My Little Pokemon

by Alabenson

The Path Overly Traveled

“So, your main interest is the library and not the gym, then?” Siegfried asked in a bemused tone.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m not interested in the gym, I’m still planning on challenging it for my second badge. It just isn’t necessarily my top priority, that’s all,” Twilight replied.

“Still, its good to see someone your age taking learning seriously. I’ve seen too may young trainers so focused on the league on battling that they forget that training one’s mind is just as important as anything else,” Siegfried said. “I’m just curious, though, was there anything in particular that you were hoping to find once you reach there?”

“Mostly I’m trying to learn as much about Pokémon as I can,” Twilight replied. “We don’t really have Pokémon where we’re from, so all this has been very new for us.”

“A place that doesn’t have Pokémon at all? Now I’ve heard just about everything.” Siegfried chuckled to himself as Twilight slumped back into her seat amid the various supply crates on Siegfried’s wagon. “I can’t say for certain that the monastery’s library will have exactly what you’re looking for, but it does have one of the largest collections of history and folklore you could ever hope to find. So, if what you want is to learn more about Pokémon, than I can think of worst places to start.”

“No offense, but it sounds kinda boring to me,” Rainbow Dash said from her seat further back. “What I wanna know more about is the gym you’ve got up there. I’ve gotta be honest with you, though, it doesn’t really seem like something you’d normally find in a monastery, unless monasteries around here are way cooler than usual.”

Twilight shot an irritated glance at Rainbow Dash before turning back to Siegfried. “Actually, I was a little curious about that myself.”

“We get that a lot, to be honest,” Siegfried replied with a laugh. “The Drakefang Monastery was founded by Dragon trainers centuries ago, long before anyone had even though of creating the Javik League. Dragon type Pokémon tend to be a bit temperamental, you see, so trainers who specialize in them tend to need a fair bit of space. Of course, anytime you get enough Pokémon trainers together Pokémon battles are going to occur, so the founders of the monastery mad sure there was room for that sort of thing. So, when the folks who set up Javik League finally showed up, it was only natural they’d use the monastery as the location for the league’s Dragon-type gym.”

“I can’t wait to see what all the different Dragon Pokémon you have there are like!” Spike said.

“Well, you’ll still have to be patient for a little while longer. We still have to get up the mountain, and that means going through the cave system inside,” Siegfied said, eliciting a groan from Rainbow Dash.

“Ugh, that’s right. Isn’t there some other way to get up the mountain?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m afraid not, at least not without going several days out of our way. Wahy, you’re not claustrophobic, are you?” Siegfried replied.

“We had some bad experiences when a pathway collapsed on our way to Mesa Town,” Twilight said.

“Let me guess, the stretch going along the southern coast, right? I can’t say I’m all that surprised to hear that something happened there, that route’s always been nasty as all get out. If it helps any, I can promise that the route we’ll be taking will be much more pleasant than what you dealt with there,” Siegfried.

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” Rainbow Dash shot back.

“You won’t have long to wait, we’re coming up on the entrance as we speak,” Siegfried said. Sure enough, as the lumbering, Mudsdale-pulled cart turned a corner the forest gave way to a clearing of brush leading up to the base of the mountain. The road they were following led straight ahead into a massive tunnel that opened into the mountainside like a gaping maw. “I know it doesn’t exactly look all that inviting, but once we get inside, you’ll find it isn’t nearly as bad as you might think.”

Rainbow Dash merely rolled her eyes at this but said nothing, for which Twilight was grateful. Having Siegfried give them a ride eliminated any possibility of getting lost once they entered the caverns, and while his cart wasn’t particularly fast it was still quicker than walking. While Twilight doubted Rainbow Dash would pick a fight on purpose, she also knew Rainbow Dash could be a bit abrasive if something was upsetting her.

Thank fully, as the wagon passed though the mouth of the cavern it quickly became apparent that Rainbow Dash’s anxieties about the cave wouldn’t be as bad as she had feared. Scarcely twenty feet into the cave the initial tunnel gave way to a massive space several stories in height at least, the ceiling of which sparkled with faint blue light. “Hey, look up there, I think I see something flying around near the ceiling!” Spike exclaimed. Sure enough, dozens of bat-like silloutetes could be seen against the pale light emanating from the ceiling.

Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokémon. This nocturnal Pokémon is able to project 200,000 hertz ultrasonic waves from its ears, which it uses to both locate food and deter predators.

“Don’t worry about them, the Noibat generally don’t bother anybody, especially during the day. As long as they don’t get a whiff of the food we’re hauling they should give us a wide berth. Luckily the crates I’ve got the berries in have been treated to keep Pokémon from sniffing them out,” Siegfried said with a chuckle.

“Okay, but what about the berries in our packs?” Spike asked. As if to answer his question, a pale lavender bat-like Pokémon suddenly landed on the wagon right behind Spike and began prodding his backpack with its snout. “Hey, get out of there!” Spike yelled as he jerked the bag away, only for two more Noibat to land nearby. “Uh, guys? I think I might need a little help here…”

“Don’t worry, Spike, we’ve got you covered,” Rainbow Dash said with a massive grin. “Go, Tank Jr!”

“Go, Charmeleon!” Twilight echoed as she tossed out her own ball.

“If you girls want to help chase them off, that’s fine. Just be careful not to damage the crates back there. It’d be a real pain if after all this I had to go back down the mountain anyway,” Siegfried called back.

“Alright, Tank, you heard the man, let’s stick with your Bite attack for now.” Tank Jr nodded in understanding as it through itself at a group of Noibat, forcing them to scatter to avoid its chomping teeth.

“Hmm, Charmeleon, use your Smoke Screen to shield the wagon. We don’t want to risk burning any of the crates by accident,” Twilight said after giving it a moment’s thought. Charmeleon, however, wasn’t nearly as eager to follow its trainer’s instructions as Tank Jr had been, snorting in irritation before blowing out a thick cloud of dark smoke. Twilight scarcely seemed to even notice her Pokémon’s poor attitude, however, as her attention was focused almost entirely on the Noibat flittering at the edges of the cloud. Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes seemed to lock onto one Noibat in particular who was struggling in dodge the bubbles that Tank Jr was now blowing at it. “There! Charmeleon, use your Dragon Rage on that one!” With a huff of annoyance, Charmeleon raided its head before snapping it forward as it launched a ball of fire directly at the Noibat Twilight was pointing at. The Noibat, to distracted to dodge the attack, was sent spiraling out of the air towards the ground only to be struck by a Poké Ball just before it landed.

“Hey, what was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked as she watched Twilight hop out of the wagon to retrieve her Poké Ball.

“Part of preparing to complete the gym battle challenge is going to involve ensuring that I have a well-rounded team able to handle a variety of different opponents. The best way to prepare for that is to assemble a diverse team, and I thought a Noibat would make a good addition,” Twilight explained matter-of-factly.

“She’s not wrong, you know,” Siegfried said. “Catching Pokémon like that is a major part of being a trainer.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “But when you talk about it like that it, it still feels, I don’t know wrong somehow. Like you’re not really thinking about then like teammates or something.”

“Come on, Rainbow, I’m sure that’s not how Twilight meant it to sound,” Spike said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess there are just certain parts of all this trainer stuff I don’t really get yet,” Rainbow Dash said as she sat back down.

The group continued on the journey in relative silence for a few minutes, until Siegfried finally spoke up. “Say, do you folks have any acquaintances here in the Javik region who might be looking for you?”

“We know that some of our other friends are here as well, but haven’t seen any of them since we arrived. To be honest, part of the reason we’re going through the gym challenge in the first place is that we’re hoping to run into them in the process,” Twilight said. “Why do you ask?”

“Because there’s a pair of girls about your age that have been following us ever since se entered the caverns, and I was wondering if they were someone you knew,” Siegfried said. “I didn’t mention it earlier since I thought it might just be a coincidence, but at this point I think its pretty safe to say that’s not the case.”

“Wait, seriously?” Rainbow Dash said as she rushed to the back of the wagon and peered into the darkness. At first she couldn’t see anything, but after a few moments a flicker of movement caught Rainbow Dash’s attention. “Yeah, I think I see them, I can’t tell who they are, though. Do you think we should slow down so they can catch up?”

