Night had fallen in the port town of Horseshoe Bay.
With the storm that had rocked the place the previous day, the city was still cleaning up some of the mess. But even with the slight disaster, many people were out enjoying the nighttime ocean side atmosphere. A wealthy couple was currently walking the streets, having come to the port in order to board the cruise ship that had just arrived hours ago. They had just enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset, complete seeing a Leviapent tug a ship into port, and were now heading to their hotel to get a good night's sleep before their holiday.
But then, as they turned a corner, a sudden gust of wind shot past them. "What in the world?" The man yelped, only to feel his wrist was lighter than usual. He pulled up his sleeve, only to go wide-eyed, "My watch! Its gone!"
The woman next to him screamed as she placed her hand on her neck, "My necklace!" They then both saw a glimmer of light reflecting off something a few feet away. There, they then saw both watch and necklace in the possession of a pair of shadows. "Thieves!"
The shadows, which were small and four legged, turned and gave off a hiss before running into the darkness, disappearing into the night.
The next morning...
In the cafeteria of the city's Pokémon Center, we find Flash, Spike and Flash's Pokémon scarfing down a plate of food. Twilight, Doc and their Pokémon were also eating, but at a much more dignified pace. After what had happened yesterday, and giving a report to the town authority, they had all opted to head to Center and rest up before heading out to Hoof Town. Even with the delays that had hit them, they still had several days before the Hoof Cup.
It was here that a loud burping noise filled the cafeteria as Flash and Spike finished eating, their stomachs noticeably larger. Twilight and Doc both rolled their eyes before finishing their breakfast off as well, their figures still in tip-top shape. Once finished, Twilight pulled out her journal. "So I've been going over our journey to Hoof Town, and I think I've mapped out the best possible route." She opened the device up to the map section, "Okay...if we cut through this forest, we'll arrive at a small village that's just a stone's throw away from Hoof Town."
"Sweet..." Flash said before pointing at a dot on the map right next to the village. "Hey, what's that?"
Twilight tapped the dot, a new display soon appearing, "Its a Pokémon daycare, which is a place where trainers can leave Pokémon for additional training, or simply to enjoy themselves while the trainers is busy. It also says it specializes in evolution training."
Spike frowned at this. "Why would you want to have someone else evolve your Pokémon?"
"Its true that that is something that a trainer usually does on their own, but if you're having trouble, you could ask them for advice." Doc replied as he motioned for his friends to start packing their belongings. Once that was done, they said their thanks to the Nurse Redheart and heading out of the Center into the port town. As they did, they saw their cruise ship was still in port.
"Why hello there," they turned and smiled when they saw Fancy and Fleur walking up to them.
"Hey you two. You guys heading home?"
Fleur nodded. "Yes, our ride should be here in an hour or so. A shame the rest of the cruise had to be cancelled."
Doc shrugged. "Well considering the whole ship and all its equipment needs to be either completely rewired or replaced, the time for the cruise would be over before it was finished."
"Well, we just wanted to say our goodbyes before you three head off," Fancy replied as he held out his hand. Flash shook it while Fleur and Twilight hugged for a moment. "We want you to know we'll be watching and rooting for you lot during the Hoof Cup."
"I'm sure you'll do great," Fleur added with a giggle. "After seeing how you all do in a battle, I expect to be seeing one of you standing on the winner's podium."
Twilight did a small bow, "Thank you Fancy and Fleur. And thank you for all the training you gave us onboard. I'm sure it'll help us greatly."
Both Fancy and Fleur nodded before turning away, Flash and the others now ready to go to Hoof Town. But as they made their way through the town, they couldn't help but notice something. As soon they entered the shopping district, the atmosphere around them completely changed. Anyone they walked closely past suddenly jerked away while shielding their necks, arms and bags. Not only that, several stores were closed despite the streets being nicely filled, and anyone they looked at would shoot them a cautious glare.
"You guys get the feeling like we're not wanted here?" Flash whispered, the others all nodding in agreement.
