"Gary!" yelled Pikachu as he happily hopped into Gary's arms and gave him a small hug, happy to see another familiar face. Gary laughed a bit.
"Haha, good to see ya Pikachu! Long time no see!" said Gary as he petted Pikachu a bit, getting a happy sigh from the electric Pokemon. The others seemed surprised to see their friend knowing this newcomer, but then they realized that he must have come from the same world Pikachu and Buneary live in. Gary then put Pikachu down and faced the other Pokemon and ponies.
"Hello everyone, my name is Gary Oak, a Pokemon researcher. My job is to research the different kinds of ways Pokemon live. Though if you want that kind of advice, then you'd best ask my grandpa. But I'm happy to help you all in anyway I can." said Gary. The others suddenly started to ask Gary many questions, but Gary just raised a hand to silence them.
"Now now, I know you all have many questions and I'll be glad to answer them at some point later. For now, I want to show you all something." said Gary as he lead the group towards the Canterlot Gardens, which was a grim reminder now for how Discord nearly broke Twilight and her friends bond forever. When they got to a certain part of it, they were amazed at what they saw. There were many creatures all over the place.
"Wow, this looks awesome!" said Dash, almost in disbelief at the scene in front of her.
"Are all of these creatures...Pokemon?" asked Twilight, getting a nod from Gary.
"Yep and you're all going to be choosing one of them to take with you." said Gary, confusing everyone except the princesses, who smiled a bit as they knew what Gary meant.
"You see, Princess Celestia told me about what happened with Team Rocket and you're all still banged up from that. And knowing how that group works, they're going to try again. So to get you all ready for this, as a Pokemon Professor, I am hereby making all of you official Pokemon Trainers as of today. Now normally, there are 3 Pokemon you all can choose from, but I have recently gotten a special selection so all of you have up to 18 choices or more if the normal starter Pokemon don't please you. But for now, meet your potential partners." Gary then took out a little whistle and blew it. Suddenly, as if on cue, many Pokemon came rushing up to everyone, all of them looking cheerful and happy to meet some new faces as Gary got underway with the introductions.
"We have the Grass Type Pokemon Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig, Snivy, and Chespin. The Fire Type Pokemon Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Chimchar, Tepig, and Fennekin. And finally, the Water Type Pokemon Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, Piplup, Oshawott, and Froakie. These are all starter Pokemon from 6 regions in the world of Pokemon." explained Gary as the others looked on in amazement.
"Oh my, their so cute!" squealed Fluttershy as she flew in the middle of the group and picked up the nearest Pokemon to her, which was Torchic, and hugged it, with Torchic happily accepting the hug.
"Torchic Tor!" chirped the Torchic. Fluttershy seemed surprise that the Pokemon didn't talk like the ones she already knew did.
"Oh my, it didn't talk. How come?" asked Fluttershy.
"I guess that some Pokemon that got transported here only speak English if they're lucky." guessed Pikachu, who then looked at Gary.
"Wait a second Gary, you said WE'RE all becoming trainers? Do you mean me, Buneary, and the legendaries as well? But how is that possible?" asked Pikachu as Gary smiled.
"Don't you worry Pikachu, me and Gramps found a way before I ended up coming here." said Gary, leaving Pikachu confused as to what he meant. Meanwhile, three figures were seen in a balloon high in the air.
"Ohhh, look at all of those Pokemon! Starter Pokemon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and even the Kalos Region!" said James.
"Just imagine the award we'll get if we capture all of them and hand them over to the boss." said Meowth as he fantasized about handing the Pokemon to Giovanni and all three of them getting a huge award for it.
"Then it's settled. We'll capture those Pokemon and make them the newest Pokemon that will belong to Team Rocket!" said Jessie as all three of them laughed until a shadow appeared behind them, catching all of their attentions as they turned around and saw a Pidgeot along with several Pidgeotto and Pidgey.
"Hey, what's your big idea!?" yelled Jessie at the Pidgeot, who chirped very loudly and threateningly at the group.
"Uhh, Meowth, translation?" asked James.
