My Little Pokemon

Chapters

New Arrivals, Part 2
New Arrivals, Part 3
A Forest of First-Times
A Junkyard Scrap
Picnic Panic
A Stone Cold Battle
Fracas In Faunaville
Taking The Low Road
Raging Rarity
Swamp Rescue
Rainbow Rises
It Is On
Battleshy
Interludes I: Family Matters
At the Mountains of Malcontents
A Grave Situation, Part 1
A Grave Situation, Part 2
The Path Overly Traveled
The Hauntering
Surfside Showdown
Chasing Peak Performance
Avast Me Pinkies
Encountering Some Turbulence
Chaos on the Catwalk
High Seas Hijinks
Hothouse Housebreak
Puppy Problems
Calamitous Conifers
Instituting Some Action
Fluttershy, Warrior of Justice
Interludes II: Friends and Enemies
Flaring Tempers
Cable Carnage
Battle Fever
A Bad Bad Man
Accidental Villainy
Into the Oven
Bonding Experiences
Buyer Bewear
Growing Up is Hard to Do
Battling the Tides
The Un-Fair Folk
Interludes III: The Gathering Storm
Lesser of Two Weaviles
The Muddy Road Ahead
Valley of the Lost Baltoys
New Arrivals, Part 1
Twilight Bugs Out
Searching High and Lombre
Waltzing The Danse Macabre
One Angry Orchard
Flying the Unfriendly Skies

New Arrivals, Part 2

The Javik Region was founded almost twenty years ago by a team of Pokémon breeders and researchers. Dedicated to the creation of the perfect Pokémon sanctuary and research habitat, they outfitted and expanded Javik Island until it could comfortably support every known variety of Pokémon. Today, Javik Island, or as it’s more commonly known today the Javik Region, is a breathtaking mix of natural and man-made environments that cover almost every imaginable terrain type. Of course, any Pokémon paradise will eventually attract Pokémon trainers, and the Javik Region is no exception. The Javik League boasts a staggering total of no fewer than eighteen gyms covering every currently known Pokémon type, offering trainers an unparalleled variety of options when taking the Javik League gym battle challenge. So, no matter if you’ve come here to study, battle, or if you’re just a lover of Pokémon in general, we welcome you to the Javik Region!

The Javik Region was founded…

“These Javik folks sure seem proud of themselves if that spiel of theirs is anythin’ to go by,” Applejack thought to herself. It seemed as though to Applejack that she had been listening to the Javik Region’s brief history on constant repeat ever since she had stepped off the cruise liner she had awoken on. The constant repetition normally would have been something Applejack would have simply tuned out, but her ability to overlook things had been overtaxed by waking up in a strange room after being turned into a bipedal ape. “Still,” Applejack thought as she sat and looked at the red and white ball she had received, “today ain’t been a total loss. Ah’ve got this here little plant-turtle fella. And it ain’t like Ah’m alone here neither.”

“Oh Applejack, there you are darling,” Rarity called out as she slipped her way through the crowd towards Applejack. “I’m sorry I ran off like that, but I just had to ask that nice young lady about her ensemble.”

“Don’t y’all worry none about it. To be honest, Ah needed a minute to sit and clear mah head a bit anyways.” It had been a stroke of amazing luck that Applejack had run into Rarity (nearly quite literally in fact) as they had been disembarking the cruise ship. Granted, the fashionista had as little clue as to what was going on as Applejack did, but whatever was going on it would be easier to face it with a friend. “Now, Ah don’t know about you, but frankly Ah don’t see too much point in stayin’ in this place too much longer,” Applejack said as the shouts form a nearby battle suddenly grew louder.

“Indeed,” Rarity replied as she glanced uncomfortably over at the cluster of trainers. “Perhaps we could discuss what we should do next outside?”

“Sounds good to me,” Applejack replied as she rose up from the bench she had been sitting on. The two friends quickly began making their way through the crowds, often having to detour around the numerous ongoing battles. Once the pair made it outside they quickly moved to a spot where they wouldn’t be blocking the entrance before Applejack turned back to Rarity. “Alright, so what do y’all propose we do now?”

“Why in Equestria would I have any idea what we should do? Not a single thing about any of this situation makes any sense whatsoever. Last night I went to bed in my boutique, as a unicorn I’ll add, and then poof! I wake up as this…thing wearing what I will admit is a lovely outfit.” Applejack rolled her eyes at Rarity’s last comment, amazed that even under circumstances like these her friend was able to still focus on fashion. “And now,” Rarity continued “we’re in some bizarre world where these adorable little creatures are made to fight one another! I mean, look at this precious little darling.” As Rarity spoke, she took out the Poke Ball that contained the Pokémon she had selected and gave it a slight twirl, causing it to split open and a light to leap out.

“Piplup!” The small, light blue penguin-like creature chirped happily as it hopped about.

“How in Equestria could I be expected to make this cute little thing fight some nasty monster?” Rarity asked as she fawned over her newly acquired Pokémon. Her Piplup, for its part, seemed to enjoy the attention, repeating its name happily as Rarity petted it.

“Well, Ah can understand y’all not knowin’ what we should do next. Ah was just hopin’ y’all would have some sort of idea, ‘cause right now Ah feel more out of place than a snake at a farriers.” Applejack plopped herself down on the edge of a small plot of bushes and huffed. “The fact of the matter is we need to figure out what we’re doin’ here and we ain’t gonna do that by just goofin’ around.”

“’Just goofing around’? Well I never! If you have any suggestions as to what we should be doing on this island I’d love to hear them, but right now it doesn’t seem like you’re helping solve our problem in the slightest.” Rarity shot back.

Before Applejack could escalated the argument further the sound of a young girl laughing caught Applejack and Rarity’s attention. “Wow, I know the new arrivals usually aren’t very experienced, but you two are completely clueless, aren’t you?” Rarity and Applejack both turned to see the source of the voice, who turned out to be a girl who appeared to be around the same age as their younger sisters. The girl was perched on a nearby fire hydrant like some sort of bird with a massive grin on her face. “Did you two really come all the way here without having any idea what you were going to do when you got here? That’s just…” the girl was unable to finish her thought as she promptly burst into another fit of laughter.

“Well, if y’all could stop laughin’ at us fer a minute, maybe y’all could help us out,” Applejack said.

Applejack’s response apparently surprised the girl, at least enough to get her to stop laughing. “Huh,” the girl said as she cocked her head to one side. “Well, if you’re smart enough to actually ask for help than maybe you’re not as clueless as I though.” The girl hopped down from her hydrant and extended her hand out to Applejack. “I’m Claire, by the way. Sorry for laughing at you like that, it’s just weird to meet anyone who’d come to the Javik region and not at least plan to take on the league’s gym challenge.”

“Mah name’s Applejack,” Applejack said as she took Claire’s hand. “And pardon mah askin’ but what the hay is this league and gym challenge stuff?” While Applejack spoke she took a closer look at Claire. Claire was wearing a denim vest over a faded tee-shirt along with a short pink shirt over some tattered black leggings. Her chestnut hair was pulled into a pair of pigtails and even while she was standing still she gave the impression of being a font of boundless energy. Overall, she gave the impression of someone who either didn’t care what she looked like, or was one of those strange people who put a great deal of effort into making it seem as though she didn’t care.

Claire took a sharp inhale of breath at Applejack’s question. “Wow, ok, so you don’t even know that much, huh? Look, I really sympathize with the two of you if you’re really that new to the whole trainer thing, but I’m a little too busy with my own stuff right now to give you a whole ‘trainer 101’ lesson.” Claire folded her hands behind her head and kicked at the ground. “You know what, I have an idea. If you two really need to learn the absolutely basics you should talk to the local gym leader, a guy named Ferris. He can be kind of a dick if you’re not willing to listen to his advice, but as long as you don’t ignore what he’s telling you them he’ll help you out. And if he gives you issues just tell him that I said he should give you some pointers or else.”

“Uh, thanks fer the help, Ah guess,” Applejack said uncertainly. “Ah don’t suppose y’all could tell us where the hay we could find this Ferris fella, anyway?”

“Ugh, seriously?” Claire asked. “You’ve both got Pokédexes, right? Just use that to find the Mercury City Gym and that’s where you’ll find him.” With that, Claire bounded off down the street, not even bothering to look back over her shoulder as she went.

“So, what the hay do y’all think she meant by usin’ our poke-whatchamacallits to find the gym this Ferris fella is at?” Applejack asked once Claire was out of sight.

“I’m not entirely positive, but I believe she was referring to these red devices that we were provided,” Rarity replied. As she spoke, Rarity opened the messenger bag she had be given (inwardly cringing at the atrocious color) and pulled out her Pokédex. Deftly flipping the Pokédex open, Rarity proceeded to stare at it for several seconds as she waited for inspiration to strike as to what she should do next. “Oh, I give up,” Rarity eventually declared in disgust. “I simply cannot fathom how I’m supposed to use this…tacky little device to locate the Mercury City Gym!” As soon as Rarity spoke, however, the Pokédex lit up on its own.

“Location request; Mercury City Gym; Processing; Location found; Please review directions provided.”

“Huh, Ah guess that thing works by just askin’ it what y’ want to know. Pretty durn convenient, if y’ ask me.” Applejack paused as she watched her friend stare at the Pokédex’s screen. “So, which way is it sayin’ we need to go?”

*********

“And here we are!” Rarity said in a singsong voice as the two friends approached the Mercury City Gym.

“Well it’s about durn time,” Applejack huffed. “Ah reckon we could have gotten here at least an hour earlier if somepony hadn’t felt the need to stop at almost every shop we passed.”

“Oh come now, Applejack, you can’t honestly expect me to pass up the chance to see as much of the fashions here as I possibly can. Just from what we’ve seen today I’ve gotten enough inspiration to plan my next five spring lines!” Granted, what Rarity declined to mention was that most of said inspiration had come from the sight of the various Pokémon they had passed on the way to the gym, but Rarity saw no point in mentioning something like that and antagonizing Applejack further.

For a moment it looked like Applejack wanted to say something in response, but instead she simply took a deep breath and let out a long, irritated sigh. “All right, let’s just get in there and find this Ferris fella and see if he can actually explain how the hay this crazy place works.” Rarity nodded in agreement and the two walked into the gym only to be almost immediately knocked off their feet as the entire building started to violently shake. “What the hay is goin’ on?” Applejack yelled in panic.

Before Rarity had a chance to reply, a somewhat muffled voice could be heard calling out from past a set of metal double doors. “Stunfisk is unable to battle!” The voice declared, eliciting a mixture of cheers and shouting. Strangely, the shouting seemed to be coming from up a pair of stairwells that led up from either side of the doors. Applejack and Rarity shared a brief glance before coming to a silent agreement and hurrying up one of the flights of stairs to see what the commotion was about. Ascending the stairways took them to a viewing area filled with people overlooking one of the strangest sights either mare had encountered yet. The viewing area overlooked an arena of some kind that looked like a series of explosives had been detonated inside of it. Inside the arena were a pair of particularly vicious looking Pokémon. The first appeared to be some kind of giant mole, except that its front paws were tipped with jagged metal blades, with another blade jutting forth from its forehead. Its opponent, on the other hand, looked like some bizarre cross between a bipedal lizard and a palm tree.

“Huh, I want this guy was saving his Mega Evolution, but seriously, a Sceptile? Dude doesn’t have a chance,” one of the nearby spectators, a young man with a shaved head, said to the person seated next to him.

“I know, right?” his companion, a young woman with bright red hair, replied. “And Ferris hasn’t even brought out his Metagross yet.” As the woman spoke both spectators glanced over towards Applejack and Rarity. “Oh, hey, are you two here to catch the end of the challenge? Man, you missed a few epic battles, but at least it looks like you got here in time to see Ferris wrap things up.”

With no real better options available, Applejack and Rarity shrugged at one another and sat down, the woman who had greeted them scooting over to provide room. Once Applejack sat down her first instinct was to introduce herself to the pair sitting next to her, but before she could something happening in the arena suddenly sent the crowd into a frenzy. The gym leader had crossed his arms in front of his chest before slamming his fists together and then thrusting them forward. As he did so, streams of bright light arced out from him towards the mole-like Pokémon on his side of the arena, who had been mimicking his movements. The moment Ferris completed the sequences his Pokémon burst into a corona of yellow-orange light and launched itself into the air while spinning around like a massive drill. The spinning Pokémon crashed into its lizard-like opponent with a devastating explosion of force, knocking it off its feet and pushing out of the arena entirely with a load crash.

“Sceptile is unable to battle,” Applejack heard someone from inside the arena call out in the hesitant tone of someone who knew they were stating the blindingly obvious. “As the challenger has now more Pokémon remaining the winner is Gym Leader Ferris.” The audience went wild at this proclamation until Ferris raised his hands in a gesture asking for quiet.

“You actually handled yourself pretty well, but you’ve still got a ways to go before you’re ready for the league championship. Keep training, though, and you’ll make it there eventually.” With that, Ferris turned to his own Pokémon and pointed a Pokéball at it. “Excadrill, return,” Ferris commanded, causing a beam of red light to leap out and strike his Excadrill, which promptly vanished.

“Man, leave it to Ferris to break out the big guns right at the finale,” the bald trainer said as he leaned back in his seat. “But how weak would that Sceptile have to be get one-shot like that?”

“Meh,” the red-haired woman sitting next to Applejack said dismissively, “Sceptile’s not exactly durable and the whole point of using a Z-Move is to end a fight quickly. I mean I’m a little surprised Ferris’ Excadrill out-sped it, but it’s always been pretty fast.”

“Uh huh,” Applejack said, only barely able to follow their conversation. All of their talk of “Z-Moves” and varying statistics sounded like complete gibberish to her. “So, Ah take it y’all watch these battles pretty often, then?” Applejack asked after a moments pause.

“Yeah, we try to come down here whenever we get the chance, especially if someone’s coming in with a bunch of badges already!” The bald trainer exclaimed. “But even a first timer can be interesting as long as they know what they’re doing. I hear some newb got completely smoked earlier today, though. I’m Sid, by the way.” As he spoke, Sid held his hand out towards Applejack.

“Pleased to meet y’all, mah name’s Applejack, and this here’s mah friend Rarity,” Applejack replied as she shook his hand.

“Jeanne,” Sid’s companion said simply by way of introduction. While Sid had been talking Jeanne had taken out a small notebook and was intently writing in it.

“Don’t mind her,” Sid said as he gestured towards his friend. “Jeanne’s convinced she’s going to take down Ferris for her fifth badge and she’s trying to get some sort of edge on him by studying his battles.”

“Pardon me,” Rarity said, showing interest in the conversation for the first time, “but what’s all this talk about badges and whatnot?”

“What d’ya mean ‘what about badges’? They’re the whole point of challenging gyms. Well that and earning Z-Crystals,” Sid replied. “Any trainer that wants to compete in the Pokémon League first has to prove themselves by challenging and beating eight of the league’s gym leaders. You beat a gym leader, you get a badge.”

“So it all comes back to battling then,” Rarity said, distaste clearly audible in her voice.

“Yeah, Ah ain’t gonna lie, Ah don’t really see the appeal of forcin’ these critters to fight each other mahself,” Applejack added.

“What? Trainers don’t force their Pokémon to fight each other,” Sid cried out. “It’s more like a…I dunno, a partnership or something. Y’know, trusting each other…Jeanne, help me out here.”

“If you guys really don’t understand what Pokémon training’s all about maybe you should try talking with Ferris,” Jeanne said. “Ferris is really big on the whole ‘what it really means to be a trainer’ deal. I will say this, though; if a Pokémon really doesn’t want to battle then there isn’t a whole lot a trainer can actually do to force them. In case watching that battle didn’t clue you in Pokémon can be pretty freaking powerful.”

Applejack and Rarity shared a glance as they absorbed what Jeanne was saying. “Ah think y’all are right about us needin’ to talk with that Ferris fella. Ah’m still not sure about all this battlin’ stuff, but it seems like there’s more to it then Ah’m seein’.”

*********

“Ferris? Yeah, he’s in the back,” the young man said before quickly turning away. “Machoke! Watch what you’re doing with those slabs! You’re gonna hurt someone if you’re not careful!”

“Machoke,” the grey, muscular, bipedal creature said apologetically as it carried off a massive hunk of concrete.

“It’s alright, just try and be careful. Seriously, we have got to talk to Ferris about changing the arena composition; I’m getting tired of having to strip everything down every time something fires off an earthquake in here. Anyway,” he said as he turned back to Applejack and Rarity, “if you’re looking to challenge Ferris for a badge you’re gonna need to come back tomorrow.” The man winced as part of the wall where the previous challenger’s Sceptile had impacted gave way with a loud crash. “Or maybe even next week, that last battle did a real number on this place.”

“Oh no no no,” Rarity quickly replied. “We have no intention of trying to…battle Mister Ferris.”

“We’re new to this whole ‘Pokémon’ business and we’ve heard that Ferris would be the fella to talk about it,” Applejack added.

“Eh, well, Ferris does have a thing for helping trainers who are just starting out. Like I said, you’ll find him through those doors in the back, probably making sure his team is alright after – Oh come on! Carl, don’t have them bring in the new slabs until we’re finished clearing away the broken stuff!”

Leaving the trainer to sort out the repairs to the gym’s arena, Rarity and Applejack quickly made their way to the double doors in the back. Beyond the doors was a long hallway with numerous doors on either side leading deeper into the building. Like the other portions of the gym that they had seen, the hallway was almost unnervingly stark, just a cement floor and cinderblock walls painted an off white and harshly illuminated by florescent lights. “Dear Celestia, this place is just…I don’t even think horrendous can do it justice,” Rarity complained with a disgusted shudder.

“Normally Ah’d say y’all were exaggeratin’, but honestly Ah think this time y’ might have a point. Ah mean, Ah’m all fer keepin’ things simple and plain, but this place could use a coat of paint at least. So, where do y’all think this Ferris fella’s hidin’?”

Rarity opened her mouth to respond, but before she could she was interrupted by the sounds of metal scraping against concrete. “Dang it, Skarmory, hold still! I know it stings but you’ll just have to bear with it, you took a heck of a beating in there.”

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other before rushing over to the room where the commotion seemed to be coming from. “Pardon the intrusion,” Applejack said as she opened the door, “but y’all wouldn’t happen to be Ferris, would y’?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Ferris replied. The gym leader was seated in a following chain in the middle of what appeared to be an infirmary of some kind. Standing in front of him was a large bird-like creature covered in metal plates which glowered at Applejack and Rarity. “Don’t mind Skarmory here, he’s just a little grumpy because he ate a few nasty electric attacks in our last battle. So, what can I do for you? Just so you know, if you’re here for a gym battle we’d need to use a public arena since the gym’s field is going to be under repair for a while.”

“Don’t worry, we ain’t lookin’ to challenge y’all. Y’ see, we’re actually new to this whole Pokémon business and a girl we met named Claire said y’all be able to help us sort out the basics.”

At the mention of Claire’s name both Ferris and his Skarmory looked up with similar expressions of alarm. “And let me guess, Claire said to tell me that I need to help you ‘or else’, am I right?”

“Well, Ah wasn’t gonna say anythin’, but…”

Ferris held up his hand to cut Applejack off. “It’s alright, that’s…well, that’s just how Claire is. Anyway, what exactly did you two need help with?”

“To be honest, Ah just have a hard time wrappin’ mah head around all this battlin’ stuff. It just doesn’t seem right forcin’ these critters to fight each other, but then it seems like they ain’t objectin’ to it?” Applejack gave a confused shrug of her shoulders. “Frankly the more Ah learn about it the less sense it seems to make to me.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard that sort of thing before. A lot of people have trouble understanding the bond between a trainer and their Pokémon and where battling fits in with that. And, unfortunately, there are a fair number of trainers who exploit and mistreat their Pokémon in just the way you’re probably concerned about. The thing to keep in mind is that the relationship between a trainer and their Pokémon isn’t one-sided. A good trainer is able to bring out a Pokémon’s full potential and battling is one of the most effective ways to do that.”

“What exactly do y’all mean by their ‘full potential’?” Applejack asked.

“Faster, stronger, better at whatever it is they do, basically,” Ferris replied. “Many Pokémon will even evolve into stronger forms when they get strong enough. The point is that accomplishing any of that is extremely difficult for a Pokémon without a human partner. Of course, every Pokémon’s different and some aren’t interested in any of that, just like every trainer isn’t going to try and seriously compete in the league’s championship.”

“So how the hay is somepo – someone supposed to figure out what their Pokémon want? It ain’t like y’ can really ask them how they feel about any of it,” Applejack replied.

“Actually that’s exactly what you’d do,” Ferris said with a laugh. “Even if we can’t exactly speak their language Pokémon have a knack for making themselves understood. Here, why don’t you let your Pokémon out and try asking them yourself?”

“If y’all say so,” Applejack said skeptically as she pulled out her Pokéball. “Come on out, Turtwig!” Applejack’s Pokémon leapt out from its Pokéball in a flash of light, materializing on the floor in front of her.

“Turtwig! Turtwig Turtwig!” the small tortoise-like creature declared as it began happily bouncing around the room.

“Whoa there, little guy,” Applejack said as she knelt down to her Turtwig’s level. Cautiously, Applejack reached her hand out and began scratching Turtwig behind the sapling growing out of its head, much to its apparent delight. “So, about all this battlin’ stuff, is that really somethin’ y’all’d want to go through?”

“Turtwig tur!” Turtwig declared as it attempted to strike a fierce pose before turning to Applejack with a massive grin.

“Ah’m guessin’ that’s yer way of sayin’ yes,” Applejack said, to which Turtwig nodded happily. “Huh, well ain’t that somethin’ to think about then. Hey Rarity, what do y’all thing about – Oh fer Celestia’s sake!” While Applejack had been speaking with Ferris and her Turtwig, Rarity had apparently been admiring herself in the reflective surface of Skarmory’s armor plates. Skarmory seemed to be reveling in the attention, striking a series of dramatic poses for Rarity’s benefit.

“Don’t mind Skarmory,” Ferris said with a chuckle. “She’s always been a bit of a showoff and to be honest I think her ego is still a little bruised from that last battle, so this is probably good for her. Anyway, if you’re thinking of trying the Javik gym circuit my advice would be to head north to Keystone City. The gym leader there would probably be your best option for an initial gym battle as long as you train a little first.”

“Well, Ah’ll give it some thought at least,” Applejack said, still sounding a little skeptical. “Fer now Ah think we should probably get goin’, but y’all’ve definitely given me somethin’ to think about. C’mon Rarity, let’s get a move on.” Applejack turned to leave the room, taking Rarity’s arm as she did so. “Thank y’ kindly fer talkin’ to us about this, though.”

“Hey, my pleasure, I’m always happy to give new trainers some direction,” Ferris replied. “Just remember, your Pokémon are going to be relying on you as their trainer. They trust you to provide them with guidance and direction and that’s something you should take seriously.”

“Don’t y’all worry none about that, if there’s one thing Ah take seriously its responsibility,” Applejack said as she exited the room with Rarity in tow, Turtwig trotting behind. “So,” Applejack said to Rarity as they made their way back the way came, “did y’all listen to a word of what we were talkin’ about or were y’ too busy admirin’ yer reflection?”

“You mean all that talk about how Pokémon supposedly actually enjoy being pitted against each other? Really, Applejack, just because I’m looking at myself in a mirror doesn’t mean I’m oblivious to what’s going on around me. Besides, you heard Ferris, that darling bird of his needed a little opportunity to show off,” Rarity added.

“Fair enough. So, Ah think maybe we should take that Ferris fella’s advice and head up to that Keystone City place.”

“Applejack, you can’t really be seriously thinking of participating in these gym battles?” Rarity asked in shock.

“To tell the truth Ah haven’t really decided yet mahself. Ah’m not too keen on the idea personally, but Turtwig here seems like he’s rarin’ to go.”

“Turtwig!” Turtwig declared happily, as if to affirm Applejack’s conclusion.

“And besides that, Ah think headin’ out of this city might be the best thing we can do right now. Ah don’t see us accomplishin’ much of anythin’ stayin’ here in this city, but maybe if we start explorin’ this place we can figure out a way home. Besides, maybe if we’re lucky we’ll run into somepony else who got stuck here too. Now, Ah ain’t sayin’ it’s a great play, but it’s the best Ah can think of right now. If y’all have a better idea than Ah’m all ears, but at least we’d be doin’ somethin’, and that’s gotta be better than doin’ nothin’.”

Rarity spent the next several minutes wracking her brains to see if she could indeed come up with a better plan before finally letting out a sigh of resignation. “No I suppose I can’t really say that I do. On the plus side, though, seeing more of this world should provide me with mountains of inspiration for my designs.”

*********

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Clair casually skipped into the building housing the local offices of the Javik Pokémon League. “Excuse me, miss?” one of the building’s security guards called out after her. “This building isn’t open to the general public, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Ugh, seriously?” Claire groaned. “Here, take a look at my ID.” As she spoke, Claire handed the guard her Pokédex, her personal information already pulled up.

As the hapless guard reviewed Claire’s identification the expression on his face rapidly cycled from confusion to incredulousness to finally complete shock. “You’re one of the Elite Four?” the guard finally managed to stammer out as he returned her Pokédex.

“Darn right I am. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some important league business to take care of.” With that said Claire bounded off towards the building’s elevators, leaving the stunned guard standing in the middle of the lobby.

*********

“Y’know, I get that I’m kinda young for an Elite Four member, but I still can’t believe that just happened,” Claire muttered to herself as she walked through the office hallways. “I mean, you’d think that someone would at least hand out photos or something so security knows what we look like.” As Claire continued to make her way towards her destination she rounded a corner only to see a pair of rather distinctive women striding down the hallway in her direction. Each women was dressed in an expensive looking evening gown, one pearl white and the other in a sequined midnight-blue affair. Furthermore, both women were quite tall, with the one wearing white standing nearly six feet. The most distinctive aspect of them, however, was doubtlessly their hair. The lady in blue had deep blue, almost black hair that seemed to actually sparkle like the night sky (or as if someone had tossed a handful of glitter into it, Claire thought to herself). The lade in white, meanwhile, didn’t have hair that was just a single color, but rather streaks of pastel pink, green, purple, and blue. As the swept past her, Claire noted that they both shared worried expressions, as though they had just learned something terrible had happened.

Once the two were out of sight, Claire stormed over to the doors at the far end of the hall and tossed them open, revealing a small meeting room with a rather spectacular view of the city. “I see your manners haven’t improved any since the last time we saw each other,” huffed the room’s sole occupant, a large man with a buzz cut dressed in a drab olive shirt and khakis.

“I really don’t want to hear it, Patton,” Claire said as she flopped into one of the chairs. “So, what exactly is so important that all four of us needed to be called in? Speaking of which, where the heck are Hanzo and Lumia?”

“I’ve already spoken with Lumia via a remote link, you actually just missed her. As for Hanzo, apparently our champion is going to be speaking with him directly.”

Claire raised an eyebrow at this last bit of news “Wait, so whatever’s going on is big enough that the human Snorlax himself is getting off his butt? Now you’ve got my attention.”

Muttering something about disrespect, Patton cleared his throat before continuing. “I’m glad to hear you’re actually going to take this situation seriously. Now I’m presuming you passed a pair of women on your way here, correct?”

“You mean the two models with the weird hair? Yeah, I saw them. Who the heck were those two?”

“From what I understand they’re foreign royalty from someplace called ‘Equestria’. Now, I don’t know the details myself, but apparently there’s been some sort of incident there and as a result we’re being inundated with confused individuals who supposedly have never even seen a Pokémon before. So far we haven’t been told anything about the actual nature of this incident, but from what I’ve heard the fallout could be bigger than what we saw in Alola not too long ago.”

“And what exactly does the league expect us to do about any of this if they won’t tell us what we’re up against?” Claire asked irritably.

“For right now, nothing,” Patton replied. “The hope is that this situation will work itself out without our needing to intervene. Until the situation changes we’re supposed to stay alert and offer any reasonable assistance to the new arrivals, but we don’t need to take any serious action as of yet.”

“So, whatever this is it could be a bigger deal than that the whole Ultra Beast thing, huh?” Claire asked as she leaned back in her seat. “This is pretty much guaranteed to blow up into the worst case scenario, isn’t it?”

“More than likely,” Patton agreed as the pair slowly wondered precisely what sort of disaster was awaiting them in the near future.

New Arrivals, Part 3

“Um, Pinkie Pie, do you really think it’s alright for us to just spend time here having tea like this? Shouldn’t we maybe be looking for the rest of our friends?” Fluttershy asked as she looked across the table at her friend. In truth, Fluttershy was the only one of the pair actually having tea, Pinkie Pie instead engaged in devouring a parfait nearly the size of her head.

“Relax, Fluttershy, it’s not like they’re in danger or anything. We’ll probably just run into them randomly if we wander around enough, kind of like going on a map mission.” Pinkie Pie said before returning to her dessert, pausing just long enough to pick out a strawberry and feed it to the dancing blue alligator-like creature standing next to her chair. Pinkie’s Totodile (or Toothy, as Pinkie Pie had named him) was a near match for his trainer’s personality, cheerfully hopping and dancing around her chair in a display of boundless energy.

Fluttershy initially looked as though she wanted to say something in response but quickly closed her mouth and remained silent instead. Trying to argue with Pinkie Pie was a frustrating endeavor under the best of circumstances, and it wasn’t as though Fluttershy had much to offer by way of an actual plan herself. “To be honest, I’m just glad I was able to run into at least one of my friends,” Fluttershy thought to herself as she looked down at her teacup. “Though I guess it’s not as though I’d be completely alone even if Pinkie and I had run into each other.”

“Cynda?” the small yellow and blue creature sitting on Fluttershy’s lap chirped quizzically.

“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking out loud,” Fluttershy said. Aside from Pinkie Pie’s presence the other reason Fluttershy had been able to avoid panicking over her situation had been her ability to communicate with the odd creatures called Pokémon. Thus far, all of the Pokémon Fluttershy had encountered had seemed particularly friendly, albeit surprised when they realized that she could understand them. That friendliness, however, didn’t seem to extend to each other, as the Pokémon Fluttershy had seen engaged in so-called battles had all been eager participants. Even Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil, who seemed to be relatively docile otherwise, had shown a distressing amount of interest in battling.

“So, do you think we should try going to the gym again?” Pinkie Pie asked suddenly. “I mean, it can’t be all rumbly-crashy-explodey all the time, can it?”

“I’m not so sure that would be such a good idea,” Fluttershy replied with a shudder. One of the first things the pair had done once they exited the Javik Welcome Center actually had been to go to the Mercury City Gym on the advice of several of the other trainers. However, the pair had scarcely even gotten inside the front doors of the building when something massive had impacted one of the inner walls with enough force to cause the wall to cave outward. As a result, Fluttershy had beaten a hasty retreat with Pinkie Pie in tow. “I’m not even really sure I’d want to back to any gym, I just hate the idea of seeing Pokémon hurt each other while fighting.”

“I guess I can understand that. But, didn’t you say that the Pokémon we saw battling were having fun?” Pinkie Pie asked as she finished the last bits of her parfait. “I don’t really get why they’d enjoy that so much, but if that’s the sort of thing they think is fun…”

“They do seem to enjoy it, but it’s still hard for me to watch.” Fluttershy replied, unconsciously allowing her hair to partially fall across her face.

“It’s alright, we don’t have to go back there if you don’t want to,” Pinkie Pie said quickly. “Though before we do go anywhere else I kinda need to hit the little filly’s room. Berightback!” With that, Pinkie Pie dashed off, leaving Fluttershy alone with their Pokémon.

Heaving a sigh, Fluttershy lifted her teacup to her lips only for her Cyndaquil to start squirming frantically in her lap. “What’s gotten into you? Is something wrong – Oh!” As Fluttershy spoke she felt someone tap her on her shoulder. Letting out a yelp of surprise, Fluttershy spun around only to find that there was no one there. When Fluttershy turned back to the table, however, she saw that an odd rectangular object had been placed on the table in front of her. Fluttershy had seen several humans who had appeared to have been talking into similar devices, but Fluttershy wasn’t entirely sure for what purpose. As Fluttershy pondered where exactly the device had come from it suddenly lit up while playing the tune to the Ponytone’s Music in You. Peering at the screen, Fluttershy could see the message ‘Incoming Call’ displayed across it, along with a green circle that said ‘Accept’ and a red one saying ‘Reject’. Tentatively, Fluttershy poked at the green circle, causing the device’s song to be replaced by a familiar voice.

“Hello Fluttershy, how have you been enjoying your little impromptu vacation so far?”

“Discord!” Fluttershy exclaimed loudly enough to send her Cyndaquil scrambling off of her lap. “Are you saying you’re the one responsible for sending us to this place?”

“Well…not exactly. You see, you and your friends, along with…oh, let’s say most of the ponies you’ve ever met were caught in a bit of a dimensional kerfuffle. That part wasn’t my doing at all, I can assure you. Now, I couldn’t very well let my friends wind up in just any dimension, some of those places are downright dangerous. Luckily for everypony concerned I was able to send everypony to the charming world you find yourselves in now.”

“And you didn’t just send us all back to Equestria because…?” Fluttershy asked using the same tone of voice she typically reserved for when her younger brother tried to justify moving back in with their parents.

“Well, normally I would have done just that, but in this case there were certain…complications involved.” Years of being Discord’s friend had given Fluttershy something of a knack for reading the Spirit of Chaos, and there was something in his tone that caught Fluttershy’s attention. It sounded as though to Fluttershy that Discord was actually nervous about something beyond the possibility of her being upset with him. “In any event,” Discord continued, “part of the reason I picked this particular dimension is the fact that they’ve been cooking up some very interesting ways to travel between dimensions. Think of your friend Twilight’s magic mirror, just on a larger scale. So, all somepony has to do is point their little experiment towards Equestria and everypony will be back home safe and sound.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes for a moment as she absorbed what Discord was telling her. “Alright, what about the rest of my friends, where are they?”

“Well, they’re…somewhere,” Discord replied hesitantly. “I was able to contact Twilight earlier, but my magic is somewhat limited when it comes to this dimension. Although, if you really want to find the rest of your friends you may want to start by checking the Javik League’s Gym Circuit. I only mention it since that’s the path I sent Twilight on, seeing as how she’ll need to complete it to gain access to the league’s headquarters.”

“The gym circuit? I don’t know if I’d want to go anywhere near those places.”

“Ah, yes, of course, your boundless empathy for all living creatures. I suppose you would have some reservations when it comes to the whole ‘battling’ thing, wouldn’t you?” There was a note of genuine concern in Discord’s voice as she spoke, as if this was an issue he had never previously considered. “Well, if it makes you feel better there really wouldn’t be any need for you to participate in the battles themselves. All you would need to do is travel to the gyms and try to meet up with your friends there.”

“Well, I guess that doesn’t sound too bad,” Fluttershy admitted.

“And besides, just think of all the adorable little Pokémon you’ll be able to meet along the way!” Discord added encouragingly. “Now, if it will make you feel any better I can see what I can do to arrange a little extra help for you as well. All you’ll need to do is head west out of the city towards a place called Faunaville. It’s a quaint little town, very peaceful. I mean, sure it has some problems with the occasional stampede but where isn’t that an issue?”

“And you really think I’ll find the rest of my friends there?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.

“Well, probably if you stay there long enough. In any event you’ll have a much better chance of meeting them there than if you just stay where you are,” Discord added.

“I suppose if you really think it will help I can talk to Pinkie Pie about it at the very least. Couldn’t you help us yourself, though?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, believe me I would if I could, but unfortunately I need to work on unraveling this whole multi-dimensional mess on my end. I’ll keep in touch, though, and if there’s anything else I can do for you you’ll be the first to know. Toodles!” With that, the device went silent, its screen simply displaying the message ‘call ended’.

“Back now!” Pinkie Pie suddenly announced as she bounced back into her seat, causing to Fluttershy to jump slightly in surprise. “Hey, what’s that thing you have there?”

“It’s something Discord sent me,” Fluttershy replied. “He used it to talk to me from wherever he is right now about what we should try to do next.”

“Uh huh,” Pinkie Pie said suspiciously. “And how exactly did he get that to you?”

“Um, well, I’m not entirely sure. I felt somepony tap me on the shoulder so I turned around and when I turned back there it was.”

“Interesting. And what did Discord want to talk to you about?”

“Oh, well he explained how we go here, well, sort of, and he gave me some suggestions on how we can find the rest of our friends,” Fluttershy said, brightening up a little.

“And did Discord actually say how we can find our friends and get back?” Pinkie Pie asked, leaning over the table as she fixed her gaze on her friend.

“Well…um…he didn’t say exactly, it was more of a suggestion, really,” Fluttershy whimpered as she shrank back in her chair.

Pinkie Pie continued to stare at Fluttershy for several moments longer before abruptly smiling brightly. “Well ok then! So, what did Discord suggest we do?” This abrupt change in demeanor was met by Fluttershy with a confused stare. “What? Like you said earlier, we really should be doing at least something to find everypony and it’s not like I have any ideas.”

“Ok, anyway, Discord said we should try heading west to a town called Faunaville because our friends are probably going to pass through there soon.”

“Alright, then what are we waiting for! Let’s get a move on!” Pinkie Pie leapt up and pulled Fluttershy out of her seat. Fluttershy barely had time to recall her Cyndaquil to its Poké Ball before Pinkie Pie began dragging her down the street, Toothy scrambling happily behind.

*********

“Well, if nothing else Fluttershy should at least enjoy the scenery on the way,” Discord said to himself as he ended the call. With a casual flip of his talons Discord caused the phone he was holding to vanish into the air before he turned his gaze to the dimension he had taken up residence in. It was a lavender void filled with floating islands, many of which had waterfalls spilling off in some random direction. A place of complete chaos, where even the laws of time and space had broken down. “And to think that this place is only two hours perpendicular to last Tuesday in my own little realm,” Discord mused. “I should really make a point of coming here more often.”

“Master, do you really think your friend will be alright?” asked a light-purple, vaguely humanoid creature as it floated beside Discord.

“She’ll be fine, Hoopa, Fluttershy and her friends have dealt with far worse than whatever they’re likely to encounter on that island.” As Discord spoke he materialized an odd-looking Poké Ball in his paw, plaid with an image of himself etched on the top, into which he recalled his Pokémon. “Of course, it certainly helps that Equestrian magic won’t work in that dimension, which should help to keep you away from them.” Discord snarled angrily.

As Discord spoke, the shadows of several nearby bushes stretched out and came together, coalescing into a pitch black mass with a pair of crimson eyes glowing in its center. “Honestly I’m just surprised you even cred about my plan to capture the Equestrians” the darkness rasped in a low echoing voice. “I wouldn’t think that a being of your power would have cared about the fates of a few insignificant mortals –“

“Oh give it a rest! I fell for that once already, no thanks to Tirek, and I’d still trust that miserable centaur over you!” Discord snapped. “And for what it’s worth, I’d hardly call hijacking the dimensional rift Twilight created to kidnap a few ponies a ‘plan’. Really, I don’t even know why ponies were ever even afraid of you.”

Several moments of silence passed before the darkness spoke once again. “You don’t really think you can protect them from me forever, do you? Your shunting them off into that occurred dimension may have inconvenienced me for the moment, but it won’t protect them forever. Sooner or later they’ll try to escape and I’ll be right here waiting for them, if my agents in that world don’t capture them first.”

“Oh yes, I had almost forgotten about your ‘agents’,” Discord said mockingly. “Two failures who’ve been bested by Twilight and her friends already, along with your court jester.”

“Each of those so-called failures has nearly conquered Equestria in the past, or have you already forgotten?” the darkness snarled back.

Discord snorted dismissively. “Maybe I might be a little concerned if they still had their magic, but they’re completely powerless in that world. That’s why you didn’t go there yourself; you’d get turned into just another powerless mortal.” The darkness remained silent for almost a full minute after Discord spoke, though the edges of its form seemed to tremble with barely contained rage. Finally, the blob of darkness finally dissipated, leaving Discord alone with his thoughts. “Hmph, you’d think the old goat would have developed at least some manners over the last thousand years or so. Ah well, I may as well see what I can do to about getting a message to mister ‘I love plates’ to see if that human of his can meet up with Fluttershy.” As Discord mentioned the name of the one pony he cared about above all others, however, his cheerful demeanor rapidly drained away.

A Forest of First-Times

“Alright Charmander, let’s run through this one more time; Smokescreen! Ember! Ember! Smokescreen! Tail Whip! Scratch!” As Twilight rapidly barked out instructions her Charmander performed each attack without hesitation. “Good job,” Twilight said as Charmander finished the well-rehearsed routine. “It looks like you’ve gotten a lot stronger already.” Walking across the forest clearing where she and her friends had set up their campsite, Twilight fanned away the smoke that Charmander had spewed out to reveal that the dead tree it had been practicing on was now covered in deep gouges and scorch marks.

“Sheesh, Twilight, you’re really taking this whole training thing seriously,” Rainbow Dash remarked as she watched from their campsite.

“Yes, well if we ever want to get back home to Equestria then we’re going to have to somehow complete this gym battle challenge. And if all of these Gym leaders are as powerful as that Ferris was then we’ll need to do everything we can to prepare,” Twilight added.

“Yeah, actually I’ve been thinking about that,” Rainbow Dash said hesitantly. “I know Discord is supposed to be reformed and all, and it’s not like I think he’d do something seriously evil to anypony…”

“But…?” Twilight asked.

“But he’s still, y’know, Discord! What if none of this has anything to do with getting home and Discord’s just sitting back laughing at us?”

“I’ve thought about that, and I won’t say it just a possibility, but I don’t think that’s case,” Twilight replied thoughtfully. “Besides, even if Discord was lying about everything it’s not as though we have all that many options. At the very least the more we can learn about this world the better. If we’re lucky we might even run into some of our other friends.” As she spoke, Twilight walked over to her Charmander and scratched its head, causing it to let out a contented sigh. “So, unless we find a better option I think going along with Discord’s advice is the best thing we can do.”

Rainbow Dash blinked several times before responding. “Ok, so we’ve been turned into shaved monkeys and dumped into a world full of little creatures with freaky powers, but hearing you say following Discord’s advice is the best thing to do is the officially the weirdest thing that’s happened so far.”

“Admittedly it’s not really something I ever expected to say myself, but here we are,” Twilight said with a shrug. “By the way, I don’t think I’ve really seen you do all that much training with Tank Jr. Shouldn’t you be working to get him ready for these gym battles?”

“I, uh, I’ve been training Tank Jr. too,” Rainbow Dash protested. “It’s just I’ve…been doing it at night, while you’re asleep. Y’know, getting Tank Jr. used to fighting in the dark in case something happens during a fight and he can’t see.”

“Uh huh,” Twilight said skeptically. “Well, alright then. In any case, I’m going to see if I can find where Spike went off to. He said he was going off to train after breakfast, but I haven’t seen him since.”

“Alright, I’ll just keep an eye on the campsite while you’re gone. Maybe I’ll even get a little training in,” Rainbow Dash added with a nervous laugh. Twilight nodded and started to make her way into the forest, pausing and turning to give Rainbow Dash a worried look before vanishing into the forest. Once Twilight was safely out of right, Rainbow Dash sat back down and took out Tank Jr.’s Poke ball. Staring into the ball’s dull finish, Rainbow Dash thought back to her disastrous attempt at a gym challenge. Tears began to well up in Rainbow Dash’s eyes as she recalled Tank Jr.’s cries of pain, a direct result of her own carelessness. “Darn it!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she slammed her fist into the log. “You deserve a better trainer than a screw up like me.”

*********

“Spike? Spike” Can you hear me?” Twilight called out as she trudged through the forest. There was no response, however, just the sound of a breeze rustling the leaves above her head. “Where in Equestria could Spike have run off to? I told him not to wander off too far away from the campsite.” Letting out a grunt of frustration Twilight leaned back against a nearby tree and pondered out loud about what to do next. “At least this place seems safer than the Everfree Forest, so Spike should be fine. I just hope he hasn’t gotten lost in here.”

“Geeze, Twilight, I’m not lost, I’m right here,” a voice said, startling Twilight into practically leaping into the air.

“Gah! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Twilight yelped as she fought to catch her breath.

“You’ve really got to start paying more attention to what’s going on around you, Twilight. Anyway, what’s going on? I thought you and Rainbow were training back at our campsite.”

“I was, at least. To be honest, though, I’m not so sure about Rainbow Dash. Speaking of Rainbow Dash, is it just me, or does she just not seem like herself recently?”

“I think she still feels bad about what happened when she challenged that Ferris guy,” Spike replied. “She did really get her rump handed to her after all. Not to mention the way he chewed her out afterwards.”

Twilight nodded sadly before suddenly looking up as a though struck her. “Actually, speaking of that gym battle, there’s something about it that’s been bugging me. Right at the beginning Ferris said that their battle was going to be two versus two. But, we only received one Pokémon each, so there must be some way for us to somehow add additional Pokémon to our teams.”

“Well yeah, you have to catch them,” Spike nonchalantly replied.

“What? What do you mean just ‘catch them’? How?” Twilight asked.

“Easy, you just need to use the spare Poke balls they gave us in our welcome kit. That’s what I was doing this morning, catching a new Pokémon.” As Spike spoke he pulled out a Poke ball. “Come on out and say hi, Peewee!” Spike then tossed the Poke ball into the air where it split open, unleashing a burst of red light that quickly coalesced into a small bird. It stood about a foot tall with red-orange plumage on its head and light grey on the rest of its body.

“Fletchling,” the Pokémon chirped cheerfully as it looked up at Twilight.

“Spike, are you sure it’s alright to just go out and catch a Pokémon in the wild like that?” Twilight asked nervously as she eyed the tiny robin Pokémon hopping about on the ground.

“Yeah, at least the Pokédex said so. According to it a lot of wild Pokémon want to get caught by trainer. Something about wanting a trainer to help them get stronger or something.”

“I don’t know, Spike. There’s something about the idea of catching a Pokémon so that it can fight for you that just doesn’t seem right to me,” Twilight said.

“Come on, Twilight, Pokémon aren’t like the animals we’re used to back in Equestria,” Spike countered. “Besides, they wouldn’t have given these extra balls if we weren’t supposed to use them, would they?”

Twilight tried to think of a counter to Spike’s logic, but found nothing came to her. “Ok then, so all I have to do is find a wild Pokémon and then what? Just toss one of the spare Poke balls I have at it?”

“Well, you’re supposed to battle it a little first to prove you’re good enough that it would want you to train it, but pretty much, yeah,” Spike said.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Twilight leaned back against her tree. “Terrific, so all I have to do is track down some wild Pokémon, assault it until it can’t resist and then toss a Poke ball at it and hope it decides it wants me to train it. Well, I guess the first step would be to actually find a – Spike, what in Equestria’s the matter?” Twilight asked a she noticed Spike nervously backing away from her.

“Uh, Twilight? You might wanna look up,” Spike replied as he continued to put distance between himself and Twilight.

Curious, Twilight tilted her head back and found herself staring into a pair of yellow eyes scant inches away from her face. “Veni?” the creature said in something between a hiss and a chirp.

Twilight, the Princess of Friendship and a veteran of numerous encounters with beings of incredible malevolence and power, reacted in the only way appropriate to the situation. Namely, screaming in terror and stumbling away from the tree while wildly flailing her arms about. “WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME?”

“Venipede,” the Pokémon repeated as it scuttled down to the base of the tree. It appeared to be a bloated, foot-long red pill bug-like creature and much to Twilight’s displeasure it seemed to have taken an interest in her.

Venipede, the centipede Pokémon. It uses its feelers to track prey by sensing vibrations in the air. It can then inject venom with its bite that is sufficiently potent to incapacitate much larger creatures.

Twilight glance over to Spike to see him standing a safe distance away with his Pokédex out. “Wow, Twilight, that thing sounds awesome! You should try and catch it,” Spike said eagerly. Despite his enthusiasm, however, Twilight noted Spike wasn’t making any effort to move closer.

Hesitantly, Twilight turned her attention back to the Venipede, which was still sitting at the base of the tree. “I do need a second Pokémon if I want to have any chance of actually defeating a gym leader,” Twilight thought to herself. “And if this thing’s venom is that potent it would probably be extremely useful. Alright then,” Twilight said as she pulled herself to her feet. “Venipede, get ready to join Team Twilight!” Ignoring Spike’s reaction to her declaration, Twilight lobbed a Poke ball at the Venipede. The ball struck the Venipede in its hump before splitting open. The Venipede appeared to transform into red light that was sucked into the Poke ball before the ball snapped shut. A moment later, however, the ball burst back open, the red light within coalescing back into an angrily glaring Venipede.

“Twilight! You have to battle it first, remember?” Spike called out.

“Oh, right,” Twilight said as she quickly pulled out the Poke ball containing her Charmander. “Alright Venipede, if want a battle then I’ll give you a battle!” Twilight declared as she tossed Charmander’s ball into the air. “Ok Charmander, just like we practiced. Smokescreen!” Charmander obediently belched forth a thick cloud of black smoke that quickly enveloped the Venipede. However, the differences between fighting a dead tree and an actual opponent quickly became apparent as a barrage of purple needles fired out from the smoke, only narrowly missing Charmander.

“Careful Twilight, that looks like Venipede’s Poison Sting attack! Charmander’s definitely not going to want to get hit by that!” Spike cautioned.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Twilight muttered as she assessed the situation. “Ok, Charmander try using Ember!” With a cry of acknowledgement, Charmander proceeded to repeatedly snap its tail forward, sending showers of bright cinders into the smoke. While the smoke was too thick for Twilight to see into, the hiss of pain that emanated out from it confirmed to her that the embers had struck home. Moments later, Venipede burst out from the smoke and dashed at Charmander. The Venipede viciously swiped at Charmander with its tail as it went by before interposing itself between Charmander and Twilight cutting off any possible escape.

“Is it just me or is that Venipede moving a lot faster all of a sudden?” Twilight pondered before quickly shaking her head. “No, I have to stay focused. Charmander, use another Ember attack!”

Charmander swiftly whirled around, sending another stream of burning embers cascading over the Venipede. Unfortunately for Twilight, in her haste she had neglected to take into account that she was standing directly behind the Venipede.

“Gah, Charmander stop! Stop!” Twilight yelped as she frantically tried to dodge the stray cinders. Charmander ceased its assault, only for Venipede to promptly curl up into a ball and bounce up at Charmander, striking the underside of its snout.

“What in Celestia’s name is that thing doing – Charmander, look out!” Charmander leapt to the side as the Venipede rolled past it like a living bowling ball, clipping Charmander’s leg in the process. “Ok, Charmander, get ready to hit it with a Scratch attack once it comes back around!” Twilight commanded. “It’s a bit risky,” Twilight thought to herself, “but if we can time this just right Charmander should be able to use Venipede’s momentum against it.”

Just as Twilight had predicted, the Venipede soon made a sharp hairpin turn to come at Charmander again, seemingly picking up speed all the while. As the centipede Pokémon barreled forward Charmander braced itself, one claw raised as it prepared to strike its opponent. Each fraction of a second that ticked by felt like an eternity as the Venipede hurtled closer to its target. Then, just as the Venipede came close enough for Charmander to make its counter attack…the Venipede uncurled and collapsed onto the ground, uncurling at Charmander’s feet.

“Char?” Charmander said as it cautiously prodded the prone Venipede with its foot, eliciting a whimpering hiss from its foe.

“Twilight! Quick! Now’s your chance to catch it with a Poke ball!” Spike called out as he saw Twilight hesitate in confusion.

“Oh, right.” Snapped out of her momentary daze over this turn of events, Twilight pulled out a Poke ball and lobbed it at the Venipede. The process of converting the Venipede into red light and containing it within the Poke ball repeated itself, only this time the ball only rocked back and forth half-heartedly for a second or two before coming to rest with a faint chime.

“All right Twilight! Way to go catching your first Pokémon!” Spike cheered from his vantage point.

“Thanks,” Twilight said as she inspected the part of Charmander’s leg that had been struck by Venipede. “To be honest, though, that battle was a lot more intense than I expected it would be.”

“Yeah, that Venipede really put up a heck of a fight, it’s going to make a great addition to your team.”

“No, Spike, think about it. If a wild Pokémon could put up that kind of fight on its own then just think how strong an actual gym leader’s Pokémon would be!”

“Yeah, no wonder Rainbow Dash lost like that. Anyway, we should probably get back to camp and take care of your Pokémon,” Spike added.

*********

“…and so now I have a Venipede on my team in addition to Charmander,” Twilight said as she finished recounting her encounter to Rainbow Dash.

“Sounds like you guys had one hay of a fight on you hooves – I mean hands,” Rainbow Dash quickly corrected herself. “Are you sure your Pokémon are going to be alright, though? You were pushing Charmander pretty hard already and it sounds like Venipede was in really rough shape by the time you caught it.”

Twilight nodded her head. “I probably won’t be able to train either of them seriously until we get to the next town and I can take them to a Pokémon Center. Although, Spike did tell me about a possible alternative I might try looking into tomorrow as well.”

“What do you mean ‘an alternative’?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.

“Apparently there are a number of berries that grow on this island that have medicinal properties…well, when Pokémon eat them at least. Spike thinks he saw some when he was out training earlier, so tomorrow morning we’re going to investigate and see what’s actually there. Maybe you should come with us,” Twilight added hopefully. “You’ve hardly left any of our campsites since we entered the forest, I think exploring a bit would be good for you.”

Rainbow Dash, however, quickly dismissed Twilight’s suggestion. “I appreciate the offer, Twi, but I think I’ll pass. Honestly, I…haven’t been feeling all that well today. I think I might spend most of tomorrow just lying down, y’know, talking it easy.”

“Rainbow,” Twilight said after a moment’s silence. “Do you want to talk about what happened at the Mercury City Gym? Ever since you lost that battle you just haven’t been yourself and I’m starting to worry about you.”

“I’m fine, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash snapped irritably. “The Pokémon Center was able to patch Tank Jr. up, I know to take gym battles a lot more seriously and I don’t need you to keep worrying about me. Just worry about yourself and your own Pokémon I’ll be just fine.”

“Alright, if that’s really how you feel,” Twilight said, raising her hands in defeat. “But, if you change your mind and decide you want to talk about what happened, I’ll be right here for you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said as she flopped down into her sleeping bag and turned away from her friend.

*********

The nest morning found Rainbow Dash alone at the campsite once again. “Ugh, this sucks!” Rainbow Dash complained to nopony in particular. “I know I shouldn’t just give up, but his whole ‘pick yourself back up’ thing is a lot harder when somepony else can get hurt because of your screw-ups.” Letting out a sigh, Rainbow Dash pulled out Tank Jr.’s Poke ball. “Still, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to at least see what he thinks about all this.”

Moments later, Tank Jr. was gleefully hopping about the campsite, awkwardly shadowboxing. “Wow, you’ve really got a lot of pent up energy, don’t you?” Rainbow Dash said as she watched Tank Jr. caper about. “I guess you’re back to 100% after all, huh?”

“Squirtle Squirtle!” As Tank Jr. replied it scampered over to Rainbow Dash and looked up at her expectantly.

“You really still want somepony like me as your trainer, even after I messed up and got you hurt like that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Before Rainbow Dash could really process this, however, her attention was grabbed by the sudden appearance of a thick cloud of blue smoke at the edge of the forest clearing, accompanied by a familiar voice. “Princess Twilight Sparkle! Prepare yourself for the unmatched might of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Moments later a silver haired girl wearing a lavender cape covered in stars and moons along with a matching pointy hat burst out of the smoke and into the clearing. Following close behind was another girl with purple hair and a distinctive green highlight.

“I get that you want to make a big entrance, Trix, but maybe we should start checking to see if Twilight is actually in any of these clearings before you break out the smoke bombs?”

“Trixie? Starlight? You guys are here too?” Rainbow Dash asked as she leapt to her feet in astonishment.

“Rainbow Dash, is that really you?” Starlight Glimmer replied, sounding equally surprised. Before Starlight could say anything else, however, Trixie cried out in triumph.

“Hah! See, what did I tell you? That women at the Pokémon hospital said that Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were leaving the city heading east.” As Trixie spoke she began glancing around the campsite as a frown began to form across her features. “Wait, where is Twilight Sparkle anyway? Trixie followed her into the forest so she could challenge her and prove her superiority as a Pokémon trainer.”

“You wanted to prove that Twilight was the better trainer?” Rainbow Dash asked mockingly, much to Trixie’s annoyance.

“No, when I said ‘her’ I didn’t mean ‘Twilight’ her I meant Trixie – you know darn well what I meant!” Trixie snapped. “Anyway, Trixie is here to challenge Twilight Sparkle to a Pokémon battle, so where the hay is she?”

“She’s been like this ever since we heard a rumor that somepony who sounded like they could be Twilight was headed into this forest,” Starlight added apologetically. “That being said, I’m kind of curious where Twilight is myself. I was hoping she could shed some light on what we’re all doing here.”

“Well, I don’t really understand all the details, but from Twilight’s told me something magic happened and then Discord got involved,” Rainbow Dash replied.

Trixie and Starlight glanced at each other before shaking their head in unison at Rainbow’s explanation. “Of course Discord would be involved in something this ridiculous,” Trixie said in disgust.

“Come on, Trixie, Discord’s not that bad. Well, usually he’s not anyway,” Starlight added after a moment.

Trixie, meanwhile, had turned back to Rainbow Dash. “That still doesn’t answer Trixie’s most pressing question; where in Celestia’s name is Twilight Sparkle hiding?”

“Twilight’s not hiding, she and Spike just went off to look for some special berries for her Pokémon,” Rainbow Dash considered the potential ramifications of Trixie’s sudden appearance. Neither of Twilight’s Pokémon were in any condition to battle and Rainbow Dash doubted that a few berries would significantly alter that situation. “Hey, listen, right now we’re headed to this place called Aurum Town on the other side of the forest. If you really want to challenge Twilight then why don’t you wait for her there?”

“Hmm, as tempting as it would be to prove to Twilight that the Great and Powerful Trixie will always be a step ahead of her, Trixie thinks she’ll have to decline. The Great and Powerful Trixie has waited far too long for the chance to finally prove that she’s better than Twilight Sparkle at something. Trixie will simply wait for Twilight to get back from collecting berries or whatever it was you said she was doing.” With that said, Trixie marched into the clearing and sat down on an overturned log.

Inwardly, Rainbow Dash started to panic as she tried to think of a way to somehow convince Trixie to leave before Twilight and Spike returned to camp. “Y’know, Twilight probably isn’t going to get back for a while,” Rainbow Dash began as she tried a new strategy. “Are you sure you just wanna sit here waiting for her?”

“Trixie doesn’t mind. To be honest, it’s just nice to be able to sit down and rest Trixie’s feet. Trixie doesn’t know how these humans stand having to walk around on two legs all the time.”

“Yeah, I can’t really argue with you on that one,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. As Rainbow Dash tried to think of some other excuse to delay the confrontation between Trixie and Twilight, Tank Jr. waddled over to her.

“Squirtle Squirtle Squirtle!” As Tank Jr. repeated its cry in a concerned tone it began pointing at Rainbow Dash before gesturing towards Trixie.

“Hey, I think your Pokémon’s trying to tell you something,” Starlight observed mildly as she watched Tank Jr.’s performance. “It almost looks like it wants you to battle Trixie.” Tank Jr. promptly looked up at Starlight with a huge grin on its face and eagerly nodded its head.

“You’re really going to give me another chance?” Rainbow Dash asked as she knelt down to Tank Jr.’s level.

“Trixie does have to admit she wasn’t thrilled at the idea of having to wait for Twilight Sparkle to show up. How long did you say it was going to take her to get back here?”

“Oh, I’d say probably not until this evening at least,” Rainbow Dash said. “But, if you’re scared your Pokémon wouldn’t be able to handle going up against Twilight after battling me I’d totally understand…”

“Scared? The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t know the meaning of the word!” Trixie yelled as she shot up from her seat. “If you really want to battle than prepare yourself to face the Great and Powerful Trixie’s Great and Powerful Fennekin!” With an exaggerated flourish, Trixie produced a Poke ball out of seemingly nowhere and flipped it into the air. Moments later, a small, orange, fox-like creature appeared in front of Trixie in a flash of light. “Well, Rainbow Dash, are you ready to face the awesome, show-stopping might of our Great and Powerful team?” Trixie asked. To Rainbow Dash’s amusement, as Trixie blustered her Fennekin mimicked its trainer’s movements in a display of synchronized grandstanding.

“Oh yeah? Well me and Tank Jr. are gonna…” Rainbow Dash’s flare of bravado quickly died on her lips as she recalled where it had gotten her last time.

“Squirtle Squirt-Squirtle!” To Rainbow Dash’s surprise, she looked down to see Tank Jr. defiantly standing in front of her and glaring at Trixie’s Fennekin.

“Y’know what? What he said!” Rainbow Dash declared, her confidence bolstered by Tank Jr.’s show of faith in her. “Alright Tank, Tackle that big-eared fox thing!”

“Hmph, Fennekin, roast that turtle with Ember!” As Tank Jr. dove headfirst towards Trixie’s Fennekin the fox Pokémon opened its mouth. A red-orange ball of fire swiftly formed in front of its mouth before detonating and showering Tank Jr. in motes of flame. The fire wasn’t enough to halt Tank Jr.’s momentum, however, and he crashed into Trixie’s Fennekin sending both Pokémon sprawling to the ground. “Alright then, if that’s the way you want to do this…Fennekin, use Tail Whip!”

“What the hay?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she watched Trixie’s Fennekin swipe Tank Jr. across the face with its bushy tail. “You’re not gonna just take that, are you? Hit it with another Tackle!” Tank Jr. quickly rose and rushed at Trixie’s Fennekin yet again. Unfortunately, this time Fennekin was ready for it. As Tank Jr. charged in, Fennekin hopped up onto Tank Jr.’s head and bounded over it, leaving Tank Jr. stumbling helplessly forward.

“Hah! This is just a taste of what awaits Twilight Sparkle once she gets back,” Trixie crowed happily. “Now, Fennekin, quickly, Scratch attack!” Trixie’s Fennekin promptly rushed at Tank Jr. as it turned towards it and swiped it across its face with one of its paws.

“Alright, you wanna go like that? Fine, Tank, fit that prissy little fox with your own Tail Whip” Leaping into the air, Tank Jr. rapidly spun around, slapping Fennekin across the face hard enough for the impact to be audible. Fennekin glared back at Tank Jr. with undisguised rage as it rubbed its stinging cheek with one paw.

“Fennekin, get back! We’ll finish this from a distance,” Trixie growled. “Hit it with another Ember attack!”

Trixie’s Fennekin obediently opened its mouth to form another ball of flame. As Rainbow Dash watched however, the sight of the fire triggered memories of a time she had been dragged to the Cloudsdale Weather Factory as part of a school field trip. Specifically, it reminded her of the boilers underneath the cloud generators. “Tank, quick, aim a Water Gun right into Fennekin’s fire!” Rainbow Dash yelled with a wicked grin. Tank Jr. promptly followed his trainer’s instructions, drawing in a deep breath before firing a powerful stream of water from its mouth. The water struck Fennekin square in its mouth just as it launched its own attack. While Tank Jr. was still showered with the burning cinders that escaped the jet of water, most of them burst into steam as the water collided with Fennekin.

“You think that’s funny?” Trixie screeched as she watched her waterlogged Fennekin struggle to stand itself back up. “Fennekin, hit that miserable turtle with another…wait, where in Equestria did it go?” To Trixie’s shock, most of the battlefield was now obscured by a thick cloud of steam, hiding Tank Jr. from sight.

“Kinda hard to fight what you can’t see, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash called out mockingly from somewhere on the other side of the steam cloud.

“That’s it!” Trixie shrieked in rage. “Fennekin! Get in there and hit it with another Ember! Ember Ember Ember Ember!” Fennekin obediently leapt into the steam cloud and began wildly firing off attacks.

“I think there’s a problem with your plan,” Rainbow Dash mocked as Trixie continued to scream orders in a blind fury. “Your Pokémon might not be able to see Tank Jr. in all that steam, but we sure as hay can see that ball of fire it keeps coughing up. Nail it with another Water Gun, Tank!” Moments later, Trixie’s Fennekin was ejected from the steam cloud by a jet of water. The drenched Pokémon tumbled along the ground until it came to rest at Trixie’s feet in an unconscious heap.

“I hate to tell you this, Trix, but it looks like Rainbow Dash has won this one,” Starlight observed.

A dejected Trixie looked down at her Fennekin before taking out her Poke ball. “Fennekin, return.” As the Poke ball recalled Fennekin in a flash of red light Trixie looked back up at Rainbow Dash, the brim of her hat obscuring her face. “Clearly you are a far worthier adversary than the Great and Powerful Trixie had assumed. Rest assured, however, that the next time we meet, the Great and Powerful Trixie won’t go nearly as easy on you as she did this time. Until then!” With that, another smoke cloud enveloped Trixie and hid her from sight. Moments later the sounds of twigs snapping could be heard along with a startled yelp and a crash, as Trixie made a less than stealthy exit into the forest.

“I should probably go after her,” Starlight said. “You might have noticed, but Trixie’s been acting a lot more, well, Trixie-ish ever since we woke up on that boat. Frankly, I’m a little worried she could get herself in real trouble if I left her on her own.” As Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding, Starlight turned to chase after her friend. “Do me a favor and let Twilight and Spike know that I’m alright when they get back,” Starlight called out before disappearing into the woods.

After watching Starlight leave, Rainbow Dash turned back to Tank Jr., the turtle-like Pokémon sitting on the ground, a self-satisfied grin plastered across its features. “That…was…AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed happily. “Oh man, the way you just dove through those cinders and then when you nailed it with you Water Gun to create that steam cloud. That’s what I though this battling stuff was gonna be like.” As Rainbow Dahs finished gushing over her first victory as a trainer she knelt down next to Tank Jr. “You, you were incredible out there. Listen, I owe you an apology, first for what happened at that gym and then for not training you afterwards like I should have. But I promise from now on I’m gonna give it everything I’ve got to help make you the most awesome Pokémon this world’s ever seen! Are you with me?”

Tank Jr.’s immediate response was to leap up and tackle Rainbow Dash in a flying hug. The force of the unexpected embrace caught Rainbow Dash off guard and she was wound up knocked over by the force of the impact. For the next minute or so both trainer and Pokémon lay on the ground laughing happily at their newfound resolve to become the best they could be.

A Junkyard Scrap

“This is absolutely intolerable!” Rarity yelled to an overcast sky as her Piplup looked on in concern.

Rarity’s other traveling companion, however, proved to be far less sympathetic. “Consarn it, Rarity, what’re y’all on about now? Ever since we headed out from Mercury City y’all’ve been gripin’ ‘bout every little thing. Now, Ah get roughin’ it ain’t usually yer thing, but y’all could at least try and be a little positive.”

“It’s not the ‘roughing it’ part of all this that I object to,” Rarity countered. “If we were somewhere at all pleasant this wouldn’t be all that different from the camping trips we take with our younger sisters. But, here, instead of a lovely forest we have…this!” Rarity’s voice dripped with revulsion as she swept her arm across the horizon. The road the pair were traveling along cut through a heavily industrialized section of the island and the desolate landscape was littered with the rusting remains of gigantic machines unlike any either mare had ever seen before.

“Ok, Ah’ll give y’ that, the scenery ‘round here ain’t exactly anythin’ to look at,” Applejack conceded. “But complainin’ nonstop about it ain’t gonna change the situation. All y’all’re doin’ at this point is makin’ things miserable fer everypony else.”

“I suppose you do have a point,” Rarity admitted with a sigh of defeat. “I just wish our route could have taken us through somewhere more picturesque than this…this…”

“Manure pit?” Applejack offered.

Rarity wrinkled her nose. “That’s not quite the term I would have chosen, although it about matches my sentiments,” Rarity added.

“Can’t say Ah can really disagree with y’all on that account,” Applejack admitted as she kicked at the dirt. Aside from a few patches of stunted grass and weeds there hadn’t been any vegetation along the roadside, a fact which made Applejack distinctly uneasy. “There’s just somethin’ that ain’t right about a place that don’t have anythin’ growin’. Heck, Ah’ve barely even seen anythin’ livin’ ‘round here at all, ‘cept maybe those things we say swimmin’ in that pool of sludge yesterday.”

Rarity shuddered at the memory. “You mean those revolting piles of purple filth? I’ve been trying to convince myself that that whole encounter was just a bad dream.”

“Nah, Ah reckon a bad dream would a smelled better,” Applejack quipped. As the two friends shared a much needed laugh Applejack reached into her bag and pulled out her Pokédex.

“Applejack, darling, whatever are your doing?” Rarity asked.

“Well, talkin’ ‘bout those crawlin’ piles of sludge reminded me of how Ah’d been kickin’ mahself fer not scannin’ them with this doohickey here.”

“I’m not sure I’d call that a great loss. I can’t imagine that device would have anything particularly interesting to say about those creatures, except maybe a way to repelling them,” Rarity replied. “And that still doesn’t explain what you’re doing with it now.”

“The reason Ah wanted to scan the things is ‘cause Ah’ve been tryin’ to get the hang of workin’ this thing,” Applejack replied as she pressed a series of buttons. “That’s why Ah’ve been messin’ with it every night. And thinkin’ of that reminded me of somethin’ Ah saw last night –Hah! Got it!”

Rarity leaned over to peer at the screen of Applejack’s Pokédex. “That’s nice and all, but it still doesn’t answer my question as to what exactly it is that you’ve got?”

“Last night Ah finally managed to get the hang of usin’ the map on this thing,” Applejack said proudly. “Y’see, this blinkin’ dot’s supposed to us, down there’s Mercury City and over there’s Keystone.”

“Dear Celestia, it looks like we’re barely even halfway there!” Rarity wailed.

“Now hold yer horses, Rarity, Ah’m not quite finished yet. Take a look at this spot right here,” Applejack appeared to zoom the map in on the area nearby and pointed to a structure located further along their route. “It’s some sort of rest area,” Applejack explained. “Basically a Pokémon Center with extra beds and stuff fer trainers. Ah reckon they set it up so anypony travelin’ along this route could rest up and resupply. Anyway, Ah’d say we could probably make it there by tonight if we push ourselves a bit.”

“Now, when you say ‘beds and stuff’, do you mean to say that we’d be able to sleep in actual beds there? And we’d have access to a proper shower?” Rarity asked hopefully.

“That’s how Ah understand it,” Applejack replied with a grin.

“Then what are waiting for? Onward!” Rarity declared, the prospect of indoor plumbing appearing to have completely revitalized her.

*********

Applejack’s assessment as to how long it would take to reach the rest area Pokémon Center proved quite accurate, the pair reaching their destination just as the sun had begun to set. “Ah wonder how that works here,” Applejack pondered out loud.

“How what works?” Rarity asked.

“Ah was just wonderin’ ‘bout how the sun works here. Princess Celestia ain’t exactly here to take care of it like she is in Equestria and they don’t even have unicorns to do it like they did in the old days.”

“Perhaps they have some sort of Pokémon that handles it,” Rarity suggested. “Though to be honest I’d say we have more pressing concerns at the moment. Such as finally taking a proper shower,” Rarity added as she strode towards the Pokémon Center building.

The Pokémon Center itself was a large, round building of dark wood which appeared to have been built in front of a massive scrapyard. There was a large open area between the building and the rusting abandoned machines where a number of trainers had congregated. Two of the trainers were currently engaged in a battle, one’s green dog against the others monkey. While Rarity paid the battle little attention, Applejack found herself slowing down as she walked by.

“Why don’t y’all head in and get us a room,” Applejack said. “Ah think Ah’m gonna stay out here fer a bit before Ah settle in.”

“Suit yourself, darling,” Rarity called back without breaking her stride. Turning back to the battle, Applejack was surprised to see that it had already concluded, the two trainers shaking hands as the spectators dispersed. “Huh, Ah kinda figured that would’ve lasted a bit longer,” Applejack said, more to herself than anyone else.

“Eh, you didn’t miss much,” a girl with short, dark hair said. “Neither of those guys really knew what they were doing. My guess is they’re both going to wash out before they even get their fourth badges.”

Applejack shrugged in response. “Ah’d still have liked to see it, just to get a better feel fer this whole battlin’ thing. Anyway, it would’ve been more interestin’ to look at than the scenery ‘round these parts,” Applejack added.

“Yeah, this scrapyard’s not exactly postcard material, is it?” the girl replied with a laugh. “I think most of this stuff is old mining and construction equipment that’s waiting to be recycled. They leave it all out here to attract Pokémon that eat metal. The idea is that if they have plenty of scrap to eat than they won’t eat anything actually important.”

Applejack stared at the girl for a moment as she processed what had just been said. “Yer pullin’ mah leg, right? Pokémon don’t really eat metal, do they?” The other trainer simply shrugged as she rushed over to join a group headed into the center. “Then again, Ah guess it ain’t impossible that some of these things might eat metal. Heck, Spike’s eatin’ gems all the time and that ain’t all that different,” Applejack reasoned. Seeing nothing more to be gained by waiting outside, Applejack turned and headed into the center herself.

The lobby of the Pokémon Center consisted of a large, semi-circular room that likely took up at least half of the first floor by itself. Numerous tables surrounded by padded seats dotted the room and at the back of the room Applejack could see what looked like a reception desk staffed by a pink haired woman. Applejack quickly made her way to the desk, noting that many of the seating areas were occupied by small groups of trainers.

“Howdy,” Applejack cheerfully greeted the young woman at the desk as she approached.

“Oh, hello, your name wouldn’t be Applejack by any chance, would it?” The woman, who Applejack could now see appeared to be some sort of nurse, asked.

“Sure is, Ah’m guessin’ mah friend Rarity mentioned Ah’d be comin’,” Applejack replied.

The woman nodded as she handed Applejack a small, rectangular piece of plastic. “The two of you are in room 5, just head up the stairs on the left and it will be on your right?”

“Thank y’ kindly, miss,” Applejack said as she took the keycard. It didn’t take long for Applejack to locate the room she and Rarity would be staying for the night. The room itself was tiny, barely holding a pair of bunk beds and some space for their bags, but it would do for the night. Rarity was nowhere to be seen, but given the sounds Applejack had head coming from the girl’s bathroom she guessed Rarity was likely taking advantage of the shower. With nothing more pressing to deal with, Applejack flopped down onto the bottom bunk, took out her Pokédex and decided to check something.

Aron, the iron armor Pokémon. The steel carapace of this Pokémon is formed from metallic minerals that it consumes. While normally it consumes iron ore, Aron can sometimes cause problems by eating parts of bridges and rails. In extreme cases, an Aron may attack vehicles as large as a dump truck, demolishing them and eating the remains.

Applejack let out a whistle as she listened to the entry. “Sweet Celestia, Ah guess that explains why they went to the trouble of settin’ up that scrapyard then. Kinda like that vampire fruit bat sanctuary Fluttershy had me build, now that Ah think about it.”

Any further ruminations on the subject Applejack might have had were quickly set aside, however, as Rarity walked into the room with towels wrapped around her hair and torso. “I never thought I’d be so thankful to have access to a public shower,” Rarity declared as she began repacking her beauty supplies. “For what it’s worth, Applejack, apparently this center also offers a place for us to do our laundry, something that I intend to take full advantage of. I only bring it up because I thought you might want to use those facilities yourself.”

“Nah,” Applejack replied with a shrug. “Ah’ve got enough clean clothes to last me until we get to Keystone.”

“Perhaps I should make myself a bit more clear,” Rarity said frostily. “If we are going to continue traveling together than you are going to first avail yourself of the bathing facilities here and then you are going to have your clothing cleaned as well. Am I understood?” While Rarity didn’t quite possess Fluttershy’s infamous stare, the look she gave Applejack was an impressively close approximation.

“Uh, yes ma’am,” Applejack said quickly deciding that discretion would be the better part of valor in this case.

*********

“Yeah, most Pokémon Centers are gonna be located in major cities, but the league has a few standalone ones like this along some of the major routes,” a trainer said as he tossed a treat to his Pokémon, a hyperactive green dog-like creature.

“Well, I suppose that does make the prospect of traipsing all over this island a bit less unpleasant,” Rarity said. After Applejack had finished with her laundry the pair had decided to head back to the common area and socialize with some of the other trainers. While Applejack was trying to gather information as to what lay ahead, Rarity found herself put off by how the topic of conversation continually drifted back to battling. “To tell the truth, I can’t really say I have any interest in all this battling nonsense.”

The trainer who Rarity had been talking to shrugged. “Yeah, I know a few trainers like that. It’s too bad Javik doesn’t really have a contest circuit like they do back in Hoenn, you seem like the type who’d be more into that sort of thing.”Before Rarity could inquire about what these contests were exactly, a commotion at the entrance of the Pokémon Center commanded the attention of everyone present.

“Oh my God, this place is, like, literally the most disgusting Pokémon Center I’ve ever seen. Whose idea was it to set up a Pokémon Center in the middle of a junkyard, anyway?” The demanding voice belonged to a young woman who looked a year or two younger than Rarity or Applejack and was dressed in a garish mix of overly flashy clothes. “Does anyone even work here? Ugh, I can’t even…”

Applejack, who had been chatting with a group of trainers closer to the entrance, stood up and approached the girl. “Pardon me, miss, but Ah think the nurse might be in the back. If y’all’d like Ah could –“

“Whatever. Just get my gabs, will you?” the girl snapped, cutting Applejack off.

“Excuse me?” Applejack replied testily.

“Get. My. Bags. I mean, you, like, work here, right?” the girl fired back.

“Work here? Ah was just tryin’ to be helpful, y’ stuck up little –“

“Do you, like, have any idea who you’re talking to? I’m Krysta Lapidan.” When this declaration failed to elicit the expected reaction, Krysta let out a disgusted sigh. “Lapidan? As in Lapidan Mining? It’s only the biggest company on the island.”

“And what exactly makes y’all think Ah particularly care about any of that?” Applejack snorted in irritation.

Krysta narrowed her eyes and glared back angrily at Applejack before finally responding. “Ok, if you’re going to be like that then maybe we should settle this with a Pokémon battle. You and me, outside, one-on-one, right now.”

“Ladies, I’m certain there’s no need to do anything like that over a silly misunderstanding,” Rarity said as she rushed to interpose herself between the two. “Why don’t we just go our separate ways before someone does something they might regret?”

“Alright, this, like, literally doesn’t have anything to do with you,” Krysta countered dismissively. “So, why don’t you go back to whatever thrift store dumpster you got your outfit from and mind your own business?”

Rarity was completely silent for a moment after hearing Krysta’s reply, a slight twitch of her eye the only sign of any emotion. “Applejack,” Rarity finally said as she turned to her friend. “Annihilate her.”

Krysta, however, was clearly unintimidated. “Annihilate me? Wow, I, like, literally cannot even. Let’s just go outside and get this over with.”

“Sound good to me,” Applejack growled as she and Krysta headed out the door. The pair’s argument had attracted quite a bit of attention from the other trainers in the room and a large crowd quickly followed them outside.

“Just so we’re, like, clear, this is just going to be a one-on-one battle, alright? I don’t have time to fight every grody little Pokémon you have with you,” Krysta sneered as she took her place on one side of the open space in front of the center.

Before Applejack could respond, however, a small, four-legged creature with crimson eyes burst out from the nearby scrapyard and interposed itself between Applejack and Krysta and Applejack. Once the creature had the attention of everyone present it began leaping about while yelling frantically. “Aron! Aron Aron, Aron!”

“What they hay does that thing think it’s doin’?” Applejack asked as she backed away from the spastically jumping Pokémon. Moments later, Applejack received her answer as a rumbling, metallic groan filled the air. “What in tarnation – Sweet Celestia, everypony look out!”

Any momentary confusion over Applejack’s use of the term ‘everypony’ swiftly gave way to panic as the rusting remains of a crane came crashing down right between where Applejack and Krysta had been standing.

“Applejack, are you alright?” Rarity called out as she rushed over to her friend.

“Ah’m…Ah’m fine,” Applejack replied as she tried to catch her breath. “But why the hay did that thing come crashin’ down like that? And where the hay did that Aron get to?”

“That stupid Pokémon was probably the reason we nearly got crushed!” Krysta yelled as she picked herself up off the ground. “I bet that little runt totally chewed through the crane so that it fell over. I say we track it down and, like, make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Who’s with me?”

There were general murmurs of agreement from the trainers who had followed Applejack and Krysta outside. Few of the trainers seemed to be particularly enthusiastic, however, none the least of which was Applejack herself.

“Now just hold on a minute, y’all don’t actually have any proof that that critter was the one responsible fer that crane fallin’. It seemed to me that it was actually tryin’ to warn us about the collapse,” Applejack argued.

“Well, maybe it had, like, chewed up the crane first, but then tried to warn us when it figured out it was going to fall on us and stuff,” Krysta countered hesitantly.

“Why don’t you take a look at the base of the crane?” one of the trainers in the crowd called out. “You could probably figure out if something had been eating it by examining the base of the crane.”

“Ok, that’s actually, like, a really good idea,” Krysta said. The rest of the crowd seemed to agree, so Krysta began leading the crowd into the scrapyard towards the base of the crane. Applejack, however, kept to the back of the group, allowing her to speak with Rarity without drawing attention to themselves.

“Ah don’t like this, somethin’ about the way that Aron was actin’ just doesn’t add up,” Applejack said as they followed along with the group.

“Well, that is the reason we’re wandering into this – ick – junkyard, isn’t it?” Rarity asked as she flinched away from the rusting remains of some unidentifiable vehicle.

“Ah know, but-“ Applejack’s thought was interrupted as a commotion suddenly broke out at the front of the crown. “Aw ponyfeathers, what now?” Racing to the front, Applejack and Rarity quickly saw the source of the latest furor. The cruiser portion of the crane had rather clearly been partially eaten, to the point that there were so many holes in it that it resembled a lump Swiss cheese. Even more concerning, though, was the condition of the crane’s boom, which looked as though it had been chewed apart by an especially ambitious beaver.

“See, what did I tell you? That Aron, like, totally wrecked this crane!” Krysta declared as she stood atop the remains of the crane’s cruiser. Before Krysta could try whipping the assembled trainers into a frenzied mob, however, a dissenting voice called out over the din.

“Ah’m still not so sure that Aron was the one responsible fer all this,” Applejack said as she exclaimed what was left of the crane.

“Seriously? Are you, like, blind or something? I mean, just look at all those bite marks. It’s totally obvious that stupid little Aron was the one who did this. I mean, I literally cannot even…”

“Don’t get me wrong, Ah can see that somethin’ chewed up that crane. Ah’m just not convinced that that Aron was the one that did it. Look at how many bit marks there are, if y’all ask me Ah’d say this was done by a whole swarm of critters, not just one.”

“So?” Krysta retorted. “That just means that there’s, like, a whole bunch of Arons that we need to deal with and stuff.” Unfortunately for Applejack, it quickly become apparent that the sight of the partially devoured crane had convinced most of the assembled trainers to go along with Krysta’s plan. “Alright, so, let’s spread out and then, like, get rid of this Aron or catch it or whatever.”

*********

“While I can certainly appreciate your desire to help that little metal whatever it was, is it really necessary for us to go searching for it in this filthy junkyard in the dark?” Rarity complained.

“If it bothers y’all that much y’ can always head back to the center, Ah won’t think any less of y’” Applejack said.

“Absolutely out of the question!” Rarity replied firmly. “I will not leave you out here to wander through this rubbish by yourself. Even though I really wish you had decided to wander somewhere that didn’t reek of motor oil.”

Applejack let out a chuckle. “Ah’m just a little surprised y’all’d know what motor oil smells like.”

“You forget, Applejack, I work with sewing machines rather extensively and they do require maintenance from time to time,” Rarity retorted. “It’s hardly the most glamorous aspect of my profession, but fabulosity does sometimes demand sacrifices. But, back to the issue at hoof –“

“Hand, remember?” Applejack corrected her.

“What exactly do you plan to do if we find this Aron?” Rarity asked, ignoring Applejack’s reminder that they weren’t ponies at the moment.

“Ah dunno, to be honest,” Applejack admitted. “At the least Ah’d want to warn it about what that Krysta’s up to. Seems like the least Ah should do seein’ as how it’s in this mess ‘cause it tried warnin’ me about that collapsin’ crane.”

“You do seem to be rather certain that that Aron wasn’t the one actually responsible for the accident,” Rarity remarked.

“Dang it, Rarity, y’ saw how bad that crane was chewed up! And there weren’t any rust along the bite edges, so all that damage must’ve happened pretty recently. The way Ah reckon it woulda taken a whole mess of critters the size of that Aron to do that kinda damage.”

“Um, Applejack,” Rarity said hesitantly as she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Would you say a dozen or so Arons would have been sufficient?”

“Yeah, that’d probably about do it, why do y’ ask?” Rarity said nothing in response, but rather simply pointed up towards the tops of the junked vehicles. “What the hay are y’all pointing – whoa nelly!” Applejack exclaimed as she looked up. Perched atop the vehicles were at least a dozen or so Arons balefully glaring down at the two girls. “Um, hi. Mah friend and Ah were just lookin’ fer the one of y’all who warned us about that collapsin’ crane earlier.”

Before Applejack could say anything further, a particularly large Aron leapt down to the ground in front of them. “Aron!” it snarled threateningly.

“Easy there, Ah don’t want to start nothin’. Ah just wanted to warn y’all that there’s a whole mess of trainers out lookin’ fer y’ who’re all riled up on account of what happened with the crane.” As Applejack spoke, she and Rarity slowly started to back away, the Aron’s apparent leader steadily advancing forward as they did so. “All right, well Ah can see y’all’ve got everythin’ under control here, so we’re just gonna leave y’all to yer…whatever it was y’all were doin’,” Applejack added nervously as she watched several of the other Arons leap down and join their leader.

“We should probably start running, shouldn’t we?” Rarity asked as she eyed the steadily approaching Pokémon.

“Ah think that’d be a good idea. On the count of three…one…two…three!” Moving in unison, Applejack and Rarity both turned and bolted away, the Aron pack chasing after in hot pursuit. “If we can just get back to the Pokémon Center we should be alright,” Applejack said as she did her best to keep ahead of the charging Pokémon.

“Lovely plan, darling, but I see one tiny problem,” Rarity replied. “I for the life of me can’t tell which direction the center is in!”

Unfortunately, Applejack had no answer for this. Between the dim light of the evening and the maze-like layout of the scrapyard Applejack had become completely lost as well. “Just keep runnin’,” Applejack finally said. “Maybe if we can lose ‘em somehow we can find a way to get our bearings.” Rarity was about to comment on the primary issue with Applejack’s suggestion, namely the question as to how she proposed they lose their pursuers, when Applejack suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a mound of junked vehicles.

“Applejack, what in Equestria are you –“ Rarity’s protests were abruptly cut off as Applejack placed a hand over her mouth and pulled her into the remains of an abandoned bus. Crouching underneath the windows, Applejack released Rarity from her grip and placed a finger to her lips. Moments later, the pair could hear the rumbling of the Aron pack as it approached. Rather than pass by, however, the thundering herd drew to a stop right outside the ruined bus. “What’s going on?” Rarity whispered as she listened to the confused mutterings of the Pokémon assembled outside. “Why aren’t they going away?”

Before Applejack could answer, a loud crash reverberated throughout the bus as something heavy landed on top of it. Moments later a dark shape dropped past the bus windows, landing on the ground with a solid thud. Curious, Applejack cautiously crept to the window and peeked out of it. Outside, Applejack could see what appeared to be two of the Arons staring each other down while the rest looked on from a safe distance.

“Huh, Ah think one of the Arons out there is pickin’ a fight with the big one leadin’ ‘em,” Applejack said quietly as she watched the two Pokémon slowly circle each other while letting out the occasional snarl. Suddenly, the two Arons charged at each other, a loud metallic cracks ripping through the air as the two iron clad bodies collided. The larger of the Arons quickly recovered and easily pushed its opponent into the direct before kicking a glob of mud into its eyes. Seemingly satisfied with this outcome the pack leader turned and marched off, the rest of the pack quickly following suit.

“It sounds as though it wasn’t all that much of a fight,” Rarity whispered as she watched Applejack slump back down. “At least it sounds as though the rest of those horrid things are finally leaving. But why in Equestria were they fighting in the first place?”

“Ah ain’t sure exactly, but Ah think Ah might have an idea.” Before Applejack had a chance to elaborate, however, she was interrupted by a series of crashing thumps form the front of the bus. Turning to see what was going on, the pair saw that the Aron that had lost the fight had hopped up the steps leading into the bus. The crimson-eyed Aron regarded the two girls coolly for a moment before waddling into the space beneath the moldering seats.

“Well, at least that one doesn’t seem to be quite as ill-tempered as the others,” Rarity observed. “Let’s see if we can sneak past it and then find our way back to the – Applejack, what in Equestria do you think you’re doing?” Much to Rarity’s consternation, Applejack had already gotten up and was carefully approaching where the Aron had sequestered itself.

“Hey there, little fella,” Applejack said as she knelt down next to the Aron, ignoring Rarity’s protests. “Don’t worry, Ah’m not gonna try to hurt y’all. Ah just wanna talk. Ah’m guessin’ y’all were the one who tried warnin’ us about that fallin’ crane. And, Ah’m also guessin’ that those other fellas were the ones who were actually responsible for chewin’ the crane up in the first place.”

“Aron,” the Aron replied simply with a nod of its head.

“Ah thought Ah recognized those eyes of yers,” Applejack said. “And now it looks like we owe y’all again fer convincin’ the rest of yer friends to look fer us someplace else,” Applejack added.

“Aron! Aron Aron,” the Aron snapped irritably.

“Yeah, Ah guess ‘friends’ might be a bit of a stretch from what Ah saw. That’s a real shame, believe me Ah know how important havin’ friends is.” As Applejack spoke she leaned forward causing her bag to slip off her shoulder. Upon hitting the floor one of Applejack’s Poké Balls rolled out of the bag, coming to rest at the Aron’s feet. Before Applejack could react, the Aron tapped the Poké Ball with its muzzle twice in quick succession. The first tap enlarged the Poké Ball and the second caused it to split open, engulfing the Aron in red light before pulling it back into the ball. A few moments of half-hearted wiggling later the ball came to a rest and let out a low chime.

“What just happened?” Rarity asked as she crept forward.

“Ah’m not entirely sure mahself, but Ah think that Aron’s decided that it wants me to be its trainer.” Applejack smiled as she picked up the now occupied Poké Ball. “Well, alright, little fell, welcome to the –“

Applejack’s greeting was abruptly cut short as something crashed into the side of the bus with enough force to cave in its side. The power of the impact caused the entire bus to shake violently, sending Applejack and Rarity crashing to the floor. “What in Celestia’s name was that?” Rarity shrieked.

“Just guessin’, but Ah think those Aron figured out we’re in here,” Applejack groaned as she pulled herself to her feet. Sure enough, as Applejack looked out one of the few remaining intact windows she could see the Aron pack had indeed gathered outside the bus. The largest of the Arons appeared to be recovering from having head butted the bus and was already readying itself to charge the bus once again. “Oh horse apples!”

“Poliwag, Water Gun!” The pack leader’s assault on the bus was put to an ignominious end as a stream of water came from its left and struck it in its side. Moments later the air was filled with a cornucopia of blasts of fire, bolts of lightning, jets of water and even leaves striking at the rogue Arons. Ringing out above the din were the commands of trainers directing the attack.

“Growlithe, Ember!”

“Electrike, Charge Beam!”

“Roselia, Magical Leaf!”

“Magikarp, Splash!”

The rogue Arons were quickly forced to flee in the face of this onslaught, disappearing back to the scrapyard. In minutes the area outside the bus had been completely vacated, leaving nothing but churned up mud and scorch marks behind. “Y’all sure picked one hay of a good time to show up,” Applejack called out as she climbed out of the bus. “How the hay did y’all know we were in here?” Disconcertingly, Applejack’s question was met by confused silence from the various trainers present.

“Actually, we were just tracking down that bunch of rouge Arons,” one of the trainers admitted. “I don’t think any of us even realized you were in there. Are you alright?”

“Ah think we’ll be fine,” Applejack replied as she helped Rarity exit the bus herself. “Leastways nothin’ a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”

“Maybe you’ve, like, forgotten, but you and me still have a score to settle before you fall asleep,” a shrill voice called out as Krysta showed her way to the front of the crowd. “Now that those stupid little Arons know better than to mess with me and stuff I’m ready to, like, totally kick your butt.”

Applejack glared back at Krysta in annoyance as she hefted the Poké Ball that Aron had allowed itself to be captured in. “Y’know what, Krysta? Ah actually think yer absolutely right, we do have somethin’ to settle.”

“Huh, well, I’ll give you this, at least you’re not, like, trying to wimp out or anything,” Krystal replied with a hint of grudging approval. While a few of the trainers in the crowd elected to continue chasing after the Aron pack, the majority followed Krysta and Applejack back to the Pokémon Center.

“So where exactly do y’all want to do this?” Applejack asked as they finally emerged from the scrapyard. “It ain’t like we can use the field we were gonna battle in, not unless someone’s cleared out that crane anyway.”

“You’re not, like, chickening out, are you?” Krysta sneered. “There’s literally a ton of room in front of the center. Besides, it’s not like this is going to take very long,” Krysta added with a vicious grin. “Are you ready?”

“Ah’m ready as Ah’ll ever be,” Applejack replied as she took her place opposite Krysta.

“Alright then, let’s do this! Carbink! Go!” Krysta tossed a black and gold Poké Ball into the air while split open to unleash a creature that looked like a dark gray rock studded with blue crystals. The only recognizable feature the creature seemed to possess was its head, which sat atop a mound of white fluff.

“Huh, well Ah can’t say that thing looks all that tough. Alright little fella, time to see what y’all can do. Go Aron!”

“Wait, what?” Krystal sputtered in shock. “You actually…did you catch…I, I can’t even. No, you know what? This is fine. Carbink, use Sharpen!” As soon as Krysta gave her command the crystals studding Carbink’s form started glowing blue. Luminescent blades then began extending out from the Carbink’s crystals until it resembled a giant ball of spikes.

“Whoa nelly. Alright, Aron, why don’t y’all…um…” Frantically, Applejack pulled out her Pokédex and flipped it open, much to Krysta’s amusement.

“Wait, you seriously sent out a Pokémon you just caught without even knowing, like, anything it could actually do? That is literally the funniest…I can’t even…” Krysta was unable to continue as she doubled over with laughter.

Ignoring Krysta’s mockery, Applejack gave her Aron a quick scan.

Aron: Moves currently known are; Harden. Mud Slap. Headbutt. Metal Claw.

“That sure sounds promisin’. Ok, Aron, let’s hit that thing with a Metal Claw!” Aron let out a snort of acknowledgement before leaping forward, one of its front paws glowing a brilliant white. Desperately, Carbink attempted to ward off Aron’s attack by spinning around to threaten Aron with its glowing spines. Its efforts were for naught, however, as Aron’s assault smashed through the luminous blades and sent Carbink slamming into the ground.

“Wha-What just…” Krysta stammered in disbelief.

“Carbink is unable to battle! The winner is Applejack!” a voice called out from the sidelines, answering Krysta’s question.

Krysta stood speechless for several seconds as she processed what had just happened. Eventually Krysta raised Carbink’s Poké Ball and recalled it without a word before glaring at Applejack with barely contained rage. “Don’t think for, like, a second that this is over. You have not heard the last of Krysta Lapidan!” With that, Krysta turned and stormed back into the Pokémon Center.

Applejack paid little heed to Krysta’s outburst, however, instead focusing on her Aron. “That was some real impressive work, little guy,” Applejack said as she wiped some of the mud off of Aron’s metallic hide. “Ah think the two of us are gonna make one hay of a good team.”

As Applejack returned Aron to its Poké Ball, many of the trainers gathered around to congratulate her. One pair of young trainers who had been keeping to the edge of the crowd, however, seemed more interested in discussing Krysta’s behavior. “That girl was just…ugh! Just watching her makes me feel like I should apologize to Apple Bloom and her friends again just on general principle.”

“Oh come on, Diamond Tiara, you were never that bad,” Silver Spoon assured her friend, eliciting a disbelieving stare from Diamond Tiara herself. “Well, I mean, you never used the word ‘like’ that much, at least.”

Diamond Tiara regarded her friend for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Whatever. Let’s just get back inside before Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s sisters notice us. They’d probably just send us back to that city, and I want to see more of this place before we go back to Equestria.”

Picnic Panic

“No, I wasn’t really planning on trying to catch you today, or anycreature else for that manner,” Fluttershy assured the small, bird-like Pokémon standing in front of her. The Pokémon, a Pidgey according to her Pokédex, cooed a response before hopping off into the air and flying away. “Was it just me, or did he seem a little disappointed that I didn’t want to try catching him?” Fluttershy asked her Cyndaquil.

“Cynda?” It replied as it momentarily paused its examination of a nearby daisy. “Cyndaquil.”

“I suppose that could be true, but I just don’t understand why they’d want to get involved in battling in the first place.” Letting out a sigh, Fluttershy pushed the thought out of her head and instead turned her attention to the bucolic scenery surrounding her. The road leading to Faunaville cut through a wonderfully peaceful stretch of grass covered fields dotted with the odd low hill or copse of trees. Best of all, the entire area was filled with friendly Pokémon who were all too happy to chat with Fluttershy. The only real downside, at least from Fluttershy’s point of view, was the fact that the topic of battling seemed to come up almost as often among wild Pokémon as it did among trainers. “Then again, it isn’t as though this is the first time my critter friends and I haven’t been able to see eye to eye about something. At least battling isn’t quite as icky as eating carrion, no matter how good Mister Buzzard says it is.”

Any further musings on Fluttershy’s part were soon interrupted as the sounds of excited yelling filled the air. “Fluttershy! Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie called out as she dashed over a nearby hill towards her friend, her Totodile Toothy bouncing along after her. “You’re not going to believe what I just saw! There’s this bunch of people just over that hill over there who’re having this super ginormous really really fun looking picnic and they said we could come and join them and they have all this tasty looking food and can we please stop there? Please, please, pretty please with frosting and marshmallows on top?” Both Pinkie and Toothy then proceeded to give Fluttershy the most pleading, doe-eyed looks that they could muster.

“Well, I admit that does sound nice, and it is getting close to lunch time anyway. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to stop there for a little while,” Fluttershy said thoughtfully.

“Yay! They’re right over this way. Last one there’s a parasprite!” Pinkie Pie gleefully bounded off in the same direction she had come from, Toothy scampering behind her.

Smiling at her friend’s exuberance, Fluttershy scooped up her Cyndaquil into her arms and followed along. As Fluttershy walked up to the top of the hill Pinkie Pie had ran back over, she saw that her friend’s description had been fairly accurate. A sizeable group of people and Pokémon had gathered at the base of the hill where they had set up numerous tables loaded with food. Pinkie Pie appeared to be eagerly speaking with one of the hosts of the event, a middle-aged woman with long brown hair dressed in what looked to be an embroidered linen robe.

“Ooh, Fluttershy, over here!” Pinkie Pie called out as soon as Fluttershy came into view. “That’s Fluttershy, the friend who I was telling you about.”

“Blessings,” the woman said with a dreamy smile. “My name is Morning Song, you must be Fluttershy. Allow me to welcome you to the Javik Peace and Love Association’s monthly potluck picnic.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Fluttershy replied, silently noting how nice it was to finally speak with a human who had a normal sounding name. More than that, though, was the fact that there was something about Morning Song that strongly reminded Fluttershy of her friend Tree Hugger. “Out of curiosity, what exactly is the Javik Peace and Love Association? It sounds lovely.”

“Oh it is. We’re a group of trainers who prefer to just bliss out with our Pokémon rather than battle them. Mostly we just enjoy each other’s company while taking in the energy of the universe.”

“Definitely just like Tree Hugger,” Fluttershy though to herself. “Well, I’m just happy to finally meet someone else who isn’t totally fixated on battling.”

“I know how you feel, too many trainers just can’t let themselves peace out. That’s why we started these picnics in the first place. They give us a way of spreading our message of cosmic bliss to any trainers who are willing to listen. If you look around you’ll see there are all sorts of trainers here,” Morning Song said as she waved an arm towards the picnic.

Indeed, while many of the picnic’s attendees were dressed similarly to Morning Song, others looked more like the trainers Fluttershy had seen in Mercury City. Before Fluttershy had a chance to comment on this, however, a cream-colored blur bolted along the ground between her and Morning Song. “What was that?” Fluttershy yelped as she leapt back, her Cyndaquil taking refuge atop her head.

“Oh, that’s probably just Joy,” Morning Song replied as she observed the blur zigzagging its way through the picnic attendees. “Her trainer is a regular at these picnics, so we’ve all gotten used to her doing that.”

Bewildered, Fluttershy watched as the blur dashed over to a rather portly young man who was seated at a table next to Pinkie Pie. Once it came to a halt, Fluttershy could see that ‘Joy’ was a slender, badger-like Pokémon, largely cream-colored with stripes of brown running along her length. In fact, Joy would have seemed completely unremarkable had it not been for the fact that she had apparently been carrying a six-pack of beverages in her mouth, which she deposited in her trainer’s lap. “Good girl, Joy,” the trainer said as he reached down to give Joy a much appreciated scratch behind her ears. “They’re even still cold. Hey, Pinkie, do you want to try one of these?”

“Okie-dokie,” Pinkie replied as she looked up from her plate, which was already loaded with food. “Where did Joy get those, anyway?”

“Honestly, I don’t have the slightest clue. I gave up trying to figure out where Joy finds all this stuff a long time ago.”

“Huh,” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug as a she popped open one of the cans and took a sip. “Ech, that’s really sour.” Pinkie Pie set the can down and was about to dive back into her food when she noticed Fluttershy heading towards their table. “Oh hey, Fluttershy, meet Derek. Derek, this my friend Fluttershy.”

“Um, hello,” Fluttershy replied absentmindedly, most of her attention being focused on Joy. This didn’t go unnoticed by Joy, who returned Fluttershy’s curious stare with one of her own.

“I see you’re interested in Joy,” Derek said with a chuckle, causing Fluttershy to look up with a slight blush. “No need to be embarrassed, she is a pretty impressive specimen for a Linoone.”

“I guess, I mean I suppose she is. To be honest I haven’t really seen any other Linoones before. There aren’t really any Pokémon where Pinkie Pie and I come from at all,” Fluttershy replied. Joy, meanwhile, had lost all interest in the conversation and had curled up at Derek’s feet.

Derek raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy’s statement. “No Pokémon at all, huh? I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a place like that.” A few moments of quiet passed before Derek shrugged his shoulders. “Ah well, I guess it doesn’t really matter. You should sit down and have something to eat. If you like spicy food you should give the Tamato berry curry a try, it’s absolutely delicious.”

Fluttershy glanced down uneasily at the pot Derek gestured towards, which was filled with an angry looking bright red mash. Before Fluttershy had to turn down Derek’s suggestion, however, a commotion suddenly kicked up at one of the other tables. “What in Equestria is going on over there?” Fluttershy asked.

Derek let out an irritated sigh. “I’ve got no idea, but I should probably go see what it is. Come on, Joy, let’s see what the big problem is.” With a huff, Derek heaved himself to his feet and started heading towards the source of the din, Joy obediently padding along behind him.

“Hey, wait for me!” Pinkie Pie said as she got up as well, pausing just long enough to grab a cupcake off the table. “Come on, Fluttershy, don’t you want to see what’s going on?”

“Well, I don’t…I mean, Derek seems like he can handle whatever it is…” Fluttershy muttered. Pinkie Pie, however, wasn’t about to let her friend miss out on the excitement. Fluttershy barely had time to let out a squeak of protest as Pinkie Pie grabbed her arm and dragged her along. It didn’t take long for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to reach the source of the commotion. A curious-looking Pokémon had apparently wandered over to one of the picnic tables and was now gleefully devouring everything in sight. It was a squat, light-blue bipedal creature, which vaguely resembled a bear if Fluttershy squinted at it in just the right way.

“Aw, that thing looks kind of cute,” Pinkie Pie said as she watched the Pokémon gulp down an entire cake without even bothering to chew. “What kind of Pokémon is that, anyway?”

“You do know you can use your Pokédex to look up information on Pokémon you’re not familiar with, right?” Derek asked. “But, anyway, what we have here is a Munchlax. I’ll spare you the full Pokédex entry, but the important bit would be that these little guys have pretty much insatiable appetites. That’s probably why it wandered over to the picnic, it was drawn by the food the association set up.”

“Aw, so he’s not trying to cause any problems, he’s just a hungry little guy,” Pinkie Pie said as she leaned in for a closer look. As Pinkie Pie did so the Munchlax paused and sniffed the air before turning towards her direction. “Hi there, I’m Pinkie Pie.”

“Munchlax,” the Pokémon replied disinterestedly before pausing to sniff the air. The Munchlax turned towards Pinkie Pie, its attention focused on the cupcake Pinkie Pie still had in her hand.

“Oh, are you still hungry? Here you go.” As Pinkie Pie spoke she gently tossed the cupcake over to the Munchlax, who promptly popped it into its gullet.

“Munchlax! Munchlax Munchlax!” Grinning broadly, the Munchlax hopped down off the table with a loud thud and proceeded to hug Pinkie Pie’s leg.

“I’m actually impressed, that Munchlax seems to really like you,” Derek remarked as he watched Pinkie Pie feed the Munchlax several treats she evidently had stashed away in her pockets.

“Of course! Sharing yummy treats like this is a great way to make new friends,” Pinkie Pie replied cheerfully as she began to dance around the picnic with both the Munchlax and Toothy.

Fluttershy, however, didn’t seem able to share her friend’s unbridled glee. “What in Equestria did he mean by ‘creepy guys’?” Fluttershy muttered to herself.

“What’s that?” Derek asked.

“Oh, it’s just something that Munchlax said when Pinkie gave it the cupcake,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t think it was anything too important, it just seemed a little odd.” Despite her efforts to downplay what she had overheard, however, Fluttershy found that her statement had had the opposite of the desired effect.

“Are…are you saying you actually understand what that Munchlax was saying?” Derek asked as he stared at Fluttershy as though she had grown a second head.

“It’s not as though it’s that big of a deal, is it?” I mean, I’m really just good at understanding different creatures, that’s all. I’m certain there are lots of pon – of people who can talk to them,” Fluttershy said without much conviction.

Derek spent the next several moments silently opening and closing his mouth as he struggled to fashion a coherent reply until he finally let out exasperated sigh. “Ok, setting aside the fact that you can apparently talk with Pokémon, you were mumbling something about what that Munchlax said. What exactly was it that it said that had you concerned?”

“Well, when Pinkie Pie first said hello to him the Munchlax mentioned how she seemed much nicer than the creepy guys he had been running from,” Fluttershy finally said. “Does that make any sense to you?”

“I’m not really sure what it would have been exactly, but I can think of a few possibilities,” Derek said. “Most likely you just had a couple of particularly obnoxious trainers trying to catch it. Munchlax is a fairly rare Pokémon after all. Now, in theory you could have had a couple of Pokémon hunters chasing after it, but I kind of doubt it since most of those jerks give the Javik region a wide berth.”

“Pokémon…hunters?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly with a mixture of concern and confusion.

“People who capture Pokémon to sell to the highest bidder. Most of them are complete scum even by the standards of other criminals, but they also tend to be craven little cowards who wouldn’t want to risk crossing the Javik League.” Derek paused for a moment before continuing. “There is one other possibility, but I really don’t think –“

“Yo yo yo! Y’all better watch out / or it’s gonna be a rout / if y’all try and mess / with the grunts with clout!”

“Oh dear sweet Arceus you have got to be kidding me!” Derek groaned as he heard someone loudly announce their approach. Increasingly confused, Fluttershy tuned to see two strangely dressed trainers exaggeratedly swaggering towards the picnic.

“Check it! Listen up, get yer hands out of yer pockets / ‘cause the two baddest grunts from Alola are comin’ at ya fast as rockets!” Once of the two trainers said as he struck an awkward pose of some kind, only for his companion to smack him upside the head.

“Dude!” the second trainer said in a harsh whisper.

“Oh crud, right. Uh, forget what I said about rocks, I definitely didn’t say nothin’ about Team Rocket.” The grunt looked over to his companion, who gave him a thumbs up of approval.

Derek, meanwhile, was shaking his head in disgust. “This sort of thing is why nobody takes the Alola League seriously.”

“Who are those guys?” Pinkie Pie asked as she walked back over. The Munchlax she had been playing with followed close behind, careful to keep Pinkie Pie interposed between the strange trainers and itself.

“They’re apparently former members of a group that called itself Team Skull,” Derek replied. “Team Skull was essentially a gang of delinquents and troublemakers who spent most of their time harassing everyone in their general vicinity.”

“Yo! Quit talkin’ ‘bout us like we ain’t here! Us two grunts are somethin’ to fear!” one of the grunts yelled out angrily. Despite their protests, however, nobody present aside from the Munchlax seemed even the slightest bit intimidated. Even Fluttershy found herself more baffled than frightened by the duo.

“Maybe this Alola is like the place Zecora comes from,” Fluttershy thought to herself, not wanting to appear rude by asking about the pair’s constant rhyming. “What exactly is it that you want, anyway?”

“Check it! We’re here to cash in on that Pokémon over there / so you better hand it over or you’re in for a scare!”

“This ain’t no joke / we’re going fer broke / now quit yer stallin’ and hand over that Poké…mon.” As the grunt realized that he had botched his verse he looked positively crestfallen. “Aw dang it, I really messed that one up.”

“Naw, man,” his partner assured him. “That was a good try, y’ really did yer best there.”

Fluttershy exchanged a glance with Pinkie Pie before glancing down at the Munchlax, who was still cowering behind Pinkie’s legs. On the one hoof, the two so-called grunts seemed largely harmless, despite their bluster. On the other hoof, however, harmless or not neither mare could simply stand by and watch while this went on. “Um, pardon me, but it really doesn’t seem as though Munchlax wants to go with either of you. So, wouldn’t it be better if you found a different Pokémon to catch? There are lots of Pokémon around here, so I’m certain you could find one who’d –“

“You best be getting’ in our way / ‘cause if you are we’re gonna make you pay!” one of the grunts snapped angrily.

“Yeah! The two of us will make yer bones rattle / so let’s settle this with a Pokémon battle!” the other grunt added as both grunts pulled out Poké Balls.

“Fluttershy, we can’t just sit here while these mean…meany-meanpantses take Munchy away!” Pinkie Pie declared firmly.

“You’re…you’re absolutely right, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy declared before kneeling down to speak with her Cyndaquil. “I really hate to ask you to do this, but –“ Before Fluttershy even needed to finish her sentence Cyndaquil leapt out in front of her and began snarling at the grunts. Toothy soon joined it and together they and their trainers formed a wall between the grunts and their prize. “If you want to hurt this little critter then you’re going to have to get past us!” Fluttershy said. “Ohmygosh I can’t believe I actually just said that! I sounded just like Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy added silently to herself.

“You girls think you can actually scare us? You’re gonna learn that you should really beware us!” Moving in unison, both grunts proceeded to lob their Poké Balls into the air. “Go Zubat, let’s take these suckers out!”

“They’re gonna scream and shout / but it won’t help against Bellsprout!” As the flashes of light form the grunts’ Poké Balls subsided, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie found themselves facing off against a frantically flapping eyeless bat and what appeared to be a slender, ambulatory pitcher plant respectively.

Fluttershy hesitated as she eyed her opponent’s Pokémon nervously. It had been easy enough to declare that she was going to protect a critter in danger, but actually commanding her Pokémon to harm another was a step further than she was comfortable with. “Are you really sure that you want to do this? There’s really no need for you to fight like this.”

“It’s too late for you to back out / now my Zubat’s gonna make ya shout,” the grunt fired back.

“Um, actually, I wasn’t talking to –“

“Zubat bat bat, Zubat bat Zubat!” the grunt’s Zubat chimed in, cutting Fluttershy’s protests off.

Fluttershy fell silent for a moment, her left eye twitching madly. It was bad enough that the Zubat had apparently picked up its trainer’s habit of speaking in rhyme, but its choice of vocabulary was enough to send Fluttershy over the edge. “Listen here, mister, my friend and I are trying to help a scared critter and I will not tolerate that kind of language!”

“Uh…what did I say?” the grunt asked, too confused to think of a proper rhyme.

“I. Wasn’t. Talking. To. YOU!” Fluttershy yelled with enough force to shock even her Cyndaquil. “Cyndaquil, use Ember!” Needing no further encouragement, Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil let out a howl as its back burst into flames, sending showers of burning cinders into the air towards Zubat.

“Zubat, start layin’ down the beat with Supersonic!” As it continued to try dodging the embers filling the air the Zubat let out a piercing shriek, forcing Fluttershy to cover her ears in an effort to block it out.

“Cyndaquil, are you alright?” Fluttershy called out as she struggled to remain standing. To Fluttershy’s immense relief, however, Cyndaquil was standing firm against the Zubat’s sonic assault. In fact, Cyndaquil appeared almost bored by the bat-like Pokémon’s efforts. “Cyndaquil, don’t let that bully win. Try using Ember again with everything you’ve got!” With a snort of acknowledgement Cyndaquil sent another torrent of cinders into the air, this time scoring a direct hit. Overwhelmed, the Zubat was sent tumbling to the ground in an undignified heap.

“Aw man, not cool,” the grunt grumbled as she recalled his Zubat back to its Pokémon. As the grunt glanced over to his companion, however, his eyes suddenly brightened. “You’ve got me beat / but I can take this defeat / since your friend can’t handle the bonehead elite.”

Fluttershy’s expression rapidly cycled from confusion to panic as she realized what the grunt was saying. Quickly turning towards Pinkie Pie’s battle, Fluttershy saw that Toothy had been forced down on all fours while the other grunt’s Bellsprout literally whipped it with a pair of vines.

“You thought you could beat me? You must’ve been trippin’. Now Bellsprout’s gonna give your gator one monster-sized whippin’.”

“Come on, Toothy, you can do it! We can’t let these big mean bullies hurt our friend!” Pinkie Pie cried out, her desperation clearly audible in her voice. Galvanized by the sound of his trainer’s voice Toothy snapped at one of the Bellsprout’s flailing vines, clamping down on it with enough force to cause his opponent to cry out in pain. This quickly proved to be a pyrrhic victory, however, as the Bellsprout then proceeded to yank its vines back with enough force to send Toothy crashing into one of the picnic tables. “Toothy!” Pinkie Pie gasped as she watched her Pokémon lie sprawled out amidst upturned casserole dishes. “Come on, Toothy, please get up.” Spurred on by Pinkie Pie’s pleas once again, Toothy summoned all of his strength to pull himself upright, only to promptly fall forward and collapse.

As Fluttershy watched Toothy fall she felt her teeth clench in rage. The fact that her friend’s Pokémon had just been beaten senseless was bad enough. But this wasn’t just some meaningless battle; they were fighting to project an innocent creature. Regardless of how much Fluttershy disliked battling, the stakes were too high for her to back down. “Cyndaquil, get ready to -“

“Munchlax!” Before Fluttershy could give her order, however, Munchlax’s voice rang out angrily as it walked out in front of Pinkie Pie. “Munchlax,” it added as it looked back over its shoulder towards Pinkie Pie.

“You really mean it?” Pinkie Pie asked with tears in her eyes, not needing Fluttershy to translate what it was saying. “Well, alright then! Let’s teach this party pooper why you don’t go around being a big mean bully!” Letting loose an enraged battle cry, Munchlax charged forward. The grunt’s Bellsprout scarcely had time to register its impending fate before Munchlax leapt into the air and landed on top of the Bellsprout with a dull thud that shook the very ground underneath. As Munchlax picked itself off the ground Bellsprout was left lying in an indent in the dirt, motionless save for the occasional twitch.

Pinkie Pie’s opponent gave his companion an uneasy glance as he recalled his Bellsprout before turning back to Pinkie. “We see we’re beat / so for now we’ll retreat / but you best watch out for when we next meet!” With that, the two grunts quickly fled over a nearby hill and disappeared from sight.

Neither Pinkie Pie nor Fluttershy paid much attention to the retreating duo, however. “Oh, Toothy, you really gave it your everything, didn’t you?” Pinkie Pie said as she cradled the injured Pokémon in her arms.

“There has to be something we can do to help him,” Fluttershy added as she opened up her backpack. “Maybe I have some medical supplies in here that could help. Let’s see, I’m sure I’d have some bandages, or antiseptic, or – Oh!” Fluttershy’s rummaging was interrupted as she felt a furry nose nudge her leg. Looking down, Fluttershy saw Joy calmly deposit something near her feet before looking up at her expectantly. “Is that for me?” Fluttershy asked as she bent down and picked up a small, yellow, diamond shaped object. “What in Equestria is this?”

“It’s called a revive.” Fluttershy turned to see Derek seated in a folding chair nearby. “It’s a type of medicine for Pokémon who’ve been knocked out during a battle You’ll still want to get him to a Pokémon Center as soon as you get the chance, but that’ll at least get the little guy up and moving around again.”

“Oh, um, thank you,” Fluttershy said, quickly turning her attention back to Toothy. As Pinkie Pie propped Toothy up Fluttershy gently fed him the revive. To their shock the effects of the medicine were nigh instantaneous, Toothy snapping awake the moment he swallowed the medicine and promptly starting to squirm in Pinkie’s arms.

“You tow handled yourselves pretty well for trainers with no battle experience,” Derek commented. “Especially you, Pinkie, it’s not easy to command a wild Pokémon like that.”

“Who, you mean Munchy? He just saw that his friends were in trouble and needed his help. That’s just the sort of thing that friends do for each other,” Pinkie Pie added.

“If you say so. By the way, out of curiosity, where are the two of you headed anyway?” Derek asked as he heaved himself out of his seat.

“We’re going to a place called Faunaville,” Fluttershy replied. “We got separated from some of our friends when we first arrived here and we’re planning on waiting for them there.”

“Well, that’s not a bad plan if your friends are taking the Javik League challenge. Most trainers taking that make a point of going through Faunaville sooner or later,” Derek said. “Actually, I’m headed out that way myself. Would you two mind if I tagged along with you on the way there?”

“Sure you can!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily before Fluttershy had a chance to raise any objections. “But, before we go anywhere I just want to say goodbye to Munchy. Where did that little guy get to, anyway?” A brief glance around revealed that ‘Munchy’, as the Munchlax had apparently been named, had wandered over to Pinkie Pie’s backpack, which she had taken off before challenging the grunts. Munchy was currently engrossed in rummaging through the backpack, presumably looking for something more to eat. “Munchy, what do you think you’re doing, silly?” Pinkie Pie admonished. “If you’re still hungry there’s plenty of food left on the tables.” Munchy, however, ignored Pinkie Pie as he triumphantly pulled out one of Pinkie’s spare Poké Balls. “Wait! Munchy, that isn’t –“ Before Pinkie Pie could even finish her sentence Munchy popped the Poké Ball into his mouth. A look of shock immediately sprang across Munchy’s face as his entire body transformed into red light before imploding into the Poké Ball he had just eaten. The ball fell to the ground and began frantically wiggling about for several moments before finally coming to rest with a chime.

“Huh, well, that’s certainly one way to capture a Pokémon,” Derek remarked. “I guess you won’t have to say goodbye just yet after all.”

Pinkie Pie was silent for a brief moment as a massive smile spread across her features before letting out a high-pitched giggling squeal of delight. Fluttershy, meanwhile, simply let out a small sigh of resignation as she watched her friend launch herself into a dance across the grass. “Well, at least Munchy should be safe from those rhyming trainers now,” Fluttershy thought to herself.

*********

“Aw man, the boss is gonna kick our tailbones when he finds out how bad we got beat,” one of the grunts moaned to his partner.

“Naw, don’t worry about it, man,” his companion assured him. “The big boss is a lot classier than Guzma; he’ll probably just yell at us a bunch. And that’s only if we come back empty handed. All we gotta do is snatch up some rare Pokémon for him and he’ll be all ‘You two really are the baddest grunts in the whole team’!”

“Dude, you really think so? That would be so sweet! But, that kinda reminds me of somethin’ I’ve been thinkin’ of. Y’know how all the elite grunts get to use their own names? Well, once we get recognized for being the hardest boneheads around, won’t that mean we’ll have to start usin’ our names instead just bein’ called grunts?”

“Crud, I hadn’t even thought about that. That would seriously suck!”

“I know man, but listen. What if we gave ourselves really kickass codenames? Then, when we introduce ourselves everybody would be all ‘Oh man, these guys must be the hardest, baddest trainers around’! I’ve even picked out a name for myself already; Ribcage. What do ya think?”

“Ribcage? Man, that is so…totally freakin’ awesome! Ooh, what if I started calling myself ‘Femur’?”

“Yeah, dude, that’s the idea,” the newly named Ribcage said with glee. “Now all we have to do is figure out a way to bag us some rare Pokémon for the boss.”

“I’m already a step ahead of ya!” Femur replied. “First off, we gotta head down to Faunaville…”

A Stone Cold Battle

“Applejack, are we there yet?” Rarity moaned as she trudged up the hiking trail behind her friend.

“Dang it, Rarity, y’all’ve been askin’ that every five minutes fer the last couple hours now,” Applejack snapped. “Does it look like we’re there yet fer ponies sake?”

“I suppose not and admittedly the scenery here is at least a touch more pleasant than that garbage dump we were walking by before.” Rarity paused to give a disgusted shudder at the recollection. “But at least the roadway had the decency to be relatively flat. My feet are killing me!”

Applejack let out a sigh of resignation as she leaned back against one of the stunted pine trees that trail they were following wound through. “As Ah recall y’all were the one who insisted we go this way rather than keep followin’ the road. Somethin’ about not wantin’ to deal with a bunch of ‘repulsive smoke-belchin’ monstrosities’?”

“I don’t care how convenient those giant self-propelled wagons must be, can you even imagine what all that smog would have done to my hair?” Rarity retorted.

“And instead we’re climbin’ up this trail. Mah point is we didn’t need to come this way but y’all made yer choice so here we are and all yer complainin’ ain’t gonna do either of us any good.” Pushing herself off the tree she had been leaning on Applejack tromped down the trail a little ways ahead. To Applejack’s surprise she quickly found herself at the edge of the sparse woods she and Rarity had been hiking through. More importantly, beyond the tree line was a sight almost certain to improve Rarity’s mood. “Hey, Rarity!” Applejack called back. “It looks like the answer to yer question is ‘yes’ after all!”

Rarity rushed to Applejack’s side in a flash with a look of exuberance on her face. “Oh thank Celestia! What an absolutely gorgeous sight.” Applejack was forced to silently agree that it was indeed an impressive view. The city itself had been built in depression that cut into the side of the island’s central mountain. In fact, one of the largest buildings that Applejack could see appeared to have been originally carved directly from the mountain itself.

“So now all we have to do is figure a way down from here,” Applejack said. “Then we should probably head straight to the Pokémon Center and get squared away there so we have a place to sleep fer the night.”

“And then to the spa!” Rarity declared. “What? I haven’t had a proper spa treatment since we arrived here. Besides, I’m absolutely dying to see what the human equivalent of a hooficure is like.”

“Oh fer the love of – first of all, y’all don’t even know if there even is a spa in that place –“

“There is,” a completely monotone voice said. “It has a really relaxing hot stone massage.”

“See, they do too have a spa,” Rarity replied with a grin before she and Applejack were both struck with a sudden realization. Spinning around, they found themselves staring at a drably-dressed young woman seated on an oddly shaped boulder, carefully examining a stone with a jeweler’s loupe.

“Hello Rarity. Hello Applejack,” the woman said in the same emotionless monotone as she continued to examine the stone she was holding.

“Maud, what in Equestria are y’all doin’ here?” Applejack exclaimed as she finally recovered from the shock of encountering her friend’s older sister.

“Studying rocks,” Maud said.

“I think what Applejack means is that we’re just a bit surprised to see you here of all places,” Rarity said. “Admittedly I thought I had seen a few other arrivals who looked vaguely familiar when we first arrived, but aside from Applejack you’re the really the first familiar face we’ve seen. And if you’re here…does that mean Pinkie Pie is in the city as well?”

“No, I haven’t seen Pinkie since I woke up on the ship. I’m not worried, though, Pinkie’s pretty good at taking care of herself,” Maud said. “Anyway, the local igneous formations are really fascinating. And don’t get me started on some of the corundum variations.”

“Ah’ll have to take yer word fer it,” Applejack replied uneasily.

“Is there something wrong, Applejack?” Rarity asked.

“It’s just…well, when we got here Ah pretty much figured it was just the six of us, and that didn’t bother me all that much. Ah mean, stuff like this happens to us enough that Ah’ve kinda gotten used to it by now.”

“I suppose I can see where you’re coming from,” Rarity replied. “One does eventually grow a bit blasé about being called off to Celestia-knows-where to resolve adventures or friendship problems on a regular basis.”

“Mah point is, if Maud’s here then it stands to reason that other ponies might’ve been swept up in all this too. Like our sisters,” Applejack added meaningfully.

“I had a feeling that that’s where this was leading.” Rarity said glumly. “Still, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom should be able to handle themselves if they are here. After all, that girl we met in Mercury City looked to be about their age and none of this seemed beyond her.”

“Most of the trainers I’ve seen at the Keystone Gym are about Apple Bloom’s age,” Maud said as she carefully put the rock she had been examining into her rucksack before picking up another.

“Ah guess that does make me feel a little – hold on, did y’all just say y’ve been to the gym here in Keystone?” Applejack asked.

“It’s where I’ve been staying while I study the rocks here on the island. Professor Amber is very knowledgeable regarding geology,” Maud said.

“Ah’m guessin’ that the Professor Amber is the local gym leader,” Applejack mused. “Ah don’t suppose y’all could take us to the gym once we’ve stopped by the local Pokémon Center?”

“Ah ah ah, spa first, then gym,” Rarity insisted.

Applejack rolled her eyes in response. “Fine, would y’all be able to show us to the gym after Rarity’s had her spa time?”

“Sure. If you want, I can take you to the Pokémon Center. I’m just about done here anyway,” Maud said. “We should probably ride Pebble, it’s the quickest way down.”

“Uh, Pebble?” Applejack asked, more than somewhat confused.

“My Pokémon. Giddy up, boy.” Maud said as she patted boulder she was sitting on. The ‘boulder’ then shuddered and opened its eyes in response before rearing up to reveal itself as a massive, vaguely snake-like Pokémon comprised of huge chunks of stone.

“What in Equestria?” Rarity shrieked as she stared at the huge Pokémon looming overhead.

“This is Pebble, my Onix,” Maud said.

Applejack whistled as she took in the sight of the sizable Pokémon. “Woowee, Ah never realized that Pokémon could get this big. Most of the ones we’ve seen so far have just been little critters, and even the bigger ones haven’t been anythin’ like this.” Applejack carefully approached Pebble and climbed up onto its back just behind the spot where it had lifted itself off the ground. “Hey Rarity, you comin’?”

“Are you certain that its safe to ride, uh, him?” Rarity asked nervously.

“Don’t worry, riding Pebble is perfectly safe. As long as you don’t fall off,” Maud said.

*********

“This is supposed to be perfectly safe?” Rarity cried out as she clung to Applejack in terror.

“As long as we don’t fall off,” Applejack answered back through gritted teeth. Given Pebble’s sheer size and bulk, Applejack had expected the trip to be comparable to the haybale rides Big Macintosh pulled each Nightmare Night. These expectations had rapidly been demolished once Pebble took off like the Friendship Express, forcing Applejack and Rarity to hold on for dear life.

Maud meanwhile, sat impassively atop her perch on Pebble’s head as the Pokémon rumbled towards its destination. Mercifully, Pebble eventually slowed his pace once they reached the city itself, though that seemed to be largely out of necessity to avoid crushing anyone. “The paving stones they use here are a particularly hard variety of banded iron formation, so they resist wear form Pokémon like Pebble really well,” Maud said as they rumbled down the street.

“That’s very fascinating and all, but please tell me the Pokémon Center isn’t much further,” Rarity moaned as she clung to Pebble for dear life.

“Actually, we’re here,” Maud said as Pebble turned a corner and ground to a halt in front of a large building with a distinct Poké Ball shaped façade.

“Thank Celestia,” Applejack gasped as she rolled off Pebble’s back onto the sidewalk.

“I need to drop by the gym, but I can come back to pick you up if you’d like,” Maud said as Rarity scrambled down after Applejack.

“No! I mean, that won’t be necessary,” Rarity quickly replied. “While we certainly appreciate the offer, we’d hate to impose on you any more than we already have. We’ll be able to find our way on our own.”

“Alright then,” Maud said nodding in acknowledgement before patting Pebble on the head. “Giddy up, boy.” With that, Pebble surged forward, quickly carrying Maud out of sight.

“Well, that sure as hay was a thing that happened,” Applejack said after a minute or so of awkward silence had passed.

“Indeed. Well, in any event at least we’re finally here. So, let’s reserve our rooms and find that spa Maud mentioned!” Rarity said as she picked up her backpack from where it had landed when she dismounted Pebble.

Applejack shook her head in exasperation but said nothing. In truth, Applejack knew that standing between Rarity and a full spa treatment was like standing between Twilight and a library, or between Pinkie Pie and cake. “’Sides which, Ah have to admit a steam bath doesn’t sound half bad,” Applejack thought to herself as she followed Rarity inside the Pokémon Center, only to narrowly avoid bumping into her when the fashionista froze in her tracks.

“My word, its absolutely breathtaking,” an awestruck Rarity said as she gazed around the lobby. Unlike previous Pokémon Centers that the pair had encountered, almost every surface of the Keystone City Pokémon Center’s lobby had been done in some variety of dark, polished stone. The overall effect was that the lobby almost felt like the inside of an especially stylish cave.

“Huh, Ah guess these folks sure like their rocks,” Applejack said as she took in the lobby. “Probably why Maud’s been stayin’ here.”

“Hmm, oh yes, most definitely,” Rarity mumbled distractedly as she rummaged through her bags. “Now where in Equestria did I pack my sketchpad. Applejack, darling, would you be a dear and -“

“Already on it,” Applejack replied as she made her way to the reception desk, allowing her friend to focus on her latest bit of inspiration. “Pardon me, but would y’all be able to take a look at mah Pokémon? Also, mah friend and Ah would like to reserve a room fer the night.”

“That will be no problem, just give me one moment and I’ll be right out to help you,” a cheerful voice called out from a doorway leading into the room behind the desk. “Sorry, we had a very busy morning and I still had a few things that needed to be sorted out. So, you said you wanted me to take a look at your Pokémon?”

As the pink-haired owner of the voice stepped out into the room Applejack performed a double-take. “What in tarnation? Aren’t y’all the nurse from the waystation?”

“Oh, you must be thinking of my second cousin, people get us confused all the time,” the nurse said with a laugh before showing Applejack a framed photograph. “See, this is a picture of the two of us at our last family reunion.”

Applejack stared for a moment at the photograph, which contained at least a dozen smiling, identical pink-haired nurses. “Ah’ll take yer word fer it. Anyway, if y’all could check on mah Turtwig and Aron to make sure they’re both at one hundred percent…”

“Of course, just put their balls in this try and I’ll take good care of them. And you said you needed a room for tonight for you and your friend?”

“Yes ma’am,” Applejack replied as she turned to look back at Rarity, who was humming to herself as she scribbled something in her sketchbook. “Also, Ah don’t suppose y’all could give use directions to the local spa?”

*********

“Now this is more like it,” Rarity sighed happily as she leaned back on the steam room bench, her Piplup mirroring her motions. “If you ask me, more of our adventures should allow us to make time for a nice spa treatment or two.”

“Alright, Ah’ll give y’all this, this does feel like a nice change after all that time on the road,” Applejack admitted. “Still, just remember we’re on a bit of a budget here, so don’t go gettin’ carried away.”

“Don’t worry, Applejack, I’ll restrain myself to…what did they call it, a ‘many-pedy’? Am I saying that right? I feel like I’m not saying that right. Anyway, I’ll restrain myself to one of those and perhaps one other treatment.”

Applejack started to open her mouth to respond before simply shrugging and remaining silent. After all, for somepony like Rarity that actually was showing restraint. “So, what else were y’all thinkin’ of havin’ done? A massage? A bath in some sort of fancy imported mud?”

“Actually, I was thinking of trying their volcanic sand exfoliation treatment,” Rarity replied.

“Huh,” Applejack said as a thought that had been rattling around in her head resurfaced. “Is it just me or do a lot of things here involve rocks or dirt somehow?”

“Hmm,” Rarity mused as she listed some of the various treatments she had seen listed earlier. “Hot stone massage, therapeutic sand bath, enriched mineral water detoxification…I think I see your point. I wonder why in Equestria that is?”

“It’s mostly because the people here really like rocks,” Maud said. “It’s one of the reasons I like it here so much. That and the noodle restaurant I found.”

“Maud!” Applejack yelped as she nearly leapt out of her towel at Maud’s sudden appearance. “How in the hay did y’all get in here?”

“Through the door,” Maud said.

Applejack blinked several times at Maud’s response before facepalming. “Ah don’t know what Ah even expected. Ah though y’all were headed off to the gym?”

“I was. Professor Amber wasn’t there, so I came here,” Maud said.

“Well in any event it is nice to see you again,” Rarity said as she recovered from her own surprise. “Would you be interested in joining us for a volcanic sand facial?”

“Sure,” Maud said.

“Well Ah’ll think Ah’ll pass on that fer now, but the two of y’all go right on ahead,” Applejack said. “Ah’ll probably just wander around fer a bit ‘till yer done.”

*********

“Yeesh, just how big is this place, anyway?” Applejack wondered as she padded her way down one of the spa’s hallways. Like the Pokémon Center, the walls, floors and even the ceilings of the spa had been done in polished stone, with brass plaques next to each of the doors declaring what treatments could be had within. Most of the treatments offered were similar enough to those offered at the Ponyville Spa that Applejack didn’t give them a second thought, but every so often she passed one that caught her attention. “Sand therapy? What in tarnation is that even supposed to be? Well, it ain’t like Ah’m short on time or nothin’, may as well take a look.”

Pushing open the door, Applejack found herself faced with a sight strange enough to stand out against the events of the previous several days. The room vaguely resembled an indoor pool, except that instead of a pool it housed a massive pit of fine, black sand. Stranger still, several people had apparently allowed themselves to be buried in the sand leaving only their heads visible. “It’s called a sand bath,” an attendant helpfully explained, somewhat startling Applejack. “The sand’s heated, so it helps reduce muscle pain, and it also helps detoxify the body the same way a sauna does.”

“Ah’ll just take yer word fer it,” Applejack replied as she cast a doubtful eye over the buried spa patrons.

“Don’t knock it until you try it,” one of the patrons nearest to Applejack said. “This really is relaxing, I feel like I’m a pebble on the beach just lying there as the world drifts around me.”

“Well, Ah can’t say Ah’m much fer lyin’ around, or driftin’ fer that matter,” Applejack said as she started edging towards the door. “So Ah’ll just leave y’all to yer…whatever.” As Applejack turned to exit the room, however, the sounds of shouting from the hallway beyond caused her to hesitate. Moments later, a mand and woman, each dressed all in black with a red ‘R’ emblazoned across their chests burst into the room and slammed the door behind them.

“Well that plan sure was a bust,” the tawny-haired woman snapped.

“Yarr,” her partner, a huge, barrel-chested man replied. “And I was certain that robbin’ a bunch o’ rich spa goers would be an easy haul.”

“For the love of – would you knock it off with the damn pirate act already! I swear, I don’t know why I ever agreed to be partnered with some former Team Aqua halfwit in the first place!”

“Arr, I be thinkin’ it were because yer only other choice was that lily-livered swab from Kalos,” the man replied before turning around to look over the room they had found themselves in. “If’n it would make ye feel any better, Sandy, I be thinkin’ we might have an opportunity to claim ourselves a little consolation prize.”

“Well, I think you might actually be right, King,” Sandy said with a wicked grin as she turned around herself. “Alright, ladies and gentlemen, get ready to hand over all your –“

“Belay that order, miss. We haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet,” King interrupted, much to Sandy’s apparent annoyance.

“Seriously? Fine, but if you’re going to make us do this then you at least had better get it right this time. Ahem, Prepare for trouble!”

“Arr, and make it double!”

“To infect the world with devastation!”

“To be unitin’ all peoples within our nation!”

“To denounce the goodness of truth and love!”

“To be extendin’ our reach to the stars above!”

“Ok, that’s it! We’ve been over this at least a dozen times already, that’s not how the motto is supposed to go!” Sandy snapped angrily.

“Yarr, that be how me matey James taught me to say it, so that’s how I be sayin’ it,” King countered defensively.

“Um, Ah hate to interrupt, but what exactly are the two of y’all doin’ here?” Applejack asked, increasingly baffled by the pair’s behavior. True, their conversation had indicated that they were thieves of some kind, but their actions painted them as more clowns than criminals.

“You know what, forget the stupid motto,” Sandy snarled as she pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it into the air. “Everybody hand over your Pokémon and valuables right now, or Nidorino here is going to have to get rough with you!” Sandy’s Pokémon, which looked like a light purple cross between a rabbit and a rhinoceros, let out a snarling roar to emphasize its master’s demand.

“If y’all yellow-bellied bandits think y’ can scare me than y’all are in fer a rude awakenin’,” Applejack countered as she fished out one of her own Poké Balls. “Alright, if it’s a fight y’all want than that’s what yer gonna get. Go –“

“Go Kabutops!” Applejack froze mid-throw as the voice of the buried spa patron she had been speaking with earlier rang-out. Moments later a white light sprang out from a purse that had been left on a counter at the room’s edge, coalescing into what Applejack could only describe as a bipedal horseshoe crab with forearms that terminated in wicked-looking scythes.

“Ha, jackpot!” Sandy said with glee. “The boss is gonna love getting a rare Pokémon like –“

“Kabutops, use Aqua Jet.” As Applejack looked on, the spa patron’s Kabutops surrounded itself in a cocoon of water before rocketing towards Nidorino, body checking it with enough force to send it crashing into the wall behind it.

“I be thinkin’ this be a good time to recall the old sayin’ about discretion bein’ the better part of valor,” King as he edged towards the door.

“Gee, you think?” Sandy retorted as she recalled her Nidorino. “You may have won this time, but Team Rocket won’t –“

“Kabutops, if they’re still here by the time I’ve counted to five I want you to use Stone Edge.” Neither King nor Sandy needed any further encouragement and both promptly fled out the door in a mad dash of terror. “I can’t really see from where I am, did they run away? It sounded like they just ran away.”

“They sure did,” Applejack said in a tone that was equal parts admiration and excitement. “Ah just gotta say that was amazin’. Y’all didn’t even have to look at those varmints in order to send them packin’. Who the hay were they, anyway? They looked like they had some kind of uniform on or somethin’, but Ah ain’t never seen anythin’ like it.”

“They were part of a group called Team Rocket, it’s a criminal organization that specializes in exploiting Pokémon. From the sound of it those two had probably been recruited from other gangs that had been broken up. In all likelihood they’re just here because the head of Team Rocket wants to remind everyone he still exists,” the patron added disdainfully.

“Excuse me,” the sand bath attendant interjected. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s time to dig you out of the sand, Professor Amber.” Even as he spoke the attendant began the process of excavating the professor with a large plastic shovel.

“Professor Amber? Now why the hay does that name sound so familiar?” Applejack mused to herself. There wasn’t much time for her to ponder the question, though, as Rarity suddenly came barreling through the door to the hall, with Maud calmly following behind her.

“Is everypo-everyone alright? Maud and I were chasing a pair of hooligans who tried robbing the spa and we saw them run out of this room.” Rarity said before noticing Applejack presence. “Oh, Applejack there you are, I was actually wondering where had wandered off to. I take it you were the one to chase off those ruffians?”

“Nah, that was this lady here,” Applejack replied, gesturing towards Professor Amber.

“Hey Professor Amber,” Maud said.

“Oh, hello, Maud,” Professor Amber replied cheerfully as she recalled her Kabutops to its Poké Ball. “Here for a bit of post-sample collecting relaxation? How were the basalt deposits?”

“Hang on, y’all two know each other?” a somewhat confused Applejack asked.

“Of course! Maud’s been staying at our gym while she studies our findings on the nature of Z-crystals,” Professor Amber said. “So, are you friends of Maud?”

“Yes ma’am,” Applejack replied as things suddenly clicked into place for her. “If y’all don’t mind my askin’, would y’all happen to be the Keystone Gym leader?”

“Indeed I am! Oh, are you geology enthusiasts like Maud?” Professor Amber asked excitedly. “Or, even better, you wouldn’t happen to be fellow paleontologists?”

“Ah’m afraid Ah can’t really say that Ah am. Actually Ah was hopin’ to talk to y’all about challengin’ yer gym,” Applejack admitted. “To be honest Ah’ve never really done this before so Ah’m not entirely sure how all this challenge business is supposed to go.”

“So you came all the way out to Keystone to challenge me for your first badge? Well, it’s not quite a discussion of the permineralization process, but a gym battle still sounds like fun. I still have a massage scheduled, so why don’t we meet at the gym in, oh, say an hour or two?” Professor Amber suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds fine to me,” Applejack replied.

“And, that leaves me with plenty of time to finally have my nails done,” Rarity added happily. “What? That was one of the reasons I wanted to come her in the first place.”

*********

“You know Applejack, I do realize that it’s not really your sort of thing but you really should give this a chance before we return home,” Rarity said as she admired her fingernails, each pained a vibrant purple that matched her hair.

“Ah’ll think about it,” Applejack replied as she walked down the city street, Pokédex in hand. Maud had offered to take the two to the gym via Pebble, but neither girl was particularly eager to risk another ride.

“Applejack, is there something the matter? You’ve been awfully quiet ever since we left the spa,” Rarity said, eliciting a sigh from her friend.

“Sorry, Rarity, Ah guess Ah’m just a bit nervous is all. Y’all weren’t there to see it, but that Kabu-whatzit Amber had was a whole heck of lot stronger than either of mine. Ah’m honestly startin’ to wonder if this whole challengin’ business is such a good idea.”

“Well, I doubt that Ferris gentleman would have directed us here if your chances were truly hopeless,” Rarity said. “Perhaps the Pokémon you saw was just one Ms. Amber keeps on hand to deal with emergencies. Why don’t you ask her about the issue when we reach the gym? Speaking of which, about how much further is it going to be?”

“Shouldn’t be too much further now,” Applejack replied as she glanced down at her Pokédex. “Looks like the gym’s probably that big buildin’ right up against the mountain we saw when we were on that ridge.”

“Well, as long as it’s not the affront to aesthetics that the last gym was then I’ll be happy. I mean really, unpainted cement and exposed concrete blocks? Starlight’s old village had more stylistic appeal.”

“Can’t really argue with you there,” Applejack agreed. “And anyway, we should be able to see the place once we take this next right up ahead.” Sure enough, the next turn took the pain onto an especially wide boulevard, at the far end of which was a huge building that sported a portico that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Canterlot library or museum.

“Well, I’ll give it this, it certainly does at least look appealing,” Rarity remarked. “Although, I’m not certain it really says ‘gym’ to me.”

“So what the hay do y’all think a gym should look like? Frankly Ah’m more concerned with what’s waitin’ fer us inside,” Applejack added.

“Knowing Maud and given our brief encounter with Professor Amber, I’m willing to bet it involves rocks,” Rarity said with a grin, to which Applejack could only nod her head in agreement. As the pair entered the gym they found themselves in what appeared to be the lobby of a museum, complete with what looked like a dinosaur skeleton on a pedestal. “Oh my, I didn’t know what I was expecting to find in here, but that certainly wasn’t it.”

“Huh, says here this thing was somethin’ called a ‘Tyrantrum’. Ah guess this place had Pokémon dinosaurs way back when,” Applejack mused as she read a plaque at the base of the display. “So, where the hay do we go from here?”

“You can start by following me!” a voice called out. Looking up, Applejack and Rarity could see Professor Amber walking towards them. “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long, I just needed to get everything ready for your challenge. I apologize if you mentioned this already, but how many badges have your earned already?”

“Ah can’t really say Ah’ve gotten any so far,” Applejack replied.

“So this will be your first gym battle then? Splendid! If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the arena and I’ll explain how this all works along the way.” With that, Professor Amber turned to head back into the gym, gesturing for Applejack and Rarity to follow. “Since this is going to be your first gym battle we’ll each be using two Pokémon. The first trainer to render both of their opponent’s Pokémon unable to battle will be the winner. In your case, that will mean you’ll receive a Geode Badge along with a piece of Rockium-Z.” As the professor spoke she flashed a dark brown, diamond-shaped crystal.

“Rocky-what now? The hay is supposed to that be?” a thoroughly confused Applejack asked.

“Oh, you’ll see,” Professor Amber replied. There was something about the professor’s tone that immediately put Applejack on alert. It was a tone of voice Applejack had heard used by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and even Rarity on occasionally. Inevitably, something said in that tone was a precursor to Applejack finding herself in a situation she’d have rather not been caught in. “Anyway, the field is just past these doors up ahead,” Professor Amber continued as she turned a corner. Applejack followed to find herself staring down a hallway lined with glass display cases, at the end of which stood a massive pair of elaborately carved wooden doors.

“Ah’m startin’ to get the feelin’ Ah should’ve asked a few more questions about what Ah was walkin’ into with all this,” Applejack said as she tried to keep her voice calm. “What do y’all think, Rarity?”

When Rarity failed to respond Applejack turned to find her friend admiring the contents of one of the display cases. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen gemstones like these before,” Rarity said as she admired the trio of fist-sized oblong crystals on display. “Although, those inclusions do look a bit odd. What exactly are these, anyway?”

“What you have there are what are known as evolution stones,” Professor Amber replied excitedly. “Specifically you’re looking at a Fire, Thunder and Water stone. They’re varieties of corundum that have absorbed elemental energies, hence those inclusions you noticed. What’s truly fascinating about them is that certain Pokémon are particularly sensitive to the energy they admit, to the extent that exposure can trigger their evolution. Now, where this gets really interesting is when you take into account the strata these stones are typically found in…” As Professor Amber continued to speak her words started tumbling out faster and faster until neither Rarity nor Applejack could hope to follow what she was saying.

“Uh, Ah don’t mean to be rude, but…” Applejack said as it became clear that Professor Amber was unlikely to stop on her own.

“Oh, right. Sorry about that, I sometimes get a bit carried away whenever I start talking geology,” the professor apologized with a laugh. “Anyway, like I said, the field is right through here.” With that, Professor Amber pushed open the doors to reveal a large room, the interior of which was strewn with boulders of every size. A pair of short platforms were situated on opposite ends of the room, each just tall enough to give someone standing on one a clear view of the field. Bleachers had been set up on either side of the field to allow for an audience, though at the moment they held only a single occupant.

“Hey,” Maud said as she watched Applejack and Rarity enter the room.

“Rarity, why don’t you head up there and sit with Maud,” Professor Amber said as she walked over to the platform at the far end of the field. “And Applejack, if you can climb up the stand near you, we can get started.” Obediently, Applejack climbed up to the top of the platform as the professor did the same at the other end of the field. “Alright then, as leader of the Keystone City Gym I hereby accept your challenge. Get ready…and…Go! Lileep!”

“Welp, no turnin’ back now. Go! Turtwig!” Applejack and Professor Amber each tossed their respective Poké Balls into the field, unleashing Turtwig to face off against one of the strangest Pokémon Applejack had seen yet. Standing opposite Turtwig was what appeared to be a three-foot-tall, purple and yellow flower with pink petals surrounding a pair of yellow eyes. “What in the name of Celestia even is that thing?” Applejack asked as she fumbled around for her Pokédex.

“It’s a Lileep,” Maud said as she watched from her seat. “They’re a type of prehistoric Pokémon that lived in the ocean. Professor Amber revived it from a fossil. All of the professor’s Pokémon were revived from fossils.”

“Revived from a fossil?’ Applejack repeated as she shook her head. “Well don’t that just beat all. No time to worry about it too much, though. Turtwig, give that whatever it is a trim. Use Razor Leaf!” With a shout of acknowledgement, Turtwig leapt into the air and snapped its head from side to side, sending a pair of leaves slicing through the air towards Lileep. Both leaves struck their target, leaving visible gashes on Lileep’s bulb. Professor Amber, however, didn’t seem even the least bit concerned.

“Hang in there Lileep. Use Confuse Ray.” As Applejack looked on, the apparent face of the Lileep emitted a shimmering golden light before firing a trio of glowing balls of light of the same color at Turtwig. Before Applejack could react, the balls surrounded Turtwig and burst into a flash of light that left the poor Pokémon staggering around blindly. “Well done, Lileep. Now that we have some breathing room, use Ingrain!”

“Breathin’ room?” Applejack repeated incredulously. “Ah don’t know what kinda challengers y’all’ve had to deal with before, but it’s gonna take a lot more than some fancy lightshow to rattle us. Turtwig, show this professor what we think of her breathin’ room and Tackle that thing!” Turtwig shot off like a rocket upon hearing Applejack’s order. Unfortunately, however, it was immediately apparent that something was very wrong as Turtwig drunkenly staggered from side to side before it swerved hard and crashed headfirst into a boulder nowhere near Lileep. “Dagnabbit, Turtwig, are y’all alright?” Applejack asked before breathing a sigh of relief as Turtwig pulled itself to its feet. “Alright then, let’s try somethin’ a little different. Try usin’ yer Absorb and see how that fossil likes bein’ sucked dry.” Turtwig shook its head a few times to refocus itself before turning to its opponent, a look of determination stamped over its features. As it did so, the leaves sprouting from Turtwig’s head began to glow bright green until an aura of energy arced out from them and struck Lileep.

If the plant-like Pokémon was overly bothered by Turtwig’s attack, however, it didn’t show it. What’s more, the Lileep was soon suffused by a deeper green aura that seemed to wipe away some its previous injuries. “Lileep, let’s break down that Turtwig like it’s compressed calcium carbonate! Hit it with an Acid attack!” Lileep promptly swung its head towards Turtwig before spitting out a stream of purple liquid. Sensing danger, Turtwig made an attempt to dive out of the way, but unfortunately it wasn’t quite fast enough. The liquid splashed over Turtwig’s shell, eliciting a cry of pain as it hissed and ate into the poor Pokémon’s shell.

“Turtwig!” Applejack cried out as she watched her Pokémon struggle to maintain its footing. Silently, Applejack weighed her options before calling out. “Are y’all too hurt, or do y’ want to keep goin’ to finish this?” As Turtwig adopted a fighting stance in response Applejack allowed herself a small grin of pride. “Attaboy. Alright then, let’s show ‘m that this rodeo ain’t got us beat yet. Hit is with another Razor Leaf, and try and keep movin’ so it can’t get a bead on y’ with that acid!” Needing no further encouragement, Turtwig leapt onto one of the nearby rocks and tossed another pair of leaves at Lileep.

“You know, I just love your spirit, but I’m not going to make this easy for you. Lileep, use another Confuse Ray!” Professor Amber commanded.

“Aw hay, Turtwig! Lock out!” Despite Applejack’s warning, Turtwig was unable to avoid Lileep’s attack, the three glowing spheres twisting through the air until they found their target. “Dang it,” Applejack growled in frustration before taking a deep breath. “Alright, this doesn’t change a thing. Turtwig, keep yer distance and try and hit that rotten weed with another Razor Leafe!” For a brief moment it looked as though Turtwig hadn’t heard Applejack’s command as it staggered about with a dazed expression. Suddenly, however, Turtwig seemed to find its footing and with a jerk of its head it sent a pair of leaves slicing through the air towards Lileep. While one of the leaves cut across Lileep’s stem, the other struck Lileep in the dead center of its face.

The effect of Turtwig’s attack was immediately obvious as Lileep began violently thrashing about. Lileep’s throes of pain were so wild that it actually managed to uproot itself, sending it toppling over with huge clumps of rock and dirt clinging to its roots. “Oof,” Professor Amber grunted as she raised Lileep’s Poké Ball. “Lileep, return. I’ll grant you this, Applejack, you’re very impressive. But now you’re about to face the ruler of the prehistoric skies. Go! Aerodactyl!” As Professor Amber tossed her second Poké Ball into the field it split open to unleash a sizeable bat-like creature that promptly perched atop a rock and leered down at Turtwig.

Applejack scowled as she assessed the situation. Turtwig already looked as though its battle with Lileep had taken a serious toll on it and Aerodactyl looked as though it were an even fiercer opponent. “No sense forcin’ him into a fight her can’t win,” Applejack muttered as she pulled out Turtwig’s Poké Ball. “Alright, Turtwig, y’all’ve done yer part. Return.” Turtwig, however, evidently had other plans, leaping out of the way of the red beam sent out from the Poké Ball to recall it. “What in the -? Consarnit, Turtwig, y’all ain’t in any condition to keep fightin’. But fine, if y’all need to learn the hard way then Ah’ll let y’all learn the hard way. Stubborn little…” Applejack continued to mutter under her breath even as she stowed Turtwig’s Poké Ball.

Rarity, meanwhile, stifled a chuckle as she watched the scene unfold from her seat. “Oh my, it looks as though Applejack’s Pokémon is almost as stubborn as she is. Although,” Rarity added as her smile faded. “I can’t help but think that Applejack was right in trying to switch out her Turtwig. What do you think, Maud?”

“Turtwig’s going to lose,” Maud said with a chilling note of finality in her usual monotone. Before Rarity could ask Maud to elaborate, however, the trainers were already calling out orders to their Pokémon.

“Ok, Turtwig, try leadin’ things off with an Absorb!” Applejack yelled as she crossed her fingers that the lingering effects of Lileep’s Confuse Ray wouldn’t interfere.

Unfortunately, that would prove to the least of Turtwig’s problems. “Aerodactyl, use Wing Attack!” With a shrill cry Aerodactyl took off into the air and briefly circled overhead as Turtwig readied its attack. Then, without warning Aerodactyl plummeted from the air. In a blur of motion Aerodactyl smashed Turtwig in the face with its wing as it swooped past, sending Turtwig crashing into a nearby boulder! Badly battered, Turtwig made a desperate effort to stand back up before completely collapsing.

“Dang it, Turtwig, this is why Ah wanted to pull y’all out of there in the first place,” Applejack said as she recalled Turtwig to its Poké Ball. “Y’all did yer best, but its time fer y’ to get some rest, alright? As fer you,” Applejack continued as she glared at Professor Amber’s Aerodactyl, which had returned to its perch on the boulder. “Ah ain’t nearly through with y’all yet. Go Aron!” As Aron appeared on the field with solid thud Professor Amber’s eyes lit up with excitement and even Maud appeared to lean slightly forward in her seat with interest.

“That’s your Aron?” Professor Amber practically squealed as the battle was momentarily pushed from her mind. “Just look at that coloration, I wonder if that was caused by an excessive amount of copper in its diet? Or maybe it had more to do with its mother’s diet immediately prior to its egg being lain. Do you happened to know…” Professor Amber’s voice trailed off as she realized that everyone present, ever her own Aerodactyl, were glaring at her impatiently. “Oh right, the battle. Very well, first things first, plenty of time to indulge my academic curiosity later. Ahem, Aerodactyl! Use your Bite attack!”

“Aw hay, uh, Aron, hit with your Metal Claw!” Applejack yelled as Aerodactyl dove at Aron with its mouth wide open. The prehistoric Pokémon’s jaws clamped down on Aron’s sides and for a moment it looked as though Aerodactyl would life Aron into the air. It quickly became apparent that Aron’s weight was more than Aerodactyl could handle and moments later Aron twisted out of Aerodactyl’s grip and swiped a glowing white forelimb across its face before landing back onto the ground.

Aerodactyl let out a wail of pain before awkwardly flapping back away from Aron. “Oh, poor Aerodactyl. Don’t worry, I know how we can turn this around,” Professor Amber said as she pulled up one of her sleeves, revealing a strange looking bracelet set with a dark brown gem identical to the one she had shown Applejack and Rarity earlier. As Applejack looked on, Professor Amber struct her arms out in front of her before striking a series of poses that appeared to Applejack as though she sere trying to flex her muscles. Far more worrisome, however, was the fact that both the professor’s bracelet and her Aerodactyl had begun to emit a golden glow that become increasingly intense. Finally, as Professor Amber flexed into the final pose the light emitting from her bracelet engulfed her before exploding into a riot of streams of light that flowed into Aerodactyl. As the streams of light merged with it, Aerodactyl opened its moth. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then the entire field seemed to shake as pieces of rock began to float up into the air, coalescing into an increasingly massive boulder.

“What in the name of Celestia?” Applejack yelled in confused terror as she watched the boulder grow until it reached half the size of the arena.

“Continental Crush!” With Professor Ambers finally yell Aerodactyl swept its head downward, sending the gigantic rock crashing down onto Aron. Applejack could only look on in horror as Aron was buried under hundreds of pounds of rubble. Wordlessly, Applejack slumped to the floor as she desperately struggled to process what she had just witnessed.

“Applejack! Look!” The sound of Rarity’s voice snapped Applejack back to reality. Turning to her friend, Applejack could see that Rarity was frantically pointing towards the pile of rubble left by Aerodactyl’s attack. While Applejack watched in amazement, the rubble shuddered and gave way as Aron dug itself free, appearing scuffed and irritable but otherwise still very much able to fight.

“Ah should’ve known y’all’d be too stubborn to let somethin’ like getting’ a boulder dropped on yer head slow y’ down,” Applejack laughed as she felt relief wash over her. “Now, what do y’ say we see how that Aerodactyl likes a taste of its own medicine. Hit it with Rock Tomb!” Aron slammed its two front legs onto the ground in response as several chunks of rock were surrounded by a white glow and floated into the air. The glowing rocks gathered into a ring above Aron’s head before shooting up into the air.

“Aerodactyl, watch out!” Professor Amber yelled, but it was already too late. Aerodactyl scarcely had time to cry out in alarm as the stones Aron had floated up came crashing back down, knocking it out of the air. Aerodactyl was left sprawled out on the ground, battered and exhausted. “Well, I know when I’m beat. Aerodactyl is in no condition to keep fighting and so that means you, Applejack, are the winner!”

“Woowee, y’hear that, Aron? We did it!” Applejack cheered as she clambered down to the field. “Y’all did one hay of a job out there, Ah’m real proud of y’.” The moment Applejack reached the field a delighted Aron leapt into her arms, promptly knocking Applejack to the ground due to its weight. “Ok, partner, Ah love y’all too, but could y’ get off? Yer kinda crushin’ mah ribs.”

“I do have to admit, that whole spectacle was rather exciting to watch,” Rarity said as she climbed down from the stands. “Although, I have to ask are gym battles always so vicious?”

“It partly depends on the trainer challenging us, but any gym leader worth their sodium chloride is going to put up a lot more of a fight than your usual trainer. On that note, in recognition of your victory I hereby present you with this Geode Badge, along with your very own piece of Rockium-Z!” As Professor Amber spoke she handed Applejack a small box holding a small pin resembling a cross-section of a geode along with a dark-brown crystal identical to the one in her bracelet. “Now, with that Z-crystal you’ll be able to perform the Z-move Continental Crush.”

“Just what in the hay do y’all mean with this ‘Z-crystal’ and “Z-move’ stuff? Are y’all talkin’ ‘bout that little dance y’ did before Aerodactyl dropped that boulder on Aron?”

“Precisely. That ‘dance’ as you called it activates the energies within the stone, which are then shared between the trainer and their Pokémon. If you’d like I can give you another demonstration of the movements,” Professor Amber offered.

“That’s alright, Ah think Ah can remember from what Ah saw the first time. Besides, Ah really need to get back to the Pokémon Center. Turtwig took one hay of a beatin’ back there and Aron could probably use a checkup too.” Applejack let out sigh. “’Course, after that me and Rarity need to figure out what to do next. We’re pretty sure some of our friends are on this island too, but we haven’t seen hid or hair of ‘em since we got here.”

“Well, if Maud knows what they look like then I suppose we can keep an eye out for the, if that helps at all,” Professor Amber offered.

“Ah certainly appreciate it, Ah just wish we had an idea as to what to do next,” Applejack said.

Professor Amber seemed to ponder the issue for a moment before snapping her fingers. “I know! Norma, the Faunaville Gym Leader.”

“What about her?”

“The Faunaville Gym also houses our region’s principle breeding center. It’s actually something of a tourist attraction so most of the people who visit the Javik region go there at some point. I imagine if you wait there long enough at least one of your friends would pass through eventually.”

“Huh, that actually sounds like it could work. What do y’all think, Rarity?” Applejack asked.

“Well, it does sound like the sort of place that Fluttershy would gravitate towards at the very least. And it isn’t as though we have any other idea as to where to go…” Rarity mused.

“Sounds like that’s where we’ll be headed then,” Applejack concluded. “Next stop, Faunaville!”

Fracas In Faunaville

“Oh my, now this is more like it,” Fluttershy said as she and friends reached the edge of Faunaville. The peaceful town appeared to be a simple farming community, one that wouldn’t even necessarily have been completely out of place in Equestria. Of course, most towns in Equestria didn’t have various Pokémon wandering the streets and the distinctive sight of the red and white-roofed Pokémon Center on the town’s main thoroughfare made it clear that this wasn’t Equestria.

“So, generally speaking the first thing you’re going to want to do when you come to a town is head straight to the local Pokémon Center,” Derek said helpfully. While Fluttershy had been uncertain about having Derek join her and Pinkie Pie on their journey, he had proven to be a seemingly never-ending source of useful tidbits of information. “Mainly you’ll want to make sure that the local Nurse Joy has a chance to give your Pokémon a check-up. Also, you can book a room at a Pokémon Center if you want to sleep in an actual bed instead of a sleeping bag.

“Ooh, that kind of sound a little like a sleepover,” Pinkie Pie said as she munched on a bag of chips that Derek’s Linoone, Joy, had somehow acquired. “So, what do we do after we go to the Pokémon Center?”

“Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about that,” Fluttershy admitted. “All Discord told me was that if we stayed here long enough, we’d probably run into some of our friends. Though I guess I wouldn’t mind taking the opportunity to learn a bit more about Pokémon while we’re here,” Fluttershy added.

“In that case you might want to talk with the Nurse Joy here about volunteering at the center. Most Pokémon Center’s can get pretty busy so they’re almost always happy to get some extra help,” Derek suggested.

“Hmm, that does sound kind of fun, is there anything else to do around here?” Pinkie Pie asked as she finished the last of her snack.

“Well, the local farmer’s market here is pretty well know. Most of the island’s berry ranches are based around here, so what the ranchers do is bring their produce to a market they’ve got set up just outside of town and have their buyers come to them. It’s not quite Confectioner’s Row in Seelieburg, but –“ Derek didn’t even have a chance to finish his sentence before Pinkie Pie bounded off. “Should we follow her or something?” a somewhat puzzled Derek asked after a few awkward moments of silence ticked by.

“Pinkie Pie should be fine,” Fluttershy said as she looked down the street Pinkie Pie had run off down. “I mean, its not as though there are any monsters or anything around here, right? Wait, are there any monsters around here?” Fluttershy asked as she turned to Derek in a sudden panic.

“Um, not that I’m aware of,” Derek replied nervously as he backed away a little.

“Sorry, its just that I really don’t know anything about this place and I guess it’s got me a little more nervous than usual,” Fluttershy said.

“That’s alright. Tell you what, why don’t we get settled in at the Pokémon Center and I’ll see what I can do to answer any of your questions.”

*********

It didn’t take Pinkie Pie very long to locate the Faunaville farmer’s market, which just as Derek said was located in a small field just on the outskirts of the town. After a half-hour or so of excitedly chatting with the various merchants (along with acquiring several armfuls of berries) Pinkie Pie found herself sitting at the edge of the market snacking on her haul along with her Munchlax. “You know what’s funny, Munchy?” Pinkie Pie said as she wiped a dribble of juice off her face with the back of her hand. Munchy gave a half-interested grunt as a reply, currently focused on devouring a pile of berries nearly as tall as itself. “They call these things berries, but honestly they seem more like regular fruits and vegetables to me. Then again, Twilight once told me that tomatoes are a type of berry, so…” Pinkie Pie shrugged as she popped another berry into her mouth and considered her options. Visiting the farmer’s market had been a nice diversion, but it had only been able to hold Pinkie’s interest for so long.

Luckily it didn’t take long for Pinkie Pie to find something new to occupy her attention. Rising up in the distance Pinkie Pie could see a sizable cluster of buildings on the outskirts of town seemingly surrounded by numerous fenced off pastures. “Admiring the Faunaville Breeding Center I see,” a voice from behind Pinkie commented. Spinning around, Pinkie Pie saw that the owner of the voice was a brown-haired farmer loading wooden crates into a truck. “I can’t really blame you, if you as me that center’s one of the best parts of the entire island.”

“What’s a ‘breeding center’ exactly?” Pinkie Pie asked, already preoccupied with figuring out the best way to make her way there.

“Well, that’s where most of the Pokémon on the island are hatched from. Y’ see, our region doesn’t have all that many Pokémon that are native, so part of our gym leaders’ responsibility is to help…well, I guess the best way to put it would be to keep the island stocked with the Pokémon type they’re in charge of. To do that, each of them has the breeding center hatch eggs of the Pokémon they want to have more of on the island and then the center raises them before turning them loose.”

“So that place is basically full of cute baby Pokémon?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

“More or less. A lot of folks passing through here like to make a point of visiting it for that reason. And then of course you have the –“ the farmer abruptly found himself talking to empty air as Pinkie Pie dashed off towards her latest prospective source of amusement. “Huh, I didn’t even get a chance to tell her about the gym they have up there. Ah well, probably not a big deal.”

*********

“Oh my, this breeding center sounds just lovely. But, why would you be worried that Pinkie Pie would go there by herself?” Fluttershy asked as she and Derek sat in the Pokémon Center lobby. “I can’t imagine a place like that would be dangerous at all.”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it dangerous and if Pinkie Pie stuck to the breeding center and the Pokémon enclosures then she’d be just fine. The issue would be if Pinkie wanders into the gym and ends up challenging the leader,” Derek said. “Norma’s honestly one of the rougher gym leaders to go up against for someone’s first badge.”

