//------------------------------// // Never smile at a Krookodile // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// The Pokemon House, Morning. "Let's see..." Ash was currently viewing the new map of Equestria, wondering where to go next today. "Have you found anything that's caught your interest, Ash?" Fluttershy flew over. "This looks pretty promising. Fighting Fields." Ash pointed at a newfound area located North. "From that, it sounds like a bunch of Fighting-Types are gonna be there. I gotta see this for myself!" "Pikachu!" "An area full of Fighting-Type Pokemon? That sounds a bit overwhelming. But interesting too. What do you think, Audi?" Fluttershy turned to her Audino. "Audino...!" Audino was actually fantasizing about an area like that. For one reason only. Audino found Fighting-Types to be handsome in her eyes. From the ripped Machamp and Buzzwole to the sharp-eyed Lucario and Gallade, she had a bit of a fangirl nature for them. "What's up with her?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Pika?" "Oh. Well um...Audi has a bit of an...strong fondness for Fighting-Type Pokemon. Ever since Buzzwole came to Ponyville, she gets a bit flustered when thinking about them." "Krook?!" Krookodile heard that as he burst out of the doors, startling the other Pokemon. "I suppose you want to go there, don't you, Audi?" Fluttershy asked her partner. "Audino!" Audino put her hands on her face as she gently nodded. With Ash and Pikachu taking an interest to it, it was decided that they would visit Fighting Fields. "Great. We'll have everypony else come along to see the Fighting Fields too." Fluttershy picked Chikorita up. "Chiko!" Krookodile's ears didn't deceive him whatsoever. He heard it clear as day. Since he himself is fond of Audino. Then again, he has an affection for any Audino. Much like the one back in PokePark. Krookodile thought for a moment. If Audino heads over to the Fighting Fields, then there'll possibly be one Fighting Pokemon that catches her heart. Being the prideful Pokemon that he was, Krookodile was not about to let that happen. So there was only one thing left to do. Go with them to the Fighting Fields. "Krook! Krookodile!" The Intimidation Pokemon ran over, calling for Fluttershy's name. "Hm? What is it, Krookodile?" Fluttershy asked. "Dile! Krookodile!" "Oh. So, you want to come along with us? But I thought you wanted to stay here as the bodyguard for the Pokemon House." "Dile." Krookodile was making an exception this one single time. "Alright. If you really want to come along. But, somepony else might have to keep watch of the Pokemon House." "I've got that covered." Ash stepped forward, sending Dragonite out. "Dra!" "Dragonite. We're gonna be visiting a place called Fighting Fields today. But we kinda need someone to take care of the Pokemon House while we're gone. Think you can do that?" "Dragonite!" The Dragon Pokemon was up for it. Not even a hint of hesitation. Dragonite will treat every Pokemon here as if it was one of their own children. "Great! We'll be back soon, okay?" Ash and Fluttershy walked off as they waved goodbye to all the Pokemon here. "Pikachu!" Fighting Fields, North of Equestria. Close to Frozen North and the Crystal Empire. It certainly did have the appearance of a field that is for sure. Although, instead of the usual grassy green fields that are very prominent across Equestria and in some cases the Pokemon World, this field was a more rocky field instead. Although, there was still some grass here and there along with a large lake. There were rocks everywhere. Big rocks, small rocks, shattered rocks, moulded rocks, stacked rocks etc. An area with this amount of rocks was perfect for Fighting Pokemon since one of the many activities and training sessions they go through is crushing rocks with their fists, paws, legs or whatever limb they own. And all of them were doing just that right about now. A Hitmontop shattered some rocks by spinning on its head. A Pangoro was teaching a Pancham how to effortlessly break something in half with just a slight hand gesture whilst Pancham idolized the Pangoro. A bunch of Throh's were perfecting their throwing abilities by launching huge boulders whilst their opposites, the Sawk's, worked on the perfect Karate Chop by chopping boulders in half. "Yep. This is definitely a Fighting-Type exclusive area." Ash nodded his head. "Pika!" "Audino..." Audino was already a fan of this place the moment she gazed upon it. Krookodile thought otherwise as he merely crossed his arms. "My. Do they spend