//------------------------------// // Famine in the Forest // Story: My Little Pokémon // by Amarvax //------------------------------// The Human World. Twilight's Home. Day. A young and beautiful day had come here in the Human World once the sun had risen. And its golden rays shot gracefully onto Twilight's home. "Feeding time! Come on you two!" Currently, Twilight was ready to feed her friends. Her pet dog Spike and her partner Pokemon Hisuian Zorua. The two of them immediately rushed over to Twilight once she held out their respective bowls with their favourite foods inside of them. Twilight placed the bowls down as they excitedly wagged their tails in front of their food. Mainly Spike, Zorua only did a few. "Oh boy!" Spike exclaimed, immediately chowing down on the bowl of dog food without hesitation. Zorua showed the opposite, choosing to be gentle and slow with her consumption. "You too, Rapidash." And of course, Twilight's second Pokemon couldn't be ignored. Her Alpha Rapidash. Although, Rapidash was still on less-than-stellar terms with Twilight, choosing not to engage with her that much if not at all. Twilight brought out a bigger bowl with bigger food just for her. She scrunched her face upon showing up at the back of her home where Rapidash lay. For a Rapidash, this Rapidash was slightly lazy. At least, according to Twilight. Twilight felt nervous approaching Rapidash. Not that she was afraid of her, but because their interactions have been so lacklustre with not much love being put behind it. "Uh...I made sure to know what your favourite food was." Twilight stood in front of the Fire Horse Pokemon, holding the bowl. "Professor Oak helped with that. So go on. Eat up." "..." Rapidash gazed at the food and then up at Twilight. Twilight gave a sweet grin to the Fire Horse Pokemon, hoping that she would accept it and Twilight's kindness. "Please?" Twilight pleaded with a weak tone in her voice. Instead of accepting Twilight's plea and the charity she showed the Fire Horse Pokemon, she simply yawned, turning her head. "Rapidash..." "Come on..." A disappointed and upset Twilight uttered. "What's it gonna take to bond with you?" The relationship between these two was slow but it barely felt as if they were getting anywhere. Unable to connect with Alpha Rapidash today, Twilight just placed the bowl down, walking back inside. Once she left, Rapidash opened one eye before then looking at the bowl of food placed down. Rapidash then started eating from the bowl, but not within Twilight's view. "That's another failure..." Twilight sighed, sitting on the couch whilst her Pokemon snacked away. "I don't get what I'm doing wrong..." "Ah, I'm sure she'll come around soon," said Spike with his mouth full. "She seems to like Zorua and me too." "Maybe it's because I'm a human then...Wish there was an easier way. Ash will know what to do maybe..." Twilight pondered before having herself shift to a neutral mood. "I shouldn't worry about it right now. I've got something else to do. Catching the rest of the Alpha Pokemon before Hunter J. I just hope I'm not too late and she hasn't gotten too many." "Where are we going this time? Please be somewhere nice." Zorua pleaded. "Professor Oak sent me some new information about possible Alpha Pokemon sightings. This time, there's an Alpha Snorlax out there." She held out her phone. The second Alpha Pokemon she would try to catch was a Pokemon that she was familiar with since Ash had one. Snorlax. She thought back to the conversation between her and Professor Oak concerning the Sleeping Pokemon. Approximately yesterday. "Reports of an unnaturally large Snorlax have been found. It'll be a familiar place to you and close-by. The Unova Region, as always. Sounds to me like you've got your first Alpha assignment." "And it's a Pokemon I know! Is Ash going to help?" "Ash is still in the Holon Region since yesterday. Unlikely he'll be back today but perhaps tomorrow. Or not. Either way, your friends over in your world agreed to help, didn't they? That's good enough. But don't underestimate Snorlax. Same species or not, Alpha Pokemon have different dispositions, so be careful." "He's right. Even if it's a Snorlax, Alpha Pokemon were known for being highly aggressive in the past, weren't they? We'll have to approach this with caution. But I've got a powerful Alpha Pokemon of my own to help me through that." Twilight smiled with confidence, believing she could do this. If Rapidash would listen to her. Coming along with her would be some of her friends. Speaking of which, with a knock on the door, Twilight opened it to find that Sunset Shimmer and PInkie Pie had shown up. "Great. You're here. But um...where's everyone else?" Twilight searched for the rest of her friends. It was just these two. "They're busy." Sunset shrugged as that was the best answer she could give. "But we aren't. So it's Unova, right?" "Heard great things from that place. I can't wait!