Pokémon and Ponies
#62-The Canterlot Tourament
Johto Region. 2 weeks ago before a fateful event.
"The ponies seem to be getting better as trainers from the looks of it." BigTime Ben was at his home, exhausted at the moment as he let out a yawn. "So many of them are learning tricks and skills along the way. Mostly the pegasi. Guess it's that warrior blood from the past, right Gothitelle?"
"Gothitelle..."
"But ya know...With the Equestria League arena almost finished, a lot of them are climbing up fast in the ranks. Some more than others at an unusual rate. By the time the arena's been fully built, a large majority of them would've already beaten all 8 gyms."
"Telle."
"Which makes me curious...I wonder who's the strongest pony trainer of them all?" He sat down on a chair, pondering to himself. "It's pretty fun to think about..."
Thoughts swirled around his ever-expanding mind. He imagined the pony trainers, at least, the best of the best so far, battling it out at their current best. Then the answer was obvious. It was staring at him in the face the entire time. An idea that was sure to put the ponies to the test to see just how far they've truly come.
"That's it!" He stood up, startling his Gothitelle. "We'll hold a mini-tournament! Where we'll see which trainers are currently the strongest and who'll really make it to Equestria League sooner than others!"
"Gothitelle?"
"Let's see the results of all their hard work! It'll be a great warm-up for the League." Ben got to work, skipping out on sleep tonight. He would have to build a tournament stage in a few days. That won't be a problem thanks to the overwhelming amount of Pokemon he owns.
The days that follow after this will spark the beginning of the first Pokemon Tournament in Equestria.
Fast forward to the present day.
News has already travelled far. And why wouldn't it? There is a tournament coming to Equestria. Located right at Canterlot of course. No better place to host it. And the ponies that were the most excited were none other than the trainers who aimed to come out on top in the Equestria League. This was their moment to really show their stuff before the big event.
"Ooh!" Rainbow Dash gawked at a flier that sponsored the tournament. "Ooh!" She showed it off to her friends, shoving it in their faces. "Oo-"
"Yes, Rainbow Dash. You're excited. We can tell." Twilight said with her eyes down.
"Excited doesn't even begin to describe it! I'm...I'm...I don't know what's greater than excited, but I'm feeling it alright!"
"A Pokemon Tournament in Canterlot. This is a big deal, ya know." Ash looked up.
"Yeah, it is!" Rainbow bellowed. "This is my chance! My chance to show everypony just how good of a trainer I am! That'll make em all know I'm more than capable of tackling the Equestria League. Whenever it's ready."
"An entire tournament that'll last for an entire week? That sounds intense..." Fluttershy commented.
"And all those ponies in one spot?" Rarity gave her Mareep a pat, feeling some shocks in the process. Although, her Mareep's electricity was oddly comforting at times. "I can only imagine how aggressive and destructive the battles will end up becoming."
"I'll say. Canterlot might get flattened with that tournament," said Applejack.
"If I win in this tournament, I'm gonna shoot up in the ranks! 4th place won't even exist anymore for me!"
"But ya know, Dash...there might be super tough trainers in that tournament, ya know," Ash warned her. "You never know who's surprisingly skilled and crafty."
"Pika."
"Ash is right." Twilight stood up. "Everypony has their own way of battling with their own unique tricks that they're hiding. Somepony can get the better of you with a strategy that you've never thought of."
"Relax. I know what I'm up against. After Sunset Shimmer, I've learned my lesson for sure. Besides, I'm aiming for the top 3. Spitfire, Daylight and Princess Luna. They're for sure gonna be there. If I beat them, then maybe, just maybe, it'll take me to number one!"
"Castform!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's bag, ready to cheer her on.
"But uh...are you going to bring Castform with you?" Fluttershy asked. "She's hasn't really been in a Pokemon battle yet. Is it a good idea to have her in a tournament with so many talented trainers?"
"Castform's gonna sit this one out. Sorry, buddy. You're just not ready yet."
"Cast..." The Weather Pokemon went back inside of her saddle-bag, sulking. But it was for the best. If her first battle ended up being in a tournament, she would get steamrolled in a second.
"Instead of a normal tournament, it's to see how we're all doing as trainers, huh." Twilight pondered. "I wonder how far we've actually come."
"I'd say we've grown as trainers. Still got a long way to go." Applejack replied. "But uh...not sure how we compare to Rainbow Dash."
"Ah!" Hearing that gave Rainbow Dash a brilliant idea. At least, to her anyway. "Why don't you all you join in as well?"
"Us? Join in?" Twilight pulled back.
"Oh, I don't know Rainbow Dash. We weren't really thinking of joining the tournament actually." Fluttershy slumped on a seat. "Well..not me at least."
"I'm not sure we're fit for a tournament. But if it were a tournament around baking, then I'd enter in a heartbeat!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Join?" Applejack thought for a moment. If she were to join this tournament, that would show her how far she's come and what she has to improve on. Lately, Applejack has been focused on Pokemon battling these past few weeks. And for good reason. In order to protect the ones she loves, she's put a ton of her dedication into understanding the art of the Pokemon Battle. So much so that her duty at Sweet Apple Acres has shifted from apple picking to battling recently. "Ain't a bad idea. I'll join it."
"You will?" Fluttershy turned to AJ.
"That's what I like to hear, AJ!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "What about you Rarity?"
"Hmm..." To everypony's surprise, Rarity was actually thinking about this. She was one of the very few ponies they'd expect to consider something like this. After a bit of thinking, she came to a conclusion. Her reason was the same as Applejack. All about family and friends after all. "Sure."
"That makes two! Yes! And you, Twilight?" Rainbow then turned her attention to Twilight.
"Well...I don't know. Am I really capable of battling against that many ponies?" Twilight scratched her mane.
"Bah. It won't be that bad." Rainbow Dash flew up. "Take a look at that." She then pointed her hoof over at the ranking boards where it shows the current ranks of Equestria's best trainers so far.
As always, she's ranked number 4. But, heading below that and further down, a lot of trainers are ranked fairly low. Mostly because not that many of them have racked up wins or participated in Pokemon battling that much. Even though Twilight and the others besides Rainbow Dash weren't on that board since she wasn't aiming for the Equestria, some of the trainers here seem to be, unfortunately, lagging behind.
So much so that a large majority of them haven't ranked up at all. Their current position has stayed the same with their win and loss count also being static.
"It hasn't changed at all?" Twilight went up to the board.
"Not one bit. I betcha they haven't been battling that often. But you have, ya know." Rainbow nudged the young alicorn. "What'dya say? You gonna join in?" Rainbow Dash was really wanting some of her friends to join in. For the sake of enjoyment with the ponies she enjoys being around.
"Well., I want to get stronger obviously. So...I guess participating in it won't be that bad. It's only for a week afterwards." Twilight had decided to join in as well. "But. If I'm joining in, I'll need to bring some Pokemon from PokePark to help. Dewott and Bisharp seem to be pretty good options."
"Perfect! I think that's good enough for me!" Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together. "This is gonna be so awesome!"
"Even though Pinkie Pie, Spike and I aren't joining, We'll cheer you all on," Fluttershy said. "So um, when do we leave?"
"Right now! I don't wanna miss out on registration!" Rainbow Dash was already prepared to take her leave. A few select ponies from Ponyville would be participating in this tournament whilst the rest will just be there to watch.
And what of Canterlot right now? Well, thanks to Ben's Pokemon, the stage had been set. Smack dab in a space where Canterlot has zero surroundings. No buildings, nature, nothing. Which made it perfect for the tournament to take place.
Like many Pokemon tournament arena's, this one was shaped like a dome with a large hole in the middle for the skies to be seen. Millions of seats for ponies to sit on, along with screens that will show the trainers, their Pokemon and the victor. It looked like a real authentic Pokemon arena. And it's the first of its kind in Equestria.
"Amazing..." Luna gazed at the sight of the tournament setting. The only thing going through her head right now was being on that stage, battling against other ponies with her team. This was a moment that far surpassed Gym Battles to her. And a moment that made her inner filly stir up. As if Pokemon battling didn't do that already.
"Excited are we, Luna?" Celestia went up to her little sister. "I can tell that everypony else is looking forward to this.
"Excited doesn't even begin to describe it. Oh, I wish mother and father were here right now. If only they could see me now."
"They can Luna. Everywhere even." Celestia looked around the halls of Canterlot, implying that their parents were watching from every corner of the world.
"Oh, right. Well, either way! I'd best choose the best team I have! But, what about you? Won't you partake in it?"
"Me? Oh, well I'll sit out of this. I think I'd prefer to spectate."
"That's a shame. It would be interesting to see you compete at your very best."
"Well..." Celestia looked up. "I am curious on how much I've developed as a trainer. But with Passion having plasma at her disposal, perhaps it would be a better idea to sit this one out for safety reasons."
"Fair enough. I'll be outside! Make sure you watch me at my very best!" Luna squeed as she teleported out of Celestia's vicinity.
"We're in for a long week, you two."
"Kirlia."
"Arcanine."
Arriving at Canterlot, ponies from across Equestria had gathered around in this one location. Whether to spectate or partake in the tournament, either way, they'll have a blast. If you look closely, you'll see that a majority of the ponies here are mainly pegasi. Others such as earth ponies and unicorns are present but they're greatly outnumbered by the pegasi.
Each of them made their way to the stadium. Those spectating had gone straight towards the seats or were just waiting and getting some snacks while the ones participating were asked to wait in the lounge room where the trainers will be in.
"Man...I wish I could join but I'm not allowed to. Bummer." Ash lowered his head, sulking. He was really looking for an opportunity to battle in a tournament but since he's a high-level trainer, that wasn't happening.
"Don't worry. Cheer up." Fluttershy gave him a pat on the back. "You still have the World Championships to look forward to after all."
"Pikachu."
Ash and the others who weren't participating took their seats already, getting a good angle of the arena. In the middle of the arena, they noticed that the Equestria flag was plastered there to replace the usual Poke Ball that's always seen. They really changed this up to fit Equestria's motif.
"I can't wait for this to start!" Apple Bloom squeed. "What about you, Sweetie Belle?"
"Same here! But uh...I'm just waiting for the contest halls to be finished already."
"They're getting completed next week anyway. So by the time this tournament is over, Equestria would've already had its first Pokemon Contest Hall." Pinkie Pie responded.
"Contests? Tournaments? I've got a lot to catch up on." Starlight groaned.
"I'm just happy to be here!" Goh exclaimed.
"Raboot..."
It wasn't just them spectating, Team Rocket, going under their usual brilliant disguises of tourists had decided to watch this tournament for themselves.
"A tournament for ponies?" Jessie sat down.
"How fun!" said James.
"A first of its kind!" Meowth nodded.
"Wobuffet!"
Over at the waiting lounge, many of the ponies had already entered with the Pokemon of their choice decided. Since not everypony has a full team of Pokemon, some only have one at their disposal, each battle will be a 1v1 to make it simpler. Otherwise, it'd just be unfair to the poor sucker who goes up against a full team of 6 Pokemon.
Rainbow Dash examined the room, seeing the kind of ponies she'll be going up against. A small percentage of them were her friends while a large majority were either ponies she recognizes or completely new faces. From the looks of it, some of them were capable trainers.
"If I can just pick the weaker ones out like plums, it'll be smooth sailing from here." Rainbow Dash said.
"I don't know Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied. "We don't even have a clue on what kind of Pokemon most of them have. They could each own Pokemon that resists all of ours."
"One thing is for sure, I own Pokemon capable of countering each of you." Along came Princess Luna, feeling extra confident about this. Everypony turned to her, immediately realizing that they might end up going up against her if they climb up the tournament. "Will all 18 types at my disposal, I'll know which Pokemon to use against my opponents."
"Princess Luna?!" Rarity gasped. "Ooh, we should've seen this coming."
"W-We're not gonna face off against Darkrai now are we?" Twilight chuckled nervously whilst looking at Darkrai who was lurking in the corners. The Pitch Black Pokemon knew that he was capable of taking everypony and their Pokemon out on his own. His face didn't show it but deep down, he's smirking.
"Darkrai's my ace. You can expect me to use him very often of course. But do not worry Twilight Sparkle. I will be generous and use my other Pokemon against you. But I will show no mercy. I plan to win!"
"G-Great..." The Princess of Friendship gulped.
"This is a big deal Grovyle. You think you can do this?" Applejack asked her partner.
"Grovyle!"
"Alright. You're the strongest Leavanny I have." Rarity looked at a single Leavanny. This particular Leavanny was the best one compared to its brothers and sisters. And it can take a beating more than the others.
"Leavan!"
"And Mareep. This is your time to shine, darling." Rarity held her Mareep, getting a slight shock.
"Reep!"
"Alright, you three..." Twilight pulled Eve, Minccy and Vulpix in. "This is gonna be a rough one. Everypony here's a big threat most likely. Especially Princess Luna. So we're going to have to give it our all. But don't worry. Dewott and Bisharp will be there to help, right you two?"
"Dewott!" Dewott nodded with his arms crossed.
"Bisharp!" Bisharp raised his bladed arms in the air.
"So many trainers..." Scootaloo gulped. "Is it okay to panic now?"
"Don't worry, kiddo. You'll be fine." Rainbow Dash hovered over to Scootaloo. "Just hope that you don't go up against me. I already know who I've got my eyes on." Rainbow noticed that Daylight Blazer was here. Not only that, but even Spitfire was here. The ponies she was hoping for had participated.
Ben watched from behind the curtains, seeing that everypony was ready. It was probably best to begin so that they all wouldn't be kept waiting.
"Alright. Whew." Ben held his breath in. "I've never announced something big before. But it'll be fine...Alright, Gothitelle. Let's have the trainers head out the arena for the opening ceremony. It's big enough to fit em all."
"Goth." The Astral Body Pokemon raised up her hands, opening the doors to the arena. High up on the walls, a screen had the words 'Opening Ceremony' on them. Giving the sign that every trainer would have to head out so that they could see who's going up against who.
"That's our cue," Luna said to everypony. Once they were given the light from the doors, each of them had walked out in a single file.
The entire crowd watched as the competitors made their way out into the arena with Luna being the first to come out. Boy, there were a lot of them. There's a reason why this was going to last a week. If you were to count, there would be at least 100 of them. And that makes sense since most are participants in the Equestria League.
For some flash, lights shined down every last one of them with every colour imaginable. Each of the trainers were asked to bring out their ace Pokemon and let them stand side by side to them. Some had already done that since they keep their Pokemon out of their Poke Balls.
For Twilight, she chose her Espeon. Applejack her Grovyle, Rarity her strongest Leavanny, Rainbow Dash her Braviary, Luna her Darkrai, Daylight his Blaziken, Scootaloo her Ponyta and so on and so forth.
With the crowd cheering, getting all pumped up, the large screen in the middle had turned on, preparing to reveal who's going up against who for the first-round matchups. Faces of all kinds were shown, left and right. Everypony had their opposing foe already selected.
Each of the ponies looked specifically at their spot. Some were surprised by who they were about to battle while others weren't. Applejack was the most surprised of she was facing off against first. It was none other than the pony who caused her Grovyle to evolve. Roseluck and her Roserade. Not only that, but it was both of them who were the first to battle. So once this opening ceremony ends, they're up first. Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Rarity were given ponies from the Crystal Empire to go up against.
Twilight looked closely at the screen spotting an unexpected competitor who was going up against somepony from Ponyville. This was a surprise and a million. The one pony she never expected to participate had joined in. It was none other than the oldest of the three siren sisters.
Adagio.
Oh very dear.
"Adagio?" Twilight gasped as she turned around, spotting the siren in the crowd. Why was Adagio here? And why did she want to participate in the first place. Questions that ran through Twilight's head that might be answered very soon.
With the stage set and everypony having their first-round opponents, the Canterlot Tournament, the first-ever, can finally begin as the journey continues
The stage had been set.
The Canterlot Tournament was underway with everypony having their opponents established in the first round. Ponies from across the world are participating in this tournament to see just how far they've come. Really, that's the only reason why it was made in the first place. A warm-up for the Equestria League.
A whole week of this with around a hundred ponies battling it out with their partners. All the while, the rest of Canterlot watches along with Celestia and Pyrestar.
The first round would end up being Applejack vs Roseluck. Two ponies who have battled each other before. In a few minutes, both will end up heading out to the arena to battle. But before that, in the waiting room, Twilight couldn't help but think about Adagio. Mostly because she was also in this tournament surprisingly.
"Why is she here?" Twilight shifted her eyes over at Adagio who was on the far left of the waiting room.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Rarity went up to her friend who used to be a unicorn like her once.
"I don't know if anypony else has noticed, but Adagio's here. Just standing casually even."
"Hm?" Rarity squinted her eyes, noticing the siren-pony hybrid as well. "Would you look at that...Why is that? Is she here to sabotage this whole thing?"
"Most likely. But what kind of Pokemon would she even have?" Twilight was slowly making her way towards Adagio with light hoof-steps.
"Right. I'm actually worried for the poor pony who'll be facing her first." Rarity nodded.
Speaking of Adagio, she had spotted them looking straight at her with those same judgemental eyes. Once Adagio had noticed them, both Twilight and Rarity had gasped. "Feh. Of course, they'd be glancing right at me." As the two ponies made their way towards Adagio, the siren had immediately narrowed her eyes at them.
"Adagio. What are you doing here?" Twilight questioned her.
"Hmph! Mind your business, princess!" Adagio scoffed at Twilight, pulling back. "I'm here because I want to be, duh."
"It's impossible to mind our business if you're here. You're always up to something after all." Rarity sneered at her. "But why would you involve yourself in something such as this? You can't get anything out of all of this.
"What I do is none of your concern. And like I said...I'm here because I want to be. Get lost. Or else I'll have to start my round early." She held an Ultra Ball in her hoof all of a sudden, implying that a pretty powerful Pokemon was currently at her disposal. "So back off."
Twilight and Rarity figured that it wouldn't be smart to start a fight right here at this very moment. They'll have to wait for their opportunity if they get paired with Adagio by chance. Their guard was still up in case Adagio tried something unusual.
With Applejack and Roseluck, the two came across each other, both anticipating their inevitable bout.
"So it's gonna be the two of us first, huh?" Roseluck commented.
"Mhm." AJ nodded. "Hope one of us gets a better outcome."
"Ah, you don't have to worry Applejack. At this point, I'm already prepared to take whatever outcome I get. Win or lose. Roserade feels the same way too."
"Roserade!"
"Besides. My main goal is to show everypony that I'm really capable as a trainer and a Gym Leader. So you won't see me holding back for one second on that arena."
"I know you won't." Applejack smiled. "Grovyle and I don't plan on losing either."
"Gro!"
"Gothitelle..." Speaking of which, Gothitelle had made the call for the first round to begin. The screen flashed as it showed Applejack and Roseluck's faces. The doors opened back up, indicating that it was time to begin.
Both earth ponies and their Grass-Type Pokemon looked at each other, nodding in understanding. Following the other, they made their way outside as the sun cast a shining light over them all. Grovyle and Roserade were really feeling the sunlight's flare today. Which was good. If they were going to battle at their best, they need to be at their best. And a radiant bright sunlight is just what they needed.
"It's Applejack's battle!" Apple Bloom stood up. "See?! Look!"
"Yeah, we see it." Sweetie Belle sighed. "Wonder who's announcing this whole-" She got her response in the form of a pony announcer whose voice was booming through the speakers.
"Starting off the tournament are our two opponents! Applejack and Roseluck!"
"Good luck to both of you!" Pinkie Pie cheered from the crowd.
"The time has come for both trainers to send forth their Pokemon!"
"Roserade! Ready?"
"Roserade!" The Bouquet Pokemon jumped over Roseluck, flipping in the air with style. She put her rose arms forward, already raring to go.
"It's all you for a week, Grovyle. Go get em!"
"Grovyle!" Stepping forward was the Wood Gecko Pokemon himself, running past his trainer as he slid on the ground, screeching to a halt. "Gro!"
A unicorn from the Crystal Empire ended up being the referee who would call everything from the victor to the rules. "The rules go like this. The battle shall be a one on one. The winner will be decided when one Pokemon faints on either side. You have 15 minutes in total. Roseluck has the first move. You may begin...now!"
"Excellent! Roserade! Let's start off strong with Poison Jab!"
"Rose!" Roserade crossed her arms together as a purple aura had embedded her rose hands. Bolting forward, the Bouquet Pokemon thrust one hand forward with poison oozing out.
"Grovyle! Jump back and use Dragon Breath!" Applejack raised her hoof in the air.
"Gro!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon, using its agile body and swift movements, took the air with a mighty jump, avoiding the incoming Poison Jab. Holding his breath in, Grovyle had breathed down a breath attack full of draconic energy along with blue and purple flames surrounding it.
"Dodge it quick!" Roseluck gasped.
"Rade!" Roserade gasped, rolling out of the way from instinct. Once Dragon Breath made contact with the ground, a mild shockwave followed afterwards, causing Roserade to almost lose her balance.
"Vyle!" Grovyle made a safe landing back on the ground after using Dragon Breath. Out of his mouth, smoke from the draconic attack was coming out of him.
"They're both starting off strong already! Today's sunlight is really filling these two Grass-Type Pokemon with energy!" said the unnamed announcer.
"The Dragon Breath's still so intimidating. Roserade! Use Power Whip!"
"Rose!" Raising both her hands up, Roserade's thorns shot up from their hidden areas, emanating a purple and green stardust aura. "Rade!" The Bouquet Pokemon, flailing her thorns about.
"Block them with Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!" Grovyle put both of his bladed arms up, blocking the devastating attack that was Power Whip. Due to him also being a Grass-Type, the blocking helped him to a point where it didn't feel like it did much. However, Power Whip was still a pretty hard-hitting move that even Grass Pokemon feel the heavy force of. Power Whip had caused Grovyle to be pushed back a small bit even when blocking the impact of the move.
"Now, Roserade! Shoot Pin Missile from your left arm and use Power Whip on your right!" A surprising strategy from Roseluck. She capitalised on two moves in one. Something that is rarely used in a Pokemon battle.
"Roserade! Out of Roserade's left hand, sharp pins had been shot out and on the right, her poisonous thorns which she swung about like a whip.
"Grovyle! Dodge!"
"Vy!" Grovyle had made a run for it since two moves were heading his way at the same time. One which was super-effective against him. Unfortunately, despite his speed, he was unable to avoid both attacks at the same time. Once he ducked from Power Whip, Pin Missile had caught him. The pins pelted the Wood Gecko Pokemon like rain as the thorned whips from Roserade's hands flailed themselves on the second-stage evolution. "Gro!" But it kept going. Roserade wasn't stopping.
"Yikes!" Pinkie Pie covered her eyes. "Grovyle's taking a pretty nasty beating!"
"Using two moves in one? Not bad!" Ash leaned in forward.
"Pika!"
"This ain't good...Dragon Breath, quick!" Whilst Groyvle was getting assaulted by two attacks, he found an opportunity to strike. Once the next batch of Pin Missile's had ended and Roserade thorns had moved back a bit for another whip motion, The Wood Gecko Pokemon, with haste, breathed a fast-moving Dragon Breath that tore through the ground of the arena
"Rade?" Roserade was prepared to fire the next Pin Missile whilst also swinging Power Whip about. But her eyes had encountered an incoming Dragon Breath that was racing towards her. With a gasp, Roserade had been struck by Dragon Breath before Roseluck could even make a command. "Rose!"
Roserade was just as resilient as her fellow Grass-Type as she was still standing. She placed her singular thorn whip right back inside her arm, shaking her head.
"You trying to put a ton of pressure on me this early?" Applejack uttered.
"Guilty. That Dragon Breath of yours is a big threat. So I decided to use something that's a big threat too. Ever since you taught me about Roserade's unique traits, every Gym Battle I've done has been radically different. Although, I kinda feel bad since some foals leave the Gym defeated."
"Shows how much you've improved. Now let me show you my improvements! Grovyle! Head in with Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!" A risky attempt by Applejack. Getting in up close and personal with a Pokemon such as Roserade was a bold move.
"In that case...Roserade! Poison Jab!"
"Roserade!" With a super-effective move around her rose hands, the Bouquet Pokemon had also bolted forward.
Both Pokemon had met eyes as the collision between Leaf Blade and Poison Jab had been made. The poison had instantly hit Grovyle's arm, causing the Wood Gecko Pokemon to squirm. But this was all part of Applejack's plan.
"Grab Roserade's thorns!"
"What?!" Roseluck pulled back.
"Vyle!" The Grass-Type had dug his hands into Roserade's roses, catching the Bouquet Pokemon off guard. By grabbing onto the thorns that laid within her hands. Roserade was a bit sensitive there so, obviously, the grab had weakened her.
"Gotcha! Right where we want ya!" Applejack grinned. "Now, swing Roserade like there's no tomorrow!"
"Gro!" With all of his strength, Grovyle had pulled the thorns out of Roserade's arms, swinging them about.
Roserade was now being swung about like a ragdoll, screaming with her voice travelling in and out of each side of the crowd due to her going around in a circle. This was Applejack's payback to what Roseluck did to her back at the Gym.
"What a shock! Grovyle's snagged Roserade thorns and has begun swinging her around without her being in control!" The pegasus announcer stood up from his seat, bumping his head on the ceiling. "Ow."
"I'm getting dizzy from just looking at this!" Pinkie covered her eyes.
"I don't believe it!" Fluttershy gasped. "He's using Roserade's hidden thorns against her!"
"Heh. That's the way, AJ." Ash grinned, feeling proud of himself for teaching Applejack.
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"Oh my. I was expecting everypony to show off impressive skills, but not like this." Celestia's eyes widened as she sat atop her balcony, spectating over the entire tournament.
"Roserade! Pull your thorns back!"
"Don't let go for a second, Grovyle!"
Giving it everything she had, Roserade was unable to escape Grovyle's grasp. Once she tried to pull her thorns back in her rose hands, Grovyle just tugged on them even harder. Since Roserade's thorns were sensitive and a weak spot, her focus was thrown off balance.
The Bouquet Pokemon was just getting dizzy at this point. But that's what Applejack was hoping for. If Roserade gets dizzy, she won't be able to focus and pull off her moves properly, giving Grovyle all the opportunities in the world to just go wild on her.
"Now! Slam her down, Grovyle!"
"Grovyle!" Finally putting an end to the spinning, Grovyle slammed Roserade right down on the arena ground with full force. A loud thud could be heard as Roserade took some heavy damage from that impact.
"What an impact! Is Roserade okay?!" Fluttershy leaned forward as she was currently squeezing Pikachu to death.
"Pika...Pikachu!"
To everypony's surprise, Roserade was indeed okay. She hadn't been taken out by her own thorns as she slowly got up from the ground. However, taking Roserade out with her own traits wasn't Applejack's plan in the first place. It was to get her dizzy after all.
And dizzy she was.
"Rose...Roserade..." The Bouquet Pokemon had entered a state of confusion, feeling dazed and bewildered as she was stumbling on her feet, unable to keep her usually elegant composure.
"Grovyle and I know that Roserade works best when she's acting all fancy-like. So, we took that away from her." Applejack stood up in a bipedal position, crossing her hooves with the proudest grin she's ever made.
"Gro." Grovyle did the same, mimicking her trainer's gesture.
"Ooh! Grovyle's befuddled Roserade! She can't keep still for a second!" The announcer bellowed.
"Let's go wild! Grovyle! Dragon Breath and then follow up with Leaf Blade!"
"Grovyle!" Holding his breath in, Grovyle was prepared to exhale a mighty Dragon Breath at full force.
"Roserade! Quick! Recover and dodge!" Roseluck was getting worried. A dizzy state wasn't what she needed right now. Especially if it means Grovyle can just attack her constantly.
Grovyle exhaled Dragon Breath and yet Roserade was still dizzy. Even though she heard Roseluck's commands, that wasn't going to save her. She attempted to dodge, but instead of evading to the side, she ran in headfirst into the Dragon Breath without knowing. As a result, the Dragon-Type move hit its mark, dealing some heavy damage to the Bouquet Pokemon.
"Rade!"
"Vyle!" Grovyle wasn't done of course. The follow up of Leaf Blade had been played out. With a spurt of speed, Grovlye had appeared in front of the Grass-Poison-Type, striking her with his bladed leaf arms. Obviously, a single Leaf Blade wouldn't do the trick, so Grovyle did it multiple times.
Each time the Wood Gecko Pokemon struck Roserade, the Bouquet Pokemon felt constant hits to her face and body repeatedly without rest, slowly weakening Roserade in the process.
"Grovyle's giving Roserade an all-out pummeling! And Roserade can't do anything about it at the moment!" gasped the announcer.
"Should've seen this coming. Those two are rivals in a way, ya know." Pinkie Pie nodded her head.
"And they both know how dangerous the other one can be. So big sis wants to put an end to this before it gets ugly." Apple Bloom commented.
"It's already pretty ugly..." Starlight winced.
"This is bad..." Roseluck grabbed her mane, pulling on it. That's when she remembered one extra trait about Roserade that Applejack taught her. "Unless...Roserade! Use the sweet aroma from your hands!"
Something that Roserade could do even when confused. The aroma that laid within the bouquet Pokemon's arms had flown out, spreading its delicious and enticing scent across the area. And in a matter of seconds, the scent had met with Grovyle's nose, causing him to put a stop his attack.
"Gro?" With his eyes widened, Grovyle had been put in a trance by Roserade's sweet aroma. "Grovyle..." Feeling as if he was in paradise with pure bliss, the Wood Gecko Pokemon sat on the ground with his face blushing, taking in the aroma.
"Huh?!" Applejack jerked back.
"Phew..." Roseluck wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Almost had me there, ya know. But Roserade and I are as tough as weeds. We can turn the tables in an instant. Right, Roserade?"
"Rose...Roserade..." The Bouquet Pokemon nodded whilst still trying to regain her balance. Now two Pokemon were completely out of it at the moment.
"Ugh..." Roseluck facehoofed herself.
"A Roserade's greatest weapon is their rose hands, aren't they? They hold a lot of secrets." Fluttershy said.
"But, it's crazy how even these two are. I'm actually more surprised that Grovyle's lasting this long against a Pokemon like Roserade." Goh spoke.
"That's what makes Pokemon battling so much fun! You never know what's gonna happen a lot of the time!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Both Pokemon are out of focus at the moment! Grovyle's enjoying some bliss thanks to Roserade's aroma but Roserade herself is still dazed! They've both countered each other!" The announcer shouted.
"Come on, Grovyle! Snap out of it already!"
"Keep your composure Roserade! Try uh... trying hitting yourself with Power Whip!"
"Grovyle...Gro?" The sweet aroma from Roserade, while effective, didn't last long it requires the user AKA Roserade to keep it steady and still for her prey to be lured in. But since she's all dazed and confused, the aroma was just moving frantically at this point, leaving the vicinity of Grovyle's nose. A bit of it was still lingering though.
The Wood Gecko Pokemon had managed to snap back into reality, getting up on his feet.
"There ya go!"
"Rose...Rade!" Roserade hit herself with Power Whip, causing a shockwave strong enough to break the confusion that was giving her so much trouble.
Now both Grass-Types were back to their normal selves, shooting their eyes over at each other.
"Nice! Now! Let's finish it!" Both Roseluck and Applejack said at the same time.
"Roserade! Poison Jab on your left! Power Whip on your right!"
"Grovyle! Dragon Breath!"
This looked like it would be the final moment of the battle. Roserade ran towards Grovyle with her thorns dragging on the ground from her right hand whilst poison oozed out of her left. Grovyle on the other hand, built up a ton of draconic energy from within, aiming to unleash the mother of all Dragon Breaths.
Everypony leaned forward to see who would come out on top and be the victor of this unexpectedly aggressive and intense first round. Applejack and Roseluck both bit their lips, wondering about the inevitable outcome.
"Grovyle!" Exhaling out of his mouth, a larger Dragon Breath from before had shot out, racing towards the Grass-Poison-Type.
"Roserade!" Roserade thrust her left hand forward as Poison Jab connected with Dragon Breath. On her right, she was raising up her Power Whip, but with Dragon Breath currently pushing her back, her arm was struggling to rise up quickly.
"You can do it, Roserade!" Roseluck gave her partner the extra boost she needed by cheering her on. Determined to make her trainer proud and prove to everypony that they were a great duo of trainer and Pokemon, Roserade used every bone in her muscle as she raised up her right arm with Power Whip swinging directly towards the Wood Gecko Pokemon.
"Pus through, Grovyle!"
"Gro...VYLE!" Grovyle gave it all he had as well. His last ounce of strength came in the form on an extra burst from his mouth. Once he breathed harder, Dragon Breath increased in power.
But, despite all of this, there can only be one winner in this round. Power Whip smacked Grovyle in the head whilst Dragon Breath overpowered Poison Jab, engulfing Roserade in its blue and purple flames.
With both attacks giving off their impacts, an explosion of energy was left behind from it. A smoke cloud emerged from the sudden explosion, causing Applejack's hat to fly up into the air with Roseluck struggling to stay firm on her hooves.
And the outcome? The victor had been decided. It had been revealed that Roserade had fainted due to the final impact of Dragon Breath sealing the deal for good.
"Rose..."
"Roserade is unable to battle! Grovyle wins! Which means that the victor is none other than Applejack!" Resounding cheers filled the entire stadium from the end result.
"Yee-haw! You did it Grovyle!" Applejack ran over, giving her partner a hug, almost choking him.
"Grovyle!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon coughed up some smoke from Dragon Breath. From above, Applejack's hat fell right back down to the earth, but instead of falling on her head, it had bestowed itself upon Grovyle. It actually suited him. He looked nice in a hat.
"Amazing job, Roserade. You were so great in that." Roseluck went over to her partner, picking her up from the ground.
"Roserade..." The Bouquet Pokemon gave her partner a hug, glad that she was always proud of her even when losing.
"You sure did prove your stuff, Roseluck," AJ said. "Like last time, you had me and my partner on the ropes. I thought Grovyle here was a goner."
"No kidding. I was sure I'd be able to get the upper hoof on you, Applejack. But it looks like I've still got a long way to go, huh?"
"Grovyle." Grovyle gave his fellow Grass-Type a pat on the back, telling her that she really gave it more than 100% in that battle.
"Rose." Roserade put her rose hands over her face, blushing at Grovyle's compliment and physical interaction.
"Such passion between both trainers and Pokemon!" The pegasus teared up, biting on his tie. "I wish my Woobat felt the same way!"
"That's my big sister! See?! See?!" Apple Bloom held both Sweetie Belle and Pikachu, squeezing the two of them now.
"C-Can't breathe..."
"Pika..."
With Applejack being the first pony to win in the first round, she'll be moving up once the second round eventually occurs. But for now, everypony else is up next with their own matchups.
"Good luck in the Canterlot Tournament. Roserade and I will be watching from the crowd, cheering you on." Roseluck put her hoof out for a hoofshake. AJ gladly took the offer as their hooves connected. "Make sure you win the whole thing."
"I'll give it my best."
Back in the waiting room, Twilight and everypony else who was watching the match were amazed at how it turned out. For the first battle in the first round, it was unexpectedly intense. Usually, it's the later rounds where things amp up and go overboard.
"I did not expect Applejack to be so crafty and skilled in battle." Luna's eyes widened. "If Ash Ketchum had taught her tricks such as that...then Twilight Sparkle and ponies from Ponyville might have something that can change the course of a battle." She bit her hoof, shifting her eyes around the room. "This might not be as easy as I thought."
"Wonderful!" Twilight clapped her hooves together. "I have to give it to Applejack. Her training with Ash really paid off. I didn't even think to grab the thorns!"
"Indeed." Rarity nodded. I'm curious about the other tricks that Pokemon can pull off with their natural bodies. I know one thing's for sure, Leavanny and I are holding secrets that are sure to help us in this."
"Leavan!"
"Yeesh. They're definitely not the same pushovers like they were before..." Adagio turned her head around. She held the Ultra Ball in her hoof, sending out the Pokemon that laid within in. What was her Pokemon of her choice?
A Pheromosa.
An Ultra Beast inside of a Poke Ball of all things instead of a Beast Ball. It wasn't impossible. Other Poke Balls are capable of catching Ultra Beasts, but Beast Balls are much more effective since they were designed to catch these alien-like Pokemon.
But this Pheromosa wasn't the same one from Manehattan. This was another one that had been sent through the Ultra Wormholes that are just roaming about in Equestria with the Swords of Justice heading out to find each of them.
"Phero..."
"These ponies are no joke, okay Pheromosa? When it's our turn, don't hesitate at all, got it?"
"Mosa." The Lissome Pokemon nodded, understanding Adagio loud and clear.
"Good. Return." Adagio had returned the Ultra Beast back in the Ultra Ball, placing it in her absurdly large and fluffy mane. Kricektot, who always hung out in her mane, making it essentially its home was a bit terrified of Pheromosa. And for good reason. Even though it may not be the same one from Manehattan, the way it absolutely overwhelmed and destroyed Twilight and her friends was engraved in the Cricket Pokemon's memory.
"Kricketot..."
Applejack and Roseluck entered the waiting room lounge with everypony congratulating both of them. For Applejack, her victory and for Roseluck her amazing show of skill.
"You two were great out there!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Thanks, Twilight. Whew. That battle's already got me tuckered out." Applejack sat down on the soft floor of the lounge.
"You'll have a lot of time to rest up, darling." Rarity went up to her. "With how many ponies are participating, the first round is most likely to end today whilst the second begins tomorrow. According to Twilight anyways."
"Mhm." Twilight nodded softly. "I can tell that the final two ponies competing in the finals will last until the 7th day. So it's all perfectly laid out! And a perfect selection of ponies too!" She squeed.
"Right. Where are those couches again?" Applejack stood back up as Grovyle carried her towards the couches. Roseluck took her leave, feeling satisfied with that battle. She was now headed straight for the seats where she can join the crowd, getting a good angle of the tournament from above.
With the next batch of ponies going up against each other, this tournament is already looking promising. 8 ponies will be going up against each other and after that, it'll be Scootaloo versus Velvetwind surprisingly. Two ponies who looked similar in appearance with Velvetwind being slightly lighter.
The tournament is shaping up to be something great as ponies from around Equestria, plus a half-siren will be giving it their all to see if they've truly improved as trainers as the journey continues.
The Canterlot Tournament is currently ongoing.
With the first match between Applejack and Roseluck ending with Applejack taking the victory, 8 other matches took place between other ponies. Once those finish up, it'll be Scootaloo vs Velvetwind from Trottingham. The battles between those ponies had begun, giving the others a lot of time to relax and plan for their upcoming battle.
All the while, Adagio was just lurking in the corner, waiting for her turn to come by. In the lounge, ponies were given a comfortable couch to sit on as time passes by. Outside, you could hear the sounds of Pokemon moves being unleashed along with the voices of the trainers and their Pokemon echoing across the arena. Plus, they could view it on the screen anyways or just head out to the crowd and watch from there.
"Okay. Since Velvetwind's got a Drifloon, I'm counting on you to win it for me, Pachirisu." Scootaloo spoke to her Pachirisu.
"Pachi!"
"Quick Attack won't do a thing. So we're gonna have to rely on Charge Beam and Spark, okay?"
"Chirisu!" Pachirisu hopped on Scootaloo's back, giving her a small jolt.
"Good luck out there when it's your turn, alright?" Rainbow Dash flew over to her fellow pegasus.
"Thanks!" Scootaloo grabbed a cup of juice, drinking it. "Mmm."
"But uh...you might wanna keep a lookout right now," Rainbow whispered to her.
"Why?"
"Twilight and Rarity have just spotted Adagio here. She's joined this tournament too."
"Adagio? The scary siren lady?"
"That one. We don't have a clue on what she's doing here or what she could be up to. Just make sure you stay far away from her, alright?"
"Alright. But uh...why aren't Princess Celestia and Luna doing anything about it?"
"Ah-" Rainbow paused at that response, wondering that herself. Celestia might not have noticed Adagio due to their current locations. But Luna should since they're both in the same spot. "Hold on." She dashed on over to the Princess of the Night, ready to give her the information that was required. "Uh, Princess Luna. We have a bit of a problem."
"What is it, Rainbow Dash?"
"That." Dash pointed her hoof and wings over at Adagio who was just casually sitting on the couch, not doing a thing, just waiting for her turn to arrive.
"...Isn't that the Adagio pony you and your friends have been mentioning lately?"
"That's the one. She's just sitting there all quiet-like. I don't think Princess Celestia's even noticed her joining in."
"Her being completely stationary and calm is a bit unusual. I would expect her to cause some disharmony at this very moment." Luna nodded. "Allow me to speak with her." She took the option of speaking to the siren, meaning that Adagio had more company to deal with. This time, in the form of Luna.
"Hm?" She raised her eyebrow, looking straight at Princess Luna. "Not again..."
"Adagio Dazzle, is it?" Luna spoke to her whist looking down at the siren-pony hybrid.
"Yes...Can I help you?" Adagio grumbled.
"Why is it that you are here? Are you by chance up to something?" Luna narrowed her eyes over at Adagio.
"This question again? I already told your fellow princess and her unicorn sidekick that I'm here because I want to be. Nothing more to it." She slumped on the couch, crossing her hooves together.
"Really?" Luna pulled back, surprised at her answer. "Out of your own decision? Are you sure?" She as a bit sceptical, however.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure. Besides, once I'm done here, I'm off to complete my goal."
"Taking revenge on Twilight Sparkle and her friends, correct?"
"Got that right. I still haven't forgotten about that. But, there's something else I want to gain out of all of this."
"What could you possibly gain after revenge? World domination?"
"Pssh." Adagio stood up, looking up at the alicorn princess. "That's none of my business anymore. No, I've got something else in mind. Something bigger."
"Hoh? I assume you won't tell me then." Luna was prepared to deal with Adagio since she's basically revealed that there were even bigger plans on her mind. But that wasn't the only thing that she revealed.
"Oh, I'll tell you. I want to make sure you hear this clear as day. I plan to get a wish from Jirachi." She revealed her big plans to Luna, catching the Princess of the Night off guard.
"Jirachi...? You mean the Wish Pokemon?" Luna stammered.
"That's the one." Adagio sat back on the couch.
"Aha! So you plan to have Jirachi grant you a wish that spells the end of Equestria itself! A see-through plan!" Luna smirked.
"Tch. Yeah, right. You'd wish that as the reason why I'd want a wish."
"It's not?" Luna was starting to get more and more confused. Adagio's responses weren't exactly what she expected.
"No. I'll let Ghetsis handle that. He's the one person who knows how to deal with scenarios such as that. Me? I want Jirachi's wish for one reason."
"And that is...?" Luna curved herself forward towards Adagio.
"I want to save my family and bring them all back." The truth had been revealed to Luna's ears. "They say that Jirachi Pokemon can grant any wish, no matter how ludicrous it is. It's the Pokemon I need to fix all of this."
"Wait...T-That's the reason why?" Luna was shocked at her response.
"Of course it is. I want to keep my sisters from meeting their inevitable end and bring back my mother. And I'm not gonna let Twilight Sparkle and her friends get their wish to keep this weird mish-mash of a world intact. You got that?"
"Well...this is certainly an unexpected revelation. But Adagio Dazzle. You do realize that the wish Twilight Sparkle and her friends are aiming for will end up saving you and your sisters. If they can get Jirachi to change the fate of both worlds, then you'll see that you will keep these memories within you."
"Hmph! You don't get it." Adagio scowled at Luna. "Even if these two worlds stay connected, that won't change the fate my sisters have to go through. When I get my wish and when the day comes when both worlds return to normal, we'll start over. The Battle of the Bands won't go the exact same way as before."
"And how are you sure that it shall change? Fate is a mighty and all-powerful force that nopony in Equestria can control. Not even my sister and me. It is perfectly represented by our Cutie Marks after all. Our destiny. Even when the two worlds return to normal, you will be destined to repeat history once more."
"Hoh? You think I don't know that?" Adagio gave off a smug smirk. She knew something that Luna didn't. And she'll never know. "I'm done talking to you. I've got a match coming up in a few hours maybe." The siren turned away from Luna.
"Wait! Are you telling the truth? About your sisters? Will they truly meet a horrible end?"
"Horrible doesn't even begin to describe it. But I shouldn't expect you ponies to know what I'm talking about. After all...I doubt you even have a book that has the full scope of our history." Those were the last words that Adagio spoke before laying on a couch, resting up until her match.
Walking away from Adagio, Luna had been given a multitude of thoughts that were swirling through her head right now. The conversation she had with Adagio did not go the way she planned. In that instance, the words that Adagio said almost made it sound like there was something deeper occurring within. Something that was not out of malicious intent.
Curious about all of this and still worried about the outcome of Adagio's possible victory in the tournament, Luna relied on the one Pokemon who could foresee past, present and future events. She held out a Poke Ball, sending out the Mystic Pokemon Xatu.
"Xatu..."
"Xatu. I need your help. There might be a possible disaster that is just lurking around the corner, waiting to strike. Can you please see into the future for any indication? And Darkrai, please translate for me."
"On it." Darkrai emerged from the shadows, ready to speak for Xatu.
"Xa..." The Mystic Pokemon's 4 eyes emanated a blue and purple light, putting it into a meditative state. With its amazing precognition, Xatu had seen into the future. What he saw was something that was unexpected.
From his vision, he saw the Twilight and Adagio in one spot. Where they were standing seemed to be an unknown collapsing tower that was falling apart. Inside the crumbling tower, both ponies seemed to be horribly injured without any of their friends in sight even.
Xatu couldn't see beyond that, but the last thing he saw was the image of Twilight breaking down into tears whilst Adagio was struggling to get up. Twilight seemed to be yelling at Adagio who had a sneer on her face. The Mystic Pokemon's 4 eyes returned to normal as he had left his meditative state.
"Tu. Xatu." Xatu had spoken to Darkrai, telling him what he has foreseen.
"Really now?" Darkrai's eyes widened, shocked at Xatu's revelation.
"What? What did he see?" Luna asked, curious.
"Xatu saw that both Twilight and Adagio Dazzle were standing inside of a tower that was on the verge of collapsing. Twilight was crying for some reason, yelling at Adagio as both of them seemed injured. And that was about it."
"Oh. Oh my." Luna gasped, shifting her eyes left and right. That wasn't the answer she was expecting. What could this mean? Why was Twilight crying? What happened that caused both of them to be in an injured state? And what tower were they in? Was it located in Equestria or the Pokemon World? "Is that really it?!"
"Xatu..." Xatu gave some more information over to Darkrai to pass onto their trainer.
"Even though Xatu saw into the future, it's possible that it can change. So those events that he saw might not play out or at least, they'll take different paths."
"I see..." Luna bit her hoof. She then began thinking back to what Adagio said about her sisters. Perhaps, it could relate to the vision that Xatu had seen. "Hm. I know what we can do. Darkrai. When nighttime hits and the first part of the tournament comes to an end, we'll both head into Adagio Dazzle's dream to see what is occurring with her mind."
"Got it." Darkrai hid back in the shadows, already understanding what Luna was going for.
"I still have my suspicions but..." Luna scraped her hoof on the floor. "Could she really be doing this out of a good cause?"
As those thoughts continue to swirl around Luna's head and the tournament continues whilst everypony watches and waits for the next batch of rounds to begin, up above the clouds, as always, are Lucien and Sienna who stopped by to watch this whole tournament go on.
"This is some pretty neat stuff!" Lucien grinned.
"Is it? I mean...we're gonna have to sit through this for a whole week." Sienna wasn't too ecstatic about this. Pokemon battling isn't really her thing.
"Lighten up! I've been waiting for something like this! And yeah, it's not the Equestria League but it's a start!"
"Hm. Well since we're really watching this for a week..." Sienna sat down, summoning a Skitty in her hands as she gave it a pat on the head. "Who do you think is the strongest pony trainer?"
"Skitty!"
"Isn't it obvious? It's obviously Princess Celestia. That whole Kirlia event proved it."
"I mean for who's participating in this tournament."
"Oh." He raised his head up. "Well, in that case, Luna. She's got a Darkrai. No way anyone's getting past that."
"Ah. So..." Sienna rubbed her hands together, leaning in. "You think we should meddle in this?"
"Absolutely not!" Lucien raised his voice at her, startling his fellow Rift human. "This is a full-on no-holds-barred tournament to see who's the best of them all! I've been waiting for this ever since the two worlds crossed over! It has to be done without any interruptions!"
"A-Alright..." Sienna smiled nervously as Skitty hid behind her. "You seem pretty passionate about this stuff."
"Of course I am!" Lucien stood up, crossing his arms. "I don't know if you've noticed but...I'm a huge fan of Pokemon battling. When my role as villain is up and done, I wanna become a trainer!" He summoned a Poke Ball in his hand, sending out a Charizard. "It's gonna be so cool!"
"CHAR!"
"You say that as if they're actually gonna succeed in getting Jirachi's wish." Sienna turned to Charizard.
"Well, duh. They're the good guys. There is a 100% chance they're gonna keep these worlds connected."
"Don't say that doofus. That means there's a chance they'll fail." Sienna smacked him in the head.
"Ah!" He held his mouth. "Right! Well then... there's a super good chance they'll succeed!"
"Or it might be Adagio. She seems pretty serious about getting Jirachi to grant her wish."
"Nah." Lucien gave his Charizard a head rub. "By herself, she's already set herself up for failure."
"Yeah. But that's got me thinking. You think it'll be okay if Twilight and her friends get their wish instead of Adagio?" Sienna asked a question that was descending into something huge.
"What makes you say that?" Lucien turned to her.
"I mean...If the two worlds get connected forever, then Sonata and Aria are doomed, right? Wouldn't that mean that they've sacrificed two ponies for something else?"
"Hm. I get what you mean. It'd be pretty messed up actually." Lucien chuckled. "But, what can ya do? Everything good in existence comes with a horrible side effect. Even Jirachi's wishes. Most of the time anyway..."
"I guess you're right. Probably overthinking it." Sienna rubbed Skitty's neck.
"Cheer up. We've got a tournament to watch all week. Oh! You wanna go up against my Charizard?" He nudged her.
Both Sienna and Skitty looked up at the Flame Pokemon and its intimidating stature. "...N-No thanks."
Getting back to the tournament, 6 ponies had already finished their match with one of each heading to the crowd to spectate over the remaining matches.
"It's almost my turn. Let's go over this one more time, okay Pachirisu?"
"Pach! Pachi!"
With Rainbow Dash, she was just biding her time until Spitfire and Daylight Blazer. They were the two ponies she had her sights set on. She had already seen how both of them battle. Spitfire once and Daylight a few times. Her main objective was to see how she could work around their Scizor and Blaziken. That is if they use the exact same Pokemon for the upcoming matches.
"If I use Braviary's Superpower on Spitfire's Scizor, that'll really give me the advantage. But I also went into Rainbow-Braviary, then that means it's a One-Hit-KO for sure! Right, buddy?"
"Braviary!" The Valiant Pokemon raised his wings up in agreement.
"And if Daylight uses his Medicham like before, I can count on Braviary again. But that Blaziken's gonna be a problem..." She thought to herself, thinking of a way around Daylight's ace.
The current match had come to an end, meaning that very soon, Scootaloo's turn was arriving. Two other ponies would be going up against each other next, both from the Crystal Empire. After that, Scootaloo and Velvetwind would be up next.
Over at the seats where the crowd spectated, Pinkie Pie was devouring huge loads of popcorn that wouldn't stop coming by.
"Weird. Where's Jade?" Ash looked around.
"Pikachu?"
"Somepony has to take care of the Cake Twins for a whole week. I'm sure Jade's got it covered!" Pinkie licked the salt from her mouth.
"Achoo!" Sonata sneezed all of a sudden.
"Caught a cold?" Aria snapped her head over at her sister.
"It's nothing..." Sonata grumbled, wiping her nose. "Ugh..."
"By the way...did anypony catch Adagio on the screen earlier?" Aria squinted her eyes.
"Did we? I didn't see her." Sonata shook her head.
"But I did. I could've sworn that she was there..." Once Aria kept thinking about it, the next match was about to start, causing everypony to pay attention.
Over at the balcony where Celestia sat and watched from above, her Kirlia noticed that Queen Pyrestar was moving about the halls of Canterlot with her eyes shifting across every corner of the castle. It didn't take long for Celestia to notice as well.
"Kirlia?"
"Still looking out for any threats?" asked Celestia.
"The Royal Canterlot Wedding ended up teaching my other half a valuable lesson. I cannot turn a blind eye to anything that may look out of the ordinary."
"You're a bit high strung about this. But that's understandable considering which reality you come from."
"I'm more concerned about any Rift actions that may be occurring. The Rift meddling in your reality means that around every corner, its influence can be in the most unexpected places." She made her horn glow, shining it across the hallway, illuminating it.
"Right..." Celestia chuckled nervously. She looked over at her Boundless Cutie Mark and then Pyrestar's. "I have a single question though."
"What is it?"
"This Boundless Cutie Mark. I know that in every universe, one reality has one thing the other doesn't. But is there something similar to this Cutie Mark somewhere in your world?"
"Not at all. A Cutie Mark that owns all other marks from the past present and future is unheard of in my world. It has always been one and one alone."
"Right. So this might really be the only world where it exists. But it's still so odd to me. When Tirek came to steal my magic, the mark had remained along with a small bit of my magic. Not only that, but it was slowly regenerating over time. I can see why Star Swirl wanted to keep any information about this mark a mystery."
"Magic regenerating? That certainly didn't happen with Tirek in my world. Perhaps this Boundless Cutie Mark holds other secrets that you haven't discovered yet."
"Most likely. My knowledge of it is pretty limited. Who knows what else it's capable of..." Celestia looked down at the mark. She continued to watch over the tournament, seeing somepony's Gengar going up against another pony's Nidorino.
The match between those two lasted a good 7 minutes before the winner had been decided. Gengar. Since that battle ended up coming to an end, that meant that Scootaloo and Velvetwind were both up next. And after that, it would be Vinyl Scratch against a pony from Manehattan.
"That's my cue!" Scootaloo squeed as she picked Pachirisu up. "I'm a bit nervous!" She breathed in and out. "But also excited! I'm gonna be in front of so many ponies...but it'll be so much fun!"
"We're up next, Scootaloo." Velvetwind walked up to her similar colour palette pony. "Good luck."
"Good luck to you too, Velvetwind. Sorry if I go a bit overboard."
"Don't worry. You can go all out however you like."
"Goth..." Gothitelle raised her hand up, calling for the next batch of contestants to step forward. It was showtime.
As the two pegasi walked out in the stadium, all eyes from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were locked on to their friend and Velvetwind. After this battle a few more, that'll be the end of the first day of this Canterlot Tournament. There's a guarantee that everypony here will be exhausted for a while. Some already were after their battles.
"Both trainers, send out your Pokemon." The referee called.
"Go and do your best, Pachirisu!" Scootaloo held her hoof out as the EleSquirrel Pokemon jumped off it.
"Pachi!"
"Here goes!" Velvetwind tossed her Poke Ball into the air, sending out, not Drifloon, but the evolved form, Drifblim.
"Drifblim!"
"Wait, Driflblim?!" Scootaloo wasn't prepared for this. She expected the smaller and lighter Pokemon. Not this. Once she took out her dex, she got all the information she needed about this one.
"Driflbim. The Blimp Pokemon. It's drowsy in the daytime but flies off in the evening in big groups. The raw material for the gas inside its body is souls. When its body starts to deflate, it's thought to carry away people and Pokémon. There's a rumour that if you catch a Drifblim floating on the wind at dusk, you'll be carried away to the afterlife. There was once an incident in which a man took a trip riding a Drifblim, only to go missing. Where do they go? Nobody knows."
"Her Drifloon evolved?!" Sweetie Belle stood up.
"I didn't expect an evolved form." Scootaloo gulped. "But it's fine. It's still the same typing after all. I can do this!" She stomped her hoof on the ground, having confidence burn within her.
With both Pokemon and trainers staring each other down, waiting for the referee to make the call, the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The Canterlot Tournament continues.
The current match between Scootaloo and Velvetwind is about to take place. It shall begin once the referee says those magical worlds.
"Battle start!"
"Pachirisu, use Charge Beam!" Scootaloo made the first move.
"Pachi!" The EleSquirell Pokemon lowered its head, summoning an orb of electricity in front of its face. The orb had released a bundle of charged electricity that raced towards the Blimp Pokemon.
"Driflblim! Fly over and use Minimize!"
"Drif..." The Blimp Pokemon had emanated a pinkish colour from its body as it flew over the bundled electricity with ease, evading it. And speaking of evading, that's exactly what this move was for. The pinkish aura around Driflblim had expanded for a split second before shrinking down.
"What did that do?" Sweetie Belle asked, confused.
"It's Minimize!" Ash leaned forward. "Now Drifblim's gonna be hard to hit!"
"Okay..." Scootaloo, who was unaware of what the move specifically does, had just shrugged it off as either a power boost or strength boost. One of the two. "Pachirisu! Fire Charge Beam again!"
"Chirisu!" Another bundle of charged electricity was shot towards Driflbim once more.
"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" With even less effort this time, Driflbim avoided the Electric-Type attack without even trying. Minimize had made it so that it wouldn't need to worry about getting hit by the super-effective move constantly.
A ball of shadows emerged in front of Driflblim as it sent it straight towards the opposing Pokemon. The EleSquirrel Pokemon had been struck, getting hit first instead of Driflbim.
"Pa!" Pachirisu tumbled on the ground, already taking some pretty big damage. What didn't help was that Pachirisu is at the end of the day a Glass Cannon.
"Don't worry, Pachirisu! Let's try Spark!"
Recovering from her tumble, Pachirisu had surrounded herself in yellow electricity, raising her head directly at Drifblim. With a sudden burst of electricity, the Electric-Type rocketed off the ground as a lightning bolt-shaped trail was left behind.
"Keep on dodging and use Shadow Ball one more time!"
More dodging on Driflbim's part. But that was the obvious choice. With Minimize, Driflblim wouldn't even need to try and dodge that much. By zipping to the side and avoiding Pachirisu all together, the Blimp Pokemon had conjured up yet another Shadow Ball, preparing to fire it.
"Ah! Pachirisu! Use Spark to dodge!" A good call on Scootaloo's part. She took a strategy out of Ash's book by having her use a move to evade.
"Pachi!" Pachirisu turned around, zipping past Shadow Ball as she returned to ground level. "Chirisu..."
"Now! Keep using Spark until it lands!"
And so began a scenario that involved constant moving around. One was trying to land a hit whilst the other continued to evade the opposing Pokemon.
"This is a bit painful to my eyes!" The announcer rubbed his eyes, unable to comprehend what he's currently seeing. "Pachirisu can't seem to connect with Driflblim at all! And Drifblim's just casually dodging with ease!"
"Chi! Chi!" Pachirisu kept on trying to connect her hits but it was still no use. Minimize had really helped Drifblim out a lot.
"We have to get at least one hit in..." Scootaloo grumbled, getting nervous.
"Alright, Drifblim! Phantom Force!"
"Blim..." A thin purple portal appeared behind Drifblim as it hovered back inside of it, disappearing from the sight of everypony and Pachirisu.
"Pa?" Pachirisu gasped, shocked that her opposing Pokemon just vanished. The portal had even gone with it.
"What the? Where'd it go?" Scootaloo pulled back.
"Drifblim's gone! Whatever that move was, you can already tell that both Scootaloo and Pachirisu are worried and confused!" said the announcer.
"Phantom Force." Ash suddenly spoke. "Drifblim could appear from anywhere now."
"Pika..."
"Where is it..." Scootloo bit her hoof, unsure of where the Blimp Pokemon could pop out from. She was really feeling the tension now. The match was already in its early moments and she was struggling. That's when Scootaloo's mind had a small little spark. "Wait! If Drifblims a Ghost-Type...Pachirisu! Use Spark and move all over the place like crazy!"
"Pachirisu!" Pachirisu did just that. Surrounding herself in electricity once more, the EleSquirrel then proceeded to haphazardly move about at lightning speeds, leaving behind multiple lightning bolt trails.
"What's she planning?" This actually took Velvetwind back. Now she was the one confused. "Drifblim! Come out and attack!"
"Drif!" A purple portal had once again appeared out thin air. This time, Drifblim was coming right through it. But when it returned to the outside, Pachirisu had managed to make contact with Drifblim due to how she was just dashing about without any sense of direction in her mind. "BLIM!"
"Gotcha!" Scootaloo found her opportunity. Having Pachirisu move about with Spark was a smart move on her part.
"Ah! Drifblim!" Velvetwind gasped.
"Now's our chance! Spark one more time!" Pachirisu once again threw herself towards the opposing Pokemon. And this time, she made a direct hit. Second time in a row even. With Drifblim still recovering from the first Spark, the second one was just waiting to hit a caught off guard Drifblim in seconds.
And just as she hoped, it dealt super-effective damage, pushing the Blimp Pokemon back. The Spark had even paralyzed Drifblim, making its Minimize non-existent.
"Drifblim! Are you okay?!"
"Drif!"
"Whew. I thought Scootaloo was in the rough spot there." Apple Bloom let out a sigh of relief.
"Did she change up Drifblim's contest moves just for this?" Sweetie Belle wondered. She was curious about her next encounter with Velvetwind in a Pokemon Contest if she uses the same Drifblim which was once a Drifloon.
"That could've been rough..." Scootaloo lowered her head. "Good job, Pachirisu!"
"Pachi!"
"Drifblim! Use Minimize one more time!"
"I don't know what it is...But I won't let you get the chance! Spark!"
"Chirisu!" Pachirisu didn't give Drifblim any time to prepare Minimize. Charging towards her foe, Pachirisu smashed into Drifblim's face which was also its entire body. Pachirisu's head ended up getting stuck inside Drifblim's ghostly body as the Spark added onto the extra electric damage that the paralyze was already giving.
"Quick, Drifblim! Brutal Swing!" Realizing that using Minimize wasn't going to happen at this point, Velvetwind went on the offensive.
"Blim!" The Blimp Pokemon spun all four of its limbs that were embedded with dark energy violently, smacking the EleSquirrel Pokemon straight in the face, leaving a mark as well. A second Brutal Swing had been unleashed on her, causing Pachirisu to be knocked back.
"Charge Beam!" Whilst the Electric-Type was still airborne, she sent some charged electricity in the amount of time she was in the air.
"Shadow Ball!" Quickly countering, Shadow Ball from Drifblim had made contact with Charge Beam as the two moves cancelled each other out. As smoke emerged from the attack collision, both Pokemon stared each other down.
Drifblim looked like it would be the first to give out due to the super-effective hits and paralyze effect. But Pachirisu being the Glass Cannon she was might not be able to withstand another hit. So it all came down to who would get off the final hit and come out on top.
"Drifblim and I refuse to lose. We're going to shine just as much as we do in a contest!"
"Drifblim!"
"Pachirisu and I won't lose either! She's gonna take me straight to the Equestria League one day!"
"Pachirisu!
"Drifblim! Shadow Ball!"
"Pachirisu! Dodge with Spark and head in!"
Flying back to get some distance, Drifblim sent out a Shadow Ball to put an end to this battle once and for all. However, Pachirisu being the speedy little critter that she is, evaded the Shadow Ball by propelling herself to the side. She followed up with the electricity still surrounding her body, setting her eyes directly towards Drifblim.
"Dodge it!" Once Pachirisu dashed into the air, Drifblim just barely managed to avoid Spark as little volts had struck its limbs. "Now use Phantom Force!" Heading into a purple hole that appeared, Drifblim had vanished out of thin air, leaving Pachirisu by herself.
"Don't worry Pachirisu! Do what you did before and move around!" Scootaloo went for the same strategy that countered Phantom Force before.
"Chi!" Once again, Pachirisu had frantically dashed around the stadium, preparing to catch Drifblim off guard.
But Velvetwind wasn't ready to fall for it a second time. "Come out and follow up with Brutal Swing!"
"Drif!" Drifblim reappeared, becoming visible to the eyes of everypony.
"Ah! Look out Pachirisu!" Scootaloo gasped.
"Pa!" Pachirisu, by the skin of her single bucktooth, avoided Drifblim's limbs, but her tail had been hit, causing the EleSquirrel to lose her balance. If that had fully connected, it would've been game over for the Electric-Type Pokemon. But thankfully, a Pachirisu's tail is sturdy since that's where most of its electricity is located.
"Now go!" Scootaloo yelled, commanding Pachirisu to charge in once more. And charge in she did. With a final burst of speed, she tackled herself into Drifblim with everything she had left in her.
