The next morning, Twilight awoke to a series of familiar cries. She could feel several small feet on her stomach, all trying to get her attention. She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, to see Ivysaur, Cubone, Espeon, and Helioptile either on the edge of the bed or on top of her. Cubone was poking at her with his bone club, and Ivysaur prodding her with his vines.
"Good morning all of you." She smiled. "Did Fluttershy say you could come in the house?"
"Of course I did," said Fluttershy from the corner of the room. "The poor things have been so upset, but I had to convince them to let you rest."
Twilight affectionately rubbed all of them on their heads. "No need to worry, I'm okay." She laughed. She rolled out of bed, rubbing the area on her face where Gible's dragon rage had hit her. Taking a peek in a mirror to confirm her suspicions, she was astonished to see no trace left behind from the attack. I guess I owe Trixie one. Twilight thought. The idea left a strange feeling in her stomach, one that Twilight wasn’t sure how to feel about.
Making her way downstairs, Twilight sent her pokémon outside while she sat down for breakfast with Fluttershy. Her friend sat down two piping hot cups of coffee and a plate of biscuits with berry preserves for them to eat. "Hey Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, wiping crumbs from her face. "Um, did Trixie say anything to you before she left yesterday?" The whole thing still rubbed Twilight wrong, especially after the stunt Trixie pulled against Rarity at the tournament. She couldn’t believe somepony would go from trying to assault her friend in order to win a competition to helping save her from Gible in the space of just over a week.
"Well, while you were out, Trixie told Rarity she was very sorry for what she did at the tournament, and she kept complimenting Rarity on how amazing Gardevoir is. She helped bring you back here, and then she left."
"Did she say anything about me?" Twilight insisted. She didn't care if she sounded obsessive. Curiosity was quickly getting the better of her and she wanted to figure out what was up with Trixie.
Fluttershy shrugged. "She said, 'Feel better Twilight Sparkle. Trixie hopes the next time we battle it will be under better circumstances.'"
Twilight cocked her head. "What even does that mean?" With Fluttershy's gentle tone she couldn't even tell if Trixie had meant that genuinely or condescendingly.
"I think deep down, Trixie does respect you." Fluttershy whispered as she sipped her coffee. "She just has a… unique way of showing it."
"Unique is right." Twilight said with a roll of her eyes.
"I mean it!" She continued. "You do fight a lot but she makes you want to get better. I think Trixie feels the same way."
Twilight rolled her eyes harder. "And I bet you wish you had somepony like that too?"
"Um, no thank you." Fluttershy meekly answered. "I don't like being shouted at."
Remember who you're talking to Twi. She reminded herself. Fluttershy was about as uncompetitive as a pony could be. Maybe she's right. If nothing else Trixie has been a target for me to shoot for. Their relationship might not be healthy per se, but they did make each other want to grow and become stronger. Twilight had certainly used Trixie as motivation to train before. Perhaps there was a sense of respect growing between them?
But why now? Twilight sighed and gave up. She wasn't going to figure this out anytime soon. Better she get herself together and get moving. She put her pokémon back in their balls and counted them up. One, two, three, four. She counted in her head. Five. She added as she remembered Gible.
She and Fluttershy met up with the others at the edge of town. Although they were leaving a day late, their plans changed little. They would hoof it down Route 14, stopping at the Safari Zone along the way, and finally reach their destination at Hive Omega. Once again, they set forth onto Route 14, this time hoping to make it all the way without any incidents.
"So Twi, have you given any thought to what you're gonna do with that there Gible of yours?" Applejack asked.
"Not really." She sighed. "Then again, I haven't had much time to think about it."
"Well, it might not be a bad idea to try while we're still close to Ponyville," Fluttershy quietly suggested. "You know, just in case something bad happens?"
Twilight shuddered. As much as she didn't want to, she knew she would have to try eventually. Shining Armor thought she was able to handle the pokémon, and Celestia be darned if she'd prove him wrong. "Gible, I choose you!"
