My Little Pokemon

by Alabenson

Bonding Experiences

“Ugh, how far is it to Alumina Town again?” Rainbow Dash groaned. “It feels like we’ve been walking forever!”

“I know, but complaining about it isn’t going to make the trip any faster,” Twilight said. “We’ve still got at least a day or two before we get there, so we just need to keep moving.” In truth, Twilight felt almost as impatient as Rainbow Dash. With her issues with Charmeleon hopefully behind her and her arm taken care of, Twilight was ready to resume her efforts to complete the league’s gym challenge and return everypony to Equestria.

Of course, a mission like that was bound to involve a few detours, regardless of Twilight’s feelings on the subject, and as the group turned a corner Twilight saw one likely such detour come into view. Seated cross-legged on a flat rock a few yards off the side of the road was a slender, dark-haired man dressed in robes of some kind. Next to him was a Pokémon, a sort of blue and black humanoid jackal with spikes on its chest and the backs of its hands.

“Huh, what’s up with that guy?” Rainbow Dash asked, her impatience to get to the next town briefly being set aside. “Hey, buddy! What are you doing just sitting out here in the middle of nowhere like that?”

“Come on, Rainbow, let’s not bother him,” Twilight said, sensing an impending delay on their journey. “We still have a long way to go before we get to Alumina City, remember?”

“I’m just asking him a question,” Rainbow Dash protested. “Plus, its not like the gym’s gonna go anywhere, we’ve got time to stop for a bit.” By this point, the man had opened his eyes and was watching the group with a look of mild amusement.

“There is a certain wisdom to the way you’re looking at things,” the man said suddenly. “A journey’s destination will usually continue to exist until you reach it, but the meetings along the way exist only in that moment.” A brief silence followed as Twilight and her friends attempted to process what the man had just said, with varying degrees of success. “My name is Hanzo, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”

“Uh, same,” Rainbow Dash said as she abandoned her attempts to parse what Hanzo had said earlier. “So, what exactly are you doing out here, anyway?”

“Lucario and I are meditating. By meditating together like this, we’ll be better able to synchronize our spirits during battle, allowing us to act with a single mind and purpose. That’s the idea, anyway. Thus far, we’ve had better luck synchronizing our napping than our spirits.” This last comment earned Hanzo a slightly annoyed glance from his Lucario. “I did say ‘we’, didn’t I?”

“Synchronizing your spirits, huh? So, does that sort of stuff really help you in Pokémon battles?” Rainbow Dash asked, as Twilight shot her a disapproving look. “What? These gym battles are supposed to keep getting harder as we go along, aren’t they? I’m gonna wanna get every advantage I can get. Besides, like he said, it’s not like the gym’s going to be going anywhere.”

Before Twilight could open her moth to utter a word of protest, a small figure resembling a two-foot tall, black and blue, bipedal puppy, suddenly burst out from some nearby bushes and rushed over towards Hanzo. The creature then proceeded to begin frantically leaping about around Hanzo in an apparent effort to get his attention. Despite the creature’s best efforts, however, neither Hanzo nor Lucario seemed to acknowledge its presence.

“Are you gonna do anything about that…” Rainbow Dash asked after nearly a minute passed without either side in the strange battle of wills showing any sign of budging. “It looks like that whatever it is really wants your attention for some reason.”

“What Riolu wants is for me to train it,” Hanzo said, a touch of weariness in his voice. “This particular Riolu seems to be convinced that I would be the ideal trainer to bring out its full potential, so it’s been hounding me for the last several days no to take it on as part of my team.”

“So, why don’t you let it?” Spike asked as he watched the Riolu jump up and down while waving its arms.

“Unfortunately, this particular Riolu simply isn’t strong enough. The type of training regimens that I employ can be quite strenuous, and I simply wouldn’t have the time to devote to bringing Riolu to the point where it could handle them safely.” Hanzo’s blunt assessment of Riolu caused the young Pokémon to cease hopping around for a moment before it dashed off again into the underbrush.

