A New World, Same Shadows

Chapter 7:Kira's Gambit

Sharlene, a Pokémon Trainer living in Lillycove many would call a delinquent. A person who ditched school regularly to harry trainers on Route 120 with other thugs. A person whose gang, on one of these harrying attempts, was beaten by James and left her behind. A person who James not only battled but befriended to the point of being allowed to stay at her place whenever he was in town, such as the day the world ended.

And now she was a Pokémon staring back at him in a mixture of surprise and disbelief "huh? You, like, seriously know who I am?"

Sitting up from his spot Kira pressed one of his webbed hands to his chest and stared at her with pleading eyes "it's me! James! James Kirikaze?!"

Surprisingly, she looked offended to hear his name rather than relieved "Huh? James!? You seriously have a lot of nerve saying that with your face." she growled, raising her muzzle and scrunching up her face in order to look more intimidating. And from Kira's sitting position she was slightly, thanks to the added glare and bristled hair, but what stopped him from reacting was the fact that he knew he was right. And the punk-ish outburst to a 'stranger' only helped confirm it. So while she stared down and snarled at him he just sat there with his arms in his lap and retaliated with a deadpanned look of indifference. After a minute of nothing happening, Sharlene snarl lightened up to an unsavory scowl and slowly her lowered head to be eye level with Kira. Kira remained motionless as the Mightyena shifted around, examining him from different angles and occasionally sniffing the air for some reason until she returned to eye level, her gaze softening slightly since beginning when finally she spoke in a disbelieving tone: "You look, like, completely different."

"Uh~huh...I'm not going to respond to that and instead ask the more important question; What are you doing here?"

Kira's question quickly reminded her why she was at the beach in the first place, and her solemn mood from before resurfaced "oh...nothing..." she said in a dour tone, no longer looking Kira in the eye. How could she? Instead she turned to the shoreline and started lumbering onward "I was...just going to go walk into the ocean that's all." she mumbled apathetically.

"Oh." and then it hit him, Mightyenas can't learn Surf "Wait what! No! No, no, no, no! Bad idea!" Kira said, immediately getting up and putting his body between her and the ocean. Sharlene, for her part registered the obstruction in her way and stopped moving but kept her head low and made no other attempts to acknowledge Kira's presence. She merely kept her head down, staring at the sand, until he spoke again without any snark or sarcasm whatsoever "Listen, I know this is a weird situation we're in but it's only been a day and a half. Isn't it a bit early to be throwing yourself into the ocean?"

"I've met some Pokémon who would disagree with you!" a voice from behind called out.

"Not. Helping!" Kira seethed, turning his head see the voice's owner. What he saw was a unmistakable blue fin, yellow X-shaped scar, and glinting red eyes of a Sharpedo staring at the two of them from beyond the waves. While he had mixed feelings about Sharpedo in general thanks to his encounters with Team Aqua this one was one he had seen many times before. In fact her trainer was standing right in front of him.

"Sherry has a point though." Sharlene admitted, forcing Kira to look at her in shock as she continued talking "I have, like, no idea where Alley is, I can barely walk in this body, I've literally become a big black bitch, and now Arceus expects us to just take all of this? It's too much, ok." she instinctively started pacing in front of Kira, with tears forming in her eyes and her voice cracking at every syllable, as he watched her becoming more of a jibbering mess with each word she spoke and after another five minutes she collapsed in front of him quietly sobbing into her front paws.

'And there's that "cheery outlook" she tends to have.' Kira sighed. Even when they first met, it was obvious to Kira that she had a very pessimistic view on life. As a trainer she had the potential to earn at least four of the Hoenn gym badges with just her two Pokémon Sherry( her Sharpedo) and Alice( a Weavile), something he had mentioned many times before during training battles, but her dispirited attitude prevented her from even trying. Amazingly she never relied on strategy, in battles or in her life, and usually made decisions based on intuition and emotions which occasionally exposed her to surprising or stressful situations when her way didn't, or couldn't, work. There was also the fact that the gang she was a part of abandoned her shortly after Kira overpowered them and ''kidnapped'' her( something that, in hindsight, wasn't the smartest thing he could have done) but in his opinion that was for the better in the long run.

