Sorry, guys, but I didn't have time to develop a sassy intro. The power went out at my place, and I didn't have time to add one, so let's dive right into the story!
The battle between the Trainers, the Guardians of Pokémon Park, and the infamous MissingNo. could not be fully described in words, and words alone wouldn't do it justice. But if someone were to observe it from afar and try to do so, they would probably describe it as such: Pokémon meets Shonen Anime.
As the group faced off against the MissingNo., it became apparent just why Comet and the Guardians got the berries beaten out of them.
When creating Pokémon Park, Comet had let Alfonso handle all the technical stuff. That was his expertise, after all. Together, the two served as the admins of this digital world. Since they couldn't always be there, though (and because Comet wanted to have fun rather than run this place), they created the Guardians. A group of powerful Pokémon who could act in their stead, keeping peace in the Park and alerting the Mewman and Human to any problems. If a virus did come up, they had the power to fight and delete it.
The bottom line is that the Guardians were strong. But the MissingNo. was stronger thanks to its nature as a glitch. When it appeared in the first Pokémon games in the 90s, it caused a lot of trouble. While it was entirely possible to capture it, its presence would lead to multiple sprites of the player appearing on screen. The Pokémon Hall of Fame would get messed with. Nintendo warned players that they might have to reset their games to eliminate any problems! Despite this, people still tried to catch it, thinking it was cool and a fun challenge.
Clearly, no one expected just how right Nintendo might have been. Now that it had come into existence in the Park, a product of multiple video games from several different consoles combined and placed in technology not found on Earth, it had power. Its presence seemed to corrupt and glitch everything around it, and getting too near it could warp a Pokémon if they lacked the strength to oppose it. Worse still, while it seemed to lack a form of consciousness, it was aware, on a base level, of how to defend itself from threats. And it would lash out at anything threatening it, with its blocky attacks capable of glitching anything they touched. Even attacks from other Pokémon got affected when they touched those blocks!
Comet and the Guardians had a hard time dealing with the viral Pokémon on their own due to all of these factors. They only lasted as long as they had because they were stronger and more durable than most people or Pokémon. The fact that the MissingNo. still managed to hurt them was a testament to how dangerous the thing was if left unchecked. It wasn't until Coryn, Alfonso, and the others had arrived that they had any chance of holding this thing in place long enough to catch it.
Play Trainer Red Epic Orchestral Remix (Start at 00:46)- /E3t6Y7zh1LU?t=46
Mega Evolution was the Pokémon equivalent to going Super Saiyan like the gameplay mechanic. In their Mega-Evolved forms, the Guardian's stats got a major boost, making them even stronger than they already were. As a result, their attacks, which had previously gotten deleted by the MissingNo. 's glitch attacks, could now hold up against them. As Karla and Natsu flew above the ground, black-and-white blocks flew towards them like a spray of bullets. Natsu took one look at them, took a deep breath, and then used Flamethrower on them. The offending projectiles caught fire within seconds before swiftly turning to harmless ash.
"Ha! You are not so good as you think," the Charizard boasted.
"All right. Way to spit hot fire, big guy," Karla complimented from her spot on Natsu's back.
"Da."
On the ground below, the others were doing their best to work with their respective partners to take care of any further attacks. The MissingNo. continued to hurl block after block of glitchy data corrupting projectiles at them, leaving them hard-pressed to go on the offensive. Despite this, Human, Mewman, Mermaid, and Pokémon found a way to make it work.
Ferguson was very much in his element for someone who dedicated what parts of their life were not focused on picking up girls. He and Panzer worked directly in sync with each other, the Blastoise using its twin wrist-mounted guns to fire off blasts of high-pressure water that shattered the attacks. At one point, Ferg called out "Flash Cannon," prompting Panzer to charge up his top gun. Then, in a brilliant glare of light, he released it as a deadly beam of energy that went hurtling towards its monstrous opponent. It narrowly missed hitting its mark, stopped only by a surprising barrier that broke the water like waves on a rocky shore.
Jackson and Jonah managed to hold up fairly well, too, despite only being familiar with Pokémon in name alone. Bladedge's cool and collected demeanor suited him well when paired with his human counterpart. The two could do a good job of dealing with any attacks that came their way, with Bladedge's Razor Leaf able to cut through them like they were nothing.
Jonah and Joker, meanwhile, seemed made for each other. In the heat of battle, both found an outlet for their inner sadistic nature. Jonah was having Joker give the MissingNo. Mean Look, Shadow Punches that actually came through from under the MissingNo. 's shadow to attack it. At one point, Joker used Lick on a cube, and instead of getting paralyzed, it exploded.
Marcia would've been concerned if it weren't for the fact that they were on their side. However, she had her hands full with Piccolo. For some reason, she had a much harder time working with the Lucario than the others were with their Pokémon. His attacks were slower, with less 'oomph' behind them than there should've been. It was like something was wrong with their bond, and both could sense it. It wasn't until they almost fell victim to a surprise attack that it became apparent to all.
