Pokémon/Digimon Mystery Dungeon: The Adventure Begins

Chapters

I'm a...… Pokémon?!?!?
How to be a Pokemon
Tomorrow’s Stranger is today's Friend
Training Day
Pokémon vs Beast
Today's a good to to make a new Friend
Getting a Job
A Wooloo Stampede
A Perfect Day for Flying
The Mischiefs
Dungeon Expedition
What comes in the Night

I'm a...… Pokémon?!?!?

All was calm within the magical forest that looked like it came out of a children's story. The sun was shining, birds were singing, frogs were croaking, rabbits were hopping, and everything was peaceful from up above in the sky and down below in the ground.

That all changed after sounds of running could be heard from within the forest. All the animals were trying to locate where those sounds were coming from, but could not locate them. As the sounds began to get louder, they were becoming more clear to visualize what they were. They sounded like someone or something was running very fast from something else that reverberated with large steps. Before the animals could continue to search for these unknown sounds, some of them were knocked off of their spots on trees or spots on the ground by a fast-moving object. And not far behind this speedster is another, large object that knocked away all trees, logs, and stones out of its way.

The smallest of the two unknown objects continued to run through the forest, dodging all the projectiles that were being thrown by its pursuer. Amongst the shadows of the forest, the fast object's characteristics make it out as a colt with a cream-colored body. While a smaller object would be way faster than a larger object, the smaller of the two could be seen carrying two smaller objects on its back and another object in its mane.

After much running and dodging the large object's pursuits, the colt made it out of the forest and into the sunlight. The colt and its passengers had hoped there was a clear escape for them at the end of this path, but their hopes were quickly shattered. In front of them was a small patch of land with very few patches of grass that ended with a steep cliff, with a narrow slope at the end of it. The colt came to an abrupt stop, kicking up a large dust cloud to keep itself and its passengers from plummeting off the side of a cliff. As the colt was inching closer and closer to the edge of the cliff until it finally stopped moving just at the edge with a large dust cloud surrounding it.

Once the dust cloud was beginning to subside, the colt's features were coming into view. It was a quadrupedal, colt with a cream-colored body. It had a short, rounded snout with large nostrils and blue eyes. It had a large, feathery red mane, long, dark blue, ridged eyebrow-like protrusions, and a single cream-colored horn that curves slightly. The back of its head, as well as its neck, was covered with fluffy, light blue fur. It had blue hooves, and its tail was light blue with white spots and resembled an elaborate feather in a cap.

With no way forward, the young colt searched for another path to escape his pursuer, but there was no way out of this situation unless he suddenly grew wings. Without a chance to think of a plan, the young colt's pursuer finally caught up to him, and from the look on its face, it was clearly angry. This being, more accurately creature, was large with brown fur; a large, red mane; from around its head, protruded four horns out of its head; razor-sharp teeth adorned its mouth; large, red, bat wings flared from its back; and a scaly, scorpion rose from its backside. There was a word for the kind of creature that this was: a Manticore.

This large beast, appearing to be twice the size of this young colt, roared at him in order to instill even more fear than it already was. While the colt was trying to remain calm at the sheer presence of this menacing creature, the three figures on the colt's back and mane were trembling at the mere sight of it. He looked back and saw the small white unicorn with the purple and pink mane and the yellow pony with a red mane and the big red bow was shaking in the crook of his neck. And atop his mane, a yellow rodent with a heart-shaped tail was hiding within his mane, so she doesn't have to look at the beast. With the approaching beast in front of him and a deep cliff behind him, the colt knew of only one option out of this situation.

He reaches towards his back and grabs the small unicorn with his mouth and places her on the ground. After that, he did the same to the other small pony, then he dipped his head and the yellow mouse rolled off of his head. Once all three of them were off of his body, the colt moved them safely behind him in a protective manner. "Stay right here." The young colt said without taking his eyes away from the mythological beast.

The colt began to slowly approach the beast with confidence in its eyes, surprising both the small creatures behind him and the large creature in front of him. No average pony would be brave enough to approach a beast that could tear them to shreds in a matter of seconds. This is simply because this wasn't an average pony because behind this colt's brave face is actually the spirit of a human being. How could a human find themselves in a situation like this? That is a story that begins a few days ago.

3 Days Ago

An average day began just like any other day, which usually started getting up in the morning, having breakfast, taking a shower, receiving assignments from his employer to work on from home, hanging out with his friends, making dinner, going to bed, and everything would start over the next day. It wasn’t a perfect life, but this was the life of Tom Williams.

Tom is 19 years old, has short brown hair, his eyes bright green, and a height of 6'1. His parents is long gone. The two of them may be gone, but they left behind the values they taught Tom when he was young. Those values are what have made him the man he is today.

Now, on a Saturday morning, Tom is in the living room of his apartment, working on the code for his company’s website as he does every once in a while. And near the island in the kitchen, his roommate, Max is brushing his teeth over the sink, while he getting ready for his job in Nebraska’s local casino. The two of them have been friends since elementary school, and have had each other’s backs, even when the two of them don’t see eye to eye.

“I’m telling you, Tom. The thing about people disappearing is a reading thing.” Max says after he spits his backwash into the sink, then gargles some mouthwash.

Tom was hard at work on his computer but still answers without looking up. “And I’m telling you, Max, that all of those stories you hear are you that: stories. No one’s disappearing just by buying some items at a convention.” He said just as he finished another line.

“No, man. I hear people talking about it all the time at the casino. Some people say they actually see cosplayers disappear at booths after they buy something.” Max says before he rinses his spit out of the sink and heads toward his room to grab his uniform.

As much as Tom believes that Max is telling the truth about these rumors, he thinks those rumors are coming from no reliable sources. Most of the people these rumors come from are people down on their luck playing various games in the casino. These people are usually drunk from all their losses and will occasionally spout nonsense, like these disappearing rumors.

“Just don’t take any of those stories seriously. I heard some people looking into those rumors and end up in worse situations than disappearing.” Tom responds with concern in the tone of his voice.

Max exits the door to his bedroom, dressed in his work uniform. “Don’t worry, Tom. I’m not like those guys looking for trouble wherever I find it.” He says, fixing his bow tie in the mirror.

Tom held back the urge to laugh at that comment. When the two of them were kids, Max would always get himself into trouble without even trying. Even when he was just walking down the street, he’d find himself running from a pack of dogs. After middle school, he grew out of this habit, but every once and a while, he’d find himself in more situations.

Once Tom got the last line of code typed and tested his program, he uploaded it to his company's site and turned off his laptop. When he closed his computer, he looked up and saw Max finished tying his bow tie and grabbing his keys out of the bowl.

“Well, whether the rumors are real or not, it’s still a fun story to hear once and a while.” He said as he was heading toward the front door.

“Yeah, well, don’t go disappearing on me,” Tom said while looking for the remote to the Samsung television.

“You do the same.” And with that being said, Max left the apartment out the door.

With Max gone and no more work today, Tom uses this chance to put his feet up and watch television. He turns on Netflix and continues his where he left off on Pokémon Journeys. The show may be for kids, but it’s a classic show he’s watched since he was 6 and it reminds him of some of his best memories. And no matter how old he gets, he will always love this show.

Before he could start his show, there was a quick know at the door. This made Tom sigh out of his mouth. ‘Max probably forgot his wallet again.’ He thought to himself. He go up from the couch and made it to the front door. Once he opened the door, the person turned out to be a mailwoman.

She was definitely a woman after getting a look at her figure, but not in a creepy way. The only problem was that her hat was obscuring her face from the young man’s view. He can; however, see short pink hair coming from her hat.

“Are you Tom Williams?” She says, not even looking up from her clipboard.

“Yes. I am.” He said, confused by this surprise visit.

“Package delivery for you.” She says, pointing to a large package right behind her legs under a dolly.

This took him by surprise. Tom doesn’t recall ever ordering a package lately. It could be Max’s package, but then the mailwoman would’ve asked for his name and not Tom’s.

“I’m sorry. You must have the wrong apartment. I have not ordered a pack-“ Tom tried explaining but was interrupted by the mailwoman.

“Can you please sign for this, sir? I have a lot more deliveries to make today.” She says while tapping her pen on her clipping, signifying she losing patience.

Without no much choice to make, Tom signs for this unknown package. After signing his name, the package was wheeled in on the dolly and dropped in the middle of the room. Once the box dropped, the mailwoman took left the room and stopped at the door.

“Have a nice day, sir.” She says while giving a toothy grin before turning and leaving.

After she left, Tom closed and locked the door before turning to the mystery package in his living room. There wasn’t a return address on the box, so they were not any form of identification. Who could have sent him the package? Could it have been a gift from one of his friends? Or maybe it was a prize from a contest he entered and just forgot about. It could be anything, so with that thought in mind there’s only one choice: open it. He goes into the kitchen and takes out a knife. He cuts through the tape around the edges of the box, and after a few minutes, the last seal was sliced. Once, he grabbed the edges of the box and lifted them open, Tom saw what was inside.

Inside the large box was an assortment of Pokemon figurines. Some of them were starters from Gen 1 to Gen 8 while the others were various species of Pokemon. There were even figures of Ash Ketchum’s teams, Team Rocket’s past catches, and a figurine of the mystical Pokemon, Keldeo.

“Why would anyone send me these?” Tom wondered while inspecting every figure. While they were nice, he couldn’t figure out who in his would send all of these for him.

Outside of his apartment, the mailwoman was standing outside, looking up at Tom’s apartment building. She was smiling with a toothy grin before removing her hat. Atop her head were small stubs in her hair that resembled ears. The wind blew her hair out of her face, showing her blue eye. Before anyone could see, she disappeared in a blue light.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Tom spent the rest of the day eating while watching Pokémon Journeys and Ultimate Journeys. When it was dinner time, he micro leaves some leftovers from the previous night. Once Max came home, he joined had dinner, and asked about figures. Tom had hoped Max ordered them but was surprised that they weren’t from him, leaving the mystery yet to be solved.

When nighttime hit, Tom and Max hit the hay, so they can prepare for the next day. While Max was fast asleep, Tom had trouble sleeping. He couldn’t stop thinking about who sent him those figurines. His mind thought back to those rumors, but then laughed that off as nonsense. He closed his eyes and decided to worry about it tomorrow.

When he closed his eyes, the figures in the living room began to glow one by one. Once they were all glowing, they began to disappear. And once they all disappeared, a familiar light began to shine on Tom. The light began to shine brighter and brighter before he was gone.

Tom’s eyes were slowly beginning to open after feeling himself move. When his eyes scanned the area, he just closed them as if nothing was wrong. Until he opened with shock after really at where he was right now. Everything around him was nothing but a dark void. For as far as he could see was just an endless from his left to his right. Below him is solid ground that he seems to be standing on with translucent legs. That’s right. Every part of his body was covered in this translucent darkness with only his eyes and hands still solid.

At first, Tom thought this was just one of his dreams, but this seemed too real to be a dream. He would’ve pinched himself to know he was dreaming, but his hand just phased through his cheek. So, if this wasn’t a dream, then he needs to know where he is and why he’s here.

Before he knew it, a bright appeared right in front of him. He covered his eyes the best he could with his translucent body parts. Once the died, he uncovered his eyes to see what appeared. If he still had his mouth, it would have dropped.

What appeared was a white equine resembling a qilin or centaur with a gray, vertically-striated underside. The striated pattern has similar recurrences on the underside of its mane, tail, and face. Its four pointed feet are tipped with gold hooves. Its long mane juts away from its head, and its face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils, and a green circular pattern below its eyes. It also had a streak of gold coloration on its head, and ears that point upward. Its neck was fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that is colored white like much of the body. It also has a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen, which also has four jewels attached to it.

And atop the centaur was a pink, bipedal with mammalian features. It had a rounded, wide snout; triangular ears; and large, blue eyes. It had short arms with three-fingered paws and large hind paws with oval markings on the soles. Its tail was long and thin with an ovoid tip.

The two in front of the young man were Arceus, the God of Pokémon, and Mew, the Progenitor of all Pokémon. Two one-of-a-kind Pokémon floating in front of him were amazing, whether this was a dream or not.

While Arceus continued to stare down at Tom with its emotionless eyes, Mew just teleported out of sight. This caught the man off guard. When he searched for the mythical Pokémon, it teleported right in front of his face. This scared him and made him fall on where his butt would be. Mew just laughed in its signature laugh that’s been heard since the first movie.

When Tom tried to collect himself, he tried to talk but forgot his mouth was just a ghost. He was freaking out so much that he didn’t notice Arceus’s eyes were glowing. And, in a flash, the green darkness around his mouth was replaced with his lips. Tom was shocked by this sudden change, and he quickly moved his eyes toward the giant Pokemon.

“My apologies for Mew. She can be a little too carefree at times.” Arceus said as its voice echoed through the void.

“You’re just a sourpuss, Arceus. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun.” Mew said with a more feminine voice. Her voice sounded so familiar to the human when his mind placed it.

“Wait… that voice. You’re that mailwoman that sent the package.” Tom declared while pointing his finger at the floating creature.

“Yep. You got it.” Mew said with joy in her voice before her body began to shine. Once the light died it, Mew’s body was replaced with the mailwoman from earlier today. She struck a pose when she landed on her feet.

“Why would send me those figures? Why would you bring me here?” Tom asked, more confused than he’s been his whole life.

“Because it we need your help and it was easier than appearing in your home,” Mew said before turning back into regular form.

“What do you need my help with?” Tom asked.

It was finally Arceus’s turn to speak. “This is a great force pulling our kind to another world, and we need your help to protect them.” Arceus boldly said.

“But, aren’t you the god of all Pokémon? Can’t you stop this from happening? Why do you need my help?” Tom curiously asked.

“Even we have our limits. The force pulling Pokémon into that world is too strong for us to stop. When need someone to protect them from the encroaching darkness that has yet to come?” Mew said while flying around before landing on the top of Tom’s head.

“You still haven’t said why you want me to do this. How can I help every Pokémon?” Tom wondered.

“Tom Williams. You have been chosen because you are a kind, human being that truly cares for others and not yourself.” Arceus boldly explained the qualifications Tom has for this mission.

“There are a few other things, but we’ll keep them to ourselves for now,” Mew said while giggling after finishing her sentence.

“What if I’m not good enough for this mission? What if I make things worse? What if I fail?” Tom said, listing all the ways he was wrong for the job.

“What if there are no what-ifs? You cannot be so scared of failure that you will not attempt the unknown.” Arceus said, encouraging the man.

“And if you don’t want the mission, then you don’t have to take it.” Mew plainly said while laying on its back.

This news surprised Tom. The two of them have been talking about how he’ll be taking on this mission, but now he learns that he has the choice of whether to take it.

“So I have a choice in this?” Tom asked, considering saying no to this mission.

“Of course, you have a choice. However, you’ll have to understand the risks of declining this mission.” Arceus explained with a hint of warning in his voice.

“What kind of risks?” Tom asked was a hint of concern in the back of the host's voice.

Mew floated on Tom’s head and faced him. “Well, you’d forget this conversation ever happened and you’ll go back to your regular life.”

“How is that a risk? It seems to say no what be my best option.” Tom said, sounding as if he’s already made his decision.

The looks on both Arceus and Mew’s faces look like they didn’t like his answer. “It’s not you who will be taking the risk,” Mew said with no ounce of joy in her voice.

“Huh?” Tom wondered what she meant by that.

“If you say refuse this mission, then we must search for another champion to take on this task. This search may take a long time, and many lives could be endangered while we search for a willing volunteer.” Arceus said with a grim tone in his voice at the very thought of his species in danger.

The thought of lives being lost because Tom wasn’t brave enough to take on this assignment made him feel worse. If his parents were here, would they take on this job or decline and stay with him? Knowing who they were and how they raised him, Tom knew what their answer would be.

“What would happen if I chose to take on this mission?” Tom declared with a look of courage in his eyes. Arceus and Mew saw this look in his eyes and it brought of hope.

“If you were to take this mission, then everyone you’ve ever met would forget everything about you. It would be like you never existed.” Mew said while floating around him.

“That way, if anything ever happens, none of your friends or family will have to worry. No matter what happens, this choice is up to you.” Arceus said, leaving the final choice to Tom.

Never would have Tom believed that he be given an opportunity like this. A job like this is something that may come once in a lifetime. If you were to say no, then he would regret it for the rest of his life, even if he does forget it. As dangerous as this mission sounds, there’s something inside him that is saying that he should do this. After thinking hard about this, Tom has made his decision.

“I accept the mission.” Tom proudly said as he stood before the two creatures.

Mew was happy with his answer that teleported to Tom’s side and nuzzled against his face. Arceus did not have a mouth, but the look in his eyes say that he liked the human’s answer.

“You’ve made a wise decision,” Arceus said with a joyful tone in his voice.

“Thank you. Now, how am I supposed to fight against this darkness.” Tom wondered while Mew is still nuzzling her face against his.

Arceus didn’t say anything and instead, allowed his it’s crystals to glow. A soft light appeared around the young man, and once it subsided, Pokemon from Gen 1 (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Eevee, Psyduck, Meowth, Cubone, Machop, Vulpix, Growlithe, Pidgey, Ratata, Dratini, Horsea, Ponyta, Poliwhag), Gen 2 ( Chikarita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Tyrouge, Phanphy, Mareep, Larvitar, Togepi, Sentret, Magby, Elekid, Gligar, Teddiursa, Swinub, Sneaseal, Murkrow, and Houndour), Gen 3 (Treeko, Torchic, Mudkip, Shroomish, Zigzagoon, Skitty, Mightyena, Bagon, Ralts, Trapinch, Wurmple, Bagon, Electivire, Anorith, Tailow, Swablu, Azurill), Gen 4 (Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Shinx, Riolu, Starly, Pachirisu, Gible, Cranidos, Shieldon, and Croagunk.), Gen 5 ( Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Lillipup, Pidove, Timburr, Purrloin, Zorua, Deino, Axew, Petilil, Blitzle, Emolga, and Cottonee.), Gen 6 (Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Litleo, Fletchling, Dedenne, Goomy, Pancham, Tyrunt, Amaura, and Scatterbug) Gen 7 (Rowlett, Litten, Popplio, Pikipek, Rockruff, Meowth (Alola Form), Ratata (Alola Form), Jangmo-o, Vulpix (Alola Form), and Togedemaru.) and Gen 8 (Grookey, Scorbunny, Sobble, Rookidee, Yamper, Meowth (Galarian Form), Growlithe (Hisuian Form), Ponyta (Galarian Form), Zigzagoon (Galar Form), Morpeko, Dreepy, and Zorua (Hisuian Form)) appeared around him.

These were not just any Pokémon, these were the Pokémon figures that came in the mail. Even theKeldeo was amongst these groups of varying species.

Before a word could escape his mouth, another bright light appeared before him. This was an even brighter force of light than before. When this light subsided what appeared this time was Ash Ketchum's Pokemon from the Kanto region to the recent Galar region. Followed by Team Rocket’s Pokemon teams, past and present. It ended with multiple digimon (Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Palmon, Gomamon, Patamon, Salamon, Veemon, Hawkmon, Armodillomon, Terriormon, Impmon, Gaomon, Falcomon, Kamemon, Coronamon, Lunamon, Floramon), which appeared in their Rookie levels.

"After combing through your mind, I have found that you have strong feelings towards each of these Pokemon and Digimon. This is why they were chosen for you and sent in the package. Now, you must choose amongst each of them to become in order to survive in this other world. And choose wisely."

Tom didn’t know what to say right now. It’s like he’s in a real-life version of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon when the player chooses their starter Pokémon, only this time it isn’t a personality quiz, and it was with digimon.

He walked up to every Pokémon and Digimon, inspecting everything about them: their appearances, their moves, their abilities, and their qualities. If he was going to enter another world with new dangers ahead, then he’ll need to choose the best. After making his final decision, he walked up to Arceus confident look on his face.

“I’ve made my choice,” Tom said with a confident tone in his voice.

“And which have you chosen?” Arceus asked, wondering about his choice.

“I’ve chosen all of them,” Tom said, spreading his arms to emphasize his choice.

This choice made Arceus widen his eyes and Mew began to giggle when he the choice he made.

“Tom, you are aware that you must choose only one of them, correct?” Arceus asked, wondering if Tom knew the rules.

“No. You said that I have to choose amongst these Pokémon and Digimon. And amongst them, I’ve chosen all of them.” Tom explained.

Arceus was still not convinced of this, so Tom continued, “Arceus. You say that I will have to face a number of problems in this new world. So, I’ll need every advantage I can get if I hope to survive what’s coming.”

Everything he was saying made sense to Arceus. If he’s going to face many enemies then he’ll need every opportunity to stand a chance against them. For the first time since this conversation started, Arceus started to laugh.

“You are a smart young man. We were wise to choose you for the mission. Very well. Your choice is granted.” Arceus said while still chuckling.

The crystals on Arceus began to glow just as the void was changed into a brighter hue. All of the Pokémon and Digimon behind Tom disappeared into a collective light before they converged and draw into his body. The green dark void was soon replaced with a rainbow color. Even the green darkness around Tim’s body was replaced with this prism hue.

“While in this world, we will stay in contact with you in case you ever need help,” Arceus said before a light appeared before Tim and what followed was an Arceus-styled phone.

“You’ll also need a carrying bag for all of your food and accessories,” Mew said before flying around and a bag appearing behind her.

Tom took the treasure bag placed over his shoulder and the Arceus phone was put into one of the outer pockets of the bag. No matter how crazy this is happening, he can’t believe it’s happening to him.

“Now, how am I supposed to get-“ Tom asked before something pushed him forward and he fell down a hole that appeared in the void.

Right where Tom was standing, Mew was floating there with her left foot sticking out in a kicking position.

“Was that necessary, Mew?” Arceus asked while looking down at his pink trickster.

“Probably not, but it sure was fun,” Mew said before laughing and teleporting away. Arceus's only response was a shake of his head.

The sun is in the sky shinned, while only radiating a few patches land in the forest down below. In this dense forest, the rest of the forest was covered shadows with various rays of sunlight poking through the trees. Various animals running or flying across the forest, enjoying the beautiful day, except for one.

“Hey. Are you okay? Hey. Wake up!” A voice spoke, coming from a small figure next to the unmoving object.

This voice kept trying to wake up the lone figure on the ground with no positive results. Another minute went by until the object on the ground started moving after hearing the unknown voice.

The unnamed figure gasped in success. They said, “You’re awake.”

The voice’s recipient, now determined to be female, was overjoyed that the person on the ground was okay. Once they opened both of them, they rubbed them in order to wake themselves up. After they removed their small, stubby hands, they looked at the small figure right before them.

Then, with no chance to respond, the awake person jerked up and head-butted the other right in the forehead.

That headbutt was all that previously sleeping person needed to wake themselves up fully. They were able to take a look around them and see if they were okay. When they took a look at their body, say a small body with light blue fur and a pale yellow seashell on their belly. Their arms were white and rounded, while their feet are dark blue with three toes each. They felt around their face and could tell their head was round and soft.

A noise of discomfort tore the figure away from their confusion. They looked toward the sound and saw something that widened their eyes. It was a small, chubby, yellow rodent. It had a small mouth, long, pointed ears with black tips, and brown eyes. Each cheek was a red circle and it had short forearms with five fingers on each paw, and its feet each have three toes. At the base of its heart-shaped tail is a patch of brown fur. And it was clear from this female’s eyes that she was crying.

With that piece of information, the confused figure now knew what was happening. The injured female was a Pikachu and the other figure was an Oshawott. Only this wasn’t an ordinary Oshawott, for behind its face was, in reality, Tom Williams.

‘I’ve been turned into a……. Pokemon?!?!?!’

How to be a Pokemon

Pokemon.

That was what Tom had become, and he still couldn't believe it no matter how many times he tries to pinch himself with his stubby, white arms. Having no fingers is just one of the downsides of this situation for Tom. Another part is having to be the size of an infant and walking with three toes. Every Pokemon fan has dreamed of turning into a Pokemon at least once, but it's all different when it's happening to him. One part of him is excited that this is happening to him, while the other part of him is still scared about this mission assigned to him. Could it be so dangerous that he needed to be turned into a Pokemon just to survive what coming? Luckily, he's found a new friend to help him through this new ordeal in front of him.

After apologizing many times for the headbutt, Pikachu was helpful in understanding where Tom was and providing any useful information, whether it was helpful or not. According to her, Pokemon and Digmon have appeared in this new world for the last few weeks through rifts in space. She's been here for only a week and has no idea why these portals have opened or why the Pokemon have been sent to this world. Pikachu also mentioned the inhabitants of the world varied, from what he could describe by her descriptions to be ponies. Yes. Ponies of various colors and sizes lived in medieval villages, functioning as a stable society.

Once Pikachu was done relaying everything she knew about this world, Tom took a moment to collect his thoughts. The thought of talking ponies through him for a loop for a moment, but he pushed that thought aside for now. It reminded him of something, but couldn't remember what it was.

As for the multiple portals opening up everywhere, it was good that this has been happening for only a few weeks because while portals may be appearing even as they speak, no damage has been caused to anyone. It was still too early to make conclusions without further gathering information on how Pokemon and Digimon have interacted with these ponies and how these ponies have chosen to approach these new species. Tom pushed that thought away and focused on the immediate problem: finding some food. Pikachu saw how hungry he was and thought of an idea. She told Tom to follow him, so he gathered up his treasure bag and followed behind the electric rodent as fast as his little feet could take him.

While the two Pokemon were walking through the shadowed forest, both of them used this chance to get to know one another. Pikachu was once a part of a tribe of Pikachu back in her world when she was living in the Kanto Region, but ever since the rifts began to appear, she's lost contact with her family.

"I'm sure that every member of your tribe is okay. They're probably in this world right now." Tom said, trying to cheer up his new friend while patting her on the back.

"I know, but it doesn't stop me from worrying if they're okay. They're the only family I've ever known, and I've never even met other Pokemon except for the occasional bug Pokemon." Pikachu said while the tone in her voice began to lessen.

"You shouldn't worry yourself sick because your family wouldn't want that for you. Besides, you'll see them eventually, and your parents will be glad once they see you again." Tom said, thinking that his words of encouragement have brightened her spirits.

Everything got quiet in the forest and the sounds of Pikachu's footsteps stopped. Tom looked in her direction and saw her face facing toward the ground and her ears drooping down her head. There were faint sounds of her sobbing. It seems like he said something that upset her.

"My parents died a year ago," Pikachu said with clear depression in his voice.

Tom mentally smacked himself in the head after learning this new information. He should've been careful with what he said, especially with how much she missed her family. When Tom got a clear look at her face, it reminded him of the day he lost his parents and how sad he was when they weren't around anymore. Tom could relate to wanting to be with his family, especially when that family is not around anymore. So, he took a seat right beside Pikachu, placed his arm on her round back, and rubbed it in circles to comfort her. She raised her head with visible tear stains coming from her eyes and looked towards her now comforting friend.

"Listen, I'm sorry I mentioned a sore topic. I know what it's like to lose parents; I lost my parents five years ago." Tom said, allowing someone else to learn about his parent's demise. Pikachu's eyes widened after learning that her friend has lost someone too. "Losing someone is never easy, whether they are a family member or a close friend, but it's important to remember that they would never want you to wallow in your sorrow. They'd want you to continue living the way they raised you, and if you ever need someone to talk to about it then you'll have me by your side." Tom finished with a friendly smile.

Pikachu couldn't believe it. Right here, in front of her, was someone who has felt the same heartache she has, but hasn't allowed his depression to become a deterrent. Rather, he used his feelings to further grow and evolve on the inside than on the outside like every other Pokemon. And now he's chosen to talk about a personal part himself to pull her out of her stupor. This just brought more tears to the small rodent's eyes.

Tom saw her eyes welling up and thought he said something. He said, "Oh no. Did I say something wrong again? I'm sorry. I won't s-"

"Oh, Tom!"

Without a second thought, Pikachu talked him to the ground and nuzzled her cheeks against his. At first, he thought the tears from her eyes were tears of sadness, but after looking at her face they were tears of happiness.

"Thank you. You didn't have to say anything about your family but pushed past it your feelings to make me feel better. I don't know how lucky I could have been to have found a great friend like you." Pikachu stated through her tears while continuing to hug her friend.

Tom just smiled at her words and decided to hug her back. The only sounds that came from that part of the forest were Pikachu's quiet sobs. Only a few minutes into the hug, there was a sudden sound of static electricity in the air that rang through Tom's ears. This only meant one thing to him, but before he could react he was zapped by Pikachu's electricity.

As a water type, a direct attack of electricity can cause a lot of damage, yet feeling a ton of volts of lighting course through his body could hurt anyone. Pikachu felt a lot of movement from Tom and looked to see what was wrong. She saw she was zapping him with her electric cheeks and quickly let him go. Tom fell to the ground, twitching from what felt like being zapped by 9 lighting bolts.

"Tom. I'm so sorry," Pikachu apologized to her charred friend.

"Don't worry about it. I barely felt a thing." He said while putting on a brave face.

There have been hundreds of shows where Pikachu zaps someone with its electricity, and feeling it was way different than watching it. While the sudden electric shock wasn't pleasant, he'd take another hundred volts if it meant making sure Pikachu feels better.

After nearly 20 minutes of walking in the forest, Tom caught sight of many different Pokemon and Digimon in the trees like a Furret, a flock of Tailow, a few Seedot, and even a Pansear, Pansage, and Panpour playing together. A few Biyomon were flying from tree to tree with one another, while a Sukamon and Chuumon were busy eating a bunch of berries. Catching sight of the fictional creatures brought out the geek in him for a moment. Soon enough, Pikachu and Tom exited the forest and let the sunlight's rays shine down on them. When Pikachu stepped aside, Tom could see a clearer picture of where she's taken him.

Before Tom was a large lake, surrounded by plenty of trees from the dark forest, with a few leaves floating on the wind and into the lake. The rays from the sun reflected off of the lake's water and provided a spectacular effect on the water's surface.

"What is this place?" Tom asked still mesmerized by the scene right in front of him.

"This is a local watering hole. It began when one Pokemon saw various predators and prey drinking water without attacking one another. One by one, pokemon began to come here and converse with one another while we are all in this world together. We may all have different element types or are different species, but we are all in the same situation and are going to have to come together if we are to survive." Pikachu said, gesturing her hand around the lake to prove her point.\

Around the lake, there were pokemon of different species getting a drink from the lake or simply having a rest in the soft grass. What was even more surprising was some of those Pokemon had a strong predator and prey relationship. A Marowak parent was allowing their children to drink while they sat next to a sleeping Manidibuzz and a Renamon. In the tree, a Palmon and an Oddish were sitting on a branch talking to one another. In another part of the lake, there were a bunch of Yungoos and Gumshoos and Rattata eating a bunch of fruits from the bushes next to the lake. Even groups of Sevipers and Zangooses that have spent generations feuding with one another were just drinking water from the lake and went their separate ways. He caught sight of a Meowth giving some flowers to a Gatomon, only to be rejected by the feline.

Pikachu and Tom decided to get a drink and walked up to the shore of the lake. They both dipped their heads down and took big swigs of water into them. Once they got their fair share, the two chose to take a rest and sat on the grass and enjoy the scenery. A cool breeze picked up as various water pokemon splashed in the water, mostly Magikarp, Goldeen, Gomamon, Betamon, and Basculin. It was all just perfect.

“You were warned to never come back here!”

A sudden voice pulled the two Pokémon out of their relaxed states. They turned their heads in the direction where the voice was coming from. There was a small group of Phanphy and Sunflora all staring at a spot in the lake. For a second atom was wondering what they were staring at until he saw a head poking out of the water. The head belonged to what could be described as a blue crocodile with red spines on the top of its head. This creature grabbed the edge of the lake and pulled itself out of the water.

Once it was completely out of the water, the creature was revealed to be a Feraligator. It wasn’t a normal one because it had various scars on its body, most likely from intense battles. The reptile took steps a few steps towards the small pokemon as they backed away in fear.

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. You are not allowed near my lake!” Feraligator exclaimed, bearing his fangs.

“B-But this is a place for every Pokémon.” One of the Sunflora said while hiding behind its friend.

“Not anymore! From now on, this lake is reserved for me and me alone. If anyone has a problem with that, then step on. Anyone stupid enough to think they could defeat me, reveal yourself!” Feraligator exclaimed while speaking to every Pokémon around the lake.

All was quiet at the watering hole. None of the Pokémon on land were either silent or turned away from the scene, the water pokemon just dived down underwater to avoid confrontation and any flying Pokémon just flew away from the area. Their refusal to fight brought a smile to the reptile’s face and he j laughed at their cowardice. No one even tried to stand up to him.

“Enough!”

The Pokémon stopped laughing just before he was hit by a strong stream of water. He searched for the one that would dare to strike against him. He searched the area until he found where the voice came from. It was a small Oshawott, standing no more than a couple of feet away from him. He had an angry expression on his face and a few drops of water on the sides of his lips.

“You don’t own this lake. It’s a place for all Pokémon to come and relax with one another.” Tom boldly said, standing up to this bully.

Tom is familiar with bullies ever since back in elementary school when he was picked on. He picked on Tom and Max every chance he got and there was no sign of stopping. When Tom finally had enough, he stood up to the bully and fought back. Sure, he got in trouble with his parents and the school, but he stopped the bullies from picking on him ever again.

Feraligator growled before smirking. He said, “You think you have a chance against me, pipsqueak.”

“Maybe I do; Maybe I don’t. But I won’t stand by while you take to disregard the feelings of everyone here.” Tom said.

“Then bring it on,” Feraligator said, inviting Tom with a gesture of his clawed hand.

Tom scoffed at his attempts at big words and focused on his next move. He was able to shoot a water gun by focusing and allowing his Pokémon side to take over. And he’ll have to do it again. Tom placed his hand on his Scalchop and focused his energy on it. It began to emit a soft light just as Tom raised it in the air. He said, “Razor Shell” right before the light took shape around the shell. A soft blue aura surrounded the shell and morphed into a curved blade.

Once the blade manifested, Tom took off in a fast sprint. Feraligator fired off various Scalds at the small Pokémon, only making near misses. Before he could fire another shot, Tom did a high jump and performed a downward slash. Without not enough choices to make, Feraligator raised its left arm to block. When the attack made contact, a small crater formed under the walking crocodile. For a second, Tom thought he caused a lot of damage only to be surprised by Feraligator’s smiling face.

“Not bad, but not good enough,” Feraligator said before his right arm glowed orange. “Rock Smash!”

Tom’s torso was met with an incredibly strong punch that knocked the daylights out of him. His scalchop was sent flying out of his hands while flew into the side of a tree. It cracked from the sheer impact, and he slides down the trunk of the tree, clutching his stomach. His scalchop soon fell from the sky and landed right beside him.

“Tom!” Pikachu exclaimed before running to check on her friend.

“Your attack wasn’t half bad, but next time doesn’t use a move with the same type as your enemy,” Feraligator said, rubbing the spot where the small Pokémon attacked.

“Are you okay?” Pikachu asked, seeing various bruises from being struck in the stomach.

“I’m just fine. No need to worry about me.” Tom said with one eye open to look at his friend.

In truth, he was not fine. Being struck by that fighting-type move at close range caused a lot of damage, plus he hasn’t recovered from his shock treatment. But he wasn’t going to let Pikachu know that and will just fight it off.

“Ha ha ha ha. Now, you all know what is in store if you ever cross me! Ha, ha, ha, ha.” Feraligator laughed.

Tom began to stand up for another round with the crocodile but Pikachu held him back. She said, “Stop, Tom. You can’t fight him. You’re not strong enough.”

“That doesn’t matter. If I don’t stand up to a common bully like this, then no one will have any peace around here.” Tom said.

