Ponyville Day.
Returning to Ponyville was Rainbow Dash, alongside Ash and Pikachu. Greeting them were their friends. They had just had two whole days of training to help Rainbow Dash prepare for her rematch against Ms Harshwinny.
"Welcome back! Did you get something that might work?" Twilight asked.
"We got a few." Rainbow Dash nodded. "But that's just enough to beat her. This time, we're gonna win for sure. Everything that Olympia, Kardia and Ash taught me."
"Oh? What did you learn?" Fluttershy flew over.
"You'll see when we get there." The multi-coloured maned pegasus chuckled, knowing about her plans and how she could use them to each victory. "Enough talk! Let's get going!"
The Crystal Empire. Afternoon.
It was time for a second go at this. Reaching the Crystal Empie and the gym that it had, Rainbow Dash and the others were greeted with the same sight as before. Defeated trainers who just couldn't get past Harshwinny and her unpredictable tactics.
Standing here was Princess Cadence surprisingly. She wasn't here for the Gym Battle, she was here to comfort everyone who had suffered losses to this gym. The least she could do as the princess after all. Most of them were down about their losses after all as Cadence noticed the arrival of Twilight and the others.
"Twilight! Everyone!" Cadence exclaimed once spotting them. "Welcome!"
"Cadence! Great to be here. What are you doing right now?" Twilight asked before flying over, witnessing Cadence tend to the trainers.
"Well, most of these trainers here aren't too happy, so I'm doing what I can to cheer them up. You can probably wonder why right?"
"Yeah, we know." Rainbow Dash stepped forward, gazing at the gym. "It's gonna be Round 2 this time. And I'm gonna win."
"Oh, you know. And you've lost already too," said Cadence. "Ms Harshwinny sure is one massive roadblock, isn't she?"
"Rainbow Dash learned some tricks that might help her in this," Fluttershy spoke. "But we don't know how this one will turn out. Hopefully great. Tank's cheering Rainbow Dash all the way from home after all."
"I gotta know. What exactly does Ms Harshwinny have that gives everyone so much trouble?" A curious Cadence wondered after hearing about Rainbow Dash's first loss and seeing the other trainers disappointed.
"I think it's best if you saw it for yourself, don't you think, Cadence?" Twilight nudged her fellow alicorn with a wink, suggesting that Cadence viewed this battle for herself. She'd get to see a Gym Battle and what Ms Harshwinny is capable of. That sounded like a good idea to Cadence, but she chose to take care of the ponies here first.
"Maybe later. I should cheer everypony else up. But I won't miss it."
"Enough chat. Let's get this started." With high energy and enthusiasm, Rainbow Dash opened the door to the gym, ready to receive her rematch. She wasn't as nervous as before. Now, her confidence was higher. But the dread of Ms Harshwinny's unpredictable tactics still lingered as she had entered the gym.
And with good timing. Harshwinny had already cleared everything. Her previous Gym Battle was 10 minutes ago. After opening the door, her attention was grabbed as Harshwinny seemed to be packing up a few items.
"Ah, Rainbow Dash," Harshwinny spoke. "Just by an inch. I was about to close off the gym for today."
"Well, I'm here. And I'm ready for my rematch, Ms Harshwinny."
"Of course you are. Everypony so far is." Harshwinny stood up from her seat. "This will be the last battle for today in this gym until next week. I hope you've come prepared."
"Rainbow Dash totally has!" Suddenly, Scootaloo bellowed, getting some words in. "She learned a bunch of tricks that uh...she hasn't told us yet."
"Ms Harshwinny, I'm exhausted. Can I leave already?" The unicorn referee groaned to Harshwinny. He had been working since yesterday, the day before that and today. He needed a break and he wasn't willing to speak over this upcoming battle.
"Go on." Harshwinny was kind enough to let him leave. With a bright smile, the unicorn teleported out of the gym to live the rest of his day. "Now then. I'll need a spare referee at the moment. Starlight Glimmer. Will you take that role?"
