My Little Pokémon: Gotta Friend them all!

by TheOldRedHills

Chapter 3: A Rockin' Party at the Ponyville Gym!

‘I now declare this gym to be open!’ A man in a suit and thin glasses yelled to the crowd, opening the grand door to the new, refurbished Ponyville Gym.

In response there was a large positive uproar from the crowd as they rushed in wildly. However, our three heroes, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, hung back, watching over the extremely violent crowd.

It was the official first day of the Equestria Pokémon League, all the gyms opened on this day and the competition could finally begin. Eight Gyms dotted all around the region had to be conquered, followed by an Elite 4 and Champion battle in the Official Pokémon League Centre, located in the capital of Canterlot. This day was poorly named ‘Grand Opening Gym Day’ by the Nut headed Trainers, which somehow stuck over time.

‘So did you guys make a stop off at the Pokémon Centre this morning?’ Twilight asked, beaming at her two friends.

‘You betcha,’ Applejack tipped her Stetson upwards in agreement. ‘My Chespin and Weedle were goosed after our training sesh’ yesterday.’

‘Wait, what are you guys on about?’ Rainbow asked in curiosity.

‘Erm… the Pokémon Centre? It’s the place to heal your Pokémon after a battle, why?’ Twilight said.

‘Sooo you’re saying that Pokémon don’t heal all by themselves?’ Rainbow Dash felt a hint of bother as she realised what she was saying.

‘What in tarnation, Rainbow Dash,’ Applejack placed her hand to her face. ‘You should know that it’s the most easy and accessible way to heal your team!’

‘Well I’m sorry that I don’t go to a lot of hospitals, I find them depressing places.’ Rainbow folded her arms and gave the cowgirl a snarky look.

‘Rainbow, it’s not really like a hospital,’ Twilight turned her in the general direction of the centre ‘Come with us, we’ll show you.’

The Pokémon Centre in Ponyville wasn’t anywhere near as fancy or grand as, say, Canterlot, but it’s retro build accompanying the small, yet very welcoming staff just makes the Centre stand out. The trio stood outside, observing the structure.

‘So this is where I can get my team healed for free?’ Rainbow asked, almost as if she’s disappointed with the outcome.

‘Well, yeah,’ Twilight gave a head shake of embarrassment before suggesting ‘let’s go inside.’

The interior was almost as hectic as the inside of Ponyville Gym, with Trainers of all ages and sizes in a hurry to get their Pokémon healed. Cramming everyone inside was a feat all in itself.

Wow, this new Gym Leader must be tough, thought Dash.

Fortunately there was still a Nurse that was free, so Twilight pushed Rainbow through the rampant crowd to get to her.

‘Hello, I’m Nurse Redheart. How may I help you today?’ She asked in a professional manner.

‘Hi,’ Twilight spoke on Dash’s behalf, leaving her to stand around awkwardly staring. ‘My friend here would like to get her two Pokémon healed before she challenges the gym, would that be alright?’

‘Of course,’ Redheart took the two Pokéballs out of Dash’s hand, placed them on a little tray, and pressed a large button. ‘Watch out though, that new leaders a toughie. Most of the trainers are here this morning because of how vicious the Gym Battle is.’

Dash heard a little ding come from the machine, as Nurse Redheart took them off the tray, and handed them back to her.

‘There you are. Your Pokémon are now completely healed! Good luck in the gym!’ She waved goodbye as the three girls barged their way through the masses of upset and angry Trainers. Twilight shouted a ‘Thank you!’ across the room, and just like that, they had left the Pokémon Centre.

‘That wasn’t so bad now, was it, hmm?’ Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a glare, almost patronising her in her demeanour.

‘No, it was a little claustrophobic, but it was convenient enough.’ Rainbow gave an awkward little laugh, and the three of them started to make their way back to the Gym.

‘This Gym Leaders starting to scare me though,’ Twilight spoke to Dash as they approached the location for a second time. ‘Based on what everyone’s been saying, they sound like a major threat.’

‘Hah, not to me, Froakie and Taillow,’ Rainbow said matter-of-factly. ‘If anything, they should be scared of us!’

