"Sometimes even the simplest mistake, even the simplest misunderstanding can be....catastrophic, I had to learn that the hard way. Whenever we make mistakes, our initial instinct was to deny it. At times, it was easier that way. It is always our duty to take responsibilities for our actions. Just like a simple mistake can be catasthropic, even the smallest difference one make can be substantial in the long-run" - Eric Angelo
Play this as the second opening theme
“Alright, now to meet with Steven.” Eric advanced through the carriages. Looking behind him, his Volcarona was as nervous as ever if his shakes was anything to go by. “....Alex...”
He looked up at his trainer. “....uhm...yes?”
“....you’re good?”
“....yes, I mean...I think so?”
That was enough for Eric’s satisfaction.
The last time they had met up with Steven was when they had visited their carriages. It was there they had brought up plans that will be instrumental in the capture of Fox. When Layton, Steven’s Metagross had detected the location of Fox and her gang, they had went on ahead to attack Fox head-on while he and Alex will be attacking their rear in a pincer maneuver. Such plans would ensure there are no escape routes considering every train car is one-way to either directions.
They travelled through to catch up while being stared at by the other passengers, while Eric paid them no heed, Alex was another thing. All he wanted now was to hide behind Eric to escape the curious gazes of the passenger.
Such thoughts were derailed the moment he bumped into Eric, who had stopped all of the sudden.
Alex stared in confusion, wondering why his trainer stopped dead in front of him. “Uhm, Eric? What-“ He was promptly cut off by a shush.
“....I hear something.” Eric had sworn he heard some form of shouts, which is why he strained his hearing, blocking all other sounds except the one he sought.
“Well well well, I was wondering when we’d see you. What was it Mr. Stone called you again? Layton, was it?” The first voice was that he recognized from his previous two encounters, Fox.
“I am impressed by your memory. Many years have passed since… the banana incident. There is no way you can escape, Fox. Steven is coming this way at this very moment.” Eric recognized the second monotone voice to be that of Steven’s Shiny Metagross, Layton.
“We’re on a train, tin head. There are plenty of ways to escape.” Another voice, Eric pegged it to be the Weavile from before. “Sides, if you haven’t noticed, you’ve got the clear disadvantage. 3 Dark-types against 1 Psychic-type. Sounds like a slaughter to me.”
“Phantom Thief Fox, a title said to be transferred from generation to generation. Known for being stealthy and almost uncatchable, they are-“
The former human had heard enough to get a clear picture of the situation. “....they’re up there, Alex.”
Alex tilted her head aside at whoever it is Eric referred to. “Uhm....”
The Volcarona’s trainer merely emphasized by jerking one head up toward the direction of the ceiling. “....Fox and her fellow thieves are up there with Layton. The latter is in trouble.”
Just the name alone was enough to send shudder through the Bug’s tiny body when he remembered what they had done to him before, yet he steeled himself less he would disobey.
“....alright, we’ll attack them by surprise. No more attacking them head-on like before, that will only get us into more trouble. Now, I’ll need you to-“ Eric pointed to a window on his left side. “To get out the window and stay there. The moment I shout out one of your moves, you are to float up and blast the center area with the attack I shouted.” Eric turned around to face Alex once more. “....Alex...you got that?”
He had heard, but he went from nervous to fearful in a heartbeat. “...yes.” He answered timidly.
However, a pair of heads found themselves gripping the Volcarona’s shoulder. He looked up toward his trainer’s pupil-less eyes. “....Alex, I’m....you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
Alex’s compound eyes widened. His trainer couldn’t have been thinking that. “But...what about,er, the plan?”
For a moment, Eric looked away in hesitation, face with expression no one could describe. “....you’ve been poisoned by Fox before and received a lot of damage that I’m sure you don’t want to repeat anytime soon. How about this, I’ll talk to Steven and I’ll see if I can cancel this plan of ours, okay?”
“But...but, won’t they be..uhm,mad at you?” Alex had already pictured Eric getting X-Scissored by a Scizor.
“Getting out of this uninjured for all parties, including Steven and the company he brought is more important. I learned the lesson the hard way dealing with a thief like Fox. We have to know when to advance and when to give. They can be sore at me later, but getting out of this unscathed is top priority. So, I ask again....how about I talk to Steven about canceling this?”
Now the Volcarona felt bad for even having such thoughts. “....okay.” For a moment, Eric looked relieved until he had heard the last word Alex had yet to say. “....uhm, what I mean is, I’ll do it. Is that...okay?”
The carriage went dead silent for a moment before Eric continued. “...Alex, really, I won’t hold it against-“
“...It’s okay.” Alex interrupted. “You’ll protect me. I know you will.” A tiny smile as bright as the sun itself was seen by Eric.
It was all it took to let his defenses crumble. “....okay. But listen to me closely, okay? I don’t want a repeat of two days ago happening again to you of all Pokémon.” Alex nodded. “...alright, let’s get into position.”
With Alex mind had made up, the fire moth floated to a window and squirmed himself outside. Eric himself floated down the carriage to take position.
“Weavile, Blizzard. Liepard, Dark Pulse. As for me, Shadow Ball!”
With a grunt, Eric lifted himself to a see a scene which left him stunned for a moment. There she was, Fox and her gang consisting of only the Weavile, and the Liepard and their back turned to him. Eric would be suspicious right now regarding the location of the other members if only Layton wasn’t in a precarious position. The two Dark Pulses and one Shadow Ball that’s heading toward him was stopped dead in their tracks the moment he jabbed each one with an attack that consist of his front legs glowing white.
Eric noted his sluggish movement, it didn’t take long for him to figure out why. “....dammit, he’s slowed down from Hammer Arm. Speed decreased three times in a row is not helping.”
“Now!” Fox’s shout caught his attention just in time to witness as she threw several of her rounds object. It exploded to unleashed to contents which consist of sticky webs that wrapped around the Metagross’ legs.
“Dark Triangle!” The Foxes moved closer together, and unleashed three Dark Pulses that resembles a triangle each which became one to create one massive pulse.
Eric growled a curse underneath his breath, he moved to stop them. Fortunately, he didn’t need to.
