Early the next morning, before most ponies have even woken up, Midnight's house is quiet aside from the light snoring of three inhabitants. Only three, for the fourth one is wide awake, positioned directly over the bed where his host and frog companion are resting, staring down at them with a wide and focused eye.
The mare slowly stirs, groaning softly. She looks to her clock, squinting for a moment before shaking her head. "What am I thinking? It's my day off..." Her eyes roam the room until she sees the shadow at the foot of her bed.
Immediately she screams, pelting him just below the eye with her metal alarm clock. "Help! Pervert!"
Woken by the scream, Ryan's eyes shoot open as he reflexively clings to the nearest thing, which at this point is the mare. "What’s going on?!" He croaks loudly.
"Ow," Casey says, very unconvincingly. "My tough metal body has been hit by an alarm clock. Call an ambulance."
She sits there, jaw agape, before flailing her forelegs at him. "Damn it, don't sneak up on me like that! I hate jump scares!"
"I didn't expect you to wake up." He looks to Ryan, and now they can see slight panic in his otherwise stoic expression. "Overnight, I came to some realizations. And not all of them are good."
His mind not the greatest in the mornings, Ryan’s response is less than related to the topic at hand. "Whatever I'm holding onto is very soft..." One can practically see the swirls in his eyes as he tries to focus.
"...realizations?" Midnight chuckles, pulling the Froakie to sit in her lap. "And what would that be? You finally finding a way to eat?"
He shakes his body. "That's the worst part. The first realization I came to is that I can get hungry. But I can't eat."
"...oh." She grimaces at this, squirming in place. "So... what should we do about that?"
"Well, I tried everything I could to eat with a couple pieces of bread in your fridge. I tried stabbing, I tried cutting, I tried wrapping them in my ribbon... nothing." He flicks said ribbon as if to emphasize the point. "So I figured, since I'm a Ghost-type, maybe I feed off your dreams or something. That's what I was doing over you, but it turns out Honedges can't learn Dream Eater." He pauses. "I also discovered while trying to distract myself that Honedges aren't genderless, and I am definitely male. Don't ask."
A little more awake, the frog speaks. "Does that mean the sword and sheath thing you have going on will be way more awkward now?"
"Shut up, frog." Casey sighs. "Really wish I knew how to devour souls..."
"I'm glad you don't." The pegasus slowly gets up, stretching her wings. "Where's Liu? Is he still asleep?"
"When I left him, he was. Wouldn't be surprised if you woke him up." He makes the throat-clearing sound despite lacking one. "Sorry about that, by the way."
"Look, it's fine, just... don't do it again." She sighs, putting Ryan on her back as she makes for the door. "I'd better make sure he's alright... hate to have scared the little guy..."
Casey follows along. "If we haven't heard anything breaking or any screams of pain, I say he's fine."
"Better safe than sorry, I always say."
The Froakie sighs, rubbing his head as he settles on the mare's back. "What a way to start the day... screaming females, swords exploring themselves, and for some reason I feel too dry."
The mare pauses at the top of the stairs, looking to the sword behind her. "I'm sorry, but... what did he say?"
"Just moaning about how this day isn't starting very well for him." He turns to glare at the frog. "And don't act like you're getting the short end of the stick here."
"Excuse me for being less than bouncy in the mornings," Ryan deadpans back, rubbing his arms a bit with some of his bubbles from his neck.
"I... don't know what that's about..." She sighs, moving to the guest bedroom and opening the door. "Still wish I could-" She stops short, seeing a blue bottom facing the door and, consequently, all of them. "...Liu? Are you... trying to hide?"
Ryan peeks over her head. "Umm... kid? You can come out."
The rest of his body disappears beneath the bed, his head appearing soon afterwards in its place. "Did... did you find whatever made that screech?" His eyes dart wildly about the room, his body tensing as if preparing to hide once more.
Chuckling, he hugs the mare's neck from behind. "Yes, and I have successfully subdued her and her accomplice."
Liu is left speechless as the mare nuzzles Ryan's head. "So... Miss Midnight is a Pokémon?" He slowly crawls out from under the bed, looking at the two who would know better than him.
"Well..." The frog looks to the sword as he continues hanging onto the mare. "Technically... she could be. Do we know she isn't?"
Casey rolls his eye. "Have you ever seen a horse Pokémon that can talk and comes in so many different colours?"
"No..."
"A Pokémon?" The mare arches an eyebrow. "What's that? Some kind of Neighponese card game?"
"It's our species," the Honedge explains. "Well, the collective term... and technically the frog and I used to be humans, but, yeah."
"Hue-mans?" The pegasus giggles softly, shaking her head. "If you say so... anyways, I'm just glad Liu isn't hiding under the bed anymore..." She trails off when she notices the frog on her back, her brow furrowing slightly. "You... look a little dehydrated... would you like some water?"
"Dehydrated?" Looking down at himself, he notices his skin looking less smooth and shiny to more rubbery and dull. "That explains it. Be nice if I could use Water Gun or something..." Still, he looks to her and nods rapidly before thinking aloud again. "I wonder if I might even need to jump in a pond or tub... maybe it's not that bad yet."
"Alright, then." She looks to the Riolu, nodding down the hall. "Come on, let's get you guys breakfast while I fix him some water."
Casey growls to himself. "I'll just be somewhere else if you don't mind."
"Might be a stupid question, but just to check: have you tried using the mouth on your scabbard?" Ryan asks.
"It's decorative. Hence why it doesn't open when I talk." The sword sighs. "So the answer is: yes, I did, and no, it doesn't work."
"Ah..." He clears his throat. "Well maybe we can find a Ghost-type who can share the secret."
Casey narrows his eye. "Yeah. Like my team. Whom we still need to find."
"Yes, I know." The frog narrows his eyes right back at him. "Look, why don't you come with us to breakfast. We can discuss our plan of action with Midnight, see if she can help at all."