And that one final Spark was all that she needed. Drifblim's eyes widened as it was hit square in the face at full-force. The result was the Blimp Pokemon being launched back down to the ground whilst Pachirisu spun about, holding her head.
"Drif...Blim!" Drifblim hit the ground hard, leaving behind a huge smoke cloud. Once the smoke cleared, the outcome had been revealed to the eyes of the referee. "Drif..."
"Drifblim is unable to battle! Pachirisu wins! Which means the victor is Scootaloo!"
"Awesome! Pachirisu, you aced it!" Scootaloo ran over, giving her little Electric Rodent a hug.
"Pa...Pachirisu." Pachirisu, who was on the verge of fainting, shocked Scootaloo out of love, causing her mane and tail to spike it.
"Woohoo!" Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stood up, cheering for Scootaloo and Pachirisu's victory. That's a huge win for the Crusaders in their book.
"Great job, Drifblim. You performed just as well as our contests." Velvetwind went over to Drifblim, picking her partner up.
"Blim..."
"And you did an amazing job as well, Scootaloo. Pachirisu." Velvetwind congratulated them both.
"Thanks! You almost had me there. I had no idea what a Minimize was. W-What is it actually?"
"It's a pretty useful move where it helps your Pokemon dodge attacks easier without too much effort." Velvetwind quickly explained. "But I guess the paralyzation effect negates that."
"Oooh...That is pretty useful." Scootaloo nodded.
"Tell Sweetie Belle that I plan to do even better in the contests than I did here."
"I will!"
"Pachirisu!"
"Geez..." Pinkie Pie slumped on her seat. "Those Electric Rodents are lethal. First Pikachu now Pachirisu..."
"Does that mean my Plusle and Minun are just as strong?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"They gotta be. I know my Emolga is." Apple Bloom nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Gaping gills..." The announcer wiped some sweat off his forehead after that battle. "I would've thought the foals battling would mean things would be much more laid-back. Guess I was wrong."
Returning to the waiting room, Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. Pokemon battles can really tire anyone out. Especially the youth. Now that her turn was done, allowing her to relax for as long as she wants until tomorrow, it was now time for Vinyl to step out there soon.
"What a rush!" Scootaloo sat down on a couch with her Pachirisu on her head.
"Chirisu."
"Awesome job out there!" Rainbow flew over to Scootaloo. "Had me worried for a sec, actually."
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo grinned.
"Just a bit more and it'll be my go." Rainbow turned around, rubbing her hooves together. Her anticipating was only increasing.
2 minutes had passed and it was Vinyl's time to battle. As usual, the two ponies sent themselves outside to the stadium to prepare themselves.
Over at the seats, Velvetwind sat down behind Sweetie Belle, waving at her fellow Pokemon Coordinator.
"What Pokemon do you think Vinyl has?" Fluttershy wondered. "I've actually never thought of that."
"Heh. She's got some pretty strong Pokemon. Two of them actually. I helped her choose her partners, after all." Ash grinned, crossing his arms. He knew exactly which Pokemon he gave Vinyl.
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Wait. Vinyl doesn't speak. How's she gonna give off any commands?" Apple Bloom scratched her mane. "Is it like Red? Are we gonna hear her speak for the first time?!"
"Well...Just wait and see." Ash calmed Apple Bloom down. They were about to witness first-hoof how DJ Pon-3 battles.
"Let's have a good one, alright?" The opposing pony from Manehattan said to Vinyl. However, she didn't get a response from DJ Pon-3. "Hm...Not much of a talker, huh? Alright then, that's fine."
"Both trainers may now bring out their Pokemon." said the Referee.
"Come out, my partner!" The Manehattan unicorn had sent out her Scrafty.
"Scrafty!"
"Ooh...Let me get a good look at that!" Sonata took out her own Pokedex, wanting to know about this shady looking Pokemon.
"Scrafty. The Hoodlum Pokemon. While mostly known for having the temperament of an aggressive ruffian, this Pokémon takes very good care of its family, friends, and territory. Groups of them beat up anything that enters their territory. Each can spit acidic liquid from its mouth. As halfhearted as this Pokémon's kicks may seem due to it holding its shed skin, they pack enough power to shatter Conkeldurr's concrete pillars. The one with the biggest crest is the group leader."
Vinyl did the same. One of the two partners she owned had been sent out. For this match, it was her Darmanitan.
"Darmanitan!"
"Oooh...Haven't seen that one before!" Sweetie Belle took out her Pokedex for this Pokemon she has now just discovered.
"Darmanitan. The Blazing Pokemon. Its internal fire burns at 2,500° F, making enough power that it can destroy a dump truck with one punch. When one is injured in a fierce battle, it hardens into a stone-like form. Then it meditates and sharpens its mind. Through meditation, it calms its raging spirit and hones its psychic powers."
An impressive Pokemon to look at for sure. But what was surprising to them all was the fact that Darmanitan had headphones on. Modelled right after his trainer even. From the looks of it, he was listening to some music at the moment. Most likely the same music Vinyl was listening too since both of them were bobbing their heads up and down in the same motion at the same speed.
"Headphones?" Fluttershy and the others said. This was new to all of them.
"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed, startling his friends. "WIth those headphones on, Darmanitan and Vinyl are one in the same! A perfect sync!"
"Battle start!"
The battle was on. Believing that Vinyl couldn't make a command, the Manehattan pony took advantage of this. "Scrafty! Use High Jump Kick!"
"Scra!" The Hoodlum Pokemon leapt off the ground, doing consecutive flips in the air for show. And yet, Vinyl hadn't said a word. She and Darmanitan were just enjoying the music. It looked like Scrafty's kick would connect, until the unexpected happened.
"Dar!" Darmanintan had suddenly grabbed Scrafty's leg, preventing High Jump Kick. And this was done without Vinyl saying a word. What followed was an attack. Darmanitan had used Thunder Punch with his other arm, striking the Hoodlum Pokemon straight in the face, launching him back to his trainer.
"Scrafty!" Scrafty tumbled on the ground, holding his face. "Fty..."
"Ah! Scrafty! You okay?!" His trainer gasped.
"Scra!" The Hoodlum Pokemon got back up on his feet, feeling fine. But that Thunder Punch threw him off guard.
"I don't know how you did that without saying a word...but you won't catch me off guard again! Scrafty! Stone Edge!"
"Scrafty!" Scrafty had slammed his head on the ground, causing blue crystals to pop up from the ground as they raced towards the Blazing Pokemon.
Once again. Not a word from Vinyl. Darmanitan, who was just enjoying the music, had evaded the crystal rocks with ease. He did this by jumping over them as if he was in a jungle.
"Seriously?! Try using Stone Edge again!" A second attempt was made. Perhaps more crystal stones on the battlefield will do the trick. With even more Stone Edge's filling the battlefield, it looked like Darmanitan would get hit this time.
But yet again, Darmanitan surprised everypony. While he didn't evade the crystals, he did something better. Destroying them. With the move Brick Break, the glowing blue crystals of Stone Edge had been shattered into pieces. And he did it repeatedly. In fact, the way he used Brick Break was in the same rhythm as the song he was listening to.
It was because of this rhythm that Darmanitan could perform feats that would normally require the command of the trainer to do so. The two were in perfect sync, practically unified.
"How is this possible?!" The announcer stood up from his seat. "She hasn't said a word and yet Darmanitan is effortlessly gaining the upper hoof!"
"Manitan!" Darmanitan had then grabbed the fragments of Stone Edge, flicking them towards Scrafty as the Hoodlum Pokemon had been pelted in the head by his own move.
"Scrafty! Just stay calm and use Dig!"
"Ty!" Scrafty shook his head, regaining focus. He wasn't out yet. By slamming his head repeatedly on the ground, the Hoodlum Pokemon had dug a hole, entering it. This would give him an advantage in terms of type-effectiveness and movement. Surely there was no way that Darmanitan could predict the movements of Dig when listening to music.
Except he can. Darmanitan had suddenly increased his movement speed. Which meant that the music he and DJ Pon-3 were listening to had sped up. Due to his increased speed, Darmanitan jumped up into the air, 3 seconds before Scrafty emerged from the ground.
"Darma!"
"Scrafty?" Scrafty, who had just emerged, looked up to see that Darmanitan had easily avoided him. And that wasn't the only thing he saw. Once Darmanitan came back down, he gave the Hoodlum Pokemon a swift chop to the head with Brick Break.
"MANITAN!" Darmanitan swung his big meaty hands down on the Dark-Fighting-Type, forcing him back into the ground where he dug himself up.
And that one Brick Break was just enough to put an end to this unexpected battle. Scrafty had fainted.
"Scra..."
"Scrafty is unable to battle! Darmanitan wins! Which means the victor is DJ Pon-3, Vinyl Scratch!"
"She won without saying a word?!" The announcer almost choked on his own water. "I wish I could do that!"
"Unbelievable...Not even Red could perform something like that...He had to say something to make his Pokemon attack." Fluttershy's jaw dropped. "Maybe it's like Zecora?"
"Nah. It's just that Vinyl and her Pokemon really love music." Ash explained. "They found their own unique way of battling. And that makes them one powerful combination."
"Pikachu!"
"No wonder she's ranked out #15 of 8120 trainers..." Sweetie Belle was starstruck along with pretty much everypony else. One pony who wasn't flabbergasted like the rest was Octavia, who was watching from the crowd.
"Well, I'll be...Good attempt Scrafty." The pony picked her partner off the ground as Scrafty held his head.
"Scrafty."
"And you were amazing! I couldn't even do anything against your Darmanitan."
Vinyl, even though she didn't say a word, went up to the pony as they both shook hooves. Darmanitan gave Scrafty a pat on the back, chuckling like crazy. "Dar-Dar-Dar-Manitan!"
With that match finally over, the next matchup could begin. This time, it involved Twilight Sparkle herself. But who she was going up against was something that threw Starlight off guard.
Trixie.
Because of course, she entered.
"Trixie?!" Starlight gasped. "Oh no..." She then began thinking of possible outcomes when Twilight and Trixie battle. This could end in either pure unfiltered violence or tears. One of the two will happen according to Starlight.
But before that could happen, a break was announced.
"That calls for a break!" said the announcer. "A 40-minute break and we'll be right back!"
"Time to snack on something then." Ash stood up along with other ponies. Some ponies had decided to stay and chat whilst others went for some food.
In the waiting room, Twilight was in the same scenario as Starlight. She was shocked about who she was facing off next. "I'm facing off against, Trixie?!"
"The one and only!" And speaking of Trixie, there she was. Sitting on a couch located on the right side of the waiting room. And as always, her Misdreavus was right beside her.
"Dreavus!"
"You're entering too?!" Twilight went up to Trixie.
"But of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Trixie shrugged. "I'm more surprised that you're here."
"Ehehe...yeah..." Twilight squeed.
"But then again. A lot of familiar faces are here. Especially her." The Great and Powerful Trixie pointed her hoof at one pony who Twilight didn't expect to join, yet again.
It was none other than the oldest of the pie sisters, Limestone. Oh very dear.
"Isn't that...?" Twilight squinted her eyes.
"One of Pinkie Pie's sisters. That's right. She gave me a hard time back on that Rock Farm of hers. But this time, I'll be the one giving her a hard time! If I get matched up with her that is." Trixie grinned, feeling confident that she could beat Limestone. Even though she has no idea that Limestone owns a Tyranitar. So perhaps it might be for the best that she doesn't get matched up with Limestone Pie.
"This is gonna be a long week..." Twilight held her head. She then noticed that Adagio had gotten up, walking out of the waiting room along with everypony else. Twilight being the curious pony that she is had decided to follow Adagio wherever she may be headed this time.
With the Canterlot Tournament being on a break, once it returns, the battles are only going to get much more intense from here on as the skill level increases. The tournament that will decide who is the current strongest pony trainer carries on as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The Canterlot Tournament is currently on a 40-minute break at the moment.
With ponies taking some time to either eat or chat until it resumes. But some ponies are up to something else. Mostly two actually. Adagio Dazzle who had also surprisingly signed up for this tournament and Twilight Sparkle, who was currently following the pony-siren hybrid, curious about her.
Adagio went over to a secluded area in Canterlot, mainly the back streets, where nopony really ever visits since what is there to experience in a small spot like that?
As Twilight followed Adagio, she was hoping that she could go unnoticed by the siren. But, that wasn't happening at all. A Siren's hearing is pretty strong actually.
"I can hear you, Sparkle." Adagio spoke, stopping her tracks.
"Eep!" Twilight squealed as her Pokemon hopped in front of her, in case of Adagio tried anything.
"How creepy can you get?" Adagio turned around, facing Twilight as she noticed that each of Twilight's Pokemon were either growling or snarling at her.
"What are you up to now, Adagio?"
"Like I said before...mind your business, already!" She raised her voice at the alicorn, startling even the Pokemon. "What I do is none of your concern!"
"After what you did to my friends, everything you get up to is my business!" Twilight snapped back at her.
"Pssh. Whatever. Talking with you is just going to waste a bunch of time." She scoffed at Twilight. "And if you really want to know what I'm doing here, I'm taking a break. Duh."
"That's it?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, not expecting that answer.
"Of course, that's it. You heard the announcer. Now get lost. Just being near you is making me uncomfortable." Adagio kept on walking, heading deeper in the back street. Twilight watched as she saw the siren just casually move without causing any negativity at all. In fact, when the tournament began, for the amount of time it had been going on for, Adagio had not caused a semblance of negativity. Not even once.
"Wait! Adagio!"
"Urgh...What is it now?" Adagio groaned.
"I'm just curious..."
"When are you never curious?" The siren said under her breath.
"You haven't been spreading negativity ever since you got here. At all. Why is that?"
"Hmph." Adagio didn't actually answer that one. Not even a clever retort this time. She just simply scoffed at Twilight.
"There's a reason why isn't there?"
"Do you have to ask so many questions?!" Adagio stomped her hoof, causing Minccy to hide behind Twilight. Adagio and Twilight had stared each other down for a bit as the atmosphere was rising with tension.
But they weren't alone. Somepony was watching them. And that somepony was none other than Celestia who looked out of a window, opening it. She noticed both of them currently in a pretty heated conversation that could end up leading into something ugly if it carries on. She attempted to step in but she could read their movements, knowing that something else other than hostility will occur.
"Adagio! You can-"
"Don't! You're gonna mention friendship again, aren't you? Forget it! Spare me your cheesy drabble! I don't want anything to do with that thing you call friendship!"
"But your sisters don't feel the same way! They've managed to make friends. Friends with ponies that they never thought they'd get along with! Because of this, they're happy with all of us in Ponyville! Don't you want to be with your sisters? Why do you keep avoiding something as great as friends?"
"Why do I keep avoiding friends? Heh. You're beginning to sound a lot like your Empress self. Adagio went up to Twilight as Eve and Vulpix readied a Psybeam and Incinerate.
"What?"
"Let me tell you this, Sparkle. Do you really think that your precious Magic of Friendship can help everyone?"
"Well it-"
"Can't!" Adagio interrupted Twilight. "I'll admit this much. Friendship does bring others closer to each other and builds powerful bonds. I'll even say that it makes the whole world go around."
"That's right!" Twilight smiled. "You get it! It's because of friendship that everypony's helped each other. Whether it's in the past, present or even future. It always finds a way to bring everypony together!"
"Of course it does. I'm not stupid. I know what it's capable of. After all, it's what defeated me and my sisters back in the Battle of the Bands."
"So, if you know that...then why? Why keep avoiding it?"
"Even if I were to tell you, you'd still cling on to it like some sort of child desperately wanting their parent's attention. I know I used to."
"If you won't tell me...then I won't stop trying to get to you!"
"Hoh?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "You're just as stubborn as that Ash boy. Guess you take a bunch of pointers from your little crush. And speaking of crush. I can't wait to crush you in the tournament if I get paired with you. And if I don't, I'll just defeat you and your friends. That'll give me a ton of satisfaction."
"We won't lose! My friends and I will make sure!"
"Hmph. Better hope they can make it through the rest of the tournament then. Besides. I want Sonata and Aria to watch their big sister completely humiliate their friends right in front of them. Not only that, but you won't even try coming after me anymore after a defeat like that."
"Even if I lose. That won't stop me from trying to reach you. Just like your sisters, there's good in you."
Adagio realized that there was no convincing Twilight. "Why am I even still here? I shouldn't be talking with you for this long." She decided to leave finally, not wanting to chat with Twilight any longer.
But, Adagio did leave one final message to Twilight before she left. "I'll tell you this, Sparkle. You can cherish that Magic of Friendship that you hold so dear for as long as you want. However, there's one magic out there it'll never defeat. A magic that surpasses friendship.
"A magic that surpasses friendship? What's that?"
"Ccino?"
"Espeon?"
"Vul?"
"You seriously don't know?" Adagio chuckled. "It should be obvious. Because everyone has it." And that was that. Adagio had left, leaving Twilight behind.
"Adagio. She's something alright." Twilight nodded. "We'll have to be extra ready if we end up facing her."
With Celestia, she had decided to involve herself with Adagio. First time even. Princess Celestia was capable of reading Adagio surprisingly well. That is because both of them share something in common. Something that has yet to be revealed to Twilight herself even.
Teleporting outside, Celestia had appeared in front of Adagio, startling the siren-pony hybrid.
"Eugh!" Adagio jumped up, causing her horn to glow. She quickly noticed that standing before her was none other than the ruler of Equestria herself. "Y-You...?"
"Adagio Dazzle, is it?"
"Great...As if two alicorns weren't bothering me already." Adagio groaned. "Whatever you're about to say, forget it. I already had a chat with Twilight Sparkle over there. So don't try and lecture me."
"I won't." Celestia shook her head. "I'm not here to force anything on you. I'm here to speak to you as a neutral pony. I want to understand you better."
"Hm? You? You're the last pony I would expect to do so. Especially for someone so high ranking."
"Kir..." Passion didn't take too kindly to Adagio's words. She wanted to blast Adagio with plasma so badly right now.
"Arcanine..." Arcanine was the same. He was ready to pounce at any minute if Adagio tried anything funny against Celestia.
"Hold on, Passion. Arcanine. I just want a small talk. Nothing else. Is that okay with you?"
"Small talk?"
"Yes." Celestia nodded.
"Alright fine. We're still on break." Adagio shrugged. "Why not."
Both Celestia and Adagio had decided to talk on a lone bench that was located right near Canterlot Gardens. It was just those two and the Pokemon. Nopony else.
"Make it quick. I wanna get through this tournament already."
"Tell me, Adagio. What you said to Twilight back there. That even if she understood your reasoning for neglecting friendship, she would still cling on to it."
"Of course. I swear, she keeps that friendship thing close to her like some sort of doll."
"So that means...there must be something deeper going on, am I right?"
Adagio pulled back with her eyes widening. She didn't expect Celestia to figure it out so easily. "How did you..."
"I can tell how somepony is feeling based on their body language, emotions and how they act. I guess spending time with Passion really helped me with that."
"Kirlia!"
"So what? You know that something deeper's going on. I bet you don't know what it-"
"It's about your family, isn't it?"
And yet again, Celestia caught Adagio off guard, causing her to be flabbergasted. "W-What about it?"
"Well." Celestia took in a deep breath. "Would you believe me I said that my family has met with yours before? Specifically your mother."
"You've met my mother?!" Adagio stood up.
"Not me. No. My mother has met yours. But only once." Saying that had Adagio trying to dig into her memories, seeing if she remembered anything like that in the past. But nothing came up. Not at all.
"I've never seen a pony who even looks remotely like you! Or even your sister!"
"Well of course not. This was before you were born. And it was also around this time that my mother and father were still just a unicorn and an earth pony."
"Now you've got my attention...Tell me what you know about your mother's relation with mine."
"Very well. I'll tell you. From what I can recall." Thus, Celestia envisioned the past to Adagio.
My mother, who was known as Sunlight, was a bit of a glutton for adventure. She couldn't resist exploring uncharted areas. Even she had her studies to attend to. She was the next in line to rule Equestria after all. And like all of her adventures, this one is what led her directly to your mother. My mother Sunlight is the one pony who managed to understand family much better than anypony out there.
"Ah..." Sunlight took in the fresh air. She had a similar appearance as Celestia. Her mane and tail were just like Celestia's ethereal mane with the same colour combination of pink, blue and light green. The only difference was that since she wasn't an alicorn yet, it was just a standard mane.
Her Cutie Mark seemed to be the sun but the core was blue, indicating that it was actually meant to be a blue star instead of the natural yellow star that is always present in the world.
Currently, she was in a grassland area. The land was flat without a single hill in sight. But there was a lake there. It was a generally relaxing area as the sun was a perfect sky-blue.
"I know studying is important. But who can resist this!" Sunlight fell on her back, closing her eyes as she just let the sound of the sweet air fill her ears. That wasn't all that filled her ears. From the direction of the lake, singing could be heard.
It wasn't singing from any birds. Not at all. This was something entirely different and new. And Sunlight loves discovering new things. Her thirst for adventure was very similar to a certain individual who exists in the current day. With curiosity, Sunlight led herself towards the location of the song, feeling compelled to it.
And who was singing that beautiful song? Why none other than Vivace. Mother of the three sirens sisters. She looked a bit younger at this point in time. While Adagio resembles her mother, it's mostly Vivace's younger appearance that really matched Adagio's look.
Vivace had suddenly ceased her singing, shaking her head in disappointment. "Ugh. I've already sung that one." Vivace groaned. "I need something with more flash..."
"Um, excuse me?" Sunlight's voice had travelled through Vivace's ears, causing the siren to snap her head towards the newcomer.
"Hm?" Vivace squinted her eyes, noticing that the being that stood before her was none other than a pony. "A pony?" For Vivace, seeing a pony was something rare. Where she lives, ponies aren't exactly the most common species around.
"By my father's beard...What are you?" This was Sunlight's first time seeing a siren. She had never even heard of them before. "A giant fish?"
"AH! How rude!" Vivace scowled at Sunlight. "I am a siren!"
"Oh, terribly sorry! It's just that...you have fish-like properties." Sunlight squeed. "Sorry if that sounded like an insult."
"Hmph. It's fine. I can see the misunderstanding. But what is a pony doing here?"
"Well, due to my thirst for adventure, I ended up in this beautiful area!" Sunlight raised her hooves up, showing off the grasslands.
"Hm. Yes. It is beautiful." Vivace could agree on that.
"I was just taking in the fresh air and radiant appearance of it all. That's when I heard singing of all of a sudden. I assume it was from you?"
"Hmph. Of course, it was." Vivace put on a smug face, looking up. "You're in the presence of a siren. Masters of singing. With voices that are unparalleled.
"Amazing...so that was actually your voice. It was wonderful!" Sunlight clapped her hooves together. "What song were you singing exactly?"
"Hm? I don't name my songs." Vivace shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Why should I exactly?"
"Well, it sounds like you enjoy singing. And if it is a song that you enjoy singing more than anything else, naming it would help give it its own identity."
"Its own identity you say?" Vivace thought about it for a second. "Hm. The songs I sing are scarce in identity, actually. Perhaps I could name them from time to time."
"Excellent! I'm sure you'll end up finding the perfect names for them. And I hope I'm not being a hassle or anything...but could you sing one more time? I would like to hear that song in its fullest."
Vivace squinted her eyes, surprised at Sunlight's request. And there was a reason why she was so surprised by it. "...Hold on. Are you sure you want me to sing?"
"Yes. You have a wonderful voice. So, why not?"
"Aha." Vivace let out a slight chuckle. "I'm the first siren you've ever come across, correct?"
"Well, this is the first time I've ever heard of a siren before. So yes. You are the first."
"Hm. Then, in that case, I should warn you that my singing is not one of...amicable origin." Vivace smirked.
"Why do you say that?"
"You see, my little pony." Vivace went closer to Sunlight, casting a shadow over her. "Us sirens do not sing to entertain. Not at all. We sing to spread negativity. The more hostility there is, the healthier we become. So far, we have fed off the negativity of other species. The one we have yet to feed off are ponies."
Vivace had explained everything so casually to Sunlight. It was as if she knew that Sunlight was next in line to be affected by the sound of a siren.
"S-Spread negativity?" That definitely caught Sunlight off guard.
"Yes. You could say that our magic lies within our voice."
"But why would you want to spread negativity with something as beautiful as that voice?"
"Why? My, you are a curious little pony." Vivace lowered herself in the water. "It is because we have no choice."
"No choice?" Sunlight pulled back.
"Right. Negativity acts as a life source for us. It feeds us sirens. Without it, we are nothing."
Sunlight thought for a moment. She could already tell that this links to destiny. Similar to how Cutie Marks are predestined to a pony from birth. They both share one thing in common. Fate.
"My...that's a horrible fate." Sunlight sighed.
"It is. But, there is nothing we can do about it. We have to survive somehow. However, despite our actions, those other species somehow manage to find a way to patch things up and settle their differences."
"I understand..." Sunlight nodded her head in understanding.
"Hold on." Vivace's eyes widened. "You do?"
"Why, yes. And I am truly sorry for your entire race. Honestly."
Vivace could see that Sunlight was actually accepting of this. The other species she had come across, when she explained why she sang, they had some interesting responses. Some more aggressive than others. But not Sunlight. She had a clear understanding of what fate truly was. Vivace could tell by the look in the young unicorn's eyes that she truly felt sorry for the entire siren species.
Due to Sunlight's passive nature, Vivace couldn't bring herself to show any animosity to this pony. At all. If anything, she seemed like a sweet summer child who had just discovered the truth about the world.
"W-Well...I do not need your apology." Vivace turned around, trying to shrug it off. "What can you do anyway?"
"Nothing. I'm not sure anypony can." Sunlight rubbed her hoof. "But how come that fate exists for you and every other siren?"
"We don't have a clue ourselves. But we shouldn't try and question fate. It is out of our control after all."
"That is true." Sunlight nodded. "Well, surely you still enjoy life even with this fate right?"
"Hm? I suppose we do. It's not all gloom and doom. We sirens tend to socialize with each other on a daily basis. When we're not feeding off the animosity of other species, we just enjoy each other's company.
"Oh. It sounds like you have a lot of good friends where you come from."
"Friends? Oh, no, no. You see, my little pony, every siren is related."
"Every?!" Sunlight shot up.
"Oh yes. It all predates back to our origin. Every last one of us are brothers and sisters. In fact, the bonds I have with my family is the only force of magic that is not correlated with negativity."
"Magic of Family, right?"
"Magic of Family?" Vivace chuckled at that. "What kind of a silly name is that?"
"I know it sounds a bit childish but I consider it magic. Family is something spectacular. It can never be replaced, after all. Even when they have their differences or hardships, they still love each other, don't they?"
"Hm." Vivace thought for a moment, gently nodding to Sunlight's words. Something about this unicorn made her feel at ease. It was hard to describe. "I like you, my little pony. You're surprisingly much more tolerable than my brothers and sisters."
"Am I now?" Sunlight giggled. "I bet they don't compare to my father and his overprotective nature."
"Really now?"
"Oh yes. If I even think about chatting with somepony else, especially a colt, he would go ballistic!"
"I would say you have it easy. The younger of my family tend to bicker over the pettiest of things. You would not believe the stories that I have to tell you."
The two species went on to chat about their family experiences. They had a lot to say to each other. Good or bad. And both had gained new memories in their head. Mostly comedic ones. And in that one instance, Vivace had grown a fondness for the pony. And so did Sunlight. They chattered away for hours and hours, without showing signs of slowing down.
Eventually, they had their fun. But they both had to leave their separate ways.
"Well. It has been fun," said Vivace. "But I should get going now."
"Right. I do have studies I need to attend to after all" Sunlight stretched her hooves. "It was really a wonderful experience getting to meet you, Vivace." The two had finally gotten each other's names.
"You as well, Sunlight. But just so you know, this does not make us friends."
"I know. How about...acquaintance? I know that friendship doesn't do anything for the sirens. So perhaps a less intimate relationship can work."
"Hmmm..." Vivace thought about it for a second. Sunlight did have a point. "Sure. Acquaintance." The siren lowered herself in the water, waving her fin at Sunlight as a farewell sign.
"Wait, Vivace! Will we ever see each other again?"
"Who's to say? Perhaps in the future, our children might meet."
"Children?"
"I plan to have offsprings of my own one day. I assume you aim to carry out your bloodline, don't you?"
"Guilty. When I find that colt for me, I'll have a child of my own. And you're right. They might meet. But...would they be at odds at each due to what they each stand for?"
"Perhaps. Us sirens and our power to spread negativity can rub anyone the wrong way after all. However, you're the only creature that has managed to twist my fin. So my child may get along with yours in the future. But, fate is unpredictable after all."
"Right you are on that one. Well, one day, I believe that somepony will be able to solve this great contrast."
"Are you suggesting that somepony can possibly change fate?"
"Not necessarily change fate. That's not possible. But...I believe that there might be something out there that can find a perfect balance. I am clueless about what that perfect balance is, unfortunately."
"Maybe." Vivace nodded. "Here. Take this." She used her fin to grab some gem that sirens just casually keep around underwater. These gems were two very familiar purple diamonds.
"Oh?" Sunlight used her magic to grab the two diamonds.
"A little gift from me. You won't forget now, will you?"
"Not at all! Thank you, Vivace!"
"Hm. You're welcome." And at that moment, a familiar golden light surrounded the siren's body. It was faint and weak but it could still be seen.
And just like that, the two went their separate ways. My mother never forgot about Vivace for a second. So much so that when I was finally born into this world, she told me all about her experience with that one single siren.
Back to the present day, Celestia had finished the story on how Sunlight and Vivace had met. Hearing this had changed Adagio's entire perspective on things. Just a small bit. She saw Princess Celestia in a new light. Before, she related her to everypony else. Especially Twilight.
"I didn't know that..." Adagio spoke.
"At first, when I saw your sisters, it never crossed my mind that they were sirens. But after seeing you, it reminded me of my mother's description of Vivace."
"Well...if your mother understands why I do what I do, then that should apply to you too, right?"
"Hard to say. After all, my mother understood the importance of family better than anypony. It was her teachings that moulded me into the pony that I am today. Without her, I would've grown even more distant from Luna. I owe everything to both my mother and my father."
"Right. That's all that matters, huh?"
"Yes, family matters. But even so..." Celestia picked her Kirlia. "Friends matter as well. Perhaps not as much as the ones who have been with you since the beginning, but like you said to Twilight; Friendship does bring others closer to each other and builds powerful bonds. I've certainly built a powerful bond with these two right here."
"Canine." Arcanine had hopped on the bench where Adagio and Celestia sat. The Legendary Pokemon had changed his outlook on Adagio a bit, including Passion. But they were still highly protective of their trainer.
"Krick!" Kricketot, who always hid in Adagio's mane, popped his head up, greeting both Passion and Arcanine.
"My mother said that one day, somepony would be able to find that perfect balance. Whatever it may be."
"Perfect balance." Adagio hopped off the seat. "Well, even still. I'll still continue doing what I know how to do best. And if you do manage to find that 'Perfect Balance', then I guess I'll be stumped. But until then, I won't stop until I reach my goal. Are you gonna stop me, princess? Take away my magic?"
"Not at all. It doesn't feel right. If I did, then that would mean I would end up harming the life of another pony."
"At least you know that..." Adagio scoffed.
"I understand your struggle, Adagio. Go on. Finish your break until the tournament resumes. And I swear that I'll find a way to help you and your sisters. Without using friendship."
"Without using friendship you say?" Adagio raised an eyebrow at that. It actually sounded a bit promising. "Fine. I'll be waiting, Princess Celestia. Don't disappoint me."
Adagio had finally left, being on her own this time with her Kricketot. Celestia watched as she had seen Adagio in a new light.
Celestia now had another major goal that she aimed to accomplish. Finding a way to help Adagio. She realized that friendship wasn't what Adagio needed. But something else, as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The 40-minute break has come to an end. Thus, the Canterlot Tournament can resume.
And continuing where it left off, the next matchup can begin. Twilight Sparkle against Trixie Lulamoon. A matchup that actually seemed possible. It was bound to happen eventually. In the waiting room, Twilight took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable battle. Twilight had chosen Bisharp for this battle since he would work well against Trixie's Misdreavus.
"Okay...I can do this. Trixie's Pokemon is her Misdreavus. So Bisharp's is gonna be a huge help. Right, Bisharp?"
"Bisharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon nodded.
"Eve. Minccy. Vulpix. Wish me luck, okay?"
"Espeon!" Eve and the others cheered their trainer on, giving her good luck in this upcoming battle.
"Good luck out there, Sparkle," Trixie smirked as her Misdreavus was beside her. "Against the Great and Powerful Trixie, you'll need all the luck in Equestria to triumph.
"Trust me. Bisharp and I are gonna ace this. No doubt." Twilight retorted.
"Gothitelle..." Gothitelle had opened up the doors for the two ponies. It was about time the tournament had resumed. Everypony in the crowd was already waiting eagerly for this. They were excited since the Princess of Friendship was about to battle as their cheers roared across Canterlot.
Starlight, however, wasn't so eager. She was terrified of the outcome. What would happen if Twilight won? What would happen if Trixie won? So many outcomes that could end up in tears or violence, according to her.
"You seem a bit shaken up, Starlight. What's wrong?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Nothing..." She gulped. "I'm just soooo excited about this matchup."
"Same here! I can't wait to see that Misdreavus pull of some spooky antics!" Pinkie mimicked the movements of a ghost.
"I wouldn't take Trixie to be the battling type. Then again, there are a lot of ponies here who don't give that impression yet they are battling," said Fluttershy.
"Audino."
Up at the balcony of Canterlot Castle, Celestia kept her eyes on this battle especially. This was her student battling, after all, making her curious.
"Finally! We can resume the tournament" The announcer exclaimed. "This time it's Princess Twilight Sparkle herself! And uh...some unicorn named Trixie."
"SOME UNICORN?!" Trixie snapped, giving the announcer a death stare.
"Eek!" The pegasus announcer hid from Trixie's horrifying gaze.
"Hmph. Just you wait. Once I beat you and this entire tournament, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie will have a second title! Trixie! The Strongest Trainer in Equestria! No..." She thought about it for a second, thinking of a new name. "I'll think of something else."
"Get ready, Bisharp." Twilight dusted her hoof on the ground.
"Sharp."
"You may both bring out your Pokemon now." said the Referee.
"It's all you, Bisharp. Do your best!"
"Bisharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon ran in front of Twilight, readying himself. The rest of Twilight's Pokemon stood behind her, spectating from a much closer angle than every pony else.
"Now! Prepare to be amazed!" Trixie had suddenly held a Poke Ball out, not going for Misdreavus, who was always beside her at all times. Instead, the Pokemon she had sent out was none other than the Illusion Fox Pokemon Zoroark.
"Zoro!" Zoroark made a flashy entrance, transforming herself into Twilight.
"WHAT THE?!" Twilight gasped. She was surprised by two things. One, Zoroark had transformed into her. And two, her strategy had been messed up. She was expecting Misdreavus. Not another Dark-Type.
"Zoro." Zoroark had grinned at Twilight. This was Trixie's plan from the beginning. To throw Twilight off guard. The fake Twilight was in a pouncing position, shaking her tail about as the strategy to confuse Twilight was working so far.
"I'm seeing double! Is that a second Princess Twilight?!" The announcer flew up, smashing his head on the ceiling. "Ow."
"Surprised, Sparkle? My Zoroark here is a master-class illusionist and shapeshifter. See how she's able to mimic your personality to a T?"
"Uhh..." Twilight's jaw dropped as she looked down at Zoroark. Their personalities didn't match at all since this fake Twilight had a sprightly nature. It did evolve from a Zorua after all. And this was one of the rare instances where a Zoroark keeps its personality after evolving. "Right... identical."
"Sheesh...what a sight." The referee chuckled a bit. "Alright. You may both begin!"
"I can't let it throw me off..." Twilight shook her head. "Change of plans Bisharp! Use Iron Head!"
"Bisharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon lowered his head as the blade that stuck out from its head had hardened into a much stronger steel than he already owns. From front to back. He jumped into the air, flying directly towards the Illusion Fox Pokemon head-first.
"Zoroark! Counter!" A huge play on Trixie's part. Zoroark, who was still mimicking Twilight, had prepared herself for this. Her body was surrounded in an emanating black aura as she took the force of Iron Head with Bisharp smashing its bladed head into the Illusion Fox Pokemon.
"Zoro!" Zoroark smirked at Bisharp, returning the favour by uppercutting the Sword Blade Pokemon with her fake hoof.
"Sharp!" Bisharp really felt that one. Since he was Dark-Steel, Fighting-Type moves are a huge NO for him. The Sword Blade Pokemon had been launched back by Counter, already taking huge amounts of damage. From what everypony saw, it looked like Twilight Sparkle had given a Pokemon an uppercut. THat's something that won't leave their memory.
"AH! Bisharp!" Twilight gasped. "Are you okay?!"
"Bish...Sharp!" Bisharp was hanging in there. That Counter really did some damage. But thankfully, this Bisharp wasn't that easy to take out even with a super-effective move. After all, he does protect Queen Serperior in PokePark.
"Zoroark!" Since Zoroark had been hit once, the illusion wore off, causing her to reveal her true self.
"You look shaken up, Sparkle. Still dazed and confused about all of this?" Trixie put on a smug look.
"I won't let you throw me off guard again, Trixie," Twilight replied. "But...if I get physical with Zoroark, that Counter's really gonna mess up Bisharp. What do I do?" She thought to herself.
"That Counter really stung!" Pinkie Pie winced. "Maybe Bisharp's got something that he can use from afar?"
"Bisharp! Let's try ending this in one hit! Guillotine!"
"Sharp!" By crossing both his arms together, Bisharp had pivoted his foot back, kicking up some dust.
"Or maybe not!" Pinkie pulled her mane, preparing to freak out.
"BI!" Bisharp's eyes flashed red as his blades let out a dazzling blue light. He ran from the spot he stood on, leaving behind a huge dust trail.
"Zoroark! Dodge with Agility!"
"Ro!" Zoroark got on all fours, propelling her body to the side as she had evaded the One-Hit-KO move. Not only that, but her speed had increased.
"Sharp?!" Bisharp gasped, realizing that he had missed his mark.
"Now! Use Night Daze!" Zoroark had let loose a pitch-black shockwave that came straight from her eyes.
"Bisharp! Use your blades to block it!"
"Bi!" By turning around, Bisharp quickly put both his hands up in an X position. The shock wave of dark energy had made contact with the Dark-Steel-Type, slightly pushing him back. Thanks to him being a Dark-Type as well, this attack didn't do much. And blocking really helped nullify it a lot.
"Try Guillotine one more time!" A second attempt was made against Zoroark. Perhaps this time, Guillotine will finish the job.
Unfortunately, due to Agility, this wasn't the case. "Dodge it!" Zoroark had once again, effortlessly eluded the attack by pouncing to the side.
"Clever, Twilight. You know how dangerous Counter is to your Bisharp so you're trying to take my Zoroark out in one hit so that it never happens."
"Saw right through me..." Twilight chided.
"Well keep trying! You won't catch up to Zoroark! Not with that speed! Use Dig!"
"Ro! Zoro!" Zoroark had used those sharp claws she had to burrow her way underground, leaving Bisharp's line of sight.
"Dig?! Stay sharp Bisharp!"
"Sharp!" The Sword Blade Pokemon kept his focus, looking out for any underground hijinks that were nearby.
"Not good..." Fluttershy bit her hoof. "Zoroark has two moves that are super-effective against Bisharp. Not only that Zoroark's much faster!"
"Dino!"
"It isn't over yet. She's still got a lot of options to turn this around," said Ash.
"Pikachu."
"Well, they aren't good-looking options!" Pinkie Pie winced.
"Now...what will you do Twilight?" Celestia said quietly, anticipating Twilight's next move.
The Princess of Friendship had already entered a rough spot. Bisharp had already taken major damage from Counter. And if Dig hits, the damage won't be as lethal as Counter but it'll hurt since Bisharp is part Steel. Not to mention that Agility made the already fast Zoroark, twice as fast.
"This is risky but...Bisharp! Iron Defense!" She had gone on the defensive this time. Bisharp had surrounded himself in a silver aura, strengthening his defensive capabilities. Twilight was hoping that it would be enough to take Dig.
"Zoro! Zoroark emerged from the ground finally as an eruption of rocks flew up. The Illusion Fox Pokemon had swung her claw at the Sword Blade Pokemon, causing him to be knocked back from the spot he stood in.
"Bi!" The Dark-Steel-Type definitely felt the impact of the attack. However, since he had used Iron Defense, he was still standing.
"Good! Now, Guillotine!" Quickly recovering from the attack, Bisharp bolted forward with his bladed arms being crossed together.
"Dodge with Agility!" Once again, Zoroark had outsped the Sharp Blade Pokemon by front flipping over him. Her speed had once again increased.
"This?! Fine! Then we'll improve as well! Keep using Iron Defense!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Sha!" Bisharp had once again increased his defence, doubling it. Now both Pokemon have double speed and defence.
"Raise your defence all you want! You can't hit what you can't catch! Zoroark! Use Dig once more!"
"Ark!" Burrowing her way into the ground, Zoroark had vanished, preparing to strike at the right time.
"Not this time! Bisharp! Iron Defence yet again!" The third one in a row. Now Bisharp was at his maximum defence limit. The Illusion Fox Pokemon emerged from the ground, smashing her head against Bisharp's.
"Zo!"
"Bi!" Bisharp pulled his head back after the impact as he staggered.
"Now! Bisharp! Iron Head!"
"Sharp!" Returning the favour, Bisharp smashed his hardened head on Zoroark's, making them even. The Illusion Fox Pokemon felt that one for sure as Bisharp's defence not only meant that he was further durable, it also meant that his entire body was hard enough to be a weapon. As if he already wasn't a walking weapon.
"Zoroark!" Zoroark had been hurled back by Iron Head, leaving a pretty visible bruise as well.
"Counter!" Zoroark drifted on the ground, lunging back at the opposing Dark-Type. Her claws had that same black aura around them as she slashed Bisharp right in his bladed chest. "That should it!" Trixie grinned. She believed that was game over for Bisharp.
But it wasn't. Iron Defense really changed things up. Bisharp had one eye closed as he powered through the devastating Fighting-Type move, just slightly moving back.
"Zo?!" Zoroark's eyes opened up, shocked that Bisharp was still standing.
"Huh?!" Trixie jolted back.
"You won't be taking Bisharp down so easily! He's no pushover!" Twilight declared.
"Oh! Great job, Twilight!" Fluttershy cheered.
"Audino!"
"Had me worried there!" Pinkie Pie held her chest, breathing in and out. "Why do Pokemon battles have to be so intense?!"
"It isn't over yet! All I need is one more Counter and that's it!"
"Zoroark!"
"You might be right on that one." Twilight leaned forward. "If I can just land Guillotine once...but that won't be easy with Zoroark's speed. Unless..." Twilight had schemed something that just might work. "Bisharp! Use Night Slash in an X position!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp put both of his hands together as a black aura surrounded his blades.
"Hah! That won't do much against my Zoroark! Counter!"
Bisharp ran forward, locking eyes with the Illusion Fox Pokemon who was prepared to Counter his hit the moment he struck. The Sharp Blade Pokemon closed in whilst Zoroark readied a counter with both her claws. That's when Twilight ushered a word that Trixie didn't expect.
"Shift into Guillotine!"
"Wait, what?!" Trixie stood up.
"Bisharp!" Bisharp had changed his attack from Night Slash to Guillotine. And then, in a spurt of power, the Sharp Blade Pokemon slashed past Zoroark. At that moment, he had moved much faster than Zoroark since he pulled the move off successfully.
The sheer force of Bisharp's Guillotine cut was so monstrous that it cut the entire battlefield in half, leaving a huge gap on both sides. The referee gasped as he had almost fallen into the chasm. Not only that, but even the seats were affected. Thankfully, no pony got hurt, but they had all been separated from each other due to the intensity of Bisharp's attack.
And the result? As expected. Guillotine is known as a One-Hit-KO Move for a reason. Zoroark's eyes widened as she realized she had been defeated, falling on her knees and soon, flat on her face.
"Sharp." Bisharp stood tall, laying down both of his arms as he didn't even look back at Zoroark.
The referee, who was still terrified of the huge gap, went over to see Zoroark's current state. Those Spinda-like eyes don't lie. That was that.
"Zoroark is unable to battle! Bisharp wins! Thus the victor is Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
"We did it? YES!" Twilight flew up in victorious energy. "Fantastic work Bisharp!" She flew over to her Pokemon who was recovering fairly well after the battle. She attempted to hug him but she then remembered that the blades around him are lethal.
"Sharp." Bisharp raised his hands up to Twilight, asserting his dominance.
"Long sigh..." Trixie sighed. "Just when I thought I had it. Oh well, good job, Zoroark." The defeated trainer went over to her fallen partner
"Zoro..." Zoroark stood up, holding her neck since Guillotine tends to strike there most of the time whenever it's used. "Ark."
"Well played, Twilight." Trixie nodded. "I suppose even somepony as Great and Powerful as me, still has a long way to go when it comes to Pokemon battling."
"You battled well, Trixie. You really did catch me off guard in the beginning, ya know. I was expecting you to use Misdreavus."
"My precious little Misdreavus is too innocent to battle. Isn't that right, Misdreavus?" Trixie held the Screech Pokemon.
"Drea!"
"Innocent...sure..." Twilight winced, recalling the first time Misdreavus attacked Ponyville.
"Well. Good luck in the tournament. If you've managed to beat me then you're not allowed to lose the entire thing, alright?"
"You can count it."
"Bisharp!"
"Phew...I thought something horrible would happen." Starlight chuckled nervously. She was glad the outcome didn't end with one of them in a saddened state.
"That's the stuff, Twilight!" Ash stood up with Pikachu and Pinkie Pie.
"Pika!"
Celestia smiled, glad that her student managed to overcome a seemingly one-sided match.
Now that this matchup was over, the next was two ponies from Trottingham and then after that, it'll be Rainbow Dash's turn to battle. And she was going up against Limestone Pie of all ponies.
"So close..." Rainbow Dash squeed. Her excitement was only growing. It seemed like her matchup was so close yet so far at the same time. Once Twilight came through those doors and into the waiting room, her friends had gone over to congratulate her victory. "That Guillotine was so cool, Twilight!"
"A fine job!" Rarity nodded. "Even if you did cut everything in half."
"Thanks, girls. Whew!" Twilight looked up. "What a rush. Thanks for the help Bisharp.
"Sharp!"
"Very soon, it'll be my turn." Rainbow landed on the floor. "You don't even know how excited I am for this! What about you, Rarity?"
"Hm. Oh. I suppose I'll use my Leavanny for when my turn arrives. I'm not sure. My opponents Pokemon could be absolutely anything."
"Right you are on that. Zoroark was the last thing Bisharp and I expected." Twilight nodded.
"Speaking of which...you see how it copied you?" Rainbow Dash was prepared to laugh as she nudged Twilight.
"Mrrgh..." Twilight grumbled. She wanted to forget about Zoroark transforming into her already. And speaking of which, right behind her was Zoroark herself, transforming into the Princess of Friendship once more. "Hm?" Twilight turned around to see her fake self stand before her. "AH!"
"Zoro-ro-ro." The Illusion Fox Pokemon chuckled, returning to her true self.
"Would you cut that out!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Alright, Zoroark." Trixie chuckled. "We've had our amusement." She returned the Poke Ball as she gave one final farewell to Twilight before heading over to the crowd to spectate.
"So uh...what about the battlefield?" Scootaloo asked. There is a huge gap after all. How are they going to battle if there's a hazard just plastered on the arena?
Gothitelle had the answer to that. She went outside towards the battlefield in order to repair all the damage. Her immense psychic power was so grandiose that it was capable of grabbing both sides of the gap, pulling them together. The force of her manipulating the battlefield made Canterlot tremble as everypony almost fell out of their seats along with Celestia almost falling over.
"Woah!" Ash held Fluttershy and Pikachu, regaining his balance.
"Goth..." And just like that, in a few seconds, Gothitelle had repaired the battlefield with ease. Perhaps Psychic-Types are a bit too powerful. But then again, so is every type.
"Good job, Gothitelle!" Ben gave his Pokemon a thumbs up from afar.
"Gothitelle."
Now that the battlefield had been repaired, the tournament can go on without any technical issues. Adagio had watched Twilight's match, seeing how she battled back there. From what she could tell, Twilight can easily be thrown off guard if her strategy ends up backfiring. Adagio knows that she can do the same since the Pokemon she has at her disposal is a Pheromosa. A Pokemon that traumatized most of Twilight's friends. It was the perfect option.
Soon, the first day of the Tournament will close and follow up until the week comes to an end. The strongest trainer pony has yet to be discovered as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
As the Canterlot Tournament to test everypony's battling skills continues, the current match between two Trottingham ponies is about to come to an end. And after that, it shall be Rainbow Dash and Limestone Pie's match.
"Vikavolt! Vice Grip!" A pegasus commanded.
"Vika!" The Levitate Pokemon had grabbed its opposing Pokemon, which was a Sandlash, using its big strong jaws as it slammed the Mouse Pokemon down on the ground, causing it to faint.
"Sand...slash..."
"Not my Sandslash!" The opposing unicorn pony gasped.
"Sandslash is unable to battle! Vikavolt wins! Which means the victor is Raincharm!" announced the referee.
And with that, this matchup had come to an end. Meaning it can segway into the next battle. Rainbow vs Limestone. Two ponies who are very close to Pinkie Pie. Speaking of which, the pink pony was feeling heavily conflicted now.
"Who do I root for?! My sister or my friend?!" Pinkie curled up into a ball, unable to decide.
"Limestone, huh? I wonder how much she and Tyranitar have bonded." Ash wondered. He was the one to help her catch the Armor Pokemon back at the Rock Farm.
"Pika."
"Wait!" Pinkie shot up. "Does that mean my entire family is somewhere in the crowd?!" She scanned the seats, searching for any more of her family members. But there wasn't a single sign of any of them. It was just Limestone.
Speaking of Limestone, she had made her way out into the stadium first with Rainbow Dash following behind. Both trainers went over to their sides, standing opposite from each other.
"You're one of Pinkie Pie's friends, right?" Limestone said. "Better not disappoint. I came all the way from my home to take part in this."
"Disappoint?" Rainbow squinted her eyes. "You're gonna be blown away by what me and my Pokemon can do." Rainbow Dash held out her Poke Ball.
"Both trainers. Please send out your Pokemon."
"Get em, Tyranitar!" As expected, Limestone's Pokemon, her only Pokemon and her ace was none other than the Armour Pokemon.
"TYRANITAR!"
"A Tyranintar?!" That definitely surprised Rainbow Dash. "Okay then...Out you come! Altaria!" For Rainbow Dash, Altaria was the choice for this battle.
"Taria!"
"Alright, Altaria! Tyranitar's a tough Pokemon to get through. So keep your cool, okay?"
"Altaria." The Humming Pokemon nodded.
"I'll just cheer for both of them. Good luck you two!" Pinkie Pie blew some trumpets.
"Battle start!"
"Get a load of this! Use Disarming Voice! And keep it there" Rainbow attacked first.
"Al!" The Humming Pokemon opened her mouth, releasing a beam of purple hearts with a charming cry packed behind it. Tyranitar was being pummeled by the Fairy-Type move as Altaria was still echoing at the Armour Pokemon.
"Ty!" Tyranitar flinched from the attack as she had
"Thought somepony would go for some Fairy nonsense against my Tyranitar. Use Hyper Beam!"
"Ranitar!" Starting off strong, Tyranitar stomped her feet on the ground, causing a mini-earthquake that shook the stadium. Due to a Tyranitar being a naturally bulky Pokemon, even super-effective moves won't take it down so easily as she powered through the Disarming Voice.
She opened her mouth wide as a rupturing beam of energy had appeared. As always, Hyper Beam proved to be the go-to move to have if you want to dish out some major damage.
And major damage it dished. Once Tyranitar fired the beam from her mouth, it overpowered the Disarming Voice with ease, turning it into dust.
"Alta?!" Altaria's eyes widened as they gazed upon the mighty Hyper Beam. Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, the Humming Pokemon had been engulfed by the devastating Normal-Type move. What followed was an instant explosion of energy that startled everypony due to how loud and impactful it was.
"Ah! Altaria!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped.
Altaria fell out of the smoke, tumbling on the ground. She was still standing but Hyper Beam really left a mark on her. This gave Rainbow Dash a huge handicap. And the battle had just started.
"Tari..." Altaria flew back up into the air, looking tattered and shabby.
"What an impact! Tyranitar's already dealt major damage in one attack!" said the Announcer.
"Didn't see that one coming did ya? Don't worry. There's more where that came from! Tyranitar! Thunder Fang!" Limestone's way of battling was simple. Overwhelm her opponent with deadly moves, not allowing the opponent to rest for even a minute. That way of battling really worked well with Tyranitar's rampaging nature.
"Rani!" The Armor Pokemon opened her mouth wide once more, this time, running towards her opponent as her teeth gained purple volts of electricity.
"Look out, Altaria! Fly higher up!" Altaria spread her wings out, soaring higher into the air as she had avoided the deadly bite that Tyranitar had.
"Hyper Beam one more time!" Altaria's flight couldn't help her against a Pokemon such as Tyranitar who is strong against Flying-Types. Once again, Hyper Beam was being utilized.
"Quick, Altaria! Use Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash realized that if the move hit a second time, it would've been over. So she decided to freeze the Armor Pokemon instead.
Both Pokemon charged might beams in their gaping mouths. But only one can be stronger. As the two ranged attacks were fired, they collided, entering a beam struggle.
It was strikingly clear that Hyper Beam was the superior move as it was easily breaking through Ice Beam. Altaria was being pushed back by the overwhelming force of Hyper Beam as she couldn't keep Ice Beam up for long. And Rainbow Dash knew that from what she could see.
"Not good...Fly away, Altaria!"
"Altaria!" By closing her mouth, the Humming Pokemon had stopped using Ice Beam as she zipped herself to the side, avoiding Hyper Beam.
However, the size of Hyper Beam had managed to hit her one of her cotton wings, causing the Dragon-Flying-Type to flinch a bit.
"Use Stone Edge!" Limestone's aggressive battle style continued. The Armor Pokemon summoned crystal rocks around her body as they shot forward towards the opposing Pokemon.
"Dodge it!" With haste, Altaria did her very best to avoid these incoming stones. But, due to Hyper Beam damaging her wing, she was having trouble evading these super-effective moves. As such, some of the stones hit her wings, causing Altaria to be shot out of the sky.
"Ria!" The Humming Pokemon winced as she fell down in a spiral.
"Altaria, no!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.
"Finish it! Use Hyper Beam!" Limestone was aiming to put an end to this right now. She did have a job to get back at the farm after all.
"Limestone's not letting her rest one bit!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"She really doesn't want Rainbow Dash to gain the upper hand..." Ash was sweating a bit.
"Pika..."
"That's Limestone for ya." Pinkie Pie nodded.
With Hyper Beam being fired straight towards Altaria, it looked like it would be the end right here. But Rainbow Dash wasn't about to let that happen.
"Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"
"Altaria!" A risky move that could end up damaging Altaria herself. By firing a dragon-shaped shock wave from her mouth, the Humming Pokemon had catapulted herself into the air, avoiding Hyper Beam by the skin of her non-existent teeth.
"Yes! Now! Ice Beam!" Rainbow Dash found her opportunity. If there was a time to strike it was now while Hyper Beam was fading away, leaving Tyranitar wide open. The Dragon-Flying-Type let a chilling Ice Beam out of her mouth as it flashed right at Armor Pokemon.
"Dodge it!" But it was too late. Ice Beam hit its mark. And as such, the attack froze Tyranitar in place.
"Oh! What a turn! After taking a pretty harsh beating, Altaria has managed to freeze Tyranitar in place!"
Finally, Altaria was no longer being overwhelmed. That was aggressive. Both Rainbow Dash and her Pokemon breathed a sigh of relief. But it wasn't over yet. They still had to defeat Tyranitar.
"Alright. Let's turn the tables, Altaria! Use Dragon Pulse!"
"I don't think so." Limestone smirked. "Hyper Beam!"
Unfortunately, being frozen in ice isn't enough to hold a Pokemon as calamitous as Tyranitar. The ice shattered instantly as a raging beam of energy raced forward. "Tyranitar!"
Both Dragon Pulse and Hyper Beam had clashed, entering yet another beam struggle. However, Dragon Pulse proved to be much more effective than Ice Beam and Disarming Voice. While it still wasn't enough to stop Hyper Beam, it was capable of holding it back.
"Al...Taria!"
"Hang in there, Altaria!"
"Breakthrough it, Tyranitar!"
"A second struggle! This time Altaria's proving to hold her own much better!"
"Hyper Beam's too dynamic!" Fluttershy gasped. "Altaria can't keep it up forever!"
"How's she gonna beat something like that?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
Dragon Pulse was starting to dwindle in power. Same with Hyper Beam, only it dwindled at a much slower rate. Rainbow realized that this wouldn't work at all. If Altaria kept on clashing beams with Tyranitar, she would lose every single time. So a decision had been made.
"Altaria! Fly around and Disarming Voice!" Altaria had exited the beam struggle, propelling herself to the side once more. This time, since Hyper Beam had dwindled from the struggle, it wasn't wide enough to chip her wings a second time, giving her the freedom of flying without any damage.
The Humming Pokemon had done what Rainbow Dash told her to do. By flying around the battlefield, she let out a shower of Disarming Voices from all sides instead of just one.
"TY! RAN!" It proved to be an effective method. One Disarming Voice wasn't enough to fight against Tyranitar. But multiple were, actually. The Armor Pokemon was slowly being overwhelmed by these constant volleys of sound waves.
"Tyranitar! Use Hyper Beam to destroy them all!" Limestone ordered. The Armor Pokemon was prepared to blow every single Disarming Voice away.
"Keep flying across the battlefield!" Altaria didn't stop for a second. Even when Tyranitar shelled out Hyper Beam which destroyed any incoming Disarming Voices, she was able to elude the Normal-Type move. But not for long.
"You can't run from Hyper Beam forever! Chase her down!"
Now, a chase had begun. Altaria had a new objective. Avoiding Hyper Beam. If her wing hadn't been damaged, it would've been easier to avoid it, but now, Altaria will have to get creative with her dodging.
The sight of a beam chasing down a flying creature was something to behold, really. Everypony was taking it in as they had no idea if Altaria would be able to elude this or if Tyranitar would eventually catch up to her with Hyper Beam.
"Spin around!" Altaria had covered herself with her fluffy wings, spiralling about whilst avoiding the attack. This worked, somewhat, as her spinning helped in evading Hyper Beam with Tyranitar trying to maintain her focus.
This evading tactic from Rainbow Dash was proving to be a bit effective. Hyper Beam was slowly weakening over time. But it still wasn't enough. Limestone really knew how to put the pressure on somepony.
"What do I do...Altaria can't keep evading forever..." Rainbow Dash growled, thinking to herself. "Gotta think...think!"
The tension was really building, putting Rainbow Dash and Altaria in a stressful situation. She looked over at Tyranitar's Hyper Beam, seeing that its range is so great that it was even capable of breaking through the clouds themselves without any signs of stopping.
That's when it hit Rainbow Dash. The clouds. It was a bold attempt, but something had to work in order to fight back against Tyranitar.
"Altaria! Hide in the clouds!"
"Tari!" Following Rainbow Dash's order, the Humming Pokemon had done what she used to do when she was still a Swablu. Concealing herself in the clouds. She covered herself once more in order to make this work.
"Oh! Altaria's decided to hide in the clouds themselves! What will Tyranitar do?!"
"Hiding won't save you! Blow the clouds away Tyranitar!"
"TYRA!" Tyranitar had changed the direction of Hyper Beam once more, this time, attacking the clouds themselves.
Altaria closed her eyes as she could hear the violent sounds of Hyper Beam echoing through the skies themselves. The crowd looked up to see the fluffy clouds being obliterated into nothing by Tyranitar's power.
"All those clouds! Gone! So much for weather duty next week..." The pegasus announcer sighed.
"Come on...where is she?" Limestone grumbled. This was proving to be a bit tricky. Altaria's disguise was proving to be effective. After all, she did trick Rainbow Dash by camouflaging as a tiny cloud when they first met.
With each cloud being destroyed, Rainbow Dash held her breath in, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Hyper Beam was slowly losing power, decreasing in size. Not only that, but Tyranitar was even getting exhausted from the constant Hyper Beams. Even a Pokemon as powerful as her needs to exhibit huge amounts of power to perform Hyper Beam.
"Hang in there, Altaria."
Altaria had snuck into other clouds without being noticed. Due to Hyper Beam blocking out the sky, it was fairly easy for the Humming Pokemon to disguise herself.
"Ty...Ran." Hyper Beam finally came to an end, leaving Tyranitar exhausted as her mouth had steam coming out. "Ranitar."
"Tyranitar! You okay?!"
"Wide open! Altaria! Dragon Pulse!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof up, causing Altaria to finally strike.
The Humming Pokemon had revealed herself from the clouds, completely untouched by Hyper Beam. Returning the favour to Tyranitar, a dragon-shaped shockwave had been unleashed.
"Dodge it, Tyranitar!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar attempted to dodge, but she couldn't avoid it due to her being a bit exhausted from using Hyper Beam. And that led to Altaria gained the upper hand.
Dragon Pulse hit its mark, blowing the Armor Pokemon back. "Yes! Now freeze Tyranitar with Ice Beam!"
"Knock her out the sky! Stone Edge!"
Two attacks were fired at the exact same time. One from above and one from below. The crystals from stone edge raced upwards whilst Ice Beam zoomed downwards. The chilling beam made direct contact with the stones, causing both moves to cancel each other out.
"Dragon Pulse!" The Dragon-Type move flew through the smoke that was left behind from Stone Edge and Ice Beam as the sight of a Dragon's face about to bite on Tyranitar was envisioned.
"Tyranitar! Block it!"
"Ty!" Tyranitar put her arms up, shielding herself from the might of Dragon Pulse. Once it hit, Tyranitar was finally showing signs of falling.
"If we can just get that Altaria out of the sky and to us, it'll be game over! Stone Edge!" Limestone realized that Altaria's height advantage was only delaying the inevitable, according to her. Yet again more crystal stones were sent directly towards the Humming Pokemon in order to bring her to ground level.
"Then, in that case, we'll just head further down ourselves!" A risky move on Rainbow Dash's part. Altaria had directed herself to the ground instead of heading higher up in the sky. But it ended up being a good call on Altaria's part. The crystals from Stone Edge had missed since it was Altaria herself who brought herself down.
"Use Disarming Voice!" With haste, Altaria had let loose a charming cry that consumed Tyranitar's whole body.
"This is getting close! Altaria's managed to put Tyranitar on equal footing! I can hardly contain myself!" The announcer bit his hoof.
"Oh! Is it enough though?!" Fluttershy gulped as she held Pikachu, panicking.
"P-Pika!"
"Not yet. Tyranitar's known as the Armor Pokemon for a reason." Ash replied.
"Then, we'll come to you! Thunder Fang!"
"Ran!" The Armor Pokemon had finally decided to get up close and personal with the Humming Pokemon, who was now lower on the ground due to Rainbow Dash's command.
"Now's our chance! Altaria, cover Tyranitar's eyes with your wings!"
"Al!" Yet again, Altaria had utilized something she used to do when she was still a Swablu. When Tyranitar got close, Altaria had flown over her, avoiding the Armor Pokemon's thunderous bite.
Now that they were both in front of each other, Altaria had covered Tyranitar's eyes with her fluffy cotton wings, blocking the Rock-Dark-Type's vision.
"Tyran?!"
"Oh! Altaria's blocked Tyranitar's vision, throwing her off focus!"
"Shake her off, Tyranitar!"
"Tar! Ranitar!" Tyranitar shook her body around, flailing frantically, all in order to shake Altaria off.
"Don't let go of Tyranitar! Use Disarming Voice repeatedly!" Altaria made sure to keep her wings glued on Tyranitar's eyes. While she kept doing that, enchanting cries were unleashed upon the Armor Pokemon. Over and over again, Tyranitar was being hit by continuous Fairy-Type moves.
"This is getting ridiculous! Tyranitar! Let's get this over with already! Hyper Beam on the ground!" Similar to what Altaria did with Dragon Pulse, Tyranitar was going for an identical tactic.
By firing the mighty beam of energy down on the ground, a violent outburst filled with hyper energy had emerged. This explosion had managed to affect both Tyranitar and Altaria by sending them both flying into the air due to burst of energy. Rainbow Dash used her wings to fly back from the explosion while Limestone just ran. The referee gulped as he ducked for cover, not wanting to get caught up in this.