"It says 'I never thought I'd see you three again, but you better leave now before I lay a smack down on you!' Hey wait a minute, you're the twerp's old Pidgeot!" yelled Meowth as the realization came over him. Just at that moment, Pidgeot launched itself at the balloon with Double Edge, going right through the balloon and making two big holes as the balloon, with Team Rocket in it, was sent flying with all of them screaming.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" yelled Team Rocket as, back on the ground, Pikachu's ears twitched and he looked up.
"What's wrong?" asked Blanked.
"I thought I heard something. Must have been my imagination..." said Pikachu shrugging as he saw the others checking out the starters as well as some other Pokemon there as Gary had told them that while the 18 starter Pokemon are the most common choices, they could choose any Pokemon in the area to have as their starter. Twilight was interested in a small Pokemon called Ralts, Rainbow Dash was seemingly not impressed with most of the Pokemon until she saw an Oshawott standing up for some baby fish Pokemon against some other animals, impressing her. The Crusaders seem to have already found their starters as Scootaloo was having a playful fight with a feisty Chimchar, Sweetie Belle was playing with a very cute Igglybuff, and Apple Bloom was also playing, but with a Mareep instead. Fluttershy still had the Torchic she had before, apparently already deciding to make it her starter as Applejack took an interest in a Turtwig while Blanked had already befriended a Snivy, who had apparently taken pity on the zombie filly's condition and was comforting her. Pinkie has apparently found hers already in a Drifloon and Spike had also found a new friend in a Totodile. Scootaling, however, was still looking.
"I don't see anything that looks tough and strong like me. What would be good enough to take down those darn people who invaded the hive?" asked the changeling as she continued looking around. Also still looking was Rarity herself, looking for any kind of Pokemon that she would think would fit her.
"Well it seems the others have found their starters, so I must hurry and find mine. Now where would the perfect starter for I, Rarity, be...hmm? What is that?" asked Rarity as she could have sworn she heard what seemed like crying. She followed the sound of it to a tree in the middle of the garden, where she saw a pale yellow lizard Pokemon with a flame on it's tail crying for some reason.
"Oh dear, I wonder what's wrong." asked Rarity as she started to make her way towards the lizard Pokemon until she felt a hand on her back. She turned and saw Gary.
"I see you found this one." said Gary, who seemed to have a sad look in his face. Rarity seemed confused about this.
"What's wrong with this one darling? It's just like that Charmander, but it's completely different." wondered Rarity. Gary quickly answered.
"You see, that Charmander looks different because she's a Shiny Pokemon, very rare versions of Pokemon that have different coloring then any others you'd see. As to why it's crying though...that's a whole different story. You see, with the princesses help, I found out that it was abandoned by it's own family when it was just a baby and made fun of by other members of it's species, all because it was colored different. It's had a very sad life and it doesn't trust hardly anyone." said Gary. Rarity wiped a tear out of her eye after hearing that.
"The poor dear...maybe I can do something about it?" Rarity said as she trotted up to the shiny Charmander. The Charmander heard her hoofsteps and turned to the white and purple mare, giving her an angry growl, causing Rarity to step back a bit.
"Oh my, please dear, I don't mean to cause you any harm." said Rarity, however the Charmander, seemingly ignoring her, shot a Flamethrower attack at her, making Rarity move out of the way, singeing her tail a bit. This angered Rarity a lot, but she knew she couldn't last out at the Charmander for burning her tail because it thought that Rarity meant harm to it. Rarity decided it might be best just to back off for now.
"There we go!" Gary exclaimed as he finished putting a special device on Pikachu, Buneary, and Victini. They were all fit to fit their sizes and were put on their arms. The devices seemed to have a glowing Poke Ball symbol on them. The three tested them out by moving their arms around.
"Wow, it feels like I'm wearing nothing." Pikachu said, impressed with how natural it felt to move around the device on his arm.
"Good, then it's working. Me and Gramps have worked on these for some time. We made them in the crazy case that a Pokemon wanted to be an actual trainer. These are just prototypes however because of their size, but we're working on making sizes for bigger Pokemon. But with these, you three can now be considered official trainers." said Gary.
