My Little Pokemon

by Alabenson

Flying the Unfriendly Skies

“Is that…I think that’s it! Alumina City! Woo hoo! Badge number three here I come!” While Rainbow Dash cheered in anticipatory triumph as she raced down the road, Twilight took in the sight of the city itself. Perched near a set of cliffs overlooking the ocean, Alumina City appeared to be a large cluster of buildings all constructed of glass and chrome. On the far side of the city, away from the cliffs, the tall skyscrapers gave way to a much flatter area, the purpose of which Twilight could only guess at. “So, where do you think the gym is around here anyway? Do you think it’s in one of those really tall buildings? Oh man, could you imagine a flying Pokémon battle where you’ve got a few stories worth of airspace to work with? That would be so awesome!”

“Okay, maybe we should take care of a few things first before heading straight to the gym. Like getting our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center,” Twilight said.

“Huh? Oh, right, that’d probably be a good idea. Gotta make sure the little guys are one hundred and ten percent before we take on the gym. After that, though, we’re gonna totally take down that gym leader.”

“Right…” Twilight said doubtfully.

“What the hay’s that supposed to mean? You don’t think I can beat this gym?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“It’s not that, it’s just…I think you might want to be a little more careful is all. These gym battles are getting a lot harder as we go on, and I don’t think we can afford to get too overconfident.”

“Alright, I get what you’re saying, Twilight, but come on! This is the Flying-type gym! If there’s any gym I’m gonna dominate then its gonna be this one!”

“Uh huh. And how many of your Pokémon can actually fly?”

“Well, there’s Skarmory…but that’s not really the point! Even if my guys can’t fly, I’ll still be able to, you know, read the other Pokémon’s movements and stuff. The important part is they’re Flying Pokémon and I’m all about flying, so I’ll have the advantage. Trust me, today i9s going to be awesome, and there is absolutely nothing can could ruin it.”

*********

“Finally! Now that we have arrive here at…”

“Alumina City.”

“Right, thank you Starlight. Now that we have arrived her at Alumina City, the Great and Powerful Trixie can finally take her first step to becoming the greatest and most powerful trainer this world has ever seen!” Trixie’s Braixen popped out of its Poké Ball and joined its trainer in striking a dramatic pose as sever small fireworks went off behind them. Starlight, meanwhile, was somewhat less than impressed with her friend’s antics.

“And you’re really sure this gym thing is what you want to do?” Starlight asked. “I mean, we did take the long way around that other place that was supposed to have a gym in it—”

“I still think you should have taken that place on, it didn’t look that rough,” Lightning Dust said.

“If years as a traveling showmare have taught Trixie anything, its that you should always stay far away from any establishment where you can hear someone breaking bottles inside,” Trixie said with an air of experience.

“Whatever. So, where’s the gym here, anyway? I wanna see how these things work for myself.”

“Don’t you think we should, I don’t know, head to the Pokémon Center first or something? You know, let your Pokémon rest for a bit, maybe make sure we have someplace to sleep that isn’t outside for a change, that sort of thing?” Starlight asked.

“What’re you talking about, Trixie’s Pokémon are fine. Although, sleeping in a bed does sound like a nice change of pace. I know, why don’t you head out to the Pokémon Center and get us set up for a room, while Trixie and I head over to the gym. That way we’ll be all set for when we’re done. I mean, it’s not like you were all that fired up about the gym thing anyway, right?”

“I mean, I do still want to support my friend…” Starlight said before Trixie put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Starlight. I know these Pokémon battles aren’t really your thing. And besides,” Trixie leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper before continuing. “I might not want an audience for my very first gym battle. It’s better to rehearse a trick a few times before you test it out in front of a crowd.” Lightning Dust snorted as she overheard this.

“Eh, I never saw what the big deal was about rehearsing stuff. If you’ve got a killer trick, then what’s the point of doing it if it’s not in front of a screaming crowd?”

