Frenzy Forest.
The lesson on how to approach and interact with certain Pokemon continues. So far, the results have mostly been good for the students.
Whether it'd be a family of Pyroar's and Litleo, a Tauros and Bouffalant butting heads or a Vespiquen being betrayed by her own Combee's along with a group of Nickit's and a Thievul, this lesson has given the ponies new experiences so far.
Currently, with the CMC, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, they've ended up in an area in the forest full of Dragon-Type Pokemon. Of all the types they managed to bump into, it ended up being the most destructive Pokemon Type of them all.
"Oh! Look at all the Dragons!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she and her friends gawked at the sight of the Dragons.
From the ferocious Haxorus to the steel-hearted Kommo-o, the Dragon-Type Pokemon are majestic as they are dangerous. Not even size could bring them down. Even the smallest Dragons were fierce.
However, whenever a group of Dragon-Types are close to each other or in the same area, most of the time, they break out into fights. Similar to how Fighting-Type Pokemon battle each other to test their strengths, Dragon Pokemon take part in similar sessions but on the more destructive side.
But this time, they weren't battling each other for dominance. Instead, from what the girls could see, the Dragons were shuddering and silent. Which is unusual considering how fearless they are.
"Is it me or are they...shaking in fear?" Silver Spoon squinted her eyes.
"Hm? Dragon Pokemon? Shaking in fear? Yeah, right. Dragon-Types aren't afraid of anything." Scootaloo shook her head. "Are they?"
"They look pretty shaken up to me. What about this Pokemon?" Sweetie Belle went over to the Dragon Pokemon. The first one she approached was a Haxorus. She could see how Haxorus was staying completely still as if something had petrified it. She took out her Pokedex to see Haxorus's dex entry.
"Haxorus. The Axe Jaw Pokemon. They are kind but can be relentless when defending territory. They challenge foes with tusks that can cut steel. These Pokémon are covered in hard armour."
"H-Haxorus..." Haxorus shuddered.
"What's gotten them so scared?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"I don't know. But it must've been something really big if they're all moving like this." Apple Bloom looked over at a Gabite that was curled up into a ball.
"Well, I'm sure it's not that big of a deal. Besides. This makes approaching them a lot easier than being sneaky about it." Scootaloo went up to the curled up Gabite.
"G-Gabite..." Once Scootaloo got close to the Cave Pokemon, Gabite immediately stood up, moving away from the young pegasus.
"Uh...okay," Scootaloo uttered, confused on why Gabite would be scared of her. In fact, when the girls approached each Dragon Pokemon, they all either backed away or just shuddered even further. As if they weren't allowed to make contact with them.
"Something's not right here." Diamond Tiara could tell that something was amiss. "There's somepony doing this to them."
"Like who?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Somepony so controlling that it has all the Dragon-Types acting differently. Which means that whoever it is, they've forced to stop acting like their true selves." Diamond Tiara answered.
"What, like, another Dragon?" Sweetie Belle turned to her.
"Worse. I think it's something much less intimidating than a Dragon. A Fairy."
"Oh yeah..." Scootaloo nodded. "Fairies are immune to Dragons. I can see them being afraid of that Pokemon Type."
"I still don't get how Fairies can beat Dragons..." Apple Bloom went over to a bush where a Bagon was hiding.
Just then, Apple Bloom noticed a pink glow coming from the deeper part of the forest. That mysterious glow met with Apple Bloom's eyes as her pupils suddenly transformed into hearts. Almost as if it was enchanting her.
The young-earth pony moved past Bagon, unable to resist this glow at all. She left her friends behind along with all the Dragon-Type Pokemon.
Bagon didn't even try to stop her. Because it knew of what was dwelling deep within the forest and what the pink glow was.
"I still don't see those shiny medals Principal Cynthia mentioned." Silver Spoon looked around. "Did you all find any yet?"
"Nothing. I thought I saw one earlier but that was just a Chingling reflecting off the sun." Scootaloo replied as she searched inside of tree stumps, but found nothing.
"It'd be funny if we came across a Pokemon that looks like a medal. Right Apple-" Sweetie Belle giggled as she was about to laugh in Apple Bloom's direction. But once the young unicorn turned her head, she noticed that her friend wasn't present at the moment. "Apple Bloom? Where'd she go?"