'I hope that big head of yours can fit through that door.’ Applejack said snidely.

‘Oh shut it AJ.’ Rainbow gave a grumpy glance into her eyes.

‘I’m just sayin’.’ The tanned girl replied, giving a light-hearted chuckle.

They stood outside the gym, looking at the sign that was pinned to the ground in front of the door. It read, in big bold lettering:

‘The Ponyville Pokémon Gym, ready to Rock your world!’

‘Something tells me this is a Rock Type Gym.’ Applejack said sarcastically.

‘What makes you think that?’ Twilight genuinely asked.

‘Nothing, just a hunch.’ The girl rolled her eyes as Rainbow Dash pushed the heavy door open.

As they entered the gym, it was completely pitch black, not a single light was switched on. The trio of Trainers looked around the entrance to see if there was a light switch. Once they realised there was absolutely nothing to do to make it bright, they started to wonder if the Gym had been closed or the staff were on their lunch break.

‘Helloooooooo, anyone home?’ Rainbow Dash called out, before realising that were was a dim light on the other side of the gym, so she decided to walk over to it.

The light was, to Rainbow’s surprise, a set of lit candles on a birthday cake.

‘Hey guys, check this out!’ She yelled to her friends, who were by the entrance. As they approached the cake and candles, they too were surprised.

‘What in the hay? Why is there a cake in the middle of a Pokémon Gym?’ Applejack observed the cake down to the tiniest detail.

‘Well, I think we should blow the candles out.’ Dash said deviously, breathing in a gulp of dusty air.

‘RAINBOW DASH, NO!’ Both Twilight and Applejack said in unison.

Unfortunately, the rainbow-haired trainer ignored them, and put the candles out, leaving them in jet black darkness.

All of a sudden there was an explosion of colour, blinding the girls temporarily. Once they started to focus again, they noticed all the bright, flashing images. Pink paint covered the walls and blue on the floor, making the entire Gym seem like that of a 5 year old girl. Confetti flew from the sky, loud blaring party music played at deafening frequencies. And in the midst of it all, stood in the middle of the chaos, was the Gym Leader, with a great big grin on her face.

‘Oh boy oh boy OH BOY! Rainbow Dash, I didn’t think you would turn up!’ She screamed with a joy-filled face.

‘PINKIE PIE?!’ Rainbow Dash looked in shock and horror at the Ponyville Gym Leader.

‘That’s my name, don’t wear it out.’ She said smoothly, following by a series of acrobatic jumps and flips that would make a Gymnast jealous. When she finished her showcase, she stood up, turned off the music and party cannons and turned to the dumbfounded trainer.

Pinkie Pie was a former baker at the local ‘Sugar Cube Corner’ turned Pokémon Gym Leader. She wore a Pink and Blue party dress that cut off at the bottom of her thighs, covered in balloon symbols and many other ‘party-related items’. The most defining feature was, of course, her bright pink, messy, afro-like hair, that never budged no matter how hard you’d hack a brush through it.

‘So is Dashie here to challenge the Gym?’ Pinkie said in a voice that far too excited for the situation, to which the girl simply nodded.

‘So the Leader that has been wiping the floor of every trainer in Ponyville is Pinkie Pie?!’ Applejacks jaw hung so low it could easily hit the floor.

‘Yep, well not exactly wiping the floor, we do have cleaners here and I don’t want them to go out of the job.’ All three girls showed a negative, embarrassed reaction to that comment. ‘So are we gonna battle or what?’ Pinkie said with an edge to her voice.

‘You bet! C’mon Pinkie, let’s see how you dance!’ Rainbow Dash said with confidence.

‘Silly! You know how I dance!’ Pinkie chuckled as Rainbow rolled her eyes.

A referee appeared from one of the side rooms and stood in the middle of the blue and pink arena, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle stood in the observation area to the side of Rainbow Dash.

‘I honestly cannot believe that Pinkie Pie is a Gym Leader.’ Twilight said, pushing her glasses up her nose.

‘I know, Twi, let’s see what she’s really built up to be like, then.’ Applejack folded her arms and looked at the two competing Trainers, preparing themselves for a gym battle.

