//------------------------------//
// Anything But Normal 
// Story: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescuers of Harmony 
// by Codex92 
//------------------------------//

Down at the rescue team guild, many Pokemon from their assigned teams picked up some jobs to fulfill from the bulletin board or hung out to weave tales of their many misadventures throughout the world. Inside the library, Twilight hogged an entire table to herself, which was littered with opened books, and those she hadn't read yet or were about to read next were piled in high stacks several times taller than her Ralts-sized height. The other Pokemon perusing the library were impressed by the studious Ralts, even though she was hoarding some of the books they were interested in looking through.

Given this chance for an actual free day to herself along with the rest of her friends, Twilight poured as much research as she was allowed in the guild. She even dragged Spike along to help her search for some helpful information to get them all back home to their world. Psychic powers of her level won't be enough to create a dimensional rift wide enough for her and her friends to return to Equestria. As much as she wants to discover new Pokemon and learn all about each and every single species that exists in this world, Equestria needed the bearers of the Elements of Harmony back in case anything dangerous dares to attack their peaceful kingdom again.

Spike was off searching down the aisles for some more books, thankful to find some ladders meant for specific Pokemon builds: tall, wide, short, and even stumpy like himself, though it was more like a mobile staircase than a small stepladder. "Let's see. What other subjects would help us?" he mumbled to himself. "Too bad there's no magic section. If that existed, Twilight would have another squealy freak-out moment and go on a study binge for the next couple days."

Finding a section he had yet to explore, Spike set the ladder and climbed up the steps, scanning the rows of shelves for something that could help Twilight's research. While focused on the titles on the spines of the books, the Gible didn't hear someone glide down to the floor and stand beside his ladder. After Spike grabbed a few books, as much as he was able to carry with his stubby arms, he turned around, only to yelp in surprise at who was staring at him, almost falling over and down the steps.

"Gathering more books for your friend down there?" the Pokemon asked, sounding like an elderly male. To Spike, it looked like a tall owl, his feathers on his body a light shade of brown while the feathers of his wings and tail were different darker shades of brown. There were six dark brown triangle marks on his torso in a pattern. His red eyes staring at the Gible had a black ring around them with a cream-colored ring around the first rings. Above the Pokemon's eyes, its feathery eyebrows look like curved "horns", making him all the more creepy with his soul-piercing eyes. There was also what seemed to be a tuft of feathers beneath his chin that made it seem like it had a beard. The owl Pokemon tilted his head at an awkward one-hundred thirty degree angle after waiting for a response from the dumbfounded dragon-turned-Pokemon. "Did I startle you, young Gible?"

"...Please don't do that with your head," Spike begged. The Pokemon tilted his head back upright, making Spike shudder after seeing their pet owl, Owlowiscious, twisting his head around nearly one-hundred eighty degrees. "Sorry, just seeing owls do that makes my neck hurt...And it's kinda creepy."

"Well, I am glad to see my ability can still debilitate anyone, even in a safe haven," the Pokemon said with a small chuckle.

Spike wondered what that ability was, though he still had a question the avian asked him in need of answer. "I was gathering some books for Twilight," he said. The owl Pokemon turned his head, making Spike cringe at the impossible head twisting as he looked at the Ralts busy with her reading, then looked back at Spike. "Uhh...Were you wanting to look through these ones?"

"No, but I have been watching you two for the past hour. What kind of research are you two conducting?" the owl asked curiously.

"Er...complicated stuff?" Spike answered nervously. "You...probably wouldn't understand what it is."

"Then all the better to look into it myself," the Pokemon mumbled, then flapped his wings and flew over to Twilight.

Spike gulped nervously, wondering if he offended the elderly owl as he hurried down the steps and carefully balanced the books in his hands toward Twilight and the overstuffed table of books. The owl Pokemon perched himself on one of the tall stacks, peering down at the book Twilight was reading through. One of his pinions of his wings fell off after he folded his limbs, the feather slowly floating down and catching Twilight's attention slightly.

"Oh, hi, Owlowiscious," Twilight said, too focused and lost in her study binge to remember where she was.

"Who?" the Pokemon asked, thinking the Ralts was talking to him and mistook him for someone else.

She was about to point to him, but giggled when she realized what she was about to do and shook her head. "Oh, no. Spike may keep falling for it, but not me," she said.

"I'm sorry, but you must be mistaking me for another Noctowl," the avian said.

Startled, Twilight finally tore her eyes away from the pages and looked to where she thought her pet owl was perched. "When did you start tal-?" The moment she locked eyes on the Noctowl, she gasped in shock, completely forgetting she wasn't at home in her library and was in a different world. "Oh! Oh my goodness! I-I'm sorry!" she exclaimed with a bashful giggle. "I-I thought you were...somepony else."

"Yes, I figured that. I am no stranger to a good book as well," Noctowl said.

Spike finally caught up, panting a little, then let out a grunt as he set his held stack of books down on the table. "Sorry, Twilight. I mentioned to this Pokemon you were researching something."

"Can you blame my curiosity?" Noctowl asked, lifting a wing and pointing to the side of his head. "As a scholar, knowledge is highly imperative to such an occupation. Whether it be historic legends from folklore of a civilization of Pokemon in times of old, or even literature where a tale weaved from one's imagination tells a captivating story from start to end, I make it my goal to travel to each land and research whatever tomes hold the knowledge I seek to learn and share with others."

"Wow. A Pokemon who loves research and learning like me," Twilight said in awe. She looked around the desk, moving over a few books until she found the Pokedex, keeping it around with her in case she ran into new Pokemon. "I wonder what this'll say about you."

Noctowl tilted his head curiously as Twilight aimed the red device toward him. "Noctowl, the Owl Pokemon. A Normal- and Flying-type, and the evolved form of Hoothoot. This highly intelligent Pokemon often twists its head one-hundred eighty degrees when it is thinking."

As the Pokedex described, Noctowl twisted his head the exact same angle, growing intrigued by the electronic Pokemon encyclopedia. "Hmm...An interesting machine," he said. "...And quite accurate."

"Ugh. How does that not break his neck?" Spike mumbled to himself as he grabbed his own neck with a wince.

Noctowl twisted his head back to normal, jumping down from the book stack perch and landed beside Twilight, who stared at the picture of the owl Pokemon in the Pokedex entry. "Huh. That's weird," she said. "This Noctowl doesn't have the cream-colored feathers under its chin."

Noctowl hummed as he peered over the Ralts's shoulder, dragging the tip of his wing against his small, feathered beard. "Most Noctowl don't have these beards unless they are around my age," he explained. "I may be old, but I believe I'm still in my prime."

"Ah. That explains the small difference," Twilight uttered. "Not all Pokemon always look the same, and some changes can be a bit subtle."

"Exactly," Noctowl agreed. The owl Pokemon glanced at the covers of the books, tilting his head curiously, but not enough to keep making Spike cringe. "Pardon my asking, but what sort of research are you conducting? There are many different subjects from the pileup of books you've accumulated."

"Well...If I told you the reason why, you probably wouldn't believe it," Twilight said.

"I have an open mind," Noctowl assured. "There have been legends that became more than such. I have even heard of a recent event with the meteor approaching the world, and a young rescue team climbed Sky Tower and fought Rayquaza, one of the most powerful legendary Pokemon who protects the planet from certain threats. And the leader, a Squirtle, was something called a human from another world, but not the one of a story about a horrible human who painfully yanked one of the tails of a Ninetails. If it is anything stranger, then I'm more curious rather than perturbed."

Twilight looked over to Spike, who only shrugged in response. "Should we tell him? That Alakazam guild leader seemed ok with us."

After thinking it over, Twilight looked back at Noctowl. "Are you part of the guild?" she asked.

"No. I'm more of a wayfarer, traveling the land and scouring libraries, and even some ancient ones if they still stand, wanting to learn more about the histories of each land, legendary Pokemon, and much, much more," Noctowl said.

Feeling like she can trust Noctowl, and able to see a glint in the older avian's eye for his thirst for knowledge similar to her own, Twilight told him about who she, Spike, and their friends really are and the world they came from. They expected Noctowl to be shocked, or even express any sort of emotion while learning about the Equestrians, their lifestyles, even the cutie marks shown clearly on their bodies. Noctowl was taking this all in stride with a stoic gaze, occasionally tilting his head curiously with a small hum.

After being told everything about Twilight and her friends, Noctowl stroked his short, feathery beard with the tip of his wing. "Intriguing. Another world beyond ours, and with different creatures unlike humans in the legends," Noctowl said. His eyes glanced at the marks on the sides of the Ralts and Gible. "And what I believed to be odd markings along your hips are these 'cutie marks', describing one's traits, hobbies, or professions."

"Yeah, it's...a little weird having our cutie marks on these bodies we're in," Twilight said as she looked down at her cutie mark.