While his heart is in the right place, Pikachu made a valid point. As an Oshawott, Tom did not have a type advantage against Feraligator since they were both water types. What he needed was a Pokémon with a type advantage against the reptile-like grass or an electric type. The only problem was all the grass types were shaking at the sight of the big-jawed Pokemon while Pikachu was the only electric type but Tom wasn’t going to let him touch her.

With no other option, Tom recalled his talk with Arceus and all of the starter Pokémon. Maybe if he called on one of those starters, he could have a chance at winning. So, he closed his eyes and focused on a Pokémon with a type advantage. Once he thought of the right one, his whole body glowed a multicolored aura. All eyes were on him, thinking he could be evolving into his next form. They were mistaken.

Once the aura subsided, the Oshawott was replaced with a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with a slender build. Most of its body was green with a cream underside. A yellow stripe runs down the length of its back and tail, and it had yellow markings around its large eyes. Two curved yellow structures that resemble leaves or small wings protrude from its shoulders and bend backward. Its slender arms have three fingers, while its tiny feet have no digits whatsoever.

Everyone was shocked by this transformation. Normally, the only Pokémon capable of transforming into other Pokémon are the Ditto species and Mew. Zorua was the exception, but no other Pokémon was capable of this feat. So, if that’s the case, what was this creature standing before them?

“Tom. Is that still you?” Pikachu asked, wondering if this new Pokémon in front of her was the same friend.

“Of course, it’s still me. I’ve just gone through a few changes.” Tom said as he was checking out his new body.

Once he was comfortable in his new form, he focused on the still large Pokémon in front of him. Now, as a Grass type, he has a better chance of beating him. Before he took a step, a soft green aura, surrounded his entire body. This was Snivy’s ability: Overgrow. Once he becomes tired out or weak, his body becomes surrounded by a green aura and the leaves on its arms glow green as well, powering up its Grass-type moves. Just what he needed to take this bully down a peg.

Tom grinned at this and said “Alright. Let’s have some fun.” He raised his arms as the terrain around him was a greenish hue. All grass types could sense what the Snivy did. When the Pokémon was at a good distance, he dashed forward and disappeared from view. All eyes were searching for him but couldn’t locate the grass snake. Feraligator was endlessly searching for the little gnat with little success. Soon, a shadow form above him and he looked up. Above him, the small Pokémon with its leaf tail glowing.

He slashed down Feraligator’s head, pushing him back while causing massive effect damage. This caused the crocodile to enrage as he tried swinging his arms around with a brick break with the hope of making contact. With his small body, Tom was able to maneuver around the giant Pokémon without touching him.

Once Tim made it behind Feraligator, he fired a small seed from the nape of his neck that attached to his opponent. The seed quickly grew into vines that latch onto the big Pokémon. These vines zapped him with red energy before green particles were absorbed into his body.

The more he continued the attack and miss the transforming Pokémon, the angrier he gets. “Thrash!” The crocodile Pokémon’s eyes glowed red before he started attacking frantically.

With some of his energy returned from the leech seed, Tom was only getting faster, so he was able to dodge some of his attacks. A few hits made contact, which required him to jump back in front of the rampaging creature.

“You may have gotten better, but you’ll never beat me if you keep running away.” Feraligator taunted, clearly exhausted from his deep breathing.

Tom wasn’t going to take his bait and instead continued his onslaught of grass attacks. He raised his head and called out to multiple leaves from the surrounding trees and bushes. The leaves then spiraled around him in a tornado-like fashion. He then points his arms at his opponent, sending the cyclone of leaves toward him.

The menagerie of leaves soared through the sky and caused super effective damage to the Feraligator. These leaves were so strong that he was being pushed back to the edge of the lake. Once the last was thrown, the crocodile Pokémon stood with just his arms and visible damage marks.

“You’re beaten, Feraligator. However, there’s still a chance we can end this peacefully. Just allow every Pokémon and Digimon to come to the watering hole whenever they want and this fight can come to an end.” Tom said, waiting for the Pokémon’s answer.

Feraligator couldn’t believe this. This insect was trying to make a deal with him. After all the battles, every tough Pokémon he’s defeated, he’s going to lose a shrimp. He wasn’t going to let it end here.

“You shut up. If you wanted peace, you should’ve dropped to your knees and begged me for my water!” Feraligator roared as he charged ahead, but he wasn’t aiming for Tom. His real target was Pikachu.

Feraligator saw how close the two were, and figured if she was in danger, then the Snivy would stand down, Right as his claw was right was just about to grab Pikachu, a green blur grabbed the small, electric rodent. He searched for the rat and saw her in the protective grasp of Snivy.

He sighed. “I thought we could come to a compromise, but I guess I was wrong,” Tom said as he opened his arms, and faced the sky. A small sparkle of energy began to form in the palm of his hands.

Feraligator knew what the small, green pokémon was planning, and knew he had to stop him. He ran towards his opponent's glowing blue claws as his finishing attack. A golden light appeared in Snivy’s hands, which forms into a bright golden orb with a bigger transparent gold energy orb around it. Once he puts his arms down and to his side, he looked towards the approaching enemy and thrusts his arms forward.

A beam was fired from the orb of collected solar energy as it made contact with the Feraligator. The beam was so strong that it sent him flying across the lake and through the sky. As he continued to soar through the sky, all the crocodile could focus on was the transforming nuisance, now his nemesis. As the beam disappeared, Feraligator was out of sight once he was too high in the sky.

No one spoke a word after watching that amazing battle. The unknown Pokémon, which came out of nowhere, fought for the innocent Pokémon from being tormented by the territorial nuisance. And now with that nuisance gone, every Pokémon was free to visit the watering hole whenever he wanted.

After firing that Solar beam, Tim used the last of his stamina before the green aura around him disappeared. Once it subsided, he transformed back into Oshawott before falling over. Before he fell, he was caught by Pikachu while she kept a tight grasp on him. Tim could tell how worried she was for him and just hugged her to calm her down.

While they were hugging, they moved right behind them. They looked and saw it was the Phanphy and Sunflora from before. No one spoke, but one of them walked up to Tim. It didn’t say anything and instead, he was in its leafy hands a Sitrus.

This gesture was quite a surprise. Tom was being offered a Berry that restores 25% of the user's HP. He looked up towards the Sunflora and it just nodded its head. Without thinking twice, he grabs the berry and eats it. He could feel most of his energy return after eating the one berry.

“Thank you,” Tom said.

“No. Thank you.” Sunflora said, joined by the rest of its group as well as the Phanphys.

Tom smiled and accepted Sunflora and Phanphy’s’ gratitude. Once all the excitement was concluded, he left he and Pikachu returned to their spot to enjoy the rest of their day.

The rest of the day flew by with Tom meeting various species of Pokemon and Digimon at the watering hole. Some of them were thanking him for sending Feraligator away; whereas, others asked if they could have a battle with him. Never in his life did he think he’d become this popular.

Once, the sun began to set, all the Pokemon left the watering hole and headed toward their respective homes.

Tim was following right behind Pikachu to the home she’s made for herself since she came to this world. Once they walked for nearly half an hour, they came to a stop at a cave.

“This is where you live?” Tom asked.

“Of course. I know this isn’t the best home, but it’s the best I could find here.” Pikachu said while entering her cave home. Tom shrugged his shoulders and followed right behind.

Glancing around the cave, he could see it was like every ordinary cave with the stone wall and the hard ground. Once he entered the cave he saw Pikachu surround a small nest made of straw, sticks, and grass.

“And this is where we’ll sleep,” Pikachu said, increasing the size of the nest with some grass near the wall.

When she said that they’ll be sleeping together in that nest, a thought crossed Tom’s mind. He knew that wasn’t originally a Pokémon, but he was still a guy and she was still a girl. They may have known each other long, but he still wants to show her respect.

“Maybe it’d be best if I slept on the ground,” Tom said while looking away.

This confused Pikachu. She asked, “Why would you do that when there’s a comfortable bed right here?”

“Well… I just thought… since you’d want some space since it’s just… the two of us.” Tom said, hinting toward his meaning.

Pikachu did not understand what he was saying until she looked toward him and finally understood him. A blush quickly made it to her face as her tail moved from side to side.

“What if… I don’t mind you… sleeping next to me?” Pikachu said.

Tom was surprised by what she said. He asked, “Are you sure? We’ve only just met. How do you know you can trust me?”

Pikachu smiled at how much he trying to be careful with her. “I know I can trust you because you’ve done so much for me. You comforted me when I was sad, you stood up for all of the Pokemon at the watering hole, and you saved my life. Those reasons alone are more than enough reasons to trust you.” Pikachu said.

He couldn’t believe how much of an impact he’s had on her for such a short time. If she can trust, then there was not any reason to say no.

So, after making up the bed, Pikachu curled up in the nest and Tom lay down near the edge with Pikachu’s tail curled up behind him.

“Goodnight, Pikachu,” Tom said.

“Goodnight, Tom,” Pikachu said.

With that being said, they both closed their eyes and began their journey to the dream realm. As the moon’s light shined from atop the night sky, Tom’s first day as a Pokémon went by.

Tomorrow’s Stranger is today's Friend

The end of the world.

That's the only way he could describe the scene unfolding before his eyes. Destroyed buildings, fires raging on uncontrollably, and what he suspected were the ponies of this world running in sheer terror. They were fleeing from God only knowing what caused this kind of destruction to their fair homes. In the distance, oddly shaped clouds were rising in the air and rained

Suddenly, an inhuman roar was heard in the distance. Turning his head toward that direction, the howl was heard, and his eyes could not believe the kind of terror that was before him.

Rising from behind a destroyed castle, was a large, six-armed creature. When he looked closer, he saw those arms were disconnected from his body Following its thunderous roar, strange rings appeared from behind it. Strange portals appeared from within those rings and shadow figures quickly exited each one.

What exited could only be described as beings of pure destruction. Two were large creatures, one was a blue sauropod with metallic properties and the other was a therapod with stripes and markings of a darker shade and gray underarms and waist. A small object was seen standing on top of a ruined building with various black crystals surrounding it. Three humanoid creatures, floating on clouds morphed into animal-like creatures and destroyed the already ruined structures.

High above the sky was a large number of creatures in armor. At first glance, he thought those were ponies or another species of Pokemon, but it was a bit of both. They were largely equine in appearance but possess insect-like characteristics. They have black, carapace-like, furless exteriors, webbed manes and tails, blue non-reflective eyes (unlike their queen's), fangs, bent horns, jagged ears, insect-like wings, and holes in their legs. At the head of this swarm, a larger pony commanded this swarm and was female after he got a closer look at her face.

A loud stomp shook the land beneath his feet just before a garbled sound echoed through the air. He looked ahead of him, and what could be described as a giant. The mold on this titan’s shoulders moved and a coral filly with a horn and wings revealed herself. She and the titan fired off attacks, aimed at something in front of them. Once the smoke cleared from the explosion, their targets were revealed to be a massive, bipedal dinosaur with a dark red to deep crimson color and a large dragon beast with a mix of black body parts, icy details on the left side, and a vertical, black tail coming from its backside. After surviving the combined attack, they responded with attacks of their own.

Up in the sky, the swarm of equine insects, there were two fast-moving in an air battle with a large, black, serpent that also resembled a missile; a large, Satanic creature in the shape of a serpent; and what could only be depicted as a massive, flying, dark, blue whale with translucent parts of its body reveal organ-like structures that glow with a mysterious light. The two fast-moving beings were birdlike bodies that resembled planes and differed in red and blue body colors.

After many attacks from both sides, all five of the flying creatures back away from one another when two more objects flew between them and stopped their battle. One of them was a mix of a large, white dragon, a plesiosaur, and a bird with a birdlike head and beak, large wings that resembled hands, and dark blue plate-like protrusions that ran down its back. The other was hard to make out with the insane weather surrounding it, but what he could see was a winged unicorn with a body composed entirely of shadows. He couldn't make out any solid surface from where he was standing but could see the anger in its white, lifeless, eyes. The two sides continued to stare at one another before the black serpent was sick of waiting and went on with its attack. It charged ahead with a menacing roar, with the other flying creatures following right behind. The other flying creatures responded as such and began their onslaught of attacks to put an end to this conflict.

Witnessing this destructive display of power, he was terrified by this display of power, so much so that he was almost crushed by a large creature. It was a large centaur with red skin, white hair, dark fur, black horns, and cloven hooves. His head has bull-like facial features with a goat-like beard. He was in a major struggle with a large dragon/dinosaur creature that continued to emit large quantities of blue lightning while dodging the large centaur's horn blasts.

As if some higher force responded to his desire, he suddenly found himself on top of a tower as well, while most of it was destroyed, it looked like it was once an observatory. Hovering across from him was a white, draconic, avian creature with a long, voluminous wispy mane. It was protecting him from a creature that he couldn't quite describe. The creature in front of the dragon was a being with the head of a horse, a deer antler on the right side of his head, and a blue goat horn on the left. It had a snake tongue, a goat beard, and white bushy eyebrows. He had the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a guard. On its back were a bat's right wing, a pegasus' left wing, a horse's mane, and a dragon-like snake's tail with a white tuft. And attached to all of those body parts was its body that resembled a snake. Never in his life would he have seen something that looked like it was born from a Chimera and a Turducken.

The amalgamed creature snapped its eagle claw, and many of the strange clouds appeared right beside it. From out of nowhere, cow utters formed on the clouds. The creature's appearance matched that of a soldier, and with a gesture of its hand, high-pressurized milk was fired toward the avian.

Now, you'd think milk wouldn't cause any real damage, but you'd be wrong if you saw a milk bullet make a hole in the side of the destroyed, observatory wall. The avian put up a force field to protect itself and him from the barrage of bovine liquid.

" ENOUGH!"

A strong voice resounds through the entire kingdom. Every battle came to a stop as when every living being in the destroyed city, including him, was searching for the owner of that voice. Suddenly, a bright light came from the clouds and a being was lowering out of them. What presented itself in front of every feuding creature and all the injured citizens was Arceus.

No one even moved, scared of offending the divine being and facing his wrath. From up close, the dragon/centaur was even more massive and imposing, reinforcing the feeling that he was a mere ant in front of this holy creature. He wanted to run away, preferably as far as possible, but he was immobilized, his body frozen in place.

Before anyone could react to this being's mere presence, its entire body glowed a bright golden light. Many streams of this golden energy flowed through the entire destroyed kingdom.

Just as he wondered whether his life would end here, the light came in contact with his body before everything around began to flash out of existence.

“Gah!"

The young man, now Pokemon, resting on a homemade bed woke up with a startle. Once he took a few deep breaths and looked around him, he recalled where he was and what was happening.

"Some dream...”

He suddenly felt movement under him. Turning towards his bedmate, he peered at her sleeping form, seeing if she was disturbed by his movements. The young rodent was fast asleep while curled up at Tom’s side. Her sleeping face brought a sense of peace to him. Even after everything that happened on the last day, this sense of normalcy is just what Tom needed.

After staring at his friend for a while, the young man let out a sigh. While it may have been only one day since got turned into a Pokemon and had his first battle, it feels like he’s been here for days. He keeps reliving the moments since he met Arceus and Mew before he arrived. And what's worse is that he still has no idea what threat is coming to this world. However, if there was something he knew about himself, it was that he won’t be giving up the fight.

Tom carefully, maneuvered out of Pikachu’s grasp without waking her up. He didn’t mind sleeping next to her. She felt like sleeping next to a plush toy, or in this case, a small mouse.

Once he grabbed his treasure bag from the side of the wall, he walked out of his new cave home and took in the sun's rays of this new day.

“Ah. The sun here feels great. Just as good when I went to Hawaii." Tom stretched while keeping his voice down from waking up Pikachu. "Alright. Let's see what I can do first." Tom searched for anything to do in this new world and then decided to take a walk.

His morning stroll was a good way to distract his mind from the foreboding dream he had last night. Was it just a dream or was it a premonition? Who were all of those creatures that the legendary pokemon were fighting against? Why were they fighting in the first place? More and more questions continued to spring through his mind, but, for now, those thoughts are pushed to the back of his mind. While walking through the dark forest, he met a few of the Pokemon from yesterday and new Pokemon that heard about what he did.

GROWL~!

All this walking and making new friends has made him hungry. Tom searched for food and spotted a tree with apples growing from the branches. There were plenty of apples in that tree, so he could grab plenty for himself and Pikachu. So, he ran up to the tree, set his bag down, and began climbing.

"This shouldn't be too difficult," Tom said. Even as a Pokemon, he could still climb a tree. He's been climbing trees since he was a kid, usually sightseeing or bird-watching. Of course, he sometimes fell out of those trees and broke his arm once or twice, but learned from those mistakes and improved his tree-climbing skills.

He found the inner strength to pull himself up the tree with one arm at a time. When he was about halfway up the tree, he started to slide down the trunk. This small slip-up didn't stop him, and he kept on trying to reach those apples. After falling for what felt like hours, he was beginning to get frustrated. He was so frustrated that stomped his feet around and threw a tantrum. In a fit of rage, he grabbed his scalchop and threw it down on the ground.

When he realized what he just did, he took and deep breath, grabbed his seashell, and placed it back on his stomach. When he finally calmed down, he closed his eyes and considered all his options.

One thought he came up with was shooting down those apples with one of his water guns, then he realized he wasn't a good shot yet and yesterday was just a lucky shot. His second option was asking some of the forest Pokemon for their help but saw there were a limited amount of apples in that tree, and every Pokemon he'd asked for help may want those apples for themselves.

While thinking about what to do, he remembered that, unlike most pokemon, he had access to multiple forms, not just Oshawott. He closed his eyes and focused on a form that was an excellent climber. After a couple of seconds, he's made his choice and began his transformation. Just like yesterday, a multicolored aura shrouded his body and he was beginning to change into a taller and rounder form. The light subsided and his form was revealed as a small mammalian Pokémon covered in brown fur. It had long, dark brown ears with dark pink interiors, beady black eyes, and a small mouth. It has a round body with wide arms and two small feet. On its belly is a white ring and there are dark brown stripes around its tail.

He got a quick look at himself, just as he stood on the base of his tail as he figured this was the best choice he made. Out of all the Pokemon within, Sentret was one of the best climbers he knew. He could've chosen Pachirisu for its speed or any of the flying types but considered that just big enough to carry multiple objects in its soft paws.

Once he was used to his new body, he began his trek up the tree trunk. He began with one pawa after another, similar to walking, and ran up the tall plant with no problems whatsoever. This was no ordinary climb since the squirrel-like creature was a natural-born climber with little resistance from gravity.

When he made it up the tree, he grabbed four apples, three of the apples were wrapped around his tail while the fourth was in his mouth. He could've held one in his mouth, but he needed both his paws to hold onto the tree so he can safely slide down. With one last check, he grabbed onto the tree and slid down the tree trunk at an increasing speed before coming up on the incoming ground. He squeezed the tree with both his paws and feet to slow his descent while feeling a growing heat appear on his body. When he finally reached the ground, he let go of the tree, dropped the apple from his mouth, and blew cool air against the hotspots on his body. While his Pokemon body was used to being hurt and exhausted, he wasn't used to how much pain they could take. When his soft bruises were gone, he picked up all of the apples and approached his treasure bag.

He's been wondering what's in this bag when it was given to him by Arceus but has not had a chance to check. When he approached his bag, he placed the apples down, looked inside, and was surprised at what he saw. There were a couple of oran berries, sitrus berries, Pecha berries, bluk berries, appear berries, Cheri berries, and tamato berries. He also saw some defense scarves, a lucky ribbon, a twisted band, a power band, a joy ribbon, a defense belt, and a couple of Cacnea spikes. Since he's played a lot of Pokemon games, including the Mystery Dungeon games, he has some knowledge of support items in the Pokemon. After moving a few items around, he grabbed all of the sweet apples, placed them in the bag, moved them over his shoulder, and walked back to his cave.

It took only a few minutes since he didn't want to worry Pikachu if she woke up without Tom right next to her. A few minutes later, he made it to the cave entrance and saw Pikachu outside, likely searching for her lost friend. When she was approaching Sentret, she was on guard in case this was an attack, but relaxed after seeing a bag around its shoulder.

"Tom? Is that you?" Pikachu asked.

"Yes, it's me. I left so I could find us some food." Tom said, placing his bag on the ground and pulling out all four sweet apples.

Pikachu couldn't believe that the friend she just made yesterday would go out of his way to find her. She was overjoyed to have made such an amazing friend like him.

Getting on their four legs, the two of them walked slowly into the forest, searching for a spot to have their breakfast while gathering a few fallen berries. While they walking, Tom used this chance to distance his senses by scanning his surroundings in search of danger while sniffing each bush in search of food. From just taking a few sniffs, he could smell a group of Pokemon that was only a mile away from him. And he also picked, up the scents of more sweet apples in the trees they passed.

Sometime later, Tom and Pikachu came upon an extensive field with wildflowers, some of those flowers had Flabebe and Floette of various flower colors taking care of their respective flowers. Beyond them was a large abundance of bug types gathering food from plants before squirming or flying away. Being a Pokemon was great. Nature in its elegance.

When they entered the field, they found a small spot in the garden where not many Pokemon were gathered. They sat down on the grass, took out their sweet apples, and began eating.

"These are so good. Thanks so much for doing this." Pikachu said with a few crumbs in its mouth.

"It was no problem. All I did was do something nice for my friend. No big deal." Tom said while taking bites out of his apple.

"Well, it's still a sweet thing you did," Pikachu said, smiling at him with a toothy grin.

When he saw her smile, it was like his heart was being choked by all of her cuteness. This is different than watching Pikachu in the Pokemon series or seeing all kinds of Pikachu toys in stores. Seeing her face brought thought to his mind he's been considering since he went to sleep last night. Should her about his mission? All she's done is help him, and she barely knows anything about him. After everything she's done for him, the least he could do was be honest with her about why he was here. Maybe her knowledge could help him stop this future threat just like how Ash Ketchum's Pikachu helped stop all kinds of enemies. Or her knowing could put her in the same danger that Arceus warned him about. He racked his brain for all types of scenarios of her knowing and not knowing.

"Tom. Is everything all right?" Pikachu asked, noticing the worried expression on her friend's face.

When he heard her voice and saw the look of worry on her face, he finally decided what to do next.

"Pikachu. There's something I have to tell you." Tom said, putting his apple on the ground to face his friend.

"What is it?" Pikachu said, also placing her apple down so she can focus all of her attention on him.

So, Tom explained everything, from actually being a human to meeting Arceus and Mew assigning him to his mission. He even told her about getting figures from Mew and how from where he comes Pokemon is a part of a fictional story. When he was finished with his entire story, he waited for his friend's response. As she listened to him. she had mixed feeling about everything he told her: confusion, fear, sadness, sorrow, and empathy. Once he was done, she contemplated all the thoughts going through her head.

"So... I'm not real?" Pikachu said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Tom heard what she said and quickly hugged her. He said, "No. You are just as real as I am, that's why I decided to tell you about everything. Your thoughts are real; Your feelings are real; You're real." He pulled away from his friend and looked at her face. "I wanted you to know why I'm here because you have done so much for me. And you’ve been there for me like very few have. You are someone I knew I can trust.”

She was truly touched by all his kind words. Never in her life has she been told how important she was before. And here he was telling her everything that made her feel special. His kind words brought tears to her eyes as she hugged back.

“Thank you for trusting me with your secret. I’ll help you in any way I can.” She said as her grip grew tighter.

Tom smiled, knowing that he was right to trust her with his secret. He returns the hug, thinking this was the beginning of a long friendship.

"Are you the one who defeated Feraligator?"

The two’s moment was interrupted by a voice from behind them. They turned around and saw it came from a large, bipedal Pokémon resembling a humanoid black bear with a wushu motif. It had a muscular build with long legs and long arms with large paws and claws for striking. Its body and head were covered in gray, black, and white fur, minus the yellow muzzle. The front of its pelt slightly resembles a traditional frog buttoned/braid buttoned hanging off ends on both front and back. The fur on its head is spikier and flares into a flowing white and black headband. The backs of its hands, its knuckles, and the tops of its feet are also white colored. The fur on top of its head and its legs flowed down.

The two of them were on guard at the sudden appearance of this large Pokemon. And the mention of the Feraligator from the watering hole didn't help in the slightest.

“Who wants to know?” Tom asked, weary of his answer.

“His sensei.” The tall Pokémon said.

The two of them were shocked to hear this legendary fighting type was the reptilian’s teacher. The fact that anyone would teach that guy how to fight would be a surprise to anyone.

“You’re his sensei?” Pikachu asked, moving out of battle position.

“Yes. Call me Shinji. I found them when he was a Totodile. He was rough around the edges, but I saw potential in him. After some time, his training came to an end once he evolved into Croconaw. I never saw him again after that.” The Urshifu, now known as Shinji, said.

“Then I suppose you heard about what he did at the watering hole,” Tom said, feeling a bit guilty about what he did.

“Unfortunately. I heard a Feraligator was terrorizing innocent Pokémon at the local watering, only to hear he was defeated by a small shapeshifter. At first, I thought it was Mew messing around but after hearing what happened I’ve concluded: it was you, wasn't it?” Shinji said, pointing at the wide-eyed Sentret in front of it.

“And would it be a problem if it was me?”

Shinji smiled at the young Pokemon’s attempts at dodging the question. He said, “No. I wanted to thank you for putting my former pupil in his place. This loss could be just the thing he needed to grow.”

“Then, if you already know, what are you doing here?” Pikachu asked.

Shinji smiled as he grabbed a large sweet apple from within the tuft of his fur. He said, “To fight him.” He took a large bite out of the fruit.

The two, small Pokemon were shocked to hear he wanted to fight Tom. He was responsible for training Feraligator, the same Pokemon Tom barely defeated, and now he's being challenged by the sensei.

“Why would you want to fight Tom?” Pikachu asked, concerned for her friend.

“Feraligator was my best pupil despite his life choices and he beat him. I want to see just what kind of Pokémon he is.” Shinju said before taking his last bite of the apple and throwing it away. He looked toward the silent Pokémon and said, “How bout it? Wanna battle?”

Tom was silent the whole time while listening to the old martial arts Pokémon. One part of him was flattered that someone sought him out to talk to him. Another part of him was worried that he was going to fight a strong opponent like him. When considering his options, he thought about what his friend Max would do if he was in this position. Once that thought crossed his mind, he knew exactly his answer.

“I’m up for any challenge,” Tom said with a look of confidence in his eyes.

Shinji smiled. He said, “Good. Follow me. We’ll battle in a more spacious field.”

Shinji walked in that direction, out of the flower garden with Tom and Pikachu following behind him.
They were all silent as the only sounds heard were their footsteps and a few passing Pokémon.

A few minutes later, they finally made it to their location. Shinji has led them all to an open field where there is nothing but a grassy field and the surrounding trees from the forest. Once they were in the clearing, Shinji walked to the far side of the field and turned around.

“Are you ready?” Shinji asked.

Tom took a deep breath before turning his body towards Pikachu and giving her his bag.

“Be careful.” She said, concerned with her friend's safety.

“I promise I will.” He said, flashing an ordinary smile.

Tom turned around and walked towards the grassy terrain. In his mind, he couldn't believe he was about to have his second Pokémon battle, only this time he was about it was just an ordinary battle and not a fight for his life.

Once he was standing on the opposite side of the field, he considered changing into a more useful form to combat the fighting/dark hybrid. His normal type Sentret was form was a terrible matchup against. He thought about his choices and made his choice. His eyes closed as his body began changing shape into something else.

Once the transformation was complete, Tom's form was revealed. He was a yellow, round-bodied Pokémon with black stripes. Elekid's arms are bulky in proportion to its body, and it has three claws instead of fingers. It has two stripes on its arms, which wrap all the way around. There are two horns on top of its head which resemble the prongs of a plug, complete with holes in their sides. These horns glow bluish-white when Elekid is fully charged. Elekid has a black lightning bolt marking on its chest. Two rows of stripes are near the marking, with the pattern continuing around its lower back. Its legs are black, and its feet are rounded and toeless.

“I’m ready,” Tom said, enjoying his Elekid form.

Shinji was intrigued by this transformation and was even more excited to battle him. He said, “Just so you know, I won’t be holding back.”

“Neither will I,” Tom said will with a smirk.

The two Pokémon took their fighting positions, waiting for one of them to make the first move. Pikachu was on pins and needles worried her friend getting injured like in his last battle.

Since neither of them was moving, Tom used this chance to make the first move. He gathered electricity in his body and fired a beam of electricity from his body. The electricity then formed into a dome of electricity around him and his opponent. The area sparked with electricity that could be felt by both him and Tom, being the only electric types.

With this electric power boost created, Tom decided to start with an electric-type move. He ran towards the sensei and said, “Thunder Punch!” His right arm sparked with electricity as before he jumped and aimed for his opponent.

Shinji simply responded by putting up his right arm to guard. When the electric punch made contact, he was pushed back but did not seem to have been affected.

“Not bad. You have a lot of spirit in you, but is that going to be enough?” Shinji said before using his force of will to push him back.

Tom was thrown back by the sensei’s will and rolled in midair to minimize the damage. Once he was back on his feet, he spun both his arms and gathered up a lot of electricity. Before Shinji had a chance to move, Tom fired a large burst of electricity from the top of his head. The thunder didn't have a chance of causing any damage because he disappeared out of sight.

The electrical Pokémon was surprised by this sudden disappearance and searched the area for his opponent. He didn't know why but his senses are telling him to turn around and protect himself. So, he turned around and saw Shinji standing over him with both his fists raised. He acted quickly, and crossed his arms, manifesting a green force field.

For a second, he thought he was safe, but was mistaken after feeling all of Shinji’s punches from within his shield. Every one of his punches made contact with the shield and invisible punches impacted Tom’s body.

Once Shinji was done with his barrage of attacks, Tom was forced back with clear signs of damage on his body. When he was trying to figure out how he got past his shield, Tom remembered Urshifu special ability: Unseen First. With that power, he can damage an opponent even if they use a defensive move.

When Tom rose from the ground, he saw Shinji’s body exhibiting small electricity on his body as some of his movements were slow. He smiled at the sight of his ability activated: Static. Once a Pokémon with this Ability is hit by a move that makes contact, there is a 30% chance that the attacking Pokémon will become paralyzed.

Shinji saw the smirk on the electric Pokémon’s face. He said, “If you think you’re winning because of Static then you’re mistaken. I’ve fought an army of Durant while poisoned.”

“Then I guess this is getting interesting,” Tom said.

Both Pokémon rushed toward one another, continuing the battle. Shinji’s right hand glowed as he aimed at Tom with a Mega Punch. He ducked under that punch and attacked with a Low Kick. The attack made contact with the fighting type’s leg, causing significant damage.

Tom kept it up by jumping in the air and shooting star-shaped rays at opposing Pokémon. Shinji used Close Combat to destroy those stars, creating stardust from the destroyed attack. After destroying the stars, both his hands and feet glowed before he charged ahead. Tom responded by focusing his energy on his body and lunged forward with a white streak following him. The two countered each other blow for blow with only a few attacks making it past Shinji’s defense.

The two of them separated and we're taking deep breaths after a long fight. It was clear the two of them were exhausted and only had enough energy for one more move.

So, Tom charged ahead while spinning head right arm before jumping in the air and delivering a swift chop. While he was in the air, Shinji focused the last of his dark energy into his fist before throwing his fist toward the falling Pokémon.

Once the two attacks collided, a strong gust of wind picked up as a smoke cloud formed around both of them. The smoke obscured Pikachu’s view of the battle, not sure if her friend was okay or not.

As the smoke cloud began to dissipate, Pikachu could see the electric terrain disappear and
was able to make out figures within the smoke. After the rest of the smoke was gone, Pikachu could see how the battle unfolded and was surprised at what she saw before her.

Shinji was standing up with his fist in the air, standing triumphantly over a fainted Tom. Pikachu quickly raced over to her injured friend and checked on him. When she made her way over to him, she reached into his treasure bag and gave him an Oran Berry.

He unconsciously cheered the berry and swallowed it down his throat. His swirling eyes were replaced with his regular eyes. Once he sat up, he rubbed his head and saw Pikachu and the injured Shinji in front of him.

“Are you okay?” Pikachu asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Tom said while looking at all of the damage caused by his battle. “Did I lose?” Pikachu nodded her head, which caused him to sigh.

“Do not despair, young Pokémon. You may not have won the battle but you have impressed me. Never have I ever had a battle like that in quite a while.” Shinju said, panting while still under the effect of Static.

Tom saw this and gave him an Sitrus Berry to return some of his energy and a Cheri Berry to remove the Static. While the large Pokémon was eating, Tom thought back on his battle. It may have been a great battle but what would’ve happened if this was a real battle? What if this battle was against the evil threat that was sent to stop? He may be a Pokémon, but he still doesn't know how to fight like one. With that thought in mind, he came up with an idea.

“Shinji,” Tom said, gaining the Pokemon’s attention.

“Yes?” Shinji asked after he finished eating both berries.

Tom got on both of his knees and bowed his head. He asked, “Will you teach me how to fight?”

Training Day

What was supposed to be a quiet day took a turn in a different direction. Originally, Tom and Pikachu planned to eat breakfast together, then spend the rest of the day having fun with one another. That all changed once a legendary Pokémon appeared before them and challenged Tom. From there, the day’s agenda changed completely.

So, Tom accepted the legend’s challenge and the two of them had a battle. It was an incredible battle, with the winner being the challenger, Shinji. Normally, the loser of a battle would wallow in self-pity, but Tom used this opportunity to ask the winner an important question.

“Will you teach me how to fight?”

No one, not even Shinji, could’ve expected this from the shapeshifter. First, he accepted the old Pokémon’s old challenge, then he lost. After the battle was over, instead of feeling down, he got on his knees and asked for a fighting tutor.

“You want me to be your sensei?” Shinji asked, confused by his request.

“Yes. Just from that battle, I learned that I’m too inexperienced. So, my first thought was to train and focus on the areas that need the most attention. And who better to help me than a legendary fighting master?” Tom asked, explaining his reasoning to the old Pokémon.

“Tom, you want to be trained by the same Pokémon who trained Feraligator?” Pikachu spoke.

“Feraligator may have been a bully, but he was still a great fighter. If he wasn't so angry, then he would have beaten me when we battled. If I can learn even half of what he learned, then I'll be ready enough for any battle.” Tom said, raising his head and looking toward the large Pokémon. “Will you train me?

Now, it was Shinji’s turn to make respond. He was impressed with the shapeshifter's forwardness in asking for what he wanted. His kind of bravery and fortitude is something he hasn't seen in quite a long time, not even in his former student.

“You’ve impressed me with directness. Yes, I will be your tutor.” Shinji said, surprising the two smaller Pokémon.

“Really?” Tom asked, surprised he agreed to teach him how to fight.

“Of course; however, you must be prepared for what’s to come. My training regimen is not for the weakest of will. Even the strongest of Pokémon could not handle my training. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yes,” Tom said with no hint of doubt.

“Very well. From this day forward, you are the pupil of the Wushu Pokémon. Our training begins at once, and just to let you know, it will not be easy.” Shinji said, explaining what was to come from his training.

“Don't worry. I can handle everything you throw at me.” Tom said, realizing what was to come from his new sensei.

And he was wrong. He could not handle everything in his training. His first task was to carry three boulders on his back. Shinji said it was to build up strength in his entire body. Tom changed into Timburr since it was used to carrying an object all of its life. It helped very little as he was told to carry those boulders up and down a hill for two hours.

After that, he began his accuracy training. Shinji tasked him with accurately hitting various flying types with his attacks. So, he changed to various forms that good long-distance fighters: Tepig, Turtwig, Bulbasaur, Piplup, Torchic, Riolu, and Cyndaquil. For the first hour, he barely grazed the birds in the trees. And the constant mocking from them was a big motivation for Tom.