Trixie let out a chuckle that only barely managed to conceal her irritation. “Trixie could debate the relative merits of offering a properly rehearsed and polished performance all day, but doing so won’t get her any closer to beating Twilight Sparkle. Let’s get to the gym and get that badge already.”

“Fair enough. I’m not gonna get in the way of you settling your score with your rival,” Lightning Dust conceded. “Besides,” she added silently. “This will be the perfect chance for me to see how this stupid gym battle stuff works. And once I figure that out, I’ll be able to turn Rainbow Dash into Rainbow Crash and Burn.”

*********

“Come on, Twilight, hurry up!” Rainbow Dash called back as she impatiently jogged in place.

“For crying out loud, Rainbow, there’s no need to be in such a rush. It’s not like the gym’s going to be going anywhere!”

“I know that, but I wanna get there while my Pokémon are all still fresh and rested from the Pokémon Center. We’re in the zone right now, and we’ll have our best chance to demolish that gym leader if we’re still in the zone when we have our battle!”

“That’s nice and all, but do you even know which direction the gym is?” Twilight asked pointedly.

“Well, no, but that’s what I have you and Spike for. Speaking of, hey Spike! Which way is the gym?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s over that way,” Spike said as he pointed towards the direction his Pokédex was indicating. “We’ll probably know it when we see it, most of these gyms have been pretty hard to miss.” As Spike looked up, however, he saw that Rainbow Dash was already sprinting off in the direction he’d pointed.

“Ugh, what has gotten into her today?” Twilight groaned. “I know Rainbow’s usually a little reckless, but I haven’t seen her in this much of a rush in a while.”

“Isn’t that a good thing, though? I mean, you did say we needed to do all this so we can get back to Equestria, right? So, doesn’t having Rainbow Dash be extra, I dunno, Rainbow Dashy help?”

“Well, you’re not wrong, exactly,” Twilight admitted with a sigh. “I’m just worried that she’s going to get so excited that she’ll get herself in over her head like she did during that first gym battle.”

“The one against the fake cowgirl?” Spike asked.

“No, before that. The one in Mercury City that she tried challenging when we first got here. You remember how badly that went? Rainbow was in a funk for days after that loss.”

“Oh, yeah, that was pretty bad, wasn’t it? But, I don’t think you really need to worry about anything like that. I’m pretty sure the reason Rainbow’s so worked up this time is because this is the Flying-type gym.”

“I get flying is important to Rainbow, but why is challenging the Flying gym such a big deal?”

“Well, do you remember what it was like when we first went to Canterlot High, and you kept trying to use magic even though you didn’t have a horn? I think it’s kinda like that for Rainbow Dash, only more so.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, how do I put this, even bank in Equestria you didn’t really use magic for everything. But, when as the last time you saw Rainbow Dash stay on the ground for more than an hour or two?”

“Ooh, I guess I can see your point. And, if I found out there was a Magic-type Pokémon gym, I guess I’d be pretty excited, too. Come on, let’s try and catch up to Rainbow Dash before she gets too far ahead. We don’t want to risk missing any of her big battle.” As it turned out, however, Twilight and Spike were in little danger of missing anything. By the time the pair reached the Alumina City Gym, Rainbow Dash was standing in front of the building with her arms crossed, tapping her foot with an impatient look on her face. “Rainbow! I how we didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“I wasn’t waiting for you,” Rainbow Dash grunted irritably. “Wait, that came out wrong. I meant, you’re not the reason I’m stuck waiting out here. It turns out somebody else got here ahead of me, and now I’ve got to wait for them to finish their battle before I can have mine.”

“If that’s the case, we should go in and watch,” Twilight replied. “This could be a great opportunity to see what kind of strategies the gym leader here uses. Not to mention a way to see what kind of Pokémon they have.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I already know what type of Pokémon the gym’s all about, and we’ve beaten every other gym without even really knowing that much most of the time. Besides, I don’t know how much I’d really learn from this battle, anyway. From what I overheard, it’s someone getting their first badge, so I kinda doubt it’s gonna be too long before—”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is victorious!” All attention was immediately drawn to the gym’s doors as a jubilant Trixie burst out. “With this badge, Trixie takes her first steps on her quest to defeat—Twilight?”

