My Little Pokemon

by Alabenson

Swamp Rescue

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, we’ll catch up with those meanie-pantses soon, you’ll see!” Pinkie Pie assured her friend as she paddled her kayak through the swamp.

“Pinkie’s right,” Derek added from atop his Lapras. “To be honest, I’m surprised those two half-wits have managed to get this far.”

Fluttershy nodded, only half-listening as she focused on paddling across the murky water. “I appreciate that you’re both trying to make me feel better, but I just won’t be able to rest until we’ve finished this rescue mission,” Fluttershy replied firmly. A part of Fluttershy was inwardly beaming with pride at this declaration and how brave it made her sound. A much larger part of Fluttershy’s mind, however, wondered how in Equestria she had gotten herself into this situation in the first place.

*********

A couple of days earlier, back at the breeding center, Fluttershy had been happily playing with a batch of newly hatched Pokémon that Norma had referred to as Rockruff. “Aw, just look at you all, so full of energy already. I can hardly believe that you all just hatched a few days ago,” Fluttershy cooed as she watched the puppy-like Pokémon jump on each other. “This is so much nicer than making Pokémon battle each other.”

The sound of chuckling caused Fluttershy to turn to see Norma standing behind her. “You’ve got a good heart, kid, and you have a real knack for dealing with Pokémon. But you still have a lot to learn about how Pokémon think.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, slightly incensed.

“Well, let me put it this way,” Norma replied as she crouched down to scratch the ears of one of the Rockruff. “Just what sort of games do you imagine these little fellas are playing right now, anyway?”

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably in place as she glanced back at the Rockruff. Sure enough, most of their games seemed to involve mock battling of some kind or another. “Well…I mean, a lot of puppies will play fight when they’re little, but that’s not really the same thing as battling,” Fluttershy half-heartedly protested. In truth, Fluttershy’s understanding of the Rockruff’s excited barks and yips made it frustratingly clear that they were almost as enthusiastic about the prospect of battling as many of the trainers she had met were.

“Well, if that’s how you want to see it,” Norma replied with a shrug. “Anyway, I was just coming over to let you know that lunch is just about ready. And given your friend’s appetite I wouldn’t recommend showing up late if you want anything,” Norma added. “I swear, I can’t figure out where that girl puts it all, she’s almost got as much of an appetite as her Munchlax.”

Fluttershy stifled a giggle at the truth of that statement. “I guess that’s just Pinkie Pie for you. Speaking of Pinkie, do you happen to know what she’s been up to? I haven’t seen much of her all day.”

“Last time I checked Derek was helping her learn the ins and outs of performing her Z-move. I don’t think she’s figured it out quite yet, though. I get the general feeling that when she does get the hang of hit it’ll be hard to miss, though. Subtlety doesn’t really seem to be that kid’s strong point under the best of circumstances, and proper Z-move isn’t exactly low key.”

“No doubt about that,” Fluttershy agreed as she stood back up. Fluttershy was still a little fuzzy about what a ‘Z-move’ actually was, but based on Fluttershy had been able to understand of Pinkie Pie’s descriptions Fluttershy wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.

By the time Fluttershy and Norma arrived at the center’s dining room Pinkie Pie and Derek were already seated and eagerly helping themselves to the food. “Hey Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie enthusiastically greeted her friend between mouthfuls of food. “Come and eat with us! You’ve got to try this noodly dish, it’s delicious!”

Fluttershy simply smiled in responses as she sat down opposite Pinkie Pie. As Fluttershy did so, she noticed that a number of Pokémon were seated off to the side around several bowls of Pokémon chow, including Toothy and Munchy. “Are those more of the Pokémon that live here at the center?” Fluttershy asked.

“Actually, most of those guys are mine,” Derek said as he looked up from his meal. “I’ve raised quite a few Pokémon over the years, so I try to rotate out who have with me whenever I pass through someplace with a Pokémon Center. I usually keep Joy and Oppenheimer with me wherever I go, and Isla if I think I might be going near water, but other than that it’s more of a toss-up.”

“Oppenheimer?” Fluttershy asked with a puzzled expression. “I’ve met Joy and Isla before, but I don’t think you’ve introduced me to Oppenheimer yet. What kind of Pokémon is he?”

Derek opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a single word out a piercing alarm suddenly sounded out. “What the heck’s going on?”

“It sounds like something’s tripped the security alarm for the hatchery,” Norma said as she leapt up from her seat. “Hopefully its nothing, but I need to get down there to be certain.”

“I’ll come with you,” Fluttershy said. “I just wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to those defenseless eggs while I could have done something.” Derek and Pinkie Pie rose as Fluttershy spoke, quickly recalling their Pokémon before following Fluttershy and Norma out of the room.

It didn’t take long for the group to reach the entrance to the hatchery, which was secured by a pair of sturdy-looking metal sliding doors. “Huh, that’s strange,” Norma said as she punched a code into a keypad next to the door to silence the alarm. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s actually tried to get inside through here. So what the heck set off the –” Norma’s question was answered before she could even finish asking it as the sound of breaking glass could be heard coming from inside the room, followed by the sound of muffled voices. Growling with anger, Norma promptly pressed a button to open the doors, revealing Ribcage and Femur in the process of removing eggs from their incubators and packing them in cases. The two grunts froze in place as they heard the door open, and several seconds of awkward silence passed as the two groups stared at each other in shock.

