Fluttershy waited about an hour before sleeping, just as Discord had instructed before he left, presumably to set some things up in the other world for her. After she did a quick check on all of her animals, Fluttershy hooked the silver chain around her neck and slipped into bed. Her mind tried to imagine all of the new animals that she would be able to meet, but then she thought of what sort of adventure that she would have and it scared her. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster as her mind raced. There was no way that she could sleep…. If not for the fact that Discord had anticipated this. The necklace started to feel warm around her neck, as the magic calmed her mind and slowed her heart to a relaxed pace. Only moments later, Fluttershy was out like a light.
It was a strange sort of sleep, like when you nod off without realizing, sleep for a few hours, and wake up without feeling as though a single moment has passed. But in this case, no time did pass. Fluttershy went to sleep in her bed, as a pony, but awoke only a second later, in a completely foreign place, on a sofa, looking at herself and noticing that she was a pony no more.
“Gaaaahhhh!!!” Fluttershy screamed as she flailed about in this new and strange body.
After a moment of freaking out, Fluttershy calmed down and examined herself. The body was hairless, or at least furless. Her mane was still the same, although she had a hat on for some reason. The majority of her body was bear skin, though upon a closer look, she found that she was actually covered in extremely tiny hairs that were practically transparent and with too much space between each to consider it fur. She appeared to be wearing cloths of some sort and then finally went on to look at the things that interested her the most. She brought her hands close to her face and wiggled the fingers. It felt really strange, and a similar feeling could be felt on her feet, though she couldn’t see the toes because of the boots she had on.
Fluttershy took a deep breath and sighed. “Everything seems to be just like Twilight said. Although, my skin color doesn’t match my pony fur. Most of these cloths I’m wearing do though.”
“Ah good, you’ve arrived.” Came an unfamiliar voice, which startled Fluttershy into jumping up and hiding behind the sofa.
Fluttershy peeked out from behind the sofa to see that the voice came from a somewhat elderly looking creature of the variety that she was currently a part of. Contrasting the physical appearance to her own and taking into account the sound of the voice, this was a male human. He had a short, grey mane and had skin that was considerably tanner than her own. He had a red shirt with a white lab coat over top, brown pants, a couple of wrinkles on his face at the corners of his eyes and mouth. Wrinkles like those show that this male human liked to smile a lot in his lifetime. Then she came to the eyes and focused on them. Apart from having much more fur just above each eye than her own, what was most interesting about his eyes were that there were multiple colors expanding out in rings from the center of each. Noticing this, Fluttershy felt really relieved and came out from behind the sofa.
“Is that you Discord?” she said, trying to walk on two feet as Twilight said humans do, stumbling a bit on her way over to the elder male human.
The human smiled and said, “Afraid not my dear. Though I have been given instruction from Discord to tell you about this world and get you started on your Pokémon adventure.”
“Pokémon?” Fluttershy asked, having never heard the word before.
“Yes, Pokémon.” The human said. “I suppose I should start from the basics, but we don’t have much time. In only about two hours, my grandson will be coming by, as well as two other kids from the town, to receive their starting Pokémon and begin their journeys.” He gestured to a chair and pulled down a projector screen. Fluttershy sat down and the human began his presentation. “Hello there and welcome to the world of Pokémon. My name is Professor Samuel Oak, or just Professor Oak as most call me. This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon.” He clicked a button and the screen came to life, showing a large display of unusual creatures. “For some people, Pokémon are pets. They live their day to day lives with their Pokémon by their side in peaceful companionship. Others use Pokémon for competitive battling, gathering strong and well balanced teams and taking the Pokémon league challenge. I myself study Pokémon as a profession. As I understand it, you’ll be taking the rout of the trainer, in which case, you will need this.”
He walked over to the counter and grabbed the bag from on top. Bringing it over to Fluttershy, she noticed that it was similar to a saddlebag, but was clearly designed for human use. At the bottom of it she saw a sleeping bag strapped to it which had her cutie mark. When the professor handed it to her, she noticed that there was some parchment sticking out from one of the pockets and she pulled it out to have a look. It was a letter to her from Discord.
