Legend of the Gliding Girl
Despite what Rainbow thought, she had nothing that could properly defend against these things or take them head-on. She was pulled to the side by Twilight. Though, Rainbow was confused. What were all these Bouffalant doing here?
She was pulled from her thoughts as she saw a group of townspeople. They’d been caught in the middle of the street, backing away with a walk that turned into a run, but the Bouffalant was too fast. It was closing it, until it received a Quick Attack right in the face from a grey bird. It stumbled and missed the group, hitting a wall. The bull shook its head and saw Taillow flying in front of Rainbow Dash.
“Hey! Move already!” She yelled at the townsfolk, snapping them out of the stupor they had found themselves in when they thought they were about to die. They ran. She turned back to the Bouffalant. “Hey ugly! Why don’t ya pick on someone your own size?!” She yelled.
The fact that neither she nor Taillow were even close to Bouffalant’s size mattered neither to the wild bull nor the athletic trainer. It charged, she rolled out of the way. Taillow flew up into the air, coming down with another Quick Attack, hitting faster and harder with the downwards momentum. The Bouffalant roared, launching Tackles and Fury Attacks where it could, but no matter what it did, or how strong its attack it couldn’t land a hit, only breaking more barrels and buildings. Taillow flew circles around it, and Rainbow smirked but out of the corner of her eye she saw something charging and jumped out of the way. Another one. No, another two, she avoided narrowly, sending out her Eevee and Nincada. The two did similar patterns to Taillow, jumping around and using their small size to their advantage.
Around the corner, more charged. Avoiding became more difficult. She began to run, maybe lead them all and get them in one place, but more blocked off her path.
Taillow flew out of the reach of many, before whipping down and flying through the crowds, hitting and confusing them, Nincada jumping on their faces and attempting to Scratch, only to be knocked away. Well, their anger was directed at her. Good, but the question “was she supposed to do now?!” Came to mind as they reared back, sending Tackles and Fury Attacks in her direction.
She returned her non-fliers and ran at one of them. If she could time this just right, maybe she could land somewhere safer.
As the Bouffalant was inches from her, she grabbed it by the horns and flung herself up. Rainbow cheered.
“Ha! See ya later! That’s what happens when you mess with Rainbow Da…” She just noticed how high up she was. She knew she was a good jumper, but this was almost like she was flying. Rainbow looked down at her body, covered in a light pink aura. She was floating towards a building and saw Twilight on top of it. On either one of the bookworm’s shoulders was Hoothoot and Ralts, their eyes glowing. Rainbow was brought down and Twilight’s Pokemon sighed in relief.
Twilight walked over, kneeling as Rainbow stood up. The purple girl asked.
“Rainbow, what’s happening?!”
“How should I know?!” She yelled, trying to think. She needed to get through this and find Strongheart!
There was a crash, the house wobbled. A Bouffalant had just rammed through it. Rainbow’s eyes widened. She grabbed Twilight and jumped down just before they fell, Hoothoot and Ralts floating them to the ground before dropping the two at the last second, slumping from their power being exerted. Unfortunately, both exits were blocked by crowds of Bouffalant.
Twilight turned to her friend.
“Rainbow! You have a Shuckle right? What moves does it know?”
“Uh, Sticky Web, I think Withdraw and-“
“Perfect! Aim it at their legs!”
“Oh uh, okay!” She brought out Shuckle, who she gave the command. Strands of thick web hit the ground. Paying no mind, the Bouffalant all charged forward, only to trip as their legs got stuck, causing the ones behind them to trip as well.
For the moment they slowed down, and the girls ran. They saw destruction everywhere they looked.
“We need to find Strongheart! She’ll know what’s h-” The wall beside them blew apart as a Bouffalant rammed through the house in blind rage, knocking the two over. Their eyes widened as they turned around. Rainbow began to move and scramble up to try and get Twilight out of there, but she had no time. The bull bored down on them; its eyes full of anger.
“Strongheart!” Rainbow looked to the girl.
“They’re out of control! We need to get somewhere safe!”
Much of their time was spent avoiding the raging bulls, jumping and climbing out of their way, making sure Twilight was behind them. Along the way they found Spike and Rarity. Then, they saw one of them rammed away by a Rhyhorn. More of them patrolled the streets, attacking the bulls. Each of them was relieved, but Strongheart couldn’t help but feel a pit of guilt inside her. Her friends, attacked and destroyed like this… Why?
The dust had settled, the townspeople left their houses weary and tired. Many of them were depressed, with not much to be happy about. Their houses were destroyed, many of the people were injured.
Rainbow rubbed her head. As she wondered where Applejack was, she saw the farm girl approaching.
“Hey, AJ! You o-”
“You.” Applejack pushed past Rainbow, focused purely on Strongheart.
“Yeah?” Strongheart looked up, worried. From the tone of AJ’s voice, she wasn’t friendly.
“I believe these are yours.” She held up the feathers in a clenched fist. “Found ‘em in the orchard.”
“What?”
“Applejack, what are you talking about?” Rainbow approached.
“The branches, the crops. Destroyed and near unusable.” Braeburn pulled up on a Rhyhorn, a dejected look on his face.