Just as a pillar of cubes came out of the ground, ready to send Piccolo flying into the air, it was cut in half, courtesy of Satoshi, wielding his water like a kunai or shortsword. As the cubes proceeded to split and crumble before falling to the ground as rubble, they never got the chance. Aqua arrived on the scene and used Misty's Bubble Beam to encase the offending objects in bubbles, nullifying their corruptive properties. Truth be told, that had been all that the kind-hearted Aqua had done since the start of the battle: going where she was needed and trying to contain the damage. It was admirable of her to do so, and Marcia couldn't help but be proud of how brave she was being.
That, though, did little to change the increasingly obvious fact: out of all of her friends, Marcia was doing the least to help them. That was an incredibly frustrating feeling for someone who'd gotten used to fighting alongside Comet regularly! It also didn't help that she saw Comet and Alfonso in the thick of things with their respective Pokémon, slashing and blasting away at the MissingNo. 's attacks as they got closer and closer to the rogue Pokémon.
Despite lacking any magic due to leaving his Wand behind, Comet had insisted on fighting in tandem with his Pokémon. He grabbed a giant branch he found lying around and started twirling it around like a makeshift bo staff, using it for batting away at any attacks. Coryn, despite being a mere Hoothoot, wasn't backing down either, with the little Pokémon showing no signs of fear. He was using Steel Wing to slice through the cubes and Reflect to cover himself with a light barrier so that he could get up close and Peck the things into the ground where they burst apart into countless pixels. Bottom line, those two were golden.
What Marcia didn't expect to see was how confident and sure of himself Alfonso was with Mewtwo. The bespectacled boy had his eyes darting around the battlefield, constantly observing any dangers and looking for any openings to exploit. Whenever he did find a weakness, he would quickly command Mewtwo to attack. Not ask, or told, but commanded.
Marcia had known Alfonso for years, and she knew he had been a frequent target for bullies. Hell, they even met because Marcia saw him and Ferguson getting picked on, prompting her to jump in and stop them. Their fights with Ludo and his Monsters had not diminished their protective instinct. When Ludo tried to go after him and Ferguson, Marcia usually rushed to their defense. It was second nature for her. So, seeing the boy looking so confident and sure of himself right now gave rise to some inner turmoil. Turmoil born from...whatever it was holding her back, and a sense of newfound jealousy at how her longtime friend seemed better at this than her.
That lack of attention almost cost Marcia dearly.
As the battle continued to progress, the MissingNo. began to lose ground. Its opponents were no longer merely repelling its attacks but starting to deal with some of their own. The glitch Pokémon started getting pelted by blasts of Aura, water shurikens, fire breath, and razor-sharp leaves. It was getting too much for it to deal with at once.
"That's it, guys! Keep putting up the pressure on it!" Alfonso called out to everyone. This was it. Soon, the group would be on top of the MissingNo. Once that happened, all they had to do was throw the Master Ball at it, and it would all be over. There was just one problem: the MissingNo. refused to let its path of destruction come to an end.
End Music
As the MissingNo. started to get backed into a corner, it began to shake violently, its body turning a dark, sinister-looking purple in the process. Everyone was taken aback by this, thinking that it was the last thing that their opponent would do. Then, a low, vibrating hum began to fill the air. At first, the others weren't able to understand what it was. Once the purple coloring began to converge on a singular spot that everyone could only assume was the MissingNo. 's head did anyone realize what was about to happen.
"EVERYONE, DODG-"
Comet barely had time to get those words out before the MissingNo. fired this dark, wicked-looking blast of energy in their direction. Before anyone else could realize what was happening, the beam branched off into several smaller ones that proceeded to arc in the group's direction. Only...it wasn't headed for the Pokémon, and it was directed to their partners.
There was no time to think, and no time to give marching orders. What happened next occurred so quickly, driven by primal instinct. Without a second of hesitation, each of the Guardians jumped in front of their partners and either proceeded to use their bodies as living shields or unleashed some sort of move meant to protect them both. It worked just in time.
Karla and Natsu managed to dodge the attack altogether. Panzer used his shell to tank the damage while Ferguson stood behind him. Bladedge managed to use Quick Guard to shield itself and Jackson. For some weird reason, Joker just decided to eat the energy attack. Satoshi used Substitute to save himself, Aqua, and Misty. Coryn and Comet just dodged the thing. Mewtwo used their psychic powers to shield themselves and Alfonso.
Marcia, though...Marcia had been a few seconds too late. Her mind was distracted by the swirl of emotions within her, so her body didn't react as fast as it should've. Had it not been for Piccolo living up to his namesake and shielding them both with its Aura, Marcia could've gotten seriously hurt or worse. None of this was lost on her, either.
"Piccolo!" Marcia cried out as the realization of what had happened clicked inside her brain. The Lucario stood still in front of her, battered and bruised but otherwise in one piece. Still, once the proud warrior dropped to one knee, Marcia didn't hesitate to rush to his side.
"Oh man, oh man, I really screwed up. Piccolo, please tell me you're-"
"Don't worry about me, human," Piccolo gruffly told her. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself." Piccolo's body then began to glow with a faint light. "Heal Pulse!" he cried out before a faint sound could be heard from within his body. In seconds, any damage he sustained was now gone, healed.
"Whoa. I didn't know that you could do that," Marcia couldn't help but comment.
"There are a lot of things that we can do that set us apart from our counterparts in the games," Piccolo told her as he rose to his feet. "For one thing, we're not limited to four moves. Once we learn a new one, we can use it whenever we want, making us way stronger."