“Trixie! You’re challenging gyms now, too?” Twilight asked as she stared at her would-be rival in shock.

“I—uh—yes, yes Trixie is. And, now that Trixie has earned her first badge, the next time we battle things are going to go very differently than how they went last time.”

“You do know Twilight’s got three badges now, right?” Spike asked sardonically, briefly deflating Trixie a bit.

“Three? Well, three victories like the one Trixie just had would hardly be much of a challenge.” Twilight let out a sigh at this as she realized there was likely only one way this production would be ended.

“Look, Spike and I were about to watch Rainbow Dash have her third gym battle. If you really want, we can have a rematch after she’s done. How does that sound?”

“I don’t know about Trixie, but that sounds pretty good to me. I was hoping to get a chance to see if Rainbow Dash has gotten any tougher.” All eyes turned back to the entrance of the gym to see Lightning Dust leaning against the door. “If nothing else, it’d be hilarious to watch Rainbow Dash get her rump handed to her by a gym leader as weak as the one Trixie just beat.”

“Lightning Dust? What the hay are you doing here? It thought you said gyms were too lame for you or something?”

“Hey, gyms might have too many rules for me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t cheer on my pal Trixie here,” Lightning Dust said with a smirk as she put her arm around Trixie’s shoulders.

“Wait, pal? Since when are you two…you know what? Not important. Anyway, if you guys want to stick around and watch, then I don’t really have a problem with it. Real awesomeness deserves to be witnessed, after all.”

“At last, something we can actually agree on,” Lightning Dust said, stepping aside so Rainbow Dash could enter the gym.

*********

“It would appear I’m going to be very busy today. You said that you’re here to challenge me for your third badge, then?” Aria, the leader of the Alumina City Gym, said as she looked over Rainbow Dash. The gym leader was a tall woman, easily towering head and shoulders above Rainbow Dash, with long, platinum blond hair that hung down to her waist.

“You bet, me and my Pokémon are one hundred and ten percent ready for this,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, I can appreciate your enthusiasm, if nothing else. This will be a three-on-three battle. If you follow the arrows on the floor, they should lead you to our field’s challenger’s entrance. Your friends should take the stairs to the observation deck if they want to watch. Any questions?”

“Wait, did you say Rainbow Dash’s battle was going to be three-on-three?” Trixie asked in confusion. “But, when I challenged you it was only two-on-two.”

“The more badges you have, the harder the gym battles get and the more Pokémon they involve,” Twilight explained. “You didn’t really think that all the gym battles were going to be as easy as the one for your first badge, did you?”

Trixie let out a nervous laugh. “Of course Trixie didn’t think that. She just…didn’t expect you and Rainbow Dash to be at the three-on-three level yet.”

“In other words, we’re even more awesome than you expected. No big surprise there, I’m used to people not being prepared for the full scale of my incredibleness. Anyway, I’ve got a gym battle to go win!” With that, Rainbow Dash rushed down the hallway to her side of the arena, while the rest of the group made their way to the observation section.

The Alumina Ctiy gym’s arena was housed in a room that resembled a particularly large airplane hangar, the entire setup dwarfing most of the other gyms they had seen thus far. “Geez, it looks like you could fit three or four fields in there,” Spike marveled from the observation area, which was inset into one of the walls of the room.

“Well, yeah. When you’re in the air you’re gonna want as much room as possible,” Lightning Dust said. Any further chatter was swiftly quieted, however, as Rainbow Dash and Aria took to the field.

“Challenger Rainbow Dash! Are you ready?”

“Darn right I am!”

“Then let this battle begin! Go Wingull!”

“Hah, I thought you might have something like that up your sleeve! Go Breloom!” Everyone watching looked on in confusion as Rainbow Dash’s Breloom landed onto the field opposite Aria’s Pokémon, which looked like a sort of neckless seagull.