Still, considering that his first moments in this world were in intense pain and since then has been one tribulation after another she did have a point "ok yes, that sounds bad and right now my situation isn't much better." Kira admitted, making Sharlene sulk and sink deeper into her depression "Emphasis on right now." he then added sternly before shaking his conversational captive into focusing on him. When he had Sharlene's undivided attention he gave her the widest and best smile he could behind his tongue hoping it was big enough for her to notice "Selene and I wound up here together and already I've found Cinder. It's only a matter of time before I find the rest of my team, and after that who knows what I'll do. I mean think about it; we're in a whole new world where practically everything is new to us." he said, highlighting his point by reaching towards the afternoon sun as if to grab all of the treasures this world had to offer. With his trainer's curiosity on full display Kira then gave her an assured smile "Aren't you at the very least a little curious about it?"

For her part Sharlene stopped looking at Kira, disregarding what he said and once more focusing on the crashing waves in front of them  "honestly, all I want to do is find Alley..." she replied, though in a tone of neither nor despair but longing.

"Well I sincerely doubt she's at the bottom of the ocean." Kira said jokingly, even scratching the back of his head with his previously outstretched hand, and almost immediately regretted it. The next moments were filled with an awkward air between the two and the sound of ponies finally noticing the "shark" just off the coast. Sighing at the poor attempt to lighten the mood, even by his standards, Kira presented Sharlene with his hand "Come on, I'll treat you to some lunch where I'm staying and we can continue talking then."

Sharlene looked from the Greninja beside her to the ocean  she intended to go into, shifting her focus from one to the other. But over time her gaze started to linger on the Pokémon more and more, something Kira smiled inwardly at. His inner smile grew when he heard a definitive growl come from Sharlene, but not her mouth "that sounds...good actually." she said, hanging her head in embarrassment over her stomach's protest, but smiling nonetheless "I've eaten, like, nothing since coming here."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Kira asserted, spinning Sharlene around and leading her to the apple orchard path and Fuji's home cooking. He didn't think this was a permanent solution for Sharlene trying to throw her life away but at the very least being close by with familiar faces around her should help improve her mood, at least long enough for him to get his bearings and figure out what to do next. Though before he got too far his hand smacked his head as he realized something "Oh! Almost forgot. I'm going by my 'other name' because some Rangers are in the area ok. And they seemed pretty set on catching me and locking me up in some hole." Kira cautioned, to which Sharlene nodded knowingly  "Thanks I appreciate it. See ya later Sherry!"

"I'll catch ya later James!" she replied.

"Try not to scare the locals too much, ok!"

"No promises!"

For the second time today Selene, Cinder, and the others were on the well-kept dirt road leading to Fuji's apple orchard. The spoils of their latest shopping spree being carried either by hand, mouth, or psychic power while Rin continued pulling the cart nearly overloaded with necessities. Speaking of Rin, after an impressive hour of chasing Phoebe around town she gave up and resigned herself to the back of the group still pulling the cart of ever-growing supplies. On the way back Selene had been telling Phoebe and Rin about the last day on Earth to help pass the time, and to have an excuse to fawn over James. So far she had reached the "running the welcome wagon over the poor kid's ass." part of the story.

"Ahahaha, no way! He said that?" Phoebe said clutching her side with one hand while trying to keep the large container balanced on her shoulder from falling over with the other.

"On Arceus' name he did." Selene jovially swore, even raising a hand and closing her eyes as if to take an oath. When she opened her eyes she noticed Rin was looking at her in both sheer exhaustion and utter confusion "What?" Selene asked, curious as to why she was looking at her that way this time.

"I don't, huff...huff, get it. Is ice cream, huff...huff, rare where you're from?" Rin wheezed before unstrapping herself from the loaded cart and promptly keeling over onto the ground, sucking in all the air she could.

"Of course not, but Castelliacones are a world-famous regional specialty. A region we weren't in I might add." Selene explained...with a bit of haughtiness that Rin couldn't quite place "There were also rumors of a new top-secret flavor being revealed buuut," this time the haughtiness was in clear view as she had chest puffed out, arms folded, and a wide grin plastered on her face "from what I heard from other Pokémon it was definitely-"

"Mommy look!"

Selene's bragging and Rin's break were cut short when Cinder grabbed everyone's attention. The young Vulpix had wandered up the road twenty meters and was now pointing with one of her paws towards the front gate of the orchard barely visible in the distance.

