Roo had no idea what was going on around her. One moment, she was riding on the back of a Butterfree, having the time of her life, the next moment, she fell asleep for no reason, and then just now, she woke up in the arms of some weird creature that looked a little like a Ponyta.
“Who are you?” the baby Kangaskhan asked as she looked up at the Ponyta thing.
“What did it say?” another creature asked, this one looking a little like a small blueish Rapidash.
“I think it said 'Kangaskhan,'” the Ponyta replied. She then looked down at Roo. “Is that what you said?”
“No, I said 'who are you?'” Roo replied, but all that came out was, “Khan, Kanga Kangaskhan.”
“Odd,” the Rapidash said. “Why's it talking like that?”
“I dunno,” the Ponyta replied. “It looks like a baby, so that's probably all it can say right now.”
“'Baby'? 'All it can say'?” Roo shouted. “I'm older and can speak better Pokenglish than some of my best friends!”
“Bon Bon, I think it's angry,” the Rapidash said.
“Oh relax, Lyra,” the Ponyta called 'Bon Bon' replied. “Maybe it's just one of those kids who doesn't like being treated like a kid.”
“Listen to your friend, Miss Lyra,” Roo said. “She seems to know her stuff.”
“It keeps saying 'Kangaskhan,'” Bon Bon said while looking at Roo with confusion evident on her face. “I wonder why...”
“Maybe that's its name,” Lyra replied with a shrug. “Isn't the first word most foals learn usually their name?”
“My name's Roo, for you information,” Roo replied.
“Kangaskhan...” Bon Bon said while thinking about the name for a little while. “It sounds like a mix between 'kangaroo' and another word for 'ruler'.” Bon Bon then raised Roo into the air and eyed her from this angle for a moment. “Whoever your parents were, they must have had pretty high hopes for your future, Miss Khan.”
“No, that's just the name of my species!” Roo shouted. “My name is Roo! Why isn't anyone here paying any attention to what I'm-” Suddenly, Roo stopped dead in her tracks and sniffed the air. “Are those pancakes I smell?”
“Is something wrong with it?” Lyra asked as she got up and walked over to Bon Bon, noting Roo's sudden attitude change.
“I dunno,” Bon Bon replied.
Roo wasn't paying attention to their conversation. She was busy surveying the room for the pancakes she smelled. There, to her left, on the table, was a plate with at least three pancakes on it. Upon seeing this sight, Roo's stomach began rumbling. She thought she had lunch a few minutes ago, but right now, she felt like she hadn't eaten in over a day.
“PANCAKES!” Roo shouted as she suddenly leapt from Bon Bon's hooves and towards the table. Both mares could only watch with stunned expressions as Roo leapt almost a full yard from Bon Bon's hooves to the table, landing with a perfect barrel roll.
“What the-?” Lyra started. She was interrupted, however, when she saw what Roo was doing. Without wasting a second after landing, the little one quickly ran over to the plate with pancakes on it and started inhaling them as fast as her little mouth could. “She's eating my pancakes!”
“I guess she was just hungry,” Bon Bon said with a slight smile. “That could be why it was angry.”
”No, I was angry because you were treating me like I was hatched just a few minutes ago,” Roo thought to herself. She would have said it, but her mouth was full. Plus the fact that she was finally able to gather that, for some reason, these creatures couldn't understand her. Kinda like Felix.
It took less than two minutes for Roo to eat all three of the pancakes, all of which probably added up to about her body weight. “Holy Miltank, that was good,” Roo said out loud as she fell to her back and caught her breath from the ferocity of the feast she just partook in. “Almost as good as Felix's pancakes...”
Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon Bon could only stare the whole time. This creature who clearly wasn't from Equus just showed up on their doorstep, went into a fit, then suddenly switched gears and devoured half the pancakes Lyra had made... all within less 5 minutes.
“Well then...” Bon Bon said after a while. “That was... something.”
“Now do you see what picking up random animals that show up on our doorstep and bringing them inside leads to?” Lyra asked.
Hearing the word 'animal,' Roo quickly picked up her head and glared at Lyra. “Hey! I'm not an animal! I'm a Poke- urp. Ate too fast...” And Roo quickly fell back down.
“Okay, so I guess it's not an animal,” Lyra said. “Though it can't say anything other than 'Kangaskhan', it seems to be trying to communicate to us.”
“You're right,” Bon Bon said. Just then, an idea popped into her mind. “Hey, Lyra, didn't you study some kind of translation spell once?”
