//------------------------------// // Technical Difficulties // Story: Fluttershy, the Pokémon Tamer // by Derping Doo //------------------------------// “Let’s try Evolution first.” Leon moved the cursor above Evolution and clicked it. A new screen came up, and a red, slug-like Pokémon appeared on the screen. “Oh hey, what’s that?” he asked curiously. “Loading ‘Evolution’ lesson,” an electronic voice said. Leon raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Whoa...” “Lesson One: Evolution.” The voice said. “Many types of Pokémon evolve. When a Pokémon evolves, its appearance will change, sometimes with new, minor features to its body, and sometimes with a completely new body. There are many ways for Pokémon to evolve. The first and most common way Pokémon evolve happens after they’ve reached a certain level of strength. Every Pokémon is able to input a certain amount of strength into their battles. Typically, a Pokémon’s strength will rise after it defeats another Pokémon. A Pokémon’s strength can also rise if it is given certain medicines, food, or items. Once a Pokémon has obtained enough strength, it will be able to undergo evolution.” Leon paused the lesson. “You see? Pokémon evolve by getting stronger. I don’t really know what they meant by the items, but it’s pretty much like I said.” “Oh. So your Pokémon evolved when you were training them?” Fluttershy asked. Leon nodded his head. “Mm hm. That’s why we were in the Ilex Forest. I was trying to train Fleecia so she could become stronger and hopefully evolve. Of course, she didn’t exactly get a chance to, saving Angel and whatnot.” Fluttershy smiled. “Thank goodness she did.” She took Angel from her head and petted him. “Bun...” Angel said softly, thumping his foot. Smiling, Fluttershy looked back at the screen. She noticed something. “Hm? Leon, there’s still more on evolution. A lot more.” “What?” Leon moved the cursor on the screen, and the video’s time frame came up. “What? We’re not even halfway done! Why’s there so much more?” he wondered, looking at Fluttershy. She thought for a moment, then exclaimed. “Oh! Wasn’t there something in the presentation that said there are many ways for Pokémon to evolve? Maybe they’re not done explaining all the possibilities.” “Wait, if training isn’t the only way for a Pokémon to evolve, then does that mean Fleecia has to evolve in an entirely different way? What if all my training’s been for nothing!” Leon groaned. “Oh man, this sucks! C’mon, let’s keep watching. I gotta know what else I can do to try to evolve her.” Leon clicked the screen, unpausing the lesson. It continued, “Researchers believe that the strength of Pokémon that evolve this way is not the cause of their evolution. They believe that these Pokémon have to recognize that they’ve achieved enough strength to become worthy of evolution.” “Wait, what? Really?” Leon asked, a surprised look on his face. He paused the lesson again. “They have to recognize that they’re strong?” Fluttershy said, puzzled. “It’s not just their physical abilities that they have to overcome. They need to get past their mental blocks, too. Does that mean that they can’t evolve if they have a low self-esteem?” She looked at Leon. “That’s awful. If they can’t evolve, won’t they just end up feeling worse? Those poor Pokémon.” Leon thought for a moment, and smiled. “Heh, I guess that’s why they need trainers. You know, Fluttershy, we’re not just here to make them stronger. Pokémon trainers usually create strong bonds of trust and friendship with their Pokémon. I had no idea that was necessary for a Pokémon to evolve, too.” “They build bonds with them? How?” Fluttershy asked, now curious. “Oh, well, there’s a lot of methods.” Leon thought for a bit. “One thing I like to do is eat meals with my Pokémon. We ‘talk’ while we’re eating, thinking of new battle strategies. Then there’s the actual battling. Whenever we win a battle, I get so excited. I’m proud when my Pokémon manage to win in battles, because it lets me know that not only was my training effective, but that my Pokémon managed to come through in the end.” “Oh, but what about the Pokémon that lose in battle? Wouldn’t their trainers get mad or become disappointed in them?” Fluttershy asked, a sad look forming on her face. “Not really. Instead of getting mad when they lose, trainers should let their Pokémon know that they tried their best and that they’ll try better. If a Pokémon loses, it’s not because of how weak that Pokémon is; it’s usually because of how that