And at the front gate of the orchard was a group of more than a dozen ponies, each a different color than the last being blocked by what could only be Tyranitar standing on the other side of the gate. The majority of the ponies were wearing either a dark-colored hat with a piece of white sticking out of it, a harness that led to a camera hanging directly in front of the face, or both in some ponies cases. at the front of the group standing between the gate and the mob were two ponies, a grey unicorn with a pink(?) mane and an orange earth pony with a short silver mane "Hey isn't that-"

"Mayor Doctrine." Rin spat out, joining Cinder and Selene in observing the crowd. While Selene saw ponies with cameras and hats, Rin saw reporters and paparazzi surrounding Mayor Doctrine and the Enforcer "And it looks like Vigilant is there too. No doubt this has something to do with your creator's little announcement." she surmised unable to hide the disdain in her voice. It wasn't the reporters she minded, rather it was the two ponies standing in front of them. The reason why was simple, she didn't like them and they were making a scene at her doorstep.

"Anyone know what they're saying?" Selene asked only to get regretful shakes from the other Pokémon. Rin meanwhile was squinting her eyes as if trying to read Doctrine's lips from their position half a mile away. She wished the pony luck though because neither Doctrine's nor Vigilant's or anypony's mouth for that matter was directly visible.

"All I can tell is that whoever he's talking to is getting under his skin, so it's most likely gramps." Rin answered, not breaking eye contact with the mayor. Methodically her eyes scanned every inch of Doctrine and Vigilant, constantly looking for any tells that would help discover what they were saying, taking a long deep breath before continuing her scan every other rotation until frustration started to show. Rubbing her eyes and with a huff she finally conceded "It's no use, I can't tell what they're saying from here." Rin grumbled, hanging her head and letting her strained eyes rest a moment "We'll have to get a little closer to know what exactly's going on."

"You're not missing much." a familiar voice called out. The entire group turned to the source of the newcomer and found, hidden by the shadows of the foliage, the shape of a Greninja leaning against a tree. He had his arms crossed, his eyes closed, and his mouth was covered by his tongue but to Selene and Rin it was clear he was livid. Because of that both of them almost didn't catch the grey and black dog laying on the ground staring at the Pokémon in wonder and the pony with disdain. "That beloved mayor of yours came by with his entourage about a half-hour ago. Since then he's been using some stupid law to try and evict us from the town." Kira said, trying to stay calm and barely succeeding.

"Stupid law?" Rin wondered, only to plant her hoof into her face in a groan when she realized what he was talking about "You don't mean 'Regulation 22: Unless approved by both races ruling leaders, non-pony residents are prohibited from staying within the town's borders.' do you?"

"That's the one." Kira replied "Why do you even have a law like that anyways?"

"Long story." Rin deadpanned "And gramps isn't budging?"

"Like a Snorlax after a meal."

"...Oookay, well what should we do?" Rin asked, the analogy Kira made going over her head. One by one she looks at the Pokémon, each with their own confused or thoughtful glances to one another. But nobody spoke up. Kira and Cinder seemed to have some idea forming but neither looked confident in speaking, Cinder more-so. Even the black dog seemed to be lost in thought even though it hasn't said a word this entire time. "I'm open to suggestions you know..." she pleaded "Otherwise all of Canterlot is going to hear about this, maybe even all of Equestria if those reporters are any good."

"Reporters, huh... Well that explains the cameras around their necks." Kira reasoned. He had figured they were some type of newsmongers but hearing that from the local confirmed his suspicions. Reporters meant public news, public news meant widespread audiences, widespread audiences meant a message could be sent to a large area so long as it didn't raise any alarms. Already he was considering in his mind how he could best take advantage of this in order to find his team, or rather have his team find him. Though before he could act on anything he still had to address the Mamoswine in the room "But...'Canterlot'? 'Equestria'? Care to elaborate to the foreigners?" he insisted, motioning towards the other Pokémon.

"Kouma's the name of the town but Equestria's the country we're in." Rin started to explain, hopefully for the last time "And Canterlot is the city where the Princess' reside, the capital in other words."

"Reeeealy..." Kira answered, with his eyes narrowing and a devious grin stretching across his face. He could ask about the princesses later. Right now, his mind was on other things "Hmhmhm, I think we can take advantage of this." he said with a sinister undertone creeping out of every word. Whatever was going on in his head Rin didn't like any part of it and the chill running down the back of her neck only served as physical confirmation. With out missing a beat, Kira turned to the Gardevoir and her daughter with the same nefarious grin on his face "Selene, Cinder, care to give me a hand?"

