Fighting is Magic: The Equestrian Grand Tournament

by Lance Skyes

7: High Speed Showdown - A Storm on Four Hooves

Rainbow Dash didn't have to wait very long before the next round of the tournament began and she would be able to step into the ring. Since the day's schedule was already behind and the sun was already setting by this point, Sombra was doing everything in his power to get the rest of the battles done as fast as possible, which was literally just having little more than a ten minute delay between fights.

Unfortunately for the rest of Rainbow's friends, this meant they didn't have time to go back to the castle to report what was going on to Princess Celestia. If Rainbow Dash wasn't getting ready for the next round, she could have easily flown to the castle, filled Celestia in, and been back before the battle started. But since she was fighting, that wasn't an option.

On the other hoof, there was time for Pinkie Pie to make a snack run. Well, just barely enough time. She didn't get back until almost half a minute before the battle started.

“Hey guys,” she said as she ran to take her seat among her friends. “Sorry I took so long. I had to check the roster. None of you are gonna believe who Rainbow Dash is fighting this round.”

“Who is it?” Applejack asked.

Pinkie was about to respond, but it was right then that King Sombra began the introduction to the next round. “Fillies and gentlecolts, it's time to begin the next round of the Equestria Battle Tournament!” Sombra only paused for a few seconds to let the crowd cheer before continuing. “In the eastern corner, arguably the fastest pegasus in Equestria, co-captain of the Wonderbolts, and two-time champion of the Equestria Battle Tournament, Rainbow Dash!”

Without a millisecond's pause, Rainbow Dash quickly flew out into the arena and into the air, where she quickly flew towards a passing cloud that was just inside of Sombra's force field, rapidly flying around it while striking it so many times, it would have been impossible to see each hit with the naked eye. Once Rainbow had completed several loops around the cloud, though, she backed away to show everypony that she had busted and shaped the cloud into the shape of her cutie mark, causing the crowd below to go wild with cheers.

“Well, she's got good showmanship,” Keldeo commented. “I'll give her that.”

Once Rainbow Dash descended back to the arena, King Sombra went on with his announcement. “And in the western corner, you might have seen him in the arena earlier today, but he's got more than one trick up his sleeve, or should I say around his belt, Pokemon Hunter Colton!”

“What?” Keldeo shouted.

“What?” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“I saw that coming,” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug. “It's not like any Pokemon trainer who battles as competitively as Colton does to just carry around one Pokemon, especially one from the UU tier like Sawsbuck. Or was Sawsbuck RU? I can't remember any more...”

While Pinkie talked on mostly to herself, Colton entered the arena for the second time that day. “Well well well,” Colton said as he walked towards Rainbow Dash. “I've heard quite a bit about you, Miss Rainbow Dash.”

“You have, have you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Well then, you should already know that I can easily take down whatever freaky deer thing you have in your belt.”

“Oh, I wouldn't be so convinced about that,” Colton said with a devious smile as he reached down and picked up another of his Dark Balls. “Allow me to show you another of my prized Pokemon. Go, Zebstrika!” he shouted as he launched the ball into the air. Rainbow stepped back just a little to make sure the ball didn't hit her on its way down. She was right to do that as the Dark Ball exploded and released a waterfall of energy right in front of Rainbow Dash, which reformed itself to form what Rainbow could only describe as a tall and really angry-looking zebra with a spiky white mane running down the length of its back extending into its tail, which resembled a spiky ball. As well, the white marks on its body almost resembled lightning bolts.

“STRIKA!” the zebra roared as it reared up on its hind legs.

“No way!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she pulled out her Pokedex. “I never thought I'd see a Zebstrika with my own eyes!”

“Probably because they don't exist in this world,” Twilight commented quietly. Pinkie either didn't hear this or ignored it as her Pokedex read out Zebstrika's information.

Zebstrika, the Thunderbolt Pokemon, and the evolved form of Blitzle

When this ill-tempered Pokemon runs wild. It shoots lightning from its mane in all directions.

“That Pokemon could probably match Rainbow Dash's speed,” Pinkie Pie said as she put her Pokedex away.

“And its got a pretty bad type advantage over Rainbow Dash,” Keldeo added. “If Rainbow were a Pokemon, she'd likely be a Flying-type, which is something you do not want to use against an Electric-type like Zebstrika. Well, a Gliscor might work against an Electric-type since it's also a Ground-type...”

