//------------------------------// // Arriving at Ponyville // Story: Pokémon: Fire Ruby // by MechaTomX //------------------------------// “I can see Ponyville a few meters away,” said Cozy Glow, who had binoculars. “Alright, it's about time,” Spike responded excitedly. The two were on a boat which took them to the next town where Spike would have his next gym battle, Ponyville, they got there thanks to Ember's courtesy of giving them 2 tickets to sail. Several minutes later. The ship stopped at a port where several of the passengers got off to set foot on dry land, Spike and Cozy Glow were surprised to see the number of small houses that Ponyville had, Pokémon of all kinds were around, Zigzagoons running down the street, Whoopers on the lake, and even several Skiploom flying around. “This town is beautiful,” Cozy Glow said, to which Dilcy who was flying next to her nodded, “Misdreavus.” “Totally different from Canterlot,” Spike agreed as Peewee nodded along with him, “Fletchling.” “Okay, according to my PokeNav,” Cozy Glow said looking at her device, but paused when she couldn't find what she was looking for, “This is weird.” "What's happening?" Spike asked. “My PokéNav says the gym should be around here, but it only points to the town hall,” Cozy responded. “That's strange,” Spike said strangely. At that moment they saw a girl approaching them, she seemed to be the same age as Professor Twilight Sparkle, that girl had pink skin, poofy pink hair, she wore a white blouse and a blue shirt with 3 balloons drawn on it, she wore a pink skirt and blue boots, but the most curious thing was that a Pokémon that seemed to be a miniature brown crocodile was sleeping in her hair. “Maybe the people of Ponyville can give us directions on where the gym might be,” Spike said, at which point the pink girl stopped in front of them. Cozy was the first to greet her, “Hello.” But the pink girl gave a huge sigh that seemed like terror and ran out of the place. “That was interesting,” said Cozy Glow who went in the opposite direction. “Ughh,” said Spike dejectedly who followed Cozy. Continuing their journey, they arrived at the town hall, since the PokéNav guided them there, they thought that the gym would be nearby, and they would at least ask for its address. “This place is very colossal,” Spike thought, seeing how spacious the town hall was. “Wait a minute, maybe this place will be…” Cozy Glow thought but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone who appeared behind them. It was a woman of about 25 years old who had brown skin, short silver hair, wore a gray dress suit with a skirt and heels, "Hello, are you Pokémon trainers who participate in the League?" “Um, Hi,” Cozy Glow greeted her, pointing at Spike and stepping aside, “Not me, but he is.” “Hello, good morning,” Spike introduced himself cordially, “I'm Spike, this is my partner Peewee, and she is Cozy Glow and her partner Dilcy.” “Ling,” said Peewee. “Dreavus,” Dilcy said. “Nice to meet you, I am the mayor of this town, Mayor Mare,” the woman introduced herself, “And the fact that you are here is not a mistake.” “Huh?” Spike wondered. “Although this is the town hall, it is also a gym, that is why their PokéNav brought you here,” the mayor explained. Although Spike and Cozy suspected it, the mayor's confirmation made them feel safer knowing that they were in the gym. Hearing that Spike approached her, “So, you know the Gym Leader? Do you know if I can challenge her?” The mayor smiled at him, “You're looking at her, little one, and of course I accept.” Spike and Cozy Glow were surprised, although it wasn't that much of a surprise, they didn't think that someone with the position of mayor could also have time in their busy schedule to dedicate themselves to being a Gym Leader. “That's awesome, thank you very much,” Spike thanked her, to which the mayor did not lose her smile. "As I told you, my name is Mayor Mare, the Gym Leader of Ponyville, I specialize in the Normal type, Pokémon that although they have no advantage over any, are also the most resistant, so I recommend you be careful, Amethyst Star, I need your help." “Here I am,” a girl with lilac skin and purple hair introduced herself, she was wearing an outfit similar to the mayor, “Oh, a trainer, I