At this point Rin was beginning to wonder if it was safe being around this Pokémon. Subconsciously taking a half-step back she asked possibly the most dangerous question yet: "What are you planning...?" to which Kira turned to her with a mischievous smile.

"They're reporters right? Let's give 'em a story."

"I keep telling you Fuji! These creatures are a menace! Just look what they did to your home! And you're defending them!?"

"That was the action of ah distressed mother, Mayor! Not ah crazed beast!"

"They might as well have been the same thing! Just look at what happened to your apples!"

Out of frustration Mayor Doctrine stamped his hoof and started pacing in front of the gate, letting the reporters and publicity he called in yesterday to take picture after picture of his stressed face. Among the reporters were also ponies from town who sympathized with him or had been wronged some way by these creatures already. Vigilant Specter, the dutiful guard that he was, stood stoically to the side waiting for when (or if) his services would be needed while Fuji and that monster behind him blocked the way into the orchard itself. He planned on chasing away the monster and show these creatures in town that they cannot do as they please but his plan changed when this "Arceus" said they were as sentient as any pony. While he didn't believe the voice, he had the perfect law in mind that could be used against them. It was an archaic one he would admit but it's not like Princess Celestia would allow these invaders to roam as they saw fit, harming her subjects in the process.

Taking a short breath Doctrine returned to Fuji's face with his resolve tempered once more "I will not argue about this Fuji, those creatures are dangerous. You said so yourself; a "distressed mother" did this to your home and-"

"And she's tryin' ta make things right by fixin everything."

"You're missing the point, Fuji! Imagine what could happen if one of these things tried to destroy the town!

And as if to prove his statement, a large sphere of water shot into the air exploding in the sky high enough to drench everypony present aside from three. Doctrine and Vigilant stayed dry thanks to the azure barrier the guard pony created with magic. Fuji was luckily standing under the roof of the gate when the sudden shower came, sparing even a hair from getting wet.

"Greetings! Citizens of...wherever I am." A voice echoed throughout the air, and panic started growing in the crowd as they looked to each other to figure out who said that. Desperately, Doctrine too was searching for the source of the voice, looking to the trees, the crowd, Fuji and the monster behind him, and even down the empty road leading back to town. Vigilant was also looking for the sound, currently focused on the roof of the gate for some reason the mayor didn't know or care about. His opinion however changed when he heard a rough cough come from not only behind him but above him, and he wasn't the only one to notice. Standing on the roof of the gate for everypony to see was a blue frog-like thing standing on its hind legs with its arms stretched wide apart with their unobstructed mouth curled into an arrogant grin. "My name is Kira, I am a Greninja, which, as some of you may have guessed, is a type of Pokémon. And while I'm sure many of you won't be able to comprehend this but, yesterday I took control of your weather."

"What!"

"Impossible!"

"Wh-What's he talking about!"

"What's going on!?"

Similar comments continued to ring out from the reporters and spectators, drowning out any thoughts the mayor had. Panic was starting to set in, the reporters no longer taking pictures in favor of taking a few steps back. Vigilant on the other hoof slid into a defensive stance and kept his eyes on the creature calling himself "Kira", eyeing him inquisitively instead of out of fear. But aside from that he hadn't done anything, and Doctrine couldn't comprehend why!

Tired of nopony doing anything useful, Doctrine decided to confront the terrorist himself "are you saying you're the cause of that sandstorm!?" he demanded, his voice silencing the hysteric ponies around him and making him the center of attention.

At first Kira looked at him incredulously in the silence, but after another moment he bent over snickering, and then the snickering became raucous laughter. A good thirty seconds passed before Kira quieted down, wiping a tear from his eye as he regained some form of composure "hmhmhm... No, the sandstorm was indeed caused by the Tyranitar here. I'm referring to the drought that was taking place during and afterwards." he clarified. The ponies looked to each other, mumbling about the revelation Kira just said. Doctrine didn't believe it and from his point of view neither did Vigilant Specter 'after all, why would this...frog remove the water from the land when he needs it too?' Doctrine thought, and the whispers behind him suggested that he wasn't the only one coming to this conclusion. But Kira seemed to anticipate this "Hmm... I sense skepticism. Then how about a demonstration," he said before clapping his webbed hands together, creating some sort of hand sign. He then raised one hand into the air, prompting a pure white beam of light to shoot into the sky above him.