AJ's face twisted. “Bet you think it’s real funny. Messing with this town, with people’s livelihood because of what you think is right.”
“W-Whoa.”
“There she is!” One of the townsfolk yelled.
“I saw it with my own eyes, she was the one controlling them like she did against my truck!” Another proclaimed. They recognised him as the one who drove their truck into Appleloosa.
“The bulls were a distraction. The trees must’ve been their true targets.”
“It wasn’t enough, was it?” Silverstar walked through the crowd. “Just takin’ down a few trees was never gonna be enough.”
Strongheart stepped back.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow stepped in front of Strongheart. “You guys don’t actually think she did it, did you? That she’d cause all of this over a few trees??”
“Rainbow, you’ve barely known her a day and on that day, she stole from me and near-destroyed a truck!”
“Our shop was destroyed in the attack!” Now the Flim Flam brothers spoke up.
“Strongheart is the one who saved Twilight, Spike and me! I mean, sure I could’ve beat them all myself but you gotta appreciate the spirit you know?”
“I saw her lurkin’ around.” Applejack said.
“Did you actually see her?” Spike asked.
“I know enough to know it was her.” She held the feathers up in a clenched fist.
“It… Has been weird how quickly the Gligar have been appearin’.” Braeburn thought for a moment.
“Yeah, like they were brought here."
“There’s gotta be another reason!”
“It must’ve been the Gliding Girl!” Strongheart said.
“Are ya still on about that?!” Silverstar put his hands on his hips. “Blamin’ everythin’ you do on ghosts and folktales.”
“The orchard has been weird lately. People have said they’ve seen weird things in there.” Braeburn put his hand to his chin.
“Not you too, Braeburn.” Applejack looked to her cousin, folding her arms.
“We’ve been traveling through these parts for some bit. We’ve seen those bulls only go out of control when that young madam is around!” Flim spoke up.
“Stands to reason, doesn’t it? Stop her and stop the attacks! I for one don’t think my shop can take a round 2. Can any of you?” Flam continued. There was a pause. They looked to Strongheart and began walking towards her. She backed away.
“Don’t make this difficult, kid.” Silverstar said. Those that still had healthy enough Pokemon brought them out, surrounding Strongheart.
“Stun Spore!” Twilight yelled as she summoned Exeggcute, spreading the yellow powder and stopping them in their tracks.
“Run!” Twilight yelled, pulling Spike along, Rainbow and Strongheart easily running with them. A Pokeball hit Strongheart’s partner, and since it was in no position to resist it was an easy capture. Once it was finished the ball was levitated into Rainbow’s hand.
They reached the edge of town. Nearly there. Suddenly, something round rushed past them, shattering a boulder in front of them. The round object unfurled to show Phanpy. It stood in front of them.
“Don’t drag this out. That gal ain’t goin’ nowhere but back with me.” Applejack stood behind them, her arms folded. Rainbow stood in front of the group escaping.
“I’ll catch up to you guys. Get outta here.” She grinned. Strongheart stared at Rainbow, before she was pulled along by Twilight and Spike.
“I told ya, you’re not goin’ anywhere!” Phanpy rolled after them before something stopped it. A strand of white silk was wrapped around it, keeping it in that ball shape. With one movement, Shuckle pulled the thread - and Phanpy - back between the two.
“Rrrgh… Rollout!” Phanpy curled up into a ball to try and knock Shuckle out of the way, only to be stopped when the rock-type performed the same move, clashing with the ground-type. They seemed evenly matched. Applejack saw Strongheart in the corner of her eye. Each second getting farther away. She got out another Pokeball, summoning Herdier. “Take Down!”
Herdier immediately broke out in a run, heading towards Shuckle in hopes of breaking the stalemate by striking from the side.
“Quick Attack!” However, Herdier ended up being the one struck as Taillow crashed into it at high speed, making it slide back, but it did not fall. “Gotta try a little harder than that! You should know me by now!” Rainbow grinned.
Before Herdier could strike back, Taillow was high in the air but just as soon as it rose it descended with another Quick Attack. It hit Herdier over and over, the canine enduring the hits yet never falling. Taillow came down once more.
“Now! Bite!” Herdier moved out of the way, sinking its teeth into Taillow’s body. The bird squawked in pain, flapping around to try and get free but Herdier wouldn’t budge. Both Herdier and her trainer knew that the best way to deal with this opponent was to block off any source of movement.
“N-No! Wing Attack!” Even with Taillow’s active attacks, Herdier did not budge. The two of them summoned their Eevees.
“Quick Attack!” Rainbow went first, hitting her opponent’s Eevee, who instead of responding directly, went over to Shuckle.
“Tail Whip!” Its tail brushed against Shuckle. Not long after, Shuckle was overpowered by Phanpy, knocked back. Finally, she kicked another Pokeball right by Rainbow. Behind her, the tall steel-type Lairon stood, ready to obey its trainer. It stomped the ground, daring Rainbow to try something.
Rainbow looked around in the pincer attack she was caught in. It wasn’t good. Applejack’s expression softened.
