//------------------------------// // The First Step for a Trainer... and The First Flop for a Pokémon // Story: Sunset Shimmer and the Land of Pokémon // by The Skyrunner //------------------------------// “…And that’s the general gist of it, Professor.” Sunset said. Sycamore had asked her to detail where she was from, to ascertain once and for all if she was from this world or not. When she said she was from another world still, Sycamore raised his eyebrow in disbelief, but let her continue. She said how she found new friends in Canterlot, and how she mysteriously woke up in a Lumiose alley. “I don’t have any clue how I got here. One second I was relaxing with my friends near the portal to my home dimension, but the next thing I knew, I woke up and this guy,” she pointed to the Pokémon on her head, “was using my hair as a bed.” “Intriguing…” Sycamore said, before smiling. “Well, you seem to have your adventures straight, and I must say, that’s too imaginative to just make up on the spot. In fact, it’s so far-fetched it just has to be true.” The professor laughed, and continued. “What kinds of Pokémon exist on your world, or worlds, I should say? Any particular types abundant?” The professor had that odd look in his eye, the same look Twilight always had when she’s found a new and interesting thing to research – she just has to know it all. “Or maybe you have your own types, which we didn’t even think could exist! Oh, this is so exciting!” “Uhh… we don’t have Pokémon on my world. Either of them. At least, nothing that matches your description of what Pokémon are.” Sunset replied. “Look, professor, I’m happy to help you understand my world, but I really want to get back to it. Is there any way you could help me…?” Sycamore sighed. “Well, I don’t know if I personally could help you…” He said, rubbing his chin. “But I think I know someone who can.” He got out of his chair, and pulled out various maps until he brought out one of a large island, the title of the map reading ‘Hoenn.’ “I have a colleague who lives in Littleroot Town here. He does a lot of field work, but recently he’s helped out the space program in Mossdeep City. They perform a lot of experiments with our Link Cable technology, so they could help you find where your need to go.” “Why would they help me? To be honest, I’m still kind of surprised you believe me about all this.” “To be fairly honest, I’m still housing a modicum of disbelief. However, you can go to them, or my fellow professor Rowan over in the Sinnoh Region,” The Pokémon Professor pulled out a second map, this one of another island with a large mountain range in the center. “He and his students have performed a lot of research into the properties of Space-Time travel and their dimensions. They could help you as well.” “Thank you for your help, Professor, but I’m not sure…” Sunset was quickly cut off by the friendly man. “No worries at all. I did not intend to rush you, mon amie. You have plenty of time to decide on which option to go with. I’m only saddened that I personally cannot help you further.” He tapped his desk, before smiling. “Although maybe I can. Tell me, Sunset, do you know what a Pokémon trainer is? I only ask since you’ve read my tabloids downstairs.” The girl shook her head. “No, not exactly. Though from the terminology, I can guess they’re people who raise Pokémon as pets? There was talk of a ‘championship’ in that magazine, so maybe they train them for a sort of competition?” “Yes and no, Sunset. You see, in our world, when a child reaches the age of, say, 14 or so depending on the region, they can go on a journey. They are accompanied by the Pokémon they make as friends along the way, and they partake in Pokémon battles against other trainers in order to get stronger. The Champion is regarded as the strongest trainer in a given region.” He smiled, looking at Sunset and the Espurr on her head. “If you’re going to be in our world for a bit, why not become a trainer? It could help you understand this world better, as I remember you saying you were a student back on your world.” Sunset thought about this. “Battles? As in, fighting each other?” A nod from Sycamore. “Well, that does seem a bit too much, compared to my own worlds, but it’s the way you do things here… Do the Pokémon enjoy it, or..?” “Yes. We don’t think of Pokémon as simple beasts to do our bidding. Our Pokémon are our friends, our allies. Some people and Pokémon are inseparable from each other, they are so close.” He chuckled. “The Pokémon themselves also enjoy battling, as far as we can tell. They might even be more inclined to do so that the trainers!” Sunset nodded. “I understand that, I think. One of my friends back home is the same way with her animal friends.” She smiled, and said, “Sure, I’ll be a trainer. At the very least, it’ll help me blend in. Trainers travel around a lot from the sound of it, so I should be okay.” “Trés Bien!” Sycamore said. “Now, there are a few things to iron out, but it’s a good thing I’m a professor – We’re kind of the authority on new trainers and the like. First, you need a trainer I.D. card, hold still…” Sunset looked confused, but was surprised when a flash of light from a handheld camera temporarily blinded her. A few seconds later, the camera printed a small card out on it with Sunset’s surprised reaction on it. “There any way we could retake that picture…?” Sunset asked, but she was overall ignored by the Professor as he handed her three more items from a cabinet behind his desk. The first was a brown belt with six holes in it, the second was what looked like an oversized IPhone, and the third being a red tablet. “This is your trainer’s belt, it’ll hold your Pokéballs; that’s an XTransceiver, It’ll let you talk to people from long distances (a personal gift from me), and the last item’s a Pokédex, an essential at-a-glance guide to any Pokémon you point it at.” Sunset took hold of the last one, and found its sensor on the back of the device. Curious, she pointed it at the Pokémon on her head, and clicked the main button. “Espurr, the Restraint Pokémon. The organ that emits its intense psychic power is sheltered by its ears to keep power from leaking out. It has enough psychic energy