Silently, Marcia had to admit that that was pretty impressive. The Pokémon franchise's decision to limit a Pokémon's move set to just four could be very frustrating.
"Of course, I wouldn't have had to do that if you weren't so distracted right now," the Lucario said, suddenly rebuking her.
"Wait, wh-"
"I know that your mind isn't fully committed to this fight, human. I can sense it through your Aura. It's clouded by doubt, insecurity, and worry. It's holding us back, which could cost you your life in the heat of battle!"
"But won't dying here mean that we just return to the real world?"
"That is no excuse for you to make mistakes, child!" Piccolo continued to chatisise her. "If you keep thinking that you can avoid the consequences of failure because you're not from here, think again. If you get hurt here, it won't matter if you're real or a Pokémon. It will still hurt, and you will still die!"
"Oh...oh, no..."
Honestly, Marcia had no clue why she hadn't figured that out by now.
"Listen, I know that you don't approve of this place or what your friends have created," Piccolo continued.
"How do you-"
"Mewtwo told me telepathically," he bluntly told her. "I know that I cannot convince you to think of this place otherwise, but what I do know is that that boy," Piccolo gestured at Comet as he looked over Coryn, "is giving his all to protect this place, which means that you should be doing the same. Otherwise, how can you hope to call yourself his friend?"
That last part ended up opening the floodgates in Marcia's mind as she came to a realization. Piccolo had been right. She didn't approve of this place at all. Not only had Comet ignored her instructions not to use magic to make more Pokémon, but he had also gone behind her back to create this place. Marcia enjoyed Pokémon as much as any kid, but she didn't let her love for it blind it from the inherent dangers. For all the sugarcoating the games and anime did, it didn't change the fact that Pokémon were very dangerous. She had images in her head of what some morally bankrupt gang of criminals could do with just one Pokémon. Spoiler alert: it involved many dead bodies and destroyed city blocks.
The bottom line was that Marcia thought this whole Comet and Alfonso experiment was dangerous, and she couldn't fathom why they thought it was a good idea. She still planned on giving them an earful when this was all over. But, as much as she wanted to be mad at them...no, not now. Regardless of what she thought of this place, it meant a lot to her friends. So, it meant something to her by proxy.
"You're right," Marcia thought as she collected her thoughts (and prayed that their dialogue pass held up). "I have been distracted. I didn't know what to make of this place or whether it was good or bad. Dios Mio, I still don't. But," Marcia let out a heavy sigh, "if it's important to my reckless bestie, then I should care about it."
Piccolo's face remained unmoving, but she could still tell that something had changed within him. "Good. Your Aura is far calmer now, and I can already feel the bond between my Mega Stone and your Keystone beginning to strengthen. Now," Piccolo then turned towards the very angry MissingNo., which continued firing off dark blasts at everything in sight. "How are we going to get close enough to deal with that monstrosity?"
"You're asking me?" Marcia wondered in confusion.
"Alfonso has told me that you are among the smartest in your group of friends and good at coming up with plans," Piccolo told her in response. "He said that it was your greatest asset."
Marcia couldn't help but smile at the compliment, which was beside the point. She already knew where Piccolo was going with this, and she wanted to keep the ball rolling before they ended up getting targeted again.
All right, Diaz, think. That thing attacks anything that comes near it or sees as a threat. It's got no rhyme or reason to it, and now that it's pissed off, it will be even more erratic. And it seems determined to keep us all separated and on the defensive while it deals with us. Almost like it can't handle being attacked by more than...
And then, it hit her. She figured out how to beat the MissingNo.!
"Piccolo," she said as she turned to the Lucario. "I need you to get me in contact with Mewtwo. Tell them I have a plan and must explain it to everyone."
"Understood," Piccolo nodded before mentally reaching out for Mewtwo, who swiftly responded. In no time, Marcia had reached out to the others and explained her plan. Without a second of hesitation, they all agreed to follow it.
Now, the real fight began.
Play Pokemon XYZ Ash-Greninja theme
- /2l5YGD2vkZA
First, Aqua and Ferguson had Misty and Panzer synchronize their Water Gun attacks into a single, devastating blast of water. The blast capable of ripping the paint off the side of a house or leaving a bruise on a person's body, and they pointed it directly at the MissingNo. 's head. When the rogue Pokémon tried to retaliate by using its cubes, Satoshi unleashed a barrage of shurikens that cut right through them long before they could do any damage.
At the same time, Bladedge made his move. Darting forward at incredible speeds, it fired off a burst of Razor Leaves at the lumbering glitch's lower half, and then, waited for it to be countered. But the moment never came. Rather than delete the attack or block it, the MissingNo. let it hit it, making it roar in pain. Or something close to that.
Marcia had a theory. She noticed that the MissingNo. only countered a single attack at a time. At first, she had paid it little mind, but it got her thinking. What if it was only capable of focusing on one opponent at a time? Like, the game mechanics for a Pokémon were restraining it from attacking everyone at once? She hadn't been certain about it before, but now she was. The viral Pokémon couldn't handle all of them at once. She daresay it, but the only reason why it had been winning was that it had kept them all on the back foot. But now, the tables had turned.