“She’s using Breloom in this fight? Has Rainbow Dash lost her mind?” Twilight exclaimed in shock.

“Why’s that so bad? I though Rainbow’s Breloom was pretty tough,” Spike said.

“Only when its not fighting Flying-types, which its incredibly weak against. Look!” Sure enough, Breloom was already on the defensive. Wingull was furiously beating its wings midair, sending out a barrage of crescent-shaped blades of wind straight into Breloom, who could do little more than try to shield itself.

“I should have known Dash would screw this up,” Lightning Dust snorted. “I can’t believe I actually call her my rival. Look, she’s not even trying to have it fight back, she’s just doing some dumb dance…oh, wait…” As the others watched, Rainbow Dash finished the poses to activate her Z-Move, sending torrents of energy streaming into Breloom. The golden light briefly coalesced inside Breloom before emanating outward across the field, carpeting the arena in flowers as it went with an especially large bulb forming underneath Wingull. Before Wingull could properly react, a massive beam of green light erupted out from the bulb beneath it, sending Wingull tumbling to the ground. “Wait, what the hay was that?” Lighting Dust yelled in alarm.

“That was Rainbow Dash’s Z-Move, I think it’s called ‘Bloom Doom’,” Spike replied helpfully. “I’ve been helping her practice it since she got her second badge, but I think that was one of the best ones she’s used yet!”

“Yeah…that was…something,” Lightning Dust muttered uneasily, as she mentally tried to recalibrate her plans to get back at Rainbow Dash.

“It was something alright, but I’m not all that sure it was something good,” Twilight said.

“What do you mean? Look, Aria’s calling her Wingull back, so Rainbow Dash’s attack must have knocked it out in one shot,” Spike said.

“True, but look at Rainbow’s Breloom, it’s not in much better shape than Wingull, and now Rainbow Dash has already used her Z-move, so she’s going to be at a disadvantage the rest of the battle.”

“So, she can only use that dancing stuff once per fight. Interesting…” Lightning Dust muttered to herself. No one else noticed, however, as their attention was instead focused on what was happening out on the field below.

“Look! Rainbow’s sending out Tank jr. now!” Spike cried out in excitement. “And Aria’s sendingout…huh, what even is that thing?”

Gligar, the Fly Scorpion Pokémon. These nocturnal Pokémon are commonly found living on the sides of cliffs or similar structures. They will leap off and silently glide towards potential prey, attacking from above with their venomous stinger.

“Alright, maybe this won’t be so bad,” Twilight said hopefully. “If that thing relies on gliding to remain airborne, then it probably won’t be as agile as—” Twilight’s further thoughts were interrupted as Trixie pointed down at the battlefield, where Gligar was rapidly darting through the air while surrounded by a blue glow.

“You were saying?” Trixie asked, clearly savoring the instance of Twilight having been proven wrong in her presence.

“So, maybe that Gligar is a bit more agile than I expected. Rainbow Dash doesn’t seem all that concerned, though. Wait, what’s she having Tank jr. do now?” Whatever the command Rainbow Dash gave Tank jr., it responded by facing Gligar and opening its mouth. A bright blue sphere of glowing water swiftly formed in front of Tank jr.’s mouth before firing out towards its opponent. Gligar scarcely had time to react before the ball caught it in its side, sending it tumbling out of the air to the ground.

“Aw yeah! A direct hit! Way to go Rainbow!” Spike cheered. “Look how beat up that Gligar is after just one attack, Rainbow and Tank jr. have got this in the bag.”

“I hope so, but I’m not so sure Rainbow is out of the woods quite yet,” Twilight cautioned. “Look at the expression on Aria’s face, she looks like she’s planning something.” Sure enough, the words had barely even left Twilight’s mouth before Aria gave her next command, which sent Gligar darting forward once again, crackling sparks of black energy surrounding one of its claws. Tank jr. saw the oncoming attack and tried to prepare itself, only for Gligar to momentarily vanish and reappear directly behind Tank jr. before smacking it in the back of its head. The force of the blow seemed to knock something out of Tank jr.’s shell, which Gligar promptly stabbed with its tail.