Ribcage was the first to recover from the surprise. “Check it, no point tryin’ to stop us, ‘cause no one can top us. You uncool fools thought you could treat us like dregs, but now we’re here swipin’ your –”

“Ursaring! Go!” Norma roared as she threw out her Poké Ball, unleashing an enraged, brown, bear-like Pokémon.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Ribcage whimpered as he started to back away, momentarily dropping his continuous rhyming.

“Ursaring, Giga Impact!”

“OH THAT’S NOT GOOD!” Ribcage barely had time to get out of the way as Ursaring leapt into the air, a purple sphere of energy forming around it. As Ursaring plummeted back down to the ground beams of yellow light spiraled around it, detonating in a bright flash as it struck the ground. While Ribcage managed to avoid a direct hit, the force of the resulting explosion was still sufficient to send him flying into the air. The unfortunate miscreant collided with Femur, who had been frantically trying to climb out an open window, presumably how the pair had broken in in the first place. The collision sent both grunts tumbling out the window and crashing to the ground outside. Moments later the pair could be heard fleeing away from the building as fast they could.

“Uh, Norma?” Derek said as Norma recalled her Pokémon to its ball. “I’m not saying those tow idiots didn’t deserve something along those lines, because they definitely did. That said, don’t you think tossing a Giga Impact at them was just a little, you know, excessive?”

“No,” Fluttershy snapped angrily. “If anything those two deserved even worse for what they were trying to do. What kind of person would do something like that, anyway? Trying to kidnap a poor, defenseless egg from its home?” Fluttershy continued to fume as she moved to help Norma move the eggs back into their incubator.

“If I had to guess, I’d say they were planning on selling them,” Norma said darkly. “Pokémon trafficking is a real problem in certain areas and some of these eggs can be worth a fortune to the right buyer.”

“That’s just horrible,” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I can’t believe anyone would be cruel enough to do something like that.”

“The sad part is that eggnapping isn’t even close to the worst sort of thing like that I’ve run into. Pokémon hunters are a particularly nasty bunch,” Derek added. “Anyway, we should probably just be glad we caught those two before they actually managed to get away with anything.”

“I’m not so sure we did,” Norma said angrily. “It looks like one of the egg cases is missing. One of those punks must have had it on them when I tossed them out.” Norma clenched her hands into fists and slammed them into a nearby table. “I should have thought about that possibility before I tossed them out of the building. Hopefully it’s not too late to catch them.” As Norma spoke she pulled out another Poké Ball and tossed it into the air, releasing the same giant bird Pokémon Norma had had when Pinkie had first met her. “Staraptor, those two punks from Team Skull snuck in here and stole an egg! Chase them down and stop them before they manage to get away.” With a shrill cry, the Staraptor dove out the same window Ribcage and Femur had fallen out of earlier.

While waiting for Staraptor to return, the group set to cleaning up the mess that had been made of the hatchery by the grunt’s attempted thievery. Working together, it didn’t take them long to complete their task, after which the group returned to the dining room. The resumed lunch was a solemn affair; Fluttershy in particular was too preoccupied with thinking about the purloined egg. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. Those two weird guys couldn’t possibly have gotten far,” Pinkie Pie assured her friend in an effort to cheer her up. “I bet Norma’s giant birdie has already caught up to them and is bringing that egg back right now. I mean, it’s not like there’s some nearby place they could run and hide in that it wouldn’t be able to follow them into.”

Norma and Derek both suddenly looked up at this and exchanged a worried look. “You don’t think those two would be dumb enough to…” Norma began.

“I think they’d be exactly dumb enough to,” Derek said as he rose from his eat. “There’s a massive swamp just to the west of Faunaville. A lot of the Pokémon there are particularly aggressive, but it would be a great place to hid if you’re desperate enough.”

“But what about Norma’s birdie?” Pinkie Pie interjected. “Won’t it be able to stop them before they get there?”

“She’s got a good point,” Norma said, visibly relaxing. “There’s no possible way those two would be able to make it wall the way to the edge of the swamp on foot before Staraptor catches up to them.” As if on cue, the sound of something tapping on the window drew everyone’s attention to see Staraptor flapping about outside. Norma quickly walked over and opened the window to allow Staraptor to clamber inside, looking rather dejected.

“What happened? Were you able to catch them? What about the egg?” Fluttershy asked in rapid succession.

“Kid, I want answers as much as you do, but you do realize Staraptor can’t talk, right? Just give me a moment and –” Even as Norma spoke, Staraptor began rapidly squawking and chattering as Fluttershy listened intently. “Um, Derek, is she actually…”

“Oh no!” Fluttershy suddenly wailed. “Staraptor says that the two thieves had bicycles hidden nearby and he wasn’t able to stop them before they made it into the swamp.” Fluttershy paused her explanation to pat the crestfallen-looking Staraptor on the head. “It wasn’t your fault, we all know that you did the very best you could. Still, though, we have to do something to rescue that egg.” Fluttershy turned to address Norma. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go and chase after those two.”

“And I’m coming with you!” Pinkie Pie declared. “I can’t just sit by and let that egg be carried off by a pair of mean-meanie pantsesses like that!”

“Count me in too. If nothing else you girls should have someone with you that knows the way through the swamp,” Derek said.

“Then it’s settled then,” Fluttershy said. “We’re going to save that egg and no one’s going to stop us!”

*********

Everything had gone fairly well at first, all things considered at least. It hadn’t taken the group long to reach the edge of the swamp and Derek had even convinced a nearby ranger station to lend them a pair of kayaks. As the moved into the swamp itself, however, righteous determination slowly started to give way to anxiety. Moving through the swamp was a frustratingly slow process, and the chattering of the local Pokémon failed to provide Fluttershy with the comfort it normally would have.

