Fluttershy, the Pokémon Tamer

Chapters

Taking a Stroll Across the Multiverse
How to Cope With New Bodies
I Choose You!
On a Losing Streak
The Shy Center
Technical Difficulties
Discord's Dilemma
The Mass Portal Production Project (DRAFT, CANCELED)
Explanation (Story Update)
Prologue
The History of Ponyville

Taking a Stroll Across the Multiverse

Discord stretched out, levitating alongside his friend. He let out a yawn. "Haaaww... This is absolutely wonderful, Fluttershy. I never knew this whole 'friendship' thing would be so nice."

"I know. It's so peaceful, right Angel?" Fluttershy looked at her head, where Angel was lying down. Surprisingly, he was relaxing, too. Angel had recently started to trust Discord, after everything that happened during his reformation. He knew that Discord hadn’t completely abandoned his old ways, but whenever Discord did use his magic, it was just for some small pranks. Still, Angel was keeping a watchful eye on Discord.

Discord yawned again. "Not that a little chaos every now and then isn't nice either..." he whispered to himself. Angel, however, had a keen sense of hearing, and sat up, glaring at Discord. "What? Oh come now, Angel Bunny. I'm not going to do anything wrong, you know that!" Discord teleported, and reappeared, floating inches above Angel. He curved his neck to look at the little bunny. "I just want to have some fun every now and then." He patted Angel on the head. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"No, there isn't." Fluttershy looked up at Discord, smiling. Angel slumped back down, making himself comfortable.

Discord smiled back, and snapped his fingers. Six pairs of ice skates appeared in his claw. "What say we go and ice skate again, huh Fluttershy?" he asked, an excited look in his eyes.

"Now Discord, I want you to remember that we can't just go ice skating whenever we want. We have to wait for an appropriate time for that, like during winter. And no, you can't make it winter, Discord. You have to wait for the seasons to shift," Fluttershy said, predicting what Discord would've asked.

"Oh, alright..." Discord said, disappointed. "Is there anything we can do during summer?" Discord asked.

"Lots of things!" Fluttershy stated, cheerily. "You could go to parks with your pets, swim, have so-"

"That's it!!" Discord jabbed his finger to the sky. He soon realized that he cut Fluttershy off before she could finish. "Oh, sorry, Fluttershy..." he quietly said.

"It's fine... So, what was it?" Fluttershy asked.

"We can go swimming! That's a perfect summer activity!" Discord exclaimed.

"Swimming does sound nice..." Fluttershy added.

"C’mon, Fluttershy, let's find a good swimming spot." Discord snapped his fingers, and a map appeared in his paw. He began skimming his eyes through it. "Let's see... We could go this way... No, we wanna avoid that..."

Fluttershy was hit with a sense of déjà vu. "Wow Discord, you're pretty excited about this."

Discord looked up. "But of course. Carrying out tasks for Princess Celestia gives me such a small amount of break time." Discord let go of the map, which caused it to pop. "I want to make sure every minute of my free time is well spent, whether it be with you and Angel, or just relaxing." Discord yawned. "Or fun little pranks..." he murmured. Once again Angel heard him, but continued to slouch, not alarmed by Discord's love for pranks.

Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth, thinking, then said, "What does Princess Celestia have you do, anyway?"

"Many things, but most of the time, she has me-" Discord suddenly stopped. "Wait, do you feel that?" he asked.

"Feel what?" Fluttershy responded.

"That... weird feeling..." Discord looked around, searching for whatever was causing the weird feeling. "There's a lot of it, and it feels so... intense..."

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked. Angel sat up, beginning to sense Fluttershy's growing concern.

"I... don't know... Whatever it was... just vanished. Hmm..." Discord scratched his head with his claw, pondering for a moment. "Well, let's get back on track. C’mon, I think I know where to go."

~~~~~~~~~~

Splash!

Discord emerged from the water's surface. "Ah, this is absolutely wonderful!" He did a pose and spat water out, imitating a fountain statue.

"I know! It's just so relaxing. I just wish my friends could enjoy this, too." Fluttershy said, relaxing at the lake's edge, exhausted from swimming. Angel had fallen asleep near a tree with a tire swing on it, not wanting to get wet.

"Well, I invited them, but Pinkie Pie and Rarity were too busy with orders, Applejack had chores, Twilight's too busy learning about Alicorns, and Rainbow Dash flatly denied," Discord stated. "So, it's just you, me, and Angel." At the mention of his name, Angel woke up, stretched, and hopped to Fluttershy's side. He began making nibbling gestures. Fluttershy smiled.

"Are you hungry?" Angel nodded. "Discord, could you get something for Angel to eat?" Fluttershy asked.

"Why not? Carrots, right?" Discord asked. Angel nodded again. Discord snapped his fingers, making a carrot appear in his paw. He handed it to Angel, who slapped it out of his hand. "What? It's good!" Discord said. Angel picked up the carrot, sniffed it, and pretended to pass out from the smell. He then got up, shoved the carrot in the ground, and gestured towards it. "What?" Discord asked. Angel gestured toward the carrot again, waving his arms. He pointed to the carrot, moved his arm up repeatedly, pulled the carrot out, and pretended to eat it. "You want me to find freshly grown carrots?" Discord guessed. Angel nodded. "Why not have a carrot now? I can just make you some." Discord replied. Angel shook his head stubbornly.

"Angel, there's nothing wrong with that carrot. Why don't you want it?" Fluttershy asked. Angel shook his head again. He made a sad face towards Fluttershy. "Don't give that look, mister. There's nothing wrong with that carrot." Angel's front paws joined together. He began begging Fluttershy for different carrots. She hesitated, but soon gave in. "Oh, alright. I'm sorry Discord. I don't know why he won't eat your carrot. Could you please go into town and find some freshly grown carrots? I know there's at least one store that sells them."

"Oh fine." Discord said, a little annoyed. He began to leave the lake, "I'll be back soon with the carrots."

A while later, Discord began to think, Oh honestly, why must that rabbit be so demanding? Why couldn't he be kind and obedient, like other rabbits? I can't believe I have to go out and get him some carrots. He's making me waste my break time. The nerve of hi-

He stopped. "There it is again, that intense feeling from earlier. What is that? It feels so... foreign." He pondered for a moment and thought of something. "Maybe I can use my magic to trace where it's coming from." Discord inhaled. "Okay, this should be easy." He closed his eyes. "I just need to focus... Focus." His claw glowed, and he opened his eyes. "There! I have it!" He squinted his eyes, staring at his claw, and grabbed it with his paw. "Now, where is it coming from?" His claw shuddered. Discord tried to focus the feeling into his claw, but his claw wouldn't close. "Ah! It's... getting really intense!" He squeezed his eyes shut, trying his best to close his claw.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Angel, who were waiting for Discord to return, began to see a bright light in the path they came from. "Oh... my..." Fluttershy said, gazing at the light while Angel grew suspicious. He figured Discord was behind this. Angel hopped onto Fluttershy's head, and thumped his foot on it. "What is it?" she asked. Angel pointed towards the light. "You want me to go there?" He nodded. Fluttershy stared at the light. "I don't know... There's something about that light... I don't know what it is, but it doesn't feel good..." she said. Angel thumped her head again, determined to see if it was Discord. "Oh... Alright." Fluttershy began trotting towards the light.

Back at the source of the light, Discord tightened his grip, trying to regain control. "Argh! I... can't... control it! I should've never done this! I bet Fluttershy would've talked me out of this. Rrugh, I wouldn't even be thinking about this intense... Whatever it is! I would still be swimming, relaxing in the water, if it weren't for that damn... bunny?" Discord squinted his eyes, trying to make out something approaching in the distance. "Angel? And something else... Fluttershy?" Suddenly, Discord was blown back by an invisible force, losing all feeling in his claw. "Oh... What in Equestria was that?" he said, grunting from pain.

As Fluttershy got closer to where the light was coming from, Angel could see something lying near it. He soon figured out it was Discord. Angel glared at him, getting even closer. Suddenly a light burst in front of Angel and Fluttershy. Fluttershy stopped, alarmed. Angel fell off of her from the sudden stop. "Oh my goodness, Angel Bunny, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Angel rubbed his head. One of his eyes was shut from the ringing pain in his head. Angel stopped, staring at the light in front of him. A bluish-blackish circle was glowing in front of him.

"What is that?" Fluttershy asked. "It looks like... a tear in one of Rarity's fabrics." Suddenly, it began pulling Angel in. Angel shot up, and began running in the opposite direction, but the circle's force was too strong. Angel fell down, grabbing at the dirt, trying to not get sucked in. "Angel!" Fluttershy dove for Angel's arms. She tried pulling him to safety, but the force was still too strong. "Angel, don't let go!" Fluttershy began flapping her wings, trying desperately to keep Angel out of the light. Her efforts were in vain, though, as the tear engulfed Angel, and soon after, Fluttershy. As soon as the two were sucked in, the circle collapsed, leaving behind nothing except for a sharp ringing in the area.

Discord got back up, still in pain. "Ugh... Wait, where's Fluttershy? And Angel? I just saw them... I heard them!" Discord looked around. He called out, "Fluttershy! Angel!"

No answer.

"Where are they?" Discord raised his claw to his eyes, scanning the area around him. His arm jerked in pain. He then remembered why it was in pain: The light. Discord soon had a terrible realization. "Oh no... What if something happened to them... because of that light? What was that light?" Discord went into deep thought. Whatever that was, it shot me back, with great force. That must mean that light was also some sort of energy...

"Wait... No, impossible. There's no way... Is there? Did that light, that energy, manifest? It's possible... Seeing as how I used some of my magic to harness it... There's a chance... Did that energy, combined with my magic, create... a rift? That's the only logical reason... Does that mean that rift took away Angel and Fluttershy?" Discord gripped his head with his paw and claw. "Oh, look at yourself Discord! Trying to make sense out of things, what happened to you?" He thought again. I shouldn't be doing this! I should be basking in the chaos that's come out of this! But... what about Fluttershy? Where did she go? Is she okay? Rrugh! This is my fault! My old ways caused me to lose my only friend!... I have to make this right. I need help finding out what that was that took Fluttershy and Angel away. I need Twilight's help. "I just hope she'll be able to get past the part where I accidentally transported one of her friends to... Who knows where? Fluttershy... Wherever you are, I hope you and Angel are okay..."

How to Cope With New Bodies

There was nothing but a sharp ringing all around the yellow mare. Fluttershy opened her eyes, greeted by a black void. "What is this place? Where am I?" Fluttershy looked around, and noticed her pet bunny by her side, knocked unconscious. "Angel! Are you alright?" Fluttershy tried to reach for Angel, but as soon as she did, she floated upwards. "What? No! Angel!" Fluttershy panicked, believing that she would be separated from Angel. Frantically, she flapped her wings, trying her best to not be separated from Angel. Eventually, she reached her bunny and grabbed onto him, hugging tightly. Angel then awoke, and dove into a similar state of shock as his owner. "Shh, don't worry. It'll be okay... I hope," Fluttershy said, trying to calm her pet bunny down, feeling scared herself. "Oh Angel, where are we?" she asked, hoping to get an explanation. Angel tried to recall everything that happened before he woke up. He thought about the lake, the carrots, and... the light. Angel soon figured it out. He began making gestures, trying his best to tell Fluttershy what happened to them.

"What? The light? Is that was got us here?" she asked. Angel nodded, and continued to make gestures, continuing to explain what he knew.

"That's right. Whatever that light-portal thing was sucked us into it. So you're saying it took us here?" Angel nodded again, and continued with his gestures.

"But how did that thing come to Equestria?" Angel knew the answer to that.

"What? Discord? He wouldn't do that." Angel grew mad. He didn't care how nice and good Discord had become; Angel knew that he was to blame for this. Angel continued to explain.

"You're saying that Discord was doing something that opened up this portal? That's why we're in this place?" Fluttershy asked. Angel nodded, a bit saddened. He could hear the betrayal in Fluttershy's voice. "There has to be some sort of misunderstanding. Discord promised to use his magic for good, and the only times he wouldn't would just be for harmless pranks." A few tears began to flow down Fluttershy's cheeks. "Why would he do something so awful like trap us inside here? Why?" Fluttershy broke into tears. Angel tried his best to comfort her, but to no avail. He began to regret telling Fluttershy the truth, but he knew it had to be done. He would never forgive Discord for doing this. Fluttershy stopped crying. "I should've known he'd go back to his old ways," she said coldly. "I really believed, I really hoped that Discord had actually changed for the better, but I guess I was wrong." Fluttershy looked at Angel, then remembered their current situation. "Oh Angel, how are we gonna get out of here?" Right when she said that, a small light appeared. "Oh, maybe that's a way out," Fluttershy said, large feelings of hope appearing inside her. Angel thought it was very convenient that that light appeared after Fluttershy asked how to get out. Beginning to feel that it was a little too convenient, Angel grew suspicious. With Angel safely held by her side, Fluttershy began making a mixture of flying/floating movements towards the light. As she moved closer, the light began to blind her. As soon as she got a few inches near the light, she and Angel were sucked in, generating a similar sensation to when they first entered the void behind them. The feeling was too much, as it caused Fluttershy and Angel to black out. While he was doing so, he felt that Fluttershy had made a huge mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~

Once again, Fluttershy was the first to come to. She felt Angel by her side, and looked at him, but what she saw wasn't her bunny. Or at least, he didn't look like it. "Angel, what happened to your fur? What happened to you ears? What happened to your waist?" She pointed at the large bunch of fur that was around what she believed was Angel's waist. As soon as she did, though, she stared at what she was pointing with. Fluttershy stared in disbelief at this weird new... thing where her hoof should've been. "What happened to my hoof? What are these... things on it?" She also noticed some fabric on her... limb, and soon felt it on most of her body. Fluttershy soon realized that other things might've changed about her physical appearance, too. She stood up, waking up Angel. As she did, she realized she stood up higher than she ever had before. She was about twice her size in height. "Why am I so tall?" Fluttershy asked. Angel rubbed his eyes, a little annoyed by the sudden awakening. As he did, though, he felt... different.

Angel looked at Fluttershy, and quickly exclaimed. "B-b-bun! Bun Buneary!" He soon realized that he actually said something, whatever gibberish it was. "Bun?" he said again. "B-b-bun! Buneary? Buneary?!" Angel was listening to his new voice, and couldn't believe how ridiculous it sounded. He soon remembered what caused him to literally find his voice in the first place. He stared back at whatever it was that was next to him. His eyes were greeted by some weird pink-haired... thing.

"Is that really you, Angel?" Fluttershy asked, seeing a resemblance in the behavior of her bunny and this bunny-like creature.

Angel recognized Fluttershy's voice, and realized it really was her. He then thought, Of course it is!, but what came out instead was "Bun bun Buneary!" Angel pinched the bridge of his nose, still getting used to his new voice.

"It is? It is!" Fluttershy was soon filled with relief. "Oh Angel, I'm so glad to see you! Or... to see that you're okay, for the most part. What happened to us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Bun bun," Angel said.

"You don't know this time?" Fluttershy sighed, "Whatever we are, at least we're safe. Oh, but how are we gonna get back to Equestria?" she asked.

"Bun bun bun..." Angel said, saying in his mind, I don't know...

"Speaking of Equestria, I don't think we're there anymore. Where are we?" Fluttershy looked around, only seeing trees everywhere. "Are we in the Everfree Forest? That might explain these new bodies... Oh, look at me. I don't have my hooves, wings, or tail anymore."

"Bun Buneary? Bun bun bun Buneary bun bun!" Angel said, wanting to say What about me? I have a whole bunch of fur now!

Fluttershy smiled. "But it makes you look cuter!"

"Bun bun..." Angel said, meaning Good point...

Fluttershy thought for a moment. "Hmm... I guess we should try to find our way out, and see if Twilight can help us..." At that, Fluttershy picked up Angel, who had gained a lot of weight from excess fur, and began walking through the forest.

I Choose You!

"Cyndaquil!"

Professor Elm smiled and said, "Well then, let's meet your first Pokémon." He took Cyndaquil's Pokéball off of the display case. He turned to Leon, who had stepped out of his way, and pressed a button in the center of the ball. The Pokéball opened, and a white beam of light shot from it. It landed on the ground in front of Leon, and it soon began to take shape. A small, mouse-like Pokémon appeared from the light in front of the little boy. It looked around and sneezed. As it did, a flock of flames came to life on its back, and they continued to dance in their fiery form.

"Cinda!" it said in a high pitched voice.

Leon couldn't help but smile. "Hey, little guy. I'm Leon, and I'm your new Pokémon trainer." A slight shudder of excitement drove through Leon's body, overwhelmed by the fact that he now had his very own Pokémon.

Cyndaquil looked at Leon, and smiled. "Quil!" it said, then yawned.

Elm smiled at Cyndaquil's innocent actions. "Cute," he said, then handed Leon Cyndaquil's Pokéball. "He's all yours, Leon."

Leon took the Pokéball into his hand, and thought, Awesome! My very own Pokémon! "So, I just press this button..." Leon pressed the button that Elm had pressed earlier, but this time, a red beam of light shot from the Pokéball and hit Cyndaquil. The red beam consumed the fiery mouse, and contracted back into the Pokéball with Cyndaquil in it. "Cool," he said in amusement.

Professor Elm fumbled through some papers on a nearby desk while Leon admired his Pokéball. After sorting through the papers, Elm turned around, with five more Pokéballs and a small, computer-like device. "Here are five more Pokéballs, giving you a total of six, and your Pokédex." Elm handed Leon the items.

"My Pokédex?" he asked, confused.

"Yes. Like I said earlier, there are many Pokémon in this world. A Pokédex is a digital encyclopedia that allows you to catalog and record Pokémon data. Some models of the Pokédex automatically give you all the information about a Pokémon when it sees it. Some only give you the information of a Pokémon when you successfully capture it. Unfortunately, I only have the model that gives you the data of a Pokémon when you catch it.” Elm made a nervous laugh, expecting Leon to get annoyed by the fact that he’d have to catch Pokémon to obtain their data.

“Cool,” he said, to Elm’s surprise.

“You mean you’re not mad?” Elm asked.

“Why would I be?” Leon replied. “What’s the fun in just getting data if I don’t have a Pokémon to show for it?” he said, thinking of all the Pokémon in Johto waiting to be caught.

Elm smiled. “It’s good to see that you’re enthusiastic about catching Pokémon. You know why I gave you five more Pokéballs, and no more, right?”

Leon thought for a moment. “...No.”

“You can only carry up to six Pokémon with you at a time. If you catch a Pokémon and you already have six with you, the Pokémon you caught will be transferred to a PC, or a Personal Computer. These PCs have a Pokémon Storage System, where you can store and move Pokémon that you’ve caught,” Elm explained.

“Oh,” Leon said simply.

“Anyway, I’ve held you up for far too long. It’s time you went on with your journey. I have high hopes for you and Cyndaquil. Oh, by the way, would you like to give Cyndaquil a nickname?” Elm asked.

Leon pondered for a bit, and said, “Sure! I think I’ll name you... Cynders!” He admired Cyndaquil’s new name. “With a ‘Y’,” he added.

“Okay then. Leon, and Cynders, I wish you the best of luck on your journey,” Elm said, smiling.

“Thanks, Professor Elm!” Leon had begun walking to the door, when Elm remembered something.

“Oh, one more thing!” he called out.

“Yeah?” Leon asked.

“I’d like you to walk with your Pokémon. Just the first one in your team, though.” Elm said.

“Why?” Leon asked.

“Well, I’ve been studying how walking alongside your Pokémon affects it, and I’ve come a conclusion that walking with a Pokémon can help strengthen your bond with it. Trust between trainer and Pokémon is a key ingredient to training.” Elm said.

“Oh, well, in that case, come on out, Cynders!” Leon reached for Cyndaquil’s Pokéball, and pressed the center button. Like before, a white beam shot out from the Pokéball, and Cyndaquil materialized in front of Leon.

“Cynda!” it said again.

“Hey, Cynders. I heard that walking is a good trust exercise, so let’s walk!” Leon said merrily.

“Quil!” Cynders raised his arms in excitement, and began walking alongside Leon as he exited Elm’s lab.

“Good Luck!” Elm called out. He sighed, “There goes another one. I hope he does great things in this world.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, Cynders, what should we do now?” Leon asked his Pokémon.

Cynders replied, “Cynda... quil?”

“Yeah, I guess we shouldn’t do that,” Leon said, pretending to understand what Cynders was saying. “Oh, I almost forgot! I have to get my Pokégear from my mom! I was so excited to get my first Pokémon, I didn’t think to get my Pokégear. C’mon, Cynders, let’s go back to my house."

“Cynda!” Cyndaquil followed Leon back to his house.

~~~~~~~~~~

Leon called out, “Mom, I’m home!”

“Oh, hi, Honey.” Leon’s mom was watching TV, relaxing on a sofa.

