17 - Paddy's Departure
{I couldn’t stand to get up as early as these two do all the time. No sir.}
Aengus, Paddy, and Rarity were already passing through Violet City before most folks had left their homes for work. The weather was markedly crisper than expected for this long before the equinox, but she found the slight fog invigorating and easy on the lungs. Given how early the brothers liked to get their days started, Rarity mused herself at how much better off she was with Aengus than Rainbow Dash, despite her pegasus friend’s kick-butt attitude and behaviour. Headed out of town to the east, Aengus bought a copy of the daily news. He snorted, “Seems your friend can’t stay off the front page.”
Rarity said, “It was like that for the first two weeks after her coronation.”
“Sounds like how it goes about everywhere, when crowns are laid on heads,” said Aengus with a nod.
“Brother, I think you mean ‘are lain,’ not ‘are laid.’ ‘Lay vs. lie’ and all that rot,” Paddy said, looking up from his Pokégear. Pointing at the screen, he emphasised, “More to the point, you know they have journalism online, right?”
Rarity muttered, “At least Pinkie’s not here; that filly can’t keep ‘lay’ and ‘lie’ straight to save her life.”
“Yes, but there’s poor reception between New Bark Town and the Plateau,” said Aengus, disregarding both Paddy’s correction and Rarity’s comment. “What are they saying about Twilight?”
Reading off of his Pokégear, Paddy said, “They don’t start the article about her, but about who all, shall we say, is coming to dinner. The number of unique Pokémon there is really starting to pile up. As of last night, they have eleven legendaries and five mythicals there, with more inbound. Reports are coming from all over the globe of such Pokémon heading in the general direction of Sinnoh. There’s a storm off the Hoenn coast headed that way, with a very sharp dividing line between it and unbearable sunlight. Perfectly straight, too.”
“Why in the world would a storm act so peculiar?” Rarity asked. “That’s not any sort of weather pattern I’d arrange. More importantly, will it hit us here?”
Paddy looked through the article and said, “Sunlight and moonlight might be a little brighter in a few days, but only for a few hours; it looks like that’s the most it’ll do to Johto. An opinion ventured by World Elite Four member Steven Stone suggests it’s Groudon and Kyogre on the move. Guess it and Lugia are indeed gonna meet. Oh wow! Mew’s been sighted for the first time in thirteen years, and this time not so far away as Guyana.”
“What website are you on?” asked Aengus.
“PNN.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow, “Wait, how could you get anything from PNN here? This isn’t Equestria, and what is a ‘website,’ anyway?”
Paddy stared at her blankly for a moment. Then his face eased with a sigh of comprehension. He said, “I presume your PNN is the ‘Pony News Network?’ Similar name here, except swap ‘Pony’ for ‘Pokémon.’ As for a website, that’s more difficult to explain. There are servers that—”
“What do waiters and waitresses have to do with this at all?” Rarity interjected.
Paddy blinked slowly. Aengus said, “Short version of what he’s trying to say: a website is like a small book you can look at if you have the right device and are in the right place. The one he looked at is maintained by journalists, and updated whenever they have an important news story to share.”
“Okay...,” Rarity trailed off.
“Every bit of the news surrounding your friend is odd,” said Paddy, scrolling through the article. “It says ‘World Champion Blue Oak and Grand Master Red are both staying in Pastoria City, in conference with Princess Twilight Sparkle. Oak told reporters that at least one of the supposed abductees “may have been bred” with a Pokémon. He offered at 25,000 Pokébuck bounty on “any such hybrid brought to me here in Pastoria City.” Grand Master Red declined comment.’”
Paddy shifted uncomfortably under his brother’s judgmental gaze. Rarity growled, “And that green-eyed Trixie?”
“She warrants further study. Of the Pokémon professors in the world, Professor Elm is the best one to ask what’s going on with her,” said Paddy. He raised an eyebrow. “Aengus, you’ll want to hear this. ‘Numerous reports from Ecruteak City give the location of one of the supposed abductees, “Rarity.” Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh and “Rarity” were seen and recorded conversing in the city’s central plaza. This “Rarity” is supposedly being trained as a Pokémon, but Ho-Oh said she is no Pokémon at all. With the trainer in question reportedly heading toward the Indigo Plateau, we reached out to Indigo League Champion Karen about her thoughts on the matter. She said, “We would be pleased to welcome any such otherworldly visitor to the League, whether they come as a tourist, spectator, trainer, or combatant.”’ Looks like your one fear is allayed.”
Aengus breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, good.”
