My Little Pokemon

by Alabenson

It Is On

“I have to admit, this is certainly the sort of town I’d expect to find Fluttershy hiding in,” Rarity said as she took in the view of Faunaville’s main thoroughfare.

“Yeah, Ah can’t argue with y’all there. Shoot, Ah would be all that surprised if we run into Fluttershy soon as we walk into the Pokémon Center,” Applejack agreed. “Speakin’ of which, we should probably head there soon as we can, don’t want to risk lettin’ it get filled up, do we?”

“Certainly not. Camping is all fine and good in moderation, but I have no intention of missing an opportunity to sleep in an actual bed for a change. And besides, my Piplup could use a bit of rest as well,” Rarity added.

Applejack gave Rarity a sidelong look at the mention of her Piplup. “Ah’ve been meanin’ to ask y’all about that. Ah know y’all said it happened when y’all were catchin’ another Pokémon, but y’all never really filled me in on any of the details.”

“Oh, there wasn’t all that much to tell, really. I ran into a rather unpleasant Pokémon while you were practicing your little Z-move dance and I wound up capturing it. Speaking of Pokémon, however, I was just curious, were you planning on challenging the leader of the town’s gym while we’re here?”

“To tell the truth, Ah hadn’t really thought much about it,” Applejack replied. “Ah suppose Ah could, ‘specially if it turns out we’re gonna be here for a while, but to be honest Ah’ve been thinkin’ more about findin’ our friends then gettin’ in another tussle. Not to mention the fact that these battles are supposed to get a lot rougher the more badges y’ get.”

“I see,” Rarity replied, sounding as though she were only half-listening to what Applejack was saying. “Well, I suppose I can’t argue with treating finding our friends to be our top priority. After we secure our room we can decide what we’ll do next.”

“Sounds like a plan, though Ah think mah first order of business is gonna be findin’ someplace to restock our supplies. After that we actually might want to head up the gym anyway. Even if Ah’m not plannin’ on fightin’ anybody, that’s still where there’s supposed be some sort of breedin’ center or somethin’. That’d be exactly the sort of place Fluttershy’d find her way to if she were here.”

“Well, that certainly does work well with something that I’ve been thinking of,” Rarity mused. “But, first things first, we need to secure a room at the center.”

*********

“Y’all want to try doin’ what now?” Applejack yelled in shock as she stared at Rarity.

“I was thinking that I’d like to try my hoof, or hand as it were, at challenging this town’s gym leader,” Rarity said calmly. “Really, Applejack, there’s no need to shout. It’s just something that I’ve been giving a great deal of thought to recently and given that we’re likely to be here for some time I figured now would be as good a time as any to pursue,” Rarity said as she laid her things out on one of the beds in their room at the Pokémon Center.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah guess Ah’m just surprised is all. Y’all always made it seem like gettin’ involved in battlin’ was the last thing y’all wanted to do,” Applejack said.

“And it was, at least at first. But, watching you battle with Ms. Amber and that…tacky girl from the rest center I’ve started to rethink my position on the matter. Not to mention certain other developments I’d rather not go into detail about,” Rarity added as she glanced at her two occupied Poké Balls.

“Fair enough, admittedly Ah wasn’t all that sure about battlin’ at first mahself when we first came here. Not to mention the fact that it’ll probably make things easier fer both of us if y’all ain’t inclined to turn yer nose up at battlin’, ‘specially seein’ how seriously folks take it ‘round these parts. But are y’all sure y’all really wanna start things off by getting’ involved in a gym battle right off? Ah mean, y’all did see how rough mah fight got, these gym leaders don’t mess around when it comes to battlin’,” Applejack said.

“Just what exactly are you implying?” Rarity asked icily. “Are you suggesting that I wouldn’t be able to handle myself in a gym challenge?”

“Ah ain’t sayin’ that, exactly,” Applejack said quickly. “Ah’m just sayin’ y’all might wanna consider takin’ it easy and workin’ yer way up to takin’ on an actual gym. Let’s be honest, y’all ain’t really the fightin’ type to begin with.”