They used the next hour to focus on his hand-to-hand combat training. A few fighting-type Pokémon close by, like Hitmonchan and Sawk, helped in this endeavor. Training as Ambipom and Heracross were just the forms he needed to survive the multiple martial arts styles coming at him.

The next training routine this time included Pikachu’s assistance. Shinji wanted to build up his resistance to attacks so he can properly execute counterattacks. So, Tom turned into all of his water and flying forms while absorbing all of Pikachu’s electric attacks.

It came to a swift end once one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts was too much for Tom to handle. With no strength left in him, he fell towards the sky, and into the arms of his sensei. Tom was carefully placed on the ground, right beside Pikachu with an Oran Berry in his paws. Tom was now a mainly gray, pigeon-like Pokémon. He had golden, oval eyes and a tuft of feathers atop his rounded head. He had a short, black beak with a bulbous pink ere and a black patch on the nape of his neck. There was a wide, heart-shaped area of lighter coloration on his chest. His black wings have a thick gray stripe down the side. He had pink feet with black talons.

Once he had eaten the Oran Berry, Tom had regained consciousness. Shinji looked down at his exhausted pupil and said, "I think this a good place for us to stop."

"Are you sure? I can still keep going." Tom said, clearly exhausted from the day's training.

"Perhaps, but I trained my last pupil to just close to the breaking point and we both know how he turned out," Shinji said, emphasizing on his former student. "Besides, the sun is going down and it's too early to begin your nighttime training."

Tom and Pikachu looked towards the horizon and saw he was right. The sun was slowly beginning to set as the blue sky was beginning to change into its starry palette of dark blue. Their training must have lasted longer than he thought.

"Huh. Didn't realize the day passed by so quickly." Tom said, rubbing the few aches out of his back with his wings.

"Don't worry. We shall resume our training. Go home and rest. If you think your training was tough today, then you'll be surprised at what comes in store tomorrow." Shinji said right before walking into the forest, disappearing from sight.

When the old Pokemon was out of sight, Tom and Pikachu decided it was time to head back home for a nice long nap. They trekked through the forest while witnessing the nightlife of all the pokemon. Some were just waking up from their daytime sleep whereas others were enjoying the night sky with their friends and family. It all brought a smile to Tom and Pikachu's faces.

Once they made it back to their cave home, Tom quickly fell to on their homemade bed, completely exhausted from his first day of training. Pikachu smiled at this sight and joined him in his search for a peaceful slumber, curling her tail around her feathered companion. The only thought that came across Tom's mind was that tomorrow's training wasn't going to be as bad as today's was. With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and began his journey in search of the dream realm.

How wrong he was when the sun began to rise and a new day began. Once he and Pikachu woke up, they thought they were going to enjoy a nice morning together with breakfast. They couldn't have been any more wrong. When they found a tree with a lot of big, sweet apples, Shinji stopped them from grabbing the fruit. Instead, he had Tom work for his breakfast by having a few psychic types float the fruit just out of reach to work on his reach and jumping abilities. It was only an hour before was able to grab the fruit and finally have breakfast. That was just the beginning of today's training. They spent half of the day doing the same training regimen they did yesterday, plus some battle training. Shinji had Tom battle himself and Pikachu in a two-on-one battle. It was to further his combat training while expanding his mind to unpredictable situations.

When the afternoon came around, it was a good time to take a break. Tom took this chance to find a pleasant stream to relax for a bit until his training began again. While getting a drink of water, Tom was in the form of a bipedal, lizard-like Pokémon. His oval eyes are set to the sides of his head, and his teeth appear to be constantly exposed. There was a small red scale on his yellow head. Below the yellow portion of his head, his body was cream-colored with thin arms and a red, scaly belly. He carried his loose, yellow skin around his legs, resembling trousers, which garner them more respect the saggier they are. Some of the loose skin seems to trail off to form or cover a tail.

He stopped drinking from the stream once he heard a ringing sound. He searched for the origin of this ringing and heard that it was coming from his treasure bag. Once he pulled out his Arceus-styled phone, he read who in this world could be calling him. It came as a surprise that the calling him was... Mew?!?

Tom pressed the answer button and placed the phone against his earless head. He said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Tom. Having fun as a Pokemon?" Mew said with a hint of a giggle from over the phone.

"Yeah. Thanks for warning me I'd be turned into a Pokemon. I thought I was just going to have the powers of Pokemon, not become one." Tom said with a little disdain in his voice.

"I know, that's why it's so funny." Mew laughed when she finished speaking. "But that's not why I called. I was wondering if you've been having any bad dreams lately." Mew said with a more serious tone he could hear from the other side of the phone.

Tom was confused by her query. Why would she be concerned with his dreams? She's not Cresselia or Darkrai, so it doesn't make any sense that she would be interested. A thought did spring to mind when she mentioned dreams. The dream he had two nights ago with the destroyed city and the warring creatures. How could Mew possibly know about that dream when he hasn't mentioned it to anyone, not even Pikachu?

"How do you know about that?" Tom questioned.

"I know that because Arceus is the one who sent you that dream," Mew said.

A wide expression made its way to the human/pokemon's face. He asked, "Why would he do that? Why would he show me something so horrible?"

"Because he wanted you to know just how serious this threat is. If you don't intervene against these coming threats, then everything and everyone around you will be gone. Understand?" Mew asked after explaining the purpose of his appearance in this world.

Tom couldn't believe what he heard. This whole time, he's been trying to figure out why he was sent to this new world, and could not come up with anything. Now, with a clear answer given to him, he felt an immense amount of pressure on his shoulders. But, he recalled that he was not alone in his mission. He has Pikachu and Shinji to help him through his tough journey in his life. That one fact lift all of that pressure from his mind.

"Yes. I understand." Tom said.

"Good," Mew said with the sound of her happy tone returned to her voice. "With that out of the way, tell me more about Pikachu."

Tom raised an eyebrow. He asked, "What about her?"

"Are the two of you dating?" Mew asked with a teasing tone.

Her comment brought a blush to Tom's face. He couldn't believe this small pokemon was asking about his love life. It's not that he doesn't like Pikachu but he has not known her long enough to clearly answer that question.

"No. We're just friends." Tom said with a slight stutter in his voice.

"Then why do I hear you stuttering in your voice?" Mew asked.

"No reason. Besides, I already told her that I was originally human." Tom said.

"And has she acted any differently to you after knowing?" Mew asked. It was actually a good question. Since Pikachu learned he was once a human, her attitude towards him has not changed in the slightest.

"No," Tom said.

"There you have it. She's just started to get to know you, and her feelings are ever-increasing the more the two of you spend with one another." Mew said while his embarrassment keeps growing the more this conversation continued to grow.

He said, "Look I am not having this conversation with you anymore. Goodbye."

"Wai-" Mew did not have a chance to respond before Tom pressed the end call button.

He let out a breath after having to deal with someone that acted like his little sister if he had one. With that out of the way, he decided to take a look at his mobile device. He turned on his phone and scrolled its list of applications. There was a camera app, a weather app, a news app that had local information from his world, a Safari application, and a map app. Wait, a map? This was exactly what he needed to find the inhabitants of this world. He's explored nearly the entire forest, yet it felt like he's only seen a small chunk of it. When he pressed the app, it opened up and he saw the terrain of his new environment.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The map looked like it came out of a World of Warcraft game, combined with the fantasy background of Harry Potter with remote islands and depictions of mythological creatures. While this came as quite a shock to him, with the appearance of fictional creatures in this world, he should expect a few surprises. So, he focused on his current location on the mobile device and searched for any signs of settlements. As he scrolled over, he saw what looked like a small village no more than a mile from his position. With that knowledge, he decided on his next move: meet the inhabitants.

"Tom." He raised and head from his phone and turned towards the voice. It belonged to his friend, Pikachu. She said, "Shinji said it's time to resume your training."

The shapeshifter sighed at this and she laughed at his response. He was going to ask Shinji about meeting with the inhabitants after looking at his map, so now was as good a time as any to bring it up.

Before the two moved from their spot, there was an explosion from behind them. The two looked at one another before nodding their heads. They took off running towards the explosion with Tom lagging behind thanks to his loose-skinned pants. Seeing the explosion in the distance worried the both of them. What if someone was hurt? Could it be Feraligator again? Was he on a rampage? Many thoughts crossed their minds but pushed them aside to deal with the immediate problem.

After running for about 10 minutes, the two of them came to a stop in the location near the explosion. They scanned the area in search of whatever could have caused it, but the only thing they found was grass and trees like the rest of the forest. Before they knew it, a large object crashed into Tom and pushed him toward the ground. He quickly sat up, thinking it was an enemy, but was shocked to see something else entirely. It was a small white rabbit, riding on the ball of a wall-eyed with a forked tongue. Yeah, that's what he saw.

Out of all the things that have happened to him in the last three days, this was definitely the strangest. Usually, a predator and prey such as them would not be that close to one another unless it was a symbiotic relationship. And since neither of them seemed to be offering each other advantages, he's wondering why the two were running. He was about to get his answer after large footsteps came from where the rabbit and crocodile exited. They hid behind him while both he and Pikachu got into their battle positions.

As the footsteps got louder, a large hand grabbed a tree and a figure came into sight. It was a simian Pokémon that was primarily red. Its ears were broad with orange insides, and it had oval eyes and a small black nose. It had a swirled, flame-like tuft on its head with a smaller tuft on either side of it. It had white shoulder ruffs; and a cream-colored face, chest, fingers, and toes. Its hands had five fingers, and its feet had three toes. Its fluffy, swirled tail resembled a flame.

"You two! You're gonna pay for eating my apples." The fire monkey said with rage in his voice.

While the appearance of a Simisear took Tom by a surprise, he could put two and two together with the shaking creatures behind him and the angry Pokemon in front of him. He said, "Look, I understand you're mad, but I'm sure we can come to some understanding."

"An understanding? An understanding?!?! All of my apples are gone and you think we can come to an understanding?" Simisear said with no hint of calming down.

"I realize you're hungry. And I'm sure they're really sorry about eating all of your food.," He said while looking back at the two animals behind him. The rabbit rapidly nodded its head while the crocodile just stared off into space. "See? Look, how about I show you some trees with plenty of sweet apples for you to eat? What do you say?" He said while sticking out his hand as a sign of friendship.

To anyone else, his offer would sound reasonable and they would have agreed. But Simisear is not anyone. His anger was just continuing to grow with every passing second. He didn't want a compromise; he just wanted to take out his frustrations on everyone around him. He was so angry that it looked like his head was literally on fire.

"I say get out of my way so I can deal with these two food stealers!" He angrily said before charging with a flaming fist raised to his side.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Tom actually saw this fight coming. He put down his treasure bag and reeled back his before focusing his energy on it. His hand was surrounded by an icy glow or an orb of pale blue light. He then aimed his fist toward the rampaging simian. Once both powered-up fists clashed with one another, a cool steam was created from the clash of fire and ice. When the smoke cleared, the monkey looked and saw the small pokemon was gone and the two animals were standing in front of him. Just when he was about to attack them, a shadow appeared over his head. He looked up and saw the small Pokemon coming down on with a glowing kneecap. The knee came in contact with his head and pushed him back.

Tom landed on the ground and said, "Just remember, I gave you a chance."

Being attacked by the small Pokemon further enraged the already fire pokemon. When he was about to counterattack he felt a pain in the side of his cheek just before he was sent flying back into a tree. He got up and looked to where that attack came from, only to be surprised by that the attack from the Pikachu with a glowing white tail. Having his food stolen and stopped by one pokemon aggravated him enough, but to be attacked by another pokemon pushed him over the edge.

The angry Simisear fired off a flamethrower from his mouth to remove of his problems all at once. Pikachu jumped over the torrent of flames while Tom grabbed the two animals before they were charred to a crisp. Pikachu was the first one to land and her first move was to charge ahead at a fast speed, hitting Simisear in the chest. He recoiled in pain as he clutched the area of his stomach that was damaged. Quickly following behind his friend, Tom dropped the two animals and charged with his head aimed for the monkey's leg. When he was close enough, he bashed his head against Simisear's leg which caused a fair amount of damage.

Simisear rubbed his leg to soften his already aching appendage. If he wasn't already angry enough, they haven't seen him angry. Before he could fire off another attack, he saw the small Scraggy's body glow a prismatic color while his body was getting bigger. At first, he thought the Scraggy was evolving but was shocked to see something else entirely. He had turned into a quadrupedal, colt-like Pokémon with a cream-colored body. He had a short, rounded snout with large nostrils and blue eyes. He had a large, feathery red mane, long, dark blue, ridged eyebrow-like protrusions, and a single cream-colored horn that curves slightly. The back of his head, as well as his neck, was covered with fluffy, light blue fur. He had blue hooves, and his tail was light blue with white spots and resembles an elaborate feather in a cap.

This sudden transformation into a different species of Pokemon took Simisear by surprise and gave Tom the opportunity to deliver his finishing move. The now mythical pokemon raced towards the angry fire type just as he aimed another Fire Punch at him. He ducked under the punch, and turned his body in a clockwise motion with his back to the fire monkey, kicking up both his hind legs toward his opponents. His Double Kick was strong enough to lift the primate up in the air, causing significant damage to the Pokemon. Once he was up high enough, Tom fired two streams of water from his hooves as the flame monkey was launched higher into the air. When he stopped his water attack, Simisear could be seen screaming while falling into another part of the forest.

With the raging Simian out of sight, Tom was able to take a breath after a tough battle like that one. It was thanks to Shinji's training so far that helped him survive that battle. He could hear the rabbit celebrating over the fire monkey's defeat while the crocodile just stood from its spot, not showing any ounce of emotion. While smiling at the two, he felt something rubbing against his leg. He looked down and saw Pikachu rubbing its head against his front leg while trying not to rub her electric cheeks against him. He smiled at this and reciprocated by dipping his head down and rubbing it just above her head.

Once they were all done celebrating, Tom and Pikachu separated and walked up to the rabbit and crocodile. When they were right in front of him, the rabbit stopped locked up at the two being right in front of it while the crocodile just stuck its tongue out.

"Now, what are we going to do with the two of you?" Tom asked.

"Angel. Gummy. Where are you?"

They were all torn away from their thought when a soft voice rang from within the forest. They looked in the direction where that voice was coming from. There was a movement from behind the bushes and the Pokemon duo was at the ready in case it was another enemy. When the voice got closer to the four of them, a figure poked its head out of the bushes, following its neck and the rest of its body. Tom's eyes widened at the presence of this new species.

It was an equine with a light yellow coat. From the look of its face, he could tell it was female, especially with its teal eyes the size of dinner plates. On top of her head were a long, flowing pink mane and a tail of the same color. What really shocked him, even more, was the fact that this being in front of him had feathery wings on both sides of its stomach. Three pink butterflies were tattooed on both sides of her hips.

Standing right before Tom was what could be described from Earth's mythology as a Pegasus. This pegasus looked like the same species as the running creatures in the dream he had the last two nights ago. Tom did not expect to find a pegasus in the forest, precisely any pegasus in the forest because never in his life did he expect to meet one. And from the look on her face, she did not expect to meet someone either.

When both equines' eyes met, neither one of them spoke. The mare remained in total silence, and Tom was waiting for her to say something, but she was just as silent as him. He was never good at meeting new people.

Pikachu nudged her paw against his leg to gain his attention. She whispered, "Gone on... ask for her name!"

He cleared his throat to gain her attention. "Err... sorry, w-what is your name?" Tom spoke to the pegasus, trying not to look uncomfortable.

"... Fluttershy..." the yellow pegasus whispered weakly, taking a small step back.

'Crap, this isn't working!' Tom thought, beginning to grow impatient to see that he has apparently met the shyest creature in this world.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't hear your name, could you repeat it, please?" Tom asked, gathering his patience and giving the pegasus another chance to answer at a louder volume.

The pegasus opened her mouth to answer, but she couldn't speak, because before she does, noticed two small animals behind the strange pony. Her eyes widened before she zoomed right past him and scooped them up with her hooves.

"Oh, Angel. Gummy. The two of you had me worried. I look away for a second and saw that the two of you were gone." The yellow pegasus said in a louder voice than with him.

He couldn't help but find how adorable this conversation in front of him was. The way she's scolding them reminded him of a mother scolding her children when they did something bad. A memory crossed Tom's mind when he was in elementary school and he broke his home's window with his baseball. His mother scolded him and Max for causing so much damage and they had to spend their summer paying off the damage. While it wasn't the best time in his life, it was still a moment with his mother that he will never forget. Seeing the two animals get chewed out by the pegasus, so he decided to step in.

"The blame shouldn't fall on them. They were being chased by a mad fire pokemon." He said, gaining the attention of the pegasus and animals in her grasp.

"Pokemon?" The pegasus asked.

"Yes. They were being chased after eating his apples, and when they ran into me, I intervene and stopped them from getting hurt." Tom explained.

"Oh my goodness! You are the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Pikachu was taken aback by how excited she was. He hadn't seen this much excitement for him back when he was a movie star.

"Uh, this is my partner Pikachu. And you're Fluttershy?" Ash said to the excited pegasus.

The equine's eyes widened after hearing this total stranger was in a battle against a powerful creature in order to protect her animal friends when he didn't have to. This selfless act brought a warm feeling to her heart.

The yellow pegasus looked towards the two animals in her hooves. "The important thing is that the two of you are okay." She hugged the animals before placing them back on the ground.

"Let's start over. My name is Tom." He said gesturing to himself. "And this is Pikachu." He gestured to the small electric rodent beside him.

The equine's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my goodness! She's so adorable." She said before picking Pikachu in her hooves, rubbing her red sacced cheeks against hers. From this rubbing of fur, a small surge of electricity appeared.

"Wait... Don't-"

Right before he could intervene, Pikachu zapped both equines and the small animals with her powerful electricity.

"GGGGHHHHGHH!" That was the sound they all made. A few moments later, the electricity dissipated and the equines fell down.

"I should have warned you that her cheeks are very sensitive," Tom said, trying to recover from suddenly being zapped by his electric friend. All of them were spewing smoke from their mouths, along with their mains and fur popped up.

"Of course. I should've asked before suddenly picking her up," The yellow pegasus said, raising the electric rodent in her hooves to her face. "I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."

"It's not a problem, really." Pikachu shrugged, not making it a big deal.

"Oh, good." The pegasus said before dropping the mouse back on the ground.

Tom was shocked to hear that she could understand what Pikachu said. Could that be the reason why she could understand him? Would others of her species be able to understand him as well or was she special?

"It's nice to meet you, Tom. My name is Fluttershy. I have to repay you for saving my friends." The yellow pegasus, now known as Fluttershy, said gesturing towards her animal friends.

"You don't have to do that," Tom said, shaking his head at her kind offer.

"Of course I do. You saved my friends when you didn't have to. The very least I could do is offer you a cup of tea from my home." Fluttershy said.

"Well, with an offer like that, how could I say no?" Tom said, accepting the pegasus' gracious offer.

A smile made its way to her face when he accepted her invitation to her home. She gathered up both of the animals and placed them on his back. She then began to lead Tom out of the forest and to her home with Pikachu hopping aboard his back. Their trek through the dark forest consisted of Fluttershy asking Tom all kinds of questions about Pokemon. What were they? How many of them were there? Why were they appearing in this world? He answered her question to the best of his abilities without revealing too much about his mission.

Once an opening in their path came into view, the two equines finally exited the dark forest and bathed in the sun's rays. Tom couldn't believe he was finally out of that forest after three days there. Once he took in his surroundings, he saw Fluttershy walk up to what he had guessed was her home. It was a small wooden cottage with various animal burrows and birdhouses around the front yard.

What surprised him, even more, was the multitude of Pokemon species near her home. There was a napping Turtwig, a group of dancing Bellosums, a few Fletchlings and Pidoves, a Teddirursa eating a pot of honey, and Minccino dusting the pathway to Fluttershy's door. There were even a few Alomomola jumping out of the pond. This was the largest gathering of Pokemon he'd ever seen besides the forest. If those were the Pokemon she kept outside her home, what kind of Pokemon does she keep inside?

The two of them walked along the pathway while greeting the various Pokemon that were either awake or not busy eating. Once they made it up to the door, Fluttershy pushed it open and walked in. Tom followed suit, closing the door behind him after a few pokemon from outside walked under him. He then had his chance to see what the inside looked like.

Inside, the first floor held the den and fireplace, even more birdhouses, and several mouse holes. A few more Pokemon were living inside the cottage, like a sleeping Cubchoo on a pillow that made it even look more like a teddy bear, a Vaporeon was sleeping in the corner, a Togedamaru rolling around the floor, and a Ditto was morphing into various objects around the house.

"I already have a pot of tea on the stove. Sit on the couch while I pour us a few cups." Fluttershy said while walking into the kitchen.

Tom looked towards the couch and sat down on the cushions. Pikachu hopped off of his back and sat right beside him, taking in all of the Pegasus' home. While they were looking around, Tom spotted a quadrupedal, canine Pokémon right beside him. It was primarily light brown with a darker brown muzzle, paws, and ear tips. It had large blue eyes, button ears, a short muzzle with a triangular pink nose, and a short tuft of fur on each cheek. Around its neck was a ruff of grayish-white fur stubbed with dark brown pebbles. The dark brown markings on its paws extended to a thin point on each wrist and ankle. It had a grayish-white tail that curls tightly over its back and is covered in fluffy fur.

He saw the sleeping form of the Rockruff right beside him. He raised his left hoof and scratched behind it's ear. It moaned from the affection that it was getting from the unknown source. When it opened its eyes, it saw its eyes were being rubbed by an unknown Pokemon. It greeted him by jumping towards his neck and began rubbing the rocks around its neck. Tom laughed at this sudden display of affection and accepted it thus. Pikachu saw this and laughed at how silly Tom was. When Rockruff heard her laughing, it jumped off of Tom and started rubbing its rock neck against her.

Fluttershy came with a pot of tea being balanced by Angel still on her back She saw Rockruff rubbing its neck against Pikachu and smiled. She said, “Looks like you’ve met Rocky. I found a two weeks ago with an injured leg. After she was all better, she decided to stay.” Angel placed the tea on the coffee before he and Gummy jumped off of Fluttershy’s back and went to a food bowl near the fireplace.

Once the tea was within reach, Tom tried grabbing the teacup with his hooves while failing to get a proper grip. He saw Fluttershy picking up her teacup with one of her wings like they were hands. Seeing her do this just got him more determined. So, after a few tries, he was finally able to pick up his teacup.

He took a swig of the homemade tea. He said, “This is good. Thanks.”

She blushed at his compliment. She said, “It was no trouble. This is just the average earl grey that I always make.”

“Well, it's delicious. Did you put it hon-”

He suddenly stopped speaking just before dropping his teacup. It shattered into pieces, catching everyone’s attention, including the sleeping Vaporean in the corner. Fluttershy and Pikachu were worried that their friend was injured in some way. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

For whatever reason, Tom is feeling something, something that wasn’t in the room. He closed his eyes and opened them just before his eyes took on a light shade of blue.

From his very seat, he could sense something bad was about to happen. And it was going to happen in the forest. An image appeared in his mind of a large beast and two small forms before it. After the beast swung its giant claw, the image vanished and his eyes went back to normal.

“Tom, are you alright?” Pikachu asked, worried that something was wrong with her friend.

Tom did not answer back and was instead focused on his vision. Was that the future? Is it the immediate future or what was yet to come? My questions raced through his head, but he had the answer to one question.

He rose from his seat on the couch and stormed out of the cottage. When he was outside, he ran past the animals and Pokemon and entered the forest. He was galloping at a fast pace with no clear sign of stopping.

While he was running, a small form made its way onto his back and to the top of his mane. The mysterious hitchhiker was revealed to be Pikachu.

“What’s going on, Tom? Where are you going?” Pikachu asked while hanging onto his mane.

“I don’t know how or why, but something bad is about to happen. Someone is about to be hurt and I’ve got to save them.” Tom said.

“Then I’m going with you.” Pikachu boldly said.

“No. This could be dangerous and I don’t want you getting hurt.” Tom said, not taking his eyes off his path.

“And I’m not leaving you to face this danger alone. I promised I’d be there for you and I’m not breaking my promise now.” Pikachu said with no sign of convincing her to leave.

Tom sighed. He said, “Alright, then hang on.”

He picked up the pace, as Pikachu tightened her hold on his mane. The two of them were heading straight toward the immediate threat from his vision.

(A Couple of Minutes Ago)

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest, three shadowing figures were jumping from tree to tree. When those figures came to a stop, they came into view. They were small, fuchsia Pokémon with large heads, small bodies, and wiry limbs. Their hands had three fingers each while their feet did not have digits. Their faces have purple "masks", prominent pointed ears, large eyes with small pupils, long noses with single nostrils, and fanged mouths. And they had purple tongues sticking out.

Impidimps were mischievous Pokémon thaalways causing all kinds of mischief to those around them. This usually involved sneaking into someone’s house to steal their things and be a nuisance. And that is exactly what they're doing right now.

In front of their imps was a large, dark cave with various claw marks on the out walls. There were various animals scattered outside to scare away any animals that would get too close. The Impodimp trio were the only ones too foolish enough to not be scared.

They entered the cave quietly so they wouldn't disturb whatever was sleeping in the cave. A minute passed by and all was quiet within the cave.

"RAAAWWWHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Of course, that all changed one a beast’s roar echoed within the cave. The three Impidimps were running out of there as fast as they could. One of them had what looked like a clump of fur in its hand.

At the cave’s entrance, a monstrous glare appeared in the entrance’s shadow. It scanned the area in search of the three intruders but saw no sign of them. It roared once more in anger so loud the rest of the forest could hear it.

Pokémon vs Beast

The day had a somewhat unsettling mood to it as if something bad was going to happen. It may have looked like any other day with the sun shining and the birds singing but there was still something wrong about today. Anyone with some sense could sense this feeling, would think it’d be a bad idea to go anywhere dangerous, especially in a place like the dark forest.

Deep within the forest depths, there was the sound of small footsteps stomping the ground. When the steps continued within the forest they edged closer to a clearing. Some movement was heard, and two figures stepped into the light of the sun.

One of the figures was a yellow earth filly with a red mane and tail and a large pink/red bow on the top of her head. The other beside her was also a filly with white fur and a pink and lilac, curly mane and tail. From a closer inspection, it looked like the two of them was caring satchels around their bodies.

“Apple Bloom. Are you sure Zecora’s home is around here?” The small white filly asked.

“Of course, I’m sure, Sweetie Belle. I took this path the last time when my sister and her friends got sick.” The yellow filly, now known as Apple Bloom, said with a southern accent.

“It's too bad Scootaloo couldn’t come with us.” Sweetie Bell said.

“Yeah, but she did get herself in trouble when she got into an argument with Diamond Tiara.” Apple Bloom said. “We’ll just have to tell her about our time with Zecora once we get there.”

“Oh yeah. Why are we going to Zecora’s again?” Sweetie Bell asked, curious about their excursion through the forest.

Apple Bloom sighed. She said, “Don’t you remember? Zecora has been using all new kinds of berries for her potions. We’re heading over there so we can help her with the berry picking.”

Sweetie Bell said, “Right. And once we pick enough berries, we will get...”

“Berry Picking Cutie Marks!”

The two said before bumping their haunches with one another. They both were excited at the thought of them discovering the unique talents that will set them on a path like every pony. While their third friend wasn’t here to enjoy this experience, they’ll try to enjoy it as if she were there.

As the two fillies continued their journey through the forest, they came to a stop after hearing some faint sounds ahead of them.

“Do you hear something?” Sweetie Bell asked.

“Yeah. It sounds like… screaming?” Apple Bloom said, hearing the sounds get louder.

Before they knew it, three objects crashed into the two fillies. The sudden collision knocked the wind right out of the two fillies as slides across the ground. Once they were finished moving, they looked at what crashed into them and were shocked. It was three devilish-looking creatures with frantic looks on their faces. They were jumping around and speaking in a language that the two fillies couldn’t understand. Sweetie Bell saw one of them had a clump of fur in its hand, and thought that was strange.

“Aren’t those some of the creatures that have been showing up in Ponyville for the last few days?” Sweetie Bell asked.

“No. I’ve seen plenty of them back at the far, but none of them looked like these. Maybe they’re a different species?” Apple said while looking at the hyperactive creatures.

The three stopped speaking as they sensed something coming their way. So, they took the chance they had and continued their running away from the predator. The two fillies were confused. Why were those three in such a hurry? They got their answer after hearing a low growl coming from the moving bushes in front of them.

Following the notion of common sense, the two began to slowly back away from the bushes to avoid whatever was in them. Maybe it was something small and cute, like a squirrel or a beaver. Those three creatures could have been running because they were scared of something that was not of them. But it could also be something dangerous, like a hydra or timberwolf.

Before another thought could enter their imaginations, they finally saw something exit the bushes. A single paw entered their line of sight before another paw followed suit. Then the face of a lion appeared from inside the bush that brought chills up the fillies’ spines. Once, the head was out, the rest of the body appeared, with large bat wings coming off its back and a long curled scorpion tail displayed from its backside.

The giant, mythological beast scanned the area in search of something, likely the three imps that were here just a few seconds ago. His eyes searched and searched until he found two trembling fillies right before it. As much as he was expecting to find the ones responsible for tearing off a piece of its mane, he was starving. He licked his lips before slowly walking towards his prey. Whether they run or not made little difference to him. They were both at lunches.

Trembling from where they stood, the two fillies were scared out of their wits at the sight of the beast in front of them. They wanted to run away but could not find the courage to do so. When the Manticore was getting closer and closer, their entire lives flashed before their eyes. All of their friends and families appeared before them, followed by everything they’ve ever done.

Once the Manticore was close enough, it stood on its hind legs and raised its claw. The fillies closed their eyes, waiting for their inevitable demise, but it never came. They opened their eyes and saw were shocked by what they saw. It was an unknown unicorn, coated in a purple aura, attacking the manticore’s side. And above him was a small mouse with an electric hand, making contact with its face.

(A few minutes earlier)

It had been nearly thirteen minutes since both Tom and Pikachu left Fluttershy’s house. They’ve been searching for the immediate threat but have not found anything that resembled his vision. They asked a few of the forest-dwelling Pokemon if they had seen or heard anything strange but none of them were helpful.

After a while of running, the duo heard various screaming ahead. At that moment, a trio of Impidimps crashed into the two of them. They were panicking rambling about a terrifying beast. Tom thought this could have something to do with his vision, so he got them to calm down and explain. They told him of a giant beast with bat wings and a scorpion tail chasing after them. They also mentioned leaving two fillies behind as they escaped. Once, he hit them for leaving to children behind, Tom raced toward the direction the Wily Pokemon gave him.

One minute later, he came to a clearing and saw the beast they described, approaching to fillies. He needed to do something before hurting the two. Tom focused energy around his body before a swirl of yellow-orange streaks. Then, he was surrounded by a purple aura just before charged ahead.

Pikachu did not just sit out of this fight. Once Tom got close enough, she jumped off of his head and reeled back her hand. Her first was surrounded by yellow sparks, which grew into a ball of electrical energy.

When the two of them were close enough, their attacks made contact with the beast as he roared with pain. He flew back from the double attacks before digging his claws into the ground to stop himself. When shook himself off, he looked for what attacked him. His eyes soon came across a unicorn staring daggers at him and a small rodent that landed on the ground.

Tom and the Manticore just stared at one another, neither knowing who would attack first. He was hoping that these last two days of training with Shinju could be just what he needed right now. This wasn’t an ordinary battle since the only fighting he’s done since coming here has been against Pokemon. Even back home, he’s never been in a fight before. The best option would be to wait for it while trying to get this beast to back off.

“What do you want? I don't want any trouble. If you just allow us to leave, then we won’t trouble you again.” Tom said.

The manticore, as I didn’t expect, showed signs that he understood him. This did not come as a surprise since most of the animals in this world understand the common language. His main concern was protecting the two fillies behind him and ending this without conflict was the best option.

“Is there any way possible that we could not be your next meal?” Tom asked.

The manticore’s response to the Pokémon’s proposal was simple: he let out a roar before charging in for an attack. Tom really should have known this was coming.

When the beast got closer to Tom, he skilled dodged the clawed strike and deliver a double kick under the chin. ‘Thank you, Sensei.’ He thought.

Once he was out of the way, Pikachu threw jumped above the Manticore and surround her tail with yellow electricity and multiple yellow sparks. All the electricity then condensed and formed into an orange-yellow orb of electricity with sparks of yellow electricity coming off it. She hurled the orb towards his head just before it exploded leaving a large smoke cloud.

The Manticore was blinded by the electric rodent’s lightning ball and couldn’t see the approaching equine in the smoke. Tom appeared before him and delivered a repeat of kicks with his hooves at a fast speed.

The Manticore had enough of this, and through the barrage of rapid kicks, he aimed his clawed arm and slashed *Schlick* the side of Tom’s stomach, drawing some blood.

Tom stopped his barrage of kicks to reel back in pain. He clutched his side to hold in some of the blood. From the size of the injury, he could tell the cut was not very deep so there wasn’t a chance of a scar.

“Tom!” Pikachu exclaimed, seeing the injury of her friend before delivering another attack.

“Don’t worry. The cut’s not too deep and it’s not that bad.” Tom said with a smile while fighting the pain he was feeling.

The Manticore looked towards his blood-covered claw and took a lick. When his tongue made contact with the new blood, its face turned curious to excitement. The white in his eyes turned from white to black before he smiled. He must’ve been the first time he’s ever tasted Pokémon blood and he wanted more.

Everything about this sight just made Tom angry. It wasn’t just that he got hurt, it was the fact it seemed the beast wanted to eat him and Pikachu more when it licked its lips. He was not going to let that happen so he had to come up with a way out of this.

While Pikachu was continually dodging the frenzied Manticore, he came up with a plan. His body shined before he began changing shape. Once the light was gone, what replaced the equine was a serpentine Pokémon. He was mostly covered in black scales but had several markings on his body. He had yellow hexagon markings that run from his head to his tail, small yellow bumps where he touched the ground, and various purple scar-like marks. He had elongated red fangs that protrude from his upper jaw and fierce red eyes. His tail is partially red and has a blade-like shape.

Even when he transformed, the injury was still on his body but he pushed that thought away for now. When the two creatures battling separated just long enough, he would enact his plan. After a few seconds of dodging, Pikachu jumped out of the Manticore’s reach, giving the Seviper exactly what he needed.

He slithered forth while his dagger-like tail glowed purple. It swung from side to side as he was getting closer to the distracted beast. When he got close enough, the Manticore tried attacking after picking up the snake’s scent but missed his sleek body. Once he maneuvered around the beast’s attack, Tom raised his glowing tail and brought it down on his opponent's face.

The beast slid back with a loud grunt before he stopped himself from falling over with its hind legs. Once he looked up, there was a clear sign he was poisoned from that attack. However, he did not seem to have slowed down, even with the poison.

This battle did not seem like it was coming to an end and the injury did not look like was getting any better. They needed to get away from here.

“Tom, you have to stop fighting. Your injury looks back. I’ll fight while you rest.” Pikachu suggested with a concerned tone in her voice.

“No. It’ll take both of us to take this beast on, and that was before he tasted blood. Now that he’s on a feeding frenzy, things got twice as tough.” Tom said taking deep breaths.

“Then what can we do?” Pikachu asked.

“We’ll run,” Tom responded.

“What? How are we going to get away when that creature will just chase after us?” Pikachu wondered.

“Simple. Can you use Volt Tackle?” Tom asked, confusing his electric friend.

“Yeah?” Pikachu said, curious about what her friend was thinking right now.