"Fine." He sighs and continues following along. "Ultimate torture..."
"No, I don't think it's even close to 'ultimate torture', if you're talking about not eating." She enters the kitchen, placing Ryan on the counter. The jackal-like Pokémon rests his paws on the counter, trying to pull himself up next to him.
"How about being physically incapable of eating, but still getting hungry, but can't die of starvation? And sitting and watching everyone else eat?" Casey snarks.
Helping Liu up, Ryan growls at the sword, his bubbles boiling. "Hey, don't take out your frustrations on her."
"I take them out on everyone. And I don't even know that move."
The pegasus stops where she is, a large bowl in her forelegs. "...'move'? What are you talking about?" She places it down on the counter. "Like... a dance move?"
Casey sighs. "Moves are Pokémon-talk for attacks."
"Attacks?" She looks at him a moment before taking a step back, turning her attention to the other two. "So, what would you like for breakfast?"
Liu holds up a paw, eyes full of hope. "Can I have another one of those berries, whatever it was?"
"Start me with a tall glass of water, a taller glass of milk, then maybe some cereal if you have it." Ryan answers, looking at the pup and smiling at the cute sight.
Midnight looks from one to the other, her expression unreadable. After a couple quiet moments, she turns to the sword, sheepishly smiling. "So... what would they like, exactly?"
Casey looks them over briefly and sighs. "Liu wants the same thing you gave him yesterday. The frog says he'll take whatever."
Narrowing his eyes and lamenting forgetting his pencil and pad in the room, Ryan huffs. He mimes a drinking motion to her.
Midnight tilts her head to one side, considering him for a moment. "...you... want something to drink?"
He nods, glad to have gotten that far. A blush comes to his face after a moment as he realizes one of the few ways he can get across exactly what he wants to drink. Swallowing nervously, he cups the air in front of him and mimes as if milking something.
"...I'm afraid I don't have any milk to give you." She turns around, opening the fridge and leaning in, her tail tucked discretely between her legs. "I do have some from the market, though. I hope that'll do."
Blushing and covering his face with a hand, Ryan grumbles. "That was what I was asking for... I choose not to think about what you first said could insinuate."
"Yeah, even I'm blocking out all relevant thoughts right now," Casey remarks dryly. "So, while we take care of the food situation for three-quarters of us, what's the plan for today?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to do most of the talking." Ryan perches almost fully on the mare's head, eyes glued to the bottle.
"In my case, as I said yesterday: if by tomorrow we haven't planned out when we'll go search for our teams, I'm going on my own." He watches the frog move. "Doesn't mean I wouldn't prefer to go today."
She grabs the bottle in her forehooves, carefully pouring some into a small glass. "And I said we should find that stallion before we make any rash decisions. I don't want anyone here getting hurt, if I can help it." The sound of chewing catches her attention, her ear flicking slightly. Turning to the side, she sees Liu halfway in the fridge, probably eating the fruit she had stored there. "...you realize I was about to get you some strawberries, right?"
Casey rolls his eye. "Wild Pokémon aren't used to waiting on others for food. Don't bother." He sighs. "Fine, we'll look for Mr. Nondescript. Any clue where we'd find him, or at least find someone... somepony... who knows where he is?"
When all eyes are off him, Ryan hops onto the counter and chugs the milk. The glass clinks slightly as he sets it back on the counter, his eyes looking to the rest of the milk with a combination of longing and guilt.
The bipedal Pokémon turns around, berries in his paws. "So... if we want to find him... maybe we should ask the... pony... that we met, yesterday?"
"I guess so. He's the only other pony we remotely know, and barely at that." The frog sips his second refill, his whole form looking less dehydrated.
"Um, guys?" The mare flaps her wings once, frowning softly. "Can I please be let in the loop?"
Casey sighs. "The kid suggests we find that guy who brought us out of the forest yesterday... come to think of it, last time we saw him was right before you swooped in and took the frog." He chuckles. "Good times."
"I'm actually looking forward to future abductions by her considering what the last two were like." Ryan says frankly.
"...you met a pony in the forest?" Midnight trots around the island, her brow furrowed. "I think... yeah, he would be a good place to start. Just wish I knew where he lived..."
"If you did, you'd be a stalker anyway." The sword glances to the door. "...when do we go looking for him?"
"After breakfast?" The Froakie on the counter offers.
"When Ryan and Liu are ready to go." She turns to the Pokémon in question, nodding.
Looking down at his fourth glass of milk, Ryan shrugs. "I could probably survive off this until lunch or something, so I'm good."
Casey turns to the other Pokémon in the room. "Almost done gorging yourself on berries?"
The Riolu stops with a berry partly in his mouth, looking at each of the others. "...maybe?" This just elicits a sigh from the sword, but fortunately, no more remarks.
A few hours later, a similar situation to this morning is seen. Everyone is eating, and Casey begrudgingly looks on with annoyance for various reasons. The only difference now is they are eating fruit salads at a cafe instead of breakfast at Midnight's.
The mare in question is looking intently at the sword floating nearby, eyes narrowed. "So... how do you even have an eye? Is that just... natural for you, or something?"
"...I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Casey asks, sounding truly befuddled for the first time since the others met him.
"You're a sword. With an eye in your hilt." She gestures to him with a hoof. "We don't exactly have your kind in Equestria. At least, not normally."
"Oh." His eye blinks. "...you know I'm not from here, right?"
"I know, but..." She frowns, tapping her chin. "...it's still a little odd to see, if I can be honest. Not to mention a little startling if you aren't expecting it." She nods back over her shoulder. "Like it was for the waitress."
He chuckles. "I'll bet anything she switches out with someone else to come give us the bill." His ribbon flicks. "Anyway, as I said, I'm in the body of a Honedge. Honedges are floating sentient swords, and obviously they need to see, hence the seemingly-decorative eye in the hilt. Not that hard to grasp."