“Oh, so there’s a gym there, too,” Fluttershy replied softly as she shrank back, allowing her hair to fall across part of her face.

“Yeah, Norma, the woman who runs the breeding center, is also the local gym leader so she had the gym set up as part of the compound. She’s a top-notch Pokémon breeder and a pretty good gym leader, but she has some issues with holding back against new trainers. A rookie like Pinkie Pie likely wouldn’t stand a chance against Norma’s badge one team.”

Before Fluttershy could ask what any of that meant a voice addressed her from behind. “Excuse me, miss? I hate to interrupt, but you had mentioned that you were interested in helping with some volunteer work here at the center?” Fluttershy turned to see a rather frazzled Nurse Joy standing behind her. “I know you only just arrived, but I could really use your help. We have a number of large Pokémon that need to be groomed, but a trainer just brought in a very sick Raichu that I need to focus on.”

“Of course I’ll help,” Fluttershy said as she shot up from her seat. Regardless of what she thought about the subject of gyms and battling Fluttershy’s devotion to critters of every type remained as strong as ever.

“Wonderful. If you could follow me, I’ll show you to where you can get changed and then I’ll get you over to the room we use for washing and grooming. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am that you’re doing this. Having to deal with sick electric-type Pokémon –“

A horse, sniffling cry suddenly echoed out form the Pokémon Center’s back rooms interrupting Nurse Joy mid-sentence. “Rai…Ai…Ai…CHOOO!” Simultaneously, massive bolts of electricity arched out into the lobby, only narrowly missing the group.”

“Like I was saying, treating sick electric-type Pokémon can be something of a shocking experience.”

*********

“Huh, tingly left ear, someone must have just made a pun,” Pinkie Pie said to herself as she skipped down the dirt road leading to her destination. Pinkie Pie mentally noted that her Pinkie sense was somehow still working despite her change in both her species and current dimension. Shrugging, Pinkie filed that notion away in her mental list of odd things that she had realized but wasn’t all that interested in actually questioning. Of much more immediate interest to Pinkie Pie were the various Pokémon that she could see grazing in the fields. “Ooh, that giraffe-thingy has two heads! And over there are a whole herd of angry Twilights!” Giggling happily Pinkie Pie bounded from one side of the road to the other as she gawked at the Pokémon on the other side of the fences.

Even this might not have been able to sustain Pinkie Pie’s attention the whole of the distance to the breeding center. However, a new diversion soon presented itself in the form of a pair of children hanging onto the fence and arguing with each other. “No way do people from Kalos do that,” one of the children, a young boy, insisted.

“They do so, Billy,” the boy’s companion, a pig-tailed girl about the same age countered. “My big sister went to go in the Kalos League and she said that trainers there have really big races with them and everything.”

“Hi, what’re you two talking about?” Pinkie Pie asked cheerfully as she neared the pair.

“Well, you see all those Rhyhorn out there in the field?” Billy said as he pointed towards what looked to be a cluster of jagged grey boulders poking out above the tall grass. “Sally here says that people in Kalos actually race on those things. But everyone knows rock-types like Rhyhorn are too slow be any good at racing.”

“What about Aerodactyl? Those are rock-type and they’re really fast,” Sally responded matter-of-factly.

“Aerodactyl are fossil Pokémon, so they don’t really count. Besides, Aerodactyl are more flying-type anyway and those are all super-fast. The point is rock Pokémon are no good for racing.”

“They are too, Koffing-breath,” Sally retorted as she stuck her tongue out at her friend.

“Are not, Wooper-brain.”

“Are too, Stunfisk-face.”

Having heard enough, Pinkie Pie decided to resolve the argument in her own way. Before either child could utter a word of protect Pinkie Pie heaved herself over the fence and began sneaking towards the boulders Billy had pointed out earlier. “If I take one of things for a ride then I’ll bet that’ll solve everything. A brilliant plan where nothing can possibly go wrong.” Creeping through the increasingly tall grass, Pinkie Pie soon found her vision obscured on all sides. Just as Pinkie Pie started to consider standing up to regain her bearings, however, she brushed aside a patch of grass to reveal the face of a grumpy-looking rhinoceros-like creature. The Rhyhorn regarded Pinkie Pie with a look of irritable disdain for a few moments before apparently losing interest and taking a mouthful of grass.

“Hey! Miss!” Billy called out, prompting Pinkie Pie to stand up. “You better be careful! If a Rhyhorn charges it’ll squish you flat!”

“Aw, this big guy isn’t going to do something like that,” Pinkie Pie said confidently as she patted the Rhyhorn’s back. For its part the Rhyhorn seemed utterly indifferent to Pinkie Pie’s actions, instead focusing all its attention on its meal of prairie grass. “Well, it looks big enough to ride at least. I’m not sure how fast they are, though.”

“See, I told you Rhyhorn were too slow to be good racers,” Billy said triumphantly.

Sally replied in the most eloquent and dignified manner she could think of at that moment, namely by blowing a raspberry at her friend before turning back to Pinkie Pie. “Try getting on and riding it around,” Sally suggested hopefully.

Not quite sure how to proceed Pinkie Pie looked over the Rhyhorn once again. The Pokémon seemed fairly sedate (if slightly grumpy looking) and was sufficiently low to the ground that climbing on top of it didn’t seem like it would be especially difficult. Getting the Rhyhorn to actually start moving would likely prove to be a bigger challenge, but that was a problem for future Pinkie to contend with. “Alright, here goes nothing,” Pinkie said as she clambered atop the Rhyhorn’s back and scrambled about until she was straddling it.

To the disappointment of Pinkie’s two onlookers, however, the Rhyhorn hardly seemed to even notice the presence of its new passenger. “This is dumb,” Billy concluded after a minute or so ticked by without anything exciting happening.

“Well, maybe the Rhyhorn need something to make them want to move around? Like, what if the Rhyhorn saw some food they really liked and wanted to chase after it?” Sally suggested half-heatedly before slumping forward. “Only I can’t think of anything they really like.”

*********

While Pinkie Pie and her audience focused on the Rhyhorn’s failure to do much more than calmly graze, a crude cardboard facsimile of a Rhyhorn crept towards them. “I gotta say, Femur, I knew you were clever / but this has to be your best plan ever!”

“We’ll swipe those Rhyhorn with plenty of aplomb / once we get them goin’ with this adrenaline bomb.”

Ribcage looked at his partner quizzically. “Uh, ‘aplomb’?”

“It means self-confidence and stuff,” Femur explained. “I learned it from that word-a-day calendar you got me.”

“So, you are usin’ that. Nice,” Ribcage said as the two continued to sneak towards their prey, slowly moving closer towards the assembled Rhyhorn. It wasn’t until they were a mere stone’s throw away, however, that the pair finally noticed Pinkie Pie perched atop one of their targets. “Uh, dude, isn’t that one of those girls that messed up our plan to grab that Munchlax?”

“Seriously? Hold up, let me check,” Femur said as he tried jostling his way to the front of their cardboard costume. What resulted was a brief shoving match within the confines of the box, which came to an abrupt end when Femur dropped the extra-potent adrenaline ball he had been holding.

“Uh, dude, chill for a sec,” Ribcage said as noticed the ball land on the ground with a dull thud. “Is that thing supposed to be making a hissing –“ Any further conversation was cut off as the orb detonated, filling the box with thick, blue, acrid smoke.

Up until this point Pinkie Pie had simply been ignoring the two grunts antics, mostly out of curiosity as to what there were planning to do. As soon as Pinkie saw the smoke billowing out from their box, however, curiosity rapidly gave way to concern. “Hey, are you two alright over there?” Pinkie Pie called out.

Pinkie had barely finished her question when Femur and Ribcage tossed away their disguise and staggered out of the smoke. “You think you’re smart / seein’ through our disguise. But if you think we’re beat you’re – Ack!” Femur’s rhyming bluster came to an abrupt end as he collapsed into a coughing fit.

“Don’t worry man / I’ve got your back / ‘Cause there’s no holdin’ back / We’re on the attack,” Ribcage quickly rhymed, which earned him a grateful fist bump from his friend.

It was a rare event that could leave Pinkamena Diane Pie speechless, but the former Team Skull grunts had somehow managed it. “You guys…really?” Pinkie Pie managed to sputter before taking a moment to calm herself. “What are you even planning to do here, anyway?”

“Grabbin’ rare Pokémon is what we need / And this time you’re not gonna get a chance to impede / ‘Cause we’re sendin’ those Rhyhorn on a stampede.” Femur replied as Ribcage beatboxed out an accompanying rhythm.

“Good luck with that,” Pinkie Pie scoffed. “These Rhyhorn barely even want to move around, let alone stam – hey!” Pinkie Pie found herself forced to suddenly hang on as something prompted the Rhyhorn she was sitting on to turn towards the grunts. Letting out an enraged snort, the sizable Pokémon began angrily pawing the ground as it eyed the pair, who seemed rather pleased with this development.

“Aw yeah, that adrenaline bomb must’ve done its thing / and now it’s time for us to – dude, what is it? I was in the middle of a sick rhyme,” Femur asked irritably as Ribcage grabbed his shoulder.

“Uh, dude, did we ever think of what we were gonna do once we got the Rhyhorn to start chargin’?” Ribcage asked nervously.

“Of course not! We boneheads never plan stuff like that!” Femur said proudly. “Besides, all we gotta do is…um, lead them…aw crud.” Femur’s dawning realization of his predicament was clearly audible as he stared down the adrenaline-addled Rhyhorn. Sharing a brief look of acknowledgement with Ribcage, the two grunts nodded before turning tail and running as fast as their legs could carry them.

“Huh, that was over pretty quick. I wonder why they were in such a hurr-EEEEEEEEEE!” Any illusions Pinkie Pie had about how the situation had resolved itself were shattered as the Rhyhorn herd took off after the grunts. Pinkie Pie herself was forced to hold on for dear life as the Rhyhorn she was riding thundered along with surprising speed.

“See? I told you Rhyhorn could run fast enough to race,” Sally said as the Rhyhorn carrying Pinkie Pie rushed past.

“Yeah, yeah, you were right,” Billy grudgingly conceded. “Shouldn’t we do something about that pink-haired girl, though?”

“I don’t think so, she actually looked like she was having fun. Maybe she’s actually from Kalos and does this all the time,” Sally said.

Sure enough, once the initial terror at sitting atop several hundred pounds of charging rock-beast had subsided Pinkie Pie found the experience to be exhilarating. Or, at least, Pinkie would have had it not been for her concern over the impending squashing of the two fleeing grunts. “Slow down! If you keep going like this, you’re going to really hurt those two and I think they’ve already learned their lesson,” Pinkie Pie pleaded, with little success. “Darn it, Pinkie Pie, think! If you don’t do something those two are going to be squished. Wait, I know what to do!” Struck be a sudden bolt of inspiration, Pinkie Pie leaned forward and covered the Rhyhorn’s eyes with her hands.

Blinded by its rider, the Rhyhorn slowed down and started swerving from side to side in an effort to dislodge Pinkie and uncover its eyes. While this by itself wasn’t enough to throw Pinkie from its back, the Rhyhorn’s abrupt zigzagging resulted in it crashing into several of its peers, the impact in turn sending Pinkie Pie flying off into the air. Luckily for Pinkie, her landing was softened somewhat by Femur and Ribcage as she came crashing down on top of them. As Pinkie Pie sat atop the pair trying to clear her head, she noticed a huge, dark figure interpose itself between her and the Rhyhorn, who had been left in a tangled pile by the crash. “What in the heck have I told the bunch of you about charging around after people like that?” the dark figure bellowed at the Rhyhorn in a gruff, female voice. “You’re just lucky you managed to avoid hurting anyone this time! Now, all of you get up and head back to your pens and I want all of you to think about what you’ve done.” Amazingly, the assembled Rhyhorn actually appeared completely cowed by this dressing down and sheepishly began detangling themselves from each other before heading back towards the breeding center.

After giving her head another good shake, Pinkie Pie took stock of this looming newcomer. As her vision cleared, Pinkie Pie found herself looking up at a massive bear of middle-aged woman whose long dark hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. “Hi!” Pinkie Pie chirped as she wobbled back to her feet. “I’m –“

“Don’t think for a second that I’ve forgotten about you troublemakers,” the woman said as she spun around. “What the heck were you thinking provoking those Rhyhorn like that?”

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie squeaked as she felt her hair deflate slightly. “I was just trying to help settle an argument those kids were having about if you could ride them and – “

“You mean Billy and Sally? I had a feeling that those two had a hand in this somehow. Anyway, I’m a lot less upset with you than I am at those two over there,” the woman said as she glowered at Femur and Ribcage, who had been trying to quietly slink off. “I don’t know what you two did to get those Rhyhorn charging like that, but I do know it would have taken a lot more than having some silly trainer climb up on their backs.”

Both grunts froze in terror for a moment before Ribcage spun around. “We’ve got too much gall / to take a fall / so eat this! Go Smoke Ball!” With that, Ribcage threw something onto the ground at his feet which created a huge cloud of smoke. Moments later, Ribcage and Femur staggered out the other side, coughing and wheezing as they made their escape.

“What do they even…oh to heck with it. Go Staraptor!” As Pinkie Pie looked on the woman tossed out a Poké Ball to reveal a massive dark grey and white bird with a crest of red feathers on top of its head. “I want you to keep an eye on the those two over there. If they leave the ranch then you can leave them be, but if they try sneaking back in, I want you to let me know.” Staraptor let out a shrill cry of acknowledgement before taking off into the sky and disappearing from sight.

“Um, what about me?” Pinkie asked meekly.

“Well, you actually bothered to apologize for what you did, and at least what you were doing wasn’t going to get anyone else hurt…I guess I can let you off the hook this time. Besides,” she added as she looked meaningfully over to where Billy and Sally were climbing down off the fence. “It sounds like you probably wouldn’t have gotten into this mess if someone hadn’t roped you into it.” As the woman watched the two children abruptly take off as fast as they could towards the buildings her expression softened. “They’re not bad kids, to be honest. They just don’t ever think things through. So, are you alright?”

“Oh, I’m fine…um,” Pinkie Pie replied before realizing that she had no idea who she was talking to.

“You must be new around here,” the woman chuckled as she stuck out her hand. “I’m Norma, I’m the one who runs this whole place. So, what exactly brought you out here, anyway? Are you another trainer out collecting badges?”

“Collecting badge? Ooh, that sounds like fun! How do I get started? Is it anything like collecting stamps, because I have a friend named Cranky who collects stamps and it seems like a lot of fun!” This new promise of fun had completely returned Pinkie Pie to her usual bubble self, much to Norma’s apparent amusement.

“So, this is going to be a first for you then. Alright then, follow me and we’ll get this started.”

*********

“There you go Mister Tropius, don’t you feel better now that you’re all nice and clean?” The dinosaur-like Pokémon Fluttershy had just finished scrubbing answered her by licking the side of her face. As Nurse Joy had said, there were quite a few large Pokémon at the center who needed grooming and Fluttershy had truly felt in her element helping them all.

“Hey, Fluttershy, how’re things going in here?” Turning towards the door, Fluttershy saw Derek sheepishly poking his head into the room. “I was just wondering if there’s room in here for one more Pokémon. Nurse Joy made it sound like it was pretty crowded earlier, so I wanted to wait a bit before bringing in my own.”

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of room now,” Fluttershy assured Derek as she recalled Tropius to its Poké Ball and placed it on a shelf with the balls of the other Pokémon she had already helped. “Though I would have though Joy was small enough that wouldn’t need to bring her in here.”

“Joy might be, but she isn’t the Pokémon I was thinking of,” Derek replied as he pulled out a blue Poké Ball covered in crisscrossing black stripes. “Alright, Isla, bath time.” As Derek flipped the Poké Ball into the air and the light from it coalesced, Fluttershy found herself looking at a large light-blue Pokémon resembling an aquatic dinosaur of some kind. Once released, ‘Isla’ promptly let out a melodious cry of joy and began affectionately nuzzling Derek.

“My, that’s certainly a Pokémon I haven’t seen before,” Fluttershy said as she grabbed a pair of brushes along with a bucket of water.

“I’m not surprised, seeing as how you said you came from someplace that doesn’t even have Pokémon,” Derek replied. “Even around here Lapras are fairly rare, which is a pity since they’re really handy to have around.” Fluttershy nodded as she and Derek got to work scrubbing Islas’ shell as the Lapras trilled happily. “I was just thinking,” Derek said after a minute or two passed. “Pinkie Pie has been gone for a while now. Should we be worried at all?”

“I don’t think so, its not as though Pinkie Pie can’t take care of herself and you did say it was safe around here,” Fluttershy replied.

“Fair point. And its not as though Pinkie’s liable to go off and get herself in some sort of crazy trouble that she’d need to be rescued from, right?” Derek asked with a laugh, only to be met with an awkward silence. “Um, Fluttershy, are you – “

“We should go out and find Pinkie once we’re don here,” Fluttershy replied firmly.

“That’s more or less what I was afraid of. Still, there’s only so much that Pinkie Pie could possible get herself into.”

*********

“Oh, I’m in so much trouble,” Pinkie Pie said as she stood atop the platform overlooking the Faunaville Gym’s battlefield. In all fairness, there had been so much to see at the center that Pinkie Pie had scarcely been paying attention as Norma had led her to the cluster of buildings that comprised the heart of the breeding center. Pinkie could hardly be blamed for being so overawed by the massive barn-like structure Norma had taken her to that she hadn’t questioned why it had an arena strewn with large rocks inside. And when somepony tells you to climb up a platform overlooking a sports field it’s just plain rude to refuse.

“Alright then, since this will be your first gym battle, we’ll each be using two Pokémon.” The sound of Norma’s voice bellowing out from the other end of the field forcibly refocused Pinkie Pie back to the situation at hand. “The first trainer to render both of their opponent’s Pokémon unable to keep battling will be the winner. Any questions?”

“Um, could you wait one minute please?” Pinkie Pie asked nervously before ducking out of sight below the wall of the platform before Norma had a chance to respond. “Okay, Pinkie, think! Let’s see, what would Maud say in a situation like this?” Pinkie Pie’s hair momentarily straightened itself as she mimicked her older sister’s stone-faced countenance. “The boulders in that field appear to be granite. The phaneritic appearance is a dead giveaway.” Pinkie shook her head as she hair sprang back into shape. “Well, that wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped. Also, I’m not entirely sure what that actually meant.”

“Hey! Are you alright over there?” Norma called out impatiently.

“Not really…” Pinkie groaned to herself before another idea struck her. “Wait a minute, why don’t I just tell her that there’s been some kind of mistake and that I’m not really here to battle anypony?”

As Pinkie Pie rose up to explain the misunderstanding, however, a pair of voices coming from the stands caught her attention. “Yeah! Aw right, this is gonna be epic!” Billy cheered as he practically leapt out his seat as soon as he saw Pinkie stand up.

“Anyone who could ride a Rhyhorn like that has got to be an awesome trainer!” Sally added.

Listening to the two children cheer her on, Pinkie Pie felt a twinge of doubt at her plan to back out. “Could you wait just one more second?” Pinkie Pie asked nervously before ducking back down. Taking a deep breath, Pinkie Pie pulled out her Poké Balls and let out Toothy and Munchy before addressing them in a tone she normally reserved for letting Mr. and Mrs. Cake know that she had consumed an overly sizable portion of Sugar Cube Corner’s inventory. “Hey you two. So, I may have wandered into the local gym here…and I might have accidently kind of challenged the leader to a gym battle. Now, I’m pretty sure I can get us out of this if that’s what you want, but…” It was immediately apparent to Pinkie Pie that there would be no need to finish her sentence. Both Pokémon had started excitedly chattering the moment Pinkie Pie had mentioned the word ‘challenge’ and Pinkie Pie didn’t need Fluttershy’s ability to speak with critters to understand that neither had any interest in backing down. “Okie-dokie-loki, if this is really what the two of you want then let’s do this!” Recalling the two back to their Poké Balls for the moment, Pinkie Pie stood back up to face her opponent with newfound determination. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s get this started!”

“Glad to hear it. Okay then, go Starly!” Norma yelled as she tossed her Poke Ball into the field.

“Alright, goooo Munchy!” As Munchy sprang back out of its Poké Ball and appeared on the field it found itself facing a rather nondescript bird. Its plumage was a mix of white and various shades of grey with a grey-tipped orange beak. “Huh, I was kind of expecting something a little more…fighty-looking,” Pinkie Pie said as she took stock of her opponent.

“Heh, as the saying goes, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. Anyway, Starly, start things off with Double Team!” With a squawking chirp Starly took off into the air and began rapidly flying in circles until Pinkie started to feel dizzy trying to follow its movements.

“Oh wow, that birdy’s spinning around so fast it’s starting to look like there’s a whole bunch of them flying up – wha?” Pinkie Pie gasped as she realized that there now appeared to be fully a dozen Starly circling over the field. “Hold on, no fair! You can’t just have a whole bunch of Pokémon gang up on Munchy like that!”

Norma responded to Pinkie’s outburst with a moment of stunned silence before bursting into peals of laughter. “So, I take it this is the first time you’ve seen a Double Team attack then? Don’t worry, most of what you’re seeing are just optical illusions, so they can’t really hurt your Munchlax. Oh course, that’s not going to make hitting Starly any easier.”

“Munchy! Quick, Tackle that one right there!” With a level of athleticism one would hardly expect from a Pokémon of its girth Munchy bounced into the air and body-checked one of the Starly. The alarmed Flying Pokémon was left awkwardly flapping in the air as it tried to recover from the impact. “Hmm, wiggly…little forehoof grabber-thingy,” Pinkie Pie said to herself as she examined her right hand. “I’m going to have to remember that one.”

“I’m not quite sure how you managed to see through my Starly’s Double Team, but I have to admit I’m impressed,” Norma said as she carefully watched her Pokémon regain its poise. “But its going to take a lot more than that to win this fight. Starly, hit it with your Wing Attack!” Starly let out a cry as it wings began to white before diving through the air towards Munchy. The portly Pokémon scarcely had time to register what was happening before Starly swooped by it and clipped it across the head with a wing.

“Munchy, are you alright?” Pinkie Pie cried out as she watched Munchy clutch its head in pain after the attack. “Okay, maybe we should try somethings else. Um…Oh! I know! Munchy, use Defense Curl!” While Munchy still seemed to be somewhat woozy from the blow to the head it had just taken it obediently tucked its head into its stomach and curled itself into a ball.

“Alright Starly, if they want to give us an opportunity to shore up our defenses, I say we take it. Use Double Team again!” Norma grinned like a proud parent as once again Starly began to dart through the air forming copies of itself in its wake until the air above the arena was seemingly filled with a veritable flock of the bird-like Pokémon.

“Oh wow, that’s a whole lot of birdies. I’m not even sure my Pinkie Sense will be able to pick out the real one now.” Pinkie Pie frowned as she wracked her brains to think of a solution to her predicament until a though suddenly struck her. “Munchy, let’s try using Metronome!”

“Metronome?” Norma said as Munchy uncurled itself and stood back up before raising its arms into the air and waving its fingers back and forth. “Well, this should be interesting at the very least.” A nervous hush seemed to fall over the arena as Munchy’s fingers began to glow white. Suddenly Munchy froze in determination. Even stranger (not to mention far more concerning) Munchy began to rise up into the air and began to emanate a red aura of visible heat.

“Ooh, I wonder what sort of move this is?” Pinkie Pie mused as she watched Munchy observe the multitudes of Starly circling it. Suddenly, Munchy let out a cry as it seemed to spot its desired target, a glowing ‘V’ of brilliant energy forming across its head as it did so. Munchy then somehow launched itself at one of the Starly headfirst streaking towards its opponent like a burning comet. Starly, however, was just barely able to dodge the attack, leaving Munchy to collide with one of the rocks strewn about the field in a fiery explosion.

“Holy…that was a V-Create,” Norma said as she looked down at the smoldering rubble that comprised the remains of the bolder Munchy had struck. “I doubt you’ll get that lucky with Metronome again, but even so…Starly hit it with another Wing Attack.” Several of the Starly promptly dove down at Munchy, who was still picking itself up off the ground. Most of the images passed by harmlessly, but one delivered an all too solid blow to Munchy’s back, knocking it back to its knees.

“Darn it,” Pinkie Pie huffed. “I was really hoping Metronome would have worked better than that. Oh well, guess we’ll just have to go with Plan B then. You hear that, Munchy? Its time to use our Last Resort!” Munchy glanced over to the shoulder to give Pinkie a look of acknowledgement before pulling itself back to its feet. Closing its eyes, Munchy seemed to tense up as though it were trying to concentrate. Slowly, a golden light began to suffuse Munchy’s body starting from its feet and working its way up until its entire body shone as brightly as a torch. Suddenly, Munchy cried out at the top of its lungs as a multitude of golden stars launched themselves out from his body in every direction. The star-shaped projects blasted away the illusory duplicate Starly and knocked the unfortunate Pokémon out of the air, leaving it to plummet to the growl in an unconscious heap.

“Well, Starly, that was a good effort. Return.” Norma smiled as she recalled her Starly to its Poké Ball. “I have to admit, I might have underestimated you a little. At first I thought you were just some nut, but it looks as though there’s some real potential behind that smile of yours.”

“Aw shucks!” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Norma said as a wicked grin spread across her features. “That just means I’m going to have to start taking this serious. Go Kangaskhan!” Norma’s second Pokémon proved to be a massive, brown, bipedal creature which looked vaguely like an animal Pinkie Pie had once seen in one of Fluttershy’s books. Of more immediate concern to Pinkie Pie, however, was what she noticed upon looking down at the Pokémon’s abdomen.

“Is…is that a baby in it’s stomach?” a scandalized Pinkie Pie asked in disbelief.

“Yes, it is. Kangaskhan keep their children with them in their stomach pouches at all times. Not exactly how I’d want to go about keeping my kids out of trouble, but whatever works, I guess.”

“It’s just…are you sure its safe for your Pokémon to fight with its baby like that? I wouldn’t want it to get hurt or anything, maybe it should watch on the sidelines or something,” Pinkie Pie suggested. As exciting as battling seemed to be risking hurting a baby anything was a bit much.

“You leave that for me and Kangaskhan to worry about, you’re about to have much bigger problems. Kangaskhan, use Comet Punch!” Kangaskhan immediately surged forward in response, turning to present its profile as it launched a series of jabs at Munchy with one of its forelimbs.

“Oh no, Munchy!” Pinkie Pie lamented as she watched Kangaskhan relentlessly pummel her Pokémon. “Okay, fine! If that’s the way you’re going to be…Munchy! Use Last Resort again! Just, try and keep from hitting the baby.” Even as Munchy help up its arms to deflect Kangaskhan’s rain of blows his body once again started to glow with golden light. Before Kangaskhan could even register what was happening Munchy shoved both of its arms forward, launching out a large golden start that struck Kangaskhan in the side with enough force to knock it several feet away.

Norma leaned forward against her platform’s railing as she watched her Kangaskhan pull itself back to its feet. While her face seemed calm, Norma was gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles turned a bloodless white. “Alright then. Trump card it is. Kangaskhan, it’s time to show this girl just what it really means to compete in the Javik League!” Kangaskhan seemed to know exactly what Norma meant as it pulled itself to its feet and crossed its arms in front of itself. Norma, who had stuck a similar pose, proceeded to push both arms out in front of her before methodically moving each arm until she had formed them into the shape of a ‘Z’. Throughout this process Kangaskhan, who had been mimicking its trainer’s movements, had been increasingly surrounded by an ever brighter golden glow. A similar light had been emitting from an odd-looking bracelet Norma was wearing which suddenly erupted in intensity as Norma finished her posing. As this happened, the aura surrounding Kangaskhan exploded as well. “Kangaskhan…Breakneck Blitz!” Still glowing brightly, Kangaskhan charged forward like a living battering ram straight into Munchy. The sheer force of the impact knocked Munchy tumbling through the air until he came crashing down with a loud thud.

“Munchy! Are you alright?” Pinkie Pie yelled before looking back up at Norma. “What even was that?”

“That, miss, was a Z-move,” Norma said. “It’s what happens when a trainer and their Pokémon are able to combine their – are you even listening to me?”

Pinkie Pie had indeed stopped paying attention to whatever it was Norma was saying and instead had shifted her focus to Munchy, who was struggling to stand back up. “That’s the spirit, Munchy, we’re not going to let anything keep us down. In fact, let’s give Metronome another try.” Munchy nodded weakly in agreement before raising up its arms once again and proceeded swinging them back and forth. Once Munchy’s fingers started to glow white, however, a look of distressed surprise appeared on its face and Munchy dropped to all fours. Before anyone could react, Munchy belched forth a massive blast of searing hot air at Kangaskhan, engulfing it in a fiery haze. “Oh no!” Pinkie Pie gasped in horror at the scene. “I didn’t mean for something like that to happen. Is Kangaskhan’s baby alright?”

Norma stated at Pinkie Pie for several seconds in disbelief before suddenly breaking into a laugh. “You’re in the middle of gym battle, your Pokémon took a direct hit from a Z-move just a few moments ago and you’re worried about whether your opponent’s Pokémon is alright? I’ll give you this, kid you’re definitely something else. As for Kangaskhan, I can tell from here that she and her baby are just fine. That said, I think its about time to put an end to this. Kangaskhan, use your Bite attack!” With a loud roar Kangaskhan lunged headfirst at Munchy, wisps of smoke still rising from its back as consequence of Munchy’s last attack. Munchy instinctively threw up its arms in an effort to ward off the attack, only for Kangaskhan’s jaws to clamp down on one of its forearms and toss it into the air. “Good work. Now, before it has a chance to recover hit it with another Comet Punch!”

Pinkie Pie could only watch helplessly as Munchy’s descent was met mid-air by a barrage of punches, leaving it to land on the ground unconscious. “No! Munchy!” Pinkie Pie cried out in alarm before raising Munchy’s Poké Ball in defeat and recalling him from the field. “Don’t worry, Munchy, you did really great. Now just leave everything to me and Toothy. Speaking of which, go Toothy! Let’s show that meanie-pants who’s boss!”

Norma, however, did not appear particularly impressed as she watched Toothy appear on the battlefield and proceeded to start capering about. “You’ve put up a good effort so far, but I’m pretty sure this battle’s just about over. Kangaskhan, use another Comet Punch.”

“Alright Toothy, show that Pokémon that we’re not going to take any of that! Use Leer!” As Kangaskhan once again charged forward Toothy stared it down, Toothy’s eyes glowing an unnatural crimson. Unfortunately, this display failed to ward off Kangaskhan’s assault, leaving Toothy to be repeatedly battered by jabs to its face and torso.

“Good work, Kangaskhan. Now, follow it up with a Bite attack before it can recover!”

“Oh no you don’t, not this time! Toothy you Bite that Kangaskhan right back!” Pinkie Pie yelled even as Kangaskhan chomped down on Toothy just as it had down with Munchy. This time, however, when Kangaskhan attempted to toss its opponent into the air Toothy was able to scramble out of its grip and across Kangaskhan’s face before clamping its jaws down on one of Kangaskhan’s ears. Kangaskhan let out a shrill cry of pain in response as it desperately thrashed in an attempt to dislodge its attacker, eventually managing to send Toothy flying. “All according to plan,” Pinkie Pie said as she watched Toothy sail through the air. “Quick, Toothy, hit it with your Water Gun!” Twisting around, Toothy fired a jet of water out of its mouth straight into Kangaskhan’s face causing it to sputter with rage.

“For crying out loud, Kangaskhan, focus! Just get in there and finish this with another Comet Punch!” Norma said, exasperation creeping into her voice.

“We’ve almost done it, Toothy! Give it the old Scratch attack!” Pinkie Pie cheered. The two Pokémon furiously charged at each other at their master’s commands. As Kangaskhan turned to deliver its attack, however, it started to appear that Pinkie Pie had made a critical error in judgement.

“I hate to break it to you, miss, but it looks like you’ve forgotten one little detail,” Norma said as though she were explaining why planting a candy tree wouldn’t work to a small child. “Kangaskhan has a much longer reach than your Totodile, so it’ll be able to knock your Totodile out before it even has a chance to hit back.”

“Maybe, but that’s only if Toothy gets hit,” Pinkie Pie replied slyly. As Norma tried to make sense of what Pinkie Pie had just said Toothy dodge to one side, narrowly avoiding Kangaskhan’s initial flurry of blows. Before Kangaskhan could reorient itself, Toothy leapt forward and delivered a powerful uppercut swipe across Kangaskhan’s face. The blow seemed to leave Kangaskhan poleaxed as it teetered on its feet for a moment before finally toppling over onto its back.

“Huh,” Norma said as she recalled her Kangaskhan. “I can honestly say I did not see that coming. Well, Pinkie, you’re certainly on interesting trainer, and since you’ve beaten both of my Pokémon that means you’ve won.”

“You hear that, Toothy? We’ve won!” Pinkie Pie laughed happily as she leapt down from her platform and raced over to scoop Toothy up in her arms.

Just then the doors to the gym burst open to reveal a red-faced and very out of breath Fluttershy. “Pardon me…but has anyone…seen my friend…Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy panted as she parted for breath.

“Oh, hi Fluttershy. You’ll never guess what happened! I had come here to see all the cute baby Pokémon but then I tried reciting these big rocky Pokémon to see if you could race then but then those two weird guys from the picnic showed up and they were all ‘Grr we’re here to rhyme and cause trouble’ but then the rocky Pokémon started charging them and then Norma showed up – that’s here over there – and she was all ‘You’ve been naughty Pokémon chasing people’ and then she offered to show me around but then it turns out she thought I wanted to battle her and I was really nervous at first but Munchy and Toothy wanted to go through with it and we just won!” Pinkie Pie paused to finally take a breath. “so, what have you been up to? And where’s Derek?”

The answer to Pinkie Pie’s second question came first as Derek staggered into view, panting heavily and gasping for air. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both watched with concern as Derek leaned heavily on the door leading into the arena until he managed to gesture that he was alright. “Did you really challenge the gym leader here to a battle?” Fluttershy asked as she turned back to Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie didn’t just challenge me, she managed to defeat me.” Pinkie and Fluttershy both looked to see Norma walking towards them carrying a small box. “Here, this is your reward for defeating me; the Farm Badge along with a piece of Normalium-Z.”

“Normali – what?” Pinkie Pie asked as she opened the box to reveal a small pin in the shape of a barn along with a white crystal.

“It’s what’s called a Z-crystal. It fits in the bracelet they gave you when you first answered here. When you perform that little ritual dance you saw me use during our battle it creates a link between you and your Pokémon that allows it to a perform a Z-move.”

“Oh, is that what that big glowy tackle was called?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Yes. The ‘big glowy tackle’ was a Z-move,” Norma said flatly. “Anyway, we have an onsite doctor here that can patch up your Pokémon, and after that if you’d like I can give you and your friend here a tour of the nursery.”

“That…actually sounds like it would be nice,” Fluttershy admitted after a moment.

“Sounds like a plan then. Billy! Sally! Why don’t the two of you show these girls to the infirmary. I’ll be there in a bit, I just want to talk with their friend here,” Norma said as she gestured towards Derek, who appeared to still be quite out of breath. The two children proceeded to lead Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie into the center as they both gushed about Pinkie’s battle. Once they were safely out of sight, Norma leaned over Derek. “You really need to get in better shape.”

“So…much…running,” Derek groaned. “From the Pokémon Center to the market to and then to here. So,” Derek continued as he seemed to finally catch his breath. “Pinkie Pie actually managed to beat you for her first badge? I had a feeling she had talent, but I didn’t think she was already at the point where she could handle one of those Kangaskhan’s of yours.”

“Honestly, I’m not convinced it wasn’t a fluke. Anyway, why exactly are you following those girls around?”

Derek shrugged. “I think they might have a decent amount of potential as trainers. Mainly, though, I’m doing it to help out a friend.”

Taking The Low Road

Traveling along the South-Western edge of the Javik Region was not an experience for the faint of heart. Here, the sides of the mountain at the center of the region extended all the way to the ocean with many of the paths carved directly into the cliffside. More disconcertingly, these paths were known to on occasion crumble into the ocean below due to the area being honeycombed with tunnels carved by various Pokémon.

“Seriously, how the hay do humans stand not being able to fly?” Rainbow Dash complained loudly as the group came to a bridge over yet another section of collapsed pathway.

“You know, earth ponies and unicorns can’t fly either and they get along just fine,” Twilight said pointedly.

“Yeah, but they don’t build their road and stuff on cliffs like this this,” Rainbow Dash countered.

“Um, Canterlot?” Twilight fired back.

“To be fair, you don’t really notice that Canterlot is up on a cliff unless you’re someplace right near the edge,” Spike said.

“There, see?” Rainbow Dash said. “Besides, pieces of Canterlot don’t keep randomly falling down the mountain.”

“Alright, fair point,” Twilight conceded after a moment. “That said, complaining about our situation isn’t going to change anything. Anyway, as long as we stick to the safe paths then we should be fine, and so far they’ve had warning signs about any possible dangers.”

Unbeknownst to Twilight, however, a pair of cloaked figures were lurking out of sight further down the path in front of one such warning sign. “Explain to me again why we’re bothering with this petty foolishness when we should simply destroy them while we have the chance?” one of the figures, a tall, gaunt woman with stringy green hair sneered.

“Yes,” her companion, a large dark-haired man replied. “Let’s attack our highly resourceful enemies with the magic we don’t have while they have fire-breathing monsters at their beck and call. A truly inspired bit of tactical thinking. With a keen mind like that I can’t fathom why the other changelings decided they no longer needed your leadership.”

“You’re one to talk! Remind me, Sombra, how long did it take the crystal ponies to replace you with that simpering foal and her idiot husband?”

“That was entirely different,” Sombra huffed. “I never had subjects; I had slaves. It’s expected that slaves are going to try to wiggle out from underhoof if you don’t press down on them hard enough. And to answer your original question, Chrysalis, the paths here are extremely treacherous and prone to collapse.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Chrysalis sneered sarcastically. “And your point is?”

“My point is that by moving this sign we can lead the three of those miserable certain marching down a path primed to give way and send them falling to their doom. Especially that cursed drake,” Sombra added viciously.

“Hmph, well I supposed that could work…”

“I’m so glad you approve. Now, make yourself useful for a change and help me move these barriers before they get here!”

*********

A few minutes later, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Spike turned a corner to find themselves faced with a fork in their path. The route on the left cut so deeply into the cliffside that the overhanging rock formed a ceiling overhead, while the route on the right seemed to slope down closer to the sea. Somewhat distressingly, several wooded barricades had been assembled in front of the left path, one of which bore a large red sign.

“Warning: this path has been rendered unsafe due to the burrowing activities of several colonies of Pokémon. For your safety, please use the other path,” Rainbow Dash as she read the sign aloud.

“Well, I guess we’ll take the path on the right then,” Twilight remarked as she started to head down the unblocked route, Spike following closely behind. “I have to wonder what kind of Pokémon could have left a path like that too dangerous to walk on, though. I can’t really imagine any of the Pokémon we’ve seen so far being able to do that.”

“Who knows?” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug as she looked up the blocked path. “Hey, do you think maybe there’s something like a Tatzelwurm Pokémon around here? Because that would be so freaking cool!” When Rainbow Dash’s question was met by silence, she looked up to find that both Twilight and Spike were already a fair distance down the path. “Hey! Wait up!” As Rainbow Dash chased after her friends, she could hear that Twilight and Spike were engaged in their own discussion about what sort of Pokémon could have been responsible for the route closure.

“I don’t know, Spike. Quarry eels actually don’t usually cause serious disruption to the stability of the ground where they make their nests,” Twilight said.

“But maybe Pokémon quarry eels do,” Spike countered. “I mean, Pokémon do all sorts of stuff that creatures back in Equestria don’t, so –” Before Spike could finish his thought an earsplitting crack ripped through the air as the ground shook. “What the hay was that?” Spike yelped as he pressed himself to the mountainside wall of the path.

“I-I’m not sure,” Twilight stammered back. “It felt a little like an earthquake, though. Is everyone alright?”

“Yeah, I think so. The sign said this was the safe path, right?” Rainbow Dash asked sarcastically.

“Let’s just be glad we’re not going to see how bad the unsafe one is,” Twilight answered. Rattled by the feeling of the ground shaking beneath their feet, the trio slowly made their way further along the path until they reached a point where the path turned sharply inland as it curved around a small fjord. “Y’know, this would be a pretty nice view of we didn’t have to worry about the ground collapsing.”

“Oh come on, Rainbow, it’s not that bad,” Twilight admonished. “Sure, that shaking earlier was a little scary, but everything’s been fine since.”

“Sure it has. And the left side of the path has been sagging because they made it that way,” Rainbow Dash snorted.

“Wait, what?” Twilight exclaimed as she looked down to more closely examine the path they had been walking on. Sure enough, narrow furrows could be seen in several spots where the pathway met the cliffside. “Okay, that’s…that probably isn’t good,” Twilight admitted nervously.

“Hold on, did you seriously not notice any of that until I pointed it out just now? I thought you were just ignoring it because it wasn’t actually a big deal or something,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, maybe it really isn’t that big of a deal,” Spike suggested hopefully. “I mean, they’re just little dents in the ground, I wouldn’t even call them holes. It’s not like the whole path is collapsing or anything.” Spike’s words had scarcely had a chance to leave his mouth before a deafening rumbling sound reverberated out from the mountain. “Why do I say things?” Spike whimpered as he fell to his stomach, the shaking ground rendering it impossible to stand upright.

Neither Twilight nor Rainbow Dash answered Spike’s complaint, however, as they were too transfixed by the spectacle playing out in front of them. The mountainside seemed to be imploding in on itself, huge sections collapsing in on themselves until the far end of the fjord had been reduced to a massive, gaping hole. There was no time for the three friends to process this, though, as moments later the ground beneath their feet tilted wildly towards the cliffside before giving way altogether. All they could do was cry out in terror as they were sent tumbling down into a fissure that had opened up along the mountainside edge leading into the pitch darkness below.

*********

“Ow, my head…” Rainbow Dash groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. The last thing that she could recall was the feeling of the ground shifting under her before falling down into an abyss. “So I fell into that dark cave and – wait a minute. My eyes are open, so why can’t I see anything? And where Twilight and Spike?” Rainbow Dash felt herself starting to panic as she came to the realization that neither of her friends seemed to be with her. “HELLO? TWILIGHT? SPIKE? CAN ANYPONY HEAR ME?”

Several agonizing moments ticked by in silence before Rainbow Dash heard a muffled voice answering her call. “-bow Dash? Can you hear us?”

“Twilight! Is that you? Are you okay? What about Spike, is he with you?” Questions poured out of Rainbow Dash’s mouth as she ran towards the sound of her friend’s voice, only to run full tilt into what felt like a massive pile of rubble.

“Rainbow Dash! Thank Celestia, are you hurt? It sounds like you’re behind this wall of rubble. What do thing’s look like on your side?”

“How the hay should I know? It’s completely pitch black in here; I can’t even see what’s right in front of me!”

“Rainbow, do you have your Pokédex with you?” Spike’s voice called out. “If you can find it, try pressing and holding the big round button on the inside.”

Now that the initial fear of losing her friends had subsided Rainbow Dash felt well enough to grumble at the inconvenience of needing to fish out her Pokédex in the dark of the cave. “What the hay is my Pokédex supposed to do? Are these rocks some kind of Pokémon or something?” Still muttering to herself, Rainbow Dash groped around her back until she was able to locate her Pokédex and followed Spike’s instructions. Initially nothing happened, but after a second or two the device let out a high-pitched cry as a light at the top of the device flared to life, illuminating Rainbow Dash’s surroundings. The fall had apparently deposited Rainbow Dash in a deep cave system, a towering pile of rubble sealing the way back out and cutting her off from Twilight and Spike. “Well, the good new is I can see where I am now. The bad news is that its just some huge cave.”

“I was afraid of that,” a crestfallen Twilight said. “There are a lot of tunnels leading out of the chamber Spike and I are in, I think they might have been created by the Pokémon who were supposed to live down here. On the bright side, if this really is a burrow of some kind then there must be a way back to the surface.”

“Like that huge cave that opened up when the shaking first started,” Spike said eagerly. “I’ll bet if we head in that direction we’ll be able to find a way back to the surface easy!”

“Great idea Spike, just one problem,” Rainbow Dash said. “How the hay are we supposed to know which way that cave thing is? I can’t even tell which way I’m facing in here!”

“Try using your Pokédex’s map,” Spike suggested. “You should be able to at least use it to figure out if you’re going in the right direction.”

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Twilight added. “There’s no way we’ll be able to move this rubble pile, se we’re each going to need to try and find our way out separately. Hopefully we’ll be able to find someplace where the caverns meet up, or at least we’ll meet up at the exit. If not, then as long as one of us gets out then they can send help for the other.”

“And that’s really the best plan you can come up with?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Unfortunately it is. We can’t just sit here and wait for somepony to find us and there’s no way we’d be able to dig our way through this wall,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, but…” Rainbow Dash wracked her brain as she tried to think of an alternative solution, but to her frustration nothing came to mind. “Alright, fine! But you two had better not get lost down here! Also…how do you turn on the Pokédex’s map thingy?”

*********

Several minutes later (or at least what Rainbow Dash presumed were several minutes) Rainbow Dash was walking through one of the tunnels with her eyes glued to her Pokédex. “I think I’m going the right way, at least,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. “I’m kinda starting to wish I had paid more attention when Applejack had shown Apple Bloom and Scootaloo how to read a compass that one time when we were camping. Also kinda wishing I had somepony to talk to, wandering through these caves is so boring! If this were a Daring Do novel I’d have at least found some weird underground ruins or a monster by now.” Rainbow Dash waited for a moment, half-expecting her comment to conjure some source of unexpected excitement. “Ugh, I think I might be spending a little too much time around Pinkie Pie. Although,” Rainbow Dash mused as she took out Tank Jr’s Poké Ball. “I guess if I need some company I do have one option. Come on out, Tank!”

“Squirtle! Squirtle squirt.” Tank Jr exclaimed happily as it exited its ball, only for its attitude to rapidly shift to confusion as it noticed its surroundings. “Squirtle?”

“Long story short, there was some sort of cave in and Twilight and Spike got separated from us. They’re fine,” Rainbow Dash quickly added. “But now we need to try and get to an opening to the surface that we saw before we fell in here. And, to be honest I could really use some company.”

Tank Jr waddled up to Rainbow Dash in response and patted her leg reassuringly. “Squirtle.”

“Thanks, little guy,” Rainbow Dash said as she leaned down to give her Pokémon an affectionate pat on the head. “So let’s get going then. It’s not like we’ll find our way out of here just by standing around.” Tank Jr nodded in agreement, and the pair set off through the caves. At first Rainbow Dash found her spirits buoyed by having her Pokémon trotting alongside her, but as the minutes wore on a nagging sorry started to gnaw at the back of her mind. “So, we’re gonna be the ones taking on the gym once we finally get to the next town, huh?” Rainbow Dash finally said, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

“Squirtle!” If Tank Jr noticed the unease creeping into Rainbow Dash’s voice it didn’t show it. The blue, turtle-like Pokémon seemed positively exhilarated at the prospect of having another shot at a gym battle.

“Wow, you’re really revved up for going up against a gym again, aren’t you? I mean, after what happened last time you’re not even a little bit nervous that I’ll screw up and let you get hurt again,” Rainbow Dash said, prompting a confused stare from Tank Jr “I know you can do this, it’s just…what if I screw everything up again? This wouldn’t be like fighting Trixie, these gym leader guys really mean business.” Tank Jr immediately responded to this by rushing in front of Rainbow Dash and launching into an impassioned speech while flailing its arms dramatically. Unfortunately, the impact of Tank Jr’s speech was lessened somewhat as all Rainbow Dash could hear were numerous repetitions of the word ‘Squirtle’. “You know, days like these I really wish I could do the whole ‘talk with animals’ thing like Fluttershy. I think I get what you’re trying to tell me, though. You’re saying I should believe in myself since you believe in me and we’re a team, right?”

“Squirtle!” Tank Jr affirmed as it nodded its head.

“Thanks little guy, I think I really needed that,” Rainbow Dash said as she bent down to give her Pokémon a hug. “You know, speaking of Fluttershy, I wonder how she’s doing in this place. She probably gets completely freaked out everything sompeony even mentions battling.” Letting out a laugh, Rainbow Dash stood back up and took a quick look at her Pokédex. “Okay, time to get moving again. If we’re gonna kick the butts of that gym leader then first we’re gonna need to get out of here.” As the pair set off, Rainbow Dash found her mind drifting to other questions now that her main worry had been quieted for the time being. “Y’know, I just thought of something,” Rainbow Dash said, as much to herself as to Tank Jr.

“Squirtle?”

“Well, the warning signs said that the whole reason the paths were falling apart was because some Pokémon were burrowing underneath and Twilight said these caves were probably made by Pokémon. But, since I fell down here you’ve been the only Pokémon that I’ve seen. So, if these caves really were made by Pokémon, then where the hay are they?

“Trapinch.”

“Yeah, I mean you’d think we’d have run into at least one other Pokémon by – wait a minute, what did you just say?” Rainbow Dash spun around to see that an odd,-looking, orange creature had snuck up behind her and Tank Jr. Nearly half of the quadrupedal creature seemed to be made up of its head, and its head appeared to be little more than a pair of black beady eyes on either side of its massive jaws.

“Trapinch,” the creature repeated, not moving an inch.

“So, I’m guessing you’re a Trapinch then,” Rainbow Dash said uneasily as she pointed her Pokedex at the orange Pokémon. “Let’s see what that actually means.”

Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokémon. Commonly found in arid deserts, this Pokémon’s jaws are powerful enough to crush boulders.

“Huh,” Rainbow Dash said as she regarded the Trapinch standing in front of her. It wasn’t behaving aggressively (at least as far as Rainbow Dash could tell). More importantly, if Trapinch was one of the Pokémon responsible for creating the tunnels then it stood to reason it would know the way out. “Say, Trapinch, I don’t suppose you could lead us out of here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

A brief moment ticked by before Trapinch tilted its head in apparent confusion. “Trapinch?”

“Darn it, where the hay is Fluttershy when you need to talk to some critter?” Rainbow Dash said with an aggravated sigh. “Okay, new plan. Tank, I need you to explain to this guy that we need to find a way out. Can you do that?”

“Squirtle!” Tank Jr said, giving Rainbow Dahs a quick salute before scampering over to Trapinch. What transpired was a several minute back and forth between the two, not a single moment of which Rainbow Dash could understand in the slightest. Eventually, however, the two seemed to come to an agreement of some kind and Tank Jr cheerfully waddled back to Rainbow Dash.

“So, is he gonna be able to help us?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Squirtle!” Tank Jr replied as it nodded its head happily. “Squirtle Squirtle squirt Squirtle,” Tank Jr added as it waved its arms in Trapinch’s direction.

“Okay, I’m gonna assume all of that means yes,” Rainbow Dash said. “So, what’re we waiting for then? Let’s get moving!” Trapinch obligingly began moving down a side tunnel that Rainbow Dash had overlooked, while Tank Jr motioned for Rainbow Dash to follow. The drama of Rainbow Dash’s declaration was soon undercut, however, due to the waddling pace Trapinch se. “I wonder if Daring Do ever had days like this,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself as she found herself chafing at the slow pace.

Fortunately for Rainbow Dash’s nonexistent patience it didn’t take long to reach their destination, as the tunnel they were trudging down suddenly opened up into a massive cavern. The walls of the cavern were pockmarked with dozens of holes, many of which had Trapinch poking their heads out of them. Other Trapinch congregated on the floor of the cavern in a manner that vaguely reminded Rainbow Dash of the ponies in Ponyville’s town square.

“So, I’m guessing this is your home, right?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Listen, its nice that you wanted to show me where you live and all, but its really important that I get back to the surface.” In response, the Trapinch that had been guiding her nodded its head towards a particularly large tunnel on the other side of the cavern. “Oh, so the way out is through there, right? Okay, well, thanks for the help and everything, but I’ve really got to go. So, see ya!” Rainbow Dash quickly began making her way across the cavern floor with Tank Jr hurrying behind, eager to finally have found a way out from the underground. As she stepped around the various Trapinch scattered throughout the cave, however, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but notice that many of the Trapinch didn’t appear particularly healthy. “Huh. Hey, Tank, do you have any idea what’s wrong with these guys?” Rainbow Dash eventually asked as her curiosity got the better of her.

A brief conversation between Tank Jr and their Trapinch guide promptly followed. While Rainbow Dash was completely unable to understand a word of it, she could tell by the expression on Tank Jr’s face that it wasn’t good news. Once they were done speaking Tank Jr turned to Rainbow Dash and started a frantic mix of yelling and waving arms.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. I can’t understand what you’re trying to tell me!” Rainbow Dash protested.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Tank Jr dropped down to all fours and pantomimed a Trapinch. After a few moments Tank Jr then leapt up and started snarling and kicking at the space it had previously been crawling on, only to drop back down once again and meekly turn away.

“So…are you hungry or something? Seriously, I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me,” Rainbow Dash said, much to Tank Jr’s apparent frustration.

Before Tank Jr could attempt to explain the situation a third time, however, several badly battered Trapinch scurried into the cavern from a side tunnel. Moments later, the Trapinch were followed by a pair of wicked-looking Pokémon that resembled giant ants made of metal.

Durant, the Iron Ant Pokémon. This highly territorial Pokémon encases itself in steel armor to protect itself from its adversaries.

As Rainbow Dash half-listened to her Pokédex read off its entry on them the Durant advanced on the Trapinch in the cave, hissing and snapping at any who got too close. Eventually, the Durant seemed satisfied that the assembled Trapinch were sufficiently cowed and they turned and left the way they had entered, though not before one of them snatched some food away from a nearby Trapinch as it passed.

“Hey, what the hay do those things think they’re doing? I’ll bet the reason all these Trapinch are so out of it is because those things have been pushing them around. What do you think, Tank?” Rainbow Dash turned to see that Tank Jr had smacked itself in the forehead by way of response. “I’m guessing that’s what you were trying to tell me earlier, wasn’t it?” Rainbow Dash asked somewhat sheepishly.

The Trapinch, meanwhile, appeared to have simply resumed whatever they had been doing as if nothing had happened. The sole exception to this was the Trapinch who had guided Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be trying to nudge its fellows towards the tunnel the Durant had come from. None of the other Trapinch looked to be particularly interested in whatever it had planned, however, mostly either ignoring it entirely or grumpily pushing it away.

Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration as she realized that she was going to be faced with a dilemma. “I need to get out of here so I can help Twilight and Spike, but I can’t just ignore whatever’s going on here. Come on, Rainbow Dash, think. What would Twilight say if she were here? Something…something…books? Okay, that’s not really helping.” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath as she tried to organize her thoughts. “Alright, I need to get out of here and find Twilight, but how would she react if she found out I didn’t help these little guys after I saw they were in trouble? I can pretty much already hear the lecture Twilight’d give me if she heard about that. And she’d probably tell me I did the right thing by helping them, especially after that one helped show me a way out of here. It’s settled then, I’m gonna figure out a way to help these guys!” Rainbow Dash declared, to the delight of Tank Jr and the utter indifference of the surrounding Trapinch. “I don’t get it, don’t any of you even care that I’m here to help you?”

Most of the Trapinch continued to ignore Rainbow Dash. A handful, however, began to grumpily shove her and Tank Jr towards the tunnel that led back to the surface.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash protested as she realized where the Trapinch were pushing her. “What the hay do you think you’re doing? We’re going to help you stand up to the other Pokémon who were bullying you. Quit it!”

Suddenly, the Trapinch that Rainbow Dash had initially encountered rushed to her aid, butting away the other Trapinch and making sure they kept their distance. Eventually, the other Trapinch gave up and crawled away, but not without giving Rainbow Dash and her rescuer looks of utter contempt.

“I don’t get it, I told them we were going to help them, so why did they react like that?” Rainbow Dash asked as she moved to the edge of the cavern, Tank Jr and the Trapinch who had helped her following behind. “Why the hay would they want to get rid of me like that?”

Tank Jr thought for a moment before saying something to Trapinch. The two Pokémon rushed out in front of Rainbow Dash and gestured for her to watch them.

“Huh, what’re you – oh, I get it! Charades, right?” Tank Jr nodded happily before pointing and sweeping its arms across the cavern. “Okay so, the cave? No, the Trapinch? Something about the Trapinch?” Nodding its head, Tank Jr began wrapping its arms around itself and shivering. “Shaking, shivering, you’re cold? The Trapinch are cold?” Tank Jr shook its head before covering its face and cowering. “Okay, not cold…wait, scared! The Trapinch are scared of something! I think I get it, the Trapinch are too scared of those metal ant things to stand up for themselves!” While Tank Jr and Trapinch both cheered at this breakthrough, Rainbow Dash didn’t share their elation. “So what the hay are we supposed to do about that, though? I want to help, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have time to fix these guys confidence issues. There has to be some other way we could fix things here.” As Rainbow Dash pondered the situation her eyes landed on the tunnel the Durant had come from and an idea popped into her head. “The problem is that those ant-things are bothering all these Trapinch, right?”

Trapinch and Tank Jr nodded their heads, not sure where Rainbow Dash’s train of thought was taking her.

“So, what if we’re able to figure out some way to keep those things from getting through the tunnel? Like, what if we just collapsed it or something? Then they wouldn’t be able to get to the Trapinch to bully them.” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment as the issues with her plan almost immediately began to dawn on her. “Except those things could probably dig through anything we could put in their way. And it probably wouldn’t be a great idea to try and cause a cave in, anyway. Not to mention the fact that I’m not even sure how we could cause a cave in anyway.” Rainbow Dash heaved a dejected sigh as she reconsidered her options. “I guess we could go with the boring option and try talking to them. Who knows, maybe this who thing has just been one big misunderstanding.”

*********

“Yeah, just one big misunderstanding,” Rainbow Dash muttered nervously to herself as she stood at the entrance to the Durant colony. Tank Jr and the Trapinch stood to either side of her, both looking rather apprehensive about the scene in front of them.

As it turned out, the tunnel had led to the entrance of what must have been a massive Durant colony. Dozens upon dozens of Durant crawled across the cave walls, floor and even ceiling, most of whom seemed utterly indifferent to Rainbow Dash’s presence.

“Okay, Rainbow, no big deal. You just need to find the leader of the freaky metal ants and try to convince them to stop bullying the Trapinch.” Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously as she glimpsed one of the Durant chewing its way into the solid rock wall. “This seemed like it was going to be a lot easier back in the other cave. HEY! DO YOU HAVE A LEADER OR SOMETHING I COULD TALK TO?” Rainbow Dash yelled out.

Almost immediately, every Durant present stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Rainbow Dash. The entire cavern was soon filled with the sounds of hissing and chittering as the Durant seemed to discuss Rainbow Dash’s request. Watching the sinister-looking Pokémon, and seeing how increasingly nervous Tank Jr and Trapinch were, Rainbow Dash pondered if perhaps there weren’t some advantages to not being able to speak Pokémon. Eventually the Durant appeared to reach a consensus as several of their numbers started to advance menacingly on Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, hold on a second,” Rainbow Dash protested as she back away. “I’m just here to talk about why you guys should leave the Trapinch alone.”

Unfortunately, it was all too clear that the Durant weren’t in the mood to listen to what Rainbow Dash had to say. The iron ants continued their advance unabated, viciously snapping their mandibles at Trapinch in particular as they approached.

“Okay, that’s it!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. “I tried doing this the nice way, but if that’s how you wanna be then take this!” Rainbow Dash launched a powerful kick on the nearest Durant, producing a solid thud as her foot collided with its side. What Rainbow Dash had failed to consider, however, was the effect that kicking a Pokémon encased in metal armor would have on her foot. “Ow! I really did not think that through,” Rainbow Dash yelped as she hopped about on one foot, before noticing that the Durant had now turned their attention to her. “Oh crud, I definitely shouldn’t have done that. Alright, new plan; Tank Jr, Water Gun!”

Tank Jr needed no further encouragement, firing a powerful jet of water out of his mouth at the nearest Durant. The attack seemed to leave its target stunned, but also angered the remaining Durant who turned their attention to Tank Jr.

“Okay, Tank, what if we tried – Gyah!” Rainbow Dash didn’t even have time to issue another command before one of the Durant took a swing at her, leaving a large tear in her jacket. “That’s it, we’re getting the hay out of here. Tank Jr, return!” As Rainbow Dash stowed Tank Jr’s Poké Ball she quickly reached down and scooped up Trapinch before taking off at full sprint down the tunnel. “Come on, little guy, you didn’t think I’d leave you to deal with these things, did you? Just gotta make it back to the other cave. Then we can…I dunno, I’ll think of something when we get there.”

Despite Rainbow Dash’s best efforts, however, the combination of carrying Trapinch along with the difficulty of running in the pitch darkness of the cave slowed her down significantly. Several times Rainbow Dash stumbled on the uneven floor and nearly fell, only to just barely catch her balance and keep running. Eventually, however, Rainbow Dash’s luck ran out and tripped and fell, crashing forward, barely manage to twist herself so as to land on her side and avoid landing on Trapinch. As soon as they landed, Trapinch wriggled out of Rainbow Dash’s grip and started trying to pull her to her feet, but it was clear that the Durant would catch up to them before she could stand back up.

“Charmander! Ember!” Rainbow Dash watched in awe as she looked up from the ground to see a sheet of cinders sailing overhead. The oncoming Durant shrieked in a mixture of surprise and pain as the motes of fire rained down on them, forcing them to halt their advance. “Rainbow, are you alright?”

“Twilight, is that you?” Rainbow Dash asked as she pulled herself to her feet. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. How the hay did you find me, though?”

“Maybe we could wait to talk about that until after we’ve escaped from the angry metal ants?” Spike called out from behind Twilight. “Speaking of which, Bulbasaur, use Sleep Powder!” A cloud of shimmering green powder promptly arced past Rainbow Dash, colliding with several more Durant. The Durant who were coated in the powder stumbled for a moment before clattering to the ground unconscious.

With the immediate threat of the Durant stymied for the moment, Rainbow Dash hurried towards her friends, pausing only to make sure that Trapinch was following behind. “Spike’s right, let’s get the hay out of here.”

*********

“- and that’s when we heard you yelling about wanting to talk to somepony, so Spike and I went to investigate.” Twilight explained as the three friends rested back in the large Trapinch cavern. “I guess it’s a good thing we did. Why in Equestria were those things chasing after you, anyway?”

“Well, I had found out that they’d been bullying the Trapinch that live here, so I figured I’d try and get them to work things out. Thinking about it I probably got in a little over my head there,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “But, after the way that one Trapinch helped me I couldn’t just leave without doing anything, you know?”

“I understand, and I think you did the right thing, but maybe next time you should try and come up with a plan first,” Twilight said. “Speaking of the Trapinch that helped you, was that the same one you were carrying when Spike and I found you?”

“He kinda wandered off once we got back here, but I think he should be somewhere around – Hey!” Rainbow Dash leapt up from her seat and rushed over to where a group of Trapinch had encircled the one who had helped her. The other Trapinch were snarling and snapping their jaws at the Trapinch Rainbow Dash had befriended, thought it didn’t seem as though any were brave enough to get too close. Rainbow Dash’s sudden intervention put a swift end to this, however, with the bullying Trapinch scattering at her approach. “You bunch of lousy, ungrateful, jerks! What’s your problem, anyway?”

The assorted Trapinch responded to Rainbow Dash’s outburst with a stony silence. Eventually, one of the throng stepped forward and jerked its head towards the tunnel leading up to the surface. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. You all think I’m some big troublemaker, don’t you? But sooner or later you’re gonna need to start sticking up for yourselves or those ant-things –“

“Durant,” Twilight supplied helpfully.

“Gesundheit,” Rainbow Dash replied before turning back to the Trapinch. “Or, those metal ant-things are never going to stop pushing you around.” The Trapinch seemed to ponder Rainbow Dash’s words for a moment before their apparent leader once again motioned for her to leave. “Ugh, fine! Seriously, you guys are more stubborn than Applejack!” With a final snort of irritation Rainbow Dash turned around and headed towards the tunnel leading to the surface, Twilight and Spike following closely behind.

“Is it really alright for us to just leave like this?” Spike asked as they group started their ascent.

“Hey, it’s not like I didn’t try to help them or anything, but it’s not like I can force them to stand up for themselves. Besides, if I’m being honest most of those things were just jerks, aside from the one that helped me get here in the first place anyway. It’s too bad that little guy’s going to have to deal with the others on his own.”

“Actually, I’m not so sure that’s going to be the case,” Twilight said as she grabbed Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “Take a look behind us.” Rainbow Dash turned to see a familiar Trapinch determinedly waddling after them.

“What are you doing following us?” Rainbow Dash asked as she knelt down to put herself closer to the Trapinch’s level. “Shouldn’t you be back with the rest of those other guys?” As a response the Trapinch let out a derisive snort and jerked its head to one side. “Let me guess, those jerks kicked you out too, huh? So, what’re you going to do now?” The Trapinch said nothing, but rather nuzzled Rainbow Dash Rainbow Dash’s leg. “Hold on, are you saying that you want to come with me?” As the Trapinch nodded, Rainbow Dash leapt into the air in elation. “Aw yeah! Welcome to Team Dash little guy,” Rainbow Dash cheered as she pulled out a Poké Ball, only to pause and glance between it and Trapinch in confusion. “Uh, Twilight? How am I supposed to get him inside this thing, anyway?”

*********

Less than an hour later, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Spike finally emerged from the massive cave they has seen open up earlier. As the three fiends cheered at finally seeing the sun and breathing fresh air again, a pair of figures watched angrily from a distance.

“I can’t believe it, how did they all survive?” Sombra snarled in frustration.

“It would seem your ‘brilliant’ plan wasn’t quite so clever after all. Next time we do things my way –“

“Rush in like idiots and likely get set on fire or worse? I’m not one of your simpering drones who will rush into some pointless battle because ‘your majesty’ commands it. Come to think of it, neither are your drones anymore!” Sombra added with a malicious laugh.

“That’s enough out of both of you!” a deep voice snarled, seemingly coming out of thin air. “Chrysalis! Sombra! I assume the two of you have managed to at least learn something about how this ridiculous world works by now?”

“Yes, Lord Grogar,” Chrysalis replied fearfully.

“Good, at least you can follow instructions when they’re spelled out for you. Now we just need to focus on destroying Princess Twilight and her precious friends while they’re split up and without their magic.”

“And how do you expect us to do that without our magic?” Sombra complained. “They may not have their magical power, but now they have strangely loyal creatures at their command while we –“

“Enough of your whining! I’m well aware of the issue, and I’ve made…arrangements to provide you with the tools you’ll need to complete your mission. Go to Keystone City; Bray will be waiting for you there to explain further.”

Raging Rarity

“So, first Ah gotta move mah arms like this…and then Ah’m supposed to swing mahself around…no, wait, before any of that Ah’m supposed to throw mah arms forward…”

“For goodness sake, Applejack, are you still working on that ludicrous little dance?” Rarity asked in partial disbelief as the two walked down the path that led from Keystone City to Faunaville.

“Beggin’ yer pardon, Rarity, but y’all do remember what that ‘little dance’ can do if y’ get it right. Considerin’ there ain’t no tellin’ what we might run into Ah’d sure as hay like to figure out how to do that mahself,” Applejack said.

“Fair enough, although I for one would rather avoid getting involved in any of these battles if possible,” Rarity replied.

“Suit yerself. As fer mahself, Ah know Rainbow Dash is somewhere in this crazy place, and if Ah know RD she’ll be divin’ straight into this battlin’ stuff and Ah’ll be durned if Ah let her figure out this ‘Z-move’ nonsense first,” Applejack said firmly.

“Of course you won’t,” Rarity knew Applejack well enough to know that competition with Rainbow Dash was one of the few things that could divert her normally sensible mindset into utter lunacy. “In the meantime, I’m just thankful we were able to find a route that didn’t take us back through that repulsive trash yard.”

“Can’t argue on that point,” Applejack agreed. To the relief of both girls the route to Faunaville took them west of the troublesome scrapyard across a stretch of countryside that seemed to be all pastures and the occasional hillock. “Gotta say, all these field kinda remind me a bit of Ponyville. First time Ah’ve felt like home since we came to this durned place.”

“I know what you mean. As surprisingly not horrible as this little excursion has been, in its own way, I still can’t help but feel a touch homesick,” Rarity said. A few moments of quiet passed before Rarity suddenly brightened. “You know, I just had an idea. If you’re really concerned about getting the hang of this whole ‘Z-move’ nonsense then why don’t we stop for a bit so you can practice with that Aron of yours?”

“Ah don’t know about that. Not that Ah don’t appreciate the offer or nothin’, but are y’all sure we should take a break just fer that? Ah’d hate to dawdle on our way to this Faunaville place only to find out we just missed somepony. Besides, what’re y’all plannin’ on doin’ while Ah practice?”

“Applejack, you worry far too much,” Rarity gently chided her friend with a laugh. “”An extra hour or two isn’t going to make any difference as to whether we find any of our friends at the next town. As for myself, I’m certain I can find something to occupy myself with. If nothing else I can use the opportunity to work on some of my sketches.”

“Well, if y’all really don’t mind waitin’ around…” Applejack said as she pulled out her Aron’s Poké Ball. “Rise and shine, Aron! We’ve got some trainin’ to do!”

Rarity smiled as she watched Applejack prepare to put herself and her Aron through their paces. While Rarity still wasn’t quite sold on the appeal of Pokémon battling, she couldn’t deny her friend’s growing enthusiasm for the sport. “It’s certainly an exhilarating enough spectacle to watch, but I can’t imagine wanting to participate in something so brutish myself,” Rarity said to herself as she took out her sketchpad and stated flipping through it. “Especially when I have this to focus my attention on. At the rate I’ve been going I’ll have my entire upcoming Spring line planned, with enough extra inspiration to last me through the next five or so resort seasons at least.” Rarity grinned as a sudden though struck her. “You know, I wonder how many other ponies besides Maud were brought here? If there were enough of them and if they pick up the habit of wearing clothes all the time then my boutiques could see a major upswing in business. I’ll have to talk with Sassy Saddles when I get back to Equestria to review our inventory, maybe sooner if I should happen to run into her here.”

Rarity likely could have continued her musings about future demand for her dresses for several more minutes, but fate had other plans. A sudden gust of wind swept across the fields, forcing Rarity to clutch her sketchbook to her chest to keep any loose pages from flying away. Unfortunately, while Rarity was able to protect her drawings, the scarf she had been wearing wasn’t so lucky. The gust swept the silken garment right off Rarity’s neck, sending it tumbling through the air.

“Oh no!” Rarity wailed as she watched her accessory waft away. “If it lands in a mud puddle it will be just ruined, and that was one of the nicer scarves I had with me, too.” Rarity hurriedly put her things away before chasing after the errant garment. “I hate to admit it, but I should probably thank Applejack for insisting I wear sneakers. This is not an activity for fashionable footwear.”

Luckily, it didn’t take long for the wind to die back down, leaving Rarity’s precious scarf to gently settle down onto a patch of grass. But, for every bit of good luck Rarity was experiencing it seemed a new stroke of bad luck followed. The patch of grass that her scarf had fallen on lay right at the hooves of a sizeable, ox-like Pokémon. The creature started at the piece of cloth that had landed atop its lunch and sniffed at it curiously before looking up at a rapidly approaching Rarity.

“Yoo-hoo! Pardon me, I hate to interrupt your grazing, but it you could just wait a moment while I collect my scarf,” Rarity called out.

The Pokémon responded by giving Rarity a look of bored indifference before letting out a snort and resuming its inspection of her scarf.

“Hmm, not the most talkative Pokémon, are you?” Rarity said as she started to creep closer so she could retrieve her scarf, only to pull back when the Pokémon suddenly looked up at her and gave a snort of irritation. “You know, now that I think about it, perhaps it would be better if I knew a bit more about you before I continue. Let’s see what this little device has to say about you,” Rarity said as she pulled out her Pokédex and pointed it at the uncooperative creature.

Tauros, the wild bull Pokémon. When disturbed, Tauros will go on a wild rampage, attacking anything in sight. During these rampages, Tauros will sustain their frenzy by repeatedly whipping themselves with their three tails.

“Oh, that’s just delightful,” Rarity said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she looked back up at the Tauros standing in front of her. “I’ll just have to handle this situation delicately. Let’s see, how would Fluttershy approach a situation like this?” Rarity cleared her throat and began to slowly inch towards the Tauros. “Who’s a good, er, Tauros? You’re a good Tauros! Don’t mind me, I’m not going to bother you. I’m just going to retrieve my scarf there,” Rarity said in the most calming manner that she could muster as she reached for her scarf.

The Tauros, meanwhile, seemed utterly unimpressed with Rarity’s efforts. After watching Rarity creep closer for a few moments, the Tauros lost interest and returned to its examination of the scarf. Giving the scarf a final sniff, the Tauros seemed to come to a conclusion regarding it and unceremoniously plucked it off the ground and began chewing on it.

Rarity froze and stared at the Tauros for several moments as her mind processed the scene playing out before her. “Put that down this instant!” Rarity finally screeched as she recovered enough from the shock to speak. “That scarf is a fashion accessory, not a snack for some ill-mannered brute of a Pokémon. Now give it here!” Her fear of the Tauros having been completely subsumed by her rage at the crime being committed against fashion she was witnessing, Rarity lunged at the Tauros and attempted to grab the scarf out of its mouth.

As Rarity reached for the scarf, however, the Tauros calmly swung its head into her stomach. While the Tauros thankfully put little effort into the blow, it still had enough power to knock Rarity into the air. The fashionista landed in a patch of grass several feet away, unharmed but absolutely livid. Rarity promptly climbed to her feet and charged at the Tauros in an effort to recover her scarf, only to once more be tossed through the air in response. This process repeated itself twice more, with each iteration sending Rarity into a deeper fury. The Tauros, by contrast appeared to be actually be thoroughly enjoying itself.

“Wipe that disgusting grin off of your face this instant! You think that this is all just a game, don’t you? Well, there is on thing that I always take seriously and this when I see a crime being committed against fashion!” Rarity said, her eyes flashing with anger as she pulled out a Poke Ball. “And I know precisely how to make certain you understand that I’m not just kidding around!”

*********

“To tell the truth, all the movin’ and posin’ that goes into this Z-move nonsense just makes me feel like Ah’m just kiddin’ around,” Applejack said as she finished awkwardly going through her Z-move’s motions.

“Aron,” her Aron replied simply as it watched her straighten herself back up.

“If y’all are pointin’ out how important it is that Ah figure this out then y’all don’t need to say anythin’. Ah remember exactly what this nonsense can do if y’ do it right and Ah reckon y’all do as well since y’all were the one to get hit with it last time. Still doesn’t mean Ah can’t feel a bit silly doin’ it mahself, not to mention Ah can’t shake this feelin’ that Ah’m missin’ somethin’.”

“Aron,” Applejack’s Aron replied as it stood up. “Aron Aron.”

“Sounds like y’all have some ideas about how Ah should be goin’ about this,” Applejack said. “Well, this whole deal is supposed to be about workin’ together so it couldn’t hurt to give it a short. Alright then, let’s get started!”

*********

“I’m sorry, Piplup, but I think you’re finished for now,” Rarity said apologetically as she recalled her badly battered Pokémon back to its ball. The Tauros had proven to be far more than Piplup could handle and was not celebrating by continuing to chew on Rarity’s scarf as though it were a piece of gum. “Don’t worry, though. I won’t allow this brutish enemy of fashion to get away with this travesty!” Rarity’s declaration, though made with as much drama as she could muster, was undercut somewhat by the simple fact that she had no idea how she would go about accomplishing her goal.

For its part, the Tauros seemed utterly oblivious to Rarity’s anger. Instead it simply stood there as it chewed on the colorful bit of fabric and contemplated the intricacies of running headfirst into things.

The Tauros was so engrossed in its meditation that it failed to notice Rarity sneaking around to its side until she suddenly rushed at it. Before the Tauros could turn to knock her back once again Rarity dodged to the side and leapt into the air, landing on the Tauros’ back. “Aha! I have you right where I want you. Now, drop my scarf this instant or I shall be forced to –”

Whatever threat Rarity was about to issue was abruptly cut off by the Tauros’ enraged bellow at this new turn of events. Immediately the Tauros began furiously jumping and bucking in an effort to dislodge its unwanted passenger, forcing Rarity to hold on for dear life.

“Jump around all you want; I’m not letting go until you release my scarf!” Rarity wailed as she clung to the Tauros’ back. If Rarity had been thinking a bit more clearly, she very well might have abandoned her scarf at this point, if for no other reason than the fact that it had likely already been ruined beyond all hope of recovery. A heady cocktail of indignation, adrenaline and sheer rage, however, ensured that Rarity was in no state of mind to cut her losses.

For its part, the Tauros wasn’t in any state of mind to make a connection between its snack and the human clinging to its back. As the Tauros charged across the field, jerking from one side to another, it continuously whipped itself with its three tails which goaded it into an ever-greater fury.

“Perhaps this wasn’t quite the best idea I’ve ever had,” Rarity was forced to admit to herself after a full minute passed without the Tauros’ fury abating in the slightest.

*********

“Looks like workin’ together on this might’ve been the best durn idea Ah’ve had all day!” Applejack declared happily as she and Aron completed their latest attempt at the Z-move. While they had yet to actually successfully trigger the attack, they had made significant progress, the proof of which lay in the golden glow emanating from Applejack’s bracelet. “Ah reckon we’re gettin’ real close to havin’ this down, we just need to give it one more try. Y’all think yer good fer another go?”

“Aron!” Applejack’s Aron replied firmly as it adopted a fighting stance and readied itself.

“Now that’s the spirit, let’s give this one everythin’ we’ve got!” Applejack said as she widened her stance to brace herself. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Applejack crossed her arms in front of her chest before thrusting them straight out, her bracelet already flaring up with energy. As Applejack scrunched up her face in concentration, she proceeded to twist and flex her arms just as she had seen Professor Amer do during their battle. With each new pose the glow engulfing Applejack‘s bracelet intensified until the glow had completely enveloped her body.

Aron, meanwhile, stood in front of Applejack and attempted to mimic her movements as closely as its quadrupedal posture and stubby limbs would allow, which admittedly mostly consisted of Aron staring into space as intensely as possible. As Applejack completed the movements to perform the Z-move, however, Aron began to emit the same golden light as Applejack’s bracelet. Then, just as Applejack finished her movements, the golden light surrounding her exploded, sending streams of light arcing towards Aron and merging with the aura around it.

“Alright, here goes nothin’. Continental Crush!” Applejack roared. In response, Aron’s eyes flashed with power as streams of light began to emit from Aron, coalescing into a ball several feet in the air in front of it. As the ball formed, rocks and dirt began rising from the ground and being pulled into the glow, graduating forming a giant bolder. With one final burst of energy, Aron sent the bolder flying into the air, coming crashing back down on the far side of a nearby hill. Having successfully performed her first Z-move Applejack collapsed backwards onto the ground, her legs unable to keep holding her up. “Hoowee, Ah didn’t realize how much that would take out of me. Ah feel like Ah just ran the whole Runnin’ of the Leaves while haulin’ Big Macintosh’s jalopy behind me the whole way. Still, we did it, and if we can do it once that means we should be able to do it again when it really counts.” Satisfied with her accomplishment, Applejack lay back onto the grass, covering her face with her hat. “Ah think Ah’m just gonna lie here fer a while, or at least until Rarity gets back from whatever it was she’s off doin’.” As Applejack dozed off, her Aron waddled up to her and nuzzled itself under her hand before lying down next to her. “Sure is a good thing there ain’t nobody else round these parts. Ah’d hate to have to worry that somebody might’ve gotten hurt by that thing.”

*********

Rarity was not having a good day. By some miracle, Rarity had somehow managed to avoid being thrown off of the Tauros’ back long enough for the enraged Pokémon to start to tire out. Rarity had even started formulating a plan as to how to safely dismount the Tauros and recover what remained of her scarf once the Tauros slowed down. All of this planning had flown out the proverbial window, however, when a gigantic bolder came crashing down from the sky. While the massive chunk of rock mercifully failed to score a direct hit, the force of the impact was still sufficient to send both the Tauros, and Rarity along with it, flying into the air.

“I…have had…quite enough…of this!” Rarity panted as she pulled herself unsteadily to her feet. “My outfit is absolutely filthy, my hair is a mess, and my manicure is completely ruined. I demand that you hand over my scarf this instant or I will have no choice but to -”

Rarity’s latest rant was cut short by the stomach-churning sound of fabric being torn. One of the Tauros’ hooves had caught the edge of the scarf as it stood up, causing the scarf to be torn in half as the Tauros raised its head. The Tauros didn’t seem especially bothered by the damage its meal had just sustained, continuing to chew on the fabric absentmindedly as it started impassively at Rarity.

Rarity, meanwhile, simply stared at the Tauros as she felt something snap deep within her mind. The fashionista stared at the Tauros in silence, teeth clenched and hands balled tightly into fists as her anger boiled up inside her until Rarity finally let out a shriek of pure rage. All rational thought having been purged by burning fury, Rarity promptly charged at the Tauros while flinging whatever she could pull out of her pockets at it.

At first, the Tauros seemed to scarcely notice the deluge of small objects pelting it. It wasn’t until a red and white ball smacked it right between its eyes that it seemed to realize what was happening, but by then it was far too late. As the ball bounced off the Tauros’ head it split open and engulfed the Tauros in red light before pulling it back inside the ball. Even as the Poké Ball fell to the ground it was wildly shaking and thrashing about, and continued to do so for several seconds. Eventually, however, the fall come to rest and let out a chime signifying a successful capture.

*********

Several minutes later, a marginally less disheveled Rarity came walking up to where Applejack was resting. “Yoo-hoo, Applejack, how has your practice been coming along?” Rarity called out cheerfully as she approached.

“Well, Ah think Aron and me have the basics down, at least, but Ah reckon we still have room to improve. That durn move takes so much out of me that –” As Applejack spoke, she sat up, noticing Rarity’s condition for the first time. “What in the name of Celestia happed to y’all?”

“I encountered some minor difficulty dealing with a fashion emergency, but that’s all been taken of,” Rarity replied. “So, if you’re ready, I’d appreciate it if we could head out. My Pokémon need a trip to the Pokémon Center, I desperately need a trip to the spa…” Rarity let out a defeated sigh. “And I’m afraid I’m going to need to find myself a new scarf.”

Applejack though for a moment before concluding it would be best if she didn’t ask too many questions. “Ah’m all set to get movin’ if y’all are,” Applejack said as she recalled her Aron to its Poké Ball. “It’ll be good to get to this Faunaville place and meet up with Fluttershy anyway.”

“Darling, I want to see Fluttershy again as much as you do, but let’s not get out hopes up. We don’t even know for sure if Fluttershy is even there.” Rarity cautioned.

“Are y’all kiddin’? A nice quiet farm town with a buildin’ full of baby critters?” Applejack replied with a laugh. “Fluttershy’d be on that place like fruit bats on a red delicious, and once she’s there it’ll take a team of draft horse to get her away!”

Swamp Rescue

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, we’ll catch up with those meanie-pantses soon, you’ll see!” Pinkie Pie assured her friend as she paddled her kayak through the swamp.

“Pinkie’s right,” Derek added from atop his Lapras. “To be honest, I’m surprised those two half-wits have managed to get this far.”

Fluttershy nodded, only half-listening as she focused on paddling across the murky water. “I appreciate that you’re both trying to make me feel better, but I just won’t be able to rest until we’ve finished this rescue mission,” Fluttershy replied firmly. A part of Fluttershy was inwardly beaming with pride at this declaration and how brave it made her sound. A much larger part of Fluttershy’s mind, however, wondered how in Equestria she had gotten herself into this situation in the first place.

*********

A couple of days earlier, back at the breeding center, Fluttershy had been happily playing with a batch of newly hatched Pokémon that Norma had referred to as Rockruff. “Aw, just look at you all, so full of energy already. I can hardly believe that you all just hatched a few days ago,” Fluttershy cooed as she watched the puppy-like Pokémon jump on each other. “This is so much nicer than making Pokémon battle each other.”

The sound of chuckling caused Fluttershy to turn to see Norma standing behind her. “You’ve got a good heart, kid, and you have a real knack for dealing with Pokémon. But you still have a lot to learn about how Pokémon think.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, slightly incensed.

“Well, let me put it this way,” Norma replied as she crouched down to scratch the ears of one of the Rockruff. “Just what sort of games do you imagine these little fellas are playing right now, anyway?”

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably in place as she glanced back at the Rockruff. Sure enough, most of their games seemed to involve mock battling of some kind or another. “Well…I mean, a lot of puppies will play fight when they’re little, but that’s not really the same thing as battling,” Fluttershy half-heartedly protested. In truth, Fluttershy’s understanding of the Rockruff’s excited barks and yips made it frustratingly clear that they were almost as enthusiastic about the prospect of battling as many of the trainers she had met were.

“Well, if that’s how you want to see it,” Norma replied with a shrug. “Anyway, I was just coming over to let you know that lunch is just about ready. And given your friend’s appetite I wouldn’t recommend showing up late if you want anything,” Norma added. “I swear, I can’t figure out where that girl puts it all, she’s almost got as much of an appetite as her Munchlax.”

Fluttershy stifled a giggle at the truth of that statement. “I guess that’s just Pinkie Pie for you. Speaking of Pinkie, do you happen to know what she’s been up to? I haven’t seen much of her all day.”

“Last time I checked Derek was helping her learn the ins and outs of performing her Z-move. I don’t think she’s figured it out quite yet, though. I get the general feeling that when she does get the hang of hit it’ll be hard to miss, though. Subtlety doesn’t really seem to be that kid’s strong point under the best of circumstances, and proper Z-move isn’t exactly low key.”

“No doubt about that,” Fluttershy agreed as she stood back up. Fluttershy was still a little fuzzy about what a ‘Z-move’ actually was, but based on Fluttershy had been able to understand of Pinkie Pie’s descriptions Fluttershy wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.

By the time Fluttershy and Norma arrived at the center’s dining room Pinkie Pie and Derek were already seated and eagerly helping themselves to the food. “Hey Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie enthusiastically greeted her friend between mouthfuls of food. “Come and eat with us! You’ve got to try this noodly dish, it’s delicious!”

Fluttershy simply smiled in responses as she sat down opposite Pinkie Pie. As Fluttershy did so, she noticed that a number of Pokémon were seated off to the side around several bowls of Pokémon chow, including Toothy and Munchy. “Are those more of the Pokémon that live here at the center?” Fluttershy asked.

“Actually, most of those guys are mine,” Derek said as he looked up from his meal. “I’ve raised quite a few Pokémon over the years, so I try to rotate out who have with me whenever I pass through someplace with a Pokémon Center. I usually keep Joy and Oppenheimer with me wherever I go, and Isla if I think I might be going near water, but other than that it’s more of a toss-up.”

“Oppenheimer?” Fluttershy asked with a puzzled expression. “I’ve met Joy and Isla before, but I don’t think you’ve introduced me to Oppenheimer yet. What kind of Pokémon is he?”

Derek opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a single word out a piercing alarm suddenly sounded out. “What the heck’s going on?”

“It sounds like something’s tripped the security alarm for the hatchery,” Norma said as she leapt up from her seat. “Hopefully its nothing, but I need to get down there to be certain.”

“I’ll come with you,” Fluttershy said. “I just wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to those defenseless eggs while I could have done something.” Derek and Pinkie Pie rose as Fluttershy spoke, quickly recalling their Pokémon before following Fluttershy and Norma out of the room.

It didn’t take long for the group to reach the entrance to the hatchery, which was secured by a pair of sturdy-looking metal sliding doors. “Huh, that’s strange,” Norma said as she punched a code into a keypad next to the door to silence the alarm. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s actually tried to get inside through here. So what the heck set off the –” Norma’s question was answered before she could even finish asking it as the sound of breaking glass could be heard coming from inside the room, followed by the sound of muffled voices. Growling with anger, Norma promptly pressed a button to open the doors, revealing Ribcage and Femur in the process of removing eggs from their incubators and packing them in cases. The two grunts froze in place as they heard the door open, and several seconds of awkward silence passed as the two groups stared at each other in shock.

Ribcage was the first to recover from the surprise. “Check it, no point tryin’ to stop us, ‘cause no one can top us. You uncool fools thought you could treat us like dregs, but now we’re here swipin’ your –”

“Ursaring! Go!” Norma roared as she threw out her Poké Ball, unleashing an enraged, brown, bear-like Pokémon.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Ribcage whimpered as he started to back away, momentarily dropping his continuous rhyming.

“Ursaring, Giga Impact!”

“OH THAT’S NOT GOOD!” Ribcage barely had time to get out of the way as Ursaring leapt into the air, a purple sphere of energy forming around it. As Ursaring plummeted back down to the ground beams of yellow light spiraled around it, detonating in a bright flash as it struck the ground. While Ribcage managed to avoid a direct hit, the force of the resulting explosion was still sufficient to send him flying into the air. The unfortunate miscreant collided with Femur, who had been frantically trying to climb out an open window, presumably how the pair had broken in in the first place. The collision sent both grunts tumbling out the window and crashing to the ground outside. Moments later the pair could be heard fleeing away from the building as fast they could.

“Uh, Norma?” Derek said as Norma recalled her Pokémon to its ball. “I’m not saying those tow idiots didn’t deserve something along those lines, because they definitely did. That said, don’t you think tossing a Giga Impact at them was just a little, you know, excessive?”

“No,” Fluttershy snapped angrily. “If anything those two deserved even worse for what they were trying to do. What kind of person would do something like that, anyway? Trying to kidnap a poor, defenseless egg from its home?” Fluttershy continued to fume as she moved to help Norma move the eggs back into their incubator.

“If I had to guess, I’d say they were planning on selling them,” Norma said darkly. “Pokémon trafficking is a real problem in certain areas and some of these eggs can be worth a fortune to the right buyer.”

“That’s just horrible,” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I can’t believe anyone would be cruel enough to do something like that.”

“The sad part is that eggnapping isn’t even close to the worst sort of thing like that I’ve run into. Pokémon hunters are a particularly nasty bunch,” Derek added. “Anyway, we should probably just be glad we caught those two before they actually managed to get away with anything.”

“I’m not so sure we did,” Norma said angrily. “It looks like one of the egg cases is missing. One of those punks must have had it on them when I tossed them out.” Norma clenched her hands into fists and slammed them into a nearby table. “I should have thought about that possibility before I tossed them out of the building. Hopefully it’s not too late to catch them.” As Norma spoke she pulled out another Poké Ball and tossed it into the air, releasing the same giant bird Pokémon Norma had had when Pinkie had first met her. “Staraptor, those two punks from Team Skull snuck in here and stole an egg! Chase them down and stop them before they manage to get away.” With a shrill cry, the Staraptor dove out the same window Ribcage and Femur had fallen out of earlier.

While waiting for Staraptor to return, the group set to cleaning up the mess that had been made of the hatchery by the grunt’s attempted thievery. Working together, it didn’t take them long to complete their task, after which the group returned to the dining room. The resumed lunch was a solemn affair; Fluttershy in particular was too preoccupied with thinking about the purloined egg. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Those two weird guys couldn’t possibly have gotten far,” Pinkie Pie assured her friend in an effort to cheer her up. “I bet Norma’s giant birdie has already caught up to them and is bringing that egg back right now. I mean, it’s not like there’s some nearby place they could run and hide in that it wouldn’t be able to follow them into.”

Norma and Derek both suddenly looked up at this and exchanged a worried look. “You don’t think those two would be dumb enough to…” Norma began.

“I think they’d be exactly dumb enough to,” Derek said as he rose from his eat. “There’s a massive swamp just to the west of Faunaville. A lot of the Pokémon there are particularly aggressive, but it would be a great place to hid if you’re desperate enough.”

“But what about Norma’s birdie?” Pinkie Pie interjected. “Won’t it be able to stop them before they get there?”

“She’s got a good point,” Norma said, visibly relaxing. “There’s no possible way those two would be able to make it wall the way to the edge of the swamp on foot before Staraptor catches up to them.” As if on cue, the sound of something tapping on the window drew everyone’s attention to see Staraptor flapping about outside. Norma quickly walked over and opened the window to allow Staraptor to clamber inside, looking rather dejected.

“What happened? Were you able to catch them? What about the egg?” Fluttershy asked in rapid succession.

“Kid, I want answers as much as you do, but you do realize Staraptor can’t talk, right? Just give me a moment and –” Even as Norma spoke, Staraptor began rapidly squawking and chattering as Fluttershy listened intently. “Um, Derek, is she actually…”

“Oh no!” Fluttershy suddenly wailed. “Staraptor says that the two thieves had bicycles hidden nearby and he wasn’t able to stop them before they made it into the swamp.” Fluttershy paused her explanation to pat the crestfallen-looking Staraptor on the head. “It wasn’t your fault, we all know that you did the very best you could. Still, though, we have to do something to rescue that egg.” Fluttershy turned to address Norma. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go and chase after those two.”

“And I’m coming with you!” Pinkie Pie declared. “I can’t just sit by and let that egg be carried off by a pair of mean-meanie pantsesses like that!”

“Count me in too. If nothing else you girls should have someone with you that knows the way through the swamp,” Derek said.

“Then it’s settled then,” Fluttershy said. “We’re going to save that egg and no one’s going to stop us!”

*********

Everything had gone fairly well at first, all things considered at least. It hadn’t taken the group long to reach the edge of the swamp and Derek had even convinced a nearby ranger station to lend them a pair of kayaks. As the moved into the swamp itself, however, righteous determination slowly started to give way to anxiety. Moving through the swamp was a frustratingly slow process, and the chattering of the local Pokémon failed to provide Fluttershy with the comfort it normally would have.

“You weren’t kidding when you said the Pokémon that live here aren’t particularly friendly,” Fluttershy said as she paddled through the stagnant water. “I’d have thought at least some of the Pokémon here would have been willing to help us, but none of them seem to even care.”

“I had to say it, but that doesn’t really surprise me all that much,” Derek replied. “A lot of wild Pokémon can be pretty jealous of Pokémon that are partnered with humans and that goes double for Pokémon that have been raised by humans from eggs. To be honest, we should probably just be grateful if we manage to make it through this without being ambushed by some of the more territorial ones.”

“Well that doesn’t seem very nice,” Pinkie Pie remarked. “Although, after we’re done rescuing the egg I could try throwing a party for the Pokémon that live her to improve their attitudes.”

“A party? For a bunch of ill-tempered, wild Pokémon?” Derek replied incredulously.

“Mmhmm. There’s nothing like a party to put smiles on the faces of a bunch of grumpy Guses. Though I’ve never really thrown a party specifically for critters before. Hey, Fluttershy, what do you think –”

“Ssh! I think I hear something over there!” Fluttershy said as she focused her attention on a patch of bushes on the shore. Moments later, the bushes started shaking and a hoarse croaking could be heard from within. “What is that?” Fluttershy asked in a loud whisper.

“That was probably a Croagunk going by the sound,” Derek replied. “They’re one of the main reasons traveling through this swamp can be problematic.”

“How come?” Fluttershy asked.

“For whatever reason the Croagunk colonies in this swamp tend to be much more territorial than normal, and the Gym leader who’s supposed to handle this area is something of a hands off type. Add to that the little buggers are venomous and prefer fighting dirty even under normal circumstances and…” Derek allowed his though to linger in the air as the three focused on the shaking bushes. Another horse croak emanated out from the foliage as a dark-blue, bipedal frog-like Pokémon staggered out and collapsed to the ground. “Okay, everybody stay where you are, I’m going to have one of my Pokémon scout out the area just to make sure this isn’t some kind of – Fluttershy! What did I just say?”

Fluttershy ignored Derek’s protests as she quickly paddled her way towards the prone Croagunk. “I appreciate you concern, but there’s a creature over there who looks like they may be hurt and I just wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t help them.” As Fluttershy pulled up next to the Croagunk, she quickly concluded that despite Derek’s concerns, the Croagunk wasn’t faking its injuries. “Easy there,” Fluttershy assured the Pokémon as she approached. “I’m not going to hurt you, I only want to help.”

The Croagunk lifted its head with some effort and let out an irritated croak before waving Fluttershy away.

“Well you certainly look like you need my help. But, if you really want me to leave I will.” Fluttershy let out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. “I guess I’ll just have to find some other Pokémon who can help me eat all these yummy berries I have with me.”

The Croagunk promptly lifted its head at the mention of berries and leaned forward, at which point Fluttershy pulled a tin out of her backpack.

“I was going to share these with you while I took care of your injuries,” Fluttershy said as she opened the tin to reveal an assortment of berries she had purchased at the Faunaville market. “But, if you don’t need my help…” The Croagunk awkwardly clambered onto Fluttershy’s kayak as it croaked out a response. Smiling sweetly, Fluttershy handed the Croagunk the tin and began looking over its injuries as it greedily shoveled berries into its mouth.

“Alright, I’ll admit it, I’m impressed,” Derek conceded as he watched Fluttershy examine the Croagunk.

“That’s nothing,” Pinkie Pie replied. “When it comes to dealing with critters there’s nobody better than Fluttershy.”

Under different circumstances Fluttershy would have thoroughly enjoyed the praise coming from her friends. At the moment, however, Fluttershy had much more pressing concerns on her mind. “You really look like you’ve through quite a lot,” Fluttershy remarked as she pulled out a bottle of medicine and began to spray the Croagunk’s injures. “What happened to you?”

The Croagunk grunted out a terse reply in-between mouthfuls of berries as it winced from the sting of the medicine.

“Well, I would pry if you don’t feel comfortable answering. That being said, there is something that we could really use your help with. We’re trying to rescue an egg that a pair of very naughty individuals kidnapped and took into this swamp. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost track of them and I was hoping that you might have seen where they went.”

The Croagunk puffed its cheeks out several times before turning its back to Fluttershy and gesturing towards deeper into the swamp.

“Good news! Croagunk thinks he saw them pass by here not too long ago. If we hurry we should be able to catch up with them,” Fluttershy said as she pushed off from the shore.

“That is good news,” Pinkie Pie chirped. “What’re we waiting around for then? Let’s go save that egg!”

With the Croagunk perched atop Fluttershy’s kayak pointing the way forward the three paddled their way deeper into the swamp. After a few moments, the group could start to make out panicked yelling coming from further up ahead. “And the twits have managed to get themselves in trouble somehow,” Derek grumbled as they drew closer to the source of the ruckus. “I honestly don’t know why I’m surprised, it would probably be more shocking if they hadn’t blundered into something dangerous.”

Fluttershy irritably took a deep breath. “They may be horrible, eggnapping miscreants, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to help them if they’re in trouble.” The Croagunk let out a quizzical croak as it glanced back at Fluttershy. “Even if that’s true, we’ll help them anyway because it’s the right thing to do. Just because they’re awful doesn’t mean we should be awful in return.”

“You know, I’m not going to lie, you kind of sound like you’re trying to convince yourself of all that,” Derek remarked.

“Well, by rescuing them we’ll also be rescuing the poor defenseless egg they stole as well, so there’s that too,” Fluttershy said with a bit more conviction. This added observation seemed to satisfy everyone present and the group continued onward with no further argument.

Meanwhile, the shouting had gotten progressively louder, and was now mixed with a cacophony of croaking. As the group turned a bend, they finally saw the reason for the grunts’ distress. The two hapless criminals were being mobbed by a large gang of Croagunk and had been reduced to desperately swinging at them with a pair of oars. “This is seriously uncool, these Croagunk are breakin’ all the rules, stealin’ our egg and makin’ us look like fools!” Ribcage complained.

“You know, I’m mostly just impressed that they’re still rhyming despite what’s going on,” Derek said as he watched the scene unfold.

“I know,” Pinkie agreed. “They may be weird and annoying, but you’ve got to respect their dedication.”

“Never mind that, we’ve got to get that egg away from there before something happens to it!” Fluttershy cried out as she looked for a way to get closer to the commotion without getting swept up in it.

“I’m on it! This looks like a job for…Toothy!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she pulled out Toothy’s Poké Ball with an elaborate flourish and lobbed it into the air. Moments later, Toothy unceremoniously belly flopped into the murky water with a loud splash. “Come on, Fluttershy, send your Cyndaquil out, too. You want to help save that egg, right?”

` “Right,” Fluttershy said, her reply lacking some of the confidence she had had earlier. It had been on thing to talk about how they were going to save the egg, but it was something else entirely to actually send her Pokémon out into battle. The urgency of the situation quickly won out over her nervousness, however, and one overhand toss later, Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil appeared on the edge of the shore where the melee was taking place. “Excuse me,” Fluttershy called out as she paddled closer to the shore. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but if you Croagunk could please just let us take back the egg that those two had stolen then we’d be ever so appreciative.”

Most of the Croagunk paid no attention to Fluttershy’s request, but a handful broke off from assaulting Ribcage and Femur to turn their attention to Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil, Meanwhile, the Croagunk sitting on Fluttershy’s kayak was frantically croaking in alarm.

“But that doesn’t make any sense, why would they attack my Cyndaquil?” Fluttershy asked. Even as she did so, however, two of the Croagunk puffed out their cheeks and leaned back.

“Fluttershy, get you Cyndaquil out of there! Those Croagunk are about to use their Poison Sting attack!” Derek yelled out.

Before Fluttershy could warn her Cyndaquil to move, the Croagunk that had been riding on her kayak rushed into action, leaping off of her boat and onto the shore. In a flash, the Croagunk grabbed Cyndaquil and pulled it out of the way as the other Croagunk each spat out dozens of violet needles at the spot where Cyndaquil had stood moments ago.

“That wasn’t very nice. Toothy, show these mean old frogs that we won’t let them get away with trying to hurt our friends. Water Gun!” Pinkie Pie yelled. Toothy obediently fired a powerful jet of water from its mouth at the Croagunk who had attacked Cyndaquil, knocking one of them to the ground. The other, however, didn’t even seem phased in the slightest by the attack, and in fact appeared to actually enjoy it. “Huh, that’s weird, how come that one looks like it likes being sprayed?”

“Aw crud, that’s right, their abilities,” Derek groaned. “Pinkie, Fluttershy, listen; about half of those Croagunk are going to have an ability called Dry Skin, which lets them absorb Water-type attacks. The good news is that ability is also going to leave them vulnerable to Cyndaquil’s Fire attacks,” Derek called out.

“I’d really rather not have to resort to something like that if I don’t have to,” Fluttershy said before suddenly brightening. “Maybe there’s another way. Cyndaquil, I want you to use your Smokescreen.” With a chirp of acknowledgement, Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil scrunched itself up and released thick plumes of jet black smoke from the pores on its back. In moments, the entire area was blanketed in a thick, dark haze. “Now we can grab the egg without having to fight anycreature,” Fluttershy said happily as she maneuvered herself closer to the shore.

“Good plan, except how do you plan to find the egg in all that smoke?” Derek asked wryly.

“Well that’s easy,” Pinkie Pie said as she pointed into the air. “The egg’s in that case that those froggies are running away with.” Fluttershy and Derek both looked up to see that several of the Croagunk were leaping out of the smoke carrying off objects the grunts had brought with them, including the egg case.

“You bring that egg back right this instant!” Fluttershy yelled after the Croagunk as she tried to disembark, only to lose her footing and fall into the muddy water of the swamp. Thankfully, the water was quite shallow, but Fluttershy was still sopping wet and covered with mud by the time she was able to crawl onto firm ground. “I don’t understand, why would those Croagunk steal that egg?”

“Yeah, no kidding, this just ain’t fair. We stole that egg first, fair and square!” Fluttershy furiously looked up to see a dejected Femur and Ribcage standing amid the wreckage of the items they had brought with them into the swamp.

“You!” Fluttershy snarled angrily. “None of this would have happened if the two of you hadn’t stolen that egg in the first place. Why did you even do something like that to begin with?”

The two grunts looked at the trio of trainers glaring at them before quickly huddling together and muttering something to each other. Moments later, both turned around in unison as Femur began rapping. “Check it! We don’t care what pain you threaten to bring, because you’re not ever gonna make us sing. So just give up, we’re not telling you a thing.”

“Fluttershy,” Derek said with a pained look on his face. “I realize that you generally don’t condone violence under any circumstances, but do you think that you could make an exception just this once?”

“Are you asking that because you’re upset that they’re not cooperating, or is this just because you want them to stop rhyming constantly?” Fluttershy asked pointedly.

“Yes,” Derek replied.

“Hey, if you’re thinkin’ of threatenin’ us you’d best beware,” Ribcage protested. “’Cause if you do, then –Whoa, look over there!”

Derek and Fluttershy stared at Ribcage with looks of utter contempt in response to this obvious ruse. Neither had a chance to voice their annoyance, however, as an excited voice promptly piped up behind them. “Wow! What am I looking for? Is it something fun, please say it’s something fun.” In spite of themselves, Derek and Fluttershy couldn’t help but look back to see Pinkie Pie excitedly peering into the swamp. The moment they turned their heads, however, the sounds of splashing water could be heard from back in the direction of the grunts.

“You fools fell for it, so now we’ll floor it!” As Derek and Fluttershy spun back around, they saw Femur and Ribcage frantically pedaling away on what looked to be a pair of pedal-powered jet skis, which had evidently been hidden from view behind a copse of trees.

“I…you know what? I’m not even mad, it’s my own fault for falling for that,” Derek said as he watched the pair slowly peddle away.

“Aren’t we going to try and stop them?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, honestly they’re not really a priority at this point. Our focus should be on getting that egg back, and they’re not the ones who have it anymore,” Derek said.

“I guess you’re right. Now we just need to figure out where those Croagunk took the egg to,” Fluttershy said as she turned to the Croagunk who had helped them, who was still holding her Cyndaquil. “I want to thank you for rescuing my Cyndaquil, and I was hoping you’d be willing to help us just a bit more. Could you tell us where those other Croagunk would have taken that egg?”

The Croagunk set Cyndaquil on the ground before turning to one side and snorting irritably in response.

“Well, it’s alright if you don’t want to go there, but we need to find them if we’re going to get that egg back to its home. Please, won’t you help us?” Fluttershy pleaded while looking at the Croagunk with quivering puppy-dog eyes.

The Croagunk looked as though it was struggling to avoid answering for a moment or so before letting out an exasperated sight of defeat, followed by a series of croaks and hisses.

“So, is that froggie going to help us find the other froggies?” Pinkie Pie asked as she leaned forward.

“Mister Croagunk says those other Croagunk probably took the egg back to their colony’s nesting site, and he’s agreed to show us the way there,” Fluttershy replied. Even as Fluttershy spoke, though, she gave the Croagunk an uneasy look, clearly wanting to speak with it further.

*********

“Umm, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so against going to this Croagunk colony?” Fluttershy asked her Croagunk guide as it pointed the way through the swamp. “I didn’t say anything earlier since it seemed like something you wanted to keep private, but if there’s something bothering you then I’d want to help. Does it have anything to do with those injuries you had when we found you?”

The Croagunk tensed up at this and turned to glare at Fluttershy for a moment before turning back around and flopping down grumpily. “Croagunk,” it finally croaked in response.

“Those other Croagunk did that to you? That’s awful! But, why would they have done something like that?” Fluttershy asked.

After a moment or so, the Croagunk let out a series of croak in response, accompanied by the occasional gesture with its forelimbs for emphasis.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Fluttershy said as Croagunk concluded its story. “Why would you challenge the leader and go through all that if you knew you were going to lose.”

“Croagunk,” the Croagunk replied firmly.

“No, I don’t think its remotely the same,” Fluttershy countered. “We’re trying to rescue the egg because it needs our help, just like I helped you when you were hurt and needed someone to treat your injuries. I help creatures in need because it’s the right thing to do, not because I’m somehow obligated to,” Fluttershy said. “And to be honest, I really would rather solve things without fighting if I can avoid it. All this fighting and battling just doesn’t seem right.”

The Croagunk spun around to face Fluttershy, looking at her as though she had just grown a second head. “Croagunk! Croagunk Croagunk.”

“Well, I suppose I can understand wanting to become a better Pokémon.” Fluttershy admitted reluctantly. “And you’re absolutely sure that battling is the only way to do that?”

“Croagunk,” the Croagunk replied firmly.

“I guess that is a bit of a different from how I assumed it worked. I still think there has to be a better way than fighting all the time, though,” Fluttershy concluded.

Derek and Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, had been half-listening to the somewhat one-sided conversation as they followed behind Fluttershy with a mixture of curiosity and boredom. “I still haven’t totally gotten used to the fact that she can do that,” Derek said.

“You mean talking to critters? Yeah, I kinda wish I could, then I could make friends with all sorts of creatures!” Pinkie replied cheerfully. “So, what do you think will happen when we get to this colony-place anyway? Those Croa-thingies weren’t exactly all that friendly when we saw them last time.

“Hopefully they were just testy because of something those grunts pulled. If we’re lucky Fluttershy and her new friend over there will be able to settle things peacefully,” Derek said.

“Do you really think they’ll be able to do that?” Pinkie Pie asked, already trying to work out the logistics of throwing a ‘We Rescued the Egg’ party in the middle of the swamp.

“No, this is going to be a disaster and we’re going to need to fight our way out,” Derek replied, much to Pinkie’s apparent disappointment. “But, them again who knows what could happen?”

“We’re about to find out. Look!” The waterway the group had been following opened up into what looked like a large pond, with numerous Croagunk clustered along the shores. Several shallow pits could be seen on the far side of the pond holding various objects, including and most importantly the stolen egg case.

“There it is!” Fluttershy explained happily as she paddled towards her goal as quickly as she was able. However, Fluttershy had scarcely gotten halfway across the pond when an especially large Croagunk emerged from the crowd and interposed itself between Fluttershy and the egg, crossing its forelimbs in front of its chest and glaring at the Croagunk on Fluttershy’s kayak. “Is that the brother you told me about?” Fluttershy asked her passenger as she halted her advance.

“Uh, Fluttershy, would you mind filling us in on what’s going on?” Derek asked.

“Really, you haven’t figured it out by now?” Pinkie Pie said. “That big one is that helpful Croagunk’s older brother who took over running the swamp after their daddy who used to be the boss died. Their dad was the really nice and fair, but the older brother is kind of a baddy who has all the other Croagunk cause trouble. So, one day, the Croagunk with Fluttershy had enough and challenged his brother to a duel for control of the colony, but the brother beat him and banished him from their territory for-EVER!” Pinkie Pie lowered her voice to a gravel-pitched growl as she delivered this last bit of exposition before shrugging her shoulder. “Or, you know, something like that.”

Derek stared at Pinkie Pie in bafflement for a few moments before managing a response. “That made more sense to me than I’m entirely comfortable with.”

While Pinkie Pie and Derek bantered, Fluttershy cautiously paddled closer to the shore, keeping her gaze locked on the apparent Croagunk leader. “Excuse me, my friends and I don’t mean to intrude. We’re just her to take that egg back to its home and then we’ll be out of your way.”

The Croagunk on the shore didn’t seem particularly moved by Fluttershy’s request, and in fact didn’t seem to be even paying any attention to her in the slightest. Instead, its attention was riveted on Fluttershy’s Croagunk companion. “Hey!” Fluttershy protested as she tried to turn the kayak around to force the Croagunk to face her. “I understand that you and your brother have some issues to work out, but before we work on that we really need to get that egg back someplace safe.”

Fluttershy prepared herself to use her stare on the recalcitrant Croagunk only to stop as a bounding beat began to reverberate out from the swamp. “You thought we were beat and you’d seen the last of us. But the boneheads are back and kicking up a new fuss!”

“Our new boss is backin’ us with some serious bank, so now prepare yourselves to face out Team Skull Tank!” Moments later, the ‘Team Skull Tank’ (which looked more like a ramshackle hovercraft with a patchwork shell of sheet metal and plywood bolted to it) roared out from the underbrush and splashed down onto the pond.

“Where did you guys even get that? And what was that thing you were pointing to earlier? I looked and everything but I didn’t see anything,” Pinkie Pie said as she admired the grunt’s new mode of transportation.

“More importantly, what are you planning to do with that thing?” Fluttershy asked. “Haven’t you two caused enough trouble already?”

“Real boneheads are never done! We’ll beat you down,”

“And beat y’ down,”

“And beat you down some more! But you three dorks have to wait, while we settle one uncool score!” Femur reached back into the hovercraft and pulled out what looked like a modified firehose. “This time these Pokémon are gonna be the one’s outgunned. One whiff of this gas and they’ll all be stunned!” As Femur rhymed he pulled back on the nozzle and began spraying the Croagunk along the shores with a pale purple gas.

“What are you doing? Stop it!” Fluttershy protested as she watched the Croagunk seize up and collapse from contact with the gas.

“We need to wow our boss and that’ll take more than just an egg. All these Croagunk should do the trick once we’ve knocked them down a peg,” Femur said while Ribcage guided their hovercraft closer to the shore.

As the two grunts got ready to disembark, however, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy rushed to intercept them, Pinkie Pie having somehow acquired a wide brimmed hat in the process. “All right! That’s it, we’ve had enough of your rapping and your rhyming! The only part that’s even worse is your incessant criming! You may think your dirty tricks are enough to leave us rattled, but Fluttershy and I are going to take you down in a Pokémon battle!” Pinkie said, breathing heavily and glaring at the two grunts as she finished.

Femur and Ribcage were left speechless as the watched Fluttershy scramble out of her kayak to join Pinkie Pie in staring the grunts down. “That…actually that was pretty cool,” Ribcage admitted.

“I wasn’t sure if I should say anything, but yeah, you’ve got some serious rhymes for some goody-goody. You ever consider joining up with Team Skull?”

“No!” Pinkie Pie snapped before tossing out a Poké Ball. “Come on, Toothy! Let’s show these eggnappers that we’re not going to let them get away with…whatever it is they’re trying to get away with!”

“I think their plan is to kidnap these Croagunk,” Fluttershy said to Pinkie Pie before turning to Femur and Ribcage. “And we’re definitely not going to let them get away with that. Sure, most of these Croagunk might be troublemakers and they might have stolen the egg that we were trying to save. And that one over there probably should have been nicer to his brother and maybe should consider going on a diet,” Fluttershy added as she gestured back towards the ringleader of the Croagunk, who issued a plaintive croak of protest in response. “But none of that gives you two the right to abduct them like this. It’s just not right!” As Fluttershy concluded her speech she tossed out her own Poké Ball as well. “All right, Cyndaquil, let’s show these bullies that we’re not going to just sit by and do nothing while they go around hurting innocent creatures.”

“Looks like you girls need a lesson in pain!” Femur said as he pulled out his own Poké Ball. “Because we’re the baddest grunts of all, and we’re going to beat you down,”

“And beat y’ down,”

“And beat you down again!” The pair cried in unison as they threw their Poké Balls into the air. “You two better start retreating, otherwise Zubat here is going to give you a beating,” Femur snarled.

While Femur seemed eager to battle, however, Ribcage appeared to give it a moment’s though before darting back to their hovercraft. “Fightin’ fair? I’ll give that a pass. You’ll be easier to beat once I’ve given you the gas!” Ribcage laughed evilly as he brandished the hose at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“Seriously?” Pinkie Pie yelled as she watched Ribcage ready the hose.

“Heck yeah! Dirty tricks are what we’re all about, so brace yourselves while my boy Ribcage takes you out,” Femur cheered as Ribcage sprayed both girls and their Pokémon with the noxious vapor.

Fluttershy immediately felt her entire body go numb and fell to her knees as the gas enveloped her. To her right, she could hear an audible thump as Pinkie Pie hit the ground as well. As the gas dissipated, it became clear to see that Toothy and Cyndaquil weren’t fairing any better than their trainers, both Pokémon struggling to even remain on their feet. “You won’t…get away…with this,” Fluttershy said as she tried to will herself back to her feet.

“You’re kiddin’ yourself, y’ve got no hope. Though y’ could stop the boneheads, but now y’ look like a – hold up a second.” Ribcage stopped mid-sentence to fire a stream of gas at something just behind Fluttershy. Seconds later, the Croagunk that had guided Fluttershy through the swamp flopped down next to her. “Nice try, but y’ can’t trick us. Saw y’ sneakin’ and dropped y’ without a fuss.”

“Were you…trying to…help us?” Fluttershy asked the Croagunk as it continued to crawl towards her with what little strength it could still muster. “I’m sorry…we couldn’t –” As Fluttershy tried to apologize for her perceived failure the Croagunk’s arm suddenly shot forward and popped a small red berry into her open mouth. For a brief second nothing happened, then Fluttershy’s face started to turn bright red as her eyes watered. Moments later Fluttershy shot to her feet with an ear-piercing cry of pain. “Owowow, my tongue! I haven’t eaten anything that spicy since I accidently tried some of Rainbow Dash’s blazing inferno rainbow sauce!” Fluttershy said as she stuck out her tongue and tried fanning it in a desperate attempt to quell the heat. As Fluttershy did so, however, a realization slowly dawned on her. “Wait a minute, I can move again! That berry you fed me, that was what cured me, wasn’t it?” The Croagunk said nothing in return, but the self-satisfied grin on its face was answer enough. “Thank you. And I won’t let you down,” Fluttershy said as she turned to face Ribcage and Femur.

The grunts, however, were unimpressed with Fluttershy’s sudden recovery. “You may have guts, but you’re still outclassed. You may be back up, but your Pokémon’s already been –”

“Cyn. Da. Quil!” With a cry of resolve, Cyndaquil scrunched itself up before taking a step forward, breaking through the effects of the gas through sheer force of will.

Ribcage and Femur stared at the formerly paralyzed Pokémon in stunned silence for a moment before Femur started rapping again. “Uh, okay. But your situation is still dour. We’ve got two Pokémon to your one and he doesn’t –”

“CyndaQUIIII-” Femur once again found himself interrupted as Cyndaquil let out a piercing cry as its body was engulfed in a bright white light. As everyone watched in silent awe, Cyndaquil’s outline seemed to stretch and grow until the light subsided, leaving behind a much fiercer-looking Pokémon. “-IILAVA!” the newly evolved Pokémon roared.

“What in Celestia’s name?” Fluttershy cried out as she stared at her transformed Pokémon in complete shock. “I thought all that talk about transforming into a stronger Pokémon was just a metaphor.”

“Okay, so it’s evolved now,” Femur said nervously. “But, uh, that’s okay, uh, because-”

“Dude, let’s just quit while we’re ahead and gas it already,” Ribcage protested.

“Man, that’s seriously lame,” Femur replied. “Alright, fine. But I get to lead on our victory rap when we give these Croagunk to the boss.”

“Y’ got it, dude,” Ribcage said as he leveled the hose at Quilava and Fluttershy.

“I don’t think so. Quilava, use Quick Attack to get behind them!” Wasting no time, Quilava promptly rushed towards the grunts in a zigzag pattern, darting between them before either could respond. “Now, use your Ember attack to destroy their hose.” Both grunts let out cries of alarm as Quilava spat out a stream of cinders along the length of their hose, riddling it with holes that promptly begun spewing out gas.

“Oh, this is seriously uncool! Quick, shot off the gas valve before we get gassed,” Ribcage said as he dropped the hose in alarm.

“What do you think I’m doing, dude? Come help me turn this thing,” Femur yelled, having already scrambled onto their hovercraft. Ribcage quickly joined him and together the pair began struggling to turn a large valve at the back of the vehicle. “Ugh, are you sure you’re turning it right?”

“I am pullin’ it right, y’re the one who’s tryin’ to pull it left!” Ribcage snarled as he shoved against it.

“Yeah, that’s the way you’re supposed to pull it, right?”

“I’m the one pullin’ it right!”

“So, you’re pulling it to the left?”

“No, right!” The grunts argument came to an abrupt end as their struggles resulted in the valve being yanked off entirely. Billowing clouds of purple gas promptly engulfed the pair, leaving them frozen in place as the gas dissipated.

“And with that, I think its about time for the two of you to make like rockets and blast off.” Derek, who had been watching the entire encounter from a safe distance, floated up to the pair on Isla. Ignoring the muffled protests of the grunts that they were nothing like rockets. Derek hopped onto their hovercraft while Isla nudged it until it faced away from the Croagunk colony. Heading to the hovercraft’s control panel, Derek pressed a button which started the hovercraft’s engines before quickly hopping off, leaving the paralyzed grunts to be carried off into the swamp.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was wholly unconcerned with the grunt’s plight, instead focusing her attention helping Pinkie Pie back to her feet. “Pinkie, are you alright?”

“You know that tingly feeling you get when you sleep on your hoof wrong? This kind of feels like that, only all over,” Pinkie Pie said as she struggled stand upright.

“Did she just – you know what? Never mind,” Derek said as he approached the two with a pair of vials of green liquid. “Anyway, Pinkie, you and your Pokémon should try drinking these.”

“What are they?” Fluttershy asked as she fed one of the vials to Toothy while Pinkie drank the other.

“Lum berry juice. Its something of a cure-all for things like this. I always try and keep some handy whenever I’m out in the field.

“Eyugh, its really bitter,” Pinkie said, scrunching her face up as she finished the drink.

Derek shrugged. “True, but it’s still probably better than eating a raw Cheri berry. Those might make for a good condiment, but even I wouldn’t consider them a good candidate for snack food.”

“That must have been what mister Croagunk fed me,” Fluttershy said.

“Yup, luckily I had a few of those in my pack as well, and even better we passed a Cheri berry bush on the way over here so there’s plenty to go around.” As Derek spoke, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie turned tow watch as Joy darted amongst the Croagunk, feeding berries to them as she went.

“So everycreature is going to be find then. That just leaves the egg,” Fluttershy said as she looked over to where the egg case itself lay. As Fluttershy stared to move towards the case, the ringleader of the Croagunk waddled over to intercept her, only to be stopped by the angry croaking of his fellows. “It sounds like everycreature else thinks you should be a little nicer,” Fluttershy gently chided as it slunk back. “And you should really stop causing so much mischief, its much better to be kind to other creatures and make friends with them then it is to cause trouble for them.”

Derek blinked in shock as he watched the assembled Croagunk colony stand around looking ashamed as Fluttershy finally returned the egg case. “I don’t believe it, they all look like they were just scolded by their mother. I’ve never seen anyone who could have that kind of effect on wild Pokémon, especially not a species like Croagunk.”

“Yep, that’s Fluttershy for you,” Pinkie Pie replied with a grin. “I keep telling you, nobody can handle critters like Fluttershy can. So, what now?”

“well, at this point we’re far enough into the swamp that we may as well just head for Belladonna Town. We can use the transportation at the Pokémon Center there to send the egg back to Faunaville, and often that we can figure out what we want to do from there.”

“That sounds fine with me, I’m just glad we were able to get this egg back safe and sound,” Fluttershy said as she cradled the egg case in her arms. As Fluttershy turned to head back to kayak, however, she found the Croagunk who had guided her blocking her path. Before Fluttershy could even say a word the Croagunk let out a series of plaintive croaks.

“What’s it saying?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“He says that he wants to come with me,” Fluttershy replied before turning to the Croagunk. “Are you sure that’s what you really want? I don’t really know much about actually battling Pokémon. Wouldn’t you prefer a trainer who was better at fighting?” The Croagunk puffed out its cheeks as it croaked and gestured towards Fluttershy’s Quilava, who was standing off to the side and watching the exchange closely. “I guess I can see your point. Well, if this is really what you want…” The Croagunk practically hopped for joy as Fluttershy knelt down and presented it with one of her Poké Balls. With a final croak the Croagunk tapped the ball, causing it to split open and pull Croagunk inside in a flash of light.

“Alright Fluttershy! Now you have two Pokémon friends too,” Pinkie Pie said happily. “Maybe next you’ll try one of those gym battles.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Fluttershy said as she watched her Poké Ball wiggle for a few moments before coming to rest. “I think I’ve had my share of battling for a long time.”

Rainbow Rises

“I never want to see another cliff as long as I live,” Rainbow Dash huffed as she made her way down the sloping path. The sheer cliffs that she and her friends had been hiking along had been gradually becoming less and less steep until now they gave way to a gentle path winding down to the seashore.

“Oh come on, Rainbow, it wasn’t that…okay, maybe it was that bad, but at least we’re past it now,” Twilight said as she followed her friend.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Anyway, at least we’re almost at the next town, and once we get there I’m totally going to take down that gym leader!” Rainbow Dash said, the prospect of having another chance to battle in a gym restoring some of her enthusiasm.

“I’m glad you’re excited, I don’t think I’m quite ready for another gym battle quite yet,” Twilight replied.

“How come? You managed to beat that Arnold guy just fine and now you have one of those crystal-things so you can do that crazy super-move too,” Rainbow Dash said.

“That’s just it; I still haven’t been able to figure out how to actually get that move to work. I’m positive that I’m performing the movements correctly, but every time I’ve tried to practice it with Venipede nothing’s happened. I just can’t figure out what it is that I’m doing wrong,” Twilight said dejectedly.

“Why don’t you try asking the gym leader at the next town?” Spike suggested. “I mean, the gym leaders are the ones who hand out those things, so maybe they’d be able to tell if there’s something wrong with the one you’ve got.”

“That’s a great idea, Spike,” Rainbow Dash said. “See, Twilight? You’ve got nothing to worry about. Just make sure to ask the gym leader before me and my Pokémon demolish them with our awesomeness. So, how close are we to wherever this place is, anyway?”

“It’s called Mesa Town,” Twilight said. “And according to the maps we should be practically there already.” Frowning, Twilight pulled out her Pokédex and tried to orient herself. “Let’s see, according to this, Mesa Town should be just to the northeast of where we are right now. I don’t understand, we should be close enough to see the town from here, but all I see is more cliffs.”

“Maybe we could see it from up to of that huge mountain over there,” Spike suggested as he pointed to a large steep-walled elevation that stood apart from the other cliffs.

“Actually, Spike, going by how flat the top of that formation looks the proper term for that would be a…mesa,” Twilight said as realization slowly dawned on her.

“Hey, mesa, like the town name! You think the town we’re going to might be up there?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That’d be pretty cool, actually. It’d kinda be like the setup we have at Wonderbolt HQ. So, how do you think we’re supposed to get up there?”

“I have no idea,” Twilight admitted. “Maybe there’s some way up to the top that we can’t see from here, like an elevator or a cable car. In any even we’re not going to find any answers just standing around here.”

I hear that, let’s move out!” Rainbow Dash declared as she marched down the path, Twilight and Spike hurrying behind.

It took nearly an hour for the group to circle around to the north side of the massive mesa, which turned out to have formed at the mouth of a tremendous ravine. More importantly, an elaborate elevator system had been built into the north face of the mesa, allowing access to its summit, with a moderate-sized building standing at its base. Twilight and her friends entered the building to find a drab but functional waiting area inside, decorated with fading posters celebrating the wonders of Mesa Town.

“Geez, this place looks like the Division of Magical Vehicles back in Canterlot,” Spike said as he looked around the room.

“I know! Do you think they’ll have any forms for us to fill out? I’m pretty sure the only identification I have is the Pokédex, you don’t think that will be a problem, do you?” a practically giddy Twilight asked.

Before Rainbow Dash could comment on the singular delight Twilight apparently took in the workings of bureaucracy, a disheveled old man dressed like an old west prospector popped out from behind the desk of a nearby information booth. “Well howdy partners! Are you fine folk fixin’ to visit our fine Mesa Town?”

“We are,” Twilight confirmed while trying to remain straight faced. “Is this the only way to get to the top of the mesa?”

“It sure is, little lady, unless you’re one of those folks who’s got Pokémon that can fly them up there. But don’t you worry none, ole Cletus’ elevator will get you to our town faster than you can say sassafras. Come on in.” As Cletus spoke he cheerfully motioned for Twilight and the others to follow him through a doorway labeled ‘Elevators’ at the back of the room.

Twilight hesitated for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and following Cletus, with Spike and Rainbow Dash following her lead. The latter of the two was desperately struggling to keep herself from bursting into laughter at Cletus’ odd behavior, while Spike seemed somewhat apprehensive. “Is anyone else getting a kind of ‘Pony Island mascot’ vibe from that guy?” Spike asked.

“Spike! Be polite,” Twilight swiftly admonished. “He’s probably just eccentric and lonely, that’s all. It doesn’t look like many people come by here.”

“Probably because they get spooked off by old Cletus,” Rainbow Dash muttered, eliciting a glare from Twilight. Cletus himself didn’t appear to have heard, however, his attention instead focused on an intercom system set up next to a pair of numbered doors.

“You folks can go and take a seat in booth one. You should get a great view of the valley on the way up,” Cletus said as he fussed with the intercom. “Go on, I’ve got it taken care of on this end.”

Nodding politely, Twilight opened the door marked one, which led into a small room lined with chairs. Curiously, three of the walls of the room featured large windows that looked out to bare cement walls, with the wall on the right sporting a smooth metal door. The moment all three were inside the door snapped shut behind them and emitted a series of clicks. “What the hay?” Rainbow Dash protested as she tried to pull the door back open.

“Don’t you good folks worry none about the door, it’s gotta lock itself tight before the elevator starts,” the voice of Cletus could be heard coming from a rather scratchy speaker in the corner of the room. “Otherwise folks might fall out, and that can be a long way down. Now, just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

As Cletus spoke the room shuddered and started to rise up, lifting away from the visitor center and up along the side of the mesa. “Wow, he wasn’t kidding about the view,” Spike said as the elevator-room climbed higher into the air.

Twilight was forced to agree, at least once she acclimated to the notion that she was in a room dozens of feet in the air and still rising. “It is an impressive sight. I wonder why they choose to build a town in such an inconvenient location, though?”

“What’s the big deal? Pegasi have loads of towns in places like this back in Equestria,” Rainbow Dash said as she leaned back in one of the chairs.

“Yes, but humans can’t fly, so it’s a lot harder for them to get to a place like this than it would be for a pegasus,” Twilight countered.

“Not if they’ve got flying Pokémon that they can ride on. You heard that guy; people can just ride Pokémon up to the top if they want. Man, I wonder if Tank Jr.’s going to get big enough to ride, that would be so awesome,” Rainbow let out a sigh as she pictured herself riding astride a giant Squirtle.

“I don’t know, do you really think Tank Jr. will grow big enough for something like that?” Twilight asked.

“Why the hay not? Spike’s tiny back in Equestria and look how big dragons get,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Hey!” Spike angrily objected. “I am not tiny! I’m…just a little shorter than the rest of you, that’s all.”

“Also, Spike isn’t a Pokémon,” Twilight added. “But, I understand what you’re saying.” Any further conversation was forced to be put on hold as the room suddenly shook before it started to move backwards. Moments later, the room came to shuddering halt and the room’s side door let out a series of clicks before sliding open. Cautiously, Twilight and the others stepped out of the room into what turned out to be a hallway leading into another drab visitor center, this one manned by a bored-looking teenager idly flipping through a magazine.

“Welcome to Mesa Town, the Pokémon Center is a few doors down on Main Street and the gym’s in the center of town, you can’t miss it,” the teen unenthusiastically intoned without even bothering to look up.

“Uh, thanks,” Rainbow Dash said as she walked by, eliciting a barely audible grumble from the teen. “Geez, I think I actually prefer the wacky old guy at the bottom, at least he seemed friendly.” Thankfully, the teenager seemed utterly apathetic towards Rainbow Dash’s comments and the trio hurried out into the sunlight. Once outside, the group found themselves looking out at a town that wouldn’t have seemed all that out of place alongside Appleloosa or Dodge Junction.

“Let’s head to the Pokémon Center first,” Twilight said as she quickly spotted the center’s distinctive Poké Ball façade. “We can figure out what we’re going to next after that.”

“I already know what I’m gonna do, but I definitely agree with you about hitting the center first. Gotta make sure my guys are ready to give it 110%,” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight opted to forgo pointing out the mathematical impossibility of giving 100% of anything as she let Rainbow Dash led the way to the center.

*********

“So, what do you think this place’s gym leader is going to be like?” Rainbow Dash asked as she and Twilight sat in the Pokémon Center’s waiting area.

“Honestly, I have no idea. Everything about the two gyms we’ve visited so far were completely different, and I think a large part of that was a result of the types of Pokémon they focused on. You may want to think about scouting out the gym before you challenge it so you can put together a strategy.’

Rainbow Dash thought about Twilight’s suggestion for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Rainbow! Remember what happened the last time you rushed into a gym battle without adequate preparation,” Twilight protested.

“Relax, Twilight, this isn’t going to be like that at all,” Rainbow Dash assured her friend. “Tank Jr. and I have been getting ready for this since before you took on that bug guy. Besides, you know what they say; ‘everypony’s got a plan until they get bucked in the face’.”

“I’m pretty sure not everypony says that,” Twilight grumbled, as much to herself as Rainbow Dash. Despite her misgivings, however, Twilight didn’t press the issue. Rainbow Dash had confirmed that she had at the very least thought what she was doing through, which realistically was the most Twilight could really hope for. “I think I’m going check with the nurse to see how our Pokémon are doing.” Twilight said as stood up.

“Sounds good,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Could you do me a favor and grab me a lemonade or something while you’re up.”

“Sure thing.” As Twilight exited the waiting area she struggled to keep her frustration in check. At the moment, Twilight was helpless to do anything to further her goal of reversing the predicament she had dragged her friends into and that fact ate at Twilight like nothing else. Unfortunately, Twilight knew that she stood no chance of earning her second badge without first figuring out how to perform a Z-move, so for the moment all she could do was support Rainbow Dash and hope she could solve the issue soon.

“ –and I’m just saying you should have seen this place. It makes the library they’ve got in Canalave look like some dinky little used bookstore.”

Twilight froze mid-stride as she overheard a pair of trainers chatting to each other mention the word ‘library’. Doing her best to appear completely casual, Twilight sidled up so that she could better listen in on their conversation.

“Look, I’m sure the place is impressive, but it doesn’t exactly sound like it’s all that easy to get to. Besides, I need to focus on getting the rest of my badges before the league championship starts.”

“That’s the best part; the Drakefang Monastery is where one of the island’s gyms is!”

Having heard enough, Twilight started to make her way back to the vending machines with an extra spring in her step. It appeared as though Twilight had found her next destination and a starting point towards finding a potential solution to her ongoing problems.

*********

“So, is it just me, or is there something kind of weird about this place,” Rainbow Dash asked as she and Spike waited for Twilight to return.

“You mean besides the fact that it’s an old west-type town built on a giant mesa that you have to take an elevator run by some kooky old guy to get up to?” Spike asked sarcastically.

“I get what you’re saying, but yeah, besides that. This whole place just feels, I dunno, fake. Like its some sort of theme park made up to look like Appleloosa or something.”

“That’s probably because that’s basically what this town really is,” a voice grumbled from behind. Turning their heads, Rainbow Dash and Spike saw that the voice belonged to a serious-looking, dark-haired man leaning against the wall. “Mesa Town was supposed to be a research outpost keeping an eye out for seismic activity on the island, but then the league insisted on installing a gym here. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, except the gym leader the league assigned to us is a complete nut for the whole cowboy aesthetic, so she arranged to have the whole town done up like it was the set of a Western film. She even went as far as to put her grandfather in charge of the main elevator between here and the base of the mesa.”

“You mean ‘old Cletus’?” Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk.

The man grimaced and nodded his head. “That old coot is even crazier than his granddaughter, the whole ‘wacky prospector’ shtick was his idea. The scary part is the guy was supposedly a massively strong trainer back in the day.” The man shrugged. “Anyway, I’ve griped enough for one da. If you’re here to challenge the gym leader you’ll be able to find here in the big building in the center of town made up to look like an old time saloon.” With that, the man walked off, leaving Rainbow Dash and Spike to digest what he had said.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Spike said after a minute or so. “What exactly does ‘seismic activity’ mean?”

“I dunno, you’d probably want to ask Twilight about that,” Rainbow Dash said. “It sounds like some of the stuff Maud talks about, you know, when she actually talks anyway. So, maybe it has something to do with rocks and stuff.” This explanation seemed to satisfy Spike, who settled back into his seat and pulled out his Pokédex.

“So, where do you think we’re gonna go after you beat the gym leader here?” Spike asked as he scrolled through photos of various Pokémon.

“After here we’re heading to the Drakefang Monastery!” an excited Twilight replied, startling her friends.

“Geez, Twilight, don’t spook us like that. I mean, not that I was surprised or anything, but…” Rainbow Dash said as she mumbled something unintelligible about Spike. “What the hay is this ‘Drakefang Monastery’ place, anyway?”

“It’s the location of another of this island’s gyms. But, more importantly, it’s also apparently home to a massive library, meaning it’s the perfect place to learn more about this world,” Twilight said.

“Uh huh, and do you even have any idea where this place is?” Spike asked skeptically.

“Well, no, not really,” Twilight admitted. “But, I’m willing to bet the gym leader here would. We’ll just have to ask them after Rainbow Dash has had her battle. Speaking of which, are you sure you want to head straight to the gym once your Pokémon are ready? I still think it might be a good idea to so some research before your challenge.”

“Like I told you already, Twilight, Tank Jr. and I have got this. This gym leader isn’t even gonna know what hit them.”

*********

Once their Pokémon were fully recovered it didn’t take long for the group to reach the Mesa Town gym, which true to what they’d been told had a façade resembling an old west saloon. The building was obviously far larger than any saloon would have needed to be however, and the edges of what looked to be some sort of stadium could be clearly seen behind it.

“Are we absolutely sure this is the gym?” Twilight asked as they approached the swinging doors in the front of the building. “I mean, I know it was supposed to be in the center of town, but…”

“Yeah, this is definitely the place,” Rainbow Dash affirmed. “Some guy we met at the center told us the gym leader here has a real thing for the old west look, which is why the whole town looks like a bunch of Applejack’s relatives should be living here.” With that, Rainbow Dash pushed open the doors and strutted inside. The lobby of the gym had been set up to resemble the interior of a saloon to match the outer façade, completely with a bar in the back and a player piano playing an upbeat tune in one corner. “Sheesh, that guy really wasn’t kidding when he said the gym leader here was big on the whole cowboy thing.”

“So, what now?” Twilight asked as she scanned the room for anything that might point the way to their target.

“Just follow my lead,” Rainbow Dash said. With an exaggerated swagger, Rainbow Dash sauntered up to the far and slapped her hand down onto the counter. “So, I here this is the place where I can find the Mesa Town gym leader.”

The bartender simply rolled his eyes at this and let out a sight that was equal parts exasperation and resignation. “If you here to challenge Terra you’ll want to head through those doors over there to your right. Just go straight down the hall until you get to the doors leading to the arena, she’s usually messing around in there.” With that the bartender meandered away, muttering about how he should have never passed up a post down in Keystone City.

Slight perplexed at the nature of this response, Rainbow Dash nevertheless shrugged and headed through the doors with Twilight and Spike following behind. “Is it just me or do people here seem to not like the gym leader all that much?” Spike said as he followed his friends through the doors.

“Maybe this Terra person is some kind of jerk,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s not like the other gym leaders we’ve me were all that terrific either.” Rainbow Dash would have likely continued, but the entire building suddenly started shacking as a thunderous pounding could be heard from up ahead. “What the hay, is this some kind of earthquake or something?”

“Oh for Pete’s sake, she at it again!” a voice cried out from a side room, from which a bespectacled woman in a lab coat promptly emerged. “How many times do I have to ask her to at least give us some advance notice before she – oh, who are you three?” the woman asked as she noticed the presence of Rainbow Dash and her friends.

“I’m Rainbow Dash and I’m here to challenge your gym leader! Oh, and these are my friends Twilight Sparkle and Spike,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Terrific, a challenger. Well, it’s not like I was going to get anything actually done today anyway. You may as well follow me; I’ll take you three to Terra. I’m Rachel, for what little its worth.” Rachel motioned for the group to follow her down the hall.

“So, what the deal with this place, anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked as they walked.

“In theory, Mesa Town is supposed to be a seismic research outpost. Most of the island was built up artificially and sizeable chunks of it are potentially unstable, so it’s important that we keep an eye on things to make sure nothings falling apart.” Rachel let out a deep sigh. “The problem is it’s a little hard to monitor seismic data when you have upwards of a thousand pounds worth of Pokémon jumping around less than a hundred yards from your equipment. It’s not even that I have anything against Terra personally, she’s certainly nice enough in general and her family did finance a considerable portion of our budget. It’s just that she’s…well, see for yourselves.” As Rachel spoke the group had reached the end of the hallway, which terminated at a large pair of double doors. Stepping through Rainbow Dash and her friends found themselves standing outside at the edge of a rodeo arena surrounded on three sides by bleachers. In the center of the arena a young woman who was dressed like a stereotypical cowgirl, complete with a Stetson, was riding a massive, brown, horse-like Pokémon. The Pokémon was jumping and bucking wildly, sending bits of red mud spattering in every direction.

“YEEHAW! That’s the spirit, Mudsdale! Really show me what y’ got!” The Mudsdale responded by intensifying its efforts to throw its rider off, causing the ground to shake as it wildly leapt about.

“Every day I have to put up with this,” Rachel muttered irritably before yellow out to the cowgirl. “Hey, Terra! There’s a challenger here for you, so knock it off with the rodeo stuff already.”

“Dang it, alright. Y’ heard her Mudsdale, time to cool things off.” The Mudsdale obediently ceased its thrashing and allowed Terra to dismount without a fuss. “So,” Terra began as she recalled Mudsdale to its Poké Ball without bothering to turn around. “Which one of y’all’s the one fixin’ to take me on?”

“I am! Name’s Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow Dash declared as she stuck out her hand.

Terra raised an eyebrow as she looked at Rainbow Dash before grasping her hand in a firm handshake. “That’s some name y’ got there. Ah’m Terra, the gym leader ‘round these parts. So, how many badges have y’ managed to get so far?”

“You’re gonna be my first,” Rainbow Dash admitted, trying hard to keep up her confident demeanor.

“That so? Huh, Ah haven’t had a first-timer ‘round here in Ah don’t know how long. Usually folks’ll have at least one notch or so in their belts before they get out here.” Terra said before noticing the expression on Dash’s face. “Ah don’t mean that as any slight on y’, just that we’re out in the boonies so most trainers have cut their teeth a bit by the time Ah get to fight ‘em. Anyway, no point in jawin’ all day when there’s battlin’ to get on with. Hop on in here and we’ll get started.” As Rainbow Dash climbed into the corral Tera causally walked across the field to the other end of the arena.

“The two of you can watch the battle from up in the stands,” Rachel said to Twilight and Spike. “Actually, I think I’ll probably join you. It’s not like I’m going to be able to get anything done while Terra’s battling a challenger anyway.”

As Twilight and Spike settled into their seats, they watched Terra head to a large device, which resembled an oversized tool cabinet, on the far side of the arena and press a few buttons on its front. “What’s she doing over there?” Spike asked.

“Pulling out her first badge team,” Rachel replied before noticing the blank stares she received from Twilight and Spike. “Every gym leader maintains different teams of Pokémon to use depending on how many badges their challenger has. Basically, the more badges someone has the stronger the team they have to beat.’

“Oh, that makes sense,” Twilight said as she observed Terra reach into a compartment that had opened up on the device and remove a pair of Poké Balls.

“Alright, y’ look like y’ already know how this all works, but Ah’m gonna say it anyway just to make sure. We’re each gonna use two Pokémon, the first one to bust up both of their opponent’s Pokémon so they can’t keep goin’ is the winner. Y’ ready?” Terra asked.

“You bet I am!” Rainbow Dash fired back as she took out Tank Jr.’s Poké Ball. “All right, little guy. This time we’ve got this. Go! Tank Jr.!”

“Alright Sandile, up and at ‘em!” Terra yelled as she tossed out her own Poké Ball, unveiling a small, tan, crocodile-like Pokémon with black stripes running across its back.

Sandile, the desert croc Pokémon. This Pokémon submerges itself beneath the surface of the sand in its desert home and travels with only its eyes and nostrils visible. Though primarily a scavenger, it has been known to attack unwary travelers when the opportunity presents itself.

“Sounds like a pretty underhanded Pokémon for a cowgirl like you to use,” Rainbow Dash quipped as she listened to Spike’s Pokédex read off its entry.

“Hah. Ah don’t mean to burst yer bubble, miss, but this ain’t some schoolyard tussle. Yer battlin’ in the Javik League now, and ‘round these parts we play to win. Speakin’ of, Sandile, let’s show this girl how we do things here. Give that Squirtle some Torment!” Sandile’s eyes promptly flashed at it began hissing and stomping its feet in an odd, mocking display.

“Uh, was that supposed to be an attack, because I don’t think it really –”

“Squirtle!” Rainbow Dash found herself interrupted by a suddenly enraged Tank Jr. “Squirtle Squirtle Squirtle!”

“Who, calm down and focus. If that sand-alligator thing’s got you worked up then let’s deal with it by taking it down.” Rainbow Dash’s words seemed to calm Tank Jr. enough for it to refocus, though it still seemed unusually agitated. “Alright, now, let’s try out that new move we’ve been working on. Use Bubble!”

“Did Rainbow Dash just say ‘bubble’?” Spiked asked. “What the hay kind of attack is that?” Even as Spike spoke, Tank Jr. took a deep breath before exhaling a stream of blue bubbles from its mouth towards Sandile. Strangely, the Sandile seemed to regard the attack as a legitimate danger and it did its best to try and scamper out of the way. Despite the Sandile’s efforts, however, several of the bubbles struck home, bursting upon contact with its back and sides. Much to Spike and Twilight’s surprise, the Sandile reacted to this as though the bursting bubbles caused it physical pain.

“Durn it, looks like Ah’ll need to get serious. Sandile, use Sand Tomb and bury that turtle,” Terra ordered. Sandile’s eyes began to glow in response as wisps of sand began to circle around Tank Jr.’s feet. The eddies of wind quickly increased in intensity before either Tank Jr. or Rainbow Dash could react, and in moments Tank Jr. was surrounded by a whirling tornado of sand an dirt. “That oughta keep yer little varmint in one place fer a bit, and good luck shootin’ any more of those bubbles through that.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow Dash shot back. “Well, if you think a little sand is going to be enough to slow Tank Jr. and me down then you’re in for one hay of a surprise. Tank, use your Water Gun attack!” While the swirling sand hid Tank Jr. from view, an affirmative ‘Squirtle’ could be heard from within the center of the storm. A second later a powerful jet of water blasted its way through the sand to strike Sandile head on. Caught unawares, the small crocodilian Pokémon was sent tumbling head over tail along the ground until it came to rest at its master’s feet.

“Dang it, looks like Sandile’s just about had it,” Terra groused as she recalled Sandile to its Poke Ball. “Still, the little fella put in some good work on that Squirtle of yours. Shouldn’t be too hard for mah next Pokémon to finish the job. Go Onix!”

As Terra tossed her second Poké Ball into the arena the sand whipping around Tank Jr. settled down enough for Rainbow Dash to see what Terra was talking about. To her horror, Tank Jr. had been left buried in the ground up to its waist by the attack and despite its best efforts it didn’t appear that Tank Jr. was going anywhere in a hurry. To make matters worse, as Rainbow Dash processed the situation a thunderous roar shock the stadium.

Onix, the rock snake Pokémon. This massive Pokémon spends most of its time burrowing underground where it feeds on mineral deposits. By incorporating these minerals into its body its segments become almost as hard as diamond.

“Oh…that’s…no, you know what?” Rainbow Dash said as she watched Terra’s Onix loom over her and Tank Jr. “Tank can still in this thing even if he is stuck in the ground.”

“Not that Ah don’t love seein’ a trainer who believes in their Pokémon, but what the heck makes y’ think Ah’m gonna give y’ the chance to pull out a victory?” Terra said as she readied a familiar looking bracelet. “Yer Squirtle may be a tough little varmint, but there ain’t no way it’s gonna handle this.”

As Terra began performing the series of movements needed to activate her Z-move, Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth but remained silent. Tank Jr. was similarly stoic, patting the top of its chest before bracing itself for the oncoming attack.

“What the hay is Rainbow Dash doing? She needs to find a way to get Tank out of there!” Twilight said as she watched the scene unfold.

“I think it’s a little too late for that,” Spike replied. “Look!”

As Spike spoke, Terra bent down and slammed her left hand onto the ground as golden light streamed from her into the aura surrounding Onix. “Alright, Onix, let ‘em have it! Tectonic Rage!” With a deafening roar, Onix dove into the ground, causing a massive fissure to split the arena wide open and pull Tank Jr. into the abyss.

“Tank!” Rainbow Dash cried out as she rushed to the fissure’s edge. To Rainbow Dash’s immense relief Tank Jr. appeared to be unharmed by the fall, hopping from one bit of rubble to another in an effort to avoid plummeting further. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash’s relief was all too brief as the still glowing Onix could be seen surging up from the depths straight at Tank Jr. “Aw crud…wait, I know. Tank, aim your Water Gun straight down! Use it to jet yourself out of the way!” Realizing Rainbow Dash’s plan, Tank Jr. immediately leapt into the air and took a deep breath in preparation to launch its attack. Before it could do so, however, Tank Jr. suddenly stopped and clutched its head in apparent agony before thrashing about in the air. Rainbow Dash could only watch helplessly as Onix plowed into Tank Jr., sending the unfortunate Squirtle flying through the air until it came crashing back down into the dirt. At some point during the attack Tank Jr. had pulled its head and limbs back into its shell, making it hard to gauge how badly Onix’s attack had hurt it.

“Looks like that Squirtle of yers is at tis limit, y’ might as well call it back and send out yer next Pokémon,” Terra said.

“Not yet…come on, Tank, I believe in you,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she fixed her gaze on Tank Jr.’s shell. At first Tank Jr. remained still, but then it started to twitch and move before finally Tank Jr. popped back out. Strangely, it appeared that Tank Jr. was chewing on something, which it promptly swallowed before pulling itself back to its feet.

“What in tarnation? How in the heck is that little squirt still able to –” Terra quieted as she looked closer at Tank Jr., who was in the process of wiping a small dribble of yellow liquid from the corner of its mouth. “So that’s it the, the tricky little runt had a berry on him.”

“Yup!” Rainbow Dash said proudly. “I checked the rules these gym battles after seeing Twilight’s and they said Pokémon can have stuff like berries with them. I knew this was gonna be tough fight, so I gave Tank Jr. one of the big yellow lumpy ones we found while going through the forest.

“I don’t believe it,” Twilight said, in a state of absolute shock over what she was hearing.

“What, that Rainbow Dash actually read through the rules for how gym battles work?” Spike asked.

“No, that I didn’t. I didn’t even realize there was a rulebook for these things,” Twilight wailed.

Terra, meanwhile, seemed unfazed by this revelation. “Ah hate to burst yer bubble, but don’t think fer a second that y’ve got me on the ropes just because yer Pokémon brought a snack to the fight.”

“Oh yeah? Alright, Tank, let’s finish this. Use your Bubble attack to completely surround that thing.” With a quick chirp of acknowledgement Tank Jr. rushed into action, continuously firing bubbles from its mouth to fill the air around Onix.

“Dagnabbit, Onix, don’t just sit there and let it corral y’. Tackle it already!” Terra’s Onix obediently swept its tail across the ground at Tank Jr., only for Tank Jr. to nimbly leap over it while continuing to surround Onix with bubbles.

“Okay, good work. Now, finish that thing off with your Water Gun!” Rainbow Dash yelled out. As Tank Jr. sprayed the Onix with water it recoiled from the attack, causing it to stumble back into the bubbles Tank Jr. had surrounded it with. As the Onix struck the bubbles it lurched forward to escape, only to strike a cluster in front of it in the process. The Onix continued to bounce from one group of bubbles to another for several seconds before it finally collapsed to the ground unconscious.

“Whelp, Ah know when Ah’m beat,” Terra said as she recalled her Onix. “Y’ did yer best, Onix, but it looks like yer beat. And that means Rainbow Dash is the winner!”

“Yes! You hear that, Tank? We – Tank?” Rainbow Dash’s celebratory cheer and dance routine was put on hold as she noticed Tank Jr. tensing up. Suddenly, Tank Jr. was suffused by a bright white light as its body seemed to shift and expand. When the light subsumed, it revealed that Tank Jr. had more than doubled in height and looked considerably fiercer as well. Furthermore, Tank Jr. now sported a pair of large, feathery ears and a particularly large, fluffy tail. “Wha-buh-Huh?” Rainbow Dash sputtered as she tried to make sense of this new change.

Wartortle, the turtle Pokémon. The evolved form of Squirtle. The fur on Wartortle’s ears and tail trap air, which it uses to control its buoyancy while swimming. Legends state that Wartortle are able to live for up to 10,000 years and its tail is often used as a symbol of longevity.

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion as Spike’s Pokédex once again read off one of its entries. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, hold on. What the hay does that thing mean by ‘evolved from’?”

"It means yer Squirtle’s just gotten a lot stronger,” Terra said. “Pokémon will sometimes change forms as they grow and get stronger. Your Squirtle must’ve been almost there already and our battle was the push he needed. Anyhow, since y’ managed to beat me Ah hereby present to you the Strata badge along with a piece of Groundium-Z.” As Terra handed Rainbow Dash a small box containing a striped badge and a brown crystal, Rainbow Dash gave her an odd look.

“You feeling alright?” Rainbow Dash asked as she accepted her prize.

“Why wouldn’t Ah be? Sure, y’ gave my Pokémon a proper whoopin’ but-”

“It’s just, something about your accent…”

“Ah don’t know what you’re on about,” Terra said, suddenly seeming rather nervous. “There isn’t a thing wrong with my – I mean there ain’t a thing – oh blast it, I’ve gone and botched it all again, haven’t I?” Terra said in a voice that now sounded much more like Rarity than Applejack. “I’d thought I was doing rather well this time, but I always get so flustered after a loss.”

Rainbow Dash stared at the now rather posh sounding cowgirl with an expression of utter bafflement, with Tank Jr. mirroring its trainer almost exactly. “Could someone explain to me what’s going on?”

“If I’m to be honest, my earlier accent is something of an affectation. I’ve always been quite fond of the western aesthetic, but it’s almost impossible to be taken seriously in the rodeo circuit if one sounds like they’re fresh from a Galar finishing school.” Terra said.

“Okay then,” Rainbow Dash said, not really sure how she should react to this. “Well, if that’s it we’ve got to go and figure out where the hay someplace called the Drake-something Monopoly is.”

“Would you happen to be referring to the Drakefang Monastery?’ Terra asked. “I’d be happy to provide you with directions if you like. Are you planning on challenging the gym leader there for your second badge?”

“I was actually considering challenging them myself, but I’ve been having a problem using the Z-crystal I won from my first challenge,” Twilight said as she descended from the stands. “To be honest, I was hoping that I could ask you about it. You see, I haven’t been able to get the Z-move to work correctly no matter how many times I try, but I’m positive that I’m performing everything correctly.”

“Hmm, I can see how that could leave you hesitant to make a second challenge,” Terra said. “Why don’t you let me take a look at your Z-ring for a moment?”

“My Z-ring? Oh, you mean the bracelet they gave us when we first arrived on the island. Alright,” Twilight said as she handed the ring to Terra. “Do you think there’s something wrong with it and that’s why is not working?” Twilight asked.

“It’s certainly a possibility. Let’s see here, looks as though it’s a piece of Bugium-Z, so the move you’d be using would be Savage Spinout if I’m not mistaken. Now, what move is your Pokémon using to fuel the attack?” Terra asked as she handed the Z-ring back to Twilight.

“Fuel the attack?” What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight replied.

“Oh dear, that’s probably it then. You see, Z-moves at their core are a way of amplifying one of the Pokémon’s existing techniques. So, in order to perform a Z-move the Pokémon using it first needs to know a move of the appropriate type. If none of your Pokémon knows the right sort of move then performing the Z-move just wouldn’t be possible.” Terra said.

“So, does that mean that Tank Jr. wouldn’t be able to do that whole exploding underground attack thing your Onix did?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’m afraid not, unless it knows a Ground-type move. But, if any of your other Pokémon happen to know a Ground move then they would be able to do so,” Terra replied.

“I guess I’ll have to figure something out before I get to this monastery then,” Twilight said. “At least now I have a better idea what the problem is. Now I just need to focus on finding a way to deal with it without some other crazy problem getting in the way.”

“Come on, Twilight, you worry way too much,” Spike admonished. “I mean, what do you honestly think we really have to worry about?”

*********

“From now on, Trixie is in charge of reading the map,” the Great and Powerful Trixie said.

“For the last time, how was I supposed to know the path ahead had collapsed?” Starlight protested. “You saw the barriers at the fork in the path; the other way was supposed to be unsafe. I just hope nobody was hurt when that thing fell apart, that looked really dangerous.”

Trixie let out a small sigh. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just we lost so much time backtracking that its going to be much harder to catch up with Twilight. This is finally my chance to prove that I’m better than her at something, and I’m not going to let anything stop m-Agh!” Trixie’s declaration was ignominiously cut short as Trixie tripped over a loose stone and went tumbling head over heels down the path.

“Well, it could be worse,” Starlight muttered as she rushed to help her friend. “At least she’s not doing this while the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance or something. And it just occurred to me that things like that are a regular occurrence in my life these days.”

It Is On

“I have to admit, this is certainly the sort of town I’d expect to find Fluttershy hiding in,” Rarity said as she took in the view of Faunaville’s main thoroughfare.

“Yeah, Ah can’t argue with y’all there. Shoot, Ah would be all that surprised if we run into Fluttershy soon as we walk into the Pokémon Center,” Applejack agreed. “Speakin’ of which, we should probably head there soon as we can, don’t want to risk lettin’ it get filled up, do we?”

“Certainly not. Camping is all fine and good in moderation, but I have no intention of missing an opportunity to sleep in an actual bed for a change. And besides, my Piplup could use a bit of rest as well,” Rarity added.

Applejack gave Rarity a sidelong look at the mention of her Piplup. “Ah’ve been meanin’ to ask y’all about that. Ah know y’all said it happened when y’all were catchin’ another Pokémon, but y’all never really filled me in on any of the details.”

“Oh, there wasn’t all that much to tell, really. I ran into a rather unpleasant Pokémon while you were practicing your little Z-move dance and I wound up capturing it. Speaking of Pokémon, however, I was just curious, were you planning on challenging the leader of the town’s gym while we’re here?”

“To tell the truth, Ah hadn’t really thought much about it,” Applejack replied. “Ah suppose Ah could, ‘specially if it turns out we’re gonna be here for a while, but to be honest Ah’ve been thinkin’ more about findin’ our friends then gettin’ in another tussle. Not to mention the fact that these battles are supposed to get a lot rougher the more badges y’ get.”

“I see,” Rarity replied, sounding as though she were only half-listening to what Applejack was saying. “Well, I suppose I can’t argue with treating finding our friends to be our top priority. After we secure our room we can decide what we’ll do next.”

“Sounds like a plan, though Ah think mah first order of business is gonna be findin’ someplace to restock our supplies. After that we actually might want to head up the gym anyway. Even if Ah’m not plannin’ on fightin’ anybody, that’s still where there’s supposed be some sort of breedin’ center or somethin’. That’d be exactly the sort of place Fluttershy’d find her way to if she were here.”

“Well, that certainly does work well with something that I’ve been thinking of,” Rarity mused. “But, first things first, we need to secure a room at the center.”

*********

“Y’all want to try doin’ what now?” Applejack yelled in shock as she stared at Rarity.

“I was thinking that I’d like to try my hoof, or hand as it were, at challenging this town’s gym leader,” Rarity said calmly. “Really, Applejack, there’s no need to shout. It’s just something that I’ve been giving a great deal of thought to recently and given that we’re likely to be here for some time I figured now would be as good a time as any to pursue,” Rarity said as she laid her things out on one of the beds in their room at the Pokémon Center.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah guess Ah’m just surprised is all. Y’all always made it seem like gettin’ involved in battlin’ was the last thing y’all wanted to do,” Applejack said.

“And it was, at least at first. But, watching you battle with Ms. Amber and that…tacky girl from the rest center I’ve started to rethink my position on the matter. Not to mention certain other developments I’d rather not go into detail about,” Rarity added as she glanced at her two occupied Poké Balls.

“Fair enough, admittedly Ah wasn’t all that sure about battlin’ at first mahself when we first came here. Not to mention the fact that it’ll probably make things easier fer both of us if y’all ain’t inclined to turn yer nose up at battlin’, ‘specially seein’ how seriously folks take it ‘round these parts. But are y’all sure y’all really wanna start things off by getting’ involved in a gym battle right off? Ah mean, y’all did see how rough mah fight got, these gym leaders don’t mess around when it comes to battlin’,” Applejack said.

“Just what exactly are you implying?” Rarity asked icily. “Are you suggesting that I wouldn’t be able to handle myself in a gym challenge?”

“Ah ain’t sayin’ that, exactly,” Applejack said quickly. “Ah’m just sayin’ y’all might wanna consider takin’ it easy and workin’ yer way up to takin’ on an actual gym. Let’s be honest, y’all ain’t really the fightin’ type to begin with.”

“And what is that supposed to mean? Just because I’m ladylike doesn’t mean that I’m unable to defend myself, or that my Pokémon are unable to do so, as the case may be. I had thought that was something we had established a long time ago,” Rarity huffed. “In fact, as far as gym challenges go I’d say that at the moment I’m every bit as prepared to handle a gym challenge as you were when we arrived at Keystone City!”

“Aw fer cryin’ out – Ah recall just a few days ago y’all were callin’ the whole idea of battlin’ a ‘barbaric spectacle’! Ah find it a little hard to believe y’all’ve somehow managed to get yerself ready to face one of them gym leaders between then and now.”

“Well maybe you haven’t been paying as close attention to me as you thought!” Rarity snapped before storming out of the room, though not before grabbing her Poké Balls. “The nerve of Applejack. I mean, really, just because I’m not quite as rough and tumble as she is doesn’t mean that I’m incapable of handling myself if the situation calls for it, or that my Pokémon are, either. And it isn’t as if I’m unaware of what I’m getting myself into. I’ve watched as many of these battles as Applejack has, including the ones she’s fought in herself.” Rarity continued to grumble and fume as she marched out of the Pokémon Center in a huff.

As Rarity continued to march down the street with no particular destination in mind she eventually came across a large group of people gathered around some sort of commotion. Curious, Rarity gingerly made her way through the crowd until she saw that they were watching a number of tiny, flower-like Pokémon who seemed to be putting on a show of some kind. The colorful Pokémon floated and spun through the air while a long-haired woman in a sundress played a lilting melody on a flute. After a few minutes of this the performance concluded, with the Pokémon all lining up and taking a bow as the flute-playing woman rose to her feet. “Blessings to all of you. I hope you all enjoyed my Flabébé’s performance. If any of you want to bliss out with us in the future, please join us at the Javik Peace and Love Association Meditation Center.”

While most of the crowd quickly dissipated once the performance was complete, Rarity found herself lingering as she watched the odd woman and her Pokémon pack up their things. “Pardon me,” Rarity said as she approached the trainer. “I just wanted to say I thought that was a lovely little performance.”

“Thank you, we just love being able to bring a little harmony to those around us. I’m Morning Sun, by the way,” the woman said as she extended her hand towards Rarity.

“Rarity, pleased to meet you. You know, you remind me a bit of a friend of a friend of mine. Coincidently, the reason I came to this town was to look for that friend,” Rarity said as she shook Morning Sun’s hand.

“And you want to know if I might have seen your friend, right? It’s possible, I meet a lot of people while out spreading my message of peace and love. What does your friend look like?” Morning Sun asked.

“Well, her name is Fluttershy, she’s about my age with very long pink hair…” Rarity replied as she tried to imagine what Fluttershy would look like as a human.

“Oh, I think I did meet someone by that name back at our association’s picnic. I remember she had a really gentle aura, gave off really mellow vibes, you know?” Morning Sun said. “Yeah, she was with this other girl too. She was a lot louder, but still really nice.

“Hmm, louder than Fluttershy doesn’t really narrow it down all that much,” Rarity mused.

“The other girl was also, like, this embodiment of cosmic joy. It was really out there, her aura was the pinkest I’ve ever seen,” Morning Sun added helpfully.

“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity quickly concluded. “Tell me, do you happen to know where I can find them? I have to imagine if Fluttershy arrived in a town like this she wouldn’t be in any hurry to leave.”

“I don’t think I can really help you there, I only got to town yesterday and I saw your friends days ago at our picnic. Your friend really seemed to love Pokémon, though, so maybe she went to visit the Breeding Center,” Morning Song suggested.

“The Breeding Center, of course, I had almost forgotten about that!” Rarity exclaimed. “I don’t suppose you could point me in its direction?”

*********

There was a certain smell that was endemic to anyplace that housed large numbers of animals, be it a zoo, a farm, or, as it turned out, a breeding center. Growing up in a farming town like Ponyville and being a longtime friend of the Apple family, Rarity had long become acclimated to the odor in question. That, however, didn’t mean she particularly liked it.

“I’m definitely headed in the right direction, it smells like the inside of Fluttershy’s animal sanctuary,” Rarity muttered to herself as she made her way down the dirt road towards the facility. “It’s not that I have anything against animals, per se, but I do wish they could be persuaded to bathe a little more often. On the plus side, if what Miss Morning Song told me is correct than we’ll have two of our friends accounted for. That will just leave Twilight and Rainbow Dash…and Spike too, in all likelihood now that I think about it. Oh, and I suppose there’s always the possibility Starlight Glimmer was dragged here as well. And of course, if Maud’s here then Sweetie Belle and her friends are probably off somewhere, having the time of their lives, no doubt. Speaking of having the time of their lives, I have to imagine Rainbow Dash has taken to this battling business even more than Applejack has,” Rarity’s demeanor darkened as battling and Applejack both crossed her mind so close together. “Really, I can’t believe Applejack was so opposed to the idea of my participating in these little battles. It was as though she were talking to me as though I were some little filly who needed protecting.” Rarity let out a sigh. “Which, if what Sweetie Belle has told me is accurate, is how Applejack tends to treat the rest of her family as well. She’s probably just worried about me, and given the situation that we’re in I can’t really blame her. And my rushing off like that probably hasn’t helped matters any.” Rarity let out a groan spurred on by this sudden bout of self-realization. “Ugh, I’m going to have to apologize to her the next time I see her.”

