Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight set out on an adventure in a world ravished by Pokémon, making many new friends (and enemies) along the way on the quest to become Pokémon Champion!
Rainbow Dash finally has become of age to train Pokémon, so she, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack all set out into the Equestria Region. All with different motives, but all longing to discover, battle, train and befriend new Pokémon! Making new friends, but also new rivals, Can Dash overcome the eight fierce Gym leaders of the region and become champion?
Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins! Old Friends unite!
Rainbow Dash’s alarm, set to 7:00am, made her eyes shoot awake, still bloodshot and filled with sleep. She jumped out of bed and threw on her black skinny jeans, white Wonderbolts T-shirt, blue denim jacket and white sneakers. She grabbed her brown satchel bag and ran downstairs, grabbed a slice of buttered toast prepared by her Mom and she catapulted her way out the door, and bolting down the road with a spring in her step.
Today was the day she would become a certified Pokémon Trainer.
The signups for the Equestria Pokémon League were only once a year, that being the end of July after all the Trainers had finished school. Only people aged 18 could sign up, so as Dash had finally come of age, she could partake in the League and get a shot at becoming Champion.
The League is a ruthless gauntlet of eight Gyms, with a Gym Leader inside of each, specialising in a certain Pokémon Type. These Gyms were scattered across the region and it only took the greatest trainer of wit, strategy and willpower to not only gather the eight Gym Badges, but to defeat the Elite Four in Canterlot and the Champion. Only the best could do it, and Rainbow Dash knew she was the best.
She was up for the challenge, and no matter how difficult that said challenge was, she could overcome them and truly become the very best, like no one ever was.
That was until she bumped into someone whilst running down the street.
‘Owww!’ The girl in front yelled. ‘Watch where you’re going, will you?’
Rainbow Dash recognised the young lady instantly, though she couldn’t recognise Dash as she had dropped her glasses in the collision.
‘Sorry, Twilight.’ Rainbow chuckled to herself as she handed back her thick framed glasses. Twilight Sparkle reluctantly put them on.
‘Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash,’ Twilight blushed awkwardly as she brushed herself down. ‘I’m guessing you’re up bright and early for the sign up today?'
‘You betcha, I couldn’t miss it for anything! I’m glad you and Applejack are signing up with me, this means we could travel around the Equestria Region together.’
‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Twilight started to walk with Rainbow. ‘I wonder what starter Pokémon they will have. My friend Moon Dancer told me that they have the starter’s exclusive to Sinnoh in Canterlot!’
‘Woah, that’s pretty neat,’ Dash said ecstatically, she could hardly contain her excitement. ‘I don’t mind whichever one’s we get, they’re all pretty darn good.’
‘Yeah, you’re right there. I’d just love to study Pokémon, that’s why I’m signing up in the first place.’
‘The League Challenge is what I’m here for! One day I will be champion.’ A smug grin formed on Rainbow Dash’s face.
‘I don’t doubt you’ll do well. Just put in the effort, Dash.’ Twilight said optimistically, even though she knew how much Rainbow Dash would procrastinate usually.
The two of them turned and entered into the Ponyville Pokémon Laboratory. There they were greeted by Professor Cheerilee, who aptly wore a lab coat and carried a clip board. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle signed a few forms about personal details, and ‘Health and Safety’ and the ‘Terms and Conditions’ which the two of them awkwardly skipped over.
‘All we need to do now is to wait for your other friend and then we can begin.’ Cheerilee said with a smile on her face.
‘How much longer does AJ need to take?’ Rainbow said with a huff.
‘Now, now, Rainbow, she can’t be that long now.’ Twilight reassured her friend, though she too was getting agitated. Ten minutes later, Applejack showed up, and she looked like a mess.
‘Sorry I’m late, y’all. Was up until stupid o’clock getting my chores done, that I slept through my alarm!’ She said groggily.
‘That’s fine, Miss Applejack, if you just sign these forms please.’ Cheerilee forced Applejack to endure the same procedure that Rainbow and Twilight had to undertake. She too skipped over the ‘Terms and Conditions’.
‘Okay girls,’ Professor Cheerilee started her lecture. ‘Today you three are going to be finally doing one of the greatest things potentially in your entire lives. Raising and using your very own Pokémon!’
‘YESSSS!’ Rainbow Dash started to rock back and forth in her chair. She wanted to squeal she was that excited.
‘The first step you have to make now is, of course, choosing what your starter will be.’ Cheerilee added on, going over to her computer and entering in a heap of codes.
‘Professor,’ Twilight chirped up ‘May I ask from what region we will be getting our starters from?’
‘Good question, Miss Sparkle,’ The Professor replied, as she finished typing and three Pokéballs arose from her work table. ‘I decided that this year we should go with a region of Pokémon that has never been represented here in Ponyville before. Girls, these are the Kalos starters, meet Chespin, Froakie and Fennekin.’
Cheerilee threw the Pokéballs to the ground, where three monsters appeared. Fennekin was a yellow and orange fox creature, which created an undeniable heat in the laboratory. Chespin was a green and brown woodland creature, and the final Pokémon was a frog of many shades of blue, with a large amount of frubbles culminating on its back, that was Froakie.
‘Choose wisely, girls, as this is the Pokémon that will always be by your side in your journey.’ Professor Cheerilee stepped aside to let the three girls ponder over the three starters.
‘Awww you’re so cute!’ Twilight ran over to Fennekin and began to stroke its warm fur. The yellow fox sneezed, and a small ignition of flame shot out its nose. Twilight couldn’t help but find it adorable, so she claimed the Fire Fox Pokémon for herself.
‘You’re a hungry one, ain’t ya?’ Applejack said to the Chespin, that was snacking on some of the apples she carried in her satchel.
‘I don’t know about you, but I think we’re gonna be mighty good friends.’ Applejack said happily.
‘Chespin!’ The Spiny Nut Pokémon replied in admiration.
‘Okay, listen here,’ Rainbow Dash started to become some kind of drill sergeant to the Froakie (that watched with a cute little smile on its face.) ‘Do you think you have what it takes to be on my team? Mind you, this is the team that will conquer the eight Gym Leaders and help me become the Champion of the Equestria Region.’
‘FROAKIE, FROA FROA!’ The giddy Pokémon said in response, which Dash couldn’t help but smile at.
‘Ooooohkay, but don’t make me regret this, pal.’ She said in a weird mixed tone of happiness, and assertiveness. So it was decided then and there. Twilight Sparkle owned Fennekin, Applejack had ownership of Chespin, and, of course, Rainbow Dash had a neat little Froakie perched upon her shoulder.
‘Awwww yay, wise choices, you three,’ Cheerilee jumped up and down in excitement. ‘There are a few more things you will need before you set out. Firstly, here are your Pokémon’s Pokéballs.’
She handed them to the three girls, who put the Pokémon inside of them.
‘Don’t worry, they are completely safe inside of there.’ Cheerilee joyfully stated.
‘Darn tootin’.’ Applejack grunted as she looked at the Pokéball in dismay.
‘You’re gonna need Pokéballs at every turn, so here’s ten each for you.’ She handed ten tiny little capsules to the girls, who each but them into their respective bags.
‘Last, but certainly not least,’ the Professor grabbed three red tablet shaped devices off her counter. ‘Here are your certified Pokédex.’
The three girls looked in wonder when they received the noble gift. This item above all else proved that you were a trainer.
