A Magic Show! The Rival Appears!
The sun had begun to dip below the horizon as Sunset re-entered the Battle Chateau, young Pokémon in tow. A maid announced her arrival, title and all, but she paid no attention as she made her way to the rear of the establishment. She found Crystal, Fredrick, and Fleur sitting around a small table, enjoying cups of fresh tea while their Pokémon (minus Dauntless, who seemed to still be in his Pokéball) chatted nearby in their own speech. “Ah, Sunset, we were just talking about – Whahaha!” The last bit was what was becoming a trademarked scream that she did, which sounded similar to the CHS counterpart Sunset knew. Crystal had dropped her cup and looked in shock at the Pokémon Sunset was holding. “Sunset, why are you with… that?”
“What are you talking about, Crystal? This is my new Pokémon partner. He was being attacked outside by a horde of bug-types.” The young Pokémon looked up to her and licked her chin, smiling. “What’s so bad about him?”
“I’m not talking about the Pokémon, darling!” Crystal said, and pointed towards Sunset’s lower half. “I’m talking about all the mud on your legs and dress! How could you be so careless?!” She then proceeded to faint, falling to the floor in a dramatic slump. Fredrick laughed at the girl’s antics before turning to face Sunset.
“Well, in other news, I do wish you luck in raising such a young Pokémon. That Absol must be less than a month old, as it’s barely bigger than an Eevee.” Curious, Sunset brought up the Pokédex log on the creature she was holding. She began to look more and more worried after reading it for a few seconds.
“The ‘disaster’ Pokémon? Predicting terrible events? Is that all true?” She asked the remaining two nobles. Fleur nodded her head, and Fredrick copied her motion. Sunset raised the young Absol to her eye level, getting a good look at him. “Well, I don’t think you’re as bad as the Pokédex says. How could you cause a disaster?”
“I don’t know, but sometimes there’s a voice in my head that tells me to do things.” The Absol said, smiling. “It’s a nice voice. It’s calming, actually.” Everything was normal for a few seconds until the humans present realized what happened. Fredrick looked dumbfounded while Sunset yelped in surprise, dropping the Pokémon. “Oof!” He said, hitting the floor. “Hey, what was that for?”
“Y-You can talk…” Sunset said, more a question that a statement. Nelson chose this moment to arrive, gazing upon the situation for the first time.
“Oh! It’s the guy who helped save me! Hey guy!” The Absol said. Nelson froze in place, wearing the same look on his face as the other humans (sans Crystal, who was still passed out) and Pokémon had on theirs. His voice sounded to Sunset like it was childlike and slightly insane, but also smart and caring at the same time. He looked around at all of them, confused himself. “What’s wrong? Was it something I said?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Nelson responded, deadpan in facial expression and tone. “In fact, it could just be that you said something in the first place.”
“Wait, you mean you guys can understand me?” The Absol asked. Sunset nodded. “Oh, this is about as cool as frozen Magikarp!” He jumped up and down excitedly before immediately stopping and looking at Sunset. “But how did this happen? I don’t remember putting a book to my face or anything…” Flandre walked up and said her species’ name to him a few times, in an effort to comfort him. However, the more she said, ‘Espurr,’ the more confused the Absol got. “Uhh, no offense there, but what are you saying? You sound like a Chatot singing the same song over and over again.”
Nelson strode over, bending low to meet the young Absol. “You don’t understand Flandre here?” A shake of the crescent-horned head. “Well, this truly is strange. You can speak the human language, but not the Pokémon one. What an odd turn of events.” Nelson smiled. “However, I do believe that we can, er, adjust to this.”
Sunset picked up the young absol once more, angling him so he could look at her. “So, I don’t really know what to call you… do you have a name?”
“Well, my parents must have given me one but I can’t really ask them about it seeing as though they’re dead and all.” He said nonchalantly. “You’re my trainer now, right? That’s kind of like a parent. How about you give me a new name?” Sunset thought for a minute or two about this. Flandre kind of came to her out of the blue, an odd yet mystical sounding name. This kid needed something to match him, though. Sunset thought back to all the myths she had read about back in Equestria and Earth, trying to think of something fitting.
“How about Abel?” Sunset asked him. The absol cocked his head to the side. “It’s a name for those who can become strong.” The absol, now christened with a new name, happily smiled at the sound of that.
“A lovely name, dear.” Crystal commented to the pair, waking up from her faint. “However, it is getting late, and I suggest we get changed and towards Fredrick’s boat. We don’t want to miss it, now do we?” With that, Sunset followed her into a restroom for the second time that day, leaving Nelson, Fredrick, and Fleur alone with the Pokémon in the room.