Paddy continued, “Ooh. ‘Other League Champions, however, did not share this open-armed welcome. Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia released this statement: “As these ponies are neither people nor Pokémon, they may not in any way, shape, or form participate nor spectate in any official League function. Any trainer found with such a pony on their team in any official League match with be summarily stripped of their trainer status and barred from purchasing a Pokéball ever again.”’ Damn, wonder who pissed in her soup? ‘Wallace, the Hoenn League Champion, said, “I see no reason we should willingly allow such destructive, gauche beings into our midst.” Kalos League Champion Diantha’s statement read, “With Team Flare’s attempt to annihilate all Pokémon still fresh in our minds, we cannot permit such a danger as these ponies into Kalos.” Unova League Champion Cheren, however, was more amiable in his statement, “If a pony wishes to participate in the Unova League, they may do so, but under the same requirements and guidelines as every other trainer.” Both the Alola and Orange Pokémon Leagues stated they have not made an official decision about the ponies. The Ranger Unions could not be reached for comment.’”
Rarity frowned. She looked up at Aengus and said, “Darling, does that mean you have to turn in that badge from Sunyshore?”
Aengus shook his head. “No; if they try to make that claim, I’ll point out it’s ex post facto, and that’ll be the end of that.”
“I was about to suggest that,” said Paddy.
Aengus stopped and knelt beside Rarity. Putting an arm around her, he said with concern, “It’s about to be bad over in Sinnoh. I know we said we’d get you back to Equestria as soon as possible after I’m champion, but I have concerns about going there with things as they are. There are too many legendary and mythical Pokémon there right now. There’s going to be conflict between some of them, especially those that have similar claims of domain. If Lugia and this Kyogre start having it out, the seas will be way too rough for any ship to sail there. If Ho-Oh and Rayquaza do the same, flight will also be a no-go. From the sounds of its name, I presume ‘Groudon’ has something to do with the ground. Why that’s trouble is because of a figure we heard of in Unova. Folks at the Abundant Shrine spoke of a ‘Landorus.’ If we have that conflict too, I doubt we could get there at all, until at least one pair is done lockin’ horns. But if you really want to, we’ll still try.”
Rarity nodded with a sad smile. Looking around, she said, “Twilight can be stubborn. She’s not as bad as my friend Applejack, but once she has her mind set on something, that’s the end of it. If that news story is accurate, then Ho-Oh is right, and all those unique Pokémon are going to see her. She’s here to find me. If I don’t go back, it’ll just keep getting worse.”
Aengus forced a grin as he scratched her behind the ears. With a short sigh, he said dejectedly, “Okay, we’ll go. But I hope we can still get a ship.”
“What happens if we can’t get a ship or fly?” Rarity asked.
“You go by land, of course,” said Paddy with concern, shaking his head with a hand where many men find a bald spot. Under his breath he finished, “And pray that my namesake and the Fourteen lend you as much aide as they possibly can, especially Christopher and Eustace.”
Aengus briefly nodded at his brother with worry, then looked at Rarity and said, “They’ve started building a route between the end of Route 25 in Kanto, and Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh. But they’ve done little more than break ground on ‘Route 200,’ last I knew.”
“I’ve been through the wilderness before. It’s not as fashionable as I’d like, nor would I have the wardrobe I’d like to have with me...nor do I really have it at all,” said Rarity, muttering the last part under her breath before continuing in at a normal volume, “...but I see no reason we shan’t do so now.”
Paddy shook his hands parallel to the ground. “There’s a reason we stay on the routes.”
“And that reason is why there are such weaker Pokémon through here,” said Aengus. “All aspiring young trainers need to go see the Professor before they can begin their own Pokémon journey. That means all of them here in Johto must go to New Bark Town, and they’re escorted by a strong trainer for the young ones’ safety. I had such an escort, Paddy had one, and years later I was the escort on four different trips. All of the more dangerous Pokémon have been stomped down by these escorting trainers, and in greater degrees the closer we get to the Professor’s lab. It’s the same thing in other regions”
“Okay...??”
Aengus continued, “If both air and sea block the way to Sinnoh, the last option is over land. We’re talking about going where there are no routes at all, and traveling through it for a long, long ways. Precious few trainers ever venture out there. Most of those that do are rangers, and usually not for very long. That means there hasn’t been any kind of filtering out of the strong, aggressive Pokémon throughout the exact place we’d traverse.”
Rarity scoffed, “Why do you always have some doom and gloom to share?”
Aengus ignored her comment. “It’ll be extremely dangerous. While the common lines will appear, we won’t be seeing Pidgeys, or Pidgeottos. We’ll be seeing Pidgeots, we’ll be seeing Alakazams, Vileplumes, Victreebels, Roserades, Luxrays, Poliwraths, and so on. And from what I’ve read, we may be seeing them by the dozen out there, or worse. The thought of Staraptor worries me.”
Rarity shot him a disbelieving look. “Being a little melodramatic? Coming from me, that really means something.”
Aengus’s face was unchanged. Paddy said, “Have you ever seen a large group of starlings before? Get enough of them together, and they start acting like a school of fish, but in the air.”
