My Little Pokémon: Grander World

Galar. The Crown Tundra. The Frostpoint Fields.

When beginning their search for Calyrex's steed, Ash, Pikachu, Sci-Twi, Sunset and Calyrex came across an Articuno that was rather cruel and aggressive. Known as Galarian Articuno, it stood in their way, preventing their progress. To get anywhere, they had to get past Articuno.

It would fly in close to Ash and the group and would let loose with a blast of icy wind. Ash shielded himself, feeling the powerful chill. If this was a Legendary Pokemon, he knew that he had to get serious. "Charizard! Use Dragon Claw!"

"Rrrrr!" Charizard growled, his claw becoming encased with blue energy, rushing at Articuno. Articuno narrowed his eyes, using a combination of Hurricane and Ancient Power to try and stop Charizard's Dragon Claw.

With his own strength, Charizard broke past the Hurricane and Ancient Power combination to deliver the strike against Articuno. Articuno grunted in pain, backing away a bit to regain his balance. Charizard would land in the snow with a smirk on his face, showing his sharp fangs.

"Flamethrower!" Ash and Sunset said in unison.

"Pyroar!" Both Pyroar and Charizard would breathe out scarlet flames that flew towards Galarian Articuno.

Galarian Articuno glared at them before letting loose another cry that was as powerful as before, the wind picking up again as a result. The sound was deafening and it was causing their ears to ring painfully. It would fly away and disappear from sight for a few moments.

"Rapidash! Use Flamethrower as well!"

"Dash!" Joining in, Rapidash's Flamethrower was sent towards Articuno. By using Freezing Glare, Galarian Articuno's glare would engulf the Flamethrower before it could hit, freezing the entire attack and causing the flames to become ice.

"What the?!" Ash and Sunset's eyes widened.

"Pika!" Thankfully, Pikachu used Thunderbolt to smash it.

Galarian Articuno flew back towards the group, letting loose a massive gust of icy wind. It was enough to send Ash and the group tumbling back from the pressure. However, that's when Calyrex assisted, using Psychic to hold their bodies, preventing them from taking any damage.

"Whoa...thanks Calyrex!"

"Indeed. Let us hope I can provide enough assistance to help in battle." Calyrex replied.

"We're in this together, no matter how strong this thing is!" Ash nodded with confidence.

"Ascend, Charizard and use Flamethrower!"

"Char!" Charizard spread his wings wide, taking flight at high speeds towards the Galarian Pokemon. "Zaaaaar!" With a mighty cry, he would let out another Flamethrower that approached Galarian Articuno.

The Cruel Pokemon started flying to gain some distance, which only prompted Charizard to chase it down. The two soared through the skies with Charizard repeatedly firing streams of fire that tried to keep up with Articuno. Galarian Articuno managed to keep his lead, despite Charizard trying his best to get a direct hit.

Articuno tried using Ice Beam, only for Charizard to fly over the chilling blast.

The other Fire-Types looked up, watching Charizard clash with Articuno in the sky as various flames and beams of ice kept zooming across the snowy night sky. Articuno saw that this chase could last for a long time, so it changed up its strategy, spiralling in the air while using Hurricane. The powerful winds picked up again and flew in all sorts of directions. This was so that the wind would strike Charizard, but Charizard would dodge it with a quick spin of his own. Ash's Charizard would continue the pursuit, not even slowing down.

"Now! Rush in!"

"Char!" Charizard then accelerated through the air, unleashing the scarlet flames at the best angle possible. His flamethrower crashed through the fierce winds, burning past their pressures before finally landing right onto Articuno. The Fire-Type was struck dead center, scorching its icy feathers as it cried in pain.

"Nice! You got it!" Sci-Twi cheered as Articuno spiralled through the air before crashing into the ground. After hitting the cold hard ground, Articuno would growl, clearly angered by this.

It shook its head, grimacing at the group and especially at Charizard. It spread its wings wide when getting back up, scattering a plethora of snow before letting out an angered and chilling cry. With that cry, a massive blizzard would suddenly begin, with a huge flurry of snow coming their way. This blizzard made it difficult to see anything but a wall of white snow.

The group covered their eyes, with Ash gritting his teeth. He couldn't see anything through the storm of snow, making it impossible for any of his Pokemon or the group's Pokemon to aim properly.

"Oh, man!" Ash looked around, his hat nearly flying off. Charizard and the other Pokemon all struggled, trying to endure the cold winds. Galarian Articuno then appeared, its glowing purple eyes shining in the darkness.

