Pokémon and Ponies
#78-The Pokemon Festival 2 Part 6
Las Pegasus. 13:30
Lively and enchanting Las Pegasus.
Rarity, Spike, Sweetie Belle and Coco Pommel have just arrived here after going on the train. Although, Pheromosa suggested grabbing them all and running at high speeds to Las Pegasus. But Coco was nervous so they took the train instead.
"Here we are." Rarity said as she gently walked off the train.
"Las Pegasus!" Sweetie Belle hopped off the train.
"What's up with this sunlight?" Spike covered his eyes from the beaming rays of the sun.
"Alright then." Rarity looked around. "Where to begin?"
"Oh-Oh!" Sweetie Belle jumped up. "There's a Pokemon Contest here, remember? Let's go there! I could win my next contest ribbon!"
"Alright, alright." Rarity nodded. "Spike. Coco. Would you like to come along with us?"
"Oh, well, I was thinking of umm..." Coco scrunched her face. "I kind of...want to take part in Pokemon Contests too."
"You do?" The three of them said.
"Mhm. Well actually, I've already started. Just 3 weeks ago, I won my first contest ribbon. Glaceon and I worked really hard for it and it paid off."
"Glaceon!"
"That's wonderful, Coco!" Rarity slid over. "You know, all this buzz about Pokemon Contests is almost tempting me to get involved as well."
"Wait. Does this mean we're competitors against each other?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head.
"Looks like it. We might have to go up against each other at some point." Coco went up to the little unicorn. "That doesn't bother you at all, does it?"
"Not at all! It's great going up against friends sometimes!" Sweetie Belle grinned. "We can get started right away!"
"Well, I'm kinda looking for something else, ya know." Spike navigated his head around Las Pegasus. The attractions here were interesting but not something that could really strike his fancy.
Then, Spike noticed something that could really pull him in. Just North from here, right next to the Contest Hall, straight from Castelia City, it was the Pokemon Battle Plaza.
It had just recently come to Equestria and is considered the perfect place for Pokemon Trainers to test their skills and go against each other. Mainly for those entering the Equestria League.
"That's what I'm talking about! A Pokemon Battle Plaza!" Spike pointed at the Pokemon Battle Plaza. "That's the stuff for me! You don't mind if I head there, do you?"
"Of course not, Spike." Rarity replied. "Go on and enjoy yourself. We'll be there eventually and hopefully, we'll have the chance to see you battle."
"Sweet!" And just like that Spike took off like a rocket, leaving his friends to get on with their entire contest business.
"Right then. Let's hope we're not too late. Come along then you two." Rarity went ahead with Coco and Sweetie Belle following her to the Contest Hall.
Pokemon Battle Plaza.
Inside, a battle was already occurring. Spike entered to see which Pokemon were going up against each other as the battle looked like it was reaching its end.
It was a battle between an Electivire and a Manectric with many humans, ponies and even dragons watching this entire battle go down. But this Electivire belonged to someone familiar. And it wasn't Spitfire who actually owns her own Electivire.
Instead, it was Paul's Electivire.
"Electivire! Use Brick Break!" Paul commanded.
"Electivire!" Electivire rushed over to its opponent with one hand pulled back.
"Manectric! Use Psychic Fangs!" A stallion commanded.
"Etric!" The Discharge Pokemon opened its mouth, lunging forward as psychic energy surrounded its teeth. Both Electric-Types ended up getting in front of each other, but only one of them pulled off their attack successfully.
Electivire juked Manectric out by sidestepping to the right, causing Manectric to bite nothing but the air. Manectric gasped as he just realized that he had been tricked.
"Vire!" Electivire found an opening as he smashed his hands onto the Discharge Pokemon's back, slamming its fellow Electric-Type to the floor.
"Mane!" Manectric gasped as it was forced into the floor with a devastating impact. That one Brick Break was enough to finish the Discharge Pokemon off but that didn't come as surprise considering how powerful Paul's Electivire is. Manectric had fainted. "Manectric..."
"Manectric is unable to battle! Electivire wins! Thus, the victor is Paul!" The referee, who was a random Don George made the call.
"That's that. Good job, Electivire. Return." Paul returned his Electivire. "Nice battle, you."
"Uh, thanks." The stallion helped his Manectric up. "Bit too strong for me though. You okay, Manectric?"
"Mane. Manectric."
With that battle over, the next battle could begin. The way this Battle Plaza worked is that trainers had to register to battle. They, unfortunately, couldn't just jump in and start battling each other. Since this plaza is on a smaller scale compared to Castelia's larger plaza which was currently being rebuilt, the battlefield could only hold two competitors. So turns had to be taken.
"Next! Can Lucky Latch and Skyplay come on to the battlefield?!" Don George called for the next trainers to step up.
"Oh. Do I have to sign up or something?" Spike asked a nearby trainer.
"Sure do. But uh...I think you came in a bit too late, pal. Registrations are closed."
"Aw! Already?!" Spike jerked back as he groaned. "Come on...That train ride wasn't even that long. What's with this day being so slow?"
Spike had just missed out on his opportunity to have a battle here. Which was a shame since he was really looking forward to it alongside his Salamence.
"Sorry, pal." Spike looked at his Poke Ball. He then noticed Paul walking by him since he had just finished up his battle. Spike figured that if he couldn't battle here in the Plaza, he could always just battle somewhere else with someone random. And what better than the previous competitor who had just finished his own battle. "Oh, hey, wait!"
"Hm?" Paul turned around to face Spike. "Yeah?"
"I know you just got done battling but uh...you wouldn't mind battling me would you?"
"A battle right now? Are you registered?"
"Oh, uh...no. I kinda came in late so it's full. But I'm talking an outdoor battle that's just between you and me."
"You're asking a lot from someone you just met, kid," Paul responded.
"Yeah uh...my bad." Spike winced as he rubbed the back of his head.
"But...I'm not one to turn down a battle. At least not frequently. If you wanna battle then sure. The only reason I came to this festival anyway."
"Alright!" Spike jumped up. "Where can we battle uh..."
"My name's Paul." He introduced himself. "And there's a small little lake just near this entire city. That's where we'll battle."
"Paul, huh? My name's Spike. "And I'll be there for sure! Salamence and I are just itching for a battle, ya know."
"Spike, huh?" Paul froze for a moment as he took a moment to observe Spike and how he was a dragon. Paul has been visiting this world frequently for the sake of catching new Pokemon to get stronger.
But during his ventures in Equestria, he has heard from many ponies across the land about a certain someone, who Paul is very familiar with. That of course, being Ash.
But more importantly, he also heard about the Darkest Day and how Ash and a bunch of his friends helped save Equestria from Eternatus during the Darkest Day. One of those friends being a baby dragon by the name of Spike alongside his Salamence.
The Darkest Day has become a sort of a popular event in Equestria. So popular that it can be considered a pivotal point in Equestria history. It's hard to not know about it since it almost brought about the destruction of Equestria in just one night.
And Paul could tell that this was indeed that same Spike who helped stop Eternatus.
"So you're another one of Ash's friends. Guess I can't stop bumping into them in this world..." Paul sighed.
"Sure am." Spike nodded aggressively. "Wait, how'd you know who I was?"
"Ponies here kept talking about some Darkest Day and how you were beside Ash and some others. I'm not too surprised he's popular here, honestly."
"You know him?"
"Sure do. All the way from my adventures with Sinnoh. Ever since these two worlds crossed over, I didn't think I'd hear his name so often recently."
"Oh, wait! You're that Paul guy Ash mentioned before!" Spike realized. "That means I'm gonna battle against one of Ash's rivals today...? Awesome!"
"Just as energetic as him too..." Paul mumbled. "Alright, let's quickly get this over with. I wanna continue battling in this Battle Plaza soon."
"Right! But uh, let me just get myself ready. You're Ash's rival so that must mean you're super strong. Salamence and I gotta prepare ourselves."
"I can wait. I also wanna prepare myself too." Paul replied as he and Spike both walked out of the Battle Plaza to prepare themselves for their upcoming battle which will happen in just a few minutes.
Although, Paul is a heavy strategist so his planning can last a while and take up a lot of time. But either way, he'll still find time to battle.
They would battle near a lake that was just on the outskirts of Las Pegasus and right near the train station as well. Originally, this area did not exist. But of course, thanks to the Pokemon changing Equestria day by day, this was a brand new area exclusive to Grass, Water, Flying and even Psychic-Types.
It was a bit unfortunate that they couldn't battle in the Pokemon Battle Plaza at all due to Spike being late.
But the same can be said for the Contest Hall.
"Out of slots?!" Rarity screeched.
"Deepest apologies." The lady bowed her head as an apology. "But the registration slots closed off 2 hours ago. Seems you were a bit too late. Sorry."
"Ugh! What is wrong with this fourth day? Feels like somepony is slowing down time on purpose..." Rarity growled.
"So...I can't enter the contest?" Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Sorry. All slots are full."
"Aw..." Sweetie Belle whimpered.
"Don't worry, Sweetie Belle." Coco patted Sweetie Belle on the head. "We still have tomorrow to look forward to. Are there slots open then?"
"There will be." The lady nodded. "So you still have a chance."
"Yes!" Sweetie Belle jumped for joy. "Phew! I was really worried there for a sec! But...now what do we do? Wait until tomorrow."
"Of course not. We're in Las Pegasus after all. The possibilities here are endless." Rarity replied.
"Well...We could use all this time to practice." Coco suggested. "I've been wanting to make sure my contest moves are sharpened up enough. If that's okay with you."
"Sure. It's okay with me." Sweetie Belle nodded. "This day's pretty slow anyway, so we can have a lot to do."
"Right then." Rarity walked in-between them. "I believe I know of a place where we can practice. There's a small little lake near the train station we can use. Come along, you two."
And so it was. Now there were two groups headed for that one secluded lake. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, late arrivals and occupied slots, they had to capitalize on the outdoors instead of the indoors.
It was a 6-minute walk to that secluded lake area. A small group of Meditite's who were practising with a Medicham noticed the arrival of the two groups from different sides. East and West.
They weren't the only ones who noticed an arrival. The moment the two groups arrived at the lake, their paths had crossed as they spotted each other immediately.
"Oh! Spike, darling. You're here too?" Rarity said to him. "Aren't you supposed to be at that Battle Plaza?"
"Yeah, but I was late for registration. I thought you were supposed to be at Pokemon Contest Hall with Sweetie Belle and Coco."
"We were...but the slots were full." Sweetie Belle pouted. "We came out here to this lake to practise contest moves together."
"Mhm." Coco nodded. "What about you, Spike? Why are you here?"
"I'm here to have a battle with this guy right here." Spike pointed at Paul. "This here's Paul. That guy that Ash mentioned once. Remember?"
"Paul...?" Rarity lowered her eyes, digging through her memory as she remembered Ash bringing up Paul's name once. "Oh! This is that Paul?!"
"Why's it such a big deal?" Paul raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry." Rarity laughed. "I suppose it's somewhat of a huge deal to meet one of Ash's rivals. So. You and Spike will be having a battle here."
"We sure are!" Spike chimed in, sliding over to Rarity. "Oh. Wait, that's not gonna be a problem for your contest practice is it?"
"Well, that depends. I think we're all aware of how destructive Pokemon battles can get. So battling and practising contest moves might throw us all off focus." Rarity said. "How about we each have our own turns?"
"Turns?" Spike looked up in the sky. "Uh...I guess we can take turns. But who's going first?"
"Oh! Let us go first!" Sweetie Belle raised her hoof, jumping repeatedly.
"Is that alright with you two?" Rarity asked.
"Go ahead. I can wait." Paul turned around, accepting their request. "I've got some planning to do anyway."
"Thanks!" Sweetie Belle bellowed. "Alright, Coco! Let's do this!" She took out her Poke Balls as she and Coco were ready to practise against each other for tomorrow whilst Paul and Spike took their time.
"Out you come." Coco had another Pokemon other than Glaceon that she doesn't exactly send out that often for reasons that were about to be revealed. From out of her Poke Ball, a Mawile came out.
"Mawile."
"Oooh...Who's that?" Sweetie Belle was obviously intrigued by this Pokemon that was new to her eyes as she immediately took out her Pokedex.
"Mawile. The Deceiver Pokemon. Mawile's huge jaws are actually steel horns that have been transformed. Don't be taken in by this Pokémon's cute face—it's very dangerous. Mawile fools the foe into letting down its guard, then chomps down with its massive jaws. It has two mouths. The big jaws on the back of its head can't taste anything, so that's the mouth it uses to eat foods it doesn't like. It can chew through iron beams."
"Aw...it's so cute!" Sweetie Belle gushed as she got a bit too close to the Steel-Fairy-Type.
"Wile?" Mawile noticed Sweetie Belle getting close as she instinctively forced her jaws to snap at Sweetie Belle, forcing the little unicorn back.
"Eep!" Sweetie Belle squeaked as she hid behind Rarity.
"Sorry about that. Mawile's a bit cautious of others." Coco went up to her partner. "But she's really sweet when she gets to know somepony new."
"Maw."
"No need to worry. We'll get along well. Come out all of you. Sweetie Belle sent out all of her Pokemon for practice and to greet Mawile of course. But Mawile was still cautious and mostly defensive of Coco.
While they prepare to plan out their contest moves and how they can dazzle the judges tomorrow, if they get the chance to register, Paul and Spike were biding their time, waiting for their turn to arrive.
Paul observed Spike's Salamence. He saw how Salamence was the only Pokemon on Spike's team, meaning that he had many options to deal with this Dragon Pokemon. Meanwhile, Spike only knew about Paul's Electivire after seeing his battle. It only used Brick Break so Spike had no idea what to expect.
While they were with their Pokemon and Sweetie Belle and Coco were training together, Spike was curious about Paul's rivalry with Ash. Maybe learning from one of Ash's rivals could help him improve as a trainer.
"Hey, Paul," Spike said to him.
"Yeah?" Paul responded.
"I'm kinda curious. What's it like being a rival to Ash? I really wanna know. It must've been intense!"
"You do, huh?" Paul tapped his foot on the ground, looking up in the sky. "Guess I can say something about us."
"Oh yeah! If you're Ash's rival, you must be a real big deal! Ash is super strong after all."
"You're right on that. He's one formidable opponent. That's for sure." Paul let out a small smile as he closed his eyes. "Can't even imagine what it would've been like if we never crossed paths. Would I still be a great trainer?"
"Hm? You mean you wouldn't be the same if you never met Ash?" Spike tilted his head.
"Probably." Paul looked over at a Slowpoke resting near the lake on its belly. "I would've gone a different path if that happened. Guess it all came down to our final battle that really changed everything."
"Final battle?!" Spike hopped on Salamence's head. "What was that like?"
"Sala?"
"Hmph. Timeless to me. I can still remember how it all went down. Every last bit of it." Paul started reminiscing about his final battle with Ash during the Lily of the Valley Conference. AKA the Sinnoh League.
It was his greatest battle to this day and really put his rivalry with Ash to the test. Especially when it came to the battle between Infernape who used to belong to Paul when he was just a Chimchar.
11 years ago. The Lily of the Valley Conference.
The battle between Ash and Paul was one to remember. All of their Pokemon gave everything they had on that day. It was hard to tell who would come out on top since they were so even in skill. They were practically the same person but with different ideals.
And no battle represented that more than Infernape vs Electivire. The final Pokemon they each had during the Sinnoh League since all of their other Pokemon had fainted.
Dawn, Brock and Barry were there to watch the battle alongside Team Rocket who were in disguise, the Champion Cynthia and Paul's Brother Reggie who was watching from home. This was the climax. Where Infernape would give it his all.
"Alright! Electivire! Thunder Punch, Go!" Paul commanded.
"Electi...!" Electivire charged forward with his fist surrounded by yellow electricity while being accompanied by yellow sparks.
"Infernape! Mach Punch!"
"Infer...!" Infernape did the same with his fist glowing light blue.
Both Pokemon put all of their strength into these two punches as their fists met with each other. Upon contact, white sparks of energy flowed out as a bright light formed in the middle of their punch. Sounds of electricity could be heard flowing out of the light as the two Pokemon stared each other down for a bit.
Afterwards, a dynamic explosion forced them both back as their attacks cancelled each other out.
"In! Infernape!" Infernape recovered by backflipped whilst Electivire just slid on the ground.
"Vire!"
"Flamethrower, Go!"
"In...fernape!" Infernape breathed in as his chest stuck out. Afterwards, he let out a stream of flames from his gaping mouth.
"Protect," Paul ordered.
"Elec!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon put his arms out as a green barrier of protective energy formed around him. Flamethrower made contact with Protect as the flames split into different directions upon contact. The flames then died out as they had been blocked.
"Gh!" Ash grit his teeth.
"Thunder!"
"Elec...tivire!" Electivire put down his protective barrier as he smashed his two fists together. His body was outlined by volts of electricity as he then released a bolt of electricity up in the sky. That bolt then split into multiple thunderbolts as they were all approaching the Flame Pokemon at a rapid pace.
"Infernape, Dig!"
"Infer!" Inferape quickly jumped up, smashing his fists on the ground as he created a hole to dig through. He managed to evade Thunder in time due to Dig as he was now moving through the battlefield. However, Electivire kept Thunder up as the multiple bolts were surrounding the battlefield like a cage, making sure that Infernape would get hit by at least one Thunder. This was a mimic of Ash's Counter Shield from how it was acting.
"And both Pokemon use powerful moves!" The announcer said.
"Infer!" Infernape then emerged from the ground, giving Electivire a sudden uppercut to the face. Supereffective damage was dealt as Electivire was sent flying from the uppercut.
"Vire!" Electivire definitely felt that impact as he tumbled on the ground, creating a dust cloud from his body impact alone.
"A great example of a perfect dig!"
"In!" Infernape jumped back as his body twitched, taking some damage since Toxic Spikes had affected him earlier during the battle. "Fer!"
"Did it work?!" Ash wondered.
But as the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Electivire got right back up as if it was nothing. It showed that even super-effective moves weren't enough to keep Paul's Electivire down.
"Amazing! Electivire's still standing!"
"Good," Paul smirked.
"Hm." So did Ash as he knew this battle was far from over.
But Dawn, who was watching this entire battle play out was getting a bit nervous as her pupils were shaking uncontrollably all of a sudden.
"I know I've seen battles between Ash and Paul before. But for some reason, there's something completely different about this one." A worried Dawn said.
"Use Flamethrower!"
"Fer!" In a flash, Infernape let out a quick Flamethrower from his mouth.
"Brick Break! Go!"
"El..ectivire!" Electivire quickly raised his hand as he cut Flamethrower in half.
"It may be because they're finally facing off against each other in the same state of mind," Brock replied to Dawn's words.
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.
"Reggie once called them two sides of the same coin. Mirrors of each other. They may have the same goals, but they've always taken different paths to reach them. Now they're really battling face to face. Head-on. And I think they both realize that." Brock explained.
And it was really showing. Infernape and Electivire were going back and forth at high speeds. They were moving so fast that they were becoming speed lines and nothing else. They punched each other back and forth, moving across the battlefield as both of them were even.
Infernape and Electivire exchange a fury of Mach and Thunder Punches, respectively. They each land an attack before yet another Flamethrower by Infernape is blocked by Electivire's Protect.
In a way, Infernape and Electivire were perfect representations of Ash and Paul themselves.
"Just thinking about it is making me all pumped. Guess a bit of Ash got into me," said Paul.
"Oh, sweet...!" Spike's eyes became starry. "I wish the worlds crossed earlier so I could've been there to see it! Then what happened?!"
"Well, it was an intense battle from start to finish, that's all. But I guess one moment that really stuck out is when I lost. It wasn't just me losing that was so important though. It was seeing Infernape and how truly strong he was." Paul continued to reminisce about the battle.
Infernape was down on the ground, not yet knocked out. He was really beaten up however as he was trying to get up from the ground.
"Infer..."
"Electi. Electivire!" Electivire taunted Infernape, telling him to get back up since he knows the Flame Pokemon can still go on.
"So I guess that's the best you can do then, huh?" Paul said. "You're pathetic just like always."
"Infer...nape!" Infernape's eyes flashed as he gained the strength to get back up.
"Afraid not!" Ash smirked.
"Huh?" Paul turned to see Infernape's sudden ascension as he and everyone else gasped since they thought Infernape was done for.
"Alright! Infernape! Time to show Paul just how strong you are!"
"In...fer...NAPE!" Infernape's ability Blaze had awoken. A ferocious and gallant burst of fire emerged from behind Infernape as the flame of his head grew to a gigantic size. He let out a powerful yell as his flames engulfed the entire battlefield whole.
"Yes!" Ash was waiting for this.
"And Infernape is back with a vengeance, showing the stadium incredible will and fighting spirit!"
"It's Blaze!" Barry exclaimed.
"Reaching the absolute limits of Infernape's endurance has actually brought out its greatest strength," said Brock.
"But with all of the damage Infernape's taken, he'd better finish this up quickly!" Dawn followed.
"Piplup! Piplup!"
"Infernape's up! So are we!" Team Rocket began cheering. "A happier team you'll never see! Help that twerp! Make the bad guy drool and slurp!"
"So this is what Ash was going for all along!" Reggie smiled.
"Time for the real battle! Alright, Infernape! Flamethrower!"
"Infernape!" Infernape's Flamethrower was much more powerful than it had ever been. In fact, it no longer looked like a stream of fire but instead, a devasting blast that matched that an infra-red beam.
"Infernape's more powerful than ever so head's up! Thunder!"
"Electi...vire!" Electivire tries to hold it back with Thunder, but it can't stand up to the sheer power as Thunder was obliterated by Flamethrower with Electivire being engulfed.
"Mach Punch, go!"
"Fernape!" Infernape jumped out of the smoke as he then used Mach Punch, which hits and sends Electivire flying back. Knowing their Pokémon are now at their limits, they get ready to finish it.
"Let's finish this!" Ash and Paul both said.
"Use Thunder Punch!"
"Electivire!" Electivire rushed in for one last Thunder Punch.
"Flare Blitz, go!" Infernape ascended into the air with a large aura of fire surrounding him. That red-orange aura then transformed into blue fire, signifying just how powerful Infernape has truly become.
He then bolted himself forward as Flare Blitz and Thunder Punch both connected. The two Pokémon, battling like they've never battled before, landing their attacks on each other, creating a maelstrom of fire and electricity that was streaming into the sky, illuminating the stadium.
This struggle lasted a while with a devastating wind blowing through the stadium. They both growled with each of them trying to gain the upper hand. But only one of them was coming out of this the winner.
"In...Infernape!" Infernape pushed himself further as he dashed past Electivire with sudden instant speeds, ending the exchange. Infernape felt the recoil as a delayed reaction caused Electivire to feel the explosive force of Infernape's Flare Blitz, throwing up a thick blanket of smoke.
"Electi...Electivire!" The smoke clears and reveals Electivire still standing with his eyes flashing red through the smoke as the two Pokémon and their Trainers stare each other down. The two Pokémon remain perfectly still with anticipation at an all-time high.
"Infernape!"
"Vire..." Electivire finally fell, fainting to the ground.
"Electivire is unable to battle! Infernape wins! Which means the victory goes to Ash of Pallet Town!" The referee declared.
"Alright!" Ash let out a cry of victory.
"And that's all she wrote! Fantastically fierce full 6 on 6 battle, the winner of today's attack-fest is Ash!"
"Alright, Ash won!" Dawn raised her arms with joy as she and the others screamed out in elation for Ash's victorious win over Paul while Brock is overwhelmingly pleased.
"Piplup! Pip-Piplup!"
"I'm so stoked I can't stand it!" Barry scratched his hair aggressively. "Those two are awesome! They're the coolest!"
"You finally beat him...wow," Brock muttered.
"What a battle that was." Paul smiled. "If I hadn't neglected Infernape when it was still a Chimchar, things could've been different back then. But...Thanks to that battle, I'll recognize all of my Pokemon's strength."
"So cool...! Kinda makes me a bit nervous to go up against you but still!"
"Just don't go too overboard. This is a small area after all."
"Oh, right! I think those two are nearly done." Spike looked over to see Coco and Sweetie Belle's training.
"Mawile. Use Fairy Wind."
"Wile." The Deceiver Pokemon began spinning rapidly, creating strong gusts of sparkling wind that flowed into the air.
"Okay, Espurr. Use Disarming Voice on Fairy Wind." Sweetie Belle commanded.
"Espurr..." The Restraint Pokemon opened her mouth, sending a pink soundwave towards the gusts of sparkling wind. The two Fairy moves had collided, creating a spiral of pink energy that matched the shape of a drill. But unfortunately, it quickly died out.
"Aw..." Sweetie Belle sighed.
"Guess they're a bit unbalanced. But that's fine." Coco said. "Let's try something else. Mawile. Use Shadow Ball."
"Mawile." Mawile hurled a shadowy blob of darkness from the large jaws she had, sending it forward.
"Let's try Light Screen this time! And jump into Shadow Ball!"
"Purr!" Espurr put a protective aura of light around her as she rushed over towards the ball of shadows. It was risky but she was willing to take the risk.
Espurr jumped into Shadow Ball, closing her eyes as she braced for impact. But Mawile made sure that the attack wouldn't harm Espurr in the process. Once the Restraint Pokemon entered Shadow Ball, the aura of Light Screen was giving the ball of shadows some shine.
It looked like a disco ball going off from how the lights were flying around the area as the lake was being illuminated by a mixture of bright and dark colours.
"Ooh! That's the one!" Sweetie Belle grinned.
"I'll say." Rarity nodded. "But you two should also focus on creating new contest moves by yourself. After all, it's hard to tell if you'll be facing each other tomorrow."
"Oh! Right!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Guess we forgot."
"That's fine. I've gotten some new ideas from training with you anyway, Sweetie Belle." Coco replied.
"I suppose now is the best time to take a break. Spike! Paul! You two can battle it out now!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Finally! It's our time to shine!" Spike smirked.
"Then let's get this over with." Paul immediately walked to one side of the lake while Spike did the same. Rarity and the others decided to sit back and watch the battle from afar.
They had both made their pick. Paul held out his Poke Ball which wasn't actually Electivire's Poke Ball since it couldn't properly deal with Salamence due to the Dragon-Typing resisting Electric.
Spike was obviously going for his only Pokemon, Salamence. At least the one he currently owns now while his Goomy is out there training with Dragon Trainer Avaun.
"You ready, Salamence?" Spike asked him.
"Salamence!" He nodded.
"Alright. Aggron! Stand by for battle!" Paul sent his Aggron out to deal with Salamence.
"Aggron!"
"Oh. Who's this guy?" Spike took out his Pokedex.
"Aggron. The Iron Armor Pokemon. Aggron claims an entire mountain as its own territory. It mercilessly beats up anything that violates its environment. This Pokémon vigilantly patrols its territory at all times. The more wounds it has, the more it has battled, so don't take it lightly. Aggron has a horn sharp enough to perforate thick iron sheets. It brings down its opponents by ramming into them, horn-first. Long ago, there was a king who wore a helmet meant to resemble the head of an Aggron. He was trying to channel the Pokémon's strength."
"Steel and Rock huh? That Rock-Types gonna make Flamethrower look weak. Spike was a bit bummed out that Aggron wasn't a pure Steel-Type. That way, Flamethrower would've worked splendidly. "Hey, Paul! Mind if I go first?"
"Sure." Paul agreed to let Spike go first.
"Alright! Salamence! Use Flamethrower!"
"Sala..." Salamence ascended to the sky, holding his breath as he then let out a stream of fire.
"Hmph," Paul smirked. "Metal Claw on the ground!"
"Aggron!" The Iron Armor Pokemon suddenly smashed its claws onto the ground, causing a wall of stone and grass to emerge as it blocked the Flamethrower. Paul was already starting strong.
"Mence?"
"Now, Metal Sound!"
"Aggrooooon!" The two horns on Aggron's head started to glow white as they move back and forth quickly, causing a loud ringing sound to be released. The horns then released light blue sound waves from them that filled the entire lake.
"S-Sala!" Salamence could hear the horrible ringing sound of Metal Sound as he winced, descending to the ground as it was lowering his Special Defence. Any nearby Pokémon that hears the sound gets a loud ringing sound that echoes in their ears as well.
That includes the Pokemon belonging to Sweetie Belle and Coco.
"E-Espurr!" Espurr covered her ears as she and the other Pokemon writhed on the ground, trying to ignore this sound.
"Are you all okay?!" Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Oh, dear! That sound is reaching all the Pokemon here!" Coco noticed that the Pokemon from the lake were also being affected by Metal Sound.
"Now, use Double Edge!"
"Ggron!" Aggron rushed at the Dragon Pokemon, leaving behind a silver trail, with its body turning gold. As it charges, its body returns to normal colour and it becomes surrounded by a white aura.
"That's gonna do a lot of recoil! Salamence! Block it with Dragon Tail!"
"Salamence!" Even though all of Salamence's moves weren't really that effective against Aggron, he still had to do something.
He flew forward with his tail being surrounded in draconic energy. He and Spike were betting on the recoil damage to really put the hurt on Aggron since it'll hurt itself upon impact.
Salamence's tail clashed with Aggron's head as a white field of energy formed in-between the two, knocking them back with an explosion.
"Sala!" Salamence was sent back by the explosion as his tail was twitching upon making contact with the Iron Armor Pokemon. But Salamence and Spike believed that Aggron was the one who took the most damage thanks to the recoil of Double Edge.
However, as the smoke from the explosion cleared, it was revealed that Aggron did not take any recoil damage from Double-Edge at all as it was still standing.
"Aggron."
"What the?!" Spike and Salamence both gasped. "But I thought-"
"Rock Head." Paul smiled. "It's Aggron's ability. Any move that has recoil is instantly prevented at all times."
"Oh no." Spike's pupils shrunk.
"Now, Aggron! Flash Cannon!"
"Aggron!" Aggron opened its mouth as a silver ball appears in front of Aggron's mouth. Aggron then fired a silver beam from the ball at the Dragon-Flying-Type.
"Quick! Flamethrower!"
"Salamence!" Salamence quickly released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth as Flamethrower and Flash Cannon ended up colliding.
Flamethrower burned through Flash Cannon, surprising Aggron and Paul. The Iron Armor Pokemon then saw how Flamethrower was approaching it as the emission of fire engulfed it. "Aggron!"
"Yes!" Spike was glad that he finally got a hit in. "Now use Hyper Beam! Full power!"
"Sala..." Salamence formed a ball of orange energy in his mouth, charging it up at full power.
"Here comes Hyper Beam! Use Flash Cannon one more time!"
"Aggron!" Aggron yet again used Flash Cannon to counteract the incoming beam of hyper energy. Both Pokemon, at the same time, released their attacks as two beams travelled forward.
The beams ended up colliding but they didn't enter a struggle nor did one of them overpower the other. Instead, they just cancelled each other out.
The water of the lake rippled aggressively as some of the trees were starting to topple over from this very impactful and heavy battle.
"Sala...Salamence...!" Salamence needed to take a breather after using Hyper Beam. It was looking a bit rough for him. None of his attacks were great against Aggron, unfortunately.
"Salamence's worn out..." Spike thought to himself. "If I can just hold out for a bit longer..."
"Metal Claw."
"Ggron!" Aggron charged through the smoke as his claws were lit up with silver energy.
"Sala?!" Salamence gasped as he knew he had to take the hit because of Hyper Beam tiring him out and needing to recharge himself.
"Aggron!" Aggron smashed its claws onto the Dragon Pokemon's head once, causing a shockwave to form as the trees around the lake were starting to crumble.
"Mence!" Salamence felt Metal Claw hit his head but it didn't stop there. Aggron let out one final Metal Claw by uppercutting Salamence, sending the Dragon Pokemon flying back as the ground beneath them shattered. "S-Salamence!"
"Oh, no! Salamence!" Spike gasped as he witnessed his partner fall back, tumbling on the ground. That one single Metal Claw was just powerful enough to seal the deal as Salamence couldn't continue battling any further.
"Salamence..."
"And that's that. Thanks, Aggron. Return." Paul returned his Aggron.
"How short..." Rarity sighed. "I suppose going up against a rival of Ash will lead to such an outcome."
"Sorry, Salamence. We didn't really have anything to really damage them." Spike went up to his partner.
"Sala..."Salamence got up with his tail twitching.
"You did good, kid." Paul walked over to Spike. "Even though you didn't have any moves to handle my Aggron, I could tell you were still trying your best."
"Thanks. Guess I'm lacking in the moves department huh."
"Don't let it get to you. There's still a ton of room for your Salamence to grow, anyway."
"Guess so. I'll have Salamence learn new moves that'll deal with any Pokemon."
"Salamence."
"I'd better head back to the Battle Plaza. Thanks for the battle, Spike." Paul turned around as he was taking his leave. "Say hi to Ash for me. You as well, Rarity."
"We'll certainly tell him about our encounter with you." Rarity stood up. "Perhaps we'll have another chance to meet up again. Possibly somewhere else during this festival."
"Maybe. See ya." Paul waved goodbye to the ponies as he was off.
"He's so cool...!" Sweetie Belle gushed. "I can see why he's Ash's rival."
"Mhm." Coco nodded. "So. Do you want to keep practising? If that's okay with you."
"Sure! Let's practice till the moon rises!" Sweetie Belle bellowed.
"I don't know about that, darling." Rarity patted her little sister on the head as they all let out small laughs. Currently, only 45 minutes have actually passed.
The secluded village near Manehattan. Now the new home of the changelings for now. 15:40
The changelings now occupy this entire village and each of the buildings here. Most if not all of them were laying down on the beds, recovering. They needed the recovery after the horrifying Draco Meteor rain that horribly wounded all of them.
Currently, some rain had started pouring from a weather change. It was fairly heavy as it was beating on the roof of each building and the nearby trees. Although, it was a very calming sound.
Normally in this town, before it had been overrun by a certain Pokemon Hunter, this would be pleasant and relaxing to be apart of. The Grass-Types would especially sit by the tree, sleeping as the rain pours on them. Rain is very healthy to most Grass-Type Pokemon.
Chrysalis resided in the tallest building in this village. Which wasn't that tall at all but it was more than the others here. She was taking care of the newly hatched changeling baby who had no clue what was going on since she was just a baby at the end of the day.
Chrysalis wanted to help her changelings by healing them. Unfortunately, she didn't have a spell for that. But she did know of one way. Fairy-Type Pokemon and potentially Grass-Type Pokemon will have the power to heal them with ease. Just like what happened at the Pixie Plains. However, after walking for miles in injured states, Chrysalis needed time to recover as her hooves were aching after the walk.
This village might end up being their new home. It was no hive but it would have to do. It's not that easy building an entire hive anyway. But, this entire village was actually a hideout for someone else in particular.
Pokemon Hunter J.
J has no idea that her hideout had been overrun by changelings and Chrysalis had no idea that someone actually resides here. Chrysalis assumed since it was quiet and empty without anypony in sight for hours, it was free for the taking. The only reason why it's so quiet is because of J turning all the residents and Pokemon here into stone, locking them inside of an extra room.
It had been hours since J last departed. And now, she was returning to her hideout with brand new statues of Pokemon that she had collected. Most of them belonged to trainers while some were wild Pokemon.
The sounds of J's Salamence and Drapion pulling the carriage could be heard from afar, grabbing the attention of Chrysalis and the changelings. They were all put on high alert because of this.
