A New World, a Fearful Way

by Votederpycausemufins

ch. 50 attack

“Rise and shine everyone! I came to visit!” A mare burst in the door, waking quite a few pokemon up. A few of the smaller ones, after realising who the pony was, scrambled over to her to give her a hug or two.

Ire came drowsily down the stairs along with Derek the Machoke, Richard the Gardevoir and a very chipper Delcatty.

“Great… Copper, what are you doing here?” Ire asked.

“I haven’t been over to visit in a while.” The police pony answered. “I also wanted to see how Ben was doing since he officially started to live here.”

“He’s probably in Ponyville right now. Now can you be a bit quieter? I’m gonna try going back to sleep.” Ire told Copper, going back upstairs as she finished.

Derek smiled a bit as he watched the pony leave. “Well, I guess it’s just time to explore the town.” The one-armed Machoke mumbled before turning to Copper. “Any good places to visit around town?”

“Yeah, a couple. Do you know where the train tracks are from here?” Copper asked.

“No, but I’m sure it would be a hard place to miss in this town.” Richard replied as he nuzzled the Machoke.

“Well the door is facing towards it and that way is North. You want to head East for about three main streets then head South and you’ll find yourself at the town square. If you’re trying to find anyplace to explore, start there. You can find all the good places around there.” The mare explained.

“What about a nice restaurant that accepts gems as payment?” Derek replied. “Diamond dogs don’t use Equestrian currency so we’ve only got gems.”

“Well, there’s also a bank right in town square too. They recently started to exchange gems for bits for any pokemon with those on them instead of bits since a bunch of ground and rock pokemon were trying to use them.”

“Makes sense, We’ll head there first then… What kinds of restaurants are here? Or are they all vegetarian only?” Richard asked.

“Actually, there are a bunch of hippogriffs that live nearby, so you can find one or two nearby. Besides, a couple of ponies like to eat there too since, believe it or not, ponies can eat some meat. I know Kiwi liked to eat at one restaurant near where she worked. Goes by the name of Stardust’s Eatery.”

“We’ll ask around for the place then.” The Machoke said with a smile. “Come on Richard.” The two of them quickly made their way out of the pokemon center so that they could enjoy some time together in town.

“Just make sure you mention you have connections with Kiwi. She’s Stardust’s favorite customer and she usually gives a desert on the house if you tell her. But, just so you know, Kiwi also told me that if you want to get it, you also have to use the word ‘caddy’ when she asks for it. Don’t know why though, ‘cause I haven’t tried it yet.” Copper Star told them.

“Alright, we’ll be sure to do that.” Richard said as he smiled, practicing a bit more with his telepathy.

Emma let out a small groan as she began to wake up, her first thoughts were immediately on the little bundle of fur at her side. “Mick... “ She cooed, earning a groan from the little Cyndaquil. She simply smiled as she curled up around him to keep him warm. “Maybe next time you won’t challenge a gym leader after only having a little training under your belt.

Mick let out his own groan, whatever he was trying to say though was lost in whatever he mumbled except for, “...get ‘im next time…” He curled into a tighter ball and pressed his back against Emma’s side.

Out from the next room came Blissey, leading a bunch of the young pokemon. “Oh hello there!” She greeted Mick and his friends. “Are you going to be joining us to the park this morning?”

Emma smiled a bit as she looked over the little Cyndaquil. “It might actually be a good idea, give him a chance to be the child that he never got to be on earth.” She looked back over to the Blissey. “Would you like to hold him on our way to the park?”

“Sure! I can do that!” Blissey exclaimed, picking up Mick and giving him a big hug. “Now, to the park!”

---

Emma took a deep breath as they finally reached the park. “The last time I was at a place like this there was a bug catching contest going on.”

“I’ve been helping to take many of the young pokemon here to play everyday, though it would be better if they fixed the other park up since it’s closer to the pokemon center.” Blissey told the Quilava.

Emma nodded. “Well, perhaps you could ask Allen… He is an Aggron after all and they’ve been known to terraform mountains back to their old beauty because a forest fire happened.” She bites her lip a little though. “I… I heard that he got in a fight with a Cacturne last night though… Is he alright?”

“I’m sure your friend is fine! I don’t believe Cacturne would cause too much harm.” Blissey tried to reassure Emma.

“I wasn’t talking about Allen, I know he could handle himself… I was talking about Cacturne.”

Blissey suddenly got a little nervous. “Well, he’s as fine as he’s ever been. Though I’m not fully sure what that is exactly. He hasn’t seemed as happy since he brought his friends over to the center.”

“It’s good that Allen didn’t hurt him too much… what were they talking about to get Allen so mad?” Emma asked with a raised brow.