Gible emerged from his pokéball, landing with teeth bared. It glanced around, and seeing that there was no immediate danger, promptly went to sleep.
"Well this is a good sign!" Pinkie glibly smiled.
"Pinkie, it's asleep." Rarity said, pointing a hoof at the dozing pokémon.
Pinkie shrugged. "Still better than last time."
"Gible?" Twilight meekly whispered. "Please wake up?"
No response.
For a brief moment, Twilight was unsure what to do. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. Route 14 was a long smooth dirt road, with a patch of grass separating the road from the forest on either side. She scanned the wood's edge for a minute before setting her gaze on a large fallen branch, which she quickly grabbed. She clenched it tight between her hooves and motioned for Dash and Applejack to do the same. Quietly, they crept up on Gible, before giving it a nudge with the end of the stick.
"GIBLE!" It roared as they pulled back the stick. Gible shot up from its resting place and clamping its massive jaw onto the end of the stick and snapping off several feet of the branch as if it were a toothpick. It growled angrily at Twilight and the others before grumbling and returning to sleep.
"I think I like it more when it's sleeping." Rarity said to nopony in particular, staring at the little dragon-type with fear in her eyes.
"I don't think I ever met so ornery a pokémon." Applejack commented, "An' I've dealt with some mighty mean Tauros."
"Twilight, maybe you should try one of the supplies we bought?" Fluttershy suggested, "I think there are some berries in there it would like."
The bag. Twilight had almost forgotten about the goods that they had brought in from the Poke Mart. She hadn't had much time to examine them, but there might be something useful. Digging through the bag, Twilight finally found what Fluttershy had been referring to- a Pomeg berry. The flavorful berries were beloved by pokémon, and if there was one way that was sure to make a pokémon like somepony, it was to feed them. Twilight silently crept towards the sleeping Gible, holding the berry out in front of its snout.
Gible's nostrils twitched. Its eyes sprung open, focusing instantly on the food before it. In one chomp Gible had devoured it- stem, seeds and all. After it had swallowed the berry, it promptly went back to sleep.
"Perhaps time for a different approach." Rarity suggested glumly.
No kidding. Twilight thought. Inspriation dawned on her face as she pulled out her brand-new pokedex and flipped through its digital pages, looking for any information she could find about Gible.
Gible nests near geothermal vents to keep itself warm. It aggressively pounces on pray using its giant jaws to subdue its targets.
Gible is a ferocious fighter but often hurts itself out of clumsiness.
Twilight groaned. The entries were beyond useless. Next time she saw Cadence, she would have to remember to tell her that some of the pokédex entries were a bit barebones and could use some expanding upon. Might not be the worst job after I finish my journey. Twilight mused. She rather liked the ring of Professor Sparkle. Travelling Equestria and documenting pokémon for the sake of the pokédex would certainly be an enjoyable career. Focus on the task at hoof Twilight, we have a Gible to deal with.
"I got an idea!" She exclaimed. One thing she had read once was that Gible were a rather aggressive species and enjoyed fighting. Perhaps setting up a mock battle could give her a chance to develop a bond with it. It might not have worked yesterday, but if I can control the situation… Twilight's brain went into overdrive planning out the scenario.
Twenty minutes later Twilight's plan was ready. Twilight would attempt to command Gible while Rainbow Dash would fight alongside Ivysaur. Hopefully once they started battling Gible would take orders from Twilight. Even Twilight was unsure of her plan, but it was worth a shot.
Gible, however, was not interested. He still lay asleep on the field, which had forced Rainbow and Twilight to set up their mock battle around him. Twilight stood behind the sleeping dragon-type, and Rainbow and Ivysaur waited across the field.
"Alright Ivysaur, hit 'em with razor leaf!" Rainbow commanded. Ivysaur looked unsure of the situation, but trusted in Twilight's judgement and obeyed his temporary trainer. He sent a small volley of sharpened leaves spinning towards Gible, each of which struck home on his head.
