//------------------------------// // Chapter 25- Type: Null Troubles // Story: Twilight Sparkle has a Pokemon Journey // by Darkmetroidz //------------------------------// Twilight and company spent the night as guests of Professor Chrysalis, well taken care of in her comfortable guest room. The following morning, she made a point to fill their backpacks with food and other supplies to make the trip back to Ponyville, along with a bound research notebook which she entrusted in Twilight's care. "Take this and study it." She advised. "It's not much but it contains all the information we have gathered about Type: Null." Twilight eagerly took the book. "I'll memorize every word!" She dutifully answered. "Type: Null has never seen the world beyond my lab. Thank you so much for allowing it to experience the world." "It’s my pleasure professor." With a wave, Chrysalis bid farewell to Twilight and her friends. The six made their way back to Ponyville along Route 14, a long and uneventful trek. Ten days later as the sun drew low, they finally arrived, exhausted from the long hike. "Whew, I'm beat!" Dash declared. "Sleeping in my own bed is gonna feel great! Hey Twi, wanna crash at my place tonight?" "Please!" Twilight answered with an exacerbated sigh. "Just let me stop in at the Pokémon Center. I need to make a call." Twilight walked to the Pokémon Center, depositing herself on the cushioned seats at the video phones. She slipped a couple coins into the slots and dialed Cadence's number. "Twilight?" Cadence answered. The signal was patchy at first but soon the static faded, revealing her old friend in front of the camera with a strange pokémon taking up the lower half of the screen. It was blackish with pink bumps on it, and a white mouth and a tail like a cotton ball. "Cadence, what is that pokémon?" She asked. Twilight didn't think she had ever seen so shabby looking a pokémon before. "Oh, say hi to Puku!" Cadence beamed. "Actually I've been doing a lot of research into this little guy the last few days. It's such a fascinating species." "Well, what is it?" Twilight was certainly unfamiliar with this pokémon, but after Chrysalis had made her aware her pokédex wasn't complete, she wasn’t surprised. "Well, it's called Pyukumuku, and if nothing else they're stubborn. Once they find a spot they like they won't move, even if it gets hungry. I keep moving him around the lab but he always shows back up in his spot again." "And that spot is in front of the camera." Twilight concluded. She had to admit, the pokémon did seem oddly content. Simple pleasures, I guess… "Yup." Cadence giggled. "Still, he's a pretty funny guy. The goo on his body is actually a really nice moisturizer for the skin. They use the stuff in a lot of popular beauty products too." Remind me to throw out all of the moisturizer Mom got me for Hearth's Warming… Twilight mused. She shook her head and returned her thoughts to the matter at hoof. "Um, actually Cadence, that reminds me. I think my next stop for a Gym battle is Griffonstone, so do you think you could update my pokédex? It's my understanding there's a lot of pokémon in Griffonstone that aren't in the Equestria Pokédex." Cadence nodded. "No problem. I was thinking it was about time for me to give you a national pokédex anyway. I think there's a cord connected to the phone. Plug your pokédex into it, and I can send you the update." Twilight did as she was told, inserting the cable into a small port on the pokédex base. The screen was replaced by a spinning pokéball and a blinking "Loading" message. "So, have you caught any new pokémon lately?" Cadence asked, making small talk while Twilight's device was updated. "Actually, I got a little gift from Chrysalis." She smiled. Looking around to make sure nopony was around, she opened the pokéball, allowing Silvia to come out. "SWEET CELESTIA! What is that thing?" Cadence screamed. She fell backwards in her chair, landing off-screen with a crash. Even Puku fled from his spot, although Twilight had no clue how a pokémon with no legs could move so fast. "This is Silvia." Twilight explained calmly, trying to calm Cadence down. "Don’t worry, it's nice. If anything it's better behaved than the Gible Shining Armor gave me." Cadence's attention wasn't on Twilight. Her gaze was firmly locked onto Silvia. "Chrysalis just couldn't help herself, could she?" She said in a mumbled growl. Twilight defensively wrapped her hooves around the metal helmet on Silvia's skull. "What's wrong with it? Chrysalis might have made it but Silvia is still a pokémon!" "Twilight, it's an abomination. Literally a chimera." Cadence said at last. "I've studied pokémon and their habitat for years, and the effects pony-made pokémon can have on the environment. Playing God only leads to disaster." "How so?" Her question was asked hesitantly. Twilight didn't know what was coming but she was pretty sure she wouldn't like the answer. Cadence shoved Puku aside. Her camera went dead, and was immediately replaced by a newspaper headline dated eight years ago. Twilight pulled her chair closer to read it. Mysterious Pokémon Levels Trottingham Forest An unidentified pokémon appeared last week outside the town of Trottingham, and summarily leveled the forest bordering the town to the north. Experts estimate that 70,000 acres of forest were laid waste to, displacing large populations of Sentret, Starly, Eevee and Cutiefly, and more worryingly, has destroyed one of the only major breeding sites for Skarmory in the region. Some have speculated that this incident and the explosion that destroyed half of Hive Omega last week may be correlated, but no information is available at this time. The Equestria Daily has attempted to contact Professor Chrysalis about the matter, but so far she has refrained from commenting on the matter. The Equestrian Conservation Society has dispatched aid to the area to help relocate any displaced populations and to lead in a restoration effort, but rebuilding the ecosystem could take years, potentially decades or longer. In the meantime, trainers are asked to avoid the area at all costs. Populations of pokémon will be in a disturbed state as they try to relocate, and the possibility of a powerful renegade pokémon lurking in the area is still high. After a few minutes, Cadence's scowling face returned to the screen, with Puku trying to nuzzle its way back