“Didn’t really hear, I’m sorry. But I think I did hear something about, I think it was a Grovyle.”

“He told us that he got arrested on the night that his Grovyle had admitted her love for him… It actually sounds like something he could get mad over.” The Quilava sighed before looking up at the playing pokemon. “It looks like Mick’s having some fun.”

For once, it seemed that Mick was truly acting like the child he was. He was eagerly playing tag with several of the pokemon who had come with Blissey to the park. The little Cyndaquil happily chased a Pichu along one of the paths that circled the park, slowly managing to gain on the little electric mouse. “You’re gonna be it!” He called out with a laugh as he started to pour on the speed. Suddenly, the pichu stopped as his cheeks started to spark, letting Mick run into him. Mick let out a small grunt as he collided with the Pichu.

The small mouse pokemon looked a little scared as his cheeks continued to spark, a little quicker than a few seconds before. “Um… a-are you okay?” Mick asked with concern as he slowly got up.

“Look out!” The Pichu finally exclaimed, pushing Mick out of the way as a Thunderbolt hit where he had just been standing.

“Yah!” Mick shouted as he rolled onto his back. His eyes shrunk a little as he tried to figure out where the bolt came from since the Pichu hadn’t tried to attack him. Emma quickly got up from where she was sitting with her ears alert. Delcatty, who had also followed the group, also got up and raced towards the two small pokemon.

Out from some foliage nearby came a Raichu. The pokemon looked somewhat angry and almost seemed like he was glowing from his all electricity. “Get out of here! All out you!”

Emma raced to put herself between the Raichu and the basic pokemon. “What do you want you bully?” She growled as her flames lit up over her body. “Don’t you know it’s not right to pick on kids?”

“Really?! Kids are just weak! In fact, I rarely meet such a weak bunch. I bet you’re just as bad as them!” The Raichu yelled before he was hit with a Double Slap. Delcatty was already set for a battle. She had an angry look on her face as well, much different from her normally chipper personality.

“You’d be surprised… It’s not easy to take on the league challenge back on earth, getting to the seventh gym in the league is no average feat.” Emma replied before unleashing a Flamethrower attack at him.

After hitting the Raichu, he disappeared into nothing. Then from behind both Emma and Delcatty were hit with Thunderbolt. Emma let out a pained grunt as she was struck, her head whipped around to try and get a look at the Raichu. The mouse pokemon was already heading towards many of the smaller pokemon which were trying to hide behind Blissey. Mick stood defiantly between the two as he took in a deep breath, only to unleash it as a strong Ember attack seconds later.

The attack hit Raichu, but he barely reacted as he sent a quick Thunder Wave toward Mick and the others, paralyzing a couple of the pokemon towards the front. A whip-like strand of fire streaked towards the Raichu, also hitting him and sending his face into the dirt. “I don’t think it would be wise for a pokemon such as you to pick on such little kids, where are your manners?” comes a smooth, male voice. The Raichu got up to see a blood-crimson unicorn stallion, his slicked-back orange mane seemed to have it’s own sheen to it. “After all, what good is the society that your dear Arceus dropped you into if you were allowed to hurt mere children simply for being so brutish?” He continued in what seemed to be an unplaceable noble accent.

“I- I don’t… Just stay out of it! This is between me and them! Now get out of here before I decide to electrocute you too!”

At that the unicorn took a sharp breath as his small smile faded to a frown. “Well… you see, I can’t do that, since what you’re doing right now is against the law. As much as I would not say that I am an officer meant to arrest you, many of the police stations around Equestria don’t mind a bit of assistance.” He replies as he lights up his horn again. “Now… we do have a couple ways this could go... You could either leave and we can pretend like this didn’t happen, or I can hog-tie you and bring you to the local station.” He finished with a smile. “Not all ponies are as pathetic against you pokemon as the ones in ponyville.”

The Raichu just kept glaring at the unicorn before he called out, “Flora, take over for me will you?” Suddenly the Raichu’s face seemed to calm down as he attacked with a Thunder Punch. The stallion’s horn brightened a little more as a crimson shield sprouted in a dome around him, glowing brightly at the site of the impact. The crimson pony grit his teeth a little as he kept the shield up.

From the sidelines, Delcatty started to cover her ears as something started to irritate it. “Seems like both of us together are hurting your friend.” A more female voice came from the Raichu. “I don’t think Plama will be able to finish without help, so I’m not going to be the one who stops first.”

The crimson stallion fixed his composure as another wave of red went through the shield, reinforcing its strength as a whip of flame came out of the shield at the Raichu. “Do forgive me, but these are simply citizens that I am helping out, not friends yet.”

