//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 : Of Thieves and Trains // Story: A New World, A New Journey // by ThatOneVolcarona //------------------------------// Unicorn Range. A large and vast commercial route connecting Tall Tale and Vanhoover with the capital city of Equestria, Canterlot. After the intense encounter with Frederick, the Sylveon, our heroes find themselves continuing their path towards the Great City in a more unconventional way. The Unicorn Woods, as some call them, a place filled with tricky paths, deep vegetation, and now, various dangerous Pokémon. Not many would venture through this path, yet our group of adventurers didn’t mind, with the law after them, they prefered to go the long way. “So... Frederick. Layton and Steven already told me a bit about your world and some adventures they had. What ‘bout you, wanna tell me a bit about what you used to do back home?” “No.” “Pretty please?” “Pretty no.” Pockets groaned at the stubbornness of her first Pokémon, she really wanted to become a trainer of her own, and Frederick was possibly his key to that. “Come on dude! Layton said that a trainer must develop some sort of bond with his or her Pokémon. If we want this whole team deal to work out, I have to know more about you!” “If you want to believe in that psychological bullshit, then sure go with that. But get a different Pokémon for it. Every trainer, human or not, would leave their Pokémon if the right conditions were met, and that bond you speak of would break.” Steven let out a soft laugh, thing that annoyed Frederick, “You are wrong there, Frederick. I would never leave Layton, no matter what. And I know many trainers who wouldn’t leave their Pokémon either.” “How can you say that when your Metagross is unable to feel?” The Fairy countered dryly “Because, even though he doesn’t have many emotions, I know he will stand by my side, and I will do the same. We have been together for many years, and we will be together for many years to come.” “You are so sappy and cheesy that I think I’ll throw up” Frederick said appalled. Layton got closer to the Fairy, looking him in the eyes with a cold gaze, “A trainerless Pokémon like you would not understand. You said it yourself, you left your trainer.” Layton interrupted with his usual monotone voice. “You would not understand that link that a trainer and his Pokémon can develop. Miss Midnight, I believe you are wasting your time with this Sylveon.” Frederick slowly advanced towards the Steel type, returning the cold eye,“As much as you dislike the idea, he’s right. I would never understand such things,” Frederick said to Pockets, his gaze not moving an inch, “As humans are not worth it.” “I did some calculations, the chances of a human liking you would be of 2.94%” Layton taunted coldly “As if I care. I don’t want to be liked, metal arse, deal with it,” The Fairy type countered, but before Layton could reply, they were both shut down. “CAN YOU TWO STOP?!” Both Pockets and Steven shouted, as the two Pokémon were face to face already, sparks coming out of their eyes. The Intertwining Pokémon moved away from the Steel type, muttering under his breath, Layton doing the same mentally. “Where are we anyways? We’ve been walking for about three days, and soon enough I’ll be forced to walk with my feelers. Besides, it’s getting rather dark, shouldn't we camp?” The Sylveon grunted, lifting one of his paws and waving it in the air. Steven looked at the pony and the Fairy type, to see their clear exhaustion, “Layton, what’s our current location?” For him and Layton, the distance walked was nothing, as their muscles of pure metal and strong extremities allowed them to travel extremely long distances. But the two more organic creatures already had a bad time keeping up with them. “We've advanced almost a half of the way to Canterlot. Unfortunately, due to getting sidetracked by going deeper into the forests, because of our inconvenient encounter, we are delayed from my initial calculation” Layton informed “I can hear you, you know?” The Sylveon pointed out annoyed “I was counting on it…” Layton mumbled “Let’s try to advance some more, I doubt any Pokémon would attack us with Layton around.” Steven suggested The group nodded, but while walking, a loud growl was heard, which came from Pockets’ stomach. She pointed a flashlight spell towards her saddle, opened one of the bags, and noticed that there was no more food in there, she opened another bag and she had the same result. The only one that was not empty was her loot bag, as even the water canteen was now depleted. “Guys, we need food and water soon.” “I’ll scan the area to try to find any potential organic fuel for living creatures,” Layton informed. His eyes began glowing a slight white, while he stood still. A couple of minutes passed by, and the Steel type's eyes went back to normal, before he started advancing once again. “Anything good?” The former human asked “Negative, I do not sense any edible fruits in the area. There is a water source nearby according to my mental map, yet gathering the water is almost impossible, due to it being placed on a location several meters below our current attitude. I’d suppose a river in the bottom of a cliff or a ravine.” “In other words we are screwed. If we don’t die of hunger, we’ll die of dehydration. Thanks Arceus.” Frederick sighed “We’ll just keep advancing until we find food. Come on, let’s reach that river to try to get some water. The further we go the closer we’ll be to Canterlot and the Everfree Forest.” Steven ordered. “Aye, aye, ant captain!” Pockets joked, catching up with the two Steel Types. Frederick grunted, and called for a Heal Bell to ease his pain, "Why did I agree to this...?" As they reached the cliff, the group realized that they needed a way to cross the giant gap below them to continue. Frederick then spotted a large bridge in the distance, and the crew advanced towards it. But when they got closer, they received an unpleasant surprise as a figure became clearer and clearer in the horizon. “Is that… what I think it is?” Frederick asked “Yeah, it is,” Steven replied “What on Equus is that? Is that a Pokémon?” Pockets asked curiously. “Snorlax,” The three Pokémon answered in unison. A giant snoring Snorlax was completely blocking the bridge, on a way in which crossing to the other side would require flying over it, something none of them was able to do. The snores started bouncing on the group’s ears, as the plans for passing the cliff started. “So, ideas” “Let the genius cross us over with his Psychic powers,” Frederick proposed “The gap is too large for my powers to safely get you to the other side. Besides, I am not able to hover over straight air, meaning that I tried crossing, I would end up in the bottom of the cliff. I would be left behind.” Layton rebutted “Perfect, let’s do that” “Frederick, we won’t leave Layton behind,” Pockets ticked off. “Can’t you just wake it up? Just ask him to get out of the way and let us through. What even is a Snorlax anyways?” “Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon. One of the heaviest known species, Snorlax consumes around 900 pounds of food each day, and after it does so, it goes back to sleep until his hunger comes back. This routine is repeated every day of the Snorlax’s life. They are lazy and docile, yet if one is interrupted during his slumber in an inappropriate way, its wrath can destroy buildings.” Layton informed, on an extremely robotic way, almost as if the answer was automatic. “Did you install a freaking Pokedex on this guy or something?” Frederick asked dryly “I did, it helps a lot on other regions. A good friend of mine helped me with a filled national dex and Layton memorized every entry, and their alternative versions. “ Steven answered almost proudly. “I’ve arrived to a conclusion, you are both huge nerds” Frederick taunted, causing a laugh from Pockets. Steven sighed, and Layton shrugged, it was not the first time someone had said that to them, and they were sure it was not the last one. "Is there any way we can wake him up? You know, not an innapopiate way, Pockets suggested, trying to get some work done. “If you have a spare Pokeflute, then sure, go ahead.” The Sylveon said with bitterness, “You know, let’s do something simple, let’s just climb over him. “ “Negative, my readings indicate that this Snorlax knows, and it’s continuously using, a Snore attack. My calculations indicate that if we attempt to go over it, we would be sent back by it. Besides-” “Oh be quiet, You are over exaggerating, tin can. Just watch and learn.” As the Sylveon said this, he jumped unto the Snorlax’s stomach, which bounced the Sylveon back, causing his head to meet the cold wooden floor. “There’s also a probability that being on his stomach could bounce us out.” Layton continued “I hate you with a burning passion…” Frederick grunted, before placing himself on his four paws with the aid of his ribbons. “Layton, bud, use your psychic powers to send me over!” The unicorn requested, preparing herself for the launch. “Miss Midnight, I doubt that your plan could work, as I mentioned before, the Snorlax-” “Just do it!” The unicorn demanded. The shiny Metagross’ eyes turned a bright light blue, and an aura of the same color surrounded the mare. Layton slowly moved the unicorn through the air, placing her right above the Snorlax, near the head. Loud snores hit Pocket’s ears, causing some serious pain, but she was still under Layton’s Psychic, waiting for him to send her to the other side, hopefully, as literally as possible. “Miss Midnight, are you ready?” “Yes! Do it before I cut my own darn ears off!” Layton closed his eyes, and opened them to reveal a strong white glow, shortly afterwards Pockets was rapidly sent forwards. She would have crossed, if a massive Snore attack didn’t sent her flying vertically through the air. The navy blue pony was not ready to fall though, as while in mid air, she casted a spell that took her away from her position. Her objective, the other side of the bridge, her current location, the Snorlax’s mouth. The Snorlax woke up alarmed, as he coughed and coughed, sending the pony bathed in saliva away, who landed on Steven and crashed them both to the ground. “SNOREE!” The Sleeping Pokemon roared “Uhm, what did he say?” Pockets asked alarmed “He said ‘That fruit tasted horribly!’ ” Frederick chirped “Oh okay, wait what!?” “ WHO DARES DISRUPT MY SLEEP? “We should run, now. Let Layton deal with it,” Steven suggested, taking Pockets off him. “Great, I am all covered in this smelly saliva now,” The unicorn yucked, before following the rest of the group. As they were leaving, Layton prepared to hold the Normal type back. But the Snorlax wouldn’t let them go away so easily. The Snorlax opened his mouth, and a stream of purple smoke was sent flying towards the escaping trio. Layton tried to grab the Toxic attack with a Psychic bubble, but some of the smoke escaped his grip. “Toxic cloud is headed towards you, dodge as soon as possible” Informed Layton through the mental link. Steven and Frederick dodged sideways, but Pockets couldn’t. The saliva on her hooves caused her to slip, and when she tried to stand up, the toxic cloud surrounded her, entering her body. “Pockets!” Steven exclaimed alarmed, running to aid the unicorn. “I’m cough fine! Let’s get out of here.” “Hammer Arm!” A robotic voice called, as behind the escaping group, Layton fired a massive punch. The damage was critical, and the Snorlax couldn’t hold it. The Sleeping Pokémon fainted, his weight landing on the wooden bridge and causing it to tremble . Cracks could be heard, as the wooden platforms started shaking, Layton knew it wouldn’t hold longer, so he tucked his legs in, and floated away, while the bridge started falling into the river, the Snorlax with it. As the unconscious Snorlax started floating away, a snore was heard in the distance, showing that the Sleeping Pokemon was once again resting. The Iron Leg Pokémon rushed towards the group, as Pockets left out a couple of loud coughs, a purple liquid dripping of her nose. “Layton, analysis.” “Although it behaves differently from Pokémon, the poison on her body seems to be spreading. She is under a Poison status, and the poison turns more aggressive as time goes on, similar to how the move usually works. And even though she would resist more time than a poisoned Pokémon, I am afraid that the poison would ultimately kill her.” Layton informed monotoned. “We need to reach a town fast, any medicine should do, right?” Frederick asked, although he hid it, he was worried about Pockets “My data shows that the next town is located twenty five kilometers away, and that is, if the bridge was available for use.” “Find out all the possible solutions, Layton” Steven ordered “Analyzing possible solutions…” “The train” Pockets interrupted “The train?” Frederick replied confused “That pony back in the city said it, we are outlaws, we could be sent back to Tall Tale.” Steven sighed “If that happens, they would have an antidote, and I could just get you out of jail with no problem, I’ve done it before.” Pockets said while coughing. “Steven, I analyzed all the