Rarity continued to talk to herself about how best she should handle Applejack’s sudden overprotectiveness as she walked along the dirt road leading to the breeding center. By the time Rarity reached what appeared to be the main building she was already forming counterarguments to the points Applejack would undoubtedly raise when Rarity sat her down to discuss the issue (after Rarity delivered a suitable apology for running off, of course). As Rarity entered the center, however, she paused her mental argument to refocus on her goal of locating her other friends.

“Hello,” Rarity called out as she opened the door. “Is anybody here? I’m looking for a pair of friends of mine and I was told I might be able to find them here.” With no answer forthcoming Rarity fully entered the breeding center’s lobby. It didn’t appear to be anything particularly out of the ordinary as far as lobbies went, aside from the fact that it seemed surprisingly clean for a farm building. Vexingly, however, it also appeared that no one else was there, though the welcome desk did have a note on it offering an explanation. “Out to lunch, be back in an hour. Please see Norma if an emergency,” Rarity read before clicking her tongue in annoyance. “Setting aside the question as to whether or not this qualifies as an emergency, where in Equestria is this Norma? Ah well, I suppose I’ll just have to see if I can’t find someone around here who can help me,” Rarity said to herself.

As Rarity moved to head deeper into the building, she heard what sounded like voices coming from down a hall. More importantly, one of the voices sounded unmistakably like Pinkie Pie. Rarity immediately rushed down the hall the voices were coming from, eventually coming to a stop just outside the doors to an office.

“- just glad the egg’s going to have a good home. Anyway, I need to get going, I thought I heard someone come in and I should probably check to make sure everything’s alright.” Moments later, a large middle-aged woman lumbered out of the office and started down at Rarity. “Can I help you, miss?”

“I hope so, at least,” Rarity replied nervously. “I’m actually looking for a pair of friends of mine and I could have sworn I had just heard one of them talking a few seconds ago.”

“Well, right now there’s no one else here but me and the secretary, and I’m pretty sure she’s out to lunch right now. Unless you overheard me talking on the phone to the girls who were helping recover an egg that a couple of punks stole,” the woman said. “My name’s Norma, by the way.”

“That all sounds exactly like something my friends would do! Err, the helping part not the stealing the egg part,” Rarity added quickly. “I don’t suppose you could tell me the names of these girls so I could be certain?”

“Well, one of them was named Fluttershy, real sweet girl but kind of timid. The other was a walking ball of energy name Pinkie Pie. Do either of them sound familiar?”

“Yes, that’s them!” Rarity shouted with glee. “I’m so glad to hear they’re both alright. And you said you know where they are?”

“According to them they’re in Belladonna Town for the time being. It’s a small town in the middle of a swamp a bit to the north of here.” As Norma spoke, she noticed some of the exuberance slowly fade from Rarity’s face. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, not exactly. I’m thrilled to finally have an idea as to where my friends are, it’s just…the middle of a swamp, you said?”

“Well, if it helps, I doubt they’ll be there for too much longer. It’s not exactly a big town to begin with and to be honest it’s about as pleasant as a town in the middle of a swamp sounds. My guess is they’ll head to Aquarius City before too long. If you’re looking to catch up with them then I’d suggest finishing up anything you want to get done in town quick and then start heading northwest,” Norma suggested.

“Luckily I don’t think there’s anything that my other friend and I have to do that will take very long,’ Rarity replied “Applejack will probably have restocked our supplies by the time I get back to the Pokémon Center and it isn’t as though we had all that much else to do. Although…you know what, why not? I suppose there is one thing that I would like to indulge in before I leave.” Rarity cleared her throat before straightening herself up. “Ms. Norma, I Rarity, would like to hereby challenge you to a gym battle!” Rarity declared with as much pomp as she could muster.

Norma chucked at Rarity’s display. “Alright then, let’s head over to the field so we can get started. So, have you tried challenging any gym leaders before, or am I going to be your first?”

“You’ll be the first one I’ve faced myself,” Rarity admitted. “Although, I did watch when my friend Applejack had her challenge with Ms. Amber, so I have a fair idea as to what to expect. Err, where exactly are you leading me?” Rarity asked as she noticed that Norma was leading them back outside.

“The gym’s field is in the barn next to the office,” Norma replied as she continued down the hall. “There is a way there going through the center, but it’s faster to just go around outside. Anyway, you mentioned that you know what to expect because you watched your friend go through her first challenge in Keystone City, right?”

“Yes, it was a rather intense spectacle, but I have to admit it was rather thrilling as well,” Rarity said. “If I’m to be honest, I didn’t really think much of the idea of battling when I first came here. The notion of forcing Pokémon to fight each other just seemed…”

“Barbaric?” Norma offered, sounding slightly bemused.

“Well, I was trying to think of a nicer word for it, but, yes essentially.” Rarity admitted.

“You’re not the first to think like that. So, what exactly was it that changed your mind?” Norma asked.

“It was something of a process, actually. For starters, all of the Pokémon that I’ve seen have seemed strangely enthusiastic about the experience, almost like it’s some kind of game to them. I can’t imagine that would be the case if battling was truly harmful to them,” Rarity said, eliciting a noncommittal grunt from Norma.

“That’s mostly true, but it can depend on the trainer. Battling isn’t supposed to cause any lasting damage, but unfortunately there are trainers out there who take things too far and wind up hurting their Pokémon as a result,” Norma said sadly. “Thankfully, though, people like that are the exception, not the rule.”

“I’d certainly hope so. In any case, what really, shall I say, adjusted my perspective on the whole matter was watching my friend Applejack’s gym battle. It was terrifying, yes, but at the same time there was just something about it, almost something primal. I’m sorry, I don’t suppose I’m making all that much sense but I’m not exactly sure how to put it into words.”

“That’s alright, I think I understand what you trying to say.” Norma said as the pair exited the building and turned to head towards the attached barn. “Trainers might not be the ones doing the actual, fighting, but we definitely have a connection to what’s going on. That connection is what makes Z-moves possible, after wall.” Norma paused before the barn doors and turned to Rarity. “Now, I know you said you know what you’re getting yourself into with this, but I just want to make sure; are you certain that you and your Pokémon are ready for this?”

Rarity thought about it for just a moment before looking Norma directly in the eye. “I am,” Rarity said confidently.

“Okay then, let’s get started.”

*********

“Well, at least now we’re fully stocked on supplies,” Applejack said as she exited the general store carrying several bags of goods. “Let’s see…Ah restocked our medicines, got enough food to last us at least the next couple of days along with a few bags of Pokémon chow. Odds are, Rarity will think of a few things she can’t live without that Ah haven’t even thought of, but Ah’ll cross that bridge when Ah come to it. Speakin’ of whom, Ah hope she’s gotten back to the center by now. It’s bad enough missin’ everypony else without her runnin’ off too.”

Applejack continued to grumble as she made her way back to her room at the Pokémon Center to drop off her purchases. Finding that Rarity was still absent, Applejack irritably dumped the supplies onto Rarity’s bed before marching back into the center’s lobby.

“Of all the durn fool things she coulda done, why the hay did Rarity have to pick runnin’ off on her own?” Applejack groused to no one in particular before approaching the Nurse Joy manning the desk. “Pardon me, but did y’all happen to see a girl about mah age with purple hair storm out of here a little while ago?”

“I think so, was she wearing a dark blue jacket with lots of sequins?” Nurse Joy asked.

“Uh…maybe?” Applejack replied as she inwardly cursed the fact that she had never paid much attention to what Rarity was wearing.

“Well, I did see a girl like that who rushed out of here a little while ago, but I haven’t seen her since.”

Applejack let out a defeated sigh. “It’s alright, Ah have an idea where she might’ve gotten to. If y’all wouldn’t mind, could y’all give me some directions to the town’s gym?”

*********

“Starly, let’s start things off with your Wing Attack!”

“Piplup, quickly, use Bubble!” Norma’s Starly’s wings glowed bright white as it dove towards Piplup, directly into a stream of bubbles that Piplup sprayed at it. The Starly had no hope of dodging Piplup’s assault, so instead it powered through and slammed its wing into Piplup’s face. “Darn it, Piplup, are you alright?”

As Piplup waved its flipper to signify it was fine, Norma gave a nod of approval. “I’ll give you this, you do handle yourself like a serious trainer. Alright then, let’s see how you handle this; Starly, use Double Team!” Starly immediately began to dart through the air, leaving identical copies of itself in its wake.

Rarity remained silent in the face of this display, her attention entirely focused on watching her opponent’s Pokémon’s movements. Thus far, battling another trainer had proven to be exactly the experience she had expected. Watching Piplup clash with its opponent while responding to her commands provided an intense adrenaline rush, which, when combined with the practiced eye of a designer allowed Rarity to pick Starly out from its flock of copies. “Piplup, look up and to your left. Now, use another Bubble attack…now!” Following Rarity’s instructions, Piplup sent another torrent of bubbles into the air, which harmlessly passed through several of Starly’s insubstantial copies before striking the actual one. Rarity allowed herself a small triumphant grin as she watched Norma’s Starly awkwardly flop through the air in an effort to recover.

“Alright, now I’m impressed. Most rookies panic when they run into a Pokémon using Double Team for the first time,” Norma said.

“I’m hardly most trainers,” Rarity boasted with a toss of her hair. “I can pick out shoddy stitch work at one hundred paces, s seeing through your Pokémon’s tricks is no challenge at all.”

“Don’t get too cocky just because you got one hit in, kid. I’m no pushover either and neither is Starly. Speaking of whom, Starly! Use Quick Attack!” Starly let out a cry signaling its attack as it and its copies all began racing through the air so fast that they appeared to be little more than dark grey blurs. Suddenly, the cloud of Starly’s dipped down to the floor of the field, seemingly subjecting Piplup to attacks from all sides.

Rarity gritted her teeth in frustration as she helplessly watched the assault. Her opponent’s Pokémon were flying much too fast for her eyes to keep up and worse still she had lost track of which was the real Starly. “All right, Rarity, calm down and focus. If you can’t see which one is the real Starly you’ll just have to go about this another way. Wait, I know, Piplup, use your Growl!” Piplup promptly puffed out its chest as it deeply inhaled before letting out a high-pitched cry which appeared to distort the air around it. The piercing sound left the numerous Starly’s flapping unsteadily in the air, slowed just enough that Rarity could once again track their movements.

“Cute trick, but I think we can both see your Pokémon can’t keep this up for much longer,” Norma observed. “Starly, let’s wrap this up. Hit it with another Wing Attack!”

Rarity narrowed her eyes as the numerous Starly wheeled around in the air preparing to strike. Norma’s observation regarding the state of her Piplup was frustratingly accurate, however Starly didn’t look to be in much better shape. All that was needed to finish it would be for Piplup to score one more solid hit. Suddenly, Rarity’s gaze focused on one Starly in particular. “There you are. Piplup, get ready to use Bubble one more time on my command!” Rarity shouted, her eyes fixed on her opponent’s Pokémon. “Ready…” The Starly’s wings were once again glowing white as it aimed itself towards its opponent. “Not yet…” With a final chirping cry Starly dove straight towards Piplup. “Behind you NOW!” Piplup immediately spun around, spewing a stream of bubbles directly into Starly’s face. Trapped by its own momentum, Starly had no hope of dodging the attack, but it wasn’t enough to keep Starly’s wing from slamming into Piplup’s torso.

Norma watched impassively as Starly came crashing down to the ground after colliding with Piplup before raising Starly’s Poké Ball. “Alright, Starly, you did good, but it looks like you’re beat. Return.”

As the red beam recalled Starly back to its ball Rarity proceeded to do the same for her Piplup. “You did a splendid job, darling, but I think it’s plainly obvious that you’re not going to last much longer anyway. Now then, it appears that this will be decided by our second Pokémon, if I’m not mistaken,” Rarity said as she pulled out her second Poké Ball.

*********

“Well, Ah’ll give this place credit fer somethin’, Ah at least like the look of it better than that crazy rock gym Ah had mah battle in,” Applejack said as she marched up the dirt road towards the breeding center. “‘Course now the question is where the hay the gym part of this place is. Now, wherever it is would need to pretty big in a day to fit one of those arenas inside it…like that barn-lookin’ place over there!” Applejack exclaimed as her eyes fell on a particularly large structure at the center of the complex. “That place definitely looks big enough, and even if Rarity’s not there there’s a good chance Ah can find someone to help me find her.”

As Applejack approached the building, she could start to hear a combination of yelling and animalistic cries which signified an ongoing Pokémon battle inside. Her suspicion as to the building’s purpose confirmed, Applejack rushed to the doors and pushed them open in time to see Norma toss a Poké Ball into the field.

“Go Kangaskhan!”

“Very well then, go Tauros!” Applejack’s attention snapped up to the challenger’s podium just in time to see Rarity toss her Poké Ball into the field, unleashing her Tauros.

“Now where the hay did y’all manage to catch somethin’ like that?” Applejack exclaimed as she watched Tauros appear onto the field and glare at Norma’s Kangaskhan. Applejack had been vaguely aware that Rarity had captured a second Pokémon of some kind during their trip from Keystone City to Faunaville, but she had never realized that it had been something so fierce looking.

“Applejack? What in Equestria are you doing here? I thought you weren’t planning on challenging this gym,” Rarity said.

“Ah came here lookin’ fer y’all,” Applejack replied. “And that still don’t answer mah question as to where the hay y’all picked up that nasty lookin’ piece of work.”

“I take it that you’re the friend that Rarity mentioned earlier?” Norma called out from the other end of the field. “Well, if you don’t mind, we’re in the middle of a battle at the moment, so why don’t you watch from the benches and you two can work this out when we’re finished.” Applejack looked as though she wanted to argue for a moment before thinking better of it and quietly climbing into the stands.

“Now, where were we? Ah yes, Tauros, use Horn Attack!” With an earsplitting bellow, Tauros lowered its head and charged straight for Kangaskhan.

Norma, however, was completely nonplussed by the sight of the fearsome Pokémon’s assault. “Kangaskhan, hit that lump of muscle with your Fake-Out.” Kangaskhan nodded in acknowledgement while keeping its eyes fixed on the charging Tauros before clapping its hand together. This act sent a visible shockwave through the air that struck Tauros head on, halting its charge and leaving it looking somewhat dazed. “Now, let’s wrap this fight up nice and quick,” Norma said as she rolled up her sleeve to reveal the Z-ring on her arm, already glowing with power.

“Watch out Rarity! She’s about to use her Z-thingy!” Applejack called out in alarm.

“I noticed,” Rarity snapped back acidly. “Tauros, darling, be a dear and use your Horn Attack again before that thing has a chance to finish its attack.” Rarity’s command was all the encouragement Tauros needed as it pawed the ground a few times with its hoof before rushing forward and slamming its head into Kangaskhan.

Just before Tauros collided with it, however, Kangaskhan turned to one side and bent down slightly, taking the hit on its shoulder as it continued to mimic its trainer’s movements. “Good try, miss, but you’d need to do a lot better than that to stop what’s about to happen. Kangaskhan, use Breakneck Blitz!” As the golden light streaming from Norma merged with Kangaskhan own aura Kangaskhan suddenly surged forward, knocking Tauros off its hooves and pushing it along the ground until Kangaskhan finally slammed it into a particularly large boulder. “Keep your guard up, Kangaskhan, I doubt that was enough to take it down completely.”

Sure enough, as Kangaskhan slowly backed away, Tauros pulled itself back to its hooves, bruised and battered but still ready to fight. “So, we’ll need to do better if we want to defeat you? Then do better we shall! Tauros, let’s demonstrate precisely why we shouldn’t be taken lightly. Show us your Rage!” Hearing Rarity’s command, Tauros’ eyes flashed red as it charged straight for Kangaskhan, checking it in its shoulder.

“Well, I’ll give you this, battling you sure isn’t boring. But, if it’s a brawl you want then we’ll be happy to oblige. Kangaskhan, hit it with your Comet Punch!” Kangaskhan didn’t hesitate as it raised its arms and began furiously pummeling Tauros, however, seemed to weather the assault without so much as flinching. The only hint Tauros gave as to the effect the beating was having on it was a slowly intensifying red aura surrounding it and the look of murderous rage smoldering in its eyes. By the time Kangaskhan landed the final punch to Tauros’ forehead it was painfully clear that the attack had done far more to infuriate Tauros than it had to knock it out.

“Well, darling, this certainly has been fun, but now I think it’s time to settle this. Tauros, be a dear and finish things off with one last Horn Attack,” Rarity commanded. The words had scarcely left Rarity’s mouth before Tauros lowered its head and slammed itself into Kangaskhan’s abdomen. Tauros then threw its head up, flipping Kangaskhan into the air.

Norma watched Kangaskhan fall back to the ground before letting out a defeated sigh as she raised her Poké Ball. “Well, looks like that’s about it then. Kangaskhan’s not able to battle, and that means you’re the winner,” Norma said as she recalled her Kangaskhan back to its Poké Ball.

“Wahaha! We did it!” Rarity cried out in triumph before recalling her Tauros. “Oh, you were just marvelous out there.”

“Ah’ve gotta admit, y’all sure as hay handled yerself there as well as Ah could’ve,” Applejack admitted as she climbed down from the stands. “Ah probably should have expected as much goin’ in, so Ah guess Ah owe y’all a bit of an apology for earlier.”

“Think nothing of it, darling, I understand where you were coming from and I was a touch oversensitive on the subject myself,” Rarity assured her friend. “More importantly, Ms. Norma has informed me that she knows where Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are.”

“Really? That’s great news! So, where’re they now, someplace in town?” Applejack asked eagerly.

“Nope, they’re in the middle of a swamp,” Norma said as she approached the pair holding a small box.

“I’ll fill you in on the details later, but the important part is that we have a good idea as to where they’re going to be headed next,” Rarity explained as she noticed Applejack’s baffled expression. “In the meantime, however, it would appear that Ms. Norma has something to give me.”

Norma nodded as she handed Rarity the box she was holding. “Here you go, one Farm badge and one piece of Normalium-Z. If you want my advice I’d suggest you take some time to practice the movements for the Z-move before you try using it in a serious battle; it’s not the sort of thing that comes naturally even for an experienced trainer.”

“Ah can vouch fer that,” Applejack added.

“I’ll certainly take it under consideration, but for now my friend and I have much more pressing concerns. Namely, what would be the fastest route to Aquarius City?”

Battleshy

The whole of Belladonna Town was built on wooden platforms rising out of the swamp, all connected by wide walkways in various states of disrepair. Most of the buildings were boarded up and abandoned, with the only remotely modern-looking structure being the Pokémon Center and a looming, warehouse-like edifice. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie could only assume that the latter structure was the town’s gym.

“So…this place is nice,” Pinkie Pie said with one of the least convincing smiles of her life.

“It’s dark, soggy, mostly abandoned and smells like rotten eggs. If that’s your thing, then sure, Belladonna Town’s great. Personally, I can’t stand this pace,” Derek grumbled.

“Actually, I think I kind of like it,” Fluttershy said. “It reminds me a little of the village in Hayseed Swamp where Meadowbrook’s home is.” As Fluttershy spoke she leaned her hand on one of the guardrails overlooking the swamp, only to quickly pull it away when she realized the rail was covered in algae.

“Well, you’re welcome to it. Me, I try to avoid this place as much as possible. I wouldn’t have even suggested coming here if it weren’t for the fact that the Pokémon Center here is the quickest way to get that egg back to its home,” Derek said.

“That’s right, we really need to get this little guy back to his home as soon as possible,” Fluttershy replied as she patted the egg case she had been carrying. “You said that there’s a way to do it from the Pokémon Center, right?”

“Yeah, the Pokémon transport system can send it back there immediately,” Derek replied. “We may as well head over there and let Norma know that we’re sending it, we can give her a call from the center’s phone.” Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement as the group quickly made their way to the Pokémon Center.

The inside of the Belladonna Town Pokémon Center was a bit dingier and more run down than the ones Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had been in previously, with signs of wear almost omnipresent. Moreover, it appeared to be practically deserted aside from the bored-looking Nurse Joy at the desk.

At first it didn’t seem the Nurse Joy even noticed the group’s entrance as she listlessly drummed her nails on the counter. The moment she looked up, however, Nurse Joy shot to her feet and quickly tried to straighten her uniform before addressing the group. “Oh, visitors! I mean…welcome to the Belladonna Town Pokémon Center. How can you help me – I mean, how can I help you?”

“I’m guessing you don’t get all that many trainers visiting here,” Fluttershy said as she looked around the empty lobby.

“No, not really,” Nurse Joy replied as she allowed herself to relax a little. “Mostly the only trainers I talk to are the occasional visitor passing through, and Mortimer the gym leader, of course.”

“Of course,” Derek muttered darkly. “Anyway, do you think we could use your phone? We need to contact the gym leader back in Faunaville about an egg we rescued.”

Nurse Joy nodded and pointed the group towards center’s videophone, a large green device hanging on the back wall. After a few button presses and a brief moment of waiting later Norma’s face appeared on the screen. “Yeesh, it sure took you three long enough to call me, I was starting to get worried. So, I take it you were able to get the egg back?”

“We have it right here, safe and sound,” Fluttershy replied as she pulled out the egg case to show Norma.

“Yup, and we taught those mean old eggnappers to not steal eggs or kidnap frogs,” Pinkie Pie added.

Norma was silent for several seconds. “I’m just going to assume that made sense in context. Anyway, I finished reviewing the breeding center’s inventory and I discovered something about that particular egg. It turns out the egg you have isn’t in our usual records for either out nursery or our restocking program.”

“Hmmm, interesting…” Pinkie Pie mused as she nodded her head. “I have no idea what any of that means.”

“It means that egg doesn’t have a set home to go to once it hatches,” Norma replied. “Typically, in cases like this I’d either hatch the egg and try to introduce it into the wild once it’s old enough on hand the egg over to a trainer so they can hatch and raise it themselves.”

Fluttershy tightened her grip on the egg case as a look of excitement crossed her face. “In that case, do you think that it would be alright if I took care of the egg?”

“Yeah, Fluttershy should totally take care of it, she’d be a great egg mommy!” Pinkie Pie declared as Fluttershy blushed slightly.

“To be honest, I was hoping you’d volunteer for the job,” Norma said. “You seem like you’d be the type who’d do a good job raising a baby Pokémon, plus it means that I’ve got one less thing to deal with on my end.”

“Oh thank you! I promise I’ll take good care of it and give it all the love and care and support it will ever need,” Fluttershy said happily.

“I know you will, kid. Frankly I’m just glad the egg’s going to have a good home. Anyway, I need to get going. I thought I heard someone and I should probably check to make sure everything’s alright.” With that the screen went dark.

“I can’t wait to meet the new baby Pokémon,” Pinkie Pie said with a high-pitched giggle. “I be it’ll be all cute and cuddly and adorable…unless it’s one of those hard bitey Pokémon in which case maybe I’d have to hold off on the cuddles. What kind of Pokémon do you think it is?”

“Who knows? It’s almost impossible to tell what a species a Pokémon egg is before it hatches,” Derek replied. “We’ll just have to wait for Fluttershy to hatch it. In the meantime, we should probably start thinking about where we want to head next. My suggestion would be Aquarius City.”

“Actually, I kind of want to see more of the town before we leave,” Fluttershy said. “Swamps are really full of life and I’m really curious to see what sort of Pokémon live here now that we don’t need to worry about getting the egg back home.

“If you really want to then I won’t stop you, but I think I’ll just rest here in the Pokémon Center until you get back,” Derek said as he got up. “In the meantime, I’ll get our rooms settled so they’ll be ready when you get back.”

While Derek headed over to speak with Nurse Joy about their rooms Pinkie Pie followed Fluttershy out the door. “Is it just me, or does he really seem to not like this place? I mean, to be fair, this town does seem a little, you know, bleugh, but I feel like there’s something more than that.” Seeing Fluttershy simply shrug and shake her head in response Pinkie Pie continued to chatter. “So, what did you want to do first? Check out some of those creepy, abandoned houses, see if there are any Pokémon hiding in the mud under the town – Ooh! Do you think this town has a bakery?”

“To be honest, the place I really wanted to visit was the town’s gym,” Fluttershy replied. “Not to battle in it, of course, but after spending some time with Norma in her gym I think that gyms might really be the best places for me to learn more about Pokémon. Looking back, I really wish I hadn’t let myself get scared off from the gym in that first city.”

“It did seem kind of explodier than Norma’s gym, though. Anyway, are you sure you’d be alright with going to the gym here? After all, gyms are kinda where trainers go to battle, so even if you’re not battling there’s probably going to be battling going on somewhere in there,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I think I should be fine,” Fluttershy replied. “I still don’t totally understand why Pokémon are so fond of fighting with each other, but at least now I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s their decision. Besides, I’m not going to get involved in the actually battling myself, I’m just going so I can learn more about the Pokémon there.”

“Well, if you think that you’ll be alright then I don’t see any way that this could possibly go horribly wrong,” Pinkie Pie replied.

*********

While the Belladonna Town Gym was certainly a large structure, it lacked the grandiosity of the gyms that Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had seen previously. The building itself looked more like a warehouse than a proper gym, and were it not for the grimy sign on the front neither Fluttershy nor Pinkie Pie would have even guessed it was a gym at all.

“To be honest, even with that sign I’m not so sure this place is a gym,” Pinkie Pie said as she looked up at the building’s weathered façade.

“Well, this is the only building I can see that might be the gym at all, and I don’t really see anyone that we could ask,” Fluttershy replied. “And besides, isn’t it important to not judge things based on appearances? There might be a perfectly good reason the gym looks like this,” Fluttershy added as she pushed the wooded doors open, only to blanche at the scene before her.

The entranceway of the gym was a shocking mess, with trash heaped in huge piles everywhere and assorted bits of junk sitting on the patched and stained furniture. Lying snoring on what was probably a desk under the mountains of takeout containers was a short, fat, bald man wearing a well-worn black leather jacket.

“Yeesh, and Rarity says I can be messy,” Pinkie Pie said as she and Fluttershy gingerly picked their way into the room.

“Even Zephyr Breeze keeps his home cleaner than this. Not that much cleaner, but still,” Fluttershy added disapprovingly. Suddenly, what Fluttershy had assumed was one of the bags of trash shuddered and turned to stare up at her expectantly.

“Trubbish?”

Several seconds passed as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stared blankly at the Trubbish before Pinkie Pie finally broke the silence. “Um, Fluttershy, did that trash bag just say something?”

“I think it’s some kind of Pokémon,” Fluttershy said as she crouched down a little to bring herself to the Trubbish’s level. “Hello there, my name is Fluttershy and this is my friend Pinkie Pie.”

“Trubbish Trubbish,” the Pokémon replied cheerfully before frowning as it glanced back towards the sleeping man at the desk.

“It sounds like that Trubbish and that man over there are supposed to greet visitors to the gym, but they’re not quite as attentive as they should be because so few people come here,” Fluttershy translated as the Trubbish waddled up to the sleeping man and began insistently prodding him.

“Okay, but why all the junk everywhere?” Before Fluttershy could answer, the Trubbish snatched one of the takeout bags off the desk and stuffed it into its mouth. “Oh, that explains it. I’m going to have to remember that for the next time Limestone tells me that I eat too much garbage.”

“Huh, who eats garbage?” the man groggily muttered as he woke up before rolling out of his chair onto the floor. “I’m up, I’m up, don’t worry. So, who the heck are you two?” he asked blearily as he pulled himself to his feet and squinted at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“I’m Pinkie Pie and this is Fluttershy. What’s your name?” Pinkie Pie replied.

“You can call me Hog. So, you here to challenge the boss?” Hog asked. Now standing, it became apparent that the rotund Hog was even shorter than he had first appeared, only coming up to Pinkie’s midriff.

“We’re not her to battle anyone,” Fluttershy quickly assured Hog. “We’re just trying to learn more about Pokémon and visiting gyms seemed like a good way to start.”

“Oh, so you’re tourists. Okay then, if you want to look around the place then I’m not going to stop you,” Hog said as he waddled over to a door on the wall opposite the entrance. “Alright, the boss’ got his whole botanical garden thing through here. Stay on the walkways and try not to touch anything.”

With that, Hog pushed the door open, revealing the main interior of the gym. The bulk of the gym was revealed to be largely just a wooden shell covering a portion of the swamp with a series of wooden walkways stretching over the much throughout. Unlike the swamp outside, however, here the vegetation was a riot of different colors. “Oh wow, it’s so pretty in here,” Pinkie Pie giggled as she leaned over the railing to sniff one of the flowers, only for Fluttershy to yank her back. “Hey, what was that for?”

“You shouldn’t get too any of the plants in here. I know they look pretty, but it looks like almost everything in here is incredibly poisonous,” Fluttershy cautioned as she eyed the flowers warily.

“Aww, really? But they’re so bright and happy-looking?” Pinkie Pie said dejectedly as she looked back at the flowers.

“That’s often the…way of things in nature. The most beautiful things are inevitably the…most toxic.” Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie immediately spun around to see a tall, gaunt man dressed in a black suit standing on the walkway a dozen or so feet further into the room. “Pardon me, I didn’t mean to…frighten you. My name is…Mortimer. I’m the gym leader here,” Mortimer introduced.

“Oh, I’m Fluttershy and this is my friend Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy replied once se recovered from her momentary shock. “We were passing through your town and decided to visit your gym since we’re trying to learn more about Pokémon.”

“I see. So, does that mean that you’ve come to…challenge me?” Mortimer asked with sudden interest.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of getting involved in actually battling. I’m just here to learn as much as I can about Pokémon,” Fluttershy quickly replied.

“Very well, if that’s how you feel than it can’t…be helped. Here, why don’t I…give you a tour of our gym?” Mortimer said. As Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie nodded eagerly Mortimer proceeded to take then on a leisurely stroll across the walkways while pointing out the various flora growing inside. While Fluttershy found the experience to be immensely fascinating, Pinkie Pie found herself increasingly unnerved by Mortimer’s glowing descriptions of how each plant was horribly toxic in its own special way.

“Wow, I had no idea that mushrooms could do that to your organs,” Pinkie Pie said nervously as Mortimer finished detailing the effects of eating what looked to be perfectly innocent greenish-brown mushrooms.

“Oh yes, and the true irony is that they are supposedly quite…delicious. Poison-type Pokémon are certainly rather fond of them, at least. Though they do have the…advantage of not being susceptible to the mushroom’s toxins.” Mortimer said.

“I wonder if Poison Pokémon like the mushrooms because they’re toxic,” Fluttershy mused. “Many poisonous animals become that way because they eat plants that are poisonous. They then store the poisons inside their bodies to protect themselves from predators.” As Fluttershy continued to regard the mushrooms a familiar-looking bipedal frog-like Pokémon poked its head out from behind a tree before darting over to the mushrooms and popping one into its mouth. “Oh my, a Croagunk!”

“Why yes, we have quite a…population of them here in the swamp,” Mortimer said.

Fluttershy nodded her head. “I know, we ran into a colony of them that had been getting up to some mischief on the way here. One of them even decided that he wanted to come with me. Come on out, Croagunk,” Fluttershy called out as she pulled out her Croagunk’s Poké Ball.

As Fluttershy’s Croagunk popped out in a flash of light, Mortimer looked at it critically. “So, that’s your…Croagunk. I have to say, it’s not an especially…impressive specimen.” Mortimer finally said with a faint sneer.

“Excuse me?” Fluttershy replied. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

“It’s something of a…scrawny example of the species. Clearly not one that would be well suited to battling. All things considered, though its likely for…the best. A Croagunk requires a trainer with a proper…understanding of battling in order to reach its full potential. A trainer such as yourself, on the other hand, will generally be better…suited to Pokémon with a more docile temperament.”

“I’ll have you know that I am more than capable of handling a Pokémon like Croagunk!” Fluttershy snapped back angrily, while her Croagunk growled irritably at Mortimer. “Just because I prefer not to get involved with making Pokémon battle each other doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with my ability to raise Pokémon.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Pinkie Pie added. “Fluttershy is a great Pokémon trainer.”

“Really,” Mortimer said with a sneer. “Tell me then, precisely how many…badges have you managed to acquire thus far?”

“Well, I’ve never actually challenged a gym before, so I don’t have any badges,” Fluttershy admitted. “But, even so, I –”

“The fact that you’ve yet to challenge a gym speaks far…louder than anything you could possibly say. If you were the…sort of trainer who could properly bring out Croagunk’s full potential than you would have undoubtedly acquired at least one badge by now. It’s nothing to be…ashamed of, though. Not every trainer has the necessary skills and…drive to properly train an aggressive Pokémon like a Croagunk.”

Fluttershy’s face at this point had turned a bright crimson red. “You really think that they only for a trainer to raise Pokémon is to make them battle each other?” Fluttershy asked incredulously.

“Make them? Take a good…look at your Croagunk. Even as inadequate specimen as it is, it’s already…prepared to battle without any prompting on your part. It would almost certainly be better served by a…trainer properly equipped to direct it,” Mortimer said.

Glancing down at her Croagunk, Fluttershy could see that it indeed it was straining to keep itself from assaulting Mortimer over the insults being lobbed at it and its trainer. “Okay then, maybe you’re right about one thing. I still don’t totally understand it, but it’s clear that battling is something that’s very important to my Pokémon and I’m going to have to get used to that idea. And maybe I’m not the best at battling because I don’t like seeming Pokémon hurt each other. But none of that means that I’m not just as good, no, that I’m not a better trainer than you!”

“Would you care to…prove that assertion?” Mortimer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Croagunk! Croa-Croagunk!” Fluttershy’s Croagunk snarled as it hopped angrily in place.

“He said we most certainly would,” Fluttershy translated, though she left some of the more colorful aspects of her Croagunk’s phrasing. After taking a moment to clear her throat and straighten herself out a bit, Fluttershy looked Mortimer directly in the eye. “Mister Mortimer, my Pokémon and I would like to challenge your gym.”

“Splendid. If you could…follow me, I’ll show you to our gym’s field,” Mortimer said with a grin that reminded Fluttershy of a cat that had just cornered a mouse. “Hog! Get out here, we have a challenge for you to referee!”

As Mortimer proceeded to lead Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie deeper into the gym, Pinkie Pie pulled Fluttershy aside. “Hey, are you sure you really want to do this?” Pinkie Pie asked in a loud whisper. “This guy really doesn’t seem very nice, so you shouldn’t let him talk you into battling him if you don’t want to.”

“I may not want to battle him, but my Pokémon do,” Fluttershy replied. “I may not understand why battling is so important to Pokémon, but I do understand that is important to them. Besides, maybe showing this gym leader that not wanting to see Pokémon hurt each other doesn’t mean you’re not a good trainer will help him become a better person.”

It didn’t take long for the group to reach their destination. The field of the Belladonna Town Gym, as it turned out, was essentially a field-sized patch of swamp that had been largely cleared aside from a few muck-covered logs and rotting stumps. “Here we are,” Mortimer said as he took his place at the far end of the field. “We should be…able to begin shortly. All we need now is our referee.”

Even as Mortimer spoke, Hog could be heard running up the walkways towards the field. Upon arriving, Hog fell to his hand and knees, huffing and puffing as he struggled to catch his breath. “Don’t worry, I’m here,” Hog managed to wheeze out. “Sorry, I didn’t think we were gonna have a challenge today.”

“Yes, well, one of our guests has…changed her mind regarding that,” Mortimer said as he watched Fluttershy take her position. “Are you ready, miss?”

“I am,” Fluttershy replied firmly as she dug deep to bring out her inner Rainbow Dash.

“Excellent. We will each be using two Pokémon. So, to begin, go Oddish!” With a flick of his wrist, Mortimer sent a Poké Ball spinning into the field, which split open to unleash what looked like a blue-green ball with tall green leaves sticking out the top of its head.

As Fluttershy looked at the odd-looking creature, Croagunk let out a load croak and puffed its cheeks out. “Oh? That’s very good to know, Croagunk, thank you. I think I’ll send out Quilava, then,” Fluttershy said as she lobbed her own Poké Ball into the swamp. “Alright then, Quilava, I want you to use your Ember, and be careful of any powders that come from that Oddish’s leaves.” Snarling at its adversary, Quilava lowered its head and tensed up, causing the vents atop its head to dramatically flare up. A cloud of burning cinders billowed out from the conflagration, enveloping Oddish completely. Moments later, the badly scorched Grass-type leapt out of the cloud and began rushing about the field in a blind panic.

“Oddish! Calm down. Use. The mud.” Mortimer commanded, his odd, halting dialect becoming far more clipped. His Oddish had no trouble understanding what Mortimer meant, however, as it dove into the much to cool its burns. “Good. Next. Poison Powder.”

Fluttershy gripped the railing in front of her as she watched Oddish’s leaves pop back up from the mud and start to shake. Thankfully, her Croagunk had already warned her about Oddish and its ability to emit dangerous spores from its leaves and she had a counter already planned. “Quilava, stay back and try to use your Ember to blow away that power before it makes you sick!” Quilava issued a grunt of acknowledgement before firing off another cloud of cinders. The attack consumed much of Oddish’s Poison Powder when the two clouds collided and several stray bits of burning ash struck Oddish’s exposed leaves. The poisonous cloud wasn’t completely stopped, however, with one errant portion managing to strike Quilava squarely in the face.

“Oddish! Prepare. To use…Oddish?” Mortimer paused mid-order as he noticed Oddish’s leaves wilting from the scorch marks left by Quilava’s second attack. “Hog, could you provide an…assessment of my Oddish, please?”

“Sure thing, boss,” Hog said as he heaved himself over the railing, making an audible squelching sound as he landed in the mud. Waddling over to the Oddish, Hog unceremoniously plucked it out from the ground and briefly glanced at it before shaking his head. “Nope, Oddish is unable to battle.”

“Ah well,” Mortimer said with a shrug of his shoulders as he recalled Oddish to its ball. “It was at a clear…disadvantage, yet it still performed its role admirably.”

Fluttershy was at first a bit confused by what Mortimer meant until she took a closer look at Quilava. The color in Quilava’s face had drained considerably and it was breathing heavily. “Oh no, you must have breathed in some of that powder after all. Here, let’s get you back in your ball to rest.”

Mortimer let out an evil chuckle as she watched Fluttershy recall Quilava. “Pulling it out already? I’m a little disappointed, it could…easily have lasted a bit longer. I suppose doing so was the…caring thing to do, but I’ve never insinuated that not caring enough was your shortcoming.”

Ignoring Mortimer’s jibes, Fluttershy looked down at her Croagunk, who was staring daggers at the opposing trainer. “Croagunk, are you ready?” Fluttershy asked. In response, Croagunk leapt into the filed, making a three-point landing into the mud.

“So, now we’ll be able to see the true…limits of your Croagunk’s abilities,” Mortimer said as he pulled out his next Poké Ball. “Yes, now you’ll face a far more…advantaged opponent.” As Fluttershy tried to puzzle out what Mortimer was talking about, the Poké Ball he was holding split open, sending a bright, white light arcing down into the mud. For the first few moments, nothing happened. Then, an eerie, faintly purple mist began to seep up from the muck, coating the ground in a thin layer of fog.

“I don’t get it, where’s his Pokémon?” Pinkie Pie asked while learning halfway over the railing to get a better look. “And where’s all that fog coming from? Oh, is the fog his Pokémon? A Foggy-mon?”

“You’re not far off, kid. Watch,” Hog said, having somehow pulled himself back off the field. Sure enough, as he spoke the roiling mists began to coalesce on Mortimer’s side of the field, rising into the air and condensing into a dark sphere.

“Gastly!” Without warning, the ball of gas suddenly developed a pair of eyes and a fanged mouth and promptly began making faces at Croagunk.

“That’s his Pokémon?” Pinkie Pie asked in surprise. “But it just looks like a big ball of cloud with a funny face. That’s not scary, that’s just silly.”

“Ah, you wouldn’t be the first to…underestimate what my Gastly is capable of. Permit me to…demonstrate,” Mortimer said before straightening up. “Gastly! Hypnosis!” Letting out an evil laugh, Gastly’s eyes turned a shimmering red and began to put rippling waves of energy towards Croagunk.

Fluttershy watched with concern as Croagunk teetered unsteadily on its feet as the waves of hypnotic energy washed over it. “Croagunk, don’t give in! You’re stronger than whatever that ball of gas is trying to do to you.” Hearing Fluttershy’s voice, Croagunk paused for a moment before suddenly slapping itself across the face. Doing so seemed to snap it out of the spell Gastly had been trying to put it under, leaving Croagunk to glare angrily at its opponent.

“Your Croagunk is…better trained than I had expected,” Mortimer observed. “But it –”

“That’s enough!” Fluttershy yelled. “You know, I think I’ve finally figured you out; you’re just a bully. I’ve had to deal with lots of bullies over the years, and I’ve learned quite a few things about them. For example, most bullies are mean because they’re scared of being made fun of themselves. Like this, Croagunk, use your Taunt attack.” Grinning wickedly, Croagunk proceeded to puff out its cheeks and wiggle its tongue at Gastly while hopping from one foot to the other.

The display had an immediate effect on Gastly, leaving the gaseous Pokémon visibly shaking with rage. Mortimer, meanwhile, was facing little better, a situation not helped by the fact that Croagunk’s antics had left Pinkie Pie doubled over in helpless laughter. “Gastly,” Mortimer said with an air of righteous indignation. “It. Is time. Full power.” As Mortimer spoke, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, the Z-ring on his arm already glowing with malign energy.

“Oh sassafras,” Pinkie Pie gulped as she watched Mortimer start to lurch about, his long-limbs giving him the appearance of a looming spider. “Fluttershy, look out, he’s about to do his super Z-thingy!”

Pinkie Pie’s warning came too late, however, as even as she spoke Mortimer finished the last movements of his attack. “Gastly! Acid Downpour!” As the streams of light emitting from Mortimer’s Z-ring merged with the corona surrounding Gastly, the gas Pokémon opened its mount and sent a deluge of purple vapor cascading down onto the field. The vapor quickly merged with the mud of the field, turning it into an unnatural-looking violet morass. A fraction of a second later an unseen force violently pulled Croagunk into the caustic mire leaving no trace behind. Several agonizing seconds ticked by before Croagunk pulled itself back to the surface appearing burned and battered but still able to fight.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief as she watched Croagunk crawl out form the muck, scarcely realizing she had been holding her breath the entire time. “You had me scared for a moment there, Croagunk. Now, why don’t we finish this. Croagunk, use Astonish!” As Croagunk leapt back into the mud, which had returned to its normal appearance, Fluttershy turned her focus back to Mortimer. “Do you want to know another thing all bullies have in common? They’re cowards.”

“I’ve heard…enough!” Mortimer hissed angrily. “Gastly! Clear Smog!” Gastly drew in a deep breath to make its next attack, but before it could strike, Croagunk burst out from the swamp right next to it, waving its arms and shaking its head. Unprepared for this display, Gastly winced, causing wisps of white smoke to trail out from the corners of its mouth.

“That’s just how it is with bullies. You might act tough, but once someone stands up to you then you’ve got no choice but to run away. And that’s why…Croagunk, use Pursuit!” Wasting no time, Croagunk bounced back into the air about Gastly and delivered a powerful blow to the top of its head with enough force to send Gastly plummeting to the ground.

“Welp, that’s it,” Hog said after taking a moment to see if Gastly could pull itself back off the ground. “Gastly’s unable to battle. And that means the challenger, Fluttershy, is the winner!”

“Woo!” Pinkie Pie promptly cheered and performed her ‘my friend just won her first gym battle’ dance. “Oh yeah, go Fluttershy, you won the battle, uh huh.”

As Pinkie Pie continued her celebratory dancing, the sound of someone clapping suddenly started to echo out. “An impressive display, as I had…suspected,” Mortimer said as he continued to applaud. “It seems you merely needed the…correct motivation to display your ability as a trainer.”

Fluttershy stared at Mortimer as the meaning of what he was saying sunk in. “Are you saying that you said all those mean things to me just to make to battle you? Why would you do something like that?”

“It is quite…simple, really. I am a gym leader. My purpose, at its core, is to test and, when necessary, to…motivate trainers so they can achieve their full potential,” Mortimer said. “In your case, it was clear that you needed a…push before you would actually try to achieve your full potential.”

“And because of that you went out of your way to insult me and my Croagunk?” Fluttershy asked indignantly.

“You have to admit, it does seem like a really not-nice way to do things,” Pinkie Pie observed.

“Yet it worked beautifully,” Mortimer countered. “She would not have…attempted the challenge without being made to feel as though she had to.”

“While that may be true, that doesn’t make what you did any less wrong,” Fluttershy admonished. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my Pokémon back to the Pokémon Center so they can be properly treated.” With a final huff of indignation, Fluttershy spun around and marched towards the exit of the gym, Pinkie Pie rushing after her.

*********

“-so then we came straight back her so Fluttershy could have Nurse Joy take care of her Pokémon,” Pinkie Pie said as she finished recounting her and Fluttershy’s experiences at the gym.

“Yeah, that all sounds like something Mortimer would pull,” Derek grumbled as he leaned back in his seat. “Frankly that guy’s such a miserable jerk I wouldn’t be surprised if that whole ‘I was just testing you’ thing was just his way of saving face. This is part of the reason why I usually try to avoid this place if I can help it.”

“What’s the other reason?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“There’s no place to eat around here ever since Big Jim’s Gumbo Shack closed,” Derek mournfully replied.

Before Pinkie Pie could asked any questions about the now vanished culinary institution, Fluttershy came walking back from the nurse’s station. “Good news, Nurse Joy said she’ll be able to have Quilava and Croagunk back to perfect health in no time. So, what should we do once they’re ready?”

“That’s up to you two, really,” Derek replied. “I’m guessing you’re both just about done with this place.”

Fluttershy quickly nodded her head. “I’d say I’ve about had enough of the swamp for a while.”

“Well, look on the bright side, at least you got a badge and Z-crystal out of the whole mess,” Derek said as he leaned back in his seat, only to notice the suddenly distressed expression on Pinkie Pie’s face.

“Oh no, Fluttershy, you left so suddenly you forgot to get your badge,” Pinkie Pie said.

“It’s alright, I wouldn’t really worry about it. I’m not planning on doing any more gym battling and I don’t need a badge to remind me that I won,” Fluttershy said. “The important part to me is that its all over and neither of my Pokémon were seriously hurt.”

Just then, however, the door to the Pokémon Center burst oven as a visibly out of breath Hog staggered inside. “Hey, has anybody…seen a girl…named Fluttershy?” Hog gasped out before falling to his knees. “Oh jeez, I really need to act in shape.”

“Mister Hog, what are you doing here?” Fluttershy asked as she moved over to the rotund lieutenant.

“Oh good, you’re still here,” Hog said as he fished a small box out from his jacket. “You ran off so quickly the boss didn’t have a chance to give you this.”

Fluttershy took the box and opened it to reveal a small pin resembling a purple, five-petaled flower and a violet crystal. “I appreciate that you went to the trouble of getting to me, but I’m not sure it was really necessary.” Even as Fluttershy spoke, however, her expression slowly changed. “Although, that battle was never really for my sake to begin with. My Pokémon were the ones who did the actual battling and I only made that challenge for their sake in the first place. When you think about it, this badge is really more theirs than it is mine.”

“Sure…whatever you say,” Hog replied after giving Fluttershy a blank stare. “Anyway, I just came here to give you that, so I’m gonna head back to the gym.” Just as Hog reached the door, however, he paused. “You know, you really did a number on the boss. You’d probably make one heck of a trainer if you ever went all in on it. That’s just my two cents, though. See ya.”

Several moments passed before Derek spoke up. “For what its worth, I feel the same way. About the whole ‘you having what it takes to be a great trainer’ thing, I mean.”

“That’s nice and all, but I still don’t think that sort of thing is for me. Even if the Pokémon do enjoy it, I just don’t like seeing Pokémon hurt each other.” Fluttershy said.

“The thing is that’s exactly why have so much potential. The sort of trainers who get off on seeing Pokémon hurt each other are never going to have the bond with their Pokémon necessary to be a really great trainer.”

Fluttershy pondered this for a moment before smiling and shaking her head as she put away the box containing her badge and crystal. “That’s something we can worry about another time. For right now, I think we should focus on where we should go next. Why don’t you tell us a little bit more about this ‘Aquarius City’.”

Interludes I: Family Matters

“I truly wish one of your other students could have been transported here, perhaps the one Twilight met in the other human world,” Princess Luna said as she and Princess Celestia made their way to the conference room that had been set aside for their use.

“Sunset Shimmer was a skilled pupil, but in this situation, I doubt that she’d be able to do much more than Twilight,” Celestia replied. “What we need right now is somepony who understands the devices of this world and how they work.”

“A fair point, sister, I just wish that the somepony in question was a bit less…” As Princess Luna pushed open the door to the room the princesses were greeted with the sight of a blue-haired man in a lab coat spinning around in a chair until it toppled over. “…eccentric.”

“Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! I was just…testing the gyroscopic mechanical potential of this chair. All very scientific and necessary, I assure you.”

“Ook,” a purple and white orangutan-like creature grunted from its seat on the other side of the room.

“Oh you be quiet, mister ‘high and mighty because he has psychic powers in this universe’!” the man said before turning back to the princesses. “I assure you, my assistant is just grumpy because he can’t get proper bananas in this universe.”

“Professor Boffinspark, please focus,” Princess Celestia said calmly, in the tone of somepony who’s had to say something similar many, many times before. “Now, what can you tell us about what has happened?”

“Ah, yes, of course. Now, thanks to this island’s peculiar way of processing visitors I’ve been able to determine that the transdimensional wave seems to have pulled in the entire population of Ponyville, along with a number of other ponies with strong emotional connections to the element bearers. What I haven’t been able to figure out is just what caused the wave in the first place.”

“We’ve already been informed as to the root cause of the problem,” Princess Celestia quickly said. “What we need to know now is how we can contact those ponies who were brought here.”

“Well, that should be relatively simple once I’m able to access the island’s communication infrastructure. I’m still unraveling the ins and outs of the system, but we should be able to reach out to everypony through those red devices the island issues out to visitors. In the meantime, I’ve been able to at least track where everypony’s been going. Igor, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“Ook.” With a grunt of acknowledgement, the orangutan-like Pokémon’s eyes lit up with an unearthly glow as the lights of the room dimmed and a device on the conference table projected a holographic map of the island, the lower half of which was covered in twinkling lights.

“Show off,” Boffinspark grumbled before turning his attention to the map. “The lights you see on this map represent the ponies who were transferred here. As you can see, the majority, about two thirds or so, have elected to remain in Mercury City where they were dropped off.”

“And the others?” Princess Luna asked pointedly.

“The rest appear to have spread out all over the island. From what I’ve been able to deduce it seems a number of ponies have elected to take part in this world’s Pokémon fighting customs. I’ve actually considered looking into it myself,” Boffinspark added before ducking to narrowly avoid being hit in the head by a piece of fruit. “However, my assistant has expressed some reservations regarding the idea.”

Princess Celestia, however, wasn’t paying any attention to her former student’s antics. Instead, her entire focus was on the map in front of her as she wondered how her subjects were coping in this strange new world.

*********

“Torchic, you’ve got this! Now finish it off with another Ember!” Scootaloo’s Torchic chirped its acknowledgement as it leapt into the air and sprayed a cloud of cinders at its opponent. The floating, sword-like Pokémon was caught completely off guard and took the full brunt of the attack, its singed form clattering to the cement floor of the arena.

“Honedge is unable to battle. Therefore, the winner is the challenger, Scootaloo!” The referee’s pronouncement prompted cheers from the handful of observers in the stands above the Mercury City gym’s arena, with two girls in particular cheering louder than anyone.

“All right Scootaloo! That’s the way to get it done!” Apple Bloom cried out.

“Yeah, go Scootaloo! Woo woo woo!” Sweetie Belle added.

As Scootaloo basked in the cheers of her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, Ferris recalled his Honedge and walked over to address his victorious challenger. “That was an impressive battle, you’ve definitely got some serious potential as a trainer. And, for winning this challenge you’ve earned yourself the Alloy badge and a piece of Steelium-Z. So, any thoughts on what you’re going to do next?”

“Well, my friends and I were planning on heading up to someplace called Keystone City so Apple Bloom can get her first badge too. In the meantime, I need to start training so I’m ready for my next challenge.” As Ferris nodded sagely at this plan the doors to the field burst open as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle rushed inside.

“That was amazing, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle gushed. “You and Torchic make an incredible team!”

“Ah’ll say, Ah just hope Treecko and Ah do half as well when we get to this Keystone City place,” Apple Bloom added.

“Come on, Apple Bloom, you’re gonna do great. Besides, I’d have never have done this well if you and Sweetie Belle hadn’t helped me train, so now it’s my turn to help you,” Scootaloo said.

“That’s right, and as long as we keep helping each other we’ll be able to handle anything,” Sweetie Belle added prompting the three girls to perform a three-way high-five.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders Pokémon Trainers! Yay!”

Not long afterwards, the Cutie Mark Crusaders could be found celebrating Scootaloo’s victory at the Pokémon Center as the waited for Scootaloo’s Pokémon to recover.

“So, Ah was just thinkin’, what do ya’ll think our sisters are doin’ right now? Ah mean, Ah gotta think they’re all here too since it seems like everypony else is,” Apple Bloom said.

“They’re probably trying to figure out how to get everypony home,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Well, if that’s the case I kinda hope they take their time with the whole ‘saving Equestria’ thing this time. This is definitely more fun than the stuff they usually have to save us from.” Scootaloo suddenly looked up as a though occurred to her. “Hey, do you think they’re getting involved with all this gym battling stuff too?”

“I don’t know, I can’t really see Rarity wanting to do it,” Sweetie Belle said. “She’d probably say it’s uncouth or something.”

“Fluttershy probably wouldn’t be all that interested in all this battlin’ business either. Ah can kind of see Applejack bein’ interested in it, though,” Apple Bloom concluded.

“And Rainbow Dash will definitely want in on it,” Scootaloo added. “I wonder if anypony else we know is going to try these gym battles?”

*********

“Look, if you want to try your hoof at taking on one of these gyms then you go right ahead. I’m just saying that, personally, I really don’t see the appeal,” Shining Armor said as he leaned back on the picnic blanket he and Cadance had set out.

“I know it seems strange, but according to everyone I’ve spoken to these Pokémon seem to actually enjoy battling each other. Also, you have to admit it does look exciting,” Cadance said as she watched Flurry Heart roll about in the grass. Nearby, the two Pokémon, Eevees according to Cadance’s Pokédex, that had been given to Cadance and Shining Armor when they first arrived on the strange island watched over the gleeful toddler.

“Honestly, I think I’m going to leave the excitement to you and Twily. I’m just going to treat this whole thing as a vacation and relax.” To accentuate his point, Shining Armor put his hands behind his head and laid down on his back. Shining Armor’s efforts at relaxation were somewhat hampered, however, as Flurry Heart promptly took the opportunity to crawl up to her father and climb up onto his chest.

“I have to say you’re taking all of this rather well. You’re not even a little worried about what might have caused all of this?” Cadance asked.

“I could ask you the same question,” Shining Armor replied with a grin. “Personally, with all the times Equestria’s been in horrible peril it’s a little refreshing to have some magical disaster that’s this peaceful. Besides, you had been saying how you wanted to try and find some nice, stimulating activities for Flurry Heart that we could all enjoy as a family. I’d say this qualifies.” Flurry Heart accentuated Shining Armor’s point by bursting into a fit of giggles as she rolled back off his chest and toddled over to play with the Eevees again.

“You do make a good point,” Cadance conceded. “Do you find it concerning that we’ve gotten so used to this sort of thing that we’re just not phased by any of it anymore?”

Shining Armor chuckled at his wife’s question. “Cadance, honey, have you forgotten what life with Twily was like even before she went to Ponyville? Like the time mom and dad got her a potions kit for her birthday and she managed to practically turn our backyard into a jungle? Or the time Princess Celestia showed her how weather magic works and Twily decided to practice at home and somehow succeeded in summoning a blizzard in our dining room? Believe me, I got used to magical weirdness a long time ago, and at least this time nopony’s been kidnapped or is trying to take over Equestria.”

For a few moments it looked as though Cadance was trying to think of a counterargument to Shining Armor’s point before she finally just shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to her husband. “So, what do you think caused all of this anyway?”

“Discord,” Shining Armor said immediately. “Whatever this is, I guarantee you his mismatched claw things are behind this somehow.”

“That seems a little harsh,” Cadance said.

“He deserves it. Honestly, I don’t get what Twilight’s friend Fluttershy sees in that jerk. Discord has got to be the single most annoying, obnoxious creature anypony has ever been forced to deal with.”

*********

“Hey! We’re packing up, so move your lazy, useless flank and get up!” Limestone Pie roared as she stood over one of her new traveling companions.

“Take it easy, it’s way too early to think about getting up,” came the laconic reply from the sleeping bag. “Ponies just don’t appreciate how important sleep really is, you know? But, I’ll tell you what, you get breakfast started and I’ll get up when its ready. In the meantime, this breeze needs his Zs.”

Limestone looked down at Zephyr Breeze for several moments as she digested what he had just said before wordlessly grabbing the bottom of his sleeping bag, lifting it into the air, and shaking it until he finally rolled out onto the ground. “Now, get your stuff together or we’re leaving you behind.” As Limestone causally tossed the sleeping bag onto the protesting Zephyr Breeze she wandered over to where her other companion was finishing the chore of packing up their campsite.

“He up?” Big Macintosh asked without looking up from his current task of shoveling dirt onto the ashes of their campfire.

“Well he’s out of his sleeping bag, anyway,” Limestone replied with an evil chuckle before resuming watching Big Macintosh work. After a minute or so she let out a disappointed sigh. It was inevitable, the good stallions were always taken. Or potentially related to her.

“You didn’t need to dump me on the ground like that!” The sound of Zephyr Breeze’s whining as he approached quickly snapped Limestone back to the situation at hand.

“Maybe next time you’ll get up when I tell you to,” Limestone fired back. “You act like you don’t even don’t even care that your sister is out there somewhere.”

“Right, the sister who’s saved Equestria literally a half-dozen times, who’s special talent is dealing with animals, in a world who’s whole thing is superpowered animals,” Zephyr Breeze replied. “Yeah, I’m not exactly worried. If anything, Flutterbutter’s probably going to be running this place before too long. To be honest I’m more interested in finding Rainbow Dash, gonna play the rescuing hero angle, you know?”

Limestone Pie gagged as she silently thanked Celestia that Zephyr Breeze was too focused on Rainbow Dash to consider trying to pursue her. “Look, I don’t really care why you’ve decided to follow us, but the two of us actually do care about finding our sisters, so if you’re going to keep getting in our way…”

“Alright, alright, fine, if it’ll calm you down, I’ll try the whole ‘early to bed early to rise’ deal,” Zephyr Breeze quickly said in an effort to stave off Limestone’s wrath. “But, you do know your sisters’ are in on the saving Equestria gig too, right? I’m pretty sure they’re going to be fine.”

“Applejack isn’t the one Ah’m worried about,” Big Macintosh replied simply as he hoisted up his backpack, having finished getting everything together while Zephyr and Limestone were bickering.

“That’s right, you’ve got Apple Bloom to worry about too, don’t you?” Limestone said. “Well, that’s just one more reason to get moving before our sister’s run into Celestia knows what.”

*********

“And these creatures will obey our every order without question?” King Sombra asked as he admitted the jet-black Poké Ball in his hand.

“Yes. One of the few good things about the ridiculous dimension Discord has sheltered the ponies in is that these Pokémon are highly obedient and loyal to their masters,” the deep, gravely voice echoed out from an orb suspended midair about the floor of the cavern Sombra and Chrysalis stood in, resembling a giant, shadowy goat’s eye. “The problem with these creatures is they require supervision to be effective, so I still need to rely on you idiots to deal with Princess Twilight and her allies.”

“Don’t worry, with these creatures at our command, eliminating Twilight Sparkle should be no challenge at all,” Chrysalis said with a wicked grin. “And then there will be nothing to stop me from exacting my revenge on that miserable Starlight Glimmer for turning my hive against me.”

“Ugh, again with your obsession with Starlight Glimmer. So she bested you and turned your entire species against you, get over it! Maybe if you spent less time wallowing in your fixation with her and more time down anything else you wouldn’t have been living in a forrest like some insane homeless mare when Lord Grogar found you. Although, you are an insane homeless mare so I suppose it appropriate,” Sombra added with a cruel laugh.

“You’re one to talk. Tell me, how have your plans to reconquer the Crystal Empire been progressing?” Chrysalis spat back.

“Quite well, actually. So kind of you to ask. And that’s my point, I devote my time towards making plans to actually accomplish something more productive than petty vengeance against that bubblegum-colored usurper and her family,” Sombra replied.

“SILENCE! Both of you quit your incessant bickering this instant! I don’t care what you decide to do with the resources I’ve provided you as long as you complete my orders first. Seek out this Twilight Sparkle and her friends and destroy them. If you can manage to eliminate even one of them then the power they wield will be significantly dismantled if not snuffed out entirely. Any questions?”

“Um..I – nee Haw! – have one question, Lord Grogar.” Sombra and Chrysalis both turned to see a dirt brown, burro-like Pokémon step forward out of the shadows.

“What is it, Bray?” Grogar grumbled irritably.

“Well, its just that I was wondering why – nee Haw! – these two became humans when you sent them to this world but I became a Pokémon?” Bray asked in a nasally whine.

“Because it amuses me,” Grogar snapped. “Now, unless any of you actually has an intelligent question, I suggest you get moving!”

At the Mountains of Malcontents

“Ugh, how far away is this place again?” Rainbow Dash groaned as she trudged along the path behind Twilight and Spike.

“According to Terra, Drakefang Monastery was built on the tallest portion of the island’s central mountain, so our first goal is to make it to the base of the mountain itself,” Twilight replied. “Once we make it there, we’ll be able to follow a road that winds through the caves inside the mountain itself.”

“So, we need to through more caves, too?” Rainbow Dash moaned.

“Don’t worry, this won’t be anything like the caves we fell into before,” Twilight assured her. “These will be man-made tunnels that were built to permit access to the summit. They do cut through natural caverns in a few places, but as long as you stay on the main path it should be fairly easy to avoid getting lost if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“And you know this how exactly?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Terra gave Twilight a few brochures about the part of the island we’re heading to,” Spike said.

Seemingly satisfied with this explanation, Rainbow Dash quieted down for a few minutes before speaking up again. “So, how long before we get to the base of the mountain?”

“At the rate we’re going, we should make it there by around sunset tonight. I figure we can camp at the base tonight and then start heading up the mountain itself first thing in the morning.” The group walked in silence for a few more minutes before Twilight spoke up again. “Rainbow, is there something wrong? It seems like you’ve been on edge ever since we left Mesa Town.”

“I don’t know, I think that it’s just that walking through this stupid valley’s been getting to me. It almost feels as though the walls are gonna close in on me or something. Not that I’m afraid or anything,” Rainbow Dash added quickly. “It’s just that it feels really uncomfortable for some reason.”

“Hmm, that’s odd, you never had any issues with claustrophobia back in Equestria. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that you don’t have wings as a human?” Twilight mused.

Rainbow Dash grumbled something unintelligible under her breath. “Can we just hurry up and keep moving already? The sooner we get out of this valley the better.”

*********

True to Twilight’s guess, the group reached the sparse forest at the base of the mountain just as the sun started to dip below the horizon. As Spike got a campfire burning the trio settled in, all in much better spirits. “Sorry I was such a grump earlier today,” Rainbow Dash said. “I think you may be right about the whole ‘no wings’ thing. I’ve sort of gotten used to it for the most part, but it just feels wrong when I’m boxed in and know I can’t fly out.”

“That’s alright, to be honest I’m still not totally used to not being able to use magic in this form and this isn’t even the first time I’ve been a human,” Twilight said.

“Canterlot High was nice and everything, but I definitely prefer this place,” Spike added. “At least here I don’t have to worry about fleas.”

“Huh? Oh, right, ‘cause you turned into a dog when you went there,” Rainbow said after a moment’s confusion. “I forgot you told us about that. So, how come you didn’t turn into a Pokémon or something when you came here?”

“I dunno, I’ve never really understood the whole ‘multiple universes’ thing. Discord tried bringing some of that into our Ogres and Oubliettes game and it just made my head hurt,” Spike said. “You know those funhouse mirrors where they’ve got two mirrors reflecting off each other so it looks like there’s infinite ‘you’s’? Well, imagine that you’re all of those reflections at the same time, only each reflection is a different you.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash finally managed after spending several minutes staring blankly ticked by.

“Yeah, I lived through it and that’s still my reaction. Anyway, since we’ve got everything pretty much set up here, I’m going to try and see if I can find any berries before it gets too dark,” Spike said as he stood up.

“Cool, let me know if you find any more of those big yellow ones. That really bailed me out during that gym battle,” Rainbow Dash called out before turning back to Twilight. “Man, that battle was epic, and that was just for my first badge. Can you imagine what these gyms will be like once we get a few more badges?” Rainbow Dash quieted for a moment as a though occurred to her. “I wonder if Tank Jr. will do that transformation thing again?”

“From what I understand, he should eventually go through one more of those transformations into this.” Twilight said as she handed Rainbow Dash her Pokédex.

“Wait, seriously? That’s what Tank Jr. is going to grow into?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously as she looked at the image displayed on the Pokédex’s screen.

“I know, it’s –”

“Awesome! Oh man, look at those cannons coming out of his shell. I’ll bet Tank Jr. could kick all sorts of hindquarters with those!” Rainbow Dash said with obvious glee.

“Don’t you find any of this just a little strange?” Twilight asked.

“What, do you mean the whole ‘trapped in another world where I’m a hairless monkey-thing and everything revolves around having superpowered animals fight each other’? I mean, yeah, this whole place is seriously bonkers, but it’s actually a really fun kind of bonkers once you get used to it, and my whole life has been kind of nuts for years so I’m just used to it at this point,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Actually, I was just talking about how Pokémon can transform into completely new beings. Normal creatures can’t just change forms like that,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, well normal creatures don’t shoot lightning or water or fire or whatever,” Rainbow Dash countered. “Unless they’re dragons or something, anyway. Besides, what about when you changed into an alicorn? It’s kind of like that, isn’t it?”

Before an incensed Twilight could expound on the myriad ways in which her alicorn transformation was nothing like a Pokémon evolution the bushes just outside their campsite began to shake. Moments later an odd pair of individuals, a tall muscular man and a much shorter woman, both dressed in matching all-black outfits, stumbled out of the underbrush and into the light of the camp fire.

“Yarr, look what we have here, Sandy. A pair of lost souls all by their lonesome,” the man leered as she approached Twilight and Rainbow Dash, only for the woman to grab his ear and viciously yank him back.

“Would you knock that stupid marauding pirate shtick off for one minute?” Sandy snarled in frustration before addressing Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “Sorry if we startled you, my partner, King, here is a bit of a moron.” Sandy cruelly twisted King’s ear to emphasize her point. “Anyway, we still have some business up the road to take care of, so we’ll just leave you two kids be. Come on, King, let’s get going.” With that, Sandy dragged King back into the underbrush.

“Well, that was…random,” Twilight finally said after a few seconds of awkward silence passed. “What do you think that was – hey! Where are you going?”

“Duh, I’m gonna follow those two to see what those two are up to,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I mean, come on, it’s obvious those guys are up to no good. They practically had ‘evil minion’ written all over them.”

“It just looked like the letter ‘R’ to me,” Twilight said wryly.

“Hah ha, very funny. Now, are you gonna come with me or not?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I probably should to keep things from getting out of hand. But what if Spike comes back while we’re gone?” Twilight said. “He might get worried if we’ve gone off somewhere when he gets back.”

“So write him a quick note or something. Just don’t take too long, I don’t want to let those two get too far away,” Rainbow Dash said impatiently.

Twilight frowned as she quickly jotted down a note letting Spike know what was going on. “Hopefully Spike’s berry hunt is going a lot smoother than this.”

*********

The Iapapa berry. Renowned for being exceptionally juicy and quite sour, this berry is known to have potent medicinal properties.

“Nice, I bet these will really help during Twilight’s next gym battle,” Spike said as he quickly picked several of the large pear-shaped fruits. After packing several of them away in his bag, however, Spike’s curiosity got the better of him and he took a bite of one, only to immediately scrunch up his face. “Oh jeez, they weren’t kidding when they said these things were sour! How do Pokémon eat this stuff?”

In spite of this bit of minor unpleasantness, Spike had to admit that his berry hunt had yielded surprisingly bountiful results. Granted, Spike had never heard of any of the colorful fruits he had come across before, but according to his Pokédex each had its own curative properties. “It’s starting to get pretty dark, I should probably head back pretty soon.” Spike said to himself. “I’ll just check one more bunch of bushes before I quit for the night.” As Spike clambered over to the last nearby tangle of bushes that he had yet to investigate, however, a loud cry rang out through the air.

“BAGON!” This was immediately followed by the sound of something impacting the ground with an audible thump. Wasting no time, Spike immediately rushed over to investigate the source of the sound. Spike soon found himself at the edge of a nearby clearing, in the center of which lay a blue, bipedal, reptilian Pokémon sporting a series of helmet-like bony ridges on its head.

Bagon, the Rock Head Pokémon. The bony plates on this Pokémon’s head are as strong as steel, allowing it to shatter boulders by headbutting them. Bagon have been observed frequently leaping from cliffs or other high points, though the reason for this behavior is not fully understood.

“Huh, that’s kinda weird. Why would anycreature want to keep jumping off cliffs?” Spike wondered out loud.

Alerted to Spike’s presence by the sound of his voice, the Bagon leapt to its feet and took a defensive pose as it glared in Spike’s direction.

“Hey, take it easy, I don’t want to fight you anything. I just heard something crash and I was checking to see what it was,” Spike said as he cautiously walked into the clearing. Moving closer, Spike could see that the Bagon looked rather battered and the ground beneath its feet was covered in shallow indentations. “I’m gonna guess you’ve been jumping off someplace high into this clearing a lot,” Spike said, eliciting a snort from the Bagon. “Well, here, I have something that might make you feel a little better at least.” As Spike spoke, he crouched down and pulled out one of the berries he had gathered and offered it to the Bagon.

The Bagon initially held its ground, but after a moment it began sniffing at the air and slowly stumbled towards the proffered treat. Once the Bagon came within about a foot from Spike’s hand it paused before quickly snatching the fruit and greedily devouring it.

“Man, you must have really been hungry. My name’s Spike, by the way,” Spike said as he sat down next to the Bagon. As Spike sat his gaze drifted upwards, where he noticed a particularly sturdy tree branch extending out into the clearing roughly a dozen feet in the air. “So…is that branch where you were jumping from? What’s the deal with that, anyway?”

Spike’s question initially earned him a glare of annoyance from the Bagon before it let out a sigh and stood up. The Bagon then pointed to itself before stretching out its arm and pointing up at the sky. As Spike watched the Bagon closely he noticed an odd look in its eyes, a mixture of longing and wonderment.

“You want to be able to fly, don’t you?” Spike asked, to which the Bagon nodded vigorously. “Yeah, I guess I can sympathize with you wanting to fly, but wouldn’t it be kind of difficult to fly when you don’t have any wings?”

This observation seemed to anger the Bagon, who immediately began stamping its feet and insistently pointing to itself and then up to the sky.

“Hey, calm down,” Spike said as he filled through the information on Bagon in his Pokédex, hoping to find an explanation there. “Let’s see, evolutions…Shellgon. Yeesh, you’d have an even harder time getting off the ground as that than you do now. It looks like you have one more evolution after that, though – whoa.” Spike was momentarily taken aback as he looked at the image being displayed of Bagon’s final form.

Salamence, the Dragon Pokémon. This Pokémon spends the majority of its time aloft and is believed to have one of the fastest flight speeds of any known Pokémon.

“Now I get it, you can’t wait to grow up so you can fly,” Spike said, earning a nod from Bagon. “Yeah, I know how that feels.”

Before Spike had a chance to elaborate, however, the sounds of something crashing through the underbrush began echoing from the woods on the other side of the clearing. Moments later, a monstrous red and blue, draconic Pokémon covered in jagged scales and spines lumbered out of the forest and into the open. Letting out a yelp of surprise, Spike quickly backed away as the Pokémon headed straight for the Bagon, which moved to interpose itself between the two. As Spike watched, the two Pokémon appeared to argue with each other, the larger newcomer occasionally gesturing irritably at Spike.

Druddigon, the Cave Pokémon. The red hide on Druddigon’s head is harder than stone, allowing it to race through narrow caves without injury. It typically invades tunnels dug by other Pokémon in search of prey.

“Gee, sounds like a great guy,” Spike muttered before turning his attention back to the arguing Pokémon. While Spike couldn’t understand a word of what was being said, there was something about the exchange that uncomfortably reminded Spike of his past interactions with Garble. Suddenly, without any warning (at least as far as Spike could perceive) the Druddigon swiped at Bagon with its claws, knocking the smaller Pokémon to the ground. “Hey! Leave him alone!” Spike yelled as he rushed over, pulling out his Bulbasaur’s Poké Ball as he did so. “If you want to hurt him then you’re gonna have to go through us to do it!”

The Druddigon glanced back and forth between Spike, his Bulbasaur, and the Bagon for several seconds before bursting out in a fit of derisive laughter. As the Druddigon’s laughter slowly died, an evil grin formed across its features and it began menacingly approaching Spike and his Bulbasaur. Suddenly, a bright blue-white bean of energy blasted seemingly out of nowhere and struck the Druddigon in the side, sending it tumbling to the ground. Spike immediately turned to see that the Bagon had pulled itself to its feet and was staring daggers at the Druddigon.

“Holy guacamole, did you do that? Man, that was awe –” Spike didn’t even have time to finish expressing his amazement when the Druddigon rushed by him and snatched Bagon up in its jaws before slamming it back down to the ground. Spike looked on, his expression rapidly shifting from horror to cold rage, before turning down to address his Pokémon. “Bulbasaur, Leech Seed.”

With its back turned to Spike and his Bulbasaur, the Druddigon had no hope of dodging the seed that Bulbasaur launched from its bulb. The moment the seed struck the small of the Druddigon’s back, a multitude of green vines sprung forth and tightly wrapped themselves around Druddigon’s body. Enraged, the Druddigon spun around and locked eyes with Bulbasaur, its anger-contorted features seemed to twist and warp the shadows surrounding it.

“He definitely looks angry,” Spike said, the sight of the Druddigon having left his legs feeling like rubber. Moreover, a quick glance down revealed that Bulbasaur wasn’t faring much better. “Okay, pull it together. We need to figure out some way of actually beating this thing,” Spike said, as much to himself as to his Bulbasaur. Even as he spoke, however, Spike could see the Druddigon grinding its claws together as they took on a sinister glow. “Yeah, I think for starters we should keep as far away from that as possible. So, how about…Razor Leaf!” Bulbasaur immediately sprang into action as it sent a spiral of leaves spinning out from the base of its bulb towards its opponent.

Unfortunately, Bulbasaur’s attack seemed to have little effect on the Druddigon, most of the leaves just bouncing harmlessly off its thick hide. The assault did, however, succeed in further enraging the Pokémon, which charged at Bulbasaur and swiped at it with its claws.

“Oh no, Bulbasaur!” Spike wailed as he watched Bulbasaur tumble to the ground from the force of the blow. Without time to think of an actual plan, Spike proceeded to blurt out the first idea that came to mind. “Quick, try using your Tackle attack!” Pulling itself to its feet, Bulbasaur gave itself a quick shake to clear its head before launching itself forward and slamming directly into Druddigon’s midsection.

Unfortunately, it became quickly apparent that Spike had made a grave tactical error. Though it appeared winded by Bulbasaur’s attack, the Druddigon was rapidly able to recover and grab at Bulbasaur before it could get away. Worse still, the Druddigon proceeded to bite down into Bulbasaur’s shoulder while Spike looked on helplessly.

Just as it appeared all was lost the, the fire in the Druddigon’s eyes seemed to go out as it allowed Bulbasaur to drop from its jaws. Before Bulbasaur even struck the ground the Druddigon teetered unsteadily on its feet until finally collapsing unconscious to the ground. For several seconds, a dumbfounded Spike stared at the beaten Druddigon, trying to work out what had just happened until finally a pained groan from his Bulbasaur refocused his attention. “Sorry, I guess I got a little distracted there. Good thing I restocked our medicines while we were in Mesa Town, huh? Here, let me just – whoa, what’s going on with your bulb?” To Spike’s astonishment, the bulb on Bulbasaur’s back was steadily pulsing with green light. As Spike watched, the pulsing increased in speed until Bulbasaur’s form was completely engulfed in the glow. Bulbasaur’s outline then began to expand and grow until finally the flow subsided, revealing that Bulbasaur had transformed into a much larger Pokémon. Aside from its increased size, Bulbasaur’s new form looked strikingly similar to how it had looked before, with the exception of the fact that the bulb on its back had sprouted into a flower surrounded by broad leaves.

Ivysaur, the Seed Pokémon. As the bulb on its back has now sprouted, the increased weight no prevents Ivysaur from standing on its hind legs. The budding flower draws energy from sunlight as it prepares to bloom.

As Spike listened to his Pokédex read off Ivysaur’s entry, his newly evolved Pokémon collapsed to the ground, reminding Spike that he had more immediate concerns. “Hang in there, buddy, I’m coming! And, once I’m finished with you, I think I should see what I can do for Bagon, too,” Spike added as he fished a potion out of his bag.

A few minutes and a number of bottles of medicine later both Ivysaur and Bagon looked healthy as ever. “Thanks for the help back there, little guy. I don’t think we’d have been able to beat that jerk without it,” Spike said as he recalled his Ivysaur back to its Poké Ball. “Anyway, I should probably start heading back to my friend’s camp, I don’t want them to start worrying about me or anything. Take care of yourself, alright?” As Spike turned to leave, however, he felt something tug on his leg and looked down to see Bagon griping his pant leg and looking at him expectantly. “What’s the matter? You know I’ve got to get back to my friends, right?”

Still holding on to Spike’s pant leg, the Bagon began gesturing to itself and then to Spike with its free hand.

“Hold on, are you trying to say that you want to come with me? Are you sure that’s what you really want?” Spike asked.

The Bagon nodded before pointing at Spike, then at Ivysaur’s Poké Ball and then to itself with a determined expression.

“Wait, I think I get it. You saw how Ivysaur evolved, and you think that if you come with me I’ll be able to help you evolve the same way. Well, if that’s really what you want…” Spike said as he pulled out a Poké Ball.

The Bagon’s eyes lit up with delight as it jumped up and snatched the ball out of Spike’s hand before tapping the ball against its forehead. Immediately, the Bagon was engulfed in red light and pulled into the ball, which wiggled about on the ground for a few seconds before coming to rest and emitting a chime signaling a successful capture.

“Man, wait until Twilight and Rainbow Dash hear about this,” Spike said as he picked up the Poké Ball. “I bet their night hasn’t been nearly this exciting.”

*********

“I really don’t think this was a good idea,” Twilight said in a loud whisper as she and Rainbow Dash snuck through the sparse underbrush. “We don’t even know if those two are actually planning on doing anything wrong.”

“Oh come on, you have to admit that big guy was obviously a total creep and the girl didn’t seem that much better. Besides, who sneaks around at night wearing an all-black uniform? I mean, Caballeron’s goons are more subtle than that for Celestia’s sake,” Rainbow Dash said.

“They weren’t exactly being terribly sneaky,” Twilight retorted. “If anything, we’re the ones who’re sneaking around in the middle of the night.”

“Ssh!” Rainbow Dash suddenly hissed. “I think I hear something up ahead.” Crouching low, Rainbow Dash slowly slunk through the bushes towards a nearby clearing. Sure enough, as the pair moved closer, they could start to make out voices coming from up ahead.

“-don’t see why we couldn’t of pillaged those brat’s camp. It ain’t as though we’re short o’ time or anythin’.”

“Would you think things through for once in your miserable life? One, we have no idea who those two were. For all you know you were about to waltz into the Keystone Spa disaster all over again.”

“Arr, or they could’ve been an easy score while we were waitin’ fer yer supply wagon.”

“And if we could’ve taken them down without any issue than they probably didn’t have anything worth grabbing to begin with. I don’t care how bored you are, I’m not letting you blow the biggest potential score we’ve had a shot at in months for a few Rattata.”

“I think ye be overstatin’ how great yer plan is.”

“Oh really? Every month some old man takes a wagon down from that stupid monastery at the top of the mountain, loads it up with all the supplies they need for the month, and then hauls it back. That’s one old man guarding pretty much everything a gym would need for a solid month. We could resell the stuff easy, keep a portion for ourselves and still turn in the biggest score anyone’s been able to pull off on this island since we started operating here. And I am not going to risk the biggest, easiest win we could ask for just because you want to play pirate!”

As the pair finished their argument, Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight with a smug grin plastered across her face. “So, still think those two aren’t up to no good?”

“Alight, I admit you were right,” Twilight replied, keeping her voice low in an effort to avoid detection. “What we need now is a plan for how best to – Gyaah!” Before Twilight could even finish her sentence, Rainbow Dash grabbed her arm and pulled her into the clearing.

“Hold it right there! If you want to rob some old guy then you’re gonna have to get through us first!” Rainbow Dash declared angrily; her heroic entrance only slightly undercut by Twilight nearly losing her balance the moment Rainbow Dash let her go.

Sandy and King both stared blankly at the two girls before Sandy smacked her hand to her face in aggravation. “Of course, they got suspicious and followed us. You see what you did, you oversized lump? Now we have to take them down quickly or the whole plan is ruined.”

“Yarr, ye be needin’ to look on the bright side. Once we’ve keelhauled these two we’ll have some extra Pokémon to give to the boss on top of the booty from the wagon,” King replied with an evil grin as he pulled out a Poké Ball. “Corphish, get ready to battle!”

“Ugh, you’re actually enjoying this, aren’t you? Well, it’s not as though we have a choice at this point. Nidorino, go!” Sandy yelled.

“Aw yeah, time for some gold old-fashioned bad guy pounding,” Rainbow Dash said, grinning maniacally as she looked at her opponents. “Dibs on the spiky purple rabbit thing!” With a flick of her wrist, Rainbow Dash tossed out a Poké Ball, unleashing her Trapinch.

“Well, it’s not like we have much of a choice at this point,” Twilight muttered to herself. “And besides, you’re right about one thing. We can’t just stand by and do nothing while these criminals rob that wagon. Go, Charmander!”

Sandy chuckled to herself as she looked at her two opponents Pokémon. “A Trapinch and a Charmander, huh? Well, not exactly a couple of Rattata, but nothing we needed to worry about, either. We’ll be able to put you brats down with plenty of time to spare. Nidorino, show this punk why don’t mess with Team Rocket! Use Horn Attack!” Letting out a roar, the Nidorino lowered its head and charged. Trapinch was just barely able to twist out of the way enough to avoid being skewered by the attack, instead merely being knocked to the ground as the Nidorino ran past.

Rainbow Dash, however, didn’t look worried in the slightest. To the contrary, Rainbow Dash was still smiling broadly as ever as she rolled up her sleeve to reveal her Z-ring. “I gotta say, I was kinda hoping that I’d get a chance to try this out. So, get ready to see what me and Trapinch can do when we go all out!” Even as Rainbow Dash spoke she had already begun the series of movements Terra had taught her after obtaining her first badge. “Take this! Tectonic Rage!” As Rainbow Dash completed the last of her movements, slapping her hand to the ground, a torrent of golden light arced from her to her Trapinch. Almost simultaneously, the ground around her Trapinch erupted into the air as Trapinch disappeared underground. A split second later, the earth beneath Nidorino split open, causing it to plummet into the abyss below, only to be violently thrown back out moments later as Trapinch rocketed back out. The battered, twitching Nidorino landed on its back several feet away, clearly in no shape to continue battling.

“Stupid Alolan cheap trick,” Sandy growled as she was forced to recall her Nidorino. “King! I could use some help here!”

“Yarr, don’t tell me some little girl was too much fer ye,” King laughed. “Don’t ye worry, though, Corphish and I can pick up yer slack.” As King spoke, his Corphish idly brushed off a few stray cinders from its shell as it leered at Charmander. The unfortunate Fire-type hadn’t fared nearly as well as Trapinch had, Corphish’s attacks having left it soaking wet and barely able to remain standing.

“This is why I didn’t want to just rush into things like this,” Twilight said as she raised Charmander’s Poké Ball. “There’s no use complaining about it now, though. Charmander, ret –”

“Belay that order, missy! Me Corphish and I ain’t through with yer little lizard yet,” King yelled as he pulled out what vaguely looked like a t-shirt cannon of some kind and fired it at Twilight. Before Twilight could respond she found herself knocked to the ground and entangled in a net.

“Hey, you can’t do that!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily as she charged at King, only to have something grab the back of her collar and yank back, tossing her to the ground.

“What’s the matter, kid? Angry because we’re cheating?” Sandy jeered as she stood over Rainbow Dash. “Well too bad, Team Rocket doesn’t play fair so that’s what you get for poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Arr, she’s right, ye know. Ye only have yerself to blame fer what’s about to happen,” King added. “Corphish finish the job with yer Vice Grip.”

Unable to free herself form the net, Twilight watched helplessly as the Corphish advanced towards her barely conscious Charmander. “Charmander, get out of there! Run, get Spike, hurray!” Twilight desperately cried out. Charmander, however, didn’t run. Instead, something deep inside Charmander seemed to snap as it suddenly looked at Corphish with an expression of pure, murderous rage.

“Char…Man…DER!” Charmander’s jaw looked as though it practically unhinged as it expelled a massive fireball that impacted Corphish with enough force to send it flying backwards.

Both King and Sandy stared dumbstruck at the now unconscious Corphish as they tried to work out what had just happened. “Yarr, I…I not be entirely sure what just happened there,” King finally stammered as he prodded his Corphish a few times with his foot before recalling it to its Poké Ball. “I hate to say it, but it be lookin’ like the winds have just been taken out of our sails.”

“Gee, you think?” Sandy growled as she started backing away from Rainbow Dash and Twilight. From the look on Sandy’s face it was clear she had just assessed the fact that now only side had Pokémon that were still conscious and said assessment didn’t bode well for her. “You kids may have trashed our plans this time, but Team Rocket doesn’t forget so you’d better watch your backs.” It was at this point that Sandy, still walking backwards, proceeded to trip on a protruding tree root and tumble backwards to the ground.

“Arr, it looks like ye might be needin’ to take a bit of yer own advice there, Sandy,” King said as he rushed over to his partner. “But ye be right about one thing, it be about time fer us to be blastin’ off.” With that, King proceeded to scoop up Sandy under his arm and run off into the night at full speed.

“Yeah, you better run!” Rainbow Dash yelled after King as she picked herself up off the ground and went over to help Twilight disentangle herself from the net. “Man, that was some crazy move Charmander pulled at the last second there. I thought I was gonna need to bail you out but then he was all like ‘BLAM’! So, what the hay kind of attack was that, anyway?”

“I have no idea,” Twilight said as she finally managed to free herself. “Charmander’s never done anything like that before. Do you think maybe it was because of the amount of emotional stress it was under?” Once Twilight was able to stand, she hurried over to Charmander, who was breathing heavily as if it were exhausted. Before Twilight could say anything to it, however, Charmander began to glow with a brilliant white light. Just as Twilight had seen with Rainbow Dash’s Squirtle, Charmander’s silhouette began to shift and expand until the glow subsided, revealing a much larger and fiercer Pokémon. It now stood over a foot taller and had a far lankier physique overall, though the most prominent change was the addition of what looked like a short horn growing out the top of its head.

“Awesome, your Charmander managed to evolve. I guess kicking that overgrown lobster’s tail must’ve given it the boost it needed,” Rainbow Dash said as she leaned down to get a better look at Charmander’s evolved form, only to have to quickly pull back as it suddenly hissed angrily at her.

“Hey!” Twilight snapped before recalling her former Charmander to its Poké Ball. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, I don’t know what’s gotten into it.”

“Charmeleon do have a bit of reputation for being temperamental, especially right after they evolve.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash both turned to see an older gentleman with a short, grey beard step into the light. “I hope I’m not intruding, but I heard a bit of a commotion from the road and thought I’d investigate. My name is Siegfried,” he added as he held out his hand to Rainbow Dash.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rainbow Dash and over there’s Twilight Sparkle. So, what’s a ‘Charmeleon’? Is that what Twilight’s Pokémon is now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Siegfried nodded. “I’ve known quite a few trainers who’ve raised them so I’m familiar with the quirks of the breed. In any event, I’m curious, what exactly happened here that prompted it to evolve in the first place?”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash spent the next few minutes relating how they had encountered the two members of Team Rocket and how they had foiled the grunt’s plans to rob the supply wagon. “Then, after they ran off, Charmander evolved into Charmeleon and that’s when you arrived,” Twilight said.

“Well, it seems as though I owe you girls quite a bit of gratitude,” Siegfried said. “You see, it was my wagon that those two reprobates were planning on robbing. As my way of saying thanks, why don’t I give the two of you a ride up to the monastery if that’s where you’re headed.”

“Really, that would be great!” Twilight said. “Although, we do have one more friend back at our camp who we would need to bring as well, if that’s alright.”

“That shouldn’t be any issue, I’ve plenty of room,” Siegfried said. “I’ll tell you what, I’ve set up my own campsite a bit closer to the main road over in that direction. Why don’t the two of you fetch your friend and gather your things together and then come and join me. Then we’ll be able to start heading up the mountain first thing tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow Dash said, “I can’t wait to see Spike’s face when we tell him what happened while he was off picking berries. He really missed out on some serious excitement,”

“Honestly, I could probably do with a little less excitement, at least until we get to the monastery,” Twilight said. “I realize this isn’t exactly our first adventure, but between collapsing caves and fighting criminals I could use a bit of a break.”

“Relax, Twilight, now that we’ve got a ride getting to this place in the mountain should be a snap.” Rainbow Dash assured her friend. “I guarantee that there is nothing that you need to worry about.”

*********

Elsewhere, the Druddigon Spike had battled earlier in the evening finally stirred awake. At first the beast was confused as to why it was lying in the middle of the forest covered in dead vines, but gradually the memory of its defeat resurfaced. Growling in frustration, the Druddigon was too focused on tearing off the vines wrapped around it and muttering plans for revenge to notice the Poké Ball sailing towards its head until it was too late.

“What kind of loser leaves a Pokémon like that laid out and doesn’t capture it?” a hooded figure asked as they watched their Poké Ball thrash about until it finally came to a rest. “Whatever. The important part is that you’re mine now, and I have some big plans for you.”

A Grave Situation, Part 1

“You know, I believe I’ve really been far too negative about this whole ‘journeying’ business. It’s been a bit of an adjustment, certainly, but now that I’ve had a chance to really get accustomed to it, I’m actually starting to think that this has been exactly what I’ve been needing,” Rarity said cheerfully. “I was starting to worry that I might have been heading for a bit of an artistic rut, but I can hardly remember the last time I’ve encountered so many sources of inspiration.”

“Not that Ah ain’t glad that yer happy or nothin’, but Ah can’t help think yer new attitude has somethin’ to do with the fact that y’all ain’t the one doin’ the walkin’ anymore,” Applejack observed as she looked up at her friend, who was seated atop her Tauros as they trekked up the mountain path.

Rarity promptly turned her head away from Applejack in indignation. “Really, Applejack, I’m just taking an opportunity to spend more quality time with my Tauros. He’s really proven to be quite pleasant now that we’ve come to an understanding about what is and isn’t to be eaten. Besides which, this is proving to been an excellent opportunity for us to bond, and isn’t that sort of thing the custom here? ‘When in Roam do as the Roamans’ as they say,” Rarity added.

“Is that also why y’all decided to dress up like some sort of country music starlet?” Applejack asked as she eyed the rhinestone-covered cowgirl outfit Rarity was wearing.

“Just because we’re on the road doesn’t mean I can’t still do my very best to look fabulous. Plus, even you have to admit I do a fantastic job of blending country and glamour,” Rarity said.

“Honestly, if y’all ask me Ah’d say that getup looks a lot like what y’all were wearin’ when y’all were tryin’ to flirt with that Trenderhoof fella,” Applejack said.

“A design can still be good even if its original inspiration wasn’t something one is particularly proud of,” Rarity replied irritably after a moment’s silence. The pair continued on without speaking for another minute or two before Rarity spoke up again. “Applejack, are you certain that this is the best route to intercept Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy? As much as I’m grateful that we’ll be able to avoid traveling through that swamp, it does feel like we’re going awfully far out of our way.”

“That’s because we’re tryin’ to get ahead of them, not just chase after them,” Applejack replied. “Think about it, if we just go straight after those two, there’s no tellin’ ho long it’d take us to catch up to them. So, instead, we’re gonna circle around and get to where they’re headed and hopefully get there before they do.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Rarity said, still sounding a little unsure. Rarity wouldn’t have a chance to voice any further concerns, however, as right at that moment a small, purple blur bolted out of a nearby shadow and rushed at Rarity, snatching her hat rough off of her head.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack yelled as she tried to figure out what had just happened, only to be met by a shriek of indignation and rage from Rarity.

“You! Give me back my hat this instant!” Rarity ordered, her Tauros pawing at the ground to emphasize its trainer’s demand. Following Rarity’s gaze, Applejack quickly spotted the target of her friend’s ire. Perched on a nearby rock was a small, dark purple, imp-like creature clutching Rarity’s hat in its claws. Strikingly, the creature’s eyes appeared to be faceted gems of some kind, which sparkled with delight as it tore off one of the rhinestones decorating Rarity’s hat. Before anyone could react, the creature popped the crystal into its wide mouth and bit down with a sickening crunch.

“Huh, guess that thing’s got the same taste fer gems that Spike does,” Applejack said half-jokingly as she fumbled for her Pokédex, only to be met with stony silence from Rarity.

“My Spikey-wikey,” Rarity began through tightly clenched teeth, “may appreciate jewels in a different manner than I do, but he does NOT go around thieving accessories off the heads of ladies. Tauros, Charge.” A flaw in Rarity’s chosen method of dealing with the situation became immediately apparent as Tauros surged forward without its trainer having any way of holding on, with the expected results.

“Rarity, are y’all alright?” Applejack asked as she rushed to help her friend pick herself up off the ground.

“A bruised ego…and rump, if I’m being honest,” Rarity said, wincing as Applejack pulled her to her feet. “I don’t think anything too serious though. Hopefully the same won’t be able to be said for that odious little thieving miscreant.”

“Ah think y’all might be disappointed on that account. Look,” Applejack said as she pointed to where the Pokémon head been standing. Tauros’s attack had upended the rock it had been perched on, but the impish Pokémon had somehow teleported several yards further up the path. As Applejack and Rarity watched, the creature pointed at them and let out s shrill, mocking laugh before tearing off and devouring another rhinestone. “Now Rarity, Ah can guess what y’all are thinkin’ right now, but maybe we should –”

“TAUROS! GET THAT THING!” Applejack could only sigh and follow along as Rarity repeatedly ordered her Tauros to assault the mysterious Pokémon. Every time Tauros attacked, however, the Pokémon seemed to vanish from sight, only to reappear further ahead. Gradually, the Pokémon, which Applejack was eventually able to identify as a Sableye, led the girls to the entrance of a cemetery occupying a plateau jutting from the side of the mountain.

“Hold on there, Rarity, are y’all sure y’ wanna follow that little varmint in there?” Applejack asked as she looked warily at the pair of vine-covered stone pillars that formed the cemetery’s gateway. “Ah ain’t sayin’ it don’t deserve a good thrashin’ or nothin’ fer snackin’ on yer hat, but somethin’ about this whole situation stinks worse than a pigsty on a hot summer day.”

Rarity thought for a moment as she looked past the pillars to the veritable forest of crumbling grave markers lying beyond. “I can see your point. As much as it pains me to allow that little beast’s crimes against fashion to go unpunished, I suppose one does have to eventually draw a line –” A faint, wet splat could be heard as a half-chewed berry struck the back of Rarity’s head, immediately followed by peals of high-pitched laughter. Eye’s twitching with barely contained fury, Rarity slowly turned around must in time to be struck in the chest by another berry, leaving a large, dark purple stain on her blouse.

“Okay now, Rarity, take deep breathes. Let’s just turn around and leave the little pest be before somepony gets hurt,” Applejack said in a desperate effort to head off her friend’s anger.

“Applejack,” Rarity replied in an unsettlingly even tone. “I’m not going to hurt that vile little monster. I’m going to RIP IT APART!”

Applejack could only watch as Rarity charged forward at the laughing Sableye, her Tauros following obediently behind. Given the expression on its face, it was plainly evident that Tauros was no longer sure if its trainer was going to need its services to battle the Sableye. “Dang, Ah haven’t seen anypony act that riled up since the last time somepony broke a Pinkie Promise,” Applejack muttered to herself as she followed Rarity inside the cemetery. While the various crumbling monuments and ancient grave markers broke up her line of sight, Rarity’s repeated screams of frustration and rage made it easy to follow her. Applejack eventually caught up to her friend as she had seemingly cornered her prey in the shadow of a particularly tall stone monument.

“I’ve finally got you, you repulsive little gem-eating vermin. You are going to pay for ruining my blouse and – STOP EATING THE GEMS OFF OF MY HAT!” Rarity screamed.

The Sableye, however, seemed totally unconcerned as it lounged back on a gravestone and casually bit the large gem that had previously adorned the front of Rarity’s hat in half. “He does seem to have a love of crystals, doesn’t he?” a deep, male voice asked as a dark figure loomed out from the shadows.

“Yes, its as repulsively obsessed with them as you are,” a tall woman with stringy green hair answered as she stepped int the light from a different direction. “Still, it did its job adequately in luring these two to us.”

“What the hay’s goin’ on? Who are y’all?” Applejack asked as she placed a hand on her Aron’s Poké Ball.

“Oh, you don’t recognize me? I’d have thought invading Canterlot and capturing you along with the rest of Twilight’s friends would have left more on an impression.”

“Queen Chrysalis,” Applejack hissed before turning to the other figure, still cloaked in shadow. “So who the hay is yer friend over there? Ah didn’t think there were any changelings left who’d be crazy enough to follow you instead of Thorax.”

“Don’t you dare mention that usurper’s name in my presence!” Chrysalis snarled, which only drew derisive laughter from her companion.

“I should be offended that you’d confuse me for one of her mewling cockroaches, but that was just too amusing for me to get angry at,” the man said as he stepped fully out of the shadows. “Don’t worry, I won’t be offended if you don’t recognize me in this form. After all, last time we met I was too busy reclaiming my empire for us to have formal introductions.”

“King Sombra,” Rarity gasped in horror. “But, that’s impossible, you were destroyed by the Crystal Heart’s magic.”

Rarity’s statement was met by cackling laughter from a third source, apparently hidden behind a tombstone near Chrysalis. “Reviving King Sombra was a – nee Haw! – trivial matter for a being as powerful as Lord Grogar!”

“Shut up, Bray,” Sombra snarled before turning back to Applejack and Rarity. “Now, as amusing as this reunion has been, I’m afraid we’re going to have to end it, and you along with it.” As Sombra spoke, his Sableye bared its fangs and let out an evil hiss. “It’s honestly nothing personal, at least for myself, but I do have a debt that needs to be paid.”

“Speak for yourself,” Chrysalis sneered as she pulled out what appeared to be a grey and black Poké Ball. “I’m going to thoroughly enjoy destroying the both of these miserable cretins.”

“Well, Ah hate to break it to y’, but we ain’t exactly plannin’ on makin’ it easy fer either of y’all to destroy us,” Applejack growled.

“I’d be disappointed if you did,” Chrysalis replied before tossing her Poké Ball into the air. “Scyther, come, your queen has need of you.” The strange Poké Ball split open and disgorged a dark purplish shadow which coalesced in a flash of light into a vicious, green creature that vaguely resembled a mantis, its forelimbs ending in massive, scythe-like claws. “It’s not quite the same as commanding my hive, but I have to admit, commanding this creature does hold a certain appeal.”

Applejack glanced back and forth between the two advancing villains before looking back at Rarity. Fighting the two wasn’t out of the question, but Applejack doubted doing so on their terms would be a wise decision. “It might actually be a good thing that Rainbow Dash ain’t here. Least with Rarity Ah don’t have to worry much about her tryin’ to rush into a fight without at thinkin’ a little bit,” Applejack thought to herself before sidling back towards Rarity and Tauros. “Like Ah said, we ain’t gonna make this easy fer either of y’all, so if y’all wanna tussle…” Without warning, Applejack suddenly grabbed Rarity and leapt up onto Tauros’ back, digging her heels into its sides to direct it away from Chrysalis and Sombra. “Then yer gonna have to catch us first!” Applejack yelled as Tauros thundered away.

“Applejack, what in Equestria do you think you’re doing?” Rarity said as she clung to her friend for dear life. “We can’t just run away from those two.”

“We can as long as Tauros here doesn’t get too tired,” Applejack shot back. “Look, Ah get what yer sayin’, but tryin’ to fight our way out of an ambush like that would be crazy.”

Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but instead let out a shriek of terror. Applejack looked over to see the Scyther that Chrysalis had somehow acquired flying through the air straight towards her. Desperately, Applejack tried to steer Tauros away from their assailant, but her efforts were too little too late. As the Scyther caught up to them, it slashed at Applejack, narrowly missing her and causing her to lose her grip and fall tumbling to the ground.

“Keep goin’! Ah’ll catch up to y’all as soon as Ah can!” Applejack called out as Tauros continued to charge of into the distance. Knowing she didn’t have much time to worry, however, Applejack quickling pulled herself back to her feet, grunting in pain from the bruises she had received in her fall. “If y’all wanna go after mah friend then y’ll have to get by me first. An Ah’ll give y’ fair warnin’, y’all ain’t the only ones who’ve got Pokémon rarin’ fer a fight. Go Aron!”

“So, you do want to put up a fight after all,” Chrysalis’ voice called out, seemingly echoing from every direction. “Good, I was starting to worry that you were going to make this boing. I’ll allow Sombra to chase down your little friend, eliminating you will be a sufficient prelude to my final revenge on Starlight Glimmer.”

“Heh, sounds to me like y’all are startin’ to count yer apples before they’re bucked,” Applejack said, the crystal of her Z-ring already starting to faintly glow. “Aron and me are about to teach y’all the difference between grabbin’ somepony out of their bed in the middle of the night and takin’ ‘em head on!”

Suddenly, before Applejack could even start the series of poses to activate her Z-move, a small mud-colored burro dashed out from the gravestones and delivered a powerful double-hooved buck to Aron’s side. The force of the attack sent Aron bouncing across the ground until it collided with a large monument of some kind, collapsing it down on top of the unfortunate Pokémon.

“Thank you, Bray,” Chrysalis said as she stepped into view. “I don’t know what this little hayseed was planning, but it looks like whatever it was just fell apart.”

“Don be so sure about that, y’all ain’t got be beat yet,” Applejack fired back as she recalled her Aron and pulled out another Poké Ball while desperately hoping Chrysalis wouldn’t be able to notice the fear in her voice. “Go, Turtwig! Hit that dang donkey with Razor Leaf, on the double!” Turtwig scarcely had emerged from the light of its Poké Ball when it fired off a pair of leaves form the top of its head at Bray.

“Attacking us with leaves?” Chrysalis laughed in derision. “What next, do you plan on sprinkling us with deadly flower petals?” It was at that point that Bray, screaming in pain from having a leaf wedged solidly between his eyes, ran past Chrysalis and crashed into a tombstone, knocking it over. “Congratulations, you’ve managed to defeat a useless idiot. Scyther, eviscerate that turtle, then do the same to its trainer.” It’s eyes glowing bright red, Scyther let out a shrill war cry as it darted through the air too fast for Applejack’s eyes to follow. Turtwig, however, seemed strangely calm at the situation even as Scyther appeared in front of it and slashed at Turtwig with one of its claws.

As Scyther’s attack made contact, however, Turtwig became suffused in a white, glowing light that seemed to cause Scyther’s attack to harmlessly bounce off its shell. As Chrysalis and Applejack both watched, Turtwig’s silhouette quickly shifted and grew until the light finally subsided to reveal a much larger and more heavily armored form. “Well, don’t that just beat all,” Applejack said as she admired her Pokémon’s new form.

“What? How?” Chrysalis screeched before struggling to regain her composure. “It doesn’t matter, new form or not, I’m still going to destroy you. Scyther, cut that thing to pieces.”

“Oh dang,” Applejack said as she watched Scyther fly up into the air to build momentum for its next attack. “Okay, Turtwig – or whatever the hay y’all are now, use Curse!”

“Grotle!” the newly evolved Pokémon replied as it tensed up and surrounded itself with a red corona of energy. While this did nothing to dissuade Scyther from attacking, its repeated darting seemed to do little to the sturdy Pokémon.

“Alrighty then, now we’re getting’ somewhere. Now, go ahead and squash that bug with yer Tackle,” Applejack said before pulling out her Pokédex. “Now, just what the hay am Ah supposed to call y’all now, anyway?”

Grotle, the Grove Pokémon. This Pokémon lives near sources of pure water in forested areas. The shell on its back is composed of hardened soil, which nourishes the trees that grow from its back.

An enraged scream caused Applejack to look up from Pokédex to see Chrysalis fuming as Grotle tackled her Scyther to the ground. “Get up! I won’t allow you to fail, not when I’m this close to having my revenge!” Chrysalis’ screams rapidly deteriorated into incomprehensibility as she continued to rage at her Scyther, which struggled to pull itself back to its feet. As Applejack watched Chrysalis throw her tantrum, she actually found herself feeling sorry for her opponent’s Pokémon. Not sorry enough, however, to risk holding back.

“Alright, Tur – Ah mean, Grotle, hit it with another Tackle.” Grotle nodded before charging into Scyther with enough force to smash it into the arch of an odd-looking nearby monument, which partially collapsed under the force of the impact. “Why don’t y’all just quit while y’ still can?” Applejack shouted at Chrysalis as she watched her opponent’s Pokémon struggle to pull itself out form the rubble. “Yer Pokémon don’t look like its doin’ too well, and Ah’ve got bigger problems right now then y’all to deal with.”

“How dare you speak to me like that? I will destroy you and once I’m finished with you there will be nothing to stop me from finally taking my revenge on Starlight Glimmer!” As Chrysalis continued to scream and rant, something behind her caught Applejack’s eye. The keystone of the fallen arch had developed several cracks as a result of the collapse, which were now leaking an unnatural purple vapor. Applejack looked on in mute fascination as the vapor slowly began to coalesce into a swirling cloud bubbling with unearthly green lights. As the cloud expanded the keystone began levitating off the ground, as though the cloud were somehow lifting it up like a hot air balloon. Suddenly, once the cloud had lifted up five or six feet off the ground, a monstrous pair of eyes and a jagged mouth opened up on the cloud, all glowing the same eerie green light as the other lights in the cloud.

“What in the name of Celestia is that?” Applejack cried out in alarm as she rapidly backed away.

“Really?” Chrysalis asked, her voice dripping with contempt. “Are you actually trying to use the ‘look behind you’ trick on me? I can’t decide if I find that more insulting or pathetic.”

“Spirit…” the cloud intoned malevolently as it glared down at Chrysalis, causing her to spin around.

“Oh. What in the name of that insufferable, cake-gorging ruler of yours is that?” Chrysalis asked mildly before baring her teeth and hissing at the vaporous entity. Unfortunately for Chrysalis, this failed to have the desired effect as the creature responded with a look of contempt mixed with wicked amusement.

“SpiriTOMB!” As the creature’s voice boomed out, a half-dozen black, shadowy tendrils emerged form its back and shot at Chrysalis with lightning speed. Chrysalis was just barely able to leap out of the way as the tendrils rained down and shattered the surrounding gravestones.

“Scyther, what are you waiting for? Your queen is under attack, so get up there and stop that thing!” Chrysalis screamed as she desperately tried crawling for cover. Though battered from its battle with Grotle, Scyther wasted no time flying straight for its new opponent, only for the Pokémon to easily dodge it before blasting Scyther with another barrage of shadows.

“Not that Ah ain’t glad it showed up, but just what they hay is that thing?” Applejack muttered to herself as she watched the vicious spirit turn its attention back to Chrysalis.

Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokémon. This Pokémon is formed when 108 spirits are bound together into a stone. Trainers are advised to approach this Pokémon with extreme caution, as they are known to be highly unpredictable and are frequently violent.

Applejack looked back up to see the Spiritomb continuing to pursue and attack Chrysalis, who had been forced to recall her Scyther after it had finally collapsed unconscious. “It’d serve her right if Ah just walked away and let that thing blast her to bits. ‘Course, that don’t mean it’s the right thing to do, either.” Applejack visibly cringed as she realized that her morals had already decided on her next course of action, as much as she detested it. “Ah must be goin’ completely out of mah mind, but here goes nothin’.” With that, Applejack pulled out a Poké Ball and lobbed it at the Spiritomb.

What Applejack failed to take into account when aiming her throw, however, was the fact that the fog comprising Spiritomb’s head was wholly insubstantial. Consequently, Applejack’s Poké Ball passed right through the Spiritomb to collide with Chrysalis’ face. While Chrysalis unleashed a fresh stream of curses and threats towards Applejack, and ponies in general, the Spiritomb slowly turned to face this new interloper.

“Aw hay. Well, if yer gonna grab a bull by the horns…Grotle, this thing a taste of yer Razor Leaf!” Applejack’s Grotle obligingly proceeded to shake its back, causing a number of leaves to come loose from the bushes on its back and stream towards the Spiritomb, catching it off guard. The Spiritomb quickly recovered, however, and shot through the air at Grotle. Just as it seemed that the Spiritomb was about to collide with Grotle, however, the ghostly Pokémon veered to the left, seemingly narrowly missing it. As Grotle reflexively turned its head as Spiritomb flew by, however, it was smashed in the face by the keystone Spiritomb was trailing behind it. “Sneaky little varmint. Okay, if that’s how it wants to do this then we can play that game. Grotle, hit that thing with yer Absorb,” Nodding its head, Grotle closed its eyes and concentrated as the bushes along its sides began to emit a green glow. As it did so, the Spiritomb abruptly froze in place and winced in pain as energy appeared to flow out of it to Grotle. Before the Spiritomb had a chance to recover, Applejack launched another Poké Ball at it, this time striking its keystone. The Spiritomb barely had time to let out a cry of alarm as it was pulled into the Poké Ball, which was already trashing madly about as it hit the ground.

As Applejack’s Poké Ball finally let out a chime signifying a successful capture, Chrysalis poked her head out from behind a nearby gravestone. “Is that thing gone?”

“Ah’ve got him right here,” Applejack assured her as she retrieved her Poké Ball from the ground. “And unless y’all want me to let him out again Ah suggest y’all skedaddle. Like Ah said earlier, Ah’ve got more important things to deal with right now than givin’ yer hide the tannin’ it deserves.”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at Applejack as she started backing away. “You may have defeated me this time, but mark my words, I will be back. And the next time we meet I will have my revenge!” Applejack said nothing in response to this, but instead scowled and move her arm as though she were about to throw Spiritomb’s Poké Ball, prompting Chrysalis to turn and make a hasty retreat.

Applejack watched Chrysalis flee until she was certain the former changeling queen was out of earshot, at which point she breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Whew, Ah’m glad she decided to back off, Ah really didn’t want o have to try lettin’ this thing out so soon. Still, Ah better get a move on. Rarity might be a lot tougher than she looks, but if that really was King Sombra then she might be in some real trouble.”

A Grave Situation, Part 2

Rarity clung tightly to her Tauros as it thundered through the ancient cemetery, Applejack exhortations to keep moving still singing in her ears. In truth, had it been entirely up to Rarity, she’d have turned back to recover her friend before Applejack would have even been able to finish her sentence. The final arbiter of the situation, however, was Tauros itself, and at that point there was only one way that Tauros’ charge could be stopped.

Specifically, Tauros was only going to stop if it were knocked unconscious, which is precisely what happened as a dark purple blur leapt out from the shadows and clocked it across the face. Already exhausted from the constant running and battling that Rarity had put it through that day, Tauros collapsed to the ground with a resounding thud. As Rarity painfully picked herself off the ground and recalled her Tauros to its Poké Ball, mocking laughter echoed out from among the tombstones.

“Is that bull of yours too tired to continue already?” Sombra called out. “That’s too bad, I was looking forward to watching you pointlessly struggle against the inevitable for a bit longer. Ah well, I suppose I’ll just need to get right down to business then.” As Sombra spoke, he and his Sableye seemed to materialize out of the nearby shadows, each one grinning maliciously.

“Threaten me all you want, I’m not scared of you or that disgusting little imp of yours,” Rarity said. Despite her best efforts, however, Rarity couldn’t keep herself from slowly backing away from the advancing pair, a fact which didn’t go unnoticed.

“Defiant to the end? Good, this sort of thing is so much more fun when you try and make a futile effort to fight back,” Sombra leered.

Before Sombra could come any closer, however, the other Poké Ball on Rarity’s belt shook and split open as Piplup emerged and interposed itself between Sombra and its master. “What now, King Sombra?” Rarity said. “I’m not quite as helpless as you thought, am I?”

Sombra paused and appeared to briefly consider this new development before stepping forward and delivering a vicious kick to Piplup’s stomach, sending it tumbling to the ground. “No, I’d say you’re exactly as helpless as I had expected. So, do you want to continue this farce or are you going to give up? Ooh, maybe you should try begging for mercy, that’s always fun to – what?”

To Sombra’s surprise, Piplup was refusing to stay down, instead desperately struggling to push itself back to its feet. Once it finally succeeded in pulling itself upright, Piplup staggered back between Rarity and Sombra, a look of pure determination burning in its eyes.

“Hmph,” Sombra snorted with mild irritation. “It seems your little servant doesn’t know when to just give up. Sableye, deal with this pest. Feint Attack.” Hissing in acknowledgement, Sombra’s Sableye launched itself at Piplup as dark shadows coalesced around its right arm. As Sableye tried to deliver its strike, however, Piplup managed to catch Sableye’s arm with its flipper. “How? How does that worthless little creature still have that kind of strength? Look at it, it can barely even stand, how is it able to stand against my Sableye?”

As if to answer Sombra’s question, Piplup began to emit a bright, white light which quickly engulfed it as it began to grow. In moments, Piplup had nearly doubled in height, its beak now connected to a pair of ridges extending around the top of its head. “Prinplup!” With an enraged cry, the newly evolved Prinplup swiped at Sableye with its free flipper, the tip of which was glowing brightly. Caught off guard, Sableye had little hope of escaping the attack, which sent it staggering backwards in pain.

“I can’t say that I was expecting that to happen,” Rarity said, the repeated emotional shocks of the past hour having left her somewhat numb. “This is still a rather welcome development, though. And, bonus, those ridges do look quite regal. But, that’s something to consider for another time. For now, use Bubble!” Prinplup promptly took in a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of blue bubbles that seemed to detonate upon contact with Sableye, driving it further back.

Sombra watched his Sableye struggle against Prinplup’s assault for a few moments before suddenly bursting into peals of laughter. “Now this is getting interesting. I had assumed I’d be able to destroy you without needing to exert any real effort on my part, but it looks like I’ll get to test my abilities in this new world sooner than I expected.” As Sombra spoke he pulled out a small, black crystal that throbbed with a pulsating red light. “I have my new partner to thank for this little, toy, let’s see if it lives up to their claims.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have thought that the mighty King Sombra would have to stoop to using one of Chrysalis’ tricks,” Rarity said mockingly.

“One of Chrysalis’…” Sombra asked before once again doubling over with laughter. “You think I was talking about – oh, that’s too rich! No, you’re quite right, I wouldn’t lower myself to using one of the cockroach queen’s parlor tricks unless I was truly desperate. Chrysalis only wishes she had the power to create something like this.” Grinning evilly, Sombra pointed the crystal towards his Sableye, causing its eyes to start glowing the same crimson as the light emanating from the crystal. “Hmm, only enough for one use,” Sombra muttered to himself as he inspected the crystal, which itself has completely ceased glowing. “No matter, this should be more than enough to get the job done. Sableye, Nightshade.” Sableye let out a crazed scream as it fired a pair of crackling black and red beams from its eyes, striking Prinplup with enough force to send it falling backwards. “So, do you have anymore scraps of bravado left to hide behind, or are you ready to accept your fate now?” Before Sombra could even finish sentence, Rarity had already recalled her Prinplup and was running deeper into the graveyard as fast as he legs could carry her. “Fine then, if you want to die tired then so be it. Sableye, chase her down and –” Without warning, Sableye leapt at Sombra, only to be sent sprawling back to the ground with a vicious backhand. Sombra proceed wot watch his Pokémon writhe about on the ground for several moments before finally letting out a sigh of irritation. “I’m willing to show you mercy this time as you’re still not used to the power of the spell yet. But, from now on you are to remember who your master is. Now, get up and track her down before she gets away!”

*********

Rarity continued running through the tombstones for what felt like ages, the dark overcast sky and strange shadows cast by the looming monuments making it impossible to tell what time it was. All Rarity knew was that it was critical that she somehow escape Sombra and his bloodthirsty Pokémon. Just as Rarity finally collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, however, she looked up to see something that made her hope that her luck had started to improve. Rising up from among the scattered gravestones was a sizable mausoleum, large enough for her to potentially hide in.

“Well, it wouldn’t exactly be my first choice for a hiding place, but right now isn’t the time to be choosy,” Rarity muttered to herself as she pulled herself inside. The interior of the mausoleum was dominated by a pair of tombs, with a path between them leading to a staircase underground. Rarity hesitated in the doorway for a moment, but the frenzied screams of Sombra’s Sableye echoing out form the cemetery propelled her forward. Quickly, Rarity made her way inside and rushed down the stairs, which led to a maze of hallways carved into the mountain stone. Lining the hallways were a series of strange, roughly humanoid statues with oddly spherical bodies. “Admittedly I don’t spend all that much time in places like these, but I can’t imagine this sort of decoration is normal even for a place like this. Not that I’m complaining, though. After today I think I’ll have had my fill of creepy for quite some time.”

“Golett.”

“Honestly, I might even join Fluttershy in her cottage next Nightmare Night –” Rarity abruptly stopped talking to herself as he mind finally processed the realization that she wasn’t alone. Slowly, Rarity turned around to see a short figure standing right behind her that looked almost exactly like the statues lining the hall.

“Golett,” the creature said cheerfully as it waved hello.

Rarity promptly let out a shriek of terror, more out of shock than anything else, before stumbling and falling backwards. After a few moments passed and the creature made no effort to come any closer, however, Rarity was able to calm herself down enough to speak. “Hello there, I’m sorry for screaming, it’s just that I’m a bit on edge at the moment and you did startle me.”

The creature tilted its head to the side for a moment before waddling over to Rarity and extending out one of its stubby arms. “Golett?”

“Oh, thank you,” Rarity said as she allowed the creature to help her to her feet. “Do you live down here? I didn’t mean to intrude in anycreature’s home, but I’m being pursued by a very dangerous individual and I needed to find a place to hide.”

The creature seemed to ponder what Rarity said for a few moments before motioning for her to follow it. “Golett, Golett.”

“Are you saying that you want to help me? Oh, thank you.” Rarity said. As Rarity allowed the creature to lead her deeper into the catacombs she searched into her bag and fished out her Pokédex. “Let’s see, I’m willing to bet you’re a Pokémon of some kind, so let’s see what this has to say about you.”

Golett, the Automaton Pokémon. Believed to have been sculpted from clay by an ancient civilization, this Pokémon is powered by a mysterious energy. Scientists have been unable to determine the nature of this energy, but theorize that it allows Golett to remain active for millennia.

“Millenia?” Rarity gasped in surprise at Golett’s Pokédex entry, before glancing around at her surroundings. “You haven’t really been down here that long, have you?”

“Golett.”

Rarity paused for a moment before letting out a sigh of exasperation. “I honestly don’t know what I was expecting there. Well, in any event I am grateful for your assistance. Tell me, are there any other Pokémon living down here?”

“Golett,” the Golett replied, shaking its head.

“You’re not all alone down here, are you?” Rarity asked, to which the Golett silently nodded. “Oh my, and you’ve probably been down here for quite some time, haven\t you?” Rarity looked around at the seemingly ancient wall carvings, and something suddenly occurred to her. “There isn’t a speck of dust anywhere here. You were just left down here all by yourself and you’ve spent all that time keeping this place neat and tidy. You’ve done a fantastic job, by the way,” Rarity added quickly, not wanting to risk offending her new companion.

“Golett.” Without any way of actually understanding what the Golett was saying, Rarity choose to assume that it was thanking her for the compliment. By this time, the pair had reached a chamber at the end of one of the catacomb’s hallways, which appeared completely barren save for a large stone sarcophagus in the center. “Golett,” the Golett said as it gestured for Rarity to come behind the tomb.

“Thank you so much for this,” Rarity said as she knelt down behind the sarcophagus. “With any luck the person chasing me will give up soon, and hopefully then I can find my friend.” Rarity paused for a moment as a thought that had been forming in her mind finally crystalized. “I don’t suppose that you’d like to come with me, by any chance?”

Before Golett could respond to Rarity’s offer, however, a mixture of insane cackling and animalistic snarls echoed from the catacombs’ entrance, signaling a more pressing matter. “You’re certain she’s down here? For your sake you’d better be right about this.” Rarity found herself curling into a ball as she heard the unmistakable sound of Sombra’s voice. “If you are in here, girl, then I commend you on your choice of hiding spot. If only all my victims were so considerate, I won’t even need to bury you.”

As Golett listened to Sombra’s threats it watched how Rarity reacted in fear before narrowing its eyes and marching out into the hall. “Wait,” Rarity called out in a horse whisper. “You don’t know how dangerous that monster is.” Golett, however, paid Rarity’s warning little heed as it strode out into the catacomb’s halls. A few seconds ticked by as Rarity at first remained in her hiding spot, virtually paralyzed with fear. It wasn’t long, however, before her inner voice began to chastise herself. “What are you doing? Are you really going to just sit here and do nothing while that little creature fights your battles for you? What would you friends say if they saw you like this? What would Sweetie Belle say? Now pull yourself together, get up, and show that ruffian out there what it means to challenge a mare who’s an Element of Harmony, a pleasantly stylish blue belt in Tae Colt Do and ten-time winner of Ponyville’s best dressed mare!” Having successfully bolstered her confidence, Rarity emerged from her hiding spot and marched out after Golett.

It wouldn’t take long for Rarity’s newfound bravery to be put to the test. As soon as she turned a corner she found herself face to face with Sombra and his Sableye, the Golett thankfully standing in their path. “So, you finally decided to show yourself,” Sombra snorted. “Tell me, does this mean that you’ve accepted your fate, or are you counting on this ridiculous little…thing to save you?”

“That ‘thing’ is my friend,” Rarity shot back angrily. “And I will never just give up when faced with the likes of you, you odious, vile, poorly dressed monster!”

“Poorly dressed?” Sombra replied, sounding genuinely offended. “You insufferable little wench, I’ll make you pay for that remark. Though, I think I’ll start by taking apart this toy of yours. Sableye, Feint Attack!” Sombra’s Sableye let out a ferocious shriek as it launched itself at Golett, only to stumble to a halt a few feet away from it. As the Sableye stood and looked around in a dazed stupor, Rarity noticed that the red glow had completely washed away from its crystalline eyes. “The blasted spell must have finally worn off,” Sombra grumbled. “No matter, once Sableye –”

Whatever Sombra was about to say abruptly became a moot point as Golett smashed its fist into Sableye’s face, Golett’s arm completely engulfed in flickering shadows. The impact was sufficient to send Sableye bouncing across the floor until it came to rest unconscious at Sombra’s feet.

Sombra stared down at his battered Pokémon before silently taking out a grey and black Poké Ball and recalling it. “This changes nothing. Granted, I’ll need to get my hands dirty now, but that’s never bothered –” Before Sombra could even finish his sentence Golett rushed forward and delivered a second blow, this time its fist glowing a brilliant white. Unfortunately for Sombra, however, Golett wasn’t quite tall enough to reach his face, and thus had to settle for a somewhat lower target.

*********

It became quickly apparent after Golett’s blow that Sombra was unlikely to continue pursuing Rarity, or do much else for that matter beyond lying curled up on the ground and letting out the occasional high-pitched whimper. Even so, Rarity was careful to gingerly tiptoe around his prone form before hurrying out of the catacombs as quickly as possible. Just as she and Golett reached the stairs that led back up to the mausoleum, however Rarity stopped and turned to Golett. “You know, we never did have a chance to finish our earlier conversation,” Rarity said.

“Golett?”

“The offer I made earlier still stands, for what its worth. You’re welcome to come with me if you’d like. I won’t try and make you leave here if you really feel you need to stay here, but –” Rarity found she didn’t need to finish her sentence before Golett started dancing about happily. “I imagine that would be a yes, then. Very well, it’s a pleasure to welcome you aboard,” Rarity said with a warm smile as she took out one of her Poké Balls and presented it to Golett. Golett immediately reached out and tapped the front of the ball, causing it to split open and pull the Golett inside. As the Poké Ball let out a chime to signify a successful capture Rarity gave the ball a quick kiss before putting it away. “Well, that certainly worked out better than I would have expected it to. Now I just need to find Applejack and then we can find a way out of this awful place.”

Rarity’s confidence had been bolstered significantly by the addition of Golett to her team. The moment Rarity stepped out of the mausoleum, however, she was quickly reminded of the precariousness of her situation. Twilight appeared to have fallen over the cemetery, which looked even more foreboding in the fading light. Worse still was the nagging realization that Rarity’s friend was somewhere out there in that forest of crumbling grave markers, along with Chrysalis. As Rarity cautiously made her way into the cemetery, she began yet another mental argument with herself about how best to proceed. “I suppose I should by calling out to see if Applejack can hear me, Celestia knows I doubt I’ll be able to find her just by wandering aimlessly. I’m not even certain I remember which direction I’d need to go. Besides, Sombra may not be a threat for the moment, but that still leaves Chrysalis.”

Rarity was still mulling her options on how best to proceed when she heard a voice calling out to her. “Hey! Rarity! Are y’all all right?” Looking up, Rarity could see Applejack weaving her way through the tombstones towards her. The two friends were quickly reunited and Rarity wasted no time relating to Applejack what had happened to her. “Whew, sounds like y’all got out of that jam by the skin of yer teeth. Leastways it doesn’t sound like Sombra’s in any shape to try chasin’ us any more fer at least a good while.”

“He did seem rather thoroughly incapacitated,” Rarity said. “If it had been anyone else I’d regret that it came to that, but as it is he probably deserved considerably worse. In any event, Sombra wasn’t the only threat we’ve had to deal with today. What about Chrysalis?”

“Ah sent her packin’ pretty durn well, but Ah’d be willin’ to bet she’ll be back before long and likely angrier than a timberwolf with a toothache to boot. Fer now Ah’d say our best bet is to put as much distance between us and this place as we can, and fast. Ah think Ah spotted a road that looked like it led further up into the mountains while Ah was lookin’ fer y’all. That might be our best bet, at least fer now,” Applejack said.

“Further into the mountains? But that would take us well out of way,” Rarity protested. “If we do something like that we could lose our best chance to catch up with Pinkie and Fluttershy, and who knows how long it would take to find them again.”

“Believe me, Ah thought of that already, but it ain’t as though we’ve got a whole lotta choice. Right now we gotta get the hay out of here and find someplace safe to recover. Then we can start worryin’ about figurin’ out how to catch up with our friends. Ain’t exactly like it’d matter much if they moved on or not if Sombra and Chrysalis get us,” Applejack added grimly.

Rarity nodded. “I see your point. Very well then, let’s find this road you mentioned and get out of this awful place.”

*********

“Stupid, miserable smoke monster, I’d have finally gotten my revenge if it hadn’t interfered like that,” Chrysalis muttered to herself. “And you! If you hadn’t allowed yourself to be defeated so easily by a leaf of all things then I could have been victorious even with that thing heling the annoying little hick!”

“Hey, I was the one who – neeHaw! – managed to defeat her first Pokémon,” Bray protested.

“Clearly if you were able to defeat it than it was never a threat to begin with,” Chrysalis grumbled. A sudden noise coming from outside the camp prompted Chrysalis to turn just in time to see Sombra stumble into view. “Oh look, the mighty King Sombra has returned. Tell me, were you at least able to deal with your target, or was fighting one prissy dressmaker too much for you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sombra grumbled before sitting down, winching in pain as he did so. “That said, it sounds as though you didn’t have any more luck than I did in that regard.”

“The stupid little hayseed got lucky, that’s all. Next time, she won’t be able to escape my wrath so easily,” Chrysalis snarled.

“In other words, you failed as well. The difference between us, however, is that unlike myself you don’t have anything to show for it.” Sombra reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a crystal similar to the one he had used and his Sableye earlier. “I was able to test this during the attack. The duration is shorter than I had expected, but the increase in power and speed was just as potent as I had predicted.”

“Congratulations, you can strengthen that little pet of yours into a halfway passable threat. That is if Grogar deigns to help you squeeze your magic into one of those trinkets again, that is,” Chrysalis sneered.

Sombra said nothing in response, merely leaning back in his seat and letting out an irritable snort. Let the former changeling queen mock him all she wanted. What was important was that Sombra had proven that there was a way for him to use him magic in this new world. All Sombra had to do now was find the right servant and he would have all he needed to unshackle himself from Grogar and retake his rightful place as ruler of his empire.

The Path Overly Traveled

“So, your main interest is the library and not the gym, then?” Siegfried asked in a bemused tone.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m not interested in the gym, I’m still planning on challenging it for my second badge. It just isn’t necessarily my top priority, that’s all,” Twilight replied.

“Still, its good to see someone your age taking learning seriously. I’ve seen too may young trainers so focused on the league on battling that they forget that training one’s mind is just as important as anything else,” Siegfried said. “I’m just curious, though, was there anything in particular that you were hoping to find once you reach there?”

“Mostly I’m trying to learn as much about Pokémon as I can,” Twilight replied. “We don’t really have Pokémon where we’re from, so all this has been very new for us.”

“A place that doesn’t have Pokémon at all? Now I’ve heard just about everything.” Siegfried chuckled to himself as Twilight slumped back into her seat amid the various supply crates on Siegfried’s wagon. “I can’t say for certain that the monastery’s library will have exactly what you’re looking for, but it does have one of the largest collections of history and folklore you could ever hope to find. So, if what you want is to learn more about Pokémon, than I can think of worst places to start.”

“No offense, but it sounds kinda boring to me,” Rainbow Dash said from her seat further back. “What I wanna know more about is the gym you’ve got up there. I’ve gotta be honest with you, though, it doesn’t really seem like something you’d normally find in a monastery, unless monasteries around here are way cooler than usual.”

Twilight shot an irritated glance at Rainbow Dash before turning back to Siegfried. “Actually, I was a little curious about that myself.”

“We get that a lot, to be honest,” Siegfried replied with a laugh. “The Drakefang Monastery was founded by Dragon trainers centuries ago, long before anyone had even though of creating the Javik League. Dragon type Pokémon tend to be a bit temperamental, you see, so trainers who specialize in them tend to need a fair bit of space. Of course, anytime you get enough Pokémon trainers together Pokémon battles are going to occur, so the founders of the monastery mad sure there was room for that sort of thing. So, when the folks who set up Javik League finally showed up, it was only natural they’d use the monastery as the location for the league’s Dragon-type gym.”

“I can’t wait to see what all the different Dragon Pokémon you have there are like!” Spike said.

“Well, you’ll still have to be patient for a little while longer. We still have to get up the mountain, and that means going through the cave system inside,” Siegfied said, eliciting a groan from Rainbow Dash.

“Ugh, that’s right. Isn’t there some other way to get up the mountain?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m afraid not, at least not without going several days out of our way. Wahy, you’re not claustrophobic, are you?” Siegfried replied.

“We had some bad experiences when a pathway collapsed on our way to Mesa Town,” Twilight said.

“Let me guess, the stretch going along the southern coast, right? I can’t say I’m all that surprised to hear that something happened there, that route’s always been nasty as all get out. If it helps any, I can promise that the route we’ll be taking will be much more pleasant than what you dealt with there,” Siegfried.

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” Rainbow Dash shot back.

“You won’t have long to wait, we’re coming up on the entrance as we speak,” Siegfried said. Sure enough, as the lumbering, Mudsdale-pulled cart turned a corner the forest gave way to a clearing of brush leading up to the base of the mountain. The road they were following led straight ahead into a massive tunnel that opened into the mountainside like a gaping maw. “I know it doesn’t exactly look all that inviting, but once we get inside, you’ll find it isn’t nearly as bad as you might think.”

Rainbow Dash merely rolled her eyes at this but said nothing, for which Twilight was grateful. Having Siegfried give them a ride eliminated any possibility of getting lost once they entered the caverns, and while his cart wasn’t particularly fast it was still quicker than walking. While Twilight doubted Rainbow Dash would pick a fight on purpose, she also knew Rainbow Dash could be a bit abrasive if something was upsetting her.

Thank fully, as the wagon passed though the mouth of the cavern it quickly became apparent that Rainbow Dash’s anxieties about the cave wouldn’t be as bad as she had feared. Scarcely twenty feet into the cave the initial tunnel gave way to a massive space several stories in height at least, the ceiling of which sparkled with faint blue light. “Hey, look up there, I think I see something flying around near the ceiling!” Spike exclaimed. Sure enough, dozens of bat-like silloutetes could be seen against the pale light emanating from the ceiling.

Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokémon. This nocturnal Pokémon is able to project 200,000 hertz ultrasonic waves from its ears, which it uses to both locate food and deter predators.

“Don’t worry about them, the Noibat generally don’t bother anybody, especially during the day. As long as they don’t get a whiff of the food we’re hauling they should give us a wide berth. Luckily the crates I’ve got the berries in have been treated to keep Pokémon from sniffing them out,” Siegfried said with a chuckle.

“Okay, but what about the berries in our packs?” Spike asked. As if to answer his question, a pale lavender bat-like Pokémon suddenly landed on the wagon right behind Spike and began prodding his backpack with its snout. “Hey, get out of there!” Spike yelled as he jerked the bag away, only for two more Noibat to land nearby. “Uh, guys? I think I might need a little help here…”

“Don’t worry, Spike, we’ve got you covered,” Rainbow Dash said with a massive grin. “Go, Tank Jr!”

“Go, Charmeleon!” Twilight echoed as she tossed out her own ball.

“If you girls want to help chase them off, that’s fine. Just be careful not to damage the crates back there. It’d be a real pain if after all this I had to go back down the mountain anyway,” Siegfried called back.

“Alright, Tank, you heard the man, let’s stick with your Bite attack for now.” Tank Jr nodded in understanding as it through itself at a group of Noibat, forcing them to scatter to avoid its chomping teeth.

“Hmm, Charmeleon, use your Smoke Screen to shield the wagon. We don’t want to risk burning any of the crates by accident,” Twilight said after giving it a moment’s thought. Charmeleon, however, wasn’t nearly as eager to follow its trainer’s instructions as Tank Jr had been, snorting in irritation before blowing out a thick cloud of dark smoke. Twilight scarcely seemed to even notice her Pokémon’s poor attitude, however, as her attention was focused almost entirely on the Noibat flittering at the edges of the cloud. Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes seemed to lock onto one Noibat in particular who was struggling in dodge the bubbles that Tank Jr was now blowing at it. “There! Charmeleon, use your Dragon Rage on that one!” With a huff of annoyance, Charmeleon raided its head before snapping it forward as it launched a ball of fire directly at the Noibat Twilight was pointing at. The Noibat, to distracted to dodge the attack, was sent spiraling out of the air towards the ground only to be struck by a Poké Ball just before it landed.

“Hey, what was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked as she watched Twilight hop out of the wagon to retrieve her Poké Ball.

“Part of preparing to complete the gym battle challenge is going to involve ensuring that I have a well-rounded team able to handle a variety of different opponents. The best way to prepare for that is to assemble a diverse team, and I thought a Noibat would make a good addition,” Twilight explained matter-of-factly.

“She’s not wrong, you know,” Siegfried said. “Catching Pokémon like that is a major part of being a trainer.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “But when you talk about it like that it, it still feels, I don’t know wrong somehow. Like you’re not really thinking about then like teammates or something.”

“Come on, Rainbow, I’m sure that’s not how Twilight meant it to sound,” Spike said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess there are just certain parts of all this trainer stuff I don’t really get yet,” Rainbow Dash said as she sat back down.

The group continued on the journey in relative silence for a few minutes, until Siegfried finally spoke up. “Say, do you folks have any acquaintances here in the Javik region who might be looking for you?”

“We know that some of our other friends are here as well, but haven’t seen any of them since we arrived. To be honest, part of the reason we’re going through the gym challenge in the first place is that we’re hoping to run into them in the process,” Twilight said. “Why do you ask?”

“Because there’s a pair of girls about your age that have been following us ever since se entered the caverns, and I was wondering if they were someone you knew,” Siegfried said. “I didn’t mention it earlier since I thought it might just be a coincidence, but at this point I think its pretty safe to say that’s not the case.”

“Wait, seriously?” Rainbow Dash said as she rushed to the back of the wagon and peered into the darkness. At first she couldn’t see anything, but after a few moments a flicker of movement caught Rainbow Dash’s attention. “Yeah, I think I see them, I can’t tell who they are, though. Do you think we should slow down so they can catch up?”

“Well, we’re going to need to stop and take a rest pretty soon anyway, so we may as well,” Siegfried replied as he signaled for the Mudsdale pulling the wagon to come to a halt. “The three of you may as well take the opportunity to see what our pursuers actually want.”

“Right.” Twilight replied as she climbed out of the wagon, already planning out the best way to approach the unknown individuals following them. Unfortunately for Twilight, she had forgotten the simple fact that no plan could survive contact with Rainbow Dash.

“Hey! We know you’ve been sneaking after as so come on out and face us!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she hopped down.

“I beg your pardon, but the Great and Powerful Trixie does not ‘sneak’!” a familiar and indignant voice yelled back. “Trixie can’t help it that Twilight Sparkle decided to go through some pitch-black cave.”

“Trixie?” Twilight exclaimed. “What in Equestria are you doing here?”

“And me, I’m here too,” Starlight Glimmer said as she followed behind her friend.

“Yeah, I guess I kinda forgot to mention it at the time, but I ran into Starlight and Trixie way back in the forest we went through on our way to the town where you got your badge,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Rainbow! How could you have forgotten to tell me something that important!” Twilight demanded.

“Hey, lay off! I was dealing with a lot of stuff when that happened,” Rainbow Dash said defensively.

“Well, if Rainbow Dash really did forget to tell you about our encounter then Trixie supposes she can forgive you for apparently avoiding her,” Trixie said. “Be that as it may, the time has finally come, Twilight, to face the wrath of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“She wants to battle you,” Starlight quickly explained seeing Twilight’s confusion.

“That’s what Trixie said, more or less. The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to prove that, when it comes to training Pokémon, she is truly greater and more powerful than Princess Twilight!”

Twilight winced at Trixie’s winced at Trixie’s use of her title as she glanced back at Siegfried. Thankfully, given Siegfried’s lack of reaction he apparently either hadn’t heard or hadn’t understood Trixie’s comment. However, it looked like Siegfried was already headed over to see what the fuss was about and the last ting Twilight wanted at that moment was to have to explain her title. “Alright, if I agree to battle, will you please stop calling me ‘Princess’?” Twilight said in a loud whisper.

“Very well, as long as Trixie is able to say she was able to beat you then it’s fine with her,” Trixie replied as nonchalantly as she could.

“Sounds like you’ve got yourself a challenger,” Siegfried said as he approached the group. “So, are these two girls friends of yours?”

“Well…Starlight Glimmer is at least,” Twilight said hesitantly. “Trixie is more of a friend of a friend, really?”

“Not to mention a rival,” Trixie added.

“Ah, I see now, So, you were chasing after as so you could challenge Miss Twilight to a battle, I take it? Well, Mudsdale still needs some more time to rest so there’s no problem on my end. If you’d like I could even referee for you as well,” Siegfried offered.

“Trixie has no problems with that.” As Trixie spoke she turned and walked until she was several yards away from Twilight, at which point she spun dramatically back around. “This shall be a two versus two battle, unless you have any objections.”

“Fine with me,” Twilight replied, eager to get the matter over with as fast as possible. “Go, Charmeleon!”

AS Charmeleon emerged from its Poké Ball onto the field Trixie let out a haughty snort. “That’s your Pokémon? Trixie has to admit she’s a bit disappointed. No matter, this just means it will be that much easier for Trixie to prove her superiority! Now come, Braixen, let us demonstrate what a truly great and powerful duo really looks like!” In a flash, Trixie’s Pokémon appeared before her, a bipedal, vulpine Pokémon with yellow fur and a bearing that perfectly matched its overdramatic trainer. “Now, Twilight, watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie shows you what true skill –”

“Uh huh, Charmeleon, Dragon Rage,” Twilight said, sounding positively bored with the entire ordeal. Growling in frustration, Charmeleon still obediently reared back its head and launched a ball of fire from its mouth at Braixen. Trixie’s Pokémon barely had time to react before the ball struck and detonated sending it sprawling to the ground.

“Hey, no fair! How does that puny little lizard know an attack that powerful?” Trixie yelled in consternation as Braixen struggled to pull itself back to its feet. “No matter, it will take more than one attack to stop us. Braixen! Unleash the awesome, show-stopping power of you Psybeam!” With a nod of acknowledgement, Braixen deftly flicked its hand behind its back and pulled out a stick, which was burning brightly on one end. As Braixen pointed the stick at Charmeleon with an elaborate flourish, the flame burst into a multicolored flare as a magenta beam of energy shot out and struck Charmeleon square in the head. “Hah, you may have surprised me with that attack earlier, but now we’ll see how well your Charmeleon does when its mind is under psychic assault!”

“Charmeleon, Dragon Rage,” Twilight repeated, hardly reacting at all to Trixie’s blustering. Charmeleon, meanwhile, scrunched itself up as it endured Braixen’s assault before launching another explosive ball of fire from its mouth. Braixen desperately tried to turn and flee from the attack, only to be struck in the back and sent flying, landing to the ground at Trixie’s feet.

“Braixen is unable to battle,” Siegfried declared as Trixie recalled Braixen to its Poké Ball.

“Trixie can see that, thank you,” Trixie hissed before putting away Braixen’s Poké Ball. “You did you best, but now it’s time for Trixie’s other assistant to take the stage. Go, Misdreavus!” As Trixie tossed out her second Poké Ball it split open to unleash a floating grey blob vaguely resembling a feminine head. “Now the, time for act two. Misdreavus, why don’t you start things off with your Confuse Ray!” Misdreavus promptly let out a drawn-out moan as the red jewels around its neck began to glow. To Twilight’s shock, four purple silhouettes matching Misdreavus’ form emerged from the jewels and flew towards Charmeleon circling it and cackling manically.

“Not bad, but you’re going to have to do much better than tat if you want to scare me,” Twilight said. “Charmeleon, another Dragon Rage!”

“Jeez, Twilight just keeps using that same attack. I get that its powerful and everything, but it kinda makes watching her battles a little boring,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Twilight’s definitely over relying on the attack, and it’s a bigger problem than just being uninteresting to watch,” Siegfried said. “Dragon Rage is an exhausting attack, and even the strongest Pokémon can only use it so many times before they completely drain themselves. You can already tell Charmeleon’s almost at its limit just by looking at it. Even if this was a straightforward fight its likely Charmeleon would be in a difficult situation.”

“Yeah, and Trixie’s sure not going to make this straightforward,” Starlight added.

“What the hay do you mean by that?” Even as Rainbow Dash asked the question, Charmeleon let out a roar and launched a blast of Dragon Rage at one of the spectral images circling it. The attack passed harmlessly through the illusion, however, and worse still it struck the ground nearby, catching Charmeleon in the resultant explosion.

“Hah! And for our next trick, Misdreavus will shut down your Pokémon’s attacks entirely!” Trixie crowed triumphantly. “Misdreavus, show Twilight’s Pokémon the power of our Spite!” As Trixie gave the command, Misdreavus’ eyes began to glow with a sinister red light while a dark aura seemed to simultaneously fall over Charmeleon.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she watched her Charmeleon. Misdreavus’ latest attack had left it sweating and breathing heavily, as though it was exhausted. While Twilight didn’t say a word, one only had to glance at her face to see her mentally working through all of her options. Finally, Twilight silently raised Charmeleon’s Poké Ball and recalled it without a word.

“Giving up already? As disappointing as it is Trixie can hardly blame you. After all, you are facing off against the Great and Powerful –”

“Venipede, go!” Twilight interrupted Trixie as she tossed out her next Poké Ball. As Venipede materialized, however, Trixie responded by bursting out into peals of laughter.

“A bug? You’re actually planning on battling the Great and Powerful Trixie with a bug? Trixie isn’t sure if she should be relieved or insulted. No matter, Misdreavus, Astonish that insect.”

Misdreavus seemed to fade into the shadows as it leered at Venipede, but Twilight was able to react just fast enough. “Venipede, use Protect!” Venipede immediately curled into a ball as it surrounded itself in a bubble of turquoise energy, forcing Misdreavus to abandon its attack.

“So, all you can do is curl up and hide away from the Great and Powerful Trixie? Trixie realizes that facing her must be a terrifying experience, but even she never imagined that Twilight Sparkle would be cowed this easily,” Trixie sneered.

Despite Trixie’s best efforts to antagonize her, however, Twilight wasn’t paying her the slightest bit of attention. “Good, Venipede’s Protect should but it some time to build momentum. Even if it’s not faster than Trixie’s Pokémon quite yet, this should go a long way towards narrowing the gap,” Twilight thought to herself as she weighed whether or not to use this strategy against the next gym leader she’d face. “Something’s not right, Venipede should have uncurled by now and the glow from its attack should have gone down. Instead, its looks its actually getting brighter, almost like when –” Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as Venipede was completely engulfed in a bright white light as it seemingly tripled in size. As the light finally subsided, Venipede was revealed to have transformed into a wheel-shaped insectoid.

Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokémon. Its body is protected by an incredibly hard shell. This allows it to attack enemies by rotating at high speed and then crashing into its opponents with devastating force.

“So your Pokémon evolved, big deal,” Trixie said as Spike’s Pokédex finished reading its entry. “That doesn’t change anything. My Misdreavus will still – why is your wrist glowing?”

Looking down, Twilight say that the piece of Bugium-Z inserted in her Z-ring was indeed steadily pulsing with a golden light. “Hold on, does this mean that…Whirlipede, are you ready to try using our Z-move?” Twilight said as she held up the Z-ring for her Whirlipede to see.

“Z-what now? What are you talking about? What’s going on?” Trixie demanded.

Whirlipede, meanwhile, replied to Twilight’s question with a grunt as it rocked forward slightly, gesture Twilight assumed was the closest it could come to nodding its head. “Alright the, let’s do this!” Twilight cried out as she thrust her arms forward.

“Trixie…honestly has no idea what’s going on here,” Trixie said as she watched Twilight throw her hands from side to side. “Is this some sort of cheerleading routine, because if it is then Trixie has honestly seen better.”

“Well, have you ever seen this?” Twilight said as she completed the movements needed to unlock the power of the Z-crystal, sending streams of golden light flowing towards her Pokémon. “Whirlipede, use Savage Spinout!” The light seemed to explode around Whirlipede as it spat out a stream of white threads towards Misdreavus, completely engulfing it in a cocoon. Whirlipede then proceeded to wildly spin and rotate itself, swinging Misdreavus’ cocoon around and repeatedly slamming it into the walls and floor of the cavern. By the time Whirlipede’s attack was complete it was clear to everyone present that Misdreavus wouldn’t be able to continue the fight.

“Misdreavus is unable to battle. As Trixie has no more Pokémon, Twilight is the winner,” Siegfried said as a fuming Trixie recalled her Pokémon.

“What was that? How could your Pokémon be able to use an attack like that? It shouldn’t be possible for your Pokémon to use an attack that powerful?” Trixie practically yelled.

“I take it you haven’t challenged any of the island’s gym leaders,” Siegfried said, earning a black stare of confusion from Trixie. “What Twilight used was what’s called a Z-move. It’s a special kind of attack that combines a trainer’s will with that of their Pokémon, and as you may have noticed its quite powerful.”

“And could anyone learn to do something like that?” Trixie asked with a sudden gleam in her eye.

“Well, first you’d need to prove yourself by challenging and defeating one of the gym leaders, but aside from that, yes, anyone could,” Siegfried replied.

“Then that is exactly what the Great and Powerful Trixie shall do!” Trixie declared with renewed vigor. “You may have beaten Trixie this time, Twilight, but don’t think for a second that this is over. Trixie is going to find and defeat these ‘gym leaders’ and then you shall face an even Greater and more Powerful Trixie!” With that, Trixie disappeared into a cloud of lilac-colored smoke.

“She’s not going to give up on this anytime soon, is she?” Twilight said.

“No, not likely,” Starlight replied. “I think part of its is she sees this whole situation as having put the two of you on even footing. So, now that she has a chance to finally beat you at something she’s completely fixated on it. Still, at least running around challenging gym leaders sounds more interesting than what we were doing.” Starlight paused before leaning in closer and bringing her voice down to a whisper. “I’m guessing you’re already working on fixing whatever caused all this, so I’ll se what I can do to keep Trixie from getting in the way.”

“Shouldn’t you be, you know, going after her?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, but there’s no need to hurry. She’s just hiding behind that stalactite over there. Or is it a stalagmite, I always get those two confused,” Starlight said with a shrug. “I think maybe I’ll ask Maud the next time I see her, she’d definitely know. Anyway, I’ll try and keep an eye out for any of our other friends. Stay safe!” Starlight said as she quickly walked over to a particularly large stalagmite and, after what seemed like a brief argument, reached behind it and pulled out a protesting Trixie.

“It would definitely appear that have yourself a rival,” Siegfried said as they watched Starlight and Trixie retreat back into the cave entrance. “That can actually be a good thing, a strong rival can be one of the best motivators there is to drive you forward.”

“Maybe,” Twilight replied. “But, I really don’t need any help motivating myself right now. I know exactly what I need to do and how important it is for me to stay focused.” With that, Twilight made her way back to the wagon as Siegfried watched.

“I’ll give her this much, that girl has potential,” Siegfried mused to himself. “Her strategizing is sound and she’s clearly got a handle on the technical side of battling. But her heart’s not keeping up with her head, and if she doesn’t fix that then she wouldn’t get too much further.”

The Hauntering

“Dang it, just how far into the mountains is this road gonna take us?” Applejack said as she and Rarity continued to trudge up the steep mountain path.

“Celestia only knows, and we’ve been hiking for hours now,” Rarity groaned. “My poor feet are killing me, and its starting to get dark, too.”

“And fer all we know, Chrysalis and Sombra might still be chasin’ behind us,” Applejack added dourly. “Look, let’s get to the top of this next rise and see if we can spot someplace we can hunker down in until mornin’. Ah don’t much care fer the idea of stumblin’ around this path in the dark, we’d be liable to walk straight off a durn cliff.”

“Agreed. At this point I’d be happy to settle for a nice cave to sleep in.” As Rarity spoke, a distant rumble of thunder echoed in the air. “A nice, dry cave,” Rarity corrected herself as raindrops started to fall.

“Well, there ain’t nothin’ we can do about it fer now, at least this’ll make it harder fer those two to follow up,” Applejack said. As Applejack cleared the next rise in the path, however, her mood suddenly brightened considerably. “Rarity, get up here quick! Y’all ain’t gonna believe this!”

Hurrying to her friend’s side to see what was such cause for commotion, Rarity found herself looking down into a wide valley nestled within which were two buildings. The first was a massive Gothic mansion, which looked completely deserted. Next to it, and appearing far more welcoming, was a small Pokémon Center. “Oh thank Celestia!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Mah thoughts exactly. Ah can’t say the other place looks all that invitin’, but right now either place is a sight fer sore eyes,” Applejack said. With the wind and rain rapidly picking up, neither friend wanted to spend any more time out in the open then absolutely necessary, and so they quickly made their way into the valley.

Unfortunately, as they drew closer to the Pokémon Center it became increasingly apparent that the building was completely abandoned, and likely had been for some time. While the front door was mercifully unlocked, the interior was pitch dark. “Well, it’s still better than being out in the rain,” Rarity said as she stepped inside and activated her Pokédex’s flashlight function. The illumination offered little comfort, however, as the sight of the disheveled lobby made it all too clear that the center had likely been abandoned for a long time.

“As much as Ah hate to complain about a piece of good luck like findin’ this place, Ah still really wish this place was workin’,” Applejack said as she followed Rarity inside. “Mah Pokémon took one heck of a beatin’ fightin’ off Chrysalis and they could of used some help.”

“Mine didn’t fare much better against Sombra, I’m afraid,” Rarity said as she examined one of the lobby’s padded benches to see if it was clean enough to sit on. “Do you suppose there might be any medication left over in the storerooms here?”

“Ah doubt it, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to check anyway. It ain’t like we’ve got all that much to do while we wait out the storm,” Applejack replied. “Ah wonder why the hay they went to the trouble of buildin’ this place if they were just gonna abandon it like this?”

“Personally, I have to wonder why they went to the trouble of building it in the first place,” Rarity said. “I presume it must have something to do with the manor next door, but I can’t possibly fathom what the actual reason itself could be.”

“Beats the hay outta me. Ah’d figure anybody who’d want to live way out here probably wouldn’t be all that interested in havin’ company, so why the hay would they want a Pokémon Center next door? Ah mean, maybe the center opened first and they left ‘cause of it and that’s why the house is abandoned, but that still doesn’t explain why the center’s empty too or why it got built in the first place,” Applejack said.

“To be fair, this isn’t the first time we’ve found a center out in the middle of nowhere,” Rarity replied.

“Sure, but that was by a major road, so trainers would be goin’ by there all the time. But this place here’s way out in the middle of nowhere.” Rarity nodded her head as the two made their way into the back of the Pokémon Center to check its storerooms in hopes of finding something they could use. Unfortunately, as they had both predicted the shelves inside were completely bare, save for an accumulation of cobwebs and dust.

“In all fairness, now that I think about it I imagine even if there had been anything back here it would have likely been expired anyway,” Rarity said as they returned to the main lobby. “We’ll just have to make do with what we have in our backpacks for the time being. Thankfully we should still be stocked from out stopover in –” Rarity stopped short as the beam of her flashlight landed on the table in the middle of the Pokémon Center’s lobby. Neatly stacked on top of the table were two stacks of various medicines, each in front of one of the girl’s backpacks.

“Ah might be losin’ mah marbles a bit, but Ah’m pretty sure those weren’t there a minute ago,” Applejack said as she warily regarded the medicine. “Hello? Anybody there? If y’all are hidin’ would y’ mind comin’ out?”

“Applejack, I realize this might seem like a patently ridiculous theory, but do you think a ghost might have provided those?” Rarity said nervously.

“A ghost? Rarity, have y’all spit yer bit or somethin’? Y’all know there ain’t no such thing as ghosts,” Applejack said.

“Applejack, darling, in case you’ve forgotten we’ve been transformed into a pair of hairless apes whilst stranded in another world. Said world is filled with strange creatures with bizarre powers who fight each other for reasons I still don’t entirely understand. Furthermore, we are right at this moment hiding from a pair of villains who have somehow followed us to this world, one of whom I’m fairly certain was previously dead. For the time being, I feel a little flexibility with regards to what I believe may or may not be real is called for,” Rarity replied.

“Alright, alright, Ah see yer point,” Applejack conceded. “But, who the hay ever heard of a ghost that snuck around leavin’ medicine out fer folks?”

“A pleasantly helpful one? Perhaps it’s the ghost of a former nurse who haunts the center and tries to help the living ?” Rarity suggested hopefully. “In any event, I can’t say I see much benefit in looking a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes.”

“Ah hear what yer sayin’, and Ah don’t rightly disagree with y’all. That all said, Ah think it’d be fer the best if we stick together tonight. Somethin’ about his place definitely gives me the willies somethin’ fierce.”

*********

An hour or so later, Rarity was feeling considerably more positive about her and Applejack’s situation. Not only had Applejack succeeded in activating the center’s emergency lighting, but the center’s water heater was still working as well. Rarity had been quick to take advantage of this latter fact by taking a long, hot shower while Applejack made yet another attempt to locate whoever had left them the medications downstairs.

“I am never going to take being able to take a hot shower for granted ever again,” Rarity said as she wiped some of the condensation from the bathroom mirror. “I may even finally get around to redoing the master bathroom at Carousel Boutique when we get back to Equestria. I’ve been thinking about it for ages, but I think its time I finally got around to it.” As Rarity spoke her reflection nodded in agreement. “It’s just far too easy to…keep…procrastinating…” Rarity’s sentence slowly trailed off as she watched her reflection giggle and wave cheerfully at her. “I was just in the shower for too long, that’s it. With all the heat and humidity combined with what I went through in the graveyard my mind must be playing tricks on me. I’m just going to close my eyes and when I open them back up it will just be my normal reflection.” Rarity promptly shot her eyes as tightly as she could and took a deep breath to settle her nerves.

When Rarity opened her eyes again, her reflection was sporting a hideous rictus grin as it looked back at her with bulging, bloodshot eyes. As Rarity watched in horrified fascination her reflection jerked its head violently forward, causing its eyes to come tumbling out of their sockets into its hands. By the time the reflection started juggling the disembodied eyes Rarity’s mind finally caught up with what was happening, prompting her to flee the bathroom while screaming in terror. Tearing through the halls as fast as her legs could carry her, Rarity rushed into the bedroom she and Applejack had left their things in slammed the door behind her.

“What was – that couldn’t have – dear Celestia this place really is haunted!” Rarity gasped out. “I have to get dressed and then find Applejack so we can –” As Rarity turned around, she was treated to the sight of two of her outfits waltzing together in midair. Faced with yet another paranormal display, Rarity reacted in the only way her fear-wearied mind would allow, by collapsing to the ground in a dead faint.

*********

“Alright, whoever y’all are, ghost or no ghost Ah mean to find y’all and get to the bottom of what’s been goin’ on here,” Applejack said, more to herself than anyone else as she moved through the Pokémon Center’s ground floor. While Rarity seemed confident that whoever, or whatever, had left the medications for them was benevolent, at least enough to take advantage of the center’s shower facilities, Applejack wasn’t quite as trusting. “Somethin’ about this whole business seems off. Ah don’t care what Rarity says, Ah’m not buyin’ that this place is haunted quite yet, and that means somebody else is in here with us.”

As Applejack continued to wander down the hallways of the abandoned Pokémon Center, an unexplainable chill ran down her spine. A split second later, Applejack heard footsteps echo in the halls behind her along with the sound of a young girl giggling.

“Who the hay’s there?” Applejack yelled as she spun around to the sight of an empty hallway. “Hello? Are y’all the one who left us that medicine? ‘Cause if y’all are, Ah would like to thank y’all fer that, and Ah’d like to know if Ah could answer a few questions.”

As Applejack pondered where the noises she heard could have come from, her request was answered by the sounds of yet more footsteps and giggling, this time coming from further down the hallway she had been investigating. Turning around once again, however, Applejack found herself again staring at an empty hallway.

“What in tarnation?” After a few moments of staring into the gloom of the hallway, Applejack caught a glimpse of what looked like a small girl in a dress flitting down a side hall. “There y’all are! Now just stay put, Ah just wanna talk to y’all.” Applejack’s words seemingly fell on deaf ears, however, as when she turned the corner the girl had disappeared behind all she found was yet another empty hallway, this one terminating in a dead end. “Dagnabbit, Ah could of sworn Ah saw someone run back here. Now where the hay did that little girl run off to?” Applejack made her way down the hallway and tried opening some of the doors leading off of it, only to find them all securely locked. “Alright, Applejack, just stay calm and think about this fer a second. Y’all know y’ saw someone run down here and it ain’t like they could’ve just vanished or nothin’. Ah guess she could’ve ducked into one of these rooms and lock it behind her, but Ah feel like Ah’d have heard her do that.”

As Applejack stood there pondering where the mysterious girl might have gone, however, a bloodcurdling scream echoed out from upstairs.

“Rarity! Aw hay, what now?” Her pursuit momentarily forgotten, Applejack raced back through the center until she reached the room she and Rarity had been sharing. The door to the room was wide open and several of Rarity’s outfits lay crumpled on the floor, but there was no sigh of Rarity herself anywhere. “Dang it, what the hay is wrong with this place? Rarity? RARITY?” Applejack continued to call out to her friend with mounting panic until she finally drove her fist into the wall in frustration. “Why the hay did Ah have to go off like that and leave Rarity all alone up here? If Ah’d been here then maybe Ah could’ve – what in tarnation?” As Applejack blinked back her tears, she noticed several flakes of plaster drifting away from where her fist had collided with the wall, exposing a fine seam. “Now just what the hay do we have here? Looks like this goes from the top of the bunk beds all the way down to the floor. If Ah didn’t know any better, Ah’d say this looks like…some kind of secret passage! That must be where Rarity’s gone, and that’s probably how that little girl disappeared. There must’ve been somethin’ like this back in that hallway. Hmph, ‘haunted’ mah orange patootie, Ah knew there was a rational explanation fer all this. Once Ah get this thing open Ah should be able to find Rarity and then whoever’s behind all this is gonna have some explainin’ to do!”

Applejack spent the next several minutes searching all over the bed and nearby wall. Eventually, Applejack located a hidden latch beneath the bed which caused the entire bed and part of the wall itself to swing outward, revealing a hidden passageway leading down into the darkness. “Now we’re getting’ somewhere. Ah’m willin’ to bet Ah’m either gonna find Rarity at the end of this, or at least whoever took her. Either way, Ah’m gettin’ some answers as to just what the hay is up with this crazy place.” The hidden passage led to a spiral staircase which wound its way down to what Applejack guessed, going by its depth, was an underground passage of some kind. The passage itself was cramped and pitch dark, forcing Applejack to move slowly as she made her way through it, but eventually she reached a wooden panel at the tunnel’s end.

“Huh,” Applejack said as she knocked on the panel a few times, producing a deep, hollow sound. “Feels like this here’s a door or somethin’. Ah’m guessin’ Ah just need to give it a good shove…” With a grunt, Applejack placed her shoulder against the wood and pushed as hard as she could. At first the panel resisted her efforts, but after a few moments it suddenly swung open, causing Applejack to stumble forward and fall to the floor of the room beyond.

“Take this, you reprehensible – Applejack?” Looking up, Applejack found herself looking at Rarity who was standing above her dressed in an ornate ballgown and holding a fireplace poker as if she were about to bring it down on Applejack’s head.

“Yeah, it’s me! It’s me!” Applejack cried out while shielding her head. “Ah heard y’all scream and came lookin’ fer y’. What the hay happened? And what in Celestia’s name are y’all wearin’?”

“Oh, you mean this? I’m not really sure, to be honest, I had it on when I woke up after fainting. Lovely, isn’t it? It’s not one of mine, admittedly, and maroon usually isn’t my color, but the gold accents really do set off my hair.” Rarity paused as she felt Applejack’s gaze boring into her. “But that’s not quite what you’re asking, is it? The truth is, I saw a ghost!”

“A ghost?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, a ghost! It was awful, it made these horrific images appear in the bathroom mirror and then when I ran to our room I saw even more ghosts haunting my outfits. That’s when I fainted, and when I woke up I was here in this dress.” Rarity said.

“Ah’ve got a few questions about that, but Ah guess the first one would have to be where the hay is ‘here’ exactly, anyway?” Applejack said. Taking a moment to finally look around the room itself, Applejack saw that they were standing in a fancy but old-fashioned drawling room with a single door leading out of it.

“The door is locked tight, I tried it as soon as I woke up,” Rarity said as she noticed Applejack looking at the door.

“Well, that’s no big deal, we can just go back through the way Ah took to –” A load thunk followed by an ominous click cut Applejack off midsentence. Both Applejack and Rarity promptly spun around to see that the wall panel concealing the secret entrance had swung shut, leaving no visible trace of its existence. “Gah! Ah hate this place!” Applejack yelled in frustration before taking out one of her Poké Balls. “Alright, if this funhouse wants to play dirty then Ah’ve a mind to oblige. Ah was hopin’ to let Aron rest a bit longer, but Ah reckon he won’t have any trouble knockin’ down a door or two.”

“Applejack, I’m not entirely certain that’s such a wise idea. I have to imagine that whoever owns this place would take a dim view to our knocking down doors willy-nilly,” Rarity cautioned.

“Well they should of thought of that before lockin’ us in this durn funhouse, then! Ah aim to get the hay outta here and unless that door over there just suddenly opens up on its own –” Once again, Applejack found herself interrupted mid-sentence, this time by the creak of the room’s door as it swung open. “Y’know, Ah can’t think of too many things more frustratin’ than getting exactly what y’all want and still feelin’ like yer bein’ hornswoggled.”

“Well, ‘hornswoggled’ or not we don’t have very many options at the moment,” Rarity said.

“Ah hear what y’all’re sayin’. Let’s just hope this leads us someplace that ain’t tryin’ to drive us batty.” Rarity nodded in agreement as the two stepped into a windowless hallway with numerous doors leading off it on either side. Oddly, the walls of the hallway were lined with almost cloyingly cheerful paintings of clowns, parties and other subjects Pinkie Pie would doubtlessly have approved of. “Y’know, it probably says somethin’ about this place that these things might actually make everythin’ even creepier,” Applejack said as she looked at one painting depicting a clown juggling pies.