“Mom, I finally got my first Pokémon! Look!” Leon presented his new Cyndaquil to his mother.

His mother looked at Cynders, and said, “Oh my, it’s very cute. Is it a boy or a girl?”

Leon bent down on one knee to pet Cyndaquil. “He’s a boy. His name is Cynders, with a ‘Y’. Hey, mom, didn’t my Pokégear come today?” he asked.

“Ah, that’s right.” Leon’s mother went into another room, and came out shortly after with a small package. “Here. I already took off the adhesive, so it should be easy to open it.”

Leon took the package and opened it up. He began searching through packing peanuts, and eventually found a small, phone-like device wrapped in plastic. Leon ripped the plastic off and studied the design of the device. “My own Pokégear. Let’s see, where’s the instruction manual?”

Leon’s mom smiled, and looked at Cynders. “Are you hungry?” she asked.

“Cynda!” Cynders said, putting his arms on his belly.

Leon’s mom made a small giggle, and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.” She went to the kitchen and began searching through the cupboards for something that Cynders could eat.

Meanwhile, Leon was skimming through the Pokégear’s instruction manual. “Let’s see... call function... map card... radio... settings...” Leon opened the Pokégear and began fidgeting with its functions. “Hey, where’s the map and radio?” Leon looked back at the manual. “Blah blah blah... I can only use the other two functions when I get a card for them? Where do I get cards?” Leon’s mom came back with a bowl of Pokémon food and set it on the ground for Cynders to eat. As Cynders ran to the food and started eating, Leon’s mother sat back down on the couch.

“Well, I’m pretty sure you can get a radio card from Goldenrod City’s Radio Tower.” Leon’s mom said, putting a finger to her chin, thinking. “As for the map card, I’m not sure where you can find one of those. Sorry, Honey.”

“Eh, that’s okay.” Leon took off his backpack and put the Pokégear’s instructions manual in one of its many pockets. He then took the Pokégear, registered his mom’s number (which he already knew by memory), and clipped it onto his belt.

“What are you planning to do now?” Leon’s mom asked.

Leon thought for a moment, and said, “Eh... I’m not sure yet.”

“Here’s an idea. How about you travel Johto, and collect Gym badges? That way, when you reach the Indigo Plateau, you’ll be eligible to be participate. The Indigo Plateau is basically a place where tough trainers from all around come to test their strength,” His mom suggested.

“...That sounds great! Where are the gyms?” Leon asked, getting excited.

“There are various Pokémon Gyms scattered around Johto. If memory serves, the closest one is in Violet City. Oh, but you’ll need this.” Leon’s mother went back into the room where his Pokégear had been, and came back with a case that had a Pokéball symbol on it. “Here, it’s a Badge case.” She handed it to Leon. “Whenever you beat a Gym Leader, they’ll reward you with a Gym Badge. Those Badges let other trainers know that Gym Leaders have recognized your strength. Once you have eight Gym Badges, you can enter the Indigo Plateau,” Leon’s mom explained.

“Thanks, mom.” Leon placed the case in his backpack, and zipped it up. “Hey, Cynders, you ready to go yet?” Leon asked. He turned to Cynders, who had finished stuffing himself, and smiled. “You must’ve been really hungry, huh?”

“Cynda...” His Pokémon said sluggishly.

Leon laughed, and began to head out the door, Cynders following behind. “Oh, Honey, aren’t you forgetting something?” Leon’s mom said.

“What? I don’t think I am,” Leon said.

“Unless you want Cynders to starve, I suggest you take some money with you. Here, take some money.” Leon’s mom pulled out a sizable amount of money, and handed it to her son. “Spend it wisely, because I don’t have money growing in my wallet, and I know how you can get with money,” she said sternly.

“Oh... right. Thanks, mom.” Leon ran out the door, Cynders keeping up with ease.

“Be careful!” Leon’s mom called out. She sighed, “I knew this day would come. Stay safe, Leon. I don’t want you getting hurt...”

~~~~~~~~~~

“So, did you like my house?” Leon asked Cynders.

“Cynda!” his Pokémon replied.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Leon walked out of New Bark Town, now venturing into the fields he watched as a kid. “Now, I know there are Pokémon in grass, so we need to be careful, ‘kay, Cynders?” Leon said cautiously.

“Quil!” Cynders replied. A patch of grass rustled nearby.

“What was that?” Leon asked.

“Tret?” a voice replied.

Leon stopped. “...That wasn’t you, was it Cynders?”

“Sen... tret?” the same voice answered. Leon turned around, to see Cynders staring at another Pokémon. A small, furry Pokémon with stubby limbs stared at Leon.

“I know this one!” Leon said. “You’re a Sentret, right?” he asked, recognizing this Pokémon from all the times it appeared in the grass while he watched as a kid.

“Tret!” Sentret replied.

“Okay then. Cynders, let’s catch our first Pokémon!” Leon said, confidence brewing inside him.

“Quil,” Cynders replied.

“Cynders, use... uh... hold on.” Leon searched through his backpack, and found what he was looking for: the Pokédex. “Uh, let’s see... Cyndaquil... you know Tackle and Growl. Okay then, Cynders, use Growl!”

“Quil!” Cynders followed Leon’s command. “Quill... Quil!” he said, in an intimidating manner.

“T-tret!” Sentret shook a little, then shook its head. “Sentret!” Sentret ran towards Cynders, its paw beginning to glow. When it got close, it lunged at Cynders, and scratched him.

“Quil!” Cynders yelled in pain.

“Cynders, are you okay?” Leon asked with concern.

Cynders was clutching his face, but quickly shook it off. “Quil!”

Leon smiled. “Okay, enough messing around. Cynders, use Tackle!”

“Quil!” Cynders charged at Sentret.

“Tret!” Sentret moved, dodging the attack.

“Ugh,” Leon said, annoyed. “Cynders, again!”

“Quil!” Cynders repeated his actions. This time, Sentret was too slow, and didn’t react fast enough to dodge. Cynders tackled Sentret, knocking it over.

“Tret!” Sentret said, a slight sound of pain escaping its mouth. Sentret got back up, dusting itself off. “Tret!” Sentret charged at Cynders, preparing to scratch again.

“Once more.” Leon said. “Cynders, Tackle!”

“Quil!” Cynders turned around, and lunged again at Sentret. Sentret stopped, and began bracing itself for Cynders’ attack. Cynders hit Sentret with all his might. Sentret tried to take the hit, but fell to the ground again.

“T-tret...” Sentret stayed on the this time.

“Okay, now you’re weak enough! Go, Pokéball!” Leon took one of the Pokéballs Elm gave him earlier, now minimized for storage convenience. He pressed its center button, expanding the ball, and threw it at Sentret. The ball hit the furry Pokémon. It opened up, and took in Sentret. The ball fell onto the ground, shook a couple of times, and stopped, making a “ding” sound. Leon walked to the ball. Picking it up, he admired it. “Awesome, my first capture.” He checked his Pokédex, which was recording Sentret’s data.

The Pokédex beeped, signifying that it had successfully recorded and catalogued Sentret, and in an electronic voice, read, “Sentret, the Scout Pokémon. A very cautious Pokémon, it raises itself up using its tail to get a better view of its surroundings.”

“Cool. Look, Cynders, we got one.” Leon showed Cynders the Pokéball, and smiled.

Cynders smiled back, and said, “Quil!”

“Well, C’mon, Cynders. Let’s hope we can get more on our way to Violet City, wherever that is!” Leon said cheerfully.

“Quil!” Cynders followed his trainer through the grass patches, already thinking that he’d have an awesome journey with Leon.

Little did he know, awesome didn't even begin to describe it.

Author's Note

If Leon seemed different from the Prologue, it's because he has that hype when a trainer gets their first Pokémon and starts their journey. Couldn't come up with a better nickname other than "Cynders" that didn't seem chiché want to get back to Fluttershy's problem, so I may skip Leon's adventures up to Goldenrod City, and have his first and second Gym battles, along with any Pokémon he may have caught on the way, explained in flashbacks when he's traveling with Fluttershy and Angel.

Also, should I do this? I had an idea that I should probably restart in my Soul Silver (after I safely transfer all of my important Pokémon) and play through with the Pokémon I intend Leon to have. That way, I can make the battles seem more realistic (in a sense) so that Leon will seem like a genuine Pokémon trainer that sometimes struggles through battles.

One last thing. At the end of voting, the scores were:

3rd Place - Chikorita: 8 votes
2nd Place - Totodile: 10 votes
1st Place - Cyndaquil: 14 votes
Thanks to all who cast their vote.

On a Losing Streak

A/N: I did decide to skip Leon's adventures, up to Goldenrod City.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Cynders, use Quick Attack!” Leon commanded.

“Quil!” Cynders accelerated, charging for Miltank.

Whitney sighed, “Not this again. Miltank, Rollout! And this time, add more force!”

“Mil!” Miltank curled up, rolling. She began to build up speed.

“Heh, that’s what I was hoping for. Cynders, change your attack! Flame Wheel!” Leon yelled.

“Quil!” Cynders jumped, then curled up, rolling similar to Miltank. As he did, his body ignited. Miltank and Cynders were mere feet away from colliding.

“You seriously thought I wouldn’t see this coming?” Whitney said smugly. “Miltank, jump, then use Body Slam!” she said.

“Mil!” In an instant, Miltank hurdled over Cynders, still rolling, and uncurled. She then dropped on top of Cynders, stopping him mid-spin.

“Lava!” Cynders was crushed by Miltank’s weight. Miltank jumped off, and curled up again. She kept rolling around Cynders, rebuilding speed.

Leon had seen this before, and in an instant, became worried. “Gah! Cynders, get up. Don’t let Miltank gain speed!” Leon said, the sound of panic rising in his voice. Cynders, however, stayed down. He had become paralyzed and couldn’t get up.

“Qu... quil...” Cynders said in a raspy voice, trying to get up.

“Finish it!” Whitney yelled. Miltank circled around one last time, and charged at Cynders. She rolled at full speed, debris flying behind her, and crashed into Cynders, launching him into the air.

“La!” Cynders cried out in pain. He crashed onto the Gym floor.

“Cynders!” Leon yelled. Cynders lay on the ground, unconscious.

“Qu-quil...”

The referee raised a red flag in Cynders’ direction. “Quilava is unable to battle! Miltank wins, which means the victor is Whitney!” he said.

“Aw yeah! Another win for us. Miltank, return!” Whitney said, cheerfully.

“Mil!” Miltank said as she was called back.

“Cynders, are you okay?” Leon asked. He rushed to Cynders’ side and comforted his injured friend.

“So, I guess we’re done here. Nice job, Leon, but you still need more practice before you can beat me,” Whitney said tauntingly.

Leon tried his best to hide his frustration. He called Cynders back to his Pokéball. “...That’s the third time...” he said in a depressing tone.

“Aw, cheer up,” Whitney said. “C’mon, I’ll take you to the Pokémon Center. You can’t go anywhere when you don’t have any Pokémon to fight with.” She gestured for Leon to follow.

Leon stared at Cynders’ Pokéball and sighed. “Fine...” he said, following Whitney out of the Gym.

~~~~~~~~~~

“There, your Pokémon have been fully healed.” Nurse Joy put a tray that had Leon’s Pokéballs on the counter.

Leon took the capsules and reattached them to his belt. “Thanks, Nurse Joy,” he said.

“You’re welcome. Remember, don’t push your Pokémon too hard. It’s bad for their health. And don’t forget; if your Pokémon get hurt, you come here as fast as you can, okay?” Nurse Joy said.

“I know,” Leon replied. He walked out of the Pokémon Center, and sighed, “That’s the third time... I’m never gonna beat Whitney... Her Miltank... Gah! That Miltank...” Leon said, frustrated. “Every time, I’m so close to beating her, then she sends out Miltank!” he yelled. Leon stopped. He sighed, “What good is getting mad gonna do? It’s not like rage is gonna help me win.” He thought for a moment. “I’ve only got two badges; I’m still a rookie. I- I just don’t... know...” Leon sighed again. “Cynders, come out.” He took Cynders’ Pokéball and brought out his starter.

Cynders opened his eyes and blinked. “Lava,” he said.

“Hey, buddy. How’s it goin’?” Leon asked.

“Quil...” Cynders said, depressed.

Leon, not wanting to feel the same way, said, “Aw, cheer up. We almost had her!” he said. “We’re just... not there yet. C’mon, we should keep training.” Leon thought for a bit. “Well... considering the fact that we have a new member on board, and that she’s not that strong yet, we should go to the Ilex Forest. She’ll get tougher there. You can spot her!” Leon said, enthusiasm building up inside him.

“La va!” Cynders replied, sharing the same feelings with his trainer.

“That’s the spirit. C’mon. let’s get going.” With that, Leon and Cynders started for the Ilex Forest.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Um... Didn’t we pass that tree a while ago?” Fluttershy asked.

“Buneary,” Angel said, meaning I think so.

Fluttershy sighed, “Oh, this is bad. We’ve been walking through the Everfree Forest for so long now, but I don’t see any familiar landmarks. We must be in a deeper part of the forest.” Fluttershy continued to walk past trees, shrubs, and anything that may have hidden something familiar. Every time she looked, though, there was just more vegetation. She sighed again, “If only I had my wings. I could just fly above the canopy and look for my cottage. How are we gonna get ou—” Fluttershy was cut of by a sudden rustle nearby.

She heard a faint buzz, “Bbz bbzz!”

“What was that?” Fluttershy asked, beginning to worry for her and Angel’s safety. What if some creature tries to attack Angel? she thought. Beginning to feel that she had to protect him, Fluttershy braced herself for whatever was coming. As quick as it began, though, the noise stopped. Fluttershy waited, but it didn’t come back. She sighed out of relief, and said “That was close. I thought something was about to attack u—”

“BB BZZ BZZZ!”

It was all a blur to her. She was talking to Agnel at one moment, then a striped animal tackled her down the next. She could barely make out her attacker’s silhouette before it flew off. Fluttershy lay on the ground, covering her eyes, shut tight from shock. She noticed that Angel wasn’t near her. She opened her eyes. “A-Angel? Angel!” Fluttershy soon realized that whatever took her down also swept Angel out of her limbs. “Angel!” she shrieked. Fluttershy searched around for her attacker, but didn’t see it anywhere.

She then heard a faint cry. “Buneary!” it said so softly.

Fluttershy recognized it. “Angel! Hold on, I’m coming.” Fluttershy kept following the sound of Angel’s new voice, and soon, she could make out the striped animal’s shape in the distance. “Give me back Angel!” she yelled, trying to get the thing’s attention.

Angel was squirming in the creature’s limbs. “BUN! BUN! BUN!” he said, yelling, LET ME GO! He looked at his captor, and noticed that it had many features of a bug. Angel grew alarmed when he saw the bug’s giant stingers. He squirmed around again, and started hitting the large insect with his ears. Angel kept hitting him, and put all of his might in one last pound. The end of his ear glowed, and he smacked the bug in its face.

“Bbz!” The bug recoiled in pain, dropping Angel.

Angel went into free fall. He flailed his arms around, looking for something to grab onto, but to no avail. “BUUUUN!” he yelled for help.

“Angel! Hold on!” He could hear Fluttershy’s voice, but it sounded too far away. Fluttershy would never reach him in time. Angel closed his eyes, bracing for the ground’s impact. Instead of crashing into the ground, though, Angel fell into a cotton-like substance, and was shocked afterwards.

“Buuuun!” Angel said in a wobbly voice.

“Reep reeep,” an unknown voice said. Angel turned around. He was greeted by a blue, sheep-like face. “Reeep,” it said again.

“You okay?” another voice said. Angel looked up, seeing a creature that looked similar to Fluttershy, but shorter. “Oh man, that was close. Thanks, Fleecia,” it said to the sheep thing. To Angel, it sounded like a boy.

“Reep reeep!” the sheep replied, smiling.

Angel tried to get away, scared of the thing that was near him, but he couldn’t move. “Bun, bun.” he said, squirming to get free.

The other creature looked at Angel. “Huh, I’ve never seen a Pokémon like you before.” He noticed Angel’s squirming. “Oh, did Fleecia’s wool paralyze you? Sorry ‘bout that, but at least it makes you easier to catch.” He pulled out a red-white ball, and expanded it. “Well, let’s see what you are. Go, Pokéba—”

“Angel!” A voice cried.

“Huh?” The thing turned around. He stared at Fluttershy, and said, “Oh, who are you?”

“L-look, I can’t thank you enough for saving him, but whatever you’re doing to him, please stop. Give me back Angel, please!” she said, worry showing on her face.

“Angel? What, you mean that Pokémon?” the thing asked.

“Poka what? That’s Angel, o-or at least that’s what he is now,” Fluttershy stated. “Just let him go, please,” she pleaded.

“Oh, that Pokémon—Angel—belongs to you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just thought that Beedrill took away a wild Pokémon for a snack. I didn’t know that, uh, Angel belonged to someone,” he said. “Fleecia, could you give her back Angel?”

“Reeep.” The sheep, apparently called Fleecia, walked towards Fluttershy and presented Angel. Carefully, Fluttershy took Angel from Fleecia.

As soon as she had a firm grasp of him, Fluttershy embraced Angel, happy that he was safe. “Angel, I was so worried when you fell. Oh, thank goodness he was here to save you. But...” Fluttershy thought for a moment, and continued, “What were you gonna do to Angel? With that ball, I mean.”

“Oh this?” The boy showed her his ball. “You mean you’ve never seen a Pokéball before?”

Fluttershy shook her head.

“Then how did you catch Angel?” he asked, confused.

“Catch? I just picked him up,” Fluttershy replied.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” the boy said. “I mean, how did you capture the Pokémon in your arms. You know, how did you manage to make Angel obey you?”

“Pokémon? Angel’s not a Pokémon, he’s just a poor little bunny that got into an accident with me,” Fluttershy said.

“Accident?” the boy said curiously. “You both look fine to me.”

“Maybe to you, but this isn’t how we really are,” Fluttershy said. “At least, it’s not how we normally appear.”

“Then what? Are you supposed to look like a Pokémon and Angel’s supposed to look like a human?” The boy said jokingly.

“Human? Is that what I am?” Fluttershy asked.

“Uh... What? Of course you’re human, or at least, you look like one,” the boy responded. He thought, Is this girl serious? Maybe she just wandered away from the nuthouse, because something seems to be wrong with her.

“I’m—well at least I used to be—a pony,” Fluttershy said.

He just stared at her. “...What? A pony? How?... I don’t even...” He couldn’t believe what this girl was saying. The thing that intrigued the boy was the sound of certainty in Fluttershy’s voice.

“I’m serious.” Fluttershy said. “And Angel here used to be a normal, white bunny. Now he has all this fur, and really strong ears.” Fluttershy thought for a moment, and said, “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but something came and took us into a black void. When we got out, we were turned into... What did you call it? Human and Pokémon? Anyway, we don’t know why we turned into these things, but we just decided to walk through the Everfree Forest and try to find our way home,” she explained.

“Wait, what did you say?” the boy asked.

Fluttershy repeated herself. “We decided to walk through the Everfree Forest, and try to find—”

The boy snapped his fingers. “There, that’s it. What’s the Everfree Forest?”

“Isn’t that where we are?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, we’re in the Ilex Forest,” the boy replied.

“The... Ilex Forest?”

The boy arched an eyebrow. “You know, right next to Azalea Town, just a stroll away from Goldenrod City?”

“Azalea Town? Goldenrod City?” Fluttershy said cluelessly.

“Oh boy. You’re not from around these parts, are you?” the boy asked.

“Not really. I thought I was in the Everfree Forest. I thought that was why me and Angel were changed,” Fluttershy responded.

“Well, if you’re not from around here, and you say you’re not supposed to be human, that what are you? An alien?” the boy asked curiously. “If so, then why did your pet alien change into a... Whatever kind of Pokémon he is?”

“I’m not an alien! I don’t know why I changed into a human, but I’m telling you, I used to be a pony,” Fluttershy stated.

“Okay then, where are you from?” the boy asked.

“Ponyville,” Fluttershy replied.

“Figures...” the boy muttered to himself. “So, you’re a pony from Ponyville. You don’t know how you got here, how you, or your pet bunny, changed into something else, you have no idea what you guys turned into, and you have no idea where you are?”

“Um... Yes,” Fluttershy said.

“Uh... Okay,” the boy responded. He turned around and thought, I don’t really believe her, but she doesn’t seem to be lying, and she doesn’t really seem that crazy, aside from the pony bit. Honestly, she seems more scared than crazy. And what’s with the complete lack of knowledge of Johto? Why is she out here in the wild if she doesn’t know about the region, let alone Pokémon?... Is she telling the truth? The boy shook his head. “Don’t be dumb, Leon. There’s no way that’s true.”

“Um, your name’s Leon?” Fluttershy asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah. And this is Fleecia, my Mareep.” Leon pointed towards the yellow sheep.