Enraged, Articuno used Freezing Glare on the ground, summoning an array of purple ice. But this wasn't just a threat to them, it was a threat to the other Pokemon that lived around here. A group of Duosion were suddenly encased in ice, unable to move or escape from the attack. A Sneasel was running but he was frozen solid, a Glaceon was frozen as well. It wasn't just them, it was other Pokemon that didn't even have the means to escape or protect themselves from Articuno. Ash and the group gasped as Articuno did this without any hesitation.

"The Pokemon!" Sci-Twi yelled as they all looked at each other. An Abomasnow was immediately trapped, even its chilly body unable to withstand the might of a Legendary Pokemon. More and more Pokemon were getting trapped by Articuno, all to do one thing. Anger Ash and the others, which it was doing a great job at doing.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Ash growled. "This is between you and us, there's no need for the others to be involved!"

"King of the Sea...I fear that this Pokemon is far too cruel. It does not care who or what is affected by its wrath, it is doing so purely out of anger and a sadistic sense of pleasure. I've read the Pokemon's thoughts, it's not listening to reason."

"Not at all?!" Sunset gasped. "What gives?! Why is it like this?! Is regular Articuno even like this?!"

"No. Not one bit." Ash knew for a fact that Articuno was nothing like this. Every Articuno he's met acts nothing like this. Not even a bit of cruelty was within them. Even the most aggressive of them were not as bad as this.

The other Pokemon cried out for help, the ice continuing to freeze them. Some started fleeing, trying to evade the approaching purple ice that was tearing through the area. "Charizard! Swoop down and use Flamethrower!"

"Rizard!" Charizard would rapidly descend, spraying his flames against the ice. Rapidash and Pyroar did the same, attacking the purple ice and saving many of the Pokemon that were nearly encased in it. They had to continuously unleash flames upon the ice, preventing them from trapping others or even freeing those already trapped.

At the same time, Articuno would take this opportunity to fly away, deciding to stop battling for the time being.

"Hey, get back here!" Sunset shouted, but the bird was already flying away, escaping from their sights.

"Just ignore it! We have to save the others first!" Sci-Twi reminded her as they got to work, freeing more and more of the Pokemon. They had to go all over, making sure the other Pokemon could escape.

They were able to free them all in time, with the wild Pokemon all thanking them and fleeing. Once they were all gone, Ash breathed in relief, wiping his forehead of sweat. That took a long time.

"I think we're done..." Ash sighed, seeing the last of the Pokemon run away in terror.

"What was that Aritcuno thinking? It was so aggressive..." said Sci-Twi silently.

"I don't know...I don't even know why Articuno would act like this." Ash shook his head, feeling like something wasn't right.

"Maybe it was just being territorial? I dunno." Sunset scratched her head, shrugging a bit.

"It was certainly incredibly hostile, that's for certain." Calyrex agreed. "But I do believe I know the source of that behaviour. And even that the other two are just aggressive."

"Other two...You mean Zapdos and Moltres are just as violent as that Articuno now?!" Ash turned to Calyrex.

"Indeed. They're aggressive in their own ways. Articuno is cruel and the other two are well..." Calyrex closed his eyes. "Either way. You cannot let them slow us down. During the attack Articuno launched on us, I do recall something from my steed. Mainly what it used to eat."

"And what would that be?" Sci-Twi asked.

"It eats many types of food that I would normally provide it with, but I remember something else." Calyrex explained. "The Shaderoot and Iceroot Carrots that grow on Freezington. Iceroots and Shaderoots are one thing that it always had an interest in. I can still feel its hunger, its desire to eat more and more."

"So all we need to do is find these carrots, give them to your steed and everything will be fine?" Ash questioned.

"It's not that easy. My steed has grown very aggressive. It is very distrustful of people and will not trust you unless you give it a good amount of Iceroots and Shaderoots."

"A good amount?" Ash blinked.

"I believe about 20 would be enough." Calyrex replied, with the others staring at him with surprise.

"20?!" Sci-Twi, Sunset, and Ash yelled.

"That is correct." Calyrex nodded. "It will trust you more and it will listen to you. This way, I can finally bond with it. You will need carrots for that. If you can find some, you will have to find a rich soil that I can use my powers to grow the crops."

