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3 - Meet Your Trainer

{Some initial tension is to be expected}

Rarity did not return Aengus’s smile. She pointed a hoof at him and snapped, “Oh, now you want to be friendly since you’ve no mud to throw, I get it!”

The women at the long counter suddenly turned at Rarity’s words, each taking to their own style of standing agape. Rarity acknowledged them with no more than a flick of the ear. Aengus smirked and shook his head. With a sigh he said, “It’s just how the Safari Game works. I didn’t expect you to understand, neither did I think you could answer in human speech. You’re remarkable.”

“Good for you to notice; now let me go home,” Rarity chuffed.

“You are home. You’re with your trainer,” Aengus said flatly.

“Buck off,” she answered curtly, and turned to leave. Rarity then got a look of the room. There were gates along a long counter that went almost the full length of the wider side of the room, with uniformed women standing behind the gates, each standing slack-jawed with their eyes bugging out. Some blue device stood in a corner, just outside the counter at the far end of the room. Two clocks were in the room, one over the blue thing, the other just to her left. They were slightly off-sync; the close one read 3:35, and the other 3:34. As she strode away, she heard that click again. She felt the tug of the sparks, and after a moment found herself back in the round room.

Rarity vented, “Why, that loathsome son of a—”

She was cut off as the sparks dragged her back out into this large chamber with the long counter, right where she appeared last time. She growled something that didn't quite resolve into syllables. Aengus chastised, “That sounded most-impolite. You’ll learn some respect, lass, one way or another.”

Respect!? You have the audacity to say I disrespected you?! Who in the hoof do you think you’re fooling!?” Rarity shrieked. Her horn powered up.

Aengus clicked the button on the front of the ball, and Rarity disappeared into it again. She grumbled indistinctly and stomped. Glaring around, she scoffed, then muttered, “Settle down, Rarity. You can figure this out. That ruffian is much cooler-headed than the diamond dogs, so...can’t frazzle him so easily. And he has this blasted ball, which he’ll clearly throw me back in whenever he wants...that won’t let me talk his ear off, or run for it. Has to be something I can do.”

A moment later, he brought her back out. He authoritatively barked, “One way or another, Rarity. I would rather have liked to be friends, but since that’s not what you want, I’ll play the slave driver. It’s your choice, but either way you’re with me now.”

“So you admit you enslaved all those creatures then!” Rarity cried. “Why!?”

Aengus frowned and shook his head. “You’re the first to call Pokémon ‘enslaved.’ I can appreciate your concern, but I assure you all the Pokémon I train are well-cared for, and live much longer with me than what they would have in the wild. Nor do they consider themselves enslaved. I’ve seen the joy on their faces; I know they’re not being forced into something they hate. Given your confusion, there must not be many, if any, trainers in your home region. As for the why, that is simple. Like many others, I train Pokémon for competition.”

Rarity huffed, “You mean, battle?”

“Naturally,” said Aengus. “It’s what man and Pokémon have done together for the longest time. Now I don’t mean battles in wars; it’s more of a sport, like boxing.”

“A sport,” Rarity said irritably.

“Yes. I am a contender for the championship of the Indigo League. Trainers bring their best-prepared Pokémon, and must face the Elite Four, and then the League Champion, with little more than a brief respite between. The championship is awarded to the trainer whose team can overcome such a challenge,” Aengus explained. “You, lass, have great potential, and I choose you to join the team for my championship contention.”

Rarity blinked in confusion. “You want me to be a champion boxer?? I can’t. I knock out dresses, not other ponies! I design fashion, and now you want me to throw punches?”

Aengus shook his head. “Not necessarily punches, though you could if you wanted to. I reckon your horn would be better-suited for Pokémon battles.”

Shooting him a sideways glance, Rarity slowly and bluntly declared, “I am not okay with hurting others needlessly, certainly not for sport.”

