Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon School. Day.
Currently, at the Pokemon School, it took some time for Potion Nova to settle back into class after being in outer space for a while, but she was back in her right state of mind, teaching once more.
Potions were at the ready and experimenting with some of them, much like her fellow students, was Cozy Glow, who had an unimpressed look on her face. If anything, she seemed rather bored.
Right now, she was practically in the zone, perfectly working on the potions with pristine efficiency while also thinking about something else. Of course, she made sure to keep her potion-making expertise to a minimum so something like the revival of Dragon Matter and Fairy Matter never happens.
"And then, we checked out a work-in-progress Pokemon Gym!" Meanwhile, Scootaloo and the others were speaking about their experience visiting the Human World's slight Pokemon makeover. "It's pretty new, but I bet it's going to be something awesome once it's done!"
"I wanted to try that mall, but I didn't have the currency." Another pony spoke. "But if I get it, I'll buy all the stuff that I can!"
"You know...we could become mentors for everyone there. We'd become the teachers instead!" Sweetie Belle grinned. It would be similar to how experienced Pokemon Coordinators had the opportunity to teach the new generation of Coordinators but this time, she had a chance to teach someone. "What do you think, Cozy Glow?"
"Hm?" She would blink, losing her focus once Sweetie Belle called her name. "Eh. I don't really care all that much."
"You don't? Seriously?" The girls collectively said.
"There's not interesting about that world anyway. Even if they're catching up fast, it's just a bit boring." Truth be told, Cozy Glow was not the least bit interested in that world. "I prefer to stick around here. It's way more magical. Scratch that, it is magical."
"Visiting other worlds isn't so bad. I mean, sure, some of them are gonna be dangerous like Daybreaker's world but some can be all kinds of fun." The young unicorn grinned, thinking about all the possibilities. "There's those worlds in the Universal Alliance. Once Daybreaker's stopped, I say we go and visit them!"
"Agreed!" Her friends were very much on board with that. Once all threats are defeated, they could truly be free, travelling to these other worlds. That is, if they are allowed.
"You don't seem as happy as you usually do, Cozy. Is something wrong?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Nothing, nothing. I'm just tired, that's all." She tried to shrug it off, immediately finishing her potion. "That whole Volo thing just finished up, right? Well, I don't want to hear about descendants and ancestors for a long time, or even parallel worlds and time travel. Not even counterparts."
"Really? You don't wanna meet your counterpart? Aren't you even a teensy-bit curious on what she might be like?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Not really." She turned her head. Cozy Glow genuinely didn't have any major interest in any of that. But there was one part in her sentence that was a lie. The parallel worlds. Considering she works for Daybreaker, she was very much interested in them.
As the class continued, with the Sun moving along, the afternoon would steadily come, bringing the end to the school day for some students. Some still had classes here while others would head home.
Among them was Cozy Glow, who did not stick around here that much. When this time of the day came for the Pokemon School, students are always seen conversing with each other, hanging out and getting ready to walk home together or even just waiting for class to start again.
Not Cozy Glow. Usually, she keeps to herself, attempting to find something valuable in the Pokemon School and bring it back to Daybreaker and her group. However, for today, he was simply leaving the Pokemon School, looking back at it. There was no intention of hanging around anyone right now.
Not when the plan to have Necrozma absorb all light in this universe and beyond still exists. That was the end goal of it all since she agreed to help Daybreaker's group out.
Cozy Glow's Home.
As for her home, because she was responsible for bringing Dragon Matter and Fairy Matter and one of them ended up being of use to Daybreaker, she was rewarded with her own home.
And quite the home it was. The outside of it looked completely unassuming, being rather standard and basic. But the inside was a completely different story.
Once she opened the door, the inside of this house was a child's dream. Tailored to Cozy Glow's needs while still appearing child-like. The colours were very much vibrant and the design had that bouncy and swirly feeling to it. At the end of the day, she was still a filly.
But as soon as she returned, she saw her own Pokemon, Togepi, working on all of her stuff while she was away. This house had resources for Cozy Glow to work with and since she had some experience using potions, it was only natural that her own potion lab was granted to her.
"Hey! I told you that's not yours to mess with!" Cozy Glow barked at Togepi, who currently held two ready-made potions at her disposal.