Midnight stares at him a few seconds longer, shrugging soon after. "I suppose that makes sense... still having trouble grasping all the subtleties of your kind..." She pauses, leaning in and looking at him with a narrowed gaze. "...do you think it'd hurt to get dust in your eye? How would you remove it if you did?"
"Hasn't happened yet, so I don't know. Probably just blink a lot and swipe at it with my hand... ribbon... cloth thing." Said ribbon flicks again. "So are we almost done here? I want to find that guy already."
"I am." Ryan pushes his empty bowl to the center of the table. "At least you and she can have conversation while eating. Liu and I can only confuse her."
"You act as though I want to have it." His eye rolls.
"You seemed to be more receptive to it just now than earlier," the frog points out.
The sword blinks, then huffs. "I don't have much to do besides watch you guys scarf down meals while my metaphorical stomach eats its metaphorical self, you know."
"...if it's a metaphorical stomach, then why was it growling earlier?" The mare pokes at his sheath with a hoof, curious.
Before he can respond, however, the last member of their group speaks up. "...Mister Casey, I've been wondering something..." Liu looks up from his bowl, a slice of strawberry in his paw. "You used Pursuit to find Mister Ryan, before ...why can't you use it to find that stallion?"
"...oh yeah." The response is surprisingly calm, as though the realization was little more than finding the right spot to place a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. "That is a thing."
"What do you mean, 'that's a thing'?" Ryan’s large mouth has dropped open. "You figured out how to use moves, including a tracking one, and said nothing for the last four hours as we searched?"
"Oh, shut up. You don't even know how to use Bubble yet," the sword snaps. Grumbling, the frog has no counter to that.
Liu raises his paw. "Actually, Mister Ryan, I think it's the only one he actually can handle..."
"No, I think I know Slash," Casey remarks. "Or Cut. Or at least Scratch... I'm a freaking sword, so it makes sense. Pursuit just slipped my mind."
"I'm sorry, pursuit?" Midnight looks at the sword, an eyebrow raised. "Of happiness, or of the one?"
"It's a move... a Dark-type one that allows a Pokémon to track down its opponent within a reasonable distance and attack it with no notice." There's a glint in his eye. "I used it to find you after you grabbed froggy boy here. Right as you were flying to your house, so I quickly met the ground right outside before I could follow through on the attack part."
"...thank you for not attacking me." She sighs, gesturing to him. "But wouldn't that require you... I don't know... picking up a trail?"
"I just need to know their appearance. I actually tracked Ryan rather than you, since you flew off so quickly. I can probably remember that guy's appearance." He thinks. "Might want to grab onto me so I take you. Worked with the kid... don't grab the ribbon, though."
"As long as you don't mind me gripping you with my teeth."
"Are we seriously all going to end up hanging onto you for dear life as you fly through town?" The Froakie asks incredulously.
"Yes, unless you'd rather wander around for another few hours," Casey replies bluntly.
Liu walks around the table, looking up at the Honedge curiously. "Can I ride on you like last time?"
Casey looks down at him and sighs. "Yes... you can."
He beams at this, jumping up and wrapping his limbs around the sword's sheath. "Ready when you are!"
Midnight giggles, winking at Casey. "He must really like hugging you, huh?" She grips his handle with her teeth, effectively shutting herself up.
"Apparently." The sword blinks, then narrows his eyes at the mare. "...are you really going to dine and dash?"
She lets go briefly to answer. "I paid when I went inside, earlier. I'm not a crook, grumpy." Rather than retort to that, the sword goes uncharacteristically quiet.
Ryan looks at all of them gathered together, turning to the sword. "Not used to group hugs yet?"
"Never was. You coming or not?" The Honedge's voice is even more sour than normal.
"Fine, don't get rusty over it." He hops onto Midnight's back, hugging her mane and neck again for support.
Once they're all on, Casey sighs and shuts his eye, trying to focus. "Pursuit... Pursuit..."
"...what is this guy doing?" This is what the mare tries to say, but her grip on his handle makes it near impossible to decipher.
Before anyone can answer or ask what she said, all their visions go to darkness for a split second. When they can see again, they're all about two inches in front of a very confused and scared familiar-looking pony, still clinging to the sword.
Liu lets go and turns to the stallion, smiling brightly and waving. "Hello, Mister!"
Ryan, on the other hand, continues clinging to the mare. "... I swear I just teleported... Give me a moment..."
Midnight gingerly lets go of Casey, trembling slightly as she faces the other pony. "Uh, hello, there... sorry to pop in unannounced like this."
The stallion, for his part, goes from scared to mildly annoyed in a very short timespan. "Oh, you three again... and I assume this is the frognapper?" Ryan narrows his eyes at the pony, already not liking where this is going.
"Frognapper?" She scowls, stepping forward and poking him in the chest. "I'll have you know I'm a frog-borrower. And he's free to leave when he wants." Said frog pats her head reassuringly.
"Hey, all I know is you weren't there, then you were, then you and the frog were gone. That's the last time I saw any of you." The stallion chuckles. "So, why'd you track me down again? And into my own home at that?"
"...we're in your home?" Liu looks around, curious, before wandering out the room.
"...should I be worried about what he's off to do?" the stallion asks the floating sword.
"Do you keep berries in your fridge?" Casey asks in response.
"Yeah."
"Then that's your answer."
"Ahem." Midnight clears her throat and gestures to the stallion. "So, we were looking for you because this guy, here," she nods towards the sword, "wants to look for his friend, but we need to find Woody, first."
The brown earth stallion sighs. "If you're going to give somepony a nickname, at least know their real name first. My name is Lumber Yard, not 'Woody'."
"No, I mean the guy who goes into the woods every day." She waves her hoof at him. "I thought you'd be a good pony to ask, since you were there, yesterday."
"...lady, I am the 'guy who goes into the woods every day'," Lumber states slowly.
"...oh." The mare nervously laughs, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry, the ponies I overheard called 'Woody' disgusting... I didn't think you were him because you didn't fit that description."