"We could always go back to Freezington to find some." Ash suggested. "But that Articuno has me worried, plus the other two if they're out there. So that's why Peony brought up the Legendary Birds..."

"What if it attacks them all again..." Sci-Twi squatted, looking at the Pokemon that they saved, petting a Duosion and a Sneasel.

"It mostly seemed focused on us. I believe it will try and target us again mostly." Calyrex replied. "But still, the next encounter you have with it must be the last. As for where you can plant them..." The King Pokemon closed his eyes once more, observing the area beyond here.

In his eyes, he spotted a place that appeared to be a graveyard, but not a regular graveyard. Another appeared to be a field covered in pristine snow. "A place where many graves lie and a place of pristine snow. Either one will suffice."

"I see. Then we'll try that next." Ash smiled as it was back to Freezington to find some of those seeds. Hopefully, they could get enough for Calyrex.

But away from here, while still being in a snowy area, Fluttershy and the others managed to successfully leave Unilight, now wandering the snowy lands of the Galar Region, with the Crown Tundra being somewhere in the distance. However, they wouldn't be wandering aimlessly, as they all knew that Ash was in the Crown Tundra right now.

Ash let them know where he currently was and thus, they were heading to the Crown Tundra. "It should be in...that direction." Rarity looked at the map on her Xtransceiver. "Excellent. Pheromosa will be able to get me there soon. But what about Unilight?"

"I suggest that some of you stay around here instead of advancing to the Crown Tundra." Nightmare Moon ordered. "Without a doubt, those from Unilight will attempt to advance towards the Crown Tundra, so some of you will have to prevent their forces from advancing."

"But how many will be going? And how many will stay?" Roseluck asked.

"Decide on that. Rarity will obviously go since she has the fastest Pokemon with her. I too will join her to the Crown Tundra. To prevent them from advancing, we will need those who can handle the skies rather from attacking from below. Those with Flying-Types or Aerial-Adjacent Pokemon will have to take on that task." Nightmare Moon instructed. "The rest of you can join us, or you can choose to remain around here."

"I will go with you." Roseluck agreed, nodding at Nightmare Moon. "I don't have anyone who can handle the skies."

"Same here." Other ponies would say. Some didn't have Pokemon that were fit for the air, but they could still be of help.

"Speaking of the air...where are the Wonderbolts? Plus, I haven't seen Rainbow Dash in a while now. I hope she's okay..." Fluttershy muttered to herself.

Just then, a sound was heard by Fluttershy's Audino as she picked it up from a great distance. "Audi!" The Hearing Pokemon gasped as she turned in the direction of where she heard the sound from. The others turned their heads to Audino as well.

"That sound..." Fluttershy would soon hear it as it was getting closer.

"Audino!" Audino nodded, hearing something from the distance. The sound was getting louder and louder. "Audi audi! No!" She gasped and the others raised their brows, not knowing what she was talking about.

"It's the Arcane Institute! They're heading this way!" Fluttershy shouted, alerting everyone.

"This soon?!" Nightmare Moon growled. "Rarity! And whoever can head there! Get to the Crown Tundra and find Ash Ketchum at once!"

"R-Right!" Rarity nodded, promptly using her magic to launch a Poke Ball, summoning Pheromosa. "Time to go, Pheromosa!"

"Phero!" Pheromosa nodded, grabbing Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and her Audino respectively. Others would throw their Poke Balls out to travel on their Pokemon for better speeds. "Phero!" With that, they would race to the Crown Tundra in the hopes of finding Ash.

"Good luck. Everyone else! You must not allow the Arcane Institute to advance!" Nightmare Moon commanded the others as she used her powers to summon her armor. The others threw their Poke Balls out to try and handle the skies. Many, many airbound Pokemon would appear rapidly.

They were coming. A large ship, housing Silver Swirl and her fellow students. And as always, it was being led by Alpha. This was the only ship they had since the rest had been damaged thanks to the previous battles, but it was an effective ship regardless.

"It won't be long until we reach the Crown Tundra." Alpha said as she had all the Beta and Zeta Soul Clones behind her. "The Professor has made it clear that we cannot fail this time. No second chances after this one. We need to make this next encounter our last with Ash Ketchum and his allies."

"Of course. We will make this the final time we ever confront him." Silver Swirl agreed, looking at the approaching land ahead. "If we can pull it off."

"We'd better able to." Flawless added.

Just then, the ships sensors began to go off, picking up something ahead. "We've detected some movement. There are Pokemon approaching." A Beta clone said, reading off the monitor. "A lot of them!"

