Chapter 1: A Trixie Situation
It was a bright sunny afternoon in Ponyville, as is usual in these kinds of stories. The birds chirped happily as they flew by the crystal castle-tree thingy, where the illustrious Princess Twilight Sparkle lived.
As you may have guessed from the character tags, this story is not centered around her, but on another pony very, very far from there. More specifically, around some ruins near the edges of San Palomino Desert. And this pony is none other than Trixie Lulamoon, also known as the Great and Powerful Trixie.
Trixie used to be a traveling magician, giving ponies shows for a living. It was a good life. Unfortunately, stuff happened. And then more stuff happened after that first stuff. And then even more stuff happened. One stuff led to another stuff and now she’s here, doing some archeological findings with a group of archeological ponies and one particular griffon. The leader of this group was, of course, none other than Daring Do. Who else could lead a group of archaeological ponies (and one griffon)?
The day was entering the later hours of the afternoon, so the group decided to call it a day and return to camp. Daring Do, dressed in her usual vest and pith helmet, was giving every pony she passed an inspection on their work. She stopped when she saw Trixie’s work.
“I have to say, Miss Lulamoon, that you’re doing a pretty good job in these excavations. I wasn’t sure you had it in you when we found you traveling with no set destination. I now stand corrected.”
Trixie looked from her work to face her current boss. “Well, Trixie has a lot of experience picking rocks carefully. She worked on a rock farm, after all.”
“Riiiight...” Daring Do said with some hesitation. “Just keep up the good work. And for the love of Luna, must you wear that hat?”
Trixie, who was dressed in a star-patterned purple vest with a matching star-patterned purple pith helmet, simply scoffed. “Of course I do! You more than any pony should know the importance of proper headwear.”
Daring Do just stared unamused at the new recruit. But she had to concede on the importance of a hat. She has risked her hooves for her hat more times than she’d like to admit... or count.
“Fine. Trixie was getting tired of this helmet anyway.” The azure unicorn took her helmet and gave it a shake. The pith helmet disappeared while her familiar star-patterned purple magician hat appeared, which she then placed on her head. A similar treatment replaced her purple vest with her usual cape.
“Wow! That looks really useful! How did you do that?” Daring Do asked, fairly impressed.
“Trade secret. But Trixie is all about the right attire.”
“Alright. You should hurry. We’re going to have dinner at camp soon.”
“Trixie will see you there.”
And so, Trixie and the other archaeologists sat around a campfire, eating a rather delicious stew. Daring Do wasn’t present, as she said she was going to be on her tent reviewing today’s findings.
“Trixie Lulamoon! You dare trespass on this most sacred of places! Prepare to have your soul taken!” A haunting voice called.
Every pony (and one griffon) looked around in fright and confusion, until they spotted a pony skeleton approaching the camp. Without warning, the skeleton pounced on Trixie and the two stared wrestling each other. During their skirmish, they eventually rolled to Trixie’s tent. The tent shifted and moved, until they heard Trixie scream. A few moments later, that same skeleton came out of the tent wearing Trixie’s hat and cape.
“What’s the matter, fellow explorers? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” The skeleton said with Trixie’s voice as it started laughing manically. The malice in the laugh gradually vanished, leaving only the sound of laughter one hears after playing a prank. Before panic could erupt from the watching ponies (and griffon), a puff of pink smoke burst from the ground beside the laughing skeleton. “Ta da!” Trixie said in her usual showmare pose, where she stood on her hind legs and spread her fore legs to the air.
For a moment, all was quiet. But then the archaeologists cheered on Trixie, commenting on her surprise show. She gladly absorbed all the praise and cheering. It wasn’t until Daring Do came to the scene that things got quiet again. The daring pegasus didn’t look amused, and made herself clear about that when she smacked Trixie on the back of her head.
“That was a nice show, but next time you decide to make a stunt like this make sure you don’t borrow my props.” Daring Do picked up the skeleton and removed the garments on it. “This is valuable scholar material used for research and investigation, not some cheap show.” She cradled the plastic skeleton and whispered to it in a supposedly low voice. “There, there, Bonesy. Mama’s here. You’re safe now.”
“Killjoy,” murmured Trixie. The ponies (but not the griffon, this time) also muttered loudly enough for the pegasus to hear them.
“That’s it, everypony. Go to your respective tents and sleep. Tomorrow we shall venture deeper into the ruins. I have a feeling we’ll make an astounding discovery!”
All ponies, and one particular griffon, present couldn’t help but get excited. Their boss’s feelings were rarely wrong. And so each pony, and one particular griffon, decided to call it a day and go to sleep.
OXOXO
The next day, the group had ventured deeper into the ruins, just like Daring Do said they would. This time, the group was led by Trixie and two other unicorns, who provided light from their horns. The place they were at now was dark, but the hornlight made it easy to see. The wall were adorned with pictures of a creepy-looking dark pegasus pony in weird golden armor. “Pegasus” was the closest term to use, as the pony in question didn’t have the conventional wings, but more like liquid bat wings tipped with six red spikes.
