Celestia's Rocket Adventures

by Snake Staff


Friends

“And then they threw one of those dark things at Fearow!” Spearow reported breathlessly. “And I flew back here fast as I could.”

“I see,” Luna said in an even tone.

Part of her felt some loathing for the Pokemon’s apparent cowardice. The princess’ more rational side said that he was only following her actual orders, and what difference would his presence really have made? From the sound of it, the battle had been one-sided from the very beginning.

“Did these adversaries give any hint as to their ultimate destination?” The alicorn asked in her best impassive tone. “Or what their goal might have been?”

“All I know is they were driving those funny wheeled things humans have that way,” Spearow pointed a wing in a roughly southwestern direction. “And that the female with the blue visor somehow spotted us in the trees.”

“And you have no inkling as to whether or not they continued on their way or changed course?”

“I didn’t stick around! Those two Pokémon wiped the floor with every ‘mon that fought at the same time! What could I have done?”

Hovered high overhead and given me more to work with. Luna thought, though she held her tongue.

In truth, she supposed that he was the only one who had made any effort to follow orders at all. Even so, without better information on where the humans had ridden off to there was little hope of rescuing the missing members of the flock. She would have liked nothing better than to fall on them herself and liberate the captives, but she had no idea where to begin looking for them.

It was frustratingly stupid how easily the birds she’d sent to spy had been goaded into openly fighting the humans by a simple challenge. But then, if they weren’t so eager to fight, would they even be listening to her at all? They submitted to leadership of a random outsider solely for her ability to defeat any one of them in combat, less proud creatures could have simply ignored her and flown away. Double-edged swords always rankled.

“You did… adequately,” Luna said after a moment. “You have permission to go and eat and rest now."

As Spearow flew away, the alicorn sighed and rubbed her forehead. Setback after setback, that was always the way. Few Pokémon her flock had encountered so far wanted to so much as look at a Spearow, and those who did generally just wanted a fight. There were other flocks of the same species about, of course, but they were rivals and Luna held precious little hope of convincing them by anything short of challenging their alphas one after the other.

Beyond that, Pokémon populations in the forest where they dwelt were dominated by black, doglike Houndour, pink Snubbull, and green Electrike. There were also populations of strange, construct-like creatures known as Golett and Sigilyph, but they dwelt much closer to the strange rock formations the humans frequented and she did not wish to approach so near to them. She was told the mountains to the west contained other species, but her envoys had yet to return bearing more details.

All in all, it had been a disappointing if rather expected first response. Few wanted anything to do with Spearow, and the ill-tempered and vengeful birds were not cut out for diplomacy. Or spying, apparently. The alicorn was going to have to visit a great many Pokémon in person if she was to have any hope of securing their allegiance, there was no way around it.

Luna’s blue eyes turned to the north, and she scowled. Who knew what the humans would get up to in that time?


“Alright Celestia,” James pointed. “One more time! Use Solar Beam!”

The white alicorn closed her eyes for just a moment. Mentally reaching out for the star burning brightly overhead just as she would at home, she pictured herself seizing it in a golden glow. In Equestria she would have bid the sun move and felt it obey her will. In this world her request was far humbler: only the merest fraction of its power. It seemed to flare in response, and Celestia could feel a heavenly warmth gushing through her veins.

When she opened her eyes again, perhaps a second or two had passed. Her long horn shone with a blinding gold-white glare, banishing shadows throughout the forest clearing. She felt almost all-powerful for a split second, then raised her head and fired.

“Wobbuffet,” Jessie was pointing right back at them, “use Mirror Coat!”

The blue Pokémon saluted briefly and then leapt into the air, a semitransparent rainbow sheen enveloping his body. He caught the blinding beam head-on, straining visibly as its full power slammed into him. The beam swiftly became a miniaturized sun pressing up against Wobbuffet, and they pressed against one another in the air for a few seconds. Then Jessie’s Pokémon thrust out his chest with a determined expression, and the concentrated orb of destructive energy careened off into the air to explode spectacularly above the forest canopy. Wobbuffet fell back to the earth, landing smoothly on his feet.

