//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 : Derailed // Story: A New World, A New Dawn // by Uber Reaper //------------------------------// "Treasures are like a shooting star, they won't last forever and will come and gone before you know it. Dreams and your greatest moment in life are no different, either they will last within a second or last an entire lifetime, all that depends on how lucky we are. It is important that one should treasure what is most important to them all they can before it is taken away. Or it will be one's greatest regret - Eric Angelo Play this as the second opening theme Another day in Vanhoover had began. Pokémon, ponies, griffons, minotaurs, etc had began entering the streets the moment the sun had peaked over the horizon. The good vibe was there, they knew they could feel it. It began ever since the crime lord had been taken into custody under unspecified evidence. All of them had heard of what happened to him, assault they say. But they didn’t care about him nor the property that had been smashed. Once they have heard who he is underneath all the facade, all they cared about was that the threat to their society was gone for good. Each city inhabitant were waving and greeting each other more. Even a Hydreigon, whose face had already been established among the inhabitant was not spared from their morning greeting. Said Hydreigon floating away from the street and toward the house at the end of the street with a paper rolled up inside his right head mouth. Once he reached the front steps, he rapped the door a few times before helping himself inside the house of Solar Dawn where he could see the hostess is currently working on something on her work desk. Play theme “.....morning, Dawn.” Eric floated into the house while holding a bundle rolled up papers. The Bat Pony glanced up, smiling when she saw Eric. “Good morning!” An eagle-like Pokemon flew into the room from the kitchen before perching beside Dawn. Upon spotting the Hydreigon, a smile nearly split his face. “Eric! Good morning!” The Braviary greeted the Hydreigon with much enthusiasm. It’s been two days since they have been told the truth of the matter regarding Sally, he was surprised they could actually forget about it easily. They didn’t talk about it anymore the moment all was said and done two nights ago. “...it was either that or they just suppress it much more easily than I thought. In a way, Dawn and Dominus were a lot stronger than me.” He muttered through his lips. “....hey.” Eric greeted, though lacking the usual warm greeting that most people would have. “How’s my team doing?” The mare flicked her head upward, indicating somewhere behind Eric. He glanced over his shoulder to see one Dragon, one Multiplier, and one giant fire Moth still out like a light before the sofa on the carpet. Will laying on top of Sally while Alex propped against her side. “They’re quite the heavy sleepers, aren’t they?” “This was still early, I assumed they are still asleep. And I know about Sally being a heavy sleeper. One of my team is also one, but a lot worse. I always woke up first to prepare breakfast for them if needed.” Dominus whistled. “A dedicated trainer is a cool trainer in my books.” “....A trainer has to be dedicated to the care of their team. Otherwise, the general view on them would be quite low.” Eric agreed. Then she remembered about her new partner, Dominus. She had also dedicated herself to taking care of him. Glancing to her left, she spotted Dominus attempting to preen himself using his beak. It would appear though that he’s not as skilled as he appears to be. The Braviary blushed a sheepish smile when he noticed his new caretaker stared at him at how badly he attempted to preen himself. Dawn had to admit he’s still cute even as a Braviary. “Anyway, where were you? I thought you would usually prepare breakfast at this time?” The mare asked while scratching her head. “Out for a little stroll and for some newspaper.” He put his right arm head up, indicating the newspaper stuck within the head’s mouth. “Found this on some benches instead.” “Out for a little stroll?...what’s that gotta do with a news-” Dawn quickly registered his latest sentence in her head. “Wait, wait, wait, why are you even getting a newspaper?” The Bat Pony scratched her head, not getting why would he try to find any interesting thing. Eric glanced the mare’s way with a look. “....it’s quite simple. To keep myself informed of any event in the world.” Eric didn’t say another word before setting himself down on the sofa. His team still lay out cold like a light in the morning. “Keeping yourself informed, huh? Nothing really exciting happens in Equestria, except some mind blowing incident about some Lord of Chaos really.” Eric gave her a stare that could bore straight through and out the back of her skull. Her smile turned sheepish before she scratched her head. “On second thought, a lot of things have happened these last few days.” Eric nodded. He opened his newly acquired newspaper. He found out Dawn had been correct, there’s nothing really interesting really. The one that certainly caught his attention is the thievery in the museum that he had attempted to stop. The guy he paid a ‘visit’ to gone to jail. And also the most recent is the Tall Tale Heist, where he almost caught the thief, but failed. It was truly a sour night to remember. All of that was forgotten when he remembered the ‘message’. “.....I’m sure wherever she is right now, she’ll remember the burnt mane. Zoroark loves to go around with their mane like that. All it did, is just asking to get a bull’s eye painted on it.....every species does have their pros and cons.” “Hey, Eric.” “Hmmm?” Her voice caught his attention again. His eyes glanced upward over the papers to see her speaking. “Uh, so, why are you so keen on keeping up with the current information really? It’ll probably just the same story about Pokemon getting dropped into Equus since this...Arceus or whoever announced it.” “....how to explain this....” Eric sighed as he thought of an answer. “....let’s just say a trainer is required to also keep themselves well-informed. Otherwise, they won’t know of any events regarding Pokémon that might be happening or if it concerned us as a whole. We need to stay well informed. That’s how I knew about the thief in the first place.” The mare scratched her head. “Keep themselves informed?” A nod is made. “If the thing you just told me is like that, then being a trainer is kinda...kinda...” “Hard?....it is Dawn, you don’t get to relax often. You have to dedicate yourself to it. Remember to both care and