“Well, there goes one of our berries,” Spike sighed. “And I’m pretty sure that was one of the new ones, too.”

“What, was that going to be its lunch or something?” Trixie asked. Neither Twilight nor Spike answered, however, as their attention was fixed on the battle going on below. Tank jr. had recovered from Gligar’s attack faster than it had apparently expected, and was already preparing to fire another orb of water as it spun around to face its opponent. Gligar attempted to take back to the air to flee, but all it managed to do was present Tank jr. with its underside as an easy target. The force of the inevitable impact sent Gligar tumbling back to the ground, this time completely unconscious.

“That’s two down and only one to go,” Spike said. “I don’t know what you were so worried about, Twilight, Rainbow Dash is doing great so far.”

“Right,” Twilight muttered, as much to herself as to Spike. “So far.”

*********

“Wow, I knew I was gonna kick some serious butt here, but even I didn’t think it was gonna be this easy,” Rainbow Dash said as she watched Aria recall her Gligar.

“I’d be careful about getting too cocky, if I were you. This battle isn’t over just yet,” Aria countered.

“Yeah yeah, but you’re down two Pokémon now, and I haven’t even had one of mine knocked out. And besides,” Rainbow Dash added as she glanced back towards her Skarmory. “I haven’t even sent in my ace yet.”

“So, you’re counting on your Skarmory to finish things for you. Well, we’ll see how that works out for you. Go Pidgeotto!” Aria’s final Pokémon was revealed to be a large, brown bird with a cream-colored underside and a crest of long, pale red feathers atop its head.

“Huh, I kinda was expecting something a little, I dunno, cooler, but whatever. Tank, return! Skarmory, you’re up!” Skarmory let out a shrill cry as it launched itself into the air, while Rainbow Dash recalled Tank jr. to its ball. “I hope that Pidgey-whatsits got some tricks up its feathers, ‘cause otherwise Skarmory’s gonna take it apart!”

“Tricks? You mean something like this, perhaps? Pidgeotto, use Heat Wave!” Pidgeotto immediately began furiously beating its wings, sending a gust of air practically glowing with intense heat straight towards Skarmory. Skarmory let out a shriek as it was buffeted by the waves of superheated air, and Rainbow Dash could plainly see that Skarmory was having a much harder time just staying airborne. “What’s the matter? Where did all that bravado suddenly vanish to?”

“We’re not out of this yet, we just need to kick things up a notch. Skarmory, use Agility!” Skarmory let out a screech of acknowledgement even as thin wisps of smoke were still trailing off its wings. In a flash, Skarmory began darting through the air with ever-increasing speed, leaving Pidgeotto struggling to keep track of it. “Aw yeah, that’s more like it! Now, give it a Steel Wing attack while you’ve got it confused!” The aerial blur that was Skarmory began trailing a bright light as both of its wings started glowing white. While this allowed Pidgeotto to finally track Skarmory’s location, it only achieved this in time to see Skarmory slam into it.

“Well, at least you’re trying to make this challenging. Pidgeotto! Use another Heat Wave attack! Burn that wretch out of the air!”

“Geez, somebody’s getting a little too into this,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself as she watched Pidgeotto send another blistering wave of air at Skarmory. The cumulative attacks were clearly starting to wear on Skarmory, and Rainbow Dash doubted it would be able to withstand another hit. “Well, if we’re going down, then we’re gonna go down fighting! Skarmory, use another Steel Wing attack!” Skarmory turned and locked eyes with Rainbow Dash for a moment, a silent understanding passing between them. Skarmory then wheeled around in the air and let out a shrill war cry before diving straight towards Pidgeotto.