possible solutions, none would work in time. Yet adding the possibility of a train, the chances of her surviving are of a 16.7%” Layton informed “It’s better than nothing. Let’s go, we don’t have time to lose.” Frederick advanced. “The cough other way, Frederick” Pockets advanced with him “Are you sure this is a good idea, Layton? If we get caught....” Steven whispered to his friend. “If we don’t advance towards the train, Miss Midnight will die. Steven, we must go, now.” Steven looked at Layton, who even though lacked of much facial expressions, showed a determined look on his eyes. Layton knew the risks, yet he still wanted to help her. Besides, Steven knew that a life was worth more than some information. “Lets go then…” Steven sighed, as they followed the duo. “Look at that sunset… I’ve never seen it like that cough” “I suppose this is it” Frederick pointed out, as they reached the railing that was resting on the plains of Unicorn Range. “So, guys, how are we going to do this?” Pickett asked, slightly shaking. “Layton uses Psychic to place us on top of the train. From the top of the train, we will attempt to find a hatcheet that might be placed in the roof of one of the carts. We enter through it, search for the cart with the medicines, and find anything that could help us out. We go out through the same route, and walk the rest of the way to Canterlot.” Steven informed “Great plan captain. Though, there are some slight problems with it. There is no train.” Frederick snarked “We will wait for one. Layton can sense vibrations through the ground. He should be able to tell if a train is coming from miles away.” Steven explained “Ok, makes sense. But, lets say that you manage to place us on top of the train, and we manage to find the trap door that leads inside. How could you possibly get inside with that massively fat body of yours?” “I believe you just called me fat” Layton grunted, yet shrugged before any discussion could happen Steven let out a small chuckle, before explaining even further “We already have a plan for that, we’ve done it before, his body size is no problem at all.” “Doesn’t explains anything, but sure. Last tiny little detail though. How on Earth are we going to board a train traveling around who-knows-how-many miles per hour without being seriously injured by the contact? We’d need the train to stop for us, and I don’t think they’ll just do it if we ask nicely” As Frederick finished talking, Layton let out a cold chuckle, and Steven sighed. They already had a plan for that, but Frederick wouldn’t like it. “Layton, got anything that could help you yet?” “Negative, I can’t detect any presence that could be of aid. Although, there is one creature that may be useful, yet it would limit my battle capabilities.” “Use it, it’s better than anything. Bring it here.” As Steven ordered this, Layton’s Psychic highlighted a nearby bush. From such bush, a sleeping, small, gray and brown rabbit-like creature was levitated away from his position. Woken up by the sudden movement, the Bunnelby started shaking himself to escape the Psychic grip, but it was futile. “What… what is going on? Help! Aliens are taking me! I knew this place was bad news! HELP!” Cries of panic came out of the Normal Type, whose eyes released small tears of fear. “Please, calm down, we are not going to hurt you” Steven said softly, trying to comfort the small creature down. “Big scary alien, please don’t eat me.” The Bunnelby squeaked alarmed “Kid, remain calm, or I will force you to calm yourself.” Layton deadpanned on his monotone and robotic voice. The Bunnelby stopped crying, and opened his eyes. He noticed the gigantic silver creature that was looking at him with dead white eyes. The Bunnelby started shaking and shouting in fear, moving uncontrollably to a point in which Layton had a hard time keeping him in the Psychic range. “Wow, you’re literally a heartless monster.” Frederick taunted from a distance, watching the scene from afar and chuckling with every new antic Layton let out a loud sigh, and dropped the Bunnelby, who didn’t know if he should run or not. “Listen, we wouldn’t do this to such a young Pokémon like you if we had another option, but we need your help.” The Scizor asked softly, getting closer to the small Pokémon, and trying to look as friendly as possible. “Help with… what, Mister?” The Bunnelby asked shakingly, still frightened by the recent events. “We require your body” Layton explained. The Bunnelby’s mouth dropped open, as he couldn't process what had just been said. “Good one, Layton, you sure are great with the kids!” Pockets shouted from a distance. Although her body was feeling weak, she decided to stay next to Frederick and enjoy the show. “What my friend here is trying to say is, we have a deal for you. What would you say if we offered you the biggest… I don’t know… cabbage you have ever seen?” The former human offered “I do love cabbages… but, what would happen to my body? What are you going to do with it!?” “I will divide my mind in order to control both my body, and your body. Three of my brains will dedicate to the control of your body, so it will be properly protected due to still having the ability to use Psychic, while my other brain will dedicate to guarding my body, and keeping it connected to the train via magnetism.” The Psychic type explained, yet the alarmed expression on the Bunnelby’s face was now mixed with confusion. “Don’t worry, your body will be fine, your mind as well. We’ll protect you. You see, my buddy here is too big to fit in the train, and he needs to borrow your body to accompany me. We will reward you with some delicious veggies, and after all of this is over, you’ll be able to live with all that food and eat till you are full!” Steven exclaimed cheerishly. The Bunnelby sighed, and thought for a couple of second, the idea of all that food was making him crazy on the inside, “That does sound good… and you two seem big and powerful… I guess, fine. I’ll do it!” “Hurray! Well then, don’t worry, Layton has done this many times before so your natural psy-defenses shouldn’t be harmed, who knows, Layton could even fortify them!” Steven said childishly, although serious most of the times, Steven knew how to act around children, unlike Layton. “I am ready” The Bunnelby said dubiously, although he did want to hold back and run, the idea of all that food made him happy. “Entering his mind…” Layton informed, as his eyes glowed a stronger white than before, the Bunnelby’s eyes doing the same thing. “This may take a while, so proceed with the rest of the operation.” “Well, while he