"One Light. We already expected that they would try and intercept us. But we'll make sure they won't get in our way." Alpha narrowed her eyes. "Ready your Poke Balls. And get the Soul Crystal ready for a full charge."

"Yes, Alpha." The clones obeyed as they all threw their Poke Balls. They summoned Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. Alpha threw out a Poke Ball, summoning her Talonflame.

"Talonflame!" The Flame Pokemon cried out. The Soul Clones would then begin flying their Pokemon out of the ship, ready to confront One Light. Talonflame would screech as it prepared itself for the oncoming attack. Alpha would narrow her eyes as she readied herself, gripping her Poke Ball tightly. She would not allow her mission to be compromised by One Light.

Back at Unilight, Twilight Luminaria was currently recovering, surrounded by magical flowers that wrapped around her body. They would rapidly heal her wounds, making sure that she'd recover from her injuries. Professor Grogar would oversee her recovery, standing before her with his arms folded. Her wounds had healed completely and the magical vines were starting to retreat from her. The alicorn princess opened her eyes, slowly rising from the ground. "I feel it...my strength returning...Those meddling Equestrians. If we were are the Arcane Seas..."

"Your Majesty. Worry not. I've ordered my Institute to approach the Crown Tundra and even deal with those who get in their way. Their next encounter should be their last. Hopefully." Grogar said.

"I doubt it. But I do agree...We need to make sure this comes to an end. I need to be at my best...And for that to happen, I need to reunite with the rest of my counterparts. What about Twilight Wish?"

"Twilight Wish is tricky because of her castle that has constantly been moving through dimensions. She will be harder to capture compared to the other Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Moonlight. But the latter...I'm just not aware of what she's doing right now."

"She betrayed you. That's what." Twilight Luminaria revealed the truth, revealing that Twilight Moon defected from the Arcane Institute.

"Impossible!" Grogar gasped.

"But it is. Now, she works with One Light, completely switching her objective. Abandon any hope of her working alongside you once more in this situation. She's made it quite clear to me that she won't work alongside us any longer."

"I see. I can't believe that...after all I've done...she would turn against me." Grogar shook his head in anger, having a hard time believing that Twilight Moon was actually a traitor. He expected nothing less than her to remain loyal to the cause, yet that was clearly not the case anymore. She had turned her back on everything they did and was now fighting against him. How could this happen? "It's fine! I have my final ace in the hole."

"And that is...?"

"There is one more ally we have, Your Majesty. One I successfully managed to influence. Right now, he is in Outer Space, but he should be with us soon." The Professor smiled.

"Who is he? Who are you referring to?" Twilight Luminaria inquired, curious about who Grogar had in his possession.

"He is...a hero. Someone Ash Ketchum knows very well. A hero that I managed to control. Galaxy Master is his name."

"Him?" The Twilight Sparkle part within Twilight Luminaria remembered Galaxy Master well. "You actually manage to take control of someone like that?"

"I was able to. And with that, I can call for him at once. We'll bring an end to this, Your Majesty!"

"Hm. Do so. Use Ash Ketchum's own hero figure against him. Even if it is technically his own father going against him." Twilight Luminaria ordered before pausing for a moment. "Actually...Use him to find Twilight Wish. He should be able to help locate her castle and bring it back to this world."

"Very well." Professor Grogar bowed as he left her throne room. With this, they'd finally be able to bring a stop to this and to bring Twilight Wish over to their side as well. With that, their goal was getting closer to completion. They just had to pull it off before it all goes wrong.

Meanwhile, back with Ash Ketchum and the others, the group would find themselves arriving back at Freezington, searching for the carrots. And thankfully, Freezington did sell them both, Shaderoots and Iceroot Carrots were granted to them as they certainly had more than 20.

"Here you go. Not many really have use for them, honestly." An old lady said as she gave Ash the two carrots. The Trainer would then place them in a small box before giving her some money.

"Thanks!" Ash said, giving the lady the Pokedollars he had.

"You're too kind!" She thanked them before heading back into her house.

"Oh, yeah. That's way more than 20. It'll be a smash hit growing them!" Sunset Shimmer inquired.

"Now, we need a fertile soil, and he'll use his powers to make these carrots grow." Ash replied. The two places Calyrex mentioned were the best option in his words, but they would take a crack at one of them first. That being the graveyard area. They did have to be careful though. They could ruin into Articuno one more time or even the other two, who apparently just as aggressive.