"Oh. Well, isn't that pleasant to hear." His voice is almost dripping with sarcasm. "Look, just tell me what you want so you can get out already."
"That's just it - it's not for me to say." She looks to the sword floating beside them, nodding. "Go ahead. I'll just stay back."
Lumber groans. "Great, I get to talk with a floating ghost sword again... how weird is my diary gonna get?"
Casey sighs. "Shut up. You go into the woods a lot, so we need your help in finding some friends of mine and the frog's. Any chance you've seen a sentient candle, a big robot-looking humanoid thing, a giant turtle with cannons on his back, a..." He trails off upon noticing the weird look he's getting from the stallion. "...this sounded a lot less like a drunk guy's ramblings in my head."
Ryan clears his throat. "Liu's parents as well, but adding a Blaziken and Lucario likely won't make the list any less weird."
"...I'd call you stupid or insane, but then again I'm talking to a piece of weaponry." Lumber rubs his temple. "Funny enough... I actually have seen one of those, though..."
"Which one?!" Ryan suddenly jumps fully onto the mare's head, hanging onto it as he stares at the stallion.
Casey coughs. "Froggy boy wants to know which one. Pardon his enthusiasm."
The stallion shrugs. "The candle thing you mentioned at the start. Had a purple flame, and I tried following it to see what was going on. It more or less just vanished, though."
The news, despite the ending, seems to be enough for Casey. He whips around to face Midnight and the Froakie on her head. "We need to go get her."
She stares blankly at him, unsure what to say. She eventually says the first thing that comes to her mind. "...the candle's a female?"
"...yes. She is." He sighs. "She's a Litwick, her name is Anya, and we're going to get her back."
"Right. Now we just need to get the kid." The Froakie looks towards where he had disappeared to. The sound of metallic clattering filters through the doorway.
Lumber sighs, rubbing his temple. "Can one of you go get him? If we're going into the forest, I need to get ready." Ryan nods, hopping off Midnight and through the door.
"So, when you say you need to get ready..." She gestures to him. "Do you mean that you need food, or something?"
"I mean that I need to-" Before he can continue, a different, powerful voice interrupts him. The words are not spoken, but instead the deep, powerful voice echoes in the minds of all who are hearing him... and he made sure the whole planet does.
“Greetings citizens of Equus, both old and new. I am Lord Arceus, creator of the Pokémon realm.”
Casey blinks. "Even Arceus is here?"
"Arc... what?" Midnight's brow furrows, more lost than she's been in a while. "How is... where..."
“You have no reason to fear me, I come in peace. I have revealed myself to inform you that I am the one responsible for the Pokémon’s presence in this world; for the citizens of Equus, the Pokémon are the beings who have appeared over the past few days.”
Lumber raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.
“To my Pokémon, I say this: I brought you, all of you, here so that you could live in peace. Do not seek to harm the natives of this world, for I am the one responsible for your displacement. And to the Pokémon who went through changes when I brought you here I say this: You are the ones who proved themselves worthy; those who were fair, kind and good in the old world, consider this your reward. And to all of you, as sapients the laws of Equus, and the varying countries, now apply to you, and only the laws of Equus.
"...worthy? Fair? Kind and good?" Casey mutters aloud. "Since when did I fit that criteria..."
"...I'm inclined to agree." The mare sighs, inching closer and draping a wing around him. "Clearly this Ark-us sees something we don't... and that's a good thing, right?"
"Just makes me more paranoid... either he's taking pity on me, I did something good without knowing, or he didn't do his research." The sword squirms to try and get out from under her wing.
“That is all for now, but just to be clear; the Pokémon are not to be harmed simply out of spite. If you have a problem with what I’ve done, feel free to contact me. I currently reside in an ancient temple deep in the Everfree Forest, or a pocket dimension outside of the space time continuum; so if any of you wish to face the sheer power of a god, feel free to come by.” This, of course, unsettles almost everyone in the room. “Goodbye for now, though I doubt this will be the last you hear of me, and peace to you all.” The voice goes silent.
"...well." Lumber is the first to speak after that. "So... I'm assuming your friends are these 'Pokémon'?" The sword nods with his body. "Well, at least it's a more specific explanation than just 'some new creature in the forest'."
"That just begs the question..." Midnight steps away from Casey, recognizing his discomfort. "...why bring them to our world, in the first place? Was the world they came from such a bad place?"
Casey shakes his head the only way he can. "It's less that it was bad and more just that this place is better, I guess. I'm assuming you don't have murderous teams who try to take over the world for money or to destroy the entire universe as we know it just to remake it in their image?"
"Only on Tuesdays," Lumber replies dryly.
"Really?" The Riolu standing in the doorway looks up to the stallion, eyes wide and shimmering. "Is... is that true, Mister?"
The stallion looks at him before chuckling. "I'm just kidding, kid. Don't cry. Sometimes bad stuff happens, but it usually gets solved pretty quickly, and Hollow Shades in particular rarely has to worry about it."
"Good, don't need any more crazy groups to deal with on top of everything else." Ryan hops through the door as well, heading towards Midnight.
Liu leaps forward and hugs Lumber around the neck, visibly relaxing after hearing the truth. The stallion blinks, then smiles and hugs back with one foreleg. "Cute little guy."
"Yeah, he is. Kinda childish, compared to the other two, though." She glances at Casey out of the corner of her eye. "...mostly."
"There's a difference between being childish and being an asshole," the sword snaps. "And I think I've earned the right, considering."
"Considering what, grumpy?" The mare huffs, rolling a hoof. "So you get hungry. Big deal - you're a sword."
"And you're a horse! What does that have to do with anything?!" He moves right in close to her face, eye glaring fiercely.
"Hey!" Ryan jumps in between them, pushing Casey away. "Back off! Don't you have someone you want to find?"
