My Little Pokémon: Grander World

Universe 12. The Arcane Institute. Late Afternoon.

The Professor was waiting as always. Having no physical body was a nuisance, yes. But by now, he's gotten used to it. However, Professor Grogar was still optimistic. Despite all that stood in his way, he believed he would emerge victorious. Staying as a being with only a soul left, tethered to a device did make him desire a body, even if temporary. That temporary body he had not too long ago was useful and powerful, but he required more.

The Professor wanted to jump into the action and deal with the problem as well. "So, Calem has escaped to the main universe. Which means all 10 of them are present there at last." He spoke.

"By coincidence or..." A scientist wondered.

"Not at all. Either way, this is a golden opportunity. But let's not be too hasty. Their group...or I suppose in this case I should refer to them by their team name, One Light, have proven to be formidable. Of course they are. They are the main universe. The ones that matter."

"By that logic...you make it sound like we'll never win."

"Oh, but we will. Fate is something one can change and manipulate when done right. I've been working hard to ensure Prisma's demise after what happened to my universe. They must be out of their mind if they believe defending all 10 of them will bring any benefit. Even if they drive us back, they will never defeat Prisma, which is why stopping him before he can fully appear is key."

"Can we pull it off this time, Professor?" Entering the room was Silver Swirl, along with Delight and Venture. "I'm worried about Twilight and her absence. Plus..."

"You need not worry, Silver Swirl. This game of cat and mouse is coming to an end. I believe I should get involved as well, but I need a proper body to unleash my full capabilities." He uttered.

"The Soul Crystal just won't do it, Professor." Venture spoke. "It'll just keep giving you temporary forms. The best we can do is keep feeding you a bunch of souls each time you're about to time out in whatever form you're in."

"No need. I believe I've realized what can suffice...no, solve my predicament." The Professor had something in mind. "Yes. It's perfect. For me to return to my former self, I must find a body that is compatible with my soul. And thankfully, I know of one. My own counterpart from the main universe."

"Another Grogar?!" Delight gasped.

"Precisely. At the end of the day, I am but a counterpart. Not as grim as you would think. And since I am one, the real one is out there, albeit, long since gone."

"If he's long since gone, wouldn't it be pointless to pursue him?" Venture asked.

"Not quite. Not to boast my own ego...but I know myself. And I know for a fact that I have a backup, no matter what world it may be in. That will be the solution to my current predicament. I will inhabit the body of my main counterpart. That way, the compatibility will be perfect without flaws to exploit."

"How will we find your main counterpart?" Silver Swirl questioned. "We're not even sure if his remains are still in the main world. Besides, it's a big place."

"I am aware, and that's why I will need a tracking device. Something to pinpoint his exact location. Once we have it, I can finally be in the action and use my own powers to deal with our enemies. Prepare yourselves. We'll be heading to the main universe." The Professor declared, wanting the body of his main counterpart. He believed in himself that he would have a backup after his time had come and gone.

Elsewhere in the Institute, restrained and currently being held captive were Skyblue Shine, her Umbrage Thieves and Horizon Storm. The latter having her magic used to fuel the Arcane Institute and help create the Soul Clones, which the Arcane Institute were using to help capture the counterparts, especially of Twilight Luminaria.

"Urgh..." The Alter-Ego of Twilight Sparkle groaned. To have her magic leave her body constantly was unbearable. She felt so weak and powerless like this, her rage unable to get her out of this mess.

Horizon struggled, wanting to get free, but was too weak to do anything. She was drained, but the Professor was going to keep her alive. Why? Because her magic was the closest thing to Twilight Sparkle's Magic. They couldn't afford to let her go, not now. Not until they had the real Twilight Sparkle here.

"Hey. Don't bother." Skyblue said. "It's pointless. They're not gonna let us go."

"Curse it all..." Horizon muttered, feeling defeated and helpless.

"The best we can do is wait for everyone to appear here and free us.." Skyblue sighed in defeat, hanging her head low. "That's all we can hope for. And I know for a fact they won't let me down."

