Celestia grimaced as she pushed open the door to Arceus’ meeting hall. “It’s been almost two days, and if what I know about him is anything to go by, he’s not one to procrastinate.”
Since her meeting a few days prior, she had awaited word that Sombra had been... dealt with. Either from her niece or from Arceus.
No news had come as of yet.
Celestia tapped her hoof as she waited for Arceus to appear. After a minute, a flash of gold announced the Alpha Pokémon’s arrival. “Greetings Princess,” Arceus said. “What brings you here today?”
“I wanted to-” Celestia began, then stopped as she stared, dumbfounded, at Arceus. “Why are you wearing a pith helmet?”
Arceus glanced up at his headgear. “Hmm, must have forgotten that was there after I left the pyramids.”
“What?” Celestia asked as the hat disappeared.
“Nevermind, what is it you wanted to ask me?”
Celestia shook her head. “What’s happening with the Crystal Empire? Has your son found Sombra yet?”
Arceus shook his head. “I didn’t send Giratina this time, I asked Yveltal to fly to the Crystal Empire and assist your niece in disposing of Sombra.”
Celestia looked at Arceus in confusion. “Any particular reason you sent this... Yveltal,” She frowned at the name. “Instead of Giratina?”
Arceus shrugged. “While Giratina is well versed in shadows and darkness, Yveltal’s methods are more fitting to the task at hand,” He explained. “Plus, it’ll be good for him to get out. He’s been in his room since we got here.”
Celestia hid her disdain. “Very well... why don’t you tell me about Yveltal then? What’s his story?”
Arceus considered this for a moment, then answered. “He’s one of the three Legendaries tasked with overseeing the Kalos region, the other two being Lord Zygarde and Lady Xerneas, and part of the Mortality Duo, alongside Xerneas.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Mortality Duo?”
Arceus nodded. “Xerneas and Yveltal represent life and death respectively.”
Celestia stopped as her brain considered what Arceus had just told her, then what she knew about the Crystal Empire and Cadence.
Outside the room, in Canterlot castle, the hallway shook as the Princess yelled. “YOU SENT DEATH TO DEFEAT-”
The shout was cut off abruptly by a suddenly soundproof door, before any passing ponies could hear the rest.
“-KING SOMBRA!? ARE YOU INSANE?!”
“I felt it fitting, considering what you told me. It seems this King Sombra has a knack for cheating death, so I figured a more...direct approach might be what was needed.”
In a way, that made sense. Sombra should have died at least twice by now, but Celestia wasn’t convinced. “What does his... title, enable him to do?” She asked, fearful of the answer.
“Yveltal can drain the life force of any living creature within a certain vicinity,” Arceus explained. “Including plants and possibly microbial life forms.”
Celestia stared at Arceus in disbelief. “Why would you even create a being like that?”
“Zygarde is the Order Pokémon, and was put in charge of Kalos. At first I helped him oversee the region so he could also focus on maintaining the order of the world, but he needed assistance after I was... imprisoned. So I helped him create Xerneas and Yveltal, life and death. It’s a balance thing.”
Celestia took a deep breath. “How dangerous is Yveltal? Should we take precautions in case he goes rogue?” She asked.
Arceus smirked. “How dangerous is Discord? How dangerous are most of my Legendaries?”
Celestia frowned at him.
Arceus sighed. “Yveltal is less dangerous than me or my sons, and I have precautions in place that prevent him from draining the life force of other Legendaries,” He explained. “Not because I don’t trust him though. I put the same kind of protections on Darkrai to prevent him from entering other Legendaries dreams.”
Arceus turned away from the Princess as he considered the other half of her question. “As for just how dangerous he is... if Xerneas is around, she negates his ability, and I can do the same on a whim. And should he ever ‘go rogue’ as you put it, I will deal with him, and take responsibility for whatever he did.”
“You have an amazing amount of faith in the Legen... in your family,” Celestia said.
Arceus smiled softly. “Sometimes, those you have the least reason to trust, have the greatest need for it.”
Celestia nodded. For a minute the two stood in silence.
“Did you need anything else Princess?” Arceus asked.
Celestia thought for a moment, then answered. “The world summit will be in five days, roughly marking the two week anniversary of your arrival...or at least, your announcement,” She paused, then added. “And you’re allowed to bring an adviser with you to the proceedings, to assist you in any matters that may arise.”
Arceus smiled. “I believe I know just who to bring. Thank you, Princess.”
Celestia nodded and made her way to the exit, before she left, she paused when a thought occurred to her, and turned back towards Arceus. “You’re... you’re not going to bring one of your sons are you?” She asked. “It’s just... I don’t think they’d fit in the meeting room, and-”
“And you don’t want me freaking out the other rulers any more than I have already. I understand,” He turned back to the Princess. “I’m actually planning to bring my daughter Uxie. This kind of thing is right up her alley.”
Celestia recalled Arceus’ daughters, though not which one was Uxie. “Very well. I’ll see you in five days, if not sooner.” And with that, the Alicorn left the room.