“Good, then be ready,” Tom said before getting into a battling position. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking but decided to trust her friend.

The poison monster was tired of the two annoyances in front of him and wanted to put this to an end. So, with a roar, he charged forward toward the Pokémon. Once he was halfway they, the snake creature spewed a thick, black, or dark-purple smoke from its mouth onto the battlefield. His sight was obscured by the sudden smokescreen. Since he couldn’t trust his eyes, then he’ll have to trust his nose. He took a deep breath and could smell one of the creatures approaching. When he looked ahead, he saw a golden body in the smoke.

It got closer and was revealed to be Pikachu, surrounded by golden electricity. Once she was close enough, she tackled the Manticore. and it tackles the opponent. The attack was just strong enough that the monster fell on his side. The downside was that Pikachu also fell as well because of her move’s recoil damage.

Outside of the smoke, the two fillies could not believe the sight before their eyes. Two strange creatures came out of nowhere and protected them from a rampaging Manticore. When they saw a figure moving in the black fog, they thought it was the Manticore again. Their worries were dashed away when the figure turned out to be the Unicorn from before with the yellow mouse in its mane.

“Get on,” Tom said to the two fillies.

They were both too in shock to argue with him and complied with his request. Carefully getting on his back while avoiding his injuries, the fillies hopped aboard his back. Once the two were properly situated, Tom took off running into the forest.

When the smoke cleared, the Manticore was slowly beginning to stand. Yellow static electricity appeared around his body as he opened his eyes. His eyes scanned the field and saw his prey was nowhere to be seen. He roared in frustration and began searching with his nose. Once he caught their scents, he began his hunt down the same path they took.

And now, the story is right where it began: Tom at the edge of a ravine with small creatures behind him and a menacing beast in front of him. Plus, he still had his injury on the side of his stomach. Everything kept getting more and more worse while he was around this thing. With the shaking forms behind him, he decided on a plan of action.

He lowered his head down towards his electric friend and said, “Stay here and take of them.”

Pikachu was confused by his request. Why would he ask her to do this? Her question was answered when her friend began to walk toward the black-eyed monster. She tried to stop him, but all her requests were ignored.

When the bloodthirsty beast saw the injured equine approach him, he smiled and started running for the easiest prey behind him. Why spent his energy on one unicorn with there were three small morsels to snack on? Tom knew he was coming and had to act quickly.

In a swift motion, Tom ducked under a claw swipe and pressed his body against the beast’s underbelly. With all of his strength, while grunting from the pain of his injury, he flipped the Manticore over him and into the ravine. For a second, he thought it was over until a scorpion tail grabbed him. The fillies and Pikachu were scared that Tom was in trouble and looked down at the battle.

Tom tried to break loose from the Manticore’s tail grip with little luck. While constricted, the beast tried clawing at him while fighting against the effects of Static and Poison. As this struggle continued to go on, the land beneath them was growing ever closer. Tom knew he needed to make a change and thought of the first form that came to mind. Once the aura appeared around his body, he changed into a smaller shape that was able to get out of the tail grip. The Manticore was startled by this and looked toward the now-flying creature.

He was a grayish-brown, avian Pokémon similar to a large bird of prey. He had small, red eyes and a thin, yellow beak with a black tip. There was a circular white patch on his forehead. Larger white markings cover the front of its throat and chest, separated by a black ruff encircling the shoulders. A red-tipped, black crest extends over his head, nearly reaching the tip of his beak. He had large wings, five black-tipped tail feathers, and yellow feet with black talons.

The beast smiled at this transformation, happy that this fight has changed into an air battle. The two flying creatures soared towards one another, trading blow for blow barely causing each other any damage.

Once Tom was at a safe distance, he flapped his wings and released multiple light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades from his wings at the opponent. Most of them were swiped away with the Manticore’s claws, while the rest were made contact. While distracted by the multiple energy blades, Tom used this chance to get in close to deliver a repeat of kicks and pecks with his wings at a fast speed.

Annoyed by this creature’s continued barrage of attacks, the Manticore swing his scorpion tail. Tom dodged this but that gave all the beast needed to swipe his claw at Tom. This sent him hurling into the side of the ravine, barely hanging on by a tree with one wing in its branches. When he saw the bird out of commission, he set his sights on the three small creatures still on the cliff. He soared towards them as the fillies prepared for their demise while the mouse got into her battle position.

Trying to move from his position, Tom opened his eyes and saw the Pikachu and the fillies were in danger. He quickly pecked his wing out of the branch and raced towards the encroaching beast. While flying, Tom knew he and the others were done if he didn’t come up with a plan. He had to act quickly to do what he had to do, even if it meant crossing a line he never thought he’d cross. With that thought in mind, he began his next transformation to finish this fight.

The beast had a wicked smile on his face, a smile of victory, and was already licking his lips at the thought of the succulent exotic meat he will soon have. When he was about halfway there, a small object collided with his neck. He locked it and saw it was a bipedal creature that resembled both a cat and a weasel. It Was primarily bluish-black with three bright red feathers for its tail and a single one on its left ear. The other ear was short and pointed, and it had narrow red eyes. On its forehead and chest were yellow, oval markings. It had red eyes with black eyelash-like markings on the edges. It had long limbs with two large, retractable claws on its hands and feet.

Taking advantage of the Manticore’s confusion, Tom raised his large white claws and slashed his opponent, leaving behind a white energy stream where he slashed.

He stayed there for a second while looking into the beast’s eyes. He said, “I’m sorry.” After that, he backflipped off of the beast while transforming back into Keldeo.

Once he was back on the cliff, he heard the sound of the Manticore’s body landing In the ravine. He looked down and caught a glimpse of his twitching body before he stopped moving. When he stopped moving, Tom saw a tracing of blood on his hooves from when he had claws. In a way, he felt sad for the Manticore. He was just an animal trying to feed himself as everything else does.

He stayed there for a minute, before watching the three creatures he was protecting approach him. The smiles of relief on their face were the last things he saw before falling over. All of his injuries and the blood loss finally got to him. Before he lost consciousness, he could barely make out six large figures approaching them whim and his compatriots. With that one image left in his mind, his eyes closed, and his body collapsed.

Today's a good to to make a new Friend

Tom groaned as he stirred awake, his body still feeling the after results of his last fight. He opened his eyes, squinting as the sun shone down on his face. His vision began to adjust to the blinding light before noticing he was sleeping on a bed. Not just any bed. It was a bed with a mattress, a warm cover over his body and a soft pillow under his head. This was the first real pillow he’s seen since coming to this world. He looked around and saw he was in some sort of bedroom from a fairy tail. At the foot of the bed, he saw his treasure bag sitting on a wooden trunk.

Once he got his bearings, he started to remember everything that happened to him before blacking out. Him running through the forest. The Manticore. The two fillies. Him… killing the manticore. It all returned to his mind all at once.

Out of nowhere, he felt some movement against his body. He lifted the blanket off his body, and found Pikachu sleeping against his bandaged stomach. She was comfortably sleeping next him while clutching his body with her tiny paws. This brought a smile to his face. He scratched behind her ears to show his gratitude and she responded with a cute moans.

While he was sitting up, he caught a glimpse of something outside the window next to the bed. It seemed like he was asleep for a long time, seeing how the sun was close to setting. He saw a few Starly and Pidove pass by the window seal. This was all that he needed to figure out where he was. From just the design of the room and the sounds of animals, it was obvious he was back in Fluttershy’s house, inside her bedroom.

All the while he was enjoying the sounds of the animals outside, never taking his eyes off the window, Pikachu was beginning to stir in her sleep, having felt the constant ear rubs. Once she opened her eyes, she looked up from her spot on the bed and saw her friend awake. Tom felt movement beside him and saw his friend finally awake.

“Pikachu. I’m so happy you’re sa-“ He was interrupted by a sudden slap to the face by his friend’s small paw. The look on her face and the tears streaming from her eyes told was all that he needed to know how worried she was. So, he aloud her to continue slapping out all of her frustrations.

‘I deserve this…’

She just kept slapping him. Tom turned to her right as she started to speak.

“IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!”

Tom didn’t say a word; she needed to get it all out of her system.

“Why? Why did you do that? Do you know how worried I was for you? You almost died! I could have helped you without you getting so hurt! How dare you do that to me! Why? Why?”

Through all of the slaps, Tom realized just how much he’d caused Pikachu so much pain. The slaps came to a close and was replaced with a hug, followed by soft sobbing.

“Why didn’t you let me help you?” Pikachu asked before looking up towards her injured friend, while more tears fell down her face.

“I… I just concerned that if the two of us were fighting, then there wouldn’t be anyone protecting those fillies.” Tom said, rubbing the mouse’s head, comforting her in this tough moment.

“But didn’t you trust me to help you?” Pikachu asked, tightening her grip around her friend and earning a small grunt.

“Of course I trust you. That’s why I left you to protect those fillies. If I didn’t make it, then it would have been up to you to get them to safety. Losing you would’ve brought too much pain to me, but if I had died then I knew you would have been fine.” Tom explained, making the Pokémon’s eyes grow wide.

All of his words touched Pikachu’s heart. He was prepared to die so long as she made it out alive. She couldn’t have been more lucky to have found a friend like him.

She hugged.”You’re an idiot. We’re family now. That means we face everything together, including the tough times. When either of us are ever in trouble then the other should be there to help. Just promise you won’t do something like that again.” Pikachu said while plugging her face into his stomach.

“I can’t promise that. The best I will do everything in my power to keep living for the both of us. Okay?” Tom said with Pikachu nodding her face in his bandaged stomach.

All while never speaking or separating from each other, Tom felt like it was time to get up from his position. Once he and Pikachu separated, Tom climbed out of the bed he was in, he ended up falling on his face. Grumbling in annoyance from his friend’s giggling behind him, the young man picked himself back up to his four legs.

Before he knew it, the door to the bedroom opened. From within the doorway, the kind form of Fluttershy appeared with Angel on her back. She was shocked when she saw her new friend out of bed.

“Tom? You’re awake? You should be back in bed to recover from your injuries.” Fluttershy said, with Angel shaking his head, agreeing to her owner.

“Don’t worry. My injuries are weren’t too severe. I can just fine without it being too much of a problem.” Tom said, moving around the bedroom, emphasizing his point to the Pegasus.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked with a worried look sprawled on her face.

“Yes, Fluttershy. I’m fine.” Tom said, making a few popping sound while rolling his neck.

“Okay.” Fluttershy said, while making circles in the floor, looking like there was something she wanted to ask. This did not go unnoticed by him.

“Is there something wrong?” Tom asked, curious of her strange behavior.

“Well… I heard from Apple Bloom saved Sweetie Bell that you saved them from a Manticore… but…” Fluttershy said as tears were forming in her eyes. This sight broke his heart. “…did you have to kill him?”

He sighed. “Fluttershy… I didn’t have much choice at the time. I saw how much he was angry and tried to reach some kind of compromise. He was just too angry to see reason. All he wanted to do was kill all of us, and my main focus was saving the two fillies. He attacked us and tried to hurt them no matter what I said. I… I won’t say that I enjoyed killing him, but I won’t say I regret doing it. It was something that needed to be done, no matter how upset I was over this. I’m so sorry you had to learn about this. I know how much you love animals, so hearing about animal killings must upset you. If I’m ever in a situation like that again, then I will try harder to find a more peaceful solution where no one will get hurt. This is my promise to you.” Tom finished with a single tear falling from his eye.

Even though this was their second meeting, Fluttershy could tell that everything he was telling was the truth. When he finished talking, she rushed towards him and hugged him.

“Thank you, Tom. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell h already told us what happened in the Everfree forest. I just wanted to hear it from you. After saving Angel, I knew you weren’t the type to cause pain without a good reason. Please forgive me for making you worry.” She said while carefully avoiding the bandaged areas of his body.

“You‘re already forgiven.” He said, hugging her back. “Wait, did you say us?”

“Yes. My friends came over once they heard Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell left for the Everfree forest without a grownup. My friend Applejack was the one who carried you back.” Fluttershy said, separating from Tom, as Angel jumped on her back and Pikachu jumped on his.

“Then, I’d love to thank them for their help.” Tom said, throwing his bag over his shoulder with his mouth.

“Good. They wanted to thank you for saving for saving Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell. I’ll introduce you to them.” Fluttershy said, exiting the bedroom with Tom following right behind her.

“By the way, I wanted to apologize for breaking you teacup when I left.” He said, walking up to her side.

“Oh, it’s alright. I have plenty of teacups, and Minty had a great time cleaning it up.” She said with sign of being angry at him.

A few minutes later, they could hear voices coming from the first floor. As they were nearing the stars, Tom looked over the railing to see the origin of those voices.

The first voice came from a unicorn with light purple fur and an navy blue-colored mane and tail, stylized with rim cuts, and also has two lighter-purple and pink stripes running down both. She also had purple irises and prominent eyelashes, and also, thicker eyebrows. She had a moderately-sized horn, and a mark on her flank had a pink six-pointed starburst mark with five smaller white stars.

The next one looked like an average size for a pony. Her body was made up almost entirely of the color pink, her main color a light pink whereas her cotton candy mane and tail hold a darker hue of the same color. Her eyes are an innocent light blue, and the mark on its flank were three-party balloons: two yellow and one blue.

The third pony, sitting next the pink pony and the small unicorn filly, had a silvery-white coat, blue eyes with blue eyeshadow, and a purple mane with multiple layers to it. It contains different shades of indigo, but the main portion of it is indigo. Her tail was the same shade of indigo that ended with a swirl. On her flank were marks of three blue diamonds.

The fourth pony had light-orange fur with white freckles on her cheeks, green eyes, ponytailed tail and mane topped off with a brown cowboy hat. Her cutie mark is three red apples. She was sitting next to the yellow filly with the red bow.

The last pony in the room was a light blue pegasus pony with magenta eyes. She has six colors in her mane, those being the colors of the rainbow. Her mane was a mix of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple with a tail to match. Both her mane and tail are spikey and look messy. Her mark was a lightning bolt with red, yellow, and blue stripes on it.

They all stopped talking once they heard Fluttershy and Tom walking down the stairs. All on eyes were on them while the entire room went quiet. Once they made it to the base of the stairs, everyone was waiting to talk, but no one said anything. Fluttershy was the first to start.

“Girls, this is Tom and Pikachu. And Tom, these are my friends.” Fluttershy said, gesturing to all of the ponies in front of them.

He cleared his throat. He said, “Ummmmm hi?”

Fluttershy was getting irritated a little irritated by her friends’ silence. She said, “C’mon, girls. Say something.”

The violet was the first one to break the ice. She said, “Hello, Tom. My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you”

“Nice to meet you too, Twilight Sparkle,“ Tom said, bowing his head in respect, earning a smile from the unicorn.

Up next was the white unicorn. She said, “My name is Rarity. It’s very nice to meet you, darling. I heard what you did for my sister, and I wanted to personally thank you for saving my sister.”

“You are very welcome, Ms Rarity. I only did what I could for her at the time.” Tom said, once again offering a bow to the new pony.

“Oh my. It appears we have a true gentlecolt here.“She said, blushing at his politeness, before the orange mare stepped up.

“Howdy partner, nice to meet ya. The name’s Applejack”, she extended her hoof to make the hoof/fist bump, which Tom reciprocated. “Thanks for saving my sister back there. I can’t thank you enough for doing that.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Applejack. It was my pleasure to help them out. I should be the one thanking you for carrying me all the way back here.” Tom said, bring a soft blush to the mare’s face.

“Oh, that was nothing. Consider it a repayment for for saving my sister.” She said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof before glaring at the laughing rainbow paganism behind her. She stopped laughing and flew up to him.

“Hey, dude. The name’s Rainbow dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria. After hearing what you did, it looks like you could be a little strong. Thats… cool but not as cool as me.” Rainbow Dash said, boasting about herself, earning some eye roles.

“Wow. Thanks, Rainbow dash. That quite the complim-“ Tom was interrupted by an object, tackling him to the floor. He looked up and saw what tackled him was the pink mare.

“HELLO. MY NAME IS PINKIE PIE, BUT YOU CAN CALL ME PINKIE IF YOU WANT. I’M THE OFFICIAL PARTY PONY IN PONYVILLE. TELL ME, DO YOU LIKE PARTIES?, I HOPE YOU DO. I WILL MAKE YOU THE BEST PARTY YOU EVER HAVE. WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND? PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEA-“ The pink mare, he now realizes is Pinkie Pie, continue before he placed his hoof against he mouth.

“Okay. Slow down. First, I do like parties. Second, of course, I’ll be your friend. And lastly, can you please can off me?” Tom said while looking up at the hyperactive mare.

The mare grew a giant smile before hoping off of him and back towards her chair. Once he stood back up, he felt two things slam into his front legs. He looked down and saw it was the two fillies he saved in the forest.

“Hi. I’m Apple Bloom and this is Sweetie Bell. We just wanted to thank you for saving us from the Manticore.” The filly said with a southern accent similar to the orange mare.

“Yeah. It was so cool how you fought it with your little mouse friend.” The white unicorn filmy said, looking up at him with a gleam in her eyes.

“It was nothing, really. We just did what we what we did to protect the two of you,” Tom said, petting the two of them after they let go of his legs.

“Pika.” Pikachu responded from the floor before being tackled by Rocky.

“She said your welcome.” Tom translated for those that didn’t understand her.

“You can understand her?” Twilight asked.

“Of I can. We are both Pokémon.” Tom said.

“What are Pokémon?” Applejack asked.

“That’s what I, Pikachu and the rest of the creatures in the room are.” Tom said, gesturing a hoof to all of the different of species of the cottage.

“So, you’re one of the creatures that has appeared in Equestria?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Sort of.” Tom said.

“What do you mean sort of?” Rarity asked.

Tom was not sure if he should tell these ponies about if he should tell them his story. Pikachu was the only one who he’s told this story to and hasn’t mentioned since. He felt something touch his leg and saw it was Pikachu with Rocky right behind her. She nodded her head, saying that they could trust these ponies. He sighed before looking toward all of the ponies in the room.

“To answer your question, I’ll have to go back to a few days.” Tom said, ready to tell them the truth.

“Oh, story time.” Pinkie said before grabbing a tub of popcorn from out of nowhere. Tom did not question it and began his story.

He began from the beginning where he was originally a human before meeting Arceus and Mew. Then, he told them about the mission given to him by the Celestial Pokémon, and finished with how he’s spent the last few days in the Everfree Forest.
They all had mixed expressions of confusion and shock from hearing his story. Once he was done, he waited for any response or questions that may have.

“So… you’re a monkey?” Rainbow Dashed asked, being the first thing that came to mind.

He chuckled. “No. My species just evolved from monkeys and only share about 99.6% of our DNA with them.”

“So, what is this threat?” Fluttershy asked, with a hint of concern coming from her voice.

“I don’t know. Arceus didn’t give me clues to what I’ll be facing or when that threat will appear.” Tom said.

“You don’t seem too concerned about facing a mysterious enemy after being turned into a new form.” Rarity said in Trans-Atlantic accent.

“I mean, it is a lot to take in. I could worry myself crazy over whatever could happen but if I then I’ll never accomplish anything. No matter what comes my way, whether it’s a menacing beast or an evil doer, I accept my mission without regret so long as innocent lives are not hurt.” The human/Pokémon said with a look of determination in his eyes.

Everyone was impressed by his complete dedication to his mission. He was endangering his own life for their sakes. From listening to him speak, they knew they could trust him.

“That… is… awesome!!!” The rainbow mare exclaimed.

“Huh?” Tom asked, surprised by the mare’s reaction.

“You were turned into a new species and given cool powers to so you fight off an a great evil. Even I’m jealous at that.” Rainbow said, flying around the room before getting in his face.

“So, you trust me?” Tom asked.

“Of course we trust, darling. You had your entire life erased so no lives could be could get hurt. We should be thanking you.” Rarity said.

“You don’t have to thank me. I haven’t done much to earn your gratitude.” Tom said, denying the gratitude he was receiving from the ponies.

“Except saving my sister and her friend from being eaten by a Manticore.” Applejack said, reminding him of his previous accomplishment.

“And you saved Gummy from an angry monkey.” Pinkie said, lifting up her tail and showing the small crocodile biting her cotton candied tail.

“Well, when you put it like that, then I guess I really have done a lot.” Tom said, rubbing his head with embarrassment.

“Tom. We may have just met, but after getting to know you, it’s safe to say that you a somepony we can trust.” Twilight said with the other ponies nodding their heads, agreeing with her. He was happy that he had gained such great friends.

Outside the window, Rainbow could see the sun was going down. She said, “Looks like it’s getting dark. Time to head home. See you around, Tom.” She quickly exited out of the door.

“Quite right. I must get my beauty sleep. Goodbye, Tom. Come by the boutique some time. I really want to create an outfit for you. Come on, Sweetie Bell.” Rarity said before getting up and heading towards the door.

“Okay. Bye, Tom.” Sweetie Bell said, waving towards her new friend just as he waved back.

“Yeah. I gotta get home now, so I can wake up early to do my chores. See yah, Tom.” Applejack said waking towards the exit with her sister following right behind.

“And I have a surprise party to plan at Sugar Cube Corner. See you later, Tommy.” The pink mare said, hopping out of the cottage, with the crocodile still clinging to her tail.

“It does look like it’s getting dark. Come on, Pikachu. We have to get home before it gets too dark.” Tom said, walking towards the door with the mouse Pokemon hopping back his back.

“Where are you living?” Twilight asked before getting up from her seat.

“We’ve been living in a cave in the forest.” Tom said, as shocked expressions made their way on to Twilight and Fluttershy’s faces.

“You’ve been living in the Everfree Forest?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, but it hasn’t been so bad. We live in an area where none of the dangerous creatures usually hunt.” Tom said, stopping in the middle of the doorway.

“Well, that stops now. You are coming to my home and staying with me.” Twilight said.

“What? No, I couldn’t impose on you, Twilight. We just me.” Tom said, trying to deny the unicorns offer.

“True, but I will not allow two of my friends stay in a dangerous place when there was something I could do.” Twilight said, surprising both the two Pokémon that they were already her friends.

“With that kind of offer, how could we refuse?” Tom said, with Pikachu agreeing with him.

“Good. Follow me, Tom. Goodnight, Fluttershy.” Twilight said, passing Tom in doorway with him following behind her.

“Goodnight, Twilight. Goodnight, Tom. Goodnight, Pikachu.” Fluttershy said, wishing both her old and ew friends a good night.

“Goodnight, Fluttershy.” Tom said.

“Pika.” Pikachu responded.

With all of her guests gone, Fluttershy watched the last of her friends leave her home before closing her door.

Up above the pony village and the dark forest was a mountain with a large kingdom clinging to the side of it. The setting sun gave the kingdom a more elegant viewpoint .

Within this kingdom was a castle where many ponies in around guardians various areas of the building. And from within the castle’s throne room stood one of the kingdom’s rulers.

In the throne room, a large, white, winged unicorn with a luminescent, flowing mane. Standing before the tall mare was a creature standing over her. It did not have a mouth, but she could sense the overwhelming energy that just radiated off of it. It was the alpha Pokémon, Arceus standing before the equine ruler.

"Who are you?" The ruler asked with no hint of fear in her voice. It was almost like the sudden appearance of the unknown creature did not cause her to experience fear

“My name is Arceus. I am the ruler of my kind. I’m assuming the same could be said for you?" The divine Pokémon asked.

"No. I am only the ruler of this country with my sister. And what do you mean you kind?”

“I mean the Pokémon, one of the group creatures that have appeared in this world."

“So, that’s the name of your species? Can you explain what you’re doing in Equestria? And what are these other creatures that have appeared with them?"

“That I cannot answer. Many rifts have been appearing in my world and others and are increasing with each passing day. The causes of these rifts continue to elude me.”

“Could it be one of your kind?”

“Perhaps. There are a few capable of opening portals in space, but it is too early to make a conclusion."

“I see. There have been sights of your kind across the land with very few problems. Do you know what could happen if our two worlds were to mix?"

“To venture a guess, it seems like something or someone is watching from afar while watching as we topple over one another.”

“That does sound like a few enemies I’ve faced in the past. Thank you for providing everything you could know about these rifts.” Celestia said, relieved should provide her citizens with more information.

“Of course. Whatever I can do to help.”

“Do you know how long these rifts could be opening?”

“Too soon to tell. Rifts opening across dimensions happen all the time. It could last for a few days, or could be a couple of years.”

“I see. Thank you for your help.”

“And thank you for harming my kind when we first appeared,” Arceus said before disappearing in a white light.

Her first encounter with the new species has not bad. She learned after meeting with the leader of the new race in her country. Maybe this could be the beginning of a new relationship between Ponies, Pokémon, and Digimon.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Twilight was still leading Tom toward her home. This light walk gave him the opportunity to see various ponies go about their days before heading to their homes. He was greeted by a few of the village ponies as they got to know more of this world’s inhabitants. While walking, he caught sight of a few Pokémon either on top of houses, running in the road, or hiding in the alleys.

A couple of minutes later, they finally made it to their destination. They came up to a tree with a front door and multiple windows on the sides.

“This is where you live?” Tom asked.

“Yes. This is the Golden Oak Library. I love her with my number one assistant.” She said, walking up to the front door.

“Yeah. Kinda makes sense for a knowledgeable pony like yourself.” Tom said, complimenting his new friend, missing the red coming across her face.

“Oh, thanks.” She said, opening the door for herself and her guests.

When they walked in, Tom saw various books on the wooden shelves and a staircase leading up to the second floor of the library.

“Hmm. Spike must’ve gone to bed.” Twilight said.

“Who’s Spike?” Tom asked.

“My number one assistant. He probably went to sleep when he finished all of his jobs. Come on. I’ll show you to the guest room.” Twilight said, walking up the stairs before with the Pokémon following suit.

They walked up to the second floor and walked down the hallway. After passing a couple of doors, they came to a stop at one of them.

“This is where you two will be sleeping,” Twilight said, illuminating her horn in a magenta aura and then around the doorknob. It slowly turned before the door was pushed open. Tom walked in and saw the room had a nice bed and a nice stand with a lamp.

“My room is just down the hall. If you need anything, just come and find me.” Twilight said before walking back down the hallway.

“Twilight,” Tom said, catching the unicorn’s attention. “Thanks again for giving us a place to sleep.”

She smiled and said, “It was not trouble. We’re friends, right?”

He smiled back at her. He responded, “Right.”

After that, the two of them went into their bedrooms. Tom closed behind him and walked towards his bed. He removed his treasure bag from his body and placed it on the bed’s frame. After that, he dropped down on the bed’s pillow while Pikachu curls up right next to his head. After a long day of running and fighting, they finally had a chance to take a rest.

Tom pulled the blanket over both their bodies before the two of them closed their eyes and began their journeys into the dream realms.

Getting a Job

When morning came, sunlight seeped through the library’s window and onto the sleeping faces the Pokémon in the bed. Tom’s sleeping faced scrunched from the sudden appearance of the sun’s rays. He opened his eyes, looked at his surroundings and saw he was sleeping in the small guest room of his new friend. He also saw Pikachu curled up next to his next him with a pleasant look on his face. He carefully rose from his spot on the bed and stretched his limbs. Some cracks were emitted from some areas of his body. After that, his stomach growled, alerting him of his growing hunger. All of these noises awoke Pikachu from her slumber. She rose up and yawned before wiping her eyes with her paws.

“Is it already time to get up?” Pikachu asked, opening her mouth to yawn.

“Yeah. Looks like it. How did you sleep?” Tom asked.

“Just fine. And you? Did you have that dream again?” Pikachu asked, curious if he had that premonition dream he had before.

“Only a few flashes but nothing else. I’m sure if anything bad appears, I’ll be ready for it.” Tom said, not feeling concerned about his visions.

“And I’ll be right there beside you.” The mouse pokemon said, jumping on his back to nuzzle his cheek.

“Right. Together.” Tom said, accepting the nuzzle from his friend. He stopped the nuzzle once he caught a whiff of something. “Do you smell something?”

Pikachu began to sniff the air as well. She said, “I do smell something and it smells delicious.”

Tom grabbed his bag from the bed frame and walked towards the door to his bedroom with Pikachu following close behind. Once he walked up to the door, after a couple of minutes trying to turn the knob, he opened the door and walked out.

The two of them left the room while avoiding making too much noise. He didn’t want to wake up Twilight if she was still sleeping. Once they made it out of the hallway, and down the stairs. They sniffed the air, in search of the smell’s origin. Their eyes some came upon a doorway with a light on. That was where the smell was coming from. They walked up towards the doorway and looked inside.

Inside the room was a well furnished kitchen with a stove, oven, fridge and a table with plenty of chairs. At the front of the stove, standing on a stool, was a small, purple dragon with green spikes that started from the top of its head to the base of its spiky tail.

Tom couldn’t believe this: he was sent to another world as a Pokémon, he’s made friends with talking ponies, and now he looking at a real dragon making pancakes. Now, he’s seen everything. The small dragon heard movement coming from behind him and turned around. His eyes met with Tom’s.

“You must be the two that stayed over last night, right?” The small dragon asked.

“Yeah. My name’s Tom and the one on my back is Pikachu.” Tom said.

“Pika Pi.” Pikachu responded.

“She said it’s nice to meet you.” Tom translated.

“Oh, well, it’s nice to meet you too. My name’s Spike, Twilight’s #1 assistant.” Spike said, puffing his chest out with pride.

“Wow. I heard she had an assistant, but never knew you were a dragon. You’re pretty cool.” Tom said, complimenting the young dragon’s appearance.

“Aw, thanks.” Spike said, embarrassed from his compliment.

“Do you need any help making breakfast?” Tom asked.

“Not really. I’m just about done. You can take a seat while I finish things up here.” Spike said, returning to his cooking.

Since the dragon didn’t need help, Tom walked up to the dinner table and took a seat. Pikachu hopped off of his back and sat in the seat right beside him. While Spike was cooking, Tom used this opportunity to get to know Spike. He told him how he was sent to this new world, while Spike told him how he became Twilight’s assistant. After a couple minutes of talking, Twilight walked in with a tired look on her face.

“Good morning, Spike.” She said before noticing her two houseguests sitting at the table. “Oh… Good morning, Tom. Pikachu.”

“Good morning, Twilight.” Tom said.

“Pika.” Pikachu responded.

“Have you had the chance to know Spike, Tom?” Twilight said, taking a seat across from him.

“Sure. We learned a lot about each other before you got here. You’ve got a pretty amazing assistant.” Tom said.

“I know. The best ever,” Twilight said, looking at the young dragon, thinking of how important he was to her.

“Aw, shucks.” Spike said, scratching the back of his head from all the compliments he was getting.

After another few minutes, Spike was finally done cooking. He took the stacks of pancakes and placed them on three different plates. Twilight used her magic to help carry the plates to lighten the dragon’s load. With that out of the way, he poured a few cups of milk and placed them on the table. He also placed bowl of berries in front of Pikachu and a bowl of gems in front of himself.

“Breakfast is served.” Spike said before taking a bite into one the gems. The rest of them began eating their own food. Tom’s eyes widen at the first bite of his pancakes.

“Wow, Spike. These are the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted.” Tom said enjoying his breakfast.

“Thanks, Tom.” Spike said, eating his way through the bowl of gemstones while taking a few swigs of his milk.

“By the way, Tom, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Twilight said, placing her cup of milk down with her magic.

“What is it?” Tom asked.

“I wanted to know more about the Pokémon. They’re a new species to Equestria and we have little knowledge of them. You’re the only one who knows anything about them and I was hoping you’d share what you know.” Twilight asked, hoping that her new friend would share his information.

“Of course, Twilight. I’ll tell you. What do you want to know?” Tom asked, noticing a scroll and quill appeared, covered in her magical aura.

“Firstly, how many Pokémon are there?” Twilight asked.

“Well, there are many different species that vary among types, but my last count was 905. Tom said, surprised at the total number given to her.

“Interesting. Now, what do you mean by types?” Twilight asked.

“I am referring to the different elemental properties associated with both the Pokémon and their moves. There are a total of 18 elements: normal, fire, water, grass, electric, ice, fighting, poison, ground, flying, psychic, bug, rock, ghost, dark, dragon, steel, and fairy.” Tom said, surprising Twilight by the number by all of the elements the Pokémon could control.

“There are that many elements?” Twilight asked, scribbling down every word that he was said.

“Yes. For example, Keldeo, the Pokémon that I am right now, is a water and fighting type. Now, that doesn’t mean I can’t use other elements but those are just the main ones.” Tom said, taking another bite of his pancakes.

“And there are Dragon types too?” Spike asked, joining the conversation.

“Of course. Dragon types are scarce by there are plenty of them,plus they’re really strong. Do you wanna see one?” Tom asked the small Drake.

Spike nodded his head and Tom thought through one of the dragon types he could turn into. Once he made his choice, he closed his eyes as his body glowed its usual multicolored aura. When his body was done changing shape, they all saw Tom’s new form.

He was a bipedal, grayish-green Pokémon with pale, straight tusks protruding from the sides of his mouth. The back of his head was dark grayish-green with a tall, slightly curved horn. Large, dark grayish-green ovals surround his red eyes, and he had a short, rounded snout with large nostrils.

“This form is called Axew, and it’s a dragon type.” Tom said before grabbing his cup of milk and taking a nice long drink.

Spike could not believe another dragon was standing right in front of him. He knew Tom wasn’t an average dragon like him, but it was still nice to see another one of his kind. He rose from his seat and walked up to the Dragon pokemon. Tom saw this and rose from his seat as well. Once the two were in front of one another, they just stood there starting at one another.

“Incredible. You two share so many similarities with one another even though you’re not the same species.” Twilight said, amazed by sight of two dragons in front of her.

“You’re right. I always wondered what a real dragon would look like, compared to a dragon type pokemon.” Tom said before turning around and sitting back down in his seat.

“I’m just glad there’s another dragon around here that I can hang with. I know you’re not a real dragon but it still feels nice.” Spike said right after sitting back down and finishing his meal.

“I understand, Spike. So, is there anything else you want to ask me, Twilight?” Tom asked, eating his last bite of pancakes.

“Not right now, but if I have anymore I’ll be sure to ask.” Twilight said, also finishing her breakfast before picking up all of the finished plates and taking them to the sink.

“So, what are you going to do with the rest of your day?” Twilight asked, turning on her sink to wash the dishes.

“I was thinking about getting a job somewhere in town. Twilight, do you any pony who's hiring for the moment?” Tom asked, picking up Pikachu’s food bowl and taking it towards Twilight.

“Hmm... I think Applejack may have said she could use more workers over at Sweet Apple Acres. It’s a family’s farm at the edge of Ponyville.” Twilight suggested.

“Great. Thanks, Twilight.” Tom said as she nodded her head, accepting his gratitude.

After they were all finished eating, they washed all of their dishes and placed them in the cabinet. Once they were done, Tom turned back into Keldeo, grabbed his treasure bag and walked into the living room. Pikachu hopped onto his back as he was nearing the front door.

"We’ll be back in a few hours guys!" Tom called out.

“Okay. Be careful out there.” Twilight said from the kitchen.

“We will.” Tom said, opening the door, then closing it behind him.

When the door closed, Twilight was just finishing up on putting away of the cleaned utensils. Once she was finished, she turned to her assistant and lifted up her scroll with her magic.

“Spike. Send this to Princess Celestia. She‘ll like to know everything about Tom and what we learned from him.” Twilight said, bringing up the scroll to the dragon.

“Sure thing, Twilight.” Spike said, taking a deep breath before blowing a light green flame onto the parchment. Instead of be burnt to cinders, it changed into a soft mist before flying out the window.