"Cool! Now at least we don't have to do the work by ourselves when we're injured, like we are now." said Buneary, who's still injured leg was heavily wrapped up.
"Yeah, but that's not the only reason we made them...." suddenly, Gary's face seem to take on a serious expression. Victini noticed this.
"Hey, what's wrong?" asked the Victory Pokemon.
"Listen you three, I'm about to tell you something very important. You see, before I came to Equestria, me and the other professors got word about some weird Pokemon causing havoc. We tried to figure out what was going on, but then we got contact from a professor in the far off Orre Region. And he told us that these weird Pokemon are called Shadow Pokemon." explained Gary.
"Shadow Pokemon?" asked Pikachu, everyone else unaware of Buneary's sudden reaction to the mention of Shadow Pokemon and her going completely still.
"From what we gathered, Shadow Pokemon are Pokemon who's hearts are sealed away in darkness and are turned into fighting machines. They won't hesitate to hurt others or worse, no matter if they're people or Pokemon. They only ones they listen to are their evil trainers. They were said to have gone extinct when two heroes purified all of them from their makes, but we've received word that they're being made again by Team Rocket." continued Gary, the mention of Team Rocket shocking everyone.
"When we discovered Team Rocket were turning poor, innocent Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon, we all looked into how we could save them like the ones in Orre were. Apparently the two trainers who saved over a hundred Shadow Pokemon used a machine called a Snag Machine, which is apparently used to steal Pokemon from their trainers. It's a terrible machine, but me and Gramps knew it was the only way we could get these Shadow Pokemon back from Team Rocker and find a way to purify them. Pikachu, Buneary, and Victini, the devices you three are wearing now that have made you official trainers...are also Snag Machines." finished Gary as the three Pokemon were even more shocked to here this. Pikachu was the first to recover.
"So...you're saying that you need our help in finding these Shadow Pokemon and 'snagging' them from Team Rocket?" Pikachu asked, getting a nod from his old rival.
"Wait, what happens when we snag them?" asked Victini.
"Well it'll be just like capturing a wild Pokemon. You'll be allowed to keep them, even after we purify them. Don't worry, they can't influence you to become like them." said Gary.
"Easy for you to say..." mumbled Buneary.
"Did you say something Buneary?" asked Pikachu, worried about his friend.
"Uh, nope, nothing!" Buneary said quickly. Pikachu seemed suspicious, but decided to forget it for now. They started to ask more questions when suddenly, Twilight burst into the room.
"Everyone, come outside quickly!" yelled Twilight. Pikachu and the others got outside and they saw the starter Pokemon that weren't chosen by everyone earlier in a large cage.
"What's going on!?" asked Gary, only to be answered by a familiar trio of laughter as three figured appeared on top of the cage.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double!".
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" said Jessie.
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" said James.
"Meowth, that's right!" came in Meowth.
"Wobbuffet!" said Wobbuffet.
"Mime mime!" chimed in Mime Jr..
"Team Rocket! What are you doing here!?" asked Gary, angry to see the trio once again.
"Isn't it obvious, we're here to take these rare starter Pokemon to the boss. They'll make fine additions to Team Rocket." said Jessie. the others looked angry as Rarity suddenly saw the Charmander from earlier, making her gasp.
"Oh no, Charmander dear!" said Rarity, wanting to help the shiny Pokemon so much.
"You're not getting away with this. Umbreon, let's go!" Gary yelled as he threw his Poke Ball into the air, releasing the dark type Eeveelution.
"Ha, an Umbreon is going to be great to test out our new Pokemon. Come on out Inkay!" yelled James as he released a squid like Pokemon that floated easily in mid-air.
"You too Pumpkaboo!" yelled Jessie as she released a pumpkin- looking Pokemon that also floated in the air.
"Who are they?" asked Pikachu, never seeing them before.
"Two more Kalos Region Pokemon. Pumpkaboo, a Grass & Ghost type and Inkay, a Dark & Psychic type. This isn't going to be easy. Now Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!" commanded Gary.
"Pumpkaboo, counter it with your Shadow Ball!" yelled Jessie as both Pokemon fired their attacks, causing a mid-air explosion.