“You know, you could have been a little nicer about that,” Spike said as he watched the Riolu run off.

“He could have, but I actually kinda get what he was saying,” Rainbow Dash said. “It sounds kind of like the training we do at the Wonderbolts. Its not such a big deal for serious athletes, but if someone who wasn’t on top shape tried it they could end up seriously hurting themselves.”

“Well, I still think that you should give Riolu a chance to prove it can handle it. I’m gonna go after it!” Spike declared before rushing off into the underbrush after Riolu and leaving Twilight to growl in frustration.

“Is your friend going to be alright?” Hanzo asked.

“Who, Spike or Twilight?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Eh, either way, they’ll be fine. Spike can take care of himself pretty well, and Twilight always gets like this whenever one of her schedules gets messed up.”

“I do not!” Twilight protested, which earned her a raised eyebrow along with a smug grin from Rainbow Dash. “Alright, maybe I do get a little too stressed out when things don’t go according to plan, but have you ever thought that maybe you don’t get stressed enough?” Rainbow Dash simply rolled her eyes at this as she turned back to Hanzo.

“So, does this meditation stuff really help with Pokémon battling? No offense, but it kinda just looks like you’re just sitting around.” This observation elicited a snicker from Hanzo’s Lucario as Hanzo himself let out a sigh.

“I imagine it does look like that from the outside. The meditation itself isn’t really the important bit, however. That’s really just a means to an end more that anything else. The real goal is to strengthen the bond between Pokémon and trainer. Ideally, a trainer and their Pokémon should be more than just partners, they should be able to act with a single mind in battle.”

“Cool. So, do you think you could teach me to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked, earning yet another dirty look from Twilight. “What? It’s not like we’re going to be leaving or anything until Spike gets back, and besides, you should probably work more on bonding with your Pokémon anyway.”

“And just what’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked.

“Come on, Twilight, you’ve only just got to the point with Charmeleon where it’ll listen to you without trying to snap at your or something. You really don’t think you’ve got any room to improve there?”

“Maybe, but I think I can handle improving things just fine on my own,” Twilight replied.

“Okay, but what about your other Pokémon?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You’ve gotta work at keeping your whole bond-thing up with those other guys, too, not just your Charmeleon.”

“I know that!” Twilight said before letting out a growl of annoyance. “Look, if you want to stop here and learn about meditation, then fine. Like you said, we can’t leave without Spike anyway. While you do that, I’m going to go look for Spike and try to make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.” Rainbow Dash simply shrugged her shoulders at this.

“Alright, suit yourself. Just don’t get jealous when me and my Pokémon are moving on the same awesome wavelength and stuff.” As Twilight stormed off after Spike, Rainbow Dash sat down in front of Hanzo. “So, how exactly does all this meditation stuff work?”

*********

“Hey! Riolu! I know you’re out here!” Spike called out as he stumbled through the underbrush and trees. Despite his repeated entireties, however, Riolu didn’t answer, and after several minutes of fruitless searching Spike was starting to have second thoughts about his decision to come searching for Riolu in the first place. “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. I’m not even really sure if Riolu is going to want my help, and I do know that Twilight’s probably going to be pretty annoyed with me when I get back. I should probably start heading – hey, what’s that?” Listening carefully, Spike could hear a rhythmic thumping sound coming from close by. Following his ears, Spike discovered that the noise was coming from a small copse of trees, where Riolu could be seen repeatedly striking one with a determined look on its face. “Hey there. Riolu, right?” Spike called out as he stepped into the clearing. Upon hearing Spike, the Rioly immediately stopped its exercise and turned to face him, adopting a fighting stance as it eyed him suspiciously. “Whoa, hey, I’m not going to try and hurt you or anything, I just want to talk,” Spike said quickly, seating himself far enough away from Riolu that he figured it wouldn’t see him as a potential threat. “I just wanted to talk with you after the way that guy Hanzo brushed you off like that.”