Gible's eyes snapped open. Twilight, Rainbow, and Ivsaur all took a collective step back upon seeing the unbridled rage brimming in Gible's eyes. With a menacing roar, Gible launched itself off the ground, straight at Ivysaur.
Uh oh. "Gible, use scratch!" Twilight yelled, trying to prevent Gible from harming Ivysaur too severely, but it paid her no heed. It barreled at Ivysaur, and fired off its dragon rage before closing in for a bite. Ivysaur panicked, and before Rainbow could give a command, he used vine whip to try and hold back Gible.
The two pokémon were locked together, Ivysaur trying to keep Gible's gnashing teeth at bay. Gible swiped and chomped at the air, trying to push onto Ivysaur, but thanfully, Ivysaur's vines were strong enough to hold him back.
"That's enough!" Twilight said angrily as she put Gible back into its pokéball. Fortunately it had been distracted and didn't resist the attempt to recapture it. Had Ivysaur not been holding him they would have had a real problem on their hooves. Twilight sank onto her haunches and sighed. Ivysaur waddled over to her and nuzzled her side. "Sorry buddy." She whispered, rubbing him affectionately.
"Well that couldn't have gone much worse." Rainbow said with a sigh. "Sorry Twi."
"It's okay. I don't know what I'm going to do with him." What Twilight wanted to do was send him to Cadence's lab and never worry about him again, but because Shining Armor had entrusted her with him, she felt she had to prove she could handle such a pokémon. But no pokémon thus far had prepared her for how hostile this Gible was. For now, all she could do was store him in his pokéball and hope he stayed put for the time being.
That night, the six mares made camp off the road near the edge of a small lake. After they had finished their dinner, they sat by the water and watched the swarms of Illumise and Volbeat fly around in the sky. Steve and Pidgeotto flew about the sky while the rest of their pokémon (sans Gible) played around on the ground.
Twilight sat away from the rest of the group feeling down on herself. "How could I fail like this?" She whispered. She had never failed to train a pokémon like she had with Gible. Ivysaur, Espeon, Cubone, and even Helioptile had been perfectly fine after she had captured them. All of the others had never had a pokémon cause them such problems. When she was young, every time she would see Shining Armor, his pokémon would follow him without hesitation. Even Trixie's pokémon obeyed her commands.
Twilight's stink did not go unnoticed by the others. "Hey Twi," Rainbow smiled, "You alright?"
"No." She sighed simply. "I don't know what to do about Gible."
"Darling, don't worry yourself." Rarity said in a soothing voice, laying a gentle hoof on Twilight's back. "Things will work out, I promise."
Twilight shrugged off Rarity's words, and her hoof. "How? It's obvious Gible doesn't want to listen to me. My brother entrusted me with this pokémon and I failed him."
Applejack laid a firmer hoof onto Twilight, clearly not intent on giving up. "You're too hard on yourself Sugarcube," She smiled. "Ain't nopony said you an' that Gible gotta be friendly right away. The way I see it, you an' him are gonna have some… disagreements. But if you give it some time, he'll come 'round."
"I still feel like I'm failing my brother…" She sighed.
"Hey, I was there that whole time Twi." Dash butted in, "Shining Armor didn't say you would get along. He said 'you could handle it'. The way I see it, he knows you have the skills to train a pokémon like that, but you also have the patience and the determination to do it. Training a pokémon like Gible isn't easy for anypony. But it's the determination to succeed that separates the normal trainers from the great ones."
"Thanks Rainbow." Twilight smiled, finally allowing herself to relax. "I guess I'll keep working at it. For now though I'm going to give him some space. I'll be trying to do some work with Cubone and Helioptile and maybe later I'll try again with him."
"That's the spirit!" Rarity smiled. "Glad to see you perking up, darling."
"Yeah. But for now I'm going to get some sleep. I'm exhausted."