the bugs flying across the area. And this drill ended up hitting Galvantula square in the middle, sending it flying into the air. It was the contraption that the humans and Pokemon had built along with the help of Cadence and Twilight. They had found the right amount of strength. And that strength ended up being not just the drill contraption, but the combined power of the Pokemon thanks to Cadence using the move Psych Up on all of them, making Drill Run go well with the contraption. Galvantula was hit the most with the drill having enough strength to knock
"What in tarnation is that?!" Applejack bellowed.
Out from the ground came Twilight and Cadence along with the humans and Pokemon who were underneath.
"Twilight! Princess Cadence!" said Rainbow Dash!
"Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Good to see you two!" Twilight replied. She then looked around to see the fainted bug Pokemon all over the place. Along with arrows, water, strings and bones scattered everywhere. "What happened here?"
"Nevermind that. We need to get out of here...now." Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes, not wanting to be in this colony for another second.
The drill contraption broke straight through the top, tearing apart the grass that hid the colony, giving them the freedom of the surface. A man looked up and the first thing his eyes locked onto was the azure sky along with the golden sun. "We did it... we actually did it! Finally! After so many months and years!" He got on his knees, feeling a sense of victory. The other humans rejoiced with their Pokemon as they could finally taste the fresh air and feel the wind blow in their faces. Twilight and Cadence looked at each other, seeing that they've managed to help them achieve their goal.
Dusknoir and Kathleen had seen the next obstacle be completed. Kathleen was rather impressed on how well they managed to solve two problems at the exact same time. "Amazing! Those ponies are so wonderful, Dusknoir! That was my favourite challenge yet!"
"I must say. I am also impressed. This group might be the first to ever complete this game." Dusknoir commented.
"I can't wait for them to reach you! But I'm worried that it might end too soon. There might be even more stuff that I haven't experienced yet." Kathleen lowered her head. Dusknoir flew over to the little girl, placing his huge hands on her head.
"I will make sure that you experience the best scenarios in this board game. I shall show you the epitome of a final boss battle. From what I know, those tend to be the most exciting of games."
"A final boss battle? Yes! I've always wanted to see that!" Kathleen jumped up.
It was time for Dusknoir to make a move. It was time for the final boss.
Challenges made by Dusknoir had been overcome. All to make the little girl known as Kathleen happy. But now it was time for Dusknoir to bring the group towards it and make sure that Kathleen experiences the best possible scenarios in this tabletop world.
Over at the maze, some of the group had met up. Twilight, Cadence and Eve managed to meet up when they were in the colony and the others were still roaming around.
Ash and Fluttershy had come across Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike, who seemed to have not encountered their challenge in the maze.
"It looks like mostly everypony's okay," Fluttershy spoke. "Hopefully the challenges for Twilight and the others aren't too bad."
"I'm sure they're fine darling." Rarity walked up to Fluttershy. "Besides, both Twilight and Princess Cadence are alicorns...albeit alicorns who don't have their wings in this world."
"I did hear some loud noises from somewhere. Sounded like a drill!" Spike exclaimed. "What do you think could've happened?"
"I don't know. But it was shaking up the earth pretty badly. But good news! We're starting to slowly find a way through this maze. By cutting down the grass and walls." Ash explained.
"Pikachu!"
"Good. The sooner we get out of this world, the sooner we can finally enjoy the Crystal Empire's version of the festival without any more distractions." Rarity brushed the dust off her Milotic dress.
"If we can just get through all the walls and grass with Iron Tail, we should be able to find the real exit. But man there sure a lot of them." Ash rubbed his head.
"Pika..." Pikachu's tail was getting a bit sore after using Iron Tail a lot.
Just then, they could hear the sound of a drill closing in. They turned around to see the drill contraption break through the grass and walls with ease. And riding the contraption were the humans, Pokemon, Twilight, Cadence, Eve, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Howdy ya'll!" The farm pony greeted.
"Oh, my word! What are you all on?!" Rarity pulled back.