does that. Frederick, are you ready?” Steven asked, causing the Sylveon’s smile to disappear. “I never agreed to this” “Do it for Pockets” “Do it for me cough” As the moon rested over the railings of Unicorn Range, a passenger train, which departed Tall Tale that same morning; was swiftly and calmly advancing through the green plains of the Range, hills surrounding them from the distance. Most passengers were already asleep, and those that weren’t, tried to. Most of them, if not all, going to the capital city of Equestria, Canterlot. The train was not supposed to stop for any reason during its course, as the train was not to be delayed. “I sense something. Confirmed, it’s an oncoming train. Get into your positions” The engineers had never seen something like what they saw that night. A bright light shined in the middle of the road, so bright that they couldn’t keep their eyes off it. In one of the driver’s head, an odd sensation softly lead him to slowly stop the train. While the train was static, the crew slowly got off the caboose to have a closer look at the source of the bright light, hypnotised by its magnificence. As the light faded, a pink cat-like creature looked at them with sweet puppy-like eyes. “Veon” The creature squeaked sweetly, causing some members of the crew to let out a loud ‘Daaww’. The Sylveon walked towards the main engineer’s leg, rubbing himself against it in a cat-like manner, purring in such a soft way, that it melt the engineer’s heart. “Look at this cutie. And some ponies say that these Pokémon are scary and dangerous. “ The engineer chuckled. Frederick jumped on his back, and layed there, waving his feelers in a comical way which amused the crew. “Bring that sweetheart inside, we can’t just leave him here by himself.” A female attendant suggested. And they all followed her suggestion, Frederick smiling and playing with his living train ticket, the engineer. Unknown to the crew of the train, four individuals moved through the bushes, the moon revealing their silhouette. “Stand still, and get ready for the Psychic.” Layton indicated through the mental link, as the group stood right next to the train filled with sleeping passengers. A light blue aura surrounded them, as they started levitating off the ground, a bunnelby with them. The group reached the top of the static rooftop, and watched how the Metagross tucked its legs, and started floating. He advanced forwards, and began hovering on the walls of the train, slowly arriving to the top. “How did he do that?” Pockets asked, after seeing the Metagross changing his gravity like if it was an easy task. “My body works with magnetism. I posses magnetized fibers that connect my Nervous System, and what some humans called the Magnetic System. An organ inside my body releases a magnetized gas that counters my weight. These two systems work together to utilize the small amounts of…” Layton stopped for a couple of seconds after seeing Pockets’ face of confusion, and decided to use a more simple explanation, “Everything has some level of magnetism, my body uses that to hover, but due to how small the magnetic capabilities of some materials are, I can’t float freely, hence the reason of why you can’t travel on me, as your weight would counter the gas produced in me. This train is made from wood and metal, and some of these materials are highly magnetic, that’s why my body is able to just float around it.” The Bunnelby finished. As his half-conscious body continued hovering near them. Bunnelton (a nickname Pockets came up with) closed his eyes, and controlled his metallic body, making it advance until the end of the train, a couple of carts away. His body sticked itself like a fridge magnet, and rested there. “Note to self, never ask how a Pokemon works… again.” Pockets sighed, letting out some coughs, which grew stronger as time passed by. “My original body has detected an entrance… here” Bunnelton raised one of his ears, and a trap door hidden by the darkness opened, revealing a hole big enough for them to enter. A whistle announced that the train was ready to move once again, and the group advanced into the opening. The cart was full of different varieties of bags, backpacks, and some other large objects; a luggage cart. “We’ll wait for Frederick here, hopefully he’ll get here fast and we can leave as soon as possible.” Steven said, stretching his legs, arms, and wings. “I think we should stay here, we’ll reach Canterlot faster that way. “ The unicorn pointed out “We can’t just get in the train and have a free ride. Other people paid for this, who knows how much money. This is illegal, Frederick brings the medicine, and we should keep moving, on foot.” Steven rebutted, glaring at the pony that just ignored the response, not because she wanted to, but because her stomach started burning with extreme pain, bending her over. Steven got closer to her, and saw how a tear dropped from her eye. He leaned down and rubbed her back, as a sensation that tickled Pockets made her chuckle. “This would be sweet... if it wasn’t metal.” She joked, trying to be her usual self. “Steven, I sense a presence coming towards our location. I’ll create a visual illusion to prevent any of us to be found. But I still recommend you to hide. “ The Normal type warned. Steven helped Pockets into a pile of bags, and hid himself on a dark corner, his slim figure giving him more coverage. They waited a couple seconds until they managed to see the one passing by. A bulky purple unicorn with violet hair ran through the cart, wearing a gray fedora and a gray overcoat. His Cutie Mark showed a similar fedora to the one that he was wearing. It seemed slightly suspicious to Steven, but now it was not the time to investigate. The pony left the luggage cart and proceeded to the next one. Steven was ready to get out of his hiding spot, but Layton interrupted him. “ Do not move, I sense another presence coming… the vital signs seem faint, and the patterns of movement are rather odd. I can’t seem to get a better look at it with my Psychic abilities, it may be a Dark type. I’ll try to keep the optical illusion up, but I’ll require that you two stay as static as possible. ” Steven got closer to the corner of the cart, and observed patiently. The door opened… yet no one came in. Steven thought that the optical illusion may have messed up, affecting him, but before he could ask anything, Layton answered his doubts. “The user seems to be hiding under some sort of invisibility trick. I am still not able to identify the shape.” Layton informed, a couple of sweat drops falling from his now