“Ugh… my head…” Sunset Shimmer muttered, trying to get back to her senses. “Feels like I got hit by a truck…” She reached a hand up to her face, rubbing the drowsiness out of her cyan eyes. Opening them, she found herself slumped over in an alleyway, albeit a very clean and very well maintained one. “Just where am I?” She asked aloud, hoping one of her friends was nearby. She sat up, when a lump of fluff fell off her head and onto her lap.
It squealed, huddled face down. It was a lump of gray fur, shaking and shivering, obviously cold. It kind of resembled a cat, and Sunset stroked its back, attempting to comfort the poor feline. “You alright, little one? What were you doing in my hair?” She picked up the animal, and dropped it immediately when it looked at her with large, imposing eyes. Sunset scrambled away from it, shocked mostly by its otherworldly appearance.
“Purr?” It squeaked out, getting to its feet. It stood up on two little paws, the upper limbs acting as arms. Its body was covered in a layer of gray fur, and its eyes were large, purple disks that stared at Sunset, blinking occasionally. It had two ears that were firmly clamped against its head, but that didn’t seem to bother it. It hobbled over to Sunset, who didn’t back away. “Es?”
“Just… what are you, little guy?” She asked, reaching out a hand to pet the creature. To her surprise, it seemed to enjoy the contact, relishing the feeling. Sunset smiled, and stroked its soft fur some more, until the creature hopped up into her fiery red hair. “Hey! Get down from there!” The little creature shook its head. “You’re just going to stay there, even if I try to grab you, huh?”
“Espurr!” The little one cried out.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Sunset replied. Sighing in defeat, she stood up, the creature poking its head out from on top. She found only one road out of the alleyway she was in, so it was obviously her choice for travel. The beige walls to her sides seemed to lead on forever, and branching pathways led to even more dead ends. Eventually, Sunset stumbled out of the alleys, and found herself in a larger courtyard. The courtyard had a pillar of a ruby-colored material, a spire pointed towards the sky. A hanging sign nearby said, ‘Rouge Plaza.’ Sunset walked around the plaza, spotting a pair of teenagers talking to each other.
The teens had pale tan skin, and were dressed in rollerblading gear. The boy had green pads, while the girl had yellow ones. At their feet were a pair of creatures Sunset had never seen before – one resembled a green snake with arms and legs, while the other looked like an otter with blue fur and a seashell on its stomach. The creatures were chatting aimlessly, just as the humans were. Sunset approached them with a smile on her face, and the odd cat-like creature perched on her head. “Hello,” She started. “I’m afraid I’ve gotten rather lost. Could you tell me where I am?”
“No problem, miss,” The boy replied. “You’re in Rouge Plaza. It’s in the northern sector of Lumiose City, so I’m not surprised someone’s lost. Is it your first time here?” Sunset was confused by the names. There’s no place called Lumiose City that she’s ever heard of. Trying not to show how confused she was, she nodded her head. “In that case, why not head on over to Professor Sycamore’s research lab? He’s always willing to help out others. Just head down that alley there, and follow the edge of the city until you see a large, brown building with marble columns. Can’t miss it.”
“Thanks!” Sunset said, before walking down the chosen path. She glanced up to the hidden creature as she left their earshot. “What are they talking about? Maybe I should have asked them if they knew where Canterlot was…” She walked out into the main street of Lumiose, cars driving to their destinations along the large, curved road. As she walked, she saw more and more people accompanied by more strange animals. “Maybe it’s good I ran into you,” She said to the creature on her head. “I probably don’t look too out of place with you there.”
“Purr!” The creature replied, before pointing its small hand out to Sunset’s left. She saw a large, tan building with stone orbs flanking the front gate. The plaque on the wall outside the gate said, ‘Sycamore Residence.’
“Well, that couldn’t be more obvious.” Sunset said, and walked up to the building. A sign on the front porch said that the lab was open to the public, so Sunset let herself in. The interior was nice and cool, with plush blue carpet lining the floor. To her right was a small area with seating, and a few bookshelves around. Straight ahead was what looked like an elevator, and to her right was a reception desk. Sunset walked up to the desk, and greeted the representative there. “Hello, I was wondering if there was a ‘Professor Sycamore’ here? Or maybe he’s out?”
“No, he’s in his lab, it’s up on the third floor. He wasn’t expecting any visitors today, though. If you’d like, I’ll take your name and go inform him that you’re here.” Sunset gave her name, and the receptionist nodded, grabbing a stack of papers and heading for the elevator. “Have a seat in the waiting room, Sunset. I’ll be back down shortly.” The flame-haired girl thanked the receptionist, and sat down. Out of curiosity, she picked up a nearby magazine.
“Let’s see here… ‘New Champion defeats Diantha in title match, with the aid of her beloved Pokémon.’ What’s a Pokémon? Is it a weapon or something?” She muttered. The more she read, the more confused she became. “’Our new champion says she couldn’t have done this task without her friends by her side.’ Well, that’s cool, I guess.” Sunset flipped a few pages forward, getting to a new article. “Huh. ‘Lumiose’s own Professor Sycamore publishes research paper and notes on new Mega Stones unearthed in Hoenn. Speculation on their corresponding Pokémon continues.’ There’s that word again… What exactly is a Pokémon?”
