Shifting From a World To Another
Author's Note
Hey there. New story of mine, set in the A New World, a New Way universe of zeusdemigod.
Enjoy this chapter.
Pre-reading/editing by OSJ Vanilla.
Shifting From a World To Another
Somewhere in the Kanto region
Less than twenty-four hours before Arceus' plan was enacted
“Aaaaaand... We're lost,” JP said to the Glaceon walking by his side.
Said Glaceon rolled her eyes.
“It's not like you could do any better,” JP told the Glaceon, causing her to shake her head before shooting an Ice Beam just in front of him.
As soon as he stepped on the ice created by the Ice Beam, he slipped and fell on his butt. The Glaceon laughed.
“Oh, har, har,” JP said sarcastically before scooping the Glaceon into a crushing bear hug. “But I still love you, Frosty.”
Frost, or Frosty as JP had taken to calling her, struggled to get out of the hug for all of three seconds before smiling and licking his nose.
“But I still say I'm better than you for finding the right way,” JP laughed.
Frost immediately facepawed. ‘What an idiot...’ she thought, a small smile on her face. At that very instant, Frost's stomach made itself known by gurgling LOUDLY. A flock of Spearow flew away in fright.
Frost's blush was made all the more obvious due to her pale fur.
JP chuckled. “Hungry, are ya?”
Frost nodded. JP got up, still holding the Glaceon in his arms. Looking around, he saw nothing but trees in every direction. ‘That's what you get for choosing a direction at random...’ JP thought before he chose a random direction different from their current heading looking for a clearing or a stream.
After more than two hours, they finally found a small clearing. In the sky, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. JP set Frost, who had been snuggling against his chest, down and began preparing a small fire pit.
With a fire going and some food cooking, JP grabbed his Pokémon's Pokéballs. In a flash of light, they appeared in the small clearing.
“Electrike.”
“Venonat!”
“Xatu.”
“Skar.”
The four Pokémon looked around them, taking in everything. The Venonat soon spotted her trainer and ran to him with the intent of hugging him to death.
“Veno! ~~JP!~~” she said as she jumped at her worried trainer.
JP caught the small purple Bug/Poison-type in his arms. However, the little Bug Pokémon had launched a Tackle as well, which consequently caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground with his Venonat, who was hugging him as best she could.
JP groaned in pain as he raised his head slightly, a little dizzy. Frost and his other Pokémon were looking at him.
“Help? Please?” JP pleaded.
The Venonat was then surrounded by an eerie blue light. She slowly floated up and away from her trainer. She was then gently lowered to the ground to the Xatu's side. The blue glow around the Venonat disappeared, as well as the one in the Xatu's eyes.
JP let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks Pedro,” he thanked the Mystic Pokémon as he got up.
“You are welcome, Master,” the Xatu replied telepathically.
JP stretched his arms. He was silent for a moment, simply enjoying the sounds of Nature and of the crackling fire, then he looked at Pedro.
“Care to set a translator up?” JP asked.
“It will be my pleasure, Master,” Pedro replied
The Xatu closed his eyes, his mind going to work. Soon, JP felt the familiar push of Pedro's mind entering his own and winced, closing his eyes to prevent any tear from falling. After a moment, Pedro's presence within the confines of his skull vanished and JP opened his eyes.
“There, Master. You should be able to understand the others now,” Pedro told his trainer.
JP nodded. He glanced at the Venonat, who quickly hid behind Pedro. “Vivianne, stop hiding, please.”
The Venonat poked her head out of her hiding spot. “Sorry?” She sounded apologetic.
JP smiled. “You need to stop acting so childishly, Vivianne.”
Frost snorted when she heard that and tried not to burst out laughing.
“Now come here,” JP said to Vivianne with a wave of his hand.
Vivianne slowly made her way to her trainer, her big compounded eyes looking at the ground. When she reached him, JP gently grabbed her and gave her a hug. When she was released, she 'smiled' and nodded once before joining the other Pokémon.
JP smiled at his Pokémon, however he frowned when he realised his Electrike wasn't with the others. He looked around, spotting the Electric-type near the edge of the clearing. As he made his way towards the Pokémon, he thought of what to say to the loner Pokémon.
“Hey, Jacob. How are you?” the worried trainer asked.
“...Fine...” the Electrike answered.
“Why don't you join the others, then?”
“I don't feel like it.” The Electrike let out a sigh as he said that.
JP sighed as well. “Tell me what's on your mind, or else I won't be able to help.”