into its spot. "That incident was caused by the Mewtwo she let loose. That monster displaced millions of poor pokémon, and as far as we know, Mewtwo is still out there. The last thing we need is another one of Chrysalis' creations going on a rampage." Cadence sighed, stroking Puku in an effort to calm herself down. "Look, Twilight. That pokémon is a danger to you and everything around it. I just want to stop another Mewtwo-level disaster from happening. Look, how about I trade you for it? I have a pretty rare pokémon here, it's a Larvitar. I'll give it to you for that… thing." Twilight was shaken, but still wasn't quite ready to submit yet. "Um, Cadence? Can we talk about this tomorrow? I need some time to think." Cadence groaned in annoyance. "Fine Twilight. Just promise me you'll call okay?" "Promise." She affirmed. The screen went black, and Twilight unplugged her pokédex from the monitor. She began browsing through and to her delight saw all sorts of new pokémon listed. She even noticed the Mudsdale and Rapidash families listed, which came as a surprise. She raised an eyebrow when she got towards the bottom. Type: Null was listed, but there was almost no information available. Huh. I wonder what that means. She put Silvia away and left the pokémon center, cantering her way over to Rainbow Dash's house, mulling over all sorts of bad feelings. Her thoughts returned to the Type: Null research that was in her backpack. She hadn't gotten a chance to read it in much detail during the hike, because usually by the time they stopped for the night it was already too dark to read, and she was exhausted from the hike besides. But now that they were back in Ponyville and didn't have anywhere to be, she could read to her heart's content. Hopefully there's some good news in those documents. She arrived at Rainbow's house a few minutes later. Dash let her in and invited her onto her balcony, where the two of them sat with a cooler of cider between them, talking back and forth while Twilight poured over the journal. Type: Null has proven completely sterile. This news comes as a relief, as we are not sure how its synthesized DNA would react in the process of reproduction. Tests have confirmed that not even Ditto can be used to induce procreation. We will be able to control the population size, which also means we will also be more able to account for all individuals of the species at any given time. "Well that's good." Twilight murmured to herself. She was looking for anything to talk Cadence down, and while this wasn't anything groundbreaking, it would at least be ammunition should she need it. She returned to the papers and kept reading. Type: Null's helmet is used to suppress its innate power. When removed, it is estimated to have similar power to minor legendary pokémon. Incredible. She had known Silvia would be strong, but it seemed hard to believe it could be that powerful. She kept reading the same passage further. Even with the helmet to control its strength, Type: Null is still quite powerful in all metrics, and can rival the strength of most fully evolved Starter Pokémon. Twilight thought back to the pokéballs in her backpack. That meant Type: Null was already of similar strength to the Venusaur her Ivysaur would eventually become. Finally, Twilight snapped the book closed. She had been looking for anything to justify keeping Silvia, but realization had dawned on her: She didn’t need any. I have to do what's right by Chrysalis. And by Silvia. Chrysalis entrusted her with Type: Null to take care of it. She was not going to violate her trust by surrendering it to Cadence, who would probably keep it locked away forever, or worse. No matter what, Silvia was still a pokémon, and it didn't seem like it was a bad pokémon either. And more important than anything else, Silvia was her pokémon. "I'm going to tell Cadence no." Twilight announced. "I can't betray Silvia." "Good luck Twi." Rainbow said, slapping an encouraging hoof to her back. "Just do what your heart says is right." Twilight galloped out the door, rushing back to the pokémon center and thrusting her money into the coin slot. Cadence showed up onscreen again, absentmindedly observing Puku as it sat in its spot, utterly ignoring the huge pile of succulent berries just barely out of its reach. "Cadence!" Twilight's voice caused the scientist to lose her concentration on her Pyukumuku, drawing her gaze to the camera. "I've made my decision." "Alright Twilight. I'll get the Larvitar sent over to you at once." Cadence said with a smile. She shook her head, adopting a stone-cold stare to the camera. "No. I'm keeping Silvia. I know you don't think so, but at the end of the day, it's still a pokémon. And as a pokémon trainer it's my duty to protect and care for my partners, because I care for and believe in them." "Twilight, I think you're making a mistake here-" Cadence objected. "I don't." Her response was utterly free of doubt. Twilight's convictions were strong, and she would not allow herself to be swayed. Cadence gave her a sterner glare than she'd ever seen before. "Alright Twilight. I'll let you keep Type: Null. But if that thing gets loose and hurts even the smallest Rattata, I will have your trainer's license revoked." Can she do that? Twilight decided she best not even dare to ask. "Alright Cadence. But you'll see. Silvia won't cause any trouble. And when it comes time for me to challenge the Pokémon League, Silvia will be at my side." Cadence's face softened into a smug grin. "Very well then. Speaking of which, a certain somepony just had her application to join the League accepted. So when you come to Canterlot Castle to challenge the Elite Four, you and your Type: Null will have to get through me and my fairy-types." Wigglytuff suddenly sprang out of her pokéball, making punching motions toward the camera. "I look forward to it." Twilight hung up the phone with a relaxed sigh. She had won the fight to keep Silvia. Six pokémon waited in her bag. With the exception of Gible, she had faith in every last one of them for the battles to come. Look out Cadence, and pokémon league. We're coming for you. She pulled out her town map. Griffonstone, far beyond the sea, was next on the list. She'd need to catch a boat out that way. Manehattan seemed to be the best place to get a ferry. When morning came around, that was where she would head.