//------------------------------// // Connoisseur and Connaisseuse // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// The first day of the Pokemon Festival continues and currently, Rainbow Dash is in the midst of getting her 5th Gym Badge against the Gym Leader Soarin. "We'll hit all of them at once! Luxio! Discharge! Mienfoo! Fury Swipes!" "Lux...!" Luxio was building up power for Discharge since it's great for hitting multiple targets at once whilst Mienfoo rushed in with her hidden claws coming out of her paws. "Snover! Get in front of Buizel and use Protect!" "Ver!" The Frost Tree Pokemon stood in front of his teammate as he put up a green barrier to defend him and Buizel from any damage. "Xio!" With a raging bolt coming out Luxio's body, the Discharge had connected with the barrier of Protect. The attack had been cancelled out, but it did push Snover back a little bit. "Foo!" Mienfoo suddenly jumped over Snover, ignoring Protect as she was focused on attacking from behind. "Mienfoo!" The Martial Arts Pokemon swiped both of her claws down on the two opposing Pokemon two times in a row. "Sno!" "Bui!" Both of them were knocked back by Mienfoo's surprise attack from behind as they tumbled on the ground. But they weren't out yet. "Nice thinking, Mienfoo!" Rainbow Dash praised Mienfoo. "Mien!" "Both of them are pretty big threats to Buizel and Snover." Soarin thought for a moment. "Times like these where I wish the Gym Leader could substitute Pokemon." "Hey!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Aren't you gonna do something, Soarin? You're kinda dazed out there." "Hm? OH!" Soarin's eyes widened. My bad, my bad!" He chuckled before he cleared his throat. "Ahem. Alright. Snover! Let's make it harder for them to act! Use Icy Wind!" "Ver...Sno!" With his eyes flashing blue, Snover kicked up a chilling gust of air to further ruin the concentration of Rainbow Dash's Pokemon. It was already hailing and now things were made worse thanks to Icy Wind. "Trying to ruin my focus? Yeah right! Luxio! Charge in with Wild Charge! Mienfoo! Hop on Luxio's back and use Mega Punch!" "Mien!" Mienfoo jumped on her teammate's back, catching a free ride on Luxio. "Luxio!" By surrounding his body in electricity whilst also making Mienfoo jolt up a bit with her fur standing up, the Spark Pokemon bolted forward as if he was a lightning bolt. "Here they come...Now Grab them with Wood Hammer! Buizel! Get ready and use Ice Punch!" "Sno!" Snover was still the only one attacking at the moment as he put his arms out with green energy surrounding it. Once Luxio got close with Wild Charge, Snover used the Grass energy of Wood Hammer to nullify Luxio's electric attack as he grabbed the Spark Pokemon, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Ver!" "L-Lux?!" "Mienfoo!" Mienfoo hopped off Luxio's back, going straight for a Mega Punch that was targeted at Buizel. But Buizel was ready for that too in the form of Ice Punch. "Bui!" Both Pokemon ended up clashing their paws together, creating a tiny little shockwave afterwards. The two of them cancelled each other out from their own punches, prompting them both to jump back. "Snover's got you right where he wants you, Dash!" Soarin grinned. "You sure about that...?" Luxio, Iron Tail!" "Luxio!" Using a second attack whilst being held by Snover's Wood Hammer, Luxio controlled his tail which had hardened up like iron as he swung it towards Snover. "Sno?!" Snover gasped, realizing that he was being attacked from the side with his hands currently being occupied with Luxio. As such, Iron Tail connected, dealing massive damage to the Frost Tree Pokemon as he dropped Luxio. "S-Sno!" "Ah! Snover!" Soarin gasped. He watched Snover tumbled on the ground like a bouncy ball after getting hit with such a hard attack. Unfortunately for Snover, using Wood Hammer before also damaged him since It is a recoil move. And the Iron Tail only added to that damage. With such a fragile body, Snover had unfortunately fainted. "Snover..." "Snover is unable to battle! Luxio wins!" The referee exclaimed. "Bui!?" Buizel gasped to see its teammate fainted and knocked out. Because of Snover's defeat, the Hail had disappeared as well. "Yes! Nice job, Luxio!" "Xio!" "Just you wait, Soarin! We're taking out your Buizel too!" "Aw...Return Snover." Soarin sighed as he returned Snover to its ball. "You did good, pal." "Sneak attacks are always pretty nifty, aren't they?" said Ash. "Pikachu." Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Hmm...How am I gonna do this?" Soarin began thinking yet again, which was only wasting time even further. Which Rainbow Dash didn't take kindly too. "Soarin!" She yelled his name. "Are you out of the zone again?" "Hm? Ah, sorry. I kinda get all thoughtful when I'm in a Pokemon Battle and one of my Pokemon faints." He chuckled. "It's kind of a bad habit of mine." "Bad habit? I wouldn't say that." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Sometimes I get stuck on something during a battle. But uh...Not for that long." "Sorry that I'm delaying our battle. Weather stuff is kinda complicated and needs a ton of focus, ya know." "Just put all that focus into this battle!" Ash yelled from the bench. "Pika-Pika!" "Right. Thanks, Ash." Soarin took a deep breath before realizing how he can win all of this. "Okay. All I need is this one Pokemon to win. Torkoal, let's go!" Up next was his Torkoal. "Torkoal!" Once Torkoal came out, its ability had been activated. Drought. The sun had suddenly intensified thanks to Drought being activated by Torkoal. With the sunlight being harsh and brighter than ever, all Fire-Type moves had been boosted now. Mainly Torkoal's. "Stay sharp, Rainbow Dash!" Ash yelled. "Torkoal's a really bulky Pokemon!" "I know! I'll just stand back and attack from afar. Mienfoo. You focus on Buizel okay?" "Foo!" "Hmph. Sorry about this, Buizel. Torkoal! Earthquake!" By surprise, Soarin had given off a command that spelt horrible news for all the surrounding Pokemon, especially Luxio. "Tor...KOAL!" Torkoal slammed its legs on the ground with a hard impact, creating a fissure of white shockwaves that came out of the ground. "What?!" Rainbow Dash screeched. "Lu-Luxio!" Luxio had been hit by these shockwaves along with his partner Mienfoo. Even Buizel had been hit by Earthquake due to it always hitting every single opponent. "Mien!" "Bui!" With a triple hit on all three of them, each of these pre-evolved Pokemon were sent flying into the air after Earthquake had hit them all. They all took heavy damage, but none took the most damage than Luxio as it was a super-effective hit. Unfortunately, an attack so destructive not only took out Luxio but even Buizel, who wasn't even weak against Ground moves. Ah!" Rainbow Dash screeched as she saw them all fall back down, crashing onto the shattered ground. Luxio got the worst out of Earthquake. Because of that damage being super-effective, the Spark Pokemon had fainted. But it wasn't just him. Poor Buizel had fainted as well, which was something that Soarin didn't plan either. "Uh-oh." Soarin realized that he took out one of his own Pokemon as well. He expected Earthquake to just slightly hurt Buizel, not take him out entirely. "Oh, I messed up!" He also screeched, pulling his mane as both Pokemon aside from Mienfoo had fainted. "Luxio..." "Buizel..." "Both Luxio and Buizel are unable to battle!" "Ah, Buizel! I'm sorry! I didn't plan for that to happen!" Bui..." Buizel looked back at Soarin, telling him that it was okay. He then went back to being knocked out. "Is it just me...or is Soarin's battling style inconsistent..." Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes. "Castform." Castform nodded in agreement. "He did so well against that one colt earlier...Hey Soarin!" Rainbow Dash bellowed for his name. "Hm?" Soarin turned around, returning Buizel to his Poke Ball. "Ah, sorry about that Dash." He sighed. "I'm just you know...kinda having a bit of a sloppy start, ya know." "You weren't like this in your previous battle, what's going on?" "Not sure honestly." Soarin sighed. "This wouldn't be the first time this has happened." "You mean this has happened before?" Ash stood up. "Oh yeah." Soarin chuckled. "The first battle goes well. I'm totally in the zone, at my best and just cleaning house. But when the second battle comes along, I'm kinda..eehhh out of focus?" "Is that why you didn't join the Canterlot Tournament?