“Look on the bright side, Applejack, it could be far worse. At the moment I’ll happily take a bit of forced whimsy over the macabre. In the meantime, why don’t you help me see if any of these other doors are unlocked? Surely one of them must lead to a way out of this place,” Rarity said.

“Sounds like a plan. Here, why don’t Ah check the doors on this side of the hallway and y’all can –” Applejack had only looked away from the painting for a single moment, but when she looked back the image had changed. The pies the clown had previously been juggling had now fallen all over the ground, with one having even landed on the clown’s upturned face. “Ah’m just gonna pretend Ah didn’t see that and focus on gettin’ the hay out of here. It’s just some sort of trick paintin’, it doesn’t mean a dang thing. Heck, if Pinkie or Rainbow were here they’d probably be able to tell me how prank like that’d work.” Applejack continued to mutter to herself as she hastened to the nearest door and opened it, revealing a room lined floor to ceiling with rows of porcelain dolls. As Applejack stood in the doorway, all of the dolls slowly turned their heads in unison towards her, prompting Applejack to slam the door shut. “Nope!”

“A-Any luck on your side so far?” Looking over to her friend, Applejack could see Rarity with her back against a door, as if trying to hold it shut.

“Not yet, but it ain’t like they can all be horrible, right?” Applejack replied with one of the lease convincing laughs she had ever uttered while moving to the next door down. Opening it revealed a small parlor, in the center of which was a round table set with a full tea service. Unfortunately, seated at the table were a pair of skeletons, who were going through the motions of pouring and drinking tea. As Applejack watched, one of the skeletons turned towards the open door and gestured for her to join them, prompting her to quickly close the door again. “Rarity, please, fer the love of Celestia, tell me y’all’ve found somethin’, anythin’, that’ll help us get the hay out of here.”

“There’s nothing in here,” Rarity replied in a strangely dazed tone.

“At this point an empty room sounds like an improvement,” Applejack said. “Still, it ain’t gonna help us get out of here, either, so –”

“No, you don’t understand,” Rarity said sounding increasingly distressed. “There’s nothing in here.”

“Dang it, Rarity just what in tarnation are y’all on about?” Applejack said. As soon as she turned to face her friend, however, Applejack immediately saw what had Rarity so upset. Beyond the door Rarity had opened was a black void of infinite nothingness, stretching out into infinity in every direction. “Y’know what? Ah’m just gonna close this here door and we’re gonna forget we ever saw this.” As Applejack quietly guided Rarity away from the void and closed the door she maintained as calm a demeanor as possible so as not to upset her friend any further. When Applejack looked up, however, Applejack saw that the clown painting from earlier had changed yet again, its pie-covered subject now seemingly staring directly at her. In an instant, Applejack felt her composure nap as she let out a wild scream of frustration. “Ah can’t take it anymore! This place is drivin’ me out of mah durn mind! Ah’d rather spend a durn moon locked up in another one of Discord’s mazes than spend one more minute here!”

By the time Applejack was finished she was breathing heavily, and Rarity gave her a few moments to catch her breath before replying. “There now, feel any better now that you’ve let all that out?”

“Yeah, a little,” Applejack said as she took a deep breath. “Not gonna lie, though, Ah’m a little surprised y’all ain’t freakin’ out at all this too.”

“To be fair, if you weren’t, then I would,” Rarity admitted. “That said, panicking and breaking down aren’t going to help our situation in the slightest.”

“Yer right. We need to just keep cool and figure out a way out of this place. Ah think its safe to say these doors are a bust, but maybe there’s an exit at the end of this hallway.” Even as Applejack spoke, an eerie blue light, like some sort of ghostly candle, flickered into being at the far end of the hallway.

“Applejack…” Rarity said nervously.

“Ah see it, Rarity, and Ah mean to give it a piece of mah mind,” Applejack said as she started marching down the hall towards the light. “Alright y’ little varmint, y’all’ve had me and mah friend runnin’ silly all night long and Ah’ve had just about all Ah can take.” Rarity was forced to chase after her friend as Applejack broke into a run after the light, which always seemed to remain just far enough away to keep either friend from getting a clear view of it. Eventually, however, the light reached the far end of the hallway, illuminating a large set of double doors which it promptly vanished inside of. “Oh no y’all don’t, y’all ain’t gettin’ away from me that easy,” Applejack growled as she charged ahead and threw open the doors. Beyond the doors lay a massive, cavernous dining room with rows of columns along its sides. “Alright, where the hay are y’all? Come on out and stop hidin’ fer ponies sake!”

“Very well, I suppose we do you owe the two of you something of an apology,” a male voice with what Rarity would have described as a Trottingham accent said.

“Who the hay said that? Get out here and talk to us face to face!” Applejack demanded. As soon as Applejack spoke, however, a purplish cloud roughly shaped like an inverted triangle and sporting a sinister-looking face appeared in front of her.

“If I may be permitted to introduce myself, I am Wraithsworth, the butler of Chateau Fantome. I sincerely hope that your visit here hasn’t been too distressing. The chateau’s residents do have a tendency to become rather rambunctious, and while their pranks are meant to be in good fun I’m afraid they sometimes take things a bit too far.”

Rarity and Applejack stood staring at Wraithsworth in mute shock for several seconds as their minds struggled to catch up with what was happening, with Applejack being the first to recover. “Yer a Pokémon?”

“Yes, yes I am, as are the other present residents of the chateau,” Wraithsworth replied as numerous shapes began flitting about amid the shadows of the room’s ceiling. “The Chateau Fantome is a haven to Ghost-type Pokémon such as myself, you see. A place where we’re free to cavort and make merry amongst like-minded friends.”

“Ah, I see,” Rarity said as she began slowly inching her way to the side. “Well, there was no harm done in the end and we’d hate to be any more of a bother than we already have so if you’ll just excuse use we’ll be on our way.”

“Oh now, we couldn’t possibly turn the two of you out, not at this time of night and in weather like this,” Wraithsworth countered as he deftly interposed himself between Rarity and the exit, a peal of thunder punctuating his statement. “And besides, we of the Chateau haven’t had guests in oh so long you absolutely must star and rest for just a bit longer. I’m certain you’ll find our hospitality going forward will be…to die for.” The assembled Ghost Pokémon looking on all burst into hideous peals of screeching laughter at this last comment. “I’m sorry, that was just a touch of ghost humor there.”

“Aheheh, well we’re mighty appreciative of that and all, but mah friend’s right, we really should skedaddle before too long,” Applejack said.

“Nonsense, I won’t hear another word of it,” Wraithsworth replied holding up a disembodied purple hand. “You simple must stay here with us. We insist.”

Surfside Showdown

“Ladies and…other ladies, I guess, I give you Aquarius City!” Derek declared as a glistening city rose up on the horizon. “What we have here is one of the main entryways into the Javik region and probably the single biggest tourist hotspot in the region. Almost everyone who visits the Javik region comes through here at some point, so it should be a pretty good place to wait for your friends.”

“Wow, this place looks super-duper fun!” Pinkie Pie said with glee as she admired the city skyline. “I’ll be there’ll be loads of exciting stuff to do once we get there.”

“Hopefully not too exciting,” Fluttershy said. “After everything that’s happened so far I could really use some peace and quiet.”

“Well, the good news is that the city should be able to accommodate both of you,” Derek said. “There’s always plenty of things to do on the boardwalk, or you can just kick back on the beach and relax.”

“That does sound nice,” Fluttershy started to say, only to be interrupted by the sound of stomach growling. “Maybe we should start by getting lunch, though?”

*********

Despite moving as quickly as they could, it still took the better part of an hour to actually reach the city’s beachfront. By that point, both Pinkie and Derek were fully in agreement with Fluttershy regarding making lunch a priority. Thankfully, there were a wide variety of options at the edge of the beach and the three soon settled on a small eatery offering Alolan-style noodle dishes.

“Mmm, that really hit the spot,” a satiated Pinkie Pie said before letting out a small belch. “So, what do you guys want to do now?”

“We should probably start by heading over to the local Pokémon Center and reserve a couple of rooms, especially if you two plan on staying here for a while. I’m pretty sure your friends will pass through here eventually, but there’s no way of knowing how long eventually will take,” Derek said.

“That makes sense, I guess. And then after that we can explore the city a bit. I’m actually a little curious to see what sort of Pokémon live along the beach,” Fluttershy said. “Pinkie, was there anything that you –”

“What’s a ‘malasada’?” Pinkie asked, having somehow gotten up from the table and wandered over to a nearby poster without either Derek or Fluttershy noticing.

“A malasada? It’s kind of like a donut without the hole, they’re really big in Alola. Why do you ask?” Derek said.

“Because I think I may have just found what I’d like to do while we’re here,” Pinkie Pie replied with a grin as she pointed to the poster she had been inspecting, which was declaring an upcoming ‘Beach Battle Champion’s Tournament’.

“’Prove your Pokémon are the champions of the sand at the Beach Battle Champion’s Tournament’,” Fluttershy read aloud. “I think I’ll probably pass on that. Why are you so interested, though? I didn’t think you cared much for Pokémon battles either.”

“It says here that the winner gets free malasadas for a year! An entire year of yummy sweet, fried dough deliciousness!” Pinkie Pie said, licking her lips in anticipation before glancing over at Derek. “That’s what malasadas are, right?” Upon seeing Derek nod his head in confirmation Pinkie immediately resumed fantasizing about the sugary treats.

“Personally, if I were you I wouldn’t even bother entering,” the snootiest voice Pinkie had ever heard outside of Canterlot declared. Turning around, Pinkie Pie found herself faced with a young man in a pink polo shirt and khaki shorts, with two similarly dressed men standing behind him to either side. “Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Chadwick Rothchester-Browne, the third, and as I’ll be entering this little tournament someone such as yourself really doesn’t have much of a chance at all.”

“Really? How come?” Pinkie asked innocently.

“I’d have thought it was obvious, but if you need me to explain it to you then I shall. The foundation of any Pokémon is its breeding, and my Pokémon have the most superior breeding possible. If you were to insist on challenging me with your, undoubtedly common Pokémon, then the outcome would be all but a foregone conclusion.” With that, Chadwick began letting out a snorting laugh that was soon echoed by the pair standing behind him.

“Well, I still thing this sounds like it’ll a whole lot of fun, and I’d never pass up an opportunity to win some tasty fried dough goodness,” Pinkie declared.

“Very well, I suppose some people will only understand their proper place in the world when forced to. It’ll see you at the tournament, then. Come, Reginald, Widmark, I do believe a cup of pre-victory tea is called for.” With that, Chadwick and his two lackeys pushed past Pinkie Pie to walk out the door, laughing to themselves all the while.

“Do you really think you’ll be alright battling against that guy, Pinkie,” Fluttershy asked once the trio was out of earshot. “He seemed very confident that he’ll be able to win.”

“Probably because he’s never had to battle anyone who wasn’t being paid to let him win,” Derek said sourly. “I’ve run into enough guys like him before to know the type. They spend their whole lives in a bubble courtesy of mommy and daddy’s money and they wind up thinking they’re invincible as a result.”

“Wow, guys like that must really get under your skin, huh?” Pinkie said.

“Trainers who brag about how strong they are and can’t back it up in general irritate me,” Derek said. “In fact, I’d say they’re one of the two sorts of people who annoy me more than anything else.’

“Two types?” Pinkie asked. “Who are the others?”

*********

“Okay man, check it, we’re in a new town, with a new start, so there’s no chance we’ll get tripped up by a bunch of losers like last time. Or the time before that. Or the time before that. Or…uh, how many times have we have plans messed up by a bunch of uncool goodie-two shoes again?” Femur said as he and Ribcage strutted down the boardwalk. “Eh, it doesn’t matter, we’re not going to have to worry about that anymore.”

“No doubt man, now we just gotta start some trouble to let everyone here know that they’re dealin’ with some real boneheads,” Ribcage said. “So, what kinda trouble are we gonna cause?”

“Well, we could…nah, that’s not big enough. Or, how about…no, we’d need more boneheads to pull something like that off.” Femur dejectedly slumped against a nearby wall. “Man, this blows, I can’t think of any good ideas for something bad. What’s even the point of being a grunt if you have to figure stuff like this out for yourself? That’s what the bosses are supposed to be for.”

Ribcage was about to commiserate with his partner when a fluttering piece of paper suddenly caught his attention. “Hey, what’s this…Dude! Check this out, this restaurant’s got a thing goin’ where you can get a year’s worth of free malasadas!”

“Seriously? Aw dude, sweet! I haven’t had any good malasadas since we left Alola!” Femur eagerly snatched at the paper to inspect it, only to let out a groan of frustration. “Hold up, it says here that to get the malasadas you have to win some stupid tournament. Entering something like that would be seriously uncool, even for malasadas.”

“Hold on, I’ve got an idea! I know a way we can get those malasadas that would not only be seriously cool, but would help us build some seriously hard rep,” Ribcage said. “All we gotta do is wait for those losers to start their little tournament thing, and then…”

*********

“Pinkie, are you sure that entering this tournament is such a good idea?” Fluttershy asked as she and Pinkie got ready for bed.

“Of course! If I win then I’ll get a whole year’s worth of malasadas! Although, if they use that same ‘average pony’s consumption’ trick that candy company contest used it might not last all that long. Some lifetime supply of taffy that was,” Pinkie Pie muttered sourly.

“As nice as that does sound, I think, aren’t you even a little worried about having to battle that Chadwick person? He seemed really certain that he’d be able to win and honestly he didn’t seem like he was a particularly nice person,” Fluttershy said.

“Come on, Fluttershy, you heard what Derek said. That guy was probably just blowing hot air. Although, he didn’t really look like a dragon, more like those snooty ponies that sometimes come from Canterlot to visit Rarity’s boutique. Hmm, actually, do you think snooty ponies are actually part dragon? They seem to really like gems the way dragons do, and being full of hot air could be like breathing fire…”

As Pinkie continued to ponder the possible connection between dragons and the stuck-up residents of Canterlot (and whether snooragon or dragooty made for a better portmanteau) Fluttershy redirected her attention to the incubator that held the egg she had taken responsibility for. “I just can’t wait to finally meet whatever cute little baby Pokémon is going to hatch from this.”

“Do you think it’s going to happen soon?” Pinkie asked.

“Actually I do. When we first made it out of the swamp I started to notice that every so often the egg would wiggle a little. And recently, I think I’ve even heard noises coming from inside every so often,” Fluttershy added before biting her bottom lip in an effort to contain her excitement.

“Really? What kind of Pokémon do you think it’s going to be? Do you think it might be one of those rock-rhinos they had at the breeding center? Or maybe it’s one of those cute puppy Pokémon. Ooh, maybe its like that weird-looking Pokémon Derek has that he doesn’t know I saw that one time.”

“I don’t know, but whatever kind of Pokémon it turns out to be I’m going to be sure to give it all the love and care it needs,” Fluttershy said. “In any event, even with tomorrow’s tournament this city should be a nice, peaceful place to take care of it.”

*********

The next day the group made their way back to the beach, where an area in front of the restaurant sponsoring the tournament had been marked off. A number of trainers had already arrived to sign up, with one in particular making his presence very known.

“So these are only one-on-one single elimination battles? How very quaint! Well, I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much, after all that means I should be able to wrap this whole business that much faster, and my time is far too valuable to waste.” Chadwick punctuated this last observation with a laugh. Or, as Pinkie though to herself, possibly an imitation of a harbor seal.

Ignoring Chadwick’s snorting laughter, Pinkie made her way to the table with the sign-up sheet. Seated behind the table was a rotund man alongside a large wooden statue of what Pinkie presumed was a Pokémon of some kind. “Hiyah! Is this where I sign up for the tournament?” Pinkie asked.

“Yes it is, little lady, and you’re just in time since we’re almost ready to get started. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Makoa, and I’m the one putting on this little tournament. Just so you know, in case you didn’t hear the gentle man behind you, the battles we’ll all be one on one, with the winner advancing. Any questions?” Makoa asked.

“Sort of, just not really about the tournament. I understood all that stuff, but I was just wondering what that is?” Pinkie said as she pointed towards the statue next to Makoa.

“Ah, this would be Tapu Lele. Back at my home in Alola, Tapu Lele is one of our guardian deities, and normally I keep this statue in my restaurant for good luck. Today, though, I decided to bring it here so it could oversee the battles. Speaking of which, I should probably get started pulling names for the brackets. I’ll call everyone over once everything’s ready.”

*********

“Hey Fluttershy, how’s Pinkie’s tournament thing going?” Derek said as he walked over to where Fluttershy had been watching the battles unfold.

“It’s fine, I guess. I’m still getting used to the idea that the Pokémon really enjoy all this,” Fluttershy replied as she protectively hugged her egg case to her chest. “As long as I keep reminding myself of that part then I think I’ll be alright with it all, though. On the other hand, Pinkie seems to be doing really well. I think she’s just about to start her match for the semifinals.”

“Lombre, use Absorb!” Pinkie Pie yelled out from the battlefield, prompting Lombre to fire a red beam of light from the marking on its face at its opponent, a strange creature consisting of a pair of clawed arms sticking out from a rock.

“Binacle, watch out!” Pinkie’s opponent, a young bespectacled boy in a bowl cut, yelled out. Unfortunately, it was already too late for his Pokémon to avoid the attack. Binacle’s hand-like heads slumped to the ground as its energy was swiftly drained away, prompting the referee to motion a successful win for Pinkie Pie.

“Well, that didn’t take long. From the look of it, most of the entrants were probably either beginners fresh off the cruise ships or locals who haven’t tried challenging the gym circuit yet,” Derek observed as he looked over the crowd of onlookers. “I’m guessing Pinkie’s been pretty much running over her competition?”

Fluttershy nodded with a concerned look on her face. “She hasn’t been the only one, though.”

Before Derek could ask Fluttershy what she meant, he heard a familiar voice from one of the other fields. “Magnificent work, Dewott. Another step closer to our inevitable victory. Not that there was ever even the slightest doubt to begin with.”

“Most of the trainers he’s fought weren’t even able to last more than one or two attacks,” Fluttershy said as she and Derek watched Chadwick recall his Pokémon, a blue, bipedal otter, back to its Poké Ball. “I hate to say it, but I’m a little worried for Pinkie and her Pokémon. Do you think she’ll be alright?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that Pinkie’s going to have a cakewalk on her hands, but I wouldn’t be too worried either,” Derek replied. “Going by that Dewott, I’d guess Chadwick’s probably about as experienced as Pinkie is, so a lot of this is going to come down to which Pokémon each of them uses. Besides that, assuming Pinkie hasn’t had to use her Z-Move yet –”

“Look, they’re getting ready to start the battle!” Fluttershy cried out, interrupting Derek’s musings. Indeed, both Pinkie and Chadwick were now walking towards the area where the final battle of the day would be held.

“I remember you, you’re the girl I ran into at the restaurant the other day. Well, I’ll grant that if you’ve made it this far then clearly you’re more capable than I had thought,” Chadwick said as he took his place at one side of the field.

“Thanks, I think,” Pinkie replied uncertainly.

“Admittedly it wouldn’t take all that much. In any event, you’ve gone about as far as you’re going to go today. Just, do try and last long enough to keep this interesting. If I let my Dewott fight too many easy battles it could start to lose its edge.” As Chadwick spoke, he flipped his Poké Ball into the air, unleashing his Dewott onto the field.

“Oh, don’t you worry, there’s no way I’m taking it easy on you when malasadas are on the line! Even though I’ve never actually had malasadas before, but they sound really, really yummy, and…well, anyway Toothy GO!”

The two opposing trainers and their Pokémon stared each other down form across the battlefield as they prepared to make their opening moves. Before either trainer could call out an attack, however, a scratchy hip-hop beat suddenly started blaring from over by the sign-up table. “Yo yo yo yo, listen up! We’re here to put this show on ice. If you think you can take on these boneheads, then you better think twice!”

“We’ll be helpin’ ourselves to your fine malasadas. Your chance of stoppin’ us is basically nada!”

Her eyes actually starting to twitch with irritation, Pinkie turned to see Femur and Ribcage standing on top of the sign-up table along with a battered boombox. “Seriously? They’re here too?”

“Surely these ruffians aren’t friends of yours, are they?” Chadwick, causing Pinkie Pie to blanche.

“Friends? Oh no no no no no no, those two are just a couple of meanie pantses who keep following me and my friends around and causing trouble,” Pinkie replied.

“Ah, so even members of the bourgeoisie have to deal with lower-class miscreants following them around. Perhaps we’re not quite as different as had thought,” Chadwick said, causing Pinkie Pie to sputter for a few seconds before finally facepalming.

The grunts, meanwhile, were engaged in a brief discussion. “Uh, dude, I thought we decided the whole rhyming thing wasn’t cool anymore,” Femur said.

“I only kept rhymin’ because I heard you do it,” Ribcage protested.

“Ah, my bad, I didn’t even realize I was still doing it. Anyway, let’s just get started with this,” Femur said as he tossed a net over the statue of Tapu Lele before flexing triumphantly. “Check this, old man, we got your guardian thing, and if you want it back then you’ll need to make with the malasadas pronto!”

“Yeah, so hand over all those sweets, or we’re gonna…uh, somethin’….um, somethin’ so nasty yer not even gonna wanna know what it is!” Ribcage added.

“Hold on a second,” Makoa said as he attempted to make sense of the grunt’s demands. “You’ve taken my statue hostage, and you’re saying you won’t give it back unless I give you the malasadas for the tournament’s prize?”

“That’s right, pops. Now make with the malasadas already!” Femur demanded.

“You two do realize that the winner doesn’t just get all the malasadas at once, right?” an exasperated Makoa replied.

“The don’t?” Femur and Ribcage asked in unison.

“They don’t?” Pinkie Pie echoed.

“No, of course not. If I gave a full year’s worth of malasadas to someone all at once then most of them would wind up going stale before they could be eaten. What the winner gets is a voucher for free malasadas for the year,” Makoa explained.

“Seriously? I mean, duh, we already knew that. What we really meant when we said make with the malasadas was…um, hold on for a sec,” Femur said as he pulled Ribcage into a huddle. “Dude what do we do now?”

“That’s easy dude, we just go with plan B,” Ribcage replied.

“Plan B? Since when did we have a plan B, plans are for uncool losers,” Femur said.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s true. But, we’re such rock-hard boneheads that we can do whatever and then call it plan B and these losers will buy it,” Ribcage said.

“Dude, yeah, that’s perfect. Okay, I think I know what to do, just follow my lead,” Femur said as he and Ribcage broke from their impromptu conference.

“They do realize that we can hear everything they’re saying, right?” Chadwick asked quizzically. “Clearly, these two are buffoons of the lowest variety…unless that’s exactly what they want us to think. Yes, I see it now, this is obviously a choreographed ploy to make us think they’re idiots so they can catch off guard. A clever plan, but you’ll have to do far better than that to outwit Chadwick Rothchester-Browne!” Chad couldn’t have possibly known it at the time, but at that moment he had accomplished a feat many of the residents of Ponyville considered impossible; stunning Pinkamena Diane Pie into complete silence.

The grunts, meanwhile, had far more pressing concerns. “Check it, old man, you know how some people say ‘dough’ when they mean money? Well, malasadas are made of dough, right? So when I told you to hand over the malasadas, I was really telling you to hand over your cash. I guess you just weren’t cool enough to understand me,” Femur added as smugly as he could.

“I’ve heard quite enough,” Chad said as he and his Dewott stepped forward. “Your assault on the rules of common decency and proper word usage ends here. Giving a pair of reprobates like you a thrashing will be just the warming up Dewott needs before our glorious final victory.”

“Is this dude for real? You’re stepping up on the two baddest boneheads Team Skull ever had. So get ready, because we’re about to beat you down like you’ve never been beat before. Go, Bellsprout!” Femur yelled as he tossed out his Poké Ball.

“Struggle all you want, Dewott and I are fare more than you lowly thugs can handle. Dewott, prune this weed with your Razor Shell before it makes any more of a scene.” Dewott nodded curtly as it pulled the shells from its hips, each of them glowing with power.

“Yeah, you’ll have to do better than that to crack this bonehead. Bellsprout, Vine Whip this sucker!” As Dewott leapt into the air for its attack, Bellsprout leaned its entire body back before snapping forwards and lashing out with its vine. Dewott, unable to dodge out of the way midair, took Bellsprout’s attack full in the face and was sent crashing to the ground unconscious. “Wait, that actually worked?” Femur asked in a stunned tone as he looked down at his opponent’s defeated Pokémon. “I mean…of course it worked! Because that’s what you get for messing with Team Skull, you get beat down and beat down until – whoa, Bellsprout, you alright there?”

While Femur had been crowing over his unexpected victory, Bellsprout had seemingly tensed up following its defeat of Dewott. Suddenly, Bellsprout became enveloped in a bright white light as its body began to morph and grow until its bell-shaped head encompassed nearly its entire bulk.

“Dude…MY BELLSPROUT EVOLVED!” Femur yelled out triumphantly. “This bonehead’s even harder than before, so you all better do what we say or you’ll be in for a beatdown like you’ve never seen!”

“Not so fast!” Pinkie Pie yelled out as she marched up with Toothy at her side. “We’re not just going to sit by and let you go around bullying everyone. Right, Toothy?”

“Totodile!” Toothy replied firmly.

“Aw, come one! You’re here?” Ribcage moaned upon seeing Pinkie Pie. “Can’t you goody-goody losers ever take a vacation or somethin’?”

“Chill, dude, I’ve got this,” Femur said. “I almost beat this loser and her Totodile when she got in the way of us snatching that Muchlax way back, remember? Now that Bellsprout’s gone full Weepinbell I’m going to pay her back for all the times she’s gotten in our way.”

“Hey! Your Pokémon may have gotten bigger, but Toothy and me have gotten a lot tougher since then too!” Pinkie Pie countered. “And besides, we’ve beaten you in the end every time we run into you while you’re doing something not nice and we’re going to keep doing that! The beating you part, I mean, hopefully not the running into you part. Isn’t that right, Toothy?”

“Totodile. Toto-toto, Totodile!” Something about the way Toothy responded caught Pinkie Pie’s attention. Looking down, Pinkie could see that Toothy was glaring furiously at both Femur and Weepinbell, as if it was ready to charge at them at any moment.

“Toothy, are you alright there?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“It’s probably just scared because it knows my Weepinbell’s about to –” Femur found himself abruptly interrupted as Toothy let out a furious growl while a bright light enveloped it as well. In moments, Toothy had taken on a new form, gaining a foot in height and looking considerably more rotund overall. “Okay, so your Pokémon evolved. That’s no big deal, I’ve still got this. Weepinbell, Vine Whip this fool!” Weepinbell obediently lashed out at Toothy with a pair of thick green vines. Toothy, however, snapped at one of the vines as it drew near, catching it in its jaws and causing frost to spread down the botanical appendage.

“Hehehe, it looks like Toothy just gave your Weepinbell a bad case of…frostbite,” Pinkie Pie said. Even as Pinkie Pie made her pun, however, she recalled an argument that she had once overheard between Applejack and Rainbow Dash about one of Rainbow Dash’s pranks. The prank in question had involved a July snowstorm and Applejack had been particularly upset because…”Cold can really hurt plants! Toothy, use that freezy-bitey attack again!”

“Croconaw!” With a shout of acknowledgement, Toothy charged forward, its mouth glowing with bright blue light as it went. Despite Weepinbell’s best efforts to ward Toothy off with its vines, Toothy was able to get through and clamped its jaws down on Weepinbell’s head, encasing the unfortunate Pokémon in ice.

“Aw come on!” Femur wailed as he recalled Weepinbell to its Poké Ball. “This is a seriously uncool situation here.”

“Don’t worry, man, I’ve got yer back,” Ribcage said. “Cool guys like us always have a way out of situations like this. Like a…SMOKE BOMB!” Ribcage yelled as he produced a fist-sized purple ball and threw it down onto the ground. Rather than exploding, however, the ball wound up half-buried in the soft sand, much to the grunt’s dismay. “Are you kiddin’ me? And I just got these stupid things, too,” Ribcage said as she prodded the ball with his foot.

“Wait, dude, you mean that that that’s one of the new bombs we got?” Femur asked, suddenly alarmed. “Dude, those weren’t smoke bombs, they’re – “ Before Femur could finish his sentence, the ball let out a high-pitched squeal before detonating in a noxious cloud of purple smoke. Moments later, both grunts could be seen staggering out from the cloud while coughing and gagging in agony.

“Eugh, it smells like they laced that thing with Skuntank fluid,” Derek said as the stench of the cloud began to disseminate over the crowd. “We should probably grab Pinkie and get out of here. Otherwise this stuff could seep into our clothes and we’d end up smelling like the bottom of a dumpster.” Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement, while keeping her mouth shut tight to help avoid breathing in the foul vapors, and the pair moved to collect their friend.

*********

“- and in recognition of her defeat of the idiots who tried ruining the tournament, I hereby declare Pinkie Pie the Beach Battle Champion!” The various contestants and onlookers who had reconvened at the Alolan bakery sponsoring the tournament burst into applause while a giggling Pinkie took a bow alongside Toothy.

Still, not quite everyone shared the general atmosphere of delight. “Well, I for one think awarding Miss Pie the victory is a tad presumptuous, seeing as how she technically never actually defeated me. But, I suppose I’ll let it slide given the circumstances,” Chadwick said as his two sycophants applauded his magnanimity and everyone else ignored him.

“Congratulations, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said as Pinkie sat down with her friends and a massive platter of malasadas.

“Thanks, but honestly it was mostly Toothy that did everything,” Pinkie replied in between mouthfuls of pastry. “I’m just glad he learned that freezy-bite attack of his when he did or we might have been in real trouble.”

“Ice Fang,” Derek said reflexively. “And don’t sell yourself short. Toothy wouldn’t have been able to use an attack like that if you hadn’t trained it as well as you have.’

“I’m just glad everything turned out alright in the end,” Fluttershy said. “Now if we can just find our friends without running into any more surprises –“ At that very moment, the incubator Fluttershy had been carrying started to emit a chiming sound as the egg inside began to glow. “What’s going on, is there something wrong with the egg?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s hatching,” Derek replied. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in realization as she quickly opened the incubator and gently lifted out the glowing egg. As she did so, however, the egg appeared to morph in her hands until she found herself holding a small, white humanoid Pokémon with green hair and a pair of red horns pointing out the front and back of its head. As Fluttershy looked up at the newborn Pokémon, it reached its stubby arms out to her as though it were asking for a hug.

“Ralts,” it chirped happily as Fluttershy looked back at it with an expression of pure delight.

“Huh, so it was a Ralts egg,” Derek said mildly. “That’s probably a good fit for you, given their temperament, and – and you’re not even listening to me, are you?”

“Nope,” Pinkie Pie replied on Fluttershy’s behalf. “Fluttershy’s gone into cuteness overload for a bit. She’ll snap out of it after a minute or two, so we should just give some space. In the meantime, want a malasada?”

Chasing Peak Performance

“Finally! It feels like we were stuck in that cave for months!” Rainbow Dash said as the wagon emerged from the caverns into the sunlight.

“It is a rather lengthy trip, but personally I tend to think the view is worth it,” Siegfried replied. As the group’s eyes adjusted to the bright glare of the sun, they quickly saw what he meant. Stretched out before them was a pathway cut into the side of the mountain which wound its way up towards an imposing castle-like structure.

“Is that…?” Twilight asked as she peered into the distance.

“Drakefang Monastery,” Siegfried answered. “The trainers who built it weren’t especially fond of guests, and if you think it’s hard getting here now then you can only imagine what it was like before the road was built. We still have a bit of a ways to go before we get there, but we should arrive by late afternoon.”

“That’s fine with me,” Rainbow Dash said. “As long as we don’t have to go through any more caves then I’m happy. Besides, like you said, the view from up here is awesome.”

“I agree, it’s very pretty, but are you sure we can’t get there any faster?” Twilight asked impatiently. “The sooner we reach the monastery the sooner I might be able to get the answers I’m looking for.”

“Don’t worry, miss, you’ll get the answers you need soon enough,” Siegfried said. “Although, they might not be tot eh questions you think they are,” he added quietly.

“What was that?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing for you to worry about, just talking to myself. Oh, would you look up there, we have a few Skarmory flying about,” Siegfried said as he pointed at a pair of massive, silvery birds wheeling through the sky. “They like nesting in the bramble patches that grow in these mountains, but it’s a tad unusual to see them this close to the monastery. Usually they prefer to avoid this particular valley.”

“Yeah, well duh,” Rainbow Dash said, causing everyone to turn to look at her in confusion. “I mean, it’s kinda obvious if you look at these mountains. The air currents up there are gonna be completely nuts, and a bird that big probably relies pretty heavily on those currents to get anywhere.”

“You’re certainly seem well versed when it comes to flying,” Siegfried remarked.

“Yeah, I’m kind of an expert when it comes to that,” Rainbow Dash replied as she leaned back, her voice dripping with false modesty.

“Are you, now? Well, you are right about the air currents around here, I’ll grant you that,” Siegfried said. Rainbow Dash, Siegfried and Spike continued to chat about the mountains surrounding the monastery and the Pokémon residing nearby as they continued along the road. Twilight, however, remained largely silent, her attention instead completely fixated on their destination.

Eventually, the wagon finally reached its destination, and the moment it came to a stop Twilight leapt out and raced inside, uttering a barely comprehensible ‘thank you’ to Siegfried as she went by.

“Hey! Where the hay does she think she’s going?” Rainbow Dash said as her friend disappeared inside.

“She’s probably headed straight to the library,” Spike replied. “To be fair, this has been the largest I’ve ever seen Twilight go without reading a book before. Maybe it’s some kind of withdrawal thing, you know, like that time you dared Pinkie Pie to go a full week without frosting.”

Rainbow Dash shuddered at the memory of her dare’s eventual outcome. “It took me three days to get all the buttercream out of my coat when that was over. Anyway, you’re probably right, we should let Twilight do her thing for now and get it out of her system. Why don’t we have a look around this place while we’re waiting? Hey, Siegfried –” As Rainbow Dash turned, however, she saw that Siegfried had somehow vanished when she wasn’t looking. “Oh come on! Now he’s gone too?”

“He probably needs to let someone know that he’s back with all this stuff,” Spike reasoned. “We can still look around if you want, though. I kind of want to see if we can figure out where those huge birds were going.”

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh as she shrugged her shoulders in response. “Alright, sure, why not? Anyway, it’s not like Twilight’s gonna get in any trouble or anything around here. She probably won’t even have left the library by the time we get back.”

*********

“Argh, this is hopeless!” Twilight cried out as she slammed the book she had been reading shut. “All of these are just old myths and fables, there’s nothing here I can use. I was really hoping there would be at least something here that would help me fix all of this.”

“It sounds as though things aren’t going quite as well as you had planned.” Twilight spun around to see Siegfried standing in the library’s doorway. “Tell me, what exactly were you hoping to find here?”

“That’s kind of a long story, but basically my friends and a lot of other po-people are in trouble because of something I did, and I thought I might be able to find some way of fixing everything by coming here,” Twilight replied. “But, it doesn’t look like that’s going to be the case. The books here are certainly fascinating, but mythology isn’t really what I need right now.’

“Well, that certainly sounds like quite the predicament you have. But, let me ask you this; What is it precisely that you do think that you need right now? Siegfried asked.

Twilight wordlessly opened and closed her mouth several as she appeared to try and come up with an answer, only to eventually give up and slump down onto the table. “I don’t really know. I just figured that when I found the answer I was looking for I’d just…know.”

“I’m guessing things have worked out for you in the past like that, haven’t they?” Siegfried asked, to which Twilight nodded. “I thought as much. From what I’ve seen of you so far, you’re clearly quite intelligent, and it would probably be easy for you to become accustomed to relying on your intuition along with a bit of luck to solve your problems. Unfortunately, not every problem can be solved like that, and it can be hard habit to break once you get into it. Luckily for you, I think I may know a way I can help.”

“You do?” Twilight asked, her face brightening considerably.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I might have the answers to the problem you’re focused on solving at the moment, but I do think I can help you to see the truth of the obstacles keeping you from getting there on your own,” Siegfried said as he turned and motioned for Twilight to follow.

Twilight hesitated for just a moment before getting up from the table and hurrying after Siegfried. While she might not have fully understood what Siegfried was saying, her efforts to find answers on her own hit a brick wall and she was ready to accept help wherever she could find it.

Once he was sure Twilight was following, Siegfried proceeded to lead Twilight through the twisting halls of the monastery, until they eventually reached a massive set of wooden double doors. “As I see it, the problem that you have right now, Twilight, is that you’ve become so focused on a single goal that you’re losing sight of the path you’re taking to get there. If you’re not careful, you may find yourself straying from the path you need to take without ever realizing it until it’s too late to correct course, and if that should happen you might never reach your desired destination.”

“Sorry, but I think you’ve lost me,” Twilight said as she tried to keep her impatience from creeping into her voice.

“Like many things, it would probably be easier to show you,” Siegfried replied before pushing the doors open. Beyond the doors lay a massive, vaulted chamber housing what Twilight immediately recognized as a battling arena. “Over the years, I’ve found that battling can bring a certain clarity to one’s mind. And besides, you did say that you intended to challenge this place while you were visiting, so you can think of this as furthering two goals at once.”

“Why does everything in this world have to revolve around battling?” Twilight groaned. “But, you are right about me needing to challenge this place for my next badge. So, where’s the Gym leader?”

“Closer than you may realize,” Siegfried replied. “Allow me to reintroduce myself; I am Siegfried, leader of the Drakefang Monastery Gym, and I hereby accept your challenge!”

*********

“So, what’s so bad about the wind around here, anyway?” Spike asked as he and Rainbow Dash hiked along the mountain trail.

“Well, first off they can get pretty strong, but the main problem is they can change direction really suddenly,” Rainbow Dash replied as she peered down the mountainside looking for a good way to illustrate her point. “Okay, here, look over at those bushes down there. Do you see the way the leaves on it are moving? That means the wind down there is blowing east…-ish, I think? Anyway, the important part is that it blowing that way and it’s not strong enough to really be a problem when you’re flying. But, if you look up there,” Rainbow Dash continued as she pointed to another bush further away and higher up. “The way those leaves over there are moving tells you that you’ve got a really strong downdraft over the there. If you fly into something like that and you’re not paying attention you could spinout and even get slammed into the side of the mountain. Trust me, that’s not something you want to have to deal with.”

“Woah, that sounds pretty dangerous,” Spike said.

“Yep. I mean, I keep telling Twilight how important it is to keep track of your surroundings while flying, but up here in the mountains its super important,” Rainbow Dash said. “You’ve got to be pretty awesome to fly around in a place like this, otherwise you might end up having to -”

“Duck!” Spike yelled as he pulled Rainbow Dash down to the ground as a sudden updraft sent a Skarmory careening up the side of the mountain, nearly crashing into them before landing on ledge above their heads.

“Hey! A little warning next time!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily as she tried to see where the Skarmory had landed. The
response Rainbow Dash received, however, was a series of shrill, pained screeches from the top of the ledge.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Spike said as he stood back up. “Do you think we should climb up to check to see if it’s alright?”

Rainbow Dash grimaced before letting out a sigh of resignation. “Yeah, you’re probably right. It wasn’t really its fault it crashed like that, and now that you’ve mentioned it if we don’t do something I’ll feel like a jerk for the rest of the day.” With that, Rainbow Dash and Spike began looking for a way to climb up to the ledge, a task which took several minutes due to the steepness of the mountainside. Once up there, it didn’t take the pair long to locate the Skarmory and see the reason for its distress.

The Skarmory had landed in a large thorn bush, in which it had become hopelessly tangled. Moreover, repeatedly crashing into the sides of the cliffs had left the Skarmory ‘s wings in a sorry state, bend and cracked to the point that it was unlikely the armored Pokémon could fly. This combination of being ensnared and injured had left the Skarmory in a clearly foul mood, and it started violently thrashing about with renewed vigor the moment it noticed Rainbow Dash and Spike.

“Hey, easy there,” Rainbow Dash said as she tried slowly approaching the Pokémon. “We’re not gonna hurt you or anything we just want to – HEY!” Rainbow Dash was forced to abruptly jump back as the Skarmory tried to swipe at her with one of its wings.

“Careful, I’ve been checking my Pokédex, and it says here that that thing’s feathers are so sharp people used to make knives and stuff out of them,” Spike warned.

“Well, we can’t just leave it here like this, I mean just look at how beat up its wings are,” Rainbow Dash said before her eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait, I know what I can do; I’ll catch it!” Neither Spike nor the Skarmory had time to react as Rainbow Dash pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it at Skarmory. In a flash, Skarmory was enveloped in red light and pulled inside the ball, which began furiously shaking before it even hit the ground.

“What’d you do that for?” Spike asked.

“This way I’ll be able to take it to a Pokémon Center easy without it trying to cut me or something,” Rainbow Dash said as she watched the ball continue to shake. “Geez, how long do you think its gonna keep shaking like that?”

“I have no idea,” Spike replied. “I just hope Twilight’s having more luck in the library.”

*********

“Charmeleon, Dragon Rage!” Twilight’s Charmeleon snorted upon hearing Twilight’s command, but still obediently opened its mouth and sent a massive ball of fire at its opponent.

“You’re still relying on that trick, I see. Well, with any luck you’ll at least find what’s about to come instructive. Tyrunt, use Dragon Dance,” Siegfried commanded, his tone projecting an aura of complete calm even as his Pokémon, a small greyish-brown theropod, was struck full on by Charmeleon’s attack. Despite being visibly battered, however, Tyrunt pulled itself to its feet as glowing clouds of maroon energy started swirling around it.

“I don’t know what you think that’s going to teach me, but if you’re just going to have your Pokémon dance around –”

“Tyrunt, use Stomp.” Twilight found herself cut off as Tyrunt raced forward and leapt into the air before dropping down like a stone directly onto Charmeleon’s head.

“I – what? How did it move like that? It wasn’t that fast before. Charmeleon, hurry, use Dragon Rage again!” Snarling, Charmeleon wheeled around to face Tyrant, sending a shower of cinders flying from its tail in Twilight’s direction even as it launched it attack. “Hey! Charmeleon, watch what you’re doing with that tail.”

“I suspect your Charmeleon knows exactly what it’s doing with that tail, Twilight,” Siegfried said. “It’s painfully clear you’re losing control over your Pokémon, and would you like to know why? It’s because you’ve started to think of them as tools or pawns to be directed in battle and not as partners, as friends. A proud Pokémon like Charmeleon can sense that, and so it will be the first to start rebelling, but in time all of your Pokémon will follow suit, to one degree or another.” Siegfried paused as he looked down at his Tyrunt, who had collapsed to the ground as a result of Charmeleon’s second attack. “Granted, just focusing on a Pokémon’s raw strength and wielding it like a club can be effective, more so than many great trainers would care to admit. Tyrunt, return. Now then, what do you say we stop playing games? Gabite, go!” Siegfried tossed his second Poké Ball into the field, unleashing a purple and red Pokémon that looked to Twilight like a cross between Spike’s dragon form and a hammerhead shark. Siegfried, however, wasn’t about to give Twilight much time to asses her new opponent. “Gabite, Bulldoze.” Gabite immediately moved to follow its trainer’s command, stomping down on the arena floor as an orange aura surrounded its leg. The ground at the point of impact seemed to ripple as a shock wave of orange energy pulsed outward, slamming into Charmeleon with enough force to knock it off its feet.

“Charmeleon, can you get up?” Twilight called out, but Charmeleon only groaned as it lay prone on the ground.

“It would appear that your Charmeleon is unable to battle,” Siegfried observed. “So, what are you going to do now?”
Twilight scowled in silence as she recalled her Charmeleon before pulling out her next Poké Ball. “Alright then, I guess its all up to you. Go Whirlipede!”

“As I expected, you intend to defeat me using your Z-move. A sound strategy, but in case you’ve forgotten you’re not the only one who wields such power!” Siegfried said dramatically as he began the poses for his own Z-move. “Gabite, unleash your full might! Devastating Drake!” As Gabite mimicked its trainer’s movements, a purple sphere of energy formed in front of it. Then, with a final thrust of its clawed arms the orb exploded forward, the energy coalescing into the shape of a winged dragon as it bore down onto Whirlipede.

“Whirlipede, Protect!” A mere split-second before Gabite’s attack struck, Whirlipede surrounded itself in a bubble of turquoise energy as Twilight grinned smugly. “As a matter of fact, I did remember that you still had your Z-move. Though you were right about one thing,” Twilight added as she held up her wrist, the crystal in her Z-ring already glowing with power. “I have every intention of beating you with my own. Whirlipede, Savage Spinout!” The barrier surrounding Whirlipede burst apart as the golden energy of the Z-move was unleashed, followed immediately after by a torrent of white fibers. Gabite, still winded from its own Z-move, had no hope of escaping the attack and was quickly engulfed. With its prey captured, Whirlipede proceeded to spin around like a demented top, frequently changing direction to slam its opponent into the walls and floor. “There, now all I need to do is have Whirlipede finish your Gabite off and I should have this all wrapped up,” Twilight said, practically oozing self-satisfaction.

“Is that so? I think you might find that this battle isn’t nearly as close to decided as you seem to believe. Gabite, use Sandstorm.” Gabite’s eyes began to glow as it lifted its head and let out a piercing cry, summoning a swirling tornado of dirt and sand which sprang up around it before quickly engulfing the entire arena.

“Nice try, but its going to take more than a little sand to stop me. Whirlipede, use Bug Bite!” Whirlipede obediently charged into the heart of the storm towards Gabite, but just as Whirlipede was about to strike Gabite seemed to disappear into the swirling grit. Confused, Whirlipede began frantically looking in every direction for its opponent, but to no avail. Twilight growled in frustration as she realized that the Sandstorm would prove more effective at providing concealment than she had expected, until a dark shape amidst the sand. “Whirlipede, behind you and to your left! Use Poison Tail!”

“Gabite, Dual Chop.” Whirlipede’s rear barbs took on a sinister purple glow as it spun around in a circle, an act that was rewarded with a grunt of pain from Gabite. This minor victory was short-lived, however, as Gabite promptly delivered a vicious blow to Whirlipede’s side with its claw, followed immediately by a second blow to the front of its carapace that sent Whirlipede rolling back.

“Okay, that could have gone better, but that was still only one attack. Whirlipede should be able to –” Twilight paused mid-sentence as she took a closer look at her Pokémon. While Whirlipede may still have been able to fight, it was clearly worn out, far more than Twilight would have expected.

“The barrier created by Protect can’t quite absorb the full force of a Z-move, thought it does greatly mitigate the damage. Given the expression on your face, it would appear that you were not only unaware of that, but you hadn’t even noticed your Pokémon’s injuries. Your blind focus on your goal of defeating me has left you vulnerable, and now it’s time to pay the price. Gabite, another Dual Chop.”

Panicking, Twilight desperately peered into the swirling sands to try and see where Gabite’s attack would come from, but to no avail. “Whirlipede, use another Protect,” Twilight finally shouted, just as Gabite emerged from the sand.

A sudden upsurge in the force of the sandstorm briefly obscured both Pokémon as they clashed. A few agonizing moments of silence followed before the sandstorm enveloping the arena abruptly died down, revealing Gabite and Whirlipede, the former’s attack having been thwarted by Protect. Then, as Siegfried and Twilight looked on Gabite slowly teetered to one side before collapsing to the ground.

Both trainers needed several seconds to process what had just happened until Siegfried silently raised Gabite’s Poké Ball and recalled it from the field. “It would seem I’m guilty of the same offense I had accused you of. Before now, I hadn’t realized that the venom from your Whirlipede’s earlier attack had taken hold. Consequently, it would appear that you have succeeded in besting me. As such, it is my duty to present you with the spoils of you victory; the Wyrm Badge and a piece of Dragonium Z.”

Siegfried pressed a concealed button on the wall next to him, which caused a panel near Twilight to slide open. Inside was a padded case containing a badge in the form of a winged dragon along with a teal stone similar to the crystal Twilight had received from Arnold. Any elation Twilight might have felt at this victory was soured, however, by the revelations Siegfried had made during their battle. “Do I really deserve this?” Twilight asked.

“Regardless of the mistakes you’ve made so far, you’re still clearly a skilled tactician. If you weren’t, then you likely wouldn’t have made it even this far. That said, if you continue as you have been then it will be highly unlikely that you’ll be able to reach your goal.” Seeing Twilight visibly wince at this, Siegfried offered her an encouraging smile. “Remember, the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging its existence. Now that you understand where you’ve gone astray you can work to fix things.”

Before Twilight could respond, a female voice spoke up from an unseen speaker. “Mister Siegfried, sir? This is Nurse Joy from the monastery’s Pokémon Center. We seem to be having some issues with a Skarmory that was just brought in could really use your assistance.”

Avast Me Pinkies

“Who’s the cutest little Pokémon there is? You are! Yes you are, yes you are. Coochie coochie coo.” Fluttershy gleefully nuzzled her Ralts as she continued to coo over it while the infant Pokémon giggled happily.

“Hey Fluttershy, we’re going to go out for a little bit, do you wanna come along?” Pinkie Pie asked, only for her friend to continue fawning over her Pokémon. “Okay then, I’ll see you when we get back.” Leaving Fluttershy to her babytalk, Pinkie Pie stepped out of their shared room and closed the door behind he before letting out a small sigh.

“Everything alright?” Pinkie Pie looked up to see Derek and his Linoone Joy standing in the hall looking concerned. Before Pinkie could respond, Joy darted over to her and somehow produced a bottle of soda, which she nudged into Pinkie’s hand.

“Thanks Joy,” Pinkie said as she reached down to give Joy a quick scratch behind the ears. “I’m fine, though…it’s just ever since Fluttershy Pokémon hatched she spends all her time in our room and it’s gotten…boring.” Pinkie Pie winced a little at the mention of that last word, as though its mere utterance was somehow a taboo.

“Pinkie, I’m pretty sure Fluttershy’s going to understand if you’re going a little stir crazy and need to get out for a bit. Why don’t we head down to the docks today? There’s almost guaranteed to be something there that will get your attention,” Derek said.

The offer of potential fun had an immediate effect on Pinkie Pie as her countenance visibly brightened. “Okie doki Loki.”

*********

True to Derek’s word, Aquarius City’s docks had no shortage of options to occupy Pinkie Pie’s attention. “Serious Pokémon trainers tend to prefer to come in through Mercury City, like you and Fluttershy did, but most tourists come in through here in Aquarius. And, with all those tourists coming off the ships here, the docks are prime real estate for snack shops, souvenir stands, arcades, street performers and – and Pinkie’s already run off, hasn’t she?” Derek looked to his side to see that, indeed, Pinkie Pie had abruptly vanished.

“Wow, hish plais is gret!” Derek turned to see that Pinkie had reappeared next to him, now wearing an assortment of Aquarius City souvenir apparel while carrying an assortment of snacks in one arm and a life-size Lickitung plush in the other. “I mean, this place is great! Sorry, Twilight always tells me I need to stop talking with my mouth full. Anyway, we should see some of those performers next. I saw one that looked really fun, they had a bunch of cute little ball-shaped seals all bouncing around. Come on, let’s go!” Before Derek had a chance to respond, Pinkie Pie was already bounding down the boardwalk towards the latest attraction to catch her interest.

It took a few seconds of stunned silence before Derek’s brain finally caught up with Pinkie Pie’s antics, allowing him to respond. “How? I only took my eyes off her for a minute or two, tops. Well, at least it looks like she’s gotten out of whatever funk she was in. I’d better catch up to her before she gets into any actual trouble.” Hurrying after Pinkie Pie, Derek eventually caught up with his energetic friend standing in rapt attention outside the gates to a section of the docks that led up to a massive barge. There, in front of the gates, stood a grizzled man in a navy-blue raincoat and matching bucket hat who was busy recounting a story to a small crowd of onlookers.

“So, there I was in me rowboat, the ocean waves risin’ up and crashin’ down around me like a school o’ ragin’ Gyrados while I held tight on me rod. Fer hours I fought with the beast I’d hooked as it pulled me further and further out to sea, until finally it had enough and rose out o’ the depths to face me eye to eye. And what monster of the deep had I hooked, ye ask? Why, none other that Kyogre itself, lord of the briny, primordial sea! It was me and me Pokémon against the legendary beast, and fer two days and two nights we raged against each other with all the might we could muster. Until finally, on the dawn of the third day, me fishin’ line snapped and Kyogre took the opportunity to flee back into the inky depths from which it’d come. And then, a little while later a cruise ship came by and picked me up and I spent the next few weeks celebratin’ me victory with those drinks that have the little umbrellas,” the man said, dropping his dramatic tone at the end. “Well, that’s enough tall tales fer today, but if any o’ ye land lubbers think yer salt enough then come back ‘round and I’ll be happy to test yer mettle.” With that, the man turned around and stumped back down the docks the barge at the end of the docks, leaving the crowd to disperse.

“Wow…” Pinkie Pie said in a rare and all too brief moment of temporary speechlessness. “Who was that?”

“That would have been ‘Captain’ Trask,” Derek replied. “Don’t bother asking what he’s supposed to be a captain of; usually he’ll just answer ‘of the sea’ or something and then break into one of his stories. Believe it or not, Trask is actually the Aquarius Gym Leader, and that barge over there is the city’s gym.”

“Ooh, really? Do you think it’d be alright if we went inside? Norma’s gym was really neat, and even the gym in Belladonna Town was kind of pretty inside,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I don’t really see why not,” Derek replied. “League gyms are supposed to be open to the public, so if you want we can check it out.”

Pinkie Pie let out a brief squeal of joy as she skipped off down the dock towards the floating gym as Derek calmly followed behind.

The interior of the barge, or rather the building that rested on top of the barge, was decorated in a fairly basic nautical theme. The whitewashed walls were adorned with old boat’s wheels, compasses, and other similar bits, as well as pictures and paintings of old sailing vessels. While the overall effect bordered somewhere between a sailing museum and a cheesy seafood restaurant. Pinkie Pie, however, seemed entranced by everything she saw, happily bouncing from one decoration to the next as a bemused Derek followed behind.

“Oh, look at this! And over here, look at this thing! Ooh, I wonder what this thing does?” Pinkie Pie finally paused in front of an antique engine room telegraph as a thought seemed to occur to her. “You know, Pokémon gyms don’t really seem to be all that gym-y once you get inside them.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, Norma’s gym was more like a big farm full of all sorts of critters, and that gym in the swamp had all those flowers and plants that I wasn’t supposed to touch. And now this place has all this neat ship stuff,” Pinkie Pie said.

“And I’m guessing that none of that is the sort of thing you’d expect to find in a gym?” Derek asked.

“Not really, no. I always thought gyms were supposed to be full of weights and things with weights that you sit in and people grunting and going ‘YEAH!’” Pinkie Pie said with her best Bulk Biceps impression.

“That’s more what you’d find in a human gym, or maybe a Fighting-type Pokémon gym,” Derek said. “Pokémon gyms are more about giving Pokémon a place where they can be comfortable while they work to become stronger. And, what works for a Pokémon usually is going to be a lot different than what works for humans, so Pokémon gyms come in all sorts of designs.”

“I guess that all makes sense,” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Well, I was just thinking about how Toothy and Munchy really seem to have fun battling, and having that battle with Norma was really exciting…” Pinkie Pie said.

“You’re thinking of challenging Trask for your second badge, I take it?”

Pinkie Pie nodded. “I’m just a little worried what Fluttershy would say about it. I think she still might be a little uncomfortable with the whole ‘Pokémon are cute little critters but actually have a lot of fun fighting each other’ thing.”

“Well, how do you feel about it?”

“I don’t really understand why Pokémon like fighting each other so much but lots of people like stuff that doesn’t really seem all that fun to me. Like –” Pinkie Pie suddenly went quiet and began glancing around, as if she were afraid someone might overhear what she was about to say. Once she was satisfied they were alone, Pinkie leaned over and whispered into Derek’s ear. “I don’t actually think rocks are all that interesting. Please don’t ever tell anybody I said that,” Pinkie Pie added.

“Don’t worry, I promise,” Derek assured her.

“Really? Cross your heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in your eye?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Uh, sure, that. I know, why don’t we head back to the Pokémon Center so you can talk to Fluttershy to see if she really would have any issues with you taking on another gym battle?” Derek asked in an effort to change the subject.

*********

By the time Derek and Pinkie Pie exited the gym it was lunch time and the docks were swarming with hungry tourists and locals alike. In the press of the crowd, neither friend noticed a familiar pair lurking at the edge of the docks.

“So, what’d you mean when you said you had a cool idea about this gym? I thought gyms were the most uncool places on this whole island?” Femur complained.

“Normally you’d be right, gyms are like those island challenges we had back home, except even lamer ‘cause gyms are all organized and stuff. But, check this, gyms are also where these league losers keep their Z-crystals, right? So, if we sneak in there, we could swipe all those Z-crystals and hand them over to the boss. That would really show him who the hardest boneheads he has are!” Ribcage said.

“Yeah dude, that plan is hardcore!” Femur exclaimed before pausing for a moment. “Uh, we’d be the boneheads, right?”

“You know it!” Ribcage replied. “So, now all we gotta do is wait for some sucker to come do that lame gym challenge.”

*********

“-so, anyway, that’s why I thought I should try another gym battle,” Pinkie Pie said, concluding a thorough, well-reasoned argument that she suspected Fluttershy had heard none of, the latter having spent the entire time focused on her Ralts. “So…what do you think?”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, if that’s what you’re asking,” Fluttershy said as she fed her Ralts a spoonful of infant Pokémon food.

Pinkie Pie sighed in exasperation. “I know Pokémon battles aren’t really your thing, but – wait, what did you say?”

“I still don’t completely understand why, but Pokémon really do seem to enjoy fighting each other. So, if you and your Pokémon really want to try another gym battle then maybe you should,” Fluttershy said.

“Wow, Fluttershy, and here I was worried you’d be all ‘Pokémon shouldn’t fight each other’ and I’d be ‘but the Pokémon actually like it and have fun’ and we’d keep yelling and arguing until one of us said something the other couldn’t forgive and we’d never speak to each other again! But, luckily that didn’t happen and you’ll be able to come cheer us on instead,” Pinkie Pie said happily.

“Wait, come cheer for you? As in, come to the gym and watch you battle?” Fluttershy asked nervously, to which Pinkie Pie nodded.

“Uh huh. My first gym battle was really exciting, but it was also kind of scary since nobody else was there with me. But this time it won’t be nearly as scary since you and Derek will be there to cheer me and my Pokémon on!”

“Ralts Ralts!” Fluttershy’s Ralts exclaimed cheerfully as it threw its arms up in the air.

“See! Your Ralts has the right idea! I’ll go tell Derek that you’re coming,” Pinkie Pie said before letting out a brief squeal of delight. “This is so exciting! My Pokémon are going to be all BAM! POW! And then that gym leader’s going to be ‘Pinkie, how’d you get so strong?’ And then, best of all, well all have a big party to celebrate! Let’s see, we’d need cake, of course, and balloons and streamers…do you think they have pinatas shaped like gym badges?” As Pinkie Pie wandered out of the room working out the logistics of her planned victory party, Fluttershy was left sitting on his bed with the expression she usually wore when Discord volunteered her cottage for an impromptu tea party.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have encouraged her quite that much,” Fluttershy said to herself as she instinctively hugged her Ralts to her chest. “Oh well, maybe it won’t be quite as bad as the battle I had with Mister Mortimer. I‘m sure the leader of a gym in a big city like this will be a perfectly calm and normal individual.”

*********

“YARRR! Welcome, ye pack of land lubbers, to the Aquarius City Gym! Now which of ye thinks they have what it takes to face me and me Pokémon in a proper brawl?”

“I am!” Pinkie Pie replied, matching Captain Trask’s bombast with her own boundless energy.

“Well, it looks like I’ve hooked a lively one today, doesn’t it? I like the cut of yer jib, missy.” Letting out a raucous laugh, Captain Trask motioned for Pinkie Pie and her friends to follow him inside the gym.

“At least he seems nicer than the last gym leader we met,” Fluttershy said, mostly to herself.
“Who, Mortimer?” Derek asked. “Yeah, that guy’s definitely got a reputation for being the biggest jerk in the league by a wide margin. Even Nero’s got a better reputation than Mort does, and being a thug is pretty much Nero’s whole thing. Trask, on the other hand, is a little nuts, but otherwise he’s not really a bad guy.”

“You seem to know a lot about the gym leaders here,” Fluttershy remarked. “Have you done these gym battles before yourself?”

“Well, not exactly, at least not here in the Javik region…hey, look, we’ve made it to the arena.” Indeed, by that point the group had made it to the far side of the barge, where the gym’s ‘arena’ was located. Said arena consisted of a section of open water marked off by a series of ropes and buoys, with several colorful floating platforms within providing a place for trainers and their Pokémon to stand. While Derek and Fluttershy made their way up a set of bleachers that had been built into the side of the barge overlooking the arena, Pinkie Pie and Trask took their places at either end of the arena.

“Arr, since this be a battle fer yer second badge, we’ll be fightin’ with two Pokémon apiece. Are ye ready?” Trask asked.

“Yup, me and my Pokémon are ready to go!” Pinkie Pie replied with her usual cheerfulness.

“Alright then! Prepare yerself, missy, to face the unforgivin’ wrath of the savage seas! Go Quagsire!”

“Okie dokie. Go Lombre!” In a flash of light, Lombre appeared atop one of the floating platforms across from its opponent…a pudgy, light blue, beady eyed creature with a vacant expression on its face.

“Qua?” the Quagsire drawled as its mouth opened in a wide, dopey grin.

“Huh, that’s not exactly what I was expecting, but…” Pinkie Pie shrugged her shouldes before addressing her Lombre. “Okay, Lombre, let’s – Fake Out!” In response to Pinkie’s sudden command, Lombre bounced into the water and rapidly swam over towards the platform Quagsire was sitting on. Once it had reached its goal, Lombre burst out of the water and clapped its hands directly in front of Quagsire’s face, sending out a shockwave of air. The Quagsire, however, barely seemed to notice the attack despite taking it full in the face. “Now we’ve got you right where we want you! Lombre, use your Absorb!” Hearing Pinkie’s latest order, Lombre promptly jumped back as it fired a beam of red light from the mark on its face. Once again, however, despite Lombre scoring a direct hit the dopey grin on Quagsire’s face didn’t falter for a single moment.

“Not that I mind that it doesn’t look like its hurting at all, but Lombre doesn’t really seem to be affecting Quagsire one bit,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, it’s having an effect, all right,” Derek said. “That last attack especially would have had an impact. Quagsire just have a tendency to not react to really anything, and odds are Trask has trained this one to maximize that effect. It’s essentially weaponized cluelessness.”

“Quagsire, use Amnesia!” Trask called out, prompting Quagsire to tilt its head, its vacant expression unchanging.

“See what I mean?” Derek said.

“Um, I’m not sure how forgetting things is supposed to help you in a Pokémon battle, but okay,” Pinkie Pie said. “Ooh, I know. Lombre, why don’t you try using you Bubble Beam. Bubbles are always fun!” Shrugging at Pinkie Pie’s reasoning, Lombre nevertheless took a deep breath before exhaling a massive stream of sparkling blue bubbles at Quagsire.

“Yarr, missy ye’ve fallen into me trap. Quagsire, rouse yerself and hit that bilge rat with yer Slam attack!” Even as Lombre stream of bubbles cascaded over it, Quagsire scrunched itself up before slamming its tail into the platform it stood on, launching itself through the air and straight into Lombre.

“Oh no, Lombre, are you alright?” Pinkie Pie cried out as Lombre found itself knocked off the edge of the platform into the water. A quick thumbs up from Lombre assuaged her fears, allowing Pinkie to refocus her attention on the battle. “So, you’re not going to make this easy, huh? Well alright then. Lombre, give it another Absorb.” Lombre didn’t even bother surfacing as it fired another beam at Quagsire, who once again seemed to fail to notice that it was under attack.

“Fixin’ to keep yer distance, eh? Well, Quagsire and I can play that game too! Quagsire, give that lily livered lily pad a taste of yer Mud Bomb!” At first it didn’t appear that Quagsire even heard its trainer as it stared blankly towards Lombre. Then, without warning Quagsire threw its head back before snapping it forward again and spitting out a sizable ball of mud. The ball of muck arced through the air before landing squarely atop Lombre’s head.

“Maybe it’s a good thing Rarity isn’t here to see this,” Pinkie Pie said to herself as she cringed at the sight of her muck-covered Pokémon. “Okay, let’s mix things up a bit. Lombre, this time I want you to use Astonish!”

“What in the name of Davy Jones do ye thing ye be tryin’ now?” Trask asked as Lombre vanished beneath the water. A few tense seconds ticked by in silence until Lombre burst back out of the water behind Quagsire, its hands raised and eyes glowing in a terrifying display that managed at least to get Quagsire’s attention.

“Good! Now hit it another Absorb before it has a chance to spit more goop at you!” Quagsire’s expression still remained largely unchanged even as it was struck by yet another of Lombre’s Absorb attacks, but its slumping posture revealed it was starting to feel the effects of Lombre’s repeated attacks.

“A bold strategy, but ye seem to be forgettin’ one thing; me Quagsire packs quite a bit of punch up close. Quagsire, give it another Slam!” As Trask roared out his ordger, Quagsire whirled around and swung its tail directly into Lombre’s midsection. The force of the blow was so great Lombre was knocked clean off its feet and sent tumbling through the air.

“Lombre!” Pinkie Pie called out in shock before something seemed to catch her eye. “Lombre, use you Bubble Beam, quick!” Grunting with exhertion, Pinkie Pie’s Lombre twisted itself around midair and blasted a torrent of bubbles at Quagsire. Taking the full brunt of the attack, Quagsire was left teetering on its feet until it finally fell over.

“Hmm, clever,” Derek remarked as he and Fluttershy watched Trask grumpily recall his now unconscious Quagsire.

“I’m happy Pinkie won, but I don’t know how clever that was,” Fluttershy said as she held tight on her excitedly squirming Ralts.

“I was referring to why she choose that last attack in particular. Look,” Derek pointed towards Lombre, who had finally landed in the water near one of the platforms. “Lombre was headed for a hard landing on one of those platforms. Pinkie saw that and had it use Bubble Beam to change its trajectory enough to hit the water instead. That’s a sign of a good trainer; the ability to assess a situation in battle and make quick decisions based on that.

Fluttershy simply nodded politely in response as she focused her attention back on the battle.

*********

“Check it out, man, none of these uncool suckers has any idea who we are,” Femur said as he and Ribcage strolled towards the Aquarius City Gym.

“Yeah, they’d probably freak if they knew they were walkin’ by the toughest boneheads on the island. Good call on these disguises, nobody would be able to guess we’re actually part of Team Skull with this stuff on,” Ribcage added. Said ‘disguises’, taken from a ransacked souvenir shop, consisted of floral print shirts and baseball caps worn over their usual outfits. To their credit, however, the combination of their bizarre fashion choices and the exaggerated swagger of their walk convinced everyone who saw them to actively avoid making eye contact.

“So, now all we’ve got to do is get in the gym while the leader’s busy with whatever chumps decided to challenge him, and then all the Z-crystals are ours,” Femur said as he exchanged a fist bump with Ribcage, only to suddenly look concerned as something crossed his mind for the first time. “Uh, you know, up close, this gym actually looks kind of really, really big. How are we supposed to find the Z-crystals in a place like that?”

“Relax man, I’ve got it figured out. These crystals are like treasure, right? And the gym loser here – get it? Gym ‘loser’,” Ribcage and Femur spent a moment chuckling at the ‘joke’ before continuing. “Anyway, the guy who runs this place has a serious pirate thing going on, so he’ll probably keep the crystals locked up with all his other pirate stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah, that makes sense,” Femur said as he nodded his head. “But, then we need to figure out where he keeps his pirate stuff.”

“In the captain’s room, duh! That’s the place where he’ll have all his maps and treasure and stuff,” Ribcage replied as though he were stating the painfully obvious.

“Oh. How do you know so much about this stuff, anyway?” Femur asked.

“I wanted to be pirate when I grew up when I was a little kid. They were like the boneheads of back then,” Ribcage said.

“Aw yeah, little Ribcage, bonehead for life!”

“You know it, man!” Ribcage said as he and Femur grasped hands before slamming their heads together. A few moments of staggering around from the resulting head injuries later and the pair ran off towards the bow of the ship.

*********

“I’ll give credit where it’s due, yer Lombre gave me Quagsire a solid beatin’. But now it be time fer ye to face the true terror that lurks in the depths. Go Carvanha!” Trask dramatically threw his Poké Ball into the air, but the light that emerged from it, that would normally coalesce into a Pokémon instead disappeared under the surface of the water.

“Okay, well I choose…Munchy!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she tossed her own Poké Ball out as well. Even after Munchy appeared on one of the platforms, however, there was still no sign of Trask’s own Pokémon. “Huh, you’re Pokémon sure seems shy for a terror of the deep. Hey Munchy, can you see anything?” Shrugging, Munchy waddled over to the edge of the platform and leaned over to peer into the water below.

Suddenly, without any warning, a red and blue blur splashed out of the water near Munchy. Pinkie’s Pokémon was left lying back on the platform with a semicircular hole in the edge of the platform where it had been standing mere moments earlier. “Yarr, how much of a terror of the deep do ye think me Carvanha be now?” Trask laughed as a pair of jagged yellow fins disappeared back under the water. “Yer Pokémon best keep clear of the water, lest it risk becomin’ me Carvanha’s next meal. Although, it might not have much say in the matter,” Trask added ominously as he pulled up a sleeve to reveal his Z-ring. “Now yer gonna see what it means to face the true wrath of the seas!” The immediate impact of Trask’s proclamation was somewhat lessened due to the fact that his Z-move’s movements looked more like a hula dance than any sort of actual attack. The moment he completed them, however, the water surrounding Munchy’s platform started to churn until a whirlpool formed directly underneath it. Rather than pull the platform under, however, the swirling water surged upwards, quickly enveloping the platform and Munchy along with it. Pinkie Pie could only watch helplessly as Carvanha, little more than a glowing blur within the waterspout, repeatedly attacked her helpless Pokémon. Finally, the assault ended and the waterspout collapsed back to the surface. Any relief Pinkie might have felt at this was all too short-lived, as the attack had reduced Munchy’s platform to splinters and left Munchy floundering in the water.

“Hang on, Munchy, don’t panic1” Pinkie Pie cried out as she watched the water for any signs of Carvanha’s presence.

“It looks to me like yer Pokémon’s fresh out of things to hold onto. Are ye sure ye want to continue?” Trask asked.

“Of course I’m sure!” Pinkie Pie said defiantly. “Munchy and I have been in tough situations before and won and we’re going to get through this one too!” As Pinkie frantically wracked her brain to think of how they were actually going to accomplish that, Munchy looked over its shoulder with at her with an unreadable expression on its face before silently sinking into the water. “Munchy? Munchy!” Pinkie desperately called out to her Pokémon, but initially was met with only silence. Then, a circle of bright light formed under the water before a massive upswell of water burst out.

“Snorlax!”

“Yarr, that…that not be good,” Trask gulped as all eyes stared at the massive, rotund, ursine-like Pokémon now floating in the water.

“Munchy…is that really you?” Pinkie Pie asked hesitantly.

“Snorlax!” the newly evolved Munchy affirmed as it cheerfully clapped its paws together, prompting Pinkie’s worried expression to immediately change to a grin that was even wider than usual.

“Alright! Now, let’s show that mean old fishy what we can really do!” As Pinkie Pie spoke she began striking the poses for her own Z-move as Munchy awkwardly mimicked them.

“It kind of looks like he’s doing a water aerobics routine,” Fluttershy said with a giggle as she watched trainer and Pokémon move together.

“A little, yeah,” Derek said absentmindedly. “Something about those poses seems off, its almost like…no, Pinkie isn’t really going to that, is she?”

“Do what?” Fluttershy asked.

“Z-Metronome!” Pinkie Pie yelled out. As she did, Snorlax appeared to take a moment to center itself before repeatedly thrusting its arms forward, sending out a barrage of fist-shaped blasts of orange energy into the air.

“When you combine the move Metronome with the power of a Z-move, what you get is an incredibly powerful attack that can take nearly any form,” Derek explained as Munchy’s energy fists twisted through the air to dive into the water. “It’s not exactly a reliable strategy, but its not one that’s easy to guard against, either. Case in point –” Moments after Munchy’s attack had concluded, a Pokémon resembling a vicious red and blue fish floated to the surface, battered and unconscious.

“Well, I know when I’m beaten,” Trask said as he recalled his Carvanha. “And with that bein’ me last Pokémon, it would appear victory be yours.”

“You hear that, Munchy? We won!” Pinkie Pie cheered. Pinkie’s celebration was abruptly cut short, though as a jubilant Munchy bounced out of the water onto her platform, catapulting Pinkie face first into the water.

*********

“So, that’s two badges I have now,” a dripping wet, but no less cheerful Pinkie Pie said a few minutes later as she admired her new Tide Badge, a pin in the shape of a crashing wave.

“Well, you certainly earned it, not just anyone could evolve a Munchlax like that,” Derek said. “So, think you’ll still be up for a victory party once you’re dried off?”

The look of maniacal glee in Pinkie Pie’s eyes at this immediately confirmed the obvious answer. But, just as Pinkie opened her mouth to expound at length regarding the plans she had concocted for her ‘I won my second badge / Munchy evolved’ party, the barge abruptly lurched forward, nearly sending everyone crashing to the floor.

“Yarr, is everyone alright?” Trask asked as he rushed over.

“I think so, what’s going on?” Fluttershy asked as she cradled her Ralts in her arms.

“It kind of feels like the gyms moving, but that’s just silly,” Pinkie Pie added. “I mean, this place is tied up to the docks, right? It’s not like its going to float away on its own.”

A few moments of silence descended on the group as the potential implications of what Pinkie Pie had just said sunk in. These ponderings were soon interrupted when the gym shook once again, this time much more violently. “The ship must be pullin’ on the moorin’ lines! I need to see what I can do to keep the blasted things from tearin’ the dock to pieces. While I’m handlin’ that, I’ll need the lot of ye to head to the engine room and do whatever ye need to do to cut power.”

“Yes sir, captain sir,” Pinkie Pie said before bounding off down a hall picked seemingly at random.

“Wait, Pinkie, do you even –” Derek called out before turning to Trask. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure this is taken care of before things get too out of hand.” With that, Derek tore off down the halls after Pinkie, with Fluttershy hurrying behind. “Pinkie! Do you have any idea where you’re going?” Derek called out as they caught up with their friend.

“Of course I do, silly! I wouldn’t just run off without knowing where I was going, that would just be crazy,” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Okay, but how, then? I’m pretty sure the only other time you’ve been here is when we visited earlier today,” Derek said.

“Oh, that’s easy,” Pinkie Pie said with a grin. “I’m just following my Pinkie sense.”

“Following your – you know what, never mind,” Derek replied, concluding that further questions were unlikely to produce satisfactory or even comprehensible answers. Plus, given Fluttershy’s nonreaction to Pinkie’s claim, ‘Pinkie sense’ was likely something fairly normal by Pinkie standards.

Regardless of how Pinkie Pie was doing so, it was impossible to deny that somehow whe was effortlessly navigating the hallways of the gym. Eventually, Pinkie led the group to the door leading to the barge’s wheelhouse, inside of which a pair of voices could be heard arguing.

“I though you said this’d be where that loser leader kept all of his loot. There’s nothing here but a bunch of stupid maps and controls and stuff.”

“No, dude, that’s just it. The guy isn’t gonna keep all his good stuff out in the open, he’s gonna hide it. We just gotta keep tearin’ this place up ‘til we find it. Besides, trashin’ this place is what cool guys would do anyway, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t argue with –”

It was at this point that Pinkie Pie let out a growl of unadulterated frustration and kicked in the door. “Seriously! You two again? Why do you always have to show up and cause trouble whenever we go anywhere?”

“Hey, from where we’re standing its you lame losers who’re the ones who keep following us around and messing up our plans,” Femur countered. “But if you want to throw down, then you better get ready to –”

“Go Toothy!” Pinkie yelled as she tossed out her Poké Ball.

“Hey! You don’t just go interrupting a guy when he’s threatening you,” Femur protested. “Although, butting in is part of Team Skull life, and if I remember you did have some wicked flow…hey, you still sure you don’t want to join up with Team Skull?”

“Toothy, Water Gun,” Pinkie Pie said in a deadpan tone worthy of her older sister Maude. The sudden blast of water sent Femur flying backwards into the barge’s control panel with enough force to leave a dent in the console.

“Ugh, you could of just said no,” Femur said as he unsteadily stood back up.

“Come on, man, quit flirtin’ so se can get out of here,” Ribcage said as he helped his partner up. “If these punks are here that means that gym leader ain’t gonna be far behind, and that’s one fight I don’t mind bailin’ on. Later, dorks,” Ribcage said as he produced a fist-sized smoke bomb and tossed it to the floor, filling the room with thick, acrid clouds of smoke.

“Hang on, I’ll take care of this,” Derek said as the trio struggled to keep from coughing uncontrollably. “Odette, we could really use some help here.” The sound of a Poké Ball opening was soon followed by the sound of beating wings, and in moments strong gusts of wind completely cleared the smoke from the room.

“Thank goodness,” Fluttershy said as the last wisps of smoke were cleared out by Odette, now revealed to be a rather elegant swan-like Pokémon. “Now we just have to shut off the engines and everything will be alright.”

“Yep, and it’s a good thing we won’t need that control panel thingy I knocked that meanie-pants into, or we’d be in real trouble,” Pinkie Pie added with a laugh. Said laughter slowly and uncomfortably died down as she realized her friends weren’t laughing with her, but rather were staring at the console, now rendered inoperable from a combination of water and blunt force.

*********

“There be nothin’ more fer it, those lines will need to be cut. Sharpedo, bite through those cables before the whole pier’s destroyed!” As Trask gave his order, a monstrous, shark-like Pokémon leapt clear of the water and bit clean through one of the steel cables anchoring the gym to the docks. The Sharpedo quickly repeated this maneuver several more times until the barge was completely disconnected. “Yarr, good work, matey. Now we just need to wait for those land lubbers to cut the engines.” Rather than stop, however, the barge’s engines continued to run, propelling the barge out to sea as Trask watched helplessly. “Arr, this…this has not been one of me better days.”

Encountering Some Turbulence

“So, is Skarmory gonna be alright?” Rainbow Dash asked as she watched the now unconscious Pokémon from the observation room.

“Oh yes, your Skarmory should make a full recovery in now time at all,” Nurse Joy replied cheerfully. “To be honest, the fast that it was that rambunctious is an excellent sign. Although, it is a lucky thing that Mister Siegfried was there to help calm it down.”

“Always happy to help,” Siegfried said as he stood next to the Pokémon he had used to subdue Skarmory, an eerie-looking pink and purple, mushroom-like Pokémon with pale, spindly arms. “Though I keep telling you, you should really consider training a Shiinotic yourself. They really do come in handy when dealing with uncooperative Dragon-type Pokémon. And other types as well, apparently. Speaking of which, what exactly happened to that Skarmory to leave it in that sort of condition?”

“It got caught in an updraft and got slammed into the side of the mountain a couple of times,” Rainbow Dash said. “You said it’s going to be alright, right? So, that means it’s going to be able to fly again? ‘Cause it looks like it lost a lot of feathers.” As Rainbow Dash spoke, she looked meaningfully at a metal bowl that had been taken out of the operating room loaded with chipped and bent metallic feathers.

“Oh yes, Skarmory actually completely shed their feathers each year naturally due to wear,” Nurse Joy explained. “With a little help from us, its wings should be as good as new in no time at all.”

“Man, that’s a relief,” Rainbow Dash said. “So, now that that’s off my mind, have either of you guys seen my friend Twilight? She ran off to the library right when we got here and I haven’t seen her since.”

“She did drop off her Pokémon to be treated a short while ago,” Siegfried replied. “At the moment, I believe you’ll be able to find her in the monastery’s guest quarters.”

“Wait, Twilight’s Pokémon were hurt? What happened?”

*********

“You mean you got your second gym badge? That’s awesome!”

“Is it?” Twilight asked. “I nearly lost because I’ve been completely ignoring how my Pokémon feel and just treating them like – like numbers in a ledger or something! The only reason I won at all was because of dumb luck.”

“Yeah, but you still won,” Rainbow Dash said. “And okay, maybe you have been acting kind of like a jerk to your Pokémon, but – I’m just making things worse, aren’t’ I?”

Twilight responded by letting out an agonized groan before falling back onto her bed and covering her face with a pillow. “I’m the Princess of Friendship for Celestia’s sake! I’m not supposed to make mistakes like this!”

“Come on, Twilight. You make mistakes all the time,” Rainbow Dash said, prompting Twilight to uncover her face and glare irritably at her friend. “Uh, I mean…well, you remember that time Discord spent a weekend actually being nice to the rest of us so he could mess with you? Didn’t he say he did all that to prove some point about how you could be jealous or something? I mean, I didn’t really believe that’s why he did all that because, you know, Discord. But, you have to admit he did kind of have a point about the whole ‘you can still make mistakes even though you’re a princess’ thing.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say, and I appreciate it, but this is much worse than my getting a little jealous,” Twilight said.

“By ‘a little jealous’ you mean trying to get all your friends to drink some potion because you think they’re under some sort of spell?” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Hey, that potion was completely safe. Pinkie Pie drank nearly all of it and she didn’t even get a stomachache,” Twilight said defensively.

“Have you seen what it takes to give Pinkie Pie a stomachache? Besides that, what about the time you were foalsitting Flurry Heart and she nearly trashed all of Ponyville General?” Rainbow Dash replied.

“One, that wasn’t really a friendship problem, more of a ‘taking care of foals’ problem. Two, how do you even know about that?”

“Spike told me,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. “Also, I ran into Pinkie Pie when was delivering your apology cake to the hospital. And if that doesn’t count, then how about the time you put a spell on your doll that drove the whole town nuts?”

“I, um…I wasn’t a princess back then, so it doesn’t really count either,” Twilight replied after a moment’s hesitation, to which Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“Alright, fine. But my point is, you have messed up before. You’ve just always figured out some way to fix everything eventually,” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight spent a few moments mulling over what Rainbow Dash was saying before finally responding. “You know, I think you might be right. If I think about this like a friendship problem, then I should definitely be able to figure out the answer!”

“Glad I could help! Actually, since you’re gonna be making up with your Pokémon, do you wanna come with me back to the Pokémon Center? I kinda want to be there when the Skarmory I caught wakes up,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Sure, I – wait, you caught a Skarmory?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you about that? Me and Spike were checking out some of the trails around here and we ran into this Skarmory that hurt itself when it crashed into the side of the mountain. We tried to help it, but it was too angry to get close to, so I caught it so I could bring it to the Pokémon Center here,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“Okay, that makes sense. So, the Skarmory was so badly hurt it’s unconscious now? That sounds pretty serious,” Twilight said.

“Um, not exactly…”

*********

“I thought you said it was unconscious!” Twilight yelped as she ducked behind Rainbow Dash, narrowly dodging an IV pole as it was crashing to the floor.

“It was, Siegfried knocked it out with some weird mushroom so the nurse could treat it. Skarmory’s just woken up is all,” Rainbow Dash said.

Skarmory had indeed woken up, and was still in a clearly foul mood, screeching and swiping its wings at anyone who came too close. Thankfully, the recent loss of most of its razor-sharp feathers prevented Skarmory from threatening any serious harm, but it still presented a formidable appearance as it stood on the bed.

“Hey, easy there,” Rainbow Dash said as she tried to calm the enraged Pokémon down. “Nobody here’s going to hurt you, we brought you here so we could help you.” The Skarmory gave Rainbow Dash a particularly venomous glare in response as it appeared to recognize her. “You crashed into the side of the mountain, remember? I tried helping you get loose from the bushes, but you wouldn’t let me, so I had to catch you –” The Skarmory suddenly erupted into an enraged outburst, frantically screeching and beating its wings. “Okay, I’m starting to get the idea that you’re not too happy about the whole getting caught thing. Maybe I’ll give you some time to calm down.” As Rainbow Dash spoke, she and Twilight quickly backed out of the room and closed the door on the furiously shrieking Pokémon.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Twilight asked once they were safely in another room.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I don’t really like the ideal of forcing Skarmory to stay with me if it doesn’t want to, but I can’t just let it go either. I mean, you saw its wings, right? It wouldn’t even be able to get off the ground the way it is now, let alone handle the winds around here.”

“So why not just leave it here until it gets better?” Twilight asked. “I’m sure Nurse Joy would be happy –” An especially loud shriek erupted from Skarmory’s room, interrupting Twilight. “I’m sure Nurse Joy would be willing to look after it until it’s able to safely fly again.”

“I guess I could do that, but then it feels like I’m just abandoning it,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m the one who caught it and brought it here, so it feels like it’s my responsibility to make sure it actually gets better. You’re probably right about talking to Nurse Joy, though. I at least wanna know how long it’s gonna take before Skarmory’s feathers grow back.”

*********

“Wait, seriously?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Mmhm, your Skarmory should have its wings back to normal by tomorrow morning,” Nurse Joy replied. “Now, it may still have a little difficulty flying initially, so try not to let it exert itself too much, but other than that it should be fine.”

“Wow, that’s awesome!” Rainbow Dash replied. “When I messed up my wings like that I ended up grounded for a week,” Rainbow Dash added, muttering to herself.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” Nurse Joy asked in a puzzled tone.

“I was just wondering if Skarmory’s wings are gonna be strong enough to handle flying out in the mountains,” Rainbow Dash quickly said. “Getting off the ground is one thing, but the winds out there can be really hard to manage.”

“That is a good point. You’ll probably want to find a space outside where the air currents aren’t as strong for Skarmory to practice flying safely,” Nurse Joy said.

As Nurse Joy left to tend to the center’s other patients, Rainbow Dash sat down to ponder her next steps. “Helping Skarmory get used to flying again sounds like a good idea, but if I try letting it fly out in the open it’ll probably just fly off and get itself hurt again. Darn it, I wish there was some way I could talk some sense into it.”

“Hey Rainbow, what’s up?” Rainbow Dash looking up to see Spike walking down the hall towards her. “Is there something wrong? You kind of look like you’re worried about something.”

“Not really. I mean, kinda, but – I’m just trying to figure out how I can get that Skarmory to let me help it get its wings back to normal. If it tries flying off as soon as it gets outside it’ll just end up getting hurt again, but its not like I can just keep it inside or in its Poké Ball all the time.”

“Actually, I think I might have an idea,” Spike said as he pulled out one of his own Poké Balls. “The problem is Skarmory won’t listen to you, right? Well, maybe it would listen to another Pokémon. I could have Peewee talk to it and explain that we want to help it get better.”

“Huh, that’s actually not a bad idea. Do you think Skarmory will listen, though? It seemed really wound up the last time Twilight and I saw it,” Rainbow Dash said.

“That might be because you’re both humans. Or, at least you are right now anyway – you know what I mean,” Spike replied. “Anyway, I read in my Pokédex that some Pokémon can have issues with trusting humans, so maybe that’s the reason Skarmory’s been acting the way it has.”

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “I guess that would explain a lot. I really wish Fluttershy were here, she’d probably be able to just ask it what its deal was. Anyway, since she’s not here, let’s give your Pokémon translator idea a try.”

Rainbow Dash and Spike quickly made their way to the room Skarmory was being kept in, which now sported a sign warning against entry. Cracking the door open to peak inside revealed that the room was in an even greater state of disarray than when Rainbow Dash had left earlier. Skarmory itself appeared to be asleep, having gathered a mas of materials together on the bed to for a nest. Aftera moment of two of hesitating by the door, Rainbow Dash nudged Spike forward and motioned for him to bring out his Pokémon. As Spike stumbled forward into the room, Skarmory awoke and raised its head to fix him with an icy stare.

“Uh, hi,” Spike said nervously as Skarmory continued to glare at him. “You probably don’t really want to talk with me or anything, but I have someone with me that I’d like you to meet. Come on out, Peewee!” Skarmory reared back a bit upon seeing Spike pull out his Poké Ball, relaxing only slightly when it became apparent that Spike was letting his own Pokémon out. As Peewee appeared, Spike motioned for it to hop up onto his arm and leaned in to whisper to it. “Hey, Peewee. This Skarmory hurt itself crashing into the side of the mountain, and Rainbow Dash wants to help it get used to flying again. But, were worried that if we take Skarmory outside it’ll fly off and get itself hurt again. Do you think you could try talking to it to let it know we’re trying to help?”

Peewee regarded the Skarmory for a moment, which seemed to be staring at Spike with at least slightly less malice now, before letting out a chirp and flying over to a table near the bed. What followed was an apparently animated conversation between the two Flying Pokémon that neither Spike nor Rainbow Dash could understand in the slightest. Finally, after several minutes of chirping, squawking and the occasional screech, Peewee flapped back over to Spike with a look of satisfaction on its beak.

“So, is Skarmory going to let us help it?” Spike asked, to which Peewee bobbed its head happily. “You hear that, Rainbow? It worked, Skarmory\s agreed to let us help it get better!”

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash said as she stepped into the room holding Skarmory’s Poké Ball. “And I think I know the perfect place where we can get you all set to get back in the – Hey!” As Rainbow Dash approached Skarmory, it suddenly stood up and swiped its wing at her, knocking the Poké Ballfrom her hand. “What was that for? I thought you weren’t gonna fight with us anymore?”

“Maybe it just doesn’t want to go in a Poké Ball at all?” Spike suggested, to which Skarmory snorted in apparent agreement.

“Huh, really? You know, I never really thought about it before since none of my other Pokémon have had any problems, but I guess it must be pretty cramped int there. Alright, well, if you really don’t want to go into the Poké Ball then I won’t try and make you. Just don’t go flying off on your own or anything, okay? Otherwise you could wind up getting yourself hurt again.” Skarmory appeared to take a moment to consider what Rainbow Dash was saying before finally giving her a curt nod in response. “Nice! In that case, we’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning and get you ready to start flying again. Man, I wonder if Twilight’s doing this well with her Pokémon.”

*********

“Char. Charmeleon Char!”

Twilight listened to her Charmeleon hiss and growl as she struggled to keep from looking either bored or frustrated. “I’m sorry, I’ll try this again later, alright?” Twilight finally said before recalling her Charmeleon to its Poké Ball. It had seemed so easy at first; what Twilight had on her hands was essentially a friendship problem, and she had plenty of experience solving those. The first step to solving any friendship problem was for the two sides to listen to each other and try to understand their points of view, so Twilight had taken her Pokémon to her room to speak with them one-on-one. Unfortunately, Twilight had neglected to factor in the important fact that she had no way of understanding what her Pokémon were saying.

“Well, maybe giving Charmeleon an opportunity to vent will help at least a little bit. Until then, I just need to try to do a better job of understanding how my Pokémon are feeling.” Twilight paused for a moment before letting out a groan of frustration as she fell back onto the bed. “But how the hay am I supposed to know how they’re feeling if I can’t understand what they’re saying? Okay, I can figure this out. What would I do if this was a friendship mission that the map sent me on? Well, my Pokémon can understand what I’m saying, so it isn’t that we don’t have any communication, I just need to find a way for them to talk back. Ooh, I really wish Fluttershy were here.” Twilight fell silent for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. “I just hope Rainbow Dash will have better luck with her Skarmory.”

*********

“Okay, that looks good. Now, try showing me a nice, smooth turn to the right.” Rainbow Dash called out as Skarmory lazily through the sky over the mountain meadow. “Alright, good. Now, swing back and this time try turning to the left.”

“So, what’s the deal with all this turning and stuff?” Spike asked as he and Peewee watched Rainbow Dash put Skarmory through its paces.

“Basically, I’m making sure Skarmory’s feathers came in right,” Rainbow Dash said, while keeping her eyes on Skarmory. “If any of Skarmory’s feathers grew in wrong that could cause major problems, so we gotta check to make sure there’s nothing wrong before we can get to the fun stuff. That’s what all these turns are for; the air will push against the feathers at different angles each time.”

“Are you seriously putting a Pokémon through basic flight drills? I figured you’d have turned out to be some complete goody-four shoes when I heard you’d gotten into the Wonderbolts, but this is a whole new level of boring.” Rainbow Dash and Spike turned their heads in unison to see a blonde woman in a bomber jacket make her way into the clearing.

“No way, it can’t be…Lightning Dust?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock. “How…what the hay are you doing here?”

“I figured you’d be the one who’d know that. Aren’t you supposed to be one of Princess Twilight’s ‘saving Equestria buddies’ or something?” Lightning Dust said. “All I know is that I went to sleep like normal and then I woke up like this.”

“Huh, I guess more ponies must have been caught up in this than I thought,” Rainbow Dash said, more to herself than anyone else, “Anyway, I’m not totally sure what did this; Twilight seems pretty sure it wasn’t Discord, but I’m still not so sure. Right now we’ve been going through this place’s whole Gym Challenge thing since Twilight says that’s part of how e can get everything back to Equestria. Let me guess, you’re here because you’re doing the challenge too and you want to take on the Gym Leader here, right?”

Lightning Dust looked at Rainbow Dash incredulously for a moment before bursting out laughing. “You’re kidding, right? You seriously think I’d want to get involved with all this gym stuff? I mean, don’t get me wrong, getting these Pokémon things to fight each other is awesome, but I don’t have time to waste on a bunch of pointless rules.”

“It’s not all just pointless rules,” Rainbow Dash countered. “The idea is to test you to see how strong you and your Pokémon are. And battling is about more than having Pokémon fight each other.”

“It figures you’d say something like that,” Lightning Dust said as she rolled her eyes. “Even back at the Wonderbolts Academy you were always the kind of wuss who followed all the dumb rules.”

“Yeah, and because of that I wasn’t the one who got kicked out for being reckless!” Rainbow Dash shot back angrily.

“Okay, so maybe I went a little far when I lost control of that tornado,” Lightning Dust grudgingly admitted. “But, that’s the sort of thing that happens when you try pushing yourself to the extreme and don’t let yourself get held back by anything. And it’s the same with Pokémon as it is with flying.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash asked warily.

“What I mean is you can’t worry about all this stupid, namby-pamby friendship stuff if you want your Pokémon to kick butt. If you waste your time coddling them then they’ll never be as tough as they should. I mean, look at that metal-bird thing you’ve got there,” Lightning Dust continued. “That thing would probably be pretty strong if you worked it hard enough, but its never going to get anywhere just having it do a bunch of warmups.”

Rainbow Dash was about to argue further, but before she could respond Skarmory landed in front of Lightning Dust and let out a shrill, angry shriek. “It looks like Skarmory doesn’t agree with you anymore than I do,” Rainbow Dash laughed as Lightning Dust stumbled backwards. “Pokémon are supposed to be you’re friends, and training them is about a lot more than just fighting.”

“Yeah! Besides, the reason Rainbow was having Skarmory fly like that was because it hurt its wings and she wanted to help it get better,” Spike added.

“Seriously? What’s the point of going through all that? Just dump the ting off at a Pokémon Center and let them deal with it. That’s what they’re for, isn’t it?” Lighting Dust asked.

“‘Just dump it off…’? Wow, you just don’t care at all about you’re Pokémon, do you?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I care that they’re strong enough to kick butt when I want them to,” Lightning Dust said. “So, how about it Dash? You wanna prove your Pokémon can hold its own, or is battling just a little too rough for you?”

“Look, if you want to battle, then I’ll battle you. Just, let me get Skarmory back to the Pokémon Center first. Then we’ll –” Before Rainbow Dash could finish, Skarmory let out another shriek before hopping into the air and landing by her side.

“It looks like your Pokémon has got more guts than you do,” Lightning Dush sneered. “Then again, you always did like to play it safe.”

“Hey, Rainbow’s got plenty of guts! Just because she doesn’t want to risk getting Skarmory hurt again after it just recovered doesn’t mean she couldn’t kick your butt!” Spike countered.

“That so, tough guy? How about this, then; I’ll take you both on at the same time!” Lightning Dust said.

“What? How would that even work?” Rainbow Dash protested.

“A two-on-two battle; two of my Pokémon versus one of each of yours,” Lighting Dust said. “Or are you two afraid that both of you put together wouldn’t be able to handle me?”

“Oh, it is on!” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Is that alright with you, Skarmory? And what about you, Spike?”

“Count me in,” Spike said. “We’ll show her what happens when you mess with us!” Skarmory, meanwhile, spread out it’s wings and beat them a few times in Lighting Dust’s direction in an apparent display of anger.

“Alright, it sounds like we’re all together on this. Okay, Lightning Dust, we’re in, so let’s see what you’ve got!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Heh, well, that’s a little more like it. I was starting to get worried you’d totally lost your spine,” Lightning Dust said. “If I keep calling you my rival and you’re a complete wuss that’s just gonna make me look bad.”

“Yeah, yeah. If I were you, I’d be more worried about how its going to look when me and Spike take you down. So why don’t you just stalling and bring out your Pokémon already?” Rainbow Dash said.

“My pleasure. Alright, if you’re in that much of a hurry to lose then I’m happy to help. Get out here, knuckleheads!” Lightning Dust reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of Poké Balls before tossing then into the air. In a flash, a light-blue, frog-like Pokémon appeared sitting next to a fearsome red and blue draconic Pokémon that Spike found a bit too familiar.

“Uh oh, I think I recognize that Druddigon,” Spike said nervously. “It looks just like the one I told you about that was bullying my Bagon.”

“Are you sure? I mean, Pokémon do all kinda look the same,” Rainbow Dash said, earning her a dirty look from Skarmory. “What? You do! I mean, maybe not exactly the same, but I sometimes have trouble telling you guys apart. Anyway, my point is, that could just be some other Druddigon.” As Rainbow Dash spoke, however, both she and Spike could see the Druddigon glaring menacingly at Spike. “Okay, yeah, never mind, that thing definitely knows who you are.”

“Wait, are you telling me you’re the one who beath the tar out of that ting?” Lightning Dust asked sounding genuinely impressed. “I guess I’ll have to thank you. Because of how thrashed Druddigon was when I found it catching it was a piece of cake. If you’re the one who pulled that off then maybe this won’t be as boring as I thought.”

“Whatever you say,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Are you ready?”

Lightning Dust nodded in response. “Let’s start this thing! Froakie, hit the Skarmory with Water Pulse! Druddigon, get in there and use Slash!” Lightning Dust’s Froakie promptly put its hands together and formed a glowing ball of water between them which it launched towards Skarmory. The armored bird attempted to dodge out of the way of the attack, only to be cut off as Peewee darted in front of it.

“Hey, tell that birdbrain to watch where it’s going!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she watched Froakie’s attack hit home, drenching Skarmory and leaving it flapping in the air trying to stay aloft.

“Sorry, Rainbow,” Spike said before quickly turning his attention back to the battle. “Peewee, use Agility, and keep clear of the ground! I’m pretty sure Druddigon at least doesn’t know any long-distance attacks.”

“It might not, but I think we do,” Rainbow Dash said. “Skarmory, show these guys your Air Cutter attack.” Letting out a screech, Skarmory began rapidly flapping its wings, unleashing a powerful gust of wind at Lightning Dust’s Pokémon carrying discs of glowing blue energy. While Skarmory’s assault left both Froakie and Druddigon battered, the gusts of wind caught Peewee as well, sending it fluttering helplessly through the air towards Druddigon. The only thing that prevented the vicious dragon from taking the opportunity to swat Peewee from the aim was an angry rebuke from its master.

“What the hay do you think you’re doing?” Lightning Dusk yelled angrily. “Forget about the parakeet and go after the other one!” Druddigon responded to this by turning back towards its trainer and snarling angrily, giving Peewee an opportunity to fly safely out of claw range.

“Phew, that was too close,” Spike said as he watched Peewee retreat. “We have got to stop getting in each other’s way and work together if we want to win this thing.”

“You’re probably right. So, do you have a plan?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well…can you use your Z-move to take out Druddigon?” Spike asked.

“I wish, that need a Ground move to work, and the only Ground move Skarmory knows is – actually I think I might be able to do something about it. Do you think you can keep the other one busy in the meantime?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Heh, no problem. Peewee, use Quick Attack!” Spike’s order had scarcely even left his mouth as Peewee rapidly darted through the air towards Froakie, slamming into its midsection with enough force to send it sprawling to the ground.

Lightning Dust was, to put it mildly, less than please by this turn of events. “Hey, stop loafing around and go after that bird with your own Quick Attack! And you! Crunch that flying tin can!” Wincing as it pulled itself back up, Froakie nevertheless blasted up from the ground with enough force to leave a streak of white energy behind as it shot towards Peewee.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was focused on gathering the energy required to power her Z-move. Skarmory, sensing what its trainer was doing, likewise seemed to be refocusing itself as both it and Rainbow Dash became surrounded in golden light.

“What the hay are you doing now?” Lightning Dust demanded as she watched Rainbow Dash strike the first pose of her Z-move. “This is supposed to be a fight, not some sort of dance recital, so hurry up and-”

“Z-Sand Attack!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she slammed her hand to the ground. The moment she did so, Skarmory beat its wings as ribbons of golden energy arced between itself and Rainbow Dash, kicking up a massive cloud of sand that enveloped Druddigon.

Undeterred by this, Druddigon charged forward into the sand with its mount wide open. Blinded by the said, however, Druddigon’s attack didn’t even come close to striking Skarmory, who easily flew out of the way.

“If you think a little sand is going to save you, then think again,” Lightning Dust said as she growled in frustration. “Froakie, take Dash’s bird out with another –”

“Peewee, use Peck now!” Lightning Dust did even have time to finish her order before Peewee drove its beak directly between Froakie’s eyes, causing the unfortunate Pokémon to collapse to the ground unconscious.

“Are you serious? Ugh, fine, whatever,” Lightning Dust growled as she recalled her Pokémon. “Druddigon’s still more than tough enough to handle this. Speaking of which, Druddigon, hurry up and Crunch that bird already!”

“In your dreams,” Rainbow Dash said. “Skarmory, show this thing you’re not afraid of it and give it your Metal Claw attack!” Skarmory wasted no time in diving forward at Druddigon’s head, its talons glowing with a bright white light. Druddigon made an effort to snap at Skarmory as it went by, but all it caught was a mouthful of the grit that had continued to swirl around Skarmory since it had used its Z-move.

“Alright, we’ve got it right where we want it now!” Spike cheered. “Let’s help take it down with your Quick Attack.” Peewee immediately shot through the air and struck Druddigon in the back of its head. The moment Druddigon turned to try and defend itself, however, Skarmory struck with its own attack. The two Flying Pokémon continued to assault Druddigon like this several more times as Druddigon struggled to land a single blow. Not helping matters was the fact that Lightning Dust’s frustration quickly reduced her to shouting incoherent orders that only served to confuse Druddigon further until finally it collapsed unconscious.

“Argh! Stupid, weak little…no wonder Spork over there didn’t bother catching you when he had the chance!” Lightning Dust fumed as she recalled her Druddigon.

“Actually, my name’s ‘Spike’ not ‘Spork’. Also, you really shouldn’t –”

“This isn’t over,” Lightning Dust snapped, not paying any attention to Spike’s protestations. “I’m going to beat these two into shape until they’re strong enough to take you down, and then you’re going down!”

“Hey, Lightning Dust, hold on. I get that you want to be my rival or something, and that’s cool and all, but you should really be nicer to your Pokémon,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh please, spare me the whole ‘friendship’ speech. These guys are my team, and I intend to push them every bit as hard as I’d push myself, and if they can’t handle it I’ll kick them to the curb and find others who can.” With that, Lightning Dust stormed off before Rainbow Dash had a chance to raise any further objections.

“You know, as much as a jerk as Druddigon was when I ran into it last time, I feel kind of bad for it now,” Spike said once Lightning Dust had vanished from view.

“Tell me about it,” Rainbow Dash half mumbled in response, her mind otherwise occupied. Of course, even without her recent epiphany, Twilight would never have sunken to the level that Lightning Dust had, such thoughts were utter ridiculous. So ridiculous, in fact, that Rainbow Dash forced herself to find something else to focus her attention on. Luckily, this task was made much simpler by the fact that Peewee had started giving off a bright white glow. “Woah, Spike, I think Peewee’s evolving!” Sure enough, as Spike and Rainbow Dash watched, Peewee became completely enveloped by the white light and its silhouette began to change and expand. In moments, Peewee had more than doubled in size as well as taken on a much fiercer appearance overall.

Fletchinder, the Ember Pokémon. This Pokémon is able to expel hot embers from its beak thanks to the flame sac on its stomach, which it uses to flush out prey. Fletchinder’s flame sac also enables it to fly at incredible speeds.

“Wow, it sounds like Peewee’s becoming a pretty tough little guy,” Rainbow Dash said as Peewee stretched out its wings to show off its new form.

“Yeah he is,” Spike said as he turned to his newly evolved Pokémon. “You were really amazing out there.”

As Peewee basked in the praise of its trainer, Rainbow Dash turned her attention to her own Pokémon. “Hey, you did real good out there too. And, I get you’re not really looking to join up with a trainer or anything, but if you ever change your mind…” Skarmory responded to Rainbow Dash’s unspoken offer by waddling up to her and gently pecking at her hand. “Hey! Wait, does that mean you want to stay with me? Awesome! Here, let me just get your Poké Ball out real quick and –” As Rainbow Dash tried to fish out Skarmory’s Poké Ball from her pocket, however, Skarmory suddenly turned its head away from her in annoyance. “What’s the matter now? I thought you wanted to join up with me?”

“Maybe Skarmory still doesn’t want to get inside a Poké Ball?” Spike suggested, having already recalled Peewee to its own ball.

“Huh, is that it?” Rainbow Dash asked, to which Skarmory nodded in affirmation. “Well, I guess I can understand that, I sure as hay wouldn’t want to spend all my time stuck in a little ball. Just promise me you’ll behave from now on, alright? No more swiping at people or tossing stuff at things.” Skarmory appeared to take a moment to think about it before nodding its head in agreement. “All right! Welcome to the team! I can’t wait to tell Twilight about this.”

*********

“So, anyway, Skarmory’s gonna be staying with us from now on,” Rainbow Dash said as she finished relaying what had happened to Twilight.

“Okay, but shouldn’t it be in its Poké Ball then?” Twilight asked as she eyed Skarmory nervously.

“Nah, it turns out Skarmory really doesn’t like being cooped up in Poké Balls, so its just gonna follow us around. Don’t worry, though, Skarmory’s already agreed to behave itself from now on,” Rainbow Dash quickly assured her friend.

“Really? That’s…great,” Twilight replied with a forced smile as she eyed Skarmory warily.

“I know, right? Anyway, I figure that now that you’ve got your badge and Skarmory’s wings are better, we should probably get going pretty soon. I mean, its not like there’s that much else for us to do here, right?” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight thought about the dead end she had encountered at the library and her failure to communicate with her Pokémon. “You’re probably right. Well, now the question is where should we go from here?”

“According to my Pokédex, the nearest town to where we are is a place called Florasburg to the north,” Spike said.

“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow Dash declared. “Let’s get going!”

Chaos on the Catwalk

“Ah know this cable car’s supposed to make gettin’ down the mountain a heap easier, but Ah still wish it weren’t such a hike to get there in the first place,” Applejack said as she and Rarity trudged up a path that curved along the mountainside.

“Not that I don’t thoroughly agree with you, but it is a tad surprising for you to be the one saying something like that,” Rarity replied.

“Ah know, Ah know. It’s just, we finally find out where the hay some of our friends are, and now it seems we’re just runnin’ into one problem after another,” Applejack said.

“I certainly understand your frustration, darling, but you really shouldn’t let it get to you like that. There isn’t anything we can do about the situation that we aren’t doing already, so worrying about it will just make things worse.”

“Huh, that actually sounds like pretty good advice,” Applejack said before letting out a small chuckle. “Kinda funny, though. Ah’d of never expected y’all’d be the one tellin’ me to stop sweatin’ the details and focus on the big picture fer a change.”

“What can I say? I learned from the best,” Rarity replied with a smile. “Besides, it helps that the scenery here is absolutely breathtaking.”

“Ah can’t argue with you there,” Applejack said as she looked out towards the horizon at the landscape of the island spreading out before them. “Y’all sure do get a pretty view from up here. Nice and peaceful, too. To tell the truth, Ah wouldn’t mind goin’ campin’ ‘round these parts once we – do y’all hear that?”

Confused, Rarity listened closely, and sure enough se could just make out the sounds of some sort of commotion coming from further up the path. “What in Equestria do you think that could be?”

“Well, whatever it is, it sounds like we’re gonna be walkin’ right by it. Might be best if we keep our guard up, the last thing we need is to let ourselves get ambushed by Sombra and Chrysalis.”

Rarity nodded her head in agreement as she and Applejack cautiously made their way up the path, the noise becoming progressively louder as they went. Finally, as the pair rounded a sharp bend, they saw the source of the commotion. A large number of people had set up some sort of stage on a stretch of land that was mostly level, along with what appeared to be an assortment of tents and pavilions.

“Well, at least it don’t look like a trap or nothin’,” Applejack remarked as she scratched her head. “Ah wonder what all the fuss is about?”

“It’s a fashion show!” Rarity practically squealed with delight. “Or, a photoshoot, at the very least.”

“Are y’all sure? Ah mean, Ah guess it does kinda look like the sorta setup Ah’ve seen y’all use when y’ put on yer own shows, but still –”

“I assure you, Applejack, I’ve put on more than enough fashion shows in my day to know one when I see it.” Rarity paused for a moment as she gazed at the bustling scene below. “I don’t suppose we could dawdle here for a bit? I know we’re in a bit of a rush to catch up with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but I’m absolutely dying to learn more about the fashion here. Please?” Rarity asked, giving Applejack the most pleading, puppy-dog eyed expression she could manage.

“But we – y’all know we’re in a – we’ve lost too much time already fer –” Applejack let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, Ah guess there ain’t too much harm in stayin’ fer a little while. At the least, it ain’t that much different than mah havin’ that gym battle.”

Rarity scarcely suppressed a giggle of joy as she quickly made her way towards the event with Applejack following closely behind. As the approached, it quickly became apparent that things were still being setup, with people and Pokémon scurrying about with tables, lighting equipment and other, less readily identifiable items. “Hmm, it’s a pity, we must be here too early,” Rarity said sadly as she watched a pair of Machoke walk by carrying a sizable metla frame. “I had really hoped we’d be abler to get a glimpse of some of the models, but it looks like we’d have quite a bit of wait for that.”

“Well, look at it this way,” Applejack said. “Maybe this ain’t even a fashion show at all.”

“It’s a photoshoot, actually. Lucas, honey, be a dear and have the Machoke start setting up the frame for the lighting, but don’t start wiring it yet. Georgette’s going to want to make sure it frames the scenery just right, so you’ll probably have to adjust the position a little.” Applejack and Rarity turned to see a lanky, platinum blonde made in a black turtleneck holding a clipboard. “Hi there, I’m Toni, Ms. Georgette’s assistant. I’m guessing you girls saw our little production and decided to investigate.”

“That’s more or less the situation exactly,” Rarity replied. “I’m just so entranced by the fashions here that I couldn’t resist trying to get a peek at your shoot.”

“Oh, sweetheart, if you think the fashion scene on this little island is impressive then you absolutely have to visit Kalos sometime. I mean, this island doesn’t even have a Contest circuit. Anyway, the main part of our shoot isn’t until tomorrow, today we’re just setting up for the main shoot and taking a few preliminary shots. If you want to watch, I don’t think there’ll be any problem with that, just try not to crash into anyone, alright? Some of this equipment is pretty heavy, and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt or anything.” The moment Toni said this, however, Rarity felt something run into the back of her legs, causing her to fall backwards onto the ground and sending the contents of her backpack spilling out everywhere. “Oh no! Smoochum, how many times do I have to tell you to be careful! Honey, are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” Rarity said as she climbed back to feet. As she did so, Rarity saw a small, pink and cream-colored humanoid creature with blonde hair sprawled out on the ground. After a moment, the creature stirred before it leapt to tis feet and began frantically trying to help gather Rarity’s things together.

“I am so sorry about that,” Toni said. “Smoochum’s been hanging around us almost since we got here. It tries to be helpful, but it has a nasty habit of getting underfoot.”

“That’s alright, I’m sure it was an accident,” Rarity replied, almost as much to Smoochum itself as to Toni. As Rarity bent down to retrieve her belongings, however, she noticed a slim hand reach down and pick up one of her sketchbooks. Looking up, Rarity saw that the hand belonged to a thin, middle-aged woman in black horn-rimmed glasses who was flipping through the sketchbook with an appraising eye.

“Interesting…very interesting…” the woman said before turning her gaze towards Rarity, who realized to her concern that that sketchbook contained her designs for pony dresses. “Pardon me, young lady, but are these your drawings?”

“Erm, yes, they are,” Rarity replied as she straightened herself up. “They’re just a few silly little drawings I’ve done whenever inspiration strikes me.”

“I’d hardly call these silly little drawings, my dear. It’s clear you have a rather exceptional talent when it comes to designing dresses for Pokémon.”

“Dresses for what now?” Rarity asked.

“Oh, don’t be so modest,” the woman said as she handed Rarity back her sketchbook. “Some of these designs are really quite exceptional. I’ll admit, they are a touch overelaborate, but there’s definitely some real skill there. Not everyone can properly master the ability to translate a dress to a quadrupedal figure, but you’ve done so masterfully. Oh, but where are my manners? Allow me to properly introduce myself, my name is Georgette and this little production is going to be a shoot for my fall line.”

“A pleasure,” Rarity said as she shook Georgette’s hand. “I’m Rarity, and this is my friend Applejack.”

“Howdy,” Applejack added.”

“I suppose you girls are traveling the island, then? Well, unfortunately there won’t be much in the way of sights to see here, at least not today, anyway. Toni’s been doing a fantastic job setting everything up, but even under the best of circumstances these things take time to do correctly.” Georgette let out a sigh. “And none of that would be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that our main sponsor’s daughter has decided her Pokémon need to be part of the shoot.”

Rarity cringed as visions of Plaid Stripes raced through her mind. “I can see how that could make things a bit more challenging. Hopefully whoever it is isn’t insisting on being too involved.”

It was at that very moment that a shrill voice yelled out over the sounds of construction. “Okay, like, seriously! Where the heck is that annoying little pink thing?” Georgette and Toni both winced as a young woman dressed in a mix of dayglo clothing stormed up. “I, like, told that weird assistant-thing you’ve got to get me some mineral water, like, ten minutes ago. How long does it take to get a bottle and bring it back? I mean, seriously, I can’t even.”

Applejack scowled at the sight of the girl as she leaned over towards Rarity. “Ain’t that the spoiled little pest we ran into back at that junkyard Pokémon Center? Crystal-somethin’ or other?”

“Krysta Lapidan,” Rarity confirmed as she joined her friend in glaring at the demanding brat.

Krysta, however, didn’t seem to even notice the pair as Smoochum came toddling up to her holding a bottle of water in front of it. “Ugh, there you are. It, like took you long enough,” Krysta snapped as she snatched the bottle out of Smoochum’s hands, only to throw it to the ground in disgust after taking a glance at the label. “Seriously? This is just plain water; it’s not even sparkling! Can’t you, like, get even one thing right? My Floofykins needs her sparkling mineral water if she’s going to do her best! When my daddy hears about this –”

“Now, now, Krysta,” Georgette quickly said as she interposed herself between Krysta and the others while surreptitiously motioning for Smoochum to leave. “I’m sure there’s no need for you to go to the trouble of reaching out to your father about this. You look so stressed, why don’t you go back to your tent and rest a bit, and I’ll have Toni take care of your water issue.”

“Oh, alright,” Krysta grumbled as she allowed Georgette to gently redirect her back to the way she came, until suddenly Krysta stopped and turned around. “But I want that idiotic little pipsqueak out of here!”

Georgette let out a regretful sigh and nodded her head as she continued to guide Krysta away. “I’ll take care of it.” Hearing this, Smoochum took a step back, its eyes filling up with tears, before turning and dashing off sobbing. Krysta gave a snort of satisfaction at the sight of it before leaving the way she came with Georgette in tow.

“Why that rotten, spoiled little…” Applejack snarled as she watched Krysta leave. “Throwin’ a fit like that just ‘cause it brought her the wrong sort of water. She’s even worse than that creep who latched himself onto Rara.” Applejack paused for a moment before continuing. “And what the hay’s so special about that fancy schmancy water anyway?”

“Svengallop at least did something for Coloratura’s performance,” Rarity agreed. “You may have particularly approved of his additions, but even you have to admit he did more than just strutting around while making unreasonable demands. What I’m more concerned about, though, is what’s going to happen to that sweet little creature?”

“Oh, Smoochum?” Toni asked. “We’ll probably have to start shooing it away from the shoot. It’s sad, you should have seen the way its little face would light up whenever we’d bring out any of the outfits. But, it was one thing to let it run around when all it did was get in the way occasionally. Now that Krysta’s upset with it there’s not much else we can do. Now, if you girls will excuse me, I need to figure out where I’m going to find a bottle of sparkling mineral water around here.” Toni quickly rushed off, leaving Applejack and Rarity to stew in their indignation.

“Well, this is just a plum rotten predicament,” Applejack fumed. “Even if that little thing was makin’ a nuisance of itself, kickin’ it out like that just ain’t right.”

“It’s a great deal more than just ‘not right’,” Rarity said adamantly. “This is an injustice that I simply cannot stand for, and I’m going to do something about it.”

“Like what? Ah hate to say it, but Ah’m not really sure there’s all that much we could do here,” Applejack said. “Ah mean, Ah guess we could try and talk to that Georgette lady and try to get her to change her mind about the whole mess, but from the sounds of it they weren’t all that keen on keepin’ that Smoochum ‘round regardless.”

“Oh, I don’t have any attention of trying to change her mind,” Rarity replied. “I have something quite a bit different in mind.”

*********

It didn’t take long for the pair to track down where the Smoochum had run off to, a spot on the rise of the mountain overlooking the photoshoot. The Smoochum itself was simply sitting along and tearfully staring down at the shoot. The forlorn Pokémon was so engrossed in it sadness that it failed to notice Applejack and Rarity approaching until the latter sat down on the grass next to it.

“I hope you don’t mind if I join you,” Rarity said. At first, the Smoochum didn’t seem to recognize Rarity, regarding her sudden appearance with cautious confusion. After a moment or two, however, Smoochum suddenly realized who Rarity was and attempted to flee, only to promptly trip and fall face-first into the dirt. “Oh dear, here, let me help you,” Rarity said as she scooped Smoochum up in her arms and began wiping its face with a handkerchief. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you like that. I just wanted to speak with you for a bit, is that alright?” Smoochum, somewhat caught off guard by this turn of events, simply nodded its head. “As I understand it, you have been spending a great deal of time trying to make yourself useful at the shoot, and I’m guessing there’s a particular reason for that, isn’t there?” As Smoochum slowly nodded its head once again, Rarity responded with a warm smile. “Believe it or not, I know what its like to want to become part of the fashion world, and I also remember how hard breaking into it can be. The truth of the matter is, I’m quite a bit more than just some ‘talented amateur’, as Georgette put it, despite my being on this island being something of an unplanned vacation, I still could use the aid of an assistant…if you’re interested, that is.” Smoochum looked up at Rarity in shock as it processed what Rarity had just said, before leaping up and embracing with its stubby arms. “I take it you’re interested then? Fabulous!” While Smoochum continued to hug her, Rarity pulled out one of her Poké Balls and held it up to the affectionate Pokémon. Once Smoochum noticed, it promptly reached out and tapped the ball, allowing itself to be drawn into the ball and captured.

“Y’all really plannin’ on keepin’ that little thing around?” Applejack asked, having witnessed the entire exchange. “Ah’m not sayin’ Ah don’t think it’s not a good thing y’all are doin’, it’s just Ah’, not so sure that little critter’s really up to bein’ an assistant is all.”

“Honestly, Applejack, there’s no need to worry so much. I have plenty of experience dealing with creatures whose desire to help can outstrip their ability,” Rarity replied.

“Sweetie Belle?” Applejack asked in a knowing tone.

Rarity nodded. “And Spikey-Wikey, to a lesser degree. He can be wonderfully helpful to have around, if given proper direction. When he doesn’t have that, well, you’ve seen what that can be like yourself.”

Before Applejack could respond, however, an angry voice called out from further down the hillside. “YOU! I, like, knew I recognized you two from somewhere. You’re those two grody trainers I ran into at that junkheap Pokémon Center!”

“Aw horseapples,” Applejack groaned. “And here Ah thought we might’ve been able to get clear of here without runnin’ into her.”

“I, for one, don’t see why we still can’t,” Rarity sniffed, making certain to speak just loudly enough that Krysta would be able to hear her. “After all, it isn’t as though she’s of any real importance.”

“Okay, first of all, I can totally see what you’re doing, and it’s not going to fool me,” Krysta huffed as she continued to trudge up the ridge. “You’re just pretending not to care that I’m here because you don’t want me to know how, like, totally jealous you are of we.”

“Er, no, we really don’t care –” Rarity started to say before Krysta cut her off.

“Second, you should be jealous. Once this shoot is done and the world sees how fantastic my Floofykins is, I’ll be famous!” Krysta crowed.

“Well, y’all sure as hay weren’t gonna get famous fer yer battlin’,” Applejack snarked, causing Krysta to stare daggers at her. “What? Y’all can glare at me all y’all want, missy, but Ah sure as hay didn’t break much of a sweat kickin’ yer patootie last time we ran into each other, and Ah’m willin’ to be not much has changed on that front.”

“You – you only won that fight because that little garbage munching mutant you caught was, like, freakily strong or something,” Krysta countered. “If you had, like, used a normal Pokémon then you’d have never won like that.”

“Is that a fact?” Applejack said before Rarity put out her arm to stop her.

“Now, now, darling, you’ve already had your turn humiliating this insufferable brat. I think its only fair that I should have a go at it. Besides, I feel I owe her for the horrible way she treated Smoochum,” Rarity added.

“Seriously? You’re actually going to try fighting me over the dumb little whatever it was? Oh my god, I cannot even. Well, if you want to lose that badly then alright. Go, Floofykins!” Krysta tossed her Poké Ball into the air, revealing Floofykins to be a poodle-like Pokémon, its carefully coifed fur styled on its head and tail to resemble pink hearts.

Furfrou, the Poodle Pokémon. Historically designated as the guardians of the kings of the Kalos region, this Pokémon’s thick fur protects it form its enemies’ attacks. Many will compete to style Furfrou’s fur in elaborate ways.

“Huh, that doesn’t really tell us too much we couldn’t figure out just by lookin’ at it,” Applejack said as she finished listening to her Pokédex’s assessment.

“Regardless, I already know exactly how I plan to deal with this,” Rarity said with a vicious glint in her eyes. “Go Golett1”

Krysta scoffed at the sight of Golett as it emerged from its Poké Ball. “I knew you were tacky, but, like, seriously? You’re actually going to try and beat me with that stupid-looking antique? Floofykins won’t even have to, like, get its fur dirty to beat it. Charge Beam!” Growling obediently, Floofykins opened its mouth as arcs of static electricity flashed along its teeth. Moments later, Floofykins fired a bright beam of crackling electricity directly at Golett…who seemed to barely even notice the attack.

“I would appear that you and your ‘Floofykins’ are a bit out of your depth,” Rarity said with an evil grin. “On that note, Golett, darling, would you kindly use you Bulldoze attack?” Nodding its head, Golett stomped down on the ground with one of its feet, sending out a shockwave through the ground that sent Floofykins toppling onto its side.

“Come on, Floofykins, get up!” Krysta yelled impatiently before turning her attention back to Rarity. “I was going to, like, you know, go easy on you, but now I’m getting serious. Floofykins, Headbutt!” As Floofykins staggered to its feet, however, lowered its head and charged straight towards Golett.

Golett, however, simply pivoted on one of its legs as Floofykins charged past, effortlessly dodging the attack. Floofykins did its best to spin around and attempt another charge, but Rarity was already prepared. “Golett, Mega Punch.” Floofykins, already running full tilt at Golett, had no hope of dodging as Golett drove its glowing fist into its face.

“Alright then, I’ll try something else,” Krysta said through tightly clenched teeth. “Floofykins, use Attract!” Pulling itself up once again, Floofykins turned to once side and winked at Golett, sending a barrage of yellow hearts flying through the air. Engulfed by the hearts, Golett regarded Floofykins for a moment before tilting its head to once side in confusion.

“Darling, you do realize that a plan involving using feminine wiles to charm an automaton has a significant flaw, don’t you?” Rarity asked as Krysta sputtered in incoherent fury. “Regardless, Golett, dear?” Another Bulldoze, fi you please. And, follow that with another Mega Punch.” Golett obliging stomped its foot once again, firing off a second shockwave that knocked Floofykins off its feet and sent it tumbling forward, straight into a Mega Punch-powered uppercut. This second blow sent Floofykins flying backwards until it landed on the ground unconscious.

“Looks like yer Floofykins has just about had it,” Applejack said with barely suppressed smug satisfaction.

“You-you-you cheated!” Krysta shrieked as she stomped her feet in impotent rage.

“I did no such thing. It isn’t my fault you skills at battling are as rotten as your personality,” Rarity retorted.

“As Krysta attempted to compose herself enough to form some sort of intelligible response, a voice called out from the base of the slope. “Krysta, where are you? We need you and Floofykins for the fitting and the preliminary shots.” Moments later, Georgette and Toni could be seen rushing up the slope towards the group. “There you are,” Georgette said. “I realize you’ve found this to be a trying experience, but – what happed to your Pokémon?” The battle against Golett had left Floofykins in a sorry state. In addition to having its face bruised and battered by repeated punches, Floofykins’ coat was now filthy ad bedraggled from repeatedly crashing into the dirt.

“The long and short of it is Krysta decided to pick a fight she weren’t ready to win,” Applejack said.

“You got into a Pokémon battle right before our shoot was supposed to start?” Georgette cried out.

“Uh…yeah, so?” Krysta replied uncertainly. “I mean, its not like its that big a deal, right? Just have, like, the stylist and makeup person fix everything up and stuff.”

Toni knelt down beside Floofykins and shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but this is going to take a lot more than a shampoo and a bit of foundation. We can take Floofykins back to the first aid tent to get patched up, but there’s no way we’ll be able to have it ready for the shoot in time.”

“I see,” Georgette replied solemnly. “Well, that’s a shame. Toni, once you get Floofykins back to the first aid tent, I want you to let that Luxray’s trainer know that it will be taking Floofykins’ place in the shoot.”

“What?” an outraged Krysta screeched. “Can’t you just, like, delay the shoot or something? When daddy hears about this-”

“I’m afraid your father made his stance on the matter quite clear when he agreed to sponsor us,” Georgette said sternly. “He explicitly forbade us from delaying the shoot for the sake of any of the models, with absolutely no exceptions. That’s why we had to be so certain that every model had understudies ready to go, including Floofykins.” Despite Georgette’s best efforts to remain impassive while telling Krysta this, Rarity could still see a faint gleam of satisfaction in her eyes.

Krysta, meanwhile, faced with the fact that her primary leverage against Georgette had been turned against her, was left largely speechless. As it slowly dawned on her that there was no help or sympathy forthcoming from anyone present, Krysta let out a guttural scream of frustration and recalled her Pokémon. “This isn’t over,” Krysta snarled at Rarity. “I will get you back for this, just you wait.” Krysta’s threat was undercut, however, as when she spun around to angrily march off Krysta lost her footing and went tumbling down the hill into a mud puddle.

“Why do Ah get the sense that ya’ll really enjoyed that?” Applejack asked.

“After spending that last several days having to put up with that arrogant little brat, I’d say I’m entitled to at least a touch of schadenfreude at how things have turned out,” Georgette replied. “Speaking of how things have been turning out today, I don’t suppose either of you have seen where Smoochum ran off to? That wasn’t really how I wanted to end things with it and I wanted to make sure it would be alright.”

“Well, if you’re looking to apologize to the little dear…” Rarity said as she pulled out Smoochum’s Poké Ball.

“You caught it?” Georgette exclaimed before looking relieved. “I see. That’s probably the best way this could have turned out, to be honest. Smoochum should be much happier in the long run with a trainer that has the time to look after it properly. Now, that said, my dear, if you ever decide to get serious about your designs then please look me up. I’m always on the lookout for talented amateurs who might make good assistants.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline,” Rarity said. “My friend and I really do need to reach the Javik League Institute of…what did Ms. Spectra call it again?”

“Hay if Ah can remember, sounded like the sort of gobbledygook word Twilight’d use. Basically the place with the cable car that goes down the mountain,” Applejack said.

“Oh, good lord, the Institute,” Georgette groaned. “Well, that’s still a fair distance away, so I won’t keep you. Just, one word of warning before you go. Be careful who you make eye contact with when you go there. The researchers there can be rather…odd.”

“We’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Rarity said as she turned to leave. Despite nothing in Rarity’s voice suggesting that there was anything wrong, Applejack noticed a faint twitch in the corner of Rarity’s eye that told her it would be best for them to leave as quickly as possible.

“Hey, sugarcube,” Applejack began once the pair were safely out of earshot. “Is there somethin’-”

“A ‘talented amateur’?” an indignant Rarity practically shouted. “‘Assistant’? The nerve of that woman! Once we have this…situation fully sorted out I’m going to come back here and show that woman what this ‘talented amateur’ can do!”

Applejack, meanwhile, simply smiled and nodded her head.

High Seas Hijinks

“So…” Derek sighed as he assessed the situation. “We’re stuck on a giant barge that’s headed out to sea; we can’t steer it because the control panels have been destroyed –”

“I already said I was sorry!” Pinkie Pie protested.

“And those controls also operated the engines; so we can’t easily shut everything down either,” Derek concluded.

“Can’t we just go to wherever the engines are and turn them off right there?” Fluttershy asked.

“Actually, that’s pretty much what I was about to suggest myself. If we can find the engine room, we should be able to manually shut everything down at the source. At that point, the currents should take us back to the island without our having to do anything else.” Derek paused for a moment before continuing. “If we’re really lucky, the two halfwits who got us into this mess will find their way to the engine room and break things enough to do the job and save us the trouble.”

“Do you really think they’d just break something for no reason whatsoever?” Fluttershy asked before shaking her head and sighing. “Okay, you’re right, they’d absolutely do something like that.”

“You know, the sad part is that they’re not even especially bad by crime team standards,” Derek said. “Admittedly, it does help that they seem to manage to hurt themselves more than anyone else.”

*********

“Aw dude! Why?” Femur screamed as he and Ribcage fled the engine room, slamming the door behind them.

“It reeks worse than that time we exploded that stink bomb,” Ribcage added as he gasped for breath.

“Uh, duded, weren’t you the one who blew that thing up?” Femur asked.

“The important thing is that we won’t be able to trash that engine room if we can’t even breathe in there. And if we can’t trash the place and the stupid fake pirate doesn’t have any treasure then I don’t know what we’re gonna do,” Ribcage said dejectedly. “I mean, we gotta do somethin’ here to show that we’re complete boneheads.”

“Wait, dude, I’ve got it!” Femur suddenly said, pratically hopping up and down in excitement. “It’s so obvious; if we can’t find where the good stuff is in this stupid gym, then what we should do is steal the gym itself! I mean, it’s basically just a big ship thing, right? So, we could just sail it anywhere and it’d be like we grabbed everything. Even the boss would have to give us serious props for pulling off a move that hardcore.”

“Yeah, man, we’d be the ultimate boneheads of all time!” Ribcage said eagerly before a look of concern crossed his features. “But wait, what about those loser goody-goodies we ran into in the control cabin place? They’d definitely cause us some problems, and not in the cool bonehead way either.”

“Dang, that’s a good point,” Femur said as he crossed his arms to look like he was deep in thought. “Those losers are always messing up our plans. What we need is a way to keep them out of our business…and I think I just got an idea how,” Femur said evilly as he motioned for Ribcage to lean in. “Check it, all we need to do is this…”

*********

“…and once we find the emergency fuel shutoff valve the rest should take care of itself,” Derek explained as the trio made their way to the gym’s engine room. “Not only should that stop the engines, but tripping it should also trigger an emergency distress beacon to start broadcasting. That way, even if the currents don’t take us back to the island for some reason, someone should still be able to come find us.”

“That sounds like it should work,” Fluttershy replied. In truth, Fluttershy didn’t really understand much of what Derek was talking about concerning the engines. But, it sounded as though the situation was going to be resolved and that was enough for her.

“Where do you think we’ll end up once we get back to shore?” Pinkie asked as she bounced along down the hallway. “Ooh, maybe it’ll be a jungle, like the one we went to when we helped Daring Do stop that mean old Ahuizotl.” Derek briefly looked like he wanted to ask something, but quickly thought better of it.

“I’m not really sure they have jungles on this island,” Fluttershy replied before turning to Derek. “At least, I don’t think there are any here. Are there?”

“Not really,” Derek replied. “The drier parts of the swamp are kind of jungle-ish, and there’s the forrest between Mercury City and Aurum Town, but we don’t really have a real jungle here.” Further conversation was cut short as Pinkie Pie eagerly called out from further down the hall.

“I found the engine room! At least, I think I found it. There’s a big metal door, and it kind of smells a little funny,” Pinkie added.

“That sounds like that’s probably it. If I had to guess, Pinkie’s probably smelling the diesel fuel,” Derek explained as they hurried over to their friend, who was waiting for them in front of a sturdy-looking metal security door. “Alright, let’s get this taken care of and then we can start figuring out what to do while we wait for someone to come pick us up.”

“I know, I can start planning a ‘stranded at sea boat party’! Do you think they have any balloons or streamers on board?” Pinkie asked.

“I…you know what? Let’s figure that out after we get things handled in here,” Derek said as he pulled the heavy door open and stepped inside, with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie following behind. As soon as they entered the room, however, it became hideously apparent that the smell Pinkie Pie had detected earlier was something much worse than diesel fuel.

“Oh, dear Celestia! It’s even worse than the time Zephyr Breeze stuck his head in Mr. Stripey’s burrow!” Fluttershy groaned as her Ralts desperately tried covering its face with its arms to keep out the stench.

“Urgh, even Marble’s cooking smells better than this,” Pinkie Pie added in a similar slate of distress.

“We should get out of here,” Derek said “If this is what I think it is, it’s only going to get worse the longer we stay here. We’ll just need to find some other way to –” Before Derek could finish his sentence he was interrupted by a loud metallic crash as the engine room door slammed shut.

“Yeah! We got you fools now!” a triumphant Femur called out from the other side of the door. “There’s no way you’ll be able to mess with our plans while you’re stuck in there!” This declaration was followed by banging sounds from around the edges of the door.

“So, we’re going to be stuck in here?” Pinkie Pie asked as Derek desperately tried to force the door back open.

“It looks like it,” Derek said. “They must have done something to wedge the door shut, I can’t get the thing to even budge. Well, there should be an emergency exit in here somewhere. We may as well try and shut down the engines while we look for a way out.”

“Hopefully that won’t take too long and whatever’s making this smell isn’t dangerous,” Fluttershy said. No sooner did Fluttershy say this, however, than a small figure scurried between the shadows. “What was that?”

“Probably the reason this place smells like a bucket of vomit that’s been left out in the sun,” Derek said. “I wouldn’t get too close to it if I were you. If that’s what I think it is, then its going to be incredibly skittish, and if you spook it then we’ll all pay the price.”

Derek’s warning fell on deaf ears, however, as Fluttershy slowly approached where she had seen the skittering figure dart under some machinery. “Hello? You don’t need to be scared; nobody here is going to hurt you. My name’s Fluttershy, why don’t you come out so we can all meet you?” Fluttershy’s gentle coaxing was answered by a squeaking chirp as a Pokémon resembling a gray and purple, foot and a half-long woodlouse cautiously peeked out from under some nearby machinery.

“A Wimpod,” Derek said as he held himself is still as he possibly could. “They’re not dangerous at all, but they tend to be very easily frightened, and when that happens –”

“Hiya! I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced over to the small Pokémon. The Wimpod promptly let out a terrified squeal and retreated back under the machinery, but not before spitting out a stream of viscous purple slime which splattered on the ground at Pinkie Pie’s feet. As unpleasant as the slime looked, however, the hideous stench that emanated from it quickly proved to be a much greater concern.

“At least now we know what that awful smell is,” Pinkie Pie said, her eyes watering as she backed away from the noxious slime.

“Like I tried to warn you, when a Wimpod gets scared its response is to spit that stuff out as defense mechanism against predators. What I don’t get is what the thing’s doing in here in the first place. Wimpod normally avoid human settlements like the plague, and it’s not really the sort of Pokémon I’d expect Trask to keep around,” Derek said.

“It must be so scared and lonely, especially with those two awful grunts running around,” Fluttershy said, the tone of her voice already telling Pinkie and Derek what she was about to suggest next.

“Why don’t Pinkie and I work on getting the engines shut down while you handle the Wimpod?” Derek suggested.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Fluttershy asked.

“There’s not really any need for all three of us to do the job, and anyway it’s going to be a lot easier for all of us if you can keep that Wimpod nice and calm.” As Derek spoke, he carefully leaned over and whispered to Fluttershy. “To be honest, I could probably handle the engines on my own, but we might want to keep Pinkie Pie occupied for the time being.” Fluttershy and her Ralts both nodded their heads in agreement as Fluttershy bent down to start looking for the Wimpod while Derek motioned for Pinkie to follow him.

*********

Several minutes later, Fluttershy was still on her hands and knees as she searched for where the Wimpod had fled, her Ralts riding on her back and doing its best to assist. While Fluttershy had several times heard the telltale sound of skittering as Wimpod moved from one patch of shadows to another, she had yet to catch sight of it again. The only slight upside to her situation was the fact that she felt as though she were slowly becoming more acclimated to the foul stench that filled the room. “I realize that Mister Wimpod must be very frightened with everything that’s been going on, but was it really necessary to squirt so much of his slime everywhere?” Fluttershy muttered to herself as she crawled past a machine whose sides were splattered with dried purple sludge. “This isn’t going to work. There’s just so many places for the Wimpod to hide that it could be anywhere. Think, Fluttershy, if you were lost in some strange place like this, where would you hide?” Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to put herself in the mind of the Wimpod…only to immediately regret her decision as the smell quickly overwhelmed her.

As Fluttershy collapsed to the floor in a coughing fit, however, she caught site of a pair of sad eyes staring out at her from the shadows. Slowly, Fluttershy did her best to stifle her coughs as she tried to keep an eye on the Wimpod without letting it realize that she could see it. Once she was able to quiet herself, Fluttershy watched and waited for the Wimpod to make the first move. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Wimpod cautiously peeked its head out into the open.

“Hello again,” Fluttershy said once the Wimpod had gotten about halfway into the open, while her Ralts cheerfully waved at it. “Don’t worry, don’t worry, we’re not going to hurt you, we just want to be your friends. It must be so lonely to be all by yourself in the place, isn’t it?” The Wimpod let out a sad wimper in reply as it inched closer to Fluttershy. “There, there,” Fluttershy said reassuringly as the slowly reached out and started to gently stroke the top of Wimpod’s head. “Why don’t you tell me about how you got here in the first place?”

*********

It was a sunny day in Alola (like most were) and the Wimpod that lived near the docks of Heahea City were engaged in their usual pastime of scouring the area for any leftover bits of trash to eat. The ships that docked there seemed to offer a never-ending supply of refuse to snack on. Better yet, the largest ships offered a multitude of spots to hide once the humans disembarked.

The humans on one such boat had even left several bags of refuse on the deck unattended, likely meaning to haul it off before the departed. It was the considerate thing to do, then, for the Wimpod to eat as much of the garbage as they could before the humans returned, thus reducing the amount of work they would have to do later. Unfortunately, the Wimpod wouldn’t have much time for feasting, as midway through their meal they heard the telltale sounds of humans approaching and were forced to scatter and hide. Most of the Wimpod managed to scuttle over the side of the boat, however one was forced to dart into the ship’s cabin and hide under the furniture as it listened to the humans and waited for them to leave.

“Aw dang it! Look at this mess!”

“Hey, I warned you about leaving the trash out like that, but you didn’t want to listen.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. You can spare me the ‘I told you so’ bit. Listen, we’re running late as it is. I’ll get this mess cleaned up, you work on getting the ship ready to move.” Much to the Wimpod’s dismay, this exchange was followed by one of the humans walking into the cabin while the other human stayed outside gathering up the remains of the Wimpod’s meal. Fearful of being discovered, the Wimpod waited until the first human seemed distracted before darting further belowdecks in search of a new place to hide.

The Wimpod waited for what seemed like an eternity until it finally felt have enough to chance exiting its hiding spot and sneak out onto the deck. To the Wimpod’s horror, however, upon leaving the ship’s cabin it found that the ship had sailed out into open water, with land nowhere to be seen.

In the days that followed, Wimpod would spend most of its time hiding belowdecks, only emerging at night to forage for food. Finally, the ship finally docked at another island, and as soon as the humans had left the ship Wimpod fled as fast as it could. Unfortunately, the new island that Wimpod found itself on wasn’t much of an improvement over the ship. Humans were teeming all over the shore and there wasn’t a single other Wimpod to be seen. Dejected and alone, Wimpod wandered from hiding spot to hiding spot until eventually it came upon the massive barge that served as the local gym. The gym was sufficiently large that Wimpod had plenty of places to hide, and its kitchens were well stocked enough that there was little danger of anyone missing the food Wimpod helped itself to at night. Still, it was a lonely existence, and Wimpod dearly missed its swarm.

*********

“Oh, you poor thing,” Fluttershy said, practically in tears as Wimpod finished its story. “After going through all that its now wonder you’re so nervous. Well, don’t you worry, now that I’m here I’m not going to let anything else happen to you.” No sooner did Fluttershy say this, however, than an alarm started to sound accompanied by red flashing lights. Despite this, Wimpod didn’t flee or spit up more slime, but rather pressed itself into Fluttershy’s arms. “It’s…alright,” Fluttershy said through gritted teeth, trying to be as reassuring as possible. “That probably means my friends have finished doing whatever it was they were trying to do with the engines. I didn’t know it was going to be so loud, though.” As Fluttershy started to stand back up, the Wimpod began to whine piteously until Fluttershy bent down to pick it up, allowing her Ralts to climb up onto her shoulders. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to leave you behind. Now, why don’t I introduce you to our friends and we can see what was so important that they needed to make all that noise. “Don’t worry,” Fluttershy added as the Wimpod began to squirm uncomfortably. “My friends aren’t going to hurt you. They’re actually both very nice, even if sometimes they are a bit louder than they need to be. Especially Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy added under her breath.

It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to locate Derek and Pinkie Pie, who were at the back of the room near a set of massive machines Fluttershy could only assume were the barge’s engines. “Fluttershy you’re here…and you brought the Wimpod with you,” Derek said as he noticed the Pokémon Fluttershy was holding in her arms.

“Now, be nice,” Fluttershy chided. “Wimpod has been through an awful lot, and he only spat up all that slime was because he was scared. Speaking of which, what was making all that noise a little while ago?”

“Oh, that?” Pinkie replied. “Well, Derek went over to those boxes on these big, enormous machines and he flipped a few switches and everything went all Eheheheheheh and then it was all like Verrrroom and then the machines stopped making noise. But, then the alarms went off, and they were all WRAHH! WRAHH! WRAHH! But, you probably heard that part yourself.”

“In other words, we were able to shut the engines down, and that alarm was to let everyone know that the emergency distress beacon’s been activated,” Derek translated. “So, now the good news is that we’re either going to eventually drift back to shore somewhere in the Javik region, or a search party is going to find us. Either way, the next issue we have to deal with is how do we get out of here? The main door’s still going to be jammed, but there should be some other way to of here. Theoretically, we could just smash out way out, but I’d rather avoid that if we can.”

As Fluttershy nodded her head, not particularly liking the idea of breaking down anything, the Wimpod suddenly began to squirm about in her arms. “Is there something wrong?” Fluttershy asked as she crouched down and let go of the Wimpod, who proceeded to scuttle about in a circle a few times before pausing to look back at Fluttershy and the others. “I think Wimpod knows a way out and wants to show us.”

“That’s great! Lead on, Wimpy!” Pinkie Pie cheered.

Letting out a chirp of acknowledgement, the Wimpod proceeded to rapidly skitter across the engine room floor, pausing occasionally to check to make sure the others were following it. Eventually, Wimpod stopped near a wall and began gesturing towards a battered ventilation grill near the floor.

“Huh, I’m guessing this is probably how Wimpod get’s in and out of here,” Derek said as he nudged the grate, which easily swung open. “Well, theoretically we could use this to get out here, the only catch is it looks like it’s pretty tight in there. Honestly, I don’t think there’s any way that I could fit in there, and even for you two I’d say it’s going to be a real squeeze.”

Fluttershy looked into the dark confines of the vent and shuddered at the thought of trying to crawl through there. “Isn’t there some other way we could get out of here!”

“What about our Pokémon?” Pinkie Pie asked suddenly. “The problem is that we’re too big to fit, right? But our Pokémon are a lot smaller, so there could fit in there no problem. I mean, except for Munchy, of course. He’s gotten way too big to fit in a little hole like that. And, Isla’s pretty big too, so she probably wouldn’t be able to fit in either.”

“Pinkie, you’re a genius!” Derek exclaimed.

“Actually, I’m a pony,” Pinkie replied in complete seriousness.

Derek paused for several seconds before continuing. “Right. Anyway, if we send some of our Pokémon in there, then Wimpod should be able to lead them back out into the main hallways. Once they’re there –”

“They’ll be able to unblock the door and we’ll be able to get out of here!” Fluttershy said before crouching down to Wimpod’s level. “Well, Mister Wimpod, do you think you’ll be able to help us?” Wimpod replied with a cheerful chirp as it bounced up and down.

“I’m going to guess that’s meant to be a yes,” Derek said as he pulled out a Poké Ball. “Okay then, go Joy!”

“Ooh, ooh, me too! Go Lombre!” Pinkie Pie said, tossing out her own ball as well.

“Right, and I’ll send Quilava,” Fluttershy said. Moments later, the three Pokémon were assembled in front of their trainers. “Alright, everyone, we really need your help with something. We need you to follow Mister Wimpod here through these vents to the outside hallways, and then you’ll need to try and unblock the door into here so we can get out. Do you think you’ll be able to help us?”

“Quil!”

“Lombre.”

“Linoone?”

“No, I don’t think we’ll need you to bring back whatever the grunts used to block the door,” Fluttershy replied.

“Lin Linoone?”

“I’m not really sure what ‘Dracozolt Energy Drink’ is, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t use cases of it, so I don’t think you’ll need to worry about it,” Fluttershy said.

“Joy, just get us out of here, please? It’s either you or I have to let out Oppenheimer, and you know how he gets,” Derek said. Joy appeared to consider this for a moment before nodding its head. “Alright now that that’s settled, it’s all up to you four now.”

*********

The following has been translated from Pokémon for your convenience

“Do you think is going to take much longer?” Lombre asked as the group crawled their way through the vents. “It’s too dark and cramped in here, I don’t like it.”

“Here,” Quilava said as the vents on the top of its head flared up. “Does this help?”

“Hey, hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Wimpod yelped. “Are you trying to cook us all or something? Cool your jets before you hurt one of us. I mean, literally cool them, that’s way too hot.” Quilava grunted at this, but obligingly lowered its flames back down. “Thank you. Now it’s not going to be much further, we just need to take the next right and then two vents down should take us right outside the door that your trainers need unstuck. Um, how exactly do you guys plan on opening the door, anyway? I’d offer to help, but I don’t really have all that much upper body strength. Or, you know, hands.”

“I just figured we’d let Joy handle it,” Lombre said. “She’s probably the strongest one here, anyway.”

“So, what do you guys think the door is blocked with?” Joy asked. “I know Fluttershy said they probably didn’t use cases of energy drinks, but they might have, right? Or, maybe they used cases of something else fun, like poffins. Do you guys like poffins? I love poffins, they really tasty, and fun to say, too! Poffins poffins poffins poffins –”

“For the love of Arceus, will you please be quiet?” Quilava growled.

“That would probably be for the best,” Wimpod added. “There were a couple of other humans in the engine room earlier, and they looked like they were from Team Skull. I don’t know too much about them personally, they were always so loud that the rest of my swarm and I always had plenty of time to hid. But, I’ve heard stories from other Pokémon and they really don’t seem like a group of very nice people.”

“Yeah, they’re jerks, but we’ve dealt with them before,” Lombre said. “If they show up then we can handle them.” Quilava once again grunted his agreement as Wimpod came to a stop in front of a decorative grate.

“Alright, out here should be right in front of the door. Are you guys really sure you’re going to be alright? I mean, what if those Team Skull guys come back and they have some sort of machine or something to catch you with? I know you said you could beat them, but humans can be tricky and –"

“If you want to stay back here then stay back here,” Quilava said as it pushed past Wimpod to access the grate. “Right now, we have a job to do.”

“You were a real help leading us here,” Lombre added. “But Quilava’s right. Our trainers are counting on us to get this done, so even if it is a little risky, we need to just go ahead and do it.”

“Besides, it’ll be fine,” Joy added as she followed the others into the hallway. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? You know, aside from a school of Gyarados attack the pace, that actually would be pretty bad.” A tense few seconds ticked by as the other Pokémon froze and listened for the sounds of angry roars in the distance. “Wow, did anyone else kind of expect a bunch of Gyarados to actually just randomly attack us after I said –”

“Yes,” Quilava replied. “Now, let’s get this over with.” A quick examination of the door revealed that the grunts had wedged a half-dozen doorstops into the doorframe at various points to keep it shut. “Well, should be easy enough tot fix, at least,” Quilava grumbled. “Joy, why don’t you focus on getting the ones stuck in near the top, I’ll grab the ones at the bottom, and Lombre can –” Quilava fell silent as approaching voices echoed out from down the hall. “—keep watch. Terrific. Alright, new plan. Lombre and I will keep our company busy while Joy gets the wedges out.” Lombre hurried over to take a stand next to Quilava, the pair taking their positions just as Femur and Ribcage rounded the corner.

*********

“It figures those losers would start bustin’ stuff up the one time we don’t want stuff getting’ trashed,” Ribcage said. “I mean, come on, they’re not even part of a team, so why the heck do they keep doin’ this?”

“I know, right? I mean, we bust things up, but we’re bone hard grunts, it’s what we’re supposed to do,” Femur replied. “Actually, I’ve always kind of wondered about that. We’re grunts, so we’re supposed to bust things up and make trouble, right?”

“You know it, man!” Ribcage said.

“Yeah, but we’re also boneheads. And boneheads never do what we’re supposed to do, that what makes us boneheads. So, if we’re supposed to make trouble because we’re grunts, but we’re supposed to not do what we’re supposed to do because we’re boneheads, does that mean to be real boneheads we shouldn’t be making trouble?”

“Woah, that’s some seriously deep stuff,” Ribcage said. “Wait, wait, I got it. Boneheads never do what they’re supposed to do, right? But, we’re the hardest boneheads of them all, so we don’t do what boneheads are supposed to do by not not doin’ what we’re supposed to do. So we are gonna do what we’re supposed to do as grunts, ‘cause that means we’re not doin’ what we’re supposed to do as boneheads, which is what boneheads are supposed to do!”

“Yeah! You’re a freaking genius, man! So let’s…uh, what were we going to do again?” Femur asked.

“We were gonna check to see if those losers we locked in the engine room had trashed the place,” Ribcage reminded his friend.

“Oh, year, right. So, what are we—” Femur stopped mid-sentence as he turned the corner and found himself faced with Quilava and Lombre as Joy continued to yank at the doorstops. “Are you kidding me? Those losers have got their Pokémon sneaking them out.”

“Relax, this is fine. All this means is that we’ve gotta beat these little pests and then we can use them to make the losers in there do whatever we tell them to,” Ribcage said. “Speakin’ of which, go Zubat!”

“Man, you are on fire today,” Femur said as she pulled out his own Poké Ball. “Go Weepinbell!”

*********

“This Zubat is back for another attack so you suckers best step back before I give you a smack!”

“I really hate that guy,” Quilava grumbled as he glared menacingly at the Zubat fluttering in the air above it. “For crying out loud, even your trainers knocked that off by now. Enough with the rhyming already!”

“You think you’re zealous but you’re just jealous you can’t match my flow ‘caus you’re too slow so get ready to go!” Zubat continued to rap.

Quilava paused for a moment, its eye twitching slightly. “That’s it, I’mma kill it.”

“I guess that leaves me with Weepinbell, then,” Lombre sighed. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you might just give up and go away, is there?”

“Probably not,” Weepinbell admitted.

Before Lombre could respond, Quilava took action, curling itself into a ball and launching itself into the air at Zubat with its flames making it look like a wheel of fire.

“No fair, they’re fightin’ back without those dweeb trainers of theirs?” Ribcage complained. “Who said they could do that? Zubat, Poison Fang this fool.”

“Thought you could bring the pain? Well get ready, ‘cause now I’m bringin’ the fang!” Zubat screeched as it dove down at Quilava, its fangs glowing purple as it sank them into Quilava’s side.

“Grr, that doesn’t even – Ngh – rhyme you lunatic,” Quilava growled as it struggled free of Zubat’s grip.

“Looks like my boy’s got that on lock, so its just you and me, lily pad. And by that, I mean it’s you versus Weepinbell here. Speaking of which, Weepinbell, use your Acid attack!” Weepinbell calmly inhaled before spewing forth a torrent of steaming, purple liquid, which spattered onto Lombre, eating away several small holes in its lily pad. Lombre, in response, fired off a powerful stream of bubbles that, despite striking Weepinbell square on the face, didn’t seem to have much effect on the Grass-type at all.

“Bubbles? Against a plant? Really?” Quilava snorted before it bolted into the air again, rapidly bouncing off the walls of the hallway before pouncing onto Zubat and slamming it into the floor.

“Gonna…somethin’ rope…hegafloof,” Zubat barely managed to weeze out as it tried and failed to pull itself upright.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Ribcage moaned as he recalled his Zubat back to its Poké Ball. “Those losers ain’t even here and their Pokémon are still beatin’ us down. Maybe we should just book it.”

“Come on, bro, we’ve still got this,” Femur objected. “Besides, running away when we can still cause trouble seriously isn’t hardcore, and I’ve still got some serious payback to give this Lombre. Weepinbell, Poison Powder!” Weepinbell took another deep breath before exhaling a cloud of sparkling violet powder that quickly engulfed Lombre.

Lombre promptly exhaled another blast of bubbles, which cleared the toxic dust from the air, but even a brief glance was enough to tell that powder had already gone to work.

“Lombre! Hold on!” Quilava yelled as it burst into another Quick Attack, slamming into Weepinbell from behind before interposing itself between Weepinbell and Lombre.

“So you want to get wrecked first?” Femur sneered. “That’s fine with me. Weepinbell, blast this fool with your Stun—” Femur was abruptly cut off as a beam of red light blasted out and struck Weepinbell in the side, sending it tumbling into the far wall.

“L-leave my friends alone!” Everyone present, human and Pokémon alike, turned towards the vent to see Wimpod emerge, holding itself as high as its tiny legs would allow.

“What the heck, now they got some new little pest out to mess with us? This situation’s gettin’ more uncool by the minute. I say we make like a Spoink and bounce out of here while we can.”

“Hold up a minute, I recognize that little squirt,” Femur said. “That’s the same annoying pest that stank us out of the engine room earlier. I say we give the little chump some payback before we go.” Ribcage nodded his head in agreement as the two started to advance on the now panicking Wimpod. Quilava readied itself to defend its friend, but before it could, Wimpod suddenly vomited up a stream of greyish-purple liquid that spattered across both of the grunts.

“Dude,” Ribcage began as both grunts stood frozen in place due to a mixture of shock and disgust. “Did that thing just do what I think it did?”

“Yeah, yeah it did,” Femur replied as he struggled to keep from vomiting. “Oh man, that is seriously rank. Maybe we should just split after all.” Even as Femur spoke, a metallic squeal echoed through the air as the door to engine room swung open, a rather irate trio of trainers standing behind it. “Aw dang, now those dweebs are out, too. That’s it, we’re bailin’ on this whole uncool scene!”

“Right behind ya, bro!” Ribcage added as the pair fled down the hall.

*********

“There we go, an Antidote to take care of the poison, and a Super Potion should heal most of the injuries,” Derek said as he administered the medicines to Lombre. “Fluttershy, how’s Quilava doing?”

“Actually, it looks like Quilava’s going to be just fine,” Fluttershy replied, stroking Quilava’s head as she fed it a Sitrus Berry. “And it sounds like things went as well as they did because somecreature was very brave and helped chase those grunts away.” As Fluttershy spoke she glanced over towards Wimpod, who was sitting alone in a corner. “I want to thank you for what you did. Standing up to those grunts must have been very scary for you.” A moment or two of hesitation later, Wimpod scuttled over to Fluttershy and let out a few squeaking chirps. “What? You want me to take you with us? Are you sure you want to do that? I’m flattered that you trust me that much, but you need to understand, we do tend to have to do a lot of battling. More than I’d really prefer, to be honest,” Fluttershy muttered under her breath. Wimpod, however, appeared undeterred as it began to gently nudge Fluttershy’s foot. “Oh, alright. If this is what you really want, then of course you can join us.” Fluttershy proceeded to reach into her bag and pulled out a Poké Ball, which she presented to Wimpod. The Bug-type Pokémon eagerly bumped into it, allowing it self to be pulled in and captured.

“Aw, Fluttershy made a new critter friend,” Pinkie Pie said as she recalled her Lombre, satisfied that it was going to be fine.

“Yeah, just watch yourself if it manages to evolve,” Derek cautioned. “Wimpod might not seem terribly threatening, but their evolved form—” At that moment, the entire barge violently shuddered, sending everyone (save for Pinkie Pie, who had somehow managed to brace herself in time) tumbling to the floor. “Oh good,” Derek groaned. “We’ve landed.”

Hothouse Housebreak

“Y’know, I really thought that things would be a little warmer heading to a place called Florasburg,” Rainbow Dash said as she shivered in the frigid air. “Isn’t the cold supposed to be bad for plants or something? And why the hay don’t humans have fur?”

“Have you tried checking your bag? Spike and I both had jackets and scarves in ours,” Twilight said. “If you don’t have anything like that, you could always try putting on a few more layers. That should at least help you stay warm.”

Twilight’s suggestion was met by a less than eager reception from Rainbow Dash. “Ugh, if I put a bunch of layers on then I’m barely going to be able to move. This cannot possibly get any worse.”

“Look on the bright side,” Spike offered. “At least it isn’t raining or anything. What?” Spike added as Twilight turned to stare at him with a look that was equal parts disbelief and annoyance.

“Twilight, you don’t seriously think its going to start raining just because Spike said that, do you?” Rainbow Dash teased. “Come on, that sort of thing only happens in books. Or, if I have a raincloud and somepony says it and I think it’ll be really funny.”

“Maybe, but I’d rather not tempt fate, especially not with the way the sky looks right now.” As Twilight spoke, she glanced uneasily up at the sky, which was dark grey with clouds

“Come on, Twilight, you seriously need to learn to relax,” Rainbow Dash said. “If saying stuff like that got clouds to start raining then you wouldn’t need pegasi to handle the weather. Applejack could just go outside and start saying how glad she is that it isn’t raining whenever she wanted to water her garden. Besides, take it from a weatherpony, those clouds up there don’t have a drop of rain in them.”

“Are you sure about that?” Twilight asked.

“Of course,” Rainbow Dash said. “Any weatherpony worth their feathers could tell you those clouds are way too cold for rain. The only stuff those things are gonna have in them is—” At that exact moment, a particularly large snowflake flittered through the air before alighting on Rainbow Dash’s nose. “—snow.” More snowflakes started to descend from the sky, quickly coating the ground in a layer of white.

“This isn’t good, we need to get moving and find some sort of shelter,” Twilight said.

“What’s the big deal, it’s just a little snow, right?” Spike replied.

“Actually, I think Twilight’s right, we really should find someplace to wait for this to blow over,” Rainbow Dash said. “This snow’s picking up pretty fast, and if we try moving in this there’s a good chance we’d wind up getting turned around and lost.” Rainbow paused as she regarded the steadily falling snow and growled in frustration. “But, it’s not like we can just stay here, either. There isn’t anywhere we could take shelter around here, and if we tried to put up tents in this stuff they might collapse under the snow.” Before Twilight or Spike could offer a solution, a shrill cry cut through the air as Rainbow Dash’s Skarmory dove out of the sky and landed next to the group. “Skarmory! Great timing. Listen, we need to find someplace out of this snow where we can camp for the night. Did you see anyplace like that while you were up in the air?”

Nodding its head, Skarmory pointed a wing into the distance across the snowy plateau. When the group tried peering into the distance, however, they found the falling snow obscured their vision too much to make anything out,

“Well, what do you guys thing we should do?” Twilight asked as she continued to stare into the snow.

“Come on, is it even a question? We follow Skarmory,” Rainbow Dash said firmly. “The only other thing we could do is wander around and hope we find someplace before we all get completely buried. At least this way we should be headed towards something.”

Twilight sighed and nodded her head. “I guess I can’t really argue with any of that. Let’s get going, then. If we stand around here much longer we won’t be able to see our hands in front of our faces.”

*********

True to Twilight and Rainbow Dash’s predictions, it wasn’t long before the snowstorm became so fierce that they could scarcely see where they were going. Not only was the snowfall itself practically opaque, but the sky soon darkened to near pitch black and the driving wind made even keeping their eyes open a challenge.

“Do we have any idea how much further this place is?” Twilight called out, struggling to make herself heard over the howling wind.

“It shouldn’t be too much further,” Rainbow Dash yelled back. “I don’t think Skarmory would have flown out that far ahead. We just need to keep moving.”

“What’s that?” Spike called out.

“I said, we just need to—”

“Not what you said. I meant, what’s that?” Confused, Twilight and Rainbow Dash peered into the storm to try and make out what Spike was talking about. At first, neither could see anything but the swirling snow. But then, dark shapes started to appear in the distance, faint at first, but seemingly rapidly moving towards the group. Before Twilight or Rainbow Dash could even fully process what was going on, roughly a dozen or so creatures, each vaguely resembling a bidpedal cat or weasel, rushed by them. The creatures appeared to pay the group little mind as they dashed by, and in moments the creatures had disappeared back into the storm just as quickly as they had appeared.

“Okay, that was weird,” Rainbow Dash said once the creatures had vanished into the darkness. “Just what they hay were those things, anyway?”

Sneasel, the Sharp Claw Pokémon. These particularly vicious Pokémon are known for raiding the nests of other Pokémon to steal and eat their eggs. While Sneasel normally prefer to attack unguarded nets, they are able to fight of prey with their razor sharp claws.

“Yeesh, those guys don’t sound very nice,” Spike said as his Pokédex finished reading Sneasel’s entry. “All that stuff about stealing eggs kinda reminds me a little too much of Garble.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s quite that bad,” Twilight said. “At least it sounds as though those things do it for food rather than just causing mayhem for the fun of it. More importantly, it looks like they were running away from where we’re headed. That could mean we’re getting closer.”

“Great, so let’s get moving before we get turned into a bunch of snowponies…snowpeople? Whatever humans call those things,” Rainbow Dash said. The strange moment having passed, the group continued to push forward into the storm. Mercifully, after only a few more minutes of marching through the cold they were finally able to catch sight of a light shining in the distance. “Awesome! There it is! Let’s pick up the pace so we can warm up.” As the group broke into a hustle as they rushed towards the light, they could soon see that it was coming from a large building of some kind. Curiously, large sections of the building appeared to be made almost completely out of glass.

“Is it just me, or does that place look kind of like a greenhouse?” Twilight asked as they approached the building, which now appeared to be nearly the size of the gyms they had encountered previously.

“I dunno, Twilight, it doesn’t really look all that green to me,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Honestly, it looks more brown with transparent glassy parts.”

“No, a greenhouse is a building that has walls and roofs made out of glass,” Twilight explained. “That lets it keep the temperature inside warm so plants can be grown in it year round.”

“So that means its gonna be nice and warm in there, right? Awesome!” Rainbow Dash said as she quickened her pace, forcing Twilight and Spike to practically run in order to keep up. Even so, Rainbow Dash was well ahead of the pair by the time she reached the door to the building, leaving them with little way of objecting as she threw open the doors and barged inside.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled as she finally made it to the doorway and paused to catch her breath. “You shouldn’t just barge into a place like this without at least trying to see if anyone’s inside. For all we know this could be somebody’s home!”

“Normally I’d agree with you, but we were trying to get out of a freaking blizzard! I’m pretty sure that if anybody was living here, they’d understand. Though, I’m not really sure if there is anybody here anyway,” Rainbow Dash added. While Spike clambered inside and shut the door behind him, Twilight and Rainbow Dash took a moment to look around the room they now found themselves standing in. It looked to be a lobby of some kind, but aside from the lights being on there wasn’t any sign the building was inhabited. Blankets had been tossed over most of the furniture and the computer screens Twilight could see behind the main desk were all dark and deactivated. “So, what the hay is this place supposed to be, anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked. “From what you said about that greenhouse thing I’m guessing it has something to do with plants, but why the hay would you be growing plants way out here?”

“I have no idea,” Twilight admitted. “I guess we could try searching for clues or something, but at this point I think I just want to get some rest.”

“Well, you can rest if you want, but I think I’m gonna take a look around this place,” Rainbow Dash said. “Hey, Spike, you wanna come with me?”

“Sure!” Spike replied before turning back to Twilight. “Are you going to be alright back here by yourself?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Twilight assured her friend. “It’s just an empty building, it doesn’t even look that old. And it isn’t like you and Rainbow Dash are going to be gone for that long, either. I mean, honestly, what’s the worst that could happen?”

*********

Twilight groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. “What’s the worst that could happen? What was I thinking saying something like that?” Twilight thought to herself ass he tried to replay the events that had led up to her current predicament in her mind.

