Chapter 14: Passing the Torch.
Ponyville Day 1
'Talking with that mare is always.. The Doctor paused trying his best to think of how to describe Pinkie without making it sound like she was mentally unstable. (1) “Strange? Or does that still make her sound like a loony?”
“Who?” Ditzy asked stepping into the room.
“Pinkie Pie.” He answered,”Apparently her Pinkie Sense went wild and now she’s going around checking up on everypony.”
“Probably because of the Pokemon.” Sparkler said as she followed her sister. While her stays in Ponyville had only ever lasted a few days at a time she knew the Element of Laughter was a sweet mare but as random as they came. On her last visit to Ponyville to take Dinky to the Sisterhooves Social. the mare had practically Tackled her to the ground screaming about itchy Fetlocks and warning her not to eat the crepes. The next day she had ended up with food poisoning from, surprise surprise, a blueberry crepe that a filly named Sweetie Belle had made. While she didn’t know the mare as well as Starshine it was enough to convince her that Pinkie was worth hearing out if nothing else.
The Doctor nodded,”A god bring millions of souls to another planet sounds like a doozy to me. Oh and now that I think of it I imagine Cheerilee will cancel school today.”
Ditzy smiled and kissed his cheek,”Well at least she has a new friend to play with. Pip will probably be over once Cheerilee makes it official.” Turning to Sparkler she grinned,”We should probably get another batch of muffins going to feed our small army of guests”
Sparkler smiled,”You bet.”
“You two have fun and don't over do it.” He called after them with a small grin as he recalled the last time the pair had decided to bake and how they had had enough baked goods to last a month. “Don’t need to go throwing out anymore food aye Derpy?” His grin redoubled when he heard her laughing from the kitchen.
Turning he walked back into the dining room he found only Loki floating above the table with the last muffin clearly enjoying the treat. “Where’s everypony else?”
The ghost shrugged,"Not my job to keep tabs on everyone." He then vanished from sight while the muffin in his child hands remained quite visible. The Doctor stood there giving him a perfectly neutral expression, neither moving nor speaking, staring patiently. It only took forty seven seconds of this to irritate Loki as a single red eye cracked open to scowl at the Doctor.
...
[Neutral Face]
...
[Neutral Face]
... "What!?"
[Neutral Face]
Both eyes opened to scowl at the Doctor,"Cut that out!"
[Neutral Face]
LOki sputtered,”C- cut it” [Neutral Face]
“Try the backyard!” Loki cried as he he phased through the nearest wall and out of the house.
The Doctor smirked to himself as the the temperature in the room rose a couple of degrees,”Still got it.” He turned and made for the back door already hearing voices talking and stepping out into the lackluster lawn he found Nova the source of the conversation.
“- the fact that you could use such a powerful attack speaks volumes on your potential.” Nova Paused and took a deep breath. “That being said, that was the most pathetic excuse for a battle I have ever seen.”
The look of pride on Allen’s face withered faster than the roses that the doctor had tried to plant last summer. (2) “W-wha-what!?”
Nova shook his head displaying his disappointment in the former human,”I came to for a short time after Sparkler came to to my aide.” He fixed a stern glare on Allen who withered a little more,”What I saw was deplorable. I don’t care that you have the instinct to use strong fire-type moves! Talent is no excuse for sloppyness”
“Wha? But I… and Flare Blitz!” Allen babbled.
“I wouldn’t care if it was Blast Burn!” Nova shouted. “It’s completely pointless to use a powerful attack if you never hit your opponent!” Nova stopped and gave the Rapidash a measuring look,”You never even touched Nightmare. She dodged every one of your strikes. Hell even Loki got one or two in!” He snorted causing two puffs of black sulfurous smelling smoke to jet from his nostrils,”Which brings me to my next little problem. Why, when it became apparent you weren’t going to hit her did you not change tactics and use Fire Spin from a distance?”
Allen’s mouth opened and closed a couple times,”I… I wa-, I did…” Allen’s ears drooped and he lowered his head,”I didn’t think to. I was just angry.”