“Well, we’re going to need to stop and take a rest pretty soon anyway, so we may as well,” Siegfried replied as he signaled for the Mudsdale pulling the wagon to come to a halt. “The three of you may as well take the opportunity to see what our pursuers actually want.”

“Right.” Twilight replied as she climbed out of the wagon, already planning out the best way to approach the unknown individuals following them. Unfortunately for Twilight, she had forgotten the simple fact that no plan could survive contact with Rainbow Dash.

“Hey! We know you’ve been sneaking after as so come on out and face us!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she hopped down.

“I beg your pardon, but the Great and Powerful Trixie does not ‘sneak’!” a familiar and indignant voice yelled back. “Trixie can’t help it that Twilight Sparkle decided to go through some pitch-black cave.”

“Trixie?” Twilight exclaimed. “What in Equestria are you doing here?”

“And me, I’m here too,” Starlight Glimmer said as she followed behind her friend.

“Yeah, I guess I kinda forgot to mention it at the time, but I ran into Starlight and Trixie way back in the forest we went through on our way to the town where you got your badge,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Rainbow! How could you have forgotten to tell me something that important!” Twilight demanded.

“Hey, lay off! I was dealing with a lot of stuff when that happened,” Rainbow Dash said defensively.

“Well, if Rainbow Dash really did forget to tell you about our encounter then Trixie supposes she can forgive you for apparently avoiding her,” Trixie said. “Be that as it may, the time has finally come, Twilight, to face the wrath of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“She wants to battle you,” Starlight quickly explained seeing Twilight’s confusion.

“That’s what Trixie said, more or less. The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to prove that, when it comes to training Pokémon, she is truly greater and more powerful than Princess Twilight!”

Twilight winced at Trixie’s winced at Trixie’s use of her title as she glanced back at Siegfried. Thankfully, given Siegfried’s lack of reaction he apparently either hadn’t heard or hadn’t understood Trixie’s comment. However, it looked like Siegfried was already headed over to see what the fuss was about and the last ting Twilight wanted at that moment was to have to explain her title. “Alright, if I agree to battle, will you please stop calling me ‘Princess’?” Twilight said in a loud whisper.

“Very well, as long as Trixie is able to say she was able to beat you then it’s fine with her,” Trixie replied as nonchalantly as she could.

“Sounds like you’ve got yourself a challenger,” Siegfried said as he approached the group. “So, are these two girls friends of yours?”

“Well…Starlight Glimmer is at least,” Twilight said hesitantly. “Trixie is more of a friend of a friend, really?”

“Not to mention a rival,” Trixie added.

“Ah, I see now, So, you were chasing after as so you could challenge Miss Twilight to a battle, I take it? Well, Mudsdale still needs some more time to rest so there’s no problem on my end. If you’d like I could even referee for you as well,” Siegfried offered.

“Trixie has no problems with that.” As Trixie spoke she turned and walked until she was several yards away from Twilight, at which point she spun dramatically back around. “This shall be a two versus two battle, unless you have any objections.”

“Fine with me,” Twilight replied, eager to get the matter over with as fast as possible. “Go, Charmeleon!”

AS Charmeleon emerged from its Poké Ball onto the field Trixie let out a haughty snort. “That’s your Pokémon? Trixie has to admit she’s a bit disappointed. No matter, this just means it will be that much easier for Trixie to prove her superiority! Now come, Braixen, let us demonstrate what a truly great and powerful duo really looks like!” In a flash, Trixie’s Pokémon appeared before her, a bipedal, vulpine Pokémon with yellow fur and a bearing that perfectly matched its overdramatic trainer. “Now, Twilight, watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie shows you what true skill –”

“Uh huh, Charmeleon, Dragon Rage,” Twilight said, sounding positively bored with the entire ordeal. Growling in frustration, Charmeleon still obediently reared back its head and launched a ball of fire from its mouth at Braixen. Trixie’s Pokémon barely had time to react before the ball struck and detonated sending it sprawling to the ground.