“Not so fast!” Came a familiar voice said from behind the immobilized Steel Type. A shiny Scizor who was Steven Stone himself rushed in front of his friend, as a lime-green neon-like sphere surrounded him. The attack slammed into the sphere which did no good to it before dissipating. “It seems like I arrived just in time, huh bud? Get out of that mess and come help me out.” Steven exclaimed, brewing a Tailwind which sped his Metagross up.
Eric felt the effect as well and took that as a sign to make his move. He floated forward as silent as the Tailwind itself.
“I hate it when our opponents arrive in the nick of time like some cartoon hero.” The Liepard growled while she sticking her tongue out in annoyance.
Steven tensed himself. “Give up, Fox. We don’t need to do this the hard way. There are more reinforcements coming this way, if we don’t stop you, they will.”
Eric nodded as he caught on. “....that’s right, keep them talking, Steven.” The Fox gang were as oblivious as ever to the threat that slowly loomed behind their backs.
“We can handle Ponies easy.” Rascal snorted. “What are they gonna do? Buck us to death? Heh, I’ll turn them all into ice sculptures before they get the chance.”
Still oblivious, Eric was now right behind them. He tensed his arm for a knockout blow.
The Scizor noticed this. “I never said anything about ponies.” Steven chuckled, showing himself confident on his actions. “That Tailwind was not just to speed Layton up.”
It was the cue, Eric quickly pulled his right arm back and punched. Unfortunately, he was punching the air itself because the target which is the back of Fox’s head had tilted aside, allowing him to nick her arm instead. The gang of thieves rolled forward to avoid anymore retaliations.
Once they got a good look of their attacker, Eric saw Fox’s expressions changed from amusement to annoyance. “You again?” she deadpanned. “Okay, two times was a coincidence, but this...this is getting ridiculous.”
The former human would not waste the chance from their momentary distraction, he snapped his head to the side. “Bug Buzz!” Just as planned, his youngest companion floated up from the side of the train, catching the gang off guard.
Not wanting to be deaf as well, he pulled back and jammed his two arm heads into his non-existent ears.
With no time to pull out their earplugs, the horrible screech blasted their eardrums. Were it not for it being muffled by the sound of the train itself, they would have gone deaf.
The former human heard the horrible noise even with his ears blocked off, but at least he didn’t get the worst of it. It died down soon. Once Eric was sure he wouldn’t be deaf the moment his ears were unblocked, he unjammed his non-existent ears. Alex had floated to his side during the chaos.
“I see you’re all as charming as always.” The Liepard deadpanned.
“What I’d like to know is what you two are doing working for Gray Hat.” Fox made a show of nonchalantly cleaning one of her ears.
Their reaction was not what he expected, he had expected them to be unconscious. “...what the? Alex’s Bug Buzz is a powerful one. And they just...brushed it off? .....no, they must be acting like it didn’t matter because in that moment I never saw them pull off an earplugs or even expected either me or Alex to show.”
Steven’s voice brought him back from his internal debate. “Who the heck is Gray Hat? What on earth are you even talking about? Explain yourself!”
“....Gray...Hat? Is this Fox’s next target...in this train too?” Eric sighed. “......that’s the only possible explanation she is on this train.”
“Oh, only the crime lord who’s trying to get a ring that will let him blow up mountains with just a thought. Speaking of which, here,” Fox said, before tossing Pocket’s ring towards Steven. “That wasn’t my target. Turns out it just happened to look a lot like the ring we were after.”
The champion neatly caught it within his right pincer. “You think I’ll let you do whatever madness of a plan you are pulling off here just because you gave me this ring back?” Steven deadpanned.
Eric didn’t show anything, except the slightest of frowns was there. “.....a crime lord? With all she’s done so far, she’s not really giving us a lot of reason to trust her. I figured she must be trying to bluff her way, considering she’s up against a champion of all people and backed by myself and Alex.”
“....Try it, just try to give us one reason why should we believe you?” Eric growled. “But you won’t, seeing as you’ve never given me a reason to believe anything, in fact, all you’ve given me is just another reason to go after you. Besides, we already let you get away for a second time, it won’t happen again.” Looking at his Volcarona, he added. “Alex, ready yourself.”
“Uhm, okay, if you say so. Sorry for what’s coming Mrs and Mr. Thieves.” Alex said softly, as the bug’s wings started to flap faster.
Fox’s expression changed from annoyance to a deadpan one. “Like I said before, you really need help. Even Johnny-boy isn’t this obsessive, and he keeps getting heat for not catching us.”
Eric ignored her jibe entirely, instead, focusing on one thing only : knocking her and her team out. “Heat Wave!” With a simple flick of the wings, a blast of heat came forward to scorch the thieves.
“Watch it with the Heat Wave!” Steven exclaimed, as he quickly back stepped out of the range from the punishing heat. “One hit from that, and I’ll be out!"
“Don’t you have any restraint?” The Weavile shouted out just in time to hit the deck alongside his team.
“He’s right. First it was the museum, then the warehouse, and now this train. Are you TRYING to get someone killed in the crossfire?” The Liepard growled.
Considering the distance, Eric knew Heat Wave wouldn’t be good anymore. He bit his lip as he bitterly remembered the warehouse incident. “Sorry about that, Steven! Alright, Alex, you heard him, no more Fire-types attack like before.”
“....alright.” The timid moth replied.
“Finally, I was afraid you’d set this train on fire just to catch us, ya nut!” Fox said in annoyance.
Their momentary distraction had given Steven just enough time to feel the arrival of someone else to join the party.
“Moonblast, go!” Steven called. From behind him, a Sylveon jumped into the air, shooting a large pink sphere towards them.
“Oh crap. Weavile, Liepard, Rock Smash the roof! We’re sitting ducks out here!” Eric noted the desperate tone in her voice. Her two Pokemon obeyed, smashing their glowing paw and claws into the roof, and blowing a sizable hole from which they fell into the train, right into one of the less crowded train cars.
“...not going to happen!” Eric muttered.