“Exactly!” Nova snapped. “You threw out anything even resembling a rational thought and just kept attacking. And ignoring the damage you were causing yourself.” The volcano Pokemon frowned,”Sound like someone we know?” The former human pinned his ears back and scowled at him; but he said nothing. “Your battle with Nightmare Moon was no different than any battle Drakarus has been involved in. The fact that the fate of the world hung in the balance only makes what has to be done all the clearer.”
Allen’s ears perked up at that and he met Nova’s hard gaze,”What?”
Nova reached up and scratched at his chin,”I’m going to make a mon out of you.” Allen’s hopeful look went deadpan faster than light. The Doctor; whom had been watching the exchange entirely uncertain of how to proceed face hooved.
“Seriously?” Allen deadpanned.
“Dawn would have laughed.” Nova replied clearly not ashamed.
Allen sighed,”So where do we start?”
“It’s more a matter of when.” Nova turned to the Earth stallion still standing in the open door. “Doctor how far is this… Canterlot from here? You mentioned that you couldn’t use your TARDIS for a while.”
The Doctor nodded,”Yep, until the Vortex stabilizes traveling by TARDIS is a bad idea. Fortunately it’s only a few hours by train.”
"Good. Can you show me where it is?" The Fire-type asked getting to his paws and making towards the open door.
The Doctor nodded,"It's not that far to the station. You mind if I ask you some more questions. My mind is just buzzing."
"No problem Doctor. Allen for now I want you to rest."
"What? Why?" Allen asked. "I feel fine."
"Just take it easy." Nova replied. "Just don't do anything excessive." Allen sighed but nodded. "Alright Doctor lead on."
The pair left the walled off yard and moved quickly to the front door. Pausing to work the not he opened the door and stepped aside to let Nova out first. "Blimey! Wut's that!?"
Looking down Nova saw a small lanky colt standing at the door, his forehoof raised to knock. The Doctor smiled and greeted the foal,"Oh hello Pip. Let me guess, school's closed until further notice?"
Pip gave the older stallion an awkward grin,"Right again sir." He then locked his eyes on the Pokemon that stood towering over him,"So is this another one of those things I'm supposed to forget I saw?"(3) After another moment taking in Nova he smirked,"Heh, or did Dinky get a pet?"
Nova smiled down at him and dropped to four legs, this brought him closer to eye level with the colt, "I'm no one's pet boy."
"Whoa it can talk!"
The Doctor chuckled,"Nova this is Dinky's friend Pipsqueak. Pip this is Nova."
"Nova Swans." The Volcano Pokemon corrected nodding towards Pip.
"Nice to meet ya."the colt greeted before turning back to the Doctor,"Is Dinky home sir?"
The Doctor just smiled and stepped aside to let him pass,"She should be playing in the backyard." Pip grinned and quickly trotted into the house. "Now then, to the train station."
"Lead on Doctor."
"Pip!" Dinky cried happily running up to the colt. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be heading to school?"
"Miss Cheerilee cancelled class today because of all the monsters running around." Pip explained.
Dinky smiled brightly,"Yay no school today! We get to play all day Veevee!"
Pip stopped and gave his friend a curious look,"Who?"
"That would be me." Replied a voice to his left.
"Whoa!" Pip cried jumping and spinning around to face the source. "This one can talk too!"
"All Pokemon talk." said yet another voice, this one older and obviously male. "They just tend to speak their own language."
Pip again spun to face the one talking, and could only gawk at what he saw. Slowly walking towards them from the shade of the wall, was a pale looking unicorn whose mane and tail blazed like blue fire. "Blimey! I bet you could look Princess Luna in the eye!" With a bright smile Dinky made the introductions and Pip looked back up to the former human with awe. This lasted a few moments until he asked,"Why does your mane look likes it's on fire?"
Allen smiled at the colt's curiosity,"It basically is. I'm a Fire-type Pokemon so flames are a pretty common thing for them to have." Seeing his next question coming Allen continued,"Pokemon is a term used to describe the various species that lived on my old world."
Pip latched onto one thing,"You're an alien!?"