As the group continued their trek, the sound of crunching rock was heard. One of the unicorn leaders looked at his hoof and saw he had triggered one of the traps of the ruins. The way they entered quickly closed with a big stone door, and two hatches opened on the upper parts of each wall.
“Keep calm and be on your hooves, everyone!” Daring Do ordered. “Be ready for anything!”
Just then, the sound of rushing water echoed from within the newly-opened hatches. A few moments later, a rather mild stream of water came forth. The room barely flooded to below knee-level. Some ponies looked unamused at the failed trap, others looked relieved, and others looked excited. One of them was the griffon.
“Hah! This ruins sure are old! They must be from before the lush greens of this land became a desert. The trap must have dried out,” he theorized.
“That sounds about right. They do look pretty old,” another pony commented.
“Alright, everypony. Let’s keep moving. And be sure to look where you step,” Daring Do ordered again as she looked at the guilty stallion.
The group continued its way over to the deeper and darker parts of the ruins. The strange paintings of the creepy pony were still present, making the team be a bit on edge. After what seemed like hours, because it had been two hours, the group reached a long, wide corridor. Old torches lined the walls. At the end of the corridor stood an altar, clearly made from a different material than the stone the ruins were made of. The furthest wall was actually a mural, depicting a weird mask of sorts, very similar to the one the creepy pony in the paintings was wearing, with very intimidating red eyes.
As the group neared the strange altar, the torches began lighting a ghostly purple flame, giving the place an even more ghastly ambience than the usual darkness. Still, the ponies and griffon pressed on, for sitting on the altar was a very peculiar stone. The stone in question was a dark golden color, with the appearance of a crudely cut gem.
“Good work, everypony! Looks like we found us some treasure!” Daring Do said loudly as she neared the golden gem.
“Wait!” Trixie yelled. “Trixie can feel some sort of energy coming from that thing. She suggests a magical inspection.”
“Yeah, me too,” said another unicorn mare. She was light green in color, with long yellow mane. “Let us take a look before we trigger some sort of curse."
“Alright, unicorns, do your thing,” Daring Do commended.
“Worry not. Trixie was top of her class in magic analysis class, back in Celestia’s school,” Trixie commented as she got close to the gem and a pale pink light shot from her horn, scanning the found treasure.
“And you’ve known me for a while, boss. You know I’m good,” the other unicorn said when she joined Trixie in the analysis.
The magical scan lasted several minutes, after which Trixie and the other unicorn broke formation.
“Wow! I’ve never seen anything like this! And believe Trixie, she has seen many things,” Trixie said as she finished the scan.
“You’re right! This magic is like something out of this world!” the other unicorn approved.
“So, is it safe to take?” Daring Do asked.
“I think so,” Trixie answered.
“Excellent work, team!” Daring Do grabbed the gem and put it in her saddlebag. “I would believe we’re done for to-”
The intrepid leader was interrupted by a noise. The sound was like a mixture between a hiss and a roar. As all the ponies looked around in fright and confusion, a strange portal formed in the mural. From it, a serpentine form emerged. But as the creature left the confines of the portal, its form changed to that resembling a dragon.
The dragon was gray in color, with black and red striped underbelly. Several golden ornaments covered its six legs, long neck, and head. It possessed the same liquid wings with red tips as the picture found throughout the ruins. Finally, its piercing red eyes took in the sight of the frightened group of ponies and griffon before it. Trixie froze into place.
Panic had almost instantly claimed the ponies, except for Daring Do. She quickly assumed a battle pose to fight the creature, wings outstretched and ready to launch into the offensive. She was soon followed by the griffon, who took his place beside the famous pegasus. Daring gave a backwards glance to make sure her team had escaped the creature before them. They had, for the most part.
Trixie was still frozen in place, horrible memories playing inside her head. But as the image of a giant starry bear burned into her head, her expression turned from fear to anger and determination. She lit her horn with raw magical energy and quickly took her place beside the mustard-colored pegasus. The creature simply eyed them, as if amused at the scene.
With a battle cry, the three brave souls rushed to the attack. The pegasus and griffon flew fast to tackle the face of the massive creature before them. Trixie galloped and fired a volley of magical beams.
The dragon roared loudly, sending both flyers forcefully to the ceiling where they impacted, knocking both of them unconscious. Trixie barely had time to use her magic to catch them and avoid them further injury. With a quick movement of her neck, she sent them both behind them, where she could offer a little more protection. Not that she would be able to do much against such powerful creature, she figured. Still, she had something to prove. Never again, she swore, would she be defeated by wild creatures. With renewed determination, her horn shone a pink light, and soon her whole body began glowing. With a guttural battle cry, she rushed at the mysterious creature with the intent of tackling it with magic.
The creature, however, stood there. As the azure unicorn collided with its body, its eyes widened at the surprising force behind such a small pony. It staggered for a while, but quickly lost its balance and fell back to the portal behind it.