“So you're using a zebra to fight me?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked up at the Pokemon that was almost a whole foot taller than her.

“Oh, not just any 'zebra'.” Colton replied as he rubbed Zebstrika's side. “My Zebstrika is naturally suited to take on both fast and flying foes, which means there's a better chance you won't win this battle.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you, Colton,” Rainbow Dash said, “but I'm not some weird monster like what you've got in your pockets. I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm really good at defying predictions when it comes to competitions like this.”

“That's just what my Zebstrika likes to hear,” Colton replied.

“Zeb...” Zebstrika confirmed with a nod.

“Alright, combatants, take your positions,” King Sombra announced. Both the combatants made their way to their respective corners of the arena, Colton taking a position just outside of the barrier. “Are the combatants ready?”

“Let's do this,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You ready Zebstrika?” Colton asked.

“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon replied with a nod.

“Then let us begin!” Sombra said. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

“Zebstrika, start the battle with Stomp!” Colton shouted.

“Strika,” Zebstrika said with a nod before charging forward at Rainbow Dash.

“Stomp all you want,” Rainbow Dash said while charging forward. “But I'll go for a kick!”

Right as the two combatants were almost right on top of each other, Zebstrika reared up on his hind legs while Rainbow Dash ducked low and turned around to give the Pokemon a solid buck. However, Zebstrika was just barely quicker on the draw and was able to bring himself down upon Rainbow Dash before she could execute her kick, hitting the pegasus square in the rear with his hooves, knocking her backwards.

“Oh no,” Keldeo said. “I think Zebstrika's faster than Rainbow Dash.”

“No,” Twilight replied, entirely unfazed by the hit her friend took. “She was just being cocky. She always starts her battles this way.”

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had quickly recovered from the hit she took. “Alright, guess I underestimated this thing,” she said to herself. A smile then graced her lips. “I was hoping I wouldn't have to hold back for this guy.” She then charged forward at Zebstrika, a new strategy in mind.

“Zebstrika, use Stomp again!” Colton shouted.

“Strika!” Zebstrika shouted as it ran forward, ready to hit Rainbow Dash again. Just as the two were about to make contact once again, though, Rainbow Dash suddenly darted to the right, causing Zebstrika's attack to miss entirely. In hardly the blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash quickly spun around and gave Zebstrika a powerful kick to the side that knocked the Pokemon back, but he was able to recover quickly.

“You're a lot faster than I thought,” Colton said. Then, with an evil grin, he adjusted his hat and said, “Let's fix that problem, shall we? Zebstrika, use Flame Charge!”

“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon shouted before its body suddenly became coated in flames and it charged towards Rainbow Dash at an almost blinding speed.

“Is it supposed to be able to do that?” Fluttershy asked Keldeo with a hint of worry for Zebstrika's well-being in her voice.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Keldeo replied.

“Woah!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she tried in vain to avoid the flaming zebra. However, Zebstrika was just too fast for Rainbow to react and the pegasus was sent flying backwards.

“Not good,” Pinkie Pie said. “Flame Charge increases a Pokemon's speed whenever it makes contact, so Zebstrika could probably match Rainbow Dash's speed now.”

“We're back in business,” Colton said. “But just in case, use Flame Charge one more time!”

“Strika!” The Pokemon charged forward, once more cloaked in flames, only it seemed to be moving faster this time.

“Not good,” Rainbow Dash said as she picked herself up and tried to dodge Zebstrika's attack. She tried to fly upwards, but Zebstrika leapt into the air after its opponent. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash managed to get just out of range of Zebstrika's attack, and the Thunderbolt Pokemon fell to the ground, its attack dissipating.

“Stri...” the Pokemon growled as it looked upwards at Rainbow Dash.

“Heh,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “What's the matter, Strikey? You can burst into flames but you can't fly?”

“Nopony gives nicknames to my Pokemon but me,” Colton said angrily. “Zebstrika, bring that pony down with Thunderbolt!”

“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon shouted as its mane and the white stripes on its body suddenly began glowing yellow and sparks began flying off its body before a huge bolt of lightning shot out from the Pokemon and right towards Rainbow Dash.

“RAINBOW, LOOK OUT!” Rainbow's friends shouted in unison, but it was too late and the pegasus was struck by the Thunderbolt attack.