The creature on her head poked her ear. “Espurr!” It said, pointing to itself.
“You’re a Pokémon?” Sunset asked. The feline nodded and repeated the same word it said before. “Well, that clears things up a bit. Maybe they just call the animals near here Pokémon? The thing next to that girl in the picture doesn’t look like you, at any rate.” Next to the blonde-haired girl in question was a larger ‘Pokémon,’ this one being taller than her and resembling a bipedal fox with a flaming stick in its paw. Before she could read any more of the paper, the elevator door opened, revealing the receptionist from before.
“Professor Sycamore seems more than happy to see you. Go on up, he’s in his office on the third floor.” Sunset offered her thanks, and walked into the elevator. Several buttons lined the right hand panel, ranging from ‘1 – ground floor,’ ‘3 – research office,’ or ‘5 – personal residence.’ The last one had a keyhole next to it, obviously meant so that visitors couldn’t get to the professor’s living quarters. She tentatively pushed the third button, and the doors closed without a sound.
“Hopefully he’s welcome to random teenagers asking him for help in finding out where on Earth they are.” Sunset said to mostly herself, though it was also aimed at the Pokémon in her hair. It simply purred once more, and the elevator doors opened with a ‘ding’ sound. The only rider stepped out, walking into a room full of pictures of the same man in different locations. In each, he was with a variety of different creatures, or people with those creatures. “Hello? Professor Sycamore?”
A head popped out from behind a desk in a corner of the room. “Ah, you must be Sunset Shimmer. Come in, have a seat!” He gestured to the chair opposite his desk, as he took residence of the larger chair behind it. The man had long, black hair and wore a white lab coat over a blue dress shirt. The man placed several items on his desk, most notably a sort of sphere that was red on the top and white on the bottom. There were three of them, all neatly placed in the center. “Trés Bien! I heard you were rather lost. Well, don’t worry too much about it; most new trainers can be a little intimidated by Lumiose’s size.”
“Trainer?” Sunset asked. “Sorry, but I’m just a normal high school girl, who’s just trying to find her way home. Have you heard of a town called Canterlot?” Sycamore looked at her curiously, before laughing. “I’m sorry, did I say a joke, or…”
“Non, non, it’s just a nervous habit of mine.” Sycamore sat up, thinking. “Hmm… no, ‘Canterlot’ doesn’t ring any bells… could you tell me what region you’re from? Maybe that could help me out.”
Sunset thought for a second, believing his mention of ‘region’ to mean ‘country.’ “Well, Canterlot’s a large city in the United States. Is that what you meant?”
Sycamore knit his brow together. “Sunset, I’ve been almost everywhere on this planet. There’s no such place as the United States Region.” He looked at her, the Pokémon in Sunset’s hair cowering under the flaming locks. “Are you messing with me, or are you telling the truth?”
Sunset gulped. “T-The truth, sir.” Sycamore got up, and walked over to his bookshelf. “Um, sir, is anything wrong?”
“I do not know if you truly are telling the truth, Sunset.” The professor said. He grabbed a rather large tome, and placed it on the desk. “But, for some reason, I am inclined to believe you. My gut’s never really steered me wrong, so I’ll carry the notion for a little bit.” He pondered a question, before asking, “Sunset, do you know what Pokémon are?”
She pointed to the creature on her head. “Uhh… this is a Pokémon, right? I read about them in a magazine downstairs.”
“Just as I thought…” Sycamore said, sure in his hypothesis so far. “Sunset, before you walked into my building, did you have any idea what Pokémon are?” She shook her head. “Just as I thought.” He placed his hands on his desk, looking seriously at Sunset. “I have reason to believe you are not from our world entirely, Sunset.”
“W-Wait, what? Just because I don’t know what Pokémon are?”
“Exactly.” Sycamore said. “As I said before, I’ve been all over this world. And Pokémon are present everywhere on it, always have. Everyone knows what Pokémon are; they’re a part of our daily lives all around the globe. For you to not have known what they are, especially after one riding upon your head…”
Sunset fell back in the chair, stunned. “I’m… I’m in another world?”
Sycamore hit a button on the telephone on his desk. “Miranda, please hold my appointments for the day.” He said into the speaker. “I think Sunset here is going to need more than just a little of my attention right now.”
Good start. You have my attention.
So Sunset is in Pokemon France. Got to feel sorry for the poor girl at least she saw some Pokemon from Pokemon New York City! So witch starter will she go with? I would go with the ninja frog or the magic fox. Or could she get lucky and get the fighting chicken? Either way I will be tracking and up voting!
6556479 I vote pyromancer. It'd fit.
And she's got my attention too. As a lover of ponies, bacon-haired ex-ponies, and pokemon, i will have to keep my eye on this.
6556479
I'd guess that Espurr's gonna be her starter. Good choice too, a Kalos rep, very cute, and depending on gender and training could have a couple of different ways to play Espie.