Allen laughed,"That's probably the most accurate description for me I've heard in the last two days."
"So then then this is some kind of invasion?" The colt asked sounding unsettled.
Allen smiled and shook his head,"Naw we're more like refugees I guess. Though, I wish I could've had a chance to visit Slateport again before this happened."
"What was in Slateport?" Veevee asked sounding curious.
The former human gave a sad sigh,"It's where my parents are buried... or at least my dad. They never found mom's body." Before he could say anything more something grabbed his foreleg and began to gently squeeze.
Looking down, Allen found it was Dinky hugging him and giving him a sad look,"I'm so sorry."
"What happened to 'em?" Pip asked.
Dinky shot the colt a glare that the Fire-type missed,"I was very young, only about seven. It was the cataclysm, a bunch of natural disasters that happened because of some really bad people trying to use Pokemon to change the surface of the world." Allen sighed again,"Mom was a Ranger, She helped people and Pokemon, but when she didn't come back to the shelter my dad went looking for her... that was the last time I ever saw them."
Allen gave himself a light shake,"But hey? How would you like to hear about the time I accidentally challenged the strongest person in the country to a battle!?" Hopefully the subject change would get his mind off the grim topic.
Veevee looked horrified,"How do you accidentally challenge a Champion?"
Allen smiled and settled himself down on the grass,"Well I'll tell you."
"Yeah story time!" Dinky squeed excitedly as she released his leg and lid out on the grass next to Pip who seemed just as eager to hear about an alien world. Veevee curling up on the other side of the filly.
Walking into the dinning room behind her sister Sparkler caught sight of Allen’s azure tail as the back door swung smoothly closed and leaving the room empty. They made for the kitchen off to the right of the room, Ditzy stopping at the entrance with a suspicious smile,”Ta Da!”
“What are you doing?” Sparkler asked walking into the kitchen only to stop dead at the unfamiliar room. "Whoa."
"We remodeled!" Ditzy cheered excitedly, looking like an oversized filly prancing around on her hoof tips.
Sparkler just gawked, there were two massive ovens that stood side by side and took up half a wall by themselves. Opposite them was a deep sink that could hold a great deal of dishes before overflowing onto the ample countertops. At the far end of the spacious kitchen was a walk-in pantry sealed behind a pair of richly stained cedar doors. "Ditzy! This is amazing! You could open a shop with a set up like this!" Sparkler said slowly spinning around in an effort to take in more of the room.
The older mare gave her sister a knowing smile,"Well that's the plan."
"No way!?" Sparkler couldn't believe her ears. It had been Ditzy's dream to run a bake shop since they were foals(4). "How in the wide world of Equestria did you afford this?"
"The Doctor paid for it. He wants to make an addition so I can have my shop but we had to build the kitchen first." She explained as she walked to a cabinet and removed several deep bowls stacked inside each other.
"Turner payed for this!? Sparkler asked alarmed. "Where the hay did he get that kind of money?" She stepped into the pantry finding it fully stocked and gathered up several ingredients in her magic. Tally had flitted off her horn and seemed comfy looking down on them from his chosen perch atop one of the many counters.
"It was money from the E.U.P." Ditzy paused,"I wonder how Celestia knew we needed the bits?"
"E.U.P.?" Sparkler gave her sister a searching look,"Are you saying that Princess Celestia just showed up here with a big bag of bits and gave them to you!?"
Ditzy smiled and nodded,"Pretty much. He didn't want to take them, but I wasn't about to pass that up! And know I'm one step closer to being back on track."
"What did this have to do with the E.U.P.?" Sparkler asked as she set out the ingredients and started measuring them with her magic.
"Celestia said he was still on the payroll. I guess he worked for them when he was a lot younger. It was like two hundred years worth of back pay."
Sparkler gave Ditzy a worried look,"Two hundred!?... Sis just how old is this guy? He's not really nine hundred... Is he?"
Ditzy as still smiling as she nodded,"I guess you could say I like older stallions." She joked.
"Older? Sis that's impossible!" Sparkler protested.