“You weren’t kidding when you said the Pokémon that live here aren’t particularly friendly,” Fluttershy said as she paddled through the stagnant water. “I’d have thought at least some of the Pokémon here would have been willing to help us, but none of them seem to even care.”

“I had to say it, but that doesn’t really surprise me all that much,” Derek replied. “A lot of wild Pokémon can be pretty jealous of Pokémon that are partnered with humans and that goes double for Pokémon that have been raised by humans from eggs. To be honest, we should probably just be grateful if we manage to make it through this without being ambushed by some of the more territorial ones.”

“Well that doesn’t seem very nice,” Pinkie Pie remarked. “Although, after we’re done rescuing the egg I could try throwing a party for the Pokémon that live her to improve their attitudes.”

“A party? For a bunch of ill-tempered, wild Pokémon?” Derek replied incredulously.

“Mmhmm. There’s nothing like a party to put smiles on the faces of a bunch of grumpy Guses. Though I’ve never really thrown a party specifically for critters before. Hey, Fluttershy, what do you think –”

“Ssh! I think I hear something over there!” Fluttershy said as she focused her attention on a patch of bushes on the shore. Moments later, the bushes started shaking and a hoarse croaking could be heard from within. “What is that?” Fluttershy asked in a loud whisper.

“That was probably a Croagunk going by the sound,” Derek replied. “They’re one of the main reasons traveling through this swamp can be problematic.”

“How come?” Fluttershy asked.

“For whatever reason the Croagunk colonies in this swamp tend to be much more territorial than normal, and the Gym leader who’s supposed to handle this area is something of a hands off type. Add to that the little buggers are venomous and prefer fighting dirty even under normal circumstances and…” Derek allowed his though to linger in the air as the three focused on the shaking bushes. Another horse croak emanated out from the foliage as a dark-blue, bipedal frog-like Pokémon staggered out and collapsed to the ground. “Okay, everybody stay where you are, I’m going to have one of my Pokémon scout out the area just to make sure this isn’t some kind of – Fluttershy! What did I just say?”

Fluttershy ignored Derek’s protests as she quickly paddled her way towards the prone Croagunk. “I appreciate you concern, but there’s a creature over there who looks like they may be hurt and I just wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t help them.” As Fluttershy pulled up next to the Croagunk, she quickly concluded that despite Derek’s concerns, the Croagunk wasn’t faking its injuries. “Easy there,” Fluttershy assured the Pokémon as she approached. “I’m not going to hurt you, I only want to help.”

The Croagunk lifted its head with some effort and let out an irritated croak before waving Fluttershy away.

“Well you certainly look like you need my help. But, if you really want me to leave I will.” Fluttershy let out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. “I guess I’ll just have to find some other Pokémon who can help me eat all these yummy berries I have with me.”

The Croagunk promptly lifted its head at the mention of berries and leaned forward, at which point Fluttershy pulled a tin out of her backpack.

“I was going to share these with you while I took care of your injuries,” Fluttershy said as she opened the tin to reveal an assortment of berries she had purchased at the Faunaville market. “But, if you don’t need my help…” The Croagunk awkwardly clambered onto Fluttershy’s kayak as it croaked out a response. Smiling sweetly, Fluttershy handed the Croagunk the tin and began looking over its injuries as it greedily shoveled berries into its mouth.

“Alright, I’ll admit it, I’m impressed,” Derek conceded as he watched Fluttershy examine the Croagunk.

“That’s nothing,” Pinkie Pie replied. “When it comes to dealing with critters there’s nobody better than Fluttershy.”

Under different circumstances Fluttershy would have thoroughly enjoyed the praise coming from her friends. At the moment, however, Fluttershy had much more pressing concerns on her mind. “You really look like you’ve through quite a lot,” Fluttershy remarked as she pulled out a bottle of medicine and began to spray the Croagunk’s injures. “What happened to you?”

The Croagunk grunted out a terse reply in-between mouthfuls of berries as it winced from the sting of the medicine.

“Well, I would pry if you don’t feel comfortable answering. That being said, there is something that we could really use your help with. We’re trying to rescue an egg that a pair of very naughty individuals kidnapped and took into this swamp. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost track of them and I was hoping that you might have seen where they went.”

The Croagunk puffed its cheeks out several times before turning its back to Fluttershy and gesturing towards deeper into the swamp.

“Good news! Croagunk thinks he saw them pass by here not too long ago. If we hurry we should be able to catch up with them,” Fluttershy said as she pushed off from the shore.

“That is good news,” Pinkie Pie chirped. “What’re we waiting around for then? Let’s go save that egg!”

With the Croagunk perched atop Fluttershy’s kayak pointing the way forward the three paddled their way deeper into the swamp. After a few moments, the group could start to make out panicked yelling coming from further up ahead. “And the twits have managed to get themselves in trouble somehow,” Derek grumbled as they drew closer to the source of the ruckus. “I honestly don’t know why I’m surprised, it would probably be more shocking if they hadn’t blundered into something dangerous.”

Fluttershy irritably took a deep breath. “They may be horrible, eggnapping miscreants, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to help them if they’re in trouble.” The Croagunk let out a quizzical croak as it glanced back at Fluttershy. “Even if that’s true, we’ll help them anyway because it’s the right thing to do. Just because they’re awful doesn’t mean we should be awful in return.”