The Raichu was protected from the attack by a shield of his own. “I suggest you not try that too many more times. The average unicorn can not usually attack with a spell of that magnitude too many time while also maintaining another spell.”

He let out a breath. “You see, that’s the difference between me and an average unicorn… an average unicorn spends their life dedicated to one school of magic, I have spent my life dedicated to all nine.” He replies as a flame seems to leap from the shield before growing into what seems to be a pony-shaped creature made completely out of fire. “I am a fire disciple, no mere unicorn.” The pony-fire construct landed on the ground next to the Raichu, its posture was ready for battle. “Your move… mouse…” The crimson stallion scowled.

“Oh, you shouldn’t be that excited to battle us.” The female voice came again. “Really, I find myself a little *Yawn* tired of you. What about you?”

“I find it a bit tedious that I have to clean up a mess the guards shouldn’t even have to. I mean really? Picking on kids? Not even the lord of Tartarus would want such a thing…” The crimson pony had the fire-construct punch the Raichu.

The pokemon was able to dodge in time. He let out a quick Flash to try and make it a bit harder for any attacks to land on him. “Oh don’t worry, we’ll take care of the ones we like. Just because Gale isn’t around anymore doesn’t mean we can’t do what we’ve always done.”

The stallion let out a sigh. “You’re still doing something illegal here… oh well… It looks like I won’t be able to resolve this peacefully.” He sounds… a bit happy… that he wouldn’t have to bring the Raichu in unharmed. “A shame really, the police don’t like it when I rough up the perps.” The stallion smiled as lightning arced around his horn. “Pray tell… have you ever been subject to a lightning spell? I know that you electric types are resistant to the electricity of other pokemon, but spells seem to have a fairly normal effect on you all.”

“A spell like that could possibly be redirected by me. Besides Plasma’s speed will most likely be able to help him get out of the way in time. Now, just how much protection can your shield actually give you?”

“That still begs the question, why would you risk going up against a fully trained soldier just to hurt some innocent bystanders?”

“We train them young. The best way to try and find any potentially good mon is to put them in danger. Now, if only our one friend was here, we wouldn’t even bother with them anymore. We might just use you instead. Besides a battle of seven on one should be enough to finish you soon enough.”

“Oh what little intelligence you have… The police are already on their way, and you were recorded.”

“Hmm, let’s see. Hoofington police huh? A few weeks ago many of them were… hurt from their building being partially demolished by… What’s that? Ah, just a Mightyena. Believe me, They shouldn’t be too hard. Oh! And it seems one of their best stallions is away as well. And you’d really want them to hurt his friends?” The Raichu told the stallion.

“Well then, it looks like I shall simply have to put a curse on you instead… I would slay a monster such as yourself, but since you’re fighting by proxy it doesn’t feel very sporting.” He smirks a little. “So what say you to letting him control his own body so that I can let them know it was his own fault that he decided to fight me?”

“Hmm, let the pokemon that has trouble choosing anything himself without getting a headache battle you, or have me do it for him. Oh, It’s so hard. Why not put the others in distress for a third option, shall we?” The voice said as a cry came from a few of the younger pokemon and Blissey. Emma quickly bolted over to the group of pokemon, trying to find out what caused the shout.

Over near them was Cacturne, looking like he was ready to attack them at any moment. One of the younger pokemon, a Minccino, try to attack him, but he didn’t seem to care as he swatted at it.

“Now, what do you think your main focus is now?” The voice asked the stallion.

The stallion seemed to mumble a few words before a bunch of webs shot away from his horn to coat the Raichu in order to slow him down.

“So, choosing us then. Cacturne, have fun with them while I work on this pony will you?” The voice called out. “Now, let’s see how tough your shield really is.”

Mick managed to sink his teeth into Cacturne’s leg and fire flow freely from his mouth as he kept his grip tight. Then, instead of ignoring Mick, Cacturne reacted by saying. “Hey! Get off! Is this for me making your friend angry last night? Because it was his fault."

Mick didn’t say anything and continued to let the flames pour out as his back lit up. “Ow! Dude! Turn the flames down! Do you want to help burn the building… down? Uh, when did we get outside?”

The crimson stallion sent a sphere of fire at the Raichu. He wasn’t about to get out of the way in time as the attack hit him, blasting him away. “Great, Now I need to use somemon else. Glameow should do for this.” The voice complained.

“Wait, what’s Glameow doing up? And was that Flo-AAHHH!” Cacturne tried to say before he was stopped.

“Just finish up with them why don’t you!” The voice asked, this time coming from Glameow.

“I don’t think so…” Richard said as his eyes began to glow blue, lifting the Cacturne up. “I get the feeling that you’re someone who should be behind bars.” The Gardevoir stated as a Machoke stood next to him.