Aengus bluntly said, “Starly and its line show the same behaviours as ordinary starlings once an arseload of them band together. But out there, we’re not gonna see Starly, or Staravia. They will all be Staraptors, and in greater numbers as we get closer to their native Sinnoh. The last thing we need is an entire murmuration of Staraptors bearing down on us; if that happens, all of us will die. At least a thousand of them at once? Even if a move like Blizzard, Surf, or Air Slash drops ninety-five percent of them, and even if all those left are still significantly weaker, there are still a not-exaggerating fifty-plus of them coming at you right now. How many volleys of Aerial Ace, or Takedown, or Close Combat do you think any given Pokémon could endure, especially when one attack comes on another’s heels? Think you can withstand fifty-plus strikes in rapid succession? You won’t have long to stand there wondering how much you can take; none of us would live to tell the tale.”
“I thought you two made it clear that Pokémon moves can’t kill,” Rarity said as she suddenly stopped, watching them both with highly suspicious eyes.
“That’s true. Pokémon moves can’t kill,” Paddy began while Aengus raised an eyebrow at the emphasis of the word “Pokémon.”
“So...that means...,” Rarity trailed off, rotating a hoof expectantly.
Paddy continued, “They can knock us all out, though. Eating, however, isn’t a Pokémon move, and if their meal isn’t moving, they can just eat. Do you think any of us will live through being masticated, swallowed, and digested?”
Rarity stared without blinking nor moving. After a moment she slowly said, “Then we better hurry up.”
The brothers nodded at her. The continued along the fairly straight route with its stairways. Paddy looked at his Pokégear for a moment, and said, “Sure is strange how all the legendaries and mythicals are drawn to Princess Twilight, all of them gathering there...heh. Gathering...are they drawn to The Gathering? I suppose they’re about to fight for The Prize. I’d love to hear Arceus holler ‘There can be only one!’”
Aengus facepalmed. Unamused, Rarity said, “Darling, we’re not in a crossover with that, too.”
Paddy frowned and snapped his fingers in disappointed. “Nuts.”
The route came to a dead end with a narrow cave opening that faced to the south. Southward there was another route. As Paddy summoned the hot air balloon Pokémon to slash out the overgrown brush, Aengus stopped and turned as two trainers nearby threw down Pokéballs. He nudged his brother, and all three of them took a moment. The further away of was a mid-teens girl with blonde hair in an orange sports bra and matching volleyball shorts, black shoes, and black fingerless fighting gloves. Across from her was a large barrel-chested man with a thick beard, outdoorsman clothing from head to toe, a camping backpack, and a hiking stick. Before the girl appeared an anthropomorphic blue dog with black markings around its face, hands, legs, shoulders, and waist, a tan torso, and a spike from the back of its hands and the centre of its chest. The man’s Pokémon was a Golem, like the one Rarity saw on the screen in her Safari Ball, but it looked much bigger face-to-face.
“Lucario against a Golem? This shouldn’t take long,” said Aengus. Paddy nodded.
The girl yelled, “Lucario, use Bone Rush!”
“Golem, Earthquake!” answered the man.
Before either Pokémon moved, the girl gave her left boob a pinch. Rarity scoffed indignantly at the sight. Whirling light emanated from the pinch and from her Lucario. Aengus’s head dropped a few centimeters as he gave her a slightly narrow-eyed, slightly agape stare of disbelief and incredulity. He muttered, “Of all the ways to wear one’s Key Stone...why like that?? Why would you ever think that’s a good idea?!”
The light surrounding Lucario hardened into a brown stone sphere, which quickly cracked and shattered, revealing Lucario slightly altered. Red adorned the ends of his dangling headdress, hands and feet, as more spikes and black markings emerged, along with a foofy tail of the same tan colour. Paddy shook his head in a tight-lipped frown, just as shocked as his brother. He said, “I don’t think she’s old enough to have had that done legally.”
“Bet she’ll regret it before she’s thirty,” said Aengus.
As Paddy nodded and Lucario threw bones at Golem, Rarity asked, “What did she do, apart from that salacious display?”
Aengus began whispering into her ear as the man’s Golem fainted. She gasped deeply with wide, mortified eyes while the hiker deployed a bipedal red insectoid Pokémon with small membranous wings. Rarity squeaked and scrunched, clamping her back legs together and shrinking. Her face was of the horrified shock and pain of she were a child who was at the pediatrician, and on her third of seven vaccines for the day. While the trainers gave their orders, Rarity squawked, “Why would you do that!? I can’t imagine willingly doing something so douloureux! Not to mention uncouth!”
Aengus sighed, shook his head, and shrugged, all in unison. An identical strange light from a moment ago surrounded the red insect and the hiker’s belt buckle, and after a moment it emerged about two hands taller. The pincers on its arms now looked like pinking shears to Rarity. This didn’t seem to matter much as the Lucario’s foot suddenly was engulfed in flames as it leveled a side kick squarely into the insect’s belly. A moment later the red insect was back in its ball, out cold. The hiker yelled, “Go, Tyranitar!”