“And what is that supposed to mean? Just because I’m ladylike doesn’t mean that I’m unable to defend myself, or that my Pokémon are unable to do so, as the case may be. I had thought that was something we had established a long time ago,” Rarity huffed. “In fact, as far as gym challenges go I’d say that at the moment I’m every bit as prepared to handle a gym challenge as you were when we arrived at Keystone City!”

“Aw fer cryin’ out – Ah recall just a few days ago y’all were callin’ the whole idea of battlin’ a ‘barbaric spectacle’! Ah find it a little hard to believe y’all’ve somehow managed to get yerself ready to face one of them gym leaders between then and now.”

“Well maybe you haven’t been paying as close attention to me as you thought!” Rarity snapped before storming out of the room, though not before grabbing her Poké Balls. “The nerve of Applejack. I mean, really, just because I’m not quite as rough and tumble as she is doesn’t mean that I’m incapable of handling myself if the situation calls for it, or that my Pokémon are, either. And it isn’t as if I’m unaware of what I’m getting myself into. I’ve watched as many of these battles as Applejack has, including the ones she’s fought in herself.” Rarity continued to grumble and fume as she marched out of the Pokémon Center in a huff.

As Rarity continued to march down the street with no particular destination in mind she eventually came across a large group of people gathered around some sort of commotion. Curious, Rarity gingerly made her way through the crowd until she saw that they were watching a number of tiny, flower-like Pokémon who seemed to be putting on a show of some kind. The colorful Pokémon floated and spun through the air while a long-haired woman in a sundress played a lilting melody on a flute. After a few minutes of this the performance concluded, with the Pokémon all lining up and taking a bow as the flute-playing woman rose to her feet. “Blessings to all of you. I hope you all enjoyed my Flabébé’s performance. If any of you want to bliss out with us in the future, please join us at the Javik Peace and Love Association Meditation Center.”

While most of the crowd quickly dissipated once the performance was complete, Rarity found herself lingering as she watched the odd woman and her Pokémon pack up their things. “Pardon me,” Rarity said as she approached the trainer. “I just wanted to say I thought that was a lovely little performance.”

“Thank you, we just love being able to bring a little harmony to those around us. I’m Morning Sun, by the way,” the woman said as she extended her hand towards Rarity.

“Rarity, pleased to meet you. You know, you remind me a bit of a friend of a friend of mine. Coincidently, the reason I came to this town was to look for that friend,” Rarity said as she shook Morning Sun’s hand.

“And you want to know if I might have seen your friend, right? It’s possible, I meet a lot of people while out spreading my message of peace and love. What does your friend look like?” Morning Sun asked.

“Well, her name is Fluttershy, she’s about my age with very long pink hair…” Rarity replied as she tried to imagine what Fluttershy would look like as a human.

“Oh, I think I did meet someone by that name back at our association’s picnic. I remember she had a really gentle aura, gave off really mellow vibes, you know?” Morning Sun said. “Yeah, she was with this other girl too. She was a lot louder, but still really nice.

“Hmm, louder than Fluttershy doesn’t really narrow it down all that much,” Rarity mused.

“The other girl was also, like, this embodiment of cosmic joy. It was really out there, her aura was the pinkest I’ve ever seen,” Morning Sun added helpfully.

“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity quickly concluded. “Tell me, do you happen to know where I can find them? I have to imagine if Fluttershy arrived in a town like this she wouldn’t be in any hurry to leave.”

“I don’t think I can really help you there, I only got to town yesterday and I saw your friends days ago at our picnic. Your friend really seemed to love Pokémon, though, so maybe she went to visit the Breeding Center,” Morning Song suggested.

“The Breeding Center, of course, I had almost forgotten about that!” Rarity exclaimed. “I don’t suppose you could point me in its direction?”

*********

There was a certain smell that was endemic to anyplace that housed large numbers of animals, be it a zoo, a farm, or, as it turned out, a breeding center. Growing up in a farming town like Ponyville and being a longtime friend of the Apple family, Rarity had long become acclimated to the odor in question. That, however, didn’t mean she particularly liked it.