"Oh." Starlight shot up before shifting her eyes around. "Uh...sure-sure. I can do that." She pranced over to the battlefield to be the spare referee. She's never done it before but after seeing so many Pokemon Battles, it was easy to do. Anyone can be the referee.
After that, Harshwinny shuffled through her Poke Balls, wondering which Pokemon to chose for this battle. She never sticks with the same ones most of the time as known by everyone else. Rainbow Dash scrunched her face after seeing Harshwinny make her own decision.
"So, Dash. Whaddya got for this one? Same Pokemon like before?" Applejack whispered.
"Nah. I'm gonna do things differently. I'm still gonna use Altaria, but no Mega Evolution." She whispered back at the earth pony.
"No Mega Evolution? Won't that be a big help though?" Pinkie slid over.
"I know. But I wanna try something new. Just wait until it all comes to an end." The pegasus grinned before rubbing her hooves together. She then walked forward to the field, having her three Pokemon ready.
Harshwinny was also prepared, finally selecting the Pokemon of her choice. Both trainers stood on opposite sides from each other, readying themselves.
"Okay. I can do this." Starlight spoke, assuming the role of the referee and aiming to perfect it. "The Crystal Empire Gym Battle is about to commence! The battle will be a 3-on-3 battle! The battle will be over when all 3 of one trainer's Pokemon are unable to continue. Ony the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions during the battle! Nailed it."
"Allow me to go first, Rainbow Dash. Come out, Trevenant!" Harshwinny sent her first Pokemon out. The Elder Tree Pokemon, Trevenant.
"Trevanant!"
"Let's go Castform!"
"Trevenant, huh? If that's the case, it might have that move...I know who to start with." The pegasus bit her lip before grinning. "Let's go, Castform!"
"Castform!" Castform flew out of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag, eager to make his trainer proud. Once he emerged, his cells reacted to the weather of the Crystal Empire, forcing him into his Snowy Form.
"Battle Start!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Okay, Castform! Let's get that Ghost-Type and hit with a strong pulse! Reflect-Type!"
"Cast...form!" Castform made the first move. By covering his body in a blue light, he did the same to the Elder Tree Pokemon. Once doing so, he had copied the Ghost-Grass-Type. And as a bonus, a pulse of shadows and multiple leaves came flying out, striking Trevanant."
"T-Tre...!"
"Forest's Curse."
"Treva!" Trevenant's eyes shined green, causing a ring of the same colour to shoot out of his eyes as they hit the ground. The floor then erupted purple vines grow out as they immediately constricted Castform.
"C-Cast?!" Castform was small so his entire body had been restrained by these vines. Once he was held by those vines, his typing had changed with a green aura covering him. The vines then faded away.
"Okay! What was that?!" Scootaloo wondered.
"Forest's Curse. Now Castform is only a Grass-Type thanks to the curse Trevenant has put on him." Twilight explained. This sounded familiar. A lot like how Soarin's Eiscue had Soak to turn opposing Pokemon into Water-Types.
However, this had played to Rainbow Dash's advantage. She knew about Trevenant's signature move, Forest's Curse. Having Castform copy his type, including Ghost, only to lose it and keeping Grass, allowed Castform to be free from any Ghost-Type moves that Trevenant would have.
"Now! Poison Jab!"
"Venant!" The Elder Tree Pokemon then lunged forward, covering its claws in poison while casting a shadow over Castform.
"Here goes! Castform, Weather Ball! Up close!"
"Cast...!" Castform conjured up a ball of ice from his mouth, holding it in place. The Weather Pokemon had used Weather Ball as a shield against Trevenant.
Trevenant swung its claws forward, only to be met with Weather Ball, shielding Castform from direct damage. The impact resulted in Weather Ball exploding, causing an icy outburst in the process. Both Castform and Trevenant were forced back from it.
