Unpleasant Introductions
Chapter Two: Unpleasant Introductions
Even though Twilight took things seriously whenever the map summoned her, she didn’t expect that her newest mission would require the help of all her friends, nor did she expect that they were being asked to go to the Everfree Forest. By the time she had been forced out of her hiding spot in the bushes, her friends were already hurrying to meet her in the Everfree. They had a hunch that if the map was summoning them to the same place that Twilight was conducting her field trip, she might have been in trouble. The loud clanging of Kommo-O’s scales, was all it took to let them know where the lavender alicorn was.
Marcus tapped his foot, irritatedly, as Twilight managed to restrain her friends, who had assumed he was the enemy. He still had questions, and aside from her name, the most he was able to get out of Twilight before her friends showed up, was the name of this forest. While that did let him know that he and his associates weren’t anywhere close to Mt. Silver, it was only increasing the confusion to overhear things like a friendship map or being summoned. Another thing that annoyed him, was watching as sweet little Fluttershy walked over to his Kommo-O, who he still hadn’t returned.
“Oh my, what a b-beautiful creature this is... Y-You don’t mind if I pet it, do you?” Fluttershy asked, extending her hoof out to the Pokémon. Unfortunately, Marcus didn’t need to answer, as Kommo-O showed her ferocity by roaring at the yellow mare. She yelped and backed away from the dragon, who followed up with a nasty growl and went back to making noise by swishing her tail. Immediately, Fluttershy’s friends rushed in front of her as she almost started crying.
Kommo-O was eager to pick a fight, but she heard Marcus cough to get her attention. “Pathetic. I can’t believe you’re this close to forgetting how much you’ve been trained not to attack unless told to, Kommo-O,” he scowled, leading his Pokémon to stop swishing her tail. The ponies were shocked at how easily he could contain the ferocious dragon, but even so they kept their guard up. After all, Twilight was the only one who knew they were humans, due to what she had to go through traveling through the Crystal Mirror to get her crown back from Sunset Shimmer. Though, she wasn’t so sure they came from that world after seeing Marcus summon a creature from a ball.
“Honestly, if I knew the one who was spying on us from the bushes was so damn puny, I wouldn’t have wasted my time calling you out, Kommo-O,” he scoffed.
“Excuse me? Who in Equestria do you think you’re talking to? You may not have any clue on who I am, but you will watch your tongue and apologize for spouting that nonsense,” Twilight scolded, acting as if she were Marcus’ superior.
Rainbow Dash decided to take over from there and flew past Kommo-O to get to Marcus. “You’d better listen buddy! Twilight here is one of the princesses of our land and I’ll have you know she would have no problem taking down that freak of yours! If it belongs to you, then after apologizing to Twilight, you’d better make IT apologize to Fluttershy!”
Honestly, since Rainbow Dash thought Marcus considered Kommo-O his friend, she thought he would have gotten angry that she just insulted her. Instead, he remained calm and blew some smoke in the cyan pegasus’ face. Coughing, she wondered what was in his mouth, as cigarettes don’t exist in Equestria. With one hand, he took his cigarette out of his mouth and tapped on it to remove the ashes, while his other hand reached for Kommo-O’s ball and put her back inside by engulfing her in a red light.
“Feel free to insult Kommo-O to your heart’s content, I couldn’t care less about her dignity. However...” Rainbow Dash suddenly felt unexplainably intimidated as she stared into Marcus’ eyes, and watched him reach for his belt, where he just happened to carry a long black leather whip, “...I don’t take lightly to a cheeky brat giving me orders.”
Richard finally decided to interfere, as he’s known Marcus for a while and could predict what ugly outcomes would come next. “Let’s all just calm down for a moment,” he said getting in between Marcus and Rainbow Dash before giving a proper introduction. “Good afternoon, ladies. I can understand that first impressions can bring us a little on the edge, so let’s please start over.” He bows in respect. “My name is Richard and you’ll have my word no harm will come from Marcus here if you remain cautious.”
“I’m Kojak, the livewire of the group and also the chef,” Kojak said, just barely able to contain his excitement. Out of the three men, Kojak had the easiest time finding something to be positive about.
Richard’s calm tone and Kojak’s positivity did the trick in getting the girls to settle down, and they decided that even know they’ve just met, they liked both of these men more than Marcus. No longer having any reason to pull out his whip, Marcus sat back on the stump and went back to smoking. Things seemed to have gotten peaceful, but he soon got another reason to feel irritated when Starlight showed up with Twilight’s students following her.
