The new Changeling hideout. 16:20.
"Ash Ketchum. Why have you come here?" Chrysalis said to Ash who was currently pinned down by the changeling baby, Anthophila.
"Chrysalis..." Ash replied. "And every changeling? You're all here?"
"Pikachu?"
Ash sat up, seeing all the changeling surround him and his Pokemon. But Ash noticed something different about them all that was very noticeable.
All of them were wounded. Broken wings, missing wings, scratches, bruises, chipped horns, etc. Not only that, but their expressions were vastly different. Instead of hissing, they all stood there with a somewhat bewildered expression. Normally, they'd act very hostile to Ash and his Pokemon right now. But that wasn't the case.
"What happened to you all?" Ash held Anthophila in his hands, which didn't sit well with Chrysalis.
"I asked why you have come here?" Chrysalis demanded to know as she tried to intimidate Ash by lighting her horn up. But she was still in an injured state, so using any magic would mean instant pain as her horn twitched. "Ugh!"
"Pikachu?"
"Farfetch'd...!" Farfetch'd held his leek out as he was ready to smash the changelings flat.
"Wait, Farfetch'd." Ash stopped Farfetch'd as he knew that something was off.
"If you've come here to battle us...just take us to Canterlot as prisoners. That will be easier and without pain."
"I'm not here to do that. Dragonite just spotted this village and I wanted to check it out."
"Dragonite!"
"Tch. Well then hurry up and finish your sightseeing. Then leave." Chrysalis held her horn.
"Wait. This is another changeling hive?" Ash looked around.
"It's not. There is only one Changeling hive...At least...there used to be." Chrysalis lowered her head. Thinking about what happened to her hive just sparked horrible memories in her mind. Memories that she wished she could get rid of.
"Luca."And this is where Lucario's Aura came into play. Since Lucario can read the aura of others and their feelings and even tell what they're thinking.
By using his Aura pulse, Lucario was able to know about what happened to Chrysalis's hive. He learned about how Ghetsis destroyed it when he found out about her plans to defeat him and how many changelings perished during Ghetsis's attack.
Lucario then decided to pass this knowledge onto Ash by sending Aura pulses his way. Now Ash was ingrained with this horrible memory and emotion. He could feel Chrysalis's sadness and despair because of the Aura pulse.
"Woah..." Ash pulled back a bit. "So that's what happened. Your home was destroyed by Ghetsis?"
"...Yes," Chrysalis admitted it with honesty. "All of it. Nothing is left. Ghetsis came and rained down these horrible meteors from his Hydreigon..."
"Meteors? You mean Draco Meteor?"
"Pika?"
"Whatever they were!" Chrysalis turned around. "I never want to think about them again. Even bringing them up disgusts me! I've lost almost everything. All I have left are the remaining changelings who were injured. And Anthophila." Chrysalis went over to the baby changeling.
"Pikapi." Pikachu looked up at Ash. Pikachu, just like his trainer, could tell that all of this was too much for the changelings. Their entire home had been destroyed by an unfortunate Draco Meteor rain.
"Ghetsis..." Ash clenched his fist.
"It doesn't concern you, Ash Ketchum. You don't have a reason to care about us changelings anyway." Chrysalis sighed.
"Yeah. Probably." Ash nodded. "But I do care."
"What?" Chrysalis turned to face him. "You care?" She was highly confused about why Ash would care about her and the changelings so much. "But why? Why do you care about us changelings?"
Curious and confused about why Ash would care about them in any way, Chrysalis saw how Ash's facial expressions spoke louder than words. But he said words either way.
"I have a friend who's a changeling too. Thorax. I care about him, ya know. And he cares about all of you too. You're his family after all. Besides. You guys are all pretty hurt and you lost your home. That-"
Anthophila climbed up Ash's shoulder, growing very attached to Ash as she was pulling on his face while babbling and cooing.
"O-Ow!" Ash groaned as his face was being stretched.
"Ash!" Anthophila called out his name again.
Those words that Ash said concerning Thorax and all the changelings unexpectedly struck Chrysalis. She understood why Ribombee would help her because of her small experience with Fairy-Type Pokemon. But Ash was surprising considering that they have battled before.
"I suppose we are..." Chrysalis said to herself.