get it.” That was when the mayor snapped her fingers, from the ground a small battle arena emerged which was completely flat, clearing the place of any chair or desk, the only thing that was left were some bleachers to which Cozy Glow addressed, “Good luck Spike.” Spike was going to head to the other end of the area, but was stopped by the mayor, “But before we start, I have a question to ask you.” Spike nodded, “Yeah, you can ask me anything.” “How many badges do you have right now?” the mayor asked him. Spike felt a little nervous and didn't want to answer, Ember asked him that too, he felt embarrassed, but he thought it was best to be honest, "I don't have any." Spike expected some surprising reaction from the mayor, but it didn't happen, instead the mayor looked at him with a smile, "I see." The mayor walked towards a corner, suddenly a kind of digital keyboard appeared on the wall, she pressed the keys and after that, a table emerged from the floor which had 6 pokeballs, 2 pokeballs, 2 great balls and 2 ultra balls. The mayor took 2 normal pokeballs, “So this will be a battle of 2 Pokémon each, is that okay with you?” Spike nodded, he looked out of the corner of his eye at the pokeballs that the mayor took, he thought that she varied her team depending on the number of badges the trainer had, he found that method interesting, “I think it's a good idea, mayor.” "I will be the referee if you don't mind, the battle will end when none of its respective trainer's Pokémon can continue, and the mayor will also be prohibited from switching Pokémon," Amethyst Star announced. “If you have understood everything, then it is time to begin,” the mayor said as she threw her pokeball into the air, “Miltank, I choose you.” A Pokémon that looked like a cow came out of the pokeball, Spike had heard stories related to that Pokémon, stories that made it look like a killing machine or even a demon. “A Miltank,” Spike said in surprise as he took out his Pokedex to analyze it. Name: Miltank. Type: Normal. Info: Miltank, the dairy cow Pokémon, Miltank produces very nutritious milk, a perfect drink to revive sick Pokémon, Miltank is very calm and prefers not to fight. “So the mayor started with a Miltank,” said Cozy Glow from the stands, but at that moment Dilcy seemed to be scared, something that did not go unnoticed by her trainer, “I understand you Dilcy, Spike will have a very difficult time again.” “A Miltank, if thats so,” Spike pulled out his pokeball from his pocket and tossed it into the air, “Treecko, I choose you.” Out came his starter Pokémon, Treecko, ready for battle. “Treecko tree,” Treecko said ready for battle upon seeing Miltank. “A Treecko,” the mayor said with a smile, “Alright Spike, I think you know what you're doing.” “Very well,” Amethyst Star announced, “Then let the battle begin.” “Let's not waste any more time,” the mayor said as she ordered her first attack, “Miltank use Rollout.” “TAANNKKK,” agreed Miltank, who began to roll over and as if she were a boulder, she addressed Treecko. “Treecko dodge it,” Spike said as quickly as he could. “Tree,” said Treecko who jumped to avoid being caught by Miltank. But the mayor just smiled, “Dodging won't work for you.” And at that moment, Miltank, which was still spinning, changed direction abruptly and went straight towards where Treecko was going to land. “Uh oh,” said Spike who understood what was happening. “Tree?” Treecko wondered and then realized that Miltank was coming towards him. CRASHHH. “TREECKOOOOOO,” shouted Treecko, who was thrown away upon impact with Miltank. “Noo, Treecko,” Spike shouted as he saw his partner fall to the ground. Miltank stopped rolling at that moment and taunted Treecko. “Rollout is an attack that won't stop until it hits its target, so dodging it is useless,” the mayor told him. “I anticipated something like that, my sister told me about the time she fought a trainer who had a Miltank, Rollout is a common attack for a Pokémon like her, that's why I chose Treecko,” Spike explained. “But of course,” said Cozy Glow who had already understood what Spike was planning, “Rollout is a Rock type attack and Treecko can resist it because he is a Grass type.” “Well, they taught you well, let's see if you have what it takes,” the