“Great. Now there are more brats to annoy me...” he grumbled sarcastically. As offended as the young creatures were, they took caution as they looked at Marcus and how he dressed. In addition to being something they’ve never seen before, it’s not everyday you see someone who wears spiked cuffs as part of their style.
Starlight quirked an eyebrow at Marcus' rude behavior as she watched him light up his cigarette, not knowing why he does it or what the point of it is. “Uh, Twilight... what exactly is going on here? Do you think they could be the source of the friendship problem?” she asked.
Twilight didn’t know herself what the map was responding to, but her guidance counselor here just made a good point. When Marcus called out his Kommo-O, Twilight assumed she might have been his pet or something of the sort, so like Rainbow Dash, she thought he would have defended her honor when she was called a “freak”. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She decided that their first priority however, should be to get out of the forest.
There were plenty of things that agitated Marcus as Twilight led him to her castle. The residents of Ponyville were giving him the same looks that Twilight’s friends did, as no human has ever set foot in this town, let alone the kingdom of Equestria. Even when they entered the castle and away from prying eyes, Marcus remained in a foul mood and didn’t join his accomplices sitting down on the living room couches.
“Don’t expect any apologies from the boss. I can only advise you ladies to keep your distance and watch what you say around him.” Richard sighed as he watched Marcus stare out the window. As addictive as cigarettes were, Richard noticed how even though Marcus had already finished the one he pulled out in the forest, he was able to resist the urge to light another.
“More importantly, we all have a lot of questions and I think we should start with what you saw what Marcus brought out back in the forest. If it wasn’t clear already, the creature goes by the name “Kommo-O”, and she is what we call... a Pokémon.” For just a moment, Richard felt like a professor lecturing students who would soon set off on their adventures.
“What’s a Pokémon? Let’s start there,” Twilight insisted, watching as Richard got up from the couch.
“Some may call them things like “beasts”, or “demons”, or “monsters”,” he continued, pacing back and forth. “Where we come from, we’ve lived alongside these creatures since ancient times due to the various purposes they serve. I apologize if this is a lot to take in...”
“So technically, these creatures you call “Pokémon” are wild creatures that you live alongside with? Then how come you keep them contained in those strange balls you have?" Twilight pointed out.
“One thing at a time, Twilight. If I knew everything there is to know about Pokémon, by the time I was done explaining, we’d all be close to dying of old age. Like I said before, Pokémon play many roles for the ones who take them in, and we find ourselves coexisting with them in various styles.”
Richard pulled out a Pokéball from his belt, but noticed how nervous Twilight and her friends were getting. “Please don’t be alarmed. It’s just a demonstration,” he assured and pressed the button so that it enlarged and gave it a little toss.
He couldn’t help his choice, as it was one he caught while he was still and the Kalos region and therefore, one of his oldest companions. The ball opened with a bright flash, and the girls watched as the light took form. However, the flash only lasted for a few seconds before they were staring at a unique creature who while not necessarily harmless looking, amazed them with his mighty appearance. The Pokémon resembled a goat, as they could tell from his dark green, almost tree-like leaves, that it wasn’t any goat they were used to.
Richard smiled and tapped his leg, encouraging the magnificent Pokémon to come on over. Listening to him call him over, the ponies learned the Pokémon was called “Gogoat”. Letting out an unusual, but mighty sound, he raced over towards his trainer, accidentally knocking over the living room table as he did so. By now Twilight was too amazed to even care about the little mess that Gogoat made.
Richard chuckled and scratched behind Gogoat’s ears before looking at the ponies and extending a hand out. “Don’t be shy. The big guy is a little wild, but he loves new faces.” Fluttershy was the easiest to convince and once she joined Richard on the couch so she could rub her hoof on Gogoat’s head, he continued his explanation. “I can tell each of you has a good heart, so brace yourselves for this. We live with Pokémon for various reasons. While some people have them as pets, others seek to use Pokémon for competition, and that includes showing off their natural instincts in battle.” He had a feeling he would regret saying this and saw how the ponies’ reactions changed to anger and shock.
“B-Battle? W-Why would you do something as cruel as making such wonderful creatures fight for no reason?! How can you even live with yourselves, knowing full well what you’re putting them through?!” Rarity criticized and Fluttershy couldn’t agree more.