Twilight then stepped over to a store and knocked on the front door, the frame cracking open, only to stay ajar thanks to a chain. An eye then appeared, poking out and glaring at them, "Go away!" With that, they slammed the door shut in Twilight's face.
"Alright..." she turned around, blinking with a semi-frown, "We're definitely not wanted here. Any of you ever been here before?"
Everyone shook their heads as Doc added, "Hmm...wonder what's causing everyone to be so suspicious?"
Springer then scanned the area's auras, only to get goosebumps at the result. There was lots of anger, sadness and embarrassment, coupled with just a little bit of fear. "Riolu..." he shivered as they kept walking.
It was here that they passed an alleyway, only for Spike to suddenly squint as something was reflected into his face. "Ack!" he yelped as he shielded his eyes.
The others turned to him. "You okay?"
"Yeah...just something hit my eyes." He turned to the alleyway, only to bend down, "Hey, a penny! Must be my lucky day." But as soon as his fingers touched it, they all found themselves within a large cloud of smoke. "WHOA!"
"What the heck?!" Flash yelled, only to suddenly hear something loud hit the ground around them.
Doc reached out and felt a cool metal pole, then felt another one on either side of it. "Is this...a cage?"
"HA!" A familiar female voice called out, "Finally got you!" Then the smoke began to clear, the group now seeing a figure appear in the dust cloud. Their eyes went wide as they saw a familiar purple star covered hat and signature smirk, "You thought you could steal from the great and powerful Trix-" Trixie stopped as she saw who she had caught, blinking as she stared dumbfoundedly at them. "What are you guys doing in there?!"
"Taking a skiing vacation. What do you think!?" Flash deadpanned as he rattled the cage.
"Oh...whoops!" Trixie replied before snapping her fingers, "Wizentice!" her magician Pokémon teleported next to her before tapping the cage.
"Wiz," it said as the cage disappeared, freeing the trio as they gave Trixie dirty looks.
Trixie simply placed her hands behind her head and looked away. "Sorry about that, I guess."
"You guess?!" Twilight hissed as she remembered the last time they met. "What do you mean, you guess?! You just tried to imprison us!"
"Eh, you don't have to be so testy," Trixie barked back. "It's not like I was trying to catch you!"
Doc raised an eyebrow at this, "What were you trying to catch?"
"A thief!" Trixie almost yelled, "One...or should I say more than one, that's been stealing from the people of this town for weeks! They're fast, sneaky and they'll steal anything that so much as glimmers."
Twilight blinked at the explanation, "Thieves? Hmm...that would explain why everyone is so suspicious around here. They're worried of losing more of their merchandise. Though that leaves just one more question..." she slowly pointed her finger at Trixie, "You're trying to stop them...why?!"
Trixie looked almost offended, "Wh-why wouldn't I? The people of this town are in need, and who better to save them then the great and powerful TRIX-"
"You had something stolen, didn't you?" Flash interrupted.
"EEEEEeeeee..." Trixie slowly let some noises leave her mouth before dissolving into a slur. She then looked away, only to see everyone in the corner of her eye, all of them crossing their arms. It was here that she saw her Wizentice, who just shrugged, making her slump over. "Fine, you got me. They stole from me and I'm trying to get my stuff back."
"What'd they steal from you?" Doc asked next, making Trixie stare down at her shoes. "Look, if you don't tell us what you lost then we can't help you."
"Help me/her?" Both Trixie and Twilight yelped.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't we?" Spike replied while tilting his head.
"Spike's right. These people need our help," Flash added. "Isn't this the kind of thing we usually do?"
"Yeah, but..." Twilight glared back at Trixie, seeing a slight glare from Trixie being given back, "We're gonna help her?!"
"Not just her," Flash patted the girl on the shoulder. "But also all the people in town. If this suspicious behavior keeps up, they may never sell anything ever again."