“You know, I’m not going to lie, you kind of sound like you’re trying to convince yourself of all that,” Derek remarked.

“Well, by rescuing them we’ll also be rescuing the poor defenseless egg they stole as well, so there’s that too,” Fluttershy said with a bit more conviction. This added observation seemed to satisfy everyone present and the group continued onward with no further argument.

Meanwhile, the shouting had gotten progressively louder, and was now mixed with a cacophony of croaking. As the group turned a bend, they finally saw the reason for the grunts’ distress. The two hapless criminals were being mobbed by a large gang of Croagunk and had been reduced to desperately swinging at them with a pair of oars. “This is seriously uncool, these Croagunk are breakin’ all the rules, stealin’ our egg and makin’ us look like fools!” Ribcage complained.

“You know, I’m mostly just impressed that they’re still rhyming despite what’s going on,” Derek said as he watched the scene unfold.

“I know,” Pinkie agreed. “They may be weird and annoying, but you’ve got to respect their dedication.”

“Never mind that, we’ve got to get that egg away from there before something happens to it!” Fluttershy cried out as she looked for a way to get closer to the commotion without getting swept up in it.

“I’m on it! This looks like a job for…Toothy!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she pulled out Toothy’s Poké Ball with an elaborate flourish and lobbed it into the air. Moments later, Toothy unceremoniously belly flopped into the murky water with a loud splash. “Come on, Fluttershy, send your Cyndaquil out, too. You want to help save that egg, right?”

` “Right,” Fluttershy said, her reply lacking some of the confidence she had had earlier. It had been on thing to talk about how they were going to save the egg, but it was something else entirely to actually send her Pokémon out into battle. The urgency of the situation quickly won out over her nervousness, however, and one overhand toss later, Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil appeared on the edge of the shore where the melee was taking place. “Excuse me,” Fluttershy called out as she paddled closer to the shore. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but if you Croagunk could please just let us take back the egg that those two had stolen then we’d be ever so appreciative.”

Most of the Croagunk paid no attention to Fluttershy’s request, but a handful broke off from assaulting Ribcage and Femur to turn their attention to Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil, Meanwhile, the Croagunk sitting on Fluttershy’s kayak was frantically croaking in alarm.

“But that doesn’t make any sense, why would they attack my Cyndaquil?” Fluttershy asked. Even as she did so, however, two of the Croagunk puffed out their cheeks and leaned back.

“Fluttershy, get you Cyndaquil out of there! Those Croagunk are about to use their Poison Sting attack!” Derek yelled out.

Before Fluttershy could warn her Cyndaquil to move, the Croagunk that had been riding on her kayak rushed into action, leaping off of her boat and onto the shore. In a flash, the Croagunk grabbed Cyndaquil and pulled it out of the way as the other Croagunk each spat out dozens of violet needles at the spot where Cyndaquil had stood moments ago.

“That wasn’t very nice. Toothy, show these mean old frogs that we won’t let them get away with trying to hurt our friends. Water Gun!” Pinkie Pie yelled. Toothy obediently fired a powerful jet of water from its mouth at the Croagunk who had attacked Cyndaquil, knocking one of them to the ground. The other, however, didn’t even seem phased in the slightest by the attack, and in fact appeared to actually enjoy it. “Huh, that’s weird, how come that one looks like it likes being sprayed?”

“Aw crud, that’s right, their abilities,” Derek groaned. “Pinkie, Fluttershy, listen; about half of those Croagunk are going to have an ability called Dry Skin, which lets them absorb Water-type attacks. The good news is that ability is also going to leave them vulnerable to Cyndaquil’s Fire attacks,” Derek called out.

“I’d really rather not have to resort to something like that if I don’t have to,” Fluttershy said before suddenly brightening. “Maybe there’s another way. Cyndaquil, I want you to use your Smokescreen.” With a chirp of acknowledgement, Fluttershy’s Cyndaquil scrunched itself up and released thick plumes of jet black smoke from the pores on its back. In moments, the entire area was blanketed in a thick, dark haze. “Now we can grab the egg without having to fight anycreature,” Fluttershy said happily as she maneuvered herself closer to the shore.

“Good plan, except how do you plan to find the egg in all that smoke?” Derek asked wryly.

“Well that’s easy,” Pinkie Pie said as she pointed into the air. “The egg’s in that case that those froggies are running away with.” Fluttershy and Derek both looked up to see that several of the Croagunk were leaping out of the smoke carrying off objects the grunts had brought with them, including the egg case.

“You bring that egg back right this instant!” Fluttershy yelled after the Croagunk as she tried to disembark, only to lose her footing and fall into the muddy water of the swamp. Thankfully, the water was quite shallow, but Fluttershy was still sopping wet and covered with mud by the time she was able to crawl onto firm ground. “I don’t understand, why would those Croagunk steal that egg?”

“Yeah, no kidding, this just ain’t fair. We stole that egg first, fair and square!” Fluttershy furiously looked up to see a dejected Femur and Ribcage standing amid the wreckage of the items they had brought with them into the swamp.

“You!” Fluttershy snarled angrily. “None of this would have happened if the two of you hadn’t stolen that egg in the first place. Why did you even do something like that to begin with?”

The two grunts looked at the trio of trainers glaring at them before quickly huddling together and muttering something to each other. Moments later, both turned around in unison as Femur began rapping. “Check it! We don’t care what pain you threaten to bring, because you’re not ever gonna make us sing. So just give up, we’re not telling you a thing.”