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, thrilled to visit another world. "And I get to go to a world where there are a lot more Pokemon. So that's a bonus!" "Right. I'm kind of familiar with it. Glad it's not any other region or else I'd be lost..." She laughed nervously. "There's this Snorlax over at a place called Lostlorn Forest. That's the Alpha we can try catching." "If you get lost, have no fear. You're looking at an experienced Pokemon Trainer right here and a Gym Leader too. Plus, you've got Alpha Rapidash to help out, don't you?" "Yeah but...She's still not listening to me." Twilight sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong...I thought she sorta liked me back at Mt Molteau with everything that happened." "Pokemon are hard to understand, but you'll get there eventually. If I know anything, it's that you're definitely as skilled as my world's Twilight." Sunset Shimmer showed her faith in Twilight, comparing her to Equestria's Twilight. "Gee thanks..." Twilight admired that compliment, even if progress Rapidash was painfully slow. Once that was all out of the way, they were ready to depart for Unova. Twilight returned Alpha Rapidash as having a Pokemon this powerful would be helpful, despite listening issues. Spike and Zorua hopped into Twilight's bag, making themselves comfortable as always. And now they were off. Unova Region. Lostlorn Forest. Afternoon. Lostlorn Forest. A bewildering forest that was always known as a place where people got lost for no reason. The closest location to this forest was Nimbasa City. The third-largest city in the Pokemon World. And upon reaching here, instead of finding a beautiful sight with frolicking Pokemon, the three of them discovered an unpleasant and almost haunting one. "W-What happened here?!" Twilight gasped at this shocking sight. For starters, the trees in this forest had been ravaged. Juices from berries that once hung from the trees had been spilt as the acre of trees had also been broken or torn apart, making this charming forest seem crooked. And the worst of it were the Pokemon. A group of Swadloon, Petilil and Tranquill all looked the same. Not in their appearances, but the way they felt. A Female Tranquill stood on one of the broken trees, trying to build a nest there. However, she rocked her head back and forth while also having lowered eyes, feeling off. Tranquill's stomach also started growling as she was unable to build her nest properly. "Tranquill..." She looked at her stomach, clearly hungry. Or rather heavily starving. The same went for Swadloon and Petilil. Petilil laid their backs on the ground, desiring food at this very instance. "This is worse than we thought! Did Snorlax do this?!" Sunset Shimmer went over to one of the Petilil that was starving. Without any usual berries in the trees, these Pokemon could not get their daily fill of food. Neither could any of them build homes as seen by Tranquill's failure to find a place to build her nest. Sunset Shimmer stopped by one of the Petilil, holding the Grass-Type up. "Petilil..." "Are they sick?" Twilight wondered. "They're not sick!" Pinkie gasped, recognizing their current emotions and what they truly wanted. "They're starving! Move aside!" Seeing that they were hungry, Pinkie Pie's natural instincts kicked in as she rushed over to the hungry Pokemon. Pinkie Pie couldn't stand to see Pokemon that were starving at all. What started as a seemingly exciting trip to Unova Region's Lostlorn Forest, turned into a scenario where there starving Pokemon. Luckily, Pinkie Pie's backpack had food on the ready. As to be expected. She kneeled in front of the Pokemon pulling out some ready-made pastries that were placed inside boxes. The Pokemon groaned as they noticed Pinkie dropping the box. "Swad...?" "Here. Eat up." Not wasting any time, Pinkie Pie held up a cupcake, placing it near one of the Swadloon. "Swadloon..." One of the Swadloon opened its mouth, taking a single bite from the frosted treat. One bite and Swadloon's dreary appearance had soon wilted away. A smile met with its face as that cupcake certainly hit the spot. And it also started filling it up... "Swad." Pinkie then shared the rest of the cupcakes with the other Swadloon and the Petilil, of course. She made sure not to forget about Tranquill either. "Plenty left to go for all of you." "T-Tranquill." Tranquill fluttered over with a weak wingbeat, landing in front of the cupcakes. She quickly grabbed one of them with her beak whilst the Petilil, who could barely get up, were given the cupcakes physically by Pinkie's own hands. Once everyone got their fill, their faces of distraught and starvation were being taken away. Pinkie Pie wasted no time explaining the problems or even looking over the surrounding area. She simply saw Pokemon that were hungry and delivered. And she delivered with grace. The Pokemon could feel themselves being re-energized. The first Swadloon that had been fed felt wonderful as it jumped with joy. "Swad! Swadloon!" For a Pokemon that is commonly seen having a frown on its face, making one smile is always a feat in its own right. "Petil! Petilil!" Petilil