Jacob sighed again. He didn't want to talk about what was plaguing his mind because he thought he wouldn't be taken seriously. However, he complied to his trainer's command nonetheless.
“I miss Contests,” he begrudgingly admitted, looking away from his trainer.
“Just that?” JP couldn't believe it. “If you were worried you wouldn't be accepted for that, then don't fret. We'll accept you as is, plus I think it might interest Frost.” JP looked lovingly at Frost as he said the last part of his little pep talk.
Jacob chuckled at his trainer's antics. It was obvious to anyone that looked at JP that he loved his Glaceon with all his heart. And that said Glaceon loved him back the same way, and just as much. How they had not been arrested was a complete mystery for the Electrike.
Jacob looked towards the other Pokémon, whom he considered his family, and sighed. “Thanks for snapping me out of my longing,” he told his trainer before going back to where the other Pokémon were.
Smiling at the happier Electrike, JP made his way back to the cooking fire. He still had to make dinner for all of his Pokémon and himself, the ingredients for the stew had been cooking without supervision for some time.
“I hope it won't be burnt this time,” he muttered to himself.
JP crouched in front of the fire, his shirt going up slightly and revealing the skin of his back. He stood like that for a few seconds before he suddenly felt a chill go up his spine as cold fur brushed against the bare skin uncovered by his shirt.
“I'm trying to cook, y'know,” he said without looking at the Glaceon, irritation crystal clear in his voice.
“You can't cook, Jay,” Frost replied bluntly. “As much as I hate your mom's dirty talking, I have to admit she's one hell of a cook.” Frost smiled at the thought of June's homemade cookies.
JP's eyebrow twitched slightly, a small vein visible on his forehead. “Yeah, yeah, miss 'I love sugar'. Now let me cook.” JP's words almost had venom in them.
“Don't be so sour... Sheesh...” Frost said quietly as she went back to the other Pokémon, knowing full well that she had pissed her handsome trainer, at least handsome to her.
JP sighed and went back to the cooking stew. He slowly stirred the stew every now and then, thinking things like how boring that was, how much he loved Frost, and why he couldn't even make water boil without burning it. It was getting late, if the orange sky was any indication, and his eyes were threatening to close at any moment.
“You okay JP?”
JP's head jerked up at the sound of the worried voice. “M'not sleeping!” He turned his head towards his Skarmory, the owner of the voice. “Don't scare me like that! Almost had a heart attack here!”
The Skarmory chuckled. “I did?” she asked innocently.
JP glared at the Steel-type. “Not funny, Rebecca. Not. Funny.” He went back to looking at the stew. “Tell everyone that dinner's done and ready, sis.” JP smiled slightly.
“Okay, big bro,” Rebecca replied, then she took off to call the other Pokémon.
JP sighed as he filled six plates with the, slightly overcooked, stew. ‘I've got one hell of a life... And one hell of a weird family...’ he thought. ‘But I wouldn't change or exchange it for the world.’ He set the filled plates directly on the ground in a circle just as the Pokémon arrived, having heard the CoF, the 'Call of Food'.
As everyone began to eat, JP smile at his Pokémon team. ‘My family,’ he thought as he ate silently. Quickly, they all finished eating and an 'accident' caused the rest of the stew to spill out of the cauldron.
“What was that for?” JP asked his Pokémon.
All he ever got as a response were yawns; he even gave one. Taking the hint, JP unrolled his sleeping bag. “Time to sleep, everyone. G'night!”
Several groans answered him, but his Pokémon bid him good night nevertheless. Frost slowly walked to JP's head and tried to nuzzle him. Emphasis on 'tried'.
“GAH!” Frost said as she was grabbed by a seemingly sleeping JP and brought into the sleeping bag, said bag zipping closed afterwards.
Frost shrugged and snuggled against her trainer's chest, her head resting beside his. ‘I love you, JP... I really wish we could do more than just snuggle like that in public, that this stupid Poképhilia law didn't even exist...’ she thought as sleep slowly claimed her consciousness, a blissful smile on her face.
***
JP was fast asleep, comfortable in his sleeping bag. Then, something poked the side of his head. Not wanting to get up, he swatted at the air where his had been poked a few times.
The poking resumed after all of five seconds, and more swatting resulted. What was poking JP growled and said, “ICE BEAM!”, although JP heard “GLACEON!”
The sudden freezing coldness on JP's neck caused him to not jump out of the sleeping back while not screaming like a little girl. No, he awoke with a start and got out of his sleeping bag like a man without letting out even a small ‘eep!’