"And the 'ponies' of your world have a close resemblance to Pokemon like Ponyta, Rapidash, Blitzle, Zebstrika, Mudbray, and Mudsdale," Noctowl continued. "Although, to my knowledge, there are none who have the ability of flight like these 'pegasi' in your world. I would love to see a winged equine creature soar through the sky." He then looked at the insane number of books Twilight had gone through or were about to go through. "So, the extensive research you're doing is to search for any means of returning home to your world without your kind's unique powers, correct?"

"That's right," Twilight said with a nod, only to sigh in exhaustion. "I've read and reread what books might give me some idea of probably making a portal, but Pokemon don't have much in the way of technology."

"Aside from that Magnezone guy who takes away the wanted Pokemon we run into, that's the only odd thing we never could imagine thinking of," Spike added. "Never thought Pokemon could also be objects with eyes."

"Just be wary of Voltorb and Electrode. They can be quite...explosive when riled up," Noctowl warned. While thinking of an idea to help give Twilight a bit of a nudge toward her research, his eyes browsed the books on the table. His eyes began to glow with a blue light, using Psychic to move all the books in one of the stacks to pull out one he spotted. The move startled Twilight and Spike, neither of them knowing a Pokemon like him was able to use levitation. Noctowl used his psychic powers to flip through the pages before stopping at a section with a small nod. "I might not have any technical knowledge on creating a portal to another realm of existence, but maybe it's possible to easily wish for one."

"Wish?" Spike asked.

"Might sound hard to believe, but there is a Pokemon who is able to grant any wish a Pokemon requests." Noctowl turned the book around to show Twilight and Spike what he wanted to show them. There was a silhouette of a creature in an illustration of a night sky with a comet flying pretty close from the angle of the artwork. It was in the center of the comet, and the only features that could be seen from its small body was the star-shaped head and what appeared to be two streamers flowing from behind it, making it similar to the tail of a comet like the one behind it. "They call this Pokemon Jirachi, the Wish Maker. It is told that this Pokemon appears from a certain comet that flies by the earth every millennia. Those who have seen Jirachi have been granted a wish, and this space-faring Pokemon stays for a week until the comet leaves for another millennia."

"There are other Pokemon that live out in space?" Twilight asked in awe. "We've heard of Rayquaza, but to think there's other Pokemon beyond the atmosphere is incredible."

"Some Pokemon might only be legends or exist far beyond our reach," Noctowl explained, lowering the book down on the table for Twilight to read about what's known of Jirachi. "But even though some Pokemon are considered 'legendary' because they are very rare and powerful combatants, that does not mean they cannot have children and more could be seen around the world. In fact, some legendaries reside in many of the tougher Mystery Dungeons around the continent."

"Do you think there's a Jirachi in one of these dungeons?" Spike asked curiously.

"Perhaps." Using Psychic again, Noctowl pulled out a map of the huge continent and placed it on the table, scanning the general area before pointing a wingtip at a section in one of the mountain ranges. "I may have heard rumors on my travels about Jirachi's whereabouts, but most of them had led to a Mystery Dungeon in this section of the mountains. Though I have heard it is quite a tough dungeon to climb up. Tough Pokemon reside there, whether taking residence or endlessly searching for Jirachi to have their wishes granted, some with quite possibly selfish desires."

"Maybe this Pokemon could be just the ticket we need to get back home!" Twilight said. She closed the book with the information on Jirachi and took it with her as she ran out of the library. "Thank you, Noctowl!"

Spike sighed, leaving behind the mess of books they grabbed and chased after her. "Twilight, hold up! I've got a big head and tiny legs!"

Noctowl simply waved goodbye to the duo. "Hope I meet Miss Twilight again soon," he murmured to himself, then helped himself to a few books Twilight was looking through. "She has quite the thirst for knowledge, I'll give her that."





Scott stretched out his limbs, warming up for another day of training. "Alright, Johann, time for some more training today!" he said, feeling pumped up. Once his body was loose and limber, he did a few hops in place, alternating between each foot every two to three hops while shaking his arms. "I've come up with a perfect warm up regimen for us to do, then we do some sparring. We're gonna start with some push ups: five hundred for me while you do fifty, just to help get them flabby arms of yours in shape."

Scott had a cheeky grin as he playfully teased his friend, then dropped to the ground and started his rep of push ups. To up the ante for his training, the Riolu kept both his front paws planted on the ground, but he lifted his legs up, only using his arms as leverage as he pushed his entire body weight up and down. However, while Scott was already getting to around his twentieth push up, Johann was more focused on his scarf, his digits pawing at the stone stitched inside.

"I really hope this doesn't get undone," Johann mumbled to himself.

"Yeah! Feel the burn in your biceps!" Scott cheered, his motivational spiel barely reaching the distracted Charmander. He lifted himself up with a grunt, rising into a handstand and still continuing his push ups, showing off his strength and stamina at this point. He stopped his exercise when he spotted Johann not working out with him. Grumbling with an annoyed scowl, Scott approached Johann while still on his paws. "Yo, Johann! Quit daydreaming!"

Johann didn't hear Scott, which aggravated the Riolu more. Scott inched closer, then smacked Johann's face with his tail a few times, finally snapping him out of his daze as he sputtered in surprise.

"Bah! Huh? What's going-?" Johann shifted his gaze to the hand-standing Riolu, staring at his flicking tail, flinching slightly as it bopped him in the nose, then down to the upside-down Riolu giving him an annoyed scowl. "...Uhh, what are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just working out with some push ups, which YOU should have also been doing along with me!" Scott exclaimed. Pushing himself off the ground, Scott flipped back on his feet. "Come on, Johann! I planned our whole workout routine, and you're the one being lazy!"

"Since when did you make a workout plan for us?" Johann questioned.

"It's mostly for you, and I made it up as soon as we woke up," Scott proclaimed, making the Charmander sigh and wilt his shoulders in exasperation. "Hey, don't give me that look! It's a good routine!"

"That you made up only a couple hours ago," Johann grumbled. He then yelped as he was suddenly smacked in the back, falling belly first to the grass. He tried to get back up, but Scott had one of his feet pressed firmly against Johann's back, pushing the Charmander back down. "H-Hey!"

"You're doing your push ups right now! No distractions, dude!" Scott said. "Give me fifty, and don't stop until you get there!"

"F-Fifty!?" Johann exclaimed, letting out a grunt when Scott put more pressure down on his back, not enough to keep him pinned to the ground, but enough to get his point across. "I think...I'd rather have...my dad train me right now."

"Less yapping and more pushing, smoothie boy!" Scott barked.

As Johann was forced to doing his fifty push ups, Rainbow watched the two Pokemon from a branch in one of the nearby trees around the base. "Man, wish I had a different body," Rainbow grumbled. She spread out her wings, examining them for a few seconds before folding them back to her sides. "Can't do wing ups as a bird. I already miss being a pegasus."

Feeling bored, Rainbow began to fly off, only to hear a familiar giggle as something sprang out from the leaves above her. "Surprise attack!"

Pinkie pounced Rainbow, making her yelp as the Swirlix landed on her and sent them crashing to the ground. They hit the ground with a thud, Rainbow letting out a small groan while Pinkie cheered at her "victory" against her opponent.

"Even as something else, Pinkie is still Pinkie in every way," Rainbow grumbled.

"I win! Pinkie earned 49 Exp.!" Pinkie announced, then did a victory dance by standing on her tail, then leaned to her left with her right foot kicking the air and repeated the same motion in the other direction with the opposite foot. "Go Pinkie! Go Pinkie! Go Pinkie!"

"Pinkie, we weren't even fighting!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"But I knocked you down, so I still got the win!" Pinkie sang while still dancing.

"Ugh. That's not how it works." Rainbow stood up, brushing the dirt off her feathers, though she winced as her back felt sticky from Pinkie's sticky, cotton candy fluff. "And what in the hay is 'Exp.'?"

"Experience points, silly! I mean, the abbreviation is pretty obvious," Pinkie explained. "When we fight bad Pokemon, that's how we get stronger! Why do you think Scotty and Johnny are busy training right now?" She looked over to the training duo, where Scott continued yelling "encouraging" words to Johann while he struggled to lift his upper body up to do a push up. "See? Scotty's already winning the fight! He's gonna get lots of Exp. really fast!"

"...They're working out, Pinkie," Rainbow responded, deadpanned. "Scott's been wanting to help train Johann so he can get strong enough to use that Flamethrower attack."

"...Ohhhhhhhhhh. That's way different, then." Down the road, Pinkie spotted Twilight running up to the base with a book in her arms. "Hey! It's Twilight! Or a Ralts who looks like Twilight. Or a Twilight who looks like Ralts. Either way, TWILIGHT!"

Pinkie bounced off to greet Twilight, Spike eventually showing up a while later, panting and wheezing in exhaustion. Rainbow flapped her wings and curiously headed toward the base, wondering why Twilight was back from the guild's library so soon. The other girls were hanging around the base, too: Applejack was tending to the berry tree field, Rarity was tidying up the base, and Fluttershy was saying hello to some Bug-type Pokemon in the woods nearby before returning from her morning stroll to meet new Pokemon.