furry forehead. “It may be an invisibility spell, maybe whoever is doing it is just following the odd looking unicorn that passed just now.” Pockets suggested, trying her hardest to not cough. Sometimes, danger and adventure may pass by right in front of your eyes. You may not notice it and it may not notice you. But sometimes the adventure comes to you, sometimes life wants to see what you are capable of. Or maybe you are just unlucky, and life has something against you, putting you in situations of extreme danger. This was the case for both Steven and Pockets. A golden ring started floating in the air. The ring came from a saddlebag that was abandoned in the middle of the cart, and that same saddlebag held many valuable items. A small sword, a rolled painting, a golden cane, and just a few seconds ago, a color-changing gem. Pockets had left her loot bag in the middle of the cart, and the invisible figure was now taking her latest addition. Out of instinct, she tried to grab it, her current strength not allowing her to launch at her, yet still throwing a bag off the pile that was serving as a hiding spot “Pockets, stay quiet!” Steven muttered, but it was useless, as the ring started to float away, or so it seemed. “My ring!” Pockets exclaimed, trying to run after the thief, yet falling shortly, her legs not working properly anymore. At her exclamation, the ring suddenly darted up the ladder and out a hatch on the roof. “Layton, with me. Pockets, stay here and wait for Frederick. We’ll get your ring back.” Layton jumped and firmly grasped Steven’s shoulder pad with his ears, They went through the trapdoor, and Layton pointed East with one of his ears. Steven ran, following the invisible figure. “Steven, I’ve confirmed the species of the thief. She seems to be a Zoroark. Due to her typing, we need to stay close to her or I may not be able to find it again.” Layton informed, waving like a misplaced scarf with the wind. “Get back with that ring, Zoroark!” Steven exclaimed, hoping that the Dark type would stop, of course that was not going to happen… yet. “Who is a little pink cutie, you are, yes you are!” “Hey, Coal, we are running out of fuel. Leave the cat on the floor and let others play with it” A mare said from nearby. The black earth pony dropped the Sylveon on the ground, and muttered under his breath, getting ready to do his dirty work. He glanced at the Fairy type once more, with a soft smile, as a soft “Veon” made him chuckle. “I can’t believe I am doing this. From the king of the forest to a cute little distraction cat, good job Frederick, you reached a new level of low.” The Fairy type thought to himself, walking towards the open door, that lead to the Machinery Room. “Do it for her” Said a voice inside his head, which he just shrugged. Frederick advanced through the train, as he noticed many ponies and even Pokémon sleeping soundly. His plan was simple, find the room filled with medicines, and grab the right medicine for Pockets. Layton told him that anything that worked against poison should work, so the job seemed pretty simple. He reached a door that wore a wooden sign that said “Kitchen” in beautifully carved italic letters. He went inside and looked around, noticing glass plates and packs filled with ingredients. He picked a carrot from one of the boxes, and began eating it while searching for something that could help Pockets. A wooden shelf in the side of the kitchen showed various pills and medicinal syrups, together with a first-aid kit and some bottles of oddly named liquids. “This should do.” Frederick pulled some boxes with his feelers, and reached the shelf. He began picking some pills, watching their name and use, and dropping them afterwards. This continued for a couple of minutes, until the door opened violently. Frederick glared at the source of the slam, and looked at a Hydreigon who was staring at him. Frederick then proceeded to continue his routine, without the slightest of interest in the Dragon type that just came in. “Sylveon, stop it.” The Hydreigon said. “Well, what an annoyance” Frederick thought before throwing a pack of pills to the Hydreigon. “I’m serious, stop it!” The Hydreigon demanded. But Frederick was not even listening to him anymore, as one pack of pills called his attention. “Food poisoning… yeah this should do” The Fairy type said, before walking off the boxes, and looking at the Hydreigon. Frederick left out a fake smile, before calling for an attack, “Flash” And so the chase began. Frederick bounded forward, attempting to get away from the Hydreigon. Every pony in the train was currently asleep, and somehow none of them woke up with the small battles taking place in the various parts of the train. “I don’t have time to deal with a punny Hydreigon like you. Didn’t your hoard teach you to not mess with Fairy types? Oh right, your kind is not smart enough to know when they are at a disadvantage.” The Sylveon jumped, and released two smaller Moonblasts from his feelers, which rapidly flew towards the Dragon type, who somehow managed to dodge them. “A regular Hydreigon wouldn’t be able to do that. Who is this idiot? “What? Smoke grenade! Layton stop the smoke!” “Compressing the smoke back into the grenade... Done” The Psychic type said, before throwing the grenade out of their way like a can. “Alright, now I’m REALLY curious. Since when can a Bunnelby do that?” A shiny Zoroark appeared from the darkness, revealing herself. Her hat and her cape wouldn’t mean much for many, but it did for both Steven and Layton, who identified the outfit immediately. “Why should we tell you?” Steven countered, keeping his serious look. “Drop the ring, and we can all go home safe and sound.” “No can do. The only place this ring is going is the junkyard...preferably in a million pieces,” The Zoroark said. The style of talking, her tools, her tendency to just escape instead of fighting. He was sure of the identity of who he was facing. The legendary outlaw, Phantom Thief Fox. “I won’t let you do that, Fox. I won’t let you escape… again.” The Bug type buzzed “Oh? Do I know you? You’ll have to forgive me, but identifying old acquaintances has been so hard lately,” Fox chuckled, using the usual stance that, after all the years that had passed, still annoyed Steven. “Makes sense. In that case, let me introduce myself once again. My name is Steven Stone, former champion of the Hoenn region, and you and I, Phantom Thief Fox, have some pending business to solve” Steven flapped his wings, and prepared a Steel Wing to attack the thief as soon as he saw an opening. “Ah yes, Mr. Stone. Now