‘This match is a single battle, consisting of two Pokémon from each Trainer. The first Trainer to knock out both their enemy teams Pokémon will be the winner!’ The referee announced to everyone in the Gym.

‘LET’S GET GOING!! I’M SO NERVOUSCITED!!’ Pinkie squealed as she gripped her Pokéball intensely.

‘This rock type Gym Battle-’

‘Oh wow Applejack! You were right!’ Twilight looked in awe at Applejack, who just placed her hand to her face yet again.

‘-will begin now!’ The referee struck down with his hand, indicating the match to begin.

‘Okay, let’s start off strong, Froakie!’ Rainbow Dash tossed her Pokéball down, and in a blaze of red light landed the water frog.

‘Froaaaaakie!’ It cheered in excitement.

‘Hmm, alright, let’s go and be awesome, Carbink!’ Pinkie Pie almost screamed as she flung her Pokéball halfway across the field. From it, came a small rock shaped Pokémon, with gems attached to its lower half, it floated around shouting ‘CARB!’ In a high pitched voice.

‘Wow, would you look at that Pokémon.’ Twilight said, scanning the rock-like creature with her Pokédex:

‘CARBINK: The Jewel Pokémon
It has slept underground for hundreds of millions of years since its birth. It's occasionally found during the excavation of caves.’

‘Froakie, start off with a pound!’ Rainbow yelled, and Froakie did as he was told, running up to Carbink, slamming into it.

And the Pokémon didn’t even flinch.

‘What?!’ Rainbow Dash looked in shock at Carbink. Pinkie Pie gave a little giggle before saying:

‘Rookie mistake, I thought you would know that normal type moves do hardly any damage to Rock Type Pokémon!’

‘Damn it, Rainbow, pull yourself together.’ Dash said to herself.

‘Now Carbink, use Rock Throw!’ Pinkie Shouted to her Pokémon. The Carbink then proceeded to form a rock above its head and tossed it at Froakie, who was pushed backwards by the force of it.

‘Froa!’ The Pokémon cried out in pain.

‘Right, Froakie, no more games, use bubble on Carbink!’ Rainbow commanded the little frog. From its mouth, Froakie produced a stream of bubbly water that bombarded the Carbink, slamming it to the floor.

‘Yeah, Come on Rainbow Dash!’ Twilight shouted from the observation area, so much so that Rainbow Dash could hear which made her smile.

‘Carrrrrrr…’ Carbink got back up groggily.

‘Right, Carbink, use tackle!’ Pinkie thought thoroughly whilst squatting on the ground. Carbink speeded up to the Froakie and slammed into it using all its might, bringing the frog onto its knees.

‘Come on Froakie, get up!’ Rainbow commanded as the little frog slowly got up, exhausted.

‘Right, use quick attack and finish this Carbink off!’

Froakie ran towards the carbink at a lightning speed, giving it no time to react. The speedy Frog knocked it to the floor, this time for good. Cheers were heard from both Twilight and Applejack this time as Rainbow Dash took down Pinkie’s first Pokémon.

‘Not bad, Dashie,’ Pinkie said as she brought back her fainted Carbink, pulling out her second Pokéball. ‘You’ve been able to manage the appetiser, but how can you handle the main course? GO ONIX!’ She yelled as she harshly threw her capsule at the blue floor. This time a ginormous Rock Snake appeared. This Pokémon was so huge the Gym could only just fit it inside its narrow walls. It gave a deadly roar that made the ground shake beneath the trainer’s feet.

‘Oh my Lord, it’s huge…’ Rainbow said, with both her and Froakie being intimidated by the stone beast, making her hyperventilate. Twilight once again looked on her Pokédex:

‘ONIX, the Rock Snake Pokémon
It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it raises its thunderous roar. It can move under the ground at fifty miles per hour.’

Rainbow Dash controlled her breathing, and thought of a strategy.

‘Froakie, climb up its tail and use bubble on its face!’ Rainbow screamed. Froakie, following its trainer’s orders, hopped its way up the gigantic rocks that formed Onix. As it reached the head of the snake it leaped forward and sprayed bubbles into Onix’s face and eyes, blinding and critically injuring the Rock type. It let out a roar as Froakie began to fall.