“I’m definitely headed in the right direction, it smells like the inside of Fluttershy’s animal sanctuary,” Rarity muttered to herself as she made her way down the dirt road towards the facility. “It’s not that I have anything against animals, per se, but I do wish they could be persuaded to bathe a little more often. On the plus side, if what Miss Morning Song told me is correct than we’ll have two of our friends accounted for. That will just leave Twilight and Rainbow Dash…and Spike too, in all likelihood now that I think about it. Oh, and I suppose there’s always the possibility Starlight Glimmer was dragged here as well. And of course, if Maud’s here then Sweetie Belle and her friends are probably off somewhere, having the time of their lives, no doubt. Speaking of having the time of their lives, I have to imagine Rainbow Dash has taken to this battling business even more than Applejack has,” Rarity’s demeanor darkened as battling and Applejack both crossed her mind so close together. “Really, I can’t believe Applejack was so opposed to the idea of my participating in these little battles. It was as though she were talking to me as though I were some little filly who needed protecting.” Rarity let out a sigh. “Which, if what Sweetie Belle has told me is accurate, is how Applejack tends to treat the rest of her family as well. She’s probably just worried about me, and given the situation that we’re in I can’t really blame her. And my rushing off like that probably hasn’t helped matters any.” Rarity let out a groan spurred on by this sudden bout of self-realization. “Ugh, I’m going to have to apologize to her the next time I see her.”

Rarity continued to talk to herself about how best she should handle Applejack’s sudden overprotectiveness as she walked along the dirt road leading to the breeding center. By the time Rarity reached what appeared to be the main building she was already forming counterarguments to the points Applejack would undoubtedly raise when Rarity sat her down to discuss the issue (after Rarity delivered a suitable apology for running off, of course). As Rarity entered the center, however, she paused her mental argument to refocus on her goal of locating her other friends.

“Hello,” Rarity called out as she opened the door. “Is anybody here? I’m looking for a pair of friends of mine and I was told I might be able to find them here.” With no answer forthcoming Rarity fully entered the breeding center’s lobby. It didn’t appear to be anything particularly out of the ordinary as far as lobbies went, aside from the fact that it seemed surprisingly clean for a farm building. Vexingly, however, it also appeared that no one else was there, though the welcome desk did have a note on it offering an explanation. “Out to lunch, be back in an hour. Please see Norma if an emergency,” Rarity read before clicking her tongue in annoyance. “Setting aside the question as to whether or not this qualifies as an emergency, where in Equestria is this Norma? Ah well, I suppose I’ll just have to see if I can’t find someone around here who can help me,” Rarity said to herself.

As Rarity moved to head deeper into the building, she heard what sounded like voices coming from down a hall. More importantly, one of the voices sounded unmistakably like Pinkie Pie. Rarity immediately rushed down the hall the voices were coming from, eventually coming to a stop just outside the doors to an office.

“- just glad the egg’s going to have a good home. Anyway, I need to get going, I thought I heard someone come in and I should probably check to make sure everything’s alright.” Moments later, a large middle-aged woman lumbered out of the office and started down at Rarity. “Can I help you, miss?”

“I hope so, at least,” Rarity replied nervously. “I’m actually looking for a pair of friends of mine and I could have sworn I had just heard one of them talking a few seconds ago.”

“Well, right now there’s no one else here but me and the secretary, and I’m pretty sure she’s out to lunch right now. Unless you overheard me talking on the phone to the girls who were helping recover an egg that a couple of punks stole,” the woman said. “My name’s Norma, by the way.”

“That all sounds exactly like something my friends would do! Err, the helping part not the stealing the egg part,” Rarity added quickly. “I don’t suppose you could tell me the names of these girls so I could be certain?”

“Well, one of them was named Fluttershy, real sweet girl but kind of timid. The other was a walking ball of energy name Pinkie Pie. Do either of them sound familiar?”

“Yes, that’s them!” Rarity shouted with glee. “I’m so glad to hear they’re both alright. And you said you know where they are?”