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Yep. But after the second battle, I get my groove back in the third one. Then I get clumsy in the fourth and you see where this is going." "How's that possible? Has that ever happened to a Pokemon Trainer before?" Rainbow Dash wondered. "But it's fine. Even when I'm inconsistent, I can still come out on top, ya know. But I guess Pokemon battling makes me feel a different way." "You sure? You know, Soarin. If you're feeling kinda off, I can just come back another time when you've got your groove back." Rainbow Dash suggested. "It's fine. But uh...It can get a bit exhausting having to battle so many trainers one after the other. But as a Gym Leader, I gotta take those risks. You came to earn a Gym Badge after all." "I know. But I wanna face somepony at their best. I gotta really earn my gym badge, ya know!" "Hm, I get what you mean but..." Soarin thought for a moment. "I got it!" Ash put his fists together. "How about we just relax and have fun at the festival to get your spirit back up?" "Hm?" The two pegasi turned to him. "In situations like these, you gotta take it easy. Sometimes trainers just need some downtime so then, after they can really get fired up for a battle!" "Pikachu!" "Hm...I did wanna enjoy this festival and eat all the pies here..." Soarin pondered. "And I'm afraid somepony might beat me to it!" "If it's gonna get you back to full strength then sure." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I wanna beat you at your best, Soarin!" "Hah! When at my best I'm unstoppable!" Soarin grinned. "U-Unless I'm battling Spitfire that's a different story." He lowered his head. "Then let's get going. We've got 2 weeks after all so there's a ton of time!" Ash pumped his fist into the air. "Pika!" With the Gym Battle put on pause, for now, more involvement in the festival's other activities was decided between Ash, Rainbow Dash and Soarin. At least until Soarin gets his energy back up. But moving away from that group, Rarity's group, more specifically Rarity and Spike had come across something that piqued their interest. Something that had many ponies lining up. "Pokemon Connoisseur Compatibility Booth?" They both said. They were currently standing in a large booth, multiple of them actually that were plastered in front of them. They weren't exactly sure what Pokemon Connoisseur was. It sounded very new to them. They know of a normal Connoisseur but one that involves Pokemon is a bit out there. Rarity noticed that there was a sign that described what a Pokemon Connoisseur was. She read the following. "A Pokemon Connoisseur use their knowledge and experience to assess the bond between trainer and Pokemon. and from there give advice on how to strengthen their partnership. The process of checking Pokémon and Trainer compatibility is known as an evaluation, with methods including field observations, skin condition, and aroma. Connoisseurs can also help choose what Pokémon would be compatible for beginning Trainers who have not yet chosen their first Pokemon." "That's a thing?" Spike said. "How do they do it? Do they just look at our Pokemon?" "We'll have to find out. Let's try...this booth." Rarity chose the booth in front of her and Spike as they were curious as to how this whole Pokemon Connoisseur thing works. When they entered the booth, they were met with the first Pokemon Connoisseur of the day. Or rather, a Pokémon Connaisseuse, the female equivalent. One who was new to them but definitely not someone random. It was none other than the bratty, obnoxious yet somewhat endearing Connaisseuse. Burgundy. "What do we have here?!" She spoke. "A pony and a dragon? I'm not supposed to have more than one customer inside but I'll take it!" "I assume you're a Connoisseur?" Rarity asked. "A Connaisseuse is the right term. My name is Burgundy. And I may not look like it, but I'm a highly-skilled Connaisseuse ranked by the Pokemon Connoisseur Association." "Pokemon Connoisseur Association?" Spike sat down on the chair. "Mhm. So, you two have taken an interest now, have you?" Burgundy sat down. "Let's see your Pokemon and leave the judging to me." She smirked. "And besides compatibility, you can also ask me about preparing Pokemon food, battle strategies and even the choice of accessories." "Alright then. I suppose you can judge..." Rarity was thinking of who to show off first. "How am I with my Pheromosa?" She