Snapping his head toward his new companion on the other side of the roof, he shouted. “Steven!” That got their attention because the Hydreigon saw the slightest of nods.
Eric jumped alongside Alex, followed by Steven, Layton and Frederick. Inside, they saw Fox and her gang and quickly move in for the knockout.
Their plans for doing so was derailed the moment, Fox rounded on them and threw three more round objects. Eric didn’t have a chance to yell before it exploded and covered them in a field of electricity, his three impromptu companions also weren’t spared.
“..w-w-what?” Eric noticed his own stutter as well as the fact his body was unwilling to listen to his brain.
“Layton!” Steven called, looking for his metallic friend
“This appears… to be a modified paralysis status effect. My… calculations indicate that… the effect is temporary… yet extremely effective.” The Metagross stuttered, the field of electricity surrounding his body.
“Like em? I call them Shock Bombs. Don’t like using them much, but they’re effective,” Fox chuckled. before they turned towards the door. “Later. Come along, colt. Your parents would kill me if anything happened to you.”
“Get….back...here!” The Hydreigon gritted his teeth as he lay on the floor on his side. Looking at the Volcarona beside him, it seemed like he wasn’t going be moving for a while either. “...dammit!”
“Stop right there, Foxy! You ain’t gonna go pass through me!” The shout and the laughter that followed had given Eric the strength to move his neck to see what’s what. There, standing before the doorway, was a navy blue unicorn barring the Fox’s path. It was one of Steven’s companion, Pockets.
“Oh come on, we already dealt with the bigger Pokemon. What’s one pony gonna do to us?” The Weavile said through his fit, while Fox just sighed.
“Me? Nah, I won’t do anything, my body will though. Layton!” The unicorn’s eyes turned a pale white, before returning to normal, with the exception of the pupils now being a soft red color. The former human realized what had happened, he craned his head around to see Layton’s eyes were glowing pale white. “Transfer complete, initializing… magic.” The unicorn said, on a now robotic and deeper voice. From the horn of the unicorn, various neon blue beams shot towards the gang, aiming for each of its members.
“Not happening.” Just then, an unknown pony jumped in front of the gang.
Eric was well aware what would happen if a less durable pony took a hit like that. He moved to stop the beams, but his body says otherwise. Try as he might, it still refused to move. “....dammit it all...”
Fox herself was wide-eyed at the unexpected action. “Kid...what are you doing?”
“I’m helping!” The kid replied with a...smile on his face. This only further horrified Eric and made him struggle even more.
Fortunately, Eric’s struggles was unfounded because inches away from impact, the beam dissipated, much to his relief. “Non-Pokémon combatant appeared, unauthorized to harm. Awaiting orders from the main unit.” Layton said robotically through Pockets.
“Yeah, not happening.” It was all the Weavile said before his Ice Beam froze the unicorn on the spot. Immediately, the Fox gang went straight for the door again, while Fox made sure to pick up the teenage unicorn along by the barrel.
“Come on, we’ve gotta hurry!” With that, the Fox’s gang left through the door.
Nothing Eric had done could stop them. He merely cursed under his breath.
Only now did he realize was that the words came out perfectly, no stutter.
“...Everyone, we can move again!” Eric exclaimed, as him and his Volcarona stood up from their position, Steven and his group doing the same.
“….that was faster than I expected.” Eric tested his various limbs, arms, necks, wings, they all worked fine. “….I estimated half a minute. Next time, I had to keep her talking.”
“Alright, Alex, we-“ His words died down on his throat when he saw what looks like to be a herd of ponies coming through their way. “….oh no…. Get out of the way!”
The herd of ponies stampeded through the carriages. Eric managed to narrowly grab one of Alex’s wing and pressed him against his chest in the nick of time. Any slower and Alex would have been flattened on the floor with hoofprints all over.
Once the stampede had disappeared to the other carriage, Eric was still not about to let Fox get away. “Steven, we have to go!” He floated toward the direction where Fox had gone, unknowingly still clutching the wide-eyed Alex.
Soon Steven and Frederick followed, eyes showing determination.
Eric had his head on a swivel, as he passed one carriage after another, looking for any signs of Illusions in the mix. He was wise to the trick by now, all he had to do was to look to the shadows to see if they match up or not. So far nothing, all the ponies he had laid eyes upon all checked out.
Eric didn’t want to admit it, but he had the feeling his quarry had gotten away…again. “Do you think she got away? There are no signs of her anywhere”
“Don’t worry, this is a train after all. There aren’t many hiding spots where she could be. Let’s keep looking,” Steven replied
The Hydreigon glanced behind him slightly as he digested Steven’s words. “….he’s quite optimistic. But…he does have a point, there is no way Fox could jump off this train and walk away from it even if she is now a Pokemon…..unless she had something ready.”
“...you’re right. Be ready, Alex, watch everything carefully. From now, we’re in her territory.”
“....okay.” The Volcarona sighed. Just as everyone else, the Bug type wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
“Steven, Eric.” A voice Eric recognized as Layton’s called through the mental link. ”I sensed one of Fox’s companions in the final carriages of the train, nearby the luggage cart we were located before. I’ll arrive as soon as possible, as I am currently dealing with some... minor trouble.”
Layton’s last two words caught Eric’s attention, yet he held off his curiosity in favor of catching Fox.
“Ready to catch her once and for all, Eric?” Glancing back, the Hydreigon saw an unmistakable grin on Steven’s face.
He returned the favor with a nod. “....ready…” He nodded to the Volcarona beside him who buzzed his wings faster in anticipation.
“....it looks like we’re halfway there.....and still no sign of her. Seen anything peculiar yet?” With every passenger carriages they passed, the more alert Eric had became.
“Not much… until now, we have some company.” Steven informed, as some ponies stood up, with weapons on their mouths, wings, and the occasional unicorn levitational spell. Other ponies appeared from the neighbor wagons as well, also carrying a variety of weapons like whips and swords.
Only now did Eric realized the wolves in sheep’s clothing. “…dammit, sometimes I’m just too focused on one thing to notice anything else.”
“I think we angered the staff, can’t blame it, we did kind of made a mess here.” Frederick deadpanned, as his feelers started to shine, preparing to attack.
