Summoning of a Pokemon Master

Summoning of a Pokemon Master

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Chapter 1

Darkness Returns

Part 1 - Field Research

“Okay, so… why are we exploring badlands again?” Discord asked, resting his chin on his hands. He was comfortably perched on a floating pink cloud, leaving a chocolate-milk wake on the sand as he slowly levitated forward. An umbrella with pegasus’ wings floated above his head. His half-closed eyes were staring at the two mares next to him as his mind sank into boredom, creating the image of a waterslide.

Starlight Glimmer rolled her eyes before looking at Twilight, already expecting yet another annoyed response. She wasn’t disappointed.

Twilight frowned and turned around, giving Discord a deadly glare. “How many times do I have to repeat myself? Is your attention span really that abysmal, or are you just messing with me?”

Discord yawned before rubbing his eyes. “Not my fault the landscape is so boring. Everything looks the same for miles. All I can think of is how to turn this badlands into a chaotic paradise.” He rubbed his chin. “Now that I think about it, I could turn this place into a ‘Discordland, Chaos and Fun’ with tons of attractions. It's not like anyone owns this place after all.”

With a snap of his claw, Discord’s magic burst on his head as a pink mane grew from it. His voice started to sound like a poor imitation of Fluttershy’s. “You started your own entertainment business, oh Discord, I am so proud.”

Starlight chuckled. “I bet all monsters living here would become main attractions of this amusement park of yours.”

Discord summoned a pen and a piece of parchment before writing on it. “Such a brilliant idea! It will put Nightmare Night to shame.”

“Focus!” Twilight shouted, the strength of her voice pushing the parchment off Discord’s claw. “Ponies are being captured from towns and cities all over Equestria as we speak by creatures that were never discovered before.” She pointed at her companions. “And you two, mostly Discord, are just goofing around like a pair of foals.”

"Thanks for reminding us Twilight, but seriously, you need to chill. Joking around really relieves stress, you should try it out," Discord commented sarcastically, before shifting his attention to the other mare. “Hey Starlight, how about a guessing game? I bet those mysterious invaders are from another dimension.”

“And I bet they are escapees from Tartarus,” Starlight challenged.

“Tartarus? Oh please, most of them are too cute for that cursed place. Maybe they are from another world inside our planet,” Discord replied.

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Now that’s crazy talk. Even the theory that they are aliens would make more sense.”

“Ahem…” Twilight interjected as she walked in between her two companions. “As I was saying, I failed to find a single shred of information. Or even the tiniest lead about those pony-nappers in the Royal Library. What’s worse, reports sent by the Royal Guard say that

those creatures don’t speak our language and are very hostile.” She pointed at Discord. “Furthermore, you told us you had sensed a magical disturbance coming somewhere from the badlands ever since those new species started attacking.”

“Oh, yeah, I did,” Discord murmured to himself.

Twilight stomped and her forehoof sank deeply into the sand. “The faster we find the culprit and the missing ponies, the faster we’ll get away from this desolate place! So would you be so kind and concentrate for once?”

Discord snapped his claw again, summoning a teacup with Fluttershy’s cutie mark decorating it. A similar cup appeared in front of Starlight. “If this place annoys you so much, why did you come with us? Glimmy and I can save the day on our own.”

Twilight shook the sand from her chest and resumed her walk, the wind slowly covering her hoofsteps and the trail of chocolate milk behind her. “The last two times you tried to save the day, you joined the enemy and lost access to your powers. I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong this time.” Twilight sighed dejectedly, and added in a softer tone, “Besides, I rarely go on an adventure with anypony save my five closest friends. I just thought it was about time to change that.”

“Awww… I feel so touched,” Discord said as he wiped tears from his cheek and vanished, reappearing next to the alicorn. He grabbed Twilight by her belly, who yelped in surprise. “Just think about all the adventures we’re going to have, all those thousand year old villains turning into stone, it’ll be amazing!” He dropped Twilight in the sand as he took a heroic pose and snapped his claw. The earth trembled under his feet as the entrance into an underground dungeon raised from the sand.

