Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: Asado Desert (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
"Hey… Marn? You gonna be alright?" Alessandra asked as they crossed the Pokemon Center and were about to enter the Desert.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, we're gonna be in a hot desert and you're wearing dark clothing-"
"Oh! Oh, yeah, I can see why you'd think that, but there's nothin' to worry about."
"Huh?"
Marnie smiled. "Considerin' my second home is in an active volcanic-like area that has lava pools and a fire breathin' Turtonator… the desert heat's nothin'. I'm used to this kind of weather."
"Oh, that's good… wait… what?"
"Did you just say… "active volcano" as your second home?" Cian asked.
Victor chuckled. "That's where my girlfriend hangs out too." He said, as Neo flashed the peace sign with a dorky smile.
I don't know if you guys are hardcore or just… masochistic. Carmine thought.
"It's a long story, it'll make sense when we show ye around." Gloria said.
"Yeeeeah… because I'm lost." Alessandra shook her head as some Phanpy played in the sand with Orthworm in the background, while some Donphan watched while Cacturne were spread out around the desert.
"You might be used to it, but remember, some of us aren't exactly "Koopa Troop" material." Hop said, waving his hand.
"Wear some pink, you'll feel a lot cooler." Bede said.
"Yeah! Pink rules!" Kotoko agreed, both of them high fiving.
"Soooo, to avoid complaining about the damn heat… I forgot to ask you, Glori. What was the third gym challenge at Galar?" Alessandra asked.
"Oh, well, basically, ye had ta score at least five points in order to face Kabu. There were three Pokemon ye could catch in his gym. Sizzlipede, Litwick and Salandit. However, there were also trainers that would ride along with ye on these specific Pokemon, and they were tryin' to mess ye up. Best way to do it is knock them out and then catch the Pokemon."
"Knock out their Pokemon or the actual trainers, knowing you?" Alessandra gave her a knowing smirk.
"Ya know, I did see all three of them having massive goose eggs when I challenged the gym…" Marnie thought aloud. "In fact, one of them was in a fetal position…"
"I wondered why one of them spoke of a "she-devil"..." Bede mused.
"I didn't see any goose eggs when I went… then again, I was so excited that I woke up early to challenge Kabu." Hop sheepishly admitted.
Alessandra snickered. "Sounds about right~"
"Hey, they were askin' for it." Gloria shrugged.
"So what about the fourth gym challenge?"
"Ye know how ye see those spinning tea cup rides that ye see in amusement parks?" Gloria asked.
"Uh-huh."
"It was basically that. Though you went downhill and ye had punching gloves to punch you back up if ye fock up. Ye did this thrice."
"I'm still wondering if Bea just did that to throw everyone's game off…" Hop said. "I did see some cute Gengar stickers at the end though."
"There were stickers? I was too fockin' dizzy to even see anythin' straight. I was still a bit nauseous by the time I actually got to Bea." Gloria groaned. "Although, since Bea recognized I had some hand to hand experience, she forwent the Pokemon battle and went with hand to hand combat."
"...No freakin' way. Really?!" Alessandra said in surprise.
"Aw man, I missed that… then again, I was trying to get Morpeko out of his daze…" Marnie frowned.
Gloria chuckled. "It was hella fun too."
Earlier…
"How the hell are you still standing?" Bea wondered as Gloria got up, wiping the blood from her lower lip.
"I don't go down that easily." She pulled back her fist. "HAAAAAAAAH!"
Back in the present…
"That would explain the busted lower lip and black eye you received when you confronted me at the mural…" Bede mused.
"I thought she just got into a scrap with Team Yell, so I didn't think much of it." Sonia admitted.
"Man, a Fighting type Gym Leader that decided to go hand to hand with the most energetically boisterous gal I know. That sounds about right." Alessandra giggled.
"Damn straight!" Gloria nodded as they then spotted a Rellor rolling across the sand while pushing a mud ball.
"Is that a… dung beetle Pokemon?" Mabel wondered as she crouched down to look at it.
"Let's see…" Alessandra scanned it.
"Rellor, the Rolling Pokemon. This Pokémon creates a mud ball by mixing sand and dirt with psychic energy. It treasures its mud ball more than its own life. It rolls its mud ball around while the energy it needs for evolution matures. Eventually the time comes for it to evolve."
"Rell… oooor! Rell Rell!" The Rellor cried as it kept pushing its mud ball where they watched the little guy roll on.
"Keep on rollin'!" Mabel said, having a small flag out and waving it for the little Pokemon… where they watched it suddenly start to glow.
"An evolution already?!" Alessandra exclaimed in surprise.
"Oooh, wonder what it'll turn into!" Kotoko said as it stopped glowing.
"Raaabscaaaa!"
"Rabsca, the Rolling Pokemon and the evolved form of Rellor. The body that supports the ball barely moves. Therefore, it is thought that the true body of this Pokémon is actually inside the ball. An infant sleeps inside the ball. Rabsca rolls the ball soothingly with its legs to ensure the infant sleeps comfortably."
"True body of the Pokemon is inside the ball… yet there's a baby?" Marnie folded her arms. "Seems a bit conflictin' if you ask me."
"Hmm… I don't think I've ever seen a Pokedex contradict itself…" Sonia said.
"Bug/Psychic…" Alessandra looked into it as the Rabsca simply floated away as more Rellor rolled around with some Flittle and Espasthra wandering around.
"Were you looking into getting one?" Cian asked.