When Tom made it out of the library, he was met with the sights of Ponyville, receiving a few 'Hellos' and waves from the ponies. It really made him happy to see these amazing creatures warm up to him after only meeting him once. There were even a couple of Pokémon walking beside the town’s ponies. It really made him happy to see these two different species living together without worry.

After saying hi to a lot of ponies, he and Pikachu finally came across the farm. They could not believe what was in front of their eyes. There were thousands of apple trees that extended across the horizon. Each apple was glistening from the morning sun, showing just how sweet they looked from afar. This was truly an amazing site.

They continued their walked down the path to farm house, hoping to find their Apple friend.

"Bark! Bark!"

They were stoped in their tracks once they heard the sound of a dog. At first they thought it was a Pokemon barking, but after hearing more barking, it sounded like a regular dog. They followed the barking, thinking that it could lead to a pony they could talk to.

As the barking sound continued to increase, the dog making that sound was coming into view. It was a small dog with a brown coat of fur on top of its body and a white underbelly under it. Around its neck was a red collar with a golden tag.

When Tom got a closer look at the dog, he saw the dog standing on its hind legs, barking at something in the tree. Behind it was Applejack and Apple Bloom, also looking in the apple tree. He was curious what they were looking and decided to look up into the tree as well. It looked like any of the other Apple trees around the farm, until he saw one of the apples moving. He was surprised by this and got squinted his eyes to get a closer look. What looked like apples were actually just a bunch of Applelins.

From his spot, he could see the Apple Core Pokémon was looking down at the ponies and the barking dog. He decided to walk up to his friends to see if there was something wrong. As he was getting closer, he could hear Applejack and Apple Bloom speaking to one another.

“What are those things, Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked, looking up at the strange creatures in the tree.

“I don’t know. May they’re those Pokémon Tom was talking about.” Applejack said.

“But why are they are in one of apple trees?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I have no idea, Sugarcube. No idea.” Applejack said, looking at the same creatures she was looking at, not sure what to do about them.

“That tears it, I’m taking a closer look.” Apple Bloom said, turning around and bucking the apple tree. The Applins were shook from the tree and fell onto her mane, rolling around it as they found it be comfortable. “They’re like living apples.”

“That’s because they’re Applins.”

The apple sisters and the dog looked towards where the voice came from. They saw Tom walking up to them with Pikachu riding on his back. They smiled at this and walked up to him.

“Tom!” Apple Bloom said before she jumped at him and hugged his leg. Tom chuckled as he ruffled her mane, knocking the apple Pokémon out of it.

"Hey Apple Bloom. How you have been doing lately?” Tom asked as the yellow filly let go of his leg.

She giggle and said, "I'm doing fine, Tom. You know what these Pokémon are?"

“Yes. These are a species of Pokémon that burrows into an apple, which serves as a home, food source, and protection against preying bird Pokémon.” Tom said, looking at the inching moving apples inching away from them.

The brown dog suddenly walked up to Tom’s leg and began sniffing him. It circled his body, surveying him carefully before stopping right in front of him. From of its body, he could tell the dog was female. He smiled and bent his knees to get just about eye level to the small canine. Pikachu slid off of his back when he was close enough to the dog’s face.

"Hey, girl. My name is Tom and behind me is Pikachu. We’re both friends of Applejack and Apple Bloom." Tom said, greeting the brown dog.

She looked at me for a bit, until she started to walk up to him. He stuck out his hoof as a show of good faith. She started sniffing it for a second, before she barked happily and lunged at him, licking his face.

"Hahahaha! Down girl! Heel! Stop! That tickles!" Tom laughed, receiving various licks from the dog. Pikachu laughed at her friend from being covered in slobber before the dog stopped and jumped on her. She was being licked nonstop by the dog before running away with the dog giving chase.

Applejack giggled and said, “Well, it looks like Winona like you two. So, what brings ya to our farm?"

"I'm looking for a job, and Twilight said you might be hiring for the moment." Tom explained.

“You should definitely work here. It’d be so fun to have you and Pikachu here.” Apple Bloom said with a gleam in her eyes.

"Hmm...ah think we can get ya a job here, but it takes a lot of work, if you're up for it." Applejack said.

“I’m up to it. I’ve had all kinds of jobs back home, so working on a farm shouldn’t be much of problem.” Tom said.

“Alright, then. Let’s go talk to Granny Smith so she can meet yah.” Applejack said as she turned around and walked up to the farm

"So, what kind of work do you do on this farm?" Tom asked.

"My family and I mainly pick apples and sell them at the market. We also take care of the pigs, sheep, bail hay, and keep the farm clean. If you work here, then you’ll have to get up at the crack of dawn," Apple Bloom explained.

“It doesn’t sound too hard. Most of my previous jobs had me work from early in the mornings to late at night. The amount of work and working times never concerned me." Tom replied.

Applejack smiled, "That's the spirit sugarcube!"

After a few seconds of walking, they soon came up to the house next to the red barn. On the house’s front porch was a old mare with green fur and a white, frizzing mane and tail. On her flank was an apple pie mark. She was sitting in a rocking chair, sleeping the day away.

“Is that your grandmother, Applejack?” Tom asked, pointing at the sleeping mare in the rocking chair.

“Yep. That’s Granny Smith.” Applejack said, walking up to the old mare, trying to wake her up by nudging her shoulder. “Up and at-am, Granny Smith. We have a guest."

"Huh..oh wa?" The old mare opened her eyes, which were an amber like color. She said, "Oh, hello Applejack. What’s that you said? She looked ahead and saw a pony standing next the Apple Bloom."And who might this young whippersnapper be?"

"Granny Smith, this is Tom. Tom, this is Granny Smith." Applejack said.

He nodded and walked up to the old mare. He stuck his hoof out and said, “It’s a pleasure to me you, Ms smith.”

"Mah, Mah, aren't you the gentlecolt. It's nice to meet you as well, Sonny. And call me Granny Smith." She said, bumping her hoof against his and shaking in the same motion as a handshake.

“Granny, he’s the one who saved me and Sweetie Bell from that manticore yesterday.” Apple Bloom said.

“Oh, really. Well, thank you for savin’ my granddaughter, Tom.” Granny Smith said, bowing her head to the young man.

“Oh, it was nothing. I was just lucky I made it in time.” Tom said, rubbing his head with one of his hooves.

"He’s just being modest, Granny. Tom was incredible.” Apple Bloom said.

“And he needs a job, and ah was thinking he could work her on the farm.” Applejack added.

“Well, he does seem fit enough for the job. And he did save Apple Bloom. Oh, why not? He has the job.” Granny Smith said, bring a smile to his face.

“Really?” Tom asked.

“Sure. Why don’t you start by first going gathering up some apples?” Granny Smith said, pointing towards some buckets and the apple trees.

“Okay. What do I have to do?” Tom asked.

“Take some of the buckets over there and place all of the apples from those tree into them. When yer done, bring the buckets and place it where others." Applejack explained, pointing to some trees.

Tom placed his bag on the ground, walked up to the buckets and picked them up with his mouth. Once he placed them around the trees, he stood in front of one of the trees and bucked his legs with a Double Kick. The double attack was enough to shake out all of the apples, plus a few Applins. He took out the Applins, so they don’t get mistaken as real apples and started working on the other apples.

“That stallion is quite something.” Granny Smith said, rocking back and forth in her chair.

“He sure is.” Applejack said with a certain look in her eyes. This didn’t go unnoticed by her grandmother.

He may even be the pony perfect for you.” Applejack said.

Applejack blushed and then said, "Granny!”

“Oh, that be amazing. If you two date, then I’d have a new older brother.” Apple Bloom said with a look of excitement in her eyes.

“Hold on, you two. Tom and I are just friends. And we only met just yesterday.” Applejack said.

“Oh, calm down, Applejack. We’re just teasing you. And if you two do end up together then that would be perfect.” Granny Smith said, increasing the size of the red on Applejack’s face.

Before this could get even more embarrassing, Tom returned with the last of the apples. When he dropped off the final bucket, he said, “I’m done.”

The three mares looked at the full buckets of apples with wide eyes. Applejack asked, “You’re done already?”

“Yep.” Tom said, nodding his head.

“How did you get done so fast?” Apple Bloom asked.

He shrugged his shoulder and said, “Guess I just have strong legs.”

“Well, if you could this work done in a few minutes, then we’ll definitely have you on the fair. Be back here tomorrow at the crack of dawn for your first day.” Granny Smith said.

“Thank you for the opportunity. I promise I won’t let you down.” Tom said, bowing his head to show his gratitude.

“I know you won’t.” Granny Smith said.

Tom grabbed his bag from the ground and searched for his electric friend. He found her still be chased by Winona. He said, “Pikachu! It’s time to go!”

Pikachu stopped running once she heard her friend say her name. She ran towards her friend, while Winona missed the mouse and ran into a tree. Once she was close enough, she hopped on her friends back and took a long rest. After that, Tom said his goodbyes and left the farm.

He was walking on the dirt path, walking in the opposite direction of the apple farm.

“What should we do for the rest of our day?” Tom asked the tired rodent riding on his back.

“I don’t know. All I want to do is rest.” Pikachu said while taking a few deep breaths.

“Okay. Maybe we can find to place to re-“ Tom said before stopping after a thought crossed his mind. This didn’t go unnoticed by his tired friend.

“Tom? What’s wrong?” Pikachu asked.

“I just remembered I was suppose to be training with Shinji yesterday before I met the girls.” Tom said, recalling the events of yesterday.

“Oh yeah. After everything that happened, I forgot about that. You think he’ll be mad?” Pikachu asked.

“Probably. Only one way to find out.” Tom said before a soft glow covered his body and he changed shape. Pikachu held onto his back while he transformed so she wouldn’t fall off.

Once his transformation was over, he took the form of an avian Pokémon with large wings, sharp talons, and a short, hooked beak. His glossy plumage was mostly brown with cream-colored underparts and flight feathers. His head had a decorated crest that was nearly as long as his body. The center feathers of his crest were yellow, while the outer feathers are red. The fan-like feathers of his tail were red or brown. His beak and legs were pink, and there were three forward-facing toes and one backward-facing toe on each foot. Behind each eye was an angular black marking.

“Hold on.” Tom said before taking flight. He soared through the sky with Pikachu holding on tight to his feathers. He flew towards the Everfree Forest, hoping his sensei wasn’t too mad with him.

After a few minutes of flying, Tom finally found the area where him and Shinji last trained. Once he landed, Pikachu fell off of his back while he transformed back into Keldeo.

“Where could he be?” Tom asked, searching the empty field for his fighting teaching.

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s searching the forest for us.” Pikachu said, standing up to help him search for Urshifu.

“Or maybe he standing right behind you.”

The two of them flinched after hearing a voice appear for right behind him. They visibly sweating as they turned around saw Shinji with angry look on his face. They could just see how angry he was with his flaring aura around his body.

“You know, you are the one who asked me to train you. So, the least you could do is show up on time when I expect you to.” Shinji said, clearly angry from his pupil’s absence.

“I know that I was supposed to come back after my break, but I have a really good reason for not showing up.” Tom explained.

“If your life was not in danger, then there should not be any reason why should have been late.” Shinji said, expecting a good reason for why the young shapeshifter missed his training.

“Well…”

And so Tom began teelling the story of yesterday’s events. He told him about the angry Simisear, meeting Fluttershy, seeing visions of the future, battling a manticore, saving two fillies and making new friends. All the while head talking, Shinji did not say a word and listened to the entirety of his pupil’s story. Once he was done, he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“While I’m glad you‘re alright, I still don’t appreciate you not letting me know what happened.” Shinji said.

“I know and I’m sorry. I’d understand if you wouldn’t wanted to train me again.” Tom said, shocking Pikachu with what he said. Before she said anything, Shinji spoke.

“You’re not getting off that easy. If you think my training was tough before, you haven seem anything yet.” Shinji said, surprising his pupil.

“Really? You’ll still train me?” Tom asked.

“Of course I will. I agreed to training you and I do not go back on my word. Now, are you prepared for today’s training.” Shinji asked.

Tom smiled at his mentor before steeling his face. He said, “Yes, Sensei.”

Shinji was not lying when he said that their training was going to be tougher. Tom spent the day running around with boulders on his back while dodging attacks from Shinji. After that he to do - bunch of reps with a sleeping Munchlax. Then he spent a few hours doing leg pull ups, push-ups with Pikachu on his back and a lot of hand stands.

After a whole day of training, their training session came to an end. Once he was told he was done, Tom fell on the ground, completely exhausted from today’s training.

“That should be all today. Head back to the village before you friends get worried.” Shinji said to his downed student.

“Okay.” Tom said, rising up from the ground and took a few deep breaths before transforming back into Pidgeot. Pikachu climbed back onto his back before he flew into the direction of Ponyville. Shinji watched as the two were flying before they were out of sight.

He sighed and said, “So he has the Aura Vision. Arceus, what are you up to?”

Their flight back to the village was relaxing, and very calm. The wind was in their fur and feathers as he the just enjoyed the sight of the setting sun. While flying, they saw met a few flying Pokémon while flying over the village.

Once they made it back to the library, Tom transformed back into Keldeo and entered his home. It came to a surprise that both library’s lights were off, revealing that Twilight and Spike must be asleep.

Tom walked along the first, trying to avoid making any noise. When he finally made it up the stairs, he walked down the hall and into his and Pikachu’s bedroom. After the two of them entered the room, they quickly made it towards their bed.

After a long day, they just decided to close their eyes and go to sleep. This was the beginning of his new life in Equestria.

A Wooloo Stampede

Another beautiful day rose over in the town of Ponyville and began with the rising. In the Golden Oaks Library, the sun’s rays shined through the window and hit the faces of Tom and Pikachu. Neither of them wanted to get up from their shared but he had to fight the urge when Tom remembered today was the first day of his new job. He fought against his urge to go back to sleep and rose from up from the bed. He stretched his limbs and took a deep yawn, as his body was beginning to wake up. While he may want to go back to sleep, he made a commitment to the Apple family to do this job and he wasn’t gonna fail them.

“Time to get up, Pikachu,” Tom said, just as he hopped off the bed.

“No. 10 more minutes,” Pikachu said, rolling her face onto the pillow, trying to avoid the sun.

“You can sleep when we get to the farm,” Tom said, finishing his stretching before looking at the sleeping mouse.

Pikachu turned her head towards him with a look of annoyance. She said, “And let Winona chase me around again? Not happening.” When she was done talking, she turned her head back to the pillow.

Tom sighed and said, “She was just trying to be friendly. All dogs do that when they meet someone new. You didn’t mind it when Rocky was rubbing her rock next to you.”

“Well, Rocky wasn’t licking my face so much that my fur smelled like dog food,” Pikachu said with a slight hint of disdain in her voice.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Winona won’t bother you as much as she did yesterday. She’ll probably just be running around the farm, doing what all dogs do. And if you’re still bothered by her, I can ask Applejack if you can stay inside while I work.” Tom explained, hoping Pikachu would finally agree to come with him.

Pikachu let out a long sigh before saying, “Fine. But, if I get covered in dog slobber again, you’re washing it out.”

“Alright,” Tom said, picking up his treasure bag just as Pikachu finally got up from the bed and onto the floor.

Keldeo left his room with Pikachu following right behind him, before he began his trek down the stairs. He grabbed his Arceus phone to see what time it was and saw he still had enough time before he was late. When he made it down the stairs, he made it towards the kitchen and fixed himself and Pikachu some breakfast.

When he entered the room, he could see Twilight reading a book and Spike making breakfast as usual. Twilight looked up and saw him, and flashed me a smile.

“Good morning Daniel." Twilight greeted.

Tom smiled back and said, "Morning, Twilight. Sleep well?"

Twilight said, “Very well, thank you."

He gave her a nice smile before continuing to fix plates for him and his electric friend. Once he was done, he grabbed his plate of food, while Pikachu grabbed her bowl and sat down at the table. Spike brought fresh slices of french toast to the table before he sat down and enjoyed his gemstones. Tom was eating his breakfast slightly quicker than he did yesterday, which Twilight and Spike took notice of.

"You seem to be in a hurry," Spike said.

Tom swallowed his food and said, "Yeah. I got a job at the farm and I don't want to be late."

"You don't have to rush. I'm sure Applejack will understand." Spike said.

“I know, but I want to make a good impression on my first day,” Tom said.

“I’m sure she won’t hold it against you if you’re a few minutes late on your first day,” Twilight said, trying to reassure her friend to not rush his eating.

Tom thought about it and shrugged. He said, “Okay, I'll take it slow, but I still don't want her to wait for me for a long time."

After around 4 minutes or so, he finally finished breakfast and we were ready for his first day of work. He cleaned his and Pikachu’s plates, then headed for the door.

When he and Pikachu walked towards the door, he noticed Twilight and Spike following right behind him. He asked, “Are you two going somewhere?”

"We need to go to the supply shop to get more quills and scrolls," Twilight answered. He understood, realizing that she must go through a lot of scrolls, being such a scholarly mare.

Before he could open the door, there was a knock on the door. This took him by surprise and he opened the door to see who was behind. Once it was fully open, he saw the knocker was a Pegasus mare with a grey fur coat. She had an unkempt, blond mane and tail and a mark that looked like three bubbles. The most noticeable about her was her yellow cross-eyes. She was also wearing a mailman outfit, meaning she was a delivery mare.

“Good morning. I have had mail for Twilight Sparkle.” The mail pony said, taking out envelopes from her bag.

“Oh, thanks, Derpy,” Twilight said, accepting the letters with her magic.

The mare, now known as Derpy, notices Tom standing next to a violet unicorn with her cross-eyes. She said, “Hey, I’ve seen you around Ponyville. You’re the new stallion in town, right?”

“Yes. My name is Tom, and this is Pikachu.” Tom said, introducing himself and his Pokémon friend.

“Pika,” Pikachu responded, waving her paw at the new mare.

“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Ditzy Doo.” The mare said.

Tom raised a brow and said, “But, Twilight just called you Derpy.”

A sad look was brought to the mail mare’s face. She said, “Yeah, that’s a nickname from when I was a filly. Ponies called me that because of my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Der- I mean Ditzy. I didn’t know.” Twilight apologized after learning of the mare’s childhood.

“You don’t have to apologize, Twilight. Every pony got used to it after a while and I just couldn’t correct them. And it’s all because of my stupid eyes.” Derpy said, lowering her head, feeling depressed about her birth defect. Tom saw her dad look and just knew he had to lift up her spirits.

“Well, I think your eyes are really cute,” Tom said, gaining the attention of both mares and earning a blush on the mare’s face.

“Really?” Ditzy asked, hoping he wasn’t joking at her expense.

“Sure. I’ve never met someone with those kinds of eyes before. They’re really nice. You shouldn’t say bad things about your eyes. Those eyes are what makes you so unique.” Tom said, finishing with a smile.

Never, in all of Equestria, has Ditzy heard such a nice word before in her entire life. For years, every pony has made fun of her wall eyes and called her Derpy.
Whenever she messed up and made a mistake, she would be reminded by her old bullies that she was a klutz. She did have some friends who knew her real name and did not blame her when something bad happened. But, no one has ever said such nice things to her because of her clumsiness and her eyes, but he didn't care about it.

Ditzy dropped the mailbag and hugged Tom. she said, “Thank you, for saying those things. No pony has ever been so nice to me.”

Tom smiled and hugged the mare back. He said, “No problem. Just telling the truth.”

The hug lasted for a few minutes before Ditzy left to deliver more mail. Once she was out of sight, Tom decided it was time to leave for the farm. He and Pikachu left in one direction while Twilight and Spike went in the other.

While walking towards the Apple farm, Tom got to take in the sites of all the ponies just waking up for the new morning. Some of them were opening up the stores while others were setting up their stands. Since he didn’t seem like he was going anywhere, Tom changed to another form that would offer some more speed.

A familiar glow appeared on his body as his body shifted shapes. Once the glow disappeared, he morphed into an equine Pokémon with cream-colored fur. He had brown eyes and triangular ears with reddish interiors. Yellow and reddish-orange flames made up his mane and tail. The mane formed a short crest on top of his head and a short strip down his back to his tail. Additional flames are present behind his elbows and knees. He had four long legs, each ending in a single, gray hoof.

Bending down, Tom grabs Pikachu with his mouth and places her in his flaming back, avoiding burning her with his flames. ”Hang on.”

Tom ran down the dirt road, avoiding collisions with various ponies while not slowing down in the slightest. The leg strength of the fire horse Pokémon really helped him make up for any lost time. A fee minimized later, they came along the dirt road on the far side of Ponyville.

“Still hanging in there, Pikachu?” Tom looked at the Pokemon clutching his back.

“Just fine. Can’t wait to get some more sleep when we get there.” Pikachu’s head was face down in Tom’s fur, waiting till they reach their destination. Her ears suddenly rose from her beard before she raised her head. “Do you hear something?”

His ears perked up from hearing someone shouting in distress. As it got closer, he could tell whoever was screaming was in some kind of distress. He looked ahead of himself and caught sight of a rolling ball of fluff. A closer inspection told him the rolling ball had a face, and it was screaming.

As confused as he was right now, he focused on the immediate problem in front of him. Once he grabbed Pikachu and placed her on the ground, he changed into another fire type that would useful for stopping this tumbling creature. He turned into a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with a primarily orange body and blue eyes. His underside from the chest down and the soles of his feet were cream-colored. He had two small fangs visible in his upper jaw and two smaller fangs in his lower jaw. A fire burned at the tip of this Pokémon's slender tail.

Just as it was closing in on him, a white aura surrounded his body as his strength increased. Acting completely on instincts, he raised his paw at the being, feeling its fluffy wooly once his paw made contact with it. With incredible strength, he was slightly pushed back, barely kicking up any dust clouds under his feet.

Tom dismissed his aura as he relaxed, walking around to take a look at what he stopped. Once he came up to the trembling creature’s face, he saw it was a weeping Wooloo. He bent down on his knees and said, “Hey. What’s wrong?” He scratched the sheep’s head to find out why it was crying.

“We got scared…” The sheep said with a tremble in her voice.

“We?” Pikachu asked.

Before they knew it, the ground beneath the three Pokémon began to shake. Everything around them from trembling from the sudden tremor. It didn’t seem like a real earthquake, so they searched for what was causing this sudden shaking. The sound was coming from the same direction where the whining Wooloo came from. Up ahead of them was an entire flock of Wooloo rolling towards them.

Acting on instinct, Tom stepped forward, taking a deep breath before preparing for his next move. Just when a soft flame entered his mouth, he was suddenly knocked down by a large object. He wanted to get up but it was holding him down. His eyes looked up to get a better look at who or what has him pinned to the ground.

It was a quadrupedal canine Pokémon. It had orange fur with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle, chest, belly, and tail is beige, as is an additional tuft of fur on top of its head. Its coat was noticeably longer on its chest and tail. It had gray eyes, a black nose, and large, round and triangular ears with beige interiors. Its forepaws have two visible claws, while its hind paws have three toes each. Each paw had a brown pad.

“Stand down, lizard. Let a pro handle this flock.” The Growlithe said, stepping off of Tom and in front of the rolling sheep.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Tom asked, standing up from the ground.

“I’m the one saving your flaming butt.” The Growlithe said. Tom didn’t know where this puppy came from but he did not like him.

When the Wooloo was getting closer, he touch a breath before releasing powerful transparent sound waves from his mouth. Some of the Wooloo got scared and stopped rolling, while others continued to roll down the path. Seeing his howl was not completely working on the Sheep Pokémon, Tom knew it was his time to jump. Acting on his instincts, he ran past the Growlithe and stood in front of the rolling fluff balls.

An orange aura surrounded his body and slammed his claws onto the ground. What quickly followed was multiple light blue stones coming out of the ground. Those stones were moving toward the approaching Pokémon, hitting a few backs.

The multiple Wooloo were slowed down by each of the blue stones while being encircled by each rock that was created. One by one, every one of them was trapped by all of the stones before there was nowhere to go. While it looked like it was over, it really wasn’t when some of the Wooloo were seen still moving around in their trap. Tom needed to think of a way to calm them down and came up with an idea. He jumped in the air and surrounded himself with a prismatic aura. His body began changing into something skinnier than his previous form.

When the aura was gone, he appeared with a body shaped like a fūrin wind chime. He had beady, yellow eyes and three stubby limbs. His body had a horizontal amaranth-colored pattern. Underneath his body extended a long, tag-like tail that had amaranth patterning at the bottom. A yellow, globular growth was connected to the top of his body.

With his new body, Tom floated above the rolling flock of Wooloo and released blue-green energy from his body. A bell-like sound could be heard from within that energy. Each of the stampeding Pokémon was slowly starting to slow down and listen to the healing song. As sounds continued to ring through the air, the Pokémon finally calmed down and closed their eyes. When all of them finally stopped rolling, the blue stones disappeared and Tom stopped using his sound attack.

He floated down to the Growlithe with a goofy grin on his face. “And that’s how you do it.” The Growlithe regained his original face and looked towards the calm flock.

“You just got lucky. Any Pokémon could’ve done what did?” Growlithe said, turning his face away from the shapeshifter.

“If any Pokémon could’ve done it, then why didn’t you do it?” Tom asked with a smug look on his face.

Growlithe finally had enough of him and decided it was time to make a stand. He turned towards Tom and looked him in his yellow eyes. He said, “You’re really starting to test me, buddy."

"I'm just saying you were having trouble catching all of them and I did it with one shot. Maybe you need to find yourself a new career." Tom said.

"How about me cleaning the path with your face?" Growlithe said, baring his fangs at the floating pokemon.

"I have nothing to prove to you," Tom said while turning his head away from the puppy. He, then quickly turned around and got in the dog's face. "But I could take you down with one hand tied behind my back."

"You wanna go right now?" Growlithe asked.

"Anytime, punk," Tom said, getting in his face, ready for the fast-approaching battle.

Pikachu was watching the two argue the whole time while comforting the weeping Wooloo. She just rolled her eyes at this display of two pokemon going at each other as if they just hatched from their eggs. Instead, she continued to rub the crying Pokemon ahead as she tried to get some answers. "Don't worry. Everything's all right now. All of your friends stopped and have stopped rolling."

The crying sheep stopped the tears from her eyes and looked towards the relaxed faces of all her fellow sheep Pokemon. This brought a smile to her face as she said, "Thank you for stopping my flock before they got themselves hurt." She rubbed her head against the electric mouse's stomach to show her gratitude, which she graceful accepted.

"Oh, it was nothing. Actually, I didn't really do anything. It was all thanks to my idiot friend over there." Pikachu said as she pointed to her friend who was still in an argument with the fire dog.

"Oh, really?" The Wooloo asked.

"Yeah. He may be a little dense sometimes, but he's the bravest person I've ever known," Pikachu explained about what she admired most about her friend while gaining a small blush on her face. She shook that away and focused on the Wooloo next to her. "By the way..." She trailed off, hoping the sheep had a nickname she could call her.

"Willow." The Sheep Pokemon responded.

"Willow. I was wondering why all of you Wooloo were rolling down this path in the first place." Pikachu asked, wondering where the entire flock came from.

"Oh, well, what happened was-"

"Tom!"

All four of the pokemon stopped in their tracks once they heard a loud voice ring in the air down the same path the flock of Wooloo came from. They looked ahead and saw Applejack racing down the path, clearly exhausted from the sweat running down her face. When she made it to them, she took a few deep breaths and saw all of the Wooloo with relaxed expressions on their faces.

"What in tarnation?" Applejack wondered, looking towards the floating Pokemon. "Tom, is that you?"

"Yep. It's me. Are these Wooloo yours?" Tom asked.

"Yeah. They're a part of the flocking my family and I are raising on our farm. Would you mind helping me take them back before they start rollin' again?" Applejack asked before getting behind one of the Wooloo and began herding it in the direction of her farm.

Tom joined in this endeavor by waking up the Wooloo and guiding them, right behind the orange mare. Growlithe did not want to be outdone by the shapeshifter and woke up the calm pokemon with a bark. He pushed them along the path, trying the get more Wooloo back to the farm than Tom did. He saw this and began collecting more Wooloo to outperform the fire hound. Pikachu just sighed at these two competing with each other and just walked beside Willow so she will have someone to talk to while beginning their trek to the apple farm.

Nearly a half hour of herding the wool creatures later, they finally reached the Apple family farm. Tom wasn't sure where to take all of these Wooloo and decided to just follow Applejack. She led him to the outskirts of the farm where there were little to no apple trees. Out of the entire apple farm, this was the one place that had the least amount of apple trees. Once they made it to a clear field, they came across a big stallion that Tom assumed was Applejack's brother. He saw him tending to a large amount of Pokemon that he assumed were the rest of the flock.

The first flock was made up of ovine Pokémon with a thick coat of white wool that made it look spherical. Their small, black head pokes out of the front of the wool, along with two short horns. Their eyes had yellow sclerae, black irises, and white, horizontal pupils. Two large ears were visible behind gray strings of wool that resembled braided pigtails. Their hooves were short and mostly hidden by the wool, along with a tail that was barely visible on their rear ends.

The other flock consisted of ovine Pokémon with fluffy cream-colored wool covering its entire body, as well as a curly tuft of wool in the middle of its head. Its head is blue, and it has black eyes. Its four feet are blue and have two digits on each foot, and it appears to be on tiptoe at all times. Its conical ears and tail have a yellow-and-black striped pattern. Mareep has an orange sphere at the end of its tail, which acts like a small light bulb.

When they finally made it to the field, they allowed all of the Wooloo to return to the rest of their flock. They all ran towards separate areas of the field and either ate grass because they were starving or conversed with their fellow Wooloo or the other Mareep.

“So, how did all of these Wooloo end up rolling away from your farm in the first place?” Tom asked, helping the last Wooloo into the field.

“Well, one of those electric sheep their wool against the Wooloo and that made sparks fly. That scared some of the flock and sent them rolling out of the farm.” Applejack said.

“That makes sense. Mareep like to rub their wool against one another to build up electricity. Doing it with other Pokémon would not end well.” Tom said, catching site of a few of the Wool Pokémon rubbing together and building static charges. “Why didn’t you tell me that they were here?”

“Because they weren’t cause much of a problem here. All they eat are grass and don’t cause too much problems her.” Applejack said, reassuring him the Apple family had everything under control. “Besides, we have Scruffy and Chomper here to keep an eye on them.”

“Yeah. And we’ve seen how helpful he’s been.” Tom commented which caused the puppy Pokemon to look in his direction with a scowl.

“Hey! I’ve been taking care of these flocks before you even got here. So, don’t go talking like it’s easy!” Chomper said, snarling at him.

“I’m not saying it’s hard. All I’m saying is that you probably could’ve done a better job watching those sheep so they never would’ve done run off.” Tom said, floating down towards the hounds growling face.

“You think you could do better?” Chomper asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m sure I could do a better job than you.” Tom said, with a smug grin his face.

“Creep.” Chomper said.

“Loser.” Tom said back.

“Freak.”

“Flea bag.”

“Weirdo!”

“Mutt!”

This exchange of insults were just continued on before they were launching lame insults at one another. The others were off to the side, watching the two Pokémon try to insult each other. Of course, the two ponies could not understand Chomper so they had to guess what he was saying was bad. Even from they were standing, they could see the hate in their eyes.

“Boys.” Pikachu said with her paws on her hips and shaking her head at the two.

“I hear yah.” Applejack commented. She may not be able to understand Pokémon like Tom or Fluttershy but she could understand when two boys were acting stupid.

Before another insult could be said, a furry object appeared between the two. It was a light brown, canine Pokémon with a short snout. Its face has long, cream fur, which forms a mustache and a three-pointed crest. Its ears were large and perked, and it had a black nose. It had shaggy dark blue fur covering its body and a short tail. It had four short legs, with three-toed paws. Each paw had a dark blue paw pad.

“Scruffy?” Growlithe surprised to see the other canine Pokémon’s responsible for protecting the Apple farm’s herd.

“That’s enough, you two. We’ve had enough problems today without you the both your arguing.” Scruffy said, pushing the two fighting Pokémon away from one another. “Chomper, go over there and watch some of the Mareep.”

“But he-“

“Go!”

Chomper did not want to argue with him after seeing that look in his eyes. He walked towards another part of the grassland while silently grumbling. Tom was smiling while waving his scarf like body to the leaving Growlithe. He stopped waving once the angry Herdier looked him with the expression he had for Chomper.

“And you. I have enough to deal with without you aggravating my friend. Don’t let me catch you two arguing on the job again. Understand?” Scruffy asked.

“Yes, sir.” Tom said, nodding his head. With that, he turned around and resumed his post around the flock.

Pikachu was laughing at her friend being intimidated by the loyal dog Pokémon. She said, “You got told.”

“Quiet it.” Tom said before taking a sigh and moving his eyes to see the new pony.

He was a red Earth Pony with an orange mane and tail, with yellowish hooves and green eyes. His eyes looked like they were almost always half closed and he looked slightly bored. He also has a girdle around his neck area. On his flank was a half green apple with a few sparkles around it.

The two of their eyes met and all was quiet. None of them spoke and it was beginning to get uncomfortable, for Tom more than the stallion. Even though he’s seen a lot of large Pokémon, this stallion was the largest he’s ever met in his life. An entire minute passed without anyone speaking so he decided to break the ice.

“So, you’re Big McIntosh?” Tom asked.

“Eeyup.” The stallion dryly said.

“And you’re Applejack’s big brother?” Tom asked, trying to get more than one word out of him.

“Eeyup.” He said again, not the changing in his voice or the look on his face. Tom wasn’t getting anywhere with him.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” Tom asked, hopefully expecting another word from the stallion’s mouth.

“Nope.” Big Mac said. Well, he got another word out of him.

“Yeah. I sorta figured. So, why weren’t you at the farm yesterday?” Tom asked.

“Big Mac was busy making delivering across Ponyville.” Applejack chimed in.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Tom said, changing into Keldeo and began walking back to the farm with the apple siblings and Pikachu.

“With that said, it’s time to start working, Tom. Your first job will be delivering apples with me and Big McIntosh.” Applejack said, explaining the first days assignment.

“Cool. Lead the way.” Tom said, following close behind the two, kind of excited to get his first day of work started.

After walking back from the grass field, they gathered up a lot of buckets of apples and began making deliveries. Pikachu stayed at the farm house so she could finish go back to sleep, like Tom promised. They stopped by a bunch of homes and dropped of their orders of apples. This gave Tom the chance to meet other residents of the pony village he hadn’t met before. He came across a few hungry Pokémon on the street and gave them a few apples he kept in his bag.

After about two hours of walking around town, they were close to finishing with their deliveries. Only one more name was on their list of buyers.

“Looks like we’re almost done. Just this last name on the list, then we can go back to the farm.” Applejack said, looking at the list in her hoof.

“Finally. I thought we’d never get done. Who is our last stop anyway?” Tom asked.

“It’s a new stallion in town. Says here his name is Harvest Moon.” Applejack said.

“This pony just moved here?” Tom asked.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said while still pulling the cart.

“He moved to town just two weeks ago. I heard he’s some kind of business pony looking to make some deals while in town.” Applejack said.

“What kind of deals?” Tom asked, confused why a top business would move to a quiet town like Ponyville.

“No pony knows. He’s barely been seen out of his house and hasn’t talked any pony in town. Pinkie hasn’t even thrown him a welcome to Ponyville party because he said he was busy.” Applejack explain, confusing Tom more and more with every word uttered from her mouth. Who was this pony and why was he here? More questions flooded his mind, but he pushed them aside for now.

The three of them walked along the path before they finally came upon their designated location. Their eyes look ahead of them and they could not believe what they were looking at. In front of them was a large mansion with a dark theme to the exterior. It looked like it was designed with a gothic motif into the structure. Everything about it screamed, “Haunted House”.

