My Little Pokémon: Grander World

Universe 50. Mirados. Afternoon.

"Ngh..." Twilight groaned while downed, looking over at Alpha's approaching vehicle. She was in a dire condition and needed to escape. Alpha's gaze was set upon the princess, and she had her eyes focused on her prize. She would not be stopped now, and nothing would stand in her way.

Even using the cannon twice to greatly harm the Torterras and even knock many racers off balance, nothing would stop Alpha from doing what needs to be done. She was the ideal Arcane Institute Student because of this.

"Come here." Alpha would leap out of her vehicle and land near Twilight. She tried to get up, but Alpha was able to knock her back down by pushing her head to the ground. "Stay down."

"You're mine now." Alpha's grip on the Princess's neck tightened, and her eyes glowed red with an eerie glow. Her grip on the Princess was like iron, and she couldn't break free.

"No...I'm...NOT!" Twilight's eyes would light up with a magical aura and she would blast Alpha back using a powerful aura, which allowed her to free herself from Alpha's grasp. The BlueLight Sisters would fly to Alpha's side, having been out of the Quantum Cannon's range and radius.

"Next time, think about where you're aiming!" Flawless ranted to Alpha. "You could've hit us!"

"Or worse, you could've hit the princess yourself!" Violet added in. Alpha was unfazed by their anger and got back onto her feet, ready to fight back against the princess.

"You were smart enough to be out of the way. Stop complaining. Hold her down at once." Alpha ordered an immediate restraint of Twilight Sparkle from the BlueLight Sisters and the other students.

Twilight, having been pushed down and having her head pressed down by Alpha earlier, was still in pain. She had to think fast, and she didn't want to be captured by the Institute again.

"Hey! What's your malfunction!" Suddenly, one of the racers yelled at the Arcane Institute, absolutely furious. So were many others who were at the center of the explosion.

The BlueLight Sisters and Alpha would find themselves surrounded by the racers, furious at what the Institute had done, the racers were all on edge, their vehicles scrambled and inactive at the moment.

"Do you have any idea how much work went into this?" One of the racers shouted, his face a furious red and his wings clenched tightly in rage.

"Our vehicles! They took forever to craft and make, and you've destroyed our hard work in just a few seconds! Just who do you think you are?" Another racer shouted, his body shaking with fury as his voice rose in a crescendo of anger.

"My father paid good money to see this vehicle made!"

All the rants just kept on coming, bombarding the Arcane Institute with bellows, growls and roars of anger, they were irate and rightfully so. The students tried speaking, only to be unable to get a word in from all these rants. Twilight would use this moment to slowly back up into the crowd of angry racers that surrounded the invaders from the Institute.

Alpha spotted this, refusing to let Twilight Sparkle escape from her. But right before she could make a move, in a flash of speed, approaching the area rapidly was Ash on his hoverboard. With Spike on his back along with Pikachu, he eyed down Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack in the distance.

"Hm?" One of the students turned her head, immediately screeching at the approaching Ash Ketchum. "GAAAAAH!"

"I gotcha!" With great speeds, Ash not only passed Alpha and the students, but he also managed to grab Twilight and Applejack, picking them both up on his hoverboard. Just like that, he was gone, causing Flawless to gasp. Ash didn't need to grab Rainbow Dash. He knew she was fast enough to catch up, even without a vehicle

"Hey!" Flawless bellowed at Ash.

"Ah, the race!" The racers promptly threw away their rants to get back to their vehicles. Even though they have been scrambled, they could still repair them and make them active. This was a hi-tech civilization after all, so the residents naturally knew how to repair stuff.

"Get back in the vehicle at once. After them." Alpha ordered, the BlueLight Sisters nodding in compliance. One by one, they all started rushing to their vehicles, trying to restart them. The students followed suit. But it was too late for them, because the race would continue, and they would have to deal with the racers first before catching Ash and his allies. As such, Alpha's mission was compromised. At least, for a few more minutes. But even a few minutes was enough to give Ash and his allies a head start to the finish line.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Too fast, too fast, TOO FAST!" Twilight yelled, having been picked up and taken away by Ash. She held her hat and clung to his arm as he raced through the city. She wasn't comfortable being carried around on a hoverboard at all, but she had to endure it.