The fight began to enter a new phase. Piccolo and Mewtwo joined in on the attack, the former compressing their Aura into balls of energy that started to hurtle towards their enemy. As expected, it now had to divert its attention to this new threat, only to be met with unexpected resistance. Using their psychic powers, Mewtwo telekinetically seized the dangerous cubes and held them in place, frozen in mid-air, until they said otherwise. The Aura blasts quickly found their mark.
Joker and Jonah got pretty creative with what they were doing. For some strange reason, the two had found that the cubes lost their effect if they were coated in something, like a form of liquid. Or, in this case, Joker's saliva from when he licked all of them. He then hurled them right back at their creator like a Gatling gun. It was so bizarre.
The MissingNo. was getting desperate, and everyone knew it. It started throwing cubes and black energy beams randomly, trying desperately to stave off the inevitable. Fortunately for everyone, they all missed. Unfortunately for it, the MissingNo. 's inner programming failed to put one thing into consideration: four of its opponents were currently missing.
It wasn't until a Fire Blast hit it squarely in the head that it realized that it still had to deal with the likes of Karla and Natsu. Vibrating in anger and frustration as it tried to focus its attacks on this new pest, it never suspected what would come next.
See, all of this wasn't Marcia's full plan, and this was just meant to be a distraction. While they kept the big block thing's attention, Karla and Natsu swooped down, picked up a certain blonde and his Owl Pokémon and carried them high into the sky until they were practically on top of the thing.
"Secret technique: COMETFALL SPECIAL!"
At that moment, Comet leaped off of Natsu's back, Coryn in his arms and the Master Data Ball in his beak, and dove down towards the MissingNo. Then, before it could do anything else, he threw Coryn like a ball towards the MissingNo.! The little Hoot-Hoot streaked towards the rogue Pokémon until it was in point-blank range, at which point he spat the Ball at it.
The Master Data Ball took care of the rest. Opening up as it made contact with the Pokémon, it did...whatever the process of capturing a Pokémon was called. It trapped the thing inside of it before falling to the ground below.
End Music
Oh, and Coryn managed to grab Comet and carry him back down. Not that Comet wouldn't have gotten hurt from that, but it was the thought that counts.
Everyone held their breath for a few tense moments as they watched the little PokéBall shake and wiggle on the ground as its occupant tried to escape. But, since it was a Master Ball, it was a total no-sell. At last, the PokéBall let out a familiar *ping* and then fell silent, giving everyone a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ha! You are not so good as you think!" Natsu said as he got up close and mocked the PokéBall. "The burning you feel? It is a shame."
The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activity.
Having confirmed that they had emerged victorious, everyone took a moment to catch their breath and get out of their Mega-Evolution forms. After that, the more childish members of the unlikely group began to celebrate and pat each other on the back.
Ferguson told Panzer that he more than lived up to his name, to the Blastoise's enjoyment. Jackson and Bladedge talked about how cool they both seemed to be under pressure. Aqua thanked Satoshi for protecting her and Misty, to which the Greninja merely nodded its head. It didn't like to speak that often, everyone guessed. Alfonso and Mewtwo got to work assessing the damage to the Park and how long it would take for them to repair it. Everyone had to admit that the two of them worked well together. Karla and Natsu seemed to hit it off well, with Natsu, for some reason, asking if it could provide vocals for one of Karla's songs. Being Karla, she agreed to this request. Joker and Jonah wouldn't stop talking about all the pranks they liked to pull as they got these sinister looks on their faces that deeply concerned everyone. Especially Marcia.
Marcia, for her part, remained silent, allowing everyone to enjoy their victory on this little misadventure. It had a very crazy experience for all of them, but seeing how happy everyone was made it all worth it.
"So, it would seem that you've calmed the turmoil in your heart and mind," Piccolo said as he walked up to her. "Our teamwork greatly improved."
"I guess you could say that," Marcia calmly said. "I'm just glad I got my act together."
"Do not sell yourself short, human," Piccolo told her. While his face remained neutral, Marcia swore that he sounded like he was smirking. "It was your plan that won us the day."
"Piccolo's right, Marcia," Comet told her as he joined the pair. "You're the one who came up with the whole thing. If it weren't for your skills, we might have kept getting our asses kicked until it was too late to stop it."
"Says the boy who jumped out of the sky with no plan on how to land."
"I had a plan! And that plan was named Coryn," Comet protested, pretending to act hurt by this statement. "None of this would've been possible if it hadn't been for Coryn. Isn't that right, little buddy?" Comet asked as he turned around, expecting the Hoothoot to stand behind him. He was, except something was different about him. He was glowing.
"Hoo?"
"Coryn?" Comet asked in concern while Marcia looked on in amazement.
"No way..."
Play Pokemon Red Music - Pokemon Evolution- watch?v=xfeBNwWGmzs
Coryn's little body was now engulfed in light as something incredible happened. His body began to morph and change shape, becoming taller, elongated, and looking more like an actual owl. After a moment, the glow faded, and Coryn the Hoothoot no longer stood there. Instead, it was a new bird.
Pokemon RSE OST - Congratulations! Your Pokemon Evolved!- /h8YDLBY3av8
Coryn the Hoothoot had evolved into a Shiny Noctowl!
