“Come on, just stay still for me and I swear it won’t hurt that much!”
“I do not think these aquatic creatures’ intellectual levels are enough to understand your speech”
“I don’t either, but it is worth a try.”
“I sense another fish coming this way”
“Ok, I see it… just have to wait for a bit… until he gets into position… and GOTCHA!”
“What on Earth are you two doing?” Steven woke up with the loud noises and the splashes from the water, it was still pretty early in the morning, and his eyes were fogged from the sudden awakening.
“We are fishing for breakfast!” Pockets exclaimed, the horn on her damp head was glowing, and a rusty wooden lance floating next to her, a small fish on the tip of the lance.. “The fishes came up the river this morning and we are getting some to cook for you.”
Steven grunted and scratched his head, as his vision started becoming clear. “And you have to make so much noise trying to catch a fish, because…?”
“It’s the thrill man, the emotions kicking in when fishing old school with a stick!”
“Layton, why did you agree to this? You know you can easily take the fish out of the water”
“Wait wha-?” Pockets interrupted
“You taught me to not use my powers when someone is trying to accomplish something by themselves. Besides, I was amused by the pony’s attempts to catch a fish.”
“Glad you enjoyed my lil’ show talking saucer.” Pockets chuckled. “But tell me, how could you possibly take a fish out of the water with ease?”
Layton looked directly at the calm river. A glow came out of both his eyes and the river glowed with them. Suddenly, dozens of different types of fishes, both Pokémon and native, floated above the river helplessly. Layton tilted his head to the right, making the fishes swim on the air like if they were in water, he titled it to the right, and the fishes started swimming on a Sharpedo pattern, then a Salemence, Latios, and finally, a pattern of himself; before throwing them all into the water. Pockets’ mouth wide open, she still couldn’t believe the power these new creatures were capable of. Steven laughed at the expression of shock in Pockets’ face, thing that upset her.
“Fine then, I see you two can easily survive without me. I wasted an hour of my life to get you some food, and Layton here was not able to tell me how easy it was for you to get some yourself-” Pockets complained, taking her saddle and her bags and leaving the area, “I’ll go and get some food of my own, you two wait for me, I won’t take long.”
“Let’s see… blue… round… seems juicy… not that big…there are a lot of them in one patch... nah, I don’t think they are dangerous. Another bunch to the collection.” Pockets picked the blueberries with her magic, and threw them into one of the bags, She had already collected some water from a nearby river, and was now looking for some fruit to eat on the way.
“Veon…”
Pockets looked around, searching for the source, “What was that?” the unicorn asked herself, before shrugging the idea off when she realized that if there was any dangerous Pokémon around, Layton would just appear to protect her. She kept advancing, yet she started to feel like if someone was watching her… following her.
She arrived to another bush of berries, and started collecting them one by one. She opened her bag to place the berries on it, but when her hoof reached the front flap, she found out that the bag was already opened. The unicorn looked behind her, and spotted a pink cat-like creature eating some of the blueberries she had collected. She noticed that it was eating with what appeared to be ribbons, something that shouldn’t be possible… unless you were a Pokémon.
“So who might you be, you little cutie?” She asked. The Pokémon stopped eating, and looked at her with a face of curiosity. “Right, I forgot that you guys can’t really talk. Are you lost little girl? I don’t think a cutie like you could live in a place like this. Is your trainer around?” The unicorn asked with a soft voice. The Sylveon smiled at her, and dropped the blueberries on the ground, it waved its ribbons around, causing a soft laugh on the unicorn.
Pockets got closer to the small creature, and tried to pat its head. But she was stopped shortly as the Sylveon wrapped one pair of ribbons around Pockets’ neck, cutting off her oxygen and turning her face red. With the other pair or ribbons, it took the bag filled with fruit off her saddle, and placed it around his own neck, shortly afterwards proceeding to do the same with her loot bag..
“What… no st-stop”
“Veon!” He said with a deeper voice. His feelers shined, and the Sylveon yawned. He dropped her on the ground and left. Pockets wanted to get up and go after him, but for some reason, she felt sleepy, she couldn’t avoid closing her eyes and resting on the ground, while the blurred image of a pink cat swung its tail in front of her, leaving with the bags.
“Miss Midnight, wake up.”
“I don’t think it’s working Layton, you have already tried several times. What if she is dead?”
“My scan shows that she is under the influence of a Sleep status.”
“We don’t even know if status effects work on ponies.”
“Well, we are going to find out, she is waking up.”
Both Pokémon looked at the dark blue unicorn on the ground, who was opening her eyes softly. She saw the pair looking at her from an uncomfortable distance.
“What are you two doing? You are creeping me up a bit, guys”
Steven sighed in relief, before responding, “I was about to ask you something similar, what are you doing in here?”
“I can’t remem… wait, the bag, the cat, the- the” Pickett slammered
Both Pokemon looked at each other confused, before holding the unicorn down, trying to calm her down, “Miss Midnight, breathe, and tell us what happened” Layton requested softly
“A pink cat with ribbons attacked me earlier, it stole my bag and left me here!”