Arceus smiled to himself as he trotted into the Hall of Legends. “She’s always been interested in politics,” He mused. “So I’m sure she’ll jump at this opportunity, plus,” He smirked. “If they ask about her eyes... they’ll know not to underestimate any of us.”
It was just past three when Twilight finally stepped off what had to be the most awkward train ride she’d ever been on.
It wasn’t anything specific, just the inherent awkwardness of being in the same train car as three beings that didn’t trust you. Terra had actually been quite sociable though. And Octavia was the same respectful mare as always.
It didn’t help that Belle and Elena had been glaring at each other for the past half hour, and the fact that Belle was curled up next to Gene, smirking at the Lucario as if she knew something, just seemed to agitate the injured Lucario even more.
“Ok,” Twilight said, turning back to the group as they all exited the train. “Since some of you are new to Ponyville, why don’t we give you the grand tour?” Twilight asked.
“Thanks Twilight,” Vinyl replied. “But we got this.”
Twilight sighed, then smiled. “Why don’t you take Pinkie Pie? She knows pretty much everyone in town, and I’m sure she can help with the tour.”
Pinkie Pie smiled. “That’s a super-duper idea Twilight!” Pinkie said, bouncing in place. “And I can start planning your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!”
Before anyone could protest, Pinkie had grabbed Iris by the claw and Nick by the paw and dragged them off towards the town. This had Elena and Terra chasing after him, and Vinyl and Octavia chasing them.
“You sure that’s a good idea Twilight?” Gene asked. “Nick, Elena and Vinyl Scratch still seem kind of... upset,” He sighed. “Not that I can blame them.”
“I know,” Twilight said. “But trust me on this one. NOBODY can stay mad at Pinkie Pie for long.”
“And that’s the way to the schoolhouse, where Cheerilee teaches class Monday through Friday, as long as there’s not a national disaster,”
“I’m not sure she’s breathing,” Nick whispered to Elena in a hushed tone. “She keeps talking, but she’s not taking any air in.”
For the past half hour, Pinkie Pie had been giving the Pokémon what she called. ‘Pinkie Pie’s Super Tourtacular Tour of Ponyville’. This apparently involved telling them who lived in what house, worked in what shop, and introducing them to anypony they met on the street.
Iris trailed behind the rest of the group, still uncertain about trusting them. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was seemingly oblivious to the situation, and instead focused on her tour, occasionally slipping in a question so she could retrieve another piece of information to help her plan her new friends’ upcoming parties.
“And this is the park where I threw my first ‘Welcome to Ponyville Extravaganza’ which was a big party welcoming all the Pokémon, even Arceus showed up!”
That shocked them. “You met Arceus?” Nick asked nervously.
Pinkie nodded. “Uh huh, a few times actually, he seems like a pretty nice guy once you get to know him, a little absentminded maybe. Anyway, did I tell you this was also where Rainbow Dash and Latias raced? It was so amazing...”
While Pinkie droned on Iris noticed a little head kept poking out of a nearby bush to stare at her, an Axew.
Iris smiled as she remembered her Haxorus, and when she had been that small. I hope she’s alright, Iris thought.
Checking that Pinkie still had the rest of the group occupied, Iris made her way over to the bush.
She was standing less than five feet from it when the Axew popped its head out again. “Eep!” He squeaked, jumping back into the bush.
Iris chuckled. “It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you,” She said calmly. After a moment, the Axew emerged from the bush, followed by a Bagon, a Gible, and a Dratini.
Iris chuckled again. “Well, would look at this,” She said to herself. It was rare to see this many Dragons, especially first forms, in one place.
“Um... hello,” Bagon said nervously. “Sorry to bother you miss...”
Iris couldn’t help but smile. “It’s no problem,” She assured the young Pokémon. “But why were you hiding in that bush?”
“We saw you come into the clearing,” Dratini answered. “And... well...”
She didn’t have to finish. “You don’t have to be afraid of little ‘ol me,” Iris said comfortingly. “I’d never hurt a Dragon, especially ones such as yourselves.”
“Really?” Gible asked.
“Of course not. In fact, I specialized in Dragon-types back on Earth.”
The four little Dragons looked at her in confusion, then at each other, then Bagon spoke up. “Um... what does that mean?”
Iris’ shoulders slumped, she had forgotten the part where she wasn’t a trainer anymore. “Lord Arceus brought a bunch of humans with when he moved here,” Iris explained. “But he turned them all into Pokémon... one of those humans was me.”
The Dragon Pokémon’s eyes widened. “You were a human?” Gible asked. “That’s... cool,” She said.
“You were a Dragon Trainer?” Dratini asked. “Were you from Blackthorn City? That’s where we lived.”
“No, I was from Opelucid City,” She smirked. “And I wasn’t a Dragon Trainer.” When the four of them starting looking confused again, she added. “I was a Dragon Master.”
The four of them gasped. There were only a few Dragon Master’s in the entire world, the Master of the Dragon Tamer Clan was the eldest, while Lance and Clair were the youngest aside from...