And almost instantly the world around them started getting hotter. Every cloud in the sky vaporized, the world around him started to look distorted, and the sun seemed to be shining brighter than ever before "there we go. I could even make it rain if I wanted to. But I don't. So I'm not." Kira said with a satisfied grin on his face.

Doctrine could feel the sweat forming on his face and air warm him with each breath he took. The bystanders were faring much better thanks to the few pegasi among them creating a breeze with their wings. Vigilant was experiencing the worst of the heat though, courtesy of his dark grey coat. Still, he persisted "why are you doing this?" he said, wiping the sweat off his face and confronting the one responsible.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kira asked in a cynical tone only to sharpen his expression afterward "to send a message." he then answered, lacking the humorous tone and leaving only contempt in his voice "All Pokémon are as sentient as me, despite their outward appearance and are far more powerful and diverse than anything you ponies could ever dream of. They will not take too kindly to being forced out of town, especially now that they've started settling in. In fact..." now his mood reversed, loosing the disdain but overflowing with pride, as if 'he had the greatest idea ever'. This was not going to end well "I claim this town and the surrounding area as my territory!"

"WHAT-!"

For a moment Doctrine thought he heard the voice Fuji's granddaughter, Ringo behind him but when he chanced a glance back he didn't see any trace of her, not that she mattered at the moment. Instead he focused on the Pokémon menace attempting to usurp the entirety of Kouma who just stood there, arms wide and eyes closed, just waiting for somepony to inevitably speak up and try to stop him.

But nopony did.

"If there are any who would try and stop me, speak up now!" he said, his voice sounding more irritated than haughty. Vigilant Specter was already in a combat stance, his horn charging up magic, almost ready to strike him down "Don't even try it poser." Kira chastised, glaring at the enforcer with only one eye open "You've seen what I'm capable of. You know what it would take to beat me. You're not it." reluctantly, the magic in Vigilant's horn dissipated and he, along with the majority of the crowd, hanged their head in defeat.

The ones who didn't saw a solid lump of shadows hit the Pokémon dead in the chest, exploding on impact into a plume of thick smoke.

"I'll stop you!" a new voice called out and immediately caught everypony's attention. To Doctrine's surprise, behind the reporters was the aloof floating Pokémon he met here yesterday except this time she looked remarkably serious. Both of her hands were stretched out towards the smoke cloud that was once Kira "Kira! You've gone too far! As a member of the Elite Four I will not let you harm these ponies!"

"Elite Four, huh?  Seems I caught me a really big fish." Kira's condescending voice echoed from the smoke. As the smoke cleared, the Pokémon could be seen standing in the same spot with his arms crossed, eyeing the former Elite Four member with intrigue. The intrigue quickly faded, being replaced by an expression that could only be described as 'battle lust' and his arms slowly unfolded with one hanging near the x-shaped scar on his thigh and the other generating a sphere of water "But, how well can you fight in that body, hm? I vote we find out. Water Pulse!" with lightning fast reflexes Kira launched the ball of water directly at Phoebe.

"Shadow Ball!" she called out, retracting her hands to quickly create another lump of darkness and fired it back at the Water Pulse. The two spheres collided in mid-air, creating another explosion of smoke which enveloped the ponies spectating. Not wasting a moment, Phoebe retracted her arms once more and quickly fired another Shadow Ball through the smoke with the exact same trajectory as Kira's Water Pulse.

"What!?" was all he could say before the second Shadow Ball connected with his chest, this time crying out in pain from being hit in the chest again. Once more the smoke enveloped his surroundings and once more Kira spoke through the shroud but his time it was something everypony there wanted to hear: the undignified shouts of him running away "This isn't over! I'll be back! Just you wait!" when the smoke cleared this time Kira was nowhere to be seen.

The next minute was silent with everyone present still processing what just happened as the literal smoke cleared and dust settled, and when it did nearly everypony there cheered. Phoebe was flocked from every direction by the reporters wanting a story or the townsfolk saying thanks, to which she laughed awkwardly, returning to her aloof nature and taking each question one by one. Vigilant was hanging his head, no doubt mulling over something that struck him as odd, something that Doctrine would no doubt ask about later. Speaking of Doctrine, the mayor began the long walk back to his home, mulling over todays events. His plan had failed. If her were to try evicting the Pokémon now the public would have turned against him considering a Pokémon just saved them from one of their own kind. There was also Kira's last words. If he were to come back Kouma would need an answer for him and at present that answer was being bombarded by questions, no doubt for an upcoming article. He didn't like it but until a better option presented itself he would keep the monsters close if only to throw at other monsters.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT, IN THE NAME OF TARTARUS' DEEPEST DARKEST PIT, YOU'VE JUST DONE!?"