As both Pokemon were sent into the air, Altaria had been forced off Tyranitar thanks to Hyper Beam. As they were both airborne, the two Pokemon were on the verge of fainting. Tyranitar's own Hyper Beam had managed to deal massive damage to herself as well.
"Let's finish this! Dragon Pulse! Up close!"
"Alta!" Altaria got up close to Tyranitar's face, charging up one final Dragon Pulse.
"Ah! Tyranitar! Use Thunder Fang quick!" Tyranitar let out one final attempt as well. Since Altaria was close to her, a vicious Thunder Fang had made contact with Altaria's wings, making her cry in pain.
"Ta!" Altaria cringed as Tyranitra's sharp fangs had dug into her along with volts electricity running through. Altaria knew that this one Thunder Fang is what will bring her down. But she's taking Tyranitar with her. With a final burst of power, Dragon Pulse had been unleashed right in Tyranitar's face.
Up in the sky, a blue explosion could be seen, mostly due to Dragon Pulse making contact. As the smoke cleared, out of it came the Armor Pokemon herself.
HItting the ground and causing a bit of a rumble, Tyranitar had finally given out. Fainting in the process.
"Ty..."
Dragon Pulse is what sealed the deal. But it wasn't just her. Altaria had given out too. She fell from above like a feather, falling right after Tyranitar and failing after her as well.
"Alta..."
The referee looked over to see that both Pokemon had fainted. However only one fainted first. And that was Tyranitar.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Altaria wins! Which means the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
After an aggressive match, it had finally come to an end. And the crowd's roaring cheers made it clear that this match was the most heart-pounding one yet.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash raised both her hooves up in the air. "Altaria! You rocked!" She picked up her fluffy friend, feeling proud of her for holding her own.
"Ria..." Altaria looked up at Rainbow Dash, giving her trainer a nice warm hug thanks to her soft wings.
"Ugh. Bummer." Limestone turned her head, scoffing. "Tyranitar. Good job anyway. You came super close." Limestone held out her Poke Ball.
"Tyran." Tyranitar got up, picking up her trainer out of compassion. Like Altaria, the Armor Pokemon had locked her trainer in a tight hug, keeping her there. "Ranitar!
"Ow! Okay! Knock it off Tyranitar!" Limestone growled, kicking her hooves about.
"Limestone!" Rainbow Dash called for her name. "That was a great battle!"
"Altaria."
"Hmph. Yeah well...You did great too. I could've won if Tyranitar didn't faint first." Limestone scoffed. Although, she wasn't wrong about that. Both Pokemon proved that they were capable of taking each other out, making them equals in a sense.
"Such great sportsmareship!" Pinkie Pie teared up. "You both did great!"
"Limestone's really improved fast ever since we gave her Tyranitar, huh?" Ash smiled.
"Pikachu!"
"I'm out of here. Got a farm to watch over after all." Limestone had already decided to leave the tournament. Not point in staying if she's out of it. "Good luck."
"Thanks!"
"Altaria!"
With that matchup done, a few more shall play out between four more ponies. And after that, it shall be Adagio's time to shine. Her opponent will be another pony from Canterlot.
"Ah! Out of snacks?!" Sonata gasped as she looked into her bucket of popcorn. "Urgh! I'll be right back."
"Don't buy too much. You already got some in my hair." Aria shook some popcorn out of her mane that was caused by Sonata's exciting movements.
Sonata stood up, eager to grab something else to eat as she left the roaring crowd. Heading out from the stadium, she looked at her hoof, giving it a slight scratch. "Eugh. Looks like my skin's falling off." She chuckled.
The snacks were located right near the waiting room featuring a variety of options that cater to both ponies and even Pokemon. Her choice of food was wavering towards popcorn once more but those cupcakes look promising as she was drooling with her face pressed on the glass where the food was being contained.
But for once, her attention was focused on food.
Instead, from the corner of her eye, she noticed her other sister. Her older sister. Much older than Aria. Adagio herself.
"Adagio?" Sonata removed her face from the glass, leaving a face-print there. "Adagio!" The young pony ran over to her older sister, grabbing her attention.
Adagio could recognize that voice from anywhere. She turned her head to spot her always excited and cheery younger sister approach her. "Hm? Sonata?"
"You're here too? Are you here to see the tournament with us?!" Sonata squeed. "I knew you'd come around eventually!" She placed her hoof around Adagio's neck whilst having a wide grin on her face.
"Ugh..." Adagio groaned, pushing Sonata back. "No. I'm taking part in this tournament."
"You are?" Sonata gasped. "Oh! That's great! I can't wait for your turn."
"Yeah sure." Adagio turned her head away from Sonata.
"But uh, the waiting room's right there silly. Where are you going?"
"I like spending time away from the ponies if you don't mind. Secluded areas are more of my taste at the moment. Keyword being 'moment.'.
"Oh... I never took you for that type. Say, if you're in this tournament, which Pokemon do you have? You still got that Kricke...Kri..." Sonata was struggling to remember Kricketot's name.
"Kricketot!" Speaking of Kricketot, out came the Cricket Pokemon from Adagio's mane, greeting Sonata.
"Ah, there it is! It's still so cute! Sonata gushed at the Bug-Type.
"Tot!" Kricketot hopped from Adagio's mane and into Sonata's instead. It wasn't as fluffy and huge as Adagio's but it was smooth instead.
One thing that travelled through Sonata's ears was the very familiar song that she and her sisters sang once during their time in the other world parallel to this. Kricketot still kept that device from . That song's been playing on repeat constantly since it's a song that Adagio forgot.
"I remember this song! This sure does bring back memories!" Sonata moved her head from left to right, jamming along with Kricketot. Both of them were really feeling it.
Adagio face-hoofed herself, annoyed that these two were getting along so well. But it also made her a bit happy since she was spending time with somepony that she really cared for along with a Pokemon that she somewhat tolerates.
Kricketot over the past few weeks has slowly started to gain affection from Adagio. It's not much but it's there.
"Don't you have a tournament to keep on watching?" Adagio asked.
"Oh, right! But are you really gonna battle with something this cute?" Sonata looked up at the Cricket Pokemon.
"Of course not. I've got a stronger Pokemon at my disposal. Just watch. This tournament is mine."
"Okay. Whatever you say. Sorry, little guy. Gotta go now." Sonata said her goodbye to the Cricket Pokemon.
"Krick!" Kricketot gave Sonata a pat on the head before hopping back into Adagio's oversized hair.
"But uh, Adagio. When are you gonna come and stay with us in Ponyville?"
Words that Adagio didn't wish to hear. She didn't want to associate herself with Ponyville or anything related to friendship in any way possible. Thus, she didn't answer Sonata's question. But she did say these final words before leaving. "Tell Aria to cheer me on as well."
"A-Alright. I will!" Sonata waved goodbye to Adagio who just simply walked away, not looking back. The young pony felt a bit down that Adagio was still being distant from her. But it wasn't so bad, according to Sonata. She did get to spend some time with her older sister after so long and listen to some sweet nostalgic tunes. She continued her food hunt before heading back to the tournament.
The 1st week of the Canterlot tournament nears its end with the first round matchups passing by with time. Some battles take longer than others while some only last around 2 or 3 minutes. The test to see how far the ponies have come in skill proceeds as the journey continues.
As the tournament to see how far everypony has come in terms of Pokemon battling continues, the Canterlot Tournament is slowly reaching the end of its first week.
Around the corner, Adagio's matchup was nearing. 12 ponies had gone before with their battles coming to a conclusion, including this current one.
"Nidorino is unable to battle! Mightyena Wins! Thus the victor is Pumpkinboast!" said the referee, closing off this current battle.
"That leaves only 20 trainers left until the end of the first round and the first week of the tournament!" The announcer shouted.
"After this, I might just catch myself one of those Mightyena's," Aria commented.
"If you want, I can help you find one at the Pokemon House. Although Dark-Types aren't very common there." Fluttershy spoke.
"Chikorita."
Meanwhile, Ash noticed that Sonata was somehow looking both excited and nervous. When those two emotions combine with each other, that could only mean one thing. Something major was about to occur. "What's wrong, Sonata?" He asked.
"Pikachu?"
"Mrrgh..." Sonata was shaking uncontrollably. It almost looked like she was about to explode.
"You're acting weirder than normal." Aria winced, raising an eyebrow.
Her constant shaking caused her popcorn to fall on somepony's mane, filling the seats with salty and sweet snacks. The young pony knew that if she said why she was acting like this, it would surprise everypony else. Especially Aria. So that shaking was due to her trying to hold in the truth.
She wouldn't need to hold it in for long as Adagio was about to enter the stadium. Inside the waiting room, Twilight and everypony who recognizes Adagio looked at the siren pony with disdainful eyes.
"Looks like it's my time to shine," Adagio smirked, looking back at everypony who gave her scornful looks. "Get a good look at this Twilight. I'll show you how to really dazzle an audience."
Adagio knew how to rile somepony up with the way she spoke. Especially her snarky tone. Ponies were either showing animosity to her and some were nervous, mostly the younger ponies.
"Somehow, I prefer Suri to her." Rarity whispered to Twilight.
"Just watch it, Adagio. You'd better not try anything funny." Twilight warned her.
"Hah. Why should I listen to you?" Adagio chuckled at Twilight's warning. Once the doors opened up, the pony behind her had followed, feeling a bit nervous about this since she's going up against somepony who is practically considered a public enemy to Ponyville.
Finally, once Adagio came through those doors and into the stadium, Sonata had spilled the truth in an outburst with a single word.
"ADAGIO'S BATTLING!" She roared. Realizing she had just revealed Adagio's presence to everypony else, she covered her mouth, slumping on her seat. And the reaction was to be expected from her friends.
The reactions were both shocked and confused. Shocked since Adagio is here and confused on how she even got the chance to participate in the first place.
"Adagio's in this tournament?!" Pinkie Pie gasped.
"You're kidding...right?" Aria was a bit judgemental, not sure that Sonata was telling the truth. But lo and behold, the truth was right in front of their eyes.
There she was, on the left side of the battlefield while her opponent was on the right. Adagio's presence is only known by a limited amount of ponies. Everypony in Ponyville being that limited amount. Canterlot and the Crystal Empire have zero clues on who Adagio is. They just thought she was another ordinary pony like them all.
Adagio could tell that the ponies from Ponyville were flabbergasted that she was here. As a response, she shifted her eyes to the crowd, giving a confident and cocky smirk to the citizens of Ponyville.
"Eep!" Fluttershy and Chikorita hid behind Audino, intimidated by Adagio's ominous glare.
"What's are you up to Adagio...?" Aria wondered.
Celestia kept a close eye on this particular matchup. After her chat with Adagio during the 40-minute break and giving her the information on how both their mothers knew each other, Adagio was now the pony that Celestia gave all her attention to. Not Twilight or even Luna.
"Let's have a great battle, okay?" A pegasus by the name of Speedriff said to her opponent.
"Hm." Adagio scoffed.
"Both trainers. You may now send out your Pokemon." The announcer spoke.
"Show them what you can do! Breloom!" For Speedriff, her partner was the Mushroom Pokemon.
"Bre!"
Adagio took the Ultra Ball out of her fluffy mane, looking right at it. "All I need is one Pokemon to win all of this." She casually tossed the Ultra Ball forward, sending out none other than the Lissome Pokemon. UB-02 Beauty. Pheromosa
"Pheromosa." The Lissome Pokemon crossed her arms, looking down on Breloom as if he was beneath her.
Once the Ultra Beast had come out, the reactions from Twilight and her friends was exactly what Adagio wanted.
The Mane 6, other than Rarity, were aghast at the sight of Pheromosa. So aghast that they were reminded of the horrible experience they had with Pheromosa back in Manehattan. Memories that they didn't want to remember. How they were beaten, bruised and crushed by the Lissome Pokemon were awful memories to reminisce.
Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were trembling with fear whilst Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Starlight held their breath. The only reason why Rarity wasn't too affected by it was due to the fact that she was saving Coco around the time Pheromosa attacked. But from what she heard, this Ultra Beast made her cautious and weary.
"P-Pheromosa?" Twilight stuttered. Even their Pokemon were terrified. Pheromosa did pummel them as well after all.
"Good..." Adagio was actually feeding off their fears thanks to Pheromosa's presence. That's exactly what I like to see. "Let's show them what we can do, Pheromosa.
"Mosa."
"Battle start!"
"Breloom! Let's start off with-"
"Throat Chop." Adagio interrupted Speedriff's command with no respect whatsoever. With speeds that were difficult to comprehend or even keep up with, Pheromosa left the spot she stood on as her feet were surrounded by purple energy.
And with a swift yet devastating kick, Pheromosa's foot struck Breloom's throat, causing the Mushroom Pokemon to choke.
"Loom!" Breloom's eyes widened. His vocal cords had been attacked without him even expecting it. The impact of Throat Chop was potent enough to flinch a Pokemon since their necks are the last place they'd expected to be attacked at. "Bre..." The Mushroom Pokemon staggered back, falling on his knees. There was a large red bruise on his neck due to the attack.
"Ah! Breloom!" Speedriff gasped. It wasn't just her. Everypony watching this battle was in absolute shock from Pheromosa's brutal attack. It made Tyranitar's early Hyper Beam on Altaria look like a joke.
"Now. Poison Jab." Adagio continued the attack with yet another ruthless move. Pheromosa casually walked up to Breloom, not even running, leaping or any rapid movement. A purple aura had emerged this time as the Lissome Pokemon gave a powerful boot to Breloom's face, leaving yet another bruise on the Mushroom Pokemon.
"Loom!" Breloom had been sent back, tumbling on the ground from the kick. Not only that, but he had been poisoned, unfortunately.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy covered her eyes, already unable to bear this.
"Breloom! Quick! Use Mach Punch!"
"B-Bre!" It's a good thing that Fighting-Type Pokemon are the most resilient Pokemon types of them all. They do not go down easily. The same can be said for Breloom. His fists became engulfed in a white orb as he rushed towards his opposing Fighting-Type.
"Dodge it." With ease and no effort, Pheromosa just nonchalantly moved to the side, avoiding the usually speedy Mach Punch. But in this case, Pheromosa's speed makes Mach Punch look like a joke. "Use Poison Jab to step on Breloom."
Yet another deadly command. Once Pheromosa was beside the Mushroom Pokemon she raised her legs up, smashing them down on the Grass-Fighting-Type's back.
"BRE!" Breloom had been smashed into the ground with a violet stomp from the Lissome Pokemon. With Pheromosa's brutal and destructive kicks followed with her unfair speed, this seemed to be heavily one-sided.
"Pheromosa. Keep your foot there." As if Adagio's commands couldn't get more ruthless. With Poison Jab still active, Pheromosa stepped on Breloom's back with her feet, forcing the Mushroom Pokemon to stay in that one spot.
With Breloom writhing in pain, the poison from Pheromosa's feet was slowly harming his own life. "Breloom! Get out of there by using Quick Attack!"
"L-Loom..." Breloom closed his eyes, scurrying his feet along the ground, trying desperately to break free from Pheromosa's hold.
Unfortunately, Pheromosa's feet were just that powerful that they could keep a Pokemon pinned down for hours on end. And poor Breloom was just another example of that. Not even the always speedy and useful Quick Attack could save him.
"Mosa," Pheromosa made it worse by adding more pressure to her Poison Jab kicks. The Mushroom Pokemon screams only intensified further. There was nothing he could do to escape this.
"That's it..." Adagio smirked. Her actions were causing a mix of emotions from the crowd. Horror, shock and her favourite disdain towards her.
In fact, since some of the ponies were showing animosity towards Adagio and Pheromosa's actions, the siren was feeding off of it, getting a sizable amount of negativity for herself. This was her plan from the very start.
And Celestia could tell. She now knew the true reason why Adagio entered this tournament. But there were two reasons that she could spot. The most obvious one was absorbing the negativity from everypony.
The second one, however, was out of spite. "Adagio...You're taking out all your malevolence and malice that you have against Twilight and using it here..." said Celestia, figuring out the whole thing easily.
With Ash and Pikachu, they had instantly known how this battle was going to end. They remembered a certain battle that occurred all the way back in Alola that had a similar scenario with the exact same moves. Poison Jab and Throat Chop.
"Pika..."
"Finish it." Adagio had decided to put an end to this battle. She didn't come here to have fun.
"Phero." Pheromosa raised her leg up, preparing to deliver one final Poison Jab to the Mushroom Pokemon.
"Now! Quick Attack!" This was Breloom's only chance of escape. With the last ounce of his health, Breloom moved at blinding speeds, escaping from the Lissome Pokemon's vicinity.
Pheromosa's foot had smashed the ground, leaving a crack from the impact. The Ultra Beast averted her eyes over to her opponent, standing firm.
"Energy Ball!"
"Breloom!" Breloom's time to strike was now. He had finally gotten the chance to do something. By creating an orb out of nature itself, the Mushroom Pokemon shot the Grass-Type move towards the Lissome Pokemon with all he had.
"Send it back." With ease, Pheromosa had kicked the Energy Ball with her feet, forcing the attack back to the one who fired it in the first place.
"Loom!?" Breloom gasped as he had been hit with his own attack, resulting in an explosion of green energy.
In an unexpected turn of events and a horrifying display of skill, the result was clear. Once the smoke vanished, Breloom had fainted. But not in the same way every other Pokemon has fainted so far. There were horrible bruises on his neck and back along with some poison oozing out from his body.
"Uh..." The referee had the exact same reaction as everypony else. But he had to call the battle anyways. "B-Breloom is unable to battle. Ph-" He was having trouble remembering the name of this unidentified Pokemon but Adagio's words flashed him back. "Pheromosa wins. Thus the victor is Adagio."
"That's the end of that. Return, Pheromosa." Adagio held out her Ultra Ball, returning the Ultra Beast. She didn't even stay behind to chat with the defeated pony.
And speaking of Speedriff, she was in absolute disbelief after seeing her partner take a horrible beating. "Breloom!" She flew over to her friend, picking him up from the ground. She could see that he needed to be tended to immediately. That poison was sticking to him like glue.
Returning to the waiting room, the trainers were no longer feeling anger towards the siren. Not anymore. After witnessing that, it was nothing but fear. Adagio's plan played out perfectly and exactly how she wanted it.
She walked past Twilight, giving a snarky look to the now terrified alicorn princess who was still remembering her past experience with Pheromosa. Even if the one Adagio has isn't the same one as before.
"Good luck to all you in the second round. I'll be waiting." Adagio laughed, leaving the waiting room.
"Why that..." Luna was feeling the urge to attack Adagio after what she had done. Her glowing horn was an indicator of that. But it was promptly stopped when Speedriff came through the doors, holding her fainted partner who was currently suffering from poison.
"Can somepony help my Breloom!" Speedriff pleaded. The way Breloom was injured made the pegasus tear up a bit.
"Put your Breloom down here!" Luna commanded. She had just the Pokemon that could handle status effects. Speedriff had placed her Breloom on the floor who was twisting and turning, just wanting the pain to be over with already.
"Bre..."
"I'm counting on you. Florges." The Pokemon that could solve this was none other than her Florges.
"Flor!"
"Use Aromatherapy!"
"Ges..." The Garden Pokemon had made a pink mist come out of its bouquet-like hair as it coated the Mushroom Pokemon in this beautiful mist. With ease, the poison that was seeping in Breloom had faded away, along with his stamina and energy replenishing. What a move Aromatherapy was.
"Bre?" Breloom opened his eyes, feeling revitalized in an instant. "Loom!" The Grass-Fighting-Type stood back up with boundless energy, itching for another fight already.
"Breloom! You're okay!" Speedriff gave her partner a hug, surprising the Mushroom Pokemon. "Sorry that we didn't win back there."
"Bre!"
"That's been settled but..." Luna turned her head to the outside, thinking about Adagio. "That Adagio pony. What a disgusting way to battle."
"That Pokemon...is that the same Pokemon that attacked everypony back in Manehattan?" Rarity asked a still terrified Twilight.
"Vul?" Vulpix and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon nudged their trainer, trying to snap her out of it. But it was difficult to do so. Pheromosa was a Pokemon that had truly ingrained itself in her head, among with the rest of her friends. Seeing that Pokemon again brought up a traumatic wound within.
"Twilight? TWILIGHT!" Rarity bellowed at her alicorn friend. That definitely made Twilight snap back into reality.
"Wha-" Twilight gasped with her eyes flashing.
"That experience really gave you an upheaval, didn't it? You and everypony." Rarity looked over at Rainbow Dash and Applejack next. They weren't as mortified as Twilight, but the fear in their eyes could be seen.
"It was just as terrifying as it was back in Manehattan...The way it just moves and attacks..." Twilight shuddered. Her shaking was so tremendous that she was even struggling to keep her balance. "Rarity, I-"
"Twilight." Rarity held Twilight's face. "I know you're regaining horrible memories due to that thing. But now is now the time to dwell on it. What you should be thinking about is how somepony could overcome it depending on who gets paired up with Adagio. Ash said it best, didn't he?"
"R-Right..." Twilight nodded gently. "Defeating it...But...What if Rainbow Dash or Applejack go up against it? Their Pokemon might get hurt too!"
"They won't unless we think of something. We have until tomorrow before the next battle with Adagio and her Phero-whatever it's called. You remember its typing, correct?"
"Y-Yes! Bug-Fighting!"
"Good. Then that means if you're most likely to go up against Adagio in this tournament, you'll have to rely on your Espeon for this. And if you don't end up facing her, then Rainbow Dash's Braviary is our best choice." Rarity was being the voice of reason here, encouraging Twilight.
She knew exactly what to say to break Twilight out of her state. The words of encouragement that Ash passed down really had their effects. The young alicorn shook her head, immediately thinking about a way to defeat Adagio's Pheromosa.
"Okay! Thanks, Rarity!"
"That's what I'm here for darling." Rarity smiled. "Now...my turn is around the corner. Just keep thinking about a way to defeat that Pheromosa. I would focus on that ludicrous speed first."
Rarity walked off, preparing herself for her upcoming battle. Once two other ponies finish their battle, Rarity will be going up against a pony from the Crystal Empire.
With the crowd, many of them were currently chatting and gossiping about the current battle and how brutal it was. That poor Breloom didn't even stand a chance. They couldn't even see Pheromosa's movements at all. But that was understandable. Pheromosa does move at 200km/h. Not many Pokemon can keep up with speed such as that.
"That was horrible..." Fluttershy whimpered.
"I didn't expect Adagio to battle like that," Sonata said. She was expecting Adagio to have fun in this tournament like everypony else. But that was far from the truth.
"Should've seen it coming." Aria, however, knew that Adagio would never do anything for fun. No matter the scenario. She could read her older sister's personality like a book.
"She can't just get away with that!" Pinkie raised her hooves up. "Right, Ash?!" She then turned to Ash, who had a concentrated look on his face.
"Is that why huh?" Ash silently said to himself. Like Celestia, he figured it out with ease. Adagio's battle was to make a point. Much like a certain hated boss from Alola.
"Pikapi..."
"What's wrong, Ash?" Goh asked.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just curious on the second round tomorrow." He answered.
Celestia watched as Adagio stood outside, away from everypony once more. Seeing that Adagio was aiming at playing with the emotions of everypony here, she couldn't help but wonder if there really was a way to find the perfect balance between ponies and sirens. But that wouldn't let her lose hope. Not at all.
Atop the clouds, Lucien and Sienna had gotten a good look of that one battle. Even they were surprised. Sienna especially.
"Holy moly. That was brutal." Lucien's jaw dropped.
"That poor Breloom." Sienna shook her head.
"Man...When Adagio takes all her anger and hatred out on something it shows. I can only imagine how rough things are gonna get if she sends up facing either one of Twilight's friends."
"Right you are on that." Sienna stood up. "But Lucien...should we tell her?"
"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow. "Tell her what?"
"You know...about how her sisters' fate is much different in the original timeline?"
"Nope!" He shook his head. "Can't have that. The Rift has already decided that Adagio is among one of the most interesting characters in this little world connection. So we can't tell her the truth...Well...not yet at least."
"Yeah, that's right. I'm just a bit scared about what else she could do later on."
"That's what makes it interesting, right? But I can see what you mean. Let's just keep watching this tournament. I'm looking forward to Luna's battle." He turned his attention back to the stadium, where the next battle between two other ponies was about to take place soon.
A cruel and abhorrent battle has just come to an end. With Adagio channeling all her vindictive and vengeful nature into Pheromosa, the next pony that goes up against her might have the misfortune of feeling her wrath as the journey continues.
As the Canterlot Tournament continues, only 30 minutes remain until the first day comes to an end.
Rarity's matchup is nearing. Once this current one finishes up, she will have to face off against a pony straight from the Crystal Empire. Everypony watching the tournament were still shaken up from the Pheromosa battle and how brutally it defeated Breloom.
Talk about it was still ongoing even. But with this current battle, it quickly left their minds, however, some were still dwelling on it. Ash was especially thinking about how this will all end due to Adagio bringing her vengeful nature into this tournament.
He knows how powerful and nigh-unstoppable someone can be when seeking vengeance. Wouldn't be the first time anyways. The outcome could vary between two possibilities.
The first outcome is that somepony could end up defeating Adagio. The second outcome would obviously be the opposite. With how powerful an Ultra Beast is, especially grouped with Pheromosa's insane speed and destructive kicks, Adagio might be the one to come out victorious in all of this.
All the while, this current battle is about to come to an end.
"Chesnaught! Hammer Arm!" A unicorn commanded her partner which was a Chesnaught.
"Naught!" The Spiky Armor Pokemon raised its arms up as they glowed a vibrant white, slamming it down on the opposing Pokemon which was a Galvantula.
"Gal!" The EleSpider Pokemon was smashed into the ground, feeling Chesnaught's heavy arms make direct contact with its head. And with that, this battle was done.
"Galvantula is unable to battle! Chesnaught wins! Thus, the victor is Rubystreams!"
"Woohoo!" The unicorn jumped up, rushing over to her Grass-Fighting partner. "Great stuff, Chesnaught!"
"Ches!"
"Aw bummer!" The opposing pony groaned. "Nice try anyway, Galvantula."
"Gal."
Closing that battle off, only 5 minutes remain until Rarity steps forward. Inside the waiting room, she had already decided to use her Mareep for this first round. Mareep was a fairly capable Pokemon of hers that can prove its strength.
"It'll be our time to shine, Mareep." Rarity looked at Mareep's Poke Ball, holding her breath in. Originally, she entered this tournament due to Rainbow Dash's request and the urge to improve so that she can protect her friends and family.
That was still the main reason of course, but there was a second reason involved. After Adagio, she now aims to possibly defeat Pheromosa herself. Since she wasn't there when Pheromosa attacked her friends, horribly injuring them, the unicorn has a strong disdain towards the Lissome Pokemon.
"If we go up against Adagio herself, I'll make sure that we're at our absolute best. I'll have to find a way to get past Pheromosa's absurd speed, however."
It wasn't just Rarity thinking. After she had told Twilight to prepare herself for Adagio in case she gets paired up with her, the young alicorn has also been planning a strategy.
"Okay. Poison Jab won't be a problem for Eve. And since Pheromosa's part Fighting, that can help me a lot. But Throat Chop..." She paced back and forth. "I could use Vulpix to deal with Pheromosa's other typing, Bug. But he's not much of a battler like Eve and Minccy...Maybe Dewott?"
"Espeon?" Eve looked up at her trainer.
"Sorry, Eve. I'm just a bit stuck at the moment." Twilight picked the Sun Pokemon up. "I'm also worried that you'll end up getting horribly hurt if you battle against Pheromosa. I'm not even sure we can keep up with it."
"Eon." The Psychic-Type told Twilight not to worry as she gave the young alicorn a pat on the face. No matter what, her Pokemon were here to support her through thick and thin.
Over at the crowd, Sweetie Belle was getting pumped up. It was her sister battling after all. "Here it comes..." She had a wide grin on her face, moving her hooves around. "It's Rarity's turn! Are you excited?! I know I am!" Sweetie Belle yelled in Apple Bloom's ear, returning the favour to her when Applejack battled.
"Yeah...I know." Apple Bloom held her ear. "But, can Rarity even battle?"
"Of course she can!" Sweetie Belle retorted. "You should see her Leavanny's in action! Especially her main one. Out of all 12 of them, it's unmatched."
"How does she know which one is the strongest, though...?" Pinkie squinted her eyes.
"Well, some of the Leavanny's actually appear to have height differences from what I've seen. So maybe the tallest one is the strongest." Fluttershy said. "What do you think, Ash?"
Still, Ash was in his focused state. Like Celestia, Twilight and Rarity, Adagio was on his mind. So much so that he barely paid attention to the previous matchup between Chesnaught and Galvantula.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu called for Ash, snapping him out of his thought.
"Sorry, buddy. Can't really think straight right now."
"Drink some cider. It can clear your mind easy peasy." Apple Bloom gave Ash a tiny cup of cider for support. "Oh! Here comes Rarity!"
Along came the two trainers. Rarity and a Crystal Empire pegasus by the name of Bluewind.
"Hm. Is it me, or are a lot of the trainers here pegasi?" Goh scratched his head.
"Well, pegasi kinda have a history with battling way back in the past. Warrior's blood, ya know." Ash answered.
"Pikachu."
On the battlefield, both trainers went on their own sides. Rarity on the right, Bluewind on the left. Rarity wanted to feel the excitement in this upcoming battle, but her focus on defeating Adagio was blocking that out. Bluewind, however, was psyched about this.
Once the referee gave them both the run-down of the rules, as usual, they were ordered to do the next part of the tournament.
"You may both send out your Pokemon."
"Mareep. It's all you, darling."
"Come out, Charizard!"
With both the Wool Pokemon and the Flame Pokemon being tossed out of their Poke Balls, the stage had been set for the two.
"Mareep!"
"Charizard!" The Flame Pokemon breathed fire in the air to assert its dominance. Nopony was expecting this Pokemon to appear.
"A Charizard?!" Sweetie Belle gulped. "That's a major problem!"
"Holy smokes!" Meowth popped his head out of the crowd. "That pony's got a Charizard!"
"A real juggernaut!" James ate his popcorn.
"That fashionista's already lost!" Jessie bit on a sandwich. "Everyone knows that Charizard's a force to be reckoned with."
"Rizard..." Charizard looked down on Mareep, seeing how tiny and small he is in comparison to his dragon-like stature.
"Reep..." Mareep was shaking a small bit. Charizard was an intimidating Pokemon to look at after all.
"Don't be intimidated, Mareep." Rarity said. "After all, the safety of our friends and their Pokemon are our top priority. Taking on impossible odds is something we have to tackle."
"Ma!"
"Woah. Somepony sound super serious." Bluewind chuckled as he spread his wings out. "This'll be fun!"
"Char!"
"Battle Start!"
"Charizard! Dragon Claw!" Starting off strong was Charizard's Dragon Claw. By raising both his arms up, the Flame Pokemon gained light green draconic energy that was shaped like claws, soaring towards the Wool Pokemon.
"Mareep! Thunder Shock!"
"Reep!" Instead of its own body, sparks of electricity appeared around Mareep's ears since that's where its electric attacks usually come from. He was ready to fire, but unfortunately, Charizard was at the end of the day, faster than the Wool Pokemon.
"Char!" Striking his opponent with the draconic claws, Mareep had been sent flying by the mighty Dragon-Type attack.
"Fire!" Rarity commanded.
"Mareep!" Despite being hit, Mareep attacked anyways. When he was airborne, an electric blast shot out of his ears and eventually his own body to add extra power.
A direct hit. Charizard and his trainer didn't expect the attack to be thrown whilst his opponent had been struck. As a result, a super-effective hit was given to the Flame Pokemon.
"Zard!"
"Yes! Now, use Charge!" Rarity had decided to power up her partner. She wasn't playing around at all. An orb of electricity surrounded the Wool Pokemon's body as he had boosted the power of the next Electric-Move that he would use.
"Charizard! Flamethrower!"
"Char!" The Fire-Flying-Type opened his mouth wide, breathing an intense blast of fire forward.
"Electro Ball!" Returning the favour, Mareep's tail lit up with his body being surrounded by a golden light, letting out sparks. On top of his tail, an orb of yellow and orange electricity had been hurled forward.
Due to Charge powering up Mareep's Electric-Type moves, Electro Ball was powerful enough to match Flamethrower in strength, causing both attacks to cancel each other out.
"Have a look at that! That small and cute Mareep is holding its own against a Pokemon as fierce as Charizard! exclaimed the announcer.
"That's my big sister!" Sweetie Belle put both Spike and Apple Bloom in a chokehold, shaking the dragon and earth pony about. "Not even a Charizard can take her down that easily! You get em Rarity!"
"C-Can't...breathe..." Apple Bloom's eyes looked like they were about to pop out as she aggressively tapped her foot on the floor.
"A-Air..." Spike was desperately clawing the air, trying to break free.
"Not bad. But that Mareep of yours isn't gonna be able to take another Dragon Claw, that's for sure. Head in Charizard!"
"Char!" The Flame Pokemon spread his wings, accelerating towards the Wool Pokemon.
"I refuse to lose here. Mareep! Jump on Charizard's back." Determined to win this with vigour alongside her partner, Rarity commanded the Wool Pokemon to jump on Charizard's back all of a sudden.
"Ma!" And that's precisely what he did. By hopping off the ground, Mareep had not only avoided Dragon Claw but had personally taken a ride on the final stage evolution, shocking everypony.
And speaking of shocking. "Now! Thundershock!" The Wool Pokemon had instantly exerted 8,000 volts of electricity on Charizard, due to how physical the two of them were at the moment.
"Reep!"
"Ah! Charizard! Shake Mareep off!" Aiming to get the Electric-Type off his back, Charizard had increased his flying speed so that Mareep would end up feeling the wind aggressively blow towards him.
That amount of wind was just enough to blow the Wool Pokemon off the Flame Pokemon's back. But Rarity didn't let that bother her once. Once again, she had used Mareep's airborne state to her advantage. "Thundershock!"
"Mareep!" For a second time, Mareep had fired a blast of electricity whilst in the air. This struck Charizard, yet again, dealing heavy damage.
"Zard!" The Flame Pokemon fell to the ground, tumbling until he reached his trainer.
"Flamethrower!"
"Electro Ball!"
Yet again, the same two moves had clashed. But this time, Flamethrower proved to be the mightier force as it engulfed the orb of electricity. Mareep had managed to avoid the Flamethrower due to him reaching the ground at the right time.
"Take Down!" Charging in recklessly, Mareep went for a full-body charge, aiming to slam himself into Charizard.
"Bad move! Charizard! Use Flare Blitz!" A similar move, but much more powerful. Charizard's body had been surrounded by a red-orange fire, shooting himself towards Mareep like a missile.
"Eep! If that hits, Mareep is done for!" Pinkie exclaimed as she breathed in and out of a paper bag.
"Come on, Rarity! You can do it!" Sweetie Belle bellowed as she still held Apple Bloom who had just fainted.
"This is the end! Jump and use Thunder Shock!"
Instead of making direct contact with Charizard, the Wool Pokemon took the skies by using the speed of Take Down to give him that extra boost. Mareep had sent down his strongest Thunder Shock yet.
"Charizard! Turn around and use Flamethrower!" But it was too late. At the end of the day, it is electricity so there's a very low chance of anyone avoiding it. Thus, Charizard had been smitten from above, taking the full force of Thunder Shock.
"RIZARD!" With his eyes widening, all that followed was an explosion of thunder that shot up high enough to reach the clouds.
It looked like it was the end of Charizard once the smoke had cleared. But not at all. Proving itself to be a real juggernaut, as James describes, the Flame Pokemon was still standing. But barely.
"CHAR!" His roar blew away the smoke as well allowing Rarity's mane to flow in the wind.
"That's the stuff, Charizard!" Bluewind flew up.
"I figured as much..." Rarity clenched her teeth. Even if it isn't a Dragon-Type, it sure does have the durability of a Dragon."
"Mareep..."
"I think I've found a favourite!" The announcer shook his table. "Even though Mareep's proving to be a formidable foe, Charizard just won't go down! Oh, Fire-Types are so cool!"
"You had my wings trembling," Bluewind said, shaking his wings about. "I thought my Charizard was a goner. But that Mareep of yours is no joke."
"Shouldn't come as a surprise. Mareep and I are determined to win this for the sake of our friends. That means we can't allow anypony to stop us. Not until we reach Adagio."
"That's some spirit." Bluewind pulled back. He was intimidated by Rarity's words. "Alright, Charizard. This lady's not gonna let us win this with ease. So let's finish this quick.
"Charizard!"
"Flamethrower!" Charizard held his breath in for yet another Flamethrower, but this time, due to his ability being Blaze, the flame on his tail intensified, showing that this was gonna be a big one as his Fire-Type moves had been increased in power.
Rarity could see that clear as day. "Dodge with Take Down and use Charge!"
"Reep!" Using Take Down as a method of dodging, the Wool Pokemon had then powered up his own Electric attacks in the process.
"If distance won't do us any good then we'll just come to you. Flare Blitz!" Rocketing himself forward, Charizard left behind a trail of flames whilst heading straight for the Electric-Type Pokemon.
"Mareep! Thunder Shock!"
"MA!" Releasing a blast of electricity, Thundershock and Flare Blitz had collided. The two moves had entered a clash with one move trying to come out on top. "Ma...Reep..."
"Push through, Charizard!"
"CHAR!" Flare Blitz proved to be the mightier move as it was breaking through the Thunder Shock.
"Ma...Mareep..." Mareep was doing his very best to keep the attack back, but unfortunately, a small Pokemon like him can only do so much in his current state.
"Mareep!" Rarity bellowed for her Pokemon's name. "You're not thinking of losing here, are you?"
"Reep..."
"Both of us. We'll excel in all of this and stop Adagio, won't we? Our strength will grow to a point where we can protect our friends and family from any threat. Whether it be from this world or your own!"
"Ma!" Mareep nodded while both of his eyes closed.
"So! For the sake of the ones we love, push right through!" Rarity thrust her hooves forward.
"Ma..Ma...FLA!" With a sudden burst of energy, Mareep's body entered a golden state. Sparks were flying out of the Wool Pokemon's body, changing from yellow to blue.
"What is that?!" Bluewind pulled back.
"Mareep?" Rarity's eyes widened. She had no idea what was going on at first. But then she remembered what she learned about her Leavanny's and their interaction with the magic in this world. This could only mean one thing.
"What's going on?!" The announcer leaned forward, smacking his face on the glass.
"Is it a new move?!" Sweetie Belle shook an unconscious Apple Bloom, who managed to wake up from the light.
"I think I saw my mom and dad..." Apple Bloom held her head before shifting her attention towards the newly evolved Pokemon. "Huh?! When did this happen?!"
It wasn't a new move. Not at all. This was something even better. The clouds above had turned grey all of a sudden as they blocked out the sun itself. From the swirling clouds, a lightning bolt shot out, striking the golden-clad Mareep.
The sound of thunder hitting startled everypony, even Charizard who was suddenly finding it difficult to break through Thunder Shock. It was almost as if it was gradually growing stronger.
"Char?"
The anticipation came to an end very quickly, much like lightning itself. The bolt of lightning had dispersed along with the golden light that covered Mareep's body.
Although. It was no longer a Mareep anymore. Instead, the Wool Pokemon had finally evolved into its second stage evolution.
Flaaffy.
"Flaa...FFY!" The Wool Pokemon forced Charizard back by increasing the size and power of Thunder Shock, putting an end to the struggle.
"Zard!" Charizard cried out as he veered on the ground. He and his trainer looked forward to gaze upon this revelation. "Char?"
"Mareep...? No. Not anymore." Rarity gasped as she pulled out her Pokedex.
"Flaaffy. The Wool Pokemon. As a result of storing too much electricity, it developed patches where even downy wool won't grow. Flaaffy's wool quality changes so that it can generate a high amount of static electricity with a small amount of wool. The bare and slick parts of its hide are shielded against electricity. If its coat becomes fully charged with electricity, its tail lights up. It fires hair that zaps on impact."
"No way! It evolved?!" Spike shouted as everypony was thrown off guard by this.
"An evolution mid-battle! How neat is that?!" The announcer squeed.
"That is pretty neat actually..." Both Bluewind and the referee said.
"Flaa!" The newly evolved Wool Pokemon stomped his foot on the ground, displaying his revitalized state.
"Flaaffy...Very well then. Show me your newfound strength with Thunder Shock!" Rarity commanded.
"Ffy!" Flaaffy had something better in store. Upon evolving, he actually did learn a new move as theorized by Sweetie Belle. A move that was much more powerful than Thunder Shock.
Due to the clouds still being grey, they acted upon Flaaffy's will. Yellow flashes of light could be seen in the clouds with the sound of thunder rumbling. That could only mean one thing.
"Oh, right!" Bluewind snapped back into reality! "Flare Blitz! Finish it!"
Charging in once more with Flare Blitz, Charizard was aiming to put an end to this battle before things got ugly. The battle was about to come to an end for sure, but not by Charizard.
With his eyes flashing along with his tail and fleece, Flaafy had summoned an earth-shattering blast of lightning from above. The move moved much faster than Charizard as it gave the Flame Pokemon a crushing smite with the force of 30,000 volts hitting him.
"ZA!" Realizing that a greater Electric-Type attack that far surpassed Electro Ball and Thunder Shock hit him, Charizard had been knocked off balance, flying past Flaaffy as Flare Blitz completely missed. With his body rolling on the ground like a ragdoll, the outcome was clear as day.
Charizard had fainted.
"Char..."
"Charizard is unable to battle! Flaaffy wins! Thus the victor is Rarity!"
"Incredible! Flaaffy overcame a huge obstacle in the form of Charizard and evolved from it! I wish my Pokemon could do the same!" The announcer exclaimed.
"No way!" Bluewind's jaw dropped to a point where it made contact with the ground itself.
"Yes!" Rarity clapped her hooves together as she pranced over to her newly evolved partner. "Flaaffy! You were absolutely divine!"
"Fy! Flaaffy!" Flaaffy gave his trainer a jolt of electricity that caused her mane and tail to puff up. Out of love.
"SHE DID IT! WOOHOO!" Sweetie Belle flailed her hooves around, knocking Apple Bloom out once more. And she had just woken up. "Isn't Rarity the best?!"
"She actually beat a Charizard..." Goh was flabbergasted.
"Yeah...I didn't think it was possible." Spike slumped on the seat. "Ain't Rarity something?"
"Determination can do that." Ash nodded. "I've got faith that Rarity will be the one to defeat Pheromosa."
"Pikachu!"
"What a duo those two are. Oh well. I've still got a long way to go as a trainer anyways." Bluewind shrugged. "Great job, Charizard."
"Charizard." Charizard stood up, holding his head. That Thunder really did some damage.
"Bluewind, was it?" Rarity spoke to her opponent. "I apologize if I went a bit overboard back there. I completely forgot that the main point of this tournament was to have fun and improve ourselves."
"Don't sweat it. You're doing it for your friends and family, right? So it's all good. Besides, I don't think me and Charizard could compare to dedication like that. We just came here to win. Right pal?" Bluewind gave a Charizard a pat on the belly.
"Zard!" Charizard in response, breathed fire at his trainer's face, leaving it a smoking mess.
"Ugh...Thanks, Charizard..." Bluewind coughed some smoke out. "Alright. We're done here. We'll be watching you in the other rounds."
"I appreciate it!" Rarity nodded. "Let's succeed even further together, Flaaffy."
"Flaaffy!"
Returning to the waiting room, everypony had congratulated Rarity for that stunning display. The last thing anypony was expecting was an evolution during the tournament. Especially one that was in the middle of a clash.
"Rarity! That was amazing!" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"No kidding. I'd even say that was much fancier than when my Groyvle here evolved. No offence, partner."
"Grovyle." Grovyle didn't mind. He could agree on that for sure.
"Much thanks, girls." Rarity let out a deep sigh. "Oh, dear. Pokemon battling can really tire a lady out. I'll need some fresh air."
"Take as much as you'd like," Twilight said.
Rarity did just that. Returning Flaaffy to his Poke Ball, the unicorn had decided to clear her mind. Since she wasn't crazy about Pokemon battling, going through an adrenaline rush such as that battle back there was something she had never experienced before.
Heading out, who else was there, standing alone with a usual smug look on her face.
Adagio, of course.
"Not bad. Although, you mostly got lucky that your sheep friend evolved at the last minute." Adagio chuckled.
"Adagio Dazzle." Rarity scoffed at her.
"I heard what you said back there. You? Defeat me? Hah!" Adagio chuckled whilst walking up to Rarity. "That's rich."
"Don't get cocky. I've made sure to prepare myself for when I go up against your Pheromosa."
"Hoh? Even so, how are you gonna keep up with her? You saw what happened back there. No one is matching her speed at all. Especially not some sheep that got a pity evolution."
"You'd be surprised by how fast Electric-Type moves are." Rarity had clashed unicorn horns with Adagio was the two were face to face. "Then again, it's common sense to know that electricity is naturally fast."
"Hmph. You're only acting this confident because you weren't there when your precious little friends were attacked by a Pheromosa. If you had been, you would've probably taken an equally harsh beating from her. And I would've enjoyed every second of it."
"Oh? Then I suppose I can be honest and say that I've enjoyed every second of your constant losses. The Castelia City defeat is my personal favourite." Rarity smirked, hitting Adagio where it hurts.
The two of them seemed to be on an equal wavelength. If anything, they almost seemed like opposites of each other. Besides the unicorn horn. They both realized that they could settle this in the tournament if they end up going up against each other. So they separated horns whilst pulling back.
"All my hate is directed towards Twilight Sparkle. But you've certainly shot yourself up." Adagio walked off. "See you tomorrow. Make sure you don't lose to some random pony." She chuckled as those were her last words.
"Leavanny..." Leavanny came out of her Poke Ball, feeling the urge to String Shot Adagio so badly right now.
"Leave it, Leavanny. We'll have to wait until that moment comes."
With an unexpected evolution and resounding victory, Rarity's determination in this tournament has reached new heights that were impossible to predict. The final contestants prepare themselves for their upcoming battle before the day ends as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The sun was slowly setting. It gave off a tranquil and gorgeous orange light that shined over all of Canterlot, blessing it with its calm, radiant and vibrant light. Staravia's and Pidgeots could be seen flying in the orange skies, heading off to rest somewhere in Equestria or maybe even their own world.
This meant that the Canterlot Tournament was finally reaching the end of its first day. And closing off the first day were the remaining trainers. Many trainers have won or lost with each of them having their own unique battles. Some long. Some short. Some intense. Some easy-going.
But enjoyable nonetheless.
At the moment 12 remain. And among those 12 were the top 3 strongest trainers in Equestria who rank the highest.
Spitfire, Daylight Blazer and Princess Luna.
And they lived up to their title of Equestria's Top 3 strongest trainers. The opponents they had each gone up against barely stood a chance against the three of them and their Pokemon.
And they went a little something like this.
For Princess Luna, she had used her Aurorus for the first round, going up against a trainer with a Conkeldurr. Their battle was currently underway since it had just begun.
"Aurorus! Aurora Beam!"
"Aur!" The Tundra Pokemon opened her mouth wide, summoning the powers of the northern lights themselves.
"Conkeldurr! Use Bulk Up!" The opposing trainer commanded.
"Con! Kel!" The Muscular Pokemon tossed his two concrete pillars into the air as he flexed his muscles, increasing his attack and defence. Once Aurora Beam hit, Conkeldurr had tanked the Ice-Type attack as if t was nothing. The pillars came back down as Conkeldurr blew away the mist from Aurora Beam's aftermath. "Conkel."
"Sorry, Princess Luna. But you won't be getting past Conkeldurr at all. Superpower!"
"Durr!" Conkeldurr's body became surrounded in a light blue aura, channelling all his strength into the concrete pillars he owned. The Muscular Pokemon charged forward whilst dragging the pillars on the ground.
"Oh? I wouldn't get to close if I were you." Luna smirked. "Aurorus, use Earthquake!"
"Wait what?!" The opposing pony pulled back, not expecting that move to be used.
"Rorus!" The Tundra Pokemon slammed her feet on the ground, causing the ground itself to tremble the entire battlefield, throwing Conkeldurr off balance.
"Con?!" Conkeldurr had dropped his concrete pillars, getting down on his knees.
"Freeze Conkeldurr with Ice Beam!" Following up the attack, Aururos had shot a chilling beam of ice from its mouth. The Ice Beam had immediately frozen the opposing Pokemon, keeping Conkeldurr in one spot.
"Ah! Conkeldurr! Break free with Bulk Up!"
"Con...Kel..." The Muscular Pokemon had a way out of this. All he had to do was flex his muscles and that ice was long gone.
"I don't think so. Freeze the battlefield!" Continuing to use Ice Beam, the entire stadium had been frozen over by Aurorus's attack.
But during that, Conkeldurr had broken free with Bulk Up. And as a bonus, he was much stronger and had higher defence at his disposal. "Con!"
"I don't see how freezing the ground's gonna stop us. Conkeldurr! Rock Throw!"
"Durr!" By using his own concrete pillars, the Fighting-Type launched them towards Aurorus as if they were baseballs.
"Hmph. Flash Cannon!" With ease, Aurors had destroyed Conkeldurr's pillars into tiny little stone pieces with a steel-clad blast.
"Conkel?!" Conkeldurr pulled back along with his trainer. Both of them didn't expect the concrete pillars to break.
"They can break?!" The trainer gasped.
"If I were you, I wouldn't dare to lose focus! Earthquake!" Luna's strategy had come into play. By causing an Earthquake on the frozen battlefield, not only did it rupture the ground, but the ice that filled the area experienced a destructive outburst.
Huge chunks of ice erupted from beneath, smacking the Muscular Pokemon square in the face repeatedly.
"Kel! Kel!" Conkeldurr took a volley of ice chunks that wouldn't stop rising. Not only that, but tiny shards of sharp ice were unleashed as well, pelting the Fighting-Type.
"Blow them away, Conkeldurr!"
"Durr!" Conkeldurr made an attempt to blow the ice shards and chunks away with his huge buff arms. He managed to destroy the larger ones but the smaller ones were harder to deal with.
"Finish it with Aurora Beam!" The finishing blow had been delivered. By firing a rainbow-coloured beam, Conkeldurr was met with his unfortunate end as he was too distracted by the ice shards.
"Con?" Once the beam hit, a rainbow explosion followed afterwards. With a strategy like that, it wouldn't come as too much of a shock if Conkeldurr had fainted. Which he did. Once the smoke cleared, that was it. "Con..."
"Conkeldurr is unable to battle! Aurorus wins! Thus the victor is Princess Luna!"
"In less than 2 minutes, Princess Luna won her first match without her Aurorus's having a single scratch on it! That's the quickest one yet!" said the announcer.
"I didn't even get a hit in..." The pony dropped her jaw, completely taken aback by this.
"A fine job, Aurorus."
"Ro? Aurorus!" The Tundra Pokemon ran over to Luna, ready to glomp her.
"Eeugh!" Luna winced as she attempted to back away, but it was too late, Aururos somehow caught up, tackling Luna and pinning her to the ground. "Aurorus! Please!" She attempted to push the Tundra Pokemon off her, but a Pokemon's love is just too powerful.
"Ah, well. She's a princess. What was I expecting." The earth pony shrugged. "Good job anyways Conkeldurr.
"Durr." Conkeldurr looked at his hands, noticing that the one thing that makes him who he is had been destroyed. "Con...KEL!" The Muscular Pokemon got on his knees, tearing up. His pillars. Gone.
It wasn't even him losing the battle that made him upset. He could care less. What he does care about are his concrete pillars.
"Ah! Don't cry! We'll just uh...borrow some from another Conkeldurr!" She comforted her heartbroken partner, giving him a pat on the back.
"So like...Conkeldurr's pillars...Do they grow back or...?" Pinkie squinted her eyes.
"They find or make new ones." Ash and Fluttershy answered.
"Ah." Pinkie nodded.
Luna's battle was regarded as the quickest one yet, further making it clear as to why she was ranked #3. But what of Spitfire and Daylight? Their battles were just around the corner after a few more matches.
Once Daylight's battle came, he demonstrated why he was ranked number 2. Instead of finishing the battle quick like Luna, he was more on the mind-game side of things.
And the one Pokemon he owned that was a perfect representation of that was none other than his Medicham, who is well known for being a dodging expert. Mostly due to his sixth sense.
"Cham." The Meditate Pokemon was currently battling against a Talonflame was trying desperately to hit Medicham. The Fighting-Psychic-Type had successfully avoided each of Talonflame's attacks by further enhancing his capabilities with his signature move Meditate.
Not only does it put Medicham in a peaceful state, it even raises his attack up, granting him more strength.
"Tal!" Talonflame had kept on using Brave Bird to try and hit the Meditate Pokemon, but so far, not a single scratch. Not even a graze.
"This is getting ridiculous! How's it avoiding Brave Bird every single time?!" The pegasus who owned Talonflame groaned. "It's fine. If we can't hit you up close...then how do you like long-distance attacks? Talonflame! Use Hurricane!"
"Talon!" The Scorching Pokemon had flown around in the air, kicking up a mighty hurricane in less than a second with ease. Even Medicham could tell that this was a bit of a threat.
"Yikes. That's a big one. Medicham! Jump back!"
"Med!" The Meditation Pokemon had carefully eluded the incoming hurricane by simply backflipped a few times and finishing it off with a zip to the side.
"Gotcha! Aerial Ace!" Talonflame had found its opening. By moving at high speeds, it looked like the Scorching Pokemon would end up getting a hit in finally.
"Block it!" Even he knew that Aerial Ace was tough to dodge, even with Medicham's sixth sense. Talonflame's speed was no joke after all.
"Medicham!" He put one of his legs up as a defence tactic. Which worked well in his favour. Talonflame made direct contact with the Meditate Pokemon's leg, causing a mild shockwave afterwards.
"Now! Thunder Punch!"
"Cham!" Barely feeling Aerial Ace at all, Medicham had smashed his thunder-clad fists onto Talonflame's jaw, launching the Scorching Pokemon back.
"Talonflame! Use Flare Blitz!" Recovering from that devastating Thunder Punch, the Fire-Flying-Type shifted into the always effective Flare Blitz as its body was set ablaze.
"Medicham! Gravity!"
"Medi..." Instead of avoiding the attack, Medicham put his hands out, manipulating the laws of Gravity itself. There was a reason why Medicham had this move and it was to deal with its Flying-Type weakness.
"Ta?!" All of a sudden, Talon had stopped flying, crashing down onto the ground as it slid past Medicham.
"W-What just happened?!" The trainer was puzzled. "Talonflame! Try using Aerial Ace!"
"Lon..." Talonflame attempted to ascend high up into the air like it usually does, however, this is where Gravity came into play. The Scorching Pokemon had realized that it couldn't get off the ground at all. In fact, a powerful Gravity field was forcing Talonflame to stay on the ground at all costs.
"What's this?! Talonflame's can't seem to get itself up into the air!" Even the announcer was confused.
"Try Hurricane!" A second attempt was made. Maybe Hurricane might work? Not at all. For Talonflame to pull it off, it would need to fly around in the air to do so. Which it couldn't. "What gives...?"
"That's Gravity for you. It makes it so that Flying-Types are forced to stay on the ground at all times. Plus it helps against Pokemon with the ability Levitate."
"You're kidding!" The pony held her head in confusion. "How is that even fair?!"
"Look on the bright side. Just be glad that I don't have a Ground-Type move on me. Alright, Medicharm. Thunder Punch!"
"Medi!" Medicham went up to Talonflame, raising his thunder-clad fists into the air to finish the battle.
"Ah! Talonflame! Run away!"
"Lonflame!" Unfortunately, Talonflame's speed only excels in the air. On the ground, not so much. Perhaps if it was building up speed to fly, but since its natural talent has been stripped from it, that wasn't happening.
"Med!" Medicham easily caught up to the Scorching Pokemon as he smashed his thunderous fists down onto Talonflame's back, creating an explosion of lighting that followed afterwards. After something like that, the outcome was clear as day.
"Talon..." Talonflame had fainted.
"Talonflame is unable to battle! Medicham wins! Thus the victor is Daylight Blazer!"
"Gravity huh...?" The pegasus sat. "There's a Pokemon move for everything, isn't there?"
"Got that right." Daylight nodded. "Good job anyways with your Talonflame."
"Thanks." The pegasus picked up her Talonflame. "I need to figure out how these Psychic-Type Pokemon work. Manipulating Gravity...how is that even fair?"
"Flame."
With that battle coming to a close, very few remain now. And among the few trainers left until the first day of the tournament ends was none other than the highest-ranked trainer in all of Equestria. #1.
Spitfire.
Luna and Daylight have their own unique way of battling. Luna uses the battlefield to her advantage via moves that have the capability of affecting the environment. She does own a Pokemon of every type after all. So she's developed a strategy where the types that are most known for distance can interact with the battlefield. An example being her Aurorus.
Daylight prefers to utilize either a Pokemon's natural traits or even interfering with their traits. For most of his Pokemon, 5 out of 6 have moves that are focused solely on status, powering themselves up, nullifying moves etc. He's got something that can help his Pokemon exceed.
Spitfire, however, is completely different. Her battle style is similar to that of Limestone Pie. Where she puts the pressure on with an aggressive approach. However, unlike Limestone, not only does she have way more experience than her, but she's even found a perfect mix between aggressive and laid-back.
She owns Pokemon that are known for being combative and quarrelsome. Pokemon that are all about rushing in and dealing major damage Especially her Scizor, which is a Pokemon are most known for beating their enemies to a pulp until they are nothing left but scraps.
And yet somehow, she's transformed the usually advancing Scizor into a Pokemon that can also keep its cool at the same time.
And speaking of Spitfire, her battle was about to arrive. In fact, it was the final battle for the day. That sun's already disappearing over the horizon. Everypony was about to witness just how the number one trainer in Equestria battles.
The Pokemon of her choice this time wasn't actually her ace Scizor. Instead, she had one Pokemon in particular that shares a similar trait to Medicham.
"You may both bring out your Pokemon!" said the referee.
"Here goes! Excadrill!" An opposing unicorn had sent out her partner in the form of the Subterrene Pokemon.
"Exca!"
"You're up." Spitfire used her wings to send out the partner of her choice in this battle. None other than the separate final evolution of the Ralts line. Gallade.
"Gallade!" The Blade Pokemon roared.
"What is that?!" Sweetie Belle leaned forward.
"Doesn't look like Gardevoir, that's for sure." Spike shook his head.
"I gotta see this!" Sweetie Belle whipped out her dex for this seemingly alternate form of Gardevoir.
"Gallade. The Blade Pokemon. The male variant of Ralt's final form, opposite of Gardevoir. A master of courtesy and swordsmanship, it fights using extending swords on its elbows. When trying to protect someone, it extends its elbows as if they were swords and fights savagely. Because it can sense what its foe is thinking, its attacks burst out first, fast, and fierce."
"Hm. Definitely a varying look from Gardevoir." Celestia nodded.
"Kirlia." Passion looked over at the Blade Pokemon Seeing it reminded her of home and her father who was also a Gallade.
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Excadrill! Dig!"
"Exca!" Starting off strong, Excadrill's natural talent had been utilized. With its strong steel claws, the Subterrene Pokemon burrowed its way underground.
And this is where Spitfire's battling style came into play. "Follow Excadrill underground!"
"Lade!" An unexpected command. Gallade had dashed over to the spot where Excadrill originally burrowed. Since Excadrill's digging skills are superb, the hole it left behind was very visible and wide, allowing Gallade to enter it without any issues.
"Follow?!" The unicorn shot up. The same could be said for everypony else.
Whenever a Pokemon uses dig, most of the time, a way to counteract the move is to either fly into the air to evade or use Earthquake to force the Pokemon out.
Heading after the Pokemon after it dug a hole is the last thing anypony would expect. But that's exactly how Spitfire plays. She's unpredictable despite being aggressive.
"Gall!" Gallade ran over towards Excadrill who was currently in the midst of escaping the Blade Pokemon. Even Excadrill was shocked. Usually, it's other Ground-Types that chase it underground.
"Gallade! If you can hear me, use Close Combat!" Spitfire yelled.
"Excadrill! Head back up!"
Two commands were given whilst both Pokemon were still underground. Their response? For Excadrill, he made an attempt to get out of the ground as soon as possible. Excadrill was slightly faster than Gallade, but not by much.
As for Gallade, he had repeatedly struck his bladed arms everywhere underground. The force of his hits was enough to shake the ground itself. Essentially creating his own Earthquake.
Because of this, Excadrill's drilling had been interrupted as well as his exit to the surface. This gave Gallade the chance to rush in while Excadrill's guard was down. What followed next was something that everypony, unfortunately, couldn't witness for themselves.
And speaking everypony, they were all puzzled at the sudden disappearance of the two Pokemon. Once Gallade followed Excadrill underground, the rest of the battle was now a mystery to them. Even Excadrill's trainer had no idea what was happening down there. But she did hear and feel constant tremors. Most likely from Gallade's Close Combat.
Spitfire wasn't bothered at all. If anything, she knew exactly what was going down underground.
"A-Are they coming back up?" The announcer stuttered.
There was a moment of silence for a few seconds. Everypony didn't say a word. The suspense was pretty potent. But what much more potent was the eventual emergence of the two Pokemon.
Excadrill did in fact resurface, but not instinctively. Instead, it was Gallade who forced him out. Once the two erupted from the ground with a huge crater being left behind, the next thing everypony saw was Gallade continuously striking Excadrill with his blades.
"Llade! Lade! Gallade!" Over and over again, Gallade was dealing heavy hits to the Ground-Steel-Type until he finally put a stop to Close Combat by delivering a final strike to Excadrill, rocketing the Subterenne Pokemon down to the ground.
"Ex!"
"Oh! Excadrill!" The pegasus gasped.
"Alright, Gallade. Finish it with another Close Combat."
"Ga!" The Blade Pokemon made a landing with his bladed hands stabbing the ground. All he needed was one final Close Combat and that would be the end of this matchup.
"Quick, Excadrill! Iron Defense!"
"Drill!" Excadrill got back up, still having some fight left in him. Even if he was tattered. By covering himself with his own steel claws, the Subterrene Pokemon had increased his defence in order to withstand the hits from Gallade.
Unfortunately, against something as powerful as Close Combat, it won't help too much. Especially if you've already taken massive damage earlier on. Once Gallade made direct contact with Excadrill once more, two single strikes from both his blades were enough to put an end to this entire battle.
"Gallade!" With the final strike, The Blade Pokemon made Excadrill spin around in defeat as the Ground-Steel-Type landed right next to his trainer, finishing the final match of the first day.
"Exca..."
"Excadrill is unable to battle! Gallade wins! Which means the victor is none other than Gallade!"
"Gallade!" Gallade got out of his stance, declaring his victory along with his trainer.
"And with that, the final match of the first day comes to an end!" The announcer spoke. "What a way to end it! Shame we didn't get to see the rest of it underground..."
And the expected response from the crowd had been heard. Their cheers and applause far exceeded the previous ones and for good reason. For the first day of this tournament, it was a blast to sit through. Despite one particular match that made them all uncomfortable.
"Awesome work as always, Gale." The nickname that Spitfire gave her partner as she spoke to him.
"Gallade."
"I can't believe it followed you down..." The pony helped her Excadrill up from the ground. That one instance with Gallade and Dig still had her at a lost for words.
"Exca." Excadrill felt the same way. That was the last thing he was expecting from the Fighting-Type.
"Finally." Aria stood up. "I was wondering when the first day was gonna end. My back is killing me."
"It was worth all the sitting!" Pinkie and Sonata both said at the same time.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off his seat, stretching his tail and arms. "Pika..."
"What a day." Ash held his head. "But it was so exciting!"
"Ah...It's a good thing I'm all about collecting. Battles are a bit too much for me to handle." Goh spoke.
"I'm sure all of us are tired out. I know Chikorita is." Fluttershy held her exhausted Chikorita.
"Chiko."
"Now that the first day of the tournament has come to an end, I think everypony deserves a nice long rest until tomorrow!" The announcer went on. "And I surely can't wait to say a bunch of stuff next time! But my throats getting kinda sore..."
"Well, Passion. It certainly was an enjoyable first day, wasn't it?" Celestia picked up her partner.
"Lia." Passion nodded in agreement.
"Canine..." Arcanine had fallen asleep. Mostly due to the sunset. The calming nature of it tends to make him drowsy.