“A Sylveon” Layton added
“A Sylveon? That can’t be, aren’t they supposed to be friendly and peaceful? Why would one
attack her like that?” The former human asked bewildered.
“Oh believe me, Steven. That bastard ain’t friendly at all. We have to go after him.”
“Layton, can you see any traces it might have left behind?” Layton’s eyes shined for a few
seconds, before raising his claw, pointing at the deepest part of the woods.
“There” He said calmly. “There is a weak, yet noticeable trail of paw-prints walking towards that direction.”
“Could you do a quick scan, check if it is really there?” Steven asked
“Negative, there is too much interference, too many creatures are located there. The only help I can provide you with right now is tracking the prints on the ground.”
“I guess we can work with that, you ready Pockets?”
“Hell yeah, lets get that… thief” She said reluctantly.
“Irony at its finest” Steven taunted, as the trio prepared to venture through the forest.
The party carefully walked through the grim looking woodland, as the dark trees covered the sun, leaving a limited amount of sunlight to pass throw them. Spinarak and Noctowl gave away the dark setting of the forest, as Ekans hissed in the distance.
“Is everyone else scared or is it just me?” The unicorn asked, spotting all the weird creatures around.
“Just you, Pockets, Layton can’t really feel fear, and I’ve been through worse.” Steven answered
“Thanks, you sure are great comforting ponies...”
The forest became darker and darker, the trees bigger and bigger, and the path got harder and harder to navigate trough. But the paw-prints became clearer and fresher as they advanced towards the deepest part of the thicket. Arbok and Lampent could be heard in the area, but not seen, and an eerie sense gave Pockets the creeps, with an ethereal feel of being observed. Two red eyes and a wide creepy white smile appeared on the shadows on the exact direction where Pockets was watching, causing her to release a squeak, and to hug one of Layton’s legs, who waved it back and forth until the pony fell on the ground.
“I sense an abundance of Ghost, Dark, Bug, and Grass types on these areas.” Layton informed with his robotic voice
“Really a strange place for a Sylveon to hide”
“Wait a second, did you just say… ghosts? What do you mean with… ghost types?” Pockets asked with fear
“Ghost type Pokémon, ethereal beings related to fear and the afterlife. Usually smiling, these Pokémon are found in dark or grim places, finding to accomplish their different goals, varying from pranking others, to getting revenge on those who hurt them. These Pokémon are almost impossible to see, unless they wish to be seen. They lack a completely physical body, and cannot be touched by Normal type or Fighting type moves unless a certain move is used. Some of them are harmless, but others like Cofagrigus and Banette can get to a point of killing living beings” Layton informed on an extremely robotic and monotone voice, almost like if it was an automatic response.
“Ok, thanks for the info Layton, really necessary right now” She said sarcastically, as a Banette passed through the trees, leaving a malicious laugh.
“No doubt the Ghost and Dark types like it in here, darkness even during the day, perfect for them. But why a Sylveon... “
“Can you tell me more about this… Sylveon?”
“Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon. Fairy type, one of the many evolutions of Eevee. Usually lives on flower plains or bright forests… not… this” Layton informed, stepping on a vine that was lying on the floor. “They are usually peaceful, and if they see an unnecessary fight, they will use their ribbon-shaped feelers to calm the situation down”
“So I guess that the one i encountered is a big exception. That’s the kind of luck I have.”
“It appears so.”
“Maybe it’s a Zorua or Zoroark on disguise.” Steven suggested
“Negative, that family can’t learn Yawn” Layton rebutted. “These vines are getting quite annoying.”
“Who are you calling annoying?”
The vine that Layton stepped on coiled around his leg, revealing a snake-like face with blood-red eyes. A regal look with golden details on it’s skin revealed that the vine was not a vine, but a Serperior, the Regal Pokémon. The Serperior hissed softly with a grin in her face, paying close attention to the Metagross, before looking
“Well what an interesting bunch we got here…” She said slowly, while circling around them. “A green Scizor, a blue fireless Ponyta, and a handsome Metagross” The Grass type hissed while prolonging the “s”. She got closer to Layton, her face on his face with an extremely direct eye contact. “What could you possibly be looking here in this forest?”
“We are looking for someone, so please if you excuse us, we need to keep on moving” Layton replied coldly.
“Oh come on, don’t be so rude, handsome, you pretty much challenged me to a Pokémon battle, although if you invite me to dinner, I could just forget about it and give you love instead of fight” The Serperior said flirtatiously
“I don’t know what the snake is saying, but I think it likes you, Layton” Pockets chuckled. Layton sighed, and joined the Serperior to the psychic link.