Rainbow Dash was able to catch up, flying right beside the two of them, keeping up the pace and speeding ahead of the others. The pegasus looked back to see all the racers approaching, as well as the Arcane Institute.

The race was back on as all of them moved across the Spiral Fields, a section of the racetrack that had a series of winding, spiralling pathways. It was like a giant spiral of roads and paths that the racers would have to follow. It was a dizzying maze of twists and turns, and the racers were zooming around in a frenzy, trying to get to the end.

"They won't escape." Alpha bluntly said before going for one of the new functions she added to the vehicle, the holo-display. She brought it up and began typing on a digital keyboard. Meanwhile, the three BlueLight sisters were in the back seat, making sure that their weapons were in working order.

But one of the other functions was the ability to make it fly. Not just hover, but actually soar in the sky. By pressing a button on her dashboard, she activated a pair of wings that appeared from the sides of the car. These mechanical wings unfolded and began to beat in the air. With the newfound mobility of her flying machine, she took off in the direction of Ash and the gang, her goal clear in her mind: capture the target.

With a press of the same button, the wings of her car folded in and the vehicle returned to its original state of hovering on its wheels, allowing her to join the race once more, her eyes still locked on the targets in the front, and her determination stronger than ever. All of her plans had to be adjusted due to the racers, but that didn't matter to her, she had to keep her eye on the prize.

From above, the machine started releasing a rain of Quantum Beams. One of the beams was aimed right towards Ash and his group.

Ash couldn't see this attack coming, because he was focused on the path ahead. But, the BlueLights could, and all three of them opened fired, unleashing their spells and blasting away at the beam with their attacks.

As a result, the impact hit one of the racers that was coming up behind Ash.

"Eee-yaow!" That racer was an alicorn who let out a scream. A blast like that, so powerful, so devastating... was reduced down to the strength of a rock being chucked at the alicorn. But it still made them flip around a few times.

Ash finally had the time to look up, spotting Alpha who was trying to aim another shot from above. He ducked down and moved away. A laser blasted the road next to him, leaving a big burn mark. Ash grunted, knowing that if he got hit, it wasn't going to end well.

Alpha was ready to take aim, her eyes locked onto her target. Just then, her sight of Ash Ketchum was blocked by none other than Golurk. He managed to recover and get back up, coming to his friends' aid once more. "Gol!"

"Golurk! Blast that sucker outta the sky!" Applejack commanded her friend. Golurk opened its hands to unleash a Flash Cannon, and Alpha was prepared for it. She activated a shield, which protected her vehicle and allowed her to absorb the energy.

Then, with great speed and accuracy, Golurk began its attack, sending its fists forward one after the other, like a barrage of energy bullets. Alpha easily maneuvered the craft to avoid the relentless attack of the punches. As the battle raged, the other racers in the area started to scatter and run in fear of being caught in the crossfire of the two mighty combatants.

She was able to maneuver away from any of its shots, and then used the tractor beams to grab ahold of the construct's arms, pulling them in with her vehicle and immobilizing it. Alpha slightly chuckled to herself, believing that she had won this little scuffle.

Alpha was able to avoid any damage done by the machine, and with her shield in place, she was sure to stay safe. It wasn't long until she found a way to get rid of the construct for good. With a smirk and a sense of pride, she activated the Quantum Beams again, firing a barrage at Golurk from her vehicle.

"G-Gol!" Golurk would be bombarded repeatedly by the beams of Quantum Light. Even though the shield protected him, Alpha's aim was true as she aimed at various parts of his body, trying to take him apart by blasting him limb from limb, aiming for where his joints met.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaa...Chuuuu!" Assisting his friend, Pikachu fired 100,000 volts in Golurk's direction. The Thunderbolt wouldn't harm him obviously, but that was where the benefit came. All that lightning would surround Golurk's body, giving him a temporary shield of electricity to protect him.

Alpha tried to get closer, but was shocked by the bolts that were in the air. She was knocked off-course for a few moments while Golurk was protected by Pikachu, gaining his own Thunder Armor.

Alright, Golurk! Charge right into it!" Applejack bellowed."

"Golurk!" Golurk charged in with his electrical aura surrounding him. As they collided, the two of them sent out a shockwave of force and light, sending out shockwaves of energy. Both machines struggled against each other, until finally, with a mighty swing of one of Golurk's fists, he sent Alpha's vehicle sailing backwards and into one of the barriers that separated the Spiral Fields.