“No! Don’t hurt him!” Blissey exclaimed. “He’s not doing anything!”

“He was also supposed to be back at the Pokemon Center, wasn’t he? And Mick’s setting him on fire, so I do apologize if I find that hard to believe.” Derek replied.

Cacturne used Toxic against the Embrace pokemon, poisoning him. Richard grit his teeth as he tightened the psychic’s hold on the Cacturne.

Derek rushed forward to use a Mach Punch on the Glameow. Right before it could land, an amoonguss came out from the crowd that was forming and took the attack instead. The Machoke frowned as he brought his fist towards the Amoonguss again. The pokemon took the hit again, but used Spore to stop any more attacks. Richard scowled a bit as the Machoke fell, he dropped the Cacturne in order to send a Psychic attack at the Amoongus. The second Cacturne got the chance he used Venoshock.

“It’s really hard to stop us when each one knows exactly what’s happening to the other. If it weren’t for this pony here, we’d be finished already. But five is a little much for right now, so here’s your one friend back.” The Glameow voiced.

Emma scowled at the Glameow, “Evil pokemon like you will never win, you shouldn’t have been here in the first place, you should have been left to rot with all the other evil beings that Arceus left behind!”

“I’m just finishing my job. We were so close back home, but now that everyone is gone, i’m just trying to get back where we were.”

“Bushes left of the big elm tree.” Cacturne said. “Flora’s there. Now get off me you stupid Cyndaquil!” He finished, shaking his leg vigorously to send the Cyndaquil back towards the group of pokemon. Mick landed on the ground with a grunt of pain.

“Great, guess it’s time I come out anyway.” Flora said. A Musharna floated out from the bushes, sending a Shadow ball at Cacturne to get rid of him. “Pity he wasn’t acting right, four pokemon to control just doesn’t feel right.”

Emma let out a Flamethrower attack at the Musharna. The pokemon put up a protect at the last second. “You’re wasting time, and you don’t have much left. Choose what you really want wisely. Me or them.”

“If I get rid of you I take down the mastermind behind it all, while my other friends have your goons covered.”

“Right, yes. I’m surely the mastermind. The whole reason I brought up another name earlier couldn’t possibly suggest something else.”

“You’re the one with the freaky mind control powers, thus, bringing you down will help bring the others down.” Emma smirked as she charged with a Flame Wheel.

“And there goes my second last trick.” Flora said as one more pokemon came out to keep her from getting hurt. A Heracross stopped Emma with Brick Break, though not without suffering a burn from the attack as he sent the Quilava flying. A streak of lightning shot towards the Heracross so that it could hit and chain towards the Musharna. The attack hit, but Flora was still in the fight from using others to attack the whole time.

“Well, it was fun knowing you all,” She said as the pokemon she was using collapsed on the ground. “But I really must be going.”

Flora started to leave as a few of the young pokemon were picked up into the air. Among them were a Chikorita, a Cleffa and a Surskit. Shortly after being picked up, the Cleffa started to cry. Glameow was the first of the collapsed pokemon to get up. “I give her ten seconds.” She said.

After ten seconds passed, Flora turned back about and gave them back. “I can’t do it! They’re better when they hatch from eggs! Take them!”

Emma gave the Musharna a confused look as the young pokemon were practically thrust at her. “Wait… what?” She asked as the sudden disappearance and reappearance stunned her.

“She hates kids” Glameow replied. “Look, would you rather keep doing what Gale wanted and risk being beat up by the Absol, or work with us and her.” Flora instantly took their side. The Quilava continued to look on in confusion, not sure why teammates hadn’t been on the same side in the first place.

“Are we getting pranked or something?” Emma asked.

"Listen, everymon knew about Absol and just about everyone promised if she came back we were going to follow her instead."

“So why did she try to steal these kids?” Emma asked as she put the young pokemon down so that they could go back to Blissey. “Are you guys the bad guys? Or is she?” Emma’s eye twitched.

"Gale and Grumpig are the real villains in this whole thing. Flora just likes to follow whoever she thinks is best at the time like me."

“That doesn’t make any sense…” Emma said to the Glameow with a frown.

"We generally don't make sense. Now can we just get everyone back to the center? Also, I'm hungry. Anyone have something to eat?"

Richard shook his head. “Derek and I had reservations already at… ugh…” The Gardevoir stopped as he held his head and collapsed to the ground. Emma yelped a little before darting over.

“Anyone have a pecha berry?!” She called, looking pointedly at Blissey.

"Did anyone bring one?" Blissey asked the kids. A small Fennekin raised it's paw as the spoink next to it threw one over. Emma caught it and began feeding it to Richard.