Before the Sylveon could do such thing, Eric beat him to it. “....Alex, forget Bug Buzz. Instead, Rage Powder!”
“...if you insist.” The Volcarona said softly, releasing bright red powder to the surrounding ponies. The effects were as he predicted, their eyes narrowed at the weird moth and closed in on him.
The Hydreigon realized these ponies were now beyond reasoning. Just as he wanted. “Get out of the way!” Eric ordered, and the rest of the group did as said, while the angry ponies on the other hand, crowded right below the Volcarona, who flew all the way to the ceiling to avoid the deathly weapons trying create holes on him.
With all the ponies gathered below the fire moth, Eric brought out his strategy. “Now, Bug Buzz right underneath you!”
Alex followed Eric’s order by angling his wings toward the direction of the floor, as a horrible screech was sent, releasing various smaller yet still powerful waves around him. The henchmen were all paralyzed as their eardrums got blasted by the waves of the loud and high-pitched screech, sending them all unconscious on the ground.
Floating up toward one of the unconscious ponies, Eric made sure to check his eardrums Seeing no blood came out of the ear along with everyone else, he concluded their hearings would survive the night.
“Watch it, Eric,” Steven’s voice caught his attention. Eric turned his eyes over his shoulder. “They may be trying to attack us, but try to not overdo it. Have to admit though, that’s one powerful Volcarona you got there, I can only compare it to Alder’s, although still not quite there yet.” He heard a chuckle behind him.
Thought Eric appreciated the praise, he knew they had better things to do. “Thanks, but we’re on a timetable, Steven. We have to hurry or else we lose her for real.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not the type of guy that can be left behind. Frederick, lets go!” Eric could hear footsteps behind him accompanied by a drifting wind. He realized it’s another Tailwind because the light feeling had returned.
As they reached the final wagons, Steven attempted to open the door that lead to the two final carts. But as soon as he opened it, a powerful blast destroyed the roof. Such an event caused Eric to grab Alex and shielded him from the fragments of woods and dusts that washed over with his back. As the cloud of dust disappeared, Eric glanced behind him, there the Zoroark, a Weavile, and a Liepard that had eluded him advancing to the other cart.
“....there she is.” Eric muttered. Slowly releasing the Volcarona from his grip, he slowly advanced toward them.
“Miss Fox, wait!” That same familiar voice stopped the Hydreigon dead in his track. He realized th voice belonged to the same unicorn colt who had accompanied Fox’s gang earlier had jumped from a hole in the roof. As he tried to catch up, a whip grabbed his leg, bringing him to the floor. Tracing the lines of the whip brought the Hydreigon’s attention to a bulky earth pony with his back on their group.
The colt’s whimper was enough to send Eric into action, but a blur passed by him had done so before him.
“Bullet Punch!” Steven’s Scizor form rushed towards the grunt, as various weak yet repetitive orange colored punches struck the earth pony, leaving him standing in place. It wasn’t long before he collapsed.
“Eric, you and your Volcarona go ahead. Frederick, go with them, we need to stop Fox before she tries anything.”
“Alright, you heard him, we’re going ahead!” Eric exclaimed, as they all went by Steven, but not before adding. “And be careful, Steven, there might be some ponies left.”
They floated further, followed by Frederick.
Final stretch, Eric saw their targets. Fox, her Liepard and her Weavile, standing before a gray unicorn. The scene alone kicked his instincts to overdrive.
Looking to his side, Eric motioned Alex forward with a flick of his head, he obeyed and got right behind the gang.
“Well, at least we go the-”
“Bug Buzz!” For the second time that night, their ears were once more assaulted by the deadly screech that came from directly behind them. When it died down, a Hydreigon barged in, followed by a Sylveon and a Volcarona floating backward to join up with his trainer.
“Good lord, man! Do you HAVE to keep doing that?!” Fox’s Liepard shouted in annoyance while all three of them were holding their ears. As the gang got back on their feet, Fox noticed that something was missing.
“The ring!”
“....ring?” Looking around, Eric spotted no such object.
“Looking for this?” The stallion answered his question when he held up a ring of value on his hoof. His malicious grin was unmistakable to him.
“...gee, thanks for that distraction, ya maniac! You’ve ruined EVERYTHING, and now there is a high chance we are all gonna die! So thanks for ruining the day, hero.”
Now Eric is confused, he didn’t know what’s what anymore. “What are you talking about? All I see is you thieves stealing someone’s ring.”
“Oh, you foolish Pokémon, there’s no such thing as a high chance, you see, there are no chances here. You are all, most definitely, going to die.” Gray Hat raised his hoof, getting the ring closer to his horn. “And that weird Pokémon is right, here, there are only thieves stealing MY ring.”
“No! Don’t let him put that ring on!” The voice made Eric’s head snapped straight toward the ring that was slowly raised toward the horn.
He shut out everything else as his trainer instinct kicked in. “Alex, Will-o-Wisp!” The Volcarona let out several blue fiery orbs toward the stallion. It was all in vain, the Will-o-Wisp stopped mid air, surrounded by a red aura, before they were snuffed out.
“It’s too late, behold, the power of the ancient ring!” The unicorn started floating, and as if gravity was nothing but an obstacle, the things around him started floating as well.
Only now did Eric realized the gravity of the situation he had unwittingly unleashed. “....oh...shit…”
“Once again, thanks for ruining everything, hero.” The Weavile deadpanned.
“Enough, Weavile.” Fox turned to Steven and Eric. “Okay, we’ve got a crazy pony who is more than ready to kill us with ancient powers that can blow up mountains. Truce?”
Eric wasn’t sure about that, but seeing the situation was created because of his own stupidity, he had no choice but to work together. He nodded.
“There’s no other way, Fox. We need to get to an open area, do you think you can lead him to the roof?” Steven requested, getting his wings out and preparing to fight.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Fox said as she quickly rummaged through where she kept her bombs. “...and I know just how to do it”
“Hey lame brain, I bet your mom was so retarded, she named you after the first thing she saw.” She taunted.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY MOTHER? YOU… DESPICABLE THING,” In his anger, all sorts of sharp instruments floated around him within the ring’s red aura. “DIE YOU SCUM!”