‘I have been studying Pokémon all my life, but since I’m rooted to Ponyville, being a teacher and all, it means I cannot go out into the world and explore. Finding all the information on every Pokémon that’s out there, that would be a dream come true for me.’ Cheerilee spoke rather pessimistically, but Twilight Sparkle stepped forward.
‘That would be amazing, Professor. I may do it myself whilst we’re out there.’ She exclaimed.
‘Oh that would be wonderful, Miss Sparkle. Just remember that you three have so much potential, go out into the world and make a difference in it. I believe in you.’
All three of the girls said ‘Thank you.’ (Except Applejack who said ‘Much obliged.’) And the three of them turned around and left the laboratory.
‘So let’s see if these Pokédexes work,’ Rainbow Dash cockily said as they walked into a warm field. ‘GO FROAKIE!’
She threw the Pokéball to the ground, and blasting out in a beam of light, Froakie appeared.
‘Froa!’ The little Frog said in a chipper manner.
‘Rightio, here we are, scan Pokémon.’ Rainbow grabbed her Pokédex as she held it up to her monster. Suddenly the tablet sprang to life and explained:
‘FROAKIE: The Bubble Frog Pokémon From its chest and back, FROAKIE creates bubbles called Frubbles, which act as a cushion and soften the blow of an opponent's attack.’
‘Woah that’s neat,’ Applejack said. ‘Try it on my Chespin.’ as she threw out the Grass type Pokémon.
‘Yeah yeah sure, gimme a second.’ Rainbow pointed the Pokédex at Chespin as the machine said in a robotic voice.
‘CHESPIN: The Spiny Nut Pokémon CHESPIN can flex the soft spikes on its head, making them so stiff and sharp; they can even pierce through stone.’
‘Well, I’ll be. Not such a cute face after all.’ Applejack said triumphantly as Chespin ran into her arms.
‘Right okay then,’ Twilight said with an annoyed quiver to her voice, throwing her Pokéball to the ground. ‘What does the Pokédex say about my Fennekin?’
‘You guys realise you can do it yourselves, right?’ Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, scanning the warm, fluffy Fox.
‘FENNEKIN: The Fox Pokémon FENNEKIN expels hot air that can reach nearly 400 degrees. It likes to snack on twigs.’
‘Wow, that’s hot.’ Applejack said, backing away.
‘Yeah Twilight, don’t be making us call the Fire Department on you if your Fennekin sets you in flames.’ Rainbow also said, shielding her face with the Pokédex.
‘Don’t worry, it won’t do that,’ Twilight giggled, scooping her Pokémon into her hands. ‘So are we gonna battle or what?’
‘Oh yeah,’ Rainbow Dash stepped forward with a smug grin. ‘We most certainly are, gotta start somewhere.’
‘Alright, let’s get set up, then we can begin.’ Applejack grinned, knowing that playing referee would be a good front seat for the action.
‘Right, this is gonna be a fair fight, the first Pokémon to knock out its opponent is the winner.’ Applejack announced to the two competitors.
The three of them created their own battle field using the medium sized field, their jackets and bags being placed down to create the four corners of a Pokémon arena. Rainbow Dash stood at one end, Twilight the other, and Applejack stood outside the rectangle but still in the middle of her two best friends.
‘Froakie, it’s time to show me your skills!’ Dash said, with her Pokémon jumping off her shoulder with a determined face on.
‘I choose you Fennekin!’ Twilight pointed and Fennekin ran from behind her legs.
‘FEN!’ The Pokémon called as it jumped into position.
‘Let the battle begin!’ Applejack struck down her arm, commencing the battle to start.
‘Okay, Fennekin,’ Twilight pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. ‘Start it off with a scratch!’
Fennekin’s claws began to brighten up a neon white as she charged forward towards the Froakie.
‘Froakie, dodge it and counter with bubble!’ Rainbow pointed forwards as Froakie jumped over the Fennekin, causing the Pokémon to trip over. All of a sudden, an array of bubbles shot from the Frogs mouth and assaulted the Fennekin, where it ran away in retaliation.
‘Alright, if you want to play dirty, Dash,’ Twilight replicated the smug look on the rainbow-haired girls face. ‘Fennekin, use your tail-whip to knock down Froakies defence!’
‘Wait what?’ Dash seemed shocked as the Fox began to slap Froakie with its tail, leaving it confused and alarmed.
‘Now, strike at it again with scratch!’ Twilight shouted as her Pokémon hit at Froakie with a claw, causing it to fly backwards.
‘Don’t give up Froakie, I know what we can do!’ Rainbow looked at the injured Pokémon.
‘FROA!’ It exclaimed as a sneer grew on its face.
‘Fennekin, finish it off with your ember attack!’ Twilight seized the opportunity to win.
‘FENNEKIN!’ The Fox began to create a ball of fire in its mouth. As it launched the considerably large flame ball Dash exclaimed:
‘Froakie, use your frubbles and block the attack!’
As Froakie used the frubbles and covered itself, the ember was simply absorbed, no damage was done.
Twilight, Fennekin and Applejack were all in a state of shock, and Dash knew she should use this to her advantage.
‘Quick, Froakie now hit Fennekin with a pound!’ Rainbow Dash watched in glee as Froakie sent the Fennekin flying across the field, knocking it out in the process.
‘The Winner of the match goes to Rainbow Dash and Froakie.’ Applejack pointed towards the winner as she ran around in excitement, her Froakie joining in with her.
‘Don’t worry Fennekin, you did a brilliant job out there, now just rest a little, okay?’ Twilight said to her fainted friend as she sent her back into her Pokéball. Applejack walked up to her:
‘You both impressed me, it looked like it was getting pretty heated I was just watching the darn thing!’ She said, nudging Twilight with her elbow.
‘I didn’t think Rainbow Dash could pull it off, you know,’ Twilight looked to the girl in admiration. ‘I suppose there could be more to her than meets the eye.’
‘You betcha! I suppose she’s gonna head into the Ponyville Gym as soon as she can.’
‘Heck yeah I am,’ Rainbow and Froakie ran up to the two young women. ‘Although as much as Froakie is awesome and all, I think he’ll need a little backup in there.’
‘Froakie Froa!’ The Froakie called in response.
‘I gotta congratulate you for that battle then, Dash,’ Twilight stuck out her arm, which Rainbow took and shook it. ‘There was some amazing connection between you and that Froakie, you two are gonna be amazing together!’
‘Thanks, Twi, to be honest; I thought you had me for a second.’ Rainbow Dash added on, making the three girls laugh together.
‘Come on, gals, route one is just outside Ponyville, no doubt you’ll find some Pokémon to help you out at the Gym.’ Applejack ran down the street, making the other girls catch up.
‘If you say so, Championship here we come!’ Rainbow bellowed.
And so, as the day hit noon, the three trainers had begun their Pokémon journey through the Equestria Region. Although there will be many hardships to face along the way, and new faces and new Pokémon to encounter as well. Only time will tell what will happen in the amazing world of Pokémon!
Chapter 2: Take to the skies as the Lightning Strikes!
It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day on the outskirts of Ponyville, there were many trainers out either socialising, relaxing in the sun, or battling and training their Pokémon. Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were, most obviously, doing the latter.
The new and improved Ponyville Gym was set to open tomorrow morning. With rumours spreading around that the leader, whoever it may be, will the toughest the small town has represented in their gym, it was crucial for Rainbow Dash to prepare for her encounter with them.
The trio were stood in a large patch of grass, staring down a small worm-like Pokémon in the face. Dash pulled out her Pokédex to scan the monster, it read:
‘WEEDLE: The Hairy Bug Pokémon The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will get the point right where it hurts.’