With Rainbow Dash and Spike off exploring, Twilight had simply lain down on one of the couches in the lobby and tried to get some sleep. After a half-hour or so of trying to get comfortable, however, Twilight heard the sounds of something scurrying across the floorboards. At first, Twilight tried to ignore the noise, thinking it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but upon hearing it again she sat up and glanced around the room looking for the noises source. “Spike, is that you?” Twilight called out. “Rainbow Dash, if this is supposed to be some kind of joke it really isn’t very funny.” Twilight paused and waited for a minute for an answer, but the lobby remained silent. As Twilight debated whether or not the mystery noises were worth trying to investigate, however, she heard another noise, this time directly to her left. Twilight promptly turned her head to come face-to-face with a pair of oval brown eyes. Letting out a yelp of surprise, Twilight toppled off of the couch onto the ground. When Twilight picked herself off the ground, she saw that a small, green Pokémon with a light green body and an onion-shaped head standing on the back of the couch.

“Petilil,” the creature chirped happily as Twilight stood up to take a closer look at it.

“Huh, were you the one that was making all that noise, then?” Twilight asked, not really expecting an answer. In response, the Petilil seemed to smile (Twilight wasn’t entirely sure as the Petilil didn’t appear to have a mouth) and began to shake the leaves atop its head. Curious as to what the Pokémon was doing, Twilight leaned in for a closer look, only for the Petilil to spray her in the face with a blast of green powder. Caught off guard, Twilight staggered backwards a bit before collapsing back onto the floor and quickly slipping into unconsciousness.

“And then I woke up here,” Twilight thought as she tried to look around and see what ‘here’ actually consisted of. Twilight’s first realization was that she had been tied up with what looked to be vines of some kind. Twilight could only barely make out that detail, however, as there didn’t seem to be any lights in the room, or rather closet, where she had woken up. The only illumination in the tiny room came from the edges of the door leading outside. As Twilight wracked her brains trying to think of a way out of her predicament (including mentally going through every Daring Do novel to see how Daring Do might have escaped), Twilight caught the sound of muffled voices coming from outside. Shuffling over in the tight confines of the room, Twilight pressed her ear to the door in an effort to hear what was being said.

“—the hay were you guys thinking?” To Twilight’s shock, the very first voice she heard was none other than that of Rainbow Dash.

“Well, they did kind of have a reason for doing it,” Spike, evidently there as well, replied. “I just hope Twilight isn’t too mad about the whole thing.” Upon hearing this, Twilight decided to make her actual feelings on the situation known by swinging her legs around so she could kick at the door.

“Mad? Why would I be mad? They just knocked me unconscious, tied me up and locked me in a closet! Why in Equestria would I be mad about any of that?” Twilight continued to kick at the door in frustration until it suddenly opened while she was in mid-kick, causing her to topple out into the open. Looking up, Twilight could see a concerned Spike and Rainbow Dash looking down at her, along with a large number of various plant-like Pokémon.

“Hey, Twilight,” Spike said nervously as he bent down. “Let me just get you untied real quick and I can explain what’s going on.”

“I already know what’s going on,” Twilight snapped. “Somebody had their Pokémon knock me out so they could tie me up and stuff me in a…garden shed?” As Twilight finally took the opportunity to take in her surroundings, she realized that she was sitting in a massive garden or nursery. “We must be in one of the greenhouses we saw attached to the building,” Twilight said, more to herself than anyone else before shaking her head. “Anyway, what I want to know is who’s responsible for having that Pokémon knock me out, and more importantly, why?” Spike and Rainbow Dash started to open their mouths to respond, but before either could utter a word, a harsh voice cut them both off.

“Roserade!” As Twilight looked on in confusion, the various Pokémon parted to allow a particularly dramatic-looking Pokémon through. The creature resembled a three-foot-tall bouquet of white roses that had sprouted arms and legs, its arms each ending in another bouquet, one red and the other blue. Not even bothering to look to its sides at the other Pokémon, the creature walked forward until it stood directly in front of Twilight, regarding her for a moment before haughtily turning away with a huff and walking off.

“That’s Roserade,” Spike whispered as he continued to pull at the vines binding Twilight. “Its pretty much the leader around here.”

“Wait, a Pokémon is the one running things around here?” Twilight asked, earning a disdainful look from Roserade.

“Kind of, we think,” Rainbow Dash said. “There don’t really seem to be any humans around here, just Pokémon, and the Pokémon here all listen to Roserade, even though it’s a complete jerk!” Rainbow Dash added as she scowled at Roserade, who didn’t appear to pay her any attention.

Spike, meanwhile, let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, Rainbow Dash and Roserade haven’t exactly been getting along.”

“Gee, I wonder why?” Twilight grumbled. “I’m guessing Roserade is the one who had the Pokémon knock me out?”

“Look, I know it seems bad, but there actually is a really good explanation for why they did that,” Spike quickly said. In response, Twilight folded her arms and gave Spike a look he recognized as ‘I’ll let you explain, but this had better be good’. “Well, you remember those Sneasel that ran past us while we were out in the blizzard? It turns out they’ve been attacking this place and trying to steal their food, and when we showed up Roserade thought that we might be trying to help them.” As Spike spoke, he gestured towards a section of the indoor garden behind Twilight that looked as though it had been demolished and hastily put back together. “I know you’re probably kind of, well, peeved over what Roserade did, but it was just trying to protect its home.”

“Besides, Roserade might be a jerk, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the Pokémon here are,” Rainbow Dash added.

Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes, suspecting she knew where the conversation was headed. “You two think we should stay here and help defend this place from the Sneasel, don’t you?”

“They are letting us stay here until the storm blows over,” Rainbow Dash said. “Plus, its not like we can really go anywhere else until then anyway.”

“I guess I can’t really argue with you there,” Twilight said, knowing when she was beaten. “That said, do you really think those Sneasel are going to come back here in the middle of a blizzard?”

“The blizzard is exactly why they’re probably going to come back,” Spike said. “According to the Pokédex, those Sneasel are Ice-types, so this snow is barely going to bother them at all. That means that this would be the perfect time for them to attack.”

“And I don’t know about you, but I’m sure as hay not gonna let those things get to me in my sleep,” Rainbow Dash declared.

“Fine,” Twilight said. “So does anyone have a plan?”

*********

“This really isn’t a plan,” Twilight said as she followed Rainbow Dash and Spike on a tour of the greenhouse. “This barely even qualifies as an idea.”

“Come on Twilight, this is perfect,” Rainbow Dash countered. “We don’t know when the Sneasel are actually gong to attack, so we just need to keep on our guard at all times. That’s why I’ve got Skarmory out and ready and Spike’s got Peewee. You should probably get one of you Pokémon ready, too.”

“Well, given that we’re going to be battling Ice Pokémon, Charmeleon would probably be the most effective option, but…” Twilight paused as she looked around at the gardens and at all the fragile, flammable plants within.

“Yeah, Charmeleon might not be the best option for around here,” Rainbow Dash said. “Fire and plants don’t really seem like a good mix, and besides, hasn’t Charmeleon been acting up recently?”

Twilight nodded her head glumly. “I’m trying to work on it, but it’s not exactly easy to solve a friendship problem when you can’t understand what one side is saying.”

“Hey, don’t worry, you’ll figure it out,” Rainbow Dash said. “To be honest, figuring out what Pokémon are saying is way easier than regular animals. I mean, you could have asked me what Tank was saying and I wouldn’t have a clue. I mean, usually I’d just guess he wanted strawberries or something, ‘cause he usually did, but that would really be more of lucky guess. Pokémon, though, I can usually get.”

“Are you actually saying you’ve figured out how to talk to Pokémon?” Twilight asked excitedly as she thought of the potential applications.

“Not really. I mean, I can kind of understand them sometimes, but its not really like talking,” Rainbow Dash said before spotting a mushroom-like Pokémon that had been hopping along behind them. “Here, look at this guy for a sec,” Rainbow Dash said as she scooped the Pokémon up in her hands.

“Shroomish!” the Pokémon said happily as Rainbow Dash lifted it up.

“See, I don’t have any idea what this little guy just said. But I had hung out with it a bit before while me and Spike were trying to get Roserade to let you out of that shed. And, I can just sort of tell that Shroomish is a pretty cool little guy who wants to help us protect its home from those Sneasel.”

“Shroomish Shroomish!”

“Hah, see? I can’t understand what its saying exactly but I get it, you know?” Rainbow Dash said, though Twilight shook her head.

“Sorry, I’m not saying I don’t believe what you’re saying, I absolutely do. In fact, what you’re describing sounds a lot like how Fluttershy described talking to animals once. I’m just not sure if I can do that myself,” Twilight added.

Rainbow Dash simply shrugged as she put Shroomish back down. “You probably could if you really tried. You’ve just got to find a Pokémon that you get and make friends with it. And you’re the Princess of Friendship, that should be a piece of cake for you,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Sure, a piece of cake,” Twilight grumbled to herself. “Still, I do need to keep trying to build a connection with my Pokémon. And, this might actually be a good opportunity to bond with one of them. The question is, which one? Charmeleon’s no good, at least not in a place where there’s so much that could get set on fire, and I don’t think Whirlipede would be a good choice either. It’s had enough trying to bond with a Pokémon under the best of circumstances, let alone one that doesn’t have a fac. So, I guess that leaves…Noibat!” Twilight reached into her bag and tossed out Noibat’s Poké Ball, releasing the bat-like Pokémon into the air. Upon being let out, Noibat began flying around in circles chirping happily. “Um…hi,” Twilight began, not entirely certain how she should address the recently caught Pokémon. Twilight had succeeded in catching Noibat’s attention, however, and it promptly let out a cry of delight before alighting onto Twilight’s shoulder. “Wow, you’re a lot more friendly than I was expecting.”

“Ha, see, I told you you’d get it once you gave it a real try,” Rainbow Dash said. “Anyway, I’m gonna go check on Spike to see how he’s doing. Come get me if you need anything, alright?”

“Hold on a second,” Twilight said as Rainbow Dash started to turn to leave. “I was just wondering about something. You and Roserade really don’t seem to get along at all. Is there some reason why?”

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “Well, it’s all kind of a long story. You know how Spike and I were checking out the rest of this place while you were trying to sleep…”

*********

“So, what the hay do you think this place is supposed to be, anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked as she and Spike wandered through the building.

“I have no idea. Most of this place just looks like regular office stuff,” Spike replied as paused to open a file cabinet only to close it again in disinterest. “Maybe we should try checking out the greenhouse instead. There’s probably a lot more interesting stuff there.” Rainbow Dash simply shrugged, not really having any better suggestions. The pair made their way back down to the right side of the building, where several sets of double doors presumably led to the greenhouse sections of the complex. “So, which of these do you think we should try first?”

“I dunno, they all pretty much look the same to me,” Rainbow Dash said. However, as Rainbow Dash approached one of the doors, she could hear odd sounds coming from inside. Motioning to Spike to keep quiet, Rainbow Dash cautiously cracked open the door and peered inside. Beyond the doors lay a massive indoor garden filled with various Pokémon tending to the plants. For several moments, Rainbow Dash simply watched the Pokémon go about their gardening, finding the sight relaxing, if a little boring. Suddenly, however, a shrill cry of annoyance cut through the air as what looked like an ambulatory bouquet of roses stormed out and began chastising the various Pokémon.

“Hey, what’s going on in there?” Spike asked as he tried to see what was going on. As Spike sidled up to the door, however, he tripped and crashed into it, causing both himself and Rainbow Dash to spill into the room. For a brief second all activity within the room ceased as the Pokémon inside turned to look at the pair, now sprawled out on the floor, before the silence was replaced by pure panic. In the midst of the pandemonium, however, a lone, brown and green mushroom-like Pokémon hopped up towards Rainbow Dash and Spike while doing its level best to look intimidating.

“Shroomish!” the creature demanded as it hopped in place about a foot or so from Rainbow Dash’s face. “Shroomish Shroomish!”

“Uh, hi,” Rainbow Dash replied as she picked herself up and sat up cross-legged in front of the Pokémon. “So…I’m guessing you guys all live her or something? We’re just here trying to stay out of the blizzard until the whole thing blows over.” This statement seemed to mollify the Shroomish, however at that moment a harsh cry rang out as a Roserade strode out towards Rainbow Dash and Spike. The Shroomish that had approached Rainbow Dash attempted to intercept this new Pokémon, however the Roserade simply brushed it aside with one foot without even looking down.

“Roserade!” the creature said accusingly as it pointed its red-rose-tipped limb in Rainbow Dash’s face.

“Hey, take it easy. Like I was just saying, me and my friends only came in here because of the snowstorm. We don’t want to cause any trouble or anything,” Rainbow Dash as she pushed the roses out of her face. The Roserade, however, didn’t appear to accept this explanation as acceptable as it stomped its foot and impatiently gestured towards outside. “Hey! You can’t just kick us out in the middle of a freaking blizzard!” Rainbow Dash protested. When Roserade continued to gesture for Rainbow Dash to leave, however, the other Pokémon present began to gather in a circle around them and proceeded to raise a fuss. “What they hay is going on here?” Rainbow Dash asked to no one in particular.

“I think the rest of the Pokémon are telling that big one that they don’t think it’s right to throw us out in the middle of blizzard,” Spike said, to which one of the nearby Pokémon nodded its head.

“Roserade!” A sudden scream from Roserade caused all of the other Pokémon present to quiet down, and it seemed to massage its temples as it let out a sigh. Suddenly, Roserade pointed one of its arms back at Rainbow Dash and Spike, and before either could say anything it released a cloud of green powder that thoroughly coated both of them. Rainbow Dash couldn’t even voice a protest as she felt herself collapse to the floor with Spike landing next to her…

*********

“…so Roserade had decided that if it couldn’t kick us out, it was just gonna Stun Spore us and then toss us in a closet somewhere,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Luckily, Spike was able to get his Ivysaur out and it kept Roserade away from us until the other Pokémon here got it to stop being such a jerk, but by that point it had already sent some other Pokémon after you, and I guess you know the rest.”

“Mmhmm,” Twilight said, still somewhat irritable over her brief ordeal. Even as she spoke, however, a sudden bit of movement int the shadows outside the windows nearby caught her eye. “Did you see that?” Twilight asked as she started to move towards the window, Noibat hopping off her shoulder and taking to the air as she did so.

“See what?” Rainbow Dash asked, following Twilight towards the windows. “All I see is dark and snow.”

“I could have sworn I saw something moving around out there,” Twilight said as she peered out into the darkness. Just as Twilight was ready to conclude that her eyes were simply playing tricks on her, however, she spotted several more figures darting about in the gloom. “There, they’re right there!” It’s the -” Twilight’s cries were cut short by the sound of shattering glass a stones and other bits of junk were hurled through the greenhouse windows. Moments later, at least a half-dozen Sneasel leapt through the broken windows and made a mad dash into the gardens.

“Aw crud, you weren’t kidding about seeing stuff out there,” Rainbow Dash cried out. “Skarmory, time to get in gear. Take those guys out with your Metal Claw!”

“Right, Noibat, you too. Try and keep them separated with your Air Cutter!” Twilight added. Noibat promptly began frantically beating its wings, sending crescents of pressurized air slicing across the Sneasel’s path. While the attack only seemed to cause the Sneasel to hesitate for a moment, it was enough time for Skarmory to collide talon-first with one of the Sneasel, sending it sprawling to the ground.

“Yeah, that’s how we do it! Alright, next you’re gonna need to – Watch out!” in the wake of Skarmory and Noibat’s attack, several of the Sneasel had turned their attention towards their opponents. In particular, three of the Sneasel were now blowing jets of wind and snow at Skarmory as it wheeled about in the air. While the attacks didn’t seem to be causing much harm to Skarmory directly, Rainbow Dash could see patches of ice being left behind on Skarmory’s wings, slowing it down bit by bit. “Crud, if this keeps up then Skarmory’s barely going to be able to stay in the air. Dang it…Skarmory, try taking another one out with Metal Claw!” Skarmory let out a shriek and dove towards one of the three Sneasel attacking it, slamming it into the ground. Unfortunately, the other two Sneasel seized on this opportunity by leaping onto Skarmory’s back and slashing at it with their claws as it struggled to get back in the air.

As Rainbow Dash started to panic, however, she noticed a cloud of sparkling, purple dust floating through the air towards Skarmory. Confused, Rainbow Dash turned to see the Shroomish she had befriended earlier practically vibrating with a determined look on its face as it sent the clouds of purple dust into Skarmory’s path. When Skarmory passed through the cloud it seemed completely unaffected by the powder. The two Sneasel, however, looked visibly sickened by the experience. Despite this, however, both Sneasel continued to cling to Skarmory’s back as tightly as ever.

“That was a good try, but those things still aren’t letting go,” Rainbow Dash said as she growled in frustration. “There’s gotta be some way to get those things off of Skarmory’s back,” As Rainbow Dash pondered her options, Shroomish burst into action, dashing towards Skarmory before leaping into the air and slamming itself into one of the Sneasel, knocking it off Skarmory’s back. Shroomish’s efforts, however, weren’t enough to take the Sneasel out of the fight, and while its fellow continued to cling to Skarmory, the Sneasel Shroomish had attacked refocused its attention to the small grass type. Shroomish was unintimidated and met the Sneasel’s angry glare with one of its own. “Don’t worry, Shroomish, Skarmory and me have got your back,” Rainbow Dash said as she watched Skarmory perform an aileron roll in an effort to throw toff the Sneasel still hanging onto it. Unfortunately, even only having one Sneasel to deal with was still proving to be enough to keep Skarmory occupied for the time being. Suddenly, as the Sneasel advanced on Shroomish and Rainbow Dash tried to think of a way to help, Shroomish began to glow a brilliant white and stretched up until it had nearly tripled in height. By the time the glow had subsided, Shroomish had transformed into a strange combination of a mushroom and a kangaroo.

“Breloom,” the newly evolved Pokémon chirped as it shifted its stance into a somewhat awkward impersonation of a boxer. At first, Rainbow Dash found the overall effect to be more comical than intimidating, especially given the way Breloom’s stubby claws poked out from under its neck frill. This impression was quickly countered, however, as Breloom suddenly went on the attack, dashing forward towards Sneasel. As Breloom closed the distance, its arms stretched out and the claws on its right arm began to glow with a blue-white light. Sneasel scarcely had time to real before Breloom snapped its arm forward and slammed its fist into Sneasel’s face, sending the weasel-like Pokémon tumbling across the ground before it came to rest unconscious.

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed before turning her attention back to Skarmory. Sadly, it looked as though Skarmory was still having a tough time with the remaining Sneasel. Long scratches could be seen on the surface of Skarmory’s armor, and despite its best efforts it was clear Skarmory wouldn’t be able to stay in the air much longer. “Hey, uh, Breloom, right? Do you think wyou could give us a hand one more time?” Nodding with understanding, Breloom readied itself as Rainbow Dash called out to Skarmory. “Hey! Skarmory! Dive down and try to come straight at us as low as you can!” Realizing what its trainer was trying to do (or simply too tired to care), Skarmory wheeled around before diving down towards the ground, only to pull back up at the last moment, leaving it skimming a scant few inches over the ground. Once Breloom say this it rushed forward and leapt into the air before delivering another strike to the last Sneasel. As the final opponent tumbled off of its back, Skarmory came to a rest at Rainbow Dash’s feet, battered and very much worse for wear. “Jeez, those stupid weasel-things really did a number on you, didn’t they? It’s a good thing Breloom was here to give us a helping right hook.”

“Breloom!”

“Anyway, you still did a good job, I just hope Twilight –” Rainbow Dash was abruptly cut off as a massive explosion ripped through the greenhouse.

*********

“Noibat, Double Team!” Noibat darted through the air, leaving copies of itself in its wake while Twilight watched with satisfaction. “Good, now the Sneasel won’t be able to counterattack effectively. Now that we’re set defensively, Noibat, Supersonic!” As Noibat bombarded the Sneasel with sound waves, Twilight allowed herself a smug grin. With the Sneasel now disoriented on top of Noibat’s decoy images there was little chance of the invading Sneasel would be able to make any sort of effective response. All that was left was to mop things up and then Twilight would be free to turn her attention to assisting Rainbow Dash. “Alright, Noibat, let’s get this finished up. Use-”

“Sneasel!” An angry snarl cut through the air as a particularly large Sneasel that Twilight hadn’t noticed earlier darted out into the open. Before Twilight could react, the new Sneasel rushed forward and used the head of one of its fellows a s a springboard to leap into the air and strike at Noibat.

“Gah! How did I miss that one? Okay, Twilight, keep it together. I’ll just need to neutralize this one like I did with the others and everything will be just fine. Noibat, use your Supersonic to disorient this one too.” As it had done with the others previously, Noibat turned to the new Sneasel and fired off another barrage of sound waves. Unlike the other two, however, this new Sneasel was able to dart out of the way of the attack before blowing out a gust of icy wind at Noibat. Twilight could only watch as Noibat dropped out of the air and hit the ground as with a dull thud. “Oh no. Not good,” Twilight groaned as she recalled her Noibat. Frantically Twilight tried to consider her options, but as the Sneasel turned its attention to her, Twilight reacted on pure instinct. “Charmeleon, go!”

“Charr.” The sudden appearance of an irate Charmeleon forced Sneasel to its their approach, at least temporarily. Unfortunately for Twilight, it was at this point that the two Sneasel that Noibat had been battling earlier recovered from Noibat’s soundwaves, and the prospect of having assistance gave Sneasel an immediate and visible boost of confidence. The Sneasel, however, wasn’t the only one feeling an increase in confidence.

“Charmeleon, use Ember,” Twilight commanded firmly. Despite letting out a snort of annoyance, Charmeleon obediently snapped its tail forward, sending a shower of burning cinders towards one of the two Sneasel coming to back up their apparent leader. This proved to be enough to convince it that aiding its ally wasn’t worth the trouble and the injured Pokémon swiftly fled. “There, that’s one down, only two more to go,” Twilight said, prompting another irritated growl from Charmeleon.

This victory proved to be all too fleeting as both Sneasel suddenly dash forward without any warning. Moving too fast for either Twilight or her Charmeleon to track, the pair of Sneasel quickly flanked Charmeleon and viciously slashed at it with their claws before retreating just as quickly. Making things even worse, Twilight’s attempts to call out further orders were stymied as Charmeleon’s thrashing about sent clouds of embers in her direction as well.

“Gah! Charmeleon, quit it! If you’d just – ENOUGH!” Twilight yelled as her Z-ring erupted with power. “I didn’t want it to come to this, but it looks like you’re not going to leave me any choice! Charmeleon, get ready!” Realizing what was going on, Charmeleon grinned evilly as it started to mimic Twilight’s movements. Meanwhile, upon seeing this and recognizing what was about to happen, the Sneasel’s remaining lackey turned and fled as fast as it could. The ringleader, however, refused to run, and in fact choose to charge straight towards Charmeleon.

This would ultimately prove to be a poor decision.

“Charmeleon! Devastating Drake!” Twilight yelled out as she completed the final steps of her Z-move. Charmeleon, meanwhile, thrust its arms forward as a ball of glowing purple energy formed in front of it. In a flash, the energy of the orb burst forward, briefly taking the form of a dragon before smashing into Sneasel with a massive explosion.

*********

“Hey! Twilight! Are you alright?” Rainbow Dash called out as she made her way through the wreckage of the garden. “Geez, I didn’t realize Z-moves did this kind of damage when you used them inside a normal building.” As Rainbow Dash started to ponder the durability of the average gym, however, a sudden bit of movement near the ground caught her eye. One of the piles of debris left by Twilight’s attack shifted, and moments later a badly battered Sneasel could be seen pulling itself out of the rubble. “Are you kidding me? Skarmory, I know you’re pretty beat up, but-” Whatever order Rainbow Dash was about to give quickly became irrelevant as a Poké Ball sailed through the air and clocked the Sneasel on the side of its head before pulling it inside.

“Gotcha,” Twilight said triumphantly as her Poké Ball began wildly thrashing about on the ground.

“Hold on, you’re actually going to catch that thing?” Rainbow Dash said as she wrinkled her nose in disapproval.

“Why not? It’s better than just letting it run wild the way it was, and from what I saw its clearly a fairly strong example of its species,” Twilight replied as her Poké Ball finally came to a rest and let out its chime signaling a successful capture. “Anyway, between battling them and capturing their leader, I’m fairly certain those Sneasel won’t be causing anymore problems for the Pokémon here.”

“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash said as she looked around at the ruined gardens. “Somehow, I don’t know if the Pokémon here are going to see this as a win.”

“Breloom!” The Breloom that had assisted Rainbow Dash earlier suddenly piped up as it shook its head. “Breloom Breloom. Breloom!”

“What’s it saying?” Twilight asked.

“How the hay should I know? I’m not Fluttershy, remember?” Rainbow Dash replied before watching Breloom for a moment. “But, I think its trying to say that everything’s going to be alright.”

Even as Breloom nodded happily at Rainbow Dash’s interpretation, however, the Roserade leader of the gardens came storming over to the group with Spike in tow. “Holy guacamole, what happened to this place?” Spike exclaimed.

“I may have gone a little overboard while I was fighting off some of the Sneasel that were attacking,” Twilight admitted sheepishly.

“If by ‘a little overboard’ you mean you broke out your Z-move to take down one of the Sneasel,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah, that. I know things look bad right now, but now that the Sneasel shouldn’t be coming back, you’ll be able to –”

“Roserade!” the Roserade snapped as it stamped one of its feet. “Roserade.”

“I’m no Fluttershy, but I’m pretty sure Roserade’s saying it wants us to leave,” Spike said as Roserade jabbed one of its forelimbs towards the broken window.

“Yeah, fine. We’ll leave tomorrow morning once the storm’s clear,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. While Spike and Twilight nodded in agreement, neither wanting to escalate the situation any further, one individual didn’t seem to be as willing to accept the Roserade’s demands. The Breloom promptly hopped up to Roserade and began loudly voicing its displeasure, prompting an argument that no one else could understand a single word of. Despite this, when the argument finally ended and Breloom stormed off in a huff it was clear that things hadn’t gone well.

“Come on, guys, let’s head back to the lobby section and try and get some sleep,” Spike said before Rainbow Dash had a chance to voice her own displeasure. “We were gonna want to get up early to leave tomorrow anyway.” Rainbow Dash said nothing in response, but glared angrily at Roserade for several seconds before heading back towards the main hallway. Twilight, meanwhile, let out a sigh a she glanced around at the wreckage of the greenhouse’s interior before turning to follow her friends. Catching Sneasel was a definite step forward for her, but Twilight would otherwise be all too happy to put this entire experience behind her.

*********

The rest of the night went by mercifully uneventful, though all three friends could feel the eyes of the garden’s denizens staring at them the entire night. As such, by the time morning finally came everyone was eager to leave.

“Alright, so if I’m reading this map correctly, we should actually be fairly close to Florasburg at this point,” Twilight said as the group packed up their things. “We won’t be going on any sort of marked trail, but even assuming that slows us down considerably we should still be able to make it there by sometime tomorrow.”

“That’s good, at least,” Rainbow Dash said as she bent down to feed her Skarmory another berry. “Hopefully we won’t run into anymore issues before we get there’ I’m kind of running out of Sitrus berries here.”

“Yeah, we definitely could use a chance to resupply,” Spike agreed. “Hey, you don’t suppose –”

“Roserade!” The Roserade walked out into the open and impatiently gestured towards the door with one of its forelimbs as it scowled at the group.

“We get it, we’re going,” Rainbow Dash said as she stood up and hoisted her backpack onto her back. As she passed by Roserade, however, Rainbow Dash stopped to glare at the irritable Pokémon. “You’re a real jerk, you know that? And not about the whole ‘kicking us out’ thing, I can at least get why you’re doing that. But, you keep acting like a big bullying jerk to all the other Pokémon here and, eventually, they’re gonna get sick of it.” Roserade responded to this by continuing to point Rainbow Dash and the others out the door. The group proceeded to march on in silence as they started the next leg of their journey. They had barely gotten more than a couple dozen yards away from the building, though, before the sounds of something chasing after them caught their attention.

“Breloom! Bre Breloom!” the trio turned in unison to see Rainbow Dash’s Breloom friend bouncing through the snow in an effort to catch up with them.

“Woah, hey, what’s up?” Rainbow Dash said as she knelt down to look the Breloom in the eye. “Look, I get we didn’t really get to say goodbye or anything, but-”

“Breloom,” the Breloom responded as it shook its head, before gesturing towards Rainbow Dash’s backpack.

“Hold on, are you saying you want to come with me?” Rainbow Dash asked, to which the Breloom nodded happily. “Hah! Alright! Welcome to the team, little guy!”

Puppy Problems

“Well, they do say any landing you can walk away from is a good one,” Pinkie Pie said as the three friends looked over the barge housing the Aquarius City Gym, which was now perched precariously on set of jagged rocks near the coast.

“I’m fairly certain that saying mostly involves planes and not boats, Pinkie,” Derek replied.

“Eh, boats, planes, they’re basically the same thing, right? Anyway, what’s important is that nobody’s hurt and the gym is going to be just fine.” At that moment, a muffled bang could be heard as dark clouds of smoke began billowing out from one of the barge’s engines. “What’s important is that nobody got hurt.”

“In any event, we should probably find some way of reporting this so the league can start figuring out how to fix this mess. The only question now is which way do we—”

“This way!” Pinkie Pie declared before marching off away from the shore in a direction seemingly picked at random. Derek started to open his mouth to object, or at least suggest a less arbitrary decision-making process, but quickly decided against fighting the madness. Fluttershy, meanwhile, was already following Pinkie, having long ago learned not to question her friend’s Pinkie Sense-fueled intuition. Derek, however, was still prone to skepticism, and after an hour or so of apparently aimless wandering he elected to speak up.

“Pinkie, I realize I’m probably going to regret asking this, but do you have any idea where you’re leading us?” Derek asked.

“Wherever it is we need to go!” Pinkie replied happily. “I’m not really sure where that is, exactly, but my Pinkie Sense hasn’t steered me wrong yet. Besides, we know that whichever way we should go, it’s going to be away from the shore, right? So, as long as we’re going away from the water, we should be heading towards wherever it is we need to go.”

“That…actually, I don’t know if it’s the physical exhaustion or the diesel fumes I breathed in back in the engine room, but that almost made sense. So, for now I’m going to just go with the flow.”

“To be fair, just going with Pinkie Pie’s flow does tend to work out, eventually,” Fluttershy added. “That said, do you have any idea where we might be flowing to?”

“I’m not really sure myself,” Derek said. “A lot of that’s going to depend on how far north we drifted. I don’t think we’re north of Ferrum Village, but I can’t be sure how close we are to it either. It’ll be easier to tell once we find some sort of landmark, but the closest place we’ll be able to report the barge’s location will either be the village itself, or—” The air was suddenly filled with canine-like howls as a woman’s voice could be heard barking out commands.

“Alright, pick up the pace! I want to see twenty laps from each of you on the double!”

“I guess that answers the question about where we are. Come on, let’s get moving!” Derek said as he quickly started making his way towards the direction of the voice, Pinkie and Fluttershy following closely behind. The trio soon found themselves standing in front of a sizable compound, at the center of which was a field holding a racetrack, obstacle course and a few other features Pinkie and Fluttershy could only guess the purpose of. The track was currently occupied by a pack of at least a dozen or so orange, canine-like Pokémon being watched over by a green-haired woman in a blue uniform.

“Wow, look at this place! What are they doing with all those Poké puppies?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Growlithe,” Derek corrected absentmindedly. “And they’re training them. More specifically, they’re being trained for police work. This place is the main training facility for the Javik Region police force, and that includes the police Pokémon as well. Which makes it as good a place as any to report what’s happened with—” The piercing sound of a whistle cut Derek off as the officer on the field finally took notice of the trio’s presence.

“Hey! You three! What do you think you’re doing here? This is a restricted area!” the officer called out while the Pokémon stopped what they were doing and turned to face the intruders. While Flutttershy tensed just a bit as she tried to show the Growlithe that she wasn’t a threat, Pinkie Pie blithely skipped over to greet the stern looking Pokémon. Derek, meanwhile, calmly approached the officer with his Pokédex in one hand.

“It’s alright, officer. I’m with the Javik League, and we’re actually here on official business. Sort of, anyway. I’m assuming you’ve heard about what happened with the Aquarius City Gym?” As Derek spoke, he handed his Pokédex over to the officer, who accepted it with a suspicious look on her face. “Anyway, it’s been grounded on the shore not too far from here, so we need to report the location so the league can get started on getting it seaworthy again and take it back to the city where it belongs.” The officer, meanwhile, pushed a few buttons on Derek’s Pokédex before looking up at him with an expression of total shock.

“I see. Sir, if you could come with me inside, we are going to need a full written account of the incident.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. Hey, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, do you two want to wait out here while I head inside and get this report business settled?” Derek called back.

“Does that mean we get to play with all these cute doggies?” Pinkie Pie asked hopefully.

“I guess taking a break wouldn’t hurt them,” the officer said before addressing the assembled Growlithe. “Alright, I have an important report that needs to be filed, so why don’t you all take a short break until I get back?” The officer received a ‘Growf’ in unison from the Growlithe by way of response, which she took as an affirmation.

*********

“This has been so uncool,” Femur groaned as he and Ribcage trudged away from the rocky shore where they had washed up after abandoning the barge.

“Tell me about it. All I got from that wreck was just one more reason to hate gyms and trials and all that stuff…hold up a sec. Hatin’ all that stuff is part of what makes us cool, right?” Ribcage asked.

“You know it, man! Cool dudes hate dork stuff like gyms and school and rules,” Femur assured his friend.

“Right, and so, the more we hate that stuff, the cooler it makes us, right? So, goin’ through all that was uncool, but it also kinda made us more cool in the process.”

“Dude, you’re totally right! It doesn’t matter what happens to us boneheads, we just smash through it and get cooler anyway!” The pair celebrated this revelation by grasping hands hand smashing their heads together.

“Y’know, as awesome as it is that we got cooler, and also we did kinda trash a gym,” Ribcage began as he nursed a likely concussion. “Anyway, as awesome as that stuff is, I was just kinda wonderin’, is it gonna be cool enough for the boss? I mean, he’s always goin’ on about makin’ bank, and ‘causin’ trouble might be cool, but it doesn’t really bring in the Pokébucks.”

“Dang, bro, you might be right. We need to think of something new we can do that will really show the boss we’re the hardest grunts ever! So, uh, what do you think we should do?” The two grunts marched along in silence as they both struggled to think of the most diabolical act they could possibly perform, until they finally came into sight of the police training grounds. “What the heck is this – OH SNAP! HIDE!” Both grunts promptly dove behind a nearby boulder before cautiously daring to peek their heads back out.

“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me,” Ribcage groaned. “We finally get away from those dorks, and the first thing we run into is the cops?”

“Wait, dude, I just hat the coolest idea ever! Check this, what if we completely wrecked this place? Trashing a gym is cool and all, but messing up the cop’s office thing? The boss would have to respect us if we pulled off something like that. Or, even better, what if we figured out some way of locking the place down? Then every grunt on the island would be able to go wild and there wouldn’t be anyone that could stop them. And, since we’d be the ones who made it happen, we’d be the head grunts of all time!”

“Dude…that is the greatest plan ever!” Ribcage declared. “Let’s get in there and wreck that place! Just, how are we supposed to get in there without gettin’ caught?”

“Relax, man, I’ve got an idea. All we’ve got to do is wait for something to get everybody’s attention…”

*********

“Yay, go doggies go! Woohoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she and Fluttershy watched several of the Growlithe transverse the field’s obstacle course, Fluttershy’s Ralts excitedly waving its arms as it sat in Fluttershy’s arms. Despite the Growlithe’s commander having given them permission to rest, the diligent Pokémon were loath to pass up a chance to continue training, especially with an appreciative audience. “Wow, these little guys are really something, aren’t they?” Pinkie Pie asked, to which Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

“I’ve seen animals train for difficult jobs before, but the way they’re doing it all by themselves is really something else. I guess it does make sense, though, considering how different Pokémon seem to be from normal animals. These Growlithe are probably all here because they really want to become police Pokémon, so naturally they’ll work as hard as they can,” Fluttershy concluded.

“Huh, I guess that does make sense,” Pinkie Pie said as she continued to watch the Growlithe drill themselves. “So, are all these Growlithe gonna be police doggies, then? It seems like there’s an awful lot of them.”

“Probably not, to be honest.” Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both turned to see the officer from earlier walking towards them. “We almost always receive more Growlithe candidates than we can use, so we have to turn away at least a few who can’t keep up with the others.”

“That’s a shame,” Fluttershy said as she leaned to one side to try looking behind the officer. “Um, shouldn’t Derek be with you?”

“Derek? Oh, him. No, he’s still with my cousin Jenny filling out the paperwork regarding the Aquarius Gym situation, so I thought I’d come out here to check on our recruits to see how they’re doing. By the way, I’m Officer Jenny.” As Fluttershy tried to make sense of the fact that there were apparently at least two officers with identical appearances and names, Officer Jenny watched the Growlithe with a critical eye. “It’s always a shame when we have to cut a Growlithe from the program, they all absolutely have the heart for the job. Unfortunately, in some cases the heart might be all that they have.” As Officer Jenny spoke, her gaze seemed to fix on one Growlithe in particular, who was climbing up a structure resembling a rope bridge strung between two stepladders. The Growlithe cadets would climb up the steps on one end of the structure and quickly race across the bridge before climbing down the other end. When the Growlithe who had caught Officer Jenny’s attention attempted this, however, a misplaced paw sent it tumbling over the side of the bridge.

“Uh oh, he’s not hurt, is he?” Pinkie Pie asked in alarm.

“I’d doubt it, even for a Pokémon that’s not exactly a big drop” Officer Jenny replied. “Still, number 23’s been having trouble ever since it got here. If its performance doesn’t start improving soon, and I mean really improving, then we’ll probably have to cut it from the program.”

“Oh no, that means it won’t be able to become a police Pokémon, doesn’t it?” Pinkie Pie said. “Well, no Pokémon is going to have its dream ruined while Pinkie Pie’s on duty. If that Growlithe is having trouble keeping up with the others, then I’ll just have to get it whipped into shape myself! And by myself I mean you too, Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie added.

“I…guess that’s fine with me,” Fluttershy said as she recovered from the surprise of having Pinkie Pie volunteer her for the task. “I mean, as long as there’s nothing wrong with our giving that Growlithe some extra help, anyway.”

“If you really want to help out then I don’t see any problem with it,” Officer Jenny replied. “As long as it doesn’t cause any disruptions for the other recruits, then you can help all you like.”

“Great!” Pinkie declared as she stood up. “Just one teeny-tiny, itty-bitty little question before we get started. What exactly does Twenty Three need to be able to do to become a police Pokémon, anyway?”

*********

“So, all we need to do is make sure Twenty Three can run the obstacle course?” Fluttershy asked as she and Pinkie Pie stood facing the Growlithe’s training space. “I guess that should be too hard. It’s not the sort of thing I’d be able to do myself, but it doesn’t look all that different from the courses I’ve seen Rainbow Dash set up.”

“Perfect! I’ve cheered on Rainbow Dash tons of times while she’s practiced Wonderbolt stuff, so this’ll be a piece of chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. Okay, Twenty Three, why don’t you show us what you’ve got!” The Growlithe candidate let out a ruff of acknowledgement as it charged forward towards the obstacle course, designed to mimic the sorts of real-world obstacles a police Pokémon might be expected to encounter in the field. Despite Pinkie Pie providing the most encouraging cheers she could muster, however, it quickly became apparent why this particular Growlithe was at the bottom of its class. Hurdles were tripped over or crashed into, balance beams were fallen off of, even a simple teetertotter proved too much for Twenty Three’s nonexistent poise. By the end of the exercise, Pinkie and Fluttershy could barely even watch the spectacle.

“I don’t mean to be discouraging, but maybe Twenty Three really isn’t cut out to be a police Pokémon,” Fluttershy said gingerly.

“Come on, Fluttershy, Twenty Three isn’t that bad –” As Pinkie Pie spoke, Twenty Three tripped and tumbled down several stairs onto the grass. “Okay, maybe Twenty Three is that bad, but that just means he really really really needs our help.” Fluttershy watched Twenty Three picked itself up off the ground and charge back at a series of vaults before letting out a sigh.

“It isn’t that I don’t think that Twenty Three could never make it,” Fluttershy began as Twenty Three bellyflopped onto the top of a hurdle and was left frantically wriggling around in midair. “I’m just not so sure we really have time to give it all the help it’s going to need.”

“Or…what if Twenty Three’s main problem is that it’s thinking too much about what its doing, and that’s why it keeps messing up?” Pinkie Pie suggested. “You remember when Applejack and Rainbow Dash tried coaching us for buckball and we got so nervous that we couldn’t play because we thought that if we messed up than everypony would be super disappointed in us and we’d have to become hermits to escape the shame?”

“Unfortunately,” Fluttershy replied as she winced slightly at the memory. “So, are you saying that all Twenty Three needs to do is stop thinking about making mistakes? I’m not so sure that’s –” A loud series of crashes pulled both Fluttershy and Pinkie’s attention back to Twenty Three and the obstacle course. After a great deal of struggling, Twenty Three had finally managed to escape off its perch atop the hurdle. Unfortunately, Twenty Three had accomplished this by tipping the entire hurdle over, sending it crashing to the ground.

“Come on, Fluttershy, can’t you see that Twenty Three needs help? And helping creatures who’re having trouble is always the right thing to do. Besides,” Pinkie continued before Fluttershy could cite any situations where her last statement wasn’t entirely accurate. “What’s the worst that could happen?” Fluttershy immediately recalled several conversations she had had with Discord in the past about phrases one should never, ever utter. Before Fluttershy could make any comments about the dangers of tempting fate, however, Pinkie Pie was already merrily skipping over towards Twenty Three, presumably to extol the virtues of not overthinking things.

*********

“You have gotta be kiddin’ me,” Ribcage hissed as he and Femur slunk along the edges of the police training field. “How the heck do those two uncool losers keep showin’ up everywhere we go?”

“Relax, as long as they don’t see us, we’ll be fine,” Femur assured his fellow grunt. “Besides, it looks like they’re too busy doing something with one of those Growlithe to pay any attention to what we’re up to. Just keep heading towards the door, nice and slow.” With all attention currently fixed on Twenty Three’s latest mishap, no one noticed the two grunts as they crept towards the building and slipped inside. “Okay, the hard part’s over. Now we’ve just got to find the room with the most important-looking stuff in this place so we can trash it.”

“What do you mean important-lookin’?”

“You know, like computers and junk,” Femur replied. “The stuff the cops use to store all their files and other uncool cop stuff like that. If we trash all that, then the stupid cops here won’t be able to mess with grunts like us like they usually do.”

“If you say so, man,” Ribcage said, not sounding totally convinced. “So, where the heck are we supposed to find a room like that, anyway?”

“How the heck should I know? It’s not like I ever hung out around police stations or anything,” Femur replied as he led Ribcage down one of the hallways, taking care to keep an ear out for any approaching Officer Jennies.

“Hold up, if you’ve never been in a place like this, than how the heck do ya know if they’ve got a big, important room with computers and stuff?” Ribcage asked.

“Duh, man, because you always see those rooms in the movies,” Femur replied, causing Ribcage to pause and think for a moment before responding.

“Oh yeah, you’re right. Let’s find this place then.” The next several minutes saw the grunts cautiously creep through the halls of the building, occasionally checking one of the doors, most of which turned out to be locked tight. Eventually, however, the pair managed to locate an unlocked door, just in time to duck inside before a pair of officers rounded a corner.

“I can’t believe you lost your security badge,” a female voice could be heard chiding from the hall the grunts had been sneaking in only moments earlier.

“And you’ve never lost something important before?” a near identical voice shot back. “I had to take it out to get my security number during this morning’s meeting, and I must have just forgot to put it back. It’s not like it’s a big deal, though, I just need to grab it from the meeting room I left it in.” Femur and Ribcage exchanged a look of panic as it occurred to them that the meeting room in question was the room they were standing in. The pair frantically looked for a place to hide, Femur eventually trying to crouch behind a potted ficus tree in the corner while Ribcage dove under the table. What felt like hours ticked by as the two grunts quaked in their meager hiding spots, but just as the door handle started to turn an alarm suddenly rang out.

“What on Earth is going on?” one of the officers asked.

“Something must have happened outside. Come on, we better go check it out, we can come back and grab your badge later.” This exchange was promptly followed by the sounds of footsteps rapidly rushing away from the door, leaving the grunts to each breath a sigh of relief.

“Oh man, that was too close,” Femur said as he emerged from behind the ficus. “Maybe we should just bail after all. I didn’t think they’d actually lock up all the4ir important stuff like this, anyway.”

“No, dude,” Ribcage said as he pulled himself out from under the table. “We’ve got this.”

“Man, I wish we did, but you’ve seen how locked down this place is. We’ll never be able to get at any of the good stuff without a badge or a key or something.”

“Badges?” Ribcage said with an evil grin as he held up an ID badge with Officer Jenny’s face on it. “You say we need some stinkin’ badges? I found it on the floor when I got under the table. That loser police lady must’ve dropped it.”

“Hah! Nice!” Femur cried out happily. “This changes everything. So, let’s start causing some real trouble.”

*********

“I just don’t know what went wrong, everything looked like it was going really well for a bit, and then…” Pinkie Pie said sadly as she and Fluttershy watched what was left of the obstacle course burn.

“How did this even happen?” Fluttershy asked. “I thought you were just going to have Twenty Three run a practice lap so it could try things without worrying about how well it was doing.”

“That’s exactly what we were doing, but then Twenty Three still looked kind of nervous, so I gave it one of the berries from Derek’s bag to calm down,” Pinkie said, causing Fluttershy to give her an alarmed look.

“Pinkie, exactly which of those berries did you give Twenty Three?” Fluttershy asked.

“One of the big red spikey ones,” Pinkie replied. “Derek has a whole lot of those, so I figured he wouldn’t mind if I borrowed one. Why do you ask?”

“Pinkie! You gave a Tamato berry to Twenty Three? Don’t you remember what Derek told us about those?”

“Umm, that they’re really, really tasty?” Pinkie Pie replied nervously.

“Yes, but Derek also said those berries are incredibly spicy and we need to be very careful when giving them to Fire-type Pokémon because they can make them –” Fluttershy was forced to pause as Twenty Three ran by with a panicked expression on its face, a few tongues of flame still leaking from the corners of its mouth. “-uncontrollably breath fire.”

“Oopsie,” Pinkie Pie squeaked out. “Okay, don’t panic, I’ll just have to explain to the police lady that this was all an accident and that it wasn’t Twenty Three’s fault. At least that way Twenty Three won’t get blamed for this and they still might get to become a police Pokémon.”

“Unfortunately, at this point I just don’t think that would help.” Pinkie and Fluttershy turned to see Officer Jenny standing behind them with her arms crossed. “It’s not that I don’t believe you about what happened, but a police Pokémon needs to be able to control their attacks well enough to keep something like this from happening. If number Twenty Three can’t even manage that, then there’s no way we could let it join the force.”

“Oh no!” Pinkie cried out. “There has to be something that we could do to help it.”

“I’m sorry, but at this point there just isn’t anything that could be done. That Growlithe just doesn’t have what it would take to join the Javik police force. Now, if you girls will excuse me, I need to make sure those fires get put out before they have a chance to spread to anything important.”

“This is awful, now Twenty Three will never get to live out its dream of becoming a police Pokémon and being able to fight bad guys and save people!” Pinkie Pie wailed. “What’s Twenty Three going to do now?”

“I don’t know, probably find a trainer,” Fluttershy replied. “Honestly, it sounds like a lot of the reasons Twenty Three wanted to become a police Pokémon are things that we do with our Pokémon all the time.” As Fluttershy said this, she could see Pinkie Pie’s hair, which had almost completely deflated, immediately snap back to its usual bouncy state.

“Fluttershy, that’s it! That’s how we can still help Twenty Three live their dream! Come on, let’s go find them, quick!” Not waiting for Fluttershy to respond, Pinkie Pie immediately bounced off in the direction they’d seen Twenty Three running earlier. It didn’t take Pinkie Pie long to track Twenty Three down, the canine-like Pokémon despondently slumped at the far end of the compound. “Hey, Twenty Three, are you doing alright?” Pinkie Pie asked as she slowly approached the4 Growlithe and sat down next to it. Twenty Three didn’t stir from its spot, only letting out a low whimper by way of response to her greeting. “Yeah, I figured you’d be pretty down the dumps after everything that’s happened. But, you know, Fluttershy and I were talking and we might have an idea about how you can still be the super awesome amazing hero that you want to be.” Twenty Three looked up at Pinkie Pie with a quizzical expression on its face, but before Pinkie could elaborate any further a siren started to blare out from the compound’s main building. Immediately, all of the officers on the field (every last one of whom seemed to be named Jenny) promptly dropped whatever they were doing and rushed into the building.

“Oh my, what do you think is happening?” Fluttershy asked in alarm, seeing the urgency written on the officer’s faces. As if to answer her question , a garbage can was promptly tossed out one of the building’s ground floor windows as a familiar pair climbed outside, both dressed in poorly-fitting riot gear.

“Now that’s how you case some trouble!” Femur declared triumphantly.

“Naw, man, that ain’t nothin’,” Ribcage crowed. “You wanna see some real troublemakin’, then keep watchin’.” Ribcage seemed to count down the seconds before metal shutters began crashing down over every door and window of the building, completely sealing it. “I set that up to go off right before we bailed.”

“Yeehah! Nice work, man! We’ve got those cops now! Now nobody will be able to mess with us grunts no matter how much trouble we cause!” Femur cheered.

“Ahem. Aren’t you two forgetting someone?” Fluttershy said as she approached the pair.

“Yeah, you’re forgetting a couple of someones!” Pinkie Pie added.

“Oh, don’t worry, we didn’t forget about you two goody-goody losers,” Femur replied evilly. “With all the cops trapped inside, uncool jokers like you two are the only things standing between us and being able to run wild all we want. That’s why I grabbed myself a little party favor before we busted out of that place.” As Femur spoke, he reached behind his back and pulled out a grenade launcher. “Since you whiny losers like crying over Pokémon so much, I figured I’d get you some tear gas!” With that, Femur pulled the weapon’s trigger…but nothing happened. Confused, Femure continued to pull the trigger several more times, eventually turning the launcher around so he could look down the barrel, but still nothing happened.

“Oh, dude, you remembered to load that thing when you grabbed it, right?” Ribcage asked, prompting a sheepish look from Femur as he tried to nonchalantly toss the grenade launcher away.

“You know, now that I think about it, using that thing wouldn’t have been very cool anyway. Super hard boneheads like us don’t need some wimpy cop’s junk to beat these two down, we can do it ourselves! And, you know, by that I mean we can have our Pokémon do it. Anyway, go Weepinbell!”

“Yeah, that’s more like it. Go Zubat!” As the two grunts unleashed their Pokémon, Fluttershy reached to pull out one of her own Poké Balls in response, only for Pinkie Pie to stop her.

“Don’t you worry, Twenty Three and me have got this. Right, Twenty Three?” Pinkie Pie’s supremely confident declaration was met by a baffled stare from Twenty Three, who nevertheless walked up to stand by her side. “Come on, Twenty Three, this is your big chance! Bad guys causing trouble, good guys in danger, now you can show everybody what you can really do!”

“What that mutt can do is catch a beating! Weepinbell, Vine Whip that sucker until it learns not to mess with Team Skull!” Weepinbell promptly lashed out with a pair of green vines at Femur’s command. Twenty Three attempted to meet the attack head on, but this only resulted in Weepinbell’s first strike knocking it off its paws. However, Twenty Three then proceeded to tumble forward, easily dodging Weepinbell’s second attack and bringing it face-to-face with the villainous Grass-type.

“Good work, Twenty Three! Now, show that green meanie who’s boss with your Fire Fang!” Twenty Three obediently chomped down onto Weepinbell’s face, its mouth erupting in flame as it did so. For a brief second, Weepinbell didn’t seem to respond to the attack, but then it began wildly thrashing about in a desperate effort to escape Twenty Three’s jaws

“Uhh…dang, I’ve got nothing,” Femure groaned as he recalled Weepinbell to its ball once its panicked spasms ceased. “Dude, back me up here, will you?”

“Don’t worry, bro, I’ve got yer back. Zubat, launch yer Supersonic attack!” Zubat immediately unleashed an ear-piercing shriek that forced Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to both cover their ears in pain. Twenty Three seemed to have it even worse than either of the girls, the sounds causing it to leap about in confused agony. “Now that’s how ya’ start a beatdown. Alright, Zubat, now use yer Poison Fang.” Its fangs glowing a sickly purple, Zubat darted through the air directly at Twenty Three. Thankfully, Twenty Three’s stumbling about prevented Zubat from landing a direct hit with its attack, only managing to graze Twenty Three’s side.

“Come on, Twenty Three, snap out of it!” Pinkie Pie cried out, but to no avail as Twenty Three continued to aimlessly spin about.

“I warned you that mutt didn’t have what it takes to take on boneheads like us,” Ribcage crowed. “Now look where are, facin’ a Zubat who’s so on fire its practically glowin’. Actually, hold up, I think Zubat really is glowin’. Yo, Zubat, you alright there?” Sure enough, Zubat’s entire body had started to glow brightly, quickly becoming enveloped in white light. In moments, the glow completely consumed Zubat as its outline proceeded to stretch and expand until its size had more than doubled. “Oh yeah! Zubat’s evolving! In yer face, losers, now ya’ got Golbat to deal with!”

“Pinkie, are you sure you don’t want me to help? Twenty Three looked like it was having enough trouble with just Zubat, but now that is evolved –”

“No! Twenty Three has got this handled, you’ll see! Right Twenty Three?” To Pinkie Pie’s delight, Twenty Three shook its head free of its sonic wave-induced delirium and readied itself for her next instruction. “Alright! Now, let’s show this mean old bat that we mean business with your Flame Wheel!” Twenty Three wasted no time charging forward at Pinkie’s command as a raging fire built up inside its mouth before somersaulting into the air, the flames in its mouth becoming a circle of fire as it tumbled head over paws straight into Golbat.

“Aw come on!” Ribcage cried out as he watched his Golbat struggle to remain in the air. “Every time things start to look up fer us, you losers have to come in and ruin it. Well, I’m still gonna beat you and that mutt down. Golbat, hit it with yer Air Cutter!” Despite it still sporting singe marks from Twenty Three’s last attack, Golbat began fiercely beating its wings, generating a powerful gust of wind along with several crescent-shaped blades of pressurized air that came scything towards Twenty Three.

“Don’t worry, Twenty Three, you’ve still got this! Now, get in there and Bite that bat like it’s a marshmallow! A big, sweet, fluffy marshmallow…” While Pinkie started to drool a little at the thought of a five-foot marshmallow, Twenty Three leapt into action, dashing forward straight into Golbat’s attack. Despite several of the scythes scoring hits along Twenty Three’s back and sides, it forced its way through before jumping up at Golbat and chomping down on one of its legs. Golbat made a desperate effort to stay in the air with Twenty Three hanging off of it, but after a few moments Golbat finally collapsed to the ground.

“Stupid mutt, ruinin’ our stupid plans,” Ribcage growled as he recalled his Golbat.

“Hey, relax man,” Femure said. “Yeah, we may have gotten beaten down here, but we’ve still got all those cops trapped inside that building, and there’s nothing these two can do about –” At that moment, the metal shutter over the main entrance to the building bent outwards before exploding off, landing just a few yards shy of the grunts.

“Alright Oppenheimer, good work. Now, return.” Derek’s voice could be heard coming from behind the dust cloud that had been left in the wake of the shutter’s explosive removal.

“Uh, dude, I think we should probably run,” Femur said as a half-dozen Officer Jennys poured out from the entrance. “Oh yeah, we should definitely run.” With that, Femur tossed a smoke grenade to the ground, which quickly filled the area with think grey clouds of smoke.

*********

“-and then, Twenty Three spun through the air all ‘whoo whoo whoo whoo’ and smashed that Golbat right in its mean old face,” Pinkie Pie said as she recounted the events of the battle to Derek.

“And this was the same Growlithe that was having issues meeting the police’s training requirements? It sounds to me like what it really needed was a good trainer to help direct it. That’s actually not all that surprising, most Pokémon perform much better with a partner; that’s part of the reason they tend to be so eager to join up with a trainer in the first place,” Derek said before letting out a small sigh. “Unfortunately, I don’t think any of that will help your friend join the police. Police Pokémon need to be able to operate on their own, and not just with a trainer.”

“I’m not too worried about that, I actually have a much better idea,” Pinkie Pie said as she turned to Twenty Three, who had been resting nearby. “I’ll bet stopping those bad guys felt pretty good, didn’t it? You know, we run into bad guys like that a whole lot while traveling around. Exactly like them, really. Actually, we pretty much just keep running into those two. Anyway, if what you really want to do is stop bad guys form doing mean, bad guy stuff, then you could always just come with us.” Twenty Three appeared to consider Pinkie’s offer for a moment before happily leaping up into her arms and licking her face.

“I’m no Fluttershy, but I’m pretty sure that means yes. Speaking of Fluttershy, do you know where she is? I wanted to talk with her about where we might want to go next.” By this point, Pinkie Pie had already collapsed to the ground in a fit of giggles, but she managed to point Derek in the direction she’d last seen their friend.

As it turned out, while Pinkie Pie had been recounting what had happened to Derek, Fluttershy had been busy providing a similar account to an Officer Jenny. “I’m just sorry I can’t tell you which way they went, but with all the smoke we really couldn’t see anything.”

“Well, luckily all they stole were a few props we keep on hand for display and instructional purposes, so it could have been a lot worse,” Officer Jenny assured her. “In any event, we’ll be sure to let the rest of the officers in the region to know to keep an eye out for those two.”

“That’s something, at least,” Derek said. “Anyway, Fluttershy, I wanted to talk to you about where you wanted to head next. I know you original plan was to just stay put in Aquarius until some of your friends passed through, but is that still what you want to do?”

“I…honestly, I’m not really sure anymore,” Fluttershy replied. “At the time it seemed like a good idea, but now, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to see a little more of this island before we start worrying. I mean, once you get used to everything, all this seems a lot more fun than I thought it would.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you might be talking about Pokémon battling,” Derek teased.

“Well, I still don’t completely understand why Pokémon enjoy fighting each other so much, I think I’d prefer setting up a Pokémon book club. But, they really do seem to enjoy it, and as long as they’re not getting hurt, I guess I should try and support them. So, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to try some more of those gym battles like Pinkie has.”

“Well, if that’s what you really want to do, then we might want to head north up to Ferrum Village,” Derek suggested. “It’s a lot closer to us than Aquarius City at this point, and honestly we probably want to avoid the Aquarius Gym for the time being anyway.”

Calamitous Conifers

“Finally! It feels like we were stuck in those stupid pine trees forever!” Rainbow Dash declared as she, Spike and Twilight emerged from the pine forest they had been trudging through.

“Come on, Rainbow, it wasn’t that long. We were hiking through there for half a day at most, and look, you can see the next town from here,” Twilight said as she pointed towards the collection of buildings that lay ahead. “We should be at the Pokémon Center in time for dinner, and then –”

“It’s gym battle time!” Rainbow Dash declared. “I’m ready to take down whoever it is that runs this place and get my second badge already!”

“Don’t you think you should get some rest first? I mean, you’ll want your Pokémon to be completely healthy so they can do their best, right?” Twilight said. At first it looked like Rainbow Dash was going to argue, but then she paused before nodding her head.

“You know, you might have a point there. I want my team ready to give one hundred percent, no, one hundred and twenty percent, and they’re gonna need to be plenty rested to do that.” Rainbow Dash said. “But, once they’re set and rested, it’s gym time.”

“Wow, Rainbow, you’re really fired up for this,” Spike said as the group made their way into the town.

“Well duh, of course I am. Twilight’s already got her second badge, and I can’t let her get too far ahead of me, now, can I? Besides, if Lightning Dust is here then I can’t afford to get too lazy. Lightning Dust might be a reckless jerk, but she’s definitely the type to push herself harder than anybody if that’s what it takes to win. I’ll need to work twice as hard if I don’t want her to start kicking my hindquarters. So,” Rainbow Dash said as she turned back to Twilight. “What kind of gym is this place supposed to have, anyway?”

“I think this might be the home of the Grass-type gym,” Twilight said. “I know it seems like an odd location for that, but it would explain the number of greenhouses they have here.” As Twilight pointed it out, Rainbow Dash and Spike realized that practically ever other building they passed either was a freestanding greenhouse or had a glass-walled structure attached to it.

“Huh, weird. You’d think if these people liked growing things so much they’d live somewhere, y’know, warmer or something,” Rainbow Dash said. “Anyway, if these guys all use plants, then that just means Skarmory’s gonna have an easy time beating the pants off of them.” Twilight rolled her eyes but said nothing as she listened to Rainbow Dash half-plan, half-fantasize about her upcoming gym battle. If Rainbow Dash still had any lingering apprehensions about taking on gym leaders, they were well hidden. By the time the group reached the local Pokémon Center and checked into their rooms, Rainbow Dash had reached the point that she was already deciding on the finer points of her eventual victory pose. “So, when Skarmory and me lean back-to-back, should I be wearing sunglasses or no sunglasses? I know sunglasses are the obvious ‘cool’ choice, but they’re really more of a radical-cool, and I think I want to go for more of an awesome-cool. What do you think, Twilight?”

“I think you might be starting to get a little too overconfident,” Twilight warned as she sat down on her bed. “Don’t forget, this battle is probably going to be a lot harder than the one you had with Terra.”

“Forget it? I’m counting on it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Otherwise, how are me and my team supposed to figure out how much stronger we’ve gotten. Besides, you managed to beat that Siegfried guy and get your second badge, right? So, it can’t be that hard, right?”

“Gee, thanks,” Twilight replied sourly.

“I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant was…um…you know what, maybe I should go check to see how Spike’s doing.” With that, Rainbow Dash quicky exited the room, leaving Twilight to collapse backwards onto her bed. It wasn’t that Twilight was upset with her friend, but the comment had served as yet another reminder that Twilight simply wasn’t making the progress she wanted.

Twilight’s contemplativeness was soon interrupted as her Pokédex started honking as though it had suddenly become possessed by a flock of bicycle horns. Desperate to stop the noise, Twilight pulled out her Pokédex to see the words ‘Incoming Call’ flashing on the screen. After a moment’s trepidation, Twilight pressed a button to accept the call, at which point the honking horns were replaced by a voice that was somehow even more irritating.

“Hello, Twilight! I was starting to worry you wouldn’t be able to figure out how to use that little device you yours,” Discord cheerfully greeted Twilight. “I was just checking in to see how you’ve been doing on your adventure. Any luck catching them all?” Twilight didn’t respond at first, instead simply glaring at her Pokédex in annoyance. “Oh, don’t be like that. Besides, isn’t this part of being friends, checking in on them to see how they’re doing?”

“Yes, I guess it is,” Twilight reluctantly conceded, albeit through gritted teeth. “I’m doing fine, I guess. I have my second badge already, and Rainbow Dash should have hers before too long.”

“Only two badges?” Discord asked as he clicked his tongue in disappointment. “And here I was sure you’d have at least three or four by now. Really, Twilight, I know you’re having fun, but you really should try to take this a bit more seriously. That portal back to Equestria isn’t going to open itself on its own, you know.”

“Having fun? I’ve nearly been crushed in a cave-in, got attacked by a couple of thieves and just recently almost got buried in a blizzard!” Twilight yelled.

“Exactly! It’s like you’re living your very own Ogres and Oubliettes adventure! And besides, you’ve come through all of it none the worse for wear, no doubt thanks to the friendships you’ve made with your Pokémon. This little journey will be good for you, you wouldn’t want to end up becoming one of those princesses who spends all her time sitting on her throne, would you? Celestia’s done that for years and just look what’s happened to her hindquarters.”

“There is nothing wrong with Princess Celestia’s hindquarters!” Twilight exclaimed before immediately turning bright red as she realized what she had just said, much to Discord’s amusement.

“Hahahahahaha! Thank you, Twilight, I needed a laugh like that. Anyway, a little adversity isn’t going to be the end of you, you are the Princess of Friendship, after all. You should be more than capable of handling anything in that world has to throw at you.” Discord paused uncomfortably for a moment before continuing. “Of course, you might have just the slightest trouble with a few tiny problems that followed everypony from Equestria.”

“What kind of ‘problems’?” Twilight asked sternly.

“Well, it turns out a few villains, ones that you previously dealt with, may have slipped in with everypony else and are, you know, working on their revenge,” Discord said.

“Wait, what?” Twilight yelled out in horror. “Who?”

“Nocreature too important – Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra,” Discord said quickly while faking a cough.

“WHAT?” Twilight screeched.

“It’s really not as bad as it sounds. Neither of them will be able to use their magic in this world, so they shouldn’t be much of a threat. In any event, I thought you’d appreciate the warning. Toodles.” With that, the line went dead, leaving a fuming Twilight listening to the dial tone. Slowly, Twilight closed her Pokédex and set it aside before grabbing a nearby pillow, slamming it into face and letting out a guttural scream.

“Chrysalis and King Sombra are here? Why? How? King Sombra was destroyed when Cadance restored the Crystal Heart. This doesn’t make any sense!” Twilight flopped back onto the bed, allowing the pillow to fall off her face. “At least if Discord’s telling the truth then they won’t have any of their magic. Ugh, I can’t believe I’m actually relying on Discord, of all creatures, to be honest about something. Then again, I guess right now I don’t have much room to criticize anycreature when it comes to honesty right now. I haven’t even told Spike or Rainbow Dash the truth about how we all got here yet, and to make things worse I can’t even manage to fix my own mess. Some ‘Princess of Friendship’ I’ve turned out to be, I can’t even make friends with my own Pokémon.” Twilight let out a sigh as she pondered her situation for a minute in silence. “I wonder where Rainbow Dash ran off to?”

*********

“Hey, Rainbow, are you sure it’s alright for us to just leave Twilight alone at the center like that?” Spike asked as he followed Rainbow Dash towards the Florasburg Gym, her Skarmory waddling behind her.

“Don’t worry, Twilight will be fine,” Rainbow Dash assured him. “To be honest, I kinda got the impression that Twilight needed a little alone time. Anyway, now that my Pokémon have got an all clear from the nurse at the Pokémon Center, there’s nothing between us and another sweet victory but the poor chump at the gym.” Rainbow Dash continued to chuckle about her impending victory all the way to the Florasburg Gym, which took the form of a particularly massive greenhouse, so large the tops of several evergreen trees could be seen reaching up towards the ceiling over the front façade.

“Whoa, and I thought the greenhouse we ran into before was huge,” Spike said as he marveled at the size of the structure.

“It’s not that impressive, it’s just a big glass box with a bunch of plants in it,” Rainbow Dash said as she strode inside. The interior of the gym bore a strong resemblance to the Pokémon-run greenhouse the group had encountered on their way to the city. Here, however, the plants were grown from beds that seemed to rise up directly from the floor, and the sheer scale of the building had apparently been used to cultivate an entire forest within.

“Can I help the two of you?” a bored voice asked in between yawns. Rainbow Dash and Spike turned to see a sleepy-looking woman sitting behind a desk that had been set up amid a flower patch.

“Yeah, I’m here to take down your gym leader!” Rainbow Dash declared, earning another yawn from the receptionist.

“It’s kind of late, but we are still technically open, so whatever. You’ll find the Inscrutable Mandrake in his grove. It’s the big circle of trees right in the middle of this place, you can’t miss it.” With that, the woman returned to staring intently at the clock near the door. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, simply shrugged and headed into the gym proper.

“Well, she sure seemed friendly,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically as she and Spike made their way down a path through the indoor forest.

“To be fair, it is kind of late,” Spike pointed out. “Maybe she’s more of a morning person.” Rainbow Dash pondered this for a moment before wincing and letting out a sigh.

“Yeah, I just remembered how much I always hated it when somepony would show up at the weather bureau with some last-minute – wait, do you hear that? It sounds like it’s coming from over this way.” Spike was about to reply that he didn’t hear anything, but as he listened for a moment, he realized that he could indeed hear a voice coming from a copse of trees deeper inside the gym.

“Am I hearing things, or does that kind of sound like somebody giving a speech or something?” Spike asked as the pair crept closer to the source of the noise. Eventually, the pair found themselves approaching a circle of particularly massive trees that been grown so close together that their branches had come to form a near solid wall. From behind that wall, the voice Rainbow Dash and Spike had heard was now clearly audible.

“TREES! Gods of Nature, hear me! Trees, Trees, accept my office and hear me! Obedient ranks of lace bark maple and golden oak, hear me. Conifers, oldest, tallest and wisest, hear me. Fox elm, staghorn sumac, sweetgum, dewy-budded chestnut, fearless and sturdy, hear me!”

“What the hay is going on in there!” Rainbow Dash asked as she made her way around the edge of the tree circle until she finally came to an opening that led inside, her Skarmory and Spike following close behind. As the pair peered inside, they say that the circle of trees surrounded an entire battle arena, at the far end of which stood a balding man dressed in monk’s robes, who was engrossed in making some sort of plaintive speech to the trees. “Is it just me, or is this just seriously weird?”

“No, this is definitely weird,” Spike confirmed.

“Is someone there?” the man said as he spun around. “Ah, you there! Have you come to join me in communing with the majestic trees?”

“Uh, no. I’m here to challenge the gym leader here. Do you where they are?” Rainbow Dash asked, silently pleading that she already speaking to said leader.

“Ah, so you’re a challenger, then. Well, you’re in luck, for at this very moment you speak to the Inscrutable Mandrake, master of flora, disciple of the trees and leader of the Florasburg Gym. And, as such, I would be happy to accept your challenge.” Mandrake turned towards a large set of cabinets on the far side of the field before pausing and turning back towards Rainbow Dash. “Er, what badge will you be competing for?”

“This is gonna be my second,” Rainbow Dash said as she motioned for her Skarmory to come forward.

“I see,” Mandrake said. “So, you’re still just a sapling, yearning for the sun as you stretch up towards the canopy above. And now I stand as the elder Trees of the forest to block you ascent!”

“Uh huh,” Rainbow Dash said, her interest in what Mandrake was saying having already dropped to ‘crazy Pinkie Pie rambling’ levels. If Mandrake was bothered by this, or if he even noticed, however, it didn’t show.

“This will be a battle between two of our Pokémon each. The first to have both of their Pokémon left unable to continue their desperate struggles shall be vanquished, and their opponent declared the victor! Do you have any questions?”

“Just one. Are you ready to get taken down by me and Skarmory?” Rainbow Dash said as Skarmory let loose a war cry and launched itself into the air.

“You’re certainly confident, but the raging storm cuts down the foolish growth that reaches too high. Go, Lombre!” Mandrake tossed out his first Poké Ball, revealing a particularly bored-looking Lombre which plopped itself onto the field and watched as Skarmory wheeled overhead.

Lombre, the Jolly Pokémon. This nocturnal Pokémon is covered in a film of slime which helps protect it from predators. Lombre are notorious mischief-makers, frequently damaging nets and interfering with fishing lines.

“I don’t know how jolly that Lombre looks,” Spike said as he listened to his Pokédex’s entry.

“If you’re going to talk big about being a storm that’s gonna knock me over and stuff then you should really start off with a tougher-looking Pokémon,” Rainbow Dash added as she eyed Mandrake’s Lombre critically. “Anyway, Skarmory, hit it with—"

“Fake Out!” Mandrake suddenly called out while dramatically throwing his arms in the air. Without even bothering to stand, Lombre promptly clapped its forelimbs together, sending out a shockwave that nearly knocked Skarmory out of the air.

“Okay, so maybe your Lombre’s not a total wimp, but that doesn’t mean we’re gonna be pushovers. Skarmory, give that thing your Air Cutter!” As Skarmory righted itself in the air, it began furiously beating its wings and sending out gusts of wind towards Lombre. At first, Lombre scarcely seemed to even notice what was going on, but the wind was soon accompanied by scythe-like blades of pressurized air that slashed at it and tore up the ground around it.

“It would appear you’re not without your own strengths, but with the raging winds come the rains of life as well. Lombre, use Water Sport!” Upon hearing this, Lombre finally stood up and took a deep breath before exhaling a massive stream of water. To Rainbow Dash’s confusion, however, the Lombre didn’t even attempt to hit Skarmory with the stream, instead spraying the water in every possible direction until the entire field was soaking wet.

“Are you sure you’re really the gym leader here?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked over the Lombre’s handiwork. “Well, whatever, I’ll deal with that after we’re done. In the meantime, Skarmory! Use Fury Attack!” Skarmory wasted no time diving towards its opponent and launching into a vicious series of pecks and scratches. The first three of Skarmory’s attacks hit home, but when it went in for a fourth, Lombre suddenly dodged out of the way. Propelled by its own momentum, Skarmory couldn’t prevent its leg from striking the ground, where it promptly sunk all the way up to its torso in the newly soaked muck.

“Behold! Foresight worthy of the forest elders!” Mandrake declared as Skarmory began thrashing about in an effort to dislodge itself. “Now, Lombre…Bubblebeam!” Lombre heaved a sigh before taking another deep breath, this time exhaling a torrent of bubbles that seemed to detonate as they collided against the helpless Skarmory.

“Of all the…” Rainbow Dash snarled before gritting her teeth in frustration. “Okay, keep it together, Rainbow. Skarmory needs you to think of a way out of this. Hang on…Skarmory, spread your wings out as much as you can!” Baffled, Skarmory did as its trainer instructed, which resulted in its outstretched wings taking hits from a number of the explosive bubbles.

“Are you giving up already? It’s a shame, if a mild rain such as this causes you to wilt, then you shall never—” Before Mandrake could finish his sentence, Skarmory flapped its wings several times and pulled itself free of the muck, helped by the propulsion provided by Lombre’s bubbles.

“Hah, did you really think you’d be able to beat us that easily? Skarmory, Metal Claw! Show this guy what we think of giving up!” Letting out a screech of indignation, Skarmory dove straight at Lombre and delivered a vicious slash to its side.

“Clever, very clever. But, as the rain gives life, the torrents wash it away. Another Bubblebeam! Lombre, irritation plainly written on its features, blasted out another stream of bubbles at Skarmory. Despite the fact that Skarmory was no longer immobilized, quite a few of the bubbles still found their mark.

“Yeah, I think we’re about done with that. Skarmory, blow it away with another Air Cutter!” With a final shrill cry, Skarmory looped around in the air, sending several air blade-filled gusts straight through Lombre’s stream of bubbles. Unable to dodge out of the way, Lombre took the full brunt of the attack and collapsed to the ground unconscious.

“Alas, poor Lombre. Felled as the noble spruce before the uncaring storm,” Mandrake lamented as he recalled Lombre to its Poké Ball. “And yet, even as the terrible fire that sweeps through the innocent forest is followed by new growth, so shall Lombre’s defeat serve as but the precursor for a greater and even more terrible foe!”

Rainbow Dash and Skarmory both gave Mandrake the same blank in response. “What?”

“Behold! Snover, descend!” With that, Mandrake tossed his second Poké Ball high into the air, unleashing a cheerful looking creature that vaguely resembled a stumpy, snow-covered pine tree that had sprouted arms. Rainbow Dash was somewhat less than impressed.

“Bwahahaha, that’s your big trump card? Skarmory’s gonna take that thing apart!” Rainbow Dash laughed, earning an irritated glare from Mandrake. “Still, I better not take it easy on you. Skarmory, nail that thing with your Metal Claw!” Letting out a triumphant screech, Skarmory dove straight at its target, scoring a direct hit with enough force to send the Snover tumbling along the ground. “Hah, and Twilight was worried I might not be able to handle – did it just get really cold in here all of a sudden?”

Sure enough, as Snover pulled itself back to its feet, frigid just of wind could be seen blowing away from it while dark clouds gathered near the gym’s ceiling. “Fool! Did you truly believe the prince of the aspen forest would be bested so easily? Now, as the cold storm gathers, behold the true might of the TREES! Snover!” Mandrake called out, his Z-ring already flaring with power as he performed a particularly odd, ritualistic dance. “Z-Grass Whistle!”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash, who had been bracing herself for the onslaught of Mandrake’s Z-move, looked on in confusion as the golden light that had been suffusing Snover expanded outward, accompanied buy a high-pitched whistle. “Seriously, after all that buildup you used your Z-move to make some weird noise? I mean, it’s kind of annoying, but –” Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a wet splat as Skarmory crashed down into the mud of the field, snoring peacefully. “—but it put Skarmory to sleep, so now it can’t battle. Perfect.”

“Now you see the true power of the winter forest! How will you face my Snover now, guarded by the storming hail and infused with power from our Z-move?” Mandrake said as he spread his arms out and twirled in place.

“That’s easy, I’m just gonna fight trees with mushrooms,” Rainbow Dash replied before scrunching up her face. “That sounded a lot cooler in my head. Anyway, go Breloom!”

“I see,” Mandrake said as Rainbow Dash’s Breloom emerged from its Poké Ball. “You intend to turn this into a battle of the very forces of glorious nature itself! Very well, I shall meet you challenge and –”

“Breloom! Mach Punch!” In a flash, Breloom launched itself across the arena and snapped its right arm forward, the red claws at its tip glowing bright white. Panicking, Snover tried to turn to run, but as it did so its stubby legs sank into the mud. Snover was left helpless as Breloom struck it in the side of its face with enough force to send it flying halfway down the length of the arena.

“Oh, that didn’t quite go as I had envisioned it,” Mandrake said after several seconds passed without his Snover making any attempt to pull itself up out of the mud. “It would appear that my Snover is unable to battle, thus making you the victor of this battle. Consequently, I stand before you humbled and defeated.” As Mandrake spoke, he gave Rainbow Dash an elaborate bow that would have seemed mocking coming from just about anyone else.

“Thanks, I guess,” Rainbow Dash said. “So, about my badge…”

“Yes, of course. The enduring symbol of your victory in battle,” Mandrake said as he approached Rainbow Dash while pulling out a small box from the sleeve of his robe. “Oh worthy trainer, for having displayed skill and strength enough to best me, I hereby present to you the Alpine Badge, symbol of the ever green sentinels of the mountainside, as well as a shard of Grassium-Z. May both serve you well in your coming journey.”

“Sweet!” Rainbow Dash said as she opened the box to reveal a pine tree-shaped badge along with a green crystal. “Wait until Twilight hears about this. She’s not gonna believe it!”

*********

“I don’t believe it,” Twilight said as Rainbow Dash finished recounting her victory, with only slight embellishments to make the story more, as she would put it, awesome. “You really went out and challenged the gym leader here without me?”

“Come one, Twilight, it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything. For Celestia’s sake, you had your second battle while me and Spike weren’t there either and we never made a big deal about it,” Rainbow Dash said. “Is there something wrong? You’ve been acting kinda weird recently.”

“It’s…Discord contacted me again while you were gone,” Twilight replied. “Mostly he was just being his usual annoying self, but…”

“But what? Discord being annoying isn’t exactly anything new. That’s basically how he is all the time. I’d probably be more weirded out if he wasn’t acting like some kind of jerk.”

“I know, but Discord warned me that Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra are in this world as well, and that they’re out for revenge,” Twilight blurted out.

“Well duh,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Wait, what?” Twilight had prepared herself for any number of potential responses from Rainbow Dash, but that hadn’t been one of them.

“It’s Chrysalis and Sombra, of course they’re gonna be trying to get revenge, that’s like their whole thing,” Rainbow Dash said as though she were stating the most obvious fact in the world. “Although, I don’t really get how Sombra got here in the first place. Didn’t the Crystal Heart blast him apart last we ran into him?”

“Aren’t you at all concerned that two of our worst enemies have followed us here and are trying to hunt us down?” Twilight asked incredulously.

“Twilight, this is supposed to be an adventure! Of course we’re going to run into horrible villains at some point. I’ve been expecting to run into Pokémon Ahuizotl or something for days now,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Besides, there isn’t any magic in this place, right? You know, aside from friendship and how that’s magic, but not the mind control or wrapping us up in freaky cocoons kind, right? But we’ve got awesome, butt-kicking Pokémon on our side. So, even if Chrysalis and Sombra do come after us, we’ll just beat their hindquarters even harder than we did the last time we took them on!”

Twilight simply smiled and weakly nodded her head in response. Rainbow Dash was almost impossible to argue with when she got like this, and in fairness she did have something of a point. The nature of the world Discord had placed them in left Chrysalis and Sombra without the tools they would normally have had to threaten anypony with, and Twilight and her friends were hardly helpless. Still, the situation wasn’t good, and Twilight was left with one more reason to focus all her efforts on getting everypony back to Equestria.

Author's Note

As a bonus, here's Discord's ringtone

Instituting Some Action

“Welp, that there is one sight fer sore eyes.” Rarity, who had been trailing behind Applejack for the past hour or so, hurried to catch up with her friend to see what the fuss was about. Turning past a bend in the road, Rarity soon saw that the road was finally coming to an end up ahead, at a large, white building with several thick cables leading off it down the mountainside.

“Oh, thank Celestia, that must be the institute that Miss Spectra told us about!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Ah reckon that’s exactly what it is. And more importantly, y’all can see the cables fer the cable car she mentioned. With any luck, we’ll finally be down this durn mountain by dinnertime.” As the two friends happily rushed towards their goal, Rarity took in the sight of their destination. The building that housed the Javik League Institute of Parapsychology was a massive white structure that looked vaguely like a hospital, angular and antiseptic.

“Applejack, I was just wondering. Has anyone we’ve spoken with actually mentioned what precisely this ‘Institute of Parapsychology’ does? Besides being peculiar, everyone has been perfectly clear on that point,” Rarity added.

“Now that y’all mention it, Ah don’t think they have.” Applejack replied. “Can’t say Ah’ve got any idea, either. Ah’ve never heard of this para-whatchamacallit business before, Ah figured it was just sort of somethin’ that has to do with Pokémon, seein’ how most of this place seems fixated on the critters. Either that, or it’s the sort of sciencey whatnow Twilight might know about.”

“Well, I suppose we’ll find out soon enough,” Rarity said as they approached the building’s entrance. Beyond the front doors lay a massive lobby which was divided into two parts. To the left was a waiting area for the cable car, which was about what Rarity had expected to see. What Rarity hadn’t quite anticipated, however, was that the right-hand side of the lobby would be a Pokémon Center, right down to a desk staffed by a Nurse Joy.

“Huh, they must have more people passin’ through these parts than Ah though if they’ve got a full Pokémon Center set up here,” Applejack remarked. “Might not be a bad idea fer us to get our own critters looked at while we’re here, dependin’ on how long the wait fer the car is.”

“Normally I’d agree wholeheartedly, but perhaps we should see how long the wait is before we make any decisions. I’m certain there’s a Pokémon Center at the bottom of the mountain as well, and I’d prefer to get off the side of this mountain as soon as possible,” Rarity said.

“Alright, fair point, let’s head over to the ticket counter and get that business settled.” Moving towards the left side of the massive lobby, Applejack and Rarity walked over to a small ticket stall set in the back wall manned by a bored-looking young man. “Hey there, is this the place where we can catch a cable car down the mountain?”

“Yup,” the man laconically replied, not bothering to look up from the book he was reading. “But you’ve missed the last car for the day, so you’ll need to wait until tomorrow if you want to take the ride down to Ferrum Village.”

“Dagnabbit,” Applejack grumped. “Well, Ah guess we may as well get our critters patched up at the Pokémon Center them seein’ as how we’re gonna be here fer a while.”

“I suppose it can’t be helped. The only question now is what are we going to do while we wait for the next car?” Rarity said.

“You could always try challenging Doctor Weiss for his gym badge,” the man in the booth suggested, immediately grabbing Rarity and Applejack’s attention.

“Gym badge? Are y’all sayin’ this here place is a gym?” Applejack asked.

“In order to get the Javik League to provide funding for our research, the institute agreed to take on responsibility as one of the region’s gyms,” the man replied. “Unfortunately, that also comes with managing this stupid cable car, which is why I’m stuck here talking to you instead of working on research for my thesis.” The man’s complaints fell on deaf ears, however, as Rarity and Applejack had found something much more important to focus their attention on.

“Well, I suppose that answers the question as to what to do while we wait for the next cable car to depart,” Rarity said.

“Ah take it y’all are plannin’ on takin’ on this Doc Weiss fella, then,” Applejack said.

“Of course I am. It’s not as though there’s much else we can do but wait until the next cable car is ready anyway, and I can’t very well let you get too far ahead of me, now can I?” Rarity added.

“Ah suppose not,” Applejack said with a knowing smile. “Besides that, it probably wouldn’t be too bad an idea fer us to both get a bit tougher now that we’ve got Chrysalis and Sombra runnin’ around,” Applejack said.

“Indeed. Although, we haven’t really seen any sign of them since our encounter in that cemetery. Perhaps we managed to lose them when we fled into the mountains,” Rarity suggested hopefully.

“Ah’ll admit that’d be nice, but Ah wouldn’t bet on it. Somethin’ tells me we ain’t gonna be able to get rid of those two that easy.”

*********

“There, we’ve finally made it,” Sombra said as the institute building came into view. Despite the relief in Sombra’s voice, however, Chrysalis was somewhat less than impressed.

“Made it where, exactly? I don’t see what’s so special about a building in the middle of nowhere, and besides, we’re supposed to be hunting down Twilight’s friends, not sightseeing,” Chrysalis hissed.

“Maybe you should have bothered paying attention when I was interrogating that fop instead of sulking about not being able to feed on his love in this form. If you had, then you’d know that this place is what the inhabitants of this world call a gym,” Sombra explained.

“And I’m expected to care about any of that because…” Chrysalis snarled.

“You should care because the crystals that enable Pokémon to perform attacks like the one we saw at that accursed mansion are handed out at these places. Which means if we can steal some of those crystals then we’d be able to use that power for ourselves,” Sombra said.

“Normally I’d mock your obsession with crystals, but that actually doesn’t sound like a terrible plan,” Chrysalis grudgingly admitted. “All we need to do is sneak in and—”

“Sneak in? What do you take me for, one of your sniveling drones?” Sombra scoffed. “I’m going to go in there and take the crystals by force!”

This time it was Chrysalis’ turn to scoff. “Take them by force? Have you lost whatever diseased mass you had that passed for a mind? The entire reason we need these crystals is we don’t have the raw power to destroy Twilight’s friends as we are now.”

“I may not have the power to raze that building to the ground, but I’m still more than capable of taking what I want from a few of the insects scuttling around that place,” Sombra said. “Besides, how do you plan to sneak in without your shape changing magic? You’ll be spotted almost immediately.”

“Hah, I was the Queen of the Changelings, fool, my skills when it comes to the art of infiltration are unmatched!” Chrysalis declared proudly.

“More like your skills in the art of self-delusion,” Sombra sneered. “Go ahead and try sneaking in like the coward you are. While you’re wasting your time with that, I’ll take what I want without you to interfere.”

“If you’re planning on going it alone then that’s fine by me,” Chrysalis huffed. “Having you blunder in there should at least provide a good distraction, which would be more useful than you’d be liable to be otherwise.”

“What…are you two – nee Haw! – arguing about…this time?” Bray asked as he came panting up the trail behind the other two.

“The cockroach queen and I were just discussing how she’s going to make a fool of herself trying to sneak into that building while we seize—”

“We, Sombra? Don’t tell me you’re so desperate that you need Bray’s help to attempt this,” Chrysalis laughed.

“Unlike you, Bray actually has the ability to be useful on occasion. At the very least, he can be trusted to follow orders,” Sombra countered.

“Fine, whatever. Bring the incompetent little toady with you. It doesn’t matter, I’ll still be the only one to get my hands on those crystals.”

*********

“Ooh, I can’t wait to get another one of those Z-crystals,” Rarity said as she and Applejack made their way into the institute’s headquarters. “This one I got from Norma is alright, but I’d really prefer something with a more striking color, you know? Maybe a nice red or blue.”

“Ah can’t say Ah’ve really thought of the thing as a fashion accessory,” Applejack said. “Long as the thing works and lets me use those crazy Z-moves when Ah need ‘em, that’s good enough fer me.”

“I can understand your point, but I don’t see any reason that an accessory can’t be both stylish and functional,” Rarity countered.

“So, just what sort of person do y’all figure this Weiss fella is, anyway?” Applejack asked, changing the subject. “The last few of these gym leaders we’ve run into didn’t seem to have all that much in common.”

“An astute observation, young lady. We gym leaders are a rather eclectic bunch.” Applejack and Rarity spun around to see an old man and a young woman standing right behind them, both wearing spotless white lab coats. The man was bald aside from a white fringe of hair around his head, but sported a massive, bushy white mustache. The bespectacled woman standing next to him, meanwhile, had long, straight dark hair and was staring intently at Applejack and Rarity.

“Doctor, these two…their auras. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” the woman said before dashing forward and bringing her face mere inches away from Applejack’s. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”

“Uh, do y’all mind givin’ me just a bit more space, miss?” Applejack asked as she pulled back from the woman.

“Annie, why don’t you let me handle our guests for now while you check on our gym Pokémon? I have a suspicion we’ll be calling upon them fairly soon,” For a few moments it looked as though Annie wanted to put up an argument, but eventually she silently gave up and scurried off down one of the halls. “I do apologize for that. Annie’s an excellent assistant, she really is, but unfortunately, she sometimes forgets social graces when she gets excited. She’s uniquely sensitive to psychic auras, you see, and while it’s an incredibly useful talent for our research…I’m sorry, I’m rambling a bit. My name is Doctor Weiss, I’m the director for the institute and the leader for the associate gym.”

“A pleasure to meet you, I’m Rarity and this is my friend Applejack,” Rarity said as she shook Doctor Weiss’ hand. “If you don’t mind me asking, before we go any further, I’m just dying to know, what exactly does an Institute of Parapsychology do, anyway?”

“An excellent question!” Doctor Weiss laughed as he clapped his hands together in delight. “You see, our institute is focused on the research and development of supernormal human mental abilities, psychic powers to use the common vernacular. The pursuit of sadly not as well respected as it should be, largely due to the number of charlatans running about claiming to have special powers or whatnot. Anyway, we seek to apply a proper, scientific assessment to the phenomena.”

“Huh,” Applejack replied as she tried to digest what she had just heard. “And y’all run the gym here on top of all that.”

“Well, to be honest, there’s more overlap between the subjects than many of my colleagues care to admit. Many Pokémon exhibit psychic abilities similar to what can be found in rare humans, so researching the parallels between the two is a critical part of what we do. And, on the subject of our work operating the local gym, I presume that’s the reason the two of you are visiting with us today?” Doctor Weiss asked.

“Indeed it is,” Rarity replied. “Specifically, I was hoping to challenge your for my second badge.”

“I see. Well, as leader of this gym I hereby accept your challenge. If the two of you could follow me, I’ll show you to our arena and we can get started in earnest.” Doctor Weiss proceeded to lead Rarity and Applejack deeper into the facility, occasionally talking about the research they did there. “Now, if you were to head down that hallway, for example, you’d find our electrospectrograph analysis lab. We’ve been testing the theory that psychic phenomena have an observable effect on electromagnetic fields, and to prove it we’re trying to photograph the distortions. It’s a particularly tricky element to observe since the equipment we use generates its own interference. We’ve had a few researchers compare it to trying to record the sound of a pin dropping with a microphone attached to an airhorn. And over that way we have the testing room investigating potential cases of extrasensory perception. Personally, I think that one’s more of a waste of time, but it’s good for giving our interns experience with running statistical analysis on datasets. Besides, it’s the sort of research many of our potential donors expect to see, so we’re more or less obligated to devote at least some space to it.”

“Uh huh,” Applejack said as she nodded her head politely. In truth, neither she nor Rarity understand much of anything that the doctor was talking about. Instead, they dealt with the situation much the same way they did whenever something got Twilight or Starlight talking about advanced magical theorems. Smile, nod, and wait for the conversation to drift back to something more comprehensible. Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer before the group reached the gym portion of the complex. A set of double doors led into a sizable room resembling a gymnasium whose walls were lined with countless devices, the functions of which Rarity and Applejack could only guess at. Waiting at the far end of the room was Doctor Weiss’ assistant Annie, who was already staring intently at Applejack and Rarity.

“Don’t worry about the sensors in the walls, they’re nothing nefarious,” Doctor Weiss said as he made his way to the far end of the room. “Since we need to have regular battles in here as part of our duties anyway, I had those installed to gather additional data. Now, down to business. You said this was going to be for your second badge, so this will be a two-versus-two match. Are you ready?”

“I most certainly am,” Rarity replied as she pulled out her first Poké Ball. “Go Tauros!”

*********

Chrysalis gave her best harmless smile as she walked into the massive front lobby of the institute building. As much as it pained her to admit it, Sombra had been at least partially correct about the impact the loss of her shape changing had on her infiltration abilities. If Chrysalis were ever truly honest with herself, she’d have been forced to admit that her acting talents were mediocre at best by the standards of her hive. Exhibiting any emotion other than sneering superiority or some type of anger (Chrysalis was particularly proud of the number of varieties of anger she had mastered) required an immense effort for Chrysalis to pull off convincingly. That said, the opportunity to make Sombra look foolish was a great motivation, so Chrysalis played the part of the innocent trainer as she mingled with some of the other trainers waiting in the lobby.

“Hi, do you mind if I join you?” Chrysalis asked the nearest group of trainers she could see, partly hoping they’d refuse.

“Sure thing!” one of the trainers, a young woman with short brown hair replied. “Are you waiting for the next cable car down the mountain, too?”

“Cable car?” Chrysalis asked before quickly hiding her confusion. “I was actually hoping to acquire a special crystal.”

“Do you mean a Z-crystal? Well, if you’re looking to take the gym challenge then the entrance to the gym is right through there,” the girl said as she pointed towards the doors leading into the institute itself. “You might have a bit of a wait, though. I think I saw a couple of girls head in there just a few minutes ago, so the gym leader’s probably going to be busy for a while.”

“Don’t worry, I doubt that will be much or an issue,” Chrysalis said as she quickly got up and headed for the doors, barely able to hide her triumphant smirk. “And I thought ponies were easy to fool and manipulate. With how foolish these humans are, if I can find a way to access my powers here then this world could serve as an excellent base for my eventual conquest of Equestria,” Chrysalis thought to herself as she slipped through the doors as inconspicuously as she could. Once inside, Chrysalis started moving through the halls with confidence, adopting a look of arrogant authority (something that came far more naturally to her than smiling). With any luck, anyone who saw her would simply assume she belonged there and not question her presence, a stance Chrysalis further encouraged by looking as unapproachable as possible.

As much as it was a relief for Chrysalis to not need to pretend to be friendly or personable, the effort wasn’t particularly necessary. The halls of the building were almost completely empty, and the few times Chrysalis did see someone else they typically disappeared into a side door before she even got close to them. What quickly proved to be a much greater source of frustration, however, was the dawning realization on Chrysalis’ part that she had no idea where she was going or even what she was looking for.

“This is hopeless! I refuse to give that obnoxious living shadow the satisfaction of being right about something, but he…” Chrysalis ground her teeth together in rage as she continued in a hoarse whisper, as if afraid Sombra might somehow be able to overhear her. “…might have had a point about my needing to pay attention to how this world works. Ugh, just saying that makes me want to retch!” Chrysalis closed her eyes and tried to focus herself. “Alright, I have to try and calm down. Now, think, where would these miserable grubs hide those crystals?”

“Doctor Weiss keeps the spare supply of Z-crystals in a vault in his office.” A startled Chrysalis spun around to see a man standing directly behind her staring intently at a folded newspaper. “Say, do you know a nine-letter word for disinterested? Third letter should be ‘A’.” The man looked up to see that Chrysalis was already rushing away down the hall. “Huh, I wonder why she was so interested in where Doctor Weiss keeps the Z-crystals? Ah well, probably just gym business, not my problem.”

*********

“Tauros! Horn Attack!” Rarity’s Tauros charged forward at the clownlike creature Applejack’s Pokédex had identified as a Mr. Mime, only to collide with yet another invisible wall. “Gah! Just how is my Tauros supposed to fight your Pokémon if it can’t move three feet without crashing into one of those blasted walls?”

“Uh, Rarity? Ah’m pretty sure the whole point of those walls is so yer Tauros can’t fight his Pokémon,” Applejack pointed out from the sidelines, earning her an irritated glare from Rarity.

“Yes, I do realize that, but that doesn’t make the situation any less frustrating,” Rarity grumbled back.

“Mr. Mime, Light Screen, if you please,” Doctor Weiss said, sounding as though he was thoroughly enjoying Rarity’s predicament. Mr. Mime, meanwhile, immediately busied itself creating glowing walls of yellow light which rose up throughout the arena.

“Fantastic, even more walls,” Rarity groaned. “Well, on the bright side, at least these walls we can actually see. Still, it would appear that drastic measures are going to be needed if we’re going to actually end this fight.” As Rarity spoke, the Z-ring on her wrist was already glowing with a golden aura. “Tauros, on my mark…Breakneck Blitz!” Rarity completed the movements of her Z-move with an elaborate flourish, sending streams of light bursting out towards her Tauros. Empowered by the bond with its Trainer, Tauros charged forward, smashing through several of the barriers Mr. Mime had erected before slamming headfirst into Mr. Mime itself. The unfortunate Pokémon was trampled under Tauros’ hooves, leaving it lying on the ground battered and unconscious.

“Well, I suppose that isn’t a particularly surprising outcome,” Doctor Weiss said as he recalled his Mr. Mime to its Poké Ball. “Still, it wasn’t an entirely negative one. The frustration-induced stress successfully triggered a desperation response which leaves you in a suboptimal position going forward. If I were more of a performative charlatan, I might try and pass this off as the result of some sort of precognition instead of basic psychology.”

“If you’re quite done congratulating yourself on how clever you’ve been, perhaps you’d be willing to continue our battle?” Rarity said.

“Ah, yes, of course. There’ll be plenty of time for analysis later. In the meantime, go Kadabra!”

*********

“And how do you open this vault?” Sombra snarled as he slammed the unfortunate intern against the side of the building while Bray did his best to look intimidating.

“Doctor Weiss u-uses a fingerprint scanner to-” the intern squeaked out before Sombra shook him silent.

“Fingerprints? Hmph, it must be the human equivalent of a horn reader,” Sombra snorted irritably. “I always preferred using fear to guard anything important, but that would probably be effective enough. On the plus side, this means that that cheese-legged bug won’t be able to get at the crystals either.”

“But isn’t – nee Haw! – that a bad thing? I thought you needed those crystals to carry out Lord Grogar’s orders,” Bray whined.

‘True, but I’d rather neither of us be able to recover them than to have that miserable excuse of a parasite show me up somehow.”

“I don’t really understand what you’d want the Z-crystals for, but it doesn’t look like you’d be able to use them anyway,” the intern blurted out, causing Sombra to snap his attention back to his victim.

“Explain. Quickly,” Sombra snarled.

“Well, its just…to use a Z-move you need to have a Z-ring. It’s a sort of bracelet that acts as a focal point for the energy. Without it, the crystal wouldn’t be able to do anything.” As the intern finished his explanation, Sombra narrowed his eyes and glowered at him for several seconds before bursting out into peals of laughter.

“In other words, even if the bug queen somehow manages to get ahold of the crystals, it will be entirely useless! Now then,” Sombra continued as the mirth slowly drained from his features. “How would I acquire one of these Z-rings?”

“Th-the league hands them out! They give one to just about every new trainer that comes to the island who qualifies to take the gym challenge.”

“Anything else you’d care to tell me?” Sombra asked menacingly.

“I wet the bed until I was fourteen,” the intern whimpered, prompting Sombra to toss him aside with a snort.

“Useless. No matter, I’ve gotten what I need for the time being. For now, we should head somewhere and wait,” Sombra said as the intern dashed away in terror.

“Wait for – nee Haw! – for what?”

“Either for the vermin to come scuttling back in failure or for someone to walk by with one of these Z-ring things we can take. In any event, there’s no point wasting time here. It isn’t as though we’re going to see anything important around here, anyway.”

*********

Kadabra, the Psi Pokémon. This Pokémon emits alpha waves from its body which have been known to cause headaches in those nearby. It uses the spoon it holds to amplify these waves and increase the potency of its psychic powers.

“Well, doesn’t that all just sound delightful,” Rarity grumbled as she listened to Applejack’s Pokédex identify the bipedal mixture of fox and insect Doctor Weiss had sent out. “Still, it doesn’t look as though its particularly sturdy, perhaps this won’t be so bad after all. Tauros, why don’t you start things off with Payback?” Tauros snorted and briefly pawed at the ground before charging straight for Kadabra, a dark purple aura building up around it as it went. Just as it looked like Tauros was going to flatten Kadabra, however, it crashed headfirst into yet another invisible barrier. The collision released the energy that had surrounded Tauros in a shockwave that did succeed in knocking Kadabra off its feet. Even then, the Psi Pokémon quickly righted itself before it even hit the ground with what Rarity was forced to admit was deft bit of self-levitation.

“Well, I’d say it’s about time I did something about that Tauros of yours,” Doctor Weiss said. “Mr. Mime’s barriers aren’t going to hold up forever, and as you correctly surmised, Kadabra isn’t especially physically durable. Thankfully for myself, this battle will likely be determined by mental power.” As Doctor Weiss spoke, he thrust out his arms in what was now a familiar pose. “Kadabra! Show this creature the power of your Shattered Psyche!” Curiously, unlike the previous times Applejack and Rarity had seen Z-moves used, Doctor Weiss didn’t perform any elaborate dance moves, instead simply bringing both index fingers to his temples before stretching out one hand towards Kadabra. The overall effect, however, was still the same, as golden energy flowed from Doctor Weiss to his Kadabra, who was maintaining a similar pose as its master. For a brief second, nothing seemed to happen. Then, suddenly, Tauros was thrown into the air, as though gravity had abruptly reversed itself, before colliding with an invisible wall and being tossed in a different direction. Rarity could only watch helplessly as Tauros was bounced through the air in every direction until finally it fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

“Tauros! Darling, are you alright?” For a brief moment it appeared as though Tauros was finished as it lay motionless on the ground. But then, Tauros stirred before opening its eyes and staggering to its hooves. “Oh, thank goodness. Now then, I believe its time we showed the good doctor and his Kadabra just what we think of his predictions. Horn Attack!” Tauros, needing no further encouragement to charge the Pokémon responsible for tossing it around like a ragdoll, promptly surged forward. The arena practically shook with the force of Tauros’ attack, but Doctor Weiss didn’t seem bothered by the situation in the slightest.

“No, I think not. Kadabra, Psybeam.” Kadabra narrowed its eyes at its fast-approaching opponent and raised its spoon out in front of it, which proceeded to emit a stream of glowing circles that struck Tauros straight on. As Tauros’ eyes glazed over, it was immediately apparent to everyone watching that Kadabra’s attack had been more than Tauros could handle. The attack was not, however, sufficient to halt the Wild Bull Pokémon’s momentum, and Kadabra only barely had enough time to leap out of the way as Tauros charged past.

“Oh, phooey,” Rarity said as she recalled her Tauros. “I was really hoping Tauros would be able to wrap this up on its own. Oh well, Golett, it’s your turn.”

“A Ghost-type? It’s a logical choice, I’ll give you that,” Doctor Weiss said. “But, is it actually able to defeat my Kadabra? Speaking of whom, Kadabra, another Psybeam, if you would.” As it had before, Kadabra raised its spoon and fired off another stream of circles, striking Golett dead on. However, while the attack left Golett visibly shaken, it remained standing.

“I’d say its just about time to bring this whole mess to a close, wouldn’t you agree? Golett dear, Shadow Punch.” Nodding its head, Golett drew back its ring arm, which became enveloped in an aura of black and purple energy. Golett then threw its arm forward, causing the aura around its arm to surge forth in the shape of a fist aimed straight at Kadabra. Kadabra made a vain attempt to dodge the attack, but the energy twisted through the air to land a solid blow to the side of Kadabra’s head, sending it crashing to the ground unconscious.

“Well, I can’t say if that was a particularly useful battle from a research standpoint, but it certainly got the blood pumping at times,” Doctor Weiss said as he recalled his Kadabra. “Regardless, as both of my Pokémon have been defeated, I hereby acknowledge you as the winner of this battle. And as such, it is my privilege to present you with the Cortex badge, along with a piece of Psychicium-Z.” Doctor Weiss approached Rarity, briefly pausing to pat several pockets of his coat before pulling out a small box, which he presented to her. Inside was a pin shaped like a cross-section of a brain, along with a pink crystal.

“How…avant-garde,” Rarity said diplomatically as she examined her new badge.

“It is a wonderful rendition, isn’t it?” Doctor Weiss replied proudly. “So, now that that business is settled, what do you girls plan to do next? Heading to your next gym, I’m guessing.”

“Possibly, but mostly we’re trying to somehow reach Aquarius City to find a few of our friends. That’s why we came here originally, we were hoping to take the cable car to the base of the mountain,” Rarity explained. “My challenging you was more of a spur of the moment decision, what with you being here and the cable car not running until tomorrow.”

“Ah, I see. Well, that’s not all that unusual. That said, since it sounds like you’re going to have to stay here until tomorrow anyway, would you and your friend mind coming to our lab and letting us take a few readings? Nothing remotely invasive, I promise, but I’m terribly curious about what prompted Annie’s reaction to meeting you earlier.”

“Ah don’t know if—”

“I could arrange for an upgrade to your accommodations for the evening if you’d agree as a way of showing my gratitude. We have some very nice guest rooms that are empty at the moment.”

“With their own private bathrooms?” Rarity asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Doctor Weiss replied. A single glance at Rarity’s face told Applejack that the decision had just been made for her.

“Welp, this shouldn’t be any worse than that time Twilight wanted to try measurin’ earth pony magic,” Applejack thought to herself. “And besides, it’ll be nice to have a good night’s rest without havin’ to worry about Sombra or Chrysalis sneakin’ up on us.”

*********

“It’s been too – nee Haw! – long, we should go and make sure she’s alright!” Bray whined as he and Sombra sat at their makeshift camp.

“And why would I care about doing that? The bug queen can take care of herself, and if she’s too incompetent to do that much then we’re better off without her anyway,” Sombra sneered as he leaned back, just in time for Chrysalis to emerge from the underbrush.

“What’s this about you being better off without me?” Chrysalis demanded.

“Only if you were so weak that you needed us to rescue you?” Sombra replied with a grin. Chrysalis paused as she considered her response before finally nodding her head.

“Fair enough. So, tell me, was your idiotic plan of ‘rushing in and breaking things’ actually able to yield any results? Or should I assume you waddled back here empty-handed?”

“Actually, I’d say it was a complete success, all things considered,” Sombra said with a grin, causing Chrysalis to look up in complete shock.

“What? Are you saying you were really able to get ahold of the crystals? How did you get into the safe?” Chrysalis demanded.

“I didn’t,” Sombra replied smugly. “It turns out you need some sort of bracelet to get the crystals to activate, so even if you had managed to somehow steal them, they’d be absolutely useless. Once I figured that out I headed back here to wait.”

“Hmph, is that right? So, does your next brilliant plan have some new way to waste my time, or were you just too excited to gloat about your own ignorance to do anything actually useful?” Chrysalis snarled, Sombra’s smug confidence enraging her more by the moment.

“Neither,” Sombra replied simply. “Don’t misunderstand me, irritating you is always entertaining, but at the moment my goal was to wait –” Sombra paused midsentence as the sound of a twig snapping nearby signaled someone’s approach. “—for that.” An evil grin spread across Sombra’s features as he pulled out his Poké Ball and let out his Sableye. Chrysalis stared at the pair in confusion for a few moments before her own expression became one of realization mixed with malice.

“If we need something then we just take it,” Chrysalis said as she let out her Scyther. “Very well, I’ll agree to do things your way, just this once…”

Fluttershy, Warrior of Justice

“So, what kind of place is Ferrum Village anyway?” Pinkie Pie asked as the group made their way up the road to their next destination.

“Well, it’s a lot smaller than Aquarius City, for one thing,” Derek replied. “The town’s mostly built around one end of a huge cable car that goes about midway up the mountain. Aside from that, the only really notable thing about the town is the dojo the gym is set up in.”

“What’s a dojo? Isn’t that a sort of big, silly bird?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“No, a dojo is kind of like a Pokémon gym, only they train people instead of Pokémon. Or, in this case, they train both,” Derek said.

“I think that makes even less sense to me than Pokémon battling,” Fluttershy said. “At least with Pokémon I’ve started to understand that they get some sort of benefit from fighting each other. But I can’t even think of what someone might get out of fighting other people.”

“Can’t say I totally disagree with you there, but to each their own, I guess,” Derek said. “That said, if you really don’t get it at all, you could always ask the gym leader about it when we get there. That is, assuming you still want to try challenging her for your next badge.”

“I do! At least, I think I do. I’m pretty sure Croagunk and Quilava want to, anyway. I don’t think Wimpod would be any more interested in getting into a fight than I’d be,” Fluttershy said, prompting a small, excited cheer from Ralts. “And you’re still much too young for that sort of thing.”

While Ralts pouted in Fluttershy’s arms, the group turned a corner to find themselves standing at the top of a hill which directly overlooked what could only have been Ferrum Village. Of more immediate concern, however, was the large sign confirming the fact, which a familiar pair of annoyances were trying to dislodge, albeit without much success.

“Come on, dude, I think I hear someone coming. Pull harder!”

“I’m pullin’ as fast as I can, man! This stupid thing is stuck up here with glue or somethin’!”

“I realize I’m probably going to regret asking this, but what are you idiots doing this time?” Derek asked as he watched the pair continue to struggle with the sign.

“Huh? Aw crud, not you losers again!” Femur cried out. “Well, don’t even think about trying to stop us, but we’re taking Ferrum Village hostage! Once we swipe this sign, nobody will be able to find the place and it’ll stay like that until the league coughs up some serious cash.” Femur punctuated his explanation with a malicious laugh, Ribcage joining in between grunts of exertion as he continued to strain to pull down the sign.

“Let me make sure I understand this. Your evil plan is to steal that sign so that nobody will be able to find Ferrum Village?” Derek asked.

“Yeah.”

“As in, Ferrum Village, the village that’s right over there?”

“That’s the one.”

“As in, the village that we can clearly see from where we’re standing?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Heh, our plan must be so awesome that it’s just blowing you’re uncool, loser mind,” Femur chuckled evilly.

“Huh. Well, I was right, I regret asking about this,” Derek said as he started to turn and walk away. “You know what, let’s keep going and leave these two to –”

“That’s the most dastardly, meanie-mean mean pants plan ever!” a horrified Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“See! She’s just an uncool goody two-shoes but she gets it!” Femur said happily.

“Pinkie, I really don’t think we need to be that concerned with these two this time,” Derek said in an effort to calm Pinkie down.

“Hah, what’s the matter, you scared of getting taken down by a couple of real boneheads?” Femur mocked. “Come on, loser, just try and keep from getting beaten down by me and Weepinbell.”

“No, I don’t think that’s going to happen for a couple of reasons,” Derek said. “First off, Pinkie and Fluttershy here have a fairly established track record of being on the supply-side of beatings when dealing with the two of you.”

“Yeah! That’s right!” Pinkie Pie growled as she pulled out a Poké Ball.

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but even I don’t really think you’re all that scary anymore,” Fluttershy added.

“Secondly,” Derek continued. “You two seem to have either forgotten or just don’t realize just which village you’ve decided to mess around with.”

“Yeah? Well, us boneheads don’t have time to worry about stuff like that. Right, Ribcage?”

“Gah! I think I’ve got a splinter from this thing!”

“Well, we’ll see how long that attitude lasts since your biggest problem should be arriving in about three…two…one…” Derek slowly counted down.

“Halt, evildoers!” a woman’s voice rang out as Derek tried to keep himself from bursting out into laughter. Moments later, a figure somersaulted out of the trees nearby, landing directly in front of a visibly confused Femur. Once the initial shock wore off, Fluttershy could see that this new arrival was a young woman dressed in a pink leotard, her head concealed by an elaborate mask featuring a multicolored butterfly over her face. “Your efforts to torment the citizens of Ferrum Village shall come to naught, for you now face none other than La Mariposa, Champion of Justice!” La Mariposa punctuated her declaration by striking a series of heroic poses that would have made Iron Will proud. While Fluttershy wasn’t entirely clear on what any of this was actually meant to accomplish, it certainly seemed to have an immediate effect on both grunts.

“Aww, come one! It’s not bad enough we have to run into the loser patrol again, but now we’ve got a freaking superhero to deal with, too? You know what? We’re done with this whole uncool scene, nobody would probably even notice if this dump went missing anyway.” With that, Femur turned and attempted to strut off for a few steps before abandoning all pretense and dashing off. Femur’s farcical attempt at salvaging what little dignity he had left was further undercut by Ribcage, who dropped off the sign with a dull thud before getting up and rushing to join his friend.

“Wow, you really sent those two baddies packing!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she watched the grunts disappear into the underbrush. “Are you really a superhero?”

“What, or rather who, she is is Maria, the leader of the Ferrum Village Gym,” Derek said before receiving a withering glare from the masked gym leader. “Also known as La Mariposa, Champion of Justice,” he added with a deep sigh.

“My position as gym leader is merely part of my responsibilities as protector of Ferrum Village and defender of the innocent. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must ensure that those ne’er-do-wells are unable to cause any further villainy!” La Mariposa promptly leapt off into the trees and disappeared from sight.

“I swear, at least half of the gym leaders on this island are completely insane,” Derek muttered after a few moments.

*********

Ferrum Village itself was easily one of the smallest towns Pinkie and Fluttershy had visited thus far, only beating out Belladonna Town in size due to the latter being mostly abandoned. The main industry of the village seemed to be hawking wares to passing tourists, and the town’s main throughfare was lined with gift shops and food stalls of all varieties.

“This place seems pretty fun,” Pinkie Pie said as she finished off her latest snack, a set of colorful rice dumplings skewered on a stick. “So, are you really gonna try challenging ‘La Mariposa’?” Pinkie Pie asked, striking a pose as she repeated the eccentric gym leader’s nom de guerre.

“I think so,” Fluttershy replied. “Although, she must be really strong if she really is responsible for protecting everyone in this town.”

“I guess. I do like her fashion sense, especially the mask. I must be really fun to be able to run around wearing a mask all the time, kind of like having every day be Nightmare Night. Only without all the free candy, which is the best part of Nightmare Night, but dressing up is fun too,” Pinkie said.

“It’s not just for fun, Pinkie. Superheroes wear costumes so they can become symbols of justice and so everybody who sees them can feel safe!” Fluttershy said firmly, before blushing slightly. “I’ve actually been kind of interested in them ever since we all pretended bot be Mare Do Well, and then there was the time we got stuck in Spike’s comic. It’s a little embarrassing, but there’s just something about the idea of being brave and rushing around helping other creatures that I really like.”

“There’s nothing weird about that,” Pinkie Pie assured her friend. “Running around helping ponies as Mare Do Well was really fun! Hey, maybe after you battle La Mariposa she could give us some pointers and we could try being superheroes once we get back to Equestria! We could go around saving ponies and stopping bad guys and – ooh! We could ask Rarity to make us costumes so nopony would guess our secret identities.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I’d really want to actually be a superhero or anything,” Fluttershy replied quickly. “They’re fun to read about and I do like helping creatures in need, but I think I’ll leave fighting monsters and bad guys to ponies like Rainbow Dash. I’m happy just cheering them on from the sidelines.”

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “If you say so. I still kinda want to talk to La Mariposa, though. She seems really nice.”

*********

“So, you two are headed over to the gym?” Derek asked after reconvening with Pinkie and Fluttershy.

“Yup, Fluttershy’s gonna get her second badge and I’m gonna learn how to be a superhero! Super Pinkie, able to throw super ginormous parties in a single bound!” Fluttershy, meanwhile, gave Derek a look that advised to just go with it. “So, do you want to come with us?”

“As fun as all that sounds, I think I’m going to have to pass. There’s a couple of things that I really need to take care of that I’ve been putting off, so I’m going to handle them while you two are at the gym,” Derek said.

“What kind of stuff?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Official league business. I work for the Javik League, and I’m supposed to report in every so often, but to be honest I’ve been slacking off a bit there. I was going to check in after Pinkie’s gym battle in Aquarius, but that didn’t really work out the way I thought it would,” Derek explained.

“Things did get pretty crazy,” Pinkie admitted. “Oh well, I guess we’ll see you later, then. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be sure to tell you all about it later so it’ll be like you were really there.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Derek said as he watched Pinkie and Fluttershy head off down the street towards the gym. “She’ll be fine,” Derek said after a few moments, apparently talking to himself. “She beat Mort without needing me to backseat battle, and he’s a lot trickier than Maria is. The big question is if she can swallow her instincts enough to really let her Pokémon cut loose.” Derek paused and frowned as if he were listening to some unseen voice. “Yes, I’m saying she’s too nice. It’s not a problem you usually run into, typically you have to deal with jackasses at the other end of the spectrum, but…Look, if a trainer continually coddles their Pokémon everytime they get more than just a few bruises, what’s going to happen to those Pokémon?” Derek paused again for a moment before continuing. “Exactly. I’m not saying she needs to start beating her Pokémon with sticks or anything, but battles can get messy, and if you’re going to be battling Pokémon you need to be ready for that.” Derek let out a sigh. “Anyway, we should probably check in with the league’s local office and get this over with. I’m probably just being paranoid, but I’d really like someone to start looking into why a couple of Team Skull members have showed up here all of a sudden. No, but when you ignore the pests you can see you risk missing the pests you don’t, and I really don’t want to have to put up with another Rainbow Rocket situation.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, because you’ve got yourself a Team Skull situation to put up with instead!”

“Oh, for the love of…” Derek groaned as he turned around. In the course of his one-sided conversation, Derek had absentmindedly wandered down an empty side street that terminated in a dead end, and the way out was now blocked by none other than Femur and Ribcage. “Really? Do you two honestly have nothing better to do than annoy me?”

“We’ve got plenty to do, but you and those two girls you’re always hangin’ with keep crampin’ our style. So now that we’ve got you alone we’re gonna mess you up so bad those other two won’t even think about gettin’ in our way.”

“And that’s just adorable,” Derek said before something seemed to grab his attention. “What? No! I’m not going to – do you remember what happened in Galar? They’ve got a Weepinbell and a Golbat between them, I mean there’s overkill and then there’s just being mean.”

“Uh, bro, who’s he talking to?” a suddenly confused Femur asked as Derek continued his one-sided argument. “You think maybe we should bail on this? I know boneheads cause trouble for everybody, but it’s not right to mess with the crazies, you know?”

“Man, can’t you tell? This loser’s just fakin’ it to get out of his beat down,” Ribcage snorted. “Go Golbat! Let’s thrash this punk!”

“Alright, man, if you say so. Go Weepinbell!”

“So, we’re actually doing this?” Derek said as he let out a disgusted sigh. “Fine. Go Isla.” As Isla flopped out onto the ground in front of her trainer, both grunts burst out into peals of laughter at Derek’s choice of Pokémon.

“This loser’s just got no idea what he’s doing!” Femur said. “Weepinbell’s—”

“Isla, Blizzard,” Derek snapped before recalling his Lapras to its Poké Ball. “There, see? That wasn’t even worth my time and now I’m hungry on top of everything else. Hmm, I wonder if that place with the fried dumplings is still around? No, you’re thinking of the bao buns, those were good too, but – yeah, that’s the place I was thinking of. Yes, I can get you something while we’re there…” Derek continued to muse about his impending lunch as he walked past Femur and Ribcage, both of whom were now encased in several inches of ice to the point that they were completely immobilized. Their Pokémon were in a similar state, as was the side street itself and the walls of the buildings to either side for at least a hundred or so feet.

*********

“Ooh, exercise-y,” Pinkie marveled as she and Fluttershy stood in the extranceway of the Ferrum Village gym. While the gyms the pair had visited previously had resembled just about everything other than a gym as Pinkie and Fluttershy understood the term, the Ferrum Village Gym appeared much closer to the common definition. Everywhere they looked, Pokémon could be seen exercising (often alongside their trainers) or sparring in boxing rings.

“Well hey, are you two girls here to join our gym?” Fluttershy turned to see a massive man dressed in a red and white striped unitard and sporting an equally massive moustache approaching her and Pinkie. “Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Barnabas, and we at the Ferrum Village gym are always happy to welcome fellow enthusiasts of physical fitness, be they human or Pokémon.”

“Umm, actually, we were hoping to talk to miss La Mariposa, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Fluttershy replied hesitantly.

“Ah, you’re here for a gym battle then,” Barnabas said, sounding a bit disappointed as we waved away a Machoke that was approaching with an armload of duffle bags, towels, water bottles and other assorted items. “Oh well, Pokémon battling’s an excellent form of exercise itself. At least for the Pokémon, anyway!” Barnabas promptly let out a burst of laughter, with Pinkie Pie cheerfully joining in. “Anyway, allow me to escort you girls to our arena. I believe La Mariposa is back there now getting a sparring session in before she goes off on her daily patrols.”

“Sparring’s like practice fighting, right?” Pinkie Pie asked. “So, who does La Mariposa spar with? I bet they’d have to be someone really big and tough.” Before Barnabas could respond, the air was suddenly filled with a deafening racket, as though someone had dropped a box of cymbals down several flights of stairs.

Barnabas let out a deep sigh. “La Mariposa prefers sparring with her Pokémon, and it sounds like she’s just gotten started with her Kommo-o. This sort of thing is why we can never attract any new gym members,” Barnabas added under his breath. “Well, no point in dwelling on problems you can’t change. Let’s hurry to the arena and let La Mariposa know that she has a challenger to take care of.”

The clanging racket grew progressively louder as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie followed Barnabas to a set of doors leading deeper into the facility. Beyond the doors lay a massive gymnasium, in the center of which La Mariposa was engaged in an all-out brawl with a grey, reptilian Pokémon whose gilt-edged scales resembled some kind of ancient armor. As the creature leapt about trying to keep up with its far more agile trainer, its scales clashed against each other, producing a metallic cacophony.

“As much as I hate to interrupt your exercise, or anyone’s exercise, really, I need to let you know that you have a challenger!” Barnabas roared over the din of La Mariposa’s training.

“A challenger?” La Mariposa said as she somersaulted away from her Pokémon while pulling out a Poké Ball. “It appears we’ll have to finish this another time. Kommo-o, return!” Once Kommo-o was safely recalled to its Poké Ball, La Mariposa turned her attention to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. “I recognize the two of you, you were the civilians who were being menaced by those two villains yesterday. So, you know wish to test the power of the might La Mariposa for yourselves?” La Mariposa asked as she flexed her muscles for her guests.

“I…I think so,” Fluttershy began. “I mean, I’m pretty sure my Pokémon are—”

“No! That won’t do at all!” La Mariposa cried out as she grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders. “A Pokémon trainer must be a beacon of confidence, ready to guide their Pokémon to victory. You cannot merely think you are ready; you must be ready! Now, come, show me your fire!”

“Alright…here goes…” Fluttershy said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I am ready! My name is Fluttershy and I’m here to challenge you.”

“Hmm, better, there may be an inner fire within you after all, but you still seem to be afraid to let it shine,” La Mariposa said thoughtfully. “Perhaps what you need is something that will help bring your warrior within to the surface.”

“Oh, I don’t know that I even have a ‘warrior within’,” Fluttershy replied nervously. “And even if I did, I’m not sure that I’d really want to let it out, anyway.”

“Come on, Fluttershy, just think about all those times you were ready to stand up to defend innocent creatures,” Pinkie Pie interjected.

“Aha! So, underneath that timid exterior is a defender of the helpless! That I can work with. Come with me, I think I know exactly what you need.” Without waiting for Fluttershy to respond, La Mariposa practically picked Fluttershy up off the ground and carried her off, while Pinkie Pie gleefully bounced behind after her.

*********

“There! Take a look at yourself in the mirror and tell me what you see now!” La Mariposa said as she moved Fluttershy in front of the changing room mirror. Being friends with Rarity for as long as she had had left Fluttershy used to being on the receiving end of impromptu makeovers and wardrobe changes. Even so, Fluttershy still wasn’t entirely prepared for the sight of the figure standing before her. La Mariposa had dressed Fluttershy in a lime green leotard along with a similarly colored mask, complete with a pink butterfly over the face.

“I guess I see myself, but wearing a mask?” Fluttershy suggested half-heartedly.

“You are correct, but perhaps you don’t realize how correct you are,” La Mariposa replied. “In that mask you are dressed as a warrior of justice, a defender of those innocents who are unable to defend themselves. Now, look at yourself and answer me this, if you an innocent Pokémon in trouble, what would you do?”

“I’d help them,” Fluttershy replied without any hint of hesitation. “But, I don’t know if that really means I’d be cut out to be a ‘warrior of justice’, that sounds like it could take someone a lot braver than I am.”

“There are many kinds of bravery, though. Bravery doesn’t just mean that one isn’t afraid, bravery can mean being afraid but standing up and doing the right thing regardless,” La Mariposa said. “So tell me, would being afraid be enough to stop you from helping a creature that needed it?”

“Nope! Fluttershy wouldn’t let anything stop her from helping a critter that needed it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she hopped up beside her friend. Somehow, Pinkie Pie was now dressed in a leotard and mask of her own, similar to Fluttershy’s aside from Pinkie’s outfit being light blue and her mask sported a giant cupcake across its face.

“Well, your friend certainly seems to believe in you (I’m not really sure where she found her mask, though). Regardless, all you need to do now is to believe in yourself.”

“I…I want to believe in myself, but I’m not all that sure how,” Fluttershy replied as she tried to recall the various bits of advice Rainbow Dash and Twilight had given her on the subject over the years.

“The first step to believing you can be something is telling yourself that,” La Mariposa declared. “Look into the eyes of the girl in the mirror and tell her that you are a warrior of justice!”

“Alright,” Fluttershy said hesitantly before staring at her reflection. “I’m a warrior of justice.”

“Again! And with conviction! Declare who you are, not just to that girl but to the entire world!”

“I’m a warrior of justice,” Fluttershy repeated, a little more firmly this time. “I’m a warrior of justice.”

“Better. Once more, this time with all your heart!”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I am a Warrior of Justice!”

“Excellent! Now, Miss Fluttershy, tell me, are you ready to test yourself against La Mariposa?”

“YES!” Fluttershy yelled.

“And that is the confidence that I want to hear from my challengers! Let us return to the arena so you can show me what your inner warrior looks like when it is fully unleashed!”

*********

Minutes later, Fluttershy, still dressed in her leotard and mask, was once again facing La Mariposa from the other end of the gym’s arena. “This shall be a two versus two match, the trainer who renders both of their opponent’s Pokémon unable to fight shall be the victor. One last time, are you ready?” La Mariposa asked.

“You bet, we’re ready to show everybody how brave and strong we really are!” Fluttershy declared.

“Yeah! You go, Fluttershy! Whoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered from the sidelines, like Fluttershy still wearing her wrestling attire.

“Ralts Ralts!” Ralts cheered as it waved its stubby arms in the air next to Pinkie, safely out of the way.

“Your friends believe in you, and you believe in yourself. Now I shall put that faith to the test. Go Hawlucha!” La Mariposa tossed her Poké Ball into the field, where it unleashed a bipedal, bird-like Pokémon with strikingly colorful red, green and white plumage.

“Oh my, he does look pretty strong,” Fluttershy said before shaking her head. “But I’m not going to let that scare me. Go Quilava!” As Quilava emerged from its Poké Ball, it turned towards Fluttershy and gave its trainer a quizzical look. “I know its not what I normally wear, but I’m trying something to help me be a little more confident. More importantly, we have a gym battle to win, so I need you to use your Flame Wheel attack.” Quilava looked as though it was suppressing the urge to burst out into laughter as it somersaulted towards Hawlucha, curling up into a burning circle of fire as it went.

“It would seem your Pokémon may not be as convinced of your inner fire as I would have hoped. Disappointing, but perhaps its training provides a better reflection. Hawlucha, Karate Chop!” Hawlucha promptly charged forth at the spinning inferno that was Quilava with no regard for the flames spiraling from its opponent. Just before the two collided, Hawlucha leapt up into the air before bringing one of its forelimbs crashing down onto Quilava, the force of the blow smashing Quilava into the ground. As Quilava hit the ground, however, it immediately bounced back into the air like a flaming rubber ball straight towards Hawlucha. Caught off guard in midair, Hawluch had little hope of dodging as Quilava collided with its midsection before ricocheting back to the ground. “Impressive,” La Mariposa conceded as she watched her Hawlucha clutch the area where Quilava had struck it. “Your bond with your Pokémon is deceptively strong. But I am not easily cowed. Hawlucha, unleash the fury of your Aerial Ace!” Hawlucha grunted as it pulled itself upright before practically vanishing from sight.

“Hey,” Pinkie Pie protested. “Where’d it—”

“Quilava, use Ember to your right, now!” Fluttershy called out before Pinkie could even finish marveling at her opponent’s maneuver. Sensing the urgency in Fluttershy’s voice, Quilava turned its head and exhaled a cloud of cinders, right where Hawlucha seemingly materialized out of thin air as it crashed into Quilava. “One of the benefits to being scared and nervous all the time is you become very good at spotting things that might try and jump out and scare you. Or try and jump out and scare your Pokémon,” Fluttershy explained.

“Oh, so that’s how you spotted me last ‘Random Surprise Party Day’,” Pinkie Pie said.

“You certainly are full of surprises yourself, but how long do you think your Quilava will be able to keep this up? Hawlucha, another Aerial Ace!” Hawlucha wiped the smoldering flecks remaining from Quilava’s attack from its face before vanishing from sight once again.

Fluttershy gritted her teeth as she scanned the battlefield for the telltale eddies of air that could give away Hawlucha’s location. Not helping Fluttershy’s state of mind was the fact that she knew La Mariposa was right about Quilava. While the fiery Pokémon was willing to push itself, it wouldn’t be able to take many more of Hawlucha’s powerful attacks. Suddenly, a disturbance in the motes of dust above the arena caught Fluttershy’s eye. “Quilava, it’s right above you! Use your Flame Wheel before—”

“Hawlucha!” With a cry of victory, Hawlucha dove down out of the sky and struck Quilava with a flying lariat. Rather than knock Quilava to the ground, however, Hawlucha’s attack merely pushed it back, though Quilava was left breathing heavily and the flames on its back nearly extinguished.

“Quilava, I think you’ve don enough,” Fluttershy said as she pulled out Quilava’s Poké Ball. “I know you could keep on fighting, but maybe you should—”

“QuiLAVA!” With a roar of rage, Quilava pulled itself fully upright as the flames on its back burst into a veritable inferno and a crimson aura suffused its form. Fixing its furious gaze on Hawlucha, Quilava tumbled forward in a spiraling firestorm that flattened Hawlucha to the ground.

“Hawlucha has been left unable to battle,” Barnabas declared as La Mariposa recalled Hawlucha to its Poké Ball.

“I – I don’t understand. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Fluttershy asked as she stared at Quilava, who was already glancing around for its next opponent.

“You must have never allowed your Quilava to push itself to its limits before. What you see now is a power known as Blaze., It allows your Quilava’s inner fire to burn brightest when forced to the brink,” La Mariposa explained. “Your Quilava is a truly fearsome opponent, frighting it has been an honor. However, it has no hope of victory against my next Pokémon…Meditite!” La Mariposa’s second Poké Ball sailed through the air before releasing a short, blue-bodied creature with an onion-shaped head.

“Quilava, are you really sure that you want to keep fighting like this?” Fluttershy asked, only for Quilava to respond with a snort of annoyance. “Quilava! Where did you learn language like that? Well, I’ll let you stay in if that’s what you really want, but you and I are going to have a long talk when this is over.”

“Am I listening to a trainer or a mother scolding her misbehaving child?” La Mariposa laughed, which only seemed to anger Quilava further.

“That really isn’t helping,” Fluttershy sighed. “But if this is how you want to do things…Quilava, use Flame Wheel!”

“Not good enough! Meditite, Force Palm!” As Quilava spun through the air towards its opponent, Meditite calmly pulled its arm back, a glowing ball of white light forming inside of its palm. Just before Quilava slammed into it, Meditite struck, thrusting its palm forward with enough force to send Quilava bouncing helplessly back along the ground.

“Quilava!” Fluttershy cried out as she watched her Quilava came to rest crumpled up on the ground. While the sound of Fluttershy’s voice caused Quilava to stir a bit, it made no effort to get back onto its feet.

“I’m afraid your Quilava’s been left unable to battle, miss,” Barnabas said.

“I can see that,” Fluttershy said as she recalled her Quilava to its Poké Ball. “Don’t you worry, once we finish up here, I’ll get you to a Pokémon Center and they’ll get you all fixed up. For now, though, I choose you, Croagunk! Go!”

“A Croagunk? I would not have expected you to fall back on a Pokémon…like that,” La Mariposa said as she recoiled slightly, as if in disgust.

“And just what’s wrong with Croagunk?” Fluttershy demanded.

“Poison-type Pokémon are often employed by trainers who favor less honorable methods. But, that is no matter now, your Croagunkhas no hope of victory here. Meditite, use Confusion!” Meditite promptly fixed its gaze upon Croagunk as its eyes began to glow with violet energy. Fluttershy could only watch as Croagunk was levitated into the air before being slammed back to the ground again and again. With each blow, however, light seemed to pulse out from Fluttershy’s Z-ring, growing brighter each time. Eventually, Meditite seemed to grow bored with its assault and Croagunk was tossed aside like a piece of rubbish.

“Croagunk, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked, her voice strangely calm.

“Croa…gunk,” Although the effort appeared to take every ounce of its strength, Croagunk pulled itself back to its feet and faced Meditite with a fighting stance.

“Good,” Fluttershy said simply as she raised her arms, her Z-ring now blazing with power. “You and Quilava have both put everything you’ve had into this battle, and I won’t let all that go to waste. Now get ready,” Fluttershy continued as she began the movements to unleash her Z-move. “Acid Downpour!” Energized by the power flowing into it from Fluttershy, Croagunk leapt into the air and spat out a torrent of sickly, violet needles that melted into the floor of the arena, turning the ground into a hissing, toxic morass. Caught off guard, Meditite scarcely had time to react before being pulled underneath the surface. Moments later, the poisonous mire receded, leaving the unconscious Meditite lying motionless in the middle of the arena.

“Meditite has been left unable to battle. And that means the challenger is the winner!” Barnabas declared.

“You truly are full of surprises, Miss Fluttershy,” La Mariposa said as she recalled her Meditite to its ball. “I admit, even after encouraging you, I had my doubts about your inner fire, but you and your Pokémon battle with true heart and ferocity. And with honor, as well,” La Mariposa added with a respectful nod to Croagunk, who gave a her a self-satisfied grin in return. “With that said, it is my pleasure to present to you the Justice Badge, as well as a piece of Fightium-Z. May they both serve you well on your journey.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said as she accepted a small box from La Mariposa containing a pin in the shape of a pair of scales along with a light brown crystal. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I really need to go and get my Pokémon to a Pokémon Center, especially Quilava. Although, I think I probably should change first.”

La Mariposa nodded in agreement. “That most likely would be for the best, though you may keep the outfit if you wish. Consider it a gift from one warrior to another.”

“I’m still not really sure I’d call myself a warrior, but thank you,” Fluttershy replied.

“What?” La Mariposa cried out. “After all that you’re still unsure of yourself?”

“Oh no, I know that I can battle, or rather, that my Pokémon can,” Fluttershy said. “But I think I’d be better at supporting them as just Fluttershy, without the ‘warrior of justice’ part. Besides, its not as though we need to worry about running into any real bad guys or anything.”

*********

“Hey, Femur?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Can you move y-yet?”

“N-nope, still frozen. H-how about you?”

“Nah, m-me neither. Y’ know w-what?”

“W-what?”

“This s-sucks.”

Interludes II: Friends and Enemies

“Trixie, are you really sure that’s such a good idea?” Starlight asked as she and Trixie sat by their campfire.

“Are you kidding? This is quite possibly the greatest, and dare I say most powerful, idea that the Great and Powerful Trixie has ever come up with! You saw what taking on those silly gym things has done for Twilight, so just imagine what Trixie would be able to do after she earns a few badges of her own!” Trixie cackled with glee at the very thought. “I’d finally be able to beat Twilight once and for all!”

“And there it is,” Starlight sighed. “Trixie, I though you were finally over your whole rivalry thing with Twilight by now. I mean, let’s say that you did actually beat Twilight in a Pokémon battle –” Starlight was interrupted as Trixie let out a giggling squeal at the very mention of her besting Twilight. “Let’s say you did actually win, what would that prove?”

“It would prove that it could happen! That, if Trixie worked hard enough, she could really be better than Twilight at something!”

“What about stage magic? You’ve always been a better showmare than Twilight would ever be,” Starlight suggested.

“Has Twilight ever actually tried stage magic?” Trixie asked pointedly.

“Well, not that I know of…” Starlight admitted. “But, I did watch her give a presentation on Cutie Marks once, and believe me, she could’ve really used a few great and powerful pointers.”

“Heh. Still, it would be nice to finally be able to actually beat Twilight at something when we’re really competing. And besides, isn’t the whole point of those gym challenges to create a better bond with your Pokémon or something? That would be a good thing, right?” Trixie added.

“I…guess so, maybe? Honestly, I’m still not one hundred percent sure how all this gym stuff is supposed to work. Up until now, we’ve been pretty much avoiding the gyms we’ve come across. That said, if that’s really something that you want to try –”

“It is! It is!” Trixie said eagerly.

“Well, I guess it does at least sound like a better use of our time than constantly stalking Twilight,” Starlight concluded. Trixie was about to point out the crucial differences between secretly following one’s rival everywhere without their knowledge and simple stalking. Before she could, however, a blonde woman suddenly came tumbling out of the underbrush and into the clearing.

“Oww! Stupid bushes, this is why I hate having to walk everywhere!” the woman yelled before looking up at Trixie and Starlight. “What are you two staring at?”

“Someone who apparently needs to work on her balance,” Trixie snapped back as Starlight quickly intervened to prevent a fight from breaking out.

“Hey, no need for that. It’s dark and the bushes around here are pretty easy to trip on, it could have happened to anypony – I mean anyone, it could have happened to anyone!” As Starlight tried to cover her slipup, the newcomer sat up and looked at Starlight and Trixie quizzically.

“Huh, so, are you two from Equestria too?”

“Too? Oh, you’re a pony like us then?” Starlight replied with a sigh of relief.

“Yup, name’s Lighting Dust.”

“I’m Starlight Glimmer, and this is my friend Trixie,” Starlight said, shaking Lightning Dust’s hand.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie corrected with a slight huff. “Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”

“Wait, now that you mention it, I think I actually have…” Lightning Dust said.

“Really?” Starlight and Trixie replied in unison as Lighting Dust suddenly snapped her fingers.

“I remember now, you were the unicorn who did the whole thing with that Ursa Minor, weren’t you?” Trixie’s jaw involuntarily clenched as Lightning Dust continued. “Man, taking that thing on one-on-one must have taken some serious guts! Those things are as big as a house, aren’t they?”

“Er…yes they are! Even bigger, in fact,” Trixie “Despite the incredible danger, however, the Great and Powerful Trixie bravely faced the rampaging creature with the full might of her magic!”

“Nice,” Lightning Dust said. “It always kicks flank to run into somepony else who knows how to really live on the edge. Most ponies are too scared to do anything other than play by the rules like a bunch of little foals.”

“Well, if you want ponies that aren’t afraid to break the rules on occasion than you’ve come to the right place. Nopony can beat me and Starlight here when it comes to being completely reckless, especially when it comes to magic,” Trixie said proudly as she threw her arm around a slightly miffed Starlight.

“Not really something I’d want to brag about,” Starlight said as she disentangled herself from her friend. “So, I take it you got pulled into this place along with everyone else?”

“Yeah, I’ve been working on paying back an old rival of mine from the Wonderbolts Academy, but the Pokémon I’ve gotten have been having a little trouble getting with the program,” Lightning Dust said.

“If there’s one thing the Great and Powerful Trixie can relate to, it’s trouble dealing with a rival. Of course, when your rival is Princess Twilight things tend to be a little more difficult,” Trixie said, her voice positively dripping with false modesty.

“Hold on, you’re rivals with Princess Twilight?” Lightning Dust said as a sly grin slowly spread across her features. “Isn’t that a coincidence. That rival I mentioned earlier is a friend of hers. Say, maybe we should travel together, we might be able to help each other take our rivals down.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that,” Trixie replied eagerly, only for Starlight to pull her aside.

“Would you excuse us for just one moment?” Starlight asked as she pulled Trixie a few feet away. “Trixie, I’m not so sure we should be joining up with her. Something about her just feels…I don’t know, kind of off.”

“What? Starlight, you just imagining things. Lightning Dust seems find to me, and I’m an excellent judge of character. Besides, what about the whole ‘giving ponies the benefit of the doubt’ thing? Isn’t that how we became friends in the first place?”

“I guess you do have me there-”

“Of course I do.”

“Alright, we can give her the benefit of the doubt for now and see how this goes.” Before the words had even finished leaving Starlight’s mouth, Trixie was already gleefully heading back towards Lightning Dust to tell her the good news. “I really hope we don’t regret this. Eh, I’m probably worrying about nothing. Besides, since when have I ever let worrying about regretting something stop me?”

*********

“Nothing’s gonna stop us now! Aquarius City here we come! Not to mention another gym badge,” Scootaloo cheered as she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders boarded the ferry at the Mercury City docks.

“Just remember, it’s my turn to take on the gym leader first this time,” Apple Bloom said. “That is, unless you want to try takin’ on the gym leader this time, Sweetie Belle.”

“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks,” Sweetie Belle replied. “Helping you and Scootaloo train is one thing, but I think I’ll pass on the full gym thing. It just seems a little too intense for me.”

Apple Bloom simply shrugged. “Well, suite yerself, but Ah really want to see how far Ah can get with all this.”

“Me too! Plus, I’m totally going to challenge Rainbow Dash if we run into her, and you know she’ll have been doing all sorts of crazy training with her Pokémon. Could you imagine what it would be like if I actually managed to beat her? She’d be all like ‘Whoa, Scootaloo, you’re the most awesome honorary little sister ever’!”

“Maybe you should focus a little more on actually gettin’ tough enough to take on Rainbow Dash before you start thinkin’ about how she’s gonna congratulate ya,” Apple Bloom teased. “Now come on, Ah heard some of the other people talkin’ earlier and it turns out this ferry’s got an arena inside, and Ah want to check out the other trainers!” Apple Bloom’s fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded eagerly in agreement as the three quickly made their way into the ferry’s interior. Sure enough, they quickly discovered that the bulk of the inside of the ship was indeed dedicated to a Pokémon arena. While not quite as impressive as the arenas the crusaders had encountered in the region’s gyms, it was more than adequate for the two trainers battling each other within.

“Luxio, use Shock Wave!” Most of the crowd who had gathered to watch the battle cheered as the feline Pokémon blasted its opponent with a bolt of blue lightning. Apple Bloom and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, however found themselves far more interested in the Pokémon’s trainer, a lavender-haired girl about their age.

“Is that…? Naw, it couldn’t be…” Apple Bloom said in disbelief even as a bespectacled, silver-haired girl came up to the mystery trainer and congratulated her on her victory.

“I’m pretty sure that’s them,” Sweetie Belle said. “We should probably head over and say ‘hi’, at least.”

“Yean, and besides, I kinda wanna see if Diamond Tiara wants to battle,” Scootaloo added. “I know she’s not really a jerk anymore like she used to be, but I bet beating her would still be really…”

“Cathartic?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Gesundheit,” Apple Bloom said. “And Ah can kinda get what yer sayin’, to be honest Ah think Ah might feel the same way. Anyway, even if we’re not gonna battle ‘em we should probably check with ‘em to see how they’ve been doin’. Those two aren’t exactly the roughin’ it types, after all.” Apple Bloom’s assessment was met with nods from her friends, and as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon moved away from the arena to allow another pair of trainers to battle, the Cutie Mark Crusaders headed to intercept them. “Hey! Diamond Tiara, is that you?”

“How do you know my – Apple Bloom?” Diamond Tiara exclaimed as she turned to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “How have you all been doing? It’s so nice to see you all,” Diamond Tiara said in the syrupy-sweet tone that had become her trademark ever since her shift in attitude. There was something about the artificial friendliness of it that made Apple Bloom sometimes question if it was that much of an improvement over being constantly called a ‘blank flank’.

“We were a little surprised to see you to be honest,” Sweetie Belle said. “We just figured that we were here because of our sisters, we didn’t know anypony else from class was here too.”

“Well, you three are the first ones from our class that we’ve actually seen,” Diamond Tiara admitted. “I think I might have seen mother and father when we first arrived here, but…”

“But you weren’t really lookin’ to make sure,” Apple Bloom concluded, suddenly feeling a bit more sympathetic towards her classmate.

“Daddy would probably worry about me too much to really let me explore this place, and mother would be pushing me to get involved with all that gym stuff so I could ‘demonstrate my superiority in a structured system’ or something,” Diamond Tiara said.

“So, you’re not challenging any of the gyms?” Scootaloo asked with a hint of disappointment, to which Diamond Tiara shook her head.

“Battling’s fun and all, but I really don’t see the point of taking it that seriously,” Diamond Tiara replied. “This is just a vacation for me, no pressure, no responsibilities, and definitely not stupid status stuff.”

“Gym battles aren’t stupid!” Scootaloo protested before sheepishly calming herself down. “But, I guess I can kinda understand where you’re coming from. So, you really haven’t seen anyone else from Equestria besides your parents?”

“Oh, I didn’t say that, I just said I hadn’t seen anyone from our class yet. Silver Spoon and I nearly ran into Applejack and Rarity a while back, but I don’t think they noticed us.”

“Really? You say Applejack? Where?” Apple Bloom asked eagerly.

“It was a while ago, at the big Pokémon Center between Mercury City and Keystone,” Silver Spoon said.

“Hey, yeah, we know that place. Sweetie Belle, isn’t that where you caught that weird, green Pokémon of yours?”

“Hey, Gulpin isn’t weird!” Sweete Belle snapped.

“Ah don’t know, Sweetie Belle, anythin’ that can eat Scootaloo’s cookin’ seems pretty strange to me,” Apple Bloom quipped, leaving Scootaloo to mumble protests that her food hadn’t been that burned as Apple Bloom turned back to Diamon Tiara. “Anyway, you said you saw them a while back, right? You wouldn’t happen to have any idea where they are now, would you?”

“Sorry, not really,” Diamond Tiara replied. “That was pretty much back right after we all first got here, and we haven’t seen them since.”

“Shoot. Aw well, it’s not that big a deal. Applejack can take care of herself just fine, and besides, if we did run into her, she might get all overprotective again,” Apple Bloom added. “Ah ain’t really in any rush to stop explorin’ this place, so it’s probably best just to sit back and let Applejack and the others fix everythin’ like they usually do.”

*********

“Are you positively certain you don’t want to just sit back and wait for Twilight and her friends to fix everything like you usually do, sister?” Luna asked pointedly. “It would give you more time to indulge in your research into this world’s confectionary offerings.”

“As I recall, sister, you ate just as many malasadas as I did,” Celestia shot back. “And regardless, while I am certain Twilight and her friends will resolve everything and return us all to Equestria eventually, I still have a responsibility to assure the other ponies here that everything will be alright. And, in order to that, I need to have a way of contacting everypony –”

“Hence why we need to work with your former pupil.” Luna said sourly. “Between the professor’s eccentricities and Twilight’s anxiety, I’m beginning to wonder if mental instability wasn’t a prerequisite to receive instruction from you.”

“I’m going to just chalk that comment up to stress and leave it there,” Celestia replied. “Besides, Professor Boffinspark’s behavior might be a touch odd sometimes –” Celestia was interrupted as a door leading into the hallway she and Luna were walking down crashed open as a motorized office chair burst through and went careening down the hallway past Celestia and Luna. Moments later, the contraption crashed its lab coat-clad occupant into the far wall, deploying its airbags a few seconds later with enough force to send it tottering backwards until it collapsed at Celestia and Luna’s feet.

“Well, the airbags deploy just fine. Just need to work on the timing a bit,” the semi-conscious scientist mumbled from his spot on the floor as Luna regarded her sister with a single raised eyebrow.

“Just a touch, sister?” Luna asked mildly. Ignoring the remark, Celestia reached down and hauled Boffinspark to his feet, giving him a few shakes for good measure.

“Professor, when you contacted us, you said you had managed to find a way to allow me to speak with the ponies who’ve been pulled here,” Celestia said, snapping Boffinspark back to his senses.

“Ah, yes, of course. I apologize, the chair was just a small side project I was working on while I waited for you and Princess Luna. In any event, I have managed to gain access to the communication systems used by the island, and you should be able to use them to selectively broadcast to everypony listed as having come from Equestria. Everything’s already set up inside and ready, you just need to give the work.”

Celestia took a deep breath and mentally readied herself to be the ruler her subjects needed. Stepping into the room that Boffinspark had careened out of, Celestia found herself confronted with a sprawling mass of computer parts and machinery, most of which she suspected served no purpose beyond adding to the general ambiance. Near the center of the clutter, however, was a microphone setup connected to a particularly large bank of computers. “I presume this is…”

“That’s where you’d speak into, yes,” Boffinspark said as he clambered inside. “I’ve already connected it to the League’s communication array and prepared the appropriate filters. All that’s left to do is throw the switch and you should be talking to everypony brought here from Equestria. The proverbial switch, that is, I didn’t have time to fabricate a proper switch.”

“Very sell. Professor, please activate the devise.” Boffinspark promptly crawled under the microphone setup, and a few moments and a distressingly loud electrical discharge later, the lights surrounding the microphone lit up, signifying its readiness. “Citizens of Equestria, this is Princess Celestia. You are no doubt already aware of the strange situation that we currently find ourselves in. I reach out to you all now to assure you that my sister, Princess Luna, and I are here in the world with you. Furthermore, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends a way to safely return everypony back to Equestria. For now, I can only ask for you to be as patient as you can and look out for each other. I promise you, we sill get through this challenge together.”

*********

For an international entertainment company, the Javik regional offices of Orbital Amusements were surprisingly understated, just a few rented floors in a nondescript office building. Of course, this made far more sense when on considered that Orbital Amusements was, in actual fact, largely a front for Team Rocket. Lucian, the administrator responsible for Team Rocket’s Javik operations, much preferred this low-key approach.

“The problem nearly every ‘team’ in the past has faced is that they were far too visible. Inevitably, this attracted attention, whether from the local league representatives or just some preternaturally talented ten-year-old. Regardless of who the attention came from, the result was the same. The utter defeat of the team’s leadership, shortly followed by its abrupt dissolution.” Lucian paused for effect as he regarded the two grunts standing nervously before him. “I would expect that the two of you could, at minimum, appreciate that much.”

“Yar, ye needn’t be remindin’ me of me old crew’s failures. I recall me fellow’s keelhaulin’ all too well,” King replied.

“Really? You’re honestly keeping up the pirate stuff in front of our boss?” Sandy asked incredulously. “Sir, do I really have to be partnered with this buffoon? He’s even worse than those idiots you picked up from Alola.”

“You’re in no position to criticize anyone,” Lucian snapped. “Between the debacles you’ve had in Keystone City and your botched attempt at robbing the Drakefang Monastery supply wagon you’ve managed to alert at least two of the region’s gym leaders to Team Rocket’s presence on the island. At least our recruits from Team Skull are smart enough to keep their affiliation with Team Rocket hidden while they’re making fools of themselves.” Lucian paused to take a breath and allow his insult to sink in. “Now, while the two of you have thus far proven thoroughly incompetent, I am generous enough to offer you one last opportunity to demonstrate that you have at least some redeeming qualities. I want you both to head back to Keystone City and wait for further instructions. You are absolutely not to attract any attention, at least not yet. We have an operation planned for the city in the near future, and I need every available operative ready to take part. Do you understand?”

“Aye aye, captain!”

“Yes sir!”

“Good. Now, get out of my sight, and whatever you do, don’t either of you dare screw this up. This upcoming operation has been ordered by Giovanni himself, and it’s far too important to be ruined for the sake of any petty crimes.”

Flaring Tempers

“Alright, one of the most important parts of friendship is communication, which ideally should be a two-way process. But, only one side can understand the other here, so maybe the first step should be to work out some way to fix that? Maybe Charmeleon and I could work out a system of claw gestures, or maybe we could try Horse code, or maybe –”

“Hey! Equestria to Twilight! Are you there?” The sound of Rainbow Dash’s voice snapped Twilight out of her muttering and prompted her to look up to see that Rainbow Dash and Spike were both far up the path ahead of her.

“Sorry, I was just a little preoccupied with my thoughts.” Twilight said as she rushed to catch up to her friends.

“Yeah, I noticed. Seriously, you’ve been acting kind of weird ever since we left the last town. Is something wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You mean aside from the fact that King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis are out there somewhere planning to do something horrible to us and our friends? Or that in order to stop them I’ll need to solve a friendship problem with a Pokémon that I can’t even understand? Or maybe that Princess Celestia and who knows how many other ponies are counting on me to find a way to fix everything and I barely have any idea what I’m supposed to do? Besides all that, no everything’s just great!” Twilight ranted, her eye twitching madly from the stress.

“Ugh, I knew that whole Princess Celestia message thing was going to make you completely freak out,” Rainbow Dash groaned, before noticing that Twilight had fixed her with an angry glare that was just shy of murderous. “Uh, what I meant was…maybe you should try talking to your Charmeleon again? I mean, you said yourself that figuring that out’s pretty much the first step to everything else, right? Maybe you just need to try, I dunno, listening to it really hard or something?” Twilight initially looked as though she wanted to argue with Rainbow Dash over the issue, but instead let out a defeated sigh.

“You’re probably right about that. I think I’ve just been finding excuses not to, especially after way my last gym battle went,” Twilight admitted. “I don’t suppose you have any suggestions on how I should do this?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Like I’ve said before, understanding your Pokémon is something you just do, I can’t really explain it any better than that. That said, if you want, me and Spike can give you some space so you can handle things.”

“Really? Thanks, that would actually really help. This isn’t really the sort of thing I want to do with an audience,” Twilight added sheepishly.

“It’s no big deal. Besides, I kinda want Spike to help me with some extra training for Skarmory. After the way that last gym battle went, I want to see if I can get Skarmory some more practice dealing with special attacks and stuff, and Spike’s Ivysaur should be really good at that stuff.”

“Well, alright then,” Twilight said. “I guess we’ll meet up a little later then.”

“Sounds good. Hey Spike! Twilight and its all good, so let’s get this training started!” Twilight watched as Rainbow Dash and Spike hurried over a nearby rise in the rocky terrain before disappearing from view, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

“Okay, Twilight, keep it together. You’ve totally got this. It’s just a friendship problem, and you’re the Princess of Friendship! There’s no way you won’t be able to solve this like you would any other friendship problem. Even if it is a problem that could spell disaster for everypony you care about if you can’t find some way to – stop it! You don’t have time to fall apart right now, you just need to do it. Princess Celestia is counting on you!” Twilight took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves the way Cadance had shown her (though it never seemed to work quite as well for Twilight as it did for her sister-in-law). Once Twilight was satisfied she had regained some semblance of composure, she took out Charmeleon’s Poké Ball and tossed it into the air.

“Char. Meleon.” Twilight’s Charmeleon grumbled as its eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

“Hi there, Charmeleon. I thought we should probably have a talk about how things have been going between us, especially recently,” Twilight began as she crouched down to bring herself eye-level with Charmeleon. “Ever since you evolved, I’ve gotten the feeling that you’re upset with me about something, but I’m not sure I really understand why.”

“Char! Charmeleon Char!” Twilight’s statement seemed to anger Charmeleon, who immediately started hissing and snarling in frustration, forcing Twilight to stumble backwards.

“Gah! What’s with you? I was just asking a question, why are you so upset?” Hearing this only seemed to agitate Charmeleon further, leaving it stomping its feet in frustration as Twilight felt her own patience start to fray. “Ugh, you’re impossible! I’m doing my best to fix this situation, but you’re not even trying to meet me halfway! Maybe the reason that I can’t understand you isn’t that you’re a Pokémon, but it’s because you’re a jerk!” Charmeleon responded to this by spitting out a gout of flame at Twilight, forcing her to stagger backwards to avoid being burned. “Hey! You could have really hurt me like that! Alright, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but clearly just talking to you isn’t working. I’ll have to figure something else out later, but for now, Return!” Twilight held up Charmeleon’s Poké Ball and attempted to recall it, but Charmeleon leapt out of the way of the red beam before sticking its tongue out at Twilight.

“Charmeleon Char!” Twilight’s Charmeleon snarled at her while making a gesture that Twilight could only assume was supposed to be extremely rude.

“You’re not even going to listen to me anymore? You know what? If you dislike me that much, then fine! I don’t need you anyway!” This time it was Charmeleon’s turn to appear shocked as the floodgates of Twilight’s stress and anger burst open. “You’ve been fighting with me ever since you evolved, and every time I try to look for a way to fix whatever’s wrong you fight me even harder. I don’t know what it is I’ve done that’s made you so nasty, but if it’s so horrible that you’re going to start attacking me, then maybe you should go find a new trainer!”

Charmeleon stood there silent for several moments as it stared at Twilight with a completely stunned expression. Eventually, however, Charmeleon let out an irritated snort before turning its back on Twilight and trudging off. Twilight watched in silence as Charmeleon angrily marched off, until it finally vanished from sight entirely.

“It…it really left,” Twilight said to herself as she slowly came down from the rush of adrenaline and the reality of the situation sank in. “Oh Celestia, what have I done?”

*********

“So, what exactly do you want to do again?” Spike asked as he and Rainbow Dash finally found a space Rainbow Dash deemed suitable for their purposes.

“Well, you know how in my last gym battle Skarmory was kicking all kinds of flank until Mandrake used that weird move that put it to sleep? I thought it might be a good idea if I found some way of giving Skarmory practice dealing with attacks like that. And then I remembered your Ivysaur knows a bunch of those moves, doesn’t it?”

“So, you want me to have Ivysaur use those moves on your Skarmory so it can get better at resisting them? I don’t know if it really works that way, but we can try.” As Spike reached into his jacket, however, a voice yelled out at them.

“Hey, Joe, check this out! It looks like we got a couple of kids over here!” Rainbow Dash and Spike turned to see a lanky woman with a magenta mohawk looking down at them from a nearby hill.

“For cryin’ out loud, Nancy, what is it now?” Moments later, the woman was joined by an equally skinny man dressed almost entirely in worn, black leather. “Okay, yeah, there’s a couple of kids down there. What’s your point?”

“They’re on our turf or somethin’, aren’t they?” Nancy replied sounding a little unsure of herself now. “Shouldn’t we, I dunno, try and chase ‘em off or somethin’?”

“First off, what they heck do you mean by ‘our turf’? You know Nero told us to stop thinkin’ like that when we came here,” Joe snorted. “Second, they’re a couple of freakin’ kids, and not even the weird types you get out of Spikemuth. Even if we were still defending turf like in the old days, you really think runnin’ off a couple of pipsqueaks would be worth it?”

“Hey! Who’re you calling pipsqueaks, chump?” Rainbow Dash snapped angrily. “Me and Spike could take you clowns down easy!”

Joe heaved a deep sigh as he turned to Nancy. “Good news, it looks like you’re gonna get your fight after all. I was plannin’ on leavin’ you brats alone, but apparently you need a lesson in manners. Go Mightyena!”

“Go Nuzleaf!” Nancy added with a maniacal cackle as she tossed out her Poké Ball as well. In a flash, Rainbow Dash found herself faced with a large, shaggy, black and grey canine alongside an odd, bipedal creature with a long nose and a leave sticking out the top of its head.

“Two on one, huh? What’s the matter, don’t think you can take me on on your own?” Rainbow Dash mocked as she quickly sized up her opponents.

“Hey, you’re the smart-mouthed little brat who wanted to pick a fight here,” Joe countered. “Besides, what about pipsqueak number two? Don’t tell me you friend’s too much of a chicken to help you out?”

“Chicken? I’ll show you who’s chicken! Go get ’em, Bagon!” Spike yelled as he tossed out his own Poké Ball.

“Hah, nice! I mean, I could’ve taken both of these clowns on at once if I had to, but this’ll thinks things a lot easier since now I don’t have to worry about wearing my Pokémon out too much,” Rainbow Dash said. “Anyway, go Breloom!”

“Breloom? I though you wanted to work on training Skarmory,” Spike said as Breloom flashed onto the field.

“I do, but these guys don’t really look like they know the kind of moves I want to teach it to deal with,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Besides, there’s another bit of training that I’ve been wanting to try too, and this is gonna be the perfect chance for me to get to it. You think you and Bagon can take care of that plant-looking one?”

“No problem,” Spike said as he flashed Rainbow Dash a thumbs up. “Alright, Bagon, let’s take out that creepy one with the leaf on its head with your Headbut!”

“Yeah, like I’m gonna make it that easy for ya. Nuzleaf, Razor Leaf!” Nancy yelled. Nuzleaf promptly began wildly shaking its head, sending a stream of glowing green leaves sailing through the air towards its opponent. Bagon, however, simply charged straight through the attack, smashing through the leaves before slamming its head into Nuzleaf’s stomach.

“Heh, I guess the little squirt’s got some skills after all,” Joe chuckled as he watched Nuzleaf struggle to recover from the attack. “And here I was worried we’d be thrashing a couple of helpless rookies. I guess that just leaves you and – wait, what’re you doing?” Rainbow Dash didn’t respond aside from flashing a self-satisfied smirk, but the way she was moving her arms along with the bright glow emanating from her Z-ring provided the answer anyway. “Aw crud, Mightyena, quick, hit that thing with Ice Fang before she can finish!” Mightyena wasted no time in rushing forward as its mouth filled with an icy blue light. Just as it was about to clamp its jaws down on Breloom, however, a massive aura of green light exploded out from Breloom as the field was abruptly filled with multicolored flowers. As Mightyena looked around at the transformed field in confusion, the light surrounding Breloom coalesced into an orb in front of it before blasting out in a massive beam. The attack struck Mightyena dead on, sending the unfortunate Pokémon sailing through the air before landing several yards away.

“Aw yeah, nailed it on my first try!” Rainbow Dash cheered.

“Crud, of course you’ve got gym badges,” Joe groaned as he recalled his Mightyena. “So, does that mean that the other runt has some badges too, then?”

“Spike? No, he hasn’t taken on any gym leaders yet, but he’s still plenty tough enough to take you on!” Rainbow Dash said defiantly.

“Yeah? Well Nancy’s not some pushover either, so we’ll just see –” Joe was interrupted by the sight of Nuzleaf running by in a blind panic, the leaf on its head completely ablaze. “…I don’t know why I’m even surprised. Yo, Nancy, grab your Nuzleaf so we can get out of here.”

“Come on, Joe, me and Nuzleaf aren’t beaten yet! We’ve got the little punk right where we want him!” Joe wordlessly looked from Nancy back to Nuzleaf, who was not frantically rolling about on the ground trying to put out its leaf. Still grumbling, Nancy reluctantly raised her Poké Ball and recalled her Nuzleaf. “You little punks just got lucky, that’s all. If the boss was here –”

“If the boss was here he’d say it was our fault for bein’ too weak to beat a couple of random punks,” Joe snapped. “’Course, after he was done chewin’ us out, he’d you two out with no problem. There ain’t nobody on the whole island tougher than the boss we he gets serious, ‘cept maybe the Elite Four and the champ.”

“Yeah, well maybe I should take this boss of yours on an see for myself,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Well, if you really want a thrashin’, then you should head on down to Umbral Circle sometime. Unless yer too scared, that is,” Joe fired back.

“Oh, we’ll be there. Once our friend Twilight is done with whatever it is she’s doing with her Pokémon, we’ll head over and take on whatever it is you’ve got.”

*********

“Some ‘Princess of Friendship’ I am, I can’t even keep my own temper under control,” Twilight berated herself as she climbed over the rocky terrain. “Charmeleon may have been misbehaving, but that doesn’t excuse my telling it I didn’t need it any more, what was I thinking? I just hope I’ll be able to apologize to it once I find it. For that matter, I just hope I’ll be able to find it. How in Equestria did it manage to get so far away so quickly?”

Twilight continued to mutter to herself as she searched for her runaway Charmeleon, alternating between chastising herself for her actions and wondering how she would actually rectify the situation. Eventually, however, the sounds of Pokémon fighting each other drew Twilight towards one particular area of level ground. Cautiously, Twilight crept up behind a large boulder and peered around it to see that Charmeleon had gotten into a fight with a much smaller, dinosaur-like Pokémon wielding a bone club and wearing a skull over its head. To Twilight’s surprise, Charmeleon appeared to be struggling with its opponent despite it being scarcely enough to reach Charmeleon’s waist.

“Hmph, things might actually turn out alright after all,” Twilight thought herself with a certain amount of schadenfreude. “Maybe a loss like this will help show Charmeleon that it isn’t really better off by itself after all. Then I can come in and accept it back, and then everything should be just fine.” As Twilight attempted to congratulate herself on her brilliant plan, however, the sounds of Charmeleon’s struggles assaulted her ears. “Charmeleon will be fine in the end, Pokémon fight each other all the time. I’ll just make sure to get Charmeleon to a Pokémon Center as soon as we can. That’ll make everything alright, won’t it?” Twilight closed her eyes and turned away from the fight, accidently splashing her hand into a shallow puddle nearby as she did so. The sudden wet sensation caused Twilight to open her eyes, and as she looked at the ripple-distorted reflection staring back at her from the muddy water she felt a deep revulsion swell up from the pit of her stomach.