"You..." A familiar voice reached the ears of Ash. Three familiar voices actually. Those voices prompted Ash to turn around as he immediately saw three changelings staring right at him.
"Hm?" When Ash saw the changelings, he instantly recognized the three of them. These were the same changelings that he met in the Faye Mountains. "Oh! You three!"
"Pikachu!"
"You three been doing well?" Ash walked over to the three changelings while Anthophila kept on messing with Ash's face.
It has been a while since they've met. Even if this was their second official meeting. Meeting Ash again, under these specific circumstances was something entirely new.
The trio of changelings at this point would take anything that would make them happy after the horrifying meteor assault on their hive. And the presence of Ash and what he did for them back at the Faye Mountains was enough to grant them that spark of happiness.
"We've been doing great." The left one said.
"Mhm." The right one nodded.
"Pssh. We're fine." The middle one scoffed. "But we could be doing better right now."
"Sorry about your home you three. All of you." Ash looked at all the changelings. "I didn't think that Ghetsis would-"
"Ash!" Anthophila tugged on his eyes.
"Ow-ow!" Ash grimaced as Dragonite flew over, grabbing Anthophila and hugging her.
"Dra!"
"So this village. You're living here now?"
"No. This village is only temporary. We no longer have a home after our hive was destroyed. Now we're just wandering changelings searching for a new home. Few of them even."
"So then, where are you gonna find a new home?"
"How should I know? That hive was our only home in the world. Now it's all gone..." Chrysalis's tone was shifting. Her voice was getting weaker as she was on the verge of tearing up. That truly was her only home. The one place she could go for comfort.
That same dark green light was about to show itself yet again. But then, Pikachu walked up to Chrysalis, nudging her leg. "Pika-Pika."
"You?" Chrysalis looked down at the Electric Mouse Pokemon. The Pokemon that used to give her so much trouble was now being compassionate towards her.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu gave a tiny thumbs up to Chrysalis, trying to cheer her up. Pikachu's attempt to make Chrysalis happy was charming to the Changeling Queen.
Obviously, with how positive and happy Ash was, this would be the perfect opportunity to eat up all of his love. Especially the love he has for his Pokemon which is tremendous. However, this was not the case. Instead, Ash's love reacted to the changelings differently.
Ash showing concern for the changelings was just one of the many reasons why the reaction was so different. And Chrysalis could especially feel that. She saw how Ash was chatting with the three changelings and Ribombee along with Pikachu. Dragonite was playing with Anthophila by tossing her up and down while the rest of the changelings were no longer intimidated by Ash at all. His calming aura was enough to erase their hostility towards him.
In fact, Chrysalis could tell that this was the complete opposite of Ghetsis's love. Whereas Ghetsis's love was toxic and baneful, Ash's love was healthy and bright. Chrysalis hadn't tasted love this powerful before. Not even with the Fairy Pokemon. The only two who matched Ash when it came to love were Shining Armor and Cadence.
Ash approached them but they were no longer afraid. Although, some of them were still wary. But, they were feeling confident in interacting with Ash without any potential issues. He saw how some changelings had specific injures that not even Pollen Puff could fix. So he decided to help them to the best of his abilities.
If he can casually talk to three changelings then he can surely talk to them all. For once, the changelings felt safe. Because of this safety, many of them could approach Ash normally. They all gathered around him as he was helping them with their injuries. Ash's Pokemon decided to help out as well with what they can do.
Ash dug into his bag, grabbing some bandages as he wrapped them around any bruise he could find. All the while, Pollen Puff was slowly healing them from the inside while Ash handled everything on the outside.
Seeing Ash help all the changelings with their injuries made Chrysalis find a newfound respect for Ash. His selflessness was highly admirable as the love he was giving off was incredible to bask in.
"Ash Ketchum," Chrysalis called for his name.
"Yeah?" Ash turned to face her.
"Why are you helping me? After what I caused during the Canterlot Wedding and during that first Pokemon Festival. I don't understand."
"Don't really need a reason to. Ya know?" Ash wrapped a bandage around a changeling's ears. "There we go. I'm kinda running out of bandages here.
"You don't?" Chrysalis walked up to Ash.
"Nope." Ash shook his head as Gengar lent him some extra bandages he stole from the houses. "Thanks, Gengar."