“Rarity’s right! You should be ashamed of yourselves for being so cruel to these creatures!” she added as she stopped petting Gogoat and looked at him with sympathy.
Kojak couldn’t stop himself from speaking up, having gotten a little angry at the mares’ accusations. “Hey, don’t be so judgemental! If you were listening, you would have heard what Richard said about it’s a natural instinct for Pokémon to fight. History has led for Pokémon to enjoy traveling and battling alongside us humans. If looking at how close Gogoat and Richard are isn’t enough proof for ya, I’ll bring out one of my own Pokémon!” he shouted. He was just about to go through with it, but Richard put a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to calm down. Now that the table Gogoat knocked over was back up, Twilight brought a pitcher of fresh apple cider from Sweet Apple Acres, hoping Kojak would drink it and find it easier to relax.
Richard poured some of the cider and looked down at the beverage as he continued. “Kojak isn’t lying. I’m actually a bit of a scientist and I’ve put together my own experiments in order to study a Pokémon’s fondness for battle—it’s a sport. I’ll admit Pokémon aren’t all treated the same, but you can take my word that they won’t obey someone who they don’t respect.” He sipped his cider while reminiscing about how much grief Delphox brought him when she was still a Fennekin. “Since these are sentient beings and have their own personalities, they can acquire other interests than battling as easily as their trainers. I’ve watched plenty of contests and musicals where Pokémon get to express their love of performing on stage.”
Kojak had managed to calm down a little bit, compliments of the Apple family’s delicious cider. “You’d be surprised how easy it is to get swept up in the excitement of a competition. Regardless of what kind of abilities your Pokémon have, what’s REALLY important is how they’re trained to use them. I’ve never enjoyed an easy win, and I know for a fact that my team feels the same! In fact, Marcus here is one of the strongest trainers I’ve ever come across!” he exclaimed, but realized he might have said too much.
With sparkling eyes and a huge grin, Pinkie Pie hopped over to Marcus who was still gazing out the window. “So Marky...” she started, having decided on a nickname, “...did you ever take your Pokémon to these “musicals” as Richy here put it? Well, did ya? OOH! What about any competitions, how many of those did you win. Ooh! Ooh! Wait! How many Pokémon are you allowed to have with you at a time?” The questions kept coming until Marcus finally decided to turn around.
“I’m not impressed. What makes you think you can talk to me so casually?” he asked coldly. “Don’t you dare address me with that filthy mouth of yours ever again.” It just so happens that Pinkie wasn’t the first to call Marcus “Marky”, but there were only a certain few individuals he tolerated hearing it from, and none of them were considered by the agitated young man to be annoying brats.
Pinkie’s mane deflated like a balloon, as she was hoping to look past the rough meeting they had in the forest and make a new friend. She finally noticed how Marcus was tightening his fists and backed away, giving Applejack and Rainbow Dash some room so they could rush up and stand in front of their depressed friend.
“Now y’all wait just a goll-darn second there, partner! Ya have no right ta talk ta our friend like that! Ya wanna spout that nonsense at anypony, then try it on us!” AJ challenged.
“Yeah, and check that stupid, stuck-up attitude of yours, buster!” Rainbow added before turning to Pinkie. “Don’t listen to that bum. He’s obviously got no heart or class whatsoever like you do, Pinkie.” The rainbow maned daredevil looked back at Marcus. “Now as for your Pokémon, if that’s what the called, why would they even agree to stick by you? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you act like a dictator to them!”
Marcus looked down at the mares without changing his expression. “I despise cocky brats like you, but I’ll admit you’re at least a little perceptive. Each trainer has a right to their opinion on Pokémon, no matter how different it may be. I don’t criticize how others treat their Pokémon, but... I don’t tolerate my own methods being questioned,” he said, using a dangerous tone that sent shivers down the ponies’ spines. “I’ve decided a long time ago that I would consider all of my Pokémon as tools. As long as they choose to remain by my side, in exchange for obeying my orders, I continue to train them and give them power instead of affection.”
The ponies couldn’t believe what they just heard. Being the element of honesty, Applejack could tell that Marcus was telling the truth about what Pokémon mean to him. Rainbow Dash on the other hand, being the element of loyalty, wanted to strike him in his teeth since it infuriated her how he could disregard how his Pokémon remained by his side and cared so little about them. What held the mare back, was not how Marcus was wearing sharp accessories, but rather the strange amount of pressure she felt as his empty, purple eyes glared down at her. Alas, due to the element she represents, Rainbow Dash forced herself to overcome the intimidation and disregarding Richard’s warning like Pinkie had, she flew up to Marcus’ face.