"Nevermind that. We've got ourselves a way out of here." Twilight smiled, patting her hoof on the contraption. "I say we use this drill to break through the walls of the maze. Sound good to everypony?"
"Works for me. Pikachu's tail is hurting anyways." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"We will be taking our leave now." The humans got off the drill device along with their Pokemon. "We are truly grateful to you for helping us. Honestly."
"Oh, you're welcome. We're willing to help in any way we can." Cadence smiled. The humans left, leaving the device to the party. "Now. Hop on everypony. We're headed straight for the castle in this juggernaut."
So the party hopped onto this behemoth of a device. With this drill, breaking through the maze will be a cinch. If anything tried to get in its way, it would be met with its destructive spinning power.
Over the far distance in the castle, Dusknoir and Kathleen could see the drill contraption ploughing through the frantic maze as if it was nothing. They weren't hesitating to be in a hurry. They were determined to get out of this board game as soon as possible.
"Wow. They're really moving quickly, Dusknoir!" Kathleen looked up at the Gripper Pokemon.
"Very, At any moment, they'll reach the castle in no time."
"I can't wait till they get here! It'll be my first time seeing a boss battle. Can you please make it a great one?"
"I will. The best it can be." Dusknoir prepared himself for the incoming party. He knew that they were going to bring everything they had, and so will he. So Dusknoir interacted with the world once more, increasing the castle size to an astronomical level. It was no longer some simple castle. Now it was an entire palace. The expansion of it was ripping apart the ground itself, causing mountains to fall apart due to how far it was spreading. The patterns and colouring resembled that of Dusknoir himself.
The party saw this palace form up as the stopped moving in the device. They set their eyes on the grand palace. Even if its appearance has changed completely, Dusknoir was still inside. And to make things seem much more flashy, Dusknoir added statues of himself and summoned a black storm above the off that true final boss feeling.
"Now he's just showing off." Rarity sighed.
"You think that means he's expecting us?" Spike turned to Twilight.
"Oh yeah. I think he's expecting us. Let's be careful. Who knows what traps are waiting for us in there." Twilight replied. They hopped off the drill contraption, deciding to go in without it. And if they did need it, it was outside waiting for them.
Entering the castle, they were met with an extremely long carpet that led right towards the room were Dusknoir was waiting. Kathleen took a peek outside, seeing the party making their way towards the room. Her excitement was building up as she was anticipating this. No one had really made it past Dusknoir's challenges and campaigns and got this far. They were the first to impress her and cause Dusknoir to spice things up.
Dusknoir was floating on his throne, setting his eyes on the party as the doors had opened wide. And there he was. The Gripper Pokemon, waiting for them. Kathleen stood to the side, sitting down to watch this.
"There he is. Dusknoir." Twilight commented.
"What is it that final bosses say...?" Dusknoir quielty said to himself, thinking of a usual final boss quote. "Welcome heroes. I didn't expect you to make it this far. In fact, I was expecting you to keel over long ago. Espeically against those Bug-Types."
"You the chump that's got everypony trapped in here! You'd better get us out!" Rainbow demanded.
"You think I'd just listen to your demands? I think not. You're in my world. And in my world, I wield all the power imaginable. You've practically run into your final moments by approaching me." Dusknoir was playing the role a final boss pretty well for his first time. "No one is leaving this game!"
"Dusknoir's not just gonna let us go so easily Rainbow. If we wanna get out, we'll have to force our way out of here." Ash stepped forward in the middle as the others readied themselves."
Kathleen had a wide grin on her face, rocking back and forth in the corner. Dusknoir shifted his eyes to her, seeing how excited she was. All he had to do was keep this up and play the final boss role flawlessly to keep her happy.