Because of their injured state, the changelings decided to stay quiet and hidden from any new faces. They were still traumatized by Ghetsis to a point where they weren't their usual fierce and intimidating selves
Chrysalis remained quiet as she slowly peered her head through the window, spotting Salamence, Drapion and of course, J But one thing that really stuck out to her was what was inside of the carriages her Pokemon were pulling.
Statues of Pokemon could be seen inside. All unfortunate victims of J's endless Pokemon hunting spree that she never gave up even when being brought back by the Rift.
Chrysalis moved back so that J wouldn't spot her. But little did she know that the building she resided in was J's main place to be.
J got off the carriage, heading into the back as she took out the first few statues. One of the many objects that weren't brought back with J's revival were her capture cases. Those cases normally hold a captured Pokemon inside. But since they were gone, J had to use other ways of carrying the Pokemon.
The changelings made sure that J would not notice them at all. Something about her aura was very imposing. Even from first glance, they could tell something was wrong with her.
J returned her Pokemon to their Poke Balls as she was making her way towards the tallest building here. Her hand came in contact with the doorknob, which instantly startled Chrysalis.
The instinct to elude J was going through her head at the moment. After what happened to her hive, she was not up for any more problems at all. At this point, she wanted peace.
Chrysalis quickly looked around the room as she saw that she could head upstairs and hide. But that wouldn't conceal her from J permanently. But she could use the bed as a means of hiding.
Chrysalis quickly used her magic to teleport out of the lower floor and into the upper floor in an instant, evading J as she opened up the door.
J was unbeknownst about the changeling presence that filled this secluded area. She truly believed she was on her own here with no interruptions. And if there were interruptions, she would just turn anyone into statues. Simple.
Chrysalis quickly hid under the bed as she heard the footsteps of J coming up the stairs. Chrysalis held the baby close to her while underneath the bed. The baby changeling felt an ominous presence as it was on the verge of crying.
"Sssh-Sssh..." Chrysalis silenced the baby as she was hoping that no noise would be made. Thankfully, J did not hear the sound of the baby whimpering as Chrysalis made sure not to make any heavy breathing, even when underneath the bed.
J entered the room, still unaware that she had unwanted company. Although, she was technically the unwanted company to the ponies who lived here before being turned into statues.
Speaking of the ponies turned to statues, J opened up the extra room where the statues were being kept. Chrysalis was able to witness this by shifting her eye up. She saw how J placed the statues inside of the room.
Through her ears, Chrysalis could hear something unusual. A voice was echoing out, but it wasn't coming from J. Instead, it was coming from one of the stone statues inside of the extra room.
It was faint but she could hear sounds echoing out of a Ribombee statue specifically. Almost as if it was a cry for help. That Ribombee statue let out a silent cry that only Chrysalis could hear. Similar to how Diamond Tiara was only able to hear the cries of the Pokemon.
"Ribombee..."
"What a hassle..." J spoke. "My arm cannon is running out of power...and this room won't be able to hold all these Pokemon eventually." J tossed the statues in the extra room, having no care for them as some of them, mostly the smaller Pokemon, had cracks forming around them. "I'll just use the other houses next time. But first...I'll need an upgrade. Being brought back is wonderful but...I'm still lacking many things..."
J slammed the door as she left the Pokemon in the extra room, adding the new ones to her collection. The sound and force of the door slamming were enough to startle Chrysalis and especially the baby, who wasn't too fond of it.
Because of that slam, the baby was about to cry as it started by whimpering. Chrysalis let out a silent gasp as she realized that this could be a problem if J hears the baby crying.
She was unable to rock the baby since she was currently in a position where that would be difficult and would just make the bed shake instead. Any action would just alert Hunter J and things would spiral downwards. Chrysalis's heart was racing. Her hooves were getting weak, she was sweating and all this pressure was only making her injuries worse.
That is until fate decided to bless the changelings with luck. J had left the room to continue her work. She still had a lot to do and finish since she was brought back by the Rift. Her work was far from over as she left the room.
Chrysalis stopped sweating as she came out of the bed with the baby, letting out a sigh of relief as she was glad that J had left. For now, that is.
Chrysalis heard the door slam yet again as J had left the house, heading over to the carriage to head off somewhere else in Equestria, most likely. All the changelings still stayed hidden, waiting for J to leave.
J was indeed heading somewhere, but it wasn't in Equestria. Instead, she was heading back to the Pokemon world for a few reasons. Reasons that could benefit her to a large degree.
"You two. Let's get a move on. Those gateways seem to lead to different parts of our world. Not just Sinnoh." J said to her Pokemon. "I think we're going to make a quick stop at Unova. They've got some technology that can help us greatly."
"Salamence!"
"Drapion!"
Both of her Pokemon got a move on as J was off to find a gateway that led to the Unova Region. Any part of Unova would do for her. Whether it be a town, city, forest or mountain.
With J gone, the baby could finally cry to her heart's content as she burst out into tears. Chrysalis was glad that nothing horrible happened. They've already been through the worst part of their life anyway.
"Ssh. Don't cry. It's okay." Chrysalis rocked the little changeling baby back and forth, trying to calm her down. Her rocking was enough to soothe the little changeling.
But after the crying came to an end, something surfaced in Chrysalis's mind. That voice she heard from the extra room that was just behind that door. She didn't just hear it once. That same Ribombee cry kept on flying through her ears.
The sound of the Ribombee crying out managed to enchant Chrysalis to a point where she was drawn to it. Not only that, but she was curious about the other room anyway.
She approached the door with the changeling baby in one hoof. By using her magic, she opened up the door to see what J was storing.
All of the Pokemon that J had turned into stone statues, even the ponies who originally lived here were all grouped and stacked on each other. All of them were motionless but they still had life. They could only look in one direction and barely speak. In fact, most of them couldn't utter a word other than Ribombee who could only let out faint cries.
This sight was a bit horrifying to Chrysalis. But seeing the ponies here made her realize why this entire village was so deserted in the first place. It wasn't hard to tell that these were living beings instead of just art and display.
"Ribombee..."
Yet again, Ribombee cried out for help. She was the only one who was able to say at least something. Everyone else was silent. Ribombee's cries drew Chrysalis in as she approached the statue. That cry for help was easy to pick up on as Chrysalis could tell that the sound meant help.
Chrysalis saw the Ribombee statue and how she had one expression on her face. The expression of fear. Much like everyone else in this room.
Seeing Ribombee in such a hopeless state reminded Chrysalis of what happened earlier this day. With how the Draco Meteor Rain came and harmed her and the changelings. She could resonate with the Bee Fly Pokemon as she kept on hearing its cry for help.
Unfortunately, Chrysalis did not know of a spell to break someone out of stone. In fact, most of Chrysalis's spells aren't exactly used for helping others. Which was a shame since she wished she could heal her changelings with her own magic. But thankfully, she had the Fairy Pokemon who could help her.
However, that's when the unexpected happened. The baby changeling, who was cooing and giggling had suddenly surprised Chrysalis by lighting up its own horn.
Chrysalis witnessed the baby changeling's horn emanate a bright green magical light from her horn that filled the entire room at such a young age. She had just been born today even and her magic was already large.
This bright magic let out a dazzling flash that forced Chrysalis to close her eyes as it engulfed the entire room and house, giving it a beautiful emerald glow.
Once the glow faded away, Chrysalis slowly opened up her eyes as she saw how the baby changeling had gone to sleep. It seems that using that much magic puts her in a resting state.
But that green light wasn't just for show. It had done something. Or rather, it responded to something inside of this statue-filled room.
"Bombee?"
"Hm?" Chrysalis's ears picked up on a clearer noise. She turned her head as she spotted something different. Instead of the statue of Ribombee, it was the full-body Ribombee in pure physical form. "You...?"
"Ribombee!" The Bee Fly Pokemon flew around, feeling overjoyed with happiness since she was free from the stone statue prison.
She was so overjoyed that she flew over to Chrysalis and the changeling baby, granting them some sweet pollen grains that it sprinkled. The pollen puffs of Ribombee are made from pollen and nectar. Each of them have their own ingredient and flavour that makes them distinct and truly nutritious.
And Chrysalis could feel it. The puffs landed on her nose as she immediately felt the amazing nectar grace her. It was a soothing and wonderful feeling. So soothing that it actually calmed down all of Chrysalis's nerves.
"What is this...?" She said, perplexed by this tranquil feeling. Chrysalis was frozen in place because of this pollen. "It actually feels amazing..."
Not only did the pollen soothe Chrysalis's nerves but it also did the same to the baby, who wasn't actually feeling uneasy but the pollen was still great to have. The baby babbled, waking up as she spotted Ribombee floating in front of her.
RIbombee enjoyed the good vibes that the little changeling emanated as it flew around Chrysalis and the baby with joy, granting them even more nectar.
This was Ribombee's way of thanking someone. She was very grateful to Chrysalis and her baby for finding her, even if it was unintentional.
However, Ribombee knew that things weren't all dandy and fine. After all, she did get captured and turned to stone by J in the wild out of nowhere. Along with the other stone statues here. Most of them were other Ribombee statues. These Ribombees were definitely in a hive together.
"Bombee!" Ribombee flew over to the statues as some of the Pokemon here were her friends who had been caught up in J's actions. She nudged on the statutes, trying to see if they would respond. But there was nothing. She called out their names but there was still no response.
"Ribombee..." Ribombee tried to free them by using Aromatherapy. She released a mystical green light that had a soothing scent to it. This was potent enough to heal status conditions but no one here was under a status condition at the moment, so Aromatherapy failed.
But she wasn't about to give up. She kept using Aromatherapy, even though the move has zero effect on the stone statue. Ribombee was just wasting her energy at this point.
Chrysalis could see how futile Ribombee's attempts to save her fellow Bee Fly Pokemon were futile and had zero progress behind them. It was very pitiful to look at and was just killing Chrysalis's mood which was already fairly low.
But then she recalled how the only reason this one Ribombee was able to break free from the stone statue was because of the baby changeling suddenly showcasing a large display of magic. Although, it wasn't large enough since it only freed one victim.
"Perhaps you can free them." Chrysalis looked down at the baby changeling. "Anthophila." It was then revealed what the baby's name was known as.
Unfortunately, the baby was unable to pull off what it did minutes ago as it just grabbed Chrysalis's face, mushing it about as it cooed and giggled.
"Maybe not..." Chrysalis sighed. "Was it just on impulse then?"
"Ribombee..." Ribombee looked over at her fellow Bug-Fairy-Types, saddened that they were still in this state while she was free.
"Sorry." Chrysalis went up to the Bee Fly Pokemon. "Ribombee, was it? You should leave here while you still can. Before she returns. If she sees you again, she'll surely turn you into stone once more."
"Ribom?"
"And I suppose I should probably leave this village as well. If I had known someone like that would be here..." Chrysalis grumbled as she knew that she had to leave this village despite just getting here today.
"Bomb!" Ribombee shook her head as she refused to leave the others behind. Plus, going out into the rain was not good for a Pokemon like Ribombee. Ribombee's absolutely hate getting wet or rained on. Rain makes pollen damp, so Ribombee hates rain. When it sees ominous clouds, it finds a hollow in a tree, where it waits stock-still.
Ribombee would continue trying to get everyone out as she continuously used Aromatherapy to do so, not knowing how pointless it all was. But Ribombee did not give up at all.
Again and again, Aromatherapy kept failing as the Bee Fly Pokemon was getting exhausted. She breathed in and out as her wings were flapping at a slower pace and beat now.
"Why is it that you continue trying?" Chrysalis wondered as the sight of Ribombee trying her best to free them made her feel abject. She took a step forward, but due to her injured state, moving was even a struggle for her as her hoof twitched. "Agh!"
Chrysalis pulled back, sitting on the bed as she winced. She despised how pathetic she was now. Never before in her life has this ever happened to her. She still needed a lot of time to recover before she can get out there and find a bunch of Fairy-Types to heal her changelings.
However, there was one Fairy-Type right here who could help. Ribombee noticed how Chrysalis had bruises on her horn and legs.
Ribombee knew that with how Chrysalis was at the moment, she couldn't ignore her injuries. She even decided to put her current action on hold, even if it was going nowhere.
"Ribombee." The Bee Fly Pokemon flew over to Chrysalis, deciding to heal her out of further gratitude. The move Aromatherapy would sound like the perfect move to use here. But what Chrysalis was experiencing weren't exactly status conditions.
Luckily, Ribombee had one move that acted as both an attack and a healing move. Pollen Puff. Ribombee made a sweet, yellow ball of pollen out of thin air.
"Bombee." Ribombee kindly offered both Chrysalis and Anthophila the pollen. Chrysalis looked at the pollen while Anthophila flailed her hoof at the pollen, trying to reach it.
Chrysalis decided to take the pollen, wondering if it would taste different from the natural pollen that Ribombee gave to her earlier. She took a bite, getting to experience its unique taste for the first time.
Immediately, Chrysalis got to experience the wonderful taste of Pollen Puff when it's not being used as a weapon against others. "Delicious."
It wasn't just delicious. It, of course, had the power to heal. A green light surrounded Chrysalis's body with pollen dust flying out of the light. Chrysalis looked around her to see this light and dust as she noticed how her hooves were suddenly gaining a new feeling.
Not one of pain but the complete opposite. The red bruises on her hooves were being dealt with by the healing energy of Pollen Puff. It wouldn't immediately heal her wounds since Draco Meteor was just unbelievable destructive and left a lot on her but it would gradually heal her, which Chrysalis was grateful for.
"Thank you so much." Chrysalis thanked the Bee Fly Pokemon as she watched Anthophila devour the pollen.
"Ribom."
"I suppose going out will just ruin the nectar, won't it?" Chrysalis looked outside the window.
"Bombee." She nodded in response.
"That would explain it." Chrysalis then looked over at the stone statues. She then saw how Ribombee went over to try and free them once more by using Aromatherapy.
Chrysalis couldn't stand seeing Ribombee trying to achieve an impossible task that she was unable to perform. Out of pity, Chrysalis decided to break it down to the Bee Fly Pokemon.
"Ribombee." She called for Ribombee's name. "Don't waste your energy. It seems that you cannot bring them back with that move of yours."
"Ribombee..." Ribombee whimpered.
"There is only one way but..." Chrysalis looked down at Anthophila. "I'm afraid it may only act on impulse. Maybe. They can be freed but Anthophila won't react to them like it did to you."
Speaking of, Anthophila had gone back to sleep after eating all the pollen. Turns out that using magic isn't the only thing that puts her to sleep.
Chrysalis could leave with her changelings to find a new hideout, but she quickly decided upon two things. Number one. The pollen can heal all of the changelings here without having to go to the Pixie Plains to do so. And two, Chrysalis felt compelled to help Ribombee.
Even when she knew that J, a highly dangerous individual, would return here, Ribombee's generosity and kindness had affected Chrysalis in a way she's never felt before.
"But maybe, you can help my changelings." Chrysalis requested. "All of them have been horribly injured and some of them met their unfortunate end. Ribombee. Would you please help heal them?"
"Ribombee!" She didn't need to ask for help. Ribombee immediately got to work as she flew off to help the other changelings by healing their wounds.
She visited every building here, creating balls of pollen repeatedly. Even when exhausting herself with Aromatherapy, she still had a ton of strength left to use Pollen Puff.
And as a wonderful bonus, Ribombee is an insanely fast Pokemon so she was able to get around the houses at breakneck speeds. The changelings were at first, surprised by Ribombee's arrival as they backed away, thinking that she was going to harm them.
But she wasn't. She was just here to heal. She started by spraying pollen and nectar all over them which calmed them down. Then, she dropped the balls of pollen on the bed, flying off to the next house to do the same.
The changelings each took a bite out of the pollen since they enjoyed the smell of the nectar. Once they bit on it, not only did they experience the taste of Pollen Puff, but their wounds were slowly being healed too. It was truly a great gift from Ribombee.
Ribombee had no relation to the changelings at all so she didn't need to go to such lengths to help them out. Especially during a first meeting. But she was a Fairy-Type. There are barely many reasons to help someone unless it's highly specific.
However, someone else who doesn't need a reason to help someone was approaching this part of Equestria while still in the Pokemon Festival.
Footsteps could be heard in the rain. That immediately alerted the changelings and Ribombee. They assumed it was J again, but this didn't sound like carriages moving at all.
But, Ribombee still flew back inside the house with caution as she and Chrysalis made sure to stay quiet and thankfully, Anthophila was asleep.
To see if it was J, Chrysalis and the changelings peered their eyes and head over the window out of curiosity and caution. But they quickly came to find out that it was someone else.
Ash.
"Nice spotting this village, Dragonite," Ash said to his Dragonite.
"Pikachu."
"Dragonite!"
"Why is he here...?" Chrysalis wondered. She was glad it wasn't J but arguably, to her, Ash was worse considering their not so friendly history with each other and the few conflicts and battles that they have had in the past. Which was a year ago of course.
The changelings were intimidated by Ash but not by much. They still remember how he absolutely defeated all of them with his Pokemon so he was already a big threat to them as they all moved back inside of the buildings.
"Luca." However, they couldn't hide for long. Lucario could sense the auras of many in this village.
"What do you sense, Lucario?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Cario." Lucario sent a pulse of aura that travelled through Ash's head as the two of them were communicating.
"Everywhere? Well, I guess that makes sense. It's a village after all." Ash chuckled. "But it's kinda quiet. Then again it's raining so..."
Ash decided to explore this small village out of his endless curiosity. He was just with Twilight, Meloetta and the others a while ago but he went ahead and found this village.
Unlike J, Anthophila could sense a positive and bright aura coming out of Ash. One that was incredibly inviting and warm. This made Anthophila giggle as she flew out of Chrysalis's hooves.
"Ah! Anthophila!" Chrysalis gasped as she witnessed the baby use magic to teleport out of the house. Chrysalis was on the verge of panicking while Ribombee was confused.
Anthophila cooed as she was attracted to Ash's positive energy. Her babbling and giggling were enough to grab the attention of Ash and his Pokemon as they turned their head, spotting the changeling baby heading over to them.
"Pika?"
"A changeling...baby?" Ash tilted his head. He then quickly saw that the baby, who was flying, was about to divebomb into him at surprisingly fast speeds. "W-Woah!"
Ash was too late to stop it as Anthophila tackled him to the ground, latching onto the trainer like glue while his Pokemon watched. "Pikapi?!"
"O-Ow...! Talk about strength!" Ash laughed as he was pinned down. Anthophila was surprisingly strong for her young age. AKA, just being born today.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu went up to the changeling baby, greeting her.
"Ash." Anthophila was able to understand Pikachu's words as she uttered her first word. Ash.
"Pika?!" Pikachu was blown back by that.
"Ash!" Anthophila babbled as she jumped on Ash's stomach.
The changelings all looked out to see Anthophila interacting with Ash in a way they would never expect. Especially Chrysalis, who was initially worried about this.
She decided to head out since she was more terrified of Ghetsis than Ash. The changeling queen, along with all the other changelings in this village, exited the houses as they all approached Ash.
"Luca!" Lucario was very cautious along with Farfetch'd and Gengar.
"Gengar!"
"Far!"
"Hm?" Ash sat up, noticing the array of changelings around him all of a sudden. That would explain the baby changeling being here. "You're all here? In this village?"
"Pika?"
"Ash Ketchum. Why have you have come here?" Chrysalis demanded to know as she wasn't about to let any chances of her changelings being harmed any further.
The new Changeling hideout. 16:20.
"Ash Ketchum. Why have you come here?" Chrysalis said to Ash who was currently pinned down by the changeling baby, Anthophila.
"Chrysalis..." Ash replied. "And every changeling? You're all here?"
"Pikachu?"
Ash sat up, seeing all the changeling surround him and his Pokemon. But Ash noticed something different about them all that was very noticeable.
All of them were wounded. Broken wings, missing wings, scratches, bruises, chipped horns, etc. Not only that, but their expressions were vastly different. Instead of hissing, they all stood there with a somewhat bewildered expression. Normally, they'd act very hostile to Ash and his Pokemon right now. But that wasn't the case.
"What happened to you all?" Ash held Anthophila in his hands, which didn't sit well with Chrysalis.
"I asked why you have come here?" Chrysalis demanded to know as she tried to intimidate Ash by lighting her horn up. But she was still in an injured state, so using any magic would mean instant pain as her horn twitched. "Ugh!"
"Pikachu?"
"Farfetch'd...!" Farfetch'd held his leek out as he was ready to smash the changelings flat.
"Wait, Farfetch'd." Ash stopped Farfetch'd as he knew that something was off.
"If you've come here to battle us...just take us to Canterlot as prisoners. That will be easier and without pain."
"I'm not here to do that. Dragonite just spotted this village and I wanted to check it out."
"Dragonite!"
"Tch. Well then hurry up and finish your sightseeing. Then leave." Chrysalis held her horn.
"Wait. This is another changeling hive?" Ash looked around.
"It's not. There is only one Changeling hive...At least...there used to be." Chrysalis lowered her head. Thinking about what happened to her hive just sparked horrible memories in her mind. Memories that she wished she could get rid of.
"Luca."And this is where Lucario's Aura came into play. Since Lucario can read the aura of others and their feelings and even tell what they're thinking.
By using his Aura pulse, Lucario was able to know about what happened to Chrysalis's hive. He learned about how Ghetsis destroyed it when he found out about her plans to defeat him and how many changelings perished during Ghetsis's attack.
Lucario then decided to pass this knowledge onto Ash by sending Aura pulses his way. Now Ash was ingrained with this horrible memory and emotion. He could feel Chrysalis's sadness and despair because of the Aura pulse.
"Woah..." Ash pulled back a bit. "So that's what happened. Your home was destroyed by Ghetsis?"
"...Yes," Chrysalis admitted it with honesty. "All of it. Nothing is left. Ghetsis came and rained down these horrible meteors from his Hydreigon..."
"Meteors? You mean Draco Meteor?"
"Pika?"
"Whatever they were!" Chrysalis turned around. "I never want to think about them again. Even bringing them up disgusts me! I've lost almost everything. All I have left are the remaining changelings who were injured. And Anthophila." Chrysalis went over to the baby changeling.
"Pikapi." Pikachu looked up at Ash. Pikachu, just like his trainer, could tell that all of this was too much for the changelings. Their entire home had been destroyed by an unfortunate Draco Meteor rain.
"Ghetsis..." Ash clenched his fist.
"It doesn't concern you, Ash Ketchum. You don't have a reason to care about us changelings anyway." Chrysalis sighed.
"Yeah. Probably." Ash nodded. "But I do care."
"What?" Chrysalis turned to face him. "You care?" She was highly confused about why Ash would care about her and the changelings so much. "But why? Why do you care about us changelings?"
Curious and confused about why Ash would care about them in any way, Chrysalis saw how Ash's facial expressions spoke louder than words. But he said words either way.
"I have a friend who's a changeling too. Thorax. I care about him, ya know. And he cares about all of you too. You're his family after all. Besides. You guys are all pretty hurt and you lost your home. That-"
Anthophila climbed up Ash's shoulder, growing very attached to Ash as she was pulling on his face while babbling and cooing.
"O-Ow!" Ash groaned as his face was being stretched.
"Ash!" Anthophila called out his name again.
Those words that Ash said concerning Thorax and all the changelings unexpectedly struck Chrysalis. She understood why Ribombee would help her because of her small experience with Fairy-Type Pokemon. But Ash was surprising considering that they have battled before.
"I suppose we are..." Chrysalis said to herself.
"You..." A familiar voice reached the ears of Ash. Three familiar voices actually. Those voices prompted Ash to turn around as he immediately saw three changelings staring right at him.
"Hm?" When Ash saw the changelings, he instantly recognized the three of them. These were the same changelings that he met in the Faye Mountains. "Oh! You three!"
"Pikachu!"
"You three been doing well?" Ash walked over to the three changelings while Anthophila kept on messing with Ash's face.
It has been a while since they've met. Even if this was their second official meeting. Meeting Ash again, under these specific circumstances was something entirely new.
The trio of changelings at this point would take anything that would make them happy after the horrifying meteor assault on their hive. And the presence of Ash and what he did for them back at the Faye Mountains was enough to grant them that spark of happiness.
"We've been doing great." The left one said.
"Mhm." The right one nodded.
"Pssh. We're fine." The middle one scoffed. "But we could be doing better right now."
"Sorry about your home you three. All of you." Ash looked at all the changelings. "I didn't think that Ghetsis would-"
"Ash!" Anthophila tugged on his eyes.
"Ow-ow!" Ash grimaced as Dragonite flew over, grabbing Anthophila and hugging her.
"Dra!"
"So this village. You're living here now?"
"No. This village is only temporary. We no longer have a home after our hive was destroyed. Now we're just wandering changelings searching for a new home. Few of them even."
"So then, where are you gonna find a new home?"
"How should I know? That hive was our only home in the world. Now it's all gone..." Chrysalis's tone was shifting. Her voice was getting weaker as she was on the verge of tearing up. That truly was her only home. The one place she could go for comfort.
That same dark green light was about to show itself yet again. But then, Pikachu walked up to Chrysalis, nudging her leg. "Pika-Pika."
"You?" Chrysalis looked down at the Electric Mouse Pokemon. The Pokemon that used to give her so much trouble was now being compassionate towards her.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu gave a tiny thumbs up to Chrysalis, trying to cheer her up. Pikachu's attempt to make Chrysalis happy was charming to the Changeling Queen.
Obviously, with how positive and happy Ash was, this would be the perfect opportunity to eat up all of his love. Especially the love he has for his Pokemon which is tremendous. However, this was not the case. Instead, Ash's love reacted to the changelings differently.
Ash showing concern for the changelings was just one of the many reasons why the reaction was so different. And Chrysalis could especially feel that. She saw how Ash was chatting with the three changelings and Ribombee along with Pikachu. Dragonite was playing with Anthophila by tossing her up and down while the rest of the changelings were no longer intimidated by Ash at all. His calming aura was enough to erase their hostility towards him.
In fact, Chrysalis could tell that this was the complete opposite of Ghetsis's love. Whereas Ghetsis's love was toxic and baneful, Ash's love was healthy and bright. Chrysalis hadn't tasted love this powerful before. Not even with the Fairy Pokemon. The only two who matched Ash when it came to love were Shining Armor and Cadence.
Ash approached them but they were no longer afraid. Although, some of them were still wary. But, they were feeling confident in interacting with Ash without any potential issues. He saw how some changelings had specific injures that not even Pollen Puff could fix. So he decided to help them to the best of his abilities.
If he can casually talk to three changelings then he can surely talk to them all. For once, the changelings felt safe. Because of this safety, many of them could approach Ash normally. They all gathered around him as he was helping them with their injuries. Ash's Pokemon decided to help out as well with what they can do.
Ash dug into his bag, grabbing some bandages as he wrapped them around any bruise he could find. All the while, Pollen Puff was slowly healing them from the inside while Ash handled everything on the outside.
Seeing Ash help all the changelings with their injuries made Chrysalis find a newfound respect for Ash. His selflessness was highly admirable as the love he was giving off was incredible to bask in.
"Ash Ketchum," Chrysalis called for his name.
"Yeah?" Ash turned to face her.
"Why are you helping me? After what I caused during the Canterlot Wedding and during that first Pokemon Festival. I don't understand."
"Don't really need a reason to. Ya know?" Ash wrapped a bandage around a changeling's ears. "There we go. I'm kinda running out of bandages here.
"You don't?" Chrysalis walked up to Ash.
"Nope." Ash shook his head as Gengar lent him some extra bandages he stole from the houses. "Thanks, Gengar."
"Gengar."
"Dragonite." Dragonite picked up some of the changelings with its large arms. The changelings were exposed to Dragonite's amazing and warm hugs for the first time as they instantly melted in them.
"So warm..." Some of them said.
Chrysalis grumbled as she was unsure of how to feel right now. She had never felt this kind of love before. It was all-new and vastly different from the love she's used to. This wasn't actually the first time she's been given love without her taking it. The Pixie Plains and Ribombee already gave her that experience.
But something about Ash was unique. Not only was he giving love to her and all the changelings without them having to steal it, but he was also showing them all what actual love truly was. And he did all of this with his actions and a few of his words.
Because of this, Chrysalis let out a soft smile while looking at Ash. The one person who she was aggravated by since Ash had defeated her two times in a row became someone that Chrysalis went beyond just tolerating. Chrysalis saw Ash as someone to relish.
"Thanks, Ash." A changeling thanked him.
"No problem." Ash stood up. "How's it going you guys?" He asked his other Pokemon.
"Cario." Lucario had just got done putting bandages on the other changelings.
"Far..." Farfetch'd was just laying next to a tree, not caring about this one bit.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash." Chrysalis walked up to him. "Since you are willing to help us...perhaps there is something or someone else you can help."
"Hm, who?"
Chrysalis led Ash to the room where the statues were being kept. There, he met Ribombee, who was the one assisting in healing the changelings from their pain. But the Ribombee wasn't what caught Ash's attention at all.
Once Chrysalis opened the door, Ash and Pikachu were met with a very familiar and haunting sight. One that they hoped they'd never see again.
The stone statues of captured Pokemon. And now to an extent, ponies.
"N-No way!" Ash's eyes widened as he was in absolute shock. "These?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"You recognize these types of statues?" Chrysalis asked.
"I do." Ash nodded as he approached the statues. "I thought I'd never see them again but...How is this possible? Is there another Pokemon Hunter in Equestria?"
"Pokemon Hunter?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "Is that who that lady was?"
"Lady?!" That really grabbed Ash's attention. "What was her name?!"
"How should I know? I never got her name at all." Chrysalis shook her head. "But if you want some description, she had silver hair and blue eyes. Is that good enough for you?"
"Silver hair and blue eyes..." That description matched the person Ash suspected to a T. Obviously, only one person could've done this. The most notorious Pokemon Hunter there is. "J."
"Pika."
"J?"
"But I heard she crashed in Sinnoh..." Ash said to himself. "Unless...Did the Rift bring her back?"
"Pikachu?"
"If you recognize these, then you must know of a way to release them from this state. Anthophila has the power to do so but her magic only worked on Ribombee. And it hasn't come up ever since."
"I do." Ash walked up to the statues. "Hidden Power can free them or a special case."
"So then use it. Use that Hidden Power move."
"Sorry." Ash shook his head. "But none of my Pokemon know Hidden Power."
"Ribom..." Things were sounding pleasant to Ribombee's ears. She was glad that there were ways to free the others from their stone prison but they would need a certain move to do so.
"So J's been here? Has she seen you guys?"
"No. We've been concealing ourselves from her. She is the reason why we are deciding to leave this village and find another place to dwell."
"Then this village belongs to these guys..." Ash looked over at a statue of a unicorn. He now knew what he had to do. "Alright. I'll get these statues to the Pokemon Festival and see if someone knows Hidden Power. That way, they'll be back to normal."
"Ribombee?!"
"Yeah. No need to worry, Ribombee." Ash picked up three statues while Pikachu and all his other Pokemon did the same. "We'll get them back to normal for you."
"Bee! Ribombee!" Ribombee nodded as she was willing to go outside in the rain despite it ruining her pollen.
"Chrysalis. You all should get going before J comes back. We'll take everything from here."
"Pikachu!"
"Right." Chrysalis nodded as she saw Ash and his Pokemon run out with the stone statues.
The trainer and his Pokemon got a move on as they were determined to get these ponies and Pokemon back to their normal state. But they weren't going without a tagalong. 2 tagalongs rather. One of them was Ribombee which was to be expected but the other was surprisingly Anthophila, who used her magic to teleport out of the house and into Ash's bag without him noticing or even Chrysalis.
Chrysalis was about to leave with her changelings until she noticed that Anthophila was missing. "Anthophila?" She began searching for the little changeling baby by starting in this room. She was right behind her and all of sudden, she just up and vanished.
"Anthophila!" Chrysalis shouted her name, trying to reach her. She searched for her in this entire house but couldn't find her. Then, she went to every other house to try and find her. And since there weren't that many, it took a short amount of time to do so.
"Where are you?! Have any of you seen her?!" She asked the changelings.
But none of them knew where she went. After all, she was with Chrysalis the most so they couldn't have seen her leave. Mostly because she teleported. However, one changeling noticed something that might be a key.
"Well...I saw a green flash shine in Ash's bag." A changeling said.
"...Oh no." Chrysalis understood now. Anthophila was already drawn to Ash because of his amazing positivity and the high amounts of love he emanates. Chrysalis then realized that if Anthophila, a small changeling baby were to go out in the open of a populated area with ponies, the results may not be the best at all.
But Chrysalis had to leave this place with her changelings and find a new place to live. But they weren't leaving without Anthophila. So, there was only one thing left to do.
"All of you. Come along. We're going after them." Chrysalis flew out of the house.
"We are?" The changelings all said.
"Yes!"
Outskirts of Manehattan. 17:00
The sun was slowly setting as an orange glow shined across Manehattan. Many had left Manehattan to go on and try new things in new places in the Pokemon Festival.
Twilight and Meloetta were wondering where Ash had gone since he had separated from them. They hadn't seen him since. The last place they saw him was this small little acre of trees just on the outskirts.
"Still no sign of Ash." Twilight looked around.
"Melo."
They wouldn't have to keep on wondering where Ash had gone. Because just up ahead, he and his Pokemon were running along, carrying the stone statues with them. They were clearly in a hurry.
"Ash!"
"Meloetta!"
"Hey, guys!" Ash slid over as he came to a screeching halt. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry!"
"Wait! W-What are those statues you're carrying?" Twilight asked. "Are they for the festival?"
"No." He shook his head. "These are living ponies and Pokemon that have been turned into statues."
"Huh?!" Twilight and her Pokemon jerked back along with Meleotta. "So they're-"
"I'm trying to bring them back with Hidden Power. But none of my Pokemon know that move. So I was hoping I could find someone who can help and has Hidden Power."
"Pikachu."
"Melo? Meloetta." Meloetta flew over to Ash as she had great news to tell him concerning Hidden Power. "Melo!"
"Hm? What is it Meloetta?"
"Meloetta. Melo." Meloetta pointed at herself, essentially telling Ash that she had the answer to his little problem. And Ash was able to tell what Meloetta was saying.
"Oh! You know Hidden Power?!" Ash gasped. "That's great!"
"Pikachu!"
"Wait. How does Hidden Power work in all of this?" Twilight questioned.
"Hidden Power can return them all to normal." Ash and his Pokemon placed the stone statues down. "That way, this whole stone thing's gonna get wiped away in no time. Alright, Meloetta. Use Hidden Power on these statues, please."
"Etta." The Melody Pokemon flew in front of all the statues, gazing at every last one of them. She would have to make sure that Hidden Power interacts with all the statues and not a single one was missed.
Luckily, she was powerful enough to make sure that would happen. Meloetta's body became surrounded by a white aura as rows of small white orbs circle around it. All of the stone statues were also surrounded by a white aura as they were lifted into the air.
The orbs then fired out of Meloetta, engulfing all of the statues. Every last one of them. Not one of them was left out as the orbs merged to form one larger orb. The light was a bit blinding, prompting them to squint and cover their eyes as the orb circled at rapid speeds.
Chrysalis, who had made pursuit of Ash because of Anthophila, spotted Ash, Twilight and Meloetta in the distance as she and the changelings hid behind an acre of trees as they witnessed the orb.
Before they knew it, the orb had diminished as the best possible outcome happened. The ponies and Pokemon who were originally turned into stone were back to their full form once more.
"Ugh..." An earth pony groaned as he held his head. "What was I doing...?"
"Lotad?" A confused Lotad looked around.
"Yes! Nice job, Meloetta." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Melo!" Meloetta hugged Ash.