Fleecia smiled. “Reeep!”

“She’s very cute.” Fluttershy kneeled down to pet Fleecia. Fleecia smiled, calmed by Fluttershy’s petting. “She belongs to you?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, I caught her a while back. She’s still a little weak, but that’s why I’m here. I’m training Fleecia,” Leon said.

“Training? For what? Are you entering Fleecia in a pet show?” Fluttershy asked.

“Uh, no... I’m training her, as in making her stronger so she can battle better. It’s what I do, 'cuz I’m a Pokémon Trainer,” Leon explained.

“Battle? Pokémon Trainer?” Fluttershy asked, confused.

“Wait, that’s right. You’re not from around here. Uh... Lemme explain. Pokémon are incredible creatures that have amazing powers and abilities. I only have a few since I started my journey a while ago,” Leon explained.

“Your journey? Where?” Fluttershy asked, getting curious.

“My journey all across Johto. When kids turn ten, they’re eligible to get their first Pokémon, which for me was my Cyndaquil, Cynders.” Leon grabbed a ball from his belt and opened it. A blue, rodent-like animal appeared in front of Fluttershy.

“Lava!” it said. Its body ignited, alarming Fluttershy.

“Oh my! Doesn’t that hurt him?” she asked, concerned.

“Nah, it’s what he does. It doesn’t hurt him at all, right, Cynders?” Leon asked.

“La,” Cynders replied, showing no signs of pain.

“Hey, Cynders. Look, this is...” Leon stopped. “Er, what’s your name?” Leon asked.

“Oh, I’m Fluttershy,” she said.

“Fluttershy? ...’Kay. Cynders, this is Fluttershy. I’m teaching her about Pokémon. Wanna help?” he asked his Pokémon.

“La!”

“Awesome. Where was I?... Oh! This is my starter, Cynders. He used to be a Cyndaquil, but evolved a while back,” Leon said.

“Evolved?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah. When a Pokémon meets certain conditions, like they reach a certain amount of strength, or they’ve been given an item, they’ll be cloaked by a bright light. This is when a Pokémon changes into a stronger version of itself. When the light disappears, they’ve turned into another Pokémon that shares similar traits to the old one. They’ll have new traits, though, like maybe bigger wings, a longer body, or a bigger flame. That’s how a Pokémon evolves,” Leon explained.

“Wow... These Pokémon really aren’t like the animals back in Equestria,” Fluttershy said with awe.

“Eckwestiwhat?” Leon said.

“Equestria. It’s where I live; it’s where Ponyville is.”

“Huh, must be a region I never heard of. I bet Equestreeah has a lot of rare Pokémon, like Angel.” Leon stared at Angel, who was still in Fluttershy’s arms. “What are you, anyway?” He noticed that Angel wasn’t moving. “Oh shoot, are you still paralyzed?” Leon searched through his bag.
“Paralyzed? What do you mean?” Fluttershy said.

He pulled out a spray. “Here, give me Angel. I need to heal him.”

“What’s wrong with Angel?” Fluttershy asked, concerned. She looked at Angel and was shocked. “Angel, are you okay?”

“B... bun... n-neary...” Angel said weakly.

“Hold on, I know what to do...” Leon gestured for Angel. Fluttershy handed him Angel, who was shivering. “Before you took Angel from Fleecia, he got paralyzed by her charged fur,” Leon explained. He took the spray and spritzed some of its contents onto Angel. Angel sneezed, then stopped shivering.

He opened his eyes. “Bun?” he said drowsily.

“There we go. Here, he should be better now, but keep an eye on him.” Leon handed Angel back to Fluttershy.

“What was that?” Fluttershy asked, pointing at the bottle.

“Oh this? It’s a Paralyz Heal. You use it to heal paralyzed Pokémon.” Leon said.

“You mean Pokémon get paralyzed normally?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, pretty much. That’s a status problem. It’s when a Pokémon is afflicted with a condition that affects their health. Pokémon get paralyzed a lot. They also tend to get burned, poisoned, confused, frozen, or fall asleep,” Leon said.

“Isn’t sleep a normal thing for Pokémon?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, yeah, but some moves like Hypnosis or Yawn make Pokémon fall asleep. Those times, sleep is instantly afflicted onto them, and when they’re asleep that way, it takes them awhile to wake up,” Leon explained.

“Moves?” Fluttershy asked.

Leon sighed, “There’s really a lot, and I mean a lot, about Pokémon, like types, moves, abilities... I don’t think I’ll be able to explain it all” Leon thought for a moment. “Oh! I know. C’mon, Fluttershy, let’s go to the Pokémon Center.” He gestured for Fluttershy to follow her.

She thought for a moment. ...I don’t know where I am. I don’t know what animals, what Pokémon live here. Leon doesn’t seem dangerous, and he did save Angel, not to mention cure him of paralysis. Wherever I am, I need to know about what goes on here. I... guess it’d be okay if I follow him. She got up to follow Leon, and muttered to herself, “Just be careful, Fluttershy. You don’t know what other Pokémon live here.” She shuddered. “Like that giant bug...”

Author's Note

Yay! Leon has a Mareep! 3/7 of Leon's team is complete:

Cynders - Quilava
Fleecia - Mareep
??? - ???

I wonder if you guys can guess who the third is...

Let me know how this chapter was. Feedback is always appreciated.

The Shy Center

“Wow, this place reminds me of Manehattan,” Fluttershy said in awe.

“Yeah... Whatever that is...” Leon muttered. They kept walking through the bustling city, until finally, they reached a building with a red roof, sporting a white, round logo. “So, here we are! The Pokémon Center.” Leon stepped in front of the building’s double doors as they slid open. Fluttershy saw other humans and their Pokémon everywhere. She saw so many different species, many of which she could compare to animals back in Equestria.

Fluttershy tensed up, her shy, timid nature kicking in. She whimpered a little.

Leon took notice to her sudden change in behavior. “Hey, what’s up? You okay?” he asked.

“Y-yeah...” Fluttershy said, barely audible. “It’s just... there’s so many of them.”

Leon arched an eyebrow. “You’re scared of them? Why?”

“I... I’m not good with meeting new people...” Fluttershy said, looking down. “I’m a little... shy,” she continued, timidness apparent in her.

“You weren’t shy when you met me,” Leon said.

“Yes, well, that’s because I was thinking about Angel’s safety, and how you saved him,” Fluttershy replied.

Leon shrugged, and said, “Don’t worry. You’ll fit right in. Trust me, people here aren’t that scary. As a matter of fact, they’re very quie—”

“YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!”

“Well, most of them are anyways...” Leon said. He turned to Fluttershy,who was hiding behind a potted plant. She was burrowing her face into her arms. “You okay?” he asked, arching his eyebrow.

“Mmm mm...” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Bun bun...” Angel said to Fluttershy, stroking her hair. Leon guessed he was trying to calm her down.

Leon sighed, “Oh boy.” He turned away to think. He turned around, and said, “Uh, Fluttershy? You don’t have to worry about meeting all of those people. We’re just gonna ask Nurse Joy if we can use the Pokémon Center’s database, since the one on my Pokédex is too small to teach you all about Pokémon. If any trainers happen to try to talk to us, I can talk to them. If they want to, oh I dunno, attack us,” Leon said jokingly, “we have our Pokémon to defend us.”

“Our Pokémon?” Fluttershy asked, looking up.

“Yeah. I have Fleecia, Scout, and Cynders, and you have Angel.” There was a slight pause. Leon sighed and said, “Don’t tell me you forgot Angel was a Pokémon...”

A slight blush of embarrassment formed on Fluttershy’s face. “But even if Angel’s a Pokémon, he’s still a little bunny,” she protested.

“A little bunny who managed to knock out a full-grown Beedrill!” Leon countered. “Angel may be small, but he’s a really strong Pokémon.”

Angel turned around. “Bun?” he asked, pointing at himself.

“Angel did that? How?” Fluttershy asked, surprised.

“He used Pound on the Beedrill,” Leon said. “Hit him right in the face.”

Angel cocked his head. “Bun?”

Fluttershy grew confused. “Pound?”

Leon looked at her. “See, this is why we need to go in there.” He gestured towards the Pokémon Center. “I need to teach you about Pokémon so that you can catch some and get back to Equestreeah.”

“Wait, so if they fall and I catch them, they’ll do a favor for me?” Fluttershy asked.

Leon sighed, and said, “No, Fluttershy. That’s not what I meant. C’mon, we have to go. Plus, I wanna find out who yelled.” He tugged at Fluttershy’s arm, trying to get her into the Center.

Fluttershy sighed, and said, “Just promise me there’s nothing in there that’ll try to hurt Angel.”

“Trust me, if anything tries to hurt us, my Pokémon will protect you guys,” Leon said, trying to reassure his shy friend.

“...Okay.” Fluttershy scooped up Angel, and followed Leon into the building. The first thing that caught her eye was an angry boy near a counter, talking to a human who reminded her of Nurse Redheart.

“Whoa, what’s going on there?” Leon asked curiously.

Fluttershy grew nervous. “I don’t really want to find ou—”

“Hey you! What’s up?” Leon yelled, waving his arms. The boy stopped talking to human Nurse Redheart and turned to Leon. Fluttershy noticed that the boy was older than Leon, probably by a year or two.

“Huh?” the boy said, looking around.

Leon waved again. “Over here! Hey, do you know who yelled a while ago?”

“I think that was you!” the boy replied, pointing at Leon.

Leon walked closer to the boy with Fluttershy in tow. “Ha, that’s funny. But seriously, who yelled out ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me?’ a while ago?”

The boy scratched the back of his head. “Oh yeah, that. Yeah, that was me.”

“Well then, would you care to tell us why you were yelling?” Leon asked.

“Oh, right. Well, if you really must know, I was asking Nurse Joy where my cousin was. I’m meeting him here today, and he was supposed to be here by now,” the boy replied.

“Oh. Why’re you meeting your cousin here?” Leon asked.

“What’s it to you? Stay outta my personal business,” the boy replied rudely.

“I was just asking,” Leon said, annoyed by the boy’s reply.

The boy sighed, “Sorry. I’m just annoyed by the fact that Bill isn’t here yet.”

“Oh. Bill’s your cousin?” Leon asked.

“Yeah. He’s supposed to give me a new Pokémon, but I don’t know where he is. I’m Emmett, by the way,” said Emmett.

“Oh, okay. I’m Leon, and this is, uh...” He stopped, knowing that a name like Fluttershy was out of the norm. “F... Flutter... shy...” he said slowly.

Emmett snickered, “Fluttershy? What kind of a name is that?” Fluttershy looked at the ground, her hair covering her face. Emmett’s reaction caused her to feel humiliated.

“Bun bun,” Angel tried comforting Fluttershy.

“Hey, don’t laugh at her,” Leon said, glaring at Emmett.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m really trying to fix that. Sorry about that, Flutter... shy?” Emmett looked at Fluttershy, who was covering her entire face with her hair. What’s with the pink hair? he thought.

“Bun...” Angel said softly.

Leon sighed. “That’s just great. Hey, Fluttershy, you okay?” Leon asked.

“Y-yeah...” Fluttershy said in a soft tone.

“Hey, sorry about that... I didn’t mean it.” Emmett said.

“It’s okay...” Fluttershy said softly.

Emmett stared at her for a moment. “Okaay...” He muttered to himself, feeling awkward. He returned his attention to Leon. “Well, I need to go find Bill.”

“Oh, that’s right. What Pokémon is he giving you, anyway?” Leon asked.

“Uh... I don’t know actually...” Emmett said. He then noticed something. “You don’t seem to be in a hurry to heal your Pokémon, so I’m guessing you’re not here for that. I told you why I’m here, so could you tell me why you and Fluttershy are here?” he asked curiously.

“Huh? Oh, right. I’m here to teach Fluttershy about Pokémon,” Leon replied.

“What? How does she not know about Pokémon? She has one,” Emmet said, pointing at Angel.

Leon shrugged, “I’m not sure about that, but I know she’s not from around here. I want to help her get back to Equestreeah so she can be safe and sound at home.”

“Eckwhat now?” Emmett asked.

“Equestria,” Fluttershy said. “It’s where I’m from...”

“Yeah... Hey, Emmett, can I talk to you for a sec?” Leon pulled Emmett aside.

“What? What is it?” Emmett asked.

Leon looked back at Fluttershy, who was looking around the building. “Honestly,” he said in a whisper, “I think Fluttershy, if that’s her real name, is suffering from amnesia.”

Emmett arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I mean, look at the circumstances,” said Leon. “I found her in the Ilex Forest, she didn’t know what she, or her pet bunny, was, and she has no clue whatsoever about anything Pokémon related.”

Emmett thought for a moment. “I’m not... exactly sure what to make of that.”

“Look, I don’t know why she is the way she is, but I need to help her. If she doesn’t know how to catch Pokémon, how is she gonna make it back to Equestria?” Leon asked, knowing he wouldn’t get an answer.

Emmett thought for a moment. “So wait,” he said. “You have no idea who this girl is? You’ve never seen her before?”

Leon shook his head, “No.”

“Then I gotta ask you something,” said Emmet.

“What?” Leon asked.

“Why are you helping her? Didn’t you just say you found her in the Ilex Forest?”

“Well... yeah, but...” Leon stopped, and thought for a moment. “It’s just... I feel obligated to help her. I rescued her Pokémon after a Beedrill dropped it fifty feet from the ground. Because of that, she trusts me. She’s extremely shy. You should know; you saw the way she shut down after you laughed. She’s not shy towards me because I’m the reason she still has Angel. I don’t think she’s all for asking some stranger who didn’t do anything for her about Pokémon. It’s different for me because she already trusts me; I’ve already proven that she doesn’t have to be afraid of me. You understand, right?” Leon asked.

Emmett touched his chin. “Huh. I mean, if you’re the only one she trusts, I guess so. I think you should be careful about this, though. Even if she acts clueless, it could be just that: acting.”

“Yeah, I guess so, but look at her. She’s so defenseless out there. As far as I know, she only has Angel to protect her,” Leon said, pointing at the brown bunny.

“That reminds me: do you even know what Angel is? ’Cuz I’ve never seen a Pokémon like it before.” Emmett asked.

“Nope. Not a clue. My Pokédex only registers Pokémon when I catch them, and since Angel belongs to Fluttershy, I can’t catch him,” Leon explained.

"Wow, your Pokédex sucks,” Emmett said. “I’ll just use my Pokédex.” He took out his Pokédex and, opening it, aimed it at Angel. Emmett muttered, “Let’s see here...”

“Scanning,” A computerized voice said.

Angel heard the voice and looked at the red device. He stared at it in wonder. “Bun?”

Fluttershy, hearing Angel, also shot a glance at the Pokédex. “What is that?”

The Pokédex beeped. “Scan complete. Identified Species: Buneary, the Rabbit Pokémon. You can tell how it feels by the way it rolls its ears. When it’s scared, both ears are rolled up.”

Leon looked at Angel. “Huh, so you’re a Buneary. You hear that, Fluttershy? You have a healthy little Buneary.”

“He’s still Angel to me,” Fluttershy said, smiling at Angel.

“Bun,” Angel said, meaning Yeah.

A small smile formed on Emmett’s face. “He is if you want him to be. You can give your Pokémon a nickname, you know.”

“Yeah. Fleecia, Scout, and Cynders are all nicknames,” said Leon. “My Pokémon are actually Mareep, Furret, and Quilava.” As he said this, Leon took a Pokéball off of his belt. “Even if I give them these names, they’re still a certain species with a proper name.”

“Yeah,” said Emmett. “That makes me think of what I’d name my new Pokémon, if I gave it a nickname.” He touched his chin. “That makes me think about what nickname I’d give it if I knew what type of Pokémon it was.” He shrugged. “Well, I gotta go look for Bill. See ya.” He waved goodbye to Leon and Fluttershy and walked out of the Pokémon Center.

Leon gazed at the entrance for a moment, thinking. He slapped his forehead. “Gah! I forgot to ask him what Pokémon he has! Now he knows what Pokémon I have. He has a strategic advantage!” Leon sulked, “Now I’ll never be able to beat him...”

Fluttershy thought for a moment, and said, “Um... Leon? Do you really think you’re going to see him again? You told me that there are countless trainers in Johto.”

Leon sighed, “Yes, but those trainers have a common goal: winning the Pokémon League! I’m willing to bet Emmett’s gonna be at the Indigo Plateau in a few weeks. He’ll be waiting for me, and since he knows what Pokémon I have, he’ll easily take me down.”

“Aren’t you being a little paranoid?” Fluttershy asked, looking at Leon.

Leon sighed. He scratched the back of his head. “Eh heh heh... Maybe, just a bit... Oh...” He blinked. “Oh! I forgot.” He walked towards the main counter, and rang the bell.

The nurse at the counter turned around. “Welcome to the Pokémon Center. How may I help you?” she asked.

Leon waved, “Hey, Nurse Joy. Do you mind if me and my friend go and use one of the Center’s PCs? There’s some things we need to touch up fact-wise.” He leaned in closer to Nurse Joy and whispered, “We may or may not have forgotten about type advantages.”

Nurse Joy smiled. “Of course you can. The PCs are over there.” She pointed towards some computer-looking boxes. “Just pick one, start it up, and access ‘Help’. It should have more than enough information on types,” she said, cheerily.

Leon looked at the boxes that Nurse Joy had pointed out. He looked at Fluttershy, smiled, and nodded. “Thanks, Nurse Joy,” he said, heading towards the PCs.

Fluttershy turned to Nurse Joy. “Thanks for the help.”

Nurse Joy smiled and said, “No problem. It’s my job.”

Fluttershy smiled back, and followed Leon to a PC. “Bun?” Angel said, taking in the strange box.

“So, she said ‘turn it on’, right? How do I do that?” Leon asked, examining the PC.

Fluttershy looked at it. “I think the power button is here.” She pressed a button—the only button—on the screen’s side. In an instant, the PC made a beeping sound, and the screen flicked on. Leon and Fluttershy stared at a blue screen. A white box appeared with the words Which PC should be accessed? written in black text. With it came a select screen with seven options: Bill’s PC, Your PC, Trainer Profiles, E-Mail, Call, Help, and Switch Off.

Leon moved the keyboard’s mouse, and dragged the cursor above the menu. “She said ‘Help’ right?” he asked.

“I think so,” Fluttershy said.

“Let’s see...” Leon moved the cursor above the Help option. He clicked it, and a new screen came up. On it were five new selections: Pokémon Center Info, About “Battle”, Pokémon Info, Pokémon Types, and Other Topics. “So, what do you wanna go through first, Fluttershy?” Leon asked, gesturing towards the select screen.

Fluttershy looked at the selections. She pointed at the Pokémon Info button. “How about this one?” she asked.

“Okay, let’s start.” Leon pressed the button. A loading sign came up, shortly followed by a new set of topics to choose from. Leon sighed, “This is gonna take a while.”

Author's Note

Lemme know what you guys thought of this chapter.

Sorry for the delay of this chapter. My laptop didn't seem to want me to publish it. My internet went out, so I had to fix that. My mouse pad broke, so I had to get a new one. Now, my screen has a huge crack in the center, so it's kinda hard to see. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to buy a new one, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I just have to put up with it until I can come up with the money for a new screen. Still, this will not delay the chapters... hopefully.

I've decided to make a certain time limit for me to publish a new chapter. I intend to publish a new chapter every other week. Hopefully, I'll be able to do that.

Technical Difficulties

“Let’s try Evolution first.” Leon moved the cursor above Evolution and clicked it. A new screen came up, and a red, slug-like Pokémon appeared on the screen. “Oh hey, what’s that?” he asked curiously.

“Loading ‘Evolution’ lesson,” an electronic voice said.

Leon raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Whoa...”

“Lesson One: Evolution.” The voice said. “Many types of Pokémon evolve. When a Pokémon evolves, its appearance will change, sometimes with new, minor features to its body, and sometimes with a completely new body. There are many ways for Pokémon to evolve. The first and most common way Pokémon evolve happens after they’ve reached a certain level of strength. Every Pokémon is able to input a certain amount of strength into their battles. Typically, a Pokémon’s strength will rise after it defeats another Pokémon. A Pokémon’s strength can also rise if it is given certain medicines, food, or items. Once a Pokémon has obtained enough strength, it will be able to undergo evolution.”

Leon paused the lesson. “You see? Pokémon evolve by getting stronger. I don’t really know what they meant by the items, but it’s pretty much like I said.”

“Oh. So your Pokémon evolved when you were training them?” Fluttershy asked.

Leon nodded his head. “Mm hm. That’s why we were in the Ilex Forest. I was trying to train Fleecia so she could become stronger and hopefully evolve. Of course, she didn’t exactly get a chance to, saving Angel and whatnot.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thank goodness she did.” She took Angel from her head and petted him.

“Bun...” Angel said softly, thumping his foot.

