Ponyville. Rainbow Dash's home. Day.
"Hm." Rainbow Dash sat on her bed, looking at her TV while using her wing to hold the remote. While she does train, it's not all the time. Sometimes, she likes to kick back and relax. And with the TV she got for Hearth's Warming, she could do all of that and more. "What's on?"
She turned on the TV, beginning a phase of channel surfing. Something that was new to her and Equestria. She would have the chance to see what this new experience would feel like.
Channel One.
The first thing she saw was a commercial. And that commercial was about Trixie's Great and Powerful School. She had managed to commission a commercial for this as her grin could be seen entering the view of the screen.
"Greetings every human, Pokemon and whatever species may be out there," Trixie said. "Have you ever wanted to try magic? Genuine magic that you can use for as much as you want? Well, I have wonderful news for you. If that's your mojo, then Trixie Lulamoon's Great and Powerful School is the place to be."
She then moved back, allowing the camera to view her while it was also following her. It also gave a good view of the school's front layout.
"You see, it's important for a Pokemon and their Trainer to always be improving. But how can that be done if only the Pokemon learns some new tricks? Well, wouldn't it be useful if both the Trainer and Pokemon could give out some flash?"
She then entered the school, showing there numerous students learning various magic tricks with their Pokemon. Some more daring than others but with supervision, of course. The teachers here were both humans and unicorns that were younger than Trixie but older than the students.
"Here at Trixie's Great and Powerful School, we can have our students be on par with their Pokemon, learning and performing magic. Now some of you may be thinking. 'Trixie. Humans can't learn magic.' But that's where you're wrong. I know some trainers that can tell you otherwise. But either way, try it out and see what you can learn."
The camera then showed Trixie's principal office. The Shift Stone was being hidden by a massive black cloth so that no one would suspect a thing.
"My school provides the best possible teachers for magic. AKA, Fairy-Type Trainers." She chuckled before lowering her eyes and saying something under her breath. "Yet I still can't catch a single Fairy-Type Pokemon...!" She then turned back to the camera before clearing her throat. "Ahem! And if you enrol here, you'll get a free Zorua, no charge from yours truly. And we'll-"
"Trixie, that's enough. We're wasting time on this and you've already gone past the natural run-time." One of the people working on this commercial went up, whispering to the union as she froze. "Wrap it up, please."
"Oh. Uh. Hm." Trixie once again cleared her throat. "Right. Remember! Enrol to be Great and Powerful!" She then waved to the camera before the channel had been changed.
Channel 13.
A show by the name of Superior Tales of Galar Special Forces showed a scene of two police officers that were both Slowking, interrogating a Barbaracle.
"We'll begin the tape recording of this interrogation...now." The Slowking pressed his hand on a tape recorder as it started rolling. "Now then, Mr Barbaracle. Maybe you can start by telling us your connections to the Toxitricity Night Club?" The first officer asked.
"I didn't have any connection to it." Barbaracle. immediately gave his only answer with a raised tone. The officer sat there, chewing on his gum after the response.
"Funny. Cause according to this forum, you're one of the directors." He then slammed a large forum on the table, making Barbaracle jump. "I already have the tape inside for Exhibit A plus holding an application for a homeowner's loan of the club."
"I've never seen that before in my life." He crossed all four of his arms, still in denial.
"Really?" The officer then smirked, looking to his partner who was standing up. Both of them chuckled a bit. "Well, maybe they made a mistake, eh? Perhaps instead you can tell me about the receipts that were found in your duffel bag earlier today."
"!" Barbaracle shot up after hearing that. However, as he looked over, the officer ended up placing something entirely different on the table instead of what would be expected.
"Expenses totalling 4,500 Pokedollars." He had suddenly put a potted plant on the table instead of the receipts. Xavier paused for a moment, unsure as to why he would bring that out. "Well? What do you have to say about this?"
"What? That's a plant!" Barbaracle looked to the other cop before outstretching his arms towards the plant.
"You allegedly said your receipts were planted in your duffel bag this weekend." He then took the plant away as Barbaracle tried explaining himself, only to be cut off by the officer as the plant returned to the bag. "Let's move on."
"Ugh..." He groaned.
"Tell me. Do you recognize this Graveler?" The Slowking then nudged his head over to his friend who had brought over a picture frame of a man with a top hat.