"Gengar."
"Dragonite." Dragonite picked up some of the changelings with its large arms. The changelings were exposed to Dragonite's amazing and warm hugs for the first time as they instantly melted in them.
"So warm..." Some of them said.
Chrysalis grumbled as she was unsure of how to feel right now. She had never felt this kind of love before. It was all-new and vastly different from the love she's used to. This wasn't actually the first time she's been given love without her taking it. The Pixie Plains and Ribombee already gave her that experience.
But something about Ash was unique. Not only was he giving love to her and all the changelings without them having to steal it, but he was also showing them all what actual love truly was. And he did all of this with his actions and a few of his words.
Because of this, Chrysalis let out a soft smile while looking at Ash. The one person who she was aggravated by since Ash had defeated her two times in a row became someone that Chrysalis went beyond just tolerating. Chrysalis saw Ash as someone to relish.
"Thanks, Ash." A changeling thanked him.
"No problem." Ash stood up. "How's it going you guys?" He asked his other Pokemon.
"Cario." Lucario had just got done putting bandages on the other changelings.
"Far..." Farfetch'd was just laying next to a tree, not caring about this one bit.
"Pikachu!"
"Ash." Chrysalis walked up to him. "Since you are willing to help us...perhaps there is something or someone else you can help."
"Hm, who?"
Chrysalis led Ash to the room where the statues were being kept. There, he met Ribombee, who was the one assisting in healing the changelings from their pain. But the Ribombee wasn't what caught Ash's attention at all.
Once Chrysalis opened the door, Ash and Pikachu were met with a very familiar and haunting sight. One that they hoped they'd never see again.
The stone statues of captured Pokemon. And now to an extent, ponies.
"N-No way!" Ash's eyes widened as he was in absolute shock. "These?!"
"Pikachu?!"
"You recognize these types of statues?" Chrysalis asked.
"I do." Ash nodded as he approached the statues. "I thought I'd never see them again but...How is this possible? Is there another Pokemon Hunter in Equestria?"
"Pokemon Hunter?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "Is that who that lady was?"
"Lady?!" That really grabbed Ash's attention. "What was her name?!"
"How should I know? I never got her name at all." Chrysalis shook her head. "But if you want some description, she had silver hair and blue eyes. Is that good enough for you?"
"Silver hair and blue eyes..." That description matched the person Ash suspected to a T. Obviously, only one person could've done this. The most notorious Pokemon Hunter there is. "J."
"Pika."
"J?"
"But I heard she crashed in Sinnoh..." Ash said to himself. "Unless...Did the Rift bring her back?"
"Pikachu?"
"If you recognize these, then you must know of a way to release them from this state. Anthophila has the power to do so but her magic only worked on Ribombee. And it hasn't come up ever since."
"I do." Ash walked up to the statues. "Hidden Power can free them or a special case."
"So then use it. Use that Hidden Power move."
"Sorry." Ash shook his head. "But none of my Pokemon know Hidden Power."
"Ribom..." Things were sounding pleasant to Ribombee's ears. She was glad that there were ways to free the others from their stone prison but they would need a certain move to do so.
"So J's been here? Has she seen you guys?"
"No. We've been concealing ourselves from her. She is the reason why we are deciding to leave this village and find another place to dwell."
"Then this village belongs to these guys..." Ash looked over at a statue of a unicorn. He now knew what he had to do. "Alright. I'll get these statues to the Pokemon Festival and see if someone knows Hidden Power. That way, they'll be back to normal."
"Ribombee?!"
"Yeah. No need to worry, Ribombee." Ash picked up three statues while Pikachu and all his other Pokemon did the same. "We'll get them back to normal for you."
"Bee! Ribombee!" Ribombee nodded as she was willing to go outside in the rain despite it ruining her pollen.
"Chrysalis. You all should get going before J comes back. We'll take everything from here."
"Pikachu!"
"Right." Chrysalis nodded as she saw Ash and his Pokemon run out with the stone statues.
The trainer and his Pokemon got a move on as they were determined to get these ponies and Pokemon back to their normal state. But they weren't going without a tagalong. 2 tagalongs rather. One of them was Ribombee which was to be expected but the other was surprisingly Anthophila, who used her magic to teleport out of the house and into Ash's bag without him noticing or even Chrysalis.