“Rainbow, please. I can’t play around with this. This is my family’s life, their careers, they gave up a lot to make something of themselves here, but these guys don’t care just wanna throw their weight all around on us. We’re gonna bring ‘em their just desserts, and they have to understand that we can’t just take this. If we can just clear out everythin’, then maybe things can start to look up…”
Rainbow Dash smiled, and for a moment AJ was hopeful.
“Don’t you worry AJ. Leave it to us and we’ll get to the bottom of this. But first… SWIFT!” As Rainbow ordered the attack, each of AJ’s Pokemon braced themselves, but the attack wasn’t aimed at any of them. Rather, it hit the ground in front of them, creating a cloud of smoke.
“Rollout!” Shuckle burst through the smoke, hitting Herdier’s side and making it let go of Taillow. By the time the air cleared, Rainbow was already too far away, running as fast as she could. The only one who could stop her now was Lairon. Immediately, Taillow, Eevee and Shuckle all rushed the steel-type with Wing Attack, Quick Attack and Rollout. It didn’t even budge.
“Fine. Iron Head!” Its body glowed silver, and it knocked all three back, and Rainbow caught them but she didn’t stop running. It squared itself, prepared to block her path, until the steel-type’s eyes widened. It stumbled, in pain and curling around its stomach. On the ground where it once stood was a hole, Nincada poking out.
“I gotta thank Twilight for this! She was right, Dig is great!” Rainbow ran past Lairon as she looked back at Applejack. “All that smoke, you didn’t even see me bringing it out and sending it underground, huh?” She grinned. “Like I said, we’ll figure everything out AJ! Don’t you sweat it!”
The walk through the desert was silent. Rainbow caught up with them eventually. The land was as plain as before, but along the path they could occasionally see the unconscious bull Pokemon lying on the ground. Breathing, but beaten up.
“Rainbow!” Twilight turned to see the athlete.
“Are you okay?” Strongheart asked.
“You kidding? Applejack wasn’t nothing I couldn’t handle!” Despite her boasting, she was wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Strongheart’s face was riddled with guilt. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. My partner even got hurt. I had to abandon them…”
Twilight blinked. “Oh, right.” She rummaged in her back and pulled out a normal Pokeball, she handed it to Strongheart.
“What’s this?” Strongheart asked.
“It’s your Pokemon.” Rainbow smiled. “I totally caught it for you.”
“Hoothoot levitated it here. You can release it afterwards if you want, but at least this way it should be easy to carry.”
“Wow, I… thank you.” The feathered girl smiled, clutching the ball before sighing. “I still can’t believe this happened… Almost doesn’t feel real. I had dreams about this happening… All those bulls and bats surrounding me, the people in town chasing me. I’d cower behind rocks and trees and now…” She rubbed her face. Before she knew it she was brought under Rainbow's arm.
"We aren't letting anything like that happen! So you can trust us!" Rainbow grinned.
Twilight looked to Strongheart. “How… Did all this happen?”
“We were just getting ready to bring Thunderhooves to the town when all of the Bouffalant just started getting mad. I tried to calm them down, but they wouldn’t listen. Even my own partner…” She looked down. “They all went. I grabbed on to try and do something, but in the end, I couldn't save anything.”
“You saved us.” Spike reasoned. Strongheart gave him a small smile.
“Where was Thunderhooves in all of this?” Twilight asked, and Strongheart’s smile faded.
“He… They all began charging. We knew they were headed towards the village; he had no choice. He sent his Pokemon at them. He only managed to stop half; the rest got away.
Twilight ran her hands through her hair, processing this. The group that attacked the town wasn’t even the entire herd. For all that destruction it had still been a bullet dodged.
Applejack’s walk back was dejected. Not only had she failed to catch the one responsible, but her friends were also on a wild goose chase. Eevee looked up at her with sympathy in its eyes, whining like it was trying to say sorry for letting them get away. She gave her Pokemon a small smile, picking it up. She stared off at the town. They were just starting to rebuild but with the small number of uninjured, it wasn’t a process that would get anywhere fast. Others spoke to each other, sharing slices of apple pie with smiles on their faces, but underneath those happy faces was sorry for the future. Applejack knew because she felt it too.
An arm wrapped around her.
“…You don’t think she was actually hit by the Lady Glider whatchamacallit that gal was talkin’ about?” Applejack asked. Braeburn paused.
“Heck if I know. Things have been so crazy lately I might just believe it.” He gave a light chuckle, patting her on the back. “She’s awake now, though. Ya can ask her yourself. I’m sure she’d love the company.” He gave her a small smile, and she smiled back.
“Thanks, cousin Braeburn.” She gave him a big hug, before walking off to one of the few unscathed buildings. Some injured were resting there right now, among them was Applejack’s familiar pink-haired friend, awake.
“Thank goodness! Fluttershy!” The farm girl walked over.
“O-Oh, Applejack! Thank you so much for asking, I’m doing very well. The town has been very nice to me given… what happened.” She spoke, glancing to the other injured.
“Ain’t nothin’, Appleloosa is full of the best people you’ll find in the region, they’d never turn a blind eye to someone in need. But… What happened to you?”
“I… I don’t know, I just…”
“Well I know!” Applejack proclaimed. “Ya got too close to those things and they punished us!” She put a hand on her hip, before her expression softened. “Look Fluttershy. I know ya care about these ones, but some Pokemon are a lost cause. Some don’t want to be friends; they just want to hurt. They don’t care about listenin’.”