“Lady Iris?” Bagon asked.
“That’s me... wait did you call me Lady Iris?” She had had a few initiate Dragon Trainers refer to her as such, but she wasn’t aware that Dragon-type Pokémon did the same.
“Yes my Lady,” Bagon replied. “And it’s an honor to meet you.”
Iris looked down at the four of them, all staring up at her in awe. “So,” She began. “What are you all up to?” She had no idea how to address this situation, usually, younger Dragons just wanted her to play with them.
Bagon stood up straight and saluted. “We’re the Training Dragon club ma’am!”
Iris held a claw over her mouth to keep from laughing as he explained to her their goal, it was a noble and serious thing, but it was just so cute coming from a little Bagon.
“We actually have a fifth member,” Dratini added at the end. “But Spike lives in the big tree in town,”
Iris wondered if this was the same Spike Twilight had mentioned.
“Spike’s kinda weird,” Gible said absentmindedly. “He keeps saying that since he’s not a Pokémon, he doesn’t battle, but he’s a Dragon!”
Yep, probably the same Spike.
Smiling to herself, Iris decided to help Twilight’s assistant out. “Have you considered that maybe Spike’s not made to be in Pokémon battles?” Iris asked. “He’s not the same kind of Dragon we are.” She felt odd, including herself in that.
The four of them blinked, obviously not getting it. “Look,” Iris said. “Spike doesn’t have the same abilities as a Pokémon, he can’t use attacks, and he doesn’t heal as fast,” She explained. “Plus, he’s not as durable, so he could get really hurt in a battle.”
Iris was just making assumptions based on what Twilight had told her when she asked the Alicorn about the Dragon’s native to Equus.
“Really?” Dratini asked.
“Really,” Iris answered.
“Aww, but we were looking forward to working with him,” Axew complained.
“I’m sure there are other ways you can help Spike, and vice versa,” Iris said, she noticed that Pinkie and the others were watching her now, some rather impatiently. “Anyway, it’s been nice meeting you all, but I’ve got to go now.”
Iris waved goodbye to the little Dragons, and promised to give them some pointers next time she saw them.
Once she was out of earshot, the Dragons all looked at each other. “Ohmygosh! WemetIris! We ACTUALLY MET IRIS!”
“Well, the place is still standing,” Gene said as he, Belle and Mage made their way to Carousel Boutique. “That’s a good sign.”
Gene was slightly nervous as he walked up to the door, he wasn’t use to leaving his Pokémon alone for any extended amount of time, and he didn’t know how Fang or Draco would act.
Belle smiled at her mate. “Don’t worry, Draco won’t do anything stupid, and we brought Mage with so she couldn’t get Fang into any trouble.”
“Hey!” The Mismagius cried indignantly.
Gene smiled as he opened the door. “You’re probably right but still-Ack!”
Belle and Mage watched in shock as a blue blur shot from the boutique and tackled Gene to the ground.
“Gene!” River cried, wrapping her body around the former human. “You’re back... that is you right? Draco told me you were a Gallade now.”
Gene chuckled. “Yeah, it’s me, it’s good to see you River.”
The Dragonair’s tail wagged and she hugged her trainer even tighter, Mage and Belle laughed, until Gene’s eyes started to bulge out of his head.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Belle said teasingly. “Time to let go. Gene does need to breathe, after all.”
River pouted, but uncoiled herself. “Sorry,” She said.
Gene chuckled and patted River on the head. “It’s alright, but when did you get here?”
River smiled. “I was in a river when I woke up, I didn’t know where I was or where you were, so I made my way to a lake that I found and hid there for a while,” If River had had shoulders, they would’ve slumped. “Then I got scared that something happened to you, but when I started singing Draco found me!” River leaned in and nuzzled her trainer, then Belle, then Mage. “And now you’re back!”
Gene laughed again and pulled River into a hug. The Dragonair was probably the sweetest member of his team, partially because she was, as far as Pokémon years went, the youngest.
“So is anyone else here?” Gene asked. “And I assume you met Rarity already,”
River nodded. “She was surprised to see me at first, but she wasn’t mad, especially after Draco explained everything,” River giggled. “She really liked my gems and wings.”
“That’s great,” Gene said with a smile. “Is she here?”
“No,” River said. “She said she was going gem hunting, not sure when she’ll be back. And she took Fang with to help with the digging.”
“And Draco?” Gene asked.
River blinked, then smiled. “He just went for a quick flight, he should be back any second.”
Before Gene could ask how she knew that, his Flygon landed behind him and grabbed him in a bone crushing hug. “You’re back!”
“Errk!” Gene squeaked.
Belle sighed. “What is it with you Dragons? You know he needs to breathe.”
Draco immediately dropped Gene. “Sorry!”
“It’s alright,” Gene wheezed. “I’m glad you found River.”
Draco smiled, then asked. “How was your trip? Did you fix the problem?”