“AHHHHH!” Rainbow shouted as she struggled against the pain of the Celestia-knew-how-many volts of electricity. Right as she was sure she was fried, the attack suddenly ended and Rainbow fell to the ground.

“That looked like it hurt,” Keldeo said. “I've been struck by Thunderbolt before, and I know Rainbow Dash couldn't have taken that very easily.”

“You'd be surprised,” Twilight said as she indicated for the Colt Pokemon to look back at the arena, where Rainbow Dash was getting up surprisingly quickly from the hit she just took. “I've seen her get hit by plenty of lightning bolts in the past while she was working with storm clouds.” With a smile, Twilight added, “She's nearly immune to electricity.”

“Not bad,” Colton complimented as Rainbow Dash got up and shook herself off.

“Pfft,” Rainbow Dash said. “You have any idea how many times I take a hit like that per day?” Then, taking her opportunity, Rainbow flew forwards at Zebstrika and gave the Pokemon a powerful uppercut that sent it skywards. Rainbow Dash then took off after it to give it a powerful combo that consisted of two punches, a downward kick that sent Zebstrika hurdling towards the ground, a quick flip kick that gave the Pokemon some more altitude, and to top it all off, a mule kick that knocked it into the barrier, followed by Zebstrika falling about 10 feet to the floor. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash landed perfectly on all-fours.

“And that's what you get for shocking me while I'm off the job,” Rainbow Dash said while dusting herself off.

“KO!” King Sombra announced. “Zebstrika is unable to battle, so the winner of round 1 is Rainbow Dash!” The crowd instantly erupted into applause at this announcement.

“Zebstrika!” Colton shouted as he ran towards his downed Pokemon. “Are you alright?”

“Zeb...” the Pokemon replied weakly.

“You fought well,” Colton said, “but don't worry. I'm not gonna let you lose so easily in the next round.”

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was basking in the applause that she was receiving from the crowd. At the same time, her friends were being completely unamused as was becoming protocol whenever Dash basked in glory.

“She knows she's still got another round, right?” Twilight asked.

“Plus Zebstrika has two moves Rainbow really needs to be careful of,” Keldeo added. “And let's not forget that a Pokemon can know four moves at a time. Who knows what move Colton has in store that he was saving for this round?”

“Am I the only one noticing that Zebstrika can't learn Thunderbolt?” Pinkie Pie asked as she looked up at her Pokedex. “I mean seriously, the closest move it can learn is Discharge, but I don't see-”

“Pinkie,” Keldeo said as he scrolled the paged on the Pokedex down for Pinkie, “you know Zebstrika can learn TMs, right?”

Pinkie looked at her Pokedex carefully for a moment. “TM 22, 23, 24... Oh! That makes a lot more sense.”

At that moment, King Sombra had healed the combatants' wounds and was beginning the second round.

“Hope you're ready for a second thrashing,” Rainbow Dash said to her opponent.

“I was considering teaching Zebstrika Thrash,” Colton replied. “But the moveset I've given him should be enough to finish you without it.”

“Let's get the next round started,” King Sombra said. “Combatants ready?”

“Born ready,” Rainbow said.

“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon roared.

“Round 2, FIGHT!”

Rainbow Dash was eager to take the first move and flew forward at full speed towards Zebstrika.

“Counter her charge with Flame Charge,” Colton said.

“Strike,” Zebstrika replied before rushing forward while cloaked in flames. Both combatants made contact at full speed and continued trying to push against each other for a few seconds. Little did Rainbow Dash know that this was not only dealing her consistent damage due to the fire, but also raising Zebstrika's speed more and more. Finally, Zebstrika's speed was too much and the Thunderbolt Pokemon managed to knock Rainbow Dash away with a final push.

Rainbow was able to recover, but she did have to rub her shoulder a little to get the burning to go down. “Alright, so that plan's out of the question,” she said to herself.

“How pitiful,” Colton said while shaking his head. “This battle will be over in no time. Zebstrika, use Flame Charge once more.” Before his Pokemon executed his command, the two made eye contact, and with his eyes, Colton added ”But be ready to cancel quickly.”

“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon said with a nod. He then turned around and started charging at Rainbow Dash.

“Dash has no chance of matching that speed,” Keldeo said.

“As long as she can get her head out of the clouds and focus on the battle, she still has a chance,” Twilight defended.