“And have you listened…?” Fluttershy muttered. “They’re just trying to live their lives. They need help.”
“My family are livin’ their lives. They need my help.” Applejack protested, clenching her fist. “We can’t give ‘em a pass just cause ya think they’re cute.”
“They’re doing the same thing… They have their own families, and they work hard too…”
“They’re a buncha pests, is what they are! Pests who don’t think of what others want, leechin’ off the town’s hard work!”
“Are you sure you’re talking about them?” Fluttershy muttered, pulling the covers up to her neck. “There’s other sides to this…”
“What? So, these folk can be the ones who give everything up? Shy, that’s not gonna happen.” Applejack scowled slightly, before signing. This wasn’t what she came here to do. Fluttershy looked away.
“Sorry…” Fluttershy whispered.
“Get some rest, okay Shy?” Applejack gave her friend’s back a gentle pat, before walking outside. Braeburn was waiting for her. “So uhh… About this Glidin’ Gal, do ya think she’s really tellin’ the truth?”
“Well… Everyone’s grateful to have the orchard, but it’s had a few tales develop. Sometimes people say they see someone in the corner of their eye, but everybody’s story is different. Some say they see somethin’ move so much they can’t tell if it’s man or Pokemon. Why, I even heard one guy said he couldn’t even stand up and had to feel his way out with his eyes closed!” He chuckled a little. “No person’s ever gone missin’ but it’s a lotta crazy history.”
Whoever or whatever this thing was, it was sure to come finish the job, and that Thunderhooves won’t stop until the forest is gone. I say we catch ‘em in the act and get the Gligar. Let’s do it tonight, be done with this whole thing! Whaddya say?”
Braeburn gave her a hopeful smile. “I say we save Appleloosa!”
The group made it to Buffalo. It didn’t feel happy or casual like before. There were still many fainted Bouffalant around, the townsfolk doing their best to bring them into the town for treatment. Some were awake, but they didn’t seem angry, likely because they hurt too much to think about it. Everyone was solemn, but none more than the gym leader who sat where the campfire had been last night. He stared at the burned mass of wood and ash.
“...Thunderhooves?” Strongheart asked.
“These Pokemon that we ally with, that help us… we would be nowhere without those Pokemon… The same ones I raised my hand against. Perhaps I should be glad my partner is not here. He would be so disappointed if he saw me now…”
“No. He would understand that you did what you had to, that you protected people!” Strongheart proclaimed.
Thunderhooves paused for a moment. He stood up and hugged her.
“I’m glad you’re alright.” He spoke.
“Tell me, what happened?” The large man asked, and they began to explain. The more they talked, the more his frown deepened.
“...I see. So, you mean to tell me that we betrayed our friends for nothing.”
Twilight spoke up. "Maybe if we spoke to-"
“Talk to those who do not want to listen? I didn’t listen to the Pokemon who have only ever helped us and look where it’s got us! It’s clear they can wait no longer. So, I will not keep them waiting.” He walked through the streets. Appleloosa. The Pokemon hated that town, the spirits hated that town. So he would do what must be done. Strongheart looked down, before running off. Thunderhooves sighed.
"I was planning on retiring, you know. Passing the title of Gym Leader onto someone else. Strongheart's always done so much, of course she'd be my first choice. All the League needed from me was a word. Maybe it's for the best. My closest friends and allies disappear around me, and I do nothing? What kind of gym leader would I be? I... Can't fix anything, but maybe there's at least one thing I can do." He made it to the centre of the town.
“Everyone! Heal up and prepare! We will not allow those Appleloosans to walk over us any longer! It is time we give back to our friends.”
“Well that didn’t go well at all.” Twilight sighed. She’d helped Strongheart escape because she thought it might stop a fight, but it seemed like they were on the verge of one anyway.
“This isn’t good.” Strongheart looked especially worried.
“You keep going on about this ‘Gliding Girl’. Who or what exactly is it?” Twilight asked.
“An old tale. The story behind it is one I heard as a kid. A little girl wasn’t accepted by her home and ran away. Eventually, she found herself in a forest where she got lost. There she was accepted by a group of Gligar. She lived as one of them, making her way up and down trees like she was gliding. One day, it’s said she sprouted wings and flew off into the night.” Strongheart explained. “What are we going to do?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We find this Gliding Girl and prove it exists!”
“You want to find a ghost.” Twilight frowned. She knew of ghost-types, but ghost people weren’t real. There also weren’t, to her knowledge, any type of Gligar that was a ghost-type. Still from what Applejack had told her, the destruction had seemed deliberate. Perhaps there really was someone else behind this. “Fine, but the town will be on alert. They won’t just let us go in. We have to move later. They couldn’t destroy the whole forest in that amount of time, so whoever it was will probably act again to finish the job. If we can sneak in and get to the orchard, we can catch them red handed.”
“Nobody has ever really seen the Gliding Girl before. She always stays in the corner of your eye and moves through the trees, and people say different things about what she can even do.”
“We just gotta bust in and kick their butt!” Rainbow pumped her fist. She liked this. “If we can catch the real guy then not only will AJ and her family be okay, but Appleloosa will back off of Strongheart!”