A low growl comes from the sword. "Yes. And if not for you two, I would've found her already. Keep slowing me down and turning on me, and they'll be trying to find you in a cemetery."
She shrinks away, her pupils dilating to pinpricks. Her gaze averts, and she mutters a response. "I'm sorry, Casey... w-we can go look for your friend, now, if you'd like..."
Casey stares at her a moment longer before floating back, one blink reverting his eye to its normal state. "...what did I..."
Lumber just looks between the two. "...is this normal?"
Liu simply shakes his head. "Not that I know of..."
"Yes to fighting, no to intensity..." Ryan hops onto Midnight's back, rubbing her head softly as he stares at Casey. "Let's just go get your friend, maybe having her around will put you in a better mood."
Casey glances at him and slowly nods. "R-Right..."
Not too long later, but still too long for some, the group of now five beings heads out through town towards the woods. The whole town seems a little twitchy, faces looking towards the skies while others look towards the woods. Not all is worry though; one mare watches on as her colt plays chase with a Poliwag, the tadpole pokemon wearing a smile as it waddles on its feet.
"Alright, you guys know the rules," Lumber dictates, leading the team. "Stay by me at all times. No running - or floating, flying, or hopping - off. If you see anything that looks like one of your friends, you alert us and then we go together. The deeper we go in, the easier it is to get lost, and my compass will only help so much."
Midnight shifts awkwardly, giving him a small smile. "Thank you for repeating them. I actually missed that third one..."
"I wonder if this is what it's like to be a Pokémon Ranger..." Ryan muses.
"It's usually easier than this, frankly," Casey mutters. "...I mean, I think."
Liu looks at the sword, padding along between the ponies as he is. "...what's a Ranger, Mister Casey?"
"...I don't know, entirely. Ask Ryan." The sword quickly tries to grasp to another topic. "Midnight?"
The mare blinks, looking to him in mild confusion. "Yes?"
He pauses for only a moment. "...I'm sorry about earlier... snapping like that."
"Oh, that?" She waves a wing at him, giggling softly. "Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have pushed your buttons, even on accident. Besides, I've already forgiven you..." She trails off as a small yellow bug crosses their path, watching it as it vanishes beneath a building. "...what was that?"
Lumber blinks. "Nothing I've ever seen before... probably one of you Pokey guys then."
"Pokémon," Casey corrects. "Be careful of it. Joltiks aren't too hostile, but if we get too close, we'll get zapped."
Ryan crouches down. "I would rather not feel what electricity feels like to a Water-type just yet."
"We'll be careful," Lumber assures the sword, him being the only one he can understand who just spoke. "Casey, or whatever your name is, I'm counting on you to recognize Pokémon and let me know what's safe to approach."
"Fine by me."
Sighing, the frog of the group settles down for a ride. "Have I mentioned how much I hate not being understood?"
"Whenever Mister Casey translates for you."
Several minutes of walking later, the town around them becomes a forest, various species of Pokémon all around. Lumber makes sure to stay away from them unless Casey says otherwise; most of the time, however, he says to stay a few feet away and not make eye contact, just to be safe.
"How deep in did you see Anya?" Casey asks during a lull of silence, to which Lumber raises an eyebrow. "...the candle."
"Oh. Not too far, actually; it was near where I first found you three yesterday." He shrugs. "We should be there soon."
After a bit of silence, one of them finally decides it’s time for some conversation. "So," Midnight starts, "when you found them, did you see that strange orange mouse, back there? The one with the weird whiskers? Because that was cute." She looks up, smiling at the frog she can't see on her head. "Of course, I've seen cuter."
He shakes his head. "Aside from those three, the candle, and a couple weird birds, I haven't seen any Pokémon in these woods."
"Ah... that's good to know, I guess..." She pauses, glancing back. "...especially since it could apparently shoot lightning..." Ryan presses himself against her back.
Casey, who had been mostly quiet besides his warnings, suddenly speaks up. "Midnight, what is it you do exactly? You mentioned having a job yesterday, but so far, all I've seen you do is cuddle the frog."
"It's my day off." She huffs softly, shaking her head. "I work at that cafe we were at... and as a janitor at town hall."
"Really? Frankly, I can't see you doing either of those." He would shrug if he had shoulders. "But if it pays, it pays, I guess."
"I wonder if she even likes those jobs..." Ryan wonders, observing the conversation.
"It's not like I'm staying with those jobs..." She huffs, returning her attention to the path before them. "It's just until I become a Wonderbolt... that's all."
"...a what?" Casey asks, confused. "Is... that like a team?"
"It's more like a military group, but I suppose it does things sports teams do..." She sighs, shaking her head. "I had a bit of trouble with the history test for it..."
"Oh... well, I guess that's interesting." He would shrug if he could.
"...yeah." She stops, groaning softly. "Can we just... pause for a bit? I'm not quite used to ordinary wildlife, much less this..."
Lumber nods, slowing down. "Sure thing."
"Ten minutes and no more," Casey adds in a warning tone.
"Easy man," the frog raises a hand. "Pokemon are probably a lot to take in for new people."
"Whatever you say..." She picks up a blue berry, eyeing it curiously. "I'm just worried about running into another bug..."
"Bugs are far from the most dangerous thing in here," he remarks. "Look out for Poison-types especially."
The mare freezes at this, slowly turning to look at the sword. "...you mean we have to worry about poison, as well?"
"Yes, but that's why I'm here. To warn you. For example, we passed an Ariados a while back that could have killed you both with a Poison Sting, but I told Lumber to go to the right instead." He chuckles. "You're welcome."
"...why are Pokemon so dangerous?"
"Because they are? I dunno. Don't ask stupid questions."
A few frubbles are thrown at his hilt. "Be nice."
"Whatever." She sighs, holding the berry out to him. "So, is this edible or not? And what is it?" Turned as she is, she misses the drooling Riolu behind her, staring longingly at the round blue berry.
