The Human World. Twilight's Home. Late Afternoon.
The arrival of Red, Ethan, Brendan and Hilbert was a surprising one. The Infinity Gateway is what led to them and thanks to what they've experienced along with Pheromosa, further knowledge on this gateway had been shared with them. For the time being, these four trainers, along with Ash and Equestria's Rarity, would kill some time here, not too focused on any gateways or anything of the sort. Pikachu, Spike and Pyroar were playing around with the rest of the Pokemon here. Mainly Sci-Twi's Alpha Pokemon who were roaming her home. This world's equivalent of the Cutie Mark Crusaders along with Equestria's Sweetie Belle would mess around with the Pokemon as well.
"So, you come from your own world that's not the one on the opposite side? Weird." The Human World's Sunset Shimmer, also known as Fiery, added.
"..." Red nodded in confirmation.
"And you don't talk much, do you?" Fiery sighed. "What's up with that?"
"Red's not much of a talker, sorry. But trust me. He's a great battler." Ethan patted Red on the back, who did not move from this interaction, staying as solid as a wall.
"Okay then, but why does he look like Ash?" Fiery added more questions. "Come to think of it, you all almost look like. It's in your eyes though..."
"All of us?" Ethan narrowed his eyes before looking over at Red, Ash, Hilbert and Brendan to see these similarities. By taking a close look at them, he could definitely see that something was there. "Hmm..."
"She has a point, you know." Brendan chimed. "Hilbert's classified as Ash's counterpart, remember? I'm guessing if we were up there in that tower, we would've been told the same thing."
"I'm sorry, are you all saying you're counterparts of each other or something?" Sunset replied, hoping she was getting that right.
"That's right!" Hilbert exclaimed. "For a while, I thought it was just me and Ash, but Brendan, being the genius he is, found out more.
"I did. It's only when Hilbert brought it up that I had to know about it. But actually, someone's pointed it out before. That we all look alike in some ways." Brendan continued before opening his bag. "I went over to Mossdeep City and they found something pretty interesting. Here."
Brendan would lay down a sheet that as given to him by the Researchers of Mossdeep. On that sheet, images of Ash and the others were shown in the form of silhouettes. Ash, Red, Ethan, Brendan and Hilbert were all recognizable but there were 5 more silhouettes that Ash and the others did not recognize.
"See. All 9 of us. They found this out just a few days after your worlds united." Brendan pointed at the sheet. "I'm not sure why it's after that day, but it happened. My guess is that this wasn't the case until Jirachi put everything together. We were just ourselves until then."
"But Jirachi's wish didn't affect your world like it did ours," said Twilight. "Are you saying that you weren't counterparts before and Jirachi's behind this?"
"Maybe. That's what Brendan figured out." Ethan wasn't sure what the correct answer would be for this. "But hey. It's pretty cool, right? It's like we're all one in the same. And right now, it's a room of counterparts. Almost."
"The thing is...we're not sure if each of us are counterparts to each other or we're counterparts to one person. It's strange though. We were all born in different places though..."
"Ash. Zecora shared something similar to that. It was about someone named Prisma. Do you think it has something to do with you, Red and the others?" Twilight brought up Zecora's message and of course, another counterpart by the name of Twilight Moonlight. Today was a Counterpart Heavy day it seemed.
"Oh yeah. Twilight Moonlight's out to get me. Not sure if this connects to that or something." Ash scratched his hair after taking his hat off. "All this counterpart stuff's getting out of hand."
"I'll say. Kinda hard to keep up with too." Applejack took her hat off as well as mostly everyone else found this rather mind-melding.
"It is. But don't think about it too much. Leave that to me." Brendan pointed at himself. "If you're ever lost on something, you can ask me. Twilight. Uh...Both Twilights. I can count on you with this too. You're smarter than me, that's for sure."
"I've already been focused on Rift Work for a while now. I mean, I have a student who's a RIft Pony. You don't have to worry about a thing, Brendan." Twilight chuckled gleefully.
"Plus, if there's anything about Pokemon, that's where we come in. I don't know about this whole counterpart thing but Pokemon's my speciality. How caught up are you all?" Ethan asked.