Gene, Belle, and Mage all looked at each other. “Why don’t we go inside?” Belle suggested. “We’ll tell you once we all get settled.”
“Fang, I must thank you once again for agreeing to help me with this,” Rarity said as she and Fang arrived at the rock field where rarity usually found her gems. “If there’s any way I can repay you, you simply must let me know.”
Fang shook his head. “Nope, I’m good. You’ve been nice enough to let us stay with you, I just wanted to do something to repay you is all.”
Rarity smiled. “In that case.” Her horn lit up with her gem finding spell and she marked a spot on the ground. “There’s a bunch of gems right there.”
Fang smiled and plodded over to the spot, sniffing the ground for a moment, the Houndoom dug into the soil.
While Fang dug, Rarity calculated how many gems she would need for a few new orders, and in case anything last minute came up. Straightening her sun hat Rarity asked. “Are you comfortable up there Spritzee?”
“Mm hmm,” The little Fairy-type hummed contentedly. “Thanks for bringing me along Miss Rarity, the sun feels nice on my feathers.”
Rarity smiled. The Perfume Pokémon had made herself right at home in Carousel Boutique, and Rarity had become quite fond of her company.
“Found ‘em,” Fang called before leaping out of the hole he had dug.
Rarity hummed to herself as she levitated the gems out of the hole. “Let’s see, ruby, sapphire, emerald, diamond, amethyst... hmm, what’s this?” Rarity held up a stone she had almost mistaken for a fire opal. It was bright yellow and orange, and looked like a tiny bit of fire had been trapped within the stone. What was most peculiar was that the stone seemed to be... warm.
“Odd design. Maybe it belongs to one of the Diamond Dogs?” Rarity hadn’t seen much of the dogs since they ponynapped her, and though she had run into a few on her trips here, they hadn’t given her any trouble.
Fang walked over to Rarity and looked at the gem in her hoof. “That’s a Fire Stone!” He said in surprise.
Rarity looked at him in confusion. “What’s a Fire Stone?”
Fang stared blankly at her for a second, as if he thought she was joking, them remembered he was on a different planet. “It’s a type of gemstone that can cause certain Pokémon to evolve,” Fang explained.
“Is that so?” Rarity asked, interested in the idea.
Fang nodded. “This kind works mostly on Fire-types,”
“Then there are more of these...” Rarity tried to find the right word.
“They’re called Evolution Stones,” Fang supplied. “And yes, there are... eight? Nine? Maybe ten, I’m not sure.”
Rarity looked at the stone for a second more, then floated it into the wagon she had brought with. “I suppose Twilight will be interested in that,” Sorting through the rest of the gems, Rarity found nothing out of the ordinary until she came to the last one. “Oh my! Looks like I’ve found another fossil.”
Rarity, on occasion, would accidentally unearth a fossils in her digging, never anything too exciting, just plants and the like which she would give to Twilight.
“Actually,” Fang said. “That’s a Leaf Stone.”
“Another one?” Rarity said. “Quite curious, I assume this one is meant for Grass Pokémon then?”
“Yep,” Fang said. “There’s also Water, Thunder, Dusk, Dawn, Sun, Moon... and I think I’m forgetting a few.”
“Very interesting,” Rarity said. “What kinds of Pokémon Evolve with these stones anyway?”
“Well, Mage did,” Fang said. “She used to be a Misdreavus, but Gene offered her a Dusk Stone to celebrate the so many anniversary of her joining our team.”
“How does that work?” Rarity wondered aloud.
“I don’t know,” Fang answered. “You’d be better off asking Professor Juniper.”
“Fair enough,” Rarity said. “Now let’s continue.”
Over the course of the next hour, Rarity and Fang managed to find and dig up several more gem deposits, almost all of them containing one form of Evolution Stone or another, and one even containing an Old Amber.
“Well, I think we have enough now,” Rarity said. “Why don’t we head back hmm? I can drop these at Twilight’s later today.”
Fang smiled. “That sounds...” The Houndoom paused as his ears flicked, picking up on something. Sniffing the air the Houndoom growled and rushed off in the opposite, quickly disappearing over a hill.
“Fang?!” Rarity cried, trotting after him. “Ohh, if I lose him Gene will never forgive me!”
Rarity came over the hill Fang had vanished over, and gawked at the sight below her. Fang was staring down what looked to be a swarm of steel ants, ants the size of a small dog, with red eyes and pincers that looked like bear traps.
The ants were gathered around a hole in the ground, or they had been, before Fang showed up.
“GrrrrRUFF!” Fang barked at the ants.
They hissed in response, one even charging the Houndoom, mandibles wide open. Rarity gasped.
Fang spat a fireball at the oncoming insect, knocking it onto its back for a moment before it scuttled back to its group.
After a few more seconds the ants apparently lost interest and gave up, heading off away from Ponyville. Fang smiled and trotted back over to Rarity. “You mind telling me what that was about?” Rarity asked.
“Durants,” Fang began. “Really destructive Bug Pokémon. You do NOT want them this close to a town.”