“So, what brings you all the way here from Orre, Grand Duke?” Fredrick asked, trying to make small talk while the others were away. Abel was nearby, trying to play with the other Pokémon, but failing due to not being able to understand. Feeling sorry for the youngling, Esmeralda acted as a translator for him using her telepathy.
“Nothing much. My sister wanted me to check something out that her research found out. Apparently, there’s this new kind of energy that’s recently popped up, one that causes Pokémon and humans to exhibit unique traits.” Nelson responded in kind. “Some effects we’ve seen in lab testing with this energy are new evolutions, differing moves learned between peer Pokémon, and even some humans gaining the ability to use Pokémon moves.”
“Astounding!” Fredrick exclaimed. “How come we haven’t heard of this on the news or anything? This seems like something the professors would jump all over instantly.”
Nelson shrugged. “Until about a month ago, the energy only existed in Orre, in a very small area.” Nelson stretched a bit, popping his joints to loosen up. “Now it’s shown up again in Kalos, and we wanted to track the source down before it fell into the wrong hands. We heard all about what happened last year with Team Flare; I hope it doesn’t come to that extreme again.” Fredrick simply nodded in response, smiling.
“Well, due to our most recent champion’s actions, and her friends, I do believe that we won’t have that problem anymore.” He continued. “How are things over in Orre, anyway? Is that nefarious Team Snagem stealing Pokémon again?”
Nelson laughed. “Snagem isn’t a team or anything. They’re just a band of bullies, no trouble at all. There aren’t many wild Pokémon in Orre, so people know how to battle and fight off thieves.” He reclined back in a chair, grabbing a small puff pastry that was on a platter nearby. “Snagem hasn’t really been much of anything after Cipher disbanded and they stopped getting Snag Machines from them. At best, they’re a bunch of glorified bikers now.”
“Seems like Orre has everything under control.” Fredrick said, taking the other chair while Fleur left his side to approach a passing maid. A few more minutes were spent before Crystal and Sunset exited the facilities, the former in a newer ensemble while the latter had put back on the clothes she wore earlier.
“Sorry that took so long dears, I just couldn’t decide what to wear.” Crystal said whilst approaching Esmeralda, the two of them headed to find Rio.
“How many outfits does she have?” Nelson asked.
“If I knew how she fit all of them in that backpack I’d tell you.” Sunset replied, before heading over to collect Abel and Flandre. She returned the absol to his Pokéball, and the espurr climbed up to her default traveling position. “Anyway, I think we were heading out, right?” A group consensus responded with the affirmative, and the group left the Battle Chateau, the butlers working the night shift beginning to walk in and respectfully bowing as they left. The wind was gently blowing as they left.
“Right. Well, my friend who owns the Parfum Palace was so kind as to let me use his dock by the river, so my boat is over there.” Fredrick said, Fleur at his side. “After an hour’s walk or so we should be there.” Sunset followed them back down the road they came from, admiring the last fading rays of the sun and the few stars that poked their way through the sky. As they approached a crossroads, the group turned to their left, headed down a well-maintained path that led towards an imposing estate.
“Well, this place sure looks fancy.” Sunset commented.
“Well, the owner of the Palace is insanely rich. I would expect it for him to put a lot of money into the outward appearance of the place.” Esmeralda answered, her trainer nodding in agreement. “It befits his regal status to do that.” The forest path opened up into a larger courtyard, which served as the front lawn to the building. A few guards stood in front of a large golden gate, while a few of their fellows were joining a group of people gathered near a small wooden platform near the edge of the place.
“I wonder what’s going on over there?” Sunset asked. Upon a second look, the platform had a small carriage next to it, a horse-like Pokémon with a flaming mane and tail hitched up to it. Curious, she walked up to the crowd around the stage, Nelson accompanying her. Crystal and Fredrick walked up to the gates, to negotiate entry to the property.
“Hey, do you know what’s going on here?” Nelson asked a young girl. The girl had silvery hair and violet eyes, and was clad in a purple halter top and jean shorts. She glanced over to Nelson, giggled, and pointed over to a poster on the wagon’s side. He read the text aloud for Sunset to hear. “It says, ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie, Traveling Pokémon Performer.’ I’ve never heard of her. She native to Kalos or something?” The poster had a picture of a familiar-looking girl to Sunset. She was dressed in stage attire on the poster, a periwinkle tunic hugging her body tightly and boots to match. She wore an oversized witch’s hat and an ankle-long cape of a more lavender color, though these were also decorated with yellow and blue stars.