“Miss, I am sorry, but me and my partner must get going, we are looking for a Sylveon, a rather aggressive one might I add.” Steven interrupted
“So you are looking for him, little brat can’t stay out of trouble for long. What did he do to you? Attack you for no reason? Steal from you? Insult you and call you an armless idiot with no sense of direction?” She shouted, startling Pockets and Steven
“Uhm… you ok Miss?” Pockets asked
“Yes, yes, I am fine… that brat has been causing chaos on this forest since Arceus brought us to this strange place. Heard many complains of his idiotic attitude and bad behaviour. Odd for a Sylveon if you ask me”
“Very odd, do you think you could lead us there?” Steven requested
“Sure, I do not know why you would want to do that, even with that attitude, he seems to be extremely powerful, kind of knocked me out on a battle… but I am sure that with such an amazing power you must hold, you can take him down in mere seconds, huh sweetie?” She looked at Layton again, who looked to a different way. “I like them when they are hard to catch! Follow me, I’ll show you where he usually stays.”
They followed the Serperior, who dodged the many obstacles on the road with grace and without trouble, truly a Regal Pokémon.
The chill on Pockets increased as they advanced. The unicorn couldn’t differentiate between reality and fiction anymore, as she saw trees that appeared to be looking at her, black wolves with fangs and claws as sharp as knives that shined in the middle of the darkness, birds that seemed to wear witch hats on their heads, large stumps with hands and leafs as fingers and white long hair. She decided to begin looking forwards (and get closer to Layton just in case).
“We are here” The Serperior said. Pockets took a look at the area, the trees were shorter than the rest, yet showed wider and more abundant leaves that the ones behind. There were fruit leftovers all over the ground, and many of the leaves were on the ground as well like if Autumn had come earlier. “He is usually resting on the middle of this area, we must be careful if we want to get to him. He usually runs away if anyone goes after him, so if you want to even lay a claw… or hoof on that pesky brat, you need to be sneaky.”
The group nodded, as they carefully advanced through the mess that was on the ground, searching for the current location of the Sylveon.
“I sense something over this area” Layton notified through the mental link, wary of not startling his prey. The Serperior got closer, and searched with her reptile eyes, until she spotted a pink dot in the middle of the hanging vines. Without saying anything to anyone, she got closer, avoiding every single leaf on the way, until she was close enough to see that her target was currently asleep on an improvised cradle-like bed made of big leaves, two bags next to him. She slowly approached him, and prepared to attack.
“Leaf Tornado!” The Serperior called. But before the rampage of leaves hit, the Sylveon opened his eyes and covered himself with a Protect.
“I could hear you from a mile away, darling. If you are trying to perform a sneak attack, try to not have a body like that, your movement releases slight but audible noises on the ground, recognizable and rather annoying I must say. A little tip before you go to bed” As he finished his sentence, his shield lowered down, and he proceeded to jump and release a powerful Moonblast that knocked his opponent off, leaving the Serperior on the ground.
“Frederick, you moron won’t get away with this, I’ve brought some company that will surely take you down” The Serperior claimed in pain, before trying another Leaf Tornado, which was canceled by yet another Moonblast that fainted her.
“Company… huh, well this afternoon might get a bit more interesting, good, I was feeling rather bored.” As he said this, he searched for the rest of his opponents, to find a silver Metagross rushing right towards him. “Of course she’d bring an annoying Steel type, well, time to see how fast these guys can go” the Sylveon grabbed the bags, jumped once again, and landed on the floor. He rushed away from Layton, who managed to sense the unconscious Serperior.
“Miss Midnight, Steven, this way. He is trying to escape” Layton said, rapidly hovering towards the Fairy type, knocking all the trees from the way with fast Bullet Punches.
“Hop on my back!” Steven ordered Pockets.
“What!?”
“I’ve seen Scizor do this before, just trust me!” As he said this, Steven inclined his body forwards, showing the shiny, green, metallic hind wings on the upper part of his back Pockets jumped on hesitatingly, grasping the metal shells firmly, scared of what could happen.. “Now hold tight, things are going to get speedy…” Steven extended his wings, flapping them as fast as he could, hoping for his idea to work out.
Energy began flowing through the Bug type’s body, as they directed themselves to his legs, Steven could feel his body changing slightly, yet on the way he wished it to do so. “Tailwind!” He exclaimed, launching off and arriving at high speeds, enough to catch up with Layton, who was clearing the path towards the fugitive Sylveon.
“Let’s see, Metagross… Steel and… Psychic type… that means that this should take him out of the way.” He thought to himself, before jumping and turning around, facing at the incoming Metagross
“Shadow Ball” He shouted, releasing a purple sphere projectile that rapidly aimed towards Layton, hitting him right in his face, slowing him down, yet not stopping him.
“The damage done by that Shadow Ball was considerable, be advised, this Pokémon is no strange to battles” Layton told the pair, who was following closely.
“Steven, can you get closer to him? I think I can take the bags. After that, just hit him with everything you have, Layton” Pickett requested, looking at the two bags that were hanging from the Sylveon’s neck.
“Got it” Both Steel types replied. Steven began running faster, using the speed boost from the Tailwind to get closer to his opponent.
“Let’s hope this works…” Steven said to himself, before slowing down and calling for an attack,
“Bullet Punch!” Steven called, as his claw began glowing an orange light, aiming at the
“Sure thing, get closer… closer… “ As Steven approached him, the Sylveon jumped high enough to go over him and Pockets. Steven, due to the velocity caused by the Tailwind, was not able to break in time, causing him to crash into a nearby rock.