"Honestly, I'm not so sure…" Alessandra shrugged as they continued to walk through the desert.
"Hey, guys? I… think I see a Titan over there." Hop said, pointing to a large metal object rolling around.
"Oh, that must be a Donphan!" Gloria said. "...A… Paldean Donphan?" She wondered before glancing over to see a regular Donphan wandering around.
Suddenly, they saw another walking around, this time looking vastly ancient.
"Okay, now THAT's more Donphan-like… right?" Bede glanced over at the same Donphan. "Hmm…"
"Ro-to-to-to!"
Suddenly, Alessandra's Rotom Phone sprung up.
"Alessandra, you, your brother and your friends are closing in on two Pokemon from the Great Crater of Paldea." Turo said. "They have recently escaped."
"So what are they?" Alessandra wondered. "One of them looks like a really old Donphan and the other… looks like one, but it's… metallic?"
"The ancient Donphan you see is Great Tusk. The robotic Donphan is Iron Treads. They are Paradox Pokemon."
"Paradox… what?" Alessandra tilted her head.
So like Ruby's Flutter Mane and Rodin's Iron Bundle? Gloria wondered while above them, Mewtwo overheard the conversation.
"Hmmm…" Mewtwo narrowed his eyes.
"We will explain in great detail later. For now, you will need to take those Titans down before they cause any harm to Paldea."
Alessandra turned to her brother. "I'll take on the robot."
"I got the ancient looking Donphan!" Cian nodded as they took off.
Up ahead…
"These are some curious Pokemon…" Cinder said as the two Donphan were minding their business.
"Uh…" Arven tilted his head. "I understand these are Donphan, yet… I don't know why the two of them look different."
"Whooooa!" Umber said in awe as he and Dedede approached. "Those are… interesting looking!"
"We're trying to figure out how to engage these two." Bowsette said.
"Goodness, there's no telling what'll happen…" Rei mused.
"Hmmm…" Umber rubbed his chin before his Rotom Dex scanned the two Pokemon. "Wait wait, NO!"
"Robot Donphan, the Metallic Armor Pokemon. Donphan was bio-engineered to create the perfect Iron Defensive Tank. It is known to flatten anything at three hundred miles per hour. Anything caught in its path will be caught twelve feet underground."
"Oh no…" Umber groaned as Rotom scanned the other.
"Dinosaur Donphan, the Tribal Armor Pokemon. Since ancient times, Donphan was known to carry large boulders and toss them into volcanoes to keep the Magcargo line in check-"
"Okay, that's not so bad-"
"-Unlike modern day Donphan, the ancient Donphan does not curl up into a ball due to the size of its tusks and due to being extremely overweight."
"...Don?" Great Tusk stopped walking and turned to glare at them.
Umber grimaced. "D-don't look at me! He's the one who said it!"
"Yipe!" Rotom hid inside his pocket.
"DONPHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Great Tusk roared as Iron Treads stopped rolling and joined his ancient counterpart.
BGM: Battle! Paradox Pokemon (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
"Your Pokedex owes this big guy an apology!" Arven said.
"HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL SOMETIMES?!" Umber yelled.
"MORTON WOULD NOT STOOP LOW EITHER." Morton said.
"Looks like we got ourselves a fight!" Cinder said as they jumped back.
Angry Paradoxes - Great Tusk and Iron Treads
"I got the robot one!" Umber said, calling out his Alolan Marowak.
"Maro!"
"I'll take care of the ancient one!" Cinder said as her Charizard roared.
"You know what to do, Kara!"
WIth a nod, the Marowak spun her bone around as it caught ablaze. Iron Treads narrowed its robotic eyes before stomping on the ground, using Earthquake. However, Kara readied herself and then used Bonemerang, striking the futuristic Donphan.
Iron Treads' body crackled with electricity and lunged, slamming into Kara with Wild Charge, sending the Marowak flying but she quickly recovered and wrapped herself in flames while Iron Treads curled up into a metallic ball and revved up before they launched toward each other, both of them slamming into each other as they were both knocked back.
Nearby, Great Tusk let out a growl as while it was tanking Acnologia's Fire attacks, it curled up its trunk and let out a loud bellow, as the sun got brighter right as the same time as Iron Treads stomped on the ground, electrifying the sand.
"Electric Terrain…?" Umber wondered before Iron Treads curled up into a ball and turned even more iron-like as Kara's bone started to glow as she started running as Iron Treads shot itself toward her, and then struck Kara before she could use Bone Rush.
"MAROOOO!"
"Ah geez…!" Umber winced as Kara recovered, but was on her knees, using her bone as a brace as the Electric Terrain was destroyed as Iron Treads towered over her.
"DONPHAAAA!" Great Tusk cried, unleashing Temper Flare and slamming into Acnologia who used Flare Blitz.
"Raawwwr!" Acnologia cried as he was knocked back from the attack.
"Don't worry, I got ya! Big guy just gave Scovillain a boost with that Sunny Day!" Arven said.
"Scovill!" The Pokemon cried, unleashing Solarbeam into Great Tusk.
"Donphaaaan…!"
Acnologia shook it off and turned his attention to the Scovillain, nodding at the Spicy Pepper Pokemon in respect, to which the two headed Pokemon nodded back.
"MAROOOOO!" Kara cried, unleashing Flare Blitz into Iron Treads after Umber gave her a boost with Full Restore.