Chrysalis was about to leave with her changelings until she noticed that Anthophila was missing. "Anthophila?" She began searching for the little changeling baby by starting in this room. She was right behind her and all of sudden, she just up and vanished.
"Anthophila!" Chrysalis shouted her name, trying to reach her. She searched for her in this entire house but couldn't find her. Then, she went to every other house to try and find her. And since there weren't that many, it took a short amount of time to do so.
"Where are you?! Have any of you seen her?!" She asked the changelings.
But none of them knew where she went. After all, she was with Chrysalis the most so they couldn't have seen her leave. Mostly because she teleported. However, one changeling noticed something that might be a key.
"Well...I saw a green flash shine in Ash's bag." A changeling said.
"...Oh no." Chrysalis understood now. Anthophila was already drawn to Ash because of his amazing positivity and the high amounts of love he emanates. Chrysalis then realized that if Anthophila, a small changeling baby were to go out in the open of a populated area with ponies, the results may not be the best at all.
But Chrysalis had to leave this place with her changelings and find a new place to live. But they weren't leaving without Anthophila. So, there was only one thing left to do.
"All of you. Come along. We're going after them." Chrysalis flew out of the house.
"We are?" The changelings all said.
"Yes!"
Outskirts of Manehattan. 17:00
The sun was slowly setting as an orange glow shined across Manehattan. Many had left Manehattan to go on and try new things in new places in the Pokemon Festival.
Twilight and Meloetta were wondering where Ash had gone since he had separated from them. They hadn't seen him since. The last place they saw him was this small little acre of trees just on the outskirts.
"Still no sign of Ash." Twilight looked around.
"Melo."
They wouldn't have to keep on wondering where Ash had gone. Because just up ahead, he and his Pokemon were running along, carrying the stone statues with them. They were clearly in a hurry.
"Ash!"
"Meloetta!"
"Hey, guys!" Ash slid over as he came to a screeching halt. "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry!"
"Wait! W-What are those statues you're carrying?" Twilight asked. "Are they for the festival?"
"No." He shook his head. "These are living ponies and Pokemon that have been turned into statues."
"Huh?!" Twilight and her Pokemon jerked back along with Meleotta. "So they're-"
"I'm trying to bring them back with Hidden Power. But none of my Pokemon know that move. So I was hoping I could find someone who can help and has Hidden Power."
"Pikachu."
"Melo? Meloetta." Meloetta flew over to Ash as she had great news to tell him concerning Hidden Power. "Melo!"
"Hm? What is it Meloetta?"
"Meloetta. Melo." Meloetta pointed at herself, essentially telling Ash that she had the answer to his little problem. And Ash was able to tell what Meloetta was saying.
"Oh! You know Hidden Power?!" Ash gasped. "That's great!"
"Pikachu!"
"Wait. How does Hidden Power work in all of this?" Twilight questioned.
"Hidden Power can return them all to normal." Ash and his Pokemon placed the stone statues down. "That way, this whole stone thing's gonna get wiped away in no time. Alright, Meloetta. Use Hidden Power on these statues, please."
"Etta." The Melody Pokemon flew in front of all the statues, gazing at every last one of them. She would have to make sure that Hidden Power interacts with all the statues and not a single one was missed.
Luckily, she was powerful enough to make sure that would happen. Meloetta's body became surrounded by a white aura as rows of small white orbs circle around it. All of the stone statues were also surrounded by a white aura as they were lifted into the air.
The orbs then fired out of Meloetta, engulfing all of the statues. Every last one of them. Not one of them was left out as the orbs merged to form one larger orb. The light was a bit blinding, prompting them to squint and cover their eyes as the orb circled at rapid speeds.
Chrysalis, who had made pursuit of Ash because of Anthophila, spotted Ash, Twilight and Meloetta in the distance as she and the changelings hid behind an acre of trees as they witnessed the orb.
Before they knew it, the orb had diminished as the best possible outcome happened. The ponies and Pokemon who were originally turned into stone were back to their full form once more.
"Ugh..." An earth pony groaned as he held his head. "What was I doing...?"
"Lotad?" A confused Lotad looked around.