"I could've done that too...Maybe." Twilight puffed her cheeks.
"Hey..." A unicorn looked at her hooves. "We're no longer stone...Oh yes!" With that revelation, they all were relieved that they were back to normal and no longer in a stone prison. They knew about Ash and his Pokemon carrying them alongside Meloetta who broke them all free.
So naturally, they were grateful to all of them for helping return them to their normal state and saving them from being apart of J's collection. Or worse, even being sold.
"Thank you so much!" A pegasus thanked them.
"Ribombee!" Ribombee flew over to her fellow Bee Fly Pokemon, hugging them all as they had a heartfelt reunion. "Bomb! Bee!"
Chrysalis watched how they had all been freed from Hidden Power. She was mostly focused on Ribombee who had been reunited. Seeing the Bee Fly Pokemon reunite with her fellow species resonated well with Chrysalis. And this only further made Chrysalis respect Ash. Now she understood why Anthophila was so drawn to him.
Speaking of Anthophila, she managed to open up Ash's bag as she popped out of it with a bunch of Pokemon food around her as she babbled and said Ash's name. "Ash!"
"Hm?" Ash turned around, spotting the baby changeling and he found out that she was in his bag the entire time. "Eh! Anthophila?!"
"Ash!" The baby flew out of the bag, latching herself onto Ash's face.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped as she was surprised to see a baby changeling just here, right in front of her face and on Ash's face.
"You should be with Chrysalis and the others ya know...?" Ash laughed nervously. "They're probably worried about you, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Chrysalis?" Twilight froze for a moment. "Chrysalis is nearby?!"
"Mhm. Well, she and her changelings are probably off to find a new home. They can't have gone too far."
"We haven't gone far at all," Chrysalis said as she walked up to Ash, feeling brave enough to approach him and even Twilight who was standing right there.
"C-Changelings?!" The ponies screeched.
"It's fine, guys." Ash calmed them down. "They're okay."
"Pikachu."
"Hey, Chrysalis!" Ash held Anthophila in his hands. "Sorry. I don't know she got in my bag." He went over to Chrysalis to return the small baby changeling.
"That's fine." Chrysalis took Anthophila back. "But...it's no surprise why she's drawn to you, Ash Ketchum."
"Hm?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Listen. Before we leave, I should probably say this before it's too late." Chrysalis whimpered as she mustered the strength to say those words to Ash. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ash replied with a grin as a bit of the Pokemon food got in his eye. "Ow." He rubbed it off. "Hope you find yourself a new home. And don't you worry. I'll stop J and smash Ghetsis flat, ya know!"
"Pikachu!"
"I know you will." Chrysalis nodded. "And we've thought of a place where we could continue living. A land full of Fairy-Type Pokemon."
"Oh. Like the Faye Mountains?"
"Wherever there's Fairy magic. It seems like it would be a better option for us than a village. We could start anew there. And hopefully, we'll be far away from Ghetsis."
"That's not a bad place to live." Ash nodded. "Alright. Good luck."
"Mmm...Ash!" But Anthophila wasn't ready to say goodbye to Ash as she immediately teleported away from Chrysalis, appearing on Ash's head.
"Huh?" Ash looked up.
"Pika?"
"Seems like she doesn't want to leave you," said Chrysalis. "Perhaps, we can stay around for a while longer. Away from the village that is."
"Yeah. But I need to deal with J first. When she comes back, she'll just turn the residents into stone again."
"S-So we can't head back to our home." A pony shuddered.
"You can but...I've got an idea!" Ash rubbed his hands together. "Chrysalis. I'll need you and the changelings to help me out with this. Is that okay?"
"You've helped us. So it would only be appropriate if we returned the favour." Chrysalis and the changelings were up for helping Ash.
"Nice! Here's what we're gonna do." Ash had a great plan in mind. With J back, he would have to put all of his efforts into keeping others safe.
The former changeling hideout. Now back to being a normal village. 18:00.
Finally. Nighttime. After so long the sun had set as the moon had risen. A dark blue aura filled the skies of Equestria as the sun's final hours arrive.
The village was silent. But not for the same reasons as before. The ponies who used to live here along with the Pokemon had been restored from their stone statue prison thanks to Meloetta's Hidden Power.
The actual reason involved J. The one who put them into that state in the first place. Ash, who had been given the knowledge that J was back, hatched a plan. That plan was the reason why the residents hadn't returned.
J had returned to the village after her visit to Unova. This time, she didn't have any new stone statues with her. She had only gone to Unova to retrieve necessary items that would get her back on her feet as a Pokemon Hunter.
Those necessary items came from one place that is prominent everywhere in the Pokemon World. The Black Market. Normally, J goes there to sell off the stone statues that she obtains. But this time, she bought items instead of selling them.
"This'll do nicely." She got off the carriage as multiple items resided in her jacket pocket. The items inside of her pockets would not only help her with hunting Pokemon but they would also help her in this new world. "Return." She returned her Drapion and Salamence into their Poke Balls.
She approached the tallest building here. The main place where she resides and her official base. She expected to just head there and call it a day.
However, when she entered the house, she smelled something unusual. Something rather nutritious and delicious. Which definitely caught her off guard. She immediately recognized what this smell was.
"Pollen...?" J said.
Confused about why there would be pollen here, J just ignored it as she turned on the house lights. She could officially call it a day and prepare her next escapade tomorrow morning. This world was still new to her so locations are very scarce. If she had a map, that would make things easier for her.
As J entered the upper floor, she removed her goggles, ready to place them down along with her gloves. But once she got to the upper floor, something caught her attention.
The door to the extra room where she keeps the statues had been opened.
"What?!" J gasped as she noticed how the statues were completely gone. No longer apart of this house at all. Naturally, J was shocked and confused. But mostly frustrated.
She knew that someone broke in and took the statues. They couldn't have just broken free on their own and walked away. Although, someone did break them free and they indeed walk away.
"What freeloader did this...?" J growled. If she ever found out who did this, well naturally, J would do everything in her power to make them pay. No matter what they are. Human, pony or Pokemon.
"Hehe." A small giggle passed through J's ears which immediately prompted her to turn around. And once that head rotated, J saw the silhouette of the person she despised the most. The one person she hoped she'd never see again in her life.
Ash Ketchum.
Alongside his partner Pikachu who also appeared as a silhouette. There were also silhouette's of what looked to be the stone statues J had collected.
"...You." J snarled at the two of them. Her spite had already reached a maximum level. And her first instinct was a very physical one. "Even this world...you still find a way to be nothing but an absolute nuisance!"
Out of rage, J pointed her arm cannon at Ash, ready to blast him. She's been wanting to turn Ash into stone ever since their interactions in Sinnoh. And now, this could be the moment it finally happens and Ash will be out of her hair forever.
But once the beam was fired, they passed right through the silhouette's, phasing and hitting the walls instead. And once that was over, the silhouettes of Ash and Pikachu disappeared into the shadows without a trace.
"Huh?!" J pulled back. That sight was a bit bewildering to her eyes. She at first thought that it was just her mind playing tricks on her.
But then, out of nowhere, the silhouettes of Ash and Pikachu showed up once more. This time, they weren't standing in one place. Instead, they were moving as it was quickly revealed that they were alive and not just shadows.
Once the moon cast a light through the window, the full colours of Ash and Pikachu were revealed. From blue to yellow. The two of them stuck their tongue out before dashing out of the bedroom, leaving J in a befuddled and confused state.
And of course, J's hate for Ash meant that would happen anyway. J ran out of the bedroom to pursue Ash, just to turn him into stone and possibly retrieve the statues that he took.
"You brat!" J now believed that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her as she then pursued Ash and Pikachu out of the bedroom. "Return those statues to-"
However, when she got outside, the silhouette vanished out of thin air. This time it wasn't by J's arm cannon. It was as if the shadows were never here.
"Me...?" J stopped running as she was befuddled by this. "Am I seeing this...?" She held her head, thinking that this was the cause of her massive hate for Ash. She obviously hates Ash to a high degree but she never expected it to give her illusions of him.
But then, she saw another silhouette of Ash and Pikachu appear once more as they were moving in the shadows. But it was more than just that. There were two silhouettes of Ash and Pikachu running next to each other.
This wasn't the moon acting strange. Not at all. Just then, J could see some colour in the silhouettes, giving her the realization that this wasn't just the shadows playing a trick on her. Although, to an extent, it was in a way.
"Two of them?!" J screeched.
Both Ash silhouettes dashed off along with their Pikachu's. Just then, the silhouettes uttered something that threw J off guard. "Bet you can't catch me!"
"Come back here!" An enraged J was now chasing down two Ash's instead of one. The two Ash's jumped off the stairs, entering the lower floor and running out of the house afterwards.
More silhouette's of Ash and Pikachu were showing up around the house, prompting J to look around. She quickly lost track of the shadows that she was chasing down as she stopped to look at the new shadows that popped up out of nowhere. What didn't help was that these shadows were speaking which would be physically impossible unless a Ghost-Type was at play here.
All of the shadows were saying multiple words such as "Over here" or "Too slow" and even more words that were meant to taunt J.
"Shut up! Shut up!" J exclaimed as she already couldn't stand the sound of Ash's voice. She quickly ran outside to try and avoid these sounds.
Once J exited the house, she was met with an even more bizarre sight than just silhouettes. Something far worse that Hunter J hoped to never witness. This time, J was met with the real deal. In full physical form. No shadows. No silhouettes.
Instead, there were Ash Ketchum's and Pikachu's everywhere.
There were Ash's hanging around on the rooftops with another Pikachu by his side as he waved at J whose confusion was only rising even further.
"What the..." J's jaw dropped. "
"Pikachu!" The Pikachu's waved their arms around.
But it didn't stop there.
A fourth one suddenly appeared on another rooftop. Then a fifth. A sixth. Seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and so on with seemingly no end.
Ash on the roof. Ash in the trees. Ash inside of other houses. Ash laying down on the ground. Ash bouncing a Poke Ball up and down. Ash. Ash. Ash everywhere.
Nothing but Ash's and Pikachu's were popping up left and right all over this small and quaint village, surrounding it and J as well. Everywhere she looked, there were Ash and Pikachu's just plastered all over the place. And to make matters worse for J, they all started talking simultaneously with noises filling J's ears.
"I'm over here! The real Ash!"
"No here! I'm Ash!"
"No way, it's me!"
"I'm as real as they look!"
"Is this what it feels like to have hands?"
"This is pretty nice, ya know!"
"Pikachu!"
"Pika-Pika?"
"Pika!"
"What...is...this...?" The three words J uttered from her mouth. The person she hated the most was all that she could see and nothing else. The sight of Ash never escaped her eyes.
And then, all of the Ash's came together to say one single word that would just push Pokemon Hunter J over the top and blow her fuse.
"Long time no see, J!"
"You...You...! YOU BRAT!" Full of boiling rage, J took out her Poke Ball as her anger had been pushed to the limit in such a short amount of time. She tossed the Poke Ball, sending out her Salamence to deal with this issue.
"Salamence!"
"Salamence! Destroy them all! Hyper Beam!" She raised her voice, pointing at all of the Ash's.
Sala...Mence!" The Dragon Pokemon opened its mouth up, creating an orange ball of hyper energy. Out of that ball, a giant beam of energy burst out of it as it raced towards all of the Ash's and Pikachu's.
"Uh oh. UH OH!" The Ash's all widened their eyes as they witnessed a Hyper Beam large enough to consume them heading towards them.
"Lucario! Aura Sphere!" Suddenly, the voice of another Ash echoed with a command.
"Lucario!" Lucario appeared in front of all of the Ash's as he held his arm out, creating a ball of aura.
The Hyper Beam made contact with Lucario's Aura Sphere as the tiny ball of aura was powerful enough to hold back the devastating beam of energy. The Aura Sphere then cancelled the Hyper Beam out as a wild explosion happened in the middle of Salamence and Lucario.
"A Lucario?!"
"Luca!" Lucario blew the smoke away as he stood firm, defending the multiple Ash's and Pikachu's.
"Gengar! Ice Punch!"
"Gengar!" Gengar emerged from the shadows behind Salamence. The Shadow Pokemon's arms were surrounded by a frosty aura as Gengar smashed Ice Punch onto Salamence's back.
"Mence!" The Dragon Pokemon was sent flying with a super-effective hit occurring. J gasped as she witnessed Salamence tumble on the ground.
"Phew..." All the Ash's let out sighs of relief. Eventually, the real Ash Ketchum had revealed himself by jumping off a roof and landing next to his Lucario and Gengar.
"Nice hit, Gengar." Ash complimented his Pokemon.
"Gengar!"
"Salamence! Dragon Pulse!" J ordered.
"Salamence!" Salamence got back up, immediately, releasing a dragon-shaped shockwave towards the large group of Ash and Pikachu's.
"Lucario! Stand in front of it!"
"Luca!" Lucario got in front of everyone as he took the Dragon Pulse head-on. Thanks to his Steel-Typing, Dragon Pulse barely did a thing to the Aura Pokemon as an explosion of draconic energy emerged with Lucario still standing without a scratch on him.
"Dragonite! Dragon Claw! Gengar! Ice Punch again!"
"Dra!" Dragonite appeared from above, holding its arms out as green energy claws surrounded its arm while Gengar used Ice Punch once more as both Pokemon approached Salamence.
"Gen...Gar!" Both Gengar and Dragonite struck Salamence with super-effective moves as their attacks hit the Dragon Pokemon in the face.
"S-Sala...Mence!" Salamence was sent launched by Ice Punch and Dragon Claw, flying by J and crashing through an array of trees at high speeds while J witnessed it all.
"Why you..." J turned around with her eyes seething with rage.
"Long time no see, J." This time only one Ash had spoken as he smirked.
"Pikachu!"
"You...! What is going on?!" J growled. "Which one of you is the real one!"
"Right here." The Ash standing in front of everyone pointed at himself. Once he did that, all of the other Ash's quickly revealed themselves.
They weren't Ash's at all.
They were just changelings in the disguise of Ash. Every single one of them revealed their true form like a domino effect with multiple green lights flashing all over the place.
They were only able to transform into Ash because he shared their love with them. Genuine love even. J was flabbergasted as she witnessed these creatures just change form. She had never seen a changeling before. Only ponies.
Her maximum anger was about to break past its limits. But despite how furious J was, she knew how to dial her temper down even when face to face with someone she despises.
"Tch." J scoffed. "You really know how to rile me up, kid. I'll admit. It was clever of you tricking me with these...things." She sneered at the changelings who all hid behind Ash.
"They're called changelings," Ash replied. "And I can't believe you came back. I thought it was someone else..."
"You'd better believe I'm back! I don't know how...but this is a clear sign that I've got a second chance! And I won't let you get in my way again!"
"We'll see about that!"
"Pika!"
"But I don't have time for you now. I'm already limited in what I can do at the moment...Salamence!"
"Sala!" Salamence got up as it slammed its head on the ground, creating a small tremor. This tremor then formed into a massive dust cloud that emerged, filling the entire village. Ash and everyone covered their eyes, coughing from the smoke as J hopped on her Salamence.
This was a tactic to get her away from Ash and everyone here since she had been caught and found. Which meant that she would have to find a new base of operations. They were long gone from here in a few seconds.
"Ah!" Twilight's eyes opened up as she and everyone else saw how J had fled. "She's getting away!" Twilight spread her wings as she was about to pursue J down.
"Leave it, Twilight!" Ash put his hand out.
"Mrrgh..." Twilight grumbled as she moved back.
"Is she gone?" A resident from the village popped their head out from the side of a tree.
"Coast is clear." Ash turned around, giving a thumbs up and a clear assurance that their town was now Hunter J Free.
"Oh, finally!" The rest of the residents came out, relieved that their home was now free from harm. Ash's plan was a success despite it being fairly short. But perhaps its short duration was an example of how effective it was.
No longer did they have to hide as they had their home to themselves once more. The ponies and Pokemon who lived here made a wonderful return to their home all thanks to Ash's plan.
The changelings were relieved themselves that they had avoided a potential major threat in the form of J. They had no attachment to this place since they've only been here for a few hours instead of months or even years but they were grateful for their own safety.
"That gift you got for Christmas really came in handy, right Gengar?" Ash said to his partner.
"Gengar!" Gengar agreed as Ash was referring to the item that allowed Gengar to pull off more tricks that it never could in the first place. The silhouettes were all Gengar's doing and the item affected all the changelings here.
"Well. That plan went well." Chrysalis walked up to Ash. "But she is still out there."
"Yeah, I know." Ash nodded. "Now we've got a lot more problems to think about."
"Pikachu..."
"But it's nothing you can't solve. Right?" Chrysalis said to him.
"Right! I've got some experience with J and Pokemon hunters. So there's no need to worry.
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"Does this mean the Officer Jenny's will get involved?" Twilight flew over to him.
"The Jenny's from Sinnoh have been chasing down J for a while. And I guess now that J's alive again they're gonna start up that chase."
"Well..." Chrysalis looked up at the sky. "I believe we've overstayed our welcome in this village. It doesn't belong to us anyway. It's best we left to find a Fairy-Type home now"
"Yeah. I guess that's best. But the ponies here are pretty thankful for your help." Ash turned to face the ponies. "You kinda played a big part in helping them get their home back."
"I suppose so. But we'd prefer to be on our own."
"Mmm...Ash!" Anthophila sensed that her departure with Ash was closing in as she wriggled around Chrysalis's back.
"Again?" Chrysalis faced Anthophila. "Seems she just doesn't want to detach herself from you."
"Yeah." Ash kneeled to face the little changeling baby. "Sorry, Anthophila. But you have to get going now. You've got a new home waiting for you. But this won't be the last time we see each other, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Mm...Papa!" Anthophila poked Ash's nose.
"Papa?!" Twilight screeched along with Meleotta.
"Melo?!"
"It seems she's a bit too attached..." Chrysalis's eyes widened.
"Take care, Anthophila. Alright?" Ash patted the baby changeling on the head.
"Gehehe. Papa!" She babbled, flailing her hooves on Ash's face.
"All of you." Ash stood up, looking at the changelings. "Good luck out there."
"Hmm..." Chrysalis looked back at Ash and then back to Anthophila and then she faced the rest of the changelings. She could see how grateful they all were to Ash and how attached Anthophila was. "Well...It wouldn't hurt to stay until tomorrow, would it?"
"You're not leaving yet?" Twilight pondered.
"Perhaps walking through this vast land during the night might not be a wise idea." Chrysalis was making an excuse up for her and the changelings to stay around a while longer. "The best time to leave is the morning, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hm...I guess so." Ash crossed his arms. Meanwhile, Twilight could tell that they were just trying to stay a while longer. "Alright. If that's what you want."
"Pikachu!"
"Papa!" Anthophila teleported behind Ash's back, latching onto him.
"Let's have a blast before the morning, okay?" Ash said to Anthophila.
"Blast!" She mimicked his words.
The changelings could accept staying before morning arrives. They had a lot they wanted to ask Ash and wanted to hang around him a bit longer. But more than that, the residents of this village had decided to chat with the changelings as well. After all, they were grateful to them as well.
The ponies kindly offered them to stay in their homes and rest up till tomorrow. They needed the rest even with Pollen Puff healing them from the inside. Ash's Pokemon decided to interact more with the changelings alongside the ponies. Dragonite grabbed a bunch of them for the sake of giving them all a warm hug which never fails.
Pikachu decided to be a light show to the changelings by sparking his body up with electricity, illuminating the small village as the changelings gawked. Lucario and Farfetch'd being the serious guys that they were decided to stand and lay by a tree. To the changelings, Lucario and Farfetch'd were cool.
Chrysalis watched as her changelings, for the first time ever, were generally having fun. She had never seen them so happy before. Especially considering what happened earlier today. It was a heartwarming feeling that she's never experienced until now.
However, Chrysalis knew that with the events that happened today, her plan against Empress Twilight has gone down the drain. And her ally Adagio is unaware of it. Things would have to change drastically. The plan to siphon Empress Twilight's magic was still in effect since the jar is a massive ace in the hole. But the way the plan will play out would need to be altered.
"Ribom." Ribombee flew over to Chrysalis as she held a pollen ball in her hands, offering it to Chrysalis.
"Thank you." Chrysalis kindly took the pollen ball for a late-night snack as Ribombee flew around her.
"So. Is this what true love actually feels like?" Chrysalis looked at the pollen ball and over at Ash and the changelings. After that, she let out a soft smile. "It truly is a wonderful feeling."
The secluded village 0:00.
Along came midnight. And with that, the fifth day had finally come, closing off the fourth day which lasted longer than the previous days.
The ponies, Pokemon and even changelings were fast asleep at this time. The changelings had never slept with other species before so this was the first of many. One individual who was more asleep than anyone else was Anthophila who dozed off earlier than everyone. She was fast asleep in Dragonite's arms.
But not everyone was asleep at this time.
Chrysalis was one of them. She couldn't sleep for a few reasons. One major reason was because of Ghetsis and Empress Twilight. Mostly Ghetsis. Despite this moment of happiness that had graced her and the changelings, she was still cautious to an extreme.
All she could do was look out at the night sky, wondering what her future may be. Another reason for her staying awake was that she was planning to talk to Adagio about their plan to siphon Empress Twilight's magic. Now that she knows about their plan, the two of them would need a massive overhaul.
And another reason was on the more hopeful side. Concerning Ash. After Ash promised that he would deal with Ghetsis and Empress Twilight both, a ray of hope sparked up in Chrysalis. She had faith in Ash that he'd avenge some of her fallen changelings who had perished because of Ghetsis.
And the final reason involved experiencing what true love actually feels like. Time with Ash has exposed Chrysalis to the true nature of love itself.
Speaking of Ash, he was still awake alongside Pikachu as they both approach Chrysalis who was gazing into the night sky, zoned out.
"Can't sleep?" Ash said.
"Hm?" Chrysalis turned to him. "No, not at all." She shook her head. "A few things are keeping me up."
"Pika?"
"But, I shouldn't worry about them too much. Especially when I know that there's a way to fix all of this. What was that you said earlier? You'll smash them flat?"
"Sure will." Ash sat down. "If I can reach them, ya know. Twilight's teaching Cold so that he can tap into this Rift magic. That way, we'll be able to pass through gateways to other worlds."
"That's nice. I hope you do it soon because...I fear that Ghetsis will...No. He most certainly will come after me once he has accomplished his goal."
"Pikachu?"
"It could be argued that betraying him wasn't the wisest decision but...Involving myself with someone like him would just further endanger us all. You understand, right Ash?"
"I get ya." Ash nodded. "It's just like the same decision N made back then."
"Pika..."
"I just hope it can be done in time. They already know of my betrayal anyway." Chrysalis sighed. "Our world may never experience a threat as dangerous as those two combined."
"No need to worry." Ash suddenly said. "You're not alone in this. Everyone back at Ponyville, Canterlot and the Crystal Empire are just as determined to protect their world."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu climbed up on Ash's shoulder.
"You know what to say, don't you?" Chrysalis laughed as she saw how much hope and confidence Ash could spark up in someone with just a few words. "Before the changelings...or rather I should say, my children leave, I should speak with Adagio first. Our plan will need an overhaul."
"You're in luck. Adagio's not too far away from here. She's at Manehattan right now." Ash pointed north.
"Good. And after that, we'll be on our way. And that one location you mentioned might be the perfect place to start our new hive. Faye Mountains, was it called?"
"Mhm." Ash nodded. "It's a pretty neat place to be. But then again, a lot of areas in this world are neat to be in."
"Pika..." Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, laying on his back as he looked into the night sky.
"Anyway." Ash yawned. "I'd better clock out for the night. Hang in there, Chrysalis."
"Wait, Ash. Before you sleep..." Chrysalis stopped him.
"Hm?"
"I was wondering. If there was a possibility that it might happen...would you consider me a friend?"
"You don't have to wait for that to happen." That reply from Ash made it clear and confirmed that Ash did in fact see Chrysalis and every changeling as a friend.
"Pikachu!"
"Hm. I should've seen this coming..." Chrysalis smiled. "And here I was worried that friendship would be the end of my species. Turns out it was something else entirely. But you don't want to hear me sulk and brood, do you?"
"Let out what you feel. Makes it easier to get stuff off your chest." Ash replied as he stretched his arms. "Anyway, I'm beat. Let's clock out, buddy."
"Pika."
The two of them decided to rest by a tree since all the beds here were occupied. But with their many adventures, sleeping outside near a grassy area, especially one with trees is something they've adapted to.
Chrysalis watched the duo doze off with Ash resting his head on a tree and Pikachu laying on his best friend's lap. And just like that, with the two of them in a perfect position, they dozed off, falling asleep for the night.
Now it was just Chrysalis on her own. But eventually, someone like her will feel the need to go to sleep. And that time was now. If she were to travel to another land for a new home, she would need all the sleep she could get, especially considering how eventful and long the fourth day was.
But Chrysalis didn't sleep on her own. Instead, she went over to Ash and Pikachu, deciding to sleep with them. She felt more comfortable around Ash and Pikachu after how much they've helped her in just one day and a few hours.
When the morning comes, she'll have to depart from them. But not before chatting with Adagio about their plans. But while everyone sleeps, Twilight took a peek outside the window of a house, spotting Chrysalis lying next to Ash. The sight of it didn't sit too well with the young alicorn. For obvious reasons. But luckily for Twilight, Chrysalis would be leaving soon anyway.
Manehattan. 7:00
After a long and well-deserved sleep, Ash, Twilight, Chrysalis and the changelings were approaching Manehattan. However, the changelings were still not beloved by the rest of Equestria. So heading into the Pokemon Festival with that many ponies could spark up some problems.
So, Chrysalis decided to talk to Adagio in private instead of out in the open. Adagio herself wasn't too busy today besides hanging out with her sisters while Sunset attaches herself onto Adagio like glue. Although, she was also planning on heading somewhere else with her sisters today, potentially.
"Make this quick. I've got a lot I want to do with my sisters. Plus, that Sunset Shimmer's starting to creep me out." Adagio spoke to Chrysalis in a back alley.
"Right. Right. I just wanted to tell you that our plan will need a complete overhaul." Chrysalis replied.
"An overhaul? What? Is the siphoning jar not enough?"
"No." Chrysalis shook her head. "We will still need the jar. It can come into great play later on."
"Then...What part of the plan needs an overhaul?"
"I regret to say this, but Ghetsis and Empress Twilight know of our plan. Especially the jar." Chrysalis revealed the news to Adagio.
"They found out?!" Adagio jerked back. "Urgh! It was probably those annoying spycams..."
"Our approach needs to change. Which is why I am requesting that we both come up with a new plan that could help us stop both of them. Any possible ideas?"
"Well...Yes, I've got something You're not gonna like this but...it involves working alongside Canterlot and ponies. That Queen Pyrestar pony and I had a chat and-"
"That's fine." Chrysalis was alright with that which made Adagio freeze.
"...I beg your pardon?" A confused Adagio tilted her head.
"Working with them is completely fine. They're aiming to stop the same threat we're fighting against too after all."
"Uh..." Adagio stood there with a befuddled look on her face. "Y-Y-You're okay with working with the ponies...? Where did this come from?!"
"It's a bit of a long story. Point is, I am willing to work with anyone. We're all against one or rather two common enemies who are great dangers to our world. So we will need all the help we can acquire."
"Tch. Guess that rules out any issues."
"This new plan...how does it play out?" Chrysalis asked as she was curious.
"Alright. Listen up." Adagio moved closer to Chrysalis as she was ready to tell her everything that Pyrestar gave to her.
Meanwhile, Ash was waiting for Chrysalis to finish up so he could say his farewells to the changelings when they head off to the Faye Mountains as their new home. Along with one extra thing that he had to do before they left.
But in the meanwhile, Ash and Twilight noticed how Pinkie Pie was dashing around, carrying large presents in her hooves with her Slurpuff's and Spinda's helping out. She seemed to be in a hurry.
"Pinkie Pie. What's wrong? Is it about your Pokestar movie?" Twilight flew over, asking her.
"Oh no. I dealt with that already. This is something bigger! My friend Danyelle over at the Pokemon World's got a birthday today! And I can't be late! Have I got everything?"
"Looks like a good amount of presents." Ash looked at a tower of gifts. "She's gonna have a lot to open."
"Pika."
"Oh no, silly." Pinkie appeared behind Ash. "Some of these are for her Pikachu, Tessa. It's just enough!"
"More than enough..." Twilight gulped as she saw how the presents looked like they were going to topple.
"All I gotta do is head to Kanto in Vermillion City, celebrate her birthday and it'll be back to the festival." Pinkie squeed.
"Hah...Hah..." All of a sudden, Barry walked over to Ash as he was in a state of exhaustion. His knees were weak, his hair was messy. Messier than normal anyway and he looked like he had the soul sucked out of him. Cilan was supporting him so that he doesn't faint. "Finally."
"Oh, hey Barry. You look out of it." Ash said.
"Yeah..." Barry nodded as he breathed in and out. "Boy. Those attractions really know how to put you through the wringer."
"Maybe going above 100% of your effort in such a small attraction might not be the best idea." Cilan laughed as he patted Barry on the back.
"Man. I kinda wanna see what attraction you were in!" Ash grinned.
"Pikachu!"
"You do that." Barry sighed. "Phew. The attractions weren't this tough during the first festival back at Canalave City. Talk about a difficulty spike."
Just then, when Barry uttered those words, Ash, Twilight and Pinkie Pie all had their ears on high alert as they simultaneously froze, glaring at Barry.
"Wait. Did you say back at Canalave City?" Twilight raised her hoof at Barry.
"Yeah." Barry nodded. "Last year's festival had easier attractions back at Canalave City."
"Hold on!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "You mean the festival isn't just limited to this world?! It's in the Pokemon World too?!"
"I-I thought you guys knew!" Barry stammered.
"We've been missing out!" Pinkie screeched. "There could be a bunch more stuff waiting for us in the Pokemon World we haven't seen yet! More attractions! More-" She was starting to hyperventilate.
"Let's not panic, Pinkie!" Ash picked Pinkie Pie up, calming her down. "We've got 2 whole weeks remember? We're not even done with the first week yet."
"Pikachu!"
"R-Right..." Pinkie slowed down as she nodded gently. "2 weeks...It's fine. Even if the Pokemon World's got a lot of places...a ton of places."
"There's still a lot of time to experience a plethora of them," said Cilan. "And even if you can't experience them all, you can always look forward to the third festival. No rush."
"Right. No rush. But I need to get that birthday done first!" Pinkie gathered all the presents around her. "I've gotta get going. I'll meet you guys at uh...Where's the nearest gateway to Vermillion City again?"
"Well...Canterlot connects to Pewter City which is close to Vermillion City and Professor Cerise's lab is there too." Ash replied. "So we'll meet up in no time."
"Gotcha! Slurpuff! Spinda! Time to go!"
"Slur!" All the Slurpuff's said.
"Spinda!"
Pinkie and her Pokemon rushed off as they were in a hurry to get to Vermillion City as soon as they can to celebrate their friend's birthday before it's too late.
Meanwhile, Ash and Twilight had new plans. After learning about how the Pokemon World is experiencing the Pokemon Festival as well, they just had to check it out for themselves. A change of plans had been made.
And speaking of a change of plans, Adagio had finished explaining everything Pyrestar told her to Chrysalis. Everything from start to finish. And from what Chrysalis heard, most of it seemed to involve the Pokemon as they were going to play a big role in all of this when the day of the invasion comes along in just 2 months.
"That plan...it might actually work." Chrysalis nodded. "It is a bit risky, I'll admit."
"All plans are risky." Adagio scoffed. "As long as it works and those two are dealt with, that's all that matters."
"And we'll play our part as well." Chrysalis pointed her hoof at herself. "Well. I've said everything I needed to say. It's time we made our departure." She looked back at Anthophila who was chewing on Chrysalis hair.
"Right. You do that. Good luck with reaching your new home." Adagio replied as she and Chrysalis made their departure from each other.
They might not see each other for a while. The changeling hive no longer exists and Adagio knew the exact path and directions needed to reach it. Now it was just a wasteland. The Faye Mountains were new to Adagio and their whereabouts were unknown to her for now. But their departure wasn't happy, sad or bittersweet. It was just neutral at best.
But one departure, in particular, wasn't neutral. Something greater than that. Once Chrysalis met up with the changelings on the outskirts of Manehattan, they were ready to leave.
But not before Ash came running over as he had to say his goodbyes. "Wait up!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hm? Ash?" Chrysalis and the other changelings turned to face him.
"Papa!" Anthophila giggled, flailing her hooves towards Ash's direction.
"Too close!" Ash came to a screeching halt.
"Come to say your farewell?"
"Mhm!" Ash nodded. "Made it just in time too. But I know Anthophila's gonna be sad when she leaves so...I'll give her this to remind her of me." Ash removed his right glove as he revealed his friendship bracelet which was next to his Dynamax band.
"Pika?"
"Here." He took off the friendship bracelet from his hand as he walked over to Anthophila, placing it on her horn. "Keep this. So that you're never away from me." Anthophila blurted random words as she looked up at the friendship bracelet that was now around her horn.
The golden aura of the sun beamed on the bracelet, giving it its extra shine as it illuminated the shadows with a radiant blaze.
"Gehehe!" Anthophila clearly enjoyed it a lot despite how small it was. "Papa!"
"Take care." Ash patted the changeling baby on the head, giving his farewell. "All of you. Good luck along the way."
"Pika-Pika."
"Thank you, Ash. And we'll certainly have a safe trip to the Faye Mountains. After all. We have her by our side." Chrysalis turned to Ribombee who decided to come along since she had grown attached to Chrysalis.
"Ribombee!"
"I know you will. Safe trip everyone!"
"Pikachu!"
With that, they each waved goodbye to each other, giving their farewells. Anthophila was the one to give off the most waves with her hoof flailing around at hyper speeds. Normally, she would break into tears. But the bracelet that Ash gave let the baby changeling know that he's always close to her.
"You gave up your friendship bracelet?" Twilight's voice reached Ash's as it was revealed that she had heard their small conversation and farewell. Along with Celestia, Luna and their parents.
"Yeah. But it's fine. Pinkie made a spare just in case." Ash replied.
"That was some excellent kindness there, Ash Ketchum," said Eventide.
"That changeling baby was so adorable!" Sunlight gushed.
"Can we still trust them?" Luna asked, cautious of the changelings.
"We sure can." Ash nodded, giving perfect assurance that there would be no need to worry.
"Pikachu!"
With the changelings on the way to their new home, the fifth day of the Pokemon Festival is in full swing now. The knowledge about the festival also occurring in the Pokemon World had caused some changes to be made.
Pinkie Pie had already left to celebrate her friend's birthday in Vermillion City. All the while, Ash had decided he wanted to check out the Pokemon World's version of the Pokemon Festival. All the while, he wished the changelings good luck on their journey. He knows they'll make it to the Faye Mountains safely.
Rainbow Dash had just finished up her training with her Pokemon after so long. Now she was ready to head somewhere else at the festival before she soon found out that the Pokemon World is taking part in the festival as well.
This grabbed everyone else's attention. Especially Fluttershy, who is always ecstatic to go to the Pokemon World. Needless to say, many of them were excited alongside Adagio who rarely gets excited.
It didn't take long for Pinkie Pie to reach Vermillion City and her friend. All of her Pokemon from her Delphox, Litten, Heliolisk, Flareon, Pidgeot and Pikachu had all received gifts from Pinkie Pie as she made sure to choose the right one for the right Pokemon.