A lumbering, bulky sage green theropod appeared, with a blue rhombus on its belly. Sand began whipping around the battleground as Paddy leaned next to Aengus and said, “Should’ve mega-evolved this one instead of the Scizor.”
Aengus answered, “He might not have any Tyranitarite. That stuff isn’t exactly in every Pokémart.”
The hiker yelled, “Tyranitar, use Earthquake!”
“Lucario, use Aura Sphere!” answered the girl.
“And that’ll end it,” said Aengus. Lucario stepped forward, cupped its front paws against each other, and suddenly thrust them forward, palms toward Tyranitar. A blue-white orb lanced from Lucario’s hand into the rhombus on Tyranitar, knocking it back a step and keeling it over.
Rarity raised an eyebrow as the sand disappeared. She said, “I’m gonna talk to her.”
“No, Rarity,” said Aengus.
Rarity said, “I’m not going to mother her over her body modification choices, if that’s why you’re worried.”
“I wonder what her sensei has to say about it...of all the things, giving yourself a painful break point right there on your chest. It’s gotta feel great taking one there during a match...what could she have been thinking?” Paddy grumbled to Aengus.
“Life lesson for you, little bro: stop trying to understand girls. It cannot be done,” said Aengus matter-of-factly.
Before Lucario could be returned to its ball, Rarity said, “Wait a moment, darling! I would like to see that again, please!”
The battle girl said with dilating eyes, “...what?”
“That last move, dear. That ‘Aura Sphere.’ I would like to see it again, please,” said Rarity with a sparkly-eyed grin.
The girl quietly squeed to herself, and cheerfully said, “Oh my goodness, you’re just too cute! I don’t mind! Lucario, hit that rock with Aura Sphere!”
As the stone was reduced to a dust cloud, Paddy asked his brother, “What is she up to?”
Rarity rocked her head side to side, pursing her lips. The girl asked, “Another time?”
Rarity nodded. Aengus said, “Is she learning this move? Her pool’s already huge, but this would definitely be a welcome addition.”
Pointing at another boulder, the girl shouted, “Do it again!”
Another rock reverted to uncemented sediment. Rarity’s horn powered up for a moment, but she shook her head and released the charge. She said, “One more time, and I think I’ll have it.”
Deciding on a dead branch on a tree, splinters sprayed from there further into the woods as the move connected cleanly. The girl asked, “You think you have it then?”
Rarity pursed her lips and charged her horn. Her eyes lasered in on a discolouration on the outcrop’s face, near the Dark Cave’s entrance. The blue-white sphere formed, and fired from her horn perfectly, leaving a beach ball-sized hole in the sandstone. Rarity beamed, “Yes, I believe I do! Thank you very much, young miss!”
The girl giggled, “Glad I could help.”
Rarity looked intensely at Lucario, then at his trainer. Her eyes perked up. “Oo-o-oh!! Aengus, darling, would you be a dear and fetch me my sketchpad and pencils, please? I have inspiration, and it shan’t be wasted!”
Aengus chuckled as he retrieved the pad and the pencils from his bag. The trio turned south. Rarity paid little attention to where she was going, trusting Aengus to steer her away from trouble, which he did. She sketched away, figuring what she thought to herself to be functional but sporty formalwear for martial artists, and matching outfits for whatever beau or belle may be on her or his arm.
An indeterminate amount of time later, some tenor yelled, “Aengus! Good you came!”
Rarity looked up to see another young man about Aengus’s age standing there in a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a blue ball cap. Aengus forced a smile and cheer into his voice. “Hello, Joey.”
Joey started walking toward Aengus. Paddy tiptoed behind Joey and slinked further down the route as Joey continued, “I have a surprise for you! I traded over the web, and guess what? I got an Alolan Rattata! And it’s also in the top percentage of Rattata! How cool is that!?”
Rarity’s lips tightened. Aengus pushed out the words, “That’s great, Joey. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks man!” Joey cheered obliviously. “You gotta check this new guy out! Ready!?”
{Hey, a one-sided affair. Smash Brothers sand bag contest time.}
Aengus stifled a sigh. He looked at Rarity, took the pad and pencils, and said, “Remember what I said to do, right?”
Rarity sighed through her nose. “Yeah, and I see why now.”
Joey giggled to himself, much too happily, as he threw a Pokéball. Out came a Raticate. Rarity stepped forward. Aengus said, “Aura Sphere, if you would.”
Joey whooped, “Use Hyper Fang!”
Rarity forced a heavier charge into her horn before firing the pulse. The burnt orange rodent before her attempted to dodge, but the shot changed direction, launching the top percentage Raticate over the trees. A trail of pink sparks whipped back to Joey. He frowned, then threw another Pokéball. This Raticate had black fur, and its cheek pouches filled. Joey giggled as before, just more so.
Rarity scowled, but Joey either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She looked back at Aengus and said, “Again?”
“Yes please.”
“Sucker Punch!”