"Guys, I've got good news!" Twilight announced.

Scott looked over as he heard the Ralts, along with gaining everyone else's attention. "Oh boy. Wonder what 'exciting' book she wants to show and tell?" he playfully joked with a chuckle. Johann collapsed under Scott's foot, panting heavily, turning his attention back to his tired friend. "...I guess we can take a break."

"G-Gee...thanks," Johann panted. Scott finally lifted his foot off his friend's back, letting him finally stand up. Even though he'd barely managed to reach ten push ups, Johann rubbed his sore arms as he followed Scott to the base. "Next time, I'm putting my whole weight down on your body while you do push ups."

"Sweet. More challenge for my workout later," Scott said cheekily. Johann grumbled and glared daggers at the back of Scott's head, unsure if he made fun of his weight intentionally or not. They entered the base, where all the Equestrians, including a very tired Spike plopped in the middle of the room, were waiting for them. "What's going on?"

"While looking in the library for any way of getting us back home, a friendly and very wise Noctowl helped us in our search." Holding the book she brought with her, she opened it up to the page Noctowl showed her. Everyone gathered around and looked at the information pertaining the legendary Pokemon, Jirachi. "There's a Pokemon named Jirachi, and it can grant anypony any wish they want."

"Any wish?" Applejack asked. "Like...takin' us back to Equestria?"

"Or for a thousand cupcakes to rain from the heavens!?" Pinkie asked, getting a few odd looks from the others. "...What? It can grant any wish, right?"

"Jirachi the Wish Maker, huh?" Scott pondered. "I've heard the stories, but I think that Pokemon's just a legend."

"Well, with our luck, some legends and myths tend to come true," Rarity said. "Nightmare Moon was real, and was the long lost sister of Princess Celestia."

"Maybe your world's fairytales might be real, but there's lots of legendary Pokemon we've heard about that haven't been seen or existed many years ago," Scott said.

"It looks cute," Fluttershy commented as she eyed the silhouette of the legendary Pokemon. "I wonder what it looks like up close."

"As it turns out, Noctowl also told me where we could find Jirachi," Twilight said. This startled Scott and Johann as they looked at each other, then back to Twilight, who set the book down and walked over to the map of the continent hanging on the wall. Grabbing a pointer, she pointed to the location Noctowl showed her where the comet-traveling Pokemon would most likely reside. "There is a Mystery Dungeon it lives in around this mountain range, but Noctowl says that it has some really tough Pokemon inside."

Twilight's friends wilted at the unfortunate news. "Oh, great. So that means we'll get our tails handed to us the moment we find this Mystery Dungeon, right?" Rainbow asked.

"So much for a simple way of getting back home," Applejack mumbled.

“Then in order for us to get one step closer to meeting Jirachi, we’ll just have to keep practicing and perfecting our abilities in order to reach it,” Twilight said.

“Ooh! I’m up for some training!” Pinkie excitedly said. “I just beat Dashie with a clever sneak attack and got me some Exp.!”

“We weren’t battling or fighting, Pinkie!” Rainbow argued, flapping her wings angrily. “That didn’t even count!”

“But I do feel a bit stronger, sooooo…” Rainbow just groaned and smacked herself in the forehead, giving up before Pinkie continued restating her crazy logic.

“Scott, Johann, is there somewhere we can go for some training?” Twilight asked.

“Preferably nowhere with ruffians that are tougher than all of us combined?” Rarity added. “I would like us to not encounter criminals again and I do not want to get my fur mussed up with tougher foes.”

“Ah thought ya could take care of yourself, Rarity,” Applejack teased. “Ya did a mighty fine job handlin’ them diamond dogs, but ya can’t deal with a few other critters?”

“I lady always knows how to defend herself,” Rarity scoffed. “Until I find a suitable spa nearby, I do not wish to be absolutely filthy and take a bath in a lake when I need to get cleaned.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, annoyed by the Skitty’s obsessive need for cleanliness and an over the top pampering session. Scott hummed in thought as he observed the map, looking around any place nearby that would be easy enough for the Equestrians for training, but not too difficult to get them too seriously hurt or wiped out.

“I think there’s a Mystery Dungeon nearby that would be perfect for all of us,” the Riolu said. He approached the map and pointed to an area just a little ways west of Pokemon Square. “A bunch of Normal-types that any of us can beat at The Cave of Normality.”

“Really? ‘The Cave of Normality’?” Twilight questioned. “Who comes up with the names for these Mystery Dungeons?”

“Someone who explored them,” Scott said. “Or who lives there. Whichever was first.”

Spike finally managed to sit up after catching his breath, having been listening to everyone during the conversation. “I could have come up with a better name.”

“Really?” Twilight questioned. “When we ran into Poison Joke, my horn wobbled and flopped around like a wet noodle, and I heard you come up with my nickname ‘Twilight Flopple’ before we all left to fix that mess.”

Scott and Johann blinked in astonishment. “...Uhh, where exactly is a unicorn’s horn supposed to be?” Johann asked. Twilight pointed to her forehead. Both Pokemon imagined Twilight with a horn, though they envisioned her to look more like a Rapidash since that was the closest description of a unicorn from what the girls explained about the pony tribes. Scott began snickering as his face scrunched up, trying his hardest to stifle his laughter. Even Johann snorted and covered his mouth. “...O-Oh...And it...f-flopped around…”

Scott burst out laughing, falling over and rolling around on the floor while clutching his stomach. “I-I-It...It flops around! All over her f-face!” Scott guffawed, struggling to breathe from how hard he’s been laughing.

Twilight grumbled, then glanced at Spike when she heard him snickering. “At least it weren’t as bad as bein’ the size of a mouse from that plant,” Applejack said.

“Or overgrown hair and fur that made it hard to see or walk,” Rarity added.

“Or having your wings upside down on your stomach, making it hard to fly,” Rainbow added.

“My tongue was so swollen and spotted, I couldn’t even talk and just sputtered on everypony!” Pinkie said, then emphasized her Poison Joke plight by blowing raspberries while rambling nonsense, splashing Johann with her saliva.

Johann grimaced and wiped his face from the Swirlix’s slobber. “Eck. Just say it, don’t spray it,” he grumbled. He looked over at Fluttershy, who didn’t mention what this strange flower did to her. “What happened to you, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy blushed bashfully, tapping her paws together timidly. “...U-Ummm...W-Well…” She bit her lower lip, then pulled up the fluff around her waist to hide her face, embarrassed to recall her horrible, yet harmless prank. “I-I don’t...want to talk about it.”

Scott sat up, finally silent as he grew curious about what happened to Fluttershy. “Did you turn into a giant monster and smash everything?” he asked, earning a deadpanned leer from Johann.

“Spike gave Fluttershy the nickname ‘Flutterguy’,” Twilight said. “Take that as your only hint.” Both the rescue team leaders gawked at Fluttershy, who peeked behind her fluffy waist fur, her face burning red as she hid her face again at the shocked looks on their faces. Johann was speechless, but Scott laughed even harder. Sighing, Twilight levitated the rolling, uproariously cackling Riolu off the floor with Confusion, then began heading out of the base. “Let’s just get some training done today so we can meet Jirachi in the future.”

The other girls agreed and followed Twilight, all while Scott continued laughing in hilarity as he imagined how Fluttershy would sound with a male voice. “H-Huh!? Now!?” Spike exclaimed. “But I just ran from the guild back to the base! Isn’t that enough training for me!?”

“Come on, Spike!” Twilight called out, dragging the Gible in her psychic aura as well.

Johann and Fluttershy were the last to leave, the former still shocked that the Poison Joke didn’t do anything to her physical appearance in Equestria while the latter was still hiding her face. Eventually, Fluttershy peeked out from her fluff, spotting Johann staring at her with a dumbfounded, open-mouthed expression. She squeaked and quickly hopped out of the base, startling Johann from how fast she literally bounced away. Snapping out of his stupor, Johann hurried after the others before he got left behind. As much as he wanted to avoid training today, he didn’t want Scott to drag him off by the tail if they realized he wasn’t with them. He made sure his scarf was tied as tightly as possible so he didn’t risk losing it again.





Team Rescue Rangers arrived at the Cave of Normality, ready to take on the Normal-type Pokemon that roamed the Mystery Dungeon to get stronger. The entrance was just a regular old cave in a small hill, nothing out of the ordinary until anyone steps inside to wind up in the Mystery Dungeon’s maze. Scott took the lead, his typing the only one to do a lot of damage to Normal-types, while Pinkie volunteered to take the rear. Scott was ready to whoop some tail after his on-the-fly training schedule was interrupted by Johann’s “daydreaming” and Twilight’s discovery of Jirachi and a possible way for her and her friends to return home.