As for everyone else, they were off to experience the festival in new locations. The decision to go to the Pokemon World had been made. Mostly by Sunlight who was the most intrigued by it while Ash recommended Sinnoh as a good place to start. But staying here in this world a bit longer wouldn't hurt anyone.
But not all is well. After all, J is still out there. Even with her retreat, she was still persistent in her goal. She may be low on resources and equipment, but she is still a force to be reckoned with. One who can easily get back on her feet at any time.
The Resort Area. Sinnoh Region. The Pokemon Festival. 14:00.
The Resort Area. A city that attracts Trainers who know there are other ways of enjoying Pokémon than battling. It was just Northeast of Sinnoh.
And just like Equestria, it was also apart of the Pokemon Festival along with every other region across the Pokemon World. It was great that Barry brought this up or else a lot would've been missed out.
Already, many ponies had arrived here to check out the festival in the Pokemon World to see what it had to offer them as opposed to Equestria
Ash, Twilight, the royal sisters and their parents, alongside Barry and Cilan had arrived at the Resort Area. Sunlight was the one who wanted to come here the most after hearing how historic Sinnoh was for being the first region while Ash was the one who recommended it.
"Ah...Sinnoh. It's been a while." Twilight took in the fresh air of Sinnoh.
"Feels great to be back," Barry said.
"Sinnoh. This is the region with all the lore, isn't it?" Luna asked Ash.
"Sure is!" Ash nodded. "Sinnoh's got a lot to explore and learn, ya know. Twilight's even borrowed some books from Canalave Library here in Sinnoh."
"Arceus is well known in this region, isn't he?" said Celestia. "I'm a bit interested in learning more about the Pokemon World because of him."
"Seems we might be in luck. Have a look." Cilan pointed his finger at something that would most definitely grab the attention of Celestia and the others regarding Arceus.
There was an entire attraction plus stand that was dedicated to Arceus himself exclusively. A domed building that had the colour palette of Arceus. From White to Gold. It was even emanating a golden glow that was meant to represent Arceus's infinite light.
It seemed to be some sort of Arceus Attraction. What lies inside is yet to be revealed.
"Oh sweet!" Ash dashed over. "An Arceus Attraction!"
"Pikachu!"
"I heard that Arceus wasn't too well known beyond Sinnoh. Which is why some call it a Mythical Pokemon." Cilan looked up at the attraction.
"Hm? You mean not everyone thinks Arceus is real?" Barry turned to Cilan.
"Nope. Some of them even think he's just a figment of our imagination." Cilan shrugged.
"Well, he is as real as they come. We've witnessed him before." Luna replied, walking past Cilan.
"Are we gonna see Arceus in here?" Ash wondered as he and Pikachu had entered the dome. When they arrived, they found out that the interior resembled that of a high-quality museum. Albeit, a museum that only had Arceus and nothing else.
"Oh! A museum?!" Twilight squeed as she was already a fan of this place. As if her knowledge of Pokemon couldn't go any further. Now there was a museum. Little does Twilight Sparkle know, that across every region, many museums are waiting to be discovered and experienced.
"For a Pokemon, most people don't think is real...they sure put a lot of effort into this to make it really stand out." Barry crossed his arms, looking around the museum.
There was a lot to discover in this Arceus museum. From the giant golden Arceus statue coupled with smaller silver Arceus statues, artwork depicting what Arceus could actually look like, replicas of Arceus's symbols in the form of pendants and there was even a gift shop that had some Arceus pendants and other accessories.
There were interactive holographic videos that showcased theories on who Arceus might be. Since Arceus is considered a major myth, not many actually know much about Arceus. In fact, some interpret Arceus in different and unique ways. Even the appearance of Arceus varies from person to person. Some think he's just a ghost-like creature with only red eyes while others think he has a humanoid appearance.
But of course, despite many theories and myths about Arceus, one thing that was consistently known is that Arceus shares a strong relation to Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. In fact, despite this solely being an Arceus museum, the three Pokemon that were related to the Alpha Pokemon had their own sections as well, albeit minuscule. They were just as important to the Pokemon World as Arceus.
"Hm. This is different from what the books from Canalave Library had." Twilight looked at a section that went through a possible theory on the history of Arceus.
Instead of the traditional origin of Arceus emerging from a single egg in an endless void, this theory described Arceus as the embodiment of the Pokemon World. That Arceus was birthed from the core of the planet and is considered the planet's will.
Twilight firmly believed that the book from Canalave Library was the definitive book that held all the necessary and factual information on Arceus. The chapter in the book containing Arceus information was known as The Original One.
"All of these theories. Is Arceus really that rare?" Eventide said.
"The rarest there is," Ash replied. "But even so, Arceus is still seen by others, ya know. I know of a few who've seen him before."
"I believe Sunset Shimmer mentioned how Arceus arrived at the human world once the Pokemon World had connected with it." Luna chimed in. "I'd say we're one of the lucky selections to have seen Arceus with our own eyes."
"Lucky!" Barry exclaimed. "It'd be so cool to meet Arceus too!"
"But who are these three, exactly?" Celestia went up to Dialga, Palkia and Giratina's section.
"Oh!" Twilight teleported over. "Those are Dialga, Palkia and Giratina! The Creation Trio! I actually met one of them." She proudly grinned.
"Creation Trio?" Celestia looked up at the statues of the three Dragon-Type Pokemon. "By that...do you mean...?"
"Mhm!" Twilight nodded. "Dialga created time. Palkia created space. And Giratina created Antimatter. According to the Legends of Sinnoh, hey were simultaneously created by Arceus, when the universe and Sinnoh region began at Spear Pillar. Dialga and Palkia were given control over their representative dimensions, time and space respectively, while Giratina was banished to the Distortion World, I think it was called."
"Antimatter? What's that?" Barry asked.
"It's similar to matter but has opposite properties and charges," Cilan explained. "It's pretty destructive."
"I saw these Pokemon during the Tantabus actually," Luna said. "Ash, weren't you the one who dreamt of them?"
"Sure did!" Ash nodded. "They're as real as the eye can see."
"Dialga also helped us once when Starlight travelled through time. I don't know what we would've done without Dialga!" Twilight chuckled nervously. "Things would've been so much more different!"
"Oh! Have a look at these!" Cilan's attention had been drawn towards the Arceus gift shop. The items here really caught his eye and everyone else's.
"Oooh!" Sunlight pressed her face on the glass with Cilan. "That pendant looks divine! Think it would fit on me?"
"These prices are pretty harsh..." Ash winced at an Arceus crown that cost 800,000,000 Pokedollars.
"Pika..."
"Those prices mean nothing, Ash, my boy!" Eventide patted Ash on the back. Although...They are pretty intimidating..."
"That is a pretty nice crown..." Twilight gawked at the crown as she spoke to herself. "Maybe if I put it on, Ash will find me cuter..."
"I'll take that one! That one looks affordable!" Ash pointed at an Arceus cape. "And pretty neat too! Only 40,000 Pokedollars? That's a real steal!"
Luna picked up an Arceus figure that had a purple cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen instead of the usual gold that he's always seen with. She also noticed how there were more of them with different colours. Luna then read the tag, figuring out what it really was.
"Poison-Type...Arceus?" She then picked up another Arceus toy that had a dark colour instead. "Dark-Type Arceus? How unique. They all come in different types. Innovative."
"Oh, that's just what Arceus normally does," Ash mentioned as he was shuffling in his bag for Pokedollars.
"What do you mean?" They all asked him.
"Oh, right! You guys don't know!" Ash placed his bag down. "You see, Arceus has the power of all Pokemon types!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
"The power of all Pokemon types?!" Barry screeched. "That's so cool! But...how's that possible?"
"Well, Arceus has these Life Plates that he carries around with him. There's a plate for each type except for Normal since Arceus is kind of a Normal-Type by default, ya know. With these plates, he can like change typings in battle whenever he wants to! It's pretty awesome!"
"At will?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "H-How does that...does he do it instantly?"
"Obviously, you've seen it in person haven't you, Ash?" Celestia picked up an Arceus figure that was Dragon-based.
"Sure have. He can just switch up so casually too! Which is already pretty awesome!"
"Pikachu!"
"I see why he lives up to his status as the Pokemon Creator." Sunlight twirled around an Arceus necklace. "How about we personally experience those interactive attractions of Arceus?"
"They're meant to capture how Arceus created the Pokemon Universe, right? But how were they even able to record that kind of info?" Twilight wondered.
"We didn't!" An employee shouted out, replying to Twilight. "We just guessed!"
"You guessed?" Luna turned to them.
"Mhm! You see...this museum was created by us! Arceus fanatics!" She bellowed. The moment she mentioned Arceus Fanatics, multiple employees appeared behind her, flashing tons of Arceus-themed items with confetti flying all over the place as they cheered.
"Fanatics is right..." Luna's eyes widened.
"Us Arceus Fans built this entire museum based on our love for Arceus! The Alpha Pokemon! We've been fans of Arceus ever since we were all so young!"
"All of you? Did you all grow up together?" Eventide asked.
"Nope." The employee shook her head. "We just happened to come across each other when researching about Arceus!"
"That's right!" Another employee said. "You can think of this as our dream! We're so interested in Arceus that we all thought of making this place possible!"
"All these theories. Have you all even met Arceus?" Luna questioned.
"Well technically...no." The employees lowered their heads. "But one of our fellow Arceus Enthusiasts had a dream and just drew an image of what Arceus looked like. And he said that's the most likely look for Arceus." The employee pointed at the large golden Arceus statue that matched the Alpha Pokemon's actual appearance.
"As long as they're happy with what they've made." Celestia chuckled.
"And for being first-time customers, here's a free Arceus necklace!" An employee went over to Twilight, placing a necklace around her neck that fit perfectly.
"Oh, wow! Thank you so much!" Twilight thanked her. "Hey, Ash. How do I look?"
"Nice fit!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Really?" Twilight blushed from it. "Well, I'm certainly keeping it now."
"Say..." An employee slid over to Celestia. "You'd make a fairly good Arceus in the play!"
"I'm sorry. Play?" Celestia turned to her.
"Mhm!" She nodded. "We're having a play later this night about Arceus and the Creation Trio. And we were looking for worthy candidates. And you definitely fit the bill to take part in it.
"Oh!" Celestia shot up. "Really?!" She was getting all giddy as she pranced on the spot. "Me being in a play?! Now that's a fantastic idea!"
While the sun princess pranced around with her Pokemon watching, Sunlight and Eventide had worried look on their faces for one specific reason.
Celestia can't act.
"Oh no." Both of them said.
"A play sounds pretty neat." Ash nodded.
"Pika."
"I get to be in a play for the first time!" Celestia bellowed before coming to a halt. "Wait. Did you say I'd make a perfect Arceus?"
"That's right! The employee replied. "You'll be the star of the show! Right in front of everyone!"
"Oh. Well...your invitation is very kind...but are you certain it's wise? I have no acting experience." Celestia shook her head.
"Don't even worry about that. For this play, we had experienced acting tutors come in. Just in case something like this happened." The employee pointed over at two tutors. "But you know, for good measure, how about we go through a test run first."
"Well...if you're sure...Then I'd be delighted to join this play!"
"Gardevoir." Passion cheered Celestia on along with Arcanine.
"Arcanine!"
"Say this line and we'll see how good you can really get." The employee cleared her throat. "Ahem. Let there be light!"
"Okay..." Celestia nodded gently. "That seems simple enough. Ahem." She also cleared her throat. "Let there be light..."
"Uh. A bit on the quiet side. Think you can bump it up a bit?" An employee asked. "Your delivery was great but the audience needs to really hear it. Especially those in the back row."
"Oh, yes, yes." Celestia chuckled nervously. "Oh, I know! My Royal Canterlot voice!"
"Your royal what now?" An employee scrunched their eyes, unaware of what was heading towards their ears as Celestia spoke with a booming voice.
"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"
Her voice made everyone stumble as some of the Arceus artifacts almost shattered because of her thunderous voice. Some even got dizzy from the noise.
"Pi-Pika..."
"O-Okay...You need lessons right away." The employee groaned. "But that loud voice of yours can come in handy maybe..."
"Hehe. Sorry." Celestia squeed as she returned her voice to normal.
The play surrounding Arceus would need a decent-sized cast. Celestia was going to be playing Arceus but there needed to be someone willing to play as Dialga, Palkia, Giratina.
This play was most likely not 100% accurate since no one really knows how Arceus created the Pokemon universe. But the knowledge about him doing it is there. But even so, it was just as fun to come with speculation on how it was done. Part of the reason why the Arceus Fanatics and museum exist is that they enjoy the mystery behind Arceus. That's why they're so drawn to him in the first place, despite never seeing him once.
The roles of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina had been assigned with the roles being Luna, Eventide and Sunlight. The entire family. Luckily for those three, the Creation Trio don't speak so they won't have to do much as compared to Celestia who was playing a Pokemon who can 100% speak.
But three other extra roles were just as important. The Lake Trio Guardians. Someone needed to fill in for Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie. Pikachu chose to be Azelf, Eve chose to be Mespirit and Ninetales chose Uxie. So now the roles were filled. There just had to be preparations. For starters. Outfits.
There were already outfits for the Pokemon since they were pre-made for this play. However, for the ponies, it was different. There weren't any current costumes that could fit Celestia and the others.
Sure, there may be Pokemon that stand on all fours, but the ponies of Equestria have different builds. The closest Pokemon to them are Rapidash and Ponyta. But Rapidash is much larger than anypony in Equestria and Rapidash wasn't even apart of this play.
So, the employees got to work. They took a picture of Celestia and used it as a reference to create a new Arceus costume that perfectly fit her size and stature.
Meanwhile, Celestia was taking acting lessons. The two tutors would help her out, no problem.
"Alright, Princess Celestia. It's actually simple. The most that you have to really do is speak a specific set of lines, perform specific movements and just let everything else work its magic. For example, the light of Arceus will be special effects, so don't worry about that." A tutor said.
"Oh. The light effect won't be a problem. I've got that covered." Celestia lit her horn up as a golden glow emanated out of it.
"Hm. That's convenient." A second tutor spoke as she nodded. "But maybe make it a bit brighter. Arceus's light is said to be incredibly radiant! Brighter than the sun itself!"
"Brighter than the sun itself? Alright then." Celestia bumped it up. Her horn emanated a stronger and brighter glow that was powerful enough to blind someone as everyone covered their eyes.
"T-Too bright!" The male tutor bellowed as he fell on his back.
"Oh!" Celestia scrunched her face as she stopped showcasing her magic. "Apologies..."
"Okay..." The tutor stood up. "Let's try improvisation first! Unscripted actions can sometimes be a blessing!"
"Improvisation, eh?" Celestia looked up. "Would it be alright if my Pokemon assisted me?"
"Of course!" The female tutor responded. "You can have as much help as you need!"
"Wonderful. Alright, Passion. Arcanine. Help me through this, will you?"
"Garde."
"Canine!"
While Celestia undergoes acting lessons, Twilight was about to inform her friends about the Arceus play taking place in the Resort Area by using her Xtransceiver to contact them all.
"A play?" Rarity said through the Xtransceiver screen.
"Mhm! Later this night at um...W-What time is it?" Twilight asked Cilan.
"Apparently, it's at 21:30. So fairly late." Cilan answered.
"21:30. It'd be great if you could all make it here."
"That'd be great!" Pinkie exclaimed. "But like, how far is the Resort Area?"
"Hm. Well, this place is located Northeast and um...Ash, you've been here before. What's close to the Resort Area?" Twilight asked Ash.
"Yeah and the fastest way to get there." Applejack spoke.
"Well, it's close to Veilstone City. And you can really get there quick by going through Canalave's gateway. Both cities aren't too far away from each other."
"We'll find our way there, no problem." Rainbow Dash replied. "And we'll be there in no time."
"Thanks, girls. I'll see you all here soon." Twilight turned off the Xtransceiver. "Alright, Eve. Ninetales. I'll need you to perform your Psychic moves in sync as Mespirit and Uxie, okay?"
"Espeon."
"Ninetales!"
Meanwhile, with Sunlight and Eventide, they were having a look at their soon-to-be Dialga and Palkia costumes. Eventide took on the role of Dialga while Sunlight was Palkia. Despite them have zero lines in their script, they still had to perform actions. Mostly involving time and space.
"We've seen what Dialga can do with time, but Palkia?" Eventide looked at the script. "If it uses space, how would that exactly look?"
"Well, Dialga's colour theming is blue. Palkia is...purple, right?" Sunlight said.
"Sure is." Ash nodded. "Whenever Palkia interacts with space, it's got these sweet looking purple particles. But really light purple."
"Light purple you say?" Sunlight lit her horn up, changing its usual golden colour to a light purple colour instead as tiny purple particles akin to stardust came flowing out. "How's this?"
"Pretty close!" Ash gave a thumbs up. "What about you, Luna?" Ash turned to the moon princess.
"I don't understand why this Giratina costume has to be so tight?" Luna grumbled as her Giratina costume had already been made. She tugged on the costume as her horn was sticking out from the top of the Giratina costume. "Does it even look good on me?"
"Looks fine to me," said Ash.
"Pika."
"Oh really? Well, I do look wonderful in it, don't I?" Luna enjoyed Ash's compliment to her. "So. Antimatter. What exactly does it look like? Might I ask?"
"Hm well..." Ash began thinking as he dug into his memories. From all of his experiences with Giratina, he recalled how the Antimatter energy appeared. "Oh right! It's like black and red!"
"Pikachu!"
"Black and red?" Luna lit her horn up, trying to emanate a black and red aura. But instead, she only got her usual dark blue aura. "Mmmrgh...No good."
"Let me help you, dear." Sunlight went up to her daughter, using her own magic to interact with Luna's magic. Sunlight's superior magic had temporarily transformed Luna's dark blue aura into a black and red aura, perfectly matching Giratina's Antimatter energy. "There."
"Alright!" Barry shouted as he and Cilan held out fliers that were meant to promote the play. "Time to go to work! We'll spread these out in no time!"
"Not by ourselves, of course," Cilan responded. "There's only two of us doing it after all."
"I've got ya covered, guys." Ash went up to Barry and Cilan. "We've only got a few hours until the play starts. We can clear out the Resort Area pretty quickly."
"Pika-Pikachu."
"Mind helping us out, Meloetta?" Ash asked the Melody Pokemon.
"Melo!"
"I'll help too!" Twilight teleported in front of Ash, blocking Meloetta from viewing him.
"Etta?!"
"Great. Lucario and the others are gonna pitch in. If we can get all these fliers out, then I'll still have a chance to experience the rest of the museum, ya know!"
"Pikachu!"
Everything was being put into motion. From the fliers, costumes, script, tutoring, this Arceus play would soon be in full swing by late night. While Ash and the others head out and spread fliers, Celestia's acting lessons are currently underway at a medium pace.
Because of Celestia's non-existent experience in acting, this was proving to be a challenge for the tutors who were seeing that the progress being made was a bit rough. Passion and Arcanine didn't boost it at all. They weren't actors either after all.
But they were still making progress either way. Albeit slow progress.
21:25
The time had come.
Many had come to see this Arceus play. From humans, ponies and Pokemon. Arceus was definitely a Pokemon that could spark interest because of the myths surrounding it. So obviously, many wanted to see this play, despite some believing Arceus isn't real.
It was a sold-out house here in the Resort Area. Those fliers were fairly effective in getting a crowd for this one specific play that may only last once.
Behind the curtains of the stage that was inside of the museum, the cast were ready. Celestia and Luna were looking through the curtains, anticipating the beginning of the play.
"Are you sure your tutoring lessons went well?" Luna asked Celestia.
"Certainly. They told me to just be myself since I'm somewhat as important as Arceus."
"Uh-huh...Let's just hope this goes. This'll be my first time acting anyway."
On the outside with the crowd, Ash, Twilight and the others were sat down next to the rest of the Mane 6 since they had managed to arrive here on time.
"Hm? Ash, darling. Where's Pikachu?" Rarity questioned.
"Oh, he's apart of the play," Ash answered. "So are Eve and Ninetales too."
"Oooh! I'll get to see Pikachu in a tiny costume then?!" Fluttershy squeed.
"Can they even act...?" Rainbow Dash scrunched her eyes.
"No need to worry," said Twilight. "This'll turn out just fine. Watch."
The play was about to begin as all the lights had been turned off. Everyone remained quiet as they were ready to see all of this unfold.
The play began with the curtains opening up as there was a black backdrop meant to represent the endless void that existed in the beginning before the Pokemon universe was made. There was a singing voice emanating from the stage. That was coming from Meloetta who was offered a role. Not only that, but Cilan was offered a role as well. As a Narrator.
"In a vortex of complete chaos and nothingness, before the Pokemon Universe even came into existence, there was absolute silence. But then, in that endless dark void, a single egg came into being."
A tiny white and gold egg appeared in the middle of the dark background as it had a mystical silver glow surrounding it. This glow was made possible by Passion who was using Dazzling Gleam to give it that glow. No one knew what Arceus's egg looked like so they just came up with their own design.
"And then, that egg hatched into Arceus. The first Pokemon in existence and the Original One."
The custom-made egg began to tremble as it completely shattered with a flash of light. Out of that light came Celestia, who had been given an Arceus costume that actually fit her. Her flowing ethereal mane had been stylized to fit the top of Arceus's head as she was given the same golden wheel around her stomach.
When Celestia emerged from the light, she got into a standing position on her hind legs as the people behind this play theorized that Arceus came out of the egg with a powerful pose such as that. Celestia was shaking up a bit as a sweatdrop fell from her face, but she had the courage to keep her composure.
"Arceus emerged in the black void of chaos and nothingness. All on his own. But that wouldn't last forever as he would then create life itself."
"Let there be light!" Celestia bellowed with a tiny bit of her Royal Canterlot Voice as her horn illuminated up with a golden shine that covered the entire stage.
"With that radiant light, Arceus created three Pokemon from his light. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, to administer the power of Time, Space and Antimatter."
Once the light faded away, Sunlight, Eventide and Luna teleported in as the Creation Trio. The backdrop had also changed to fit space.
"Where Dialga and Palkia created the basis for the Pokemon Universe, Giratina was a fairly different story."
It was Luna's cue to start a conflict with Celestia. Since the legend goes that Giratina was banished away by Arceus, Luna would have to initiate a pretend battle with her older sister.
Conveniently, this has happened before. Celestia did end up banishing her sister and they did battle before the banishment occurred, so the roles were essentially perfect. Luna was getting a strong case of Deja Vu because of this.
Both Celestia and Luna ascended into the air with their horns glowing. Thanks to Sunlight, Luna was able to emanate antimatter in the form of black and red.
The two of them held back their magic since they didn't want to cause mass destruction in the museum. After all, this was just a pretend battle.
Luna fired a beam of black and red magic towards her older sister while Celestia fired gold magic from her horn as the two beams clashed. The stage was lit up with three different colours because of their clash.
"Giratina had a violent nature as it would cause violence frequently with Dialga and Palkia the most. Even heading into their own realms to start a conflict. Giratina, as punishment for its destructive nature, was banished by Arceus to the Distortion World."
Celestia increased the size of her beam as it had overpowered Luna's black and red beam, engulfing it and Luna as well. Luna had disappeared in a flash of light, but in truth, she just ran behind the curtains.
"Dialga and Palkia retreated to their dimensions, while Arceus continued his mission, creating three Lake Guardians. Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie."
Sunlight and Eventide flew away from each other as the cue for Pikachu, Eve and Ninetales had arrived. Ninetales looked a bit silly in the Uxie costume but he was happy nonetheless. The backdrop changed into Earth as the trio popped out of the backdrop.
"Oh...they're so cute...!" Fluttershy gushed.
"Pika-Pika." Pikachu gave the cue to Eve and Ninetales to use their Psychic abilities.
"Esp."
"Nine."
A blue psychic glow surrounded all three of them thanks to the efforts of Eve and Ninetales as they levitated themselves and Pikachu who made sure not to break character.
"Arceus then used its many life plates to create even more Legendary Pokemon. Each of these Legendary Pokemon were created to fit specific roles, much like Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. From the Earth, the Land the Sea and Sky, the Pokemon world gained more life beyond Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie."
The backdrop then changed with silhouettes of Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza being placed on the backdrop which also showcased, sea, land and sky. The main elements that they're known for.
The employees of the museum played a huge role in this with their own Pokemon as they used their Water, Ground and Flying-Types to create the illusion of these elements happening.
"And with the Pokemon World finally finished, the first species of Pokemon emerged from them. Mew. Which heavily populated the planet in plentiful numbers."
The artist rendition of Mew from cave paintings in the very far past had been shown across the Earth backdrop. Multiple of them to give the scale of how many Mew's existed before they became so rare.
"Oh! You see that? Mew!" Pinkie nudged Applejack.
"I can see it, Pinkie..." Applejack said.
"The Era of Creation drew to a close as Arceus went into slumber as his work had been done. Since then, the Mew population reduced as they were all evolving into new species of Pokemon, mostly the prehistoric Fossil Pokemon. The first humans also appeared around this time."
Celestia flew into the air, disappearing from the stage in a flash of light as she really just went behind the curtains, just like Luna and her parents.
The employees also had Fossil Pokemon at their disposal since they've been planning this play for years now and had to travel to many regions to even make this possible. That just goes to show how devoted they are to this.
"Unfortunately, most of these fossil Pokemon were wiped out by a meteorite and only Archen, the First Bird Pokemon and the Prototurtle and ancestor of all turtle Pokemon were left to thrive and marked the beginning for a new line of Pokemon."
The fossil Pokemon disappeared via a return to their Poke Balls.
"Centuries, millenniums had passed with many evolutions being birthed, human's settling in most of the world and worshipping several of the Legendary Pokemon, the Pokemon World continued to advance. There have been many conflicts, word-shaking events such as the battle between Groudon and Kyogre.
Millions of lights shined as to give the illusion of these conflicts that apparently lasted for centuries and decades with barely any end.
"But despite all that, the world thrived as people and Pokemon bonded together through the years, bringing us to today. And it was all thanks to Arceus for making this possible. The End."
The play had been closed off as it was relatively short. Meloetta stopped singing as the curtains came together, concealing the backdrop.
And with that finished, obvious applause filled the museum as they did thoroughly enjoy that presentation. It was wonderful seeing so much effort being put into this play throughout the love for one single Pokemon. The cast came out of the curtains for their applause as Celestia let out a wide grin. That was her first play and she did surprisingly well. All she really had to do was be herself since not many know how Arceus acts.
Twilight stood up as she was proud of her Pokemon for playing so well, even if they only had a few seconds to show themselves on stage, she was happy nonetheless.
"Aw...I wanted it to be longer?" Pinkie sighed.
"Maybe another play." Fluttershy chuckled as she kept clapping.
The play went well with little error whatsoever. It's short runtime meant that there wouldn't be any struggles. If it was an hour-long play, then there would've been a problem, no doubt about it.
Many were leaving the Resort Area since the play had finished.
Celestia and the others took off their costumes as they were a bit exhausted. Especially since the fifth day was coming to an end.
"Great job, all of you." Ash picked up Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
"Thank you, Ash," Celestia replied. "Glad it went well."
"It sure did." Applejack nodded. "I had no idea Arceus was that important."
"Me neither." Fluttershy shook her head. "It's been a while but, I hope we get to meet Arceus again. I have a lot to tell him since he created all these wonderful creatures!"
"Might be a long time for you to see him again," Cilan spoke. "Arceus is the rarest of them all."
"We'll meet him again for sure." Ash tightened his gloves. "But man...I'm tired..."
"You and me both," Luna yawned. "This is the fifth day, isn't it?"
"Right. I suppose the Pokemon Festival has tired us all out. And we're still in the first week after all." Celestia looked over at the others.
"Maybe we should get some rest now. We can head back to Ponyville quickly." Twilight suggested. "How does that sound?"
"I just sent Sweetie Belle there since she was tired herself so...sure." Rarity agreed and so did the others.
"Wonder what else we'll see at the festival?" Pinkie Pie wondered. "Oooh...two whole weeks!"
"Now that we know the Pokemon Festival continues in the Pokemon World, we have more to discover and explore. I think we should visit Hoenn or Unova next. Or maybe Kalos!"
"Let's rest first before we do that," Twilight grumbled.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
The end of the 5th day was nigh. The play was enjoyable, the Arceus Museum was a treat to explore and there was a lot more to look forward to in the Pokemon Festival. Arceus himself couldn't witness this since he was in a great slumber at the moment.
Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival. 9:00.
It was time to take things slow. The Pokemon Festival can certainly tire anyone out especially considering this year's festival was longer than the first, beating it out by 2 weeks this time.
The amount of excitement they've all had can be seen as clear as day. So far, many experiences in this year's festival have varied in unique ways.
From battling and meeting with old rivals and friends, getting surrounded by Pokemon thanks to a powerful Sweet Scent, enjoying some curry, befriending the Changelings, Contests, Gym Battles, the Pokeathlon, taking part in an Arceus-based play and so on.
Point is, there hasn't been a single dull moment.
But with all that excitement, it was inevitable that exhaustion would come their way. Sometimes, it's good to take things slow and steady. And that's exactly what they were going to do today. And what better place to take things slow than Ponyville.
"Kicking back is pretty good too, ya know," Ash said as he and his Pokemon were laying on the ground.
"Pika."
"Mhm..." Rainbow Dash nodded. "But you know, I'm itching for some action later on. You know what I mean, Ash?"
"Sure do."
"You two just can't stay out of a battle, can you?" Applejack went up to Ash and Rainbow Dash.
"Nope!" Ash sat up. "Gotta get stronger for the World Coronation Series. So I can beat Leon!"
"Pikachu!"
"And I gotta get stronger for the Equestria League! And become the first Champion in Equestria!" Rainbow Dash flew up.
"Alright, alright. I hear ya." Applejack replied.
"But right now...we can't just sit around and wait for the right time for some action, right?" Rainbow asked Ash.
"Hm..." Ash began to ponder. There was obviously something they could do in the meantime whilst still taking things slow and steady. Then it hit Ash. "Well, there's the PokePark..."
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy zipped over. "We never got to fully explore the PokePark. I wonder what else we'll find in there?"
"It's mostly Unova Pokemon, isn't it?" Rarity turned to Applejack.
"Mhm." AJ nodded in response.
"Well, you guys can head to PokePark. I'm just gonna stay here." Ash decided to stay in Ponyville instead of heading to PokePark.
"Yeah, I'm with Ash here. I wanna spend some more time with my family. And uh...this guy." Applejack looked back at Golett who was still attached to her.
"Gol!"
"That Golett still came along with you?" Rarity said.
"All the way from Canterlot...I told him he can only stay until the festival's over. Which means 2 whole weeks of him being stuck to me."
"Golett!"
"Hm." Ash took out the boardgame from his bag as he was curious about something. "Wonder how Dusknoir and Kathleen are doing? Might have to check up on them."
"Pika?"
"I think everything's still peaceful in that world." Fluttershy flew over to the board game. "All the people inside of the game were freed, weren't they?"
"But what if they're lonely?!" Pinkie screeched. "They've probably got nothing left to do!"
"No need to worry. I promised I'd return to them after all." Ash opened up the cover. "Plus, the world's pretty relaxing to look at."
"Ooh!" The CMC jumped up at the board game. "Can we go there?!"
"Sure thing!" Ash nodded. "It's gonna be fun heading back in there. Last time we were sucked in, things almost got pretty chaotic in there."
"Did someone mention chaotic?" Once Ash mentioned anything regarding chaos, the Lord of Chaos himself appeared above them all, Discord. "What was that you were mentioning, Ash?"
"Discord?" Fluttershy looked up.
"Of course you'd show up via a single word mention." Rarity lowered her eyes.
"Actually, how come you didn't show up when other chaotic stuff was going down?" Rainbow Dash wondered.
"Oh. I was occupied then. But not this time. So what was that you were saying just 7 seconds ago, Ash?" Discord appeared behind Ash, looking at the board game.
"It's just this board game over here. We were planning on heading back inside of it."
"Inside of it? This thing?" Discord's eyes multiplied as they scanned the game. "Looks like just a standard and mundane boardgame."
"It looks like that from the outside. But on the inside, there's an entire living and breathing world." Fluttershy explained. "All made possible by Dusknoir."
"Is that so? Well, that's actually impressive." Discord nodded.
"Sure is. Kinda makes me curious if there's more of these out there." Ash spun it around. "Or is it just this one with Dusknoir?"
"Whatever it is, let's head in already. We might get up to a new adventure." Pinkie hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"Would you like to join us, Discord?" Fluttershy suggested. Once she said those words, the others suddenly grimaced with their manes and tails standing up as they aggressively shook their heads.
"Me? Join? Oh, well I don't know about that. I mean, I do enjoy myself some games but..." Discord made Pokemon cards of different values appear in his paw.
"It'll be a blast!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash...Pikachu...Fluttershy...Please, for all that is good in this world..." Twilight winced as she closed her eyes.
"Oh, alright. I was curious anyway." Discord agreed to join in, which immediately made the rest of the gulp. They knew that they couldn't convince Ash and Fluttershy to leave Discord out, no matter how hard they tried, so they were stuck with him.
"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"But I know of a way we can spice things up." Discord raised his paw as his finger suddenly elongated, stretching into the sky. Discord's elongated finger then came down, stretching all the way down as it touched the board game. Once his finger connected with the board game, everyone was suddenly sucked in without Dusknoir having to do it himself.
It was time for Discord's chaos to finally show itself once more. This time in the form of another world inside of a game.
The Boardgame World.
"Ugh..." The sound of Twilight groaned was emitted. At first, she saw nothing but darkness. But soon, once she opened her eyes, she was able to witness the vibrant blue sky.
Waking up, she felt that something was off. Something was definitely not right here. However, strangely enough, Twilight also felt something very familiar. As if she's experienced this before.
"A-Are we in the game?" Twilight stuttered as she sat up on the bright green grass. Once she did, that's when she noticed the oddity as she looked at her hooves.
Or rather, her paws.
Not just any paws, Espeon paws.
She was an Espeon yet again. This time, it didn't take Manaphy's Heart Swap to make this possible.
"Huh?! This again!?" She screeched before sighing. It wasn't too surprising to her since it had already happened before. So Twilight just went with it.
But seeing herself as an Espeon once more in the game world made Twilight realize something. Obviously, this was Discord's doing. That much was clear. However, this meant that all of Twilight's friends had been affected themselves. Coming to that realization, Twilight immediately turned around to see what had happened to her friends.
And her eyes didn't tell any lies.
They had all become Pokemon themselves.
Ash was a Lucario, Rarity was a Pheromosa, Applejack was a Sceptile, Fluttershy was an Audino, Rainbow Dash was a Braviary, Spike was a Salamence, Scootaloo was a Ponyta, Sweetie Belle was an Espurr, Apple Bloom was an Emolga and Pinkie Pie was surprisingly not Slurpuff or Spinda, but instead a Mew of all things
"Oh, sweet!" Ash looked at his new form. He noticed that Pikachu was still here on his shoulder. Even as a Pokemon, Pikachu would still be there with Ash. Then again, this isn't the first time Ash has been turned into a Pokemon.
"Sweet is right! Look at this!" Spike gushed. "Wings! This is amazing!" Spike took to the skies, enjoying his new wings.
Surprisingly, no one was upset by this despite them being fearful of what Discord could've done. It turned out fairly neat in the end.
"I'm not complaining actually. I like this. Is this what it feels like to have fingers?" Rarity looked at her hands. She also noticed that she was the tallest of the group here thanks to Pheromosa's size.