‘I don’t know about this one, AJ. It seems a little, erm, weak.’ Rainbow admitted as she scratched the back of her head, examining the lousy bug.
‘Well, d’ya wanna bigger team for when you face the Gym Leader tomorrow?’ Applejack had a grunt in her voice which amplified when she got annoyed.
‘Well…’ Rainbow hesitated as she thought it through. ‘I guess it’ll have to do.’ She grabbed one of the small capsules out of her bag, pushed the white button in the middle which expanded the capsule to a usual Pokéball size, cocked her arm back…
…but couldn’t throw it.
‘I can’t do it, I'm just too worried that chances are I’ll just overshoot and hit a trainer in the eye. It’s not worth it for a pathetic little worm.’ Rainbow, much like an eight year old child would do, sat down in the grass and moped, as both Twilight and Applejack looked at her in confusion and disappointment.
Did she really not want that Pokémon? Twilight thought.
‘Well of you’re not catching it, then I am!’ Applejack grabbed a Pokéball and lobbed it at the Weedle, containing it in a red beam of light. The ball shook one, twice, three times, and then small sparkles sprinked onto the dew covered grass from the ball.
Applejack had caught Weedle.
‘Hey no fair, you can’t do that!’ Rainbow stood up in a fit of rage and looked at the smug Applejack, tossing the Pokéball up and down in the air as if it were some tennis ball.
‘Well I’m sorry sugarcube, but you chickened out,’ Applejack walked off as she spoke calmly. ‘Besides, the more bugs captured that could potentially eat my crop back at the farm, the better.’
‘Nice catch, Applejack,’ Twilight ran up to the girl in the cowboy hat and tapped her on the back. ‘But she’s right Rainbow, there’s thousands of Pokémon out here, you’ll catch one soon.’
‘Yeah I guess, I suppose I need to be a more confident thrower, sorry AJ, you deserved it.’ Dash said very disappointedly, which is unlike her.
‘Awww, don’t worry about it, Rainbow Dash! Like Twilight said, just you wait, you’ll get yourself a mighty fine companion to go with your Froakie.’
So the three of them kept looking, Rainbow Dash didn’t like the look of any of the Pokémon they saw, fussing over their colours or their types, much like she usually does. That was until they came across a bird Pokémon, very small in size, pecking at a berry stuck in the ground. Rainbow Dash loved the look of it, and decided to scan it with her Pokédex.
‘TAILLOW, the Tiny swallow Pokémon. TAILLOW has a fierce personality, never backing down, even against the most powerful opponents.’
‘IT’S SO AWESOME, JUST LIKE ME!’ Rainbow’s jaw dropped at the sheer level of ‘coolness’ she saw in Taillow.
‘Rainbow, before you go in throwing away everything you have,’ Twilight blocked Rainbow Dash from even attempting to throw a Pokéball in the little bird’s direction. ‘I’d suggest weakening it first, just to be safe.’
‘Why? Applejack got her Weedle from doing nothing!’ Dash’s face began to turn red from exasperation.
‘Weedle was just a little bug that’s going about its business,’ Applejack piped in, looking at the Pokéball that contained her Weedle. ‘That Taillow looks tough, and will probably fight its way out of any ball you throw at it.’
‘Ugh fine,’ Rainbow Dash said half-heartedly. ‘Go, Froakie.’
Despite Rainbow’s glum attitude, Froakie still kept a happy-go-lucky air as it was sent out.
‘FROA!’ It said in excitement.
‘Alright, we wanna weaken this Taillow, not completely destroy it. So hit it up with a bubble!’ Rainbow Dash commanded her Pokémon, pointing her finger at Taillow, who had no idea what was going on.
Froakie formed a large amount of bubbles using its hands, to which it launched them towards the Taillow. However the bird discovered what was happening, and took to the skies at an amazing speed, avoiding the attack.
‘Awww, come on,’ Rainbow Dash muttered ‘why did you have to be fast?’
Twilight noticed something about the Taillow, so she alerted Dash as fast as she could:
‘Taillow is coming down to hit Froakie with peck, tell it to dodge it!’
‘AAAAH!’ Rainbow Dash panicked. ‘Froakie, avoi-’
But before she could get the words out, the Taillow had collided with Froakie, making it fly backwards. Fortunately it landed on its feet, but it was barely standing. Taillow took back to the skies, preparing for another attack.
‘One more hit and your Froakie is going down.’ Applejack muttered to Rainbow, who looked devastated.
‘Froaaa~’ the little frog cried in tiredness.
‘Right, Froakie, avoid this next peck, and then pound that Taillow to the ground!’ Rainbow Dash looked into Froakie’s eyes for reassurance. To which it nodded in determination.
Taillow swooped to the ground, but Froakie, following its Trainer’s orders, swerved and avoided the attack. As the bird Pokémon panicked, Froakie slammed into Taillow with all its might, not only taking it by surprise, but completely winding and exhausting it.
‘Now,’ Twilight yelled ‘Throw a Pokéball!’
‘Well, here goes nothing.’ Rainbow Dash blindly threw a red and white ball at the tired Taillow, fortunately hitting it and sending it into the Pokéball. The ball shook one, twice, three times. And, much like Applejack’s did earlier, small sparks, locking the ball and encapsulating the Pokémon, flew outwards. Rainbow Dash, feeling a sense of victory, scooped up the Pokéball and held it to the sky.
‘Yes! I caught Taillow!’ She exclaimed in triumph, as the two girls applauded and cheered their fellow peer.
As Rainbow called back in the tired Froakie to rest, a tall, blonde girl approached her.
‘Wow, pretty good work from someone as weak and pathetic as you, Rainbow Crash.’ She said in a voice of utter disgust, causing the three girls to turn around in shock.
‘Oh, hello, Lightning Dust.’ Dash said in a bitter tone.
The girl wore a mint green tank top, ripped jeans, and a hooded jacket. Perched on top of her shoulder was a Chimchar who, despite its Trainer’s cold demeanour, seemed to be very jolly and happy. Rainbow Dash scanned it with her Pokédex:
‘CHIMCHAR: The Chimp Pokémon CHIMCHAR easily climbs the sheerest of walls and lives on mountain tops. When it sleeps, its flames go out.’
‘You know this varmit?’ Applejack looked in scorn in Dust’s general direction.
‘Oh yeah I do,’ Rainbow Dash never took her eyes away from Lightning Dust’s arrogant face. ‘My experience at the Wonderbolts Academy last year was completely ruined by her and her selfishness.’
‘Oh please,’ Lightning cocked her head back and laughed like a madman. ‘If this is because of how awful you were there and how I outshined you, I don’t want to hear it.’
‘Ugh you little creep! Get out of my sight!’ Rainbow turned away and carried on walking.
‘How’s about we see who’s the better Trainer then, Rainbow Crash,’ Lightning Dust followed her, pushing her way through Twilight and Applejack who were ready to beat up more than just her Pokémon. ‘My Chimchar versus your Taillow, agreed?’ Rainbow turned around with a disgruntled look.
‘Yeah. Agreed.’
Rainbow Dash was prepared to battle once more. She and Lightning Dust had decided to duke it out on an old abandoned Basketball field on the edge of Route One. Twilight was chosen to be the referee this time around, with Applejack standing by Dash for support.
‘Alright, do me proud. Go Taillow!’ Rainbow threw out her Pokéball, and out blasted the Pokémon she had most recently caught.
‘TAILLOW!’ The Pokémon yelled frantically.