“Fluttershy,” Derek said with a pained look on his face. “I realize that you generally don’t condone violence under any circumstances, but do you think that you could make an exception just this once?”

“Are you asking that because you’re upset that they’re not cooperating, or is this just because you want them to stop rhyming constantly?” Fluttershy asked pointedly.

“Yes,” Derek replied.

“Hey, if you’re thinkin’ of threatenin’ us you’d best beware,” Ribcage protested. “’Cause if you do, then –Whoa, look over there!”

Derek and Fluttershy stared at Ribcage with looks of utter contempt in response to this obvious ruse. Neither had a chance to voice their annoyance, however, as an excited voice promptly piped up behind them. “Wow! What am I looking for? Is it something fun, please say it’s something fun.” In spite of themselves, Derek and Fluttershy couldn’t help but look back to see Pinkie Pie excitedly peering into the swamp. The moment they turned their heads, however, the sounds of splashing water could be heard from back in the direction of the grunts.

“You fools fell for it, so now we’ll floor it!” As Derek and Fluttershy spun back around, they saw Femur and Ribcage frantically pedaling away on what looked to be a pair of pedal-powered jet skis, which had evidently been hidden from view behind a copse of trees.

“I…you know what? I’m not even mad, it’s my own fault for falling for that,” Derek said as he watched the pair slowly peddle away.

“Aren’t we going to try and stop them?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, honestly they’re not really a priority at this point. Our focus should be on getting that egg back, and they’re not the ones who have it anymore,” Derek said.

“I guess you’re right. Now we just need to figure out where those Croagunk took the egg to,” Fluttershy said as she turned to the Croagunk who had helped them, who was still holding her Cyndaquil. “I want to thank you for rescuing my Cyndaquil, and I was hoping you’d be willing to help us just a bit more. Could you tell us where those other Croagunk would have taken that egg?”

The Croagunk set Cyndaquil on the ground before turning to one side and snorting irritably in response.

“Well, it’s alright if you don’t want to go there, but we need to find them if we’re going to get that egg back to its home. Please, won’t you help us?” Fluttershy pleaded while looking at the Croagunk with quivering puppy-dog eyes.

The Croagunk looked as though it was struggling to avoid answering for a moment or so before letting out an exasperated sight of defeat, followed by a series of croaks and hisses.

“So, is that froggie going to help us find the other froggies?” Pinkie Pie asked as she leaned forward.

“Mister Croagunk says those other Croagunk probably took the egg back to their colony’s nesting site, and he’s agreed to show us the way there,” Fluttershy replied. Even as Fluttershy spoke, though, she gave the Croagunk an uneasy look, clearly wanting to speak with it further.

*********

“Umm, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so against going to this Croagunk colony?” Fluttershy asked her Croagunk guide as it pointed the way through the swamp. “I didn’t say anything earlier since it seemed like something you wanted to keep private, but if there’s something bothering you then I’d want to help. Does it have anything to do with those injuries you had when we found you?”

The Croagunk tensed up at this and turned to glare at Fluttershy for a moment before turning back around and flopping down grumpily. “Croagunk,” it finally croaked in response.

“Those other Croagunk did that to you? That’s awful! But, why would they have done something like that?” Fluttershy asked.

After a moment or so, the Croagunk let out a series of croak in response, accompanied by the occasional gesture with its forelimbs for emphasis.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Fluttershy said as Croagunk concluded its story. “Why would you challenge the leader and go through all that if you knew you were going to lose.”

“Croagunk,” the Croagunk replied firmly.

“No, I don’t think its remotely the same,” Fluttershy countered. “We’re trying to rescue the egg because it needs our help, just like I helped you when you were hurt and needed someone to treat your injuries. I help creatures in need because it’s the right thing to do, not because I’m somehow obligated to,” Fluttershy said. “And to be honest, I really would rather solve things without fighting if I can avoid it. All this fighting and battling just doesn’t seem right.”

The Croagunk spun around to face Fluttershy, looking at her as though she had just grown a second head. “Croagunk! Croagunk Croagunk.”

“Well, I suppose I can understand wanting to become a better Pokémon.” Fluttershy admitted reluctantly. “And you’re absolutely sure that battling is the only way to do that?”

“Croagunk,” the Croagunk replied firmly.

“I guess that is a bit of a different from how I assumed it worked. I still think there has to be a better way than fighting all the time, though,” Fluttershy concluded.

Derek and Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, had been half-listening to the somewhat one-sided conversation as they followed behind Fluttershy with a mixture of curiosity and boredom. “I still haven’t totally gotten used to the fact that she can do that,” Derek said.

“You mean talking to critters? Yeah, I kinda wish I could, then I could make friends with all sorts of creatures!” Pinkie replied cheerfully. “So, what do you think will happen when we get to this colony-place anyway? Those Croa-thingies weren’t exactly all that friendly when we saw them last time.

“Hopefully they were just testy because of something those grunts pulled. If we’re lucky Fluttershy and her new friend over there will be able to settle things peacefully,” Derek said.

“Do you really think they’ll be able to do that?” Pinkie Pie asked, already trying to work out the logistics of throwing a ‘We Rescued the Egg’ party in the middle of the swamp.

“No, this is going to be a disaster and we’re going to need to fight our way out,” Derek replied, much to Pinkie’s apparent disappointment. “But, them again who knows what could happen?”

“We’re about to find out. Look!” The waterway the group had been following opened up into what looked like a large pond, with numerous Croagunk clustered along the shores. Several shallow pits could be seen on the far side of the pond holding various objects, including and most importantly the stolen egg case.