“A few years ago,” Lyra replied. “Never needed it, though, so I never bothered to remember it. I think I still have the book that it was in tucked away somewhere upstairs.”
Bon Bon quickly froze when she heard that. She knew exactly where the book Lyra was talking about was. Right next to the ring.
“You mean '101 Spells a Tourist Should Know', right?” Bon Bon asked quickly.
“Yes,” Lyra replied. “I can just-”
“Oh, don't bother yourself,” Bon Bon interrupted. “I'll get the book for you. Besides, you already made pancakes, so it's my turn to do something for you.” The earth pony then gave a big nervous smile that just screamed “I'm hiding something.” Lyra didn't pick up on this, fortunately.
“Um... alright. Thanks,” Lyra said, a little confused at how quickly her marefriend offered to help, as well as how quickly Bon Bon galloped out of the room and up the stairs to their bedroom.
“She's funny,” Roo commented. Lyra turned around to the young Kangaskhan to find that she was now sitting up, though not daring to stand just yet.
“So... you're Kangaskhan...” Lyra said.
“That's not my name, but if what you and Bon Bon were talking about is what I think you were talking about, I'll be able to tell you that in a minute or so,” Roo replied.
Lyra sighed in response to this. “Sweet Celestia, you're adorable,” she said. “Can't wait to hear what's really coming out of that adorable little mouth of yours.”
“Oh, won't you be surprised...” Roo replied.
It was only a few seconds after that when Bon Bon returned with the book she was looking for. “Here you go, Lyra,” Bon Bon said as Lyra took the book with her magic. “'101 Spells a Tourist Should Know'.”
“Thanks, Bon Bon,” Lyra said. She then opened the book and began to flip through it before she found the translation spell. “Okay, here we are... Hmm, it seems a bit difficult for a unicorn with as little experience as I have, but it looks like it's the best one here. It says that it modifies the sound waves emitting from the target of the spell in accordance to its brain waves in order to interpret what is meant by the target and broadcast that interpretation to any other creature who comes in contact with these sound waves in the language that creature is most fluent in. Difficult, but worth it if it works.”
“You're sure you'll be able to cast it?” Bon Bon asked.
“I gotta at least try,” Lyra replied. She then turned to Roo. “Now, this might feel a little funny, but you're gonna have to trust me.”
“Won't you be in for a surprise when I tell you I don't trust you,” Roo mumbled.
“Here goes nothing,” Lyra said as she took a deep breath. She then leaned down and aimed her horn at Roo, where it began to glow a faint yellow that slowly grew in intensity. At this point, Roo could already feel the magic working on her. It felt oddly familiar, though. Sort of like what she felt whenever Pinky reached into her mind to do some kind of Psychic-type thing that Roo could never understand so she would be able to talk to Felix for a little while. Except rather than just feeling it in her mind, Roo felt this feeling all over her body. It felt slightly warm, but at the same time, it felt like it was compressing her body. Just slightly, not enough for Roo to panic, but still just enough for the young Kangaskhan to liken the feeling to a hug.
As soon as the feeling came to Roo, it left, and Lyra collapsed to the floor while panting. “Are you alright Lyra?” Bon Bon asked.
“I'm... fine...” Lyra said between pants. “Just... really wishing... I had practiced magic... a little more diligently... when I was a filly.” With her marefriend's help, Lyra rose to her hooves and looked over to Roo. “But hopefully... the spell worked.”
The two just stared at Roo for a moment, and the baby Pokemon stared back. ”Oh, they want me to say something,” Roo realized.
“Kangaskhan,” she said out loud.
“Huh?” Bon Bon asked.
“Kanga, Kangaskhan,” Roo replied.
“Oh no,” Lyra said while slapping her face with her hoof. “The spell didn't work!”
“Actually, it did,” Roo said with a smile, causing both mares to turn to her with a surprised expression on each of their faces. “I was just messing with you two.”
“Well what do you know?” Lyra said with a slight smile. “The spell worked.”
“Yes it did,” Roo said. “And while I have this opportunity to communicate to you two, let me first thank you, Miss Lyra, for the pancakes earlier.”
“You're welcome, Kangaskhan,” Lyra said.
“And that's another thing. My name's not Kangaskhan. Wild Kangaskhan are called Kangaskhan. My name is Roo.”
“Roo?” Bon Bon asked. “That's a much cuter name than Kangaskhan. It fits you perfectly.”
“Cute?” Roo asked. “I may have my charm, but you wouldn't call me cute if you saw how well I could battle!”