"It's an oran berry. It's usually for Pokemon only, but I remember them being fine for humans to eat. Unsure if that makes them fine for ponies, though." He tries to ignore Liu.
"So, if it's for Pokemon..." She moves it away from the jackal-like pokemon, who attempted to grab it. "...does that mean we should save this?"
"Well, all it does is restore energy if hurt in battle. Not really useful since we hopefully won't encounter any hostile Pokemon out here."
"Uh... Casey?" Lumber's voice calls from a bit up ahead as he peers into a bush. "Does a green blob thing with a giant mouth seem familiar to you?"
The sword's first response is a long sigh. His second one is: "You will now see the effects of Poison-type Pokemon."
"...I was hoping we could put that on hold until a week from now..." She grumbles to herself, slowly backing away from the bush.
Lumber quickly backs away as well as the green blob makes its way out. "So, uh... you know how to take care of this, right?"
The sword just groans. "Great... Ryan, hope you learned how to fight when you became a Pokemon."
"Yeah, no. I don't know how to even use Pound or Bubble." He gulps.
The wild Gulpin looks to all of them, a frown on its face. "Shouldn't have stepped on me... So hungry..." He glares at the stallion before opening his mouth, disturbing wide and jumping at him. "Pound!"
At the height of the arc, a blue blur dashes between them, smacking the Pokemon off to one side. "Counter!"
Gulpin flies into a tree, but it's amorphous body simply molds against it and falls off. Turning to them once more his mouth opens as purple gas billows out. "Poison Gas!"
Narrowing his eye, Casey flies forward, his Steel typing keeping him safe from any ill effects the gas may have. Rearing his body back, he slashes at Gulpin. "Fury Cutter!"
"Argh!" The blob rears back from the hit, glaring at the sword. Knowing none of his attacks would affect it, he aims another Pound at Lumber.
This time, Lumber is smart enough to jump back out of the way, backing up to where Midnight and Ryan are. "Okay, so what was that about Arc-guy telling these things not to attack us?!"
"Well, apparently you stepped on it," Casey points out as he lands another Fury Cutter, this one stronger than the last.
"Can't we, I don't know, talk to it? Reason with it?" The mare shuffles on her hooves, glancing nervously at the green blob. "Something that doesn't involve us potentially getting hurt?"
Gulpin growls. "This isn't your fight, Honedge! Let me battle the one that stepped on me!"
"Nah. I think I'll just keep beating you up until you either run away or faint." He moves closer threateningly. "I'm looking for my friend right now and you are delaying the search. You're not in a position to be making demands."
After that last hit, the poison Pokemon backs up, panting. "Not worth it..." Without another word, he turns and starts lurching off into the undergrowth.
Lumber sighs in relief. "Thanks, Casey..."
"You can thank me by watching where you step from now on." The sword turns to him, eye narrowed. "Can we go now?"
"If it'll get you to stop snapping at everyone, please do." Ryan mutters.
Lumber sighs and turns to Midnight. "Are you ready?"
"Uh... yeah, just... give me a second..." She closes her eyes, shuddering softly. "I didn't think I'd be seeing a living blob, today..."
"...lady, you're surrounded by a floating talking sword, a blue frog, and a tiny diamond dog thing that smacked said blob into a tree," Lumber remarks. "How is the blob the weird part?"
"Because I haven't spent a day with it and it came out of nowhere." She raises an eyebrow at him. "Any other questions?"
He pauses, then smirks. "Are you single?"
"Yes, I am." Midnight walks forward, flicking the tip of his nose with her tail. "Not that you really expected an answer, though."
He just shrugs, keeping the same smirk as he begins leading the way once more.
The group walks for a while longer before a call rings out, echoing through the trees. To the ponies, it sounds something like "Lit! Litwick!" To the Pokemon though...
"No! Go away!"
If swords had ears, Casey's would perk up instantly. He turns to Lumber and nods in the direction the sounds are coming from. Understanding, but also a little concerned for his own safety, Lumber just waves him to go ahead first. Which he does, floating around several trees and Bug-types before peering into a particular clearing.
Inside, he spots three Pokemon: a Murkrow, a Pawniard, and a Houndour. All three of them are crowded around the raised roots of a tree, making a commotion at something inside them.
The voice, unmistakably female, calls out again. "Go away, please! I don't want to have to fight you!"
Liu peeks around a tree, his brow furrowing slightly. "...three against one? Isn't that unfair?"
"Damn right it is." Casey narrows his eye, recognizing the female voice. Not bothering to hide anymore, he storms out of the bushes about as well as one can storm without feet. "Hey. Assholes."
The three Dark-types turn to face him - and the Murkrow is promptly tackled right out of the air by the floating sword with a surprised caw.
The Riolu, seeing what his friend did, follows his example, tackling the Pawniard away from the Litwick and rolling on the ground a bit with it afterwards. He quickly rights himself, getting into a fighting stance. "Bring it on!"
The Pawniard growls and leaps carelessly at the Riolu, thinking him to be an easy target.
To his surprise, Liu blocks his attack effortlessly, striking him in the chest with enough force to slam him into a tree. "Counter."
The Steel-type struggles to get up, its quadruple weakness to Fighting hurting it greatly. Leveling a glare at the Riolu, it tries a Leer attack. He freezes at this, shivering from the weight of its gaze. Grinning wickedly, Pawniard runs forward, swinging its sharp arm at the now vulnerable Fighting-type. "Slash!"
Eye glinting in determination, Liu dodges backwards, bringing his paws up. "Detect."
Surprised, the dark Pokemon ends up slashing at the ground and getting its arm stuck in the dirt, trying to pull it free.
Smirking, the Riolu swings its arms around, a light blue wind slowly forming around him. He slowly builds up this layer, his eyes focused on his foe. His arms cross over his chest, the wind now turbulent and his legs tensing. "Let's see if you can handle this..."
Pawniard barely gets his arm out of the ground before he turns and freezes, seeing what his foe is about to do.