Twilight shook her head before wiping the sand from her face and taking a deep breath. She groaned in annoyance before standing up, shaking most of the sand from her fur and wings. Mental note, take a shower and brush all the sand from my fur and wings once this is over. The moment she raised her head, she gasped, nearly losing balance and falling into the sand again as a result. “W-what’s that?” Her attention quickly focused on the magical runes inscripted upon the damaged stone, as if magic alone kept the old structure from collapsing.

Discord shrugged. “I dunno. Some sort of old ruins covered in sand probably used as a hideout. I felt magical disturbance coming from it half an hour ago.”

Starlight looked at Discord suspiciously. “And you didn’t reveal this entrance to us earlier because…?”

Discord raised his head arrogantly. “I felt it was a perfect opportunity to have some fun with the both of you. Not often do we get to adventure together after all. I also planned on revealing this entrance with some spooky music and beastly roars in the background.” He shrugged. “But then I got bored and forgot about it.”

Twilight facehooved and frowned. She slowly lowered her forehoof to her chest and took a few calming breaths. “Let’s get this over with.” Her horn lit as the double doors opened up before her thanks to her magic. She walked towards the entrance but was stopped by a lasso, which was now wrapped around her belly. “Discord? Don't tell me you stole it from Applejack."

The Spirit of Chaos wearing a cowboy hat spoke, “Hold on there partner. Don’t ya think them varmints set up some traps?”

Starlight nodded. “Discord does have a point. When I was planning my revenge, I always made sure to set up some traps in my cave just in case you and your friends tried to capture me.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I was actually surprised that nopony tried to pursue me. Even more so than when we didn’t imprison Chrysalis after her defeat.”

Twilight looked at her former enemies alternately before sighing. Discord, the very being who tried to brainwash and break her and her friends, and Starlight Glimmer, who manipulated time and space to her will, were now assisting her against a new threat. Meanwhile, a queen who nearly took over Equestria was allowed to leave. Either we’re too forgiving for our own good, or my life is just weird, she thought to herself in silence.

Discord whistled and his pink cloud formed into the shape of a dog that ran towards his leg. The moment he pointed at the stairs leading down into the darkness, the cloud-dog dashed towards the pointed direction.

Upon hearing a loud noise, as if two massive objects had hit each other, a huge plume of dust billowed from the entrance. Twilight and Starlight ran closer to the staircase, Twilight’s left wing spreading to block her student’s face while her right wing covered her own eyes. Once the dust settled, her ears drooped at the indiscriminate noises of destruction. After half a minute, as the blissful silence washed over her and flooded the entrance, she lowered her wings and illuminated her horn. Taking in the sight before her, she grimaced, letting out a small frown.

A massive boulder, three times the size of a pony, was stuck against the wall. The floor was enveloped by bolts with marks of purple poison, barely visible at their tips, and spears emerging from small holes on the floor. Puddles of acid and melted stone were visible further ahead, making the whole room feel like the aftermath of a battle.

“Have fun disarming all the traps, ladies,” Discord said with a chuckle as Starlight looked up at him.

“Won’t you help?”

Discord shook his head. “Nah, I got no time for that.” He put on a pair of star-shaped glasses and added, “Dealing with traps and exploring these ruins- I’ll leave it to you. In the meanwhile, I’ll get to the source of this magic distortion and save the day, chaotic style. See ya on the parade to celebrate my magnificent victory!” He snapped his claw and vanished in a flash.

Starlight chuckled and smiled nervously as she glanced towards her teacher. “Let’s look on the bright side. Maybe we can discover new spells down there while he deals with the threat. Discord can take care of himself.”

Twilight massaged her forehead and exhaled wistfully. “So much for teamwork. I shouldn’t get my hopes up in the first place.”