mayor told him. “I'll get it if I don't have it,” Spike replied confidently, “Our turn, Treecko, use Pound.” “Treeckoooo,” Treecko shouted as he used his tail to hit Miltank. POW. The hit was direct, Miltank suffered a lot of damage, “Tank.” “Miltank, recover using Milk Drink,” the mayor ordered her Pokémon, which used its udder to expel milk, of which it drank a little, recovering from the blow. “Be careful Spike,” Cozy Glow shouted, “Miltank regains energy thanks to that move.” “Really? That's good to know,” Spike responded with a smile. The mayor raised an eyebrow when she heard it. “Then I think you should steal Miltank's energy, use Absorb,” Spike ordered and at that moment Treecko began absorbing energy from Miltank which she made no effort to dodge. “Miltank, use Stomp,” the mayor ordered, Miltank was so fast that she didn't give Treecko time to dodge her, “MILTANKKK.” Miltank stomped on the ground so hard that he sent Treecko flying. PAMM. “KOOOO,” Treecko shouted as he was shot and landed on his back. “Treecko, are you okay?” Spike asked, Treecko was going to respond but realized he couldn't move, “Treeckoo.” “Oh no, what's wrong?” Spike wondered. “I'll answer you,” the mayor responded, “Stomp is an attack that can knock back the Pokémon that receives it.” “I admit that's sneaky,” Spike said, hiding his desperation, but at that moment, an idea occurred to him, “Treecko, keep an eye on Miltank.” Treecko, who could not make any attack at that time, decided to obey the order. “Remember, don't let her out of your sight.” “Rollout,” the mayor ordered and her Miltank turned on itself again. Treecko remembered what his trainer said and decided to follow the cow, ready to receive the attack, which did not take long to arrive. POW. “KOOO,” Treecko stumbled, but resisted the attack. “Treecko tell me what you saw it?” Spike asked his partner with a quiet voice so that no one could hear them, Treecko smiled at him and nodded. Spike smiled and thought, “Alright, I think I've got that figured out, I just need her to use Rollout again.” “Stomp,” the mayor ordered, to which Miltank prepared himself. “Dodge it and use Pound,” Spike ordered, to which Treecko avoided Miltank's stomp and used his tail to hit her. “Treckooooo,” Treecko shouted as he hit Miltank who was sent flying, “TAANKKK.” “Miltank,” the mayor worried about her companion, but Miltank stood up ready to continue. “I admit that was very clever, but you won't be able to dodge this attack,” the mayor told him, “Miltank, use Rollout.” “Bingo,” Spike smiled. Miltank began to spin around and addressed Treecko. “Wait,” Spike thought. Miltank moved closer to Treecko who seemed motionless. “Just a little more,” Spike thought, starting to sweat. Miltank was only half a meter away from Treecko. “NOW,” Spike shouted, “TREECKO, USE POUND.” “KOOOO,” Treecko shouted, using his tail to hit Miltank which was thrown against the wall like a baseball. CRASHHH. “MILTANK,” the mayor shouted when she saw her Pokémon which had collided with the wall, there were spirals in its eyes. “Miltank cannot continue, the winner is Treecko,” Amethyst Star announced. “VERY WELL DONE TREECKO,” Spike celebrated when he knew that this was his first victory, although he knew that it was not over since the mayor still had one Pokémon left. “That was a good move Treecko,” Cozy Glow yelled from the stands. “Treecko Tree,” Treecko smiled. “Miltank come back,” the mayor returned Miltank to his pokeball, “Good job Miltank, you did very well.” The mayor looked at Spike with a smile, “Very well done Spike, you managed to use Rollout to your advantage, I'm impressed.” “Thank you, Mayor,” Spike thanked. “But that trick won't work again, so you better get ready,” the mayor continued as she pulled out another pokeball and tossed it into the air, “Go Wigglytuff.” That's when an adorable looking pink Pokémon came out that looked like some kind of stuffed animal. “Dawww, how cute,” said Cozy Glow, hugging Dilcy. “Go ahead Spike, show me that you are worthy of this gym's badge,” the mayor told him. And this time, with confidence in his voice, Spike responded, “Of course I am, go get her Treecko.” Both of them smiled as Treecko charged, ready to defeat Wigglytuff and earn his train another Gym Badge.