“Dear Fluttershy,” She began to read. “I did tell you that adventure can be found anywhere you decide to go however, I would suggest taking the Pokémon league challenge. Do as you like, but if you decide to do this, this backpack has all that you need to begin, aside from a starting Pokémon which the good professor should provide for you. Also, in my experience with human worlds, most of the names that ponies have aren’t really names amongst humans. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the liberty of giving you a name to use while in this world, one that suits your special talent. Your bestest pal,” and the letter ended with a little doodle of Discord’s face, which was cute and made Fluttershy laugh.
There was also a plastic card taped to the bottom that had a picture of Fluttershy in human form on it. It read,
Trainer’s Card ID No. 98604
Name: Fauna
AGE: 14 Home Town: Pallet
Eyes: Mt. Meadow Hair: Rose
Height: 5ft 3in Weight: 130lbs
This card is your official Pokémon league identification and must be in your possession
at all times while competing. This card is non transferrable and shall be forfeited if used
by another person. Report lost, stolen, or damaged cards immediately to your nearest
Pokémon center. Owner is responsible for the cost of replacement.
Fluttershy liked the name Fauna, and for the most part, she understood the card except for a few things. “Excuse me professor,” She said, holding up the card. “I’m not fourteen, and my home town is Cloudsdale. I’ve never heard of this Pallet place.”
Professor Oak returned to his presentation standing point, “Usually Trainers start their Pokémon journey at the age of ten. In this world, you have been made younger to fit more with this standard, but not too young so that you don’t have to adjust to being treated completely as a child. As for Cloudsdale, I have not heard of this place, but I assume that it is in the world you are from. To be legally registered in this world, you need a home town on record that actually exists in this world. Discord and I have taken the liberty of registering you here in Pallet. Furthermore, you have been woven into the memories of the townsfolk, as well as myself. Not as a very prominent memory, but they will all recall that you do in fact live here. A small place has been prepared for you to return to, just in case evidence beyond your Trainer Card is required for any reason. And just to make it clear, I am currently under a spell so that I will teach you everything you need to know without questioning your lack of common knowledge of this world. In approximately one hour and forty five minutes, you will need to head outside the front door and join the other beginning trainers to reenter the lab and get your Pokémon, as the spell will end and I will have no memory of your unusual circumstances. Only the knowledge that you are from Pallet and are here to start your Pokémon journey like the others.”
“Ok” Fluttershy said, a little unsure. Realizing that the only reason that she is comfortable talking with the professor was because he was under Discord’s spell. She started getting nervous about how she would do when the spell ends, or when she is amongst the other trainers.
“Let’s continue.” Professor Oak said, interrupting her thoughts.
For the next hour, the hypnotized Professor taught Fluttershy about the structure of a Pokémon battle, the various gyms and their purpose, the different types of Pokémon and how to catch one in a Pokéball. He also taught her about the currency of the world, and coached her a little on how to use a human body. Before long, she was able to walk properly, run a little, and was even able to learn how to use fingers, at least to the degree that she could write with a pen at least somewhat legibly. It’s a good thing that both worlds used the same characters in their writing, as well as speech. Adding a new language to all that she had to learn in that hour would have been impossible. Suddenly, her stomach growled and she realized that she had been hungry since the moment she woke up.
“Ah yes,” The professor said. “You’re new body has never eaten anything before, so I’m guessing you’re pretty hungry.” Fluttershy blushed and nodded. Professor Oak gestured to the fridge. “How about I heat up some leftover pizza for us. Not exactly breakfast food, but I usually am working so much in the lab and with the Pokémon that I never really have a proper breakfast.”
“I don’t usually have pizza,” Fluttershy smiled. “But it sounds good. What sort of pizza is it? Tomato, green peppers and oats sounds really good right now.”
The professor opened the fridge and pulled out a pizza box. “I’ve never tried oats on a pizza before, but this one is my personal favorite. Anchovy, spinach and pineapple pizza.”