“Hey, no fair! How does that puny little lizard know an attack that powerful?” Trixie yelled in consternation as Braixen struggled to pull itself back to its feet. “No matter, it will take more than one attack to stop us. Braixen! Unleash the awesome, show-stopping power of you Psybeam!” With a nod of acknowledgement, Braixen deftly flicked its hand behind its back and pulled out a stick, which was burning brightly on one end. As Braixen pointed the stick at Charmeleon with an elaborate flourish, the flame burst into a multicolored flare as a magenta beam of energy shot out and struck Charmeleon square in the head. “Hah, you may have surprised me with that attack earlier, but now we’ll see how well your Charmeleon does when its mind is under psychic assault!”

“Charmeleon, Dragon Rage,” Twilight repeated, hardly reacting at all to Trixie’s blustering. Charmeleon, meanwhile, scrunched itself up as it endured Braixen’s assault before launching another explosive ball of fire from its mouth. Braixen desperately tried to turn and flee from the attack, only to be struck in the back and sent flying, landing to the ground at Trixie’s feet.

“Braixen is unable to battle,” Siegfried declared as Trixie recalled Braixen to its Poké Ball.

“Trixie can see that, thank you,” Trixie hissed before putting away Braixen’s Poké Ball. “You did you best, but now it’s time for Trixie’s other assistant to take the stage. Go, Misdreavus!” As Trixie tossed out her second Poké Ball it split open to unleash a floating grey blob vaguely resembling a feminine head. “Now the, time for act two. Misdreavus, why don’t you start things off with your Confuse Ray!” Misdreavus promptly let out a drawn-out moan as the red jewels around its neck began to glow. To Twilight’s shock, four purple silhouettes matching Misdreavus’ form emerged from the jewels and flew towards Charmeleon circling it and cackling manically.

“Not bad, but you’re going to have to do much better than tat if you want to scare me,” Twilight said. “Charmeleon, another Dragon Rage!”

“Jeez, Twilight just keeps using that same attack. I get that its powerful and everything, but it kinda makes watching her battles a little boring,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Twilight’s definitely over relying on the attack, and it’s a bigger problem than just being uninteresting to watch,” Siegfried said. “Dragon Rage is an exhausting attack, and even the strongest Pokémon can only use it so many times before they completely drain themselves. You can already tell Charmeleon’s almost at its limit just by looking at it. Even if this was a straightforward fight its likely Charmeleon would be in a difficult situation.”

“Yeah, and Trixie’s sure not going to make this straightforward,” Starlight added.

“What the hay do you mean by that?” Even as Rainbow Dash asked the question, Charmeleon let out a roar and launched a blast of Dragon Rage at one of the spectral images circling it. The attack passed harmlessly through the illusion, however, and worse still it struck the ground nearby, catching Charmeleon in the resultant explosion.

“Hah! And for our next trick, Misdreavus will shut down your Pokémon’s attacks entirely!” Trixie crowed triumphantly. “Misdreavus, show Twilight’s Pokémon the power of our Spite!” As Trixie gave the command, Misdreavus’ eyes began to glow with a sinister red light while a dark aura seemed to simultaneously fall over Charmeleon.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she watched her Charmeleon. Misdreavus’ latest attack had left it sweating and breathing heavily, as though it was exhausted. While Twilight didn’t say a word, one only had to glance at her face to see her mentally working through all of her options. Finally, Twilight silently raised Charmeleon’s Poké Ball and recalled it without a word.

“Giving up already? As disappointing as it is Trixie can hardly blame you. After all, you are facing off against the Great and Powerful –”

“Venipede, go!” Twilight interrupted Trixie as she tossed out her next Poké Ball. As Venipede materialized, however, Trixie responded by bursting out into peals of laughter.

“A bug? You’re actually planning on battling the Great and Powerful Trixie with a bug? Trixie isn’t sure if she should be relieved or insulted. No matter, Misdreavus, Astonish that insect.”

Misdreavus seemed to fade into the shadows as it leered at Venipede, but Twilight was able to react just fast enough. “Venipede, use Protect!” Venipede immediately curled into a ball as it surrounded itself in a bubble of turquoise energy, forcing Misdreavus to abandon its attack.