“That was perfect!” Jessie gave a thumbs-up. “I give you an eleven out of ten.”

“Wobbuffet!” her Pokemon saluted happily.

“And you were great too, Celestia!” James added. “Your Solar Beam is coming along wonderfully!”

“Much as I appreciate flattery,” the princess said, looking upward, “I should point out that we probably ought to move now. That was a rather loud bang even for a training session already full of them.”


“Pikachu, use Iron Tail!” Ash yelled with a finger extended.

“Why would you do that?” Twilight asked, as she flapped her wings and rose from the earth. “I can fly, a ground-bound Pokémon has no hope of hitting me with a physical attack unless I choose to come close, which I have no reason to ever do. While as a Psychic/Fairy-type a Steel-type attack would be particularly effective were it to hit, you have to actually make physical contact with that move.”

Pikachu charged closer to the alicorn, and she only rose higher into the air. Not that that stopped her from talking.

“Now, the appropriate move would be Thunder Wave – your Pikachu does know Thunder Wave, right? By inducing muscle paralysis it would effectively prevent flight and allow your Pokémon to close the distance and beat the metaphorical daylights out of me while I was unable to effectively respond.”

“Alright, Pikachu,” Ash grinned. “Quick Attack, now!”

“Right!” Pikachu smiled confidently back. The glow around his tail faded and his entire body seemed to blur in and out of sight as he doubled, tripled, then quadrupled his pace. Far overhead, Twilight continued to look puzzled.

“I know Ash can’t understand me entirely, but surely you get the point, Pikachu? Attempting a physical attack against an opponent far over your head is irrational, so why would you follow that order? I know very well Poke Balls exert no compulsion to obey. It’s just not a rationally calculated strategy.”

Pikachu’s body was enveloped by silver energy as he ran. One moment he was darting straight towards Twilight, then the next he had leapt onto a tree at lightning speed. The alicorn’s eyes had trouble tracking him as he shot up the trunk, along a branch, and then launched himself into the air as little more than a flash of silver and yellow.

Twilight’s eyes widened as somehow, impossibly, Pikachu flickered back into proper existence directly above her. The little yellow fellow fell straight down, landing on her back with minimal impact. The alicorn bobbed a bit in the air, more from surprise than weight. Spike was considerably heavier.

“Oh,” she breathed.

Twilight blinked once, then turned her head to regard the little Pokémon on her back. Pikachu smiled cheerfully and waved a stubby little hand at her.

“…I take it you’ve done this before?”

“Yeah, you’re pretty spacious next to some of the flying Pokémon I’ve ridden,” he said.

“I see,” the alicorn frowned. “But how did you know to do that? Ash didn’t give any order so specific, is this a maneuver you’ve practiced before?”

“Well, when a Pokémon and a trainer are connected and in sync you just sort of… know,” he shrugged. “You know?”

“So, you’re saying you consciously or subconsciously grasp an entire unrehearsed stratagem and plan of action based on a single attack order from your trainer due to a subliminal and possibly semi-mystical connection you have with him?”

“Um… I think so?” Pikachu scratched his head.

“I see,” Twilight put a hoof under her chin. “Fascinating.”


Houndoom paced through the forest clearing, nose pressed firmly to the earth. She sniffed hundreds of times, taking in the countless scents of the trees and the creatures that dwelled within them. Amidst all the irrelevant sensory clutter, picking out a single trace was like trying to find a particular needle amidst a stack of needles. But this Pokémon was well-trained and patient, allowing her instincts to guide her and only coming to a halt when she finally had the desired thread.

Mable, hand on hip, strode calmly over where her custom four-wheeler was idling. Visor constantly scanning and sorting the environment, by the time she knelt down where her companion stood she had already picked out the tiny hair amidst the grass. Holding it to the light where she could get a good look at it, the scientist quickly matched the bright white color to the images of this “Celestia” Pokémon’s coat. Houndoom gave it another sniff, then growled.

“Good job,” Mable patted her Pokémon affectionately. “You think you’ve got their scent picked out?”

Houndoom gave a terse nod.