Daring Do came to her senses to see Trixie ramming the creature with her magical aura. She could only watch as the force of the impact made both dragon and pony stumble to the portal on the back. As soon as they fell in, the portal closed. “TRIXIEEEEEEEE!” Daring screamed with a stretched foreleg.
OXOXO
Trixie screamed as soon as the neared the portal. For some reason, gravity stopped working once she got too close to it, being helpless to stop the portal from swallowing her. Her only victory came from the thought that she at least gave that weird dragon a good whopping.
Her victory didn’t last, sadly, since she saw that same simply shaking its head a little and looking completely fine. Not only that, but as soon as the portal closed, it started changing shape. Instead of the draconic body it had, it now had a serpentine look to it. Its legs were replaced by short spikes, and its wings now resembled tentacles.
Not only that, but Trixie also gave a look to her surroundings. She was floating in a really weird place. The space was littered with floating rocks big enough to be small islands. Strange plants that looked like seaweed grew up in different places, and the surround color was a deep dark purplish blue. If it weren’t for the fact that she could breathe just fine, Trixie would’ve sworn she was in a twisted version of the bottom of the ocean.
The creature hissed/roared again, and Trixie braced for an incoming attack. But as it slowly and carefully approached her, it then occurred to the unicorn that maybe, just maybe, this creature wasn’t really aggressive.
The creature just looked at Trixie, as if confused to what to do about the intruder. And suddenly, its eyes lit with inspiration. With another roar, transparent energy shot from its mouth, quickly forming another portal. Trixie screamed again when she felt herself being sucked by another portal. The last thing she saw before the portal closed was the face of the weird serpent/dragon thing full of... was that amusement? It was! She not only felt scared, but now insulted as well.
The portal dropped her unceremoniously on the ground, and she fell with a heavy thud. “Son of a...” Trixie cursed as she gave a look to her new surroundings. They appeared to be another set of ruins, quite different but yet slightly similar to the ones she was exploring earlier. Looking around for any signs of a way back, she sighed in defeat and began looking for a way out of this mess.
With the help from her horn, she illuminated her path ahead. Strange drawings on the wall caught her attention. They looked like letters with eyes. She squinted her eyes to see better. They still looked like letter with eyes.
“Friendship. All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive,” Trixie read out loud. “Huh... I bet Sparkle would love to visit this place. It looks old and talks about friendship, just how she likes it. Heh, I bet she would flip her mind. Still, just where is this place? Where am I?”
Trixie continued walking for some time. Eventually, she reached a big chamber. It was mostly empty, except for a big blue golem that leaned motionless on the wall. It had a round body, with round shoulders with a spike on each one. The shoulders gave way to a pair of massive fists. The lower body began with what looked like a kilt, and then a pair of bulky legs. Its head was small compared to the body. It also had square swirl patterns on its shoulders and fists. It had a crack on its torso, which was apparently patched with a piece of metal. Overall, it looked like a suit of armor a minotaur would wear.
This, of course, made Trixie curious. Something about the golem made her approach it. She inspected every inch of it she could. Never before had she seen something like it. Deciding a more throughout examination could yield more results, she made a magical scan of the golem. She gasped when she felt some kind of raw energy within its body. Wanting a better look, she opted to remove the metal patch that covered part of the crack in its chest.
And that’s where things got scary. As soon as the metal patch was removed, the golem’s legs retracted into its body and a powerful energy burst forth. The golem then began flying erratically and out of control, slamming into the ceiling, walls, and floor. Trixie barely noticed the images of eyed letters detaching from the walls and fleeing before she had to duck for cover as the golem almost flattened her.
After several minutes of dodging and screaming, the magician finally had the mind to try and stop the wild golem. Using her magic, she tried to take hold of it. The sheer amount of power required to just hold it was almost too much for Trixie. Without missing a beat, she also took hold of the metal patch and brought it back to where it belonged. Once the seal was back in place, the golem became unmoving again and Trixie gently dropped in on the floor.
“Note to self: don’t go prodding your horn where it doesn’t belong,” Trixie said to herself as she removed her hat and wiped the sweat from her brow.
A few moments later, a growl caught Trixie’s attention. She looked to one of the chamber’s entrances, and she gulped loudly at the sight. The creature that stood before her could only be described as the combination of a shark and a dragon. Trixie gave a couple of steps backs as the deadly-looking creature growled at her.
“What did you see? Did you find what that racket was?” a voice called. Soon after, a tall blonde human woman stepped from where the shark dragon came. She had long hair, with a bang covering one of her eyes, and wore a long black coat over a black shirt and black pants. “Oh! And what do we have here? A pokémon I’ve never seen before,” the human said when she noticed Trixie.
“A what?” Trixie asked, but the human apparently didn’t hear her. She was busy ordering the shark dragon around.
“Garchomp, let’s catch it! Use Dragon Claw!”