recovered faster than most. Their hunger levels while low, could be replenished quicker than most. Perhaps it was the tiny body that they had. Either way, they were happy to have food in their stomachs as they jumped for joy. "Tranquill." Tranquill was starting to feel it too. She was happy to eat something. This would help with her nest without any focus being lost. "There! You're all feeling better now, aren't you?" Pinkie Pie chuckled, happy to see them all so satisfied. "Well...that ended as fast as we saw it, huh?" Sunset Shimmer stood there, a bit dazed. "But all of this destruction that's been left behind. Do you think it was Snorlax?" "Snorlax is already a pretty big Pokemon. And a strong one too. I can only imagine what an Alpha Snorlax would be capable of so all this destruction could be from it. But if that's the case then..." Twilight Sparkle paused her words before she and Sunset Shimmer looked at each other with the same conclusion. "There's more!" More Pokemon that were starving to be exact. The destruction of trees couldn't just be seen around this area. It extended past it. Snorlax, while lazy, would need to eat food from various spots instead of staying at one. They had taken a gander and a small venture past this part of the forest to find out that it was indeed true. There were more Pokemon starving. All had the same feeling and were stuck with zero food. Any food from the trees had been wiped away. "More?!" Pinkie Pie gasped before looking in her bag. She had some food left that were her personal favourites, but with the revelation of there being more starving Pokemon, those resources could be drained away. "Aw...I don't know if there'll be enough for me to give out if this forest's super big." "Well...I've got some of my food that's for Zorua in this bag." Twilight had Pokemon Food with her as to be expected since she owned Pokemon. "I could-" "Mm-mm!" But rejecting it was Zorua. Her head popped out of the bag as she rapidly shook it, refusing to have Twilight use the food inside. "Zorua?" She turned to her partner who kept shaking her head. "You don't want me to give it to them?" "Mm-mm. That's my food!" "Zorua. That's a bit selfish, don't you think? They're hungry." Twilight said, disappointed in Zorua's choice. Zorua hid her head back in the bag, still wanting her food for herself. "I don't trust other Pokemon..." "But you trust Pikachu and Rapidash, don't you?" She placed the bag down. "Why n-" Twilight then looked at Zorua in the eyes, understanding her reason for rejecting food to the rest of the Pokemon. It was all a matter of her past and how she became a Hisuian Zorua. "Oh. I get it now. Zorua, I understand why." "So you won't take it?" "I get what you mean but...I can't ignore the other Pokemon when they need help. My time at Professor Oak's lab has shown me that. And a lot of Ash's influence too." "Aw...Okay..." A disappointed Zorua lowered her head. She understood Twilight's decision and Twilight understood her decision. But, overall, Twilight's decision came out victorious. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had already gotten out some of the food that she had left in her bag, giving it to the starving Pokemon. Among the same Pokemon from before were hungry along with newer ones such as Venpiede and Cottonee. The Pokemon flocked to the food the moment they got a whiff of the scent that came from them. Sunset Shimmer wanted to make sure she knew how bad the situation was. It was already bad enough but the destruction and its scale could be larger. To figure it out, she had sent her Fletchinder out into the fray. "Fletchinder. Can you take a view of the entire forest? I need to know how bad the destruction is." "Fletchinder!" Fletchinder was on it, ascending to the skies to get a full view of the forest. While Sunset Shimmer can't speak Pokemon, all she'll need to do is listen to the severity in Fletchinder's cries to know the scope of things. "I'd better tell Professor Oak." Twilight had something else in mind. She took out her newly obtained Rotomphone which went well with her normal phone. They both shared a nice pink colouring as she quickly contacted Professor Oak. Pinkie did a quick run through her bag, seeing that few pastries were remaining. On the bright side, she managed to make a lot of Pokemon happy by giving them what they were lacking so much. This covered Pokemon also living in small bodies of water such as the Basuclin mainly. "Yes, Twilight? Did you find that Alpha Snorlax?" Professor Oak's voice came through. "Uh, no but...I think we might've found its progress. Look." She then showed Oak the massive trail of destruction that had demolished the trees and the absence of food. Some Pokemon still hadn't received food yet as Oak got a good look at the scene. "We think it might be Alpha Snorlax. I mean, it's a hungry Pokemon but..." "Hmm. Destroyed trees with berry juice leaking everywhere. I see some starving Pokemon in the mix as well." "That's Pinkie Pie's doing. It's a good thing she brings food