"Then come! And face your fate!" Dusknoir's ghostly aura emanated across the room, giving it a much more eerie feeling as there were Will-O Wisps scattered across the walls and ceilings. Rainbow Dash made the first move, creating a Water Shuriken in her hooves. She tossed it towards Dusknoir, however the Gripper Pokemon caught it with its hands, crushing it into nothing. Cadence used Light Screen to grant them all a protective light around them as well as making their defences rise. Dusknoir moved in, ready to attack next as it was going for a Shadow Punch. Its ghostly hands extended towards the party all of a sudden. Ash put up his shield to block the punch as it caused some recoil to his shield.
Applejack stood from afar, firing arrows towards Dusknoir. The Gripper Pokemon avoided those arrows as it sent a Shadow Ball down towards her. The farm pony moved away from the Shadow Ball, barely avoiding it.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash pointed his sword forward as Pikachu gathered up the power of 10,000 volts in him, sending it towards Dusknoir. However, the Ghost-Type had cast a protective shield forward to protect himself from the bolt.
Rainbow Dash appeared behind Dusknoir, hiding in the shadows with Greninja's stealthiness. She got the jump on him by releasing a Water Pulse that knocked him back. And for a follow up, Pikachu had swung an Iron Tail towards Dusknoir's face.
So far, Dusknoir was the first one taking hits and feeling the damage. If he was to play the role of final boss well, he would have to be as aggressive as he can be. So he went for the move Trick Room, casting a psychic room around them all.
"What is this?!" Cadence looked around.
"It's Trick Room!" Ash responded. "Dusknoir's trying to outspeed us!"
"Correct you are." Dusknoir fired multiple Shadow Balls as they ended up hitting their mark. Rainbow Dash, Pikachu and Cadence were each hit with Shadow Ball, causing them to take some damage. Dusknoir amped it up by using Shadow Sneak. He disappeared into the shadows, heading towards Rarity.
"Look out Rarity!" Twilight turned to her unicorn friend as she stopped Dusknoir's movements by using Aurora Beam. The dazzling beam had hit Dusknoir's shadow, causing him to emerge from the ground. Rarity squealed as she pranced away from the Gripper Pokemon. Dusknoir decided to extend his arms, grabbing a hold of Twilight. He then extended his other hand, grabbing Applejack, who was constantly shooting arrows at her.
"Put them down!" Cadence was about to fire a Fairy Wind, but Dusknoir tossed them both at Cadence, throwing her off as she took damage by being hit by her own friends. Pikachu and Rainbow Dash both went up close and personal. Pikachu for an Iron Tail and Rainbow Dash for Cut. Dusknoir took both attacks from the sides, making him wince. But he quickly retaliated by using Fire Punch. Both his arms spread out at the same time, striking the pony and Pokemon with a flaming hit. The two felt the hits as they fell back down to the ground.
Fluttershy and Rarity decided to try and see what they could use. Rarity went straight for Disarming Voice while Fluttershy went for Razor Leaf. The voice had restrained Dusknoir as the sharp leaves had pelted him.
So far, Dusknoir was doing a good job on being a final boss, but he could do better. And to do better, he used Earthquake by slamming his hands on the ground. The intense tremor of the Earthquake shook the entire palace, making everyone lose their balance, especially Pikachu. Dusknoir managed to halt all of their attacks for the meantime, giving him an opportunity to strike. He managed to hit every single of them with a scattered array of Shadow Balls, multiple of them. Each of them hit the entire party, causing them to take all that damage for free. Eve on the other hand was unaffected by the Shadow Balls, thanks to her Normal-Typing.
"This is amazing!" Kathleen cried out. "You're awesome Dusknoir!"
Dusknoir looked down at the party as they were on the ground, still recovering from the Earthquake and Shadow Ball assault. "What's wrong? That all you can take?"
"Ugh... It isn't over yet. Rainbow Dash stood up, shaking her head as did the others."
Twilight had used Heal Pulse to restore everyone's health back to normal, making it seem like that damage never happened. Cadence had used Misty Terrain to change up the entire look of the room. The room was now filled with a pink mist that was radiating Fairy magic. This made Cadence, Twilight and Fluttershy much stronger. It was their turn to overwhelm Dusknoir.