The shark dragon roared and launched itself toward Trixie, its fin/claw ready to strike. Trixie barely had time to erect a magic barrier to protect herself. Unfortunately for the showmare, the strength of the creature was far greater than expected. The strike was powerful enough to crack her shield. Another swing and the barrier was broken, still with enough force to hit Trixie and send her flying.
“Excellent work, Garchomp! Another blow and it should be weak enough to capture!” the human said excitedly.
Garchomp went for another strike at the unicorn, but Trixie was ready this time. Her horn shot a powerful beam that struck the shark dragon right in the chest. It quickly recovered and went on the offensive again. Trixie, who was now magically spent, just closed her eyes and braced for impact. Just as Garchomp was about to strike, a massive blue fist came crashing down and burrowed the dragon in the ground with tremendous force. Trixie looked up to see the same golem from before saving her from certain doom. Before she could celebrate, Garchomp erupted from the ground a few meters away from Trixie and her guardian. The golem put itself between Garchomp and Trixie in a protective stance.
“Hang on, Garchomp. Maybe there’s more happening here than I thought,” the woman said as she took in the sight. The dragon simply growled and walked back to be beside his master. It growled and snorted at Trixie.
“What do you mean weak, you overgrown lizard!?” Trixie yelled furious at the dragon.
“You can talk?” the human asked, surprised at the unicorn.
“Of course I can talk!” Trixie yelled, clearly angry. “And who are you? What are you? What is that thing you call Garchomp? Where am I? Just what the hay is going on?!?!”
“I apologize for hurting you,” the human said in an apologetic tone. “My name is Cynthia, and this here is my partner Garchomp.”
Author's Note
Disclaimer: Pokémon belong to Nintendo/Game Freak. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro/the Hub. I own nothing but the plot.
So what do you guys think so far?
Welcome to the World of Pokémon
Chapter 2: Welcome to the World of Pokémon
“You can call me Trixie,” the unicorn replied. Seeing as the creatures before her were apparently civilized, or at least the blonde one was, Trixie went to pick up her discarded hat and promptly placed it on her head, where it belonged. The golem that had saved her also lowered its guard, since there was no longer a confrontation.
“So, what are you exactly? You can talk, and you don’t look like any pokémon I’ve ever seen, unless you’re some sort of Ponyta subspecies...” Cynthia asked as she grabbed a red and white ball with a gray button from within her coat. “Garchomp, return!” She aimed the ball at Garchomp and fired a beam. As soon as the beam connected, the shark dragon turned to some sort of energy and was then collected by the ball.
“How did you do that?!” Trixie asked, all but astonished.
Cynthia smiled at the question and showed the ball to Trixie. “This is a pokéball. With it, I can capture pokémon. Once I do, I can use them to carry my pokémon wherever I go with me. Take a look!” She opened the ball and released the energy inside it. The energy soon took form and a second later, Garchomp stood proudly. Another beam of light and the dragon was back in its ball.
“What’s a pokémon? Are there other pokémon besides your shark dragon?”
“Pokémon are mysterious creatures that share this world with us humans, and have formed a symbiotic relationship since ancient times. We coexist in harmony and peace, most of the time. And there are hundreds of different known pokémon, and I bet there are even more to discover. That Golurk over there is also a pokémon,” Cynthia said as she pointed at the colossal golem behind the unicorn. “It seems very protective of you, by the way.”
“Golurk, huh?” Trixie pondered as she looked at her savior. “Thank you for your help.” She proceeded to hug the golem’s leg. The Golurk nodded and made some clunking noises. “It was no trouble at all. Glad Trixie could be of help.”
“Anyways, you didn’t answer my question,” Cynthia said. “What are you? And how come you can understand what pokémon say? And while we’re at it, how did you even get here? These ruins were just discovered a few days ago.”
“Trixie is a unicorn pony. She doesn’t really know how she can understand them, nor how she got here, or even where ‘here’ even is. Last thing Trixie knew she was helping a group of archeologists dig up some ruins... Not these ruins, though. After some digging, we found a magical artifact. But as soon as we grabbed it, we were attacked by some sort of weird monster. After a short fight, it opened a portal to this bizarre creepy world. After that, the monster made another portal and Trixie ended up here,” the unicorn answered.
“So what are you going to do?” Cynthia asked.
“Find that stupid dragon and force it to take me back home, of course.”
“Dragon?”
“Yes. The monster I was talking about is this weird dragon with shadowy wings. It turned into a serpent when we reached that weird world. A dragon-like serpent.”
Upon hearing this, Cynthia produced a small red gadget and began pressing some buttons. “Does the creature look anything like this?” she asked as she showed the screen to Trixie. The picture was an image of Giratina.
“That’s it! That’s the creature that brought Trixie here!”
“That’s Giratina, a legendary pokémon. Not much is known about it, but I do know a way to reach it. It’s very far from here, but I can take you. We can depart once I’m finished with some business here in the Kalos region,” Cynthia offered.
“Trixie is very grateful for your offer. She will accept it. However,” the showmare said with a growing grin “Trixie is in no hurry. She smells adventure! And Trixie is sure she can make some pretty interesting stories.”