Riolu regarded Spike for a moment before letting out a snort and turning away from him, at which point it resumed striking its tree.

“I thought that maybe I could help you out,” Spike explained, to which Riolu responded by increasing the pace of its strikes in an apparent attempt to drown out his voice. “Look, I know what its like to get looked down on for being little, and I figured that if I helped you train a little, then maybe Hanzo would see that you’re tough enough for him to train you. Come on,” Spike added as Riolu continued striking its tree unabated. “If nothing else, it’s not like you’ve got anything to lose. And you’ll probably do a lot better training with one other creature than you will just doing it out here alone.”

While Riolu said nothing to this, the pace of its strikes gradually decreased as it considered what Spike was saying. Eventually, Riolu struck the tree with one final blow before turning to face Spike with an inquisitive expression.

“Does this mean that you’re going to let me help you train?” Spike asked eagerly. Riolu responded with a sigh as it nodded it head in affirmation, clearly not particularly thrilled with the idea even if it couldn’t argue against any of Spike’s points. “Hey, don’t worry. I promise that I’m going to do everything I can to get you tough enough that Hanzo will be able to see how great a Pokémon you really are. So, why don’t we start by you showing me what you’ve got with a quick battle?” As Riolu nodded its head once again, Spike reached into his jacket and pulled out a Poké Ball. “Okay, I don’t want to hit you with anything too intense right away, I’m pretty sure its better to ease into this sort of thing. So, how about we start things off with…Ivysaur!” As Spike spoke, he tossed the ball into the air, allowing Ivysaur out into the clearing between him and Riolu. “Okay, so Hanzo’s big deal is he doesn’t think you can handle the sort of training he does. So, I’m gonna have Ivysaur here give you a few hits so we can see how much you can actually take, alright?”

Riolu nodded its head as it adopted what Spike presumed to be a defensive pose. Granted, Spike’s experience with martial arts began and ended with the issues he had read of Fighting Stance, Wandering Master, but surely that would be enough to cover the basics.

“Okay Ivysaur, I want you to use one of your Razor Leaf attacks on Riolu, but since this is just a practice, I want you to try and hold back just a little, alright?” Ivysaur voiced its understanding before facing Riolu and shaking the plant on its back, sending several leaves sailing through the air. Acting according to Spike’s instructions, Ivysaur had scaled back the usual barrage of leaves to a more manageable stream, and it appeared that Riolu was having no problems dodging or batting away any of the leaves that came too close. “Wow, you’re pretty good,” Spike marveled as he watched Riolu defend itself. It was at that moment, however, that one of Ivysaur’s leaves penetrated Riolu’s defenses and smacked it square in the face. The impact sent Riolu tumbling backwards until it landed on its back, completely out of it. “Ooh, we might have more work to do than I thought,” Spike said with a wince. “I just hope Twilight and Rainbow Dash don’t mind taking a break for a while.”

*********

“I can’t believe those two!” Twilight fumed as she fumbled her way through the underbrush. “It’s bad enough Spike decided to run off after that Pokémon by himself, but then Rainbow Dash has to lecture me about my relationship with my Pokémon. Ugh!” Twilight kicked out at a nearby rock in frustration, only to immediately regret the fact that her feet weren’t quite as sturdy as her hooves had been. After a brief bout of hopping on one foot while reciting every curse she had secretly learned from Shining Armor, Twilight slumped against a nearby tree and sat down on the ground. “Although, maybe Rainbow Dash does have a bit of a point,” Twilight admitted to herself in a bit of post-outburst introspection. “I’ve been spending so much time and energy on fixing things between me and Charmeleon, I really haven’t spent all that much time with my other Pokémon. Well, there’s no time like the present, and now that I think about it, I’m probably not going to find Spike just wandering around out here anyway. So, the question now is, who do I want to try and reach out to? Probably either Noibat or Sneasel, even if I don’t talk to Whirlipede all that much I do give it more attention than those other two. Besides, its hard enough for me to understand how regular Pokémon feel, let alone trying to read one that doesn’t really have a face. But, that just narrows it down to two…I know! I’ll just bring both of them out together! Nothing helps build friendships like a nice group activity.” Twilight’s mood was considerably improved now that she had a plan to act upon, and she took out the Poké Balls containing her Noibat and Sneasel and tossed them both into the air. “Noibat! Sneasel! Come on out!”