“T-Tools?! How in Tartarus can you even call yourself a trainer if you treat living creatures like tools?! You need to get your priorities straight, or one of these days, somepony’s gonna take your so-called “beliefs” and shove them straight down your throat!” Rainbow scolded, glaring back. “And that somepony might just be me!” Before she could say anything else and risk getting hurt, Twilight’s magic surrounded her, forced her mouth closed, and pulled her away from Marcus.
“That was a smart move, princess,” he said, speaking the last word with clear sarcasm and disgust. “It’s about time we’ve cut the crap here. Now, I’ve heard that lackey of yours,” he said, pointing to Starlight, “wondering about the cause of your friendship problem. I don’t know what that means, and more importantly, I don’t care. But if your mission is indeed to change my opinion, it’s doomed to fail. You’d have a better chance of figuring out how to get us a damn ride back to our world.”
Deciding he had enough of this conversation, Marcus made his way to the front door, causing Twilight to arch an eyebrow. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Just because I have no idea what sent me here, doesn’t mean I intend to get cozy with you. Training keeps Pokémon from turning into slackers, and I doubt there’s a room in this castle with the space necessary to get it done.”
Though she wasn’t pleased by his tone, Twilight remembered her position and decided not to succumb to the urge to yell like Rainbow Dash did. If he needed a wide open space, she could accommodate him.
It was easier for Marcus to dismiss the curious looks he got from the ponies he passed by since he knew he was about to get what he wanted. While he didn’t plan on showing gratitude to Twilight for bringing him here, he got the space he needed as he stepped onto the school of friendship’s athletic field.
Turning around, the cruel young man scowled when he saw that not only had Twilight and her friends taken their seats on the bleachers, but some of the students have come out as well. Returning his attention to what he came out here for, Marcus reached toward his belt to grab ahold of three Pokéballs and threw them into the air. While their teachers knew at least a little bit about Pokémon, the friendship students had missed Richard’s lecture since they were told to go back to class and had virtually no idea what was going on. The most Richard was able to tell the kids on the way, was that neither them nor their Pokémon were part of this world.
Not long after they were thrown, the Pokéballs opened, and Kommo-O came out again, along with two Pokémon the spectators haven’t met yet. One of them easily resembled a fox, but with light blue fur and eight more tails than what most foxes have. The other one they almost assumed was a dragon, but they tried not to jump to conclusions when they saw that contrary to a dragon, the creature had claws at the ends of his wings. These two were Ninetales and the extremely rare Pokémon originating from prehistoric times, Aerodactyl.
Each Pokémon remained silent, awaiting Marcus’ instructions. This time Kommo-O wasn’t going to attack before receiving an order. Luckily she didn’t have to wait long, as her master had her get into position with her and Aerodactyl on the right, and Ninetales on the left. It was obviously going to be two against one, and this wouldn’t be the first time the fox trained like this. While his entire team was strong from the harsh treatment they endured, Ninetales was the weakest when it came to offense. Even so, she kept her place on the team, as it took more than strength to win a battle and Marcus’ battling style revolved differently than Kojak’s.
Since the fox stood closest to him, Marcus decided to start today’s training session with Ninetales receiving the first command. To keep his Pokémon’s attention, he got out his whip and began to strike the ground. “Hail!” he called out, and being a loyal Pokémon who refused to keep her master waiting, both Ninetales’ eyes and the tips of her each of her tails began emanating a light blue glow that flowed like fire. Twilight and the rest of the audience watched as dark clouds suddenly appeared above the field, and if the lavender alicorn heard Marcus correctly, she was glad the clouds didn’t overshadow the bleachers.
Richard heard Rainbow Dash snort and could easily sense she wasn’t impressed. Though she had achieved her lifelong dream to join Equestria’s best flyers as part of the Wonderbolts, RD still maintained her first job working with other pegasi on operating the weather. Even if she was only beginning to learn about Pokémon, the sudden change in weather was nothing new to her. Richard wasn’t going to force the cyan pegasus to support Marcus, but he felt the need to let her know how convenient it was that she wasn’t underneath the clouds by encouraging her to look back in front of her.