“Alright, this should be a cinch with a huge team taking on some easy Normal-types,” Scott said. “With me around, I’ll just give them a flick and they’re out like a light.”

“Snorlax are Normal-types,” Twilight reminded Scott, making the blue and black pup flinch nervously. “You seemed to handle the one that was down at the Miltank farm very well.”

Scott quickly turned around, putting on a brave face as he stood defiantly as he addressed the Ralts calling him out. “T-That’s a fully evolved Pokemon! That doesn’t count!” he exclaimed. “The Pokemon that live around here are smaller, and just weak enough for even Fluttershy to handle.” As luck would have it, one such Pokemon wandered into the room the team found themselves in, just minding its own business. It was a brown-furred beaver-like Pokemon with a cream-colored underbelly and face, round tufts of fur that make up its tail also surround its face and ears, and it has large incisors protruding from its upper jaw. “Aha! There’s one!”

The group looked at what Scott was pointing at, even getting the Pokemon’s attention from his exclamation. “Awwww! It’s a cute beaver!” Fluttershy squealed.

Twilight pulled out the Pokedex and aimed it at the Pokemon. "Bidoof, the Plump Mouse Pokemon. A Normal-type. It gnaws on trees and rocks with its strong front teeth and lives in nests near the water."

“A ‘plump mouse’?” Twilight questioned, staring at the picture of the Bidoof on the screen, then back to the Pokemon eyeing them curiously. “Looks more like a beaver than a mouse.”

“It’s still cute!” Fluttershy stated once again.

“You think everything small with adorable eyes is cute,” Rainbow muttered under her breath teasingly.

Bidoof shrugged and continued on its merry way, startling Scott. “H-Hey! Where ya going!?” he asked. “Aren’t you supposed to fight intruders in your ‘home’!?”

The Bidoof didn’t respond, making Scott sigh and droop his head in dejection. “Well, that was odd,” Rarity said. “Don’t the Pokemon who live in these Mystery Dungeons attack intruders?”

“Maybe not all of them are bad. Some might be friendly,” Fluttershy said. “I want to be that little Bidoof’s friend!”

Fluttershy hopped ahead of the group, making Scott and Johann balk in shock and chase after her with the others following after. “Fluttershy, wait, don’t go off on your own!” Johann called out. “It could be a-!” As soon as Fluttershy hurried into the next room after Bidoof, her paw pressed a switch hidden in the dirt. A section of the ground quickly vanished and revealed a hidden vent, which sprayed out a blue mist around the Buneary, making her yelp in surprise. “-...trap…”

After the mist quickly evaporated, Fluttershy fell over while the Bidoof she was chasing continued casually strolling along. “Oh no! Flutters!” Rainbow cried out.

Rainbow tried to help the unconscious Buneary, but Scott swiftly dashed in front of the Starly’s path. “Stop! Don’t get close to that trap!” he warned.

“Fluttershy just got poisoned by whatever gas was sprayed on her, and you’re gonna let her just lie there!?” Rainbow exclaimed angrily. “That’s my best friend in danger!”

“These traps are pressure-plated!” Scott explained. “If you step on that tile, the trap will reactivate and spray you next!” Rainbow grimaced, looking over to Johann to be sure the Riolu wasn’t making up anything. Johann nodded his head, silently confirming what his friend said was true. “Just be glad it wasn’t a Monster House the moment we walked in here. Although, in hindsight, I’d rather take a trap than a Monster House.”

“And from the color of that mist, I don’t think it was poison,” Johann added.

“T-Then why did Fluttershy just fall over like that?” Spike asked.

After making sure Rainbow wasn’t going to rush in, Scott turned back around to the trapped tile with Fluttershy lying face down on the ground. Stepping close to the edge of the trap, Scott leaned over and grabbed Fluttershy’s feet, then carefully dragged her away from the tile while keeping her body weight on the trigger to avoid setting it off again. Once she was on safer ground, Scott flipped the Buneary over, where everyone surrounded her and looked down at her...and she was snoring softly.

“Is she...sleeping?” Rarity asked, baffled.

“Yup. Sounds like it,” Scott said. “She ran into a sleep trap. Not too bad, luckily.”

“Not too bad!? I thought she was gonna die!” Rainbow squawked.

“Would you rather she stepped on a trap that blows up under her feet?” Scott questioned blankly, making the Equestrians gasp in shock. Rainbow quickly shut her beak, preferring her best friend to be hit by sleep gas than a bomb. “We gotta wake her up.”

“Ooh! Ooh! I got this!” Pinkie hopped over to Fluttershy, volunteering to wake the sleeping Buneary. Wiggling her tail, Pinkie tip-toed over to Fluttershy’s head, then started tickling her nose with her strawberry scented appendage. “Tickle-tickle-tickle!” she teased, though Fluttershy’s nose just twitched from the scent as she continued sleeping. “Huh. That didn’t work. Let’s try something else!”

Pinkie kept using her tail, this time giving Fluttershy a few light smacks against her cheeks. She barely reacted, even as Pinkie put a bit more force into her tail whipping. When that failed, Pinkie did a number of other wake-up tactics that would get even the heaviest of sleepers to a startling wake: tickling under Fluttershy’s arms, licking her feet, even shouting in her very sensitive ears. The others stared, a bit perturbed when Pinkie began licking the Buneary’s paws, wondering when she ever woke up someone back home by licking their feet. After a few minutes with no results, Pinkie wilted as she gave up.

“Ah don’t think Fluttershy’s that heavy of a sleeper,” Applejack said. “Unless that gas is strong enough to knock out an adult dragon, then she might not ever wake up.”

“Well, you guys know about Poison and Burn statuses, right?” Johann asked the girls and Spike. “Sleep is...also a status that can affect Pokemon. And in a fight, they can be pretty helpless for a while when they get attacked.”

“Wait, sleeping is considered a status ailment!?” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Rest is a move many Pokemon can learn, which puts the Pokemon to sleep and heals any and all wounds it sustained,” Scott explained. “It can even replace harmful ailments like Poison or Burn. But there are some moves that can wake up sleeping Pokemon, like Aromatherapy or Wake-Up Slap. The second one will...kinda hurt the Pokemon a bit.”

“So we have to wait until she wakes up? How long will that take?” Twilight asked.

“It depends on how long they’ll stay asleep for,” Scott answered. His ears twitched, getting an idea as he looked at Twilight, who was carrying the team’s toolbox. “Or if we had a Chesto Berry.”

“Uhh, do we have one?” Twilight took off the strap and set the toolbox down. She opened it and looked through their inventory.

“It kind of looks like an acorn, but a bit bigger and has a blue and pale yellowish color,” Johann said.

“Hmmmm...Oh! Found one!” Twilight pulled out the Chesto Berry from the box. “Uhh, can Pokemon eat and sleep at the same time?”

“That Snorlax probably could,” Scott said as he took the Chesto Berry from the Ralts.

He lowered the berry close to Fluttershy’s muzzle, her nose twitching as she unconsciously sniffed at its scent. As it touched her lips, her mouth opened and bit down a quarter of the berry. She swallowed the piece she ate after chewing on it for a few seconds, slowly stirring awake as she leaned forward and continued eating the rest of the berry. Once it was fully consumed, Fluttershy’s eyes fluttered open as she let out a sleepy groan.

“W-What happened?” she asked, sitting up with a small yawn. “Did I take a nap?”

“An unintentional one, yes,” Scott said, then pointed to the sleep trap nearby. “While chasing that Bidoof you wanted to snuggle with, you stepped on that trap tile.”

“...Oh...I didn’t even see it,” Fluttershy mumbled.

“The traps are hidden in the ground in Mystery Dungeons,” Johann explained. “You never know what you’ll trip until you step on it.”

“And they could be anywhere, even on repeat visits?” Twilight asked.

“Afraid so,” Scott said. “There could be more around here, so we’d better watch our step. And not run off to hug potential enemies, hostile or not.”

Fluttershy giggled sheepishly, wishing she had better control over herself whenever she sees a cute and fuzzy little critter she wants to get to know more about. The group continued exploring the dungeon, only being very wary of the ground they walked on now that they know some traps were hidden in any of the rooms. Fluttershy ignored trying to find the harmless Bidoof, and any other Pokemon. Unless they weren’t in a Mystery Dungeon, then she was allowed to freely gush over the cute Pokemon they ran into.

While being careful of any future traps, the team ran into some other hostile Bidoof, along with some other Normal-types that lived in the Cave of Normality. There were Normal-type Zigzagoon, having cream and brown stripe-colored fur that stood out in patterns like they got zapped by an electric wave from their head to their tail and it got stuck in that backwards, spiked way permanently, and a patch of black around their eyes like a mask. They weren’t like Obstagoon’s pre-evolved state as Twilight also got the Galarian version in her Pokedex: black and white striped with their mask sporting a star shape around their eyes. There were also Rattata, purple little rat Pokemon with white underbellies, a long, thin whisker on each side of their face, sharp teeth, and a curled tip at the end of their tail. And the last of the many Pokemon they encountered, which the others HAD to hold Fluttershy back, were Lilipups: cute, little light brown puppy Pokemon with really fuzzy cream-colored faces. Fluttershy really couldn’t help herself; many of the Pokemon looked adorable to her, even if some of them were as big and menacing, like the elderly Nido couple they first met.