train your team so they would become the best.” When Dawn thought to it, it does make sense. Being a friend, you have to dedicate yourself for the best of your partner and friends. Eric returned back into his newspaper. He skipped some few uninteresting pages where it just stated about some daily even that probably won’t caught anypony’s attention, but to the most dedicated. Then he found one interesting page, about Canterlot and the deals happening there right now. “Hmmm?” His eyes found a picture about a Pokemon. He decided to take a closer look. It was a picture of Pokemon laying on its back in a hospital bed. There are several other Pokemon surrounding said Pokemon, obscuring Eric enough so he couldn’t tell what species he is. “.....they seem familiar.” Eric noticed something on the cupboard beside the bed in the picture. When he saw it, his eyes widened to almost dinner plate sized. “.....that pocketwatch.” Eric floated quickly enough to the desk where Dawn’s working on her archeological book. Dominus is absent from her side. “....Dawn, I need to go.” She glanced up from her work to suddenly meet the face of Eric. Dawn frowned when she look at his face that screams, ‘we got trouble’. “Uhhh....why?” She scratched her head in response. “....I need to go. To Canterlot.” That was enough to pique her curiosity. “Canterlot?” The Hydreigon nodded. “Why would you even want to go to....Canterlot?” Before she could say anything else, Eric in turn promptly opened up the newspaper again and showed her the picture. A head slapped the paper. “....I think I recognize one of them.” “So..... you wanna go over there and check it out?” The mare scratched her head. He nodded. “....yeah,” Eric flicked the newspaper onto the sofa. “I wanted to make sure if that’s the right guy. It might be nothing, but....I just want to make sure.” “But, but, it’s about almost a day worth of travel. And that is even by train, we’ll get there by tomorrow. Not to mention this is a….” Looking over the newspaper date, she nodded. “It’s a day old newspaper. So basically…. we don’t even know if the guy you’re looking for is...is...what was the word?” “The right one?” Dawn nodded. “....don’t worry about it, I can handle it.” Seeing another resolute, she realized that her argument would fell on deaf ears again. Dawn simply sighed. “If you say so, I guess I can spare a few bits for two tickets.” “....you’re paying? For the train?” “Uh....yeah? Is there something wrong?” “...the last thing I want is to inconvenience you. I could fly over there with-“ “Can I come with you?” A shy voice asked behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. Knowing who it is. “.....Alex?” The Sun Pokemon apparently had woken up ahead of his fellow teammates. Said Volcarona shied away from the gaze of the Hydreigon. “Uhm, if you don’t want to. I guess I can…” “....no, you can come.” The moth’s head perked up at the reply. “Just stay close to me, ok?” “...okay.” “Right,” His gaze switched back to the mare. “Dawn, I’m sorry if this inconveniences you, but…..you know, I could just fly over there with Sally-” Hesitation coloring his tone which is out of place for a stoic guy. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there.” Said mare waved her forehooves back and forth. “Don’t finish that sentence because I know what you’re thinking, Sally’ll take a nosedive out of exhaustion before she can even reach Canterlot. That’s not even counting the return trip. No way, no way, you’ve done enough to help me, now it’s my turn to help you. I’ll come with you. Isn’t that right, Dominus?” When she saw that her partner was nowhere in sight. She looked around in confusion. “Dominus? The Valiant Pokemon replied with an enthused nod. “M ere!” That’s what it sounded to her at least as he flew back into the room through the kitchen again, carrying what appears to be two bananas in his beak. Perching beside Dawn again, he dropped the two bananas on the table. “Are these for me?” A cheery nod coupled with a smile answered her. “You look hungry. Figured that some of you premier bananas will get you back into shape. Not cool to look if my partner faint.” That caused a smile to go into Dawn’s face as well. “Thanks, Dominus. You’ve been a great help.” The Braviary let a soft smile enter his beak as she rubbed his head feathers. “.....are you sure?” Eric’s voice brought Dawn back toward the current problem. “It’s probably wrong to assume I know him. I’m just basing this on a picture.” “Don’t worry. I’m just glad to help a friend. After all,” Glancing at her partner, she added. “Didn’t you say that Dominus’ kind is dedicated toward their friends?” Eric answered after some silence. “.....good point. Sorry for the inconvenience though.” “No problem. Alright, shall we be off?” The Hydreigon curtly nodded. “.....let me finish few things first, then we can-“ “What about breakfast?” The shy Volcarona added. The room went into silence. “Uhm, is there something I said? If so, I’m sorry about…” “....no, you’re not. I’ll go prepare the breakfast.” With that, Eric floated into the kitchen without another word. “Uhm, what did I say?” The shy moth asked. The Braviary facewinged. Meanwhile, the newspaper lay open on Dawn’s singular sofa. Focusing on one particular picture, the above title reads, Two Pokemon found! One possibly in coma! End theme They all arrived at the train station of Vanhoover soon enough after finishing with breakfast. Eric wanted to go to Canterlot as soon as possible in order to confirm his theory and he got his wish soon enough as Dawn went in to four tickets to Canterlot. “Hey, dude.” “Hmmm?” “I gotta ask something.” Dominus took Eric’s raised eyebrow as a sign to continue. “Are you really sure it’s fine leaving the house to Sally and that annoying grandpa?” Eric thoughts went back a few minutes earlier. “Our lucky day, looks like we’ll be the house taker of this fine house. Let me get an apron for this woman beside me and she’ll look like a regular housewife. Already loving the image too.” As soon as he finished, he found himself kissing the floor when someone had pushed him. “Shut up!” The culprit, Sally growled. “Anyway, why are we the ones left behind here? You could run into trouble for all we know and we wouldn’t be there to help.” “....well, I have reasons to do it.” Eric raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? I wonder what are those reasons are? Care to tell us or are you just going to stand there looking like a life-like statue?” Will’s muffled voice came from the floor as he floated up while dusting himself off. “.....the reason is simple. One, I wanted to travel