Smiling, Fluttershy looked back at the screen. She noticed something. “Hm? Leon, there’s still more on evolution. A lot more.”

“What?” Leon moved the cursor on the screen, and the video’s time frame came up. “What? We’re not even halfway done! Why’s there so much more?” he wondered, looking at Fluttershy.

She thought for a moment, then exclaimed. “Oh! Wasn’t there something in the presentation that said there are many ways for Pokémon to evolve? Maybe they’re not done explaining all the possibilities.”

“Wait, if training isn’t the only way for a Pokémon to evolve, then does that mean Fleecia has to evolve in an entirely different way? What if all my training’s been for nothing!” Leon groaned. “Oh man, this sucks! C’mon, let’s keep watching. I gotta know what else I can do to try to evolve her.” Leon clicked the screen, unpausing the lesson.

It continued, “Researchers believe that the strength of Pokémon that evolve this way is not the cause of their evolution. They believe that these Pokémon have to recognize that they’ve achieved enough strength to become worthy of evolution.”

“Wait, what? Really?” Leon asked, a surprised look on his face. He paused the lesson again.

“They have to recognize that they’re strong?” Fluttershy said, puzzled. “It’s not just their physical abilities that they have to overcome. They need to get past their mental blocks, too. Does that mean that they can’t evolve if they have a low self-esteem?” She looked at Leon. “That’s awful. If they can’t evolve, won’t they just end up feeling worse? Those poor Pokémon.”

Leon thought for a moment, and smiled. “Heh, I guess that’s why they need trainers. You know, Fluttershy, we’re not just here to make them stronger. Pokémon trainers usually create strong bonds of trust and friendship with their Pokémon. I had no idea that was necessary for a Pokémon to evolve, too.”

“They build bonds with them? How?” Fluttershy asked, now curious.

“Oh, well, there’s a lot of methods.” Leon thought for a bit. “One thing I like to do is eat meals with my Pokémon. We ‘talk’ while we’re eating, thinking of new battle strategies. Then there’s the actual battling. Whenever we win a battle, I get so excited. I’m proud when my Pokémon manage to win in battles, because it lets me know that not only was my training effective, but that my Pokémon managed to come through in the end.”

“Oh, but what about the Pokémon that lose in battle? Wouldn’t their trainers get mad or become disappointed in them?” Fluttershy asked, a sad look forming on her face.

“Not really. Instead of getting mad when they lose, trainers should let their Pokémon know that they tried their best and that they’ll try better. If a Pokémon loses, it’s not because of how weak that Pokémon is; it’s usually because of how that trainer raised their Pokémon. If a Pokémon doesn’t like you, it’s pretty hard to train them and get them to listen to you. Even if you do manage to do so, they’ll be so frustrated. I don’t want my Pokémon to be mad at me. I want to make sure that they know they can trust me, because, you know, trust is important between friends, and, well, that’s what Pokémon are to me!” Leon smiled. “We stay together through thin and thick, and we know that we’ll try our best to get better.”

Fluttershy looked at Leon, thinking. Friendship can exist through battling? But the Pokémon, they don’t mind fighting for their trainers? What about Leon? His Pokémon, they really trust him? “I had no idea,” she said simply, still deep in thought.

“Well, you do now! C’mon, let’s see what else I can do to evolve Fleecia.” He clicked the screen again, and the lesson resumed.

“They believe that once they do so,” the voice said, “the Pokémon will undergo evolution. As mentioned before, some Pokemon don’t obtain many new features and have barely changed throughout evolution. However, there are others who have changed their bodily structures and features drastically and strike little to no resemblance to their prior forms. Take, for example, a Pokémon like Slugma.” The picture of the Pokémon was zoomed in on. Another picture of a different Pokémon that resembled Slugma came up. “When a Slugma evolves into a Magcargo, it’s skin hardens into a fragile shell. Other than that, not many new features have become a part of the Pokémon’s appearance. Now, compare a Slugma’s evolutionary features to that of a Remoraid’s.” Two new images appeared, one of a tiny fish, and the other of a red octopus. “When a Remoraid evolves, it’s entire body will change. It will lose its fins, its mouth will stick out, its head will grow large and become rock-hard, and it will sprout tentacles. Furthermore, the color of its evolution differs to that of its previous form. Why Pokémon change with such minor to major features is unknown, but it is believed that they’ve developed these adaptations to either increase their chances of survival or to improve their battle skills.”

Leon paused the lesson again, a look of wonder on his face. “Whoa,” he said simply. “I didn’t know that Pokémon could change like that. I mean, yeah, Scout looked pretty different when she evolved, but...” he trailed off.

“That fish, it turns into an octopus?” Fluttershy asked, shocked.

“I-I guess so!” Leon said, smiling. He pointed at the screen. “Oh man, I want one of those. I gotta see if it’s true,” he said, excited.

“But, th-that... How does that even happen? The animals here—the Pokémon, they’re nothing like the animals back in Equestria. The way they change, I’d imagine an animal like that would come from the Everfree Forest, but they’re everywhere here!” Fluttershy said, amazed at what Pokémon do. She looked at Angel. “What... what if now that you’re a Pokémon, if you can evolve, what’s gonna happen then? Are you gonna get something new, like another ear?” Fluttershy asked, concerned.

Angel cocked his head, “Buneary bun?”

“What if something like that does happen?” she asked, scared.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down Fluttershy.” Leon said, waving his hands. “I don’t think you should start worrying about Angel’s evolution. I mean, think about it: those Pokémon are from the ocean. Pokémon in the ocean tend to be really diverse when they evolve. I’m sure regular fish are really diverse back in Equestria. Angel’s a bunny. A Buneary, to be more precise. I don’t think a bunny could change much when it evolves, you know, assuming Angel can evolve.”

“Assuming?” Fluttershy repeated.

“Yeah. Some Pokémon, for whatever reason, actually don’t evolve. I remember a hiker telling me that about one of his Pokémon: I think it was a Dunsparce. He told me that there were more Pokémon that didn’t evolve, but he didn’t know why. There’s a chance that Angel doesn’t even evolve. And besides, even if he does, I don’t think something major is gonna change about him. It’s not like Angel’s gonna sprout wings if he evolves, is it?” He stopped for a moment. “Actually... that sounds pretty cool... Yeah, that’s pretty cool! How about it, Angel? Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to fly?”

“Um... Leon? How is this helping?” Fluttershy asked, still worried for her bunny’s future.

“Yeah... Huh? Oh... Oh! Oh,” Leon said, snapping out of a daydream. “Sorry, Fluttershy. I kinda forgot about that, eh heh heh,” he laughed awkwardly, trying to play the incident off. He cleared his throat, “Well, um... Yeah! Even if Angel can evolve, what makes you think he needs more ears to battle, let alone survive? I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.” Leon said, sounding confident.

“Oh, but what if—”

“Fluttershy, it’s okay,” Leon said, cutting her off. “Look, if you’re still concerned about Angel by the time we’re done here, we can go look for an Everstone.”

“An Everstone?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah. An Everstone is this weird stone that, for whatever reason, stops a Pokémon from evolving. You can have Angel keep an Everstone nearby so that he won’t evolve,” Leon said.

“R-really?” Fluttershy sighed a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank goodness. Okay, I feel a little better now...”

Leon smiled, “Good. Now, let’s get on with—”

“Oh wait! Oh, um... sorry.” Fluttershy said quietly. “Um, where do we get an Everstone?”

“Uh...” Leon paused, not knowing the answer to her question. “Um, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But don’t worry. We’ll find one. I promise. Right now, though, we should get back to the lesson.” Leon clicked the pause button.

“The second way to evolve a Pokémon is through the method of evolutionary stones. Some Pokémon will only evolve when introduced to a certain stone that pertains to their evolution. So far, there have been nine recorded stones that cause a Pokémon to evolve. They are the Fire Stone, the Water Stone, the Thunder Stone, the Leaf Stone, the Moon Stone, the Sun Stone, the Shiny Stone, the Dusk Stone, and the Dawn Stone. While there is some speculation that an Oval Stone, which does induce evolution, should be classified as an evolutionary stone, it is not, due to the fact that it does not cause a Pokémon to instantly evolve and instead requires a Pokémon to be holding the stone while training. The other stones do cause Pokémon to evolve in an instant. When a Pokémon that evolves with a certain stone makes physical contact with that stone, it will undergo evolution. However, it has been documented that in some cases, Pokémon are able to hold their evolutionary stone without evolving, sometimes for hours on end. Only two recorded Pokémon are able to evolve with more than one stone. These Pokémon are Gloom, which can evolve into either Vileplume or Bellossom via stone, and Eevee, which can evolve into multiple Pokémon, three of which require a stone to evolve.”

Once again, Leon paused the lesson. “Whoa, that’s amazing! Where do I get one of those?” he asked, awed.

“A Pokémon that turns into multiple Pokémon?” Fluttershy said, astonished. Even if I still don’t know much about them, Pokémon still get more unbelievable, she thought to herself. For a while, she let her imagination run wild, thinking of what was next to come and blow her away in the Pokémon world. I wonder if it’s possible for there to be a Pokémon that can change into other Pokémon, like a changeling can with a pony...

“Yeah...” Leon said, not paying attention. He was still struck with wonder from the Eevee.

“Um, Leon? Leon, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked waving her hand in front of his eyes.

“Hmm...? Huh? Oh, hey Fluttershy!” Leon said, his senses returning. “Wait... what? What are we doing? I blanked out for a moment.”

“Oh, well, we were going through evolution, and you paused the video when it mentioned a Pokémon named Eevee.” she explained.

“Right, Eevee...” Leon soon realized that he had dreamt of the Pokémon. He cleared his throat, “Anyway, we really should move on. We’ve been pausing the video so much, we haven’t even gotten past evolution yet. At this rate, we’ll be here all day, and I don’t know about you, but I wanna find myself an Eevee.”

“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy said, agreeing.

“Well then, let’s continue. Oh and Fluttershy?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t let me press the pause button again. Whatever I try, no matter what I say, don’t let me do it.” Leon said, donning a serious look.

“No matter what?” Fluttershy asked.

“No matter what.”

“Okay...” she replied subtly. Fluttershy wasn’t exactly one to stop her friends from doing something. Even when they asked, she still felt uncomfortable when stopping, or at least trying to stop, them.

“Well then, let’s go.” He clicked the pause button, and the video resumed.

Over the course of their studies, Leon and Fluttershy learned about many new topics and facts about Pokémon. Fluttershy tried to stop Leon every now and then, but he managed to pause it at some points. He only spoke for a moment, though, so it didn’t halt their progress much. He would stop at something that caught his interest and say something about it. Fluttershy would offer a statement about the topic, too. They’d go back and forth about things like this.

For instance, when the topic of Gyms and Gym badges came up, Fluttershy asked Leon to pause so she could talk about it.

“You mean you train your Pokémon to go and fight strong trainers to get badges? That’s so... weird.” She said, unsure of what words to use.

“Whaddya mean?” Leon asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I mean it’s just... different, from where I come from,” she said.

“What? They don’t have Gyms in Equestria?” Leon asked jokingly.

Fluttershy looked at him. “Leon, we don’t even have Pokémon in Equestria.”

Now it was Leon’s turn to look at Fluttershy. “What?”

Fluttershy looked at him in disbelief. “Leon, haven’t you been paying attention? Before I met you, I had no idea what Pokémon were. I had no idea what Angel was. I had no idea what I was!”

There was a small pause of silence. Finally, Leon spoke. “Well... I wouldn’t... say you didn’t know what you were... More like... you... forgot what you were...” Leon replied, his voice fading the more he talked.

“Forgot? I didn’t forget. The last thing I remember before I was in the Ilex Forest was this weird portal thing that Angel couldn’t run away from. That was back when I was in Equestria; back when I was still a pony.” Fluttershy replied.

Leon breathed through his teeth, “Yeeeaaaahhh... There’s that.”

“There’s what?” Fluttershy asked, confused.

“The whole... pony thing.” Leon said, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t feel like addressing this issue so soon, finding a friend in Fluttershy, but he knew that he’d eventually have to tell her that he didn’t exactly believe her story.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

A feeling of regret began to form in Leon. “Well, it’s just that... I mean... How? How could you be a pony? Fluttershy, you look as human to me as I do. I want to believe that you’re telling the truth, but... It’s just... ridiculous.” he finally said. “I mean, you told me that you’re actually a pony from Ponyville, which is in some place called Equestria, and somehow you, and your bunny, got sent to some black void, right? But when you got out, you turned into a human, and Angel turned into a Pokémon. Think about it, Fluttershy. That makes absolutely no sense.” Leon sighed. He felt bad that he didn’t believe Fluttershy.

“But I’m telling the truth!” Fluttershy said, sad that Leon didn’t believe her.

Leon sighed, “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but it’s too... crazy to make any sense.”

“But it’s the truth.” Fluttershy said. “I used to be a pegasus back in Equestria. I would keep to myself most of the time because... well, I’m shy. I always found comfort in animals, and when I found out I could communicate with them, I earned my cutie mark.”

“A cutie what?” Leon asked, confused.

“A cutie mark. It’s a special mark you earn when you find your special talent. I found out my special talent was being able to communicate with animals,” Fluttershy explained.

“So you’re telling me that you know what animals are saying?” Leon asked, still skeptical about Fluttershy’s story.

“Well, for the most part, yes. I don’t always know what they’re trying to tell me, though...” she said, recalling the time her bunny tried to tell her she was late.

“Well, how do I know if that’s not a lie?” Leon asked.

Fluttershy thought for a moment. She exclaimed, “Oh! Well, even if they’re different from the ones I take care of, I’m pretty sure Pokémon are still animals. So I guess I’d be able to communicate with Pokémon to show you what I’m talking about,” she said.

“That so?” Leon grabbed one of his Pokéballs. “Then ask Cynders what he thinks will help us beat Whitney.”

“Whitney?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah. She’s the third Gym Leader in Johto. I can’t beat her, no matter how hard I try. If you can actually tell me what Cynders wants to do in our next rematch, I’ll take back everything I said about you. I’ll believe you without a shadow of a doubt. Sound fair?” Leon asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Oh. I... guess so.” She started thinking, I hope I can talk with Pokémon too. She thought about what would happen if she couldn’t pull this off. Leon wouldn’t believe her and think she was crazy. He’d leave, and Fluttershy would be left alone in this world without anyone to turn to. Fluttershy gulped. “I can do this,” she told herself. “I can do this.”

Author's Note

Yay, the new chapter's out! I feel kind of awkward that I broke my "update every other week" promise on the first try.

I couldn't get this chapter out when I wanted to because the cracked screen of my computer kept bugging me. I decided to save up the money to pay for the screen repair, and now my screen is fixed! :pinkiehappy:

I'm also suffering from a case of writers block, as mentioned in the last chapter, Stuck. :raritydespair:

I really, really hate writers block. :twilightangry2:

Anyways, three things.

One, I finally got to watch Equestria Girls, and, aside from the ending, I thought it was a great movie. Not that the ending ruined it for me. It just seemed like a bad deus ex machina. Oh, and if you didn't already notice, guess who decided to say hi in these songs?

1:24. Bottom right corner.

2:07. Yup, her muffin lovin' is now canon. At least, in EG.

Also, near the end, when everyone's dancing, there's a guy in the background doing the Gangnam Style.

Don't believe me?

0:30. Top right corner.

Two, I'm gonna see if I can incorporate some events from the Pokémon Adventures manga into this story. *cough*Pryce's Death*cough*

It will probably just turn into the base of the story. By that, I mean the events that occurred in the Johto Saga of the manga will be canon in this story. If that does become the case, then the canon events will have occurred a while before Leon started his journey (a "while" being about a two-to-three year gap). Of course, this would require me to reread the Johto Saga, as my memory on the subject is a bit hazy. If I need to do this, it'll put a dent in my schedule.

I'll see how that works out.

And three, the way I wrote Leon's reaction to Fluttershy's past was difficult to me. I mean, in EG, all they had to do was use Pinkie Pie, but there was only Leon and Fluttershy in this story. It kinda makes me mad that all they had to do was that. :twilightangry2:

Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter. If you felt like it was bad, that's 'cause of my writers block. I'll most likely rewrite this chapter it if I find it necessary.

Oh, and the next chapter will be in Equestria, shifting to Discord's dilemma. Also, it'll be delayed until I find the inspiration to write again. Which will probably be in the middle of August, but I can't tell for sure. :applejackunsure:

Discord's Dilemma

Knock! Knock!

Twilight didn’t lift her head. Instead, she continued to read her book, one of many that she’d picked out from the Canterlot Castle library. Still researching to see if there was ever any other pony that ascended into alicornhood the way she did, she read through the book for answers. She was still a bit fazed about the whole alicorn thing, even after a learning experience from an alternate dimension.

Knock! Knock!

“Hellooo? Twilight?” a voice asked.

She still didn’t hear it, too focused on her research.

“I know you’re in there," the voice continued. "The guards told me you’ve been in here for the past fourteen hours. Not that surprising, considering you’re in one of the castle’s libraries. But that’s beside the point. I need to talk to you about something. Something very, very important.”

This time, she heard it, but remained silent, uninterested in whatever whoever wanted to talk to her about. She could get this way when reading a book, even when the topic of the discussion was important.

“Ugh, fine. Be that way.” The sound of resonating magic could be heard from the other side of the library doors. “And here I wanted to come in without any funny business, through the door, like a proper draconequus. But, apparently, I’m not allowed to. Not by you, anyway." Suddenly, the doors began to fizz. They started to break up into tiny bits, then swirled around each other. Finally, they swooped into the now revealed Discord’s claw, where they were reshaped into a ball. Discord took said ball and threw it at Twilight’s head, breaking her concentration.

“Ow!” she yelled. Looking up, she became annoyed. "Discord? What are you doing here?"

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s not like I was trying to get your attention about something of utmost importance.” Discord replied, the tone in his voice a mixture of sarcasm and annoyance, similar to Twilight’s.

“Well, you have it now!” she snapped, still annoyed.

“I see. Now that I do, here comes the hard part.” Discord said, his face now void of emotion. He didn’t exactly figure out the best way to tell Twilight about the events that occurred just earlier that afternoon. Now that the time had come to do so, his mind went blank.

Twilight sighed, still rubbing her head. “So what’s so important that you had to come in and do this?” she asked, now attentive to Discord.

“Yes, the important thing…” He tapped his claw on his chin, thinking.

“Yes? What is it?” Twilight asked, her curiosity aroused.

“Well… something happened. Yeah, something happened,” he said, a bit distant.

“Yes… and? What was it?” Twilight asked again, now a bit annoyed.

Figuring there wasn't any way to avoid telling her, he sighed, “Okay fine, I’ll tell you, but you need to hear me out to the very end, alright?”

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Alright. Now, what’s got you like this? You usually don’t act this weird,” she said.

Discord sighed again. “Well, it started out well. Do you remember earlier today when I invited you to swim with me and Fluttershy? You said you were busy studying. Anyway, after we swam, her bunny got hungry. So," he said, "me being the generous, kind draconequus that I am, I decided to go fetch him some fresh produce,” he said, a conceited smile on his face.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “And?” She waved her head slightly. “What else?”

“Well…” His smile disappeared. “Here’s where it gets interesting. You see, all day I’ve been getting bugged by this… feeling.” He paused.

“What kind of feeling?”

“I don’t know, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever felt something like that before. I know that it felt strong. But that’s not what bugged me. What bugged me was the fact that I knew the type of strong feeling. It was energy. The thing is, it felt unstable, like it wasn’t supposed to be here,” he said, his mismatched eyes growing wide.

“Here?”

“Here.” He pointed at the ground. “In Equestria. I’ve been here for a long, looooooong time, and I can’t recall anything that comes close to that energy’s presence,” he explained.

“So, what happened with the energy?”

“W-well, that’s the thing.” He scratched the back of his head. “The feeling would fade away every now and then, but would return a while later. It kept disturbing me. I tried my best to ignore it. Eventually, though, my curiosity got the best of me. So, I came up with a brilliant idea to find out where the energy was coming from. I thought I could try to use my magic to find it, so I began to pulse magic through my claw, scanning the area. I sensed a fairly large clump of that energy. I could feel traces of that energy beginning to seep into my magic.Pretty soon, my magic started coming back, and clumped in my palm. And that’s where things got… bad,” he finished.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Well, after I started to pulse my magic around the area, it began to react violently. I tried to maintain control, but I couldn’t move my claw. Eventually, it became too much, and the magic exploded. I was blown back, and couldn’t get up. My head was spinning, but I could make out a whirring sound, like a vacuum cleaner.” He sighed. “I began losing consciousness. And, well, I guess somepony came to investigate, because before my mind went blank, I could make out a voice.” He sighed, looking up with sorrow. “To be specific, a mare’s voice. To be more specific, a certain… yellow mare’s voice.” Discord explained.

Twilight’s eyes grew wide. “Fluttershy…”

He nodded. “There’d be no problem with this, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was screaming, telling Angel to hold on.”