"Brrruuu!" Coryn chirped as he said hello to Comet and Marcia once more.
"Oh. My. Corn." Comet's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates before lighting up with stars. "YOU'RE SO BIG NOW!"
"Brruuu!" Coryn happily chirped as Comet proceeded to run up and give him one of his signature hugs. In response to this, Coryn tried to hop on Comet's shoulder, only to make the two of them fall to the ground in a heap. Now that he was a Noctowl, Coryn couldn't exactly ride on Comet or Marcia's shoulders anymore.
"Awww," Comet groaned. "I'm gonna miss letting you ride on my shoulder, Coryn," he said as he resigned himself to the fact that his formerly tiny Owl creature had just outgrown the Pokémon equivalent of piggyback rides. Marcia couldn't help but feel a little sad for them.
"But on the plus side, now you don't have to worry about the neighborhood dogs trying to eat you anymore! And that means no more complaint's from the other dog owners, either!"
And, Comet being Comet, he immediately looked to the positive aspect of things and went back to celebrating with Coryn as everyone else began to gather around, having finally noticed the commotion.
"Um, dude? Is it just me, or did Coryn evolve?" Ferguson asked, still trying to process the realization that the little Pokémon had evolved into a much bigger one.
"Well, he is a Pokémon, Ferguson," Alfonso calmly noted. "It was within his ability to do so, regardless of how he was created."
"Indeed," Mewtwo concurred. "The circumstances behind one's birth do not matter so much as what you do with the life given."
"So, what happens now?" Karla wondered. "How do we get out of here?"
"Oh, that's easy, Karla," Alfonso told her. "All we have to do is head back to the tree we spawned from. I programmed that as our exit point, so we can use it to log out of here."
"Wait, so we have to hike back? Boo!" Ferguson was not a fan of that idea. And Jonah joined in for the sake of being contrary.
"Never fear, my pudgy friend!" Comet said as he bounded over to them with Coryn on his heels. "I have a much faster method of getting out of here that I can use right now!"
Marcia couldn't help but feel a chill crawl up her spine as he said this. Whatever Comet had planned, it could mean trouble for all of them.
"Almost there, and...done!" Glossaryck said aloud as he finally put his pen and pencil down before looking back at his drawing. It had taken him several hours of applying everything he learned about drawing up to this point, but it had been worth the effort. His highly detailed and stylized artwork of the late Minecraft player, Technoblade, standing atop the rubble of L'Manberg, was done at last.
One day, while Comet and Marcia were at school, Glossaryck and a few Spells that Comet forgot to put away got bored. They decided to mooch off Marcia's laptop for entertainment. Their exploration of the global information network that Humans call the "Internet" led them to YouTube. From there, they found the Dream SMP and got hooked. The idea of a bunch of strangers online coming together and creating this crazy epic and taking it so seriously, despite how utterly silly it could be, was very amusing for the likes of Glossaryck. It reminded him of the power-plays, alliances, and drama that sometimes went on with the elites in Mewni, only funnier. Not that he cared about any of that. When you're an entity that's thousands of years old and whose main role was to mentor the keepers of one of the most powerful magical artifacts in existence, none of that stuff really mattered.
At that exact moment, the Universe decided that it was the perfect time for him to get back to work. The UGC, sitting on the table, quietly humming as it remained powered on, began to vibrate and shake as it crackled with power. As the shaking continued, it began to spew bursts of electricity across the room, threatening to damage the sensitive equipment that dotted it. Thankfully, this outburst only lasted a few seconds as the bolts of electricity merged into a single, arcing beam of energy. That beam then directed itself to an unused space directly in front of the table with the UGC. Then, as this began to subside, the silhouette of several figures could be seen. At last, the electricity faded, revealing the group to be none other than Comet Dragonfly, his companions, and the owl-like creature called Coryn.
As Comet looked at his surroundings to confirm that they had returned to the real world, he couldn't help but let a smirk appear on his face. "Another successful test, thanks to yours truly."
"Ah, Comet," Glossaryck greeted him as he floated over to his student, letting a small smile appear on his face. "I take it that you were able to resolve whatever issue's you had?"
"Glossaryck!" Comet said as he greeted his teacher with a big smile. "Yep. The Park is safe, and we were able to do a test on the Guardian's Mega-Evolution forms in the process!"
"Yes. It also seems that you were able to safely use your new spell once more. And on such a large group of people, no less," Glossaryck said, folding his arms in his sleeves as he adopted a look that could only be described as sagely. "You've improved," he serenely noted, impressed with his student's progress.
"Yeah. I just need to practice it a few more times, and I think I'll have it pretty much mastered," Comet told the little blue man as he put his hands to his hips, striking a pose meant to project great self-confidence. The people he was standing next to, on the other hand, did not share his confidence. In fact, several of them had charred marks on their clothes and a hint of ash on their faces. It was their eyes that were the most different, though. Marcia's looked like they were about ready to pop out of her skull, only for them to remain in place as she began to glare daggers at Comet.
Even though he couldn't see his best friend's look, Comet could tell she was super pissed at him just now. Much of his confidence now gone, Comet reluctantly turned around to face the girl.
"So...you're probably wondering what I just did, aren't you, Marcy?" he nervously asked her. He immediately regretted it, though, as this made her even angrier.