light and I won’t even be there that long. And two, someone had to look after the house while we’re gone. Will you got an arm and Psychic powers, perfect for house cleaning duties. And Sally, I know-” “So what am I supposed to be the housemaid now? Feels like I’ve just won a prize or something. Oh, well, aren’t I the lucky one.” Will snarked. Sally grinded her teeth strong enough to grind diamonds to dust. Unfortunately, he was ignored for the better sake of their sanity. ”As I was saying..... I know this sounds flimsy, but I want you to….look after Will and the house too when I’m gone.” “What!? Me?” Sally pointed at herself, to which Eric nodded. “No way, I’m gonna take on a legendary anyday of the week rather than get stuck with-” “Oh, no really, that is not a flimsy excuse, Sally. In fact, it’s one of the best reasons out there to have ever existed.” Will folded his arms across his body. “You hear that? Looks like the brooder had given us two valid reasons. So let’s relax, I’m sure everything will be fine for our dear brooder.” The Reuniclus’ tone was heavy with sarcasm as he glanced behind him at his Dragon teammate. That drew a death glare from Sally toward the Reuniclus’ way. The Hydreigon had to resist another headache. “....another reason is that I don’t want Will to go around throwing sarcastic remarks at everypony he meets. That just screams looking for trouble... Not like I’m going to tell him about it though.” Eric muttered through his lips. “....so yeah, I say we should go to the beach and I’ll be playing babysitter while you go and have your Bagon moment again. I mean, nothing is more good than relaxing and getting ourselves another severe sunburn-“ If a glare could drill, the back of Will’s head would have a hole right now. “Shut your mouth before I take you skydiving again.” Sally turned her attention back toward her trainer. “Eric, are you sure about this? I mean, can you squeeze in just two more passengers, please?” Eric simply stared at her. Seeing that, Sally bowed her head in resignation. “Fine.” The Hydreigon nodded. “....alright, see you two later. Take care while we’re gone.” He turned around and floated toward the door. Will shrugged. “Well, glad to see that we’ll be doing spring cleaning for a day. I’m looking forward to working closely with-“ “And please,” Eric’s voice had taken a different tone as he glanced over his shoulder at the two. “....I know enough of what will happen if I left someone like Will with someone else like Sally to take care of something as simple as a house. So I’ll say this, don’t wreck the house, please? The last thing I need is a homeless pony when we come back.” “Brooder, you’re worrying too much.” Will let out a grin as he looped his left arm on Sally’s neck. “I’m sure we’ll be best of friends while you’re gone. We’ll be having tea party, we’ll be grooming each other-” “What!?” The Dragon exclaimed and wrenched away from the arm looped around her neck. “The last thing I need is for someone like you to groom me!” “Oh, look, the woman is complaining again. How cute.” Will added with an eye roll. The Dragon beside him was livid. Just seeing those two, Eric had second thoughts already. Eric opened his mouth to say something when another voice cut through their conversation. “Eric! C’mon, the train’s about to depart!” Dawn’s impatient voice came from outside. “Brooder, I think your date is waiting for you. Don’t wanna keep a woman waiting.” Will grinned. “....alright, I’ll be leaving, but I’ll say this again, don’t wreck the house or demolish it or do anything else that involves ruining it. Understand?” “Got it, Eric!” Sally nodded. “Roger that, sir brooder.” Will saluted sarcastically. With a simple nod, he floated out the door and shut it. He felt as if he had made another mistake as he floated to rejoin Dawn. “......Somehow, I doubt that.....too late now. Prove me wrong you two.” “....to be honest....I’m not really sure either.” Dominus face-winged. “Pairing Sally with grandpa sarcastic is just asking for trouble, dude. It was just another ticking time bomb to me.” Eric reluctantly agreed with a nod. “Mph, go it!” Dawn’s voice caught their attention. She trotted back toward her group and presenting the tickets in her mouth. “Our tickets?” Eric questioned, taking one from her mouth. The image on the piece of yellow paper was just a simple locomotive. “Mmmhmm,” The rest were quickly taken in Alex’s Psychic and Dominus’ beak. Leaving only one is Dawn’s mouth and spitting it out to her hoof. “I arranged for the four of us to travel to Canterlot. So it should be leaving-” A whistle blowed. “Right now…” “....alright, let’s go.” Eric didn’t say another word as he floated toward the open train cars. “....okay.” The Volcarona followed his trainer shyly, the ticket floating alongside him because of his use of Psychic. “Let’s do this.” The Braviary mumbled through his beak and flew toward the conductor. Followed by Dawn. A conductor meanwhile, is checking each passenger's ticket and returning the most recent one to a grey Earth Pony. “Here you go, sir.” The pony made a nod of confirmation, taking the ticket before stepping into the train. “Next,” Only when he did look at the next one in line is a three-headed hydra, he meeked. “.....w-w-w-” Eric merely raised an eyebrow at the pony’s visible fear of him. “.....I guess he hadn't heard of me.” “Don’t worry, he’s with me!” Dawn’s voice called out and she trotted forward beside Eric. “Despite his uh... appearance, he’s nicer than you think.” The mare offered a sheepish smile and scratched her head. Eric didn’t say a word for he knew that without something like Dawn’s necklace, the stallion wouldn’t understand what he was saying. Instead, he just presented the ticket toward the trembling pony. The unicorn took it with trembling hoof and went on to check it out. After confirming that it was valid, he handed it over to the hydra who made a nod before floating into the train. The same could be said for one fire moth, eagle, and a Bat Pony. The first two, they had him scared shitless. He trembled as they obliviously handed him the ticket. After a little checking here and there, the pony confirmed their tickets are valid. “Thank you, sir.” The Volcarona made an unseen smile with his tiny mouth and floated inside. “Cool, thanks!” Dominus quickly flew, following the Sun Pokemon inside. Unfortunately, none of those words were understood by the conductor. As for Dawn, the stallions trembling had slowed a little. Not by much considering that she kept some seriously scary company. “Is there something wrong?” That jolted the conductor out of his daze. “N-nothing.” It