“Alright. Let’s do it.” Strongheart nodded, a small smile on her face and a warble in her voice.
Later that day, the people of Buffalo were fixing and healing. None were in the mood to talk, so all they could do was rest. The sun was starting to go down but it wasn’t quite setting yet.
“Even with Strongheart and her Bouffalant it’ll be a long way.” Twilight said.
“Well we better find her and go now!” Rainbow smiled. They went to the camp Strongheart resided in, but they couldn’t find her. They looked all over the tent, trying to find any sign of where she might’ve gone, until they came across a note.
Sorry girls, I’m getting a head start. I can’t wait while a full fight breaks out. None of you need to get hurt.
-Strongheart.
“She left?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “If she goes back there on her own they’ll find her and catch her, and she’ll be arrested for something she didn’t even do!” Rainbow grabbed Twilight by the arm, running off into the plains.
“Y-You don’t need to pull me Rainbow, we were going this way anyway!” Twilight protested.
“Then you better hurry!”
So began the journey to the Appleloosa orchard. By the time the two arrived, the sun had long since set, the night seeping in. It hadn’t been as much trouble to infiltrate the town as they’d thought. Since much of the town was recovering physically and mentally from the destruction, many he elected to take an early night. That just left the orchard. It was an absolute mess, the broken branches and destroyed harvest still littered much of the ground. That being said, many trees themselves still stood tall.
“Wh- Rainbow?!”
“Applejack?!”
“What are you doing here?!”
“This is my family’s orchard, I got more right than you, so why don’t you tell me about what you’re doing?”
“We’re gonna prove Strongheart’s innocence and stop whatever this is once and for all!” Rainbow pumped her fist, grinning. Applejack, however, rolled her eyes.
“Come on, ya still think that?” The farm girl questioned. While she did believe in ghosts, everything about this said to her that it was a person, not a phantom.
Twilight got between the two. “Hey uh, how about we work together. We can’t find Strongheart.”
“Gave ya the slip again, did she?” Applejack grinned at Rainbow, who fumed.
“She’s likely in here anyway, why don’t we just look?” Twilight suggested.
“We do kinda have the same goal.” Braeburn smiled at his cousin.
“Fine.” Applejack grumbled.
They began walking through the forest with flashlights, trying to find Strongheart or the hint of some sort of ghost or weird hybrid. Just… Something.
“There!” Applejack pointed at a bush. They walked towards it, there were a few feathers sticking out, exactly like the type Applejack found before, the type that Strongheart wore. “Ya said she came here? I’ve heard all I needed to. I say we cut our losses and find that g…” She paused, looking down at the bush. Now that she was close, she could. See a brown hand poking out of the bush. The group approached, pulling it, finding an unconscious Strongheart. They were shocked.
“Oh no! Are you ok?!” Rainbow shook her new friend slightly, causing the runner to stir.
“Uuugh…” She opened her eyes looking up at them. For a moment her eyes fluttered, like she was trying to recall something before that confusion was replaced with fear. “Run away…”
“Wh-” Before they could say another word, a tornado surrounded them. Through the wind they could see dosens, maybe even hundreds of pairs of eyes. Then, the slashes came and the girls were forced to scatter.
“Quick Attack! Sticky Web! Fury Cutter!” Rainbow summoned Taillow, Shuckle and Nincada, trying to hit as many as she could, but with each one that went down, three more took its place.
“There’s too many of ‘em!” Braeburn winced, trying to keep track of each of them. An impossible task.
“G-Gengar! Help us out with a Shadow Ball!” Twilight threw her Dusk Ball in the air. Out of it, came a large shadow that cast darkness even on the tornado. It raised its arms, holding a sphere of darkness. It grew larger and larger, and Twilight smiled.
“Yes, that’s it!” She became hopeful… until it threw the Shadow Ball straight at the ground near the trainers. “...RUN!” Each of the girls jumped out of the way, managing to get through just in time, but they were knocked back by the impact. They would’ve gone straight into the horde of Gligar if they too weren’t sent flying by the force of the attack. Everyone was on the floor, groaning as the smoke cleared.
Twilight rubbed her head.
“That wasn’t what I meant, Gengar!” Currently, the shadowy Pokemon was sitting on a branch, feigning ignorance as it stared down at Twilight, a shrug, and a look of mockingly fake confusion. It then looked up at something, prompting Twilight to follow her belligerent Pokemon’s gaze. On top of a branch was a shadowy figure. Covered head to toe in a cloak that flapped in the wind like wings. She wore a mask of a smiling Gligar.
“There she is!” Rainbow and Applejack began to run forward, but they froze. As the Gliding Girl stared down at them, their bodies wouldn’t move. She turned to run, and the storm of Gligar surrounded them again. Twilight looked around, trying to gain some sort of sense. She could barely see Spike, couldn’t see Rainbow at all. Gengar probably couldn’t hear her, but even if it could...
Suddenly, many of the Gligar fell to the ground, hurt and shivering with their bodies partially frozen.
“Ice Beam!” The same thing happened, and much of the storm was blown away. Their vision was cleared, and Twilight summoned Hoothoot. Its eyes glowed like flashlights to the source of the attack, finding Rarity with her Glaceon at the side.
