Sweetie Belle reached Pallet Town, alone again. After they had passed some time playing, Sweetie Belle and the little Pokémon simply went on their ways, but the filly had the feeling that she will see her new friend again eventually.
Pallet Town really was a small village, possessing only a few houses and a bigger building that was certainly Prof. Oak's laboratory. There wasn't even a single commerce. Sweetie supposed that the inhabitants simply went to the city she previously left, which really wasn't far. The ocean could be seen beyond the back of the village, although partially hidden by the buildings and the trees around.
In the end, Pallet Town was just a small villages for the ones who wanted a peaceful life without worry, where all the inhabitants knew each others and enjoyed the nice view of the ocean and the mountains that could be seen in the distance.
Of course, Sweetie Belle had turned herself back into a human before reaching the village. She didn't want to attract the attention of everyone. And this time, she made sure to change the color of her mane/hair into just pink instead of the usual pink and purple so nobody else would discover what she really was that easily. Just in case, she also changed the color of her eyes into brown.
After spending a little less than a minute taking on the view, she advanced toward the laboratory, which was at the South extremity of the village, in front of the ocean, a little to her left. Not knowing if the prof had returned in the lab, she first looked through the windows.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much to see. She could see shelves full of books, two desks in the back including one with a computer on it, some machines beside the computer, another machine with a cylindrical glass container at the side, and a table with three of these red and white balls. In a corner was a staircase to the second floor where was certainly the prof's living quarters. She really had been expecting more... technostuff, more like Twilight's lab.
She could see Prof. Oak who had obviously returned while she had been playing with the Pokémon, but he wasn't alone. Blue was at his side, probably wanting to know more about her, and there were three other people, assistants of the prof she guessed. The five of them were discussing together, but she couldn't hear through the window. But she guessed that they were certainly talking about her.
Having observed enough, she went to the door and entered the lab, gaining the attention of everyone inside.
"Hello. Sorry for the wait. I had some fun on the way."
"O-oh! It's you! Modified your hair and eyes, uh?" asked the prof.
"Yup. I wanted to make it a little less obvious," answered Sweetie Belle. "So, what do I get first? The Q&A, or the Starter?"
"Eh. Let's start with the Starter. It will be fast," proposed Blue before he waved at the table with the three balls. "Simply pick the Pokémon you desire among those three. Bulbasaur the Grass-type, Charmander the Fire-type, or Squirtle the Water-type."
Sweetie Belle nodded and approached the table with the three balls, having already an idea of which one she will choose. If she intended for her friends to join her, then she could already guess which of these starters they will pick. Scootaloo, in her love of everything that is awesome, will pick the Fire-type (it's a fact, everything looks more awesome with fire). As for Apple Bloom, having a green hoof like the rest of her family (being farmers), she will pick the Grass-type. So this left Sweetie Belle with the Water-type, Squirtle.
Approaching the balls, she could see that the red part was actually slightly transparent, letting her see the Pokémon inside them. They were curled, and looked up at her curiously. From what she could see, the Bulbasaur was some creature with a giant plant bulb on its back, the Charmander was some lizard with fire at the tip of its tail, and the Squirtle was a turtle. She couldn't see well their colors however through the red of the balls.
She had so many questions, but she could easily get them answered by the Squirtle once she will have some alone time with it.
"I choose Squirtle!" shouted Sweetie Belle as she grabbed the corresponding ball. Without waiting, she released the Pokémon who materialized not far in front of her, revealing not only to be a turtle, but to be a bipedal one with blue skin.
The Squirtle waved at her. "Hello! Thank you for choosing me! I will not disappoint you!"
Sweetie Belle petted it in return. "Hello. I'm sure we will have great adventures together."
At this moment, Blue took the ball with the Bulbasaur in it and opened it, releasing the Pokémon, revealing it to be quadrupedal contrary to Squirtle, and to be blue green coloured with some darker patches.
"How about I test you?" he proposed. "Grass-types have the advantage over Water-types, but at this stage, it doesn't matter. Squirtle and Bulbasaure are pretty even. They both know only two moves, both of Normal-types, one an attacking move, the other a status-move. You understand what this means?"
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Victory will be determined by how the trainers will use these moves to the best."
"Exactly," said Blue. "Your Squirtle should know Tackle and Tail Whip. Do what you can with these two moves."
Sweetie Belle crossed her arms, thinking. "Mmh... I assume that Tackle is the attack-move, so this means that Tail Whip is the status-move. Uuh... What does it do?"
At this, Professor Oak raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"
Sweetie Belle shrugged at this. "I never went to Pokémon school?"
This made the humans laugh before the prof said "I should have thought about this. Well, Tail Whip has for effect to lower slightly the defense of the opponent."
"Thanks. Alright, let's fight. I want to see how I fare in a Pokémon battle when I'm the one giving the orders. Ready, Squirtle?"
"Yes!"
So, the humans moved away to form a circle around the Pokémon as they now faced each other.
Squirtle, you hear me? Squirtle suddenly heard in his mind, taking it off guard.
"What?"
It's me, Sweetie Belle, I'm talking in your mind.