"Dohoho, you think?" Marcia sarcastically asked. That little stunt he pulled just now had almost wiped her recent epiphany from her mind. In its place, the knowledge that Comet had done everything they went through behind her back came barreling to the front of her mind with the force of an out-of-control freight train. "What was that you just zapped us with? And what did Glossaryck mean when he said that you were able to 'safely use this spell' on us?"
Comet looked at Marcia, and then, oddly, he looked at Glossaryck. "You wanna tell them, or should I?"
"Oh, please, I insist. It is your creation, after all," the little blue man told him.
"Okay," Comet said as he began to explain. "So, what you guys experienced just now was this new spell that I've been trying to perfect in secret."
"A new spell? Comet, why didn't you tell me about this?" Alfonso asked, a little upset that his partner hadn't told him about what Comet had been doing.
"Sorry, Alfonso, but it was a surprise for everyone. Before I showed you guys, I wanted to make sure that it would work. I had to ensure it was safe to use on all of us before I tried it. Plus, I had to practice dipping down without my Wand in case I had to perform it in the digital landscape and-"
"Dude, just get to the point," Jonah impatiently said.
"Okay, so you know how I accidentally brought Coryn to life from inside one of the Pokémon games? And then how I found a way to replicate that to give Aqua Misty?" Most of the group nodded at this. "Well, I just thought that if I could use magic to bring stuff out of a video game or computer, what if the opposite was also true? What if I could use magic to transport things into a computer or gaming console?"
"What does that mean?" Karla asked, a little confused as to where all this was headed.
"Well, I couldn't stop thinking about this idea. And since, well, I'm me, and once I want to do something, I want to do it, I went to Glossaryck and asked him 'Hey, Glossaryck, do you think that this could work?'"
"I would just like to say that this was probably the first time he ever willingly wanted to learn more magic," Glossayrck couldn't help but comment. "Needless to say, I was on board. And from the looks of things, I say our efforts were not in vain."
"But what does any of this have to do with-" Marcia started to ask, only for Comet to cut her off.
"I'm getting there, Marcy!" he told her. "Now, it took me a couple of tries, and I had to master the process through which I brought Coryn and Misty into the real world and back. But once that was done, I was able to perfect it."
"It?" Jackson asked, his curiosity piqued.
"My newest spell. One that will allow me to use magic to covert anyone or anything into data and then enter any electronic device."
"Say what now?" Ferguson asked as he struggled to process what this meant.
"I am sorry, but what does that mean, Comet?" Aqua asked, equally confused. Marcia and Alfonso, though, understood right away what their friend was getting at.
"Comet," Alfonso said as he tried to keep his voice calm. "Are you telling me that you, Comet Dragonfly, have found a way to allow a living being to enter cyberspace without needing these pods?"
Comet thought about this for a moment before nodding his head. "Yeah, that about sums it up. I call it the Digitization Thunderbolt. Might need to workshop that, though. Not my best-"
"Forget the name, Comet!" Ferguson said as he lunged forward and grabbed Comet by the shirt. "Do you realize what you've just done? You've invented a way for people to travel inside the Internet!"
"Well, to be fair, it will let me go into any device that can store data, so-"
"COMET, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW AMAZING THAT IS?" Ferguson asked as he started shaking Comet even more. "YOU HAVE JUST TURNED SO MANY SCI-FI CONCEPTS INTO REALITY!"
"I-I K-n-n-n-o-o-w-w-w t-t-h-h-a-a-t-t, F-f-e-e-r-r-g-g-u-u-s-s-o-o-n-n," Comet sputtered out as he tried to get his buddy to stop shaking him.
"Comet, bro, of all the things I've seen you do, this might be one of the coolest," Jackson couldn't help but say. "And that's counting turning us into Merpeople!"
"Oh my God, I can already think of so many ways that this could advance the field of computer technology. We could do things that gaming companies would have wet dreams about!" Alfonso excitedly said.
"That is pretty dope, Comet," Karla added.
"So, you could use that to go inside the Internet and travel to any website you wanted, right?" Jonah inquired. As Comet nodded, Jonah got this mischievous glint in his eyes. "Comet, would you, by chance, happen to know about Internet por-"
"Jonah Ordonia, don't you dare finish that sentence!" There was no way that Marcia would let Comet get talked into using this new power to look up porn! Especially not by Jonah!
"I mean, I probably could, but why would I want to?" Comet questioned his friend's logic, making Marcia give a mental sigh of relief. He followed that up by adding, "I mean, aren't anime waifu enough for us?" And just like that, Marcia felt a headache get added to the one she already had regarding the existence of the Park.
That reminds me...Marcia decided now was as good a moment to bring it up. "Comet, as impressive as all of that is, we still need to discuss this," she said, catching everyone's attention.
"Discuss what, Mar-Mar?" Comet asked, genuinely clueless about what his friend meant.
"This," she said as she waved around the tower at all the tech crammed against each wall. "All this! What you created in my house without me knowing!"
The entire group fell silent, save for a few who took a deep breath through their teeth before backing away from Comet and Marcia. They loved the guy but didn't want to be near him during what might go down.
Realizing there was no talking his way out of this, Comet sighed. "Marcia, look. I'm sorry that I did all of this behind your back. It's just that...I knew that you wouldn't understand why I did all of this if I told you."