"Yeah," Xavier admitted to that.
"The suspect is identified as Graveler of Hulbury, currently-" But as he went on, Barbaracle cut him off again.
"Wait, no-no-no, hang on! That's not the guy I-"
"Alright, so you're telling me you don't know this Graveler, eh?" The officer pointed over at the Collective Pokemon.
"Well-" He sighed a bit. "I know of him. I've seen him, but that's all-"
"Right, perfect, perfect, Mr Barbaracle. Let's move on." Cut off by the officer once more, unable to fully finish most of his sentences. "Right so, when you met Graveler, what did you two talk about?"
"Look. I've never met Graveler. I-" Just as he spoke, he then noticed that Slowking had paused the recording. "D-Did you just pause that?!"
"Are you refusing to answer, Mr Barbaracle?" Slowking then resumed the recording.
"No, I've got six witnesses that can prove that I was there, that night!" He put two of his hands together.
"Suspect refuses to answer." Slowking pressed the pause button once more as Barbaracle stood up. "Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Not going very well is it?"
"You've got nothing on me!" Barbaracle sat up, frustrated by Slowking. "And you're-"
"Sit down, please.2 Slowking used Psychic, forcing Barbaracle to sit back down. "Now I can tell you're a very busy Pokemon and I'll cut straight to the chase. Now I've got one very, very, simple...question..." Suddenly, Slowking started speaking as if he was in slow-motion, delaying his sentences. "Mr...Barbaracle. Did...you...drown...the nightclub?"
"Yes...?" The other Slowking leaned in, doing the same slow-motion voice as his friend. But he had used it to try and act as Barbaracle. As if the Collective Pokemon had answered himself.
"Thank you..." Afterwards, he returned to chatting at a normal pace instead of slow-motion. "Mr Barbaracle, that's all we have today and what we need. Interrogation over." Slowking stood up.
"What?! This is a setup!" Barbaracle moaned as the slowing were clearing everything.
"Uh, hold on." Just then, the other Slowking paused for a moment, looking at the recording. "There's no tape in this." Indeed, the whole time, there wasn't even a tape inserted in the recorder, meaning the whole interrogation had not been contained.
But that would change as Slowking brought over a nearby tape with Psychic, placing it inside the recorder. With that, they could start over, much to the chagrin of Barbaracle.
"Right." The main Slowking said, ready to sit down. "Mr Barbaracle, have a seat please."
"No, no, I've had enough for one day!" Barbaracle shook his head but it was too late to try and fight it as Slowking resumed the interrogation. "Ugh..."
Channel 24.
The next show was a Game Show called Are You Smarter Than an Alakazam?. The show host was an Alakazam using telepathy while the competitor of this game was an Abomsanow who had his Trainer as his translator. He was currently lined up with some Skitty to try and overcome.
"Welcome back to Are You Smarter Than an Alakazam?." Alakazam said. "Now, Abomasnow. You're on thin ice right now. Heh, get it?" He nudged the Frost Tree Pokemon.
"Aboma..." Abomasnow gulped while his trainer patted him on the back. His score was currently 50 PokeDollars. Not great.
"But, you can still come back from this with our Lightning Round. All you have to do with this one is when you see an answer that matches the category, shout it out as soon as you can. The faster you pick an answer, the more cash you make. But more than one answer can be right. But each time you're wrong, some cash will be taken away from you instantly. And for this one...your trainer can't help you."
"Stay strong, Abomasnow." She said to her partner. "You can do this."
"Bomasnow!" Abomasnow pumped himself up.
"Remember the clue, okay? Now...begin!"
The first word showed up on the screen with a clock counting down. Some menacing music was also being played. The word was Inverted Evolution.
These were the names of Pokemon that had begun showing up. Galarian Yamask, Azurill, Mantyke and Tyrouge were the first ones as they faded away. Abomasnow needed to shout at the right word that pops up into view with the right Pokemon. And he got it.
Inkay.
"Aboma!" Abomasnow cried out, knowing that Inkay can evolve while being upside down. Some points had been added to him with applause. The next word showed up with the music getting louder and fiercer. Not only that but the speed ould increase, forcing Abomasnow to keep up and answer quicker.
This word was Legendary Trio of a Colder Climate. The first words to show up were The Legendary Birds, Legendary Beasts and Tao Trio.