“What happened to her?” she asked urgently.

“…”

“Discord? What happened to her?!”

“…I don’t know.”

“But you just said you heard—”

“Yes, I did. But that’s all. I only heard her panic. When I came to, she and Angel, along with whatever that light was, were gone. I don’t know where they went.”

“Did you look for them?” Twilight asked, growing frantic.

“Well of course I did! I called out their names, but no one replied,” Discord said.

“That’s it?! That’s all you did to look for her?” Twilight asked, angry.

“Now now, calm down Twilight. I didn’t need to put more effort in trying to find her.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, still furious.

Discord sighed. “Look, I didn’t need to try to find her because she’s not here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is, she’s gone.” He sighed. “Nowhere to be found.”

“And what makes you think that? You didn’t exactly go out of your way to find her!” she said, visibly seething.

“I know she’s gone because I’m the one responsible for her disappearance.”

“What?” Twilight growled.

“Hm, that didn’t really come out right, now did it? Allow me to explain. Ahem,” Discord cleared his throat. In an instant, he vanished, and, just as fast as he disappeared, reappeared, now wearing a lab coat and glasses, with a chart covered with different kinds of data.

“What.”

Discord fixed his glasses. “Now, allow me to explain. Do you recall how in my flashback my magic violently reacted to the mysterious energy?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Now, do you recall how I said I was blown back by the reaction? At that time, I suffered head trauma, and was unable to open my eyes. However,” he said, turning the chart to a different page, “before the reaction, I noticed figures in the distance, approaching me. They were most likely curious as to what was happening, so they decided to investigate. Based on what you know about my flashback, can you guess what or who those figures belonged to?”

Twilight took a second to think. A spark of realization came to her head, and she sighed deeply. “Please don’t tell me…”

“Oh believe me, I don’t want to, but I’ll be able to do little to nothing about it without your help. So yes, the figures were that of,” he sighed, “Fluttershy and Angel. So, putting what I know together, I can almost say for certain that whatever happened because of the reaction is responsible for the disappearance of Fluttershy and Angel.”

“And what do you think happened because of the reaction?” Twilight asked, still angry.

“Weeeeeellll, that’s where things get complicated,” Discord said.

“How so?”

“You see, I have a theory as to what happened, but it may or may not make much sense to you. Are you familiar with the Multiverse Theory?” Discord asked.

“Yes. What about it?”

“Well, I believe that Fluttershy was transported to some other universe,” he said.

“…What?!” Twilight yelled. “How does that even… Why would you ever believe something like that happened?”

“Because of the reaction. Don’t you see? Pay attention to the reaction itself. Think about all that happened as a result of the reaction; the explosion, the weird whirring sound, the strange light.”

“What light?” Twilight asked.

“What? What about it?”

“You never said anything about a light before.”

“Really?” Discord scratched his chin. “How odd. I could’ve sworn I mentioned it before. Anyway, that’s not the point here. Look, Twilight, when you put the pieces together, it all makes sense!”

“How in Equestria would any of this make sense?” Twilight asked.

“Ugh, do I have to spell it to you?” How can the most know-it-all pony in Equestria not even think about the circumstances here and what they might mean? Discord asked himself. “Just think about it!” he continued, annoyed. “Strange, unknown energy, chaotic magic introduced, violent reaction, vacuum-like sound and strange light introduced. What do you think all of this means?”

Twilight tried to shut her worries down for a moment, now processing what Discord had just told her. She tried to make sense of it, but couldn’t find a way how to. “I’m sorry Discord, but there just isn’t a logical explana—” She stopped.

“Um, there isn’t a logical what?” Discord asked.

“…” Twilight fell silent, thinking. Wait. Logic… What if that’s it?

“Um, Twilight? Helloooooo?”

What if something illogical happened? she thought, ignoring Discord. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve dealt with something like that,” she said, recalling the Pinkie Sense incident.

Discord arched an eyebrow, “Dealt with something like what?”

“Shhh…” Twilight said, looking away while waving a hoof his way to be quiet.

“Oh,” Discord said, almost disgusted. “She’s having one of those moments.”

Okay think, what happened in Discord’s story? He searched for some mysterious energy, things went awry, Fluttershy comes to investigate, and she… well, she’s supposedly gone. Now, put the pieces together. Something illogical happened, but how? Discord’s magic could play the role of the illogical factor, and the mysterious energy was introduced to his magic. Like he said, it reacted violently, resulting in an explosion, a bright light, and a vacuum-like sound. “Okay, what else?” she asked herself.

“You know, it wouldn’t hurt to say what you’re thinking out loud,” Discord said, mildly annoyed.

“Uh huh,” Twilight simply said, paying little to no attention to what he said.

He sighed, “Right. Welp, I’ll just sit back and see where this goes.” Snapping his fingers, he began munching on some popcorn that he materialized while lounging in an armchair. “Hopefully, it won’t take too long, lest I lose interest in all of this.” And I really shouldn’t, he thought.

At this point in the story, Fluttershy stepped in. Or at least, he thinks it was Fluttershy… Hopefully, it wasn’t. Then he hears her screaming for Angel to hold on. Silence. Discord gets up to see that whoever was there moments ago is gone. Not just that, though. Whatever was formed from the reaction has gone as well.

“Are you done yet?” Discord asked, lolling over the arm chair.

Think. Discord’s theory is that Fluttershy was somehow sent to another universe. How would the factors from his story prove this to be true? Maybe the energy could’ve done something that transported her. But how would it do that? What were the properties of it? “Discord, are you sure you don’t know anything about that mysterious energy? Anything at all?” Twilight asked, now staring intently at him.

“Oh finally! But I’m afraid not. I’ve already said that the energy was something I’ve never sensed before in my thousands of years of life. I mean it sincerely. The energy felt completely foreign to me,” he said.

Twilight sighed. “So it definitely isn’t around here, or, in the very least, hasn’t been detected in the recent millennia. Well, that means we have no real way of finding the properties of that energy, or what affects your magic would have on it.”

“Well, my magic does have a reputation for having random effects on whatever it’s used on, so we have to expect that anything could’ve happened when it reacted with the energy.” Discord said with a smirk.

Twilight sighed. “You do have a point there. Then I guess we have to start from there,” she said while levitating a few books to a nearby table.

“Start from where exactly?” Discord asked, slithering up to Twilight.

“Seeing as how we have some unknown factors in the problem, like your magic and the unknown energy, we’ll have to study your magic’s effects on the various types of energies to see if any of them produce something similar to the reaction that you experienced,” she explained.

“Huh. I’m not sure if that’s really a good idea…” Discord said, thinking.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, I have had some experience with different kinds of energies, and some of the effects can be a bit… drastic,” he said, shuddering.

Twilight released a heavy sigh. “We have to start somewhere, Discord. The more time we spend trying to decide what to do to find Fluttershy, the greater the chance that something terrible happened to her becomes.”

“I know what we could do to find Fluttershy,” he said.

“What is it?”

“We have to invent an interdimensional transportation device!” he said, gleaming with excitement.

“…Are you still believing that Fluttershy was sent to another universe?” Twilight asked, her voice void of emotion.

“Why of course I am. Unlike you, who needs to conduct experiments with tons and tons of results and tests to finally be convinced that something exists, I actually go out and prove what I think is real. Sometime ago, maybe four, five weeks ago, I decided to see if other universes did exist. And, while I didn’t find any physical proof, I did discover that there is more out there than just this world, than just this universe! There’s more, so much more! Each one has their own significant characteristics, all so different from ours. If we can perfect a stable transporter from this universe to even one of those other ones, we’ll have opened a new gateway for science! And, if we do find a way to travel through universes, we could find some information pertaining to the mysterious energy,” Discord explained.

Twilight’s mouth hung open for a few moments. She shook her head, and asked, “Since when did you become so interested with interdimensional transportation?”

“Since I was assigned to study it.”

“Wait, what?” she asked, baffled.

“Oh that’s right, you don’t know.” Discord scratched his chin. He blinked, suddenly realizing just what he said. “Come to think of it, you’re not really supposed to know at all—”

“No, she’s not.”

Discord turned around to see a white, regal-looking Alicorn…

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called, suddenly feeling happier.

“Hello, Twilight.” Celestia smiled. “It’s nice to see you. And Discord, what a surprise!” she said, staring at him. “I wouldn’t expect you to be in a place like this on a day when you’re not working.”

“Yes, well, something… came up,” Discord said, scratching the back of his head.

“Oh? Would you care to explain why this something requires you to talk about your ‘work’?” Celestia asked.

“Oh but of course! You see, like you said, today is a day that I’m not working. After trying out some things, I was still bored. So, I had an idea to spend some quality time with my dear friend Fluttershy. But alas,” he said, putting his claw to his forehead, “it would seem that her health didn’t agree with me, as Fluttershy was too ill to go out at all. Thinking of a way to help her recover, I turned to the library for help. Twilight wasn’t there, and her little dragon ran away when I came in to ask him for help. And, long story short, I found Twilight here and explained my situation, which is when your prized princess here began to wonder what it is you have me do when I’m working, and I tried oh so hard to come up with something believable, but even after using my best fib, she still wasn’t convinced! After that I tried to divert her attention to something else, which only seemed to pique her curiosity even more, and I was given no choice but to tell her,” he finished.

Twilight was astonished. “What?! That’s not what happ—”

Discord appeared behind her and began to whisper in her ear, “Now now, we wouldn’t want ’Tia learning about something as drastic as the disappearance of an Element Bearer, now would we?”

Twilight shook him off. Garing at him, she said, “Look, I don’t know where to start, so maybe it’d be a good idea to ask Celestia for help. She did spend more time free than you, remember?”

“Start for what, Twilight?” Celestia asked.

“Nothing! It’s nothing at all!” Discord said in a panic.

“That’s a lie!” Twilight shouted.

“Discord, it’s obvious something fishy is going on here. Why don’t you tell me?” Celestia asked. “I might be able to help.”

Looking at both of them, he sighed, “Oh, no one told me having a friend would get me into this much trouble. Fine, I’ll tell you, but like with her, you have to promise me that you’ll hear me out to the very end, okay?”

Celestia tapped her chin for a while before saying, “Fair enough.”

“Good. Hopefully you’ll do better than her,” he said, pointing at Twilight.

“Hey!” Twilight shouted. Celestia gave her a look, which settled her down.

Sighing again, he said, “Okay, so I was going to spend time with Fluttershy, swimming with her at a lake. But when I took a break to go get her bunny some food, I sensed something strange. A type of energy that I, for the life of me, couldn’t tell what it was. Since it was something I had never sensed before, I wondered if it might’ve been from another dimension. So, I tried using my magic to trace it. But it reacted violently with my magic, and it formed something. I think I might’ve finally accomplished what we’ve been working on, but I don’t know if it was worth it, because Fluttershy stumbled upon the scene, and the next thing I know, she’s screaming to hold on, and then nothing. Everything was silent, save for a low buzzing in the area.”

Celestia remained quiet for some time, musing over what Discord had told her. Finally, she spoke, “Hm, it would seem we have quite the enigma on our hooves. What to do about it…” she said, thinking.

Twilight just about lost it. “Why are you so calm about this?! Don’t you see that Discord’s done something terrible? He’s sent one of my best friends to who-knows-where, and possibly put her in serious danger! We need to make him bring her back! We need to punish him for doing this! We need—”

Celestia raised a hoof, causing Twilight to cut herself off. “Twilight, I completely understand why you’re so distraught about the events that have transpired today, and I intend to find a fitting punishment for what Discord has done, but you must understand that we cannot afford to turn on each other right now. I see now that keeping our studies and work a secret from you may have been a mistake in the long run, so I’ll fill you in on what’s been going on here during Discord’s ‘work days.’”

Discord flashed away, instantly reappearing with a couch. “You might want to take a seat,” he said to Twilight. “This could take a while.”

Celestia began, “You see, scientists from all around have been studying the universe for the longest time, spanning countless theories and discoveries, many of which you’ve learned. However, recently, they’ve been studying the possibility of a way to travel to other places, places whose existences can’t exactly be explained. This would be linked with the multiverse theory. One such group of scientists were experimenting to see if interdimensional transportation, or I.T. for short, is possible. To help further expand our scientific knowledge, I agreed to help fund this team and offer them the help of Canterlot’s best scientists. So, they began to work harder, now having the appropriate tools and minds to help. They’d have countless experiments to see if they could eventually find a way to travel outside of this universe, but even with their efforts and resources, they haven’t had much progress.

“While I did originally have other plans to put Discord’s magic to good use, I decided to see if he’d be willing to help with the team’s dilemma, since he’s capable of doing things that aren’t usually possible. Though quite reluctant at first, he agreed to help them. Pretty soon, Discord became engrossed in trying to find a way to make I.T. possible. We learned that his magic was useful in the science department, so you can only imagine the progress he brought to the project. Discord knows a lot about I.T., so it’s very likely he’s being honest when he says he’s sent Fluttershy to, well, we don’t know yet. I suppose his curiosity got the best of him, but this still leaves us with a major enigma,” she said, shooting a look at Discord, who looked away. She sighed, “Well, we shouldn’t waste any more time dawdling about our mistakes. If we’re going to have even the smallest chance of finding Fluttershy, we’re going to need to find a way to recreate what happened today. Twilight, though you must be furious with Discord for doing what he did, I’m asking you, for the sake of your friend’s safety, to set these feelings aside and help him to remake the portal he created,” she said, solemnly.

“…” Twilight looked away. “I’ll help, but I want to talk to Discord. Alone, if you wouldn’t mind,” she said coldly.

“Of course. When you’re done talking,you should make your way to the department. And Twilight?” Celestia asked.

She looked at her. “…Yes, princess?”

“Thank you for understanding.” She lowered her head, and whispered, “And I’ll see to it that Discord gets a fitting punishment. Even if it was an accident, he shouldn’t have tried to do what he did without our help.” With that, Celestia walked out of the library.

Twilight looked out a window, thinking.

Discord floated awkwardly, waiting for Twilight to talk to him. After what felt like a few minutes, Discord slowly made his way to her, or at least, as close as he dared to go. He cleared his throat. “Look, I know I messed up, but I’m going to need your help to find Fluttershy. I want to fix my own mistake, and make sure she’s safe. So will you please help—”

“Of course I’m going to help you find her,” Twilight finally said, never taking her gaze off the window. Anger and restraint stained her voice. “Not just because Celestia asked me to. She’s my friend, too, and I want to make sure she’s safe.”

Once again, the room fell quiet. Discord fiddled with his claw and paw nervously, while Twilight kept staring out the window.

He cleared his throat. “So, what should we—”

“I just can’t believe you, Discord,” Twilight said, finally staring at him. “I started to get used to the idea of you being good. I started to believe that you wouldn’t put any of us in danger. And just look what happened.” She glared at him.

Discord shuffled slightly. “…Listen, Twilight. I know I screwed up, but—”

“If something bad happened to Fluttershy, I promise you that I will never forgive you, and I’ll find a way to make you pay, no matter what.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “But for now,” she continued, “I can’t let my anger towards you get in my way of focusing on the task at hand.”

“…I understand that. Completely. I want you to know that if something did happen to her, I wouldn’t resist whatever punishment I’d receive. I’d deserve it. It’s my fault Fluttershy’s missing!” he said, throwing his arms up into the air. He sighed, “Look, it’s… hard for me. I do careless things without even the slightest thought of what could happen because of them. I hardly used to care for whatever I did! But now, I have to be wary of what I do. Sure, I can still do my silly little antics, but now, I have to think of the consequences that could happen. But this time, I didn’t. And you’re right. Just look what happened! Because I wanted to test something out, I ended up sending my one and only friend to, well, anywhere! I should’ve known not to mess with something I had no clue about. But because of my actions, Fluttershy could be in grave danger. If something terrible did happen to her… Well, I don’t know what I’d do. Even if it wouldn’t help you, you should punish me. The fact that I sent an innocent pony to wherever means that I haven’t been able to maintain my new behavior as a reformed villain. If this ends up becoming the case, that I hurt Fluttershy, I don’t deserve to continue to roam free…” Discord said solemnly, staring at the ground. “And I know it must be different, for you to see me act so serious. I’m usually Discord, the chaotic, carefree spirit of disharmony. But I can’t act like everything’s just one big joke. She showed me that! She showed me that some things are meant to be taken seriously, even if they seem foolish! But I… I just don’t know.”

Twilight stared at him. “Discord…” she muttered.

He sighed heavily. “Let’s go see what we can do about the portal. We shouldn’t stay here and talk about how foolish I was—”

“You are different.”

Discord looked up. “What?”

“Discord, when Celestia came to ask how your reformation went, I didn’t completely believe that you changed,” said Twilight. “To be honest, I kept my guard up, expecting your whole new attitude to be a lie. I would keep a watchful eye on you, making sure I, and the girls, could defeat you again if you attacked.

“Now, though, one of my friend’s lives could be in danger because of you. And instead of me seeing you happy or confident that you’ve won, you’re showing regret and sorrow. You’re not trying to wreak havoc anywhere. Instead, you’re telling me about your mistake, and asking for help to fix it. And why would you come here to tell me if you could be out there doing just that, wreaking havoc?” she asked.

The room fell quiet for a moment, until Twilight continued, sighing in content. “I can see now the friendship between you and Fluttershy has changed you. Now, even though I’m furious at what you did, I’m gonna have to join forces with you if we’ll ever have a chance of finding Fluttershy.” She stared at him, a small, yet weak, smile on her face.

“…Twilight,” Discord said meekly, a sense of achievement forming in his mind. “…Th-thank you, Twilight.” Discord sighed, his feelings of worry and sorrow diminishing slightly.

“So, you’ve been learning about the universe?” Twilight asked, making her way out of the library. Discord followed suit. Heading to the science wing of the castle, Twilight asked, “So, why don’t you explain just how I.T. works?”

He smiled weakly, “Sure. Oh, and Twilight?”

“Hm?” she looked up.

“The reason I came here to talk to you about this is because I believed you could help us in making I.T. happen. I felt like once we filled you in on what we already know about this, you’d be able to offer your own theories and help us in succeeding. It didn’t exactly turn out how I planned it to go, but I got you to help, so I’m okay with it, even if I get punished, because I know you’ll be able to help me find Fluttershy faster,” he said, sighing.

Twilight thought for a moment, and said, “You know, I’m sure I can convince the princess to go easy on you. But it’ll still be a fitting punishment,” she said jokingly.

Even though Discord knew she was serious, he smiled. “I’m sure it’ll be. So, I.T. isn’t that hard to understand. You see, it works like this…”

Author's Note

Season 4. Oh my goodness, Season 4. It would seem Discord doesn't care too much for Fluttershy, seeing as how he couldn't even bother to remember her name. :fluttercry: I LOVED the premiere, but I wish Discord would've at least remembered her name, disregarding the fact that he grabbed Rainbow Dash...

Due to this, in my opinion, makes the way I write Discord even more OOC than before. :ajsleepy:

I know this is probably a poor excuse for the quality of this chapter, but there's only room for improvement, so if I write someone OOC, then I'll just have to learn from my mistakes.

I'll admit, my writers block kind of faded away around mid September, but school and League of Legends pretty much consumed all of my time throughout the past months. I'm so ashamed that I couldn't be bothered to try to work on this chapter until recently.

Regardless, the chapter's finally done! Now, the story will do a setting flip in which each chapter changes from Equestria to Johto, since I'd like to include more pony in this story, not to mention the fact the last chapter I had in Equestria was six chapters ago. :twilightblush:

Now, time to flip to Johto for the next chapter! I'm really hoping to get it out by early March, if my schedule (and procrastination habits :rainbowderp: :fluttershysad: ) would allow it.

Until then, I'll be inspired by some amazing music!

As usual, leave me your thoughts on how you felt about this chapter. Criticism is always appreciated. :twilightsmile:

The Mass Portal Production Project (DRAFT, CANCELED)

"So lemme get this straight: you try to feed us this ridiculous story about some crazy science project Princess Celestia's had you working on, you go back on your promise of not putting anyone in danger ever again by “accidentally" sending Fluttershy to who knows where, and now you expect us to help you build some sort of dimensional portal to try and fix your mistake?!" Rainbow Dash said, anger clearly visible on her face. “Well lemme tell you something, Discord: none of us are buying it, so knock it off and tell us where Fluttershy is right now!”

“Sending friends to other dimensions is not what you do for each other,” said Pinkie Pie.

“I just knew ya couldn't be trusted, ya filthy, devious snake," Applejack spat, glaring at Discord.

"I may have held faith in Fluttershy’s judgment, but I simply cannot ignore your reckless actions," Rarity added. "We should've been more cautious about you!”