Twilight let out a long sigh, now seeing expectant looks from all three boys. She now knew she wasn't gonna get out of this one. "Fine. Blast your out of character logic..." She glanced back at Trixie, "Fine. What'd they take from you?"
Trixie looked away again, letting out a tiny moan, "They stole my...my..." she whispered below her breath.
"What was that?" Doc asked as he leaned over to her. Trixie repeated what she had said, only to get the same response. "My apologies, but we still can't hear-"
"MY BADGES!" Trixie screamed, making the others hop in response. The girl then let out a series of heavy pants, her teeth grinding, "You got it? They...they took my badges."
"Your badges?!" Flash asked in shock, "You let them steal your badges?!"
Trixie sighed, "Yes....it happened three nights ago."
Three nights ago...
Trixie and Wizentice were currently sitting on a bench at the port, enjoying an ice cream as they watched the sunset. It was here that Trixie reached into her bag and pulled out her badge case. Opening it up, she smiled at the sight of her three badges sparkling up at her. It had been tough and a lot of hard work, but she had finally managed to win her third badge.
"Oh...we're getting closer Wizentice." she commented as her Pokémon finished the last of its ice cream. And as she started to finish her own thing of ice cream, a sudden gust of wind shot past the two. Trixie was forced to shut her eyes at the sudden gust, but when she opened them back up, a loud gasp followed this. Her badge case was now completely empty.
"What the-where'd they go?!" She shrieked as she stood up, her and Wizentice looked around before a glimmer suddenly caught their eyes. They turned to it and saw her badges in the mouths of three beings currently being shrouded by the darkness. "HEY! GIVE THOSE BACK!"
The duo then raced after them as the shadows ran into town. But as the chase started, Trixie quickly lost them as the figures jumped into an alleyway, only to vanish like magic. "No!"
The Present...
"And ever since then, I've been trying to find them again so I could get my badges back."
"That's too bad," Flash commented.
"I don't get it," Twilight added as she crossed her arms. "Why don't you just contact the Gyms you got your badges from and explain what happened. I'm sure they'd send you a replacement." Spike nodded in agreement at this, but Trixie, Flash and Doc looked horrified.
"I can't do that!" Trixie shrieked. "Those badges are more than just a little trinket to me!"
"She's right," Doc continued. "She earned those Gym Badges. Simply replacing them would mean nothing!"
Twilight and Spike shared a glance, obviously not understanding. It was here that Flash decided to chime in, "Alright, you must have something special from your childhood, a toy...or in Twilight's case, a book?" The two did a slow nod, "So what if that thing got stolen? You wouldn't just replace it, right?"
Twilight and Spike both frowned at the idea, Twilight muttering, "I...guess I wouldn't want to replace it."
"Even if it looked exactly the same?" Doc asked, the two shaking their heads. "Why not?"
"Because it wouldn't be the same," Twilight replied.
"To many memories," Spike finished.
"Exactly. Its the same with the badges." Flash added as he remembered the battles he had gone through with his Pokémon, every obstacle of the gym battles. "And I bet its the same with Trixie," he then turned to her for confirmation, quickly getting a nod.
"I see. I get it now." Twilight commented as she turned and gave a small bow to Trixie. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Trixie grumbled as she looked away. "Though Trixie doesn't believe she needs your help, she will...accept it to make you all feel good."
"Gee, how kind of you." Twilight growled while crossing her arms, "Alright Trixie, when do these thieves appear so we know when to act? And where did you get your badges stolen?"
"Follow Trixie." Trixie before motioning her hands, the group now following her.
That night...
Once Trixie had shown them where her badges were stolen, they'd spent the next few hours of daylight working on a plan. Using one of Doc's cooking pots as bait, they set it out on a bench and hid behind some bushes. The pan was set to a piece of string, which was connected a paint bomb they had made. After all, whoever this thief was, they wouldn't be escaping in the night while covered in glow in the dark paint.
"Now we wait," Flash commented as they watched the pot. Five minutes later, nothing...ten minutes...twenty...all was peaceful.