the entire day doing all of this?" Rarity narrowed her eyes. "Well, yeah. Remember what Brawly taught us?" Pinkie bounced over to the Fighting-Types. The first Fighting Pokemon she greeted was the Pangoro and the Pancham. "Hiya!" "Pango!" "Cham!" "It's great that we came here." Rainbow Dash flew up. "Mienfoo's been wanting to battle with me for the first time since I caught her. Out you come." She sent out the Martial Arts Pokemon, ready to fulfil her promise. "Mien!" "Take a look at this, Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash showed her the Fighting Fields with all her fellow Fighting-Type Pokemon present. "This way, we can get you prepared for my Fifth Gym battle. What do you say?" "Mienfoo!" Mienfoo was already ready to as she bolted forward, but Rainbow Dash held her back. "Woah, slow down, Mienfoo! Let's not start picking fights okay?" "Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon started swinging the air violently, wanting to battle someone already. "Audino!" Audino's eyes were set on one particular Pokemon. The Blade Pokemon Gallade. To Audino, that was her personal favourite Fighting-Type. Gallade was strong, honourable, sharp and a master of courtesy. All of those traits were enough to steal Audino completely. Although, Gallade barely even noticed at all. Over at the lake, a familiar face could be seen, surfing on the waves whilst the sun hit their head. That familiar face was none other than Brawly. Besides battles, surfing was perhaps his favourite activity since he's a sucker for it and his great respect for nature. Brawly had returned to land, spotting his students and Ash in the distance as he hopped off his surfboard. "Oh, hey! You guys found the Fighting Fields, huh?" Brawly went up to them. "Brawly! Actually...we should've known you'd be here somehow." Twilight said. "Nice to see you again, Ash." "Great to see you too, Brawly!" "Pikachu!" "You guys here to train your Pokemon up with the Fighting-Types?" Brawly asked. "We're just visiting but I promised Mienfoo here that she'd get to have a real battle with me soon. And this is the perfect place to start." Rainbow Dash held Mienfoo up. "What about you, Brawly?" "I come here for two reasons. To ride these sweets waves and to help some of the Pokemon here improve and then some. You came at the right time too. Today, they're all fired up than usual." "How so?" Rarity went up to him. "Have a look. They're all gonna learn from the strongest Fighting-Type here. Gallade." Brawly pointed over at the Blade Pokemon who was the most concentrated in this entire area. Even more than Sawk. "Gallade here is practically their mentor and boss. Every Fighting-Type here respects him. Even the stubborn ones." "Oh, so he's a big deal?" said Rainbow Dash. "The biggest. Today's he's gonna test and show the others just how he gets things done. You don't wanna miss this." "Gall." The Blade Pokemon had gathered up most of the Fighting Pokemon in this area for the inevitable test. In which, Gallade will help them improve by battling against them or just watching. There were some fairly eager Fighting-Types here. Mainly those who feel as if they're ready to take on Master Gallade and possibly even defeat him. Although, the likely hood of that happening is incredibly low. "Foo!" Mienfoo wanted in on this immediately. With a pride arguably as big as Krookodile's, she wanted to go up against the strongest Pokemon here. So she jumped out of Rainbow Dash's hooves, making her way towards her fellow Fighting-Types. "H-Hey! Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash cried out. "Ugh...why is she like this...?" She facehoofed. "Dino!" Audino was thrilled to see Gallade battle. She's only ever seen one Gallade battle and that was Spitfire's Gallade. But even then, she was still fond of it. If anything, she's fond of every Gallade since they're all mostly the same. But like every other Pokemon in the world, every Gallade is different. "Krook. "Krookodile thought that Gallade wasn't about to be that impressive as he kept his eyes glued to the scene. "Sawk!" A Sawk had decided to go up against Gallade to prove to him that his spectacular karate chop is capable of even frightening Gallade. "Gallade." Gallade being the respectable Pokemon that he is, accepted Sawk's challenge as they both bowed at each other. Sawk tightened his belt, pumping himself up as he knew that this wouldn't be easy. "Sawk!" The Punching Pokemon started strong with the traditional Karate Chop. Sawk's hand glowed white and he struck downwards at