"Hm?" Hearing that grabbed the attention of Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "Now they were aware of Apple Bloom's missing presence.
"Did she go ahead of us or something?" said Diamond Tiara.
"Hold on." Scootaloo went into her bag, taking out her Xtransceiver to contact Apple Bloom. By selecting her friend's number, she made the call, waiting for Apple Bloom to pick up her Xtransceiver.
But she never did.
And naturally, that kind of non-existent response can really make a friend worry. Which what the others did. With Apple Bloom missing, they were starting to panic a small bit.
"Okay...so she's not picking up." Scootaloo gulped. "No need to worry as Ash and Dawn say."
"Where could she be?! We didn't even hear her leave!" Silver Spoon screeched.
"Something's not right here for sure." Diamond Tiara bit her hoof. "Let's start searching. She couldn't have gone far."
Speaking of Apple Bloom, once she reached the deepest part of the forest where the pink glow came from, her senses were slowly returning to her.
But even with that, she was still far away from her friends and definitely all the other students for sure. Once she snapped out of it, Apple Bloom looked around her surroundings, seeing that she had lost herself.
"Huh?" Apple Bloom shot up with her pupils reverting to their usual look. "What happened? Where am I?" Dazed, confused and unsure of where she was, Apple Bloom was now a lone pony, separated from the students as she was in uncharted territory now. "Girls! Where are you?!" Even calling for her friends wouldn't work at all. It was just her.
Or at least, it seemed that way. Until an ominous yet familiar voice called for her. "Toge..."
That voice sent chills down her spine. It was an uncomfortable feeling that Apple Bloom wished she would never feel. The source of the voice wasn't too far away. In fact, it was closer than Apple Bloom thought.
By shifting her eyes to the side, from the corner, she noticed something in the shadows. As she squinted her eyes, the young earth pony took a moment to see who exactly was lurking in the shadows.
Instead of approaching it, the individual came out themselves, emerging from the dark parts of the forest. Lo and behold, it was none other than the demon in an angel mask.
Togepi.
"Toge-ge-Toge." She cackled.
"You?!" Apple Bloom gasped.
"Toge...Pi!" Topgei raised her arms, calling for her minions which she surprisingly had. Very soon, it was revealed why the Dragon-Types were terrified.
Because Togepi had them under her beck and call. Her minions were a Gabite and a Fraxure who stood beside, acting as bodyguards. They had no choice but to listen to her for obvious reasons.
One being the fact that she is a Fairy and two, she does have the power to charm anyone. Although they aren't really under mind control at the moment, they're just being threatened.
"I'm not up for this..." Apple Bloom shook her head as she backed up slowly, planning on getting out of this part of the forest and back to her friends.
Unfortunately, Togepi knew something like this would happen, so she had more minions. When Apple Bloom backed up, she bumped into a group of Fraxure's who prevented her from escaping. They didn't want to force Apple Bloom to stay here, but they had no other choice.
"Togepi..." Togepi grinned as she finally had a captive with her. Since Apple Bloom was from Ponyville and Togepi has a bone to pick with that town and its mayor, having one of its many citizens here gave Togepi many opportunities to get her revenge. "Ge! Togepi!"
Togepi commanded the Dragons to restrain Apple Bloom so that she doesn't try anything to escape. They all closed in on the young earth pony as she was corned from all sides. From the Fraxure's the single Gabite, it looked there was no escape.
"Uh...Uh..." She lowered herself on the ground, trembling in fear as she reached inside of her saddlebag. "Emolga, help!" Apple Bloom sent out her Emolga for assistance.
"Emol!" The Sky Squirrel Pokemon sensed the cry of its trainer as it immediately used Swift on the Dragons by spinning its body around to attack from all sides.
The Dragons gasped as stars came flying out of Emolga, forcing them to move away from Apple Bloom. "Thanks, Emolga! Carry me up!"
"Molga!" Emolga lowered herself whilst Apple Bloom raised her hooves, allowing the Sky Squirrel Pokemon to pick her trainer up from the ground. "Emol...!" Emolga struggled to lift her a bit but she had enough strength to pull through.
"Pi! Togepi!" Togepi wasn't about to let her hostage escape. She commanded all of the Dragons to knock Emolga out of the sky at once.
Each of the Dragons used Dragon Breath and Dragon Rage to try and force Emolga and Apple Bloom back down to the ground.