"Oh, come on!"
"How long is this gonna take?" Spike asked next.
"We have to be patient," Twilight told him.
"Trixie has been patient for three days, and I'm done waiting. Trixie has to get those badges back before he finds-" She stopped and threw her hands over her mouth, making the others stare at her.
"Before who finds out?"
"Nothing," Trixie squeaked, "Forget Trixie said anything."
Twilight crossed her arms, now glaring at the magician. "No dice. Tell us the truth, or we walk."
Trixie moaned into her hands, then turned to Wizentice. Her partner shrugged at her, making her sigh as she slightly hugged herself, "Fine. Honestly, not replacing the badges isn't just about what your friend said. If I replace them, then my dad would know I lost mine." This made the others blink in confusion. "He's...he's always checking my trainer profile. If I replace my badges, the serial number would be changed and he'll see it."
"So. What's the big deal?" Spike asked.
Trixie looked away from them. "My dad's a skilled Psychic-Type Pokémon trainer and magician. He came fourth in the Equestria League, and has had multiple sell-out shows throughout the region."
"That explains your skill set," Doc added.
"So...you became a trainer and magician to be like your dad?" Flash inquired next, Trixie nodding back.
"But according to him, I could never match up to his expectations. He always said my magic was predictable and my battling lacked flare."
Spike flinched at this, "Ouch."
"Kind of a mean thing to say to your child," Doc finished with a glum frown.
"That's why I left on this journey, despite my dad saying I couldn't cut it. He said...well, I shouldn't bother. At all."
"But you went anyway," Twilight commented with a raised eyebrow.
Trixie nodded again, "Trixie wanted to show him she wasn't weak. She told him to keep checking her profile." She then smiled, "When I got my third badge, he called me and said he was actually proud of me..." her face slowly morphed into a frown, "But if he learned I lost my badges..."
"You're scared he might not be proud of you anymore," Doc finished, Trixie nodding again.
Everyone frowned at this, Twilight in particular as she started seeing Trixie in a new light. But as they shared glances, Flash snapped his fingers, "You know what Trixie? Who cares what he thinks!" Trixie hopped in place at his declaration, "Do you think you're a good trainer?"
"I...guess?"
"And do you think you're great magician?"
"I think so."
Flash shook his head. "No! That's not an answer!" He pointed his finger directly at her face, "Do you...think you're a great magician?!"
Trixie opened her mouth, only to close it. Her face slowly changed from uncertainty to determination, soon nodding, "Yeah! I'm a great magician!"
"There you go," Flash almost cheered. "Stop caring about what your dad thinks of you and focus on what you think of you. Because-"
His mouth stopped moving as his ears started to hear rustling coming from near the bench. Turning back to it, they saw a shadow hop out of the foliage, all gasping at the sight. It was a Opaline, the gem cat Pokémon. The cat then walked up to the bench and stared at the pot, as if it was judging it.
"So that's it," Doc whispered, "It was an Opaline that's been stealing the stuff."
"Makes sense," Twilight added. "They love shiny things."
"Just like Rarity's..." Spike continued, only to point at the bush, "Look! There's some more!"
Two more then hopped out the pile of the leaves. They too stared at the pot for a moment, only for the original to jump up onto the bench and grabbed it in its teeth. As soon as it was picked up, the balloons above them fell down, exploding in a paint-filled grace. The Pokémon all hissed as the luminous paint covered them, Trixie and the others jumping out of hiding, "Stop!" The magician trainer yelled, "Give me back my badges!"
The Opaline all turned and hissed at her before running off, only for the paint to start making a trail right behind them. "Come back here!" Trixie raced after them, the others following suit. They ran through the streets, able to keep sight of the Opaline despite their superior speed.
"Springer!" Flash yelled, "Memorize their aura. If we do lose them, you can keep track."
"Riolu!" Springer barked back as he focused onto the three, locking onto their auras. It was here that the Opaline ran into an alleyway, which when the trainers turned into it, only to see the Pokémon jumping over a fence.