“And you just told them to leave?” Rarity asked.
“No,” Fang said. “I persuaded them to look for a different place to set up their nest. Fortunately those... you called them Diamond Dogs, have been giving their scouts trouble, so they were willing to move on.”
“Willing?” Rarity asked, taking a good look at the demonic, fire-spewing dog who stood taller than herself and most other ponies.
Fang rolled his eyes. “I said they needed some persuasion.” He walked past Rarity saying. “Now come on, I wanna see if Gene’s back yet.”
Rarity just sighed and looked the way the Durant had gone. If what Fang had said was true, then it was probably for the best, but she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for them, even if they had creeped her out a little bit.
As Rarity trotted after Fang, a grey head poked out of the ground. “Are they gone?” A voice asked from below.
“Looks like it. Big fire dog scared ants away.”
“Well get back down here. Mole-man find more diamonds, we need help moving them.”
The Diamond Dog sunk back into its den.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and their respective Pokémon sat in the Cutie Mark Crusaders tree fort, the three fillies going over a checklist they had written up with information from Korrina, May, and the other former trainers.
“Alright first thing we need is to make sure they’re healthy,” Sweetie Belle read. “Cause Misty says you should always make sure they’re not hurt or sick before doing any training.”
Scootaloo looked over to the Pokémon. “You guys feeling alright?"
The three of them nodded. “Check,” Scootaloo said.
“Then Korrina told us we should always be prepared, have supplies in case they need healing or we want to catch a new Pokémon, then she said to forget about that last part for now since we don’t have Pokéballs...whatever those are.”
Apple Bloom picked up the first aid kit the Crusaders kept in the tree fort. “Check.”
“Alright,” Sweetie skimmed the rest of the list. “Treat them with respect, ask them their opinion if you’re unsure of what to do... Ah hah! Here we go,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “May said that to make our Pokémon stronger and grow as trainers we need to challenge other trainers and Pokémon to battles.”
Sweetie Belle pouted. “I’m still not sure about that part, doesn’t everyone say you should solve your problems without fighting?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Apparently the Pokémon world was different, and if what’s normal for them is fighting each other to become stronger and more awesome,” The Pokémon smiled. “Then who are we to stop them?”
“Well,” Sweetie began. “I guess that makes sense.”
“Great,” Apple Bloom said. “Now come on girls, let’s see what these three can do!”
The fillies, followed by their Pokémon, raced down the ramp to their tree fort. “Alright,” Scootaloo said. “First thing we need to do is find a Pokémon to battle with.”
“Well let’s just do it away from Sweet Apple Acres,” Apple Bloom warned. “I don’t think Applejack would be too happy if we set the orchard on fire... again.”
The three Pokémon looked worriedly at each other, wondering what in Arceus’ name these three did to set an orchard on fire, but followed the fillies anyway as they made their way off the orchard.
“Alright,” Scootaloo said once they were a fair distance from Apple Bloom’s home. “Now we need to find a Pokémon to fight.” She grinned. “Who wants to go first?”
“Char!” Charmander stepped forward, bearing a cocky grin.
Scootaloo smiled. “Alright girls, looks like Charmander and I get to show you how it’s done.”
“Don’t you need to find a Pokémon to battle first?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Good point,” Scootaloo looked around. There were a few Pidgey and Pidove roosting in a nearby tree. A couple of Bidoof digging a burrow on the side of the road, a Graveler, snoring and leaning against a tree... “Ahh, none of these Pokémon are cool enough for our first battle,” Scootaloo complained.
“What about the rock thing?” Apple Bloom offered.
Scootaloo took another look at the sleeping Rock-type. “Nah, I was going to leave it in case one of you two wanted to battle it.”
Sweetie and Apple Bloom rolled their eyes.
“No, Charmander and I will battle...” She took another look around, then spotted something. “That!”
Sweetie and Apple Bloom turned to see what Scootaloo was pointing at, it turned out to be a beach ball sized thing that looked like... an angry beach ball.
“Are ya sure that’s even a Pokémon?” Apple Bloom asked.
Her question was answered when the ball turned and began rolling down the path towards the fillies. “Voltorb,” The Pokémon said as it neared them.
“Told ya,” Scootaloo smirked, trotting up to the Electric-type, Scootaloo held out her hoof and stopped its rolling.
“Voltorb?” It asked, sounding more than a little upset.
“Hey,” She said with a grin. “You wanna have a battle?”
“Char!” Charmander’s eyes widened, before he rushed up to Scootaloo, shaking his arms and his head. “Charmander! Char, char!”
“What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to battle?” Scootaloo asked in confusion.
“Voltorb!” The Electric-type, still held in place by Scootaloo, began to spark.
Charmander’s eyes widened and he pushed Scootaloo back a few feet. “What’s the-”
“Voltorb!!” The Ball Pokémon erupted in a flash of light. When the explosion faded, Scootaloo and Charmander stood there, both covered in soot.
