Fluttershy was trudging through the murky swampland. She would have preferred something gentler like the meadow, but it scared her when Twilight got angry, so she opted for the path that put the most distance between the two of them, and followed the road wherever it took her. The foliage became progressively denser, and the noises of wildlife grew louder, but Fluttershy pressed on. Pallet Town lay to the north, and Fluttershy knew she had to keep on course, no matter how foreboding it got.
Presently, she heard an odd noise, a shrill sort of cry, unmistakably one of pain but sounding like no animal she’d ever heard before. In a flash, her animal care instincts took over, and she took to the air like a rocket, flying with purpose towards the animal in need. Before long, she came across the source of the crying, a sky blue insectoid with an elongated body and gigantic half-circle antennae. One of said antennae was trapped underneath a fallen log, which the nimble Pokemon had no hope of lifting.
“It’s ok, little guy” said Fluttershy in her maternal voice, “I’ll get you out of there.” She effortlessly lifted the log, allowing the Pokemon to free itself.
“Masquer! Masquerain!” it exclaimed gleefully, taking to the air. Fluttershy was relieved to see that it was well enough to fly, and in fact looked unharmed apart from a small bruise on its antenna. Fluttershy happened to spot a bush to her left, which had sprouted several fat blue berries
“Masquerain? Is that you name? Are you hungry?” she asked the Pokemon, plucking one of the berries off the vine. The Pokemon gladly accepted the gift. As Masquerain ate, Fluttershy could swear that its bruise started to fade away. After it had finished eating, Masquerain gave Fluttershy a friendly nuzzle and flew off to parts unknown.
“Goodbye now!” called Fluttershy, “Be safe, ok?” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. She felt back in her element. But it was short-lived, for at that moment, she heard a low growl, and the sound of heavy footsteps getting progressively closer.
“I’m not scared,” she told herself, "it sounds like a big animal, but big animals can be friendly... like cows."
Another loud roar permeated the swampland. Fluttershy chuckled,
"Besides," she continued in her internal monologue, "there's hundreds and hundreds of different critters. There's no way that this one in particular is a-"
Out from the brush jumped a Druddigon, a hideous reptilian, almost 20 hands tall, that looked like it was literally made of sharp points.
"DRAGON!!!!" she screamed. Fluttershy tore trough the swamp as fast as she could. She didn't dare look back to see if the Pokemon was still chasing her, but the continuing tempo of footsteps suggested he was. Finally, the roaring and stomping began to fade. She figured she'd shaken it off her tail and could afford a rest. As she caught her breath, she remebered the flare Twilight had given her. She pulled it and the matches out of her bag, and hurriedly began striking the match against a nearby rock. After several attempts, it finally lit.
"DRUDDIGON!"
Fluttershy looked up to see that the dragon Pokemon was back, and just inches away from her face. Slowly, she backed away, shakily bringing the ignited match into contact with the flare. But right before the two catalysts met, Fluttershy stepped over a ledge, and lost her footing, landing on her back. The match fell onto the damp ground and the flame died with a small hiss. The flare slipped out of her hoof and rolled away, several feet from her grasp. Druddigon raised its claw, and readied a slashing attack, when suddenly, Fluttershy heard a familiar voice,
"MASQUERAIN!!!"
She looked up to see the dragonfly Pokemon she'd rescued earlier, hovering between herself and the Druddigon with its antennae flared out,
"What are you doing?" she whimpered, "you don't have to sacrifice yourself. Go! Get out of here!" Masquerain ignored her and stood firm. Fluttershy turned her head away, readying herself for the gruesome scene that was about to befall... but after several seconds she heard nothing. Cautiously, she turned back around, and couldn't believe what she saw - the Druddigon lowered its claw, turned around, and trudged away.
"That was incredible! How did you do that?" asked Fluttershy, mystified and still coming to grips with what had just happened. Masquerain beamed proudly, and flexed its antennae.
"Don't tell me..." began Fluttershy, finally piecing the puzzle together. She hadn't noticed before, but those two antennae looked remarkably like a pair of angry eyes,
"...you know how to do The Stare! That's why that big mean dragon went away! You saved me!" she marveled. Masquerain gave her an "aw shucks" sort of look.
"You know," she continued, taking the Pokeball out of her bag, "I'm supposed to be looking for a Pokemon companion. If you're not doing anything else, would you like to, maybe... if it's not too much trouble, come with me?" Masquerain responded by tapping its wing against the Pokeball and allowing itself to get sucked in. The Pokeball pinged a second later, solidifying the bond between the two.