//------------------------------// // Prologue: Fruits of labor. // Story: The Pokémon Crusaders // by Rainbow Dash the Awesome //------------------------------// “Now, Mandibuzz, use Dark Pulse!” Rainbow Dash commanded. “Mandibuzz,” Mandibuzz opened her beak and fired a pulse of dark purple energy. “Quick, Gible,” Pinkie responded, “use Dig to dodge it.” “Gib,” Gible quickly dug into the ground and disappeared from sight, causing the Dark Pulse to collide with the ground and miss completely. Rainbow Dash looked around rapidly. “Okay, Mandibuzz,” she began, “we don’t know where it’s going to come up, so be on your guard.” Suddenly, she heard a rumble to the side. When she turned to look, she saw Gible’s dorsal fin sticking up out of the ground behind Mandibuzz. “Mandibuzz, turn around and use Bone Rush!” She yelled. Mandibuzz opened its beak a small bit and an ethereal blue bone appeared in its beak. It flew down toward the fin and called “Mandibuzz!” as she slammed the bone down on top of the fin. “Yes!” Rainbow cheered, “a direct- huh?!?” There was no sign of Gible anywhere. “Now, Gible,” Pinkie called, “use Draco Meteor!” The ground directly beneath Mandibuzz burst as Gible jumped up, its mouth wide open with a glowing orange light. “Gible!” Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Mandibuzz, get out of there!” she yelled, but it was too late. “Buzz!” Mandibuzz cried as the orange sphere in Gible’s mouth expanded around her. The sphere soon engulfed Mandibuzz’s whole body. “Gible!” Gible called as it fired the ball of energy out of its mouth, sending Mandibuzz with it. “No, Mandibuzz!” Rainbow yelled as the meteor ascended. “Buzz!” Mandibuzz yelled as the meteor exploded around her, sending smaller orange meteors flying in all directions. Moments later, Mandibuzz fell to the ground in the middle of the battlefield. “Buzz...” she groaned as she attempted to stand up. She almost managed to stand up, but stumbled and fell flat on her stomach, unconscious. “Mandibuzz is unable to battle,” Applejack announced from the side, “Pinkie Pie wins!” Rarity and Fluttershy both clapped from the sidelines. “A spectacular performance,” Rarity commented, “that Draco Meteor was gorgeous.” “I’m just happy neither of them got hurt too badly,” Fluttershy responded, “but just to be safe I’m going to want to check to make sure they’re okay.” “Alright!” Pinkie cheered as she ran forward and wrapped Gible in a big hug. “Nice work, Gible.” “Gible,” Gible smiled and hugged her back. On the other side of the battlefield, Rainbow ran up to Mandibuzz. “Don’t worry,” she said, “you did a great job. We’ll just train a bit more and we’ll beat her next time.” “That’s the spirit,” Rarity smiled as she trotted up to Rainbow Dash, “I must admit I was afraid you’d be upset about losing.” “Who, me?” Rainbow put on an innocent smile, “When do I ever get upset about losing?” Applejack smirked, “Do ya want yer answers in alphabetical or chronological order?” Before Rainbow could respond, Pinkie hopped up to the group and hugged her, saying “Wow, Rainbow, you did a great job. Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you next time.” “No, Pinkie,” Rainbow shook her head, “if I want to prove I’m tougher in Pokemon battles, I’m gonna need to beat you when you’re going all out.” “Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie giggled, “next time I won’t pull any punches.” “Next time?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean next time?” “Oh, nothing,” Pinkie smiled. “How did Gible do that anyway?” Fluttershy asked, hoping to change the subject before it was too late. “Do what?” Pinkie blinked. “You know what,” Rainbow protested, “how did he vanish like that when Mandibuzz attacked with Bone Rush?” “Oh, that was easy,” Pinkie shrugged, “I just had him use Substitute.” “Substitute?” Rainbow tilted her head in confusion, “When did he learn Substitute?” “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Pinkie replied, “he learned it last night when we were playing hide and seek. I thought I’d found him but the one I found vanished. I thought it was Double Team like Mandibuzz, but there was only one.” “Wow,” Rarity commented, “I wish Twilight had been here to see that. After all, it’s not every day she gets to observe a new Pokémon move with her own eyes.” “What’s this about a new Pokémon move?” Twilight interjected as she flew down next to the others. Rarity jumped to the side a bit. “Twilight, don’t you know not to sneak up on ponies like that?” “Oh, I’m sorry, Rarity,” Twilight frowned, “I didn’t know it was going to startle you.” “It’s alright, darling,” Rarity smiled, “you didn’t mean it.” “Thanks, Rarity,” Twilight smiled, “I knew you’d understand.” “Hey Twilight,” Pinkie interrupted, “Gible learned a new move!” “Really?” Twilight asked excitedly, “What was it?” “Substitute,” Pinkie replied, “it makes a copy of him to distract the opponent. He used it to beat Mandibuzz.” “Wow, I wish I had been here to see that.” “Me too,” Pinkie frowned slightly, “you’ve been gone a lot lately. I figure it must have been royal duties, but I still missed you.” “Oh, I’m sorry, Pinkie,” Twilight hugged her pink friend, “I guess I got wrapped up in my work again.” “It’s okay,” Pinkie hugged her back, only much tighter, “all that matters is you’re here now.” She hugged tighter. Twilight struggled a bit, unable to breathe because of Pinkie’s hug. After a few moments, Pinkie released her grip. “So, what were you doing while you were gone, anyway?” she asked. “Oh yeah,” Twilight smiled, having finally caught her breath, “I was working on a project to help us in the study of Pokémon.” “You were?” Rainbow grinned excitedly, “Aw yeah! Is it gonna be something that can help me finally beat Pinkie?” “I doubt it,” Applejack chuckled, “she’s already beaten you five times in a row.” “Four times,” Rainbow Dash glared at her, “and I got really close last time.” Twilight stood between the two and spoke up “Girls, there’s no need to fight about it.” “Yeah,” Rainbow smirked, “and it’s not like we even could fight, since Applejack doesn’t even have any Pokémon.” “Why you,” Applejack started as she came a bit closer, but was stopped by a magenta aura. She looked at Twilight, whose horn was glowing in the same light. “Oh come on, Twi, she started it.” “It doesn’t matter who started it,” Twilight responded, “I don’t want either of you to hurt the other. Besides, pretty soon you might be able to battle Rainbow after all.” “You mean-?” Applejack started. “Come with me and find out,” Twilight smiled as she released her magic grip on Applejack.