Unbeknownst to them, in the distance, far from here, a clash in the sky was currently occurring between One Light and the Arcane Institute, mainly in the sky. Due to it being nightfall and the skies being extra dark in such a cold environment, tiny flickers of different coloured lights were the only thing that could be seen from the group's point of view. Nightmare Moon and her followers were in the heat of battle with Alpha's ship, the students, the Pokemon and even the ship's turrets were being put into action.

"Flare Blitz!" Alpha ordered.

"Talonflame!" Talonflame cried as it surrounded itself with fire, flying right towards the Pokemon. Nightmare Moon's army of Flying-Type Pokemon all flew around to avoid the Flame Pokemon, but many of them were hit by its blazing speed.

"Honch!" Mayor Mare's Honchkrow cawed, having all of his minion Murkrow try and swarm around the Arcane Institute and their Pokemon, attempting to overwhelm them with numbers. "HONCH!" However, it was to no avail as the Arcane Institute's Pokemon and the ship's magical weapons blasted the Murkrow out of the sky.

Nightmare Moon would ascend, her horn glowing as she aimed directly at the ship, charging up a powerful beam. The BlueLight Sisters were quick to notice, doing the same. Three beams would soon come into contact with a single beam from Nightmare Moon. Both beams collided with one another, pushing the other side away.

"Swan! Swanna!" A Swanna would caw, using a Hurricane to try and throw the Arcane Institute's aerial position out of balance. The hurricane was a big enough size, so much that the ship had to be quick to move away from it.

But all it took was an opposing Gyarados to use Hurricane as well, clashing with Swanna's Hurricane, both of which pushing back and forth. The Pokemon's Hurricanes eventually collided, creating a mighty outburst in the air.

But just as that happened, an incoming Golem was flying towards them. It had used it's Explosion technique and it would collide right onto the ship. The BlueLight Sisters all used their powers in unison to protect themselves and the ship.

The Murkrow would rise once more, collectively using Air Slash to send blades of wind at the opposing Pokemon. Pokemon by the dozen were being struck by the Air Slashes that came raining down rapidly, the sheer number of Murkrow being able to overwhelm the ship.

Grogar oversaw this confrontation by looking through the Arcane Institute's ship, seeing how it was escalating, but there was no clear winner. Not yet. If something was not done, he would make minimal progress with the plan, which was unacceptable.

"No matter what, we must win." Grogar would walk over to a desk containing items that seemed to look like Poke Balls, but something was amiss with them. They had a different texture to them, constantly radiating magical energy. "The Pokemon I managed to transform back at the mountain...They'll do."

He referred to the Pokemon of the Wonderbolts. That included Rainbow Dash's Castform, Spitfire's Scizor, Soarin's Torkoal, Misty Fly's Charizard and many more Monstrified Pokemon. All of them were being kept in there, ready to be released upon Grogar's order. He picked up a Poke Ball, specifically the one containing Castform, letting out a devious grin.

Nightmare Moon and her team continued their attack on the Arcane Institute, doing a rather great job at keeping them at bay and preventing them from advancing any further into Freezington's airspace or even the Crown Tundra in general.

The Pokemon fought hard on both sides, each side being seemingly equal in strength to each other.

"We're not getting anywhere like this!" Phantasia groaned. "Can they, like, go away already?!"

"We still have the Soul Crystal to rely on. But we'll need to wait some more for a full charge." said one of the Beta Clones. "We-" However, her words would be cut off by an eerie sound.

"What's that?" Violet asked. She and her sisters turned to see something approaching in the distance. Its movements were manipulating the clouds themselves, creating large swaths of destruction across the land.

Nightmare Moon and all those on One Light would stop as well, hearing this cry. The same went for everyone in the Arcane Institute. Their eyes were all fixated on what was in the distance. The sound of thunderous roars, lightning flashes, and a haunting melody that echoed in the night sky.

Then, it revealed itself.

It was Castform, rapidly approaching with his swirling body of chaotic and corrupted magical power. But not just him, all the other Pokemon from the Wonderbolts were arriving, all in their monstrous forms. Their bodies were all glowing in the night sky, creating a spectacle that was hard to ignore. Nightmare Moon was in disbelief that they were seeing such a sight.

Unbeknownst to them, these were Pokemon that were once friends and allies as the journey continues.

Chapter 747 End.