Liu leaps up into the air, unfolding his arms and releasing a shockwave at his foe. "Vacuum Wave!"
The metallic creature is blasted back, once again slamming into a tree and collapsing to the ground. With a groan, it starts struggling to stand back up…
After smacking the Murkrow away, not bothering with moves and instead just swinging his body like the sword it is, Casey levels down to the Pokemon that had been trapped. Sure enough, a familiar female Litwick graces his view. "Anya, are you alright?"
The candle blinks at him with her single visible eye. "How... how do you know my name?"
"Right... new form." He sighs. "Long story short: I'm assuming you got Arceus's message earlier. Like you, I got teleported here, and like apparently all other humans, I was transformed into a Pokemon. It's me, Casey."
Her eye narrows. "Casey? But... prove it."
He groans. "Really doing this? Fine. Your name is Anya, you belonged to my parents until you joined my team along with five other Ghost-types. You were first captured in Unova and brought back to Kanto, where I lived all my life aside from vacations. Shortly before you joined my team, I was a part of-" He gets cut off by the Murkrow's return, delivering a weak but surprising Wing Attack.
"Casey!" A glint appears in the Litwick's eye as her flame suddenly glows. "Confuse Ray!"
The Murkrow blinks as it tries to use another Wing Attack before a huge headache impacts it, everything going blurry. It shuts its eyes, flying too far from the Honedge and impacting right into the ground.
Seeing the opening, Casey runs in for another Tackle, lacking other damaging moves that would be effective enough. After slamming it into the ground, he backs up to see if it moves again, glancing at the Litwick.
She floats over to him, a beaming smile on her face. "Did you get him?"
"Hopefully." He blinks as the Murkrow gets back up. "Nope." He charges it again, but the Murkrow catches him off guard with a Haze attack; while there are no stats to reset, it provides enough of a cover for the creature to sneak away.
"Finally, at least one of them left." Anya floats over to the Honedge as the haze fades.
He chuckles. "Yeah... what happened to the other two?" Glancing over, he sees Liu taking care of the Pawniard. As for the Houndour, he has trouble finding it at first, but quickly sees it creeping towards the two observing ponies and the frog. "Ryan! Houndour!"
Midnight looks to the sword, blinking blankly. "How-what, now?"
"I noticed!" The Froakie hops down off the mare, between the ponies and the approaching Pokemon. Sitting, yet coiled, he narrows his eyes at the pup.
The Houndour looks at his tiny opponent and growls, taking the stance as a challenge. Flames start to build up in its mouth.
Swallowing, Ryan stands his ground, trying desperately to figure out how to fight. "Come on... I have the type advantage... just have to figure out how..."
Realizing the vulnerability, the Houndour practically laughs before shooting out an Ember attack.
Feeling something welling up as the attack approaches, the frog opens his mouth. "Bubble!" A stream of blue bubbles pour from his mouth, meeting the fire attack head on, canceling it out, much to Ryan's amazement. "I can attack? I can attack!" Hopping in place one, he rears back a moment before releasing another stream straight at the fire hound.
Eyes widening at the sudden change of demeanor, Houndour leaps to the side before diving in for a Bite attack. Shocked by the sudden change in tactic, Ryan tries to hop away a bit too slowly, meaning the hound clamps down on his leg. Shouting out, he lifts up a hand, not noticing it glowing slightly before he starts repeatedly using a Pound attack on the dog. For some reason, his skin turns a bit grey.
After a couple hits, the Houndour lets go, stumbling back with a gruff grumble. Ignoring the colour change, it lets out another Ember.
Paying more attention, Ryan hops out of the way of the flaming ball. Still in the air, he lets out another Bubble attack, his skin turning blue once more. Wondering how long he can keep it up, he continues spouting bubbles even after he lands.
The Houndour finds itself pelted by stinging bubbles all over; stumbles prevent it from dodging, and it has to start sending out embers to stop the bubbles in their path before eventually getting out of the way.
Hopping back over to the ponies, the frog once more takes his position in front of them. His large eyes are peeled as they peer at the hound, waiting for its next move.
Back with the two most humanoid Pokemon in the vicinity, the Pawniard has stopped charging and begun to think logically. Eyes glowing, it tosses up a Scary Face attack towards its opponent.
The Riolu shivers at the expression, bringing up his paws. His own mind goes into overdrive, trying to figure out some way to beat him quickly. After a second, he decides to act. His own gaze hardens, his eyes glowing as he uses his own move. "Mind Reader."
Pawniard tilts its head, curious as to what the Riolu has in store, but thinking of ways to counter it just in case.
Liu smirks, leaping up into the air, his gaze focused on the metallic Pokemon below. His eyes narrow as he starts to fall back down, his leg extended. "High Jump Kick!"
Pawniard tries to dodge, but is just too slow. The leg collides directly with its head, forcing it to collapse on its back on the ground, head nicely dented.
The Riolu sighs, reaching down and picking it up. "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe." A groan comes in response, but it doesn't struggle or try to fight back.
Meanwhile, back with the Fire and Water matchup, the Houndour has taken a different approach. Rather than directly attacking Ryan, it is instead using its Ember attack on the ground around him, trying to trap him in a ring of fire.
The frog simply stands his ground in front of the ponies. Looking down, he shoots bubbles, dousing the flames at the same speed they are created. Growling, the Dark-type leaps forward while his foe is distracted, teeth open for a Bite.
He then lets out a yelp as a round metal object collides with his face, knocking him away from his target. The frying pan bounces harmlessly to the ground, while Houndour rolls back onto all fours, growling at the mare who threw it at him. Immediately, he charges.
Seeing this, Ryan narrows his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he swells in that way some frogs can before unleashing a deluge of bubbles at the dog's side.
To his surprise, Houndour doesn't take the hit, instead rolling along the ground to let the bubbles mostly pass over, those that hit him doing little to stop him from resuming his charge.When he gets back up, though, he finds an ebony hindhoof aimed directly at his head. It seems the mare is ready to do all she can to fight.