Rarity remembered what this looked like. As she charged her horn, she waited. When Joey’s Pokémon suddenly lurched forward, she dodged the attack right on cue, and then fired her horn at point blank range. The Alolan Raticate went nearly straight up into the air a long ways and out of sight, seemingly becoming a twinkle against a cloud after a moment. Pink sparks returned to the ground a moment later.
“Blasting off again?” said Joey in disappointment. He then perked up again. “She’s something else, huh? Is she also in the top percentage like my Rattatas?”
Rarity began singing to herself what she remembered from the night before, just to purge Joey’s voice from her ears. “Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows....”
{Nearly to the start of Gen-II. Having nostalgia yet?}
She busied herself in the sketches of evening gowns and the occasional tuxedo or other suit so as not to hear anything else about a “top percentage Rattata” or whatever. Before long they were moving again. Rarity’s mind drifted again to the music and dance from Aengus and his family, trying to remember his mother’s dancing costume. Something about that yellow dress tugged at her, like she could perform as well if she had more practice. At the very least she’d like to see how well the best of the best did. Rarity had looked up when they turned eastward to find they had entered a small city, and were already on their way out of it.
Aengus said, “Don’t worry about Cherrygrove City; there’s not much here.”
With that, Rarity continued detailing colours and subtleties in her outfits’ designs. Time continued to pass unheralded and generally ignored as they walked on. Rarity grinned to herself, pleased that her use of telekinesis had improved as much as it did over her time here. It was not so much that she was manipulating two objects, as it was two separate objects doing two separate things. She had sewn a great many times using precise movements with her magic, but she had not been telekinetically controlling something else at the same time. Thoughts wandered, thinking about other unicorns in Ponyville that she knew. Many knew a great deal of magic, even mastery over numerous spells, but such fine telekinetic control over multiple objects...few had that. Of course Twilight was one of them. Rarity had numerous times seen the finesse and elegance in Twilight’s use of magic. How long had Twilight been a master of telekinesis as Rarity was with her dress designs right now? She knew before she ascended, Twilight would sometimes reshelf the entire Golden Oaks Library in one go, levitating every volume in circulation at the same time, and then putting them away one by one, in the correct order to boot. Could she, Rarity, have had that level of control as well? Hard to say; she had other pursuits that Twilight, talented mare that she was, could not even begin to attempt. This fashion she designed, the very cause of those tangential thoughts, was the big one. Nopony came close to her.
Aengus had stopped again. Rarity found herself in a tiny hamlet. The brothers were talking outside the largest building there, one to the north. She approached as she heard Aengus say, “Still no, huh?”
“Nothing to be gained by it,” said Paddy. Professor Elm stepped out of the south-facing door and gave Paddy a nod. With a sigh, he looked at his brother and said, “Well, here I go. Good luck, brother.”
Aengus gave him a hug. “You too. I should be back shortly with good news. Got a good feeling about this, which is different from the other times I made my challenge.”
Patting his brother on the back, Paddy said, “Glad to hear that. And good to know mom and dad will have nothing to worry about, one way or the other. Go show them your stuff.”
“You too,” said Aengus as he let go. Paddy smiled at Aengus before Professor Elm led him inside.
{Hardly seems worth putting the last one in there, does it?}
Rarity followed Aengus over to a lake with minimal shoreline at the town’s eastern edge. With a click of a Pokéball, Gyarados appeared, settling into the water. Rarity froze for a moment, looking at the size of the blue Chinese dragon. From the screens she could tell Gyarados was big, but wasn’t ready for her to be that big. Aengus patted Rarity on the back, which somehow began calming her down as he sidled up beside Gyarados and the water’s edge. He stopped and looked to his companion. With a gentlemanly bow, Aengus took Rarity by the hoof as he helped her onto Gyarados’s back. Despite the size, Rarity found Gyarados swam very smoothly, having no difficulty keeping an even pace for her and Aengus to maintain steady footing. Rarity continued embellishing her dress designs, including light touches within the fabric that most ponies would miss, but the critics would notice and rave about her play with light and dark. She grinned at how like life it was to weave the perfect fabric, that a single black thread in the loom’s warp could make all the difference in the world for the better, if in exactly the right place. One strand off, and not only would the effect would be lost, the whole thing would look shoddy at best.
They made landfall after a short time. Aengus said, “And with that, we’ve passed into the Kanto region.”
{Another musical change forced by what plays there in the game. So short-lived....}
Aengus led her to a small cave with large waterfalls. She put the sketchpad back into his bag as they took off on Gyarados again. On their way up the first waterfall, Rarity said, “Aengus, darling, do speak up. You’ve been pensive most of the day, and I dare say brooding after dropping off your brother with the professor. What’s on your mind?”
“He should have told you everything,” Aengus said sadly. “Everything that happened that he saw. Everything that he did. He’s old enough to man up when it’s time to be honest about what he’s done, especially if the other person will be upset.”
Rarity shook her head discontentedly. “I have the feeling you’re about to start telling me things that he was supposed to, but saw ‘nothing to be gained by it,’ right?”