chose Pheromosa first. "Mosa!" "Oh! An Ultra Beast?!" Burgundy stood up. "And a beautiful one at that too!" She began zipping around the booth, observing Pheromosa for herself. "Phero?" "Hm. Tall. Thin. Supple. And it's got an interesting aroma to it." Burgundy observed. "Like a pheromone?" "Well? How compatible are we?" Rarity questioned. "Hmmm...!" Burgundy put her finger on her chin, squinting her eyes at the Lissome Pokemon. She had eventually concluded. "The partnership between you and your Pheromosa is..." "Is...?" Rarity leaned in. "You're both similar in beauty, that's for sure. But other than that, your Pheromosa's aroma is a bit too potent. Its body is too tall for its own good, that hair is way too long and the eyes are constantly in a slanted state which only weakens some of the beauty." "Phero?!" Pheromosa jerked back. "If I were you, I'd get some accessories that can at least mask the busy appearance of your Ultra Beast." "Mosa..." Pheromosa curled up into the corner after hearing criticism such as that. "Ah, Pheromosa!" Rarity turned to her partner. "Rude!" "It's a Connoisseur's job to be critical, my little pony." "Hmph." Rarity went over to Pheromosa, comforting her. "Don't listen to her Pheromosa." "What about you, dragon boy?" Burgundy turned to Spike. "Oh. Well, I'm aiming to be a Dragon Trainer so I'm going for Dragon Pokemon only. Can you tell me what you think about my Salamence?" Spike sent out his Salamence. "Sala!" "Geugh!" Burgundy backed up as Salamence took up a ton of space inside of the booth. "Ahem. I can judge a Dragon. No problem." "Salamence." "Hm..." Burgundy got up close to Salamence, getting in his face as Salamence shifted his eyes about. "Hm...It's definitely fit for battling..." "Right?" Spike grinned as he nodded. "But it's got a pungent smell. Like burning charcoal that won't stop burning no matter what. Have you ever considered bathing Salamence?" "Sala?" "If you're planning on distracting your opponents with that smell then that's one crafty battle strategy." "Sala..." Salamence didn't take too kindly to Burgundy's words. She essentially said that he reeked. And Salamence took that personally. "Mence!" He gave his response by breathing Flamethrower on Burgundy's face. "Gyaaaah!" Burgundy screamed as her face had been charred by Salamence. "Ah!" Spike gasped. "Return Salamence!" "Grr! My precious face." Burgundy held her face as it was now full of smoke. This prompted Pheromosa and Rarity to laugh a small bit. "That accursed dragon of yours needs to watch where it breathes its fire next time!" She flailed her arms and legs about. "Well, he's obviously not going to take kindly to you insulting his scent." Rarity replied. "The smell of somepony else shouldn't determine compatibility. Those are trivial and minor things. Pokemon compatibility should be from the heart of both trainers, I believe." "Mosa." "Huh?! Are you trying to out-connoisseur me?!" "Hmph. I don't need to be a connoisseur to know how compatibility between trainer and Pokemon works." Rarity went up to Burgundy, smirking at her. "Grrgh...!" A vein showed up on Burgundy's head. "Why you-" Before Burgundy could pop off and go ballistic, someone else opened up the curtains to the booth. "Starting up trouble again, Burgundy?" A new face to Spike and Rarity had been seen but definitely not to Burgundy. The familiar face that opened up the curtains was considered to be a well-versed connoisseur who is ranked high and can actually judge Pokemon properly. Burgundy knew this person very well and had a bit of a dislike to them. "...Cilan!" Burgundy growled. "That's me." Cilan smiled. "Hang on. Did you say your name was Cilan?" Rarity said as she and Spike recalled Ash mentioning the name Cilan when he told them about his past adventures. "Right. Cilan the Pokemon Connoisseur. At your service." Cilan bowed down. "You're Ash's friend, right? Or are you just another guy named Cilan?" Spike spoke. "Ah, so you know Ash. Yep. I'm that Cilan. A pleasure to meet you." "Enough with the introductions!" Burgundy bellowed. "Hear to embarrass me again?!" "What? No-no-no." Cilan chuckled as he shook his head. "There was just a lot of noise coming from the booth next door so I came to see what was wrong?" "Hmph. It was just me judging the compatibility