"Oh no, you don't!" Trixie shrieked as Wizentice jumped into her arms before the two teleported past the fence and in front of the Opaline. "Swift!" Wizentice jumped out of her hands while taking its hat off its head, a flurry of stars firing out of it. The stars flew at the Opaline, but the three of them huddled together before a blue protective sphere formed around them. The Swift struck the bubble, exploding on contact, but they were unharmed as the shield disappeared.
And as soon as it did, the two that weren't holding the pan raced ahead with glowing claws, "Op!" They rorared as they slashed Wizentice in the face.
"WIZ!" The little magician cried as it fell back, Trixie managing to catch it while the Opaline ran past her. Moments later, the others finished climbing over the fence.
"You okay?" Flash asked as they knelt down beside her.
"We're fine...but we lost the Opaline."
"Maybe we can still find them," Spike ran past them into the street, only to see that the paint was gone. The night had cloaked them away, "Dang it!"
"Don't worry," Doc told him before reaching into his pocket. "I figured this might happen, so I attached a transmitter to the pan." He pulled out a device, soon getting a lock on the tracker. "Gotcha. Come on!" He soon went into a sprint, the others following. It was here they found themselves leaving the port town and into the nearby forest.
"So this is where they've been hiding," Trixie growled in the dark of the night. It was here that they continued into the pillars of wood...only to end up at a trash dump.
"What the?" Spike yelped as he side-stepped to avoid a puddle of green liquid.
"I guess the port must make a lot of trash," Twilight added before walking over a pile of broken bottles. "They must leave it here to keep the town looking nice.
Doc looked down at the scanner and pointed it at the largest trash pile in the yard. "Over there," they ran around it until they came face to face with a collection of sparkly metal pots and buckets. Inside them was a collection of jewelry, gems and any other reflective sparkly items.
"That's a lot of expensive stuff," Doc commented
"Those three stole themselves a small fortune," Spike added as he reached down to grab a watch out of one of the buckets. But just as his fingers were about to make contact, he suddenly felt someone grab him by his hood, pulling him back. Barely a second later, a white blur shot past where his hand had been. "Whoa!" He yelped as he pulled his hands close to him, now realizing he had just been saved from a severe mauling.
"You okay?" Flash asked as he let go of Spike's hood.
"Yeah, thanks. I'm good."
They then turned to where the blur had gone and saw an Opaline hissing at them. "Managed to get the paint off, huh?" Trixie commented, only for another load of hissing to happen. This made them turn to see three more glowing in the dark Opaline standing atop a pile of rubbish. "Had a forth member, huh?"
"I don't thinks so," Twilight added as she looked around, all of them soon seeing more and more of the jewel cats coming out of hiding, making them lose count after twenty five.
"That's...a lot of Opaline."
"OPALINE!" They then looked up at the top of a super large pile, now seeing the darkened outline of another Opaline. This one jumped down from the top of the tower, landing in front of their stolen stuff while allowing them to get a better lock at it. There, they saw it was gold in place of white.
"A shiny Opaline," Twilight gasped in amazement.
"And who wants to bet that one's the leader," Flash guessed.
Trixie let out a long growl. "Alright Opaline, you give me and everyone else back our stuff or there's gonna be trouble!" Wizentice hopped in front of her while getting into a battle stance. The shiny Opaline got into a battle stance of its own, the others doing the same. "Fine, but you asked for it. Wizentice!"
"WIZ!" Wizentice charged ahead, the shiny Opaline leaping forward with glowing claws.
"Teleport!" Trixie ordered, Wizentice disappearing seconds before Opaline could hit it. But when he reappeared, he was suddenly slashed by another Opaline. "Hey! No fair!"
"I don't think being fair is something they care about."
"Fine," she pointed at her partner, "Smokescreen!" Wizentice jumped back up before lifting up his cloak, unleashing a black cloud that covered the area.
"I can't see," Twilight moaned.
"Which means neither can the Opaline," Doc reminded her.