The two Pokémon promptly materialized, Noibat perched on a nearby branch and Sneasel standing directly under it. Noibat seemed quite happy to be outside at all, flapping its wings and letting out a series of short, cheerful screeches at the sight of Twilight. Sneasel, on the other hand, appeared much less impressed with Twilight as it leaned back against the tree and yawned, barely even acknowledging Twilight’s presence.

“Hi. So…” Twilight began as she considered how she should start what was likely to be an awkwardly one-sided conversation. Eventually, Twilight decided that the best way forward was to simply rip off the proverbial bandage. “Anyway, you two probably already know about the trouble I’ve had with Charmeleon. I think we’re finally moving in the right direction there, but its gotten me thinking about my relationships with the two of you. So, I just wanted to sit and talk with you to make sure everything’s alright between us.”

Noibat cocked its head to the side before letting out a few, happy-sounding chirps that Twilight interpreted as Noibat saying it was perfectly satisfied with her as a trainer. Sneasel, meanwhile, gave Twilight an annoyed glance before something seemed to catch its eye. Grinning mischievously, Sneasel suddenly darted forward and grabbed at the end of the branch Noibat was perched on. Before Twilight or Noibat could react, Sneasel pulled the branch down and then released it, sending the branch snapping upwards and Noibat tumbling through the air.

“Hey!” Twilight cried out as she quickly rushed to catch Noibat. Twilight’s concern proved to be largely unnecessary as Noibat easily righted itself midair, through Noibat did take the opportunity to land on Twilight’s shoulder before glowering down at Sneasel. “Why the hay would you do something like that? Noibat could have gotten hurt because of you!” Twilight scolded. Sneasel didn’t appear to particularly care, though, as it was too busy laughing uproariously at its prank. “Okay, so clearly scolding you isn’t going to work,” Twilight muttered to herself. “Alright, that’s fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with a prankster who doesn’t understand self-control, and unlike Rainbow Dash I can stuff this one in a ball if it keeps misbehaving. Hopefully it won’t come to that, though,” Twilight added as she knelt down to bring herself closer to eye-level with Sneasel. “Now look, I understand playing pranks on somecreature else can seem like a lot of fun, but it’s important to make sure that your pranks are something that everycreature can enjoy, not just yourself. Do you understand?”

Sneasel stopped its laughing and appeared to consider what Twilight was saying for a moment before it gave its response. Unfortunately, said response was to take a deep breath and blow a raspberry right in Twilight’s face.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Twilight sputtered as she stumbled backwards. While Twilight tried to recover from the unpleasant surprise, Sneasel took the opportunity to dash up the side of the nearest tree. Once it was safely out of Twilight’s reach, Sneasel decided to amuse itself further by snatching a pinecone off a nearby branch and lobbing it at Noibat. Noibat reflexively flapped its wings to deflect the projectile, unintentionally smacking Twilight square in the face in the process. “Arrgh! What is wrong with you? Not you, Noibat, you’re fine,” Twilight quickly added as she noticed Noibat shrinking away from her outburst. “Although, I think maybe it might be best if you went back in your ball for a bit so I can deal with Sneasel one-on-one. Return.” No sooner had Twilight recalled Noibat to its Poké Ball then she was forced to duck as yet another pinecone was tossed at the back of her head. “Really? Why are you acting like this? Did I do something to make you upset with me?”

Sneasel simply shrugged its shoulders at this as it proceeded to glance around for another pinecone to throw.