The Sylveon turned around mid-air, and looked directly at the currently stunned Scizor, “Moonblast!” He called out, as a pink sphere blasted towards Steven, hitting him on his back and sending him towards the rock with such force that it broke in half.
“This is not over until I faint” Steven said to himself, and he released yet another Steel Wing, which luckily hit the Sylveon, sending him back yet leaving no scratch on him.
“What a pitiful attack” the Sylveon taunted, before releasing another Shadow Ball, which hit Steven before he could react, and causing him to faint.
“Well now, were is that stupid Meta--” The Sylveon’s question got answered when Layton Bullet Punched him out of nowhere, but the Sylveon’s reflexes allowed him to barely evade the attack from the Psychic type.
Layton observed the battlefield to see Steven unconscious on the ground.
“You shouldn’t have done that” Layton said, before landing with force on the ground
“He was weak, couldn’t avoid it” The Sylveon replied
“He was my trainer”
“A Pokémon training a Pokémon, that’s something new.” The Fairy Type smirked
“He is not a Pokémon, he is a human turned into a Pokémon. He is Steven Stone, the Steel Master. “
“A human…” The Sylveon’s voice turned darker, and more serious, his senseless expression remained the same, before releasing a Moonblast, which barely affected Layton.
“I thought your intellectual capabilities were higher than this, fairy moves won’t hurt me” He taunted
“I know, I just wanted to start the fight” The Sylveon replied, getting ready to face the Steel monster in front of him.
Both Pokémon looked at each other, each one on an opposite side of the battlefield. Both prepared themselves for the upcoming battle. Layton looked at his opponent, the bare light shining on his silver body as a controlled rage filled his system, he was not going to forgive an attack to his trainer like that.
“You are going to regret this”
”Hey, heard about Alexia’s Eevee?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty sad, she worked so hard…”
“She couldn’t help it, she didn’t know, had no choice on doing what she did. It was either that or getting arrested”
“True… honestly, I think the Eevee deserved it…”
Sylveon Frederick wants to battle!
Background theme / Frederick's theme
“One against one, classic old-school battle, one Pokémon moves, the other one replies afterwards. Four moves is the limit you can use in battle. You can dodge, and you can use healing moves, but if I recall correctly, Metagross posses none so don’t mind about that one.” Frederick explained
“I won’t require any healing move for this battle. Let’s start in this instant.” Layton demanded, moving into position
“You are an impatient one, aren’t you? I really dislike impatient 'mons. But well, if you insist. Challenger goes last, and even though this is pretty much my territory, I will grant you the privilege of having the first move. So go ahead metal arse, entertain me.”
“Meteor Mash!” Layton called, as three of his claws impulsed him forwards and off the ground, his front right claw shining a strong white glow, tipped off by a golden star. He slowed down mid air, and jabbed the Sylveon, who dodged it effortlessly. Layton landed to search for the Sylveon, finding him right behind him.
“Never let the opponent be behind you, Shadow Ball!” The purple sphere was fired from his chest, homing directly at Layton, who received a soft explosion of pain, yet not enough to make him flinch.
“Are you trying to teach me how to battle? You may be expirienced, yet you are still not a real threat. Bullet Punch!” The Iron Leg Pokémon exclaimed with his robotic voice. A brighter orange glow emanated from his left claw, before a fast punch flew towards Frederick. The move hit, yet the Sylveon was strong enough to hold it, even if it did some serious damage, but he was still standing.
“They say that the Pokémon is as strong as its trainer, that would explain why I am still standing,” Frederick taunted
Layton glared at annoyance, detecting the high defenses on his opponent, “You are a despicable little thing, aren’t you?”
“It appears that it’s my turn to attack. Skill Swap!” Frederick called, as small balls of energy moved back and forth, entering and leaving both their bodies.
"I don’t know why you would want my ability. Clear Body prevents the user from stat lowering moves, and I personally prefer direct hits. Meteor Mash!" Layton exclaimed. As the steel claw was shot towards Frederick, which the Fairy type barely evaded.
"Good jab, mate, but I have to give it a five out ten, never hit its target. And I think it will never hit either. Sand Attack!"
Layton didn't notice, yet the dirt emanated from the attack felt in various points around his body "I'm in no mood for games.... Bullet Punch!"
"Meteor Mash! Bullet Punch! Generic Steel type moves to try knocking the Fairy type out!" Frederick mocked, simulating Layton's voice. "Not the most creative 'mon out there, that's for sure. And for a Psychic type? You are not that smart either! Sand Attack"
As dirt from the ground felt on the Metagross' eyes, Layton realized that he was right. The anger that invaded him since he saw Steven on the ground had blinded his judgement, and he had been working without a strategy. He needed to change that.
“Lowering my accuracy…so that’s why he did it” Layton thought to himself, remembering the Skill Swap the Sylveon used earlier. His four brains started working together once again, identifying and analyzing Frederick’s moves. “ Skill Swap, Sand Attack, and Shadow Ball; there is one move he is yet to use. Moonblast would be a waste, yawn could be an option… what is it, what is your final move?” Layton asked himself, yet he realized there was only one way to find out.