“So, all you can do is curl up and hide away from the Great and Powerful Trixie? Trixie realizes that facing her must be a terrifying experience, but even she never imagined that Twilight Sparkle would be cowed this easily,” Trixie sneered.

Despite Trixie’s best efforts to antagonize her, however, Twilight wasn’t paying her the slightest bit of attention. “Good, Venipede’s Protect should but it some time to build momentum. Even if it’s not faster than Trixie’s Pokémon quite yet, this should go a long way towards narrowing the gap,” Twilight thought to herself as she weighed whether or not to use this strategy against the next gym leader she’d face. “Something’s not right, Venipede should have uncurled by now and the glow from its attack should have gone down. Instead, its looks its actually getting brighter, almost like when –” Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as Venipede was completely engulfed in a bright white light as it seemingly tripled in size. As the light finally subsided, Venipede was revealed to have transformed into a wheel-shaped insectoid.

Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokémon. Its body is protected by an incredibly hard shell. This allows it to attack enemies by rotating at high speed and then crashing into its opponents with devastating force.

“So your Pokémon evolved, big deal,” Trixie said as Spike’s Pokédex finished reading its entry. “That doesn’t change anything. My Misdreavus will still – why is your wrist glowing?”

Looking down, Twilight say that the piece of Bugium-Z inserted in her Z-ring was indeed steadily pulsing with a golden light. “Hold on, does this mean that…Whirlipede, are you ready to try using our Z-move?” Twilight said as she held up the Z-ring for her Whirlipede to see.

“Z-what now? What are you talking about? What’s going on?” Trixie demanded.

Whirlipede, meanwhile, replied to Twilight’s question with a grunt as it rocked forward slightly, gesture Twilight assumed was the closest it could come to nodding its head. “Alright the, let’s do this!” Twilight cried out as she thrust her arms forward.

“Trixie…honestly has no idea what’s going on here,” Trixie said as she watched Twilight throw her hands from side to side. “Is this some sort of cheerleading routine, because if it is then Trixie has honestly seen better.”

“Well, have you ever seen this?” Twilight said as she completed the movements needed to unlock the power of the Z-crystal, sending streams of golden light flowing towards her Pokémon. “Whirlipede, use Savage Spinout!” The light seemed to explode around Whirlipede as it spat out a stream of white threads towards Misdreavus, completely engulfing it in a cocoon. Whirlipede then proceeded to wildly spin and rotate itself, swinging Misdreavus’ cocoon around and repeatedly slamming it into the walls and floor of the cavern. By the time Whirlipede’s attack was complete it was clear to everyone present that Misdreavus wouldn’t be able to continue the fight.

“Misdreavus is unable to battle. As Trixie has no more Pokémon, Twilight is the winner,” Siegfried said as a fuming Trixie recalled her Pokémon.

“What was that? How could your Pokémon be able to use an attack like that? It shouldn’t be possible for your Pokémon to use an attack that powerful?” Trixie practically yelled.

“I take it you haven’t challenged any of the island’s gym leaders,” Siegfried said, earning a black stare of confusion from Trixie. “What Twilight used was what’s called a Z-move. It’s a special kind of attack that combines a trainer’s will with that of their Pokémon, and as you may have noticed its quite powerful.”

“And could anyone learn to do something like that?” Trixie asked with a sudden gleam in her eye.

“Well, first you’d need to prove yourself by challenging and defeating one of the gym leaders, but aside from that, yes, anyone could,” Siegfried replied.

“Then that is exactly what the Great and Powerful Trixie shall do!” Trixie declared with renewed vigor. “You may have beaten Trixie this time, Twilight, but don’t think for a second that this is over. Trixie is going to find and defeat these ‘gym leaders’ and then you shall face an even Greater and more Powerful Trixie!” With that, Trixie disappeared into a cloud of lilac-colored smoke.

“She’s not going to give up on this anytime soon, is she?” Twilight said.