Their exploration of the Mystery Dungeon was slow going due to the possibility of other traps inside, but that made it easier for them all to train and fight the Pokemon lurking around. That is, except for Johann. While running into different groups of Normal-type Pokemon, Scott took care of most of them, hogging some of the fun from the others. Johann simply stayed away from the fights, getting more and more concerned with how many Pokemon they encountered. Some Pokemon wound up stepping on a trap, revealing it to Team Rescue Rangers to avoid while also taking out a weaker or vulnerable foe. Johann clutched his scarf, knowing how much Scott wanted him to get stronger to use Flamethrower to help fight stronger Pokemon, but at the same time, he was afraid to grow stronger. He went into a furious rage the last time he unleashed his strongest Fire-type attack, and he didn’t want to hurt his friends if he blindly struck anything out of his control.

Scott grunted, throwing a Vacuum Wave at a group of Rattata that charged them down a corridor, knocking them all back and unconscious as they tumbled into a pile in the next room. “I love this move. Too bad I’ll end up dropping it for Aura Sphere when I evolve.”

“Hey, quit hogging all the Pokemon!” Rainbow complained with an annoyed flap of her wings.

“Yeah! Let us do some fighting now!” Pinkie agreed. “That battle with Dashie isn’t going to last me forever!”

Rainbow grumbled and gave Pinkie the stink-eye at her remark. “Hey, why not let Johann take on a few fights,” Spike piped up, making the Charmander grimace as he began to sweat nervously.

“Oh. I don’t think he’s fought anything since we entered the dungeon,” Twilight added.

Scott glanced over his shoulder, giving his friend a deadpanned leer. “You’re skimping out on more training, dude?” he questioned. “Come on! We gotta get stronger! I can’t carry the whole team!”

“Even though you were bowling through several Pokemon the last couple floors,” Rainbow muttered.

“U-Uhh...W-Well, the others need more training than I do,” Johann reasoned nervously. “I’m just...supervising! And making sure we don’t get attacked from behind!”

“Nothing snuck up on us while we went from room to room,” Rarity mentioned.

“We do appreciate ya lettin’ us get some trainin’ in, sugarcube, but ya should be trainin’ just as hard as we are,” Applejack added.

“I-I did some push ups today,” Johann argued weakly, but Scott was already marching up to him with a disgruntled frown.

“Not enough for me!” Scott exclaimed. “What’s your deal blowing everything off today? Is it because I’ll push you too hard because I LIVE for training as a Fighting-type?”

“I-I never said that,” Johann said.

“Are you not feeling well, Johann?” Fluttershy asked. Johann shook his head, but the Buneary was concerned for his health. She walked up to him and pressed her paw against the Charmander’s forehead to check for a fever. “...Uhh, it’s kind of hard to tell if you’re running a fever when it’s with a Fire-type Pokemon. But you do look a little clammy. Do you have a sore throat?”

“I’m not sick,” Johann assured, though failing to prove he was fine with his anxiety kicking in.

“You’re sweating. And you’re trembling,” Fluttershy noted. “You must be catching a cold. You shouldn’t even be standing, let alone fighting.” She turned to Scott, who silently groaned in irritation at his friend finding excuses to avoid training today. “Do you know how long this Mystery Dungeon is, Scott? We should get him back to the base and in his bed so he can rest.”

Sighing, Scott shook his head in disappointment. “Well, this is the first time I’ve set foot in this dungeon. I’ve only heard about it and what Pokemon reside here. It could be maybe five or six floors deep, maybe a little longer.” He glanced at Johann, pointing a digit at him. “Tomorrow, you’re not shirking on any training. No ifs, ands, or buts, and I’m gonna double what I had planned for you today.”

Johann stammered for a moment before letting out a defeated moan and hung his head. They continued progressing, Scott muttering under his breath over how the whole day of training, both from what he originally planned and the impromptu Mystery Dungeon trek, were ruined because Johann wasn’t up for it today. Johann, however, felt disappointed in himself for letting his friends down. His claw traced the lump hidden in his scarf, debating if he should tell them what’s inside or keep it a secret to avoid disappointing Scott even more than he already is.

Continuing finding the steps down the next few floors, the Equestrians continued their training sans Fluttershy, who stayed beside Johann to make sure he didn’t collapse from “exhaustion”. Scott spotted the others while taking out stragglers, though a bit too forcefully with his sour mood. They found the last set of steps leading down to the end of the Cave of Normality, walking down a long corridor with a much larger room down at the end.

“Do we have to walk all the way down the final floor before going back down the hall to exit a Mystery Dungeon?” Spike asked, panting slightly from the long walk and the few battles he took part in.

“Well, they don’t call them Mystery Dungeons for nothing,” Twilight said.

“Ooh! Maybe there’s some treasure at the end we can take!” Pinkie gleefully exclaimed and hopped on ahead. The moment she set foot in the room, everyone heard a loud bellow from what sounded like an angry bovine, followed by a large body ramming the small Swirlix and sent her flying out of sight in the room. “WAHH!!!”

“Pinkie!” Everyone quickly rushed into the room to help her.

“W-What in Equestria was that that attacked her!?” Rarity exclaimed.

“Ah recognize that sound; some kind of bull charged into Pinkie!” Applejack said.

“I really hope it wasn’t!” Johann exclaimed.

As soon as they ran into the large room, another bellow rang out as the Pokemon that attacked Pinkie made a wide turn as it continued charging, turning its sights on the intruders in its “den”. It was indeed a bull-looking Pokemon with light brown fur, a thicker brown mane around its neck, two curved, gray horns on its head, three gray bumps running vertically down its forehead, and had three thin black tails with tufts of fur at each end. Those tails shook and purposefully whipped the Pokemon’s behind, enraging it more and causing it to run faster.

“Scatter!” Scott shouted. Everyone quickly leapt out of the bull’s way, narrowly getting struck by its head and horns as it rushed down the corridor. “You know, Johann, any time we say anything, we tempt fate in the worst way possible.”

“W-What kind of Pokemon is that!?” Twilight questioned fearfully, pulling out the Pokedex to check what this Pokemon was while it was busy skidding to a halt and turning its massive body around the tight corridor to charge them again.

"Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokemon. A Normal-type. Tauros run in herds in the wild. The herd member with the longest, thickest, and most scarred horns is said to be the leader." After the Pokedex gave Tauros’s description, the Tauros that nearly ran through them managed to turn back around, snorting angrily and ready to charge again as it stomped the ground with a hoof.

“Well, they don’t look too badly scarred, so I assume it’s not in charge of a herd?” Twilight pondered nervously.

“Spike, check on Pinkie before Tauros runs back in the room,” Scott quickly advised the Gible. Spike glanced over at Pinkie, who was lying against the wall with stars swirling over her head and badly scraped after getting rammed and smacking into the wall. Spike nodded, taking the toolbox from Twilight before running off to help the injured Swirlix. Tauros bellowed, his whipping tails making the rescue team wince at the swift smacking sounds as the Pokemon began its rampaging charge again. “Here he comes!

“Move out of the way!” Scott stood his ground as he readied a Vacuum Wave. The others quickly leapt out of the way to avoid getting trampled and struck by the aura wind of the Riolu’s attack. “Vacuum Wave!” Scott shouted, unleashing the swirling gust of blue wind in Tauros’s face. Sadly, the attack didn’t even make the bull Pokemon flinch or slow down his charge, only spurring on his rage and setting his sights only on Scott. “Oh, Arceus me!”

Unable to jump away in time, Scott held out both of his paws, grabbing Tauros’s horns and tried to push him back to slow the angry bovine down. His feet skid across the ground as he grunted, but he barely managed to slow Tauros down by a tiny fraction of the speed he was running. There was less distance between them and the far wall as Scott was continuously pushed back until they finally made impact. Scott’s back struck the wall, then Tauros’s thick skull slammed his gut and practically squished the Riolu harder against the wall within milliseconds. Scott let out a breathless wheeze as his eyes nearly bulged out of his head, getting no time to catch his breath as Tauros flicked his head back, sending the winded Riolu flying into the air, then turned and picked a new target with a snort, leaving Scott to crash to the ground while weakly clutching his abdomen..

“Sweet Celestia above, he’s coming back!” Rarity screeched as everyone panicked.

Twilight stood her ground, holding out her arms as her eyes glowed blue. “Confusion!” she cried out, casting Tauros in a blue light. She managed to slow down the raging bull Pokemon, but her concentration was waning as Tauros was fighting back against her psychic hold on him by thrashing about. “Urgh! N-No!…Can’t…Hold it…!”