between these two and their Pokemon. And it's not great at all." "Salamence and I are best buddies! You don't know a thing!" Spike pointed at her. "Are you doubting a connoisseuse?!" Burgundy gave him the stink-eye. "Now, now." Cilan walked in between them. "I can sense some heated energy slowly building up. Burgundy. Maybe the best thing to do is to not rile up your customers." "Hmph!" Burgundy crossed her arms, turning away. "How about I judge your Pokemon instead? You all don't seem satisfied anyway." "Will you be less cruel?" Rarity asked. "A Pokemon Connoisseur must be honest at all times. However, they must also maintain a balance of honesty and kindness without harming the trainer and Pokemon's spirit." "Hm. That sounds fair to me. What can you say about my Pheromosa then?" "Mosa?" "An Ultra Beast, eh? Well, your Pheromosa..." Cilan began observing Pheromosa. "Pheromo..." Pheromosa was getting a bit nervous. She believed that Cilan would give her the same result that Burgundy did. But he didn't. It didn't even take that long for Cilan to conclude. "Your Pheromosa...such excellent energy she's exhibiting. That energy is similar to that of an excited child. But in a good way. I can tell that you and Pheromosa share a splendid bond, one that can't be broken that easily." "Mosa!" Pheromosa picked up Rarity, hugging her trainer. "Oof!" Rarity's eyes bulged. "I'd go as far as to say there's nothing wrong with her at all. She's perfectly compatible with you. Although the pheromones she's exhibiting can be a bit intoxicating." "Many thanks, Cilan. Do you hear that Pheromosa? Isn't that wonderful?"? "Pheromosa!" "And what about me and my Salamence!" Spike sent his Salamence back out. "Salamence...Dragon Pokemon are a bit tougher to judge but it's a challenge I'm willing to take." Cilan went up to the Dragon Pokemon to see what he could inform. "Salamence..." Salamance gave Burgundy a death-stare, prompting her to move back as she shuddered. "Mence..." "Eep!" Burgundy squealed. "Hm...Salamence. Usually, a Pokemon that is hard to control because of how excited it gets when it reaches its final evolution. They go on a rampage, destroying everything in their path and are completely uncontrollable until they tire out." "Sala." "But, looks like you've overcome that. Your Salamence is under complete and total control." Cilan put his hand on Salamence's face. "Not many can tame Dragon-Types, let alone a Salamence. That just screams a powerful bond." "Awesome!" Spike hopped on Salamence's back. "We're living large Salamence!" "Salamence!" "But, it does need a bit of a bath. Just a quick one will do." Even Cilan spoke about a bath. But Salamence didn't take it too personally like with Burgundy. He did sort of smell. "Alright. Later at night, we'll clean you up, okay buddy?" "Mence!" "See, Burgundy? You can still point out a Pokemon's flaws without being so cynical and harsh about it. That way, the Pokemon can still see that it has something to improve on without any drawbacks happening to you." Cilan explained. "Hmph!" Burgundy puffed her cheeks. "So, I take it that if you two know Ash and you're here at the festival, does that mean Ash is here as well?" Cilan asked. "Sure is." Spike nodded. "Splendid! I've heard about how he's gotten super popular in this world. Earned the title of Hero as well. It'd be great to meet him again." "Well, you'd better get searching. This festival is highly-crowded," said Rarity. "Alright. Catch up with you later, Burgundy. And remember my adv-" "Yeah, yeah I remember." Burgundy interrupted. "Just you wait. I'll have a trainer leaving this booth smiling with great advice." "Okay then." Cilan chuckled. "So you two. Tell me. What's Ash been getting up to in this world?" He asked as they both walked out of the booth. "Well...there was the whole split-personality debacle. We can tell you what happened during that mess." Rarity began to babble on as they both set out to find Ash for Cilan. But Cilan wasn't the only familiar face in this festival. With Twilight and Starlight. They were currently over at a Pokemon Attraction. More specifically, the rollercoaster from the first Pokemon Festival. "This'll be your first time on a rollercoaster Starlight. And my second time as well." Twilight said. "Yeah um..." Starlight