"Alright, I'm going with them to get food. I'm guessing you're going back to the center, but what about the unicorn?"

The stallion smiled and bowed to the Blissey. “Asmo Deus, you may call me Asmo. I was actually out here in Hoofington for a small vacation, I came out on the last train but I shall be going back to Canterlot soon. I’m afraid that this town hasn’t sparked my writing inspiration as much as I wanted it to.”

"Great, fine you still didn't tell me what you're doing."

“I’m going to be taking the Raichu to the police station and then simply touring the town till nightfall. He did break the law after all.” Asmo replied.

"After they find out who he is they won't take him. Angela already made them promise to send all of us to the center. Besides, Plasma is rather unstable. Keeping him captive just make it worse."

“And you expect him to simply run free because of that?” Asmo replied with a disbelieving brow.

"Listen, while it probably wasn't too long, he was most likely controlled before your encounter with him. It affects us almost like we're still being controlled a little. Again, Flora's got more fault here than him."

“He attacked the children before Flora took over… it wasn’t until I stepped in that she was controlling him.”

"Can you at least talk to him first before you decide what to do?" Glameow asked

“Why? He specifically stated that he attacked the kids because they were weak.” Asmo replied.

"She's right," Flora said. "That was left over from me, which was technically left over from Gale."

“You shouldn’t even be talking right now.” Asmo stated. “You’re in just as much trouble.”\

"They didn't kill anyone!" Glameow exclaimed. "Angela has killed a couple mon before but everyone loves her!" She finished.

“And yet you want to join a murderer?” He asks with slight confusion. “It doesn’t take a good person to be loved. Take the solar princess of Equestria for example, she banished her sister to isolation on a desolate rock for a thousand years because her sister wanted some of the attention she had. To this day she still is adored by her ponies while her sister is shunted to the side.”

"Oh my gosh! I'm done! You know what? I'm gonna go find Plasma and take him home instead. I'll eat there too so you guys go ahead."

Emma sighed before she made her way to the stallion. “I… Thank you for helping… but… I think we can handle it from here.” The stallion let out a small breath. “Seriously… we’re good.”

“Fine…” Asmo replied before he turned back towards the crowd and walked off.

Emma let out another sigh. “So… still… I don’t get why you guys attacked the kids, out in the wild basic pokemon are hunted for food, but… we’re in town and Arceus himself said we’re supposed to obey the laws of the country we’re in.” she said to the Glameow.

“The police themselves thought gathering up the pokemon we know and keeping them where Angela is was better than just keeping them locked up. A bunch of the pokemon Gale worked with ended up pretty badly. Now if you excuse me, I’m leaving.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you guys attacked the kids!” Emma growled.

“I wanted the kids to train like Gale would, but normally they don’t cry so much. I don’t know why Plasma was trying to scare them away. Maybe he was trying to help even though some of me was still left on his chip when i was controlling him last.” Flora explained.

Emma put her paw to her head before she made her way back over to Mick. “This… This is just giving me such a headache… we really need to get out of this town…” She muttered as she picked up the little Cyndaquil.

After the pokemon had come back and she heard what had happened at the park, Bluegrass ran to her store. It didn’t take too long for her to get there by running, but she was still nervous that she had been too slow.

---

“Let’s see… Ah! Here are some healing herbs, and here’s the tea pot.” Bluegrass took a green tea pot with some flora designs down from a shelf in the back area. She put a contraption on it and put some of the herbs inside the pot.

Running around some more, the mare filled the tea pot with water and found a match. She lit the contraption, creating a small fire that was just under the pot. She grabbed the handle and picked up the pot and mobile fire contraption. After making sure the pot wouldn’t fall. Bluegrass made another.

When both were done, the mare grabbed them both and started to run back to the center with a bag of extra herbs as well.

As soon as she returned, Ire and Quarry started to help get the tea to the various pokemon that had come from the park. Bluegrass made sure each of the pokemon got the right kind of tea.

After all the tea was gone and the herbs were too, Bluegrass sat down to rest. Ire walked over to see how her cousin was doing after that large task.

“So, did you learn that from Grandma Wishful?” The unicorn asked.

“Yeah, she taught me when she thought Ah was old enough and saw Ah was taking an interest in plants. Though mah herbal teas were never as good as hers.” Blue said with a little laugh.

“Well, she was also a unicorn and her talent was tea making.” Ire looked from the ground to Bluegrass. “She moved a little while after you left, so I don’t know how she’s doing. Is she…?”

Blue grass gave a sad nod. “She died ‘bout seven years ago. Ah’m sorry that ya never heard.”

Ire shook her head. “No, it doesn’t matter. No one really remembered me anyway. That’s why I like Quarry so much. Her sticks by me no matter what I do, and he actually makes it so I won’t alway do something that could end up killing me too.