“No, not likely,” Starlight replied. “I think part of its is she sees this whole situation as having put the two of you on even footing. So, now that she has a chance to finally beat you at something she’s completely fixated on it. Still, at least running around challenging gym leaders sounds more interesting than what we were doing.” Starlight paused before leaning in closer and bringing her voice down to a whisper. “I’m guessing you’re already working on fixing whatever caused all this, so I’ll se what I can do to keep Trixie from getting in the way.”

“Shouldn’t you be, you know, going after her?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, but there’s no need to hurry. She’s just hiding behind that stalactite over there. Or is it a stalagmite, I always get those two confused,” Starlight said with a shrug. “I think maybe I’ll ask Maud the next time I see her, she’d definitely know. Anyway, I’ll try and keep an eye out for any of our other friends. Stay safe!” Starlight said as she quickly walked over to a particularly large stalagmite and, after what seemed like a brief argument, reached behind it and pulled out a protesting Trixie.

“It would definitely appear that have yourself a rival,” Siegfried said as they watched Starlight and Trixie retreat back into the cave entrance. “That can actually be a good thing, a strong rival can be one of the best motivators there is to drive you forward.”

“Maybe,” Twilight replied. “But, I really don’t need any help motivating myself right now. I know exactly what I need to do and how important it is for me to stay focused.” With that, Twilight made her way back to the wagon as Siegfried watched.

“I’ll give her this much, that girl has potential,” Siegfried mused to himself. “Her strategizing is sound and she’s clearly got a handle on the technical side of battling. But her heart’s not keeping up with her head, and if she doesn’t fix that then she wouldn’t get too much further.”

Comments

[KnightMysterio]

Yeah. I had the weirdest feeling her Charmander was going to go the way of Ash's, and its already showing signs of it.

[Lightning-Striker]

I really hope you have spike do some battling and just not be a constant cheerleader his team so far hold promise and he has had the most knowledge of all the characters so far. Also him going to the dragon city and not fighting the gym leader sounds really off.

[Alabenson]

10254240
I actually do have a few things planned for Spike, particularly towards the latter half of the fic.

[Lightning-Striker]

10254413
Cool also is spike actually reasonably tall / aged in this because it always felt like spike was never that much younger than the mane 6 besides the fact that he was short and everyone treats him as a baby as such. And also what time line is this if grogar is mentioned wouldn't spike have had is wings or was he speaking about his past desire due to not being able to fly.

[CyberDemonSlayer]

Honestly I was kinda hoping that Trixie would beat twilight since twilights kinda coming off as a Jerk and not just towards her Pokémon. She must be focusing so much on her goal (Beating the gyms) that she’s ignoring everything else. Trixie seems like she would have a better relationship with her Pokémon then twilight would (Ironically) at least currently
Rainbow Dash seems to be picking up on the signs a lot of us are picking up on to with twilight, though Spike hasn’t since he wants to believe that twilights got everything handled.

[Alabenson]

10254499
Timeline-wise regarding the show, I would say this takes place during the later half of or immediately after Season 7, definitely prior to the movie, so things like the Friendship School aren't a thing yet and Spike doesn't have his wings. Speaking of Spike, appearance-wise Spike would look roughly a year or two older than the CMCs.
As for Grogar, (Spoiling in case you haven't seen the S9 finale) The Grogar here is the real thing, whom I largely modeled after his character from G1.

10260883
You're right on-target regarding Twilight's current motivations. Thanks to Discord's creative interpretation of the events that brought everypony to the Pokemon world, Twilight believes that she's responsible for everything, that its her job to get everypony back to Equestria, and that to do so will require gaining access to the Javik League Headquarters. Twilight's focus on that, however, is something of a double-edged sword. In terms of the mechanical and strategic elements of battling, Twilight is in fact quite a bit ahead of the curve when compared to her friends. But, that achievement has come at the cost of viewing her Pokemon as a means to an end, and the process of digging herself out of that whole is going to be a significant part of her development.

[Xanderfox]

10261216
Standard Twilight motivation, it's baked into who she is. She's the responsible one, the on who fixes things.

[Rhino23]

When is the next chapter coming

[leerye2227]

Hey, can you make Ash the Javik League Champion? I mean he did (Spoiler Alert)won the Alola league?