“Another fire attack or whatever he called it?” Rainbow Dash thought to herself. “Don't think I'll fall for the same trick a fourth time.” Rainbow Dash then started flying, but in the direction opposite of Zebstrika. “Try to keep up, Strikey!”

“Grr,” Colton growled. “Chase that pegasus down and knock it out of the sky!”

“Zebstrika!” Zebstrika replied while doing its best to pick up its pace. Shockingly to the crowd, Zebstrika was actually managing to catch up to Rainbow Dash despite her flying around the arena at full speed.

“When will this guy learn to quit?” Rainbow Dash asked. Then, an idea popped into her head. “Maybe I don't need him to...” Without warning, Rainbow Dash suddenly hit the air brakes and stopped suddenly, causing Zebstrika to run right past her. “Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she started flying towards Zebstrika, intent on knocking it off its hooves and unleashing a powerful combo.

“Gotcha!” Colton repeated. “Zebstrika, turn around and stop her with Thunderbolt!”

“Zebstrika!” The Pokemon quickly skidded to a stop and leapt up into the air while rotating its body 180 degrees. It then fired its Thunderbolt attack at Rainbow Dash faster than the pegasus could react. Rainbow suddenly found herself getting struck by her second Thunderbolt attack that day, followed by her falling to the ground with a thud. She was able to get up from this attack, however.

“Right where I want you,” Colton said. “Now, Zebstrika, use Swagger!”

“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon said before galloping over to Rainbow Dash. Instead of attacking her, though, Zebstrika did nothing but stand in front of her.

“Are you gonna do anything?” Rainbow Dash asked. Right before she got impatient and took her opportunity to attack Zebstrika, the Pokemon suddenly reached into its mane and randomly pulled out and donned a pair of sunglasses. “What's that supposed to do?”

“Zeb, Zebstrika,” the Pokemon replied while peeking out from behind its sunglasses.

“What's that?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You think a pair of sunglasses makes you cooler than me?”

“Stri,” Zebstrika replied with a devious smile.

“Why you little...” Rainbow Dash growled, apparently not noticing a sudden ringing in her ears. “I'll teach you for thinking you could out-swag me!” Rainbow Dash then rushed forward and tried to give Zebstrika a powerful windmill kick. However, the Pokemon simply took a step back, causing Rainbow Dash to miss completely and fall flat on her face, initiating a chorus of laughter from the audience.

“That's odd,” Twilight said. “It's not like Rainbow Dash to fail an attack quite that badly.”

“She's confused,” Keldeo said. “Swagger is a move that enrages the target and confuses it. When a Pokemon, or pony in this case, is confused, it might fail an attack and damage itself by mistake.”

“But don't forget,” Pinkie added, “Swagger also sharply raises the target's offensive power. If Rainbow can manage an actual hit, Zebstrika will be sorry.”

Unfortunately, Pinkie's bright side wasn't quite put into effect as most of the remainder of the battle was Rainbow Dash randomly flailing about trying to hit Zebstrika but winding up either falling flat or hitting herself in the face.

“Hold still, Strikey!” Rainbow said woozily as she continued to flail. Apparently unbeknownst to her, though, she managed to completely turn herself around and was at the moment flailing around at nothing but air.

“This is just sad,” Colton said with a shake of his head. “Zebstrika, finish this battle off with Stomp.”

“Strike,” the Pokemon replied. It then cantered up to Rainbow Dash and forcefully turned her around before rearing up and sending the pegasus flying with its forehooves. Rainbow impacted hard against the arena barrier and slumped to the ground in a heap.

“KO!” King Sombra announced while trying to stifle laughter. “T-the winner of... of this round is Zebstrika.” Most of the audience was still laughing at the sight they'd just seen, but Rainbow's friends were still concerned for their downed friend.

“Hey, Keldeo?” Pinkie started.

“Is this seriously my job now?” Keldeo asked. He then raised one of his hooves and fired a jet of water that instantly woke Rainbow Dash up.

“Woah, what the-?” Rainbow shouted as sprang back up. After taking a second to shake herself off, she looked to her friends and asked “Uh, what just happened?”

“Um...” was the general answer given by her friends.

“You might see it tonight on PSPN,” Pinkie finally said.

“Zebstrika managed to enrage and confuse you, throwing you entirely off your game,” Keldeo said.