looked up at the coaster. "Is that safe?" "It is." Twilight nodded. "But it can leave you feeling all woozy!" Twilight rolled her pupils around. "Right. I'd better make sure that Hatterene doesn't get sick. It'd be best if I kept my Poke Ball out and away from something like that." Starlight decided to place her Poke Ball at the nearest table. As she ran off to the closest table that was nearby her, she ended up bumping into someone who was also running. But instead of it being a pony, it turned out to be a human instead, as they both fell on the floor. "Ow!" Both Starlight and the human said. "Urgh...my head!" "Watch where you're going!" The human exclaimed. "Me?!" Starlight growled. "I could say the same to you!" She snapped back at him. The human she saw was someone new to her, but not new to one of her friends Trixie. Trixie mentioned how Starlight was her newest friend since she's had some who came before her. Ash and Misdreavus being the very early ones. After Starlight, Zoroark was her next friend, but before Starlight and in between Misdreavus Trixie had one other friend. A friend who can be a bit hyperactive. Almost on the same level as Ash. He was very impatient, highly competitive and he just loves bumping into people when rushing out of doors. Although in this case, it was out in the open. Only one trainer fit this bill. Barry. "Hah!" Barry stood up. "Then, in that case, pay up!" "Pay up?" Starlight raised an eyebrow. "Yeah! I'm gonna have to Fine you for bumping right into me! You've got 7 seconds!" "Wait...fine?" Starlight took a moment to remember one of the few things Trixie mentioned about Barry from time to time. The whole Fine part was one of them, and how he loves bringing it up. Judging by how he bumped into her, there was no mistaken on who this was. "Wait...are you, Barry?!" "Hm? Yeah, that's me. What of it?" "You're Trixie's friend, right? So am I!" Starlight stood. "I'm Starlight Glimmer!" "Oh, so you're Starlight? Hm. I guess I can drop the Fine then." "Did you need it in the first place...?" Starlight slanted her eyes. "Starlight, what's taking so long?" Twilight went up to her as she noticed Barry. "Who's this?" "Twilight, this is Barry. One of Trixie's early friends." "Oh! Are you one of those princesses that they keep talking about!" Barry gawked at Twilight's wings and horn. "Uh..yeah. That's me." Twilight squeed. "Oh cool! But wait. Your hair's not flowing, what gives?" "Um...I don't know?" Twilight shrugged. "Hm. I was looking forward to seeing that. Bummer!" "Yeesh. You're just as hyperactive as Ash but on the more loud side." Twilight winced. "Ash?" Barry recognized that name. "Oh yeah. He's super popular in this world, isn't he? He's definitely worthy of being my rival Grrr! I wanna be a hero too! There's gotta be something I can do to get that same status!" "Rival? You know Ash as well?" Twilight pointed her hoof at Barry. "Oh yeah! Ash and I are bonafide rivals, ya know! We go way back from our adventures in Sinnoh, ya know." "So you're a friend of Trixie and a rival of Ash..." Twilight nodded slowly. "You're certainly on the same level as energetic as him that's for sure." "Where is he?" Barry searched high and low. "I came here for a battle cause I heard this festival has some of those!" "Well, Ash is off doing his own thing like everypony else. But he's got a pretty recognizable appearance. You can't miss him." Twilight explained. "Neat. Catch ya later!" Barry dashed off, leaving behind a dust cloud. "Ash! I want a battle, wherever you are!" "I have a feeling it's not just us who'll be seeing a lot of familiar faces," Twilight said to Starlight. "Mhm." She nodded in agreement. "Oh, right. Hatterene." Starlight placed the Poke Ball on the table next to her. "Alright, I'm ready now." "Great. Just hold on tight. It can get pretty aggressive." As Twilight and Starlight went over to the rollercoaster, the sun has moved after precisely 12 minutes. The day is still young. Very young. The Pokemon Festival certainly isn't ending anytime soon, that's for sure. These 2 weeks are bound to be the best 2 weeks of their lives yet but they can't rest too well, knowing that there is something out there, waiting to ruin this fun experience at any moment, as the journey continues. Chapter 299 End.