Then his entire world went pink with a splat across his face.
“Whoops, too slow, PINK hat!” Fox laughed. “Heh, no wonder you need that ring. You probably couldn’t catch a snail with your power normally!” She laughed, before running up the ladder and out the hatch to the roof, her team following closely.
“YOU DESPICABLE THING!” The crime lord’s horn glowed and a red beam was fired toward the gang who swiftly dodged it. Although, the ¼ part of the roof had somehow flung into the night sky.
Fortunately, the gang had jumped out of the way to avoid a flying lesson. “You know, we’ve REALLY been tearing up this train’s roof. I wonder how nobody has called the authorities yet.” Fox commented as the Unicorn burst through a good chunk of the roof at the end. Fortunately, this left ample space for them to fight. “A little help would be appreciated here!”
“Eric, Alex, Frederick. You go and help her, put as much pressure on the unicorn as possible. I’ll think of a plan to shut him down!” Steven shouted.
Eric was so engrossed upon the spectacle that only now he realized was staring. “...right, let’s go!” The three of them went up straight to the roof to join up with Fox’s gang.
He was going to fix this situation one way or another.
Play this as battle theme
Now on the roof, Fox’s gang had an impromptu aerobics lesson due to the fact there are deadly silver instruments trying to turn them into a pincushion.
Seeing his temporary allies in trouble, his trainer instinct kicked in. “Alex, Protect!”
“....right.” He flew forward, up and over the gang, a barrier of fiery color followed. The silverwares pelted it before harmlessly falling.
Now with the crime lord distracted, the Hydreigon seized the opportunity to attack. “Sylveon, Moonblast the Unicorn!” Frederick jumped over the Hydreigon before firing a pink orb toward the empowered unicorn.
Unwilling to be left out, Fox herself went into action. “You too, Liepard. Hyper Beam!” Said Liepard opened her mouth to unleash a massive beam.
“You are all weak! WEAK!” A simple flick of horn and all attack stopped in their tracks before fading away into the air. “WHY CAN’T YOU UNDERSTAND? YOU ALREADY LOST!”
“Great, killed by a pony. This is how I end? Meh I expected worse.” The Sylveon pushed further by letting his feelers do the job of flinging smaller Shadow Balls.
“Sorry, but I don’t intend to go that easily.” The Weavile pushed on himself by blowing a Blizzard onto the crime lord.
The crime lord was distracted with the ice and shadow balls that pelted him. The Hydreigon won’t disappoint. “Alex, Quiver Dance, then Rage Powder, draw his attention away!” Now the Volcarona flickered out of existence. The pony never see it coming as a powder is spread all over him, turning his vision red.
“You won’t escape. DIE YOU PITIFUL BUG!” The effect were a lot more potent than Eric had imagined because Gray Hat launched massive beams toward Alex.
“Alex, dodge! Don’t let those hit you!” His fears were unfounded, Alex managed to keep himself on the move, every beam nicking his wings instead. “Hyper Beam, now!” The Volcarona gathered a massive energy right in front of him. Due to the effect of Quiver Dance, the beam itself was enough to engulf almost a ¼ of the roof.
“Dark Triangle!” Fox’s gang unleashed the same combo move before with Layton, only this time the target was a pony.
Their efforts were for naught. The pony surrounded himself in a dome of the ring’s red aura, all attacks were instantly absorbed. The shock wave that came out sent them sprawling onto their back, but Eric held his ground.
He looked up just in time to grab a blue and red blur that had impacted his chest. “I got you!”
Shaking his head slightly, the moth looked up at his trainer gratefully. “....thank you for, uhm, catching me.” Eric nodded in return before releasing the bug from his grip.
“Hey, anyone wonder where Stone went?” Fox couldn’t help but ask.
Now that she had mentioned it, Eric looked around in their immediate surrounding, yet no sign of a lime green carapace was around.
“Meteor Mash!”
Layton’s familiar voice was like a music to Eric’s ears. He looked up to see a silver blur flew above their heads, showing four iron claws surrounded by a yellow star, rapidly spinning like a massive iron top. The Unicorn tried to stop him, but due to his speed and power, one glowing claw managed to hit.
The unicorn grabbed the Metagross, and launched it towards the rest of the team. Layton slowed down, and revealed his four legs, landing next to the shiny Scizor that are his partner.
All that, and not even a grunt was heard. “....what the? Did he just...shrug of a Meteor Mash from a champion’s Metagross? That ring of his must’ve boosted all of his abilities, not just magic.”
“Guess that power boost wasn’t just his magic…” Shade groaned in annoyance.
“Toichi was right, we can’t do any sort of damage to him unless we separate him from that ring.” Steven informed.
“That’s kind of what we were hoping to do from just now.” Shade idly said.
“Of course, it would have been sooo much easier if someone didn’t insist on attacking us like a starving Growlithe on a piece of meat,” The Weavile’s voice cut through his composure like a knife through butter.
“Weavile, one more time, and you’re in time out after this,” Fox warned.
“No, he is right, it was kind of my fault. We’ll do it!” The voice of the Hydreigon caught their attention. “For the moment, Alex has the best chance of distracting him. Due to the effect of Rage Powder, the unicorn will focus his attention on Alex. All of you try to think of something up, we’ll play cat and mouse for now.”
“Great, that’s just what I needed. Fox, I’ll need you to let Layton into your mind, I have a plan, but if he hears us, it won’t work.” Steven prepared himself by allowing his pincers to glow with X-Scissor attack.
“...fine. But it better be communication only,” Fox nodded, though she still focused her mind to keep up her mental block against anything other than receiving and sending thoughts.
After hearing what he had to say, Fox nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let’s go.”
Eric himself had heard enough over the mental link to learn his steps.
“Hey, Gray Hat. You know, if what they say about the ring is true, then you must be really weak if you haven’t been able to take us out yet!” Frederick taunted, signifying the start of their plan.