Later, Twilight would scarcely recall the next few moments that followed as she leapt out from her hiding spot and launched herself across the gravely ground as fast as her legs could carry her. Charmeleon’s opponent (which Spike would later identify as a Cubone based on Twilight’s description), had either already launched its attack by that point or was simply unconcerned with the yelling human that dove down to interpose herself between the two Pokémon. In either case, the outcome was the same, as Twilight’s outstretched forearm was smashed by a bone the Cubone had tossed at Charmeleon.

“AHHHH!” Twilight yelled out in pain as she landed on the ground and cradled her injured forearm. As Twilight tried to stand back up, however, the flying bone came back around and caught her again, this time in her back just below her shoulder. The force of the blow sent Twilight crashing back down to the ground in agony.

“Char, Charmeleon?” Still dazed by the pain, Twilight looked up to see her Charmeleon standing over her, its expression hovering somewhere between concern and bafflement.

“Well, I had to do something, it was my fault that you were out here to get into a fight in the first place,” Twilight said before wincing in pain. Her entire left arm from the below the elbow felt like it was on fire, and every breath she took came with a wave of shooting pain. “More than that, though, I’m sorry. Since this whole thing started, I’ve been just treating you as a means to an end and not a friend like I should have and –” Twilight let out a gasp of pain as she tried to stand back up. As Twilight started to stumble, however, Charmeleon swiftly moved to catch her fall. “Does this mean you forgive me?” Twilight asked, to which Charmeleon smiled in response as it helped her back to her feet. Before Charmeleon could actually say anything, however, it was interrupted by a loud thump as the Cubone began angrily slamming its club into the dirt impatiently. “You know, if you’re up to it, I think I’ve just thought of a good way we can deal with this little jerk together,” Twilight said as the crystal of her Z-ring began to glow, prompting a wicked grin of agreement from Charmeleon.

Cubone, meanwhile, continued to stamp its feet in irritation as it waited for its opponents to decide whether they wanted to continue the fight. To the Cubone’s immense confusion, when the Charmeleon and its human did come to some sort of decision as to what to do, it appeared to be some kind of synchronized dance rather than a proper attack. It wasn’t until the Charmeleon unleashed a dragon-shaped blast of violet energy that the Cubone realized the magnitude of its error.

*********

“Where the hay did Twilight go? I know she said she wanted to be alone while she got things straightened out with her Chameleon, but she didn’t have to run off so far that we wouldn’t be able to find her or anything,” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“You don’t think Twilight ran into a couple of guys like the ones we did, do you?” Spike asked in alarm, to which Rainbow Dash merely shrugged.

“I dunno, maybe? I wouldn’t worry about it too much, though, If a couple of guys like those tried messing with Twilight, she’d take them out no problem,” Rainbow Dash said confidently, before frowning. “Still, I wonder what the hay is taking her so long.”

“Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you have Skarmory fly out and see if it can figure out where Twilight went?” Spike suggested.

“Great idea, Spike! Hey, Skarmory, you think you could fly up ahead and spot where Twilight’s hiding?” Skarmory, who had been lazily flying overhead, let out a screech to the affirmative and shot off into the sky, quickly becoming little more than a speck against the clouds. After a minute or two passed by, Skarmory swooped back down towards Rainbow Dash and Spike.

“What’s happening? Did you find Twilight? I knew you’d be able to – uh, Rainbow, is something wrong?” Spike asked, putting his elation on hold as he noticed his friend’s worried expression.

“I’m not sure, something feels off about the way Skarmory’s screeching. It’s almost like it’s upset about something,” Rainbow Dash said as she carefully watched Skarmory’s movements. “Well, whatever’s going on, it definitely looks like Skarmory found Twilight, so let’s go see what’s up.” With Skarmory leading the way, it didn’t take long for Rainbow Dash and Spike to locate Twilight, and it was immediately apparent why Skarmory had been concerned. Twilight was slowly hobbling her way over the gravel-strewn ground while Charmeleon supported her. More concerningly, however, Twilight’s left arm hung limp at her side while her expression repeatedly contorted in pain.

“Twilight! What happened? Are you alright?” Spike cried out as he sprinted towards Twilight as fast as his legs could carry him, Rainbow Dash following close behind.

“I’m –” Twilight let out a sudden grunt of pain. “Alright, I’m not fine. I got caught in the middle of a Pokémon battle, literally. But the good news is I think Charmeleon and I have patched things up.” Twilight managed to force a pained smile as Charmeleon looked up at her in concern.

“Easy, there, Twi, let me take a look at your arm,” Rainbow Dash said. Nodding her head, Twilight lifted her left arm up for Rainbow Dash to examine. “Oh, this does not look good. I’ve been hanging with daredevils long enough to know a broken bone when I see one. We need to get you to a doctor pronto. Hey, Spike, where’s the nearest town from here?” Spike was already frantically pressing the buttons on his Pokédex before blanching at the result.

“According to this, the town nearest to us is a place called Umbral Circle. Wasn’t that the place that those two trainers we ran into said they were from?” Spike asked, fervently hoping he was remembering incorrectly.

“Yeah, that’s the place,” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Well, its not like we’ve got a whole lot of choice right now, we’ll just have to risk it and hope we don’t run into any trouble.”

“Wait, hold on, what are you two talking about? What trainers?” Twilight asked in alarm.

“We’ll tell you about it later. Right now, we just need to focus on getting you to a doctor who can get that arm in a cast or something.”

Cable Carnage

“Princess Celestia sure don’t mind puttin’ the pressure on us when it’s important,” Applejack said as she and Rarity packed up their things. “How the hay are we supposed to figure out how to get everypony back to Equestria when we don’t even know how we got here in first place?”

“Well, I imagine Twilight might have a bit more information on the subject then we do. The best thing we can probably do for now is what we’ve been trying to do already and find the others. Once the six of us are back together there’ll be no obstacle that we won’t be able to overcome. Of course, this is all assuming that Twilight won’t have already resolved the entire situation on her own by then,” Rarity added.

“Ah suppose y’all have a point there, and the way things have been goin’ so far, just chasin’ down Pinkie and Fluttershy has been about as much as we can handle by ourselves. At least we’ve almost got that whole mess over and done with. Near as Ah can tell, once we’ve gone down the cable car it’s a straight shot to Aquarius City,” Applejack said as she zipped up her backpack.

“The best part is that once we get on that cable car we’ll be able to relax a bit regarding Sombra and Chrysalis,” Rarity said as she finished her own packing. “After all, I can’t imagine even those two being so insane that they’d try attacking us in a place like that.”

*********

“This is excellent! Once those two are in that cable car they’ll have nowhere to run, it will be the perfect time to attack!” Chrysalis cackled as she listened to Bray’s report that Rarity and Applejack were waiting to board the cable car. Now that we have these crystals, those pathetic foals won’t stand a chance!”

“For once, I think we’re actually in agreement,” Sombra said. “Of course, only one of us will be able to strike at them directly, the other will need to stay back at the top to ensure there’s no interference. Obviously, as the more powerful of the tow of us, I should be the one who strikes directly at Princess Twilight’s insufferable –”

“Over my dead body you will!” Chrysalis snarled in rage. “You think I don’t see what you’re doing? You intend to destroy them and then claim to Grogar that you’re the one who did all the work so he’ll grant you complete control over Equestria and leave me with nothing! I’ll be the one to destroy those two cretins, while you can wait by yourself at the top.”

“Clearly your mind is as worm-eaten as your legs are,” Sombra fired back. “The only way either of us could defeat both of those two at once, even with the crystals, is with my berserker spell –”

“So? That just means I’d need one of those red crystals you’ve been hoarding, right? So hand one over,” Chrysalis said imperiously as she stuck out her hand. “I’ll tell you what, if you provide one of your miserable crystals to assist me, I’ll inform Grogar that you did you part in ensuring my triumph,” Chrysalis added grudgingly. Grumbling, Sombra reluctantly dug into his bag and pulled out a small, crimson crystal which he handed to the triumphantly smirking Chrysalis.

Inwardly, however, Sombra was cackling with glee at the way things had turned out. “Fooling that idiot was so easy I almost feel guilty about it. All I needed was to prod her bloated ego a little and she insisted on taking on all the danger herself. With any luck, Twilight’s little friends and her will destroy each other, and then I’ll only have Grogar himself to contend with. And, if they can’t manage to destroy each other, I can always give them a little assistance.”

*********

“Now boarding the cable car to Ferrum Village. Please have your tickets ready.” To Applejack, the bored, scratchy voice issuing from the waiting area speakers was music to her ears, signaling that she and Rarity were finally going to make real progress on their journey. The pair quickly got in line to board the car, and in minutes they were filing inside and looking for a place to sit. The interior of the cable car was nothing particularly unusual, resembling the car of a passenger train other than being twice as long with an aisle twice as wide. The size of said aisle must have been a tempting spot for trainers, as several signs had been posted throughout the car warning that Pokémon battling within the car was strictly forbidden, much to Applejack’s amusement.

“The folks around here sure do love battlin’ their Pokémon,” Applejack remarked as the pair seated themselves.

“Really? Whatever convinced you of that? Could it have been the massive infrastructure they’ve dedicated to the practice? Or perhaps it was the fact that nearly every individual we’ve met has had at least some interest in the activity?” Rarity replied snippily.

“Ah was just noticin’ those warnin’ signs they’ve got put up everywhere is all. Sheesh, Rarity, what the hay’s got y’all so upset all of a sudden?”

“I’m sorry, Applejack, its just I feel so on edge for some reason, and I’m not really sure why,” Rarity said.

“Huh, y’all think it could be yer scared of heights or somethin’?” Applejack suggested. “Ah got a good look down when we were gettin’ on this thing, and it sure as hay is a long way down.” Rarity visibly winced at Applejack’s observation.

“I will admit that I haven’t been especially fond of heights ever since the…incident at the Best Young Flyers competition, but that isn’t what’s been bothering me. This feels more as though I know something’s going to go wrong, but I just don’t know what. I realize I’m probably just being silly, but—”

“Ah don’t know if Ah’d say that. If yer gut’s tellin’ y’all somethin’s ain’t right, then maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep our eyes peeled fer trouble. Worst case there is nothin’ happens, and that’d be a whole lot better than getting’ caught with our noses in the trough.” Further conversation was put on hold as the doors to the cable car closed with an audible sequence of thuds before the entire car seemed to lurch forward, shaking just enough to be felt. Moments later, a noticeable mechanical drone filled the air as the cable car started to move. Despite Rarity’s premonitions of danger, the next hour or so proved to be completely uneventful, and the pair soon shifted their focus from worrying about some unseen and purely hypothetical danger to enjoying the spectacular views offered by the cable car’s altitude.

“Ooh, Applejack, I think I can see Aquarius City from here off in the distance,” Rarity marveled as she pointed towards a hazy cluster of buildings far on the horizon.

“Yeah, Ah guess that could be – did we just stop movin’?” Sure enough, the background drone of the cable car’s engines had abruptly ceased as the car came to a halt only halfway to its destination. “What the hay’s goin’ on? Y’all don’t think somethin’s gone wrong, do y’?”

Rarity opened her mouth as she was about to answer, but instead pointed out the window up towards the mountain in alarm. “What is that?” Applejack, along with several of the cable car’s other passengers, turned to see a much smaller cable car racing down one of the cables straight towards them.

“I think that’s one of the utility cars they use for maintenance,” one of the passengers said. “Our car must have stopped because of some mechanical error, so they’re sending someone out in that thing to fix it.”

“Ah dunno, are y’all sure aobut htat? That thing looks like its headin’ towards us awfully fast,” Applejack said.

“Well, it would need to move a lot faster than the main car. Otherwise, we’d be stuck here for an hour while we waited for them to just get here. Whoever’s in there should start putting on the brakes to slow themselves down any moment now.”

“It sure don’t look like they’re slowin’ done none,” Applejack said as she backed away from the window. “If anythin’, it looks like that thing’s pickin’ up speed. Aw hay…EVERBODY GET DOWN!” As the passengers of the cable car realized what was happening, they all frantically scrambled to dive for cover while the utility car streaked towards its target. Scarcely a few seconds after Applejack had shouted out her warning, the utility care smashed into the center door of the cable car with a gut-wrenching crash. The force of the collision wedged the utility car into the side of the passenger vehicle, but by some miracle both remained suspended on the cables. As Applejack and some of the other passengers began picking themselves up off the ground, the doors the utility car had crashed into burst inward as something forced its way inside.

“Curse that demented lump of shadows, that ridiculous plan of his could have killed me,” Chrysalis snarled as she and her Scyther entered the cable car. “No matter, I’ll deal with that traitorous cretin once I’m done here. For the moment, I have a much more satisfying bit of vengeance to tend to…”

“Have y’all lost whatever pile of moldy apple cores y’all had fer a mind?” Applejack yelled as she stepped out into the aisle to face Chrysalis. “It’s bad enough y’all’ve been chasin’ me ‘round the island, but now y’all gotta put all these folks in danger too?” While Applejack’s righteous indignation made it easy for her to put on a brace face, in truth the situation left her feeling less than confidant. The tight confines of the cable car meant it wouldn’t be feasible to unleash Spiritomb, nor could she safely user her Pokémon’s Z-moves. Granted, Applejack was reasonably sure she could still win without either option, but there was no telling just what exactly Chrysalis had up her sleeve, especially knowing she was working with Sombra. “Well, if yer still fixin’ fer a fight after what happened last time, then Ah guess Ah’ll have to oblige y’. Aron, get ready to give these bugs a whuppin’ they ain’t gonna forget!” The entire cable car shook as Aron emerged from its Poké Ball and landed on the cable car floor.

“I know what you’re up to,” Chrysalis sneered, prompting a nervous expression from Applejack. “You’re planning on using one of those Z-move things against me! Well, two can play at that game!” Chrysalis pointed at Applejack, who to her horror now noticed the Z-ring on Chrysalis’ wrist. “Scyther! Go! Unleash your full power upon your queen’s enemies!” Chrysalis’ demand was met by several seconds of nothing before her Scyther finally turned back to looker at her with a confused expression. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go! Attack! Destroy them!”

“Hey, y’all might be the nastier than a timberwolf with a toothache, but y’all sure ain’t much of a trainer,” Applejack said with audible relief. “Now, why don’t y’all stop this nonsense before someone gets hurt?”

“Bah! I should have known these crystals would be completely worthless! That stone-obsessed buffoon wasn’t accomplishing anything other than wasting my time,” Chrysalis snarled in frustration. “Let’s see if his other little pet project can redeem him at all.” As Chrysalis spoke, she pulled out the crimson crystal Sombra had given her and pointed it at her Scyther.

“Applejack, be careful!” Rarity shouted. “That’s the same sort of crystal Sombra used to make his beastly little Pokémon go wild!” As if to added to Rarity’s warning, Chrysalis’ Scyther let out a scream of rage as its eyes began glowing bright red.

“Just what in tarnation is that crystal doin’ to yer Scyther, anyway?” Applejack asked in horror as she watched the Scyther begin lashing out at the seats nearby with its claws.

“It’s making it stronger, that’s what it’s doing. Beyond that, why should I care? The only thing that matters is its ability to carry out my will. Speaking of which, Scyther! Destroy Applejack and her simpering little protector!” Applejack gritted her teeth and was about to command her Aron to go on the offensive, but before she could several other voices rang out.

“Vulpix, Flamethrower!”
“Raichu, Thunderbolt!”
“Hypno, Psybeam!”
“Magikarp, Tackle!”

In an instant, blasts of fire, lightning, and multicolored light shot out and pummeled Chrysalis’ Scyther, while a large, reddish-orange fish flew over Scyther’s head and crashed into Chrysalis’ face. “I don’t know who you are, but if you think we’re all just going to sit around while you try and hurt someone then you’ve got another thing coming!” As Chrysalis tried to shake off the probable concussion she had just received, she looked up to see that the other passengers of the cable car had risen up to support her intended victims. What’s more, her Scyther was now lying on the ground, completely unconscious.

“No! Get away from me!” Chrysalis yelled as several plant-like Pokémon wrapped her up in their vines. “Gah! This couldn’t possibly get any worse.”

*********

“Hmph, the crystal’s magic has already dissipated. The only way it would happen that quickly is if Chrysalis’ creature were rendered unconscious,” Sombra grumbled as he looked down at the cable car from the control booth he and Bray had barricaded themselves inside, the lone intern who had been operating it unconscious at his feet. “I suspected the idiot wouldn’t have been able to succeed even with my power, but I hadn’t expected for her to be defeated this easily. No matter, Chrysalis’ ineptitude just means I’ll need to move on to plan B.”

“Plan B? What do you – neeHaw! – mean by that?” Bray asked as he continued to push whatever objects he could find against the door.

“It’s simple, really,” Sombra said as he let out his Sableye. “You, start chewing through those cables.” Sableye let out a wicked cackle and disappeared into the room’s shadows while Bray looked on in alarm.

“You’re having it chew through the cables? But, Chrysalis is still on the car, how is – neeHaw! – she supposed to get out?” Bray cried.

“She’s not,” Sombra replied, his voice chillingly calm. “I imagine she’ll be killed in the crash along with whoever else is in the car. It’s a little messier than how I prefer to do things, which is why I made it my backup plan. Still, it should eliminate Twilight’s friends rather effectively, and I doubt Grogar will mind me sacrificing the bug queen if it means our targets are dealt with.” Bray let out a groan of disapproval as he looked away.

“You’re probably – neeHaw! – right about that part,” Bray admitted sullenly. “But I still don’t really like it.

“You can dislike it all you want, just make sure that door stays shut until Sableye is able to cut the cables,” Sombra growled. “The last thing I need is for someone to notice what’s going on and trying to interfere before that cable car has come crashing down.”

*********

“Ah really want to thank y’all fer helpin’ us out with her,” Applejack said as she thanked the various trainers who had subdued Chrysalis. The former changeling queen now lay hogtied on her side, with someone’s sock stuffed in her mouth as a gag to stop her constant stream of threats of terrible vengeance.

“Hey, no problem. We’ve all had to deal with criminal teams back in our home regions, so we know what it’s like,” one of the trainers said. “Though, she seems a lot nastier than the ones we have back in Kalos. Is she from Team Plasma or something? I heard they were pretty bad, but I’ve never met any myself.”

“Nah, she’s not dressed nearly stupid enough to be one of those guys. I bet she’s from Team Galatic. Aren’t those guys completely nuts or something?”

“She does seem crazy enough, but those nutjobs all had those weird bowl haircuts, I think it was part of their uniform or something.”

“She could be an admin, though. Don’t crime team admins usually get to dress differently?” The various trainers continued to debate which criminal organization Chrysalis may have been a part of until, suddenly, the cable car abruptly tilted as one end sagged alarmingly downward.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on now?” Applejack yelled out as she grabbed a nearby seat to keep from falling over. And as it turned out, Applejack wouldn’t have long to wait before getting an answer to her question.

“Look! One of the cables snapped up near the mountain!” This exclamation was met with cries of horror as the cable car’s occupants all looked out the windows to see that, indeed, one of the three sets of cables the car was suspended from had somehow been severed and was now falling to the ground below. Amidst the panic, Applejack noticed that Chrysalis seemed to be frantically flailing about as much as her bonds would allow.

“Why do Ah get the sinkin’ feelin’ that y’all know what the hay’s goin’ on?” As Chrysalis nodded her head angrily, Applejack reach down and yanked the sock out of her mouth.

“Puah! Don’t these disgusting apes ever bathe themselves. Anyway, of course I know what’s happening, you ridiculous simpleton! It’s Sombra! He must have realized that my attack was thwarted and decided to take matters into his own hands. That traitorous wretch was probably planning on doing this from the start.”

“Y’all are tellin’ me that Sombra’s that ready to toss y’all under the apple cart just to get at us?” Applejack asked incredulously. “Ah know the two of y’all are villains and everythin’, but Ah can’t believe y’all would really stab each other in the backs like that.”

“Really, you’re actually surprised that we’d betray each other?” Chrysalis replied with genuine amusement. “If anything, I’m a little surprised it’s taken Sombra this long to attempt something like this.” Applejack let out a snort of disgust as she turned away from Chrysalis and refocused on finding a way out of her current situation.

“Hey, Ah got a question fer y’all,” Applejack said as she grabbed one of her fellow passengers. “The cables this thing’s on are at an angle, right? So, what the hay’s keepin’ us from just rollin’ on down to the bottom instead of sittin’ here?”

“Um, I think the trucks on top of the car all have brakes that keep the car in place,” the trainer said. “That way they can control how fast the car goes down the track. I’m pretty sure you could disable the emergency breaks to let it roll down, but—”

“Thanks, that’s all Ah needed to hear,” Applejack said as she quickly made her way over to where Chrysalis’s utility car had smashed into the cable car.

“Applejack, what in Celestia’s name do you think you’re doing?” Rarity cried out as Applejack started to climb into the wreckage of the utility car. “You’re not seriously thinking on doing what I think you’re doing?”

“If Ah can get those breaks on top loose, that should send this car rollin’ down the cables. Ah doubt it’ll be a neat landin’, but Ah recon it’d sure be a better option than just sittin’ here waitin’ to fall,” Applejack said.

“I understand what you’re saying, but are you really going to climb up there? It’s just too dangerous,” Rarity protested.

“More dangerous than doin’ nothin’ and waitin’ fer Sombra to cut those other cables?” Applejack countered. “If y’all have a better idea then Ah’d sure love to hear it, but otherwise Ah’m goin’ up there and tryin’ to get us out of this mess.”

“Actually, I do happen to have one idea,” Rarity said after thinking about it for a moment. “Rather than you going out there and risking your life to get us out of this, why don’t we have her do it instead?” Applejack turned to follow Rarity’s gaze straight towards the still-struggling Chrysalis.

“Her?” Applejack sputtered in shock.

“Me?” Chrysalis shrieked simultaneously, before letting out a mocking laugh. “Hah! And what in Equestria makes you think for a second that I’d do anything to help the likes of you two, let along put myself at risk?” Chrysalis sneered. In response, Rarity crouched down until she was almost eye level with Chrysalis.

“Because as much as you might despise us and want to see us destroyed, I doubt very much that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself in the process.” Rarity replied simply. Chrysalis said nothing in return, merely narrowing her eyes menacingly at Rarity in response.

*********

“I hate you! I hate you all! Do you hear me?” Chrysalis screamed as she clung to the top of the cable car.

“Duly noted, darling. Now, how are you doing with those emergency brakes?” Rarity called back as she stuck her head out one of the cable car windows.

“Uh, Rarity, are y’all really sure this is such a good idea? We’re pretty much trustin’ our lives to Chrysalis here, of all creatures,” Applejack said. “How do we know she won’t stab us straight in the back the second she gets the chance?”

“Oh, she absolutely will, darling, which is why we need to keep and eye out for her inevitable betrayal. But, for the moment, we’re not trusting Chrysalis with our lives, we’re trusting her with her own life,” Rarity replied. “I assure you, Chrysalis does not strike me as the sort of creature who would be willing to sacrifice herself for anything.”

“And just how the hay do y’all know so much about Chrysalis?” Applejack demanded.

“Simple, really, from the various changelings I’ve spoken with. There’ve been a surprising number of them who’ve gone into the modeling business ever since Thorax reformed them, so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to chat with them. They really are a lovely group of creatures, now that they’re not being forced to kidnap ponies so they can feed on their love by a vicious despot, that is,” Rarity added.

“I still hate you!” Chrysalis screamed, punctuating Rarity’s point.

“Hate us all you want, but you really should hurry up with those –” the cable car noticeable swung forward a bit, cutting Rarity off as a stream of profanity came from outside the cable car.

“Ah’m guessin’ that’s one brake down,” Applejack said as she tried to hold onto her seat while the car slowly wobbled back and forth. “But, if the car’s movin’ that much after just the first brake, then what the hay is it gonna be like once the other one’s –” Several dull, metallic bangs followed immediately by a triumphant yell later and Applejack had the answer to her question. The entire car shuddered as it proceeded to roll down the cables, slowly but steadily picking up speed as it followed gravity’s pull. “Hey!” Applejack yelled as she leaned out the cable car window. “Y’all better climb back down here while y’ still can, otherwise y’ll be ridin’ the top of the car all the way down to the bottom.”

“Don’t you think I realize that, you miserable simpleton? Now get out of my way!” Chrysalis snapped as she started to climb bank over the edge of the car. Just then, however, there was an audible metallic whine as the middle set of cables finally gave way, causing the entire car to swing down until it was perpendicular to the ground as it continued to roll down the last set of cables. Chrysalis let out an earsplitting scream of terror as she lost her grip on the car, and it was only the quick reflexes of Applejack that saved her from plummeting to her end.

“Hang on, Ah gotcha,” Applejack said as she hung halfway out the window, gripping Chrysalis’ arm with both hands. “Now stop strugglin’ so Ah can pull y’ back in!”

“Yes! Do that! Pull me in pull me in pull me in!” Chrysalis screeched as she clung desperately to Applejack. Chrysalis’ panicked struggling, however, didn’t make things any easier for Applejack, nor did the fact that the cable car was now rapidly picking up speed. Applejack tried bracing her feet against the interior wall of the car to gain some additional leverage, but as the car continued to sway back and forth, she felt herself starting to slip.

“Applejack!” Rarity cried out as she lunged for her friend, wrapping her arms around Applejack’s midsection. “Don’t worry, I’ve got – oof!” As the cable car continued to swing, both Applejack and Rarity lost their footing, leaving Chrysalis dangling outside the car, Rarity hanging off Applejack inside and Applejack herself caught in the middle halfway out the window.

“Dang it,” Applejack wheezed, the weight of the other two pulling her midsection down onto the window’s edge. “Everybody hold on, Ah’m gonna try somethin’!”

“Hold on? Is that supposed to be some kind of – wait, what do you think you’re doing?” Ignoring Chrysalis’ protests, Applejack proceeded to swing the changeling queen into the air away from the cable car as she shifted herself to plant both feet against the inside of the cable car’s wall. Grunting with exertion, Applejack pushed back against the wall with all her might, yanking Chrysalis into the car. Despite Chrysalis colliding with the window frame on the way in, the maneuver was a complete success, though Chrysalis herself seemed less than impressed. “Miserable fool, that could have killed me.”

“Yeah, yer welcome,” Applejack grumbled. There was little time for Applejack to bicker with Chrysalis over the latter’s lack of gratitude, as the hanging end of the cable car finally collided with the ground, bringing its descent to an abrupt halt. The force of the impact sent the car’s occupants flying about the interior, crashing from one side of the aisle to the other. Even worse, moments after the cable car finally came to a rest the last cable holding it up was cut, leaving the cable car to topple over and fall to the ground.

“Well, Applejack,” Rarity began amid a chorus of injured groans coming from the other passengers. “I will admit, your plan was indeed an improvement over plummeting to our deaths. Not a tremendous improvement, mind you, but an improvement, nonetheless.”

“Well, like Rainbow Dash is always sayin’, any landin’ y’all can walk away from is a good one,” Applejack countered. “That said, is everybody alright?” Applejack’s question was met by a chorus of groans, but mercifully it seemed as though no one had suffered anything worse than a few bruises. By the time Applejack was able to ascertain this, however, another bit of news became apparent that quickly soured any relief she may have felt.

“How in Equestria did Chrysalis manage to get away without anyone noticing?” Rarity demanded. “She was literally right there just a few moments ago!”

“But neither of us were watchin’ her, and Ah reckon that one’s got a real knack fer sneakin’ off when things start to look rough fer her,” Applejack replied. “Even so, Ah’d be willin’ to be bet she’ll be goin’ after Sombra before she tries anythin’ else with us again. If Ah were her, Ah’d be mighty sore with him over that business with the cables.”

“That’s probably true, Chrysalis certainly has never struck me as the forgiving type even under the best of circumstances. But, where does that leave us, then?” Rarity asked.

“Well, Ah don’t see much point in just standin’ around here jawin’. Ah figure we’re probably pretty close to that Ferrum Village place the cable car was supposed to be takin’ us to, so we should probably head there fer starters. After that, we can start headin’ down towards Aquarius City like we planned.”

*********

Later that evening, a fuming Chrysalis wandered through the underbrush as she tried to put as much distance between the site of the cable car’s crash and herself as possible. “That miserable, treacherous scum, how dare he try and kill me like that! When I tell Grogar about this–”

“What makes you think for a moment that Grogar would actually care? Or rather, that Grogar would care more about that than the fact that you helped Twilight’s friends survive my plan?” Snarling in rage, Chrysalis spun around to see Sombra emerge from the shadows, followed by a sheepish-looking Bray.

“You traitor! How day you show you face to me after what you attempted?” Chrysalis shrieked.

“First of all, I can’t have betrayed you because I’ve never been on your side to begin with. Secondly, I wasn’t trying to kill you, I was trying to kill Twilight’s idiot friends. You were merely part of an acceptable level of collateral damage. And besides, can you honestly say that you wouldn’t have done exactly the same thing to me had the opportunity presented itself?” Chrysalis said nothing at first, merely glaring angrily at Sombra for a full minute before she finally replied.

“The stupid crystals you insisted we steal didn’t work. When I tried to us it nothing happened.”

“I see. I suspected something like that might happen, but I had no way to be sure without a proper test,” Sombra said thoughtfully, further enraging Chrysalis.

“You expected that to happen? If these crystals are useless, then why did you insist we waste time stealing them?” Chrysalis demanded.

“I didn’t say I thought they’d be useless, I said I expected there would be more to wielding the gems than pointing at our enemies and yelling ‘attack’ like an imbecile. Now that we have the crystals, our next step will be devising a way to fully unlock their power,” Sombra explained.

“And the reason you didn’t tell me any of this before you tricked me into attacking those two on my own is…?” Chrysalis growled.

“As I’ve already said, before now I had no way of knowing if there were any secrets to using the crystals or not. Also, if you’ll recall, I originally offered to handle the attack myself, but you insisted on going,” Sombra added smugly. “Now come, we’ll need to keep moving if we’re to keep track of those two pests. Unless, of course, you’d like to try taking your grievances up with Grogar and see what he thinks about the situation?”

Despite staring daggers at Sombra, Chrysalis remained silent. “My first priority is still dealing with Twilight Sparkle and her meddlesome friends,” Chrysalis thought to herself “But once that’s done, Sombra, you and I are going to have a reckoning.”

Battle Fever

“Ooh, and what kind of Pokémon is that over there?” Pinkie Pie asked eagerly.

“Pinkie…that’s a rock. Just an ordinary, non-Pokémon rock. Exactly like the last dozen or so other rocks you’ve pointed out so far today,” Derek said in an utterly defeated tone. The path to the next settlement was leading the group over plains of dark stone, and both Pinkie and Fluttershy were eager to see what new Pokémon they’d encounter on the way. In Pinkie’s case, she may have been a bit too excited.

“What about that over there? That’s definitely not a rock, is it a Pokémon?”

“No, that would be a piece of driftwood,” Derek said. “And, before you ask, no, as far as we know there aren’t any Pokémon that pretend to be driftwood. You can find ones that look like just about everything else, but no driftwood.”

“Drat. Oh well, we’ve gotta see some new Pokémon eventually, right Fluttershy?”

“Hmm? Oh, right…I guess? What was the question?” Fluttershy asked as she seemed to just realize that Pinkie Pie was talking to her.

“Hey, Fluttershy, are you alright? You’ve been awfully quiet ever since we left Ferrum Village. Even quieter than usual, I mean. Is something bothering you?” Derek asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ve just been thinking about my last gym battle and how it all felt,” Fluttershy said. “At the time, everything was happening so fast that I let myself get swept up in it all, but when Pinkie and I got back to the Pokémon center I realized how badly Quilava and Croagunk were hurt. Even if they’re alright with it, is it really alright for me to let my Pokémon get into battles like that?”

“The short answer would be; yes,” Derek replied. “Trust me, Pokémon have ways of letting their trainers know when they feel like they’re being pushed too far, and in your case they have the option of just talking to you instead of playing the world’s angriest game of charades.”

“Ooh, cha-rage! My sister Limestone loves that game! She used to play it with me all the time when we did our chores back at the rock farm,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“…Anyway, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be ready to pull your Pokémon back if they start taking things too far on their own, but I wouldn’t get too worked up about one gym battle. And, if you’re really that concerned, you could always talk to your Pokémon and see how they feel about everything,” Derek added.

“Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea,” Fluttershy admitted. “I know they’ve told me before that they want to battle, but maybe I just need to hear it from them one more time to put me at ease.”

“Sounds like a plan. If you think you’ll need some privacy, I can take Pinkie and—” Derek looked around as he realized that Pinkie Pie had somehow vanished from sight. “Alright, new plan. I’m going to go look for Pinkie while you talk to your Pokémon. I swear, I’m seriously thinking about putting a bell on her or something.”

“On no, we tried that once, actually,” Fluttershy said with a shudder. “It…didn’t end all that well.” Derek stared at Fluttershy for several moments as he tried to first determine if she was joking, and then decide if he wanted to ask for an explanation. Eventually, Derek quietly concluded that he was happier not knowing and headed off in search of Pinkie Pie. Once she was alone, Fluttering took a deep breath before setting her Ralts on the ground and taking out her Poké Balls. “Could you all please come out for a moment? I have something that I need to talk to you about for a bit.” In a flash, all three Poké Balls opened in unison and Ralts was joined by Quilava, Croagunk and Wimpod, who all looked expectantly at Fluttershy. “I wanted to talk with you all, especially Quilava and Croagunk, about how things have been, and particularly how our last gym battle went.”

“Quilava Quil,” Quilava grumbled as it looked down at the ground.

“Oh no, that’s not what I meant at all! If anycreature should apologize for how things went, it’s me,” Fluttershy said quickly, prompting a chorus of disagreement from her Pokémon. “That’s all very kind of you to say, but the fact of the matter is you both got very hurt during the battle, and if I had been a better trainer, than maybe—” Fluttershy found herself abruptly cut off as her Pokémon all vehemently voiced their objections to what she was about to say, which Croagunk quickly taking the lead.

“Croa Croa Croagunk!”

“But, I barely did anything, you and Quilava were the ones who did all the fighting,” Fluttershy protested. “All I did was shout instructions from the sidelines.”

“Quilava?”

“Alright, I suppose I did help you spot that Hawlucha when it was moving too fast for you to keep track of, but—”

“Croagunk!”

“But – I mean, yes, using our Z-move was how we were able to win in the end, but…” Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, maybe I did help a little during the battle, but that doesn’t change the fact that I wasn’t able to do enough to keep you both from getting hurt.” Fluttershy’s words seemed to have a little more impact this time as her Pokémon appeared to quietly consider what she was saying. The conclusion that they drew from this, however, wasn’t exactly what Fluttershy was expecting.

“Croagunk, Croa croa Croagunk!”

“Train even harder?” Fluttershy replied in alarm. “That wasn’t really what I was—”

“Quilava.”

“Well, I mean, I guess you could look at it that way. Training harder would mean any more battles would probably be easier for us to handle, but—”

“Wimpod!”

“You too, Wimpod? I don’t really know if you’re quite ready to start battling just yet, but if you really want to start training with Quilava and Croagunk, then I suppose it’s—”

“Ralts!”

“No!” Fluttershy snapped, perhaps more harshly than she had intended, shocking her Pokémon into sudden silence. Seeing their stunned expressions, Fluttershy took a few deep breaths to clam herself down before kneeling down. “I’m sorry, Ralts, but you’re just much too young for me to let you start getting into battles like Quilava and Croagunk do. Maybe when you’re a little older we could start training, but right now it’s just too soon.”

Ralts initially seemed dejected by this response, but then Croagunk patted it on the back. “Croa, Croagunk.”

“There, you see? Croagunk’s absolutely right, if you’re really interested in battling, then for now you should watch Croagunk and the others train so you can learn all about it safely,” Fluttershy said, grateful Croagunk had provided her with a way of putting off that particular issue for at least a bit longer.

“Croagunk croa croa.”

“Right, and we can get started training right away so we can all be ready for our next gym battle – wait, what?” Fluttershy rapidly felt her control over the situation slip through her fingers as her Pokémon all voiced their approval of this plan. “I suppose…I mean, if you all really want to, then it wouldn’t hurt to train for a little while, at least. Just not for too long, since we don’t want Pinkie or Derek to worry about us. And you should be careful not to be too rouch with each other. I don’t want any of you to get hurt and I’m not really sure how long it will be before we get to the next town. And…” Fluttershy continued her litany of gentle warnings, but by that point her Pokémon had largely stopped listening to what she was saying as they went off to train against each other.

*********

“How the heck does Pinkie Pie manage to keep disappearing like this?” Derek muttered as he clambered over the stony ground. “And why is it so hard to find her whenever I’m actually looking for her? With how loud she is normally, you’d think I’d just be able to follow her voice—” At that very moment, the sounds of excited cheering suddenly filled the air. “Kind of like that, actually.” Wasting no time, Derek quickly followed the sound of his friend’s voice until he found Pinkie Pie happily hugging a bored-looking woman in a simple cyan dress. “Uh, Pinkie, do you know her, or are you just hugging random strangers for fun now?”

“Hugging random strangers is fun, but this isn’t a stranger. This is my big sister Maud!”

“Hey,” Maud said as she peered over Pinkie Pie’s shoulder at Derek.

“Maud, this is my friend Derek. He’s been showing me and Fluttershy all around the island while we go on our Pokémon adventure! It’s been really fun, we’ve seen all sorts of Pokémon and done a ton of exciting stuff and fought bad guys and I’ve even been to a couple of gyms!”

“Gyms? Wait, are you saying you’ve been challenging some of the gyms?” Maud said.

“Yeah! It was kind of scary at first, but once I understood that my Pokémon were alright with it, it got really exciting!” Pinkie Pie explained happily. “So, how have you been? Have you seen anything interesting rocks? Have you got a Pokémon? What kind is it?” Pinkie Pie would likely have continued asking questions at an ever-increasing pace had Maud not put her hand over Pinkie’s mouth, muffling the stream of endless chatter.

“I’ve been fine. I’m working with one of the gym leaders studying the island’s rocks,” Maud said. “It’s been nice. I didn’t have much chance to study igneous rock formations in Equestria.”

“If you’re studying geology, then I’m guessing the gym leader you’re working with is Professor Amber,” Derek said as Pinkie continued babbling into Maud’s hand, while Maud nodded her had in affirmation.

“She’s been nice. I don’t often meet someone who’s as interested in rocks as I am, and I’ve learned a lot about Pokémon from her. Especially Rock-types,” Maud said as Pinkie Pie finally managed to wriggle free.

“Ooh, so does that mean you do have a Pokémon? Show me show me show me!” Pinkie exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement.

“Okay,” Maud said as she took out a Poké Ball and tossed it into the air. “Pebble, come out and meet my sister.” Pinkie Pie eagerly leaned forward as Maud’s Poké Ball released its occupant, only to be forced to leap back as the massive Onix uncurled itself.

“Whoa! That’s a really big pebble!” Pinkie yelped before turning back to Maud. “So, are you doing Pokémon battles too? Do you have any badges? Ohh, what types of badges do you have?”

“I’m not really interested in battling,” Maud said. “I have watched Professor Amber battle a few challengers, though. Like Applejack.” This last revelation elicited a gasp of elation from Pinkie Pie.

“You saw Applejack? How is she? Has she been having fun? What kind of Pokémon did she get? Did you see any of my other friends?”

“I’m guessing this Applejack is a friend of yours?” Derek asked as Pinkie’s latest barrage of questions was interrupted by her need to breathe.

“You bet! Applejack’s one of my best friends ever! I figured she and the rest of our friends would be here too somewhere,” Pinkie said. “I thought about trying to look for them when we first got here, but I just figured we’d run into everybody eventually anyway. Things always seem to work out like that, after all,” Pinkie added before turning back to Maud. “You said Applejack challenged the gym leader you’ve been staying with, right? How’d she do?”

“Applejack won,” Maud said. “She had a little trouble with the professor’s Aerodactyl at first, but she beat it eventually.”

“Yeah Applejack! Whoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “I wonder how many badges she’ll have by the time we meet back up? Fluttershy and I only have two badges each so far, but I bet Applejack and Rainbow Dash must have a whole bunch more.”

“You’ve got two badges already?” Maud said, the hint of surprise in her voice the most emotion Derek had seen her display thus far. “If you’re really taking on gym leaders, then I think I have something that might help you.” As Maud spoke, she set her backpack down on the ground and began rummaging through it until she pulled out an incubator. “Professor Amber got too many of these so she gave me one, but I think it might be a better fit for you,” Maud said as she handed Pinkie Pie the incubator.

“Oh Maud, are you sure? Well, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it and raise it up to be the happiest, healthiest little Pokémon ever!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily.

Derek, meanwhile, eyed the egg Pinkie Pie had been given warily. “You said that was an egg Professor Amber ordered, right? One that she got too many of?”

“That’s right,” Maud said.

Derek looked back and forth between Maud’s impassive stare and Pinkie Pie’s gleeful expression before letting out a sigh. “Well, if that’s what I think it is then it’ll be a while before it hatches. Anyway, I should probably check in on how Fluttershy is doing with her Pokémon.”

“Yup, and once she’s ready we can get back on the road to…”

“Port Manganese,” Derek said.

“Port Manganese, where I’m gonna win my third badge!” Pinkie declared proudly.

“Alright,” Maud said before addressing Derek. “It was nice to meet you. It’s good to know that Pinkie’s found friends here that can help look out for her.” With that said, Maud climbed up onto Pebble’s head and patted it a few times, prompting it to rumble off into the distance as Derek and Pinkie watched.

“So…that was your sister, huh?” Derek said as they watched Maud ride off into the distance.

“Uh huh, she’s the best big sister ever!” Pinkie Pie replied. “Although, I’m kinda surprised she’s here. Usually, this sort of stuff is just something me and my friends do. Maud’s not really the type to go on adventures like this…ooh! But may from now on she will! That would be amazing! My big sister Maud helping me and my friends save Equestria! That would be so much better than Pinkie-Rainbow-Rari-Twi-Apple-Flutter-Maud Fun Time!”

“…I’m just going to assume that all made sense in context. Anyway, we really should probably track down Fluttershy and see how she’ doing,” Derek said. “I know Fluttershy usually has a good handle on her Pokémon, but the Croagunk and Cyndaquil lines can be a little—” A sudden shout cut through the air, followed closely by a mixture of animalistic grunting and growling. “…Rambunctious. I’d say rambunctious would probably be a good word.”

“Yup, that definitely sounds rambunctious alright. Rambunctious. Rrrrrambunctious.” Pinkie Pie giggled happily. “Hey, that’s actually a fun word to say. Rambunctious, rambunctious, rammy-rammy rambunctious, la lala la la.” Pinkie Pie skipped along as she continued singing her on the spot ode to a word she wasn’t entirely certain the meaning of as Derek followed quietly behind, lost in thought.

“So, it sounds like Pinkie and Fluttershy aren’t the only two of these ‘Equestrians’ that we should be keeping tabs on,” Derek thought to himself. “I might need to talk with A and see if there’s anything else important that his friend forgot to mention before things go completely out of control.”

A Bad Bad Man

“So, this is Umbral Circle, huh? Well it’s…I guess it’s not any worse than Griffinstone was,” Rainbow Dash said as nicely as she could as she and the others looked down over the collection of mostly abandoned buildings that comprised the ‘town’. Nearly every visible home or shop had been boarded up, save the Pokémon Center and what looked to be a warehouse that had been converted into a biker bar, and even those appeared relatively dingy.

“Jeez, this place is a complete dump!” Spike said, feeling a bit less diplomatic than Rainbow Dash. “No wonder those two were grumpy if they came from this place. I just hope the doctor they have here is any good.

“We could always just try the next town over,” Twilight suggested. “My arm could hold out a little while longer, as long as I don’t move it around, and—”

“Oh no, we’re getting you to a doctor pronto,” Rainbow Dash said. “Actually, the fact that this place is such a dump might actually be a good thing. If this place really does have a doctor, then I’ll bet they’ve probably got a lot of experience dealing with stuff like your arm.” For a moment it looked like Twilight wanted to argue the point, but a wince of pain indicated she had more pressing concerns. “Yeah, we seriously need to get you to a doctor. Uh, there is an actual doctor in this place, right Spike?”

“According to the Pokédex there should be,” Spike replied, sounding a bit less than certain.

“Well what the hay are we waiting for, then? Let’s get going!”

*********

While not much to look at, the small building that housed Umbral Circle’s sole clinic was mercifully intact. “It helps that Nero’s warned everyone against causing any problems here, or at the Pokémon Center,” Doctor Thorne, the clinic’s physician, explained as he examined Twilight’s arm. “Most of his lackeys down at the gym might be idiots, but Nero himself understands that they’ll all be in serious trouble if Nurse Joy or I get chased off.”

“Um, who’s Nero again?” Twilight asked out of equal parts boredom and curiosity.

“Nero’s the local gym leader, though gang leader is probably more like it. Most of the punks that follow him are only a half-step away from joining up with some group like Team Rocket, but Nero does a decent job keeping them under control. There are rumors going around that Nero was an admin with someone a while back, but I kind of doubt it.”

“Uh huh,” Twilight said absentmindedly, only vaguely paying attention to what the doctor was talking about. “So, about my arm…”

“I’m afraid you have a fractured ulna. Luckily, it’s a simple break, so should be fine after few weeks in a cast. If you can hold tight for a bit I’ll get everything ready.”

“A few weeks?” Twilight groaned in disbelief. Her efforts to get everypony back to Equestria had been difficult enough as it was, having one of her arms in a cast would make her mission substantially harder. “Isn’t there anything you can do that could hurry everything up? Even just a little?”

“No. There isn’t,” Doctor Thorne replied flatly, with the tone of someone who’s had to answer a question far more times than they feel they really should. “You’re just going to need to be patient and let your body repair itself naturally. Speaking of which, in addition to your arm you also have a cracked rib. I can’t do much for that besides recommending that you get as much rest as possible and avoid exerting yourself." Doctor Thorne frowned as Twilight found herself unable to look him in the eye. “I’m serious, miss. From what you and your friends told me, you’re extremely lucky that you weren’t hurt much worse than you were. That said, if you insist on overexerting yourself, then there’s going to be a very real possibility that your luck in that regard isn’t going to hold out.”

“I…understand. I’ll try my best to take things easy,” Twilight replied after a moment’s hesitation. It wasn’t a lie, per se. Twilight fully intended to do her best to follow the doctor’s instructions, but only as far as she could while still working to fix things.

Doctor Thorne, meanwhile, seemed to sense his patient’s intentions and threw his arms up in the air. “Fine, then. Go do whatever it is you want! It’s not like you’ll be the first patient of mine to ignore me. Just let me get that arm in a cast and then you can go off training or fighting or whatever other idiotic thing you think is more important than your own health.”

Twilight silently nodded her head as she let the doctor go to work on her arm. “It’s not like I can really blame him for reacting like that,” Twilight thought to herself. “I mean, how many times have I been in his shoes, trying to talk Rainbow Dash out of doing something crazy? Or to get Applejack to take a break before she wears herself out again? Still, I can’t afford to just abandon my mission over something as minor as a broken arm. I’ll just need to be a little more careful for now until I figure out how to get everypony back to Equestria. I just hope I can keep Spike and Rainbow Dash from freaking out and trying to stop me from continuing to collect gym badges. Speaking of Spike and Rainbow Dash, I wonder where those two wandered off to. I haven’t seen either of them since they dropped me off here.”

*********

“I don’t know about this, Rainbow. Are you sure it was alright for us to leave Twilight at the doctor’s like that?” Spike asked nervously as he and Rainbow Dash walked through the ruined town.

“Come on, Spike, Twilight’ll be fine. It’s not like we’d be allowed in the examination room anyway, so I don’t think Twilight will mind if we look around while we wait for her instead of sit in the waiting room. Besides, I know you’re curious about that big warehouse-looking place too.”

“Not really,” Spike replied, far less convincingly than he had hoped. In truth, while Spike was indeed rather curious about the building, that curiosity was tempered by nervousness. There was something about the building that reminded Spike of his first encounter with Garble, and while Spike couldn’t explain the reason for his reaction it was enough to put him on edge. As the pair turned a corner and the building in question came into view, Spike could feel his sense of apprehension increase. The massive, industrial-sized building was mostly unadorned aside from a few flickering neon signs that had been affixed near the front door proclaiming ‘Troublemakers Welcome’. The rows of motorbikes parked outside, along with the muffled sounds of loud music playing within indicated that the building was indeed occupied with the desired audience.

“Come on, Spike, you can’t tell me that you’re not just a little bit curious about what they hay is going on in there,” Rainbow Dash said as she noticed Spike’s apprehension. “Alright, how about this; we’ll go in for just a bit to see what the hay the deal is, and if it does start to look like trouble then we’ll head straight back out. How does that sound?”

“I guess that would be alright,” Spike replied, though he didn’t sound completely convinced. “I mean, we shouldn’t get into too much trouble just by going inside and looking around.”

“We’re not gonna get in trouble at all. We’re just gonna look around for a bit and see what the deal is with this place, and then we’ll head back to the doctor’s office to check on Twilight. Hay, we’ll probably get back before Twilight’s even done having her arm fixed up, she won’t even know we ever went here in the first place.” Spike, unable to come up with any further arguments, nodded his head as the pair approached the building’s entrance.

The moment Rainbow Dash pushed the door open and stepped inside, she found herself staring into the chest of a mammoth, black and white ursine Pokémon. The creature stood with its arms folded in front of its chest as it grumpily stared down at Rainbow Dash and Spike before it finally let out a snort and ponderously moved to one side. Beyond the Pokémon, the interior of the building resembled a massive pool hall, with various rough-looking people clustered around an assortment of pool tables, dartboards and pinball machines. A large bar had been erected along the wall to the left of the entrance, and some sort of massive chain link fence enclosure topped with barbed wire dominated the back of the building. The building itself was filled with the general din of the crowds inside, along with the clacking of billiard balls and chimes of pinball machines. Every so often, however, shouts could be heard rising above the ruckus as a fight broke out over some disagreement or another.

“Well, we’ve seen the inside. It sure is a neat place, but now that we’ve seen it why don’t we go head back to the doctor’s and tell Twilight all about it,” Spike said as he started edging towards the door, only for Rainbow Dash to grab him by the arm.

“Are you kidding? We can’t leave yet, this place is awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, a statement which was somewhat undercut by the sound of a bottle being smashed as a particularly large fight broke out near one of the pool tables. “Anyway, I’m gonna look around this place a bit more before we go, but I guess you can leave if you really want to.” Spike briefly considered Rainbow Dash’s offer before letting out a sigh and shaking his head.

“No, if you really want to stay, then I can hold off checking in on Twilight for a little while longer,” Spike said. Rainbow Dash grinned ear-to-ear at this before sauntering over to the bar with Spike in tow and plopping down onto one of the stools. As Spike clambered onto the seat next to her, the bartender, a bald, burly man with a scarred face, slammed a pair of glasses down onto the bar in front of them.

“You two are new here, ain’t ya? Well, this here’s a special welcome drink we’ve got fer newbies, on the house,” the bartender said as he poured a fiery red liquid into each of the glasses.

“Wow, thanks,” Rainbow Dash said as she picked up the glass, motioning for Spike to do likewise. Wasting no time, Rainbow Dash proceeded to gulp down the contents, only for her eyes to widen in horror as her entire mouth felt like it had been just set on fire. The empty glass crashed to the floor as Rainbow Dash let out an anguished cry of pain while the rest of the bar’s patrons roared in laughter, the bartender especially.

“How’d ya like yer newbie special? That’s some high quality pure Tamato Berry juice,” the bartender said with a wicked grin as he leaned over the bar to grin at the gasping Rainbow Dash.

“Mmm, yeah, high quality is right, this stuff’s great!” The bartender immediately turned his attention to Spike, who was happily finishing off his glass. “Could I have another glass, please?”

“Uh…sure,” the bartender said, staring at Spike in disbelief as he poured him another glass of the hot sauce. “Wow, you’re really just drinking that stuff right down, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Spike said before noticing Rainbow Dash, who was still coughing fitfully on the floor. “Hey, Rainbow, are you alright? You don’t look so good.”

“No, I’m fine. I’m great, in fact,” Rainbow Dash wheezed as she pulled herself back up onto the barstool. “That stuff just caught me off guard, is all. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Is that so? Well, in that case how’d you like another round too?” the bartender asked evilly, still brandishing the bottle.

“No! I mean, nah, I’m good. Besides, Spike here’s enjoying the stuff so much I wouldn’t want there to be any less for him,” Rainbow Dash said quickly.

“In other words, you’re just hiding behind yer little friend again like ya did when we ran into ya out in the gravel fields!” Rainbow Dash spun around to see Nancy, one of the trainers she and Spike had encountered earlier, sitting at a nearby table. “Yeah! Me and Joe ran into those two yesterday out in the hills—”

“And we kicked your butts!” Rainbow Dash shouted back, eliciting a wave of laughter from the other patrons.

“Only because ya were too much of a chicken to take us on without usin’ yer fancy Z-moves,” Nancy countered.

“Then how come Spike managed to beat you when he doesn’t even have any Z-crystal things?” Rainbow Dash fired back.

“Alright, alright, simmer down both of you!” the bartender yelled. “We’ve all heard the story already, Nancy, you picked a fight with a couple of kids and managed to get your rear end handed to you. Now sit down and shut up before you make yourself look even dumber than you have already, unless you want Pangoro over there to toss you out. And as for you,” the bartender continued, turning his attention to Rainbow Dash. “Knock it off with the smartass routine already. We’ve already got enough annoying loudmouths around here without some new punk comin’ in and runnin’ her mouth off. You keep it up and the boss is liable to come out and teach you a lesson in manners the hard way.”

“Oh yeah? Well I’m not scared of whoever this ‘boss’ guy is. Bring him on!” Rainbow Dash declared. As soon as the words had left her mouth, however, Rainbow Dash realized that the entire bar had suddenly become deathly silent as a palpable tension filled the air.

“You really shouldn’t have said that,” the bartender said, regretfully shaking his head as he turned away.

Nancy, on the hand, was elated by how things seemed to be turning out. “See? What’d I tell you? These two punks think they can mouth off about the boss and get away with…” The words seemed to die in Nancy’s mouth, however, as several of the other patrons had begun banging bottles down onto to the tabletops and stamping their feet in a steady rhythm. At the same time, a chant slowly started to build throughout the building, one name being repeated again and again.

“Nero. Nero. Nero. Nero. Nero…”

*********

“Alright, that should just about do it for your arm. You’ll want to check back in with a doctor in about four weeks or so to see how everything’ healing, but there shouldn’t be any problems as long as you don’t aggravate things in the meantime,” Doctor Thorne said.

“Right,” Twilight replied as she adjusted her sling, making a mental note to stop by Ponyville General the moment she was back in Equestria.

“I’m serious about not aggravating things, by the way,” Doctor Thorne said. “If you have to keep Pokémon battling or whatever, that’s one thing. But hold off on the rock climbing or BMXing or whatever it is you did to injure yourself in the first place. Otherwise, you might wind up with something that isn’t going to heal in just a few weeks.”

“I understand,” Twilight said, a little more sincerely this time as she stepped into the office’s waiting room. “Um, doctor, do you know where my friends are?”

The doctor, however, simply shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. If I had to guess, I’d say they probably wandered off to investigate the local gym. It’s pretty much the only intact building around here.”

“Oh right, you mention something about this town having a gym leader earlier,” Twilight said. “Where exactly is the gym, anyway?”

“It’s the big warehouse-looking building, you must have seen it when you arrived, its kind of hard to miss. In any case, I doubt your friends will be in any trouble or anything. Nero keeps most of the dolts who hang out at that dump on a pretty tight leash, so as rough as it looks its actually pretty safe. Your friends would have to really try and find some way of provoking the entire gym all at once for there to be any real problems,” Doctor Thorne said with a laugh.

“Ah hah hah hah, yeah, there’s no way Rainbow Dash would…in a gym full of…anyway, I really should get going. Bye!” Twilight said before bolting out of the clinic as fast as her legs could carry her. “It’s not that I don’t trust Rainbow Dash or anything, I’m just being cautious, that’s all. She wouldn’t really deliberately pick a fight with an entire gym full of trainers. I’m going to get there and see that everything’s fine and then I’ll just feel silly and we’ll all have a big laugh over this.” Twilight continued trying to reassure herself as she hurried through the empty streets until she finally came to a stop in front of the gym itself. “So, this is the Umbral Circle gym. It…definitely is a building. Maybe I really am being silly. It isn’t as though Rainbow Dash just goes around picking fights, and most of the people we’ve met in this world have been perfectly nice. I should just go in there and—” Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of feet stomping in unison along with what sounded like some kind of chant, “—and try and fix whatever Rainbow Dash has managed to get herself into.” Wasting no time, Twilight quickly pushed through the door to see Rainbow Dash and Spike surround by crowds of the gym’s trainers, all of whom were chanting the name ‘Nero’ over and over again. Suddenly, the door to an office overlooking the warehouse-turned gym was kicked open as a hulking man in a brown overcoat stormed out.

“What the hell are you idiots doing now?” the man demanded as he glared down over the gym, abruptly intimidating the crowds into silence.

“Hey Nero, we got some fresh meat here that’s asking for a beatdown!” One of the trainers called out, causing Twilight to groan internally as her worst fears were realized. Quickly, Twilight considered her options before hitting on a potential plan to drag Rainbow Dash out of the situation she had gotten herself into.

“Um, hello,” Twilight spoke up, immediately causing all eyes in the gym to turn and focus on her. “I don’t mean to interrupt anything, but I had heard this was a Pokémon gym. I was going to challenge the gym leader here to a battle, but it looks like you’re all a bit too busy with…whatever it is you’ve got going on here.” In a flash, Rainbow Dash’s offenses were quickly forgotten as the far more enticing prospect of seeing a gym battle arose. Seeing this, Twilight decided to give the situation a bit of an extra push. “I guess it’s alright with me, it doesn’t really look like this gym’s really all that equipped to handle gym battles anyway.” If the gym had been quiet before, it was deathly silent now as nobody dared utter a sound, until finally Nero burst out laughing.

“And here I thought this was going to be a complete waste of my time! Well, little girl, you’ve certainly got a lot of guts. I don’t know if you’ve got much brains, but you’ve got guts. Do you really think you’ve got what it takes to take me on when you’ve got one arm in a cast?” Nero mocked.

“I really only need one arm to throw a Poké Ball, so having my arm in a cast shouldn’t make much of a difference,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly, causing Nero to let out another chuckle.

“Alright, I’ll give you that one. But any idiot can come in here and run their mouth about how tough they are. Let’s see if you can actually back that attitude of yours up. Take her to the pit!” The entire gym roared with approval as Twilight tried to puzzle out just what Nero meant by that last statement. Twilight got her answer faster than she expected as the large, ursine Pokémon that had been watching the door moved up behind her and began ushering her towards the chain-link enclosure at the back of the gym. The crowd instantly parted to make way for Twilight and her escort, laughing and jeering as she went by, but otherwise careful to not impede her progress. As Twilight drew closer to the structure, she saw that the fence was surrounding a Pokémon arena that had been partly sunk into the ground, giving any spectators an unobstructed view of the fighting. Nero was already standing at the far end of the field, arms folded in front of him as he watched Twilight approach. “What’s the matter, little girl? Having some second thoughts about challenging me?”

“No, I’m just wondering how I’m supposed to get down into there,” Twilight replied. In response, Twilight found herself pointed towards a set of dingy stairs that led down into the arena. “Oh.”

“I hope your skill at battling is better than your sense of direction,” Nero said. “Otherwise this is going to be a disappointing fight. Now, how many badges have you gotten already? Let me guess, I’ll be your first, am I right?”

“This will be for my third badge, actually,” Twilight said as she stepped into the arena.

“Your third badge? Then you should already know how this works by now. We’ll be fighting three-on-three, and don’t expect me to show you any mercy. Go Pawnaird!” Nero roared as he tossed his first Poké Ball into the field, revealing a bipedal, red and black creature covered in wicked-looking blades.

“A three-on-three match, huh? That’s new,” Twilight said to herself as she took stock of her opponent. “These gym battles must start involving more Pokémon as you get further along. Anyway, that…whatever it is looks like its some kind of Steel-type. Lucky for me, I did some research on those after Mercury City. So…Go Charmeleon!” Twilight called out as she threw out her own Poké Ball, letting Charmeleon out into the arena. “Alright, Charmeleon, I know we only just patched things up, but I’m really counting on you here.” Charmeleon eyed Twilight, its gaze lingering briefly on her arm, before turning towards its opponent and letting out a snort of confidence. “Great! Okay then, let’s show everyone here what you can do! Let’s start things off by giving it a taste of your Fire Fang!” Charmeleon nodded once before immediately charging straight towards Pawniard, its open mouth filled with bright orange flames. Nero, however, appeared unconcerned.

“Pawniard, Sucker Punch.” Hearing this, Pawniard took up a defensive stance, but otherwise remained stationary as Charmeleon bared down on it. Just as Charmeleon was about to strike, however, Pawniard shot forward and slammed one of its forelimbs into Charmeleon’s midsection. For a moment, it appeared as though the force of the blow had left Charmeleon winded. However, Charmeleon quickly recovered and used the opportunity to chomp down onto Pawniard’s shoulder, while flames erupted from its mouth.

“Good work, Charmeleon. Now quick, use Ember!” Twilight yelled as she watched Pawniard stagger backwards away from Charmeleon. Pressing its advantage, Charmeleon snapped its tail forward, throwing a shower of cinders directly into Pawniard’s face. The bladed Pokémon desperately waved its arms in front of itself in a futile effort to ward off the attack, before stumbling backwards and falling to the ground unconscious.

“Vicious and utterly without mercy. I approve,” Nero said as he recalled his Pawniard to its ball. “But, let’s see if you can keep it up. Go Inkay!” Nero’s next Pokémon proved to be a blue, squid-like creature with a pink mantle that floated up in mid-air while leering evilly at Twilight and Charmeleon. Twilight took a moment to assist this new opponent before lifting up Charmeleon’s Poké Ball.

“Charmeleon, return! Go Whirlipede!”

“What’s the matter? Was you Charmeleon not up to the task?” Nero asked in a mocking tone. Twilight, however, refused to allow his barbs to get to her.

“Oh, Charmeleon could definitely have taken that thing down. But I thought I’d let it get some rest while Whirlipede handles your…whatever it is.”

“Is that so? Well then, let’s see how you Whirlipede handles this. Inkay! Use Psybeam!” Letting out a stream of high-pitched, tittering, evil laughter, Nero’s Inkay proceeded to spin itself upside-down before firing out a beam of blue light, with a stream of pink circles streaming down its center. The attack hit Whirlipede head on, leaving it looking distressed and disoriented despite not appearing to have suffered any physical injuries.

“I don’t know what you just did, but I do know that you’re going to need to do much better than that if you want to beat Whirlipede. Speaking of whom, Whirlipede, use your Bug Bite attack!” Whirlipede obediently shot forward, the horns on its front glowing white as it went. As Whirlipede sped across the ground towards Inkay, it bounced itself into the air and slammed itself directly into its opponent, sending an unconscious Inkay crashing to the arena floor. “Hah! Good work Whirlipede!” Twilight said as she looked up at Nero. “So, who’s not up to the task now?” Rather than being upset at Twilight’s taunting, however, Nero simply gave her a knowing smile.

“You’re cocky. I like that. But you’ve missed two important things. The first is your Whirlipede.”

“My Whirlipede? What’s that supposed to –” Twilight stopped short as she watched her Whirlipede suddenly speed straight into one of the arena’s walls, before ricocheting off towards another. It quickly became painfully clear that Whirlipede had come away from its battle with Inkay in a much worse condition than Twilight had initially thought.

“The second thing you’ve missed is this,” Nero continued as he took out his third Poké Ball. “Houndoom! Go!” Nero’s final Poké Ball unleashed a massive, evil-looking canine onto the field, its head crowned by a pair of curved horns and bony ridges running down its spine.

“Whirlipede, return!” Twilight quickly called out as she hastily recalled her Pokémon. “Alright then, Charmeleon and Whirlipede are both pretty banged up, I’d rather not send either of them in against that thing if I can avoid it. Maybe Sneasel –” As Twilight pondered her next move, the Houndoom let out an impatient snort of black smoke. “Nope, ice and fire are not a great mix. Well, that just leaves…Noibat! Go!” Noibat squeaked happily as it emerged onto the field, darting around in the air as Houndoom watched menacingly.

“Hmph, if that’s the best you have left then maybe you should have run while had the chance,” Nero snorted. “Houndoom, Snarl!”

“Oh no you don’t. Noibat, use Air Cutter!” Noibat immediately began frantically beating its wings, whipping up a buffeting wind that filled the arena. At the same time, glowing blades of crescent-shaped pressurized air shot out directly towards Houndoom. The monstrous canine barely seemed to even notice the assault, however, and regarded Noibat with a look of bored contempt even as Noibat’s attack scored several direct hits. As the blustering assault raged around it, Houndoom took a deep breath before letting out a horrendous, deep-throated growl accompanied by a stream of purple and black rings of energy. The blast ripped its way through Noibat’s windstorm before striking Noibat dead on, leaving the unfortunate Pokémon looking visibly shaken.

“Pathetic. Houndoom, finish it off with Ember,” Nero commanded. Houndoom wasted no time following its master’s instruction, spitting out a cloud of cinders at Noibat that sent the poor Pokémon crashing to the ground. “What’s the matter?” Nero asked as Twilight was forced to recall Noibat to its Poké Ball. “Have you run out of spirit already? And here Houndoom and I were hoping for a real fight.”

“You haven’t beaten me yet. Charmeleon, go!” Twilight yelled. “Let’s see how you handle fighting fire with fire.”

“I have a better idea,” Nero said as he uncrossed his arms, revealing the glowing Z-crystal on his wrist. “Why don’t I fight fire…with pure darkness. Houndoom! Black Hole Eclipse!” As Nero went through the motions to build up the energy for his attack, a particularly sinister-looking aura began to form around him, quite different than the usual golden energy that accompanied other Z-moves Twilight had seen. As Nero struck the final stance, the dark power rushed into Houndoom, who raised its head as if it were about to howl to the moon. Meanwhile, a ball of red and black energy began to form about Houndoom, quickly swelling in size until it was almost as big as Houndoom itself. Once the sphere had reached its final size, Houndoom snapped its head forward, sending the sphere flying towards Charmeleon. As the sphere approached, Twilight could feel the air around her being pulled into it, the suction rapidly increasing in strength until Charmeleon was pulled up into the air and then inside the sphere itself. Moments after Charmeleon disappeared from view, the sphere detonated, sending Charmeleon crashing back down to the ground.

“Charmeleon! Are you alright?” Twilight cried out in alarm. For a moment, it looked as though Houndoom’s attack had been too much for Charmeleon to handle. But the, agonizingly slowly, Charmeleon pulled itself back to its feet. “You’re alright! Good, then quickly, use Dragon Rage!” Charmeleon gave Twilight an annoyed glance back as it heard this, but nevertheless turned to face Houndoom before taking a deep breath and blasting out a massive ball of fire. At first, Houndoom appeared more amused than frightened as Charmeleon prepared to launch its attack, only realizing the severity of the situation as the ball of energy was streaking towards it. Despite an abortive attempt by Houndoom to leap out of the way, Charmeleon’s attack struck home, briefly engulfing Houndoom in a whirlwind of fire that left it appearing noticeably battered.

“Cute, but its obvious you’re getting desperate,” Nero sneered. “Otherwise you’d realize what your Charmeleon has already figured out; that it doesn’t have any hope of winning this. Now, Houndoom, use Snarl and fin—”

“Charmeleon, return! Go Whirlipede!” Twilight called out, swapping her Pokémon before Nero had a chance to react. “You really talk too much, you know that?” Nero was left sputtering in rage as Houndoom unleased another earsplitting growl accompanied by rings of dark, crackling energy, and Whirlipede handled the attack only slightly better than Noibat had.

“I’m disappointed,” Nero said, albeit through clenched teeth. “For a moment there I thought you might have been a worthwhile opponent, but now it looks like you were just another weakling who needed to be put in their place. Houndoom, finish this up with another Ember.”

“Just like I expected. Whirlipede, use Protect!” As Houndoom launched a spray of burning motes of fire towards Whirlipede, Whirlipede surrounded itself with a sphere of green energy that deflected the attack. “You are right about one thing, though. I think it’s about time to finish this battle up. Whirlipede,” Twilight called out as she thrust her good arm forward. “Savage Spinout!” As the protective barrier around Whirlipede melted away, it bolted forward and began rolling circles around Houndoom, filling the air with strands of silk as it went. Before Houndoom could react, the strands formed a cocoon around it, capturing it and tethering it to Whirlipede. With its opponent captured, Whirlipede proceeded to rapidly spin about in place, periodically stopping or changing direction to repeatedly slam Houndoom into the floor again and again. By the time Whirlipede finally finished its attack and released Houndoom, it was plainly clear that Houndoom had been rendered unconscious by the assault.

The entire gym was left in stunned silence as Nero calmly recalled his Houndoom to its Poké Ball. Then, after Nero stowed the ball away in his jacket, he looked straight at Twilight and began to applaud. “At this gym, we value strength, and we show respect when a trainer earns it. You’ve beaten me, and therefore you’ve earned the right to these; the Outlaw Badge and a piece of Darkinium-Z.” The various trainers making up the battle’s audience started cheering wildly as Nero walked over to Twilight and presented her with a box containing a skull-and-crossbones shaped pin along with a coal black crystal.

*********

“—so you see, it only made sense that Nero wasn’t going to use a Fire attack against Charmeleon, so that was going to be my best chance to bring Whirlipede back in to finish Houndoom off,” Twilight explained as she, Spike and Rainbow Dash enjoyed some post-battle relaxation. “After that, it was just a matter of making certain Whirlipede had time to build up enough speed to defeat Houndoom before Houndoom could successfully retaliate.”

“Yeah, but are you sure you should still be doing gym battles, you know, with your arm in a cast like that?” Spike asked. “I mean, you did say that doing those Z-move things takes a lot out of you. What if—”

“The doctor already said it was fine,” Twilight interrupted before Spike’s worrying could build any momentum. “I’m not going to be doing any rock climbing or anything like that for the next few weeks, but Pokémon battling should still be alright.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Rainbow Dash said. “I could probably handle all the battling stuff on my own if I really had to, but having somebody else going for badges too helps keep me on my…what do you call the little stubby things on our feet again? You know, the foot fingers?”

“You mean toes?” Twilight replied.

“Yeah, keep me on those things. Anyway, now that you’ve got your third badge, that means the next gym leader is mine. I wonder what type of Pokémon they’ll train?” Rainbow Dash questioned out loud.

“Well, if yer lookin’ fer the closest gym to us, that’d be the place up in Alumina Town,” the bartender said as he approached the group’s table and set down a glass of crimson juice in front of Spike. “Compliments of those idiots over there,” the bartender said, gesturing towards a nearby table full of trainers who were all watching Spike eagerly. “A tall glass of fresh squeezed Tamato Berry juice.”

“All right!” Spike said happily as he lifted the glass towards his fans before gulping its contents down, leading to cheers from the other table.

“So, what kind of Pokémon does the Alumina Gym specialize in?” Twilight asked over the chants of ‘Spike’.

“Pretty sure Alumina’s the Flyin’ type gym. Anyway, I’ve gotta get back to work. Holler if ya need anythin’!” As the bartender wandered off, Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight with a massive grin spread across her face.

“Did you hear that, Twi? The next gym’s the Flying one! This is perfect! I’m going to rule that place!”

Accidental Villainy

“Oh. Thank. Celestia!” After their disastrous attempt at taking the cable car down the mountain and the subsequent trek through the forest they had landed in, the sight of the humble Ferrum Village looked like an absolute paradise to Rarity. “Applejack, darling, I do realize that we’re in something of a hurry, trying to catch up with Pinkie and Fluttershy, but I’m going to have to insist we stay the night here before moving on. I am in desperate need of a long shower, a hot meal, and a night’s rest in a proper bed.”

“No arguments here,” Applejack replied. “After nearly crashin’ down a durn mountain Ah could use a bit of rest mahself. Besides that, we’re gettin’ a bit light on supplies, and restin’ in town fer a bit would give a chance to stock back up.”

“Applejack, what an excellent idea! I can’t say this town looks to be the sort of place with a proper beauty supply store, but I’m sure I can make do with—”

“Actually, why don’t Ah handle buyin’ the supplies while y’all head to the Pokémon Center and get our rooms sorted out? That way y’all will have plent of time to get a shower and rest a bit before we get some grub,” Applejack suggested quickly.

“Hmm, that does sound rather tempting. Are you sure you won’t mind handling the shopping on your own?” Rarity asked.

“Naw, its fine,” Applejack said with complete sincerity. The fact that taking care of the shopping by herself would ensure that they wouldn’t be making the journey to Aquarius City with a load of beauty supplies instead of food and medicine wasn’t a detail worth mentioning.

“Splendid! Shall we meet at the Pokémon Center in – oh, you know what? Take all the time you need. I know time can just seem to fly by when you’re perusing, and I’d hate to make things stressful for you. Just head to the Pokémon Center once you’re finished.”

*********

“Flyin’ by nothin’, Ah’d bet mah favorite hat Rarity just wanted some extra pamperin’ time,” Applejack chuckled to herself as she left the grocer with a freshly loaded backpack. “Then again, Rarity sure does love her fancy shops and such, so she might’ve been serious. Either way, Ah think Ah’ll have a look around the place after Ah restock at the pharmacy. Ain’t like we’re gonna be in much of a rush ‘till tomorrow.” Though normally Applejack would have been hesitant to accept a delay like this, she knew Rarity well enough to realize that trying to push forward would likely cause more problems than it would be worth. Besides which, after the near catastrophe that had been their experience on the cable car, Applejack needed a rest every bit as much as Rarity did.

It certainly didn’t hurt that Ferrum Village was the sort of quaint town that reminded Applejack just a bit of home. The various stalls hawking food and souvenirs wouldn’t have been totally out of place in Ponyville’s market, and her general impression of the people there was that they were by and large cut from the same small-town cloth as she was. There were, of course, a few key differences between Ferrum Village and Ponyville. Such as the fact that the streets of Ponyville were seldom blocked off due to an impending Pokémon battle.

“I don’t even know why a pipsqueak like you would bother trying to challenge me,” one of the trainers, a massive man in a black leotard and red and black mask said. “The Masked Mountain is unstoppable. After Throh snaps that string bean of a Pokémon of your in half, we’re gonna do the same to La Mariposa herself.”

“You’re never going to take over the dojo, because Sawk and I are going to stop you right here,” declared the second trainer, a young boy with black spikey hair and a blue outfit similar to the one Applebloom had worn when she had taken karate lessons.

Curious as to what was going on, Applejack squeezed her way into the crowd that had formed around the two trainers and their Pokémon. “So, what the hay’s all this about, anyway? Sounds like the two of these fellas have some sort of history goin’ on.”

“They sure do,” one of the spectators said. “The Masked Mountain over there got kicked out of La Mariposa’s gym for having his Pokémon fight dirty, and Kenji over there was the one who caught him. So now, the Masked Mountain’s planning on beating Kenji to prove he’s stronger before challenging La Mariposa herself.”

“Yeah, but there’s no way the Mountain will beat La Mariposa,” another spectator scoffed. “Not unless he cheats, anyway. Hey, Mountain! You suck!” Several of the other spectators joined in on this cry as well, shouting insults at the Masked Mountain, who laughed it off derisively.

“This whole town is full of nothing but whiny little weaklings. No wonder you fit in so well here, Kenji. After I’ve taken the dojo over, I think I’ll have to clear out the trash in the rest of the village, too.”

“You’ll never get the chance! Sawk, use your Low Sweep attack!” Kenji’s Pokémon, a rocky-skinned, blue humanoid in a white robe, charged forward and kicked out at the legs of its opponent, a similarly dressed squat, orange humanoid.

“Hah! You’re too predictable. Throh, use Circle Throw!” As Sawk’s kick struck Throh, Throh winced in pain but immediately grabbed onto Sawk’s leg and yanked Sawk off the ground. Using the momentum of the grab, Throh proceeded to rapidly spin Sawk around in a circle. Suddenly and without any warning, Throh released its grip and sent Sawk flying through the air, straight towards Applejack. Applejack barely had time to think before Sawk slammed into her, sending her crashing to the ground and causing the contents of her backpack to go spilling out over the ground.

“Oh crud. Miss, are you alright?” Kenji said as he rushed over to check on Applejack.

“Yeah, Ah’m fine,” Applejack grunted as she rolled out from underneath Sawk. “To be fair, Ah really shoulda known by now that watchin’ a Pokémon battle up that close wasn’t such a good idea. Ah don’t mean to be a bother, but could someone give me a hand gatherin’ up these—” As Applejack pulled herself upright, one of her Poké Balls fell free of her jacket and rolled out onto the ground. A small part of Applejack’s mind marveled at the way she could tell precisely which of her Pokémon said ball contained, despite the lack of any apparent clues on its outside. The majority of Applejack’s mind, however, was a bit more preoccupied with which particular Pokémon the ball happened to contain, particularly as the ball came to an abrupt halt and started wriggling around. Applejack scarcely had time to let out a groan before the ball split open and its occupant came bursting out.

“SpiriTomb!” A brief moment of silence ticked by as the crowds registered Spiritomb’s sudden appearance, and then the marketplace descended into complete chaos. Panicked onlookers ran in every direction in a desperate attempt to flee, all the while Spiritomb looked on laughing maniacally at the sight.

“Dagnabbit,” Applejack sighed in frustration as she watched the scene unfold before her. “And y’all think all this is just hilarious, don’t y’all? Well, laugh it up while y’ can, ‘cause yer goin’ straight back into yer ball.” Snatching Spiritomb’s Poké Ball off the ground, Applejack attempted to recall the mischievous Pokémon before it could cause anymore havoc. Spiritomb, however, seemed to have other ideas as it darted out of the way of the Poké Ball’s beam, laughing hysterically all the while. “Consarn it, y’ durn crazy cloud of smoke, get back here before y’ cause anymore trouble than y’ have already!” Ignoring Applejack’s cries, Spiritomb raced through the narrow streets, cackling madly as it led Applejack down own twisting alleyway and then another. Eventually, however, Spiritomb found itself staring down an alley that terminated in a dead end, with a fuming Applejack standing right behind it. “Ah hope y’all had yer fun, ‘cause now y’all are getting’ back. In. Yer. Durn. Ball! Return!” With nowhere else to run, Spiritomb had no hope of dodging the Poké Ball’s call this time, and in moments it was safely back inside its ball. “There. Finally. Now Ah just gotta get mah things together, and maybe then Ah can make it to the pharmacy before anythin’ else—”

“Halt evildoer!”

“Aw horse apples,” Applejack groaned, the faint glimmer of hope she had had of the rest her day being uneventful vanishing. Turning around, Applejack found herself facing a tall, masked woman dressed in a pink leotard. “Now just who in the name of Celestia are y’all supposed to be?”

“I am La Mariposa, warrior of justice, protector of the innocent and defender of this village! I had heard there were troublemakers wreaking havoc in the marketplace, and what do I find when I arrive? A villainous trainer spreading fear and panic with her malicious Pokémon!”

“Villainous? Now, just hold on a second there, Ah ain’t no villain,” Applejack protested.” The only reason Spiritomb got loose in the first place was Ah got knocked down while a couple of other fellas were battlin’ in the middle of the street. Heck, Spiritomb didn’t even really do nothin’ wrong after it go out. Everybody just started runnin’ ‘round panickin’ once they saw it.”

“A likely story,” La Mariposa scoffed. “Tell me, though, what is an ‘innocent’ trainer doing with such a malevolent Pokémon in the first place?”

“Well, that’s kind of a long story. And besides which, Spiritomb ain’t…well, malevolent seems a might harsh. Ah mean, Ah’ll admit it ain’t exactly the best-behaved Pokémon Ah’ve ever met, but it ain’t the worst by at least a few,” Applejack said as she wracked her brains to come up with a good defense of her behaviorally challenged Pokémon. “Ah wonder if this is how Fluttershy feels whenever she has to defend Discord. Anyway, the point is, Spiritomb didn’t hurt nobody, and fer that matter it weren’t tryin’ to hurt nobody. If people start raisin’ a ruckus just ‘cause the see a Pokémon then y’all can’t really blame the Pokémon fer everythin’.”

“I will admit that you do make a reasonable point,” La Mariposa reluctantly conceded after taking a moment to consider what Applejack was saying. “That said, there are very few trainers who would carry a Pokémon such as that one with them, and even fewer who would do so who were not up to something nefarious. With that in mind, what exactly brings you to Ferrum Village?”

“To be honest, Ah’m really just passin’ through,” Applejack said. “Me and mah friend are tryin’ to get to Aquarius City to catch up with two of our other friends, and we mostly just stopped here to resupply. Originally Ah was thinkin’ of tryin’ the gym leader here, but after the whole business we had with the cable car—”

“Wait, you know what happened to the cable car?” La Mariposa asked with sudden interest. “We could see its collapse from here, but we haven’t heard any news about what had happened.”

“Well, to make a long story short, a couple of real rotten apples have been chasin’ me and mah friend all over this durn island, and they caught up to us on the cable car. Ah’m pretty sure one of ‘em cut the cables when the other couldn’t beat us head on. Anyway, we were able to get the car far enough down the line that nobody got too hurt when we finally crashed, so there’s that at least,” Applejack added.

“So, you were on the cable car when it crashed, but the crash was caused by some other villain? I don’t suppose you were able to capture the ones responsible for all this?” La Mariposa asked.

“Ah hate to say it, but both of ‘em got away, at least as far as Ah know. The one who cut the cables was up at the top near that institute place, so they might’ve caught him, but the other one snuck off right after the crash while we were busy makin’ sure everyone was alright,” Applejack admitted.

“And are any of the other passengers here who could confirm all of this?”

Applejack was forced to simly shrug her shoulders. “Probably, Ah’d imagine. To tell the truth, Ah wasn’t really watchin’ where everybody was headed to after the crash, but Ah’d guess at least some of ‘em headed here, what with this bein’ the nearest town and all.”

“So, in other words, the crash was caused by villains trying to strike at you, but they somehow escaped in the aftermath. And you don’t know where any of the other passengers who could confirm your story could be,” La Mariposa said.

“When y’all put it like that it makes it sound like Ah’m spinnin’ some sort of tall tale, but that there’s the honest truth. If y’all really needed somebody else to ask, then mah friend Rarity should still be back at the Pokémon Center, but Ah’m guessin’ that if y’all are that suspicious of me then y’ probably ain’t gonna take her word neither,” Applejack said.

“True, I would be hesitant to take the word of your traveling companion as a sign of your good character, but I believe there is a better option. You mentioned that you were participating in the League’s gym battles, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right, and Ah’ve got two badges so far to prove it,” Applejack replied with a hint of pride.

“Excellent. In my opinion, the best way to judge a person’s character is to face them in battle. Therefore, as the leader of the Ferrum Village Gym, I shall accept your challenge, and our battle shall provide the truth of who you are!”

*********

“Well, so much fer gettin’ to take it easy today,” Applejack muttered to herself as she stood across an outdoor arena from La Mariposa. The eccentric gym leader had insisted that their battle take place in public for reasons that Applejack was too mentally exhausted to try to parse. As far as Applejack was concerned, the exact details were La Mariposa’s prerogative anyway. Besides which, years of living in close proximity to Pinkie Pie had taught Applejack that sometimes the best way to deal with crazy was to just go along with it. Regardless, the prospect of a public gym battle had attracted an impressive crowd around the edges of the field.

“As this shall be your third badge, this will be a three-on-three battle,” La Mariposa declared. “The other rules shall be the same as your previous battles. Are you ready?”

“As ready as Ah’ll ever be. Let’s just get this over with, Ah’ve still got some shoppin’ to do at the pharmacy when this is all over,” Applejack replied as she pulled out her first Poké Ball.

“Very well then. To start, I will choose you, Hitmonchan!” La Mariposa tossed out her first Poké Ball, unveiling a brown, humanoid creature wearing a purple tunic and sporting a pair of boxing gloves. The moment the creature appeared it began energetically bouncing from one foot to the other with its firsts raised in front of it in a fighting stance.

“Welp, Ah can probably guess what this one’s all about. Ah think Ah’ll start things off with…Grotle!” La Mariposa couldn’t help but smirk a bit as Grotle appeared on the field opposite her Hitmonchan.

“I can appreciate your willingness to meet my Hitmonchan head on. It is an honorable decision, but we’ll soon see if it was a wise one. Hitmonchan, start this battle with your Comet Punch!”

“No point in tryin’ to get fancy with this one, Grotle. Just blow the varmint away with yer Razor Leaf!” Hitmonchan was the first combatant to react to its trainer’s command, launching itself forward as its arms seemed to disappear into blurs of color as it fired off a flurry of punches. Grotle, however, weathered the barrage showing more indifference than anything else as the bushes on its back began to glow. Once it was ready, Grotled fired a blast of leaves from the bushes directly at Hitmonchan, forcing Hitmonchan to stagger backwards as it tried to protect itself from Grotle’s counterattack. “Now that’s how y’ do it! No fancy footwork or anythin’ like that, just good, old fashioned grit and firepower!”

“Your straightforwardness is a virtue, but one with a double-edge to it,” La Mariposa said. “Technique has a potency all its own, allow us to demonstrate. Hitmonchan, use Mach Punch!” Hitmonchan nodded and pulled its arm back, as its right fist became suffused with a bright blue light. It then snapped its arm forward as though it were punching the air, sending a glowing blue fist-shaped blast of energy streaking through the air straight into Grotle’s face. Once again, however, while the attack left Grotle bruised it appeared to do little else to damper Grotle’s spirit.

“With all yer talk about technique yer startin’ to sound like mah friend Rainbow Dash. She’s always been the type to put a little too much faith in fancy-lookin’ tricks, too,” Applejack said. “Yer Hitmonchan got us beat on speed, no use arguin’ that, but sometimes y’all don’t need to outrun somethin’ if y’ can out tough it instead. Grotle, time to break out yer Curse!” As Applejack called out her order, Grotle glowered at Hitmonchan while red energy began to emanate out from its shell.

“I’m starting to wonder if your straightforwardness would be better called stubbornness,” La Mariposa observed.

“Y’all sure as sugar wouldn’t be the first one to call me that,” Applejack quickly fired back.

“I imagine so. Regardless, we’ll soon see who can outlast who. Hitmonchan, another Comet Punch!”

“If that’s the game y’all wanna play, then that’s fine by me. Come on, Grotle, finish it off with another Razor Leaf!” Grotle steeled itself as Hitmonchan charged forward yet again, its arms already pistoning out as it unleashed yet another rain of blows down upon Grotle. Even as Hitmonchan battered it, however, Grotle fired back with a storm of leaves that forced Hitmonchan back. For a moment, the two Pokémon stared each other down while breathing heavily, until finally Hitmonchan toppled over unconscious.

“It would appear that you’ve left my Hitmonchan unable to battle,” La Mariposa said as she recalled her Pokémon back to its ball. “I will admit, that is no small accomplishment. Don’t think, however, that defeating me will be quite that simple.”

“Ah know, y’all’ve got two more critters fer me to get through before this is over, so lay off yer jawin’ and send the next one of ‘em out already,” Applejack said.

“Very well. Hawlucha, go!” As Hawlucha took Hitmonchan’s place in the arena, Applejack quickly assessed her new opponent.

“Huh, this one kinda reminds of those masked wrestlers at that show Rainbow Dash dragged me to. Welp, no matter, if it wants to try grapplin’ with Grotle then Ah sure don’t plan on makin’ things easy fer it. Grotle, give that thing a taster of yer Razor Leaf! Try not to let it get in too close!” Applejack called out.

“A wise goal, but one that will be far outside your grasp. Hawlucha, use Aerial Ace!” Hawlucha nodded its head and seemingly vanished from sight, even as Grotle began firing another barrage of leaves.

“Now how the hay are we supposed to fight somethin’ that can just up and vanish like that?” Applejack complained, at the same time scanning the arena for any trace of her opponent. Grotle seemed to share its trainer’s frustration as it sent leaves flying in every direction in a vain effort to strike its target, but this accomplished little other than forcing several spectators to duck behind cover. The mystery of where Hawlucha had disappeared proved to be short-lived, however, as without warning it reappeared right in front of Grotle before slamming it in the side of the head, sending Grotle toppling over. “Consarn it, tusslin’ with that Hitmon-whatsit must have taken more out of Grotle than Ah thought,” Applejack groaned as she recalled Grotle to its Poké Ball. “Well, if Grotle weren’t tough enough to handle this, then maybe…Aron! Time to go to work!” As Aron took to the field there were a few murmurs among the crowd regarding its appearance, but La Mariposa herself seemed unimpressed.

“Your Aron is certainly unique-looking, but a striking appearance won’t be enough to achieve victory here. Hawlucha, demonstrate your strength with a Karate Chop!”

“If y’all want strikin’ then Ah think we can oblige y’. Aron, give that thing yer Iron Head attack!” Aron nodded once before pawing at the ground and charging forward, the top of its head glowing white as it thundered towards Hawlucha. Once Aron had sufficiently closed the distance with its opponent it launched itself into the air, aiming straight for Hawlucha’s head. This, however, proved to be the moment Hawlucha had been waiting for, and right before Aron’s attack connected Hawlucha brought its hand down directly onto Aron’s head. The force of the blow turned Aron’s headfirst charge into a midair somersault, however Aron still retained enough forward momentum to crash into Hawlucha’s midsection. The impact sent both Pokémon tumbling to the ground, and as the two pulled themselves back up it became clear that Aron was worse off for the exchange. While Hawlucha may have appeared to have been left winded by its collision with Aron, Aron could only barely pull itself upright.

“As I said before, brute force and a flashy image will only take you so far. Hawlucha, give it another Karate Chop and finish this,” La Mariposa commanded. Applejack scarcely even had time to shout out a warning before Hawlucha rushed over to Aron and delivered a swift chop to the back of Aron’s neck, sending it collapsing back to the ground unconscious.

“Welp,” Applejack sighed as she recalled Aron back to its ball. “Ah was really hopin’ it wasn’t gonna come down to this, but it doesn’t look like Ah’ve got much of a choice. Go Spiritomb!” Audible gasps of horror could be heard from the people watching the battle from the sidelines as Spiritomb appeared on the field, which prompted the sinister Pokémon to start cackling manically. “Alright, laugh all y’all want, just behave yerself. We’ve got a battle to win here and Ah’m countin’ on y’all.”

“Placing your trust in a creature like that? I cannot say I’m all that impressed with your judgement. Still, I can’t afford to be careless. Hawlucha, Roost!” As Applejack watched, Hawlucha wrapped its arms around itself and knelt down while a green light surrounded its form.

“Huh, well if y’all want to take a break from fightin’ than Ah think Ah know a way we can help y’ with that. Spiritomb, try usin’ yer Hypnosis on that critter.” Chuckling evilly at its master’s apparent sense of humor, Spiritomb’s eyes began to glow red as it stared at Hawlucha. Hawlucha, however, didn’t appear to notice the attack as it continued to kneel.

“Trickery like that will be a wasted effort! Hawlucha—” Before La Mariposa could even finish her sentence, Hawlucha topped over to one side and began snoring loudly. “—has fallen asleep and is unable to battle,” La Mariposa concluded sourly as she recalled Hawlucha to its ball. “Clearly, I have underestimated your capacity for more underhanded strategies.”

“Underhanded mah foot! The whole goal of these battles is to knock the other critter out cold, and Spiritomb did that about as straightforward as y’all could ask fer, and without really hurtin’ the other critter in the process!” Applejack countered. “It’s not our fault yer Hawlucha couldn’t resist takin’ a nap in the middle of a fight.”

“If that is how you want to justify yourself than so be it, but a mere crude trick like that isn’t going to be enough to defeat my next Pokémon. Meditite! Come forth and strike this villain down!” Despite the crowd’s cheers as Meditite took to the field, Spiritomb seemed unimpressed with its opponent, which Applejack immediately took note of.

“Seems like y’all ain’t all that intimidated by our competition there, are y’, partner?” Applejack asked as she rubbed the Z-ring on her wrist. “Well, what do y’all say we give these folks a real show to end things on?” Spiritomb let out a dark chuckle at this, which quickly swelled to yet more maniacal laughter.

“Whatever you think you’re plotting, I assure you that it will fail. Meditite, unleash your Hidden Power!” Meditite nodded its head as it put its hands close together, forming a glowing ball of green light between them before firing it directly at Spiritomb. While the attack scored a direct hit, Spiritomb scarcely seemed to even notice, continuing to laugh evilly as though nothing had happened.

“Y’ know, Ah’m startin’ to get a mite tired of y’all accusin’ us of plottin’ and villainin’ and such. Ah’ve tried to be as nice about this as Ah could, but at this point Ah think nice is just gonna have to take a break fer a bit,” Applejack said, her Z-ring flaring to life as she spoke. “Now, let’s get this whole mess over and done with. Spiritomb! Never Endin’ Nightmare!” Golden light streamed forth Applejack as she completed the last movements of her Z-move, rapidly disappearing into Spiritomb’s form. As the last motes of light vanished, a palpable darkness seemed to flow out from the keystone hanging beneath Spiritomb, which quickly covered the entire floor of the arena. Meditite tried to pull its feet free of the shadows, which formed into a tar-like morass, but as it did so a multitude of hands rose up around it and engulfed it in a ball of utter darkness. As Meditite vanished from view, unnatural purple lights could be seen emanating out from inside the ball until, without warning, the ball silently detonated leaving Meditite lying crumpled up on the arena floor. Throughout the entire process, Spiritomb’s mad laughter had continued unabated.

“Clearly, I was mistaken in my assessment of your abilities, if nothing else,” La Mariposa said coldly as she recalled her unconscious Meditite to its ball. “And, as you have defeated my third and final Pokémon, I must, as gym leader, recognize you as the victor of this battle.”

“Yeah, that’s just dandy,” Applejack grunted, holding her head in her hand as the scattered protests of a handful of the spectators echoed in her mind. The injustice of the situation she was in had suddenly swelled from a minor annoyance to a source of frustration so severe it felt like it was giving her a migraine. She hadn’t done anything wrong, really just stood there as everyone around her had panicked, and yet here she was being treated like some sort of monster! The unfairness of it all made Applejack want to show the self-righteous buffoon in front of her, along with all of the idiotic sycophant onlookers, just what a monster really looked like, even if it meant risking being locked back up in that blasted keystone!

“Applejack, are you alright?” the sound of Rarity’s voice caused Applejack’s eyes to snap open as she turned to see her friend standing right next to her.

“Rarity? When the hay did y’all get here?” Applejack asked as she tried to set her thoughts back in order.

“Oh, I was in the crowd watching your battle, very well done, by the way. But, it looked as though you were in a bit of distress right after you used that Z-move of yours,” Rarity added. “If I recall correctly, Spectra did warn you about using that move with…” Rarity glanced over towards Spiritomb, which was aimlessly flying about the arena, occasionally chuckling to itself as the bystanders pulled back in fear.

“Yeah, Ah think that move took a bit more out of me than Ah was expectin’,” Applejack said as the fog over her mind finally started to clear. “Ah’m not sure it was quite as bad as Miss Spectra warned it could be, but it was definitely somethin’. Anyway, Ah think Spiritomb’s had enough fun fer one day,” Applejack said wearily as she recalled Spiritomb to its ball. “Well, that’s one bit of trouble taken care of, at least. Now Ah just gotta deal with this other one.” Rarity followed Applejack’s gaze towards La Mariposa, who was striding across the area towards them.

“As I said earlier, regardless of my feelings about how you managed to defeat me, the fact remains that you were victorious in even combat. Therefore, as Leader of the Ferrum Village Gym, I hereby present you with the Justice Badge, as well as a piece of Fightinium-Z,” La Mariposa said as she held out a small box.

“Well, you certainly don’t seem particularly happy about the situation,” Rarity pointedly observed as Applejack accepted the box. “And what, precisely, do you mean by ‘how’ Applejack defeated you? I can’t say I saw anything about that battle that looked all that different than any other battle I’ve seen.”

“And who are you?” La Mariposa asked as she turned her attention from Applejack to Rarity.

“She’s a friend of mine, the one Ah told y’all about earlier,” Applejack replied. “Y’know, the one y’all wouldn’t be likely to believe if y’all talked to her about that business with the cable car on account of her bein’ mah friend.”

“Is that what all this fuss is about?” Rarity asked incredulously. “Well, if you won’t take my word vouching for Applejack, then why don’t you try asking one of the other trainers who were on the car with us? I’m sure they’d be happy to tell you about what happened.”

“Y’all actually know where some of them are?” Applejack asked in surprise, prompting Rarity to roll her eyes.

“Where do you think most of them headed as soon as they got clear of the wreckage? The Pokémon Center her is full of them. Honestly, we’re exceedingly lucky to have gotten a room there, it’s so full. We almost didn’t, but then this very charming young lady allowed me to reserve the last room available after she recognized me from the cable car and – well, the point is, there’s quite a few people in town right now that can vouch for the fact that we were the one’s working to prevent the disaster as opposed to causing it.”

“I see, so Miss Applejack was telling the truth then,” La Mariposa said before taking a deep breath and turning back to Applejack. “It would appear as though I owe you an apology. I had treated you as a criminal when it seems the opposite was true. I hope that you can forgive me for my behavior.”

“After the day Ah’ve had, Ah’m willin’ to say all’s well that ends well and just leave it at that,” Applejack replied. “Mah name’s clear, Spiritomb should have gotten the troublemakin’ out of its system, and Ah’ve got mah third badge to boot. With all that, Ah’d don’t really have it left in me to stir up anythin’ else.”

Into the Oven

“Is it bigger than a breadbox? Is it smaller than a breadbox? Is it a breadbox? Is it bread?”

“We’re here!” Derek exclaimed in absolute joy, putting an end to Pinkie Pie’s game of Twenty Million Questions. “We’re finally here! I have never been so happy to see Port Maganese in my entire life.”

“It’s certainly…um…well, it’s…” Fluttershy began as she searched for the best words to describe the city laid out before the group.

“It’s a giant industrial dump,” Derek said, sparring Fluttershy the need to find a diplomatic way to state the obvious. “In fairness, the place does have a lot of practical value. The power plants here supply energy to most of the island, and none of the other ports are really equipped to handle large scale shipping like Maganese is. It’s just, there’s a definite difference between something being important and useful versus something being pleasant.” Fluttershy nodded her head at this in understanding.

“It’s just like in nature. There are plenty of things that are important for everything to work right, but even I can’t say I like all them,” Fluttershy said, thinking back to the time her friend Benny the buzzard had offered her some fresh carrion to eat. “I definitely can’t say I like all of them.”

“Well, at least as far as we’re concerned, the important part of Port Maganese is the fact that this is where the Fire-type gym is located,” Derek said.

“And that’s where I’m going to get my next badge! Woo! Gym battle!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she broke into a sprint without warning and started dashing down the road towards the city.

“Wow, Pinkie’s really excited to get her next badge,” Fluttershy said, as much to herself as to Derek.

“Sure looks like it,” Derek agreed. “Still, we should probably head to the local Pokémon Center before going to the gym. It generally isn’t a good idea to try challenging a gym leader when your Pokémon aren’t well rested.”

“I guess it’s probably a good thing Pinkie Pie doesn’t actually know where the gym is, then,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah…um, Fluttershy? What are the chances that Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense could help her track down the gym?” Derek asked. Watching Fluttershy’s expression as she pondered the question for a few moments, Derek found he had the answer without needing Fluttershy to respond. “We should probably hurry and catch up to her before she does something reckless.” Fluttershy nodded her head, and the pair dashed off to catch up to their friend.

*********

“Of course I was going to go to the Pokémon Center before I tried taking on the gym, silly,” Pinkie Pie said as she, Fluttershy, and Derek sat around a small table in the center’s lobby. “I mean, trying to take on a gym battle when your Pokémon are tired would be like trying to throw a birthday party when you don’t have any cake.”

“That…actually, you know what? I misjudged you, Pinkie, and I apologize,” Derek said. “So, once your Pokémon are done being treated, I’m guessing you’ll want to head over to the gym?”

“Yup. I mean, its not like there’s going to be some sudden emergency that we’ll need to deal with before I can have my gym battle, right?” Pinkie Pie said. While Fluttershy nodded her head in hopeful agreement, Derek winced and began nervously glancing around the room,

“Um, Derek, you don’t really think an emergency is going to just jump out at us because Pinkie said something like that, do you?” Fluttershy asked. “I know it can seem as though saying things like that can make them happen, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t really work like that.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Derek admitted as he settled back into his seat. “I mean, it would be a pretty crazy coincidence if some emergency suddenly snuck up behind us right after Pinkie Pie said something like –”

“Pardon me, Mister Derek, sir? Gym Leader Ignatius requested that I come to find you. There’s a bit of a minor emergency at one of the power plants that we could really use your help with.”

“OH COME ON!” While Derek loudly lamented the universes apparent dedication towards aggravating him, Pinkie and Fluttershy took stock of the new arrival. Standing directly behind Derek was a nervous-looking young man wearing a dark-red jumpsuit and clutching a clipboard in front of him as though were a shield.

“You’re from the guy here?” Pinkie Pie asked. “How did you know we’d be here? And how does the gym leader know Derek? Let me guess, Derek and the gym leader both used to train at the same gym, but then—”

“Pinkie, I can guarantee that whatever you’re about to say is not actually the case,” Derek said, though Pinkie continued her reciting her increasingly dramatic fantasy unabated, before addressing the newcomer. “What I’m curious about is what exactly is going on that Ignatius can’t handle on his own? And that’s so bad that he’d feel the need to bother me about it?”

“Well, the truth is, there’s a bit of a situation at the main geothermal plant. Normally, Mister Ignatius would have handed the issue himself, but we got word from Ferrum Village that you were probably going to be passing through and…this sort of thing is kind of your specialty.” Derek heaved a sigh before turning to Fluttershy and Pinkie.

“Well, whatever this is, we’re probably going to need to deal with it before Pinkie can have her gym battle. So, with that said, who’s up for a field trip?”

“Ooh! Ooh! Me! I am!” Pinkie exclaimed, practically bouncing out of her seat in excitement as she waved her hand in the air.

“If Pinkie wants to go, then I guess I should probably come too,” Fluttershy added as the group rose and started to follow the messenger. “Though, I do have one question. What’s a geothermal plant?”

“It’s a type of power plant, one that uses the heat from under the earth to generate electricity,” Derek explained. “This is the most volcanically active part of the island, so the geothermal plans we use are all located here.”

“Wait, are you saying we’re over a volcano right now?” Fluttershy asked in sudden alarm.

“Well, technically sort of, but not really. We’re over magma chambers, be we have ways of keeping the magma where it is for the most part, and we have systems in place to vent the magma into the ocean if we really need to,” Derek explained. “Of course, that all depens on everything working properly, so if something has gone horribly wrong then someone would need to deal with the situation. Specifically, it should be Ignatius dealing with this, but apparently that would be to much to ask for.”

“It sounds like you’re a little upset with the gym leader here,” Fluttershy said, to which Derek sighed.

“If there’s a problem with the plant, then it would his responsibility to handle it. A gym leader shouldn’t be running off to the league for help unless things are really serious, and I have a sinking suspicion this isn’t that kind of problem.” Whatever Derek thought the problem was, he wouldn’t say, which unfortunately left the question to Fluttershy’s imagination. By the time the group had reached their destination, the pegasi-turned-Pokémon trainer was frantically trying to think of how best to flee from an erupting volcano. The fact that neither Derek nor Pinkie seemed especially worried did little to calm Fluttershy’s nerves, and unfortunately neither of her friends seemed to quite notice her impending panic attack. Pinkie Pie was to busy staring awestruck at the various industrial buildings they passed, and Derek appeared entirely focused on getting the entire business over with as quickly as possible. As the group approached the front gates of one particularly large building, Derek increased his pace and headed straight for a bespectacled, middle-aged man standing near the entrance. “Alright, Ignatius, what’s going on that’s so serious you needed to bother me about it instead of handling it yourself?”

“Ah, Derek! I understand your frustration with the circumstances, and normally this would be something I’d have handled myself, but—” Ignatius paused as he noticed Pinkie and Fluttershy hurrying up behind Derek. “Pardon me, young ladies, this is a—”

“Those two are friends of mine, you don’t need to worry about them,” Derek interrupted. “Well, actually you might want to worry a little about the one who’s bouncing around like a Spoink. That’s Pinkie Pie, and she’ll be challenging you for her third badge once this is over. Which brings me back to my original question, what exactly is ‘this’ anyway?”

“Ah, yes, well—” Before Ignatius could finish, the building’s PA system squealed to life.

“Yo yo yo yo, it’s yer boys from Team Skull, the hardest boneheads around, comin’ at ya’ from this power plant’s control room!”

“That’s right! Femur here! Me and my boy Ribcage here have taken over, so you suckers better get ready to listen to our demands, because we’ve got all the power now!” As the PA system turned back off again, Derek turned to Ignatius with a look of what could be charitably called disappointment.

“You know,” Derek said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “I’m honestly having trouble deciding what bothers me more; the fact that you allowed the plant to get taken over, or the fact that the plant has been taken over by those two. How did they even manage to get access to the plant’s control room, anyway?”

“They haven’t,” Ignatius replied. “The room that the pair have barricaded themselves inside of doesn’t contain any equipment aside from the PA setup. It wouldn’t be an issue at all, except for the fact that they’ve been constantly using the system to broadcast whatever seems to come to their minds. The workers simply can’t concentrate with the nonstop barrage of nonsensical demands and, frankly, amateurish rapping.”

“So, it’s less that they’re dangerous and more they’re being annoying,” Derek concluded

“At least they’re consistent,” Fluttershy said.

“I can’t really argue with that. Anyway, that still doesn’t explain why you haven’t been able to deal with them yourself. I’ve run into these two before, and they’re not exactly—”

“Smart?” Pinkie Pie suggested.

“Scary?” Fluttershy added.

“I was going to say competent, but all of the above, to be honest,” Derek said. “The point is, this really shouldn’t be a situation that a gym leader needs to call in backup for.”

“Well, it isn’t so much that I don’t feel that I could deal with them so much as the plant’s foreman has requested that I find some other way of resolving the situation that doesn’t entail direct action on my part. It seems he has some concerns about my ability to avoid…if I recall correctly, the phraseology he employed was ‘catastrophic collateral damage’.”

“In other words, you can’t be trusted to handle the situation without burning down the plant in the process,” Derek said with an exasperated sigh. “Alright, fine. I’ll figure something—”

“I’ve got an idea!” Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed. “I know exactly how to get those two out of there, no problem!”

“Really? Well, all right then, Pinkie, show us what you’ve got,” Derek replied, causing Pinkie’s face to light up with joy.

“Wow! You’re really going to let me try my idea out, just like that? Well, don’t you worry, I’ll have those two taken care of faster than you can say ‘sarsaparilla syrup’!” Pinkie immediately dashed off into the power plant before anyone could utter a word of protest.

“Are you sure that was such a good idea?” Fluttershy asked once Pinkie had vanished from sight. “Pinkie Pie’s my friend, but I’m not really sure just letting her run off is such a good idea. Especially if there’s anything important and breakable where she’s headed.” Derek however, simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Eh, what’s the worst that could happen?” Fluttershy said nothing to this, not that she needed to. The silent look that Fluttershy gave Derek said far more than any verbal response possible could have. “I’m guessing I probably don’t want to hear the answer to that, do I…ah well, this should at least be fun to watch, no matter how it turns out.”

*********

“Aw man, dude, this has got to be the best idea we’ve had yet!” Femur crowed as he leaned back in the office chair he was sitting in and rolled away from the PA console.

“You know it! Takin’ over this place is some old school, super hard bonehead level stuff. Hey, what do you think the boss is gonna say when he hears how we took over a whole power plant? I’ll bet he’s gonna be all “You two really are the hardest boneheads in Team Rocket’ or somethin’ like that. Only, he’d say it a lot classier and stuff.” Ribcage paused and drummed his fingers on a nearby table for a moment before continuing. “Hey, I’m gettin’ kinda hungry. You mind if I make these losers bring us some lunch or somethin’?”

“Sounds good to me. Make them get something for me, too,” Femur said as he lazily spun around in the chair.

“No problem,” Ribcage replied as he cleared his throat before switching on the microphone. “Yo yo yo, it’s yer boy Ribcage here, and I got another order fer all you lame suckers workin’ at this plant. I want you to hustle and get us some grub up in here, and it better be tasty. Otherwise…uh, well…well, I’m gonna take pity on you losers and not even say what we’d do. ‘Cause if I did tell ya, every last one of ya would be havin’ nightmares just from hearin’ it. So hurry up and make with the grub already!” Ribcage switched off the PA before collapsing back into his own chair and rolling over towards Femur. “Hey man, quick question. What exactly are we supposed to be threatin’ these fools with, anyway?”

“You know, man, that we’ll trash this place and stuff,” Femur replied, though he didn’t sound particularly sure himself. “I mean, all this electronic junk looks pretty important. I bet if we trashed this place it would, like, totally mess up the poser for the whole island or something.”

“Oh, yeah. Hey, do ya think we could use this stuff to send more power to the boss or somethin’? That’d be like some super hard stuff, takin’ over this place and stealin’ the power.”

“Yeah! We just got to keep the losers from figuring out that we’re sending the power to Team Rocket so the boss doesn’t get all mad. Maybe if we—” a sudden knock at the door interrupted Femur’s plotting.

“Cupcake delivery!” a bright voice called out from the other side of the door.

“Cupcakes? Man, I thought I told those fools to get us some lunch, not dessert,” Ribcage grumbled.

“I don’t know man, cupcakes for lunch sounds pretty good to me. Plus, you’ve got to give it to those losers, they sure got the fast part down,” Femur said as he headed to the door, which was blocked off with a desk and several file cabinets. Femur proceeded to pull the desk back just a bit, enough to crack open the door and peer outside. Standing in front of the door was a pink-haired girl, somehow sporting a large, bushy mustache and holding a platter of cupcakes in front of her. “Man, those things actually look really good. So, uh, just put the cupcakes down and buzz off, alright?”

“Put them down? Are you sure? There really isn’t anyplace for me to put them except the floor, and cupcakes aren’t nearly as good once they’ve been on the ground. If you open the door I could bring them in for you,” the delivery girl offered.

“Uh, hold on a minute,” Femur said before shutting the door. A brief argument in hushed tones could be heard coming from inside the room, quickly followed by the sounds of a desk being dragged away from the door. Moments later, the door opened again, this time all the way as Femur stood in the doorway. “Alright, now hand over those cupcakes and scram. We’re working on some serious bonehead business in here.”

“Oh, I’ll give you the cupcakes…but that’s not all you’ll be getting! Go Munchy! Hold that door open!” Femur was forced to leap back as the delivery girl tossed out a Poké Ball that unleashed a Snorlax that completely filled the doorway.

“What the heck? Not cool!” Ribcage protested as he saw what was happening. “Who even are you, anyway?”

“You expected a cupcake delivery girl, but it was me, Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie declared as she tore off her fake moustache with a flourish. “And now, Munchy and I have another delivery for you; a big heaping serving of justice!”

“Aw come on, this is so uncool,” Femur wailed. “How’re we supposed to run wild when the good guys are even sneakier than we are!”

*********

“…So, then they complained a bit more, but neither of them really wanted to try fighting Munchy, so they agreed to leave,” Pinkie Pie explained.

“And you let them keep the cupcakes?” Derek asked.

“Of course, I’m not a monster,” Pinkie Pie replied, sounding shocked that that was even a question. “They might be annoying and troublemakers, but not even those two deserve to be denied cupcakes. That would just be cruel.” As Pinkie Pie shuddered at the sheer malice required to deny someone delicious baked goods, Ignatius spoke up.

“Well, regardless of how it was accomplished, the fact remains that it’s thanks to Miss Pie that we’re finally able to operate the power plant again without any further issues. And, with that all resolved, I believe there was some mention of your wishing to challenge my gym, is that correct?”

“Yup, I’m ready to win my next badge,” Pinkie Pie declared. “So, where do you have your gym? Ooh, let me guess, is it in a volcano with the field surrounded by lava and the battles are all dramatic but then the volcano starts to erupt and we’re all ‘we have to get out of here’ but our Pokémon are like ‘no, not before we finish this’ and then—”

“Is she always like this?” Ignatius asked as Pinkie Pie continued her stream of conscious fantasy uninterrupted.

“Yes,” Fluttershy and Derek replied in unison.

“Ah, well, in any event, if you could all follow me, I will be happy to take you to the Port Maganese Gym, which I’m sorry to say is not in fact located inside a volcano, and we can take care of your gym challenge there.”

“—and then he’d be all ‘haha, this isn’t even my final form’ and then—oh, are we going to the gym now? Yay!” Pinkie Pie cheered before skipping after Ignatius while Derek and Fluttershy followed behind.

“You know, I’m not sure which is scarier,” Derek said. “The fact that I was actually able to follow what Pinkie was babbling about, or the fact that it was actually starting to sound pretty interesting.”

“It wasn’t bad,” Fluttershy replied. “But I think it would have been even better if it had had more giant robots.”

*********

It didn’t take long for the group to reach their destination, which indeed was not a volcano, much to Pinkie Pie’s disappointment. Instead, the gym was housed in a massive industrial building that practically seemed to radiate heat.

“Our gym doubles as a fully functioning steel mill,” Ignatius said proudly as he led the group in through the front gates. “When properly utilized, the heat generated by Fire-type Pokémon produces some of the finest metal available, and at only a fraction of the usual cost and energy requirements. Plus, the process lends itself well towards creating an environment that many Fire-types find quite agreeable.”

“Really?” Fluttershy said somewhat dubiously as she looked at the soot-covered, metal structure.

“Oh yes. Many Fire-type Pokémon tend to favor habitats with active volcanic activity, so the elevated temperatures and the soot don’t really bother them.”

“I see. Nature really is fascinating.” Ignatius continued to talk with Fluttershy about the Fire-type Pokémon who lived and worked at the gym as he led the group inside, clearly thrilled to have someone show any interest in what he had to say. Fluttershy, however, was the only member of the group actually paying attention to Ignatius’ expounding on how the Pokémon had adapted to living in a man-made structure. Pinkie Pie was far too distracted by virtually everything about the gym’s interior to pay much attention to anything Ignatius was saying, and Derek was too preoccupied with keeping Pinkie from bouncing off into something red-hot or otherwise dangerous. As such, both were taken a little by surprise when the group came to a halt in a particularly massive room.

“If I recall correctly, this will be your third badge, will it not?” Ignatius asked.

“What? Oh, yeah. This’ll be badge number three alright,” Pinkie replied, giggling a bit at her rhyme as she continued marveling at the room the gym’s arena was housed in. Despite the battlefield being just as large as the ones Pinkie had seen in other gyms, it scarcely occupied a third of the space in the room. A wall of pipes and metal supports separated the arena from the rest of the room, but a massive array of heavy machinery could still be seen churning away just beyond. Of particular interest to Pinkie were a series of large metal crucibles that were being hoisted through the air. Each one was ponderously moved down towards a large metal structure, where it would be carefully tipped over, depositing a glowing river of molten metal into the device.

“It is all quite impressive, isn’t it?” Ignatius said with a hint of pride. “If you would like, I’d be happy to give you and your friends a full tour of the facility after our battle. But for now, though, perhaps we should proceed with the task at hand. As this will be your third badge, we’ll be having a three-on-three match. Do you have any questions before we proceed?”

“Nope, I’m good,” Pinkie Pie said, already preparing to send out her first Pokémon.

“Splendid. In that case, to begin, I shall send out Fletchinder!”

“Alright, Twenty Three, you’ve got this!” As Twenty Three took to the field, Derek raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll give Pinkie Pie this, you really can never predict what she’s going to do next.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, between Toothy, Munchy and Lombre, Pinkie could probably wrap this battle up pretty easily. Instead, she sends out Twenty Three of all Pokémon. A Growlithe isn’t necessarily a terrible choice here, mind you, but I wouldn’t exactly call it conventional.”

“That’s Pinkie Pie for you,” Fluttershy said as the trainers began shouting orders to their respective Pokémon.

“Fletchinder, start things off with your Peck attack,” Ignatius commanded as he watched Twenty Three carefully.

“A peck? We can do better than that. Come on, Twenty Three, show them your Bite attack!” Twenty Three gave a ruff of affirmation as it readied itself to face Fletchinder’s attack, glowering at the fierce bird as it circled overhead. At first it didn’t appear as though Fletchinder noticed Twenty Three’s stare, but as it dove down to attack it appeared to falter for just a moment, stalling in the air and losing much of its momentum as a result. Fletchinder quickly found its nerve and followed through with its attack, delivering a quick jab with its beak to Twenty Three’s shoulder. The loss in speed, however, meant that Twenty Three had little difficulty in clamping its jaws down on Fletchinder’s midsection in retaliation.

“Fletchinder, another Peck attack! Quickly!”

“Don’t let that mean old birdy beat you, Twenty Three! Take it down with Take Down!” Spurred on by its trainer, Fletchinder proceeded to frantically stab at the side of Twenty Three’s face. Twenty Three, however, was undeterred by his as it charged forward, still holding Fletchinder tight in its jaws, until it crashed headfirst into the side of the arena.

“Oh boy, this doesn’t look good,” Derek said as he watched both Pokémon stagger upright, Fletchinder now free from Twenty Three’s grasp.

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“I just realized that this matchup has Pinkie Pie at a major disadvantage. Here, just watch, you should see what I mean in just a moment.”

“Fletchinder, use Roost before that mongrel has a chance to assault you again!”

“Mongrel? That does it! Twenty Three, get in there and give it another Take Down!” Fletchinder promptly hunkered down on the floor as it became suffused with a green light. This, unfortunately, rendered it an easy target for Twenty Three, who came barreling towards Fletchinder at top speed before crashing into it with enough force to send both Pokémon tumbling across the ground.

“Are you sure Twenty Three’s the one who’s having problems?” Fluttershy asked as they watched the two Pokémon pull themselves back up. “It looks to me as though Twenty Three’s doing a bit better.”

“Twenty Three has been more aggressive, and yet it’s just as beat up as Fletchinder is,” Derek pointed out. As Fluttershy looked closer at the two Pokémon, she realized much to her shock that Derek was correct. Despite having launched more devastating attacks than its opponent, Twenty Three was teetering back and forth on its paws, as if it had been the one taking a beating. “Twenty Three’s best offensive option right now is Take Down, but that attack takes a tool on the Pokémon using it. And, since Fletchinder can heal itself with Roost, that means that unless Twenty Three can find some other way of attacking, Fletchinder can just wear it down. If her expression is anything to go by, I’d say Pinkie’s probably already figured it out herself.” Sure enough, Pinkie was watching the two combatants with narrowed eyes and a look of intense concentration as she plotted her next move.

“Okay, Twenty Three, try taking another Bite out of that birdie.”

“Fletchinder, get in the air and use your Peck from above. Just stay clear of that thing’s head!” Twenty Three moved in swiftly, trying to reach its target before it could escape, but Fletchinder was too fast for it. Fletchinder shot into the air, well out of range of Twenty Three’s snapping jaws, before wheeling back around and diving in to deliver a vicious jab to Twenty Three’s hindquarters. Twenty Three reacted faster than Fletchinder expected, however, quickly spinning around and biting at the fiery bird as it went past. While Fletchinder was able to avoid becoming trapped in Twenty Three’s jaws yet again, it still lost several of its feathers in the process. “Good work, Fletchinder. Now, retreat and Roost again!”

“Oh no, not this time buster,” Pinkie Pie said with a sudden glint in her eyes. “Okay, Twenty Three, this time we’re gonna try something new. Use…Reversal!” Twenty Three raised its head and let out a howl in response as a bright orange and gold burst of energy exploded out of the ground around it. The glowing energy swiftly wrapped around Twenty Three as it charged towards Fletchinder, turning Twenty Three into a streaking comet. Fletchinder scarcely even had time to process what was happening before Twenty Three collided with it in an explosion of energy that sent Fletchinder tumbling across the floor of the arena. “Way to go Twenty Three! Nothing’s gonna be able to stop us n—huh?” Pinkie’s cheers of victory were cut short as she watched Fletchinder unsteadily pull itself back to its feet. “Oh come on!”

“It would appear you’ve underestimated Fletchinder’s resilience,” Ignatius smirked. “Now then, Fletchinder—”

“Another Peck attack,” Derek muttered under his breath in a bored tone.

“—another Peck attack!”

“Oh yeah? Well, Twenty Three will just use another Bite attack! So there!” Pinkie declared as she stuck her tongue out at Ignatius. Once again, both Pokémon charged full force at each other to exchange attacks, Fletchinder delivering another strike to Twenty Three’s shoulder and receiving a nip to its side in return. As the two turned back around to face each other once again, it became plainly obvious that the extended fight was taking its toll on both Pokémon. Each was breathing heavily and struggling to stay upright, though neither seemed quite ready to give up just yet. “Just hang in there, Twenty Three, we’re still in this! All we need to do now is—”

“Fletchinder! Quick Attack!” Pinkie barely had time to blink before Fletchinder seemingly vanished from sight, only to reappear directly behind Twenty Three. For a moment it seemed as though nothing had actually happened, but then Twenty Three toppled over onto its side, unconscious. “I’m afraid it appears that your Growlithe has been left unable to battle,’ Ignatius said.

Pinkie Pie sighed as she recalled Twenty Three to its Poké Ball. “It’s alright, Twenty Three, you did a great job. But, as for you,” Pinkie Pie said as she looked up angrily at Fletchinder. “No more Miss Nice Pie. Go Munchy!” The entire building seemed to shake as Munchy landed inside the arena, performing a few quick stretches as it waited for its trainer’s orders.

“Fletchinder, use Roost before that thing has a chance to attack!”

“Not this time! Munchy, that birdie just beat up Twenty Three real bad, so I want you to use Body Slam!” Munchy looked down at Fletchinder upon hearing this with a glare of cold fury before abruptly launching itself into the air and belly flopping down on top of Fletchinder. After a moment or two, Munchy ponderously stood back up to reveal that Fletchinder was now lodged firmly within Munchy’s stomach fat.

“I think I can safely say that Fletchinder is no longer able to battle,” Ignatius said as he recalled Fletchinder. “Perhaps we should see if your Snorlax can handle fighting something more its own size. Go Turtonator!” Igantius’ next Pokémon looked like a six-and-a-half-foot tall turtle, its jagged, spiked shell a vivid riot of reds and yellows. The unarmored portions of its skin were more of a greyish green, but Pinkie could only catch glimpses of them as it was careful to keep its shell facing towards Munchy. “Now we’ll see how your Snorlax handles an opponent who’s equipped to withstand its bulk. Turtonator, use Iron Defense.” Turtonator nodded its head as it seemed to tense all of its muscles. Moments later, a blue aura began emanating out from its body, while its shell started to glow with a bright white light.

“Ooh, shiny,” Pinkie said before quickly shaking her head. “Careful, Pinkie, this is no time to get distracted. That shell is probably bad news, so we’ll need a way around it. Wait, I know! Munchy, use Metronome!”

“You’re doing what now?” Ignatius asked with a mixture of concern and bewilderment as Munchy lifted its arms above its head and began waving them back and forth. A few tense seconds ticked by as Munchy’s fingers started to glow white, until suddenly Munchy pointed both fingers straight up as the glow vanished. A split second later, a furious waterspout erupted over Munchy’s head, which then twisted to surge forth and envelop Turtonator as Munchy pointed down towards its opponent. While Turtonator was able to keep itself from being washed away by the attack, it was clear that it was a struggle to do so.

“Alright then, let’s try going on the offensive. Turtonator, use Incinerate!” As the water continued to swirl around Turtonator, it looked over its shoulder at Munchy and scrunched up its snot before firing out a large ball of glowing fire. The attack ripped through the raging water and slammed directly into Munchy’s unprotected belly. Despite the ferocity of the attack, however, Munchy scarcely seemed to even notice it, absentmindedly scratching its belly as it stared blankly at Turtonator.

“You’re going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to beat me and Munchy,” Pinkie Pie crowed happily. “And now…another Metronome!” Once again, Munchy lifted its arms up and began swaying them from side to side as it prepared to attack. This time, when Munchy stopped waving its arms, its hand erupted in a brilliant white light and Munchy promptly charged forward at full speed. Once Munchy was close enough, it began frantically swiping at Turtonator’s neck. However, between the difficulty in getting around the spikes on Turtonator’s shell and the water still swirling around from Munchy’s previous attack, all Muncy could really do was flail about ineffectually.

“A Guillotine attack? It would appear your luck cut both ways that time. Regardless, Turtonator! Use your Smog attack! If a direct attack won’t work, then we’ll just have to wear it down gradually instead.”

“Well, if Metronome is a dud…Munchy! Give it one of your Body Slams!” Munchy obediently backed away from Turtonator to give itself room for a running start as Turtonator craned its head over its shoulder. Keeping its eye on its surprisingly quick opponent, Turtonator took a deep breath before exhaling a dark cloud of noxious vapor right into Munchy’s path. Munchy, however, charged through the smoke without pause before leaping into the air and tossing itself onto Turtonator’s back. Turtonator crumpled under the force of the impact, collapsing onto its stomach with a thunderous crash. Even so, Munchy’s attack wasn’t a complete success as Munchy was quickly forced to pull back from its opponent due to the spikes on Turtonator’s back. “Uh ow, sorry Muncy. I guess we should save the Body Slams for a Pokémon who’s a little less pokey. We’ll just stick with Metronome for now, alright?”

“Well, don’t think for a moment that I’m going to make it that easy for you. Turtonator, we’ll start with another Iron Defense, and then—Turtonator?” To Ignatius’ alarm, Turtonator was struggling to even move as Munchy readied its next attack, once again charging forward before wildly slashing at Turtonator’s shell with its claws. By the time Turtonator’s shell finally started to stiffen and glow, Munchy had already left several deep scratches in its surface.

“Woo! That’s right, Munchy, bright it home with another Metronome!” Pinkie chanted in an impromptu cheer, complete with a set of pompoms.

“Where did you get those—actually, you know what, never mind, there are more important things to deal with right now. Turtonator, use another Incinerate. We’ll wear it down eventually, one way or another.”

“Come on, Munchy! Get those arms up and wave around like you just don’t care! Metronome!” Pinkie cheered as Munchy once again waved its arms above its head until suddenly stopping, this time its eyes glowing bright blue. Nothing else seemed to happen, however, and Turtonator took the opportunity to turn around and launch another ball of fire into Munchy’s midsection.

“Good work, Turtonator. Now, follow that up with a—”

“Munchy, quick!” Use Body Slam before it has a chance to turn back around and point all its spikey bits at you again!” Still suffering from the aftereffects of Munchy’s previous Body Slam, Turtonator could do little more that watch in abject horror as Munchy thundered across the arena floor before throwing itself forward and tackling Turtonator to the ground. As Munchy rolled back off its opponent, Turtonator could be seen twitching on the ground, the spikes on its shell having been forcefully embedded into the ground.

“I suppose that was the inevitable outcome,” Ignatius said as he recalled Turtonator back to its ball. “This is far from over, however. Prepare yourself to face my final Pokémon…Numel!” Despite Ignatius’ best efforts at injecting drama into its unveiling, his final Pokémon appeared far from intimidating. The doleful expression of the small, camel-like creature was more pathetic than frightening, and even Munchy seemed unsure if it was supposed to fight Numel or give it a hug.

“Is that really supposed to be your last Pokémon?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I mean, you can switch it out if you made a mistake, I don’t mind.”

“Oh, I assure you there was no mistake here. While Numel may seem harmless, I assure you, you will soon learn to fear the destructive power of its flames. Numel! Are you ready?” Numel did its best to look fierce as it glared at Munchy, but it still came off as more adorable than ferocious. Pinkie’s coos at the rather unthreatening display quickly faded once she noticed that the Z-ring on Ignatius’ wrist had started to glow brightly. “Now then, prepare yourselves for Numbel’s true power! Inferno Overdrive!” As Ignatius roared out the attack name, a torrent of golden light streamed forth from his body, flowing towards Numel and vanishing into a hole on its back. Numel continued to absorb the energy until it was completely contained within itself, trickles of gold fire leaking out of its eyes and mouth. Numel then proceeded to turn to face Munchy before blasting out a massive gout of ire so large it nearly filled the entire arena and so loud it drowned out the orders Pinkie Pie frantically shouted out. Whatever it was that Pinkie Pie said, Munchy scarcely had time to react before the flames completely engulfed it along with the rest of its side of the field. “Finally,” Ignatius said with no small amount of satisfaction as he watched the aftermath of Numel’s attack. “It took everything we hand, but we finally dealt with that overgrown—” The words died in Ignatius’ throat as Munchy burst forth from Numel’s flames, already airborne in a flying Body Slam aimed straight towards its opponent. Numel, still recovering from using its Z-move, could do little but watch as a half-ton of Snorlax came crashing down on top of it. “H-how?” How is that thing still standing?” Ignatius sputtered as Munchy pulled itself back up and plucked Numel out from an indent in its stomach. “Alright, Ignatius, calm down. As durable as that thing is, it clearly isn’t going to be able to maintain this battle for much longer. All Numel has to do is—” Even as Ignatius plotted his next move, the air around Numel began to shimmer as bright blue ripples formed in the air around it. Moments later, a massive barrage of energy erupted out from the ripples, sending Numel tumbling backwards until it came to a stop several feet away, completely unconscious.

“And that, ladies and gentleman, is what a successful Future Sight attack looks like,” Derek said dryly, only just barely suppressing the urge to burst out laughing.

“Indeed,” Ignatius sighed as he recalled Numel to its Poké Ball. “And with that, you have successfully defeated my third and final Pokémon, which means you have won this battle. Congratulations.”

“Woohoo! Do you hear that, Munchy? We won!” Pinkie Pie cheered while Munchy sat down with enough force to cause the entire room to shake. “Aw, I bet you’re pretty tired after all of that battling. Well, come on, I’ll take you back to the Pokémon Center so you can get all fixed up, and then we can have a big victory dinner!” While standing back up would have been too much effort, the promise of a large meal prompted Munchy to throw its arms up in the air as it shouted for joy.

“I have to admit, your Munchy certainly earned its reward in that battle,” Ignatius said as Pinkie recalled Munchy back to its ball. “As for yourself, you have proven your skill as a trainer and therefor have earned the right to your own rewards; the Plasma Badge and a piece of Firium-Z.” As Ignatius spoke, he pressed a hidden switch on the wall, which caused a small door to open on Pinkie’s right revealing a cupboard containing a small box. Pinkie eagerly opened the box, inside of which was a badge in the form of a blue circle with a red dot in the middle along with a crimson crystal.

“Yay! That’s three badges down and five to go, and then I’ll…I’ll…well, I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to do after that, but I bet it’s gonna be really fun!”

“Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not really sure what happens after we get eight badges either,” Fluttershy said while Pinkie Pie began launching into her own speculation, which as usual was equal parts stream-of-consciousness and wild fantasy.

“Getting eight badges means you qualify to take part in the Javik Leage Championship Games,” Derek said. “It’s basically a giant tournament to see who the best trainer in the region is.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said rather unenthusiastically. “That all sounds…um…”

“Well, the championship isn’t for everyone,” Derek said. “I’d say, for most trainers, collecting badges is more about the journey and building your bond with your Pokémon than it is about trying to compete in tournaments like that.”

“That’s a relief,” Fluttershy replied. “Just going to these gyms is about as much as I can take, I don’t know if I’d want to go through a whole championship too. That just seems like much too much pressure.”

“I don’t know, I actually think it sounds like it’d be a whole lot of fun,” Pinkie said as she popped up behind Fluttershy. “Besides, just think of all the different Pokémon we could see at something like that!”

While Pinkie and Fluttershy started debating the merits of attending a championship tournament, Ignatius walked over to Derek. “I have to say, it’s rather unusual to see you traveling with other trainers, especially ones who aren’t particularly experienced. I’m guessing you must see something very special in these two.”

“They are special, just probably not in the way you’re thinking,” Derek replied. “I’m mostly keeping an eye on them as a favor for a friend. Not that I really mind, this has been some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

Bonding Experiences

“Ugh, how far is it to Alumina Town again?” Rainbow Dash groaned. “It feels like we’ve been walking forever!”

“I know, but complaining about it isn’t going to make the trip any faster,” Twilight said. “We’ve still got at least a day or two before we get there, so we just need to keep moving.” In truth, Twilight felt almost as impatient as Rainbow Dash. With her issues with Charmeleon hopefully behind her and her arm taken care of, Twilight was ready to resume her efforts to complete the league’s gym challenge and return everypony to Equestria.

Of course, a mission like that was bound to involve a few detours, regardless of Twilight’s feelings on the subject, and as the group turned a corner Twilight saw one likely such detour come into view. Seated cross-legged on a flat rock a few yards off the side of the road was a slender, dark-haired man dressed in robes of some kind. Next to him was a Pokémon, a sort of blue and black humanoid jackal with spikes on its chest and the backs of its hands.

“Huh, what’s up with that guy?” Rainbow Dash asked, her impatience to get to the next town briefly being set aside. “Hey, buddy! What are you doing just sitting out here in the middle of nowhere like that?”

“Come on, Rainbow, let’s not bother him,” Twilight said, sensing an impending delay on their journey. “We still have a long way to go before we get to Alumina City, remember?”

“I’m just asking him a question,” Rainbow Dash protested. “Plus, its not like the gym’s gonna go anywhere, we’ve got time to stop for a bit.” By this point, the man had opened his eyes and was watching the group with a look of mild amusement.

“There is a certain wisdom to the way you’re looking at things,” the man said suddenly. “A journey’s destination will usually continue to exist until you reach it, but the meetings along the way exist only in that moment.” A brief silence followed as Twilight and her friends attempted to process what the man had just said, with varying degrees of success. “My name is Hanzo, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”

“Uh, same,” Rainbow Dash said as she abandoned her attempts to parse what Hanzo had said earlier. “So, what exactly are you doing out here, anyway?”

“Lucario and I are meditating. By meditating together like this, we’ll be better able to synchronize our spirits during battle, allowing us to act with a single mind and purpose. That’s the idea, anyway. Thus far, we’ve had better luck synchronizing our napping than our spirits.” This last comment earned Hanzo a slightly annoyed glance from his Lucario. “I did say ‘we’, didn’t I?”

“Synchronizing your spirits, huh? So, does that sort of stuff really help you in Pokémon battles?” Rainbow Dash asked, as Twilight shot her a disapproving look. “What? These gym battles are supposed to keep getting harder as we go along, aren’t they? I’m gonna wanna get every advantage I can get. Besides, like he said, it’s not like the gym’s going to be going anywhere.”

Before Twilight could open her moth to utter a word of protest, a small figure resembling a two-foot tall, black and blue, bipedal puppy, suddenly burst out from some nearby bushes and rushed over towards Hanzo. The creature then proceeded to begin frantically leaping about around Hanzo in an apparent effort to get his attention. Despite the creature’s best efforts, however, neither Hanzo nor Lucario seemed to acknowledge its presence.

“Are you gonna do anything about that…” Rainbow Dash asked after nearly a minute passed without either side in the strange battle of wills showing any sign of budging. “It looks like that whatever it is really wants your attention for some reason.”

“What Riolu wants is for me to train it,” Hanzo said, a touch of weariness in his voice. “This particular Riolu seems to be convinced that I would be the ideal trainer to bring out its full potential, so it’s been hounding me for the last several days no to take it on as part of my team.”

“So, why don’t you let it?” Spike asked as he watched the Riolu jump up and down while waving its arms.

“Unfortunately, this particular Riolu simply isn’t strong enough. The type of training regimens that I employ can be quite strenuous, and I simply wouldn’t have the time to devote to bringing Riolu to the point where it could handle them safely.” Hanzo’s blunt assessment of Riolu caused the young Pokémon to cease hopping around for a moment before it dashed off again into the underbrush.

“You know, you could have been a little nicer about that,” Spike said as he watched the Riolu run off.

“He could have, but I actually kinda get what he was saying,” Rainbow Dash said. “It sounds kind of like the training we do at the Wonderbolts. Its not such a big deal for serious athletes, but if someone who wasn’t on top shape tried it they could end up seriously hurting themselves.”

“Well, I still think that you should give Riolu a chance to prove it can handle it. I’m gonna go after it!” Spike declared before rushing off into the underbrush after Riolu and leaving Twilight to growl in frustration.

“Is your friend going to be alright?” Hanzo asked.

“Who, Spike or Twilight?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Eh, either way, they’ll be fine. Spike can take care of himself pretty well, and Twilight always gets like this whenever one of her schedules gets messed up.”

“I do not!” Twilight protested, which earned her a raised eyebrow along with a smug grin from Rainbow Dash. “Alright, maybe I do get a little too stressed out when things don’t go according to plan, but have you ever thought that maybe you don’t get stressed enough?” Rainbow Dash simply rolled her eyes at this as she turned back to Hanzo.

“So, does this meditation stuff really help with Pokémon battling? No offense, but it kinda just looks like you’re just sitting around.” This observation elicited a snicker from Hanzo’s Lucario as Hanzo himself let out a sigh.

“I imagine it does look like that from the outside. The meditation itself isn’t really the important bit, however. That’s really just a means to an end more that anything else. The real goal is to strengthen the bond between Pokémon and trainer. Ideally, a trainer and their Pokémon should be more than just partners, they should be able to act with a single mind in battle.”

“Cool. So, do you think you could teach me to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked, earning yet another dirty look from Twilight. “What? It’s not like we’re going to be leaving or anything until Spike gets back, and besides, you should probably work more on bonding with your Pokémon anyway.”

“And just what’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked.

“Come on, Twilight, you’ve only just got to the point with Charmeleon where it’ll listen to you without trying to snap at your or something. You really don’t think you’ve got any room to improve there?”

“Maybe, but I think I can handle improving things just fine on my own,” Twilight replied.

“Okay, but what about your other Pokémon?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You’ve gotta work at keeping your whole bond-thing up with those other guys, too, not just your Charmeleon.”

“I know that!” Twilight said before letting out a growl of annoyance. “Look, if you want to stop here and learn about meditation, then fine. Like you said, we can’t leave without Spike anyway. While you do that, I’m going to go look for Spike and try to make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.” Rainbow Dash simply shrugged her shoulders at this.

“Alright, suit yourself. Just don’t get jealous when me and my Pokémon are moving on the same awesome wavelength and stuff.” As Twilight stormed off after Spike, Rainbow Dash sat down in front of Hanzo. “So, how exactly does all this meditation stuff work?”

*********

“Hey! Riolu! I know you’re out here!” Spike called out as he stumbled through the underbrush and trees. Despite his repeated entireties, however, Riolu didn’t answer, and after several minutes of fruitless searching Spike was starting to have second thoughts about his decision to come searching for Riolu in the first place. “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. I’m not even really sure if Riolu is going to want my help, and I do know that Twilight’s probably going to be pretty annoyed with me when I get back. I should probably start heading – hey, what’s that?” Listening carefully, Spike could hear a rhythmic thumping sound coming from close by. Following his ears, Spike discovered that the noise was coming from a small copse of trees, where Riolu could be seen repeatedly striking one with a determined look on its face. “Hey there. Riolu, right?” Spike called out as he stepped into the clearing. Upon hearing Spike, the Rioly immediately stopped its exercise and turned to face him, adopting a fighting stance as it eyed him suspiciously. “Whoa, hey, I’m not going to try and hurt you or anything, I just want to talk,” Spike said quickly, seating himself far enough away from Riolu that he figured it wouldn’t see him as a potential threat. “I just wanted to talk with you after the way that guy Hanzo brushed you off like that.”

Riolu regarded Spike for a moment before letting out a snort and turning away from him, at which point it resumed striking its tree.

“I thought that maybe I could help you out,” Spike explained, to which Riolu responded by increasing the pace of its strikes in an apparent attempt to drown out his voice. “Look, I know what its like to get looked down on for being little, and I figured that if I helped you train a little, then maybe Hanzo would see that you’re tough enough for him to train you. Come on,” Spike added as Riolu continued striking its tree unabated. “If nothing else, it’s not like you’ve got anything to lose. And you’ll probably do a lot better training with one other creature than you will just doing it out here alone.”

While Riolu said nothing to this, the pace of its strikes gradually decreased as it considered what Spike was saying. Eventually, Riolu struck the tree with one final blow before turning to face Spike with an inquisitive expression.

“Does this mean that you’re going to let me help you train?” Spike asked eagerly. Riolu responded with a sigh as it nodded it head in affirmation, clearly not particularly thrilled with the idea even if it couldn’t argue against any of Spike’s points. “Hey, don’t worry. I promise that I’m going to do everything I can to get you tough enough that Hanzo will be able to see how great a Pokémon you really are. So, why don’t we start by you showing me what you’ve got with a quick battle?” As Riolu nodded its head once again, Spike reached into his jacket and pulled out a Poké Ball. “Okay, I don’t want to hit you with anything too intense right away, I’m pretty sure its better to ease into this sort of thing. So, how about we start things off with…Ivysaur!” As Spike spoke, he tossed the ball into the air, allowing Ivysaur out into the clearing between him and Riolu. “Okay, so Hanzo’s big deal is he doesn’t think you can handle the sort of training he does. So, I’m gonna have Ivysaur here give you a few hits so we can see how much you can actually take, alright?”

Riolu nodded its head as it adopted what Spike presumed to be a defensive pose. Granted, Spike’s experience with martial arts began and ended with the issues he had read of Fighting Stance, Wandering Master, but surely that would be enough to cover the basics.

“Okay Ivysaur, I want you to use one of your Razor Leaf attacks on Riolu, but since this is just a practice, I want you to try and hold back just a little, alright?” Ivysaur voiced its understanding before facing Riolu and shaking the plant on its back, sending several leaves sailing through the air. Acting according to Spike’s instructions, Ivysaur had scaled back the usual barrage of leaves to a more manageable stream, and it appeared that Riolu was having no problems dodging or batting away any of the leaves that came too close. “Wow, you’re pretty good,” Spike marveled as he watched Riolu defend itself. It was at that moment, however, that one of Ivysaur’s leaves penetrated Riolu’s defenses and smacked it square in the face. The impact sent Riolu tumbling backwards until it landed on its back, completely out of it. “Ooh, we might have more work to do than I thought,” Spike said with a wince. “I just hope Twilight and Rainbow Dash don’t mind taking a break for a while.”

*********

“I can’t believe those two!” Twilight fumed as she fumbled her way through the underbrush. “It’s bad enough Spike decided to run off after that Pokémon by himself, but then Rainbow Dash has to lecture me about my relationship with my Pokémon. Ugh!” Twilight kicked out at a nearby rock in frustration, only to immediately regret the fact that her feet weren’t quite as sturdy as her hooves had been. After a brief bout of hopping on one foot while reciting every curse she had secretly learned from Shining Armor, Twilight slumped against a nearby tree and sat down on the ground. “Although, maybe Rainbow Dash does have a bit of a point,” Twilight admitted to herself in a bit of post-outburst introspection. “I’ve been spending so much time and energy on fixing things between me and Charmeleon, I really haven’t spent all that much time with my other Pokémon. Well, there’s no time like the present, and now that I think about it, I’m probably not going to find Spike just wandering around out here anyway. So, the question now is, who do I want to try and reach out to? Probably either Noibat or Sneasel, even if I don’t talk to Whirlipede all that much I do give it more attention than those other two. Besides, its hard enough for me to understand how regular Pokémon feel, let alone trying to read one that doesn’t really have a face. But, that just narrows it down to two…I know! I’ll just bring both of them out together! Nothing helps build friendships like a nice group activity.” Twilight’s mood was considerably improved now that she had a plan to act upon, and she took out the Poké Balls containing her Noibat and Sneasel and tossed them both into the air. “Noibat! Sneasel! Come on out!”

The two Pokémon promptly materialized, Noibat perched on a nearby branch and Sneasel standing directly under it. Noibat seemed quite happy to be outside at all, flapping its wings and letting out a series of short, cheerful screeches at the sight of Twilight. Sneasel, on the other hand, appeared much less impressed with Twilight as it leaned back against the tree and yawned, barely even acknowledging Twilight’s presence.

“Hi. So…” Twilight began as she considered how she should start what was likely to be an awkwardly one-sided conversation. Eventually, Twilight decided that the best way forward was to simply rip off the proverbial bandage. “Anyway, you two probably already know about the trouble I’ve had with Charmeleon. I think we’re finally moving in the right direction there, but its gotten me thinking about my relationships with the two of you. So, I just wanted to sit and talk with you to make sure everything’s alright between us.”

Noibat cocked its head to the side before letting out a few, happy-sounding chirps that Twilight interpreted as Noibat saying it was perfectly satisfied with her as a trainer. Sneasel, meanwhile, gave Twilight an annoyed glance before something seemed to catch its eye. Grinning mischievously, Sneasel suddenly darted forward and grabbed at the end of the branch Noibat was perched on. Before Twilight or Noibat could react, Sneasel pulled the branch down and then released it, sending the branch snapping upwards and Noibat tumbling through the air.

“Hey!” Twilight cried out as she quickly rushed to catch Noibat. Twilight’s concern proved to be largely unnecessary as Noibat easily righted itself midair, through Noibat did take the opportunity to land on Twilight’s shoulder before glowering down at Sneasel. “Why the hay would you do something like that? Noibat could have gotten hurt because of you!” Twilight scolded. Sneasel didn’t appear to particularly care, though, as it was too busy laughing uproariously at its prank. “Okay, so clearly scolding you isn’t going to work,” Twilight muttered to herself. “Alright, that’s fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with a prankster who doesn’t understand self-control, and unlike Rainbow Dash I can stuff this one in a ball if it keeps misbehaving. Hopefully it won’t come to that, though,” Twilight added as she knelt down to bring herself closer to eye-level with Sneasel. “Now look, I understand playing pranks on somecreature else can seem like a lot of fun, but it’s important to make sure that your pranks are something that everycreature can enjoy, not just yourself. Do you understand?”

Sneasel stopped its laughing and appeared to consider what Twilight was saying for a moment before it gave its response. Unfortunately, said response was to take a deep breath and blow a raspberry right in Twilight’s face.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Twilight sputtered as she stumbled backwards. While Twilight tried to recover from the unpleasant surprise, Sneasel took the opportunity to dash up the side of the nearest tree. Once it was safely out of Twilight’s reach, Sneasel decided to amuse itself further by snatching a pinecone off a nearby branch and lobbing it at Noibat. Noibat reflexively flapped its wings to deflect the projectile, unintentionally smacking Twilight square in the face in the process. “Arrgh! What is wrong with you? Not you, Noibat, you’re fine,” Twilight quickly added as she noticed Noibat shrinking away from her outburst. “Although, I think maybe it might be best if you went back in your ball for a bit so I can deal with Sneasel one-on-one. Return.” No sooner had Twilight recalled Noibat to its Poké Ball then she was forced to duck as yet another pinecone was tossed at the back of her head. “Really? Why are you acting like this? Did I do something to make you upset with me?”

Sneasel simply shrugged its shoulders at this as it proceeded to glance around for another pinecone to throw.

“So, you not mad at me, you’re just a jerk, is that it?” Twilight briefly considered telling Sneasel that it was welcome to leave if it was just going to bully everyone around it, but quickly bit her tongue. “The last time I said something like that it didn’t go all that well. Maybe I should try reasoning with it,” Twilight thought to herself as she looked up at her misbehaving Pokémon. “Look, Sneasel, I understand I might not be your ideal trainer or anything, but things are going to go a lot easier for both of us if we could at least try to get along. Trust me, in the long run, friendship is much more rewarding than any – Ack!”

Sneasel, unable to find a suitable pinecone within easy reach, had decided to settle for scraping off a gob of sap from the trunk of the tree and lobbing that at Twilight instead.

“Oh for the love of Celestia, it’s all over the front of my jacket,” Twilight grumbled as she pulled her jacket off to take a better look at the mess on its front. “Great, it’s going to take me forever to get his cleaned off. Well, I hope you’re…happy?” As Twilight looked back up at Sneasel, she saw that it was now staring intently at her, to the point that it was leaning down precariously from its perch. Twilight silently wondered what could possibly have grabbed Sneasel’s attention as she followed its gaze back down to her shirt, and the three gym badges pinned there. “What, you’re interested in my badges? Well, that’s right, I’ve managed to defeat three gyms so far with the help of my other Pokémon. Including Noibat,” Twilight added pointedly.

Sneasel took on a thoughtful expression as it appeared to consider what Twilight had just said before it clambered back down the tree, where it stood looking up at Twilight expectantly.

“Oh, so now you’ll listen to me since you know I’ve got a few badges, is that it?” Twilight asked semi-sarcastically, to which Sneasel replied with a look of defiance, though it didn’t make any moves to necessarily counter Twilight’s statement either. The pair then stared each other down for several seconds before Twilight finally let out a sigh of exasperation. You know what? If you’re willing to at least try and listen to me for now than I’m just going to take this as a win. We can work on getting you to get along with the other Pokémon later. For now, return.” After recalling Sneasel to its Poké Ball (and being pleasantly surprised that she didn’t encounter any last-minute resistance) Twilight considered what she should do next. “Now that I’ve at least got a solid start with my other Pokémon, I should get back to looking for Spike. He’s probably fine, but…” Twilight quietly thought back to all the times Spike had been ‘probably fine’ back in Equestria. “Yeah, I should definitely go find him.”

*********

“My grandfather had a favorite saying. ‘There are many roads that lead to Saffron City’,” Hanzo said, earning a raised eyebrow from his Lucario. “It means that there are many different ways to achieve the same goal. The purpose of the meditation was to help a trainer and their Pokémon achieve a level of spiritual synchronization. And you have to admit, these two are impressively in synch with each other.” Lucario rolled its eyes while Rainbow Dash and her Skarmory continued to snore as they sat next to each other on a nearby log, their heads even lolling back at the same angle. “Part of me is almost jealous, I only wish I could fall asleep that easily. So, how long do you think we should leave them like this?” Lucario shrugged as it glanced over towards the woods, a beam of light suddenly bursting out from beneath the canopy. “You’re right, we can at least let her sleep until her friends get back. We wouldn’t want her to miss anything, especially not when her young friend has been putting in so much effort.”

*********

“Okay, good dodge! Now, see if you can handle Ivysaur and Bagon at the same time!” Riolu nodded its head as it summersaulted through the air, narrowly dodging the barrage of leaves unleashed by Ivysaur before twisting around to avoid Bagon’s Dragon Breath. For his part, Spike couldn’t help but grin with satisfaction as he watched Riolu spin through the air. While his efforts to help Riolu train had started out somewhat rocky, once Riolu had gotten comfortable working with other Pokémon its improvement had come rapidly. Once it had become clear that taking hits wasn’t Riolu’s strong suit, Spike had shifted his training strategy to focus on Riolu’s ability to avoid attacks entirely, which was working much better. After a great deal of effort, Riolu had reached the point where it could now reliably predict and avoid the attacks of two Pokémon working in concert. “Aw yeah! That was awesome!” Spike cheered as Riolu deflected several of Ivysaur’s leaves before landing back down with a flourish. “So, do you think you’re ready to show that Hanzo guy what you’ve got?”

Riolu firmly nodded its head as it flexed a bit in an effort to show off its physique.

“That’s the spirt! Come on, let’s head back and show him what you can really do!” Spike said, quickly recalling his Bagon and Ivysaur before motioning for Riolu to follow him. “I marked a bunch of these trees while I was chasing after you in here. It’s a trick my friend Applejack taught me to keep from getting lost in the woods. It’s a good thing I thought of it, too. You could get turned around and lost in this place pretty easily if you weren’t being careful. Am I talking too much? It’s a thing I sometimes do when I’m nervous, not that we have anything to be nervous about,” Spike added with a slightly manic laugh. “So, uh, what exactly do you think Hanzo is going to want you to do to show that you’re tough enough for him to train you? I bet he’ll probably want you to battle one of his Pokémon. I think that’s what I’d do if I – hey, what’s the matter?”

Spike’s idle speculation had had a definite effect on Riolu, who’s pace had slowed considerably as it seemed to reconsider its current course of action.

“Come on, think of all the trainer we just did! I’ll bet Hanzo won’t even have any clue what you can do now, so you’ll have the element of surprise on your side. And, if you want, then I’ll help too! Pokémon do even better with trainers, right? So, I’ll help you show Hanzo what you can really do when you’re at your best.”

While Riolu appeared to be at least a little bolstered by Spike’s words of encouragement, it still seemed somewhat apprehensive as the pair emerged from the woods back out onto the road. Hanzo was still seated next to his Lucario, and had been joined nearby by a snoring Rainbow Dash and her equally unconscious Skarmory. Strangely, it seemed to Spike as though Hanzo had been staring directly at the spot where he and Riolu had emerged from the brush, but Spike quickly dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him.

“Hey! I want to talk to you!” Spike called out, his entrance only slightly marred by his pantleg getting briefly caught on a bush, which forced him to awkwardly hop his way into the open. “You said that the reason you wouldn’t train this Riolu was that you thought it was too weak for your training, right? Well, I’ve been working with it, and I think it’s a lot tougher than you’re giving it credit for.”

“Is that so?” Hanzo replied calmly. Something about Hanzo’s tone irked Spike, it was the same tone Twilight used when somepony told her something she already knew, and she was suppressing the urge to point that out. Still, whatever his personal feelings about Hanzo were, Spike reminded himself that he was doing this for Riolu.

“Yeah, it is so. And we’re ready to prove it, too,” Spike said confidently.

“Very well, then. How about this; we’ll pit Riolu against Lucario here and see how it does. I don’t really expect Riolu to win, but if its performance shows any promise, then I’ll reconsider my stance on training it. Since you’re the one who’s been working with it, may I assume you’ll be willing to act as Riolu’s trainer for the sake of this exercise?”

“Yeah, that’s right. And Rainbow Dash can referee.”

“I have no objections to that. Although, we will need to wake her first…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got that covered,” Spike said as he took off his backpack and rummaged around in it for a few seconds before pulling out an airhorn. “And Twilight said I was crazy for packing this thing,” Spike chuckled to himself as he pointed it towards Rainbow Dash and let out a quick burst of noise.

“Wuah! I’m awake!” Rainbow Dash cried out as she toppled backwards onto the ground. Skarmory, meanwhile, let out an angry squawk as it flapped awkwardly into the air before landing back down several feet away. “Spike! Why’d you wake me…I mean, why’d you break my concentration? Because I was totally meditating and definitely hadn’t fallen asleep or anything, right Skarmory?” Skarmory let out a short screech of agreement as it looked away, offended that anyone would even suggest it had fallen asleep while trying to meditate.

“Sorry, I had to, uh, break your concentration, but I really need you to referee a Pokémon battle! Riolu and I are gonna show Hanzo that Riolu’s worth training after all,” Spike explained.

“Really? That actually does sound pretty awesome. Yeah, count me in. Let’s go for it!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, if everything’s set, then let’s get on with it,” Hanzo said as he stood up and motioned for Lucario to follow him. “Just let us know when you are ready.”

“Oh, we’re definitely ready,” Spike said, a sentiment Riolu quickly echoed with a firm nod of its head.

“Alright,” Rainbow Dash said as she quickly moved herself out of the way of the impending battle. “If you’re both ready, then…GO!”

“Extreme –” time seemed to slow down for Spike as Hanzo’s Lucario practically teleported in the blink of an eye from in front of Riolu to directly behind it. “-Speed.” And that was it. By the time Hanzo had even finished issuing his first command, Riolu was already toppling backwards, unconscious. For the first few moments no one said a word as they all processed what had just happened, until finally Rainbow Dash recovered enough from the shock to speak.

“Sorry, Spike, but it looks like Riolu lost,” Rainbow Dash said as Hanzo shook his head.

“I suspected this would be the case,” Hanzo said with just a hint of regret. “An afternoon of training, no matter how intense, simply wouldn’t be enough to bring Riolu to where it would need to be for me to train it, even if it does have a remarkable spirit.”

“So, after all that, you’re still not going to give it a chance?” Spike asked, to which Hanzo shook his head.

“As I’ve said before, Riolu simply isn’t strong enough to withstand my current regime. That said, perhaps that might not be such a bad thing. I think Riolu may do much better in your care than in mine,” Hanzo said.

“Wait, me? Are you sure?”

“What Riolu needs most of all is a trainer who can match its spirit and bring out its full potential. I might not be able to devote myself to it like that, but I suspect that you could. After all, you managed to bring Riolu to the point where it was willing to face Lucario and I in the course of single afternoon. I can only imagine what you’d be able to accomplish with it given enough time.” As Hanzo spoke, he walked over to Riolu and knelt down next to it. While Spike watched, Hanzo took out a small bottle of medicine and sprayed Riolu with it, causing Riolu to stir and awaken. “Well, Riolu, what do you think of my suggestion? Do you think this young man would make an acceptable trainer in my stead?”

Riolu pulled itself to its feet and looked back at Spike for several seconds, silently evaluating him, before finally nodding its head in affirmation.

“Really? You really want to team up with me? Alright!” Spike cheered. “This is gonna be great! And don’t worry, I’m gonna make sure you get to be the toughest Pokémon there is! I bet you’ll even get strong enough to beat him!” Spike added as he pointed towards Hanzo’s Lucario, which caused Hanzo to burst out laughing.

“Well, I’ll certainly be looking forward to seeing that. In any event, I should probably get going. Lucario and I need to continue our training and I have other responsibilities that I need to see to as well. That said, I suspect we will meet again, and I’m certain both you and Riolu will be much stronger by then.”

“You bet we will! Right, Riolu?” Spike replied, with Riolu nodding firmly in agreement. Hanzo simply smiled at this, and with that he turned and started to walk away, his Lucario following closely behind.

“So, are you really gonna try taking that guy on again the next time you see him? He seemed pretty tough,” Rainbow Dash said after Hanzo had disappeared from view.

“Well, yeah, of course. I mean, we’re gonna have to really train hard if we want to beat him, but I think me and Riolu can do it.”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said, not sounding totally convinced. “I just got a really weird feeling about that guy, that’s all. Anyway, we should probably get moving again once Twilight gets back so she doesn’t get too grumpy that we stopped. Where is Twilight, anyway? I thought she was headed into the woods to find you?”

*********

“Stupid forest with its stupid trees and stupid pinecones-” Twilight’s angry muttering was briefly interrupted as one such pinecone dropped off a branch and bounced off the top of her head. “I HOPE YOU ALL GET TURNED INTO BAD ROMANCE NOVELS!”

Buyer Bewear

“Ahh, now this is more like it,” Rarity sighed happily as she stretched out on her beach chaise, Prinplup letting out a chirp of agreement as it lay on a towel next to her. The warm sun, combined with the sound of the ocean waves gently crashing onto the sand provided the exact sort of relaxing atmosphere Rarity had been craving. After the combination of wilderness hiking and villain attacks that had comprised her adventures thus far, being able to lie down and let her cares drift away seemed like paradise. As Rarity allowed the sun to soak in, it felt as though nothing could detract from her moment of peace.

“Just what in the name of Celestia do y’all think yer doin’?” Rarity looked up from her seat to see a thoroughly annoyed Applejack standing over her. “Y’all are supposed to be helpin’ me track down Pinkie and Fluttershy, not sunnin’ yerself like some lizard on a rock.”

“First of all, I really wish you could have found a different analogy. Secondly, I am keeping an eye out for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, or at least Pinkie Pie at any rate. I mean, really darling, look around you,” Rarity said as she pulled herself upright and waved an arm towards the beach. “We have the sand, the ocean, and there are at least eight or so stands or shops selling some kind of dessert between here and the Pokémon Center. If Pinkie Pie isn’t here already, then she’s certainly going to wander by here eventually.”

“Huh. Well, Ah’ll admit, y’all do have a pretty good point there. Ah reckon yer probably right about this place bein’ the sort of spot that Pinkie’ll wander over to sooner or later,” Applejack said, prompting a relieved Rarity to start lying back down onto her chaise. “Which is why y’all can get up and help me check up and down the beach to see if she’s here. Now, come on. We ain’t gonna find our friends by just layin’ around.”

“I do realize that, but couldn’t we at least spend a little time relaxing first? We’ve spent almost our entire time on this island trekking through the wilderness, and that’s not even mentioning our encounters with Sombra and Chrysalis. I need some time to unwind, and quite frankly so do you.”

“Alright, how’s this; y’all help me go up and down the beach to see if there’s any sing of Pinkie or Fluttershy, and after that y’all can spend the rest of the day lyin’ around. Deal?”

“Deal!” Rarity quickly agreed, knowing Applejack well enough to realize that that was likely the best compromise she would likely be offered. “So, the question now is, which way should we start walking, up towards the docks or down towards the far end of the beach?”

“If Ah had to guess, Ah’d say our best bet would be headin’ away from the docks. That way seems a bit less crowded, and if Fluttershy’s here that’ll be where she’d head off to, especially if that way also has any wild critters roamin’ about.”

“That sounds like as good a reason as any to me. Shall we?” With that, Rarity and her Prinplup hopped up and quickly gathered their things together.

*********

Walking down the length of the Aquarius City beach, Applejack was forced to admit that Rarity had likely been right about it being exactly the sort of place that Pinkie Pie was going to be drawn to. The beach was absolutely packed with people and Pokémon, though as Applejack suspected the crowds had thinned slightly as they had moved further away from the boardwalk entrance.

“I hate to admit it, but I think I’m starting to see a bit of a flaw in my plan. Even if Pinkie and Fluttershy are here, how in Equestria would be pick them out in this crowd?”

“Ah don’t know about Fluttershy, but Ah reckon Pinkie Pie should be easy enough to find. Y’all could drop that filly in the middle of the most crowded part of Manehatten and she’d still be easier to pick out than a black cat in a blizzard.”

“I see your point. Pinkie Pie does have a tendency to set herself apart. Still, I do have to wonder just what one wo0uld have to do to stand out in a crowd this large.” As if on cue, a trio of voices immediately recognizable to Applejack and Rarity could be heard cheering as they walked by.

“Aw man, Apple Bloom, that was a great battle. You totally thrashed that gym leader!”

“Yep, Ah’m all caught up to you now, Scootaloo. So, where do y’all wanna head next? Is there someplace that you wanted to visit, Sweetie Belle?”

“Sort of. I’m actually a little curious to see the haunted house I heard about that has another one of the gyms in it, but if there’s someplace else you two want to go…”

“Apple Bloom?”

“Sweetie Belle?” Applejack and Rarity shared a brief glance before both bolted off in the direction of the trio of voices and it wasn’t long before they spotted their targets. Despite their transformation from ponies to humans, the pair had little difficulty recognizing their younger sisters.

“Apple Bloom! Apple Bloom, is that really you?” Applejack cried out.

“Applejack?” Apple Bloom managed to sputter out as she mentally shifted gears to deal with this unexpected family reunion. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“Ah could ask y’all the same question,” Applejack snapped, abruptly switching from relieved big sister to disciplinarian now that she had confirmed her younger sibling was safe. “Big Mac’s been lookin’ all over fer y’all.”

“Hold on, Big Mac’s here too?” Apple Bloom asked in surprise.

“He sure is, and he’s been worried sick about y’all this whole time. If y’all have been on the island this whole time, then why haven’t y’ tried to let either of yer older siblin’s know y’ were safe. Do y’all have any idea how dangerous this place can get?” While Applejack continued to admonish Apple Bloom for her perceived recklessness, a much calmer sibling reunion was taking place just a few feet away.

“So, how have been holding up?” Rarity asked.

“Pretty good. I’ve mostly just been following Apple Bloom and Scootaloo around while they take on all the gyms. We thought that you and Applejack would be busy with Twilight getting everypony back to Equestria, so we were just taking things easy until then. Where is Twilight, anyway? It looks like its just you and Applejack here.”

“That’s because it is, at least for the time being,” Rarity said. “We were all separated when we arrived here, and Applejack and I have been trying to track down the others. We had heard that Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were going to be passing through this way, but we haven’t heard anything about Twilight. Or Rainbow Dash, for that matter,” Rarity added with a glance towards Scootaloo.

“Dang it,” Scootaloo grumbled before promptly perking back up. “Oh well, wherever Rainbow Dash is, I bet she’s being completely awesome and kicking all kinds of hindquarters in Pokémon battles!”

“More than likely. If any member of our little circle was predisposed to all this Pokémon battling business than it would be Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said.

“Yeah! I bet that by now Rainbow Dash has got, like, thirty badges or something!” Scootaloo said.

“Uh, Scootaloo? Ah’m pretty sure there’s only sixteen gyms on this whole island, so how the hay would Rainbow Dash have gotten thirty badges?” Apple Bloom asked as the commotion distracted Applejack from continuing her lecture.

“Ah’d imagine RD’s got at least a few badges by now, but Ah’d wager its probably closer to three or four. Ah’ve only got three mahself, and Ah doubt RD’s gotten all that far ahead of me.”

“You’ve been challenging gyms too, Applejack? Which ones have ya gotten to?”

“Let’s see, Ah’ve gotten the badges from the Rock, Ghost and Fightin’ gyms so far, and Rarity’s got the badges from the Normal and Psychic ones.”

“Hold on,” Sweetie Belle said as she looked up at her big sister in shock. “You’ve taken on some of the gyms?”

“Is it really all that surprising?” Rarity asked.

“Yes!” Sweetie Belle emphatically replied. “I mean, Applejack I get, but you? Fighting in a gym?”

“I will admit, it wasn’t perhaps what I had intended to get involved in, but once you get started it really can be quite exhilarating.”

“Anyhow, Ah can’t really say how serious either of us are gonna take it,” Applejack said. “So far, all this gym business has mostly just been somethin’ to do to pass the time while we look fer the rest of our friends. Once we find ‘em, Ah reckon we’ll probably be too busy tryin’ to figure out how to get back to Equestria to worry too much about badges and such.”