"PHAAAAN!" Iron Treads cried as both Paradoxes turned toward a rock pillar and they both retreated…
…However, a barrier blocked their paths from doing so.
"And just where do you think you two are going?" A voice asked as both Paradox Pokemon turned their bodies to see Mewtwo aiming his hand at them.
Alessandra and co made their way toward the group a second later. "Alright, what do we got here…" Alessandra scanned Iron Treads while Cian scanned Great Tusk.
"Iron Treads, the Paradox Pokemon. This Futuristic Pokemon takes great resemblance to Donphan. Sightings of this Pokémon have occurred in recent years. It resembles a mysterious object described in an old expedition journal."
"Great Tusk, the Paradox Pokemon. This Ancient Pokemon takes great resemblance to Donphan. This creature resembles a mysterious Pokémon that, according to a paranormal magazine, has lived since ancient times."
"Why are these guys so fockin' livid?" Gloria asked.
"Let's just say Rotom had to open his damn mouth!" Umber said as his Rotom Dex poked out of his pocket.
"They have thick skin! I didn't think that would have made it angry!"
"Definitely still hurt it's feelin's though!" Dedede pointed out.
Alessandra sweatdropped. "I'm glad our Rotoms aren't this rude."
"So true." Cian nodded.
"Yeeeeah, my Rotom's pretty chill compared to that." Hop said.
"Roto." The Paldean and Galarian Rotom Phones nodded in agreement.
"Ooooh…" The Rotom Dex groaned.
"An ancient looking Donphan and a robot… the hell is going on here?" Carmine wondered.
"That is what I want to know myself." Mewtwo said while Perrin and Mahiru took pictures as did Gloria, though she sent the picture toward Ruby.
"I wonder if there are any other Pokemon like this…" Perrin said.
"Well, we got those two Cyclizar-looking Pokemon." Mahiru said.
"Okay, Rio! Let's knock down that Iron Treads!"
"Houdini, let's help them out!" Cian said, calling out Floragato.
"Quax/Flora!"
"Careful, this thing's loaded with Wild Charge!" Umber warned.
"That thing's got a Temper Flare, watch out!" Arven warned.
"Good to know!" Both twins nodded.
"DONPHAAAAAAAAN!" Great Tusk bellowed as a small army of Donphan came stampeding over.
"We got company!" Marnie said.
"We'll fend 'em off!" Kotoko said as they left the others alone.
Iron Treads revved up and charged toward the duo, crackling with Wild Charge as Kara ran ahead, her bone glowing as she used Bone Rush to cancel out the Wild Charge, knocking the robot back a bit as Rio jumped up behind Marowak and used Aqua Cutter.
Great Tusk's tusks started to glow and charged toward Houdini, attempting to use Megahorn on him, but Acnologia scooped him up and flew into the air, then used Dragon Breath on the Great Tusk, all the while Scovillain used Seed Bomb on him.
"Mrow!" Houdini cried once he was on Acnologia's back. With a nod, Acnologia flew down as his whole body burst into flames. Great Tusk looked up and with a bellow, he jumped up to use Head Smash, but Acnologia pulled up last minute, deactivating Flare Blitz as Houdini hopped off of Great Tusk, and while the latter was in midair…
"MROOOOOW!" Houdini threw Seed Bombs into Great Tusk's eyes, sending it crashing into the ground with a hard THUD as Houdini fell, but Acnologia picked him up and flew down as Houdini hopped off and gracefully landed on the ground.
Iron Treads used Electric Terrain again before using Steel Roller toward the two, but Rio grabbed Kara and threw her into the air while she got in a stance and used Aqua Cutter, striking Iron Treads but still got hit, knocking him away.
"Quax…!" Rio smirked as Iron Treads un-curled itself and looked up, only to get dive bombed by a Flare Blitz, causing Iron Treads to robotically bellow and fell in defeat.
As for Great Tusk, both it and Acnologia were pushing each other with both Temper Flare and Flare Blitz, both of them trying to overpower the other as Scovillain and Houdini flanked the Paradox Pokemon as Scovillain used Solar Beam and Houdini used Seed Bomb, both weakening the Pokemon as Acnologia managed to overpower the Titan and went underneath the Titan's trunk and unleashed a Flare Blitz'd styled uppercut to knock the Titan on its back.
Both Paradox Pokemon shrunk down to normal size.
Wendy swung her wand and fired magic at Iron Treads, where the magic formed into a Heavy Ball and sucked Iron Treads right into it after bonking it on its robotic head.
As for Great Tusk, both Bowsette and Rei looked at each other and with a nod, Bowsette produced a massive fireball as Rei conjured up magic and threw it into the fireball as she threw it, which it transformed into an Ultra Ball and bopped it on the trunk, pulling it in.
One shake
Two shakes
Three shakes
Double click!
End BGM
"I think he'd make a great pet, wouldn't you agree?" Bowsette asked.
"Oh yes." Rei agreed.
"Well, at least we knocked 'em down!" Alessandra smiled. "Way to go, Rio!"
"You too, Houdini!" Cian smiled as well.
"Quax/Mrow!" Both nodded… before they both started glowing.
Alessandra gasped. "Rio!"
"Well, how about that…" Cian smiled as both Pokemon fully evolved.
"Quaquaval!"
"Meowscara!"
Alessandra scanned Rio while Cian scanned Houdini.