‘Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,’ Pinkie winced for Onix’s sake. ‘Right, Onix, use Smack Down!’ She told the beast.

And Onix, using its mighty, heavy tail, slammed Froakie down to the floor in one swift motion from the air to the ground and under it, crushing and knocking out the unfortunate Froakie.

‘Good job pal,’ Rainbow said as she called in the exhausted Pokémon. ‘Okay, let’s crumble this rock, Taillow!’ She yelled, throwing her final Pokémon out, giving a confident ‘Taillowwww!’ as it was released.

‘Okay Taillow, use peck on Onix as much as you can!’ Dash called out to the bird, which flew onto the top of Onix’s head and Pecked at it aggressively. This knocked the Onix’s focus off as the pecking started to affect it quickly.

‘Onix, use your rock tomb to knock the Taillow off of you!’ Pinkie instructed. So the rock snake lauched several rocks down onto the tiny bird, slamming it to the ground and almost completely wiping it out. As Taillow got back up, Rainbow noticed that the birds wing had been damaged as it was holding it outwards, wincing in pain.

‘Right Taillow, this Onix is almost good as defeated, you just gotta trust me,’ Rainbow gave a reassuring smile, which boosted the Taillow’s confidence. ‘I want you to hop up the Onix until about midway, and then tackle it. Can you do that for me?’

‘LLOW!’ The swallow shouted in determination.

‘Go Taillow, let’s do it!’ Rainbow shouted. The bird, using it’s small legs, hopped up the Onix, making Pinkie suspicious.

‘Onix, use smack down and knock off Taillow again.’ She said, examining the situation.

Onix swung his tail and hit the Taillow, making Dash cringe, knowing that she had lost, until she looked back and saw something amazing.

Taillow, using her beak and feet, was clinging onto Onix’s tail.

‘YES TAILLOW! NOW USE TACKLE!’ Rainbow cheered, smelling victory as if it were right in front of her face.

Onix was shaking its tail, not knowing how to get it off. Taillow, using this to its advantage, jumped off the tail as it moved high in the air, almost scraping the ceiling. Finally, coming down in a nosedive, smashed Onix right on the head (which wasn’t Rainbow’s initial plan but she definitely was happy nonetheless) and crashed onto the floor, creating a massive dust pile that covered everyone in the Gym. Onix has been knocked out.

Rainbow Dash had conquered the Ponyville Gym and defeated Pinkie Pie.

Twilight and Applejack whooped and cheered until their voices went hoarse, and Pinkie Pie had accepted the defeat, calling back Onix with a grin on her face.

‘Wow Rainbow you were super-duper-zuper COOL out there! You definitely destroyed that Gym Leader; I’d hate to be her right now!’ She said, walking over to Dash as she was calling back the tired Taillow, and shaking her hand.

‘Thank you Pinkie, you were definitely as tough as everyone says.’ Rainbow Dash blushed and giggled.

‘Well I have a few things to give you,’ Pinkie pie reached into her hair and pulled out a small pin badge. ‘To show that you have conquered the gym, here is the ‘Party Badge’!’

The small, metallic badge consisted of three balloons, two yellow and one blue, and it gleamed beautifully in the sunlight. Rainbow clipped it to her denim jacket proudly.

‘Secondly, here’s a TM for you, TM23, Smack Down! You saw my Onix use it in battle.’ Pinkie then handed a disc, about 3 inches in diameter, to Dash, contained in a small plastic case.

‘What’s a TM?’ Rainbow Dash asked as she held onto the little disc.

‘Stands for “Technical Machine”, basically it has instructions on it to teach your Pokémon certain moves. You slot it into your Pokédex, show it to your Pokémon then BAM! They know it.’

‘Wow that’s convenient enough.’ Dash said cheerfully as she put it in her bag.

‘Lastly, I just wanna congratulate you again, Dashie. You’re the first trainer to beat me and it was so awesome!’ Pinkie’s eyes glinted as she complimented her friend.

‘Thank you, you certainly did not hold back,’ they gave each other a warm hug. ‘Until we meet again, I guess.’