“Hey,” Starlight cooed, “we still got each other’s back." She surrounded herself with a magical shield and exclaimed, “No trap shall stop the most magical duo in Equestria!”

Twilight smiled, a fiery glow in her eyes. She spread her wings and said firmly, “Let’s do it.”

Discord hovered in the air while looking around, noticing four entrances into the large room. His gaze narrowed as he scanned his surroundings. The hall looked like the inside of a large dome, with a big star-like rune decorating the floor and a large glowing yellow crystal attached to the ceiling. Despite the sand grains dropping from a few cracks in the ceiling, the floor was kept clean. His senses still picked up leftovers of powerful magic, most likely responsible for the appearance of the invaders.

A grave and powerful voice echoed around the walls. “Welcome to my domain, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I have been expecting you.”

“You know me? Did we meet?” Discord asked as he looked at each entrance, unsure of which direction the voice was coming from.

Once again, the firm voice resonated deep within the room, a tinge of malevolence in it. “Your reputation precedes you.”

Discord sneered. “If this is the part where you praise me and invite me to join your Conquest of Equestria, skip it. Tirek already did, and his betrayal at the end wasn’t pleasant.”

“I see. I’ll go straight to killing you instead.”

Discord chuckled. “Killing me?” He raised his head arrogantly. “I’m chaos incarnate. Do you really think you can overcome my power? I would like to see you try, and laugh as you fail.”

“I won’t dirty my hooves. I’ll leave it to my slaves.”

Slowly, the room started filling with creatures. Several of them looked like dogs, with orange coats striped in black while their tails, mane and chest were fluff white. A few however, were taller than the others, walking on two legs as flames undulated along their tails and heads, their red-yellow coats looking as if ready to burst into flames. Each of those creatures wore a collar with a barely noticeable dark crystal set into it.

“Magmars, Growlithes, burn him down!” the firm voice commanded.

Discord stared curiously as the flames erupted from the creatures’ mouths and enveloped him. Huh, it's getting pretty hot in here. Kind of reminds me of my vacation in a volcano during the dragon's migration, he thought, chaotic magic preventing his body from being turned into ash.

The flames and thick smoke slowly faded, revealing Discord floating comfortably on his back, this time with a pair of sunglasses resting on his nose and his claws on the back of his head. A floating cup of lemonade tilted, and the cold liquid fell into his open mouth. "Thanks for the steam bath."

“Fire doesn’t faze you?” the voice roared, failing to conceal its growing anger. “Slaves, bring in the forces of lightning!”

Discord raised his glasses and looked down, seeing as his enemies had started vacating the room only for new ones to take their place. Those dark-blue puppies do look kind of cute, especially with that star on their tail. I wonder if Fluttershy would like to adopt one.

“Shinx, attack with Spark and Thunder Fang. Luxio, use Charge and follow up with Discharge!” commanded the malevolent voice.

Smaller dog-like creatures dashed forward and leapt towards Discord. Half of them had jolts of electricity surging up from their bodies; the other half, from their teeth.

Discord teleported to the side in response, eyeing the attackers as they began falling back to the floor. His attention was suddenly caught by a thundering howl, as larger and more vicious dogs displayed yellow auras and jolts of electricity. Their teeth were gnashing together and their eyes blazed with rage. Much to Discord’s surprise, the spacious room swelled with waves of electricity. “Owowowowowowow!” He wailed upon being electrocuted as his body began to smell of burned flesh. He shook his head, and with a snap of his claws made his injuries vanish instantly.

“Wow, that was truly a shocking experience. Allow me to return the favour.” Discord smirked and snapped his claw, causing the tails of the attackers to intertwine with each other. “Catch the ball, catch the ball,” he patronized as he threw a small white ball, which grew to the size of a grown bear. Much to his surprise, the dog-like creatures didn’t react or show any fear, deciding to just stand still as the giant ball rolled over them. They stood back up a moment later, no worse for wear. “You guys are tougher than I thought.”