"It's really not." Ditzy shrugged as she reached out with a wing and set to mixing the batter. "The Doctor is an alien. He's from another planet and he's the last of his kind." She paused and frowned,"He was all alone."
"The last?" Sparkler asked shocked. 'What must that feel like!?' "That's awful." The two continued to prepare the batter in silence for several minutes until four; ten muffin trays were slid into a single massive oven. In total it took up only one of the two racks. They began prepping the next batch Sparkler asked,"So when we're you gonna tell me?"
Ditzy looked up from pouring the batter into another ten tray,"The kitchen? In my next letter it was just great to surprise you in pony instead."
"Not the kitchen." Sparkler replied. "About Turner? Or the Doctor! Or what ever his name is! About Time travel and aliens and how dangerous this this!?" Sparkler's voice cracked as she started to tear up.
"Sparkler? I..."Ditzy stammered rather surprised that she was reacting this way. "I wanted to tell you but, Celestia told me I couldn't."
"Princess Celestia?"
"The stuff that happens around the Doctor... it's classified. Top Secret. Nopony is supposed to know. I wanted to tell you it was so exciting to think about time travel and how big and I possible the the universe is... But she said that couldn't happen but she offered something in return."
"What's that?" Sparkler asked as the timer for the first batch went off. She opened the oven and used her magic to remove the hot trays.
"Your scholarship." The first tray clattered to the floor sending bits of baked good all across the kitchen tiles.
"Wh... what?" It was no secret that she was riding on a full scholarship but to discover that it was paramount to a bribe from the Princess. Sparkler was struggling to wrap her mind around it. "How? How did she know? Was it your idea?"
Ditzy shook her head,"No she came to Ponyville one day shortly after I started traveling with the Doctor. She knew exactly who I was. She knew about you and Dinky too." Ditzy stopped and smiled,"And thinking about it it's not that surprising, I was there the day she lost Luna. She cried herself out on my shoulder."
Sparkler smiled softly,"One of your hugs would stick in a ponies mind, even after a thousand years." Ditzy smiled and wrapped her in a tight hug before draping her grey wings over them both. "I just wish you'd stop letting Turner call you that."
"Call me what?" The grey mare asked not understanding.
Sparkler pulled back from her sister to give her a dumbfounded expression. "Call you? That awful name you used to get called all the time when we were foals... You used to come home in tears because they wouldn't stop calling you Derpy!"
Ditzy raised an eyebrow,"Is that really it? Is that why you've been so cold to him?" Sparkler wouldn't look her in the eye but slowly nodded. "Being called that hasn't bothered me for a few years now. That's thanks to the Doctor too."
Sparkler blinked,"What?"
Ditzy nodded again,"I was in a funk about how I'd just gotten fired from the moving company... You remember? When I dropped all that stuff on top of Twilight Sparkle?"
The younger mare giggled a little,"That was pretty bad."
Ditzy nodded,"It really was. But I was all depressed about losing another job and just when I thought it couldn't get worse the universe proved me wrong." Sparkler frowned seeing where this was going already. "I was sitting on a cloud when some of the ponies from the move stumbled onto me. And start tearing into me just saying the most horrible things. After a while they even said I should just jump off the cloud and do Equestria a favour." Sparkler gasped and pulled her sister into a tighter hug which was gratefully returned. "I left when that started and they just kept following me calling me Derpy and telling me to 'do it'. They must have thought it was a great way to pass the time."
Ditzy sighed,"That was when The Doctor showed up. Most of them were stallions telling to 'do it' and he assumed the worst." Her voice took on a dreamy tone,"He swooped in like a lunatic grabs my hoof and whispered 'Run'. I didn't even hesitate I went with him and those jerks left me alone. When he asked what that was all about I just broke down and unloaded on him. I don't know how long we sat like that with me just crying into his chest blubbering like a filly. Then he told me something." She paused and cleared her throat so she could imitate the Doctor's voice and accent," 'Your life is precious to those who know the true you, you matter deeply to those ponies. However the world has more ponies like them than it should... So never who and what you are, the rest of the world certainly won't let you. Embrace it with pride! Wear it like armour and it can never be used to hurt you again.' ... I think I'll remember that for the rest of my life."