Sunset rolled her eyes, as she knew what was most likely to happen. Still, a magic show given by someone who had talent for the human form of magic, with the aid of Pokémon, should be interesting. Within a few minutes smoke poured out onto the stage, and a girl who matched the poster exactly walked out onto the stage confidently.. She bowed as the crowd clapped for her flashy entrance. “Thank you everybody! Now behold as I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, dazzle you with feats of magic the likes of which have never been seen before!” She threw her left hand out to the side, a wand appearing in it instantaneously. Unlike the rest of the show or the performer, the wand was a simple and traditional black and white magician’s wand.
The performer aimed the wand to her right, and a ball of water materialized there. As she moved her hand so did the sphere, until she flicked it high into the sky. The ball of water was then intercepted by a jet of fire that also shot form it, forming sparkling droplets that rained down upon the crowd. As they applauded, Trixie followed it up with another wave of her wand, the smoke onstage swirling around her from an unfelt wind. The smoke curled up into its own sphere before becoming corporeal, forming a face of its own. “Ghastly!” It proudly proclaimed, before flying out over the crowd. Sunset was slightly impressed, and clapped along with the crowd.
“For my next act, Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience!” She proclaimed in the third person. Almost everyone in the crowd eagerly raised their hands, trying to be chosen by the talented magician. Trixie aimed her wand over the audience, trying to determine who to choose. She hesitated over Sunset for a second, a small falter in her stage look before moving on and choosing the girl in the halter top next to Nelson. The girl walked up onstage, only to stand inside a large box that Trixie’s Ghastly levitated from her carriage.
“Now, before your very eyes, witness as The Great and Powerful Trixie transforms this volunteer into a Pokémon!” The crowd murmured to itself, most people saying things as if they didn’t believe she could do exactly that. Smirking, Trixie closed the box the girl was standing in and tapped it with her wand twice. The box shrank to half its original size on the stage, and Sunset momentarily peeked underneath and saw that there was no trapdoor below. When the box re-opened, a small Pokémon hobbled out of it that looked like a bipedal mongoose. The crowd erupted into joyful cheering.
With a small pirouette and a flick of her wand, Trixie caused the area around the mongoose to erupt into smoke, and when it cleared the girl was standing there as good as ever. After she rejoined the crowd the show continued, each trick getting more and more spectacular. Sunset found herself wondering if this world’s Trixie actually knew magic. As with any good magic show, the ending was a disappearing act. The crowd watched as Trixie pulled her hat off her head, and tapped it three times with her wand. After placing her hat back on her head, it fell down her body, Trixie vanishing into the confines of the silk article. The Ghastly flew over and picked up the hat, showing the audience there was nothing underneath as it put the hat on its own head.
After a rousing cheer, the crowd dissolved into their own groups, Sunset still hanging near the stage. Nelson commented that he’d check on Crystal and the boat as he approached the main gates, getting stopped by the guards. Sunset merely turned back towards the stage, only to come face to face with its owner. “Whoa!” She said, falling backwards from the startling appearance. Flandre fell backwards as wall, falling flat on her face behind her trainer. “Hey, what was that for?”
“You…” Trixie said before shaking her head. “Trixie merely wishes to speak with you. Trixie saw you during her show, and she was… intrigued by you.” She helped Sunset to her feet and beckoned her to follow. Not sure if she should, she did so anyway after helping Flandre back to her feet. Trixie was leading Sunset back behind her wagon, where nobody else was around. “Tell me,” Trixie said, dropping the third person, “What do you know of magic?”
“Magic?” Sunset asked. She had to be careful here. She had no idea what magic was to the people of this world, but she decided to play it safe and give an explanation from Earth. “Magic is a bunch of illusions and sleight of hand tricks designed to make people believe something mystical has happened.”
“I see.” Trixie responded, before lowering her hand. “I… apologize, then. I thought you had merely seen through my illusions…” She sighed before continuing. “To make it up to you, how about I challenge you to a Pokémon battle? If you win, I’ll give you an encore presentation of my show.”
Sunset smiled. This is how the people of this world share friendship, after all. “Alright then. I’ve only got one Pokémon who I’d like to fight with, though. The other one’s kind of young and I don’t want him to battle yet.”
“This doesn’t bother Trixie.” The girl said, slipping back into a stage routine. “Trixie will only use one of her Pokémon, then.” She grabbed a Pokéball from her belt, and threw it high into the sky. “Dazzle the battlefield, Illusion!” The Pokémon that came out looked like a small black fox, with blue-tipped paws and tail, and a blue swirl of mane atop its head.