"Not bad at all." Applejack crossed her arms together as she nodded.
"I've always wanted to be a Pokemon! Next to a tree of course!" Fluttershy was hyperventilating. "This is the best day ever...!"
"As long as I can fly this time, I'm cool with it." Rainbow Dash took to the skies.
"I don't really feel too different," Scootaloo said as she was still just a pony in this form. "But it is cool to have a flaming mane and tail!"
"Doesn't that hurt?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked up at Scootaloo due to her being the same size as an Espurr.
"Nope." Scootaloo shook her head. "It's actually pretty warm and comfortable."
"Looks like we're all our partners." Apple Bloom flew over. "How neat is that?"
"Very neat!" Pinkie bellowed as everyone turned to her. They all noticed that while they were all their partner Pokemon, Pinkie Pie was a different story.
She came out as Mew instead of Slurpuff or Spinda, which everyone was expecting since she owns those species of Pokemon.
"Pinkie Pie? How come you are Mew, exactly?" Rarity asked.
"No idea. But I'm not complaining!" Pinkie flew around. "Oh! I bet I can transform! Watch this!" She was able to tap into the genes of Mew who can transform into any Pokemon. By doing so, Pinkie transformed into a Tyranitar, immediately roaring at her friends before turning back. "Nice."
"See? Doesn't this feel more immersive and appropriate for your Pocket Monsters?" Discord appeared above them with his hands detaching and latching onto Ash's shoulders.
"Sure does. Thanks, Discord!" Ash thanked him.
"Yeah!" Pikachu suddenly spoke.
The words that came out of Pikachu's mouth immediately prompted everyone to freeze and turn their attention towards him. Out of everything that surprised them from Discord's Chaos Magic, this topped them all. They all jerked back with unified gasps as Pikachu just looked at them with confused faces.
"What? What is it?" Pikachu asked.
"Is that what he sounds like...?" Rainbow Dash whispered.
"His voice certainly matches what we constantly hear, doesn't it?" Rarity replied with her own whisper.
"Alright then." Discord gave himself a Trainer hat, bag and Poke Balls, resembling a Pokemon Trainer. "Let's get this going already. Where exactly are those gyms you speak of?"
"Oh, it's not that kind of world Discord. This world's a bit older than the one we have. Like in the way past." Ash explained.
"Hm. That's less interesting." Discord made the trainer gear disappear. "I'm more fond of modernity after all. So where do we exactly begin?"
"Well, we can go ahead and visit Kathleen and Dusknoir first. Their castle is just up ahead." Pikachu pointed over at the castle in the distance. They noticed that its usual dark and grim colours had changed for something much brighter and vibrant. Mostly Kathleen's decision.
"A reunion? That's no fun. Where's the excitement? This is a fantasy world, right? Something fantastic should be happening!"
"Well...we're kinda just here to catch up with old friends." Pinkie Pie squeed. "But Ash and Rainbow Dash are gonna have some action later. Whenever that is."
"Maybe when we get to Kathleen and Dusknoir, they'll have something new planned for us. Kathleen does enjoy games. So in the meantime, you can explore this world for yourself." Fluttershy recommended.
"Yeah. And when we do get something, we'll go wild!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hm. Fine. I'll see what I can find here." Discord created a Rapidash in his own image as he got on it. "I'll call you when I find something interesting!" He whistled as he made Rapidash gallop along, only for him to just disappear in a blaze of fire.
"But uh...How are we gonna explain to Kathleen and Dusknoir that we're Pokemon now?" Rainbow Dash looked at her wings.
"They'll understand. Let's go." Twilight responded as she led the group along. Everyone would have to get used to their new walking methods.
Although, for some of them, it was fairly easy. Lucario is a humanoid Pokemon so that was no problem for Ash and Ponyta, despite being a completely different creature was still at the end of the day, a pony, so that was no issue for Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash could get used to it because of the obvious wings, but as for everyone else, that's where things end up being a problem.
Most of their Pokemon stand upright. Rarity was stumbling and struggling the most due to her very long legs as a Pheromosa and supple and thin body as well.
Fluttershy took baby steps as an Audino. She was waddling about, trying her very best not to fall over. The same can be said for Sweetie Belle and Applejack. All they could do was waddle until they got used to it.
Pinkie didn't have to face these obstacles since she could just fly as Mew. Or even better, she could choose to become any Pokemon who stood on four feet. If anything, she had the best Pokemon option out of all of them since she was now every Pokemon in one.
Lucky.
Journeying through this world once more felt nostalgic. It had undergone some changes when they were last here. Many familiar locations remained. The rock cave, the maze, the underground and the Joltik-Durant lair were still here.
The real major changes were that there was now an ocean with what seemed to be a pirate ship in the distance. Pirates are always fun. When they're not pillaging anyway. This pirate ship was massive. It took up a majority of the ocean as it had a colour palette that was similar to a Bisharp.
With the addition of an ocean, more Pokemon can be found. Before the amount of Pokemon in this world was very limited to a few types. Very little Water-Types existed with only some of them being Dual-types.
Along with the inclusion of deserts, a labyrinth, jungles, marshes and an entire colosseum. A lot has happened since last year, that's for sure.
Dusknoir has been busy. And it really shows how much variety was here. With this world being under his complete control, he can make anything he wants.
They had arrived at Dusknoir's castle by opening the gates. Once they opened up, the interior gained some colour as well. It still had the familiar eerie nature of Dusknoir looming around, but with Kathleen's influence, the whole castle went through a bit of an overhaul.
"Hello! Dusknoir! Kathleen!" Ash called out their names. "You here?"
"Ash! Everyone!" With a response as fast as lightning, Kathleen came running through the doors of the throne room, recognizing the voice of her friends in an instant. But even when recognizing her friends, she was surprised to see a bunch of Pokemon instead. "Oh. Huh? I thought I heard Ash here..."
"Sure did. I'm right here." Ash spoke once more, giving Kathleen clarity that it was indeed him.
"Oooh!" She gawked. "You're a Pokemon now?! Then does that mean..."
"We're all Pokemon," Twilight answered. "Every last one of us."
"And it's great!" Pinkie flew in circles.
"Oh well...It's great to see you all again!" Kathleen hugged Ash.
"Great to see you too." Ash patted her on the head.
"But you all came at the right time. Things aren't really peachy so far." Kathleen pouted.
"Why? What's wrong darling?" Rarity asked.
"Is somepony bothering you?" Rainbow Dash flew over.
"No, not really." Kathleen shook her head. "They're actually sorta bothering everyone else in this entire world. And they're really good at making a scene."
"Well, who is it?" Applejack asked.
"Pirates!" Kathleen raised her arms.
"Oh! Pirates?!" Ash and Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up. They found pirates to be fairly interesting.
"Mhm! Pirates! They're super scary...but they're the best part of this world so far! They make things super fun every single day!" Kathleen jumped up and down.
"Uh...That's a good thing?" Applejack scratched her head as she looked outside of the window, spotting the pirate ship.
"Bothering everyone here doesn't exactly sound fun..." said Rarity.
"No. It's not. But it's just so much fun seeing new things happen. But I don't want anyone else in this world to be sad because of them. And I was really hoping you all would encounter them someday since I wanna see you go against the pirates! That'd be so fun to watch! And you can save everyone!"
"Well...We were gonna take things really slow today but looks like some help is needed." Ash said.
"Are they pillaging?" Twilight asked.
"Yep!" Kathleen nodded ferociously. "They go across the entire world and pillage everywhere! Even the new locations aren't safe from them."
"Pillaging...are we all up for that? This is brand new territory we're stepping in." Twilight turned to her friends.
"Yes please!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'm up for some extra adventure!"
"I've come across some pirates myself." Ash grinned, recalling Phantom. "So this isn't new to me."
"Wait. We actually get to experience this?" Scootaloo gasped. "Awesome..."
"We're not seriously going up against pirates, are we?" Sweetie Belle gulped. "I've heard a lot about them. They're pretty scary..."
"Oh, they're scary for sure! But some of them are super cute too!"
"They are?" Fluttershy turned to Kathleen. "Who exactly are these pirates?"
"They call themselves the Bisharp Pirates! They ride on a super big ship called The Dark Steel! And their crew members are gigantic in numbers! I think there's like... a hundred?"
From how Kathleen described these pirates, they were a big deal. Everyone looked outside as they saw the Bisharp-themed ship outside the window. Seems they were fairly close, so the journey wouldn't take too long.
"Bisharp Pirates, huh? Alright. We'll get on it right away!" Ash nodded. "I know it's gonna be a real blast!"
"I was afraid you'd say that..." Rarity sighed. "Oh, well. There's no turning back now that you've made up your mind."
The decision had been made. So much for a slow and relaxing day. Pirates were a big enough drive to get into some action. But it was mostly to make Kathleen happy. They hadn't seen her for a while and they would do anything to make this little girl smile.
"By the way...where's Dusknoir?" Twilight asked Kathleen.
"Oh, Dusknoir got captured by the pirates." She grinned.
"Oh, he's playing along? How cute!" Fluttershy gushed.
"Nope! They just barged in here and captured him! He seemed pretty scared though, so can you get Dusknoir back please?"
"Sure will. Alright! Let's go find us some pirates!" Ash raised his arm in the air.
"Yes sir!" Pikachu jumped up.
The Dark Steel Ship of the Bisharp Pirates was just sitting out in the ocean, completely stationary. It was unknown if there were any crew members on board at the moment.
But even still, Ash and the others decided to approach it. At first, it seemed close, however, because of its gigantic size, it gave off the illusion that it was near. In truth, it was actually far away. Walking there would take an hour or more.
"I could just fly super-fast over there. Would save a ton of time." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"And with my amazing speed and powerful kicks, we could retrieve Dusknoir and defeat the pirates in no time." So did Rarity.
"We don't know what these pirates are capable of. So rushing in blind isn't the best option." Twilight restrained them both from acting instantly. "After all, Kathleen said there might be hundreds and she's not even sure how many there truly are."
"I could probably try and hear them from this distance. Being an Audino is so amazing!" Fluttershy clapped her hands together in excitement. "I can hear so much! The sounds of the Pokemon and their tiny feet moving across the ground as they make a squishy noise and-"
"Focus, Fluttershy." Twilight snapped her out of it. "Can you hear how many there are?"
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy began using Audino's amazing feelers to try and sense the sounds coming from the ship. While the ship was far away, Fluttershy was able to at least pick on something, despite her distance.
The sounds she was picking up on were faint and weak. She could definitely hear chatter coming from the direction of the ship. From what she could hear, there weren't actually hundreds of Pokemon onboard.
Instead, there were thousands. Thousands of pirates on this behemoth of a ship. And it made sense. For a ship that large, having a hundred wouldn't be fitting. It needed to have a crew that could populate an entire country.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy stopped walking. "There are thousands of them on board!"
"Thousands?!" Everyone gasped.
"Big and small Pokemon alike. There's probably even Pokemon of all typings on board too."
"...T-Then...if there's so many of 'em, how come we can't see them on the ship?" Applejack looked over at the Dark Steel Ship. "Should at least see a couple of hundred of 'em in the distance."
"What do we do? A thousand's way too much." Scootaloo shuddered. "They're gonna have some Water or Rock-Types that'll crush me!"
"Or even me!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Well, now that we know how large the numbers are, we're gonna need a new approach." Twilight began thinking. "How do we deal with that many pirates? Actually, how do we deal with pirates in general?"
"Hmm..." Ash got to thinking along with the others. A crew that gigantic is just overwhelming. There is a very good chance that they could easily overpower Ash and the others in terms of number alone. But obviously, there was a weakness to exploit.
However, whilst they were thinking of a plan and approach, the unthinkable and unexpected happened.
The ship suddenly began to fly as it ascended from the ocean. This grabbed the attention of everyone who immediately turned to face the flying ship. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. It just casually took to the skies as it was hovering. The sheer sight of it was baffling to their eyes. And the icing on the cake was that it even sprouted pitch-black wings, just for show.
"It flies?!" The CMC bellowed.
"So cool!" Ash gawked.
"What happened while we were gone from this world..."? Twilight's jaw dropped.
The airborne ship was clearly going somewhere since it was on the move. But usually, ships move on the water instead of the sky. But then again, this is a fantasy Pokemon World. Anything is possible. Even without Discord's influence.
With a sudden burst of speed, the ship flew off, creating a sonic boom and shockwave all at once as the wind pressure reached Ash and the others, almost knocking them back. The Dark Steel was now long gone from here.
With the ship suddenly flying with wings, heading off into the sky to who-knows-where, the plan had radically changed for everyone. Now they had to come up with yet another approach.
Luckily, some of them could fly. Unfortunately, some of them couldn't and not all of them could be carried by Rainbow Dash and Spike or even Pinkie Pie.
"...Alright. Now, what do we do?" AJ shifted her eyes around.
"We go after them," Ash replied. "All we gotta do is get to the sky like them."
"You make it sound like it's that easy Ash." Twilight turned to him. "That was an entire ship that just sprouted wings and took the to skies! How are most of us going to get up there?"
"And where are they even going?" Sweetie Belle looked up. "And why the sky?"
"Yeah." Scootaloo nodded. "It totally doesn't make any sense to sail a ship in the sky. Unless..." Scootaloo and her fellow Crusaders slowly turned around as they looked at each other.
"There's a Sky Island!" The three of them said.
"A sky island? Seriously?" Spike replied.
"It's not out of the realm of possibility. This world is completely unpredictable. Plus, Cloudsdale exists, so who's to say that a Sky Island wouldn't exist either." Rarity agreed with the Crusaders.
"Let me check!" Rainbow Dash decided to check for herself as she ascended into the sky, causing her own shockwave that was similar to the Dark Steel.
Once ascending to the skies and moving at a fast pace, Rainbow Dash couldn't actually see the Dark Steel yet. It was definitely moving faster than her as it was long gone from here.
Rainbow Dash ascended higher as she had never gone this high before in her life, even all the way back at Cloudsdale. Due to this world being larger than Equestria and possibly even the Pokemon World itself, the skies here were insanely vast. Even a ludicrously fast Pokemon couldn't clear it in a short amount of time.
Rainbow Dash broke past the clouds as she was far away from her friends and the ground at this point. Now, she was somewhere else entirely. But she wasn't just in the skies. Not at all. She quickly found out that the CMC's theory on there being an island in the sky wasn't just for fun and jokes.
There actually was an island in the sky.
From 80,000 metres above the ground was an entire civilization of Pokemon, living in the skies themselves. An absolutely gigantic mass of clouds that had constructed buildings of all sizes resting on top of them.
The number of buildings here was equal to that of Castelia City itself. And Castelia City is gigantic. One of the largest cities in the Pokemon World after all.
All of this was floating in the atmosphere itself. Even higher than Cloudsdale.
"Awesome..." Naturally, Rainbow Dash was absolutely stunned by this. This wasn't too new to her since Cloudsdale and other pegasus locations exist but it was still very impressive. In fact, this location resembled a city with how many buildings there were. This was easily above and beyond anything she had seen in the sky so far.
She had to tell her friends, immediately as she returned to the ground in a few seconds.
"Did you see the ship?" Fluttershy asked.
"...No. But I saw something even cooler...There's an island city in the sky!"
"Seriously?!" Twilight pulled back.
"Seriously!" Rainbow Dash replied.
"Knew it!" The CMC bellowed.
"Okay. So there's an entire city in the sky." Spike turned around. "Can we even stand on it? How are we gonna get there?"
"Well, I think I may know of a way." Fluttershy had an idea. And it involved a certain Draconequus who was currently undergoing his own adventure in this world. However, something quickly stopped that idea from taking action.
"Wait!" Kathleen had run out of the castle as she had caught up to her friends, yelling and screaming their names. She had grabbed their attention as they all wondered why she was out here.
"Kathleen?" Ash and Pikachu said.
"I almost forgot!" Kathleen slid on the ground. "Dusknoir left you all something! If you all came back here and dealt with the pirates, he wanted to give you all this to make things more fun!"
"Give us what exactly?" Rarity asked.
Kathleen then ran towards the ocean, stopping near it as she looked at the vast blue sea, holding her breath in as she yelled at the top of her lungs. "You can come up now!"
With that command, from under the sea itself, another absolutely massive ship had emerged, rising from the ocean as it separated the waves. Everyone gawked as they saw that this ship had the colour scheme of Dusknoir.
"Ta-dah!" Kathleen raised her arms. "Dusknoir made this all for you guys! It's called The Noir Pride!"
"Okay...That works too." Fluttershy nodded.
"Do all the ships in this world fly?" Applejack questioned.
"Nope. Just these two. Dusknoir made this for the whole pirate thing. That Bisharp ship was for the pirates and this one's for you all! Now you can go after them to the Sky Borealis!"
"That's the name of the island?" Rainbow Dash looked up. "Alright then. If it can get us up there, then we'll take it."
"Great! Have fun, everyone!" Kathleen jumped up and down.
Now that they had their own ship that could fly into the sky, they could follow the Bisharp Pirates to the Sky Borealis and rescue Dusknoir from them. This supposed slow day quickly escalated to something unexpected.
There was no way they were expecting something like this. They were just going to take it easy. But of course, in the World of Pokemon, excitement is always present, no matter what. Even in a game.
Everyone boarded the Noir Pride as they were ready to take off. They thought to themselves of who would steer this ship. But they didn't have to worry about that. The ship was under Dusknoir's influence, so it could steer itself. Like an autopilot.
Everyone held on for dear life as the ship was starting to ascend from the sea as it sprouted its own wings that were a shadowy violet, fitting for the colour of a ghost.
The Board Game World. High up in the skies. 11:00
The quest to stop the Bisharp Pirates and rescue Dusknoir had begun. And it would take place in the sky of Sky Borealis. The ship was moving at amazing speeds as everyone was holding on for dear life while the ship travels the azure skies.
"T-Too fast!" Twilight yelped as she was holding onto Ash. Thankfully, since Ash was now a Lucario, his Steel-Body gave him the power to stand firmly on the ship's floor without being blown back.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Scootaloo groaned.
Thankfully, the ship was made to withstand intense pressures such as this. So even at ludicrous speeds, it will not break apart, no matter what. The Noir Pride had a second burst of speed as it had accelerated all of a sudden. The clouds below and behind the ship had been separated from the speed boost as a sonic boom trailed behind.
The crew all noticed that up ahead, a large array of clouds was in the way, right in front of them. They closed their eyes as the ship broke through the clouds.
The ship was finally slowing down for one reason. The crew had reached their destination in a short amount of time. It took approximately 20 seconds to arrive here.
And once they did, they witnessed what Rainbow Dash saw earlier. The vast and wonderful Sky Borealis in all of its gigantic and aerial glory.
The ship was now floating on the clouds themselves as it stayed airborne while its shadowy wings were flapping. But that wasn't important right now. With a gentle pace, the ship was moving forward in the air, approaching the sky island.
What was really important was the view of the Sky Borealis.
"Oooh...Pretty..." Sweetie Belle gawked.
"You weren't kidding, Rainbow Dash. An entire city in the sky!" Ash exclaimed.
"Uh-huh!" Pikachu nodded.
"It looks a lot like Castelia City. Just as big too." Twilight noticed. "Does anypony spot the Dark Steel Ship?"
"Nope! Too busy checking this place out!" Pinkie Pie hovered up, gazing at the city.
"The ship looked as big as this one. It can't be that hard to miss." Rarity said. "Unless...this entire city is so massive that the ship is masked in it all."
"Look big enough to hide it." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Say, Fluttershy. You hear anything in that city?"
"I do!" Fluttershy jumped up. "I can hear so many voices talking! It's an entire civilization over there! I can't wait to get there! I wonder if the Pokemon there have their own jobs!"
"We're just here to save Dusknoir and stop the pirates. So let's not get-" Before Twilight could finish her sentence, the entire ship suddenly came to a halt as it smashed into something, making the Noir Pride tremble. But not only did it tremble, but it also bounced back as if it had hit something soft. "Woah!"
"W-What did we hit?!" Apple Bloom stuttered.
"We're not even at the city yet. Did we hit a solid cloud or something?" Rainbow Dash looked around.
The ship didn't hit anything that was in the city since they weren't there yet. But they did hit something solid that was in the way. But it certainly wasn't a solid cloud, although that would be impressive.
Instead, they soon came to find out that the Noir Pride had hit a magical forcefield instead. A forcefield that was so wide that it protects and covers the entirety of the Sky Borealis.
"A forcefield?" Twilight walked forward, looking at the bubble-like forcefield.
"It looks soft." Pinkie flew over to the forcefield as she used her tail to make contact with it. Once her tail touched the forcefield, it was immediately bounced back and covered with magic dust. "Oooh! It's super bouncy!"
"Guess they're blocking us out of here," Pikachu said. "Let's breakthrough it!" He lit his tail up for an Iron Tail.
"Slow down there buddy." Ash restrained Pikachu. "They're probably put this up cause they don't want any intruders. If we break-in, they're gonna be real suspicious of us."
"But if the pirates went through here, aren't they already dealing with intruders?" Scootaloo placed her hoof on the bubble.
"I say we just pop it." Rainbow Dash was ready to use a Steel Wing. "The pirates are a bigger threat anyway."
"Hmm..." Twilight looked at her Espeon paws as she decided to test something out. By gently raising her paw, she came into contact with the forcefield without using a ton of force.
Once she gently made contact with the forcefield, she quickly found out that her paw had gone through it as a satisfying pop sound was made.
"Oh!" Twilight shot up. "We can actually go through it!"
"Really?" Rarity went up as she did the same. Her Pheromosa arms went straight through the bubble without them bouncing back. Because every Pheromosa's real strength lies in their legs, the arms could easily move through without being pushed back by the forcefield. "Well, would you look at that?"
"So all we have to do is just be gentle and we can go through? Pssh. That's easy enough. Let me steer." Rainbow Dash went over to the helm.
"Rainbow Dash. You ain't got any hooves anymore remember. You're a Braviary now." Applejack reminded her.
"Oh...Right."
"I got this one." Applejack decided to steer. "Sceptile's hands are pretty easy to get used too. Ain't that hard."
"You sure you can do it gently, sis?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Sure can. Watch me." She gripped onto the helm as she was ready to drive the ship through this forcefield at a slow and steady pace without being bounced back.
She began moving the ship forward but without putting too much force into it. Applejack had to be as soft and gentle as possible if she and her friends were going to make it through this forcefield and into the Sky Borealis.
The ship was piercing through the forcefield as the sound being made was identical to rubber being stretched. The weight of the Noir Pride Ship certainly didn't make this easy at all since it was large as the Dark Steel Ship.
The forcefield itself was being pushed in by the moving ship. If Applejack were to put too much force into it with how deep she was in the forcefield now, the rebound would be absolutely insane and it would most likely send them all flying great distances. That's exactly what Twilight was fearing as she was shaking uncontrollably, holding to Ash's leg.
But there was no need to worry since they all had faith in Applejack. And Applejack had faith in herself, so she was 100% fixated and focused on getting through this forcefield.
And with complete focus with zero distractions, Applejack managed to drive the Noir Pride straight through the forcefield without sending the ship back as they had all officially entered Sky Borealis.
"There!" Applejack exclaimed. "Done and done! Told ya I could do it!"
"That's my big sis!" Apple Bloom with her Emolga body jumped up and hugged her big sister. However, because she was now an Emolga, she couldn't control her electricity so she ended up shocking Applejack. Thankfully, since Applejack was a Grass-Type, that wasn't an issue.
With the ship finally through and in the Sky Borealis, they really get a good look at how majestic this entire area was. This entire aerial domain could now be explored as Applejack stopped the ship right near a platform where her friends could stand on.
"Finally, we're here!" Ash grinned. "I wonder what new stuff we're gonna see here?!"
"I can't wait!" Pikachu got all giddy. Both Pikachu and Ash hopped off the ship as they were the first to land on the platform. Their thirst for adventure kept on being fueled.
Everyone else followed by landing on this platform. These were uncharted yet somewhat friendly territories they were stepping into.
However, there was one thing they needed to be clear of. Could they stand on the clouds or does this world follow the same logic as the pegasus?
Ash tested this out and the answer was revealed. They could walk on it without having the ability to fly. "Oh sweet! These are solid clouds! But they're also pretty soft and fluffy too!"
"It's not like the clouds back in our world, that's for sure." Fluttershy patted on the clouds.
"Nope!" Scootaloo decided to roll on the clouds. Surprisingly, her flaming mane didn't set the clouds on fire.
"That's good to know." Twilight began walking on the clouds. "Let's see if anypony there has seen the Bisharp Pirates. Before they get pillaged too."
Everyone's curiosity was locked onto the city that resembled Castelia. In fact, the resemblance was a bit too uncanny. Almost as if it was a picture-perfect replica of Castelia City but in the sky and a bunch of fantasy elements.
A coincidence? Maybe.
By arriving at the Sky Borealis, they were given an instant greeting, but not one of fondness. Instead, the greeting they were all given was one of hostility as a group of Gallades wearing red and white capes came jumping out, surrounding Ash and everyone as they pointed their blades arms at them.
And just like Pikachu, they could be understood along with all of the Pokemon in this world. This was only possible because of Ash and the others becoming Pokemon themselves.
"Halt!" The Gallade's all said as the crew were surrounded and frozen in place. "Who goes there?!"
"Not the best meeting I was expecting..." Fluttershy gulped.
"Gallade's...lots of them." Twilight squealed.
"You came in that ship, didn't you?" A Gallade spoke. "Pirates."
"Pirates? Us?" Scootaloo whispered. "Actually that'd be super cool."
"You're coming with us!" The Gallade's used Psych Up to increase the power of their blades. Obviously, this was a threat. If things escalate then an eventual battle will take place.
"Hold it!" But, the Gallade's were promptly stopped by the word of a superior. One who is essentially the boss of them all so that they don't step out of line.
A Gumshoos was the Pokemon that stopped them and was in charge of all these Gallade's as he casually walked over. The Gallade's lowered their arm blades, ceasing any action. But they were still very cautious.
"Let's not get hasty now, boys," Gumshoos said as he stood in front of Ash, exhibiting a powerful aura of dominance as he observed the newcomers. Because of Gumshoos, a potential conflict was avoided. "Now. What do we have here?"
"W-Who's gonna explain it to him?" Apple Bloom said.
"I will." Twilight stepped forward. "Apologies for bargaining in, Gumsh-"
"That's Officer Gumshoos to you." Gumshoos corrected her.
"Oh uh, sorry. O-Officer Gumshoos. But we're not here to cause any trouble. We're here searching for some pirates."
"Pirates, you say?" Gumshoos's non-existent eyes widened. "You're not with them, are you?"
"No-no!" Twilight shook her head aggressively. "We're not pirates! We're just here to try and stop them and we figured they'd be here."
"Hmmm..." Gumshoos began to judge them. He noticed that they were much smaller in numbers than the pirates that came here.
None of them really wore anything that screamed pirates. Although, Gumshoos noticed that Ash and Applejack had hats. But not hats that would belong to the pirates anyway.
But other than that, there was one thing that really caught Gumshoos's attention. And that was Ash. Gumshoos's nose was picking up on something unusual.
"You. Lucario." Gumshoos pointed at Ash.
"Hm? Yeah?" Ash turned to him.
"...You smell like a human. Why is that?"
"Oh, that's because I am," Ash responded casually. "My friends and I got turned into Pokemon when we came here. It didn't happen the first time though."
"Is that so...?"
"Well, we're actually ponies." Pinkie said.
"And I'm a dragon but...not a Pokemon Dragon a totally different dragon." Spike chimed in.
"And I'm still an ordinary Pikachu! And so is Golett!" Pikachu pointed at Golett who was underneath Applejack's hat this entire time.
Gumshoos found this to be a bit bizarre to him. These revelations made him incredibly curious. But, they didn't seem to really pose a huge threat. However, Gumshoos wasn't too fond of humans. Especially one who had been transformed into a Pokemon.
"You're here to stop the Bisharp Pirates specifically, correct?"
"Yeah! Those are the ones!" Scootaloo bellowed. "We're gonna thrash 'em and then we're gonna save Dusknoir!"
"I see." Gumshoos had made a decision. "Well, you came at an appropriate time. The Bisharp Pirates are already here. But they have not yet attacked us."
"They haven't? How come?" Pinkie asked.
"They're cunning pirates. They don't just rush in blindly with aggression. That captain of theirs knows how to plan. I've been wanting to catch that Bisharp for years now but to no avail. He and his crew elude us still."
"Well, there's like a thousand of them so it'd be pretty hard, ya know." Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Thousands? Hah! That's nothing compared to our millions!"
"Millions?!" They all exclaimed.
"I know, it's impressive. But even with those millions, those pirates continue to escape and best us! Accursed pirates!" Gumshoos yelled at the clouds in the sky. He took a deep breath as he had a fairly short temper. "But enough talk. We all share the same goal, correct? To defeat the Bisharp Pirates."
"Mhm." They all nodded.
"Then come with us. We have a lot to discuss."
Aerial Commune.
Sky Borealis's main residential district, composed entirely of clouds. This bustling area of clouds contained a wharf, houses, and many shops. They could see millions of Pokemon of all types living in this city as they all wore very old-school clothing that would exist way more than 10 decades ago. Perhaps around 270 years in the past.
The Pokemon seemed completely fine despite there being pirates nearby. They were just getting along with their day. The city and its buildings were old fashioned as well, just like the clothing here. It was clear as day that this part of the board game world resembled a region in the past. Mainly Galar.
"So. Your goal to defeat the Bisharp Pirates. Do you have a long history with them as well?" Gumshoos asked.
"Not really." Rarity answered. "We're mainly after them to rescue our friend Dusknoir and bring him to Kathleen. After that, we'll be returning to our world."
"Hm, Dusknoir you say? The ruler of the Noir Castle?" Gumshoos nodded. "I wouldn't have expected you all to be friends with him. He doesn't strike us as the type to make friends anyway."
"Well, he's actually really sweet deep down." Fluttershy squeed. "After all, he made this entire world possible for his dearest friend."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Gumshoos turned around.
"Uh, nothing!" Twilight exclaimed. "Let's talk about how we're going to beat the Bisharp Pirates. Or even find them."
"Hm. Well, normally, we'd be able to find them in broad daylight. They love to hide in the shadows, but for some reason, they're more elusive than ever. A ship that massive should not be hard to find."
"Guess we really are on the same page..." Rainbow Dash whispered.
"And at night, it's not better. They're practically invisible!" Gumshoos bellowed. "Even when we've encountered and battled them over and over again, we still fail to see through their elusive stealth."
"But if you've battled them plenty of times, you must've at least caught some of them as prisoners, haven't you?" Rarity questioned.
"I wish. Still to this day, we do not have a single crew member of the Bisharp Pirates. We have prisoners from other pirate crews, but not theirs. It infuriates me to no end!" Gumshoos's body was turning red out of anger, but one of the Gallade's calmed him down.
"They must be like the best pirates in this world! So cool..." Rainbow Dash gawked.
"But today shall be the day I officially put an end to those obnoxious pirates! And being the master strategist that I am, I have already begun devising a plan. A plan so great that it will-"
"Sir. With all due respect..." A Gallade interrupted as he sighed. "Your plans haven't really been too successful. Bisharp has managed to outsmart you and our entire navy time and time again. We have already lost so many ships because of this. And they have an entire backup grand fleet that they can call upon at any moment."
"Yikes. Is it really that bad?" Pinkie winced.
"Nonsense!" Gumshoos yelled. "My plans are still perfect! It's just that...Bisharp can be unpredictable. That is all."
"I have to agree with him, sir." Another Gallade chimed in. "To be completely honest...you're a terrible strategist."
"Oh!" Gumshoos jerked back as he had been stabbed by words.
"You've gotten most of our ships destroyed." A third Gallade spoke as all the Gallade's were giving their honest opinions about Officer Gumshoos and his plans.
"Gah!" He was stabbed yet again.
"Our only remaining ship is still recovering from the previous battle and it still has yet to be repaired after months."
"Oof!"
"And we have retreated from them so many times, that we've lost count. These aren't even battles any more. They're essentially one-sided annihilation."
"Mmmrgh!" Gumshoos turned around as he bit his hand.
"You all have it rough, don't you?" Rarity said to them.
"Mhm." All the Gallade's nodded.
"Alright! I admit it!" Gumshoos faced them as he looked into the sky. "My plans have continuously been derailed and demolished time and time again! And they have seen little success...and Bisharp has always come out the victor...and we have yet to win. But I can guarantee that victory shall be ours-"
"We only have one ship left and it's still being repaired." The Gallade's interrupted and shut him down.
"Ah!" Gumshoos took the final stab as he got on his knees. "You're right...I'm a complete failure of an officer. How shameful and embarrassing!" He wailed in the sky.
"Talk about giving up so easily..." said Applejack.
"Cheer up, pal!" Pinkie Pie teleported in front of Gumshoos. "You can't win with that attitude!" She grabbed his face, lifting it. "We can work around this no problem!"
"We can?" Gumshoos mumbled.
"Mhm! No shame in having a strategy! Even if they fail." Pinkie Pie squeed. "But don't worry! We've got somepony here who's great at planning herself!"
"Who?"
"Twilight, of course!" Pinkie turned Gumshoos's head to Twilight. "She's super great at making plans for stuff like this! But uh..not too sure about pirates though. Those are new."
"Really? Are you great at making strategies yourself?" Gumshoos asked.
"Well, when it comes to battle strategies, that's Ash's expertise," Twilight replied. But I can still come up with a plan regardless. Pirates or not. We're all in this to stop the Bisharp Pirates anyway and rescue our friend!"
"Mhm! So don't give up yet!" Pinkie mushed Gumshoos's face. "With the best planner on our side and an amazing party pony planner as well, this whole pirate problems' gonna be over in-"
But, before Pinkie could finish her sentence, the unexpected happened. Or rather, it was to be expected. But definitely not this early. Everyone would've expected it to happen far later. At least at night.
The question of where the Dark Steel Ship could be located wouldn't have to be thought upon any longer. Because it ended up crashing through a store, causing everyone to stop what they were doing as the Pokemon who owned the store, bolted out after the ship crashed through.
The Bisharp Pirates were here.
And standing on the ship, front and centre with an imposing shadow being cast over the city was the fierce, cunning and mighty captain himself. Bisharp.
"Long time no see! Sky Borealis!" Bisharp spoke as he immediately instilled fear into the citizens of the city.
"They're pillaging now?! But it's too early!" Twilight gasped. "I haven't come up with a plan yet!"
"Accursed Bisharp Pirates...they always know how to catch you off guard when you least expect it!" Gumshoos growled.
"Glad to be here again," Bisharp smirked. "I have a lot of unfinished business in this city. Especially with all the sweet treasure that you're all keeping here..."
As Bisharp looked down at the city and the citizens, his entire crew had been revealed. Most of them anyway. And the theory of there being a Pokemon of every type wasn't wrong. Bisharp's crew was incredibly varied in Pokemon-Types. From Fire, Ghost, Water, Ground, Flying etc. They were all here.
From imposing Pokemon to cute and adorable Pokemon. But those adorable Pokemon had looks on their faces that did not give any indication that they were friendly whatsoever.
The crew members all wore Bisharp-palleted bandanas and scarves, just traditional pirate appearances along with some nice sashes. But the one who stood out the most was Bisharp.
With a sleek red and black jacket that was long enough to almost touch the floor, a grey and gold wide-brimmed hat that went well with his coat.
Unfortunately, there was no peg leg or eyepatch at his disposal.