‘Chimchar, you know what to do.’ She looked at the Chimp on her shoulder, which jumped off and hopped around.
‘Char! Char!’ It kept on yelling.
‘Okay, it’s one versus one. No other Pokémon may be used.’ Twilight said, whilst stood in the middle of the court.
‘Yeah whatever Grandma, let’s just battle already!’ Lightning replied viciously.
‘Yeah sure, begin.’ Twilight sighed and looked at the ground in defeat as the match started.
‘Okay, we’ll start, Taillow, tackle that Chimchar!’ Rainbow Dash shouted at the bird, which flew over to Chimchar.
‘Dodge that, Chimchar, and use scratch.’ As Lightning Dust said that, Chimchar hopped out of the way of the oncoming Taillow and barged into it, striking the Pokémon to the ground.
‘Right Taillow, take to the skies and hit it with a peck.’ Dash said all confident-like.
‘-LLOOOOWWW!’ The Pokémon launched itself off the ground, sweeping Chimchar off its feet, and began to circle the arena. ‘Has your Pokémon really just chickened out?’ Lightning Dust sniggered.
‘You wish.’ Dash looked to the skies, and saw her Taillow swoop down, knocking the Chimchar several metres into the air, and crashing back on the floor.
‘Charrr~~’ the helpless monkey groaned as it got back onto its feet.
‘C’mon Chimchar, we’re not going to be taken for a bunch of hacks! Hit the Taillow with an ember.’ Dust said, beginning to get annoyed.
‘CHIMMMMM,’ Chimchar began to store a flame ball in its mouth and released it, shouting ‘CHARRRRRR!!!’ in the process. The fireball knocked Taillows balance off and it plummeted to the ground, forming a dust cloud as it crashed.
‘Awwww, your little bird crashed as well, takes after you, Rainbow Crash!’ Lightning Dust sneered, those words infuriated Dash to no extent, and as the very exhausted Taillow got up, she yelled:
‘FINISH OFF CHIMCHAR WITH A QUICK ATTACK!!’
Taillow started to speed towards Chimchar at a blinding speed, and drove straight into the enemy Pokémon. This made it fly high into the air, and once is had hit the ground, it had fainted.
Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Applejack cheered, as once again, Dash had won the day. Until all of a sudden they heard Lightning Dust scream:
‘PIKACHU, USE SPARK!!’
And as Rainbow Dash turned around, she saw a small yellow Pokémon, no doubt being a Pikachu, firing a bolt of electricity at Taillow, knocking it out instantly.
Lightning Dust chortled as her Pikachu, which not one trainer knew she owned, jumped onto her shoulder. Rainbow Dash pulled out her Pokédex as it told her what that new Pokémon was:
‘PIKACHU: The Mouse Pokémon It can generate electric attacks from the electric pouches located in both of its cheeks.’
‘Woahhhh no fair, you can’t do that!’ Dash exclaimed to her rival.
‘Well guess what, I just did!’ Lightning Dust smirked at the shocked and disgusted girl.
‘Weedle! Use your string shot to slow Pikachu down!’ Applejack cried to the side of Dash as her newly caught Pokémon fired a web-like substance from its head, covering Pikachu in it and freezing it.
‘Weeeeedleeeee!’ The little bug cried as the Pikachu started to struggle moving.
‘W-w-what are you doing?!’ Dust asked in a heat of embarrassment.
‘I’m makin’ this a fair fight,’ Applejack winked at Rainbow Dash, who grinned back. ‘Now Weedle, use your poison sting!’
‘Weeeee!’ As the Pokémon flung itself at Pikachu, it fell of Lightning Dust’s shoulder and hit the ground with a thud.
‘Pikachu, get up!’ Lightning Dust cried at the mouse, which could not even move.
‘Chaaaaa!’ It yelled trying to budge, but to no avail.
‘Finally, tackle that Pikachu into the high heavens!’ Applejack yelled.
Weedle once again flung itself at Pikachu, knocking it senseless and knocking it out as well. The static coming off the Pokémon shocked Weedle and made it fly back, but it still managed to stand victorious.
‘Weedle Wee!’ It yelled joyously.
‘Not just a lousy bug after all.’ The girl in the cowboy hat laughed.
‘You can’t do that!’ Lightning Dust said in a state of anger and defeat.
‘Well guess what, I just did.’ Applejack jeered, and the other two girls cheered her on.
‘Way to go, AJ!’ Twilight said happily.
‘Just doin’ what I had to do.’ She shrugged and gave a little smirk.
‘You’ve picked a fight with the wrong trainer, Rainbow Crash, you and your little friends.’ Lightning Dust said, exhausted but still furious.
‘Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t try to cheat.’ Rainbow walked over to her rival with a determined glint in her eye.
‘Ugh, I hate you so much,’ Lightning muttered, retrieving her Pokémon and turning around. ‘This won’t be the last time we cross paths!’ She shouted, running off into the sunset.
The three girls laughed at how pathetic Lightning Dust was, and then Twilight yawned.
‘Wowww, I’m so exhausted, it’s been such a long day.’ She said.
‘You’re telling me, I’m ready to hit the hay, battling with Pokémon sure does take it out of you.’ Applejack replied, taking off her hat and scratching her head.
‘I’m gonna head back home and get some rest,’ Rainbow Dash added on, catching Twilight’s contagious yawn. ‘I suggest you guys do the same too. You all wanna be awake when I wipe that Gym Leader to the ground tomorrow!’
‘I don’t doubt you’ll do well, Dash,’ Twilight put her hand on her shoulder and spoke reassuringly. ‘You’ve been on such a roll today, I’m really surprised.’
‘Well things can only get better now!’ Rainbow said confidently.
It had now almost become night time. The skies above Ponyville were a hue of navy blues, purples, and a hint of orange as the girls made their way back into the town. Finally the trio stopped outside of Rainbow Dash’s house.
‘I think today has been the most awesome day ever!’ The trainer gave her two best friends a rather gripping hug, squeezing them uncontrollably.
‘And it’s going to get even better from here.’ Twilight said radiantly.
‘Goodnight sugarcube, get some rest now for your big day tomorrow.’ Applejack spoke softly, as if she didn’t want to wake anyone that would be asleep.
‘Goodnight guys.’ Dash grinned at the two of them before closing the door.
As the day ends, a new one will begin, one full of excitement, highs, lows, wins and losses. What will happen in the Ponyville Gym? Who is this new Gym Leader? And will they become a challenge to Rainbow Dash and her Froakie and Taillow? Find out next time in the world of Pokémon!
‘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.’
The girls stood outside the looming entrance to the Everfree Forest, all three of them showing some sort of negative emotion, Twilight Sparkle seemed to look worried, Applejack looked peeved and Rainbow Dash appeared as if she was a mix of the two emotions. They looked at the trees which arced way above their heads, shadowing them from the late afternoon sun.
‘So,’ Applejack broke the silence at once. ‘We have to get though here to get to Cloudsdale?’
‘Unfortunately, yes.’ Twilight shivered in fear.
‘You can see Cloudsdale from here, I think.’ Rainbow Dash looked to the horizon and saw, very faintly, a giant floating land mass in the sky.
‘Hoowee,’ Applejack looked in astonishment. ‘I heard all those old wives tales saying that it was actually in the clouds, but I didn’t believe ‘em till now.’
‘Even though it’s the closest neighbouring city to us, bar Canterlot,’ Rainbow chuckled as she entered the dark forest. ‘I swear you have a screw loose, AJ.’