that you mention it, the voice did sound familiar,” Fox chuckled. “So how’d the research go? Hope you're not still sore over that banana peel,” She chuckled, remembering the incident which Steven did not want to remember… an Aggron, slipping due to a banana peel. Some nights he still wondered how that was even possible. “Thanks to your little prank, we are not allowed to have fruits anymore, Iron Fist goes nuts whenever he sees any. What are you doing here anyways? I thought Arceus only brought the humans that were worth it.” Steven was not happy. As a champion, he had to face many high rank criminals, but none was more annoying than Fox, the current holder of the title belonging to a line of famous thieves who were said to be uncatchable. “Aww....why does everyone keep lumping me in with the regular thieves?” Fox pouted. “I would think someone like you could figure out that I’m no simple thief,” she said with her taunting voice. Steven had enough, he needed to end it. “Oh, I know you are not a simple thief, you are worse. Steel Wing!” The Bug type ran towards Fox, a soft white aura surrounding Steven’s wings. Fox didn’t make any move to evade. Turns out it wasn’t necessary, since when Steven struck, it revealed to be a doll shaped like a Zoroark. “Well then, guess I was nice enough to be considered for the move,” came Fox’s amused voice as she faded back into existence another car down. “That was pretty rude though, attacking a lady when she is talking.” “Layton, use Hammer Arm!” Steven called, but the Bunnelby glared at him, and sighed. “Steven, I am not able to use anything but Psychic, and the moves this Bunnelby knows. None would be effective against Fox.” Explained his partner, hopping back into Steven’s shoulder. “Then I guess, I am alone on this one, great. X-Scissor!” Steven ran forwards, his pincers glowing a light blue as he picked up speed. “I got a better idea. Fetch!” Fox said, as she tossed something right past him. The ring she had stolen. Steven stopped mid way, and saw Pocket’s ring. “So this was just another prank then, huh? You planned returning it all along.” The Bug type chuckled “Steven, that’s not the-” But Layton was abruptly interrupted, when the ring exploded, a mass of webbing coming out, covering both Steven and Layton in the sticky mess. “Gotcha,” Fox chuckled, before she opened another trap door, and dove into the cart. “Layton, get this gunk off me, please…” To face Fox once again was a rare opportunity. To be humiliated again… it got on his nerves. But it soon didn’t matter, as three figures appeared in the horizon, two of them familiar, and one of them worryingly new. “Steven…” “I see it Layton… a Hydreigon.” Pockets saw her surroundings. Her difficulty to breath properly, and her legs not wanting to stand up, told her that her situation was getting worse. Steven and Layton were after whatever took her ring, and Frederick was nowhere to be seen. In other words, she was alone in the luggage cart, struggling to keep herself alive. Her stomach growled violently as her lounges let out multiple coughs. She lay down, and hummed a tune that she had heard back in Manehattan. Trying to get her mind off her current state, she opened one of the bags there, searching for something of interest that could keep her entertained. One of the bags had a small. colorful book that read “Lil’ Squeak’s day in the Park”. “Better than nothing,” Pockets muttered to herself, opening the book and looking at the colorful childish pictures. The story, like in any other book for children, was simple. A little unicorn that wants to go to the park with his friends, but his mother doesn’t let him. “Clean your room” Her mother asked, as the child whined about how friends are most important. Pockets laughed softly at all the different shenanigans that the kid went through trying to clean his room. Who would knew that a thing meant for children could be so entertaining for older audiences. “Having parents must be hard.” The unicorn chuckled, closing the book and breathing deeply. Somehow, the story eased her pain, yet it was still there, increasing with the pass of time. Pockets placed the book back in the bag containing it, before opening yet another bag, searching for anything that could keep her distracted. She reached an odd looking flute, round and with holes all around the surface, seemingly placed in random positions, a mouthpiece projecting from its body. She took a better look at the small instrument, squinting her eyes to try to make out anything from the small text printed in the clay. “Ocarina...” The flute read. Pockets grabbed the ocarina, placing the mouthpiece inside her muzzle, and her hoofs covering two of the holes With all the strenght she was able to give in her current situation, she managed to blow out a soft note, which soothed her tired ears. Moving her right hoof, she blowed once again, this time with a screech as a result, which unsettled her. “I guess this ocarina deal is not for me. Meh, I was never good with any other instruments either.” Pockets placed the clay instrument back on its place, closing the bag and laying down. She rubbed her own stomach trying to ease the horrible pain invading her, with no result. She closed her eyes, not sure if it was a good idea or not, and started to breath. As her consciousness faded slowly, she could only wonder “Where the heck are you, Frederick?” Her question was soon answered, as the Sylveon suddenly opened the door, slamming it close. “Pockets, where the hell are you? We don’t have much time.” The Sylveon asked, before finding the crawling Pony that greeted him with a grin. “Gosh you look terrible. Here, take this, and hide.” Pockets grabbed the small container with her muzzle, crawling back at her small hiding spot, as the Fairy type climbed a tall tower of bags, reaching the top in mere seconds. “What’s going on, Frederick? Why all the sudden-” Pockets was abruptly interrupted, when a five foot tall, 3-headed creature barged through the door. This was quite possibly the strangest and most terrifying of the Pokémon that she had seen yet. The mainly black creature levitated freely, with no noticeable pupils and a ghostly look, his main head was covered to what appeared to be some sort of skin-hoodie, which in a closer look resembled a twisted and dry flower more than a hoodie. The two other heads seemed to take the place of hands, kind of like Steven’s pincers, but way more creepy. As the creature searched around, Pockets could do nothing but to shakingly open up the package containing the pills. “Yoohoo” said a voice in a feminine tone. Pockets