“Oh?” The human seemed pretty amused by this, but also curious.
“Trixie is a travelling showmare and adventurer, you see. She entertains the crowds with fantastical stories and amazing feats of magic! She travels around the world for in search for adventure and crowds to entertain.”
“Adventure, you say? I’m a bit of an adventurer myself. Trixie, my friend, I think we are going to get along very well!”
“Trixie was thinking the same thing, Cynthia.” The human and the pony gave each other a firm hand/hoof shake.
“How about we get out of here? I want to introduce you to the group,” Cynthia suggested.
“Group?”
“Yup! Sometimes, during my travels, I meet with other travelers and we travel together for some time. I met a merchant group a couple of days ago and I’m currently traveling with them.”
“Sounds good to Trixie. Let’s go!” The golem behind them made a sound somewhere between a clunk and a roar. “Of course you can come, too!”
“The more, the merrier!” Cynthia laughed. “Follow me. I’ll lead you outside. We’re on time for lunch!”
Trixie and Golurk followed Cynthia through the ruins. As they walked, the same eye-letter creatures from before began flying around. Some sparing a glance at the visitors, while others completely ignored them.
“Say, Cynthia? What are those things flying around? More Pokémon?” Trixie asked with curious glances at the creatures in question.
“Unown.”
“You don’t know?”
“I mean they’re pokémon called ‘Unown’. Here, let me show you.” Cynthia produced her podédex once again, this time showing the entry for the symbol pokémon. “They aren’t very strong on their own, so that’s why most trainers don’t bother catching them. In large numbers, however, they say their power is so great it can bend reality. There are many mysteries surrounding the Unown. Many scholars believe these are the pokémon that taught humans the art of written language, as they are shaped as the letters we use. And they also happen to be some of my favorite pokémon!”
“Wow... So humans and pokémon go way back, huh?” Fascination was clear in the mare’s voice.
“Yup! In fact, the main reason I like to travel around is to learn more about history. Myths and legends all hold a grain of truth, and finding out that truth is what makes my adventures so worth it.”
“You’ll have to tell Trixie some of those stories some time. She’s curious.”
“I will.”
Their trek to the outside of the ruins wasn’t very long. The sun shone brightly above the clouds, warming the land under it. The first thing Trixie noticed was that this new world didn’t look too different from her own.
That is, until she approached the camp.
“Ahhhhh! Worry not! Trixie will save you!” the azure unicorn loudly exclaimed when she laid eyes on the burning pony before her. Her horn lit up as she ran to the camp, then she shot the accumulated magic to the air above the fiery victim. The magic quickly changed color and composition, as it turned from shapeless pink energy to a dark storm cloud. A second later, a heavy downpour bathed the ignited equine.
Her rescue quickly turned sour, as the fiery pony reared back in fright and then let loose a rather big fireball from its mouth. Trixie didn’t have time to react and she was blown back by the attack. The attacker huffed once the unicorn stopped her watery actions.
“What’s going on here?!” An angry female voice asked.
Trixie stood up to see several humans and other creatures approaching the scene. Cynthia and the Golurk quickly joined as well.
“But... But... He’s on fire!!!” Trixie yelled as she tried to wrap her head around the current situation.
“Of course he is. He a Ponyta, for crying out loud! And... And what are you, exactly?” The lady that screamed earlier asked as she gave Trixie a better look.
“Please forgive my new friend here,” Cynthia said as she tried to calm the situation, mostly the blue golem that took on an offensive stance. “She’s new here. As in she probably comes from another dimension. She’s never seen pokémon before.”
“Really?” The lady gave another curious look at Trixie. Her Ponyta did the same, his eyes no longer aggressive.
Trixie, for her part, gave a better look at her surroundings. There was a small fire close to where the fiery pony originally stood, apparently heating something in a pot. Around them, three wooden wagons were parked. They were currently located in what seemed like a forest. Behind them was a relatively small cliff side, which housed the ruins she found herself in just a few moments ago.
“Trixie apologizes,” the azure mare said when her gaze returned to the Ponyta. “She thought you had caught on fire and was merely trying to help.”
“I guess we should be the ones to apologize. This here is my partner Ace. He doesn’t really like water, as you may have guessed,” the lady said as she scratched the back of her head. “I’m Alice.”
“Trixie.”
“So... you’ve never seen a Ponyta before? You kinda look like one.”
“Trixie comes from a land of ponies, and none of them have fire for a mane or tail. Not usually...” Trixie finished under her breath.
“Well, I thought it was pretty obvious he was a fire-type...”
“A... fire type?” Trixie asked incredulously.
“Wow! You’ve really never seen a pokémon!” Alice exclaimed as if it was the most shocking thing he’d heard in her life. And given the world she lives in, it probably was.
“There are many types of pokémon,” Cynthia explained. “Think of it as their elemental affinity. Fire-type pokémon have a preference for fire moves and are strong against grass-type pokémon, but weak against water. Ponytas are fire-types, which is why your sudden rain didn’t sit well with it.”