"Pinkie Pie. Use Bewear's overwhelming strength. Your Fighting-Type moves won't have any effect on Dusknoir but you still have other physical moves that can work." Ash turned to Pinkie.
"Okie dokie!" Pinkie raised her arms up, running to Dusknoir like a child runs towards its mother. Dusknoir pulled back, attempting to escape from the Bewear suit Pinkie Pie, but she caught up instantly, using the move Payback, but in the form a hug. This caused massive damage to Dusknoir and also managed to keep him held there as Pinkie Pie continuously kept on hugging him with Payback.
"G-Get off of me!" Dusknoir squirmed. He tried to use his intagiblity but the Dark-Type move made sure he wouldn't.
"Spike. You can use Dragon-Type moves with your Axew suit." Ash talked to Spike.
"Really? W-Which one?" He replied.
"Go for Dragon Pulse. It's quick and effective."
So Spike held his breath in, gathering all that draconic Pokemon energy that lied within. Dusknoir was still squirming as Pinkie Pie was nuzzling against him. He let out a shockwave of dragon energy that raced towards Dusknoir. Pinkie turned around, noticing this coming towards her. The pinky pony quickly jumped out of the way as Dusknoir was hit by the Dragon Pulse, sending him flying towards the wall.
"Fluttershy. You can use Protect to shield us all if you don't want to battle." Ash said to her. "Just stand back and give us some support."
"Okay. I can do that." Fluttershy nodded her head as she was ready to give some back support to the best of her abilities.
"Rarity. As a Milotic, you can use a ton of Water-Type moves however you want. Use Aqua Ring to gradually heal us." Ash was quickly giving out simple commands to help get the ponies better adjusted to their Pokemon moves. "Just make it happen."
"Just make it happen? Alright." Rarity took a deep breath, channeling the water within. A ring of water surrounded the entire party in the process. "Oooh, this is beautiful to look at."
"Don't think you can just amp yourself up while I'm still here!" Dusknoir flew out of the wall, using Fire Punch on Ash. Ash used his shield to block the punch as the flames flew past him.
"Pikachu! Electroweb!" Pikachu jumped up in the air, tossing a web of electricity towards Dusknoir. The Gripper Pokemon disappeared into the shadows to avoid the move. Twilight and Cadence both used Fairy Wind at the exact same time, causing a powerful wind of magic to spread across the palace room. Dusknoir was being pelted by the bits and pieces of wind, throwing his movements off. "Rainbow Dash. Greninja's more than just an agile Pokemon. If you keep using its stealth traits, you'll be able to stay hidden for a while."
"Use my stealth more? Okay, I got it!"
"Applejack. Decidueye's arrows can also be used to hold Dusknoir in place. Use Spirit Shackle to do so." Ash turned to Applejack.
"I hear ya loud and clear."
Soon, all the advice that Ash gave to all of them came into play. Since he's battled against every single one of these Pokemon before and even battled alongside them, he knows all of their tricks. How fast they are, what they're capable of and how versatilte they can be. So a powerful team effort was formed. Applejack held down Dusknoir by firing a Spirit Shackle arrow that stuck onto its arm. Dusknoir tried to remove it, but the arrows was stuck to him like glue. Rainbow Dash hid in the shadows, making sure that Dusknoir wouldn't see her. She used Cut to hit the Gripper Pokemon in his antennae. Dusknoir used Fire Punch to burn away the arrow as he went into the ground using Shadow Sneak. He appeared behind Cadence, striking her with a Shadow Ball. However, protect had managed to negate the hit, giving Cadence the opportunity to blast Dusknoir in the face with a standard alicorn magic beam. Dusknoir went to grab Cadence, but was stopped by an Iron Tail from Pikachu.
The Gripper Pokemon flew back, tossing Shadow Balls to keep his distance. Eve got in the way, utilizing her Normal-Typing to shield them all from the Shadow Ball. They phased right through her, giving them all time to move away from them. Spike had unleashed another Dragon Pulse as Pikachu joined in by using Thunderbolt. Both attacks merged, striking Dusknoir square in the middle. The Ghost-Type was sent to the wall, grunting at the overwhelming assault. He retaliated by sending down Hyper Beam towards them. This looked like it was gonna deal some major damage to all of them.