"Even though everypony's excited for tomorrow, I can't help but think about Adagio. You should rest up in the meanwhile. I'll be a bit busy."
"Kir."
Over at the waiting room, the trainers were feeling the exact same way. Tuckered out. With the first day closing off, they were all requested to stay inside the spare rooms of Canterlot until tomorrow. But before that, Ben had an important announcement to make as his head popped out of from the side of a wall.
"Uh. Before you leave everypony. Just a few quick words and a question. Outside, there are Rental Teams that I've brought along. Because tomorrow, we're moving it to a 2v2. Since some of you only own one Pokemon."
"2v2? I thought it was just 1v1." Twilight said.
"Yeah..." Ben grit his teeth. "Should've made it clearer that the first day was a 1V1. So for those who don't have more than one Pokemon, you're free to take any from the Rental Teams. And don't worry. They're well trained and easy to work with."
"What else is there?" Scootaloo asked.
"This one's a bit of a question that depends on you all. Would it be okay if we shuffled the matchups?"
"Shuffled?" Everypony said.
"Right. If you want, I can always randomize the matchups to switch things up. If that's okay with you guys."
"I'm cool with it!" Rainbow Dash liked the sound of that. "If it means that there's a chance I reach Spitfire and Daylight quicker."
Other ponies seemed to go along with it. The idea of switching up matchups sounded interesting. Mostly due to the fact that some of them were a bit nervous about their upcoming matches, so changing it up might be a saving grace. Keyword being 'might' since one unlucky pony might end up facing off against the Top 3.
Rarity was all for it for one reason. If by some chance she manages to get paired up with Adagio, that'll give her the opportunity to stop the siren before things get out of hoof any further. And if not, then she'll have to wait for that chance later on in the tournament.
"Then it's settled. Gothitelle."
"Telle." The Astral Body Pokemon used her psychic attributes to manipulate the tournament brackets. Her psychic power can go that far.
With the matchups being altered as everypony's faces were moving haphazardly on the screen, anticipation was building. Their opponents were now unpredictable. It wasn't just the trainers viewing this. The huge screen on the outside of the battlefield had shown the shuffling to the crowd and spectators. They were wondering who would get paired up with who.
Once the shuffling came to an end, the results were clear. Matchups that were originally not meant to happen, will end up happening. Whether it be against trainers from the same town or city as them or even trainers they hoped they wouldn't go up against, there were some visible reactions on everypony's faces.
Rarity looked over to see that it would be Twilight going up against Adagio instead. From the lineup, it looked like it would be the 20th battle tomorrow. Even if it wasn't her, she had faith in her friend that she could do it.
"Looks like I'll be facing Adagio tomorrow, huh?" Twilight gulped, feeling a bit nervous about this.
"Seems to be the case. I have faith in you, Twilight." Rarity placed her hoof on Twilight's neck. "Just make sure that you are no way paralyzed by that Pheromosa creature."
"I will. I promise Rarity."
Adagio had seen the results for herself. And to say that she was looking forward to this was an understatement. She was expecting to up against Twilight a few days later. Tomorrow sounds good to her. This is what Adagio was waiting for the most.
And with more events concerning Adagio, Luna and Darkrai looked at each other, nodding in understanding. Soon, everypony will head into Canterlot Castle, using the spare bedrooms to rest up. There, both of them will enter Adagio's dream in order to see the result of what Xatu had foreseen.
Speaking of which, everypony had scattered with some heading home for the day. They plan to come back tomorrow since Canterlot Castle's bedrooms are very limited despite how many there are. Some trainers had decided to rest in the waiting room. Those couches are pretty comfortable.
As Celestia lowers the sun whilst Luna raises the moon, the two sisters had their own plans for tonight. For Luna, it was about Adagio's dream. Celestia on the other hoof had a separate plan concerning Adagio.
Finally. Night has arrived.
The trainers and most of Equestria is asleep at this time. Which means that it was time for Luna to act. Darkrai and her were lurking in the shadows, perfectly blending in as the guards watched them pass by.
Luna's horn lit up in the darkness as she and Darkrai stood by a door that led to the room where Adagio would be resting.
Luna quietly opened the door with her magic, making sure to not cause any noise whatsoever as Darkrai was on standby. However, to her surprise, her magic aura was quickly overtaken by an orange one. More specifically, Adagio's magic.
Turns out, she wasn't asleep. At all. And it was made very clear once she opened the door herself, sitting on the bed with her hooves behind her back.
"Good evening, Princess Luna." Adagio greeted.
"You're awake?!" Luna gasped.
"Did you really think I would let you invade my dreams? You wish." She stood up from her bed. "Us sirens have exceptional hearing. I could hear your little dream scheming back there in the waiting room."
"So it would seem." Luna narrowed her eyes at the pony-siren hybrid. "In that case, I suppose I can do the next best thing. Regarding what you did to that Breloom."
"Oh, I remember. Honestly, that was my favourite moment of this stupid tournament. Seeing the horrified looks of every single pony's faces was just beautiful. And the best part, the animosity directed towards me was a good fill."
"So, you truly are here for another reason!" Luna leaned forward. "Your goal was to only feed off the negativity that you created."
"Duh. That's what I do." Adagio scoffed. "It's common siren knowledge."
"Well then. Now that I know your true intentions, I can deal with you here and now." Luna's horn illuminated.
"Hoh?" So did Adagio's. "I would rethink that. Unless you want this entire castle to come crumbling down." She held out the Ultra Ball that had Pheromosa, threatening to unleash the Ultra Beast.
The two of them were actually about to engage in conflict with both of them blasting magic towards each other. Both of their rays had been stopped by none other than Celestia herself, who used her wings to push the rays back.
"Stop!" Celestia spoke, causing both Adagio and Luna to halt.
"Sister?!"
"Feh. Just what I needed...two alicorns..." Adagio grumbled.
"Luna, wait. You mustn't engage any further. That goes for you too, Adagio."
"Why not? Her real goal is to feed off animosity from everypony in this tournament. That involves that Pheromosa creature. That is why she is even here in the first place! That whole dream babble was most likely a lie to catch Darkrai and I off guard!"
"Bite me!" Adagio replied.
"Luna. I am already aware of that."
"You are?" Luna pulled back.
"Yes. Both of you. Please restrain yourselves first before you start tearing each other apart."
"Hmph." Adagio sat down on her bed. "Whatever. I wasn't planning on doing anything tonight anyway."
"Sister. Why are you defending her? If you're already aware of what she does, why stop me? Darkrai and I could put an end to her plans right this instant."
"I know that already. What she does is horrible but..." Celestia looked to the side, not sure how to break the news to Luna.
"But? What?" Luna was curious.
"Adagio. Could you excuse the two of us for a moment?"
"Go ahead." Adagio used her magic to bounce the Ultra Ball up and down. "Doesn't concern me anyway."
"Thank you." Celestia led her younger sister outside while Darkrai simply hid back in the shadows, just in case Adagio ended up trying something.
"Well? What did you want to tell me? It must be of great importance if it involves you stopping my attack on Adagio."
"It is of great importance. Possibly larger than anything we've discovered so far."
"Then what is it? Just tell me." Luna tapped her foot, unable to withstand the suspense any longer.
"How do I put this..." Celestia was ready to tell her everything concerning the sirens. All the while, Adagio was in her room, listening to the conversation with her exceptional hearing.
What Celestia told Luna was exactly what Adagio wanted to hear. About the history between both their mothers and how they met. Including everything, she had just learned about sirens this afternoon. Once Adagio overheard this, a cocky smile graced her face as she nodded in agreement with everything Celestia was saying.
As for Luna, the reaction from her was exactly what Celestia was expecting. One that involved shock, confusion and disbelief.
"You're joking...Right?" Luna uttered.
"Not at all." The sun princess shook her head. "Everything I've told you is completely true."
"True as the sun in the sky." Adagio came out of the room, revelling in Luna's shock. "Like what you hear, Princess Luna? You'd better get used to it."
"Adagio, please." Celestia put her wing out, stopping Adagio's words against her younger sister. "Luna. I know this is a lot to take in but please try to understand something. If I hadn't known about this information in the first place, then perhaps I would've dealt with Adagio already."
"Glad that's not the case." Adagio scoffed.
"Then how is it that I never knew from the start?! I thought we were given all the knowledge we needed about sirens and their magic. And why is it that mother never told us about any of this when we were younger?"
"I thought so too. But it appears we still have a lot to learn bout the world we live in. Listen. Both of you. It's far too late in the night to continue all of this. Tomorrow, we shall continue this talk once we have another 40-minute break. Luna. I ask that you do not interact with Adagio for the rest of the night."
"...Fine..." Luna grumbled. She walked off, dismissing the action of heading inside of Adagio's dreams. In fact, her second plan was to force Adagio to sleep with Darkrai's Dark Void. But that wasn't happening anymore.
"Adagio. You are going to be completely inactive throughout the night, correct?"
"Yeah, whatever." Adagio went back into the room. "Just keep her and that freaky dark thing away from me."
"I have a name..." Darkrai spoke in the shadows.
"Good." Celestia sighed. "I'll figure out what to do about all of this. I might have to find somepony who also owns knowledge about sirens. But who?"
The first day of the Canterlot Tournament has come to an end. The remaining 6 days are sure to exceed everypony's expectations when it comes to excitement. All the while, Celestia continues her mission to solve this seemingly impossible task that she has involved herself with regarding Adagio. With further knowledge about sirens being spread to Luna, the young moon princess is essentially in the same boat as her older sister in terms of thoughts.
For now, she desires some time to rest and relax until tomorrows as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
Tomorrow has arrived.
Meaning that the second day of the Canterlot Tournament has arrived.
The golden sun graced itself upon all of Equestria, showing off its florid orange rays along with the calming energy it brought along with it. Flying-Type Pokemon in the skies and Grass-Types nearby soaked it in perfectly. Even if it was still winter with snow falling, the sun was always something that stays prominent.
With a new day arriving, everypony had woken up, excited for the second day of the Tournament. Especially the trainers participating. This second part of the Canterlot Tournament will now include the use of two Pokemon instead of just one. BigTime Ben gladly offered Rental Teams for those who only have one Pokemon at their disposal.
Speaking of teams, Twilight was currently sitting outside, planning and pondering. Her upcoming battle was against Adagio since the brackets had been shuffled. She was trying to find a way to overcome Adagio's Pheromosa. There were only 30 minutes left until the tournament continues, so there was a lot of time to plan things out.
"Alright. If I go in with Eve, I have a higher chance of winning. I just need to watch out for that Throat Chop." Twilight said to herself. "She could also have a Fighting-Type move at her disposal so that won't be a problem. But what if she has a Bug move?"
"Espeon?"
"If I use Bisharp I'm already setting myself up for disaster. Vulpix's Incinerate is powerful but he's not much of a battler. But it could help out...Urgh..."
"Dew." Dewott hopped on the table, grabbing Twilight's attention.
"Hm? What is it Dewott?"
"Wott. Dewott!" The Discipline Pokemon pointed his scalchops at himself, asking Twilight to choose him.
"You want me to choose you as my second Pokemon?"
"Dew." He nodded.
"Wait...That might work." Twilight looked up. Thinking about it for a second, she realized that Dewott doesn't have as many disadvantages as the others. Due to him being a Water-Type, the only thing that poses a threat to the Discipline Pokemon is Electric and Grass. Everything else is just neutral.
"Wott."
"Yes!" Twilight stood up. "It's a good thing Water-Types don't have that many weaknesses."
"Twilight. Are you okay?" Fluttershy along with Audino went over to their friend.
"Hm? Oh, Fluttershy. I'm actually doing great now."
"You are?"
"Mhm! I was struggling to figure out which Pokemon I should use against Adagio's Pheromosa. But Dewott here gave me a reminder that Water-Types are neutral to every other type."
"Oh. That's wonderful. So, is it just Dewott that'll be battling?"
"Eve's joining in since her Psybeam can come in handy. It'll be these two that'll take down Pheromosa."
"I see. But what if Adagio has a second Pokemon? It could be anything." Fluttershy gave Twilight something new to think about.
The thought of Adagio having a second Pokemon didn't slip Twilight's mind. She could have another Pheromosa at her disposal or even another Ultra Beast she's never seen before.
"I didn't think of that!" Twilight gasped. "A second Pokemon didn't cross my mind at all!" It was time to panic once more for Twilight Sparkle. She felt the need to rework her battle strategy now.
"Oh, sorry! I shouldn't have said that!" Fluttershy covered her mouth.
"It's fine." Twilight held her head. "I still have a lot of time left before my match. I just hope the others don't finish their battles too early."
"Alright. We'll be cheering you on the whole way through." Fluttershy and Audino had left Twilight to think about her plan further.
"Audino."
Half an hour left for everypony to prepare themselves for the second round. The trainers who only have one Pokemon had gone for the Rental Teams that were right near the waiting room.
Since the matchups have been shuffled, many of them are rethinking their strategies and picking out the right Pokemon they believe will carry them to the finals.
Adagio didn't bother with a second Pokemon. She believed that Pheromosa was enough. And if she did need to use a second Pokemon, Kricketot was there Even though he's not much a fighter.
The siren stood outside the waiting room. She was slowly biding her time until her match with Twilight. Once the others finish up, the moment that Adagio was looking forward to would arrive. Finally, after so long, she will be able to take all her frustration and anger out on the pony who defeated her back at the Battle of the Bands.
"So close." She held the Ultra Ball in her hoof. "But I won't stop with you, Sparkle. I'll head back to that other world and deal with Sunset Shimmer as well. Just you wait and see."
Over at the seats with the crowd, Ash and the others had already been seated, looking over the stadium. They all had a great sleep last night so they were ready for whatever ridiculous and off-the-wall battles that come their way.
"Mrrgh..." Sonata was scratching her ear like a dog whilst Aria looked at her in confusion.
"What's up with you?" She asked.
"I got a weird itch all of a sudden. Not only that but my skin feels like it's coming off or something." Sonata grumbled.
"Maybe you should wear warmer stuff than just a scarf." Aria scoffed. But very soon, she felt an itch as well. "Ow!"
"Hah! You're itchy too!" Sonata laughed at her fellow siren.
"Shut up!" Aria snapped back whilst scratching her face.
"You two are so adorable as sisters!" Pinkie pulled them both in with a hug. "If you had a fourth sister like my family, then we'd be matching siblings!"
"Pikapi?" Pikachu noticed that his buddy had a serious look on his face. Most likely due to the fact that Twilight was about to battle Adagio today.
"Still focused on it, Ash?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah." He nodded in response. "We can't ignore this at all."
"Why not?" Starlight asked.
"Adagio's been wanting revenge on Twilight for months now. So there's a good chance this is her biggest opportunity. By defeating Twilight in front of everyone here."
"Oh, you're right." Fluttershy gasped. "And Twilight's been busy thinking of which Pokemon to use against her Pheromosa. She had a good idea but then I brought up a second Pokemon. Me and my big mouth."
"Well, we don't have to worry about anything right? I'm sure Twilight's got this." Starlight squeed. "I hope."
"Yeah, but that Pheromosa thing's super fast." Sweetie Belle commented. "How's she gonna keep up with it?"
"All Twilight has to do is find a way around Pheromosa speed. Even the fastest Pokemon can be beaten." Ash answered.
"Pika..."
With anticipations high and everypony preparing themselves, the 30 minutes had come and gone. Thus, the second round can finally begin. First up, it would be two ponies from Manehattan going up against each other, followed up by 9 more. Once those 9 finish their battles, it'll be Twilight vs Adagio.
Celestia made sure that she would pay extra attention to it. The battle would include her most faithful student and the siren that she's trying to save. Whoever wins will surely affect Celestia in a special way.
In fact, both her and Ash were so focused on the upcoming battle that the others completely passed them by without them even paying too much attention to it.
They heard words such as "Floatzel, use Whirlpool!" Or "Araquanid is unable to battle! Pumpkaboo wins!"
Constant commands from the trainers, declarations from the referee and the announcer just uttering words at top of his lungs.
But, they still got some enjoyment out of the battles, despite barely paying too much attention to them. Pokemon battles have that effect after all.
Meanwhile, with Twilight, she had finally come up with a strategy that she believes would be enough to get past Pheromosa and Adagio's second Pokemon. Even if she didn't have a clue which Pokemon would be her second.
"Eve. Dewott. I'm counting on you two. Alright?"
"Dewott!"
"Espeon."
"Whatever her second Pokemon is, we'll face it together. I just hope that we can get past Pheromosa without taking too much damage."
The plan to get past Pheromosa was simple, according to Twilight. She recalled the time they first encountered Pheromosa. When Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex, there was one part, in particular, that seemed to be a weakness of Pheromosa.
"Its body is thin and supple, but it also possesses great power."
That meant only one thing. Pheromosa shares the exact same qualities as Pikachu. They're both Glass Cannons. They hit hard but they're fragile. One good hit can leave a number on them.
"If Eve can land one single Psybeam, it'll give us a huge advantage. Pheromosa's speed is most likely tied to her health. We deal enough damage, she slows down."
"Espeon!" Eve nodded. She knew that her Psybeam was just what they needed. Then again, Eve only has three moves. Swift, Quick Attack and Psybeam.
Swift and Quick Attack can come in handy since they are fast moves. Their names are related to speed after all. Psybeam is the trump card in all of this.
As for Dewott, Twilight is betting on his speedy Aqua Jet and hard-hitting Razor Shell. Aqua Jet seemed to be a Water-Type variant of Quick Attack since they both share the same speed.
"Dewott. Adagio's most likely going to interrupt your Aqua Jet in the beginning. Just like what she did to that Breloom. So here's what we'll do. If you hear an A or anything beyond that like Aqua, that means you can use Aqua Jet instantly before I can finish my sentence. That way, Adagio won't be able to get the first hit on."
"Wott!"
"It's a risky attempt but it can help us against Pheromosa's speed. Now. We wait." Twilight held her breath in. They just simply let time pass until their turn arrives.
It wasn't just her. Rarity was currently thinking about the match between the two. She knows that there might be a huge chance that Twilight will lose. But if she does, then Rarity would take on Adagio instead if she gets the chance.
Time had passed. Matches had come and gone.
Rainbow Dash was currently in her second battle against somepony with a Trumbeak and a Poliwrath. And so far, it looked like it would be the end of this matchup.
"Luxio! Wild Charge!" She commanded Luxio to attack the Poliwrath.
"Lux!" The Spark Pokemon engulfed himself in electricity, bolting towards his opponents at lightning-speeds.
"Dodge it, Poliwrath!" The opposing pony commanded. But it was too late. Poliwrath had been struck by the devastating Electric-Type move. The impact rocketed him past his own trainer while Luxio took a ton of recoil damage from that.
"Pol!" The Tadpole Pokemon tumbled on the ground before crashing into the walls of the stadium, fainting. "Poliwrath..."
"Poliwrath is unable to battle! Luxio wins! Thus the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
"Yes! Great job Luxio!" Rainbow flew up.
"Xio!"
And with that, Rainbow Dash moves on to the third round tomorrow. She's definitely showing everypony why she's ranked #4 in the Equestria League board.
Adagio had actually viewed Rainbow Dash's match for herself. Knowing how high she's ranked, the siren already figured out that Rainbow was a huge threat. Luxio's speed was impressive. Not on par with Pheromosa's but with moves such as Wild Charge, it can zip around for sure.
But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was her match against Twilight. Since Rainbow had just finished hers, four more trainers will battle. And after that, it'll be just Twilight and Adagio.
Clearly, the tension was rising, and everypony else knew that. After seeing Adagio's first match for themselves, if she were to come out for the second round with that Pheromosa along with that brutal battling style, their usual cheering would be put to a halt in an instant.
Finally, after two battles between four other trainers, the time had come.
Compared to every other matchup, whether it be the Top 3 trainers or even some fan favourites, this was the battle that they were all waiting for. Whether it was good or bad.
"Here it comes," Twilight said, taking a deep breath. She was about to face one of her many fears. Pheromosa. "I knew this was coming eventually...So it's time to tackle it."
"Right you are on that, Princess." Adagio had spoken to her, walking past the alicorn as all eyes were on these two ponies alone. "I'm looking forward to this." She smirked.
"You'd better keep your expectations low!" Rainbow flew over to Adagio. "Twilight's gonna win this!"
"We'll see about that." Adagio sneered. "It'll be an enjoyable sight when your Pokemon are defeated whilst you take in the feeling of losing. But it'll be even more euphoric once all your precious little friends witness it for themselves. And all of Canterlot as well."
"I won't lose." Twilight stomped her hoof.
"That all you have to say? Okay then." Adagio giggled. "Might as well get going. It's our time to shine. Or at least, it'll be mine." The cocky siren made her way to the battlefield as the doors opened up for her and Twilight.
"Good luck out there, darling." Rarity said to her.
"It's gonna get rough out there." Applejack nodded. "But you've come back from rougher things before, much stronger."
"Perform at your best, Twilight Sparkle." Luna went up to her fellow alicorn. "Make sure you win this."
"I will. Thanks everypony."
"Esp." Eve poked Twilight's hoof, telling her that they needed to get going pronto.
"Well...Here goes." With all the support from her friends, Twilight walked out into the battlefield with confidence behind her. It was time to truly put an end to this once and for all.
The crowd went silent when they saw two important ponies set hoof on the battlefield.
Adagio Dazzle. The pony who showed a horrifying display of skill in her first match.
And Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship.
Most of the ponies here had no context behind these two and their relationship. They had no idea that this one battle was essentially a grudge match. Or in Adagio's case, a revenge battle. This was to make up for her crushing loss at the Battle of the Bands.
"This is it Sparkle. Hope you're ready to get crushed in front of all these pathetic ponies!" Adagio had a wide grin with her pupils dilating.
"I-I'm right here you know..." The referee spoke.
"I won't let you break my spirit Adagio! Not even for a second!"
"Keep telling yourself that. But you'll break alright."
All of Twilight's friends' paid close attention to this battle more than anything else. Celestia held Passion in her hooves, wondering what the outcome will be in this battle and how it'll affect both Twilight and Adagio.
By looking at both ponies and seeing how intense their looks were at the moment, the referee could finally give the call.
"For the 2v2 rules, you are allowed to substitute Pokemon. Now, you may both send out your Pokemon."
"Dewott! You're up first!" Twilight had gone for Dewott as her first choice.
"Dew!" The Discipline Pokemon front flipped over his trainer, making a dramatic entrance by stabbing one of his scalchops in the ground. "Wott!"
"Let's make this quick." Adagio used her magic to hold the Ultra Ball, sending out the Lissome Pokemon herself. Pheromosa.
"Mosa." Pheromosa, in all her vanity, looked down at her opposing Pokemon in disdain and disrespect, seeing Dewott as a being that was beneath her.
"Dewott..." Dewott gulped as he held his singular Scalchop, preparing for the worst.
Both Pokemon stared each other down along with their trainers. Finally, it was time for the battle to begin. The referee just had to say those magic words.
"Battle Start!"
Twilight pivoted her hoof back, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Aqua-"
"Throat Chop." As always Adagio interrupted.
But that is exactly what Twilight predicted. But who would dash off the ground first? In the span of three seconds, Dewott's body became surrounded in a torrent of water whilst Pheromosa moved at blinding speeds, veiling her feet with dark energy.
Twilight's one-word strategy had actually worked. The moment Dewott heard an A, he took off from his spot in an instant by lunging straight towards the Lissome Pokemon, leaving behind a trail of water.
Both Pokemon had clashed with Dewott's head meeting Pheromosa's feet, creating a mini-shockwave from their impact. It was a good start, but unfortunately, Pheromosa hadn't taken any damage. It was just a collision after all. Once that was done, both Pokemon sent each other back, veering on the ground itself.
"Dew!"
"Phero!"
"Yes! She stopped Throat Chop!" Fluttershy stood up.
"So you did anticipate me doing that, huh?" Adagio narrowed her eyes.
"Right you are on that. Razor Shell!"
"Wott!" Dewott pulled out both his scalchops, running straight towards the Lissome Pokemon.
"Use Poison Jab." Adagio wasn't bothered by Dewott stopping Throat Chop. She still had the speed advantage either way. And it showed with Pheromosa's next move. The Ultra Beast scampered across the ground, dragging her poison-clad feet with her.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa had intercepted Razor Shell by kicking Dewott's Scalchops out of his hands as they flew into the air. It was done so quickly that the Discipline Pokemon didn't even get the chance to swing them.
"Wott?!" Once he noticed his weapons were gone, he was immediately met with a swift kick to the face by Pheromosa's destructive legs. And an extra bonus of poison added onto it to make it worse. Once Dewott was hit, he felt his body zip across the battlefield, already taking some pretty harsh damage.
However, Dewott is a Pokemon that has been battling for years in PokePark, so he actually managed to recover by skidding on the ground.
"Use Water Gun!" From his gaping mouth, Dewott fired a blast of water forward without using his weapons to do so.
"Dodge it!" Pheromosa with her supple body evaded the blast of water without any trouble. "High Jump Kick!"
Pheromosa's third move had been revealed. The Lissome Pokemon took the skies, putting all of her power into her knee this time instead of her legs. "Mosa!" Similar to how fast she moves in the ground, she's almost as speedy in the air.
"Evade with Aqua Jet!" The Discipline Pokemon shifted himself to the side with a high-paced dash. The Ultra Beast came crashing down like a rocket, smashing her knee on the ground, taking a bit of damage from it.
"Sa!" Pheromosa winced at her missing High Jump Kick, causing her to hold her knee a bit.
There it was. Twilight had found a weak spot. If High Jump Kick misses, then Pheromosa will take damage herself. And so far, Aqua Jet was working in Twilight's favour. She might've found a way to turn this around for her.
"Yes! Finally some progress! Keep using Aqua Jet!"
"Relying on the same move, are we? Pheromosa! Throat Chop!"
Yet again, the two Pokemon rushed towards each other with spurts of speed. They had a second collision between their moves, forcing each other back. But this time, things were different. Dewott didn't stop using Aqua Jet, giving him the opportunity to keep up with Pheromosa.
"Poison Jab!" Pheromosa raised her leg up, going for an axe kick this time with poison surrounded her foot.
"Dew!" Dewott propelled himself back with Aqua Jet as an evasion tactic. Aqua Jet proved to be a great choice of dodging as Pheromosa smashed her foot on the ground, completely missing him.
"Mosa?!"
The Discipline Pokemon was zipping around the battlefield, leaving behind a trail of water with each bolt. At this point, he was like a cockroach. Constantly moving without showing any signs of stopping.
"OH! Dewott's managing to keep up with that alien-looking thing!" The announcer stood up, getting excited.
In fact, everypony was getting riled up due to this battle. They were expecting Pheromosa to easily win this, but so far, Twilight's managed to hold her own.
"That's the stuff! You go Dewott!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Chase after Dewott and use Poison Jab!" Adagio was actually getting frustrated with Dewott's rapid evasions. Seeing how Dewott was managing to work his way around Pheromosa's ludicrous speed irritated her.
Thus began a scenario where one Pokemon was currently in pursuit of another, trying to land a hit in. The crowd watched as all they saw was a stream of water and a white blur sprint across the stadium with such birr and animation.
Dewott noticed that his scalchops weren't too far away from here as he rushed over the spot where they laid. Finally, he managed to retrieve his weapons by grabbing them as he passed by.
But eventually, Pheromosa managed to catch up to Dewott since Aqua Jet doesn't last forever, unfortunately. Once she caught up to her prey, she smashed her foot on his stomach, launching Dewott into the air.
"Wott!"
"Finally!" Adagio grinned. "High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" Following Dewott into the skies, Pheromosa smashed her knee onto Dewott's stomach, yet again.
"Dew!" Dewott's eyes widened after taking such a devastating hit such as that. What followed was Pheromosa kicking the Discipline Pokemon down to the ground. Dewott wasn't out yet as he laid on his back, wincing.
"Good. Now! Use Throat Chop from above!" Adagio's brutal battling style showed itself once more. Pheromosa was aiming straight for Dewott's throat while striking from above.
"Block it with your scalchops!" Twilight gasped. She knew that an attack like that from above would be devastating. Especially if it was in the form of a dive kick.
"Dewott!" The Disciple Pokemon put his two scalchops up as a defensive tactic. A good call from Twilight's part. Pheromosa seemed to have a second weakness. Her speed seems to be slower in the air. She's still fast, but compared to the ground, the air seemed to be a handicap.
This one weakness gave Dewott the chance to block the attack at the right moment. Once Pheromosa performed her Throat Chop dive kick, it was hindered by Dewott's scalchops. The recoil was felt between the two due to the impact. Dewott felt a shudder from the recoil whilst Pheromosa's legs twitched a bit.
The Lissome Pokemon hopped off Dewott's scalchops, raising her leg up as it was trembling a small bit. "Phero..."
"Dew!" Dewott got up from the ground, shaking his hands after that hard collision between his scalchops and Pheromosa's legs.
"Phew!" Pinkie Pie let out a sigh of relief, slumping on the seats. "For a second there, I thought Dewott was a goner."
"Dewott's Aqua Jet is just what she needed!" Fluttershy uttered. "She has a chance to win this!"
"Great job staying firm, Dewott!" Twilight praised the Discipline Pokemon.
"Dewott!" Dewott responded by putting on a fighting stance.
"How annoying..." Adagio grumbled. "Pheromosa! Let's get this over with already! Poison Jab!"
"Pherom!" Pheromosa dashed forward, tearing the ground beneath her.
"Go, Dewott!" Twilight was referring to Aqua Jet. And Dewott knew that without any trouble.
"Wott!" By lunging himself forward, the Discipline Pokemon flew over Pheromosa, avoiding her poisonous kick. The Lissome Pokemon turned around, having a second try at Poison Jab. This time, she managed to hit her target by smashing her foot against Dewott's jaw. "Dew!"
Dewott shook his head, drifting on the ground whilst making it wet with the aura of water that surrounded him. He rocketed himself back at Pheromosa, clashing with her legs like always. They went back and forth with Aqua Jet continuously dashing around haphazardly.
"Keep it up, Dewott! Don't let Pheromosa rest for a second!"
"Make sure that otter doesn't get the chance to deal damage! Throat Chop!"
Finally, the two had entered their final clash with Aqua Jet connecting with Throat Chop. The two Pokemon were in a bit of a struggle with one trying to push the other back. And for once, Pheromosa was actually showing signs of struggling.
Due to High Jump Kick missing and her attack being blocked by Dewott's scalchops, her kicks weren't as destructive as before. But they can still cause some major damage.
"Come on..." Twilight grit her teeth, hoping that Dewott could win the struggle.
"Mosa..." Pheromosa's body, unfortunately, wasn't as heavy as her kicks. She was known as the Lissome Pokemon for a reason. And thanks to her taking a tiny bit of damage earlier, her strength to hold back attacks had weakened. As a result, Dewott had finally managed to turn things around.
For the first time, Pheromosa had been overpowered. Aqua Jet had beaten Throat Chop as the Discipline Pokemon crashed himself into Pheromosa.
"Dewott!"
"MOSA!"
"Yes! Direct hit!" Twilight cheered.
"WHAT?!" Adagio pulled back, shocked and confused.
"Phero!" Pheromosa veered on the battlefield, holding her chest. She had finally taken some considerable damage.
"Pheromosa's finally taken some damage after so many tries!" The announcer shouted. "Leave it to Princess Twilight to find a weakness!"
"Why you..." Adagio growled.
"Sorry, Adagio. Guess you didn't take Pheromosa's weak durability into account. It's called the Lissome Pokemon for a reason, ya know."
"Don't get cocky, Sparkle! I haven't lost yet! Poison Jab!"
"Mosa!" A slightly slower Pheromosa took the skies, covering her leg in toxic poison, aiming to seep it all inside Dewott's body. Her Poison Jab came in the form a dive kick as she came flying down like a rocket.
"Dewott! Razor Shell!"
"Dew!" Dewott raised his scalchops up, looking right up at the Lissome Pokemon. He was prepared to slash at the right moment once she got close enough to him. This time, he could see her clearly.
Adagio and Twilight's battle rages on. With Twilight finally finding a weak spot which turned out to be Pheromosa's own body, a battle that at first seemed one-sided has now turned into a match where both Pokemon are on equal footing. The winner of this second round is a mystery to everypony as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The match between Twilight and Adagio at the Canterlot Tournament resumes.
With Twilight finally finding a Pheromosa's weakness, which turned out to be its own light body, the outcome of this battle can go either way now instead of everypony expecting Pheromosa to come out on top.
"Poison Jab!" From Adagio's own command, Pheromosa had used Poison Jab in the form of a dive kick.
"Dewott! Razor Shell!" As for Twilight, Dewott put both of his scalchops in an X-formation, preparing for Pheromosa's attack.
Due to Pheromosa being weakened, she had been slowed down. Now everypony can at least see her movements with a clear-cut vision.
And for a warrior Pokemon such as Dewott, this was perfect. His concentration was always 100%. Meaning that he could see Pheromosa's attacks coming now. Once the dive kick got close enough, Dewott swung his scalchops, clashing with her feet.
"Mosa!"
"Dew!" Dewott was much more resilient than Pheromosa due to him having the durability advantage. As such, he pushed the Ultra Beast back by raising his scalchops. "Wott!"
"Rush in, Dewott!"
"Dew!" Dewott kept on using Razor Shell as a blade-like aura of water emerged from his scalchops. The Discipline Pokemon lunged himself towards Pheromosa, preparing to slash.
"Dodge it!" Pheromosa still kept her insane speed, but not by much anymore. Once Dewott slashed his scalchops down, the Lissome Pokemon barely managed to avoid the attack. She held her chest since that's where Aqua Jet struck her. If anything, the pain that was on Pheromosa's chest is what was dragging her down.
"Phero!"
"Razor Shell! Repeatedly!"
"High Jump Kick, now!"
With two commands going off at the same time, both Pokemon took the skies in unison, moving at the same wavelength. Dewott raised his scalchops whilst Pheromosa lifted her leg up. Once they both entered a clash, they stayed in the air for a while with one trying to overpower the other.
Adagio realized that Pheromosa's speed was lacking this time. Plus, Dewott's Razor Shell is powerful enough to take her out in a few hits. So it was time to improvise.
"Use your other leg for Throat Chop!" Adagio could get creative with her moves as well. By having Pheromosa use her other leg, it was her that won the clash between the two. Dewott felt a kick filled with dark energy smack his face as he was sent down to the ground.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa made a safe landing, shaking her head. The Lissome Pokemon quickly regained her composure, knowing not to lose focus even if she was frustrated that Dewott was putting up a good fight against her. "Phero."
"You're doing great, Dewott. Just hang in there a bit." Twilight said.
"Dew."
"Think you're gaining the advantage, Sparkle?" Adagio scoffed. "This battle is far from over."
"I told you, Adagio. You won't break me. Not in front of my friends. Dewott, Eve and I are gonna win this!"
"Dewott!"
"Espeon!"
"Hm...not for long..." Adagio suddenly smirked. The reason why is simple. Pheromosa's fourth move had yet to be revealed. But seeing how Twilight was filling up with hope, Adagio figured that it was the perfect time to crush it. "Pheromosa. Quiver Dance."
"Quiver Dance?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Phero!" The fourth move had been revealed to everypony. The mystical Quiver Dance. The Lissome Pokemon had suddenly performed a mystical dance, skipping across the battlefield as an enchanting green light surrounded her.
"What is that?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Quiver Dance!" Ash exclaimed. "Not good...Now Pheromosa's even stronger and faster than before!"
"Pikachu!"
"B-But she was already fast and strong enough!" Starlight gasped.
"It's fine. Pheromosa only has physical moves. But her speed's already been raised..."
"Not good! Get out of there, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie stood up.
"Whatever that is... use Aqua Jet!" Twilight couldn't get distracted by Pheromosa's beautiful dancing. She decided to attack while she was wide open.
"Dewott!" The Discipline Pokemon lunged herself forward, thinking that he could get a hit in since Pheromosa was still dancing.
"Hmph. Throat Chop."
"Phe." Pheromosa's eyes widened, spotting Aqua Jet with ease. Her speed had returned to her, but not only that, it had increased further.
The Lissome Pokemon easily sidestepped away from Dewott, avoiding Aqua Jet without any problem. That's when the one thing Twilight feared finally happened. Pheromosa's appeared in front of Dewott before he and Twilight even saw her move. With aggression and spite, the Ultra Beast smashed her dark-clad foot onto Dewott's throat.
"W-Wott!" Dewott staggered back, holding his throat in pain. "Dew..." The Discipline Pokemon got on his knees, struggling to speak due to how hard that attack was.
"Dewott!" Twilight gasped. "Get out of there quick with Aqua Jet!"
"Dew..." Dewott coughed, summoning a veil of water around him. Due to the damage, his throat took, his usual concentration had been thrown off.
"Poison Jab." Continuing the brutal assault, Pheromosa stomped on Dewott's back before he had the chance to escape.
"Phero!"
"DEWOTT!"
"Dewott! Try Aqua Jet again!"
"Dew...Dew..." Try as he might, Dewott couldn't escape. He moved his body around, twisting and turning with all his might. But nothing. It's almost as if once Pheromosa got her speed back, she was at full power once more.
"Excellent. Use Quiver Dance while on Dewott." Adding insult to injury, Pheromosa did a light dance on Dewott while her Poison jab foot was on him.
And speaking Poison Jab, the inevitable finally happened. With enough uses of it, the poison had finally entered Dewott's body, poisoning him. Now it was even harder to focus and escape.
All the while, Pheromosa's speed had been boosted thanks to Quiver Dance. On the bright side, Pheromosa didn't posses any ranged moves, so the full effects of Quiver Dance didn't go through. But her defence against ranged moves will help her a lot if anything is thrown at her from afar.
"What do I do...?" Twilight grumbled, unsure of what to do. She felt like she was being backed into a corner here.
"What now, Sparkle? Wanna quit? It's not too late."
"Dew...Dewott!" Dewott was groaning, unable to bear the pain any longer.
Twilight saw that if Dewott stayed out for much longer, that would be the end of him for sure. So there was only one thing she could do. "Return, for now, Dewott."
"Dew..." Dewott turned around, nodding in response. It was for the best as he ran over to his trainer.
"We'll get you cured after all of this, okay?"
"What a shock! It looked like Dewott was battling Pheromosa on equal levels but then all of a sudden, everything turned around!" said the announcer.
"Heh. Thought you had a chance? Guess again!" Adagio cackled.
"Just when Dewott was doing so well..." Fluttershy sighed.
"Audino..."
"Chiko."
"Cheer up. Dewott put the hurt on Pheromosa already. So all Eve's gotta do is finish it off." Pinkie said.
"Yeah, but if Pheromosa's speed is back to normal and even better than before, how's she gonna win now?" Goh spoke.
"Uh...Maybe her Espeon will evolve or something like what happened with Rarity and Flaaffy?" Sweetie Belle shrugged.
"Espeon can't evolve, though." Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Ash. You're the Pokemon expert here. What can she do?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's only gonna get tougher from here. Eve only knows three moves. Swift, Quick Attack and her best move, Psybeam." Ash replied.
"Right! Psybeam! Pinkie stood up. "That's all she needs right?!"
"I would say that but...Quiver Dance just made Pheromosa stronger against ranged moves."
"Pika..."
"Oh no...So that means, Eve's going to lose?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"It's not over yet." Ash shook his head. "Espeon's are naturally fast Pokemon. Much faster than a Dewott normally. She may not be able to match Pheromosa's speed, but with Swift and Quick Attack..."
Ash was right on that. Eve's speed was nothing to scoff at. She may be slower than Pheromosa but she was much faster than Dewott by a mile. It was all up to her now.
Celestia this whole time hasn't said a word. She's just been watching the battle closely with all of her attention glued to it. The outcome of this mattered greatly to her.
"Eve. I'm counting on you."
"Esp."
"For all of our friends..." Twilight held breath in. "You're up next!"
"Espeon!" The Sun Pokemon lunged forward, stepping into the battlefield with psychic abilities ready to be shown.
"Hoh? So you're going with that, are you?" Adagio smirked. "All I need is one good Throat Chop and that's game over."
"Like I'd let you...Quick Attack!"
"Esp!" With blinding speeds, Eve was the first to attack, tackling Pheromosa before she even knew it. When Ash said that Eve was much faster than a Dewott, she wasn't kidding.
"They don't call it quick attack for nothing! What speed!" The announcer uttered.
"That's some impressive speed...but it's not enough! Throat Chop!"
"Dodge with Quick Attack!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa shook her head, immediately focusing all of her strength into this upcoming kick. But despite that, Eve actually managed to avoid it by leaving behind an afterimage trail of herself. Quick Attack added onto Eve's impressive speed meant that she could cover a lot of ground in a few seconds or less.
"Psybeam!"
"Espeon!" The move that both of them were betting on. By concentrating all of her psychic power into her gem, the Sun Pokemon fired a multicoloured beam of psychic energy in the shape of a thunderbolt as it tore through the ground, heading straight for the Lissome Pokemon.
"Not good! Dodge it!" Adagio realized that this attack was trouble for Pheromosa since she was Bug-Fighting. If only the Bug part came in handy in this situation. But instead, her Fighting-Type would be her handicap against the Sun Pokemon.
"Phero!" Pheromosa zipped to the side, avoiding the Psybeam with no problem.
"Let's put the pressure on! Swift!" Twilight changed up her battling style. No longer was she playing it smart. Not at all. The new strategy was simple. Overwhelm Pheromosa. Because what better way to beat an opponent who's faster than you than to counteract them with your form of speed.
"Eon!" From her own tail. Eve fired golden stars that went in various directions due to how many there were.
"Dodge them all!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa used her supple body to zigzag past the stars, avoiding a good chunk of them. But Twilight wasn't about to let Pheromosa get out of this without taking any damage.
"Use Quick Attack!" A sudden combination of moves. Once Pheromosa dodged the final star, she was met with a tackle to face by the Sun Pokemon.
"Phero!"
"Right where I want you! Throat Chop!"
"Mo?!" Pheromosa's one eye opened as she let out a fairly creepy grin. Eve was right in front of her, giving her the chance to grab her. Or in Pheromosa's case, stomp on her.
"Get out of there with Quick Attack!" But it was too late. Pheromosa managed to slam her foot on Eve's head with darkness surrounding it.
"Es!" Eve's eyes widened as she coughed, feeling the devastating impact of Throat Chop. The move she hoped she wouldn't get hit by at all. Now she was in the same situation as the others. Pinned down by the Ultra Beast. "Eon!"
"Eve, no!" Twilight leaned forward.
"Should've kept your distance, Sparkle!" Adagio stomped her hoof on the ground. "You and your little purple cat thing are done for! Dig your feet deep into Espeon!"
"Pheromosa!" And she did just that. By increasing the pressure of her legs, Pheromosa's dark-clad foot pressed on Eve's back, causing the Sun Pokemon to strain and groan.
"Esp..." Eve was taking considerable amounts of damage. Not to mention the fact that Throat Chop was still active on the Lissome Pokemon's foot. She slammed her paws on the ground, trying desperately to break free.
"What's wrong, Twilight? Not going to escape this time?" Adagio grinned. "Good. It was useless the first time anyway."
"Come on, Twilight!" Spike stood up. "Get Eve out of there!"
"Why isn't she doing anything?!" Pinkie screamed like a monkey, pulling her mane.
"What do I do...Once Pheromosa pins somepony, they can't escape unless she removes her foot." Twilight thought to herself. "Think, think." Closing her eyes, she was doing her best to figure something out. And during that time, Eve was gradually being taken out by Throat Chop.
"Esp..." She banged her head on the ground, trying a new method of escaping. But that wasn't working either.
Twilight looked over to see Eve smashing her head on the battlefield, trying her very best. She hated seeing her partner struggle so much like this. But actually, Eve's head action gave Twilight an idea.
In fact, it reminded her of something that happened in the first round of the tournament. More specifically, Rainbow Dash's match against Limestone Pie.
"That's it...!" She gasped. "Eve! Use Psybeam on the ground!"
"Huh?!" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"Eon...ESP!" By unleashing all of her power into one attack, the Sun Pokemon had fired a multicoloured beam on the ground as an escape tactic.
And the result? Success. Once Psybeam hit the ground, it caused an explosion of psychic energy that knocked both Eve and Pheromosa back. Eve didn't take too much damage from it since she is a Psychic-Type after all. But Pheromosa felt the aftershock for sure.
If she never used Quiver Dance before, that Psybeam could've finished the battle. But as a bonus, the aftershock had staggered Pheromosa. Since her legs took damage when she was battling Dewott, her recovery wasn't as perfect as it was before.
"Yes! Now turn around and use Psybeam one more time!"
"Espeon!" An airborne Eve blasted another Psybeam downwards at a recovering Pheromosa who still staggered.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa was engulfed in a blast of psychic energy as she went flying across the battlefield.
"It isn't over yet! Quiver Dance once more!"
"Phero!" WIth another mystical dance, Pheromosa increased her defence and speed.
"Swift" Not wanting Pheromosa to get faster, Eve pelted the Lissome Pokemon with mystical stars. But yet again, Pheromosa avoided them, but this time, by using Quiver Dance to dance around them.
"You have no chance of winning, Sparkle! This final Throat Chop is all I need!"
"I can't watch!" Fluttershy covered her eyes.
It looked like this would be the end of Eve until Twilight decided on a decision that would involve Eve's safety.
"Eve. Return." She thought it would be for her Espeon to return for now. And Eve did just that. By walking over to her trainer, she was safe from Pheromosa.
"Esp."
"Good job, out there. Take a break for now."
"Hmph. Switch your Pokemon up all you like. It won't change the outcome!"
"My heart's racing during all of this!" The announcer breathed in and out rapidly. "I need a moment to catch my breath!"
"Alright...that Quiver Dance's going to mess things up for us. If she uses it one more time, who knows how much faster Pheromosa will get." Twilight held out Dewott's Poke Ball.
"Espeon?" Eve looked up at Twilight.
"I know Eve. It's looking rough. But we won't lose. Not with you on our side. Dewott! Come out and use Aqua Jet and follow up with Razor Shell!" Twilight thrust her hoof forward with an unexpected command.
That was something Adagio wasn't expecting. Using a move the moment while choosing the next Pokemon. And that's exactly what happened. Not only that but two moves. Once the Discipline Pokemon ran past the alicorn, Dewott shot himself like a jet, smashing into Pheromosa's chest like before.
"DEW!"
"P-Phero!" Pheromosa gasped as her eyes widened. That instant Aqua Jet caught her off guard. But it didn't stop there. Dewott grabbed both of his scalchops, slashing them on Pheromosa's body with a pretty heavy knockback afterwards.
"Dew..." Dewott fell on his knees. The poison was still getting to him. "Wott..."
"Hah! You're still poisoned! Pheromosa! Finish off Dewott with High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" A weakened Pheromosa bolted forward with less speed this time thanks to the Aqua Jet and Razor Shell combo.
"Dodge it with Aqua Jet!"
"Dewott..." Dewott barely managed to evade Pheromosa's flying knee as he rolled to the side with an aura of water surrounding his body. That poison was really working its magic.
"Throat Chop again! Don't stop until you land!" This time it was Adagio putting the pressure on. She had grown tired of Twilight's evading antics as she was pouring all of her frustration into these upcoming attacks.
"Keep using Aqua Jet to dodge!" Twilight knew that going up close to Pheromosa right now was a bad idea. So the best option? Make a run for it.
Dewott used Aqua Jet as an escape tactic, aiming at getting far away from Pheromosa as possible. Just like before, a chase scenario had been played out. However this time, Dewott was slowly being defeated by the poison. As such, his Aqua Jet was much slower.
"Dewott can't keep this up much longer...We're gonna have to improvise. Dewott! Throw one of your scalchops!" A risky command by Twilight. Sacrificing his weapons is something that Dewott didn't want at all. But if it means defeating Pheromosa, then he'll gladly do it.
"Wott!" By turning his head around, Dewott threw a single scalchop forward as it travelled through the trail of water from Aqua Jet.
It worked surprisingly. Pheromosa felt Dewott's hard scalchop smack her in the head, putting a halt to her movements.
"Mosa!" A struck Pheromosa held her head in pain. Dewott's scalchops may look like ordinary shells, but they're strong enough to cut through steel itself. Getting hit by one is no joke.
"Dew...Dew..." Dewott breathed in and out, trying to keep himself up due to the poison.
"You shouldn't have lasted this long!" Adagio's eye twitched. "Your Pokemon should be a mess right about now!"
"We're both fighting for the safety of our friends. As such, they're doing their very best to make sure you don't win!" Twilight retaliated.
"Dewott!"
"How annoying..." Adagio caused a crack to form her stomp. "I wanted to see you struggle and suffer...Why is it that you're able to always get a one-up on me..." Adagio's frustration was building up even further. As if she wasn't frustrated already. All of this was making her blood boil to unimaginable levels.
"Dew...Wott..." However, everything had changed once Dewott's body stopped moving all of a sudden. He knew why this was the case. The poison had finally gotten to him. With his energy finally being spent, the Discipline Pokemon fell to the ground, fainting. "Wott..."
"Huh?!" Twilight shot up. Even Adagio was surprised that Dewott fainted out of nowhere.
"Dewott is unable to battle! Pheromosa wins!" The referee made the call. That was one Pokemon down from Twilight's part.
"Dewott, no!" Twilight exclaimed. She didn't want to believe that Dewott had fainted. But it was true. That poison ended up being his downfall.
"Heh..." Adagio let out a nervous smile. "Haha! Silly Adagio...Getting nervous for no reason." She chuckled hysterically. "I can't believe I was scared! Victory is still right before my eyes!"
"Poor Dewott." Fluttershy sighed. "He did his best."
"Just how powerful are Ultra Beasts?" Starlight said.
Twilight lowered her head, picking the Discipline Pokemon up with her magic as she placed him behind her. "You helped out a lot, Dewott. You deserve a ton of rest now."
"It's not too late to turn around and surrender Twilight Sparkle. But then again. I did want to humiliate you in front of all your friends throughout this entire battle. So don't go anywhere!" Adagio taunted the alicorn.
"Twilight...How will you approach this?" Celestia finally spoke.
Twilight had only one way of approaching this. She knew that this was no time to be upset with her head hung low. She still had one Pokemon left. Her partner and ace. Eve. If Eve can defeat Pheromosa, then all that's left would be Adagio's second Pokemon. Even though she had no idea what it would be.
"This is it." Twilight looked down at her partner. "Eve. We've got only one chance at this."
"Espeon."
"What's wrong? Not gonna send forth your little cat thing?" Adagio scoffed.
"Just watch Adagio. Eve will be the one to take out Pheromosa! Go, Eve!" Twilight held her hoof out.
"Espeon!" With one final go, Espeon had stepped forward. This time, she was planning to surpass her natural limitations in hopes of granting Twilight her victory. "Eon!"
"This is it! If Eve faints here..." Pinkie bit her hoof.
"She can't!" Fluttershy replied. "Twilight will make sure that they win this! Right?"
"Oh, Adagio..." Sonata sighed. She didn't enjoy seeing her sister do all of this for the sake of revenge.
"Your little Espeon is still all banged up from my Pheromosa. Mind if I finish the job with a nice little Throat Chop?" Adagio asked, laughing at Twilight's disadvantage.
"Not yet. We haven't lost yet."
"Esp!" Eve hissed at Pheromosa and Adagio.
"What can you possibly do now?" Adagio narrowed her eyes.
"This! Spin with Psybeam!" Taking a page right out Ash's many strategies, Twilight had decided to go for the one trick that always seems to be effective whenever Ash does it.
Counter Shield.
By getting on her back, Eve fired a Psybeam into the air whilst spinning. And it went exactly as she expected to. With Eve spinning, rapid-moving multi-coloured beams of psychic energy could be seen flailing about, whipping the ground in the process.
"What is this?!" Adagio pulled back. She didn't see this one coming. Not at all.
"Yes! Counter Shield!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"Using Ash's crazy antics? Sounds pretty smart actually!" Goh nodded. "Right, Ash?"
"Hmm..." Ash was impressed that Twilight managed to pick up on his Counter Shield strategy so fast. But then again, she has seen it multiple times. However, Ash still knew that this battle could go either way.
"Pika..."
"Whatever! Use Throat Chop!" Adagio ignored the Counter Shield, thinking it was just a nuisance that could be avoided.
"Phero!" The Ultra Beast dashed forward, covering her feet in dark energy in order to finish the battle once and for all. But both Pheromosa and Adagio soon came to realize that they couldn't just avoid this so easily.
Since Psybeam was moving about haphazardly, acting like a frantic whip, it was essentially protecting Eve whilst also attack every side from every angle.
As such, Pheromosa, on instinct, forced herself back to evade the destructive Psybeam.
"You're kidding!" Adagio growled.
"Try and get close now, Adagio! There's no way you're breaking through this!"
"Why you...I'll break through it alright. With this! Quiver Dance!" Adagio figured that making Pheromosa much more durable was the only way to get past the Counter Shield. "Keep doing it!"
Twilight knew that any more Quiver Dances meant that Pheromosa would become unstoppable. So perhaps, it was time to take her out for good. "Jump and fire Psybeam!"
"Eon!" Eve jumped off the ground, blasting Pheromosa is a swift Psybeam whilst she was doing her dance. A direct hit, but the Ultra Beast tanked it due to another Quiver Dance.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa skidded on the ground, almost falling to her knees. Even with Quiver Dance, taking damage from Psybeam did a number on her.
"Enough! Pheromosa! Let's finish this once and for all!"
"Eve! Let's pour all our strength into this last attack!"
"Throat Chop!"
"Psybeam!"
This looked like it would be the final clash between the two. A blast from Eve and a kick from Pheromosa. What followed was their greatest struggle yet. Even had fired one final Psybeam with all her remaining power whilst Pheromosa rushed in, pouring every last ounce of her strength into a dark-powered Throat Chop.
The two attacks met with Pheromosa kicking Psybeam, intimating a collision. Now the question remains. Which one will land their attack first?
"Esp..."
"Pheromosa..."
"Come on, Pheromosa! Breakthrough it already!"
"You can do it, Eve!"
"I can't take this anymore!" Pinkie Pie and Aria held each other, unable to take any more of this aggressive and heart-pounding battle. Nopony could. This entire thing has been intense from the very beginning. And most likely, the final hit will be just as intense of a finale.
"Phero..." Pheromosa was actually gaining the advantage. Throat Chop was slowly breaking through Psybeam as her feet kept driving through the multicoloured blast. Eve couldn't keep her at bay for much longer. Her legs were starting to veer back on the ground whilst Pheromosa was closing in.
"Esp..."
"Oh, no! Eve!"
"It's a shame that your defeat will be caused by Pokemon and not my own two hooves! Oh, well! This is the end, Twilight Sparkle!" Adagio laughed.
"Eon..."Esp." Eve lowered her head with Psybeam diminishing in size.
"Eve, please! You have to push her back!" Twilight pleaded.
"Do it, Pheromosa! End it!"
"Esp...Espeon."
At this point, it was game over. Throat Chop being a Dark-Type move meant that in any situation, it would overcome Pysbeam overall. All of Twilight's friends either gasped, covered their eyes or held their breaths. Celestia narrowed her eyes, preparing to face the outcome of this entire battle.
Even the referee and announcer had their eyes lasered onto the clash. They both thought the same thing. The referee felt like he should just call the match here.
"Please, Eve!"
The cry that Twilight boomed had echoed through the Sun Pokemon's ears. She couldn't fall here. Not to Adagio especially. After all that she's put Twilight through for the sake of revenge, Eve had decided that enough was enough. She didn't want her trainer and the rest of her friends to suffer. Neither did she want to let Twilight down.
Her drive to protect Twilight is something that can even rival that of the closest bonds in Pokemon history. And with that protective drive, something magical happened.
All of a sudden, Eve's body began to flash with rainbows shooting out of her. Her paws stayed firm on the ground instead of moving back this time.
"Espeon...Esp...Eon!" Eve let out a mighty cry that was enough to startle even a Pyroar. Why she let out this cry was for one reason only.
The Sun Pokemon's body was suddenly covered in a rainbow-coloured shine. A light so bright that it was continuously glowing, reflecting of everypony's faces.
"Eve...?" Twilight gasped.
"What the...?" So did Adagio.
"W-What's happening?" Apple Bloom stood up along with everypony else. What did these rainbows mean?
Ash knew the answer to that.
"There it is Her fourth move!" Ash exclaimed.
"Fourth?! Which one is it?!" Pinkie turned to him.
"What else would it be? It's Dazzling Gleam!"
"ESPEON!" With a sudden burst of energy from within, Eve had learned the Fairy-Type move, Dazzling Gleam. No longer did she have psychic energy with her. It was now magic.
And with all that fairy magic circling inside of her, she ended up changing her style of attack. Instead of firing a beam, the Sun Pokemon charged through her own Psybeam with the aura of Dazzling Gleam surrounding her.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Adagio bellowed.
"Dazzling Gleam..." Twilight recognized the move as the hard-hitting Fairy-Type attack. "Go, Eve! Push through!"
"Esp!" Eve had smashed her head on Pheromosa's leg, creating another clash as rainbows flew across the stadium from the impact.
"Don't let her beat you, Pheromosa! Win already!" Adagio bit her own mane, pulling on it. She was getting nervous from all of this.
"Phero?!" Unfortunately, one thing Pheromosa didn't take into account was the fact that she was using a Dark-Type move at the moment.
And as everyone knows. Fairy beats Dark. But it gets worse for Pheromosa. She's part Fighting after all. And with Dazzling Gleam making direct contact with Throat Chop. What happened next was clear as day.
"Espeon!" Eve overpowered Throat Chop, slamming her entire body into Pheromosa. What followed was an explosion of magic that emanated a dazzling flash of rainbows that filled the entire battlefield.
The referee closed his eyes along with everypony else since it was a blinding light. The explosion from Dazzling Gleam's impact ended up creating a rainbow that went across the horizon. Starting from Canterlot and ending at Ponyville itself.
The rainbow smoke from the impact had finally cleared with Eve landing down safely on the ground. She was technically a cat after all.
As for Pheromosa. It was done. The impact of Dazzling Gleam had sent the Lissome Pokemon flying into the air, spinning around with such grace packed behind it. Even in defeat, Pheromosa still looked beautiful. She crashed down on the ground, finally reaching her limit as she had fainted.
"P-P-Pheromosa."
The referee looked down to see that it was finally over. The Ultra Beast had lost. "Pheromosa is unable to battle! Espeon wins!"
"No way..." Adagio's jaw dropped.
"We beat it..." Twilight froze for a moment. "We beat it! WOOHOO!" She spread her wings out, taking the skies out of joy, enjoying her victory. A victory that was well earned due to how hard she worked to defeat Pheromosa.
And all of Canterlot joined her by cheering along with thunderous and resounding applause. They thought it was impossible, but Twilight managed to overcome it. Both her and Eve. Boy was it close.
"Finally!" Pinkie Pie groaned. "I thought that thing was never gonna go down."
"Twilight and her Espeon are so awesome!" Goh stood up.
"And she learned Dazzling Gleam too! What a major win!" Sweetie Belle squeed as she and Apple Bloom held each other, jumping up and down.
Over at the waiting room, Rainbow Dash and the rest of Twilight friends could rest easy now. Pheromosa had lost.
"That's the stuff, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Told ya she was gonna beat that bug thing."
"Yeah. Whew." Applejack wiped some sweat off her forehead. "She needs to stop scaring us so often, ya know."
Thousands of cheers from every angle, every direction and every part of Canterlot continued to roar across the entire stadium. It truly was a major win. But despite all of that, Ash and Celestia noticed that something was wrong here. There was one major aftermath that was coming.
"Eve! We did it!" Twilight squeed. Despite her cheer, Eve didn't respond. At all. "Eve?" There was a moment of silence. The young alicorn was confused about why her partner wasn't celebrating. After all. She just took down an Ultra Beast. One of the most powerful types of Pokemon there are.
She should be going ballistic with boundless excitement packed behind her spirit. Much like her trainer and everypony. And that's when the reason why she wasn't responding was revealed.
On her last legs, Eve had fallen to the ground, fainting.
"Espeon..."
"Espeon is unable to battle! Which means that the victor is Adagio Dazzle!"
Out of nowhere, Twilight's victory had been snatched at the final moment. Eve had tired herself out after Dazzling Gleam. It burnt her out completely due to how much energy it took compared to her other moves. As such, she paid the unfortunate price.
Even Adagio was taken aback by this. She thought she lost for good. Sure she had one other Pokemon left, but that was her Kricketot. And he's not even a battler. At all. The only move he has at his disposal is Bide. And nothing else. But with this revelation, Adagio let out a grin.
"So...I won did I?" First, she chuckled for a small bit, taking some time to process this. Secondly. Once she did, she could finally drown in her long-awaited victory that she was anticipating for the longest. "YES!" And third, a thunderous cackle.
The entire crowd fell silent. Their cheers and applause had come to an end. Just when they thought that Twilight would come out the winner of this match, it all turned around in a second.
Ash and Celestia knew this the moment they saw the Sun Pokemon frozen in place.
"I win, Twilight!" Adagio boomed.
An upset and a crushing loss. One that Twilight definitely felt. With Adagio coming out of this as the victor, what happens next is something nopony could prepare themselves for after this one battle as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
"I win, Twilight!"
Words that Adagio thundered out of her mouth with joy. And words that filled Twilight's ears with despair. But that's exactly what Adagio wanted from the very beginning.
"Finally! I've been waiting for this!" Adagio pranced on the spot. This was the largest victory she's had over Twilight. It didn't involve her losing any magic, separating from her friends or being injured. No. In truth, it was the absolute shock that filled the stadium once Twilight lost.
Adagio wanted to see everypony witness the Princess of Friendship losing right before their eyes. And that's exactly what happened.
"I...lost...?" Twilight stammered as she was frozen in place. She looked down to see her partner Eve, fainted on the floor. Not even moving an inch.
"So that's how it is..." Celestia stood up. After seeing the outcome and conclusion of this battle, she looked down at Adagio, seeing the siren fill up with unbridled excitement. She truly was waiting for this day to come where she would finally defeat Twilight.
The question is, what will Adagio do now after her long-awaited victory?
"I actually did it...I beat her." Adagio looked at her hooves and then up at the crowd. Everypony's devastating reaction to Twilight's loss was perfect to her eyes. And perfect enough to fill her magic. This was the best negativity she's had so far.
"Esp...Eon..." Eve was still on the floor, fainted. But her eyes slowly opened up, seeing her trainer with her head hung low. Despite her victory against Pheromosa, she couldn't keep her promise of making Twilight happy.
Twilight began tearing up, trying to hide her tears. But everypony could clearly see that she was crying. And it was understandable. Tiny sobs could be heard from Twilight's mouth. Which ended up being music to Adagio's ears.
Adagio has absorbed so much magic to the point where her body was actually undergoing a second transformation out of nowhere. Due to all the negativity that she's gathered from this one battle, Adagio had never felt a sensation like this before.
In fact. This was the very first time she's ever felt what revenge truly feels like at its core. It was a feeling like none other. Unparalleled and unrivalled. Almost as if all of her hardships had been wiped out from existence itself. Truly, this victory over Twilight changed everything for her.
Thus, this sensation played into her transformation. She still maintained the look of a pony but this time her fangs had intensified, returning to their normal sharpness when Adagio was still her true self. Not only that but her pupils had sharpened along with her hooves. The necklace on her neck had even strengthened.
Twilight went over to her Espeon, picking the Sun Pokemon as a mother would to its own child. "You did great, Eve. Both you and Dewott." Twilight wiped the tears off her face.
"Espeon..."
"Haha! Well. I'm certainly satisfied beyond relief! But I guess I can do a little bonus round and defeat the rest of your friends! If I get the chance that is." Adagio suddenly declared.
"I won't let you!" Twilight flew up.
"What can you do? I've already beaten you. You're practically beneath me now." Adagio turned around. "But don't worry. Once I defeat them, I'm not finished yet. I still have yet to exact revenge on another group of annoying girls somewhere else."
"...Sunset!" Twilight gasped, realizing who Adagio was referring to.
"Bingo. I was planning on stopping here at first. But after thinking about, it's their human versions that I despise more. The Rainbooms are next on my list. But their punishment will be much more severe than yours. Think of the Manehattan situation but tripled." Adagio chuckled.
"I won't let you hurt them!"
"Hold it!" A voice echoed through Adagio's ears, grabbing her attention. The one who spoke up was none other than Rarity.
"Oh. It's you." Adagio scoffed.