“I see. So how many types are there?” Trixie asked.
“There are 18 types discovered so far. Fairy-type was just discovered a few years ago, for example,” Cynthia answered.
“Fairy-type? These things keep getting better and better. What are all the types?” Trixie asked.
“I have a better idea. Can you read?” Cynthia asked.
“Trixie supposes so. She understood what was written in those ruins.”
“Great!” Cynthia happily exclaimed. She then produced a book from her coat. “Here! This is a trainer’s beginner guide. It will teach you all the basic information you need to know on pokémon. If you finish this book and you’re interested, I can take you to a library so you can read more about them. How does that sound?”
“Trixie will take you on your offer. However, she believes doing rather reading is better for her.”
“Trixie, I know I said this before, but I really believe we’ll be get along beautifully,” Cynthia said with one biggest smile Trixie had seen. That was an expression, of course, given that ponies had bigger heads, with meant bigger mouths, which meant bigger smiles than any human’s comparatively smaller heads could provide. But the sentiment such phrase was what counted.
“Again, Trixie believes so as well.”
“Sorry to interrupt this glorious friendship formation, but supper will be ready in a few minutes,” Alice interrupted. “Do you mind watching over the stew while I go look for the rest of the guys?”
“No problem. Go ahead,” Cynthia answered with a smile.
“’K. Later! Come one, Ace!” And both Alice and her fiery pony left for the forest.
Cynthia produced another book and some papers from her coat. “I’m going to go over some notes while we wait. Why don’t you give a look at the book I lent you?”
“Good idea,” Trixie answered. “Let’s see what this world has to offer.”
Cynthia watched with fascination as the unicorn’s horn glowed pink, and less than a moment later the book was enveloped in the same pink light and floated over to the pony’s face. The Golurk that had befriended Trixie took its place near her, ready to protect as any bodyguard worth his money would. The blonde woman couldn’t help but giggle a little. With another soft smile, she returned her attention to the papers before her, containing her notes about the ruins she recently emerged from.
Several minutes passed before any significant action took place. The peace was then interrupted by Alice and an energetic younger boy. Alice looked annoyed, but the boy gave a big jump of surprise when he laid his eyes on Trixie.
“Whoa! It’s true! A blue, fire-less ponyta! With a horn!” The young boy exclaimed full of energy. Trixie stopped reading to look at the new arrival. “I’m Benny! Nice to meet you! Do you understand what I’m saying? Let’s have a battle!”
It took a little longer than Trixie would like to admit to fully process the energy of the boy, but she quickly flashed her proud smirk and introduced herself. “Greetings, Benny! I am Trixie! Trixie is pleased to meet you.”
“You can talk!” Benny yelled, though the smile on his face showed that it wasn’t in fright.
“Forgive him. He’s my younger brother,” Alice said with a tone in her only a tired older sister could have. “He’s a bit of a handful, but he means well.”
Trixie gave another look at the young boy. He had brown hair, and wore beige shorts and a blur shirt, along with sandals. The handle showing from his back caught her attention. “What is that on your back?” Trixie asked.
“Oh, this?” Benny grabbed the handle and unsheathed a wooden katana. “This is my sword. Even if it’s only for practice. One day I’ll be a samurai!”
From the corner of her eye, the pony saw Alice hitting her face with her palm. She turned back to Benny. “Are you any good?”
“Yes! I’m already good with a blade.” He reached into his pocket and pulled a small pocket knife. “Look!” He reached into his other pocket and pulled a wooden figurine. The figurine resembled a pony with a fiery mane and tail.
“Wow! When did you do this?” Alice suddenly asked, taking the figurine from her brother’s hand and giving it a look.
“I started it last night, but it’s still not finished,” the boy answered. “It’s missing some details.”
“I think it looks amazing!” Trixie exclaimed. Her surprise was not faked, she genuinely was impressed by the boy talent for wood sculpting.
“Heh heh.” Benny laughed while scratching his nose with his finger. “And you should see my battling skills!”
“Battle?” Trixie asked.
“Yeah! We like to have pokémon battles!” The small swordsman exclaimed.
“Oh, please.” Alice said with a smug tone only an older sister could have. “You can’t even beat me.”
“I will! ...One of these days.”
“EXTREME!!!” A gruff voice yelled from somewhere. From out of nowhere, a muscular man with short gray hair wearing nothing but battle trousers and bandages on his hands and wrists landed in front of the circle of people. A moment later, a big gray bird flew to his side. The man pointed his finger at Cynthia. “COME ONE, CHAMPION! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A POKEMON BATTLE! MY PAL SKYRAPTOR HERE IS ITCHING TO GO!”
“Would you stop bothering her, Ryohei? Miss Cynthia clearly has more important stuff to do than to humor a battle-obsessed wacko like you,” another voice said, this one feminine and calm. The voice belonged to a woman that calmly walked into the camp. The woman was similar in body shape as Cynthia, but her hair was light green and only reached to her shoulders. She wore a yellow sundress and a matching hat. “Hello, little pony. My name is Lily. My preferences lie in pokémon contests rather than battles.”