"Toge!"
"Geez...I'm the Trainer, so you should listen to me...!" She grizzled her teeth. "I was even kind enough to let you stay here by yourself for once. That was a big mistake it looks like. This home is made for me and me alone. It's my reward!"
"To! Togepi!"
"Hmph! It's not crucial to you at all." Surprisingly, Cozy Glow could also understand Togepi rather well. "We may be Trainer and Pokemon, but don't forget who's in charge here. Plus, this whole house is basically someone respecting me for the first time. I've never had someone compliment me before. Not even once." She crossed her hooves before fluttering over to the mirror in this room.
"Ge? Toge?"
"Tch. As if you'd know what that's like. She acknowledged me for what I did. And it was amazing..." Cozy Glow would then have a wide smile form on her face. Indeed, she has never been complimented in such a way before and received such praise.
She could never forget that sensation. Then again, it wasn't that long ago in the first place. Either way, it was absolutely marvellous for her and it sparked a joy that she has never felt before.
"I have to get praise like that again...If I do something amazing, Daybreaker will be proud of me a second time and then, I'll get more praise and more rewards!" Her eyes were alit with wonder while Togepi simply rolled her eyes. "But what can I do..."
Cozy Glow had to think outside of the box. She had to do something that would truly make Daybreaker proud of her. Naturally, it had to be something that relates to giving Necrozma all the light that he could get. But so far, anything that could do so was a bit too far out of Cozy Glow's weight class.
Trying to get a Sea Temple Crystal was out of the question without a doubt. That was far too difficult for her. She couldn't exactly make much progress in Alola since the Altar of the Sunne and Moone would now be greatly protected after recent events.
"Hmm...I wish I could've gotten involved in that shard search. I would've brought them back to Daybreaker and since they're connected to Arceus, no doubt they would've given Necrozma a lot of light. What was a waste..."
Her options seemed rather thin. There weren't many golden opportunities for Necrozma to get a huge chunk of light at all and Cozy Glow most definitely did not want to return to space.
"It doesn't matter I have to find something! And I will...I'll make sure she's proud of me even more! I'll gather as much light as I possibly can and bring it back. Right now, we're heading into Summer Vacation, so I'll have a lot more time on my hooves. But where would I go to find a lot of light..." The young pegasus pondered for a moment. And that's when it clicked for her. "!"
"Toge?"
"I guess I do have a reason to visit that Human World." A devious grin formed on her face. She had a reason to check out that world and considering how inexperienced it was, Cozy Glow had quite the advantage in her favour.
Galar. Postwick. Professor Magnolia's Lab.
"Grandma! Grandma!" Currently at Galar, Sonia rushed into her Grandmother's room, having something important to show her. Truly important. The rookie Pokemon Professor zoomed in here before coming to a screeching halt, almost falling over.
"Is something wrong?"
"N-Not really. But you have to see this. Do you remember the counterfeit Bug Shard that Volo gave to me?"
"That thing? Have you disposed of it? It's not really a part of the Life Plates and we are largely done with the Volo Debacle."
"I know, I know. But look. Even though it's fake, there's something about it." Sonia held her hand out, revealing the Fake Bug Shard. According to her, it was special in its own way andnd right now, that speciality was showing. Currently, it was letting out a glow. A rather familiar cosmic glow that resembled the Rift.
"Oh, what's this...?"
"It's obvious that Volo had used something from Rift-related to make this counterfeit, but even though it's fake, the Rift Energy ended up giving it something special." She explained. "This isn't just a fake anymore."
"Well, isn't that a happy little mishap." Magnolia got closer to the shard. "It's now flowing with Rift Energy, isn't it?"
"Mhm. But I'm not sure what it can do. I haven't done anything with it yet since I only saw it glowing just recently. I was thinking I could keep it here. You know...Volo's gone now so we don't have to worry about him coming for this or anything like that."
"No, but it could still be used by someone else. Anything related to the Rift can be unpredictable, so it's best we take a longer look at it. Who knows...Because it was made to be a fake shard, perhaps it could do the same things the Bug Shard can already do." Magnolia would take the shard off her granddaughter's hands. "But as a Pokemon Professor, you should look into it more than I should."