Tom could not believe any one would live out in the outskirts of the village with a house like that. With a house like that, it made sense why a pony this Harvest Moon wanted to keep to himself. A part of him did not want to go up to the door and the apple siblings would agree with him, but a job is a job.

They gathered their courage and walked up to the front door to the creepy manor. When they finally made it to the door, Applejack was the first to knock. They waited for what felt like forever before hearing a lock come from the door. A few more locks unlocking could be hear from behind the door until the door slowly opened. They expected a young stallion, but saw an old unicorn stallion with a suit on answering the door.

“Can I help you?” The old stallion asked.

“We’re from Sweet Apple Acres; We’re here to make drop off a delivery for Harvest Moon.” Applejack said to the old stallion.

“Ah, yes, of course. The master is busy at the moment. Just place them in the foyer.” The stallion stepped aside to allow the ponies in the mansion.

They walked and saw the inside matched the outside with furnitures with dark brown and black colors, stairs with red carpenting, old suits of armors against the walls and a black chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was more creepy inside than it was outside, so they focused on their job. They grabbed all the buckets of apples and placed them on the floor. Once they were done, the stallion paid them and saw them out. When all three of them were outside, the door was closed behind them in a loud slam.

“Well, that was pleasant.” Tom said sarcastically.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said, agreeing with him before tying the cart to his back.

“Wonder why Harvest Moon couldn’t answer himself?” Applejack wondered.

“He was probably busy, so that’s why he had his butler answer the door for him.” Tom said, feeling a sense something sinister from this mansion.

“Well, whatever the reason, we’re finished our deliveries. Let’s get back to the farm.” They all began their walk back to the farm so they could continue with the rest of the day.

Inside the mansion, the butler was trotting through the hallway, barely making a sound while carrying a plate of tea with his magic. He came up a door and turned the knob with his grey magical aura. When the door opened, he stallion sitting on a chair in the Lounge. The room wasn’t bright enough to see his features but his brown hoof was visible as it was rubbing the head of a purple feline.

“Tea, sir?” The old stallion asked.

“That would be nice, Dusk.” The unknown stallion said, gesturing his hoof forward.

Dusk walked up to a table where the stallion was sitting and poured a cup of tea. “The apples you ordered were just delivered.”

“Perfect. Bring them downstairs.” The stallion said.

“Right away, sir.” Dusk said before setting the teapot on the table and leaving the room to complete his next duty.

The stallion grabbed the teacup with his hoof and took a sip. He let out a sigh, enjoying the taste of the freshly brewed tea. “So, where did we leave off?”

In the corner of the Lounge where was looking, nothing could be seen in the darkness. There was nothing until yellow eyes appeared within the room.

A Perfect Day for Flying

The sun was rising in the sky, reaching its peak for its high noon position, while the rest of the towns ponies were enjoying the great day. Up above the town, sitting on one of the clouds was a bored Rainbow Dash, watching all of the ponies go about their lives. She and the rest of the weather team were done maintaining the weather for the day and now she had nothing else to do. Most of her friends were either unavailable at this time to hang out or were somewhere Rainbow Dash couldn't find them. Her mind was running through all kinds of things she could do today, but without another pony to do them with her, she could only lie down on cloud and stare into the sky.

The mare sighed heavily while massaging the headache from her skull. "There's nothing to do. No pony has any time to hang out. Maybe Rarity would be up for something fun." Rainbow considered going over to her friend's home, only to stop herself after giving it some thought. "On second thought, maybe not. She'd probably having me in try on her outfits." She shuddered at the thought of wearing a frilly dress. With that option out of her mind, she was back to wallowing on her cloud.

As she pouted, her ears perked up to a familiar sound right under her. The first sound she heard was Applejack's voice, and figured she would be too busy with her chores. When she her another voice, she looked down and saw Tom walking alongside Applejack and her brother, Big McIntosh. Seeing him face brought a smile to her face as an idea sprang to mind, a really funny idea. The Pegasus mare quietly followed below her, keeping out of sight while preparing for her prank.

“Alright, Tom, it’s to get down to some real work.,” Applejack said. “It may be your first day, but you’re gonna wish you slept in.”

"I had a little trouble sleeping anyway, so it’s not much of a problem. No matter what task you need me to do, I’ll do my absolute best to complete it." Tom was feeling a bit tired after waking up early in the morning, but he didn’t wanna let that hinder his work. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t believe Applejack saw through his efforts to dissuade her. "So, what’s my first assignment? Give me something before I lose consciousness."

“Well, Ya’ll should start out buckin’ a few of them apple trees over there. It’s a lot of work, so if ya get exhausted, just ask and we can take it from there.” Tom nodded his head, the mare already knew what he was capable of.

He followed right behind the siblings and in the acres upon acres of apple trees. The siblings and him went into the barn and grabbed several wooden buckets and walked towards the trees with them on their backs. They placed them around a couple of trees under their branches, where some of the apples were most ripe.

Big Mac was the first to begin apple bucking, stepping up to a nearby tree, rearing back his hind legs and giving the tree are hard kick. The tree began to shake as several of the apples from the beaches fell down into the buckets. With one kick, the entire tree was free of all of its apples.

Tom was impressed by this show of strength in the stallion farmer. He said, “Not bat, Big Mac. That was really good.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said, finally changing his emotionless expression into a soft grin.

“Remember, Tom, ya have to put the right amount of strength in the right spot so all the apples will fall.” Applejack said, bucking her hind legs into the trunk of her second tree.

"Don’t worry. It’s not too hard. I did harder work back home," Tom said, walking up to one of the trees nearest to him, and bucked an apple tree.

This kick sent l all the apples on its branches down in the buckets in one go. The shapeshifter grinned at a job well done while Big Mac looked surprised that a skinny stallion like him could knock down a whole tree of apples in one go.

"That was kinda fun." Tom said before running up to a bunch more apple trees and kicking them against their trunks. He gathered up all the apples one after another and moved on to the next tree. Applejack looked at her brother’s face and saw how dumbfounded he looked after seeing Tom buck trees. She giggled at this and continued to watch Tom finish a couple hours of work in a few minutes.

After another 5 minutes of work, Tom finally finished bucking his last tree and grabbed his last basket. He walks up to the Apple siblings and drops the back right at their hooves. He said, “That’s all of them. What do I do now?”

”Take them to the barn and for storage while keep them preserved. They’ll be moved into the cart when we sell that at the stand in town.” Applejack said as Tom nodded his head and began picking up all of the apples from the ground and headed towards the barn.

Tom knew that these were a lot of buckets, even for him, so he transformed into Elekid and used Psychic to carry all of the buckets in one go. The Apple siblings‘ faces turned to shocked expressions after seeing this human/Pokémon lift up all of those apple buckets with a light blue aura as if it were magic. After dropping the empty buckets, he stored all of the apples and returned seeing the ponies faces with shock. This drew a laugh out of him before he snapped his fingers in their faces.

“What’s my next job?” Tom questioned, turning back into his Keldeo form, waiting for his next assignment from the pair.

Nearly an hour later, Tom resumed gathering apples from the apple trees. Eh bucked multiple trees in the orchard and finished in the southern area of the farm. Once he got into the rhythm of placing down buckets, bucking the trees, and gathering the apples, he finished all of his apple gathering and the Apple siblings’. The siblings had to tell him to stop after bringing back so many apples before he harvests the entire orchard. After he was finished, they put him to work on some other chores.

His next task was to water the trees with the buckets of water given to him. He had his own way of doing this. Tom used water type moves like Rain Dance and Hydro Pump to water all of the trees in the orchard. What would take hours to complete, he finished in a half hour. The Apple family were impressed that he was able to get done so quickly. Once he was finished with this chore, he moved on this his next one.

The third task of the day was tilling the fields with the rusted plow he was given. It was slow going in the beginning with less enthusiasm than earlier since he did no have a move that would me this easy. He pulled the rusted plow over the soil for what he guessed was apple seeds for the future or other plants like corn, carrots, or lettuce.

After finishing the last line of fields, Tom unbuckled himself from the plow and decided to take a break. Being a Pokémon hasn’t removed the limitations from his body. He sat down on some grass and wiped the sweat of his brow.

“What I wouldn’t do for a drink of water.” Tom said, wishing for some rain to poor down on him. Heh could just use Rain Dance but was too tired to summon a cloud.

Before he knew, large volumes of water were raining down on him. He looked up and could make out a large rain cloud floating above his head. The rain just kept pouring and pouring while he just sat there. He should have been careful for what he wished for.

After a few minutes went by, the rain finally stopped and Tom was left there soaked. He spat out a few spurts of water out of his mouth and looked up at the only rain cloud in the sky. Why was this the only rain cloud while the rest of the sky was clear. His question was answered when he heard a laugh coming from atop the cloud and caught sight of a familiar rainbow tail.

“Rainbow Dash.” Tom said with a firm tone to the laughing equine.

Rainbow Dash appeared from her spot on top of the cloud, still laughing at her drenched friend. “Sorry, Tom. You did say you were thirsty.” Rainbow flew down from her cloud perch and landed in front of him.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t that thirsty.” Tom said, shaking his body like a dog to dry himself off, while also drenching Rainbow Dash in the process.

“Hey!” Rainbow exclaimed, raising her wing to shield from the water.

“You started it. This just makes us even.” Tom said, finally dry with a few areas of his body a little wet. “Why are you here any way? Don’t you have work today?”

“No. My team and I finished clearing the skies early and I have nothing to do. Prancing you just something I could do with my day.” Rainbow said, shaking some water out of her mane.

Tom was intrigued by how the Pegasi in this world could manipulate the weather the same way most Pokémon could. Everything he learned about this world just made him become more in love with it. When he continued to watch his cyan friend dry herself off, he caught sight of her wings fluttering in the breeze. Suddenly, he came up with an idea.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash?” Tom said, getting the mare’s attention.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“You told me you were the fastest flyer in Equestria, right?” Tom asked.

“You know it. I can put fly any Pegasus.” Rainbow said, flying up into the sky, boasting about her flying capabilities.

“What about me?” Tom surprising the mare with his request.

“Huh?” Rainbow was confused.

“You and me, head to head in a race to see who’s faster: Pegasus or Pokémon. What do you say?” Tom asked with a determined look on his face.

Rainbow Dash was Ms surprised that she was actually being challenged by him. No pony had ever chosen to race her since she was a filly. And now this pony has decided to race without a hint of of backing. This brought a smile to her face as she was feeling something inside her that she has never felt before.

“You’re so on. Finally, a pony around here that has some guts.” Rainbow Dash said while cheering that she finally found something to do.

Tom smiled that the mare was happy at him challenging her. He saw that the mare was feeling a little down so he thought of something to cheer that would cheer her up. The two left the plowed field and began to discuss about the upcoming race.

When the two of them made it to the Apple home, Tom asked if it was okay for him to take off for the rest of the day. The family was more than happy to let off work today after finishing weeks amount of work. Pikachu left the Apple house after being awoken by Winona and decided to rest at Fluttershy’s. When they left the farm, the two walked into town and made it to the town square. Rainbow Dash was doing push ups with her wings while Tom was stretching in his new form.

He was an avian Pokémon that closely resembles a falcon. Red-orange plumage covers his head, wings, and most of his chest and back before tapering off into a flame pattern. His underside and hindquarters are gray and the tips of his long, pointed wings are black. Orange spots speckle his underside. Large yellow talons extend from the shaggy feathers on his legs. He had a pointed crest atop his head and black-and-yellow mask-like markings around its eyes. His black beak is hooked with a yellow cere. He also had long black tailfeathers marked with three yellow V-shapes. The tail ends in two points and has another feather sticking out of the base on each side.

“So, how far are we flying?” Tom asked still stretching her wings.

“We’ll by flying across Ponyville, all the way to Canterlot mountain.” She points her hoof towards the mountain with the large structure clinging to it. “After one loop around the mountain, we fly back to town and the first one to the fountain is the winner.”

“Which will be me.” Tom said with a grin on his beak.

“No way. It’s gonna be me.” Rainbow stated.

“We’ll see.” Tom said.

Both fliers were at the ready. Their wings were flared in the sky, preparing to take off.

“Ready.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Set.” Tom said, gripping the ground.

“Go!”

With a final word, the two lifted off the ground, kicking up a lot of dust. Once in the sky, the two fliers soared through the town, earning glances from a few of the towns ponies. The one ahead was Rainbow Dash with Tom following close behind. Her thinner body and smaller wingspan gave her the edge in speed while his larger wings gave him extra power. He was using the strength of his wings to gain more speed and slowly catching up to the Pegasus. The two flying around various houses while never decreasing in speed.

They finally made it out of the village and flew in the direction of the increasing mountain. Rainbow Dash looked back and saw Tom slowly catch up with her. She couldn’t have this, so she flapped her wings to increase her speed. As fast as Tom was going, he knew he was having trouble in this race. To fix that, he enveloped himself in flames and increased his speed. This increase in speed was all that he needed to close the gap. The two were neck and neck, neither one giving the other an inch.

Two minutes of flying later, and they finally made it to the mountain. Neither of the two were ahead of the other as they continued to try faster than the other. They encircled the mountain and flew around it, never slowing down. After they flew around the entire mountain, they began flying back towards the goal.

While flying, Tom caught sight of something across from them. He said, “Rainbow…”

“No way you’re distracting me. I’m winning this thing.” Rainbow Dash said, focused on finishing first.

“No, really, Rainbow. Something’s happening over there. Look!” Tom said, pointing his wing to the left of them. Rainbow Sash sighed and took her eyes off of the race to look at whatever he’s talking about. Her eyes widened after finally seeing what Tom was seeing. It was a large creature chasing two smaller creatures.

The large creature was a silver-gray, avian Pokémon with a long, metallic blue neck, legs, and tail. It has yellow eyes, a pointed beak with several pointed teeth, and a triangular crest on its head. There are red feathers under the sheaths that cover its sharp wings, and each feather can be moved independently. Its feet had three toes on them, two in front and one in back, and his tail had hooked ends. The thing that stood out was the giant X on its beak.

It was chasing a small avian Pokémon with a blue body. A large white plume of feathers covers its head and three tail feathers extend from its lower back. The feathery ruff extends down past its neck, covering the upper third of its body. Its face is blue with five pointed tips, resembling a mask and crown in contrast to the white feathers surrounding it. Extending from its forehead is a large feather, which is red on the lower half and white on the upper half. The split between the two colors on the feather resembles a zigzag pattern. Rufflet's beak is short and wide, with large eyes on either side. Each eye has a thick black iris with a small white pupil. Its yellow legs and feet are large in comparison to the body. Each foot has four digits: one backwards, and three forwards.

An avian Pokémon with a round, blue body. Since it has no discernible neck, its body appears to be all head. There are two long feathers on top of its head, and it has a short, rounded white beak and beady, black eyes. Its wings are fluffy and white, resembling cotton or clouds and are made of air. The wings have a light and fluffy feel. It has tiny, white feet and two pointed tail feathers.

“We have to help them.” Tom was the first to turn, soaring across the sky to save the two bird Pokémon.

“I’m right behind ya.” Rainbow said, also changing the direction while preparing for her first confrontation with the new species.

High in the sky, two flying objects raced through the air, followed by a larger object. A closer inspection of the three objects shows that they were Pokémon: a Rufflet, a Swablu, and a Skarmary. What could Skarmary want with these two small birds? Simple answer: To eat them. Animals eating other animals was the natural process in the animal kingdom, especially in the Pokémon world. Many Pokémon species prey on one another as a source of a particular food. In this case, this was just natural selection at work.

Rufflet and Swablu were severely wounded from the looks of their injuries. Clearly, they were in fight with Skarmary and are trying to get away. This made little difference to the Amor Bird Pokémon. Whether they ran or not, it was going to get its dinner.

As it was closing in on its prey and reached out its claws, a blue blur snatches them out of its clutches. Skarmary was shocked at this and searched for its vanishing prey.

“Hey, metal beak!”

The Skarmary heard a voice coming from behind it, so it turned around and saw a Talonflame approaching it. Before it had time to reach, the Scorching Pokémon’s body was covered in flames before taking on a blue aura. He slammed into it as a large dust cloud appeared.

Tom exited the dust cloud after delivering the most powerful flying type move. He grunted after feeling the recoil damage from that attack. After he was at a safe distance from the dust cloud, he looked behind him and saw Rainbow Dash with the Rufflet and Swablu in her hooves. He was glad the two were safe, but wasn’t going to relax yet after hearing movement in the cloud.

“I was going to have a nice lunch, and you just have to ruin it. Now, I’m going have to eat all of you just to feel better.” Skarmory said with visible signs of damage after receiving the last attack.

Tom was worried. He couldn’t battle while also trying to protect the three behind him. He looked back and said, “Rainbow. Go to Fluttershy’s and stay take care of those two. I’ll take care of him.”

“What?! No way am I leaving you here!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Look down at the two in your hooves. They’re what’s important right now, not me.” He said before turning his head to look her in the eyes. “Don’t worry. This should take too long.”

Rainbow saw the look in his eyes and could tell he wasn’t lying. She nodded her head and said, “Okay. You better be right behind me.”

“Count on it.” Tom said.

Rainbow Dash took to the skies and flew in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. Skarmory did not like this sight. He said, “You think I’m just going to let you get away?” He flew towards the mare but Tom flew in his path.

“Stay away from them!” Tom said, firing off a flurry of yellow stars at the bird, stopping him in tracks while also receiving little damage.

“Fine. You wanna stand in my way? That good. I wanted to work for my food.” Skarmory said, soaring towards the fire bird with him following suit.

When they were closing in on one another, Skarmory surround itself with a white aura while Tom surrounded himself in a flame outlined in red flames. The two opposing attacks collided with one another, creating a huge explosion. Both Pokémon exited the cloud with visible injuries, Skarmory more than Tom.

Once he turned around, Tom took a deep breath and released a powerful stream of red-yellow fire from his mouth. As the flame traveled across the skit, the front of the flame forms into a 大-shaped blast. The Skarmory did not have enough time to dodge the attack and ended up be swallowed by the blast.

Skarmory was forced by the super effective attack and used all of his strength to overcome it. After the flames dispersed, he got even angrier at the flaming bird. He saw him create a ring of pink, light blue, and dark blue fireballs around his body. Seeing what was coming, the steel bird soared through the sky with his wings glowing.

Tom hurled the fireballs, thinking that they would finish they battle. He was mistaken when his opponent dodged all the balls and was getting closer to him. Just when he got closer enough, Skarmory delivered his attack with his wings made of steel.

For a second, he actually thought he caused significant damage to the bird, until his body blew up in a puffy of smoke. This took the Skarmory completely by surprise. If that wasn’t the real Tom, then where was he.

Up above the Skarmory, there was a small object falling towards him. While he was distracted in his search of his prey, he felt something small land on his back. He looked back and saw a Sneasal clutching his body with a sly grin.

“Gotcha.” Tom said, letting go of the bird’s body and raising his clawed hands.

His claws glowed a silver and white color and then the glow grows to form a bigger claw shape of silver and white energy around both claws. He quickly brought them down on the Pokémon’s back in a quick slash.

The attack threw Skarmory for a loop as he felt damage from the same type move. Tom jumped off his back and was about to finish this, but was surprised by Skarmory recover in the air. The bird used this confused and delivered a Drill Peck to his opponent’s side. Feeling the brunt of the spinning beak attack caused Tom plenty of damage. He grabbed the bird’s beak, lifted himself up, and threw himself off of the attack, ripping his bandages in the process. Skarmory stoped his attack and watched the shapeshifter plummeting to his doom. With that thought in mind, he continued his pursuit of his previous prey.

Tom plummeted towards the ground, feeling all of his bruises from this battle. His eyes caught sight of Skarmary flying in the same direction as Rainbow Dash. He can’t allow his friend and those Pokémon to be hurt. He focused his mind and transformed back into Talonflame. While flying towards his opponent, he gathered his strength and surrounded himself with a red-orange fire.

Skarmory could sense something coming up behind him and looked to see the same Pokémon he thought he defeated. He was flying so fast towards him, he didn’t have time to prepare for the being hit with such great force. When Tom made contact, there was a huge explosion.

When the attack is over, Tom exited the cloud of smoke with red sparks surrounding his body, taking recoil damage. The whole battle really exhausted him. From within the smoke, the Skarmory exited the smoke and landed in the Everfree forest.

Tom took a sigh of relief knowing that the battle was over. After using all of that energy, he could not keep fighting. With that though out of the way, he sped off into the air in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage.

A few minutes of flying later and Tom finally made it toward the cottage. He landed on the ground, noticing some Pokémon looking through the window. They were probably about the two injured Pokémon. He turned into Keldeo and walked into the cottage. When he walked in, he saw Fluttershy tending to the bird Pokémon on the couch with Rainbow Dash and Pikachu right behind her.

When they heard the door open and saw him walk in, Pikachu was the first to react. She reached him and hugged him. She said, “You’re okay.”

He smiled and rubbed her head with his hoof. He said, “Of course I did. Was there any doubt?”

“Never.” Pikachu said, rubbing her head against the shapeshifter’s chest. She let go once Rainbow Dash walked up to him.

“You really had me worried there for a second.” Rainbow said.

“That battle was no problem. Trust me.” Tom said before Rainbow Dadh suddenly hugged him. “Dash?”

“Never do something like that again. If you do, I’ll buck you straight to the moon. Do you hear me?” She asked, clearly worried that her friend.

Tom smiled and hugged her back. He said, “I’ll try.”

After the two shared a moment, they separated from one another and turned their attention towards Fluttershy. Tom asked, “How are they Fluttershy?”

“Their injuries aren’t too bad. Just a couple of scratches and bruises, but nothing serious.” Fluttershy said.

“What I wanna know is, what were they doing out there? Why were they out their all alone?” Rainbow Dash asked, bring sad faces to the two birds’ faces. Tom noticed this.

“It’s not surprising. Most Pokémon aren’t born into families like other animals, and have to fend for themselves when they’re born.” Tom said.

“That happens for all of them?” Fluttershy asked.

“No. Some do wind up raised by other Pokémon once they’re hatched before their eggs, but others have to survive in the wild, while also joining other groups of their own species.” Tom explained.

“You poor things.” Fluttershy said, hugging the two birds.

“So, it’s common for these birds to not fly in flocks like other birds.” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Sometimes, yes, but not all the time.” Tom said.

Rufflet suddenly jumped from the couch and walked up to Rainbow Dash. It liked her in the eyes as it stood there. “Ruff Rufflet.”

“Huh? I don’t understand.” Rainbow Dash asked before feeling the Swablu land on her head. “What going on here?”

“They’re saying they want to go with you.” Fluttershy said, smiling at the three.

“What? Why?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Blu Blu Blu.” Swablu said.

“Rufflet Ruff.” Rufflet said.

“They’re saying that they appreciate the way you saved them from Skarmory. They want to stay with you.” Tom translated.

“But, I don’t know anything about them.” Rainbow said.

“Oh, I can help with that.” Tom said, reaching into his bag on the floor and grabbing his Arceus phone. He pointed his phone at Rufflet.

Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokémon. A Normal and Flying type. They will challenge anything, even strong opponents, without fear. Their frequent fights help them become stronger.

He then pointed it away from Rufflet and towards Swablu.

Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokémon. A Normal and Flying type. Swablu has light and fluffy wings that are like cottony clouds. This Pokémon is not frightened of people. It lands on the heads of people and sits there like a cotton-fluff hat.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were surprised after seeing something like that. Rainbow asked, “What is that?”

“This is my Arceus phone. It has all kinds of information on the different species of Pokémon.” Tom said.

“Wow. Twilight would love to take a look at that.” Rainbow Dash said.

Tom chuckled at the thought of Twilight learning he had this. He said, “Yes, she would.”

“Well, it the two of you really wanna come with me, then how could I say no.” Rainbow Dash said, bring a smile to the Pokémons’ faces as the three embraced.

They all smiled at this display of affection. It was the beginning the first of step between Pokemon and Pokémon trainer.

The Mischiefs

The rest of the day followed with Rainbow Dash getting to know her Pokémon partners. She spent the entire day showing them all of her awesome tricks and they showed all of their moves. Tom helped Rainbow Dash with what she should know went taking care of a Pokémon. He offered his advice for taking care of flying types and offered battle training, which she accepted. Fluttershy also offered her expertise in taking care of Pokémon, like providing a recipe for making good food.

As the sun began setting, the three parted ways and knew it was time to turn in. Fluttershy checked Tom before he left, at Pikachu’s request, despite him denying he was fine. He checked out fine with a few scrapes and bruises. Even the injury he received from the manticore was gone. With very few injuries, she sent him off with a few bandages.

When Tom was beginning his trek home, he stopped by the Apple farm and received his pay for the work day. They gave him 200 bits for today’s work, which he thought was too much and tried to refuse. The Apples said that he earned that money after doing so much work. With no clear way of getting out of it, he took the money and went on his way.

After walking for nearly 20 minutes, he finally made it back to the library. When he entered the place, he and Pikachu ate dinner with Twilight and Spike. Once they were finished and the dishes were cleaned, they went into the adjoining bedrooms and fell asleep.

The morning came once the sun rose from the horizon in the distance. Ponies exited from their various houses to begin the new day at work. Some were beginning to open their stores or set up their stands, while others were simply enjoying a nice quiet day at home. Even some of the Pokémon could be seen in the walking amongst the townsfolk. The ponies were starting to get used to the Pokémon.

Down the road, at Fluttershy’s cottage, she could be seen from her kitchen, preparing food for the animals. Since she loves animals so much and has so many living with her, it’s her job to take care of them. She gets up early in the morning to prepare food for her animal friends. And with the appearance of the new species. she’s had to try making new recipes that they’d like. A few hits and misses were made before she finally found the food they’d like.

After feeding the animals and Pokémon inside her home, she left her home with plates of food with her. First, she brought fat balls containing food for the birds up in the trees and brown kibbles for the flying types. She dropped baskets full of vegetables for all the creatures in burrows. In her backyard, she spread seeds for all of her chickens. The river creatures received some fish food while the woodland creatures got various berries and nuts. The cave, where a bear and a Teddiursa normally sleep, was visited by the mare as she dropped hives of honey for the two.

Soon enough, all of her animal friends were given so they could start their day. Each one of them dove straight for the food reigns after the Pegasus presented it to them. While the animals and Pokémon were enjoying their food, Fluttershy was simply standing there watching them enjoy their meals.

“Enjoy the food, everybody,” Fluttershy said before going into her home and fixing herself breakfast.

Near the back of the cottage, various Pokémon were enjoying the delicious food prepared for them. One of those types of Pokémon was a Chespin. Its mouth was watering at the site of the delicious food right in front of it. It couldn’t wait to feed its growling stomach. Before it could take the first bite, it felt something touch its back. At first, the Chespin thought it was simply the Bunnery next to it but was mistaken. With a simple shrug, it turned back to its soon-to-be-digested meal. Its happy face turned to one of shock after seeing that all of its food was gone.

“Chespin?!” Chespin exclaimed.

The Chespin searched everyone for its food, gaining a few looks from its fellow Pokémon. It searched for any trace of its missing but could not find anything, not even a crumb. It looked towards all of the other Pokémon, thinking that one of them may have stolen it. This commotion gained Fluttershy’s attention as she exited her home and made her way to the backyard.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked. Chespin ran up to her with its empty bowl in its hands.

“Chesp. Pin Pin. Chespin.” Chespin said, waving around its bowl.

“Your food was stolen?” Fluttershy asked, surprised at any kind of theft near her home.

Down on at Sweet Apple Acres, all was quiet with the exception of a few snores heard from Winona and Chomper on the front porch. With the extra hold added to the Apple family’s workload, they had more time to relax and enjoy some breakfast. There was some movement in one of the apple trees, which caught the dogs’ attention.

They rose to their feet after sniffing the air, catching whiffs of two smells that were not familiar to them. The two barked in the direction of the moving tree just before seeing two moving objects leave the tree. From their positions, they could only catch glimpse of something jumping from tree to tree and something else gliding in the air. The two of them began barking at the fleeing objects.

“What’s goin’ on out there?”

Applejack opened the door after hearing the two dogs barking at something. She looked and one of the apple trees was completely stripped of the fruit. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem on the apple farm, but she knew that this tree was not one of the apples bucked yesterday. So the question on her mind was: Where did the apples go?

At Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery and confectionery of Ponyville, Pinkie Pie was hard at work making sweets. Ever since the appearance of the shapeshifter, she has been planning a Welcome to Ponyville party for him but has been backed up by orders. She gets closer and closer to her goal before another order is placed. The increasing orders were a deterrent, but it was nothing the pink made could handle.

She was just putting the finishing touches on a plate of muffins to be delivered today. All that was needed was to place them in a basket to cool down. The mare turned away from the muffins, not noticing the back door slide open while looking for a basked. While searching for a few minutes, she finally found a basket and was about to grab the muffins. It came as a surprise to see all of the muffins gone and the back door opened.

“My muffins! Call the police!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Within the Everfree forest, a few explosions were heard as a battle was in progress. A closer inspection of the battle would see that Shinji was battling a small Pokémon. It was weaving its way around his punches and delivering small hits of its own.

It was a small, blue, canine Pokémon. It had a black torso and legs, a blue tail, and a yellow collar. It had rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws. It had a black "mask" and red eyes. It stood on its toes instead of its entire foot. It has developed two black appendages that hang down from its head.

This was just another one of Tom and Shinji’s training sessions. After learning that he took a job at the apple farm, Shinji decided that they could train on days he was not working, with an increase in their training regiment. With no way out of it, Tom had to accept his sensei’s proposal. So, now the two of them are out in the forest practicing, while Pikachu is off the side resting.

“Don’t get too overconfident, Tom. In your last battles, you’ve been lucky but luck runs out. Always keep a calm mind in the heat of battle.” Shinji said, hurling a few Fire Punches his way.

“I know,” Tom said, narrowly dodging his punches, only getting a few scratches.

He continued to dodge his array of punches while dealing a little damage. Before another punch could make contact, he pushed his foot off Shinji’s arm and did a reverse backflip away from him. When he was at a good enough distance, he reeled his arms to his side and fired a wind beam from the palm of his hands.

The multiple blasts of wind created a dust cloud when they hit Shinji. For a second, Tom thought he had him, only until he saw the legendary fighter rush out of the cloud and appear before him. He didn’t even have a second to think before he was punched in the gut. Pikachu cringed when seeing the wind knock out her friend.

Tom got on his knees, clutching his stomach from the pain he was feeling. Shinji stood over him and said, “Your mind wasn’t calm.”

“Yeah. I can sense that.” Tom said, trying to rub the pain away from his stomach.

“Never forget you have what only a minimum number of Pokémon have: the power to transform. This power makes you unpredictable to your opponent and will be most useful in the coming battles. But if you lose focus, then that won’t matter. You’re already defeated.” Shinji said to his student.

“I’ll be sure to remember,” Tom said, taking what his Sensei said to heart.

“We’re finished for the day. Come back tomorrow so we can resume.” Shinji said before turning his back and walking into the forest.

Tom sighed, before falling onto his back, colliding with the ground from total exhaustion to near death, metaphorically speaking. They have been training since before the sun had risen from the sky and did not stop until just now. Shinji had heard about Tom's battle with Skarmory the other day and he was not pleased after hearing how the battle ended. To him, Tom had bearly won that battle, only winning because of his transforming power and Tom had to admit he was right. Would he have survived that battle or any of the others if he wasn't able to change into another Pokemon? Is he worthy to be Shinji's pupil? Was he even good enough to stop this looming force that threats everything good in Equestria? All these questions flooded his head and he could not find an answer.

Pikachu pulled him out of his thoughts when he heard her walk up to him. When she stood over him, she looked down at his exhausted state, "Are you okay, Tom?"

"Y-Yeah, of course, I am. Just taking a minute's rest." Tom said through each of his deep breaths.

“You know, you could always tell him to go easy on you. Training doesn’t always have to be tough all the time.” Pikachu said.

“Maybe, but the more I train, the better I’ll perform when I come across a tiny opponent.” Tom said, moving to a seated position.

“But you’re not alone in this fight.” Pikachu assured. She walked around him and grabbed his paws. “You know you can always count on me.”

“Of course, I can count on you, but if I don’t become strong, then I’ll lose everyone I care about, even you.” He said with the added blush to his face.

His kind words brought a surprised look to her face as a touch of red appeared. She didn’t know that he was working so hard so she could protect her. Her heart was racing after feeling something flutter inside her stomach. It was by then that the two Pokémon noticed that they were still holding paws. The two of them looked at each other in the eyes and began slowly inching towards each other. Just as their mouths were just mere inches from one another…

A sound resounded behind them, stopping the two from what they were about to do and they snap to reality as they noticed their faces were so close, causing them to blush and move away. They looked behind them and saw the sound was from their treasure bag. It was sprawled out on the ground with nearly all of their berries and scarves missing.

All over Ponyville, there were rampant acts of theft from many homes and businesses. Many varieties of food were stolen from restaurants, supermarkets, even the vendors’ stands. There were no clear sightings of the thief or thieves committing these thefts and that worried the townsfolk. Every pony was on the look out for the ones responsible, showing little results for their progress. Even Twilight and the rest of her friends were trying to figure these acts of theft and they weren’t having much luck.

“We have to find whoever’s done this.” Rainbow Dash said.

“You’re tellin’ me. I lost dozens of apples from my trees. That’s a whole weeks worth of effort stolen from me.” Applejack stated, stomping her hoof in frustration.

You think you have it bad. All the muffins I was baking vanished right under my nose, like they were ghosts.” Pinkie Pie added, making a few ghost sounds.

“And some of the food I made for my animal friends disappeared. Now, they’re all upset.” Fluttershy said, depressed at the thought of all her friends losing their food.

Twilight groaned while hearing all her friend continue to complain. “Calm down, Everypony. We have to figure out who is committing all of these thefts.”

“Do we know anything?” Spike chimed.

“No. All of the places stolen from were random.” Twilight brought up a map of a Ponyville with multiple X’s on various buildings. “This is a map of every location that was stolen from.”

“Is there a pattern to these stealings? Maybe their a pony’s idea idea of a prank.” Rarity suggested.

“No. There are no similarities to the places that the thief stole from. And I considered it to be a prank, but if it was then they would have admitted to it by now. There’s still something we’re missing, but what?” Twilight said. She and the rest of her friends were stumped with this problem.

The door suddenly opened, catching all the ponies and dragon by surprise when they saw a Riolu and Pikachu in the doorway. “I’d like to figure that out myself.” Tom chimed.

“Tom. Somepony stole from you too, darling?” Rarity asked.

Tom nodded his head. “Yep. Nearly all of our berries are gone, plus most of our scarves, bows, bands and some of the Cacnea spikes.” He said, opening his treasure bag and showing over half of its items gone.

“Oh you poor thing. Fluttershy said, picking up Tom in her hooves and scratching the back of his head. He was about to protest before stiffening in surprise after feeling this new sensation. "I’m sorry you lost your things. It’ll all be okay.” Fluttershy consoled, wishing she could do more for the downtrodden Pokémon.

As much as he wanted to move his body, it was frozen by what he was feeling and he did not mind. By instinct, his tail began to wag, willing it to stop despite how good the scratching behind his ear felt. His right leg twitched when he desperately kept his tail straight out, giving light thumps to the ground. This entire sight did not go unnoticed by the others in the room, some holding back a chuckle while seeing their friend being treated like a baby. Although, some of them were jealous, wishing that they were the ones holding him instead of Fluttershy.

"Enjoying yourself?" Pikachu asked with a snicker.

"N-No," Tom answered, gritting his teeth to try not to pant in exhilaration.

"Then why is your tail wagging?" Pikachu said, pointing a paw to her friend’s wagging limb.