“And ya really don’t know where anyone else is besides Big Mac?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Ah wouldn’t say that. Big Mac’s travelin’ with Limestone Pie and Zephyr Breeze. And, accordin’ to Big Mac, Granny Smith’s back in Mercury City with Pinkie’s parents and Marble Pie.”

“Oh, and don’t forget Maud Pie in Keystone,” Rarity added.

“Yep, her too. Seems a whole mess of other ponies got brought here. Y’ never really know who yer gonna run into.” In yet another sign that the universe may have been taking suggestions from Discord on how to run things, it was at that very moment a pair of voices rang out over the general din of the crowds.

“Ladies and gentleman, may I have your attention please! We have for you today an opportunity of unparalleled fortune!”

“As you are no doubt away, training Pokémon first necessitates that you catch them, an arduous task requiring you to venture out into the wilds, far away from the comforts of home.”

“But not, through our special, I-can’t-believe-they’re-offering-it offer, you can have a brand new, ready-to-train Pokémon without even needing to leave this very beach!”

“No…” Applejack groaned with a dawning feeling of horror. “It can’t be…” But, much to Applejack’s utter dismay, it was. Standing on a makeshift stage just a short walk from where they were standing were none other than Flim and Flam. “What the hay are those two charlatans up to this time?”

“The same thing they’re usually up to, darling,” Rarity observed dryly. “Attempting to sell something to anyone they can trick into trusting them. The strange part is, the way they’re talking it sounds as though they’re actually trying to sell Pokémon.”

“Well, whatever those hucksters are up to, Ah’m not gonna let ‘em have an easy time cheatin’ nobody. Not while Ah’m around.” With that said, Applejack proceeded to march over to the brother’s stage, even as the pair continued their sales pitch.

“That’s right, ladies and gentleman, if you act now, you’ll be able to count yourselves among the luck trainers of one of the most potentially potent Pokémon there is, the king of carp itself, Magikarp!”

“And just to make this incredible offer even more incredible, if you are one of the first five customers to purchase a Magikarp, your foresight will be rewarded with a fifty percent discount!”

“Fifty percent? Brother, did I hear you correct? Did you really say fifty percent?”

“That you did, brother of mine. But these folks better act fast, because a deal this good-”

“Probably ain’t near as good a deal as yer tryin’ to get people to think!” Flim and Flam winced in unison as they turned to see Applejack standing at the foot of their stage staring daggers at them. “Ah looked up this ‘Magikarp’ critter y’all are tryin’ to hock, and, well lister fer yerselves.” As Applejack spoke, she held up her Pokédex, which already had Magikarp’s page up and loaded.

Magikarp, the fish Pokémon. Said to be the world’s weakest Pokémon, Magikarp is unable to swim against even slow-moving currents and is prone to being swept away. They often congregate in stagnant pools and can survive in even highly polluted water.

“Most potent Pokémon mah patootie, these things are supposed to be so durn weak they can’t even battle right, they just flop around. Now what do y’all have to say to that?

“Ah, Miss Applejack, so nice to see you again,’ Flim said, his smile almost unnervingly genuine. “Though I do have to say, its truly a shame that you’ve fallen into the tragically all too common trap of judging a Pokémon based on its strength.”

“Wha – that’s not what Ah—"

“Ah yes, we’ve seen it time and time again before. Trainers are only able to see what a Pokémon can do at that very moment. No consideration in the slightest for how a Pokémon could grow with proper care and attention,” Flam added as he pretended to wipe away a tear. What’s more, several members of the crowd could be heard muttering and nodding their heads in agreement.

“If you had been listening to our offer, we never made any claims of our Magikarp being powerful now. However, given time and proper care, these marvelous little creatures can become veritable paragons of unrivaled strength!”

“Hmph, yeah. And Ah’ll believe that when pigs fly,” Applejack snorted, failing to notice the victorious glance Flim and Flam exchanged as she spoke.

“Well, then, if there’s nothing we can say that will prove to you that we’re telling the truth, then why don’t we settle this in the local manner?” Flam suggested.

“And just what the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack snorted.

“Why, a Pokémon battle, naturally. My brother and I will pit two of our Pokémon, Magikarp from the very same batch we’re selling that we’ve trained ourselves, against whatever Pokémon you wish to use. Then, everyone here will be able to see the truth about what we’re offering.” Flim put a particular emphasis on the word truth as he made his offer, which Applejack immediately recognized as a direct challenge. Despite this, however, Applejack hesitated as she considered Flim’s proposition. The idea of battling the two con men was exactly the sort of thing Applejack had been planning on suggesting herself. But, the fact that Flim had suggested it left Applejack suspicious that there was something about the situation she was missing.

“How about makin’ it two-on-two?” Applejack looked down to see that Apple Bloom had walked up next to her while she had been considering whether or not to accept Flim’s challenge.

“Wha-? Now, hold on just one minute there. Ah can handle this on mah own, Ah don’t need y’all to get yerself mixed up in this too,” Applejack protested, but the decision already appeared to be out of her hands.

“I don’t have any problems with making this a double battle, do you, Flam?”

“None at all. If they want to make this a battle of the siblings than I’m all for it.”

“Dang it, these two are way to happy about all this,” Applejack grumbled as the four trainers made their way to a section of the beach where they could have their battle. “And why the hay did y’all have to butt in like that? Ah had all this under control on mah own.”

“Ah dunno, Applejack, Ah’m not really sure ya did,” Apple Bloom countered. “Like ya said, these two seemed real calm about takin’ you on in a battle. And besides, Ah’ve done plenty of battlin’ since Ah came here, Ah know what Ah’m doin’.” Applejack sighed at this as if she were expecting it.

“Well, it’s too late to do anythin’ about it now. Just, try not to get into too much trouble here, alright? Ah’m sure y’all have had plenty of experience with regular battlin’ and such, but Ah got a feelin’ these two ain’t plannin’ on playin’ fair.”

“Ah know what Ah’m doin’” Apple Bloom grumbled as she pulled out one of her Poké Balls. “Time to show everyone what we can do. Go Bewear!”

“Y’all have got to be kiddin’ me,” Applejack groaned as she saw the Pokémon Apple Bloom had sent out. The tall, pink and brown bear looked more like some overly cheerful toy than anything threatening, an impression not helped by the high-pitched squeal it let out as it stood up. “Welp, with any luck the poor critter won’t get too hurt before Ah can finish this. Go Grotle!” As Grotle took the field, Applejack looked up at Flim and Flam, who were assessing the sister’s Pokémon with a shared look of smug amusement. “What the hay are y’all waitin’ fer? Get yer fishes out here so we can get this over with.”

“Well, I’m ready if you are, brother of mine.”

“No time like the present. On three, then?”

“On three. One…Two…Go Gyarados!” Applejack hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect from Flim and Flam. Some kind of chicanery, no doubt, most likely either in the form of enhancements to their Pokémon or cheating during the battle itself. What Applejack had not expected, however, was to face a pair of twenty-foot-long enraged sea serpents.

“Buh-wuh-huh? Y’all said y’all were gonna use the Pokémon y’all were sellin’!” Applejack sputtered as she stared at the two Gyarados in horror.

“And we are! As you’re no doubt aware, properly trained Pokémon can evolve.”

“Change into new forms that are larger and more powerful than before.”

“These Gyarados just so happen to be the evolved forms of the Magikarp we’re offering to these fine folks here. We just gave them a little care and attention and voila!”

“So, you see, we haven’t told a single lie this entire time.”

“Must be a new record fer the both of y’all,” Applejack muttered under her breath as she quickly pressed a few buttons on her Pokédex to confirm that, indeed, Gyarados were the evolved form of Magikarp. “Well, y’ know what they say, the bigger they are the harder they fall. Alright, Grotle, get ready with yer Razor Leaf attack! Let’s prune these overgrown goldfish back down!” Grotle let out a snort of understanding as the bushes on its back began to glow bright green, before firing out a barrage of leaves that caught both Gyarados square in the face. The assault cased the fearsome Pokémon to momentarily flinch away from the attack, but the pair quickly recovered without showing much sign of injury from the attack.

“A fair effort, I’ll give you that.”

“But you’re going to need to do a lot better than that if you want to be us. Gyarados, Ice Fang!” As the Flim Flam brothers shouted out their command in unison, both Gyarados turned to Grotle, the insides of their mouths glowing bright blue. Grotle was barely quick enough to dodge out the way as the first Gyarados lunged forward, its fangs snapping down into the sand and leaving behind a sizable patch of ice. Unfortunately, Grotle’s efforts only served to put it right in line with the second Gyarados’ attack, the monstrous Pokémon snatching Grotle out of the air before biting down and practically encasing Grotle in ice.

“Grotle! Are y’all alright?” Applejack cried out as the Gyarados let Grotle tumble out of its mouth to the ground. Grotle let out a groan in response as it struggled to pull itself back up, only succeeding with a tremendous amount of effort.

“I’ll give credit where it’s due, your Grotle is clearly more durable than I’d have expected.”

“But I rather doubt it’ll be able to take another hit like that, and then—”

“Hey! Aren’t y’all forgettin’ about someone?” Apple Bloom yelled out indignantly. “Bewear, show these two what you can do! Use Thunder Punch!” The expressions on Flim and Flam’s faces rapidly shifted from smug victory to panic as Bewear drew back its arm and arcs of electricity began crackling over its fist. Flim’s Gyarados, which had the misfortune of being the closer of the two, had no chance of escape as Bewear slammed its fist into Gyardos’ tail. In a flash, the Gyarados snapped ramrod straight as lighting coursed through its body until it toppled over onto its side, unconscious.

“Eh heh heh, well that’s unfortunate…elemental weaknesses, folks. Am I right?” Flim babbled nervously as he recalled his Gyarados to its ball. “Flam, quick, do something before we lose the audience.”

“No need to panic, Flim, we just need to demonstrate whether that overgrown stuffed toy can take it as well as dish it out. Gyarados, a Bite attack on the bear, if you please.” Flam’s Gyarados promptly reared up before surging forward and chomping down directly onto Bewear’s arm. The attack failed to have the desired effect on Bewear, however, as it simply stared at Gyardos with a vacant expression that somehow still managed to convey murderous rage.

“So, Ah’m thinkin’ ya should give that thing a Thunder Punch too. What do ya say, partner?” Apple Bloom said. Her Bewear replied with another high-pitched cry as it pulled back its free arm and delivered another electrified punch directly into Gyarados’ face.

“Well, Ah might not’ve had all that much to do with it, but that sure looks like a win to me,” Applejack said as Flam recalled his still-twitching Gyarados to its ball.

“I can’t really argue with you there, your younger sister’s Bewear is certainly a force to be reckoned with,” Flim said, seeming far less put out by the loss than Applejack would have expected. “And, as you wanted, everyone here now knows exactly how much potential the Pokémon my brother and I are offering possess.”

“That’s right, folks, and if you want the chance to walk away as the future trainer of one of those magnificent Pokémon then line up right here!” Flam added as a crowd began rapidly forming around him, much to Applejack’s confusion.

“Ah, nothing like a good product demonstration to really drive demand,” Flim grinned. “And, thanks to you, we didn’t even need to hire a plant to pick a fight with us. Although, that actually might not be a bad idea for next time. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a good shill around here…”

“But…that weren’t…aw horseapples,” Applejack sputtered as she slowly realized that she had been thoroughly played. Although, as Applejack looked over at Apple Bloom, who was busy congratulating her Bewear on a job well done, there was perhaps one silver lining to the whole mess. “That Bewear of yers sure is somethin’ else.”

“Yep, but fer some reason a lot of people here keep underestimatin’ what it can do,” Apple Bloom said as her Bewar hoisted her up in its arms so she could reach to scratch behind its ears.

“Ah hate to admit it, but y’all could’ve counted me as one of ‘em. And…Ah think the Bewear weren’t the only thing Ah was underestimatin’. Y’all are a lot toughter than Ah realized, and Ah guess y’ can probably take care of yerself just fine without me or Big Macintosh hoverin’ over y’.”

“Wow, Applejack, do ya really mean—”

“But Ah still want y’all to call Big Mac and let him know yer alright so he can stop frettin’ about y’. And, from now on, yer gonna let us both know how yer doin’.”

“…Yeah, Ah guess that’s fair enough. So, anyway, are ya gonna want any help lookin’ fer Pinkie and Fluttershy?”

“Well, if yer offerin’, Ah sure would appreciate the help. And, while we’re at it, why don’t ya’ll tell me about what exactly y’ and yer friends have been doin’ since y’all got here.”

Growing Up is Hard to Do

“Ralts Ralts Ralts!”

“For the last time, no!” Pinkie Pie and Derek both stopped in their tracks and turned around to stare at Fluttershy. Their normally soft-spoken friend was practically glaring at her Ralts, which was pouting with its arms crossed as it sat on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, was I too loud?” Fluttershy asked sheepishly as she noticed her friends’ stares.

“I don’t know if I’d say too loud. Definitely louder than usual, though. Is there something the matter?” Derek asked, causing Fluttershy to let out an exasperated sigh.

“Ralts just won’t stop asking me about letting it train with my other Pokémon,” Fluttershy explained. “No matter how many times I try telling it that it’s too young, it just keeps talking about wanting to battle.”

“I thought you were okay with Pokémon battling now?” Pinkie Pie said.

“If Quilava or Croagunk want to fight, then I can deal with it. That’s part of who they are, and even if I don’t understand why they feel that way, I can still support them. But, Ralts is just a baby! You’ve seen how vicious Pokémon battles can get, Ralts could get really hurt trying something like that. Maybe when Ralts is a little older, but for right now I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Well, you the trainer,” Pinkie Pie said. “It’s not like Ralts is going to be stuck in a situation where it’s in trouble and we’re not there to help and everything comes down to whether Ralts can battle.”

“As much as I really hate it when you say things like that, I think you actually have a good point this time,” Derek added. “I don’t really see there being a situation where Ralts would have to fight, not with Fluttershy’s other Pokémon and the rest of us around.”

*********

“Man, this sucks,” Femur grunted.

“I dunno, man, it could be worse. I mean, it’s not rainin’ or nothin’, and we got loose from that dump of a factory town before any of the losers who work there found us,” Ribcage said.

“No, man, that’s what I mean. We’ve been going as hard as we can trying to make trouble and prove that we’re badder than bad. But, every time we try to pull off something big, we get shut down by that stupid bunch of dorks. If we can’t figure out some way to get them to back off, the boss will never see how cool we are.”

“Yeah, but what the heck can we do about it? It’s not like we can beat ‘em down or anythin’. We keep tryin’ that, but we’re always the ones who get beat down instead. I mean, we could try outhinkin’ ‘em, but I became a grunt so I wouldn’t have to think.”

“Naw, man, we don’t need to think about stuff, we just need to mess these fools up like the boneheads we are.”

“What do ya mean?”

“What I mean is that it doesn’t matter if we can’t beat hose losers in a fair fight, because fighting fair is for chumps anyway. So, I say we swipe their Pokémon. Then, they won’t be able to beat us down with them and stuff. Plus, we could hand their Pokémon over to the boss and he’d probably, like, give us a promotion or something.”

“Yeah, man, now yere talkin’! Just, one question, how are we supposed to pull somethin’ like that off? Beatin’ ‘em down and then takin’ their stuff isn’t gonna work, and that’s all we know how to do.”

“Don’t worry about it, man. I’ve already got a plan, and it’s one hundred percent foolproof. All we need to do is this…”

*********

“So, how much longer do you think it’ll be before we get to the next town?” Pinkie Pie asked as the group followed the path through the foothills.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer. Seelieburg is built right up into the side of the mountain, kind of like Keystone only more so, so we should – hold on, do you two hear something?” As Derek paused, the trio fell silently for a moment. At first neither Pinkie nor Fluttershy could hear anything. Slowly, however, they were able to make out what sounded like cries for help.

“It sounds like someone might be in trouble! We should go see if they need our help,” Fluttershy said, to which Derek nodded in agreement.

“No arguments here. Come on, I think it’s coming from this – and Pinkie’s already running off in that direction.” Derek let out a sigh anypony from Ponyville would instantly recognize as ‘Of course Pinkie is doing that’. Still, in this case it was something that needed to be done, and so Derek and Fluttershy raced after their friend.

If anyone had asked Fluttershy what she thought they were running towards, she really wouldn’t have had much of an answer before someone who needed help. She very certainly, however, would not have come up with the scene she was confronted by. Standing near what looked to be a very small cave entrance were, very obviously, Ribcage and Femur. The two grunts had made an apparent effort to disguise themselves as a middle-aged couple, but for reasons Fluttershy couldn’t begin to guess at the pair had opted to put said disguises on over their usual Team Skull get up. Hence, Ribcage was wearing a suit and tie along with his mask and hat, and Femur had a sundress and wig that looked like it was going to topple off his head at any moment. Pinkie Pie, naturally, appeared to be completely fooled.

“Sir, ma’am, calm down, we’re here to help. Now, tell us what’s the matter,” Pinkie Pie said with complete sincerity.

“It’s just awful! Our little child climbed down into that cave and now they’re trapped inside!” Femur said in a resoundingly unconvincing falsetto.

“We’d go in and pull out him ourselves, but we’re too old and lame to do that. You’d have to be, like, a young trainer or somethin’ to pull that off,” Ribcage added, his attempts at disguising his voice equally inept.

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you!” Pinkie Pie declared.

“Pinkie, you do realize – actually, you know what? Never mind. If you want to help, then you go right ahead,” Derek said as Fluttershy looked on in confusion. “I don’t know if Pinkie actually buys this or if she’s just fooling around, but we’re not really rushing anywhere, so why not let her have her fun? We can always step in if things look like they’re going too far,” Derek whispered to Fluttershy. The grunts, meanwhile, seemed absolutely delighted.

“Oh, thank you! If you could just squeeze into that cave, I’m sure you’ll be able to save our little girl in no time! But, you might not be able to fit through with all those Poké Balls you’re carrying. You’d better leave them here with us.”

“But, wouldn’t it make more sense for me to send in one of my Pokémon instead of going in there myself?” Pinkie asked. “They’re smaller than I am, well except for Munchy, so they could fit in there even easier. Plus, it’d be easy to get them out once they’re finished.”

“Uh, that wouldn’t work, ‘cause…our son’s allergic to Pokémon and junk,” Ribcage blurted out. “No, you gotta be the one to go in and get them.”

“Hey, wait a minute, I thought your wife said it was your little girl that needed saving,” Pinkie Pie said as she suddenly eyed the pair suspiciously.

“Right, she’s a girl, but…um…she’s such a tomboy, you know, always out playing with Pokémon and stuff, that he somethings calls her his son,” Femur said.

“But, he said that she’s allergic to Pokémon, so why would she spend time playing with Pokémon. Somethings not right here…” It was at that moment that the wig Femur had been wearing slipped off from atop his hat, finally cluing Pinkie Pie in to the deception as she let out a gasp of shock. “You’re not a lady at all…you’re Ribcage!”

“What? No, I’m Ribcage!” An outraged Ribcage yelled out as he threw off the suit jacket he had been wearing.

“Ooh, sorry. It’s just kind of hard to tell the two of you apart sometimes, since you both look so alike.”

“Okay, now I know you’re messing with us,” Femur growled. “I’m at least a half-inch taller than he is.”

“What? Are you trippin’ or somethin’? I’m, like, a quarter-inch taller than you are!”

“Only when you wear those lifts in your sneakers.”

“I keep tellin’ you, those ain’t lifts! They’re orthopedic inserts, and I gotta wear ‘em ‘cause my feet are messed up and stuff!”

“Ahem. Gentlemen.” Femur and Ribcage turned to see Pinkie, Fluttershy and Derek all glaring at them (or, rather, Derek and Fluttershy were glaring while Pinkie watched as she munched on a bowl of popcorn).

“Oh, right, we’re kinda busted, aren’t we. Well, uh, SMOKE BOMB!” Ribcage proceeded to throw a smoke bomb onto the ground, which failed to detonate, leaving the two grunts fully visible as they ran off as fast as they could.

“Shouldn’t we go after them?” Fluttershy asked.

“Honestly, we probably should. But, at this point it almost feels like we’d be picking on them,” Derek replied. “With any luck, they’ll finally take a break from causing trouble for a bit after this. Or, at least find someone else to annoy for a change.”

*********

“Okay, so disguises didn’t work, but that doesn’t matter because this next scheme’s even harder!”

“You sure about that, man? ‘Cause this feels like work, and there’s nothin’ more uncool than workin’ hard.”

“Naw, man, this isn’t work like that, this is special because we’re doing this to cause trouble. And causing trouble is always cool, especially if we’re causing trouble for a bunch of goody-goods.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point. Ya think this is deep enough?”

“It should be. Help me cover it up before those losers get here.”

*********

“So explain to me again how this ‘Pinkie Sense’ works.”

“It’s easy! I get these little, wiggly feelings in different parts of my body, and they mean that different things are about to happen. Like, when my back is itchy, it means it’s my lucky day. And, when my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary is about to happen.”

“I know it might seem a little hard to believe, but anyone who’s know Pinkie for very long can tell you it’s true,” Fluttershy added.

“If anyone else was telling me something like this, then yeah, I’d say it’d be hard to believe. When Pinkie says something like this, I’m actually inclined to believe it,” Derek said after thinking for a moment.

“Wow, you decided to believe a lot faster than Twilight did. I remember when she hooked me up to that machine in her basement so she could get scientific data, that was fun. At least, it was a lot more fun than getting attacked by the hydra was.”

Derek was silent for several seconds before finally responding. “Part of me wants to ask for context there, but a much larger part of me feels like I’ll be much happier not knowing.”

“It wasn’t anything bad, Twilight was just –” Pinkie suddenly stopped midsentence as a shiver appeared to visibly run up her spine. “Ooh, tingly back! That’s one I haven’t had for a while.”

“So, does that mean it’s your lucky day?” Derek asked half-jokingly.

“No, silly, an itchy back means its my lucky day. A tingly back means to watch out for hidden pit traps. I haven’t had that one since the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried getting their marks for catching wild animals. Ponies were falling into those holes they dug for days after that!”

“…You know, I don’t think context is going to help there. Anyway, you said we need to watch out for pit traps? That seems like kind of an odd thing to -” Derek’s voice trailed off as he noticed a conspicuous pile of leaves arranged neatly in the middle of the path. “Never mind.”

“Why would anyone want to set up a pit trap in the middle of the road like that? Somebody could get really hurt,” Fluttershy remarked as she eyed the obvious trap.

“Maybe there’s a super dangerous Pokémon around, and someone dug this hole so they could catch it. Ooh! What if there’s a Pokémon that wants to catch a human, but they don’t have any Person Balls so they dug this pit instead!”

“Well, whatever the reason, we should probably let someone know about this so it can be filled in. I’ll put a call in to the authorities in Seelieburg, they should be able to send someone out to take care of it,” Derek said.

“Shouldn’t we try filling it in ourselves?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, I’d have to just leave it like this and risk having someone fall in and hurt themselves.”

“I don’t know if we need to fill it in, but I guess we should uncover it. Though, to be honest, I’m not even sure we need to go that far. It’s a pretty obvious trap, someone would have to be really oblivious to fall for something like this.”

“Oh, that’s it!” The three friends looked up to see an irate Femur and Ribcage leap out from behind a rock a little further up the path. “We put some serious effort into that trap, and I am tired of listening to you losers diss it!”

“Yeah! You punks don’t even deserve to get caught in out pit! I say we charge these dopes and give ‘em a classic beatdown for runnin’ their mouths!” Femur and Ribcage promptly charged at the group…only to fall directly into their own trap.

“Well, at least everyone will be able to see the pit now,” Fluttershy remarked dryly.

*********

Later that evening, following an infuriatingly humbling climb out of their own trap, Femur and Ribcage sat planning their next move.

“The way I see it, us falling into the hole just proves that it really was a cool trap an that those doofuses were just jealous of how awesome we are,” Femur said while Ribcage nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, but what’re we supposed to do now? I mean, we could just give up, but then the boss would probably yell at us or somethin’.”

“Nah, we need to try something even bigger, something that’ll really ruin those loser’s day. Hey, what do we have left over from our other messes? Think there’s anything we could use there?”

“I dunno, we got more smoke bombs, but I think most of the ones we have left are duds. And there’s this metal junk that I’m pretty sure went to our Team Skull tank. I don’t think any of this stuff’s – hold up…score!”

“What is it?”

“It looks like we’ve still got an adrenaline bomb left over from when we messed with that gym. And, I know exactly what we can do with it, too.”

*********

“—and that’s way I prefer the Z&R party cannon models over the Acme series. The Torgue line is sometimes alright if you’re in a real hurry, but personally I prefer the control you get from Z&R.”

“And I didn’t even know party cannons were a thing until an hour ago,” Derek said, somewhat dazed from having absorbed Pinkie Pie’s dissertation on the ins and outs of proper party cannon selection.

“Don’t feel too bad, Derek. Almost nobody really understands how complicated party cannons are unless they’re a party planner themselves. Or a serious confetti enthusiast.” Derek’s efforts to formulate a reply to this were quickly put on hold, however, as a sudden rumbling sound started to fill the air.

“What’s that? An avalanche?” Fluttershy asked in sudden alarm.

“No, its not loud enough,” Derek replied. “If anything, it sounds more like a—” As Derek spoke, the source of the noise revealed itself as dozens upon dozens of Grass-type Pokémon charged into view. “—a stampede.”

“Well, at least its not like its something we need to worry about,” Pinkie said. “I mean, most of those Pokémon look pretty small. What’re they going to do, knock us all out with all their different powders and…uh oh,” Pinkie’s hair visibly deflated a bit as the realization of what she just said sank in.

“Run!” Derek yelled, neither Pinkie nor Fluttershy offering any argument as they turned to try and flee the oncoming Pokémon. Their efforts to escape were far too little too late, however. While Pinkie Pie likely could have outrun the swarm on her own, she refused to abandon her friends, and neither Derek nor Fluttershy were particularly swift runners. As a result, the three friends soon found themselves surrounded by frantic Grass-types on all sides, all of whom seemed to be releasing copious amounts of dust, spores, and pollen.

“Somethings wrong…the way these Pokémon are talking…it doesn’t make sense,” Fluttershy said as she struggled to remain conscious.

“What…do you…mean?” Pinkie asked drowsily, already scanning the ground for a good patch of grass to pass out on.

“I think…someone…making…” Despite Fluttershy’s best efforts, the clouds of Sleep Powder in the air finally overwhelmed her and she toppled over. Pinkie and Derek joined her in short order, and soon all three were left helplessly asleep on the ground. As the last remnants of the crowd of Pokémon ran past, a pair of gasmask-clad figures, who had been lurking behind the stampede, finally approached.

“Dude, this plan was awesome! So, what now?”

“Now? We swipe their Pokémon, what else?”

*********

Several hours later, a thoroughly disoriented Ralts began to wake up. At first, Ralts wasn’t really sure what was going on, only barely remembering falling asleep in the first place, but then the sensation of being abruptly shaken snapped it fully awake. As Ralts looked around, it realized that it had been stuffed into a small cage, which had been dropped at the edge of a campfire.

“That worked even better than I thought it would! Check out this haul!” Ralts peered through the bars of its cage to see the two bad men that kept bothering its mother laughing and looking into a burlap sack.

“Dude, the boss is gonna think we’re the hardest grunts in history when we show him this. I bet he’s gonna make us, like, admins or somethin’.”

“I don’t know, man. Being an admin sounds like it’d be a lot of work. And I hate work.”

“Yeah, but if we were admins, we could make other, less cool guys do all our work for us. Plus, bossin’ people around and yellin’ at ‘em sounds like a pretty sweet gig to me.”

The grunts deposited the burlap sack they had been admiring next to Ralt’s cage as they continued arguing about whether evolving into something called an admin would be a good thing. This suited Ralts just fine, as it meant Ralts had more time to think of a way to escape its current predicament. From what Ralts had heard, it was easy to figure out what had happened, and while its mommy and the others would certainly be coming to the rescue, if Ralts escaped on its own then its mommy might finally let it train with her other Pokémon. Such were the thoughts going through Ralts’ mind as it tried to find a way to break out of its cage. Unfortunately, Ralts’ plan to prove itself quickly fell apart in the face of the fact that it had no way of actually escaping. The bars of its cage were too close together to squeeze through, the cage itself was too strong for Ralts’ meager psychic abilities to damage, and attempting to pick the lock had honly resulted in a pinched forelimb. The slow realization that it was trapped with no way out bore down on Ralts like a leaden weight, and eventually all it could do was curl up in a corner of the cage and cry.

“What’s going on out there?” Ralts suddenly looked up as a deep, irritable voice echoed in its mind. “You, you’re one of the quiet girl’s Pokémon, aren’t you? The hatchling. Tell me, what’s going on? I can tell Derek’s not there, and he doesn’t usually let me out of his sight. Not without a good reason and not without telling me, anyway.”

“Who—who are you?” Ralts hesitantly thought back. While Ralts hadn’t had much experience with telepathy, the concept was largely instinctual to Psychic-types such as itself. “Are you one of Mister Derek’s Pokémon? We’re in trouble! The bad men who keep bothering mommy took us all and I’m in a cage and—”

“To answer your first question, I would be Oppenheimer. So, the idiot managed to allow the pair of bigger idiots to steal my ball? I’ll have to remember to give him an earful when he gets me back.” Oppenheimer went silent after this, and Ralts almost immediately started to feel its fear and anxiety creeping back.

“Hello? Mister Oppenheimer? Are you still there? I’m scared. What if mommy can’t find us and the bad men take us away and – and – and we need to do something!”

“I don’t see any particular reason why I should waste my time. Our trainers will arrive sooner or later, and when they do, they can deal with the situation. This whole mess is because of their incompetence, anyway.”

“Mommy isn’t incompet – incomp – that thing you just said!”

“If it’s that important to you, why don’t you do it yourself? Given what I’ve seen of the two cretins involved, I’d say even you should be able to defeat them easily enough.”

“I can’t even get out of this cage; how would I be able to stop them?”

“Fair enough. Let’s take a look at what you can do and see if you’re really as helpless as you say.” Before Ralts could respond, it felt something push into its mind and begin shuffling around in its memories. “Let’s see, Calm Mind, Magical Leaf, Draining Kiss, and…Heal Pulse? No wonder you don’t think you can accomplish anything on your own. I guess if you’re this inept I could do something to assist.”

“You’ll help me get out of this cage and stop the bad men?”

“No. But I should be able to give you what you’ll need to do it yourself. You wouldn’t be able to handle my favorite trick, but even you should be able to use the watered-down version. If those ridiculous Technical Machines the humans use can do this than I should be able to easily enough. We’d just need to pull one of your existing attacks…well, Heal Pulse is mostly useless anyway. And…there! You should be able to deal with the rest of this on your own.” As Oppenheimer’s voice quieted, Ralts could feel the changes it had wrought in its mind. Ralts’ memories of how Heal Pulse worked had become hazy and faded, replaced with knowledge of a much more effective use of its psychic abilities.

“Thank you. But, are you really sure that I’ll be able to stop the bad men with this?” Ralts’ question was met by silence, and the young Pokémon quickly realized that it was on its own once again. Still nervous, Ralts stood back up and faced the door to its cage before closing its eyes in concentration while extending its arms forward. At first, nothing happened, but slowly a purple and blue orb formed in front of Ralts between its outstretched forelimbs. Upon opening its eyes and seeing this, Ralts let out a small cheer, which caused the orb to shoot forward and smash the door to the cage clear off its hinges.

“What the heck was that?”

“How should I know? I think it was comin’ from back near where we stashed the Poké Balls.” Ralts scarcely had time to scurry out of the wrecked cage before Ribcage and Femur came storming over to investigate the noise. “Oh, come on! That cage was, like, brand new! Now how’re we supposed to take that little runt back to the boss?”

“Eh, if it’s just some stupid runt, then why don’t we just leave it? We’ve already got a bunch of other Pokémon to hand over.”

“No, dud, think about it! If that stupid runt can bust out of that cage, then it’s gotta be worth somethin’ to the boss. We just gotta beat it down hard enough that it doesn’t cause any more trouble!”

“Yeah, fine, I’ve got this. Go Weepinbell!” In moments, Ralts found itself staring down the same Weepinbell that it had watched mommy’s other Pokémon battle in the past. Ralts, however, refused to back down, instead taking a deep breath and puffing out its chest as it faced its opponent down. “Hah! Hey, Ribcage, check it out! The little twerp thinks it can take me on! You’ve got guts, but now you’re about to catch a serious beating from—” Even as Femur gloated over his impending victory, Ralts raised up its arms and created another ball of purple and blue energy, which it sent flying straight into Weepinbell’s face. The force of the impact sent the unfortunate Grass-type flying back several feet, where it landed to the ground, unconscious.

“See? I told ya that runt had some fight in it!” Ribcage said. “Now we gotta—hey, what’s it doin’ now?” Defeating the Weepinbell had left Ralts feeling a complicated mix of emotions, which all seemed to be surging inside of it at once. Ralts was exhilarated by the realization that it had just one its first battle, but was also a little frightened by its newfound ability. More than anything else, however, Ralts felt powerful, more powerful than its small body could contain. This feeling of power continued to well up inside of Ralts more and more until it completely suffused its being. When the feeling finally subsided, the world looked a bit smaller to Ralts. More importantly, Ralts no long felt like Ralts anymore.

“Oh, great, the stupid little twerp evolved into a bigger stupid little twerp,” Femur groaned. “Come on, man, let’s just grab the rest of the balls and split. The whole point of us doing all this was so that we wouldn’t have to fight any of those losers’ Pokémon.”

“Seriously? Dude, since when do boneheads run from a fight? Now, come on, Golbat, get out here and show both these punks what it means to be—” Ribcage wasn’t even able to finish his command before the newly-evolved Kirlia launched itself into the air with a pirouette, using the spinning momentum to send another ball of glowing energy straight into Golbat’s face.

“You were saying, bro?”

“Ya know, now that I think about it, yer probably right about just bookin’ it,” Ribcage said nervously as he recalled his Golbat. “Besides, the boss probably wouldn’t want some sissy-lookin’ Pokémon like that, anyway. Let’s just grab the rest of the balls and—”

“TYPHON! OUT OF YOUR BALL! NOW!” In a flash, a light emerged from the sack of stolen Poké Balls, coalescing into the form of a seven-foot-tall orange dragon. The creature’s rounded features would have seemed rather cute, were it not for the murderous gleam in its eyes as it stared down at Femur and Ribcage while cracking its knuckles.

“Oh man, this is so uncool…” Femur groaned as he started to back away, only to see his planned escape route cut off as Derek came into view, flanked by a furious-looking Pinkie and Fluttershy. “Now what’re we going to do?”

“I’ve got one idea left, but ya ain’t gonna like it.”

“Man, I don’t care what it is, if you can get us out of here than go ahead and do it already!”

“Alright, if ya say so.” As Ribcage spoke, he pulled out a fist-sized, dark purple sphere.

“A smoke bomb? Man, the way you were talking I thought you were going to try something—wait, that isn’t a smoke bomb, is it?” In lieu of an answer, Ribcage spiked the sphere to the ground, engulfing the grunts in a noxious cloud of reeking purple smoke.

*********

“On the plus side, at least it wasn’t Skuntank spray like it was last time. Gloom essence isn’t exactly a big improvement, but still…” Derek said mildly.

“I can’t believe you really defeated both of those Pokémon, all by yourself. And you evolved, too! I’m so proud of you!” Fluttershy said as she hugged her Kirlia, who seemed equally happy to be reunited with its trainer. “And, I guess, now that you’ve evolved and everything, maybe you are ready to start battling. A little. Only if you really want to.”

Derek watched Kirlia enthusiastically cheer over Fluttershy’s reluctant concession for a few moments before turning his attention to his recovered Poké Balls, with his focus on one ball in particular. It was obviously of a different make than any of the other balls, with the upper half being deep purple instead of the usual red and sporting a pair of pink hemispheres on the sides. To those unfamiliar with the intricacies of Poké Balls it might have seemed unique but not particularly odd, but experienced trainers would immediately recognize it as something very rare.

“I’m guessing you’re the reason Kirlia miraculously learned Psyshock,” Derek said to the ball as he began what to the outside would have been a one-sided conversation. “You know, you could have resolved this whole mess at any time if you had actually wanted to. Oh, don’t give me that, do I blame you when you get hit by a lucky Sleep Powder? Uh huh, and now you suddenly want to listen to me about not causing trouble. Fine, if something like this happens again, you have my permission to deal with it. Happy now? Just, try and keep the property damage to a minimum, we don’t want a repeat of Galar. Oh, sure, it might have been fun for you, but I was the one stuck filling out paperwork for a week afterwards. In any case, let’s just hope we don’t have any more incidents like this one. I really don’t want to have to deal with a bunch of Team Rocket wannabes on top of everything else going on right now."

Battling the Tides

“So, yer whole plan is to just keep wanderin’ around the city, hopin’ ya just happen to run into Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy? No offense, Applejack, but that really doesn’t seem like much of a plan,” Apple Bloom said, prompting a sigh from Applejack.

“Y’all ain’t exactly wrong there, sugar cube, it ain’t much of a plan. But, the way Ah figure it, not much of a plan’s still better than no plan at all, so until we can come up with a better idea, we’re just gonna keep searchin’.”

“And besides all that, our not-much-of-a-plan plan did allow us to find the three of you, so it’s hardly been a total loss,” Rarity added. “Now, while we’re on the subject of searching for our missing friends, does anyone have any idea where we should start looking today?”

“Ooh, how about down by the boardwalk?” Scootaloo suggested eagerly. “That place looked pretty awesome, and we haven’t had the chance to really check it out yet.”

“Scootaloo, we’re supposed to be lookin’ fer Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, not funnel cake,” Apple Bloom admonished her friend.

“Actually, the boardwalk doesn’t sound like all that bad a place to look,” Applejack said. “It definitely sounds like the sort of place Pinkie Pie’d head towards, and if she’s there then likely as not Fluttershy’s gonna be there too.

“Awesome! So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Scootaloo cheered before rushing off as fast as she could.

“I realize Rainbow Dash is only her honorary older sister, yet I still somehow see the family resemblance,” Rarity said mildly as they watched Scootaloo go.

“Loud, always rushing off everywhere, doesn’t always think things through before doing them…yeah, that’s pretty much both of them. I still say they might be distant cousins or something, like you two and Pinkie Pie,” Sweetie Belle said.

“We can gab about who might be related to who later, let’s get after her before she manages to get out of sight,” Applejack said. A quick round of murmured agreements followed and the rest of the group hurried after Scootaloo towards the boardwalk area. True to Appejack’s assessment, the Aquarius City boardwalk was the exact sort of place one would have expected to find Pinkie Pie. Everywhere one looked, there was another arcade, souvenir stand or vendor offering food that was some combination of sweet, deep fried, or on a stick. Altogether, it rivaled Las Pegasus as the worst source of sensory overload Applejack had ever had to deal with.

“You know, I hate to admit it, but I’m starting to think Apple Bloom may be right about our needing a new plan of action,” Rarity said after an hour of searching had failed to yield any results. “With all the crowds and noise around here, even Pinkie Pie might not stand out, and even if she did we could wander around this city for days without ever seeing her.”

“Well, if y’all have any ideas than Ah’m all ears,” Applejack replied. “Believe me, Ah wish Ah had a better plan than this. It ain’t like Pinkie Pie’s just gonna fly out and crash into us or anythin’.” Before Rarity could respond, a sudden gust of wind sent an errant piece of paper straight into her face.

“Ew! How do the people here stand all this—” Rarity let out a sudden gasp as she glanced down as the paper before excitedly pointing at it. “Applejack! Look! It’s Pinkie Pie!”

“What in tarnation are y’all talkin’ about?” Applejack grumbled as she took a look at the paper. Sure enough, the flyer, an apparent advertisement for a local restaurant, sported a picture of a triumphantly grinning Pinkie Pie. “Well Ah’ll be. Says here she’s somethin’ called the ‘Beach Battle Champion’, whatever that means. Well, at least that proves Pinkie really was here at some point. We should probably check this place out and see if they have any idea where she is now.”

*********

“Pinkie Pie? Oh, our tournament champion, I remember here. Kind of hard to forget her, actually. Nice girl, though. Are you friends of hers?” Makoa asked as he looked at the flyer Rarity showed him.

“We are, though I’m a little surprised Pinkie Pie would have gotten involved in a tournament like that. It doesn’t really seem like the sort of thing-“

“The prize was a year’s supply of malasadas,” Makoa interjected.

“Ah, never mind then. Mystery solved,” Rarity said as the others nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, would y’all happen to know where the hay she went off to? We’ve been tryin’ to catch up with her fer a while now, and this is the closest we’ve gotten so far.” Makoa looked thoughtful for a moment before responding.

“I don’t know exactly where she is right now, but I’m pretty sure I heard that she and her friends were at the gym when the whole mess at the docks when down. You might want to try asking Captain Trask, he’d know more than I would.”

“Hold on there just one second. What ‘whole mess’?” Applejack asked warily.

*********

“So, I was wondering, the other friend they said was with Pinkie Pie, could that have been Discord? Because this feels like a Discord-type mess,” Sweetie Belle said as the group stood in front of what had formerly been ‘Smilin’ Jack’s Seafood’, and was now the temporary home of the Aquarius City Gym. The story that the original gym had sailed off, supposedly with their friends in tow, had been difficult to believe at first. But, a trip to the docks and the sight of the devastated moorings had proven that something disastrous had indeed occurred. A lack of details as to what precisely had transpired, not to mention how their friends might have been involved, now led the group to this abandoned seafood restaurant-turned gym.

“Not that I’m particularly inclined to defend Discord, but I don’t think this was his doing,” Rarity said. “As much as Discord is, well, Discord, he does tend to maintain a certain personal-style with his antics, and this just doesn’t feel like him.”

“If y’all say so,” Applejack replied, not sounding particularly convinced. “Anyhow, this here’s the best lead we’ve gotten since we got here, so we better check it out.” A loud crash was heard as part of the restaurant signage came loose and fell to the ground. “Let’s just hope the gym leader ain’t so sore that he won’t talk to us.” The rest of the ground murmured their agreement as they all went inside. The interior of the makeshift gym was in just as sorry a state as the outside. While the building clearly hadn’t been used as a restaurant in some time, the furnishings were all still present, even down to the tacky and aging nautical decorations festooning the walls. The light fixtures, or at least those that were still intact, were all out, however, leaving the only illumination coming from what little sunlight could penetrate the filthy windows.

“It’s hard to believe this place is really being used as a gym,” Sweetie Belle said as she looked around the decaying dining room. “When we came here for Apple Bloom’s battle, I thought somebody had given us the wrong address as a prank or something. I mean, this place is so—”

“Messy?” Rarity suggested.

“Creepy?” Scootaloo added.

“Depressin’?” Apple Bloom said.

“Small, I was going to say small. It really doesn’t seem like you’d have enough room to have any sort of Pokémon battle here at all,” Sweetie Belle said. “Although, those other answers aren’t exactly wrong, either.”

“Yarr, well excuse me. If’n I’d have know the Queen of Galar was comin’ to visit, I’d have cleaned the place up a bit,” an irate voice called out from behind what had once been the restaurant’s bar. Moments later, a beleaguered-looking man in a dark blue raincoat attempted to pull himself up from behind the bar, only to give up and crash back down to the floor partway through.

“Y’all alright over there?” Applejack called out as she headed over to see if the man was hurt.

“Aye, I’m doin’ just fine and dandy. Nothin’ but gumdrops and lollipops as far as the eye can see,” came the sarcastic reply as the man pulled himself back up. “Sure, me gym, which was also me home, got Shanghaied and then run around, so I’m reduced to livin’ in me family’s old restaurant, but other than that, I’m just peachy.”

“Hold on a sec, are y’all sayin’ yer the Aquarius Gym Leader?” Applejack asked in shock.

“Yep, that’s him,” Apple Bloom replied. “Ah had a hard time believin’ it at first when Ah came here fer mah gym battle with him, but he’s it.”

“Aye, I remember ye now, we battle fer yer second badge a day or two ago. So, what brings ye girls back to this wretched place – I mean, to me gym?” Trask asked.

“We were actually hopin’ y’all could tell us a bit about what happened to yer old gym,” Applejack said. “We’ve been tryin’ to track down a couple of our friends, and we heard they might’ve been mixed up in that whole mess somehow.”

“And just what makes ye think yer friends were the ones involved in me tragedy? And, more importantly, what makes ye think I’d be inclined to help ye if that were the case?”

“Look, Ah ain’t gonna try sayin’ that y’all don’t have a powerful reason to be sore at someone, but Ah ain’t convinced that mah friends were the one’s responsible fer yer troubles. Ah’ve known both of them fer years, and Celestia knows they can cause plenty of trouble without meanin’ to (especially Pinkie Pie). But, Ah also know that neither of ‘em would have destroyed somebody’s home, least not on purpose.” Trask looked he was about to resond to this before a though suddenly appeared to strike him.

“Ye said one of yer friends went by the name Pinkie Pie? She wouldn’t happen to be an overly cheery sort, probably should lay off the coffee a bit?”

“Lay off the sugar’d be a bit closer to the mark, but yeah, that’s her alright. So, Ah’m guessin’ ya’ll have met her, at least?” Applejack asked hopefully.

“Aye, that I have. She was the trainer I battled right before me gym was taken fer a joyride. Last I saw, she was still on the accursed thing when it was sailin’ off into the horizon.”

“Gaah! Y’all mean to say she and Fluttershy are already someplace else? Consarn dagnabbit—” Applejack paused her fury for a moment as she realized her impressionable younger sister was present before excusing herself and storming outside, where she continued her tirade.

“Yeesh, Ah haven’t seen Applejack that worked up since our prize apple lost to a strawberry at the last county fair,” Apple Bloom said as snippets of an archaic cursing fit could be heard from outside.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, darling,” Rarity said. “We’ve simply had something of an…overly eventful trip here, and Applejack just needs a little time to work the stress out of her system. In the meantime, I don’t suppose you’d happen to have any idea where our friends might have headed after your gym ran aground?”

“Arr, I haven’t a clue. They went ashore and reported it, but after that I haven’t heard a whisper about them. Been a bit too buys getting’ me new gym sorted out and whatnot.” Trask plopped himself down in a nearby chair as he spoke, only for its legs to give out and send him crashing to the floor in a flurry of unintelligible cursing.

“Between the captain and Applejack, I really hope Sweetie Belle gets through this without picking up any additions to her vocabulary,” Rarity thought to herself as she watched Trask pull himself back to his feet. While the Aquarius City Gym Leader might not have known where Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were precisely, Rarity suspected he likely had at least some clue to the general direction they were headed. “Provided, of course, that something can be done to put him in a more helpful mood. There has to be something I can do to nudge Mr. Trask out of this rut. Think, Rarity, what would you do if you were dealing with a fellow designer who’d all but given up after a professional disaster? I suppose I’d usually try and find some way of reigniting their spark of passion, but how would I do that here?” Rarity suddenly let out a gasp as a metaphorical lightbulb went off in her head. “Pardon me, Mr.—”

“That be ‘Captain’, missy,” Trask snapped almost reflexively.

“Ah, I apologize, Captain Trask, I was wondering if I could impose on you for a gym battle before we leave to continue our search for our friends,” Rarity asked.

“Huh?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in shock at her older sister’s request. “I know you said you’ve been challenging gyms too, but is this really a good time for that?” As Sweetie Belle spoke, she gave a meaningful glace out the front window towards Applejack, who had only just started to calm down.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle, I know exactly what I’m doing. Well, Captain, what do you say? I would understand if you don’t feel that you’re up to it, given the condition of your current facility—"

“Yarr, fallin’ apart or not, this place still be the Aquarius City Gym, at least until I get me old gym back, and proper gym or not I still be the gym leader. So I’ll be acceptin’ yer challenge, and don’t think I won’t be sendin’ yer Pokémon dow to Davey Jones’ locker!”

“Well, we’ll see about that, now won’t we?” Rarity replied before glancing around the decrepit dining room. “So, will we need to clear the tables away, or…”

“Don’t be daft, lass, follow me,” Trask said as motioned for Rarity to follow him through the dining room. Trask proceeded to lead Rarity to what at one point had been an outside dining area overlooking the shore. While the furniture here was in even more dire shape than what was inside, the view of the ocean the space offered was still quite impressive. “Since the old restaurant don’t really be set up fer havin’ battles, I’ve taken the gym’s arena out into open water. I hope ye don’t mind gettin’ wet, because in this gym, the whole battlefield’s a splash zone!” As Trask spoke, Rarity took a closer look at the waters stretching out before the restaurant and saw that there were two circular platforms floating in the water, each about ten feet across.

“I see. Well, that does seem appropriate for a Water-Type gym. Now, how exactly does one reach the platforms? Is there a boat, or…” Rarity asked, her voice trailing off uneasily.

“Yarr, well, if ye don’t want to try swimmin’ over to it, then there’s a canoe down on the shore. As fer me…” Trask tossed out a Poké Ball over the water, unleashing a snarling, blue, piscine Pokémon that looked to be predominately razor-sharp teeth. “Avast, Sharpedo, get me to the platform! I’ve got a challenger to battle!” The Sharpedo growled as Trask hopped onto its back before it rocketed through the water towards the further platform.

“I’ll give him this, he does certainly know how to set the stage,” Rarity said as she clambered down to the shore, where she found an old, beat-up canoe along with a few thoughtfully provided life jackets. Upon seeing the jackets, however, Rarity let out a resigned sigh.

“Is there something wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked from vantage point up on the patio.

“No, it’s nothing,” Rarity said, despite wincing a little as she put on one of the life jackets. “It’s just that orange is a terrible color for me, especially this shade. It clashes terribly with my hair and doesn’t work at all with my complexion.”

“Arr, the jackets be fer yer safety, not fer complimentin’ yer outfit! Now, hurry up and get out here so we can get this battle started,” Trask growled impatiently. “Though, I suppose I should be askin’ one thing first. Which of yer badges will ye be battlin’ fer?”

“This would be my – Oof! – my third badge,” Rarity replied as she pushed the canoe into the water and clambered inside. “You really should think about adding a way to access your arena that isn’t quite so…aquatic.”

“Well, the circumstances here aren’t really the best fer anyone, but we make do. Now, prepare yerself, missy, because yer about to face the ragin’ fury of the seas themselves. Cloyster! Go!” With that, Trask threw out his first Poké Ball, unveiling a massive mollusk with a lavender-grey shell covered in spike and protuberances. A menacingly grinning face peered out from inside the shell, half-concealed by the seawater of the arena.

“A shellfish? Well, I won’t complain if you want to stay on the defensive,” Rarity said as she finally reached her platform and climbed out of the canoe. “As for myself, I think I’ll be playing things a bit more straightforward. Go Prinplup!”

“So, it’s a sea-battle yer wantin’, is it? I think I can accommodate ye. Cloyster, give that seabird a taste of yer broadside. Ice Shard!” The moment Trask spoke, Cloyster’s front-facing spike began to glow a bright blue as a ball of similarly colored energy formed in front of it. Moments later, the sphere erupted as a stream of icicles burst forth straight towards Prinplup.

“Prinplup! Bubble Beam!” Rarity yelled out, prompting Prinplup to exhale its own attack and send a cloud of deep blue bubbles towards Cloyster. The two attacks met in the middle with a small explosion, sending a combination of mist and ice shards flying in every direction. Neither attack canceled the other out, however, and several icicles sailed through the collision to strike Prinplup. Cloyster fared little better, as numerous bubbles survived to detonate against its shell. “Hmm, not bad, but I think this battle calls for a more avant-garde approach. Prinplup, use Bide, if you please.” Prinplup gave Rarity a questioning look as it seemed to brace itself for something, a faint white glow surrounding its form.

“A bold move, but are ye really so sure it was a wise one? Cloyster, cut it down with yer Razor Shell!” Cloyster let out a low, evil chuckle as the spines on its sides began to glow, until bright blue blades of energy extended out from them. It then proceeded to rocket forward through the water and slammed directly into Prinplup. Prinplup took the attack head on, continuing to brace itself as the glow surrounding it started to intensify.

“What the hay does Rarity think she’s doin’?” Apple Bloom and her friends turned away from the battle to see Applejack standing behind them wearing an annoyed expression. “She’s just havin’ her Pokémon sit there and take a beatin’ like it’s a dirty rug or somethin’.” Sure enough, Prinplup continued to hold still as Trask ordered his Cloyster to launch attack after attack.

“Ah dunno, Applejack, Ah think there’s somethin’ else goin’ on, too,” Apple Bloom said. “Trask seems awfully worked up over somethin’, and he wasn’t like that at all when Ah battled him.”

“Whatever it is, I think we’re about to see it go off! Look!” Scootaloo exclaimed. The white glow Prinplup had been emitting had now intensified to the point that it almost completely obscured its form, which appeared to be what Rarity had been waiting for.

“Alright, Prinplup, that’s enough.” For a brief moment, Prinplup relaxed itself as the glowing light surrounding it flowed and concentrated into the ends of its flippers. This brief moment of serenity was swiftly shattered, however, as Prinplup proceeded to thrust its flippers forward towards Cloyster, unleashing the pent-up energy in a massive torrent. The energy blast struck Cloyster square on the side of its shell with enough force to send it flying clear out of the water, landing several yards away with a loud splash. “It’s like I’ve always told Sweetie Belle, a little patience can go a long way.”

“Pat yerself on the back all ye like, y’ve still got two Pokémon to go afore ye’ve won this battle, and me next Pokémon won’t be beaten so easily. Go Quagsire!” Trask tossed out his next Poké Ball, revealing his Quagsire, which promptly crashed into the water before poking its head back up with a vacant expression plastered on its face.

“I can’t really say what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that,” Rarity said as she watched Quagsire bob up and down in the water, all the while staring blankly ahead.

“Be careful, Rarity!” Apple Bloom cried out. “That Quagsire of his might look goofy, but it’s a lot tougher than it looks!”

“I suspected as much; I can’t imagine a gym leader would use a Pokémon like that if it didn’t have something special on the inside. No matter, Prinplup, darling, use your Bubble Beam attack,” Rarity commanded.

“Ye’ll need to do much bore than offer me Quagsire a bubble bath if ye want to win this. Quagsire, use Amnesia!” From Quagsire’s unchanging expression it wasn’t entire clear if it had even heard Trask’s order. Regardless, a visible blue glow began to outline Quagsire’s body even as it was battered by Prinplup’s onslaught of exploding bubbles.

“Very well, the, if a change in tactics is in order…Prinplup! Move in and use Fury Attack!” Prinplup nodded its head as it rushed through the water towards Quagsire, which barely even seemed to register that its opponent was hurtling towards it. Once it closed the distance, Prinplup began viciously jabbing at Quagsire’s face with its beak, which finally managed to produce a reaction from Quagsire as it flinched away.

“Darn it, Quagsire, don’t just float there like a lump of driftwood, use Mud Bomb!” Quagsire’s cheeks promptly puffed out, even as Prinplup’s blows continued to rain down on it. Before Prinplup could full process what was happening, Quagsire spat out a massive glob of mud directly into its face, striking with enough force to throw Prinplup back.

“Ew! Gross gross gross!” Rarity cried out as she watched Prinplup flounder back to the surface, the sticky mud still coating the front of its torso. “Don’t worry, Prinplup, once this battle is over, I’ll see to it that you get a proper spa treatment to wash out that revolting muck. In the meantime, perhaps it would be better to keep your distance from that…thing. Use another Bubble Beam attack!”

“Aw, what’s the matter, miss? Is the battle gettin’ a bit too rough fer ye? Quagsire, give that prissy little penguin another taste of yer Mud Bomb!” With Prinplup’s bubbles bursting all around it, Quagsire fired back with a barrage of clumps of mud, one of which struck Prinplup square in the face. The unfortunate Pokémon let out a squawk of alarm as it toppled back into the water and desperately tried to wipe the mud from its eyes.

“Of all the…Prinplup, Fury Attack!” Every bit as enraged as its trainer, Prinplup threw itself back at Quagsire with a vengeance and unleashed another frenzied assault with its beak. Partly blinded by Quagsire’s attack, however, most of Prinplup’s attacks completely missed their mark, and in the end, it only managed to land a few glancing blows.

“It looks like yer Prinplup’s all fury and no fight. Quagsire, why don’t ye use another Amnesia while ye have the chance.”

“That. Is. It.” Rarity snarled as she stretched out the arm she wore her Z-ring on. “I had hoped to save this for a bit later, but clearly that isn’t really an option anymore. Prinplup, get ready,” Rarity called out as she began forming the poses for her attack, while Prinplup mimicked her movements. “Breakneck Blitz!” Rarity’s Z-ring exploded with light as streams of golden energy flowed from it into Prinplup. The energy was rapidly absorbed into Prinplup’s body before it launched itself forward, as though it had been shot from a cannon, hurtling towards Quagsire at a terrifying speed. True to form, Quagsire barely even seemed to register the incoming threat until Prinplup slammed into it with enough force to send it skipping along the surface of the water.

“Arr, well, let’s just say Quagsire’s no longer able to battle and leave it at that,” Trask said as he recalled his Quagsire to its ball.

“In fairness, I think Prinplup has had just about enough for the time being as well,” Rarity admitted as she recalled her exhausted Pokémon. “There’s really no point in forcing it to keep battling like this when I still have two perfectly fine Pokémon ready to go against your…I believe this is your last Pokémon, isn’t it?” Rarity asked with an air of false innocence.

“Aye, it may be, but unlike ye I still have me Z-move ready to do, so don’t think ye have the advantage just yet. Go Carvanha!”

“Go Tauros.” Rarity’s Tauros landed in the water with an audible splash, where it floundered about for a bit before managing to find its equilibrium.

“So, do ye expect that lumberin’ lump to actually fight me Carvanha, or are ye just offerin’ it a side of beef to snack on? Either way, I’m not about to take it easy on ye. Carvanha! Get ready to send that best to the briny deep with—”

“Tauros, Horn Attack.” Tauros let out an angry bellow as Rarity’s command cut Trask off, before slamming its head down into the water. Moments later, Tauros violently resurfaced, tossing a hapless Carvanha upwards into the air as it did so. As Carvanha plummeted back down, Tauros took the opportunity to slam its horns into it, tossing Carvanha away like a ragdoll.

“That…didn’t be goin’ quite as I had been expectin’,” Trask said as he looked down at his Carvanha, which was floating by on its side completely unconscious. “Well, Carvanha’s been thoroughly keelhauled, and seein’ as how that was the last of me Pokémon, that would mean yer the winner of this battle. Congratulations, I’ll get ye yer plunder as soon as we get back to shore.”

“Ah, yes, about that,” Rarity said as she noticed that the canoe had drifted back to the beach during the battle, leaving her stranded on her platform.

Trask gave Rarity an evil grin. “What’s the matter, ye can swim, can’t ye?”

*********

“—only, when he tried that on me, Ah just had one of mah Pokémon carry me back,” Apple Bloom explained. “Ah didn’t even realize those platform thingies had motors under ‘em.”

“To be fair, with things bein’ the way they are, I think I’m allowed a little joke here and there. I never expected ye to actually try swimmin’ back,” Trask added. Rarity, meanwhile, said nothing to this, merely continuing to glare murderously at the gym leader as she sat dripping wet on the patio chair. “Anyways, ye did beat me fair and square, so ye’ve earned these; a Tide badge and a bit of Waterinium-Z,” Trask said in a bid to change the subject, handing Rarity a small box containing her badge and Z-crystal.

“Thank you,” Rarity said tersely as she accepted the box.

“Rarity, fer Celestia’s sake would y’all let it go already? A little sea water ain’t gonna hurt ya none, and we’ve got bigger problems then yer outfit needin’ a wash. In case y’all’ve forgotten, we missed Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and now we ain’t got a clue where they are or where they’re headed.” Applejack said.

“Well, truth be told, I might be able to help ye a bit with that last point,” Trask said. “I couldn’t tell ye where yer friends are right now or where they’re headed, but I can tell ye where they’ll be goin’ eventually. Keystone City.”

“And just how in the hay would y’all know that?” Applejack demanded.

“Simple, if yer pink-haired friend’s collectin’ gym badges, the she’ll get sent off to Keystone once she get’s her fourth badge.” Trask replied.

“And why would that be?” Rarity asked.

“I’ll be happy to tell ye all about it, once ye get yer fourth badge,” Trask smirked, only to quickly shrink under the withering glares he received from Rarity and Applejack. “There be things involved in trainin’ Pokémon that not everybody can be trusted to handle, that’s why we wait until someone’s gotten four of their badges. But, mark me words, once yer friends have four badges they’ll be sent straight off to Keystone.”

“Wonderful, and we were already in Keystone at the beginning of this whole mess,” Rarity growled. “So now I suppose we need to try going through that blasted mountain pass again and—”

“Nuh uh,” Applejack said firmly. “Tryin’ to go around that swamp is what got us into this mess in the first place. Sorry, Rarity, but Ah ain’t gonna risk goin’ through that mess a second time.”

“Oh no, Applejack, you’re not really suggesting—”

“Ah ain’t suggestin’ anything’. This time, we’re goin’ strait through the swamp.”

The Un-Fair Folk

“Oh wow, just look at this place!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she and Fluttershy marveled at the latest town. Seelieburg had apparently been built to resemble some sort of fairytale village, with half-timber homes flanking cobblestone streets that led to castle overlooking the town.

“I had a feeling you two would appreciate this place,” Derek said. “The gym leader here is really big on the whole fairytale aesthetic, in fact she has her gym in that castle over there.”

“Actually, this place reminds me a lot of home,” Fluttershy said as she walked down the street, part of her expecting to see a pony trot out from a side street at any moment.

“Yeah, I’m not really surprised this place is more your style than Port Maganese was. Especially since this is the place where you’ll find Confectioner’s Row.” Fluttershy briefly considered asking Derek what that was, but a sudden scream of delight from Pinkie Pie made her suspect she was about to find out anyway.

“It’s…it’s so beautiful…” a teary-eyed Pinkie Pie said as she stood transfixed at the end of what appeared to be a major side street. Fluttershy rushed to Pinkie’s side to see what the fuss was about, where she quickly saw her answer and realized why the street was called Confectioner’s Row. The street laid out before them was lined with every variety of bakery and candy store imaginable, offering the vastest array of sweets Fluttershy had ever seen. And, given the length of time she had known Pinkie Pie, that was an impressive feat by itself.

“Confectioner’s Row, home to about four dozen or so bakeries, candymakers, chocolatiers, and probably a couple of people with specialties I don’t even know the terms for. Pretty much if it’s sweet, you can probably find someplace here that sells it, and there’s a better than average chance at least one place her specializes in it.” Pinkie, surprisingly, said nothing to this. A quick glance revealed that Pinkie’s silence was due to the fact that she had already run off, leaving a Pinkie Pie-shaped cloud in her wake. “She’s probably going to be a while, isn’t she?” Derek asked, to which Fluttershy nodded her head.

“The last time I saw Pinkie Pie like this was when we all went to the Equestrian Candy Makers Expo in Las Pegasus. We’re…not allowed at that convention center anymore.”

“I feel like that should concern me, but I’m just going to set that aside for the time being. So, on a subject that is less likely to give me an ulcer, are you sure you want to try going for your third gym badge?”

“I think so…yes. Yes, I do want to do this. And not just because my Pokémon want to, either. I think battling with them is helping make me stronger, too.”

“Well, if you really think you’re up for it, then we can always head up to the gym while Pinkie’s doing…whatever it is that Pinkie’s doing. I should give you fair warning, though. The gym leader here is fairly strong…and pretty much completely out of her mind. And I’m saying that as someone who’s spent the last couple of weeks having Pinkie Pie as a point of comparison,” Derek added.

“Oh, I see,” Fluttershy replied, a little more subdued.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like she’s particularly nasty or anything,” Derek quickly said. “She’s just…eccentric. Really, really, really eccentric. I just wanted to make sure you prepared for what you’re about to run into.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about be, I’m pretty used to dealing with eccentric,” Fluttershy said with a slight hint of smugness. “Let’s just say that I have a friend who’s even more chaotic than Pinkie.”

“…I’m just going to file that under ‘I do not want to know’ and move on,” Derek said. “Anyway, if you’re good to go, then let’s get going. With any luck, we can finish this up before Pinkie Pie puts herself into a diabetic coma.”

*********

“Man, we have got to figure out some kind of trouble, and fast. Otherwise the boss is gonna majorly chew us out,” Ribcage grumbled.

“You know, I was thinking, maybe the reason our plans keep getting screwed up is we’re trying too hard,” Femur said. “Hear me out, every time we try to cause trouble, we end up the ones getting beat down. But, what if we tried causing trouble were there weren’t anybody to fight back? That way, we wouldn’t catch a beating no matter how much trouble we caused.”

“Yeah, but, how’re we supposed to do that? And besides, pickin’ on guys who can’t fight back is fun and all, but I don’t really think that’s the sort of stuff that’ll impress the boss.”

“No, dude, that’s the best part, I’ve already got it figured out; old stuff,” Femur said triumphantly. “Like, antiques and junk. That stuff’s supposed to be real valuable, isn’t it? And, most of the losers who have a lot of that stuff are old themselves, so they’d be nice and easy to rob.”

“Man, that plan sounds great, but I think I just got an idea that’s even harder! What if we robbed that place?” Femur looked over to where Ribcage was pointing to see Seelieburg’s castle-shaped gym.

“Aw dude, no. Not another gym, remember what a bust that last gym was?”

“No, dude, this’d be completely different! That things a castle, and castles always have loads of old valuable junk in ‘em. We can just break in there, steal a bunch of stuff and get out before anybody even knows we were there.”

“Yeah, but what about the gym leader? Taking on one of those guys would be a real pain, and I’m tired of getting my butt kicked.”

“Way ahead of you. What we do is wait for some doofus to try challenging the gym leader before we bust in. That way, the gym leader will be too busy with their stupid responsibilities and junk to try and stop us!” Femur nodded his head as he considered Ribcage’s plan.

“Yeah, yeah that could work. Let’s do it! We’ll show those losers why they should always be scared of the hardest boneheads from Team Skull!”

*********

While it was easy to see that the Seelieburg Gym had been built to resemble a massive castle, it wasn’t until Fluttershy reached its gates that she was able to appreciate the attention to detail that had gone into its construction. Accessing the castle involved walking across a drawbridge over a water-filled moat into a grand hallway that terminated in a massive, sweeping staircase. Everything inside the castle was lavishly ornate, covered in carvings and gilt, though the prevailing artistic themes of flowers and cute, cuddly animals kept Fluttershy from being too intimidated by it all.

“So, where do we go to find the gym leader?” Fluttershy asked as the pair approached the staircase.

“We’re not going to really have to do anything, she should be here any—” Derek was abruptly cut off as a blaring trumpet fanfare erupted from several hidden speakers in the walls. “Yep, here she comes.” The doors to the outside slammed shut as all the lights in hallway shut off, plunging the room into total darkness as the trumpet fanfare was replaced by a nasally voice.

“Presenting her most gracious royal highness, the exalted Queen Titania, sovereign of the Summer Court and protector of the realm!”

“I sear, that introduction gets longer every time I come here,” Derek said, rolling his eyes as a spotlight turned on, illuminating a woman at the top of the stairs, dressed in the laciest, frilliest, pinkest, most gaudy and elaborate dress Fluttershy had ever seen. The woman’s blonde hair was done up in a pile of braids nearly a foot high, held in place by numerous strings of pearls all connecting to a bejeweled tiara. Strangest of all, however, were the massive, lace fairy-wings attached to the woman’s back, which stuck out several feet to either side. Overall, it was an outfit so ostentatious that Fluttershy suspected that even Rarity might have said it went to far.

“Greetings, gentle visitors, and welcome to the court of we, Queen Titania. What brings you to our fair lands?” Titania asked in a voice that sounded to Fluttershy like someone trying to fake a Canterlot accent, and failing badly.

“I have a challenger for you,” Derek said as he motioned for Fluttershy to go on.

“Oh…right,” Fluttershy said before clearing her throat. “I’m here to challenge you for my third badge. If that’s alright with you, that is.”

“A challenger? Splendid!” Titania exclaimed, clapping her hands together eagerly. “But be warned, my dear. Should you fail you challenge, you both will be forced to remain here in my court…FOREVER!”

“No we won’t,” Derek immediately replied as though he were expecting Titania’s proclamation, much to Fluttershy’s relief.

“Hmph, well you’re just no fun at all,” Titania said with an exaggerated pout. “Ah well, we’ll just have to move straight to the main event. We shall see you in the ball room.” With that, a massive cloud of smoke billowed out from Titania’s feet, leaving her nowhere to be seen.

“I swear to Arceus, that woman gets stranger every time I come here. For what its worth, you should be careful while battling her, Titania might have a few dozen screws loose, but there’s a pretty skilled trainer buried under all the ridiculous costumes and drama-student theatrics.”

“Don’t worry about me, I know how to deal with—” Fluttershy paused and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “—drama queens.”

*********

“Oh wo, I haven’t gotten to eat like this in a long time,” Pinkie Pie groaned happily as she leaned back on a park bench and patted her belly. “I should really try and remember this place if I find Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I’d bet they’d love it here, so many new types of sweets.” As Pinkie Pie continued to come down from her sugar-induced haze, it slowly occurred to her that her friends were nowhere to be seen. “Huh, that’s weird, I could have sworn Fluttershy and Derek were…back at the top of the street. Oops, I guess I did kind of rush of without them, didn’t I? Well, they’ve got to be somewhere, right? I just need to figure out how to find them.”

As Pinkie Pie pondered what to do next, she asked herself what her friends would do in this situation. “Twilight would probably use some kind of spell to find her friends, but I can’t really do that since I’m not a unicorn. Plus, I’m pretty sure humans don’t even have magic, though maybe I should ask Derek about that to make sure then next time I see him. Rainbow Dash would probably just zoom everywhere until she found who she was looking for, and I could try that. Ooh, but I’m still feeling kinda full after eating all those cakes, I don’t know if I’m up for going full Pinkie-speed. Okay, think Pinkie, what about Applejack? Didn’t she have a way of finding Apple Bloom that time the Cutie Mark Crusaders went into the Everfree Forrest trying to get their Cutie Marks in forestry…” Pinkie thought as hard as she could, trying to remember exactly what Applejack had done to find her wayward sister, until the answer suddenly hit her like a thunderbolt.

“She had Winona track Apple Bloom down! And I do have a doggie that I bet could find Fluttershy and Derek no problem. Go, Twenty Three!” Pinkie tossed out Twenty Three’s Poké Ball, letting out her cheerfully barking Growlithe. “Alright, Twenty Three, I have a super duper important mission for you. Are you ready?” Twenty Three let out an eager bark as it stood at attention, ready to be given its assignment. “Okay then. I need you to help me find Fluttershy and Derek. Do you think you can do that?” Twenty Three responded by hopping up into Pinkie Pie’s arms and licking her face, before jumping back down and sniffing at the ground. After a few moments, Twenty Three raised its head and rushed off, only to stop after a minute or so and resume sniffing the ground. This process repeated itself several more times, until finally Twenty Three seemed to catch a clear scent of its quarry, which prompted it to go rushing off towards—

“The gym! Of course, Fluttershy must want to try and battle for her next badge. Why didn’t I think of that? I hope I’m not too late to cheer her on. Ooh, maybe I should come up with some cheers to help get her fired up. Let’s see, ‘Fluttershy, Fluttershy, she’s our…guy?’ No, that won’t work. What rhymes with Fluttershy? Spy, fly sky, cry…” Pinkie Pie walked into the Seelieburg Gym as she continued to list off words she could potentially use for her cheering, largely oblivious to her surroundings. There were, after all, precious few stimuli that could turn Pinkie Pie’s attention away from doing something to help one of her friends. One such stimuli, however, was the smell of freshly made donuts, and as Pinkie Pie made her way into the gym, she unconsciously took a hard right down a side hallway following said aroma, with a slightly confused Twenty Three trotting behind her.

*********

The Seelieburg Gym arena was easily the most ornate arena that Fluttershy had encountered yet, and even rivaled parts of Canterlot Castle for sheer ostentatiousness. The vaulted ceilings of the chamber were covered in gilt and frescos, and several ornate crystal chandeliers hung down illuminating the room. Rows of stone columns flanked the room on either side, behind which were mirrored walls that gave the impression of a room that stretched out to eternity. Even the platforms for the trainers were completely covered in gilded decorations.

“I really wish I knew how Titania managed to pay for all this,” Derek grumbled as Fluttershy took her spot. “There’s no way she was able to afford any of this with the funds she got from the league to set up this place.” Before Derek could start speculating, however, a recorded trumpet fanfare blared out as Titania was lowered down to the platform on the far side of the room from a hatch in the ceiling.

“You!” Titania called out as she pointed at Fluttershy. “You have chosen to issue a challenge to the honor of our fair court, the most glorious assemblage of summer. Prepare yourself, for our brave warriors shall not be defeated easily. For the first of your three opponents, we present Lady Mawile!” Titania proceeded to loss out a pink Poké Ball with an elaborate flourish, releasing a short, yellow humanoid creature that appeared to sport a massive dark gray ponytail nearly as big as the rest of its body. Despite its rather cute appearance, however, something about the creature didn’t sit right with Fluttershy, though she didn’t understand why until she took a closer look at the Mawile’s ‘hair’.

“Those – are those teeth?” Fluttershy yelped, as the Mawile shifted to reveal that it’s ‘ponytail’ was actually a massive set of jaws lined with short, conical teeth. “Alright, Fluttershy, calm down. Its just like everywhere else in nature. Just because a creature looks cute and harmless doesn’t mean it isn’t actually dangerous. Okay then, I’ll choose you, Quilava!” As Quilava took to the field and snarled at Mawile, the flames on its back flaring up as it did so, Fluttershy cast a wary look at Mawile’s jaws. “Um, Quilava, I think maybe you should try to keep your distance from Mawile, so try using your Ember attack.” Quilava grunted out an acknowledgement as it exhaled a massive stream of cinders straight towards Mawile, hitting dead on. Caught off guard, Mawile was left frantically waving its arms in front of its face in a futile effort to ward off Quilava’s attack.

“How barbaric! But, even if you put us to the torch, we shall persevere! Lady Mawile, assail that knave with your Vice Grip attack!”

“Put you to the…?” As Fluttershy tried to make sense of what Titania was saying, Mawile charged forth while swinging its jaws out in front of it. Quilava, not expecting such a fierce counterattack, wasn’t able to escape before Mawile’s jaws snapped down on it. “Quilava! Quick, get out of there! Um, use Flame Wheel!” Immediately, the flames on Quilava’s back erupted as it curled into a ball and began spinning around rapidly. Quilava’s sudden transformation from victim to fiery death ball took Mawile by complete surprise, causing it to reflexively release Quilava from its grip. Doing so only gave Quilava the opportunity to slam itself directly into Mawile’s face, sending it crashing to the ground unconscious.

“Lady Mawile! No!” Titania cried out as she fell to her knees. “You fought with honor and grace, but this cruel world was too harsh for one such as yourself. May the angels sing you sweet lullabies as you take your rest. Return.” Titania theatrically hung her head as she recalled her Mawile to its ball before rising back to her feet and staring daggers at Fluttershy. “Don’t believe for a moment that this defeat will break our resolve. Go, Sir Azumarill! Come forth and defend your kingdom’s honor!”

“Is she really going to be like this the whole time?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at Titania’s next Pokémon, a blue and white ovoid creature with long, rabbit-like ears. “More importantly, what is that?”

“It’s an Azumarill, you mostly see them in fast moving rivers,” Derek said. “I’d be careful, if I were you, Azumarill can be surprisingly strong.”

“And if it lives in rivers, then Quilava probably isn’t a good match for it. Quilava, return. Go Croagunk!” Fluttershy called out as she swapped out her Pokémon.

“I see, a new villain to threaten our kingdom. But we shall stand firm no matter what trials we must face. Sir Azumarill, go forth and Play Rough with this miscreant!” Azumarill promptly bounded over towards Croagunk and swiped at it with its tail. Croagunk, however, nimbly leapt back just in the nick of time, narrowly dodging Azumarill as it rushed by.

“I hate having to do this to something that looks like a bunny, but…Croagunk, use Poison Sting!” Grinning evily, Croagunk puffed out its throat before spitting a hail of violet needles directly at Azumarill. In panic, Azumarill threw its arms up to protect its face, allowing a number of the needles to lodge in its arms and midsection. The needles melted after a moment or two, but the ones that had struck Azumarill left large, bruise-colored blotches behind.

“Using envenomed weapons? I suppose I should have expected no less. However, we shall not allow such villainy shall to prevail! Sir Azumarill, Play Rough once again!” Despite looking decidedly unwell, Azumarill lunged forward at Croagunk, only to trip and tumble to the ground. Croagunk burst into laughter as Azumarill pratfalled in front of it, but its laughter soon became a cry of alarm as Azumarill’s tail wrapped itself around one of Croagunk’s arms. Before Croagunk had a chance to free itself, Azumarill flipped itself upright while yanking Croagunk to the ground. The moment Croagunk hit the ground, Azumarill followed up by elbow dropping down onto Croagunk’s back. Azumarill repeated this maneuver several more times before Croagunk was able to pull itself free and roll clear of Azumarill’s assault.

“Oh no, Croagunk, are you alright?” Fluttershy cried out, receiving a grunting croak in response as Croagunk pulled itself back to its feet. “I was really hoping to save this until the end, but I don’t think I’m goint to have much choice.” Despite Fluttershy’s grumblings, she wore a fierce look of determination on her face as she thrust out both her arms before striking a pose. “Croagunk! Use Acid Downpour!” Despite having been battered by Azumarill’s attack, Croagunk launched itself into the air as Fluttershy’s energy flowed into it. Grinning wildly, Croagunk inhaled and spat out another volley of violet needles, this time producing enough to practically coat the entire floor of the arena. The needles swiftly liquified and ran together, turning the arena into a bubbling morass. Azumarill quickly began sinking into the newly formed acidic swamp, struggling frantically as the toxic muck threatened to engulf it entirely. Despite Azumarill’s best efforts, however, it soon disappeared from view, a patch of bubbles the only sign of where it had stood. The morass receded moments later, leaving an unconscious Azumarill lying in the middle of the arena in its wake.

“Sir Azumarill!” Titania wailed. “For you to be laid low by such treacherous cruelty, darkness has truly fallen over our fair lands.”

“For crying out loud, would you give it a rest already?” Derek finally called out. “If you don’t cool it with the dinner theatre performance, I’m going to start quoting Monty Arbok.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Titania exclaimed as she recoiled in horror, to which Derek said nothing, but grinned evilly. “You’d absolutely dare. Very well, I shall conduct the final part of this challenge in the more traditional manner. Spoilsport.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy whispered, grateful to be done with Titania’s histrionics, as she recalled her battered Croagunk.

“Don’t mention it,” Derek replied. “And don’t let your guard down, either. Overacting aside, Titania’s no slouch when it comes to Pokémon battling.” As if to punctuate Derek’s warning, Titania straightened herself up as she sent out her final Pokémon.

“Go Kirlia!”

*********

“Mmmmm, fresh donuts are just the best, aren’t they, Twenty Three?” Twenty Three let out a bark of agreement as it nosed through the wreckage of the ransacked dessert cart for any treats Pinkie may have missed. “Now, I just need to remember what it was we came here for in the – huh, did you hear that?” Pinkie said as several loud bangs reverberated through the hallways of the castle. Bursting into action, Pinkie Pie bounced up to her feet before racing down the halls until she reached the apparent source of the commotion. Pinkie Pie found herself standing at one end of a wide hall that terminated in a massive vault door, the sort one would normally expect to find in a bank. Somehow, something had managed to pull this particular door off its hinges, which looked partly melted, and the racket Pinkie Pie had heard had been caused by the door crashing to the ground. Inside the vault itself, Pinkie could see two familiar figures gleefully grabbing handfuls of jewelry and other valuables and stuffing them into burlap sacks.

“Dude, this is the best score we’ve every had!” Femur cheered as he emptied an ornate jewelry box into his bag.

“I know, right? And the best part is we’ll be gone before that loser gym leader even figures out we were here. There is nothin’ that could stop us now!”

“You mean ‘almost nothing’, because Pinkie’s here to stop you meanies from robbing this castle!” The two grunts nearly jumped into the air in surprise as they looked up to see Pinkie Pie and Twenty Three standing in the vault’s doorway.

“Aw, come on! We came up with this whole thing specifically so we wouldn’t have to deal with you dweebs!” Femur cried out before he seemed to notice something. “Hey, hold on a second. Where are the other two dorks that you’re always hanging out with?”

“Fluttershy’s having her gym battle right now, and Derek’s probably with her. But me and Twenty Three here are plenty tough enough to deal with the likes of you two.” Despite Pinkie Pie’s confidence, however, neither Femur nor Ribcage appeared particularly intimidated.

“We were hopin’ this would be a nice, easy score. But, a two-on-one fight seems pretty good to me. Beat downs are always better when we’re the ones with numbers on our side,” Ribcage said with an evil smirk.

“Yeah, and I know how we can make it even better,” Femur added. “Weepinbell, nail these fools with your Sleep Powder!”

“Uh oh, Twenty Three, quick, use Fire Fang!” Needing no further encouragement, Twenty Three leapt into action and charged forward, narrowly dodging a blast of green dust that Weepinbell spat out before biting down onto it with flaming jaws. With Weepinbell firmly in its grip, Twenty Three shook its head several times and then unceremoniously dropped the unconscious Grass-type to the ground. “Good boy, Twenny Three, now return. Go Lombre!” Both the grunts and Twenty Three looked confused as Pinkie Pie swapped out her Pokémon while swaying unsteadily on her feet.

“Yo, I think there’s somethin’ up with her,” Ribcage said.

“I’m—” Pinkie Pie let out a loud yawn before groggily continuing. “—fine. That green stuff your Weepinbell blew on me didn’t do anything. And now, Lombre and I are gonna…gonna….something.” Despite her wobbling, Pinkie managed to thrust out her arms as her Z-ring began glowing brightly. “This is gonna stop you meanie-mean…pantses…” Pinkie briefly nodded off before snapping back awake. “Gonna stop you good!”

*********

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy said as Titania’s Kirlia stared down her Quilava. “I’m not sure I can really do this. It just looks so much like my own little Kirlia, I don’t know if I can have Quilava attack it.”

“Are you starting to lose your nerve after all? We can’t blame you, Lady Kirlia is an exceptional warrior, after all. There’s no shame in surrendering, and in our grace, we may even forgive your transgressions against our court if you do,” Titania said. Her statement was followed by a bout of high-pitched laughter from Titania’s Kirlia, but something that Kirlia added made Fluttershy abruptly stiffen up.

“What. Did you just say. About my Kirlia?” Fluttershy said as she glared furiously at Titania’s Kirlia, who seemed particularly alarmed at her sudden change of demeanor.

“Wait, I’m sorry, but I’m a bit confused here. I don’t recall saying anything about your Kirlia,” Titania said.

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to say anything, but Fluttershy here can understand Pokémon,” Derek said. “And, it sounds like your Kirlia is about to learn a painful lesson about assuming people can’t understand it when it talks.”

“Quilava! Flame Wheel!” Fluttershy yelled. Quilava eagerly complied, throwing itself into a forward somersault as the flames on its back flared up. The spinning circle of fire Quilava became slammed into and over Kirlia, who was only just able to maintain its footing, Quilava rolling past several feet before finally uncurling.

“Don’t give up, Kirlia, we haven’t been defeated yet!” Titania called out. “The time has come to demonstrate our ultimate attack; Twinkle Tackle!” Even as Titania spoke, her Z-ring was shining with power as she struck the poses to activate her attack, Kirlia mimicking her actions. At first, Fluttershy didn’t know what to think, especially when the final, leg-popped pose of the attack came off as far more cute than intimidating. The moment Kirlia matched the final pose, however, it unleashed a massive cloud that swiftly engulfed the entire room, seemingly turning it into a sparkling, star-filled void. As Quilava looked around in confusion, Kirlia seized on its disorientation, launching itself at Quilava in a spinning pirouette while one of its legs took on a bright pink glow. Before Quilava could properly react, Kirlia lashed out with a kick with its glowing leg, unleashing a massive blast of pink energy that sent Quilava flying backwards. “You see?” Titania crowed. “The power that Lady Kirlia and I wield together—” Before Titania could even finish her sentence Quilava had already risen back to its feet, looking batter but still plenty able to fight. “—did far less than I was hoping it would.”

“Quilava,” Fluttershy began as Quilava regarded its opponent with a wicked grin. “Flame Wheel.” As Quilava shot forward in another attack, Kirlia tried to turn and run, only to be flattened as Quilava crashed into its back and mercilessly rolled over it.

“Alas, it seems even Lady Kirlia has fallen before you. We have no choice but to recognize our failure to defend against the onslaught of—” Titania glance over towards Derek, who had a distinctly annoyed expression on his face, before clearing her throat. “In any event, as gym leader, I hereby acknowledge you as the victor of this battle and shall present you with the Seelie Badge and a piece of Fairium—” At that exact moment, the entire castle shook as though a massive explosion had gone off in the lower halls.

*********

Upon reaching the lower levels of the castle, the group found that something had flooded the hallways, leaving the tiles under an inch or so of water.

“What in Equestria happened down here?” Fluttershy asked as she surveyed the wreckage.

“I don’t know, but I think whatever it was severed a water line. Either that, or somebody thought it would bee a good idea to turn a Water-type Pokémon loose in close-quarters,” Derek said. “What exactly is down here, anyway?”

“Oh, just some storerooms, the kitchens…oh, and the vault where we keep the crown jewels, of course. Wait, why are you both looking at me like that?” Titania asked as she received exasperated looks from both Derek and Fluttershy.

“Just show us where the vault is,” Derek said, trying to keep his voice as level as possible. Titania nodded her head and led the group through the halls until they reached the stretch leading into the castle vault, which they immediately could see had been the epicenter of whatever had happened. The door to the vault was nowhere to be seen, though the damage to the walls and floor of the hallway and the massive hole in the castle’s outer wall suggested it had exited the castle in a rather spectacular fashion. The vault itself appeared to have been thoroughly ransacked, with what was left of its contents scattered across its floor. And, lying fast asleep on a pile of rubble at the vault’s entrance, was Pinkie Pie, her Lombre sitting next to her and occasionally prodding her shoulder in a half-hearted effort to wake her up.

“What…why is she…how?” Derek sputtered. Fluttershy, meanwhile, was already making her way over to Lombre. A few minutes of questioning later, and Fluttershy turned to the others with a somewhat puzzled look on her face. “So, were you able to get any answers?”

“I think so,” Fluttershy said. “It sounds as though Pinkie Pie wandered into the gym looking for us, but she got lost and ran into someone robbing the vault.”

“Femur and Ribcage?” Derek asked, to which Fluttershy nodded.

“Oh, what wonderfully evocative names!” Titania exclaimed with giddy enthusiasm.

“…No, no, one migraine at a time. Anyway, how did Pinkie Pie fighting those two turn into this?” Derek asked as he gestured towards the ruined hallway. Fluttershy turned back to Lombre to relay the question.

“Lombre isn’t really sure, but it thinks Pinkie might have breathed in some of Weepinbell’s Sleep Powder. She was acting little strange when she brought it out, and after she – wait, Pinkie Pie had you do what?”

“Let me guess, she used Hydro Vortex and then passed out,” Derek said, already suspecting the answer. “Well, I can check my bags, I should have some Lum Berry juice we can give Pinkie to wake her up. In the meantime, we should also try and figure out what the grunts actually got away with. I am not looking forward to seeing what the cost is for everything that got stolen.”

“Oh, I doubt that will be an issue at all, it isn’t as though we kept anything particularly valuable in there,” Titania said cheerfully.

“But, didn’t you say that the vault was where you kept your crown jewels?” Fluttershy asked.

“Costume jewelry and props, my dear, nothing that can’t be easily replaced.”

“If that’s the case, they why do you keep all of them in a giant vault like that?” An increasingly perplexed Fluttershy asked.

“Why, for the drama potential of a robbery, of course! Can you just imagine it, the shadowy, mysterious thief lurking through the shadows towards our vault. What dark secrets lurk in his past that drove him to such deeds? Ooh, and to think we’d get a pair with dangerous names like ‘Femur’ and ‘Ribcage’! I bet they’re the dangerous, sinister, brooding types, aren’t they? You must tell me all about them?”

Derek shared an uneasy glance with Fluttershy before replying. “I think you might want to prepare yourself for some disappointment there.

Interludes III: The Gathering Storm

Deep within the twisted vastness of the Distortion World, a dark figure wreathed in shadows stared intently at a shard of crystal floating in front of it. Never taking its gaze from the crystal, the figure began to chant, producing a dark, droning sound that somehow seemed to come from every direction at once. Meanwhile, the shadows surrounding the figure began to twist and flicker, like guttering flames of pure darkness. Slowly, the chanting increased in intensity, and as it reached a crescendo the sound of the tolling of a bell rang out, cutting through the rest of the din like a knife. The sound of the bell was soon echoed by a higher-pitched ringing coming from the floating crystal, which began to draw the surrounding darkness into itself. As the shadows flowed into the crystal, it steadily darkened until it became so pitch black that it no longer appeared to be a solid object, but rather a crystal-shaped hole in reality itself. Once the crystal reached this point, its edges started to become hazy as it began to slowly expand outward, all the while the chanting and ringing continued to increase in intensity. Suddenly, without any warning, the crystal shattered, its broken fragments dissolving to nothing as they fell to the ground.

“Curses! I was so close that time!” the figure snarled as the shadows surrounding him receded, as if in fear of his rage, revealing the caprine form of Grogar. “I should have expected Sombra’s precious crystals would be as worthless as he is.”

“Aw, what’s the matter? Is the widdle goat’s magic not working right?” Grogar felt his eyes twitch with barely contained fury as Discord’s mocking voice emanated from the surrounding air.

“If you had even the slightest understanding of magic beyond what it takes to snap your claws together then you’d know that each of these so-called ‘failures’ brings me another step closer to my goal,” Grogar growled. “I might not have been able to access that accursed world this time, but now I know—”

“That leaning on Sombra’s magic like a crutch won’t be enough to get you there?” Even without being able to see Discord, Grogar could perfectly picture the mocking expression on the draconequus’ features. “What’s your next plan, borrow some magic from Queen Cheese legs?”

“You’ll see what I have planned soon enough, Discord. For now, though, I’d hate to ruin the surprise,” Grogar replied. After several moments of silence followed, Grogar was satisfied he was finally alone and let out an angry snort before storming off to vent somewhere Discord wouldn’t be able to watch.

In Grogar’s anger, he failed to notice that his experiment hadn’t been quite the failure he had initially thought. Where the crystal shard had been floating, there now was a tiny sliver in the fabric of existence. While the tiny tear had been too small for either Grogar or Discord to notice, a third being had taken interest in what was happening and had decided to take action. The remaining shadows of the surrounding area began to writhe and dance of their own accord, gathering together as they gradually took the form of a vaguely humanoid figure. Once it was fully formed, the creature reached out and grasped the edges of the tear in reality and stretched them apart until it had opened a coin-sized hole. Seemingly satisfied, the creature pushed itself through its newly-formed portal, contorting and squeezing itself until it had completely disappeared through the opening. Once the creature had vanished from sight, the portal swiftly sealed itself shut, leaving no sign of Grogar’s progress behind.

*********

“I can’t believe you managed to lose track of them. Isn’t skulking around after ponies supposed to be the one thing you’re actually good at? Besides losing your entire kingdom to a rebellion, that is?”

“Mark my words, Sombra, the moment I no longer need to worry about a reprisal from Grogar, I’m going to—”

“That’s – neeHaw! – enough! Both of you!” Bray whined as the three villains huddled together in the darkness of the alleyway. “Lord Grogar wants you two to work together so that his plans—”

“Shut up, Bray!” Sombra and Chrysalis snarled in unison.

“Hmph, at least we can find one thing to agree on,” Sombra snorted. “In any event, it doesn’t really matter that you’ve lost track them, anyway. Until we can find a way to use these blasted crystals, we won’t have much hope of besting them.”

“What we need is a plan,” Chrysalis agreed, only to be interrupted by the growling of her stomach. “And dinner. We’ve spent so much time chasing after those two that we haven’t had a decent meal in days.”

“What are you talking about? We ate this morning,” Sombra protested, earning a sneer from Chrysalis.

“I said a decent meal, not some bag of junk food that you stole from a small child,” Chrysalis retorted.

“You have to at least admit the sounds it made when I grabbed its candy and ran off were hilarious,” Sombra chuckled evilly. “But, fine, we’ll go ambush a couple humans leaving one of those take-away restaurants. Just don’t get too picky about which humans we rob this time. I don’t want to have to spend all night waiting for you to find a couple that looks tasty enough. You can’t even eat love in this form!”

“Perhaps, but I still find the looks on some happy couple’s faces when we attack them to make for an excellent appetizer.”

“…Okay, I’ll give you that, the looks in their eyes are pretty funny,” Sombra admitted as he led the group out of the alleyway. “Still, we need to find some way of using these crystals before Grogar starts asking questions. Maybe we could capture someone and—”

“Maybe we just need to read a book,” Chrysalis said suddenly.

“What, have you suddenly decided to turn into Twilight Sparkle? No, that might mean you’d actually be useful for a change, so there’s no way that could—” Before Sombra could finish his taunt, Chrysalis snatched him by the back of his shirt and roughly yanked him backwards. Chrysalis then proceeded to grab his face and physically pointed him towards the other side of the street. There, a bookstore was proudly advertising its newest release, A Comprehensive Guide to the Z-moves of Alola. “Huh, that’s awfully convenient.”

“Only if we can actually get our hands on a copy,” Chrysalis replied. “In case you’ve forgotten, we don’t have any money.”

“A trivial matter. I’ve already come up with a solution that will get us that book without needing to worry about petty issues like that. Bray, come with me, this particular plan will require your assistance,” Sombra said as Chrysalis scoffed.

“Really? You’re ‘brillinat’ plan needs Bray’s help? What possible use could you have for that mewling imbecile?”

“Hey, I’m—neeHaw!—standing right here!” Bray complained indignantly.

“So?” Chrysalis replied.

“A true ruler knows how to make use of all of their servant’s talents, no matter how lowly they may be,” Sombra said as he stopped in front of the bookstore window, earning a growl of rage from Chrysalis. “Allow me to demonstrate. Bray, if you could stand right over here.”

“Sure, at least—neeHaw!—someone appreciates my – AHHH!” Bray let out a panicked scream as Sombra suddenly grabbed him and tossed him through the store window before snatching up one of the books on display and bolting down the street as fast as he could.

“That was your brilliant plan? Tossing Bray through a window, grabbing the book and running away?” Chrysalis yelled incredulously as she raced to keep up with the fleeing Sombra.

“It worked, didn’t it? And besides, that’s the most useful Bray’s been since we’ve gotten here.” Unable to dispute Sombra’s statement, Chrysalis remained silent. Sombra may have been a crude oaf, but his actions had brought her another step closer to taking her revenge on Twilight Sparkle and her friends. In light of that, Chrysalis could allow Sombra to enjoy his victory this one time.

*********

Nestled in the forest near the foot of the Javik region’s central mountain, one could find a lone, abandoned building. There was nothing particularly notable about the building, save for its isolated location, though the wild Pokémon of the area seemed to give it a wide berth. Its empty rooms were devoid of any furnishings, aside from the bits of man-made and organic detritus that had found their way inside, leaving no clues as to the building’s original purpose, if it had even ever had any. With nothing to attract attention or interest from either Pokémon or people, it was the perfect waystation for Team Rocket.

“Dude, I can’t believe the boss actually wants to talk with us,” Femur said. “Normally he just sends messages and junk and tells us not to bother him.”

“I’m tellin’ ya, it’s gotta be because he’s stoked with us after that heist we pulled at the castle,” Ribcage said. “I mean, we sent him two bags loaded with loot. I bet we’re, like, his top grunts now or somethin’. He probably wants to give us some sort of really cool reward. Y’know, like hardcore new titles, or jet skis.” Before the grunts could speculate on their potential rewards for a job well done any further, they reached a room in the basement that held a few decrepit-looking computers along with a large monitor in the far wall. Displayed on the monitor was a seated figure, shrouded in shadows, who practically radiated menace. Immediately, the two grunts sprang into action to greet their superior in the best way they knew how.

“Yo yo yo yo, it’s your boys Femur—”

“And Ribcage—”

“Coming at you harder than hard.”

“We’re the baddest, maddest, raddest grunts in this whole dang region, and if you’ve got beef with someone we’re ready to beat ‘em down—”

“And beat them down—”

“And beath ‘em down again!” A few moments of silence passed before the figure on the monitor replied.

“Are you both finished?”

“We’re good for right now, unless you want us to keep going.”

“We don’t have anythin’ else prepped, but if you want us to try freestylin’ then we’ve got ya covered—”

“No, none of that!” the figure said quickly before slumping back and letting out a sigh. “How did the two of you manage to be some of my best active operatives?”

“You hear that, bro? The boss said we’re the hardest grunts he has!”

“Dude, that must be because of that sick heist we pulled! It was all the loot from the heist, wasn’t it?”

“Ah yes, the ‘loot’ you sent me. Two soaking wet bags filled with worthless costume jewelry and damaged stage props.”

“Worthless?” Femur replied, suddenly alarmed.

“Uh, yeah, we knew that, but the cash wasn’t really the point,” Ribcage added quickly. “Yeah, uh, the point was…to send a message! Yeah, we were showin’ that loser gym leader that you always gotta watch out or ya might catch a beatin’ from Team Skull!”

“Riveting. In any event, you did manage to keep the League’s attention away from out other operations, so your ‘heist’ was still a net benefit to Team Rocket. Now, I’ve contacted the two of you because I have a very special operation coming up that will require your particular talents.”

“Whatever it is, boss man, we’ve got you covered.”

“Ya need some fool beat down? We’ll beat ‘em down ‘til there ain’t nothin’ left. Just say the word.”

“What I need is for the two of you to go to Keystone City immediately. Once there, you’re to prepare the largest, most eye-catching trouble that you’re capable of. I want something so loud and audacious that the League won’t have any choice but to focus all of their attention on it. Am I making myself clear?”

“If you want trouble like nobodies even seen, then you’ve got the perfect pair of boneheads right here!”

“Yeah, just ya wait! We’ll stir up somethin’ so nasty they’ll be able to see it all the way back in Alola!”

“I’m sure you will. If any member of Team Rocket can be counted on to distract the entirety of the Javik League, it would be the two of you.”

*********

The sounds of Luna’s hooves echoed off the cobblestones as she trotted down the streets of Canterlot. The normally bustling city was deserted, with no trace of life to be seen or heard. The dark, vacant windows of the abandoned buildings stared down at Luna like the empty sockets of skulls stripped of flesh. The skies above were, if anything, even more disturbing than the empty streets. Dark clouds the color of old bruises drifted listlessly across a crimson sky somehow devoid of both sun and moon.

Suddenly, the sky overhead ripped open as a pair of dark violet claws punched through the fabric of reality and tore it asunder. A mammoth, skeletal, draconic creature wormed its way through the tear, atop of which stood the unmistakable form of Grogar. The dark progenitor of evil surveyed the land before him for a moment, before giving some silent command to his mount. The creature emitted a terrible, unearthly scream as it opened its maw and let loose a terrible blast of bright, violet energy that tore Canterlot loose from the mountainside and sent it tumbling to the ground below.

Luna bolted awake, back in her Mercury City hotel room and drenched in a cold sweat. “It was a nightmare…” Luna muttered to herself. “But, something about that was off…it was wrong. I might not have my magic in this world, but I can still tell, that dream wasn’t mine.” Some instinct prompted Luna to turn to face her room’s window, at which point she let out a started shriek. Floating just outside was a vaguely humanoid figure, seemingly entirely composed of smoke and shadow. For one brief moment, its brilliant, blue-green eye met Luna’s, and then it vanished into the dark of the night without a trace.

“Luna! Are you alright?” Luna tore her gaze away from the window to see that a visibly concerned Celestia had burst into her room. “I heard you scream, did something happen?”

“No, sister,” Luna said. “It was just a nightmare. For now, at least.”

Lesser of Two Weaviles

“So, how long do you think it’s gonna be before we run into Trixie again?” Rainbow Dash asked as she, Twilight and Spike trudged down the road towards their next destination.

“Probably not until Trixie gets strong enough that she thinks she can take on Twilight,” Spike replied. “So, I’m guessing not anytime soon. I mean, you saw the look on her face when she realized Twilight had her third badge already, right?”

“Ha, yeah, and at the rate she’s going, Twilight and me’ll probably have five or six badges by the time we see her again. Speaking of, Twi, where are we headed for your fourth badge again?”

“Frosthead City,” Twilight replied, somewhat distractedly.

“Hey, come in Twilight, are you there?” Rainbow Dash said, causing Twilight to startle.

“What? I’m here – I mean…what were we talking about again?” Twilight asked sheepishly.

“You’ve been zoning out an awful lot recently. Is there something up that you wanna talk about?”

“I guess I’m just a little nervous about my next gym battle.”

“What for? You totally beat that Nero guy, and aren’t Ice-types supposed to be really weak to Fire or something? If that’s the case, then your Charmeleon is going to roast that gym!” Rainbow Dash said, though Twilight didn’t seem terribly convinced.

“Rainbow, I just barely won my last two gym battles, and each one gets harder than the last. I’m not sure how much further strategy and luck are going to carry me.”

“Well, there’s part of your problem right there.” Rainbow Dash said. “Half of winning at something is confidence. If you wanna win, then you’ve gotta believe that you’re gonna win. If you go in thinking that you’re gonna get your butt kicked, then your Pokémon are gonna pick up on that and they won’t have any confidence either. It’s like a…a whirlpool of bad feelings or something.”

“A vicious cycle,” Twilight offered.

“Gesundheit,” Rainbow Dash said. “Anyway, the important thing is you’ve gotta really believe in yourself and your Pokémon. After that, it’s just a matter of being fast and tough enough to take out the other guy before they have a chance to do the same to you. At least, that’s how I do it, you’ve got that whole outthinking thing going on, so it should be even easier foryou to kick some rump.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said with a weak smile. “Anyway, we should probably keep moving. It looks like its going to start getting dark pretty soon, and I think it might start snowing tonight, too.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right about that,” Rainbow Dash said. “You think there’s anyplace nearby where we could spend the night? I don’t really want to get stuck sleeping outside in the snow if I can help it. Waking up buried in snow is the third worst way I’ve woken up.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what were the first two?” Spike asked.

“Number two was when Applejack bribed Flitter and Cloudchaser to move the cloud I was napping on over her pigsty. Which wouldn’t have been so bad if Applejack hadn’t bucked an apple straight through it once I was in place so I’d fall through. I gotta hand it to her, that mare really knows how to set up an awesome prank when she wants to.”

“What about number one?” Spike asked, causing Rainbow Dash to shudder.

“Let’s just say, if you’re a Wonderbolt, you really don’t want to get caught napping while on duty,” Rainbow Dash said. “But, maybe we should focus on trying to find a place to settle in for the night. Like that place over there!” Twilight was half-convinced Rainbow Dash was just pointing in a random direction in an effort to change the subject. Despite this, Twilight couldn’t help but look, and to her surprise she really could see a building off in the distance.

“I think that’s a Pokémon Center!” Spike exclaimed.

“What would a Pokémon Center be doing way out her in the middle of nowhere?” Twilight asked as the group made a beeline for the shelter.

“From what I’ve read in my Pokédex, there are a few Pokémon Centers out in the wild to help trainers who get in trouble too far away from any towns,” Spike said. “Though, this place doesn’t seem all that dangerous, so I’m not really sure why this one is here.”

“Who cares why its here/ The important part is it’s here and we don’t need to sleep outside. Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash said as she charged full speed ahead, Twilight and Spike hurrying to keep up.

*********

“Alright, you’re all set for your rooms,” the center’s Nurse Joy said as she handed Twilight a set of keycards. “Now, just to warn you, we are advising that no one leave the center after sundown tonight.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“Unfortunately, many of the local Sneasel have become abnormally active recently, and they’ve also been much more aggressive as well. These sorts of things do tend to work themselves out after a few days or so, but until then its best if trainers avoid going out at night.”

“I see. Well, thank you for letting me know,” Twilight said as she made her way back to where Spike and Rainbow Dash were waiting. “Did you two hear that?”

“Yeah, we heard,” Rainbow Dash said. “You think it might be the same sort of thing that was going on when we stopped by that greenhouse?”

“Maybe, but I doubt it. The Sneasel there were all trying to steal food from one place, but this sounds like something that happens regularly, and if the Sneasel were raiding someplace nearby for food on a regular basis they’d probably know what was going on.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow Dash said before perking up as a thought suddenly struck her. “Hey, what if we asked your Sneasel? It might know what’s going on.”

“It might, but I’m not entirely sure it would be willing to tell us,” Twilight said. “I’ve only just barely gotten Sneasel to the point that it will listen to me, and even that was like pulling teeth. I’m pretty sure it will listen to me during a battle, and I don’t think it will try and fight me for no reason. But, if whatever’s going on is some kind of secret Sneasel tradition or something, then I doubt it will be willing to be all that helpful. Plus, even if Sneasel did want to try and help, we don’t really have any way of understanding what it’s saying.”

“There is kinda a difference between being able to understand what a Pokémon’s feeling and what it’s actually saying, huh?” Rainbow Dash replied. “So, you and Sneasel are still having problems?”

“It’s been listening to me ever since I earned the Outlaw Badge, but I can’t really say that we’re friends yet,” Twilight replied. “I really wish I could find some way of getting through to it. Preferably one that doesn’t involve me breaking my other arm.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight, you’ll think of something eventually. Maybe you just need to find something the two of you can do together besides battling,” Spike suggested.

“Maybe,” Twilight said before letting out a yawn. “For now, though, I think we should just get some sleep. This isn’t really a problem that I need to solve tonight, and we’re going to want to get up early tomorrow to get a head start on heading to the next town.”

*********

Sometime later, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were asleep in one of the small rooms provided by the Pokémon Center. As the pair slumbered, however, the tranquility of their room was broken by a shuffling sound as Twilight’s backpack began to shake back and forth. After several moments, the bag turned over and a violently wriggling Poké Ball rolled out. Once free of the confines of the bag, the Poké Ball split open, releasing Twilight’s Sneasel into the room.

Sneasel froze upon escaping from its ball, cautiously watching Twilight and Rainbow Dash slumber until it was satisfied the sound of its escape hadn’t woken them. Even as Sneasel allowed itself to relax a bit, though, an obstacle that it hadn’t expected made itself known with a solid thump. Alarmed, Sneasel turned to see Rainbow Dash’s Skarmory glowering down at it with a look of stern disapproval. Unbowed, Sneasel glared right back at Skarmory and tried to walk around it, however Skarmory snapped its wings out to block Sneasel’s path. Sneasel proceeded to make several attempts to get by Skarmory, trying to fake it out, trying to duck under its wings, even trying to slide on the ground between its legs. Each time, however, Skarmory was able to move itself just enough to block Sneasel’s path. Finally, an exasperated Sneasel let out an annoyed snort before leaping backwards towards the room’s window. Before Skarmory could scramble forwards and stop it, Sneasel opened the window, paused just long enough to give Skarmory a mocking salute, and then disappeared out into the night.

The sheer audaciousness of Sneasel’s exit left Skarmory briefly stunned, however it quickly recovered. After a few moments considering its options, Skarmory drew in a deep breath and unleased a raucous screech that sent Twilight and Rainbow Dash tumbling out of their bunks in a half-awake panic.

“Get back, I’ve got salsa – wha?” Twilight mumbled semi-coherently as she pulled herself off the floor. “What happened? And, why is the window open?”

“I don’t know. I was having that dream where I fight off this army of changelings, only this time my Pokémon were all there kicking butt with me. But then somecreature decided it would be funny to wake us up,” Rainbow Dash said as she stared down at Skarmory. Skarmory let out a shriek of protest in response as it jabbed its beak towards Twilight’s backpack and the empty Poké Ball on the floor next to it before motioning towards the open window.

“Why’s my bag on the floor? And that…that’s Sneasel’s ball!” Twilight exclaimed as she swiftly put the pieces of what had happened together.

“How can you tell it’s Sneasel’s?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure, but that’s not what’s important right now. Sneasel must have broken out of its Poké Ball and ran off. What I don’t understand is, why would it do that? I admit we weren’t as close as I’d have liked, but just running off like this feels a little extreme.”

“Maybe its not about that,” Rainbow Dash suggested. “I mean, Nurse Joy did say that the Sneasel around here have all been acting screwy, right? Maybe whatever it is that has them doing that also made your Sneasel run off to join them.”

“You might be right. In any event, I think we should track down Sneasel and get to the bottom of this. Or, at least, I should, anyway. I’d understand if you—”

“You seriously think I’m gonna let you go out there by yourself? One, I’d never leave a friend hanging in a situation like this. Two, going out on a dangerous mission to find out what all these Sneasel are up to sounds like it could be seriously awesome. So, do you think we should go wake Spike up and take him with us?”

“No,” Twilight said after considering it for a moment. “I think we can let him sleep, the two of us should be able to handle this. I just hope that it won’t be too hard to track Sneasel down.”

*********

“So, what was that you were saying about being worried tracking Sneasel would be hard?” Rainbow Dash smirked as she and Twilight stood at the edge of a pine forest near the Pokémon Center. Sneasel’s footprints in the fresh snow had led them directly to the tree line, where a path of destruction had been carved through the woods. A mixture of footprints in the snow and claw marks gouged into the tree trunks left little doubt who was responsible for the mess.

“I admit, it looks like finding Sneasel shouldn’t be an issue. But…how many Sneasel do you think it took to do all of this?”

“I dunno, a lot, probably. But, when you think about it, it’s not really all that surprising that there are a bunch of them doing whatever it is that they’re doing. I mean, your Sneasel was with a whole gang of them when it was causing trouble for that hothouse, right? Maybe hanging out in gangs is just something Sneasel do?”

“That’s a good point, but I just have a feeling that whatever’s going on here is bigger than just a bunch of delinquent Pokémon casuing a ruckus for the hay of it,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, yeah. Look, whatever’s going on, between the two of us we’ve got this. Let’s just get in there and find out what the hay is going on already.” Twilight nodded her head as the two friends began to make their way into the forest itself. Thanks to the wanton destruction left by the renegade Sneasel, it was remarkably easy for the pair to find their way, even relying on the light of the moon to see. Moreover, Twilight and Rainbow Dash didn’t have far to travel into the forest before other signs that they were nearing their goal became apparent. “Do you hear that?” Rainbow Dash whispered. “I think it’s the Sneasel, and it sounds like they’re fighting.”

“I think it’s coming from over this way. Careful, we should try and stay out of sight until we know what’s going on.” Rainbow Dash silently nodded as the pair crept closer towards the source of the din, until they finally came to the edge of a forest clearing. There, dozens upon dozens of Sneasel were engaged in a series of vicious fights while others stood around watching. Sitting on a tree stump overlooking the entire display was what looked to be an especially large Sneasel, only its single red feather had been replaced by a veritable crown of crimson plumage.

“What’s with that big one? You think it’s an evolution or something?” Rainbow Dash whispered as they watched the Sneasel fight each other. “And what the hay is all this, anyway? It doesn’t look like this is just some brawl, it’s too, I don’t know, organized or something.”

“I’m pretty sure the one watching everything is called a Weavile. It’s Sneasel’s evolved form,” Twilight said. “I remember looking it up after I caught Sneasel. And I think you’re right about this being more than just some big fight. Look how all the Sneasel are fighting one-on-one, and how the ones who aren’t fighting are just watching and waiting for their turn. If anything, this looks like some kind of…competition.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, that is what it looks like. But, if that’s what this is, then why was it such a big deal that your Sneasel had to bust out of its ball and sneak off to join it? I’m all for competing, but that seems like a lot even to me.”

Before Twilight could respond, she felt the tree that she had been leaning against lurch forward. Had Applejack been present, she could have warned Twilight that that particular tree was dead and partially rotten, and was liable to tip over at any moment. As it was, however, Twilight had little warning before the tree toppled forward and crashed into the clearing. Thankfully, the Sneasel were all agile enough to easily dash out of the way, and thus nocreature was harmed by the tree’s fall. Unfortunately, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were left suddenly without any concealment and with every Sneasel present now staring daggers at the two intruders.

“Umm…hi?” Twilight said sheepishly as she tried to think of a way to extricate herself and Rainbow Dash from their situation. Sadly, the Sneasel didn’t appear to be particularly interested in having any sort of discussion, as the mob of weasel-like Pokémon began slowly advancing on Twilight while their Weavile leader looked on with a bemused expression. Just then, one of the Sneasel broke away from the crowd and interposed itself between Twilight and the other Sneasel.

“Hey, Twilight, isn’t that your Sneasel?” Rainbow Dash asked, prompting the Sneasel to glance back at the pair with a look of irritation. Meanwhile, the other Sneasel seemed unsure of what to make of this new development, with several backing away immediately. Others, however, seemed to interpret Sneasel’s actions as some kind of challenge, with a number shifting about and waving their claws aggressively. Despite this show of bluster, though, none of the other Sneasel seemed particularly eager to actually attack. “I don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash whispered. “It looks like they’re all ready to throw down, but none of them are stepping up. What do you think’s going on?” Twilight didn’t appear to be listening, as she was more focused on the way her Sneasel was behaving. Although it seemed to do so begrudgingly, it nevertheless was staring down any Sneasel that tried advancing, occasionally punctuating its defense with a series of hisses and gestures back towards her.

“Sneasel isn’t acting like it’s protecting its friends…its more like its doing this because it has to,” Twilight muttered to herself. “Wait, I think I finally get it!”

“Get what?” Rainbow Dash asked as she warily watched the mob of Sneasel continue to mill about.

“Sneasel obey whoever the strongest is, that’s probably what this whole brawl is about. The Sneasel are all establishing dominance within their group. It’s probably also why my Sneasel only started listening to me after it found out I won the Outlaw Badge. That must have proved to it that I’m strong enough that it needed to listen to me.”

“Uh huh. That’s all nice and everything, but does any of that actually help us right now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It might, actually. If I can prove somehow that I’m the strongest here, then the Sneasel would probably back down.”

“Oh, I get it. So, all one of us has to do is go beat up that guy.” Twilight looked up to see that Rainbow Dash was pointing towards the Weavile, who up until now had simply been watching everything unfold. Upon hearing Rainbow Dash, however, the Weavile hopped down from off its stump and began making its way towards the pair, roughly shoving aside any Sneasel that didn’t get out of its way fast enough. The Weavile’s advance continued until it stood directly in front of Twilight’s Sneasel, staring down at it with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. For a brief moment, it looked as though Sneasel would be able to hold its ground, however it quickly found itself unable to meet Weavile’s gaze. Thoroughly cowed, Sneasel started to slink away, only for Twilight to step forward, putting herself between her Sneasel and the Weavile and staring the Weavile directly in the eye.

Before either side could take things any further, however, a loud crashing sound erupted from the forest on the far side of the clearing. Moments later, a large Pokémon resembling some bizarre mixture of yeti and crab smashed its way out of the tree line and began rampaging its way towards the group.

“What the hay is that thing?” Rainbow Dash yelled as the Pokémon barreled towards the assembled Sneasel.

“I have no idea, I didn’t bring my Pokédex with me,” Twilight replied.

*********

Crabominable, the Wooly Crab Pokémon. Well adapted to snowy regions thanks to its thick fur coat, this highly aggressive Pokémon is known for relentlessly attacking any challengers for its territory by pummeling them with its blunt pincers.

“Yeesh, I’d sure hate to run into one of those things,” Spike said as he continued to flip through his Pokédex. “But I gotta wonder what sort of creature would be crazy enough to try and take on something like that.”

*********

While Twilight and Rainbow Dash tried to process what was going on, the Weavile leapt into action. With a single bound, the Weavile somersaulted over the Sneasel to face the berserking Crabominable before charging forward…only to be casually smashed aside and sent flying into a tree.

“Huh, that didn’t last long. What do you think we should – Twilight?” Rainbow Dash turned to see Twilight walking straight towards the rampaging Crabominable, one of her Poké Balls already in hand.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan. Charmeleon! Go!” Twilight tossed out her Poké Ball and Charmeleon took to the field directly in front of the Crabominable. “Alright, Charmeleon, use Smokescreen!” Shrugging, Charmeleon belched out a massive cloud of thick, black smoke, just as its opponent turned towards it and slammed down one of its paw-like arms. The strike collided with the ground with enough force to shake the entire clearing, but Charmeleon leapt clear of the smoke completely unharmed. “Good. Now, use your Fire Fang attack!” Charmeleon wasted no time, deftly landing on the Crabominable’s arm and dashing up it so that it could deliver a vicious bit to the side of Crabominable’s head. Furthermore, as Charmeleon’s jaws clamped down, flames erupted from the sides of its mouth, sending Crabominable into a blind panic. “Excellent. And to finish things…Charmeleon, get ready!” As Twilight spoke, her Z-ring began to glow with power while Charmeleon broke off from its attack and moved to where it could mimic Twilight’s movements. “Devastating Drake!” Striking the final pose, Charmeleon unleashed a massive blast of lavender energy from its mouth, which swiftly took the shape of a winged dragon as it shot towards the Crabominable. The glowing mass of draconic energy detonated upon impact, bodily tossing the Crabominable into the woods at the edge of the clearing. While the Crabominable somehow managed to pull itself back upright after this, it had clearly lost all interest in continuing the fight and quickly scuttled off back into the night.

“Whoa, nice work there, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said. “So, now what?”

“Now we see if my hypothesis was correct,” Twilight said, her attention already focused on the Weavile.

“Hypotha-what now?” Twilight didn’t have time to attempt expanding Rainbow Dash’s vocabulary, however, as the Weavile was already swiftly making its way over, coming to a stop directly in front of Twilight. For several moments, the Weavile stared directly into Twilight’s eyes, until finally it lowered its head with a smile. “So…are you the boss of the Sneasel now or something?”

“I don’t know about that, but it looks like beating that whatever-it-was was enough to establish me at the top of the local hierarchy. With any luck, this should – hey!” Twilight yelped in surprise as the Weavile suddenly grabbed her hand and pressed something metallic into her palm. With that done, the Weavile let out a high-pitched cry, which was echoed by the assembled Sneasel. Then, as the echoes of their screams reverberated throughout the forest, the Weavile and Sneasel (save for Twilight’s) all wordlessly vanished into the night.

“Okay, so that happened,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the sudden, awkward silence. “So, what the hay did that Weavile give you?”

“I’m not really sure,” Twilight said as she opened her hand to reveal what appeared to be a metal crescent, almost resembling the curved claw of a predator. The moment it was revealed, Twilight’s Sneasel’s eyes went wide as it stared at the object with undisguised avarice. “Is this something you want?” Twilight asked as she knelt down. “Well, you did try to protect us from those other Sneasel, so I guess you’ve earned it. Just promise me you won’t run off in the middle of the night again, alright?” Sneasel nodded its head vigorously as it reached out for the metal claw, snatching it out from Twilight’s hand and reverently cradling it in its paws.

“I don’t get it, what’s so special about that thing, anyway? It just looks like some weird piece of metal to me,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Who knows? But, if it’s going to make Sneasel happy, then I don’t have any – look!” To Twilight’s amazement, Sneasel had begun to glow bright white as its form shifted and grew. Moments later, Twilight’s Sneasel finished evolving into a Weavile, and it gleefully twisted around to admire its new form as Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked on. “That’s why all those Sneasel were taking this whole thing so seriously, that claw must have been the prize for winning, and it has something to do with Sneasel’s evolution.”

“Well, at least now we know why Sneasel ran off in the middle of the night,” Rainbow Dash said before letting out a yawn. “Speaking of which, I think we should probably head back to the Pokémon Center now that we’ve got everything figured out. I’m seriously gonna need some more shut eye before we head out tomorrow.”

The Muddy Road Ahead

“—and do you have any idea what marsh gas can do to your hair? I’m going to need to use my entire shampoo supply just to get the sulfur smell out. And don’t even get me started on what it’s going to do to our clothes. Celestia only knows how long it will be until they’ll be fit to wear again, and that’s not even considering what all that much could—"

“Oh, fer Celestia’s sake, would y’all give it a rest already? Ah get it, y’all don’t wanna have to go through the durn swamp. Heck, Ah ain’t exactly lookin’ forward to havin’ to slog through it all that much mahself, but it needs to be done, so we’re gonna do it,” Applejack said firmly.

“But, Applejack—”

“Ain’t no buts about it, we’re goin’ through the swamp, and that’s final. Y’all may as well look on the bright side, at least Trask was able to point us to a friend of his who’ll be able to get us a boat. That’ll make it a little easier on us.”

“That would be preferable to trying to wade through swamp muck,” Rarity replied in a tone that made it clear it wasn’t preferable by all that much. “And you’re certain we can’t try boating along the coast? It seems to me that might be even faster than—”

“Ah already asked Trask about it, and accordin’ to him there ain’t nowhere to land a boat between the swamp and Mercury City, and it didn’t sound like any boat we could get would reach that far.” A frustrated Rarity wracked her brains for some other alternative to a trek through the swamp before finally pouting in sullen acceptance. “Y’all don’t have to like the situation—”

“Good, I don’t.”

“But we need to get back as fast as possible, and this here is the only real way to do it. Now, from what Trask told me, the place where his friend has this boat should be someplace around…here.” While there were several buildings near the edge of the marshlands, one in particular stood out amongst the rest. Nestled in between a bait shop and a café offering something called ‘swampberry tea’ was a corrugated metal shack sporting a faded wooden sign proclaiming it to be ‘Crazy Jim’s Botes’.

“Applejack, this friend of Captain Trask that we’re supposed to meet with, his name wouldn’t happen to be Jim by any chance?” Rarity asked.

“Eeyup,” Applejack sighed as she pulled her hat down over her face.

“I have an unfortunate suspicion that this boat, or ‘bote’, isn’t going to be quite the improvement over wading through the swamp as we had hoped,” Rarity said as she eyed the shack suspiciously.

“Well, Ah mean, it don’t look that – well, alright, it does look that bad. Ah mean, Ah’ve seen sheds thrown together by Rainbow Dash that look sturdier than that thing. But, looks aren’t everythin’, and we’re here fer a boat and not a shed. Who knows, maybe the reason this place looks so rundown is because this Jim fella puts all his effort into keepin’ the boats nice and runnin’.”

“You don’t actually believe any of that, do you?” Rarity asked pointedly.

“Nope, not one bit,” Applejack replied as she walked up to the shack and knocked on it. “Hello? Anybody in there? We’re lookin’ fer Jim, Captain Trask told us he’d be able to help us with gettin’ a boat that could get us through the swamp.” Applejack’s question was initially met with silence, quickly followed by a yell and a crash. Moments later, the door creaked open and a disheveled old man poked his head out.

“Dagnabbit, it’s too early fer it to be this bright out,” the old man grumbled as he squinted down at Applejack.

“Beggin’ yer pardon, but it’s one in the afternoon,” Applejack said.

“Yeah, whatever. So, y’ two are the ones Trask called me about. Well, the boat’s set up out back if ya want to take a look at ‘er. Just gimmer a bit and I’ll be out there with ya.” With that, Jim pulled his head back through the door and closed it. Moments later, the sounds of someone rummaging through piles of junk began echoing out from inside.

“Well, at least we’re not gonna have to go in there,” Applejack said as she motioned for Rarity to follow her. “From the sounds of it, that guy’s got more junk in there than Goldie Delicious. But, with any luck, at least the boat’ll – aw horse apples.” As Applejack and Rarity made their way around the shack, they were confronted with the sight of the ‘boat’ in question. Sitting in the brackish water was a fan boat that appeared to be primarily constructed of rust and duct tape, with the odd bit of scrap metal welded to the hull for good measure.

“There she is,” Jim said as he stepped out the shack’s back door. “She don’t look like much, but she floats (fer the most part) and the engine should be good to get ya through the swamp quick enough.”

“Not that we aren’t ungrateful, but you wouldn’t happen to have any other boats available, ones that might be a tad more…”

“Seaworthy?” Applejack suggested.

“Sorry, ladies, but this here’s the only boat Ah got left. Sold the rest of ‘em years ago. Still, good news fer you is that I don’t mind just givin’ her to ya free and clear, seein’ how Trask’s willin’ to vouch fer ya and all. Ain’t like Ah could sell the stupid rust bucket, anyhow.”

“Welp, if this here’s all y’all got, then Ah guess we’ll take it,” Applejack replied. “Still beats tryin’ to get through the swamp on foot.”

“Yep, I wouldn’t recommend tryin’ that. Actually, that reminds me, if y’ ladies really are plannin’ on headin’ straight through there, yer gonna wanna watch yerselves. The local Grimer have been gettin’ real restless as of late, and there’s been a heap of a lot more of ‘em runnin’ around than usual. They ain’ so bad when they’re by themselves, but if you run into a pack of ‘em, well, things can get pretty nasty.”

“This trip is sounding more delightful by the moment,” Rarity grumbled as she clambered into the fan boat.

“Thanks fer the warnin’, we’ll be sure to be careful,” Applejack added as she climbed in as well and began trying to start the engine. After a few attempts, the aging motor roared to life, spewing out dark clouds of noxious black smoke as it powered the fan that propelled the boat into the swamp.

“Hope those two get where they’re goin’ alright,” Jim said to himself before shrugging his shoulders. “Eh, I’m sure they’ll be fine. If they beat Trask, they’ve gotta at least know a bit ‘bout trainin’, and it ain’t like those swamps are all that dangerous.”

“Oh, don’t worry. We intend to fix that.” Jim spun around, only for a dark purple blur to launch itself at his face and knock him to the ground. As Jim rolled around on the ground in a blind panic while his assailant savaged him, a pair of dark figures emerged from his shack.

“I still don’t understand why you insisted we allow those two to enter the swamp,” Chrysalis snarled as she disdainfully glanced around the back of the shack. “We could have struck and finished them off already. Now we’re going to have to chase them into that reeking mud pit.”

“Exactly. We’ll chase them into the swamp, where there are no witnesses or potential rescuers,” Sombra retorted. “If we had struck here, the battle would have attracted too much attention. This way might take a little longer, but—”

“No! Lord Grogar wants–neeHaw!—this taken care or right—”

“Shut up, Bray,” Chrysalis snapped as she aimed a kick at the unfortunate Mudbray. “That said, the little idiot does have a point. We’re essentially at Grogar’s mercy until we can complete this task, and it isn’t wise to keep a monster like that waiting.”

“If you’re that concerned about it, then why don’t you handle this attempt yourself? I’ll even offer a bit of my magic to help things along,” Sombra said, earning a raised eyebrow from Chrysalis.

“Oh? Has the mighty Sombra finally given up? Or have you just come to your sense and realized that I should be the one in charge of this mission?”

“I wouldn’t trust you to be in charge of a foal’s picnic!” Sombra snarled before quickly recovering his composure. “The truth, if you’re going to be annoying about it, is this next bit of magic is far more potent than my last experiment, but I’m not entirely sure how stable it is. I’d be concerned about using it on Sableye, but you’re Scyther, on the other hand—” Before Sombra could even finish his sentence, Chrysalis had shoved a demanding hand in his face.

“Hah! So, the mighty Sombra has gone soft! Well, if you’re too worried about you’re precious Pokémon then hand this magic crystal over. I’ll show you how a real ruler commands her subjects!”

“A ‘real ruler’ with only one subject,” Sombra smirked. Still, he reached into his jacket at pulled out a finger-sized, black crystal, which Chrysalis promptly snatched out of his hand.

“So this is your all-powerful magic crystal? I’m not impressed,” Chrysalis said as she disdainfully inspected the crystal. “Well? How does it work?”

“It responds to willpower and desire, so given that you’re pigheaded and greedy using it should come naturally. But rather than wasting it here, we should head into the swamp. Those girls were nice enough to head someplace without any witnesses, and it would be a shame to waste their thoughtfulness.”

*********

Grimer, the Sludge Pokémon. These creatures spawn from industrial waste, and are commonly found in areas of high pollution. Because they consume pollution, some countries have been known to import them to assist with waste disposal.

“Ah guess that’s one way to make the best of a bad situation,” Applejack said as she listened to Rarity’s Pokédex.

“And these…things are supposedly infesting this part of the swamp? I think I’m going to be sick,” Rarity groaned. “Is there any possibility we can get through here any faster?”

“Ah’ve got this thing goin’ as fast as Ah think it can take. If Ah push it any harder, the engine’s liable to give out, and that’s assumin’ the whole durn boat doesn’t fall apart. So, unless y’all are lookin’ to swim to the other side of this swamp…” Rarity visibly blanched at the suggestion. “Yeah, that’s about what Ah thought. Now, if y’all don’t mind, Ah’d appreciate it if y’all’d hold off on anymore bellyachin’ so Ah can focus on – Whoa nelly!” The fan boat swerved violently as Applejack pulled hard to the left.

“Applejack! What in Celestia’s name do you think you’re doing?”

“Did y’all see that? That big patch of oil over there just moved!” Applejack said as she slowed the fan boat so that she could take stock of their surroundings. The surface of the stagnant water here bore a distinct iridescent sheen, which swirled around the mounds of muck and rotting vegetation that comprised the only visible ground.

“Ugh, really, Applejack? I think breathing in all the fumes that engine gives off is making you see things. There isn’t anything here but rotten muck and polluted water, and given the stench they’re both giving off I’d much prefer if we could keep moving.”

“Ah swear, Ah saw somethin’ risin’ up otta the water over there,” Applejack protested.

“It was probably just a bubble of swamp gas,” Rarity said as she rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Applejack, you’re making it sound as if the swamp is going to come alive and –” As Rarity spoke, a small, three-fingered hand comprised of iridescent sludge grabbed hold of the edge of the boat right next to her. “WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME?” Rarity shrieked as she recoiled from the sight.

“Grimer!” the creature cried out as it pulled its blob-like form up from the water.

“Still think Ah was seein’ things?” Applejack asked with more than a touch of smugness as she watched Rarity scramble to the other side of the boat.”

“No, you were right. You were right. Now, hurry and start the engine back up, please!”

“Alright, just gimme a – aw hay.” As Applejack spoke, the idling engine let out a grinding wheeze before stopping entirely. Applejack immediately began frantically pulling on the engine’s pull cord, but to no avail. “Dang it! This durn piece of junk’s fightin’ me worse than a…a…” A brief glance up from the stubborn engine caused all countryisms to fall from Applejack’s mind. A large number of what Applejack had previously dismissed as ‘oil slicks’ were now steadily drifting towards their boat. More concerningly, as Applejack watched she saw that occasionally one of the slicks would sprout a pair of eyes peeking out from the water’s surface. “Come on, y’ rotten piece of junk! Start already!” Applejack yelled as she redoubled her efforts to restart the engine. Finally, just as the swarm of toxic Pokémon started to close in, the fan boat motor roared back to life, sending the boat tearing deeper into the swamp.

“That was far, far closer than I would have liked,” Rarity said as she regarded the wet stain one of the Grimer had left on the edge of the boat with disgust. “Those things smelt even more foul than I thought they would, and that’s saying something. Also, is it just me, or did they look different than the picture in the Pokédex?”

“Maybe some Pokémon just come in different colors. Ah mean, everybody’s always sayin’ how mah Aron’s special on account of it bein’ more gold-colored than usual, maybe those Grimer are like that.”

“Well, uniquely colored or not, I’m just glad to be clear of them. So, how much long is this boat trip going to take?”

“Um, lessee, we were makin’ pretty good time before we ran into those Grimer, and we came from back that way, but we were headed…uh…”

“Applejack, please don’t tell me that we’re lost, in the middle of a sludge-invested swamp, in a boat that’s liable to fall apart at any moment.”

“Look, it ain’t quite as bad as yer makin’ it out to be. It’s too overcast now, but once the sun start’s settin’, we’ll know which ways east and that’s the way we wanna be headed. It ain’t exactly precise, but it’ll still get us through the swamp good enough.” Rarity simply glared at Applejack in stoney silence for several seconds before finally responding.

“Next time, I pick the route we take.”

*********

The primary flaw in Applejack’s plan turned out to be that, by the time she was finally able to get her bearings, it was swiftly becoming too dark to actually see. Not helping the situation was the fact that the direction the pair needed to go took them into a wooded area that restricted their visibility even further.

“At least it looks like we’re clear of those Grimer,” Applejack offered as they drifted under the moss laden branches. “Things should go a mite smoother tomorrow.”

“And what are we supposed to do until then? I’m sure I care for the idea of sleeping out in the open on this thing while it drifts off to Celestia knows where.”

“Ah’ll admit, y’all probably have a point about the driftin’. We should try and find someplace we can tie the boat off so we wake up in the same place we fell asleep. Best bet’s probably gonna be one of these trees, just gotta find one that—”

“Applejack! Look over there!” Rarity suddenly cried out in excitement.

“Huh? Y’all see a good place fer us to tie off?”

“No! Look, there’s a light over there, it looks like a lantern or something. And, if there’s a lantern, there’s probably people, and if there’s people than there should be dry land. Or, drier land, at any rate. The point is, that could be our ticket to finding someplace tolerable to sleep for the night.”

“Maybe. But, Ah’m not so sure runnin’ after some mystery light in a swamp is all that good an idea. Ah’ve heard plenty of stories about ponies who’ve done just that, and not one of ‘em has a happy endin’.”

“Darling, that’s back in Equestria,” Rarity countered. “Even if that light isn’t coming from a person, then it’s probably some harmless Pokémon. Either way, they may be able to help with our little predicament.”

“Well, if y’all are really sure it’s a good idea,” Applejack said, sounding none too convinced. Despite her reservations, Applejack maneuvered the boat towards the glowing light Rarity had pointed out. Strangely, as they approached the light, it seemed to continuously move further into the swamp, sometimes holding still for just a few tantalizing moments between dashing back into the darkness. “Yeah, Ah don’t like this one bit,” Applejack said as she watched the light dart into the distance yet again. “Whatever the hay that thing is, it’s definitely tryin’ to lead us someplace, and Ah got a feelin’ it ain’t someplace we wanna be.”

“I hate to say it, but you may be right,” Rarity replied uneasily. “If we turn around now, we should at least be able to—”

“Oh, it’s far too late for you to run now.” The light which Applejack and Rarity had been following emitted a brief flare, revealing itself to be a glowing crystal held in the claws of a maliciously grinning Sableye. Standing next to it on a patch of exposed tree roots, was a triumphantly leering Chrysalis.

“Dagnabbit, Ah shoulda know y’all’d be the ones behind all this!” Applejack snarled in frustration. “Haven’t y’all gotten whupped by us enough to give up?”

“Just keep talking, you’ll be eating those words soon enough,” Chrysalis hissed as she took our her Poké Ball. “Scyther! Prepare to destroy these worthless grubs!”

“Ah think Ah can take care of this one. Rarity, y’all think y’ can keep Sombra’s little monster busy?”

“Oh, you needn’t worry about that self-important wretch,” Chrysalis sneered. “Sombra has finally come to his senses and decided to leave me in charge of destroying the two of you.”

“So, in other words, Sombra’s going to sit back and let you do all the work,” Rarity countered as she pulled out one of her own Poké Balls. “Tell me, which of you is supposedly commanding the other again?”

“I am! Sombra is merely…he’s just…I mean, I’m…ENOUGH! Arguing with the two of you is a a waste of time. In a few moments, you’ll both be destroyed and I’ll be able to put this whole, miserable experience behind me.”

“We’ll see about that. Prinplup, go!”

“Two on one? If it were anybody else, Ah might feel a little guilty about this. But…go Aron!” Applejack called out, sending her Aron out onto a nearby log, which sank a bit under the sudden weight. Despite being faced with two opponents, however, Chrysalis didn’t seem to lose a bit of her confidence.

“I’ll give you credit this is a respectable effort. But, I came prepared to deal with your futile attempts at resistance.” As Chrysalis spoke, she pulled out the crystal that Sombra had given her, which was now pulsing with an unearthly red light. Rarity’s eyes widened in recognition at the sight of the crystal as she recoiled in horror.

“Applejack, be careful! That’s the same crystal Sombra used when he attacked me in the graveyard!” Even as Rarity cried out her warning, the crystal in Chrysalis’ hand unleashed a blinding flare, causing Scyther’s eyes to glow bright crimson.

“Oh, this is going to be far from the same as when you fought Sombra. Scyther! Destroy the penguin first!” Scyther twitched violently before launching itself at Prinplup with a bloodcurdlingly feral scream.

“Prinplup, Bubble Beam!” Rarity yelled quickly, prompting Prinplup to unleash a torrent of bubbles straight into Scyther’s path. This proved to be a futile effort, however, as Scyther heedlessly plowed through the exploding bubbles before wildly slashing at Prinplup with its foreclaws.

“Yes! You see> You miserable grubs don’t stand a chance against me!” Chrysalis cheered as Scyther continued its frenzied assault.

“We’ll see about that. Aron, Rock Slide!” Despite her best efforts to hide it, there was a definite hint of fear in Applejack’s voice as she called out her attack. Despite this, Aron’s eyes took on a bright blue glow as dozens of large rocks appeared in the air above it before raining down onto Scyther. After the first few rocks struck home, however, Scyther spun around and began rapidly flailing it claws in front of it, deflecting most of the attack.

“Ha! Struggle all you want, it won’t make a difference! Though, if you’d really prefer to be destroyed first, then I’m willing to oblige. Scyther, tear that little metal beast apart.” Scyther paused for a moment, its head spasmodically twitching on its neck, before lunging itself towards Aron. Aron was just barely able to escape the frenzied attack by hopping out of the way, but the log it had been standing on wasn’t so fortunate. The force of Scyther’s attack reduced the rotting wood to a shower of splinters and muck, sending Aron toppling into the swamp where it was just barely able to keep its head above the mire. Chrysalis, naturally, found this situation to be hilarious. “Excellent! So, any parting words before I dispose of your worthless little minion?”

“I have a few!” Rarity called out, her Z-ring already glowing with power. “Hydro Vortex!” Chrysalis barely had time to process what was happening before a massive waterspout erupted from underneath Scyther and swiftly shot upwards to engulf it. This momentary ray of hope proved to be all too fleeting, however, as the waterspout bulged outwards and exploded, revealing an injured, yet all too conscious Scyther.

“Even those accursed Z-moves are no match for me now,” Chrysalis cackled. “I actually have to admit, Sombra’s little toy is rather impressive. But, I still have my own powers as well.” As Chrysalis spoke, she raised her arms, her own Z-ring glowing a sickly green. “I can’t allow Sombra to garner too much credit for your destruction, after all. Now, Scyther, unleash your full wrath!” To Applejack and Rarity’s mounting horror, Chrysalis proceeded to perform what had to be the movements for a Z-move. Unlike other times they had seen such attacks performed, however, the energy surrounding Chrysalis was a bright green, while the aura around Scyther was the same crimson red as its eyes. As Chrysalis complete the movements of her attack, the power emanating from her surged forth, but rather than absorbing into Scyther, it clashed with Scyther’s own aura before dissipating into the air. “What? Why isn’t it working? I even performed that ridiculous little dance, so why is it still not working? Bah, it doesn’t matter. Scyther should still be more than powerful enough to destroy you both.”

“Well, we ain’t fixin’ to make it easy fer y’all,” Applejack retorted. “Aron and me have still got plenty of – Aron? Aron!” Applejack stared at the patch of swamp where Aron had landed, Aron itself no nowhere to be seen.”

“So, your miserable little cretin has sunk into the swamp? How terribly unfortunate for you,” Chrysalis said with an evil laugh. “Don’t worry, though, you’ll be joining it soon enough. Scyther, forget the penguin and destroy the girl before she can send out any more of her minions.” Scyther started to spasm even more violently than before, before suddenly stopping and staring directly at Applejack with a look of pure malice. Giving one final shudder, Scyther launched itself towards Applejack, but right as it passed over the spot where Aron had vanished, the surface of the swamp erupted as a large creature surged out of the muck and headbutted Scyther in the gut.

“What in tarnation…” Applejack muttered as she quickly pulled out her Pokédex.

Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon. The evolved form of Aron, these territorial Pokémon establish dominance by charging into one another.

“The evolved…Aron, is that y’all?” Even as Applejack spoke, she could catch glimpses of Lairon’s metal armor from underneath the muck coating it that showed it had her Aron’s distinct coloration. “Well now, don’t that beat all. So, Chrysalis, still feelin’ all high and mighty?”

“This doesn’t change a thing!” Chrysalis snapped angrily. “I still have all the power I need to destroy you.”

“Let’s give that a test, then. Lairon, time to give that new body of yers a workout. Use Rock Slide!” Lairon grunted as large rocks once again began to emerge from the air above it, before raining down onto Scyther. While Scyther made an effort to swat the falling rocks away, its movements had become sluggish and it wound up taking the full brunt of the attack before collapsing into the mud.

“No! Get back up and fight! I command you!” Chrysalis shrieked with barely contained rage. Despite her curses and threats, however, Scyther continued to lie motionless in the muck.

“Looks like takin’ us on all by yerself wasn’t such a good idea after all,” Applejack said. “Now, why don’t y’all make it easier on yerself and surrender before things have to get messy.”

“Never!” Chrysalis snarled as she recalled her Scyther. Meanwhile, Sableye, which up until now had been simply watching the battle, leapt forward as its crystal eyes unleashed a blinding flash of light. By the time either Applejack or Rarity could see again, both the Sableye and Chrysalis had vanished from sight.

“At this point, I’m not even sure if having Chrysalis gone makes me feel more secure or less,” Rarity said as she recalled her Prinplup.

“Ah hear y’, not knowin’ where that rotten varmint’s hidin’ is almost as bad as havin’ her right here. Either way, Ah say we skedaddle before anythin’ else happens. The sooner we get through this swamp the better.”

*********

Sombra leaned back against a tree as he listened to the crackle of the campfire, idly debating the merits of having a cabin built outside the Crystal Empire once he returned to power. Someplace he could relax in relative isolation, maybe with just a favored slave or two to keep him entertained. Sombra’s musings on his post-conquest actions were abruptly interrupted, however, as Chrysalis came storming out of the woods and into the campsite.

“Miserable weak useless garbage!” Chrysalis raged as she threw the crystal Sombra had provided her at his head, only for Sableye to dart out of the darkness and catch it midair.

“I take it you failed to destroy Twilight’s mewling friends,” Sombra said, not bothering to get up or even open his eyes.

“No thanks to your worthless magic,” Chrysalis fumed. “I don’t even know why I thought anything you created would have been any use.”

“Neither do I, to be honest. Even with my magic helping you, you never stood a chance trying to fight both of them at once. I’m still surprised you were stupid enough to try.”

“What?” Chrysalis replied flatly, her eye twitching with barely contained rage.

“You were taking on two-on-one odds against opponents who could already challenge you in a fair fight by themselves. Even my magic can only compensate for so much incompetence.”

“Then why—”

“I wanted to test my magic’s effectiveness. You just happened to be a convenient guinea pig. On the bright side, I’ve learned a great deal from your failure, so you’ve finally managed to be useful for something.” Sombra continued to grin as Chrysalis launched into a furious tirade while he considered the information his Sableye had brought him. There still seemed to be a few wrinkles to iron out, but his enhancement spell was almost complete. All he needed now was to find the right Pokémon to use it on, and then not even Grogar would be able to stop him.

Valley of the Lost Baltoys

“Wheee!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she raced down the cliffside path at a fairly distressing speed.

“Part of me feels like we should try telling her to slow down so she doesn’t hurt herself, but the rest of me doubts it’d accomplish anything,” Derek said as Fluttershy nodded sagely.

“That’s Pinkie Pie. She always manages to stay safe somehow, though. Well, almost always, there was that one time she nearly got caught in a rock slide and had to be saved by Maud, but things like that really don’t happen that often.” Derek stared at Fluttershy for a few moments, looking as though he wanted to say something, before finally simply shaking his head.

“So, anyway, given the directing we’re heading in, we’re probably going to reach the Parapsychology Institute not too long from now,” Derek said in an effort to move the topic away from Pinkie Pie’s antics.

“The what?”

“It’s some group of scientists who study ‘unexplained phenomena’. Basically, psychic powers, that sort of thing. They’re also one of the island’s gyms, so they have that going for them. Something tells me meeting Pinkie Pie is going to be an experience for them.”

“Hey! Hey! Fluttershy, Derek! Look! I found something!” Fluttershy and Derek both looked up to see Pinkie Pie standing some distance away near a bend in the path.

“What is it?” Fluttershy called back as she and Derek hurried over. As they came closer, they found Pinkie pointing towards a fork branching off the main path they had been following. Strangely, the side path appeared heavily overgrown with brush, to the point that it would likely have been near-impossible to spot had Pinkie Pie not pointed it out.

“Where do you think it leads?” Pinkie asked as she practically bounced up and down in excitement.

“I…actually, I’m not really sure,” Derek replied. “It looks like it heads down into the mountain, but I don’t think this path is on any maps.”

“Can we follow it to see where it goes? Pretty pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top?” Pinkie asked eagerly, before becoming distracted by thoughts of whipped cream.

“Well, it does look like it heads downhill, which is the general direction we want to be headed, and I am kind of curious to see where it leads. On the other hand, thought, there’s really no guarantee it leads anywhere at all, so this could just wind up being a colossal waste of time. What do you think, Fluttershy?”

“I think Pinkie Pie’s already running down the path,” Fluttershy said. Sure enough, Derek turned to see that Pinkie Pie had already vanished down the newly uncovered pathway.

“…Has anyone ever considered putting a bell on her or something?”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash actually did try that once,” Fluttershy replied helpfully before cringing at the memory. “It didn’t turn out quite as well as we had hoped. I’m just glad Twilight was able to get the bell back eventually.”

“Are we entirely sure Pinkie isn’t secretly some elemental spirit of chaos or something?” Derek asked. Fluttershy actually took a moment to consider the question before responding.

“I’m…pretty sure she isn’t. Admittedly, she and Discord do have an awful lot in common, but I think if Pinkie really was a chaos spirit then Ponyville would probably be a lot more frosting-covered.” This time it was Derek’s turn to need a few moments to process before coming up with a reply.

“I have an idea. Why don’t we go chase after Pinkie Pie and I’ll pretend that all of that made sense.” Fluttershy nodded her head, and the pair rushed down the path after their friend. As the group disappeared down the path, however, a pair of figures slunk of the nearby shadows.

“Dude, are they headin’ down to where I think they’re headin’?” Ribcage asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly where they’re headed. I know the boss told us to get to Keystone pronto, but do you think we should, you know, do something?”

“Man, ya know I hate thinkin’! Why don’t we just do what we always do when we gotta deal with some fools tryin’ to mess with us?”

“What’s that?”

“We cause ‘em trouble and beat ‘em down! No thinkin’ required!”

*********

“I’m definitely starting to think we should have just stayed on the main path,” Derek said as he and Fluttershy continued to follow Pinkie Pie. The mysterious path had taken the trio into a narrow valley that twisted unnaturally into the mountainside. The valley walls stretched high enough that the sky had been reduced to a small sliver of blue, and the walls themselves were pockmarked with countless holes, each a little more than a food and a half across.

“It is kind of spooky, isn’t it?” Fluttershy agreed. “So, what do you think made all those holes? The look a bit like animal burrows, but I can’t think of any sort of critter that would like in a place like this.”

“There are a few Pokémon I can think of that might, but something about this place just feels…off. I don’t really know how to describe it,” Derek said. “If I wasn’t so creeped out, I’d probably be making a joke about the uncanny valley right about now.”

“Fluttershy! Derek! Look over here!” Pinkie Pie suddenly called out. “I think I see something in one of these holes!” Fluttershy and Derek hurried over to Pinkie, who was pointing excitedly at a hole that was roughly about eye-level. As they approached, they could see that a small figure was floating just inside the hole’s opening. While Fluttershy couldn’t make out any details through the shadows, she could see that the creature seemed to balance like a top on a point it had in lieu of feet, with long, ribbon-like arms protruding from its sides beneath a bulbous head.

“Huh, it looks like that’s a Baltoy,” Derek said. “It’s kind of unusual to find one in a place like this. Usually you see them in old ruins, cemeteries, places like that. I’ve heard they can be a real pain for archeologists, since if you get a bunch of them together,,,” Derek’s voice trailed off as he looked up at the myriad holes in the valley walls, the shadows in many of which had started to move. “Girls, I think we may want to start heading back. As in, right now.”

“How come?” Pinkie Pie asked as she watched the Baltoy start slowly spinning in place. “These don’t seem dangerous, what’s so-“ Before Pinkie could finish asking her question, she received her answer in the form of an ear-piercing screech that echoed out from seemingly every direction. Neither Pinkie nor Fluttershy needed any further encouragement to flee, but as they turned they saw that the path leading back out of the valley had started to ripple and churn like an angry sea.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy wailed as she covered her ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound.

“It’s the Baltoy, they’re emitting some kind of psychic distortion,” Derek yelled back. “They must think we’re some kind of threat. We need to run and try and find some shelter until they calm down.”

“I don’t think we can go back the way we came, though,” Fluttershy replied. “We’ll have to try going deeper to the valley.” Faced with a lack of alternatives, the three friends raced along the twisting path as the Baltoy’s screeching continued to assault their ears. Just as they felt as though they wouldn’t be able to take any more of it, however, Pinkie Pie spotted a potential escape.

“Hey, I think I can see a cave up ahead!” The other two looked to see that the valley indeed terminated in a large, menacing cavern. As their immediate circumstances left little room to complain, the three friends barreled into the cave without the slightest bit of hesitation, driven by the continued screeching of the Baltoy.

“Alright, so eventually the Baltoy should calm down and stop screaming. Once that happens, we’ll just have to try rushing out of the valley as quickly as possible,” Derek said as the group stood around catching their breath.

“I think that’s probably for the best,” Fluttershy agreed. “I couldn’t really understand what they were saying, exactly, but they definitely seemed upset that we were here.”

“I guess they just must not like having guests,” Pinkie Pie said as she started pacing about the cavern. “At least it isn’t all screamy in here. Ooh, I know, we should play a game while we wait. How about twenty million questions? I’ll go first. I spy with my little eye something that begins with – oof!” Much to Fluttershy and Derek’s relief, Pinkie found herself interrupted as she tripped over something and fell to the ground.

“Pinkie, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked as she hurried over to her friend.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just caught my foot on this…hey, what is this?” Lying on the ground at Pinkie’s feet was a long, rope-like object that stretch across the floor. While at first glance it could have been mistaken for an odd rock formation, closer inspection revealed that it wasn’t actually attacked to the ground at all.

“Huh, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that looks like some kind of power cable,” Derek said.

“What would something like that be doing in a cave?” Fluttershy asked.

“Hmm, it sounds to me like we have a mystery on our hands,” Pinkie Pie said, somehow now sporting a bubble pipe and deerstalker hat. “In situations like these, there’s only one thing to do; search for clues!” Without waiting for a response, Pinkie Pie promptly began following the mystery cable deeper into the cave.

“We should probably follower her, shouldn’t we?” Fluttershy asked nervously as she looked down into the worrying darkness.

“Well, at the very least we should keep an eye on her so she doesn’t get into too much trouble. I wouldn’t be too worried, though. I’d seriously doubt there’s anything too dangerous in here. Besides, it’s not like there’s all that much else we can do until those Baltoy calm down. Unless, of course, you want to take Pinke up on playing twenty million questions.” After a brief weighing of exploring the dark, scary cave versus a bout of twenty million questions with Pinkie, Fluttershy hurried down into the cavern. The trio followed the mysterious cable for several minutes as it wound its way through the caverns, until they finally encountered something that left them with far more questions than answers.

“Huh, I wonder who put this wall here?” In defiance of all logic, the cable terminated at a wall of metal plates that blocked off the remainder of the cavern. While the surface of the wall was spotted with rust, it still looked quite sturdy.

“Alright, now I’m curious,” Derek said as she inspected the barrier. “It’s starting to look like somebody went to a lot of trouble to hide whatever’s in here, and I have a suspicion we should figure out why. The question now is how do we get past this wall?”

“Um, well, maybe there’s a secret door or something?” Fluttershy suggested, recalling all the half-remembered times Rainbow Dash had relayed all of the plots to the Daring Doo novels.

“Great idea, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Now, if I were a secret door, where would I be hiding? Probably someplace extra secret-y.” Pinkie Pie promptly began crawling alongside the wall while Derek continued to inspect it as well. Fluttershy, meanwhile, simply stood back and watched. “Hey, what’s the matter? Don’t you wanna help look for the secret door too?”

“No, that’s alright,” Fluttershy replied. “These sorts of adventures really aren’t my sort of thing. Don’t worry about me, I’m happy just to have a chance to rest and catch my – eek!” As Fluttershy spoke, she had leaned back against a nearby stalagmite, only for it to abruptly move back. Simultaneously, a portion of the wall near the center pulled inwards an inch or so before sliding to one side, offering access to deeper inside.

“Wow, good work, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “I would have never thought to check over there for a secret lever.”

“Thanks,” Fluttershy said as Derek helped her back to her feet. “So, does this mean we’re going to explore that dark, creepy secret chamber that could be filled with all sort of scary monsters?”

“Well, you can stay out here if you want to,” Derek said. “But, I definitely think this is something I, at least, need to look into. Whatever’s going on here, it could be something really serious.”

*********

“You know how I said this could be something really serious? I might have jumped the gun a little there,” Derek said as he, Pinkie and Fluttershy wandered through the halls beyond the strange metal wall. As it turned out, the area behind the hidden door appeared to have been abandoned for years, with nothing but dust and bare walls having been left behind.

“What do you think this place was?” Fluttershy asked, the lack of anything more frightening than a few dust bunnies having greatly calmed her nerves.

“It’s definitely too modern to be one of the island’s pre-League ruins, and I can’t really imagine anybody living in out here in the middle of nowhere. If I had to guess, maybe this place might have been a laboratory or research station of some kind? It’s not one of the League’s, though, and there aren’t too many other groups that could afford to build something like this in the first place.”

“So it is a mystery,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily. “Now we just need to search for clues. Ooh! Maybe they’re behind…this door!” Pinkie said as flung open a door to reveal yet another empty room. “Well, maybe not that door, but how about this one! Nope, that’s a bathroom. Maybe this one! No, nothing in here but a bunch of ominous-looking science stuff.”

“Wait, what?” Derek asked as he quickly moved to the latest door Pinkie had opened. Inside lay a massive, circular room, the walls of which were lined with computer equipment. The center of the room, however, was dominated by a massive set of upright, concentric rings of metal.

“This could be a clue, I think,” Fluttershy said as she peered into the room. “I mean, this is all…um…well, I’m not really sure what any of this is, exactly. But, it’s probably important.”

“You’re not kidding,” Derek said as he stared at the central device. “That thing is a wormhole generator.”

“Whoa. Those must be some really big worms,” Pinkie marveled. “I bet Applejack would hate to those in Sweet Apple Acres, unless they’re the type that good for dirt, then she might—”

“No, Pinkie, it’s not that kind of—” Derek took a deep breath to try and center himself before continuing. “The simplest way to put it is it makes portals to other worlds. At least, it does if it actually works. This thing looks like it’s been out of commission for a while, which makes absolutely no sense.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked as she brushed some dust off a nearby console.

“A wormhole generator isn’t exactly a simple thing to build. Or a cheap thing to build, for that matter. I can maybe think of a handful of groups outside of the league who might have been able to build this thing, but I can’t imagine any of them would just abandon it.”

“Do any of them begin with the letter ‘R’?” Pinkie Pie asked abruptly, much to Derek’s apparent discomfort.

“Pinkie, what makes you ask that?”

“It’s just that it looks like there are a whole lot of ‘R’s all over these computers and stuff,” Pinkie Pie said as she wiped away some of the dust from a nearby console, revealing a faded red ‘R’ on its front. “See?”

“Those don’t mean anythin’!” a frustratingly familiar voice suddenly yelled out. “That’s just, like a decorative R or somethin’. Ya got somethin’ against the letter R? Well, do ya?”

“You losers shouldn’t even be in here. This cave’s private property and stuff, so you’re trespassing. Goody-two-shoes chumps like you should scram and leave trespassing to professional troublemakers like us.”

“You guys again?” Pinkie Pie groaned as the group all turned to see Femur and Ribcage defiantly posing in the doorway.

“How did they get past all the Baltoy in the valley?” Fluttershy asked, more pondering to herself than anything else.

“What I’d like to know is why they’re so interested in our being in an old, abandoned laboratory,” Derek added pointedly.

“You must be trippin’, I don’t see no lab here!” Ribcage snapped. “This here’s just some regular cave. Bein’ so uncool must’ve given you, like, bad eyesight or somethin’.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure this isn’t just a regular cave,” Fluttershy said. “For one thing, most caves don’t have secret doors made of metal.”

“What, are you some kind of expert on caves now?” Femur demanded. “Besides, of course caves have got metal in them. Where do you think metal comes from? Mines, which are basically caves. Boom, checkmate.”

“Okay, but what about that thing?” Pinkie Pie asked as she pointed back towards the wormhole generator. “That’s not something you usually find in a cave.”

“What, that? That’s a stalactite,” Ribcage retorted. “Ya fools really don’t know anythin’ about caves, do ya?”

“Alright, you know what? I think we’re about done here,” Derek suddenly said as he threw his arms up in frustration. “I’m pretty sure we’ve seen everything there is to see here, and if these two idiots want to do…whatever it is they do in an abandoned laboratory—”

“We keep telling you, this is just some normal, regular cave!”

“—then at least here you’re not going to be bothering anyone else. Girls, do either of you have any objections?”

“It would be nice to be able to not have to make our Pokémon fight for a change,” Fluttershy said.

“Eh, I don’t really have the right streamers to throw a good ‘spooky abandoned laboratory’ party anyway,” Pinkie Pie added with a shrug.

“And there you have it. So, if you two would just move out of our way, we’ll leave you two to whatever it is you think you’re going to do here.”

“Forget that, we ain’t movin’ for nobody!” Ribcage snapped defiantly, catching Derek completely off guard. A few seconds of confused silence followed before Pinkie Pie spoke up.

“Uh, you guys know you’re blocking the only door, right? How’re we supposed to leave if you won’t let us through?”

“That’s your problem, dork,” Femur sneered. “Us Team Skull grunts never get out of anybody’s way. If there’s trouble to cause, then we’re going to cause it. Got it?”

“So, you want us to leave, and we want to leave, but you’re not going to move out of the way so that we can leave, because doing so would mean being cooperative, even though that means that we can’t leave like you want us to,” Derek said while pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, that’s right! Now, are you losers gonna scram, or are we gonna half to beat ya down first?” Ribcage demanded.

“But you – but we -grrr!” Growling in frustration, Pinkie Pie pulled out one of her Poké Balls. “Okay, Toothy, it looks like we’re gonna have to do this the hard way!”

“You too, Quilava,” Fluttershy added with a sigh as she sent out her own Pokémon.

“So, you fools want to throw down? Alright, if a beating’s what you want then we’ll be happy to deliver! Go Weepinbell!”

“Yeah, if ya wanna throw down, then prepare to get buried! Go Golbat!”

“As much as watching you two get beaten would be entertaining, I do have one question before we all get started,” Derek suddenly said. “You said you’ll be happy to give us a beating if that’s what we want, but I thought Team Skull Grunts never did what anyone wants them to. Doesn’t that mean if we want a beating then you have to let us go?”

“Hey, yeah, that’s a good point!” Pinkie Pie agreed.

“No, because…uh…ya see…hold up a sec,” Ribcage grabbed Femur and pulled him into an impromptu huddle. “I hate to say it, bro, but I think he’s got us there. What’re we supposed to do?”

“Don’t worry, man, I know exactly how to handle this,” Femure assured his friend before turning back to the group. “What you fools don’t seem to get is that we’re not just any Team Skull Grunts, we’re the hardest and baddest boneheads there ever was. So, when it comes to causing trouble, we ignore all the rules, even our own. So get ready, because we’re about to wreck this lab - cave, I mean cave!” At that exact moment, one of the monitors near the grunts exploded, showering the pair in a cascade of sparks. “Uh…cave walls explode like that all the time around here, because of all the flint and stuff. Yeah, I bet you fools didn’t even know that.”

“And do they light up, too? Look!” Pinkie Pie pointed at the consoles lining the walls, which had somehow begun to flicker to life.

“That…that’s just, uh, phosphorous,” Ribcage stammered before turning to Femur. “What the heck, I thought they cut the power to this dump?”

“That’s what I heard, they said they shut everything down when they cleared out of here.” As the two grunts spoke, they both slowly started to back out of the room, only to simultaneously trip and fall backwards onto the floor. Looking down, it was immediately apparent what it was they had tripped on.

“Baltoy!”

“Hey, it’s one of those funny little Pokémon from the valley! But, what’s it doing all the way in here?” Pinkie Pie asked. Evern as she spoke, the sing-song cries of more Baltoy could be heard echoing from further down the hall.

“I think they’re saying they followed Femur and Ribcage, but it’s a little hard to tell,” Fluttershy said. “Something seems strange, though. The way they’re talking about this room, it doesn’t make any sense.” As Fluttershy tried to find the words to elaborate, the screens on several more consoles lit up before detonating.

“It’s probably all this equipment,” Derek said. “I’m betting they’re being drawn to the wormhole generator somehow. The bigger problem is that their psychic energy is causing all the machinery in here to overload,” Derek said.

“That…doesn’t sound good. We should leave, shouldn’t we?”

“But, what about – yeek!” Before Pinkie Pie could voice her complaints, both Derek and Fluttershy grabbed her by the arms and raced out of the mysterious complex, leaping over the prone grunts as they went. As the group ran, they could see dozens of Baltoy peeking out of the shadows in the hallways and empty rooms. The high-pitched cries of the myriad Baltoy pounded their ears as they rushed by, leaving their heads spinning by the time the reached the cavern itself.

“Good, I think we should be clear of whatever’s going on in there,” Derek said as the trio paused to catch their breath. “And, with all the Baltoy in there, that means that the valley is probably clear enough for us to get through.” Pinkie looked about ready to say something, but before she could she was interrupted by a series of tremors that seemed to work their way through her, one section of her body at a time.

“Whoo, I haven’t felt something like that in a long time,” Pinkie said as both Derek and Fluttershy looked on in concern. “Let’s see, it’s a little hard to tell, but I think that was the same sort of combo I felt right before Spike had that sneezing fit right next to where Trixie had stashed her inventory for her secret unlicensed fireworks stand.” Before Derek could even decide if he wanted context for that statement, a particularly loud explosion could be heard from inside the depths of the lab. The sound was quickly followed by massive clouds of black smoke bellowing out from the lab entrance along with a more solid object being launched out straight into Pinkie’s back. Thankfully, Pinkie’s backpack absorbed most of the impact, sending its contents flying in every direction.

“Pinkie Pie! Are you alright?” Fluttershy cried out as she rushed over to check on her friend.

“I’m fine, whatever that was, it wasn’t any worse than getting tackle-hugged by Pound Cake,” Pinkie Pie said as Fluttershy helped her back to her feet. “But, what was that any-whoa!” Almost as soon as Pinkie Pie stood back up, she stepped on one of her empty Poké Balls, which had fallen out of her backpack during the collision. Tripping on the ball, Pinkie Pie was sent toppling backwards back down to the floor, as the ball itself shot forwards, straight into the somewhat singed Baltoy that had been propelled into her by the explosion. Before anyone, least of all the Baltoy, could react, the Baltoy was engulfed in red light and pulled into the ball, which proceeded to wriggle about on the ground for a few moments before letting out the chime of a successful capture. “Huh, that was lucky,” Pinkie Pie said from her vantage point on the ground.

“We should probably hold off on marveling at your good luck until after we get out of here,” Derek said as he moved to help Pinkie gather up her things. “Between the smoke and the Baltoy that are still in there, I’d say the faster we put some distance between us and this cave the better.”

*********

“Okay, so on the plus side, we definitely kept those dorks from realizing they found one of the boss’ old labs, so that’s a total win for us,” Femur said as he and Ribcage sat outside the cave once Pinkie, Fluttershy and Derek had left the area. “What exactly was the big deal about this place, anyway? Seemed like it was just a bunch of old egghead stuff to me.”

“Yeah, but bosses are always big on that egghead junk,” Ribcage replied. “So, uh, what do ya think the boss is gonna do when he finds out that his lab got trashed?”

“No idea, but I do know what we’re going to tell him; nothing. If we don’t tell the boss we were here, then he’ll never know, and if he never knows, then he’ll never yell at us about it.”

New Arrivals, Part 1

“Oh dear Celestia, what in Equestria happened last night?” Twilight groaned as she lay in her bed, her eyes screwed shut in pain. “It feels like I’ve got Applejack’s entire family galloping around in my head.” As Twilight spoke, she placed a hand on her forehead. “Ugh, I think I can actually feel my forehead throbbing. Wait a minute…” With a feeling of mounting horror Twilight opened her eyes and stared at the all too human hand she was holding in front of her face. Stifling the urge to scream, Twilight frantically stumbled out of her bed and pulled herself to her feet before looking around the room she had woken up in, which wound up doing little to ease her mind. “Where in Equestria am I?” Twilight asked as she found herself standing in what looked to be a small, windowless hotel room of some kind. For the most part it was fairly unremarkable as far as hotel rooms went, the furniture largely consisting of a pair of beds separated by a dresser, with a desk and table opposite the bed’s feet. The door presumably leading out was flanked by a pair of closet doors on one side and a door Twilight guessed led to a bathroom on the other. “Alright, Twilight, calm down. You’ve woken up in a strange room after been turned into a human –“ Any further efforts on Twilight’s part to sort through her thoughts fell apart as Twilight noticed that there was a green-haired boy snoring on the bed next to hers.