“Flandre, let’s show her what we can do!” Sunset called out, the Pokémon in question jumping from her head. Quickly looking at her Pokédex, Sunset identified her opponent as the Dark-Type known as Zorua. Knowing she had a type disadvantage, Sunset immediately thought of her options. “Given that Psychic Type attacks are useless here…” She thought to herself, having read the typing mechanics on her Pokédex the other day, she proceeded to call out, “Flandre, use Slash!”
The Espurr’s paw glowed in a white aura, and it was headed straight for the enemy before Trixie belted out, “Illusion, use Double Team!” The Pokémon smirked and flashed around itself multiple times, clones of the Pokémon appearing all around the battlefield. Flandre looked confused before striking the nearest image, causing it to disappear. “Illusion, use Fury Swipes!” One of the images leaped through its comrades, slashing across Flandre multiple times with glowing claws.
“Ah! Get out of there, and use, uhh…” Sunset looked at Flandre’s moves on her Pokédex once more, trying to remember what she could use against a dark type. “Use Disarming Voice!” Flandre responded by crying out cutely, somehow making the sound waves that came out of its mouth both visible and tangible. One of the shadowy images was knocked back from the blast, towards Trixie’s feet.
“Illusion, get up!” Trixie called out, as the Pokémon got to its tiny paws, not much left in it. Illusion shook, and gave a positive sounding bark. Before she could get any farther, Sunset told her companion to use Slash once more, on that one. The attack was about to connect, until Trixie called out to her friend. “Sucker Punch!” The Zorua jumped into the air to meet Flandre, and its lighted paw collided into the slash attack, causing a small explosion to occur. Both Pokémon flew out to the side, and both of them looked very much unconscious.
“Well… uh… I guess this is a tie, then?” Sunset said after a few tense seconds. Trixie merely agreed before grabbing a pair of Potions, walking over to the unconscious Pokémon.
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Nice use of that Undertale music, and I like Abel. Sounds like Sunset somehow channeled Fluttershy's kindness, like what happened to Dog!Spike in Friendship Games.
i find it fairly obvious that Trixies 'volunteer' for the transforming trick was in fact her foxy partner Illusion, though i must ask where Trixie found a Female Zorua, they r not common...
There's a video on butterscotch-caramel pie online if anyone wants to see. Also, don't go Genocide for the love o' gravy.
Great chapter! Loved the Pokéverse Trixie! Keep up the fantastic work! This is getting good!
P.S. I wonder how Absol/Abel talk? Is it because of Sunset??? Hmm...
Abel seems WAY too over his parents being dead for a month old Absol the size of an Eevee. And I'll just go ahead and assume his speech/lack of pokemon language is due to Sunset's latent magic?
...Wait, is this how most bronies feel about Flash Sentry? It feels... weird. 
Pretty cool to see Trixie, and her pokemon definitely fit her. Still trying to decide whether her Zorua is shiny, or has merely been to the pokemon stylist.
And fine, I'll concede; Nelson isn't evil. That doesn't mean I like him.
Able is, or will be to Sunset, what Spike is to Twilight? Will he learn Flamethrower?
If Trixie is going for illusion etc types, does that mean she has, or will pick up the Pokemon equivalent of the Alicorn Amulet, in its doorstop mode? that is, the Strange Keystone, otherwise Spiritomb?
KO awesome chapter and nice to see the Pokemon's world Trixie. Looking forward of what comes next.
Great chapter as always.
So there have been reports of a strange energy *cough*magic*cough* before Sunset appeared and Trixie's reaction makes me believe she also has some kind of special power related to that.
Nice chapter, good work.
What did you mean by that?
Cool you responded to my last review!!!
Anyways nice chapter. No idea how Abel is able (heh heh) to talk. He's a shiny right? I'm surprised that isn't on the forefront of people's mind... Besides the talking.
As for the last review, I'm sure Sunset wouldn't be biased toward Absols. I meant other people she meets.
People may not be as open and accepting to something called "the disaster Pokemon". May cause sunset trouble from others who are superstitious.
I'd really like to get into Austraeoh et. all, but the word count is too daunting for me.
Nice chapter, by the way. Kudos for including the Zoroark line in the story- it is my favorite.
Why is it that Sunset is surprised to hear Abel talk?
To her, Pokémon talking to her seems to be a norm instead of an exception. First is the near constant contact with Esmeralda and then the introduction to Terrabyte. I understand other people's reaction to him but Sunset should have been conditioned to think that this rarity as par for the course. I could understand being surprised by it actually talking but for her to yelp in surprise and drop him seems to be a bit much. 
intercepted by a jet of fire that also shot form it
1. From.