But he did have a Chatot on his side, so that was a bonus.
"Alright, you lot!" Bisharp raised his voice. "We're here for one reason and one reason only! Go wild and grab what you can find!"
"Aye, captain!" The crewmates said in unison as they all jumped off the ship, ready to cause some mayhem. They were here to loot and pillage, that much was clear. Their goals were simple and they were experts at executing said goals.
Very soon, the streets of Sky Borealis were flooded with the Bisharp Pirates in mere seconds as they got to work. This isn't their first time here, so the Pokemon of this city were naturally terrified of these pirates as they immediately made a run for it, aiming to get away from the pirates pronto.
The pillaging had already begun.
"So much for a plan! Guess we're gonna have to improvise!" Ash said as he and the others were ready to take action.
"Right!" Pikachu's red sacs were sparking up with electricity.
"But there's so many of them!" Sweetie Belle gulped. "Do we go after the captain or all of them?!"
"Even if we split up, the numbers are too vast for even us..." Rarity said.
"Way too vast...Unless..." Twilight turned to Gumshoos. "Officer Gumshoos! You said that you had millions of soldiers, right?"
"All apart of the wonderful navy!" Gumshoos replied.
"Then let them help us. We'll need a million if we want to beat a thousand."
"I would but...We've been constantly losing to them repeatedly. My soldiers are unable to match up to the Bisharp Pirates." Gumshoos sighed.
"Let me handle that. Ash. Everyone. Can you deal with the pirates in the meantime?" Twilight requested.
"Sure can! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
"Okay!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder as he immediately got to action. By sparking his body up, Pikachu sent multiple blasts of 100,000 volts from his body as they scattered, aiming at some of the pirates.
The pirates that were hit by Thunderbolt had been alerted and made aware of Pikachu's presence. But not just his presence alone. This included Ash and the others who were standing up against the pirates.
In the meanwhile, Twilight and Gumshoos left to gather more soldiers as the Gallade's stayed to help Ash and the others since they are still guards and soldiers at the end of the day.
"Hoh? What do we have here?" Bisharp noticed the ones that were opposing him and his crew. "I see some familiar faces in the crowd but...who are you lot?"
"Doesn't matter!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings. "Cause we're gonna flatten you and your crew and get our friend Dusknoir back!"
"Hm." Bisharp nodded. "That so?" Bisharp then jumped off the ship, landing in front of his crew as he crossed his arms together. Upon landing down, he formed up a dust cloud and made the ground tremble a bit. "I'd like to see you try! I've got a thousand by my side! Yur numbers pale in comparison!"
"He's right about that one..." Fluttershy hid behind Ash.
"It doesn't matter if he's got thousands, millions or billions of crewmates! We'll beat him either way!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hm? You smell like a human..." Bisharp and his crewmates were also able to pick up on a human's scent. "Curious. Oh well. All of you! Scatter!"
With that command, the pirates all scattered in this large city to pillage and loot whatever they could find. There were too many of them to keep track of and it would be impossible to go up against a thousand of them, even with the support of the Gallade's, who were only 12 members.
Outside the Board Game World, Ponyville. The Pokemon Festival 11:50.
On the outside, the board game was just casually lying on the ground while the Pokemon Festival goes on. But that was to be expected. After all, entering the Board Game World doesn't bring the box along with the players.
"Melo?" Meloetta, who had originally gone for some ice cream to bring to Ash, came back to find that he was completely missing. Along with her rival Twilight and her friends. She was unaware that they had actually gone into the board game world via Discord's influence.
The Melody Pokemon flew away, searching for Ash, just to share the ice cream with him.
But with the board game just lying on the ground, it wouldn't go unnoticed. Everyone who passed by it could obviously spot it, but they don't really think too much about it.
All except for one earth pony who has a secret admiration for board games. Although, it's not a secret because everypony knows about it.
That was Big Macintosh of course.
Curious and interested in what he was seeing, his love for board games had compelled him to approach this particular board game on the ground.
And with the game enchanting him, Big Mac couldn't resist getting his hooves on it. But, he didn't want to seem too obvious, even though everypony knows his secret.
He used his sisters' rope to grab ahold of the board game, dragging it along. The game didn't suck him in since it didn't make direct contact with Big Mac.
He brought the board game all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres, where he could indulge himself in its enjoyment. Little did he know that this board game is not what it seems.
But very soon, he was about to find out as he placed it on a table with his Machamp coming over to see what he had brought over.
"Machamp?"
Big Mac was raring to get into this game. Both figuratively and literally. The excited Earth pony was ready to get this started as he decided to place his hooves on the board game for the first time.
And once he made direct contact with it, he would soon find out that this game was not what it seemed to be. A flashing light came out of the board game as it had engulfed both Big Macintosh and Machamp in one go. Both of them let out echoing screams and that was the end of that.
Granny Smith and her Drampa came into the room as she thought she heard both Big Mac and Machamp yell. But quickly came to find out that there was nopony in here.
Little did she know that they were both in another world.
The Board Game World, Sky Borealis. 11:52
The Bisharp Pirates were here and they were already pillaging this entire city in the sky. But of course, there were those that would stand up to the pirates. Mainly Ash and his friends alongside the Gallade's who are soldiers.
The pirates had already scattered with their pillaging, which prompted the Gallade's to scatter as well as Ash and his friends decided to confront Bisharp with the CMC staying close to them all as protection. Going straight for the captain and defeating them can most of the time guarantee an immediate surrender of the entire crew unless there's a first or second mate involved.
Thankfully, Twilight and Gumshoos were already bringing along the navy million soldiers who reside in this city as they were formulating a plan on how to defeat the Bisharp Pirates.
"Wait. You're challenging me?" Bisharp said to Ash. "You should know that it's not a wise idea to challenge the captain first if you don't know what you're getting into, boy."
"Yeah, I get that a lot!" Ash grinned. "That's not gonna stop me from stopping you!"
"I like your spirit, boy!" Bisharp chuckled. "But you're way in over your head, you know that?"
"Over your head!" Chatot repeated.
"We'll see! Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"On it!" Pikachu hardened his tail as he immediately went for Bisharp by jumping into the air and spinning around, going for an overhead hit.
But Bisharp didn't react at all nor did he attempt to block Pikachu's Iron Tail. This was because one of his crewmates, a Toxicroak had defended Bisharp from being hit by using Poison Jab to block Iron Tail.
"Huh?!" Pikachu gasped.
"Sorry. But you're not touching the captain!" Toxicroak pushed Pikachu back.
"Alright. You lot handle this. I've got my own task to accomplish." Bisharp turned around, leaving everything to his crewmates as he walked off back to his ship.
"Yes, captain!" Toxicroak said as he stood in front of Ash and Pikachu, preventing them from reaching his captain.
"Guess it's not gonna be that easy to get to him, huh...?" Ash said to himself as he knew what he was getting himself into.
But, Ash loves excitement and in truth, despite this being a somewhat serious scenario, this was just another one of Dusknoir's fun creations. The whole point of this was to just have fun. Although, rescuing Dusknoir from the pirates was fairly serious since Kathleen did want him back.
As for the other pirates, the situation had already escalated. Since they've all scattered, some of them went into groups. Being that there were thousands of them, it would be a bit of a mess if they all gathered in one spot."
All the buildings were no longer occupied since the residents made a run for it, so the pirates were free to loot everything inside without the owners being here.
"What do we do...? There's too many of them. And Twilight hasn't come back yet..." Apple Bloom gulped.
"No need to worry. I've got something that can keep all of these pirates occupied." Ash grinned as he turned to face Sweetie Belle.
"Hm? Why are you looking at me?" Sweetie Belle wondered. But she quickly found out that the reason why everyone was facing her was because of what Pokemon she currently was. An Espurr. And there is one thing Espurr is known for that it regrets. "Oh...I gotcha!"
"Whatever you're planning won't work!" Toxicroak ran over to the group as he was ready to attack them all at once with Poison Jab.
"I think not!" Rarity dashed past everyone with her amazing Pheromosa speed as she used Triple Kick to block Toxicroak's Poison Jab. "Sweetie Belle! Do it!"
"Okay!" Sweetie Belle nodded as she knew what she had to do.
This could be considered their ace in the hole. Of course, it was obviously Espurr's latent psychic energy that can blast everything within 300 feet.
For this to be done, Sweetie Belle opened her ears up which showcased the yellow organs. Once the organs had been revealed, she could finally unleash all of that dormant energy.
And release it she did.
Just like with what happened back at Las Pegasus during Sweetie Belle's third contest, a destructive pulse of psychic energy shook the entire area in seconds. The entire Sky Boreali was not safe from the psychic energy of Espurr, even with its amazing size and scope.
Everyone in the entire city stopped what they were doing as these pulses were attacking everything. Unlike the Las Pegasus Contest, Sweetie Belle wasn't planning on dropping the psychic energy until she's defeated all of the pirates.
Thankfully, Fluttershy used Protect by standing in front of her friends, shielding them from the devastating psychic waves that Sweetie Belle was emitting.
The pirates felt this immense psychic energy flow through the city as they were being pushed back by Sweetie Belle's sheer power. All the loot they had collected had been dropped instantly because of their balance being thrown off. Not even the residents were safe from this.
The one who was the most affected was Toxicroak because of his Fighting-Poison-Typing, so he was immediately sent flying like a rocket because of these blasts.
But Bisharp wasn't affected at all because of his Dark-Typing.
Either way, Sweetie Belle had managed to put the pillage on pause because of this one action. However, Sweetie Belle couldn't fully withstand the overwhelming psychic power that Espurr wields. So as such, she couldn't do it forever. But before putting an end to these pulses, she went out with a bang by releasing a seismic wave of psychic energy that engulfed the entire city.
"Ow..." Sweetie Belle felt dizzy as she wobbled around
"Excellent work, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity picked up her little sister who was still recovering from using all that Psychic power.
"Ugh..." As expected, many of the pirates had been affected by Sweetie Belle's attack. Most of them were confused and befuddled by it. All except for the Pokemon who could resist the Psychic-Type.
Sweetie Belle managed to seriously damage at least hundreds of them. Not a thousand but it was still very impressive and it greatly helped to make this battle a bit easier.
But even better, because the Gallade's were also Psychic-Types, they resisted this, so they had an advantage over their opponents now.
Bisharp looked down as he had witnessed the entire thing occur. He could see that Sweetie Belle was a major threat to his entire crew since she can attack them all at a ridiculous range.
"Finally. A challenge." Bisharp said. "I've been waiting for something like this."
"Here. Let me heal you." Fluttershy went over to Sweetie Belle as she was about to use Heal Pulse.
"Alright! Now's our chance! Let's head straight for the ship! Dusknoir's on it!" Ash had already bolted off with Pikachu, heading straight for the ship.
Not many could stand in his way now because of Sweetie Belle's actions. Many of the Pokemon were too dazed to stop Ash. But there were still those who were able to continue and prevent anyone from reaching their ship and captain.
A Solrock and a Lunatone descended together as they both used Stone Edge to attack Ash and Pikachu at the same time. But that was quickly dealt with because of two reasons. Now seeing that he was a Lucario, rocks were essentially not a problem for Ash and Pikachu just had Iron Tail.
Ash charged through the glowing crystal stones as they did absolutely nothing to him whilst Pikachu jumped over his partner, using Iron Tail to hit both Solrock and Lunatone at the same time with a swinging motion.
"Nice, Pikachu!" Ash said to his partner.
"Thanks!"
Rarity, who was now the fastest among her friends, ran past Ash and Pikachu while everyone else followed behind. Whether it was the ground or the sky.
All the while, Bisharp saw that they might actually have a chance of getting close to his ship. And he did not want to let that happen. Yet at least.
And of course, none of his crewmates would allow that either.
"Ah-Ah!" A Chandelure appeared in front of Rarity, startling her. "I'm afraid you can't do that!"
"Ah!" Rarity came to a screeching halt as she phased through Chandelure, almost losing her balance.
Chandelure cackled as he used Psychic to hold all of them in place, preventing them from advancing any further towards Bisharp's ship.
"You're forbidden to go anywhere near our captain," said Chandelure. "Isn't that right, fellas?"
"Right!" A group of Starmie's suddenly surrounded the group as they each added on their own Psychic to Chandelure's Psychic. Now things had become increasingly hard for them.
"Great..this is just what we needed...!" Rainbow Dash growled.
"Now restrain them!" Chandelure ordered.
As if things couldn't get any worse, a swarm of Yanmega's used String Shot to further keep Ash and the others restrained from doing anything. Now the thick strings of String Shot had been added on to the Psychic's that were holding them.
"N-No fair!" Scootaloo groaned.
"I-I can't use any moves!" Rainbow Dash squirmed around as she was unable to use Steel Wing to break out of this.
"Hm. How disappointing." Bisharp scoffed. "I was expecting something more. Thought I was finally gonna get a real challenge from all of you. Oh, well. All of you! Put everything on board! We're leaving!"
"Wait!" Ash exclaimed, grabbing Bisharp's attention. "It isn't over yet...! You've still got a friend of ours on board! We're not leaving without him!" Ash had one major advantage as a Lucario.
Aura, of course.
He was exhibiting high amounts of aura from his body, similar to Sir Aaron's since they both share the same Aura. This powerful and dominant aura was just enough to combat the large array of Psychics and String Shots that were holding him and his friends.
The strings had been vaporized as Ash's aura blew away all of the Starmie's and Yanmega's that were surrounding him and his friends. Chandelure managed to stay firm, however.
"That's more like it!" Bisharp nodded as he was thrilled that they hadn't lost yet. "You're showing great signs of endurance! All of you! Let's keep this up!"
"Keep it up! Chatot mimicked.
"Keep this up?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "I'm a bit lost. Aren't we facing off against each other?"
"Sounds to me like he's only doing this for fun," said Applejack.
"Hah! Of course, I am!" Bisharp chuckled.
"Wait! This is just for fun?!"
"Precisely! If there's one thing I enjoy as a pirate...it's having pure uncontrollable fun!" Bisharp raised his arm. "Especially if it's someone who can really match against my crew! I've spent years trying to find someone worthy enough to go against me and my crew. But no one has even come close. I was afraid that my journey as a pirate would end up being lacklustre with no challenge whatsoever. Not even this navy with a million soldiers are fun. They lose so easily. But you lot...you're different."
"Different!" Chatot repeated.
"I can feel it. There's something about you all that's incredibly promising! I've been looking for a challenge all these years! And you all might just be the ones to give me that challenge! And best of all, you're only a small group compared to my thousands!"
"Hold on!" Spike interrupted. "You mean that none of this is serious?!"
"Of course it's serious. I just dislike it when there's no challenge. If everything were easy, it would be no fun at all."
"He's got a point." Ash nodded.
"Mhm." Pikachu did the same.
"Since you've all shown so much promise lately and have managed to take out most of my crew with just one Pokemon...I can finally up the anty a bit. Send out the chains."
"Chains?" Ash and the others said.
The second Bisharp uttered the word chains, the Dark Steel Ship had opened up multiple holes on the side. Out of these holes, strange purple chains that were harder than even Bisharp's entire body came flying out at high speeds, immediately slamming into the Sky Borealis's ground.
The impact of the chains' were powerful enough to make the entire island tremble as they even went through some buildings, breaking them apart. These chains latched onto the Sky Borealis, restraining the entire city as the chains wouldn't stop coming.
Everyone was losing their balance from the tremors being caused by the chains. No one knew what Bisharp was planning except for Bisharp himself and his crew. But from how the chains were latching onto the Sky Borealis, there might be a possibility that Bisharp is trying to utilize the island in some way.
The Bisharp Pirates who were on the Sky Borealis were suddenly leaving the city instead of staying behind. But there was a good reason why they were leaving, which would soon be revealed.
"W-Woah!" Rainbow Dash, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom, the only four who could fly, immediately took to the skies to avoid the tremor. That only made sense.
However, Bisharp with his years of experience came prepared for opponents who can fly. From the holes in his ship, some extra chains came out as they served a different purpose.
To capture opponents in the sky. More specifically, the chains flew at a different angle. This time, the chains rapidly circled the Sky Borealis like a cage. In fact, it essentially was a cage as these chains were thinner than the chains that latched onto the ground but they were superior in numbers.
These chains went into the millions as they had incredibly close gaps with thin appearances but were just as hard as the wider chains that were smaller in numbers.
Very soon, the entire island was caged and restrained by these mysterious chains. Not even those that can fly could escape from here.
With Twilight and Gumshoos, they were inside of the naval office.
The plan to gather all the million soldiers to go up against the pirates was still being laid out. Mostly because Twilight soon came to find out that all of the soldiers here aren't exactly acting like soldiers.
They were all afraid. Afraid of the Bisharp Pirates, that is. Because the navy has been constantly losing to the Bisharp Pirates without even having a single victory over them for all these years made the once proud and brave navy highly fearful of the Bisharp Pirates.
And rightfully so. Bisharp and his crew have a lot to offer other than just massive numbers, even if they're not as large as the millions of navy soldiers in the navy. Those mysterious chains were just an example of the mysteries that the Bisharp Pirates wield.
Twilight could see that it would be difficult to convince these soldiers since they're so terrified of the pirates. And Gumshoos certainly couldn't do anything either.
"This is a tough one. " Twilight sighed. "None of you are willing to fight against the pirates? What happened to the usual fighting for your home and country?"
"Against them? No thank you." A Mightyena shook his head.
"They're a lost cause, as you can see," said Gumshoos. "All these constant losses have really degraded my soldiers and decreased their morale. No matter what I try, I simply cannot get their spirits up."
"Losing over and over again to one enemy without any success can be humiliating and morale damaging..." Twilight turned around before facing the soldiers once more. "Even with your million numbers surpassing their thousands?"
"It's not the number difference at all..." A Seismitoad replied. "The Bisharp Pirates may have fewer members than our entire navy, but they wield a wide arsenal of weapons and equipment that continue to overwhelm us."
"An arsenal?"
"Ah, I should've probably mentioned that." Gumshoos nodded. "Yes, it's true. Those pirates have more than just cunning natures with them. They seem to have an antithetical response to every possible situation. Bizarre contraptions that I cannot even understand."
"Such as?" Twilight asked as she was curious. Very soon, all the soldiers began spouting out the vast arsenal that the Bisharp Pirates wield, one by one.
"They possess massive chains that can drag entire islands and imprison them!"
"Their ship can shoot out large steel spikes that can also explode after a certain amount of time!"
"Their Dark Steel Ship can even harden up like steel itself!"
"It can blend in the shadows, even in daylight somehow."
"Well...this isn't a contraption but...they can call upon a gigantic Tyranitar that dwells somewhere in this land."
"Huh..." Twilight had heard enough. Those few revelations were enough to make her realize that the Bisharp Pirates are way worse than she initially thought.
She didn't expect them to wield such ferocious objects from what the navy had ended up telling her. Her plans would have to go through an overhaul yet again.
But before she could think of a new plan, the entire navy office felt a tremble as everyone inside wobbled from the sudden tremor. This tremor was of course from the chains that had latched onto the island.
"What was that?!" Twilight gasped.
"They've sent the chains out..." Gumshoos whimpered. "That can only mean one thing. They're planning to bring the island with them."
"Bring the...You mean they're going to drag it along?!" Twilight screeched.
"That is correct." Gumshoos nodded. "The Bisharp Pirates do not just steal treasures. They steal islands and cage them up for their own collection and possession. Many islands have been captured by them. And still to this day, they are trapped. They're most likely going to do the same to the Sky Borealis as well."
"I knew this day was coming! We're doomed!" A Breloom started to panic along with the entire navy. They had essentially accepted defeat because of the intimidating Bisharp Pirates. There was nothing they could do to stand up to them and their large arsenal.
"Not yet..." Twilight wasn't about to give up just yet. She knew that there was a way around this. "It isn't over yet."
"It practically is..." Gumshoos replied.
"Not if you keep thinking that it is. There's a way around this. And I can come up with a few ideas that might work. Everything they use other than the Tyranitar is primarily steel, correct?"
"Well..yes and no. See, they use a very specific type of steel. One that is so powerful that it cannot be destroyed by any Fire or Fighting Pokemon at all. "
"What kind of steel is that?"
"It's called Virulent Steel. And it's more than just durable."
Back on the outside.
With the entire city caged along with the island, the residents believed that their days of freedom had finally come to an end because of the Bisharp Pirates.
"Pssh! You think these are gonna stop us?" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Watch this!" She was about to use the move Superpower to break through these chains.
Little did she know that Superpower would prove to be ineffective against the Virulent Steel. And Bisharp was waiting for someone to try and hit the steel. Not just because it was super-durable but because of the effects it gives to anyone who makes contact with it.
Rainbow Dash let out a mighty roar as she smashed her powered-up wings onto the steel chains but quickly came to find out that not only did her wings bounce off the chains with zero damage as the chains didn't even shatter or shake, but she had also been poisoned.
"Gah!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as the poison immediately hit her. It had a similar effect to the move Toxic from how instant the poison was as Rainbow Dash fell from above, landing on the ground.
"Rainbow Dash!" Her friends gasped as Fluttershy ran over to her.
Fluttershy saw how Rainbow Dash was writhing and squirming on the ground as a purple blush appeared on her face, giving a clear indication that she had been poisoned. This was Rainbow Dash's first time being poisoned ever and naturally, she wasn't very fond of it as she was suffering greatly.
"Hold on!" Luckily, Fluttershy could fix this by using the move Refresh as she cast a green aura around her friend. The green aura engulfed Rainbow Dash's body as the poison within had been wiped out, curing Rainbow.
"Ah..." Rainbow Dash breathed in and out as she could no longer feel the horrible poison from within. "T-T-Thanks Fluttershy..."
"I'll just burn it down then!" Spike said as he held his breath in, ready to use the move Flamethrower. He breathed out scorching flames that would usually melt steel in mere seconds. But not this steel. When the fire was released onto the Virulent Steel, nothing happened. It was as if Flamethrower didn't connect at all. "...Oh that's not normal..."
"Now!" Bisharp stomped his foot. "So far, you've all impressed me as of late. Now let's see if you can keep it up by overcoming my Virulent Steel!"
"Virulent Steel?" Pikachu said.
"Right. And I assume you're all smart enough to know what it does from the name and your friend over there."
"These chains are poisonous?" Ash navigated his head, gazing at the chains. "If they're poison then..." Seeing that he was a Lucario, a part Steel-Type, all poison would have zero effect on him. He tested it out himself by smashing his paws onto the chains and of course, he wasn't poisoned.
Rarity was a similar case. Being a Pheromosa, a part Bug-Type, the poison wouldn't really do much to her. She'd get affected but not by much. As for everyone else, the best thing they could do was stay away from the chains. But they were trapped now and they had to get out. But the only way out is by getting through these chains.
"We're in a real rough spot now..." Applejack spoke.
"Alright! Start moving!" Bisharp ordered for the ship to get a move on as he was about to drag the entire island with him as stated by Gumshoos.
The Dark Steel, which had the Sky Borealis in its clutches, began to move, aiming at heading somewhere else. And as to be expected, the movement of the ship forced the Sky Borealis itself to start moving as well.
The Sky Borealis was now a moving island that was being contained by the Bisharp Pirates and so far, there was nothing they could do to get through this. But ideas were already brewing up.
The Noir Pride seemed to have a mind of its own since it was the one that brought Ash and the others up here in the first place. This ship was brimming with Dusknoir's spirit. And because of this, it could sense when its friends were in danger.
So, with a mind of its own, the Noir Pride turned around, facing the Dark Steel as it immediately bolted forward, leaving behind a shockwave that separated the clouds behind it.
With blinding speeds, the Dusk Noir suddenly smashed into the Dark Steel at full-force, penetrating the side of the ship and leaving a massive impact on it. The crew were obviously surprised by this sudden impact as the ship moved so fast, they never saw it coming.
"What?!" Bisharp gasped as he got on his knees, turning around to see the Noir Pride currently next to his own ship.
"Ooh! Nice hit, Noir!" Pinkie clapped.
But it didn't stop there. Since Dusknoir made this ship specifically for Ash and the others and as a way to go against the Bisharp Pirates, it came with its own specialities that could potentially counteract the Bisharp Pirates' vast arsenal. This is Dusknoir's world after all and he makes the rules. Even if he's currently being held captive.
"Oh, so this is your ship is it?" Bisharp stood up. "Excellent! I knew you'd all continue to impress. A living ship with a mind of its own is definitely something else!"
"Uh...I don't think that part is all our work though..." Scootaloo chuckled.
The Noir Pride backed away from the Dark Steel as it was going for a different approach. It was now aiming at getting Ash and the others out of there. And it had one way of doing that.
By attacking of course. The Noir Pride had its own weapons designed specifically to battle the Dark Steel and other ships of course. It too had holes on the side of the ship as they shot out the traditional pirate cannonballs.
These cannon balls were much stronger than a traditional cannonball since they were packed with Ghost-Type energy. Upon contact, the cannonballs blew on the Dark Steel, already leaving some more damage to the ship. The Bisharp Pirates could now see that they had to face off against a living ship with a mind of its own and this greatly pleased Bisharp who was looking for excitement.
The Dark Steel obviously had those steel spike weapons as stated by the navy soldiers. There were extra holes on the ship that did not hold the chains this time. Out of the holes, steel spikes with explosive energy came flying out of the Dark Steel.
The spikes ended up stabbing into the Noir Pride as any normal spike would. However, after 3 seconds, the spikes then combusted with a fierce explosion.
But even with a sharp spike and an explosion going off, the Noir Pride barely took that much damage, making it clear that this was a ship made to withstand devastating results, which further increased Bisharp's enjoyment.
The Board Game World. 12:20.
Shifting away from the Sky Borealis where Ash, Twilight and the others were busy dealing with the Bisharp Pirates, one other individual or rather, two individuals had been pulled into this world by interacting with the board game.
Big Macintosh and his Machamp, of course.
However, just like Twilight and her friends, when being pulled into this world, Big Mac's appearance changed greatly. Not only that, but his Machamp wasn't present here. And that because of one obvious reason.
Big Mac had become a Machamp as he was waking up.
"Ugh..." He groaned as he sat up from the ground. He seemed to be in a forest instead of the usual starting place of the board game which is a standard grassland area.
By opening his eyes, Big Mac was already lost and confused about where he was. He could obviously see this was a forest but that still befuddled him. He was also curious about where Machamp was.
"Machamp? You there?" Big Mac asked, unaware of his current condition. "Machamp!" He continued to call out for his partner.
Big Mac would soon come to find out what had happened as he scratched his head. And with that single scratch, it hit him. His head didn't feel like his hair anymore. Neither did his hooves. In fact, he didn't have hooves anymore.
With his brain being put on pause and his eyes slowly moving up to see what he scratched his head with, Big Macintosh was finally aware of what he had become. From the muscular arms and the 5 fingers, he found out that he was a Machamp.
"Ah...! AH!" Naturally, he panicked and screamed. Having a new kind of body akin to that of a human along with four arms would terrify anyone who isn't used to this at all.
Big Mac's screaming echoed throughout the forest, alerting some of the Pokemon there, who were very curious as to why there was a random Machamp screaming in the sky. But his screaming alerted someone else who was in this world.
Discord.
"What are you screaming on about?" Discord teleported above Big Mac. "I'm a bit busy here. So I need absolute silence during my work."
"D-Discord?!" Big Mac fell on his back.
"Oh, it's you. Applejack's goliath brother. Not used to having some of these?" Discord held a Machamp arm in his paw which freaked Big Macintosh out since he thought that his arm had been ripped off. But it was just a random Machamp arm.
"D-Did you do this?!"
"Pssh. This world? I wish. This has always been a cursed board game that sucks up any poor sucker that gets their limbs on it. But I am guilty of this." Discord wiggled the Machamp arm around.
"I gotta get out of here!" Big Mac stood up.
"And miss out on all the fun your sisters and friends are having here?" Discord had grabbed Big Mac's attention.
"Applejack? Apple Bloom? They're here?!"
"Off to see a friend. But right now, I wouldn't say they're in the best situation." Discord made some binoculars appear in front of Big Mac, allowing him to view from afar.
As Big Mac grabbed the binoculars, Discord raised his head high, showing him what was occurring in the sky. Currently, a sky battle was happening. But not a traditional sky battle in which two Pokemon who can fly go against each other, instead, the Noir Pride Ship and the Dark Steel Ship were battling it out in the sky at this very moment for control over the Sky Borealis.
"Hm. Doesn't look too good does it?"
"Nope!" Big Mac shook his head as he tossed the binoculars aside. "Hold on ya'll! I'm coming!" Like the big brother he is, Big Mac got a move on as he was worried about the safety of his little sisters.
"You go on then, champ." Discord was currently wearing some construction gear. It seemed that he had plans for this world since it had really grabbed his interest when Ash and Fluttershy gave him a suggestion to come along. "You know...this place isn't half bad. Now, where was I?"
The Sky Borealis. 12:30.
The battle between the Noir Pride and the Dark Steel was currently raging on with explosive steel spikes and ghost-powered cannonballs being fired from both ships.
The spirit of Dusknoir that dwelled inside of the ship was putting up a great fight against the Bisharp Pirates and their versatile ship while the Sky Borealis was still trapped via the Virulent Steel chains.
The Bisharp Pirates could see that the Noir Pride was persistent and their explosive steel weapons might not be enough to fully take it down since the cannonballs were equally as strong as their steel.
"That's some ship!" Bisharp smirked.
"Some ship!" Chatot repeated.
"Harden the ship up!" Bisharp ordered.
"Aye captain!" The crew members all said as they changed up their battle strategy. Over at the Orlop, the lowest deck of the ship, a Meditite pulled on a large lever by using its Psychic mind to do so.
This lever would act as the method of giving the ship some high extra defence akin to that of Bisharp himself. Once Meditite used its mind to pull on the lever, the ship began to change in texture.
Starting from the back, the oak wood around the ship was being overtaken by a hard metallic substance that started spreading like a virus at lightning speeds.
Very soon, the Dark Steel had lived up to its name as the entire ship was now made entirely out of steel. More specifically, Virulent Steel. The same exact steel that was also highly durable and apart of the chains. With this massive increase in defence, the Ghost-cannonballs weren't as effective anymore. Upon contact, they barely managed to damage the ship, even when the Ghost energy erupted out of it after the explosion.
With the cannonballs no longer dealing that much damage, the Dark Steel had a major advantage as they were now the ones coming out on top as the steel spikes had been enhanced because of the ship's hardening. Now the spikes were strong enough to really leave an impact on the Noir Pride. And of course, they were packed with Virulent Steel as well.
"Oh my! The cannonballs aren't working as much anymore!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Darn it! There has to be a way we can help!" Ash began shaking the Virulent Chains, frustrated that nothing was breaking or melting it at all.
"It won't burn at all!" Scootaloo said as she and Spike were trying everything to get past these chains. "What do we do?!"
"My Iron Tail won't even work!" Pikachu said as he kept trying to break through the chains with Iron Tail. Thankfully, Iron Tail was a Steel-Type move, so the Poison didn't reach Pikachu.
"Come on think..." Ash was digging deep in his head, trying to find a way to break everyone free of the chains and help the Noir Pride.
Then it hit him. Years of experience can always benefit someone. And Ash is just one of those many examples of a seasoned trainer.
He looked over at Pinkie Pie specifically and hatched an idea.
"Pinkie!" Ash called for Pinkie.
"Yeah?!"
"Turn into a Ghost-Type and phase through the steel!"
"Huh?" Pinkie took one second to receive those words. "Oooh! I get what you mean!" She understood what Ash was getting at as she transformed herself into a Shuppet.
It was true that not even a Fighting-Type or Fire-Type could even hope to breakthrough or melt the Virulent Steel. However, at the end of the day, the chains are physical solid objects and if there is one major advantage that all Ghost's have is that they can phase through any physical matter with their intangibility.
And that's exactly what Pinkie Pie did. By becoming a Shuppet, she phased right through the Virulent Steel chains, escaping them Sky Borealis as she could finally move around freely.
"I'll head on board to see if I can find Dusknoir..." Pinkie Pie whispered, not trying to grab Bisharp's attention. Luckily, Bisharp was focused on the Noir Pride and Fluttershy with her Audino feelers could pick up on it.
"Okay...Good luck." Fluttershy nodded as Pinkie Pie flew off.
But, she was in hot water right now. Because the steel spikes were still being fired from the ship with constant explosions going off. So for Pinkie Pie to even reach the Dark Steel, she would have to evade the spikes and even the Noir Pride's cannonballs.
Luckily, Shuppet is a relatively small Pokemon so it wouldn't be too much of a problem and she still had her intangibility to rely on. However, the spikes and cannonballs were moving at high speeds and the explosion of Ghost energy from the cannonballs will most certainly affect her due to its wide radius.
"Wagh!" Pinkie Pie screamed as she was almost grazed by a passing steel spike. She would have to avoid more than just one as they were flying by like lightning.
As for the Noir Pride, despite it taking a beating from the enhanced steel spikes, it wasn't going down so easily. However, if this keeps up, the Noir Pride will surely be the first ship to fall in this sky battle.
So, the ship decided to change its approach. There was no way its Ghost cannonballs were breaking through the metal of the Dark Steel. However, sometimes the best form of attack is using an opponents' own attack against them.
Since the Noir Pride was essentially just Dusknoir in the form of a ship with its spirit lurking within, this meant that it carried its traits. And one of those traits is what Dusknoir is famous for.
The cannons inside of the Noir Pride retracted as the Ghost cannonballs had stopped firing at the Dark Steel. This made Bisharp curious as he was wondering why the ship had stopped attacking them.
The holes inside of the Noir Pride stayed open because it was soon revealed that it had a second weapon source that complimented the Gripper Pokemon Dusknoir.
Out of the holes, shadow hands came flying out as they resembled Dusknoir's hands. These Ghost hands passed by Pinkie Pie who watched them fly by while leaving a shadow trail.
These Ghost hands then grabbed onto the steel spikes that were heading towards the Noir Pride, gripping onto them like how Dusknoir grips onto its foes.
"Oh!" Bisharp's eyes widened as he did not see this coming. Neither did Pinkie and the others who were witnessing this sky battle.
But it went a step further. The shadow hands threw the steel spikes right back at the Dark Steel at full-force, using their own weapons against them.
And of course, the steel was sharp enough to pierce through the Dark Steel as they were made from the same substance after all. One of the spikes ended up stabbing into the holes where the spikes would come out, plugging it.
"Oh! It's plugged some of our holes, captain!" A Nidorina said.
"This ship's not just alive...it's smart. I like that!" Bisharp cackled.
"Now's my chance..." Pinkie Pie saw that there were fewer spikes flying out of the ship this time and no cannonballs. This gave her a better chance at making it onto the Dark Steel.
Pinkie advanced as she used intangibility to avoid some of the remaining spikes. With Shuppet's small body, she was able to move at a nimble pace as she either swayed, ascended or descended to evade the spikes.
Finally, thanks to the Noir Pride's efforts on plugging the holes, Pinkie Pie was able to reach the Dark Steel Ship. But she didn't enter on top. Instead, she passed through the lower decks, trying to act stealthily so that no one spots her.
The Berth. The sleeping and living quarters below the main deck or built-in bed on a ship where the pirates rest for the night after a hard day of work.
Pinkie entered here instead as no one was resting here at the moment since they were all too occupied on battling the Noir Pride. A perfect opportunity to sneak in.
Once inside, Pinkie immediately turned herself back into a Mew as she was ready to search for Dusknoir.