Discord took in the small crowd of bewildered, angry faces staring at him. It had been an hour since he had congregated the rest of Fluttershy’s friends and broken the news to them of her disappearance. He figured once he brought the restof Fluttershy’s friends to the library, he could explain everything to them and they could launch into his plan right away. While he had not expected the best of receptions, he certainly didn’t think that he needed Twilight to calm the four mares down before he could even begin to explain himself. Hm, he thought. Perhaps I should've offered them some cookies before breaking the news that I sent Fluttershy to oblivi—he shook his head.
Focus, Discord. Fluttershy’s in danger! He looked to Twilight, who simply gave him a look that said What did you expect? Clearing his throat, he spoke, "Well, it's nice to see how you girls are healthily airing out your frustration. We should continue this later, though. We really must begin our rescue efforts. Now, I'm going to need some of you to get us supplies. I need some gems, powerful gems. Perhaps some sapphires. Wait, that'd never work… A sapphire's elemental compound would never be able to sustain—"

"Um, hellooo? Are you even listening?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Discord frowned. “I’ve been well-informed of your justified anger towards me, which is why I’m making it my utmost priority to find a way to bring Fluttershy back. But to do that, I need the cooperation of each and every one of you. We don’t exactly have the time to sit here and bicker.”

"So we’re just supposed to blindly follow you and help you with this crazy plan of yours?” Rainbow asked.

“That’s the idea, yes,” Discord said. “You’d think a pony would catch on after you’ve explained it to them the first few times.”

“Why you little…” Rainbow said through gritted teeth.

“Rainbow’s right,” Applejack said. “You’re not in the best light right now, Discord. What makes you think we should be able to trust that you’re not just pawnin’ us and makin’ us help you complete your next step in takin’ over Equestria?”

Discord frowned. “Not to be rude, but think here for a moment. If my intent was to take over Equestria, why would I bother wasting my time talking to you four when I could have well-been through with throwing Equestria into chaos? Maybe through some “friendship” gobbledygook you five could find some way to encase me in stone once more, but recall that the only times I've ever been defeated have been through the Elements of Harmony. You girls no longer have your elements, so realistically, there's nothing stopping me, especially considering the fact that you’re one mare short of a full set. Fluttershy’s presence has little to nothing to do with my ability to do such a thing.”

“I knew it! Alright that's it,” Rainbow said, flying upward.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” Twilight yelled. “He never said anything abou—”

Ignoring her, Dash bolted straight for Discord. “I’ve had it with you!”

Discord rolled his eyes. His upper body split off, leaving a gap right where Rainbow would've collided, instead flying harmlessly in-between him. Snapping his fingers, Discord turned the wall where she would've landed into a mass of pillows. Rainbow crashed into them with an “Oof”.

“First of all,” he said, his body popping back into place, “I'd like to know what made you think brute force would ever work on the being who can tear apart the very fabric of reality. Second, it's rude not to let me finish. I didn’t say I wanted to. My desire to wreak havoc is an entirely different thing than my ability to do so. I’m simply stating the fact that it makes no sense for me to be wasting my time here if I wanted to indulge in my old chaotic ways.” He flashed instantly to Twilight’s side. “And let’s also dispel the notion that Twilight is under my control or something just as incriminating. It’s far too confusing for me to keep track of the ponies I manipulate, so I apply a dark greyness to the coats of those I do. As we can see, Twilight’s coat is still her trademark purple. Isn’t that right, princess?”

“He’s right, girls,” Twilight said. “Rest assured that I’m in no way under Discord’s influence. I know it’s a lot to take in, but he really is trying to help. It’s like he said, if we want to get Fluttershy back, we’re all going to have to work together. All of us,” she repeated, looking at Rainbow Dash.

“You're actually defending him?” Rainbow asked, pointing at Discord, her face a mask of confused anger. “Guh, I can't believe this!”

“In the past, I'd see this as a golden opportunity to go out and have fun to my heart's content,” said Discord. “But as you can see, I'm right here, explaining my mistakes to you five. What would I have to gain by wasting my time alerting you ponies to all of this?”

“When you put it like that, I'm not sure what to believe,” said Applejack. “Fluttershy just up and vanishin’ like this has us all confused right now.” She pointed a hoof at Discord. “The fact that not even you know where she'd be doesn't exactly help your case.”

“ne of our closest friends is lost, and we don't even know where she could be!" Dash yelled, emotion clearly taking over.

"Rainbow Dash, calm down." Twilight said. "Yes, Discord made a terrible mistake, but—"

"A mistake?" Rainbow interrupted, scowling at Twilight. "Twilight, it's obvious that he got rid of Fluttershy so he could carry out some evil plan. He got her to trust him, and then he stabbed her in the back! We trusted her with him, and look what happened!"

"Yes, Rainbow. A mistake. Look, it makes sense to be mad at him. I know it's painful to not know whether or not Fluttershy is safe; I'm worried sick too! But Discord is trying to help us find her. If he had any intentions of causing mass chaos again, don't you think he'd have done something by now? I get that you want Discord to be punished, and believe me when I say I fully intend to do that, but right now, we can't afford to let our emotions control us. For now, we have to put them aside and focus on what's important: bringing Fluttershy back."

Discord stepped forward, locking eyes with Rainbow Dash. He sighed, turning his gaze to the floor. “Twilight’s right, you know,” he said. “Think what you want about me. It's all fair game. I don't expect you to just accept my plan with open arms. It makes sense that you'd be so hostile against me. I AM the reason Fluttershy’s missing, after all. You don't have to like me, or pretend to tolerate me. I know anyways that you girls only make the effort to be friendly with me for Fluttershy’s sake,” he said. The girls exchanged a look. “Normally it wouldn't even bother me; I always thought Fluttershy would be the only real friend I needed. But not having her here when I've messed up so badly feels awful. She would comfort me in this difficult time, but… she can't.” A tear rolled off of Discord’s cheek.

if we're to find Fluttershy in time before anything dangerous happens to her, we’ll all have to give our full efforts. I know I'm a playful, mischievous being at heart. It's in the very fibers of my being and, at the moment, I suppose you could say I'm using humor and sarcasm as a facade to mask my legitimate fear of having possibly doomed Fluttershy to some horrible fate. But grim times should be met with solemn actions.” He sighed. “I’ll quit the circus act. It's improper of me to keep laughing when Fluttershy could be in peril. I'll pitch in all of my effort to make sure we can find her in the fastest way possible. I only hope you can set aside your rage towards me to do the same.”

“Even so, I'm still rather skeptical about what you're telling us about employment under Celestia,” said Rarity. “I'd like some actual signs of validity from you.”

“I gotta side with em on that,” Applejack added. “I wanna take Twilight’s word for it, but if we're puttin’ our trust into ya, we’re gonna need ya to convince us 110%.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie chimed in. “I mean, I know magic and science can do some pretty awesome things, but this is a little hard to believe, even for me.”

“All valid points,” Discord said. “Lucky for you all, I think I know just how to do that,” he said, snapping his fingers. The six of them were instantly teleported to a strange, large room, various monitors and machines making a chorus of low buzzes and beeps.

The five mares looked around the place, taking in the vastness of the room, eclipsed by all of the technology crammed in there. As she flew off the ground to get a better look at the place, Rainbow Dash asked the question on everyone’s mind: “What is this place?”

“This is the main sector of the Canterlot Laboratories of Omnipotent Discoveries, or C.L.O.D., for short.” Discord answered.

“Um, wait... “ muttered Twilight, thinking of the implications of such an acronym. Ignoring her, Discord poofed closer to one of the smaller machines, where he fiddled with a few of the buttons, turning the machine's monitor on. The black screen came to life, displaying a sort of radar, with one single dot in the center.

“The dot you see here represents us; Equestria, i.e. our universe, or OU for short. What you see it displayed on represents the universal spectrum. Notice how there's only one dot on there?” Discord asked.

“That universe must be awfully lonely,” said Pinkie.

“Oh trust me, it's not as lonely as you think,” said Discord, before fiddling with the machine's settings some more. The screen blinked a few times, before it stabilized once more. Now, several dots appeared, scattered all over the screen, some in very close proximity to the center. “This certainly was a delightful discovery for me. You see, all of these new dots across the spectrum represent several different universes, new worlds we've never before seen. Some could contain different versions of our very selves, others could be entirely different worlds filled with different laws of nature, different types of beings!” he said excitedly.

“What exactly do ya mean by that?” Applejack asked. “Like, lava skies and shrimp creatures?”

“Well, that very well could be a possibility, but that's the beauty of it all: I don't know! The characteristics are so randomized, infinite possibilities can exist. So there certainly must be somewhere in the multiverse with shrimp creatures.”

Now it was Rarity’s turn for questions. “How, then, can you be sure that there exists other societies, other stable worlds out there that could sustain whatever random life they have?”

“That, Rarity, is something I do know. You see, while other factors like the environment and the inhabitants of such worlds vary drastically, there are fixed points in the characteristics of the multiverse that exist. And that is the structure of worlds. By that, I mean that even if a world like ours isn't inhabited by some shrimp society, a world just like ours does exist somewhere in the shrimp universe, let's call it SU. So many possibilities makes it so that a number of universes are out there where there are beings living on habitable planets like ours, even if they look nothing like us. Meaning that while our counterpart planet in the SU may not have any inhabitants, such a planet in another universe certainly would. And some of those universes could have us living on them, but with variations. Rainbow Dash could've been the Element of Generosity, Twilight could've been a stallion while the rest of you remained mares, Pinkie could be a white pegasus, anything is possible! It's so clumsily organized, I love it!” Discord cheered.

“Oooh, I could have wings?” a giddy Pinkie asked. “If I did, I'd sneak up on Dashie while she snoozed in the clouds and yell “Surprise!!”” she said, flapping her forelegs by her side and somehow matching Rainbow’s distance above ground.

Rainbow put her hoof on Pinkie’s head, slowly bringing them back to the ground. “Pinkie, you already do that,” she said. “Anyways, showing us some dots on a screen doesn't prove anything,” she told Discord.

Applejack nodded. “She's right, you know. Don't’cha got some stronger, concrete evidence? Somethin’ to show us what you're talkin’ about, clear as day.”

“Well, it isn't that far-fetched,” said Twilight. “I mean, I'm still trying to grasp the reality of how the students of Canterlot High shared the names, looks, and even behaviors of ponies here in Equestria. It's like, it was Equestria, but at the same time it wasn't. Who's to say there aren't other places like that?” she asked.

“Your little trip definitely was something to learn about.” Discord said, idly floating by. “Honestly, she assigns me to study the possibility of interdimensional travel, and doesn't even bother to tell me about a portal to another world! It's like she doesn't trust me to handle that mirror portal,” he grunted, crossing his arms.

“I wouldn't even trust Pinkie with something like that,” Applejack said, the slightest hint of a suppressed chuckle in her voice.

“Yeah!... Hey!”

“Well, no bother. She did let me study the portal afterwards. You know, now that it doesn't work?” he said, clearly annoyed. “Plus, it's fine for me to have possession of it--” he poofed, a miniature Discord reappearing on Twilight’s head”--seeing as how you're probably not gonna ever go back,” he said, leaning over Twilight’s head and looking into her eyes. Pinkie sneezed.

Twilight brushed him off. “And did you find anything?” she asked, a normal-sized Discord re-poofing onto a nearby chair.

Discord smirked. “That, we did.” He snapped his fingers, once again transporting the group. This time, they found themselves within a different area of the labs, more barren than the previous room. In it was a lone machine stationed at the back wall of the room, with several small devices scattered on the machine’s control board. In the center of the room stood an elevated platform. On it was a very familiar-looking mirror with several long wires attached to or otherwise scattered around it. Discord teleported to the machine while the others took in the room’s decor.

“Okay, so what's all of this?” Rainbow asked.

“This is sort of a work in progress, but think of it as a looking glass into the other world. Given Twilight's accounts of the universe within this mirror and the uncanny resemblance its inhabitants seem to have with Equestrians, we've decided to call it Equestria-B.
Our initial goal was to see if we could peer into this universe, what with the portal seemingly closed off afterwards. Of course, with my magic it wasn't that hard. Just watch,” he said, snapping his fingers. Some of the wires floated towards Discord while he fitted a sort of cybernetic glove onto his claw. The wires attached themselves to several ports on the glove, and Discord turned to the mirror, his claw shrouded in magic. The magic funneled itself through the tubes, making its way back to the dormant mirror portal. As the magic seeped into the mirror, the mirror began to glow, dull sparks at first, then a weak, flashing pattern, as if it was struggling to stay aglow. Finally, the glowing stabilized, bringing the mirror to life. The girls watched in wonder as a static-riddled image began to take form on the mirror’s glass. A massive plum-colored building appeared, its large white stairs and glass doors hosting the busy traffic of strange, bi-pedaled creatures. It didn't take long for Twilight to recognize this place.

“Canterlot High,” she said.

“Yes, yes, that's what I've come to know it as. And to think the bustling capital city of Equestria ends up being a well-fortified school in this other world. Though, I'm sure that's not what sticks out. I mean, just look at those creatures. Twilight’s seen them before--turned into one, even--but the rest of you must be awed by these strange things, aren't you?” Discord said

“So this is what the pony counterparts of this world looks like. Kind of a bit on the homely side,” Applejack said.

“I think they look fine. Although assuming that those are clothes on them, the wardrobe choice of a few of this world’s ponies could use some work,” said Rarity. “If they have the same standards as us, of course.”

“So like, what are they called?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, we don't exactly have an official name for this new species, but they do sort of remind me of some of the different kinds of apes we have here in Equestria. And given their vibrant palettes, I decided to call them “Rainbow Monkeys”. Although for some reason that name brings about the oddest sense of déjà vu,” said Discord, cupping his chin with his paw.

“Erm, “rainbow monkeys” is a little crass, don't you think?” Twilight asked.

“You mean on two legs?” said Twilight.

“But Discord, darling, you walk on two, um, “legs”,” Rarity said, pointing at his mismatched limbs.

“Oh please, how often do you see me walk with these things? It's much more convenient to teleport myself to where I need to be. I've hardly any need for them,” he said, grabbing his legs with his paw and popping them off. “See? Practically obsolete,” he said, now floating in the air. “Anyways, I'm referring to their apparent indifference towards their imprisonment in such a boring place like school. Look at them, walking all happily into that fun-trap.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “I don't think their ambition to learn is what's important. What matters is the rest of us actually seeing the world of Canterlot High for the first time. I mean, I had a pretty good image of what Twi was talkin’ about, but I gotta agree with you on the whole look of

(HEAVY REVISIONS REQUIRED)

sighed. "I suppose it would be in our best interest to… ‘trust’ Discord for the time being,” said Rarity. "If it means finding Fluttershy, I'll agree to provide all that I can.”

Applejack nodded. "As much as I sympathize with you, Dash, I have to side with Discord on this one. If anything he said about that space project is true, and it must be if Twilight’s trusting him enough to explain his crazy solution, and if Twilight thinks he'll be able to help us, then I'll trust him to do the right thing. Not like we have a lot of options available to us, anyway."

"The sooner we find her, the better!" Pinkie cheered.

Rainbow Dash sighed heavily, closing her eyes. She hated to admit it, but her friends were making a lot of valid points. Twilight was usually the one to come up with solutions in times of disaster, and she was letting Discord take the lead. The fact that she'd have to put her faith in Discord irked her, and she hated even more the fact that he was right: she couldn't afford to be uncooperative. Not if she wanted to find Fluttershy as soon as possible. "He wouldn't have to help us find her if he didn't send her away in the first place," she said to herself. She grunted, and flew to Discord, staring right into his uneven eyes. "I'll help you with this,” she said sternly. “You and Twilight tell us what to do, and we'll do it. But if we can't find Fluttershy after all of this, you should know that whatever punishment Twilight tries to give you will be nothing compared to what I'm gonna do."

"I second that," added Applejack, narrowing her gaze at Discord.

"Indeed," Rarity said, adding on to the collective glares.

Discord prepped a laugh out of habit, but caught himself. “I'm prepared to take whatever you can dish. But let's think on a more optimistic side. We should begin to compile supplies." He snapped his fingers, poofing out of the room, only to reappear just as fast, now carrying a massive, weathered tome. “You girls wouldn't happen to have any gems lying around, would you?". He flipped the pages frantically, stopping suddenly to a heavily marked page. "The research that I've been studying shows that gemstones can both amplify and alter magic, so we'll be needing some of them for our little 'project.'"

Rarity stepped forward. “If it's gems you need, then I can supply you with as many as possible. What type in particular would you need?"

Discord poofed behind her, bringing the book close for her to see. " I'm aware that you own a variety of gems, but mainly common expendables for your fashion designs. Simple gems like rubies and pearls wouldn't work. We're going to need gems of a much higher luster, and I know you have more, Rarity," he said.

Rarity studied the book, taking note of the vast uses for gems outside of fashion. "If it means contributing to Fluttershy’s rescue, then even my rarest of gems are expendable.”

"Indeed. But what exactly would fit the picture… amethyst? No, too unstable. Peridots? Too small…” he muttered, floating away from Rarity. Discord snapped his talons. A scroll and quill popped out of nowhere, Discord grabbing both with extra limbs. He scrutinized the tome, adding new gems and scratching out others to the scroll. “Ah, this should do it!”

Handing the scroll to Rarity, she read his list aloud, struggling from Discord’s jumbled handwriting. “Jadeites, topaz, black opals, emeralds, and sardonyx.”

“Some are extremely rare, but I know we can count on you to find them for us,” said Discord.

Rarity nodded. “Luckily for us, I happen to already have a few of the gems back at the boutique, though the rest will prove to be quite a challenge. I'll begin searching immediately.”

“I'll help!” Pinkie said, trotting to Rarity’s side. “The Pie family has a good sense of the land.”

“Good idea,” said Applejack. “Y’all should grab Spike on your way to the boutique. No one digs as fast as that dragon. ‘Sides, you're better off lookin’ for somethin’ with more eyes on deck.”

“True. Though I don't believe we should tell him why we're on a search beyond just excavating rare stones,” said Rarity. “I don't want him to be worried sick over Fluttershy.”

As Pinkie and Rarity began walking out of the royal library, Pinkie cocked her head to the side. “Aaare you sure about that? I think he deserves to know. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'll be extra motivated to help us if he knows what's at stake.”

“True… Still, we should be careful about…” Rarity’s voice trailed off, as now only four remained in the library.

(HEAVY REVISIONS REQUIRED)

Explanation (Story Update)

Hey guys, it's been... quite a long time. Almost about five or more years since I updated this story, almost about four since I stopped writing for it. Lots of things changed in my life, college, job, relationships, etc., and in the crossfire I kind of forgot about this project that I started on back in 8th grade. The other day at work it randomly drifted through my thoughts again and after some thought I figured I'd log back on and drop an explanation on things, for those of you who still care, and unfortunately I don't really have good news to bring.

If it's not evident by now, Fluttershy the Pokémon Tamer is canceled. I wish I could find some dormant drive to work on this story again, but the truth is I've sort of moved on. Both from MLP and from writing, and when I say it out loud it really does bring a sigh of sadness out of me. I loved FiM for the longest, being in the fandom was a great experience, but over time I just grew out of it, as I'm sure some of my original readers have as well. Going to college to study English also became a pretty rude awakening to the fact that I just don't have confidence in my writing skills. No matter how much I tried to fix the direction of the story I was unhappy with what I was putting on the page and constantly had to redraft. What once was a fun and exciting experience has since devolved into a cycle of bitterness and dread, every time I tried to write I just sighed and couldn't stop being so hard on myself. Falling behind in FiM and seeing glimpses of dramatic character changes also made me feel like I was no longer writing these characters properly. I just felt lost, and so I decided to just give up. I really wish I could've ironed out the creases in my creative process and in the story's plot, but I just didn't feel up to the task anymore. Not to mention my terrible commitment issues that make it hard for me to stay dedicated to any sort of passion project I start on. I dream big, and it's evident in the amount of planning I put into the future of the story, but I have to admit that most of the time I just don't have the discipline and resolve to chase those dreams all the way to the end, something I just have to work on myself. Still, I had big plans for this story, so as a sort of final goodbye to what was once my biggest passion, I wanted to at least share with you guys some of the major plot points I had planned and the latest draft on the newest chapter (heavily incomplete) that was my last attempt to keep the story going. I'm really sorry for people who held out hope that I'd come back, and I wish I could've done this story justice, but I'm very grateful for all the people who decided to leave a like, comment, and favorite Pokémon Tamer.