“Bullet Punch!” Layton’s claw glowed once again, as he advanced forwards, aiming at the Fairy Type. Frederick tried to evade it, but even after the Sand Attacks, Layton was able to hit his target. The Sylveon was sent back several feet, crashing into a nearby tree and creating a big crack on its trunk. Layton observed the Fairy Type, who started struggling to get back on his paws. Several small bruises could be seen on his body, and his right eye seemed to be swollen. He was definitely finished now. “You claimed I was weak, yet it seems that I’m not the one on the floor... Any last, futile may I add, attempt to fight?”
“You underestimate me, metal arse.” As Frederick said this, his feelers started shining a bright pink, and small ethereal stars started circling around him, he closed his eyes as the feelers glowed even brighter. He left out a devilish grin, and left out a small cry, “I do have, one last, Wish…” As he called for the move, the stars circled around him, as a beam of light was shot towards the sky.
"I doubt many wild Pokémon could come up with such a strategy. You've trained for battles like this one, battles with disadvantage. To reduce my accuracy, so you can avoid as many hits as possible, while healing as soon as your receive a hit. Not many would keep Sand Attack as a move, after all, yet the only way to learn Shadow Ball, is with a trainer. You choose this style of battle because that's what you are used to, what you were trained for." Layton pointed out, releasing a loud laugh in the Sylveon.
“You are finally starting to use those four brains of yours, I see. Yes, I was trained by a human, but he was not good enough to train me, so I left him and learned on my own. Now please do finish this. I don’t really like this much talking, it bores me.”
“I need to take him down before the Wish effect takes place… a fast move that will definitely cause him to faint… Bullet Punch!” Layton once again launched himself towards Frederick, quickly advancing to meet his target, as he was wobbling there, struggling to stay on his feet, or so it seemed... As Layton was close to him, Frederick let the pain take over his legs, his weight causing him to collapse, and his entire body falling to the floor. Layton observed as his claw flew over the Sylveon, missing his target completely. Frederick closed his eyes, and a celestial aura surrounded him, his bruises and injuries started disappearing from his body, and even though he still felt pain, he was ready to keep fighting!
“Well, well. It appears this won’t be as easy as you thought, right?” Frederick taunted, before rolling out from under the Metagross, and quickly kicking more sand into his eyes.
“Certainly,” He said with disdain, “Meteor Mash!” Layton launched himself forwards, aiming at the standing Sylveon, but something prevented him to hit the target. The sand covered his eyes, distracting him for a few seconds and changing his trajectory. Like sand covering sunglasses, the visor on his metallic eyes betrayed him. “I need to finish him now, if I take too long, the advantage will leave my side...”
“Hey, smart guy, guess what?” Layton observed Frederick, as his right paw was buried on the ground. “Sand Attack!”
“Meteor Mash!” Layton once again flew towards Frederick, yet the dirt felt once again on his eyes, causing him to miss his target again.
“And there goes another tree, Shadow Ball!” Frederick called, hitting Layton who knew he could not hold longer.
“Meteor Mash!” He called once again, the Sylveon dodging once more the incoming attack.
“You’re too slow! I thought such a bulky and dangerous Steel type like you would present more of a challenge! It’s a shame really... Shadow Ball” He called as the purple sphere was shot, missing Layton by a pinch. The Shadow Ball continued its way,l hitting nearby tree and tore a chunk out of it’s bark.
Trees falling, explosions happening, dirt being thrown everywhere. The fight continued with hits and misses, as the battleground became destroyed by the multiple punches and explosives that the two Pokémon were throwing at each other. Pockets opened her eyes, falling from Steven’s back caused her to crash with a tree, knocking her out. She looked at the violent battle, as the two skilled fighters attempted to deal the final blow. She spotted Steven, who was lying unconscious on the border of the arena. Pockets got closer to Steven, and grabbed one of the pincers with her muzzle. Wiith difficulty, she managed to drag his body to safety, just in time as a missed Shadow Ball exploded in the now empty location.
“Watch it, you idiots,” She mumbled, taking a deep breath before looking back to the fight that was taking place near them. They both looked tired, Layton more than Frederick for her surprise, as the battle kept going. Steven gave no signs of regaining consciousness, so Pockets decided to use his body for her advantage
“Might as well” She sighed as she sat down on his stomach watching the fight from a comfortable position.
“Zen Headbutt!” Layton rushed to hit the Sylveon with his head surrounded by a blue aura, it hit, yet the Sylveon was still standing like if it was nothing but a soft rub, replying shortly afterwards with a direct Shadow Ball. Layton knew he couldn’t hold much longer. He had to deliver a hit strong enough to make him faint if he wanted to end it now. He took aim on his head, and observed at the standing Sylveon who prepared to dodge his next hit. “Not this time…”
“What are you waiting for? I thought you were going to end me or something like that?” As he said this, Layton’s eyes turned black, and he fell abruptly to the ground, seemingly unconscious.