‘You betcha! I’m so hyped right now!’ Pinkie Pie ran around in circles in the vast arena. The three girls chuckled at her as they met at the entrance. Rainbow once again received a multitude of ‘well done’s from Twilight and Applejack as they exited the Ponyville Gym.

---

‘So how long ya gonna be gone for, sis?’ Applejack’s little sister, Apple Bloom, asked.

‘Oh I may be gone for a while,’ Applejack got down to her height and talked with sadness in her voice. ‘But I’ll always be thinking of you. Big Mac will look after you and Granny Smith whilst I’m not around.’

‘You’ll do amazing, Applejack!’ Apple Bloom cheered, wrapping her arms around her big sisters neck, almost suffocating her. Applejack felt tears welling up in her eyes.

‘I love you so much, lil sis.’ She said as she started crying.

‘I love you too.’ Bloom replied as they went in for another hug.

---

‘I’m so happy for you, Twilight. You’re going out and seeing the world.’ Twilight’s Mother, Twilight Velvet, said very quietly.

‘I know, Mom, I’ll be safe, and I’ll make you proud, you too, Dad.’ She looked into her Mother’s eyes, and then towards her father, Night Light, who began to sniffle once or twice.

‘Ohhh boy, here comes the water works!’ He said before he burst into tears, Twilight and her parents embraced each other in a group hug for the last time in a while.

‘First it was Shining Armour, now you too!’ Night Light said gloomily.

‘Calm down, Dad, I won’t be gone forever.’ Twilight reassured him.

‘Say hello to him from us if you see him, won’t you, dear?’ Twilight Velvet asked her daughter.

‘Of course, Mom.’ She said as she hugged tighter.

---

‘Now you go out there, and become the very best, kiddo.’ Rainbow Dash’s Father, Rainbow Blaze, cheerily said to his daughter.

‘Like no one ever was, Pops, Don’t worry.’ Dash added on, before giving him a tight hug.

‘Hey, where’s the love for your dear old Mother?’ Shooting Star, Rainbow’s Mother, beckoned her over.

‘Here it is, Mom.’ The Trainer gave Star a big hug to match the one her husband got.

‘Our little Dashie, all grown up.’ As two generations exchanged eye contact, Dash heard a call from outside.

‘Come on Dash, let’s get moving!’

‘Yeah come on, Hayseed, the other seven Gym Leaders can’t wait forever!’

‘Guess that’s my calling.’ Rainbow Dash said as she gave her parents one last hug, kiss and goodbye, and as she opened the door, there stood her two closest friends, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle.

As they started to leave the gates of their hometown of Ponyville, Applejack asked:

‘Where are we headed to next?’

‘Well, the next gym is in Cloudsdale, which isn’t too far from here,’ Twilight checked her map of the Equestria Region, built into her Pokédex. ‘We just have one major obstacle to overcome.’

‘And what would that be?’ Rainbow asked her.

‘The Everfree Forest.’

Author's Note:

The Equestria Region Pokédex

Seen: 9
Captured: 2

---

This Chapter was a toughie, I started to realise how hard it is to write a battle into written text, but yet here is this fanfiction, which is basically just that! See you all in the next Chapter!
-TheOldRedHills

Comments

[HB_DS2013]

Something tells me that Shining Armor and Cadence are going to be gym leaders of the Steel and Fairy types...

[badninja]

7401386

Nah I see them in the elite four. I see the Elite Four being Blue Blood: dragons, Shining Armor: Steel, Cadance: Fairy, Luna: Dark with Celestia has the champion.

[HB_DS2013]

7401424 At least I got their typing right. Will Celestia be bound to one type or be like Blue? I'd also like to know if Sunset and Starlight will also be included.

[badninja]

7401491

I would see Celestia more like Cynthia. Sunset and Starlight I see being admins for the evil team, with Sunset reforming first.

[Sakinah Mlpfan]

AWESOME

[raven618]

Nice to see Twilight using the Pokédex more, it felt really odd having just Rainbow use it.

Also I can totally see Rainbow Dash not know what a Pokemon Center is. Nice touch.