CHAPTERS
In chronological order, what the future chapters would've been. The idea was to establish a status quo of switching focus between Team B (Fluttershy and Leon) and Team C (Pinkie and Dash) as they traversed Johto, with some interlude from Team A (Equestria) every now and then. Clearly the story would've run a long time to go through the main story line of Generation Two games, with deviations every now and then

The Mass Portal Production Project

Discord tells Mane 5 about Fluttershy
Mane 5 agree to help
Team A (Discord + Mane 5) begins work on portals

Treeshy

Fluttershy/Leon travel to Violet City
Leon explains gym leaders to Fluttershy
Leon tells how he won first two gyms
Team B (Fluttershy + Leon) finds Sudowoodo
Team B escapes Sudowoodo
Sudowoodo follows Fluttershy

Soft Reset

Team A completes portal
Team A search for right dimension
Team A pinpoint Fluttershy’s location
Rainbow/Pinkie (Team C) volunteer for rescue mission
Team A establishes possible contact method with Team C
Team C depart

The Professor

Team B reach New Bark Town
Team B finds Professor Elm
Elm helps Fluttershy learn more of the Pokémon world
Elm asks Leon for help w/ egg
Elm gifts Fluttershy Pokémon egg
Team C heads back for Goldenrod City

A New Journey Awaits You

Team C enter Johto
Team C culture shock (humanized forms)
Team C tries + fails to contact Team A
Team A pick up Team C’s signal
Team C encounter wild Pokémon
Elm helps Team C
Elm explains Pokémon world to Team C
Team C asks for help with Fluttershy/communicator
Elm tells Team C about encounter w/ Fluttershy
Elm gives communicator a look, fails to help rebuild it
Elm suggests Team C venture to Ruins of Alph to find old colleague
Elm suggests Team C take on Pokemon League challenge
Elm gives Team C starter Pokémon
Rainbow gets Chikorita, renames to “Chika”
Pinkie gets Totodile, renames to “Chewy” (since she already has a "Gummy")
Team C each get Pokégear
Team C heads for Cherrygrove City

Sticks and Stones

Team B return to Violet City
Team B get ambushed by squad of Sudowoodo
Fluttershy talks down leader of Sudowoodo
Sudowoodo vs. Angel
Fluttershy “catches” Sudowoodo
Fluttershy renames Sudowoodo “Rocky”
Team B heads for Goldenrod City

Bird Brain

Team C reaches Violet City, seeking out gym
Rainbow vs. Falkner
Rainbow loses (horribly)
Team A catches traces of Team C
Team A attempts (and fails) to contact Team C
Team C sets out to catch more Pokémon
Twilight tries to contact Team C, fails
Twilight departs for library, searching for possible methods of ID communication
Rainbow catches Pidgey, renames to “Pecks”
Rainbow vs. Falkner (rematch)
Rainbow loses (again)
Pinkie offers to let Rainbow borrow Totodile, Rainbow refuses
Rainbow resolves to win

Moo-Moo Mayhem

Team B reaches Goldenrod City
Leon thinks of a strategy to beat Whitney
Leon vs. Whitney (rematch)
Mareep evolves
Flaaffy paralyzes Miltank
Quilava wins match
Whitney refuses to give Leon badge, crying
Fluttershy calms Whitney down
Leon earns Plain Badge
Team B heads north

A Team Effort

Rainbow strategizes a victory plan
Twilight successfully contacts Team C
Twilight tries to instruct Team C on how to fix communicator
Twilight runs out of time
Twilight instructs Team C to find someone who can help fix communicator
Rainbow vs. Falkner (re-rematch)
Pidgey learns Brave Bird
Rainbow wins
Team C departs Violet City

The National Park

Team B reaches National Park
Team B meets Clarissa
Clarissa asks Leon to enter bug-catching contest with her
Leon and Clarissa compete in the bug-catching contest
Fluttershy watches from within monitor room w/ her Pokémon
Leon and Clarissa find Heracross
Leon and Clarissa fight over Heracross
Heracross chooses Leon
Leon catches Heracross
Leon and Clarissa lose contest to 10 lbs Caterpie

Into the Unown

Team C gets blocked off by trees
Team C tries going south, through Ruins of Alph
Team C comes across suspicious groups of people investigating ruins
Mysterious group interrogates Dr. Corrik, specialist on phenomena at Ruins of Alph
Rainbow notices Unown being captured
Team C face off against group’s leader (Name: Lucian)
Pinkie comes in contact with an Unown, causing all Unown to go berserk
Mystery group flees, Unown in tow
Pinkie catches Unown shaped like P
Team C notices communicator glitching, picking up off frequencies
Team C talks to Dr. Corrik about the events, explaining their origins
Dr. Corrik gives a summary of the history of Unown, linking a possibility to Equestria
Dr. Corrik suggests Team C use power of Unown to try and fix communicator
Dr. Corrik suggests Team C head for Goldenrod City to recruit Bill
Team C registers Dr. Corrik in Pokégear
Team C leave communicator w/ Dr. Corrik
Team C depart for Goldenrod City

The Rabbit and the Rock

Fluttershy notices Angel keeping his distance from Rocky
Leon suggests Fluttershy talk to the two
Angel explains his disliking for Rocky
Rocky explains his shyness
Leon suggests a 2v2 battle to help Angel/Rocky bond
Leon teaches Fluttershy how to battle
Fluttershy tries (her best) to battle
Angel gains some appreciation for Rocky
Team B rest in a nearby inn close to Violet City/Route 36

Union Grave

Team C ventures through Union Cave
Pinkie and Rainbow get separated
Rainbow gets ambushed by mystery Pokemon
Pinkie spends time looking for Rainbow, talking to Chewy
Rainbow tries to fight mystery Pokemon
Pinkie finds Rainbow, helping her track mystery Pokemon (Gastly)
Pinkie plays with Gastly, leaving it in Union Cave
Team C escapes Union Cave, venturing into Azalea Town
Gastly follows Pinkie Pie

The Legends of Ecruteak City

Team B reaches Ecruteak City
Team B runs into Emmett, who’s getting ready to challenge E. City gym
Team B + Emmett explore Burned Tower
Team B encounter Morty, who’s paying respects to the tower
Morty tells the team about the history of Burned Tower

FINAL TEAMS
There were going to be several other trainers introduced as the story went on, culminating in a tourney-style Pokémon League like in the anime. Not everyone who would've participated in the 16-entry tourney was drafted here.

Leon (Rotation Team)

Typhlosion
Furret
Flaaffy
Heracross
Umbreon
Xatu
Gligar

Fluttershy

Buneary
Sudowoodo
Gyarados
Ursaring
Sylveon
Togepi

Rainbow Dash

Meganium
Pidgeot
Rapidash
Snorlax
Tyrogue
Skarmory

Pinkie Pie

Croconaw
Gengar
Smeargle
Ambipom
Murkrow
Unown

Emmett

Feraligatr
Jolteon
Nidorino
Tauros
Sneasel
Aerodactyl

Clarissa

Charizard
Scizor
Kingdra
Raichu
Machop
Marowak

Windsor

Steelix
Donphan
Kabutops
Rhydon
Magcargo
Dugtrio

Avery

Blastoise
Tangela
Persian
Ninetales
Magneton
Kadabra

Maggie

Ivysaur
Misdreavus
Slowbro
Sandslash
Blissey
Golbat

Paulina

Blaziken
Delcatty
Flygon
Espeon
Electabuzz
Azumarill

Jake

Dragonite
Houndoom
Lickitung
Starmie
Hitmonchan
Forretress

Samuel

Tyranitar
Dodrio
Beedrill
Ampharos
Ditto
Poliwrath

PLOT POINTS
Broader strokes on what I had planned for the story, not sure how I would've ironed it out but just spitballed ideas.

Explored some connection between the portals and the legendary Pokémon Hoopa-Unbound (who would've served as a sort of main antagonist, like Mewtwo in the Pokémon movie). Hoopa was supposed to have been working with the evil organization of the story (may/may not have been Team Rocket, possibly a different, new org) to transfer legendary Pokémon to Johto, sensed Discord's calling and mistook it for a legendary, hence portal with a golden rim at the beginning of the story
Explored possibility of other planned stories and crossover with FtPT (had planned to make a SvtFoE story at some point--dimensional scissors is an easy link--and make a harmless, non-canon crossover with Pokémon Tamer)
Upon the release of Sun and Moon, possibly would have combined or scrapped Hoopa plot for Ultra Space and the U-Beasts, possible cameos from Lusamine and Lillie
Pryce was supposed to be replaced by a different gym leader (following his story from the Pokémon adventures manga as I believe he vanished/died in that media), named Bernard, a fire-type specialist (Like Pryce, Bernard's name would be a homonym of his type specialty--BERNard, BURN)
Upon the reveal of Sword and Shield, would most likely have rewritten Angel as a Scorbunny, as it is a much more fitting pick for a bunny Pokémon, everything else followed the same path

Even if it wasn't what I had hoped for, I'm glad I can at least provide some sort of rest for this story. Again, thank you to everyone who decided to read and enjoy my little fanfic. It meant a lot to me as an aspiring writer. Maybe someday I can come to write something again that I can be proud of, but for now, I'll always remember how much fun I had writing Fluttershy, the Pokémon Tamer. :twilightsmile:

Prologue

"There are many Pokémon in this world, Leon. So many different Pokémon inhabit this world, so much that some Pokémon only live in certain places, on certain regions. Scientists around the world are still discovering Pokémon. Many remain a mystery to us today, such as legendary Pokémon."

"Legendary Pokémon? What are those?"

"Legendary Pokémon are very rare. Legendary Pokémon are Pokémon that, in a sense, have achieved a certain level of god-like power, so much that some are seen as ancient deities, such as Dialga and Palkia."

"Dialga... and Palkia?"

"Yes. The legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia are two mythical Pokémon that are seen in the Sinnoh region, a faraway land thousands of miles away from Johto. Dialga and Palkia are known for being the creators of time and space. People in the Sinnoh region seem to know much about these two Pokémon. They've had stories about these two Pokémon since ancient times, which leads to another mystery about these legends. It seems that legendary Pokémon also possess imortality. One such Pokémon that is known for its immortal lifestyle is Arceus. Arceus has appeard in the first records of history, maybe even before those times. It is said that Arceus was born before the universe was created, and shaped and created this world. We don't have official evidence to prove these myths to be true, but there is definitely something mythical about the Alpha Pokémon."

"But wait, if legendary Pokémon have so much power, then why don't they rule the world, or something like that?"

"We don't know. Some Pokémon have caused mischief and disaster, such as Groudon, Kyogre, Giratina, Darkrai, Tornadus, and Thunderus, but there have always been people or Pokémon that stop them. It is unknown why Pokémon like Rayquaza, Cresselia, and Landorus take it upon themselves to stop other Pokémon's wrath, but it seems as though these Pokémon serve as the counterparts of the Pokémon they stop, always keeping them in check, making sure they don't harm anyone."

"So when legendary Pokémon like Rayquaza or Landorus stop other Pokémon, they have to fight them?"

"Oh yes. These battles are astonishing. Take the trio of Tornadus, Thunderus, and Landorus, for example. Tornadus and Thunderus fly all over the Unova region, causing massive damage and multiple catastrophes, but soon after, Landorus will chase the other two, and stop their wrath. Those Pokémon fight with such power, it's absolutely terrifying, but Landorus always beats the other two. It seems that Landorus protects people and Pokémon from Tornadus and Thunderus, even if it means Landorus has to fight extremely brutal fights. The same goes for Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. Groudon and Kyogre will wage wars against each other, trying to expand land and sea to defeat the other, but Rayquaza will appear and end their wars, all the time. Some of these Pokémon are so powerful, it takes two legendary Pokémon to stop one, like with Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Giratina will roam a place known as the Distortion World, looking for a place to escape. When it finds one and manages to flee, Dialga and Palkia will join forces and stop Giratina. This is very interesting, seeing as how Dialga and Palkia are enemies."

"Wow... That's incredible."

"It is! Some scientists study the reasons why these Pokémon do or act the way they do. They haven't found that answer yet, but they did seem to notice something."

"Like what?"

"Well, with all these disputes between legendary Pokémon, with all these epic battles, these Pokémon seem to have left an... impact."

"An impact?"

"Yes... Allow me to explain. Every time these Pokémon battle, they leave tiny, tiny bits of a strange energy. These tiny bits eventually pile up, and combine to form a stronger energy. Take, for example, Pokémon like Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. We already know that these Pokémon are capable of traveling throughout time and space. With such incredible abilities, what do you think happens when these powers clash? The answer is simple: Something new is formed. Some kind of... new energy forms throughout time, space, and distortion, so much that the three combined cannot contain it. So, one might ask, where does this energy go? That part is unclear to us, but we do know that it flows and travels to unknown places. Areas far, far away from this world, from this universe. That energy travels to other places that also resonate this type of energy, though we don't know how the energy on the other side forms. We're not sure what to make of this energy, as we don't even know what it is, but we plan to soon study this new energy, to see if we can control it."

"...What?"

"Uh... I suppose I let my mouth run off a bit. In short, when these Pokémon fight, they create new energy that travels to unknown places."

"...Oh."

"Well. Now that we have the explanation of Pokémon done, albeit longer than any other I've ever given, it's time for you to get your very own. Go on, Leon, choose one." Professor Elm gestured toward a large capsule.

Leon walked up to the large capsule, with three Pokéballs on display. "Wow..." Leon stared at the red-white capsules.

"What'll it be?" Professor Elm rotated the Pokéballs' display case. He turned on a monitor, revealing a sleeping Pokémon. "Do you want Chikorita, the Leaf Pokémon..." Elm rotated the display case. The monitor blinked, showing another sleeping Pokémon. "Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokémon..." Elm rotated the case one last time. Once again, the monitor blinked, revealing another sleeping Pokémon. "Or Totodile, the Big Jaw Pokémon?" Professor Elm looked back at Leon, with a small smile. His hand gestured towards the case. Leon looked at Elm.

Leon stared back at the Pokéballs. "Hmm... I think I'll have..."

Author's Note

You guys decide what starter Pokémon Leon will have:

Chikorita? Cyndaquil? Totodile?

Vote in the comments, please.

The History of Ponyville

Fluttershy's heart pounded in her chest as Leon fiddled with his Pokéball. Okay Fluttershy, calm down. Just believe in yourself, she thought. Understanding all kinds of creatures is your special talent! I’m sure Pokémon aren’t any different from the animals back home. Just trust yourself and everything’ll be fine...

“Alright Cynders, let’s see what you actually have to say,” Leon said, pressing the button on the red-white capsule. A white light beamed from it to the floor, materializing into the familiar blue-yellow animal Fluttershy had come to know as “Cynders”.

He looked around his new environment, and yawned. “La?” he said lazily.

“Hey buddy. Take a power nap?” Leon asked.

“Va!” Cynders said, shaking his head in annoyance.

Leon arched an eyebrow, smirking. “Oh really?”

Cynders looked away. “V-va,” he said, resisting the urge to burst out in a sheepish smile.

Leon continued to stare his companion down, then chuckled. Cynders stared back at him, then joined him. The two both shared a laugh, both oblivious to Fluttershy’s inner turmoil. “Okay Fluttershy, you ready?” Leon asked. Getting nothing in response, he turned around to see Fluttershy lost in thought. “Fluttershy?" He waved his hand in front of her. "Hellooo?”

Fluttershy blinked. “Hm?” She said. “Huh? Oh! I-I’m sorry Leon, I got lost in thought. What was it you said?”

“Heh, no worries. I asked if you’re ready. Me and Cynders just got finished with our little ‘chat’,” he said, smiling.

“Chat? Like, talking to each other?”

“Sure. At least, as close as talking to each other can get. I’m Cynders' trainer, after all. See, trainers and their Pokémon tend to share a special kind of connection that lets them communicate on a different level than just normal speech. At least, that’s what I’ve always been told, and now that I have one, I’m starting to learn first-hand what they mean.” Leon explained.

“Oh. So you can’t actually talk to each other?” Fluttershy asked.

Leon shook his head. “No, not really. I wish, though. It’d be awesome to know exactly what my Pokémon were saying. Speaking of which, we gotta see if you can do just that!” he said.

“R-right…” Swallowing her anxiety down, she spoke, “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

“Okay! Hey Cynders, you mind helping us test something out?” Leon asked.

“La?” Cynders asked, tilting his head.

“Well, you see, our new friend Fluttershy says she’s not from around here. She’s apparently from a far-away region called, um… Equestria!” he shouted, snapping his fingers. “Equestria, right?” Leon asked, turning to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy nodded. “Mm hm.”

“Yes,” he whispered. “Anyway, she says she’s not human either, and that she’s actually a pegasus pony from, uh… Ponyville?” he asked. Fluttershy nodded again. “Yeah, Ponyville. Anyways, she says that she has some kind of special talent, which is being able to communicate with animals and, if this works, Pokémon! I’m not gonna believe it till I see it, so could you help prove if it’s true?” he asked.

Cynders tilted his head in confusion. “...La?” he said.

Leon grinned. “Knew you’d wanna help! ‘Kay Flutters, he’s ready!”

“O-oh,” she said shakily. “Good…” C'mon Fluttershy, get ahold of yourself, she thought. It's best to face this now... E-even if you don't want to… She breathed, trying her best to maintain a calm state. “Well, l-let’s get this over with.”

“Right. ‘Kay Cynders, Fluttershy wants to talk to you now. Be polite,” he said in a playful tone.

“Laaaaa…” Cynders said dumbly. He was still trying to process Leon’s explanation of Fluttershy’s past.

Fluttershy cleared her throat and, kneeling down to greet Cynders, said, “Um, hello. As you may know, I’m Fluttershy. So you’re Cynders? You’re awfully cute.”

“...” Cynders stared at her. “Laa!” he suddenly said, smiling at Fluttershy, only to her, it sounded like a “Thanks!”

Fluttershy blinked at this. She suddenly realized just what had happened, and silently said, “...I heard him.”

“Huh?” Leon asked.

“I heard him,” she said, louder. “I heard him! He said ‘Thanks!’. Leon, I heard him!” she gleefully shouted.

Leon arched an eyebrow, and said, “Sorry to say, Fluttershy, but it's gonna take more than "hearing" a thanks to show me proof that you can understand him. I'm not trying to sound mean or anything. It's just that, well, "thanks" isn't that hard to interpret from Pokémon.”

“O-oh…” Fluttershy muttered, her newfound joy diminishing at his words. Quickly recovering, she nodded, saying, “Right! Well, let’s see… Um, Cynders?”

“Yeah?” Cynders said.

Fluttershy stared at him. Haah… Haah… I DID HEAR HIM! No, focus! She shook her head, and said, “Cynders, Leon wants me to ask you something. As you may know, you two have been doing your best to train to beat Whitney, but it just doesn’t seem to be enough, you know?”

“Oh, yeah…” he said, beginning to sulk.

“Hey, I wanted you to talk to him, not make him depressed!” Leon said.

“O-oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy said. “Cynders, I didn’t mean to make you upset! What I’m trying to say is, Leon is trying his hardest to figure out a way to beat Whitney, and he wanted me to ask what you think should be done about this!”

“Ask me? Why? Even if I told him what I think we should do—which in my honest opinion isn’t that different from what we’re doing now—he can't understand me. Wait, why am I saying all of this? Not even you can understand this...” he said , staring at the ground.

Fluttershy stared at Cynders for a while, then smiled. “But Cynders, I can understand you!” she said, softly touching his head.

“...What?” He said, looking up. “What!? Y-you heard me? You know what I said?” Cynders asked, shocked.

“Of course! It’s my special talent,” she said, still smiling.

Leon stared at Fluttershy. “What?”

“Hm? Oh, Cynders was just wondering how I could understand him.” Fluttershy said, beaming with joy. It worked! It really did work!

“You know what Cynders said, huh?” Leon stretched his arms behind his head. “So what’d he tell you about the situation with Whitney?” he asked.

“Oh, well he said his ideas of what you two should do aren’t that different from what you’re doing right now.”

Leon let out a long sigh, “Of course he did.” Fluttershy frowned. Noticing, Leon went on, saying, “Look, no offense, but that’s not a lot to go by. I mean, anyone could say that about what a Pokémon said to them, but you need to show me real proof that Cynders just talked to you.”

“Oh…” Fluttershy looked down, once again deflating from Leon’s disbelief.

“But I did just talk to her! I still don’t know how, but I did!” Fluttershy looked to see Cynders standing up for her, ‘talking’ to Leon.

“Cynders, what’s wrong?” To Fluttershy, it looked like Cynders was trying to convince Leon of the truth. To Leon, though, it seemed like Cynders was yipping nonsense at him.

“Leon, please, you have to believe her!”

Fluttershy stared at Cynders, and smiled. “He’s saying you have to believe me.”

Leon looked at Fluttershy, then back at Cynders, still standing by her side. Contemplating what was happening, he asked, “Is that really what you’re trying to say?”

“La!” Cynders said, nodding.

Leon was confused for a moment, then shook his head. “Alright, I know for a fact I just saw you nod your head, but I’m still not entirely convinced. So,” he said, staring at Fluttershy, “Imma ask you something that only Cynders would know, and you’re gonna have to ask him what the answer is. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that’s a good way to prove that I can hear him.”

"Alright then." Leon folded his arms, and asked, "What's the first Pokémon that we caught, and where did we catch it?"

Fluttershy tilted her head, turning to Cynders. "So um, what Pokémon would that be?"