Gallade with the side of his open hand." "Llade." The Blade Pokemon blocked Sawk's devastating Karate Chop by crossing both his bladed arms together in an X-shape. The collision on Gallade's blades caused a tremor that formed a small crater beneath the two Fighting-Type Pokemon. "Sawk!" Sawk then switched up by having his other hand use Thunder Punch whilst Karate Chop stays on Gallade's blades. "Gal!" However, Gallade was fast enough to see the attack coming as he moved his arms at lighting-speeds, blocking both Thunder Punch and Karate Chop at the same time. "Sawk?!" "Gallade!" Gallade then used one of his bladed arms to push Sawk's Karate Chop off whilst the other blade did the same to Sawk's Thunder Punch. "Lade! Lade!" Gallade then used the always powerful and swift Close Combat by rapidly striking Sawk with slashes from his bladed arms. Sawk was unable to block Close Combat due to Gallade pushing him back and attacking afterwards in just 2 seconds. The Blade Pokemon was just too fast for Sawk to keep up with as he had been cut twice by Gallade's blades. There was barely any effort put into Gallade's slashes as he deemed Sawk not worthy enough to go all out on. "S-SAWK!" "Gall!" Gallade finished the battle by giving the Punching Pokemon an uppercut to the chin. That final uppercut was enough to take out Sawk as he went flying into the air before crashing down on the ground, fainting afterwards. "Sawk..." "Gallade." Gallade got back into a standard standing position, declaring this battle over. "Audino!" Audino fangirled over how dashing Gallade looked during that battle. The way he kept his composure and how effortlessly he defeated Sawk with just three casual hits was all Audino needed to see. "Just three hits huh? What power!" Ash grinned. "Pika!" "Power is an understatement..." Twilight gawked. "This Gallade's been practising on getting the right type of slash that's able to hit pressure points and end battles quickly. It's no wonder he did it without any struggle." Brawly nodded. Krookodile grumbled as even he had to admit, that was impressive. Three hits with no effort is something not many Pokemon are capable of doing. The ones that are capable of that are usually Legendary Pokemon. To Krookodile, that meant that Gallade was almost as strong as a Legendary Pokemon if not on par with one. A Pokemon with that amount of strength is sure to grab a lot of attention. Especially the attention of Audino. The Intimidation Pokemon had made up his mind. He wanted to go above and beyond by showing everypony, mostly Audino, something truly impressive. That something was taking down Gallade in just a few hits. "Krook!" Krookodile walked forward, strutting his way over to Gallade who was currently picking the next Pokemon to challenge him. "Mien!" Mienfoo jumped up and down, desperately wanting Gallade to choose her so that she and Rainbow Dash can battle alongside each other for the very first time. "Dile!" Unfortunately, Krookodile shattered that wish by using his tail to whack Mienfoo out of the way. "Mienfoooooooooooo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon went flying in the distance as everyone gasped, turning to face Krookodile. "What's he doing?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Krook! Krookodile!" Krookodile pointed his claws at Gallade, challenging the Blade Pokemon to battle. Right here. Right now. "Oh my." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Krookodile has just challenged Gallade to a battle!" The other Fighting-Type Pokemon weren't too fond of Krookodile suddenly coming up to their mentor, challenging him, knocking away a fellow Fighting-Type and acting like he owns the place. They surrounded Krookodile, ready to force him away from Gallade or even from the Fighting Fields themselves. "Gal." However, Gallade stepped forward, commanding them all to step back as he approached the Ground-Dark-Type. Gallade was willing to accept Krookodile's challenge out of curiosity. "Dino! Audino!" Audino ran over since she knew how Krookodile likes to pick fights with others. But usually, he picks fights with smaller Pokemon since he loves making himself look big and strong to impress Audino. But picking a fight with the strongest Pokemon here was another story. Especially one that was taller than him. "Krook?" "Audino!" Audino was about to give her usual scolding to Krookodile which always worked 100% of the time. But this time, it was different. "Gal," Gallade told Audino it was alright. That Krookodile could face him and he wouldn't mind it at