is most definitely not nothing. He took the ticket from the mare and checked it. Once that is done, he quickly handed the ticket back to the mare. “Thanks, sir.” Dawn nodded before trotting into the train to join her friends. Once he was sure the weird bunch is gone, the stallion took a much needed breath into his almost empty lungs. He didn’t realize he had stopped breathing after laying eyes on such serious company. “I think I need a new job.” Finding a seat in the frontmost compartment wasn’t that hard due to the fact that a number of ponies seem to not have heard about their new three-headed passenger, and as such decided to slink away a little. They took the seat closest to the door leading to the kitchen with Eric and Alex taking the one to the right of the aisle with Dawn and Dominus on the other. Awkward silence followed as soon as they took the seats, with ponies whispering away in their corners. How the mare kept such company, who are they, and are they going to eat us, etc. Seeing as how staring can get Dawn aggravated, it is not helping she’s the center of attention now. Of course, her loyal partner noticed this and decided to start a conversation. “So, why are we going to….whatever this place we’re going again?” Dominus asked out of nowhere. This caused Eric to stare to the Braviary again. “Is he trying to start off a conversation? Better to see where is this going first. Might as well indulge them while I can...” he muttered. “Uhm, I think Eric said it was...uhm, Canterlot if I remember correctly.” The bug beside Eric decided to answer for him. “Canter-wha?” Seeing her partner’s confusion, Dawn decided to explain. Though, someone beat her to it. “Canterlot. It’s the capital of the country of Equestria and where the government resides.” Eric answered. “It stands on Mount Unicornia carved on the side of the mountain, but really don’t ask me how that is possible, possibly the ‘magic’ Dawn has told us about. Mostly its made out of marble judging from the whiteness of the stonework. It is also where the diarchs of Equestria resides, Princess Celestia and the recently reformed Princess Luna who rules this monarchy country. That is also where most unicorn nobility reside.” Dawn’s mouth was hanging open, wide enough to let a fly in. She was so stupified that Eric had basically explained what Canterlot is better than her. Had he just perfectly recited information a lot better than a native Equestrian by just reading a few books? A whistle broke her out of that trance she was in.“Man, you sure got a good memory there. That’s so silly of me.” The Braviary grinned sheepishly. “Why are we going there again?” No longer in awe at Eric, Dawn had to admit, she was getting curious too. What’s so important about the Pokemon in the picture that it gets Eric all riled up early in the morning? The Hydreigon sighed, bowing head low before looking at the questioner with a solemn look. “....do you really want to know?” “Well,” Dawn officially joined the conversation. Partly to get out of her nemesis, the awkward silence. “Dominus’ right, you know? You haven’t really told us why do you insist going to Canterlot.” That was it, they asked him for the reason why they are going for Canterlot. “No avoiding it, better tell them sooner than later. This way I could avoid the fallout.” “.....you’re right, there is a reason for me wanting to go to the capital. One very good reason.” Dawn was fidgeting, Dominus is grinning. “Then don’t keep us waiting, dude.” Eric looked onward in silence. Dawn scratched her head in agitation as she waited for her answer. Just as she wished, it came. “....the one in the picture....It’s because.....he’s my dad.” Reactions can vary with earth-shattering revelations. This time, it shocked and surprised both Dawn and Dominus. The same could be said for the timid fire moth. Alex regained his senses faster than the other two. “H-how….Eric...is it really...Mr. Angelo?” The moth asked with disbelief coloring his face. A simple nod answered the bug. The moth let out a soft sigh of relief. “I’m glad Mr. Angelo is okay.” “No, no, no, wait!” Dawn’s shrill voice of disbelief caught the moth off-guard. “How can the Pokemon in the paper be your dad!? There’s no resemblance whatsoever from what I can see.” Eric sighed. “.....I knew it would come to this. Never expected it to be quite soon.” He muttered. After the last few days, she already got used to his tendency to brood and mutter. What concerns her right now is that why is the Pokemon on the paper can even be her friend’s dad. There was supposed to be some kind of resemblance if they did, unless he was adopted. Instead to answer her question, he simply said. “....Arceus possibly did this.” “What?” Dawn asked dumbfounded. “Yeah, I don’t understand what you mean with that, dude” Dominus agreed. “Can you explain further?” Closing his eyes, Eric explained it the best way he could. “I mean, it is possible that we, former humans, have been transformed into Pokemons that best fit our nature. Hence why the difference in species even if we’re related.” Dawn and Dominus made an ‘o’ with their mouth and beak respectively. “Now it all makes sense.” “I agree with you there, Dawn.” Dominus nodded. “Didn’t see resemblances, but…. still looks cool enough to me, so, not complaining.” “One problem.” Eric glanced at Dawn, who continued on despite the stare. “How can you be sure he’s your dad?” “.....he had a pocket watch with an ornate symbol on the lid on. It was in the picture, just beside the bed he was laid.” He replied simply. “Pocket...watch?” Dominus tilted his head. “Okay, I don’t get it. What does a pocket watch have to do with your old man?” “Uhm, Mr. Angelo carries a gold-plated pocket watch with him at all times. All of us knew.” Alex interrupted. “Most of all,” Eric continued where Alex left off. “I know that pocketwatch in the picture. There’s no mistaking the gold plating and the carved circle lining. And there’s only one person with such a custom, one-of-a-kind pocket watch, after all, the hole right in the center of the metal lid is for opening and closing the watch itself. The center of the lid is hollow, so he usually puts his Key Stone inside.” “....so now,” Eric glanced out the window. “I just wanted to make sure it’s him.” Dawn scratched her head. “Okay, okay, okay, let me get this straight. Basically, the Pokemon in the picture is your dad. Then we’re following that trail that might even be wrong just because you saw a pocket watch that looks similar like the one your father carries around?” Eric sighed with a shake of his head. “.....I told you, Dawn, we’re basically