Kira recoiled as the livid mare assailed him in the Fuji family dining room, pushing him against the closest wall and pressed her glowered face against his, effectively immobilizing him. It wasn't that Kira thought he would lose, or that he couldn't overpower her. Rather it was Rin actually terrified him right now, with her mane more akin to furious green fire, her emerald green irises boring a hole through his soul, and her ember white coat completing the appearance of a nightmare baring down on him.

Not that her rage was entirely unjustified, after all he did just try to "take over the town" and didn't give her any warning about it beforehand, an error on his part he concluded. What he did in the aftermath didn't help either. After pulling his disappearing act he hid in the forest long after Phoebe finished talking with the reporters and everybody left. He only recently reappeared at the Fuji residence upon witnessing Phoebe was cooking dinner for everybody. Moments later he was set upon by the raging mare. He also didn't expect to be getting any dinner from Fuji either, not only for the stunt he pulled but because he never did finish washing the roof tiles. But all of that paled in comparison to the current problem pressed against him with her gritted teeth an inch away from his neck. Thankfully( and with a twinge of heartache) a voice moaned out, distracting the two.

"Too loud, head hurts..."

Rin looked over to the shiny Gardevoir laying her arms and head on the dining table, with a cup of warm tea by her side and a miserable expression on her face. Gradually, Rin reverted back to her usual look with her anger also fading "sorry Selene." Rin said sincerely, releasing Kira to comfort Selene. She easily had the toughest job in Kira's plan, that being to translate everything he and Phoebe said to the group of ponies, or at least as many she could manage, without being seen. Something Selene did from a nearby tree Phoebe, Rin, and the newly introduced Sharlene hid under. By the time the last pony left, Selene was dangling from the branch looking like she does now. It was only thanks to Sharlene carrying her that nobody got hurt. With a content moan, Selene rustled slightly in an attempt to show some sort of gratitude without expending too much energy, something the splintered remains of the sliding door and the pebble that was once another of Fuji's teacups showed was very easy for her to do right now. Kira however was fair game. Turning back to him to make sure he didn't disappear again, she gave him the best 'this is your fault' glare she could manage but kept her voice civil, For Selene's sake "You on the other hoof have a lot of explaining to do. First off, do you even know what you did back there?"

'I made myself public enemy number one and Phoebe the local idol?' Kira thought, hesitant to actually say that in fear of his already hurting chest hurting even more. Another reason he kept his mouth shut was Selene, she overexerted herself today. If Kira said anything Selene would try to translate for Rin, and if she did Ringo, Fuji, Cinder, and any other non-Dark type Pokémon in the area would be at risk including Selene herself. So instead of answering Rin he gave her a simple nod showing that he understood but followed up with raising his hand before Rin could continue. He then raised one finger, showing it off to Rin, before making a fist and then pointing at Selene with another outstretched finger.

Rin...didn't get what he was trying to say, or why he was making weird hand signals and pointing at Selene "what about her? Will she be alright?"

"No translate right now..." Selene mumbled telepathically, though to Rin the message was accompanied with a sharp ringing in her head.

"Oh." Rin said after the pain in her head and the nauseous feeling she had subsided. Unbeknownst to her, Rin wasn't the only one who was affected by Selene's words. Cinder, Phoebe, and Fuji also came down with a momentary migraine, delaying dinner slightly when a pot of hot water spilled onto the floor when Phoebe clenched her head without thinking. Thankfully nobody was burned by the scalding water but Sharlene came a little too close for comfort.

Nodding, Kira stepped past the crimson pony and helped Selene up, supporting her with his own body "Let's get you to bed, ok?" he said in a gentle tone as he walked with her to their rooms, his head blocking the evening sunlight from her eyes and Rin following close behind worrying all the while.

"You'll sleep with me, right?" Selene asked weakly, almost pleading to him.

"Of course, I'll even bring some of Phoebe's cooking in case you get hungry later." he answered to which Selene gently smiled "I just have to talk with Rin for a little bit first ok?" while he said "talk" it was going to be more like a game of charades without Selene being there to mediate but he wasn't going to let her push herself and make her migraine worse. When they reached Selene's actual room Kira quietly opened the door and gently laid her down while Rin unfolded the mattress and prepared her bed. When she was finished Kira picked her up and tucked her in, making sure the blankets weren't restricting her in any way "I'll be back soon Selene." he whispered.