‘Get lost, you Rainbow-haired freak!’ Applejack chased her into the woods, calling after her. Twilight hesitated, looked at the dark brown hunks of old bark one more time, and slowly walked in.
Twilight caught up with the two girls, exhausted and panting after a little chase around the trees of Everfree.
‘You’re both awful, you know that.’ Twilight Sparkle said, looking at them with a disgruntled expression.
‘Well, I’m sorry but someone decided to get too offended about a joke!’ Rainbow said very spitefully.
‘But you know I don’t take kindly to you insulting my intelligence!’ Applejack scorned back.
‘GIRLS,’ Twilight shouted to stop them from arguing. ‘We left Ponyville twenty minutes ago and already you two are quarrelling! Now apologise, both of you.’
‘Gah, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, just stop being such a pain in my behind when you don’t need to be.’ Applejack showed her hand of forgiveness.
‘Oh it’s alright, I’m sorry too,’ Dash shook the hand. ‘But just for the record, calling me a “Rainbow-haired freak” isn’t an insult, it’s a compliment.’
All three of the girls chuckled at that.
All of a sudden, they heard a hooting sound in the distance, which captured the curiosity of the trio, especially Twilight, whose head bobbed up like a Meerkat.
‘Could that be a new Pokémon in the distance?’ She wandered over in the direction of the hooting, Rainbow and Applejack having to wander behind her.
As the Pokémon calling began to get louder, the trees began to submerge the sunlight, and it became much more difficult to navigate without the gang hitting a tree, for example.
‘Right, this is getting ridiculous,’ Twilight grumbled, pulling out a Pokéball. ‘Come on out, Fennekin.’
She dropped the Sphere onto the ground, and out came her Pokémon, the little Fox licked its paw and was very quiet.
‘Dude, be careful with that thing,’ Dash cowered behind Applejack for protection. ‘If it so much as sneezes then this entire Forest goes up in flames. KA-BOOM!’ She shouted, making an explosion gesture with her arms. Twilight laughed it off.
‘Don’t be silly Rainbow Dash. Even if that did happen, do you forget you own a water type Pokémon?’ She put her hands on her hips and raised a single eyebrow, giving a cocky grin. Fennekin replicated her face right down to the slight turning of her head.
‘Uhhhhh… Yeah you’re right, ignore me, hahaha.’ Rainbow scratched the back of her head and said through gritted teeth. Applejack laughed at her expense.
Twilight picked up a foot long stick off of the ground, along with a little twig too, which she threw to Fennekin to snack on. Then she placed the stick towards the Fire types face, and it breathed out an ember-y red ignition, lighting the stick and turning it into a torch. For its efforts, Twilight Sparkle fed Fennekin another twig.
‘Not a bad idea after all, Twi!’ Applejack said, impressed by her friends handiwork.
‘Well it’s a lot better than trying to navigate in the dark, especially since none of our Pokémon has flash.’ She shrugged, and the three Trainers continued walking, Fennekin skipping to the side of Twilight.
Rainbow Dash giggled. ‘Hehehehe…Flash.’
‘What’s so funny, Dash?’ Twilight turned around so see that she had contorted her face to stop laughter escaping.
‘Nothing.’ She said very quietly.
The hooting had become very loud by this point, and it was obvious now to everyone that there was not only just a single Pokémon, but at least several of the same species. Twilight noticed a glimmer of light in the distance, so the gang approached it, hacking their way through branches and bushes until they saw the evening sun, and found the source of the hooting.
The girls were stood at the top of a hill, and at the bottom of it, there were hundreds upon hundreds of little Owl Pokémon, stood in circles, hooting towards what appeared to be a large stone statue of a much bigger owl in the centre. The ritual took the girls by surprise but they were in awe at how organised this horde of creatures appeared to be.
‘Wow,’ Twilight said. ‘There’s so many of them.’
‘Let’s see what the Pokédex has to say.’ Rainbow added on, pulling out her tablet and scanning the Pokémon.
‘HOOTHOOT, the Owl Pokémon. HOOTHOOT stands on one leg, but uses both its powerful eyes to see clearly even through the darkest night.’
‘Awwww, Hoothoot,’ Twilight pulled out a Pokéball from her backpack. ‘I wanna catch one.’
‘Now, now, Twi,’ Applejack gripped her shoulder in a swift motion. ‘You can’t just approach them, because then they’ll all get scared and fly away.’
‘Ugh, you’re right,’ Twilight put the ball away and sat down. ‘We’ll just have to wait for the right moment.’
This triggered the other girls to sit down, although Rainbow Dash got annoyed. Considering she wanted to face the Cloudsdale Gym as soon as possible, this wasn’t helping her.
One of the Hoothoots came out of the darkness and fluttered over their heads. The poor thing could hardly fly, so it stopped just in front of the trio and Fennekin, where it began to plod down the hill. About halfway down, however, it tripped up over its own feet, and came tumbling down, crashing into a bush as it hit the bottom.
All of the other Hoothoot turned around and saw the state of their brethren, and they all laughed. Every single one chuckled at the schadenfreude that took place, even Rainbow Dash got in on the act, laughing at the unfortunate Owl’s fate.
‘Rainbow Dash, stop it, it might be really hurt.’ Twilight scolded her friend.
‘Awww c’mon Twilight,’ Dash said through a fit of laughter. ‘You can’t admit that it wasn’t at least a little funny.’
‘I’ve decided that’s the one I wanna catch.’ Twilight said, ignoring her friend’s statement entirely.
As the girl in the glasses reached into her bag, she saw two silhouettes on the other side of the circle of Hoothoot’s. As they walked further into the light, she noticed they were two children, one was very lanky and carried himself awkwardly, and the other was on the contrary, being very short and wide. They went from a creep, to a full on sprint as they charged into the Owl Pokémon, scaring them all away. That is except for the clumsy Hoothoot that was left trapped in the bush, injured and crying for help.
‘Awwww, nice scare, Snails!’ The shorter kid said.
‘Thanks Snips, you too!’ Snails replied with a chuckle. He then looked and noticed the injured Hoothoot, nudging and pointing at Snips to look as well.
‘Woah, let’s take that Pokémon!’ Snips shouted in his very pitchy voice, with him and Snails running as fast as their legs could take them, but before they could even get to their destination, Twilight cut them off and blocked them from the Hoothoot.
‘You don’t want this Hoothoot. Go away.’ She spoke very maturely, but the kids weren’t having any of it, bursting out into laughter.
‘Why not, it’s just a weak little Owl!’ Snails was so tall for his age he was on eye level with Twilight, who tried to not noticeably wince at the sight of these two bullies.
‘Don’t you two look a little too young to be handling Pokémon? Last time I checked you had to eighteen.’ Applejack now squared up the two boys, who cowered in fear.
‘We ARE eighteen, right Snails?’ The short tubby boy lied.
‘Uh, yeah, we are. Haha!’ His friend replied, both shaking at the sight of the strong farmer that is Applejack.
‘Right okay let’s settle this once and for all,’ Applejack turned back to Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash with a look of determination. ‘How’s about a double battle, me and Twi versus Twiddledee and Twiddledum here, whoever wins gets the Hoothoot?’
Twilight gave a grin: ‘It’s settled.’ She answered.
Snips and Snails also gave a nod, and the match was set in stone.
The arena was marked almost right where they were stood on, if not just spread out a little more. Applejack and Twilight stood closer to the Hoothoot, who had now recovered and watching from the side-lines with Rainbow Dash who, despite all her setbacks, was more than happy to referee if it meant she could watch her friends kick butt. Snips and Snails stood on the other side, giving off the look of trying to be intimidating, but failing.