“No way,” Rainbow said. “My performance wasn't too embarrassing, was it?”

“Let's just say more ponies will start calling you 'Rainbow Crash' again when we get home,” Twilight reluctantly said.

“Hang on, I just had an idea,” Pinkie suddenly said. She then reached into one of her snack bags and pulled out what Rainbow could only assume was some type of fruit. It looked kind of like a dried-out strawberry, except it was pink and it looked generally smooth. She then looked over to make sure Colton wasn't paying attention before tossing to Rainbow Dash. “That might come in handy in the next round.”

Despite her injuries, Rainbow was quick to catch the fruit. She gave it a quick sniff and instantly recoiled away. “What the hay is this?” she asked.

“It's called a Persim Berry,” Pinkie replied. “It'll taste really bitter if you eat it, but it'll snap you out of confusion if Zebstrika uses Swagger again. You might wanna hide it, though. Colton might change up his strategy if he sees you have one of those.”

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment before asking, “Where do I hide it?”

“I dunno,” Pinkie replied. She then turned to Keldeo. “How do Pokemon hold stuff?” Keldeo just shrugged.

“Oh for Celestia's sake,” Rainbow said. She then tossed the berry into the air, allowing it to fall right into her open mouth. She then chewed the berry quickly before gulping it down. “Ugh, that tasted awful.”

“Rainbow!” Pinkie shouted. “You weren't supposed to eat it right away!”

“Actually,” Keldeo said, “if Zebstrika uses Swagger early on, the effects of the Persim Berry might still protect Rainbow Dash from confusion.”

At that moment, King Sombra had healed Rainbow Dash. “Well either way, this is my last chance to take Strikey down, so whatever we're trying, let's hope it works.” Rainbow then made her way to her end of the arena, staring her adversary down for one final time.

“I suggest you give up now, miss Dash,” Colton said. “Do yourself a favor and save yourself from another embarrassing defeat.”

“Not a chance, Colton,” Rainbow Dash replied. “No matter what you have Strikey do, I'm going to beat it this time.”

“Combatants ready?” King Sombra announced. “Final round, FIGHT!”

“You might have confidence,” Colton said, “but we've got Swagger!”

Upon command, Zebstrika instantly pulled out and donned its sunglasses.

“Your sunglasses aren't that cool,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew forward and gave Zebstrika an uppercut that sent the Pokemon flying upwards.

“The Persim Berry worked!” Pinkie cheered. “Rainbow was able to resist Zebstrika's confusion!”

“And did you see that uppercut?” Keldeo asked. “Rainbow Dash was able to benefit from the increase in Attack that Swagger causes.”

And benefit from increased attack power Rainbow did. She instantly flew up after the flying Thunderbolt Pokemon and gave it a powerful roundhouse kick that sent it flying right back towards the ground, where Zebstrika impacted loudly and painfully.

“Zebstrika! Are you ok?” Colton shouted. In response to his trainer's voice, Zebstrika slowly got up and shook himself off.

“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon nodded, indicating that it could still fight.

“Not for long, you won't be,” Rainbow Dash said as she started flying back down to attack Zebstrika once more.

“Zebstrika, counter her attack with Stomp,” Colton commanded.

With a nod, Zebstrika readied himself to strike Rainbow Dash the second she was in range. However, right when Rainbow Dash was in range, she suddenly swerved out of the way of Zebstrika's Stomp, quickly taking advantage of her target's lack of balance to give him a powerful kick to the side.

“Ha, whatever Swagger did to me, I think I'm starting to like it,” Rainbow Dash said.

”How was I supposed to know she'd be able to snap out of confusion so easily?” Colton thought to himself as though psychically communicating with Zebstrika. (Which wasn't what was going on.) “Zebstrika, get up and use Thunderbolt with everything you've got!” Colton commanded out loud.

Zebstrika quickly got back to its hoof and nodded in acknowledgment. It then began charging all the electricity it could muster. “Zeb... stri... KA!!!” the Pokemon shouted as it fired a full-force Thunderbolt right at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was unable to react quickly enough to dodge the attack and was hit head-on, resulting in a small explosion that sent Rainbow flying into the barrier.

“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy shouted while covering her eyes. “I can't watch this anymore!”

“I don't think even Rainbow Dash can take much more of this,” Rarity said.

“I think she can,” Twilight said. “Look.”