“According to them they’re in Belladonna Town for the time being. It’s a small town in the middle of a swamp a bit to the north of here.” As Norma spoke, she noticed some of the exuberance slowly fade from Rarity’s face. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, not exactly. I’m thrilled to finally have an idea as to where my friends are, it’s just…the middle of a swamp, you said?”

“Well, if it helps, I doubt they’ll be there for too much longer. It’s not exactly a big town to begin with and to be honest it’s about as pleasant as a town in the middle of a swamp sounds. My guess is they’ll head to Aquarius City before too long. If you’re looking to catch up with them then I’d suggest finishing up anything you want to get done in town quick and then start heading northwest,” Norma suggested.

“Luckily I don’t think there’s anything that my other friend and I have to do that will take very long,’ Rarity replied “Applejack will probably have restocked our supplies by the time I get back to the Pokémon Center and it isn’t as though we had all that much else to do. Although…you know what, why not? I suppose there is one thing that I would like to indulge in before I leave.” Rarity cleared her throat before straightening herself up. “Ms. Norma, I Rarity, would like to hereby challenge you to a gym battle!” Rarity declared with as much pomp as she could muster.

Norma chucked at Rarity’s display. “Alright then, let’s head over to the field so we can get started. So, have you tried challenging any gym leaders before, or am I going to be your first?”

“You’ll be the first one I’ve faced myself,” Rarity admitted. “Although, I did watch when my friend Applejack had her challenge with Ms. Amber, so I have a fair idea as to what to expect. Err, where exactly are you leading me?” Rarity asked as she noticed that Norma was leading them back outside.

“The gym’s field is in the barn next to the office,” Norma replied as she continued down the hall. “There is a way there going through the center, but it’s faster to just go around outside. Anyway, you mentioned that you know what to expect because you watched your friend go through her first challenge in Keystone City, right?”

“Yes, it was a rather intense spectacle, but I have to admit it was rather thrilling as well,” Rarity said. “If I’m to be honest, I didn’t really think much of the idea of battling when I first came here. The notion of forcing Pokémon to fight each other just seemed…”

“Barbaric?” Norma offered, sounding slightly bemused.

“Well, I was trying to think of a nicer word for it, but, yes essentially.” Rarity admitted.

“You’re not the first to think like that. So, what exactly was it that changed your mind?” Norma asked.

“It was something of a process, actually. For starters, all of the Pokémon that I’ve seen have seemed strangely enthusiastic about the experience, almost like it’s some kind of game to them. I can’t imagine that would be the case if battling was truly harmful to them,” Rarity said, eliciting a noncommittal grunt from Norma.

“That’s mostly true, but it can depend on the trainer. Battling isn’t supposed to cause any lasting damage, but unfortunately there are trainers out there who take things too far and wind up hurting their Pokémon as a result,” Norma said sadly. “Thankfully, though, people like that are the exception, not the rule.”

“I’d certainly hope so. In any case, what really, shall I say, adjusted my perspective on the whole matter was watching my friend Applejack’s gym battle. It was terrifying, yes, but at the same time there was just something about it, almost something primal. I’m sorry, I don’t suppose I’m making all that much sense but I’m not exactly sure how to put it into words.”

“That’s alright, I think I understand what you trying to say.” Norma said as the pair exited the building and turned to head towards the attached barn. “Trainers might not be the ones doing the actual, fighting, but we definitely have a connection to what’s going on. That connection is what makes Z-moves possible, after wall.” Norma paused before the barn doors and turned to Rarity. “Now, I know you said you know what you’re getting yourself into with this, but I just want to make sure; are you certain that you and your Pokémon are ready for this?”

Rarity thought about it for just a moment before looking Norma directly in the eye. “I am,” Rarity said confidently.

“Okay then, let’s get started.”

*********

“Well, at least now we’re fully stocked on supplies,” Applejack said as she exited the general store carrying several bags of goods. “Let’s see…Ah restocked our medicines, got enough food to last us at least the next couple of days along with a few bags of Pokémon chow. Odds are, Rarity will think of a few things she can’t live without that Ah haven’t even thought of, but Ah’ll cross that bridge when Ah come to it. Speakin’ of whom, Ah hope she’s gotten back to the center by now. It’s bad enough missin’ everypony else without her runnin’ off too.”