(Did you know Male prankster meowstics with priority calm mind, barrier and recovery make troublesome walls? Its more varied then priority T.wave.)
If Sunset doesn't get a Rapidash, you'll have wasted a perfectly good opportunity.
Hmm, interesting.
Oh this is going to be good. Give her a Fennekin PLEASE!
Im going with espurr for a partner as fennekin is just too obvious
So, is the professor going to look into the possibility of using Link Cable technology to try locating Sunset's world and send her back? That is a thing in Pokemon after all:
Palkia, Special Rend only gives connections between parts of the Pokeverse or into the realm surrounding or Alternate World, but it would take Arceus to knowlingly open the way back?
Its a pity that Bills Poketransfer booth wasnt just destroyed, but all his research as well, as that, coupled with Porygon and Rotom, and the Transfer machines could give technical possibilities?
We have seen in the Celebii movie that alternate, Dark Balls have been produced, by Giovanni Rocket? But they have only been abused to capture and turn pokemon. Given theres a couple of canon instances of humans being temporarily fully contained in pokeballs, surely Rocket or other organisation wouldve removed the safeties and used Luxury Balls equivalent for gaining more followers.
Imagine feeding a fibre cable into disaster victims, then putting a Heal Ball on the other end. You get them out and heal them up at the same time.
We wait, to see if Sunset is going to get a starter as well, given Sycamore has three sets available, for those completing the first part of the game?
With this being comedy, will we get to see Shimmer trying to date Ash by accident or similar?
I wonder what her reaction will be on meeting the only non legendary that can speak to humans, apart from Team Rocket Meowth, that is, Lapras I beleive?
Starting off in a place where you not only get guide to start help, but its a part of the normal storyline as well? So much easier than the fun that normally occurs. I wonder if the Mane 6 tag implies they came through as well, or will be making yet more parralel world appearences. What would this worlds Pinkie Pie be. Apart from unforgetable?
So far, this seems pleasent and enjoyable; I love that Sunset has acquired a cute head pet. The one criticism I will level is that the professor is far to quick to reach the conclusion that Sunset is from another world; more mundane explainations would be considered first. Indeed Sunset, who has experience with travelling to other worlds, should be the quicker to reach that conclusion.
Overwise, there are several potential pitfalls with this crossover I would advise you to beware of. First, avoid scenes that directly lecture Sunset on pokemon and their world for the purpose of having her respond with awe and wonder; having a character from one setting regurgitate fan gushing over characters from another is a red flag in crossovers. Savvy readers will be wary of fics that exist to facilitate fanboy ramblings.
Secondly, remember to treat the characters on level terms. While the Professer naturally has information that is valuable to Sunset, the opposite is also true; he should be fascinated by her knowledge and very eager to learn. Avoid a talking head situation were he is nakedly lecturing her, or worse, patronising her, like the plague. Particularly if this leads to the above mentioned scenario.
Finally, a problem rather unique to pokemon crossovers: the dubious morality of pokemon catching and battling. This needs careful handling. Don't just ignore it; Sunset will have questions about this. For the love of all that is good, don't just have someone shout her into submission. Nor should Sunset simply fly of the handle, particularly if this leads to the previous. Try for a middle ground.
I wish you look with this fic and will be watching with interest
KO please say that the rest of the Equestria girls are gonna be there too.
Your writing felt a bit choppy, but I feel like that was mostly because your dialogue punctuation was all screwed up. Here's some helpful advice:
I feel like if you can clean up your punctuation, your writing will flow together a lot better.
6556606
Nah, man. Ninetales all the way.
This I'm okay with. Sure there are a few minor punctuation problems but few none the less. Plus love the fact you gave Sunset an Espur for her first pokemon. Not every trainer has to go with a starter pokemon but I would like to see how this goes.
You have my attention good sir.
How did Prof. Sycamore know Sunset Shimmer's name?
6559715 Receptionist remember?
Also Sunset deserves a Torchick as a starter.
6559958 This is Kalos, not Hoenn.
6559984 First, since pokemon tend to migrate it is possible for Sunset to get one, second she could get one from an abusive trainer and third she could also be given one by Sycamore himself.
6559993 Fine. Other than the psychic typing, I don't get how Espurr is drawn to Sunset Shimmer.
6560010 Like you said Espurr is a Psychic type so maybe it sensed Sunset's arrival and went to her.
6559984
When the games first came out there was a free giveaway for a Torchic that could mega evolve. She could get one of those or another Hoenn starter. I wonder what Pokemon she will get and what Pokemon the other girls will be getting?
Why is she so surprised? After all it ain't the first time this has happened to her...
The image of that Espur riding on her head... The cuteness! It burns!
Place your bets: which legendary will Sunset capture?
Xerneas
Yveltal
Zygarde
None
I think I'm going to like this. Please let there be a riolu or a zorua in this.
OMG!!! Espurr is SO FREAKING ADORABLE!!! Love this story so far!
Ooh, interesting. I'll keep my eye on this
And Espurr snuggling on Sunset's head is an adorable mental image
Well that was a leap of logic worthy of 80s cartoons.