to blast everything within 300 feet of itself, but it has no control over its power.” The machine in Sunset’s hands spoke this aloud, while displaying images of the Pokémon in question. It also detailed the Espurr’s ‘move list,’ whatever that was. “This is great and all, professor, but aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?” Sunset asked this as tentatively as she could. “I mean, I don’t really know how trainers… well, even train Pokémon. I’ve only been here for a few hours now.” The girl sighed as she placed the device back on the desk. “I’m still… adjusting to the fact that this is my third alternate dimension. Heh, you’d think I’d be used to it by now…” Sycamore nodded. “I can’t begin to imagine how it feels, Sunset.” He reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder, trying to console her. “But, maybe we could take your mind off it for a while. How about a Pokémon battle? It usually helps to clear up my mind, and it’ll help you get used to how my world does things.” “…Yeah, why not?” Sunset asked, looking up with a smile on her face. Her fiery determination shone forth from within her. ”I could go with something to do right now.” She grabbed the belt and wrapped it around her waist, slipping the Pokédex into a pouch on it. The XTransceiver had a wrist clamp, and so she placed it where it was supposed to go. She was about to get up to accept the professor’s offer, when she realized how quickly she was going. “Oh, well… I mean I would, but I don’t exactly have a partner Pokémon… You do need one of those for a Pokémon battle, I would assume?” Sycamore laughed. “Well, yes, normally you would need to get one. However, I would believe a Pokémon has already taken a shining to you.” He pointed to the Espurr on her head, which only stared blankly back at the professor. “I think it would make a great first Pokémon for you. Usually new trainers start with one of a few specially chosen Pokémon, given to them from a professor like myself. And although I think you would do great with the likes of maybe a Torchic or a Fennekin, this Espurr seems right for you.” The Pokémon in question jumped off of Sunset’s head and onto the desk below. It faced the girl, pointed to itself, and had a smiling face and happy eyes. “Esp!” It said, continuing to point at itself. “You’re alright with this?” Sunset asked it, and was responded to with a happy sound coming from the Pokémon. “Well, since my hair is your home now, I guess you could come along with me for now.” The small cat-like Pokémon happily jumped, before Sycamore handed Sunset a red and white sphere. “What’s this thing?” She asked. “That’s a Pokéball. We use them to capture Pokémon who want to come along with us on our journeys. Think of them as little miniature homes for the Pokémon. In addition, any Pokémon you have on you in Pokéballs will automatically show up on your Trainer I.D. card. It’s a nifty little feature I came up with.” Sunset was thankful for the explanation, but was amiss on how to get it to work. Curiously, she pressed a single button she found on the side of the device, and the sphere split open into two halves, before the Espurr was sucked into its confines and the ball closed. “Wait, what the heck-“ Sycamore placed his hand on her shoulder once more, to silently tell her that was supposed to happen. The ball fell to the floor, and shook three times before emitting a small shower of sparks. Tentatively, Sunset picked up the Pokéball, and hit the button again. The Espurr emerged in a show of red light, before shaking itself off and smiling back at Sunset. Curiously enough, ti then resumed its normal blank stare into space. “That means… Espurr is my Pokémon now?” Sycamore nodded. “Indeed. Now, how about we do a little practice battle, as I suggested before? We can do it right here in my office; this Espurr and the Pokémon I will use are too weak to do any real damage.” Sunset nodded, and walked over to the center of the room, where there was more space. Espurr hopped along, following her, and stood next to her leg. Sycamore walked to the opposite side of the room, and threw out a Pokéball to the ground. “Alright, Sunset, time to learn how battles work! I choose you, Mon Amie, Gible!” The ball burst open, and a flash of red light revealed a rather squat, sturdy-looking shark with arms and legs. It had a red underbelly, and a rather large mouth full of teeth. It stretched out, and cracked its neck (For a second, Sunset was puzzled as to where its neck actually was). Following the professor’s example, Sunset pointed forwards. “Alright, then… uhh.. I choose you, Espurr!” And yet nothing happened. Sunset looked down, only to see Espurr staring blankly forward, unmoving. “Umm, Espurr? Something wrong?” No response. “Espurr?” “Espurr, are you alright?” Sycamore asked, obviously worried over the small animal. Espurr blinked once, then walked calmly out into the small battlefield and poked Gible’s nose. Espurr then sighed a little before slapping it across the face while its paw glowed a faint silver. Gible flew backwards into Sycamore, knocked out cold. “Professor! Are you alright?” Sunset asked rushing over to the kind man. “Yeah, that just took me by surprise, that’s all.” He took one look at his partner Pokémon, and laughed. “Espurr used slash, a move that’s notorious for landing critical hits. I guess Gible just couldn’t take it that much, or Espurr’s just that much stronger!” He laughed a bit more before taking out the Pokéball from before, and calling Gible back inside. Espurr simply jumped back into Sunset’s hair, sighing contently. “Was that how a battle is supposed to go..?” “No, not really. Normally, trainers tell the Pokémon what moves to use, and coach them through the battle. Espurr probably just wasn’t used to that just yet. Here, this is a prime opportunity to show you what a Pokémon center is, anyway.” He got up, brushing off his lab coat while walking towards the elevator. “Come on, Sunset, we’ll have that practice battle for real after I get Gible all healed up.” With what could be perceived as a small animal and a large sweatdrop on the back of her head, Sunset followed. “Well, at least this won’t be boring…” She muttered to herself.