“Ahh!” Sweetie Belle cried. “Why’d it explode?!”
Apple Bloom walked up to the unconscious Pokémon and poked it, causing it to roll a few feet. “Maybe... maybe they’re supposed ta do that?”
“Why would anything be meant to explode!” Sweetie shrieked.
“What about dynamite?” Apple Bloom asked.
Before the conversation could progress any further, Scootaloo fell over. “Ow.”
“Char?” The Fire-type asked worriedly. “Charmander?”
“You alright Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yeah... I’m just gonna lie here for a bit, until my ears stop ringing.”
Apple Bloom looked to Sweetie Belle, who was already holding up the first aid kit.
“Too bad we already tried Cutie Mark Crusaders Doctors,” Sweetie mused.
“So...who’s going next?” Sweetie Belle asked after they finished patching Scootaloo up.
Nobody said anything for a moment. “Ah guess...ah could take a turn,” Apple Bloom volunteered. “C’mon, Bulbasaur.”
“Bulba…” Bulbasaur looked uncertain, especially after what just happened with the Voltorb, but decided to follow her anyway. After all, it’s not like they’d have to worry about something like the Voltorb again...right?
“Okay...let’s start out small. Like maybe one of them little bird Pokémon or somethin’,” Apple Bloom said as she looked through the bushes, the earlier explosion having scared away all the small Pokémon that had been nearby.
“Saur,” Bulbasaur nodded in agreement.
The two of them searched through the bushes, before Apple Bloom came upon an odd looking flower. “What’s this?” she muttered as she took a closer look, only for the flower to move forward, revealing a small blue Pokémon that had arms and legs, the strange red puffy flower on its head, and seemed to have just woken up, based on its still seemingly closed eyes and the drool coming from the side of its mouth.
“Gloom?” it asked.
“Well...you look easy enough. Awright, let’s go Bulbasaur,” Apple Bloom enthusiastically said, just as Bulbasaur got a look at his would be opponent...and paled.
“Bulba bulba! Saur!” he frantically shook his head, while trying to get her to follow him away from the Pokémon.
“What’s a matter? It’s just a little flower Pokémon,” Apple Bloom said in confusion, not understanding WHY Bulbasaur seemed so afraid of something that looked so...dopey. She soon got her answer.
“Gloom Gloom!” the Gloom smiled, before aiming its head at them. “Gloooooom!” it cried as a noxious gas erupted from it…
“Come on! What’s taking Apple Bloom so long?” Scootaloo asked impatiently, as the ringing in her ears had finally stopped. She quickly got her answer as Apple Bloom and Bulbasaur came running out of the bushes...and straight into the nearby lake as they dove head first in. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Charmander, and Squirtle just looked on in confusion, before a noxious smell hit their noses as a small Pokémon stepped out of the bushes.
“Nasty!!!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shouted as they ran away, all the while covering their noses, Charmander and Squirtle doing the same as they fled from what was easily one of the smelliest Pokémon ever.
“Squirtle…” Squirtle said apprehensively as he followed Sweetie Belle. After two disastrous first attempts at finding opponents to train with, both Sweetie Belle and Squirtle were more than ready to call it a day and try again another time. However, once again, at the urgings of her friends, Sweetie caved and went along with it...though she was certain to be EXTRA careful on her turn.
“I know, Squirtle. Let’s just look around a bit, and then we can go back and say that all the Pokémon around here must have ran off,” Sweetie said, earning a nod from the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. However, just as she said that, a nearby bush shook.
Their eyes widening, they quickly backed away, ready to run for it at any moment. What came out of the bush, was a small whitish pink creature that was almost perfectly round with a pair of stubby arms and legs, the two big adorable eyes, and a small microphone in its hand. “Jigglypuff?”
“Awww…” Sweetie gushed at the sight of the adorable Pokémon, while Squirtle gulped, and soon paled in fear when he saw her walk towards the Pokémon.
“Squirtle squirt!” he tried to warn her, but like her friends, she made the mistake of ignoring him.
“Awww, you’re overreacting. Look at it. How can anything this cute be dangerous?” Sweetie said, waving off his warning.
“Jigglypuff!” the Pokémon smiled, happy at the compliment, before it raised its microphone to its mouth.
“Awww...look, it wants to sing,” Sweetie cooed, while Squirtle was frantically looking for something, anything to jam into his ears, and was soon trying to stuff leaves in. Then the Jigglypuff started to sing…
“What’s takin’ her so long? We’ve been waiting for an hour already,” Apple Bloom grumbled as the sheer amount of boredom almost put her to sleep. To her side, Scootaloo was already asleep, while Charmander and Bulbasaur were chasing after some small bugs (not Pokémon) to relieve the boredom. As if on cue, the bushes started shaking, waking up Scootaloo, and a white hoof came out.
“Well, its about time. We’ve been waiting for you for-” Scootaloo didn’t get to finish as she, Apple Bloom, Charmander, and Bulbasaur saw Sweetie’s and Squirtle’s faces. There was a moment of stunned silence...before the four of them broke out into uncontrollable laughter.