"Quaquaval, the Dancer Pokemon and the final evolved form of Quaxly. A single kick from a Quaquaval can send a truck rolling. This Pokémon uses its powerful legs to perform striking dances from far-off lands. Dancing in ways that evoke far-away places, this Pokémon mesmerizes all that see it. Flourishes of its decorative water feathers slice into its foes."
"Meowscarada, the Magician Pokemon and the final evolved form of Sprigatito. This Pokémon uses the reflective fur lining its cape to camouflage the stem of its flower, creating the illusion that the flower is floating. With skillful misdirection, it rigs foes with pollen- packed flower bombs. Meowscarada sets off the bombs before its foes realize what's going on."
"That's awesome!" Alessandra smiled as the two of them hugged while Cian and the Meowscarada high fived each other.
"Hmm… you two. Send out the Pokemon you just caught. I wish to fully examine them." Mewtwo requested as Bowsette and Wendy both called out their Pokemon, where Victor walked up and applied a few Full Restores on the two.
Mewtwo landed on the ground, standing in front of the two as he closed his eyes, delving deep into their minds.
Hmm… Time Travel mixed with Terastal Energy caused these Pokemon to morph into these forms. Fascinating…
"Figured something out?" Gloria wondered.
"I'm left with even more questions. They were just simple Donphan but time shenanigans mixed with Terastal energy made them transform into these beasts." Mewtwo said. "I wish to speak with Ruby's Flutter Mane the next time we see her."
Flutter Mane? Alessandra wondered.
"Ruby's odd looking Misdreavus?" Nora spoke up. "What about it?"
Mewtwo narrowed his eyes and looked at Great Tusk. "You there. Can you tell me more about your experience?"
"Donphan Don Don Donphana Phan."
"Hmm, so these unknown scientists used the Terastal Energy from this Pokemon named Terapagos and put them into a time machine… and in turn, it caused several Pokemon like you to turn into ancient and futuristic versions of yourselves?"
"Dona."
"...Including a robot that has a Gardevoir and a Gallade fused together? Is this reversible?"
Great Tusk shook his head.
Mewtwo closed his eyes. "Those fools… are you in any sort of pain in this?"
Great Tusk shook his head again.
"So you feel the same, just with a different body." Mewtwo turned toward Iron Treads. "Do you feel any different?"
"Donni Donna Dono." Iron Treads spoke.
"Aside from losing your biological body, you still feel the same. You still feel alive."
Mewtwo nodded. "As long as you are content and not hurting, that brings comfort to me. However, whoever is responsible for these Pokemon… it's enough to make my blood boil."
"Don Don Donphan Don." Great Tusk spoke up.
"You both feel more powerful than before?"
Both Paradox Donphan nodded.
"Marowak Maro Maro." Kara spoke up.
"Hits harder than a normal Donphan, ye say?" Gloria wondered.
"Maro."
Mewtwo folded his arms. "Hmm… perhaps we ought to use this power to our advantage."
Mewtwo glanced over at Alessandra. "You scanned Iron Treads, did you not? Does it have a new typing?"
"According to this, it's a Steel/Ground."
"Mine says Ground/Fighting." Cian said.
Mewtwo rubbed his chin. "It also gained a new typing. I've a suspicion that Flutter Mane and Iron Bundle are in the same boat as well."
"This is all so intriguing!" Sonia wrote down in her notes.
"This might sound odd but considering I'm a Pokemon Breeder… do these Paradox Pokemon… breed by any chance?" Victor asked.
Both Donphan looked at each other before turning to Victor.
"Donphan Don Don."
"They say they haven't felt their sexual drive in a long time." Mewtwo said. "Most intriguing."
"Soooo, they can't breed either?" Zinnia tilted her head. "I mean, the robot, I understand but you'd think the ancient Donphan would be a beast in bed."
"Donapho…"
"It wishes." Mewtwo translated.
"Hmmm…" Pyrrha closed her eyes. "Time shenanigans with this Terastal Phenomenon from this Terapagos, stronger than before, a new typing… but they can't breed. Something doesn't feel natural about this."
"Indeed… but as long as these Donphan are happy, I will not hold it against them. However, something sinister might be happening, and I wish to get to the bottom of this." Mewtwo said.
"Maybe we need to clobbah whoever is doing this." Dedede said.
"Agreed."
Umber walked over toward the sand where Iron Treads was standing. "Excuse me… robot Donphan? I think you're stepping on something."
"Dono?" Iron Treads moved back a bit as Umber knelt down, digging through the sand.
"What ye lookin' for, lad?" Gloria asked.
"Aha!" Umber pulled up a new Heartbinder.
"Is that a new Heartbinder?" Marnie asked with intrigue, excitement swelling within her. "Oh, I want to know what you'll summon this time! …Though, hopefully a less violent introduction given what happened with Lord Bowser and Jotaro."
"Eh, he got over it." Umber waved it off as he reached up toward the sky as it started to glow brightly. "Come forth… whoever you are!"
Everyone was wrapped around in a bright light before it faded away, only to see nobody in sight.
…Until they heard a spanish guitar.
They all turned to the source, which was on top of Iron Treads.
BGM: The Puss Suite (Puss in Boots)
The summon in question wore a feathered hat, black boots, wore a black belt with a rapier attached to it…
…And also was an orange tabby cat.
Kotoko jawdropped. "Oh, no freakin' way!"
"A cat?" Kokoro tilted her head.
"Hmhmhm…" The cat put away the Spanish guitar. "I am no mere cat, mi amiga. I am…" He vaulted off of Iron Treads, doing a few mid-air cartwheels before gracefully landing on the sand.