“So, you not mad at me, you’re just a jerk, is that it?” Twilight briefly considered telling Sneasel that it was welcome to leave if it was just going to bully everyone around it, but quickly bit her tongue. “The last time I said something like that it didn’t go all that well. Maybe I should try reasoning with it,” Twilight thought to herself as she looked up at her misbehaving Pokémon. “Look, Sneasel, I understand I might not be your ideal trainer or anything, but things are going to go a lot easier for both of us if we could at least try to get along. Trust me, in the long run, friendship is much more rewarding than any – Ack!”

Sneasel, unable to find a suitable pinecone within easy reach, had decided to settle for scraping off a gob of sap from the trunk of the tree and lobbing that at Twilight instead.

“Oh for the love of Celestia, it’s all over the front of my jacket,” Twilight grumbled as she pulled her jacket off to take a better look at the mess on its front. “Great, it’s going to take me forever to get his cleaned off. Well, I hope you’re…happy?” As Twilight looked back up at Sneasel, she saw that it was now staring intently at her, to the point that it was leaning down precariously from its perch. Twilight silently wondered what could possibly have grabbed Sneasel’s attention as she followed its gaze back down to her shirt, and the three gym badges pinned there. “What, you’re interested in my badges? Well, that’s right, I’ve managed to defeat three gyms so far with the help of my other Pokémon. Including Noibat,” Twilight added pointedly.

Sneasel took on a thoughtful expression as it appeared to consider what Twilight had just said before it clambered back down the tree, where it stood looking up at Twilight expectantly.

“Oh, so now you’ll listen to me since you know I’ve got a few badges, is that it?” Twilight asked semi-sarcastically, to which Sneasel replied with a look of defiance, though it didn’t make any moves to necessarily counter Twilight’s statement either. The pair then stared each other down for several seconds before Twilight finally let out a sigh of exasperation. You know what? If you’re willing to at least try and listen to me for now than I’m just going to take this as a win. We can work on getting you to get along with the other Pokémon later. For now, return.” After recalling Sneasel to its Poké Ball (and being pleasantly surprised that she didn’t encounter any last-minute resistance) Twilight considered what she should do next. “Now that I’ve at least got a solid start with my other Pokémon, I should get back to looking for Spike. He’s probably fine, but…” Twilight quietly thought back to all the times Spike had been ‘probably fine’ back in Equestria. “Yeah, I should definitely go find him.”

*********

“My grandfather had a favorite saying. ‘There are many roads that lead to Saffron City’,” Hanzo said, earning a raised eyebrow from his Lucario. “It means that there are many different ways to achieve the same goal. The purpose of the meditation was to help a trainer and their Pokémon achieve a level of spiritual synchronization. And you have to admit, these two are impressively in synch with each other.” Lucario rolled its eyes while Rainbow Dash and her Skarmory continued to snore as they sat next to each other on a nearby log, their heads even lolling back at the same angle. “Part of me is almost jealous, I only wish I could fall asleep that easily. So, how long do you think we should leave them like this?” Lucario shrugged as it glanced over towards the woods, a beam of light suddenly bursting out from beneath the canopy. “You’re right, we can at least let her sleep until her friends get back. We wouldn’t want her to miss anything, especially not when her young friend has been putting in so much effort.”

*********

“Okay, good dodge! Now, see if you can handle Ivysaur and Bagon at the same time!” Riolu nodded its head as it summersaulted through the air, narrowly dodging the barrage of leaves unleashed by Ivysaur before twisting around to avoid Bagon’s Dragon Breath. For his part, Spike couldn’t help but grin with satisfaction as he watched Riolu spin through the air. While his efforts to help Riolu train had started out somewhat rocky, once Riolu had gotten comfortable working with other Pokémon its improvement had come rapidly. Once it had become clear that taking hits wasn’t Riolu’s strong suit, Spike had shifted his training strategy to focus on Riolu’s ability to avoid attacks entirely, which was working much better. After a great deal of effort, Riolu had reached the point where it could now reliably predict and avoid the attacks of two Pokémon working in concert. “Aw yeah! That was awesome!” Spike cheered as Riolu deflected several of Ivysaur’s leaves before landing back down with a flourish. “So, do you think you’re ready to show that Hanzo guy what you’ve got?”