"Inkay, now, use Foul Play!" yelled James as the squid Pokemon rushed at Umbreon and hit it with some powerful shots since Umbreon was stronger then it.
"Umbreon, stay strong! Use Dark Pulse now!" yelled Gary as Umbreon shot multiple dark waves at Team Rocket's Pokemon.
"Alright Wobbuffet, how about a Mirror Coat please?" asked Jessie as her other Pokemon got in front of the other two and reflected the attack back at Umbreon, who took even more damage.
"Umbreon, no!" yelled Gary, worried for his Pokemon. Suddenly, the others got in front of Gary.
"Hey, we're trainers now, so we're going to help!" said Dash as Pikachu noticed that his friends now held belts on their legs just like the princesses.
"But this isn't like a battle against a wild Pokemon or regular trainer, these guys are part of a world wide criminal organization." said Gary.
"True, but they're also the reason we're all injured. Besides, we won't let them get away with that or those Pokemon." said Applejack. Soon, they all released their Pokemon that they befriended or got their attention earlier.
"Hahahaha, amateurs, you think you can beat us in a battle! We flattened you the last time!" said Meowth.
"All the more reason to beat you! Drifloon, Shadow Ball!" suddenly commanded Pinkie as her new Drifloon fired it's attack, hitting Inkay and doing some damage to it.
"Pinkie, how did you know what it's attack was? We never found out what they were." Fluttershy questioned Pinkie.
"Don't be silly, I took the time to find out all their moves. For instance..." suddenly, Pinkie whispered something in Twilight's ear, making her question what Pinkie was saying, but decided just go with what Pinkie said.
"Alright, um, Ralts, use Confusion." said Twilight and suddenly, her Ralts used a special power to lift Jessie's Pumpkaboo into the air and keep it in the same place as Pinkie then whispered something in Fluttershy's ear.
"Umm, use Ember Torchic...if you want to that is..." said Fluttershy and her tiny chick Pokemon shot several sparks of fire at Pumpkaboo, the barrage doing some heavy damage as Jessie growled.
"Alright, you asked for it! Yanmega, use Sonicboom!" yelled Jessie as she released her flying bug Pokemon from it's Poke Ball and it fired it's attack at the others as Pinkie finished whispering something in Apple Bloom's ear.
"Mareep, use Thundershock!" commanded Apple Bloom as the tiny sheep Pokemon used Thundershock to counter the Sonicboom as Pinkie finished up with the other crusaders.
"Alright Chimchar, Flame Wheel!" yelled Scootaloo as her Chimchar rushed at Yanmega in a ball of fire, crashing into it and sending Yanmega against the cage, bending the bars a bit which the shiny Charmander noticed.
"Okay, Gyarados, go and use Dragon Rage!" yelled James as he released the dragon Pokemon, but Sweetie Belle seemed to be ready.
"Okay Igglybuff, use Attract!" yelled Sweetie as her tiny puff ball Pokemon floated up to Gyarados and sent hearts at it, making Gyarados fall in love with it, stopping it's attack in the process
"Come on Gyarados, snap out of it!" yelled James when suddenly, they heard a familiar call. As everyone looked around, they then saw Pidgeot land in front of them.
"Hey, is that...?" asked Pikachu.
"Yeah, it's Ash's old Pidgeot! It's been staying with me for some time!" explained Gary.
"That thing looks so awesome!" said Scootaling, getting Pidgeot's attention and the bird Pokemon giving it a weird look. Scootaling was confused at first until Pikachu said something to her.
"I think Pidgeot wants to battle and it may be wanting you to help with it." said Pikachu as he then told Scootaling Pidegot's attacks as the changeling got a smirk on her face."
"I hope you three are ready! Pidgeot, use Gust!" commanded Scootaling as Pidgeot took to the sky and flapped it's wings hard enough to cause a small twister, sending Team Rocket's Pokemon flying as Blanked Bloom noticed the shiny Charmander trying to escape.