"PUSS… In Boots!" He pulled out his rapier and pointed it toward Great Tusk. "Fear me! If you dare!"
Great Tusk blinked, staring at Puss in Boots before it proceeded to pick him up with his trunk in amusement.
End BGM
"Hey! Put me down, you… naked Woolly Mammoth!"
"Oh cool! A talking sword wielding cat! That's so adorably neat!" Mabel gushed.
Marnie rubbed her chin. "Sooo, first its four Ninja turtles, then a sarcastic as hell ruler of the mystic arts, then a skeleton man, followed by a beefy jacked as hell man with supposedly a ghost accompanying him from what you told me… and now we got a Spanish sword wielding cat."
Umber chuckled. "Hey, I'm not complaining. He could be a lot of fun."
"Well, he is kinda adorable." Marnie nodded.
Umber approached Puss. "Hey there."
"Hmm… judging by-... one moment." Puss managed to pull his arm out of the Great Tusk's grip and took his hat off, proceeding to give him the cute kitten eyes.
Great Tusk blinked before his eyes swelled up in tears before he put Puss down, patting him on the head with his trunk.
"Heh…" Puss put his hat back on. "Works every time."
He then turned toward Umber. "As I was saying… judging by the landscape, I have a pretty good feeling that you have summoned me, right?"
"That's right."
"Hmm… fascinating. I don't recall ever seeing these creatures before. Either they're obscure fairy tales or-"
"Fairy tales? They're Pokemon, lad." Gloria said.
"Ah, I see… Pokemon. …I have no idea what you mean by that, Scottish Senorita, but I suppose they are these beasts standing before me." He said, looking at the two Donphan Paradoxes before looking over at the other Pokemon before looking at Mewtwo. "...Senor. You might want to put on some pants."
"Says the half-naked cat himself." Mewtwo countered.
"I'm wearing a belt. It's fair game."
Carmine knelt down. "I must say, you're quite cute."
"Ah, well, I am a bit of a charmer if I say so myself…" Puss chuckled as Carmine gently scratched his neck. "Ooooh, right there… that feels nice…" He hummed as he noticed Perrin aiming her camera at him. "Hehe~ Make sure to get my good side, senorita."
"Oooh, I'm still not sure what's going on, but he's definitely right about the charmer~!" Perrin smiled, snapping a few photos as Mahiru did the same thing, though she used her phone for it.
"Aaaand sending that to Nanami…" Mahiru hummed.
"So uh, introductions aside… we still need to get the Herba Mystica." Arven spoke up. "It should be-"
Suddenly, the ground underneath them shook as they turned to see sand exploding high in the distance as several Sandile, Hippopotas, Phanpy, Espathra, Stonjourner and Cacturne started running away while several Silicobra and Sandaconda slithered away while a few Braviary flew away.
A large dirt mound started moving toward them rapidly.
"Is that another Titan?" Hop asked as Marnie used her eyes to scan through the dirt, her eyes widening as she saw a familiar heart shaped Emblem.
"No… that's a Heartless coming our way!"
"A Heartless?!" Umber said in surprise. "But I thought only Alola had a Heartless problem!" He exclaimed as the dirt mound disappeared.
Mewtwo immediately teleported everyone back several feet right as a massive Heartless shot out of the sand.
BGM: Shrouding Dark Cloud (Kingdom Hearts III)
Once the sand cleared, they saw the Heartless in question, which was none other than the Antlion, though it looked sleeker and more modern-like, where it had some drones surrounding it.
Back and More Modernized - Antlion+
"So… it decided to get a new makeover after it was destroyed in the New World, huh?" Umber glared.
The Antlion roared and fired a laser at them, but Mewtwo put up a barrier to block it… all the while the Rotom Dex scanned the Heartless.
"What are you doing? Heartless aren't Pokemon! There's no way that-"
"Scan complete!"
"Huh?!"
"Antlion, the Heartless Pokemon. It was once a lonely Magikarp swimming in Casseroya Lake, but it was lured away from the water and was consumed by Shadows-"
"WHAT?!" Umber yelled in disbelief.
"-It now resides in Asado Desert where it is extremely territorial and will hunt down any human that it comes into contact with. It is very docile with other Pokemon, however."
"I think we need to put this Magikarp out of its misery." Mewtwo said.
"Unfortunately…" Umber sighed before he steeled himself. "Alright, it's time I used this new Keyblade that Elfilin made for me." He said, summoning a new Keyblade.
The blade in question was a building with a purple hue covered in moss. There was a space between the top of the building where its teeth, AKA a Warpstar, was in place. The handle was a golden lion cage with the keychain being an Elfilin Charm.
"I forgot that he gave that to ya. What was the name again?" Dedede asked.
"Forgotten Dream."
"I shall assist you!" Puss declared, readying his sword.
"I don't know what the hell a Heartless is…" Carmine readied her crossbow. "But let's put this Magikarp out of its misery."
"Rotom. Did you get a typing on this Heartless Magikarp?" Umber asked.
"Yes. It's Steel/Ground."
"Kara, you ready to kick ass?"
"Maro!" She cried as the Donphan Paradoxes bellowed.
Bede chuckled, pulling out a glove and strapping it on, materia shining bright. "Let's see if you can keep up, Pixie Girl."
"I'd say the same to you, Bede-y." Kotoko playfully smirked, activating her power.
"...Rio. Let's do this." Alessandra said with a frown. "For this Magikarp's sake."