“Dismissing either as inferior to the other would be most unwise. Both are, after all, similar and different.” Another posh voice said, this time coming from a slim man wearing a rather charming purple suit, with a matching fedora and glasses. “You may call me Andrew,” the man said when he reached the rest of the group.
“Oh, looks like the whole gang’s here,” Alice happily said. “What do you say we get lunch going? I’m hungrier than a Snorlax on a diet!”
Alice proceeded to serve stew for each person and one particular pony. They all ate and talked like a small family. Trixie mostly stayed on the sidelines, preferring to watch the scene rather than participate. She watched with some nostalgia as her thoughts went to some of the ponies she had met during her travels. Meals like this were almost certain to happen when she traveled with a group. It was the traveler’s spirit, she supposed. Her new partner, Golurk, sat behind her.
After everybody finished eating, it was Cynthia who spoke first. “So, Ryohei, about that battle?”
“Really? YEAH! EXTREME! I’LL BEAT YOU!” the loud man yelled loudly.
“I supposed I’ll act as the referee,” Andrew volunteered. “Any objections?”
“NO!”
“None from me.”
“Very well,” Andrew continued. “This will be a three versus three battle. When a pokémon is unable to continue battling, it will be considered a loss. Once a team loses its three pokémon, it will be considered the loser. Use of items will be prohibited until the match ends.”
Trixie watched with growing curiosity. She saw every other human grabbing their pokéballs and releasing their own creatures. Apparently they didn’t want to miss such a show. Things were about to get interesting, and the heavy air of suspense permeated the area.
“Let this battle BEGIN!” Andrew yelled as he made a chopping motion with his arm and rapidly made his way to the sidelines.
“SKYRAPTOR, YOUR TURN!” Ryohei screamed as he released the gray bird from before from its ball. It had a zigzag patter on its chest, along with a red bang on its head. It had an intimidating aura that made Trixie nervous. Ryohei’s staraptor stood proudly, waiting for its opponent.
“Go, Lucario!” Cynthia released her own monster, revealing a blue anthropomorphic jackal, with steel spikes protruding from its chest and the back of its front paws. Its underbelly was yellow, and its limbs were black.
“BRAVE BIRD!” Ryohei screamed as soon as the lucario was revealed. Skyraptor was enveloped in blue flames and sped to its opponent. Lucario stood its ground, eveding the attack at the last moment.
“Close Combat!” Cynthia ordered. Lucario unleashed its attack to Skyraptor, who was within range thanks to its missed attack. Cynthia’s pokémon assaulted the bird with a flurry of kicks and punches.
“FIGHT BACK!” Ryohei yelled to his pokémon. Skyraptor threw the lucario away and flew to make some distance. A moment later, it was right in front of the blue pokémon, unleashing its own Close Combat attack. “IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE! HAHAHAHA!”
“Lucario, use Stone Edge!” Cynthia commanded. Lucario gave a quick kick to break its opponent away. Pointy stones quickly materialized around Lucario and shot forward. Skyraptor was pelted with the sharp projectiles, weakening it greatly.
“NO! SKYRAPTOR!” Ryohei wailed.
“Looks like it’s super effective, Cynthia echoed with a grin.
“WE’RE NOT DONE YET! SKYRAPTOR, BRAVE BIRD!” Ignoring the pain, the staraptor was engulfed in blue flames again, shooting itself faster than ever to its target. Lucario was unable to dodge this time and was hit with the brunt of the attack.
“Oh, no!” Cynthia exclaimed. Her fearful expression turned to relief when she saw her precious lucario raise again.
“NOOOO!” Ryohei screamed. Skyraptor did not get up. “Guess that lucario’s sturdier than it looks. Rest up, buddy. You did great.” He pointed his pokéball to the downed bird and returned it. He gave Cynthia a determined look.
“Ryohei’s staraptor is unable to continue fighting. The winner is Lucario,” Andrew declared.
“TIME TO UP THE DIFFICULTY! CHAMPION! ONWARDS!!!” This time Ryohei released a pokémon very much like a super-muscular human, only it was bluish grey in color and had four arms. It wore nothing but a championship belt.
“A machamp, huh?” Cynthia said to herself. “Lucario, use Aura Sphere!” Lucario’s front paws glowed blue. Suddenly, a ball made of ethereal blue fire was formed between its two paws. With a growl, Lucario hurled the orb towards its foe.
“TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!” Ryohei barked. Champion crossed its arms in a defensive posture and took the attack like a pro. It did a significant amount of damaged, but the machamp shrugged it off. “NOW USE REVENGE!”
Cynthia’s eyes widened. “Lucario, dodge!” But it was in vain. Lucario’s previous injuries prevented it from moving as fast as it should have been. Champion’s fists gave off a dark aura and it unleashed four extremely powerful punches, one for each arm. Even without the added power Revenge got from the user being damaged, it was more than enough power to down the fighting/steel-type pokémon, given the steel-type weakness to fighting-type moves.