Sweetie Belle and Squirtle just leveled a pair of death glares at them, before stomping away towards the river, intending to wash off the ink that had been scribbled on their faces to make what was easily the most ridiculous look either of them had ever seen. Meanwhile, back in the bushes, the Jigglypuff puffed up in annoyance. “Puff!” it said as it trudged away, looking for someone else to sing to, hopefully one who WOULDN’T fall asleep.
Twilight sat on one of her reading chairs, frowning as she read over a letter from Seth Crescent, talking about how his friend, Elesa had Evolved a few nights ago.
Twilight was beginning to wonder if the universe was pulling some kind of sick joke on her, it seemed that every time a Pokémon Evolved, or Mega Evolved, she missed it.
“And pretty much all the ones I know are in their final forms,” She sighed. Picking up a few sheets of paper, she jotted down some more notes over what she had learned in Manehattan.
After a few minutes, Twilight became absorbed in her work, currently jotting down notes on what Iris had told her about Dragon Pokémon and how they compared to the Dragons of Equus.
Twilight was so invested in her work that, as was usual in this kind of situation, she failed to hear the knock at the door. Once the knocking had stopped, and Twilight still hadn’t come to the door, it opened on its own.
“Twilight?” Gene asked, poking his head inside. “You in?”
Twilight didn’t answer, she was still completely absorbed in her notes.
“Twilight?” Gene asked, stepping inside. “Twilight you awake?”
She still didn’t respond. Gene sighed. “I brought a wheelbarrow of Pokémon stuff.”
“Huh?” Twilight looked up from her work and smiled when she saw Gene. “Oh hi Gene, when did you get here?”
Gene smiled. “Not long ago, I was just bringing over some stuff from Rarity.”
“Pokémon stuff?” Twilight asked hopefully.
Gene nodded. “Bring it in guys!”
Twilight watched as Fang and pulled in a wheelbarrow filled with what looked like jewels. He was followed by a serpentine being that almost made Twilight jump, until she got a better look and realized it was more like an eel or a sea serpent than a snake.
“First off, Twilight, this is River. She’s another one of my Pokémon,” Gene introduced.
“Nice to meet you Miss Twilight,” River said, holding out her tail. After a moment, Twilight realized this was the closest River could get to a hoofshake.
“It’s nice to meet you too River,” Twilight replied, shaking River’s tail. “If you don’t mind me asking, what type of Pokémon are you?”
River smiled. “I’m a Dragonair,” She answered.
Twilight smiled and jotted down a few more notes, thanks to her prior learnings, she already knew that a Dragonair was a Dragon-type Pokémon... it was also kind of obvious, being right in the name and all.
“Alright,” twilight said, setting down her notepad. “Now, what’s with the gems?” She picked up a dark purple one. “These for Spike or something?”
Gene chuckled. “No, these are Evolution Stones, they’re-”
“Items that can be used to cause Evolution in certain types of Pokémon.” Twilight finished, a smile plastered on her face. “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Where did you get these?” She asked excitedly.
Fang yawned and stretched out on the floor. “Rarity and I found them while we were out hunting for gems.”
Twilight lifted up one of the stones in her magic. “What’s this one?” She asked.
“That’s a Thunder Stone,” Gene said.
“And this one?” She held up a second stone.
“Water Stone,” River replied.
Twilight was about to ask the same question again when Juniper floated downstairs, a towel wrapped around her waist and another around the top portion of her head. “Oh! Gene, I didn’t realize you were here.” Juniper pulled the towel around her waist up a little higher.
“Yeah, we were just dropping off some Evolution Stones that Rarity found.”
Juniper’s eyes lit up. “Evolution Stones? Here? How?”
Gene shrugged. “Beats me, I suppose Arceus probably has something to do with it.”
“Hi Juniper,” River chimed in. “Gene told me you were a Beheeyem now.”
Juniper’s shoulders slumped. “I know, still getting use to it.” The Pokémon Professor dropped her towel and grabbed her lab coat, which was hanging on a hook near the door. “Anyway, let’s have a look at these, shall we?”
Juniper floated over to where Twilight was sorting and examining the stones. The Beheeyem smirked. “Hey River, I think I found something for you,” Juniper held up a smooth, gray stone.
Twilight jumped at the opportunity to ask a question. “Why? What’s that stone? What does it do?”
Juniper laughed at Twilight’s eagerness. “Well Twilight, this is what’s referred to as an Everstone. It’s a special type of Evolution item as it actually ISN’T an Evolution item. In fact, it’s the complete opposite!”
“How so?” Twilight asked curiously. To her, the stone didn’t look all that different than the others...except that it didn’t have any notable features that denoted a particular element.
“That’s because an Everstone is an item that PREVENTS Pokémon from evolving.”
Twilight’s mouth hung open, she was barely able comprehend how Pokémon were able to Evolve like they did in the first place. Learning that it was possible to prevent Evolution? “H-how?” She began. “How is that possible?”