all. Once Gallade spoke to Audino, her face transformed into one of perturbation as her heart fluttered. "Dino!" Audino looked to the side, too embarrassed to look Gallade in the eyes as she was grateful to be right next to him. This interaction only riled Krookodile up, making his eager drive to defeat Gallade skyrocket. Fluttershy looked closely as she examined the scenario in front of them. A flustered Audino. A begrudging Krookodile. And an honourable Gallade. After putting the pieces together, Fluttershy finally figured out what exactly was going on. "Oh...I see what it is now." Fluttershy nodded in understanding. "What? What is it?" Pinkie Pie asked as she held Pancham in her hooves. "Krookodile's challenging Gallade to impress Audino. How sweet." Fluttershy closed her eyes. "But also very dangerous!" She opened them up as her pupils dilated. "Krookodile doesn't stand a chance against him!" "I don't know...From the way Krookodile's staring at Gallade, his fighting spirit's really burning up." Brawly observed. "This could be good." "What about my Mienfoo...?" Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Gal." Gallade accepted Krookodile's challenge as the battle had been made official. Krookodile was going to enjoy this whilst Gallade kept a straight face, unbothered and unaware of Krookodile's true intentions. Audino backed up to make sure she wouldn't get caught up in this battle. "Krookodile...!" Krookodile already had his claws ready for slashing as he eyed Gallade down. "Gal!" Gallade bowed down, showing respect to Krookodile as he got into his signature stance, ready to battle against Krookodile. There was a moment of silence between the two as everyone just simply stared, waiting for either one of them to make the first move and begin. Krookodile was the first to attack by summoning Brutal Swing on his claws. A dark red aura surrounded them as the intimidation Pokemon bolted forward, raising them for a devastating swipe. "Lade!" Gallade could easily see through Krookodile's attack as he casually stepped to the side, avoiding the swing as Krookodile only hit the air. "Krook?" Krookodile took a moment to realize how easily Gallade avoided his Brutal Swing. Without even trying. The Intimidation Pokemon turned around, continuing to use Brutal Swing as he went for another swipe in hopes of connecting. But again, Gallade found them to be predictable so he just avoided it sidestepping back. This obviously infuriated Krookodile who had then decided to continuously use Brutal Swing until it hits at least once. "Dile! Krook! Krook!" A frenzy of swipes had been thrown towards Gallade's general direction by a rapid-moving Krookodile who kept on missing every single swing with barely any signs of him coming close. At this point, he was hitting the air and nothing else. All the while, Gallade kept a cool composure throughout all of this. After seeing Krookodile use Brutal Swing repeatedly, Gallade could tell that Krookodile's battling style was easy to read and simple to understand. Krookodile's style of battling was aggressive and violent whilst Gallade's was composed and focused. And it was definitely showing with this battle as Krookodile was starting to run out of breath from all this swiping whilst Gallade hasn't even broken a sweat yet. "Seems a bit one-sided here..." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "I'll say." Rarity nodded. "Krookodile hasn't even come close to hitting Gallade at all." "Well, that's no surprise. Considering their styles of battling," said Brawly. "Krookodile's all about Bait and Punish. Where he'll just go for the heaviest hits and pressure his opponents and manipulate their behaviour, allowing them to punish mistakes effectively." "So then...what's Gallade count as?" "Gallade's an All-Rounder. He's a perfect balance of power, defence and speed. It's challenging to find a blind spot when battling him. He can hit you from far away and up-close at the same time with barely any consequences. "Then Krookodile's a goner!" Pinkie gasped. "Krook...! Krook...!" Krookodile was smart enough to know that Brutal Swing wasn't working at all. So he put an end to the attack, taking some time to catch his breath. "Lade?" Gallade asked him if he wanted to call it quits now. He could see that he was just tiring himself out and he could read his every movement. Gallade didn't want to make this an unfair battle. Unsurprisingly, Krookodile denied Gallade's suggestion due to his gigantic pride. He refused to just quit now. Especially since he hasn't landed