trainer raised their Pokémon. If a Pokémon doesn’t like you, it’s pretty hard to train them and get them to listen to you. Even if you do manage to do so, they’ll be so frustrated. I don’t want my Pokémon to be mad at me. I want to make sure that they know they can trust me, because, you know, trust is important between friends, and, well, that’s what Pokémon are to me!” Leon smiled. “We stay together through thin and thick, and we know that we’ll try our best to get better.” Fluttershy looked at Leon, thinking. Friendship can exist through battling? But the Pokémon, they don’t mind fighting for their trainers? What about Leon? His Pokémon, they really trust him? “I had no idea,” she said simply, still deep in thought. “Well, you do now! C’mon, let’s see what else I can do to evolve Fleecia.” He clicked the screen again, and the lesson resumed. “They believe that once they do so,” the voice said, “the Pokémon will undergo evolution. As mentioned before, some Pokemon don’t obtain many new features and have barely changed throughout evolution. However, there are others who have changed their bodily structures and features drastically and strike little to no resemblance to their prior forms. Take, for example, a Pokémon like Slugma.” The picture of the Pokémon was zoomed in on. Another picture of a different Pokémon that resembled Slugma came up. “When a Slugma evolves into a Magcargo, it’s skin hardens into a fragile shell. Other than that, not many new features have become a part of the Pokémon’s appearance. Now, compare a Slugma’s evolutionary features to that of a Remoraid’s.” Two new images appeared, one of a tiny fish, and the other of a red octopus. “When a Remoraid evolves, it’s entire body will change. It will lose its fins, its mouth will stick out, its head will grow large and become rock-hard, and it will sprout tentacles. Furthermore, the color of its evolution differs to that of its previous form. Why Pokémon change with such minor to major features is unknown, but it is believed that they’ve developed these adaptations to either increase their chances of survival or to improve their battle skills.” Leon paused the lesson again, a look of wonder on his face. “Whoa,” he said simply. “I didn’t know that Pokémon could change like that. I mean, yeah, Scout looked pretty different when she evolved, but...” he trailed off. “That fish, it turns into an octopus?” Fluttershy asked, shocked. “I-I guess so!” Leon said, smiling. He pointed at the screen. “Oh man, I want one of those. I gotta see if it’s true,” he said, excited. “But, th-that... How does that even happen? The animals here—the Pokémon, they’re nothing like the animals back in Equestria. The way they change, I’d imagine an animal like that would come from the Everfree Forest, but they’re everywhere here!” Fluttershy said, amazed at what Pokémon do. She looked at Angel. “What... what if now that you’re a Pokémon, if you can evolve, what’s gonna happen then? Are you gonna get something new, like another ear?” Fluttershy asked, concerned. Angel cocked his head, “Buneary bun?” “What if something like that does happen?” she asked, scared. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down Fluttershy.” Leon said, waving his hands. “I don’t think you should start worrying about Angel’s evolution. I mean, think about it: those Pokémon are from the ocean. Pokémon in the ocean tend to be really diverse when they evolve. I’m sure regular fish are really diverse back in Equestria. Angel’s a bunny. A Buneary, to be more precise. I don’t think a bunny could change much when it evolves, you know, assuming Angel can evolve.” “Assuming?” Fluttershy repeated. “Yeah. Some Pokémon, for whatever reason, actually don’t evolve. I remember a hiker telling me that about one of his Pokémon: I think it was a Dunsparce. He told me that there were more Pokémon that didn’t evolve, but he didn’t know why. There’s a chance that Angel doesn’t even evolve. And besides, even if he does, I don’t think something major is gonna change about him. It’s not like Angel’s gonna sprout wings if he evolves, is it?” He stopped for a moment. “Actually... that sounds pretty cool... Yeah, that’s pretty cool! How about it, Angel? Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to fly?” “Um... Leon? How is this helping?” Fluttershy asked, still worried for her bunny’s future. “Yeah... Huh? Oh... Oh! Oh,” Leon said, snapping out of a daydream. “Sorry, Fluttershy. I kinda forgot about that, eh heh heh,” he laughed awkwardly, trying to play the incident off. He cleared his throat, “Well, um... Yeah! Even if Angel can evolve, what makes you think he needs more ears to battle, let alone survive? I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.” Leon said, sounding confident. “Oh, but what if—” “Fluttershy, it’s okay,” Leon said, cutting her off. “Look, if you’re still concerned about Angel by the time we’re done here, we can go look for an Everstone.” “An Everstone?” Fluttershy asked. “Yeah. An Everstone is this weird stone that, for whatever reason, stops a Pokémon from evolving. You can have Angel keep an Everstone nearby so that he won’t evolve,” Leon said. “R-really?” Fluttershy sighed a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank goodness. Okay, I feel a little better now...” Leon smiled, “Good. Now, let’s get on with—” “Oh wait! Oh, um... sorry.” Fluttershy said quietly. “Um, where do we get an Everstone?” “Uh...” Leon paused, not knowing the answer to her question. “Um, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But don’t worry. We’ll find one. I promise. Right now, though, we should get back to the lesson.” Leon clicked the pause button. “The second way to evolve a Pokémon is through the method of evolutionary stones. Some Pokémon will only evolve when introduced to a certain stone that pertains to their evolution. So far, there have been nine recorded stones that cause a Pokémon to evolve. They are the Fire Stone, the Water Stone, the Thunder Stone, the Leaf Stone, the Moon Stone, the Sun Stone, the Shiny Stone, the Dusk Stone, and the Dawn Stone. While there is some speculation that an Oval Stone, which does induce evolution, should be classified as an evolutionary stone, it is not, due to the fact that it does not cause a Pokémon to instantly evolve and instead requires a Pokémon to be holding the stone while training. The other stones do cause Pokémon to evolve in an instant. When a Pokémon that evolves with a certain stone makes physical contact with that stone, it will undergo evolution. However, it has been documented that in some cases, Pokémon are able to hold their evolutionary stone without evolving, sometimes for hours on end. Only two recorded Pokémon are able to evolve with more than one stone. These Pokémon are Gloom, which can evolve into either Vileplume or Bellossom via stone, and Eevee, which can evolve into multiple Pokémon, three of which require a stone to evolve.” Once again, Leon paused the lesson. “Whoa, that’s amazing! Where do I get one of those?” he asked, awed. “A Pokémon that turns into multiple Pokémon?” Fluttershy said, astonished. Even if I still don’t know much about them, Pokémon still get more unbelievable, she thought to herself. For a while, she let her imagination run wild, thinking of what was next to come and blow her away in the Pokémon world. I wonder if it’s possible for there to be a Pokémon that can change into other Pokémon, like a changeling can with a pony... “Yeah...” Leon said, not paying attention. He was still struck with wonder from the Eevee. “Um, Leon? Leon, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked waving her hand in front of his eyes. “Hmm...? Huh? Oh, hey Fluttershy!” Leon said, his senses returning. “Wait... what? What are we doing? I blanked out for a moment.” “Oh, well, we were going through evolution, and you paused the video when it mentioned a Pokémon named Eevee.” she explained. “Right, Eevee...” Leon soon realized that he had dreamt of the Pokémon. He cleared his throat, “Anyway, we really should move on. We’ve been pausing the video so much, we haven’t even gotten past evolution yet. At this rate, we’ll be here all day, and I don’t know about you, but I wanna find myself an Eevee.” “Oh, okay.” Fluttershy said, agreeing. “Well then, let’s continue. Oh and Fluttershy?” “Yes?” “Don’t let me press the pause button again. Whatever I try, no matter what I say, don’t let me do it.” Leon said, donning a serious look. “No matter what?” Fluttershy asked. “No matter what.” “Okay...” she replied subtly. Fluttershy wasn’t exactly one to stop her friends from doing something. Even when they asked, she still felt uncomfortable when stopping, or at least trying to stop, them. “Well then, let’s go.” He clicked the pause button, and the video resumed. Over the course of their studies, Leon and Fluttershy learned about many new topics and facts about Pokémon. Fluttershy tried to stop Leon every now and then, but he managed to pause it at some points. He only spoke for a moment, though, so