looked at the origin, finding Frederick jumping towards the Dragon type. Pockets grinned, thinking that Frederick had it all on the bag, but her grin was wiped out when the creature grabbed him, slamming him down to the floor violently, grunting, and glaring at it with a dead-stare which gave away the intentions of the creature. Alarmed, Pockets used all her magic power to open the pack of pills, her struggle with the lid stopped her from noticing a tall figure entering the cart. Opening the bottle, she took the pill, and observed the battle, as the grim looking creature grabbed Frederick once again. A loud smack was heard, as the bulky pony slammed a bat into the hydra-looking creature’s neck. Regaining her senses, she used her forces to run towards the Hydreigon, shooting a stunt spell unto his hand. “Glad you got here, is this big guy your friend?” Frederick asked, free of the grasp of his opponent “Not at all, is this big guy your friend?” Pockets asked, pointing at the Dark type, who managed to knock out the attacker. Frederick chuckled, seeing the shapes of other ponies getting into the cart “Not at all, I prefer better looking people. We should get away from here, how are you feeling?” “Great, thanks for the pills, worked faster than expected. Come, through the trapdoor.” Pickett said, before rushinged towards the hole that lead to the outside world. “So, what the hay is that, and why is it following you?” Pockets asked alarmed, as her feet worked fully once again. “Hydreigon, a Dragon type known for their violent actions, you know, the kind of Pokémon that would eat your face as a snack.” “What!? Why is it following you!?” Pockets panicked. Frederick looked behind him, to notice the Dragon type running after them. “You still chasing us? Great. Get out of this Hydreigon, we don’t need more trouble.” Frederick bounced with his paws, doing a backflip and launching a powerful Moonblast that the Hydreigon barely dodged. Landing once again, Frederick and Pockets kept running, spotting two familiar silhouettes in the distance. Pockets identified the two distinctive figures, Steven and Layton were also there, taking some sort of webbing off them. “Steven won’t be happy about this.” Steven didn’t know what to think. A Hydreigon, of all possible creatures. Known for their aggressive behaviour and massive destructive power, if there’s one creature you don’t want to mess with, is the Dragon and Dark type “What on Earth did you two do!? How did you even get a Hydreigon to chase you down!?” “Don’t blame me, I was just searching for the medicine, and this guy popped his head out, and told me to stop. Tried to knock him out but he’s fast, my Moonblast doesn’t hit” Frederick and Pockets placed themselves behind the Steel types, as the Hydreigon came closer to them. Steven sighed, this was not going to be pretty. “Stop right there. We don’t want to cause any trouble, just leave us alone and go back to wherever you came from, Hydreigon” “....get out of my way….” The dragon grunted, “I had enough trouble chasing down that thief around, so I’ll repeat, get out of my way.” “Stop chasing the Sylveon, and I will. You don’t even know why he was searching, we needed that medicine,” The Scizor replied, getting his wings and pincers ready. “...and why did he do it?” He asked curtly. Steven glared at the Sylveon in annoyance “Did you even bother to tell him?” . “He was too annoying, following me around and stuff. Didn’t have the time to.” Shrugged the Fairy Type Pockets took a step forwards, trying her best to not be scared of the grim looking Pokémon, “Because if he didn’t, I would have died. I was poisoned, I needed it.” “.....why should I believe you? Those guys attacked me earlier, instead of helping me, you ran. So….they must be with you.” The Hydreigon growled, still angered by Frederick’s attacks, as well as the interruptions of the ponies. “Those guys were not with us, I swear!” The purple unicorn exclaimed. But the Scizor signaled her to remain quiet, and to step back. Steven sighed, and glared at the Hydreigon, getting ready for a sure-to-be intense battle. “Pockets, go with Layton. This guy won’t believe us, most Hydreigon can only understand one thing: violence. Frederick, I’ll need your help.” “Yeah sure, I’ll keep the range attacks going, you do the physical damage. This guy shouldn't be able to hold too long,” “Steven, his power is weaker than the power of a regular Hydreigon. I can easily detect his mental waves, and his defenses are not properly developed. He doesn’t seem to be a natural Hydreigon. “Human?” “Apparently “X-Scissor!” The Scizor’s pincers started glowing a light purple, as he rapidly advanced to hit the Dragon type. Although not mastered yet, Steven’s speed was something to admire. His new body allowed both his arms and legs to move swiftly, creating attacks that not many would be able to dodge. Yet the Hydreigon’s reflex were admirable as well,as he dodged the two projectiles with ease. Using that same speed, the Hydreigon grabbed Steven’s pincer, a sharp slap in the back of the head destabilized Steven, and in mere seconds Steven’s neck was surrounded by one of the long arms of the Hydreigon. “Give up, Sylveon. I got your Scizor friend.” It growled, using him as a shield against the Fairy. “I really don’t care bout him to be honest,“ He chuckled, ”Oh yeah, you should probably dodge that.” As the Sylveon finished talking, the Scizor’s wings started shining, revealing a Wing Attack that sent him back. “You shouldn't really mess with a champion.” “...champion?” The Hydreigon grunted. “Indeed. I am Steven Stone, former champion of the Hoenn region.” The Scizor explained, before releasing another X-Scissor, “And you are keeping me away from my objective!” Dodging the attack, the Hydreigon grunted in disbelief.