“So you heard that.”
“Yes.’”
“I see it comes to me ratting him out in the end,” Aengus sighed.
Rarity looked around. Scrunching her eyebrows, she asked, “Wait, we’re in a cave, and have been through tall grass; why haven’t we seen any wild Pokémon?”
Aengus held up an empty aerosol can with a pale yellow label. “Max Repels. You’ve been busy sketching away; I didn’t want you to be interrupted. Certainly not by piddly little Pokémon.”
“Thanks. Good that we’ll not have to deal with trifles,” said Rarity. Her face hardened some as she said, “So, what unhappy news do you have for me? Let’s start with Trixie.”
“Okay.”
“Where is she?”
“Lost and abandoned,” Aengus said. “He released her before we even left the daycare, moving the one Twixie of the ten he kept into his active party and equipping it with an Experience Share. He specifically used the PC to move the item onto that Twixie, keeping her out of your sight at all times, so that he wouldn’t tip you off that something had happened. But for the real Trixie’s whereabouts, I have no idea. Those PCs release such Pokémon in hidden places. She could be anywhere in Sinnoh.”
Rarity growled. Spitting in the water as they started down the other waterfall, she grouched, “The why did you suggest I make friends with the green-eyed Trixie before we boarded the ship?”
“Two reasons,” began Aengus. “First, I wasn’t sure if you could tell the difference between her and the original. And you didn’t until you saw her eyes. The other is because I was curious if that ‘Trixie’ was more pony, or more Pokémon. When I heard her say ‘Trixie, Trixie!’ to you, my suspicions had been confirmed: she’s more Pokémon.”
“I suppose he also released the other nine ‘Twixies’ into the wild too, didn’t he?” Rarity barked.
“He did.”
Rarity all-but roared. She raised a foot and nearly stomped, stopping herself when she remembered they were on Gyarados’s back and that was no offense she wished to commit. She asked, “Why would he do that? Why didn’t he just keep a hold of them until you’re champion, so that we could all return at once?”
Aengus sighed again. “That was the problem with him. He never made any promises of returning anything to Equestria. He was so convinced you two were Pokémon that he never gave you a thought as your own ethnic group, with your own history, culture, cuisine, art, song, and so on. I hadn’t given it any thought at first, until you started talking as much as you did.”
“I still can’t believe him,” Rarity huffed. “The way he used Trixie? Just left her as...as a...come on Rarity, what’s the word...?”
“A broodmare?” Aengus offered.
Rarity’s lip involuntarily curled in disgust. “Why do you people have such a word!?!”
Aengus said, “Since the dawn of civilisation, humans have bred animals to various purposes. Horses, being big and strong, were bred for work.”
“You say ‘bred,’ as in, breeding?” Rarity said in nauseated tones.
“Yeah,” said Aengus. “Pick two possible parents with favourable traits, put them in the same stall while she’s in heat, and then there should be a foal on the way that’ll grow up into the better horse you want.”
{It should not take anyone that long to get through Tohjo Falls.}
Rarity actually did barf this time, mostly missing Gyarados. The dragon-like Pokémon sighed, and sank lower into the water to rinse herself off. Aengus helped Rarity back onto dry land and out of the cave, where they quickly took to the water again for a very short distance, passed through some tall grass, and then Gyarados used Surf yet again. Once Rarity had finished purging her gut, she said, “That is possibly the vilest thing I’ve ever heard! And he arranged for Trixie to be so abused...my Celestia. Never imagined I’d ever feel sorry for her. Wait, how did she birth ten foals so quickly?!”
“Pokémon don’t have live births; they hatch. Fathers pass moves, but mothers retain the species, which is why he used Zebstrika instead of a Ditto,” said Aengus. He sprayed another can, then continued, “As for how Trixie laid eggs, I have no idea. No one’s ever seen a Pokémon lay an egg, but the eggs have been found countless times. At a daycare, eggs are taken when found and given to the Pokémon’s trainer. Whenever you find Trixie, you’ll have to ask her how that happened.”
“I will,” said Rarity. She thought for a moment, and said, “Would Trixie even know she’s a mom?”
“She might not, if she doesn’t know what became of those eggs,” said Aengus.
The two rode in silence for a ways. As Gyarados led them across a whirlpool with no sign of trouble, Rarity asked, “So he kept just the one, and abandoned the other nine. But why? He’s too calculating to be flippant or hasty with such decisions.”
“Remember how I said not all Pokémon species are equal?” Aengus asked.
“Yes, why?”
“Not all individuals of a given species are equal, either,” Aengus said sadly. They came to some land connected to a wooden bridge, and hopped off of Gyarados. As she returned to her ball and they started across the bridge, Aengus said, “It’s like each Pokémon has its own...individual values, for lack of a better term, that affect how good they are statistically.”
“Like little Raichu,” Rarity said with some venom.