"Mhmm."

Content that Selene will be able to get some rest Kira quietly exited the room with Rin meeting him outside. "You really do love her, don't you." Rin said as they were walking back to the dining room, something that Kira, James, could only reply to with a nod and a faint smile. Upon returning to the dining room the two sat down on opposite sides of the table, ready to begin their 'game' "Ok, new question, you had a plan right?" Rin asked, which Kira responded to with a nod "Did everything go according to it?"

Not exactly. His original plan was to rile up the crowd enough and make a scene by causing a drought, only to be 'stopped' by Carlos and Manectric thus giving the rangers some credibility in this world, a news article about a Pokémon causing a drought or Kira being apprehended, and a chance to show what Pokémon are capable of should they think of fighting them. And in the off chance that he was captured and imprisoned by the ponies, that only meant he had time to practice his escape techniques. Admittedly he may have gone a little overboard in his acting but Vigilant Specter seemed like a smart pony to him. It would only be a matter of time until he pieced together what his actions were really about, Kira believed anyways. What really bothered him was that Carlos was a no-show. He expected that they would be nearby waiting for a chance to arrest him considering how they acted yesterday. Still Phoebe really helped him out by challenging him when she did, even if those Shadow Balls hurt like hell. In the end Kira settled with answering Rin with a shrug.

"You don't know? Why?" Rin interpreted, which Kira replied with showing her two fingers and then one'ok, two reasons. I got this.' Rin thought, psyching herself up as Kira looked around for something he could use to help explain himself. Finding something he got up and grabbed the perfect thing to use as a prop "a newspaper? Oh! You wanted to have the Canterlot Times write a story about you didn't you?"

A shrug followed by a nod, it was close enough.

"Ok, so what's the second reason?" Rin immediately asked only to be rebuked by a deadpan stare "Oh, right... yes, no, or maybe answers, sorry." she answered sheepishly. With a sigh both Rin and Kira returned to their neutral expressions. Closing her eyes, Rin began reviewing everything she knew about Kira's performance, even talking to herself to see if something didn't sound right "You're plan was to have the reporters write an article about you with Selene and Cinder helping. I'm guessing Cinder was the one who really caused the sun to intensify and Selene was translating everything you said from the tree above us. Then Phoebe jumped out from our hiding spot and confronted you...while Sharlene held me down so I couldn't cave your face in." Rin added spitefully, shooting Kira a quick glare and watching him flinch before returning to her recount "After that you two fought, Phoebe won, and she instantly became popular with the local press. So...that means you don't know if your plan was a success because you haven't seen tomorrow's paper right?" a long slow nod, she was warm "But if that's the case then it sounds like your plan worked perfectly, except you say it didn't. So what went wrong?"

"Ah think it was when yer ghost friend showed up wasn't it?" Fuji said as he, Phoebe, and Sharlene entered carrying an assortment of delicious looking food ranging from fresh fruit salads with bits of melon cut into the shape of flowers to steamed tofu coated in a light soy sauce with some pickled ginger placed on top. Where they found the pickled ginger in the first place was beyond him but more importantly Fuji somehow managed to hit the nail on the head again. Fervently, Kira nodded and pointed at the old stallion as he started setting the table "Ah see... Ya wanted those Rangers ta fight you didn't ya?" more nods as Fuji then set plates where everybody was sitting or going to sit, except Kira who froze and hung his head utterly defeated. Judgement had been passed.

But it was at that point Rin connected the dots "and when they didn't show up Phoebe stepped in instead!" she blurted out, something Kira affirmed with one final nod and then some applause. Rin wasn't entirely sure if he was actually congratulating her or just being patronizing but the food in front of her was more appealing. He could have been both for all she cared, she was hungry! So without further ado Rin, along with everyone else( sans Kira), started digging into their respective plates. Now that her hunger had been sated slightly, Rin stopped eating for a moment to finish sating her curiosity "But still, why demonize yourself like that? Was it really worth it?"

Kira's response was only a simple smile.