following a breadcrumb trail that might not even be right just as you said earlier. But you still insisted to come along. I appreciate it, but it might be a waste of time.” “No such thing as a waste of time when it comes to helping friends, dude. We stick by each other.” Dominus added. “Uh, yeah, that.” Dawn scratched her head with an awkward grin. “Not the way I would say it, but….yeah, Dominus’ right. We’re friends, Eric, of course, I’ll help you out the best I can. You’ve helped me out before, and I help you out.” The Brutal Pokemon went silent for a moment. Then his expression made way for a small smile. A smile. “Thanks you two. I really appreciate it.” “Don’t need to thank us, dude.” Dominus nodded. Seems everything decided to go smoothly. Though someone decided to break it. “But,” Remembering the Pokemon in the paper, she could still see the state of it. One wouldn’t need to be a genius to figure it out. “The Pok...I mean, your father...he looks hurt. Being laid in a bed is a dead giveaway.” “......” No one made an attempt to reply here. Eric just stared at the window while Alex is leaning back beside Eric with a solemn look on his features. “Uh, Eric?” The mare grinned nervously while scratching her head. No one expected an awkward silence to suddenly follow. “.....I don’t know, should I tell her now or maybe later? Hmmm….it might be easier later when she sees it for herself. No avoiding it anyway.” Noticing the Hydreigon’s moving mouth, Dawn concluded that Eric muttered to himself again. She sighed, and there she was expecting an answer that never came. “Mr. Angelo is hurt badly.” The voice of Alex turned all eyes toward him. Being the center of attention, the shy Volcarona attempted to make himself smaller in his seat. “Uhm, did I say something wrong? Sorry, maybe I should-” “He’s hurt!?” Dawn almost jumped out of her seat. “With what?!” Eric had to prevent himself from rubbing his forehead. Seeing no other way to defuse the situation, the Hydreigon caved. “....Alex, please continue.” “Uhm, okay? Mr Angelo, he’s, uhm,....he’s in coma and-” The fire moth said with the smallest volume possible. Unfortunately, Dawn’s and Dominus eyes bulged out of their sockets when the word ‘coma’ came out even if it’s nearly inaudible. “COMA!?” Both shouted simultaneously. Realizing they had spoken together, they stared before returning their attention to the Volcarona The yell caused the Volcarona to flinch and slinked back a little. “Uhm, yes?” “Seriously?” Dominus said with disbelief. “Ok, dude, that’s just messed up. No one deserved that kind of thing.” “Uhm, he is hurt. Pretty badly. I don’t like seeing him like that....actually, I don’t want seeing anyone get hurt.” Alex added. “No one wants to see their dads go ill like that, little guy. It’s just wrong. Heck, if it was me, I would stand by my old man, not leaving him.” “Uhm, I’m not little.” The Volcarona said with inaudible voice. “But, but,” Dawn scratched her head faster in agitation. “How did he get into coma in the first place!?” Dawn shouted. When she saw how the Volcarona and the Hydreigon both made grimacing faces, she knows that she had gone too far. “Oh, sorry, that came out wrong. I shouldn’t have pried.” “No, it’s okay.” Dawn’s eyes were a mix of astonishment and disbelief. Did he just actually forgive her for prying? “You were curious, I understand that.” Inwardly, the Bat Pony is glad that Eric can be quite understanding. “But seriously, what kind of incident that get your dad into-” Dawn felt feathers quickly covered her mouth before she could finish that. Glancing beside her, the culprit revealed to be her Braviary partner. “Dawn, not cool.” Dominus had shook his head. “Ease off the dude, he’s been through a lot.” When the wing had removed itself from her mouth, she began apologizing. “Sorry, sorry, you know how I can get. So... sorry, I had gotten really curious.” Dawn scratched her head sheepishly. “....it’s no problem. And I don’t really see problem with that....I’ll tell you both in time.” Dawn was expecting a lot of reaction, but not that. “Uh....you will?” “I just...just need time to get my thoughts in order before confirming it was my dad.” “Alright, alright, take your time.” Dawn nodded, understanding his situation. Anyone with a heart would. “I can wait.” “Thank you.” Dawn felt Eric’s gratitude of allowing him to gather his thoughts. Remembering one more thing, Dawn added. “Oh, before I forget,” Everyone looked at her instantly. This of course, caused her to get nervous, nonetheless, she continued. “The train is set to leave at 1 PM, right?” She got a nod from both Alex and Eric. “If I count it right, then the train would arrive approximately tomorrow morning or midnight if there’s nothing wrong on the way.” “Then I’m going to take my power nap!” Dominus quickly collapsed his head onto the seat’s headrest. “Wake me up if something cool happens!” Dawn stared at the Braviary in bewilderment, then scratches her head with a grimace. “I don’t understand Pokemon sometimes.” At the prospect of sleep, the Sun Pokemon looked left at his trainer. “Eric?” “Hmmm?” “Uhm, if it’s no trouble, can I sleep and please wake me up later?” The Volcarona had all, but screams cute timidness. “....I don’t see why not.” Eric nodded neutrally. “And sure, I’ll wake you up when we get there.” Once again, Alex is grateful to be blessed with such caring trainer. “Thank you, Eric.” The Volcarona closed his eyes as he gently drifted off into the dreamland. Unhardened, anyone would have d’aaawed at the cute little snore he’s making. “Alright,” Addressing Dawn this time, Eric tilted his head left to her. “What about you, Dawn?” “Seeing everybody else seems to take a nap, ah, might as well.” The mare shrugged, before laying her head against the headrest. “Don’t try to force your eyes open this time, Eric. Just….relax.” With that, she joined Dominus into the lands of dream. The compartment suddenly gone silent with Eric’s conversations partner suddenly going off into their dreams. With a sigh, he decided to take Dawn’s advice to heart and lay his head against the headrest. “Maybe, I’ll deal with getting thoughts into order later. She’s right when I need to relax.” Eric muttered. The Hydreigon couldn’t help but let out one last word. “....dad, please let it be you.” He finally closed his eyes, as the train blowed its whistle. Destination : Canterlot. Eric was sleeping peacefully in the train...until it was interrupted by a sudden jolt, sending him out of his seat, though he was able to stop himself from getting acquainted with the opposing headrest. “....what was that?” Glancing around, he still