"Umm..." The girls collectively uttered without giving a proper answer immediately. It has been 4 years since their world has been exposed to Pokemon. The same as Equestria. However, there was one stark difference between the two. Equestria was backed up by characters such as Ash, Hollow, BigTime Ben, Dawn and more to help them get up to speed with these Strange and Wonderful Creatures.
This world unfortunately did not have anyone like that on the very first day. As such, they were rather lost and stayed away from the Pokemon for the most part. They've only been around a few. And alas, Ash doesn't exactly come by this world as much as he does for Equestria. The only ones who had something knowledgeable were Sci-Twi and Sunset Shimmer.
"Yeesh. It's that bad, huh?" Ethan already figured it out just from their facial expressions and lack of an answer. Red shook his head, also reading their expressions. "Ah, it's fine. You have us here. Sure it's late but we can teach you what you know."
"That's right. Whether it's Pokemon Battles, raising them, feeding them or even anything beyond just battling alongside with them." Brendan added. "Right, Hilbert?"
"Oooh! These are Alpha Pokemon?!" Meanwhile, Hilbert was too busy on Twilight's Alpha Pokemon. The absolute size of these Pokemon was outstanding to them as they were larger than their standard variants. One can only imagine what they would look like Dynamaxed. "Look at the size of these fellas." Hilbert would walk up to Alpha Rapidash, admiring the scale of such a Pokemon. "Sci-Twi. You're lucky to have these juggernauts with you. I wish I knew about Alpha Pokemon before."
"Anyway...Just let us know what you wanna know." Ethan offered up. "But the best way is to experience it all."
"Yeah! I can make you all my proteges!" Hilbert pointed at himself. "Who wants to get started!?"
"Well, I actually do need the help so..." Rainbow Dash admitted. She was the only one that had Pokemon with her. Specifically Staraptor and Pangoro.
"Great!" Hilbert slid over to Rainbow Dash. "It'll be just like my world with you as my protege. What do you say?"
"Could you knock it off with that protege thing? I mean, you're gonna teach but..."
"Hey, Red. Got something to teach us?" Red was approached by Sunset Shimmer. He would then stand up, staying silent without an answer. At least, an audible one. He would simply look back at them while walking off, essentially telling them to follow him.
"Follow you? Alright then." Sunset understood his response, following Red outside of Twilight's home.
"I'll take you then, pal. You're the smart one, right?" Applejack went up to Brendan, trusting in his intellect due to what she's heard from him.
"Well, yeah. But I'm not like a super genius or something like that." Brendan humbly admitted. He was smart but not that smart. "Things just come to me naturally, I guess. That's how I see it anyway. So, sorry if I end up throwing a lot at you."
"Humble, are we?" Applejack smirked, nudging the Hoenn Trainer. "Don't worry about it. I think I'll do fine keeping up with whatever you know. Think I can't?"
"Not really. I mean, if you're anything like your Equestrian counterpart, you're a hard worker, right? You and your Sceptile. Uh, her Sceptile, I mean."
"I might be like her. Ain't ever met her though. By the way, what's a Sceptile?" She asked before leaving the room with Brendan, ready to learn with him.
"I'm the perfect teacher for you. Who better to teach you than yourself?" Equestria's Rarity said to her Human Counterpart, complimenting her and herself.
"Oh, you!" This world's Rarity giggled after that flatter. These two certainly prop themselves up as much as possible.
"I'm glad we're not like that," Sci-Twi added, preferring the rather standard friendship she and Twilight had despite being the same.
"Ah, that's just Rarity. As for me, I want to know more about this." Twilight would pick up the sheet that Brendan left behind, focusing on these counterparts. Now that it was laid out there for everyone to see, the Princess of Friendship had to figure this out. After all, Ash's life was being threatened by another counterpart of hers and it all came back to a mysterious individual by the name of Prisma.
"Okay, Red. What did you wanna teach me?" Sunset Shimmer spoke to Red as they were just outside of Twilight's home. "I'm a Fire-Type Gym Leader back at Equestria. But I don't know much since I only go back and forth between worlds sometimes."
"..." Red would respond by holding out a Poke Ball, suddenly summoning his Charizard without wasting any time.