"R-Right! It'll be a great way to show my skills as a professor! I'll do my best!" Sonia grinned, feeling proud of herself. She was certainly making progress as a Pokemon Professor.
This fake shard ended up spawning something unique. Its capabilities were very much unknown at the moment and despite knowing that it was made out of Rift Energy, Sonia and Magnolia were unaware that it was actually used in the Arcane Ocean with the actual Bug Shard as a base.
Because of such a combo, this shard had something great residing in it.
The Human World. Out in the City.
At this moment, while many were getting used to this Time Reboot, someone was here to take full advantage of this. That someone being Cozy Glow, of course. Deciding to enter the Human World, she continued to try and make Daybreaker proud of her, fulfilling her goal.
She appeared in Human Form, fittingly having the look of an innocent little girl that just looked oh-so-adorable. It helped that Togepi kept that sweet and cute and persona while standing next to her.
"Hello, hello!" She would wave at the people in this city while standing on a podium, making herself a bit more visible. She certainly did her best to be as visible as possible, having a large cart behind her. On the cart, a large poster that read 'Pro Trainer Tutoring'. "Come here! You're looking at an Experienced Pokemon Trainer.
Naturally, this drew the attention of some of the people here. Cozy Glow wasn't really bluffing all that much when she referred to herself as an experienced Trainer. Granted, she wasn't a great battler at all, but she's learned a lot about Pokemon in general. The Pokemon School did help in that regard but she mainly taught herself.
"I see you're all a bit confused about Pokemon still. Don't worry. I can fix that."
"Are you really a Pro, little one?" A woman leaned forward, giggling at Cozy Glow. Some obviously doubted her since she was so young.
"Mhm! I promise! I know a lot about Pokemon. More than you can think." And that was no lie. "Pokemon Trainers can be almost any age."
"Really? Well, what can you really tell us?"
"Mmm." She had a wide smile form on her face before taking a deep breath. Immediately, she started spouting a plethora of things related to Pokemon. Things that caught the people here off guard as they truly didn't expect them from Cozy Glow's mouth.
And Cozy Glow knew she was impressing them, which is exactly what she wanted. "Hook line and sinker. Once I get them to see who I really am, it'll be a cinch having them help me gather a lot of light. It'll be a great score for sure!" It got her all giddy and it looked like the plan would be perfectly executed.
However, a blockade had emerged.
"Over here!" Lo and behold, present here were the Cutie Mark Crusaders along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They had a similar stand to Cozy Glow had set up, taking on that mentor role. They were 100% serious about trying it out. Specifically, Sweetie Belle. "I bet you'd love Pokemon Contests~!"
"What?!" Cozy Glow grizzled her teeth. "There's no way...!"
"Ah! Cozy Glow! You actually showed up here!" Scootaloo raised her arm, waving at her classmate. The other girls would soon wave at her, prompting Cozy Glow to grimace a bit. She immediately put on a fake smile, waving back at them even though her anger had been initiated.
"I guess you couldn't resist." Diamond Tiara giggled. "I don't blame you."
"Ah-hah..." Cozy Glow would chuckle a bit, her eyes twitching.
"Aren't you all adorable?" Some of the people would find this rather amusing. But after what Cozy Glow had said, they actually believed that they were capable Pokemon Trainers. "Are you saying you can all teach us?"
"I can teach you everything about Pokemon Battling!" The CMC would start proudly declaring what they were capable of. Scootaloo was obviously in the Pokemon Battling expertise. Well, as much as an expert as she currently is. And since Ash was her mentor and taught her some neat tricks, no doubt, she could pass on those tricks to everyone here. "Plus...I'm Ash's disciple, if you must know."
"Are you serious?!" Since Ash made a name for himself, such a reveal was appealing to the ears of those who have seen Ash's battle with Bea online.
"If you wanna know about Pokemon Contests, you can always talk to me." Sweetie Belle pointed at herself. "I promise I know a lot of pretty tricks that your Pokemon can do. I mean, if you have a Pokemon by your side already."
"As for me, I'm pretty good at Pokemon Breeding." Apple Bloom soon revealed her expertise. Something far less flashy but still important. "I've got a lot of Grass-Types with me and some new ones are because of Pokemon Breeding."