‘Alright,’ Rainbow Dash said, folding her arms and smirking. ‘This is a double battle, so two versus two. The first team to knock out both Pokémon will be the winner!’ She nodded to let the match begin, so Applejack and Twilight pulled out their respective Pokéballs.
‘Come on out, Chespin!’
‘Go, Fennekin!’
Their two starter Pokémon jumped out in glee and shouted their names in excitement.
Snips and Snails pulled out their two Pokéballs, obviously stolen from some Trainer or Lab, and threw them out with Snips and Snails respectively shouting:
‘Go Karrablast!’
‘Go Shelmet!’
Their two Pokémon landed, neither of which the girls had ever seen before, making Rainbow Dash curious, so she scanned the Pokémon:
‘KARRABLAST, the Clamping Pokémon KARRABLAST live in forests and fields, and often hide in trees or grass when threatened. They can also defend themselves by spitting acid.’
‘SHELMET, the Snail Pokémon SHELMET closes its shell to protect itself from attacks. It also produces and spits out a poisonous, sticky liquid.’
‘I said describe the Pokémon, not their trainers!’ Rainbow Dash said insultingly, making her two friends laugh.
‘Ignore her, Karrablast,’ Snips said. ‘And go in for the peck on Chespin!’
‘KARRA!’ The little bug Pokémon shouted as it leaped at Chespin, pecking it and knocking the little creature backwards.
‘Chesssss!’ It yelled in pain as it got back on its feet.
‘Right Fennekin, use Ember on the Shelmet!’ Twilight commanded her Pokémon.
‘And Chespin, use rollout on that good for nothin’ Karrablast!’ Applejack added on.
And so the two Pokémon speeded towards their enemies, Chespin curled up into a ball and dashed into Karrablast, knocking it back but not flooring it, and Fennekin scorched the Shelmet, giving it a nasty burn.
‘SHELLLLLLLLLLLL!’ Snails’s Pokémon cried, rocking back and forth as the pain was affecting it.
‘Shelmet! Hit that Chespin with Acid!’ Snails beckoned, his voice cracking in the process.
Shelmet then launched a gooey purple slime from its mouth and hit the Chespin, knocking it down and poisoning it.
‘Alright that’s it Chespin, hit that Shelmet with another Rollout!’ Applejack said with an edge of anger in her voice.
Chespin, in a manner that was very sloppy because it was so weak, rolled into Shelmet again. This, alongside the burn it had gained, caused the Shelmet to pass out in pain and tiredness.
‘Awwww come on,’ Snails muttered ‘Stupid bug…’ He grunted as he called in his fainted Pokémon.
‘Alright, Karrablast, it’s just down to us!’ Snips said to his injured bug Pokémon, who was still up and rearing to go.
‘Karrablast!’ It shouted in anticipation.
Chespin, however, seemed exhausted, after knocking out Shelmet it stumbled around for a few seconds before crashing to the floor, fainted.
‘Awww, little buddy, you can rest now,’ Applejack called back her fallen Pokémon. ‘It’s all up to you now, Twilight.’
‘Alright, Fennekin, let’s show this Karrablast who’s boss!’ She said giddily.
‘FENN!’ Her Pokémon replied.
‘Hit it with an ember!’ Twilight commanded. Her Fennekin ran to the Karrablast, and when it was hit by the attack it didn’t take it very well.
‘Karrrr~’ It mumbled.
‘Don’t give up, you stupid bug! Hit that little furry thing with Fury Cutter!’ Snips screamed, showing how agitated he was getting just in his looks alone.
Karrablast sprinted towards Fennekin and slashed at it with its horn and arms, weakening Twilight’s Pokémon.
‘Right Fennekin, hit it with one last scratch and it should go down for good!’ The trainer said, straightening her glasses.
‘FEN FEN!’ The tired Fox hopped towards Karrablast and clawed it ruthlessly, striking it to the ground, knocked out.
The three girls cheered in victory together whilst Snips and Snails threw tantrums like little toddlers.
‘Well, I hope you young’uns have learnt a lesson.’ Applejack said confidently to the two boys.
‘Yeah,’ Rainbow Dash added on. ‘Respect your elders, don’t take Pokémon that aren’t your own, and they made Trainer signing up age to be eighteen for a reason.’
‘Let’s get away from these losers.’ Snips said in spite, running away, snails followed closely behind.
‘Yeah, this isn’t the last you’ll hear from Snails and Snips!’ The other boy shouted as they sprinted back into the forest.
‘I thought it was Snips and Snails…’ The smaller boy argued.
‘Oh shut up!’
‘Yenno, I really hope that’s the last we hear from them.’ Twilight said, making the other girls laugh.
As she turned around she saw that the Hoothoot she had been fighting for was stood at her feet, nudging her leg.
‘Well, waddaya know,’ Rainbow said in an impressed fashion. ‘It looks like someone wants to be caught!’
‘Yes, finally!’ Twilight squealed, pulling out her Pokéball and throwing it at the Owl Pokémon. Without even shaking once, the Pokémon was caught, which astonished the girls greatly.
‘Awww Twi, I’m so proud of you,’ Applejack gave her friend a tight hug that almost suffocated her. ‘You caught your first Pokémon.’
‘I know, just you wait Hoothoot, we’re gonna get along so great!’ She said joyfully, looking at the Pokéball for the newly caught creature.
‘C’mon you guys, it’s almost night time,’ Rainbow Dash pointed at the sky, which was now a deep purple in colour. ‘And that Cloudsdale Gym can’t wait for me much longer!’
And so, as the girls walked back into the dark regions of the Everfree Forest, there was a sense of accomplishment from all three of them, but none more so than Twilight, who had caught her very first Pokémon! However, their trek into the sinister Woods had only just begun, many things were lurking around the corner for Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle to conquer, and get to the Cloudsdale Gym in one piece! Will they be able to achieve such a task? Find out next time in the world of Pokémon!
The Everfree Forest is a vast and dangerous place, and after a long day, consisting of Rainbow Dash battling the Ponyville Gym and Twilight Sparkle catching a Hoothoot, the girls decided to camp out in the dark Woods. They found a spot where there was an opening in the trees, and the Moonlight shone down onto the dark green grass. The girls pulled out sleeping bags from their Satchels and Backpacks, set up a little fire using some stray twigs and logs (and Fennekins convenient ignition powers) and they lay to rest for the night.
‘Yenno what, guys, I’m looking forward to exploring this Equestria Region more and more by the day!’ Applejack threw her hands behind her neck and rested upon them.
‘I’m kinda curious, AJ, what actually made you want to come with us in the first place?’ Rainbow Dash asked the girl, who looked with a squinted eye and chewing on a blade of grass.
‘Well,’ As Applejack started to explain, she took off her Stetson and began to comb through her hair with her fingers. ‘It’s an Apple Family tradition. Granny Smith started her journey back when she was my age, and she was the very first Ponyville Gym leader just after it was founded. And so did Big Mac a few years back. We have to head out into the far reaches of the region and find the greatest Pokémon to use back on the farm. No doubt Apple Bloom will do the same thing in a few years’ time.’
‘That’s it?’ Twilight questioned, with a slight tinge of confusion and disappointment to her voice.
‘Eeyup! Well, that and I’m so curious about exploring the darn place! You gotta live a little, you know.’