Sparkler didn't know what to say, that Turner had done that for her was mind boggling. "I- I didn't know."
The older mare smiled,"That's probably why I fell for him. He saw me and not my condition. It's just how good the Doctor is."
Sparkler nodded,'Guess I should lay off the guy.' He thoughts were interrupted as a scent caught her,Smoke?'... "The muffins!" Lighting her horn as she spun on one hoof she opened the door and levitated out the remaining three trays looking them over to see how badly they had burned.
Ditzy giggled,"We kinda got distracted huh?" Sparkler laughed as well and busied herself with the task of cleaning up the spilled baked goods. After the floor was clean, a quick task with magic, they put the next batch in. "Sooo?" Ditzy asked in a mischievous tone. "You and that Allen guy were getting pretty close back at the Hall of Legends."
He had them right on the edge of their metaphoric seats, the three youngsters looked up starry eyed as he added some artistic flare to the tale.(5) In his opinion he had just reached the best part,"So there we were, Nova was just barely able to avoid Alder's Conkeldurr and he had just evolved."
“Looks like things just got serious.” Alder said still grinning like a kid at Christmas. “You ready to rumble Conkeldurr?”
“Duuuuurr!” It replied taking a combative stance.
“Lava!” Nova growled before using Quick Attack to relocate to Allen’s side of the field.
Allen gawked at his evolved friend before Nova gave him a hard look, causing the boy to grin, “Then we’re gonna fight to win! Right Nova!?”
“Lava!” The Volcano Pokemon declared.
"Alight Nova use Flame Burst again!" Allen cried. the Fire-types cheeks puffed out briefly before he spat the explosive chemical at the larger Fighting-type.
Without any kind of signal from Alder, the Conkeldurr dropped one of its concrete pillars and raised the other with both hands. In the span of a half a second it had taken a batting stance and swung at the just the right moment catching the attack with the makeshift bat. Had the attack not been an volatile explosive it might have sailed into the sea. As it was though the move detonated on contact creating a fireball a few feet wide, just enough for the flames to lick at the Fighting-type face. The blast also set even more cracks into the the pillar and sent the champions Pokemon a few steps backward and coughing a bit.
Taking advantage of the opening Allen called the next move,"Quick Attack!"
Nova was off like a bullet and slammed into the Conkeldurr with all his might. Unfortunately this proved to be a big mistake, the Pokemon only took a single step back to brace itself and grabbed Nova with both hands.
"Well that was faster than I thought it would be." Adler said sounding disappointed. "Guess it's time to end this. Conkeldurr use Seismic Toss!"
The Muscular Pokemon wrapped Nova in a ursa hug and leaped into the air. Allen could see him wriggling in the stronger Pokemon's grasp and he wracked his brain to think of a way to counter. 'This is bad! One hit and he'll go down! I have to do something!' The Conkeldurr and Nova were about to reach the zenith of the jump,'No time!' "Nova Extrasensory!"
"What!?" Adler asked surprised.
In the Fighting-types grip Nova turned his head to the side and glared up at his opponent. He blinked and his eyes glowed blue,"Lava!" The sound of Nova's voice echoed in the minds of the two trainers and the spectators who had gathered.
The mental shriek was more than the Fighting-type could bare and he realised Nova to clutch at his head. "Conkeel!" It cried.
Now free Nova twisted in midair and lashed out with as much will as he could muster. The psionic force was enough to send the Conkeldurr plummeted towards the ground faster than its freefall should have allowed. Nova fell in its wake and when it hit the ground Nova used it to cushion his own landing. He then used Quick Attack to put distance between him and his opponent.
"Are you alright Conkeldurr!?" Adler cried alarmed at this turn of events. "Get up buddy!" It took an effort but the Muscular Pokemon slowly got to its feet with the help of one of its concrete pillars. "You still good to go!?"
"Conkel." It nodded still leaning on the pillar.
Adler gave a relieved sigh,"Thank Arceus." He turned to look at the young pair that stood opposite him and laughed,"You two are just full of surprises. It's not everyday you see a Fire-type use a psychic move. You're gonna be one hell of a trainer some day."
