All the Smallest Things: Original Draft

Once the other teams had left the Brighthouse, Team Bay decided to split up.

"Arven and I will go and contact the recruits we've chosen in Maretime Bay," said Sunny. "Hitch, Pawmot, you go looking for Steven Stone. Sound good?"

Everyone else nodded.

When Hitch and Pawmot arrived at the beach, they noticed a trail of three-toed footprints in the sand. They looked fresh, and led towards the cave — the same one Hitch had relocated the Aron to the other day.

Before they could follow the trail, though, a familiar zebra filly leaped towards Hitch.

"Sheriff Trailblazer!" exclaimed Skye, her wide eyes sparkling in the late-morning sun. "Did you accept my letter?"

"Sadly, no," said Hitch. "You're much too young. We're here to look for another applicant." He glanced towards the cave.

Skye sighed. "Okay..." Her ears drooped as she looked down at the sand. "Mom told me not to go in that cave. She says it's dangerous!"

"Relax, I'll be fine!" Hitch said with a grin.

The two walked away from Skye and entered the cave. Its walls were bluish-grey and covered in wavy patterns. Some of the lower rocks were covered with seaweed and seashells. Glowing, blue goo dripped down from the ceiling, which made the purple and blue crystals on the ground sparkle. It would've been beautiful, were it not for the tally chart scratched into the wall, as if whoever lived here was going insane from isolation.

Suddenly, Hitch jumped when he saw something move. A colossal penguin, almost as tall as an adult dragon, turned around to face him. Its dark blue feathers seemed to have a metallic sheen, and its flippers were sharp.

"H-hi," said Hitch with his ears pinned back. Pawmot stood in front of him. "We're l-looking for St-steven Stone. Have you seen him?"

"Seen him?" said the penguin. "Well, I am him."

Hitch sighed in relief. "My name's Hitch Trailblazer, and this is Pawmot. You applied for the Pokémon Emergency Taskforce, right?"

"Indeed I did." Steven sat down, as if he was making himself look less intimidating. "I awoke on this beach a few days ago. At first, I only focused on living to see another day... but after hearing your announcement, I realised I could use my skills to help other stranded Pokémon. I wandered into your town and wrote a letter on the first piece of paper I could find... though as you may have seen, it was a struggle." He raised a flipper to reveal three short, yellow claws underneath.

"Don't worry about it," said Hitch. "One of my friends recognised your name. You're a former human too, right?"

"That is correct. Are there other former humans around here?"

"We know of at least three," said Pawmot. "One of them was my trainer. Though I'm not sure what she considers our relationship now... Anyway, I have a question for you. Do you know about Mega Evolution?"

"I am one of the Hoenn region's leading experts on Mega Evolution," said Steven. "Or at least... I was."

"That's good to hear," says Pawmot. "The first time I saw Mega Evolution for myself was just two days ago, when I arrived in a forest to the north. A wild Sableye was able to Mega Evolve on his own, but my former trainer always thought it required a key stone. Do you know why this is?"

"Hmm... that is unusual..." Steven paused to think. "From my understanding, Mega Evolution is extremely taxxing. Without a trainer and a keystone to stabilise them, Pokémon can Mega Evolve on their own, but they quickly lose control of themselves."

"That would certainly explain why he was so vicious" said Pawmot. "Thank you."

"Anyway, Mr. Stone, are you sure you want to join our Pokémon Emergency Taskforce?" asked Hitch. "We'll be very busy, if the past few days are anything to go off."

"Of course," said Steven. "Having more members would ease your workload, and my skills may be of use to you."

"What skills do you have?"

"Follow me."

Hitch and Pawmot followed Steven outside. Steven clumsily ran towards the shoreline... but as soon as he fell onto his belly, he slid into the sea as gracefully as an ice skater. For the next few seconds, all Hitch and Pawmot could see of him was a trail of ripples, until he breached out of the water while spinning like a corkscrew, and landed feet-first on the sand. Pawmot clapped, and Hitch stomped his hooves.

"That's amazing!" exclaimed Hitch. "You know, we rescued a dolphin—"

"Finizen," Pawmot corrected.

"—The other day, and it took us ages. Maybe you could help us with water-related emergencies?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," said Steven. "I was never great with Water Pokémon, though my successor, Wallace, was. I suppose now is my chance to learn..."

"Speaking of Pokémon, what are you?" asked Hitch.

"An Empoleon," Steven replied.

Then, Skye galloped up to them. "Did you find the new recruit?"

"Yep. Here he is!" Hitch gestured at Steven.

"My name is Steven Stone," he said. "And you are...?"

Skye tilted her head and looked at Hitch. "Huh? I don't speak penguin."

Hitch facehoofed. "Oh, I forgot! You can't understand Pokémon! His name's Steven Stone, and gosh, I wish I could cast a translation spell..."

"How about a translation potion instead?" Skye suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"The art of potion-making has been in my family for generations, ever since Twilight Sparkle's time. I don't actually know how to make a translation potion," — she pawed at the sand — "but once we figure it out, anypony could use the recipe!"

"That sounds like a great idea!" exclaimed Hitch.

"I'll go ask mom!" exclaimed Skye, before galloping away.

"Well, we'd better go find Sunny now." Hitch headed up the slope and gestured for the two Pokémon to follow him.