“YEAH! EXTREEEEME!!!” Ryohei cheered, his machamp celebrating by flexing its muscles.
“Lucario is unable to continue. The battle goes to Ryohei’s machamp,” Andrew declared.
“Alright, no more fooling around,” Cynthia said with a definite tone. “Garchomp, your turn.” The shark dragon monster Trixie was familiar with made its appearance. It gave a loud roar in preparation for its fight.
“CHAMPION, USE CROSS CHOP!” Champion crossed its arms again, this time in an offensive posture.
“Intercept with Dragon Claw!”
The machamp rushed toward the dragon, attack ready to be unleashed. Garchomp crossed its claws in retaliation and unleashed an attack on its own. The two ferocious attack met and immediately reached a stalemate. Garchomp was undoubtly strong, thanks to years of intense training, but Champion was a machamp, a species of pokémon known for their amazing feats of strength.
After a few more moments with no clear victor in strength, both pokémon broke apart. Champion quickly readied another Cross Chop, but Garchomp was faster and was already attacking with flame-covered jaws. “Fire Fang!” Cunthia yelled as Garchomp bit the machamp in the shoulder, inflicting heavy damage and leaving nasty burns.
“CHAMPION! HANG IN THERE!” Ryohei desperately cried.
“Finish him with Dragon Rush!” Garchomp was surrounded by draconic energy, and rushed to its opponent with a speed belying its build. Champion didn’t even have time to react as the attack hit and it fell to the ground, unconsciousness quickly claiming it.
“NOOOO! MY BELOVED CHAMPION!” Ryohei returned his pokémon. “But you were still amazing out there. Thanks, buddy. You deserve your rest.”
“Machamp can no longer battle. The winner is Garchomp,” Andrew once again said in his referee role.
“ALRIGHT, TIME FOR MY TRUMP CARD! HOPE YOUR BODY IS READY, CUZ HERE COMES CANNON! Ryohei yelled in his most extreme fashion yet. He threw the ball with as much might as his powerful arms allowed. With blinding speed, his next pokémon entered the scene. This pokémon also resembled a human, albeit a one much less muscular. It wore a gray tunic and sported boxing gloves.
“Figured your strongest pokémon would be a hitmonchan,” Cynthia said amusedly. “But I’m not planning on going easy on you!”
“WE DON”T LIKE IT EASY! CANNON, USE BULLET PUNCH!” Ryohei’s hitmonchan got in a boxing position, and suddenly disappeared. Before anyone could blink, it reappeared already punching Garchomp in the gut. The punch was so powerful the dragon was sent flying into a tree broke the wood.
“What amazing strength!” Cynthia couldn’t help but be amazed at it.
“DON’T LET IT GET UP! FOLLOW WITH ICE PUNCH!”
This time, Cannon’s fist was surrounded by super-cold air. It leaped toward its target and punched with all its might. The attack connected, causing great damage to Cynthia’s garchomp and leaving its chest frozen.
“Garchomp! Get up and counterattack!” Cynthia yelled. Much to every human’s surprise, Garchomp did just that.
“OH, COME ON! THAT’S FOUR TIMES THE DAMAGE YOU SHOULD’VE TAKEN, AND CANNON’S STRONG ENOUGH TO K.O. MOST POKEMON WITHOUT TYPE ADVANTAGE!”
“He’s really strong, I’ll give you that. But it takes even more than that to beat Garchomp,” Cynthia replied with pride in her voice. “Now it’s time to end this. Garchomp, use Draco Meteor!”
Garchomp gave a loud roar and shot a beam from its mouth skywards. Moments later, meteorites began raining down in the area where the hitmonchan stood. Strong as it was, it couldn't endure the powerful attack and fainted shortly after.
“Hitmonchan is unable to continue. The battle and the match go to Cynthia and her garchomp!” Andrew finally said, ending the battle.
“NOOOOO!!! WE LOST! Heh, I guess I still need more training if I wish to face the champion of the Sinnoh region.”
“It was a really good match. I had a lot of fun. And be proud, not many can corner Garchomp like that,” Cynthia said as she shook Ryohei’s hand.
“We’ll keep training! AND ONE DAY WE’LL BEAT THE UNOVA CHAMPION! EXTREEEEEEME!!!”
Everybody laughed at the loud man’s quirky nature. Everybody but Trixie, who was so struck with awe she couldn’t move properly.
“Hey, are you alright?” Cynthia asked once she noticed her newest friend’s catatonic state.
“That... that...” Trixie mumbled.
“Yes?”
“That was savage! That was barbaric!” Trixie exploded. “That was... that was amazing! Such action, such adrenaline-boosting action!”
Cynthia laughed at the pony’s reaction. “Yeah, well. Welcome to the world of pokémon.”
Author's Note
Chapter 2 is here!
Quiestion: What pokemon would you like Trixie to have? I already have three planned, but I'd like to listen to your ideas and why.