“Applejack had me check the perimeter, I wouldn’t dare go in here if it wasn’t an emergency, but when I heard your screams…” Rarity ran a hand through her hair and smiled. “Well, I could turn your terror into relief! And as for you vermin. I suggest you leave before this beauty really shows her claws.”
Most of the Gligar paused, looking at Glaceon in fear. They backed off. One small Gligar, however, shot out from the group straight at the ice-type.
“Have it your way. Ice Beam!”
From the trees, a shadow flew over them headed in Rarity’s direction. Before anyone knew what happened, Glaceon was knocked down, it’s Ice Beam missing and hitting a tree. Then, the creature’s fangs glowed a burning red and it clamped down on Glaceon’s back, the ice-type screaming in pain. It threw Glaceon with its teeth, making it hit a trunk. When he fell to the ground, it had already fainted. Immediately, it flew away. The small Gligar cried with gratitude, before it was pushed aside by its elder, hitting a branch with a wince.
Hoothoot had caught a glimpse while Twilight’s Pokédex beeped. She picked it up and opened it.
Gliscor: The Fang Scorpion Pokemon
Its flight is soundless. It uses its lengthy tail to carry off its prey... Then its elongated fangs do the rest.
The Gliding Girl ran through the forest, her footsteps silent as she avoided any broken branches and twigs. Then she saw something coming and stopped her run, stepping back as Taillow’s attack just missed her. She turned around, seeing Rainbow.
“Hide behind your army all you want! Sure it’s tough to get through, but nothing a little Dig can’t handle!” Rainbow smiled and shrugged. The phantom girl looked down at her leg. A string was attached. Shuckle’s Sticky Web had led a trail right to her. “You’re just not fast enough to escape from me!” Taillow and Nincada shot at her, not to do serious damage but to try and incapacitate her. Despite their speed, the Gliding Girl dodged each attack with surprising agility.
“Quick Attack!” Rainbow sent both Taillow and Eevee out, the two shooting towards the opponent, who jumped out of the way onto a branch.
The girl raised her arm, parrying a Fury Cutter from Nincada with her own claws, but Taillow was circling back around with a Wing Attack, but the girl leapt up. The athlete clenched her teeth. She was sure she was faster than this girl but couldn’t seem to land a single hit. The way she moved was like she knew what Rainbow was doing. The moment Rainbow made a move, the masked girl was already dodging.
Behind her, more Gligar swarmed around, the athlete’s quick Pokemon moving with and around the swarm, trying their best to avoid them as Rainbow brought Shuckle forth once more.
“All you’ve done is caused pain for my friends. Applejack’s family is suffering and my new friend is being chased because of you. Some guardian.” Suddenly, the swarm stopped. They squirmed, trying to scatter, but it was like they were stuck as one. Rainbow smiled. “They weren’t just flying around! They were wrapping Shuckle’s webs around your pets. How do you like that?!” She used Sticky Web to swing up to the Gliding Girl, her hand outstretched to reach for the girl’s mask. “Now you’re on your own!”
Suddenly, Rainbow’s eyes widened. She was stopped as a long black appendage wrapped around her arm. She looked up. A black creature floated in the shadows, it’s claws outstretched for battle and it’s yellow eyes staring down at Rainbow, daring her to do something.
Taillow’s Quick Attack hit its back. Yet, it didn’t react. Eevee did the same. Nothing. Nincada leapt up with a Fury Cutter, but it was blocked with one claw. Nincada tried to jump away, but found that it’s legs were caught in its claw. It opened its mouth, and it began to get bright. Rainbow saw Gliscor’s face illuminated in the flames. It leaned forward.
“Rollout!” Before the flames could touch Nincada, Gliscor was hit square in the face by a spinning object, causing it to drop both Nincada and Rainbow. The Pokemon rubbed its face and smiled.
Gliscor was rushed by all of Rainbow’s team at once, but it barely reacted to Taillow’s wings or Nincada’s claws, raising its pincers to block Eevee’s swift. The only attacks it even bothered dodging were Shuckle’s, gliding out of the way of its webs, flying up from Rollout. Then, it retaliated. In a blink, each one was knocked to the ground with movements that Rainbow could only describe as Acrobatics.
Shuckle wasn’t fast enough to evade, while the rest weren’t strong enough to retaliate.
Gliscor smiled, looking down at Rainbow before smacking her with its claw. The Gliding Girl stood up, moving closer and Gliscor stopped for a moment. It bore its fangs, before looming over Rainbow, but she was getting up, prepared to defend herself. She never got the chance as another large spinning object hit Gliscor in the stomach making its eyes widen. It was knocked away, sliding on the ground. By the time it got up the object was rolling back around. Gliscor flew up with a smile, only to see a canine on a beach leap towards it, knocking it back with a Take Down. The Fang Scorpion growled, smacking Herdier away but in its frustration, it was distracted and Phanpy hit it harder and faster. Looking up, Gliscor saw the two get back, standing beside an angry Applejack.
Behind the cowgirl was Twilight, Hoothoot’s eyes glowing and shining on the Gliding Girl like a spotlight.