‘Awww,’ Twilight Sparkle cooed. ‘Well I suppose I want to observe all the many types of Pokémon there are out there. I’ve heard rumours that there are over seven hundred!’ This fact got a positive reaction from her two friends.
Rainbow Dash added on: ‘Well, I want to beat the eight gyms and-’
‘We know, Dash,’ Applejack cut her off. ‘It’s not like we haven’t heard you say it a million times.’ This made Rainbow laugh awkwardly. ‘Yeah, I guess I get kinda carried away.’
The three Pokémon Trainers lay on their backs, looking up at the gorgeous constellations in the night sky. The stars glittered like little sequins, dazzling the girls and making their faces glow.
‘The sky does look beautiful tonight.’ Twilight said in awe.
‘You could say that again.’ Rainbow Dash agreed, yawning in the process. Applejack had already fallen asleep and snoring so loud she could wake the entire forest. The other two girls noticed this and decided it would be best to follow what she was doing.
‘Goodnight, Rainbow Dash.’ Twilight said to her friend, but she got no reply, as she too had fallen asleep, making the girl chuckle.
Twilight tried her best to go to sleep as well, but she couldn’t. She kept on tossing and turning, but she could not get comfortable at all. Soon enough, the flames on the fire dwindled down to ashes and embers, leaving Twilight Sparkle in pitch blackness.
That is, except for very faint lavender tinted light that was only just noticeable in her viewing space, it camouflaged really well with the grim colours of the Everfree Forest. Even Twilight struggled to see it, considering she was not wearing her glasses. She scrambled all around her to find them, and slipped them over her eyes, clearing up her previously foggy vision.
As Twilight turned around to see what was the source of this light was, only to see it was far into the distance, almost blocked by the many trees that were scattered throughout the Forest. So she got up, rubbed her eyes, and started to walk towards the hypnotising purple beam.
Applejack woke up in a daze, she checked the time on her pocket watch:
3:21am.
The darkness that had cloaked the Everfree Forest was still in prominent force, and so Applejack could not even see what was in front of her. The warmth from the fire was pretty much extinguished, as the flames seemed to have gone out quite a while ago, with a few embers still a beautiful Sunset Orange. Not appreciating the darkness, Applejack blew on them and after about a minute a little fire had been kindled again.
When the girl looked up to find some stray sticks, she noticed Twilight was gone. On the sight of this shocking revelation, Applejack shook Rainbow Dash awake, who spoke like a cranky toddler:
‘Applejack, leave me alone!’
‘Rainbow Dash, seriously, Twilight ain’t here!’ Applejack replied with worry, pointing at the empty, cold sleeping bag.
‘Well, she could’ve gone to the bathroom or something. It doesn’t mean she’s been kidnapped or whatever by a wild Pokémon.’ Rainbow grumbled; face down into the pillow, swatting the air.
‘If that’s the case, then how could she even see where she was going,’ Applejack looked at the small, yet bright flames in the middle of the two of them. ‘You can’t see a darn thing in this forest without the fire, and that fire wasn’t anything more than an ember when I had just woke up.’
‘Hmmm, you have a point,’ Rainbow Dash slowly creeped up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. ‘What do you suggest we do?’
‘We go lookin’ for her,’ Applejack grabbed a long stick off of the floor as she got up, and lit the end of it using the campfire. ‘C’mon!’ She beckoned her tired friend.
Letting out a grunt, Rainbow Dash got up and the two of them equipped themselves with their bags and Pokémon, setting off into the dark curtains of the Everfree Forest.
‘Ugh, it’s creepy out here. I wanna go back to bed…’ Rainbow said, shivering in terror.
‘Awww, quit it already,’ Applejack muttered. ‘It’s not like something is just gonna pop out of nowhere and-’
Suddenly, Applejack was met to a surprise by a tiny bug Pokémon jumping onto her face, making her wail in surprise and knocking her to the ground.
‘Cool! What Pokémon is that?’ Rainbow asked, pulling out her Pokédex, not helping Applejack who was squirming on the floor, trying to remove the bug from her face.
‘SPINARAK, the String Spit Pokémon SPINARAK can climb any surface easily, and shoot a strong web from both the front and back of its body. Its prey is caught and held tight in its web.’
‘NAW, I AIN’T GETTING CAUGHT AND EATEN BY THIS THING!’ Applejack screamed, ripping the Spinarak off of her hair face and throwing it into a nearby bush. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Gosh, AJ, for such a brutish Farmer you don’t keep your cool when a little bug jumps on your face, do ya?’
‘I could say the same for you, little miss “I-wanna-go-back-to-bed!” She replied with a stern look.
Suddenly the two of them heard a rustling noise to the side of them, and from that they saw a beautiful purple light begin to glow, which mesmerised the two girls.
‘I’m starting to think that’s where Twilight’s gone to.’ Ranbow Dash said, with a slight whisper in her tone, as she was relishing in this glorious light beam.
The two girls wandered towards what almost looked like an old temple, where the Purple beacon heralded from the entrance.
‘Prepare your Pokémon, Dash,’ Applejack squinted her eyes and pulled one of the Pokéballs out of her bag, Rainbow mimicked what she did. ‘I think we’re gonna have to battle someone, or something in there.’
‘If you say so...’ Rainbow Dash said reluctantly.
As they walked up the many ancient stairs and through the entry of the dungeon, the light got brighter and brighter until they were almost blinded, and the heat radiating from the light wasn’t helping either. The weirdest part, however, was that it smelled of burning wax. Applejack and Rainbow Dash found this perplexing, since when was a candle this bright, large, and spread so much heat? More importantly, however, is why would anyone light a candle in a temple in the middle of the night?
When the two Trainers walked into the grand hall they lay inside the Temple, they were greeted with an onslaught of tiny Pokémon staring at them. It didn’t take a genius for the girls to realise that these were the source of the light, since they had little wicks upon their head, and all lit up a lavender hue. There appeared to be hundreds upon hundreds of them stood on the floor, and all intensely staring at the girls. They all looked like little Candles, however, proving the mental judgements that Applejack and Rainbow Dash had made before entering. Rainbow Dash pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the nearest Candle. The Dex explained the phenomenon:
‘LITWICK, the Candle Pokémon LITWICK appear to be helping to guide the way of people by illuminating areas that are darkened, but in reality they are actually leading them to the Ghost World. They feed off the life energy of people and Pokémon, and use it as fuel for the flames on their heads.’
‘Golly… erm, Howdy,’ Applejack opened her mouth, and the Litwick’s eye were all automatically fixated onto her, she gulped in fear. ‘Have all y’all seen a girl about our age? Average height, messy purple hair, glasses?’
The Litwick then all turned and pointed at a hole in the wall. This hole shone a darker purple than the wicks on their heads, and looked like it was some sort of portal. The two girls manoeuvred their way around all the tiny Litwick before they reached the portal, which gave an ominous chill as they approached it.
‘That must be that Ghost World place the Pokédex was on about,’ Rainbow Dash said, ‘I’ll go in there and rescue Twilight. Hang tight, okay?’
‘Nuh-Uh, if you’re going in there, I’m coming with.’ Applejack pushed her out of the way and entered the Ghost World first, leaving Rainbow Dash startled.
She looked at the Litwick’s who all gave a cute, yet slightly disturbing smile. She gave an awkward smile back, waved goodbye and entered the Ghost World right behind Applejack.
The Ghost World was a purple void, with many different spirits floating in the air. The only floor that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had to walk on was a winding, moss-caked cobblestone path that seemed to go on for miles. So the two Trainers decided to walk at a moderate speed. As they walked further and further into the ghost world, the void turned from mid-purple to almost a jet black, and the air began to get even colder, almost freezing temperatures even.