Universe 1. Equestria. The Frozen North.

A gateway was opening there, right above the cold lands. And out from it came a large swarm of serpent-shape dships, all of them heading towards Equestria.

As the gates were opening up, a fleet of airships was flying through them, heading straight for further parts of the Northern Regions. These ships had a crew of hundreds of ponies, with Alpha leading them all.

As the fleet moved on, Alpha looked down at the snowy wasteland below her. She could see many different kinds of Ice-Types living there. Some were small like Snorunt or Snom, while others were giant like Abomasnow and Beartic. Most of the inhabitants seemed peaceful and harmless. However, some Pokemon seemed to be very aggressive towards the fleet. Alas, a good chunk of them could not fly.

The ship's engines whirred loudly, but it wasn't enough to drown out the sound of the wind. Alpha watched as they passed by a small village that was filled with Pokemon who were watching curiously at what they assumed was just a bunch of strange flying objects.

"Hah..." Flawless laid on her back, feeling a bit stressed out. "All this moving from place to place is stressing me out. I'm like so itching for something new already..."

"I know right..." Violet sighed. She sat next to her sister and pouted slightly, her head resting on the edge of her hoof.

"I don't like this either." Phantasia mused, "But we need to keep moving. We can't let those losers beat us."

"Look on the bright side. It could all soon come to an end if we play our cards right. Present on the ship was none other than Silver Swirl. For once, she was coming along instead of just staying at the Institute. The Professor wanted her to be there to help them out, since they needed all the help they could get. "I also want to find Twilight. Moonlight that is. Who knows what she's doing right now."

"Hm." Flawless pouted, looking up at the cold grey skies. "After this...what do you all wanna do?"

"What do you mean, sis?" Violet asked.

"This whole time, for years, we've been trained to put a stop to Prisma, making sure he never returns or get rid of him for good." She stated, sitting upright. "But I'm curious...what happens after?"

"Hmm..No clue." Phantasia certainly didn't have the answer. "What do we even do after this?"

"Shop 'till we drop, duh!" Violet already had something in mind "We'll be like, soooo rich that we'll have tons of bits and Pokedollars to buy everything! Like, so much clothes, makeup, hairbrushes...we could go anywhere we want, like, a vacation in Baltimare or Manehattan, maybe even to Hoofington! Ooooh, we could even buy our own home, like, with servants and everything! After we beat Prisma, we'll be that rich!"

"...Really?" Violet was already thinking of all the things she wanted to do. She was thinking about all the shopping and spending, and the parties. But then again, that's all her life had ever been. And honestly, it was kind of sad.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed, her face lit up in excitement. "It'll be awesome, like, the best ever!"

"Hm...I guess we could just do whatever we want now that I think about it." Phantasia nodded. "I'm so gonna buy something different. Like a castle. I'm gonna buy a big fancy castle and live there forever. It'd be so cool, right? I'll invite all of the rich and famous to come and live with me. We can throw huge parties and stuff."

"That's all? Your entire life?" Violety questioned.

"As if yours is any more unique. Plus, I'd like a vacation somewhere warm and sunny, but not too hot, with lots of beaches and water. I dunno, maybe even an island?" She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. She'd always wanted to go on a nice relaxing trip, but now that she was thinking about it, it didn't seem as fun anymore. Maybe it was time to try something new. "I think I might want to get out of here and see the world, y'know?"

"Well, there are other universes out there." Flawless pointed out, looking out of the window at all the different universes that were visible in the distance. "Maybe we could visit one of them. Or even all of them!"

"That sounds fun! Like, like we could be travellers!" Violet giggled, "Traveling the world, seeing new sights, having adventures...it sounds great!"

"We can do that after we beat Prisma." Flawless said. "Then we'll be free to go wherever we want, without worrying about the professor breathing down our necks! No offence to the big guy."

"What about you, Alpha?" Phantasia questioned.

"Whatever mission comes next, I will see to it that it is completed." Alpha said, already having something in mind.