Tauros snorted angrily, glaring at the source of the Pokemon trying to keep him held down. Letting out a loud bellow, sparks of electricity surged from the Pokemon’s body. Twilight lost her concentration, startled by seeing the yellow sparks surging from the Normal-type. As Tauros roared, a powerful stream of lightning shot down from the ceiling and struck Twilight, who screamed in agony as her body seized up from the painful Electric attack.

Spike looked back and gasped in terror. “Twilight!” he cried out.

After the huge bolt of lightning disappeared, the light blinding everyone for a brief moment as it faded, Twilight was slightly charred, electricity sparking around her body as her limbs twitched. She didn’t stay standing for long, collapsing on her knees before falling over, her body still twitching from the lingering electricity coursing through her muscles.

“W-W-Was that a...a massive bolt of lightning!?” Rainbow exclaimed, her eyes darting from the ceiling, to Twilight, and to Tauros every second. “T-That’s supposed to be a Normal-type! How can it use Electric attacks!?”

“T-That wasn’t a Thunderbolt,” Johann uttered. “That was...Thunder.”

“Thunder’s just noise, you crazy fire lizard!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Whatever it was, Ah felt the amount of power that came from that massive bolt,” Applejack uttered, feeling a strange sort of electric attraction from the electricity still surging around Twilight’s unconscious body.

Freed from the Ralts’s Confusion, Tauros continued its rampage. Applejack snapped out of her stupor, needing to teach this bull a lesson. She ran toward Tauros, startling Johann with her bold charge.

“Applejack, wait!” he called out.

Applejack jumped toward Tauros, leaping over his ducked head as he tried to headbutt her. The Yamper landed on Tauros’s back, biting down on a huge chunk of his mane and hung on for dear life.

“Yee-haw! Giddy up, pardner!” Applejack cheered, staying on Tauros as he tried to buck and spin in place to shake the Yamper off his back. Johann was flabbergasted seeing someone crazy enough to ride on an enraged Tauros’s back and stay on for more than a few seconds. “That all ya got!? Ah’ve ridden buckin’ broncos who knock a full grown stallion off in record time! Ya ain’t gettin’ rid of me, buddy!”

Tauros suddenly froze in place, panting heavily, but remained perfectly still. “...I-Is he...tuckered out?” Fluttershy asked.

“Heh. Guess Applejack can handle bull riding in Equestria and this world,” Rainbow said with a small laugh.

Scott grunted, getting up on his knees with a cough. He held his torso, wincing slightly with each shallow breath he took. When he looked up, he saw Tauros standing still with Applejack on his back, confused by what he missed while the wind was knocked out of him. He was about to ask what was going on when he saw Tauros’s tails twitching slightly and hind legs flexing, poised to spring at any moment.

“Oh no. Don’t tell me he’s gonna-?” With a snort, Tauros suddenly let out a bellowing roar, then resumed its bucking, though his movements were far more violent than they were before. Applejack was caught off guard, quickly latching onto Tauros’s mane as tightly as she could as she was getting flung around, desperately clinging her paws around what she could on the Pokemon’s back. “He’s using Thrash! Applejack, get off that Tauros!”

Applejack didn’t respond, too scared to let go at this point. Her grip on Tauros’s mane began to slip, ripping off a clump of dark brown hair as she was flung backward. As she fell, she didn’t have time to recover as her underbelly was met with Tauros’s back hooves, giving her a very swift and powerful kick. It not only knocked the air out of her lungs, but she was also kicked clear across the room, heading straight toward Scott. The Riolu didn’t have the strength to stand and save her, wincing and looking away as the Yamper struck the wall with a pained yelp, then fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Applejack’s stetson flew up as she hit the wall, floating back down to land in front of the unconscious Electric-type.

“Oh no! It knocked out Applejack, too!” Spike exclaimed, getting Tauros’s attention as it turned to leer at the frightened Gible. “U-Uh oh.”

“We need to escape this Mystery Dungeon, fast,” Scott growled. “Spike, we should have an Escape Orb in the toolbox! Find it and use it, now!”

Spike panicked, fumbling with the toolbox as he opened it and scrambled to find the orb. Tauros began his charge toward the Gible, only making Spike panic as he rearranged their inventory instead of grabbing what he needed. Rainbow quickly flew at Tauros, keeping up with the bull Pokemon as she scratched his face with her talons. She steered Tauros away from Spike, keeping him distracted, giving Spike more time to find the Escape Orb.

Johann ran over to Scott and Applejack while Fluttershy ran over to Twilight’s aid and Rarity rushed to Spike to help him. “Is Applejack ok!?” he asked worriedly.

“I see her breathing, but she’s definitely down and out,” Scott said. He scowled, ignoring the pain in his own body as he stood up. “I couldn’t help her. That Tauros is way too strong.”

Spike hyperventilated, his claws grasping at berries to dig out their inventory. “C-Come on! Come on!”

“Spikey-wikey, did you find it!?” Rarity asked. Spike was too startled to respond, more worried about getting trampled by Tauros to focus on his crush. Rarity helped look in the toolbox, finding the orb, but her triumphant grin faded when she saw another orb the group brought with them, or found in the dungeon. It was hard to tell which orb did what, even with her trained eye in spotting very subtle differences in a spherical gem with a strange enchantment. “Uh oh. There’s two? W-Which one’s the right one!?”

“I-I don’t know!” Spike exclaimed as his anxiety was skyrocketing.

Rainbow grunted, flapping wildly around Tauros’s face to scratch him while also avoiding his horns from his flailing head. She was fast enough to dodge each swing of his neck, but she couldn’t keep it up forever. This Pokemon didn’t even seem to tire out, even after running around for what felt like an eternity. She used Gust after flapping away, but the strong winds she kicked up with her wings did little to push Tauros back, just like Scott’s Vacuum Wave.

“Sheesh! This guy’s tougher than that Snorlax!” Rainbow exclaimed. “And that guy was all flab!” Tauros roared as electricity crackled around his body. Rainbow gulped, forgetting about the Thunder attack he used on Twilight earlier. “O-Oh, horseapples.”

Rainbow scrambled to fly away from the incoming stream of a lightning bolt, hoping she could outfly lightning as a Starly. She yelped when she just narrowly avoided getting zapped, her feathers puffing up from the surge of electricity in the area where the Thunder attack struck. Tauros used Thunder again, just as Rainbow was heading straight for Fluttershy, who was struggling to carry Twilight over to Spike, Rarity, and Pinkie. Fluttershy looked up as she heard Tauros’s bellowing roar again, along with the sparks of electricity surging from him.

Panicking, the Buneary tried to rush faster, unsure where the Thunder attack was going to strike next. Rainbow flew right over her and Twilight, a big mistake as the next stream of lightning not only struck the fleeing Starly, but it also struck Fluttershy and Twilight as well. All three of them screamed and convulsed in agony, including Twilight as she was getting a second dose of a painful electrocution. Scott and Johann gasped in shock as they watched Rainbow fall, landing on Fluttershy and Twilight as they both collapsed to the ground.

“D-Darn it,” Scott growled. “This was supposed to be a simple Mystery Dungeon. This Tauros doesn’t belong here.” Tauros set his enraged sights on Rarity and Spike, inhaling deeply as he reared his head back. Inside his open maw, the two Pokemon rescue leaders’ eyes widened as they saw a mass of yellow energy forming into a sphere, growing bigger and bigger as it continued to store in Tauros’s mouth. “No way. Is that-!?”

“He’s gonna use Hyper Beam!” Johann exclaimed. Rarity and Spike were still panicking over the two orbs they had, barely paying attention to Tauros. “GUYS, MOVE!!!!”

Johann’s warning came too late. Tauros roared, unleashing the energy into a massive beam of yellow, sparking energy at the Skitty and Gible. The pair looked up, only to scream in terror as the beam struck the ground at their feet, creating a massive explosion that sent them flying toward Pinkie. They both hit the wall, knocked unconscious from the Hyper Beam’s blast before they made contact with the hard surface. Spike and Rarity fell next to Pinkie, leaving their toolbox alone with their items out in the open and the two orbs rolling away in different directions.

Tauros stomped about, not celebrating his triumph, still furious and raging out of control. Scott realized this was the second Pokemon they’ve encountered who have gone wild and had no conscious sense of what they were doing. All their Equestrian friends were knocked out, and seriously injured. No Oran Berries or Reviver Seeds could help them at this point, and he and Johann were clearly outmatched by this powerful Tauros. Glancing around the room, Scott spotted the Escape Orb Rarity had, but completely forgetting that their friends found it difficult to tell which seeds had what effects they had, he completely forgot that the Wonder Orbs looked so much alike to them as well. They needed to get out of here, and Scott only hoped the Equestrians weren’t out of commission for too long if they woke up.

“...Johann, get the Escape Orb,” he said, snapping Johann out of his fright and shock as he looked at the Riolu. “I’ll distract Tauros while you get that orb.”