“Battle?” Lyra asked, confusion evident on her face. “No offense, but I don't think someone with your... stature could fight that well.”
“Oh no?” Roo asked. “I've trained for almost a year with Mamma, Felix, and all of my friends! I can almost take down a Raticate without any help!”
“What's a Raticate?” Bon Bon asked.
“What do you mean?” Roo asked. “I mean, Raticate's a Pokemon, but I don't know how to simplify it much past that.” Once Roo saw the look of confusion on the two mares, (which was happening quite often), realization dawned on the young Kangaskhan. “Or, do you not know what Pokemon are? Arceus, what region is this to be so cut off from the rest of the world?”
“Um... Equestria?” Lyra replied.
“Equestria?” Roo repeated. “Felix has never told us about Equestria. Are we on some kind of island hidden deep in the Orange Seas or something?”
Lyra would have asked about these 'Orange Seas' Roo was talking about, but Bon Bon was a little less curious about this topic. “Who's this 'Felix' character?” the earth pony asked.
“Felix?” Roo asked. “He's my trainer. Well, technically he's Mamma's trainer, but she and I kinda came as a set. At least I think that's how he put it that one time.... But either way, he trains me just as much as he trains Mamma or any of his other Pokemon.”
“So, when you say Felix is your trainer,” Lyra started, “do you mean like he helps you work out at the gym, or...”
“Oh no, he won't let me battle at a gym,” Roo replied. “But I think we've got two different definitions of 'trainer' here. What Felix does is that he catches and trains Pokemon in order to achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a Pokemon Master.”
Aside to Bon Bon, Lyra whispered “I don't think we're going to get very far on this topic.”
“You're right,” Bon Bon whispered back. “Maybe we should ask him about something else.” The earth pony then turned to Roo, who had cocked her head to the side and was looking at the two curiously, no doubt wondering what they were saying. “Um, Roo, rather than tell us about Felix, why don't you tell us about where you came from?”
“I guess I could tell you about that...” Roo said. “Well, I was hatched one morning just outside of Glittering Cave. That's in the Kalos region, by the way. After I hatched, I opened my eyes and looked up to see the smiling face of Mamma. She's also a Kangaskhan, but she's all grown up. And she said to me, 'Welcome to Earth, little one.' I didn't remember much else about that day, except for the tears of joy she had as she looked down at me.”
“What about your father?” Lyra asked.
“You mean Daddy?” Roo asked. Immediately, tears formed in her eyes and she looked down. “I... I don't remember much about him. All I remember was that a few days after I hatched, these weird humans in black suits came into Glittering Cave and started attacking all the Pokemon there. Daddy tried to fight them while Mamma and I ran away, but... but I never saw him again...” Upon finishing her sentence, Roo began to cry softly into her arms.
Now, when Bon Bon brought Roo into hers and Lyra's home, she wasn't sure what to expect. Something dangerous, something adorable, something that could change their lives (maybe even all of the above)... but what she didn't expect was for Roo to start crying because Lyra inadvertently brought up painful memories about the little one's possibly deceased father. Quickly, the earth pony turned to Lyra. “What do we do?” she mouthed so Roo wouldn't hear.
“You're the one who brought her in here,” Lyra replied in similar fashion. “I thought you would know.”
Not sure what to do, Bon Bon walked forward and placed a hoof on Roo's head. “There there,” the earth pony said. “Don't cry. You and your mamma still got out of there, right?”
With a sniffle, Roo wiped her eyes and looked up at Bon Bon. “Yeah, that's true,” she said. “But it wasn't very long after that before those weird guys started to chase after us. Mamma was running as fast as she could while carrying me, but she took a wrong turn and wound up at a dead end. She turned around and there were those guys in black suits again. Mamma set me down and told me to hide behind her while she went and fought them. One of the humans stepped forward and sent out a Golbat to fight her.”
“Whats a Golbat?” Bon Bon asked.
“Shh,” Lyra shushed. “I wanna hear how the battle went. Besides, if Kangaskhan is supposed to be some kind of kangaroo thing, I'm pretty sure Golbat is supposed to be a bat.” She then turned back to Roo. “Go on, continue.”
“Ok,” Roo replied. “Mamma tried to fight the Golbat, and she did have a really good advantage in both strength and defense, but she was completely outmatched by the Golbat's speed and flight. Every time she'd try to attack it, it would just fly out of the way and hit her from behind with a Wing Attack. This kept up for a while, but I didn't see most of the battle because one of the humans snuck around the battle to try to grab me while Mamma was distracted. I yelled loudly, and Mamma tried to come to my rescue, but the Golbat took this as an opportunity for a free hit, flew forward, and sunk its fangs right into Mamma's shoulder, causing her shout in pain, lose her last bits of stamina and fall to the ground with me just out of her reach.