spotted a few ponies a short distance away that were separated by empty seats. And of course, they’re still asleep. Looking to his left and outside the window, something peculiar had happened. The fact that the land outside had stopped passing by allowed Eric to come to one conclusion. “....why has the train stopped?” A groan sounded beside him. Turns out poor Alex had fallen out of his seat. “Oh, my head.” Alex shakes his head furiously before floating up. Looking around, it seems Dawn and Dominus were still glued to their seat for reasons unknown. “....you okay, Alex?” Waking up face first on the floor is not exactly comfortable. “I think, I’m okay.” Swiveling his head left and right, he also noticed the peculiarity, but he wanted to make sure. “Uhm, Eric, what just happened?” The Volcarona asked. As if on cue the moment Alex finished those words, they could hear the engine slowly roaring to life again. The moonlit plains that had stopped passing by had started moving again. Then a door opened, allowing a stallion to pass through. He seems to be in a hurry judging from the pace. But the situation calls for Eric attention to be on the moving train instead. “....now, it’s moving again?” Bewildered by the turn of events, Eric stared at the plains that were once again rolling by. “....just what is happening? Is there something wrong with the engine? If it did, there was supposed to be some kind of announcement.” “Eric? What’s going on?” The timid Volcarona asked nervously. “....hmmm, maybe. I should do it just in case. No use sleeping again anyway. Things like these that happens always have something else happening according to my experience.” “Eric?” The Volcarona wanted to know if Eric heard him. Shaking his head slightly, he replied. “It’s nothing. Why don’t you go back to sleep? I need to check something.” “Uhm, well, won’t you be needing my help?” The timid moth asked. “....no, it’s fine.” Eric waved the offer off without looking. Attention still focused on the landscape. “If it’s nothing, then I’ll go back to sleep. Simple as that.” “If you say so...but please go back to sleep soon. I don’t want you to get hurt.” The Sun Pokemon reminded, worried for his trainer. “...he’s worried about me? I’m the one who is more worried about him. Though, I do appreciate the concern.” The former human muttered. “Of course….” Then the moth seated himself again before allowing himself back into the realms of dreams. “.....as long as nothing happening, then I can go back to sleep just fine.” The Hydreigon muttered. “....my experience tells me whenever something strange happen, then a chain of strange occurrences will follow.” Getting up from the seat carefully, he took the aisle down toward the back of the compartment. “I should try checking if something is out of place in the back. The engine is the conductor’s concern. Having a derailed train would be the least of my concern if I didn’t check.” Lucky for the Hydreigon, most of the passengers were asleep when he passed by. Reaching the back of the compartment, he slid the door open that leads outside. A coupling is visible that connects the compartment. “....hmmm, nothing seems wrong. Alright, I should check another one.” With everything checks out on this part, he slid the door open that leads inside the second compartment. He had done the same routine for the next couple of cars, checking the couplings and making sure that something that might cause a derailed train was no longer there. Meanwhile, the state in which the passengers is in remains in their blissful ignorance in the last couple of cars. With the third coupling checks out and Eric already in the third compartment, he poised to move into the kitchen. It wasn’t hard to know considering the sign is on the sliding door. Just as he moved to grab the handle, something peculiar happened again. Mainly, some sort of...clattering? “Hmmmm, what was that?” Eric wondered, getting closer to the door to hear better. “…..did something just...clatter?” Something is in the kitchen, but what? Eric intended to find out, quietly, of course. The last thing he need was some kind of panic to occur in a cramped space like this. The noise was getting louder and louder, whoever it was, he or she reminded him of the event of the museum heist. That’s not what concerned him right now, however. “I’ve encountered that thief two times already, either out of coincidence or something else. I shouldn’t really deny the possibility that she could here…..if I’m lucky...then she’s not here.” Now floating right in front of the door, he reached out toward the handle. But he stopped for a moment to glance behind him. Seeing no one attempting to sneak up on him, he nodded. “Things are bound to get ugly after this.” He grabbed the handle and slid the door open as slowly as possible. With the small gap made, it allowed him to peek whoever it is inside. The sight that greeted him….was oddly cute. A small Sylveon was waving his feelers around, picking up different packagings of medicine, checking their labels, and then throwing them away afterwards. “....what the? Why is a Sylveon here? More importantly….why is he….of course.” Eric figured it out quickly. “...thief. Should I call Alex?….That won’t do, he might be gone before I got back.” The Hydreigon muttered. Taking a deep breath, he added. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this. 4x weakness, I need to remember that.” “Okay, here we go.” He slid the door open. But instead of a thief running, he just got a blank stare from the Fairy type, who proceed to continue his routine of grabbing and throwing. “Sylveon, stop it.” The Hydreigon ordered, tensing himself up should the Pokemon attempted to make a gateway. But the Sylveon ignored it, and continued grabbing the medicine, but this time, throwing the packs at the Dark type. Eric quickly tilted his head, allowing the pack to fly past it “I’m serious, stop it!” “Food poisoning… yeah, this should do.” The Sylveon read out loud, before looking at Eric, and giving him a fake smile. “Flash.” A bright light came out of the Fairy type’s body “Gyaaa!” His reflexes caused him to reel back and cover his eyes. Yet when he opened them back, the Sylveon was already exiting the room, running away from him. “Hey, stop!” His instinct screams to give chase and chase he did. Into the next compartment, he saw a tiny cream colored figure running towards the next cart. The Sylveon glared back, and with one of his feelers, he shot a small Moonblast which was aimed for Eric’s main head. With honed reflexes, it allowed Eric to deftly dodge the blast by ducking under it, before quickly