Applejack continued to grumble as she made her way back to her room at the Pokémon Center to drop off her purchases. Finding that Rarity was still absent, Applejack irritably dumped the supplies onto Rarity’s bed before marching back into the center’s lobby.

“Of all the durn fool things she coulda done, why the hay did Rarity have to pick runnin’ off on her own?” Applejack groused to no one in particular before approaching the Nurse Joy manning the desk. “Pardon me, but did y’all happen to see a girl about mah age with purple hair storm out of here a little while ago?”

“I think so, was she wearing a dark blue jacket with lots of sequins?” Nurse Joy asked.

“Uh…maybe?” Applejack replied as she inwardly cursed the fact that she had never paid much attention to what Rarity was wearing.

“Well, I did see a girl like that who rushed out of here a little while ago, but I haven’t seen her since.”

Applejack let out a defeated sigh. “It’s alright, Ah have an idea where she might’ve gotten to. If y’all wouldn’t mind, could y’all give me some directions to the town’s gym?”

*********

“Starly, let’s start things off with your Wing Attack!”

“Piplup, quickly, use Bubble!” Norma’s Starly’s wings glowed bright white as it dove towards Piplup, directly into a stream of bubbles that Piplup sprayed at it. The Starly had no hope of dodging Piplup’s assault, so instead it powered through and slammed its wing into Piplup’s face. “Darn it, Piplup, are you alright?”

As Piplup waved its flipper to signify it was fine, Norma gave a nod of approval. “I’ll give you this, you do handle yourself like a serious trainer. Alright then, let’s see how you handle this; Starly, use Double Team!” Starly immediately began to dart through the air, leaving identical copies of itself in its wake.

Rarity remained silent in the face of this display, her attention entirely focused on watching her opponent’s Pokémon’s movements. Thus far, battling another trainer had proven to be exactly the experience she had expected. Watching Piplup clash with its opponent while responding to her commands provided an intense adrenaline rush, which, when combined with the practiced eye of a designer allowed Rarity to pick Starly out from its flock of copies. “Piplup, look up and to your left. Now, use another Bubble attack…now!” Following Rarity’s instructions, Piplup sent another torrent of bubbles into the air, which harmlessly passed through several of Starly’s insubstantial copies before striking the actual one. Rarity allowed herself a small triumphant grin as she watched Norma’s Starly awkwardly flop through the air in an effort to recover.

“Alright, now I’m impressed. Most rookies panic when they run into a Pokémon using Double Team for the first time,” Norma said.

“I’m hardly most trainers,” Rarity boasted with a toss of her hair. “I can pick out shoddy stitch work at one hundred paces, s seeing through your Pokémon’s tricks is no challenge at all.”

“Don’t get too cocky just because you got one hit in, kid. I’m no pushover either and neither is Starly. Speaking of whom, Starly! Use Quick Attack!” Starly let out a cry signaling its attack as it and its copies all began racing through the air so fast that they appeared to be little more than dark grey blurs. Suddenly, the cloud of Starly’s dipped down to the floor of the field, seemingly subjecting Piplup to attacks from all sides.

Rarity gritted her teeth in frustration as she helplessly watched the assault. Her opponent’s Pokémon were flying much too fast for her eyes to keep up and worse still she had lost track of which was the real Starly. “All right, Rarity, calm down and focus. If you can’t see which one is the real Starly you’ll just have to go about this another way. Wait, I know, Piplup, use your Growl!” Piplup promptly puffed out its chest as it deeply inhaled before letting out a high-pitched cry which appeared to distort the air around it. The piercing sound left the numerous Starly’s flapping unsteadily in the air, slowed just enough that Rarity could once again track their movements.

“Cute trick, but I think we can both see your Pokémon can’t keep this up for much longer,” Norma observed. “Starly, let’s wrap this up. Hit it with another Wing Attack!”