"...Right." Silver Swirl, who had been quiet for a long while, finally spoke. "There's something I know I want after this. I want my daughter and my kingdom back. My entire universe."

"Oh, yeah. You did lose them. Uh, sorry about that by the way." Flawless responded. "But is there a way to even get them back? Just saying."

"Honestly...I have no clue..." Silver sighed, "But I can at least find my daughter. I'm going to keep trying to get my daughter back. I have to." All she could think about was her daughter, Swirly. Her entire universe had been lost due to Prisma's raging presence. Her mind raced back to when she spent time with her daughter, before the attack, how she would play games and read stories to her. It hurt so much that it was almost unbearable. But she would never give up. She will find her daughter again. And no one is going to stop her.

"Well, whatever we decide to do after this, we'll figure something out. We can all do what we want." Flawless said. "As long as we don't mess it up. 'Cause we'd have to do this all over again and my hooves are killing me!"

"I just want this all to be over." Silver Swirl said, her voice low.

Suddenly, as they were advancing, Silver Swirl, Alpha and the Soul Clones were the first to notice that something was amiss. The grey skies would get a tiny bit darker, the atmosphere getting even chillier than it usually does.

The students had yet to notice it, as they were all on the airship, ready for battle.

Alpha suddenly turned around when she heard something behind her. "Did you guys just hear that?" She asked her sisters and Silver. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and her heart was racing.

The air suddenly got colder.

"Hear what?" Violet asked, "All I hear is wind." But she was wrong. A second later, she heard a low moan coming from somewhere close by.

The ship suddenly shook violently as the moaning sound continued. It felt like the entire thing was about to fall apart.

"Is it a Pokemon?!" Silver yelled, trying to maintain balance. The ship lurched from side to side as the moans got louder. The ship was shaking like crazy, the moaning sounds were getting louder. Suddenly, the cold winds would increase in intensity as something emerged from the darkened skies, a massive entity which had a light green hue, it's entire body covered in snow and frost.

Flawless gasped, "Is that what I think it is!?" She looked up at the massive figure emerging from the sky.

"What's it doing!?" Violet yelled. She was clinging to the ship for dear life.

The entity roared loudly and then flew down at them at full speed, its mouth wide open. As it closed in on them, they saw it resembled a certain being. One that only lives in cold areas such as this as it slammed into the ship.

It crashed into them with a thunderous boom, the impact shaking the whole vessel. It then let out a roar that echoed across the sky.

"It's a..." Silver Swirl was almost speechless as the entity flew right towards her. "A Windigo!"

Due to Ash befriending the Windigos, these cold creatures were now on his side, aiming to assist him whenever they can. And right now, they're doing just that. They were on their way to stop the Arcane Institute, this attack being part of Celestia's trap. They would start freezing the fleet of airships in the middle of the sky.

The ship began to shake violently again. This time the wind picked up and it seemed like the air was becoming more dense.

Violet was clinging to Flawless for dear life. "What do we do?!"

"Get off!" Flawless yelled. She tried to push her away. "Annoying little wind things! You're in our way!" Instantly, she tried blasting magic at the Windigos, a blue beam flying out from her horn, striking the Windigo square in the chest, but the beast didn't seem to feel a thing. "Oh, horse apples! It didn't work!" Violet gasped. She tried to push away from the Windigo. It seemed like the Windigo was trying to push its way through the ship itself. It kept roaring loudly, the force of the blast sending shockwaves throughout the entire ship.

But that wasn't the only Windigo. More were coming. They could be seen approaching from a distance. The ship rocked violently back and forth, and everyone was thrown around. The Windigos were coming closer, roaring loudly, and the students were in full panic mode.

"They're going to get inside!" Silver Swirl shouted. Suddenly, she felt the airship shudder beneath her hooves.

"I think not." Alpha and the Soul Clones would intervene. By holding out their hands, they would harness the magic from within, using their power to intercept the Windigos. Alpha utilized the mixture of Sombra and Galela's magic while the Betas and Zetas stuck to using the magic of all the souls within them.