“What, did you ran out of battery or something? Hello?” Frederick got closer to Layton’s body, puzzled by the sudden blackout, the Sylveon looked at the lifeless Metagross, he kicked it with his paw and giggled softly “Heh, poor guy ran out of energy”
“Yes, yes I did” Layton’s eyes turned a bright red, as his right claw jabbed the Sylveon surrounded by a silver aura. “Meteor Mash!” He called, as the Sylveon was sent flying several meters through the air violently landing on the ground.
“Wish…” Frederick called with short breath, while the small ethereal stars left his side to join the sky.
“Oh not this time!” Layton advanced again, while he called a fast Bullet Punch to end his opponent. The fist hit its target, but things were not over yet. A purple barrier surrounded Frederick, the claw being completely stopped by it. Frederick used a Protect to save him from the incoming doom. “Checkmate, Protect was not part of your moveset for this fight, and even if I let it slip, as soon as the shield vanishes, I will be able to deliver a punch without problems”
“I won’t let that happen. Double Team!” As soon as the Protect disappeared, Layton launched a Bullet Punch, which left a huge hole in the ground where Frederick was standing. But the Fairy type was not there, he was everywhere else but there. Copies of the Sylveon were dispersed around the arena, some even on the trees, others on the bushes, all of them surrounding the Steel Type.
“Protect, Double Team, one move after another. You broke your own rules.”
“I am sorry, ‘father’.” Frederick mocked with a forced and noticeable robotic accent, “I play by my own rules, now the real question is, can someone as honorable as you, do the same?”
Change the music to this
“I have lived for over a hundred years, sixty years of experience, fought in many battles. I encountered the lords of land and sea, Groudon and Kyogre themselves. Fought against savaging Pokémon on the most dangerous of places. Fought against criminal masterminds and massive organizations. I rarely follow rules.” As he said this, his two rear claws tucked to his body, and his two front claws took a more frontal position, thus giving him the appearance of a Metang.
“Well then, I guess that didn't last long. Hoped that the rules would keep you under control, but it seems you lack that hero sense, that you don’t mind the shame of acting like a criminal, working against the rules.”
“I am mainly a Steel type, hence, I can’t feel shame. Besides, this free style of battling lets me do this.” As Layton said this, his eyes glowed a bright white, and the dirt from his body floated away from him, he was free to use Psychic in any way he wanted to, which gave him a great advantage. The Wish came into effect into one of the copies, which revealed the owner. Layton jabbed his claw into the ground, which created a huge rift which divided itself into branches, each of them following a different clone, while the main rift attacked the original. “Now suffer for what you've done!”
Frederick tried to run, but the Earthquake was faster, he tripped over, which caused some severe damage to his body, yet he still was up to a fight. “Well, I was getting rather bored to be honest, this should be far more interesting now.” As he said this, Frederick shot two purple spheres from his feelers, although smaller than his usual Shadow Ball, they were faster, both hard to dodge for the Steel type. Yet Layton was not worried about them, as with his two claws, shining white, he threw two Bullet Punches at once, both destroying the incoming spheres.
“It won’t be that easy this time” Layton said, before rushing towards Frederick, launching multiple Bullet Punches at his opponent. Frederick started dodging them with difficulty, rushing backwards to avoid being hit, he knew that lucky shots were not possible anymore, he was now doubting if breaking his own rules was a good idea or not.
“Damn him… He is going all out now. Think Frederick… think ” But it was too late, as Layton missed all those punches on purpose. The Fairy Type, was now between his claw and a big rock that was fixed into the ground. The Steel Type prepared his right claw, as a white glow revealed a Hammer Arm. It hit Frederick with massive force, the Sylveon feeling the force of both the punch and the impact with the rock, causing more damage than what the Fighting Type move alone would do. “A Fighting Type move? Getting cocky it seems....”
“Everything I do has a purpose” Layton replied, as a white aura surrounded the shattered pieces of the rock, which rose and pointed at at the Sylveon.
“An improvised Stone Edge… I definitely made a huge mistake when breaking the rules…” With his last breath, he used another Double Team, six copies started running on different directions, getting away from the Metagross. Layton tilted his head, and each of the sharp rocks followed the copies, each one of them hitting their targets, knocking the original down.
“What the… what’s going on… what are those sounds… why do I feel so... heavy?” Steven woke up, scaring the focused Pockets who was watching Layton in awe. She stood up before Steven could realize where she was sitting, helping him to get up.
“Layton is messing that pink cat up, real bad,” She answered, her sight not leaving the intense battle
“I see… I guess he is trying to put him down, he won’t be able to bother us after that” Steven sighed relieved.
“Wait what!? He is trying to kill him!?” Pockets screamed alarmed, before teleporting away to follow the pair
“Of course not!... wait, Where did you go? Oh no this is not good…” Steven tried to advance, yet his head was still chaotic and his back was still in pain. His body obligated him to stay down, and watch from afar.