Rarity narrowed her eyes as the numerous Starly wheeled around in the air preparing to strike. Norma’s observation regarding the state of her Piplup was frustratingly accurate, however Starly didn’t look to be in much better shape. All that was needed to finish it would be for Piplup to score one more solid hit. Suddenly, Rarity’s gaze focused on one Starly in particular. “There you are. Piplup, get ready to use Bubble one more time on my command!” Rarity shouted, her eyes fixed on her opponent’s Pokémon. “Ready…” The Starly’s wings were once again glowing white as it aimed itself towards its opponent. “Not yet…” With a final chirping cry Starly dove straight towards Piplup. “Behind you NOW!” Piplup immediately spun around, spewing a stream of bubbles directly into Starly’s face. Trapped by its own momentum, Starly had no hope of dodging the attack, but it wasn’t enough to keep Starly’s wing from slamming into Piplup’s torso.

Norma watched impassively as Starly came crashing down to the ground after colliding with Piplup before raising Starly’s Poké Ball. “Alright, Starly, you did good, but it looks like you’re beat. Return.”

As the red beam recalled Starly back to its ball Rarity proceeded to do the same for her Piplup. “You did a splendid job, darling, but I think it’s plainly obvious that you’re not going to last much longer anyway. Now then, it appears that this will be decided by our second Pokémon, if I’m not mistaken,” Rarity said as she pulled out her second Poké Ball.

*********

“Well, Ah’ll give this place credit fer somethin’, Ah at least like the look of it better than that crazy rock gym Ah had mah battle in,” Applejack said as she marched up the dirt road towards the breeding center. “‘Course now the question is where the hay the gym part of this place is. Now, wherever it is would need to pretty big in a day to fit one of those arenas inside it…like that barn-lookin’ place over there!” Applejack exclaimed as her eyes fell on a particularly large structure at the center of the complex. “That place definitely looks big enough, and even if Rarity’s not there there’s a good chance Ah can find someone to help me find her.”

As Applejack approached the building, she could start to hear a combination of yelling and animalistic cries which signified an ongoing Pokémon battle inside. Her suspicion as to the building’s purpose confirmed, Applejack rushed to the doors and pushed them open in time to see Norma toss a Poké Ball into the field.

“Go Kangaskhan!”

“Very well then, go Tauros!” Applejack’s attention snapped up to the challenger’s podium just in time to see Rarity toss her Poké Ball into the field, unleashing her Tauros.

“Now where the hay did y’all manage to catch somethin’ like that?” Applejack exclaimed as she watched Tauros appear onto the field and glare at Norma’s Kangaskhan. Applejack had been vaguely aware that Rarity had captured a second Pokémon of some kind during their trip from Keystone City to Faunaville, but she had never realized that it had been something so fierce looking.

“Applejack? What in Equestria are you doing here? I thought you weren’t planning on challenging this gym,” Rarity said.

“Ah came here lookin’ fer y’all,” Applejack replied. “And that still don’t answer mah question as to where the hay y’all picked up that nasty lookin’ piece of work.”

“I take it that you’re the friend that Rarity mentioned earlier?” Norma called out from the other end of the field. “Well, if you don’t mind, we’re in the middle of a battle at the moment, so why don’t you watch from the benches and you two can work this out when we’re finished.” Applejack looked as though she wanted to argue for a moment before thinking better of it and quietly climbing into the stands.

“Now, where were we? Ah yes, Tauros, use Horn Attack!” With an earsplitting bellow, Tauros lowered its head and charged straight for Kangaskhan.

Norma, however, was completely nonplussed by the sight of the fearsome Pokémon’s assault. “Kangaskhan, hit that lump of muscle with your Fake-Out.” Kangaskhan nodded in acknowledgement while keeping its eyes fixed on the charging Tauros before clapping its hand together. This act sent a visible shockwave through the air that struck Tauros head on, halting its charge and leaving it looking somewhat dazed. “Now, let’s wrap this fight up nice and quick,” Norma said as she rolled up her sleeve to reveal the Z-ring on her arm, already glowing with power.

“Watch out Rarity! She’s about to use her Z-thingy!” Applejack called out in alarm.