“Even in the dead of night you can’t hide from Foresight.” Twilight commented, a smile on her face.
Nowhere to hide, the Gliding Girl rushed at Applejack, but while they were focused on her the small Gligar flew past them slashing at the webs Shuckle had made, and as Twilight was about to send her Pokemon to restrain the girl, they were overwhelmed by the new influx of the flying-types. There were too many, she could barely see in front of her.
Applejack turned to see Twilight. She wanted to go help the bookworm, but that moment distracted her and the phantom woman slashed at the farmer with her claws. Applejack ended up with 4 scratches on her cheek, not able to fully avoid it. Applejack grabbed the Gliding Girl’s arm before she could move back. With rage in her eyes, the farmer raised her leg and kicked the masked girl in the stomach.
Herdier ran at Gliscor but was only met with a stinger to the stomach. Phanpy attempted another Rollout, but Herdier was thrown right at it. Each time Phanpy got close, Gliscor dodged, and Phanpy only hit a tree, cracking the bark each time. Applejack noticed this, distracted and the Gliding Girl lunged at her. Applejack had no time to dodge, but then she found herself on the ground, pushed out of the way. AJ looked up to see Strongheart having taken the scratches, grazed but alright.
“A-Are you okay?” Strongheart asked, but before she could get an answer Gliscor knocked Strongheart away with a claw.
Applejack was stunned. The girl she’d been chasing around and accusing was now defending her. She wanted to defend her family from any threats but here one of those so-called threats had just saved her from two enemies and was now in more pain than before. If such a girl was what she’d been fighting against, then Applejack wondered as she picked Strongheart up, if she was wrong the whole time.
Gliscor shot back down at the two. Applejack hadn’t got Lairon out because she was both worried about the damage it would do to the forest and just not being a good match for Gliscor but now wasn’t the time to worry. As she scrambled she couldn’t find any Pokeballs. She must’ve dropped them. She looked around but Gliscor got closer, until something was shot at its face.
Gliscor stopped, seeing Applejack’s Eevee stand on top of a stone. Herdier and Phanpy were on the ground, not quite fainted but with little energy.
“Eevee get outta there!”
The Eevee had joined Applejack’s team quite recently. It had never even been to her farm. It fired another Swift, but this time Gliscor didn’t flinch. Instead, it flew in front of Eevee, swinging a Night Slash at it. Eevee fell and Gliscor was satisfied, until the small Pokemon fired another Swift right at Gliscor’s eye. The Fang Scorpion howled in pain, and indifference now turned to rage. Night Slash, Fire Fang, Poison Jab, all aimed at Eevee, beating it down until Gliscor was satisfied, all while Applejack watched in horror.
Once Gliscor was finished it turned around, advancing on the two girls. Applejack turned to the others, still overwhelmed by the never ending Gligar swarm. The farmer stood up, standing in front of Strongheart, shielding her. She wanted so badly to do something, to fight back, and with Gliscor coming closer it was seeming like that would be inevitable anyway.
Suddenly, a bright light shone behind the Fang Scorpion. As it turned, two sharp objects slashed it in the back, making it howl in pain. Eevee was back up, standing on that mossy stone. Except it wasn’t Eevee, but something bigger. It’s brown fur has turned a pale gold, with a green tuft on its head. It’s ears and tail were much flatter and wavier, their shape and colour resembling leaves.
“Leafeon!” It cried. Applejack was stunned. Gliscor shot towards Leafeon, sending another Night Slash its way. The attack hit head-on, but Leafeon stood its ground, pushing back against the slash even as it hit. This surprised Gliscor. It’s stinger shot forward with a Poison Jab and Leafeon jumped away. Again and again it tried to hit Leafeon but to no avail, like the grass-type had an innate understanding of its environment. Applejack couldn’t be sure either, but it almost seemed like Leafeon’s injuries weren’t as severe while Gliscor was getting sluggish. She then noticed a seed on Gliscor’s body, with vines steadily growing out. Even with that, Leafeon was still on the defensive, a few attacks grazing the grass-type and bringing its injuries back.
She then looked down, seeing Herdier and Phanpy stand up. Gligar was readying another Poison Jab.
“Phanpy, Herdier! Get up, Eevee needs your help! Herdier, Bite!”
Gliscor’s tail never made it to Leafeon, it was held back by Herdier’s powerful fangs.
“Now toss it!” As Gliscor was still surprised, Herdier acted, throwing Gliscor away from Leafeon.
“Razor Leaf and Rollout!” Leafeon’s sharp leaves spun parallel to Phanpy’s rolling, and the two attacks hit Gliscor head-on, causing it to cry in pain. It hit the ground with a thud. Panting, it could barely stand. Applejack was about to call out another attack, when two people stood in front of Gliscor. The small Gligar, and the masked Gliding Girl.
“Wh- Get outta the way!” Applejack demanded, but the two didn’t budge. Gligar gave Gliscor an Oran Berry, and it rose somewhat, slightly recovered. Then, it smiled. The Gligar and the girl dressed as one were both knocked to the side by Gliscor’s claws. It flew up past the trees out of the forest. Applejack cursed. With the Gliscor gone and the girl down, the other Gligar scattered.