As Layton hovered slowly towards the injured Sylveon, his rear claws were released, landing a few meters away from his opponent, who decided to stand up and try to give a last fight. Layton grabbed him with Psychic, and Frederick started floating. The Metagross titled his head to the right, and Frederick was sent to the right, Layton titled his head to the left, and the Fairy type followed shortly, he tilted upwards, and then rapidly moved his gaze downwards, slamming Frederick to the ground, with as much ease as the fish he had controlled earlier that day. He got closer, and rose the Sylveon, eyes to eyes.
“He he…. you are stronger than what I thought…. Layton, isn’t it? Truly the power of a Champion’s strongest Pokémon.” Frederick panted. Layton wasn’t shocked by the fact that the Sylveon knew who he was, the only thing he cared for was ending the battle once and for all. He threw the Sylveon to the floor, and prepared his fist. Frederick closed his eyes and smiled.
It happened in mere seconds. Layton prepared to release a Bullet Punch, Frederick did nothing to evade it. The Metagross shot the attack, but the punch didn’t reach. A blue spark appeared between them, showing for mere seconds a standing unicorn, closing her eyes and bracing for the impact. Little did she know, that the Psychic Type was aiming inches away from the Sylveon.
End music
Pockets whited out!
“How… how could you do this to me? We worked so hard, an entire year of training, you were the final piece, the last one remaining, we hoped for this day for so long. But you had to ruin it, didn’t you? You had to! Tell me, what does it mean, why did this happen!? Did you… did you really…? You know that is wrong, you know that it means risking my life. All those rumors that flew around town, were they true? Answer me! Did you really… ”
As Pockets opened her eyes, a bright moonshine struck her. Her head was hurting, and her body felt tired. She couldn’t remember what happened, and she was not sure if she wanted to know.
“Uhg, what the hell… why is my head hurting so much…”
“Good evening Pockets. About time you woke up.”
“Steven… is that you?”
“Indeed. Welcome back.”
“What happened?”
“You, doofus, got in front of a Metagross’ Bullet Punch. That’s what happened.”
Pockets looked around to find the source, as the voice who seemed to know her, was unfamiliar to her. From the leaves, a pink cat-like creatures jumped to the ground, landing in front of Pockets. The same Sylveon that attacked them earlier was now talking with her like a childhood friend, and she couldn’t understand why.
“Luckily, it looks like you got a thick skull, the iron can said that you received minor injuries, nothing that can’t be solved in time.” The Sylveon continued, sitting in front of Pockets.
“I did say that the Bullet Punch’s intensity was altered in the last second.” Layton interrupted, hovering from the woods and arriving in front of the pony.
“Ok, please someone explain what is going on, why are you three just casually here, why was I knocked out, and why is the guy that attacked us casually here throwing some sass at me!?” Pockets asked alarmed, as the confusion started giving her a headache.
“Well, you did save the guy that attacked you” Frederick replied calmly, letting out a regular yawn out. “I guess i owe you.”
Suddenly, Pockets remembered what happened. The fight, the telenstraportation, the punch, everything. It all came back to her on a painful headache which assured her that she didn’t want to remember. “Right, Layton was about to kill the cat.” Pockets deadpanned while scratching her head, before glaring at Layton with a face of shock and anger “Wait, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?”
“He was not going to kill me” The Sylveon interrupted, “He was trying to make me faint.”
“With the scare of your life!? What the hell dude?” Pockets exclaimed once again, not understanding the situation.
“You are wrong.” Frederick rebutted, sighing and standing up once again, walking around. “If he wanted me death, he would need a couple more moves, and something stronger like Meteor Mash. The Bullet Punch was enough to put me unconscious, yet not to kill me. Of course, I could still feel the hate on that attack.” The Fairy type chuckled.
“I am not able to hate” Layton replied unamused.
“Sure thing, metal arse.”
“I see your friend has waken up.” A feminine voice said from the bushes, as a long green snake zigzagged towards them. “Good, glad to know you are ok.”
“Hey there Serperior, took you a while.” Frederick said on a slight mocking tone.
“Quiet you,” The Serperior hissed, before advancing towards Pickett with a strange looking plant on her tail, “ It isn’t easy to find medicinal herbs in this world. I had to taste many different kinds to gather the correct one. You are lucky that I am experienced with natural medicines.”
“I appreciate it, Miss.” Steven thanked, before grabbing the herb and getting closer to Pockets, “This should get you going.”
Pockets took a bite from the strange plant, the bitterness caused her to leave some coughs out,. Yet after some minutes of relaxation, her body started feeling stronger, as her head stopped hurting, and her legs started moving normally once again. After standing up and walking towards the group that was sitting near a campfire, she was greeted by a dish of fresh fruits and berries, next to yet another odd looking herb.
“Don’t worry, it’s edible, and I already tasted it and to be honest it’s extremely tasty.” The Serperior said softly, resting on Layton’s head. “We herbivores must take care of ourselves.”
“Thanks,” Pockets replied, taking a bite off the sweet herb, “What a nice night we’re having, huh?”
“Indeed, pretty nice.” Steven sighed, looking at the stars that shined above them, “I usually don’t sit around to see the night sky, forgot how pleasing it was.”
“You sure like using big words, don’t you, human?” The Sylveon interrupted, before standing up and stretching his feet.