"Don't you even think about laying a hoof on any of them!"
"And you think you can stop me? I already defeated your precious little Princess of Friendship in front of all these ponies. What makes you think you can defeat me?"
"Rarity, wait!" Twilight yelled.
"Isn't it obvious? Even though she lost, Twilight has proved to everypony here that your Pheromosa isn't unbeatable. That gives other trainers the chance to defeat you. In fact, you might not be able to reach the rest of my friends tomorrow."
"Hoh?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "So what? That purple cat thing got lucky. Learning a new move at the last second was just a stroke of luck."
"Hm. I suppose you haven't noticed yet. But now everypony knows about your Pheromosa's weakness. It's thin and supple after all, isn't it? Perhaps a single Flying-Type move will do the trick." Rarity smirked. "And since most of the trainers here are pegasi, it shouldn't too hard to figure out which type is the most common in this tournament."
"Kh!" Adagio looked down at Rarity with scorn in her eyes.
"Sheesh..." Ben looked over at Rarity and Adagio's conversation. "I thought my nieces arguing was bad."
"Are you challenging me?" Adagio circled Rarity. "Because if you are, I'd gladly accept it and crush you as well. Of course, like before, I'll come out on top."
"Of course I am." Rarity stomped her hoof. "I'll blitz through your Pheromosa and whatever your second Pokemon might be."
"Hmph. Well, you'd best hope that you make it through the rest of the tournament. Unless a random shuffle manages to pair us up." Adagio chuckled.
"Funny you should mention that." Rarity grinned. "Because after this 40-minute break, my battle is coming up next." Saying that made Adagio perk up with her eyes widening. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tch. Whatever. You still have a chance of losing your next match. Make sure you don't choke." Adagio lifted her head, walking past Rarity as she left the battlefield.
As Rarity watched the arrogant siren walk off, there was only one thing she could do now. She walked over to the devastated Twilight, comforting her and Eve at the same time.
"Rarity...I couldn't win." Twilight sobbed, trying her very best to hold her tears in. But it was no use. "I didn't keep my promise after all."
"It's alright, darling. You and your Pokemon truly did your best." Rarity hugged an upset Twilight. "Besides. You managed to show everypony that you can overcome impossible odds by defeating Pheromosa and her speed. If you ask me, that is a win in its own right."
"Really?" Twilight looked up at her.
"Really." She nodded in response. "Get some rest, dear. You, Dewott and Eve deserve it."
"Alright. Thanks." Twilight lowered her head as Rarity's Leavanny picked up Dewott, carrying him to the waiting room for a rest.
A 40-minute break was in session. Everypony felt like they needed one after that aggressive battle between Twilight and Adagio, which was the longest one by far. Many of them were chatting about the fight and how it ended.
Some were saying how it was unfortunate that Twilight's Pokemon fainted at the very last second, costing her the match. Whilst others actually looked at the positive. They could now see that Pheromosa was beatable. It was just her speed that was a problem and a major obstacle to overcome.
Over at the waiting lounge, Twilight had her Pokemon healed up to full strength. Eve was up and healthy whilst Dewott was cured of his poison. However, Twilight was still morose and discouraged. Her tears had faded away but the weight of defeat was still hitting her.
"Uh, Twilight." Rainbow Dash flew over to her saddened friend along with Applejack. "I just wanna say that I'm sorry. This is my fault."
"What?" Twilight turned to her.
"If I hadn't dragged you to this tournament, this would've never happened. Me and my big mouth." Rainbow Dash sighed, lowering her head.
"It wasn't your fault, Rainbow. Nopony could've predicted Adagio joining in this tournament. Or even Pheromosa making an appearance." Twilight replied.
"Twilight's right. None of us were prepared." Applejack. "If she weren't here, this would've been a smooth tournament from start to finish."
"Yeah." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "But it just makes me so mad. Everypony's here to see how tough they've gotten and to test their skills whilst having fun. And along comes Adagio to ruin it. She's only here to take revenge!"
"Ain't that big of a surprise." Applejack shook her head. "She's been planning to ruin us for months now. Ever since Twilight and our other selves beat her at that 'Battle of the Bands', she's been chasing us like a falcon and a rabbit."
"I just don't get how her sisters are okay with being our friends, but not her. She's just as stubborn as...me!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "What's it gonna take to reach her?"
"The answer to that is greater than you can imagine, Rainbow Dash." Luna had suddenly responded to Rainbow Dash's question, walking up to them. "Much greater than even I had anticipated."
"What do you mean by that, Princess Luna?" Twilight stood up.
"Reaching Adagio is much harder than you think it is. If anything, trying to reform her is practically impossible."
"No way." Rainbow denied that. "We've managed to reform a lot of guys. Even Discord himself. Mostly. We can totally reform Adagio as well. It's just taking some time, ya know."
"No, Rainbow Dash. When I say it's impossible, I truly mean it is impossible. This goes above even friendship itself. And I fear it is something that can truly collapse most of Equestria in a heartbeat."
"What do you mean?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "This all sounds pretty big."
"Well...I don't want to find out right now." Twilight hopped off the couch. "I need some fresh air first."
"Rest well, Twilight Sparkle." Luna turned to her fellow alicorn. "Have faith in your friend Rarity as well."
Outside, Ash, Fluttershy and the others spotted Twilight arriving with her head hung low. It didn't take long for Twilight to notice them as well.
"Twilight!" Pinkie dashed over. "Are you okay?! Please say yes!"
"A bit. Thanks, Pinkie. I just needed some fresh air." Twilight replied.
"We're worried that your loss might affect you for the rest of the day. Or even possibly tomorrow," said Fluttershy.
"Audino!"
"You don't have to worry about it lasting that long, Fluttershy."
"Well!" Sonata stepped forward. "Aria and I are here to apologize. Adagio is our sister after all So we kinda feel like, ya know..." Sonata rubbed her hoof. "It's kinda our fault in a sense." She then looked over at Aria, nudging her.
"Uh, yeah. I guess so." Aria turned her head to the side. "Sorry about that."
"Both of you don't have to apologize at all. Really."
"Pika?" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder, looking up at the saddened Twilight.
"I know you're concerned too, Pikachu. But thanks to Rarity, I'm fine now. Well...a little bit."
"Pikachu."
"That's good." Ash nodded. "It's great that Rarity was there to comfort you at that moment."
"Right. Um, would you all mind if I got some alone time? I'm still a bit shaken up."
"You can head home to Ponyille and rest. Does that sound good?" Starlight recommended.
"Being back at Ponyville does sound nice. But I think I'll stay here for a while. Thanks for suggesting it though." Twilight walked off with Eve and Dewott. She truly wanted some time to think after that battle.
Pinkie was about to go after her, trying to cheer up, but Ash stopped her. He knew that this was something that Twilight could handle on her own. Even if it left a huge impact.
Celestia watched as Twilight made her way to the Canterlot Garden for some privacy and some time to just simply take in everything that has happened so far. Celestia had decided not to interrupt Twilight's alone time. But she kept on watching her.
"Oh, Twilight," said Celestia, shaking her head. There was a melancholy feeling circling within Celestia. Involving both Twilight and Adagio. She knew that Adagio needed all that negativity for her own well-being but Twilight is a pony that is extremely close to her. Almost like a paternal relationship. Feeling conflicted for a small bit, Celestia had decided to lean towards Twilight since she took a major loss this day.
Outside at Canterlot Garden, Twilight sat alone, reminiscing the entire battle. Eve and all of her Pokemon stood from afar, letting their trainer think without any interruption whatsoever.
What went through Twilight's head was one major point. What went wrong? Looking back at it, Twilight noticed that even though she had discovered Pheromosa's weakness, the Lissome Pokemon lasted much longer than she expected.
She was expecting Pheromosa to go down in two hits due to how fragile she was. But to her surprise, it kept going. Even when her attacks landed, especially neutral attacks, nothing was bringing the Ultra Beast down.
If Dewott hadn't worn Pheromosa down and Eve learning Dazzling Gleam at the last second, the battle would've been over much earlier.
Twilight had already known that Eve wasted all of her energy into a single Dazzling Gleam. And she felt like it was her fault. Twilight blamed herself for Eve fainting after Pheromosa had lost. She felt as if she was the cause of Eve's burnout.
Perhaps if her Espeon had a bit of energy left within her, she would've won. But then again, Twilight had no clue what Adagio's second Pokemon was, even though it was just a Kricketot who was constantly hiding in Adagio's mane.
She then thought to how far she's come with her Pokemon knowledge. First, she learned about the Pokemon World and its history. Then she gained the information about various moves of different types and how they work. Later on, she even managed to become a Pokemon professor herself, further advancing her knowledge about Pokemon.
In truth, although she lost, the words that Rarity spoke to Adagio reminded her of something that could lift her spirits.
"Isn't it obvious? Even though she lost, Twilight has proved to everypony here that your Pheromosa isn't unbeatable. That gives other trainers the chance to defeat you. In fact, you might not be able to reach the rest of my friends tomorrow."
Those words alone made Twilight realize that she was able to defeat Pheromosa. A Pokemon that she feared ever since Manehattan. A Pokemon that injured most of her friends horribly and practically scarred them for a while.
And she beat it. She managed to conquer her fear of Pheromosa in that one battle. Knowing that now, a smile graced the young alicorn's face. And as her mind begins to finally take every last piece of information and engrave in her memory, Twilight's current state had shifted.
"I've come a long way, haven't I?" Twilight said to herself. "I guess I really have grown as a trainer, haven't I?"
And there it was. Celestia could tell that Twilight's spirits have been lifted due to her being alone. And mostly since Passion could sense the change in emotion due to her being the Emotion Pokemon.
"I may have lost to Adagio...But it isn't over yet. Like Rarity said. Everypony has a chance to win now. Ponies that are much more skilled than me in battle. Better trainers with a battle experience that exceeds mine."
"Esp?" Eve and the rest of Twilight's Pokemon ran up to her, hoping that she had recovered finally. The way she stood up from the bench made it seem like that.
"Eve. All of you. You don't have to worry anymore." Twilight wiped a single tear off her eyes. "I'm fine now. Still a bit perplexed."
"And I'm glad that you've recovered well." Celestia appeared in front of Twilight, startling her and the Pokemon as well.
"Princess Celestia?!" She gasped, falling back on the bench. "How long were you watching?"
"All the way from the arena."
"Oh." Twilight shifted her eyes from left to right. "Guess you might think it's rare to see me act like that, huh?"
"Not at all. I've seen many ponies end up in a similar situation as you. Even before our worlds crossed over. You've managed to handle your loss fairly well. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you, Princess Celestia. I'm just hoping now that Rarity can reach Adagio. Or at least Rainbow Dash or Applejack. But even I'm getting nervous thinking about their battle against her Pheromosa and whatever her second Pokemon might be."
"About Adagio. I believe we should have a small talk about her." Celestia sat down on the bench next to Twilight.
"What is it, princess? Does it have to do with her magic and sudden transformation?"
"No, Twilight. It's something else. Something that involves Adagio and me."
"Both of you? How would you even have any relation with her?"
"I suppose it would have to be the fact that...our mothers knew each other." There it was. Celestia had dropped a major revelation to Twilight that froze her along with Eve and the others.
"Huh?! Your mother and Adagio's have met?!"
"Mhm. Only once, though. Many, many years ago."
"What happened back then?!" Twilight stood up. "Between both of them!"
"Nothing disastrous or major." Celestia shook her head. "In fact, the encounter between those two is somewhat akin to how Luna and Darkrai met. Only slightly different in terms of the outcome."
"Akin to Luna and Darkrai? Then does that mean..." Twilight thought for a bit.
"I know what you're going to respond with. But no. They were not friends." Celestia shut down Twilight's Friend answer.
"Oh. Then...they were enemies?"
"Not at all. Friend or enemy, they were neither." Celestia held Passion in her hooves.
"If they weren't friends or enemies, then what were they to each other?"
"Aqcuantices." Celestia gave Twilight the answer. "That was their relationship.
"I see. Well then, if both your mother and Adagio's mother knew each other, you must've known about Adagio later on, right?"
"I actually never knew about Adagio's existence at first. You see, they both never met up again after their first encounter. But, they did tell each other what they would name their children in the future. As you know, my mother named me Celestia."
"And for Adagio, it was her own mother." Twilight finished Celestia's sentence.
"Exactly."
"But why tell me this? I mean, it's a shocker that they knew each other in the past but..."
"The reason why I'm telling you this Twilight is because of an unfortunate destiny that every siren is bound by. Past present or future."
"Unfortunate destiny?"
"Espeon?"
"You may see Adagio's process of absorbing magic via negativity that she creates as well...evil. But in truth, there's much more to it."
"There is? What other reason would she have to absorb negativity other than to give herself more magic?"
"Twilight. Adagio's life is dependent on negativity." Finally, Celestia had given Twilight the truth behind the sirens.
"W-What...?"
"I was as perplexed as you when I found this out. I can imagine my mother felt the same. The sirens have an unfortunate fate where if they do not generate any semblance of hostility and animosity, over time, their life will be threatened. As a result, they will perish."
"I...I didn't know."
"I don't blame you at all, Twilight. Despite all the books we have about Equestria that we can easily find at any library, the fate of the sirens is an anonymous one."
"So then...Sonata and Aria. They'll..." Twilight gasped.
"Perish." Celestia stood up. "However, I promised myself I would not let that happen. I made a vow that I would find a perfect balance that would satisfy both the sirens and all of Equestria and beyond. The problem is, I haven't found that solution yet."
"Kirlia." Passion climbed on Celestia's back, giving her trainer a head pat.
"So from the start...Adagio's been trying to save her sisters all this time...?" Twilight looked down. "And that's why she wants to be the one to reach Jirachi."
"Indeed. However. If Adagio succeeds in saving her sisters, that would mean Sonata and Aria would lose that happiness they had discovered by becoming friends with you."
"But then that would mean going right back to causing animosity, right?"
"Right. I fear that she may be forcing her sisters to return to a life that they will no longer enjoy compared to the one they have now. But even still, deep down, she truly loves her sisters."
"If I had known that Adagio was doing this to save their lives, I would've helped her! But if she does save them, then our friendship would come to an end."
"I know it is a lot to take in Twilight. To be honest. I'm not sure what I plan to do with Adagio after all of this is over. I could just simply arrest her and that would be the end of it. But I don't want to stop her mission to save her sisters."
"I see..."
"I should probably get going now. You still need your 40-minute break. Just remember this, Twilight. Everypony thinks differently what they believe. Their sense of justice clouding up the endless sky. And they may oppositely see things from us."
Those were Celestia's last words to Twilight. After that, she was out of here.
"The opposite way," Twilight said in a muted tone. All that Celestia had left for her will stick like glue. Possibly for weeks and years to come.
Up in the sky, the two most prominent spectators here, Lucien and Sienna overheard Twilight and Celestia's conversation about the sirens, taking it all in.
"Hm. It's a shame really." Lucien shook his head. "If only Adagio knew that her fate never existed in the original timeline. Oh, well."
"That's why I think we should tell her!" Sienna exclaimed. "But we're not allowed to, right?"
"Right. We'll just have to wait and see how it all ends."
The revelation of the siren's fate had become imprinted in Twilight's head. Her view on everything was slowly changing. Now Adagio's wish was starting to reveal itself. However, the fear that Sonata and Aria could end up returning to their old ways was something that Twilight found difficult to take in. But it was for their own safety. Unable to decide, the young alicorn can only hope that Celestia will be able to find that supposed Perfect Balance as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The second day of the Canterlot Tournament resumes.
With the gruelling battle between Twilight and Adagio over with Adagio emerging the victor, the tournament is yet again at a 40-minute break. Once that break is over, Rarity will be stepping forth in her 2v2 battle against another pony.
And what of Rarity at the moment? Since there is a 50% chance she might be facing Adagio tomorrow if she manages to defeat her upcoming opponent, the unicorn had gone to the outskirts of Canterlot to practice until the break ends.
After Twilight managed to take down Adagio's Pheromosa, Rarity now knows that she can find her own way around the Lissome Pokemon's absurd speed. She sent out her strongest Leavanny and Flaaffy for training, preparing themselves for that one specific scenario.
"Alright, you two." Rarity spoke to them both. "If we are to face Adagio tomorrow, we'll have to improve ourselves to better match her on an equal playing field."
"Leavan!"
"Flaa!"
"Leavanny. You're the fastest Pokemon I own and the strongest out of all 12 of your brothers and sisters. You're my ace in all of this."
"Vanny!" The Leaf Wrapped Pokemon nodded.
"Flaaffy. While you're not relatively fast, your Electric-Type moves are. They'll help us greatly when facing up against Pheromosa."
"Ffy!"
"Plus...There is one final thing I'm betting on once that bug gets close to you. In the meantime, let's improve ourselves! For the sake of our friends!" Rarity bellowed. Both Leavanny and Flaaffy cried in agreement.
Thus began a training session for the remaining time they have left before the tournament continues with Rarity's match incoming. Surely, they can cover a lot in the span of 35 minutes. Which is the amount of time remaining.
"Flaaffy! Use Thunder on Leavanny! Leavanny, dodge it!"
"Flaa!" The Wool Pokemon raised his hands, summoning a storm cloud from above. The plan was to develop Leavanny's speed so she can keep up with Pheromosa when that time comes.
Since Leavanny is part Grass, Electric-Type moves aren't a problem at all. The Leaf Wrapped Pokemon looked up to see that a bolt of thunder was ready to strike down on her.
"Ffy!" From the skies themselves, a destructive bolt of lightning came racing down at high speeds. That was Leavanny's cue. All she had to do was dodge it.
Which she couldn't. After all, it is lightning at the end of the day. Avoiding it isn't that easy. As a result, she was zapped the moment her foot even left the ground. "Vaaaannny!"
"Flaa?"
"Leavan..." Leavanny held her head, feeling a bit dizzy. Even if she did resist Electric, Thunder hurts. A lot. "Ny...Ny.."
"Oh, dear." Rarity facehoofed herself. "Let's try this again. This time, hold back a bit Flaaffy." She went over to Leavanny, giving her ace a potion to heal up.
"Leavan." Leavanny didn't mind it. She was doing this to protect her friends, so she'll go through harsh training. Even if it means getting hurt constantly.
And thus a second attempt was made. Once again, the Wool Pokemon summoned a thunderbolt from above with Leavanny trying again. If you were to look in the distance, you would spot constant bolts raining down from above, moving in random directions.
The CMC peered their head from the side of a tree, spotting Rarity's training and how Leavanny was doing her best to dodge the lightning bolts. So far, it wasn't going so well.
"Your sister's really working hard, isn't she?" Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah. Isn't she the best?" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"I wouldn't want to be the one facing her in the tournament." Scootaloo winced.
"But...do you think she can beat Adagio?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Of course she can! When Rarity puts her mind to something, it's impossible to stop her. Trust me. I know." Sweetie Belle nodded with pride.
"You can-" Scootaloo's words were interrupted when a bolt of thunder suddenly hit the tree they were hiding behind. The tree didn't even catch fire. It was destroyed in a second. A perfect example of how powerful Thunder is. "Eep!"
"Again!" Rarity shouted.
"Lea!" Leavanny made another attempt at dodging. This time, her reaction time was improving each time she failed. After all, reflexes do play a major role when reacting to something.
By repeating the same movements over and over again with the same attack being thrown at her, Leavanny's instincts were sharpening. She was still getting hit by Thunder, but she was able to know which direction the Thunder may fall from.
"Ny!" Leavanny senses noticed that a bolt of lighting was heading her way from the right side. She zipped her body forward, but the bolt managed to catch her leg, shocking her. "Lea!"
"Do not let up, Leavanny! Keep on trying!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny powered through the shock, continuing her training without paying any mind to the hits that she was taking.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat down on a log, spectating the entire session and how much Rarity can improve her Pokemon in the amount of time they have until the break ends.
"Wait!" Rarity shouted, causing them both to halt. "Try using Thunder on me as well."
"Flaaffy?!"
"Leavan?!"
"WHAT?!" The CMC exclaimed in unison, making Rarity aware of them.
"To advance my own reaction time as well. That way, I won't be looking at a blur of Pheromosa."
"Uh, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle jumped up. "That's not a good idea! At all!"
"Flaaffy. Do it." Rarity was serious about this. Never before had so much determination come from a single pony. And if it has it was probably long ago in the past.
"Flaa!" The Wool Pokemon had aimed the bolt of lightning directly at his own trainer this time. He was hesitant at first, but Rarity's confidence gave him the strength to unleash the attack. From above, a devastating lightning bolt came rocketing down towards the unicorn.
Rarity made an attempt which didn't work out in her favour. One hit and her entire body felt 300,000 volts strike her from all sides, spiking her mane and tail up.
"Flaaffy?!"
"No, it's fine, Flaaffy. Keep trying dear." Rarity coughed some smoke out, willing to continue despite her condition.
Flaaffy did just that. By unleashing constant thunderbolts from above which target Rarity and Leavanny, their training continued with consistent shocks that gave both of them jolts.
This went on for 20 minutes, taking up most of the break time even. Rarity and Leavanny's reaction time had been augmented from all the moving they've been doing. Flaaffy was exhausted from wasting so much energy. Thunder really takes a lot out of a Pokemon such as himself. And Rarity could see that.
"Oh, Flaaffy. Perhaps you should rest up for now." Rarity picked up the Wool Pokemon, placing him near a tree.
"Flaa."
"Alright, Leavanny. Both of our movements have improved in the amount of time we've had."
"Leavan."
"Now. Let's quickly try improving your striking strength. You only know three moves after all. Energy Ball, X-Scissor and String Shot. Those won't be enough to strike down that Ultra Beast."
"Vanny?"
"I suspect we have...15 minutes remaining until the tournament continues. That is enough time for us." Rarity picked up a nearby log, placing it upwards as it stood. "We can learn a fourth move that can greatly help us. Perhaps Aerial Ace! Can a Leavanny learn that?"
"Lea..." Leavanny thought for a moment until she remembered the answer. "Ny." She nodded. It was true. Leavanny's can learn Aerial Ace.
"Excellent. If we have Aerial Ace at our disposal, not only can we keep up with Pheromosa, but perhaps, one strike will be able to greatly damage her. Possibly even a faint!"
"Leavan."
"Let's see if we can obtain it. Leavanny, darling. Try hitting these logs repeatedly with X-Scissor."
"Lea." Leavanny put her arms in an X position, locking her eyes on the logs of wood as green energy formed in front of her. "Van!" She smashed her arms on the logs, destroying them whilst leaving an X in the middle.
Rarity gathered more logs for the Leaf Wrapped Pokemon to hit as their second training regime had begun. Each time Leavanny struck her arms on the logs, destroying them, her striking strength was gradually increasing.
A common trait of every Pokemon is that it is relatively easy to improve their strength, speed, defence and any other attributes. Some more difficult than others but for the most part, any Pokemon is capable of growing into a better version of themselves.
Ash and Pikachu noticed that Rarity was working hard with her Pokemon. It was the thunderbolts from above that grabbed their attention.
"Rarity's working hard, isn't she?"
"Pika." Pikachu nodded.
"Then, in that case, we'll have to do the same before we can reach Leon, right buddy?"
"Pikachu!"
Meanwhile, with Adagio, she was once more by herself. She sat on a lonesome bench with a proud smile on her face. After all, she did defeat Twilight. The next thing on her mind was Rarity. If by chance, Rarity manages to win her upcoming match then it'll be her against Adagio.
Compared to everypony else, Rarity was the one pony who knew how to get under Adagio's skin. If anything, she might enjoy defeating Rarity more than she did with Twilight. However, one thing Adagio knew that if Pheromosa gets defeated, her Kricketot will be the last one remaining.
Kricketot is unfortunately not a battler. The only move he knows is Bide and even still, he's too nervous to fight. All he does is stay inside of Adagio's large mane, jamming to the same song over and over again.
Whilst Adagio sits alone, away from everypony else, she and Kricketot weren't the only ones present in this very spot. Along came the two ponies or rather sirens that are close to Adagio.
Sonata and Aria.
After apologising to Twilight about their sister, the two figured that if there was any time to chat with their older sibling, it might as well be now.
"I'm having second thoughts about this..." Sonata grumbled.
"Why?" Aria looked down at her.
"What if she doesn't wanna hear what we have to say. You know that Adagio only listens to herself most of the time."
"Yeah, I kinda knew that already. Duh. But this is the most we've been near her in a few months. If-"
"I can hear you two," Adagio spoke, startling both of her younger sisters. "If you're going to talk to me, then do it."
"Oh! Right!" Sonata grabbed Aria, dashing over to the spot where Adagio sat.
"So, what do you two have to say? Make it quick." Adagio yawned.
"You go first." Sonata poked Aria. "You're great at starting conversations."
"Tch." Aria whacked Sonata's arm off her. "Listen, Adagio. We just wanted to talk to you for a bit. Ya know since we haven't hung around for a while."
"Is that it? Then why are you both so hesitant?"
"I mean you're pretty scary looking now. You're like half-siren half-pony. A total monster!" Sonata exclaimed. "Oh, sorry."
"We are monsters by default, Sonata." Adagio shook her head.
"Oh, right." She squeed.
"But, Adagio. We're kinda worried a bit. You've been doing this whole absorbing shtick on your own for a few months now without us." Aria commented.
"Hoh?" Adagio stood up. "Are you by chance, wanting to come back with me? Because if you are, I'd be glad to take you two back."
"Not really. We're just, ya know..." Aria put her hooves together, shifting her eyes to the side. She wasn't sure how to say this. Because she knew that Adagio would go off on her.
"Wait a minute..." Adagio narrowed her eyes at them, already figuring out what they truly wanted to talk about. "This is about that Ponyville place, isn't it?"
"W-What? Ponyville? Pssh! Why would we bring that up?" Sonata grinned nervously. But Adagio saw through her.
"I knew it. More of this nonsense." Adagio groaned. "I don't even know you two anymore."
"That's the thing. We wanted to tell you that we're happy at Ponyville." Aria replied. "And how you can join us there too."
"Yeah! It's a real blast! Never a dull moment, I'll tell ya that. I bet there's something fun happening there as we speak." Sonata nodded.
"Tch. You've gone soft. Especially you Aria." Adagio poked Aria. "Sonata's not that surprising considering how airheaded she is."
"Hey!"
"But you're the last siren I would expect to care about something like this. Especially if you say it brings you happiness."
"Well, it does!" Aria exclaimed, smacking Adagio's hoof away from her. This was the second time Aria's really snapped at Adagio like this, which caused Sonata to slowly back away. "And I'm tired of you pretending it doesn't!"
"What did you say?" Adagio growled.
"I'll just...stand over here..." Sonata gulped.
"You heard me. I'm gonna say it upfront. We enjoy being at Ponyville. It's unlike any place we've ever been at. Those ponies, even though they're incredibly annoying and loud, are actually just as tolerable as Sonata, if not more!"
"Oh, thanks, sis."
"I'd even say that we're glad to have friends. The best thing that's ever happened to us so far. And something we never knew we needed.
"Oh, please! You're still missing one thing you desperately need! Your singing! Come with me and I can give it back to you with ease!"
"Hm," Aria smirked. "Not anymore." Saying that made Adagio pull back. "Fluttershy's been teaching us how to sing recently. Giving us actual lessons from time to time. We're slowly getting back to our natural voices."
"Mhm! We had no idea that you could learn to sing!" Sonata shot up.
"You didn't know, Sonata. Not me." Aria facehoofed herself.
"You've been...regaining your singing abilities?" That actually surprised Adagio.
"Oh, yeah. And we're learning new tricks along the way." Sonata nodded, placing her hoof around Aria's neck.
"That's why we'll never go back to what we used to be. And you trying to force us back will only make you happy! Pretty selfish, don't you think?"
"I-I am not selfish!"
"Get real. This has always been about you. You've always been concerned about others adoring you. You never enjoyed us being around you at all times. Don't think I didn't notice when we were in that human world."
"I-" Adagio stammered, unable to finish her sentence. So far, everything Aria was saying ended up being true. "That's not true at all!"
"You've shared a lot of contempt with us. Always seeing us as beneath you. If anything, we're just minions to you."
"I wasn't serious about that." Adagio chuckled nervously. "Come on. I was just joking. That's what sisters do, right?"
"She does have a point," Sonata responded.
"Either way. I think it's as clear as day. You're nothing but a greedy, egotistical, self-centred diva. You always have been and you always will be."
Struck like an arrow, Adagio had felt defeated in that instance. If there's one thing she couldn't do, it was retaliating Aria's words. She couldn't lie out of this one.
Everything was correct to the core. What doesn't help is the fact that Aria and Sonata have been around Adagio long enough to know that.
"But..." Aria sighed. "That doesn't mean we hate you. You're still our sister. And besides. Mom and you made a promise. A promise that you would make us feel happy. And so far, you're doing a horrible job at it."
Digging into a motherly territory, Aria reminded Adagio of how their mother asked Adagio to make her younger sisters happy. As the natural responsibility of being an older sister. That responsibility was long gone from Adagio due to the path she was walking down.
At this point, Adagio felt defeated. Aria had unexpectedly defeated her completely without taking any physical action whatsoever.
And it was this exact moment that something flashed for a bit. Sonata noticed that Aria's body was glowing just a tiny bit. The light was faint but it was there.
From what the youngest siren could tell, it looked like Aria was gaining wings. But then the light vanished along with the wings, returning Aria into a normal Earth Pony.
"Come on, Sonata. Let's go. The tournament's about to continue." Aria walked off with Sonata, leaving their older sister who frozen in place after Aria's berating.
Total defeat.
4 minutes remain, and Rarity's training with Leavanny was had finally come to an end. Leavanny had destroyed a bunch of logs in the amount of time she had remaining. Her X Scissor was now much stronger than it was before. It even seemed a bit faster.
"Vann...Leavanny..." The Leaf Wrapped Pokemon sat down, exhausted.
"Splendid, Leavanny, darling!" Rarity exclaimed. "Here, drink up." She gave her partner a Hyper Potion, rejuvenating her back to full strength.
"Lea!"
"We should get going now. We don't have long until our turn." Rarity held out her two Poke Balls, sending both Flaaffy and Leavanny back inside. "Sweetie Belle! Cutie Mark Crusaders! Chop-Chop!"
"Oh! Right!" Sweetie Belle stood up from the log she and her friends sat on. The young fillies scurried off in a hurry in hopes of their seats being there without anypony else taking them.
Rarity looked at her two Poke Balls, holding her breath in. Her next opponent was a trainer who currently had four gym badges, the same amount as Rainbow Dash, so they're not to be underestimated. All she has to do is get past this trainer and tomorrow, she'll be able to take on Adagio herself.
With Rarity's Pokemon finishing up their training session and Aria finally revealing Adagio's true colours, the clock continues to tick with only 6 days remaining as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
As the Canterlot Tournament resumes with its break finally over, Rarity's match is up next.
A match that she aims to win, all for the sake of reaching Adagio tomorrow. Her opponent was a pegasus who owned the same amount of badges as Rainbow Dash. So this was one trainer she couldn't underestimate at all.
Over at the crowd, Ash and the others were joined by Twilight and her Pokemon. She was now just a spectator after losing in the previous round. All of Rarity's friends were here to see how this match will play out.
Stepping into the battlefield was a trainer by the name of Wind March and of course, Rarity herself. She stood on the left, while Wind March stood on the right.
"Good luck, Rarity! Show them how much your training paid off!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Training? What training?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"During the break, Rarity went out of Canterlot to train on her own," Ash explained. "Both her Leavanny and Flaaffy really looked like they were giving it their all."
"Pikachu."
"Oh. Is that what those random thunderbolts were..." Fluttershy uttered.
"Both trainers. You may now send out your Pokemon!" The referee said.
"I'm going for you! Pangoro!" Wind March's first Pokemon was none other than a Pangoro.
"Pan!" The Daunting Pokemon bellowed, causing Rarity's mane to flow back a bit.
"In that case...Flaaffy! Out you come!" Rarity had chosen Flaaffy as her first Pokemon to battle.
"Ffy! Fla?" Once Flaaffy came out, he noticed that a Pangoro was staring at him in the face with its usual gruff eyes. "Flaaffy..."
"Pangoro? What's that?" Twilight pulled out her Pokedex.
"Pangoro. The Daunting Pokemon. Although it possesses a violent temperament, it won't put up with bullying. It uses the leaf in its mouth to sense the movements of its enemies. It charges ahead and bashes its opponents like a berserker, uncaring about any hits it might take. Its arms are mighty enough to snap a telephone pole. Those who wish to become Pangoro's Trainer have no choice but to converse with their fists."
"Don't panic, Flaaffy, darling. It wouldn't be the first time you've gone up against a big strong Pokemon." Rarity spoke to him.
"Flaaffy!"
"You're gonna be amazed at how hard my Pangoro hits. Watch," said Wind March.
"Goro!"
"Battle Start!"
"Flaaffy! Start with Electro Ball!" Rarity exclaimed, making the first move.
"Flaa!" The Wool Pokemon sparked up his tail, summoning a ball of electricity as he flung it towards the Daunting Pokemon.
"Destroy it with Hammer Arm!" Wind March shouted.
"Pan!" The Fighting-Dark-Type raised one hand, slamming it down on the incoming orb of lighting. One strike and Electro Ball was out of here as sparks of electricity flowed across the ground.
"How about we come to you? Pangoro! Head in and use Hammer Arm!" Focusing all his attention on Flaaffy, Pangoro left the spot he stood on, raising both of arms this time as they were covered in dark energy.
"Dodge and use Thunder Shock!"
"Fla?!" Flaaffy gasped as he saw a huge panda-like creature coming his way with big furry arms that could crush him in an instant. Flaaffy quick-stepped to the side, evading Pangoro's hit.
Once Hammer Arm hit the ground, a large crack formed up with dust rising. Flaaffy veered on the ground as he sent a blast of thunder from his ears. That blast struck Pangoro head-on, shocking the Daunting Pokemon with thousands of volts.
"Pango!"
"Excellent! Now use Charge to power yourself up!" Rarity thrust her hoof forward. Her partner sent a tiny little bundle of concentrated lightning forward that would power up the next Electric-Type move he would use. Which was all of them.
"Quick, Pangoro! Block it!"
"Go? Pangoro!" Pangoro put his arms up, allowing the bundle of electricity to hit him. Pangoro's not exactly a Pokemon that dodges since it's relatively slow and only aims to get up close and beat its opponents senseless by rushing in blind.
However, even though he blocked the Charge, Flaaffy still obtained a power boost with his tail lighting up.
"Are you alright, Pangoro?"
"Goro!"
"Not a single scratch on Rarity's Flaaffy! He's doing a great job at keeping his distance!" The announcer exclaimed. "Then again, most Electric-Types moves are about distance, aren't they?"
"But wait. Flaaffy only knows Electric moves and nothing else." Apple Bloom noticed.
"Right. There's no other from any other type that he can use." Ash replied. "But no need to worry. Rarity's pretty good at getting creative."
"All we need is one hit and we win. Pangoro! Swords Dance!"
"Pangoro!" Instead of attacking, the Daunting Pokemon had decided to increase its already absurd physical strength. The Fighting-Dark-Type crossed his arms together as multiple light-blue swords circled him. These swords then entered Pangoro's body, boosting his attack.
Not only that, but the energy of Swords Dance had infused itself with Pangoro's fists. Now they were glowing blue with a ton of power packed into them.
"What is that?!" Rarity pulled back. "But that blue is divine to look at!"
"What move is that, Ash?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Swords Dance. A move that lets a Pokemon hit harder than normal." Ash explained in a simple way that everypony understood.
"Watch this. Pangoro! Close Combat!"
"Goro!" Pangoro stomped his foot on the ground as he rushed over to the Wool Pokemon.
"Ah! Flaaffy! Dodge and Use Thunder!" Flaaffy turned around, making a run for it as he was currently being chased by a 6'11 panda with earth-shattering fists. Pangoro attempted to hit Flaaffy by outstretching his arms, but he missed, leaving yet another crack.
The sight of a tiny sheep being chased by a huge panda was actually somewhat comical as everypony was laughing at it. Especially the way Flaaffy ran and how Pangoro kept missing each time he struck his fists. Pinkie Pie especially was loving this.
"If only Pangoro's speed was as great as his strength. But I guess that's the eternal drawback of being large." The announcer spoke.
"Oh, this is just ridiculous." Wind March facehoofed. "Catch it already, Pangoro!"
"Goro! Pan!" Try as he might, Pangoro just couldn't catch Flaaffy. This went on for 40 seconds until a conclusion arrived. Pangoro had actually exhausted himself a small bit due to all that constant running around. As a result, the Daunting Pokemon sat down, catching his breath. "Pan...Pan..."
"What's this?! Pangoro's tired himself out!" The announcer noticed.
"Excellent. Now! Thunder!" Rarity found an opening. And a free hit. From above, Flaaffy summoned the power of a storm with his ears and tail. Unlike Pangoro, Flaaffy couldn't tire himself out so easily since he is an Electric-Type.
"Yikes!" Wind March gasped, looking up at the approaching thunderstorm. "Pangoro! Make a run for it!"
"Pango..." Pangoro raised a finger, telling his trainer to wait until he recovers. But right now, it wasn't the best time to wait.
"Ugh! Nevermind! Return, Pangoro!" A smart move on Wind March's part. To prevent her partner from getting crushed by lightning, she returned the Daunting Pokemon to his Poke Ball.
Flaaffy ceased Thunder as the clouds separated, revealing the blue skies once more.
"Whew...That was a close one." Wind March sighed.
"Well. What shall your next Pokemon be?" Rarity asked.
"Oh, just you watch." Wind March held out a Dusk Ball. "I caught this Pokemon whilst in a cave. No way your Flaaffy's getting past this!" Tossing the Dusk Ball forward sent out the Cave Pokemon. Druddigon.
"DRUDDIGON!" The moment he landed down, a tiny earthquake occurred along with his roar startling everypony with a strong wind pressure kicking up.
"Oooh! Look at that Pokemon!" Sweetie Belle aimed her dex at the Dragon-Type.
"Druddigon. The Cave Pokemon. Druddigon lives in caves, but it never skips sunbathing. When its body temperature falls, it can no longer move. In narrow caves, it squares off against its enemies and charges face-first right into them. The skin on its face is harder than a rock."
"A Dragon-Type, eh?" Rarity held her breath. "This might be a problem. Stay sharp, Flaaffy."
"Flaa!"
"Watch this. Druddigon! Dragon Tail!"
"Ddigon!" By letting out a vicious roar in the air, the Cave Pokemon's tail emanated green draconic energy. He lowered his head, locking onto Flaaffy with laser vision. Once a Druddigon sees its target, it's nigh-impossible to escape. He rushed on over, dragging his tail on the ground.
"Move back and use Thunder Shock!"
"Flaaffy!" The Wool Pokemon forced himself away from Druddigon. However, this was far different from Pangoro. Druddigon outsped the Electric-Type with its surprising speed, despite its size. He appeared right in front of Flaaffy with his teeth just near the Wool Pokemon's nose. "Fla!?"
"Dru!" Druddigon swung his tail around, smashing it against Flaaffy's stomach. But this wasn't just an average Dragon Tail. Druddigon's ability Rough Skin added some extra power to the move.
The Wool Pokemon was sent flying from the Dragon Tail as the feeling of Druddigon's rock-like skin stuck to his stomach with a tiny little bruise.
"Ah! Flaaffy!" Rarity moved forward, gasping as her partner tumbled in front of her. "Are you alright, darling?!"
"Ffy...Fla!" He got right back up, holding his injured stomach with one eye closed. Flaaffy wasn't a Pokemon that could be taken out so easily. Even though that Dragon Tail left a mark.
"Have a look at that!" The announcer stood up. "I take back everything I said! Turns out you can be huge and still move insanely fast! What speed!"
"Like that? I trained my Druddigon's speed so that no other Pokemon can catch him off guard!" Wind March crossed her hooves together, grinning. "Now he's no longer slow and laggard."
"Druddigon!"
"Hm. You're not the only pony that's trained their Pokemon for specific situations." Rarity smirked. "Flaaffy! Get in close for an Electro Ball!" A fairly risky command by Rarity.
The decision to get closer to a Pokemon such as Druddigon who also has hard skin can be considered reckless and foolhardy. However, Rarity had a plan involving something that Flaaffy had within him.
"Big mistake!" Druddigon! Crunch!"
"Druddi!" By opening up his huge gaping jaws, Druddigon bolted towards the Wool Pokemon, landing a powerful bite and possibly a free snack.
"Gotcha." Rarity suddenly said in a quiet tone.
Once Druddigon bit onto Flaaffy's head, it did in fact deal damage as Rarity expected. Flaaffy didn't even get the opportunity to pull off Electro Ball. Druddigon tossed Flaaffy aside with bite marks engraved on the Wool Pokemon's body.
"Fla!"
"Oh! That's gonna leave a mark!" The announcer winced. "But Flaaffy's somehow standing still!"
"Why did Rarity decide to get close while using Electro Ball? Wouldn't it make sense to do it from far away as usual?" Twilight scratched her mane in confusion.
"Yeah. But look closely." Ash pointed over at Druddigon.
Rarity's plan involved one single thing that would grant her a major speed advantage. It took a few seconds to process but when it did, Druddigon felt a sudden shock in his body.
"Dru?!" There it was. Druddigon's stopped moving out of nowhere with sparks of electricity surrounding his body. Flaaffy and Rarity's secret weapon had been revealed.
Static.
Druddigon was now paralyzed.
"Perfect!" Rarity stood up with joy.
"Flaaffy!"
"Oh! It was Static!" Pinkie gasped. "That's so evil but clever at the same time, Rarity!"
"Static works well as a counter to Druddigon's Rough Skin. A perfect trade." Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Ah! Druddigon!" Wind March squealed.
"Now, let's finish this! Flaaffy! Thunder!"
"Flaa!" Flaaffy concentrated all of his power into one spot. Instead of using the clouds this time, the Wool Pokemon summoned Thunder from his ears and tail instead. A massive blast of electricity was shot forward afterwards.
"Quick! Dodge it Druddigon!" But it was too late. Since he was paralyzed, dodging would prove to be a difficult task. The moment Druddigon tried to move, he felt the force of 200,000 volts bombard his entire body.
"DRU!"
"Now! Electro Ball repeatedly!"
"Fla!" The Wool Pokemon jumped into the air with his tiny shadow looming over the Cave Pokemon. From his tail, a single Electro Ball was hurled at Druddigon, shocking him even further. But it didn't stop there. Flaaffy repeatedly flung electric orbs towards the Dragon-Type, non-stop without rest.
Druddigon was getting pelted by Electro Balls to the face while his body was still paralyzed. "Druddigon! Use Dragon Tail to hit them away."
A smart decision. But, again, Druddigon was paralyzed. So its reaction time wasn't as good as before. He attempted to whack the incoming orbs away with his draconic-clad tail, but the constant volley of Electric-Type attacks from the Wool Pokemon kept throwing him off focus.
"I can feel that too! Druddigon's getting pelted by those Electro Balls!" The announcer gawked.
"Finish it with a bang, darling!"
"Ffy!" Flaaffy made an extra-large Electro Ball as the final attack. With all his might, he flung the super-sized orb towards a still out of focus Druddigon whose eyes widened at the sight of the attack.
A direct hit followed by an explosion of lightning that filled the battlefield. The power of that final Electro Ball was nothing to scoff at. Once the smoke cleared, the result of Druddigon's current state was visible to everypony. Fainted.
"Drudd..."
"Druddigon is unable to battle! Flaaffy wins!"
"Flaaffy!"
"Just as planned!" Rarity stomped her hooves. "A marvellous display of skill, Flaaffy!"
"Fla."
"Taking down an entire dragon! You're the best Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cheered with the crowd. Her excitement reached a point where she accidentally uppercut Pinkie Pie, knocking her out for a bit.
"Oof!" Pinkie uttered.
"Beaten by paralyzation. Shame." Wind March shook her head as she returned Druddigon. "That was pretty crafty of you, ya know."
"Isn't it? It'll be my ace in the hole when I face off against Adagio's Pheromosa." Rarity replied.
"Yeah, well. You won't pull the same trick on me twice, I'll tell ya that! Go, Pangoro!" Out came Pangoro who was no longer exhausted.
"Goro!"
"Pangoro! Use Swords Dance and Close Combat one more time!" Wind March went for the same tactic from before. And this time, they're both hoping to land a hit in.
"Do what you did before! Flaaffy!" Another attempt at escaping from Pangoro to avoid getting hit by his glowing blue fists. A second chase scene had played out.
"Not this time. Pangoro! Hit the ground!"
"Pan!" By stopping in his tracks, the Daunting Pokemon had attacked the ground itself, causing a mini-earthquake. This tremor tripped Flaaffy who lost his balance due to Pangoro's actions.
"Now, get Flaaffy!" Pangoro immediately ran after the fallen over Flaaffy, who was just getting back up.
"Ah! Quick, Flaaffy! Dash away!" Rarity gasped.
"Ffy?!" Flaaffy turned around to see that Pangoro was right in front of him. He finally had Flaaffy where he wanted him.
"Pan..." Pangoro threw one punch that struck Flaaffy's jaw, dealing some major damage. But it didn't stop there. Once Pangoro landed a single hit, he followed up with multiple rapid-fire punches. "Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro-Goro!"
"Fla! Ffy!" With each punch, Flaaffy could feel Pangoro's heavy fists punish every part of his body. This lasted a few seconds until Pangoro finally finished it off with one final strike.
"PANGO!" By smashing his fist on Flaaffy's face, the Daunting Pokemon launched the Wool Pokemon to a far distance, passing Rarity herself even.
Flaaffy hit the walls of the stadium, shaking the seats of the crowd themselves. The Electric-Type couldn't really withstand a pummeling like that. So of course, he fainted.
"Flaaffy..."
"Flaaffy is unable to battle! Pangoro wins!"
"What a beatdown!" The announcer pressed his face on the glass.
"Aw. Just when Flaaffy was doing so well." Fluttershy whimpered.
"How do ya like that? Once Pangoro lands a hit, the battle's already over." Wind March smirked. "Right, buddy?"
"Pan." Pangoro crossed his arms, feeling proud of himself as he nodded. Unfortunately, his huge reward in defeating Flaaffy came with a risk. Since he hit Flaaffy more than once. Possibly 50 times in a row, he was gifted with the same effect that his friend Druddigon obtained.
Static yet again.
"Goro!" Pangoro fell on his knees as sparks of lightning surrounded his body.
"Are you kidding?!" Wind March squealed, pulling the pigtails that she had.
"Hmph. I suppose you ended up falling for that a second time. Now, Leavanny! Finish it off!" Rarity sent out Leavanny who was 100% healthy and raring to go.
"Leavan!"
"X-Scissor!"
"Van...!" Leavanny crossed her arms together with green energy illuminating with an X-Shape forming.
"Pangoro! Use Fire Punch!"
"Pan..." Pangoro held his head, trying to power through the paralyzing effect. He pulled one of his arms back as flames ignited around his fist.
Both Pokemon crossed paths, however, only one could pull off an attack faster than the other. And that was Leavanny, who cut past Pangoro, leaving behind a shockwave that struck Pangoro.
Leavanny stood up tall, turning around to see Pangoro feeling the effects of X-Scissor and Static. Thanks to all their training 40 minutes ago, X-Scissor was powerful enough to knock out Pangoro as the Daunting Pokemon fell flat on his face, defeated.
"Pangoro..."
"Pangoro is unable to battle! Leavanny wins! Thus the victor is Rarity!"
"A One-Hit-KO!" The announcer gawked. "And Leavanny's still healthy without a single scratch!"
For such an impressive display of skill and taking down two huge Pokemon with immense power, thunderous acclaim and praise were sent towards Rarity and her Pokemon. It was so impressive that everypony even stood up.
"That was amazing! She battled like she was a top trainer!" A pony exclaimed.
As always, Sweetie Belle was the most pumped out of everypony here. Her frantic flailing and cheering almost made her dizzy from all the excitement.
"It seems our hard work really showed itself, didn't it Leavanny?"
"Lea!"
"Good job, Pangoro. Return." Wind March returned her partner to his Poke Ball. "Pretty sneaky using that Static on me. Twice, even!"
"Apologies for that." Rarity squeed.
"But it's fine. You said you were gonna use it for that Adagio pony right? If so, then make sure you win."
"I will. Thank you, Wind March!"
Rarity's victory was something to admire. So much so that the higher ranking trainers were taken aback by how well she played. If anything, Rarity could be deemed as a major threat to them. And she wasn't even participating in the league.
"That was some mighty fine battling there, Rarity." Applejack gave her a pat on the back.
"Yeah. I'm a bit scared. A bit..." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Thank you, girls. I made sure to put in more than 100% of my effort into that battle. And any battle going forward. But for now...I need some rest. Leavanny."
"Lea." Leavanny brought out Rarity's fainting couch as the unicorn fell on it.
"I wish you all good luck with your battles. That reminds me. What is your second Pokemon, Applejack?" Rarity asked.
"Mine? Well, Grovyle's my only partner, but I got one from the rental team. A Venasaur." Applejack held a Poke Ball containing a Venasaur. "I don't know too much about it, but Ben said they were all well trained."
Speaking of Ben, he came rushing through the doors with Gothitelle. "Quick announcement!" He shouted, grabbing everypony's attention. "It took me a while to realize but... Christmas or Hearth's Warming is closing in. The tournament is put on hold for now."
"On hold?!" Rainbow Dash squealed.
"Mhm. Sorry for the inconvenience. But family and friends come first after all. No need to worry. We'll continue in the new year. That'll give all of you a bunch of time to prepare yourselves for when we resume."
"He's right ya know." Applejack nodded. "I should be home preparing for Hearth's Warming right about now."
"I should be sorting out the gifts for the Pokemon!" Rarity sat up from her couch.
Everypony was chattering about how they almost missed Hearth's Warming. They were so caught up in the tournament with all the battling that it completely passed their mind. But that just goes to show how addictive and fun Pokemon battles can be. They sure know how to take up most of your time.
The news passed on to the crowd as well. They all got a move on, planning to head back home for Hearth's Warming before it's too late.
"I can't believe Hearth's Warming almost passed our minds," Twilight said. "Pokemon battling might be a bit bad for our health."
"Espeon."
"Well. If we hurry, we can still finish up decorations and presents." Pinkie replied. "Are you gonna be here for Hearth's Warming, Ash?"
"Sorry. Goh and I are gonna be back at Kanto for Christmas." Ash answered.
"Pika."
"Yeah. It is our home after all." Goh nodded.
"Can't you convince your mom to come over?" Sweetie Belle looked up at Ash with a puppy-dog face, trying to pull at his heartstrings.
"Well, mom wouldn't mind. But, she's already got a ton of plans for some of her old friends that are coming over." Ash chuckled nervously. "But I'll see if I can find something that can work for both of us."
"That reminds me. Sonata. Aria. You've never experienced Hearth's Warming yet, have you?" Fluttershy turned to the two sisters.
"First time hearing about it. Is it about getting warm?" Sonata squeed.
"We'll explain it all to you along the way. Let's meet up with Rainbow Dash and the others quickly." Twilight walked ahead of everypony else. Her Bisharp stood in front like a bodyguard. Since Twilight was a princess, Bisharp automatically gained a powerful urge to protect her. He and his Pawniards do guard Queen Serperior after all.
Celestia returned indoors to Canterlot, taking a deep breath now that the Canterlot Tournament is on hold until next year. For the first two days, it gave everypony here a rush.
"We should probably prepare ourselves for Hearth's Warming as well, Passion, Arcanine. Or I suppose for your world I should refer to it as Christmas."
"Kirlia!"
"Arc."
Teleporting inside was Luna, who wiped some dust off her ethereal mane. "I can't believe the tournament is taking a break. I was so prepared to show off my Musharna for the first time." She groaned.
"Next year, Luna."
"Hopefully everypony remembers their brackets." She responded as she placed her Poke Balls back inside of her room. "By the way, sister. Have you talked to Adagio ever since her battle with Twilight ended?"
"No. Not yet. I'm more curious about where she'll go during the Hearth's Warming break. Or if she'll even return once the tournament continues."
"I assume that she roams around Equestria freely." Luna released all of her Pokemon from their Poke Balls, letting them roam around in her room. Her Musharna, who loved Luna to an abnormal level, hovered over the alicorn's head, glomping on it. "Musharna! Not now!"
"Perhaps." Celestia looked outside of the window, gazing at the battlefield. There were a bunch of marks plastered everywhere along with cracks and other hazards. Whether it was from Fire, Electric, Ground and even water, it was put through some intense battles. And most likely, when the tournament returns, it's only going to get rougher later on.
As for Adagio, she had actually left Canterlot after hearing the news about the tournament taking a break until the New Year. But she wasn't leaving in her usual cocky spirit. Not this time. Ever since Aria admonished her with every fault she had, the siren kept on mumbling to herself about how Aria was wrong.
"What does she know...? I'm in the right here," Adagio grumbled, trying her best to forget everything Aria said. But it was no use. Her scolding left a massive impact on her. It wasn't going anywhere for a long time. "I swear, I'll prove her wrong. All of them."
Meanwhile, the trains that led to Ponyville, The Crystal Empire, Manehattan and other locations in Equestria had taken their leave. Ponyville's train went first since it was the closest to Canterlot after all.
Inside, the CMC had fallen asleep due to their time in Canterlot along with other ponies who were just out of it lately. Pinkie Pie and Sonata had actually fallen asleep themselves.
Twilight looked out of the window, thinking about her match with Adagio. She didn't let it get to her anymore. Not after how Rarity and Celestia comforted her. She was leaving Canterlot in high spirits, confident that somepony would be able to defeat her and that speedy Pheromosa.
With the Canterlot Tournament on a break until the new year, many ponies are already setting their minds on Hearth's Warming, prepared to enjoy it all until the new year arrives. And as a bonus, everypony can prepare themselves for when the tournament resumes, working on their battling skills as the journey continues.
Ponyville, Night. 1 day Before the tournament went on break.
It was currently night in Ponyville. With the very small amount of ponies who were still here, Ponyille has never been this quiet before. The only sounds prominent at this time was the pouring rain from above and some nocturnal Pokemon here and there. Mostly Noctowl.
"Noctowl..."
Of course, not everypony was asleep. Some were still awake for other reasons. And one pony in particular, who physically cannot sleep was Jade Skies. The current babysitter for the Cake Twins.
Both Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were about to be put to sleep alongside their two newly caught Pokemon, Plusle and Minun.
"Alright, you two. Time to clock out." Jade spoke them both in her usual deadpan face. Pound Cake babbled as he poked his fellow pegasus in the eye. "That goes for you two as well. Plusle. Minun."
"Min!"
"Plus!"
"I'm never asleep. So I'll be awake, watching you all night. So there's no need to worry."
By picking up the two twins, she placed them each in their cot beds along with Plusle and Minun, who decided to stay out of their Poke Balls instead of inside. She closed the windows to block out the sound of the rain hitting the windows.
Plusle fell asleep on Pound Cake's head whilst Pumpkin Cake held Minun like a toy as each of them dozed off. They tend to fall asleep fairly quickly. Even before anypony realizes.
Jade left the room, turning off the lights as she gently closed the door on them, leaving the four of them to sleep in peace.
"Alright. Best leave them alone." Jade spoke to the remaining Slurpuff here. "Did you make sure to save their food?"
"Slur!" Each of them nodded in unison.
"Good. That wasn't too difficult. Pinkie Pie's gonna be proud of me when she finds out about this."
"Puff. Slur..." The Slurpuff's themselves were feeling exhausted. It was only a matter of time before they decided to rest up.
"In you go. All of you." Jade held the Poke Balls that belonged to each of the Slurpuff's, lent to her by Pinkie herself. By sending them all back inside of their Poke Balls to rest, it was just Jade now. Alone at night.
At least, in SugarCube Corner. One thing Jade enjoys doing is heading out at night to enjoy the sound of the wind. Being a pegasus, the wind is naturally something that she would enjoy, however in Jade's case, it transcended from just mere ambience.
She had a strange connection to the wind itself. Almost as if she was connected to it. That might just be a result of her being a Rift pony. But she didn't know that. Heading outside, her hooves made contact with the soft snow.
At this time, animals were hibernating, along with a few Pokemon. But since Pokemon are built differently from animals, a gigantic majority of them didn't hibernate. Only a select few. Looking at the land before her, she could see how every single Pokemon go on their own adventures with their own stories.
Some were heading home to rest, some were looking for new homes and others were just enjoying the night. Mainly Ghost-Types and Dark-Types.
Which led Jade to think about something else. All of this and yet she still has no clue where she originally came from. She definitely didn't come from Cloudsdale. Twilight offered to help look into her past but there wasn't a single clue. No birth certificate, school applications, past friends, nothing.
All of her current friends saw her as a mystery. But yet, she fit right in at Ponyille. With all the other eccentric ponies that live here. And to an extension Cloudsdale as well.
"Jade?" Mayor Mare's voice suddenly passed through her ears. She had yet to fall asleep along with her always loyal Stoutland that was by her side. "Up at night again?"
"Always. I just can't sleep. Don't know why..." Jade replied.
"Ah, well. It's good having a watchful eye at night. Would be even better if it was a hundred eyes. Oh. I wonder if there is a Pokemon out there that can see everything..." Mayor Mare thought for a moment.
"Hm." Jade nodded.
"Jade, is something wrong? I know you can't feel emotion but your frown is a bit more slumped than usual."
"I've just been thinking for a while now. In fact, I've been thinking about this ever since the Pokemon Festival. Will I ever know where I came from? At all?!"
"I don't really have the answer to that, Jade. You're as much as mystery as the Pokemon themselves." Mayor Mare gave Stoutland a head pat. "But, your friends are currently trying to solve that mystery, aren't they?"
"Yeah. But they don't really have any sources to go through. I think by the time they manage to get Jirachi's wish off, my past is still gonna remain a mystery."
"Oh, don't say that. They'll find a solution for sure." Mayor Mare chuckled. "I mean. Most ponies' pasts are shrouded in mystery. Like how my mane stopped being pink in the span of 50 years. How I miss it so."
"Speaking of which. What is your name, actually? It can't be just Mayor Mare."
"My real name? Well, its-"
"LOUDRED!" The sound of Loudred stubbing its toe had echoed throughout Ponyville as Mayor Mare spoke her real name.
"Oh. Okay." Jade replied. "Well. I'll see you tomorrow morning then."
"Goodnight, Jade. Come on Stoutland, let's get some rest."
"Stout!"
As the trainer and her Pokemon returned to their home which was the entire Town Hall, Jade was left alone at night. The lights from other homes had been turned off, indicating that everypony was finally clocking out for the night.
Being unable to sleep herself, Jade decided to sit on the snow-covered ground, watching the night go by. Up in the sky, you could see a Minior fly by. Fitting as it was the Meteor Pokemon.
But very soon, Jade wouldn't be alone anymore. Some familiar company made its way towards Ponyville. A group of Pokemon that have a bone to pick with Mayor Mare.
That being Honchkrow and his goons, the Murkrow.
"Honch..." Honchkrow and his goons stood atop a tree, gazing over the quiet and peaceful Ponyville. The Big Boss Pokemon was here for one reason and one reason only. Payback against Mayor Mare.
After all, she was the one who sent him and his goons flying out of Ponyville. Both figuratively and literally. He and the mayor did make a promise that if she won, he would leave Ponyville forever.
Of course, he didn't keep his promise.
And now that he's returned, it was the perfect opportunity to steal from Ponyville once more. And as a stroke of good luck, a large majority of Ponyville's citizens weren't present at all.
"Honchkrow..." The Big Boss Pokemon commanded his Murkrow's to fly off and snatch everything they can. From food, appliances, accessories, etc. All for the sake of satisfying the boss.
"Hm?" Jade, being the only pony awake at all times, spotted the flock of Murkrow's heading this way. Seeing them didn't bother her that much. Jade was completely unaware of who these Murkrow were exactly.
After all, when Honchkrow and his goons invaded Ponyville and stole from them, the Pokemon Festival was only a few days away. Jade hadn't awoken yet. So if anything, she woke up late without hearing about one of Ponyille's natural enemies besides Togepi.
"Murk!" The Murkrow each scattered across Ponyille, breaking inside of everypony's home by mostly smashing through their windows.
The ponies who were still here heard the sounds of their windows shatter, prompting them to wake up. One of them being Amethyst Star and her Skitty.
"AH?! What was that?! She stood up from her bed, startled by the sound of the window breaking.
"Skitty!?"
"Krow!" Four Murkrow's grabbed some of Amethysts's food from her fridge with their talons and beaks, vandalizing the appliance as well. No respect whatsoever.
"Hey! My food!" Amethyst hopped off her bed, using her magic to grab the Murkrow, holding them all in place.
"Krow?! Murkrow!"
"You guys again? Didn't the mayor tell you to never come back here?" She narrowed her eyes at them.
"Murkrow!" The Murkrows weren't ready to hear Amethyst scold them. So to break themselves free, each of them used the move Feather Dance. By flapping their wings, all four of them left an empty husk of feathers shaped like themselves as they made a getaway by flying out the window.
The rest of the Murkrow's had succeeded in stealing whatever they could for their boss. The ponies who had been woken up attempted to stop them, but every single of the Murkrow's had used Feather Dance to escape.
Honchkrow had taught them all to use this move for the sake of high-tailing out of someplace whenever they make a steal. And it was fairly effective.
Inside Mayor Mare's home, Stoutland had heard the sounds of the window breaking, prompting the Big-Hearted Pokemon to bark.
"Stout! Stout!" His barking woke up his trainer who had just found the perfect sleeping position. Now it was ruined.
"Mrrgh...Stoutland, what is it?"
"Land! Stoutland!" Stoutland rushed out of Mayor Mare's room in a hurry. The first thing he laid his eyes on was some Murkrow's grabbing all of Mayor Mare's favourite foods.
Once the mayor herself left her room, she as well caught notice of this. "Hm? Ah! Murkrows?!"
"Krow?" The Murkrow's all turned around to see the one pony they hoped they would never bump into. Mayor Mare. Time to panic. "Mur!" And a perfect time to get out of here with what they've gotten so far.
A single Murkrow let out a cry that alerted the others. It was a signal that Mayor Mare had noticed them. They all got a good amount of food and other essentials in their grasp, so there was no need to stick around much longer.
Mayor Mare ran out of Town Hall, locking her eyes on every single Murkrow that was here. From the last time she saw a flock of Murkrow's, there were at least 10 of them. Now, there were 20 in total. Honchkrow's posse had increased over the past few months.
"Get back here! Stoutland! Giga Impact!"
"Stout!" Stoutland ran ahead of Mayor Mare, building up speed over time. The Big-Hearted Pokemon surrounded his body in energy as he launched himself up in the air like a rocket, heading straight for the airborne Murkrow's.
He managed to hit three of them due to how large Giga Impact's aura was. By striking them down, the rest had managed to escape. At least they had three of them here in Ponyville, fainted.
"Urgh! They got away!" Amethyst groaned.
But not all of them. Inside SugarCube Corner, some Murkrow's were still grabbing as much as they could. Since SugarCube Corner holds the most foods in Ponyville, this was the place to go.
Jade ran inside, spotting the Murkrow's raiding the fridge, causing a huge mess. "Hey. Stop that." She attempted to shout but her expressionless personality made that impossible. Jade spread her wings out, taking to the air to stop the Murkrow's.
By using her hooves, Jade tried to hold the Darkness Pokemon in place. But they were a bit too fast for her. Way too fast actually. That didn't stop Jade though. As the Murkrow's were evading whilst also grabbing pastries, the Rift pony dashed around SugarCube Corner with her hooves outstretched.
Over at the baby's room, both Plusle and Minun had been woken up from the sounds of silverware clanging, hitting the floor and even Jade crashing into the walls.
"Plus?"
"Min-Minun."
The two of them, out of curiosity, left the room where their trainers slept, heading out into the kitchen to see what exactly was going on.
Jade had managed to grab a hold of a few Murkrow's holding them in place with her hooves around their wings. She then spotted Plusle and Minun, realizing that they can be of great help in this instance.
"Plusle. Minun. Shock them."
Listening to Jade, the two Electric-Types had used Spark at the same time with volts frantically exerting out of their bodies.
Each of these volts covered the entire kitchen, interacting with the metal and Murkrow's. And of course, Jade as well. Everything in the kitchen had been electrocuted with the force of two 10,000 volts. Every single Murkrow here had fainted from Plusle and Minun's electrifying combination.