Shocked, Squirtle turned to look at its new master in wonder as she smirked.
Surprise! Let's see how good this guy is when he can't hear the orders I give. Stop staring at me and face your adversary before he decides to attack behind your back.
Despite its shock, Squirtle listened to her and turned to face the Bulbasaur just as Blue shouted "Bulbasaur! Use Tackle!" The Bulbasaur then charged at Squirtle.
Make your shell face its head! said Sweetie Belle.
Squirtle wondered what Sweetie Belle had in mind but immediately followed her order and turned around, resulting in the Bulbasaur headbutting its shell. This caused Squirtle to fall on its belly, but also the Bulbasaur to receive some damage from hitting the hard shell, also stunning it a little.
"What?" shouted Blue in surprise.
Quick! Tackle it while it's stunned!
Squirtle obeyed her and tackled the Bulbasaur before it could recover, sending it flying a little before it landed heavily at Blue's feet. However, it wasn't enough to knock it out as it got up ready to continue the fight.
Blue was shocked for a few seconds before he smiled again, but also sweated a little. "I should have thought about it. If you are indeed a Psychic Pokémon, then you can give orders directly in the Pokémon's mind.
Sweetie Belle giggled. "I hope that's not cheating."
"Well, not really. A few Psychic specialised trainers do the same. I guess I will have to be more careful. Bulbasaur! Use Growl!"
Growl? It must be the status-move of Bulbasaur. I don't know what is its effect, but I know how to counter it easily, thought Sweetie Belle, making sure to accelerate her thoughts so not even a second passed in reality. Squirtle, cover your ears.
Squirtle covered its ears with its hands just as the Bulbasaur growled, and it thought Uh... It should have been obvious.
Well, it is obvious, or I wouldn't have thought about it so easily. Anyway, Tail Whip. Let's lower its defense.
Obeying her, Squirtle turned around again and moved its tail back and forth.
Blue frowned. "Tackle! And be careful of its shell!"
This time, jump to the side at the last second... Squirtle managed to do as she said. And Tackle! It tackled the Bulbasaur from the side. And while it recovers, Tail Whip. Spam it as long as you can.
Seeing the Squirtle use Tail Whip repeatedly, Blue got an idea. "Bulbasaure, stop looking at it!!"
Perfect! Tackle!
As the Bulbasaur looked to the side to avoid receiving the effects of Tail Whip, Squirtle charged at it. Blue shouted "Watch out!" but it was too late, and the Grass Pokémon was tackled again, this time knocking it out.
Professor Oak applauded, amazed. "That was impressive, Sweetie Belle. Victory is yours. Being able to give orders through the mind is a serious advantage, and you knew what to do at each instant. It's obvious that you aren't a beginner."
"I guess. I fought a lot, so I guess that I have the experience Squirtle lacks for now," replied Sweetie Belle as she patted Squirtle to congratulate it. "And giving orders through the mind is so much faster than yelling them. The reaction time is shorter, giving more time to maneuver."
"Well, lucky us that not all Psychic specialised trainers use this," Blue joked as he called the Bulbasaur back into its ball. He then gave the ball to one of the assistants. "Can you go heal it?"
"Of course," answered the assistant before he moved to one of the machines.
"Now I can't wait to fight you with my full team once you will have the other seven badges. I have the feeling that you will give me a great battle," added Blue.
"You will have to wait. I don't intend to rush. I'm not even sure if I want to try this Pokémon League yet. It's not my goal to become... Uh... Champion. But I wouldn't mind battling you again."
"Then you will have to get the seven other badges. I leave you no choice. Normally, Gym leaders have different teams to use against trainers depending of the number of badges they possess, but I only accept to fight challengers who have gotten the seven other badges. With Viridian City being at the door of the Indigo Plateau, I consider myself as the one who must prepare the trainers to face the Elite 4, so I only give my best against them. Or... my near best. Being an ex-Champion, giving my best would mean using a team that is well above the others. Trust me, if I was to use my Champion team instead of my usual team, my Jolteon would crush everyone almost by itself."
"The difference is THAT huge?" asked Sweetie Belle in awe.
Blue just smirked in answer. "And again, the actual Champion's team is even stronger. And that's nothing compared to some of the teams other Champions in other regions have. Some of them have Legendaries. Take the Champion of Sinnoh for example. Her whole team is made of Legendaries, including some very powerful ones. Hoenn's Champion too by the way..."
"And let me guess. This Red also has some Legendaries in his team?"
"Yes, which is why he doesn't use it much. But against you..."
"I'm honored. Then I shall give him a battle that he will remember... when I will encounter him," giggled Sweetie Belle before she turned to face Professor Oak. "Anyway. I guess it's Q&A time. Go on."
"Thank you. Well, can I see your..."
"Of course!" And in a flash, Sweetie Belle was back in her pony form, surprising Squirtle.
"Ooohhhh!" The assistants immediately began to sketch her and take note about every little details of her appearance and what they may mean.
Did the presence of wings mean that she was a Flying-type? Or was she really a Fairy-type because of her look? Why was she looking so similar to Ponyta from Galar?