Their magic could at least interact with the Windigos to an extent, but Alpha's seemed to be the most efficient thanks to the magic of Sombra. They were doing a decent job of holding them back.

The Windigos howled, the spread of their ice being held back by the Fire-Types that were sent out. Each Fire-Type would do their best to push back the ice while also keeping the students warm from the cold. Some would turn their attention the Windigos, attacking them right away. The flames could also interact with the Windigos, making their attacks effective as well.

The Fire-Types seemed to be the best option against the Windigos, who were still being pushed back by the combined forces of the students and the Pokémon.

While they were holding them off, the ship was heading in a certain direction. Many of the ships were all heading in one direction, done forcefully by the Windigos. The direction in question was straight towards the Hyperborean Island and by extension, Magehold. The island up ahead was already kicking up an aggressive snowstorm that was set up by the Windigos themselves. As they were being led towards it, some students on board started to panic. "It's an Ice Tornado!" A unicorn student shouted, "The ice is going to crush us!"

And speaking of the ice, shards of them would start being launched, striking at the ships. Some of the ice would pierce the ships while others were deflected. Alpha, seeing this, would dig deeper in her magical capabilities. She would put her fingers together while utilziing the best of Sombra and Galela's magic.

From it, she formed a Dark Spell which would conjure up a massive Dark Shield around all of the ships, acting like a barrier. The Ice would shatter upon making contact. This made it easier to get closer to the Island. But as the ship got closer and closer to the island, the more dangerous it got.

Eventually, they were all drawn inside, into the massive mountain in the centre of the Island, looking to crash into it. However, Alpha's spell did more than just protect the ships, it would also affect the Windigos as well, making them unable to go any further into Magehold. It would also blast them away, the dark power from the spell damaging their very being to a gigantic degree.

"We've done our part...We leave it to you, Vampires." One of the Windigos spoke while being launched.

With that in mind, she was also able to make sure that the ships didn't crash into anything as they entered Magehold. They all landed on the ground with no damage at all, the shield dispersing as the ships touched the snow-covered land. The institute had finally made it into the Magehold, all while the students were starting to panic due to the icy winds that had started blowing around the ship. The entire fleet had arrived safely on the ground of the Magehold. The Windigos would continue their attack outside.

As the ships landed, they were surrounded by an enormous mountain. It was the perfect spot for the trap that had been laid for them. This is what they've been preparing for. All of this.

Magehold.

At Magehold, Dimstar, Eccentrick and all other vampires were at the ready, expecting the Arcane Institute to show up at any given time. The dark clouds that covered the sunlight would shield them from any harm and the cold is never an issue to them. Once they saw all the ships heading this way, moving in an unorganized manner and only kept shielded by Alpha's magic.

"Here they come..." Dimstar. "That's close enough. Alright! Get the Despair Plants ready!"

"Okay~!" Eccentrick said with a joyful face. Even after the defeat of the Dread League, one thing remained. The Despair Plants. These terrifying plants of destructive power would be utilised once more, but for a different reason. The vampires all had the seeds they needed and would use their own magic to nourish them.

Instantly, they would all plant them into the ground and in an instant, many Despair Plants grew out of the ground. These plants would be stationed all around the mountains that were surrounding the Hyperborean Island, some would also surround Magehold's main area.

With all of these Despair Plants, they would be able to keep the Arcane Institute in a chokehold. They had yet to fully grow into their full forms, so at best, the Despair Plants appeared as massive roots and vines trying to form. But those roots and vines would still be a problem. They instantly flew at the ships, crashing into the Dark Barrier.

Aggressively, these vines would smash into the barrier, trying to pierce through. With each impact, they were trying to break in and grab anyone from the institute. The Dark Barrier would be smashed against the ship and then again with the vines. Some vines were even starting to push the ship to the side.

The Roots and Vines of the Despair Plants wrapped around the ships and then they started to pull the ship in a different direction, causing it to veer off course. "This pressure...!" A Zeta Clone would shout, trying to keep the ship in the air. The barrier wouldn't last much longer and would break apart at some point.