As Twilight pointed out, Rainbow Dash had easily picked herself back up as though she hadn't taken the hit at all.

“Impossible...” Colton said as he saw the still standing pegasus.

“It takes a lot more than that to take me down!” Rainbow Dash shouted, causing the crowd to suddenly erupt in a collective roar of cheers and applause. Rainbow then directed her attention to the audience. “Who do you guys love?”

Instantly, the crowd began chanting “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!”

“I can't hear you!” Rainbow shouted while bringing her hoof up to her ear.

“RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!”

“Why do you insist on celebrating?” Colton asked. “You haven't even won the battle!”

“Maybe not,” Rainbow replied while looking back to Zebstrika. “But that wasn't celebrating. That was just getting my second wind.”

“Well you're going to need that second wind,” Colton said. “Zebstrika, let's finish this battle. Use Flame Charge!”

“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon shouted as it began charging at Rainbow Dash with everything it had left, cloaking itself in flames all the while.

“It is time to finish this!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she charged back at Zebstrika.

“Is she really that overconfident?” Keldeo shouted. “Charging right into Zebstrika's Flame Charge has failed several times already!'

Nopony had time to respond to Keldeo's comment. Faster than anypony could blink, the two combatants had struck against one another and each were trying to push the other off-balance to get an opening to deal a decisive blow. However, neither were willing to give any ground, despite the boosts Rainbow Dash received from Swagger and the crowd and Zebstrika's flames nearly burning a hole through Rainbow Dash and its speed increasing gradually all the while. Surprisingly enough, after about five seconds, Zebstrika was the one who was starting to show signs of faltering.

“There's no way I'm losing this round,” Colton said to himself. “Zebstrika, cancel your Flame Charge and hit Rainbow Dash with Thunderbolt from point-blank!”

“Wha-?” Rainbow asked as he heard Colton's command. It caught her off-guard for just a split second, but it was just the split second Zebstrika needed to quit pushing against Rainbow Dash and instantly strike her with Thunderbolt. The electricity just about engulfed Rainbow's body and most of the spectators were sure she was finished. However, Rainbow Dash wasn't. Despite the attack that was still hitting her, she summoned all the strength she had to rear her forehoof back and hit Zebstrika with a single punch right to its face that knocked the Pokemon backwards and broke the attack. The crowd's reaction was an instantaneous deafening roar of applause, but Rainbow Dash didn't bask in this sudden glory. Instead, she took advantage of Zebstrika being off-balance and grabbed the Thunderbolt Pokemon before flying up into the air with it.

“Is she using Sky Drop?” Pinkie asked as she watched the two combatants flying further into the air.

“No,” Twilight replied. “I'm just going to assume that whatever attack you're describing, it has something to do with Rainbow Dash throwing Zebstrika down to the ground at full force. That kind of attack was banned in the last few tournaments, and I doubt it would be different now.”

“Spot on, Twilight,” Keldeo replied. “But the only other move I know of that would involve Rainbow flying up into the air with Zebstrika is...”

“Submission!?” Colton finished as he realized what Rainbow Dash was doing. “The fool! She's as injured as Zebstrika is. She'll KO herself with the recoil.”

The first half of Colton's prediction was perfect. Right as Rainbow Dash almost hit the height of the arena barrier, she instantly began flying back down towards the ground, Zebstrika still held tightly in her grip.

Colton needed a way to get his Pokemon out of this situation. Fast. “Zebstrika, get out of there with-”

CRASH!

The sound of the impact was almost loud enough to rock the entire stadium. It probably would have if the impact itself hadn't beaten the sound to the punch. Either way, a huge cloud of dust instantly engulfed the battlefield around where Rainbow and Zebstrika hit the ground.

“That looked like it hurt,” Applejack said after a while. “Ah hope Rainbow Dash is ok.”

“I think she is,” Twilight said. “Look!”

What Twilight was pointing out was that the dust was suddenly clearing due to being blown away from the inside out. Within seconds, most of the dust was gone and instead was Rainbow Dash flapping her wings to create a wind strong enough to clear the dust, a fainted Zebstrika lying behind her.

“She did it!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“KO!” King Sombra announced. “Zebstrika is unable to battle, so the winner of this round of the Equestria Battle Tournament is Rainbow Dash!”