“GAH! WHA WAS THA FO?”
“You slept in, Master,” Pedro said. “We had to do something.”
JP glared at the smirking Glaceon.
“Was you using Ice Beam necessary?”
Frost beamed an innocent smile while giving him a look saying ‘What? Me? I'd never do that’.
Stretching, JP looked at the sky. The sun was not yet at its zenith, but was close to it.
“Crap,” he muttered.
Without further waiting, JP began packing his few belongings. By the time he finished, noon was almost upon them.
“Good. Now let's...” JP began but trailed off, sleepiness taking over his conscious mind. “Methinks me gonna take a nap.”
With that, JP fell face first to the ground. His Pokémon barely had the time to react when they, too, fell unconscious to the ground.
In their heads, although only Pedro would remember, a voice spoke and said ‘Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.’
***
JP was comfortable. He had never slept as well since, well, since he first left on his Pokémon journey. He could stay like that for days.
He turned around, his mattress making a slight crunching sound. JP's mind then booted up. ‘Waaaaiiiit... Last I remember, I was falling to the ground face first.’
JP opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the lack of his gear on the ground beside him, or its weight on his back. The second thing he noticed was that his Pokémon were missing as well.
He tried to get up, only to fall back to the ground on his back. It was then he noticed a third thing.
He had paws instead of hands and feet, and they were covered in orange fur with yellow paw pads.
JP's brain crashed. After five seconds, it rebooted and his discovery hit him. Hard.
“DA FUCK IS GOING ON!?” he bellowed, causing a few birds to fly away.
“Shut up, Jay. I wanna sleep.”
Hearing this, JP got up and, not thinking about it, rushed to where he heard Frost's sleepy voice coming from. Not once did he trip during the short trip to Frost.
“FROST! WAKE UP!”
A paw connected with JP's muzzle.
“Said I wanna sleep,” Frost almost growled.
JP then had an idea. An evil idea, one similar to what he loved to do: a prank, and he would never pass an opportunity to prank someone, no matter what.
Smirking, he slowly brought his muzzle closer to Frost's sleeping face and, when he was sure no paw would slap him, licked her face several times until she woke up.
“GAH!”
JP snickered for all of three seconds before an Ice Shard attack hit him on the head. The attack, having been used point blank, sent him tumbling away a foot before he stopped, dizzy. While JP was tumbling, Frost had gotten up to her paws and she was glaring at the Flareon.
“Who are you?” Frost asked, her glare causing JP to shrink a little.
“Come on, Frost, it's me, JP,” JP replied, slightly annoyed that his own Pokémon wouldn't recognize him.
JP then facepawed at his stupidity. ‘Riiiiight... I'm a Pokémon... That's just great.’ he thought. Frost kept her glare up, still not believing the Flareon in front of her was her trainer.
“You can't be him. He's a human, and you're a Flareon.” ‘A sexy one at that... What? That's a first, me finding a Pokémon sexy; the only being I ever found sexy was Jay...’ she added mentally.
“Good point. However, it can be explained, as I somehow turned into a Flareon...” JP replied, glancing at his forepaws.
“Okay then. If you really are my trainer, tell me something only him and me know.” Frost smirked, sure she would be able to prove to the Flareon he was not her trainer.
“Okay. Our first kiss was in the wilderness of Johto. We were lost, again, and we had decided to sleep under the stars that night, you, me, Tropic and Rebecca. I could not sleep, and neither could you. We sat down, me on the ground and you in my lap, and we did some stargazing. That night was extremely beautiful, and the moon was full. I remember talking to you about the constellations, but when I realized you weren't listening to me, but rather looking intently at me, although I didn't know then, I looked down at you and you kissed me on the lips.
“At first, I was taken aback and slightly shocked, but eventually, I kissed you back. I think we kissed for a good minute and a half before we broke it to breathe. And the first thing I told you right after it was ‘You taste like sugary ice’. And you immediately proceeded to slap me.”
Frost blushed slightly at the memories of her first kiss with her trainer, which also happened to be her first kiss ever.
“Alright,” she said after some time. “I believe you.” She then proceeded to take a good look at her trainer-turned-Flareon, circling him a few times. “You know, you look even better as a Flareon.”
JP's blush showed through his orange fur. Frost giggled and leaned onto JP's side, snuggling a little.
“Mmh, warm.” After a few seconds of silence, she added, “Sooo... Any idea about where we are?”
“Nope!” he answered way too happily.