"Yes! Nice job, Meloetta." Ash gave a thumbs up.
"Pikachu!"
"Melo!" Meloetta hugged Ash.
"I could've done that too...Maybe." Twilight puffed her cheeks.
"Hey..." A unicorn looked at her hooves. "We're no longer stone...Oh yes!" With that revelation, they all were relieved that they were back to normal and no longer in a stone prison. They knew about Ash and his Pokemon carrying them alongside Meloetta who broke them all free.
So naturally, they were grateful to all of them for helping return them to their normal state and saving them from being apart of J's collection. Or worse, even being sold.
"Thank you so much!" A pegasus thanked them.
"Ribombee!" Ribombee flew over to her fellow Bee Fly Pokemon, hugging them all as they had a heartfelt reunion. "Bomb! Bee!"
Chrysalis watched how they had all been freed from Hidden Power. She was mostly focused on Ribombee who had been reunited. Seeing the Bee Fly Pokemon reunite with her fellow species resonated well with Chrysalis. And this only further made Chrysalis respect Ash. Now she understood why Anthophila was so drawn to him.
Speaking of Anthophila, she managed to open up Ash's bag as she popped out of it with a bunch of Pokemon food around her as she babbled and said Ash's name. "Ash!"
"Hm?" Ash turned around, spotting the baby changeling and he found out that she was in his bag the entire time. "Eh! Anthophila?!"
"Ash!" The baby flew out of the bag, latching herself onto Ash's face.
"Oh!" Twilight gasped as she was surprised to see a baby changeling just here, right in front of her face and on Ash's face.
"You should be with Chrysalis and the others ya know...?" Ash laughed nervously. "They're probably worried about you, ya know."
"Pikachu."
"Chrysalis?" Twilight froze for a moment. "Chrysalis is nearby?!"
"Mhm. Well, she and her changelings are probably off to find a new home. They can't have gone too far."
"We haven't gone far at all," Chrysalis said as she walked up to Ash, feeling brave enough to approach him and even Twilight who was standing right there.
"C-Changelings?!" The ponies screeched.
"It's fine, guys." Ash calmed them down. "They're okay."
"Pikachu."
"Hey, Chrysalis!" Ash held Anthophila in his hands. "Sorry. I don't know she got in my bag." He went over to Chrysalis to return the small baby changeling.
"That's fine." Chrysalis took Anthophila back. "But...it's no surprise why she's drawn to you, Ash Ketchum."
"Hm?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Listen. Before we leave, I should probably say this before it's too late." Chrysalis whimpered as she mustered the strength to say those words to Ash. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ash replied with a grin as a bit of the Pokemon food got in his eye. "Ow." He rubbed it off. "Hope you find yourself a new home. And don't you worry. I'll stop J and smash Ghetsis flat, ya know!"
"Pikachu!"
"I know you will." Chrysalis nodded. "And we've thought of a place where we could continue living. A land full of Fairy-Type Pokemon."
"Oh. Like the Faye Mountains?"
"Wherever there's Fairy magic. It seems like it would be a better option for us than a village. We could start anew there. And hopefully, we'll be far away from Ghetsis."
"That's not a bad place to live." Ash nodded. "Alright. Good luck."
"Mmm...Ash!" But Anthophila wasn't ready to say goodbye to Ash as she immediately teleported away from Chrysalis, appearing on Ash's head.
"Huh?" Ash looked up.
"Pika?"
"Seems like she doesn't want to leave you," said Chrysalis. "Perhaps, we can stay around for a while longer. Away from the village that is."
"Yeah. But I need to deal with J first. When she comes back, she'll just turn the residents into stone again."
"S-So we can't head back to our home." A pony shuddered.
"You can but...I've got an idea!" Ash rubbed his hands together. "Chrysalis. I'll need you and the changelings to help me out with this. Is that okay?"
"You've helped us. So it would only be appropriate if we returned the favour." Chrysalis and the changelings were up for helping Ash.
"Nice! Here's what we're gonna do." Ash had a great plan in mind. With J back, he would have to put all of his efforts into keeping others safe.
But other than that, a new type of bond was formed on this day. A newfound respect for Ash was created from Chrysalis's point of view. At this point, they are no longer mortal enemies as the journey continues.
Chapter 322 End.