Cynders smirked. "That's easy. It was Sentret. We caught her on the first route outside of New Bark Town."

Fluttershy smiled, and repeated, "He says that she was a Sentret and that she was caught outside of New Bark Town."

Leon's arms fell to his side. "No way..." he muttered.

"Yes way!" Cynders shouted. Fluttershy giggled.

Leon stared at Cynders for a moment, then let out a laugh. “You did not just tell her that.”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "He did."

He let out another laugh. “No way.” He scoffed. “This is unbelievable. Cynders, tell me she’s lying!” he shouted, still laughing.

Cynders shook his head. “Va.”

Leon laughed again, then went wide-eyed. Shaking his head, he said, “Oh man, I owe you an apology, Fluttershy. I never would’ve imagined that there’d be someone in the world who was able to communicate with Pokémon, let alone someone I’d meet on my travels! I’m sorry I didn’t believe in you. But…” he said, trailing off. He chuckled softly, and continued, “I mean… it’s just… unbelievable, you know? Look, I’m gonna be honest with you. When I first met you, and when you told me your story, I thought you were either crazy or suffering from amnesia and became delusional.”

Fluttershy grew confused. “What?”

“Hear me out!” Leon said, waving his hands. "I mean, think about it. I just stumble across a girl who’s much older than I am, and who knows absolutely nothing about Pokémon. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? Not to mention one of the first things you told me was that you used to be a pony. Am I supposed to believe that just because someone says it’s true? I mean, would you believe someone if they knew nothing of the world they were in?” he asked.

“I… guess not. No.” Fluttershy said.

“See? But now, I mean, now. Now!” he said, laughing. “You and Cynders just showed me actual proof that what you say is true… which brings me to this next thing. If everything you told me is true, then how did you get here?” he asked. “I mean, things are pretty different back in Equestria, aren’t they? How the residents are ponies and don’t have a clue what Pokémon are? I know for a fact that kind of place doesn’t exist anywhere on this world. So that means you came from another world. So my question is, how’d you manage to travel to a different world, pony-girl?”

Fluttershy began to remember everything before her black-out. “...Discord.”

“Discord? Isn’t that, like, when there’s a lack of harmony in something?” Leon asked.

“No. Actually, yes. Well, sort of.”

“I’m sorry?” Leon asked, confused.

“Well you see, Discord isn’t really a thing. I mean, he kind of is, but—”

“He?! Weren't we talking about Discord?”

“Well, we are but—” Fluttershy sighed. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“I’m listening. Honestly, now that we’ve justified that you’re not from around here, to put it modestly, there’s a lot I want to listen to. I’ve told you about the world of Pokémon. Now it’s your turn to tell me about the world of Equestria. Go ahead, tell me everything!” Leon said eagerly.

“O-oh, okay then.” Fluttershy said, a small smile displayed on her face. “Let’s see,” she began, “back in Equestria, ponies live in perfect harmony.” Most of the time, she thought, recalling countless feuds between the residents of Ponyville. “Through harmony, we discover the magic and power of friendship in our everyday lives.”

Leon immediately regretted his decision. This is so… girly, he thought. I thought she would tell me about some amazing adventures that she had back in Equestria! Not the magic and power of friendship. Guh, what did I get myself into?

Fluttershy went on, “With the power of friendship, my five closest friends and I were able to unlock and wield powerful magical artifacts called the Elements of Harmony.”

“Elements of Harmony, huh? So how do they work?” Leon asked, now more interested in Fluttershy’s story.

“Well, each of my friends and I are tied to one of the Elements, and when we join together in harmony, the Elements release powerful magic that… does a lot of different things, actually. But I think their main purpose is to defeat the evil forces that exist in Equestria.”

“Evil forces? I thought a land that’s all about friendship would’ve been peaceful."

"Well, not always.There are many malevolent or dangerous things in Equestria. They could be on a minor scale, like parasprites or timberwolves. Then there are those that get more serious, like runaway clones, ursa minors, dragons, hydras, and so on.” Fluttershy explained.

“Waitwaitwait—the dragons I can understand, but hydras?! Clones?!” Leon said, shocked.

“Well, yes, we’ve had experiences with them, but they’re not really much compared to the threats that have appeared and put the nation in danger.”

“Wait, there’s even worse? You’re kidding!”

“Not exactly. There have been a number of times when something appeared that was capable of putting several innocent lives in danger.” Fluttershy thought for a moment, and said, “There was the Summer Sun Celebration, where an evil mare named Nightmare Moon planned to plunge Equestria into an eternal night. She was actually Princess Luna, the ruler of the moon, who was transformed into an evil shell of herself from her feelings of hatred and jealousy toward her sister.”

Leon was baffled. “But I don’t… I just… What?!”

Fluttershy didn’t notice, and instead kept thinking. “Hm, what else? Oh! There was also the invasion of Canterlot, where the changeling army, along with their ruler, Queen Chrysalis, planned to overthrow the capitol and take over Equestria. The changelings resembled ponies, but had more insect-like features, and could also change their forms to impersonate ponies and feed off of the love they got from others.”

“Love-stealing shapeshifters." Leon said blankly.

“There was also King Sombra. He was a tyrant who used to rule the crystal ponies with an iron hoof. I don’t really know much about him, but I know that he was able to manipulate shadow crystals and was…” she gulped, “v-very terrifying up close.”

He sounds kinda boring… thought Leon.

“Oh, and remember how I said ‘things’ earlier? It wasn’t just because the enemies we’ve faced were several different species. Some of them were actually things! Most recently, there was the Attack of the Everfree Forest. It must sound weird at first, but the forest actually started to—”

“Fluttershy, at this point, nothing sounds weird. Believe me.”

Fluttershy stared blankly for a moment, then giggled. “I guess you’re right.” Suddenly, she gasped, realizing what had just happened. “Oh my goodness, I completely forgot!”

“Huh?” Leon said, puzzled.

“I only meant to tell you about one or two villains back in Equestria, not of all of them. Actually, I really only meant to tell you of one particular villain. Well… I don’t know if he’s a villain anymore.” Fluttershy said, a strange feeling flowing through her. Betrayal, maybe? Regret? Confusion? She couldn’t tell.

“Well, what do you mean by that?” Leon asked.

“Well, you see, he was definitely a villain at some point in time. But after a series of events, at the request of Princess Celestia, I had to find a way to reform him. It took a while, but I managed to do it and show him what it felt like to have a friend,” she explained.

“Uh huh. And I’m assuming ‘he’ is Discord?” Leon asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “Mm hm. And the thing about Discord..." She thought for a moment before continuing. "Well, like I said, he used to be a villain. Long ago, our rulers in Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, used to be miserable, along with all of ponykind. This was because of an evil draconequus who loved chaos."

“A dragoness?! I thought Discord was a guy!”

“Huh?!” Fluttershy quickly realized the confusion, and shook her head. “Nonono, a draconequus. It’s a mythical creature with the head of a pony and a body made of all sorts of animal body parts.”

“Ooooohhhh… Huh. Well, what is Discord made out of?”

“Oh, well, let’s see... He has a lion's forearm and eagle claw in place of his arms. For legs he has that of goat's and lizard's. He also has wings, one bat, one pegasus. His head, like I said before, resembles a pony's, and it has a deer antler and goat horn. He has a beard and hairy eyebrows, and his eyes are different sizes. He also has a fang. He has a tail, and his body reminds you of a snake. Can you imagine all that makes up one body?" Fluttershy asked.

Leon thought about the description he was just given, and shuddered, saying, "He sounds like he makes for an interesting villain."

That's putting it lightly, she thought. “Anyways, Discord has powerful, chaotic magic. He's able to create things from virtually nothing, and he can alter the forms of other things. He can also affect your personality, turning you into a reverse form of yourself, and negate some magics. He once ruled over Equestria, moulding reality to his own twisted image. He made the land his playground, until one day when Celestia and Luna confronted him. Using the power of the Elements—which at the time were recently discovered—they trapped Discord in stone and freed Equestria.

"A thousand years later, he managed to escape his prison and tried to rule again, but thanks to my friend Twilight, he was stopped and trapped in stone again. Months later, Princess Celestia came to Ponyville with a request for me: help reform Discord so that his magic could be used for helpful purposes. I still wonder why she decided to put so much faith in me, but I'm glad she did."

"Hold on," Leon said, taking in what he just heard. "You're telling me your princess decided to put you in charge of reforming this super-powerful draconequus? And no one had a problem with that?"

Fluttershy blushed. "Actually, most of my friends didn't believe that I'd be able to reform him. To be honest, I wasn't so sure that I was capable of reforming him. But in end, I somehow managed it, and he more-or-less became a good guy. We became good friends since that time, and we’d typically spend time together whenever he wasn’t busy. But on one of those days, the last one before I came here, something was wrong with him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He seemed normal at first, but then he started spacing out, and would ask if I could feel this… energy? He called it intense and said there was a lot of it. I still don’t know what he meant by that, but after a while, we just went on with our day. We went swimming and he left to get us,” she said, looking at Angel, “some food. That’s when…” she stopped.

Leon slowly twirled his hand. “That’s when… what?”

“That’s when we saw the light.”

“That’s when you died?!” Leon yelled.

“What? No! That’s when Angel and I saw a flash of bright light in the sky. Angel insisted I go investigate, and when I did, there was a weird, blue portal in the air.”

“In the air? Like, just floating there?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I know it sounds weird, but that's what it was: some weird, floating portal with a sort of golden border around it. It flashed again, knocking Angel off of my head. That’s when it started to take us in. It was sucking Angel into, well, wherever it was, and I tried to save him, but it ended up taking us both.”

“That’s… really weird. Are you sure you weren’t just born here with the supernatural gift of talking to Pokémon?” Leon asked. Fluttershy shot him a look. “Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands defensively. “Sorry, I’m still coping. Okay, so lemme get this straight: there’s this huge flash of light in the sky, you go check it out, there’s this weird, gold portal that, after flashing more light, just sucks you two in?” he asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “Mm hm.”

“Alright. Then what?”

“Well, when we were sucked in, we were both knocked unconscious. I don’t know how long we were out, but when I came to, there was darkness everywhere,” she said.

Leon raised an an eyebrow. “Just darkness?”

“Yes. It’s weird to describe. I could see perfectly, but everything around me was completely dark.” She thought for a moment, and said, “I guess “black” is a better term.”

“So you’re saying the hole was all black on the inside?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… What else?”

“Well, after I came to, I saw Angel, still knocked out. I kind of floated to him, and we stayed there like that for a while. In that time, he tried to explain to me that he saw Discord and that Discord was responsible for us being in there.”

Leon was surprised. “Discord? But I thought he was your friend. Why would he do something like that?”

Fluttershy looked at the ground. “Well…”

Leon continued, “I mean, are you sure it was him? How do you know for sure?”

“...”

“Fluttershy?”

She sighed, “I don’t.”

Now it was Angel’s turn to be surprised. He looked at Fluttershy. “Bun?!” he exclaimed, saying ”What?!”

"Whoa," Leon said, "Angel looks ticked."

"Fluttershy, are you kidding me?"

Surprised at his sudden outburst, Fluttershy stammered. “A-Angel, I—”

“No!” Angel yelled. “Fluttershy listen to me. I told you what I saw. He opened that portal. He was messing with whatever energy he was talking about, and that’s why we’re here, the way we are now. He sent us here! If it wasn’t for him, we’d still be back in Equestria! It’s his fault! It’s all his fau—”

“Angel!” Fluttershy yelled. Both Leon and Angel were shocked. Leon had never heard her yell before, and Angel rarely witnessed her raise her voice. Tears in her eyes, she inhaled, and slowly said, “Look, Angel. If what you’re saying is true, then yes, Discord must've had something to do with it. But he’d never purposefully send us somewhere against our own will. He’s not like that anymore. There has to be a perfectly good explanation as to why we’re here right now."

"But Fluttershy..." Angel started. "I mean, you said it yourself.. you told me you believed Discord wasn't good after all. You cried about it. Seeing you cry, seeing the way Discord ended up hurting you... Well, that just made me furious. I’m trying to show you that Discord is a bad guy; not because I don’t like him, but because I don’t want you to get hurt. You’re the kindest pony I’ve ever known, and it takes someone awful to make you want to cry. I'm just trying defend you from someone like that."

Fluttershy smiled. She rubbed Angel's head, and said, "I know you're trying to protect me, and I'm very thankful for that, but I know Discord didn't do this on purpose. He may seem at fault right now, but it's just a major misunderstanding that he'll be able to explain once we... well, whenever we see him again."

"He still made you cry..."

Fluttershy's smile weakened. "I know." She picked up Angel, and looked him right in the eyes. "It's just that I was so scared when I woke up in that black space. I didn't know what to think, so when you told me Discord was the one behind it, I kind of just automatically blamed him for everything. That got me so mad, I couldn't think of anything to do but cry. I'm thinking clearly now, though, and I know Discord wouldn't do this. You just have to believe me, okay?"

"..."

Fluttershy scratched his chin. "Angel," she said, smiling.

He looked away. "...Yeah. I'll take your word for it. I just want to make sure my best friend is happy, y'know?"

She hugged Angel, kissed his head, and said, "I know." Angel hugged her back, and the two held each other like that for a while.

Leon stood there and, no longer wanting to feel awkward about his friend's touching moment with her Pokémon, finally said, "Well, this has been a wonderful moment in our lives. Yep, I can tell the two of you are closer than ever." Fluttershy gave him a look, which he replied with a sheepish smile.

She couldn't help but smile back. Letting go of Angel, she said, "Anyways, that's pretty much the history of Equestria's villains. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. I'm sure my friend Twilight could fill you in on much more," she said.

Having only heard a small portion of his friend's world, Leon stared at Fluttershy in wonder. "Oh man, I gotta hear more. I need to meet your friend Twinight—"

"—Twilight—"

"—Sorry, Twilight—and learn all about Equestria." He sighed, and said, "If only I could do the same. There's so much history about Pokémon, and I only know the basics. The only person I know who could do that—and who's probably this world's equivalent of Twilight—would be Professor..." Leon trailed off. "Wait a second..."

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

Leon surged with excitement. "Fluttershy," he said, "didn't you say that Discord was talking about some kind of strange energy?"

She nodded. "It kept on bothering him."

"Perfect!" Leon started up a strange celebratory dance, thoroughly confusing Fluttershy. "I think I just figured out a way that I can help you!" he said excitedly.

Now it was Fluttershy's turn to get excited. "Really? How?" Angel's ears perked up, and both he and Fluttershy eyed Leon excitedly.

"Professor Elm!!"

"Oh... Who?" Fluttershy asked.

"Only the esteemed Pokémon professor of Johto!" Leon explained. "He's the guy who studies everything about Pokémon, day-in, day-out. But that's not how he can help us. Look, Professor Elm's also in charge of helping new trainers start their journey. He gives them their first Pokémon so they can safely go out with a Pokémon to battle others. That's how I got Cynders. Anyways, when I first went to see Elm, he started giving me this speech about Pokémon adventures and the wide world out there. He started droning on, though, and he soon started talking about some things about Legendary Pokémon."

" Legendary?" said Fluttershy.

"Yeah. Throughout time, people came across Pokémon that had much more power than normal ones. They were like gods among other Pokémon, and I say that because they could do things that others couldn't. I mean you've seen firsthand the amazing things Pokémon can do, yeah? Like make fire or control electricity, all that stuff." Fluttershy nodded. Leon went on, "Right. But see, Legendary Pokémon can do more than that. There's this Pokémon in another region, I think it's called Palkia... Anyways, that Pokémon can control space! It can travel throughout different portals in space! There's another one that controls time! Plenty of Legendaries can change weather, cause tornadoes, drought, earthquakes; some even have the power to destroy the world!"

Fluttershy gasped. "That's awful!"

Leon smiled. "It IS cool, isn't it?" He blinked. "Oh wait, um, no, never mind. Look, it's actually kinda scary, I know that. But the thing is, if they do have the power to do that, then why isn't our world in ruin by now? That's the amazing thing. Professor Elm told me about other Legendary Pokémon who always show up and stop the ones who try to destroy everything. He said it's incredible how they do it on their own free will and how they don't even have much of a reason to save us, yet they still do. Most people think it's because some Legendaries are evil by nature and they just wanna wreak havoc on us, but then there are those who are good and keep the evil ones in check to make sure that doesn't happen. Like some in Unova. Two Pokémon, Tornadus and Thunderus, are always trying to cause chaotic weather, but a third one, Landorus, stops them every time. It's absolutely incredible."

Fluttershy took all of this in awe. It really was amazing how these creatures protected others out of their own free will. Anyone, or anything, could do that, to be honest. But what made it so interesting was the fact that, according to Leon, those that protected others had the same amount of destructive power, if not more, that the bad Pokémon had. And yet they themselves never tried to do anything bad, if Leon's word really was anything to go by. At this, she couldn't help but think of Discord and how, at a certain time, he didn't bother to wreak havoc on others and instead just lived life like the other ponies, just going on, enjoying the day. He worked too. For the princess, even! So what caused him to change from the evil spirit that he once was?

Silly Fluttershy. She knew the answer. It was her. She'd been able to show Discord the light, to show him that what he was doing was wrong, at least in the eyes of others. While that didn't stop Discord from being a chaotic hooligan, it certainly helped him dial it down a lot. He genuinely improved himself, and she at least knew that what he was doing—turning himself around—was real, not some shady guise he was trying to pull off.

So then why had he sent her here? This question was the thing that bothered her the most about being in this strange new world. It upset her so much how she didn't know why she was here, why Discord, whom she was certain was responsible for this, had sent her here. Was it an accident? Was it intentional? Oh, why couldn't she just get back to Equestria and ask him herself? Wait...

Fluttershy snapped out of her thoughts, and she noticed that Leon, who didn't seem to notice that she stopped paying attention, was still talking about Legendary Pokémon. She half-smiled, assuming this is what he meant when he said that Elm kept talking about Legendaries.

"...Darkrai's something straight out of a nightmare! Can you imagine something that can control your dreams? That's just—"

"Leon?" said Fluttershy.

"Yeah?"

She shuffled awkwardly, slightly embarrassed for interrupting him. She may look different, but she was still Fluttershy. "Didn't you say something about Elm being able to help me?"

Leon looked puzzled, then blushed. "Oh... right. Heh, guess I kinda got carried away there, huh?" He cleared his throat, and said, "Anyways, through all of that, Professor Elm told me something strange. It was some kind of weird theory about Legendary Pokemon, how every time they battle, the clashes of their incredible powers leave some sort of residue." He stared directly at her. "A strange energy."

Immediately, Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Where is he?" she asked excitedly.

"He's back in New Bark Town, my home. I'm sure we can stop by his lab, but it'll take quite a while..." said Leon. He took notice of Fluttershy's excitement disappearing. He was being honest, though. It's not like there was much of a way past the Ilex Forest or the Union Cave. Or was there? "Hold on, now!" he said, not really sure of what he should do. "I'm sure there's gotta be a shortcut back to New Bark. Lemme see..." Leon pulled out his town map, looking at all of Johto. He spotted Goldenrod City, their current location, and took notice of the massive distance from there back to New Bark. They'd have to go through the Ilex Forest, into Azalea town, past Union Cave, all the way to Violet—

"Aha! I found us a shortcut!" Leon said happily.

Fluttershy smiled. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"Not too long. Certainly not as long as the usual route." Leon walked over to her, dragging his finger along the map. "We just have to head north and follow Route 35 into Route 36, which'll take us right into Violet City. From there we head south to Cherrygrove, then it'll just be a little ways east to New Bark! If we leave now we can make it to Violet City before dark. C'mon, let's go!" He folded the map, stuffing it into his backpack. He grabbed Fluttershy's hand, getting a surprised "Oh!" in response, and made his way to the front. "And don't worry. If we come across any trainers or wild Pokémon, I got your back." Leon turned, giving Fluttershy an excited smile. "Who knows," he said, "maybe you'll catch some on your way there!"

Author's Note

Okay, okay. I know it's been a LONG time since I've last updated. I know I made several promises to update it at a certain date, with said date being different on most of those promises. By now you guys should know that I'm not that reliable on my promises. I know that's no excuse, but to be honest, this story and FiMFiction itself has really become less of a priority for me. I've been swamped with work, school, and personal stuff that I won't go into detail with. To find time to update and work on FtPT hasn't been the easiest thing this past year. Rest assured though that I have NO intention of canceling the story. Just know that updates will now be rare and distant. I'm really sorry about this, but I hope you guys understand that I can't just drop everything and work on this. Still, progress is being made! While thinking about this story and what I originally wanted to do with it, I've thought of a new direction that incorporates a lot of fun stuff that not only fits perfectly together, but also makes enough sense to be enjoyable! For the clever souls out there, I'm sure you've read something in this chapter that hints at what I want to do...

Let me know what you guys think. As always, criticism is heavily appreciated.