with her a lot." "Not enough!" Pinkie exclaimed, startling Twilight. "I should've brought more if I knew it was gonna be this serious!" "What do you think, Professor Oak. Was it Snorlax or something else?" Twilight asked. "You're on the right note, Twilight Sparkle. They do say that in the past, the Snorlax then were different from what they are now. Even excluding an Alpha." "How different?" Sunset Shimmer leaned in. "Many years ago, the Snorlax species was described as a glutton that appears in villages without warning and devours the entirety of their rice granaries. Such occurrences have long been counted among the gravest of disasters." "Huh?!" It was graver than they thought. Hearing that and seeing this made them realize that this was a result of the old Snorlax ways. The three of them were almost left speechless but at least they had total confirmation about who could've done this. "And since Alpha Pokemon are appearing in the present day, it's most likely that Snorlax is just undergoing the actions of the past. Quite terrifying. But not as dangerous since the food resources today is larger than ever." Oak explained further. "But for a forest, not so much." "Fletchin! Fletchinder!" Fletchinder had returned after getting a good view of Lostlorn Forest. He immediately flapped his wings aggressively with his tone giving off a good indication of how bad things were. "It's incredibly bad, right? The destruction?" Sunset Shimmer leaned forward. "Fletch!" "This is bad! Really bad!" Twilight held her hair. "We might've been too late! Who knows how far it's gotten by now?!" "And I'm running low on food right here!" Pinkie Pie shook her bag in front of Twilight and the phone. "Snorlax can't usually get too far unless something else grabs its attention." Out of everyone in this conversation, Professor Oak remained calm. "But if it did then..." "Hm?" Zorua's head popped out of the bag. Her nose picked up on something. Something tasty. However, it wasn't the food that Pinkie Pie brought along or the food inside of Twilight's bag. Something else was in the air. "Something smells good..." "Well, that's just my food that-" Pinkie was ready to bring it up herself. However, she soon picked up on the scent too. As if she had similar reactive instincts to a Pokemon. "Oooh, something does smell good..." Loving this new scent that had surfaced, Pinkie Pie moved her head in the direction it was coming. North, to be exact. "Ooh! Maybe that's something new for the Pokemon!" Seeing some hope, or rather smelling it, Pinkie Pie rushed to the direction the scent was coming from. If there is some food that she hasn't seen yet, now would be a good time to grab it and give it to the Pokemon. "Oh! Wait up!" Sunset Shimmer followed soon after, returning her Pokemon. Twilight adjusted the phone, making sure that Professor Oak would get a good view of everything else. And the further they went, the more destruction they had witnessed. It just seemed to get worse and worse as it went on. But amidst this destruction was something delicious nearby. And they soon found the source of it. Stopping in their tracks, they found that this delicious scent didn't come from a tree that managed to keep some of the berries intact or anything related to that. Instead, it came from someone as there was a fancy car almost identical to a limousine nearby. It was a member of the Kalos Elite 4. Siebold. Much like what Pinkie Pie was doing, Siebold could be seen giving food to the starving Pokemon, tending to them. He soon noticed the arrival of the three of them, standing up. "Hm? Who are you three?" He asked. "Oh, sorry. We just came here because we smelled something good." Pinkie said. "Mostly me and Zorua. Are you feeding the Pokemon too?" "I certainly am. Poor things." Siebold turned to a Petilil, patting it on the head as it was currently eating food that would be found in a luxurious restaurant. Which made sense since Siebold did own one. Head chef and everything. "Petilil." "Neat!" Pinkie Pie didn't hesitate to approach him, appearing next to the Kalos Elite 4 Member in a flash. "So was I! But uh...I'm kinda low." She showed the bag to Siebold and how low on food she was. "Bummer." "You're a fast one..." Siebold was a bit taken aback by Pinkie Pie's approach. "But feeding the Pokemon as well, that's nice of you. And those two?" "Oh! I've got food to go around already." Twilight uttered. "Some in my bag right about now." "Hm? Hang on a minute." Just as the phone was still being faced to show the forest, Professor Oak took notice of Siebold. He recognized that face anywhere. "Ah. Siebold of the Kalos Elite 4. What a nice encounter." "Elite 4?" said Twilight and Pinkie Pie in unison, unware of the Elite 4 of any region or even the concept of them. "Elite 4?!" Sunset's words were far more elevated. She knew about the Elite after learning about the Pokemon League. And to her, the Elite 4 were Trainers of high prestige. "Oh! Um! Sorry, sir!" Believing that she had to show high levels of respect, Sunset Shimmer bowed