"Thanks, Castform. Return for now." Rainbow Dash then recalled Castform. The Weather Pokemon flew into the saddlebag to take a quick break. Rainbow Dash had a plan continuously sparking in her mind.
"Just what I want!" After recalling Castform, Rainbow Dash took out her next Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go, Altaria!"
"Altaria!"
"Go-go! Use Ice Beam on the floor!"
"Taria!" Not allowing Harshwinny to get a word in, Altaria unleashed a blast of ice from her mouth, aiming it at just the floor and nothing else. Rainbow Dash refused to make the same mistakes as before. Her goal was to put pressure on Harshwinny through and through.
The whole floor had been frozen immediately, creating an ice battleground. So far, Harshwinny hasn't done anything too surprising, but Rainbow Dash wasn't ready to be too safe.
"Impressive. But how will you respond to this? Trevenant! Spread your vines all around!
"Venant!" Instead of using a move, Trevenant had used his vines, spreading them out. Multiple vines left the Elder Tree Pokemon's body, rapidly moving through the room. They had also latched onto the walls and ceiling as Rainbow Dash and Altaria's eyes followed them. So did everyone.
Soon, the whole room was being flooded by vines which Trevenant could also detach, making one of the vines stick to the floor to keep the rest from detaching. Trevenant had made an entire jungle out of these vines, each having frantic directions and no consistency.
"Okay...What is this?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. She wasn't expecting something like this to happen. An entire jungle of vines.
"Watch your blindspot, if you can find it in time. Trevenant, Phantom Force!"
"Treva..." The Ghost-Grass-Type then vanished suddenly, leaving behind an afterimage as he was no longer visible to Rainbow Dash or Altaria.
"Be careful, Altaria. Wait for when he even has a moment to show up and then use Ice Beam.
"Tari." Altaria navigated her head around the area, waiting for the right opportunity. She slowly charged Ice Beam, building up power with it so that it would hit extra hard. However, as she was charging it, many of the vines had suddenly moved, shooting towards Altaria.
The vines had then latched, wrapped and coiled themselves around Altaria's wings, legs and neck respectively, catching her off guard as Ice Beam was interrupted.
"Alta?!"
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash then gasped afterwards. Right after they caught her, other vines came flying forward, whipping and smacking Altaria while she was restrained. "Altaria!"
"T-Taria!"
"Even without the usage of moves, Trevenant can use his natural ability to his advantage. By manipulating all forms of plant life. All the while still having access to moves. A perfect multitasking scenario." Harshwinny smirked.
"She even knew about the natural talent thing..." A shocked Rainbow Dash uttered. "Ah who am I kidding? Of course she does. But no way that's gonna stop us! Freeze the vines!"
"Al...Taria!" Altaria could still use her moves even in this state. Out of her mouth came a chilling beam of ice that had struck the vines around her. These vines had been frozen instantly, causing Altaria to easily break out of them by just moving her wings. However, more vines were approaching her and Trevenant was still invisible.
"Dodge and attack them with Ice Beam!"
"Altaria!" Thus began a chase and a counterattack. Altaria zoomed through the air as fast she could, fleeing from the approaching array of vines. At the same time, she used Ice Beam, shooting out a chilling beam at any vine that got close to her.
The vines that had been frozen dropped to the floor, shattering. However, there were so many around the area that Altaria was struggling to find some good space. More vines kept approaching regardless, and the fact that they were spread out so frantically made it difficult.
Altaria couldn't freeze all of them. It wasn't like she had two heads. Thus, some of them caught her by surprise, whacking the Humming Pokemon with heavy force. Altaria was knocked back by some of the vines, causing her to fall into the jungle gym of other vines.
By falling into it, the Dragon-Flying-Type was immediately tangled up in this mess of plants. Not only that, but some other vines moved, wrapping around Altaria's body once more. This time, the whole body without missing one.