"Impressive." A man said as all the other people applauded the CMC for their specialities. In fact, to them, it was just as, if not more impressive than what Cozy Glow said.
"No fair..." She puffed her cheeks out of jealousy. She never received applause from these people at all.
"Hey, Cozy Glow!" Sweetie Belle would hop off the podium, running to her classmate. "Why don't we team up? You've got something going on so let's help each other."
Cozy Glow's plans certainly didn't involve this since the CMC could easily put a massive detriment on them. However, she was already here and got the attention of others, so she might as well try something. The best she could do was wing it and eventually come up with a new type of plan in this situation.
"S-Sure." She stuttered, annoyed by this. "I don't mind. Not one bit. But before we start doing anything, don't you think some of these people need Pokemon first before they can do anything?"
"That's where we come in." Diamond Tiara smirked along with Silver Spoon. "Leave that to us. We can teach them a thing or two about catching. I don't mean to brag, but I've caught a lot of Pokemon."
"Really? Since when?" Scootaloo questioned.
"A few months back. My mom really took a liking to Furfrou and already has one of her own, but she wanted more, so during the Pokemon Festival, I went on a catching spree, finding as many Fufrou as I could. And I have pretty great throwing form."
"Ash taught her his own throwing form, actually." Silver Spoon pointed out while adjusting her glasses. "He has a few so he taught one to her and it paid off. Her mom has I think...23 Furfrou with her."
"Amazing!" The CMC collectively gawked while Cozy Glow grumbled a bit, jealous once more.
"Hm. I don't know how I feel about being taught by a kid..." A man scratched his hair, feeling conflicted. "I think I can catch Pokemon on my own, honestly."
"Well, I wanna know how to do it. I suck at throwing." A young man replied. "I want a Pokemon of my own, right away"
"Yeah, same here!" The people agreed. All of them wanted their own Pokemon stat. The thought of it was just so exciting to them.
"Hehe. Perfect." Music to Scootaloo's ears. "Very soon, everyone's gonna be running around with a Pokemon. Maybe more than one. Two, actually! If we're lucky, we'll make it three! We all have more than two or three Pokemon with us."
"Come to think of it...Cozy Glow. You just have Togepi, don't you? Apple Bloom pointed out.
"Mngh!" That was very much true. Her only Pokemon was Togepi while everyone one of her classmates had more than one Pokemon. It was rather embarrassing for this to be revealed to her, especially in public. The CMC were just raining on her parade, especially when she was feeling over the moon minutes ago.
"Who do they think they are? Getting in my way like this?!" She thought to herself, her arms behind her back as her fingers were twiddling with irritation. "I'm not about to let them ruin this for me. Not one bit. I've got an amazing idea ready after all! I know how I can take care of them."
"H-Hey! I've got something better!" Cozy Glow raised her arm. "How about some you go out and search for some Pokemon to catch and the rest of you can watch a Pokemon Battle demonstration. I'd gladly show you some battling skills."
"Great idea!" Scootaloo greatly agreed. "Let's have a battle together and-"
"Nope. I'd rather take..." Cozy Glow rejected Scootaloo's challenge, moving her arm around to select her opponent. "You!" It was Silver Spoon who was selected.
"O-oh! Sure. But um...I want to be the one who teaches them how to catch Pokemon." Silver Spoon stuttered a bit.
"You can do that and have a battle with me. I say we go into a nearby forest. That's where Pokemon are constantly at and our battle will be away from the city." Cozy Glow winked, raising a good point. Many strongly agreed with her, making this whole idea 100% approved.
It was settled. The ones to help the people catch some Pokemon were the kids. Even though the select group of people were teenagers and young adults at best with some kids around. Grown adults, not so much. Very soon, they all targeted the nearest forest, getting themselves ready.
Of course, they needed Poke Balls first and thankfully, thanks to Lena, this world had Poke Balls in shops at the ready and at cheap prices as well. But Diamond Tiara wasn't just challenging Silver Spoon to a simple battle. Not at all. This was her way of dealing with them for getting in her way. They couldn't mess this up for her. Not when she had a great plan in the waiting that could greatly benefit Daybreaker.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 540 End.