her head, becoming formal in an instant. "We didn't know that you were-" "You don't have to be formal." But Siebold promptly stopped her. "I'm out of natural region anyway for anyone to know me. Even though they do." "R-Right...Right." Sunset Shimmer cleared her throat, acting normal. "What are you doing here then? I guess it's for the same reason as us? The Alpha Snorlax?" "Alpha Snorlax? It's a Snorlax, but I didn't know that's what you called it. Then, you're right. I showed up to this forest to feed the Pokemon that were starving here. All because of Snorlax and its destruction that it's made so far." "How bad is it? Because we've already seen what it's done here." Twilight questioned. "This forest is child's play. It's been at it for days, attacking other locations for food. Mainly restaurants as they hold some favourites that any Pokemon would enjoy. I've been tracking Snorlax down, trying to stop its food rampage. So far, it's led me here." "So it's not just the forest..." Sunset Shimmer's jaw dropped. It was worse than she thought along with her friends. Restaurants were being involved. "Siebold owns a restaurant of his own. I assume that Snorlax has attacked yours as well and that's why you're after it?" Professor Oak asked, still on the call. "Not yet. But it's only a matter of time before it finds mine and has a field day with it. I'm here for it after I learned about its actions. And seeing these Pokemon starve with all of their food resources and intakes being robbed from them wasn't something I couldn't ignore. My butler is back at my restaurant taking care of it while I handle things elsewhere around the world." "Ditto! Hows' about we work together then!" Pinkie held her hand out. "You three?" Siebold raised an eyebrow. "Did you know about this Snorlax's destructive capabilities before you started on this case?" "Well...we know it's an Alpha. And Snorlax is already a big and powerful Pokemon so an Alpha Snorlax could be something else." Twilight replied. "All this destruction speaks for itself." "I'd recommend letting them help." Professor Oak leaned on the side of them working together. "Twilight here is my trusted assistant who I tasked with finding Alpha Snorlax. She has a goal to catch all the Alpha Pokemon that have been showing up, you know." "Hmm...If it's a task from a Pokemon Professor then sure." Siebold, reluctant to have them be involved with this scenario that could worsen to a global scale, decided to let them help. "Your names?" "Twilight Sparkle." They introduced themselves one by one. "Sunset Shimmer. At your service, sir." She introduced before taking away the formalities. "Sorry. Siebold." "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" And Pinkie Pie showed more exuberance than the two of them when introducing herself. "Unique names," Siebold smirked. "Well then, we share a common goal. But it's either catching or defeating that Alpha Snorlax. Either one can work out for everyone. Tracking down here revealed that Lostlorn was its most recent location. But there's not a sign of it here anywhere else." "Then where is it now?" Twilight asked. "The closest location to Lostlorn Forest is Nimbasa City. Fitting since it's such a populous location with some luxurious food. Snorlax wouldn't waste time heading there." "Ooh. Nimbasa also has a nice food resort, doesn't it? All the more reason for Snorlax to grab a bite, wouldn't you say?" Oak chuckled. "Aren't you the least bit worried..." Twilight was shocked at how relaxed Professor Oak was especially after bringing up the severity of the old Snorlax actions. "Hop in." Siebold then opened his limousine, allowing the three of them to enter it freely. "The Nimbasa Food Resort will be Snorlax's next mark if we don't hurry." The trio didn't waste time. Plus, the car looked enticing enough for them to enter immediately. Once inside, they were treated with a luxurious appearance. A nice aquamarine colour tint could be found that lit up the inside. Long sofas were seen that were made for them to sit on. Pinkie Pie hopped onto the sofas, immediately sinking into them once she had the chance. "Oh yeah..." She was clearly relaxed the moment she made contact. This felt like bliss and it only took a few seconds for it to occur. Siebold didn't mind either despite the contrast between him and Pinkie. Usually, a butler would here to drive these, but with Siebold's butler at the restaurant, he was at the wheel this time as the trio made themselves comfortable. All the Pokemon here had been tended too, getting their fill. Now it was just the mission to reach Nimbasa Food Resort before Snorlax does. Siebold started the car, kicking it into high gear as it was off. Alpha Snorlax was truly a terrifying force. So far, the two Alpha Pokemon that Twilight and now her friends have heard about were intimidating. Soon, Snorlax could cause worldwide famine if not stopped and with its superior size and strength over other Snorlax, that could happen if something was not done as the journey continues. Chapter 705 End.