"Murkrow..." Each of them groaned.
"Thanks, you two," Jade said with her mane spiked up from the Sparks.
"Plusle!"
"Minun!"
With the amount of Murkrow's the ponies managed to round up and capture, placing them outside, Mayor Mare walked up to each of them with narrowed eyes. She wasn't too fond of the Murkrow's getting up to their usual antics again. Especially back at her town.
"Alright. Care to explain why you've decided to return here, hm?"
"Krow..." Each of the Murkrow's were shaking with fear packed in their eyes.
"You know these Murkrow, Mayor?" Jade asked.
"Indeed I do." Mayor Mare looked down at Murkrow's intimidating every last one of them. "Along with their boss, Honchkrow. Previously, they performed the same actions by stealing from Ponyville a few months ago. Seems like they've returned to do exactly that."
"Oh. Honchkrow?" Jade turned to her.
"It's basically their boss." Amethyst Star answered. "Fitting since it's known as the Big Boss Pokemon."
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh nodded.
"Alright." Mayor Mare leaned forward with her faces in the Murkrow's. "Where's your boss?"
"K-Krow! Krow!" A petrified Murkrow gave up the location of his boss out of fear. From where his beak was pointing, Honchkrow and the rest of the Murkrow's were located at White Tail Wood.
"So that's where they are. Everypony. Keep a close eye on these Murkrow. Stoutland." The mayor was already prepared to head over there and deal with Honchkrow. She and her partner made their way to White Tail Wood to meet with an old enemy of theirs.
"Stout!"
"Do we have to stand out here until she gets back?" Amethyst groaned. "My hooves are cold.
"Mmm...Some sleep would be nice right about now." Big Mac grumbled.
"Aren't you feeling tired and cold too, Jade?" Amethyst questioned.
"No. Should I?" She replied with a monotone voice.
"Nevermind..." Amethyst sighed.
Over at White Tail Wood, Honchkrow was already expecting Mayor Mare from the very beginning. He knew that the moment he and his cronies set foot in Ponyville, ransacking the entire town, his old enemy would react and take action.
The Murkrow's had brought Honchkrow what they could grab from the buildings they invaded, placing it in front of their boss. A fairly nice selection of food and objects to choose from.
But this time, Honchkrow wasn't focused on the food or items. Not at all. It was Mayor Mare who all of his attention was locked on.
And speaking of Mayor Mare, from where Honchkrow stood, he could see her galloping this way with Stoutland by her side. Perfect timing according to the Big Boss Pokemon.
"Honchkrow!" Mayor Mare yelled, stopping her tracks.
"Honch..." He's been expecting her. The Big Boss Pokemon ordered his Murkrow's to stand down. This was between him and her after all.
"Seems like you can't keep yourself out of trouble. Especially concerning my town, hm?"
"Krow..." The Dark-Flying-Type scoffed at Mayor Mare, looking at her with scorn in his eyes.
"You know what to do. Return what belongs to Ponyville."
"Honch." Obviously, Honchkrow wasn't going to do that. At all. Instead, he decided to continue stealing from Ponyville until the entire town is empty with nothing at their disposal. But first, he'll have to get rid of his biggest threat here. Mayor Mare.
The Big Boss Pokemon had attacked out spite, using the move Haze to disrupt her vision. By flapping his wings, Honchkrow released a thick black smoke that spread across White Tail Wood. But the mayor wasn't bothered whatsoever. She's fought Honchkrow before, so she knows his tricks and how he plays.
"Nice try. Stoutland! Sniff him out and use Thunder Fang!"
"Land!" The Big-Hearted Pokemon got to work. By using the natural talent that every dog-like creature has, their powerful nose, he sniffed the area for Honchkrow's scent.
Stoutland moved through the smoke of Haze as the fumes entered his nose. Even if his vision was obscured, the Normal-Type kept sniffing.
Honchkrow was moving around in the Haze, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He made sure to avoid Stoutland at all costs by hovering high into the air.
With Stoutland sniffing from left to right, Honchkrow had decided to attack now. He went for the move Dark Pulse, sending down a beam of black and purple circles imbued with dark thoughts from its beak.
"Stout!" Stoutland was able to pick up on an incoming attack from any direction. That's when he found out that Honchkrow was in the air instead of on the ground. The Big-Hearted Pokemon jumped forward, evading Dark Pulse as it blew away all the snow.
With exceptional leg strength, Stoutland had jumped high into the air, passing right through the smoke of Haze. He opened his mouth as volts of electricity surrounded his fangs.
"Honch?!" Honckrow gasped, surprised that Stoutland can jump that high without Giga Impact being utilized.
"Stoutland!" Direct contact had been made between the two. Stoutland bit Honchkrow's wings, sending an electric shock through his entire body. Once he got a hold of Honchkrow, the Big-Hearted Pokemon dragged the Big Boss Pokemon to the ground, causing them both to crash down.
"Krow!"
"Excellent! Now! Finish it with Giga Impact!" Mayor Mare wasn't holding back for a second in this instance.
Honchkrow's eyes widened once he heard that command. And it was at this moment that he finally realized that this was not the wisest move.
Waking up Mayor Mare late at night and stealing from her town was probably a huge mistake considering how much she's improved as a trainer.
According to Honchkrow. This was a bad idea.
"STOUT!" Stoutland tossed Honckhrow off him by removing his teeth from the Dark-Flying-Type's wings. Once he did that, the Big-Hearted Pokemon charged forward with orange streaks sparking around him. A white and purple aura surrounded Stoutland as he smashed himself into Honckrow, hitting him right in his very rotund belly.
With Giga Impact landing, Stoutland did the same thing he did to Honchkrow when they first battled. By sending the Big Boss Pokemon flying out of control into the air. This time, it was in the night sky.
"KROOOOoooooooooowwww!" And that was the second time Honchkrow had been defeated by Mayor Mare yet again.
"That solves that. Excellent job Stoutland."
"Stout!"
All of the Murkrow's had noticed their boss flying off into the distance due to how high up he went. That involves the ones trapped in Ponyville.
Staying loyal to their boss, the Murkrow's followed Honchkrow into the air, leaving Ponyville behind along with everything they had stolen. There was no point in staying behind now.
Returning to Ponyville, Mayor Mare let out a yawn, ready to speak to the little number of ponies left here. Her Stoutland had dragged along all the stolen goods by carrying them on his back or wonderfully long moustache."Alright. Now that that's over with. I believe we can all head back to bed until the morning arrives."
"Uh, yeah. Just one problem." Amethyst pointed her hoof over at all the broken windows thanks to the Murkrow's intruding.
"Oh, right. Big Macintosh. Could your Machamp deal with that?"
"Eeyup." Big Mac turned to his Machamp who was already on it.
"Champ!" The Superpower Pokemon got some tools as he was dashing around Ponyville, doing his very best to fix the windows. And with all those arms, this'll be over in a few minutes, no problem.
As for everypony else, it was back to bed. Minus Jade of course.
The morning had finally arrived. Machamp in all his awesomeness had fixed every single window here overnight before returning to Sweet Apple Acres.
Mayor Mare could wake up happy, knowing that she defeated Honchkrow and sent him flying along with his goons. But one thing she and the rest of Ponyville didn't know was that today, the rest of the town was returning for Hearth's Warming preparations.
Jade continued to take care of the Cake Twins, unaware of her friends approaching.
The Pokemon at the Pokemon House got up to whatever it is they do whenever Fluttershy's not around with Krookodile watching over them all.
The remaining ponies in Ponyville went on with their day for 13 hours straight. Total silence with peace as a perfect ambience to it all.
The rainbow from Eve's Dazzling Gleam could still be seen in the sky, showing just how powerful it was. It was a fairly vibrant rainbow. Much more saturated than an average one even.
And it didn't take long until Ponyville was filled with noise once more. Mayor Mare could hear familiar voices coming this way. Voices that belonged to the citizens of Ponyville. By looking outside of her window, she saw them all. Every last one of them.
"They're back?! It hasn't been a week yet!" Mayor Mare gasped, confused by their sudden return.
"We're back!" Pinkie Pie yelled at the top of her lungs, bouncing over to the town she and everypony love so much.
"About time!" Applejack stretched her hooves, releasing all the strain from her muscles. "All that sitting can really mess up somepony's bones."
"I missed this feeling..." Fluttershy took in Ponyville's air. "Oh! I wonder how all the Pokemon are doing!" She immediately took the skies, flying off towards the Pokemon House.
"I can't wait to get back to Kanto." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"You're still gonna convince your mom to come over for Hearth's Warming, right Ash?" Sweetie Belle hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"Well, I'm sure mom wouldn't mind at all." Ash laughed.
"You're all back so soon? I thought the tournament was only supposed to last a week?" Mayor Mare went up to them.
"Yeah. Turns out a lot of us just remembered that Hearth's Warming was coming up. So it's on a break until next year." Spike explained.
"Oh. Thank Celestia. I thought everypony would miss out on this year's Hearth's Warming." The mayor let out a sigh of relief.
"Speaking of which...I need to finish up my decorations! There are only 2 days left!" Rarity took off like a rocket, rushing over to her home in a hurry.
Everypony had plans that they had to finish up until Hearth's Warming arrived. So this was no time for idle chit chat. Every last one of them scattered like cockroaches, heading off to their respected areas and homes.
Pinkie, Mr and Mrs Cake returned to SugarCube Corner, ecstatic to see Jade and the Cake Twins again. "Jade! We're back! How'd the-" Pinkie's words were stopped when she noticed that Jade had the twins, Plusle and Minun cradled up in her hooves. All four of them were having a peaceful sleep at the moment.
"Plus..."
"Minun...
"Ssshh." Jade hushed.
"Are those Plusle and Minun?" Mr Cake asked.
"Mhm. Their own personal Pokemon."
"Oh. Jade, you got them their own Pokemon? That's great." Pinkie rushed over. "You've done a pretty great job of taking care of these two little angels."
"You were the one who gave me some good advice, after all, Pinkie. Responsibility's pretty easy once you know what you're doing."
"Isn't it?" Mrs Cake nodded. "Many thanks, Jade. Now, let's hope the Pastry Palace for Hearth's Warming is still in top condition."
"Think you can babysit them again when we head back to the tournament?" Pinkie asked.
"You bet I can," Jade answered. In that instance, it looked like she was about to crack a smile. But it remained a frown. She was making progress with emotions. Slowly but surely.
Now that everypony has returned home, they can look forward to the incoming Hearth's Warming or Christmas for the human world. The tournament certainly gave them a rush of emotions ranging from excitement, shock, horror, confusion and laughter. Home is where they can just simply rest up for as long as they want as the journey continues.
The Canterlot Tournament has officially returned.
The ponies who were taking part in it immediately made their way to Canterlot to resume their upcoming battles. Unfortunately, Ben couldn't arrive to give any announcements since he was feeling a bit under the weather, so it was up to his Gothitelle to take his place.
All the ponies who were still in the tournament remembered which Pokemon they would end up using on the third day and their matchups. Some were rental teams like Applejack renting a Venasaur since she only owns Grovyle as her official Pokemon.
There were a few matches that were never seen due to the sudden break. But now that they're all back, the matches can resume and advance onwards to the third day.
As always, the waiting room was where the participants gathered up with their partners, waiting for their turn to arrive. And for the crowd, they took their seats, gossiping and chatting away about who will end up winning this entire tournament.
"Glad to be back here." Rainbow Dash sat down on the waiting room couch. "Can't believe we almost missed Hearth's Warming because of this."
"I hear tomorrow's a 3v3 this time. For the whole 3rd day." Applejack answered. Due to learning that it would end up being a 3v3 for the 3rd day, she got yet another Pokemon from the rental teams. Now she had Venasaur and a random Pokemon.
"You know. With all this battling, I think my eyes have gotten pretty-" A pony was chatting away until something had interrupted him.
That something was the entrance of none other than Adagio Dazzle herself. And with Adagio present here, silence filled the room. Whether out of animosity or fear.
But this time, Adagio wasn't absorbing any of their negativity. Not after the harsh truth, she had just been given a few days ago. Adagio didn't even pay attention to the ponies who were giving various looks at her.
"Can't believe she came back here." Rainbow Dash whispered. "I didn't think she would."
Adagio could hear all their words thanks to sirens having good hearing. But she didn't have the spirit to reply at all. She just stood on her lonesome, distant from the others.
Adagio's match with Rarity would end up occurring in 30 minutes. Right after everypony else finishes up on their matches. But now she wasn't in the mood to defeat Rarity at all.
"Krick?" Kricketot who always stayed inside of Adagio's mane was hoping that his trainer could recover from this. After all, Kricketot heard everything that Empress Twilight told Adagio. Knowing about this made the Cricket Pokemon worried about his trainer and her future.
"Not now, Kricketot," Adagio responded to him. "Not in the mood."
"Tot..." Hearing his trainer's commands, Kricketot returned inside of Adagio's huge mane.
With the tournament resuming, two pegasi stepped onto the battlefield with the crowd getting pumped up. The referee was there once again along with the announcer.
And with the addition of the Pokemon School, the Gym Leaders had come by to watch this tournament go down. Although, some of them couldn't make it since they have jobs back at their region as Gym Leaders.
But for the ones who don't get trainers around their gym that often, they were in the clear. Unbeknownst to the Gym Leaders, there was one matchup that everypony was looking forward to tomorrow.
Rarity vs Adagio.
And even more unbeknownst to them, both trainers had Ultra Beasts in their possession. So when that matchup arrives tomorrow, they'll have a battle that nopony here will ever forget.
The battle had begun between the two trainers with their Croconaw and Donphan. As always, seeing a Pokemon battle was exhilarating to the eyes. The flash of movements and the impactful sounds of attacks being unleashed was always a joy to see and hear.
Everypony but Adagio was enjoying this. Adagio naturally didn't find any interest in this tournament other than crushing Twilight and her friends right in front of everypony else, but now, even the drive to defeat the Mane 6 has essentially faded away.
Every passing second, Adagio continuously remembers those exact words that Empress Twilight told her. Words that will never leave her head.
"This fate that you speak of...only exists here."
For the entirety of the second day, she would remain like this. Completely sombre.
However, this wouldn't go unnoticed for long. Since there is one Pokemon in particular that can sense emotions on account of being a Pokemon all about emotions.
That being Celestia's Kirlia, Passion. Her ability to sense any emotion isn't limited to her trainer. Everypony present in Canterlot is radiating emotions that Passion constantly feels.
For the majority, she's been sensing positive emotions due to the tournament resuming and the exciting battle currently taking place.
However, one single emotion that is out of place can be easily identified by the Emotion Pokemon. Adagio's emotion put Passion on high alert. Not only can she sense any emotion, but she can also detect who the emotion belongs to.
"Kir! Kirlia!" Passion nudged Celestia's hoof, grabbing her attention.
"Hm? What's wrong Passion?" Celestia turned her head away from the battle, focusing on her partner.
"Lia!" Passion knew just spouting words wouldn't work, so she tried utilizing telepathy. Her telepathy is still fairly weak and she can only use it for 5 seconds at best. But it's all she has at the moment. With the amount of time she had, she uttered the words. "Adagio...is...sad." And that's the best she could muster.
"Adagio is sad, you say." Celestia stood up. If Passion mentions how somepony is feeling upset, which she rarely does, then its something that Celestia cannot ignore. "Alright. Arcanine. Stay here."
"Arca." Arcanine was already snug and cosy on the floor so he wasn't going anywhere.
Celestia knew that something was off if Adagio of all ponies is upset at the moment. Adagio was free at the moment. After all, before the tournament went on a break, she had already gone through her matchup.
By sending herself to the waiting room via teleportation, Princess Celestia appeared before everypony inside the room, causing them all to stray their attention away from the battle.
"Oh! Princess Celestia!" A pony gasped.
"Don't tell me she's participating in this tournament too?!" Rainbow Dash pulled her mane, screeching uncontrollably.
"Not at all. I'm here to see somepony important." Celestia replied, looking for Adagio. By navigating her head across the room, she spotted the siren sitting alone in the very corner. "There she is."
"Hm? She wants Adagio?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe she's finally gonna do something about her?" whispered Rainbow Dash.
With Celestia approaching Adagio, the siren looked up, seeing the alicorn gaze down upon her. "What?" She spoke to Celestia.
"Adagio. Are you alright?" Celestia asked with a genuine look on her face.
Hearing Princess Celestia ask that simple question wasn't something that Adagio could respond to with her usual prideful nature. In fact, this is the first time anyone has ever asked her if she was alright in years.
"No." She replied with actual honesty for once.
"Hm." Celestia nodded. "May I speak with you in private, Adagio?"
"Sure, whatever." Adagio scoffed.
With both Celestia and Adagio leaving the waiting room, everypony wondered why Celestia wasn't taking any action on Adagio. Although, they had no idea why these two aren't hostile with each other.
The area they sat together before was, of course, Canterlot Gardens and that one single bench.
"So tell me, Adagio. What happened that has made even you feel like this?" Celestia asked her. "You're usually so strong-willed."
"If I told you, you'd find it unbelievable."
"Not at all." Celestia shook her head. "You can ask me anything, no matter how grand it is."
"Fine." Adagio took a deep breath. "I just learned that the fate of my species, that cruel fate that endangers our lives, isn't as prominent as I thought."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean...it only exists here. And nowhere else. Apparently, in every other universe, this fate doesn't exist for alternate variations of me. So in short, the other universes that have sirens have it lucky. While I don't."
"I see..." Celestia understood what Adagio meant by that.
"It's not fair." Adagio stomped her hooves on the bench. "Why does it have to be just this world?" Thinking about it made Adagio almost tear up but she was strong enough to hold back her tears. "All this time I thought that it was something that could exist for every universe. That I was right all along. Guess that all goes down the drain."
"Fate is unpredictable, Adagio." Celestia put her wing over the distraught siren. "Unfortunately, despite it being a single force, it can have infinite possibilities. Ones that we aren't prepared for at all."
"That's an understatement." Adagio looked down. "What am I supposed to do now?"
"Hm. At a time like this, I would go to somepony who'll be there for you."
"Like who?" Adagio whimpered.
"Well. You still have your sisters, don't you? And you still love them, correct?"
Celestia's words made Adagio recall something that Aria said to her back then before the tournament broke up for Hearth's Warming and Christmas.
"But...That doesn't mean we hate you. You're still our sister."
"Yeah, I do." Adagio nodded.
"Then after the second day, go to them. Family should always be there each other." Celestia hopped off the bench. "Good job on detecting her, Passion."
"Kirlia." Passion hopped on Celestia's back.
The princess and the Pokemon left Adagio with one final advice concerning her sisters. For once, Adagio had to agree with somepony. The best thing she could do now was to head towards her sisters.
Back at the tournament, the Croconaw vs Donphan matchup had come to an end, with Croconaw finishing the battle with a mighty Ice Fang to finish Donphan off.
"Donphan is unable to battle! Croconaw wins! Which means the victor is Cloverpad!" said the Referee.
"Yes! Great job, Croconaw!" Cloverpad flew over to his partner, hugging Croconaw. The Big Jaw Pokemon returned the low back with a ferocious bite.
"Naw!"
"Ow! T-Thanks, Croconaw." Cloverpad winced.
With that battle over, it was clear that the tournament still had its usual excitement packed with it even after the break. After this, the remaining trainers came onto the battlefield to emerge victorious over each other.
There were 22 trainers left until the day would come to an end, transitioning into tomorrow. The crowd watched as all these battles went on. Some were quick, some took a while and some got so messy and chaotic that it was hard to tell what exactly was going on.
Applejack had her turn. Although, she's grown so much as a trainer that all she needed was Grovyle to win this. She didn't even use the rental Pokemon Venasaur once.
"Grovyle! Leaf Blade!"
"Vyle!" Grovyle was succeeding greatly in this entire matchup as he already took out one Pokemon by himself. He rushed in, slashing his bladed leaves on an opposing Magmar, taking it out in just two hits.
"Mag!" The Spitfire Pokemon went flying across the battlefield from that mighty Leaf Blade. Usually, it wouldn't be super-effective, but Applejack's Grovyle was strong enough to take on Pokemon that it would usually be weak against. By tumbling on the ground, Magmar fainted. "Magmar..."
"Magmar is unable to battle! Grovyle wins! Which means the victor is Applejack!"
"Nice quick work, partner!"
"Grovyle!"
"Just two hits?! How strong is that Grovyle?!" The announcer gasped.
"That's my sister!" Apple Bloom held Sweetie Belle tight, cheering for her big sister.
"Apple Bloom...P-P-Please..." Sweetie Belle was pleading for air whilst being held by an earth pony's supernatural strength.
With Applejack coming out victorious, the matches that would follow next were the ones that got everypony's excitement building. The top 3 trainers would be battling once more.
And like always, they didn't disappoint and showed off just why they're the top 3.
Spitfire and Daylight already finished their battles by using just their Medicham and Froslass. And currently, Luna was about to finish her battle off. Her Musharna made quick work of another trainer's Crawdaunt by using Energy Ball. And without losing any of her two Pokemon.
"Musharna! Use Psychic to bring Trumbeak over! Then use Hypnosis!" Luna commanded.
"Musha..." The Drowsing Pokemon forced the Bugle Beak Pokemon to come towards her by surrounding Trumbeak in a psychic aura. Once Trumbeak was pulled towards her, Musharna sent a spiral of hypnotic energy that immediately put Trumbeak to sleep.
"Beak..."
"Ah! Trumbreak!" Trumbeak's trainer screeched.
"Excellent. Return, Musharna." Suddenly, Luna returned Musharna, substituting for another Pokemon. "You're next, Excadrill!" Excadrill was sent out to finish the job.
"Drill!"
"Finish it off with Metal Claw!" By rushing in forward, Excadrill attacked a dozed off Trumbeak who couldn't really do anything to fight back at the moment.
One single Metal Claw was all it took to take down the opposing Pokemon and win the match for Princess Luna. The opposing Trumbeak was slammed into the ground by Metal Claw, causing a certified faint.
"Trumbeak..."
"Trumbeak is unable to battle! Excadrill wins! Thus the victor is Princess Luna!"
"A fine job, Musharna."
"Sharna!" Out of joy, Musharna flew over to her trainer, biting on Luna's head.
"Musharna, no!" But it was too late. Musharna was already on Luna's head.
With that battle over, the last bunch of trainers had their battles. While not as exciting as the top 3, they were enjoyable nonetheless.
And with the final battle coming to an end, the second-day matchups had finally finished up. Coming back to this tournament was worth it.
Ponies either went home or stayed in Canterlot for the night until the third day of the tournament arrives. Although, from what Gothitelle could tell, the number of trainers left might not fill up the entire week. Probably 5 days at best.
With everypony scattering across the streets of Canterlot, one pony, in particular, was waiting for two important individuals. That of course being Adagio.
Celestia's words really stuck to her. Wouldn't be the first time an alicorn ruler's words left a huge impact on Adagio. She waited for her two sisters to come out until she spotted them.
Sonata and Aria were chatting together, just being happy with smiles on their faces. Well, smiles on Sonata's face. Aria doesn't do smiling that much. But she was happy nonetheless.
Approaching her younger sisters, Adagio was ready to finally confront them without any hostility this time. Aria and Sonata quickly snapped their head towards Adagio's direction, noticing that their older sister was heading their way.
"What do you want now, Adagio?" Aria stood in front of Sonata. "If it's about-"
"It's not what you think it is." Adagio interrupted.
"Oh, really? You're not here to take us away? Then why are you here?" Sonata wondered.
Adagio would have to say words that she hoped would never come out of her move. For once, she would have to toss away all her hubris and vanity for this one situation.
"You two. We're still sisters, right?" Adagio asked with a melancholy tone.
Seeing their older sister in a state that they've never seen her in before was surreal to Sonata and Aria. But that surreal sight was enough to let them know that whatever happened to Adagio must've really hit her. Adagio is never upset. And when she is, it normally involves throwing or smashing something.
"Duh. Of course, we are." Aria replied.
"Mhm." Sonata nodded aggressively.
"You don't really hate me after all?"
"I wouldn't say hate, I'd say disappointed in you." Aria shook her head. "By the way, what's got you acting like this? This is making me super uncomfortable."
"Yeah. It's not like you to be all down and-" Sonata couldn't finish her sentence at all. That was because Adagio suddenly rushed in and gave both of her sisters an unexpected hug out of nowhere.
"I love you two idiots. I really mean it." Adagio for once showed off all her love and compassion to her younger sisters. For the first time in years.
Sonata and Aria looked at each other for a bit. At first, they were confused, but then, they nodded at each other in understanding.
At that moment, that same golden light that Adagio exhibits at rare occurrences had managed to show up once more. This mysterious gold light performed its magic once more. It made both Sonata and Aria feel refreshed. Whatever this light was, it seems to always leave that single effect on anyone that is affected by it.
"Alright." Aria pushed Adagio off. "You're gonna make me feel all mushy and I don't want that."
"I didn't know you were so good at hugging. Can you do it again?" Sonata squeed.
"You two...Will you cheer for me in my match tomorrow?" Adagio asked, trying to hold back her tears again.
"Hmm..." Aria thought about it for a second. "Eh, sure whatever. You seem like you're getting into it a bit anyway-" Just then, both Aria and Sonata noticed that Adagio was struggling to maintain her tears. "Are you... crying?"
"No! I just got out of the fountain earlier!" Adagio covered her eyes with her hoof. "See you tomorrow."
"Why would she be in the fountain?" Sonata scratched her mane.
"Forget it, Sonata. I think we've got something good to look forward to in the future."
Perhaps they do. Adagio's words to her sisters was something she never knew had to be done. Celestia watched the whole thing go down as always.
However, it wasn't Adagio telling her sisters that she loves them that got the sun princess's attention. It was the golden light that came out of Adagio's body. She recalls how her mother Sunlight once saw Adagio's mother Vivace let out that same light. But it only ever happened once. Now, Celestia was curious as to what that light really meant.
With the Canterlot Tournament finally returning and the number of trainers decreasing, the tournament to see how far everypony has come in terms of strength carries on with the anticipation of Rarity vs Adagio closing in. Although, when that matchup comes, it might play out differently than what they all imagined as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The third day of the Canterlot Tournament has finally arrived.
After a refreshing sleep last night, they were prepared for the third-day matchups. With fewer trainers, today will be shorter than the last. And the same can be said for tomorrow and onwards.
With everypony making their way towards the stadium, the waiting room was a bit smaller now due to the ponies who lost their matches on the second day.
Since this was the third day, by order of BIgTime Ben who was still here and unable to show up, Gothitelle had made it so that it would be a 3v3 this time.
So it was back to the rental teams for those who didn't have more than two Pokemon at their disposal.
The remaining trainers have proven to be formidable and truly skills so far. Even those who aren't participating in the Equestria League, such as Rarity and Applejack.
And speaking of Rarity, all eyes were on her today. No trainer was given more focus than her due to the upcoming match she has against Adagio. The one that many ponies were anticipating the most.
For the inevitable matchup between the two to happen, over 28 trainers would have to finish their matchups first. The unicorn was feeling confident about her upcoming battle with Adagio. But at the same time, a bit nervous.
"Alright. All I have to do is make sure that Pheromosa does not take out all three of my Pokemon." Rarity was planning ahead of her approaching battle.
All the while, matchups were happening outside on the battlefield. The sounds of moves shaking the entirety of Canterlot was impossible to ignore.
But Rarity had full focus and concentration that seemed impossible to break. She was truly thinking this through. Her training with Leavanny and Flaaffy ended up increasing their reaction time, specifically for Adagio.
However, with Rarity's newest partner being another Pheromosa, a Shiny one at that, her chances of defeating Adagio have risen, according to her.
"Using my Pheromosa against hers is a splendid idea but... My Pheromosa isn't much of a battler. She's akin to that of a jolly child. If it comes down to it, then I'll use Pheromosa as a final ace in the hole."
"Thinking hard, Rarity?" Applejack went up to her friend.
"The hardest I've ever thought. I'm going up against what can be considered a common enemy."
"Adagio's not common. She's pretty dodgy and rare." Rainbow Dash flew over.
"I just have to watch out for that speed. Twilight had a good strategy that helped her against Pheromosa's swiftness. She would've won if Eve didn't faint at the last moment."
"Not just that. What's the name of that dance Pheromosa does to make herself faster and tougher?" Applejack was trying to recall the Bug-Type move Pheromosa uses.
"Quiver Dance," Rainbow answered.
"That's it. You'd best watch out for that one. That vermin's already fast enough. She gets any faster, it could be trouble."
"Applejack's right. Besides, it helps Pheromosa against special attacks too. And your Flaaffy's all about special moves. Plus, Thunder's like the strongest move you've got." Rainbow Dash warned Rarity.
"I know. But I've also got something for that little nuisance. Flaaffy's Static." Rarity smirked.
"Oh yeah..." Rainbow Dash nodded. "If Static kicks in, Pheromosa's gonna have a hard time moving. Nice thinking."
"And Adagio's Pheromosa only attacks up close. So all she can do is get physical." Rarity stood up. "I just have to hope that Flaaffy can take enough hits for Static to appear."
"Wait, what about your Pheromosa? What can it do?" Applejack questioned.
"From what the dex says, this is what she can do so far." Rarity showed off her Pokedex. By selecting her Pheromosa's entry, the dex read out the moves Pheromosa can perform.
"Triple Kick. Substitute. Rapid Spin. Protect."
"That's it? Three Normal moves and one really good Fighting move?" Rainbow Dash wasn't sure about this movepool.
"I know it seems fairly weak. But believe me. I know what I'm doing."
"Well. If she says she knows...she knows." Applejack replied. "But...not sure how I know how I'm gonna win my upcoming match."
"Why not?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Don't you remember? I'm going up against Spitfire next." Applejack gulped.
"Oh, yeah! Oof. Tough luck, AJ." Rainbow placed her arm around Applejack. "But don't worry. If I get paired with them later on, I'll avenge you."
"I know!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed. "It's a perfect strategy! One that will surely guide me to victory!"
"Well, whatever it is, it'd better be enough to tank Adagio's Pheromosa and those super hard kicks." Rainbow Dash said.
With anticipation brewing, the matches raged on with ponies emerging victorious or in defeat. All the while, Sonata and Aria were now rooting for Adagio. Before they weren't due to her actions.
However, that one instance from yesterday where Adagio showed genuine love to her sisters, changed everything for them. Well, almost everything.
As for Adagio herself, she was no longer in her distraught mood. She was still heavily affected but after saying that she genuinely loves her sisters, the siren's drive to win had been sparked up once more. Whether that was a good or bad thing, is something that only Adagio express when her matchup comes along.
Celestia was in the same boat as Sonata and Aria. After seeing how Adagio confronted her sisters, she was curious as to how this matchup would go. Previously, Adagio battled out of revenge and detest for Twilight and her friends. And her battling style showed it due to how aggressive her Pheromosa was.
But now, it's a mystery. Celestia wasn't sure how Adagio would battle this time. Would she still keep her aggressive battling style since she's going up against one of Twilight's friends? Or will her short time with Sonata and Aria change that up completely?
All Celestia can do is wait and see.
With all 28 trainers finally done battling, the time had come. For Rarity and Adagio to face off. And both trainers were ready to head out there.
Adagio had already shown herself by entering the waiting room. Everypony could see that she had her usual smile on her face. But this time, in a different light.
Rarity and Adagio eyed each other down, knowing that it was time.
"So. Are you ready to lose?" Adagio smirked. "I'm not going to be as predictable as I was in my previous matchup. So it won't be easy getting a 1-UP on me."
"We'll just see about that." Rarity replied with narrowed eyes. The two knew that there wasn't any time for idle chit chat. They can let out all their urges on the battlefield.
So with that in mind, both unicorns finally made their way outside with the crowd locking eyes on them. The biggest concern here was Pheromosa. But the thought of Rarity having a second Pheromosa wasn't something everypony minus her friends weren't expecting at all.
As both trainers went on their respective sides, Rarity on the right, Adagio on the left, the referee looked over at the two unicorns, getting a bit nervous due to how intense they were making the atmosphere right now. Just from looking at each other.
"Both trainers are allowed to substitute their Pokemon. The battle will be a 3v3." The referee gave a quick summary of the rules. "You may both send out your Pokemon now."
"Hope you're ready. Because I'm in it to win it this time." Adagio used her magic to hold the Ultra Ball. "Come out, Pheromosa!"
Out came the beautiful yet fearsome Pheromosa that still leaves a huge impact on everypony present here.
"Pheromosa!"
"Hmph. Not bad. But your Pheromosa's colours pale in comparison to mine." Rarity also used her magic to levitate her custom-made Rarity Ball.
"What do you mean mine?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"It's time for you to grab all the attention! Come out!" Rarity knew what the obvious reaction would be once her own Pheromosa came out.
With the ball sending the Ultra Beast out, the entire crowd was met with a shocking reveal. Rarity had her own Pheromosa. A Shiny one at that.
"Mosa!" Rarity's Pheromosa lifted her arms.
"She's got a Pheromosa too?! And it's got different colours!" The announcer jumped off his seat, hitting his head on the ceiling wall. "Ow..."
"I didn't expect Rarity to own one as well..." Luna's jaw dropped as her and the other participants were shocked that Rarity had that Pokemon at her disposal. Just casually one of her teammates.
A commotion erupted from the crowd due to Rarity's reveal. And that's exactly what Rarity wanted. As for her own Pheromosa, it felt like a star being out here in the crowd. She looked like she was about to explode from excitement.
"No time to be dazzled, Pheromosa. Focus on the opponent in front of you!" Rarity shouted.
"Phero?" Once Rarity's Pheromosa turned around, she immediately spotted another one of her own kind standing in front of her. "Mosa?!"
"Phe." Adagio's Pheromosa didn't really care for another one of its kind being here as well. After all, Pheromosa's do not care for each other in any way shape or form. Although, they do enjoy beating each other up for gemstones.
While there aren't any gemstones here, Adagio's Pheromosa knows about Rarity's Pheromosa. She knows that it's basically a pacifist and a huge pushover. So Adagio's Pheromosa was going to enjoy this thoroughly.
"Where did you get one?" Adagio narrowed her eyes, confused on how Rarity owns a Pheromosa as well.
"Don't worry about the details. You should worry about your inevitable defeat." Rarity replied.
"Hmph." Adagio scoffed.
"Getting a bit nervous here..." Sweetie Belle bit her hooves, worried about the outcome. She was confident that Rarity would win but Adagio's battle style is not one she would want to see exhibited on her older sister.
"Battle Start!" And with the referee's call. The battle could officially begin.
"Pheromosa! Throat Chop!"
"Mosa!" Adagio's Pheromosa bolted forward with her legs being cloaked in a dark veil. However, thanks to all their training, Rarity's reaction time was quick enough to see Pheromosa coming.
"Use Triple Kick!"
"Phero!" Her own Pheromosa pulled her feet back, advancing to her fellow Lissome Pokemon at the same speed the other Pheromosa was moving at.
Both Ultra Beasts clashed legs, causing a shockwave just from them colliding. They seemed to be equal in strength. But that made sense since they were the same Pokemon after all.
With their striking strength being equal, both Pheromosa's backed away from each other, ending the clash.
"Use Poison Jab!" Adagio commanded. Her Pheromosa removed the dark aura and replaced it with a lethal poison that dripped on the ground, leaving tiny holes. The Ultra Beast took the skies, going straight for a dive kick.
"Protect!" Rarity decided to let her own Pheromosa defend herself instead of countering the Poison Jab. It was too risky and she wasn't hoping on getting her precious Pheromosa poisoned.
"Pheromosa!" The Lissome Pokemon's eyes glowed red as a blue forcefield surrounded her entire body. This allowed her to block the Poison Jab, eliminating the chance of being poisoned. For now.
"Kick her until her Protect goes down!"
"Mosa!" Adagio's Pheromosa repeatedly kicked Rarity's Pheromosa with Poison Jab, trying desperately to break through Protect. From the looks of it, her striking strength was almost enough to break through Protect if she kept on kicking.
"Alright. Pheromosa, return!" Rarity suddenly returned her Pheromosa to its Poke Ball. "Good job on defending yourself. Now, for my strategy to come into play. Come out, Flaaffy!" Rarity sent out Flaaffy as her next pick.
"Flaa!"
"Hmph. I'll make quick work of this sheep! High Jump Kick!"
"Phero!" The Lissome Pokemon jumped high into the air with her knees glowing purple. Yet again, Rarity's reaction time had increased to the point where she could see it coming and act quick enough to counter Pheromosa.
But this time, Rarity wasn't planning on attacking back. She was betting it all on Flaaffy's static. And there was one guaranteed way she could paralyze Pheromosa.
"Flaaffy! Use your wool to protect yourself!"
"Flaaffy..." The Wool Pokemon closed his eyes, using his wool as a defence tactic. Everypony thought that Rarity was doing this to cushion Pheromosa's hits since the wool is so fluffy and soft.
Sadly, Flaaffy's wool isn't enough to protect it from attacks, unlike Cinccino who can actually perform that. But Rarity already knew this. And there was one thing about Flaaffy's wool that could come in handy.
Once Pheromosa's knee struck Flaaffy's wool, a devastating impact pulsated through the Wool Pokemon's body. Flaaffy shuddered from the impact. It felt like his bones were about to break. However, his hard training with Rarity made sure that wouldn't happen.
Flaaffy was sent flying by High Jump Kick as he tumbled on the ground. But thankfully, he could go on. But that one attack really did a huge number on him.
"Ffy..."
"Phero." The Lissome Pokemon scoffed at Flaaffy, slightly impressed that he was able to take her attack. But then, she noticed that Flaaffy was smirking all of a sudden. And before she knew it, Pheromosa felt a powerful shock through her supple body. "MOSA!?"
"What?!" Adagio gasped.
"Just as planned. Hitting Flaaffy's wool wasn't exactly the wisest decision!" Rarity grinned.
"Of course" Twilight stood up, realizing something. "Just like Pikachu's red sacs, there's one area where the most amount of electricity is stored in. So if you hit Flaaffy's wool, there's a good chance it'll paralyze you. Smart thinking, Rarity!"
"Lucky paralyze!" Adagio scoffed.
"Oh, I wouldn't say it was lucky." Rarity flipped her mane. "You see. my darling Flaaffy's greatest weaknesses is also his greatest strength. Since he only knows Electric-Type moves, two of those moves have a chance of paralyzing his opponent. So even if Static didn't activate, I still would've had other options to paralyze."
"I see..." Adagio smirked. "Clever play, pony."
"Rarity's got this!" Sweetie Belle shot up, cheering for her older sister.
However, Sonata and Aria believed that it was best that they don't cheer for Adagio. They were afraid that everypony would give them judgemental looks due to Adagio's actions.
But Ash knew that they wanted to cheer for their sister. And he also understood that it would be hard for them to do so due to the atmosphere and tension.
"I should be frustrated but...I don't feel that anymore." Adagio said to herself. "I don't know what it is, but I feel something."
"Hm? What exactly?" Rarity asked.
"How should I know? Whatever it is, it makes me want to win this even further! Let's return the favour by poisoning! Use Poison Jab!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa readied herself, making sure that this Poison Jab would poison Flaaffy for sure. However, thanks to the paralyzing effect, Pheromosa's usually spectacular speed had been cut, causing the Lissome Pokemon to stagger with her movements.
"Flaaffy! Thunder!"
"Flaa!" The Wool Pokemon summoned the power of a storm in his tail and ears, ready to blast away.
"Duck!" Adagio knew that if Pheromosa got hit by this one attack, the result would be devastating. So, the Lissome Pokemon changed her forward kick into a sliding kick whilst also ducking.
Flaaffy's blast of thunder grazed Pheromosa's antennae, leaving some chip damage behind. Pheromosa being paralyzed really messed up her natural dodging skills. But she was still much faster than Flaaffy, even if her speed was cut.
A sliding kick was delivered to Flaaffy's leg, knocking the Wool Pokemon forward off the ground.
"Fla?!"
"Mosa!" Pheromosa then smashed her foot on Flaaffy's stomach whilst getting up, sending the Electric-Type upwards.
Flaaffy fell on his back whilst crashing down. A bruise could be seen on his stomach but thankfully, the poison hadn't affected him, much to Pheromosa and Adagio's dismay.
"Flaaffy..." The Wool Pokemon got back up, holding his stomach while breathing in and out.
"Flaaffy! Are you okay?!"
"Fla!"
"That's strange..." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Adagio's not battling the same way she normally does."
"Yeah. She's not being aggressive about it." Pinkie Pie nodded. "It's almost like she's...having fun?"
"In that case, we'll poison Flaaffy in another way. Spread the poison by swinging your legs!"
"Phero!" Pheromosa used Poison Jab once more. But this time, as a ranged attack. By swinging her legs in the air, she sent out multiple droplets of poison that zoomed towards Flaaffy's direction.
"Dodge and use Electro Ball!" Flaaffy zipped to the side, attempting to avoid the droplets of lethal poison that came his way.
"Keep kicking! And swing the poison everywhere!" Pheromosa continued to send more and more poison by continuously swinging the air. With each kick, the droplets got faster and faster.
Even when paralyzed, Pheromosa's speed is unnaturally good.
"Fla!" Flaaffy got on his back, ducking some poison that almost made contact with his face. He then spotted some more coming directly for his feet, so he jumped into the air as a means of avoiding it.
However, there was just too many droplets. And eventually, some of them made contact. Whilst Flaaffy was airborne, some of the droplets that were aimed upwards splashed onto the Wool Pokemon.
And it took that one strategy of Adagio to finally poison Flaaffy, forcing the Wool Pokemon to land down on the ground in a poisoned state.
"Flaa...ffy...
"Drat!" Rarity stomped her hoof.
"Now we're even. Let's see your Flaaffy try and keep its focus. Pheromosa. Regain your speed with Quiver Dance!"
"Phero..." The one move that Rarity actually feared would happen. With Quiver Dance, this battle might increase in difficulty. Fortunately, thanks to Flaaffy, when Pheromosa attempted to dance around, she was staggering each time with electric shocks sparking out of her. "Mosa...!"
"Hah! That's no way to dance beautifully! Flaaffy! Thunder! This time from above!"
"Ffy..." Flaaffy raised his arms, causing the entire sky to be full of grey clouds. Due to the poison, he couldn't focus as much as he closed his eyes with each movement he made.
"Hang in there, Flaaffy, darling! You can do this!" Rarity cheered him on.
"Too late!" Adagio exclaimed. Since Flaaffy was taking too long to activate Thunder, Pheromosa had managed to pull off Quiver Dance with the amount of free time she had. Now her Special Attack, Special Defence and Speed have all risen. But she was still a bit slower thanks to the paralyzing effect. "Now, use High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" By jumping in the air like a rocket, leaving a shockwave behind, Pheromosa outstretched her leg, going straight for another dive kick instead of the usual flying knee that comes with High Jump Kick.
"Flaaffy!" Flaaffy found enough focus to finally summon Thunder. From above a devastating blast of thunder roared down with lightning speed behind it, tearing through the skies.
Pheromosa smashed her foot on Flaaffy's head but the blast of thunder managed to smite her, causing both Pokemon to successfully land their attacks.
With the impact of both attacks, the two Pokemon were knocked back to their trainers, feeling some heavy damage after a collision such as that.
"Fla...!" Flaaffy got on his knees, trying to fight back against the poison.
"Phero!" Thanks to Quiver Dance, Pheromosa could take a Thunder. But it did leave a mark on her. "Mosa..."
"What an impact!" The announcer gasped.
"Bummer. If she didn't get Quiver Dance off, Pheromosa would've been toast already." Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Come on Adagio..." Sonata quietly mumbled, not wanting to give off the impression that she was rooting for the less popular side.
"We'll get back up to speed. Use Quiver Dance and move around whilst doing it!"
"Pheromo!" The Lissome Pokemon initiated the mystical dance once more. But this time, by moving all over the place.
"Flaaffy! Use Electro Ball repeatedly!" By using his tail, an orb of electricity emerged from Flaaffy. Even while poisoned, he could still carry on.
Electro Balls were continuously fired from Flaaffy's tail, zooming towards the Lissome Pokemon who was dancing about whilst feeling electric shocks course through her body.
Pheromosa's dancing allowed her to avoid the Electro Balls surprisingly. However, Adagio knew this would work since Pheromosa has a supple and thin body, allowing her to find perfect gaps wherever she can.
"Mosa!" Pheromosa completed the dance, boosting herself once more. With a second Quiver Dance, she was almost back to her true speed.
An incoming Electro Ball had managed to hit her once the Quiver Dance ended. However, due to it also raising her special defence, the Lissome Pokemon was still standing.
"This might be a problem..." Rarity bit her hoof. Now she had to deal with a much more durable Pheromosa unfortunately.
"Flaa..." Suddenly, Flaaffy got all wobbly, struggling to keep his balance. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time until the poison finished the job.
"Flaaffy?" Rarity leaned forward.
"Ffy...Flaaffy..." And with the last of his strength, Flaaffy had fainted, falling on the ground. "Flaa..."
"Flaaffy is unable to battle! Pheromosa wins!"
And with that, Adagio managed to get the first win over Rarity, leaving her down to only two Pokemon. Although, Flaaffy left a huge handicap on Pheromosa via paralyze, which was still active.
"What a shame! Flaaffy is out of here." The announcer shook his head.
"Just when it looked like Flaaffy would've done this all by himself." Sweetie Belle sighed.
"But on the bright side, he left a gift for Pheromosa," said Pinkie.
"Good work, Flaaffy. You've managed to help us by paralyzing her." Rarity thanked Flaaffy, returning him to his Poke Ball.
"That was a close one. I almost got a bit nervous there." Adagio smirked.
"It isn't over yet." Rarity got out another Poke Ball. "Come out, Leavanny!"
"Leavan!"
"And it's Bug vs Bug this time!" The announcer exclaimed.
"Alright, Leavanny. We worked hard for this. So let's show these two what we've managed to accomplish!"
"Vanny!
"Oh, but Poison Jab might be a big problem again!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Maybe...but let's wait and see," Ash replied.
"Pika..."
The battle between Rarity and Adagio is one that has many ponies on the edge of their seats. With Quiver Dance boosting Pheromosa up whilst a leftover gift from Flaaffy surrounds her body via paralyze, the heat between these two trainers is increasing as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
As the matchup between Rarity and Adagio rages on in the Canterlot Tournament, the winner of this 3v3 is still unpredictable. Although, it seems to be leaning towards Adagio's side.
With Flaaffy defeated by poison, Rarity sent out her ace Leavanny to deal with the terrifying Pheromosa Adagio owns.
"Leavan..." Leavanny crossed her eyes at her opposing Bug Pokemon.
"Phero." Pheromosa simply looked down on Leavanny like she does with every other Pokemon who she sees as beneath her.
"With Quiver Dance, Energy Ball isn't going to do a thing..." Rarity growled. "I'll have to rely on X-Scissor for this one."
"Not gonna make a move? Then allow me. Poison Jab!"
"Pheromosa!" With lightning speed, Pheromosa dashed forward whilst leaving a trail of dust behind. Thanks to Quiver Dance, Pheromosa's speed was once again difficult to keep up with, even with the paralyzing effect.
However, Rarity and her Leavanny trained for this. By having Leavanny work on her reaction time, anything that moves faster than her can now be spotted with her trained eye. And the same can be said for Rarity.
"Dodge it!"
"Lea!" By sidestepping to the side, Leavanny evaded the incoming kick from Pheromosa's poison-clad leg.
"Now use X-Scissor!" By getting up close in Pheromosa's face, Leavanny crossed her arms together, forming an X-Shaped that had been struck onto her fellow Bug-Type's face.
"Phero!" Pheromosa wailed as the X-Scissor, while not very effective, did end up pushing her back.
"Put the pressure on Pheromosa by continuously using X-Scissor!"
"We'll see about that! Use Poison Jab! Make sure Leavanny doesn't land a hit in!"
With both of those commands, the two Bug-Types were determined to get the 1-UP on each other. It started with Leavanny going in for yet another X-Scissor, however, Pheromosa used her poison-clad feet to block the attack.
Leavanny attempted to break through Poison Jab by forcing X-Scissor through, but Pheromosa kept her balance and stayed firm on the ground.
The Nurturing Pokemon jumped over Pheromosa, going for an overhead attack which she believed would end up working. But yet again, Pheromosa had a way around that. By lifting her leg upwards.
"Phero!" Pheromosa pushed Leavanny off her with an extra force added to her feet, giving the Lissome Pokemon some distance.
"Lea!" The Nurturing Pokemon rushed forward, delivering a flurry of X-Scissors by separating her arms, no longer in an X-position.
Leavanny swung both of her arms forward as if they were blades, putting the pressure on Pheromosa who continuously kept her leg up as a means of defending herself.
Each time Leavanny's blades hit Pheromosa's poison-clad leg, the Lissome Pokemon could feel her supple body shaking with each hit. Even if she put up her leg as her defence, the shockwaves will still travel through her.
Realising that it was too dangerous to keep this up, Pheromosa backflipped, kicking some poison droplets towards Leavanny.
The Nurturing Pokemon gasped as she used X-Scissor to block the poison droplets. Both Pokemon finally ceased their rapid movements with the poison disappearing and the bug energy fading away.
"What a rush!" The announcer was getting giddy. "Who knew seeing two bugs fight would be this exciting?!"
"You've been doing well so far! But it ends here! High Jump Kick!"
"Mosa!" Rocketing into the air, Pheromosa put her knee out, aiming it towards Leavanny's chest.
Rarity didn't actually command Leavanny to avoid it surprisingly. Instead, she allowed Leavanny to be hit by High Jump Kick. Pheromosa's knee smashed into Leavanny's chest, causing the Nurturing Pokemon to wince.
"Why isn't she commanding her?!" Sweetie Belle squealed, as she was hyperventilating.
"She didn't even react to Pheromosa's movements there." Twilight leaned forward. "What's she planning?"
"Direct hit!" Adagio cheered. "What now, pony?"
"Right where I want you." Rarity suddenly uttered. "Now, Leavanny! String Shot!"
"Van!" Leavanny opened one eye up, initiating Rarity's secret plan. By shooting a stream of sticky thread out of her mouth, Leavanny's string latched onto Pheromosa's knee, sticking like glue.
"Mosa?!"
"Now! Toss her off!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny used the thread from her mouth to control Pheromosa's movements as if she was a puppet. The Nurturing Pokemon tossed the Lissome Pokemon away from her, causing Pheromosa to wail.
"What in the-" Adagio gasped.
"Swing her!"
"Lea!" Continuing the surprising attack, Leavanny, swung Pheromosa around like a shotput, moving the Ultra Beast within the vicinity of the battlefield at high speeds.
"Eep!" The referee ducked as Pheromosa's body almost hit him. Even Adagio and Rarity had to take cover.
"Mo-Mosa!" Pheromosa felt like she was going to be sick from all this spinning. Even though she moves fast, she can't really handle being forced to move fast without any control of her own body whatsoever.
"Look at that! Leavanny's got Pheromosa trapped and moving around endlessly!" The announcer pressed his face on the glass.
"String Shot is always a useful move! Go, Rarity!" Pinkie stood up, flailing her hooves around.
"Mrrgh..." Aria grumbled along with Sonata. They were hoping that their older sister could somehow come back from this.
With Pheromosa being spun around, Leavanny decided to go the extra mile by causing Pheromosa to hit the ground each time she went in a circle.
This aggravated Pheromosa which is a Pokemon that absolutely despises anything dirty. And now that dust from the ground is all over her face, it's safe to say that she's finally found a Pokemon where she can pour all her hate on.
"Break free using Poison Jab!" Adagio realized that she had to free Pheromosa immediately.
"Phero...Mo!" The only logical way to break out of String Shot was to destroy it with poison. So, that's what she did. By using Poison Jab, Pheromosa kicked the thread of string in half, freeing her from Leavanny's grasp.
However, due to all that spinning, Pheromosa was now feeling dizzy, unable to properly focus as her legs were all wobbly along with her body still feeling the after-effects of being slammed across the ground repeatedly.
"Mosa..." The Lissome Pokemon held her head, finding it hard to concentrate.
"Another one of your plans?" Adagio scoffed.
"Maybe." Rarity smirked. "I will say that it's yet another way to give us the advantage."
"Leavanny!"
"I promised that I would defeat you for the sake of my friends and their safety. So you won't get past Leavanny and me!" Rarity said with confidence.
"Really now? Rarity, was it? Tell me this then."
"Hm?"
"Is it just your friends that you're fighting for?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you're fighting for your friends to protect them from any future threat, then everyone else must count, right?
"Of course they do. Besides. It's not just them. But my sister too. I don't need a reason to protect those that I love." Rarity gave her answer. It was simple and short.
"I see." Adagio nodded. "In that case...Pheromosa! Quiver Dance!"
"Phero..." Pheromosa was still dazed and dizzy. Trying to perform Quiver Dance was a bit of a struggle now. But after recovering in a few seconds, her special defence, attack and speed had been boosted.
"Let's finish this! Leavanny! X-Scissor!"
"Leavan!" Believing that this would be the final blow, Leavanny rushed in with confidence. From the speed she was approaching, everypony leaned in with anticipation.
"Hmph. Poison Jab!" Pheromosa quickly raised her leg, switching out of Quiver Dance. Once Leavanny got close, Pheromosa gave a sneak attack by striking her poison-clad foot on Leaanny's stomach.
"Van?!" Leavanny gasped, feeling both Pheromosa devastating kick and poison hit her all at once. Not only that, but Pheromosa forced Leavanny away from her with an extra kick.
"Ooh! So close! It looked like that would've been the end of it all if it connected!" said the Announcer.
"Phew..." Sonata and Aria let out sighs of relief.
"Leavanny! Are you alright?!" Rarity gasped.
"Vanny..." Leavanny held her chest as she had also been poisoned thanks to that sneaky kick from Pheromosa.
"Poison..." Rarity growled. "No use in sticking in now. Return, Leavanny." By deciding to send Leavanny back to her Poke Ball, Rarity had no other choice but to bring out her own Pheromosa for this.
"Not good. Rarity's being backed into a corner here." Sweetie Belle whimpered. "What if she doesn't win?!"
"No need to worry," Ash reassured. "Just keep watching."
"Pikachu..."
"It's up to you. Pheromosa!" Rarity sent out her Shiny Pheromosa to combat her fellow Ultra Beast once more.
"Mosa!"
"Rarity's lost one Pokemon, her Leavanny's poisoned and all she has is just her Pheromosa now. I don't know about this." Pinkie shook her head, unsure if Rarity could win this.
"I'm not sure if we can keep up with her Pheromosa due to that previous Quiver Dance..." Rarity was starting to worry. "Not only that...but I have no clue on what her second or third Pokemon might be."
"This is bad..." Rainbow Dash spoke whilst watching the match. "So-so-so bad!"
"Did Adagio's Pheromosa get stronger over the past few weeks?" Luna uttered.
"What's it gonna be, Rarity?" Adagio was finally referring to Rarity with her actual name instead of just calling her Pony.
"I'll admit...my strategy's been a bit cluttered at the moment. With Flaaffy fainted and Leavanny poisoned, I'm in a bit of a rough spot at the moment. But I refuse to lose. And Pheromosa feels the same as well."
"Pherom!"
"But something's odd here. The way you're battling...It's vastly different."
"How so?" Adagio raised an eyebrow.
"I expected you to act mercilessly against me. Much like how you did with your first opponent and Twilight. And you seemed like you would do the same once we were paired up. Why battle so differently?"
"I don't need to tell you why. Besides...I don't even know why myself. But hearing you say that you want to protect your family and friends makes my head all fuzzled up."
"Are you perhaps having second thoughts about all of this?"
"Second thoughts? You wish I was. I still want to defeat you and your friends but...I don't feel that same drive as before. But either way, I'm still claiming this victory as mine!"
Hearing Adagio mention all that made Rarity think of something for a moment. The way she was battling, how she wasn't sounding as cynical or cruel as she normally speaks could mean one thing.
Rarity found out that something must've happened before this match. Something that changed Adagio a small bit. Whatever it may have been, it made Adagio almost seem bearable and somewhat respectable to Rarity.
Only 7 minutes were remaining in this matchup. And with those 7 minutes, only one pony is coming out of this winner. Both unicorns eyed each other down as their Pheromosa's prepared themselves.
"Pheromosa! Triple Kick!"
"Use High Jump Kick!"
At the same time, the two Lissome Pokemon took off like rockets with one outstretching its leg and the other thrusting its knee forward.
Their two attacks collided, once again showing that they're equal in strength at the end of the day. With the shockwaves cancelling both attacks out and forcing the two Ultra Beats back, it felt like this entire battle was about to suddenly ramp up in intensity.
"We'll surpass your speed! Pheromosa, darling! Rapid Spin!"
"Phero!" Rarity's Pheromosa got into a ballerina stance as she spun her body around at high speeds, kicking up some dust as well. She made her way towards her opposing Ultra Beats whilst also creating a dust devil around her.
"Counter with Poison Jab!"
Adagio's Pheromosa was a bit hesitant on getting close to her opponent since she despises anything unclean. Which involves a tornado of dust. But she was willing to win this battle anyway. By bolting forward, Pheromosa delivered a side-kick, striking her foot through the tornado of dust.
However, due to the dust devil spinning violently thanks to Rapid Spin, some of it had managed to get in the opposing Pheromosa's eyes, breaking her Poison Jab concentration.
Not only that, but the Shiny Pheromoa's ballerina kicks had smacked her fellow Ultra Beast in the face, forcing her out of the dust devil.
Now Rarity's Pheromosa had gained a speed increase as the dust devil separated away from her.
"Let's finish this!" Both Rarity and Adagio yelled.
"High Jump Kick!"
Triple Kick, once more!"
Adagio's Pheromosa was the first to approach while Rarity's merely prepared herself to strike at the right moment. Both Ultra Beasts looked at each other in the eye, knowing that they were both giving it everything they had. This could be their final clash.
Both of their legs clashed once more, causing possibly the strongest shockwave that has ever graced this tournament. So strong that it even affected the crowd and most of Canterlot, causing some ponies to fly out of their seats.
"You can do it Adagio!" Unable to hold it in much longer, Sonata stood up, cheering for her older sister. She expected confusing looks to glance her way but due to the immense shockwave, everypony didn't even notice.
This time, their mighty clash didn't break them up at all. Instead, both Pheromosa's managed to stay where they were. With both their legs fighting for dominance, only one of them could emerge victoriously.
"You can do it, Pheromosa!" Rarity cheered her Pokemon on.
"Pheromo..." The Shiny Pheromosa had no intentions of letting her trainer down whatsoever. She refuses to lose to the Pokemon that harmed one of her friend's Pokemon.
So to let out all she had, Pheromosa used her other leg, initiating the second kick. Once that second kick hit the opposing Pheromosa's face, a massive advantage had been revealed.
And the final kick was the big one. With the opposing Pheromosa still feeling the impact of the second kick, her leg had been overpowered by Rarity's Pheromosa who managed to not only kick Adagio's Pheromosa's leg away but also striking her face in the process.
With the third and final kick landing, Adagio's Pheromosa had been launched back, almost breaking the sound barrier from the speed she was flying at.
She passed by Adagio, causing her huge mane to flow in the wind. Even Kricketot almost fell out of her trainer's gigantic mane. Pheromosa hit the walls of the stadium, shaking the seats in the process as a loud thud could be heard from the impact.
The announcer rushed over to Adagio's Pheromosa to see the current state that she was in. And from how hard she was hit to how fast she went flying, the outcome was clear as the golden sun in the azure skies.
Adagio's Pheromosa had fainted.
"Phero...Mosa..."
"Adagio's Pheromosa is unable to battle! Rarity's Pheromosa wins!"
With a stunning victory over Adagio's Pheromosa, Rarity had dazzled the entire crowd with the amazing clash. And the thunderous roars were a good indication of just how much they enjoyed that battle.
Before, Twilight proved that it was possible to take down Adagio's Pheromosa. And Rarity just further sealed that proof. By using her own Pheromosa.
"We did it..." Rarity paused for a moment. "I didn't think I'd actually pull it off. Pheromosa! Amazing job!"
"Phero?" An excited Pheromosa rushed over to her trainer, giving Rarity a comforting yet heavy hug. "Mosa-Mosa!"
"Mrrgh! Okay! Thank you Pheromosa, darling!" Rarity found it hard to breathe with Pheromosa's crushing hugs.
"Yes!" Sweetie Belle hopped off her seat, going crazy with excitement. "Way to go, Rarity!"
"For a jolly Pokemon that Pheromosa of hers is pretty tough!" Apple Bloom gawked.
"Now all Rarity has to do is beat Adagio's other two Pokemon!" Pinkie squeed.
"I see..." Adagio walked over to her Pheromosa, holding out the Ultra Ball. "You did well. Now, return, Pheromosa."
"Adagio Dazzle. You may bring out your second Pokemon now." The referee said to her.
"Kricke-" Kricketot was ready to come out and fight for Adagio for once, even if he had Bide as his only move.
"Don't Kricketot." But Adagio stopped him. Just then, Adagio used her wonderful voice to reach the entire crowd since she had something important to say. Just two words. "I forfeit."
Words that shocked the referee, Rarity and the crowd.
"Huh?!" Rarity shouted in confusion along with the entire crowd. "You...forfeit?!"
"That's right." Adagio nodded. "Besides. I don't even have a third Pokemon at all."
"Oh...then in that case...Adagio forfeits the match! Thus the victor is Rarity!"
An unexpected victory that nopony predicted would end like that. Rarity was stunned, but not as stunned as everypony else.
"Aw..." Sonata sighed as Aria comforted her.
Ash and Celestia nodded their heads in understanding. They've seen a situation like this before and they know the full intentions behind it.
Rarity for a moment had no idea what to think. Her victory came flying in her face. "Forfeit? But why?"
"Don't worry about it." Adagio placed the Ultra Ball in her mane. "I know a worthy winner when I see one." And that's all she said to Rarity.
After that, Adagio was out of here, returning to the waiting room. But before that, Rarity had a few things to say. "Adagio, wait!"
"Hm?"
"Thank you for the battle." Rarity thanked her surprisingly, which caught Adagio off guard.
"Sure. It was a good battle." Adagio replied. And that really was the end of it. Once returning to the waiting room, the usual doubtful stares turned into pure confusion.
If there was one thing Adagio was an expert at, it was making a scene and dazzling the crowd with an array of emotions and reactions. Whether good or bad.
Sonata and Aria left their seats, just to go and talk to their older sister. How could they not after that? Once Adagio went out the streets of Canterlot, her two younger sisters had caught up with her.
"Adagio!" Sonata called out for her. "Where are you going?!"
"It's best you two don't know. I'm heading somewhere a bit private."
"But, I thought you were going to go to the top," Aria said.
"Yeah, I was planning on doing that. Guess my mind must've changed halfway through." Adagio shrugged. "See you two later."
"Are you gonna be alright? Maybe you can come and visit us sometime." Sonata asked.
"Maybe. See you two later." Adagio had nothing else to say to them. And to practically everypony else in this entire tournament.
As always, Celestia was watching her but she decided not to go after her. It was best to just let her go.
"Kricketot?" The Cricket Pokemon popped out of her mane.
"I don't know what I'll do next, Kricketot. I've still got that Luster pony to team up with apparently but...now I'm not so sure."
Adagio's time in the Canterlot Tournament had come to an end abruptly. By her own decision even. Wherever she heads to next is unknown to her sisters and Celestia. Even she has no clue what will happen in the later future involving Ghetsis, Empress Twilight and Chrysalis. But one thing's for sure, she's slowly changing as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The Canterlot Tournament's 3rd day is nearing its end, with only a few matches left.
With the rate and speed these battles are going at and how many trainers are losing, the tournament may come to an end earlier than everypony thought.
And with the dwindling number of trainers going by, Rainbow Dash was just about to finish up her current match.
"Whirlipede! Rollout!" By commanding her Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokemon smashed its spinning body into an opposing Combusken, taking the victory. The Young Fowl Pokemon went tumbling over to its trainer, fainting.
"Busken..."
"Combusken is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins! Which means the winner is Rainbow Dash!"
"Yes! That's the 4th day for us! Awesome job, Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Whirl."
And with that Rainbow Dash advances on to the fourth day by taking out three Pokemon with just her Whirlipede and Luxio. After this will be a matchup between two Crystal Empire ponies and after that will be a match that involved one of Rainbow Dash's friends.
Applejack.
But unlike Rainbow Dash, Applejack was going up against somepony who was far above her in skill and ranked high and the number one trainer in Equestria. That pony was none other than Spitfire.