“.....Steven Stone….and how do I know you’re the real Steven Stone? People bluff a lot these days.” “Believe me if you want to. I have some business to do but your little chase with the Sylveon is delaying me. Speaking of which…” Steven ducked, as Frederick jumped on his back, releasing two small yet fast Moonblast, which rapidly went flying towards the Hydreigon. Tilting his head left and right, the Moonblast flew by scratching the surface of the Hydreigon’s skin, “.....I just tried to stop him from stealing some medicines. That’s vandalism, and I...don’t like it.” “Did you even care to explain what we needed the medicine for, Frederick?” Steven glared at the Fairy type, who just shrugged again. “I should’ve imagined. We needed the medicine urgently, our friend already said she needed it, she was under a Poison status, and we needed the medicine before it was too late.” The Hydreigon glared at the duo, before leaving an annoyed expression. “.....why should I believe you? I don’t even know if you’re the champion or not.” “Layton, you ready?” Steven asked, looking at the Bunnelby whose eyes were now a plain white. “Reaching destination in 3...2...1…” And so, from behind of the Hydreigon, a silver chunk of metal floated swiftly towards them. Upon reaching Steven’s side, it revealed four spider-like legs, a golden “X”, and two cold red eyes that pierced the Dragon’s soul. A shiny Metagross. “As I said before, I am Steven Stone, former champion of the Hoenn region. I didn’t want to steal that medicine, but I had no other choice. I apologize deeply.” Steven sighed, resting his back on the shiny Metagross that lay besides him. “....so you really are Steven Stone.” Steven grinned softly, he was in luck. The one floating in front of him was not a regular Hydreigon, but a former human. A regular Hydreigon would have attacked them no matter who they were “And according to Layton, you must be a former human too, am I right? Please tell me your name.” “...Eric...Eric Angelo. Just your regular trainer.” “Eric Angelo, it’s a pleasure to meet you. In that case, there is no point in this fight. I’m looking for someone, another former human, a famous thief. You might have heard of her, goes by the name ‘Phantom Thief Fox’. If you know her, then you would suppose that she is a Zoroark now. Do you have any idea where she might be? “Oh...I know her quite well….a chance encounter if I might add.” Eric muttered, loud enough for the former champion to hear him. “You’ve encountered her as well? Then you must know how she behaves in her Zoroark form. In that case, Eric, would you mind helping me catch Fox?” Steven stretched his arm, opening his pincer and signaling a shake of hands. “For real? Do you really want the help of that Hydreigon? Not only is he weak, but let me remind you that he tried to kill me, which means he isn’t that smart either. ” Frederick didn’t like the attitude of the Hydreigon, stoic, heroic, thinks that he should stop any evil as small as it may be, just like Steven, but dumber. “He has encountered Fox before, we don’t know what she’s capable of with her new abilities, he’s definitely going to be of help. Besides, he was trying to do the right thing..” As the former Champion ended his thought, he felt the grasp of the Dark type’s pincer “Of course...Steven. But I will need to get my Volcarona.” Steven smiled, a Volcarona was definitely going to be of help.“You have a team here? Excellent, the more, the better. Come then, I’ll get my group ready as well. Let’s catch this thief once and for all.” As the party came back into the carts, a face of anger and worry became present in Steven’s expressions. Seeing this, Pockets became worried, on the short time knowing him, she always saw Steven as a calm and collected person, ready to take on anything that presented itself as a challenge. “Steven, you alright?” But the former Champion ignored her, his mind busy with a variety of projections of the future, analysing every possibility. “Phantom Thief Fox, huh? Fancy seeing her here.” Frederick interrupted. “You know who that Fox is, Frederick? I heard of her from before, but I didn’t get the chance to ask.” “She’s one of Earth’s most wanted criminals,” Layton explained, recalling everything he knew about the subject. “The Fox Steven and I encountered is the current holder of the title, as it’s passed down from generation to generation. This Fox’s base of operation used to be in the Kalos region, before that, in the Hoenn region. Her targets are usually either unsellable items, or items belonging to criminal organizations, and she always returns what she steals.” “That doesn’t sound like a thief to me.” The unicorn pointed out. “She’s not really a thief, but all these airheads of the Ranger Union believe so. Geez you don’t need much brain to realize what she’s really doing,” Frederick smirked “She’s a criminal!” Pockets looked at Steven, who was now looking at them with a look of anger. She got closer, and looked at him with worry. “Steven, calm down. I don’t know what happened or why you’re acting like this, but you need to calm down if you really want to catch her.” “I… I apologize. I’ve been trough a lot of stress since we got here. I’ll just try to breathe and cool my body down.” Steven closed his eyes, and extended his wings, flapping them on a slow and steady pace. But his meditation was interrupted by two long arms that surrounded his chest. Opening his eyes he managed to spot a blue unicorn firmly grasping him with a soft hug. “I don’t know how you do it. You’ve gone through so much and somehow you still manage to remain calm and collected. I’d panic if I was sent to a different world, if I had to leave everything I know behind, Sometimes I wonder what kind of world you used to live in, how you turned into someone so… resolute.” Steven sighed, and looked at the blue unicorn below him, softly and dubiously returning the hug, until his pincers surrounded her soft body. “I met her a long time ago, on the first years of me being a Champion. One of my duties was to protect the region from evil, that included thieves like Fox. I studied the patterns, the way they behaved, ready for the moment which I knew would come. That day, when she appeared right in front of me, stealing the first major discovery I ever made, I was ready. I was ready to face the tall, slim ‘gentleman’ that had used Hoenn as his playground for years. But I was greeted by a trickster girl instead, a prankster that saw me like I was nothing more than a toy. She played us all for fools, broke every single strategy I had planned, her style was completely different than her predecessor. She fooled me and risked years of investigation in a subject I’ve been studying for so long. She gave it back just like that later on, some sort of twisted prank that she thought was funny. A way to introduce the new Fox to the world. Less than a month later, she was already in Kalos, she was gone, out of my reach.” Steven looked at his Metagross, with a determined look on his face, “They say that you shouldn’t cry over spilled milk, I say you should clean the mess instead. A chance for revenge against Fox is a once in a lifetime opportunity, an opportunity I’m not going to waste. Not everything is lost, I may be able to redeem myself, even if it’s something as insignificant as catching a criminal. Thief or not, I’m bringing that prankster to justice.”