“Hey, Rarity…like my ice cream yacht?” The boy mumbled to himself as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

“Dear Celestia…Spike?” Twilight asked in shock as she stared at her number-one assistant, who apparently had taken human form in this world. Head still throbbing painfully, Twilight decided to ponder Spike’s transformation later and unsteadily made her way to the room’s bathroom. Staggering inside, Twilight made her way to the sink and looked into the mirror so she could take stock of her transformation. As Twilight expected, staring back at her in the mirror was a human girl sporting her distinctive manestyle (or hairstyle, to use the human term). Strangely, her skin was a dusky peach color instead of the lavender of her Canterlot High manifestation. “Okay, somehow not only have I turned into a human, but Spike’s been turned into a human too. Think, Twilight, how the hay could this have happened?” Screwing her eyes shut, Twilight tried to think back to the last thing she could remember clearly. The last thing Twilight could remember was working on an experiment on the Crystal Mirror. Twilight had suspected that the mirror could be used to travel to other worlds beyond that of Canterlot High, the trick had been figuring out how to manipulate the artifact’s magic. However, Twilight had managed to find a ritual in the Crystal Empire’s library that had seemed promising. “So, I performed the ritual last night, and at first everything went fine. I got the magic of the mirror to activate, but then…” Twilight could vaguely recall the magic of the mirror spiraling out of control, but after that all she could remember was a bright white light enveloping everything.

“I have to say, Twilight, I’m really quite impressed. Opening a rift to another dimension, especially one of that size? You’re more entertaining than I gave you credit for.” Twilight immediately looked up at the sound of the sickeningly familiar voice emanating from the mirror. As soon as Twilight’s gaze fell on her reflection a flash of light flared out from the mirror, momentarily blinding her. When the light subsided, Twilight saw that her reflection had been replaced by the grinning visage of Discord, who for some unfathomable reason had chosen to retain her manestyle in place of his own. “Quite frankly, you should be thanking me right now,” Discord continued, oblivious to, or more likely reveling in Twilight’s discomfort. “If I hadn’t intervened when I did Celestia only knows what might have happened to you and your friends. But, I’m actually not here to celebrate my own greatness, I’m here to congratulate you on the start of your very own Pokémon adventure!”

Twilight stared at the mirror in complete silence for a full minute as a half-dozen questions formed her mind simultaneously, fighting each other to exit her mouth until her mental logjam finally culminated in a single exclamation. “What?”

Still smirking, Discord snapped his claws causing the mirror to flash once again. When Discord reappeared he had shrunk down so that his entire form was visible and had exchanged Twilight’s mane for a lab coat. “You see, Twilight, when you lost control of your little experiment you managed to create a dimensional vortex capable of pulling everypony in Ponyville into another dimension. And probably quite a few ponies from beyond Ponyville now that I think of it,” Discord added, muttering to himself. “Anyway, I’d just hate to see you blame yourself for dragging all your friends to some horrible fate in another dimension, so I stepped in and ensured that you dragged them all to a delightful dimension instead!”

Twilight silently wondered why Discord didn’t simply keep everypony from getting dragged to another dimension period, but she suspected the answer would only irritate her further. “Alright, so my friends and I, plus Celestia knows how many other ponies have been pulled into this world. So, how the hay are we supposed to get back to Equestria?”

“Why, that’s where your Pokémon adventure comes in, of course!” Discord exclaimed happily, a massive grin spread across his features.

“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned that word. What in Equestria is a ‘Pokémon’ exactly?” As much as Twilight hated to admit it she was honestly curious as to what Discord had in store for her. Even if Discord was only reformed in the loosest possible definition of the term Twilight at least trusted that he wouldn’t knowingly put her or her friends (especially Fluttershy) in any real danger.

“What an excellent question. You see, the world you’re currently in is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon, like this little fellow here.” A bizarre creature popped into view next to Discord, completely unlike anything Twilight had ever seen before. It was vaguely bird-shaped and appeared to be composed of magenta and blue plastic. The creature’s head floated freely above its ovoid torso which had three blue paddle-shaped limbs protruding from it. As Twilight stared at the misshapen creature its head swiveled towards her and let out a drawn out keening screech that sent shudders down her spine. Truthfully the creature was exactly the sort of abomination that Twilight would expect Discord to keep as a pet. “This adorable little fellow is called a Porygon-Z, but Pokémon come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some people keep Pokémon as pets, while others train them to battle against each other.” Discord paused to leer wickedly at Twilight. “That’s what you’ll be doing, by the way.”

“What? I’m, not doing anything like that!” Twilight cried out indignantly. Whatever game Discord had planned, Twilight had no intention of playing any part in it. “Now tell me how to get back to Equestria!”

“Ah, but Twilight, training and battling Pokémon is exactly how you’ll be able to get back to Equestria. You see, as we speak you and all the other ponies who were pulled in along with you are on a luxury cruise ship headed to a part of the Pokémon world called the Javik region. There’s a dimensional gate there that a clever pony like you could use to send everypony back to Equestria. The only catch is that it happens to be kept in the headquarters of the Javik region’s Pokémon League. The only way to get inside there will be to complete the Javik League’s gym battle challenge.”

Twilight started blankly at Discord’s declaration. All his talk of Pokémon and leagues and battling sounded insane even by Discord’s standards. Still, at the moment Twilight didn’t have much choice in the matter. If there was to be any hope returning to Equestria Twilight was going to have to play whatever game Discord had planned for her. “Alright, Discord,” Twilight said in a defeated tone, “I’ll play along, at least for now anyway. So what exactly is this ‘gym battle challenge’?”

“Now, Twilight,” Discord chuckled, “I’m not going to just tell you everything, where would the fun be in doing that? You’ll just have to figure things out as you go along like everypony else.” The grin on Discord’s face continued to grow until it seemed to somehow extend out past the sides of his face. “Cheer up, Twilight, just think of all the friendship lessons you’ll be able to learn on your perilous but deeply rewarding adventure. Good luck!” With that, Discord snapped his claws one last time and vanished from the mirror. Twilight waited for a minute in silence, just in case Discord decided to suddenly reappear and provide some actually useful advice. Once it became clear that Discord had really left, at least for the time being, Twilight walked back into the room she had been sharing with Spike, who appeared to be stirring in his sleep.

“What’s that, Rarity, you want me to help clean up that chocolate syrup?” Spike said, apparently still in the middle of his dream. “Wow, you’ve really gotten it all over yourself. Don’t worry, I know exactly how to get this off of you.”

Spike may have been enjoying his dream, but Twilight couldn’t stand listening to any more, if for no other reason than for the sake of her sanity. Moreover, Twilight desperately needed to talk to somepony who wasn’t actively trying to annoy her. “Spike, wake up! We need to talk!”

“Huh, wha?” Spike mumbled as he pulled himself upright. “What’s the matter, Twili-AHH!” Spike screamed as he looked at Twilight. “Holy guacamole, Twilight, you’re a human!” Spike froze as he noticed his hands. “Holy guacamole, I’m a human! What the hay is going on?”

Letting out a sigh, Twilight sat down and explained everything she could about the bizarre situation they found themselves in courtesy of Discord. Doing so took several minutes as Spike frequently interrupted Twilight with questions, many of which she had no idea how to answer. “Anyway, that’s why we’ve been turned into humans, and if we ever want to get back to Equestria we’re going to need to somehow complete the gym challenge that Discord told me about.”

“Alright,” Spike said as he scratched his head, “just one question, though. What the hay is a ‘Pokémon’?”

Twilight brought her hand to her face as she prepared to explain for the umpteenth time that she still had no idea. Before she could, however, a female voice seemed to come out of thin air.

Attention passengers, we have arrived at our destination of Mercury City, gateway to the Javik region. Please begin making preparations to disembark, and good luck to all of you starting your Pokémon journeys.

“Come on, Spike, it sounds like we need to get going. Help me take a look around the room for anything useful; we’ll just have to figure things out as we go along. With any luck we can find our friends and with their help we should be able to handle anything this game of Discord’s can throw at us!” While Spike began rummaging through the room for whatever he could find Twilight did her best to maintain a confident front. The truth of the matter was, however, that Twilight felt incredibly unsure of the situation she and Spike found themselves in. All Twilight could do for the moment was put on a brave face and hope that a plan came to her eventually.

The disembarking process itself turned out to be mercifully straightforward process, for which Twilight was immensely grateful. Every half hour or so the intercom would announce that a different deck was now allowed to exit the ship. Eventually the announcement finally came that their deck was the next to disembark, by which point Spike had gathered together a pair of backpacks with enough camping supplies to both of them for an extended trip. Exiting their room, Twilight and Spike found themselves in what appeared to be a hotel hallway joining a throng of other apparent guests exiting as well. Taking firm hold of Spike’s hand, as much for her own comfort as to make certain they wouldn’t be separated, Twilight allowed herself and Spike to be pulled into the crowd. The pair then proceeded to be pulled and pushed down the length of the hallways and towards a set of elevators, which in turn took their occupants to even more hotel hallways. Throughout the process neither Twilight nor Spike could heads or tails of where they were being herded to, until they finally reached a massive lobby positively teeming with people. As Twilight looked around the room, she could occasionally catch glimpses of individuals who she thought looked familiar, but every time whoever she thought she thought she saw would vanish back into the crowd. Just as Twilight started to worry that she and Spike were going to be alone in a strange world, however, a familiar voice caught her attention.

“Ugh, how the hay does anypony stand not having wings?” As Twilight turned towards the source of the grumbling she was rewarded with the sight of a girl with a head of rainbow-colored hair.

“Rainbow Dash, is that you?” Twilight called out as she pushed her way through the crowd, pulling Spike along behind her.

“What the…Twilight? Oh man am I glad to see you!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she turned to fact Twilight and Spike. “Seriously, what the hay is going on? One minute I’m in bed rereading the latest Daring Do book and the next thing I know I’m waking up in this weird hotel-place and I’ve been turned into…this!” Rainbow Dash gestured towards herself. “I’m some sort of freaky hairless monkey-thing! Is this what you turned into when you went through the mirror portal, y’know the whatever-you-call’ems…”

“Humans,” Twilight said as she glanced around to see if their conversation had attracted any attention. Thankfully, nopony, or rather nobody, seemed to have noticed the somewhat unusual nature of their discussion. “Listen, Rainbow, I may have an idea on how we can get back to Equestria, but I’m going to need your help. Now, what happened when you woke up here? Did Discord try to contact you at all?”

“Discord? Is he the one behind all of this?” Rainbow asked angrily. “Why am I not surprised that that jerk would be involved in something like this? When I get my hooves on that – “

“Discord wasn’t the one responsible for bringing us here, at least not in the way you think.” Twilight quickly interrupted. “Discord contacted me when I woke up here; according to him he wasn’t the one who created the rift that pulled us out of Equestria but he was the one who fixed it so everything wound up in this particular world.”

“And you actually believed him?” Rainbow Dash snapped. “This is Discord we’re talking about, do you honestly think he’d tell you the truth if he were behind this?”

“Hey, I know Discord isn’t all that reformed, but dragging everypony into another dimension would be a bit much even for him.” Silently, Twilight prayed that Rainbow Dash dropped the subject before she was forced to admit that she may have been the one responsible for their predicament. Granted, Twilight only had Discord’s word regarding her culpability in the event, and Discord’s word had never been particularly trustworthy. Even so, the very notion that she might have been responsible for what was happening was more than Twilight could deal with at the moment.

Luckily for her, it didn’t seen that Rainbow Dash was all that interested in pursuing the subject further. “Whatever,” Rainbow Dash said testily, “anyway, so you said you thought you had some way to get us back to Equestria?”

“I think so,” Twilight replied. “Discord said that to get back we would need to access a dimensional gate, which is somewhere called the Javik league. And in order to get there we first need to go through something called a Pokémon gym challenge.”

“Ok,” Rainbow Dash said, nodding her head, “I like the sound of this gym challenge thing. Just one question, though; what the hay is a Pokémon?”

Before Twilight had a chance to respond the crowds started to move once again, pulling the three friends towards a set of double doors on the far end of the room leading to the outside. With no real alternatives available, the group simply followed along with the crowds, soon finding themselves being herded off the ship and down a gangplank large enough that it seemed like it would have been wide enough to pull several wagons down side by side. The gangplank led to the outside of a massive building whose exterior was a shining edifice of glass and steel. A large sign above the building’s entrance proclaimed it to be the entranceway to the Javik region. Following the crowds, Twilight and the others were ushered into the building, the interior of which was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen or even read about. The doors of the building led into a cavernous room that was so large it looked as though it could have accommodated most of the homes in Ponyville and still have room to spare. Large screens had been set up along the walls near the ceiling, all of which played a brief combination welcome message/history of the region. Under different circumstances Twilight would have found it all rather fascinating, but now wasn’t the time for academic curiosity. Perhaps fortunately for Twilight there wasn’t much time for her to dwell on this missed opportunity for learning before the movement of the crowds forced her to focus her attention elsewhere. Everypony seemed to be headed towards the semicircular far end of the room where six gateways stood leading deeper into the building. Each gateway had a name proudly displayed above it, though to Twilight the names were all complete gibberish.

“Kalos? Hoenn? What the hay are those supposed to be?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

“I…have no idea,” Twilight admitted, “but whatever they mean I definitely thing we should stick together.” As Rainbow Dash and Spike nodded in agreement the trip allowed themselves to be herded towards the far left gateway. The gateway’s sign proudly declared it to be the ‘Kalos’ gate, thought that name was as meaningless to Twilight as the others had been. Beyond the gateway the crowds seemed to slowly form into an orderly line which stretched ever deeper into the building. With no other real options available, Twilight and her friends fell into line with the rest of the crowd and waited. It seemed as though the line stretched on for hours and Rainbow Dash soon started squirming as her already limited patience was taxed to its absolute limit.

“Ugh, what the hay is taking so long?” Rainbow Dash asked as she tried leaning from side to side in an effort to see where they were headed. “Why do we have to wait on this stupid line anyway?”

“Rainbow Dash, calm down, we don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves,” Twilight pleaded with her friend in an effort to rein her in. “I know it’s hard, but try to be patient for just a little while longer.” Despite further grumbling Rainbow Dah settled back into the line, and Twilight could hardly blame her friend for her impatience. Even Twilight’s own patience was rapidly being eroded in the face of the seemingly never-ending waiting for Celestia only knew what. Mercifully, as they rounded a corner it become apparent that they didn’t have much longer to wait after all as Twilight could see that the line was taking them towards what looked like some sort of government office. Those in line would each walk up to a reception desk and appear to answer several questions before heading to the right. As the approached the desk Twilight racked her brains trying to figure out what the purpose of any of this was, but she found herself utterly flummoxed. Twilight was so engrossed on pondering this question that she didn’t notice how quickly the line was shrinking until she heard the person manning the desk, a particularly grump looking woman, calling out to her.

“Hey, miss you’re next, could you please step up to the front?” The clerk impatiently drummed her fingers on the desk as she waited for Twilight to respond.

“What? Oh, right, of course.” More than slightly flustered, Twilight quickly moved over to the counter. “So, um…”

The clerk let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright miss, may I have your name please?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

A brief moment of silence followed as the clerk stared at Twilight with a look of exasperation before responding with a sigh. “Your name is…Twilight…Sparkle…fine, whatever. Let me guess, you’re from the Equestria region, right?”

“You’ve heard of Equestria?” Twilight asked excitedly. The very idea that people in this world knew of Equestria opened up an incredible number of possibilities.

“I’ve been processing new trainers from that place all day and they all have the sort of names like yours. So, are you a first time trainer or do you already have a Pokédex?”

“A poke-what now?” Twilight asked, now thoroughly confused.

“New trainer it is then. Please stand in front of the blue square to your right and look straight ahead until you see a flash. Once your picture is taken follow the red line on the floor to the pickup station where you can pick up your Pokédex along with the rest of your welcome package.” Before Twilight could ask any further questions the clerk leaned to the side and addressed the line. “Would the next person please step forward? Miss, please move to the side so I can assist the other trainers?”

“But –“

“Miss, please stand in front of the blue square to the right,” the clerk snapped as she grumpily gestured to the right with her pen.

Defeated, Twilight hesitantly moved over to the spot the clerk had directed her to and looked straight ahead as instructed. Twilight found herself staring at a large black device with a blinking red light in its center. Unsure of what to do, Twilight stared at the device for a few seconds until the red light suddenly unleashed a blinding flash of light. As Twilight blinked in an effort to regain her vision she realized that the machine must have taken her picture and promptly glanced downward towards the floor where she saw the red line the clerk had told her about. Twilight quickly moved to follow the line, right as Rainbow Dash stepped over to take her spot in front of the camera. The line led Twilight to another large, strange machine, this one vaguely resembling a vending machine with a glowing screen on the front, which lit up as Twilight cautiously approached it.

“Welcome to Javik region, Twilight Sparkle! Please collect you new trainer package in the slot below.” An image of a messenger bag appeared on the screen, followed by images of several other objects that Twilight couldn’t even begin to try to identify. “Your new trainer welcome package contains almost every you’ll need to start your Pokémon journey. Inside your Javik region souvenir messenger bag you’ll find a state-of-the-art Pokédex, a Z-ring and a set of five Pokéballs.” As the machine spoke Twilight heard a soft thump from a slot on the front of the machine. “Of course, there’s still one very important thing you’ll need before you can start on your Pokémon journey, and that of course is your very own Pokémon! So, once you’ve collected your new trainer kit you’ll want to head on over to the Pokémon dispensary, where you’ll be able to choose from the three starter Pokémon native to the Kanto region. From all of us at the Javik region new trainer processing center, we wish you good luck on your Pokémon journey!”

As the machine finished its presentation Twilight checked the contents of its drawer. Sure enough, inside Twilight found a messenger bag matching the image that had appeared on the screen. Opening it, Twilight saw that it contained a rectangular red object which she presumed was her Pokédex, along with a thick white bracelet and a number of small red and white balls. Deciding to hold off on trying to determine what the purpose any of the items had, Twilight moved on to the next room, which the machine had referred to as the Pokémon dispensary. The Pokémon dispensary, as Twilight discovered, consisted of another large room, this one filled with machines similar to the one she had just used arranged like some sort of video arcade. Many of the machines had people standing in front of them, staring intently at the screens and occasionally reaching out and touch or swiping at the screens. Cautiously, Twilight made her way to an unoccupied machine and began trying to figure out what she was supposed to. Three creatures were displayed on the screen, not entirely dissimilar to the creature Discord had shown to her. Curiously, Twilight reached out and touched one of them, an orange dragon-like creature with a small flame on the tip of its tail. As soon as Twilight’s fingers touched the screen the creature moved to the center of the screen as a robotic, monotone voice came from the machine.

Charmander, the lizard Pokémon. The flame on the tip of its tail acts as an indicator of the state of its health as well as its emotional state. Normally the flame burns hot enough to remain lit underwater, but Charmander’s life could be in serious danger if it were to be extinguished.

As the machine read off its information regarding the creature Twilight began to understand what was going on. The machine must have been meant to provide information on the available Pokémon a new trainer could pick so they could make an informed decision. Feeling at least a little more certain as to what she was supposed to be doing, Twilight regarded the other two creatures she apparently had to choose from; a mottled green quadrupedal creature with some sort of plant bulb on its back and a blue turtle-like creature.

“Cool, that one looks kinda like Tank!” Twilight turned to her right to see Rainbow Dash standing at the machine next to hers. “Hey, Spike, you should totally pick that orange fire-lizard looking one.”

“Actually, I was thinking of picking the green one with the plant on its back.” Turning to her left Twilight say that Spike was standing next to her as well.

“Whatever, I’m going with the blue Tank guy,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. Before Twilight could interject, Rainbow Dash poked at the machine’s screen a few times until a voice emitted from it.

Congratulations, you have selected Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokémon. Once again, we wish you luck on your Pokémon journey. As the machine finished, a bright crackling light appeared from a slot on the machine’s side and inside was a red and white ball, nearly identical to the ones that they had received in their welcome satchels, save for the fact that this one was the size of a fist.

“Huh, weird,” Rainbow Dash said as she picked up the ball. “So, is my guy in this thing, or – whoa!” As Rainbow Dash spoke the ball split open along its equator and a crimson light arced out from inside it, coalescing into the creature that had been displayed on the screen.

“Squirtle!” the creature exclaimed happily as it looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Squirtle, Squirtle Squirtle?”

“Aw man, look at this little guy,” Rainbow Dash practically squealed with delight before kneeling down to her Squirtle’s level. “So, you’re gonna be my Pokémon from now on, huh?”

“Squirtle!” Rainbow Dash’s Squirtle replied happily.

“That’s all you can say, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Ah well, doesn’t matter, you’re with me now and that means you’re gonna be one of the awesomest poke-thingies ever!” As Rainbow Dash cooed over her new Pokémon, Spike began eagerly poking at the screen on his machine as well. Moments later, Spike received a congratulatory message as well, complete with another red and white ball presumably containing the plant-like creature he had been eyeing.

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Twilight turned back to the machine she herself had been using. Twilight hadn’t even had a chance to review the information on the two Pokémon Rainbow Dash and Spike had chosen, but Twilight’s inner scientist insisted that Twilight choose the remaining creature so that she could observe all three. As such, Twilight touched the Charmander on the screen followed by a prompt confirming her choice. Moments later, Twilight was rewarded with her own congratulatory message and freshly materialized Pokéball. As Twilight held the ball in her hand she glanced around the room at the other trainers. While a few had let their Pokémon out of their balls like Rainbow Dash had, most of them simply took the ball containing their Pokémon and left the room through an exit on the room’s far side.

“Hey, why don’t you let your guy’s out too?” Rainbow Dash asked as she momentarily stopped playing with her Squirtle.

“Actually,” Twilight said as she continued to look around the room, “I think maybe we should hold off on that, at least until we get out of this building. It looks like most of the other people are heading straight out that way and we still don’t really have a good grasp on how things work here.”

“Alright, whatever” Rainbow Dash sighed as she motioned for her Squirtle to follow her. Once again following the crowd, the trio found themselves led to yet another massive lobby, the far walls of which appeared to be almost entirely made of glass. Like the lobby they had entered when they first exited the boat, large screens lined the upper walls of the room, playing the same brief history message from the first room. Once again, however, Twilight found herself unable to focus on what the screens could possibly tell her about the strange land she found herself in. In several spots throughout the room sizeable groups had gathered, in each case apparently encircling some sort of commotion. More specifically, it sounded as though each group had surrounded a fight of some kind. “Hey. Twilight, you’ve gotta come check this out!” The sound of Rainbow Dash’s voice carried above the din of the room, causing Twilight to frantically look around for her until she saw that Rainbow Dash had squeezed herself into one of the groups.

“Rainbow Dash, what in Equestria do you think you’re doing? We need to stick together if we’re going to – what the?” Twilight was forced to stop mid-tirade as she finally saw what was drawing the crowds. The various trainers had formed a circle around a pair of Pokémon that Twilight could only describe as a small orange bird and a burning hedgehog. The two Pokémon seemed wholly intent on beating the stuffing out of each other, while a pair of trainers standing on opposite sides of the circle shouted commands at them.

“Torchic, you’ve got this! Scratch attack, now!”

“Cyndaquil, don’t let that little featherbrain show you up! Tackle it quickly!” The two Pokémon clashed together viciously at their trainer’s commands without an apparent thought to their own safety.

“What is all this?” Rainbow Dash asked with an odd mix of awe and trepidation.

“It’s a Pokémon battle, obviously. Are you really that clueless?” a somewhat nasally voice answered. Spinning around to confront the voice’s owner, Rainbow Dash found herself staring at a pair of boys roughly her age or possibly a little older. The one who had apparently spoken earlier, a short, portly individual with dirty straw colored hair, continued as though he didn’t notice Rainbow Dash glaring angrily at him. “I mean, I’ll admit what these amateurs are doing only barely qualifies as a battle, but you should still be able to figure that out for yourself.”

“To be fair, Robert, she may have been referring to the fact that it’s somewhat unusual to have this many battles going on in such a small area,” the other said, a gangly bespectacled young man with dark hair. “I’m Colin, buy the way,” the taller boy said as he extended a hand to Rainbow Dash, “and my somewhat grumpy friend here is Robert. We’ve come here from Unova to research the unique aspects of the Javik region.”

“Yeah, maybe you are,” Robert snorted as he glanced over towards the battle, still fiercely going on. “I only agreed to come with you because you convinced me that the Javik League had one of the most intense gym challenges out there. Personally, I’m really not seeing it.”

“Now be fair, Robert, most of these trainers are just starting out for the very first time. Can you honestly say you were all that much different back then?”

While a somewhat chastened Robert grumbled unintelligibly in response, Twilight perked up at Robert’s mention of the Javik League’s gym challenge. “Pardon me, but if you don’t mind my asking, what exactly is the ‘gym challenge’ anyway?”

“What?” Robert sputtered, having suddenly found his voice once again. “Are you freaking kidding me? How the heck do you not even know what a gym challenge is?”

“Well, to be honest we don’t really have Pokémon at all where we’re from, so all of this is completely new to us.”

“Really? Collin exclaimed, eyes widening in excitement. “You really come from someplace completely devoid of Pokémon? I didn’t even realize a place like that existed. This all really must be quite overwhelming for you then. In any event, a league’s gym challenge is its way of testing the trainers within its region. Each trainer travels throughout the region to different gyms, each typically specializing in a particular type of Pokémon. There, the trainer challenges the leader of each gym to a Pokémon battle, with the terms dictated by the leader being challenged. If the challenger wins, they are awarded a badge commemorating their victory, and upon collecting eight badges they qualify to enter that regions championship.”

“Yo, Colin, as fascinating as it is to listen to you explain the absolute basics of Pokémon to a bunch of rubes who apparently are from the most backwater region on the planet –“

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash yelled in protest.

“But anyway we should really get going. Otherwise you’re gonna miss your meeting with Professor Juniper’s contact here.” Roger continued, ignoring Rainbow Dash’s outrage.

“I suppose you’re right,” Colin sighed. “I’m sorry, miss, I really would have liked to speak with you further, but I’m afraid my friend is right. I we have a chance to meet again I’d love to ask more about the region you’re from.” With that, Colin regretfully turned and left, Robert waddling close behind.

Colin’s description of what the gym challenge actually entailed had done little to improve Twilight’s confidence. Twilight had hoped that she would be able to resolve her business in this strange world in a few days at most, However, any hope of a quick resolution had been dashed by the news that the gym challenge would entail traveling to at least eight different towns. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, seemed exhilarated by what she had just seen and heard.

“This is gonna be awesome! Twilight did you see the way those little guys were going at it? And Tank Jr.’s gonna be able to do all that and then some, right? I mean, what’s his name said most Pokémon battles were way more intense than that.” Rainbow Dash said eagerly, her eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

“Tank junior?” Spike asked, having only been paying partial attention to the conversation in lieu of examining the Pokédex he had received in his welcome package.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said as she proudly lifted her Squirtle into the air. “That’s what I’m naming this little guy. I mean what else am I supposed to do, just call him ‘Squirtle’?”

“Squirtle Squirtle!” The newly named Tank Jr. said happily.

“In any case, I think the first thing should do is try and find out as much as we can about these gyms,” Twilight said in an effort to get the conversation back on track. “If the gym challenge really is a way to test new Pokémon trainers like Colin said then I’m certain that careful preparation will need to be a key part of our strategy.”

“Come on, Twilight, this isn’t some egghead exam, it’s a full-on fighting challenge,” Rainbow Dash retorted. “Trust me on this, all we need to do is find one of these gyms and leave everything to my awesomeness. So,” Rainbow Dash continued, ignoring the doubtful looks Twilight and Spike were giving her, “where do you think we could find one of these gyms anyway?”

“Maybe we should start by trying to figure out where exactly we are and work from there,” Twilight said as she began moving away from the crowds. “I think I remember the announcement on the boat mentioning the name of the city we’re in, but I can’t quite remember what it was called.”

“It’s called Mercury City,” Spike offered offhandedly as he looked up from his Pokédex. When Twilight and Rainbow Dash both gave him quizzical looks Spike continued. “While you were talking with those two guys I was figuring out how this red thing works,” Spike explained. “It turns out this thing is kinda like the computer we saw in Canterlot High, so it has all sorts of information, like this map of the Javik region,” Spike added with a grin.

“Well, that’s certainly a start,” Twilight admitted, “but that doesn’t necessarily help us find a gym. Do you know if that thing has any maps of individual towns?”

“Yeah, I think so, just give me one second,” Spike said as he opened up his Pokédex and began pressing buttons. The truth of the matter was Spike wasn’t certain how had brought up the Pokédex’s atlas in the first place. The first time he had done so just by pressing random buttons on the Pokédex until the atlas had just popped up on the screen. “Let’s see…if I press this and then go here…that takes me back to the atlas…what about if I try this…”

“Spike, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Twilight asked impatiently.

“Relax Twilight, I – HA! I got it!” Spike exclaimed triumphantly. As Spike proudly displayed his Pokédex, Twilight could see that its screen showed what appeared to be a partial map of a city, the name ‘Mercury City’ in the upper left corner. Twilight’s eyes were immediately drawn to a blinking red light centered in what she assumed was one of the buildings. Curious, Twilight tapped on the light, which caused the Pokédex to display ‘Javik League New Trainer Welcome Center’.

“I see, it looks like this shows us the area immediately surrounding where we are,” Twilight said as she examined the Pokédex’s display.

“Cool, so where’s the nearest gym?” Rainbow Dash asked eagerly.

Before Twilight could insist that Rainbow Dash be patient a mechanical voice emanated from the Pokédex. “Location request; Mercury City Gym; Processing; Location found; Please review directions provided.” At the same time, the map displayed on the Pokédex appeared to zoom out while dashed line formed leading rom the blinking red dot to another building.

“Sweet, that thing must be voice activated or something,” Rainbow Dash said happily. “Let’s head right over there so I can kick some gym leader hindquarters!”

“Um, are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Twilight asked. “I still think we should try and gather some more information about these gyms before we rush in.”

“For the last time, Twilight I’ve got this. Come on, Spike, lead the way.” With that, Rainbow Dash grabbed Spike by the collar and pulled him in front of her. Realizing that arguing would be a futile endeavor, Spike obediently took his Pokédex and began leading Rainbow Dash to the city’s gym, Twilight following closely behind her two friends. As the group finally left the Welcome Center Twilight took in the view of Mercury City, not having much else to occupy her attention.

In many ways, Mercury City reminded Twilight of Manehatten. Massive skyscrapers lined the streets making it feel to Twilight that she was walking along the bottom of some artificial canyon. Unlike in Manehatten, however, these buildings appeared to be constructed almost entirely of chrome and glass which produced an almost blinding glare in the sun. Beyond that, however, the city to Twilight to be very similar to her previous experiences with human-inhabited worlds, at least until she began to notice the presence of the Pokémon. I seemed that everywhere Twilight looked she saw more of the strange creatures alongside their human partners. Remarkably, at least to Twilight, all of the Pokémon she saw looked quite happy despite it being their apparent lot in like to be forced to fight in seemingly pointless battles for their masters. Putting that bit of illogic aside for the moment, however, Twilight could only marvel at the seemingly infinite number of shapes Pokémon apparently came in, a number of which seemed to defy an understanding she had of physics or biology. It was no surprise that Discord found Pokémon so endearing.

The group spent the better part of ten minutes walking through the streets of Mercury City before Spike’s Pokédex informed them that they had reached their destination. The building was massive, apparently taking up almost an entire city block on its own and displayed over the front doors was a large circular sign, colored to resemble a Pokéball. “So, this is the place, huh” Rainbow Dash said as they approached the building. “Alright then, let’s do this!” With that, Rainbow Dash charged up to the gym’s front doors and tossed them open before confidently marching inside. “So, whose rump do I have to kick to get this place’s medal or whatever?” Rainbow Dash called out.

A few bored looking trainers seated a card table turned towards Rainbow Dash as they heard her yell out her challenge. “Hey, why don’t you go tell Ferris he challenger,” one of the trainers said to the other, “I doubt this one’s going to last too long.”

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash protested, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Heh, you’ll see,” the trainer said, “so, are you the only one planning to challenge Ferris, or do your friends plan on going up against him as well?”

“I think we’ll just watch Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said as she looked around at the building’s interior. The inside of the gym, or at least the portion just past the doorway was markedly less impressive than the exterior. Upon entering the gym one found oneself in a barren reception area, devoid of any real furnishings beyond the card table and chairs the trainers had been seated at, along with a few uncomfortable looking benches. Beyond that, the only other notable features of the room were a pair of metal double doors leading deeper into the gym.

“Ok then, you’ll want to head up of these stairways, it doesn’t really matter which. Those’ll take you up to walkways on either side of the field, you’ll be able to watch your friend’s battle from there.” The trainer then turned back to Rainbow Dash. “In your case you’ll want to head through those doors over there. The gym leader will be out to accept your challenge shortly.”

“Aw yeah, time to win me a gym badge!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she rushed to the doors.

Twilight, meanwhile, couldn’t share her friend’s enthusiasm. It was bad enough that Rainbow Dash was rushing into the gym battle with only a vague idea as to what battling even really entailed. But beyond that, there was something about the attitudes of the two trainers they had met in the gym that left Twilight doubly concerned. Neither trainer seemed even remotely concerned about Rainbow Dash’s challenge, almost to the point of being patronizing. Granted, it could have simply been that challenges to the gym’s leader were simply utterly routine to them, but Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling that Rainbow Dash was about to bite off much more than she could chew. Of course, Twilight knew her friend well enough to know that there was simply no talking to her when she was like this, so all Twilight could do was follow the directions given to her and hope that everything turned out all right.

As Twilight and Spike made their way up the stairs as instructed they found that they did indeed lead up to a viewing area overlooking a large arena. Calling them walkways, however, hardly did them justice, as the viewing area offered several rows of benches easily capable of seating dozens of spectators on either side of the arena. The arena itself was at least twice as large as a tennis court and looked to be constructed out of massive concrete slabs. Twilight could see that Rainbow Dash was already standing at one end of the arena, impatiently tapping her foot as she waited for the gym leader to appear. Luckily, Rainbow Dash didn’t have long to wait as mere moments after Twilight and Spike seated themselves the doors on the far end of the arena opened, revealing the Mercury City gym leader. Ferris, as the trainers had referred to him as, was apparently a young man, probably not much older than Shining Armor. His close-cropped hair was jet black and he was wearing a grease-stained jumpsuit of some kind, making him look like some kind of mechanic.

“Alright then, so you’re here to challenge me for the Alloy Badge,” Ferris cheerfully greeted Rainbow Dash as he stepped out onto the arena. “Since I understand that this is your first gym battle, I’ll go over some of the basics. We’ll use two Pokémon each, the first to knock out both of their opponent’s Pokémon will be the winner.”

“Yeah, well I’m not even gonna need two Pokémon to whup your hindquarters! Tank Junior here is all I’ll need!” With that Rainbow Dash tossed her Pokéball into the arena bringing her Squirtle forth.

“Squirtle” Tank Junior yelled out, apparently sensing its trainer’s confidence.

Ferris, however, seemed less than impressed with Rainbow Dash’s display. “That Squirtle’s your only Pokémon, isn’t it? And I’m guessing you probably just got it today.” Ferris let out a long sigh as he appeared to consider the situation. “Look, I don’t do this very often, but I’m going to give you an opportunity to back out. You really don’t have a chance of winning right now, so why don’t you find someplace to train, maybe out east near Aurum Town, and then come back once you’re a little more ready.”

“Oh no, there’s no way I’m running away from this. But,” Rainbow Dash added with a sneer, “if you’re too chicken to battle me you could always just give me your badge.”

“Alright, fine, if that’s how you want to do this…Magnemite! Go!” Ferris threw a Pokéball into the arena, which burst open to reveal what looked to be a one-eyed floating ball with an assortment of screws and magnets attached to it. “Magnemite, Thunder Shock!” Ferris swiftly commanded before Rainbow Dash had a chance to react. In response, Ferris’ Magnemite let loose a pair of arcs of electricity from the magnets on its sides, unerringly striking Tank Junior. The unfortunate Squirtle spasmed for a second or two before collapsing onto the arena floor.

“Squirtle is unable to battle,” a trainer on the side of the arena called out. “As the challenger has no more Pokémon, the winner is Gym Leader Ferris!”

While Rainbow Dash stood on her side of the arena, still staring in shock over what had just happened, Ferris began slowly crossing the distance towards her. “Trainers like you make me sick,” Ferris snarled with barely contained rage. “Do you know why Pokémon are willing to battle for us? It’s because our Pokémon trust us to direct them, to lead them to the best of our ability and to bring out the best of theirs.” As Ferris continued he fixed his gaze on Rainbow Dash. “But you abused that trust when you sent your Squirtle into a battle it had no hope of winning and now it’s paid the price for your ego.” After glaring at Rainbow Dash for a few more moments Ferris abruptly tuned and stormed off back the way he came. “Take your Squirtle to a Pokémon Center and don’t show your face in here again until you actually appreciate what it means to be a trainer.”

*********

“So, if our Pokémon are injured we can just come here and you’ll take of them for us?” Twilight asked the pink-haired nurse at the Pokémon Center counter.

“That’s right, and we also offer trainers free room and board so you can rest during you journey.”

Twilight simply nodded in response as she filed this information away for later. “So, what about Rainbow Dash’s Pokémon, will it be alright?”

“Oh yes,” the nurse replied. “We treat injuries like those quite often. All your friend’s Squirtle needs is a little rest and he’ll be right back to his old self.

Twilight breathed a small sigh of relief. “That’s good, at least. Thank you again for helping us, Nurse…”

“Nurse Joy.”

“Sorry, thank you, Nurse Joy,” Twilight said as she backed away. Silently, Twilight wondered if all the humans in this world had names as strange as the ones she had met thus far. Satisfied at least that everything was going to be fine as far as Rainbow Dash’s Pokémon was concerned Twilight left Nurse Joy to be work and went in search of Rainbow Dash herself. Twilight didn’t have to look far, as it turned out, as Rainbow Dash was still seated in the lobby where Twilight had left her. Spike and his Bulbasaur were there as well, doing their best to cheer Rainbow Dash up or at least to engage her in conversation. Despite their efforts, however, Rainbow Dash simply sat on the bench in silence. “Hey, I’ve got some good news,” Twilight said quietly as she approached her friend. “I just spoke with the nurse here and she said Tank Junior’s going to be fine.”

Any hopes Twilight had of snapping her friend out of her funk were quickly dashed, however, as Rainbow Dash barely seemed to react to the news. “That was all my fault,” Rainbow Dash said softly, apparently not speaking to anypony in particular. “You warned me I wasn’t ready, he even gave me a chance to walk away, but I didn’t listen to any of you. If I had, Tank Junior wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the first place.”

“She’s been like this ever since we got back from the gym,” Spike said sadly. “I was kinda hoping you’d be able to cheer her up since I’ve pretty much run out of ideas.”

Twilight regarded her friend sadly as she considered their situation. Under normal circumstances Twilight would have thought nothing was more important than helping one of her friends, but at the moment things were as far from normal as they could get. “I hate to say this, Spike, but we don’t have time to sit around while Rainbow Dash gets over what happened. Once Tank Junior has recovered we should head out of the city and find someplace we can strengthen our Pokémon so we’ll have a chance at completing this gym challenge.”

“But where would we go? And what about Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked plaintively.

“When the gym leader was trying to convince Rainbow Dash to back down he mentioned someplace called Aurum Town,” Twilight said. “Maybe if we head there we can figure out a way to get through this gym challenge and get back to Equestria. As for Rainbow Dash,” Twilight looked back towards her friend and sighed, “hopefully we’ll find a way to snap her out of this along the way.”

Twilight Bugs Out

“Finally, it feels like we were wandering around that stupid forest forever!” Rainbow Dash declared loudly as the path she, Twilight and Spike were following opened up onto a grassy plain. “Seriously, I like trees and all but it has been way to long since we could see open sky.”

“I agree that did take a bit longer than I had anticipated,” Twilight replied. “But, on the bright side our time in the forest was highly productive. Based on how much stronger Charmander has become I should have no difficulty overcoming the gym leader in Aurum Town, which will be the first step in getting everypony back home to Equestria.”

Rainbow Dash blanched at Twilight’s mention of her intent to challenge the Aurum Town gym. “Uh, Twilight, are you sure you’re ready to take on a gym? I mean, you saw how tough that Ferris guy was.”

“True, but Ferris himself pointed out that one of the main reasons that you lost was because you tried challenging him without training first. With all the training I’ve done with Charmander this should be a much more even fight. Plus,” Twilight added, “I have a plan. Before I actually go to the gym I intend to investigate this gym leader to determine what kind of Pokémon they use. Once I’ve gathered superior intelligence on my opponent I should have no difficulty defeating them.”

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as you think it is,” Rainbow Dash replied. Anyway, before you start snooping around the gym we should probably get to the town’s Pokémon Center.”

“Of course, the local Pokémon Center should be the best place to find out what I need to know,” Twilight agreed.

“Plus, once we get there we can finally get some decent food,” Spike added cheerfully, eliciting stares from Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “What? We haven’t had anything to eat but that weird food we had in our backpacks and some of those berries we found.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other for a moment before they both burst into laughter. “He’s got a point, Twi, it’ll be nice to be able to get a decent meal.” Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of her own rumbling stomach cut her off.

“I guess we all could use a good meal,” Twilight admitted as she started to blush. “In any case, the first thing we need to do is actually make it to Aurum Town itself. If I read the map correctly the sown should be just an hour’s walk down this path.”

“So, what’re we waiting for? Let’s get moving!” Rainbow Dash promptly charged down the dirt road, forcing Twilight and Spike to rush after her.

*********

Aurum Town, as the group discovered, was a fair-sized town apparently surrounded by a ring of trees, like some sort of arboreal wall. Most of the buildings themselves were constructed of dark stained wood which blended in with the bark of the surrounding trees, giving the town the sense of being a natural extension of the forest.

“Yeesh, it’s too bad Applejack on Fluttershy aren’t here,” Rainbow Dash said as the group made their way into the town’s Pokémon Center. “Y’know, ‘cause they’re so big into trees and stuff.”

“The people of this town do seem to prefer to blend their buildings in with the natural environment,” Twilight said. “It’s actually a nice change of pace from the other human buildings we’ve seen so far. If we were here under different circumstances I’d probably want to –, “ Twilight abruptly cut off mid-sentence almost as soon as she stepped inside the Pokémon Center.

“Uh, Twilight? You ok?” Rainbow Dash asked her dumbstruck friend. Twilight, however, gave no indication that she even heard Rainbow Dash as she swiftly marched up to the Pokémon Center’s welcome desk.

“Nurse Joy? What in Equestria are you doing here?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Twilight, do you know her or something?” Rainbow Dash asked as she rushed up to Twilight’s side.

“She’s the nurse from the Pokémon Center in Mercury City. At least, she was when we were there. But now she’s here, and…”

“Oh, you’re probably confusing me with my older sister. That sort of mix-up happens all the time.”

“Older sister?” Twilight asked as she gave the smiling nurse a look of utter bewilderment. Eventually Twilight simply took a deep breath before moving on. “Anyway, I’d like you to give my Pokémon a checkup.”

“Certainly,” Nurse Joy replied as she handed Twilight a tray with six rounded depressions in it. “Just put your Poke Balls in here and we’ll take care of them for you. Is there anything else I can help with today?”

“Actually, there is. Is there anything you can tell me about the Aurum Town Gym leader?” Twilight asked as she returned the tray holding her two Poké Balls.

“You mean Arnold? Well, I can tell you that he specialized in Bug-type Pokémon. Why do you ask, are you planning on challenging him?”

“Mmhm,” Twilight replied as she stowed away her Pokémon. “This is going to be the first gym battle I’ve participated in so I want to be prepared as possible.”

“Oh, this is going to be your very first gym challenge?” Nurse Joy asked with a mild tone of concern. “If that’s the case I do have one small bit of advice for you. When you see Arnold, be careful with what you say to him. He can be a little sensitive about the idea that trainers may think his gym is an easy place to earn their first badge.”

*********

“So, what exactly do you think that nurse meant by saying that this gym leader specialized in “bug” Pokémon?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, if had been reviewing the information available in our Pokédexes you’d know that Pokémon can be divided into eighteen different ‘types’ based on their physical makeup and characteristics,” Twilight said as Rainbow Dash braced herself for the oncoming lecture. “For example, Tank Jr. would be a water type Pokémon, while my Charmander would be considered a fire type.”

“I guess that does kinda explain how Tank Jr. can shoot all that water from his mouth,” Rainbow Dash conceded. “So, does that mean that this Arnold guy’s Pokémon can shoot bugs out of their mouths or something?”

“No! Well, probably not, anyway. As far as I can tell Bug Pokémon mostly bear a strong resemblance to insects or arachnids. The important part is that knowing what type this gym leader specializes in also tells me what their vulnerabilities are. And, as luck would have it, Bug-type Pokémon are particularly susceptible to Fire based attacks. So, based on that I’d estimate that Charmander should have no difficulty in handling anything that gym leader is likely to throw at us.”

“I get it’s kind of weird for me to be the one saying this sort of thing, but don’t you think you’re getting a little too cocky here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I appreciate your concern, but this isn’t the same situation. My Pokémon should be approximately as strong as the gym leaders’ as it is, the fact that I’ll have an edge type wise is just icing on the cake.”

“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash replied, clearly not convinced.

“Hey, we’re here!” Twilight and Rainbow Dash both turned towards Spike, who had been leading the group via the directions on his Pokédex. The building they found themselves in front of was every bit as large and imposing as the gym they had encountered in Mercury City. Aurum Town’s gym, however, looked more like a library or university when compared to the industrial façade of its Mercury City counterpart, its walls comprised of the same dark wood found on the rest of the town’s buildings. The only other point of interest on the gym’s exterior was a tent-shaped skylight which appeared to protrude up from the center of the gym’s roof.

“Well, at least it looks a little more inviting than the las gym we were at,” Twilight said as she walked up to the entrance, only to hesitate for a moment as she reached the door. “Ngh, I can do this. I have to do this,” Twilight muttered to herself as she pushed open the doors and stepped inside. In sharp contrast to the Mercury City Gym, the lobby of the Aurum Town Gym resembled an office waiting room, complete with a few overstuffed couches and an assortment of potted plants. The most striking aspect of the room was the back wall, which was comprised of glass panels. Behind the glass was what looked to be an indoor forest, complete with a dirt path running between the trees leading deeper inside.

“Whoa, just look at this place!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “You know what all this reminds time of?”

“The hidden gardens of Bakci Ayal from Daring Do and the Forgotten City?” Twilight replied excitedly as she peered through the glass. “I know, this is incredible. I’ve seen greenhouses before, of course, but never anything remotely on this scale. I wonder why they built something so – Augh!” As Twilight spoke, a massive, blue, beetle-like Pokémon emerged from the brush on the other side of the glass. The Pokémon’s sudden appeared caused Twilight to stumble backwards and fall onto the floor. The vicious looking Pokémon silently regarded Twilight for a moment, crackling arcs of electricity running along its massive mandibles. After a few seconds it seemed to lose interest, however, quickly turning and flying off back into the indoor forest. “What. In Equestria. Was that?” Twilight gasped.

“Spectacular, isn’t she?” a small voice said from nearby. Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to see a bespectacled girl seated at a small reception desk to their right. “That was our new Vikavolt, she just came in a few weeks ago from the Alola Region. Oh, I’m Arachne, by the way.”

“Hi, I’m Rainbow Dash, he’s Spike, and that over there’s Twilight Sparkle. Twilight’s here to take on your gym leader.”

“Really? You’ll want to talk to Arnold then. If you follow me I can take you to him, he’s probably in his office right now.” Arachne moved out from behind her desk and walked up to a keypad attached to one of the panel frames and entered in a few numbers. As she finished, one of the glass panels slid to one side, allowing entrance into the inner greenhouse. “Well, come on,” Arachne said as she motioned for the others to follow her inside. “Arnold’s office space is set up inside the enclosure.”

“Are you sure it’s safe in there?” Twilight asked as she hesitated, glancing nervously at the section of brush that the Vikavolt had disappeared into.

“Oh don’t worry, the Pokémon we have here are perfectly docile,” Arachne cheerfully assured Twilight. “Honestly, Bug Pokémon aren’t nearly as scary as a lot of people seem to think they are.”

“Yeah, come on, Twilight, you aren’t seriously scared of a few bugs, are you?” Rainbow Dash asked mockingly as she followed Arachne inside.

“No,” Twilight protested as she reluctantly entered. “At least not regular bugs anyway. Giant, people-sized bugs with mandibles the size of my arm, on the hand…” Despite Twilight’s continued mumbled protests, the trio followed Arachne into the indoor forest, the glass panel closing behind them with a soft click. Twilight was immediately struck by how hot and humid it was inside. “Is it always so hot in here?” Twilight asked.

“Hmm? Oh, right, sorry for not giving you a heads up about that. Most Bug Pokémon prefer this kind of environment and I’ve gotten used to it since I’ve worked here for so long, but I sometimes forget how uncomfortable other people find it. If it makes you feel better we’re almost to Arnold’s office. We just need to take a right at the fork in the path up ahead.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash merely nodded their heads as they followed along, Twilight not wanting to invite anymore teasing from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash herself, meanwhile, didn’t want to admit the heat and humidity were starting to get to her as well. Spike, on the other hand, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by the temperature. Indeed, the dragon-turned-human seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. “Wow, this place is awesome! And you’ve really got a bunch of Pokémon living in here?”

Arachne nodded. “We have over a dozen different Pokémon species living in the enclosure. Most of them tend to stay back from the main path, but we’ll probably see a few once we get to Arnold’s tree.”

“Wait, his ‘tree’?” Twilight asked. “I though you were taking us to…his…oh.” As Twilight spoke, Arachne led the group out into a small clearing. Standing in the clearing’s center was a particularly massive tree whose top branches brushed against the glass roof of the enclosure. As set of stairs wrapped around the trunk of the tree leading up to platform that sat roughly level with the tops of the other trees. “So, Arnold’s office…”

“Is right up on that platform,” Arachne said. “Arnold likes to be able to observe the Pokémon in the enclosure while he works.” As Twilight followed Arachne up the steps to the platform where her opponent awaited she quickly understood why this Arnold had set up his office there. The view of the enclosure was spectacular, even from only partway up the tree.

“This place is huge, you could fit the whole Ponyville town square in here, easy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “And look, they’ve got a whole bunch of butterfly Pokémon over there. Man, it’s really too bad Fluttershy isn’t here to see this.”

“Those would probably be our Vivillon. Pretty, aren’t they? We’ve been doing some research on the effects that differing climates have on their wing patterns.”

Intrigued, Twilight was about to aske Arachne to elaborate when she heard a young man’s voice coming from the platform above. “I get what you’re saying, Mort, believe me, but you’ve got to be patient with this stuff. The league’s only just started approving transfers from the Alola Region and neither of the two you’re talking about are going to be easy sells to have processed. Heck, I had to call in some major favors from Sparky to get Vikavolt as quickly as I did.” Quickly moving the rest of the way up the stairs to the platform itself, Twilight saw that the owner of the voice was a squat, sandy-haired young man whose face was dominated by a massive pair of coke-bottle glasses. “Hang on a sec, Mort, it looks like I’ve got some company, so I’m gonna have to call you back. So,” the young man said as he spun his chair around to face his visitors. “What brings you all to our little gym?”

“This girl would like to challenge you for the Scarab Badge,” Arachne replied as she gestured towards Twilight.

“A challenger, eh? Sounds good to me.” As Arnold spoke he rolled himself over to what appeared to be a filing cabinet of some sort. “So, which badge number is this going to be for you? Second, fourth, eight?”

“Actually, this will be my first actual gym battle,” Twilight admitted.

As soon as Twilight said that she was challenging Arnold for her first badge his entire body seemed to stiffen up. “Your very first badge, huh?” Arnold said before smacking his lips as though he had just tasted something unpleasant. “Out of curiosity, was there any particular reason you decided to come to this gym for your very first challenge?”

“No, there wasn’t any specific reason,” Twilight replied. “Though, the leader of the Mercury City Gym did suggest –“

“I KNEW IT!” Arnold roared as he launched out of his chair, face beet red with rage. “Oh, so you’re a new trainer? Why don’t you just head over to the bug gym for a nice easy win? Well, sorry if some of us train Pokémon who aren’t just floating blobs of solid metal!” By the time Arnold was finished with his rant he was breathing heavily.

“You all right there?” Rainbow Dash asked cautiously as Arnold stood there panting.

“Gnh, I’ll be fine. I’m just so sick of that elitist jerk treating my gym like a joke just because I happen to specialize in a type that’s popular with beginner trainers. I swear, as soon as Larvesta finally evolves I’m going to flash fry his entire team,” Arnold added under his breath before letting out a deep sigh. “Anyway, as the leader of the Aurum Town Gym I hereby accept your challenge. Arachne, could you show them to the field? I’ll be with you in just a bit.”

“Right, of course. Everyone, if you’ll follow me I’ll show you to where you’ll be having your gym battle.”

*********

The field, as it turned out, was a section of the enclosure that had been largely cleared of trees, roughly the same size of the arena they had seen in the Mercury City Gym. The most notable difference here was the presence of a pair of platforms overlooking the field at either end.

“Actually, that’s really clever,” Twilight remarked as she looked over the setup. “Having the trainers stand up on these platforms would give them a much better view of the battle while keeping them out of harm’s way.”

“Glad you approve,” a sardonic voice called out from the surrounding woods as Arnold stumped into view. “So, this will be a two versus two match, first trainer to have both of their Pokémon rendered unable to battle loses. Any questions?”

“No, I think I understand,” Twilight replied.

“Good, let’s get this started then.” Arnold quickly made his way to the platform on the other end of the field and began climbing up to the top. Twilight likewise climbed up the platform on her end and soon the pair were staring each other down from across the field. “Alright, let’s get this started! Joltik, go! The red light from Arnold’s Poké Ball coalesced on one of the stunted trees dotting the field into what looked like a tiny yellow blotch.

“What in Equestria…?” Twilight said as she squinted in an effort to make out her Charmander’s opponent. “What is that thing?”

Joltik, the Attaching Pokémon. Unable to generate electricity on its own, Joltik will either feed off the static electricity of larger Pokémon or absorb energy from electrical outlets.

Twilight glanced down to see Spike standing at the base of her platform, his Pokédex out and pointed at Arnold’s Joltik. “So, it’s a bug that eats electricity. Whoa, freaky,” Spike concluded succinctly.

“And also very good to know,” Twilight muttered to herself as she tossed her own Poké Ball into the field. “Go Charmander!”

“Ooh, a fire type. What a shockingly unexpected development this is,” Arnold said in an exaggeratedly sarcastic monotone.

Twilight, however, ignored Arnold’s commentary, instead focusing her attention entirely on his Pokémon. “Hmm, if this Joltik is a parasitic species than it likely relies on engaging in close quarters.” Twilight though to herself as she swiftly devised a strategy. “Charmander, use Ember! Keep that Joltik at a distance whatever you do!”

“Char!” With a shout of acknowledgement Charmander began snapping its tail forwards, sending out showers of cinders that enveloped the opposing Joltik.

Arnold, however, seemed rather unimpressed with Charmander’s efforts. “Joltik, get out of there and hit it with your Thunder Wave.” In a flash, Arnold’s Joltik began leaping from tree to tree, rapidly closing the distance between itself and Charmander. Once it was close enough, Joltik leapt into the air and spat out several expanding rings of crackling electricity at Charmander. Several of the rings struck home, leaving Charmander shaking as arcs of electricity crawled over its frame. “Good work Joltik. Now, use Screech before it can recover.” Before Twilight could even process what was happening, Joltik let out a horrible, piercing shriek.

“Gah!” Twilight cried out as she held her ears in a futile effort to block out the noise. “Charmander, do something. Ember, Scratch, Smokescreen, I don’t care, just make it stop!” Charmander, as desperate to end the din as Twilight, began flailing wildly about with its tail, sending streams of burning cinders in every direction. Luckily, one such shower clipped Joltik and ignited some of its fur.

Arnold watched impassively as his Joltik began frantically scurrying and rolling about the field in a desperate attempt to put itself out. Eventually, the unfortunate Pokémon did manage to extinguish itself, only to promptly collapse and roll over. “Joltik is unable to battle,” Arachne declared as Arnold recalled it to its Poké Ball.

“Good work Joltik, you did everything you needed to,” Arnold said as he stowed Joltik’s Poké Ball and took out another. “Now all I have to do is finish what you started.”

“Aren’t you being just a little overconfident?” Twilight snapped. “I only need to defeat your next Pokémon to win, after all.”

“Typical rookie,” Arnold sneered. “Take a closer look at your Charmander; thanks to Joltik it can barely move or defend itself properly. Finishing what Joltik started won’t exactly be difficult and since I’m guessing you’re the type of trainer to lead with her ace I doubt you have any other Pokémon that’ll even be half as threatening.”

“Is every gym leader here a complete jerk, or did we just get lucky with you and Ferris?” Rainbow Dash asked angrily.

“Man, if you think I’m bad then you would not be able to handle Mort,” Arnold retorted. “And speaking of things that you won’t be able to handle, go Pinsir!” The flash of light from Arnold’s Poké Ball revealed a monstrous, insect-like creature standing nearly five feet tall. What’s more, almost a foot of said height consisted of a wicked pair of spiked horns which twitched menacingly as the Pokémon glared at Charmander.

Pinsir, the Stab Beetle Pokémon. Pinsir’s massive horns are immensely strong, able to shatter thick logs and tear its prey apart.

Twilight could hear Spike saying something as his Pokédex finished reading Pinsir’s entry, but her mind was too preoccupied with her Charmander’s plight to process it. “Charmander, quick, use Smokescreen!” Twilight frantically yelled as she tried to think of an actual plan to deal with this new opponent.

“Heh, running scared already? Well, I can’t really blame you,” Arnold said with a grin. “Pinsir, there’s no need to rush this, why don’t you use Focus Energy.” Arnold’s Pinsir appeared to tense itself up in response as its body was suffused by a vivid blue glow. Twilight’s Charmander, meanwhile, struggled to cough out a torrent of black smoke, eventually managing to cover a full quarter of the battlefield in a thick haze. “Alright Pinsir, let’s wrap this up. Use Vice Grip!” Pinsir obediently lowered its head and charged into the smoke, its viscous horns snapping eagerly.

“Charmander, look out! Get out of the way and try using Ember!” Twilight cried out. As Twilight watched through the smoke, Charmander struggled to move quickly enough to avoid Pinsir’s assault. Luck seemed to be on its side, however, as Charmander stumbled and fell backwards just as Pinsir’s horns snapped at the empty air where Charmander’s neck had been. Furthermore, as Charmander rolled out of the way to escape, the burning end of its tail smacked into Pinsir’s side, eliciting a roar of pain from the rampaging Pokémon.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Arnold grumbled as he watched the two Pokémon stumble out from the smoke. “Alright, screw it, we’re going with plan B. Pinsir, let’s show ‘em what we can really do!” As Arnold spoke he crossed his arms in front of his chest, displaying a bracelet on his right arm similar to the ones Twilight and her friends had received when they first arrived. Arnold then proceeded to thrust both of his arms out in front of him before striking a pair of strange poses, with Pinsir mimicking its trainer’s movements. Adding to the spectacle, Arnold was soon surrounded by a bright, golden-orange light which burst out from him and streamed towards Pinsir, soon surrounding Pinsir by an intense aura of the same color. “Pinsir, Savage Spinout!” Arnold roared as he completed the strange ritual. Simultaneously, the aura surrounding Pinsir seemed to explode in a blinding flash of light as it disgorged a torrent of white threads from its mouth. As Twilight watched in horror the threads surrounded Charmander, wrapping around it until it was completely encased in a cocoon with a length of threads tethering it back to Pinsir. Before Twilight could fully make sense of what was going on, Pinsir grabbed hold of the tether and yanked it into the air. Twilight could only watch helplessly as Pinsir swung her cocooned Charmander wildly about, smashing it into several trees before finally slamming it into the ground with a stomach-churning thud.

With Pinsir’s attack finished, the threads of the cocoon dissipated to reveal a badly battered Charmander. “Charmander is unable to battle,” Arachne declared.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Rainbow Dash snapped as Twilight recalled Charmander to its Poké Ball. “Just what kind of crazy attack was that, anyway?”

“That was a Z-Move,” Arnold retorted. “It’s what happens when a Pokémon and their trainer are so completely in sync with each other that their power combines to unleash an unstoppable attack. Learning how to deal with attacks like that is part of completing the Javik League challenge.” Arnold added as he looked back over to Twilight. “Hey, you’ve still got one more Pokémon before you’re through, so send whatever it is out already!”

Twilight nodded nervously as she took out her Venipede’s Poké Ball. “Alright, here goes nothing. Venipede, go!”

“Huh, you’re using a Venipede?” Arnold said as Twilight’s Venipede appeared on the field. “And it looks like a pretty impressive specimen, too. Not exactly what I would have expected, but we’ll see if its enough to win. Pinsir, use Vice Grip.”

As Pinsir lowered its head to charge at its new opponent Twilight wracked her brains to thing of an option. It wasn’t until Pinsir’s horns were about to close around Venipede that an idea suddenly popped into her head. “Venipede, quick, use Rollout!” Venipede promptly curled itself into a ball, just as Pinsir’s horns snapped shut on it. As Pinsir lifted its opponent into the air, however, Venipede began spinning rapidly in place, enabling it to slip out of Pinsir’s grip and roll down its back onto the field.

“So it knows Rollout. Terrific,” Arnold growled as he watched Twilight’s Venipede cut a hairpin turn through the grass to come back around towards Pinsir. “Pinsir, we’ll need to finish this quickly. Hit it with another Vice Grip when it tries to come at you again.” Pinsir nodded and readied itself to launch its attacks, though as it bent down it cringed and clutched its side.

“Isn’t that the spot where Charmander hit Pinsir with its tail?” Spike asked as he watched the fight unfold.

“I think you’re right,” Twilight said. “Charmander’s last Ember must have hurt Pinsir more than it first appeared. I guess your Pokémon aren’t the only one’s who can set their teammates up for success,” Twilight added with a note of pride as she turned back to Arnold.

Arnold, however, appeared to be paying little attention to Twilight’s comments. Instead, Arnold was fixated on Twilight’s Venipede as it hurtled towards his Pinsir, a look of dawning horror slowly spreading across his features. “No, that thing’s definitely getting faster. But that would mean…aw crud, this isn’t good,” Arnold muttered to himself. Arnold’s mood soon soured even further as Pinsir’s effort to catch Venipede in its horns failed. Instead, Pinsir’s horns sliced through empty air as Venipede rushed past and bowled Pinsir over. Before Arnold could issue another command Venipede bounced off of a stump and ricocheted straight into Pinsir’s face just as it was standing back up, sending Pinsir crashing to the ground.

“Pinsir is unable to battle,” Arachne called out as it became clear that Pinsir was at its limit. “As the gym leader has no more Pokémon the winner is the challenger, Twilight Sparkle!”

“All right Twilight!” Spike cheered as Arachne made her declaration. “Way to go, that was awesome!”

“Yeah, you really showed that guy,” Rainbow Dash added as she turned to Arnold, who was climbing down off the platform after having recalled his Pinsir. “Still think Twilight’s just some rookie?”

“Hmph,” Arnold grunted as he waited for Twilight to descend down as well. “I’ll admit that that Venipede at least has some serious potential. You really lucked out to find own with the Speed Boost ability.” A few moments of awkward silence passed before Arnold brought his hand to his face in exasperation. “Oh for the love of – you have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? Alright, the short explanation is that ‘abilities’ refer to special qualities that all Pokémon can have. My Pinsir, for example, has the Hyper Cutter ability, which means it’s able to resist techniques that would cut its physical offense. Now, your Venipede, on the other hand, has a fairly rare ability called Speed Boost.”

“Which I’m guessing increases its speed somehow,” Twilight said as she finished climbing down. “I’ve noticed that happening while I was training it but I never understood why before.”

“Well now you know. Anyway, before you leave I need to give you this,” Arnold said as he pulled out a small square box and handed it to Twilight. Confused, Twilight opened it to reveal a small, blue and gold beetle-shaped pin along with a yellow-green crystal. “Those are your rewards for beating me,” Arnold explained. “One, you get the Scarab badge. In addition, you also receive a piece of Bugium-Z, that’s the crystal you’d use to perform Savage Spinout. First, you’ll need to insert it into the slot on the Z-Ring you got when you first arrived here.”

“You mean that strange-looking bracelet?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, that’s it. Then, once you’re ready to use the move you’d perform the ritual poses to activate the crystal’s power. I’ll give you a demonstration, so watch closely.” Arnold proceeded to perform the series of movements he had used to trigger the brutal finishing move his Pinsir had used on Charmander during their battle. In the absence of the glowing auras and adrenaline, however, the sight lost a fair bit of its impact.

“So, Twilight would seriously have to do all that whenever she wanted to use that move?” Rainbow Dash asked as she tried and failed to suppress a snickering fit.

“Yes, and I’d strongly recommend practicing the movements when you get the chance,” Arnold huffed. “Being able to reliably perform Z-moves is one of the first steps to being able to complete the Javik League.

“Yeah, yeah, sure it is,” Rainbow Dash replied dismissively before turning back to Twilight. “So, what do we do now?”

“Well, the first thing we need to do is head back to the Pokémon Center so Charmander can be treated. After that…I’m not really sure to be honest. Head to another town and challenge another gym leader, I guess.”

“Assuming you’re not planning on heading back to Mercury City to go after Ferris you might want to try heading east out to Mesa Town,” Arnold suggested. “Just a fair warning, though, now that you have your first badge your next gym challenge is going to be a lot tougher.”

“I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it,” Twilight replied. “Thankfully I should be able to focus on by training on my way there. It’s not as though there’s going to be all that much to distract me, right?”

*********

“Just…stay…in the stupid…ball,” a rather disheveled Trixie panted as she watched the Poké Ball on the ground violently wiggle back and forth. Finally, after several nerve-wracking seconds the ball came to a rest and let out a chime to signify that its occupant had ceased its efforts to escape. “Haha, finally! You were a worthy adversary, but now your power will be added to the team of an ever Greater and more Powerful Trixie!” Trixie paused for a moment as if she expected the forest to suddenly erupt in rapturous applause. To Trixie’s disappointment, however, the only sound that followed was a particularly loud snore from the direction of her campsite. Letting out a sigh, Trixie walked over to the Poké Ball containing her new teammate and picked it up, clasping it in her hands as she cackled evilly. “Soon, princess, you’ll finally be forced to admit that you’re second to the Great and Powerful –“

“Snrrrrrk!” The sound of Starlight’s snoring echoed into the night.

“- Trixie.”

Searching High and Lombre

“So anyway, that’s why I’m not allowed anywhere near the Galar League anymore,” Derek said, causing Pinkie Pie to burst into a fit of laughter. “Ever since then they’ve gotten really uptight about letting non-native species into the region. Or anyone with mega stones, for that matter.”

“At least it doesn’t sound like anyone was hurt,” Fluttershy said as she continued to paddle her kayak alongside Derek’s Lapras. As the group had journeyed further south the swamp had gradually given way to tangles of mangrove trees, the canopies of which allowed far more light to filter through. With the murk of the swamp further and further behind, the mood of the group seemed to brighten as well. “So, what should we do once we get to Aquarius City?”

“Pretty much anything we want,” Derek replied. “Aquarius City is one of the major gateways into the Javik region along with Mercury, so it’s a pretty big city. Aquarius is a bit more tourist focused, though, so its got a much more relaxed vibe. It’ll be a good place to stay while you tow wait for some of your friends to show up. Once we get clear of these mangroves we’ll want to start heading west along the coastline, that should take us straight there.”

“Ooh, do you think we’ll meet any new Pokémon along the way,” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

“More than likely,” Derek replied. “You get all sorts of Pokémon living these mangroves and along the coast. Honestly, I’d be a little surprised if we didn’t run into something before we even clear the forest –” At that exact moment, a toddler-sized blue and green Pokémon with a large lily pad on its head splashed out of the water and clambered up onto the bow of Pinkie Pie’s kayak. “Such as that Lombre, for, example. Not exactly the Pokémon I was expecting to run into, they’re usually nocturnal, but that’s Pokémon for you.”

“Hi there! My name’s Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie eagerly greeted the Lombre as she leaned forward out of her kayak’s seat, causing it to rock unsteadily.

“Lombre,” came the Lombre’s laconic response as it tried to stay flat on its stomach to prevent the boat from capsizing.

“Um, Pinkie, maybe you should sit back down before your kayak tips over,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, alright,” Pinkie Pie replied, momentarily dejected, before immediately perking back up again. “Hey, Fluttershy, you can talk to him, right? What’s this little guy got to say?”

“Lombre,” the Lombre added.

“No, she’s always like that, but she is very nice,” Fluttershy said.

“Lombre. Lombre,” the Lombre replied as it seemed to relax a little.

“I’m sure that’s fine, take all the time you need,” Fluttershy said before turning to Pinkie Pie. “Mister Lombre’s just tired and needs to rest for a bit.”

“Hey, Fluttershy, is there something the matter?” Derek asked as he maneuvered Isla closer to Fluttershy’s kayak.

“Well…you said that Lombre are usually nocturnal, right?” Fluttershy said softly so as not to be overheard. “That might be the cause of it, it’s just that Lombre seems a little, I guess on edge would be the best way to put it. It’s not that it seems like it’s afraid of people I’ve seen that enough times to know when that’s an issue with a creature, it just seems like something’s made Lombre very tense.”

Before Derek could reply, the sounds of people yelling angrily could be heard echoing through the trees. The Lombre immediately lifted its head in alarm at this and promptly rolled off of Pinkie Pie’s kayak into the water. Less than a minute later, several canoes carrying an assortment of angry-looking individuals paddled into view. “Hey! Have any of you three seen a Lombre lurking around out here?”

“No, I can’t say that we have,” Derek replied quickly as he subtly motioned for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to remain silent. “Why, were you hoping to catch one? If so, I know a breeder back in Faunaville that could –”

“We don’t want any more of those things around here, we’ve already got enough trouble with the one that’s already here!” one of the other men crammed into the boat yelled out.

“That’s enough, Gary, it doesn’t sound like these folks have seen the rotten little pest, and there’s no point taking things out on them!” The first man yelled before turning back to address the trio. “Sorry about that, but we’re all a bit on edge right now over this situation. If you want, you can come with us back to our village and I’ll explain everything.” As angry murmurs began to erupt from among the others the man turned around. “Look, I don’t like the idea of calling off the hunt for today anymore than the rest of you, but if that thing’s gotten this far into the mangroves then we’ll never fit it. Best to head back, post some guards and try again if it shows its face.”

“Well, what do you two think?” Derek asked as he looked back at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“Actually, I think we should go with them and figure out what’s going on,” Fluttershy replied. “Whatever these people think that Lombre did, its obviously got them very upset and I feel like we should try and get to the bottom of it before somecreature gets hurt.”

“I’m with Fluttershy, it’s no good for everybody to be all yelly and angry and stuff,” Pinkie Pie added.

“Fair enough. Alright, lead the way, mister…”

“Carter. Anyway, just give us a minute to turn around and we’ll lead you back to our village.”

“Hold on, did you say your village?” Derek asked. “I didn’t know there was a settlement around here.”

“Well, its not exactly much of a settlement,” Carter laughed. “You see, were pearl divers and we live right on the water near the pearl beds. There’s a huge Shellder colony right offshore nearby, and for some reason whenever a Shellder develops a pearl that gets too big they like to spit them out in roughly the same spot. Normally, we could just dive down and scoop those pearls right up, but lately some rogue Lombre has been making a complete mess of our whole operation. The Shellder are getting scared off, our equipment’s been trashed and its even been making off with our hauls. If we don’t figure out some way of stopping it from causing trouble our whole village will be ruined.”

“But, how do you know the Lombre is the one doing all that? Couldn’t there be some other explanation?” Fluttershy asked.

Carter shook his head. “We’ve spotted the Lombre running off after a bunch of the incidents, and last night a couple of travelers caught it red-handed.”

Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie fell quiet as they absorbed this information. “Lombre do have a reputation for being mischievous,” Derek said, sensing his companions’ disquiet. “Usually, though, that doesn’t go further than playing pranks on fisherman. I’ve never heard of one causing this kind of trouble you’re describing.”

“Well, I guess we’re just lucky, then aren’t we?” Carter snapped back as the group finally emerged from the mangroves out onto the open water next to the coastline. Turning south, the group only needed to follow along the coastline for a few minutes before Carter’s village came into view. Situated a few dozen yards out into the water, most of the ‘village’ appeared to consist of barges and houseboats lashed together in a haphazard manner. The only structure that looked relatively permanent was a large wooden structure which had been built atop a series of wooden pilings rising up above the waterline. “That big building is basically a combination meeting hall and storeroom. Normally we’d be keeping it locked up tight, but these days there’s not much point.”

“Would you mind if we took a look around there for a bit?” Derek suddenly asked. “If the Lombre’s been raiding the place then there’s a good chance we might be able to find a clue inside that could help you track it down. Or, at the very least we might be able to help you figure out a way to keep it from getting back in.”

Carter shrugged in response. “If you think you can help then you’re welcome to try. We’ll take all the help we can get at this point.”

As Carter waved the trio over towards the building, Fluttershy maneuvered her kayak closer to Derek. “Are you sure we should really help these people find that Lombre? It really didn’t seem like it was the sort of creature to cause this kind of trouble.”

“Which is why I ant to get a good look at those storerooms,” Derek replied. “Something about this whole business feels fishy to me. With any luck, once we can take a closer look at this storeroom we can find some clues as to what’s really going on.”

“You don’t think somebody’s been framing that poor Pokémon, do you?” Pinkie Pie gasped. “Who could be mean enough to do something like that?”

*********

“Dude, this is the most awesome idea you’ve ever had!” Femur said happily as he allowed the handful of stolen pearls to fall through his fingers.

“I know, right? The boss is gonna flip when he finds out we swiped all this loot for him without anybody even suspectin’ us. He’s gonna have to admit we’re the hardest boneheads in the team after this,” Ribcage crowed. “The best part is that those loser divers are all blamin’ that dumb little fer everythin’, when it was tryin’ to stop us.”

“Hey, I was just thinking about that thing, and I think I may have an idea on how to really up our game. Check this; all those divers are out hunting that Lombre because they think its been the one messing with them, right? I bet if we caught that thing then they’d give as a sweet reward for saving them from it. Then we could give the boss the pearls and the Lombre and prove that we really are the baddest, maddest, raddest grunts there is!” Femur said.

“My man,” Ribcage replied in awe. “That plan is full epic! Just one thing, though. How’re we supposed to find that Lombre to catch it? Those divers may be a bunch of uncool doofuses, but they seemed pretty serious about catchin’ it themselves, and they couldn’t even find it.”

“Don’t even worry, I’ve already got you covered there. You see, I was watching that village earlier to see if they had anything else worth swiping and guess who I saw rolling up there? That bunch of uncool goody-two shoe losers who keep busting up our flow,” Femur said.

“Uh, dude, isn’t that kinda a bad thing?” Ribcage replied,

“No, man, see I’ve got a plan that’ll make those wannabes work for us for a change. All we’ve got to do is this…”

*********

“So, here we are at the scene of the crim,” Pinkie Pie said as she blew a few bubbles out of her pipe and adjusted her deerstalker hat as it slipped down over her eyes. “Now all we have to do is find some clues to point us to the real culprit!”

“Part of me wants to ask where she got the hat and pipe, but another part tells me I probably shouldn’t ask too many questions about that,” Derek said as he and Fluttershy watched Pinkie Pie begin carefully examining every inch of the space the divers had set aside for storage.

“You should probably listen to that second part,” Fluttershy agreed. “Pinkie is right about one thing, though. We really need to find some clues as to what’s really been going on around here.”

“Well, I will admit it does look like someone or something ransacked this place,” Derek said. “Carter didn’t mention the thief taking anything else besides the pearls, did he?”

“I don’t think so,” Fluttershy said. “And I can’t think of a reason why a Pokémon would even want to steal something like that. Setting aside that stealing something that isn’t yours isn’t a very nice thing to do at all, a Pokémon wouldn’t even have any use for pearls.”

“Ah ha!” Pinkie Pie cried out, grabbing her friend’s attention. “I’ve found the clue that will break this case wide open, like a pinata full of yummy, yummy candy.” Fluttershy and Derek were forced to wait in suspense as to hear what it was that Pinkie Pie had uncovered as her mind was temporarily occupied by thoughts of candy. “Sorry, where was I? Oh right, I figured out where the no-good meanie who framed that Lombre got in here. You see that window up there? Its not locked or anything, so I bet whoever was responsible climbed through there to get in here, and that thing’s way too high for Lombre to get into.”

“Well, I agree that somebody could have climbed up through there into the storeroom and I can’t really see a Lombre pulling that off,” Derek said as he inspected the window Pinkie Pie had pointed out. “But, that doesn’t really prove the Lombre didn’t do anything, it just shows how someone else could have. For instance, there’s still the question of the witnesses that say they saw Lombre running out of here.”

“I’ve been wondering about that, too,” Fluttershy said. “Carter said that it was a couple of travelers who saw it. Do you think they might still be somewhere here in the village? Maybe we could ask one of them to give us more details on what exactly they saw.”

“It’s kinda funny when you think about it,” Pinkie Pie said. “If whoever they were hadn’t seen Lombre then I bet those pearl divers wouldn’t even think it was responsible for any of this. That was pretty lucky for whoever did do this if you ask me. Otherwise, everybody would probably be trying to track down the actual culprits and not Lombre.”

A moment of silence passed as Pinkie Pie’s words sank in before both Derek and Fluttershy slapped their foreheads in unison. “Pinkie, you’re a genius!” Derek said.

“I am?”

“Whoever it was that told the villagers that they saw Lombre robbing this place was probably the actual culprit,” Derek said. “Framing Lombre meant they’d be free to get away with everything while the villagers were too busy trying to chase Lombre off to stop them.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened as she let out a gasp of shock and horror. “That…that’s one of the meanest things I’ve ever heard. That’d be even meaner than eating all of somepony’s jelly beans except the black licorice ones!”

“…Sure, let’s go with that. Anyway, if that is the case then the next question is what do we do about it?” Derek asked.

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do! We’re going to find that Lombre and help it prove its innocence,” Pinkie Pie declared.

“Setting aside the fact that we don’t really have any evidence that could prove the Lombre didn’t actually steal anything, how do you even plan to find the Lombre in the first place?” Derek asked.

Pinkie Pie’s hair deflated slightly at this until Fluttershy suddenly spoke up. “I think the best place to start looking would be back in the mangroves where we first met it. Even though it was being chased by those villagers, Lombre was still comfortable with coming up to us, and I thing that may have been because it was close enough to its home that it knew it could escape if it wanted to.”

“Okay, that’s not an unreasonable conclusion,” Derek conceded. “But I still don’t see how finding the Lombre is going to help you prove that it didn’t do any of this.”

“That’s where Fluttershy comes in! Fluttershy can talk to Pokémon, remember? That means that Fluttershy can ask the Lombre what really happened, and if it saw who was really responsible then we can catch them and prove Lombre didn’t do anything wrong,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Well, at the very least it sounds like you’ve come up with more a plan than I have, so I’m all for it,” Derek concluded after a moment’s though. “Fluttershy, this whole thing is going to rely on you, so what do you think?”

“If there’s a chance to help a creature who’s in trouble than you can count me in too!” Fluttershy replied firmly.

“I guess that settles it, then. That said, I think I’m going to stay behind while the two of you go out to look for the Lombre,” Derek said.

“Aw, but how come?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Two reasons. The first is that Lombre is probably going to be more than a little leery of big groups of humans, so you plan might work a little better if there are fewer of us out there. Second, while you’re out trying to find Lombre I’m going to see what I can do to get the villagers to calm down a little and listen to the possibility that the Lombre isn’t the culprit they’re looking for. It won’t do anyone any good if finding the Lombre just means leading and angry mob straight to it.”

“Mmhm, mmhm, makes sense,” Pinkie Pie said as she nodded her head in agreement. “Alrighty then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get out there and prove that cute little critter isn’t a no-good, pearl-stealing meanie-pants! There’s no possible way this plan can go wrong!”

*********

“Wow, I really did not expect things to go wrong that quickly,” Pinkie Pie said as she clung to the branch of one of the mangrove trees, several large and vicious green and black fish circling the ruins of what was left of her kayak beneath her. “Fluttershy, any luck asking these fishies to not eat me?”

“I don’t think they actually want to eat you; they’re just upset because they think we trespassed in their territory,” Fluttershy called out from her kayak several yards away. Just then, there was a sickening crunch as something yanked Fluttershy’s paddle under the water. As Fluttershy pulled it back out, revealing that the pole now ended in a jagged stump, one of the fish-like Pokémon surfaced nearby and snarled angrily.

“Basculin!”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry, I was a little mistaken. It seems they’re angry about our trespassing, and because of that they do want to eat you,” Fluttershy said apologetically.

“But I don’t want to be fish food!” Pinkie Pie wailed as the branch she was hanging off of creaked ominously. “Can’t I just apologize? It’s not like I mean to trespass or anything.”

“Hold on, I’ll see,” Fluttershy replied as Pinkie Pie promptly broke out in a fit of giggles over the perceived pun. “Excuse me, I understand that you’re all very upset with my friend and I, and we’re very sorry to have bothered you. If you could just let my friend go and not eat her, we’d – Hey!” Much to Fluttershy’s chagrin, her pleas for calm fell on deaf ears (or the piscine equivalent) as several of the Basculin began leaping out of the water towards Pinkie Pie. “Alright, busters, I have tried to be as polite and understanding about this as possible, but if you’re not going to listen to reason then I have no choice by to give you the Stare!” Leaning forward, Fluttershy glared at the Basculin with an intensity that in the past had reduced even full-grown dragons to tears.

The Basculin, however, seemed wholly unimpressed with Fluttershy’s efforts, one even going so far as to take a sizable bite out of the side of her kayak. “Fluttershy! I don’t think it’s working,” Pinkie Pie yelled as one of the Basculin snapped in jaws mere inches from her rump.

“I noticed, they must be too aggressive for my Stare to get through to them,” Fluttershy said.

As the two friends frantically tried to come with a new plan, the branch Pinkie Pie was clinging to creaked and sagged further, leaving Pinkie Pie perilously close to the water. Sensing an opportunity, one of the Basculin leapt clear of the water towards Pinkie. Thankfully, the Basculin was blasted by a red beam of light coming from further into the forest, causing it to awkwardly flop back into the water.

“Whoa, what was that?” Pinkie Pie asked. As if to answer her question, a gigantic lily pad floated out from between the mangrove trees, which then lifted up to reveal a vaguely amphibian visage.

“Lombre.”

“Fluttershy! Look! It’s Lombre, he came her to save – Eek!” In her excitement, Pinkie Pie had started to gesture wildly towards the Lombre, nearly losing her grip on her branch in the process. “He must have come to save us from these angry fishies.”

“Lombre.” The assembled Basculin quickly turned their attention to this new interloper, though none of them seemed all that eager to be the first to approach it. Taking advantage of the situation, Lombre moved through the water until it had positioned itself between the Basculin and the tree Pinkie was hanging from. A few tense seconds ticked by as Lombre and the Basculin stared at each other in silence, until finally the Basculin retreated back into the forest.

“Well how do you like that? We came out her to help you, but you wound up saving us first,” Pinkie Pie said as she looked down at the Lombre from her perch.

“Lombre?”

“We know about the problems you’ve been having with the villagers, and we think we may have a way to prove to everyone that you’re not the one who’s been causing all the trouble,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, if you can come back to the village with us, then Fluttershy here can help you explain what’s actually been going on,” Pinkie Pie added.

“Yo yo yo, that plan of yours sounds pretty nice, but now we’re here to put it on ice,” an irritatingly familiar voice suddenly yelled out.

“Get ready to cry, get ready to rage, here comes ya boys Femur and Ribcage!”

“Oh for Celestia’s sake,” Fluttershy groaned as a ramshackle boat carrying the two grunts floated into view. “Don’t you two have anything better to do besides follow us around causing trouble?”

“Guess this bonehead’s gonna have to burst yer bubble, ‘cause there ain’t nothin’ cooler than causin’ trouble,” Ribcage replied.

“Now, that said, this time you two can just step aside. We’re here for that ‘mon, its coming with us for a ride,” Femur added.

“What are you two no good meanie mean-pantses planning on doing to Lombre?” Pinkie Pie demanded.

“Check it, that Lombre’s been kickin’ up one major fuss, so once we drag it back to that village it’ll be one sweet payday for us,” Ribcage replied with a smug grin.

“Hey, Lombre didn’t do any of that, it was somebody –” Pinkie Pie’s eyes suddenly widened and she let out a loud gasp as something in her mind clicked into place. “You! You two were the ones who’ve been stealing things and causing problems for everyone, weren’t you?”

“Causin’ trouble is what grunts like us do best, but we ain’t sayin’ nothin’ else, so you can give it a rest,” Ribcage said defensively. “Course we got you covered if you need help with that. Get ready for a beatin’ courtesy of Zubat!”

“Yeah boy, we’re going to knock you out, so get ready to rumble with my main ‘mon Bellsprout!” Femur added as he tossed out his own Poké Ball as well.

“You can make as may rhymes as you want, we’re still not going to let you hurt that Lombre. Right, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie yelled.

“That’s right! Croagunk, we need your help!” As Fluttershy’s Croagunk materialized on the front of her kayak, however, its weight caused the front of the kayak to dip dangerously into the water. “Oh my, um, Croagunk, maybe you should move a little closer towards the center? Oh dear…” Fluttershy desperately leaned back as she tried to rebalance the vessel, while Croagunk dropped to all fours and crawled towards her.

“Hah, looks like those boats of yours were a bad bet, now your defense is just all wet,” Femur laughed.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I’ve still got this! Go Toothy!” Moments later, Pinkie Pie’s Totodile was in the water, cheerfully doing the backstroke as its trainer hung upside-down overhead. “Okay Toothy, we need to stop these baddies from hurting that nice Lombre, alight? So, give that bat a Bite!”

“Ya must be trippin’, ain’t gonna lie. How’s that dumb gator gonna get my Zubat when its up in the –” Before Ribcage could finish his sentence, Toothy launched itself out of the water and snapped its jaws tight onto Zubat’s midsection. Miraculously, Zubat was able to frantically beat its wings hard enough to keep both it and Toothy aloft, but only just barely. “Oh, this ain’t lookin’ good, but…something something wood? Dude, could you help me out her or something?”

“Ease up, bro, don’t lose your cool. I’ll save your butt once I’m done with this fool,” Femur said as he watched Fluttershy finally steady her kayak enough to refocus on the grunts. “I’ve got to keep this short, ‘cause my boy Ribcage is tripping, so I’ll just have my Bellsprout give you a Vine –” Without warning, Croagunk leapt off of Fluttershy’s kayak and landed directly in front of Femur and his Bellsprout, while wearing a wicked grin. “– Whipping?” Femur concluded sounding far less confident. As Femur gave the command, Bellsprout brought one of its vines down on Croagunk, only for Croagunk to contemptuously snatch the vine out of the air.

“We really shouldn’t drag this out any longer than we have to, so use Feint Attack!” Fluttershy yelled. Nodding its head in agreement, Croagunk viciously yanked Bellsprout’s vine, pulling the unfortunate Grass-type forward before Croagunk smashed it in the face with its free hand.

“Huh, I kind of expected that to go differently,” Femur said, dumbfounded as he recalled his Bellsprout. “As uncool as it is to admit, I think we might be beat. Let’s pack up we can and make a quick retreat.”

“Man, this is seriously lame, getting’ thrashed by these girls. Joke’s on them, though, ‘cause we’re still sailin’ away with all those pearls!” Ribcage added.

“Are you guys sure about that?” Everyone promptly turned their heads to see Derek seated atop Isla. More importantly, however, was that behind there were a number of villagers in canoes, all glaring angrily at the two grunts.

“So, you two were the ones robbing our storeroom! And then you tricked us into blaming that poor Lombre!” Carter yelled amid the angry rumblings of the other villagers.

Faced with this turn of events, Ribcage and Femur both rushed to their boat’s controls and began frantically hammering on the buttons. “Ain’t gonna lie, this has been a rout. So its time these boneheads were checkin’ out!” Ribcage said as the boat’s motor finally sputtered to life. The dilapidated engine let out a cloud of noxious black smoke as the boat lurched forward out into the water, several of the villagers’ canoes paddling after it in pursuit.

“Huh, I guess you tow had things pretty much under control,” Derek said as he watched the grunts flee off into the distance. “Although, what the heck happened to your kayak, Fluttershy?”

“We ran into a school of aggressive Pokémon that were upset with us for intruding in their territory. Pinkie Pie got the worst of it, though. Luckily she was able to climb into that tree before her kayak was completely destroyed,” Fluttershy explained.

“Oh, so that’s why Pinkie Pie’s hanging from a tree branch,” Derek said. “Honestly I’ve just stopped being surprised by that sort of thing with her.”

“That’s fair, I get a lot,” Pinkie Pie said as Derek maneuvered Isla so that Pinkie could drop onto her back. “Well, at least it looks like we were able to get those villagers to stop trying to hunt that – hey!” As Pinkie Pie spoke, the Lombre clambered up next to her. “Hiya! It looks like everyone knows that you weren’t the one causing all that mischief, so now you don’t need to worry about anyone bothering you. Oh, and thank you for saving me from the those angry fishies, that was really niece of you. So, what are you going to do now?”

“Lombre,” the Lombre replied as it continued to look up at Pinkie Pie expectantly.

“Uh huh. Uh huh. Interesting,” Pinkie Pie said as she nodded her head.

“So, what’s it saying?” Derek asked.

“I have no idea. Fluttershy, what’s Lombre saying?” Pinkie asked.

“I think Lombre wants to come with us,” Fluttershy said, causing Lombre to nod its head in affirmation.

“Really? That’s terrific!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she reached into her bag and fished out a Poké Ball, which she the proffered to Lombre. “Here you go, Lombre, welcome to Team Pinkie!”

Waltzing The Danse Macabre

“You know, darling, all things considered this really isn’t so bad,” Rarity said as she forced a smile. “The accommodations are quite comfortable, we didn’t have to worry about getting soaked in the storm last night and this breakfast is one of the most scrumptious things I’ve had since we’ve been here.”

“I’m so delighted that you’re enjoying it,” Wraithsworth said as he materialized next to Rarity holding a teapot. “It’s always a particular pleasure to entertain a guest who appreciate all the effort we put into our hospitality. Why, my pancake recipe alone took me practically a lifetime to perfect!” This last statement triggered a chorus of cackling laughter from the myriad Ghost Pokémon flitting about the roof of the dining hall. “Sorry, that was just a bit of spectral humor there. Miss Applejack, can I offer you anything? Another cup of tea, perhaps?”

“Ah’m. Fine.” Applejack replied tersely as she glared at Wraithsworth. “Y’all do realize that y’all can’t keep us here forever.”

“Oh come now, there’s no need for such dramatics,” Wraithsworth replied. “You’re talking as though we’re planning on holding you prisoner forever. You’re simply our guests, and we at the chateau take great pride in ensuring proper treatment of our guests. I know, why don’t I fetch you another apple danish, I’m sure that will help improve your mood.” With that, Wraithsworth floated off into the shadows while cheerfully humming to himself.

“Dang it, Rarity, we have got to figure some way of gettin’ out of this crazy place,” Applejack said in a harsh whisper the moment Wraithsworth disappeared from view.

“You think I don’t know that? I woke up this morning with a floating skull…thing starting directly at me,” Rarity hissed back. “But, unless you think we can somehow fight our way out of here I don’t see how antagonizing our hosts is going to help matters. At least for the time being they’re not trying to do something horrible to us, unlike a certain other duo I could mention.”

“Nothin’ horrible to us aside from keepin’ us locked up in here, y’all mean,” Applejack replied tersely.

“I rather doubt that’s the worst thing that could happen to us here, and it’s a far cry from what Chrysalis and Sombra tried to do. Don’t forget, those two are still likely chasing us, and I rather prefer having a small army of Ghost Pokémon between us and them for the time being.” Rarity said.

Applejack closed her eyes and sighed. “Ah hear what y’all are sayin’, and Ah can’t rightly argue with y’all on that point. Even so, we can’t just sit around here hopin’ that somethin’s gonna walk through those doors that’ll let us get the hay out of here.”

Mere moments after those words had left Applejack’s mouth, the outer doors of the dining room swung open as an odd-looking, barefoot woman stepped inside. Between her long, uncombed hair and simple, frayed gown, one might have at first assumed she was some manner of vagrant. The way she held herself, however, gave the impression of someone completely in control of themselves and their surroundings. “Hello, everyone, I’m – oh, the chateau has visitors I see.”

“Visitors nothin’, y’all might wanna clear outta here fast or else y’all might not be able to leave at all!” Applejack yelled in a frantic attempt to warn the newcomer.

“What are you…oh no, not again,” the woman said before letting out an exasperated groan. “Wraithsworth! Would you come here please?”

Seconds later, Wraithsworth popped out from a nearby wall and rushed over to great the woman. “Lady Spectra! You’ve returned, oh how wonderful! Have you eaten yet, as you can see over there our other guests are just finishing up breakfast, but if you’d like I’d be more than happy to –”

“Wraithsworth,” Spectra interrupted testily. “I received the distinct impression from these ladies that they were concerned for my safety when I walked in here. Almost as though they thought I might wind up getting imprisoned here. You wouldn’t happen to have any idea why they might have thought something like that, would you?”

Wraithsworth began nervously kneading his hands together as he seemed to shrink from Spectra’s withering stare. “I…well…none of us meant any real harm, and we made certain they were very well cared for…”

“Wraithsworth, what have I told you about how you are treat the chateau’s guests?” Spectra said.

“We’re not to prevent guests from leaving the chateau if they wish to do so,” Wraithsworth said dejectedly, as if this was a phrase he had been forced to recite repeatedly in the past.

“And what have you been doing?” Spectra continued.

“To be fair, there was an absolutely dreadful storm last night,” Wraithsworth protested feebly. “I couldn’t very well let our guests put themselves in danger like that.”

“And you didn’t tell them they were free to go this morning because…” Spectra replied.

“I…didn’t want them to skip breakfast? It is the most important meal of the day, after all,” Wraithsworth offered halfheartedly before slumping forward in defeat.

Satisfied, Spectra turned from Wraithsworth back to Applejack and Rarity. “On behalf of the Chateau Fantome, I’d like to both of you for our butler’s behavior,” Spectra said as she strode past a still desperately apologizing Wraithsworth. “Wraithsworth means well, but he’s compelled to serve, and sometimes that compulsion can drive him to –”

“Keep any folks who happen to wander into this place from leavin’?” Applejack asked.

“It’s a terrible habit, and I do my best to get him to behave, but ghosts are creatures of habit and getting them to changes is almost impossible. I hope all this wasn’t too much trouble for you,” Spectra said.

“Well, now that’s all said and done I suppose it wasn’t really that bad,” Rarity said, earning an incredulous look from Applejack. “What? We had a dry, comfortable place to stay where we didn’t have to worry about either the storm or Sombra and Chrysalis, and now that Miss Spectra is here we can finally leave.”

“Pardon me for asking, but what are Sombra and Chrysalis?” Spectra asked.

“They’re more of a who type of problem than a what,” Applejack replied. “To be more specific, they’re a couple of real nasty villain-types who attacked us while we were headed up the mountains. That’s how we wound up in this place, we were runnin’ from ‘em and when a storm started up, we needed a place to hide and take shelter.”

“I see,” Spectra replied as she pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it into the air, releasing a Pokémon that resembled a demented dark gray doll with a zipper for a mouth. “Banette, it would seem that in addition to our guests, we may have a pair of troublemakers lurking in the area. Take a look around and see if you can find them.” Banette immediately flew off into the shadows, cackling evilly as it went.

“You know, if it were anyone else, I might actually feel sorry for them,” Rarity remarked. “As its Sombra and Chrysalis, however, I’d say they rightly deserve whatever it is they’re about to get.”

“It’s my pleasure, especially after all the trouble Wraithsworth must have put you through. I’m just curious, though, what exactly brought the two of you up the mountain in the first place? This part of the island isn’t exactly a draw for tourists,” Spectra said.

“Well, to tell the truth, we’re actually tryin’ to get to Aquarius City,” Applejack explained. “A couple of our friends are headed out that way and we were hopin’ to catch up with them, but with that swamp between us and there we figured goin’ up and around would be faster. Didn’t really figure on gettin’ chased into a haunted Pokémon Center. Speakin’ of which, if ya’ll don’t mind mah askin’, why exactly do y’all have a Pokémon Center built next to yer house, anyway?”

“Oh, that thing,” Spectra said rolling her eyes. “League regulations require that every gym have a Pokémon Center within a certain distance. I wouldn’t really mind except for the fact that I just can’t find a Nurse Joy to stay way out her, so the stupid thing ended up empty and abandoned. Which, admittedly, does match our general sensibilities just fine, but it still feels like the League could have found at least a little room to compromise. As things stand now we just have a few of our residents drop off medicine if anyone wanders in and looks like they need the help.”

“Hang on just a second there, are y’all sayin’ that there’s a gym around these parts too?” Applejack asked.

“Of course, in addition to being a Ghost Pokémon sanctuary the Chateau Fantome serves as one of the Javik League’s gyms,” Spectra said proudly.

“Well, how about that,” Applejack mused.

“Applejack, what are you thinking?” Rarity asked cautiously.

“Ah wasn’t plannin’ on goin’ after any more gyms, at least not until we got to Aquarius City. But, on the other hand, if we’re here anyway…” Applejack turned to Spectra. “Ah don’t mean to impose or nothin’, but if it wouldn’t be too much trouble…”

“You’re looking to squeeze in a gym battle before you leave? How delightful!” Spectra exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement. “I’ll have Wraithsworth make the preparations at once!”

*********

“Are you sure we’re even going the right way?” Chrysalis hissed as she trudged behind Sombra. After spending an entire night unable to sleep due to being rained on, Chrysalis’ mood was even fouler than usual. “For all we know they might have doubled back and slipped back through the graveyard.”

“If you want to turn around and try wandering aimlessly through these mountains then feel free to do so,” Sombra snapped back. “Then, after I’ve accomplished our goal myself I’ll be sure to let Grogar know that you abandoned our mission.” Chrysalis growled in frustration at this, but soon slunk back in temporary defeat. “Having my Sableye track the scent of the gems that purple-haired one has on her is still the best option we have to find them, so unless you’ve been hiding some secret way of tracking them all this time I suggest you –”

“Hey, it looks like – neHaw! – Sableye found something!” Bray yelled from further up the path. Leaving off excoriating each other for the moment, Sombra and Chrysalis hurried up over the next rise to see a pair of buildings nestled in a wide valley.

“Congratulations, it would appear your Sableye isn’t completely blind,” Chrysalis said acidly.

“Oh shut up,” Sombra snapped. “We wouldn’t have found this place without it, and those two were almost certainly sheltering here last night. Now hurry up, if we move quickly then we should be able to catch them off guard.”

*********

“This will be your second gym battle, if I’m not mistaken,” Spectra said as she walked over to the head of the dining table before frowning. “Wraithsworth, would you please clear this up for us?”

“Of course, madam,” Wraithsworth said was he appeared near the top of one of the pillars lining the sides of the room. “I apologize for the delay, I just had some last minute housekeeping to oversee.” As Wraithsworth spoke, one of his hands disappeared behind the pillar and appeared to pull a hidden lever of some kind. As soon as he did so, the room was filled with an earsplitting grinding sound as the floor began to slide back into the walls, the banquet table splitting apart down the middle as it was pulled to either side. Mercifully, the noise lasted less than a minute (though to Applejack and Rarity it felt much longer) and by the end the room had been transformed into a battling arena.

“Alright, this will be a two on two battle, I’m sure you know the process, so let’s get started. Go Mimikyu!” Spectra tossed out her Poké Ball, releasing what at first looked like an odd, rabbit-like creature with a long, stiff tail. Upon closer inspection, however, Applejack realized that the ‘head’ of the creature was just a poorly painted facsimile on top of what she presumed was her real opponent. “Isn’t he just the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen?” Spectra gushed.

“Not exactly sure cute is the word Ah’d use,” Applejack muttered as she pulled out her own Poké Ball. “Go Aron!” Spectra raised an eyebrow as Applejack’s Aron hit the floor of the arena with an audible thud, though she said nothing. “Alright then, let’s get this shindig started.”

“Yes, let’s,” Spectra replied as a strange calm seemed to settle over her. “Mimikyu, begin with Swords Dance.” Spectra’s Mimikyu let out a gurgling hiss as several glowing, light-blue swords appeared in the air around it, clashing their blades together several times before vanishing. As the swords disappeared, Applejack could see Mimikyu surrounded in a sinister red aura.

“Ah’m not too sure what the hay yer up to, but Ah sure as hay ain’t takin’ any chances,” Applejack said as she flexed her arm, revealing her Z-ring already glowing with power. “Whatever trick y’all may have been plannin’ ain’t gonna mean a hill of beans in a second. Aron, let’s hit this thing with everythin’ we’ve got. Y’all ready?” Aron grunted as it nodded its head, its body already suffused with golden light. Grinning broadly, Applejack stuck her arms out in front of her as she struck the poses she had learned from her battle with Profess Amber. As Applejack did so, wisps of light began to trail off from the aura surrounding Aron, gathering together in a glowing ball hovering in front of it. Then, just as Applejack finished the last of her movements the ball seemed to explode in a flash of light, leaving a massive boulder in its place. “Alright then! Continental Crush!” As Applejack yelled out her command, Aron jerked its head towards Mimikyu, sending the boulder crashing down onto its opponent with an explosion that shook the entire building. “Hoowee! Now that’s how we do it!” Applejack cheered.

“I realize that this is a gym battle and all that, but that still seemed just a tad excessive,” Rarity said as she watched the dust settle over the rubble left over from Applejack’s attack.

“You really think so?” Wraithsworth asked as he appeared beside her. “It seems to me that both you and your friend have gravely underestimated dear Mimikyu. Just watch.” Sure enough, even as Wraithsworth spoke the rubble shifted and Mimikyu plodded out into view. Impossibly, it first appeared that Mimikyu was completely unharmed, until its ‘head’ lolled over and flopped to one side.

“How in the name of Celestia…?” Applejack sputtered before stopping to catch her breath. “Dang it, Ah’d hoped that attack wouldn’t have taken so much out of me. Ah just Aron can hold up.” A glance at her Pokémon, however, revealed to Applejack that although Aron was still able to fight, it was definitely winded. A fact which didn’t appear to have been lost on Spectra, either.

“Mimikyu, Feint Attack,” Spectra said, her blank expression not having betrayed even a hint of emotion even in the face of Applejack’s attack. The same could not be said of her Pokémon, however, as Mimikyu let out a distinctly angry-sounding hiss as it bolted across the floor towards Aron. As it changed ahead, Mimikyu angled the stick it used for a tail forward and viciously thrust it at Aron’s face. Even in its tired state, though, Aron was easily able to avoid the clumsy attack.

“Hah, and here Ah was worried fer a second there,” Applejack crowed. “Y’all couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with an attack like –” Suddenly, a shadowy appendage burst out from the ground beneath Aron, hitting it in the stomach with enough force to knock it into the air. As Aron hit the floor of the arena, audibly cracking the stones underneath it as it landed, Applejack say the shadowy appendage that had struck it slide back underneath Mimikyu’s rag. “Of all the low-down, dirty…Aron! Time to show this varmint that we ain’t gonna go down without a fight! Use Iron Head!” Shouting its acknowledgement, Aron started pawing the ground as its head began glowing with a white glow. Aron then charged at Mimikyu slamming its forehead into its opponent and sending it bouncing along the arena floor.

“Mimikyu, Shadow Sneak,” Spectra said before Mimikyu even came to a complete stop. Hearing its master’s order, Mimikyu righted itself midair as a long, pitch dark claw stretched out from underneath the rag concealing its form and slashed at Aron’s face.

“Wraithsworth,” Rarity said as she watched the battle continue. “Is there something wrong with Miss Spectra? She’s seemed to be a bit, how should I put this, different ever since the battle started.”

“Ah yes, well that is to be expected. Lady Spectra is what’s known as a medium, able to channel the spirits of those from beyond the veil. And, when Lady Spectra participates in a Pokémon battle, she can draw on those spirits to guide her, which has the side effect of leaving her seeming a bit off-putting,” Wraithsworth explained. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, though. Lady Spectra will be back to her old self once her battle concludes.”

“That’s certainly good to hear,” Rarity said.

“Your concerns are understandable. It takes a great deal of skill to freely control a connection like that. But, Lady Spectra is quite exceptional in that regard, not only can she reliably regain her faculties, but she can maintain the connection through nearly anything short of a momentous shock,” Wraithsworth said.

Applejack, meanwhile, had more pressing concerns than her opponent’s skill at channeling spirits. “Dang it, that slippery little varmint might be small, but it hits like a runaway applecart. We’ll have to try takin’ it down from a distance. Hit it with yer Rock Slide!” As Applejack spoke, Aron fixed its gaze on Mimikyu while white rings began floating out the openings on its back into the air, expanding as they went. Once the rings were high above the floor of the battlefield they froze in place and each began to disgorge a torrent of rocks and debris towards Mimikyu. Despite Mimikyu’s best efforts to avoid the barrage by darting back forth across the arena floor, it still wound up pelted by several large rocks, and by the end it had collapsed to the ground unconscious.

“I’m afraid it would appear that Mimikyu has been rendered unable to battle,” Wraithsworth said, prompting Spectra to silently raise her Poké Ball and recall Mimikyu.

“Ah think Ah better do the same fer y’all, Aron,” Applejack said. “Y’all put up one heck of a fight, but Ah ain’t so sure yer in any shape to keep goin’.”

*********

“Keep going!” Sombra yelled as she desperately ran down the halls of the chateau, Bray and Chrysalis close behind.

"This is all your fault!” Chrysalis shrieked. “’We need to hurry and catch them off-guard’. If I hadn’t listened to you –”

“Then you’d have blundered in here on your own!” Sombra snapped. “Or are you trying to claim that you somehow knew that this infernal place was haunted? I might actually be inclined to believe that since it would mean you were stupid and spiteful enough to keep silent and come in here, anyway.”

“Both of you stop – neeHaw! – arguing and keep running!” Bray demanded. “Or do you want those things to catch up to us?” A sudden burst of maniacal laughter compounded Bray’s point.

“Oh, I don’t need to outrun those things,” Chrysalis countered as she put on an extra burst of speed. “I only need to outrun you two idiots!”

As Chrysalis passed by Sombra, however, he took the opportunity to grab a handful of her hair and yank backwards with enough force to send her tumbling backwards to the ground. “That’s not a bad idea, actually. Give my regards to the – Argh!” Sombra fell face-first onto the ground as Chrysalis reached out and grabbed onto his leg. “What are you doing? Let go of me!” Sombra yelled as he kicked out, narrowly missing Chrysalis’ head.

“And let you leave me behind to those things? Never!” Chrysalis snarled as she tried to sink her teeth into Sombra’s leg.

“Would you both stop bickering like foals and – neeHaw! – get up? Those ghosts or whatever they are are still after us!” Bray yelled.

“I’m trying to get up, the problem is this disgusting parasite won’t let go!”

“If I’m going to die here then I’m going to make sure I take you with me!”

By this point, Chrysalis and Sombra were rolling around together on the floor in a veritable ball of violence, mutual hatred overriding fear of their pursuers. Sombra was briefly able to gain the upper hand, putting Chrysalis into a headlock, only for her to bite down on his forearm as hard as she could. As Sombra thrashed about in pain, the two collided with a nearby bookcase which abruptly swung inwards, depositing both villains into a dark tunnel. A panicking Bray leapt in after them just before the bookcase swung back closed.

“Wonderful, now we’re being hunted by ghosts in a haunted mansion and its pitch black,” Chrysalis said as she struggled to untangle herself from Sombra.

“Would you shut up for just one second!” Sombra hissed. “Listen.”

“I don’t hear anything,” Chrysalis snapped.

“Exactly. It sounds as though we’ve somehow managed to lose our pursuers,” Sombra said.

“Hmph, well at least something’s gone right then. So, how are we supposed to get out of here?” Chrysalis asked as she felt her way to the back of the bookcase and pushed. “It’s stuck, it must have locked itself somehow when it closed. Bray, get over here and smash through this thing.”

“No, you idiot!” Sombra snarled in a horse whisper. “If you try smashing through it the ghosts will hear and come after us. Here, it looks like this passageway leads somewhere, our best option would be to follow it and see where it goes. Unless you’d rather resume running for your life,” Sombra sneered. “You do look like you could use the exercise.”

Snarling, Chrysalis was about to respond before a faint voice caught her attention. “Did you hear that? It sounded like rocks falling.”

“With our lack it’s the sound of this blasted mansion collapsing,” Sombra grumbled. “It sounded like it was coming from further down the passageway. We should probably investigate; the last thing we need is to be caught off guard by a rockslide.”

“Maybe if we’re – neeHaw! – lucky, the two we’re chasing got buried in rubble,” Bray said as he followed Sombra into the shadows.

“Shut up, Bray,” Chrysalis growled. It called the former changeling queen to follow along with anything Sombra suggested, but a lack of alternatives compelled her to bring up the rear.

It wasn’t long before the group discovered the source of the noise they had heard earlier. An ornate grate was set into the wall at the end of the passageway which looked out over a large room, inside of which Applejack appeared to be having some sort of duel with another woman none of the trio recognized.

“There’s the apple farmer!” Chrysalis hissed excitedly. “The other one’s probably in there as well. We should strike now while they’re distracted.”

“And alert those creatures to our location? I’m all for making a sneak attack, but now’s not the time. Besides,” Sombra said
with an evil grin. “Why not let the little bumpkin wear herself out on whoever that is she’s fighting first?”

“I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but that actually doesn’t sound like a bad plan,” Chrysalis begrudgingly admitted. “From what it looks like, her creatures have already been badly weakened.”

*********

“Aron, return,” Applejack said as she recalled her Aron to its Poké Ball. “Alright, then, let’s see what else y’all –”

“Shuppet,” Spectra said a she lifted up a new Poké Ball which split open to reveal a Pokémon that resembled a floating ball draped in a dark grey cloth with a horn or point jutting up from the top of its head.

“Huh, cute little bugger,” Applejack mused. “’Course, that last one didn’t look too nasty either, so Ah better keep mah guard up. Ah sure hope yer up fer this, Grot –” As Applejack reached for her Grottle’s Poké Ball, she suddenly felt another of her balls violently lurch about. “What in tarnation?” Before Applejack could react, she felt the Poké Ball burst open on its own as her Spiritomb emerged.

“What in Celestia’s name is that?” Rarity gasped at the sight of the sinister-looking Pokémon.

“It’s called Spiritomb,” Wraithsworth replied darkly. “A notoriously unpleasant Pokémon variety. Lady Spectra actually tried to seal an especially nasty specimen some years ago.” Wraithsworth’s eyes suddenly widened in fear as a thought struck him. “Wait, do you know where Miss Applejack caught that Spiritomb?”

Without warning, Spectra threw her hands to her face and let out an earsplitting shriek. When she lowered her hands, the empty look in her eyes had been replaced with one of utter bafflement. “Huh-wuh? Is the battle over already? It looks like Shuppet’s alright, what was it –” Spectra’s eyes widened in terror as she spotted Applejack’s Spiritomb leering evilly at her from the other side of the arena. “You! But how, I thought I had sealed you away for at least a hundred years.”

“This fella got lose when the pair Ah told y’all about earlier attacked us. When it started raisin’ a ruckus Ah caught it to keep it from hurtin’ anybody,” Applejack said.

“I see. Well, I’m grateful that you were able to prevent it from causing any more harm. However, Spiritomb’s presence means I won’t be able to take things as easy with you as I’d usually do.” As Spectra spoke, she raised her arms above her head, allowing her sleeves to fall and reveal her Z-ring. “Normally I don’t really like using a Z-move against an opponent who hasn’t even earned their second badge yet, but this time I think I’ll have to make an exception.” With that Spectra thrust her arms forward before crouching down and then slowly rising up again with her arms raised to the level of her face. Despite the strangeness of the sight, Applejack knew better than to let her guard down, a stance that was quickly proven wise when the energy being built up between Spectra and her Shuppet burst forth in a cascade of shadows that swiftly engulfed the entire room.

“If yer fixin’ to scare us y’all’re gonna have to do a lot better than that,” Applejack said. Even as she spoke, however, dozens of shadowy hands emerged from the twisted darkness of the room and reached out towards Spiritomb. Before either Spiritomb or Applejack could react, the hands completely surrounded Spiritomb, effectively cocooning it in their grasp. Moments later, streaks of unearthly, purple light started emitting from the center of the ball before the entire mass detonated. The force of the explosion swept away both the hands and the darkness that had spawned them, leaving a battered Spiritomb floating in the air. “Y’all still got some fight in ya’?” Applejack asked, to which Spiritomb responded by letting out an evil chuckle. “That’s what Ah like to hear. Let’s wrap this rodeo up then. Blow that little sucker away with yer Ominous Wind!” Still chuckling, Spiritomb inhaled deeply before blowing out a torrent of purple-tinged wind at Shuppet. While Shuppet tried bracing itself against the attack, the force of the gust quickly overwhelmed it and sent the unfortunate Pokémon crashing into the wall behind it.

“As much as it pains me to say this given its opponent, it would appear that Shuppet is no longer able to battle,” Wraithsworth said as an unconscious Shuppet slowly slid down the wall. “And, as that was Lady Spectra’ final Pokémon, the winner is the challenger, Miss Applejack!”

Spectra sighed as she recalled her Shuppet back to its ball. “I’ll give you this, you’re clearly a skilled trainer. And, in recognition of that skill, its my duty to present you with the proof of your victory; the Geist Badge, along with a piece of Ghostium-Z.” As Spectra spoke, Wraithsworth appeared next Applejack holding a box containing a skull-shaped pin and a pale lavender gemstone.

“Thanks. Ah’m guessin’ this’ll let me use that shadow hand attack y’all used, right?” Applejack asked as she inspected the crystal, to which Spectra nodded.

“Never-Ending Nightmare. Though I will give you a word of warning. Using that attack with your Spiritomb could be
extremely dangerous,” Spectra said.

“What the hay do y’all mean by that?” Applejack asked.

“Many Ghost-type attacks draw their power from the resentment felt and grudges held by the Pokémon using them, including Never-Ending Nightmare. And, because Z-moves work by using the connection between a Pokémon and its trainer, using Never-Ending Nightmare opens you up to the worst parts of you Pokémon’s mind.”

“And considerin’ the Ghost type Ah’d be liable to use it with…” Applejack said.

“Don’t get me wrong, you handled Spiritomb well, but that Pokémon can be incredibly malevolent, and if you were to lose control over it…let’s just say there’s a reason I had to seal it away,” Spectra said.

“Ah hear what yer sayin’ and don’t y’all worry. Ah aim to keep a careful eye on –” Applejack turned to Spiritomb, only to find that it had already wandered away. “Aw horseapples. Where the hay did that thing get off to?”

“SpiriTOMB!” Everyone in the room suddenly looked up to see Spiritomb unleashing a blast of its Ominous Wind attack directly into one of the vents near the room’s ceiling.

“What in tarnation does that crazy thing think its doin’?” Applejack said as she raised her Poké Ball. “Spiritomb, return!” As Applejack stowed Spiritomb’s Poké Ball she turned back to Spectra with a sheepish look on her face. “That probably didn’t help mah point too much, but y’all have mah word Ah’ll be careful with that one.”

“Well, if that’s all taken care of, we really should move on,” Rarity said. “We still have a long way to go if we’re to make to Aquarius City.”

“That’s right, you did mention that’s where you were headed, didn’t you,” Spectra said before snapping her fingers. “I know, you should try heading up north to the JLIP!”

“We should head to the what now?” Applejack asked.

“The Javik League Institute of Parapsychology. They’re mostly a bunch of self-impressed stuffed shirts, but there’s a cable car set up there that can take you all the way to the base of the mountain, and from there it would only be a short trip to Aquarius City,” Spectra said.

Applejack and Rarity exchanged looks. “Well, it sure sounds like it beats our alternatives,” Applejack said.

“And I certainly don’t have any objections to taking a cable car instead of trying to hike back down,” Rarity replied. “If you could just point us in the right direction we’ll be off.”

*********

Roughly half an hour later, Applejack and Rarity exited the chateau and began the journey to their next destination. Unbeknownst to the two friends, however, ten minutes earlier a different group had exited the manor as well, albeit in a somewhat less dignified manner.

“What was that thing?” Sombra gasped out once the group was a safe distance from the chateau.

“That ‘thing’ was the reason I wasn’t able to destroy the little hayseed back in the cemetery,” Chrysalis replied. “I didn’t expect her to be able to control it as well as she did. “This might make things more different than I had anticipated. We’ll need to find some way of neutralizing that wind attack it has before –”

“Forget the wind attack!” Sombra yelled. “You say the attack that her opponent used. If Twilight’s simpering friends are able to wield that kind of power now then destroying them might very well be beyond us as we are now.”

“Oh?” Chrysalis smirked. “Is the mighty King Sombra admitting he’s beaten already?”

“I’m ‘admitting’ that we can’t afford to rush into another fight until we have more information about that attack and how it works,” Sombra countered. “Unless, of course, you want to try charging in on your own,” Sombra countered. Chrysalis growled in annoyance at this, but otherwise said nothing. “Good. For the time being we’ll follow them until we can learn how this power works. And then, once we have our chance, we’ll seize the power for ourselves and use it to annihilate them!”

One Angry Orchard

“So, Ah was just thinkin’, what the hay do y’all suppose Georgette meant when she said the fellas at this institute place are a little strange?” Applejack asked.

“I haven’t the foggiest,” Rarity replied curtly. “To be honest, though, I’d personally take whatever assessment she made of them with more than a few grains of salt. ‘Talented amateur’ indeed. Hmph!”

“Y’all are still sore about that one, huh?” Applejack said.

“Of course I am. I mean, how would you feel if someone were to tell you that you were a ‘pretty good farmer for an amateur’?” Rarity asked.

Applejack merely shrugged. “Depends on who said it, Ah suppose. Ah can’t really expect anybody here to know that Sweet Apple Acres grows the best durn apples in Equestria, after all. And Ah ain’t gonna pretend Ah know everythin’ there is to know about farmin’ every type of crop there is. So, if somebody who’s been farmin’ their whole lives told me that, Ah guess it wouldn’t bother me none. ‘Course, if Ah heard that from a Trenderhoof-type, then that might be a different bushel of apples altogether.”

“Ugh, please don’t remind me of that colt. Looking back on it I simply cannot believe I was ever so infatuated with him,” Rarity said.

“As strange as it feels fer me to be the one sayin’ this, Ah didn’t think he was that bad,” Applejack said. “Ah mean, he sure as hay weren’t mah type, and he was annoyin’ as a horsefly until he finally got the message that Ah wasn’t interested, but he didn’t strike me as a bad sort.”

“I’ll admit that Trenderhoof wasn’t, as you put it, ‘a bad sort’, but when I think about it now I realize that he was deep as a mud puddle,” Rarity replied. “I suppose what irritates me about the whole sordid affair isn’t so much Trenderhoof as what it all says about me that I, well…”

“Made such a durn fool of yourself?” Applejack offered, causing Rarity to wince.

“Yes. That,” Rarity replied tersely.

“Well, anyway, gettin’ back to what we were talkin’ ‘bout earlier,” Applejack said, sensing a good time to change the subject. “Ah don’t really reckon the issues likely to come up ‘round these parts anyway. Everybody here seems too concerned with Pokémon too be all that much bothered by farmin’.”

“Are you sure about that, darling?” Rarity said as she rounded a bend on the path. Confused, Applejack rushed over to where Rarity was standing to see that the path was leading down to a sizeable plateau covered in neat rows of trees.

“Well, Ah’ll be a parasprite’s uncle, they’ve got a whole dang orchard on the side of the mountain!” Applejack exclaimed, while Rarity smiled as she noticed the sparkle in her friend’s eyes.
“You know, if you’d like, I don’t see any real harm in resting here for a little while,” Rarity said.

“Y’all sure about that? We still need to get to this institute place before we before we even have a hope of catchin’ up to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Ah’m not so sure stoppin’ is such a good idea.” Even as Applejack spoke, however, Rarity could see her friend eyeing the orchard longingly.

“A brief rest isn’t going to cause any problems,” Rarity countered. “And besides, this would be an excellent opportunity for us to let our Pokémon out and enjoy the fresh air.”

“Well, if y’all are sure it won’t be a problem…last one to the tress is a moldy apple core!” Laughing happily, the two friends dashed down the path towards the orchard until they reached the edge of the trees. “Alright, then, Grotle, Aron, why don’t the two of y’all come on out!” Applejack’s Pokémon leapt out of their Poké Balls, where they were soon joined by Rarity’s Prinplup, Golett, and Smoochum. “Y’all ain’t bringin’ yer Tauros out too?” Applejack asked.

“I think it may be best if Tauros stayed inside its ball for the time being,” Rarity replied. “Don’t get me wrong, it is an absolute dear when it wants to be, but it can be a bit, how should I put this, rambunctious at times. Much like your Spiritomb, who doesn’t appear to be joining us either.”

“Rambunctious ain’t exactly the word Ah’d use to describe that varmint. Y’all heard what Spectra said about the durn thing, and considerin’ how it was actin’, Ah’m inclined to believe her.” Applejack paused and glanced down at Spiritomb’s Poké Ball before continuing. “‘Course, Ah don’t know if it deserved to be locked up in some rock fer a hundred years, either.”

Rarity started to ask how Applejack planned to handle her delinquent Ghost-type, but before the words could leave her mouth a series of angry shouts could be heard coming from deeper inside the orchard. “What in Equestria was that?”

“Ah dunno, but it sounds like trouble,” Applejack replied. “We should probably go check it out and at least make sure nobody’s hurt of nothin’.” Rarity nodded in agreement as the pair and their Pokémon quickly made their way towards the source of the disturbance. As they approached the sounds of angry shouting were accompanied by the sounds of something large crashing through the underbrush. Undaunted, Applejack and Rarity pressed on until finally Applejack pushed a tree branch out of the way to reveal a brown and green, vaguely reptilian head staring back at her.

“What is it, Tropius? Did you find the blasted pest?” Peering to one side, Applejack saw that the head she had uncovered was attached to a long next which connected to a squat, almost elephant-like body seemingly wrapped in broad leaves. Standing next to the creature was an elderly man with a sour expression on his face. “Hold on, who are you lot? More importantly, did you see a Heracross run by here?”

“A Hera-what now?” Applejack asked before taking out her Pokédex.

Heracross, the Single Horn Pokémon. This immensely powerful Pokémon is able to easily lift and throw objects over one hundred times its own weight with its horn. Thankfully, Heracross are usually docile and primarily subsist on tree sap and nectar.

“What that little doohickey of yours is leaving out is that those things are perfectly happy eating berries right off the tree, and the miserable gluttons are insatiable! I’ve had one of them terrorizing my orchard for the last week now, and if things keep going the way they have been I’m barely going to have any crop left!”

“That’s awful!” Applejack exclaimed. “Mister, if there’s any way mah friend or Ah could help y’all then just say the word.” Applejack turned somewhat sheepishly to Rarity. “Sorry, Rarity, but Ah just can’t sit around and not do anythin’ while another farmer’s orchard is getting’ ransacked by some thievin’ varmint.”

“There’s no need to apologize, darling, I completely understand. If this were a fashion disaster instead of a farming emergency then I’d likely respond in the exact same way,” Rarity assured her.

“Another farmer? So you’re a farmgirl yourself, I take it?” the old man asked.

“Ah sure as sugar are. Back home me and mah family grow the best durn apples y’all ever tasted,” Applejack declared with no small amount of pride as she held out her hand. “Mah name’s Applejack, and this here’s mah friend Rarity.”

“Frank,” the man introduced himself as he shook Applejack’s hand. “And I’ll take all the help I can get at this point. Just to let you know, though, you tow aren’t the first bunch to offer to help with this. A few other folks came by yesterday, and they said pretty much the same thing you did about chasing off the rotten pest.” Frank shrugged his shoulders. “Personally, the way I see it the more help I can get the better.”

“Another group, huh?” Applejack said, sharing an uneasy glance with Rarity. “Ah don’t suppose y’all could tell us what these folks looked like.”

“Welp, there were three of them,” Frank began. “The first two, a big quiet fella and a girl who looked like she just took a big bite out of a lemon, they seemed dependable enough. That third one though, he looked like he’d be about as useful as a Magikarp. Real gangly city-type. They’re all probably out deeper in the orchard if you want to meet up with them,” Frank added.

“Thanks, but Ah think fer now we’ll focus on takin’ are of yer giant bug problem,” Applejacck said as she motioned for Rarity to follow her into the orchard. The pair and their Pokémon quickly pushed into the orchard, leaving Frank and his Tropius to continue their hunt.

“Applejack, don’t tell me you were worried that this other group were Sombra and Chrysalis?” Rarity asked once it appeared they were out of earshot.

“Ah ain’t gonna lie, the thought did cross mah mind fer a bit when that Frank fella mentioned ‘em. Granted, Ah can’t imagine either of those two offerin’ to help anybody, leastways not unless there were somethin’ in it fer them somehow. But, Ah wouldn’t of thought we’d have run into the two of them here in the first place, either.”

“Fair enough, and given the severity of the situation I suppose a touch of paranoia is in order,” Rarity replied. “In any event, how exactly do you propose we locate this Heracross?”

“Its pretty simple actually. The way Ah figure it, if the problem with this Heracross critter is that its takin’ all the crops in the orchard. So, to find it all we gotta do is find the parts of the orchard that still have fruit on the branches, and that’s where we’ll find it too.”

*********

“Y’ know, Ah’m startin’ to get the idea that Ah may have underestimated how much orchard that Heracross has to hide in,” Applejack said after she and Rarity had spent the better part of the hour wandering better part of the hour wandering through the orchard. “The way Frank was talkin’ it sounded like there weren’t hardly any berries left, but it looks like most of the orchard hasn’t been touched yet.”

“Perhaps we should try tracking down the other group that Frank mentioned,” Rarity suggested. “I have to imagine it would be easier to find the renegade Pokémon if there were more of us working together.”

“That’s not a bad idea, except fer one small problem,” Applejack replied. “We don’t have any idea where the other trainers are, so tryin’ to meet up with them would just leave us lookin’ fer two needles in a haystack instead of just one.” Rarity started to nod her head and concede Applejack’s point when she felt something tugging on her dress.

“What in Equestria…” Rarity muttered as she looked down to see her Golett standing at her feet and pointing into the orchard.

“Looks like yer Golett’s found somethin’ it thinks we should check out,” Applejack said, prompting Golett to nod its head. “Well, that’s the closest thing we’ve had to an idea where we should look so far, so Ah say we listen to the little guy.”

“Agreed,” Rarity said firmly as she patted her Golett on the head. The pair quickly turned to head in the direction Golett had pointed them in and soon could make out voices coming from the direction they were headed.

“Are you planning on actually doing anything useful today, or are you just going to lie there and do nothing? Again?” a harsh female voice snapped angrily.

“Relax, I am doing something useful. I’m watching our camp while the two of your look for the ting,” a considerably more laconic male voice replied. “Gotta watch the campfire so it doesn’t spread, you know? Fire safety and all that stuff.”

“Eeyup.”

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you’re actually siding with him on this?”

By this point, Applejack had heard enough. While the first two voices may have sounded familiar enough, Applejack would have recognized the third’s ‘Eeyup’ anywhere. Breaking away from Rarity, Applejack charged through the underbrush until she reached a clearing where a trio of individuals had set up camp. “Big Macintosh! Is that you?”

“Applejack?” on the three, a massive, sandy-haired young man replied before his face lit up in pure joy.

“Hah! Ah knew y’all’d be wanderin’ around this place somewhere ever since I ran into Maud!” Applejack said as she glanced over at the other two in the clearing. “So, y’all are travelin’ around with…I’m guessin’ Limestone Pie and…” Applejack wrinkled her nose at the sight of the third member of her brother’s group. “Is that Zephyr Breeze?”

“The one and only,” Zephyr Breeze said as he lounged about on the ground near the campfire.

“He’s been following us around since we got here,” Limestone said as she glared at her companion. “Personally, I’d love to get rid of him, but Big Mac feels sorry for him for some reason.”

“Hey, come on, that’s a little harsh, isn’t it?” Zephyr Breeze protested. “Its not my fault manestyling college didn’t have courses on roughing it. Or dealing with crazy-powered animals, for that matter.”

Limestone rolled her eyes, but choose to drop the subject. “Anyway, we’ve been trying to track down our sisters, but we haven’t had much luck. Then we ran into this place and heard the sob story the guy running this place has about some bug raiding his orchard and Big Mac insisted we stop and help him.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said before giving Limestone a knowing look, prompting her to let out an annoyed sigh.

“Alright, fine. And I wasn’t going to hang him out to dry, either. I guess we both understand what it’s like to see your farm get mauled by some pest.” Limestone said before letting out a snort of irritation. “Of course, the only problem is we haven’t been able to so much as catch sight of the stupid thing since we got here. We’ve been trying to keep an eye on the places it hasn’t stripped of fruit, but this place is so big the thing can just avoid us.”

“Huh, we were plannin’ on doin’ pretty much this same thing ourselves, least until we realized how big this place is ourselves,” Applejack said.

“Hang on, what do you mean by ‘we’?” Limestone asked.

“She means me, darling,” Rarity said as she stumbled into the clearing next to Applejack.

“Wait, you’re another one of Pinkie Pie’s friends, aren’t you? The dressmaker or something, right?” Limestone asked as she started to grow excited. “So, if you’re both here, does that mean you know where Pinkie Pie is, too?”

“Sort of,” Applejack admitted. “Last we heard, Pinkie and Fluttershy we’re travelin’ together headed to a place called Aquarius City. We’re hopin’ to catch up to them by takin’ a cable car down the mountain, that’s where we were headed when we passed by this place.” Limestone settled back down at this.

“Well, at least it sounds like Pinkie Pie isn’t alone or anything. And hay, we know where your sister is too, not that you care or anything,” Limestone added as she glared down at Zephyr Breeze.

“Hey, I care. I just trust my big sis to take care of herself, especially with her whole ‘talking to animals’ thing,” Zephyr Breeze replied, earning a disgusted grunt from Limestone.

“In all fairness to Zephyr, I do have to agree that if anypony is well suited to handling this world it would be Fluttershy,” Rarity said. “Perhaps she wouldn’t be especially enthused with the concept of battling, but I imagine she’d do quite well with Pokémon in general. And, to be honest, I have to think Pinkie Pie will be able to handle herself quite well as well.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Limestone grudgingly admitted. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop worrying about her, though. I mean, she’s my little sister. Heck, if I didn’t have the rock farm to take care of I might’ve moved to Ponyville when she did to keep an eye on her.”

“I completely understand how you feel, darling. After all, there’s a fair chance my younger sister Sweetie Belle is out there somewhere as well, and while she’ll probably be fine…” Rarity let her voice trail off as Limestone nodded sagely. The discussion of sibling worries found itself abruptly tabled, however, as a large, navy blue, beetle-like Pokémon buzzed through the air overhead.

“There it is! The Hera-thingy that’s been causin’ all the trouble!” Applejack yelled as the Heracross quickly flew off into the orchard. “Dang it, we gotta get after it before it up and vanishes again!”

“Eeyup!” Big McIntosh agreed.

“Alright, Big Mac and me will chase after it that way. Limestone, y’all and Rarity should try and swing around and cut off its escape,” Applejack said, to which Limestone nodded her head.

“That sounds like a plan, and I’ll stay back here in case it comes back this way,” Zephyr Breeze offered from his seat on the ground. Limestone, however, had other plans as she grabbed the back of Zephyr’s shirt and roughly hoisted him to his feet.

“Oh no you don’t,” Limestone snarled. “You’re going to help us catch that thing even if I have to cover you in berries and use you as bait.”

*********

“So, that’s how a rock farm works,” Rarity said as Limestone finished providing a detailed explanation of the ins and outs of geoculture. “Honestly, I never was entirely clear on the subject before, and Pinkie Pie’s explanations—”

“Probably made about as much sense as just about anything else she says,” Limestone said. “I love my sister and everything, but she’s always pretty much been in her own world. Actually, Maud’s kind of like that too, now that I think about it. That’s probably part of why they’ve always gotten along so – WILL YOU HURRY UP?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Zephyr Breeze said as he hurried behind the two girls. “You’ve really got to learn to relax. All this anger and stress are just terrible in your mane, not to mention all the sweat from running around.”

Luckily for Zephyr Breeze, before Limestone could respond, Rarity pointed up at a nearby tree. “Look up there in that tree!” Limestone and Zephyr both looked up to see the rogue Heracross sitting in the branches of a nearby tree cheerfully gobbling down every berry within reach. “Well, at least we can confirm that this Heracross is every bit the problem that Mister Frank indicated. So, what now?”

“That’s easy,” Limestone said with a vicious glint in her eyes as she pulled out a Poké Ball. “We’re gonna thrash that thing until it knows not ot steal from someone else’s farm. Go Graveler!” Limestone proceeded to toss her Poké Ball into the air, unleashing what at first looked to be a bumpy, roughly spherical brown boulder. Then, the creature stood up, revealing itself to possess two pairs of arms and a stumpy pair of legs. “Alright, Graveler, get over there and shake that bug out of that tree. You two get ready to go after the bug once it falls out of there.”

“Very well. Golett?” Rarity said as she glanced down towards her Pokémon, who saluted back to signal back its readiness.

“Ehhh, I’m really more of a lover than a fighter, but you two ladies look like you’ve got this so I’m just gonna stay back here,” Zephyr said, prompting Limestone to turn and give him a glare so furious Rarity was surprised it didn’t cause him to spontaneously burst into flame. “Okay, I got it, there’s no need to get so angry. Alright, Slowpoke, you’ve got this. Time to make with the fighty-fighty.” Whatever expectations Rarity might have held up until that point for how useful Zephyr Breeze was going to be quickly evaporated as she looked down at the pink, sloth-like creature sprawled out on the ground.

“Actually, thinking about it, I don’t know why I expected anything different,” Rarity muttered to herself as she watched Limestone’s Graveler stomp up to the tree the Heracross was sitting in. Once it reached the base, Graveler grasped the trunk with all four of its arms and began to violently shake the tree. The Heracross seemed more irritated than frightened by this, however, and simply hopped out of the tree and bounced off Graveler’s head before attempt to dash off. “Oh no you don’t,” Rarity declared. “Golett, use –” Whatever attack Rarity was about to call out became a moot point as Heracross made a sharp turn away from Golett towards Zephyr’s Slowpoke. As everyone watched, the Heracross flew right over Slowpoke’s head as the dopey Pokémon continued to stare blankly off into space.

“Oh come on!” Limestone yelled as she watched the Heracross rush off. “Darn it, that thing was headed right at your Pokémon and it didn’t even—”

“Sloooow,” Slowpoke intoned as it ponderously turned towards the fleeing Heracross. This was followed by several seconds of awkward silence as Limestone murderously glared at both the Pokémon and its trainer.

“Perhaps we should focus on chasing after that Heracross before it gets too far away,” Rarity, hoping to head off a potential argument. Or a homicide. Much to her relief, Limestone let out a sigh of resignation at this suggestion.

“Fine, I guess you have a point. Let’s just hope we can find that thing again before it manages to disappear again,” Limestone grumbled.

*********

“So, Ah’m guessin’ y’all haven’t caught sight of Apple Bloom yet?” Applejack said as she and Big Mac crept through the orchard.

“Ennope.”

“That’s about what Ah thought, but Ah figured it was worth askin’ anyway,” Applejack said. “Ah know Apple Bloom’s old enough to take care of herself, heck more than a few of the trainers Ah’ve run into so far have been her age or younger. But Ah’d still feel a whole heap of a lot better if Ah knew where the hay she was.”

“Eeyup.”

“‘Course, now that Ah really think about it, the one Ah should probably be frettin’ about might be Granny Smith. Ah can’t imagine Granny’s got much use for all this trainin’ or battlin’ or Pokémonin’,” Applejack mused.

“Ennope. Granny’s doin’ just fine,” Big Mac said, much to Applejack’s surprise. “She’s back at the city we all arrived at, along with Marble Pie and Pinkie’s parents.”

“Really? Well, that’s sure as hay one hay of a relief,” Applejack said. “Granny’s never been much of a city pony, but she’ll be happier there than she would be trompin’ around the island like we’re doin’.” Big Mac simply nodded his head in response, knowing from his experience as a chaperone for the Golden Horseshoe Gals how well adapted to cities Granny Smith actually was.

Just then, the sounds of rustling through the branches of the trees caught the sibling’s attention before the rogue Heracross dropped out from the canopy and landed in front of them. Big Mac was the first to react, quickly tossing out a Poké Ball to reveal a slender, green, bipedal Pokémon with stubby, leaf-like arms. “Servine, use Wrap!” Big Mac’s Servine responded by launching a pair a green vines out from the base of its neck which wrapped themselves around the Heracross’ midsection before it had a chance to react.

“Nice work, Big Mac, that varmint ain’t goin’ anywhere now. Alright then, time to make sure this pest knows not to treat someone’s farm like a buffet. Go Aron! Hit that thing with yer Iron Head attack.” As Heracross desperately tried to fly off, Aron promptly charged forward, the top of its head glowing bright, before it leapt into the air and slammed itself headfirst into Heracross’ abdomen. The powerful blow was enough to knock Heracross out of the air and send it crashing to the ground where it unsteadily pulled itself back to its feet and glowered angrily at Aron. “Whoa nelly, that thing did not loke that one bit. Okay, Aron, better use Protect before it gets a chance to wallop y’all back.” Aron swiftly surrounded itself with a shimmering, green ball of energy, just in time to intercept a rapid series of blows from Heracross’ forelimbs.

“Servine, Leech Seed,” Big Mac commanded as he watched the Heracross’ futile assault, which Servine responded to by firing several seeds from its mouth into Heracross’ unprotected back. This new attack prompted Heracross to momentarily turn its attention towards Servine, even as the seeds on its back erupted into vines that quickly wrapped themselves around it. Big Mac, meanwhile, was apparently already prepared for this as he called out his Pokémon’s next attack. “Leaf Tornado!” Servine immediately launched itself into the air, flipping itself around as it did so, so that its tail was pointed to the sky. Once Servine reached the apex of its leap, it began rapidly spinning its tail in circles, creating a whirlwind of swirling leaves and green energy behind it. Then, Servine somersaulted forward mid-air and snapped its tail towards Heracross, sending the green tornado slamming into the voracious Pokémon. While the Heracross managed to remain on its feet in the wake of this attack, it was too exhausted to try and dodge the Poké Ball that clocked it in the back of its head immediately afterwards.

“Gotcha, y’ little troublemaker,” Applejack said triumphantly as the Heracross was pulled into the Poké Ball. “Maybe doin’ some honest work will teach y’all not to go raidin’ someone else’s orchard.” As the Poké Ball containing Heracross continued to thrash about on the ground Applejack looked back at her brother. “The way Ah figured it, if all we do is chase the durn thing off, then there ain’t nothin’ stoppin’ it from comin’ back as soon as we move on. On the other hand, if Ah can catch the thing, then Ah’ll be able to keep an eye on it and make sure it stays out of trouble.” Applejack’s explanation was punctuated by a chime as her Poké Ball came to a rest.

For his part, Big Mac simply sighed as he recalled his Servine, having learned how futile it was to argue with Applejack about nearly everything. This, however, did not prevent him from giving Applejack a look she readily recognized as meaning ‘Alright, but I really hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Come on, with all that commotion this must be the way it went!” the sound of Rarity’s voice caused both Apple siblings to turn as moments later Rarity burst into view. “Applejack, Big Mac. I’m guessing by all the noise that the two of you encountered our fugitive?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac nodded as he gestured towards the Poké Ball lying on the ground.

“We whupped the durn thing and Ah caught it so it ain’t gonna come back and cause any more trouble,” Applejack confirmed as she walked over and collected her Poké Ball.

“Good!” Limestone said as she emerged from the trees behind Rarity, dragging a miserable-looking Zephyr Breeze by his collar along with her. “So, does that mean we’re finally done here?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac confirmed.

“It’s about time. Alright then, I say we get our stuff packed up so we can start heading back down the mountain,” Limestone said.

“So, are y’all plannin’ on comin’ with us to take the cable car down the mountain?” Applejack asked, to which Limestone and Big Mac shook their heads.

“Nah, I think we’re gonna keep heading back south for now. We’ll be able to cover more ground with more groups out searching. We should probably trade phone numbers, though, in case one of us finds something,” Limestone added.

“Our what-numbers now?” Applejack asked in utter confusion.

“Hang on, you’ve been here all this time and you haven’t even figured that out yet?” Limestone asked incredulously. “Here, give me your Pokédex for a second.” Applejack obligingly handed her Pokédex over to Limestone, who proceeded to quickly tap several buttons on the device. Moments later, a ringing sound could be heard coming from one of Big Mac’s pockets, the source of which was soon revealed to be his own Pokédex. “You see, each of these Pokédexes has a number, and when you type in that number you can talk to the person who has it. Marble figured it out and I’ve been using it to keep her up to date on what’s been going on. I’ve got your number now, and now you have Big Mac’s, so you’ll be able to get us as well.”

“Well, how about that?” Applejack sad as Limestone handed her back her Pokédex. “Ah gotta say, it’ll be nice to be able to keep in touch. Though, just one thing. Y’all said the three of y’ were headed south, right? As in, back the way we came?”

“Eeyup.”

“If that’s the case, then y’all should be extra careful. It turns out regular ponyfolk weren’t the only ones dragged into this whole mess. Rarity and Ah had a nasty run in with Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra” Applejack said, prompting Limestone, Big McIntosh and Zephyr Breeze to all stare at her in shock and horror.

“Hold on, weren’t those two of the villains that you and the rest of my sister’s friends beat?” Zephyr Breeze asked in complete confusion. “What the hay would they be doing here?”

“Aside from trying to exact their revenge on Applejack and myself, we haven’t the faintest,” Rarity replied. “The only good bit of news is that whatever sent them here also took away their powers, so for the moment they’re no more dangerous than any other pair of humans would be.”

“And besides that, Ah got the impression that the two of them were too focused on us and the rest of Twilight’s friends to be lookin’ to cause trouble fer any other folk,” Applejack added. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt fer y’all to keep an eye out fer them.”

“You couldn’t have mentioned this earlier?” Limestone demanded. “What’s gonna happen if those lunatics find Pinkie Pie before we do?”

“That’s why we need to do everythin’ we can to find her first. Though, to be honest, Ah wouldn’t underestimate Pinkie Pie either. Ah may not understand what the hay’s goin’ on in her mind most of the time, but Ah do know that when the chips are down Pinkie can take care of herself.”

“And besides that, Pinkie and Fluttershy both doubtlessly have Pokémon of their own, so they’re hardly defenseless,” Rarity added. “I’m certain that as long as the two of them are reasonably careful they should be able to avoid any serious trouble.”

Flying the Unfriendly Skies

“Is that…I think that’s it! Alumina City! Woo hoo! Badge number three here I come!” While Rainbow Dash cheered in anticipatory triumph as she raced down the road, Twilight took in the sight of the city itself. Perched near a set of cliffs overlooking the ocean, Alumina City appeared to be a large cluster of buildings all constructed of glass and chrome. On the far side of the city, away from the cliffs, the tall skyscrapers gave way to a much flatter area, the purpose of which Twilight could only guess at. “So, where do you think the gym is around here anyway? Do you think it’s in one of those really tall buildings? Oh man, could you imagine a flying Pokémon battle where you’ve got a few stories worth of airspace to work with? That would be so awesome!”

“Okay, maybe we should take care of a few things first before heading straight to the gym. Like getting our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center,” Twilight said.

“Huh? Oh, right, that’d probably be a good idea. Gotta make sure the little guys are one hundred and ten percent before we take on the gym. After that, though, we’re gonna totally take down that gym leader.”

“Right…” Twilight said doubtfully.

“What the hay’s that supposed to mean? You don’t think I can beat this gym?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“It’s not that, it’s just…I think you might want to be a little more careful is all. These gym battles are getting a lot harder as we go on, and I don’t think we can afford to get too overconfident.”

“Alright, I get what you’re saying, Twilight, but come on! This is the Flying-type gym! If there’s any gym I’m gonna dominate then its gonna be this one!”

“Uh huh. And how many of your Pokémon can actually fly?”

“Well, there’s Skarmory…but that’s not really the point! Even if my guys can’t fly, I’ll still be able to, you know, read the other Pokémon’s movements and stuff. The important part is they’re Flying Pokémon and I’m all about flying, so I’ll have the advantage. Trust me, today i9s going to be awesome, and there is absolutely nothing can could ruin it.”

*********

“Finally! Now that we have arrive here at…”

“Alumina City.”

“Right, thank you Starlight. Now that we have arrived her at Alumina City, the Great and Powerful Trixie can finally take her first step to becoming the greatest and most powerful trainer this world has ever seen!” Trixie’s Braixen popped out of its Poké Ball and joined its trainer in striking a dramatic pose as sever small fireworks went off behind them. Starlight, meanwhile, was somewhat less than impressed with her friend’s antics.

“And you’re really sure this gym thing is what you want to do?” Starlight asked. “I mean, we did take the long way around that other place that was supposed to have a gym in it—”

“I still think you should have taken that place on, it didn’t look that rough,” Lightning Dust said.

“If years as a traveling showmare have taught Trixie anything, its that you should always stay far away from any establishment where you can hear someone breaking bottles inside,” Trixie said with an air of experience.

“Whatever. So, where’s the gym here, anyway? I wanna see how these things work for myself.”

“Don’t you think we should, I don’t know, head to the Pokémon Center first or something? You know, let your Pokémon rest for a bit, maybe make sure we have someplace to sleep that isn’t outside for a change, that sort of thing?” Starlight asked.

“What’re you talking about, Trixie’s Pokémon are fine. Although, sleeping in a bed does sound like a nice change of pace. I know, why don’t you head out to the Pokémon Center and get us set up for a room, while Trixie and I head over to the gym. That way we’ll be all set for when we’re done. I mean, it’s not like you were all that fired up about the gym thing anyway, right?”

“I mean, I do still want to support my friend…” Starlight said before Trixie put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Starlight. I know these Pokémon battles aren’t really your thing. And besides,” Trixie leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper before continuing. “I might not want an audience for my very first gym battle. It’s better to rehearse a trick a few times before you test it out in front of a crowd.” Lightning Dust snorted as she overheard this.

“Eh, I never saw what the big deal was about rehearsing stuff. If you’ve got a killer trick, then what’s the point of doing it if it’s not in front of a screaming crowd?”

Trixie let out a chuckle that only barely managed to conceal her irritation. “Trixie could debate the relative merits of offering a properly rehearsed and polished performance all day, but doing so won’t get her any closer to beating Twilight Sparkle. Let’s get to the gym and get that badge already.”

“Fair enough. I’m not gonna get in the way of you settling your score with your rival,” Lightning Dust conceded. “Besides,” she added silently. “This will be the perfect chance for me to see how this stupid gym battle stuff works. And once I figure that out, I’ll be able to turn Rainbow Dash into Rainbow Crash and Burn.”

*********

“Come on, Twilight, hurry up!” Rainbow Dash called back as she impatiently jogged in place.

“For crying out loud, Rainbow, there’s no need to be in such a rush. It’s not like the gym’s going to be going anywhere!”

“I know that, but I wanna get there while my Pokémon are all still fresh and rested from the Pokémon Center. We’re in the zone right now, and we’ll have our best chance to demolish that gym leader if we’re still in the zone when we have our battle!”

“That’s nice and all, but do you even know which direction the gym is?” Twilight asked pointedly.

“Well, no, but that’s what I have you and Spike for. Speaking of, hey Spike! Which way is the gym?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s over that way,” Spike said as he pointed towards the direction his Pokédex was indicating. “We’ll probably know it when we see it, most of these gyms have been pretty hard to miss.” As Spike looked up, however, he saw that Rainbow Dash was already sprinting off in the direction he’d pointed.

“Ugh, what has gotten into her today?” Twilight groaned. “I know Rainbow’s usually a little reckless, but I haven’t seen her in this much of a rush in a while.”

“Isn’t that a good thing, though? I mean, you did say we needed to do all this so we can get back to Equestria, right? So, doesn’t having Rainbow Dash be extra, I dunno, Rainbow Dashy help?”

“Well, you’re not wrong, exactly,” Twilight admitted with a sigh. “I’m just worried that she’s going to get so excited that she’ll get herself in over her head like she did during that first gym battle.”

“The one against the fake cowgirl?” Spike asked.

“No, before that. The one in Mercury City that she tried challenging when we first got here. You remember how badly that went? Rainbow was in a funk for days after that loss.”

“Oh, yeah, that was pretty bad, wasn’t it? But, I don’t think you really need to worry about anything like that. I’m pretty sure the reason Rainbow’s so worked up this time is because this is the Flying-type gym.”

“I get flying is important to Rainbow, but why is challenging the Flying gym such a big deal?”

“Well, do you remember what it was like when we first went to Canterlot High, and you kept trying to use magic even though you didn’t have a horn? I think it’s kinda like that for Rainbow Dash, only more so.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, how do I put this, even bank in Equestria you didn’t really use magic for everything. But, when as the last time you saw Rainbow Dash stay on the ground for more than an hour or two?”

“Ooh, I guess I can see your point. And, if I found out there was a Magic-type Pokémon gym, I guess I’d be pretty excited, too. Come on, let’s try and catch up to Rainbow Dash before she gets too far ahead. We don’t want to risk missing any of her big battle.” As it turned out, however, Twilight and Spike were in little danger of missing anything. By the time the pair reached the Alumina City Gym, Rainbow Dash was standing in front of the building with her arms crossed, tapping her foot with an impatient look on her face. “Rainbow! I how we didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“I wasn’t waiting for you,” Rainbow Dash grunted irritably. “Wait, that came out wrong. I meant, you’re not the reason I’m stuck waiting out here. It turns out somebody else got here ahead of me, and now I’ve got to wait for them to finish their battle before I can have mine.”

“If that’s the case, we should go in and watch,” Twilight replied. “This could be a great opportunity to see what kind of strategies the gym leader here uses. Not to mention a way to see what kind of Pokémon they have.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I already know what type of Pokémon the gym’s all about, and we’ve beaten every other gym without even really knowing that much most of the time. Besides, I don’t know how much I’d really learn from this battle, anyway. From what I overheard, it’s someone getting their first badge, so I kinda doubt it’s gonna be too long before—”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is victorious!” All attention was immediately drawn to the gym’s doors as a jubilant Trixie burst out. “With this badge, Trixie takes her first steps on her quest to defeat—Twilight?”

“Trixie! You’re challenging gyms now, too?” Twilight asked as she stared at her would-be rival in shock.

“I—uh—yes, yes Trixie is. And, now that Trixie has earned her first badge, the next time we battle things are going to go very differently than how they went last time.”

“You do know Twilight’s got three badges now, right?” Spike asked sardonically, briefly deflating Trixie a bit.

“Three? Well, three victories like the one Trixie just had would hardly be much of a challenge.” Twilight let out a sigh at this as she realized there was likely only one way this production would be ended.

“Look, Spike and I were about to watch Rainbow Dash have her third gym battle. If you really want, we can have a rematch after she’s done. How does that sound?”

“I don’t know about Trixie, but that sounds pretty good to me. I was hoping to get a chance to see if Rainbow Dash has gotten any tougher.” All eyes turned back to the entrance of the gym to see Lightning Dust leaning against the door. “If nothing else, it’d be hilarious to watch Rainbow Dash get her rump handed to her by a gym leader as weak as the one Trixie just beat.”

“Lightning Dust? What the hay are you doing here? It thought you said gyms were too lame for you or something?”

“Hey, gyms might have too many rules for me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cheer on my pal Trixie here,” Lightning Dust said with a smirk as she put her arm around Trixie’s shoulders.

“Wait, pal? Since when are you two…you know what? Not important. Anyway, if you guys want to stick around and watch, then I don’t really have a problem with it. Real awesomeness deserves to be witnessed, after all.”

“At last, something we can actually agree on,” Lightning Dust said, stepping aside so Rainbow Dash could enter the gym.

*********

“It would appear I’m going to be very busy today. You said that you’re here to challenge me for your third badge, then?” Aria, the leader of the Alumina City Gym, said as she looked over Rainbow Dash. The gym leader was a tall woman, easily towering head and shoulders above Rainbow Dash, with long, platinum blond hair that hung down to her waist.

“You bet, me and my Pokémon are one hundred and ten percent ready for this,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, I can appreciate your enthusiasm, if nothing else. This will be a three-on-three battle. If you follow the arrows on the floor, they should lead you to our field’s challenger’s entrance. Your friends should take the stairs to the observation deck if they want to watch. Any questions?”

“Wait, did you say Rainbow Dash’s battle was going to be three-on-three?” Trixie asked in confusion. “But, when I challenged you it was only two-on-two.”

“The more badges you have, the harder the gym battles get and the more Pokémon they involve,” Twilight explained. “You didn’t really think that all the gym battles were going to be as easy as the one for your first badge, did you?”

Trixie let out a nervous laugh. “Of course Trixie didn’t think that. She just…didn’t expect you and Rainbow Dash to be at the three-on-three level yet.”

“In other words, we’re even more awesome than you expected. No big surprise there, I’m used to people not being prepared for the full scale of my incredibleness. Anyway, I’ve got a gym battle to go win!” With that, Rainbow Dash rushed down the hallway to her side of the arena, while the rest of the group made their way to the observation section.

The Alumina Ctiy gym’s arena was housed in a room that resembled a particularly large airplane hangar, the entire setup dwarfing most of the other gyms they had seen thus far. “Geez, it looks like you could fit three or four fields in there,” Spike marveled from the observation area, which was inset into one of the walls of the room.

“Well, yeah. When you’re in the air you’re gonna want as much room as possible,” Lightning Dust said. Any further chatter was swiftly quieted, however, as Rainbow Dash and Aria took to the field.

“Challenger Rainbow Dash! Are you ready?”

“Darn right I am!”

“Then let this battle begin! Go Wingull!”

“Hah, I thought you might have something like that up your sleeve! Go Breloom!” Everyone watching looked on in confusion as Rainbow Dash’s Breloom landed onto the field opposite Aria’s Pokémon, which looked like a sort of neckless seagull.

“She’s using Breloom in this fight? Has Rainbow Dash lost her mind?” Twilight exclaimed in shock.

“Why’s that so bad? I though Rainbow’s Breloom was pretty tough,” Spike said.

“Only when its not fighting Flying-types, which its incredibly weak against. Look!” Sure enough, Breloom was already on the defensive. Wingull was furiously beating its wings midair, sending out a barrage of crescent-shaped blades of wind straight into Breloom, who could do little more than try to shield itself.

“I should have known Dash would screw this up,” Lightning Dust snorted. “I can’t believe I actually call her my rival. Look, she’s not even trying to have it fight back, she’s just doing some dumb dance…oh, wait…” As the others watched, Rainbow Dash finished the poses to activate her Z-Move, sending torrents of energy streaming into Breloom. The golden light briefly coalesced inside Breloom before emanating outward across the field, carpeting the arena in flowers as it went with an especially large bulb forming underneath Wingull. Before Wingull could properly react, a massive beam of green light erupted out from the bulb beneath it, sending Wingull tumbling to the ground. “Wait, what the hay was that?” Lighting Dust yelled in alarm.

“That was Rainbow Dash’s Z-Move, I think it’s called ‘Bloom Doom’,” Spike replied helpfully. “I’ve been helping her practice it since she got her second badge, but I think that was one of the best ones she’s used yet!”

“Yeah…that was…something,” Lightning Dust muttered uneasily, as she mentally tried to recalibrate her plans to get back at Rainbow Dash.

“It was something alright, but I’m not all that sure it was something good,” Twilight said.

“What do you mean? Look, Aria’s calling her Wingull back, so Rainbow Dash’s attack must have knocked it out in one shot,” Spike said.

“True, but look at Rainbow’s Breloom, it’s not in much better shape than Wingull, and now Rainbow Dash has already used her Z-move, so she’s going to be at a disadvantage the rest of the battle.”

“So, she can only use that dancing stuff once per fight. Interesting…” Lightning Dust muttered to herself. No one else noticed, however, as their attention was instead focused on what was happening out on the field below.

“Look! Rainbow’s sending out Tank jr. now!” Spike cried out in excitement. “And Aria’s sendingout…huh, what even is that thing?”

Gligar, the Fly Scorpion Pokémon. These nocturnal Pokémon are commonly found living on the sides of cliffs or similar structures. They will leap off and silently glide towards potential prey, attacking from above with their venomous stinger.

“Alright, maybe this won’t be so bad,” Twilight said hopefully. “If that thing relies on gliding to remain airborne, then it probably won’t be as agile as—” Twilight’s further thoughts were interrupted as Trixie pointed down at the battlefield, where Gligar was rapidly darting through the air while surrounded by a blue glow.

“You were saying?” Trixie asked, clearly savoring the instance of Twilight having been proven wrong in her presence.

“So, maybe that Gligar is a bit more agile than I expected. Rainbow Dash doesn’t seem all that concerned, though. Wait, what’s she having Tank jr. do now?” Whatever the command Rainbow Dash gave Tank jr., it responded by facing Gligar and opening its mouth. A bright blue sphere of glowing water swiftly formed in front of Tank jr.’s mouth before firing out towards its opponent. Gligar scarcely had time to react before the ball caught it in its side, sending it tumbling out of the air to the ground.

“Aw yeah! A direct hit! Way to go Rainbow!” Spike cheered. “Look how beat up that Gligar is after just one attack, Rainbow and Tank jr. have got this in the bag.”

“I hope so, but I’m not so sure Rainbow is out of the woods quite yet,” Twilight cautioned. “Look at the expression on Aria’s face, she looks like she’s planning something.” Sure enough, the words had barely even left Twilight’s mouth before Aria gave her next command, which sent Gligar darting forward once again, crackling sparks of black energy surrounding one of its claws. Tank jr. saw the oncoming attack and tried to prepare itself, only for Gligar to momentarily vanish and reappear directly behind Tank jr. before smacking it in the back of its head. The force of the blow seemed to knock something out of Tank jr.’s shell, which Gligar promptly stabbed with its tail.

“Well, there goes one of our berries,” Spike sighed. “And I’m pretty sure that was one of the new ones, too.”

“What, was that going to be its lunch or something?” Trixie asked. Neither Twilight nor Spike answered, however, as their attention was fixed on the battle going on below. Tank jr. had recovered from Gligar’s attack faster than it had apparently expected, and was already preparing to fire another orb of water as it spun around to face its opponent. Gligar attempted to take back to the air to flee, but all it managed to do was present Tank jr. with its underside as an easy target. The force of the inevitable impact sent Gligar tumbling back to the ground, this time completely unconscious.

“That’s two down and only one to go,” Spike said. “I don’t know what you were so worried about, Twilight, Rainbow Dash is doing great so far.”

“Right,” Twilight muttered, as much to herself as to Spike. “So far.”

*********

“Wow, I knew I was gonna kick some serious butt here, but even I didn’t think it was gonna be this easy,” Rainbow Dash said as she watched Aria recall her Gligar.

“I’d be careful about getting too cocky, if I were you. This battle isn’t over just yet,” Aria countered.

“Yeah yeah, but you’re down two Pokémon now, and I haven’t even had one of mine knocked out. And besides,” Rainbow Dash added as she glanced back towards her Skarmory. “I haven’t even sent in my ace yet.”

“So, you’re counting on your Skarmory to finish things for you. Well, we’ll see how that works out for you. Go Pidgeotto!” Aria’s final Pokémon was revealed to be a large, brown bird with a cream-colored underside and a crest of long, pale red feathers atop its head.

“Huh, I kinda was expecting something a little, I dunno, cooler, but whatever. Tank, return! Skarmory, you’re up!” Skarmory let out a shrill cry as it launched itself into the air, while Rainbow Dash recalled Tank jr. to its ball. “I hope that Pidgey-whatsits got some tricks up its feathers, ‘cause otherwise Skarmory’s gonna take it apart!”

“Tricks? You mean something like this, perhaps? Pidgeotto, use Heat Wave!” Pidgeotto immediately began furiously beating its wings, sending a gust of air practically glowing with intense heat straight towards Skarmory. Skarmory let out a shriek as it was buffeted by the waves of superheated air, and Rainbow Dash could plainly see that Skarmory was having a much harder time just staying airborne. “What’s the matter? Where did all that bravado suddenly vanish to?”

“We’re not out of this yet, we just need to kick things up a notch. Skarmory, use Agility!” Skarmory let out a screech of acknowledgement even as thin wisps of smoke were still trailing off its wings. In a flash, Skarmory began darting through the air with ever-increasing speed, leaving Pidgeotto struggling to keep track of it. “Aw yeah, that’s more like it! Now, give it a Steel Wing attack while you’ve got it confused!” The aerial blur that was Skarmory began trailing a bright light as both of its wings started glowing white. While this allowed Pidgeotto to finally track Skarmory’s location, it only achieved this in time to see Skarmory slam into it.

“Well, at least you’re trying to make this challenging. Pidgeotto! Use another Heat Wave attack! Burn that wretch out of the air!”

“Geez, somebody’s getting a little too into this,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself as she watched Pidgeotto send another blistering wave of air at Skarmory. The cumulative attacks were clearly starting to wear on Skarmory, and Rainbow Dash doubted it would be able to withstand another hit. “Well, if we’re going down, then we’re gonna go down fighting! Skarmory, use another Steel Wing attack!” Skarmory turned and locked eyes with Rainbow Dash for a moment, a silent understanding passing between them. Skarmory then wheeled around in the air and let out a shrill war cry before diving straight towards Pidgeotto.

“Defiant to the end? Not really my style, but I can respect the effort. Pidgeotto, finish it with another Heat Wave!” Pidgeotto frantically beat its wings to generate another blast of hot air, hitting Skarmory dead on. The attack, albeit successful, had no effect on Skarmory’s momentum, and the armored bird smashed directly into Pidgeotto with devastating force. Despite the power of the impact, though, Pidgeotto was still able to keep itself aloft, while Skarmory came crashing down to the ground. “Well then, that about wraps things up,” Aria said as Rainbow Dash recalled her Skarmory to its ball.

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash demanded angrily. “I’ve still got Breloom and Tank jr. left, and your Pidgeotto isn’t looking like its got much fight left in it!”

“True, if either of your Pokémon could and a decisive blow on Pidgeotto then they could likely cinch your victory. That is, if they could land a blow. And, given the condition those two were in after their respective battles, it will be child’s play for Pidgeotto to deal with them before they ever have a chance. I’ll admit you made a very good showing, but this is the end of this battle, even if you can’t see it.”

“Oh yeah? Well, bring it! Breloom, let’s finish this!” Rainbow Dash threw her Breloom’s Poké Ball into the arena, and despite its injuries Breloom seemed ready to face its opponent.

“Well, if you don’t want to accept the inevitable, then who am I to refuse?” Aria said as golden light began emanating from her Z-ring. “If I’m being honest, using this attack at this point is grossly overkill, but if this is what you need to—”

“Breloom! Mach Punch!” In a blur of movement, Breloom’s arm shot forward, stretching out to slam directly into Pidgeotto’s midsection. Stunned by the force of the sudden attack, Pidgeotto barely managed to weakly flap its wings a few times before awkwardly tumbling out of the air. “Hey, you were right, it only took on last hit to take Pidgeotto out.” Aria silently opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to put together a response, before finally recalling her unconscious Pidgeotto.

“If La Mariposa ever hears of this, she’ll never let me live it down,” Aria muttered to herself. “It would appear I should have listened to my own advice earlier regarding overconfidence. In any event, with all three of my Pokémon defeated, I hereby recognize you as the victor of this battle.”

*********

“Haha, yeah! That’s three badges down!” Rainbow Dash crowed as she displayed the thundercloud-shaped Storm Badge she had received. “I told you guys I was gonna crush it here!”

“I’ll admit it was a good win, but I still think you need to be a little more careful. That battle almost turned out very differently,” Twilight admonished.

“Yeah yeah, I know. What I really need to do is start handing berries out to more of my Pokémon. If Skarmory had gotten off one more attack, that battle wouldn’t have been even close.” Twilight rolled her eyes at this, knowing Rainbow Dash well enough to realize that this was as close to a victory as she was likely to achieve for the time being. Instead, Twilight turned her attention to Trixie, who had been uncharacteristically trying to avoid drawing any attention to herself ever since Rainbow Dash’s battle had ended.

“So, now that Rainbow Dash has her badge, why don’t we head back to the Pokémon Center so we can get ready for our own battle?” Twilight suggested.

“Umm…Trixie has thought it over, and it might be better to postpone that a little,” Trixie replied. “After all, Trixie wants her Pokémon to be in top form for her duel with Twilight, and watching that battle made Trixie concerned she may have underestimated how tired her Pokémon are.”

“And it’s definitely not because seeing my awesomeness made you realize that Twilight’s probably a whole lot stronger than you thought, right?” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. “Hey, Lightning Dust? You wanna try for a rematch against me once my Pokémon are healed up?”

“Pass. I haven’t finished whipping my Pokémon into shape yet. But, believe me, once I’m done with them, they’re going to take you down hard.” Rainbow Dash simply smiled and shrugged her shoulders, causing Lighting Dust to seethe with fury as she watched Rainbow Dash rejoin her friends. “Mark my words, Dash,” Lightning Dust thought silently to herself. “I am going to make sure you blow this gym thing, one way or another.”