Aengus sighed and hung his head. “Yeah. Like him. I had said before that he’s as strong a Raichu as you could hope to find; that’s because these ‘individual values,’ for him, are perfect across the board. He may actually be stronger than a Raichu is supposed to be.”
“How can you tell?” asked Rarity.
“There are a few trainers out there that can tell what these ‘individual values’ are. They’ve been dubbed ‘judges,’ but there aren’t very many of them. We found a judge in Johto, at a sort of Pokémon battle-themed park called the ‘Battle Frontier.’ Idiotic name, yes, but that’s how it goes,” said Aengus.
“And this ‘judge’ said Raichu’s perfect,” said Rarity with a bit of bitterness. They started up a small rise and across another wooden bridge, this one much higher off the water. She shook her head again and said, “I suppose another of these ‘judges’ looked at green-eyed Trixie and said she was perfect, too?”
Aengus said, “Obviously so. I never found a ‘judge’ in Sinnoh, but clearly Paddy did. It helps when either parent had a perfect set as well, like his Zebstrika has, or at least a few perfect. If I had to guess, Trixie had at least two of her ‘individual values’ perfect. For Paddy, that’s not enough. Most of Paddy’s Pokémon have perfect ‘individual values.’ That boy is an excellent, excellent Pokémon breeder. Every Pokémon you’ve seen him with was bred, even that Typhlosion. He picked Cyndaquil when he started his journey, which after two evolutions becomes Typhlosion, but he wanted a stronger one. So he bred it, until he got one that was perfect, and released the very Pokémon that started him on his journey.”
The bridge turned north. Rarity grumbled, “And he never stopped to think they may have thoughts and feelings of their own.”
Aengus nodded sadly. “Until you came along, I didn’t know they were as intelligent as they are. I’m afraid I’ve also been guilty of that, and may have been the one who instilled it in him. I wish I could apologise to the Pokémon whose trust I betrayed like that, but I have no idea where any of them are now, or if they’re even alive.”
Rarity gave an overwhelmed sigh, looking down. She said, “I just...can’t think about all of it right now. Can I have the sketchpad back? I’d like to clear my head.”
Aengus nodded. He stopped and opened his bag, giving Rarity her dress designs and coloured pencils. Rarity buried herself in the design work, determining fabrics to be used, what material for any beadwork, which ones warranted sequins or a slip (or no slip if a mare wanted certain attention from her husband), what stitches to use, and so on, all while trying to balance that against the shops’ budgets. Rarity For You easily brought in the most money of her three stores, but it also cost the most to run, and had the most persnickety customers. A bad design or two, and she could find the entire year in the red real fast.
Time again slipped past her unnoticed as Aengus led her through the trees and tall grass, repelling the wild Pokémon away. Shadows told her by now it was well-after noon. The trees bit by bit disappeared as they continued going uphill, as did the costs of a few of these dresses. She may need small contract work with an available seamstress, one who could obey an NDA without any real temptation, so that she would have time to search for the necessary gemstones. With Sapphire Shores doubtlessly going to go on tour again by spring, she would need a hefty supply for that order alone. She didn’t want to repeat the same frantic search that lead to the trouble with the diamond dogs. All of that was just for Rarity For You. While rent was stiff, it came with the blessing of not having property tax, like her two Carousel Boutiques have. That would also need to be paid in a timely fashion.
Somewhere around there she thought she heard somebody or somepony calling her name. She looked up, but there was no one there. Gazing about gave her the same story. She looked up at Aengus and asked, “Did somebody call for me?”
“I didn’t hear anything,” he said. “It’s just as well you’re looking up now; we’re almost to the reception gate.”
Ahead, nestled in the valley, was a red building with a yellow awning, built such that one could not go around it without expert rock climbing skills and gear. They had it built such that rainwater runoff from the surrounding rocks would drain away normally without eroding the building itself. Rarity thought she heard her name again, and tried looking up around the cliffs ahead, but couldn’t see anyone or anything. Shrugging, she followed Aengus inside.
Rarity was met by broad taupe and brown tiles with a tan grout, opulently set with malachite running beside the wall. The walls were a fine-grained limestone, well-polished, with recessed lighting and evenly-sized alcoves. A policeman checked Aengus’s badge case from behind a counter. At an intersection was a Pokéball design etched in the floor. Door jambs were painted the same red as the building’s exterior. A sudden cool, damp breeze rushed over Rarity from straight ahead. Aengus said, “To the right is the route to Viridian City. Left, access to Mt. Silver, which few may enter. I am one of those few. Straight ahead, Victory Road, and at the end of it, the Indigo Plateau.”
Aengus led her straight through the intersection. Another breeze blew past them. Rarity said, “Straight, then. What’s in there?”
“Strong wild Pokémon, and stronger trainers. Every time I’ve been through here, it’s always a different group, which shouldn’t be surprising at all. These guys are going to be tough, since they are all vying for the championship,” said Aengus.
Rarity nodded. “I am prepared for battle, darling.”