"You mean besides allowing yourself to play in a world filled with Pokémon while also dragging the rest of us into it? Yeah, I already figured that out," Marcia said, the bluntness in her voice all too apparent.
"Okay, there is that," Comet conceded, "but I have another reason. One that's far important to me than even being able to live the dream of being surrounded by Pokémon."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"You guys."
Marcia felt her mouth hang open for a nanosecond before she quickly shut it. The others looked just as surprised as her.
Comet began to run one of his hands through his blonde hair with a heavy sigh. "Listen, Marcia, it's just that, ever since what happened at..." Comet hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to say that place's name, but he knew he had to. "What happened at Ludo's Castle...it was all my fault," he forced himself to say, taking Marcia aback. "Look, I know that none of us could've known that you would get kidnapped by that freak, Toffee, but even so, it never should've happened in the first place. Seven Hells, if we hadn't stormed off on each other, it may have never happened!"
"Comet, you don't know-"
"I know! I know, Marcia, but I still feel bad about it. If I had been there, Toffee wouldn't have tried to take you, and neither of us would've come close to biting it, and I wouldn't have almost destroyed my Wand!" Comet could tell that he was started to get heated about this, so, with great effort, he willed himself to be calm. "After what happened that night, I realized that I won't always be there to protect you guys. Now, I know what you're going to say," he told them before they could interject. "Marcia, you've got your karate to defend yourself. And Jonah, you've got your alchemy, and that Ice Demon guy, and that Meseeks box-"
"Facts," Jonah said.
"Al and Ferg have their slingshots, Aqua's got Misty, and Karla's got Kevin. And Jackson's pretty street-smart,"
"Thanks, man," Jackson told him.
"But what if that's not enough? What if someone as bad as Toffee shows up one day and I'm not there to help you guys? I don't know about you guys, but that idea has been freaking me out!" Comet couldn't help but get a little emotional with his words, because he meant it. The sight of Marcia at death's door, poisoned by Toffee, was something he never wanted to see again. "So I decided something. If I can't always be there to look out for my friends, then I decided to do the next best thing: I would create someone who could protect you for me."
A realization hit Alfonso. "The Guardians are not just for protecting Pokémon Park, are they? You made them-"
"To look after us," Marcia finished. Comet nodded, confirming this and erasing any frustration she may have felt towards her roommate. "Oh, Comet. You know you didn't-"
"I know. But I wanted to do it anyway. You guys are some of the best friend's I've ever had, and I know that hanging out with me can be crazy because I'm Comet, and I jump into danger without a second thought. I just...wanted to make sure you guys would have someone to look out for you when I can't."
"Ohhhh, so that's why you asked me to create the Key Stone accessories, then," Alfonso noted, with everyone else looking at him in confusion. "See, when Comet told me he wanted the Guardians to use Mega-Evolution, I thought he just wanted it to be an in-Park feature. But that's not all you had in mind, was it?"
"Nope," Comet admitted, still trapped in a bear hug. "those accessories don't just unlock Mega-Evolution. They'll let you summon their respective Guardian into the real world to aid you in battle."
"So what you're saying is I'll have yet another minion at my disposal then?" Jonah smirked as he thought of how well he got along with Joker. "I could get used to that."
"Oh, geez," Marcia groaned as she felt another headache forming.
"So, Marcia," Alfonso hesitantly asked his friend, "do you still think this Park was a bad idea?"
Sighing to herself, Marcia gave up. "All right, fine. The Park can stay, and you and Comet can have your own private place to play with Pokémon!" Marcia had no choice but to give in. Everyone else loved Pokémon Park, and despite acting otherwise, she'd also grown to like it.
"YES!" The more childish members of the group (Comet, Al, Ferg,) cheered in celebration. Coryn and Misty began to happily chirp and whistle. They would get to keep all their new friends!
"But-" Marcia said, "No one outside of us and our parents," she was referring to her and Comet's, specifically, "can know about this yet."
"What about Brittney and Sabrina?" Jackson asked. "They're technically part of our group right?"
"Them, too."
"And Comet's fanboy," Jonah chimed in, referring to CometFan13.
"Fine, but he has to keep his mouth shut-"
"And what about that floating horse guy and Killian?" Karla added.
"Okay! Yes! They can all know about it, too!" Marcia said, clearly exasperated. "I think we're pretty good on our circle of trust now."
"Well, that's good. I was planning on creating more Guardians meant for each of them," Comet admitted as Ferguson let him go.
"FINE! YES! GO AHEAD AND DO THAT!" Marcia yelled, having lost almost all control over the situation. "But there's two other conditions, Comet!"
"Name them."
"First, you've got to figure out a place to put...that," she said, referring to the Master Ball that Comet had held in his hand the entire time since they returned. Inside was the MissingNo., the viral Pokémon that nearly wrecked the Park.
"Don't worry, Marcia. I already got it covered. I will keep this thing under lock and key in my secret closet, and it'll never get out of there!" he happily told her.
"Why does that inspire so little faith in me?" Marcia cynically admitted.
"No worries, Miss Diaz," Glossaryck told her. "I will inform King Mune of this development, and he will want to hear how Comet created his first big spell, anyway, so he'll handle it."