“Stop being happy about our situation, Jay,” Frost pouted.
“I know, I know. We should try to find a--” JP began but was interrupted by a familiar voice and an unfamiliar one.
“Are you sure it came from here?” The voice sounded old, but still full of energy.
“Yes, I'm sure.” This voice was familiar to Frost and JP.
“Was that Tropic's voice?” Frost asked.
“Think so,” JP replied.
Just then, a Tropius came into view of the two Eeveelutions, followed by a dark grey-coated, black-maned Ponyta-like creature that had wings. On its flank was some kind of mark depicting a sign with 'Strike!' written on it.
The Tropius, upon seeing Frost, smiled. Then he frowned when he saw her lean against a Flareon he did not know.
“Frost, why are you leaning against a Flareon?” the Fruit Pokémon asked.
“Because the Flareon is JP,” the Glaceon replied.
Tropic’s frown deepened.
“I can see that you know at least one of them, big guy,” the Ponyta creature said.
“Tropic, it's me, I swear!” JP pleaded. “Do you think Frost would willingly lean against any Pokémon if they weren't me, especially a Fire-type.”
The Tropius shook his head. “I don’t know how you managed to sound like my trainer, but he is a human, not a Pokémon.” He looked at Frost. “Tell me Frost. Is it one of Pedro’s 'prank'? Because it looks just like that.”
Frost let out an annoyed sigh. “Listen Tropic. I know for certain that this Flareon is JP because… Well… I’ll leave it at ‘he knows about something only me and JP know’.” A slight blush accompanied her statement.
Tropic's frown slowly turned to a smile as he understood the meaning of Frost’s statement and blush. He lowered his head to the Glaceon and Flareon's level and nuzzled both.
“It's been a long time since I last heard of you, JP,” Tropic said.
“Yeah... Sorry for leaving you with my mom...” JP sheepishly replied.
“I'm glad to see you, Tropic,” Frost added with a small chuckle.
“Although I cannot understand you,” the creature said, “I can see you and the big guy are friends. So, I would like to invite you to my humble abode.”
Not waiting for an answer, the winged Ponyta turned around and began to walk away. Tropic looked at Frost and his trainer.
“Let's go. By the way, I have always wanted to see the two of you together, ever since that one night in Johto,” he said with a wink before going after the stallion.
Frost looked at JP with wide eyes filled with panic, but she quickly settled down when she saw the look JP was giving her, which filled her with anger instead.
“Sorry,” JP apologised. “I should have told you that I was sure Tropic knew, but... It kinda slipped out of my mind?” JP was sheepish at the end of his apology.
Frost snorted, then she smiled. ‘He may be a stupid idiot, but he's MY stupid idiot,’ she thought before she walked after Tropic. However, she stopped when she realised JP wasn't following.
“What are you waiting for, Jay?” she asked.
“A little help...” JP replied, his tone pleading.
It then hit Frost, and she resisted the urge to facepaw. She turned towards Tropic.
“Tropic, could you carry our LAZY trainer? At least until he re-learns to walk.”
The Tropius chuckled. “Of course.”
Tropic lowered his head and grabbed JP by the collar before putting him on his back. JP grunted when he landed on the Tropius’ back.
Frost giggled. “Careful. We don’t want to break him.”
“True,” Tropic replied jokingly.
“HEY!” JP fumed nonetheless.
“Now that we are done teasing our dear trainer, how about we do some catch up?” Tropic suggested.
“Fine with me,” Frost said. “So, how was it with June?”
Tropic sighed. “It was okay, I guess. Not long after JP sent me to her, she moved to Unova.”
“So THAT’S why I couldn’t reach her on the phone!” JP exclaimed, throwing his forepaws in the air like he just had an epiphany.
He began to slide down from Tropic’s back, his paws no longer holding him in place as much as he could. He tried to stop himself from falling to no avail. He hit the ground, cushioning the fall with his face.
A soft whine escaped his lips as he lifted his face from dirt. “Oww… Not the face…”
Tropic chuckled slightly while Frost burst out laughing, rolling around and holding her stomach with her forepaws. Tropic took JP and put him down on his back again.
“Where in Unova?” JP asked once his face had regained some feeling other than pain. He glared at Frost who was wiping a tear away.
“Undella town. She said she wanted somewhere calm to spend some time away from the craziness of life. She still managed to battle young trainers and win those battles, though,” Tropic said.
“That’s my mom alright,” JP stated.
Tropic chuckled. “She also managed to get herself a Tepig.”