“That’s nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over; Pokémon moves don’t cause any real hurt, despite the impressive displays,” Aengus explained. He pursed his lips for a moment, then continued, “Well...almost never. The instances are few and far between, literally years, if not decades, between such incidents. Injuries are quite the...well, rarity.”

She returned his cheeky grin with a glare and snort, nostrils flaring. “And if I refuse?”

“I seriously doubt that you will,” said Aengus with a hint of a wicked smirk. “You will be put into battle. I’ve already shown you that you cannot run from me. So, your other option is to ignore my commands, and thus stand there, and let the other Pokémon beat the tar out of you. You expect me to believe that’s your plan?”

“Well...um,” Rarity began.

Exactly,” said Aengus with hard eyes.

“But...I’m not a Pokémon. I’m just a pony from Ponyville, in the kingdom of Equestria,” she protested.

“Excuse me,” said a demure feminine voice. Rarity and Aengus both turned to see one of the attendants from behind the long counter made her way over to them.

Aengus frowned. “Is there something I can help you with?”

The attendant said, “I’ve never seen or heard of a talking Pokémon before.”

Rarity indignantly wheeled around at Aengus. “Ha! I told you I’m no Pokémon!”

“Yet you were caught by a Pokéball,” said Aengus. “Please, explain.”

Rarity scoffed. “Look, nopony’s ever seen a creature that looks like you anywhere in the world until you came along, and now I find myself where there’s you...things everywhere!”

The attendant held up a hand. She looked between the two, and asked, “Where did you catch her?”

“That’s the secret, isn’t it?” Aengus teased.

“The Everfree Forest is where he detained me against my will!” Rarity snapped. The other attendants tried their best to not be caught looking over their way.

The nearby attendant stumbled back a step, blinking, then staring at Rarity. She looked over at Aengus, then back to Rarity. “Where’s that?”

“Just south of Ponyville. Where am I?” Rarity returned.

“You are in the upstairs room of Pastoria City’s Pokémon Centre,” said the attendant with a bow.

“...Pastoria City? Never heard of it.”

Shaking his head, Aengus replied, “I’ve never heard of Equestria, lass. Think that makes us even.”

“So...how did you find her? I think she has a right to know.” the attendant asked again.

Rarity nodded in a condescending, irritated way. “Quite right, darling. How did you get to Equestria?”

“There you are! It worked, Aengus! The idol opened the portal, and I’m pretty sure that was a completely different world!” shouted a high tenor voice.

The three turned to see Paddy just at the top of the stairs with an enormous smile on his face. Aengus grimaced at his brother’s joyful announcement. Rarity slowly shifted her gaze from the younger brother to the older. Everything in her face, posture, and voice screamed of growing rage. “A completely different world, and you let some other thing like you into mine!?

Aengus began, “That ‘other thing’ is my little brother, and while this isn’t what you wanted, we both could benefit from this time together.”

Rarity frowned. After a moment of hard staring, she rotated a hoof at Aengus. Paddy said, “Not very friendly, I see.”

“Shut your noise.”

Rarity scoffed, “Are you going to explain yourself, or is this about to be a Pinkie Pie-worthy guessing game?”

“I assume that must be some impetuous and silly acquaintance of yours, but no guessing games,” Aengus said bluntly. “You said you’re a fashionista by trade. I don’t know what’s trendy in your homeland, but I doubt it’s the same as here, if for no other reason that you walk on four legs, and we on two. If you help me reach my goal, I’ll keep you outside the ball while I travel, and you can take notes on the styles you see here. Once I am champion, I’ll return you to your world. What say you?”

Rarity nickered. “How long will that be?”

“Given time to return home, two weeks, three tops,” Aengus said.

“Hmm…,” Rarity murmured.

Paddy said, “That is pretty generous of him.”

Rarity shut her eyes. “Very well. Since I see no other way to get home, I shall assist you in your quest, darling, but I’ll need a sewing machine, bolts of fabric, rolls of trim, spools of thread, and other accents as needed.”