"But Springer can," Flash added, "Lock onto their auras and use Drain Punch!"
"Riolu!" Springer rushed into the fog, tracking each Opaline down with green glowing fists. Seconds later, a series of cries filled the junkyard before the smoke cleared, letting them see all but the shiny Opaline were knocked out.
"Line?" The shiny Pokémon cried in horror at the sight.
"Now for you!" Trixie told it, making the creature hiss. "Swift!" her Pokémon took off its hat as multiple stars shot out of it, striking the Opaline and sending it flying back.
"Line!" It hissed as it corrected itself midair, then opened its mouth as a black back of electricity appeared in its mouth. It shot it at Wizentice, a loud hissing noise following as it struck it.
"Wiz!" It cried as the ball exploded, electrocuting it.
"That was Snarl!" Twilight told Trixie, "You have to be careful with that attack."
"Right. Use Swift again!" Wizentice fired another volley of stars, but Opaline counted with Snarl. The two attacks struck one another and exploded, only for Opaline to run into the new dust cloud. "Look out!"
Wizentice held its wand like a sword as it looked at the cloud, right as Opaline shot out from the right side with its claws drawn. "WIZ!" He tried to swing his wand, only for Opaline to suddenly disappear and reappear on Wizentice's right side.
"OP!" It roared as it slashed Wizentice, making him cry as he fell back.
"What the-what just happened?!" Trixie yelped.
"Faint Attack," Twilight commented. "That attack means you can't trust where it's going to attack from." As soon as she said that, Opaline leapt at Wizentice as its claws were engulfed in now purple energy. "That's Shadow Claw!"
"Not this time! Teleport!" Wizentice shifted its gaze to right behind Opaline before disappearing, the Dark-Type's attack striking the ground. "Now, use Psybeam!"
"NO!" The others all yelled, but it was too late. Wizentice pointed its wand at Opaline and unleashed a beam of multicolored light, only for the attack to do nothing. "Trixie!" Flash cried out, "Psychic attacks don't work on Dark-Types!"
Trixie and Wizentice both gasped. "On no, I forgot!"
Opaline smiled at the opening, using it to leap into the air before unleashing a Snarl attack. The ball of hissing black energy flew at Wizentice, striking it with an explosion. "WIZ!" The little magician went flying back, rolling on the ground.
"Wizentice!" Trixie cried.
"Not good," Flash commented while Opaline landed in front of its junk pile. It had a mocking smile as it watched Wizentice try to pick itself up, only for it fall down, the injuries appearing to be too much for it.
Trixie fell to her knees, "My dad was right. I'm...I'm no good as a trainer." Tears began to fill her eyes as Wizentice continued to try and pick itself up. "Just give up Wizentice, we can't win."
"Wiz..." Wizentice turned to his partner before shaking its head.
"Please...stop before you get too badly hurt."
"Wiz!" Wizentice continued to shake its head as he tried to pick himself up again, actually managing to get to his feet this time.
"Wizentice-"
"Don't you see?!" Trixie turned to Twilight. "Wizentice still has faith in you! It doesn't care that you made a mistake, it still believes in you! Are you going to let that belief go to waste?!"
Trixie continued to stare at Twilight before turning back to Wizentice, who had picked up its wand and was pointing it at the Opaline. "Wiz...wizentice? You..."
"Remember what I told you," Flash added. "What matters is how you see yourself! Your dad was wrong, you're a great trainer and a great wizard. But you'll only be able to be that great if you believe you are! So get up and show your dad how wrong he is!"
The others all let out cheers at this while Trixie continued to stare at Wizentice. "I...I..." her unsure expression started to crumble as Wizentice turned to her, nodding. "I...I believe! I, no..." She smiled down at Wizentice, "We are strong and we will defeat this thief and take our badges back! You with me Wizentice?!"