The only woman in the group could also barely stop herself from squealing with how adorable Sweetie Belle looked. When she saw this, Sweetie Belle gave her her most adorable look, getting the woman to lose her fight and to take her in her arms to hug her and pet her, much to the amusement of the others.
Prof. Oak pretended to cough to stop himself from laughing and asked "Mmh... Can you still talk in this form?"
"Yes, I can," answered Sweetie Belle as she was almost melting thanks to the hear scratch the lady was giving her. "But before you ask, no, I will not tell you my types." She gave the prof a smirk at this. "Wouldn't want to give my weaknesses, after all. You will have to guess by yourself. Just know that I can use all the types."
"All of them?" asked the prof in awe.
"All of them," Sweetie Belle confirmed with a nod. She didn't know what all the types of Pokémon and moves were, but she was certain that she could use all of them. To demonstrate, she got out of the lady's arms, moved a little away, and breathed a small stream of fire, followed by a small stream of water before she made her horn spark. She didn't use more as this seemed to convince the scientists.
With the help of some machines, they then were able to determine her size and weight. The prof asked where she came from, if she had a home or a place where she passed a lot of time, but she answered that she was a wanderer and that she liked to explore, so she didn't have any 'home'. At least not in this dimension she thought. As for where she came from, she simply said "Far, far away."
Apparently, all the Legendaries had a role in the world, or even the universe, so the prof asked what hers was (since they assumed that she was a Legendary). To this, she answered "I kick bad guy butts," which made the prof even more convinced that she may have a link with the Swords of Justice. Apparently, the Swords of Justice protected the Pokémon against humans, going so far as to stop wars to protect them, going against all the factions of said wars. But Sweetie Belle corrected him. She didn't just protect Pokémon, she protected everyone, no matter who or what they were. If some guy suddenly decided to conquer the world and enslave everyone, then she would go and fight him. When she was asked where she was when various teams tried to do that or something similar in the more or less recent past, she answered "I recently started, and sadly, I'm not omniscient." Then, Professor Oak asked her what her ability was.
"What do you call an ability?" asked the filly.
"Well, do you have something that has a passive effect? For example, some abilities automatically reduce a stat of an opponent when they enter battle. There's Static that can cause paralysis if someone physically touches the Pokémon possessing it. There're Air Lock and Cloud Nine that eliminate the effect that the weather can have on some Pokémon. There are some very powerful ones like Desolate Land which creates some very harsh sunlight that causes Water-type moves to fail."
"I see. Well..." She had to think for a small moment. She had no idea of what her ability could be. But then, Oh! I know! "You see, whenever I fight for a good cause, like to save someone or something, or to stop some evil guy, then I immediately increase my focus and get more serious, resulting in me getting a boost in everything. I think you could call it... Hero at Heart."
"Typical Legendary," commented Blue. "Team Rocket will have a bad time if they decide to reform."
"Very well," said Prof. Oak as he noted what Sweetie Belle said. "I think this covers everything. I would like to do some more observations, but this would require you remaining here for weeks, which I suppose you don't want."
"No thanks."
The prof acknowledged it with a nod. "So... I suppose you're now free to do... whatever you want. If you want to learn more, you can use the computer. It contains a lot of useful information about everything. The Pokémon, the moves, the known abilities, the Pokémon League and its rules and regulations, and so on."
"Thank you, but I wouldn't want to bother. I suppose that I will learn everything as I move around."
"It wouldn't be a bother. This computer is here for that, like all these books," insisted the prof.
"Bah, let her go, gramp. I understand her. Remaining sitting on a chair for hours isn't great, especially for one who seems eager to go explore and discover the world. Just give her a Pokédex and she will learn on the way. She can always go to a library to learn about the Pokémon League. You can use the occasion to also give her her five free Poké Balls," said Blue.
The prof sighed. "Alright. One moment, Sweetie Belle."
As the filly gave him a nod, the old man moved away to retrieve a Pokédex and five Poké Balls. It didn't take him long to come back with the objects, the five balls with a belt and a little red rectangular device. Professor Oak rapidly instructed Sweetie Belle on how the Pokédex worked before the filly turned back into a human and put the belt with the five balls around her waist. She then used Squirtle's Poké Ball to call it back before putting it on the belt with the others.
Blue then gave her some money. "There, for defeating me. It's tradition that, when you lose a Pokémon battle, you give some money to the winner. You can use it to buy more Poké Balls or some potions and other objects to help your Pokémon."
"Thank you," said Sweetie Belle as she took the money and put it in a pocket, not sure where else to put it except maybe the backpack. "I guess I should go, now. Thank you again for everything. Blue, I will not immediately do the Pokémon League, but I intend to fight your Champion team one day. So, see you next time. Goodbye everyone."
Under the goodbyes of everyone, Sweetie Belle left the lab. After a few steps, she took the Pokédex and opened it, wanting to start learning more about the Pokémon.
Only to be reminded that she still couldn't read the local language.
"Darn."
Maybe she should have thought to read someone's mind to take from them the knowledge of how to read this language.
Thank you for making me think about this only now, you jerk.