Grinning, Aengus said, “Right. We’re going in!”
The two stepped over the threshold, into the treacherous gauntlet.
Over the Pokémon League Reception Gate, looking down from the mountainside, angrily stomped a small cream-coloured equine-like Pokémon with a scarlet afro, powder blue tail, mane, and chest fluff, and a large blue horn. Shaking his head, he muttered, “Guess she was too far away to hear me.”
With a sigh, he looked around him, and begin picking his way back upward. He said, “Since that’s the way it is, I’ll wait for them where they’ll come out.”
Quiz time! which brother got "lay vs. lie" correct?
Impressive running for somemon no bigger than a yearling colt...covering most of Sinnoh, the breadth of Kanto, and the unclaimed wilds between in only five days? And over mountains at that? Little guy can move. If the little guy had just gotten there five minutes sooner...oh well. At least he didn't come five minutes later; he might not have thought to meet them at the other end.
Of the possible conflicts between Legendary Pokémon, Aengus's talk of Groudon vs. Landorus seems unlikely, at least for awhile. When I see it happening: Landorus gets upset that the constant berating sunlight keeps all the fields he's cultivating bone-dry, and thus nothing grows in them.
And of course, blog typos cannot be trusted. Rarity is alive and well. 
Plenty on the table for her to mull over, yet Rarity didn't ask about the Mega Evolutions, even though two happened right in front of her. 
And, you'd best believe Aengus and Paddy both have a Key Stone of their own...not stored somewhere that's not as less-than TV-Y10 as that battle girl. They were both ready to explain it to her, too...but she was more interested in Aura Sphere. 
So Rarity gets news about what's going on with Twilight from journalists, but Twilight still has no news about what's going on with Rarity, except that she's somewhere far away. 
There's gonna be some crazy long talks and debriefings once everypony's home...we hope everypony gets home, at least. They are getting home, right? Right...?? 
Secondary classic rock reference this time is courtesy of Steely Dan.
Victory Road is next. But unlike during the events of GSC/HGSS, Giovanni's boy didn't just come through and thwack everyone in sight. There's gonna be trainers this time around. And they mean business. Ace Trainers, Veterans, and that sort of crew. Cards on the table time, Rarity...same time next week.
Thanks for reading. 
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So if I read the clues right, Trixie and the Twixies are running as a gang in wild territory?
Oy, it seems ponies could be ridiculously powerful in this pokemon world, if they can learn moves just by watching them a few times as well as from TMs, move tutors, and move reminders.
Wonder what Egg Groups Trixie is in, and if they might be looking at a revenge swarm infestation, given how efficint the Daycare was?
If thres trainers etc, its a standard Victory Road? Easier if you have a couple L100s and a bag full of Max Repels, Leppa Berries, Full Restores and a couple of Revives for RNG screwups?
As long as all the Mythics etc dont gang up on Arceus, they have The Final Word?
Yes. Because pokemon aren't destructive at all....
Good Riddance Paddy. Also, this is why I like Aengus. The dude is not afraid to admit his mistakes and make amends for them. As for the legendaries... they aren't very good at their jobs if they didn't know about the others with crossover rules, are they?
7878957
Not likely. Paddy dumped off all the rejected Twixies at different times (meaning, as soon as they were judged and found unfit), almost assuredly done very quickly after hatching (just because they haven't used Fly doesn't mean they don't have access to that HM). From that, it should naturally follow that the Twixies are scattered across Sinnoh. If they were running around as a group, the patrol that saw Trixie from a ways off would've seen the little herd with her.
7878963
They easily could...Rarity's pushing 40 known moves at this point. A huge chunk of hers have come from random stimuli; this may as well have been a move tutor. Of course, movesets aren't the end-all, be-all...without the stats to back it up, it doesn't really do much.
7879070
Given she was bred with Zebstrika, she has to be at least partially in the Field group.
As for Victory Road, the place's shape was changed in three years (between the events of Gen-I and Gen-II). Ten years have gone by since then...it's gonna be different.
And what's going on in The Great Marsh with everything that's heading there...you'll just have to wait and read.
Edit: botched that reponse...mixed up Paddy's and Aengus's Pokémon.
If I get through this week alive, I'll have beaten the odds.
7879462
Aengus's reaction was not due to the mega evolution, but rather that the girl kept her Key Stone on a nipple ring.
You may want to double-check your proper name descriptors, I believe at some point during the mega battle Paddy leaned in next to Paddy to say something, but I can't quote it directly at the moment as I've lost it in the text.
7880066
Found and fixed it. Thanks.
poor Trixie and Twixies.
Trixie gonna get a shock if she gets to see them all if she hasnt seen the first Twixie.
i hope she gets found quickly by Twilight and the gang with help from pokemon that Fluttershy befriends and from kind trainers who cares.
Is mewtwo coming? Because I'm sure he wants to see if he can beat up these Ponies which they stand no against the might of Mewtwo!