“SHUT UP!” Gray Hat intended to shut him up by ripping a large metal bar, with the pointy end aimed at him.
“He’s right. In fact, here’s a present for loser.” Fox chuckled, before chucking a Shadow Ball at him from another angle, while he was in the middle of the attack.
Like before, he shrugged it off. “YOU PESKY BRAT!” He prepared the bar to be shot at Fox instead.
“Will-o-Wisp!” Eric ordered. Alex shot off three more ghostly fire toward the crime lord.
The orbs was surrounded and snuffed once again. “ENOUGH!” Gray Hat screamed, two more metal bars joined the first one and shot toward each of the taunting Pokémon.
“Hammer Arm!” Layton stopped the pointy metal that would have stuck Frederick to the roof.
“Ice Beam!” The Weavile barked as he froze the bar aimed at Fox solid, while Shade smashed it with a Rock Smash. He then fired another Ice Beam at Gray Hat, nicking his hoof.
“Heatwave!” The next command allowed Alex to call upon the familiar punishing heat upon the bar. It became molten metal on the spot and dropped onto the roof.
“GAH! YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!” His anger was well off the charts. Trees were uprooted and now floated before him horizontally.
“Everyone, around us, dodge or attack but whatever you do, don’t let him throw you off the train.” Layton warned before smashing a trunk to splinters that was heading for him.
“Don’t need to tell us that.” The Liepard said before ducking as another tree that passed right over her.
They all did as the metal saucer said, Both Eric, Alex, and Frederick went flat as a tree was thrown horizontally at them.
“Weavile!” Fox shouted.
“On it!” he said, before using Blizzard to freeze it solid, followed by Shade destroying it with a Dark Pulse, followed by a second one that hit the crime lord on the chest.
Eric noticed Gray Hat too focused on obliterating his foes with the trees, he didn’t notice the attack that had struck him. “....dammit, at this rate, we’ll get thrown off the train for real. We gotta to move!” Eric muttered silently.
And here I thought that was a ring that only powered up magic. Not defense. So how is the plan coming along? We can’t last forever here.” Fox asked over the mental link.
“I’m on the move, we just need to reach him, keep his attention on you. Eric, on me!
“Will do.” Fox mentally, before she threw another Shadow Ball at him.
”Alright!” The former trainer pair charged at Gray Hat. Both from the opposite side of the roof.
“YOU THINK I CAN’T SEE YOU? YOU PESKY BRATS, I SENSE IT ALL!” Dropping the trees in favor of his red beams to pulverize.
Eric proved himself to have no trouble dodging the deadly beams, his reflexes was sufficient enough to do so. But Steven on the other hand. Concerned, he glanced for a moment to see his companion had dodge and weaved through the beams just like himself.
His concerns were unfounded, he focused on not getting killed himself.
“YOU ARE ALL PESTS ON THIS COUNTRY, ON THIS WORLD. YOU DESERVE TO DIE!” With another flash of magic, the sound of groaning metal registered in their ear before it snapped. Levitating it up, a metal sheet was before the crime lord. To Eric’s horror, it broke apart into smaller sharp pieces that are flung at them.
Everything around him seems to go into slow-motion, his survival instinct kicked in once more when the sharp pieces were flying at them. He opened his mouth as a soft glow came, followed by a Dragon Pulse that blasted all the metal pieces away.
Shaking his head slightly to get his bearings back, Eric quickly went forward first. “Time for the finishing blow, Steven!”
“Ok, lets finish this!” Steven exclaimed, as he started flapping his wings, brewing a Tailwind which speeded Eric up. “Fox, now!”
“You got it! Close your eyes!” Eric wisely decided to do so. Briefly, he could see the flash from beneath his eyelids. Opening his eyes again, his quarry was growling softly, most of all, his eyes were closed as he tried to rub the irritation away.
Now it was his turn, Eric floated next to the unicorn, and looping an arm around the unicorn’s neck. It held secure because the crime lord struggles were futile.
“Steven, finish it now!” The Hydreigon exclaimed as he struggled to hold the Crime Lord in place.
The former champion did as he shouted as the thorns on his pincers glowed a bright white, he opened the pincers, and aimed for the horn. “BUG BITE!”
With one final chop, a metallic sound is heard, followed by a scream of pain from Gray Hat. Eric looked down at the crime lord’s hooves to see his horn was on the cold roof, ring still looped around it and the glow quickly fading.
“....it’s done.”
End battle theme
Eric released the unicorn from his grip, watching him try to pathetically attempt to put his horn back.
The Hydreigon was about to move in to take it, but a familiar Zoroark beat him to it. “I think this has caused us enough trouble.” Fox simply said as she casually yanked the horn out of the now powerless pony’s grasp. A simple flick of claw later and a web bomb dropped on him, now fully immobilized in the sticky substance. “Show’s over.”
“Give me the horn, Fox. I’ll give it to the authorities.” Steven ordered, opening his hollow pincer.
“I’ve got a better idea. I think this thing has done quite enough already,” Fox simply she tossed the horn into the air. “Hyper Beam.” The ring and the horn is no more, courtesy of Hyper Beam from her Liepard.
Eric nodded, relieved that the mess he had caused had finally cleared up. “...dammit what was I thinking....” He mentally beat himself at his stupidity. “....next time, I really needed to be careful. It was a one mistake I couldn’t afford to make again…..it can be...catastrophic.”
“Did...did it work?” The same unicorn colt asked from the mental link, his voice is shaky.
Eric decided to take the backseat for now.
“It did, thank you, Kid. Without you, I wouldn’t have known what to do. You are a hero,” Steven replied, sitting on the roof and letting out a loud sigh.
“H-happy to help.” The colt smiled weakly, finally crawling out of his hiding.
Every single Pokémon jumped back into the train car, the now cocooned Gray Hat carried along beside Fox and her gang..
“Yo, Steven, I heard some crazy explosions going on up there. You guys Okay?” Pockets asked, seeing the dusty and injured Pokémon.
“My readings indicate that we are all on a stable condition. In other words, we are Okay.” Layton replied.
“My readings indicate that we are all on a stable condition. In other words, we are Okay.” Layton replied.