Houndour, while surprised, takes this new challenge at face value. He leaps into the air and launches a powerful Ember down at the mare. Croaking loudly, a blue blur intercepts the blast, jumping across its path. His momentum keeps him going, crashing into the grass with noises of discomfort.
Now furious, the pegasus stomps the ground, flipping up the frying pan and swiftly delivering a powerful kick to it. It practically launches through the air, aimed straight at the falling canine. The pan nails the Houndour right in the face, sending it sprawling several feet. Finally, having had enough, the Fire-type stands up with a whimper and starts running, tail between its legs.
Midnight quickly rushes over to Ryan, gently picking him up with her soft feathers. "Don't worry, you're safe now..."
The frog groans, shaking his head. "Well, that didn't hurt as much as I thought it would... but it still was not fun." Noticeable discoloration marks his skin.
The other three Pokemon head over to the two ponies and frog. "Well, that was a more interesting rescue mission than I had anticipated," Casey remarks, his Litwick floating close beside him.
"You can say that again..." Midnight turns to the other pony, hopeful. "...do you have any burn cream on you, by any chance?"
Lumber nods, sitting down and rifling through his bags. "Somehow I had a feeling we'd need it since we were looking for a living breathing candle of all things." He tosses a small container of the stuff to her.
The Froakie motions towards the others. "They got into fights too..."
As she applies the medicine to the frog, Liu glances over to where he left the unconscious Pawniard, laying in the shade of a tree. "To be fair, you were the one who got hurt the most, Mister Ryan..."
"I think we'll survive," Casey points out. "You had the most aggressive fighter. Liu obliterated his guy and the Murkrow we dealt with fled." The sword turns to his rescued friend. "They didn't hurt you, did they Anya?"
The Litwick shakes her head, smiling at him. "They didn't get to me. I used Minimize to get to where they couldn't reach me." She gives him a quick hug. "Thank you for saving me, Casey!"
He chuckles, but before he can respond, another voice comes from the trees. "Ah, Casey... so it is you." To everyone's surprise, one of the odd-looking trees starts to crawl closer towards them, pulling its roots out of the ground to use as legs.
The mare's eyes shrink to pinpricks, and, with a shriek, she dashes behind the stallion, Froakie still in her wings. Lumber, for his part, just stares with his jaw dropped. Liu, on the other hand, has a curious expression, slowly walking closer to it.
"Harold!" Anya zips over to the Trevenant, bobbing up and down in front of it. "I didn't know you were in this forest, too."
The tree Pokemon merely chuckles as his glowing red eye appears. "I was not aware of your presence either, Miss Anya." He nods and looks to the Honedge. "I showed up just on the tail end of your bout with those hostile Dark-types, but from what I gathered, you must be Master Casey. Correct?"
Casey nods. "Yup. Transported here, became a floating sword, hilarity ensued. That's about it, really."
"Well, it is quite beneficial that we found each other so quickly." Harold looks to the two petrified ponies. "Are these equine creatures your friends?"
"...I'd like to t-think so... living tree g-guy..." She glances between the three ghost types, unsure what to do.
The jackal, however, has no such qualms, pressing a paw against one of the sections of bark on the Trevenant. "Wow... I've never seen anything like you, before, Mister Harold..."
Harold glances down at the Riolu, and its mouth curves into a smile that does little to relieve the two ponies of their nervousness. "I imagine my species is not too common from wherever you may be from, young one. Phantump and Trevenant are often specific to the Kalos region."
Lumber coughs. "S-So... um... you're friendly, right...?"
"Indeed I am, sir." Turning back to the stallion, the Trevenant nods again. "I have no desire or motivation to harm you or any other beings in this world, even if Lord Arceus had not ordered such. You are as safe with me as you are with Master Casey."
Midnight blinks, turning to the sword with an eyebrow raised. "...'Master' Casey?"
The Honedge actually looks a little sheepish at that. "His former owner wasn't so much a trainer as he was a rich psychic who had him as a butler... the traits carried over after the trade."
Ryan raises a hand out of the mass of black feathers he is covered by. "They may not understand the concept of 'trainers'."
The blank stare of the mare proves him right. "...a what, now? Like... a physical therapist?"
"Right. Uh..." The sword tries to figure out a way to explain said concept without making it sound akin to animal abuse. "Long story short, trainers were people who helped Pokemon get stronger in sort-of sparring matches. Some people just had them as pets, servants, or friends, but people like me were trainers."
"...so you train them like a coach?" She looks up to the tree briefly, shuddering a bit. "You... must've been really good..."
"...yeah, we'll go with that."
Harold chuckles. "You do not need to be so intimidated by me, miss. I am sure we can be civil and peaceful with one another. May I ask your name?"
"...Midnight." She smiles nervously up at him. "Midnight Blitz. Sorry for... I mean... y-you're really big..."
"Many Trevenant are. But not all Pokemon are like so; take Miss Anya for example." He motions to the candle before extending one of his hand-branches. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Blitz."
She flinches slightly, then immediately smacks herself in the forehead. "Gah! Sorry!" She extends a foreleg out to him, cradling the frog closer to her chest. "Nice to meet you... um... Trevenant?" She nervously laughs.
"My former master called me Harold, after his deceased brother. Master Casey has continued to call me as such, and so may you. If Trevenant is easier, however, I shall not judge." He gently takes her foreleg and shakes it before letting go.
"Harold's fine... though it sounds like the name of a griffon." The mare shrugs, looking down to the Pokemon pressed against her belly. "...let's get you home to rest... let that cream sink in..."
Looking down at himself, Ryan looks back up to her. "...does this count as my third abduction? I have to say, it doesn't live up to the standards of the other two yet."
Getting his general meaning, she rolls her eyes playfully, nuzzling his head gently. "Oh, hush, you..."