"It's going to crash!" Violet yelled. "What do we do?"

"You dolt! Use your magic to hold it all!" Flawless smacked her little sister on the head. That was the best option. Togther, all the students would use their magic, focusing on a synchronized telekinetic hold on all the airships, keeping them up. All the ships began to lift up again and then flew towards the center of the island. The vines and roots still attempted to grab the ship, but it was still too strong and the ships continued to move.

"Oh? Looks like they're managing to change the direction." Fractured Note noticed. "That just won't do. Daughter."

"I'm on it, father." Dimstar eyes narrowed as she already new what to do. Her invisible tendrils that were only visible to a few would pulsate aggressively as she spread her wings, taking flight.

She used tendrils to grab onto the roots and vines of the Despair Plants, giving them some assistance. The tendrils were extremely strong, so she was able to hold the airships back, making them crash into each other. It took all the students' concentration and strength to keep the airships up and flying straight. As they crashed, the tendrils kept them from moving any further.

"Ugh, this is annoying!" Violet complained, struggling to keep the airship from crashing into the ground.

"All those that have Pokemon that can only...keep them distracted!" Alpha declared, throwing a Poke Ball into the air. From it, her Gardevoir, who was capable of telekinetic flight would appear.

"Gardevoir!"

Other ponies would do the same, throwing Poke Balls that only contained Pokemon that were capable of flight. Whether that be Flying-Types or other types that could float, hover or do what Gardevoir can do. The other types of Pokemon would stay on the ship.

The flying Pokemon flew out from their Poke Balls and surrounded the ship. Upon appearing, they would go straight for the roots and vines, focusing all their efforts on attacking and keeping them at bay. This was a good way of doing things as the vines and roots would focus on the Pokemon instead. Some Pokemon like Alpha's Gardevoir would fly into the air and use telekinesis on the ships, which would make things easier.

But these Despair Plants weren't so easily deterred. The more they attacked, the more aggressive they would become. The Despair Plants would lash out with more vines and roots and would begin to form mouths which could unleash devastating fireballs. One could easily pierce an airship. And the more they were fed with nutrients from the Vampires, the bigger they were becoming.

Suddenly, a massive vine appeared from underneath one of the airships. The Pokemon weren't even able to react as they would be hit and knocked away, spiralling through the air.

The vine smashed into the airship and then pulled it down. Another vine appeared and grabbed the airship, ripping the airship's underside apart. Another airship got grabbed by the vines. The students on board had to abandon ship. They were able to get away from the airships, but some of the students got hurt when the ship was destroyed, falling into the snowy ground unconscious.

But this wasn't all of it. From below, the ground would rumble. The snow would move around, almost like a certain being was lurking underneath, waiting for the perfect opportunity. And that opporunity arrived. The snow would erupt, as another massive entity would burst from the ground, this one even larger than the others, with its vines reaching out to grab any airship it could reach.

They had already planted a Despair Plant earlier, just in advance. This one had already fully grown, being fully ready for action.

From its base, the body would form a huge mass of roots and vines. On top, it would have a large head which looked similar to a tree with an eye that looked like a dragon's head, but instead of a mouth, the head would be made of a large eye that looked like a dragon's head. It would have two large vines coming from the side of the head which acted as its arms, ending in a claw.

From the Despair Plants body, they would grow a number of vines. It's head would then sprout out and open, revealing an eye which glowed red as the vines and roots moved to attack.

As soon as they appeared, they immediately began to attack the ships, attempting to destroy them or grab any ponies in sight.

"Voir!" Gardevoir would use Hyper Beam on the roots and vines, attempting to keep the massive plant at bay.

"Tch. At this rate...Get the airships to land! They won't stop attacking until they get what they want!" Alpha demanded.

"As if I'd let you land." Appearing on the ship was Dimstar, deciding to get up close with the Arcane Institute. The Daughter of the Former First Lich King landed on the ship along with other vampires who took flight and made landfall on the other airships, all landing at different spots, some even landing on the top deck.