Riolu firmly nodded its head as it flexed a bit in an effort to show off its physique.

“That’s the spirt! Come on, let’s head back and show him what you can really do!” Spike said, quickly recalling his Bagon and Ivysaur before motioning for Riolu to follow him. “I marked a bunch of these trees while I was chasing after you in here. It’s a trick my friend Applejack taught me to keep from getting lost in the woods. It’s a good thing I thought of it, too. You could get turned around and lost in this place pretty easily if you weren’t being careful. Am I talking too much? It’s a thing I sometimes do when I’m nervous, not that we have anything to be nervous about,” Spike added with a slightly manic laugh. “So, uh, what exactly do you think Hanzo is going to want you to do to show that you’re tough enough for him to train you? I bet he’ll probably want you to battle one of his Pokémon. I think that’s what I’d do if I – hey, what’s the matter?”

Spike’s idle speculation had had a definite effect on Riolu, who’s pace had slowed considerably as it seemed to reconsider its current course of action.

“Come on, think of all the trainer we just did! I’ll bet Hanzo won’t even have any clue what you can do now, so you’ll have the element of surprise on your side. And, if you want, then I’ll help too! Pokémon do even better with trainers, right? So, I’ll help you show Hanzo what you can really do when you’re at your best.”

While Riolu appeared to be at least a little bolstered by Spike’s words of encouragement, it still seemed somewhat apprehensive as the pair emerged from the woods back out onto the road. Hanzo was still seated next to his Lucario, and had been joined nearby by a snoring Rainbow Dash and her equally unconscious Skarmory. Strangely, it seemed to Spike as though Hanzo had been staring directly at the spot where he and Riolu had emerged from the brush, but Spike quickly dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him.

“Hey! I want to talk to you!” Spike called out, his entrance only slightly marred by his pantleg getting briefly caught on a bush, which forced him to awkwardly hop his way into the open. “You said that the reason you wouldn’t train this Riolu was that you thought it was too weak for your training, right? Well, I’ve been working with it, and I think it’s a lot tougher than you’re giving it credit for.”

“Is that so?” Hanzo replied calmly. Something about Hanzo’s tone irked Spike, it was the same tone Twilight used when somepony told her something she already knew, and she was suppressing the urge to point that out. Still, whatever his personal feelings about Hanzo were, Spike reminded himself that he was doing this for Riolu.

“Yeah, it is so. And we’re ready to prove it, too,” Spike said confidently.

“Very well, then. How about this; we’ll pit Riolu against Lucario here and see how it does. I don’t really expect Riolu to win, but if its performance shows any promise, then I’ll reconsider my stance on training it. Since you’re the one who’s been working with it, may I assume you’ll be willing to act as Riolu’s trainer for the sake of this exercise?”

“Yeah, that’s right. And Rainbow Dash can referee.”

“I have no objections to that. Although, we will need to wake her first…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got that covered,” Spike said as he took off his backpack and rummaged around in it for a few seconds before pulling out an airhorn. “And Twilight said I was crazy for packing this thing,” Spike chuckled to himself as he pointed it towards Rainbow Dash and let out a quick burst of noise.

“Wuah! I’m awake!” Rainbow Dash cried out as she toppled backwards onto the ground. Skarmory, meanwhile, let out an angry squawk as it flapped awkwardly into the air before landing back down several feet away. “Spike! Why’d you wake me…I mean, why’d you break my concentration? Because I was totally meditating and definitely hadn’t fallen asleep or anything, right Skarmory?” Skarmory let out a short screech of agreement as it looked away, offended that anyone would even suggest it had fallen asleep while trying to meditate.

“Sorry, I had to, uh, break your concentration, but I really need you to referee a Pokémon battle! Riolu and I are gonna show Hanzo that Riolu’s worth training after all,” Spike explained.