"WIZ!" Wizentice yelled before his entire body was engulfed by light, making everyone gasp. They watched as Wizentice doubled in height, the light fading to reveal its new form. It now stood at around four and a half feet, while his cloak was now open to reveal his clothing. The clothes were a yellow wanzi with zips covering it, brown boots and gloves as well. Its cloak was now more like a cape, with strange patterns on the inside, and was held together with a star shaped buckle. His hat was pretty much unchanged, though it was larger than before, while his wand had been replaced with a wooden staff that had a star shape on it.
The new Pokémon flourished its cape as it twirled its staff, "Mag!"
Trixie was awestruck at her new Pokémon while Flash pulled out his Pokedex.
Name: Magitual
Category: Ritual Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Info: The evolved form of Wizentice. This Pokémon can manipulate energy to simulate magic. It has a duel personality that switches between shy and mischievous, but no matter what, it never reveals it's true face.
"I can't...believe it," Trixie whispered.
"Believe it!" Twilight told her.
"Wizentice evolved to show you just how strong you two really are!" Flash added. "Now show Opaline why it shouldn't mess with you!"
"Right..." Trixie turned back to the battle, "Let's do this Magitual!"
"Magi!" Magitual waved its wand and in a flash, he multiplied into five versions of itself.
"That's Double Team!" Trixie gasped. "This just keeps getting better and better. Now, use Swift!" All but one of the Magitual disappeared before pointing its staff at the Opaline, the star shaped head glowing before it unleashed a barrage of stars. The Opaline was so surprised by the sudden multiplication of its opponent that it didn't have time to react when the stars hit the cat, making it roll back until it clawed itself to a stop.
"Line!" It yelped as it charged at Magitual, appearing to warp from left to right as it used Faint Attack.
"Not this time! Double Team!"
"Mag!" Once again, Magitual multiplied into five. Opaline struck one of them, but it disappeared while the others jumped around it.
"Smokescreen!" The three remaining fakes disappeared while the real Magitual opened up its cloak and shot out a cloud of smoke. The pile of dust blinded the Opaline, making it hiss as it tried to escape the cloud. "Swift!" As soon as it heard that, Opaline spun to where Magitual had been standing and unleashed its Snarl attack. But the sound of the attack hitting stars didn't fill the air. Instead, Opaline suddenly felt itself be struck by several objects, knocking it out of the cloud. It was here that the smoke cleared to show Magitual had run around to the other side of smokescreen.
"Use Smokescreen again!" Magitual unleashed the cloud of smoke again, consuming the Opaline. But the cat wasn't falling for that again, and leapt right up into the air and out of the cloud, only to come face to race with an army of Magitual. "Swift!"
"OPALINE!" The gem cat hissed loudly before it started spiting Snarl attacks at each and every Magitual it could see, blasting them all out of existence. But as it did this and they disappeared, it still didn't hit the real one. "Op?"
"MAGITUAL!" Opaline looked down at the smoke cloud, which faded to reveal the real Magitual. The Pokémon was holding its staff above its head as the star shape released a light that was forming into a single giant star.
"FIRE!" Trixie screamed as Magitual struck the star like it was playing baseball. The giant star spun at the Opaline like a shuriken, the Pokémon unable to dodge in midair. All it could do was watch as the giant star got closer until-
KABOOM!
The sky was filled with star shaped fireworks, the other Opaline waking up just in time to see their extremely burnt leader falling to the ground with swirls in its eyes.
"YES!" Trixie cheered before rushing over to Magitual, the newly evolved Pokémon jumping into her arms as she spun around. "You did it Magitual!"
"Mag!" It cried back, hugging its trainer.
"You did great!" Twilight added as the group walked up to them.
Doc nodded in agreement. "You and Magitual were in perfect sync, even though it had just evolved and learned a new move."
"Thanks..." Trixie replied before hugging Magitual again.
The Opaline moved over to their leader and picked it up before turning to the trainers and their Pokémon, the pack still looking ready to battle despite being barely conscious. "If you know what's good for you," Flash told them. "You'll scram and never come back." Springer punched his fist into his paw while creaking his neck for emphasis.