The next morning, in the skies west of Vanhoover, one paperpony casually flew towards her next stop, carrying with her saddlebags filled to the brim with todays edition. In her hooves was also a copy, one she taken from her stack to read herself. It wasn't a big deal to her since she always had leftover papers by the end of her route anyway and nopony was around to stop her, besides she needed some cheering up "The nerve of those guys, just because I think that writer I saw and the musician she was talking with would make a cute couple doesn't mean I pair anypony with anypony at the drop of a hat." she huffed while reading the comics section "I mean it's not my fault my name's Overnight Ship. They really need to grow up a little." she bemoaned to herself, pausing from reading to check the ground. Below her was a sea of trees and in the horizon in front of her was the sea, and the little port town that just so happened to be her next destination.

"Still about another hour before I get there." she guessed, glancing at the speck in the distance before focusing on the paper. Though she couldn't enjoy it for long as an unusual sound caught her attention. Over the course of seconds a chill ran up her spine as she recognized, pinpointed, and made eye contact with the sounds owner.

It was a dragon's roar.

A dragon was headed right for her.

The dragon did not look happy.

Seeing the red winged terror flying at her Overnight Ship had to make an executive decision; be brave and confront the dragon, hoping it was friendly, or run away and live. She chose the latter. Abandoning her papers she flew back towards the city  screaming at the top of her lungs.

'I just wanted to ask if I could read that for a second.' the Dragon Pokémon sighed as he approached the discarded papers in free-fall. Deftly, he snatched one of the tied bundles with his mouth and slowly descended into a small clearing in the forest. With a nail he cut through the string holding the papers together and started reading, gingerly turning each page with his mouth, until he came across an article that made him tear up.

    "Cin...der? Cinder! Cinder's ok! Don't worry, I'll be there soon."

"Hey, One Shot. Did you hear about all the strange weather goin' on around Equestria?"

"You mean the sandstorms down south, the blizzards to the east, or this downpour we're both standing in?"

The two unicorns trudged onwards through the forest surrounding Smoky Mountain, moving from tree to tree to avoid getting as wet as possible. One Shot and his friend, Pathfinder had been scouring the forest for the source of the strange weather, convinced that a Pokémon was the one causing it and were slogging through the forest to catch it on camera and sell the picture to their local gossip magazine.

"None of those actually. Today's paper said a localized drought happened out in Kouma. Even says one of these Pokémon are responsible for it." Pathfinder claimed.

"Really? Was there a description?" One Shot asked, galloping from one tree to the next.

"No... The article was pretty vague." Pathfinder said right on his friends tail, continuing the conversation as they kept searching for their supposed Pokémon.

Neither of them noticed the last tree they were under lost six broad leaves.

"Well, THAT was a fun night." June sighed, strolling out of an alley in Manehatten and stretching her arms above her head. Behind her, laying on the ground in the alley was a Vigoroth and two ponies( a "pegasus" and an "earth pony" if she heard correctly) utterly exhausted and sore. Wiping off the liquids from her face and then wiping her hands on a random pony's back she was passing by. Only two days here and already she loved this place, it reminded her of Hearthome, only bigger and with none of the bad parts. Pokémon were everywhere, these ponies were adorable, and she could pay for almost anything with just a smile and a wink. To demonstrate this she walked up to the next magazine stand she saw intent on buying the latest idol magazine. One magazine in particular covering some pony called "The Countess" caught her attention above all the others.

But before she could grab it, a paperpony standing at the street corner said something that caught her attention "Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Pokémon cause problems all over Equestria! From droughts to destruction of property! If you can get arrested for it, in two days they've caused it!" he cried out.

While she didn't appreciate the pony's(a unicorn this time) cries, one word caught her attention. With lithe steps, she approached the young pony and with an alluring slide of her finger up the pony's throat she grabbed one of his papers and expressed her gratitude with a peck on the muzzle "thanks sweet stuff." she said alluringly, knowing full well that ponies couldn't understand her. Still it was polite.

Walking away from the dazed unicorn she began skimming through the paper herself 'huh, apparently the pony wasn't exaggerating...at least about the drought part anyway.' she noted, finding the article in question 'so, Cinder might be in a town called Kouma. I wonder if James is with her. If so, maybe I'll finally be able to woo him away from that poacher-bait Selene.' with resolve in her eyes, June exchanged her newspaper for a map from another helpless pony and made her way to the busiest intersection she found. Once there she fluffed up the fur on her arms and legs, brushed her gigantic, fluffy ears behind her body and struck the most dynamic pose in front of everyone.

"Hey! Who wants to take this bunny across the country! Maybe I'll take you around the world in return!"