continuing the pursuit. “I said, stop!” “I don’t have time to deal with a punny Hydreigon like you. Didn’t your hoard teach you to not mess with Fairy types? Oh right, your kind is not smart enough to know when they are at a disadvantage.” The Sylveon jumped, and released two bigger Moonblasts from his feelers, which rapidly flew towards the Dragon type. “Oh, no.” He leaned aside as the first Moonblast flew inches past his face and awkwardly ducking beneath the second one. “....that was too close. Feels like I’m out of my league this time.” Looking back at his offender, he found that the Fairy decided to make a break for it while he was distracted. “Dammit, he’s just distracting me.” With how Fairy can do massive damage to a Hydreigon, Eric had to prevent himself from rubbing his head. “Just what was I thinking when I decided to go after a Fairy? I should’ve brought Alex along.” After some more chase, and more close calls from the Moonblast attack, they arrived what appeared to be a luggage cart. Eric went inside and searched for the Sylveon around the many different packs. “Yoohoo,” A voice said in a feminine tone. Eric looked behind him, to see the Sylveon jump at him with shining feelers. The Sylveon opened his mouth, readying a Yawn attack. But he was stopped short by a swift Eric, who grabbed him with one of his head-hands. With the cream cat in his grip, he proceeded to slam him into the hard-wooden floor of the compartment, a grunt followed. Now, the Sylveon is all, but helpless as his assaulter pressed both arm heads onto his barrel to held him down. The Brutal Pokemon gritted his teeth as he tried to keep the squirming cat in place. “Sylveon, for the last time. Sto-” Whatever the Hydreigon was about to say was cut off when he felt something on his back. A tall bulky figure smacked his neck with a bat, which injured Eric, yet didn’t knock him out like the pony expected to. “Hey, what the?” He glanced behind him and saw another one coming, yet this one was a smaller female unicorn, with wild violet hair. The unicorn shot a beam at Eric’s head, releasing the Sylveon. Eric shook his right arm rapidly. “Aaagh! Son of a...” Turning around to face his attacker, he had seen another swing was arcing toward the side of his skull. The earth pony felt satisfaction when the stick had hit his target, however the satisfaction left like a leaf in the wind when he saw the three-headed monster had grabbed onto the bat with his left head. There is nothing he could do as he felt the bat he held onto got dragged forward, and in turn himself toward the Hydreigon who in turn headbutted him, wrenched the bat out of his hooves then slamming it onto the side of his head in retaliation that sent the pony tumbling aside. With the immediate threat had been taken care of, this brings the former human back toward his original objective. Glancing behind his shoulder, his target is making off with another unknown mare up and over the trap door on the carriage’s ceiling. “Hey!” But as he turned to chase them, he felt something coming toward his head. Swiftly, he ducked underneath the swing and elbowed an incoming mare violently, causing a spurt of blood to gush out of her nose before collapsing like a brick. "...that’s over, back toward chasing the Sylveon.” Eric quickly exited the cart and into the intersection between the compartments. Seeing as it was wide enough, he floated upward with a small beat of his wings. As expected, he spotted his quarry. “Get back here, thief!” “You still chasing us? Great. Get out of this Hydreigon, we don’t need more trouble.” The Sylveon jumped, and threw a Moonblast that rapidly flew towards Eric, landing on his paws, he kept advancing with the unicorn. Giving up was not on Eric’s list that night, considering he had allowed the same thief to escape his grasp before, he was determined to stop him again this time. Deftly dodging the Moonblast, he pursued the Sylveon and whoever the unicorn was. They advanced some more, and a green-looking slim figured appeared in the horizon. The Sylveon ran faster and stood next to the mysterious figure, who Eric identified as a shiny Scizor. “Stop right there” The Scizor ordered. “We don’t want to cause any more trouble, just leave us alone and go back to wherever you came from, Hydreigon” “....get out of my way….” Eric warned. “I had enough trouble chasing down that thief around, so I’ll repeat, get out of my way.” “Stop chasing the Sylveon, and I will. You don’t even know why he did what he did, we needed that medicine,” The Scizor replied, the former trainer could feel the Scizor’s wing buzzed in anticipation. Eric had to raise an eyebrow at that. “...and why did he do it?” He added curtly. “Because if he didn’t, I would have died.” The unicorn mare explained. “I was poisoned, I needed it.” “.....why I should I believe you? Those guys attacked me earlier, instead of helping me, you ran. So….they must be with you.” The Hydreigon didn’t believe every single word they said, since he figured that the guys earlier were distractions so they could escape. “Those guys were not with us, I swear!” The purple unicorn exclaimed. But the Scizor held up his pincer as a sign to silence her. “Pockets, go with Layton. This guy won’t believe us, most Hydreigon can only understand one thing: violence. Frederick, I’ll need your help.” The Scizor sighed, getting ready for the battle. “Yeah sure, I’ll keep the range attacks going, you do the physical damage. This guy shouldn't be able to hold too long,” The Sylveon deadpanned, as his feelers started shining. “Ugh, I’m beginning to doubt this was the best idea. Not only is there a shiny Scizor now, but the thief is helping him. Dammit.” He cursed while tensing himself up for any attack incoming. “X-Scissor!” The Scizor’s pincers started glowing a light purple, as he rapidly advanced to hit the Dragon type. The X-Scissor poised to strike Eric, but what the Bug type wasn’t expecting was that the one he supposed to hit slinked aside before he felt a sharp slap on the back of his head. But that wasn’t the worse of it, the moment he was dazed from the strike, something looped around his neck before hefting him toward the Sylveon’s direction. Now he lay helpless as his opponent had used him to cover himself, essentially, a Pokemon shield. A Moonblast hit the Scizor, dealing minor damage yet protecting the Hydreigon. “....give up, Sylveon. I got your Scizor friend.” Eric growled. “I really don’t care bout him to be honest. Oh yeah, you should probably dodge the incoming hit.” As the Sylveon finished talking, the Scizor’s wings started shining, revealing a Wing Attack that sent Eric back. “Ah...dammit, that was careless of me.” Eric cursed as he felt a bruise starting to form. The Sylveon let out condescending grin.