‘A-a-applej-j-j-jack?’ Rainbow moaned through chattering teeth, she had put her denim jacket on yet still felt the need to embrace herself to conserve body heat.
‘Yeah, what is it?’ Applejack, even when she’s in her button down shirt with her sleeves rolled up and jean shorts she didn’t seem affected by this climate change. Considering she’s a country girl who has spent her time on the fields, through rain and snow, this doesn’t come off as a surprise.
‘Do-do-do-do you really think Tw-Twilight will be in h-h-h-here?’ You could tell that Rainbow was being a bit hyperbolic at this point.
‘Oh for Pete’s sake, Rainbow Dash, I have no idea where she will be but-’
‘Applejack! Look out!’
Applejack turned around to see a giant, haunting, ghost Pokémon. It loomed over the two terrified Trainers, who curled up onto the floor. Rainbow scanned the enormous Pokémon:
‘DUSKNOIR, the Gripper Pokémon It receives electrical waves from the Ghost World with its antenna and is said to take people to the Ghost World as well.’
‘Erm, have you seen a Girl around our age?’ Applejack asked politely.
‘YOU HAVEN’T EATEN HER, HAVE YOU?!’ Rainbow Dash squealed in fright.
Dusknoir responded with a confused face, to which the girls replicated.
‘But if you don’t know where Twilight is, then where is she?’ Rainbow pondered.
‘Oh my Gosh,’ Applejack realised and said in a dumbfounded voice. ‘Those Litwick haven’t seen Twilight at all. They lied and manipulated us to-’
‘-Lure us into the Ghost World…’ Rainbow finished her sentence by para-phrasing the Pokédex entry, shocked at the realisation.
‘Dangnabbit,’ Applejack cursed. ‘We gotta get out of this darn place.’ She got up and walked back the way she came. Rainbow Dash did the same, yet she walked away quickly to avoid the sight of the Dusknoir.
‘NOOOOOOIIRRRRR!’ The mighty Ghost cried, and started to follow Applejack and Rainbow Dash in hot pursuit. Rainbow Dash sped off at lightning quick speeds, and Applejack ran closely behind, pulling out one of her Pokéballs.
‘Go Weedle!’ She yelled as she threw out her little Bug Pokémon a few feet ahead of her, and scooped it up as she ran past.
‘What is any of our Pokémon gonna do against that thing, let alone your little Weedle?!’ Rainbow panicked, looking like she was gonna pass out at any moment.
‘Weedle, use your string shot and try and slow down that Dusknoir!’ Applejack yelled.
Weedle, whilst intimidated by the Monster’s presence, still climbed up onto her shoulder and followed its Trainers orders. It sprayed a long string at the creature, which batted it aside as if it were nothing.
‘See, what did I tell you, AJ?’ Rainbow Dash screamed, panting for air.
‘Weedle, use it again!’ Applejack told her Pokémon, which sprayed it again.
‘You’re kidding, right?’ Dash said monotonously.
‘You’ll see young’un.’ Applejack winked.
As Weedle kept on spraying the Dusknoir, Applejack commanded it to use it again. After many attempts, the Dusknoir began to lag behind, slowing more and more until it was a reasonable distance from the two girls.
‘Awwww, nice work, AJ!’ Rainbow cheered.
‘Why thank you, good going there, Weedle!’ Applejack congratulated her tired Pokémon.
‘Weeee~’ It replied, exhausted of power.
Suddenly, the Dusknoir, in one final attempt, launched a Shadow Ball at the Weedle, which knocked it off of Applejack’s shoulder and sent it flying off into the distance. The Dusknoir then stopped chasing the two girls and floated off into the endless void of the Ghost World. Weedle landed with a bang towards the entry of the Ghost World, which was in sight, but was noticeably closing.
Rainbow Dash, with a flash of creativity springing to her head, grabbed the Pokéball containing Froakie and sent it out.
‘Right Froakie, use your frubbles to stop the entry from closing!’ Dash commanded. Froakie leaped out in front of the duo and threw a few of its frubbles from its neck towards the entrance, which froze in its position, leaving there just enough space for their two human bodies to get through.
‘Nice work Froakie!’ Rainbow said in admiration as her Starter Pokémon landed on her shoulder.
‘Froa! Froa!’ It replied.
Finally they approached the entry that was covered in sticky frubbles. Applejack scooped up the weak Weedle and hopped through, followed by Rainbow Dash and Froakie. Just as they had all gotten through, the frubbles gave way, and the vortex entry to the Ghost World closed with a whispery seal.
The two Trainers, along with their two Pokémon, sat in a state in the middle of the temple. The Litwick had all gone, and stood in their place was a tired, yet safe, Twilight Sparkle.
‘Guys, you’re safe!’ Twilight fell to her knees and hugged her two closest friends with tears in her eyes.
‘We’re safe?!’ Applejack said cynically. ‘We went to look for you because we thought those darn Litwick’s had taken you to the Ghost World!’
‘What do you mean? The Litwick’s were nicer to me than that!’
‘What?!’ Applejack and Rainbow Dash said in unison.
‘Well I was lured to this temple by the purple light, and when I got there, the Litwick’s showered me with praise, they had a strong affection for me, for some reason.’ Twilight started.
‘Probably because they were deceiving you, like they did with us.’ Rainbow said, sticking out her lower lip.
‘A few of them showed me all the different rooms in the temple, but then I began to hear your voices, so I ran back to the main room but not only were you not there, but neither were the Litwick’s.’
‘They were all gone?’ Applejack asked, to which Twilight nodded.
Twilight then went on to explain that she found the campsite and saw that her friends weren’t there either, so she gathered her bags and waited in the temple, hoping that Applejack and Rainbow Dash would return.
‘Wow,’ Dash spoke softly, which is unlike her. ‘This was an awful experience.’ The other girls agreed.
Applejack looked down and saw that her Weedle was suddenly glowing neon white. This surprised all three women, as they were unsure what was going on.
‘Something must have happened after that Dusknoir hit it with Shadow Ball.’ Rainbow Dash spoke up. This made Applejack worried.
After the glowing stopped, it was now noticeable that Weedle was a completely different shape.
‘No way,’ Applejack had a shocked expression on her face. ‘My Weedle evolved!’ She jumped all around the yellow, hard, shell-like creature, Twilight joined in with her at this revelation. Rainbow pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the immobile shell.
‘KAKUNA, the Cocoon Pokémon. A transitional stage between WEEDLE and BEEDRILL, KAKUNA’s remain inactive until they evolve into deadly BEEDRILL’s and hatch.’
'The little guy must just be resting from that nasty blow.' Twilight tittered.
'And then it'll come back even stronger!' Applejack yelled, which made her two friends cheer.
As the girls were celebrating the evolution of Applejack’s Pokémon, the morning sun rose over the hills of the Everfree Forest, vanquishing the darkness and bringing a sense of relief among the trio. As they walked out of the derelict Temple, the heat hit them and the Trainers couldn’t help but smile.
‘I think we’re quite close to Cloudsdale now.’ Rainbow Dash pointed at the floating City, which had seemed to have gotten a lot closer since they last saw it yesterday.
So as the girls headed back into the Everfree Forest with a spring in their step, they reflected on how much had happened in that previous night, a haunting experience for all three of them that they will never forget. With the stakes getting higher, what will the amazing trio bump into next in the amazing world of Pokémon?!