"Charizard!" Upon arriving, Charizard would unleash a burst of flames from his mouth that shot into the air, startling Sunset Shimmer. Fitting that he brought a Fire-Type out against the Fire-Type Specialist.
"S-So soon?!" Sunset Shimmer pulled back as she could see Red eyeing her down with intensity. Red was basically encouraging her to send her own Pokemon out, bouncing the Poke Ball in his hand. "Alright then." Sunset understood, throwing one Poke Ball out.
"Braixen!" Out of it came Braixen, who was considered her best Pokemon by far.
"Here she is! Isn't she so cute and pretty?" Sunset kneeled to pat Braixen on the head. Braixen put on a proud smile with that compliment, blushing as well.
"..." Red was not moved by this at all. Instead, his next course of action involved him pointing directly at Braixen. Braixen's eyes shrunk after Red focused on her, prompting Charizard to take action.
"Zard!" Charizard stomped on the ground, causing a slight tremor that nearly knocked over the Fox Pokemon.
"B-Brai! Braixen!"
"Okay, I get it! You wanna battle!" Sunset Shimmer nearly fell over too. She figured out what Red was trying to tell her. Since she was a Fire-Type Specialist, taking care of a Gym, Red would train her. Despite having only one Fire-Type in his team and as his ace Pokemon, he was considered a Charizard Master. "But you'll be surprised with what Braixen and I can do. Right, Braixen?!"
"Braixen!"
"..." Red would be the judge of that. From the look in his eyes, he wouldn't make this easy for her. He never makes things easy at all or even hints at it.
"Go, Braixen! Psybeam!"
"Brai...Xen!" Braixen would start things off, holding her wand out. By gathering Psychic energy into her wand, she would release a powerful pink beam that tore through the grass here.
"Rrr!" However, that didn't matter as Charizard smacked the Psybeam out of the way with his claws. The beam went flying, hitting the ground elsewhere. Sunset and Braixen's jaws dropped as Red hadn't even said a word. The way he battles was silent, making him hard to predict.
"Y-You didn't even say anything though? Is this like a Zecora thing?" Sunset Shimmer stammered before shaking her head. She then noticed how Red did not go on the offensive at all. "A-Alright then. Psybeam, again!"
"Xen!" Braixen would unleash another Psybeam, this time, leaping into the air to get things started. She channelled more of the Psychic power hiding within her into the wand, unleashing repeated, Psychic Beams.
"Zard!" Charizard would then swing his tail, knocking away the first beam while clawing away at the second one when making a full 180 degrees turn. He would repeatedly do this, deflecting all of the Psybeams that came his way.
"Seriously?!" Fine then! Use Fire Spin!"
"Braixen!" While still in the air, Braixen would then unleash a turbulent wave of flames. Charizard would look these flames in the eyes as he was soon engulfed in them. Sunset pumped her fist, finally getting a hit in and it didn't take too long as the flames would spin around Charizard's body.
"Nice hit, Braixen!"
"Charizard!" However, that was quickly dismantled as Charizard blew the flames away by roaring and spreading his wings out. The pressure from this reached Braixen, knocking her out of the sky and ending her Fire Spin. That attack did nothing as the Fox Pokemon landed flat on her face.
"B-Braix?" Braxien got back up, a bit bewildered after that knockdown. How could he knock her down by simply flexing his wings and roaring? Never before had she felt such power.
"Y-You're kidding, right?" Sunset Shimmer was flabbergasted. "He's not even phased."
"Rrr!" Charizard growled at them, still standing on the defensive. And it was definitely working out for him. He hasn't even swung at them yet and he was gaining the advantage.
"Still not gonna say anything? Or even attack?" Sunset Shimmer narrowed her eyes at Red who just stayed silent. This was starting to fire her up which would also apply to Braixen. "You'll be sorry if you keep ignoring me like this! Go, Braixen!"
"Braixen!" Braixen would continue her attack as Sunset Shimmer's form of training was certainly going to be a hard one considering who she was going up against. Some might say she was unlucky to go up against Red. And yet, that didn't stop her from trying as the Fox Pokemon would throw as many of her attacks as she could at Charizard in different ways, trying to push through and deal some considerable damage.