"Quav!"
"Scara!" Houdini cried as Cian nodded.
"I don't understand what a "Heartless" is, but we'll help out." Cian said.
Gloria immediately transformed into her Groudon form, and proceeded to grow large and going under Primal Reversal as Marnie teleported up to Gloria's shoulder, to which Alessandra looked at her in surprise before chuckling.
"Is everyone ready?" Mewtwo asked as the Koopalings and their mothers got ready to throw down, Cinder activating her Maiden Powers while her Charizard spat out some flames, letting Eddie climb on his back.
"I'll do what I can." Arven said as his Scovillain let out a cry while Mahiru climbed onto Basalt with Carmine and Perrin hopping on.
"Good. Let us begin!"
Mewtwo released the barrier as Gloria's fist burst into flame and punched the Heartless in the face, sending it back several feet before it got back up with a roar.
The Antlion conjured up a dust devil to shield itself as the drones moved forward and started shooting at everyone as they avoided the lasers as Puss jumped up on Iron Treads and leapt off, landing on one of the drones as he used his rapier to stab the drone, then tilted his rapier like a control stick to make the drone move against its will.
The other drones surrounded Puss, but Mewtwo fired a few Shadow Balls to move them away as the Antlion then fired another laser that pierced the ground and kicking up a lot of dust as Bowsette ran ahead as debris was kicked up, where she jumped on the debris and launched off, fire punching the Heartless to knock it back a bit before she breathed fire immediately after, then Cinder flew over and dropped Roy and Morton, both of them slamming into the Heartless' head.
"MORTON CRUSH!" Morton yelled, slamming into the Antlion's face while Roy pulled out a pipe and shot Bullet Bills into it, then they dropped to the ground as Wendy pulled them away with her rings right as the Antlion was about to crush the two.
Umber wrapped himself in an Aeroga Shield. "Alright, I'm ready to go!" He said as Dedede sucked him up and spat him out as Umber flew toward the Antlion, aiming his Keyblade at it and concentrated before throwing several Cutter Blades for an uncharged shotlock before he slammed into the Heartless, throwing in an Ars Arcanum… before the Antlion conjured up a tornado to send Umber flying away, but Gloria caught him.
"Got ye!" Gloria said, putting him down on her other shoulder while Marnie aimed her cybernetic arm at it and fired large pulses of energy toward it. Umber aimed his Keyblade at it, charging up a full Shotlock, and when it was fully charged, he unleashed a chain of Homing Bombs in the shape of a Ragnarok before he fired a full Space Ranger blast into the Heartless.
The Antlion sunk back underground before breaching out of the ground and charging up a large laser that looked similar to a Hyper Beam and shot toward Alessandra, but Gloria got in the way and blocked it with her hands, but it was enough to make her slide a few feet. The impact was also enough to knock Umber off but Marnie grabbed onto Gloria's shirt to hold on.
"Glori! Are you okay?" Alessandra asked while the Heartless was getting shot by Mahiru and Carmine as Basalt fired a laser.
"Nnngh… should be… fine…!" Gloria grunted.
As for Umber, he flipped himself over and landed on the sand. "You alright?" Ludwig asked as he fired some magic.
"I should be." Umber said as he closed his eyes. "Alright, let's do that gimmick…" He told himself as the Keyblade was surrounded by a fiery aura in the shape of Morpho Knight's Sword. He opened his eyes as Morpho Knight's wings sprouted out of his back and flew up into the air.
Once the Hyper Beam finished, Gloria let out a growl as her arms crystallized as she punched the ground, unleashing Precipice Blades to pierce through the Heartless, then Puss launched off of the drone and proceeded to thrust his blade into the Antlion's face a few times before jumping back and landing on the drone to control it once more as he pulled out of the way as Dedede had fired missiles from his hammer, together with Nora firing grenades from her grenade launcher.
The Antlion broke free as it quickly buried itself in the sand before jumping out and "Thrashed" about, knocking a few Koopalings away as Jinx fired armor piercing bullets through it with her minigun as Ren ran around and fired, while Pyrrha threw fireballs while Jaune flanked the Heartless and water slashed it, together with Erza who went into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and pierced the Heartless where Neo flanked it, her umbrella sword turning to ice and slashing through it.
Pyrrha glanced over at Iron Treads who rolled right into the Heartless while the other Donphan used Temper Flare. She looked at her own hand. "Hmmm…" She hummed as Puss was knocked off of the drone and landed next to Pyrrha.
"Senorita, what seems to be the trouble?" Puss asked as he noticed Pyrrha wasn't fighting.
"I have an idea." Pyrrha said as she knelt down and whispered into his ear, his eyes widening before smirking, rubbing his paws together.
"I'll see what I can do." Puss smirked, jumping on another drone and flew off to deal with the Antlion while Pyrrha whistled toward the Iron Treads to get its attention.
Kotoko unleashed a powerful uppercut on the Heartless, making its head snap back as she then grabbed a hold of Bede. "You ready?"
"Throw me!" Bede said as Kotoko spun around and threw Bede as he pulled back his fist and Firaga Punched the Heartless in the face while Kokoro fired arrows as Flandre flew over and grabbed Bede as Hop had Zamazenta slam into the Antlion with Rio and Houdini helping out with Aqua Step and Flower Trick, then it got peppered with Coco shooting at it with her minigun and Velvet backing her up with a minigun of her own.