“Hey, Ah’m back now. Do you think you can forgive me?”

Ire hugged her cousin. “Yes, I can.” Then she pulled away and gave the earth pony a light punch. “But don’t think I won’t still pretend to hate you.

Bluegrass shrugged. “Eh, Ah can live with it.” She started to walk away. “Ah’m gonna go watch for that Gardevoir and Machoke if ya don’t mind.”

Ire waved her hoof. “Nah, go ahead. Ah’m good.”

Bluegrass laughed at the bad attempt at an accent from her cousin before going back outside.

---

“Ah! There they are!” Bluegrass said as Derek and Richard came in. “Wonderin’ when you two would be gettin’ back.”

The Machoke sighed. “It’s not easy walking home with to-go desserts and a drunk Gardevoir… I’ll tell you that much.”

“Oh stahp it… I carried home ths desr.. desss… dessrt!” Richard slurred as he shook the bag of ice cream.

Derek rolled his eyes at the Gardevoir. “Anyway, how are you guys?” He asked Bluegrass.

“Not good!” Bluegrass said, sounding panicked. “After ya left, Some of the pokemon just got up and left, which was weird ‘cause for a while they haven’t benn doin’ anythin’. We’ve even had trouble getting them ta eat. Then when they came back they brought two more. One of them was this orange mouse lookin’ on which was just like the other were before. The only good news is that the Glameow, it’s doin’ fine again, but now Cacturne isn’t responding.”

Derek blinked a few times. “Aw…” He sighed as he hung his head. “Can you put the ice cream in the freezer… I’ll try to see what I can do.”
“Yeah, Ah can do that for ya. Ah can also take your friend to a bed if ya want me ta.”

“That would be nice… I’m no nurse Joy but I’ll try to see if I know what’s going on with them.”

Bluegrass was able to get Richard on her back and grab the bag in her mouth carefully. She nodded to Derek before heading to the kitchen to put away the frozen treat and then head upstairs to the bedrooms. Derek quickly got lost on his way to the rooms of the injured pokemon. After Bluegrass set the bag in the freezer, she told him. “Ya wanted to go in the room on the opposite side of the main room, the one right of the entrance.”

“Thanks, sorry… not used to this place’s layout yet…” The Machoke replied with a sheepish chuckle.

“That’s fine, everyone gets lost here at some point.” Bluegrass explained.

The Machoke nodded and made his way to the injured pokemon room. When he got there, he saw Blissey tending to many of the pokemon. The one group she kept going back to consisted of the pokemon that had attacked everyone at the park. Watching them was Flora and Glameow. Derek walked over to the Blissey. “So… uh… need any help with anything?” He asked hopefully.

“Just tend to any pokemon you can. Many of them are just scared after what happened earlier today, but some have it worse that others.” She told him glancing over to the side. He nodded and made his way over to a small group of pokemon to see what he could do.

Flora was floating all around the group tapping each one again and again to try and wake them up. Glameow, who was watching her, just sighed as Flora started to tap them even faster.

Derek took several looks over the group before he took a deep breath. “It is my professional opinion…” He started, waiting for someone to prompt what he was about to say. He looked around for a few seconds, trying to make sure that at least someone had their attention on him. Glameow looked toward Derek, glad to have something else to focus on while Flora paid no attention and continued to try and wake her friends up. “...That I have no idea what to do since I have no formal training in the school of medicine.” He admitted. “Although I will try to help.”

“Thanks, but I’m not sure if anything you try will really help.” the cat like pokemon said.

“So… What happened to them?” Derek asked.

“A while ago, a bunch of us were captured and taken to be part of this sort of experiment. A woman named Gale was the leader of these people and tried to make even some of the weakest pokemon as strong as they could be. Eventually, she got frustrated with some of the pokemon not obeying commands and used psychics. After a while it proved to be somewhat worse than before and a chip was developed to be implanted in each of us so some of the psychics could keep track of us. The one downside of it was using it too much would affect the pokemon’s personality and even more than that could make them non responsive for a while. That’s the case here with these guys.” Glameow finally finished.

“So… I’m guessing that there’s pretty much nothing that we can do…” Derek guessed as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Only thing I can think of is if we can find some of the other psychics. If the personality is close enough to their own, it won’t hurt them as much. That’s one of the reasons Cacturne is there now instead of me.”

“The only psychic pokemon I actually know is Richard… but he’s kinda drunk right now.” Derek admitted.

“That wouldn’t work. The thing affecting it is the chips we have, and the only pokemon that have those are the other pokemon we lived with.”

He nodded. “So… while we’re just waiting… have any hobbies?”