Paddy snickered, “Think she would’ve fit in better in Kalos.”

Aengus blinked in a stunned, mostly vacant expression. “That’s quite a bit of stuff….”

“When one is at the top of her craft, darling, one needs the equipment and supplies necessary to work wonders,” Rarity smiled haughtily.

“Do you always say ‘darling’ so much?” Aengus asked.

“Yes, I do, and yes, I like it,” Rarity replied indignantly.

Aengus stepped toward Rarity slowly. “If it makes you happy, then why not?”

Rarity began backing off. “What are you doing?”

“Just checking something. Hold still.”

What are you checking?” Rarity demanded, although she did stop.

Aengus said nothing as he put a hand on the side of Rarity’s head, just behind her ear. She gave him a dubious stare. He met her gaze, and gently gave her a warm smile. Her face remained unchanged, until a sudden blissful look wormed its way across her eyes and lips. He was scratching. Rarity cooed, “Ooh….”

Rarity leaned into Aengus’s hand. He chuckled as his left hand joined his right in alleviating any itch Rarity had forgotten she had. She leaned, shifted, and stretched, taking in the wonderful effects of hands that hooves simply could not hope to duplicate. The attendant giggled happily as Rarity arched her back into Aengus’s work in a very catlike way. He smiled and shook his head as she closed her eyes as the scratching came back up to between her ears.

“Oh my Celestia, that was simply divine,” oozed her voice.

Aengus smiled. “As I said, I’d rather be friends. And I think you do too. I will take care of you while you’re here, and hope you can find new ways to practice your trade during our time together. We can both grow from this.”

“I see, yes. Well, since you’ve a championship to win in order to secure my return, I say we set right down to business. Lead on,” Rarity said.

“Very good,” said Paddy with a nod.

Rarity raised an eyebrow, and asked, “What is your name, dear? I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, beyond your relation to Aengus.”

“The name’s Paddy,” he said.

“Ah. And I am Rarity. Good to meet you,” she replied. She looked between the brothers, and said, “I dare say, I’ve never heard names even close to yours before.”

“Nor have I heard of somebody named for a quality,” Paddy answered. “But both our given names are exceedingly common in our parents’ homeland.”

“Aye. Seems everyone there knows at least three Aenguses and two Paddies,” said Aengus, shaking his head.

Rarity simply shrugged. She pursed her lips for a moment, then pressed, “I just can’t figure this out, Aengus; why did you throw mud instead of asking me?”

Aengus frowned slightly. “Sorry about that; I thought you were a new and rare variety of Pokémon.”

“Why mud?”

Aengus sighed uncomfortably. “The Safari Game is a small area where one can catch Pokémon not normally seen, but catching them there has...different circumstances. This region's Safari Zone, called ‘The Great Marsh,’ gives those who partake the option of throwing mud, bait, or a Safari Ball.”

Rarity muttered, “Ah yes, mudslinging. You made politicians of every stripe proud.”

“Watch it,” growled Aengus.

“Do go on, dear.”

“Anyways,” Aengus said, not fully biting back on his annoyance, “this is the only Safari where we threw mud. Every other one it was rocks.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but throwing rocks at me would simply have gotten you hurt,” Rarity said, with all faux-joviality fading from her voice on the last two syllables.

Aengus rolled his eyes. “Funny you say that, since weakening wild Pokémon is how they’re caught most of the time.”

Rarity snarled angrily, walking up on Aengus. Paddy interjected, “Why don’t you two calm down a bit?”

“Oh, should I indeed?” Rarity glared back a Paddy. “What comes in the food in those balls, that after beating them up, or throwing muds or rocks at these creatures that they become so attached? Have either of you ever thought about how you treat them!?”

“What are you on about?” Aengus asked.