"What kind of training is this...?" Meanwhile, Ethan found himself involved with Rarity's actions along with Ash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Equestria's Rarity had given them all clothes that were inspired by certain Pokemon. Suits and dresses in the style of Pokemon were given to them as all Rarity had to do was use the tools she had in her bag to whip these up.
These suits all had unique textures to resemble the Pokemon. Ethan had a Tyranitar suit which had popped-up edges on the side as well as the end of the jacket being the tail of Tyranitar, touching the ground. Ash's suit was an Empoleon-styled one. The sleeves of his suit matched that of Empoleon's bladed flippers as well as the jacket, making him seem like an emperor.
Fluttershy had on a Gardevoir dress which was self-explanatory. Gardevoir always looks like it has a dress on so there wasn't much stylization there. But Pinkie Pie's dress was heavily stylized as Rarity knew what she wanted. As such, Pinkie Pie had a Mega Steelix dress on and it was certainly something, taking the massive crystal in Steelix's chest and turning it into shoulder pads was a smart move from Rarity. Stones were in the centre of the dress much like the Mege Evolution along wiht her knees and arms, making her glisten more than anyone else.
"You all look wonderful!" Rarity applauded as her Human Counterpart helped out. This was her version of training and being a Pokemon Teacher. "And so do we!"
Of course, she and her Human Counterpart dressed up as well. Equestria's Rarity wore a Milotic, perfectly getting the scales down to a T. She even styled her hair, turning it into a ponytail to match Milotic's head. This world's Rarity had the dress of a Gothitelle, which was just as straightforward as Gardevoir. The Pokemon already looked like it was wearing a dress and she certainly looked good in a gothic style.
"I kinda dig it actually." Ash spun around, making his cape flow. He wasn't always big on suits but he could get behind this one with the coolness factor that it brought.
"This is only the start of it, darling. Back in my world, these are sometimes used for Pokemon Contests and other things. You can only imagine what kind of wonderful creations come from this." Rarity said to her Human Counterpart.
"Oooh...Amazing!" She was amazed by what she was hearing. Her Equestrian Counterpart was promising great things and she was already delivering.
"This is my way of training." Rarity flipped her hair. "I mean, a battle is always exciting and thrilling, but I prefer this. And if any of you are interested in Pokemon Contests, they're free to join. But if you're not willing to turn into a pony, then the regions of the world will do it for you."
Meanwhile, Twilight and Sci-Twi were working together, trying to figure out the sheet of counterparts that Brendan brought along. They skipped out on training just for this. It was hard to figure this out since there wasn't much to go off with this sheet. Only the fact that there were 9 counterparts in total.
"Still nothing?" Sci-Twi asked.
"No." Twilight sighed. "I'm just looking at images at this point. The only way I can learn more is if something important happens. Because right now, they're not doing anything and I'm not sure where the others currently are."
"What about us? We're counterparts so why don't we just base each other on them? Maybe we can find something?" Sci-Twi suggested. "Or is that not the same?"
"I don't think so. Brendan said that they weren't counterparts before while we've always been counterparts from the day we were born. Something happened that made them all related in some way." Twilight pondered for a moment. "It was done right after Jirachi made that wish and the gateways across the world also vanished among other things that changed our world. If I had to guess, it's probably something Rift Related."
"The Rift again?" Spike added. "What did it do this time?"
"The Rift thought about Jirachi in the beginning, locking them all up in another dimension so that no one could reach them. Well, we ended up reaching them and Ash made that wish. So it might have something to do with the Rift. We'll do our best to figure it out and I think the best pony to ask is Twilight Moonlight. She hasn't shown up as much."
"Isn't she out to get Ash though?" said Sci-Twi with a worrying tone. "Should we be asking her?"
"Don't worry. I know how to deal with her when she gets back. She's me. I mean, us. Oh, all this talk about counterparts is tiring, isn't it?" Twilight laughed as she has said counterparts multiple times in one day now and it was thanks to the arrival of Red, Ethan, Brendan and Hilbert. "The best way to continue learning about this is to head back home. It's getting late and I'm worried what Daisy, Paradise and those Baby Despair Plants might up to. Come on, Spike."