“Not really.” Glameow told him. “Unless you count what I did before, which was ten hours straight of training then time for resting.”

“Well… Mick would certainly want training.” Derek offered, “Probably not ten hours worth at once… but he’s getting close to the point where he’ll evolve.”

“If he needs to, I could probably help. At least until you guys decide to leave.” Glameow suggested.

“What would you suggest for him?”

“Don’t know. Haven’t really gotten to meet him yet, what with the whole not responding business and such.”

“He should be back by now though… he was with Blissey before Richard and I left.”

“What is he? Maybe I’ve seen him.”

“He’s a Cyndaquil.” Derek replied.

Glameow pointed to a Cyndaquil who kept passing the door in the next room over. “That him over there?” She asked.

Derek had a confused look. “Yeah, he’s the only one who has blue eyes… but… he looks depressed.”

“Well, let me go meet him. Flora, don’t do anything You and I will regret you doing alright?” The Musharna gave a quick nod before going back to trying to wake the pokemon up. Derek watched as the Glameow got up.

Mick was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself as Emma and Gwen sat off to the side with worried looks on their faces. “M-Mick?” Emma tried, though she got no response from the mouse pokemon as he continued pacing.

“This is him?” Glameow asked Derek. “Doesn't seem much like the fighting kind of pokemon right now.”

“I don’t know what’s up with him… usually he’s ready to take on any sort of challenge, no matter how big.” The Machoke explained. “He tried to stand his ground against a Gabite… uh… he… well… actually, now that I think of it, he did get pretty upset the other day.” He looked over to the Glameow. “He wants to speak with Arceus… and… I’m not sure he even knows what he wants to speak with Arceus about.”

Glameow walked up to the pacing Cyndaquil. Since he wasn’t really paying attention, she place one of her paws on Mick head to keep him from moving. It managed to stop him immediately as well as direct his attention at her, it only took a few seconds before his eyes widened and he glared at her. “What do you want?” He growled.

“Someone said you wanted to train to get stronger. Want some help? I’ve got nothing better to do.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, he wanted to shout at her and tell her to mind her own business… but in the end, something else won out. “...yes…” He replied meekly.

“Good, now before we actually train, I want to see what you can do. Start by just attacking me which whatever you’ve got. I’ll tell you how to improve from there.”

“Don’t we have to be in a place that doesn’t risk putting the injured in further harm?” Mick asked as he indicated the care rooms around them.

“Yeah, fine. There’s a place outside nearby we could go. We could also use the basement, but all the water pokemon are living there.”

“What place do you mean?”

Glameow mentioned the old hideout Quarry and Ire had when Lea was still captured. It wasn’t to far from the building they were currently in, just on the opposite corner of the block. Mick grudgingly accepted, but only after Emma and Gwen said that they would go along as well.
In a few minutes, they had arrived at a place that looked like a building had once stood there, but what was left just looked like a bunch of burnt rubble. Mick was preparing himself as they walked, he didn’t want to fail… again, the thought made him frown a bit as he mentally berated himself.

“Alright, show me what you’ve got little guy.” Glameow told him, almost sounding like a full fledged order. The Cyndaquil glared a little as he sprinted forward, lighting up his back as flames licked the edges of his mouth. Glameow stood there until the last second when she jumped over him. He twisted to unleash his flames up into the air. The attack was able to hit Glameow, though only barely.
Mick rolled into a stable stance again as he kept his gaze on the Glameow. “Good, now try to keep up.” She said starting to run as fast as she could in circles around him. He smirked a little as he let the flames stoke again, he curled into a ball and began to roll while keeping himself coated in fire.

Giving a small smirk, Glameow took a small leap into the air and used Double Team.

The inefficient burn of energy quickly extinguished itself as Mick had to force himself back into a standing position. “Double team? That’s an easy move to look through.” He replied as he let his senses search for the large cat.

“Not if I keep making it harder.” Glameow told him before using the attack again and creating two more rings on copies going around him.

Mick took a deep breath and unleashed an ember attack that spread out in a ring around him. A bunch of the copies disappeared from the attack, but none of them were the real pokemon. The Cyndaquil kept his senses alert as he searched for the Glameow. He took a small breath as he let his fire warm up again. “So… where are you?” There was no answer from the cat like pokemon. He let out another gout of flame, though there was getting to be a risk of setting at least something on fire.

From somewhere in the surrounding area, Glameow called out. "Do you want to stop and get some real training now?"

“You’re really not taking this seriously!? And here I thought you actually wanted to help, not just be lazy about the training and not do anything.” Mick scoffed. “If that’s the case I’d be better off fighting wild pokemon, I’d certainly learn more from them.”