The Vampires would land on the deck and began to attack the students. They would use their fangs to drain the life from them, while the rest would fight them. Dimstar would land right in front of Alpha and would send out a wave of her invisible tendrils, trying to knock the Soul Trainer off of the airship and towards the Despair Plants.

However, Alpha could see the tendrils thanks to her magic and her entire being. She spotted these tentacles coming her way, prompting Gardevoir to come to her aid. The Embrace Pokemon teleported in front of her trainer, putting up a shield to block the tentacles from coming through.

Now that the vampire ponies were here, their curses were active. It has been a while since they'v been able to use their curses on anyone, but now was a great time to do so, especially against an enemy who wasn't aware of it. Some of the vampires were the first to attack and they quickly went to the nearest ponies.

Very soon, it became a clash of magic against curses.

"A trap...I should have known." Alpha said when looking at Dimstar.

"Hm. You should have. You came to our home and threatened our friends. By all accounts, you set yourself up for failure the second you arrived." Dimstar smirked. "But I promise you, this is not the extent of our trap."

"What?" Alpha raised an eyebrow. Indeed, there was more to this trap that Celestia set up. While it wasn't the most stealthy trap, it was certainly effect and aggressive.

The trap went even further. Further than Magehold. Further than the Hyperborean Island. Further than Equestria itself.

Pegalysium. The Sky Monarch.

High above the skies, above the nation of Equestria, was the nation of Pegalyisum, home to the pegasi that live there. Indeed, they too were in on the trap. And from this distance, they had an amazing advantage.

King Paramount and Queen Luminary already had their various Unown at the ready, each of the Symbol Pokemon looking down at the nation, waiting for any signs of attack. The Unown would begin to float in mid-air, forming various symbols that appeared.

"I believe they see them, Your Majesty." A soldier explained. "Right where we want them."

"Hm. Excellent. Then they're within our sights." Paramount smiled. "You know what to do, Unown. Hidden Power!"

With that, a large magic circle appeared in the sky, and the Unown would go to the centre of it. The circle itself was blue with an inner layer that was red. There was also an outer ring of symbols, and the middle of the circle was empty, with nothing but air. Then the Unown would begin to move around in a circle and a large beam of light appeared in the sky. It began to form in the center and then the light grew brighter, forming into a massive, powerful light beam. The beam of light was directed at the Arcane Institute's ships.

This was an incredibly powerful and dangerous attack. It's a miracle that they were even allowed to do it. But it wouldn't just beam an attack. The Unown and their Hidde Power always bring strange effects, sometimes altering reality itself. And this was one such approach. The beam descended at high speeds, breaking through the clouds and going further down, leaving the high nation Pegalysium completely undamaged.

Magehold.

Down at Magehold, things were still getting heated as the Arcane Institute was still doing its best to hold their ground against the Despair Plants. The ship that had gotten hit the worst had already landed on the snowy surface of Magehold. Many of the vampires would be seen attacking students who would either try and defend themselves or attack back. The Despair Plants kept trying to take the airships down.

One airship was even caught by a large Despair Plant that looked like a tree, with roots and vines growing from the base and up. The plant was big enough to lift the ship into the air. The Despair Plant had a head on top that looked like a dragon, with a single red eye and a large maw.

But suddenly, something happened. Everyone looked up to see this massive beam coming their way, having the perfect line of fire possible. Flawless and all the students gasped, their eyes wide open in shock.

"That's our cue. Farewell." Dimstar and the other vampires would teleport away, some of them laughing afterwards.

And the beam struck.

It came straight from Pegalysium, directly from the Unown and it struck Magehold. The beam of light hit the airship and the plant holding the airship. The plant was immediately destroyed, its vines and roots disappearing into thin air, but it was a necessary decision that even the plants acknowledged.

Soon, all of the ships and everyone aboard would be enveloped by this mystical light of the Unown. Celestia's trap proved to be effective indeed, giving the Arcane Institute little time for a proper counterattack. And now, they were all eclipsed as the journey continues.

Chapter 719 End.