Swirling twisters of draconic energy and purplish-blue flames filled the air as the Sky Squirrel Pokemon used Double Team to evade the attacks.
All of them missed seemingly thanks to Emolga agile evasion as the Electric-Flying-Type managed to get some good distance away from Togepi and her minions.
In truth, the Dragons were barely trying to hit Emolga and Apple Bloom at all. Since they had no issues with them whatsoever, they pulled their punches and only put a little bit of effort in their attacks to try and convince Togepi.
But there was no convincing her. She could see that they were holding back. This enraged Togepi as she watched Emolga and Apple Bloom escape.
Frustrated and annoying, Togepi took her anger out on the Dragon Pokemon by shooting a Dazzling Gleam from her tiny little hands. Rays of rainbows were fired at the Dragons, causing them all to cower in fear.
"Togepi!" Togepi shouted at the Dragon Pokemon, telling them that they were pathetic excuses for Dragons since they couldn't bring themselves to harm a little girl and her partner.
The Spike Ball Pokemon would have taken matters into her own hands. Which involved heading out of the darkest parts of the forest.
Emolga and Apple Bloom landed safely on the ground, entering a new part of the forest. They were positive that they had escaped Togepi and the Dragons. But even still, Apple Bloom knew that there was a massive threat lingering around the forest.
"I gotta warn the others! Togepi knows we're here now!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Return, for now, Emolga." She returned Emolga to its Poke Ball.
However, now she had no idea which part of the forest she was in now. From her surroundings, she could see that there were a ton of Psychic-Type Pokemon. Meaning this was a Psychic area.
She wasn't sure how far away she was from her friends. But distance didn't matter right now as Apple Bloom set off to find the others and warm them.
Meanwhile, with Rarity and Starlight, they weren't searching for specific types like the others. They were just seeing which Pokemon they would end up bumping into along the way.
Starlight was especially nervous since she's not really an expert at approaching Pokemon. Not to mention her being a rookie to Pokemon in general.
Everypony else has had time to learn about Pokemon in many unique and different ways. At this point, they can be considered exceptional trainers, even if they still have a long way to go. Starlight, however, not so much.
She and Rarity came across two Pokemon they had never seen before. It was small, pink and looked like it had bat wings. This Pokemon matched the description of the Wily Pokemon Impidimp.
"That's a new face." Rarity took out her dex for this. "What can you tell us about this one, Dexter?"
"Impidimp. The Wily Pokemon. Through its nose, it sucks in the emanations produced by people and Pokémon when they feel annoyed. It sneaks into people’s homes, stealing things and feasting on the negative energy of the frustrated occupants."
"Dark and Fairy. That's a combination I thought I'd never see." Rarity said as she closed her dex. "But in any case, let's try and approach those two.
"S-Should we?" Starlight shuddered. "I'm not sure I'd get close to a Pokemon that steals and eats negative energy."
"No need to worry, Starlight. After all, this lesson is to help us interact properly with certain Pokemon and their behaviours. Even the mischievous ones."
"Yeah, I know..." Starlight shifted her eyes rapidly.
Rarity examined Starlight's facial expression. She could see that her fellow unicorn was actually very hesitant in not just approaching Impidimp, but possibly every Pokemon in this entire forest. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
"Me? Nervous?" Psssh..." Starlight tried to shrug it off, but she wasn't fooling Rarity. "No. Not at all...A little bit."
"Understandable. But something confuses me. You own a Hatterene which has an...interesting response to those who emote too much. You approached her the first time you two met, correct?"
"Not really." Starlight shook her head. "You see, Hatterene actually came to me instead. It was a... pretty interesting experience honestly." She laughed nervously. "Especially when I first met her when she was still a little Hatenna."
"I see. Well then. Just stay behind me at all times. I'll have my Pokemon here protect you as well."
"S-Sure, you can go ahead. Oh, but wait. Let me quickly call-" Starlight used her magic to grab her Xtransceiver, but came to find out that it wasn't there. And worst of all, Hatterene's Poke Ball was missing too. "Huh? What in the...?"
"What's wrong, Starlight?" Rarity turned around.
"It's gone." She looked inside her bag, seeing that there was nothing inside of it. "Both of them are gone!" She screeched.
"What's gone? What did you lose?"