He opened the box and placed two slices onto a paper plate in the microwave. Fluttershy looked into the box to see one slice left, with what appeared to be small fishes on it. She gasped as she realized that these were the anchovies. Then she realized something else that she would have to get used to as a human. Recalling from what Twilight had said about being in Canterlot high, and some of the things that were served there. Humans are omnivores. From what Twilight said, humans don’t just eat meat, they NEED to eat meat, as well as fruits, vegetables, dairy, and grains in order to stay healthy. When the pizza was heated and the professor handed her a slice, she resolved to eat it for the health of her human body, nearly crying as she did so. But she rationalized it in her head. She loves animals, and takes care of all sorts. Some of them are carnivorous. She feeds her birds worms. Her bear friend needs to eat meat, though he’s always been very kind and only eats berries around her. Even so, all of the little critters that could possibly be his pray out in the Everfree forest gather around her with no resentment towards him. They understand the necessity, the way that nature is. They can do that, and so can she. Though when she finished the pizza, she felt even worse because it tasted so good and she felt guilty for enjoying it.
She wiped a tear from her eye and looked at the professor, who had just finished his slice. “Thank you for the food, Professor Oak.”
“Not a problem, Fauna.” Oak smiled. “We have about ten minutes left. Is there anything else that you would like to know?”
Fluttershy thought for a moment. The first thing that came to mind was the fact that she would be capturing animals called Pokémon and having them battle other Pokémon. “Why do we make Pokémon battle each other? Isn’t it wrong?”
Oak wiped his face with a napkin. “Something that you need to understand as a trainer is that there are people who force Pokémon to fight and that is definitely wrong, but you are not one of them. Pokémon are in general, very peaceful in the wild, however very competitive with one another. They enjoy testing their skills against each other in combat, however in most cases, it is a friendly battle and they enjoy it. As a trainer, you will need to understand your Pokémon’s fighting and competitive spirit and match it. You don’t force your Pokémon to fight, you battle alongside your Pokémon in sport. A proper battle is never to be taken too far, and though some trainers may almost go there because they get more than rationally competitive, as a whole, Pokémon trainers take good care of their Pokémon and form powerful bonds with each other. You may be giving the commands in the battle, but your Pokémon follows them because they trust you to strategize and lead them to victory. Pokémon training and battling are things that both the trainer and the Pokémon enjoy and have enjoyed for as long as recorded history. There is a big difference between forcing a Pokémon to battle and being a competitive Pokémon trainer.”
Fluttershy thought about a competitive fighting spirit and the first thing that came to mind was Rainbow Dash. “I think I get it. But what about capturing Pokémon? Taking away their freedom.”
Oak smiled. “Let me show you something.” He said, leading Fluttershy to the back door.
Opening the door and stepping outside into the early morning air, Fluttershy looked around and saw a wide open field surrounded by forest. Playing in the fields and moving out in the trees were many different species of Pokémon. Fluttershy just stared out at them in wonder.
“These are all captured Pokémon.” Oak said, putting his hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Trainers are only allowed to carry six Pokémon on them at a time. The rest that they capture come here to my lab. I take care of them, but mostly I study them and interact with them. This place isn’t enclosed. There is nothing to stop them from leaving if they chose. But the Pokémon who have been defeated in battle and captured, do not feel as though they are not free. They chose to remain because they respect the trainer that caught them. Sure, they are happy and playful here, but what they want is for their trainer to call upon them for a battle. In most cases of Pokémon that have recently been captured and have yet to form a true bond of friendship with their trainer, they know that they have lost to the trainer who captured them, and they believe that a trainer who can capture them can also lead them to victory if they work together. Pokémon are intelligent creatures, and will often attack trainers out in the wild because they want to test their skill, or they are jealous of the Pokémon in your possession for having a trainer and they attack in the hope that they can impress you and make you want to capture them as well. There are some cases of Pokémon attacks in the wild for other reasons, such as mothers protecting their young, bad tempered Pokémon that are in a rage, but for the most part, an attack is their way of issuing you a battle request.”
Fluttershy looked confused. “So, they want to be captured?”
Oak looked at his wrist watch. “Correct. But only by trainers that have earned the Pokémon’s respect in battle. Though there are some Pokémon that just want to be left alone and it is the trainer’s responsibility to respect that. So when you find a Pokémon, you need to trust your judgment on if you should or shouldn’t capture it. And also keep in mind that some Pokémon will happily join you if you make friends with them instead of battling, though this isn’t a method that you should try when the pokemon has already requested a battle by attacking you. In any case, it is about time for the other trainers to get here. Go ahead and head out front for now.”