“W-What!? Y-You barely stood back up after he slammed you into the wall!” Johann exclaimed. “Tauros can kill you!”

“I’m not in any condition to run, and he’s going after anything in his line of sight,” Scott said. “Get that orb while you have a chance, Johann!”

Refusing to hear a reason, Scott grasped Johann’s arm and pulled him toward the Escape Orb. He made the Charmander stumble a few feet away, barely enough to actually throw him toward the orb. Johann looked back once he regained his footing, watching Scott use another Vacuum Wave. The swirling blue wind struck Tauros, reigniting his fury as he set his sights on the injured Riolu. Scott braced himself for another crushing tackle as Tauros himself stomped his hooves to prepare his next charge.

Johann shifted his gaze from the Escape Orb to Tauros, unsure what to do. All of his friends were badly hurt, and he’s done nothing to contribute to their training, or even try to attack Tauros. And now Scott was going to take another ramming from the enraged bull Pokemon while he was told to get the Escape Orb. Feeling guilty for his lack of motivation for getting stronger, he ran back to Scott, refusing to let another friend of his get hurt anymore. Tauros was running toward Scott, his head lowered to headbutt the Riolu again.

Scott clenched his eyes and prepared to get flattened, only to gasp in surprise as Johann rammed him from the side, pushing him away from Tauros’s path. “Ember!” Johann shouted, shooting a stream of embers at Tauros’s face.

The burning bits of fire struck the bull, startling him as he shut his eyes, yet still continued running. Tauros shook his head wildly to cool down the burning embers. Scott landed on his side, still sore, and watched in horror as his friend took his place. Johann didn’t think about his next plan of action, beginning to panic as Tauros got closer. He tried to leap to the side, but Tauros’s shaking head caused one of his horns to scrape against his chest, which caught his scarf, and in one swift motion, tore the green fabric to pieces while being flung toward where Scott laid.

As Johann fell on his belly with a grunt, something else clattered near Tauros, who had slammed his head into the wall, stunned rigid in a daze. From the torn scarf, a smooth gray stone with some small, dark gray dots were scattered along its surface. Scott’s seen a few different types of stones involving evolution, but he had no idea Johann kept something like that hidden in his scarf.

“How long did he have that?” Scott uttered to himself.

Johann got on his knees, rubbing his belly from the fall, but when he looked down, he realized his scarf was gone and began to panic. “Oh no! My scarf!” He stood up, and when he saw the remains of his scarf and the strange stone near the Tauros, his joy turned to horror when Tauros regained consciousness, shook off his daze, then turned to glare at the two Pokemon, and with a harsh stomp, he unconsciously stomped down on the stone, shattering it to pieces. “NO! MY EVERSTONE!”

“Everstone?” Scott questioned. “Wait, doesn’t that-?”

Tauros roared, interrupting the Riolu’s thoughts. Scott stood back up, but when he glanced at Johann, the look of shock on the Charmander’s face quickly turned to anger. Thankfully, it wasn’t the same unbridled rage when he let loose on Snorlax, but Johann was definitely ticked. The flame on his tail kicked up, increasing in heat as well as size.

Johann had enough. Tauros hurt his friends, he destroyed his scarf and his hidden Everstone, and his best friend had been upset at him for avoiding training. The truth may have come out, in the worst way possible, but that wasn’t what was driving Johann to finally stop staying in the background while the others handled everything.

“You’re gonna pay for that,” Johann growled, mouth billowing with sparks of flames. Scott stepped away from Johann, his eyes growing wide as his friend reared his head back. “FLAMETHROWER!”

Johann threw his head forward, unleashing a stream of fire from his mouth toward Tauros. The flames engulfed the bull Pokemon as they heard him let out a distressed bellow. Scott was speechless; his friend was able to pull off a Flamethrower attack without breathing out smoke, and they barely did much training after it failed when they took on the Liepard and Purrloin thieves. Johann ceased his fire breath, unveiling Tauros from the burning flames, whose fur was badly scorched, and got Burnt from the burn marks on his face and forelegs.

“...H-He did it?” Scott questioned, finally finding his voice. “B-But how?”

Tauros wasn’t down and out yet. Despite the burning pain and his physical prowess hindered, he was still in a rage, intended to trample and mow down his foes.

“Scott, can you pull off one more Vacuum Wave?” Johann asked, never keeping his eyes off Tauros. Scott snapped out of his shocked daze, slowly nodding his head. “I think we can pull off a double attack that’ll cool this hotheaded Pokemon. When I say now, use Vacuum Wave.”

“...Alright,” Scott mumbled.

Tauros snorted, pawing at the ground, planning to charge the duo while it would be smarter to attack with another Thunder or Hyper Beam. “Wait for it,” Johann said. After moments of anxious anticipation, Tauros grunted and roared as he sprinted at them. Scott readied his Vacuum Wave, waiting for his friend’s cue to unleash it. He didn’t know what his Vacuum Wave would do since it didn’t do much to make Tauros flinch, but after seeing Johann finally use Flamethrower on his own, he had a feeling it was going to be a spectacular combination attack. Tauros began to get closer and closer, making Scott grimace at the tight window they had. “NOW!”

“Alright! Vacuum Wave!” Scott yelled out, throwing his paw forward and unleashed the vortex of aura wind.

“Flamethrower!” Johann exclaimed a second later and blew his powerful stream of fire.

Johann didn’t aim his attack at Tauros, though; he aimed at Scott’s Vacuum Wave, causing the stream of fire to spiral along with the wind. The flames spiraled with the swirling air of the Vacuum Wave, turning it into a sideways flaming cyclone. The power from Johann’s Flamethrower increased the pushback of Scott’s Vacuum Wave, striking Tauros head-on, and slowed the bull down before it pushed him back, all while the fire spun around him once again. Tauros cried out a painful moo as the wind flung him off his hooves. He hit the ground hard, rolling over slightly until he came to a stop on his side.

Weak grunts came from Tauros as he tried to get up, but as he lifted his head, it fell back to the ground with a disoriented moo, eyes swirling in defeat. Scott and Johann didn’t move, waiting to see if Tauros was trying to trick them, but they both sighed in relief after a moment.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Scott said, letting out a small chuckle in disbelief. Before he could gloat, he heard Johann gasp and a bright light start to envelop the Charmander. Scott gasped himself, watching the light engulf Johann while Johann looked down at himself. “W-What the..? Dude, are you...evolving?”

Panicking, Johann let out a strained grunt, flexing his muscles as he tried to fight back against the light around him. Scott had so many mixed emotions flooding through his mind: confusion, excitement, shock, pride, and a slight bit of anger, not in that exact order. He had no idea why Johann was trying to stop himself from evolving, but he thought they were at about the same level in terms of strength and experience. It began to dawn on him when Johann mentioned the Everstone, and its hiding place in his scarf. Charizard had brutally trained Johann to be a strong Charmander, even forcing him to learn Flamethrower, but after only taking out Tauros with just two attacks, including his own Vacuum Wave added to the mix, he had a feeling that his rage and stopping Snorlax wasn’t just a coincidence.

While baffled and trying to figure out just how strong Johann truly was, Johann began growling, which grew louder as he continued fighting his evolution into a Charmeleon. He finally let out a yell as the light dispersed, surprising Scott as he witnessed a Pokemon holding off from evolving. Johann panted heavily, looking exhausted from delaying his evolution. Once he caught his breath, he glanced at Scott, the two staring in silence for a moment. Johann lowered his gaze, then looked at his torn up scarf and the pieces of his Everstone. Slowly, Johann approached his destroyed scarf, kneeling down to pick up the bits of Everstone, letting the pebbles fall between his fingers. It’s completely useless to prevent him from evolving now.

He then picked up his rescue team badge, which was thankfully unscathed from Tauros’s trampling hooves. “...Let’s get out of here…”

Johann grabbed the orbs and the toolbox, then used the Escape Orb to get everyone out of the dungeon, leaving behind the unconscious Tauros.





After returning to the entrance of the Cave of Normality, Johann ran back to town to get some help. There was no way he or Scott could carry the unconscious Equestrians back to their base to recuperate after fighting a powerful Tauros, not even if Scott ate an Oran Berry to heal up. Johann hurried into town to get some help from anyone in the guild. Luckily, he caught a team of three Chansey in their guild who worked in the main headquarters’ infirmary as they shopped for supplies, and quickly brought them with him to help his friends. The Chansey were pink, ovoid Pokemon with stubby arms and legs, three hair-like growths on both sides of their heads with darker pink tips, and had a pouch in the center of their belly with a white egg nestled inside.