“Well, glad that’s over with.” Fox’s Weavile sighed in relief.
“....not entirely over.” Eric sighed in preparation on what he was about to do.
"....yeah....that was tough. But you're still a fugitive, Fox, and even if you helped or not, I have to arrest you.“ Glancing at the Volcarona beside him, Eric nodded. "Alex....you know what to do."
Timidly, the Volcarona added. “Sorry, everyone.” It didn’t stop him from buzzing his wings in preparation for another horrible screech.
Eric could tell they were anything, but happy. “Why you dirty, double crossing…” A gray-furred arm stopped whatever the Liepard was about to say.
“Enough, Liepard.” Fox sighed, and raised her arms up in surrender. “After all that, I’m way too beat to want to deal with these two. Sides, I’m fresh out of bombs I was carrying. So its better this way, right?”
“....that was easy.” His neutral expression made way for a frown. “...way too easy. My two times encounter with her screams at me that this isn’t over...yet.” Eric mused to himself.
“Don’t worry Fox, I’ll try to help you out in court, if there’s one in this place at least. Maybe reduce your sentence a couple of years, who knows.” Steven shrugged, absentmindedly flapping his wings.
“Much obliged.” Fox nodded as they started to walk out of the train carriages, led by the former champion and Hydreigon away.
To Eric’s surprise, the unicorn colt whose name escaped his notice had suddenly fell onto his side. He was about to move, but prevented himself from doing so. He let out an arm in front of Alex to prevent himself from doing anything other than watch.
He didn’t dare move a muscle, fearing it was another trick. As far as he was concerned, the boy was just fine a minute ago, nor did he have anything that could be seen as a lethal wound. For him to suddenly act up screamed suspicious to him.
The entire Fox gang was another thing though, they gathered around the ‘injured’ colt.
“You okay, kid?” The Weavile asked, crouching low before the colt.
“Layton, analyze his body! Frederick, get ready to run back to the medicine room!” Steven ordered, as he walked towards the young unicorn.
“Steven… I suggest you back off. There’s nothing wrong with-”
“You were really cool Mr. Stone, but sorry. I owe Miss Fox more.” The cold smiled regretfully. None within Eric’s immediate vicinity could react fast enough to avoid another shock therapy from a thrown bomb hidden within the colt’s mane
“....aaagh...again!? Dammit....I was ....right, it was a...all just an.... act.” He silently cursed.
“Oh, did I forget to mention? I was out of bombs, but the kid wasn’t. I’ll leave Gray Hat to you all. Adieu.” Eric was helpless to stop Fox and her gang from making their getaway by dislodging the coupler connected to the luggage car two train cars by destroying it with twin Shadow Balls from the Liepard and Weavile respectively, leaving the two remaining train cars to be left behind by the rest of the train, the Fox gang waving to them as they disappeared into the distance.
“....damn...got..to….chase...her!” His body refusal at a time like this to move was starting to annoy him.
“No… leave her be… we won’t be able to catch her in… time.” Steven sighed.
Steven’s word rang true, even with the paralysis effect ended quickly, it won’t matter because the distance was growing larger by the second. It didn’t take long for his muscle to unlock themselves, he and Alex floated up and stopped before the doorway to stare at Fox who waved from the distance.
“Besides, she did her part. I’m sure someone else will get her one day, or maybe not. Let destiny decide. If Arceus brought her here, it’s for a reason, right?”
“....I guess….no, there has to be a reason. Otherwise...she would’ve been left behind....but why? Just what is her purpose?” He mumbled to himself. It was an answer he couldn’t hope to get because right now, all the answers was with Fox. But one thing was now sure for the former human. “.....she helped us. When I misunderstood the situation and attacked her gang and herself instead and messed up….she helped us instead of running away like before…..I guess she…” The Hydreigon struggled to get the words out. In the end, he acknowledged reality. “....isn’t as bad as I thought, otherwise she wouldn’t be here and run away the second the situation got out of hand.”
“I suppose you are going to Canterlot?” Steven added, allowing Eric to break free of his self-indulgement.
“....I am,” Glancing over his shoulder, he added. “We got business in the city, mainly concerning a family member. I’m sure you can put two and two together.”
“Great, we’ll be able to give both our testimonies to the authorities to get this guy in jail.“ Steven stepped aside, allowing Eric to see the state of the immobilized crime lord, who was crying and cursing under his breath. “Besides, I’ll need help calming the ponies over the first carts.”
His eyes widen to a few degree. Slowly, the Hydreigon and his Volcarona looked at each other. As if linked with each other’s mind, they both uttered a single word. “....Dawn.”
And they raced by the befuddled Steven and his group.
The trainer and his companion rushed through the train in a mad dash to ensure that their two other friends are alright. However, their path is blocked by a tall earth pony with a uniform matching that of a train conductor.
“....what now?” Both the trainer and his Volcarona tensed up in preparation for trouble.
“Uhm… excuse me, sir. We got words from Express Route, CEO of the company of the same name, and uhm… owner of this train He wants to have a word with you and your group.”
That...wasn’t what Eric expected to come, but it didn’t give him any reason to let his guard down. Looking at the engineer in question, Eric raised an eyebrow at the offer. “Any particular reason why?”
“Sorry, sir. He didn’t tell, but he says it’s important. You can meet him at his office in Canterlot station, please be there.”
The offer was surely tempting, but what was it that required the trainer and his Pokemon direct presence at the office itself? This dilemma caused the Hydreigon and Volcarona to trade glances before Eric spoke. “Alex…..?”
“Well,” If the Volcarona had fingers, he would have played with it in nervousness. “I don’t mind, er, I mean, if Eric wanted it….I don’t mind.”
Nodding wordlessly, Eric answered the pony. “Then we don’t see why not.” Without another word, the pony left the cart the same way he came, his job is done.
“.....hmmm, that was unexpected. And...CEO? What could the CEO possibly want with...” He shook his own off to free himself of such thoughts. It can wait later.
“...let’s go, Alex.” With that, the pair went back toward the frontmost passenger cart, where their two friends are waiting.