Once Flandre put Bede toward a safe distance, she flew toward it and punched it hard enough to send it flying back several feet but then it went back underground and "swam" around in the sand before emerging and shooting a Hyper Beam toward Umber, but he swung his "sword" and cut through the Hyper Beam before launching himself, fire slashing it while Kara swooped in and used Bonemerang followed up with Flare Blitz while Acnologia flew in and used Flamethrower.
The Antlion let out a snarl and used its pincers to try Crunch down on Umber, but he stabbed the ground to create a firewall to prevent it from doing so as the Antlion sunk back underground and then fully emerged, standing tall and firing lasers with its Drones as Umber flew around and slashed through the Drones to get rid of them before raising his sword up, as the fiery aura got larger as he threw it down, slamming into the ground and unleashing a fiery tornado that consumed the drones and the Antlion.
Puss used the drone that he was piloting to fly over the tornado as he jumped off as soon as the tornado dissipated as he landed on top of the weakened Heartless.
"Hey! Do you want to see something cool?" He asked with a grin as he jumped off right as Pyrrha used her semblance to launch Iron Treads into the air and slammed into the Heartless, sending the Heartless falling to the ground and landing on its back.
Umber flew down and landed on the belly of the beast as Mewtwo hovered over it, quickly Mega Evolving right as Umber raised his Keyblade to do another Ars Arcanum, but as if on the spot, he proceeded to wrap the Keyblade in plasma and proceeded to slash away at the Heartless before he plunged himself and the Keyblade with plasma wrapped around them and slammed into it shaped as a plasma bolt while Mewtwo simply used Psystrike.
The Heartless let out a loud roar before falling limp. "Kaaaaarp…" The Heartless moaned before fading away as a heart flew off toward the sky.
End BGM
"Hah… hah…" Umber fell on his knees, panting as Mewtwo turned back to normal and put a hand on his shoulder.
"There was no other way."
"I know… it's just… really fuckin' hot out in this desert."
Once everyone regrouped and Gloria shrinking back down to normal size after Marnie hopped off of her, she turned back to normal as Alessandra immediately hugged her.
"Why am I not surprised that you'd go under Primal Reversion?"
"Ahehe~ Comes with its perks." Gloria giggled as the best friends parted, though Alessandra noticed the state of her palms.
"Glori… your hands. They're… messed up."
"Hmm?" Gloria looked down and saw her hands were burnt. "Ah, so they are. Not the worst injury I've had." She said as she dug into her bag, letting out several pained hisses.
"Want me to dig out a Burn Heal?" Marnie asked.
"Yeah, that'd be great…" Gloria nodded as Marnie dug into her own bag, pulling out a Burn Heal and sprayed both sides of her hands.
"There ya go." Marnie smiled, kissing her cheek before putting the Burn Heal away.
"Note to self, don't block a Hyper Beam with yer hands." Gloria snickered as Alessandra shook her head with an amused chuckle.
"Hmm? Oh!" Arven spotted a massive hole in a rock pillar as he approached it, seeing some Herba Mystica at the entrance to the cave. "Well well~! There's plenty to go around!" He said as everyone walked in… however, Cinder stayed behind and knelt down next to Umber.
"You going to be okay?"
"I know Magikarp are… pathetically weak creatures before they turn into a mighty strong Gyarados but… it was still an innocent Pokemon."
Cinder said nothing, putting her hand on his back and softly rubbed it. "I… know I'm not your psychic girlfriends, but… you need this." She said, giving him a gentle hug as he smiled sadly.
"Thanks…" He nodded as he stood up, finishing mourning the Magikarp as he stood up… only to see the sand moving in front of him as a shiny gold Magikarp dug itself out in confusion.
"Karp…?" The Magikarp wondered as it looked around.
"Oh, right, Riku told me about this… I kinda forgot about it." Umber admitted, picking up the Magikarp as Mewtwo summoned a large fishbowl with water as Umber put the Magikarp in it.
"Karp Karp!"
Cinder chuckled. "Well, I suppose we can take it back to where it was originally." She said.
"Yeah."
"By the way, how are the twins anyway?"
"Oh… uh… they're good, I guess." Umber said, awkwardly rubbing his forearm, where Mewtwo raised an eyebrow at him, knowing that he was usually chipper whenever the girls were mentioned.
He closed his eyes, looking into his mind for a few seconds.
...I see. Mewtwo said quietly. So you are at war with yourself over that.
Meanwhile, in the cave…
"There's more!" Arven said excitedly as he picked up more Herba Mystica. "Haha! We got plenty to go around now." He said.
"So, what kind of Herba Mystica is this?" Coco wondered.
"Says here it's the Sour Herba Mystica." Arven said, pulling out a book. "It works wonders when you're tired physically and mentally. Perks you right up!"
"...And it's… sour?" Velvet blinked.
"So tart that it'll make you perk up from its tartness!" Arven smiled. "...That sounded better in my head."
"Clearly." Alessandra snickered.
"Welp, no time to lose. Fire up that cauldron, Gloria!"
BGM: Let's Make a Sandwich (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
"On it~!" Gloria smiled, pulling it out as they went right to work.
"So, to catch you up on the Heartless…" Marnie said to Alessandra and Cian, with Carmine and Perrin listening in. "Basically, there are these creatures of darkness born from the darkness in people's hearts. They're a major pain in the ass outside of Paldea."
"Darkness in our hearts…?" Alessandra wondered, clutching her chest. "That's… frightening."