“Really? That actually does sound pretty awesome. Yeah, count me in. Let’s go for it!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, if everything’s set, then let’s get on with it,” Hanzo said as he stood up and motioned for Lucario to follow him. “Just let us know when you are ready.”

“Oh, we’re definitely ready,” Spike said, a sentiment Riolu quickly echoed with a firm nod of its head.

“Alright,” Rainbow Dash said as she quickly moved herself out of the way of the impending battle. “If you’re both ready, then…GO!”

“Extreme –” time seemed to slow down for Spike as Hanzo’s Lucario practically teleported in the blink of an eye from in front of Riolu to directly behind it. “-Speed.” And that was it. By the time Hanzo had even finished issuing his first command, Riolu was already toppling backwards, unconscious. For the first few moments no one said a word as they all processed what had just happened, until finally Rainbow Dash recovered enough from the shock to speak.

“Sorry, Spike, but it looks like Riolu lost,” Rainbow Dash said as Hanzo shook his head.

“I suspected this would be the case,” Hanzo said with just a hint of regret. “An afternoon of training, no matter how intense, simply wouldn’t be enough to bring Riolu to where it would need to be for me to train it, even if it does have a remarkable spirit.”

“So, after all that, you’re still not going to give it a chance?” Spike asked, to which Hanzo shook his head.

“As I’ve said before, Riolu simply isn’t strong enough to withstand my current regime. That said, perhaps that might not be such a bad thing. I think Riolu may do much better in your care than in mine,” Hanzo said.

“Wait, me? Are you sure?”

“What Riolu needs most of all is a trainer who can match its spirit and bring out its full potential. I might not be able to devote myself to it like that, but I suspect that you could. After all, you managed to bring Riolu to the point where it was willing to face Lucario and I in the course of single afternoon. I can only imagine what you’d be able to accomplish with it given enough time.” As Hanzo spoke, he walked over to Riolu and knelt down next to it. While Spike watched, Hanzo took out a small bottle of medicine and sprayed Riolu with it, causing Riolu to stir and awaken. “Well, Riolu, what do you think of my suggestion? Do you think this young man would make an acceptable trainer in my stead?”

Riolu pulled itself to its feet and looked back at Spike for several seconds, silently evaluating him, before finally nodding its head in affirmation.

“Really? You really want to team up with me? Alright!” Spike cheered. “This is gonna be great! And don’t worry, I’m gonna make sure you get to be the toughest Pokémon there is! I bet you’ll even get strong enough to beat him!” Spike added as he pointed towards Hanzo’s Lucario, which caused Hanzo to burst out laughing.

“Well, I’ll certainly be looking forward to seeing that. In any event, I should probably get going. Lucario and I need to continue our training and I have other responsibilities that I need to see to as well. That said, I suspect we will meet again, and I’m certain both you and Riolu will be much stronger by then.”

“You bet we will! Right, Riolu?” Spike replied, with Riolu nodding firmly in agreement. Hanzo simply smiled at this, and with that he turned and started to walk away, his Lucario following closely behind.

“So, are you really gonna try taking that guy on again the next time you see him? He seemed pretty tough,” Rainbow Dash said after Hanzo had disappeared from view.

“Well, yeah, of course. I mean, we’re gonna have to really train hard if we want to beat him, but I think me and Riolu can do it.”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said, not sounding totally convinced. “I just got a really weird feeling about that guy, that’s all. Anyway, we should probably get moving again once Twilight gets back so she doesn’t get too grumpy that we stopped. Where is Twilight, anyway? I thought she was headed into the woods to find you?”

*********

“Stupid forest with its stupid trees and stupid pinecones-” Twilight’s angry muttering was briefly interrupted as one such pinecone dropped off a branch and bounced off the top of her head. “I HOPE YOU ALL GET TURNED INTO BAD ROMANCE NOVELS!”

Comments

[Fanwriter]

That last part hilarious. Yay for Spike and his new friend!