Glameow came out from a large pile of rubble. “I'll take that as a yes then. First, your quick change of changing your direction for attacking was good, but you want to try and expect the change before it happens for a more effective attack. Next, you want to keep track of an opponent using double team, you should try to watch for an extra shadow, since technically the copies themselves are shadows and cannot make one of their own."

And so, the training went on in a similar manner as the day drew to a close. While the little Cyndaquil didn’t find the Glameow’s presence enjoyable… he did manage to tolerate it enough to be willing to learn from any source of knowledge he could. Emma picked up the exhausted Cyndaquil and walked with Gwen back to the Pokemon Center. “Thank you for training him…” the Quilava said hesitantly as she still eyed the Glameow with suspicion.

"If you come back later, we can work some more on making you stronger." Glameow offered.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath…” The Quilava responded. “You did attack us at the park… and still supposedly have that weird mind control stuff in you, I’m honestly surprised I let him train with you in the first place since that pokemon is still out there doing who-knows-what to other innocent pokemon.”

"Fine, but just so you know, it was working. His attacks we a little bit stronger than at the start."

For what it was worth, the Ekans gave her a smile. “Thanks for helping him.” She said before she slithered to catch up with the hasty Quilava. “Emma! Slow down! You know I can’t move that fast!”

"Fine, I'll just stay here. You two have fun." Glameow said as she waved goodbye. The Ekans smiled back again and waved her tail at her before taking off after the Quilava.

---

“So, you guys are finally leaving? That’s good.” Ire said after hearing Mick and his friends were going to head to the train to catch one to Ponyville.

“Ire, that’s not nice!” Bluegrass exclaimed. “Ah’d say they were wonderful company while Lea an’ her friends are out of town.”

Allen gave a shrug. “It is good, It means we can finally keep goin’ on the quest our little friend Mick started. We gotta speak ta Arceus after all an’ get Professor Elm’s research notes from our world.” The large metal dinosaur explained while he held Emma and Mick on his shoulders.

Glameow ran up to the others. “Hey, since you’re leaving, mind doing me a favor? And by me, I mean all of my friends too.”

Mick gave her a curious look. “What favor?”

“You know when Plasma and Flora showed up at the park? And Flora used a couple of the pokemon from the Center like Cacturne and I? Well, there’s more of us than just nine of us. I think Lea’s Absol decided she was going to look out for some others, but I think all of us would feel better if there were more ‘mon looking for the others too.”

“Sure, we can keep an eye out… is there something in particular you want us to tell them?” Mick asked. “I can only be under the assumption that they’re about as battle-eager as you and that Cacturne were at the time.”

“Well, not all of them. A few were actually nicer than you might expect. One I can name off the top of the head is Malachite the Sudowoodo. But if you do happen to find one that might know us, ask if they know of a woman named Gale. Chances are if they do, they’re the ‘mon you’re looking for. After that, tell them to come to Hoofington if they want because Absol is back. Just don’t call her Angela since they won’t know her by that name.”

“Alright, we’ll be sure to tell them.” Mick replied with a smile. “If they happen to be in Canida though, it might be a better idea that they stay there… I don’t know what Allen’s planning to do, but after we’re done talking to Arceus Emma, Gwen and I are going to be heading back to Canida.”

“I think I might just start explorin’ around again once I have my old team back.” Allen replied. “I prefer warmer places anyway… Kirstin and Lorna prefer ‘em as well, due ta being used to the Hoenn region.”

“Well, I hope you bunch find you want. I won’t really be missing you.” Ire said again, trying to get them to leave faster. When she saw they weren’t, the unicorn just left to go back to the Center.

“Not like we’ll be missing her either…” Richard grumbled as he stretched next to Derek, getting the Machoke to roll his eyes.

“Alright team! Let’s head out!” Mick called to the rest of his team as Allen directed them towards the train station.

The rest of the Hoofington group waved Mick’s group off as they boarded the train to Ponyville. as the train started to leave. Bluegrass started to run beside the train. “If you do happen to see Lea and her friends, say hi for us!”

Mick gave her a broad smile and waved back. “Definitely! Who is Lea?”

Bluegrass ran faster as the train sped up. “Umbreon! Wearing a belt! Travels with a shiny Umbreon, an Absol, a Quilava, a Dunsparce, and a Linoone! Don’t forget!” With that Bluegrass had to stop to catch her breath.

“Umbreon with a belt! Got it!” Mick called out with a smile as the train began to pick up its pace. The light of the sun glinted off the back-most windows of the train as it made its way along the horizon to the west, bringing our heroes that much closer to Ponyville, let’s hope that their train stays on the rails this time.

Author's Note:

wooo! the crossover is out and now i get to start a new one!