"Snivy, use Vine Whip and help that Pokemon." said Blanked as her new Snivy released two vines and helped the Charmander get free, but it quickly clawed at the vines, indicating that the Charmander still didn't trust anyone.
"It's still won't listen. Poor dear..." said Rarity, who still wanted to help the Charmander. However, suddenly, Gyarados snapped out of the attraction.
"Alright, now Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!" yelled James as his Pokemon fired a powerful beam at everyone else's Pokemon except Dash's Oshawott, sending them all flying.
"Hey, not cool! Oshawott, Razor Shell!" yelled Dash as her Oshawott took off the scalchop on it's belly and formed it into a blade before charging at Team Rocket's Pokemon.
"Yanmega, Steel Wing!" yelled Jessie as Yanmega counted Razor Shell with it's hardened wings, sending Oshawott flying in the process as Dash caught it in air.
"Now to catch the loose one!" said Meowth as he noticed the shiny Charmander had escaped and was charging at it with a prepared Fury Swipes.
"Oh no you don't ruffian!" yelled Rarity as she got between the Charmander and Meowth and blasted Meowth away with a weak blast of magic, but strong enough to send the cat Pokemon flying. The Charmander looked at Rarity with a surprised look.
"Don't you worry darling, I won't let them take you away!" said Rarity as she got ready to defend Charmander against Team Rocket.
"Resistance is futile! Pumpkaboo, use Frustration!" yelled Jessie as the pumpkin ghost Pokemon charged at Rarity.
"Inkay, use Tackle!" commanded James as his Pokemon followed right behind Jessie's as Rarity got ready for the impacts. Suddenly, she saw out of the corner of her eye Charmander leap out in front of her and fire a glowing blue orb at the two Team Rocket Pokemon, knocking them down.
"Charmander..." was all Rarity could say, surprised to see the Charmander having come to her rescue. Charmander then turned towards Rarity and gave her a smile, indicating it wanted to battle with her. Rarity understood completely and got ready as Pinkie, having known all of the Pokemon's moves already somehow, whispered Charmander's moves to Rarity.
"Alright, Charmander dear, use Dragon Pulse!" yelled Rarity as the shiny Charmander fired another blue ball at Inkay and Pumpkaboo, sending them flying.
"Why you little...! Yanmega, Silver Wind!" yelled Jessie.
"Use Air Cutter!" yelled Rarity as Chamander fired a bunch of wind like blades as Yanmega's Silver Wind, causing an explosion which Rarity took advantage of.
"Now use Flamethrower!" commanded Rarity as Charmander fired a powerful stream of fire, which hit Yanmega and continued going forward, also hitting Gyarados, who was still resting after the Hyper Beam, knocking it against the cage and causing the bars to bend even more, enough for the Pokemon in the cage to escape.
"Oh no, this looks bad." said James as he and the rest of Team Rocket saw the Pokemon escape before they turned back towards Rarity and Charmander, with Charmander looking very angry.
"Alright, now it's time to finish you ruffians off! Charmander, use Blast Burn!" yelled Rarity.
"BLAST BURN!?" yelled everyone else except Pinkie as Charmander suddenly fired a huge ball of fire at Team Rocket like a missile, causing a big explosion and Team Rocket was seen flying out of the explosion.
"Well, I guess are chances of winning just went up in smoke." said Meowth.
"I'm really feeling a burning sensation about this loss." said James.
"Would you two knock it off already!?" yelled Jessie.
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" yelled Team Rocket as they disappeared into the sky. Rarity smiled.
"We did it!" happily exclaimed Rarity as Charmander ran up to her and hugged her. Rarity returned it as Pikachu looked on with a smile.
"It's crazy that that Charmander knows the most powerful Fire-type attack without being a Charizard, but it saved the day, so I'm not complaining." said Pikachu, getting a nod from everyone who heard him as Rarity suddenly felt a light bulb turn on in her head.
"IDEA! Hey Charmander dear, would you like to be my starter?" asked Rarity. Charmander seemed to think about it for a while, but then it looked at Rarity with a smile on it's face and nodded. Gary took that as a sign and handed Rarity a spare Poke Ball.