The students within the vehicle screeched at the top of their lungs as the vehicle went flying at high speeds, blasting off into the distance. Alpha wasn't too worried, but she did see this as an annoyance

"Manage the vehicle from here." She said to the Betas and Zetas, knowing that they too could work on this vehicle. Alpha wasn't about to slow down. Not for a moment. Wasting no time, she jumped out of the vehicle, while the Betas took the controls.

While this was all happening, Flawless saw this as an opportunity. This was just as planned, the rest would handle things and make sure the targets would stay in one place.

And so, Alpha jumped from the vehicle and went flying, her target in sight. She would descend, targeting a pegasus on a Sky Runner. Using her coat to glide, she would kick the racer off his Sky Runner and claim the vehicle as her own, landing with a perfect dismount, as the pegasus behind her let out a scream of terror. Thankfully, he would be fine since he could fly.

It wasn't going to be easy from now on out, the BlueLight trio knew this and had to work to get their plan into action. Alpha narrowed her eyes, immediately tinkering with the Sky Runner so that it can fit her style.

Alpha had managed to modify the bike and added a large number of modifications, all in the span of a minute. With the modifications in place, Alpha sped off towards Ash's group, the racers on either side of her clearing out of her way, knowing not to get involved in whatever this business was. She was in a straight line towards Ash's group and she would easily reach them soon.

"Are you kidding me?!" Rainbow Dash couldn't believe how quickly Alpha managed to keep up, not losing any momentum.

"That girl's persistent!" Never in her life has Applejack seen someone this persistent. No matter how many times she is thrown away, she'd just keep coming back. Twilight has also never seen such persistence before. Even she wasn't this persistent with certain things. Ash has certainly seen someone like this. In fact, he knows three individuals like this. Team Rocket, of course.

But compared to Alpha, Team Rocket were more frantic and less prepared, always having a plan, yet unprepared for the outcomes. But with Alpha... She's far different, it was clear that her plan to get to him and his friends were a well-thought-out and strategic approach, but Ash was prepared for this, even as the battle became even more intense.

"What do we do?! How do we lose her?!" Spike asked. Alpha looked at Ash and his friends, seeing all of them. They were just there. All she had to do was get close. It was almost a straight shot. Losing Alpha proved to be incredibly difficult since she was always hot on their tail.

"Let me handle this, boy." Sombra spoke from within Ash, deciding to get involved. Sombra emerged from Ash's body as a shadow. He went straight for Alpha, aiming to intercept her. Sombra would then materialize, using magic to try and strike at Alpha. He was attempting to make this a personal battle between the two.

Sombra would speed towards her, trying to get in her path so she could stop. However, all she had to do was throw a Poke Ball forward to solve her issue. Out of her Pokemon emerged her Gardevoir.

"Gardevoir!"

"Blast him, Gardevoir. Psychic."

"Voir!" With one arm out, Gardevoir sent a Psychic Attack at Sombra, but the Former King of the Crystal Empire would do the same. A magical beam flew forth, clashing with the Psychic as a ripple happened in the middle, which was like a big shockwave of air hitting them.

"Ngh...!" Sombra growled, trying to push his beam through Gardevoir's. But then, Gardevoir's blast started to overtake his, starting to make its way through the beam to hit Sombra head-on.

"Gagh!" Sombra cried out, as the blast of psychic energy slammed him hard, his form slowly being crushed. He screamed and used a magical burst of shadow energy that was enough to get Gardevoir to get blasted back, and enough to hold Alpha back for a brief moment. But not for long. Alpha, without hesitation, rammed the Sky Runner into Sombra while he was vulnerable.

"Arrrgghh!" Sombra would be pushed forward into one of the walls of the track. This would result in a massive shockwave of air to be released and a small, but fiery explosion. A small ball of flame would explode around Sombra's form. Sombra would still try his best, casting a spell as quickly as he could.

By now, the racers were about to enter their next area and before that could happen, Sombra needed to enlarge the gap between Ash and Alpha at all costs. The area in question was located in what appeared to be a massive Sphinx head.

"Gardevoir. Hyper Beam. Max power." Alpha pointed ahead, aiming for mass destruction once more. This time, from her Gardevoir.