Frost let out a surprised gasp and JP slid off Tropic’s back, landing on the ground face first.
“Why always the face?” he mumbled as Tropic put him back on his back.
“I thought June preferred Water- and Ice-types,” Frost stated, confusion clear in her voice.
“So did I,” Tropic replied. “Plus, in a matter of weeks, she got him to reach his final evolution.” Tropic paused for a few seconds. “What about you two? Any new family members?”
Frost beamed at the mention of new family members. “Yes. Jay caught an adorably affectionate Venonat he named Vivianne. And Pedro evolved into a Xatu.” Frost then realised something. “I wonder if he foresaw this…”
Tropic nodded. “He probably did.” He looked at his former trainer. “And really, a Venonat? I thought you hated furry bugs.”
“It’s not my fault! She came out of nowhere and jumped at my face! Then a freaking Ariados came out, and it clearly was angry at the Venonat on my face.” JP shuddered at the memories of that day once his outburst was over.
“I see. So after the angry Ariados came out, you battled it with Pedro to protect the Venonat, and she was so thankful that she joined you, right?” Tropic asked with a smug grin.
“Yeah…” JP muttered his answer. “But she freaking stole the Ariados’ berries! She’s a kid, and she’s a berry thief!”
Once more, JP got carried away and fell from Tropic’s back. His face was getting really sore. When he was back on his perch, JP simply mumbled to himself.
“I think we did enough catching up for one day,” Frost said. “I don’t think JP can take any more.”
“Agreed,” was the Tropius’ reply. They walked in silence the rest of the way.
***
“I AM NOT MOVING FROM HERE!” JP said rather forcefully once he had been set down on a cushion.
“Okay then,” Frost said.
She made her way to the Flareon, and installed herself so she was resting against her trainer, turning his body into a makeshift pillow of warmth.
“Mmh... I think I'll stay here,” Frost said, making herself comfortable.
JP sighed and Tropic chuckled as the old stallion came back from the kitchen with some tea and some water. He set the platter on the table and gave glasses of water to the three Pokémon, two of which had straws.
“I am going to assume that you are new to this world, and so I welcome you to Equestria,” the stallion said. “I am Lightning Strike, a pony, and I'll do my best to answer the questions you may have. First, you are on Equus, that's the planet, in the country named Equestria. We are currently in a small settlement near Neighagra Falls called Trotawa. I can't really answer questions about the history, since History is far from being my forte.”
Lightning Strike took a deep breath, putting order in his ideas.
“Here, we live together, we work together,” he said. “The only law, apart from Equestrian laws, is common sense. Everypony trades here, so we do not really need bits, the Equestrian currency, except to buy things we can't make ourselves. Everypony here knows everypony, and we all trust each other.”
Lightning Strike lifted his tea cup to his lips, causing the three Pokémon to wonder how he could hold the cup without any sort of prehensile appendages or some sort of psychic power.
Lightning Strike was about to take a sip of his tea when he stopped. “Ah, yes, one more thing. While it is not official, folks around here consider me the mayor of the place. As such, they come to me to get their problems solved, and they will unfortunately accept what I tell them, as long as it makes some sort of sense.” The stallion took a long sip of his tea, enjoying the feeling of the warm liquid.
Then, several frantic sounding knocks caught everyone’s attention.
Sighing, Lightning Strike got up and went to the door to answer. On the other side stood a unicorn stallion. He had a pale greyish blue coat, a short black mane and tail with a single white stripe and amethyst purple eyes.
“To what do I owe your visit, Esoteric Glyph?” Hurricane asked.
“We have a problem, sir,” Esoteric Glyph said. “There is a strange creature attacking the village.” He was eyeing the Pokémon cautiously.
Lightning Strike sighed. “Lead me to it. Maybe these three--”Lightning Strike pointed at the Pokémon“--can do something.”
Esoteric Glyph nodded once and turned around, ready to leave. Lightning Strike looked at Frost and JP, the former nodding to acknowledge.
As Lightning Strike left the house, Frost smirked. Getting off her Flareon-shaped pillow, she inhaled deeply and whispered “Blizzard” before exhaling cold wind and a small amount of snow that landed on the Flareon.
The sudden drop in temperature awoke JP with a start.
“GAH!”
Unfortunately for Frost, who was standing in front of JP's face, the sudden awakening caused the Flareon to shoot an Ember attack.
As the Ember hit, Frost grunted in pain, silently cursing herself. JP shook his head to clear the sleep away, then what he did sunk in.
“Fuck. Are you okay, Frosty?” he asked.