Tom winced, seeing his tail wagging from the head rubs, so he broke free from the Pegasus’s grasp and grabbed it. His face was turning beet red while hearing faint sounds of his friends laughter. “Alright. Time to stop!” he exclaimed.

A few seconds later, his tail wagging finally stopped and he took a few deep breaths before looking back up. He looked back at his laughing electric friend, only to see her whistling, like nothing ever happened.

With a sigh, Tom decided to let the moment pass and move on. He asked, So, what do you know about these robberies.”

“Nothing really. There have been no clear sightings of the perpetrators.” Rarity said.

“And there is no pattern to what they’re taking. Everything is all random.” Twilight added.

“HmmMmm.” Tom thought as he walked up to the map on the wall and scanned each area that was burgled. Many thoughts were racing through his mind to figure out what to do next. While looking thinking, a thought may have sprung to mind. This did not go unnoticed by the others.

“Have ya figured somethin’ out? Applejack asked.

“Maybe. I think a Pokémon may be responsible for these thefts.” Tom said, bring shocked expressions to everyone’s faces.

“What? That’s not possible.” Fluttershy said. “None of the Pokémon would ever do such a thing.”

“Maybe none of the Pokémon you’ve seen but there are a lot of different species out there. Some of them act in completely different ways than other species.” Tom said, bringing a frown to the mares face as her ears dropped down. Tom knew why someone like Fluttershy would not believe that any animal would do something bad like stealing.

“But, how do you know it’s a Pokémon stealing food? Can you see into the future?” Pinkie Pie , giddy at the thought of having an ESP friend.

“No. On the way here, I heard some of the places stolen from had their windows and doors open. And a few others were out in the open outside. Some Pokémon are pretty fast and could go unseen when they want to be. Knowing all this, it only makes sense for one to be the thief.” Tom explained his reasoning.

“Why would a Pokémon do this?” Spike wondered.

“I don’t know. Pokémon can be unpredictable at times. One reason could be they were hungry, while another reason could be they were stealing for someone else. The reasons are endless. Right now, all that matters is finding those responsible, which means it’s time to start.” Tom said, confusing his friends.

“Time for what?” Rainbow Dash asked. There were all curious what he was going to do.

A light suddenly surrounded Tom’s body, signifying he was transforming. They all watched his body change shape and turn into a smaller form. A small paw reached into the treasure bag during the metamorphosis and pulled out some articles of clothing. When the transformation ended, the ponies saw what Tom had turned into and gushed at how adorable he looked. He was a Pikachu, like his friend, only with a lightning bolt shaped tail. And he was wearing a brown hat and a cape, while holding a magnifying glass in his paw.

“It’s Detective Time!” Tom said, strike a pose in detective attire.

The girls were simply gushing after seeing Tom in his adorable detective’s outfit. Seeing him as a Pikachu made him cute enough, but him looking like a detective pushed his cuteness over the rough.

“Oh, you look darling in the outfit. Wherever did you get it?” Rarity wondered, admiring the small rodent’s attire.

“I found a few days ago in the forest. It was just lying in the ground and no one claimed it, so I kept.” Tom said, before be picked up and hugged by Fluttershy.

“Oh, you are just the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.” Fluttershy said, hugging him close to her face, embarrassing him even more than before.

“But are you really gonna find the one’s responsible? Are you even qualified to be a detective?” Twilight wondered.

“I may not be an official investigator, but I have real instincts that make me qualified to find these thieves. It’ll take a Pokémon to catch another Pokémon.” Tom said from his constricting position. He looked up toward the yellow Pegasus and asked, “Fluttershy, could you take me to your home? I’d like to inspect the crime scene.”

The mare was pulled out of thoughts and looked down at the electric mouse in her grasp. When she realized what she was doing, she realized while trying to hide her blush. She said, “Of course, Tom. Follow me.”

Tom and Fluttershy left the library, with Pikachu right behind them, and began walking to the animal cottage.

The first stop of the Pokémon detective was the home of the yellow pegasus. He was hoping to learn something from one of the Pokémon staying there, but was not getting all he hoped for.

“You have to find those food snatchers! They took all of my food, none of which I got a chance to eat! I want you to find them and make them sorry they were ever born!” Chespin said, rambling on for the last four minutes. He has been going on and on after hearing that Tom was investigating the missing food.

Tom sighed as the grass Pokémon continued to ramble on in his rants. He turned to Pikachu and said, “Hold this, please.” He handed her his magnifying glass, which she accepted. When he gave it to her, he walked up to the angry Chespin.

“And when you get done with them, I want them to give me 10X the amount of food-“

The Chespin was interrupted in his rants after receiving a slap to the face from Tom. Another slap followed after that one. And another. There was series of slaps making contact with the Chespin’s face.

Fluttershy and Pikachu were wincing at the sight of Chespin being slapped by the other Pikachu. As much as he was talking, even Chespin did not deserve to be slapped so many times. After a minute went by, Tom stopped slapping the Spiny Nut Pokémon.

“Now, I understand you’re distraught after having your food stolen. Believe me, I know what that’s like, but I can’t help you if you don’t answer my questions. Okay?” Tom said.

The Chespin was rubbing his swollen cheeks that were red from all the slaps. “Okay.” He said.

“Good. Now, tell me everything that happened.” Tom asked the injured grass type.

“Well, I was eating my morning breakfast right over there like always.” Chespin said while pointing his paw to a spot in the backyard. “Then, when I looked away for a second, all my food was gone!”

Tom nodded his head, taking in every detail he heard from the Pokémon. He walked up to the area Chespin was pointing at, hoping to find some sort of clue. There was nothing out of the ordinary from Chespin’s spot. A few blades of grass were out of place, but they were just from all the animals and Pokémon moving around.

His eyes soon came across something in the grass. Some of the blades were burning away, like something was dropped on the ground. He inspected the grass and caught the scent of a bug type. None of the bug types there were what he smelled, so what was he smelling?

“Did you find something?” Pikachu asked, walking to her friend’s side.

“Maybe. What I found could be a clue, but it’s too early to say.” Tom said, standing up from his spot. “Let’s go to the next place.”

After leaving Fluttershy’s home, he and Pikachu made their way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Before the two could start their investigation, they were block led by an obstacle.

“We don’t you help. Everything that happens on this farm is our responsibility.” Chomper said, baring his fangs at the detective.

“Really? Does that also mean you’re responsible for thieves taking apples on your watch?” Tom said, earning growls from the canine.

“You’re pushing me too far, rat! And when I’m pushed, I push back!” Chomper said, starting to get angry from Tom’s words.

“That suits me just fine.” Tom said, getting in the Growlithe’s face, beginning to growl himself.

Pikachu sighed at the two male Pokémon fighting one another. She stepped up and separated the two. She said, “This isn’t about the two of you. It’s about finding the thieves that stole from our friends. Right?” Pikachu looked at Tom with a stern look, which had great effect.

“Right.” Tom grumbled. Pikachu the looked at Chomper with the same glare, which took him off guard before he turned away.

“Fine. Just get over with your investigation, then get out of here.” Chomper said before going back to his spot on the front porch with the sleeping Winona.

With that out of the way, Tom began his investigation. There wasn’t much he found around the farm, besides the various Applelin that were walking about the farm. He asked a few of them if they saw anything out of the ordinary, but none of them were helpful.

While searing for clues, Tom caught whiff of something in one of the trees. He took off his clothes and climbed up the trunk. When he made it to one of the branches, he found a few footprints in the trees. The only problem was they were from Pokémon that he has not met.

“Have you found something, Tom?” Pikachu asked from the below the tree.

“Yeah. A few footprints where a lot of apples should be. Some Pokémon must be good at climbing to have made it up here without making a sound.” Tom said, admiring the thieves stealth skills.

“Can you identify them?” Pikachu asked.

“No. Their from Pokémon I haven’t met before, plus I don’t have much skill in identifying footprints.” Tom said.

“That’s a surprise!” Chomper said from his sleeping spot.

Tom just grumbled at the dog before jumping down from the tree branch. “There’s nothing more we can do here. Let’s head to Sugarcube Corner.” Tom said.

Their next stop was to Pinkie’s job at the pastry shop. When he first saw the place, he thought he was walking into a fairytale home come to life. But he remembered where he was so he just ignored it and went on with his investigation.

“So, where was your muffins stole from, Pinkie?” Tom asking the Pinkie Pie, while standing in the kitchen.

“It was right here. I was in the middle of making sweet treats for a party when they disappeared out of nowhere. How strange is that?” Pinkie Pie asked while busy at work, making new muffins.

“Pretty strange, Pinkie. Do you know where they could have entered from?” Tom asked.

“I have no idea how they could’ve entered here. This shop is a fortress. No pony could enter here without me knowing it.” Pinkie said before pouring batter into a pan and putting it into the oven. “But I’s check the back door.” She pointed her hoof at the door in the back of the kitchen.

Tom mentally slapped himself after not noticing the most obvious entryway. He and Pikachu opened the door and found themselves in the back of the building. There was nothing but a few trash cans and nothing else.

“Nothing. I’d figure we’d find at least another clue.” Tom said, inspecting the area.

“Tom. Look, more footprints.” Pikachu said, gaining the other Pikachu’s attention.

It was true. What she found was indeed footprints, and these were different from the ones at Sweet Apple Acres. There were skinnier than the other prints and looked more reptilian.

“Great job, Pikachu. Another clue found.” Tom complemented his electric friend, earning a small blush to her face. “Let’s continue our search for more clues.”

After leaving the candy shop, the two detectives began inspecting every other place that was burgled by the unknown Pokémon. Each place had various clues for them: footprints, scratch marks, loose fur. While they were all helpful in this endeavor, it didn’t lead the two any closer to finding the thieves.

It’s already been 3 hours of going door to door to every house, restaurant, and store and the two electric mice are still no closer to their suspect.

“We still haven’t found our thieves. We’re out of clues and locations.” Tom said, with his arms crossed.

“Don’t let this get you down. I’m sure we’ll find them soon.” Pikachu said, trying to lift up her friend’s spirits.

“I know. But these clues haven’t depicted who is committing these thefts. How are we gonna stop them if there are no more clues?” Tom wondering if these thieves were too good for him to catch.

“Did you say something about thefts?”

The two electric types stopped in their tracks to find who was talking to them. They searched and found a group of Pokémon were in front of them. One of them was a Snivy with a red band around its neck.

The second was a bipedal Pokémon resembling a chimpanzee. Its fur was primarily a shade of orange, though its face, outer ears, underbelly, hands, and feet were light yellow. Its ears were large in comparison to its head size and red inside. It has two pointed teeth in its upper jaw. It had red markings nearly surrounding its eyes, a swirl-like symbol on its chest, and five fingers on its hands with three toes on its feet. It had a swirly crest of hair on its head. Around its neck was a blue ribbon.

The other was a pinniped Pokémon that was primarily blue. It had large eyes, a long, white snout with black whiskers, and a round, pink nose. There is a small, rounded earflap on each side of its head. Around its neck is a light blue ruff, which extends past its shoulders. It has four flippers. The front flippers are larger than the hind and have white markings separating its toes. On its head was a red bandana with a star pattern.

Tom and Pikachu were on guard from the sudden appearance of the trio of Pokémon. He said “Yeah. What’s it to you?”

“We’ve been sent after hearing the rash of robberies in this town.” Snivy said with a female voice.

“You were sent here?” Pikachu asked, confused by the answer.

“Yes. We were sent by the Wigglytuff Guild to catch all of the thieves and return all of the items taken from the Pokémon.” Popplio said with a male voice.

“Guild?” Tom asked, suspecting he could mean something he did not expect to find in this world.

“Of course. We’re a Rescue Team that enter dungeons to search for treasure and fight bad Pokémon. We’re called Team Elemental.” Chimchar said, sounding female with a brazen attitude. She and the other two pulled out a winged badge from behind their backs.

Tom couldn’t believe that this world not only has Pokémon, but also guilds and rescue teams. And hearing the fire chimp talk, there were most likely mystery dungeons too. It was all too much for Tom’s already cramped brain to handle.

“So, you’re a rescue team?” Tom asked.

“Yes. My name is Eve, and this is Blaze and Finn.” Snivy said, gesturing towards herself and the other Pokémon.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Tom and this is Pikachu.” Tom introduced himself and his electric mouse friend. “Why are you here?”

“Guild master Wigglytuff heard there was some Pokémon stealing in a few villages. When we heard there were more thefts in this pony village, we thought it could be connected.” Finn explained.

“Have you found any clues?” Tom asked the rescue team.

“No. The thieves are too good and have left little to no tracks behind. We heard two Pikachu were searching for the thieves as well and hoped you had found something.” Eve said.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t found anything. We’ve been to every place burgled and are not any closer to finding them.” Tom said before seeing the rescue team sigh.

“Great. Now, we’re back to no more leads. If only there was something we could do to track them down.” Blaze said beating her fist to her other hand out of frustration.

A thought had crossed Tom’s mind. What if they could track the thieves? And not simply by their scents or the footprints left behind. There was another way they could find the thieves and everything they stole.

“That’s it.” Tom said, gaining looks from all four Pokémon.

“What’s it?” Finn asked, curious what the electric mouse could be thinking.

“We could track the thieves with smell.” Tom said, pointing his paw to his nose.

“But none of their scents aren’t strong enough to track.” Eve said, confused at what his plan was.

“Not the thieves, the food. If we could track all of the stolen food, then it will lead us to the thieves.” Tom explained.

“How are we supposed to track the food? None of our noses are strong enough to catch the scents.” Blaze said, thinking that Tom was insane. How could he possibly find all of the stolen food?

“Maybe you can’t, but I can.” Tom said before his transforming aura surrounded his body and he began taking a new shape. The three Pokémon did not understand what was happening and remained silent while watching this unfold. Once the light was gone, the Pikachu standing before the rescue team was replaced with another Pokémon.

What Tom changed into was a teal Pokémon with a cream spot on his chest. His round head was teal in the top half and cream on the bottom half. He had big, round eyes and large pointy ears. He had five-fingered hands and cream feet with three clawed toes. The fur close to the bottom seemed to resemble a dress. He had two pointy teeth that stick out of his mouth.

“You’re a… Munchlax?!?” Blaze exclaimed, questioning the new evolution In front of her eyes.

“How did you do that? Pikachu can’t learn Transform. Are you really a Ditto in disguise?” Finn asked.

“I can answer you questions later. Right now, I have to focused.” Tom closed his eyes and focused his energy in his nose. He took a big whiff and caught many scents in the air.

Some scents of a few foods in homes caught his attention but it wasn’t what he was looking for. In his entire life, he never thought he’d be sniffing for this long, but it was necessary to find the missing food. After a few more whiffs, he finally caught the scents of a large assortment of food with the scents he got from the previous locations. “Got them.” Tom said before taking off running in the direction of the food.

Pikachu and Team Elemental quickly followed by the shapeshifter, not knowing where he was leading them. Pikachu trusted Tom’s instincts, but the others were unsure if he knew what he was doing. Without any other leads to follow, they decided to at least give him a chance.

Somewhere in Ponyville park, running in the area near the trees and bushes, there were four Pokemon laughing as they jumped into the bushes, avoiding the chasing ponies.

The first creature they saw was a bipedal, mammalian Pokémon that resembled a young panda. Its head and short, puffy tail are white. It has a triangular black nose, rounded black ears, black circles around its eyes, and tufts of fur on top of its head and on each cheek. Its upper body and hind feet are black, while the lower body is dark gray. Where the two colors meet the dark gray forms a three-pointed pattern on its chest. There are three digits on each paw and small, dark brown circular pads on the soles of its black hind paws. Pancham carries a small, green leaf in its mouth.

The other standing beside it was a bivalve or snail-like Pokémon. Its gray shell resembled a knight's visor, with a coiling spiral of its shell further back. The shell has protrusions on the underside, which it apparently uses as legs. Its inner body is pink with a long, puckered mouth, and green markings below its eyes.

The third was a short, quadrupedal Pokémon with a long snout and tail. Its body was mostly light brown with the exception of black stripes crossing over and under its legs and its pink underbelly. It had a black stripe on its snout in front of its eyes, and black covering the tip of its tail. Its eyes resembled shaded binoculars and are shrouded in a black membrane all around its front. Its long snout was tipped by two protruding nostrils, and its mouth comprised the bottom half. Its feet were flat and contained three sharp, black claws. They were attached to stubby legs on their sides.

The fourth creature was a white, rodent-like Pokémon resembling a flying squirrel. It has black eyes, a tiny nose, and yellow cheek patches. It can create electricity on the electric sacs located on its cheeks and store electricity inside its membranes. Its ears, positioned at the top of its head, are rounded in shape and black in coloration, with yellow and white sections of coloration on the inside of its ears. It sports a vaguely hood-like patterning of black around its head, with a spiky extension of the pattern above its face. It has yellow winglike flaps connected to its three-fingered arms. Its feet are white and fairly small and its black tail is in a jagged shape.

“We scored another great haul," the Emolga said, clearly the only female out of the four.

"Oh yeah, we sure did," Pancham said, laughing while pulling out food and valuable items.

The Sandile dug into the bag and pulled out a few scarfs and berries. “These are prime items. We’d have to go into a dungeon to find these.”

“Be careful, Sandile. If you eat those then the boss will be mad, and none of us want to see him mad.” Shelmet said. All of them shuttered after thinking of angering their boss.

“Well, after we finish this job, we’ll finally be free of the blowhard.” Pancham said.

"Let's just worry about getting our goods to the boss before someone finds them," Emolga said, the others nodding in agreement.

As they all their loot in their sacks, sounds of footsteps were heard coming down the road. Peeking through the brush, they saw a Munchlax coming down the path with four other Pokémon following behind it.

Tom stopped, closed his eyes and focused on finding the stolen food. After getting closer to the smell he was picking up, he caught a whiff of something only a few feet from where he stood. Scanning the area, he caught the scent of a lot of food smells, unknown Pokémon and some of his stolen items. His eyes quickly snapped open as he turned his head in the direction of one bush.

With a quick turn of his feet, Tom dashed toward the scents, with a raised Focus Punch. One lace he was close enough, he jumped through the leaves and punched forwards, colliding with a hard surface in his path. A closer inspection told him it was the shell of a Shelmet that he hit. It collided with the tree, making a few leaves fall from the branches.

As Tom turned around, Pikachu and the rescue team jumped into the bushes to join the battle. Eve said, “Hand over all of the stolen goods. If you do not surrender, then you’ll be dealing with Team Elemental!” She and her other team members showed them their badges.

"A rescue team!?" Sandile squeaked. The four thieves were scared that a rescue team appeared to capture them.

Eve demanded again, "This is your second and only warning: Surrender now, or things get rough." She squinted her eyes to emphasize her words.

"Run for it!" Emolga yelled, grabbing her bag and took off running with the rest of her group following right behind her.

“Hey! Get back here!” Blaze exclaimed, taking off running with her teammates, Tom and Pikachu following close behind.

This chase took them across Ponyville, with them dodging various ponies, while trying to keep pace with each other. The thieves tried to create obstacles to slow down their pursuers, like firing off attacks to thrown them off, only to end with negative results.

The chase soon took them into the Everfree forest with the thieves using the trees to increase their speed. This did not help them as the five Pokémon behind them were quickly gaining speed on them. Seeing this occur, Emolga acted quickly and powered up an attack.

“Get away!” Emolga said, firing a Hidden Power attack at her pursuers. The green orb flew toward the five Pokémon and exploded onto the ground, creating a small dust cloud. It was all the thieves needed to escape from being captured. This took them off guard for a second before the dust cleared. It took the five by surprise that their targets were gone, but Tom still had their scents locked in his nose so they followed him.

Tom led the Pokémon through the woods, carefully trekking through the bushes and around the trees. They soon came a Forest area where he caught a whiff of the four Pokémon they were pursuing. It was an area with different trees, than in the Everfree forest with an open path deeper in the forest.

“Where did they go?” Pikachu asked.

Eve looked ahead and nodded her head at both of her teammates. She said, “I think they went into this Mystery Dungeon.”

"A Mystery Dungeon?" Tom asked.

“Yes. This is the Wanderer’s Grove. It’s home to many Normal, Grass, Bug and Dark types. A few Virus Digimon call this place home awe well.” Popplio explained. Tom was confused after hearing the word ‘Digimon’, but put that thought aside.

“Then it’s the best place to find those thieves. Let’s go.” Tom said, walking towards the entrance only to be stopped by a vine from Eve.

“Look, you’ve been a big help to us in locating the thieves, but now it’s time for us to take of things here.” Snivy said.

“But we can help bring those Pokémon in.” Tom added.

“Maybe you could, but we’re a qualified rescue team. It’s our job to do this. You haven’t seen much action than we have.” Blaze boasted.

“…Although, we’ve only been a team for two weeks.” Finn mumbled, earning a grunt from the Chimchar right beside him.

Tom watched as the three Pokémon were about to enter the Mystery Dungeon. As much as he wanted to, they were right. He has never entered a Dungeon before and there was no telling what could be in there. But as scared as he was, he could not turn away from this. He didn’t turn away from Feraligator. He didn’t turn away from the Manticore. He didn’t turn away from Skarmary. And he’s not turning away now.

“Listen, I know we just met, but I’ve been through a bunch of tough battles. I realize that a Mystery Dungeon is dangerous but that’s not a reason for me to turn away. Those four stole from my friends and I’m not going to let them get away from that. If you give us a chance, then I know we won’t let you down.” Tom said, with a determined look on his face alongside Pikachu.

The Elementals looked towards the Munchlax after hearing him speak. They saw the look in his eyes and could tell he’s seen his share of battles. Eve sighed and said, “Fine. If you want to follow, we can’t stop you. Just remember, you made this choice.”

Tom was glad that they allowed him and Pikachu to follow them into the dungeon. Before entering, he grabbed something for him and Pikachu that’ll help them. He gave Pikachu a Defense Scarf to raise her defense and he wore a Joy Ribbon raise in experience after taking damage. That was something he could really use when he’s training with Shinji. Once they were ready, the Pokémon team entered through the forest path into the Mystery Dungeon.

Dungeon Expedition

Team Elementals, Tom and Pikachu entered the Wanderer’s Grove, ready to take on the Pokemon that roamed the Mystery Dungeon. The entrance was an average field on a small hill, with nothing out of the ordinary. Eve took the lead, being the leader of the team, while Finn took a position in the rear of the group. They were all walking on pins and needles, just waiting for the first Pokémon to appear out of this maze. So far, after walking up the mysterious stairway in the forest, they finally reached the first floor of the maze. Once the last foot left the steps, the stairs suddenly vanished from beyond their sight. Tom and Pikachu were shocked after seeing the structure disappear before their eyes, but Team Elemental just shrugged after seeing something completely natural in the dungeons. They took a look around the room and found it was empty, except for a couple of different pathways, leading to who knows where.

"So, what do we do now?" Tom asked.

"Now, we search the dungeon and locate those thieves. They could be hiding anywhere, so keep an eye out." Eve said, taking the first steps in the forest maze.

"Look over there!" Pikachu pointed at a corner of the room, seeing a bunch of items on the ground. There were a few sticks and rocks scattered around, plus a Poké. "There’s a bunch of stuff here!... Uhh, it’s okay to take these, right?"

"Anything in a Mystery Dungeon is up for grabs," Finn said. "Berries, seeds, accessories, Poké, anyone, and everyone can take it."

"Great!" Pikachu said, picking up the items with her paws and then placing them in the treasure bag she was carrying. "What is a mystery dungeon anyway?"

“Dungeons are labyrinths with countless floors and home to many hostile Pokémon and Digimon. No matter how many times you enter a dungeon, the terrain will always change. It’s impossible to predict even if you know what’s in the dungeon. Even the weather will change depending on the location.” Eve explained.

“Seriously? Dungeons sound horrible to live in. Why would Pokémon live here?” Pikachu asked.

“Some live in dungeons because they are similar to the Pokémon’s environment. Others are found here to grow in strength by battling other Pokémon and Digimon of the same type.” Finn described the lives of the creatures in the dungeons.

“But none of that matters with a team like this,” Blaze said, earning the attention of the others. “With me around, I’ll just give them a flick and they’re out like a light.” She gloated, sticking her chest out. The others just rolled their eyes and continued the search. Their walk through the labyrinth came to an abrupt stop when they heard a sound down a path next to them.

“Who goes there?!” Eve said after hearing a sound down one of the corridors of the maze. They all got in battle positions, getting ready for whatever was walking from the shadows. It was a small, feline Pokémon with light blue-gray fur. The tip of its tail, whiskers, digits and the insides of its ears were a whitish-gray. Its whiskers had a slight curve, and it has silvery eyes. The Alolan Meowth scanned the five Pokémon and spotted rescue badges on three of them.

“Well, well, well, look at what we got here. A couple of rescue losers invading the Wanderer’s Grove.” The Alolan Meowth smugly said. Tom just met this guy and already did not like him.

“Hey! Who are you calling losers? We’re an official rescue team of the Wigglytuff guild.” Chimchar stated, sticking out her badge to the feline.

“Oh, really? If that’s the case, then accept my sincerest apologies. I should show my respects to you rangers, shouldn’t I?” Meowth sarcastically said, bowing his head to mock them.

Blaze was just fuming with anger as she listened to this feline continue to mock them. She was about to walk up to him and teach him a lesson but was stopped by a vine from her grass leader. Eve walked up to the dark type, watching if he was going to attack. "We are looking for an Emolga, Pancham, Shelmet, and Sandile. Have you seen them through here?" she asked.

Meowth scratched under his chin with a thinking expression. "It’s tough to say. Plenty of Pancham and Shelmet live in this forest, and other Pokémon come and go through here all the time," Meowth said. "Mystery Dungeons are always unpredictable, so anything is possible." They were disappointed hearing they weren’t any closer to finding the thieves. "Oh, and by the way,-" Meowth smirked, raising up his front paws, and unsheathing his claws. "-never trust anyone in a Mystery Dungeon!"

Meowth lunged forward with a slash of his claws. Eve’s instincts kicked in and she dodged the attack, luckily evading the cat’s strike.

“Woah! Cheap shot!” Blaze angrily stated.

“Welcome to the dungeons, rookies. Cheap shots are the norm here!” Meowth mocked the rookies’ ignorance before going in for a second Scratch.

Without a second to think twice, Tom took action and appeared in front of Eve. He crossed his and used Defense Curl to increase his defense against the incoming attack. When the claws made contact, Tom grunted while feeling the claws dig into his skin. The defense attack was strong enough to decrease some of the damage he was feeling. “If that’s right, then I’m sure you’ll appreciate this!” He reeled his right foot back and kicked Meowth under the chin.

Meowth skidded back after getting hit by the Mega Kick. He growled and looked towards the smirking Munchlax. Meowth glared and said, "Don’t get the comfortable worm! I’m just getting started!"

Meowth jumped into the sky and brought his paw up to his coin charm. The charm gleamed brightly before multiple glowing white balls came out of the charm on his head. The balls quickly morphed into Poké coins while being flung at the five Pokémon.

They all guarded against the coin attack by bringing up their paws, grunting slightly from the coins smacking him and scattering across the ground. With every Poké hitting the team, they all bounced off of them and landed on the ground, waiting to be picked up.

Meowth landed on the ground with his front paws on his hips, looking proud of himself. “What do you think of that? Fear me, if you dare.” He sneered, thinking he was actually striking fear in the five in front of them. How wrong he was.

Before he knew it, Meowth was struck under his chin by Tom’s Focus Punch, being launched into the air. Blaze and Finn fired off Embers and Bubble Beams, damaging the flying cat. When the two stopped, he thought it was over, only to be disappointed to see Eve and Pikachu with glowing tails. The two swung an Iron Tail and Leaf Blade at the feline, finishing him off and sending him crashing into a tree. His eyes looked like spirals, showing that the Meowth was defeated. While Team Elemental stretched after their first battle in the dungeon, Tom and Pikachu were busy gathering coins in the room.

“Well, that’s one annoyance out of the way.” Blaze grinned, seeing the Scratch Cat beaten.

With the only enemy defeated and all of the Poké collected, the team continued their journey through the dungeon. It was just corridor after corridor around every corner that almost always ended with a dead end. As they continued exploring, they were able to find plenty of open rooms with useful items like scarves and seeds. And in these rooms, the team came across a lot of Pokémon and Digimon: Raticate, Glameow, Slakoth, Shroomish, Carnivine, BlackAgumon, Kunemon, Gaosmon, Poochyena. They have spent this whole time, battling powerful creatures in the labyrinth.

They have only been through a few floors in the Mystery Dungeon, even though it was getting hard to tell the difference between each floor with the different floor layouts. With every set of stairs they found, they were trapped on the new floors after learning they could not turn back.

They found some more Poké in piles on the ground, a few assortments of berries, and some clumps of Gravelrock to fling at distant foes to catch their attention or batter them up for an easy victory.

Pikachu hurled an Electro Ball at a Shroomish, knocking it out before moving to another one. It opened its mouth and fired large glowing yellow seeds that were going to connect with the electric mouse but was stopped after Tom jumped in front of them. The Bullet Seeds pelted the shapeshifter, leaving a few signs of damage on his body. When the attacks finished damaging him, Tom lowered his arms and stood his ground in a new form.

He was a bipedal dragon Digimon with blue skin and red eyes. He had white coloration in his belly and snout, a small horn on his nose, two ear-like appendages on his head, a yellow "V"-shaped mark on his forehead, and two yellow upside-down triangle marks under his eyes. He had five fingers on his hands and three toes on each foot, and a claw on each finger and toe.

He quickly took off running at the grass type with his head lowered at his opponent. "Vee Headbutt!" He exclaimed, ramming his head into the mushroom Pokemon. The moment the attack made contact, the Shroomish was sent flying into the wall of the room, knocked out, and out of the way into the next room.

"Thanks, Tom." Pikachu thanked her friend.

Tom turned around and said, "No problem. Remember, we have each other's backs. Always." He finished with a toothy grin and a thumbs up.

"Alright, you two lovebirds. We don't have time for this. We have to find those thieves before we run out of energy." Blaze said, running down another path with the rest following right behind her.

The team has run through each floor, battling all kinds of Pokemon and Digimon within the dungeons. They were beginning to run low on supplies but were fortunate to locate a few berries and apples in some of the rooms. All of their food and medicine were especially needed when they ran into a Monster House. Tom played through plenty of Mystery Dungeon games and encountered a lot of Monster Houses, but it was a whole lot different when actually being in one. It was a good thing that they were all together; otherwise, none of them wouldn't have made it through the dungeon alone.

When they found the next staircase and headed down, it looked like they made it to the lowest floor of the Mystery Dungeon, seeing as there was only one path ahead of them. Running through the corridor, they all paused when they could make out a voice up ahead of them. Listening to the voices, the team could surmise that the voices belonged to the thieves they'd been chasing. "Sounds like those thieves. We're getting closer. Come on." Blaze stated, running down the path with the rest of the team right behind her.

Coming up to the entrance of the final room, the team of pokemon stuck to the shadows while scanning the areas for the thieving pokemon. Up ahead of them, they saw the four pokemon gathered around all of the food, jewelry, and items they stole from everyone in town. Along with the other four pokemon in the room, there was another Pokemon there stuffing its face. It was a large, bulky, ape-like bipedal Pokémon. Most of its shaggy fur is brown, along with the semi-circle patterning under its eyes. Its face, chest, hands, and feet are lighter in color. Its brows are thick and jutting, and it has a large, pink, pig-like nose. Around its neck is a white collar of fur that extends over the top of its head before ending in a small tuft. It has large, five-fingered hands and two-toed feet.

"You've done quite well for yourselves," the Slaking said, sounding male. He grabbed another handful of food and stuffed it all in its mouth. He didn't even open his eyes and was more focused on eating. He continued, "This is a nice haul you've brought me."

"Thanks a lot, boss. Just another fine day's work of stealing from saps," Pancham said, followed by a few snickers from the Shelmet standing beside him.

"And with this much food, you're just about finished with paying off what you owe me." Slaking said before taking another bite from the pile of food. The four pokemon were surprised hearing say this.

"...Sorry, Slaking, sir. But you said after this last heist we would be stealing from you." Emolga said, with the sound of fear in her voice, that Tom was able to catch.

The Slaking stopped eating after hearing Emolga speak. For the first time since entering this room, the Slaking looked like it was about to move. He slowly opened its eyes, and its white pupils were replaced with a red sclera. He said with a grim tone, "What was that?"

The sound of his voice changed from a calming and relaxed tone to a displeased and angry tone took everyone by surprise. Normally, Slakings were normally loafing pokemon that spent the entire day saving their energy to munch on the food and grass around them. The four thieves visibly flinched after hearing the ape's change in demeanor and were in fear once they saw him about to move his arms toward them.

Sandile said quickly, "Nothing, sir. Never mind anything. We love working for you." He laughed and the other three joined him as it looked it the Slaking believed them.

"That's what I thought. Trust me. Keep working for me, and you'll never have to go hungry again." The Lazy Pokemon said, resuming eating all of the stolen food.

"Wow. I never thought a Slaking could be so fierce," Finn said.

"Slaking?" Tom asked, taking out his phone and pointing it at the munching gorilla.

Slaking, the Lazy Pokemon. A Normal type. Slaking spends all day lying down and lolling about. It eats grass growing within its reach. If it eats all the grass it can reach, this Pokémon reluctantly moves to another spot.

"It doesn't sound like a Slaking would be asking other Pokemon to gather food. With all of the grass gone around it, it would've made more sense for it to move to a different area. Why would he need helpers?" Pikachu asked.

"How about we ask him after we take in all of those no-good thieves? Let's get them!" Blaze said, charging forward only to be stopped after Tom grabs her wrist. "Hey! What's the deal?!"

"Have you ever heard of stealth?" Tom asked. "We need to strategize if we're going to take on those Pokemon. Plus, it doesn't seem like those four are here by choice. They could be forced into stealing for the Slaking."

"That doesn't matter now! We can beat them right now and figure things out later!" Blaze escaped his grasp and charged in. Eve and Finn sighed at their teammate's brazen attitude before running ahead to join her, leaving both Tom and Pikachu behind to stand there and watch. This was visibly sweating, thinking what'd id be like to have a teammate like her.

Pikachu looked at her friend and asked, "Do we join them?"

Tom sighed while scratching the back of his head. "Well, looks like we have no choice." He said before a transforming light surrounded his body. A few seconds later, the light subsided and he changed from his Digimon form to a Pokemon form.

He was a large, mainly blue-purple vampire bat-like Pokémon. His legs had two toes and a slightly darker circular coloration on the underside, and his tail had two barbs, giving his tail the resemblance of a vampire's fangs. His arms are red with thin striations and are completely detached from his black wings, and each is ended with large pincers. His ears had discernible, red, chambered ear insides, and his eyes are yellow. He had six visible fangs in his mouth, and his waist, like his arms, was red and striated. His body resembled an open mouth, with the pointed protrusions coming from his upper torso resembling fangs, further illustrating his vampiric qualities. He appeared to be partially covered in an insect-like exoskeleton.

"Let's go." Tom said, flying ahead with Pikachu following his side.

"HEY! THIEVES!"

All of the pokemon, including the munching Slaking, stopped what they were doing when they heard Blaze shouting. They saw her standing before them with Eve and Finn standing just behind her. Tom and Pikachu quickly followed suit, while taking a fighting position behind the rescue team. "We've come to take all of you in. Surrender now before things get messy!"

"Hey! It's that loser rescue team from before!" Shelmet exclaimed.

"What did you call us?!" Blaze shouted. She was about to attack but was held back by her team leader.

"That's enough, Blaze!" Eve said. "If we rush in, then we'll lose before we even have a chance to attack."