He saw the Lake Trio pop up on the screen, shouting out. "Snow!" Points were added to him as a few more trio names started showing up. The Three Genies, Light Trio and the Swords of Justice. None of those were chosen, except for the one that came afterwards.
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow shouted at the Aura Trio, gaining more points. All he needed was two more questions to fulfil as his heart was beating. That wasn't the only thing beating. The speed and momentum had picked up, putting the Frost Tree Pokemon on edge.
The next word was Scarier on the inside than outside. The words that showed up first were Marowak, Whirlipede, Polteageist and Forretress.
"Snow!" Abomasnow ended up shouting at Marowak and Whirlipede before they could vanish. Unfortunately, those were wrong as points had been deducted from him. "A-Aboma!"
And even worse, before words like Mimikyu and Magcargo could pop up, the question had ended, robbing Abomasnow of an answer that he could have gotten if he had just waited a bit longer.
The last question came up. And it was the word Alternate when on the edge. This was a question about Pokemon Abilities. The first words that showed up rapidly were Wimp Out, Emergency Exit and Blaze.
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow shouted at Wimp Out and Emergency Exit, but those were wrong. Double points had been taken away as the speed accelerated. The last word was showing up as Abomasnow had to take this chance, no matter how risky it was.
Zen Mode.
"Snow!" Abomasnw roared as he ended up getting that one right. Darmanitan's Zen Mode alternate forms when in danger. And that was the last one, ending the game.
"Time!" Alakazam exclaimed. "Well, I could hear your heart beating from over here. Let's see how you did." The scores were being tallied. Abomasnow managed to get a total of 5 questions right and two of them wrong. Totalling up all of those points gave Abomasnow a total of 8,000 PokeDollars.
"Ooh. Not quite enough to reach 10,000." Alakazam said, facing the Frost Tree Pokemon. "But, either way. You did pretty well despite all of that struggle. Plus, I could work with just 8,000, don't you think?"
"Yeah. Sorry that we couldn't fully get it all." The trainer said to her partner. "But we can still head home with this much. And next time, we'll do better, right Abomasnow?"
"Abomasnow!" Abomasnow felt proud of himself. "He struggled in the beginning but turned it around at the last minute. And his trainer plus the audience were proud of him for that.
Channel 37.
"You can perish in the cold or you can join my school, it's up to you so enrol now, you-" Trixie came back into view, desperately trying to get her school recognised all over the world.
The channel was changed after that.
Channel 10.
The next one was a show that was similar to Red Aura that the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Rainbow Dash herself were fond of. This show wasn't that. It was something else that she had happened to come across. No new episodes for today. Just re-reruns.
Currently, the scenario was that Infernape, the protagonist, was facing off against a Mega Garchomp in a city full of destroyed crystals and a red sky. Draco Meteors and lightning were raining down, harming the damaged city. This scenario was a final battle-type situation with how it was framed.
"I've got a better reason for that," Infernape spoke as his fist had been ignited with flames. The background had constant lightning shooting down with portals in the sky. "For my friends. To protect them. That's why I'm still alive!" His entire body was being covered in an aura of flame then. " That's why I fight! And why I'm gonna stop you!"
"This time, you won't get out so easily!" Garchomp roared before rushing over to Infernape. Draco Meteors kept growing in numbers with the civilians, AKA the Pokemon, running for their lives.
"Hraaah!" Infernape also ran at Garchomp with an aura of fire always on him. He jumped into the air, hitting the Mach Pokemon's head two times and forcing him back.
"Ugh! Curse you!" Garchomp bellowed before returning the favour with a barrage of Dragon Pulses. Infernape put his arms up to try and defend them as the multiple dragon-shaped shockwaves had struck him repeatedly, forcing the Flame Pokemon back.
"Agh!" Infernape cried out before crashing on the ground. Garchomp finished things off with one final Dragon Pulse. A massive one. He unleashed the attack right on Infernape while he had just hit the ground. The result was a massive paroxysm of explosive draconic energy. Garchomp's roar echoed through the city and land.
Soon, everything was set ablaze as the Mach Pokemon descended with his mouth smoking. He believed the job had been done. "Hah...You weak, miserable, Infernape."