Needless to say, Applejack was feeling nervous. And in the waiting room, her constant shaking was proof of that.
"Going up against Spitfire..." Applejack gulped. "Oh no."
"No need to worry, Applejack. As long as you keep your focus, you'll possibly have a chance of winning this." Rarity said to her.
"I don't know...I'm ain't too sure about this one." AJ winced. "I've only used Grovyle so far. Barely even used the rental Venusaur and I just got this third rental Pokemon."
"Oh. When you put it like that..."
"It's fine. Besides...if I lose, I lose. This is all just to see how far we've come anyway." Applejack stood up.
"That's the spirit, Applejack." And speaking of Spitfire, she replied to Applejack's words, frightening the earth pony. "Don't worry. I won't go too crazy on ya."
"Heh...Hehehe." Applejack laughed nervously, feeling a sense of dread looming over her. And that dread was bound to happen right after the next match ends. Because she'll have to go out into the battlefield and use all she has in store.
Rainbow Dash returned to the waiting room, feeling successful over her victory. From the looks of things, she might end up winning this tournament and have a chance of taking on the top 3 trainers that she's placed behind.
An impressive show of skill from the pony who first entered the Equestria League. Although, compared to the other three, she might have to do some catching up.
As for Applejack, this was no time to be shaking uncontrollably. If she wanted to get this fear and nervousness out of her, she would have to confront Spitfire.
The two Crystal Empire ponies had their 3v3 match like everypony else, further fueling Applejack's anticipation. She was hoping that the two of them would just stall it out and waste time until the day ends, but that wasn't happening since 9 minutes later, the victor had already been decided.
It was time to face off against Equestria's Number 1.
"Let's just get this over with." Applejack breathed in, preparing for the worst. As both trainers set hoof onto the battlefield with eyes on them, mostly on Spitfire, anticipation was building up in Applejack.
"Applejack's going up against the number one trainer in Equestria? I don't know if I like this..." Apple Bloom whimpered.
"You never know. She might pull it off somehow." Pinkie Pie squeed.
Applejack's friends were fairly aware that this massive difference in skill was clear as day. And once they start battling, they're expecting some unpleasant results to show.
As for everypony else, they were waiting to see what Spitfire had in store. Being number one meant that she would have to battle like the very best out of the other trainers here.
"Both sides. You may now bring out your Pokemon." The referee said.
"Your time to shine. Electivire!" Spitfire sent out her first Pokemon. None other than the Thunderbolt Pokemon Electivire.
"Vire!"
"Look at the size of that Electric-Type." Sweetie Belle took out her dex.
"Electivire. The Thunderbolt Pokemon. In terms of electrical-energy output, Electivire is one of the best among all Electric Pokémon. It discharges high-voltage currents from its tails. It pushes the tips of its two tails against the foe, then lets loose with over 20,000 volts of power and then beats down opponents with the power of its electrified fist. A single Electivire can provide enough electricity for all the buildings in a big city for a year. Its foes are burned to a crisp in an instant. When it gets excited, it thumps its chest. With every thud, thunder roars and electric sparks shower all around."
"Electric, huh? Then it's a good thing I got two Grass-Types."
"Gro." Grovyle was ready to step forward and challenge Electivire.
"Sorry, Gro. Don't wanna risk you going down early." Applejack took out a rental Poke Ball. "I'll start with this one. Venusaur!" Applejack chose Venusaur as her first pick.
"Venusaur!"
"Venusaur? That's a pretty strong Grass-Type. Applejack's got a chance!" Apple Bloom squeed.
"Venusaur. We ain't interacted at all. But I trust you to do well, right?" Applejack asked the Seed Pokemon.
"Saur!" Venusaur nodded in understanding.
"Venusaur's part Poison right? All it has to do is poison Spitfire's Pokemon and Applejack can find a way through this." Pinkie looked at the brighter side of things.
"Yeah, if it has a Poison move on it." Twilight wasn't so sure.
"Battle Start!"
"Alright, Venusaur! Seed Bomb!" Applejack decided to make the first move.
"Venu!" The Seed Pokemon used its own flower as a weapon. The centre of the flower on Venasaur's back begun glowing white, firing multiple glowing green seeds from it. These seeds were sent directly to the Thunderbolt Pokemon as if they were actual bombs.
"Rush through with Fire Punch!"
"Electivire!" Already having a dangerous move at its disposal, Electivire's fists became surrounded in a red-orange fire as it rushed forward. It used its flaming fists to not only smash the seeds into nothing, burning them away but also to get close to Venusaur.
And thanks to it being an Electric-Type, swiftness was expected as in just 3 seconds, it had destroyed the seeds and got in Venusaur's face.
"Saur?!"
"Vire!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon smashed its fist onto Venusaur's face, not once, but twice. Both punches let out a fiery explosion afterwards, forcing the Seed Pokemon into the ground.
"Ah, Venusaur!" Applejack gasped.
As the smoke cleared, Electivire removed its flaming fists away from Venusaur's face. And an unexpected result had graced the eyes of everypony.
In just one hit, Venusaur had fainted.
"Venusaur..."
"Venusaur is unable to battle! Electivire wins! Holy moly...that was quick."
"Venusaur didn't even get the chance to do anything else! Talk about brute strength!" The announcer gasped.
"How in the..." Applejack's jaw dropped.
"Surprised? You're gonna have to expect a lot of unexpected things when battling against my Pokemon." Spitfire smirked.
"What do ya mean by that?"
"All of my Pokemon fit a bunch of roles. Electivire here's my muscle. If anyone can smash stuff real good, it's him!"
"Elec! Electivire!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon spun his arms around, building up a ton of electricity.
"Grgh...Venusaur return." Applejack returned the Grass-Poison-Type to its ball. "Then, let's see you get through this!" She sent out the second Pokemon that she rented.
That Pokemon turned out to be the Twin Tusk Pokemon Mamoswine.
"Mamo!"
"Not bad..." Spitfire nodded. "Let's go, Electivirie! Use Fire Punch again!"
"Vire!" A second rush in from the Thunderbolt Pokemon with yet another Fire Punch.
"Mamoswine! Use High Horsepower!"
"Swine!" The Twin Tusk Pokemon stood on its hind legs with its body surrounded in an orange aura. Mamoswine then charged at the opposing Pokemon with a trail of energy following behind.
Both Mamoswine and Electivire clashed with moves that were super-effective on both of them. Mamoswine's head met with Electivire's fist as they had a small struggle. Mamoswine was physically strong enough to match Electivire in brute strength.
"Use your other fist, Electivire!"
"Elec!" By cleverly using its other fist that also had Fire Punch, the Thunderbolt Pokemon delivered a second blow to Mamoswine's face.
The second Fire Punch was enough to force Mamoswine away from Electivire, resulting in yet another blazing explosion that caused a mild shockwave.
However, once the smoke cleared, Mamoswine was still standing. In fact, it didn't look like it took that much damage or was even phased by the Fire Punch.
"Mamo!"
"What the?!" This even shocked Spitfire.
"Vire?!"
"Would you look at that! Fire Punch didn't do a thing to Mamoswine at all!" The announcer pointed out.
"But how come?" Pinkie wondered.
"It's Thick Fat. One of Mamoswine's abilities. It reduces the damage taken from Fire-Type and Ice-Type moves." Ash explained. "Man, it's such a handy ability!"
"Pikachu!"
"Swine..." Mamoswine wasn't just physically strong. But physically durable as well. Thanks to its ability it was protected by a layer of thick fat, making its usual Fire-Type weakness almost non-existent.
"No idea how you tanked that, Mamoswine, but good job!" Applejack congratulated the Twin Tusk Pokemon.
"Mamo!"
"Would ya look at that? Alright, Electivirie. Return for now." Spitfire returned Electivire. "Kay! Go, Flygon!" Up next was the Mystic Pokemon Flygon.
"Does that dragon have glasses on?" Sweetie Belle squinted her eyes, wondering what was up with Flygon as she used her dex once more.
"Flygon. The Mystic Pokemon. Flygon is nicknamed The Elemental Spirit of the desert because the flapping of its wings sounds like a woman singing. People continue to have their hearts stolen by its enchanting songs and find themselves stranded in the desert. This Pokémon hides in the heart of sandstorms it creates and seldom appears where people can see it."
"Dragon, huh? Then Mamoswine's good to stay in." Applejack said.
"Flygon! Use Screech!"
"F̴̯͎͈́͗͠Ľ̴̺̩̯̍Y̸̭̬͈͆͝͝G̵̖̽̓͠Ó̵͎͕O̴̦̼͇͛̌̇O̶̯̻̓̎̉O̷̢̝̠͑͐͝Ǒ̶̩͇́͂N̶̩̺̦̂̆̍!" Instead of the enchanting sound it always exhibits, Flygon instead let out a loud, irritating and piercing noise that distorted the air itself.
This sound was so powerful that it not only affected Mamoswine's poor ears, but every Pokemon in the crowd had been hit by it as well. It was a good thing that it only affects Pokemon and nothing else.
"M-Mamo!"
"Pi...Pikachu!" Pikachu covered his ears, trying to ignore the horrible sound coming from Flygon.
"Espeon!" Eve shuddered, curling up as Twilight held her.
"Spin...da!" Spinda fell out of Pinkie's mane from the horrible noise.
"D-DINO!" Audino was the most affected by this due to her amazing hearing.
There was not a single Pokemon in this crowd that wasn't affected at all by Screech. Except for some of the Ghost-Types owned by trainers.
Not only did it affect Mamoswine's ears, but it also harshly forced its defence down, taking away its usual bulk and durability.
"Now, Flygon! Use Superpower!"
"Fly!" The Mystic Pokemon flew in with its claws being surrounded in an orange aura.
"Mamoswine, quick! Use Icicle Spear!"
"Mo...!" The Twin Tusk summoned a sharp spear in front of it, ready to fire. Unfortunately, it was too late. Flygon had swiped its claw on Mamoswine's face before it could even pull off the Ice-Type move. "Swine?!"
One single strike from Superpower and even a Pokemon as heavy as Mamoswine was sent flying like a ragdoll with a large shockwave occurring from Superpower's impact.
The Twin Tusk Pokemon flew past Applejack, tumbling around like tumbleweed until it hit the walls of the battlefield, shaking the seats the crowd sat on.
Thanks to Screech lowering its defence, Superpower was all Flygon needed to take out this tank of a Pokemon as Mamoswine had fainted.
"Mamo..."
"Mamoswine is unable to battle! Flygon wins!"
"Stupid one-sided wipeout." Apple Bloom pouted.
"Guess she's got Superpower on Flygon to deal with its Ice weakness." Ash noticed.
"Pika..."
"Return, Mamoswine. Good try." Applejack returned Mamoswine. She knew that there was no chance of her winning this as she lowered her head with her hat covering her face. But she was still going to show everypony just how far she's come and go out with a bang."
"Vyle." Her partner Grovyle stepped forward, placing his hand on Applejack's hat. If there was one Pokemon who she could count on, it was her Grovyle.
"Grovyle...Alright. You're up next, partner!"
"Grovyle!" Now it was Grovyle's turn to take action.
"You lasted a pretty decent amount of time, Applejack. And you've come far in this tournament. But this is where it ends." said Spitfire.
"Yeah, I know. But I ain't leaving now." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Grovyle! Dragon Breath!"
"Gro..." The Wood Gecko Pokemon held his breath in, building up draconic energy from within.
"Use Fire Blast, Flygon!"
"Fly..." Just like Grovyle, Flygon built up a ton of energy, this time with some blazing flames added into the mix.
"Vyle!" Grovyle fired his attack first by sending forward a purplish-blue beam.
"Gon!" Flygon did the same but instead, it was a powerful 大-shaped blast of orange fire that tore through the ground.
The moment the two attacks met, instead of entering a struggle, they immediately cancelled each other out with an explosion afterwards.
"Head in and use Leaf Blade!" With the three leaves on his forearm glowing green and transforming them all into one long sharp blade, Grovyle rushed through the smoke, revealing himself to the Mystic Pokemon as he jumped up for a swing.
"Superpower!" Flygon responded with its own physical attack by swinging his claws forward with an orange aura flowing out.
Both attacks collided with a seismic wave of wind and energy pulsating through the battlefield, almost knocking both trainers and the referee off balance.
"Gro..." Grovyle could feel himself being overpowered by Flygon's superior strength. His blades could barely hold back the Mystic Pokemon's claws, but he was hanging in there.
"Dragon Tail!" Spitfire gave off a new command whilst the two were still in the middle of a clash.
"Flygon!" The Ground-Dragon had suddenly swung its tail wildly, smacking Grovyle in the face with green-draconic energy.
"Vyle!" The Wood Gecko Pokemon was whacked away from his opponent, hurling in the air due to Dragon Tail's violent strength.
"Quick, Grovyle! Dragon Breath!"
"Gro!" By opening his eyes, Grovyle had unleashed Dragon Breath whilst airborne. This definitely caught both Spitfire and Flygon off guard as the Mystic Pokemon's stomach had been hit by the opposing Dragon-Type move.
"Gon!" Flygon fell to the ground, taking some substantial damage due to Dragon being weak to its own typing. The Mystic Pokemon veered on the ground, still able to continue.
"Yes! Now! Leaf Blade, one more time!" With confidence, Grovyle bolted forward with his bladed leaves once more. It looked like they had a chance of taking out at least one of Spitfire's Pokemon. He pulled his arms, crossing them in an X-position as his shadow loomed over Flygon.
"Fire Blast!"
But, Spitfire wasn't about to let one of her partners fall. Once Grovyle got close to the Ground-Dragon-Type, Flygon's mouth opened up with the lights of Fire Blast illuminating all over Grovyle's body, showing signs of impending doom.
"Ah! Grovyle, move back!" Applejack gasped.
But it was too late. Once Flygon unleashed the full force of the attack, the Wood Gecko Pokemon's entire body had been engulfed by a destructive flame that ended up giving off a blazing explosion powerful enough to take out an entire building in one go.
And it certainly took out someone in one go. That someone being the Wood Gecko Pokemon himself. Grovyle fell from above with a trail of fire coming out of him. He fell flat on the ground, not even tumbling once. Unfortunately, he had fainted.
"Grovyle..."
"Grovyle is unable to battle! Flygon wins! Thus the victor is Spitfire!"
And with that, Equestria's Number 1 shows just how powerful she truly is. Although, this was the first time somepony actually managed to really damage her Pokemon in this entire tournament.
"Aw..." Apple Bloom slumped. "How is this fair...?"
"Look on the bright side. She battled well, right?" Sweetie Belle squeed.
"Better than most who've gone up against Spitfire." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!"
"Good job, Grovyle." Applejack went up to her partner, helping him up. "You tried your best."
"Applejack," Spitfire called for Applejack's name. "That was some pretty sweet battling at the end there. "You're the first pony to really last this long against me."
"Flygon!"
"Really?"
"Really. You may not be in the Equestria League, but you've got the makings of an amazing trainer with all that potential."
"Oh...Much appreciated Spitfire!" Applejack smiled at her. Spitfire was right. Applejack and her Grovyle truly have something special lying within.
Their main goal was to show everypony just how much they've grown as trainers. And they definitely pulled it off. This was just the beginning of something wonderful.
With that matchup finished, the other matches could carry on until the day came to an end, transitioning to tomorrow. With all these trainers dwindling in numbers due to their losses, some ponies were actually starting to feel fatigued. Pokemon battling can really take a lot out of anyone, human or pony.
But either way, as the 3rd day comes slowly comes to an end and with the entire thing having only 4 days left, the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The 3rd day of the Canterlot Tournament had eventually come to an end.
And from how everypony was feeling currently, a fast and growing fatigue was getting to them. Luckily, they could rest for the night until tomorrow.
However, from the rate this tournament was going and how intense the battles were getting the further they went on, it was unsure if they could really make it through the whole week. Although, some had better stamina than the others so they could probably carry on either way.
As for the crowd, they either stayed in Canterlot or headed home for a rest. Those that come from Ponyville chose to head back home and sleep whilst those who live further away like in Trottingham or the Crystal Empire stayed over at Canterlot for the night.
Inside of Canterlot Castle, Ash and Pikachu fell asleep in their usual goofy manner. With Ash hanging from the side of the bed and Pikachu lying on his head with both of them snoring.
"Mrrgh...Pikachu, use Thunderbolt..." Ash grumbled in his sleep.
"Pika...Chuuu!" By instinct, Pikachu could somehow hear Ash even in his sleep. As a result, he ended up shocking his trainer, waking him up.
"Gaaagh!" Ash yelled as he fell off the bed with his body smoking. "Ugh..."
"Pikapi?" Pikachu looked down at his partner.
"I'm fine, buddy." Ash groaned. Now that he was awake, he felt like doing something to pass the time until he heads back to sleep. By getting off the floor, Ash and Pikachu took themselves out of the guest room to fetch themselves a glass of water.
When entering the hallways of Canterlot, they came across Luna who was currently grabbing a hold of her Musharna, moving around the place.
"Luna?"
"Pika?"
"Good evening, Ash. As you can see, I'm having a bit of trouble keeping Musharna still. Musharna please, stay put!" Luna tried using her magic to hold down the Drowsing Pokemon, but Musharna kept advancing."
"What's wrong with Musharna?"
"Nothing. It's just that she keeps trying to attach herself on the heads of everypony in here!"
"Sharna!" The Drowsing Pokemon used Psychic to open up the door whilst Luna used her magic to close it.
"Guess this Musharna has a different way of eating dreams. Have you tried using your Poke Ball to bring her back?"
"Of course. But she forces herself out every time!" Luna groaned as Musharna had hovered high up, causing both her and Luna to be airborne. "I require assistance, please!"
"Sure thing. Musharna!" Ash called for the Drowsing Pokemon. "Try eating my dream. You'll be full in seconds." He pointed at himself.
"Musha?" The Psychic-Type turned around, facing Ash. If he says his dream will make her full then its a dream she's willing to eat on sight.
The Drowsing Pokemon attached herself to Ash's head, beginning the dream munching process. "Musha-Musha-Musha."
Ash simply stood there, letting Musharna eat up his dream without any problem whatsoever. And what he said was true. Once Musharna had eaten Ash's dream, she was full up in a second, falling asleep in the process.
"Finally..." Luna sighed, sitting on the floor. "Your dream must be larger than I originally thought."
"Yeah, it is." Ash pointed at his head.
"Pikachu."
"Many thanks for your assistance, Ash." Luna bowed her head.
"Are you all still up?" One pony in particular who was always awake due to her being two in one was Queen Pyrestar. She couldn't fall asleep due to the conditions in her own universe, making it impossible for her to ever get tired.
"Yeah. Just got done helping Luna here." Ash replied.
"In you go, Musharna." Luna returned the Drowsing Pokemon into her Poke Ball. "That solves that problem. Until the next night that is."
"You can always catch a Pokemon with a super big dream, ya know. Like one that wants to evolve super badly. Musharna will be full in a few seconds flat." Ash suggested.
"A fairly good idea, Ash." Luna nodded. "Perhaps I have one already..."
"I know Riolu's probably one of them from how he looked at Korrina's Lucario. But uh...not sure if he would like that."
"Pikachu..."
"Are you two unable to sleep?" Pyrestar asked.
"Well, I woke up from a shock and Luna's just active at night the most."
"Not as much recently. Ever since Queen Pyrestar came to our world, my night time duties have been less frequent than they usually were."
"As they should be. After all, I volunteered to fill in both you and Celestia's duties on my own. With a few exceptions here and there. All for the sake of having you two enjoy life. There is no telling when this world's Grogar might show up."
"No need to worry, Pyrestar. You can count on a lot of us to keep this world safe." Ash responded.
"Pikachu!"
"Such confidence. I wish I had that same level of confidence back in my own world." Pyrestar sighed. "Then perhaps I would have been able to solve the issues of my world."
"Your version of Equestria is suffering since the unicorns are the only pony race left, correct?" Luna asked.
"That is correct. They're unable to perform the same actions as earth ponies and pegasi. And even if they can, they lack the strength. That is why three pony races' exist in the first place. If one or two are taken out of the equation, then it would be nothing but a mess."
"I can't even imagine what it must look like. Especially under Ghetsis's new rule." Luna shuddered. "How long do you believe it will take for you to rebuild your own Equestria?"
"I'm unable to say. I still have not found a spell that can break the seal that is imprisoning the earth ponies and pegasi." Pyrestar shook her head. When she looked over to Pikachu, she realized something. "Unless...there is a Pokemon that can."
"Pika?"
"Ash Ketchum." Pyrestar walked up to Ash. "There is a Pokemon for everything, correct?"
"Sure is." He nodded.
"Then, is there possibly a Pokemon that can break the seal? Or even perhaps restore my land?" Pyrestar pleaded as her voice sounded desperate.
"100%!" Ash gave her hope. "Fairy and Psychic-Types are actually pretty good at stuff like that. And Psychic's aren't even magic. But it's gotta be a super strong Pokemon."
"Super strong? Which ones would categorize as that?"
"Hm. Well, Celestia's Kirlia is super strong, and she hasn't even evolved yet. So she could probably do it."
"That is true," said Luna. "I can only imagine what it would be capable of as a fully evolved Gardevoir."
"But for Psychics...they're all super strong. But one Psychic-Type comes into mind that's always gonna leave an impression on me."
"Which one is that?" Luna and Pyrestar asked.
"Mewtwo."
"Mewtwo?" They both pulled back.
"Right." Ash looked up, remembering Mewtwo. "Aside from Arceus, Mewtwo's the strongest Pokemon there is. I'll never forget those moments for sure."
"Pika..."
"Well. If this Mewtwo Pokemon is that powerful, then could you possibly have it help us? You are friends with practically every Pokemon from what I can tell." Pyrestar commented.
"About that...Mewtwo and I are friends but uh...not sure if he's one to do favours." Ash chuckled nervously. "But, maybe if we cross paths again someday, then maybe he'd be willing to help out. Mewtwo's a good Pokemon by heart. And just wants the best for everyone, ya know."
"He sounds like an honest Pokemon," Luna said.
"Oh, he is for sure. He can be a bit forward and pretty strict, but he's a great guy overall. I just wonder what he's doing right now?" Ash yawned. "Anyway, I'm heading back to bed. See you all tomorrow."
"Pikachu!" Both of them returned to their guest room to continue dozing off, hoping that another electric shock doesn't happen.
"Well. This gives me even greater hope. Ash already bestowed hope to me back at the Pokemon Festival when he made a promise to retrieve my world. And now that I know a that a way to break the seal exists, I am relieved." Pyrestar sighed.
"Ash knows how to spark up hope, doesn't he? One of his many admirable traits." Luna nodded.
"Mhm. It would make sense why you are fond of him." Pyrestar exposed Luna, causing the Moon princess to freeze on the spot. "You thought I wouldn't notice?"
"I-I just admire him greatly! It is not like I am i-infatuated or anything!" Luna stuttered on her words.
"Hmrrgh..." Pyrestar narrowed her eyes at Luna.
"Alright, fine! It was when he saved me from the Nightmare Pokemon. It was also when I started referring to him as Ash instead of Ash Ketchum. It was an evocative feeling. One I've only ever experienced when mother and father were around."
"I see..."
"Please don't tell him that!" Luna covered her face.
"I promise."
Along came the morning.
The golden sun graced the sky-blue skies once more, shining its radiance over all of Equestria with its usual overflowing energy.
Although, the same cannot be said for the ponies in Canterlot at the moment. More specifically, the ones who were participating in the tournament.
Many of them were actually going through a somewhat expected fatigue at the moment. The moment they got off their beds, they felt like going back to sleep immediately.
From all that battling they've been doing, it's all taken a bit of a toll on their bodies. After all, this is far different from their daily routines. Some of them even have important jobs they have to attend to.
The ones who weren't fatigued could obviously continue the tournament, but those who were out of it and low on stamina couldn't.
BigTime Ben had just recovered from his illness, returning to Canterlot to see how things were going.
"Good work filling my role, Gothitelle. We should do it more often." Ben said to his partner.
"Goth."
"Alright. How's every-" Ben's words were put to a halt when he noticed how most of the ponies were currently feeling drained at the moment. Many of them were laying on the couches in the waiting room or even laying on top of each other or the floor. "Oh, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..." A pony grumbled, falling off the couch. "Just a bit...you know..."
"Is it the 4th day or the 6th?" A confused mare yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Oh, dear. A lot of you are fatigued, aren't you?"
"A little bit..." A colt nodded.
"Hmm..." He looked over the sea of fatigued ponies, seeing how some of them could barely stay asleep. "I should've thought this through. Perhaps a whole week wasn't a good place to start for your first-ever Pokemon Tournament."
"Come on, Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash shook the half-asleep filly.
"W-Wha? I'm up." Scootaloo's eyes widened.
"Okay, listen. How about this? This tournament was only to see how far you've come, not really to have a certified winner. So, if you want, some of you can head home if you feel too tired to continue. How does that sound?"
Perfect to the ponies who were exhausted. They took that offer in a heartbeat. This tournament was great and all, but home sounds like a better place to be at the moment.
As such, many of the trainers here had left the tournament, heading back to their homes for a well-deserved rest. Because of this, a huge majority of the matchups had been eliminated. Although, the matchups that were remaining were major ones involving the current best trainers this tournament has to offer.
This does mean that the poor unfortunate souls who have to go up against the Top 3 are in for a rough time. So there's that problem.
News of this quickly spread to the crowd who learned about the sudden decrease in trainers. But they knew it was for the best. Pokemon battling is still something that can take up a lot of their day, completely removing the memory of their other important jobs and activities.
Scootaloo went over to her friends, joining them in the seats.
"Shame you got a bit tired through all of this, Scootaloo," said Apple Bloom.
"It's no big deal..." Scootaloo yawned.
"With how many trainers are left...that means the 5th day's the last day." Ash realized as he did the math.
"Pikachu."
"Well, might as well enjoy it while it lasts." Sweetie Belle shrugged.
The first match of the 4th day would be between two Canterlot ponies and after that, it was Rainbow Dash and DJ-Pon3. Vinyl wasn't fatigued at all due to obvious reasons.
"Bummer that the tournament got cut short." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Oh, well. I'm still gonna get a chance to face Spitfire. So I'm not upset at all. I'm still gonna win this either way!"
An abrupt moment for the tournament with the decline in trainers. However, the crowd was still looking forward to the matches that would come later. There were still enough trainers for today and for the 5th day which would be the final day as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The Canterlot Tournament continues with a shortage of trainers that have left due to fatigue.
But it was still enjoyable nonetheless.
The current match between two ponies had just come to an end, which will end up transitioning into the next match. That being Rainbow Dash vs Vinyl Scratch.
Rainbow was a bit unsure of how she would approach this certain battle. Vinyl's battling style is a unique one. Since she's not much of a talker, nopony would hear her giving out commands to her Pokemon.
At first, it was assumed that her battling style was similar to Zecora, in which she communicates with her Pokemon telepathically. However, in truth, it's the music that allows her to communicate with them.
Her Darmanitan has headphones on that it listens to. And the music playing in those headphones is the same music that Vinyl listens to. In fact, there's a good chance she made it herself.
Because of this, Vinyl and her Pokemon can battle in sync with the music without Vinyl having to utter a single word. Truly a distinct battling style. One that Rainbow Dash was trying to find a way around.
"If I knock the headphones off her Darmanitan, then it might give me a huge advantage." Rainbow Dash said to herself.
"Hey, Crash." Spitfire nudged Rainbow Dash, snapping her out of her thought. "You're up next."
"Oh! Right!" Rainbow Dash shot up, realizing that she would be running a bit late. VInyl had already gone ahead. Funny enough, she hadn't even noticed that Rainbow Dash was lagging. She was too focused on the music at the moment.
"Now for our second match of the 4th day! Rainbow Dash vs Vinyl Scratch! Or DJ-Pon3, that works too." The announcer shouted.
"The battle will be a 4v4. Both trainers are allowed to substitute and there are 13 minutes in total for this battle. You may both send out your Pokemon." said the Referee.
"You're up first! Luxio!" Rainbow's first pick was the Spark Pokemon Luxio.
"Xio!"
"I've actually never seen Vinyl's other Pokemon. She's only used her Darmanitan so far." Pinkie spoke. "Does she have her own Pokemon instead of rentals?"
"Sure does." Ash nodded. "Just watch."
"Pika."
Vinyl used her magic to hold up a Great Ball. Out of the Great Ball came out the Multiplying Pokemon Reuniclus.
"Niclus!" Once it came out, it was revealed that even Reuniclus had headphones on. Meaning all of her Pokemon have the same equipment on them.
"Is that a baby in goo?" Scootaloo took out her Pokedex along with Sweetie Belle.
"Reuniclus. The Multiplying Pokemon. When Reuniclus shake hands, a network forms between their brains, increasing their psychic power. These remarkably intelligent Pokémon fight by controlling arms that can grip with rock-crushing power. While it could use its psychic abilities in battle, this Pokémon prefers to swing its powerful arms around to beat opponents into submission. It's said that drinking the liquid surrounding Reuniclus grants wisdom. Problem is, the liquid is highly toxic to anything besides Reuniclus itself."
"That thing's got headphones on as well, huh?" Rainbow Dash gulped. "This might get tricky..."
"How's she gonna beat something super smart?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Even smart Pokemon can be beaten, no matter how high their intelligence is," Ash explained.
"Battle start!"
"Okay, Luxio! Let's fill the area with Discharge!"
"Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon released multiple bolts of electricity from its body as they filled the entire battlefield.
"Reu!" Following the beat of the music, the Multiplying Pokemon put its huge arms out, using Light Screen to cut the effects of Discharge in half.
"Use Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" Luxio decided to get up close and personal but that was actually something Vinyl wanted. Getting up close to Vinyl's Pokemon was not a good idea since she had something to deal with anyone who tried to get physical.
Once Luxio got close, Reuniclus had used the strength of Hammer Arm to not only block Wild Charge but also grab Luxio in its clutches.
"Reuni!"
"Lu?!"
"Ni...Clus!" The Multiplying Pokemon then used its immense strength to slam Luxio on the ground as if he was a nail, causing Luxio's head to get stuck in the ground.
"Ah, Luxio!" Rainbow Dash gasped.
And to add insult to injury, Reuniclus used its psychic abilities to drag Luxio across the ground like he was being mixed in a pot.
"Luxio! Get out of there with Wild Charge!"
"Xio..." By charging up his body with volts, surrounding his body with electricity, the Spark Pokemon forced himself out of the ground by shooting himself up like a rocket. "Luxio!"
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash cheered.
"Phew. That could've ended horribly." Pinkie sighed as she laid on her back. "But, how come Rainbow Dash's Luxio keeps on using Wild Charge and Discharge?"
"Sadly, Luxio doesn't have that much in his arsenal The best he can do is Wild Charge, Discharge and Roar." Twilight shook her head. "Which is a huge shame. That means Luxio can only attack in two ways."
"No need to worry. Even with just two moves, Luxio can find a way past his opponents. Roar can help force a Pokemon back into its Poke Ball and his ability's a big help." Ash replied.
"What's Luxio's ability?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Guts. If Luxio's burned, paralyzed, frozen or even poisoned, his attack's gonna spike up." He explained.
"Pikachu!"
"You doing okay, Luxio?" Rainbow asked her partner.
"Xio." The Spark Pokemon nodded.
"Alright. Those arms of it are bad news. If I get close to it, Reuniclus' is gonna smack my Pokemon around like they're whips. Return, for now, Luxio." She decided to return Luxio.
"Cast!" Castform thought this would be its turn to battle for the very first time.
"Ah, sorry, Castform. You're still not ready." Rainbow Dash apologized.
"Form..." The Weather Pokemon returned inside of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, sighing.
"Okay. If anyone's a pro at keeping their distance, it's you. Altaria!" She sent out her next Pokemon. That being the Humming Pokemon herself.
"Taria!"
"Use Ice Beam!"
"Al...Ta!" The Humming Pokemon sent a blast of ice from its gaping mouth, not wasting any time.
The music that Reuniclus and Vinyl were listening to seemed to have changed up. Before, it was moving at an average speed. Now, the music had sped up all of a sudden. Meaning so did Reuniclus's movements.
The Multiplying Pokemon used Hammer Arm on the ground to launch itself up into the air, avoiding Ice Beam. But it didn't quite end there. Reuniclus had also used Flash Cannon by generating a silver ball of energy in front of it. Out of the ball came a white beam that roared out of it.
"Dragon Pulse, quick!"
"Altaria!" Quickly countering Flash Cannon, Altaria shot out a dragon-shaped shockwave from her mouth. Both attacks clashed, immediately cancelling each other out due to their equal power.
"Not a single hit on that Reuniclus!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. "And did it get faster or something?!"
It wasn't time for Rainbow Dash to start thinking about Reuniclus's sudden increase in speed. The Multiplying Pokemon was about to fire yet another Flash Cannon.
"Tari!" Altaria snapped Rainbow Dash back into reality.
"Oh, right! Head up and use Ice Beam!"
Altaria soared higher into the air, getting a good distance from her opponent. However, Reuniclus hadn't fired Flash Cannon yet. Instead, it was bouncing the silver ball up and down with one of its overly large arms, swaying to the beat of the song.
"Al...taria!" All the while, Ice Beam had already been fired.
"Clus!" And that's when Reuniclus acted. With one hand, it finally unleashed Flash Cannon, clashing with Ice Beam. However, the second arm was utilized for something else. On Reuniclus's second arm, it had used Psychic to grab a hold of Altaria whilst she was still firing Ice Beam.
"Alta?!"
"Quick, Altaria! Fly away!" Rainbow Dash squealed.
The Humming Pokemon no longer had any control of her body. Because of this, she couldn't evade Flash cannon at all. She was not only hit by the silver beam of Flash Cannon but her body was also hit with a psychic shockwave as well, making it a combination attack.
The resulting double attack caused a silver and purple explosion in the skies. Out of the black smoke, Altaria fell. The Dragon-Flying-Type had unfortunately been taken out in two hits as she hit the ground without making a huge impact thanks to her soft wings.
"Altaria is unable to battle! Reuniclus wins!"
"What a way to get defeated!" The announcer shot up in surprise.
"Poor Altaria. That Psychic and Flash Cannon combination is pretty dangerous." Pinkie shook her head.
"You did your best, Altaria. Return." By returning Altaria, Rainbow Dash was still thinking of a way to work around this. "This isn't really a good idea but...Whirlipede! Come out!" Whirlipede was her third pick.
"Whirl!"
"Let's start with Pin Missile! Go!"
"Lipede!" The Curlipede Pokemon fired three streams of white, arrow-shaped pins at his opponent as if it was an arrow rain.
Unfortunately, a super-effective move such as that was immediately crushed by Reuniclus using Hammer Arm to grab the pins, destroying them into nothing.
"You kidding me?! How strong is this thing?! It's just a baby in some jelly...slime...whatever it is!" Rainbow Dash was getting frustrated.
Meanwhile, Vinyl and her Pokemon were just jamming out to the song, having a great time so far. "Reuni!"
"Rainbow Dash is getting stressed out! She might lose if she doesn't focus!" Fluttershy gasped.
"It's fine..." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "I'll just have to make sure it doesn't get the better of me with its crazy strength. Whirlipede! Iron Defense!"
"Whirl...Epede!" Whirlipede tensed himself up as his body was surrounded in a shining blue light. His body shined briefly, increasing his defence.
"Now! Add your defence to Rollout and smash into Reuniclus!" Rainbow Dash was using a strategy that she found to be fairly useful.
With Iron Defense boosting Whirlipede's defence, this meant that if the Curlipede Pokemon smashes into something, the impact will be harder than normal.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede rolled forward, leaving skid marks on the battlefield. He was much faster thanks to his ability Speed Boost which tends to help him a lot.
This sudden increase in speed actually got Vinyl and Reuniclus's attention. It was just as fast as their own music. Reuniclus grabbed Whirlipede with Psychic, levitating the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Use Pin Missile!" Whilst being held up by his opponent, Whirlipede took the opportunity to fire Pin Missile from above to break Reuniclus's focus on Psychic.
"Clus?!" Reuniclus's eyes widened as it had been struck by the Bug-Type move, square in the face as well. This impact broke Reuniclus's concentration, allowing Whirlipede to be free.
"Now, go!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof forward, commanding Whirlipede to continue with Rollout. And thanks to Speed Boost activating after Pin Missile hit, Whirlipede was now faster than Reuniclus as he smashed into the Multiplying Pokemon at high velocity.
"Clus!" Reuniclus felt Whirlipede's heavy body smash into it, sending the Multiplying Pokemon flying like a rock. That one single Rollout was actually powerful enough to take out Reuniclus, causing a faint. "Reuni..."
"Reuniclus is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins!"
"Yes! Nice hit, Whirlipede!"
"Whirl!"
"Whew...this is getting a bit stressful." Pinkie sighed.
"Now it's all even." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
Returning her Reuniclus, Vinyl didn't seem to be bothered by this whatsoever. Because she has other tricks that are waiting to show themselves. Her next Pokemon was none other than the Loud Noise Pokemon, Exploud.
"EXPLOUD!"
The moment Exploud arrived, all of Canterlot trembled. Just the action of Exploud opening its mouth could trigger earthquakes and tremors from its tubes.
"W-Whoa!" Rainbow Dash lost her balance along with many ponies sitting on their seats. The sheer power of Exploud's sounds was something to behold. And it hadn't even begun battling yet. "Exploud...Yikes. Okay, Whirlipede! Iron Defense!"
"Pede!" Playing it safe, Whirlipede increased his defence once more.
"Ex..." Exploud held its breath in, preparing to unleash a devastating sound. However, Rainbow Dash had no clue what move it was going to use.
"What's it doing?!" Pinkie ducked, covering her ears as Fluttershy made sure that Audino wouldn't hear any of this by covering her partner's ears with her wings.
"It's Boomburst!" Ash gasped.
"PLOUD!"
With a single shout, Exploud shattered the sound barriers themselves, sending a swirly supersonic wave of light blue aura towards Whirlipede. The waves of Boomburst ended up destroying a gigantic portion of the battlefield along with shattering every single glass object in all of Canterlot.
Now there were holes everywhere along with rocks scattered all over the place. That one move transformed the battlefield in an instant.
Rainbow Dash's eardrums felt like they were being blasted apart as the waves hit Whirlipede, sending him flying with just their force alone. "Oh, no! Whirlipede!"
"Whirl..." Whirlipede's body could be seen spinning in the air after Boomburst hit. It looked like that one single attack did him in, finishing off the Curlipede Pokemon.
Except it didn't.
Whirlipede recovered mid-air, landing his circular body on the ground safely. He was still able to battle. "Whirlipede!"
"Wow...Whirlipede." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. She didn't expect him to take that attack. Not after how lethal it was. "You're amazing!"
"Pede!"
"No way! How'd it survive that?!" The announcer screeched.
"Taking an attack like that from a Pokemon such as Exploud should be impossible to withstand!" Twilight was finding this hard to believe. "Boomburst doesn't even look like a physical move that could be negated by Iron Defense!"
"Alright! Whirlipede! Use Pin Missile!"
"Whirl..." Instead of going for Pin Missile, Whirlipede had learned a new move from that one Boomburst instance. The Curlipede Pokemon jumped into the air, spinning his body rapidly. The tips of his antennae started to glow white as he was only increasing in speed.
"What move is that?!" Scootaloo stood up.
"Its Steamroller! Awesome!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"Whatever that is...go for it, Whirlipede!"
"Whirlipede!" With amazing speed, Whirlipede shot himself forward, rolling furiously as he made his way towards Exploud.
Exploud returned the favour by using yet another Boomburst against Whirlipede. The supersonic waves engulfed Whirlipede, but they didn't actually stop him at all. "EX?!"
Due to how fast Whirlipede was moving, he could barely hear most of Boomburst at all.
"Whirl!" Whirlipede landed a direct hit by smashing his hard-shelled body into Exploud's large gaping mouth, getting himself stuck in there and shutting the Loud Noise Pokemon up.
"Ah!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as Vinyl even took off her glasses for this one.
"What's this?! Whirlipede's stuck inside of Exploud's mouth! That's one way to stop your opponents greatest weapon." The announcer said.
"Actually...we can work with this. Whirlipede! Use that new move you just learned inside of Exploud's mouth!"
"Whirl!" With his increased speed, Whirlipede began rolling inside of Exploud's mouth, hitting even his teeth.
"Ex! EX! EX! EX!" Exploud was unable to handle an attack like this at all.
"Now, launch Exploud!"
"Pede!" With a burst of power, Whirlipede launched Exploud with sheer force alone from his spins. The Loud Noise Pokemon was knocked back by that unexpected attack with its teeth mildly damaged.
Exploud fell on his back, completely overwhelmed by Whirlipede's new move and Rollout in its mouth. Thus, it fainted.
"Exploud..."
"Exploud is unable to battle! Whirlipede wins!"
"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash flew up in excitement. "Great work, Whirlipede! What move did you even learn?" She took out her dex to see that Whirlipede had learned Steamroller. A fairly powerful Bug-Type move. Whirlipede had replaced Pin Missile for this move. "Steamroller, huh? Nice!"
"Now Rainbow Dash has her beat by two Pokemon!" Pinkie squeed.
"That Whirlipede sure is something. I'll never underestimate Bug-Types ever again." Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Mhm." Her friends agreed, nodding in agreement.
Vinyl was at a loss for words. She didn't expect someone to charge into Exploud's mouth and attack it. But on the bright side, the next time she goes up against somepony with her Exploud, she'll keep that kind of strategy in mind.
As for her third Pokemon, out came the Sound Wave Pokemon Noivern.
"Noi!"
"Oh, she's got a Noivern?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"Oh, this might be a problem..." Ash narrowed his eyes. "Noivern's already a super-fast Pokemon. I'm not sure that even Whirlipede can keep up with it even with Speed Boost."
"Just how powerful is Vinyl's team?" Twilight shuddered.
"Noivern..." The Sound Wave Pokemon looked down at the Curlipede Pokemon, ready to strike at any time.
"Whirlipede. Can you still go on?"
"Whirl."
"Then...Steamroller!"
"Whirlipede!" Charging forward and rolling furiously, the Curlipede Pokemon approached the Flying-Dragon at top speed.
"Vern!" Noivern performed a similar move but with much more power. That being Giga Impact. Its body became surrounded in a mystical invisible energy as Noivern shot itself at Whirlipede.
The two attacks didn't even match each other in power. Once they collided, Noivern instantly smashed Whirlipede into the ground, causing a huge explosion to emerge along with a smoke cloud.
However, despite that massive damage, Whirlipede was still up and active. But he looked like he could faint at any moment.
"Whirl...Whirlipede."
"Not good. Whirlipede, return for now." The decision to return Whirlipede had been made. "You were awesome. Now get some rest."
"Getting uh...Getting a little bit tense..." Starlight shuddered.
"Alright..." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "I'm gonna reach Spitfire for sure. So all I have to do is get past this battle. I'm leaving it all up to you, Braviary!" She threw the Poke Ball with all her might, sending out her ace.
"Braviary!"
"There he is! Rainbow Dash's Braviary!" Scootaloo stood up with excitement. "I haven't seen him battle for a while now!"
"Plus, she's got Rainbow-Braviary in store. Let's see if she uses it." Ash leaned forward.
"Pikachu."
Both Flying-Types stared each other down with narrow eyes as they flapped their wings with intimidation packed behind them.
Braviary was not about to let his partner down whatsoever. If there was one Pokemon in this tournament who had pure dedication and loyalty to their trainer it was him.
Only 5 minutes remain in this battle.
"Braviary! Brave Bird!"
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon spread his wings out, charging towards Noivern like a missile as his body burst into flames. The fire then transformed itself into a blue aura, leaving a trail of flames behind.
"Vern!" Noivern gave its response with Giga Impact as it also charged towards Braviary at full-speed.
The two Pokemon entered an aerial battle where Braviary advanced higher into the air, leaving Noivern in the dust. However, it didn't take long for Noivern to catch up to its fellow Flying-Type.
The two of them had actually clashed with their attacks more than once by zooming across the skies of Canterlot, butting heads back and forth.
Everypony could see two trails zipping frantically with sparks flying as Braviary and Noivern kept trying to 1-UP each other. They both spun around each other in a spiral, colliding their wings against each other.
Both of them finally finished their aerial battle as both Brave Bird and Giga Impact crashed into each other, creating a large cloud of smoke from the aftermath.
"Viary..." Braviary took some recoil damage after using Brave Bird with blue sparks coming out of him.
Braviary and Noivern returned to ground level, shaking their heads after that hard impact. But a mere head concussion wasn't about to stop them.
"Use Steel Wing!"
"Braviary!" By hardening his wings with pure metal, Braviary spun around whilst heading towards his opponent. Noivern felt a bit exhausted after using Giga Impact, so all it could do was take the wing to the chest.
"Voi!"
"Steel Wing again!"
A second go at Steel Wing was performed. But this time, Noivern had recharged itself, ready to counter Braviary.
"Noi!" Noivern gave its response by using Steel Wing as well.
Both Flying-Types clashed their wings together as if they were swords, causing a sound clanging sound to occur from the impact. However, Noivern used its other wing to smack Braviary's beak, causing the Valiant Pokemon to fly back a bit.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Vi!" Braviary quickly recovered, retaliating with the always speedy and instant Aerial Ace. The Valiant Pokemon moved so fast that he seemed invisible to Noivern.
"Vern?!" Noivern looked around, wondering where Braviary was. All it could see were blurs and afterimages zigzagging all over the place without stopping at one single point.
"Bra...Viary!" Braviary reappeared behind Noivern, slamming himself into Noivern's back, sending the Sound Wave Pokemon back down to the ground.
"Yes! Now use Superpower!"
Braviary continued his attack by charging up a ton of power in his talons, soaring down towards Noivern.
"Noi...VERN!" Just like Exploud, Noivern had Boomburst at its disposal. In fact, it could be considered its signature move. Noivern's ears glowed white, sending out powerful sound waves towards its opposing Flying-Type.
Although, Noivern's sounds weren't as potent as Exploud's. But they were still devastating nonetheless. The sound waves were pushing Braviary back, preventing him from getting any closer with Superpower.
"Brav...iary..." The Valiant Pokemon struggled to break through Boomburst. The waves around him were damaging his ears, making it difficult to act properly.
Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth, trying to find a way to get around this particular situation. She could just have Braviary fly back and use Aerial Ace. But then, she gained a brand new idea. One that might work out for her. And it involved wings.
"Braviary! Clap your wings together while using Superpower!"
"Bra...vi...ARY!" The Valiant Pokemon spread his wings out, transferring all of Superpower's energy into them instead of his talons. Then, with all his might, Braviary clapped his wings together.
The force of Superpower being clapped together create a Thunderclap that overpowered Boomburst, blowing it away and Noivern as well.
"Awesome! Nice work, Rainbow!" Ash stood up.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Creating a vibration emission from just simply clapping his wings? You'd need a lot of force equivalent to a thunderstorm to even perform that!" Twilight was left speechless from that attack.
"Let's finish this! Use Aerial Ace!"
Braviary went all out for this next attack. Since Noivern was still recovering from that sudden Superpower clap, it was wide open for an attack.
And Braviary capitalized on that immediately, by disappearing and reappearing in front of the Sound Wave Pokemon, the Valiant Pokemon finished the job by striking his wings on Noivern's head, forcing the Flying-Dragon into the ground.
And with that, Noivern had fainted.
"Noi..."
"Noivern is unable to battle! Braviary wins!"
"Sweet! Now all she has to do is beat her last Pokemon!" Scootaloo squeed.
"Yeah, but that last Pokemon is her Darmanitan. And that thing's a problem." Sweetie Belle replied.
Everypony here knew just how powerful Vinyl's Darmanitan was. It was no joke that's for sure. Out of all her Pokemon, it was the one that was the most in sync with the music at all times. Not once does it ever break concentration for even a split second.
And Vinyl knew that herself. She used her magic to bring out the final Poke Ball with her ace partner. Darmanitan.
"Manitan!" The Blazing Pokemon beat his chest rapidly, already giving off a strong sense of intimidation.
"There it is. Darmanitan. You still up for more, Braviary?"
"Braviary!"
"Darmanitan...That guy's practically untouchable with its movements..." Rainbow Dash thought to herself. "Let me test something out for a bit. Braviary, Aerial Ace!"
"Viary!" Braviary dived downwards towards Darmanitan, leaving behind a white streak. Once the Valiant Pokemon got close, Darmanitan simply leaned his body to the side, flowing with the music.
"I knew it. Even fast moves like Aerial Ace won't work. So all I gotta do is break its flow and that's game set match."
"Darmanitan hasn't been hit once in this entire tournament. And it dodged Aerial Ace like it was nothing. What song is it even listening too?" Pinkie wondered.
"Whatever it is, it must be really good." Apple Bloom nodded.
"Here it comes..." Ash knew from the way Rainbow Dash was looking, the time had come to show everypony this amazing power.
"We'll just have to overwhelm him with all we have...Alright Braviary, let's make this battle 20% cooler!" Rainbow Dash announced.
"Braviary!"
Both of them suddenly raised their voices, shouting at the top of their lungs. From above a rainbow beam struck down on Braviary and Rainbow Dash at the same time. It was time for the Bond Phenomenon. The rainbow beam dispersed, scattering across the skies of Canterlot.
Rainbow-Braviary had arrived.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" The announcer jumped out of his seat. The entire crowd were at a loss for words. They had no idea what they had just witnessed. First, a rainbow beam comes down and now Braviary's appearance had changed to match the Rainbow colours of his trainer.
"There it is! Rainbow-Braviary!" Ash cheered.
"Pikachu!"
"She's finally using it in a real battle!" Scootaloo was getting all giddy.
"And Braviary's much faster like this." Twilight nodded.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Bravi!" The Valiant Pokemon moved at Mach speeds, hundreds of times faster than he normally could as a standard Braviary.
"Dar!" Darmanitan knew he had to take this seriously due to this sudden speed increase. By moving to the beat of the music, the Blazing Pokemon front flipped over Braviary avoiding Aerial Ace by the skin of his teeth.
Darmanitan hardened his head, utilizing Iron Head as he propelled himself forward, going headfirst.
"Use Steel Wing!" Rainbow Dash swung her hoof.
"Viary!" By spinning around in the air, Braviary turned around, facing Darmanitan. He hardened his wings, swinging them forward as he clashed with Darmanitan's head, causing a shockwave to occur.
Both Pokemon continued using Steel Wing and Iron Head with Darmanitan constantly headbutting forward whilst Braviary swung his wings about.
Eventually, the two of them had cancelled each other out with both moves being equal in strength.
"Superpower!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof forward.
Braviary charged forward like a rocket, pouring all of his power into both his wings and talons. Darmanitan raised his fist, going straight for Thunder Punch as he lunged towards his opponent.
"Uppercut him!" Rainbow Dash suddenly changed Braviary's approach of attacking. "And block with your other wing!"
"Brav!" Braviary lowered his body, flying down a bit as he pulled one of wings back. The other wing was used to block Thunder Punch whilst Superpower was still active. "Via!" And with the other wing, Braviary swung it upwards, striking Darmanitan's stomach.
"Mani!" Darminatan's eyes widened from that might Superpower uppercut.
"Use Steel Wing" Rainbow Dash spread her wings out, flapping them downwards.
Braviary mimicked her movements by using Steel Wing to smack Darmanitan back down to the ground. However, Darminatan quickly recovered on his feet, returning the favour with Flare Blitz.
The Blazing Pokemon charged upwards with an aura of fire surrounding his entire body.
"Brave Bird!"
"Bra!" Braviary performed a similar move by also surrounding himself in a blazing aura, diving down towards Darmanitan. Both Flare Blitz and Brave Bird clashed with both Pokemon butting heads. They blew each other back from the intense force exhibited from their bodies. Braviary, unfortunately, took recoil damage from the attack.
"Dar!" Darmanitan suddenly used Double Team with multiple clones of Darmanitan surrounding Braviary from all sides, beating their chests.
"Fly up and clap your wings with Superpower!"
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon used Brave Bird to fly up clapping his wings together whilst using Superpower, causing that same thunderclap he did on Noivern.
The thunderclap destroyed all of the clones that surrounded him, letting Braviary find the real one. "There you are! Now! Let's finish this once and for all! Brave Bird!" Rainbow spread her wings out.
"Bra..." Braviary poured all of his strength into this one Brave Bird. Instead of its usual orange aura, Brave Bird now had a Rainbow Aura surrounding the Valiant Pokemon as he charged forward, leaving behind a trail of rainbows.
"Dar...Ma!" Darmanitan gave it everything he had as well, by using a full-force Thunder Punch to take out Braviary.
Both Pokemon screamed at each as Braviary's speed suddenly increased due to how much speed he was picking up. Braviary ended up causing a Sonic Rainboom from the speed he was moving at, blowing many ponies back as he also smashed his body into Darmanitan before he could even throw his punch.
With amazing power and speed, Darmanitan was smashed into the ground, causing an explosion of rainbows to emerge from the sudden impact as Braviary flew into the air, taking recoil damage as he winced.
The smoke cleared and after an attack like that, it was fair to say what had happened to Darmanitan. He had fainted.
"Darmanitan is unable to battle! Braviary wins! Which means the victor is Rainbow Dash!"
"What a rush!" The announcer fell on his back. "That was the greatest thing I've seen in this entire tournament so far!"
"That's the spirit, Rainbow Dash! Braviary!" Ash shouted, pumping his fists up.
"Pika! Pika-Pikachu!"
"Urgh..." Rainbow Dash and Braviary both exited out of Rainbow-Braviary before they both pass out. They still didn't have full control over it so they could only use it for a short while. But they were fast enough to get the job done. "Awesome job, buddy."
"Brav."
Vinyl nodded, accepting her defeat as she went over to her partner. She was proud of Darmanitan for doing his best as she placed his headphones back on his head.
"Darman."
Vinyl wished Rainbow Dash good luck on the final day without saying any words whatsoever. But Rainbow Dash understood her body language easily.
"Sure, I will! Thanks, DJ-Pon3."
And with that, Rainbow Dash advances to the final day. Where she'll finally have the chance to face Spitfire for the very first time. To say that she was hyped was an understatement. This is what she's been waiting ever since the tournament got announced. And her chance is right around the corner as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
Currently, the fourth day of the Canterlot Tournament had reached its end with the final match coming to an end.
Because of this, the fifth and final day is closing in with high expectations. Mostly because the Top 3 will obviously be there along with Rainbow Dash and her Braviary which stunned the crowd by transforming into Rainbow-Braviary.
The trainers who weren't fatigued were still around, full of energy and ready to continue to tomorrow. Well, almost all of them. One pony, unfortunately, had reached her limit.
"Is it too late to leave now?" Rarity sighed, lying on the waiting room couch.
"Hm? What do you mean by that, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash flew over to her.
"I don't mean to kill your mood, darling but, I'm a bit worn out from this entire tournament. Especially what happened 2 days ago."
"If you're feeling fatigued, then you're free to leave and continue watching." BigTime Ben went up to Rarity, giving her the suggestion.
"Thank you. Besides. Rainbow Dash is the most excited for this. I've proven to everypony that I've come far as a trainer and defend my friends from any potential danger. I'd say I'm satisfied." Rarity nodded.
"Aw...Well, cheer me on, okay?" Rainbow asked.
"I certainly will. Now let's get some shuteye before tomorrow."
Leaving the waiting room, Rainbow Dash and Rarity joined their friends outside as Rarity told them that she would be leaving the tournament since she's satisfied with her current progress.
"Shame you couldn't continue onwards, Rarity," Fluttershy spoke.
"I wasn't in it to win in the first place, after all." She replied to Fluttershy. "I think I've made a fairly good impression in this entire tournament. Also...I'm a bit terrified of the Top 3."
"Hold on. If tomorrow's the final day, then what happens if two trainers are remaining at the last moment?" Scootaloo wondered.
"Then they have another match on the same day between the last two ponies to see who comes out on top," Ash explains.
"Which is gonna be me!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I'm so excited!"
"From what I can tell, it'll be a 5v5 since its the final day." Twilight theorized. "Good thing you've got a total of 5 Pokemon with you."
"Yeah but uh...one of them isn't really skilled in battling." Rainbow Dash was referring to her Castform.
"Oh, right. You gonna let Castform battle?" Applejack asked. "Spitfire's most likely gonna back you into a corner, no doubt about it."
"Hmmrgh...I may not be able to battle with Castform, but I can have it set up some weather! That'll work! How does that sound, Castform?"
"Cast!"
"But uh...Castform's not super fast so I'm pretty worried that it'll get taken out before I even get the chance to use any weather."
"No need to worry. I can help with that." Ash suddenly replied to her. "I can help you train Castform up to prepare for tomorrow."
"Really? You'll do that Ash?!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Mhm. You're worried about Castform after all. So let's make sure that those worries can be put to rest. We can figure something out with Castform, even if it's not super-strong."
"Thanks, Ash!"
"Castform!"
To help Castform, Ash and Rainbow Dash would be practising in the Canterlot Gardens. Since that area has essentially become both a relaxation spot and a free battle area.
"Your Castform's sensitive to weather, right?" Ash asked Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. Just the smallest thing can transform the little guy in an instant. Like this." Rainbow Dash used her hoof to pick up some snow, bringing it close to the Weather Pokemon.
"Cast...?" Castform's body cells were reacting to the snow as it felt like sneezing. Which it did. "FORM!" Once Castform sneezed, it immediately changed into its Snowy Form.
Not only that, but it ended up freezing everypony around it in an instant, showing just how irregular it is from an average Castform. It even summoned the weather effect of Hail by sneezing and changing forms, something no other Castform is physically capable of.
"Gh...T-T-T-Those are some sensitive cells..." Ash shivered as he was in an ice prison along with everypony else. "It's hh-hailing already too...?!"
"Pika...chu...!"
"N-N-Ninetales...Mystical Fire." Twilight commanded as she spoke through her teeth.
"T-Tales!" The Fox Pokemon melted the ice he was encased in, freeing himself. He did the same for the rest of his friends as they all fell flat on the ground, shaking with chills running through their body.
"Ugh...Thanks, Ninetales." Twilight sighed.
"Alright. So that's a pretty good start." Ash stood up.
"It is?" They all turned to him.
"Yep. Most Pokemon need to put a lot of focus into some of their ice moves in hopes of freezing their opponent. But Castform here can do it if it gets close to something cold. That's pretty impressive." Ash explained. "Plus it can uniquely cause weather effects.
"Pikachu."
"Castform..." The Weather Pokemon calmed down, returning to its normal state.
"If Castform can cause status and weather effects without using any moves...Wait, what are his moves?" Ash wondered.
"Hold on, let me check." Rainbow Dash pulled out her Pokedex to see what Castform is currently capable of.
"Tackle. Weather Ball."
"That's it?!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "Aww..."
"Two moves only? That's pretty rough." Goh winced.
"Weather Ball, huh? Hmm...it gets stronger and changes its typing depending on the weather and Castform can kinda cause weather effects without even using a move." Ash thought for a bit. "Here's what we'll do! We'll have Castform learn a weather-based move."
"Can we do it in time?" Rainbow Dash turned to him.
"Sure we can. We've got a lot of time before tomorrow. So let's make it count. And I've got a pretty good idea on what we can do. If Castform changes that easily, we'll have it use Weather Ball while it reacts to something. Might even learn a new move. How does Castform react to heat?"
"I've got that covered." Pinkie Pie stood up, taking out a Cindercake. "Here ya go, Castform." She brought up the Cindercake to Castform's face, showing everypony else how Castform reacts to anything related to heat.
"Form..."Castform closed its eyes as its body cells started to heat up all of a sudden with sweat dripping down. By reacting to the Cindercake, Castform entered its sunny form. The moment it transformed, the snow had been melted away along with Twilight and Starlight's mane's catching on fire.
And of course, Castform summoned Sunny Day without even having the move at its current disposal, making the already golden sun even brighter as the heat increased across Canterlot, warming everypony up.
"Ah-AH!" Twilight and Starlight screamed as they ran around frantically with a fire burning on top of them. Thankfully, Twilight's Cinccino put the flames out by using Aqua Tail.
"That's some fire. All the snow's gone." Applejack looked at how the flames melted away the snow in Canterlot Garden.
"Amazing.
"We've got ourselves a special Castform here. Let's try using Weather Ball with those Cindercakes." Ash was given a Cindercake by Pinkie Pie.
"Castform. Use Weather Ball!"
"Cast..." Castform formed a white ball of energy in front of it as it circled like a hurricane. Ash put the Cindercake up to Castform's face, allowing the Weather Pokemon's cells to act up, changing Castform into its Sunny Form.
Once it entered its Sunny Form, it actually affected the Weather Ball in front of it instead of everything else around Castform. Weather Ball gained a fiery aura from Castform's sudden change.
"Oh! It's working!" Fluttershy gasped as everypony's eyes widened, stunned at how that plan actually managed to work out. However, they noticed that the ball was getting bigger in size with Castform still pouring in a ton of energy.
"It's getting pretty big..." Pinkie backed up a bit along with her friends.
"Okay, Castform...I think that's good. You can cool off now." Rainbow Dash tried to get her Pokemon to halt the growing ball of fire.
"Cast...Castform!" Unfortunately, Castform was unable to stop the ball. It wasn't strong enough to do so. Instead, Castform unleashed the ball of fire, causing it to rocket into the air with ludicrous speeds.
"Holy cow! Check out that height!" Pinkie Pie gawked as everypony looked up in the sky, seeing how the ball of fire almost reached the clouds themselves. Eventually, the ball dispersed into nothing.
"Wow...I didn't know you could do that, Castform! You practically used a move without having a Fire move!" Rainbow Dash grabbed the Weather Pokemon.
"Cast."
"Let's try it again, but this time with some ice, okay?" Rainbow Dash looked for any leftover snow that was still around and hadn't been melted yet.
They began training up Castform by having it use Weather Ball whilst causing its body to react to Cindercakes and leftover snow.
In its Snowy Form, Castform created a chunk of ice with Weather Ball, whilst for the Rainy Form, they got a bottle of water and poured it on the Weather Pokemon, causing it to transform and summon some rain. Along with a sudden burst of water that made everypony here wet.
But Castform still hadn't learned a new move yet. Tackle and Weather Ball were all it still had currently. While they were able to get some good results in the form of the three random attacks Castform summons when reacting to something, it was still limited to just two moves and there's no telling if Castform will be able to react the same way once the battle against Spitfire happens.
"Still nothing yet. The attacks are good but..." Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"Learning new Pokemon moves can be difficult." Fluttershy sighed. "And Castform looks a bit cold now.
"Form..." Castform felt a chill due to the previous Ice attack it had performed.
"Ninetales. Warm-up Castform." Twilight commanded.
"Nine." The Fox Pokemon went up to the Weather Pokemon, breathing some fire on it to warm Castform. However, once Ninetales did this, something new ended up happening.
Instead of entering its Sunny Form, Castform's body was surrounded by a blue and purple light that suddenly transformed into an aura of fire that emanated out of Castform. This grabbed everypony's attention as they had never seen this before.
"Woah! What is this?!" Ash stood up.
"Pika?!"
"It's not its Sunny Form...but just an aura of fire around it." Twilight noticed. "Did it learn a new move?"
"Let me check!" Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex to see if Castform had learned a new move.
And to their surprise, it did. This move was akin to that of Arceus's ability and plates.
"Reflect Type." The dex said.
"Reflect Type? What's that?" Rainbow Dash used her hoof to go into further detail on what this new move was.
"A Normal Type move. The user reflects the target's type, making the user the same type as the target. Castform can learn this move via Egg breeding."
"Oh, yeah! I've heard of that move. But I've never seen it in action." Ash nodded his head. "A move that makes a Pokemon copy its opponent's type, huh? Pretty handy stuff."
"Pika!"
"It's just like Arceus's life plates," Twilight recalled what she learned about Arceus.
"Why didn't it turn into its Sunny Form, though? A flame was right next to it." Goh questioned.
"I guess it works differently with Pokemon moves," Twilight answered. "If that's the case, then this makes Castform's irregular cells harder to comprehend."
"No way...That's awesome! You're just full of surprises, aren't you Castform?!" Rainbow Dash squeed. "Let's try some other moves!"
"Form!"
"Use Reflect Type on uh...Pikachu!" Rainbow pointed her hoof at the Electric Mouse Pokemon.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu pointed at himself.
"Castform..." The Weather Pokemon faced the Electric-Type, summoning that same blue and purple aura around it. Pikachu's body was also surrounded by this aura as he felt a slight tingle in his body.