"But if we do nothing, then they'll run away with all of the stuff!" Blaze argued.

Slaking did not look the least bit worried as he continued eating all of the food from his lounging position. He grabbed more and more berries and other varieties of food and stuffed them into his mouth. He said, "A rescue team? Doesn't matter. Take care of them while I enjoy my lunch."

Emolga, Pancham, Shelmet, and Sandile weren't going to argue with the hungry ape so they lunged forward at the five Pokemon. Tom used his barbed tail to spring into the air, avoiding the incoming attack from the opposing enemies. Emolga, leading the charge, quickly took to the skies and attacked Pikachu with an electrified tackle. Pikachu countered the attack by running at top speed and charging ahead. The two electric types collided with one another and created a small wind from the two colliding attacks. It looked like the two were even, since the two of them barely had any injuries once they both of them were finished. With the first attack made, the rest of the team began to engage against the other pokemon in the room: Sandile was keeping his distance while firing rocks at Eve, Shelmet was shooting poisonous at Blaze, and Finn was battling Pancham with his water attacks.

Tom was about to join them before catching sight of Slaking still eating away, blocking out the rest of the world. Seeing as the other Pokemon was occupied and he was just sitting out in the open, Tom knew this was his chance to take on the boss. He charged ahead with both his claws glowing a light blue hue as he crossed his arms in an X formation. This formation created a light blue X in front of his claws while he continued soaring at the still-eating Pokemon.

When Tom got close enough, he collided with the normal type and created a large explosion. He was the first one to exit the dust cloud and glided into the sky, checking to see if the ape was damaged from that last attack. As the dust cloud cleared, Slaking's body was starting to appear with every passing second until he was completely visible. Tom clicked his tongue after seeing that his attack did not damage the pokemon even a little. The thing he found most frustrating was that the Slaking was still eating the food, not even noticing that he was attacked.

With no other choice, Tom continued with another attack by gliding down towards the Lazy Pokemon and opening his mouth. Once his mouth was fully open, his mouth was surrounded by flames that spread down his mouth. Just as he got close enough, he opened his mouth wide open and chomped down on Slaking

Another explosion was created from this attack collision just as a dust cloud was created from the explosion. After emerging from the cloud, Tom thought the fire attack was enough to deal at least more damage than the last one. When Slaking was in clear view, there were signs of damage on his body. There even a few embers on his legs, meaning that the burn effect was activated from the last attack. For a second, he thought he was making some headway with this battle, only to be disappointed after seeing what happened next.

Slaking yawned after his body emitted a green glow and all of his injuries were healed. Every one of the injuries he received from both of Tom’s attacks were suddenly gone. When the injuries were completely gone, the ape continued eating all of the berries. While eating, the burns from the Fire Fang disappeared from Slaking’s body. He must’ve ate a Rawst Berry from the pile of berries right next to him. After that, he resumed his nonstop eating of the stolen food and not caring about the battle.

Seeing his attacks not working and this Pokémon’s nonchalant attitude towards this serious battle was making Tom angry. He quickly soared towards the resting ape with the black parts of his wings glowing white. With this attack, he was hoping to finally get the Slaking’s attention.

Slaking had enough of the young shapeshifter attacking him while he was trying to eat. He opened his eyes and began his counterattack. When Slaking was about to be hit by the attack, he became covered in a multicolored aura and punched Tom. He was sent, skidding across the room and ended up on the side of the wall before sliding down.

“Tom!” Pikachu exclaimed before dodging another Spark from Emolga.

“Your friend’s a fool. He should’ve never fought the boss over some food.” Emolga said, angering the electric mouse.

“Don’t call him that. He’s not fighting just to get back some food, he’s fighting for all of you!” Pikachu said, confusing the Emolga and the rest of the others.

“Why would he help us? He doesn’t even know us.” Sandile stated.

“Even so. He saw the four of you being threatened by Slaking and the first thought on his mind was to help you. You may be strangers to him, but that’s not gonna stop him from helping a Pokémon in need.” Pikachu explained. Every Pokémon, both team Elemental and the thieves, were shocked that an unknown Pokémon would stand up to for complete strangers. They all stopped their fighting and watched the battle ahead of them commence.

Tom was slowly pushing himself up and off the wall of the room. He was kicking himself for being careless in his moves, just what Shinji would say if he were here. It was then that he remembered what Shinji said about getting used to one form and focusing on that. He had to pick the right Pokémon that could stand up to this hulk of a Pokémon. He closed his eyes and focused on his next transformation. A multicolored aura appeared around his body just as his body was growing taller. Every Pokémon was quiet while watching the Gliscor change into something else.

When the light disappeared, Tom was revealed as a reptilian, bipedal Pokémon. His neck was somewhat long, and he had two crests on his head. He had semicircular, yellow eyes with red rims. His lower jaw and a belt-like band across his waist are also red. Along his back, he had two lines running down the middle and two rows of yellow nodules. His tail was shaped similarly to that of a palm tree's branch. Both of his long arms had two sharp, elongated leaves and three claws.

With the transformation finished, Tom closed his eyes and focused his mind. He put his hands together and created a light blue ball of energy. He then opened his eyes and threw the blue ball of energy at the opponent. The blue ball struck, making the ape yell out in pain from the super effective attack as he was knocked finally knocked back. Seeing the ape finally move from his spot shocked the other Pokémon while Tom just smirked that he finally moved the ape.

The Slaking rose from the ground, visibly damaged from the attack, standing up and seething with anger. He turned towards the grass type and opened his eyes, staring daggers through Tom’s very soul. “Fine. You wanna battle? Let’s battle.”

Tom smiled that he was finally getting a serious fight from the lazy Pokémon. He started by firing off a Bullet Seed to start things off, only to be disappointed that the attack was blocked. Slaking just smirked, seeing that Sceptile’s move was useless.

If one grass type move did not work, then another grass type move could. Tom charged ahead with the four leaves on his wrist glowing a light green color. The leaves formed into sharp blades as he was getting closer to his target. With his fast legs, Tom was Albee to maneuver around Slaking and get in close. Once he was close enough, he sliced his Leaf Blade arms on his opponent

Slaking slide back after taking the Leaf Blade to the stomach. He was angry that he could not finish eating all of his recently stolen food. With a simple jump into the air, he struck the ground, making the battlefield shake. All of the Pokémon were off balance after feeling the entire room shake from the Ground attack. With the grass type disoriented, Slaking focused an orange ball of energy in front of his mouth. He fired the Hyper Beam at his opponent, thinking this attack would end him.

While the shaking did take him off guard, Tom did see the orange energy beam heading his way. He jumped over the beam just before it him as the wall behind him exploded. With that move out of the way and the Slaking tired from using that attack, Tom saw this chance to end this battle.

Tom raised his arms and gathered sunlight into his body, forming a large yellow ball of light above his head. He then raised one of his hands and turns the ball into a giant blade of yellow light. Once the blade was finished charging, he slammed the blade down onto the Slaking. He thought he was strong enough to take that attack and just stood there as the entire room was filled with light. All the other Pokémon shielded their eyes from the harsh enemy before them.

When the light subsided, they lowered their arms and completely shocked to see the Slaking still standing there. For a second, they thought he wasn’t affected in the slightest, but then Slaking fell onto the ground. His red eyes were replaced by with swirly eyes, meaning he was finally defeated.

Seeing the Lazy Pokémon was finally beaten, he took a few deep breaths while falling to his knees. Pikachu was the first to react by running up to her friend to check on him. She gave him an Oran Berry from the Treasure bag to help him recover.

“Are you okay?” Pikachu asked.

Tom took a few bites of the blue berry, gaining some of his spent energy back. He said, “Yeah. Just a few scratches here and there. Nothing a good rest won’t fix.”

“That was insane. You we really know how to fight. The two of you should definitely be on our team.” Blaze said, walking up with her teammates.

“Right. If we have members like the two of you, we’ll surely defeat any opponent that comes our way.” Finn said.

“Our team would definitely accomplish much if we had you two as members on Team Elemental.” Eve complimented.

“Oh, come on guys. You’re making us blush.” Tom said, earning a small blush with Pikachu while scratching the back of his head. He then noticed the four Pokémon thieves just standing behind them. “What do we do about them?”

They all turned to the four Pokémon, wondering how they should approach dealing with those four.

“Yeah. What do we do now? Are we still fighting?” Pancham asked.

“If we fought, then it would likely end with all of you being sent to prison with you boss.” Eve stated.

“Of course. I knew it.” Emolga said, only to be surprised by what Snivy said next.

“However, since it seems you four were forced into stealing all these things for Slaking and all the items are still here, then I’m sure we can let all off with a warning.” Eve explained, surprising all four of them.

“Really?” Sandile asked.

“Don’t think you’re getting off too easy. You’ll need to return everything you stole and apologize to the owners of the items.” Blaze said.

“Once all of this is cleared over, you should be free to go.” Finn said.

All of four of the thieves were surprised that they were given the chance to get off Scott free. They looked at one another to decide what to do before looking at their downed boss. When they saw his face, they knew exactly what their next move should be.

“Fine. We’ll do what you say.” Pancham said.

“If it means staying out of jail, then we’ll do anything.” Shelmet said.

“And the further we are from him makes it all better.” Sandile said, pointing his foot at Slaking.

“Now, let’s get all of this stuff back their owners.” Emeolga said, gathering up all of the items with the rest of the Pokémon. Team Elemental, Tom and Pikachu joined the four, beginning their journey out of the dungeon.

Once the team exited the dungeon and recovered all the stolen items, they returned to the square to return everything to its owners. After that, Sheriff Magnezone and his Magnemite cadets were summoned to take away the Slaking. Team Elemental vouched for the others, so long as they promised they would never steal again. Since they were under threat by Slaking, Magnezone allows Ed them to remain free. They left with the ape and all of the stolen, foods, and items to return to their Pokemon owners.

After returning all of the items to the Ponies in Ponyville, their final stop was at the park with all six of Tom’s friends. Once they returned the stuff taken, the four Pokémon were about to deliver their final apologies.

“We’re sorry.” All four of them said while bowing their heads.

“They said they were sorry.” Tom translated.

“Oh, don’t worry, darlings. We understand. After hearing they were being forced by that dreadful beast, it’s understandable they did what they did.” Rarity said.

“Yeah. If somepony was threaten my or my family, I’d do anything to protect them.” Applejack said.

“That monkey’s just lucky I wasn’t there to take care of him. I would’ve given him a punch, right in the kisser.” Rainbow Dash stared, doing a few moves in the air. Her friends just rolled their eyes and continued speaking.

“I’m more interested in learning about these Myster Dungeons. I’ve never heard about these before. Think of what could be discovered in these places. Twilight gushed, thinking of everything she could learn.

“Oh, you poor things.” Fluttershy picked up Panch and nuzzled him against her cheek. “You were bullied by that mean Pokémon. You should never have goon through all of that.”

At first, Pancham was enjoying the cheek nuzzle before it was beginning to get old. He escaped his grasp and stood beside Shelmet.

“Look, we appreciate you helping us out, but it’s time to leave. With Slaking finally gone, we can finally enjoy this world without having to worry. Come on, Shelmet.” Pancham said before walking into the bushes.

“Right behind ya.” Shelmet said, following behind his friend. A second late, the two Pokémon were gone from everyone’s sight.

“Where’d they go?” Rainbow Dash wondered.

“They just needed some time to themselves for now. I’m sure we’ll see them again.” Tom said before looking at the remaining former thieves. “What about you two? Are you leaving as well?”

“I was considering it, until I tasted those muffins and wanted more.” Sandile said, walking up to the pink mare in front of him and rubbed his head agains her hoof.

“Awww. What’s up little guy?” Pinkie said, getting ip to the crocodile’s face.

“Sandile said it wants to live with you. He also said that the muffins you made were delicious and wants to have more.” Tom told the pink mare, bringing a wide smile to her face.

Pinkie Pie scooped up the crocodile in his hooves and smooshed him to her face. She said, “Of course you can stay with me. Gummy could use a new friend and I just love your face.”

Tom laughed and said, “Okay. That works. And you?” He looked towards the last of the four.

“I’ll just find a nice place to rest. I was always moving before Slaking found me.” Emolga said with sadness in her voice.

Tom could hear the sadness in her voice and knew he just had to help her. He said, “Well, that’s not happening. You can stay with us.”

Emolga was surprised he offered her a place to say. She asked, “Really? You’d really allow me to stay with you?”

“Of course.” Tom said before realizing he was offering the Pokémon to stay in a home that wasn’t his. He looked towards the violet unicorn and said, “Twilight. Is it alright if she stays with us?”

“Of course. If you trust her, then I can trust her too. Besides, this will gives me the chance to study another one of the new species.” Twilight said, eyeing Emolga with an excited look that creeped her out.

Tom just rubbed his head and just decided to be happy that the mare agreed. Now that all of that was out of the way, he looked towards the rescue team.

“What about you three? What’ll you do now?” Tom asked.

“We’ll return back to the Wigglytuff guild to give our report to the Guild Master.” Eve said.

“After completing jobs, teams are paid for their services, depending on how much the the client offered.” Finn said.

“And when we get back, Wigglytuff will want to want to meet you.” Blaze said, pointing her paw at the shapeshifter.

“And I can’t wait to meet him.” Tom said with a smile.

With that out of the way, Team Elemental made their way to the path leading outside of Ponyville. Tom, Pikachu and Emolga were with the team as they were just about to leave.

“Well, it looks like this is goodbye.” Tom said.

“Don’t count it. We’ll be back once we finish back home, then you and I can have a real battle.” Blaze said beginning walking down the path.

“Count on it.” Tom said.

“Next time we see each other, how about you and Pikachu join our rescue team. We could really use members like you two.” Finn said.

“I’d really like that.” Tom replied.

“Me too.” Pikachu agreed.

Eve just stood there, staring at the the shapeshifter, not even uttering a word. She didn’t even need to thank him for his help; he knew she was grateful to him. When her eyes met with Emolga, the two looked at each other before they just turned away.

Tom saw this and just sighed, seeing the two Pokémon still at odds with one another.

Eve began walking down the path and simply said, “Till we meet again, Tom.”

Tom and Pikachu waved towards their new friends as the three of them were slowly shrinking in the distance. A few minutes later and all three of them were out of sight. When they were gone, Tom began let out a long breath before walking back into the town. Pikachu was quick to follow behind him, while Emolga kept at a safe distance and wondered what this new life will be like.

What comes in the Night

It’s only been a couple of days since Tom met Team Elemental and stopped a crime spree of thefts. After everything was returned to its rightful owners, things began going back to normal, except for the two extra additions to the town.

Sandile has spent his time over at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie, usually helping her in the kitchen. It did not seem like he was unhappy with his new living arrangements the last time Tom saw him. The desert crocodile has been seen assisting Pinkie with her orders or relaxing on the side with Gummy. All and all, it looked like things were looking up for the former thief. And the other thief’s time in Ponyville hasn’t been too bad either.

Since she came to live with Tom and Twilight, Emolga has been starting to grow close to them. At first, she kept to herself, barely uttering a word to any of them, and only ever spoke when she came out to eat. Besides that, she would always be up in the tree alone with her thoughts. Tom knew that she needed some time to herself in this new environment, so he left her alone. After a while, each of the mares interacted with her differently, but she was beginning to become comfortable around them. Comfortable enough that she began to eat with all of them at the library, meet other Pokémon at Fluttershy’s cottage, and help with Tom’s training. She was beginning to become a member of this family that were strangers to her before.

Pancham and Shelmet were still MIA, but Tom just figured the two were probably enjoying their freedom from Slaking. With everything quiet around Ponyville, he decided he’ll worry about them if they cause trouble. And since he hasn’t heard back from Team Elemental in a time, he decided to continue his training.

Right now, he’s back in the Everfree Forest training with Emolga as his opponent, while Shinji and Pikachu are off on the side watching. Tom was hurling razor-sharp leaves into the air while Emolga was dodging the projectiles. He was a plant Pokémon with a bell-shaped body. He had a gaping mouth with pink lips and two sharp teeth. His semicircular eyes appear directly under his mouth and he had several dark green spots on his body. On either side of his body was a large green leaf. Covering his mouth was a leaf with a long, brown, yellow-tipped vine growing out of it.

Normally, he wouldn’t be fighting an Electric and Flying type with Grass and Poison type, but Shinji suggested that he needed to fight while at a disadvantage. It was a way to combat adversity despite the overwhelming odds. This wasn’t an uncommon concept for Tom, since that’s the base for almost every anime he’s seen, so he just followed his master’s orders.

“Don’t lose focus, Tom. Your opponent won’t let up just because you’re at a disadvantage. In the Pokémon world, you have to adapt to the moment or give up your life.” Shinji said while eating an apple from his lap.

Tom hurled another leaf at the flying squirrel while saying, “I know.” He was getting tired of this hit-and-miss situation he was in. His energy was also starting to run low.

“Missed again.” Emolga taunted, avoiding another Razor Leaf from the Flycatcher Pokémon. This was starting to enrage the shapeshifter as he hasn’t hit the squirrel once.

Emolga saw his enraged face and just laughed at the expression he made. She found the whole thing kinda funny but didn’t allow that to distract her in this battle. This may be just a sparing match, she wasn’t going to lose.

She soared through the battlefield, leaving faint afterimages behind her. Tom saw her gliding towards him, ready to deliver the super effective move, so he switched from offense to defense. He raised his leaves as a glass barrier appeared around him to protect against the incoming attack.

Emolga collided with the defense barrier at top speed and slammed into it multiple times. Tom took damage from the onslaught of flying attacks, but the damage was reduced thanks to the barrier. While taking more and more hits, he was thinking of a way he could turn this battle around and thought of something. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was the only thing he could think of.

Once Emolga was done attacking, she soared away from the plant and waited for his next attack. She and the others were surprised to him simply raise both his leaf arms. He was asking her to come at him with everything he got. This took everyone by surprise, but Emolga wasn’t going to squander this chance.

She glided down and delivered another Acrobatics attack, hitting the shapeshifter multiple times from different sides. Tom was just taking these attacks, absorbing all of the impacts. When Emolga was finished, he sucked took a deep breath from his gaping mouth. With another attack done, she expected he would counterattack, but she just saw him standing there. Since he wasn’t going to attack, then she went on with her attacks.

Emolga lunged forward at the still non-moving Pokémon at a fast speed that made her look almost invisible. She appeared before Tom and collided with her stomach, damaging him more than he already was. He slides across the ground while taking in the damage from the Quick Attack. His body bloated from swallowing a large quantity of air into his mouth. Before he could grab her, Emolga flew away from him and prepared for her next attack.

“He’s just taking all of those attacks. Why isn’t he attacking?” Pikachu questioned.

“He’s preparing for a stored attack. With all the attacks he’s taken, he must be ready to release an enormous blast.” Shinji spoke, confusing the mouse even more. He didn’t say anything after that, so she decided to watch and see what will happen next.

‘This should finish him.’ Emolga thought. She soars down towards the Victreebell with her tail changing into iron as she was getting closer. This was what Tom wanted.

As the flying electric type was growing closer to him, Tom knew it was finally time to finish this battle. Just as she was growing closer to him, a light blue light formed inside his mouth. It was growing more and more before the light encased the rest of his mouth. Emolga saw this light and was about to turn away, but was too late. The blue light was shot out of Tom’s mouth as a bema of energy, swallowing his opponent in the attack.

The stored attack was too much for Emolga to handle, so she was sent flying. After a minute passed, Tom was finished with his attack. He looked ahead and saw Emolga land on the ground with swirls in her eyes. Seeing she has fainted, Tom took a deep breath, taking this chance to rest after a good battle.

“That wasn’t bad. Using your opponent’s attacks to absorb energy and fire it right back at them. A little too rash for a plan, but not a bad one.” Shinji said, walking up to his exhausted student. Pikachu was walking up to Emolga with a Sitrus Berry in her paw.

“I know, but you said I should focus on one form at a time, so I thought of a way that would deal a lot of damage,” Tom explained.

“Well, it was a good plan nonetheless,” Shinji said before continuing to run through all of his sensei’s drills through the rest of the entire day.

After training for the entire day, Shinji ended it once the sun was setting. He said they would resume tomorrow before he left to rest for the day. With training over, Tom shifted into Keldeo, grabbed his toe electric friends, and headed back home.

On the way back to the library, he couldn’t stop thinking about his acquired powers. He appreciated them but wasn’t sure why he had them. When he thought about these powers, his mind wondered to his given mission from Arceus.

“What you did back there was incredible, Tom! I’ve never seen any Pokémon do things like that.” Emolga said from his back while munching on an apple.

“Neither have I,” Tom said.

“Could it have anything to do with the mission Arceus gave you,” Pikachu wondered.

“Maybe. The thought did cross my mind,” Tom said.

Emolga’s eyes widened after hearing them mention Arceus. she spat out the apples and crawled up Tom’s neck to look him in the face. She said, “You met Arceus?! The God of all Pokémon? You have to tell me everything.”

Tom sighed and began his story of how he came to Equestria and his mission. The whole time she was listening, she couldn’t believe that he met both Arceus and Mew at the Same time. When she heard that a dark force is coming to the land, she became frightened at the thought whatever it could be. After he was done, she understood how important his mission was and offered her help. He appreciated her want to help and accepted it whenever the time comes.

They finally made it back to the Golden Oaks Library as the moon has risen in the sky. He entered the place and made his way up the stairs so he can get some rest. When walking up the stairs, he caught sight of a light in the room. He made his way to the room and saw Twilight working.

“Twilight?” Tom called the violet mare.

The unicorn heard her name being called and looked behind her. She saw it was Tom who called her name and she smiled. She said, “Oh, Tom. You’ve finally made it back from your training.”

“Yeah, today’s training was a real workout,” He said, walking up to the mare and making a few popping in his neck. “What are you still doing up?”

“I have a few notes I have to write before I go to bed.” Twilight answered.

“Really? Do you want me to stay up to keep you company?” Tom offered.

Twilight thought his offer to stay with her was so kind of him. She said, “That’s so nice, Tom, but I don’t want you to stay awake when you don’t have to be. Besides, I already have to others to stay up with me.”

The mare stepped aside for Tom and his two riders to see two creatures standing on perched. One was an avian Pokémon that resembled an owl with a round body. Most of its feathers were brown, but its belly was cream-colored. It had large, red eyes; a small, pinkish beak; stubby wings; and a fan-like tail with three feathers. Encircling its eyes were black rings; the lower rims of the ring had three protrusions that resemble the teeth on a gear while the upper rims have extensions that resemble the hands of a clock.

The other was also an owl, but was not a part of the Pokémon species. It was an average owl with dark grayish amber eyes and Pale, light grayish amber feathers. Its also had grayish amber wings, tail, ears and eyebrows.

“This is Owlowiscious and Hopper. They stay up with me as my nighttime assistants so Spike can have a chance to sleep.” Twilight said.

“Wow. That’s pretty clever. And it really nice of them to stay with you while you work. You know one of them is a Pokémon.” Tom said, confusing the mare.

“Really? Which one?” Twilight asked looking at the two owls.

“The owl with the red eyes.” Tom said before he pulled out his phone and aimed it at the Hoothoot.

“Hoothoot, the Owl Pokémon. A Normal and Flying type. It always stands on one foot. It changes feet so fast, the movement can rarely be seen.”

“Incredible. So you really have another foot. I just thought you were the type of owl that had only one foot.” Twilight said, examine the Hoothoot change from one foot to another foot.

“Yeah. Hoothoot are always seen standing one foot.” Tom stated.

“That device is incredible. What is it?” Twilight asked, examining the phone in Tom’s hoof.

“It’s an Arceus Phone. Arceus gave it to me before sending to Equestria. It has all kinds of applications that work similar to phones back where I’m from, including data on all discovered Pokémon and Digimon.” Tom explained.

Twilight was visibly gushing at this new piece of technology. Never in her life has she seen something so compact but with a lot to offer. Hearing that all the information of the new species in her world were on it just made her want it more.

“It has all the information on the creatures? You have to let me see it!” Twilight reached for it with her hooves but Tom pulled it away.

“Uh uh uh. Sorry, Twilight. I still need it to know where I’m going m, but I’ll show it to you soon, okay?” Tom asked.

She pouted in her chair after hearing she couldn’t have the phone at the moment. Tom couldn’t help but find her pouting cute. She asked, “You promise?”

Tom held a hoof to his chest and said, “I promise.”

Twilight could tell he was serious and knew that he was going to keep the promise. With that over, Tom decided it was time to turn in for the night. He walked towards the door and turned around to the still working mare.

“Goodnight, Twilight. Owliwicious. Hopper,” Tom said.

“Goodnight, Tom. Pikachu. Emolga.” Twilight said, bedding the three Pokémon a good night.

“Pikapi.” Pikachu said.

“Emo Emo.” Emolga said.

“Hoo,” Owliwicious hooted.

“Hoot Hoot.” Hopper said.

As all the good nights were out of the way, Tom exited the room and made his way down the hall. He made it to his bedroom and laid down on the bed, with Pikachu and Emolga joining him on opposite sissies of the pillow. One by one, all three of them slowly fell asleep.

The next day quickly followed with the rising of the sun and the sound of Hopper waking everyone up. It came as a surprise to all of them when they woke up to the sound of the living alarm clock. While it wasn’t exactly how they usually woke up, they all decided to just get on with their day.

When they all got up, Spike made breakfast for all of them, while Twilight went on with her series of questions. She asked a few questions about Pokémon before moving onto Digimon. Tom answered the best he could with what knowledge he had about the species. After they were finished with breakfast, Tom decided to head out for today’s training. Pikachu and Emolga stayed behind because Twilight wanted to study the two electric types. With everything packed, Tom took his leave and left the library.

Tom began his walk through the town, earning a few waves from the townsfolk. While waving at them, he couldn’t help but feel bad that no one but his friends knew who he really was. Would the other ponies accept him if they knew he was really human? Would they even like him?

“Are you the one Shinji trains, hmmm?”

A voice pulled him from his train of thoughts and he searched for the owner of that voice. He it came from a Pokémon from the left of him. It was a light blue, bipedal, amphibious Pokémon. Its head was broad and round, having a little neck to distinguish it from the rest of its body. It had a wide mouth and tiny, black eyes. A wavy, purple stripe runs down its back. Along its spine is a dark blue fin, which is large, meaning that it was a male. His hands and feet both have three digits. His outer layer of skin is slimy and slippery.

The sudden appearance of a Quagsire appearing in the middle of town caught Tom completely by surprise. This species was not normally found away from any body of water. He didn’t want to be rude so he answered, “…Uhhh, yes.”

“Mmm hmm. Good. He asked me to bring you. Would you come with me, hmm?” Quagsire requested.

Tom was unsure why Shinji would ask this Quagsire to bring him when he could come to him so easily. He figured his sensei must have a reason for this, so he just went with. He said, “…Okay.”

“Alright. It’s always better to have a travel buddy, hmm?” Quagsire asked before turning around and walking ahead. Tom followed him right behind the water fish Pokémon.

They have been walking for about a couple of minutes with barely a word from each. Quagsire has just been making small talk the who time and Tom has tried his best to respond back. Once they entered the forest, everything just went quiet, excerpt for Quagsire’s humming.

After a couple of minutes of walking, they finally made it to Tom and Shinji’s usual training area, only Shinji was not there.

“This is it. It sure is refreshingly empty around here, hmm? Well, see ya around, hmm?” Quagsire said before walking back into the forest.

“Wait. Where’s Shinji?” Tom asked.

“No idea. He just told me to bring you here. Maybe he’ll show later, hmm?” Quagsire said just before he disappeared into the forest.

Tom let out a breath after seeing how he was not very helpful. With no way of knowing when Shinji will get here, he decided just to wait in the area and practice a few moves.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to wait for Shinji, and this gave him the opportunity to practice with his Straw Hat powers. Once the first hour went by, he figured Shinji must be busy with something important. It wasn’t until the second and third hour passed that he was starting to get concerned. This went on until the whole day went by and the moon was up in the sky. Tom was clearly frustrated that his sensei has basically bailed on their training.

“I can’t believe this. He’s the one who told me to come back here for practice but doesn’t even show up.” Tom complained.

Since it didn’t look like Shinji was going to show up anytime soon, Tom decided to call it a day and head back home. While he entered the forest, he missed the pair of glowing, yellow eyes in the bushes just right behind him.

He has been walking through the woods for what felt like an hour while grumbling at his teacher for not showing up. First, he had someone else pick him up for practice, then he wasn’t there when Tom showed up, and finally, he never showed up the entire day. The whole thing was completely ridiculous.

While he was walking in the forest, there was the faint cry in the wind. He stopped in his tracks and searched where that cry came from. He continued to hear the cries before catching sight of something moving in the forest. It was too fast for his eyes to catch but could tell it wasn’t a large creature.

“Hello. Is someone there? Do you need help?” Tom asked the creature rustling in the bushes.

Tom was slowly walking towards the bushes, expecting to find an injured creature. What he didn’t expect to see glowing objects staring him in the eyes. Suddenly, his head was beginning to hurt as everything was getting heavy. He suddenly felt something on his shoulder.

“Hey, buddy. Are you okay?”

Tom’s eyes widened after hearing a familiar voice behind him. He turned around to find his best friend, Max standing before him.

“Max? What are you doing here?” Tom asked his friend.

“What do you talking about? Of course I’m here. It’s your birthday party.” Max said, waving his arms at all his friends.

Tom couldn’t believe his eyes that right in front of him were all of his friends before he came to Equestria. They were all either conversing with one another or eating the food. He even looked at himself and saw he was a human again.

“How did I get here?” Tom asked his friend.

“What do you mean? I brought you here just a few minutes ago. Are you okay, man?” Max asked with worry in his voice.

Tom quickly collected himself and said, “Yeah. Sure, man. Everything’s fine.”

“Okay. If anything’s wrong, just tell me. We’re friends right?” Max asked with his fist out.

Tom smiled and hit Max’s fist with his. He said, “Right.”

“Good. Now, good have some punch and enjoy your party.” Max said before walking away.

Tom walked around and greeted the various party goers, asking how they were doing. He soon came across the food and drinks table, and started pouring himself a drink.

‘Was it all just a dream? Did I make everything up. Did I make them up?

“Hey, Tom. You’re never gonna believe who just arrived.” A voice pulled Tom out of his thoughts, which belonged to Max.

“Oh yeah? Who have showed up-“ Tom said before stopping himself after seeing who was standing behind his best friend.

Behind Max was two adults that looked to be in their fifties: one was an adult man, while the other was an adult female. Tom couldn’t believe that standing in front of him were actually his dead parents. And standing right beside them was someone he never thought he’d ever see never again either: his dead sister.

“Surprise! You’re family came to visit for your party.” Max said.

“Happy birthday, son.” Tom’s dad said.

“Yes. It’s so good to see you.” Tom’s mother said.

Tim’s little sister, Gwen, ran up to him and hugged his waist. She looked up at him and said, “Happy birthday, big brother.”

This whole sight was too much to take. Seeing his dead family standing right in front of him was all that needed to know that everything wasn’t real.

Suddenly, everything around him was becoming distorted. All of the people, the tables, even him was starting got out of phase. Whatever illusion was holding him was starting to come undone and he needed to help it along. He raised his arm and bit down on it hard. This sensation was enough to pull him back to the realm of reality. Soon enough he found himself back in the forest back in his Pokémon form. Now, he needed to find the one who cast that illusion.

“Oh, you’ve come back. Was it not so enjoyable?”

He heard a voice right in front of him. He saw it came from a purple, ghost-like Pokémon. It had a round head with elaborate tufts resembling a witch's hat atop it. The tips of the tufts are paler than most of the body. It has a thin, red mouth that resembles the letter "W." Below its head, it had a long neck with a round lump midway down. Three, elliptical red spheres surround the upper portion of Mismagius's body. There are extensions on the sides of its lower body with the foremost ones tattered compared to rear ones.

“You cast that illusion on me?” Tom asked with rage in his voice.

“Of course. I saw how mad you looked and figured you needed something to ease away the anger. Are you not happy?” Mismagius innocently asked.

Tom was not happy that this Pokémon has shown him something that he hasn’t faced in a long time. That illusion has pushed him past the point of anger that hasn’t appeared in a long time.

“No I’m not happy.” Tom said, with a low tone.

“Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll just try again.” Mismagius said as her eyes began glowing again.

Tom knew he had to act fast and began transforming into the first thing he knew that could help. His form changed from Keldeo to Scraggy, a Pokémon that was immune to Psychic moves, like Hypnosis.

Mismagius said that her hypnosis was not working and she looked miffed. She said, “So, it’s true that you can change shape. Oh, well. If my psychic moves won’t work, then I will use others.”

Mismagius spins around and released glowing green leaves from her body. The leaves were hurled at Tom, and he responded by pulling his skin up to block the attack. Once the attack was done, it was Tom’s turn to plan his next move. Fighting type attacks don’t work on Ghost types so he needed something that could have an effect. A few ideas came to mind and he came up with the first one.

Tom charged forward with his teeth glowing white as he jumped towards the ghost. She merely floated away as he bit down where Mismagius was. He landed on the ground and turned towards the floating Pokémon.

“A dark type move? Smart. But how are you going to hurt me if you can’t catch me?” Mismagius asked while moving around in the sky.

As fast as his eyes could keep up with her, Tom’s movements were too slow to keep up with her. He was so angry at the illusionist for what she’d done could had to push those thoughts away and focus on the task ahead. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When his eyes were closed, he could somehow see where she was going to be before she knew it. He could use this to beat her.

“If you’re not gonna fight back, then I will.” Mismagius charged ahead with an Aerial Ace, thinking this will finish him.

When she was just closed enough, Tom opened his eyes, jumped over Mismagius, flipped her, and threw her to the ground. When she smashed into the ground, he reeled his hands back and created a
ball of black and purple rings of energy. He then combined them and fires the rings as a beam of energy rings. The dark type move created an explosion where Mismagius was, dealing super effective damage.

Tom landed on the ground after dealing two dark type moves and waited for the ghost type to emerge. She soon appeared from the out of the smoke with clear signs of damage and breathing deeply.

“Fine. You don’t want my help, then I’m leaving. But we’ll see each other again. Count on it.” She said before disappearing from sight.

Tom was relieved that the Ghost type was finally gone, and can return back to Ponyville. He returned to his trek through the forest, thinking back to that illusion, and everything in it.

A little ways away from the battle area, there stood Sensei Shinji watching his pupil walk through the forest after seeing him battle Mismagius. Speaking of Mismagius, she suddenly appeared out of thin air next to the trainer. He didn’t seem the least surprised by this.

“So, how was I?” Mismagius asked, clearly proud of her work.

“Adequate.” Shinji blankly said. Mismagius looked upset from his answer.

“Adequate?! Did you see me out there? My illusion was perfect and I battled pretty well out there.” Mismagius boasted.

“That didn’t matter. What mattered was for him to distinguish reality and illusions. This was a major part of his training for the future.” Shinji said before turning around and walking away.

“You know he’s gonna be mad when he learns about this.” Mismagius said.

Shinji did not stop and said, “I know.”

Mismagius just shrugged her shoulders before disappearing as Shinji never stopped walking.

Off somewhere in Equestria, everything was normal, until a light appeared in the sky. The light grew bigger and bigger until the light was transformed into a portal floating in the air.

This was not a normal portal like the ones the Pokémon and Digimon have come through. It looked like the portal was unstable with the visible cracks around the portal.

From within the portal, a large black claw grabbed the side of the portal just as another claw appeared. The two claws expanded the portal, making it bigger for whatever was on the other side. When the portal was big enough, a pair of dark, wicked eyes appeared in the portal as a large creature was slowly exiting.

“Ahahahahahahahah!”