There were a few moments of silence amidst the destruction. However, a silhouette started showing through the smoke and flames. Garchomp gasped before seeing this silhouette.
Emerging out of it was Infernape, whose crown of fire had intensified, turning a blue colour. Different from his usual red-orange fire. He looked up at Garchomp afterwards.
"Blue fire?!"
Infernape then gave out his own roar that had blown away the smoke and red clouds that covered the sky. After roaring, the Flame Pokemon moved towards Garchomp at new speeds, giving the Mach Pokemon a Mach Punch. That initial hit then launched Garchomp into the air.
Infernape then chased down the Dragon-Ground-Type into the air with a trail of fire. While in the air, Infernape had delivered an unrelenting flurry of hits to Garchomp with sparks flying everywhere. Infernape's hits were also clearing the skies of their red colours and revealing the night sky.
"Impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible with-"
But Rainbow Dash changed the channel since she had already seen it. But it was enjoyable while it lasted.
Channel 50.
Another commercial had shown up. One about food and an establishment known as Poke-Fast.
"Hello and welcome to Poke-Fast." A female employee said. "You've probably heard this already, but we're revamping our image."
"But you may not know about all the wonderful new changes in store for our customers." A male employee said. "Have a look at this. Our old mascot Snorlax unfortunately had a greater destiny to follow. Apparently..." He whispered under his breath. "So, we have our new mascot already selected. A great substitute."
"Introducing Slurpuff as our new mascot and-" As the employee removed the curtains, it was revealed that a substitute doll instead of Slurpuff. "Huh!? A substitute doll?! Where's Slurpuff?!"
"Oh. Did you not mean an actual substitute?" A nearby employee spoke, asking the female employee. "I thought we were in agreement that it looked cute enough to be our mascot."
"Of course I didn't mean an actual substitute! Slurpuff is the substitute!"
"My bad."
"Anyway." She cleared her throat. "We also have some new food options for your Pokemon exclusively. Introducing the Bombadier Poke Puffs. Now with extra Pomeg berry for some more spice. And the Enigma Berry." She then held the food in her hand, feeding it to her Skitty.
"Skitty!" Skitty took a bite out of the Poke Puffs. One bite as she could feel the spice. But not in a good way. Skitty's eyes opened as she scurried away with her trainer following her. "S-Skitty!"
"Ah! Skitty! Are you okay?!" She followed after Skitty.
"But don't worry. We still have you and your Pokemon's favourites and the classics." The other employee carried on. "Like the Mocha Flavoured Poke Puffs. The Spring Flavoured berry sandwiches and more."
"Hoh..." The other employee returned, breathing in and out as she had returned Skitty to her Poke Ball. The janitor came by, sweeping away the mess made by Skitty after she threw up the food. There was a clear distaste for it. "Now let's talk desserts. And back on the topic of spice."
"The apple filling in our baked apple pie was too hot for many. So, we had the Enigma Berry regulate the heat so it's warm instead of too spicy. Now you can enjoy your apple pie with-"
"Wait. It's not always going to do that." She interrupted.
"What?
"The Enigma berry is random, remember? We're not gonna guarantee a warm sandwich all the time. Might even be chilly"
"Well, you could've told me that sooner...!"
"I did! I said it was a berry that can change things up...!"
"You could've worded it differently! We were already planning on changing things up here so-"
"Ahem." The camera crew grabbed their attention.
"Uh...in any case! Come by Poke-Fast to try out ur new options and free hug with our mascot." She laughed nervously before waving at the camera. "Remember. We're revamping our image, hehe...Bye!"
Back to Channel 10.
Revisiting Channel 10 gave a different experience than the previous show as a reality show was on.
"Everyone in here is a demon."
Rainbow Dash wasn't interested as she switched the channel."
Channel 3.
This one had Rarity on it. A movie was playing on the TV, courtesy of PokeStar Studios. In this movie, Rarity was the protagonist with her supporting cast being a Skiploom, Torracat and a Gardevoir. Rarity was wearing an outfit that matched the appearance of a Gardevoir but with the style of a pony.
"Stay right where you are!" Rarity cried out as she was currently running up some stairs. The background was a red factory room that was steaming with unbearable heat. There was also magma nearby as one of Rarity's Leavanny was currently being carried along a cage. "Leavanny! Don't worry! We'll-"
"Welcome to the end of the line!" Just then, the main antagonist of this movie which was a Vespiquen had shown herself to Rarity. Alongside the Vespiquen were horribly mutated Combee that were freakishly large and vicious. "Came right for Leavanny. How touching. It's too bad none of you will ever live!"