"Oh, we're leaving now?" Ash said, overhearing Twilight. "I guess it is pretty late now. Everyone should be done with whatever they're doing now."
"Mmm! This is good stuff!" Entering the room after being given an apple pie was Brendan. He was snacking down on the pie that was given to him by Applejack who left the house just to prepare this for him. His Sceptile would also indulge in this Apple Delicacy, feeling their stomachs melt. "You're great, AJ!"
"Sceptile!"
"I thought you two were training? What kind of training is this?" Ethan asked after seeing Brendan and Sceptile devour the pies.
"Well, about that...I kinda got hungry." Brendan grinned, admitting that he didn't have the strength to train Applejack. "I forgot to eat when we came here so I was looking for something to snack on. Applejack had something and it's sooooo good! Have you guys tried this?!"
"Back at Equestria, yeah. And here too. They taste the same and just as great." Ash confirmed.
"Aw, shucks. It ain't all that." Applejack felt truly flattered by the compliments she received for her apple pies.
"Mind teaching me how to make some of these, Applejack? I get around a lot so I'm always looking for something to eat." Surprisingly, Brendan was the one who wanted to learn from Applejack instead of teaching her. Everyone received their own lessons in some way. For the most part, they were gentle lessons as opposed to what was happening outside.
"Hah...Hah...." Sunset Shimmer was on her knees, panting repeatedly. She was exhausted, lowering her head as Braixen was currently lying on her back, also breathing in and out, holding her wand up. This whole time, they've been attacking Charizard to no avail. Everything Braixen did failed miserably as none of her attacks left an impact against the Flame Pokemon. "You're joking...I couldn't do anything?"
"Braix...Braixen..." It was undeniable that they both lost miserably. And Charizard barely did anything but defend himself. All he did was tire them out and it worked out perfectly.
"Oh, well. At least Red is insanely strong so...this loss isn't so bad. But it still sucks that I couldn't do anything." Sunset gripped the grass out of irritation. Walking up to her was none other than Red, who finally did something. Sunset looked up to see the Trainer from Kanto stand before her with his intimidating gaze. "W-What?" From this angle, Red was incredibly menacing as a shadow was cast over his eyes. Sunset felt rather uneasy with how he stood over her.
"..." But she had nothing to worry about. All Red did was offer a hand up. He put on a smile that brought a comforting aura to him as opposed to the serious one he usually carries. Sunset took his hand before being helped up. She was truly exhausted, needing to rest her arm on Red's shoulders while he assisted her. Charizard would do the same, picking up Braixen by the leg and placing her on his back.
"Please tell me I did well at least. How long did that even go on for?" Sunset Shimmer sighed as Red held one hand out. He showed a watch that revealed the time to her. 2 hours had gone by. Most of it was due to Rarity preparing dresses and suits for her friends while Applejack left with Brendan to get some pies. "2 hours, huh? That's embarrassing."
"Braix..."
"..." However, Red would give her a thumbs-up, approving her efforts, even if she didn't get a successful hit in. She did well as Red could admire her tenacity. She got so fired up in that battle that Braixen's attacks intensified, but they still weren't enough. Red still saw promise in her.
"Thanks, Red. But next time...could you maybe take it easy on me? Or was that you going easy?"
"..." Red smiled in response as that was most likely the case. Sunset Shimmer felt like fainting after hearing that. She'd hate to see him take this seriously.
"Great...I'd like to go home now though and rest. Thanks for this lesson, I guess. You just wanted me to improve and get stronger and this was the best way, wasn't it? Well, it worked, didn't it, Braixen?"
"Braixen." Braixen groaned. A tiny audible laugh came from Red that was hard to hear but he definitely let out a laugh. Soon, Red would help Sunset Shimmer back into Sci-Twi's home, which would soon follow in her heading home with her counterpart.
They now had some unique trainers to teach them. It essentially felt like being taught by the same person but with a different outfit. Even if their personalities were also different from each other in some ways. There was a lot of catching up to do with this world when it comes to Pokemon. It may take months or even years, but with the guidance of those who are so close to these Strange and Wonderful Creatures, there was no doubt that they would pass on this knowledge to the rest of this world.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 100 End.