"Gar...De...!" Gardevoir held her arms out, manifesting Infinity Energy into a single point, causing it to swell as the blast gained energy and power. This would result in a devastating attack. Then the Gardevoir fired a massive Hyper Beam, and the blast soared through the air in front of her, a shining rainbow of colour that seemed to pierce the sky and send a torrent of power crashing through the air, creating shockwaves of destructive force in the process.

Quickly, Sombra manifested a shadow wall that appeared behind Ash and a few other racers who managed to pass through in time. All this did was slow the attack. The beam crashed into the shadow wall, a paroxysm of Infinity Energy erupting.

A total of 45 Racers managed to get through while the remaining ones would be blasted back and blasted away, sent spiraling and twirling and whirling and swirling in a multitude of directions. The racers screamed as their world was a blur of spiraling colours. Rainbow streaks of colour and swirls of silver and black light.

For the time being, Sombra managed to block Alpha from reaching Ash. Now all he had to do was keep her from getting through the Shadow Wall. The Former King of the Crystal Empire groaned, getting back up and assuming a physical form.

"Keep moving, boy." He ordered telepathically, not looking behind him. Ash looked at him with concern, but he understood and decided to obey him.

The Temple of Galela.

Located within the head of the Sphinx, it was the next track of the Mirados Circuit. As the name suggests, this was a massive temple built in ancient times by the ancestors of the city, long before the modern, advanced and futuristic tech of today. The Ancient City of Galela, which used to be a city where ponies, dragons and many kinds of species lived in harmony was long gone.

All that's left is its temple and some artifacts and murals, the ancient temple itself acting as a tourist attraction. But, one pony who was descended from these ponies was still around. The Princess of the Temple known as Galela.

The Temple itself is a grand, sprawling complex that stretches across the head of the sphinx, its white marble columns and golden trim gleaming in the light. Within its walls lie countless treasures, relics, and artifacts from ancient civilizations. Its walls were made with fine marble and ancient gold, which was more valuable than regular gold.

A large, golden throne stood at the end of a great hall. The ceiling was painted to show images of great kings, queens, dragons and other mythological beings that resided within this ancient place, which also included Galela herself.

But this was not just another part of the race track, it was also a pitstop. The racers were slowing down as they made their way towards the temple. While the Temple was indeed a part of the track, there was a reason why this was also a pit-stop.

"Hah..." The racers sighed with relief, glad they managed to make it here. The Temple of Galela also acted as a safe zone, away from the chaos that the Arcane Institute had brought upon the racers. Their vehicles needed time to fully recover after what Alpha had done and thankfully, their Pitstop Crews were all present and accounted for. It seemed as if the racers were already prepared, as if the racers knew something like this would happen one day.

In the meantime, they took a minute to breathe, while others would be taken to the infirmary and those who could not recover, would be automatically disqualified from the race. But those who can heal themselves and wait for their vehicles to get repaired will remain within this safe haven for the next 15-20 minutes before they can return to racing. The time for their pit stops was about to begin and the first thing the pit stop crews would be doing was check up on their racers and make sure that their health is at 100 percent.

"Oh, thank Celestia!" Twilight herself was rather exhausted as Ash would continue to hold her. "Goodness! Why is she so persistent?! It's terrifying!"

"Yeah, she is." Ash smiled awkwardly. "But maybe we should keep going. I don't know how long Sombra is gonna keep her busy."

"You won't have to worry about that." Suddenly, someone approached Ash's group while they were catching their breath. Walking towards them was the Princess of the entire temple herself.

Galela.

Technically, Galela the 10th as her ancestors shared her name back then.

With a nice shade of yellow that matched the material of the temple and black hair, she waved at the group with a warm smile, even with all the commotion, she still had a very friendly attitude and demeanor. "Greetings, greetings. Welcome to my temple. I see you are all having quite the predicament, aren't you?"

"You know about what's happening out there?" Spike asked.

"Of course I do. I'm aware of many things even within my own temple. My Perception is that of an Ancient Power." She said proudly, puffing out her chest. She then looked towards the other pit stop teams. "That was a close one though. Any longer and the worst might have happened from these invaders."

"Tell me about it." One racer laid on his back, taking deep breaths.