Allen could feel the crowd's eyes turn to him and hear the muttering rush through them. It was high praise coming from a Champion.
"Quilava!"
Allen looked to see Nova giving him that same hard look and he smiled,"You're right Nova." Allen gave Alder a hard look,"Save it for when the battle's over Alder! Nova, Smokescreen!" The Fire-type took a deep breath.
The Champion smiled again,"Mach Punch."
It was over in a flash, had Allen blinked he might have missed it altogether. Time seemed to freeze for a few fleeting seconds, as if Dialga himself had turned his steely gaze to the battle. In that brief span of time he saw the Conkeldurrs fist connect with Nova's gut, the shock he felt was dwarfed by the look of panic on his Pokemon's face. He was sent flying backwards and slammed hard into the ground only a few feet to Allen's left. When the dust cleared, Nova's eyes were spinning in his head and the crowd started to cheer for Alder.
Allen almost jumped the distance,"You alright Nova!? Gently he raised his friend up into a sitting position. His eyes still spun in his head and dark red blood started to trickle from his nose.
"Quiiill." He groaned raising a shaky paw to massage his temple.
"Oh I'm sorry buddy." Allen said hanging his head. "I know you hate using that move."
Nova gave himself a little shake and smiled up at Allen,"Laa quil quil quilava." He gave his trainer a proud grin and gave a thumbs up with his paw. He held the pose for a second or so until a two large spurts of blood jetted from his nose,his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.
"And that's the first time we lost to Alder." Allen said smiling down at the foals who stared back stray eyed.
"Wait?" Dinky asked,"What do you mean the first time?"
Allen laughed,"Oh we met him again a couple times. He liked to wander around Unova a lot. I kept challenging him and lost every time."
"Then why keep trying?" Pip asked confused,"If they were that much stronger why even bother?"
"The second time we met him Nova insisted on a rematch. The third time he challenged me, said he wanted to see how we were progressing." Allen his mind back on earth if only briefly. "After that it just sorta went like that. We'd run into each other and battle and I'd lose. That's just the the a Pokemon trainer is we battle and grow alongside our Pokemon."
Pip cocked his small head to one side,"But what's the point if you lose?"
Allen smiled remembering asking his mother a similar question after Nova hatched. "Winning is all fine and good." His mother's voice echoed in his mind,"But defeat and failure are even more important because they teach us to get back up whenever we're knocked down. It teaches you that even if you fall short that it's not the end and just means you have to push even harder. You have to keep moving forward."(6)
The little colt looked extremely confused,"I guess that makes sense. But how did you just not give up?"
"If we gave up every time we met someone stronger than us we never would have left Castelia. In the end what mattered was the effort itself." Pip still looked like he didn't understand and Allen shrugged,"I guess you'd have to be a Pokemon Trainer to understand."
Dinky got a big grin,"Hey am I a trainer? Cuz I've got Veevee and she's a Pokemon!"
"There's a lot to being a trainer." Allen answered,"But you two are already such good friends so I'd bet you'll be a great Pokemon Trainer Dinky." After a moment he turned to the little Normal-type,"Hey Veevee what moves to you know?"
"Um I know Growl, Tackle, Sand Attack, Helping Hand and, Detect." She answered.
"Detect huh? That'll be useful. Other than that your move set is pretty standard." He looked towards the sky and hummed to himself,"once we get back from Canterlot I could have Dawn show you the basics for Iron Tail. Should come in handy against Fairy-types."
"Really!?" She asked excitedly.
"Sure you can pick it up quick with such a talented Trainer." He replied winking at Dinky.
"I don't know." Pip said with some hesitation,"You really think your mum will let you two wander all over Equestria by yourselves? I mean she usually will have poked her head out two or three times by now to check on you."
"Yeah your probably right Pip." Dinky said sounding dejected.