“Defiant to the end? Not really my style, but I can respect the effort. Pidgeotto, finish it with another Heat Wave!” Pidgeotto frantically beat its wings to generate another blast of hot air, hitting Skarmory dead on. The attack, albeit successful, had no effect on Skarmory’s momentum, and the armored bird smashed directly into Pidgeotto with devastating force. Despite the power of the impact, though, Pidgeotto was still able to keep itself aloft, while Skarmory came crashing down to the ground. “Well then, that about wraps things up,” Aria said as Rainbow Dash recalled her Skarmory to its ball.

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash demanded angrily. “I’ve still got Breloom and Tank jr. left, and your Pidgeotto isn’t looking like its got much fight left in it!”

“True, if either of your Pokémon could and a decisive blow on Pidgeotto then they could likely cinch your victory. That is, if they could land a blow. And, given the condition those two were in after their respective battles, it will be child’s play for Pidgeotto to deal with them before they ever have a chance. I’ll admit you made a very good showing, but this is the end of this battle, even if you can’t see it.”

“Oh yeah? Well, bring it! Breloom, let’s finish this!” Rainbow Dash threw her Breloom’s Poké Ball into the arena, and despite its injuries Breloom seemed ready to face its opponent.

“Well, if you don’t want to accept the inevitable, then who am I to refuse?” Aria said as golden light began emanating from her Z-ring. “If I’m being honest, using this attack at this point is grossly overkill, but if this is what you need to—”

“Breloom! Mach Punch!” In a blur of movement, Breloom’s arm shot forward, stretching out to slam directly into Pidgeotto’s midsection. Stunned by the force of the sudden attack, Pidgeotto barely managed to weakly flap its wings a few times before awkwardly tumbling out of the air. “Hey, you were right, it only took on last hit to take Pidgeotto out.” Aria silently opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to put together a response, before finally recalling her unconscious Pidgeotto.

“If La Mariposa ever hears of this, she’ll never let me live it down,” Aria muttered to herself. “It would appear I should have listened to my own advice earlier regarding overconfidence. In any event, with all three of my Pokémon defeated, I hereby recognize you as the victor of this battle.”

*********

“Haha, yeah! That’s three badges down!” Rainbow Dash crowed as she displayed the thundercloud-shaped Storm Badge she had received. “I told you guys I was gonna crush it here!”

“I’ll admit it was a good win, but I still think you need to be a little more careful. That battle almost turned out very differently,” Twilight admonished.

“Yeah yeah, I know. What I really need to do is start handing berries out to more of my Pokémon. If Skarmory had gotten off one more attack, that battle wouldn’t have been even close.” Twilight rolled her eyes at this, knowing Rainbow Dash well enough to realize that this was as close to a victory as she was likely to achieve for the time being. Instead, Twilight turned her attention to Trixie, who had been uncharacteristically trying to avoid drawing any attention to herself ever since Rainbow Dash’s battle had ended.

“So, now that Rainbow Dash has her badge, why don’t we head back to the Pokémon Center so we can get ready for our own battle?” Twilight suggested.

“Umm…Trixie has thought it over, and it might be better to postpone that a little,” Trixie replied. “After all, Trixie wants her Pokémon to be in top form for her duel with Twilight, and watching that battle made Trixie concerned she may have underestimated how tired her Pokémon are.”

“And it’s definitely not because seeing my awesomeness made you realize that Twilight’s probably a whole lot stronger than you thought, right?” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. “Hey, Lightning Dust? You wanna try for a rematch against me once my Pokémon are healed up?”

“Pass. I haven’t finished whipping my Pokémon into shape yet. But, believe me, once I’m done with them, they’re going to take you down hard.” Rainbow Dash simply smiled and shrugged her shoulders, causing Lighting Dust to seethe with fury as she watched Rainbow Dash rejoin her friends. “Mark my words, Dash,” Lightning Dust thought silently to herself. “I am going to make sure you blow this gym thing, one way or another.”

Comments

[Xanderfox]

Huh I thought Rainbow was going to lose in this one, would have fit the pattern for Pokemon but we'll reasonably Mach Punch winning her a close victoy works too.