“There it is!” Fluttershy explained happily as she paddled towards her goal as quickly as she was able. However, Fluttershy had scarcely gotten halfway across the pond when an especially large Croagunk emerged from the crowd and interposed itself between Fluttershy and the egg, crossing its forelimbs in front of its chest and glaring at the Croagunk on Fluttershy’s kayak. “Is that the brother you told me about?” Fluttershy asked her passenger as she halted her advance.

“Uh, Fluttershy, would you mind filling us in on what’s going on?” Derek asked.

“Really, you haven’t figured it out by now?” Pinkie Pie said. “That big one is that helpful Croagunk’s older brother who took over running the swamp after their daddy who used to be the boss died. Their dad was the really nice and fair, but the older brother is kind of a baddy who has all the other Croagunk cause trouble. So, one day, the Croagunk with Fluttershy had enough and challenged his brother to a duel for control of the colony, but the brother beat him and banished him from their territory for-EVER!” Pinkie Pie lowered her voice to a gravel-pitched growl as she delivered this last bit of exposition before shrugging her shoulder. “Or, you know, something like that.”

Derek stared at Pinkie Pie in bafflement for a few moments before managing a response. “That made more sense to me than I’m entirely comfortable with.”

While Pinkie Pie and Derek bantered, Fluttershy cautiously paddled closer to the shore, keeping her gaze locked on the apparent Croagunk leader. “Excuse me, my friends and I don’t mean to intrude. We’re just her to take that egg back to its home and then we’ll be out of your way.”

The Croagunk on the shore didn’t seem particularly moved by Fluttershy’s request, and in fact didn’t seem to be even paying any attention to her in the slightest. Instead, its attention was riveted on Fluttershy’s Croagunk companion. “Hey!” Fluttershy protested as she tried to turn the kayak around to force the Croagunk to face her. “I understand that you and your brother have some issues to work out, but before we work on that we really need to get that egg back someplace safe.”

Fluttershy prepared herself to use her stare on the recalcitrant Croagunk only to stop as a bounding beat began to reverberate out from the swamp. “You thought we were beat and you’d seen the last of us. But the boneheads are back and kicking up a new fuss!”

“Our new boss is backin’ us with some serious bank, so now prepare yourselves to face out Team Skull Tank!” Moments later, the ‘Team Skull Tank’ (which looked more like a ramshackle hovercraft with a patchwork shell of sheet metal and plywood bolted to it) roared out from the underbrush and splashed down onto the pond.

“Where did you guys even get that? And what was that thing you were pointing to earlier? I looked and everything but I didn’t see anything,” Pinkie Pie said as she admired the grunt’s new mode of transportation.

“More importantly, what are you planning to do with that thing?” Fluttershy asked. “Haven’t you two caused enough trouble already?”

“Real boneheads are never done! We’ll beat you down,”

“And beat y’ down,”

“And beat you down some more! But you three dorks have to wait, while we settle one uncool score!” Femur reached back into the hovercraft and pulled out what looked like a modified firehose. “This time these Pokémon are gonna be the one’s outgunned. One whiff of this gas and they’ll all be stunned!” As Femur rhymed he pulled back on the nozzle and began spraying the Croagunk along the shores with a pale purple gas.

“What are you doing? Stop it!” Fluttershy protested as she watched the Croagunk seize up and collapse from contact with the gas.

“We need to wow our boss and that’ll take more than just an egg. All these Croagunk should do the trick once we’ve knocked them down a peg,” Femur said while Ribcage guided their hovercraft closer to the shore.

As the two grunts got ready to disembark, however, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy rushed to intercept them, Pinkie Pie having somehow acquired a wide brimmed hat in the process. “All right! That’s it, we’ve had enough of your rapping and your rhyming! The only part that’s even worse is your incessant criming! You may think your dirty tricks are enough to leave us rattled, but Fluttershy and I are going to take you down in a Pokémon battle!” Pinkie said, breathing heavily and glaring at the two grunts as she finished.

Femur and Ribcage were left speechless as the watched Fluttershy scramble out of her kayak to join Pinkie Pie in staring the grunts down. “That…actually that was pretty cool,” Ribcage admitted.

“I wasn’t sure if I should say anything, but yeah, you’ve got some serious rhymes for some goody-goody. You ever consider joining up with Team Skull?”

“No!” Pinkie Pie snapped before tossing out a Poké Ball. “Come on, Toothy! Let’s show these eggnappers that we’re not going to let them get away with…whatever it is they’re trying to get away with!”

“I think their plan is to kidnap these Croagunk,” Fluttershy said to Pinkie Pie before turning to Femur and Ribcage. “And we’re definitely not going to let them get away with that. Sure, most of these Croagunk might be troublemakers and they might have stolen the egg that we were trying to save. And that one over there probably should have been nicer to his brother and maybe should consider going on a diet,” Fluttershy added as she gestured back towards the ringleader of the Croagunk, who issued a plaintive croak of protest in response. “But none of that gives you two the right to abduct them like this. It’s just not right!” As Fluttershy concluded her speech she tossed out her own Poké Ball as well. “All right, Cyndaquil, let’s show these bullies that we’re not going to just sit by and do nothing while they go around hurting innocent creatures.”