Pinkie Pie got in the way however, grabbing a hold of the beam with her big bear paws, crushing them with a single hug. Dusknoir winced, seeing that all of his moves were being negated. And the entire party were being healed by Rarity's Aqua Ring.
Kathleen saw this and noticed that Dusknoir was being overwhelmed. It was a sign that he was not fit to be a final boss.
"Let's finish this! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as he raised his sword up. Pikachu charged up all its energy as Cadence backed him up by using Psych up to power the Electric Mouse up. Dusknoir flew forward, ready to deal a Fire Punch to them, but it was too late. Soon he was struck by Thunderbolt as Rainbow Dash slashed past him with Cut, dealing the final blow.
And just like that, Dusknoir had tasted defeat. "This can't be..." Dusknoir held his head, feeling weak.
"It's over Dusknoir! Send us back! All of us!" Twilight demanded.
"...N-No one is leaving this world. For Kathleen's sake." Dusknoir grunted.
"You're still gonna keep us here? Come on!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"I said... no one is leaving!" Dusknoir gazed at them as his ghostly aura was rising up once more. The party readied themselves for a second round. This is the part where the final boss has a second phase. But in this case, Kathleen could see that he wasn't one of those final bosses.
"Wait!" Kathleen got in the way. "Don't hurt Dusknoir! He didn't mean it! Honestly!"
"Who are you?" Cadence asked. "And how come we didn't see you in here earlier?"
"Please don't hurt Dusknoir any more. It's my fault."
"Hold on. What's going on?" said Fluttershy.
"Dusknoir was just trying to make me have a fun time with this board game."
"So you just trapped everyone in here? Just for fun?" Applejack commented.
"You don't understand...I'll show you why." Dusknoir got up, altering the world once more as he was about to show the party the reason why he had done this. The real story behind it.
Flashback Sequence
Sinnoh Region, Floaroma Town.
Kathleen was in her home, waiting for her parents to return. Apparently today, they had a special gift for her. In her room, she sat down playing board games. It was her favourite hobby and past time. The fun of interacting with a fantasy world was what always made her smile.
Through the doors, her parents returned home, bringing in a new board game for her to play. "Kathleen. We've got a new one for you." Her father said.
"A new board game? Yes!" Kathleen jumped off her bed and fell on the flor. "Ow..." She held her head in pain.
"You have to be careful Kathleen. If you want your illness to slow down, you can't be moving around so much." Her mother said.
"Sorry. But can I have the board game now?"
"Of course you can. And I got a friend you can play with, hopefully." The mother took out a Pokeball, sending out a Duskull. "This is Duskull. He'll be a good companion to you."
"B-But aren't Duskull's used to threaten misbehaving children?" Kathleen stammered.
"Well yes. But in truth, they are fairly playful Pokemon. Like most Ghost-Types. Duskull here will be a good friend and play with you all the time. So you won't feel lonely when playing a board game."
"Really? Yes!" Kathleen ran over to the Requiem Pokemon. "Hello Duskull. My name is Kathleen! Nice to meet you!" She put her hands forward. Duskull looked at her tiny little hands, gently sending his ghostly arms forward.
I was entrusted to be a good friend to Kathleen. Her illness meant that no one could play any games with her since she could infect them. But since I was a Ghost-Type, I was immune to this. This made me Kathleen's only playmate.
4 Years went by as Duskull and Kathleen played many board games together. Every week and month, the parents would buy a new one to keep the fun going and going while they took care of their daughter, trying to treat her illness to the best of their abilities. Duskull evolved over the years too. As he continued to evolve, his intelligence grew, making the board games much more challenging and interesting. Eventually when he became a Dusknoir, he was at the highest peak of his board game skills. Kathleen enjoyed every second of it. She couldn't ask for a better playmate and a friend.