Frost nodded weakly before shaking herself. “I'm fine. And we need to go. It will be a great time to learn to walk properly.”
JP smiled sheepishly at Frost, who smirked and kissed his nose the way he used to do as a human.
“Just look at me walk and you should learn. I am sure you can do THAT,” Frost said teasingly, smirking deviously and swaying her hips from left to right.
JP's eyes followed Frost's hips, drool falling from his mouth. Frost giggled, snapping JP from his trance. He wiped the drool away.
“Alright... I think I can do it... Probably...”
Frost shook her head and walked out. JP observed her, and tried imitating her. He took a step, then another, and another. ‘I think I got it...’ JP thought, but as soon as his fourth paw moved, he stumbled and fell. He got up and tried again.
Arcane watched this with a stoic expression, but if you knew where to look, you could see his eyes smiling at the struggling Flareon. He then began the trek to the village proper.
***
The village was composed of a few buildings scattered over a two miles radius from the "village plaza", a spot where only grass grew.
During the trek there, JP stumbled a total of eighty times, he got picked up by Tropic seventy-three times and by Frost six times. However, he seemed to have gotten the gist of walking, and was walking with relative ease by the time they reached the village buildings.
Suddenly, the group heard a loud roar coming from close by. They all turned towards the source of the roar. What they saw was a purple thing with red eyes and holes all over its body, and only the Pokémon knew what it was.
“EXPLOUD!? ~~WHERE AM I!?~~” it said.
The three Pokémon looked at each other, and with an unspoken agreement, Tropic stepped forward towards the Loud Noise Pokémon.
“Tropius tro. Tro tro tropius tro? ~~Please calm down. Can you explain what's wrong?~~” Tropic asked.
The Exploud calmed down, and spoke with a normal level of sound. “Exploud ex exploud exploud, ex exploud, exploud. ~~I was minding my own business when I suddenly fell asleep, then I woke up here, far from home.~~” the Exploud explained.
“Tro tro tropius tro? ~~Then why were you attacking this village?~~” Tropic asked.
The Exploud closed its mouth and actually looked sheepish, kicking at the ground with a foot. “Exploud ex exploud... Exploud? ~~They kinda woke me up... Sorry?~~”
Tropic shook his head, chuckling. “Tro tropius tro. ~~It would be appreciated if you'd stop.~~”
The Exploud nodded and slowly made its way to the forest nearby. Tropic turned around to find a crowd of nearly thirty ponies looking at him with slack jaws, including Esoteric Glyph, Lightning Strike and JP, despite the latter not being a pony and being used to Tropic's non-violent nature. Esoteric Glyph then broke the awkward silence slowly setting in.
“I was expecting something more...”
“Explosive?” somepony suggested.
“Violent. It almost seemed like they were talking to each other,” Esoteric Glyph finished his statement.
“They probably were, Esoteric Glyph,” Lightning Strike replied.
A surprised murmur came across the crowd.
“Are you saying you think these creatures are sentient?” somepony else in the crowd asked.
Esoteric Glyph closed his eyes and smirked at Lightning Strike's apparent choice. ‘That's why I admire him, he's able to get his point across with little to no explanation,’ he thought before talking. “I believe Lightning Strike is right. And I think he wants to ask me to cast a translation spell on them.”
Lightning Strike's muzzle was crossed by a small smile, but he said nothing. Esoteric Glyph looked at the three Pokémon and his face scrunched in concentration. His horn lit up with his silver aura, and a similar aura appeared around the three Pokémon. It vanished quickly once he was satisfied with his work.
“There. We should be... able to... Ponyfeathers!”
Before anypony could say anything, his horn lit up again and wrapped the three Pokémon with his aura once more. A few moments later and the aura vanished.
“Did it work now?” JP asked, much to the ponies' surprise, well most ponies anyway.
“Yes, it did,” Lightning Strike said.
“Good. I am Tropic, and I would like to thank you for your hospitality,” the Tropius said.
“I am Frost.”
“I'm JP, and normally I'm not a Flareon.”
Confusion crossed the faces of every pony.
JP tilted his to one side, causing a few mares to squeal at the cuteness unassumingly displayed by the Flareon. “What?”
Frost slapped JP's head with her paw, causing the Flareon's ears to fold forward. “They don't know what Pokémon are, idiot.” She sighed before turning to the crowd. “Please excuse him for being so stupid. He is what is called a Flareon. I am a Glaceon, Tropic is a Tropius--”somepony laughed at the bad pun“--and the creature the Tropius talked to was an Exploud, and where we come from we are known as Pokémon.”