The Opaline glared at them for several seconds, as if weighing their options, only for Magitual to launch a swift attack at the ground in front of them. This made them all hiss in fear before turning tail, all running into the darkness of the night. Once they were gone, they rushed over to the pile of stolen objects. After wading through buckets of stolen watches and jewelry, Trixie gasped as she found them. "My badges..." she picked them up and held them close to her heart. She then turned to the others and gave them the most genuine smile she had ever given anyone, "Thank you."
Everyone smiled back at her, a little disturbed that she was acting so genuine. "No problem," Flash said as he placed his hands behind his head before turning to the pile of buckets. "We should probably get this stuff back to town and explain what happened."
The others nodded and started grabbing the buckets. As they did this, Twilight added, "I just hope they don't think we stole them. If the police hold us back for questioning, we might end up missing the Hoof Cup."
"Hoof Cup?" Trixie asked while tilting her head. The other then explained about their plans to compete in the tournament, Trixie and Magitual both hopping in place at the idea. "Oh my. Trixie is intrigued." The rest of the journey back to town was in silence, as Trixie thought about what they said.
The next morning...
Once again, our heroes found themselves walking out of the Pokémon Center, ready to head out to Hoof Town. After returning the stolen possessions, thankfully no one accusing them of theft and explaining about the Opaline, our heroes returned to the Center for a good night's sleep. Trixie had declined joining, explaining that her cart was parked not too far away and would be sleeping in that.
Aside from the talk with Fancy and Fleur, this morning's walk out of town was total déjà vu of the previous day's walk. The only difference was that many of the shops were now opened, the people now seemingly unworried of being robbed. Soon enough, they were out of the town and heading back into the woods they had chased the Opaline through the previous night.
"I wonder what happened to Trixie?" Spike asked.
"Who knows," Twilight replied as she tapped her journal. "Now that she has her badges back, she probably decided to head out to the next Gym."
"Even so, I would have thought she'd say goodbye before leaving."
"I'm sure we'll see her again," Doc added. "Now, we should get going, especially if we want to get to Hoof Town in time to enter the tournament."
The others nodded and continued to walk down the path, until-
"WAIT!" They all spun around to see Trixie speeding at them, she and Magitual riding on her cart as Girafarig pulled it along. Trixie then pulled on the reins, stopping Girafarig right next to them. "I can't believe you tried to leave without me!"
The others all looked at each other, Twilight tilting her head, "What do you mean?"
"Isn't it obvious?! The great and powerful Trixie has decided to enter the Hoof Cup!"
"You have?" Flash asked while hopping in place, only to smirk at her, "Awesome...but you sure you can handle it?"
Trixie gave him a flat stare. "I have three badges, the same as you. That means anything you can handle, so can I."
Flash did a small shrug, "Eh, I guess that makes sense."
"So you're gonna come with us to Hoof Town?" Spike asked, Trixie nodding. "So does that mean you're gonna give us a ride on cart?"
"Spike!" Twilight scolded him, "You can't just ask that."
"Sorry..."
"It's alright. And sure, you can have a ride. If there's one thing Trixie is, she's grateful to those who help her." She and Magitual scrunched over, making room on the cart bench for one person. "One of you can sit here while the others sit in the cart."
"Sweet!" Spike ran up first, only to feel someone grab the hood of his hoodie. "Hey!" He yelped as Twilight pulled him back, "What gives?!"
"Do you know how to get to Hoof Town?" Twilight asked him.
"Well...no."
"And do you have a journal with a map showing the best way?"
"No."
"Then I'm up front." With that, Twilight jumped up onto the front besides Magitual. The others moved over to the back and climbed inside the cart, closing the doors seconds before Trixie whipped the reins, the Girafarig now pulling them into the forest. Our heroes return to dry land had been met with mystery and intrigue. Now that they've helped Trixie get back her badges and her self confidence, their journey to Hoof Town and the Hoof Cup continues.