"Well Rarity, what are you waiting for? Make it official." said Gary. Rarity knew what to do as she threw the Poke Ball high into the air. Charmander happily leaped up and hit the Poke Ball, disappearing into it as the ball landed in front of Rarity and shook a couple of times before clicking, making the capture complete.
"Alright, I now have a Charmander!" happily cheered Rarity as the others came up and congratulated her as Gary then took something out of his pocket.
"Way to go Rarity, I know you and Charmander will make a great team. Here, I have something for you. I found these in the Kalos Region." said Gary as he handed Rarity two stones, a large green one and a smaller blue one.
"What are they?" asked Buneary.
"All I'm going to say is that they're called Mega Stones and you'll be able to use them once Charmander evolves into Charizard, which might not happen for some time."
"I see. Thank you though dear, I'll keep them with me at all times." said Rarity.
"Aww, we missed all the fun. I wanted to battle as well." said Keldeo as he, Mesprit, Uxie, and Pikatwo had missed the battle with Team Rocket as the three legendaries were getting their wounds healed while Pikatwo was getting another device from the princesses, making him a trainer as well. Everyone except Scootaling was now waiting for the train for Ponyville.
"Yeah, but we had things under control. So Pikatwo, you're coming with us?" Pikachu asked his clone.
"Yeah, someone's gotta make sure you don't push yourself and who else but someone who knows your limits. Besides, when you heal, we're going to battle." said Pikatwo, issuing the challenge to Pikachu, who smiled and nodded as Scootaling suddenly flew down on Pidgeot.
"Hey, what are you doing on Pidgeot?" asked Blanked.
"You don't know? Pidgeot here is now my starter!" said Scootaling as Pidgeot gave off a loud chirp.
"No fair, you're starter is already really powerful!" said Scootaloo to her rival. The changeling shared glances with her before turning her attention to Pikachu, Buneary, and Victini, noticing their looks had changed. Pikachu was wearing a blue jacket with gold trim and white collar and sleeves, green fingerless gloves with light green borders, and a hat that was red and white with a green, stylized "L" on the front. Buneary was wearing a mini dress which was mostly black with a white undershirt inside a V-shaped neck with a short pink skirt and a white beanie with a pink Poké Ball print on it. And Victini was wearing a green vest, which had four large pockets on the front and was wearing it over an orange short-sleeved shirt.
"Hey, what's with the outfits?" asked the changeling as she returned her new starter to it's Poke Ball.
"Well after we became trainers, I asked Rarity to make these for us." said Pikachu.
"And I was more then happy to oblige." finished Rarity. At that moment, the princesses and Gary walked up to them.
"We want to wish you a safe trip back to Ponyville. After everything that's happened, I hope no more crazy stuff happens." said Celestia.
"Me too, I think we all could use a break from everything that's happened these past few days." said Twilight.
"Indeed and we are happy to inform you that Ponyville is going to be redoing Nightmare Night after the incident with Team Rocket. And we shall be there." said Luna.
"Might have ta work on the language a bit princess. After all, it's been a while since you've been with anypony." said Applejack, making the lunar princess blush from embarrassment. Gary then walked up.
"Safe trip everyone. Pikachu, Buneary, Victini, and Pikatwo, remember what I've asked the four of you to do." said Gary.
"Don't worry, we'll save those Pokemon. I've got a thing or two with Team Rocket anyway." said Pikatwo. At that moment, the train arrived and Celestia, Luna, and Gary said their goodbyes to the group as they got on board and headed for Ponyville.
"I hope they're save on their trip. Hmm? Oh, I just remembered something." said Gary.
"What is it?" asked Celestia.
"I could have sworn there was one more Pokemon in the gardens today that Gramps sent before I came here. But I haven't seen it." said Gary. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over the three and they turned right around to see what looked like a large purple blob towering over them.
"Muk muk!" happily said the Pokemon as it suddenly glomped on the three in a big hug.
"AHHHHHH!!!" yelled Gary and the princesses as they tried to get Muk off them, their struggles being heard from a fair distance as the journey continues.
To be continued...
Pikachu's Jukebox! Winter Wrap Up