"My Xtransceiver and Hatterene's Poke Ball! They're both gone!" She showed Rarity the inside of her bag as it was empty.
"Oh!" Rarity's eyes widened.
"I haven't taken anything out yet! Where did they-" Before Starlight could finish her sentence, she and Rarity heard giggles coming from the tree above them.
By raising their heads to follow the noise, the unicorns noticed that three Impidimps were standing on the tree, cackling and giggling. "Impidimp!"
But most importantly, from what Starlight and Rarity could tell that they were the reason why Starlight's Xtransceiver and Poke Ball had gone missing. Because they were in the hands of these three little troublemakers.
"My Poke Ball and Xtransceiver..." Starlight muttered under her breath by clenching her teeth. "You thieves!"
"Dimp! Impidimp!" The three of them blew their tongues out at her, only incurring Starlight's wrath. In response, Starlight used her magic to grab the trio of Impidimp's, forcing them down from the three as the purple unicorn narrowed her eyes at her. "Imp?!"
"Hand them over!" She ordered.
"Impidimp-dimp." Despite Starlight's raised voice and how she grabbed them each, the Impidimp's were simply laughing at her, seemingly unphased by Starlight's anger.
"Now, Starlight...Let's not do anything rash." Rarity tried to calm Starlight down. But it was soon revealed why the Impidimp's were laughing.
It turns out, the other two Impidimps that they had come across were already planning on stealing from Rarity as well when she wasn't looking.
And that's what they did. By using their small bodies and grubby little hands, they managed to open up Rarity's saddlebag without making a sound.
The other Imipidimp's snickered as they tried to not expose their teammates. But Rarity had seen a situation like this before. It wasn't new to her. As such, she turned her head around, catching the other two Impidimp's in the act.
"Aha!"
"Dimp?!" The two of them gasped as Rarity held them in place with her magic.
"Thought you could get the better of me, hm?" Rarity smirked as the Impidimp's were finally starting to get nervous.
Seeing as they had been caught red-handed. It was time for the next best option. Use Fake Tears to make them feel flustered.
All five of them suddenly broke into tears, crying at the top of their lungs as Starlight was indeed flustered, meaning that Fake Tears was working its magic. "Dimp! Impidimp!"
"Huh?!" Starlight pulled back. She didn't expect them to just start crying out of nowhere. Starlight hasn't really ever come across something like this before. "Oh, no-no! Don't cry! I didn't mean to shout!" She tried to calm them down. "Stop crying!"
"Impidiiiiiimp!" They increased the power of their crying, making Starlight feel bad in just a few seconds.
"Rarity, help me out here!" Starlight turned to her friend. But when she did, she noticed that Rarity was both unphased, undaunted and unamused.
She was so unamused that she looked down at the Impidimp's with a shadow casting over her face as her eyes could pierce through metal and even scare the toughest of Pokemon if they look into it.
"...Do you think I'm some sort of silly filly?" Rarity narrowed her eyes as the Impidimp's shuddered. "I know Fake Tears when I see them. Cut the act."
"I-Impidimp!" The Impidimp's were perplexed that Rarity was overpowering them like this. Their heist had come to a bust now.
"Those were Fake Tears? Looked pretty convincing to me," said Starlight.
"Put them back in. Now." Rarity ordered as her attitude was enough to make the Impidimp's listen to her every command.
"Dimp!" The Dark-Fairy-Types placed all of the items they stole back inside of their saddlebags. From the Poke Balls to the Xtransceivers, not a single thing was left behind or hidden.
"Good." Rarity closed her saddlebag as the Impidimp's all backed away from her.
"Wow, Rarity...You did that flawlessly..." Starlight was impressed. "With just a look and a few words?"
"Sometimes, there are certain Pokemon where you have no choice but to be strict on them. Much like how Fighting-Types enjoy strict trainers since it helps them develop more. Brawly taught us that."
"Ooh...So does this count as a way to approach a Pokemon?"
"I believe so. Come on then. Let's see if we can find those medals somehow."
Whilst they continue their lesson, Apple Bloom searches for her friends, trying to warn them about the presence of Togepi. All the while, her friends are also looking for her. But unbeknownst to the others, Togepi is on the move, ready to exact its revenge. But whether that revenge ends up succeeding is a mystery as the journey continues.
Chapter 277 End.