Vespiquen let out a yell that shook the factory as all of the Mutated Combee assembled, getting in front of Vesqipuen as a shield. They then all collectively attacked Rarity and the others.
"Torracat! Gardevoir, keep them busy!" She ordered while getting on the back of Skiploom. "Skiploom, get us to Leavanny!"
"Skip-Skip!" Skiploom skipped away as Torracat and Gardevoir would handle the Combee.
"Voir!" The Embrace Pokemon had kicked away a group of Combee with three consecutive kicks by using Triple Axel. She even knocked some of them into each other.
"Torra!" Torracat jumped over Gardevoir, landing on the heads of one of the Combee. The Fire Cat Pokemon stomped on the Combee's head, knocking it down before jumping to the next one. Like a platforming game, Torracat jumped and knocked down as many as he could. He had also used Fire Fang to gnaw on some of them, causing a blazing explosion.
"Skiploom!" Skiploom skipped high enough to reach the cage where Leavanny was being held captive. Rarity then lunged from SKiploom, using the height advantage as she went for the cage.
"Leavan!"
"I don't think so!" Vespiquen came flying in, using Slash to knock away Skiploom while chasing after Rarity.
"Skip!"
"Oh!" Rarity gasped as she quickly levitated herself with magic. She also put up a protective barrier around her, causing Vespiquen to hit only the barrier.
"Like you'll stop me from making my Bug Paradise!" Vespiquen started rapidly slashing the barrier, trying to break it. "I've already turned the rest of your bugs to my side! Soon, in just 10 minutes, the whole world will become nothing but Bugs!"
"W-We'll see about that! Skiploom, Rage Power!"
"Skip-Skip!" Skiploom had scattered a cloud of irritating powder to draw attention to itself. Soon, with the power flying through the atmosphere, all of the Combee had focused on the Cottonweed Pokemon.
"Hah! Why would you even think of doing that?" Vespiquen chuckled.
"For this. Now!" Rarity had expanded her barrier, causing it to contain Skiploom. But not the opposing Combee. At the right moment, Gardevoir had used Hyper Beam, sending a gigantic and destructive beam of Hyper-Energy flying forward while Torracat used Fire Blast.
"Garde...Voir!"
"Torracat!"
With all of them focused on Skiploom, they were wide open, allowing for Hyper Beam and Fire Blast to hit their mark. All of the Combee had been struck by the attacks at full force with a massive explosion occurring. The barrier had shielded Skiploom from any harm.
"Why you...!" Vespiquen growled, seeing her subjects faint. She pulled away from the barrier, ascending above everyone else as it was raining Combee. Gardevoir and Torracat got beside Rarity and Skiploom, looking up at the Bug-Flying-Type and her seething rage. "You're just delaying the inevitable at this point! I have more in store."
"More?!" Rarity gasped.
"Oh, that's right. But to be frank, they won't be needed for this." Vespiquen chuckled as her body started rumbling. She was starting to morph into something as an extra arm burst out of her skin. "When I show you my true form, everything I've aimed for will be-"
Grossed out by this transformation sequence, Rainbow Dash instantly switched the channel to something else.
Channel 25.
And this one plus the last one for the day was Trixie again, showing up on the screen.
"Remember. Join my school. Please?" She gave an innocent grin while standing next to her students. "If you do, you'll have the chance to get an autograph from the pony who helped stop an invasion, hold back Team Plasma and even solve-"
"Okay, that's enough." Rainbow Dash turned off the TV, feeling satisfied. "So that's channel surfing. I like it." She smiled before hopping off the bed. "Alright. Training time. Can't slack for the next Gym Battle."
"Braviary!" Braviary got up as Mienfoo was psyched to train again. However, she grew fond of that one Infernape and Garchomp show, wishing to see it again.
"Hey, do you think I could be on TV one day? How cool would that be?!" She started gawking, imagining the possibilities of her on TV. "Maybe Rarity can do something for me! Ooh, ooh! Or maybe I just ask BigTime Ben. That works too."
As the journey continues.
Chapter 557 End.