The ponies nodded, still in shock after what had happened, plus the news of new creatures didn't help them. Lightning Strike looked at the Pokémon, smiled, then turned towards the crowd of ponies.
“My dear friends, listen to me. I believe these 'Pokémon' can and will help us in the future, which is why they have my complete trust.”
Lightning Strike's statement snapped the ponies out of their stupor. Arcane sighed and said “There he goes again,” to himself. The ponies began to protest over each other.
“But what if they are evil?”
“We can't trust them! They'll attack us!”
“The orange one look like it's on fire, can we really trust them?”
Lightning Strike raised a hoof to silence everypony. He then gestured to Frost, and she stepped forward.
“To answer your questions,” she began, “we are not inherently evil. We won't attack unless provoked, and even though we may look strange, and have a lot of power, we are intelligent beings capable of discerning right from wrong. We can control ourselves. Besides, the power we have can help you.”
Then, a pink and white, tall rabbit-like creature with teal eyes walked out of the shadow of a building. Every eye turned to the creature.
“Wigglytuff! Wiggly wiggly wigglytuff. ~~That's right! Pokémon have been helping humans for years back on Earth.~~”
The three Pokémon froze, the voice of the Balloon Pokémon one they all knew all too well with the number of times JP went to a Pokémon Center.
“NURSE JOY?!” the three Pokémon asked in unison. Frost got closer to JP in a protective manner.
“Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff, wiggly wigglytuff. ~~Yes. I am a Nurse Joy, from the Kalos region.~~” The wigglytuff smirked playfully. “Wiggly, wiggly wigglytuff. Wigglytuff wigglytuff. ~~Also, do not worry. I am not against relationships such as yours.~~”
Frost visibly relaxed at the Wigglytuff's words. Esoteric Glyph’s horn glowed for a few seconds as he casted the translation spell on the Nurse Joy.
“Thank you, sir,” Joy said with a small bow once Esoteric Glyph’s horn stopped glowing.
Suddenly, a VERY LOUD and very menacing gurgle sounded around the village plaza. Several ponies began panicking while Joy chuckled, Frost laughed, Tropic faceleafed with his leaf wing, and JP blushed.
“Hungry, are ya?” Frost asked with a mirth-filled grin.
Tropic sighed. “Let me guess; you woke up late and didn’t eat.” JP nodded sheepishly. “You are lucky my fruits are ripe.”
Tropic lowered his head next to JP. The Flareon grabbed two of the banana-like fruits and pulled. They easily came off, and JP immediately peeled one and gobbled it up. The second one quickly joined its fellow fruit inside of JP’s stomach.
The ponies who had been scared came back to the crowd that had formed around the Pokémon a while ago. They watched them in silence for some time before one of the ponies spoke.
“Sooo… Are they good or bad?”
Several ponies moaned at the statement.
“What?” the anonymous pony asked.
Joy looked at the crowd. “While there are some Pokémon to be careful about, most are mostly harmless. Like Frost said, Pokémon only attack if provoked.”
“Okay! Thanks!” the anonymous pony said.
Joy chuckled. “You’re welcome,” she replied.
Just then, a purple blur shot out of the forest and came barrelling down towards JP. It reached him then latched onto his face.
“VENONAT! ~~BIG BROTHER!~~” The Venonat sounded scared.
“GAH!” JP cried. “Help me!”
Everyone in the village plaza simply looked at the Flareon and the Venonat latched onto his face, some in confusion, others with a deadpan expression. Frost then snorted, trying her best not to laugh.
“JP,” Frost said, “you do realise that Vivianne is the one hugging you?”
JP froze for a few seconds before he tried to unlatch Vivianne, to no avail. Frost shook her head and came to her former trainer’s aid.
“Vivianne, calm down,” she told the Venonat as she gently rubbed her back. The Venonat slowly let go of JP’s face and went to the Glaceon who then proceeded to gently hug the Bug/Poison-type.
JP, meanwhile, began to spit feverously as soon as Vivianne let go of his face.
“Venonat… ~~Big sister…~~” Vivianne said.
“Tell me what’s scaring you.”
“Ve… Ve… Veno nat veno. ~~I… I… I almost evolved,~~” Vivianne sobbed. “Veno venonat. ~~I also stumbled on a Beedrill nest.~~”
As Vivianne spoke, the sound of buzzing wings slowly became louder until five Beedrill came out of the forest.