"And? What's the second condition?" Comet wondered.
"You and Alfonso can't go and make anymore digital worlds without my sayso, understand? I know this is your pet project, but it's still happening in my house. And if something goes wrong, my parents will have to pay for it!"
"Deal." Comet held out his hand, and Marcia shook it. "Besides, I doubt that I'm going to want to create any more digital worlds after how successful Pokémon Park w-ohmhycorn, is that a pig-man?"
And just like that, Comet's focus immediately shifted to something else. In this case, towards Glossaryck's drawing of Technoblade.
"Oh, hey, I know that guy," Ferguson pointed out as he and the others began to look at the drawing. "Isn't that Technoblade, one of the greatest players in Minecraft history? God rest his soul."
"Nice drawing, Glossaryck," Alfonso complimented Comet's teacher.
"Thank you. I worked extra hard on it, so I would appreciate it if none of you were to damage it," the floating blue man told them. Comet didn't hear any of that, though, and he got this weird look in his eyes.
"Hey, Alfonso," he said as he turned towards his bespectacled friend. "Have you ever thought about creating our own Minecraft server up here and-"
"Nope, nope, nope, nope," Marcia said as she grabbed Comet by the back of his shirt and began dragging him to the door on the tower floor. "I'm putting my foot down, Comet! No Minecraft server! EVER!" Clearly, she wasn't happy that her bestie had already forgotten the promise he literally just made.
"But Marcia, think of how cool it would be!" Comet complained, to no avail.
"I don't care, Comet!" she said as she forcibly dragged him back into his room, leaving the others gawking at them.
"We should probably follow them," Jackson pointed out, with everyone nodding in agreement. One by one, the Humans, Mermaid, Pokémon, and magical entity climbed down the ladder before heading off to stop Marcia from chewing Comet out too badly, with Alfonso being the last to leave. As he did so, he looked back at the Master Ball that Comet had left on the floor before gingerly picking it up.
"Can't forget about this. There's no telling what damage this thing could cause if it got out." He shuddered to think of the consequences such a Pokémon could bring as he set it down the Ball down on Comet's bed before running off to join the others.
If he had stayed around for a few more moments, he might have noticed that the Ball began to rattle a little.
*Back in Jay's Workspace, RJ "Jay" Writing Ink is sitting in a wheelie chair, his body looking emaciated as Janna, DAU Kermit, the Spongebob Narrator, and Omni look on*
Jay: Well, it took me an extra day to finish it, but I was able to get this chapter out.
Janna: Yeah, a whole day late, though.
Jay: It wasn't my fault, Janna. The power and Internet went out at my house the night before, and without the latter, I couldn't use Grammarly, which is what I need to write all my stuff. This is why I've gone bi-weekly for the time being. I can't afford to keep rushing at the end of every week. This will give me some time to write.
Omni: Well, as long as you don't keep neglecting your writing any further, you should be fine. You have a deadline to keep, after all.
DAU Kermit: Deadline? What Deadline?
Spongebob Narrator: Apparently, our dear writer hopes to finish this series in three years time, right when Star vs. turns 10 years old.
Jay: It seemed fitting. And also realistic. Also, what do you guys think about the trailer for the next Pokémon games? It seems so weird to have the Legendaries be giant motorcycles.
Omni: Meh. Not as weird as that crystallization thing. What does that even do?
*Jay, now out of his chair and busy organizing some stuff, shrugs his shoulders*
Jay: Who knows, who cares? It's not Mega-Evolution, and that was the coolest feature the games ever added. Now, before I let the stress get to me, I'm going to a beach party tonight. So, let's get this out of the way and respond to
READER'S REVIEWS
LockAndKey989-I think you should be more concerned with something much closer than that.
Julayla-I'm much better now! Hope this didn't disappoint despite the delay!
NightAroma-Hmm...I've never seen Bakugan before, so I'm thinking of someone else...maybe a deeper Eric Cartman for Joker? Definitely Dave Wittenberg for Satoshi. Kakashi for the win! As for Panzer, how about J Michael Tatum as Commander Erwin. It's symbolic, since Panzer is the German word for Tank, and Erwin shares his name with the best German General of World War II...and the only one I actually respect.
No, if it were anyone else, it would be Todd Haberkorn, the voice of Natsu from Fairy Tail. But I thought it would be funnier to use Heavy from Team Fortress 2. And Bladedge might be voiced by Troy Baker.
Also, I will keep your suggestion for Eclipsa's counterpart in mind. But I already know who will voice Hekapoo's counterpart.
NightAroma-Yeah, let's go with Scott McNeil, but with his Koga voice from Inuyasha. Also, I don't know. I just thought one looked cooler.
The Wandering Hippie-Glad I answered both your questions, and I hope that this was worth it. When are you coming back?
Mlpbrony Fan15-You...you get it. This is what Nintendo should do someday.
You know what to do: fave and follow this story, and follow me on Twitter (JZ-Gaming), Insta (RJ Writing Ink), and YouTube (Jungoguy). I also have a discord now, JFORCE Command.
See you in two weeks! I'm either going to write an original chapter, or we're going to move back to the main story. Also, I need someone to go back and check on all the times I mentioned the "Warnicorn Incident" for something.