"Then you know what the Arcane Institute are after, right?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

"Indeed, I do." Galela winked. "They're after you two, right?" She faced Ash and Twilight Sparkle, knowing that they were the prime targets. "My, oh, my. It must be stressful having to run and run from people like them. But, no, worries." Galela clapped her hooves and instantly, the room glowed, magical circles appearing out of the blue, runes in an unknown, ancient language and more symbols would emerge. In just an instant, everything seemed to be protected. No one was getting in here unless they got her approval.

"W-Will this be enough?" Twilight wondered.

"It is. This is the Protection of To-meri. A spell to protect everything from harm, from natural to unnatural. These invaders can try all they want. But they'll never get past the walls that protect us and keep them at bay. And if they do, they will go through a curse that will force them to endure over 100 Trials." She declared, confidently.

"Oh, sweet. That'll definitely buy us a lot of time." Ash scratched the side of his head. Galela's powerful presence and magical aura felt overwhelming to him and so many questions were popping within his head. She felt strange, even compared to Twilight.

"Now, get yourself tuned-up and fix your vehicles~" Galela hummed. "And if you're hungry, feel free to stop by the Temple Stores for food." With that said, Galela would leave, walking towards her grand throne room.

Right now, only Ash's Hoverboard was in tact. Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had lost their own during the chaos. Therefore, only Ash's vehicle could be tuned-up and it would be done by Cure. His assigned Pitstop Team Member. Speaking of whom, Cure pranced over while still listening to her music.

"So, you were being chased by some maniac? Looks like you two were having fun~" The pink-maned pony winked while giggling. "I saw it all and it looked all kinds of fun. That's just me though. Sorry about all of your vehicles though..."

"Eh. It's fine." Twilight sighed. "But I wish we had them right now. Escaping from the Institute will be a lot harder without one." Thankfully for the rest of the racers, their vehicles could be fully recovered as the Pitstop Crews would bring in more parts from the store.

"In that case, you'll need spares." Cure winked, having the answer to this problem. "You don't have to worry. In case of situations such as these, we can easily get spares for our customers and give you a fresh ride~! They might not have the modifications of your previous ones, but you'll be racing again, no problem." She assured the four.

"I guess it won't be much of a difference from what we're used to." Rainbow Dash scratched her cheek.

"Don't worry. Your original Vehicles will still be taken back to the lab to get fully fixed." Cure promised. "Until then, enjoy the spares. Also, here you go~" In her saddlebag was Ash's PokeGear. She tossed it at him. "I figured you might need that."

Ash caught the PokeGear with a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said. Finally, he could contact his companions.

Mirados Hospital.

Hilda was still unconscious, resting in a bed within the Mirados Hospital. Nate watched over her, making sure she was okay. Poor Hilda was in such a bad state thanks to the Arcane Institute and Hilbert was currently a spirit within Ash. Nate wondered if he would be next. Would the Institute find him next?

Currently, he was watching the race from the TV within this hospital room, observing how Ash and the others managed to evade and counter the Arcane Institute before entering the Temple. They did a good job holding their own against those attackers, but Alpha was by far the most terrifying one of all of them, being disgustingly persistent.

"Nate?" Hilda stirred awake and slowly opened her eyes. As she shifted her gaze to Nate's concerned face, a weak smile formed on her lips. Her voice came out as a whisper, "How long was I out for?"

"About a day." Nate sighed in relief as he lowered his head. He took hold of her hand. "And don't push yourself too hard."

"But the Institute..." She muttered, remembering the danger that loomed over them all.

"The others are currently in a safe zone away from the Institute's hands." Nate turned to look at the tv. "But I don't know how long that's gonna last. I don't even know where Hilbet is." He sighed, unaware that Hilbert had become a spirit. Hilda couldn't help but think of Hilbert, her body still weak. All she hoped was that he was okay.

But as Nate was watching the TV, something caught his attention. The TV would show multiple angles of the race during its break, catching up with each individual racer, even showing the battle that Sombra was having against the Arcane Institute right now. But one sight really caught his attention.

Someone was sneaking past all the chaos outside to try and get inside of the temple.

It was Twilight Moonlight.

"It's her!" Nate bellowed. But before anything else could be said, a noise interrupted him. A rather familiar noise. With a resounding boom, not too far from here, a gateway had opened.

Harmony's spell to block off any gateway arrivals had been interrupted by someone. From that gateway, what appeared to be a shoe would step out, but it was not the shoe of a pony. It was that of a Human.

As the journey continues.

Chapter 688 End.