She looked at the Gliding Girl. She was knocked into a tree, struggling to move. Leaning down, Applejack took the girl’s mask off. Fluttershy stared up at her friend with glassy eyes.
“Fluttershy?!” Applejack was shocked, realising she’d gone to town on one of her closest and most fragile friends. She was immediately worried, but Fluttershy didn’t answer. “Say somethin’! What’s happened?!” Applejack grabbed Fluttershy’s shoulders, her voice becoming shakier.
Twilight approached. “She won’t answer. I think I know why. Foresight!” Hoothoot looked around, chirping when it saw a flash of yellow. “Confusion!” The yellow thing was caught in the psychic energy. Twilight got out her Pokédex.
Abra: The Psi Pokemon
It sleeps for 18 hours a day. It uses a variety of extrasensory powers even while asleep.
“One of those powers includes Hypnosis.” Twilight explained. “It usually sends Pokemon to sleep but with more time and tuning it can control you or make you think something else.”
“You’re tellin’ me this whole thing was because of a stupid Abra?!” Applejack stood up and Twilight raised her arms.
“And whoever sent it.” She explained as Applejack stomped forward. “We just have to be careful. When it feels threatened it uses-“
Abra was gone.
“…Teleportation.” Twilight sighed. Rainbow heard a soft groaning, one that people could barely hear, but she recognised as her friend waking up.
“Fluttershy!” She knelt down to her friend’s side.
“R-Rainbow?” Fluttershy said as she rubbed her head, but her fake claws ended up getting stuck. In the end, Rainbow and Rarity had to pull both the metal-tipped leather gloves off her. Fluttershy paled when she saw them. “Oh dear, those don’t look safe!”
“What do you remember?” Twilight asked.
“Umm… I remember feeling better and getting up. I had the most terrible nightmare, so the bed felt really scary! I kept seeing a strange yellow Pokemon in the corner of my eye, but it always disappeared. I’d seen it before but couldn’t get a good look. I tried following it. Then I… Then I… Was here.” She said, before wincing and rubbing her stomach.
The girls looked at each other.
“Before? Where’d ya see something like that?” Applejack asked, her face and voice still ridden with guilt.
“Umm, I think in town, around that… that coffee place.”
At first they were confused, until they remembered the cafe owned by…
“We need to call Pinkie.”
By the time they got back to town Pinkie Was already there, the group made their way to the back door, where they could hear rustling. Applejack peaked through the door.
She saw the two brothers rapidly packing, worried expressions on their faces with Abra floating leisurely above them.
“Hurry up, brother! Those cantankerous cohorts collide in the morning! We have to be gone by then!”
“You think I don’t know that? Not like it’ll matter; we did our part and iit went exactly as she said. Nobody will even miss us when we’re off.”
“Y’all sure about that?”
“Yes, quite sure miss.” Flim said casually, before his eyes widened and he looked up, seeing the group that had messed them around before, along with Strongheart and Braeburn.
The two paused. Abra teleported away again.
“Coward!” Flam yelled, yet the two of them also began to bolt for the opposite door. However, they found their bodies stiffening as they reached for the handle. Yellow spores were all around them, spread by Shroomish and Exeggcute.
“Nowhere to run.” Applejack folded her arms, Leafeon on her shoulder. “Shoulda guessed it sooner that it’d be you two.”
“W-Wait! We were just following orders!”
“From who?”
“We looked for other money-making means, but without stones to sell we had a slump. Luckily we got a ton of resources and machines to fund our future ventures! In exchange, we just had to cause a bit of ruckus.”
“A bit? You framed one girl and used our friend like a pawn!” She yelled. Meanwhile, Twilight looked through the things they were packing away. Money, machine parts, TMs and a strange-looking radio. It was a cube shape and seemed to have a red flashing light on it. She moved it around, looking at it when her finger came quite close to a button.
“STOP!” Flam yelled and Twilight froze. She turned, seeing him looking right at her. “Have you gone mad?! Don’t switch it on!”
“Huh?” Now Twilight was confused. “Why not?” The brothers looked to Strongheart’s Bouffalant outside, then back to them.
“We haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about!” They lied, but the mean looks from the group jogged their memory. “B-But we are willing to learn!”
“Talk. Now.” Braeburn folded his arms.
“The radio emits a certain sound. Normal people can’t hear it but Bouffalant can. When they do, it triggers something in them. They become unbelievably violent. Each week they replace it with a newer one, upgrading it. This one, it’s the best one yet.” Flam explained.
“...You said that whoever hired you wanted you to cause chaos. Why?” Braeburn asked.
“Why, they wanted a distraction! Something about gathering their own resources in peace.”
Now, Twilight was thinking. All this, just for a distraction? No, not just a distraction, a test. Pokemon that were enraged to an unnatural degree. Almost like they were made for chaos. She had an idea of who was really behind this, and would see it through. She even figured she might run into that girl again. Her fist clenched. She felt like the closer she got to this the closer she’d get to figuring this whole thing out. These girls could be a bit much but they’d need all hands on deck. Whether that girl was there or not, she would get closer. Twilight wanted nothing more than to fix things and put everything right.
Both she and Applejack, at least, had that in common.
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