a single hit in. "Dile!" Krookodile switched things up by using Stone Edge next. Krookodile's body became surrounded in energy that then came off Krookodile's body, forming into two rings of white pointed energy orbs that orbited around his body. The white light then faded around the orbs, forming them into multiple glowing crystals as he then fired attack towards Gallade. "Gall." Even a different move wasn't enough to worry Gallade. With a serene and self-controlled attitude, Gallade raised one of his arms, causing the crystals to split in half once they collided with Gallade's bladed elbows. Gallade at this point was not only blowing Audino away with his refined skills but everyone else as well. They could see why all the Pokemon here looked up to him and why Audino is infatuated by him. Audino was obviously cheering for both Gallade and Krookodile since one of them was her friend, but she was leaning more on the side of Gallade due to how cool he was to her. "Dino!" "Krook?!" Krookodile's anger had reached a boiling point. Enough was enough for him. Not only could he not land a single hit on Gallade who was acting so sophisticated compared to him but Audino was showing favouritism to the Sharp Blade Pokemon instead of him. And Krookodile knew that he was running out of steam at this point. All those Brutal Swings had worn him out. From the looks of things, it was clear that he was going to lose either way. And that boiling point of anger was enough to push Krookodile over the edge. So much over the edge to the point where he had learned a new move that was accurate to his current emotion. "DILE!" The Intimidation Pokemon's body was outlined in a red aura that sparked crimson bolts out of his body. This aura was not only the representation of his anger but his drive to win this for Audino. "What's that?!" Pinkie stood up. "It's Outrage!" Ash recognized the move, even if it looked slightly different. "Pikachu?!" "Krookodile!" Krookodile was now on a rampage. And the only thing eyes had locked onto was Gallade. Due to Outrage's red aura, Krookodile's vision had become a perfect example and description of Seeing Red as all his rage was targeted towards Gallade. "Gall!" Gallade actually became alarmed from this since he knew how destructive Outrage can be. Even a composed Pokemon such as himself needs to watch out for this Dragon-Type attack. "KROOK!" With a single step, Krookodile caused a tremor that shook a large portion of the Fighting Fields and even almost caused the lake to form a tsunami. The Intimidation Pokemon stomped towards Gallade, swinging his tail downwards. "Lade!" Gallade's movements had increased in speed as he dashed back, avoiding Krookodile's incoming tail attack. Krookodile's tail made contact with the ground as white shockwaves come out of the ground. These shockwaves had shattered the ground, sending huge debris into the air as Audino was caught up in this shockwave, trying to keep her balance. "Dino?!" "Krookodile!" Krookodile swung his tail at the debris that had now been scattered thanks to his ongoing rampage. The boulder-sized debris flew over to Gallade who had cut them in half with his bladed elbows. Krookodile moved in, opening his mouth as he was planning on biting Gallade. "Gal?!" Gallade's eyes widened as he placed his blades in between Krookodile's side-teeth, keeping them there as the two were now locked in a struggle. "Krookodile!" Krookodile pulled a sneak attack by using Brutal Swing to swipe at Gallade's chest whilst his blades were stuck in-between his teeth. "Lade?!" Gallade had finally been hit by an attack after so many attempts. However, even a hard-hitting Brutal Swing wasn't enough to stop the Blade Pokemon. Gallade had been pushed back, skidding on the ground as he saw Krookodile continuing his rampage and knew it had to be stopped somehow. Gallade looked over at Audino, seeing how terrified she was of Krookodile's current state. After seeing that, Gallade had figured out what to do. The Blade Pokemon stood in one spot, not moving an inch whatsoever. It almost as if he was letting Krookodile come to him. "Why's he standing there?!" Pinkie pulled her mane. "Krookodile!" Krookodile believed he finally had Gallade where he wanted him as he put all of his power into this one single attack whilst Gallade just stood there unaffected. The minute Krookodile got closer, the Blade Pokemon moved to the side, changing Krookodile's vision from Gallade, the one he hated to Audino, the one he loved. "Audi!?" Audino gasped as she noticed that Krookodile was approaching her. She put her arms up, terrified of Krookodile's current rampage. "Dile?!" Once Krookodile saw Audino, he immediately snapped out of it as his eyes returned to their normal colour. The red aura of Outrage faded away as Krookodile's final attack stopped right in front of Audino, causing a shockwave to happen behind her. "Krook?" After using Outrage, Krookodile had fatigued himself to the point of exhaustion Brutal Swing had already burnt a lot out of him but Outrage was what did him in. He was so fatigued that he ended passing out, falling on the ground due to spending all of his energy into Outrage as Krookodile had lost this battle. 