Juniper stroked her chin. “Something about the minerals that make up an Everstone being able to lock a Pokémon’s genetic structure.”
Twilight blinked at the stone Juniper was holding. “Wait,” She turned to River. “You have another form?”
River nodded. “I could Evolve into a Dragonite,” She answered, her head dropping slightly.
“Well,” Twilight began. Not noticing the ‘please don’t ask look’ Gene was giving her. “Why don’t you want to?”
River’s head snapped back up and her eyes locked with Twilight’s. “Because I like being the way I am,” She said. “Because all the Dragonites I’ve ever met have been so serious and I just hated it,” Twilight took a few steps back. “Because I’m sick of people saying, ‘just wait till she evolves, then, watch out!’ thinking that I’m not as strong as their Pokémon just because I’m not fully Evolved.” River had tears in her eyes. “B-because I’m afraid I won’t be myself anymore if I DO evolve.”
Gene wrapped an arm around River and pulled her close to him. “It’s alright River,” He said, stroking her neck. “You know I’d never make you do that.”
Twilight turned to Juniper, who sighed. “Twilight... it’s not just a Pokémon’s form that changes when they Evolve, sometimes, their personality will change too,”
Twilight wanted to ask a question but Juniper stopped her. “In most, they just get more mature, but in some Pokémon, a few Dragon-types especially, the change can be dramatic.”
“How dramatic?” Twilight asked.
Juniper developed a sad look. “A trainer came to me once with his Reuniclus after it Evolved from a Duosion, he said he barely even recognized his partner anymore.”
“And River?” Twilight asked.
Juniper smiled softly. “She’s a big sweetheart, the only time I’ve ever seen her get angry at all is when someone threatens Gene,” The Pokémon Professor frowned again. “But Dragonite are usually more serious, kinda mysterious and not all that open with their emotions.”
“Which is the exact opposite of River,” Fang supplied. “And why she wants an Everstone.”
Twilight looked at the stone she was now holding in her magic. “Are you sure you’re not over exaggerating a little bit?” Twilight asked. “I mean, how much did you change when you Evolved?” She asked Fang.
The Houndoom cracked open an eyelid. “I was much more like some of the dogs you have on this world before I Evolved,” He stood up, forcing Twilight to look up at him. “I suppose I just matured between then and now, but of our team? Mage wasn’t always as infuriatingly intelligent and irritating. Draco is much more protective and honor bound compared to when he was a Vibrava, and Belle’s schoolgirl crush turned into true love set deep within her heart.”
Twilight looked back at the Everstone, then to River, who was slowly wrapping her coils around her trainer for comfort.
Twilight sighed and walked up it the Dragonair. “River?” She said.
The Dragonair turned away from Gene and looked at Twilight.
“I... I want you to have this.” Twilight held out the Everstone. She was still somewhat reluctant to give it up, since it might yield important information about Pokémon. But this was more important.
“R-really?” River asked.
Twilight nodded. “I was just going to scan it, run some experiments to see what kind of minerals and magic it had,” She pushed it closer to River. “But you have an actual reason for using it.”
River stared, shocked, at Twilight for a second, then smiled. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She cried, unraveling herself from around Gene and wrapping Twilight in a hug.
“You’re... welcome,” Twilight gasped.
After a few more seconds, and before Twilight could pass out from lack of air, River released the Alicorn and looked at the Everstone floating in her magic.
“River,” Gene said, stepping forward. “I want you to remember that once you do this you can never Evolve,” He knew River wanted this, but he wanted to make sure she understood what she was doing. “I can always hold onto the stone for now in case you change your mind later on."
The Dragon Pokémon thought for a second. She looked down her smooth, thin, graceful serpentine body, and thought about the bulky, muscular form of Dragonite. She compared the white fluffy wings on her head to Dragonite’s own, as well as the antenna that grew from their head. She thought about how she might not be herself if she ever Evolved.
“I have to do this,” She decided. “I just have to be myself.”
River leaned forward and touched the Everstone to her horn, after a few seconds, and a small amount of concentration, the Everstone began to glow bright white, as did River.
The gathered beings took a few steps back as the light became almost blinding. After a few more seconds, the glow began to fade. Starting at the tip of River’s tail, the light retreated. Once more revealing her serpentine form.
The glow eventually faded into River, leaving her sitting there, smiling softly. The Everstone nowhere to be seen. “Oh thank you so much!” River said, bringing Twilight in for another hug.
Twilight was about to say it was no trouble, until River gasped and released her. “I’ve got to go tell Draco!”
The Dragonair practically flew out the door.
Gene smiled. “I’m glad she’s not going to lose that,” He said. “Come on Fang, let’s go check back in with the others.”
Fang trotted over to his trainer and the two made their way out of the library. “And Twilight?” Gene said before he left. “Thanks.”
Twilight wave goodbye to the two and shut the door behind him. “Alright, now back to the task at hoof,” She picked another stone from the pile. “What’s this one, and what does it do?”