“Yeah I guess so, it’s how I was raised.” Steven chuckled, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths
As the dinner continued, and Luna’s moon shined over them, a peaceful silence took away the awkwardness of having Frederick with them, avoiding any possible confrontations that may happen. As soon as their dinner ended, Frederick stood up.
“Anyways, Pockets, right?” Frederick began, walking towards the unicorn. “Steven told me that you were a native of this world, so that means you don’t have a Pokémon of your own, right?”
“Yeah? What about it?” The mare asked back, confused as to where the question was going.
“You saved my life, I owe you a big one, yadda yadda, even though I was not going to die you risked your own life, so yeah. Congratulations, you are a Pokémon trainer now.” Frederick snorted.
“Oh…” Pockets replied sheepishly. The unicorn thought for a second, she did want to train a Pokémon, and someone as strong as Frederick was a great opportunity. But was she up to the challenge? Was she ready to train a Pokémon? Pockets’ doubts began rising, but something snapped her out of it. A memory came through her, a memory that wasn’t her own.
A group of Pokémon were standing in front of her, she recognized Layton who was watching her with a wide grin; next to him, an Aggron which seemed different from the one on Tall Tale, a metallic bird, a rocky lobster, a fat multi-eyed creature, a plant-like creature with round yellow eyes, and surprisingly another Metagross, this one with a different coloring. What were all those creatures doing in front of her? Then, the scenery changed to that of a wide arena, people cheering around them. In front of her, a tall pale creature with turquoise hair holded a white and red ball in his hand. The bipedal creature tossed the ball, which released a strange beam towards the ground, revealing a beautiful looking serpent creature with colorful scales. The scenery changed again, this time into ancient ruins falling apart, as she was running away from the falling roof and the crumbling floor. And so, many different adventures of different kinds appeared in front of her, yet what she noted, was that she always had a Pokémon next to her. The plant-like creature was standing in front of her, facing the serpent, the metallic bird soared next to her when the ruins were falling, and the Aggron was stopping a stampede of bull-looking creatures, and so on with many situations, that even though were not hers, she enjoyed them as her own. Finally, on the last flash, Pockets found herself on the same place as the first shot, seeing the same group; yet her body turned around, to look a wide, crystalline lake, where Pockets saw her own reflexion in the water. Silver hair and white skin, with a fancy looking suit and two metal sleeve cuffs, the same one that the Scizor she had been traveling with, also wore. It wasn’t hard for her to connect the dots. All those flashbacks, they belonged to Steven, all those adventures and emotions he passed together with his Pokémon, they all belonged to the one that saved her life back in Tall Tale.
“These are some of the memories Steven had as Pokémon trainer. He never did anything by himself, he always had us next to him, he didn’t see us a weapons, but as partners, friends. That alone made these experiences stronger, the bond between a trainer and a Pokémon, that’s what made the life of a Pokémon trainer, a real adventure.”
As Pockets snapped back to reality, she was still not completely sure of what just happened. Yet she was now sure about what she wished. “Yeah… I’m down to being a Pokémon trainer.” She grinned, looking at Layton who left out a soft smile. She knew Layton didn’t like Frederick, yet he wanted her to experience the life of a trainer. Those flashbacks she saw, they could be her own.
“So, where are we going?” Frederick asked, breaking Pocekts’ train of thought.
“We are going to Canterlot, the capital city of this region. Around six days of walk from here. Hope you don’t mind walking.” Steven replied, his eyes still closed.
“I have no other choice, so whatever.” Frederick sighed, “What about you, Serperior, wanna come with us too? You can have some quality time with the metal arse that you love so much.”
“My love for him is something temporal, his looks is what I like, and I can always remember him.” The Serperior chuckled, “Besides, I am too old to advance such distances, and traveling with you doesn’t seem like the greatest of ideas.”
“What do you mean? Is not like if I stole your food supplies or called you fat, right?” The Intertwining Pokémon taunted.
“Frederick, I SWEAR to Arceus if you don’t shut up I’ll kill you.” The Serperior hissed
The Sylveon chuckled at the sudden reaction, before looking at Pockets, “By the way, name’s Frederick, never really introduced myself. Usually I’d tell ya that you can nickname me however you want as you are my new trainer, but I prefer my name.”
“I do like Frederick as a name. I’m Pickett Midnight, you just call me Pockets. And I think you already know the names of the rest.” The unicorn chuckled.
“Introductions were already made. Now, I suggest you go to sleep, we lost too much time, we need to leave tomorrow before the sun goes up” Steven suggested
“Yeah, right, good night everyone.” Pockets giggled, closing her eyes and imagining the adventures that awaited them.
Frederick closed his eyes too, not sure what to expect.“ A trainer… After all these years… is this the right thing to do? She seems different though…” “I HATE YOU!” A voice screamed inside Frederick’s head, but he just ignored it, just as he ignored that same voice who tormented him for years. Was this really going to be a new beginning? Was this a new opportunity for him to change who he is? He did not know, but he wanted to take the risk, after all, the life in that forest was getting old and boring for him.
Frederick has joined the party!