20 minutes had passed. Krookodile's eyes opened up as he saw both Fluttershy and Audino right above him. Audino was currently healing him with Heal Pulse as light pink sparkles rained down on his body. "Krookodile...?" "Oh, thank goodness. You're okay." Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. "Audino." "Dile"? Krookodile sat up, holding his head. He was pleased that Audino was healing him but he was also wondering what happened during his battle with Gallade. And speaking of Gallade, the Blade Pokemon was standing right next to Ash and the others which caught the attention of Krookodile. "Krook...!" Krookodile was about to charge towards Gallade for a second battle, but he quickly realized that he would just end up losing again since he didn't even stand a chance the first time. So he just gave up, accepting that Gallade was above him. "Krookodile. You didn't have to go up against Gallade." Fluttershy said. "Dile?" "I know you only did it to impress Audino here." "Krooko." The Intimidation Pokemon lowered his head, knowing that he had been caught. "But you didn't need to go that far and push yourself just to have Audino think you're amazing. She already thinks you're great since you're friends." "Audino." Audino nodded. In truth, she may be smitten by Gallade's grace but at the end of the day, there are multiple Gallade's out there that can most likely do the same. And she'll probably meet another one someday. But Krookodile was the one she'd end up seeing the most since they're always at the Pokemon House together. And Audino knew that no amount of Gallade's out there would cause her to ignore Krookodile. "Dile..." Krookodile himself felt embarrassed for the first time in a while as he rubbed the back of his head. "Gall." Gallade went up to Krookodile, putting his arm out. He gave Krookodile a bit of respect for being the first Pokemon who has lasted this long against him and almost made him to use a bit more of strength. Even if Krookodile was on a rampage. "Krook...Krookodile." Krookodile may be prideful but he knows when to swallow his pride as he stood up, shaking Gallade's bladed arms with his claws. "And that's how it goes." Brawly nodded. "Even with Outrage, Gallade still kept his composure." "Poor Krookodile though." Pinkie shook her head. "Only got one lucky hit in." "Gallade didn't use any moves either. That's a bit embarrassing actually." Applejack put her hat over her head. "Well, it was aggression vs composure. The victor should've obvious." Rarity replied. "Mienfoo..." Mienfoo walked back to Rainbow Dash, upset and annoyed at what happened earlier. "Sorry, Mienfoo." Rainbow Dash squeed. "W-We can still try battling here." "Foo!" "Dile." Krookodile gave his apologies and respect to Gallade as he decided that he wanted to head home and rest up. Outrage was still leaving its effects on him. "Alright. You can head home in the meanwhile. We'll come with you." Fluttershy replied as she and Audino would be heading back to Ponyville with Krookodile. "Sorry everypony. But Krookodile needs some more rest. Audino and I will be at Ponyville in the meantime." "It's fine. We'll see you back there. Okay, Mienfoo. Now's your chance." Rainbow Dash said to her partner. "Mienfoo!" "Audino." Once they left, Audino told Krookodile that when he used Stone Edge differently, he looked a bit cool back there. "D-Dile. Krookodile!" And those words were enough to get Krookodile's pride and ego back to full speed once more. As the three of them return to Ponyville whilst the others experience more of the Fighting Fields for themselves, Krookodile now had a little bit of control with his emotions whenever Audino either gets close to another Pokemon or is fond of them. Granted, Krookodile is most likely to boil himself up with rage once more but at least next time, he'll know when to cool down as the journey continues. Chapter 269 End.