"Dusknoir! You in here?!" Pinkie Pie called for her friend, hoping for a response. But so far, she didn't receive one. So Pinkie decided to venture in the Berth to find Dusknoir, if he was in this part of the ship, that is.
The aura the ship was giving off just radiated menacing vibes. A hollow and eerie sound echoed through Pinkie Pie's ears. It was almost as if the ship was telling her to leave.
While Pinkie Pie was floating through the Berth, she could hear the battle happening outside as the Noir Pride was still sending some of the spikes back at the Dark Steel. Each tremble made Pinkie Pie pause before continuing to float on.
To really know how fierce this battle was, one of the spikes managed to travel straight through the Dark Steel almost hit Pinkie Pie as she squealed. The spike that nearly hit her travelled through the entire ship, flying off to who-knows-where.
Seeing that she had almost been taken out by that passing steel spike and that she was in enemy territory while a ferocious battle in the sky is raging on, Pinkie knew she had to get a move on fast and find Dusknoir.
Meanwhile, back outside, Bisharp could see that the Noir Pride might end up emerging victorious if they keep following the same approach. A change in strategy was needed.
"Feh! Latch the chains on that ship!" Bisharp order.
"Latch!" Chatot mimicked.
With that order, the crew members who were operating the equipment switched from the spikes to the chains. The spikes were no longer being fired from the ship which prompted the Noir Pride to keep its shadowy hands on hold, for now, anticipating the next attack. Although, the hands still had some steel spikes in their grasp as they were using them as extra weapons.
It wouldn't have to wait much longer as the same Virulent Steel spikes that latched onto the Sky Borealis were sent towards the Noir Pride as well.
Naturally, the Noir Pride was ready to grip onto these chains to prevent them from restraining. The shadow hands managed to catch some of the chains, but not all of them.
The chains that managed to get past the hands had latched onto the Noir Pride, just like how they latched onto the Sky Borealis. The chains had hit the parts of the ship that were already damaged as the Noir Pride was starting to weaken little by little.
"We've got you right where we want you..." Bisharp muttered. "Now! Ascend at once!"
"Aye, captain!" The crew members said in unison.
The plan was simple. Restrain the Noir Pride. With the Dark Steel now latching onto the Noir Pride with its chains, it had both the ship and Sky Borealis in its clutches.
However, the Noir Pride wasn't giving up so easily. It still had some chains and spikes being gripped by its shadow hands. It wouldn't allow the Dark Steel to hold it back.
"Seriously?!" A Wartortle gasped. "Those were all of our chains! That ship is-"
"Excellent!" Bisharp interrupted. "This is what I need!"
"What I need!" said Chatot.
"That ship...it wouldn't hurt to add to our fleet actually..." Bisharp smirked as he chuckled. He was truly impressed with how the Noir Pride acted. It was almost as versatile as his own ship, perhaps even on the same level or more. Having a ship like that would make them stronger than ever.
But while Bisharp was thinking of adding it to his fleet, the Noir Pride was about to pull off a highly risky move. The ship was fully aware of the chains inside of it as it had a functioning mind somehow.
With enough time, the ship had finally figured out how to free the residents of the Sky Borealis. It did this by using the shadow hands that had the spikes in their grasp and throwing them directly at the chains that held the Sky Borealis.
Bisharp gasped as he saw the spikes travel at blinding speeds, moving in a different direction that wasn't aiming at their ship. In just a few seconds, the steel spikes had connected with the chains, exploding upon contact when hit.
The steel spikes were potent enough to actually rattle the Virulent Chains. But it didn't actually break through the chains. The ship knew that and that is why it actually threw the spikes at the chains to weaken them instead of breaking them.
The chains had been chipped with slight cracks forming around them. It was a clear sign that the steel spikes from Bisharp's ship were the ace in the hole.
With the chains weakened, they were no longer in perfect condition as they were now at a much weaker state than they were before.
"That ship's a pretty fast adaptor..." Bisharp looked over at the Sky Borealis and the Noir Pride. Now that the Noir Pride knew of a way to break the chains, Bisharp decided not to use the spikes any further. The Noir Pride will just capitalize on it and simply free the Sky Borealis.
"What do we do now captain?" A Sneasel asked.
"Hold your fire." Bisharp stepped forward as Chatot flew off his shoulder. "I'll be commandeering that ship..."
Bisharp decided that the only way to stop the ship from attacking was to control the entire ship itself. So, he went over to do just that by jumping high into the air.
The Noir Pride could tell that Bisharp was heading straight for it, so as a defence mechanism, it used its shadow hands to try and stop the Captain from landing on board.
But Bisharp had his own counter in the form of Night Slash. With his bladed arms being surrounded in dark energy, Bisharp slashed the shadow hands each time they even got near him. Left and right, up and down, Bisharp's precision was immaculate with heavy focus.
With the NIght Slashes fending off the hands, Bisharp had landed on board of the Noir Pride, commandeering it for himself.
"Now then!" He bellowed. "I'd like to see what you have in-"
Before Bisharp could finish his sentence, the ship continued with its efforts of stopping Captain Bisharp, even if he was on board. The Noir Pride decided to flip itself upside down which obviously shocked Bisharp as he didn't expect that.
"W-Woah!" Bisharp's eyes widened as he had been outplayed by a ship while he was currently falling through the air.
"CAPTAIN!" The entire crew yelled in unison as they witnessed their captain fall.
"N-Not bad... you accursed ship!" Bisharp paid his respects to the ship as he fell through the clouds. With their captain falling through the sky, the pirates immediately ceased attacking the Noir Pride as they focused on getting their captain back.
The Dark Steel Ship was angled downwards as they were going after Bisharp. If it were to move, the Sky Borealis along with the Noir Pride will be dragged along because of the chains.
"Now's our chance!" Ash saw that the chains were weak because of the Noir Pride throwing the spikes onto them. He took the opportunity to try and see if he could break through them as they are now.
Ash put his hands together, creating a blue ball of energy in between them. This wasn't the first time he had ever conjured up a ball of aura, but it would certainly be the first time he's fired one.
Ash then fired the Aura Sphere from his hands as he was pushed back by the strength of his own attack. The Aura Sphere travelled at Mach speeds as it made contact with the Virulent Chains. Thanks to the Noir Pride's actions, the Aura Sphere actually managed to break through the chains, obliterating them into nothing. Now there were open spots for them to freely move in.
"Yes, it worked!" Ash cheered.
"Wait, really?" Spike turned to the chains as he decided to try and use Flamethrower to see if the chains would melt this time. Lo and behold, when he breathed those scorching flames onto the Virulent Chains, they melted apart. "Oh, great!"
"In that case..." Rarity started going wild as she used destructive legs to kick each of the chains apart. Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Pikachu started doing the same with Ember, Steel Wing and Iron Tail.
All the while, the Dark Steel Ship had found the right angle as it was ready to fly off. However, the Noir Pride wouldn't let that happen as it used its shadow hands to grab onto the ship, holding it in place. The crew turned to see how the hands of the Noir Pride were restraining them in somewhat cruel irony.
With the ship restrained, that gave Ash and the others plenty of time to continue destroying the chains that were holding down the Sky Borealis.
"What about the chains underneath?!" Sweetie Belle asked. "They haven't been hit by the spikes!"
"She's right. They're still in perfect condition!" Rarity replied as she broke some more chains.
"Then we'll break them ourselves!" Ash turned to face the Dark Steel Ship and the Noir Pride.
"What do you mean by that, Ash?" Fluttershy questioned. "You're not going to try anything daring again, are you?!"
"No need to worry! I've got an idea! But it involves us getting on that ship. Sweetie Belle. Get ready for another Psychic pulse."
"Okay!" Sweetie Belle nodded in understanding.
"You all go on along." Rarity shattered a chain. "Spike and I can clear out the rest of the chains here.
"Alright! Thanks! Let's go!" Ash was about to yet again perform another risky move like he always does. This time, alongside Rainbow Dash.
Ash and Pikachu jumped on Rainbow Dash's back as she was going to fly over towards the Dark Steel. They were heading into deep enemy territory now as they left the Sky Borealis, heading straight for the enemy ship.
Applejack used the vines of Sceptile to latch onto the Dark Steel Ship as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Emolga held on to her as a ride. Applejack took off by using the vines as means to propel herself forward while Rarity and Spike continued to destroy the chains with Fluttershy using Refresh to heal Rarity of the poison status each time she hit the chains.
It didn't take long for Rainbow Dash, Ash and Pikachu to reach the Dark Steel thanks to Rainbow's increased flying as a Braviary, so they were already at their needed destination.
Ash and Pikachu jumped off of Rainbow Dash's back as they both readied themselves for a Thunderbolt and Aura Sphere from above.
The pirates all turned their attention away from the Noir Pride and towards Ash and Rainbow Dash who were above them all. Rainbow Dash was going to use Superpower while Ash and Pikachu would use Aura Sphere and Thunderbolt.
At the same time, Ash and Rainbow Dash pulled off their moves, with Rainbow Dash diving down with her talons ignited with energy and Ash tossing a large ball of Aura down. With their combined might their moves connected with the metal of the ship, causing a powerful shockwave that unfortunately, wasn't enough to fully break the metal but was powerful enough to blow the crewmates away.
Sweetie Belle pitched in by using Espurr's hidden psychic abilities to once again send powerful blasts of psychic energy that filled the entire ship with aggressive pulses. Only the Pokemon who were either immune or able to resist the psychic pulses weren't that affected. But the ones who couldn't handle it were temporarily stunned or either blown back by it depending on the type.
Ash and the others then landed as they were all on board the ship with menacing grins on their faces. From how they were smiling, now that they were on enemy territory, they had all the time in the world to just go absolutely wild on this ship. But not too wild. Pinkie Pie is still on here and potentially Dusknoir.
"You're gonna give Dusknoir back to us now!" Rainbow Dash hardened her wings by using Steel Wing.
The pirates, for the first time, were actually showing signs of struggle. Their captain had just fallen off, a ship was currently restraining them, the chains they used to hold the Sky Borealis down had been destroyed and they were now under attack, even though they outnumber Ash and his friends.
But even that number didn't matter since Sweetie Belle's psychic blasts had already dealt with so many of the crew members in just a few seconds.
The pirates decided that if they wanted to get their captain back without any interruptions, they would have to deal with the current situation. Starting with Ash's crew.
Meanwhile, with Twilight, she and the entire navy had felt the tremors of the battle. All this chaos happening up in the sky was enough to make Twilight curious about the current situation as her plans were put on hold.
"A-Are they winning?!" Gumshoos stuttered.
"Hold on!" Twilight quickly ran outside to see what exactly was going on. She was hoping that her friends were succeeding against the pirates and they weren't being beaten in a one-sided match.
By rushing out of the navy office, Twilight Sparkle quickly came to find out that the battle was currently in favour of her friends. She saw the Noir Pride holding down the ship and the spikes with its shadow hands along with Rarity and Spike breaking and melting apart the remaining chains that were right in front of them. Except for the lower ones, that is.
Seeing this made Twilight realize that this is what she needed to motivate the soldiers. The only reason they were really scared of the Bisharp Pirates was because of their nigh-unbeatable arsenal. She ran back inside to break the good news for them.
"Alright, you all! You'd better get those spirits back up. Because we're winning!"
"...We are?" A Swellow said.
"Sure are. My friends have already broken and melted most of the chains! You know...those Virulent Steel chains that were apparently unbreakable?"
"Impossible! We've never managed to overcome them at all!" A Heliolisk shook his head. "Cannons don't even work on them!"
"Well take a look for yourselves and tell me if it's impossible." Twilight led Gumshoos and the entire navy to witness what was currently ongoing.
Once she brought them outside, they were gifted with the glorious sight of Twilight's friends going up against the Bisharp Pirates and actually succeeding. What they thought was impossible, was truly possible. Naturally, their jaws dropped.
"See? Not so unbeatable are they? My friends are limited in size compared to your millions and they're out there doing their best to save this city and rescue another friend of ours. And they were winning too! If they can do it, can't you?"
With those words, Twilight was able to spark something up inside of the navy soldiers who were all so intimidated by the Bisharp Pirates. But seeing Twilight's friends perform actions such as these and considering that they didn't have millions of members, neither were they apart of the navy, made it a bit embarrassing to the actual navy soldiers as their courage had just left them.
But Twilight's words brought that courage back.
The soldiers each looked at each other, knowing that there was absolutely no way they should be outperformed by those who aren't even apart of their navy. The seemingly unbeatable arsenal of the Bisharp Pirates was being counteracted as shown by the steel spikes stabbing into the Dark Steel Ship and the broken chains.
With their courage back, the navy soldiers decided to stand tall and continue fighting for what they stand for as they all faced Twilight and Gumshoos with proud faces.
"That's more like it." Twilight nodded. "Are you all ready to finally put those pirates behind bars?"
"Yes, ma'am!" They all said in unison as they immediately readjusted their armour before rushing off to grab the only ship they had left. It was in poor condition and still being repaired but it was all they could use. And now with their courage back, they were willing to risk everything to protect what they love.
"I don't know how much I can thank you, Twilight Sparkle. Oh, sorry. Princess Twilight Sparkle." Gumshoos bowed his head. "You've sparked up the bravery and spirit within my soldiers once more. I am in your gratitude!" He began tearing up.
"You're welcome, Officer Gumshoos. Now if you'll excuse me. I need to help my friends out." Twilight ran over to her friends.
Back inside of the Dark Steel, Pinkie was still searching for Dusknoir.
He wasn't on the Berth, much to Pinkie Pie's disappointment. So she had to search somewhere else. All the while, a ferocious battle was happening on the ship right now because of her friends crashing down on it.
Pinkie searched many of the compartments from the Orlop deck to the caboose. But so far, she couldn't find the Gripper Pokemon anywhere.
"Mmmrgh...Where is he?" Pinkie Pie grumbled. "This ship's shaking too much and I'm getting super hungry..." Seeing that he wasn't here, Pinkie thought of one possible place Dusknoir might be at.
The Captain's Quarters.
"Aha! Duh!" Pinkie smacked her head. By transforming into a Misdreavus, she phased through the ship once more, this time, heading straight for the captain's quarters.
She still had to keep a low profile, even as a Ghost since this ship was massive with millions of crew members on board. However, thanks to Ash and Rainbow Dash arriving, they were all occupied at the moment.
But, that's exactly why she chose to transform into smaller Ghost-Pokemon like Shuppet and Misdreavus instead of the really big ones that stand out like Chandelure and Cofagrigus.
She was expecting to find Dusknoir in the captains quarters since Pinkie thought it would only make sense that they would keep someone as important as him in a place where another important individual normally resides.
However, when Pinkie Pie got to the captains quarters, yet again, Dusknoir was nowhere to be found. And the room wasn't even that wide or spacious. It was fairly compact and enclosed. This shocked Pinkie Pie as the trail was colder than ever now.
"What?!" She screeched. "He's not here?! Where is he?!"
On the outside of the ship, Ash and the others were currently keeping the pirates occupied by battling every single one of them. They did not care about the number difference whatsoever as they took the risk, despite the potentially disastrous outcome.
Rainbow Dash smashed her wings together by using Superpower which caused a mighty wind pressure that blew away many of the crew members while Ash was keeping most of them away with repeated Aura Spheres.
Applejack used her vines to grab some of the pirates as she swung them around, hitting their fellow crewmates as well while the CMC hid behind Applejack, helping out with Scootaloo shooting Ember from the side, Apple Bloom using Charge and Sweetie Belle used Disarming Voice.
Pikachu spun around, using Counter Shield to fend off any approaching pirates while also shocking them with 100,000 volts in the process.
The ship was being torn apart because of this raging battle as the pirates noticed that their victory was slowly slipping away from them. And at this rate, they wouldn't have the chance to reach their captain.
The jungle. 1:30
Big Macintosh was still trying to find a way to get up to the Sky Borealis so that he could see that his little sisters were alright and safe. But he wasn't getting anywhere since he was stuck on the ground.
He was expecting to just have a fun day during the Pokemon Festival while playing a seemingly harmless board game. Turns out, that's not happening.
"How am I gonna get up there...?" He sighed as he lowered his head. This day had suddenly escalated into something unexpected.
But what was even more unexpected is what fell from above. While Machamp was walking through the jungle, the chains from the Dark Steel that had been destroyed came flying down, crashing near Big Mac as he squealed.
It was raining Virulent Chains as upon contact with the jungle, they immediately obliterated any tree or bush they landed on. Some chains fell on Big Mach but because of his Machamp body, he barely felt it, but he was still concerned.
He believed that things couldn't get more bizarre than this. But to his surprise, but not by much, things did get more bizarre as something else fell from above. And this time, they weren't chains.
Instead, it was Captain Bisharp.
He crash-landed on the ground, causing a mild shockwave that scared away the nearby Pokemon and even caused a wind pressure to almost blast the trees away. Big Mac, however, didn't budge from this sudden crash and shockwave.
"Ugh..."Bisharp stood up after being smashed onto the ground at full-force. It was almost as if he wasn't hurt one bit. "I've still got it."
"Uhh..." Big Mac was so lost at this point. He was at a loss for words. Especially when he just heard Bisharp talk, which he surely didn't expect. But perhaps, with him being able to understand Bisharp, he could ask him questions.
"Hm?" Bisharp turned around, facing Machamp. "What do you want?"
The Board Game World. 1:32
Big Mac had just come across Captain Bisharp who ended up falling from the sky during the Sky Battle between his ship, the Dark Steel and the Noir Pride. Now he was facing Big Macintosh, who searching for his sisters.
Big Mac discovered that since he was a Machamp now, he could understand Pokemon fully now. With that knowledge granted, he decided to ask Bisharp about his sisters.
"Pardon me but, did you see my sister and friends up there?" Big Mac asked. "They're up on that island with that ship, ain't they?"
"Sisters?" Bisharp cleaned the dust off his jacket as he put his hat back on.
"Eeyup!" Big Mac nodded. "They got up there and I think they're apart of that battle in the sky. One of 'em wears a hat and-"
That caught Bisharp's attention since, among the group who were opposing his crew, two of them wore hats. And he was also the third individual with a hat. Not to mention, the opposing ship, the Noir Pride, was on the side of the 12 individuals who came to the Sky Borealis and opposed him and his crew. He quickly put the pieces together as he put all of his attention towards Big Mac.
"And you wanna get up there, do ya?"
"Eeyup."
"Well, you ain't getting up there on your own without a ship. Your sisters and their friends are too occupied with my crew. Actually, they should've come down for me by now." Bisharp looked up.
"Your...crew?" Big Mac also looked up. He remembered seeing how the colour palette of one of the ships was identical to the Bisharp in front of him. "Does that mean..."?
"Right you are, I'm the captain of that amazing ship in the sky! That I've been flung out of, unfortunately. That ship's a real genius."
"You haven't hurt my sisters, have you?!" Big Mac got sensitive on that note as he stepped forward.
"Pah! Not a blade's been laid on them. But I gotta say, your sisters and friends have been giving me the most excitement I've had in a long time! And if you're related to them...can you give me that same enjoyment?" Bisharp grinned as he was planning on challenging Big Mac himself.
"Uh..." Big Macintosh stepped back a bit as he wasn't anticipating this at all. From how Bisharp was looking at him with a devious smirk on his face, it was obvious that he was looking for a fight. A challenging one at least.
"You're a tough-looking fellow, aren't you? You're a Machamp after all." Bisharp chuckled.
Big Mac gulped as he wished he could just head back home and continue enjoying the Pokemon Festival. However, his family came first before anything else. And now that he knows that Bisharp was going against them, he had to swallow his fears.
"Hoho. That's a nice face you're making there." Bisharp pointed his bladed arm at Big Mac. "But I can tell...you're not all that."
"Huh?"
"You're nothing but a big softie deep down." Bisharp lowered his arm. "You don't have the real guts to face me or my crew, do you?"
Big Mac shared many of Applejack's traits. One of which being honesty. And at this moment, he would admit that he is certainly soft despite his bulky stature, both as a pony and a Machamp.
"Unless..." Bisharp saw that Big Mac had high potential to show him a challenge. So he hatched a plan that would drive. "If I were to harm your sisters, what would you do?"
That sparked a reaction in Big Mac. Despite him being a Big Softie, when it comes down to it, he'll stand up and defend his family with all he has. And with that, Big Mac went from nervous to furious as he raised his four arms. "Don't you touch them!"
As he yelled, he smashed all four of his arms on the ground. Upon contact with the ground, he immediately caused an earthquake so vast and powerful that it not only shook the entire jungle and beyond, but it had also split the entire ground in half with white shockwaves coming out and erupting.
"Oh...Oh!" Bisharp almost lost his balance as the shockwaves nearly made contact with him. He had definitely struck a nerve. "Excellent! That's what I like to see!"
With Big Mac now showing his strength towards Bisharp because of the threats he made to his family, an inevitable battle between the two of them was about to happen in this jungle. Bisharp readied himself as he immediately lunged towards Big Mac.
"Uh oh." Big Macintosh then realized that he had initiated a battle that he was now a part of as he wasn't planning for this to happen. And the Pokemon living here knew to get out as soon as they could before these two start clashing.
And speaking of clashing.
The Sky Borealis. 1:40.
Ash and the others had cleared out a ton of the pirates by knocking them out successfully. Very few pirates remained and it was all thanks to Sweetie Belle releasing all of that Psychic power that immobilized many pirates.
Not only that, but Ash and the others had received some extra support in the form of the Sky Borealis Navy, who were originally terrified of the Bisharp Pirates but now had regained their courage thanks to TWilight showing them the current battle and how it was favouring their side.
They went for the only ship that they had left which was being repaired. However, they would have to cease repairs since they have a city to defend and some pirates to bring in. Even if it was banged up and in a poor state, they were going to utilize its full capabilities anyway.
It would help Ash and the others greatly along with the Noir Pride which was restraining the Dark Steel from flying off with its shadow hands gripping on tight.
The navy soldiers got on the beaten up ship as the gates were opening. With Gumshoos standing at the helm, they were ready to head out and assist the others. The Gallades who were also apart of this got on the ship as extra support. They need all the support they can get.
The pirates on the Dark Steel could see that with most of their members immobilized and getting absolutely trounced by Ash and the others, decided to change their approach. They were still loyal to their captain and were aiming at getting him back. However, this distraction was a massive problem.
The only way to get to their captain is to fly down, even with some of the remaining chains still left on the Sky Borealis which haven't been broken yet or even weakened. If they flew off, it would mean dragging the entire island with them. But that was the original plan anyway.
However, they only do it under the captain's orders. But in this case, with the captain off the ship, the first mate, who was a Darmanitan, decided to take charge as he was ready to order the ship to fly down with the Sky Borealis and get their captain back.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was unable to find Dusknoir inside of the ship. She truly believed that he would be in here. But to her surprise, he was nowhere to be found.
"This isn't good..." Pinkie clattered her teeth. "Where could he be? Kathleen's super worried right now!"
As she was panicking while floating around in the captains quarters, a Nuzleaf came crashing through the room after being hit by a Superpower by Rainbow Dash, which startled Pinkie.
"Eep!"
"Ow..." Nuzleaf groaned as he had been knocked out. With a hole left inside of the captain's quarters, Ash spotted Pinkie Pie floating about.
"Pinkie! Did you find him?!" Ash was holding back a Jolteon from biting him.
"No! He's not in here at all!" Pinkie shook her head.
"What?!" Ash and everyone screeched as they went on pause for a moment.
"Too bad for you!" Darmanitan spoke up as he looked down at Ash and the others. "You actually thought he was on board! How silly!"
"He's not?!" Applejack gasped.
"You mean...we've been on a wild goose chase...?" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped.
"So then where is he actually?" Sweetie Belle said.
"Guess your little search for your friend went nowhere, right you lot?!" Darmanitan taunted as the rest of the pirates laughed at Ash and the others.
"You jerks..." Scootaloo's blazing mane started flaring with aggression.
"It's fine!" Ash calmed Scootaloo down as he was immune to the taunts. "We'll find Dusknoir either way...but right now. We're freeing the Sky Borealis from you guys!"
"Pah! What's stopping us from dragging the Sky Borealis along with the ship?" Darmanitan scoffed.
"Watch me!" Ash was yet again about to pull off something risky that only he would ever dare to try even if it meant the cost of his entire life.
He suddenly jumped off the ship by using Force Palm on the floor to propel himself forward as he flew high into the air while everyone gasped. From where he was headed, he was going straight for the Noir Pride.
"What's he doing?!" Apple Bloom screeched.
"Something cool, like always!" Scootaloo squeed.
"Noir Pride! Pass me a spike!" Ash suddenly spoke to the ship itself, asking it for one of the steel spikes it was carrying. The ship responded to Ash's words as it could also hear everything, especially the words of a friend.
The shadow hands of the Noir Pride tossed two spikes over at Ash for him to catch. Because they were Virulent Steel Spikes with poison and Ash being a Lucario gave him immunity, touching it would be fine.
It was clear what Ash was trying to do. The Virulent Steel Spikes were the only thing capable of damaging the Virulent Steel chains by weakening them to make them frail. Fighting fire with fire sometimes works.
With all his might, Ash used Force Palm to give himself some extra strength to really launch the spikes. Once the spikes got close to him, Ash grabbed a hold of them both as he used his Aura to concentrate on the chains.
Knowing what Ash was planning, the Bisharp Pirates quickly realized that if Ash breaks the chains, they'll lose control of the Sky Borealis. And they're already low on chains anyway.
"Don't let him break it! Start steering!" Darmanitan ordered.
"I don't think so! Now Sweetie Belle!" Applejack turned to Sweetie Belle.
"Got it!" Sweetie Belle, yet again, was the greatest ace in the hole in this situation. She once again released a mass psychic blast that went 300 feet, covering the entire ship and beyond.
All of the pirates and even her friends had been affected by this psychic blast, but mostly the pirates since she directed the blasts directly at them. Many of the pirates fell as their numbers were getting lower than ever as Ash threw the spikes with all of his might.
Thanks to his Aura concentration, the spikes stabbed into the edge of the island, breaking through two chains and weakening them.
Ash was airborne for a small bit before falling back down. But thankfully, he landed on one of the chains that were connected to the Dark Steel and Sky Borealis, using it as a platform.
"Rarity! Spike!" Ash called for two of his friends. "Now's your chance to break and melt them! And use the remaining spikes to weaken the others!"
"On it!" Rarity saluted as she used Pheromosa amazing speed to kick the weakened chains, shattering them in one hit while Spike used Flamethrower on the chains that had just been weakened thanks to Ash.
But there was a further advantage. Rarity placed her hands on the spikes that Ash had thrown, using them as extra weapons. Her Bug-Typing gave her a resistance to the poison but it still affected her. Luckily, Fluttershy was there to use Refresh on her.
The spikes were heavy however as the body of Pheromosa was only strong in the legs. Not the arm department as Rarity was struggling to lift it.
Luckily, Spike chimed in by using his head to pick up Rarity, giving her the necessary boost needed to pull the spike out of the ground.
"Many thanks, Spike!" Rarity thanked her as she and Spike were now taking a new approach. With Spike carrying Rarity who had a Virulent Steel spike in her hands, he flew off with her as they would be able to damage and destroy the chains at the same time.
Their teamwork was impressive as Spike flew over to the chains underneath the island. Rarity used the steel to smash onto the chains, weakening them while Spike melted them into nothing. They would keep on doing this until all of the chains had been destroyed.
"Ugh..." Darmanitan held his head as he was slowly getting up. Not many were left to move the ship or even continue battling thanks to Sweetie Belle. "D-Don't let them...break the chains..."
"That's enough out of you!" Applejack knocked Darmanitan out with a quick smack on the head.
To say that the tides were turning would be an understatement. Ash and everyone had turned the tables on the Bisharp Pirates through excellent teamwork and coordination. The chains were being obliterated by Spike and Rarity, the Noir Pride was keeping them from moving and most of the crew members had been knocked out because of Sweetie Belle.
The residents of Sky Borealis witnessed this amazing display of teamwork as they had never seen anyone go against the Bisharp Pirates like this and actually gain a massive advantage. Not even their navy could perform this.
And speaking of the navy, they had finally sailed their weakened ship into the sky, here to assist the others and to take in the pirates as Gumshoos was standing front and centre on the ship.
Rarity and Spike had destroyed the last of the chains as the Sky Borealis was finally freed from the hold of the Dark Steel after many attempts. Ash quickly jumped back on the Sky Borealis as all of the chains fell through the air. Now the pirates were in hot water.
"This is bad! We don't have any control over the island anymore and our numbers keep decreasing! What do we do?!" A Wartortle asked the second mate in command of this ship who was a Loudred.
"Leave it!" Loudred replied. "We'll leave this island and go after the captain!" It had been decided. They were practically fighting a losing battle at this point. If they stayed behind any further, it would be game over for the Bisharp Pirates. A wise decision as the pirates had given up on the island and continued showing their loyalty to their captain.
With that knowledge, the Noir Pride removed its shadow hands, allowing the Bisharp Pirates to finally move freely without anything to hold their ship down. Rainbow Dash and the others decided to leave since they've already done a great job and freed the Sky Borealis.
The CMC got on Applejack's back, Pikachu hopped on Rainbow Dash's back while Pinkie Pie immediately flew off with Applejack used Sceptile's vines to latch onto the Sky Borealis.
They quickly left the Dark Steel by swinging and flying as the ship was finally getting a move on. However, the navy wasn't going to allow them to leave at all as they were pursuing the Bisharp Pirates.
The Dark Steel was actually not in the best condition because of the Noir Pride using the ship's own weapons against it. Thus, the Virulent Steel had been weakened, allowing the navy to actually deal some damage. Now their cannonballs were of actual great use this time as both ships disappeared into the clouds.
Finally, the city was free of conflict as Sweetie Belle sat down, feeling exhausted from all of that mess. Especially considering the times she let out psychic energy.
"Finally... It's over..." Sweetie Belle sighed as the residents of the city cheered for their victory and relief that they were safe from being imprisoned and captured by the Bisharp Pirates. They all gathered around Ash and the others, giving their many thanks and appreciation.
"Is this what the Pokemon feel all the time when they battle?" Applejack adjusted her hat. "Pretty nice feeling actually."
"Are you all alright?" Twilight went over to her friends who had worked hard to accomplish this.
"Yeah. We're still in one piece." Ash nodded.
"Mhm!" Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"But...we still didn't find Dusknoir." Pinkie whimpered.
"Thought he'd be on the ship." Rainbow Dash said. "Where else would they keep him if they captured him?"
"Who knows. At least we dealt with the pirates." Twilight replied. "It was great that the Noir Pride weakened the ship enough for the navy to be able to stand a chance. I just hope Dusknoir knows that his ship was a great success."
"Wait. Are you all referring to the Dusknoir over at the castle below?" A Smeargle spoke.
"Yeah? Did you see him?!" Pinkie dashed over to him.
"I saw him just 3 minutes ago down there before all of this ended," Smeargle explained as he pointed down.
"3 minutes ago...?" Ash looked up, squinting his eyes. "Hey...when did Kathleen say Dusknoir was captured by the Bisharp Pirates?"
"She didn't say when." Pikachu shook her head.
"But the Dark Steel Ship was in the distance on the sea when we returned to this world," Spike uttered. "It's only been an hour I think?"
"Soon to be 2 hours." Rarity followed up. "If the ship was out there in the ocean, then perhaps..."
They all put the pieces together and concluded on one thing. Perhaps, Dusknoir was never on the Dark Steel Ship in the first place as they all looked at each other. They made a decision. To check up on the castle.
Meanwhile, back at the jungle, Bisharp and Big Mac were currently going at it.
However, it wasn't exactly a normal battle between two formidable foes. Instead, Big Mac was evading Bisharp who kept using Poison Jab to try and hit him.
"Stand still!" Bisharp yelled as he smashed his hand into the ground, creating a crater.
"Eenope!" Big Mac replied as he was booking it running through trees with Machamp's amazing speed and bulk. All the while, Bisharp was cutting everything down to reach his foe.
Big Mac had never been in a battle before. Even when Ponyville was under attack by Spiritomb, Tirek, Nihelgo etc. He and his Machamp look like the type that would be fit for battle, but as Granny Smith and Bisharp said, they're nothing but big softies, unfortunately.
Bisharp pursued Big Macintosh without end. And the further he chased him down, the further he got from his crew, who were currently searching for their captain.
The Pokemon of the jungle were expecting a battle to go down. But after seeing Big Mac avoiding Captain Bisharp, it was clear that their jungle wouldn't be harmed too badly. But it was still being destroyed by body charges and Poison Jabs.
Big Mac ran through a cave as he found it as an opportunity to escape from Bisharp. Hopefully. This cave was fairly large so there was bound to be a corner for him to hide in. That is if his huge Machamp body doesn't take up a lot of space.
Big Mac quickly ran to the nearest corner as he put all four of his arms together, making sure that they don't spread out. Because Machamp's do have wide and long arms naturally. He also made sure to keep his breathing to a minimum so that Bisharp wouldn't hear him.
Captain Bisharp entered the cave with a menacing aura emanating out of him as his intimidating figure meshed well with the darkness of the cave. His bladed arms were glowing with purple poison energy as he was ready to strike at the first opportunity.
"Where'd you go, big guy?" Bisharp spoke as his metal footsteps echoed throughout the cave. All the Pokemon inside of the cave could feel Bisharp's aura as they decided to elude him as well with Big Mac's heart beating at a nervous rate.
To get a scare out of him, Bisharp smashed his arms onto the walls of the cave, making it tremble and leaving a hole in it too. This did in fact get a scare out of Big Mac, but not one that would make him scream or reveal himself. All it did was just make his heart beat faster.
Bisharp kept smashing his arms on the cave walls while venturing it, trying to bring Big Macintosh out so that they can continue their bout. Big Mac was even sweating. He just wanted to go home with his sisters and enjoy the festival with them. He didn't ask for any of this.
"What's gotten you so pent up?" Suddenly, Discord's mouth appeared from the side of the wall as his full body emerged next to Machamp.
"Ah-" Big Mac got a jumpscare from Discord's words as his left arm instinctively shut his mouth. He then began to speak a quiet tone to Discord. "Discord...Please don't make a sound...he'll hear me."
"Who?" Discord took out of his eyeballs as he rolled them on the ground. His eyeballs ended up rolling to where Bisharp was currently moving as he spotted the Pirate Captain. "Ah..." Discord's eyes then flew back to him. "I see."
"Please, Discord. You gotta help me with this..." Big Mac pleaded.
"Help you? You absolute comedian." Discord bonked Big Mac on the head. "You're one of those, um...Fighting-Type Pokemon as they're called. You have an amazing advantage over that waking chess piece."
"I know but..." Big Mac gulped. "I'm not ready to battle a Pokemon...I've never battled a Pokemon before actually. Not even with Machamp and not in this form..." He whimpered.
"Oh, you absolute softie." Discord shook his head. "You were so determined to see if your precious little sisters were alright. And now look at you. Completely shaken up by a Pokemon who you could obliterate with the flick of your finger."
"Mmm..." Big Mac grumbled.
"You wouldn't want to let your sisters down now, would you?" Discord stretched his head out as he wrapped around Big Mac like a snake.
"Eenope." Big Mac shook his head.
"And you certainly won't let someone who's just a being inside of a made-up game world prevent you from seeing them, hm?"
"Eenope."
"You know, I think that deep down in that hulk of a body you have..." Discord made an arrow point at Big Mac's chest. "Past that little soft and gentle attitude lies something fantastic."