“Bee! ~~There!~~” one of them said, pointing one of its stinger at Vivianne.
Upon seeing the Poison Bee Pokémon, some ponies panicked and ran away. JP’s eyes narrowed as he quickly analyzed the Beedrill and came up with a strategy. Meanwhile, the five angry Beedrill charged towards the Pokémon.
“Tropic, use Air Slash on the ground under the Beedrill,” JP said in an emotionless, monotone voice.
Tropic nodded once and launched the attack. It hit the ground and it exploded upwards, hitting the Beedrill. Their leader shook the dust off, then glared at JP and Tropic.
“Bee? ~~Why did you do that?~~”
“To get your attention. I can understand that you were only trying to protect your family. But i will do the same for mine and I WILL attack. I’m sorry my Venonat stumbled upon your nest, but it was an accident.” JP still had his monotone voice.
The Beedrill leader chuckled. “Bee, beedrill. Beedrill. ~~You are bold, Flareon. I like that.~~” It looked at the other Beedrill. They nodded and the leader turned back to face JP. “Bee. Beedrill bee, beedrill. ~~Very well. We shall let it pass, for now.~~”
The Beedrill turned around and went back in the forest. JP let out a sigh as he slumped to the ground.
“I hate Beedrill.”
Vivianne got out of Frost’s grasp and slowly made her way to her former trainer.
“Veno nat. ~~Thank you.~~”
“You’re welcome, Vivianne. After all, you are a part of my family, and I happen to consider you like a little sister, and I will NEVER let ANYTHING BAD happen to MY little sister,” JP said as he hugged the Venonat.
Tropic and Frost both got closer to them. JP let go of Vivianne, and Tropic took that as his cue to introduce himself.
“Hello. My name is Tropic, and I happen to be one of JP’s oldest Pokémon, along with Frost. So, in a way, I am your brother.”
Vivianne looked up at the Grass-type before her. She then slowly made her way to him and she hugged one of his front legs. Frost smiled at JP.
“Our family is slowly coming back together,” Frost said.
“Yeah,” JP replied. “I just hope finding the other three will be as easy as it was to find you, Tropic or Vivianne.” JP’s stare drifted to the horizon. “I wonder if my mother made it here. Or if any of her Pokémon made it too.”
***
After some more talking, lodging had been found for JP, Frost and Vivianne, gladly offered by Esoteric Glyph and his marefriend. After that had been taken care of, the rest of the day mostly consisted of a tour of the village given to the Pokémon by Esoteric Glyph and Lightning Strike.
The sun had set, and JP and Frost were both lying in the basket that served as their bed.
“It feels weird to have to sleep in a basket,” JP said. “I don't say it's not comfy, but it's...”
“Weird?” Frost offered.
“Yeah.”
Frost rolled her eyes before snuggling closer to JP. “I personally don't mind. A basket can be as comfy as a real bed, and sometimes even comfier.” Frost sighed in bliss, enjoying the warmth of her trainer.
“I miss meat.”
“It has been barely a day, and you already miss meat? Idiot,” Frost said before slapping JP's head again.
They were silent for a few minutes, both enjoying each other's proximity. After a while, though, Frost spoke.
“I know you love me, that was made clear in Johto, but...” She sounded a little scared.
“Buuuut?” JP inquired.
“I wonder if... you'd like... to be my mate?”
JP smiled softly before nuzzling Frost. “Frost, listen. I love you, with all my heart. I would be a bad trainer if I didn’t want to be with my Pokémon for most of, if not for all, my life.” JP paused for several seconds before he continued. “Sure I'll be your mate.”
Frost smiled and kissed JP on the cheek. Esoteric Glyph then entered the room with Vivianne on his back and walked to the two Pokémon.
“Alright you two, time to sleep,” he said.
JP nodded and grabbed the blanket with his mouth, dragging it over Frost and his forms. Esoteric Glyph smiled and left the room to go to sleep. As he left with the Bug/Poison-type to put her to bed, though, an idea crossed Frost's mind, one she had already had in the past several times, one that made her blush. She leaned towards JP's ear.
“I'd like to... You know...” she whispered to her mate before slowly slipping under him.
JP's brain almost stopped working, and he blushed. He repositioned himself to a more comfortable position.
“O-okay...” he stuttered.
As it happened, both Esoteric Glyph and his marefriend chuckled lightly at the sounds.
“You know, dear, I'd love to try it too...”
That night was one JP and Frost would remember for all their lives, as it marked the true beginning of their relationship.