"A-Al...Altaria!" Altaria wriggled around, trying to break free from the vines with Ice Beam. However, the vines had held her beak, making sure that she does not unleash Ice Beam at all.
"Trevenant!" Finally, Trevenant had shown himself. By appearing out of thin air, the Elder Tree Pokemon smashed its claws onto the Humming Pokemon. Altaria couldn't counter at the moment because of her current predicament.
"Come on, Altaria! Break free with Moonblast! Or Ice Beam, or Dragon Pulse!"
"T-Tari...!" Altaria growled, moving her body as she was putting every ounce of power into her bones. There were actually signs of her ripping the vines, showing that she had the strength to do so.
Never underestimate the strength of a Dragon-Type.
"Now then. Trevenant, Poison Jab!"
"Treve...!" Trevanant lunged at Altaria with his claws covered in poison. Altaria pulled as hard as she could. She managed to rip off two vines but it still wasn't enough. There were so many wrapped around her. Unable to free herself in time, Trevenant stabbed his claw into Altaria's body. "Nant!"
"Altaria!" With that, Altaria's eyes widened as she gasped afterwards. Trevenant backed away once he placed the poison inside. And due to him inserting poison, Altaria had now been poisoned. "T-Tari..."
"Altaria, no!" Rainbow cried out.
"I'm not just creative with moves, Rainbow Dash. As you can see. Trevenant, Disable."
"Venant." Trevenant then used Disable, a move that Rainbow Dash was expecting to encounter again. But with Alakazam and not with Trevenant. The Elder Tree Pokemon had disabled Altaria's Ice Beam, making it useless.
"Let's end this, shall we?"
"Not yet! Return." Rainbow then recalled Altaria, seeing that she was in a rough spot at the moment. "Rest up, okay?" She then looked at Castform, choosing him next. "Round 2, Castform!"
"Castform! Cast!"
"Trevenant, Phantom Force!"
"Ve!" Once more, Trevenant disappeared while also manipulating the vines themselves. They were going to hold Castform while Trevenant gets a powerful strike in.
"Let's finish this! Weather Ball and then eat it!"
"I beg your pardon?!" Harshwinny pulled back as she was actually surprised by that. This tactic was unheard of towards her. Finally, something that she did not know of.
"Form!" Castform summoned a ball of ice in his mouth. Instead of firing it, he ate it. This was Ash's Torterra's' tactic. Once he at the ball, his radioactive cells reacted to the ball, more than what he's usually used to.
Castform's cells went insane from this reaction. Not only did it power up his Ice-Type attack, but he had also gained a sharp shield of ice that surrounded his body. The temperature was that low for it to happen.
Not only did it protect him, but the sheer chilly aura from it was enough to freeze the vines. The sharp ice shards weren't even needed to protect him. This level of chill was close to what a Vanilluxe can do. AKA, enough ice to form a ferocious blizzard that would freeze all.
"Incredible..." Harshwinny was stunned along with everyone else. Ash and Pikachu nodded in approval, knowing that Rainbow Dash formed this just yesterday during training.
"Trevenant?!" Trevenant could feel the chill from Castform even when invisible and at a far distance. It was just that great. So great that it broke Trevenant's concentration, forcing him to reveal himself. "T-Trevenant!"
"There! Now, Weather Ball, full power!"
"Cast...!" Castform was ready to unleash an extra powerful Weather Ball thanks to him eating it. Not only that, but the sphere was large than before. Larger than Castform's body and around the size of a Glalie.
So pretty big to be exact.
With a burst strong enough to create a shockwave, a gigantic sphere of ice came flying out at Mach Speed due to the power increase. Trevenant was struck by this, taking super-effective damage. But not only that, he had been frozen by the attack. Even the vines, every last one of them had been frozen.
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash then flapped her wings with joy after getting a successful freeze. "How's that?! I knew Castform's cells would go crazy with something like this. Since his cells are way more radioactive than an average Castform, everything he does is gonna be bigger than normal."