"Y-You think so?" Big Mac stuttered.
"I know so. After all, only a friend would be able to tell what their friends are really capable of. At least, that's what I've heard. We're friends, right?"
"Hmm..." Big Mac looked at the arrow as he began to rethink everything.
"Well. You sort this out. I've got some work to do~" Discord was about to leave this area.
"Wait, Discord." But Big Mac still had some things to say. "Can't you just teleport us out of here?"
"Pssh. That would ruin the fun for them all. They've already got that ghost child to entertain anyway. Besides. I'm busy working on something riveting that'll really pop and stick to this world. Toodle-loo~!" And with that, Discord vanished by walking through the wall, leaving Big Mac.
Surprisingly, Discord's words were enough to encourage Big Macintosh. He had the power at his disposal. The power of a Pokemon and his partner nonetheless.
He wanted to see his sisters again but he also knew that Bisharp was a threat to them. So he finally swallowed his fears and decided to stand up as he used Machamp's amazing strength to destroy the cave walls around him.
"Hm?!" That grabbed Bisharp's attention as he rotated to face where the source of that sound came from.
The walls that had been destroyed created some dust smoke that filled the area. And standing in that smoke was the silhouette of Big Macintosh, who then revealed himself to Captain Bisharp.
"Haha. There you are." Bisharp grinned as Big Mac was finally showing his serious face. "Now that's a face I like to see. Hope you're ready to give me the fun I was anticipating!"
Big Mac took a deep breath as he was about to perform actions he had never done before in his entire life while being his own partner. This would technically be the first time Big Mac and Machamp have battled together, but this time as one. With courage building up from within Big Mac was ready.
"Eeyup."
"Perfect! Show me what you've got!" Bisharp immediately lunged towards with a Poison Jab ready and charged up with poison trailing from his arm.
Big Mac decided to finally fight back as he closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. With instinct and a loud yell, Big Macintosh used two of his four arms to smack Bisharp right in the face before he could land Poison Jab.
The impact of Big Mac's smack was so powerful that it not only sent Bisharp flying like a rocket, but it also shattered most of the cave around him and caused Bisharp to fly out of the cave at lightning speeds.
"Oh." Big Mac looked at his hands, seeing just how powerful that one single smack was. If something that minor could cause that much damage, then Big Mac was in a good spot.
However, Captain Bisharp is not that easy to take out. Even with Fighting being highly effective against him, he stood up from the ground as if it had barely done much to him as he wiped the dirt and rocks off his jacket. "Hah! That all?"
"Hm?"
"I've trained my body over the years through rigorous and harsh methods just to resist and handle severe and heavy damage! It'll take more than that to really put the hurt on me, boy!" Bisharp held both his hands out as he was going for a Psycho Cut.
Big Mac simply stayed at the same spot, preparing himself for Bisharp's next move. Big Mac knew his type matchups as Psycho Cut was a big red flag for him as a Machamp as he put all four arms up for protection.
Bisharp laughed as he slashed his bladed arms towards Big Mac with sharp cutting psychic energy emanating out. The Psycho Cut grazed Big Mac's arms, causing him to slide back as his arms definitely felt the slash.
But Bisharp didn't stop at one cut. He went for some more as he started delivering a flurry of Psycho Cuts towards Big Mac who kept his arms up, defending himself. But he couldn't keep this up for long.
Each slash from Bisharp kept pushing Big Mac further back, forcing him out of the cave as he was sent through the walls from Bisharp's pressure. Bisharp was going for an extra-strong Psycho Cut as he raised both arms.
This gave Big Mac the chance to hit his wide spot as he used his two lower hands to push Bisharp back. He wasn't really going for any punches. Just pushes and smacks. But it was his first time battling anyway so he was bound to take baby steps.
Bisharp veered on the ground as he easily recovered from the push. He saw that Big Mac, despite finally stepping to face him, was still taking a fainthearted approach with his simple pushes and smacks.
With that in mind, Bisharp decided to attack at a different angle. He jumped over Big Macintosh, taking him by surprise as he used Psych Cut on his back instead.
Big Mac's eyes widened as he had taken some serious damage from Bisharp's Psycho Cut from behind. This attack ended up forcing Big Mac on his knees as he had never felt so much pain before. But he had to endure it, even if he despised it.
Bisharp was going in for another Psycho Cut from behind by charging it up this time. Big Mac gasped as he quickly got up from the ground. However, this is where the traits of Machamp really kick in.
When Big Mac got up, he was aiming to jump away from the Psycho Cut. But he didn't jump normally. Not at all. Now that he was a Machamp, his jumps were unreal as the moment he went for one, Big Mac leapt great distances in a single bound as he was now travelling North from the direction he was headed. Bisharp looked up as he could hear the sound of Big Mac screaming.
"Hm. Someone's unaware of their own strength. How interesting!" Bisharp immediately pursued Machamp as he still wanted his challenge.
Unbeknownst to Bisharp, he had strayed further away from his crew who were still looking for their captain while fleeing from the navy as well.
Dusknoir's Castle. 2:30.
The Noir Pride had returned to the ocean where it was originally found as it had landed down, allowing Ash and everyone to get off the ship. They came back for one reason that obviously involved Dusknoir. They were highly curious about something, especially with what the Smeargle back at the Sky Borealis said.
"You're back!" Kathleen ran over to them. "I saw the whole thing! It was amazing!"
"How'd she see it from ground level...?" Rarity squinted her eyes.
"You really showed those pirates and got those navy Pokemon back to full spirit!" She jumped up and down.
"Sure did." Ash nodded. "Say, Kathleen. We've got a quick question."
"Hm?" Kathleen titled her head.
"It's about Dusknoir. Pinkie Pie checked the Dark Steel Ship and she couldn't find him anywhere." Ash kneeled to her.
"Nothing!" Pinkie shook her head.
"But a Smeargle said that he saw Dusknoir 3 minutes earlier before we finished our battle with the Bisharp Pirates. Did you see Dusknoir earlier?"
"Oh about that. I lied!" Kathleen said with an innocent grin as everyone was immediately shocked by her response.
"Eh?!"
"I just wanted to see you all go against the pirates! And it was worth it! Dusknoir was inside of the ship the whole time helping you all! He wanted to join in on the fun too!"
"...W-Was he now?" Twilight turned around, looking outside the window to see the Noir Pride as it used its shadow hands to spell out the words I am so sorry you went through that.
"Next time, let's do...um..." Kathleen bit her finger. "Let's do a rescue quest! I like those a lot! Oh, we can do it right now-"
"Maybe next time. Please." Rainbow Dash put her wing over Kathleen as she sighed.
"At least we had something fun to do. Guess our slow day doesn't exist anymore, huh?" Spike shrugged.
"Mhm." Pikachu nodded.
"Well. If you wanted us to join in you could've just-" Before Ash could finish his sentence, out of nowhere, or actually, from above, Big Mac came crashing through the roof, startling everyone in the castle as he veered on the floor, almost losing his balance.
"W-Woah!" He stammered. Upon entry, everyone turned their attention to the random Machamp that just burst through the castle, leaving some massive damage in the process.
"A Machamp?" They all said.
"Hm?" Big Mac managed to regain his balance after that super jump. After taking a deep breath, he turned around to see that some Pokemon and a human child were staring right at him while being in this colourful castle.
However, by taking a good look at the Pokemon, he noticed something peculiar and familiar. A Lucario and a Sceptiple both wearing hats. More specifically, Ash and Applejack's hat. But Machamp also noticed that Pikachu was next to Lucario with the Ash hat. Seeing this made Big Mac a bit confused.
"Sis? Everyone?" He said as his voice was highly familiar to all of them.
"Big Mac?" Applejack and Apple Bloom both said as their voice was familiar to Big Mac as well.
"Eeyup!" With a loud response and his eyes tearing up, he rushed over to his sisters, picking them both up with his four arms and hugging them with all the love he had. "I'm so glad ya'll are okay!" He started wailing.
"Urgh...! W-We're fine Big Mac...!" Applejack squirmed. "D-Did you touch the board game...?"
"Eeyup!" He nodded as he placed them both back down. "You gotta listen! Right now, some crazy pirate is after me!"
"Pirates? You mean the Bisharp Pirates?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Eeyup! Captain was a Bisharp!" He nodded.
"Guess he must've fallen near Big Mac then," Ash said.
"Yeah," Pikachu replied.
"Right now I-"
Before Big Mac could finish his sentence, along came Bisharp who cut through the doors of the castle, once again, startling everyone.
"There you are!" Bisharp grinned as he stood before many Pokemon and Kathleen. The door had been perfectly cut in half as Kathleen hid behind Fluttershy with a squeal. "Hoho. I see some familiar faces in the crowd. How interesting!"
Bisharp now had arrived at Dusknoir's Castle, ready to continue his battle and obtain further excitement. The Bisharp Pirates may have failed to capture the Sky Borealis but their captain was a different story. Everyone was already highly cautious of the captain as his menacing aura filled the room. Although, Kathleen knew that something fun was going to happen as she giggled.
Dusknoir's Castle. 2:32.
Captain Bisharp of the Bisharp Pirates had found his way to Dusknoir's castle after pursuing Big Macintosh to finish their battle. But he ended up coming across Ash and everyone else, which made him more intrigued with his excitement building up.
"I like the look of this." Bisharp grinned. "Familiar faces who also know how to give me an actual challenge! I assume you've defeated my crew, have you?"
"Sure did! We flattened them!" Scootaloo blew her tongue at him.
"Ah! So I was right about you all." Bisharp pointed his bladed hands at them all. "Good! Good! But you should know that my crew don't give up so easily. We lose, we come right back in a few minutes tops."
"Heh! Not this time!" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "The navy's chasing them down so they're gonna be occupied. But you're all ours. If we beat you then this whole pirate thing's over."
"If you can, that is." Bisharp's bladed hands began to sharpen as the sun beamed down on it, giving it a radiant shine.
"I just wanna go home already..." Big Mac sighed.
"No need to worry!" Pinkie flew over Big Mac's head. "After this, we'll head back to the real-world and party through the rest of the Pokemon Festival!"
"Hm?" That caught Bisharp's attention. "What do you mean...Real-World?"
"Uh...nothing." Pinkie zipped her mouth shut.
"Oh!" Kathleen stepped forward. "My friends here are from another world outside of here! It's also where my home is!" She had revealed everything to Bisharp.
"K-Kathleen, why?!" Twilight screeched.
"Consarn it..." Applejack put her hat over her face.
"Hm? was it something I said?" Kathleen tilted her head.
"So...there's another world out there, huh? And you lot come from this other world, do ya? Hehe." BIsharp cackled. "Excellent...I was getting bored since I've almost finished exploring this world. But now that there's somewhere else for me and my crew to explore...I'm about to live the high life! More places to pillage!"
"Like we'd let you!" Ash's aura starting emanating while Pikachu's red sacs sparked out lightning.
"Then put your world on the line and defend it!" Bisharp immediately went on the attack without wasting any time as he used the move Swords Dance to strike.
Ash was the one up in front so Bisharp went straight for him. But Ash was prepared to go up against Captain Bisharp as he put his arm out, blocking Bisharp's Swords Dance slash.
Everyone stepped back as Ash used his Aura to push Bisharp back, but only a little bit. Bisharp was glad that there was someone here who would actually face him for real.
Bisharp decided to use Psycho Cut next as he sent cutting waves of psychic blades forward. This time, they were aiming for everyone as they scattered across the room.
Ash put an Aura Sphere forward to protect everyone while Fluttershy did the same by using the move Protect to shield her friends.
"Ooh!" Kathleen was already enjoying this as she was clapping her hands.
"Let's just get this over with already!" Rarity ran past Ash and the others, going straight for a Triple Kick to put an end to this little battle.
But again, Bisharp is not one to go down so easily. Even against super-effective moves. Being a pirate, he didn't exactly follow the rules of natural Pokemon battling where most of the time, 4 moves can be used. Bisharp can use whatever he wants as long as it grants him victory.
He was able to see Rarity coming, even with her intense speed. He swung his bladed arms forward with Swords Dance, clashing with Rarity's leg. But that was just the first kick. Rarity went for another kick but Bisharp blocked that as well, this time with his head which was very sturdy.
Rarity then went for a sweep with the third kick, but Bisharp was able to avoid the last one by jumping over Rarity. And as a counter to her, he used Air Slash to strike back as blades of air that could slice even the sky came flying out of his bladed arms.
Rarity was knocked back by the blades as the wind had carried her away, dealing super-effective damage to her. The wind ended up smashing her against the wall.
"Rarity!" Spike gasped as he growled at Bisharp, targeting all of his anger at him. With Flamethrower building up in his body, Spike breathed in, preparing to unleash a wide and ferocious flame.
Ash and Rainbow Dash approached Bisharp with Force Palm and Superpower in their palms and wings, believing that two Fighting moves would seal the deal.
Bisharp smirked as he put both his hands out, sending out dual Psycho-Cuts towards his opponents. Force Palm and Superpower connected with the cutting blades of psychic energy as their wings and palm were pushed back by Psycho Cut.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as he slid on the ground. Pikachu quickly jumped in the air, doing a frontflip before surrounding his body in fierce lightning. At the same time, Spike was ready to unleash Flamethrower alongside Pikachu.
In unison, both of them released 100,000 volts and scorching flames from their bodies and mouth as the two ranged moves merged, racing straight towards Bisharp.
"Haha!" Bisharp cackled as he used Night Slash to cut both of the moves in half, separating them in different directions. "This is what I've been waiting for! You're all amazing!" Bisharp ran over to Ash and Rainbow Dash with Psycho Cut in his hands.
"It's times like this where I wish Psychic could affect Dark...Applejack! Try holding him down!" Twilight said.
"On it!" Applejack used the vines of Sceptile as they raced out of her back. The vines had wrapped around Bisharp's body, stopping him before he could land a hit on Ash and Rainbow Dash as he was restrained.
"Hm?!"
"I gotcha! Now ya'll go!" Applejack yelled.
"Okay!" Ash and Rainbow Dash went for another Force Palm and Superpower. Meanwhile, Rarity had recovered from the Air Slash as she ran back for another Triple Kick. Bisharp was now being attacked from both sides whilst being restrained by Applejack's vines.
Bisharp would have to take the hit this time as all three Fighting-Type moves made direct contact with his front and back. With all three moves crashing onto him, Bisharp's eyes widened as he definitely felt that.
Even a seasoned pirate such as himself would take a lot of damage from a combination such as that. But of course, he wasn't out yet.
"N-Not bad!" Bisharp suddenly made his body sharper while exerting his aura as he cut the vines apart with his body, freeing himself.
The aura even pushed Ash, Rainbow Dash and Rarity back a bit, but not by much as they resisted it. "More!" Show me more!" Bisharp raised his blades into the air.
"He's insane!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Does he really like difficult stuff that much?"
"Looks like it." Apple Bloom nodded.
"But I'm not satisfied." Bisharp pointed his blades at Twilight. "Not all of you are joining in. Come on! Fuel my excitement more!"
"No way!" Twilight denied. "None of my moves won't do a thing to you!"
"Same here." Applejack shook her head. "Big Mac. You've got the advantage. Get out there."
"Uh...Eeyup!" Big Mac stepped forward.
"I've got fire. I'll just stay here!" Scootaloo grinned.
"And I'll support you all from this distance," said Fluttershy.
"Excellent! Let's see how you all respond to this!" Bisharp combined Swords Dance with Aerial Ace, greatly increasing his strength as this move was a threat to most of them here.
The battle between the two continued as Bisharp targeted Rarity next, moving at blinding speeds that could confound anyone upon contact.
But Spike appeared in front of Rarity as he used Dragon Tail to block the Aerial Ace, preventing Bisharp from advancing any further. Ash stood back, charging up an Aura Sphere while everyone else played their part.
Rainbow Dash went for another Superpower by using her talons, however, Bisharp used Aerial Ace to move back, avoiding the impact. But, when Superpower hit the floor, it caused an earthquake that rumbled the castle.
Big Mac picked Rarity up as he tossed her over towards Bisharp. Rarity then went for Triple Kick once more whilst being airborne. Bisharp cackled as he headbutted Rarity's leg, clashing with her Triple Kicks as he smashed his head on her legs three times.
"How durable are you?!" Rarity gasped as she moved away from Bisharp. Spike and Scootaloo both breathed fire from their mouths with Scootaloo's being smaller and Spike's being larger.
Bisharp put his arms up in a blocking stance as he took the dual Fire-Type moves directly. The combined flames were super-effective against him as his silhouette could be seen inside of the raging aura of fire.
But Bisharp separated the fire by spinning around with Aerial Ace, creating a gigantic whirlwind that not only blew away the fire but went towards Ash and the others as a method of attacking.
Twilight quickly prevented the whirlwind from hitting her friends as she used Dazzling Gleam to do so. Flashing beams of rainbows came flying out of her as they pelted onto the whirlwind, pushing it back towards Bisharp. The captain gasped as his own whirlwind had been forced back at him.
The whirlwind ended up catching Bisharp, picking him up as he was now being spun around in it. "W-Woah!" The whirlwind carried him across the entire castle as the windows had been blown away along with parts of the walls.
"Now's my chance!" Rainbow Dash capitalized on this scenario as she and Pikachu were ready to attack Bisharp while he was in the whirlwind. Pikachu hopped on Rainbow Dash's back as they both closed in on the spinning captain who was trapped within his own whirlwind.
Rainbow Dash charged herself up with Superpower while Pikachu was ready for a Thunderbolt from above. Bisharp saw the two of them closing in on him as he was still trying to break free from the whirlwind.
Pikachu jumped off Rainbow Dash, spinning in the air as he sent a blast of lightning down from above which ended up smiting Bisharp. The Thunderbolt even managed to paralyze him, making his movements slower. The whirlwind even got a fancy appearance with Thunderbolt lightning it up.
And up next came Rainbow Dash who flew into the whirlwind without any worry. She was able to resist it because of the Flying-Typing as she smashed both of her talons onto Bisharp with Superpower. The impact of Superpower managed to destroy the whirlwind and send Bisharp crashing down as a large crater was formed because of it.
Rainbow Dash caught Pikachu as she flew back to her friends, believing that the final hit of Superpower sealed the deal and Bisharp was down and out.
But lo and behold, Bisharp wasn't done yet as he stood right back up. But he's definitely taken a lot of punishment and damage because of this entire battle. He was durable but not invincible.
"Yes! This is truly the greatest day of my life!" Bisharp cackled as his entire metal body had scratches and chipped parts. "But...all good things must come to an end."
His body suddenly sparked up as he was about to use the move Guillotine to finish this battle once and for all. He could've used this from the very beginning, but Bisharp enjoys a challenge after all. With all of his strength, he jumped up from the air, raising his blades for one final hurrah and attack.
Ash put his hands together, creating an Aura Sphere to counteract this incoming one-hit move. This Aura Sphere was larger than the ones before as it was almost as large as Spike as a Salamence. Everyone braced for impact as they knew the result would be explosive somehow.
"This is the end!" Bisharp swung his arms down as the mere movement of his arms moving was enough to cut the ground and walls around him without even making contact.
"Yeah, for you!" Ash replied as he released the gigantic Aura Sphere forward. The two moves clashed as Bisharp's blades stabbed into Aura Sphere with blue lights streaking out.
Ash held the Aura Sphere in front of him as both of them were fighting for dominance, trying to 1-UP each other and win this clash. Seismic waves of wind were emanating from their clash as the castle was slowly coming apart. A fissure of energy was even made in-between as both Ash and Bisharp's aura waves were clashing against each other.
"Grrgh...!" Ash grunted as his leg was moving back a bit. Clearly, this was his first time experiencing a clash such as this. But one he was determined to win.
Bisharp had a maniacal look on his face as Guillotine was slowly managing to break through the Aura Sphere. But even he was struggling as he was putting everything he had into this.
Ash closed his eyes as he was trying to let out more aura to win this clash. But he wouldn't have to do it alone. Twilight helped out by adding Dazzling Gleam into the Aura Sphere, giving it some extra strength. And soon, all of his friends did the same as they were here for him.
Applejack fired a Dragon Pulse, Scootaloo used Ember, Apple Bloom used Charge while Sweetie Belle added Disarming Voice. The Aura Sphere gained multiple colours around it thanks to the assistance of Ash's friends. But there was even more.
Spike and Fluttershy both pitched in by using Hyper Beam in unison, increasing the size and power of the Aura Sphere. Pinkie Pie used Psychic and Pikachu used Thunderbolt to complete the ranged combination while Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh handled the physical part.
At the same time, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac used their strength to push the Aura Sphere forward with their legs, talons and four arms.
With their combined might and teamwork, they each used all of their strength as the powered-up Aura-Sphere grew large enough to cover the entire hallway.
Bisharp's eyes widened as he noticed that his Guillotine was no longer piercing through the Aura Sphere anymore with how powerful it has become. Knowing that, he let out one word.
"Uh oh."
And with that, the Aura Sphere had consumed him. Dusknoir appeared from beneath as he knew the explosion was coming, so he covered Kathleen, protecting her.
What followed next was a multi-coloured and azure blue explosion of pure aura that was so powerful that it not only blew everyone back from the intense force it exhibited, but it even destroyed the entire castle as a pillar of blue aura rose into the sky, penetrating the clouds.
The skies were covered in a beautiful blue aura and a rainbow that spread out in the world.
The aftermath of the battle really did a number to the castle as it was all gone now. Dusknoir successfully protected Kathleen from the explosion as she was completely unharmed. The duo looked over to see Ash and the others on the ground, still conscious, even after that wild explosion.
"Ugh..." Ash held his head. "Everyone okay?"
"Yeah, a bit..." Pikachu groaned.
"Eeyup." Big Mac stood up as he helped his sisters up from the ground.
"D-Did we get him?" Scootaloo looked over at the large cloud of smoke as everyone did the same. The smoke was clearing as they were waiting for the outcome. Hopefully, the best possible one.
Once the smoke cleared, Bisharp was revealed to be standing there with his arms crossed and his jacket blowing in the wind. Everyone gasped as they didn't expect him to still be standing after something that powerful.
"W-Well...done." Bisharp suddenly spoke as his tone had lowered. "You all did excellently...That was the most f-fun I've had in a long time..."
"Huh?" Pikachu sat up.
"But...next time...If you come back here...I'll be more than prepared for you all. And I'll find a way to your world. One way or another." After those words, Bisharp had fainted by falling on his back. He had finally been defeated.
"Oh. Now it's over..." Spike laid on his belly, relieved and exhausted. They all were. Some more than others.
Finally, after a wild battle against the pirates up in the Sky Borealis and against Captain Bisharp, they could put this little adventure to a close.
But of course, the Bisharp Pirates came for their captain as their ship was seen flying by. They had finally found their captain as they used the last remaining steel chains to grab him. Meanwhile, the navy was still chasing after them. Bisharp was pulled back inside of the ship as the navy ship fired cannonballs at the Dark Steel, damaging it even further.
Officer Gumshoos looked over at Twilight and her friend as he and the soldiers saluted them for assisting them in saving the Sky Borealis as their ship continued to pursue the Dark Steel.
"That was the best one yet!" Kathleen jumped up and down. "Thank you so much! Let's do that again! But next time in the labyrinth! That one has a lot of stuff to do in!"
"Maybe another time...please." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Oh. Sorry." Kathleen whimpered as she gave everyone some time to breathe. But one individual who wouldn't give anyone time to breathe was Discord, who had shown up once the entire thing had ended.
"Splendid work everyone!" Discord created hundreds of hands that applauded Ash and everyone's victory. "I could really feel the passion in those last few seconds."
"Now he shows up?" Rainbow Dash groaned. "We could've used your help earlier, ya know."
"Too occupied, sorry." Discord shook his head. "But it would've been less interesting with me along, honestly."
"Ooh...who's that Pokemon?" Kathleen gazed at Discord in amazement.
"That's not a Pokemon." Dusknoir quickly corrected her. "Are you all okay to leave now?"
"Give us a few minutes." Pinkie said as she laid on her back. "We'll stay here a bit longer."
"What were you even doing Discord?" Spike asked.
"Watching you all, of course. Among other things. You were honestly right to invite me to this world. The possibilities are endless!"
"Yeah, as long as Dusknoir allows it. I'm gonna take a small nap now." Pinkie laid on her back. "Wake me up when we're back in the real world."
The battle was over and they could relax while staying here for a bit with Kathleen and Dusknoir. To pass the time, they talked about how the whole pirate event went down. Some of them were even showing off their Pokemon moves.
Kathleen decided to play with the CMC in the meanwhile as Ash, Pikachu and Dusknoir sat together, watching everyone relax and mess about. But, Dusknoir had something important he wanted to tell Ash. Concerning Kathleen.
"Ash." Dusknoir spoke as he looked at Kathleen who was riding on Scootaloo.
"Yeah?"
"I think you saw this coming yourself but...I need you to do me a favour."
"I'm all ears."
"This world. It's the only place where Kathleen can truly keep on living forever and even interact with others. Others except for her parents. I feel guilty for taking her away from them ever since I cursed this board game. I did it without warning either. To make up for it..."
"I gotcha." Ash nodded as he understood what Dusknoir was trying to say. "I'll take it back to them. Floaroma Town, right? I'll head there right after-"
"Not right away." Dusknoir interrupted. "This might be the final time Kathleen and I will ever see you all again when she returns with her parents. I want you to keep the board game for a bit longer before you return it."
"You sure you wanna wait, Dusknoir? It'd be great if her parents were able to see her and come to this world too. They haven't seen her for years. So I should get to Sinnoh pronto."
"Mhm." Pikachu nodded.
"I know. They should be allowed to see their child as soon as possible. But I'm certain she'll miss you all once that happens. And so will I."
"But it's for the best. After all, they'll get to see Kathleen again after so long." Ash patted Dusknoir on the back. "They'll even get to explore this world too whenever they want."
"That's what I'm hoping for. But I'll truly miss you all. And so will Kathleen."
"We'll miss you too buddy."
"Maybe we'll get to see you again someday!" Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder.
"Maybe. Thank you so much for being here for Kathleen. All of you." Dusknoir's words reached Fluttershy's ears as she overheard the entire thing. She would now be able to tell her friends about Dusknoir's departure.
But she wasn't the only one who heard it. Kathleen, without having amazing hearing abilities, had heard Ash and Dusknoir discussing. Concerning her parents and returning home to Floaroma Town. She went up to them as she saw how Dusknoir was really feeling the impact of a soon-to-be heavy departure.
Surprisingly, it was Dusknoir that was the most scared to leave Ash and everyone as Kathleen looked up at her best friend, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Don't be sad, Dusknoir." She said.
"Kathleen?" He looked down at her.
"I'm sad and scared of leaving Ash and everyone too. But it'd be really great if I could see mom and dad again. I know they miss me a lot. And I want them to have fun here too."
"Will you be alright after saying goodbye to everyone?" Dusknoir asked.
"Sure will!" She nodded. "But I know how we can make everyone happy!"
"You do?" Ash and Dusknoir both said.
"I can ask mom and dad if Ash and everyone can come and visit Floaroma Town and have play dates! That'd be great!" She had a wide grin on her face that gave great reassurance.
"I suppose you thought ahead of me, didn't you?" Dusknoir patted Kathleen on the head. "Alright. I can count on you to return it, Ash. Right?"
"Sure can! We'll be there in no time!"
"Yes sir!" Pikachu exclaimed as he and Ash both raised their arms in unison. With enough time passing, the departure from the board game world had arrived.
Sweet Apple Acres. The Pokemon Festival.17:30.
They had finally returned to the real world. Back in their normal forms and everything. From hands, hooves, wings and horns. Although, Scootaloo still felt the same, minus a flaming mane and tail.
And because they were back to normal, their Pokemon had separated from them as they were all a bit woozy and befuddled after all of that action.
"Man...what a rush." Ash shook his head as he stood up.
"Pikachu." Pikachu was now back to saying his name.
"I miss my wings already." Spike sighed. "I wish I had my own..."
"Maybe one day, darling." Rarity patted Spike on the back.
"It'd be so cool if I kept the fire..." Scootaloo grumbled.
"What are ya'll doing on my floor?" Granny Smith came into the room with Drampa.
"Granny!" Big Mac, relieved that he was back to normal, went over to hug his grandma as he teared up. His Machamp did the same as he picked both Granny Smith and Big Mac up.
"W-What's got you two so happy?"
"At least she didn't touch the board game." Applejack sighed.
"Melo!" Meloetta was pleased that she had found Ash after searching for so long. She came flying in, hugging him as she almost knocked him over.
"W-Woah!"
"I wish we'd stay a bit longer in there..." Twilight growled.
"Great to see you again, Meloetta. Anyway." Ash took the board game from the table. "We're gonna get this all the way to Floaroma Town, pronto."
"Pika-Pika!"
"You can go on ahead, Ash. We'll stay here..." Rainbow Dash yawned.
"Right. Come on buddy. We can get to Floaroma Town quicker if we go through Oreburgh. The gateway's still close to Canterlot."
"Pika."
"I'll fix that. Don't want you falling asleep along the way now, do we?" Discord decided to help Ash out by snapping his fingers.
In just an instant, he brought Ash and Pikachu to the nearest gateway that led to Floaroma Town, saving up a bunch of time of walking through many gateways.
"Thanks, Discord!"
"Pikachu!"
"You're welcome. Now hurry along and get it over with. I want to visit that world again someday."
"Alright. Let's hope their still home." Ash and Pikachu both passed through the gateway, hoping that Kathleen's parents were still here. A lot can happen over the years. Perhaps the same people might have travelled somewhere else. But Ash was willing to go anywhere just to find them.
Floaroma Town. A vivid and scented town where the flowers are constantly emanating wonderful perfumes.
Returning here was nostalgic for Ash. But he wasn't focusing on that right now. He had to find Kathleen's home. Whichever one it was.
He and Pikachu went around asking the residents if they know about a family who used to have a daughter named Kathleen years ago.
Thankfully, Floaroma Town is relatively small so everyone knew each other here, no problem. Kathleen's home was located right near the Flower Shop as it looked just as humble as every house here.
Ash knocked on the door with the board game in his hands. He took a deep breath as he was hoping for someone to respond. All the while, Dusknoir was ready to show himself when the parents were revealed.
And someone did in fact respond.
The father opened up the door as he witnessed Ash and Pikachu for the first time. "Hello? Can I help you kid?"
"Hi. Sorry if I'm interrupting but...I've got something super important to give back to you."
"Hm?" The mother walked over. "Such as?"
"Th-" Ash didn't get to finish his sentence because Dusknoir wanted to talk to the parents first. A ghostly aura surrounded the board game, causing an Ominous Wind as Dusknoir emerged from the game as a wisp.
Naturally, seeing this made the mother and father receive countless flashbacks as they didn't expect to see both Dusknoir and the board game once more. They immediately recognized him at first glance.
"Dusknoir?!" They both gasped.
"Yes." Dusknoir nodded as he lowered his head. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Long enough." The father replied. "We thought you vanished forever back at the hospital. Along with Kathleen."
"I did but...I came to confess." Dusknoir was ready to say what he needed to say. "I'm sorry. I pulled her into the board game without your approval. And I forcefully took her away from you for so many years. I wanted to continue making her happy as you wanted me to ever since I was still a Duskull. That was the only solution I came up with. The only way I could keep Kathleen alive."
"So is that what actually happened?" The mother asked. "She's been inside of the board game for so long?"
"Enjoying herself to the fullest." Dusknoir responded. "Alongside Ash and Pikachu here. And the rest of my friends. I've been doing everything in this game to keep Kathleen happy. Non-stop. But even with her excitement, I still felt guilty for taking her away from you. This is why I've come back to you. So that you can see her again."
"W-We can...We can see her again?" The father stuttered as he and the mother were both stunned by those words. "How?"
"By going in yourself. I want you to experience the world with Kathleen. Even if she still not apart of this world, you can always see her here. Anytime you want. I want to give back what I took from you and-"
"You don't have to say anything else Dusknoir." The father interrupted. "We understand."
"You do?"
"Sure do. We did say that we wanted you to make her happy at the very beginning. And you merely stuck to that promise ever since." The mother uttered. "We know we'll never have Kathleen back but...any chance to see her again would be wonderful either way."
"Come on." The father took the board game. "Let's see her again. We know you've always been great at keeping her happy. So you don't have to worry."
"You two..." Dusknoir was hit by that. He didn't expect it to go so well. He was really expecting to receive punishment for his actions. But none at all. He was so struck by it that he turned around, making light noises that almost sounded like crying.
"Dusknoir? Are you crying?" The mother noticed.
"I'm not crying...It's liquid pride." Dusknoir grumbled.
"Come on you. Let's go." The father chuckled as he patted the Gripper Pokemon on the back. After wiping his tears away, Dusknoir affected the board game, pulling the parents and even Ash and Pikachu inside of the board game to see Kathleen once more.
The Board Game World. Dusknoir's castle. Still in ruins after the battle with Bisharp.
At long last, after many years, the parents would finally have the chance to see their beloved daughter they had lost once more. They had entered this world as a mage and a paladin due to Dusknoir's choice.
And the moment they arrived at the world, they immediately saw their daughter running over to them. Still a child because of how time works in this world. But she looked healthy and happier than ever.
"Mom! Dad!" She yelled as she was moving at high-speeds.
"Kathleen!" So did her parents. With a pleased and relieved look on their faces, the family had been reunited once more as they both picked Kathleen up with a hug.
"I thought I was going to see you tomorrow but this is better!" Kathleen squeed.
"Oh, look at you! Still so young and healthy!" The mother exclaimed. "It feels great to be with you again."
"Mhm! And it's great you're here! This place is a load of fun! Way better than playing it on the outside!"
"I can believe that." The father nodded. "Dusknoir made this possible after all."
"Dusknoir's the best!" Kathleen bellowed. "And so are Ash and everyone! A lot of fun stuff happens here. And I want you all to see and do stuff here!"
"We'd be glad to experience it to the fullest. We're sorry that we'll never get to see you grow up..." The mother sighed.
"That's fine. Dusknoir can fix that. Right?"
"Hm?!" Dusknoir shot up. "Uh... I don't know about that..."
"Either way. We're just glad to see you back. And happier than ever." The parents placed her down. "Dusknoir. Ash. Pikachu. Thank you so much for this. This beats out the Christmas gift a few months back."
"No problem!" Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Oh! Can Ash and everyone come over and play sometime? It's really fun when they join in." Kathleen asked her parents.
"Of course they can. Any time they want." The parents accepted it easily. "Now then. Where can we begin?"
"Well, I was gonna show you the castle but it's kinda ruined. But there was an amazing battle here! But you missed it. Oh! I can show you the Noir Pride!" Kathleen dragged her parents along as her voice was fading in the background. "It's Dusknoir's ship and it's really cool! It's got shadow hands that come out and can grab stuff really easily like-"
"Well. I'll see you soon. Ash. Pikachu." Dusknoir turned to the duo.
"Yeah. Good luck, buddy." Ash nodded as he and Pikachu were starting to return to the real world.
"Pikachu!"
"How about next time, I make it sci-fi?"
"Oh! That'd be so awe-" Before Ash could finish his words, he and Pikachu had been sent back. And that was the end of that.
Dusknoir flew over to Kathleen and her parents, ready to discuss a lot that they had missed out on and to guide them in this world. He promised to protect them all from now on and to continue making them all happy.
And he was good at it as well. This wasn't an eternal farewell as Ash and everyone will surely meet them again whenever they come over to Floaroma Town for a new adventure as the journey continues.