“I noticed,” Rarity snapped back acidly. “Tauros, darling, be a dear and use your Horn Attack again before that thing has a chance to finish its attack.” Rarity’s command was all the encouragement Tauros needed as it pawed the ground a few times with its hoof before rushing forward and slamming its head into Kangaskhan.

Just before Tauros collided with it, however, Kangaskhan turned to one side and bent down slightly, taking the hit on its shoulder as it continued to mimic its trainer’s movements. “Good try, miss, but you’d need to do a lot better than that to stop what’s about to happen. Kangaskhan, use Breakneck Blitz!” As the golden light streaming from Norma merged with Kangaskhan own aura Kangaskhan suddenly surged forward, knocking Tauros off its hooves and pushing it along the ground until Kangaskhan finally slammed it into a particularly large boulder. “Keep your guard up, Kangaskhan, I doubt that was enough to take it down completely.”

Sure enough, as Kangaskhan slowly backed away, Tauros pulled itself back to its hooves, bruised and battered but still ready to fight. “So, we’ll need to do better if we want to defeat you? Then do better we shall! Tauros, let’s demonstrate precisely why we shouldn’t be taken lightly. Show us your Rage!” Hearing Rarity’s command, Tauros’ eyes flashed red as it charged straight for Kangaskhan, checking it in its shoulder.

“Well, I’ll give you this, battling you sure isn’t boring. But, if it’s a brawl you want then we’ll be happy to oblige. Kangaskhan, hit it with your Comet Punch!” Kangaskhan didn’t hesitate as it raised its arms and began furiously pummeling Tauros, however, seemed to weather the assault without so much as flinching. The only hint Tauros gave as to the effect the beating was having on it was a slowly intensifying red aura surrounding it and the look of murderous rage smoldering in its eyes. By the time Kangaskhan landed the final punch to Tauros’ forehead it was painfully clear that the attack had done far more to infuriate Tauros than it had to knock it out.

“Well, darling, this certainly has been fun, but now I think it’s time to settle this. Tauros, be a dear and finish things off with one last Horn Attack,” Rarity commanded. The words had scarcely left Rarity’s mouth before Tauros lowered its head and slammed itself into Kangaskhan’s abdomen. Tauros then threw its head up, flipping Kangaskhan into the air.

Norma watched Kangaskhan fall back to the ground before letting out a defeated sigh as she raised her Poké Ball. “Well, looks like that’s about it then. Kangaskhan’s not able to battle, and that means you’re the winner,” Norma said as she recalled her Kangaskhan back to its Poké Ball.

“Wahaha! We did it!” Rarity cried out in triumph before recalling her Tauros. “Oh, you were just marvelous out there.”

“Ah’ve gotta admit, y’all sure as hay handled yerself there as well as Ah could’ve,” Applejack admitted as she climbed down from the stands. “Ah probably should have expected as much goin’ in, so Ah guess Ah owe y’all a bit of an apology for earlier.”

“Think nothing of it, darling, I understand where you were coming from and I was a touch oversensitive on the subject myself,” Rarity assured her friend. “More importantly, Ms. Norma has informed me that she knows where Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are.”

“Really? That’s great news! So, where’re they now, someplace in town?” Applejack asked eagerly.

“Nope, they’re in the middle of a swamp,” Norma said as she approached the pair holding a small box.

“I’ll fill you in on the details later, but the important part is that we have a good idea as to where they’re going to be headed next,” Rarity explained as she noticed Applejack’s baffled expression. “In the meantime, however, it would appear that Ms. Norma has something to give me.”

Norma nodded as she handed Rarity the box she was holding. “Here you go, one Farm badge and one piece of Normalium-Z. If you want my advice I’d suggest you take some time to practice the movements for the Z-move before you try using it in a serious battle; it’s not the sort of thing that comes naturally even for an experienced trainer.”

“Ah can vouch fer that,” Applejack added.

“I’ll certainly take it under consideration, but for now my friend and I have much more pressing concerns. Namely, what would be the fastest route to Aquarius City?”

Comments

[RainbowAnime]

Great chapter! Which pokemon they will get?

[Rhino23]

When is the next chapter coming out
im so excited