“Looks like you girls need a lesson in pain!” Femur said as he pulled out his own Poké Ball. “Because we’re the baddest grunts of all, and we’re going to beat you down,”

“And beat y’ down,”

“And beat you down again!” The pair cried in unison as they threw their Poké Balls into the air. “You two better start retreating, otherwise Zubat here is going to give you a beating,” Femur snarled.

While Femur seemed eager to battle, however, Ribcage appeared to give it a moment’s though before darting back to their hovercraft. “Fightin’ fair? I’ll give that a pass. You’ll be easier to beat once I’ve given you the gas!” Ribcage laughed evilly as he brandished the hose at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“Seriously?” Pinkie Pie yelled as she watched Ribcage ready the hose.

“Heck yeah! Dirty tricks are what we’re all about, so brace yourselves while my boy Ribcage takes you out,” Femur cheered as Ribcage sprayed both girls and their Pokémon with the noxious vapor.

Fluttershy immediately felt her entire body go numb and fell to her knees as the gas enveloped her. To her right, she could hear an audible thump as Pinkie Pie hit the ground as well. As the gas dissipated, it became clear to see that Toothy and Cyndaquil weren’t fairing any better than their trainers, both Pokémon struggling to even remain on their feet. “You won’t…get away…with this,” Fluttershy said as she tried to will herself back to her feet.

“You’re kiddin’ yourself, y’ve got no hope. Though y’ could stop the boneheads, but now y’ look like a – hold up a second.” Ribcage stopped mid-sentence to fire a stream of gas at something just behind Fluttershy. Seconds later, the Croagunk that had guided Fluttershy through the swamp flopped down next to her. “Nice try, but y’ can’t trick us. Saw y’ sneakin’ and dropped y’ without a fuss.”

“Were you…trying to…help us?” Fluttershy asked the Croagunk as it continued to crawl towards her with what little strength it could still muster. “I’m sorry…we couldn’t –” As Fluttershy tried to apologize for her perceived failure the Croagunk’s arm suddenly shot forward and popped a small red berry into her open mouth. For a brief second nothing happened, then Fluttershy’s face started to turn bright red as her eyes watered. Moments later Fluttershy shot to her feet with an ear-piercing cry of pain. “Owowow, my tongue! I haven’t eaten anything that spicy since I accidently tried some of Rainbow Dash’s blazing inferno rainbow sauce!” Fluttershy said as she stuck out her tongue and tried fanning it in a desperate attempt to quell the heat. As Fluttershy did so, however, a realization slowly dawned on her. “Wait a minute, I can move again! That berry you fed me, that was what cured me, wasn’t it?” The Croagunk said nothing in return, but the self-satisfied grin on its face was answer enough. “Thank you. And I won’t let you down,” Fluttershy said as she turned to face Ribcage and Femur.

The grunts, however, were unimpressed with Fluttershy’s sudden recovery. “You may have guts, but you’re still outclassed. You may be back up, but your Pokémon’s already been –”

“Cyn. Da. Quil!” With a cry of resolve, Cyndaquil scrunched itself up before taking a step forward, breaking through the effects of the gas through sheer force of will.

Ribcage and Femur stared at the formerly paralyzed Pokémon in stunned silence for a moment before Femur started rapping again. “Uh, okay. But your situation is still dour. We’ve got two Pokémon to your one and he doesn’t –”

“CyndaQUIIII-” Femur once again found himself interrupted as Cyndaquil let out a piercing cry as its body was engulfed in a bright white light. As everyone watched in silent awe, Cyndaquil’s outline seemed to stretch and grow until the light subsided, leaving behind a much fiercer-looking Pokémon. “-IILAVA!” the newly evolved Pokémon roared.

“What in Celestia’s name?” Fluttershy cried out as she stared at her transformed Pokémon in complete shock. “I thought all that talk about transforming into a stronger Pokémon was just a metaphor.”

“Okay, so it’s evolved now,” Femur said nervously. “But, uh, that’s okay, uh, because-”

“Dude, let’s just quit while we’re ahead and gas it already,” Ribcage protested.

“Man, that’s seriously lame,” Femur replied. “Alright, fine. But I get to lead on our victory rap when we give these Croagunk to the boss.”

“Y’ got it, dude,” Ribcage said as he leveled the hose at Quilava and Fluttershy.

“I don’t think so. Quilava, use Quick Attack to get behind them!” Wasting no time, Quilava promptly rushed towards the grunts in a zigzag pattern, darting between them before either could respond. “Now, use your Ember attack to destroy their hose.” Both grunts let out cries of alarm as Quilava spat out a stream of cinders along the length of their hose, riddling it with holes that promptly begun spewing out gas.

“Oh, this is seriously uncool! Quick, shot off the gas valve before we get gassed,” Ribcage said as he dropped the hose in alarm.

“What do you think I’m doing, dude? Come help me turn this thing,” Femur yelled, having already scrambled onto their hovercraft. Ribcage quickly joined him and together the pair began struggling to turn a large valve at the back of the vehicle. “Ugh, are you sure you’re turning it right?”

“I am pullin’ it right, y’re the one who’s tryin’ to pull it left!” Ribcage snarled as he shoved against it.

“Yeah, that’s the way you’re supposed to pull it, right?”

“I’m the one pullin’ it right!”

“So, you’re pulling it to the left?”

“No, right!” The grunts argument came to an abrupt end as their struggles resulted in the valve being yanked off entirely. Billowing clouds of purple gas promptly engulfed the pair, leaving them frozen in place as the gas dissipated.