"Oh don't fret Dinky." Allen said with a big grin. "You don't have to go on a journey to be a trainer either. It's mostly about making a bond with your Pokemon." Allen paused as a thought crossed his mind,'I wonder.' He rose up to his hooves and tried to reach for the strap on his new saddlebag, as it turned out his foreleg didn't bend that way and he dropped back to the grass with a frustrated grunt. "Lousy Rapidash body. Why couldn't I have been an Infernape they have hands, hell even paws would have been more dexterous that these things. I could have pulled off a Luxray!"
"What are you trying to do?" Pip asked stepping up.
Allen sighed,"I was trying to get into my bag. I might have something to help you out with being a trainer Dinky."
"Really!?" She squealed excitedly. "What is it!?"
"If I could just root through this bag I could be certain."
The little filly bounced around,"I can help!" Her eyes locked onto the clasp and her face scrunched up in a way that nearly melted Allen's heart then and there.(7) A small spark flashed from her horn and he felt something tug at the straps around his belly. Dinky growled and grunted with the effort of using her magic and just as Allen was about to tell her to stop before she hurt herself, the little filly gasped. "Got it!"
Allen felt the strap loosen and his bags rolled off his back into the long grass. He ignored them and gave the filly a concerned look,"You okay Dinky?"
She gave her head a little shake,"I'll be fine. My magic is still coming in."
The Fire-type nodded, he hadn't realized that magic was a skill that had to be taught like anything else. Though Sparkler had been the only other unicorn that he had seen use magic. "Thanks Dinky." He turned and nosed open the first bag sticking his entire head into the interior. "These Bits sure do take up a lot of space don't they?" After a few more seconds of digging through the bag's contents he laughed triumphantly. "Ah ha! There you are!" He emerged from the canvas bag with something made of red plastic gripped in his teeth. " 'ere 'inky ah ant oo a ave 'is." He gingerly laid it on the grass and pushed it to her with a hoof.
"What is it?" She asked picking the object up with her own hooves.
Allen smiled,"That was my PokeDex. But I want you to have it now."
"What's it used for?" Pip asked eyeing the device critically. "Sure doesn't look like much."
The former human gave them a knowing grin,"Do you see that little glass eye on the top of it?" Dinky examined all four sides before spotting it and nodded. "Point it at me and see what happens."
Dinky held the it in her hooves and pointed it at him. Immediately the device slid open and a stock photo of a Rapidash came on screen and began to identify the Pokemon it saw.
"[Rapidash. The Fire Horse Pokemon. Normally quite docile these Pokemon can be found in open plains and grasslands grazing. They are extremely competitive and enjoy racing with other Pokemon. This Pokemon has been clocked to run at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour and when healthy can reach such speeds in as little as 10 steps.]"
The brief description ended and the two foals stared wide eyed at the PokeDex. "H-how did it do that!?"
Allen grinned,"A PokeDex is like a Trainer's field guide. It can identify a Pokemon and give you a lot of information on it. Here push that middle button there."
Pip pressed the tip of his hoof on the small button and the device spoke again.
"[Moves known. Stomp. Fire Spin. ℃β¿©√=... Move Unknown.]"
Allen raised a skeptical eyebrow,"Okaaaay that's never happened before. That last one should have been Flare Blitz." He began trying to puzzle it out,'Could it be damaged?'
"This is so cool!"Dinky squealed and ran into him full force wrapping him in a surprisingly tight hug . "Thank you Mr. Allen!"
"Any time Dinky." He looked between the filly and the little Normal-type. "I bet you two will be great."
Ultimately a losing battle.
A disaster that involved two structure fires, said stallion having his tail burned off and a star going Super Nova… It was quite a day.
Being friends with Dinky, He's seen his share of weirdness. Though he doesn't actually know about time travel.
4. The biggest challenge had been saving the bits, which had been working until Dinky's father came along, some scum called Control. After 3 months Ditzy was head over hooves in love, one month later Control was gone leaving her bitless and pregnant.
5. Not outright lies but every good story deserves embellishment. Admittedly he never had to battle any ninjas that day... THAT DAY.
6. Yes I ripped that from Disney nd no I don't care.
7. Allen's weakness is not Water, Ground or, Rock-types... it's kids.