Once they arrived, the Chansey all used Psychic to easily levitate the unconscious Equestrians, then made their way back to the guild as quickly as possible with Scott and Johann following them. It felt like hours since they got to the guild, but they made it without any interruptions, only getting curious gazes from some of the other guild members as they wondered what happened. The Chansey trio laid the Mane Six and Spike down on actual beds, ensuring their patients were comfortable as they recovered, checking over them for any other injuries or illnesses as a precaution. One of them even examined Scott since he was in just as much bad shape. Since he was still conscious, they said he just needed to relax and he’ll be good as new, even giving him one of their eggs to eat to help him recover quicker.

Johann was relieved to know his team would be fine after a good night’s rest. However, during the rush back to the guild and after his checkup, Scott stared at the wall with a look of annoyance or anger, all while silently chewing on the soft, yet very nutritious Chansey egg. Johann didn’t know what he was thinking, but he could tell so much happened that surprised him, and he was going to be doing a lot of explaining to him and the others once they woke up.

“...So...how’re you holding up?” Johann asked. Scott remained silent, stuffing the last of the Chansey egg in his mouth. His injuries had healed up quickly thanks to the egg, already giving Johann his answer just from looking at his friend. Feeling awkward, Johann coughed slightly, trying to get Scott’s attention. “Umm...I...I can explain everything.”

Scott’s eyes quickly shifted in Johann’s direction, giving him a death glare as he swallowed the last of the egg. “Can you?” he questioned bitterly. Johann stammered, but wasn’t given any time to respond. “How strong are you? And I mean how strong you REALLY are.”

“U-Uhh…” Again, Johann couldn’t respond as Scott approached him and poked him hard in the chest.

“Don’t try to fumble around with finding an excuse! You were about to evolve into a Charmeleon, but you somehow managed to fight against evolving!” Scott exclaimed. “And you can somehow use Flamethrower now after you screwed it up against those cat burglars! Were you just goofing up on purpose so all of us could feel sorry for you!?”

“No! I really wasn’t able to!” Johann tried to explain. “I-I don’t know why I couldn’t-!”

Scott suddenly shoved Johann, startling the Charmander as he fell on his back. “You were strong enough to evolve the moment that Tauros went down! And you took it down in just two Flamethrower attacks! TWO!”

A nearby Chansey rushed over to them after hearing Scott shouting, trying to break up the fight between the two Pokemon. “Boys, please keep it down,” she hushed calmly. “There are other patients besides your friends. They all need rest and they can’t do so with your arguing.”

Scott growled, ignoring Chansey while scowling down at his friend, though he began questioning calling Johann his friend after he lied to him about his true strength. Letting out a huff, Scott walked off, too frustrated to talk to Johann if he was going to hear more excuses. Johann stood up after a few seconds, a bit stunned from getting shoved by Scott, then quickly chased after him.

“Scott, wait! Hold on!” he called out as they reached the front yard of the guild. Scott stopped, but he refused to turn and look at Johann. “Just let me explain, please!”

“What else do you even want to say!? That you’re far stronger than I am when I thought we were at the same level!?” Scott exclaimed angrily, turning around the glare at the Charmander.

“I’m sorry I lied about my real strength,” Johann apologized.

“It’s not just that!” Scott shouted. “You’ve been holding yourself back on purpose! If you could have taken down Tauros, you could have stopped The Poison Twins on your own! Even Liepard and the Purrloin trio! I may have gone in over my head, but you had the power to beat them without breaking a sweat!” Johann grimaced, wilting in dejection. “I tried to help you get stronger, but you clearly didn’t need my help! Or my training!”

Johann hung his head in shame. “...I-I...I really couldn’t use my Flamethrower in The Cat’s Den,” Johann mumbled, trying to explain. “I don’t know how I did it against Tauros. You all were getting hurt, and I did nothing but watch.” His claw reached up to his neck, trying to touch his scarf, only to realize it was destroyed, along with the Everstone that was hidden in it. He clenched his fingers, wishing he didn’t lose that stone. “...My dad constantly pushed me to train and get stronger. He wanted me to evolve, but when I was about to, I forced myself to resent the evolution. It kept getting more and more exhausting to do that, and I was afraid to evolve so soon. So, to help me, my mom gave me that Everstone. When Tauros smashed it, I was mad that he broke something special my mom gifted me, and after seeing all of you getting hurt on top of that, I decided not to hold back anymore.”

Scott scoffed in annoyance, looking away with his arms across his chest. “You’re unbelievable,” he grumbled. “So what? You’re afraid of getting too strong? Is that why you held yourself back?” Johann didn’t answer. “I should be jealous, letting that drive me to keep working harder to get to where you’re at. But when we’ve got new teammates who are actually from another world and are willing to face dangers unlike anything they’ve ever experienced, and they just got seriously hurt by a Pokemon who shouldn’t have been in an easy Mystery Dungeon like that, you wait until the last second to finally go all out. You know they’re still new to everything else about our world, and if they want to get back home, we promised to help them. That includes keeping them safe.”

“...I know,” Johann mumbled.

“So that’s why we all have to get stronger so we can go through that Mystery Dungeon where Jirachi lives.” Scott grunted, turning his back to Johann again. “Although, you shouldn’t have much trouble since you’re stronger than all eight of us combined.” That comment made Johann wince, a painful reminder that he had the strength to handle anything more than Scott could, yet the guilt from his lies only made him feel like an unwanted burden. “Next time, when I say not to hold back on me, do NOT hold back on me.”

Without looking back, Scott walked off, leaving Johann by himself. He didn’t know if Scott was going to head back to the base or blow off some steam with some more training, but it was obvious that his friend was highly disappointed in him. Now Johann had to tell the others, though that would have to wait until tomorrow after they got a good night’s rest.

Sighing, Johann slowly trudged his way back to town, mindlessly kicking a small pebble down his path while lost in his thoughts. His claws rubbed at his neck, that lingering fear of evolving if he fought another Pokemon coming back to haunt him. Eventually, he DID want to evolve into a Charizard, but not right away, unlike how his father wanted him to be. He didn’t want to keep tiring himself out by forcing back his evolution anytime they fought other Pokemon.

“Thank you! Come again!” Looking up from his mindless wandering, Johann realized he was in the square, walking up to the Kecleon Bros. shop. They waved off a Pokemon who bought one of their wares, Purple spotting the scarfless Charmander, though he immediately recognized him. “Hey, Johann! We just saw Scott walk on by!”

“And he had his scarf, but Johann seems to have lost his,” Green added as he heard his brother mention the Charmander. “Did another Flying-type nab yours alone this time?”

“...No,” Johann said as he approached the shop. “...We ran into a Tauros in a Mystery Dungeon...One of his horns caught it and tore it off when he attacked us.”

“Ugh. Not a fun Pokemon to mess with,” Green said. He looked around their inventory, finding a green scarf that closely resembled the same green color of Johann’s old scarf. “Still got a few scarves in stock, and we got one similar to your old one. Interested?”

“Yeah,” Johann said with a nod. He glanced at the Kecleon Bros. stock, curious to know what else they might have. “...Do you guys...also have an Everstone?”

“An Everstone?” Purple asked. “What do you need an Everstone for? You want to stay as a Charmander forever?” Johann didn’t respond, but the silence and embarrassed expression told the younger twin otherwise. “...Uhh, let’s check if we have one.” Purple and Green Kecleon headed into the back of their shop to see if they had an Everstone in stock. Johann could hear Green scolding his brother for questioning Johann’s life and who he wishes to be as he grows older and stronger. Eventually, the brothers came back out, and in Green’s hands was an Everstone. “We do have one, but no one really has a need for it since a lot of Pokemon evolve when the time comes.”

“It’s just a plain rock at this point, though not as painful as a Gravelrock,” Green added. “With that and the scarf, it’s a pretty good bargain.”

“I’ll take them,” Johann said without hesitation. “Put it on Team Rescue Rangers’ account.”

Both Kecleon nodded, Green pulling out a payment sheet for transactions for the Felicity Bank. After Green set the price on the items being sold, he signed his name as the purveyor while Johann signed his as the client, giving the brothers permission to take only the total of his purchase from the rescue team’s bank account. It was a bit easier than lugging around hundreds of Poké, getting it from the bank to the shops to buy what he needed, and store the rest back in the bank to Persian’s annoyance. Johann had enough disapproving looks from Scott; he didn’t need it from a judgemental, snooty feline who has much higher standards, yet works as a banker.

With his new scarf and Everstone, Johann left, tuning out the Kecleon Bros. as they wished for him and his teammates’ return to shop some more. Johann tied his new scarf around his neck, then looked down at the Everstone as he slowly made his way back to the base. He grasped the stone tightly between both hands, a sense of relief washing over him, but he still felt like scum for hiding how strong he was from his best friend and their new friends.

When Johann reached their base, he saw Scott sitting cross-legged in the middle of the field, meditating. He noticed the dread-like appendages on his head were floating, sensing the area with his aura, and possibly him as he got within range of his aura sight. Johann let Scott be and walked inside their small base, plopping down on his hay bed with a sad sigh. He dreaded telling the others tomorrow, fearing how they would judge him if they reacted similarly like Scott did.