“We were sure we were done for, but that's when Felix showed up. He and Piggy, his Pignite at the time, tackled two of the black-suited humans to the ground, and Pinky, who was a Slowpoke, blasted the Golbat off of Mamma with its Psychic attack.”
“Are you following this?” Bon Bon asked Lyra.
“Trying to,” Lyra replied with a shrug.
Despite the comments the two mares were making amongst each other, Roo continued. “Mamma was able to get up and charged at the human who was trying to grab me, but he just ran away the second she got back to her feet. I remember the three humans regrouping and mumbling something about 'Red' and 'Ethan' before turning tail and running away. Felix was also a human, but he was nothing like the other humans. He was nice, kind, really friendly, and he actually knew how to dress.
“After the other humans were gone, Felix came towards Mamma and tried to help her because she was pretty badly injured from her battle with the Golbat. If I remember right, it also managed to poison her with the last attack which I assumed was Poison Fang, and if that move poisons, it badly poisons. But of course, Mamma was really scared that Felix would try to hurt me just like the other humans did, and she tried to get him away from us. 'I'm not gonna hurt you,' he said to us. 'You're hurt, and I want to help you.' Mamma tried again to get rid of him, but she was too weak to throw an attack and rather fell to the floor, completely out of energy and unable to stay conscious. I remember feeling panicked and running up to her, trying to shake her awake. Meanwhile, Felix quickly ran over and set to work trying to heal Mamma. He cleaned out her wounds, sprayed some kind of medicine on them, bandaged them up, and tried to feed her a few berries to help get her strength back. But despite all of this, she still wouldn't wake up. He then turned to me, and I was looking up at him with tears filling my eyes. 'Don't worry, little one,' he said. 'I promise I'll make your mommy better.' He and Piggy then tried lifting her up and began carrying her out of Glittering Cave. It was a long process since she was so heavy, but Piggy was really strong, so he was able to carry most of the weight.
“About half an hour later, we had crossed a really rocky path that separated Glittering Cave from a nearby human town. I think it was called Ambrette town. There was a Pokemon Center there, and we brought Mamma there so that the human nurses could make her better. I couldn't be with Mamma while they were helping her, but Felix took care of me while we waited. I remember feeling really concerned, but every time I looked even slightly sad, Felix would stroke the back of my neck consolingly and say 'It's gonna be alright.' I wanted to believe him, but I was only a few days old at the time, so I could only believe him so much.
“But in the end, he was right. About an hour later, I heard the door at the back of the Pokemon Center open, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Right there in the doorway, Mamma was standing, completely healed up. I quickly got up, ran to her, and hugged her tightly. I thought I was going to lose her, but it all worked out in the end. Felix was then going to take us back home, but when we got there, Mamma couldn't stand to leave Felix and wanted us to go with him. Felix was happy to oblige, and we all traveled together ever since.”
There was a short pause between when Roo finished her story and when she spoke up again. “Oh no, did I start to monologue again? Felix always tells me I have that problem. But hey, I guess that's the kind of Mon I am. Ask me who my trainer is, and I'll tell you the whole first chapter of my life's story. Shall I talk about the first battle Felix used Mamma and I in next? It was pretty fun.”
“Um, no thanks, Roo,” Bon Bon said. “I'm still trying to process everything you just said. You had a pretty rough childhood. I'm surprised you can talk about most of it so casually.”
“Well only the first part was depressing,” Roo replied. “After the point where Felix shows up, the rest of the story makes me feel better.”
After what Roo said, there was a prolonged pause. Then, Lyra was the one to break the silence.
“What did your mom mean when she said 'Welcome to Earth' when you hatched?” the unicorn asked. “And for that matter, what do you mean 'hatched'? Did you come from an egg?”
“And what exactly are all these creatures you keep mentioning?” Bon Bon added. “You called them 'Pokemon', right? Since I'm assuming there are many different species, what do they all look like? Do they use magic?”
”Oh dear...” Roo thought to herself. ”I really didn't expect them to be that cut off from the rest of the world.” The young Kangaskhan then took a deep breath before she started talking again. “Okay, first off, there's over 650 different species of Pokemon in the world, not counting Legendary Pokemon. The regular Pokemon are Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur....”