When the sliding door slid open, the Hydreigon immediately came face-to-face with a Braviary that bumped into him, sending them both careening back, clutching their snout and beak respectively.
“Not cool, dude. Watch where you’re bumping into next time.” The teenage-accented voice sounded.
Eric in turn also rubbed his sore snout. “....sorry about that, Dominus.” The voice jolted Dominus out of his rubbing spree.
“Wait a minute,” The voice behind the Braviary cut in, revealing herself to be Dawn when she poked her head out. “Eric?”
“Dude! Where were you? You were like, missing from the spot you and little guy supposed to sleep back there.” The Valiant Pokemon jerked his head toward the aforementioned seat.
“I’m not little…..” The moth said softly.
“More importantly,” Dawn cut in. “You and Alex disappeared, and we didn’t get one of the most pleasant wake-up call, what with a stampede passing over.” The Bat Pony inadvertently remembered the stomping sound that had awaken her. “So, what did we miss when we were asleep?” Pure curiosity overrode Dawn’s politeness for curtness.
“.....nothing.” Just like that, another ‘nothing’ is made as a reply.
Judging from his expression combined with the horde of ponies panicking and practically flooding into the front most compartment of this train, it was anything, but nothing. A friend can be enigmatic sometimes.
“Dude, with the carts practically flooding with panicked ponies earlier, I’m gonna take a wild guess that it’s definitely ‘not nothing’. What’s the secret, Eric?” Dominus asked with a questioning expression.
Dawn awaited her three-head friend’s response. Inwardly, she wanted to know as bad as Dominus could. What did they miss when they were sleeping like a pair of drunks?
Eric sighed, knowing there’s no avoiding this, not with a lot of ponies witnessed what possibly the worst train ride in history of this planet. “....this is going to take a while, we should sit down first.”
Dawn and her partner couldn’t say no to that, they all went back toward their respective seats.
“....alright,” Taking a few deep breaths, Eric spoke. “Where should I start….”
With that, came the long winded explanation that span at least an hour worth of it. The pair listened intently on their friend’s story, about everything that has happened on this train while they were sleeping.
By the time it was finished, their expressions were a mix of awe and disbelief. Considering the outrageous story that were drilled into their heads, it’s possible.
“Did that just happen? All of it?” Dawn almost couldn’t believe whatever the Hydreigon just explained. Were it not for the fact that her friend always tells her the truth whenever asked, she would have thrown such story out the window.
“....yeah.” Eric curtly replied.
Silence occurred once more, but an excited squawk broke it. “That’s so cool! You freaking met a champion, and you two got to kick some mob boss butt! Beyond cool in my book! Eric, why didn’t you wake me up, dude? I told you to wake me if something exciting happens.” Dominus bowed his head in sadness. “Too bad, I seriously wanted to see you and little guy in action...and I missed it again.”
Dawn sighed. “....I think that hardly counts as exciting.” Then a crackle of something coming to life halted all conversations.
“Arriving at Canterlot, don’t forget your bags and children, folks!” The conductor yelled through the intercoms. Not one pony couldn’t heard him in the train. In a jiffy, the ponies quickly went to work, packing their bags, making sure their friends and family are with them, etc.
Looking toward the horizon, the sun was starting to rise, erasing the night sky. Only now did he realize, he haven’t fulfilled one of his primary needs...which is sleeping. He and Alex spent half the train ride going all over the place, totally forgetting their needs for a rest.
As a result, now he felt tired. Alex wasn’t spared, judging from the cute yawn he let out.
“Okay, that sure was fast for a slow-moving train.” Dominus said.
“Kinda have to agree.” Dawn scratched her head. “Didn’t feel like we’ve been travelling that long.”
Eric resisted the urge to rub his head. “You two were asleep the entire time, of course, your minds will think it’s fast.” The Hydreigon pointed out.
Dawn scratched her head in embarrassment, knowing full well that Eric is right. “Yeah, kinda forgot about that.”
“....It’s okay.” Looking out the window to his side, he could see that Canterlot is already within sight. “At least...we’ve arrived, all safe and sound.”
The mare deadpanned. “Uh, Eric, if I recall your explanation, we hardly arrived here safe and sound. At least, not if what you’re saying all actually happened.”
“....I know,” The Hydreigon replied without looking back at her. “I’m just pointing out that we at least got here safe and sound, no one is hurt or left behind.”
“I...kind of agree. We all made it. And none of my friends is...uhm, left behind?” The timid moth added. “Yes...well, I think so.”
Sighing, Dawn knew once again that Eric and Alex is correct. “I swear, you’re always right all the time.” With a solid train whistle, the train made a full stop at it’s destination for tonight : Canterlot.
The group stood up from their seats, followed by other ponies who quickly grabbed their belongings and filed out into the aisle and out of the train. “Well, we’ve arrived.”
“.....before we go to the hospital in the newspaper.” Eric cut her off. “I would like to visit some kind of office that belongs to the CEO of this rail company.”
“What?” Dawn and Dominus gaped at the same time.
“Well,” The voice of one Alex caught their attention again. “Apparently, a quiet pony, say something to Eric….”
That bring about more questions than answers. “....I don’t get it.” Dawn scratched her head in confusion. “What did you mean by ‘say something to Eric’? Is there something wrong again?” Dawn glanced at Eric, expecting an answer.
Seeing her gaze, he proceeded to explain, only to be cut short by the Braviary. “Could say the same thing, Dawn.” Dominus nodded. “So, what something, little guy? Can you explain clearly?”
Their expectant gazes made the Volcarona wanting to disappear into the floor. “...Uhm, he said something about….er, meeting the Express Line boss in his office in Canterlot?”
Silence went into play. But it was shoved aside when the words registered into their brains. “.....WHAT!?”
Eric flinched at the intensity of their voice. “I should know they would say that. It is quite the surprising revelation.” The Hydreigon muttered.
“Okay, just what really happened while we were sleeping?” The pony scratched her head in agitation.
Shaking head in a grimace, Eric muttered. “Possibly…. my worst train ride ever.”
Play this as the second closing theme