“You shouldn't really mess with a champion.” His expression doesn’t show it, but he was actually surprised when the word ‘champion’ uttered. “...champion?” Judging from the Scizor form, he had an inkling of who it was from the typing alone. “Indeed, I am Steven Stone, former champion of the Hoenn region.” The Scizor explained, before releasing another X-Scissor, “And you are keeping me away from my objective!” Once the sentences had been registered by his brain, his wings almost stopped in mid-flight. “....champion? Hoenn? Is he really....Steven Stone, the Steel Master?” He shook his head quickly. “No, it’s too quick to believe in his words.” “.....Steven Stone….and how do I know you’re the real Steven Stone? People bluff a lot these days.” Eric growled. Clearly, he didn’t believe if the Scizor in front of him is really the champion or not. “And why should I tell you? The only thing you’ve been wanting to do is to stop me and the Sylveon. Speaking of which…” Steven ducked, as the sylveon jumped on his back, releasing two small yet fast Moonblast, which rapidly went flying towards the Hydreigon. His reflexes kicked in, tilting his head left and right as the Moonblast flew by, not seemingly fazed even a little. “.....I just tried to stop him from stealing some medicines. That’s vandalism, and I...don’t like it.” The moment he finished, the Scizor glared at the Sylveon beside him. “Did you even care to explain what we needed the medicine for, Frederick?” The Sylveon just shrugged. “I should’ve imagined. We needed the medicine urgently, a friend of ours was under a Poisoned status, and we needed the medicine before it was too late.” “.....hmm, that’s new.....nevertheless, one can’t be too careful. I shouldn’t really trust someone just because they said so, it’s just asking to be lied upon.” The Hydreigon went silent for a moment upon this revelations, yet this silent was broken quickly. “.....why should I believe you? I don’t even know if you’re the champion or not.” “Layton, you ready?” Steven asked, looking at the Bunnelby besides him. “My body is ready, reaching destination in 3...2...1…” From behind Eric, a silver chunk of metal floated swiftly towards them. Upon reaching Steven’s side, it revealed four spider-like legs and a golden “X”, with two cold red eyes. A shiny Metagross. “As I said before, I am Steven Stone, former champion of the Hoenn region. I didn’t want to steal that medicine, but I had no other choice. I apologize deeply.” Steven sighed, resting his arm on the shiny Metagross that lay besides him. The Hydreigon remained stoic as ever, but inwardly, he is way too surprised when the Shiny Metagross appeared. Eric only knew one human who would have a Shiny Metagross as the star of his team, and that person was standing right in front of him. “....so you really are Steven Stone.” “And according to Layton, you must be a former human too, am I right? Please tell me your name.” Telling people his name? If a stranger asked him to do so, he wouldn’t unless they proved themselves harmless or trustworthy. But this was a champion after all. They are known to be kind and trustworthy. “...Eric...Eric Angelo. Just your regular trainer.” “Eric Angelo, it’s a pleasure to meet you. In that case, there is no point in this fight. I’m looking for someone, another former human, a famous thief, you might have heard of her, goes by the name ‘Phantom Thief Fox’, as you would suppose, she is a Zoroark now. Do you have any idea where she might be? “Oh...I know her quite well….a chance encounter if I might add.” Eric muttered, loud enough for the former champion to hear him. “You’ve encountered her as well? Then you must know how she behaves in her Zoroark form. In that case, Eric, would you mind helping me catch Fox?” Steven stretched his arm, opening his pincer and signaling a shake of hands. Looking down at said pincers in question, the atmosphere tensed as the champion waited for Eric’s response. Then he felt his pincers being grasped by an arm head. “Of course...Steven. But I will need to get my Volcarona.” “You have a team here? Excellent, the more, the better. Come then, I’ll get my group ready as well. Let’s catch this thief once and for all.” With gritted teeth, Eric floated through a compartment while muttering to himself. “....I can’t believe this, my prediction came true, Fox is on this train. Just what has the world gotten into around me?” Eric could ask himself that question forever, but he had more pressing matters to deal with. It mainly concerns a champion, and the very thief that he’s been trying to catch, but failed. Although the last attempt to catch her was more of an insistence from Sally, he also wanted to catch her deep inside. Such this brings him to this situation now where he is willing to catch Fox, but no Sally this time which he is silently thankful for actually deciding to bring Alex instead. “....either way, I’m catching her this time, at least Sally’s not here to continuously be stubborn in the event it's better we stop.” He muttered as he finally entered the compartment where his companions is sleeping. He floated closer to where the visible fire moth was resting comfortably. Eric reached out a head to shake the Volcarona awake, yet he flinched at the last second. “.....maybe I should leave Alex out of this. Last time I duke it out with the thief....it didn’t end well due to the cop’s interference.” He was about to pull his arm back when he thought back on his earlier encounter with the former champion. “....but if we don’t help, there’s no way he’ll be able to stand up to her. I know, I’ve already got the end of her tricks two times already.....” In the end, the Hydreigon made his decision. “....sorry for this Alex, but I’ll make sure to keep you safe.” Eric reached out again and grab ahold of one of Alex’s tiny legs. “....Alex....” He shook the bug lightly to get his attention. “....Alex wake up...” The former trainer shook him harder this time. Eric didn’t need to wait for long as the Volcarona’s eyelid lifted to reveal his bleary compound eyes. “Eric?” A yawn escaped his tiny mouth. “...have we...uhm, arrived already?” His question earn him a shook of his trainer’s head as a reply. “...not exactly.” “I.....” Shaking his head slightly, he was able to look up to Eric with clear vision this time. “...then why did you wake me? Did....something, uhm, happened?” “.....unfortunately, Alex....we have a thief to catch…..again.” Play this as the second closing theme