“And with that, I think its about time for the two of you to make like rockets and blast off.” Derek, who had been watching the entire encounter from a safe distance, floated up to the pair on Isla. Ignoring the muffled protests of the grunts that they were nothing like rockets. Derek hopped onto their hovercraft while Isla nudged it until it faced away from the Croagunk colony. Heading to the hovercraft’s control panel, Derek pressed a button which started the hovercraft’s engines before quickly hopping off, leaving the paralyzed grunts to be carried off into the swamp.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was wholly unconcerned with the grunt’s plight, instead focusing her attention helping Pinkie Pie back to her feet. “Pinkie, are you alright?”

“You know that tingly feeling you get when you sleep on your hoof wrong? This kind of feels like that, only all over,” Pinkie Pie said as she struggled stand upright.

“Did she just – you know what? Never mind,” Derek said as he approached the two with a pair of vials of green liquid. “Anyway, Pinkie, you and your Pokémon should try drinking these.”

“What are they?” Fluttershy asked as she fed one of the vials to Toothy while Pinkie drank the other.

“Lum berry juice. Its something of a cure-all for things like this. I always try and keep some handy whenever I’m out in the field.

“Eyugh, its really bitter,” Pinkie said, scrunching her face up as she finished the drink.

Derek shrugged. “True, but it’s still probably better than eating a raw Cheri berry. Those might make for a good condiment, but even I wouldn’t consider them a good candidate for snack food.”

“That must have been what mister Croagunk fed me,” Fluttershy said.

“Yup, luckily I had a few of those in my pack as well, and even better we passed a Cheri berry bush on the way over here so there’s plenty to go around.” As Derek spoke, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie turned tow watch as Joy darted amongst the Croagunk, feeding berries to them as she went.

“So everycreature is going to be find then. That just leaves the egg,” Fluttershy said as she looked over to where the egg case itself lay. As Fluttershy stared to move towards the case, the ringleader of the Croagunk waddled over to intercept her, only to be stopped by the angry croaking of his fellows. “It sounds like everycreature else thinks you should be a little nicer,” Fluttershy gently chided as it slunk back. “And you should really stop causing so much mischief, its much better to be kind to other creatures and make friends with them then it is to cause trouble for them.”

Derek blinked in shock as he watched the assembled Croagunk colony stand around looking ashamed as Fluttershy finally returned the egg case. “I don’t believe it, they all look like they were just scolded by their mother. I’ve never seen anyone who could have that kind of effect on wild Pokémon, especially not a species like Croagunk.”

“Yep, that’s Fluttershy for you,” Pinkie Pie replied with a grin. “I keep telling you, nobody can handle critters like Fluttershy can. So, what now?”

“well, at this point we’re far enough into the swamp that we may as well just head for Belladonna Town. We can use the transportation at the Pokémon Center there to send the egg back to Faunaville, and often that we can figure out what we want to do from there.”

“That sounds fine with me, I’m just glad we were able to get this egg back safe and sound,” Fluttershy said as she cradled the egg case in her arms. As Fluttershy turned to head back to kayak, however, she found the Croagunk who had guided her blocking her path. Before Fluttershy could even say a word the Croagunk let out a series of plaintive croaks.

“What’s it saying?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“He says that he wants to come with me,” Fluttershy replied before turning to the Croagunk. “Are you sure that’s what you really want? I don’t really know much about actually battling Pokémon. Wouldn’t you prefer a trainer who was better at fighting?” The Croagunk puffed out its cheeks as it croaked and gestured towards Fluttershy’s Quilava, who was standing off to the side and watching the exchange closely. “I guess I can see your point. Well, if this is really what you want…” The Croagunk practically hopped for joy as Fluttershy knelt down and presented it with one of her Poké Balls. With a final croak the Croagunk tapped the ball, causing it to split open and pull Croagunk inside in a flash of light.

“Alright Fluttershy! Now you have two Pokémon friends too,” Pinkie Pie said happily. “Maybe next you’ll try one of those gym battles.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Fluttershy said as she watched her Poké Ball wiggle for a few moments before coming to rest. “I think I’ve had my share of battling for a long time.”

Comments

[raven618]

Belladonna Town, sounds like it will be poison type based, that should give Pinkie a tough time.

[HB_DS2013]

Aside from the battling culture, Fluttershy would otherwise fit in as a trainer. Woe betide anyone who hurts any Pokemon under her care.

[Xanderfox]

9743693
It's hard to avoid the battle centered culture in the pokemon world as even pokemon themselves fall into it by their very nature

[HB_DS2013]

9750378 True.

[Xanderfox]

9750453
Gotta admit it's a clever excuse for why pokemon battleing is ok. The Pokemon will fight anyway, but with trainer battles it's to knock ou, the Pokemon get medical attention afterward and the trainer can restrict the Pokemon's power to reduce collateral damage.

[Alabenson]

9743693
I tend to agree, and frankly I tend to see Fluttershy as being the best suited to be a trainer out of the Mane 6. A large part of my planned arc for her character is going to be her becoming acclimated to the idea that Pokemon are willing and eager participants in battling.

9750942
I've essentially been basing everything off the idea that training and battling is mutually beneficial for the Pokemon involved, since it lets them become stronger/evolve, with the additional idea that if a Pokemon really doesn't want to battle there isn't much a trainer can likely do to force them.

[DDDDDDDDD23]

You should have fluttershy and pinkie meet up with rarity and applejack because two sides to a story is better than three.

[CarolMAssphault]

I take it back, either Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy would be the perfect candidates for being undefeated, most likely Pinkie Pie.