"Cast!"
"Now you're right where we want you! Castform, Reflect Type!"
"Cast...Form!" Once more, Reflect Type was used. And an even larger pulse and leaves came out, raging towards the Elder Tree Pokemon. The vines were shattered from this pulse as Harshwinny gawked before smirking.
"Well played, Rainbow Dash." She said as she knew there was nothing Trevenant could do in this frozen state. Thus, once he was hit by the pulse and leaves, the ice prison shattered. The Elder Tree Pokemon fell on his back afterwards.
He had fainted.
"Trevenant..."
"Trevenant is unable to battle! Castform wins!" Starlight bellowed.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash cheered as Castform flew over to her, circling his trainer. "You're awesome, Castform!"
"Cast! Castform!" Castform cried out, bouncing on Rainbow Dash's head as they both laughed. Pinkie Pie stood up, clapping her hooves ferociously as the others were glad of this first victory. Harshwinny then returned Trevenant to his Poke Ball.
"A job well done, my friend. Rest up." She placed the Poke Ball away before getting out a new one. "Assist me! Clefable!" By throwing the next Pokemon, out came the Fairy Pokemon, Clefable.
"Clefable!"
"Clefable, huh? That's a tough Pokemon to deal with." Rainbow Dash said as she looked at Castform. The Weather Pokemon nodded, believing that he could handle this one in his powered-up state. "Okay, let's give you another go, Castform."
"Cast!"
"Clefable's a really good Pokemon, isn't it?" Sweetie Belle asked. "It knows like...a lot of moves! Like Mew."
"It does, darling." Rarity nodded. "Not to mention how durable it can be. I assume Rainbow Dash prepared herself for an opponent like this. After what happened with Wobbuffet."
"Oh, she has," Ash responded. "She's just gotta pull it off to make it work."
"Pika."
"Let's see what you've got! Castform, show Clefable and extra strong Weather Ball!"
"Cast...!" Castform summoned another massive sphere of ice in his mouth, guaranteed to freeze if it made contact.
"Hm." Harshwinny didn't seem bothered by this potential attack. "Clefairy. Prepare yourself and use Metronome."
"Fable!" The Fairy Pokemon stomped her foot on the ground, putting her hands out. She was actually going to take the attack directly as she started wagging her finger. Just then, the sphere had made contact with Clefable, resulting in a massive outburst of ice. The floor was already frozen, but now, a second layer of ice had been added to it.
Twilight and the others could feel the chill emanating through the room because of this as Starlight was freezing over. Luckily, Ninetales came out of his Poke Ball to warm everyone up. However, once the blue smoke faded away, Clefable wasn't frozen. She was still wagging her finger. She barely even moved from that attack.
"It didn't freeze?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed before realizing what it was. "Magic Guard...Of course...Alright then, Castform! Energy Ball, let's go!"
"Castform!" Castform chose another sphere to fire with, in the form of Energy Ball. By using the power of nature itself, the Weather Pokemon unleashed the green ball.
"Cle!" Clefable finally found a move that she could use with Metronome. And that move in question was Metal Burst. Which meant that she would have to take another attack for this to work.
The ball hit Clefable as Rainbow Dash and the others were wondering why she hadn't attacked yet even when using Metronome. But once she was hit, she could use Metal Burst. A giant white ball formed in front of her with her hands holding it. The Fairy Pokemon then unleashed the ball towards Castform.
"Dodge it!"
"Surround the area with Dazzling Gleam!"
"Fable!" To make sure Castform wouldn't go anywhere, Clefable unleashed multiple rainbow rays while Metal Burst was still flying. The rays were spread around with Clefable spinning to make this possible.
"C-Cast?!" Castform was surrounded by these rays from all sides as Clefable kept spinning. He tied using his small body to escape from them but there were too many. Thus, Metal Burst had struck the Weather Pokemon. "Form!"