"Yeah, it's best to stay on our toes. Ya never know when those beasts will show up."
"Sheesh… talk about buzzkills." Arven said, listening in on the conversation.
"Are they… attracted to the darkness of people's hearts?" Carmine asked.
"From what I understand, it all depends on how much darkness you got in ya." Marnie responded. "If you got like… a ton of it in your heart, then… well, you might be considered a target? My knowledge on these guys are… limited at best, even if Sora and his friends explained them to me about 'em."
"I see…" Carmine frowned, her mind immediately thinking of Kieran. Oh, Kiki… please don't do something dumb that would attract those things…
I wonder if Giratina could attract a bunch of 'em… Perrin wondered to herself.
"That's scary to think about…" Cian shuddered while Umber put the fish bowl on the table.
"Hmm… think we can call you Lucky." Umber said.
"Heheh, definitely a lucky lil' guy, that's for sure!" Dedede agreed.
"Oh, and just a fair warning, if you see a Heartless with green eyes… you're gonna need to be extremely cautious. Those versions of Heartless frickin' suck." Marnie added.
Alessandra grimaced. "Noted!"
A few minutes later…
"Alright, Curry Sandwiches are rarin' to go!" Arven said as they handed out the plates as they dug in.
"Curry Sandwich… interesting combination." Puss mused as he took a bite. "Oye, eso no está mal." (Hey, that's not bad.)
As everyone ate and Umber even handing a few small sandwich bites for the Magikarp, both Miraidon and Koraidon popped out of their respective Pokeballs. "Hey Mabostiff, time to eat!" Arven smiled, calling out his Pokemon as the Raidons happily ate the sandwiches.
Mewtwo rubbed his chin before closing his eyes, going into both Raidon's heads like he did with the Paradox Donphans. However, unlike the latter two, Mewtwo was forcibly pushed out. "Mmmph!"
"Hmm? What's up?" Arven asked. "Not a fan of the sour bunch?"
"No, it's not that. For some reason, I cannot go into their heads like I did with the two Donphan. It's as if something is blocking me from seeing what happened with these two."
"Ah, that doesn't surprise me…" Arven said as he gave Mabosstiff the sandwich while both Raidons glowed with energy. "They look physically healthy, but they don't seem… battle ready yet. For all I know, it could be a mental block."
"A mental block?" Hop wondered.
"Ya know, like… psychological trauma or something? I think that's how it goes." Arven shrugged. "Though, now that I think about it, it is surprising that you, of all Pokemon, were unable to see what caused their trouble."
"All I know is that these two are Paradox Cyclizar… but to have them be so timid with their powers returning with Herba Mystica… it's intriguing, and yet I must know what happened to these two that caused their powers to fade."
"Probably… uh… something similar happened to Mabosstiff." Arven shrugged. "Speaking of which, how is it boy? You feel any different."
"Ba-ruff…" He growled.
"Awww man, I guess that's a negative…" Arven slumped. "So much for-"
"I sense his heart rate is improving." Mewtwo said. "He's fine."
"Really?! Oh, that's wonderful!"
He petted Mabosstiff on the head, scratching him behind the ears. "You hear that, boy? Your heart rate's improving!"
Both twins smiled, joining in and rubbing his back to make him feel happier.
End BGM
Once they all finished, Gloria put everything away as they all walked out with Umber strapping the fishbowl on his back as they walked out, while Arven gave Cinder another one of his badges before she left.
However, before they left, Mewtwo telekinetically pulled Dedede to the side.
"Whoa! Hey! What ya kidnapping me for, ya psychic bonehead?"
"You might need to chat with Umber when the time is right."
"Ah, you feel something is off about him too? I've been trying to get him to open up as somethin' seems to be botherin' him, but I don't think he's ready yet."
"I know what it is, but I'm not going to blurt it outright. Just know that you will probably need to set him straight."
"I see."
"And… I would advise that Steven Strange gets involved. He may prove helpful with Umber's inner turmoil."
"I see. I'll see what I can do to help the kid."
"See to it that you do." Mewtwo said as he floated off.
"So they can glide now?"
"Hmm?" Mewtwo turned his head to see Alessandra communicating with her Rotom Phone.
BGM: Professor Sada/Turo (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
"Indeed." Turo said. "As soon as they are able to jump, they can glide to the fullest of their abilities. Keep up the good work with the two Pokemon."
"Right." Cian nodded.
"And… I assume you handled the two Paradox Pokemon well?"
"Yeah. A few friends of ours caught them and they are taking care of them."
"Excellent. We can make sure that they are in good hands. We will fully explain the Paradox Pokemon when the time is right."
"Excuse me." Mewtwo spoke up. "You wouldn't happen to be responsible for the Paradox Pokemon, correct?"
Turo said nothing.
"Answer me."
"That is classified information."
Turo hung up as the Rotom Phone went back into Alessandra's pocket.
End BGM
"You cannot hide your answers forever." Mewtwo said, his eyes narrowed.
"Yeesh… ease up a bit. I'm sure we'll get everything figured out soon." Kotoko said.
"Hmph. Let us hope they have an answer that I find satisfactory."
"Soooo… Porto Marinada?" Zinnia spoke up.
"Oh yeah! The wallet!" Alessandra said as they turned around and continued through the desert.
Shout out to Yoshi for that Antlion+ Heartless idea! And to Jacob who wanted me to do that meme line.
Ibuki: Ya wanna see something cool?
Deadpool: BAM! Iron Treads to the face!