Unfortunately, the illness that she had finally reached its critical point. She laid in a hospital bed with her favourite board game right next to her. She was finding it difficult to breathe as her parents stood by her. The doctor had told her that whatever it is that was affecting her was hard to describe. This illness she contracted occurred when she visited the Unova region, and doctors haven't figured out what it is yet. The only thing that they can find is a trace of draconic energy attached to her. It ended up belonging to a Hydreigon.
"I'm so cold..." Kathleen was shivering as well. She held her sheets closer to her. Her parents wanted to hold their child close to them, but they would end up catching the illness if they did as well. "Mom... Dad... I can't feel my legs...I'm scared." She wailed. Inside of her, she was not only shivering but her body was burning up to an intense degree.
"I'm so sorry Kathleen. We honestly tried everything that we could." The mother kneeled down to see her.
"I was an idiot to send us to Unova. It was my fault." The father sat down on a chair, taking the blame and guilt.
Dusknoir watched over as she saw Kathleen's last moments of life being slowly ripped away from her. Ghost-Type Pokemon have the power to know when someone is about to pass away. And Dusknoir being one of the most powerful could tell that she had very little time left. She saw Kathleen about to utter her final words, but she was struggling to get it out. And just like that, she never got to say goodbye to her family as her final words. Her last breath had been drawn as she had passed away. The parents looked down with tears flowing in their eyes, knowing that they just lost their daughter.
But Dusknoir wasn't ready to let her go. For the sake of his best friend, he would not allow Kathleen to pass on. Dusknoir had focused on the board game and Kathleen's body, channeling his ghostly aura. The entire hospital room was shaking as the lights were flashing like crazy. The parents looked up to see all the equipment flying around as Dusknoir was surrounded by a purple energy.
"D-Dusknoir. What are you doing?!" The father exclaimed.
Dusknoir clapped his hands together as he caused a bright flash of light to occur. Kathleen's body was starting to vanish into purple stardust along with the board game. The parents watched as they saw their daughter's spirit enter the game. Dusknoir followed suit, turning back to the parents. "You gave me to her to make sure that she was happy. I am merely continuing my promise." Dusknoir entered the board game, making those his last words for the parents. And as for the board game, the father picked it up, looking at it. He knew that her daughter was now inside of this tabletop game for children. But before he knew it, the board game had vanished into purple stardust as well.
"Now do you see? I do this to keep her happiness forever. I was entrusted to keep her happy, and that is all I want to do." Dusknoir commented. "She always wanted to play with other people, but she couldn't due to her illness. I am making that a reality by bringing others here."
"So please! Don't hurt Dusknoir anymore. I beg of you."
Ash and the others saw this, now knowing the real reason why. Some of them started to feel a bit bad and tear up a bit. But Ash could see the reason why the most. He had experienced something similar to this once, but in a different situation.
"I get it. You just want to make her happy. She never got to be happy in her final moments and she didn't get to say goodbye." Ash commented as he walked to Dusknoir. "You two remind me of Molly and Entei. Molly wanted a mother more than anyone else. All she wanted was to feel that same motherly love everyone else gets to experience. Entei would do anything to make her wishes come true."
"Pika."
"But, even if you're happy with this world and experiencing all this fun with Dusknoir, what about everyone else. The people and Pokemon here have their own happiness that they enjoy and want to experience as well." Ash kneeled down to Kathleen. "It wouldn't really be fair to them to be stuck here forever wouldn't it?"
"No...it wouldn't." Kathleen put her hands together.
"I'm not blaming you." Ash put his hand on her head. "When I'm journeying the world, I always want to have the best fun that I can have. I wanna become a Pokemon Master, but I don't wanna rush it. It's the journey that matters. All the places I grew and the folks that I knew, along with all the friends and Pokemon I've met mean so much to me. Even if I don't reach my goal for a long time, I can still smile knowing that I've done so much and made so many happy memories. Everyone else wants to make their memories as well."