Rarity flapped her lips angrily with a hard exhale. Looking back and forth at the brothers, she grumped, “You’ve shown them they are to fight for you in exchange for a healthy portion of food, and a bed. Do they like you simply because they consistently have a dry place to sleep, and need not spend all day everyday looking for a bite? You yourself did say they live longer in your captivity than in the wild; you also said they like to battle. Do they really, or have they been conditioned into enjoying a bagarre? An empty belly is a powerful motivator to behave quite unlike one’s self, if I do say so.”

Aengus and Paddy both looked surprised and in thought. Rarity looked at one brother, then the other, and back, and saw the attendant a bit slumped in posture and expression, her eyes begging for forgiveness. Rarity pressed, “I see neither of you gave it a moment’s thought until now, have you?”

Aengus frowned, while Paddy just uncomfortably scratched at the back of his head. Rarity nickered again, and started for the stairs, saying, “Well, boys, it’ll give you something to think about on the road. No sense in dillydallying; if we’re to help Aengus become champion, we should be off, yes?”

Aengus said, “The boat leaves for home in four days. We have some time to wrap up things here in Sinnoh. Speaking of, Paddy, did you wrap up while with the lass from earlier?”

Paddy glared at Aengus while the older brother laughed. The attendant blushed with a hand over her mouth. With an eyebrow raised, Rarity gazed between them for a moment in confusion. Paddy spat, “No, the little tart was being all saucy because she was trying to get Zeb, thank you!”

“Ah,” snickered Aengus.

Rarity cautiously asked, “What does it mean to ‘wrap up’ like that?”

The attendant tapped her on the shoulder, and began to whisper in her ear. After a moment, Rarity’s mouth fell open as her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Scandalized, she gasped deeply and scolded, “Aengus! You should be ashamed of yourself, suggesting that!”

“Why?”

Rarity sputtered, “Wha...why? Why!? Aengus, you...every...that’s...have you no decency?! Your brother’s not full-grown yet, and you suggest he...did that?!

Aengus rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, you’re of those who cling to the old-fashioned notion that one is to wait for marriage?”

“Darling, that’s just how it’s done!” Rarity protested. “A true gentleman has the restraint to save himself for his bride, and a lady looks forward to her groom carrying her across the threshold! It’s just being proper!

Paddy had been walking over to the blue machine during that exchange. He said, “Nuptial notions aside, brother, I used the idol as I said, rather than chase a skirt. Came across two of them while I was through the portal, too.”

Rarity grouched, “I suppose you dragged both of them into this world, too?”

“Just one,” said Paddy. “I was trying to capture the one, but the other jumped in front of the ball. I threw another, but it fired a beam out of its horn and broke the ball. The one I wanted fled after that.”

Rarity grumbled, “You’d better let him or her go back to Equestria when I leave.”

Paddy just looked at her a moment, then turned back to the machine. He put one such ball in a slot, and it disappeared, then was replaced by another. Paddy picked up the ball and pressed the button on the front. The sparks came as it opened, and coalescing in front of Rarity was, to her, an all-too recognizable figure, with an all-too recognizable outfit. A second later, the lower soprano voice cackled, “Ha ha! There is no trap inescapable to the Great and Powerful—”

Trixie!?” Rarity shrieked.

Trixie turned, raising the brim of her hat so that her amethyst eyes looked into Rarity’s sapphire. She sneered, “Well, well. Fancy meeting you here, Rarity.”

Author's Note:

Yep. Rarity's day just keeps on getting worse. She and Aengus are off to a rocky start, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's...just a really, really long tunnel. Might not be like Rarity, but she's lost, confused, scared, and angry, in a situation that sounds hostile; it'd be natural to assume she'd be a bit quicker to aggression than usual. At least she got to enjoy some oolong tea....

Two brothers, two caught ponies. What could possibly...you know, forget asking. It's gonna go wrong, and we all know it; it's just a question of how, and how bad, and how much their hijinks will make us laugh along the way.

Thanks for reading.

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