Fluttershy did as she was instructed, though no one had shown up just yet at the front gate. She decided to try and fight away the nervousness that she was feeling by getting better acquainted with the contents of her backpack. The first pocket she opened contained six Pokéballs. There was room for much more than that in the pocket, but she figured that six was all that she needed for now anyway. Though the concept that these small balls, no bigger than a robin’s egg, could get three times as big at the push of a button, and could even contain a whole Pokémon inside of it. Not even the professor could explain how it works, only that it does work and specifically on Pokémon. She continued to go through the bag and found a good amount of camping supplies, some nonperishable packaged food, a couple of changes of the same outfit she had on, as well as articles of clothing that she couldn’t visually see on herself, but she could feel them under what she could see. One of the things that the professor and Twilight made perfectly clear was that humans should never be seen without being completely clothed. There was also a set of pajamas in there as well, so not even when she sleeps should she be without clothing. She had a few other basic items, a Pokémon potion, a map of the known region, and a bag of Pokémon food. She was so caught up in getting to know the contents of her bag, she didn’t even notice that two other trainers had already arrived.
“Hey Fauna.” One of them said, with no response from Fluttershy. “Fauna?” He said again, this time pulling off Fluttershy’s hat.
Fluttershy jumped in bewilderment. “Gaaaahhhh!”
The kid put her hat back on her head and smiled. “You shouldn’t space out so much Fauna. You’ll end up like Ash if you do.” He said, looking down the road. “Where is that knucklehead anyways? He’s probably going to sleep through all of the fun, knowing him.”
“Should someone go and check on him?” Fluttershy replied nervously.
The boy stuck up his head and laughed. “Naw, you snooze, you lose. He’s not ready to be a Pokémon trainer if he can’t even get up on time. Gramps will have to give him something other than one of the starter three. I’m planning on getting Squirtle myself. What about you?”
Quickly pulling out the map and guide book, Fluttershy found that Viridian gym doesn’t usually take on trainers that don’t already have a couple of badges, so the most likely gym that she would face first would be Pewter, the rock gym, and after that is the water gym in Cerulean city. “The first two gyms are rock and water specialty gyms, so as a starting Pokémon, I think Bulbasaur would be the best choice.” She said, shaking from nervousness, but doing her best to fight it.
“That makes sense.” The boy said, brimming with confidence. “I guess that means you’ll have Charmander, right Damian?”
The other boy smirked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. You can strategize types as much as you want, but fire is the true element of power. If I can get it to evolve into a Charizard, it’ll be the most powerful Pokémon around.”
“Still weak to water,” the first boy laughed.
Damian looked at the boy furiously. “Watch it, Gary. Besides, your little turtle will be weak to that shy little girl’s grass type.”
Gary laughed again. “So I lose to her in the rock, paper, scissors of Pokémon starters. I can live with that because I still trump you. And anyways, it’s how you train your Pokémon that counts the most. That’s what gramps always says.”
Fluttershy couldn’t help but laugh a little. The way that these two were bickering, Gary reminded Fluttershy of Applejack and Damian reminded her of Rainbow Dash. Seeing her laugh, the boys shrugged off their quarrel and looked up at the lab. Professor Oak, now without Discord’s spell on him, was making his way down the steps to the front gate. People from the town started to gather around the gate as well.
“I see we have three out of four.” Oak said as he opened the gate. “Has anyone seen Ash around?” No one from the crowd responded. “Well, that boy needs to learn to be on time. We’ll just have to start without him.” He said, leading the three new trainers in through the gate.
As they climbed the stairs to the lab, Fluttershy looked back at the crowd, which was gathering more and more people, mostly in support of Gary Oak, as shown by their banners. This was it. This is the start to the adventure that she had wanted. Even though she was scared and nervous, Fluttershy almost felt as though she could fly, even without her pegasus wings. In this world, she was Fauna, a Pokémon trainer and adventurer. And she was proud.