"I-I'm sorry." Kathleen started to cry as she put her hands over her eyes. "I'm so sorry!"
Dusknoir floated forward, giving Kathleen a comforting hug. "Kathleen. I was only trying to make you happy. But I was a fool to not realise how much damage it was actually causing to others. I even ended up taking you away from your parents at your final moments. Some friend I turned out to be."
"Don't blame yourself Dusknoir." Ash spoke. "I'd do anything to make my friends happy too. Sometimes we don't see how much harm we're causing to others because we're so focused on the ones we love. Not too long ago, I ended up not paying attention to Pikachu because I was dedicated to helping Riolu get stronger. But we both realise that no matter what, even if we give more attention to others, we'll never break apart."
"Pikachu!"
Dusknoir and Kathleen looked at each other, knowing what must be done. Dusknoir had to set everyone free, back to reality. "Fine. You are all free to leave. Everyone here."
"It's for the best, Dusknoir." Kathleen said. Dusknoir put his hands together as he was shifting this world for the final time. All the people and Pokemon on the outside could feel their bodies being lifted up into the air as the world around them was covered in a purple stardust. Ash and the party experienced the same thing. It was time to return back to reality. Ash saw Kathleen cry once more. He knew she enjoyed this world with other people, but keeping them here wasn't the right thing to do. But that's when he thought of something.
"No need to worry!" Ash exclaimed as they looked up at him. "Because we'll be back. With more friends!"
"Y-You will?" Kathleen replied.
"Mhm! You don't have to leave this world. You can still experience it with the people and Pokemon that were made here. And I'll be back with other friends, so that they can experience this board game world too. To be honest, it was pretty awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
"Ash is right! Your fun isn't over yet." Pinkie said.
"We'll make sure that you never stop having fun. No matter what." said Cadence.
Hearing this made Kathleen cry once more, but this time they were tears of joy. Because now she knows that she will never truly be alone, and the potential friends she'll have in the future are near. Even if she had already passed away a long time ago and was bound here, she was happy in this other world. And as long as Dusknoir is with her, her happiness will continue to grow.
"Bye bye! I'll wait for you all to return!" Kathleen waved goodbye as they waved back as well. Even Dusknoir gave a returning wave. And just like that, all those who were pulled in to this world had finally returned.
Inside the train, the Wooloo had eventually rolled away after having a good nap, making them gone from the train tracks. Snorlax on the other hand was still asleep. So no progress had been made. Ash and everyone that had been trapped inside the board game had popped back out. Very soon, the entire train was filled with more humans and Pokemon than it could handle.
"Oh. You're back!" Sonata said. "So, how was the game?"
"Ugh...get off of me!" Rainbow Dash bucked someone off of her.
"Is the train still going?" Applejack asked.
"Nope. The Wooloo have moved but that Snorlax won't even budge." Aria replied.
"Are you kidding me?!" Twilight erupted. "Ugh! We spent all that time in that board game world and it hasn't even woken up yet?!"
"You wanna move a Snorlax?" One of the freed humans asked. "Well, other than the Pokeflute, there is another easier way."
"What way?" Fluttershy turned to him.
"Watch and learn." The man picked inside his pockets, holding out a pile macaron that were still fresh due to time being slow in the board game world. He tossed the macarons outside the train window, and the scent of it caused Snorlax to wake up, instantly running over to the macarons. And just like that, a huge obstacle was gone from the train tracks and the path to the Crystal Empire can go on.
"Finally..." Rarity sighed.
"There's one thing that I still don't get..." Twilight said.
"What is it Twilight?" Cadence turned to her.
"If Dusknoir has the power to grab others and send them to the spirit world...does that mean that this board game is an afterlife?" Twilight turned to the board game, along with everyone else. For now, they would keep it in a bag to make sure it was safe and in good condition. They had an odd experience in that world, although it was enjoyable to them to some degree. And the future of Dusknoir and Kathleen will still go on as the journey continues.