"Use the power of water against him!" commanded the sinister voice as the floor started to tremble.

“The power of water? Seriously?” His body started trembling like it was made of jelly as he said in a mocking tone, “Oh, look out everypony, he’s going to make me wet, I'm so scared.” He paused for a moment and his attention focused on a giant turtle with two cannons on his shell, and more intently on the creature next to it: a large snake-like monster with a long red mane and antennas poking out of its head. He pointed at the latest newcomer and asked, “What’s that?”

When Discord realized silence would be the only answer, he placed his claws on both sides of his face and said, “Is that how we’re going to play it? You’re just going to throw critters at me?” A warm smile appeared on his face. “Oh, I get it. I need to defeat wave after wave of minions before you reveal yourself in epic fashion for the final battle. I can dig that.”

Distracted by his overconfidence, Discord failed to react as two large streams of water blasted from the two cannons on the turtle’s shell. His limbs were torn off his body by the unrelenting force of water and pinned onto the wall. The stonewall behind him started cracking from the impact. Discord gasped, his eyes wide when a third stream of water was shot towards him from the snake-like creature’s mouth. Only a few seconds after having his head pinned against the wall, his body slumped back down to the floor.

After coughing the water away, he said with a raspy voice, “Note to myself: never again make fun of water-based attacks. That stuff packs a punch.” His head and hands vanished in an instant and reappeared on his body. Being a spirit of chaos had its perks after all, and he was glad it had nulled most of the pain he felt. “I suppose it’s my turn.” He snapped his claw and a portal materialized under his enemies, only for another one to appear on the ceiling right above. The two hulking giants fell into the portal on the floor and reappeared on the ceiling, ending up in a loop with ever-increasing momentum. “Hey, this is real fun, bring me more toys to play with.”

Discord had been staring at the spectacle in amusement, at least until his foes once again unleashed streams of water against him. One of the three streams managed to hit him in the stomach, pushing him towards the floor. He frowned and snapped his claw, closing both portals and causing the two giants to hit the ground with a tremendous thud, shattering the stone on the floor and filling the chamber with a considerable cloud of dust.

Starlight Glimmer galloped with determination. A few bruises covered her body, her eyes two narrow slits to match the irritated frown on her face. “Discord, you and I are going to have a serious talk… leaving us like that, with so many traps!” With Twilight researching the inscriptions on the walls, the task of finding Discord had fallen on her.

She went by tunnel after tunnel, each showing the passage of time as cracks and dust were visible on the walls. Occasionally, she’d notice a rune or two, most likely responsible for keeping these ruins from crumbling into oblivion. I cannot tell if this place is centuries or millennia old, but to keep all the sand from sinking in thanks to this magic is truly impressive.

Upon feeling a subtle trembling under her hooves, she stopped. Her ears perked up as loud bangs started reaching them. Discord? she thought before resuming her gallop, using the loud noise as a guide. She pressed her hooves against the stone to pull herself into a full stop the moment she entered a very spacious room. Her eyes focused on Discord, who was standing heroically on top of a large stony creature with a horn. Two gigantic worms made of stone quickly retreated into the closest entrance. “Discord!” she shouted.

“Starlight?” Discord wheezed before reappearing in front of the unicorn, a few bruises on his body indicating he was hurt. “So glad you joined in. I can finally display my abilities and heroism in front of an audience.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, before standing on her rear-hooves and pointing at a bruise on her friend’s cheek. “Were you fighting all this time? Are you hurt?”

Discord shook his claw dismissively. “Bah, just a little bit, no biggie. Some black doggy creatures attacked me with dark magic, or whatever it was they used. It surprisingly hurt a bit, but I showed them what real chaos looks like.”

“Dark magic? And wait a second now, how many did you defeat? It's only been fifteen minutes since you left,” Starlight asked, her voice denoting curiosity.