“NO!” Colton shouted as he ran towards where Zebstrika lay. Once he got to his downed Pokemon, he knelt down and placed his hand on Zebstrika's side. “Are you ok, Zebstrika?”

The Pokemon slowly opened its eyes and looked over to Colton with a weak smile. “Zebstrika...” it replied weakly.

“I'm sorry you got hurt so badly,” Colton said as he pulled out Zebstrika's Dark Ball. He then retrieved Zebstrika. “Don't worry. I'll make that Rainbow Dash pay for how badly she beat you.”

“You will, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked as she walked up to Colton.

Colton got up and faced the pony whom he towered over by almost a whole foot. “I have more Pokemon that are stronger than Zebstrika. If we see each other later in the tournament, (and trust me, we will), I'm going to make you pay for how badly you hurt my moneymaker and partner.”

“Partner?” Rainbow asked.

“Ah, no, not that kind of partner,” Colton quickly revised. “But still, you're going to pay for this.” Colton then turned around and walked off.

“What a jerk,” Rainbow Dash said. “I wonder if he'll change his tune if he had to take me on in a one-on-one battle.” Rainbow punched the air real quick to emphasize her point, but was stopped when a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. “Ow,” Rainbow quickly said as she massaged her shoulder. She wasn't entirely unscathed from the finishing blow she dealt Zebstrika. Fortunately for her, that was about the time when King Sombra healed her and the injured Pokemon in its Pokeball. Rainbow Dash then looked up at King Sombra, who had finished casting his spell and was then leaving to prepare for the final battle of the day. “I'll take you down, for Spitfire and for Equestria.” Rainbow then noticed out of the corner of her eye her friends trying to get her attention. Without hardly turning her head, she instantly backflipped into the air and flew over to her friends, opting to remain flying upside down. “What's up, guys?”

“What was that last move you pulled off?” Twilight asked. “If you had managed a double KO, King Sombra might have given the win to Colton for the sake of furthering his plans and getting you out of the tournament.”

“But I didn't and he didn't get the chance,” Rainbow replied. “Your point?”

“My point being that was reckless and you could have put Equestria in more jeopardy than it already is,” Twilight replied.

Rainbow Dash reoriented herself and sat down next to Twilight. “Look, how else did you think I was going to take advantage of the opportunity I managed? I took enough of that thing's attack to keep me from pulling off a combo, it had enough speed at that point to finish me quickly had I let it recover, and I was losing my second wind fast.” Rainbow Dash then leaned back and put her hind legs up on the seat in front of her. “Besides, not a lot of options makes for a pretty spectacular finish, don't ya think?”

Twilight was at a loss for words. “I guess you've got a point,” Twilight sighed. “But I'm only dropping this conversation now because I'm sure the next battle's starting soon.”

Aside to Pinkie Pie, Keldeo whispered, “Is there some kind of thing going on between those two?”

“A lot of ponies are saying it has something to do with an unrequited love,” Pinkie replied. “I dunno if it's the truth or not, but it seems likely enough.”

“Aw, how sweet,” Keldeo said. His forte wasn't romance like someone else he knew, but that didn't mean he wasn't a sucker for such a thing.

With that explanation out of the way, the seven ponies readied themselves to watch the final battle of the night. The “Mane” event.

Author's Note:

Before anyone starts complaining, I have no idea how the moves Swagger and Flatter exactly work, and I've no idea how Pokemon hold any items other than Mega Stones. (I know they hold items with their hands, but I mean hold items in a way they don't get in the way during battle.) So with that, I apologize if I managed to Confuse anyone with this chapter.

Oh, and don't think Colton's gonna keep losing like this. He's got some stronger Pokemon still in his belt. (Well, one's just stronger in terms of type and the other in terms of what I have in store for it...)

Also, who here's getting SSB4 for 3DS? I know I am. (Plus, doesn't that theme sort of seem like it has vague elements of MLP in it? Or is that just me?)

Comments

[Lance Skyes]

4996529 Honestly, so am I.

[Green Akers]

Silly Colton—real Pokémon trainers roll with Jumpluffs.

Great chapter! But I have to ask: What happened to Chapter 7? This one's marked as #8.

[Lance Skyes]

5022296 Chapter 7 doesn't exist. Chapter 7 never existed.

Lol, not really. I'll fix that. Thanks for pointing it out for me.

[Lance Skyes]

5095189 Well then...