Castform had sparks of electricity fly out of its body as it had managed to shock everypony around him with 50,000 volts of lightning. It had indeed copied Pikachu's Electric-Typing.
"Oh yeah...it works..." Ash coughed up smoke as everyone's hair had been puffed up thanks to Castform.
"Cast!"
"We can use this. If we're going up against any of Spitfire's Pokemon, we can just copy their type and resist em. With a move like that and Castform's chaotic body, we can turn it around!" Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Actually, Rainbow Dash, I checked and there are two setbacks to Reflect Type." Twilight held out her Pokedex, going into further detail of Reflect Type. "It doesn't affect Protect at all. So if any of her Pokemon have Protect or anything like that, the move won't work. So watch out for that. And if you change Castform's forms, it'll no longer have that copied type unless its three forms are identical to the Pokemon it's facing."
"Gotcha. That won't be a problem at all. Plus, who needs moves when Castform lets out attacks from copying another type. Castform. Try copying Altaria. I wanna know what happens if its a Pokemon with two typings?" Rainbow Dash sent out her Altaria.
"Tari!"
"I'm kinda nervous about what this will do." Applejack, Rarity and Starlight hid behind the bench, unsure of how copying a part Dragon-Type like Altaria will go.
"Reflect Type, go."
"Form..." Once it had used Reflect Type on its fellow teammate, Castform's body let out a shockwave in the shape of a dragon's fangs and wings, somewhat similar to that of Dragon-Pulse as Altaria had been blown back from the attack.
"Alta!"
"Ah, Altaria!" Rainbow Dash gasped, flying after her partner as she grabbed her. "You okay?!"
"Altaria..." The Humming Pokemon was fine but that sudden shockwave really stung out of nowhere.
"Not only is it capable of reacting to objects to change its typing, but the way it uses Reflect Type is completely different," Twilight commented.
"How so?" Starlight asked.
"Look at this." Twilight showed her friends further details about Reflect Type. "It's a non-damaging move. It should be impossible for it to even give off any damage, let alone body exertion attacks."
"So...Castform shouldn't be able to do this at all?" Rarity uttered.
"Right. I think it being a special and unique Pokemon is an understatement. I know this may sound crazy, but I think that Castform's cells might be...radioactive."
"Radioactive?!" Her friends pulled back.
"Either that or it just might be another case of magic influencing Pokemon differently compared to their original world. But for now, I'm sticking with radioactive."
"So like...my Castform's a walking radiation monster...Awesome..." Rainbow Dash gawked.
"Cast! Castform!"
"That's some power your Castform's got." Speaking of the pony who Rainbow Dash would be facing tomorrow, Spitfire had witnessed Castform's sudden burst in power.
"Spitfire?!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened.
"I saw what just happened. It came from that little guy, didn't it?"
"Yeah. Castform here has-" Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, realizing that revealing Castform's Reflect Type move would probably hinder her strategy for tomorrow. "He's uh...one of a kind."
"Is he now? Wouldn't have thought someone like him could be capable of doing that." Spitfire patted Castform's head.
"Cast."
"Looking forward to our match tomorrow. And hey, if you win against me, you won't have to be on Probation anymore."
"Really?!"
"Nah, I'm just kidding. Good luck anyway." Spitfire chuckled, taking her leave as she headed off to rest up for tomorrow."
"We'll show her. Our strategy's gonna knock her wings off. Let's work on that move, okay Castform?"
"Castform! Form!"
And so it was. With the amount of time they had left, the group helped Castform with his newly learned move, testing Reflect Type on other Pokemon.
When Castform copied Grovyle, sharp leaves flew out of his body with power similar to that of Magical Leaf. When he copied Riolu, an Aura shockwave came out of him, giving everypony, except Ash and Riolu a slight shock through their bodies.
This went on for hours until the sun had finally set, prompting the group to rest up until tomorrow.
"Even though it's another Normal-Type move, it's a super useful one that you've learned." Rainbow Dash hugged Castform, feeling proud of him.
"Cast!"
"Guess this means you're confident in Castform now," Ash said.
"Oh, yeah! I was worried about him and how he'd get seriously hurt. But now, I don't have to worry about a thing. I've got a real powerhouse on my team! I'm gonna win this tournament for sure!"
Rainbow Dash looked towards Canterlot Castle, spotting Luna who knew that eventually, Rainbow Dash would have to face her. Whether in this tournament or the near future. One way or another, they'll go up against each other at their current best.
The final day closes in with only 6 trainers remaining now. With Castform learning a new move in the form of Reflect Type and a brand new kind of attack, the upcoming battles could go either way depending on how both trainers perform as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The time had come for the final day of the Canterlot Tournament.
The remaining 6 trainers were ready to perform at their absolute best and what they were capable of at the moment. The remaining trainers were Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Daylight Blazer, Princess Luna and two other trainers.
Excitement is overflowing on this 5th and final day as the crowd couldn't wait to see who would come out on top as the definitive victor.
The first match of the day was none other than the anticipated Rainbow Dash vs Spitfire match. The main reason why Rainbow Dash even joined this tournament in the first place among with other things.
There was no time for waiting around as both pegasi had already made their way out to the battlefield, which had currently been transformed thanks to the devastating Boomburst caused Vinyl's Exploud.
After battling their way to the top of this tournament, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire are now prepared to show everypony what they're truly capable of.
"Finally...This is what I've been waiting for." Rainbow Dash said to herself.
"I've really been looking forward to this battle with you, Crash. This'll be a fun match, I can tell. But I won't let you win it. No matter what." Spitfire smirked.
"We'll see." Rainbow retorted.
"Today's battle will be a 5v5. When all 5 of either trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue the battle will be over. Substitution is allowed. There are 15 minutes in total for this battle and onwards. You may both bring out your Pokemon now!" The referee announced.
"Let's go! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash sent out Whirlipede first by throwing her Poke Ball.
"Whirl!"
"Come out! Sharpedo!" For Spitfire, her first choice was the Brutal Pokemon, Sharpedo. A Pokemon that is feared across Equestria and she had managed to tame one.
"Sharpedo!"
"Sharpedo? This could be trouble..." Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth.
"I can't believe she tamed a Sharpedo. Those things are brutal and relentless." Twilight stood up.
"Just goes to show what a good trainer is capable of." Ash nodded.
"Pikachu."
"Go get em, Rainbow Dash and Whirlipede!" Scootaloo cheered from the crowd.
"Battle begin!"
"Whirlipede! Steamroller, let's go!"
"Whirl...Ipede!" Starting strong, Whirlipede spun around on the spot, charging forward towards the Brutal Pokemon whilst avoiding the holes in the ground.
"Sharpedo! Aqua Jet!"
"Shar!" With blitzing speeds, Sharpedo bolted forward like a jet with an aura of water surrounding him.
Both Pokemon crashed into each other with robust force, entering a small struggle for a bit. They both managed to cancel each other out, flying back and returning to their trainers.
Whirlipede had increased in speed thanks to its ability Speed Boost, but he wasn't the only one. Sharpedo's hidden ability is Speed Boost, meaning that it also increased in speed. And it was already fast enough, to begin with.
"Use Crunch, repeatedly!"
"Sharpedo!" The Brutal Pokemon's teeth suddenly gained a dark purple aura as he lunged towards his opponent.
"Here it comes! Dodge and use Venoshock!"
"Pede!" The Curlipede Pokemon barely avoided Sharpedo as the Brutal Pokemon's teeth chipped Whirlipede's hard shell, making him flinch a bit. Nevertheless, Whirlipede sent a stream of purple poisonous liquid that got all over Sharpedo, causing an explosion on impact.
Despite that powerful explosion and attack, Sharpedo flew out of the smoke, continuing his Crunch assault. The Brutal Pokemon bit onto Whirlipede's hard shell, digging deep into it as he now had the Curlipede Pokemon in his grasp.
"Ah! Whirlipede!"
"Gotcha!" Spitfire grinned. "Now fly up with Aqua Jet!"
"Shar...pedo!" The Water-Dark Type used Aqua Jet to take flight whilst still holding Whirlipede.
"Holy moly! What's she planning?!" The announcer and everypony looked up in the sky, wondering what could follow next from Spitfire's command.
"Now! Use Hydro Pump to shoot Whirlipede back down!"
"Shar..." Sharpedo charged up a powerful blast of water in his mouth, ready to unload on the Curlipede Pokemon.
"Quick, Whirlipede! Use Steamroller to break free!"
"Whirli...pede!" By spinning his body inside of Sharpedo's mouth, Whirlipede's hard and durable shell managed to hit all of Sharpedo's 10 teeth at high speeds.
However, Sharpedo is known for having fangs so sharp they can crush iron and tear through a supertanker. So this did nothing to him at all. He didn't even wince or flinch once.
Unamused by Whirlipede's attempts to break free, the Brutal Pokemon unleashed a high volume blast of water under great pressure from its mouth, engulfing Whirlipede and forcing him back down to the ground. The impact of Whirlipede and Hydro Pump hitting the ground caused a bit of a drizzle to form as the battlefield was now partially moist and wet.
"Oh, no! Whirlipede!" Rainbow Dash gasped, leaning forward.
"Oh my! I'm not sure that even Whirlipede can handle that!" Fluttershy covered her eyes with her wings.
"Look again!" Rarity pointed her hoof forward at the cloud of smoke that was fading away.
To everypony's surprise, Whirlipede did in fact withstand that attack. But it really did a number on him, leaving him a bit weakened. "Whirli..."
"Would ya look at that?! That Whirlipede's sturdy hard shell is no joke, that's for sure!" said the Announcer.
"You okay, Whirlipede?!"
"Whirlipede."
"You did well. So come back for now." Rainbow Dash chose to return her Whirlipede. "Alright...if I send Luxio out, I should be able to deal with Sharpedo but...what if she switches out for Flygon because of that?" Rainbow Dash was starting to overthink a little bit.
"Oh no... Rainbow Dash is overthinking." Applejack noticed the unsure look on Rainbow Dash's face. She's seen it before and knew what that meant.
"She can't overthink now of all times. This is her biggest match yet and it has just started." Rarity shook her head.
"I can't risk it. I'll go for Altaria instead!" Out came the Humming Pokemon as a means to take down Sharpedo.
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon roared beautifully at Sharpedo as the Brutal Pokemon roared back at her.
"Okay, Altaria! Disarming Voice!"
"Altaaaaa!" As Altaria took to the skies, she let out a beautiful sound from her gaping mouth, sending pink sound waves in the shape of hearts.
"Sharpedo! Use Aqua Jet to dodge and strike Altaria!
"Shar! Sharpedo!" By propelling himself forward, Sharpedo manoeuvred himself around the sound waves, evading them with swiftness. His insane speed allowed him to instantly crash into Altaria with Aqua Jet, knocking her back.
"Tari!"
"Use Disarming Voice one more time!"
"Taaaaa!" The Humming Pokemon recovered by spinning around as she caught Sharpedo off guard, hitting him with a beautiful melodic blast of sound.
The charming sounds of Disarming Voice pierced Sharpedo's ears as he took some considerable damage from it.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Sharpe!" Sharpedo returned the favour by sending a high pressured blast of water towards the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Ice Beam, quick!"
"Alta!" Altaria quickly countered by blasting a beam of ice that collided with the blast of water. Like most other attacks, they went into a struggle, but Hydro Pump proved to be stronger as it tore through Ice Beam, engulfing Altaria. "Altaria!"
"Now! Smash Altaria with Zen Headbutt!"
"Shar!" By concentrating all of its willpower into its head, purple energy beams formed as Sharpedo charged forward. Thanks to Speed Boost, he reached Altaria before Rainbow Dash could think of a way to counter this. Sharpedo smashed his head onto Altaria's stomach, causing the Humming Pokemon to grimace.
The force of Sharpedo's headbutt forced Altaria back down to the ground, creating a fairly large crater from the impact.
"Ah! Altaria, no!" Rainbow Dash hoped that Altaria wasn't done for. Thankfully, she wasn't.
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon spread her wings, separating the smoke that surrounded her.
"Dragon Pulse, let's go!"
"Finish Altaria off with Hydro Pump!"
Both Pokemon charged up their strongest moves, ready to seal the deal. As the two attacks of different elements met, Dragon Pulse proved to be capable of lasting longer than Ice Beam.
But Sharpedo's special attack proved to be superior as Hydro Pump was overpowering Dragon Pulse with the blast of water slowly approaching Altaria, who was struggling to hold it back.
"Al...Taria!"
"Hang in there, Altaria!"
"Altaria!" The Humming Pokemon tried to add some extra power to her attack, but it was no use. Hydro Pump had defeated Dragon Pulse, blasting Altaria as it engulfed her body. "Tari!"
"Altaria, no!"
An unfortunate outcome for Rainbow Dash and her Altaria. Her strength just couldn't compare to the power of Sharpedo's Hydro Pump.
However, despite the power gap, Altaria was still active as she flew out of the smoke, tumbling on the ground. She got back up with her wings being tattered. That attack really knocked the wind out of her.
"Thank Celestia..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Return, for now, Altaria." Altaria had been returned without fainting. But now Rainbow Dash was slowly starting to be backed into a corner.
"It's great that Altaria's still able to battle but boy that Sharpedo's a problem." Pinkie said.
"Why doesn't Rainbow Dash just use her Luxio?" Scootaloo was confused.
"Because she's scared that Flygon's gonna come in and ruin that. Luxio only attacking moves are Discharge and Wild Charge." Ash explained. "That's why she was overthinking earlier."
"Oh, right. Bummer..." Scootaloo pouted.
"But...there is one move that can help her with that problem." Ash knew by the look of Rainbow Dash's smile, she had something planned. And it involved Luxio's third move.
"Let's hope this works. Go! Luxio!" Up next, the Spark Pokemon Luxio.
"Xio! Luxio!"
"Oh, so you're finally using your Luxio, eh? Return Sharpedo and come out, Flygon!" As expected, Spitfire swapped Sharpedo for her Flygon.
"Gon! Flygon!"
"Gotcha...Use Roar!"
"Lu...XIO!" Luxio's became outlined in red energy as he let out a mightly howl with invisible waves that expand outward. The sound of the Roar reached across the battlefield, affecting Flygon as the wind pressures pushed Flygon back slightly.
This roar sounded akin to that of a full-grown Pyroar instead of a little Luxio. Even the rocks around the battlefield were being blown away by this immense roar.
"Fly...Flygon!" Flygon got a bit scared of this unexpectedly fierce roar. And as expected, it retreated into its Poke Ball by its own will.
"What the?!" Spitfire gasped, looking at her Poke Ball. She then noticed that Sharpedo came out by force since he was the previous Pokemon utilized.
"Yes! Now use Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" Since Spitfire was still confused, Luxio took full advantage of the situation, bolting forward like a lightning bolt as he left a long trail of electricity behind.
Luxio smashed into Sharpedo who was confused on why Spitfire hadn't given the command to dodge or counteract. Once the Spark Pokemon tackled Sharpedo whilst also giving him an electric shock full of 60,000 volts.
"Shar!"
"Discharge!"
"Lux!" As Luxio took recoil damage from Wild Charge, he didn't let up for a second, Luxio continued the attack by surrounding the entire battlefield with a violent blast of electricity that made contact with the Brutal Pokemon.
That combination of Wild Charge and Discharge was so powerful that it was actually enough to not only give Sharpedo a run for his money but it actually made him faint as he fell to the ground with sparks of electricity surrounding his body.
"Sharpedo..."
"Sharpedo is unable to battle! Luxio wins!"
"After an intense struggle, Rainbow Dash finally takes out Spitfire's Sharpedo!"
"What was that...?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow.
"It's called Roar. It may seem like a basic Normal-Type move, but it actually forces a Pokemon to go back into its Poke Ball. Normal may be basic but simple is best." Rainbow Dash smirked with confidence.
"Lux." The Spark Pokemon nodded in agreement.
"Hmph. I'll make sure to keep that kind of move in mind in my future battles." Spitfire returned Sharpedo. "And you won't pull the same trick on me again!" She tossed her Poke Ball forward, sending out Flygon once more.
"Fly!"
"We'll just force it out again! Use R-"
"Screech!"
Spitfire was right about making sure Rainbow Dash and Luxio wouldn't pull their Roar stunt again. Flygon had the better experience with sound-based moves considering what it's known for, so it pulled off Screech before Luxio could use Roar.
"G̵͔̈́O̴̳̩͠O̶̧͔͂Ò̸̗O̵̮̿O̷̡͐̀O̶͍͉͑O̸̜̔N̷͖͗̇!" An earsplitting Screech came out Flygon's mouth, piercing Luxio's and every Pokemon's ears.
"Xio..L-Luxio!" Luxio got on the ground, covering his ears as he was trying to ignore the horrible sound of Screech, but to no avail.
"Hang in there, Luxio! Use Roar!"
"Louder!" Spitfire raised her voice, prompting Flygon to do the same. Now with an even stronger Screech beating down on Luxio, the Spark Pokemon found it difficult to ignore it. He wanted the sound to stop as soon as it could.
"Good. Now use Superpower!"
"Flygon!" Flygon put a stop to screech, charging forward with a ton of power packed into its claws as Flygon approached a recovering Luxio who's ears were vibrating after hearing Screech.
"Look out, Luxio! Use Roar, quick!"
"Lux?" Luxio took some time to hear Rainbow Dash's commands as Screech messed up his hearing a bit. He looked up to see that Flygon was right in his face all of a sudden, raising its draconic claws. "Xio?!"
"GON!" Flygon slashed Luxio with Superpower, causing the Spark Pokemon to hit the ground so hard that he went through it, making even more holes inside of the already damaged battlefield.
"Luxio, no!"
It was unsure of what happened to Luxio since he had gone through the ground due to Flygon's immense power. All the crowd could see was a hole shaped like Luxio as the Spark Pokemon was nowhere to be found.
"Is Luxio okay?!" Fluttershy stood up.
"It took the full brunt of Superpower and straight through the ground. I'm not sure anyone can withstand that." Twilight shook her head.
Now the entire crowd was wondering what had happened to Luxio and if he was still able to battle.
"Luxio! Where are you?!" Rainbow Dash called for her Pokemon, desperately trying to reach him.
"Oh...Maybe I went a bit too far." Spitfire winced.
Deep inside of the ground, Luxio had been buried there with its body still feeling the after-effects of Superpower. His ears were still vibrating after Screech as he was all tattered up and covered in dirt.
Then, Luxio could hear the voice of Rainbow Dash call for him in the ground. He could hear how worried she was for him due to her tone and how she constantly called desperately for his name.
"Lux..." Luxio knew that he couldn't be defeated in a pathetic way like this. Like many of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon, he had no intention of letting his trainer down. "Xio..."
With all the strength he had left, Luxio dug deep, trying his very best to break free from the ground. At first, he used Discharge to try and break free, but that was no good whatsoever.
He then tried to use Wild Charge by charging out of here at high-speeds. But even that didn't work. After all, Electric-Types are bad against anything ground related, much like how most Rock-Types hate going in the water. And since Luxio was inside of the ground itself, it was no wonder that he couldn't do anything.
Frustrated by his own helplessness, Luxio felt completely defeated at this point. And he hadn't even fainted yet. However, that wasn't enough to break his spirit. Luxio was a gutsy Pokemon at heart. And this wasn't about to let him just give up completely.
And that's all it took. With pure determination and vigour, Luxio had learned a new move. His tail hardened up, reflecting that of metal.
Luxio had just learned Iron Tail.
"Lu...XIO!" The Spark Pokemon began swinging his hardened tail inside of the ground frantically. Each swinging was slowly destroying his surroundings, breaking every piece of the ground there was to get back out there and battle on.
"Audi...?" Audino could hear the sounds of Luxio slowly breaking free thanks to her exceptional hearing.
The referee assumed that Luxio was unable to continue so he was about to make the call. "Luxio is-"
"Wait! Look!" Spitfire pointed her hoof at the ground, noticing how it was shaking all of a sudden. The entire crowd leaned forward to see how rocks were suddenly flying up from the tremors being caused from underneath the battlefield.
The assumed defeated Luxio had finally broken free as he swung his Iron Tail upwards, erupting from the ground as he split it in half.
"Lux!"
"Luxio! You're okay!" Rainbow Dash yelled with joy in her voice. "And you learned Iron Tail!"
"Xio!"
"Would ya look that..." Spitfire's eyes widened, impressed by Luxio's persistence. "That's one tough Electric-Type, that's for sure. We've got ourselves a battle."
"Alright, Luxio! Iron Tail! Go!"
"Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon jumped towards Flygon, swinging his tail downwards at the Mystic Pokemon.
"Use Dragon Tail!"
"Fly...GON!" The Ground-Flying used its own tail attack in the form of Dragon Tail. Both tail attacks clashed, causing a seismic shockwave that almost shattered the seats of the crowd, causing them all to almost lose their balance.
Luxio and Flygon continuously clashed their tails together like two swords clashing. Luxio's tail swing was on the faster side, packed with more ferocity compared to Flygon who was more precise with its swinging.
Luxio increased the speed of his tail swing, pouring the pressure on Flygon as he was pushing Dragon Tail back. To say that Luxio was a ferocious Pokemon was an understatement.
"Fly! Flygon?!" Flygon was struggling to hold Iron Tail back as Dragon Tail was being fended off each time they clashed their tails together.
"Xio!" Eventually, Luxio overwhelmed Dragon Tail, smashing his hardened Iron Tail onto Flygon's chest. He left his tail on Flygon's chest for a bit until he finally launched the Mystic Pokemon to the ground, causing a crater to form.
"Yes! Awesome work, Luxio!"
"Xio." The Spark Pokemon landed on the ground, standing with pride.
"Flygon." The Mystic Pokemon got back up, shaking its head. Flygon was certainly surprised at Luxio's sudden burst in power.
"You okay, Flygon?"
"Gon."
"Okay, Luxio! Use Iron Tail again!"
"Lux!" Capitalizing on his newly learned move, the Spark Pokemon charged forward with his tail being hardened.
"Flygon! Fire Blast!"
"FLYGON!" Out of its gaping mouth, Flygon unleashed a 大 shaped blast towards its approaching opponent.
"Jump!"
"Xio!" Luxio jumped over Fire Blast, barely avoiding it as some of the flames managed to hit his legs. Nevertheless, he persisted. The Electric-Type smashed his tail on Flygon's head, causing the Mystic Pokemon to wince and fall back down to the ground.
"What an impact!" The announcer exclaimed.
"That was a head-on Iron Tail! It had to have taken out Flygon!" Scootaloo spoke.
Anticipating the result, Luxio jumped back with his tail returning to normal. The dust settled as the outcome of Flygon's current state had been revealed. It was still standing, which made Luxio and Rainbow Dash gasp.
"That Flygon's something else!"
"Lux!"
"I'll admit. You had me scared there, Crash. Your Luxio's way too dangerous. Which is why I need to get rid of it quick."
"We'll see about that!"
The two pegasi and their Pokemon faced each other with their excitement growing and their blood boiling from the exhilarating rush of this battle.
The outcome of this battle is officially unpredictable and too early to call. The fiery spirit of both trainers rages with ferocity as the Canterlot Tournament continues.
The battle between Rainbow Dash and Spitfire rages on with ferocity and dynamism.
The two are in the midst of a heated battle with Luxio and Flygon continuing to face off against each other. Only one of them will emerge the victor in all of this.
"Fire Blast, let's go!"
"Fly...GON!" Flygon sent an intense and fierce blast of fire towards its opponent, tearing through the ground itself.
"Dodge it with Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" Luxio used Wild Charge as a method of dodging, zipping to the side like a thunderbolt striking down. The Fire Blast missed Luxio by a mile thanks to that speedy dodge.
"Now head in and use Iron Tail repeatedly!"
"Lux! Lux!" Luxio bolted himself forward as he hardened his tail, turning it into pure steel.
"We won't let you get close! Use Screech!"
"F̶̩̊Ḻ̷̆Y̷̬̑Y̵͕͂Y̸̳͂Y̷̰͆!" Flygon brought Luxio to a screeching halt by emitting an earsplitting sound wave from his mouth.
"X-Xio!" Luxio clenched his teeth, desperately trying to make sure that Screech doesn't greatly affect him.
"Relax Luxio! Use Iron Tail to knock the rocks at Flygon's eyes!"
"Lux!" Luxio chose to strike the rocks from the battlefield instead of pursuing Flygon. By using Iron Tail, Luxio sent some rocks flying towards Flygon's direction, hoping to flinch the Mystic Pokemon with a hit to the eye.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen at all. After all, the red covers on Flygon's eyes protects it from any sand in the desert. And that includes rocks as well. So that strategy was no good.
"Rats!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof.
"Now, Flygon! Finish it with Superpower!"
"Gon!" The Mystic Pokemon put a stop to Screech, zooming towards Luxio with a ton of power packed into its claws.
"Here it comes...Jump with Wild Charge and land on Flygon's back!"
"Xio!" Once Flygon got close enough, Luxio used Wild Charge to take off like a rocket in the sky, evading the destructive claws of Flygon and its Superpower. The Spark Pokemon landed on Flygon's back, getting himself a ride.
"Fly?!"
"Oh, what now?!" Spitfire growled.
"Use Iron Tail!"
Whilst riding Flygon, Luxio slammed his hardened tail on Flygon's back, dealing some free damage.
"Flygon! Toss Luxio off!"
"Flygon!" Flygon took to the skies, spinning around as it was trying to get the Spark Pokemon off its back. But Luxio was holding on tight, not letting go for a second as he kept on slamming Iron Tail on Flygon's back. "Gon!"
"Don't let up! Keep using Iron Tail!"
"Lux! Luxio!" Over and over again, Luxio kept beating on Flygon with pure steel whilst Flygon was trying its best to get the Spark Pokemon off its back.
"Flygon! Ascend and let's get this over with!"
"Fly!" Flygon ascended higher into the skies, breaking past even the clouds themselves.
"Hold on tight, Luxio! You can do it!"
"Xio...!" Luxio could feel the breeze of the wind hit his face along with the sun rays which were a bit blinding. However, they weren't blinding to Flygon thanks to its red covers.
"That's way too high up!" Sweetie Belle stood up.
"Just how durable is that Flygon?" Rarity gulped.
"Now! Descend and toss Luxio off your back!"
Flygon had reached a high enough level at this point. The rays of the sun got into Luxio's eyes, making him lose a bit of his focus. Flygon turned around, tossing Luxio off as the Spark Pokemon was now airborne.
"Lux?!"
"End it with Fire Blast!"
"Fly..." Flygon was ready to finally put an end to Luxio with a fully-charged Fire Blast in store. Luxio was falling, screaming as he was unable to recover himself at the moment.
"Not good! Charge down and dodge with Wild Charge!"
"Lu...XIO!" Like a bolt of lightning, Luxio dashed downwards, passing Flygon completely at lightning speeds.
"You won't escape! Aim downwards!"
Flygon redirected itself, sending the Fire Blast downwards instead of upwards. Luxio looked up to see a devastating blast of fire coming his way.
"Head inside of the ground, quick!"
"Xio!" Luxio hopped into one of the many holes around the battlefield, avoiding Fire Blast as the Fire move exploded upon impact on the ground.
"This is getting too intense!" Pinkie pulled her mane. "I can hardly take it all in!"
"Can Luxio even take much more of this?" Fluttershy was getting worried about Luxio's well-being. He's taken some heavy damage in this entire battle and is still standing with tons of electricity building up in him.
"But look! Flygon's a bit banged up too!" Twilight noticed that Flygon's back was twitching. Mostly due to how many Iron Tails connected.
"I gotta say, Crash. It's not many that can give my Flygon a hard time. In fact, this is the first time somepony's lasted this long against Flygon. And I'm going to make sure that this is the last time that ever happens."
"Flygon!"
"Yeah, well keep dreaming! Me and my team are experts at breaking records! I'm winning this no matter what!"
"We'll see..." Flygon! Dragon Tail on the battlefield!"
"Gon!" BY raising its tail, Flygon smashed the draconic move down on the battlefield, causing the ground to shake from a single strike.
"Lux?!" Luxio, who was currently underground, could feel the tremors from Dragon Tail hitting the ground as he looked around his surroundings, waiting for Rainbow Dash to say something.
"Just stay there for a while, Luxio!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Xio...!" Luxio kept his paws firm on the ground, not moving an inch for a second as Flygon continuously caused mini-earthquakes.
Each hit from Dragon Tail was gradually transforming the battlefield more and more in various ways. As if it wasn't already transformed enough from the previous battles. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, waiting for the right moment to act as Luxio stayed put, not making any sound.
"You can't hide forever! Use Superpower instead!"
"Fly..." Flygon switched it up by transferring Superpower into its tail, replacing it with Dragon Tail as it prepared to deliver the biggest hit on the battlefield. Luxio braced himself, ready for the absolute worst to happen. "GON!"
Flygon smashed the ground with Superpower, shattering the entire battlefield to a point where the sheer might of Superpower forced the ground to rise and tremble. Crevasse's had formed from the impact with hundreds of fractures spread across the area.
The referee squealed, jumping on a large rock to get some safe ground since the battlefield was a bit of a hazard at the moment.
Countless huge chunks rocks flew up into the air along with a massive crater being formed underneath Flygon. The battlefield now looked more like a mountainscape due to how much damage it has taken so far.
"Now! Iron Tail!"
"Lux!" Emerging from underneath the ground, Luxio appeared before Flygon, right up to the Mystic Pokemon's neck. "Xio!" With swiftness and force, Luxio uppercut Flygon's neck with Iron Tail, giving it 100% of everything he had. He even created a compression wave from the impact.
"Fly!" Flygon could feel Luxio's sharp and hard tail strike its neck as a loud clang could be heard. Luxio spun around after the uppercut, landing safely on the now destroyed ground. As for Flygon, it had fallen on its back, unable to handle that final attack.
"Ah! Flygon!" Spitfire gasped.
"F-Fly...Gon."
"OH." The referee raised his head to see how Flygon was doing. By looking at the Mystic Pokemon's current state, the outcome had been decided. "Flygon is unable to battle! Luxio wins!"
"Luxio!"
After possibly the roughest and fastest match yet, Luxio emerged the victor and overcame an impossible odd by defeating a Pokemon that had a huge advantage over him.
"Luxio! You rock!" Rainbow Dash flew up with excitement.
"Xio." Luxio grinned, glad that he managed to make his trainer proud and how he was able to hang in there. His body felt a bit weak as he was struggling to keep his balance.
"Oh! You're not looking too good right now. Get some rest, for now, okay?" Rainbow Dash returned Luxio to let him relax for a while.
"That Luxio sure is something!" Pinkie let out a sigh of relief.
"Next to Fighting-Types, Electric-Type Pokemon seem to have a plethora of resiliency and stubbornness. Even more than the Steel-Types." Rarity nodded.
"You did your best, Flygon. Good job." Spitfire brought Flygon back. "Hm. Alright then. Now that I know how tough and stubborn you and your Pokemon can be...I can take things seriously now."
"Wait! You weren't taking things seriously before?!" Rainbow Dash pulled back.
"Go! Froslass!" Out came Spitfire's third Pokemon, the Snow Land Pokemon Froslass.
"Froslass!"
"Froslass huh? That might be a bit tricky..." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.
"Form!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, deciding to face Froslass himself.
"Castform? Do you want to go up against her?" Rainbow Dash looked up at him.
"Cast!" Castform nodded as he gave Rainbow Dash an indication as to why he wanted to face Froslass.
Rainbow Dash realized that it was because Castform and Froslass have no effect on each other as Normal-Types and Ghost-Types unless Castform transforms. Plus, Froslass is a Pokemon that is heavily involved with the weather after all, so this may benefit them.
And of course, they were both thinking about Reflect Type. Despite it being a Normal-Type move it is capable of affecting even Ghost-Type Pokemon.
"Okay! You're up then, Castform!"
"Castform!"
"I think I know what she's planning..." Twilight uttered.
"Watch this...I'll make sure you don't even land a single hit on Froslass. Use Hail!"
"Froslass..." Froslass's body glowed light blue as she ascended to the sky. Thick clouds appeared above the battlefield along with a thick fog as well. As Froslass began to float in the clouds, snow started to fall, landing everywhere on the ruined battlefield. The Snow Land Pokemon was appearing and disappearing all over the place, letting out haunting cries every single time, fitting as Ghost.
"Here it is. Let your cells do the talking Castform!"
"Form!" Castform's cells reacted to the hail, allowing his body to undergo a metamorphosis. A blue and white emanated out of the Weather Pokemon as he transformed into his Snowy Form.
"Alright! Now it's time for Castform to work his magic!" Pinkie cheered.
"Oh no." Ash suddenly realized why Froslass set up Hail.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Twilight turned to him.
"If Froslass is setting up Hail...then that means its ability is Snow Cloak!"
"What's Snow Cloak?" Apple Bloom asked.
"If there's any Hail around, Snow Cloak kicks in. It's an ability that makes it harder for the opponent to hit its mark and helps with Froslass's evasion. This might get rough." Ash explained.
"That doesn't sound good..." Pinkie gulped. "How do they get rid of Hail?!"
"They don't have any Weather moves on them but...back when I battled against a Froslass, Pikachu dealt a ton of damage to her and Hail just vanished after that. So if they can just land one strong hit in..." Ash recalled his battle against Paul's Froslass.
"Pika..."
"Alright, Castform! Use Weather Ball!"
"Cast... Form!" The Weather Pokemon summoned a light-blue energy ball surrounded with ice, firing it towards his target.
"Fross..." Froslass simply stared at the incoming Ice attack as if it wasn't even that big of a deal. And it wasn't. The Snow Land Pokemon disappeared once more, causing Weather Ball to miss completely. Not only that, but Froslass appeared in front of Castform, giving him a fright with eerie howls.
"Cast?!"
"Froslass!" Froslass continued to mess around with Castform, appearing everywhere without even stopping for a second.
"Is she messing with us or something?!" Rainbow Dash growled. "Use Weather Ball repeatedly!"
"Form! Castform!" Rapid Fire energy balls of Ice were unleashed by Castform in hopes of hitting the Snow Land Pokemon with at least one of them.
However, every single of the Weather Balls continued to miss the Ice-Ghost-Type, as Froslass was popping in and out frantically without a predictable pattern whatsoever.
"Look at that! Castform can't hit Froslass at all! And I can barely see where it is most of the time!" The announcer rubbed his eyes.
"Alright, let's attack now! Froslass, use Confuse Ray!"
"Lass!" Froslass appeared above Castform as her eyes flashed purple. She exposed the Weather Pokemon to a bright flashing and sinister ray, triggering Confusion.
"Cast..." The Weather Pokemon felt dazed and befuddled after
"Looks like Castform is confused!" said the Announcer.
"Seriously?! Confusion?!"
"Let's see you try and do something now!"
"Watch us! Use Weather Ball Castform!"
"Form..." Castform could still hear Rainbow Dash's commands, although he couldn't exactly stay focused thanks to Confusion. When he tried to use Weather Ball, he ended up hitting the referee instead, giving him a sudden chill.
"Ow!" The referee winced as he held his face.
"Try again," Spitfire smirked.
"Keep firing Weather Ball until it hits!"
"Form...Cast..." Multiple Weather Balls of ice were unleashed by Castform and every single time, they missed Froslass over and over again. Not because of Froslass's Snow Cloak ability, but instead due to Confusion.
Each of the Weather Balls either destroyed a large rock or almost hit one of the ponies in the crowd, prompting them to duck for cover as the seats were frozen thanks to the ice inside of Weather Ball.
"This is bad...Stop attacking, Castform!"
"Cast..." Castform ceased his attacks as he spun around, trying to figure out which direction he was even facing right now.
"If you want, I can take out Castform right now if that's cool with you?" Spitfire chuckled.
"No need. I've got one move that'll hit Froslass for sure. And it won't matter if she's a Ghost-Type."
"Hm?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow.
"Reflect Type, let's go!"
"Cast..." The one move that Castform could actually pull off without having to focus that much was Reflect Type. Even if Froslass was part Ghost, this was the only Normal-Type move that could affect her since it works on every Pokemon.
A blue and purple aura surrounded both of their bodies as Castform gained a second type that added on to his Ice-Type. Due to his cells being radioactive, the moment he gained the Ghost-Typing, a dark and eerie shadow emerged from the Weather Pokemon's body, causing an outburst of shadows to engulf the entire area.
"Lass?!" Froslass gasped as she was engulfed by this dome-shaped shadow. It was impossible to dodge since it took up the entire battlefield and beyond. Anypony could even see it from afar even if they weren't in Canterlot.
Since Froslass is a Ghost-Type, like Dragons, their own type is super-effective against each other. And once those shadows hit the Snow Land Pokemon, they dealt some heavy damage to her. Finally, Castform had damaged Froslass.
And thanks to the super-effective damage, Froslass's Hail disappeared as the golden sun graced Canterlot once more along with the azure skies.
"Froooosss!"
"How in the?!" Spitfire pulled back
"Nice work! Return, for now, Castform!"
"Cast..." Castform shook his head, hovering back to his trainer as he returned inside of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag.
"So...that explains what happened yesterday in Canterlot Gardens." Spitfire narrowed her eyes.
"Heh. My Castform's extra special. All of my Pokemon are. And we're all in it to win it!"
Spitfire nodded her head in understanding. At first, she somewhat underestimated Rainbow Dash a bit, not taking her too seriously. But after seeing how she managed to take out her Sharpedo and Flygon whilst also showing incredible persistence as her Pokemon were too stubborn to give up, Spitfire knew that she could cut loose and give it her all.
If she wasn't careful, Rainbow Dash could take out her entire team before she even knew it.
"...Alright then. Return, Froslass." She held her Poke Ball out, bringing the Snow Land Pokemon back. "I'll finish this with just one Pokemon. It's go time! Scizor!"
Out came her ace and by far her strongest Pokemon she had on her team. The Pincer Pokemon.
Scizor.
"Sciz!" The Pincer Pokemon let out a mighty battle cry into the sky, asserting his dominance. Everypony here had heard about Spitfire's Scizor. But they've never truly seen it in full action before. This was their chance.
"Scizor...There he is." Rainbow Dash gulped. She was feeling a bit nervous about this. After all, this was the Pokemon who belonged to Equestria's Number one. Her hooves were shaking along with sweat dripping from her forehead. "Alright. Luxio! Out you come!"
She sent out Luxio in hopes of having him tank any of Scizor's Steel-Type moves. Rainbow Dash knows that he has Bullet Punch at his disposal so it was safe bet so far.
"Xio!"
"Zor." Scizor crossed his arms, looking down at Luxio with confidence.
"Luxio! Use, Discharge!"
"Luxio!" The Spark Pokemon sent a blast of electricity towards the Pincer Pokemon as the blast even tore through some rocks.
"Use your steel pincers to conduct them!"
"Scizor!" Scizor held one single pincer out, allowing Discharge to hit him instead of fighting back or dodging. The electricity of Discharge had now become apart of Scizor's singular pincer.
"Oh! Scizor simply took the attack for itself!" The announcer gasped along with Rainbow Dash and Luxio.
"I trained my Scizor for something like this. Why try and fight your weakness when you can use it for yourself?"
"Now. Attack using Swords Dance!"
"Zor!" Scizor's body illuminated light blue suddenly. He quickly zipped across the ground as two blue lights surrounded his pincers, powering up his attack power.
"Use Wild Charge!"
"Xio!" The Spark Pokemon charged in as well but with more force packed into his attack and greater speed as he took off like a lightning bolt.
"Sciz!" Scizor suddenly used his other pincer to grab Luxio's face, stopping him from using Wild Charge as he absorbed the electricity into his other pincer.
"L-Lux?!"
"ZOR!" With the extra power of Swords Dance, Scizor slammed Luxio into the ground.
"XIO!" Luxio cried out as he felt his body hit the hard ground, causing a shock to run through him.
"Luxio! Get out of there by using Discharge."
"X-Xio!" Luxio attempted to break free by shocking Scizor. But it was no use. Scizor had managed to overcome its weakness to Electric-Types by becoming a living conductor.
"It's over. Punch him!"
"Sci...ZOR!" Scizor smashed his pincer into Luxio's chest, causing the Spark Pokemon to cough. The Pincer Pokemon dropped Luxio down like a ragdoll as he shook the sparks of electricity off of him.
"L...L-Luxio..." After all of that damage, Luxio had finally fainted.
"Luxio is unable to battle! Scizor wins!"
"Poor Luxio. Type advantage didn't even matter here." Fluttershy whimpered.
"You were amazing, Luxio. Get a good rest." Rainbow Dash returned him, lowering her head. But she knew this wasn't the end yet.
"So. What's it gonna be Crash? Gonna bring out that Braviary of yours?"
"Grrgh..." Rainbow Dash held out Braviary's Poke Ball. She was tempted to bring him out, but that's exactly what Spitfire wanted. Rainbow looked up into the sky, seeing the sun rays hit on her face. That's when she sparked an idea. "I got it! Castform! You're up next!"
"Form!" Castform snapped out of his confusion, ready to go for round two.
"Gonna copy my type again?"
"Not this time. Ascend into the sky!"
"Castform!" The Weather Pokemon hovered upwards into the air, leaving Scizor behind. Both Scizor and Spitfire were wondering what she could be planning. Whatever it was, they weren't about to let Castform pull it off.
"Bullet Punch."
"Zor!" At ludicrous speeds, Scizor left the ground, leaving a shock wave and a crater behind as he held his pincer out.
"Huh?! Look out, Castform!" Rainbow Dash warned her partner to dodge.
"Ca-" But it was too late. Scizor had already caught up, smashing his hard pincers onto Castform's light and fragile body. "Form!"
"Castform, no!"
"Cast...form..." Castform fell like a feather due to him being the lightest Normal-Type. With just that single Bullet Punch, Castform had fainted.
"Castform is unable to battle! Scizor wins!"
"Castform..." Rainbow Dash's eyes were starting to be filled with dread as she flew over to her fainted partner, picking him up.
"One-shot. This isn't good." Scootaloo bit her hooves.
"Rainbow Dash's plan went nowhere. She was planning on having Castform change into its Sunny form so that it could use a Fire Weather Ball on Scizor." Ash noticed what Rainbow Dash was originally going for.
"Oh no...At this rate, Rainbow Dash only has three Pokemon left." Fluttershy gasped.
"Sorry about that buddy." Rainbow Dash had finally been backed into a corner. This is what she feared would happen. She was doing so well and now it took a huge turn. But it wasn't over yet.
Only 7 minutes remain until this battle comes to an end. She looked at Braviary's Poke Ball, knowing that it was time for her strongest Pokemon to take centre stage.
"It's all up to you. Braviary!" She tossed the Poke Ball up, sending out the Valiant Pokemon.
"Braviary!"
"That's what I was waiting for. Your Braviary." Spitfire grinned. "I saw how powerful that transformation of it was yesterday. That Sonic Rainboom it pulled off was something else."
"Well, you'd better wait and see what else Braviary's capable of!"
"Viary!"
"Hmph. Then, it's only right that I use all of Scizor's strength to take Braviary on." Spitfire held out her hoof, showing off her Mega Ring.
"She's gonna Mega Evolve?!" Twilight stood up as everypony's attention had just skyrocketed to a million.
Spitfire used her wing to press the keystone, activating it upon contact. "Evolution beyond Evolution! Scizor! Mega Evolve!"
Golden lights flared out of the ring, moving in four different directions. With Scizor, blue lights shot out of him as he closed his eyes, letting his heart respond to Spitfire's.
"ZOOOR!" The Pincer Pokemon spread his pincers out as the blue and golden lights clashed together, creating a sync between trainer and Pokemon. Scizor increased in height a bit along with his body hardening even further. As if it wasn't hard already.
Scizor's eyes flashed blue as a burst of infinity energy came out of his steel body, causing a shock wave that sent the referee flying along with most of the boulders around here.
Scizor had Mega Evolved.
"Scizor!"
"T-That's Mega Scizor..." Scootaloo stuttered as she took out her dex.
"Mega Scizor. The Pincer Pokemon. Due to the effects of Mega Evolution, its pincers have taken on a more diabolical form, ripping anything they pinch to shreds. The excess energy that bathes this Pokémon keeps it in constant danger of overflow. It can't sustain a battle over long periods of time or its body will melt."
"Alright! Gotta get strong! Stronger than ever!" Rainbow Dash and Braviary had also synched their hearts as one. They both had the drive to take down Spitfire and her ferocious Scizor.
Both of them screamed at the top of their lungs as a pillar of rainbows came down from above, engulfing them both. Their emotions and hearts were now in sync as Braviary's eyes flashed magenta. The same colour eyes that his trainer has.
"Viary!" As he spread his wings, Rainbow-Braviary had emerged once more to the crowd as they went wild.
"There it is! That mysterious Braviary!" The announcer was getting all giddy.
"With Rainbow-Braviary, there's no way that she can lose! Come on, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo cheered her on along with her friends.
"Let's go! Aerial Ace!"
"Scizor! Use Bullet Punch!"
"Zor!" Scizor took off like a bullet, pulling his large pincers back as they hardened up with a silver aura surrounding them.
"Brav!" Braviary shot forward, leaving behind a huge dust cloud along the way. Both Pokemon met with their wings and pincers clashing. A single clash from these two created a crater underneath them, just from clashing once.
Scizor used his other pincer to smash Braviary's face, causing the Valiant Pokemon to wince as his head cocked back. Braviary returned the favour by sending Aerial Ace to his face, smashing it against Scizor's.
Both Pokemon forced each other back as Rainbow Dash held her face after that headbutt. "Superpower!"
"Strike with Swords Dance!"
Scizor was the one to approach Braviary first, increasing his attack further with Swords Dance as he raised his arms, ready to give an overhead to the Valiant Pokemon.
Braviary mimicked Rainbow Dash's hoof gesture by crossing his wings together whilst channelling Superpower in them. He used the strength of Superpower to block Swords Dance from causing any damage.
Rainbow Dash lifted her hooves, prompting Braviary to do the same as he pushed Scizor off him. Scizor veered on the ground, running to the side with Swords Dance still active. Braviary kept his eye on Scizor, attempting to predict his next attack.
"Keep your eye on him, Braviary..." Rainbow Dash was also moving her eye in sync, tracking Scizor's every movement.
"Zor!" The Pincer Pokemon suddenly dashed forward, finally going in for an attack.
"There!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof forward as Braviary did the same with his wings.
"Grab Braviary's wings!"
"Sciz!" Scizor used both of his pincers to grab Braviary's wings, colliding with Superpower's energy. Now Braviary was caught up in Scizor hard pincers like many of the other victims before him.
"Not this time! Ignite yourself with Brave Bird!"
"Viary!" The Valiant Pokemon surrounded his body with a rainbow aura. This aura was actually capable of matching with the Mega Evolution energy. They were almost identical in power and energy with the rainbow having something unique of its own.
Scizor's pincers felt like they were heating up due to the rainbow aura, prompting the Pincer Pokemon to back off for his own safety.
"Aerial Ace!"
Braviary disappeared and reappeared behind Scizor with blinding speeds, leaving only a rainbow trail behind.
"Night Slash!"
"Zor!" Scizor could tell that his opponent was right behind him as he surrounded his hard pincers in a dark aura, swinging them towards the Valiant Pokemon.
Their pincers and wings had once again clashed, but this time, Braviary only used one wing. The other one was used to catch Scizor off guard as Braviary slashed the Pincer Pokemon's face, knocking him away from him.
"Not enough! Use Superpower! Full Force!" Rainbow Dash raised her hoof.
"Bra...VIARY!" Braviary raised his wings, channelling every ounce of his power into this one attack.
"Getting a bit ahead of yourself there, Crash! Scizor! Use Giga Impact!"
"Scizor!" Scizor had gained an invisible aura around him as he shot himself forward, going for a full-force body charge.
The referee hid behind the largest rock there was in this entire battlefield as he was too terrified to see the outcome of the two moves colliding.
Once they clashed, they immediately entered a struggle, blowing away even the clouds themselves. Both Pokemon were fighting for dominance, trying to break through and land a powerful hit in with their strongest moves.
"Stronger! Push through!" Rainbow Dash exerted more of her energy throughout her own body and Braviary's. They were pushing the limits of their bodies to the max, far beyond what they were even capable of at the moment.
Ash stood up, knowing that this could end poorly for both Rainbow Dash and Braviary. And it wouldn't be by Scizor's actions. Not at all. "Not good! Rainbow Dash! Don't push yourself!"
"PIka-Pika!"
"Sciz..." Scizor dug his knees on the ground as he was actually struggling to hold Braviary back. It looked like the Valiant Pokemon would emerge the victor of this clash.
"That's the stuff! Pu-" And then. It happened. Just like before when Rainbow Dash first activated the Bond Phenomenon with Braviary, that same shock hit her body.
Her eyes widened as her heart suddenly began to speed up. She couldn't feel her hooves, wings or anything really. Both Rainbow Dash and Braviary's battle pulses were separating.
"What the...?" Spitfire had no idea what was wrong with Rainbow Dash at the moment.
"N-No...Not now...Not like this" Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she was desperately trying to move her body but to no avail.
"Sciz?" Scizor noticed that Braviary had stopped putting in any effort into his attacks as his pupils dilated. He stopped using Giga Impact as he knew something was wrong.
The entire crowd wondered what was going on with Rainbow Dash and Braviary, confused as to why they had suddenly stopped out of nowhere.
And just like that, they had both passed out from exhaustion, fainting at the same time.
"Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire gasped, forgetting about the battle and worrying about her friend instead. Her voice echoed through Rainbow Dash's ears, but she couldn't hear her. Not at all. Even the panicking sounds and screams of everypony wasn't enough to reach the trainer and her Pokemon.
Compared to the first time they fainted when overexerting themselves, this was by far the worst one yet. It could practically be considered fatal.
The battle had been officially put to a stop for the safety of a trainer as the outcome of Rainbow Dash and Braviary's condition is unknown.
"I can't move..." Rainbow Dash's thoughts were all that she could hear and utter.
Currently, she was in an empty, pitch-black and unexplained space with nothing but darkness everywhere. She could only look one direction and nowhere else. Her entire body had been paralyzed.
But, the other thing she could see was Braviary who was standing in front of her.
"Braviary...? What's going on? Where are we?"
Braviary didn't respond at all. Instead, he turned around, facing Rainbow Dash for a small moment. After that, the Valiant Pokemon flew up, leaving Rainbow Dash behind.
"Where are you going? Braviary? Come back!" Rainbow pleaded for Braviary to come back for her, but there was nothing else she could do. She couldn't move, look anywhere else or nothing. But eventually, her eyes started to close as she saw Braviary disappear into the darkness.
"Braviary!"
"Gah! Braviary!" Rainbow Dash gasped as she sat up, breathing in and out. She looked around to see that she was currently inside of the Canterlot guest rooms beds. Not only that, but it was night, meaning hours have already passed.
At this point, the tournament had already ended. Everypony had returned home to rest up. But, the tournament didn't have a victor since it was permanently stopped due to Rainbow Dash and Braviary suddenly fainting out of nowhere.
"Where is everypony?" She was wondering where her friends where. And especially where Braviary could be at the moment since he was nowhere to be found. Not even beside the bed. Castform wasn't even present inside of her saddlebag.
Suddenly, the door had opened up, showing that Rainbow Dash wasn't alone anymore. The one who had opened the door was none other than Ash alongside his partner Pikachu.
"Rainbow Dash? You awake?"
"Pika?"
"Ash. Pikachu. You're still here? Is the tournament over?"
"Yeah. It kinda ended hours ago." Ash replied. "Put to a complete stop. Everyone saw how you and Braviary fainted out of nowhere, so Ben called the entire tournament off."
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded.
"...Where's Braviary?!" She gasped.
"He's fine. He and the rest of your Pokemon are getting healed up right now. But Braviary might not be alright the third time."
"W-Why? What do you mean by that?"
"Rainbow. Back there, when you two entered Rainbow-Braviary, you were aiming to win it, right?"
"Right! Both of us were determined, ya know. But I don't know what happened back there. We fainted again. How come?"
Yeah, I know." Ash nodded. "But you pushed yourself too hard with Braviary. The Bond Phenomenon's strong but if you take it too far, it'll put a heavy load on both of you. And if it happens again, then it might get worse."
"Well, how do I stop it from happening again?"
"You and Braviary need to find a perfect balance. Having full control of it really helps."
"Pikachu."
"How do I do that? When I was battling Scizor, I thought I got a pretty good handle of it." Rainbow Dash sighed. "But I guess not..."
"Well...you can become Braviary!"
"...Hah?" Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes, confused on what Ash just said to her.
"It's just another way of you getting stronger. Your Pokemon are strong and they'll get stronger, but if you're gonna withstand the next transformation, you gotta get stronger yourself."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh, so you mean... If I train my body up, I can handle another Rainbow-Braviary?"
"That's right! If you're as strong as Braviary, you can use the true power of the Bond Phenomenon."
"I get you! I'll make sure that happens! Thanks, Ash! But...where's everypony else?"
"Everyone's waiting outside. Let's join em, all." Ash helped Rainbow Dash off the bed.
As the three of them made their way out of the guest room, Braviary and everypony else were standing outside of the castle, waiting for Rainbow Dash to arrive. Even Spitfire was out there since she was worried about her friend and fellow Wonderbolt.
Once Rainbow Dash came out of the castle, her Pokemon immediately rushed over to her with joy.
"Hm? Ah!" She screeched as they all dogpiled her, pinning the pony to the ground. They surrounded her, pecking and hugging her. "You guys! Knock it off!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie bounced towards her. "You're okay!"
"Are you still hurt?" Fluttershy flew over.
"Not anymore. I'm fine." Rainbow replied, holding Whirlipede.
"That's good." Spitfire sighed. "Had me worried back there."
"Spitfire. Sorry that I kinda ruined our match. Went a bit too far and knocked ourselves out." Rainbow Dash apologized.
"You don't have to apologize for anything. Ash told me about this Bond Phenomenon thing and how it works. You just couldn't handle all that pressure after all." Spitfire shook her head.
"I thought I had pretty good control of it back when I battled against Vinyl. Guess not." Rainbow sighed.
"Don't even worry about it. Next time, I know you'll master that Bond Phenomenon thing soon. And Scizor and I will be waiting for a rematch in the Equestria League. Right pal?"
"Zor." The Pincer Pokemon nodded.
"We should head back now. It's way too late at night." Twilight looked up at the night sky. "Everypony else already left anyway."
"Right. Come on you guys." Rainbow Dash huddled her Pokemon together. "Let's head home." They all responded to their trainer's words, crying in unison.
The time to leave Canterlot had come along with the abrupt end to the Canterlot Tournament. Whilst a winner hadn't been revealed and the match between Rainbow Dash and Spitfire ended in shock, it was still highly enjoyable as many ponies will never forget this experience.
Ponyville, Night.
It was good to be back in humble Ponyville. Currently, everypony was asleep at the moment with the exceptions being Jade and Cold Colt.
Everypony went their separate ways with Ash and Goh returning to their own world and Rainbow Dash heading back to Cloudsdale.
At her home, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but think of what she saw in her mind. Seeing how Braviary flew away made her think thoughts that she hoped wouldn't come true.
"Why did he fly away? Maybe, Braviary doesn't see me as worthy enough to handle that transformation." She grumbled, looking up at the ceiling. "Nah, that can't be right. Braviary knows that we're compatible. But...What if Braviary leaves me for somepony else who can handle it better?"
Even if she knew that she and Braviary were inseparable, the thought of that happening haunted her. To clear her mind, she decided to head back to sleep until the morning arrives.
Whilst she dozed off in her bed, Braviary forced himself out of the Poke Ball. The Valiant Pokemon looked down on his trainer, seeing how peaceful she looked.
Just like Rainbow Dash, Braviary had similar thoughts. When he fainted, he had a vision of Rainbow Dash leaving him instead. He thought of the worst-case scenario. That he was a danger to Rainbow Dash due to their exertion, resulting in Rainbow leaving him.
And he certainly believed that for a bit. If they were to ever enter Rainbow-Braviary again in the future and push themselves too hard again, then Rainbow Dash's life could potentially come to an end.
After all, a Pokemon is built differently to a point where not even a human or a pony can compete with their capabilities since they far exceed what is possible.
To make sure this would never happen and, Braviary decided to take his focus away from Rainbow-Braviary. Instead, his new focus was working on his standard self.
He believed that if he made his normal form reach its absolute best with the peak of his power, he'll able to help Rainbow Dash throughout any battle without having to use Rainbow-Braviary.
The Valiant Pokemon flew out of Rainbow Dash's home, off to train and get stronger on his own. His method of training involved the Pokemon House. To get stronger, he would have to take on the strongest Pokemon that the house had to offer. At least, that's what he believes.
Arriving at the Pokemon House, he could see that most of the Pokemon here were asleep, aside from the nocturnal ones. All of them weren't enough to really battle on par with Braviary considering how strong he is. Except for one.
Discord's Krookodile was still awake as he acted as a bodyguard to this Pokemon House. The Intimidation Pokemon went up to Braviary, wondering what he was doing here so late.
"Krook." He asked.
"Brav! Braviary!" Braviary found himself the perfect Pokemon to battle against. Krookodile was a naturally strong Pokemon so this was perfect. He pointed his wings at the Ground-Dark-Type, challenging him to a Pokemon Battle. He told him that he needed to get stronger for Rainbow Dash's sake and her safety.
Obviously, since Krookodile's very prideful and stubborn, he was willing to take him on. Although, in this instance, after hearing how he just wanted to protect the trainer he loves, Krookodile respect Braviary, understanding his current drive. He would indeed accept this challenge but for the sake of someone else and not himself for once.
"Dile!" Krookodile told Braviary to give him his best shot.
"Brav!" The Valiant Pokemon started with Aerial Ace, by backflipping in the air and diving down towards the Intimidation Pokemon.
"Krook!" Krookodile responded with Brutal Swing. By surrounding his body in a red aura, the Intimidation Pokemon swiped his claw up at his opponent.
Braviary and Krookodile clashed their claw and wing together, entering a small struggle. Their clash caused a small shockwave that woke up some of the Pokemon in the Pokemon House.
The two Pokemon continuously collided their wings and claws together, waking more Pokemon up from their slumber. Many of the Pokemon here watched the battle, wondering why the two of them were going at it so late at night.
Both of them knocked each other back with each of their attacks hitting the two of them in the face.
"Krook!" Krookodile put his claws on the ground, using Stone Edge to attack next. Blue crystals emerged from the ground, chasing after the Normal-Flying-Type.
"Viary!" Braviary used Steel Wing to crush the crystals by swinging his wings at them. Their battling eventually reached the ears of the Hearing Pokemon Audino, who had woken up from all that noise.
"Audino...?" Audino got up from her bed, looking outside of the window, wondering what could be causing all that ruckus. She spotted the Pokemon wide awake as they were all looking at something in one single spot. She then spotted Braviary and Krookodile going at it together, battling this late at night. "Dino?!"
"Mrrgh...What is it, Audi?" Fluttershy woke up, rubbing her eyes.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino pointed outside, showing Fluttershy the ongoing battle between Braviary and Krookodile.
"Huh? Braviary? Krookodile? Why are they fighting?!" Fluttershy gasped as she flew outside to try and stop this battle, unaware of why they were even battling in the first place.
"Brav!" Braviary butted heads with Krookodile as they stared each other down. Braviary's used his talons to try and strike Krookodile, but the Intimidation Pokemon used his long tail to catch it. The two were locked in place now.
"You two! Stop!" Fluttershy flew over towards the two Pokemon. However, a Noctowl got in the way, preventing Fluttershy from stopping this battle.
"Noct." The Owl Pokemon held his wings out, shaking his head.
"Noctowl? Why are you stopping me?"
"Noct. Noctowl." He explained that they both are battling out of their own agreement. Not out of conflict or spite. He further explained that Braviary came here to improve himself for Rainbow Dash's sake, so Krookodile was helping him get stronger.
"I see. So this must have something to do with Rainbow-Braviary..."
"Krookodile!" Krookodile still had his tail wrapped around Braviary's talons as he used it to swing the Valiant Pokemon around. He then tossed Braviary off him, causing the Normal-Flying-Type to hit a tree as berries fell on his head.
"Braviary..." Braviary held his head, getting up from the ground.
"Dile!" Krookodile shouted at Braviary, asking him if this was all that he could do.
Obviously not. Braviary was capable of much more than anyone else knows. "Via!" The Valiant Pokemon spread his wings out, channelling Superpower through his wings.
Krookodile braced himself for Superpower as he put his claws out. Braviary charged forward at his opponent, focusing all of his strength on only his wings. He thought about Rainbow Dash for a split-second, knowing that he had to do everything in his power to protect her.
With pure determination, Braviary swung his wings at Krookodile, who put up a Protect as a response. Superpower connected with Protect, causing a loud shockwave that woke almost all of Ponyville up.
Fluttershy went into Audino arms as the Hearing Pokemon protected her from the shockwave. Many of the other Pokemon retreated to avoid the shock wave from hitting them.
Braviary couldn't break through Protect but he did manage to push Krookodile back a bit. "Dile."
"Brav." Braviary breathed in and out as his wings twitched a bit. He really did pour all of his power into that one attack and his wings.
"Braviary. Don't overwork yourself." Fluttershy went over to him. "You remember what happened back at the tournament?"
"Vi..." Braviary sighed as Audino healed up his wings with Heal Pulse.
"Thanks for helping him, Krookodile."
"Krook." Krookodile nodded his head.
"You came out here for Rainbow Dash, right? It's so sweet of you wanting to get stronger for her sake."
"Braviary," Braviary explained to Fluttershy that it was also because he wanted to make sure that he wouldn't have to rely on Rainbow-Braviary and improve his current form.
"I see. Rainbow Dash is lucky to have a such a loyal Pokemon like you. If she knew how hard you were working for her own safety, she'd be so incredibly proud of you right now." Fluttershy held up his wings.
"Viary."
"Well, you can continue battling against Krookodile now if you want. Audino and I will be here to heal you up.
"Audino."
"Brav!" Braviary thanked them both as he stood up, facing Krookodile one more time to continue their training until the morning comes.
Along came the morning.
Sun rays hit Rainbow Dash's face as the sounds of Flying-Types could be heard outside of her window. The pegasus got up from her bed, stretching her hooves and yawning. Her Castform had woken up as well, falling out of her saddlebag.
"Finally. Morning." She grumbled. It was a new day for her. A day that she would mostly spend time training herself and her Pokemon.
After hearing Ash's advice, Rainbow Dash was determined to improve herself and to also make herself compatible with Braviary with perfect synchronization.
Looking at her bed, she noticed that Braviary's Poke Ball was open with no sign of the Valiant Pokemon anywhere inside of her home.
"Huh? Braviary?" She picked up the Poke Ball. "Where'd he go?"
"Castform?"
She didn't have to worry about going outside to find him. Because Braviary's training overnight had finally ended. The Valiant Pokemon opened the door by himself, returning home to his trainer.
"Brav."
"There you are. Did you go out for a morning fly or something?"
"Viary." Braviary shook his head. Rainbow Dash noticed that his wings had some bandages wrapped around them as he was a bit tattered up after his battle with Krookodile all night.
"Braviary! What happened?! You look beat up!" She flew over to him.
"Bra-Braviary." Braviary laughed, knowing that Rainbow Dash had no idea why this was the case.
"You got into a battle, didn't you? Did you at least win?"
"Vi," Braviary answered the form of a head shake. In truth, there wasn't actually a winner in their training session since it was just to improve himself. But he made Rainbow Dash think so to make her feel better.
"Well, great job!" Rainbow flew over to him, hugging her partner as she felt his warm feathers on her. She then decided to bring up what she saw in her mind. "You know...I'm kinda worried that maybe...you don't see me as worthy enough, ya know. Like I'm just holding back your true power."
"Brav." Braviary knew that wasn't the case at all. He placed his feathers around Rainbow Dash to comfort her, letting her know that she wasn't holding him back at all. If anything, they were both currently struggling to bring out their best. But that's why they're working together to get stronger.
Even though Rainbow Dash couldn't fully understand Pokemon language like Fluttershy, she could tell that Braviary truly does see her as the best partner he could ever ask for. Knowing that made Rainbow Dash tear up a bit.
"Yeah. Let's get stronger together! Okay, buddy?"
"Braviary!"
A bond between a trainer and Pokemon is unbreakable. The Canterlot Tournament has come to an end. But one thing that won't end is Rainbow Dash and Braviary's drive to get stronger to reach the absolute pinnacle of their power as the journey continues.