Discord laughed cheerfully. “Oh, you should’ve seen it! They tried to poison me, punch me, freeze me, they threw boulders at me and even caused an earthquake after pinning me to the ground. But those didn’t hurt all that much, and beating them up was quite entertaining.” A classic camera appeared next to him as he added, “Pity I didn’t film it.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “And you didn’t go after their leader because?”

“And cut this fun short? Who do you think I am?”

“That’s what I’ve been asking myself ever since I met you,” Starlight responded, rolling her eyes.

Their discussion was interrupted by a commanding voice, “Strike him with fairy attacks, don't give him a chance to recover!”

Discord smirked before snapping his claw in an all-too-familiar fashion.

Starlight yelped as a comfortable sofa grabbed her, gently placing her on a pillow. A cup of chocolate milk and a bag of popcorn promptly floated into her hooves.

“Enjoy the show,” Discord said before drifting towards the central part of the room.

Starlight shot a glance at the left entrance. Strange looking creatures were entering the room, most of them looking like small pink balls of fluff with overgrown ears the size of their tiny limbs. Leading them was a white feline creature with long pink ears and two bow ties, one decorating its neck and the other attached to an ear.

Aww... how cute and cuddly. Is the mastermind behind it really expecting us to fear them? Starlight thought.

“Attack with Disarming Voice!”

Starlight quickly drew her forehooves to her ears as an extremely unpleasant noise assaulted them. Yet, despite the overwhelming noise, she could hear Discord’s painful scream. After a few moments of gritting her teeth, she opened her eyes and lowered her forelegs. Her eyes widened at the sight of Discord now lying on the floor, moaning in pain.

“It’s working!” The mysterious voice echoed as the baleful laughter followed. “Sylveon, attack with Moonblast immediately, show no mercy! Cleafaries, keep using disarming voice to pressure him!”

Without a second thought, Starlight teleported next to Discord, quickly forming a magical shield between them and the incoming attacks. Shortly after, a silvery blast of destructive energy surrounded by a pink aura splashed against her shield, causing cracks to spread around her protective barrier.

“How dare you get in the way of our victory.” Dark sickly smoke filled the room, only to gather together in one spot and reform into a unicorn clad in heavy armor. His horn gleamed red at the end as if covered by melted iron.

Starlight surrounded Discord in her levitation aura and began to walk backwards. “W-Who’re you?”

“Who am I?” The unicorn chuckled. “Have you never heard of the most powerful sovereign to ever rule the Crystal Empire?” the stallion roared with a livid stomp. “I am King Sombra, one born from dark magic and the darkness that dwells in all living creatures. Remember it well, as you will serve me for the rest of your pathetic life.”

“In your dreams!” Starlight responded before shooting a beam of magic at Sombra, whose head turned into black smoke to avoid the attack. With her enemy distracted, she turned around and galloped to where she had come from. “Let me guess. You were defeated by Twilight and her friends and now you’re back for revenge.”

Sombra face twisted up into a snarl and his horn flashed with a dark aura, causing crystals to grow from the floor at the entrance.

Starlight focused her magic to teleport herself and her friend away, only to end up slamming into the black crystals face-first. She shook her head and stood back to her hooves, her eyes locked onto the growing crystals. Those blasted crystals block my teleportation, and I fear my magic won’t be able to pierce them in time, but there’s still an opening. With a resolute jump and the help of some self-levitation, she climbed up the tall crystals and jumped through the opening with Discord levitating right behind her. She fell down, bent her legs slightly and risked a quick look behind her. “That was close.”

Upon hearing the noise of cracking crystals, she bit her lip and broke into gallop, frequently teleporting herself and Discord to gain additional distance. Her pursuers weren’t far behind. She sped up her gallop and glanced at her unconscious friend in worry. Whatever Sombra’s minions did to him, it was meant to kill. “I must find Twilight and get out of here. Lest this dungeon becomes our tomb.”