it didn’t halt their progress much. He would stop at something that caught his interest and say something about it. Fluttershy would offer a statement about the topic, too. They’d go back and forth about things like this. For instance, when the topic of Gyms and Gym badges came up, Fluttershy asked Leon to pause so she could talk about it. “You mean you train your Pokémon to go and fight strong trainers to get badges? That’s so... weird.” She said, unsure of what words to use. “Whaddya mean?” Leon asked, arching an eyebrow. “I mean it’s just... different, from where I come from,” she said. “What? They don’t have Gyms in Equestria?” Leon asked jokingly. Fluttershy looked at him. “Leon, we don’t even have Pokémon in Equestria.” Now it was Leon’s turn to look at Fluttershy. “What?” Fluttershy looked at him in disbelief. “Leon, haven’t you been paying attention? Before I met you, I had no idea what Pokémon were. I had no idea what Angel was. I had no idea what I was!” There was a small pause of silence. Finally, Leon spoke. “Well... I wouldn’t... say you didn’t know what you were... More like... you... forgot what you were...” Leon replied, his voice fading the more he talked. “Forgot? I didn’t forget. The last thing I remember before I was in the Ilex Forest was this weird portal thing that Angel couldn’t run away from. That was back when I was in Equestria; back when I was still a pony.” Fluttershy replied. Leon breathed through his teeth, “Yeeeaaaahhh... There’s that.” “There’s what?” Fluttershy asked, confused. “The whole... pony thing.” Leon said, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t feel like addressing this issue so soon, finding a friend in Fluttershy, but he knew that he’d eventually have to tell her that he didn’t exactly believe her story. “What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked. A feeling of regret began to form in Leon. “Well, it’s just that... I mean... How? How could you be a pony? Fluttershy, you look as human to me as I do. I want to believe that you’re telling the truth, but... It’s just... ridiculous.” he finally said. “I mean, you told me that you’re actually a pony from Ponyville, which is in some place called Equestria, and somehow you, and your bunny, got sent to some black void, right? But when you got out, you turned into a human, and Angel turned into a Pokémon. Think about it, Fluttershy. That makes absolutely no sense.” Leon sighed. He felt bad that he didn’t believe Fluttershy. “But I’m telling the truth!” Fluttershy said, sad that Leon didn’t believe her. Leon sighed, “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but it’s too... crazy to make any sense.” “But it’s the truth.” Fluttershy said. “I used to be a pegasus back in Equestria. I would keep to myself most of the time because... well, I’m shy. I always found comfort in animals, and when I found out I could communicate with them, I earned my cutie mark.” “A cutie what?” Leon asked, confused. “A cutie mark. It’s a special mark you earn when you find your special talent. I found out my special talent was being able to communicate with animals,” Fluttershy explained. “So you’re telling me that you know what animals are saying?” Leon asked, still skeptical about Fluttershy’s story. “Well, for the most part, yes. I don’t always know what they’re trying to tell me, though...” she said, recalling the time her bunny tried to tell her she was late. “Well, how do I know if that’s not a lie?” Leon asked. Fluttershy thought for a moment. She exclaimed, “Oh! Well, even if they’re different from the ones I take care of, I’m pretty sure Pokémon are still animals. So I guess I’d be able to communicate with Pokémon to show you what I’m talking about,” she said. “That so?” Leon grabbed one of his Pokéballs. “Then ask Cynders what he thinks will help us beat Whitney.” “Whitney?” Fluttershy asked. “Yeah. She’s the third Gym Leader in Johto. I can’t beat her, no matter how hard I try. If you can actually tell me what Cynders wants to do in our next rematch, I’ll take back everything I said about you. I’ll believe you without a shadow of a doubt. Sound fair?” Leon asked, arching an eyebrow. “Oh. I... guess so.” She started thinking, I hope I can talk with Pokémon too. She thought about what would happen if she couldn’t pull this off. Leon wouldn’t believe her and think she was crazy. He’d leave, and Fluttershy would be left alone in this world without anyone to turn to. Fluttershy gulped. “I can do this,” she told herself. “I can do this.”