"Castform, no!" Rainbow cried out as she witnessed a silver outburst form. Out of the smoke, Castform could be seen flying down. Rainbow Dash held her hooves out, catching her partner.
He had fainted.
"Castform..."
"Castform is unable to battle! Clefairy wins!"
"Metronome's a problem. Who knows what she can do with it?" Fluttershy spoke, worried about the outcome of this battle and how it could be a repeat of before.
"Thanks, buddy." Rainbow Dash flew over to Fluttershy, giving Castform to her. "Get some rest. Take care of him, Fluttershy."
"Okay. I will."
"So, Rainbow Dash. What will it be this time?" Harshwinny asked.
"Gotta admit, Ms Harshwinny. You're not as dangerous as you were when I first battled you. Are you going easy on me?"
"Absolutely not. I have different ways I approach my battles with the Pokemon I choose. You have just improved, that's all. That shows the growth of a strong trainer, wouldn't you agree?"
"Guess so." The pegasus chuckled before holding out her next Poke Ball. "Alright! Let's tip the scales! Go-go, Altaria!"
"Tari! Altaria!" Altaria roared before wincing. She was still poisoned, so her performance was lacking just a bit.
"I know how dangerous a Clefable can be. That's why I'm gonna make sure you don't do anything. Altaria! Let's put her to sleep! You know what to do!"
"Tari." Altaria nodded as it was time to sing the one song that can put any Pokemon to sleep. Goodnight, my Pikachu. Even if she was poisoned, her humming hadn't changed. "Alta...Altaria!" She began singing without even needing a move to do so as everyone recognized this tune.
"Goodnight, my Pikachu?" Applejack noticed. "Yeah, that'll work."
"It can put anyone to sleep successfully." Fluttershy nodded. "Mrs Ketchum really made a great song, didn't she?"
"Hmph. You think you're the only one who thought of something such as this?" Harshwinny and Clefable smirked suddenly, throwing Rainbow Dash off guard.
"Say what now?"
"Clefable. Do it."
"Clefable...Cle..." Just like Altaria, Clefable began exuding soundwaves from her mouth without needing a move to do so. This song was also made to put Altaria to sleep. Both are equal in usage. Their soundwaves ended up clashing once they met. One being blue and the other being pink.
"When I was a filly, my own mother and father would a sing a song that put me right to sleep. Effective and efficient on Clefable as well," said Harshwinny.
"They aren't using any moves and there are still soundwaves coming out. How's that even possible?" Pinkie Pie wondered. If no moves wee being used then there shouldn't be any soundwaves forming at all.
"It's still Infinity Energy inside of that," Twilight answered. "Even without using moves, they can still expel Infinity Energy from their bodies. Just like how Pikachu can shock others by exuding electricity without needing to use Thunderbolt all the time."
"No way you're gonna put us to sleep! I heard that Clefable's ears are pretty sensitive like Audino. Even a pin dropping won't be ignored! Then in that case...amp it up, Altaria!"
"Taria!" Altaria changed the tone of her singing. Instead of something peaceful, she made it aggressive as her soundwave increased in size and scale.
"Allow us to do the same!" Harshwinny responded.
"Fable!" Clefable also increased her soundwave in power. And once that happened, the struggle between both sounds was in full swing. Their singing wasn't so peaceful. Yet it was still harmonic.
Soon, their soundwaves ended up causing tremors, shattering the ice floor below them. They increased their volumes at the same time, shaking the room itself. Audino covered her ears as she was the most sensitive to this.
Altaria and Clefable started moving around, only to have their soundwaves continuously meet with each other either way. None of them were giving up as they were in perfect harmony with each other.
Rainbow Dash's rematch with Ms Harshwinny was in full swing. And despite them both being down to two Pokemon and this being a 3 on 3 battle, the length of this was impressive. Only one of them is emerging as the victor in this as the journey continues.
Chapter 520 End.