By now, everyone could see how Kommo-O and Aerodactyl cringed as large chunks of ice were starting to fall down on them, but that’s not all that happened. Now that the hailstorm was present, Ninetales began to disappear as the weather activated her Snow Cloak ability. To be honest, Hail wasn’t something that Ninetales could learn naturally, rather, she obtained the move through experimenting with one of the expensive Technical Machines. Normally, Marcus was against such methods, but in order to bring out the vixen’s ability to blend with her surroundings, he made a huge exception.
“This will most likely take a while...” Richard muttered after watching Marcus nonchalantly tell Aerodactyl to get off the ground, indifferent to the fact that it only brought him closer to the hail clouds. Feeling all eyes on him, he decided to elaborate. “I didn’t mention this to any of you, but one of the most crucial parts of a Pokémon battle is understanding type matchup. Each Pokémon holds a specific element such as Fire, Plant, Water, Ice, and Lightning, and the same applies to the moves they learn. It’s difficult to spot her now, but in Ninetales’ case as a Pokémon specializing in Ice-type attacks, she can bring serious harm to Kommo-O and Aerodactyl, who are Dragon and Flying-types respectively.”
This was a lot for the students to understand and they naturally had questions, primarily the young dragon named Smolder. Even with her limited knowledge of Pokémon, she could easily figure out which one was the Flying-type, Aerodactyl, but found it impossible to figure out how Kommo-O could qualify as a dragon. Ironically, Smolder’s usually shy classmate, Ocellus spoke up before her.
“So... the big one is a dragon?” Things suddenly got awkward for her and she wasn’t sure what to say next. “Well he’s... uh... He looks... very...”
“I think the word you’re looking for is “freaky”, and that would be accurate,” Smolder said, realizing the tiny changeling wouldn’t be finishing any sentences. It was precisely because Ocellus was sitting next to a dragon that she was familiar with, that she found it awkward to comment on Kommo-O. Thankfully, Smolder didn’t seem to have noticed that.
“Smolder!” Fluttershy chided, seeing her student was forgetting her lectures on kindness. Even though both Kommo-O and Marcus have been cruel to her, Fluttershy knew exchanging insults wouldn’t get them anywhere. Smolder jumped slightly, but stayed true to her opinion.
“I’m just saying he’s not very convincing. It would make more sense if that Aerodactyl or whatever it’s called, was the dragon.” Richard raised an eyebrow, wondering how long she would keep him from talking, while Kojak became amused at how the students automatically assumed Kommo-O was male. “I mean, dragons around here aren’t born with wings, but that thing doesn’t look anything like a baby. And what was it you said about being weak with ice? I mean sure dragons are cold-blooded, but-” She finally noticed Richard’s deadpan expression and got embarrassed. “So... you were saying?”
With a satisfied smile, Richard continued, “When a Pokémon is struck by an attack whose element serves as their weakness, the damage is often doubled. However, having the advantage in type matchup doesn’t guarantee victory. Even though she’s an Ice-type, Ninetales has the weakest attack power of all the members of Marcus’ team. Furthermore, both Aerodactyl and Kommo-O have been mentored well into training their defense abilities and stamina, especially Kommo-O.”
“Also, what makes you think Kommo-O is a guy? Aerodactyl is the only male Pokémon out there,” Kojak said, so close to laughing at Smolder and Ocellus’ embarrassment.
The said Dragon-type darted her eyes from left to right, attempting to locate a clue to Ninetales’ location. Indeed, Ninetales was inferior when it came to offense, but she was much faster than Kommo-O. Unfortunately, Marcus didn’t intend to give the vixen too many opportunities. “Dragon Dance!” he shouted. Producing what looked like red steam, Kommo-O began to sway back and forth, shaking her noisy tail as she did so. For a moment, it blocked out the awful sounds of Marcus continuing to crack his whip against the field.
“Ugh! It’s painful to watch. What kind of dragon dances like that?” Smolder asked. She continued to feel embarrassed that Kommo-O was called a Dragon-type.
“No kidding, it’s just moving back and forth like an idiot. Even I think that looks extremely embarrassing,” Gallus added, but unlike Smolder, he found himself able to chuckle. That was until Fluttershy looked at them once again. It was only after she heard another powerful strike of the whip, that she looked away wondering what these creatures have been through.
“Yak not able to keep up with weird dragon,” Yona said as her eyes were spinning out of control. “Yona getting dizzy. She wants to know the point in weird dance?”
“I’ve known Marcus for a while and I can assure you, he’s always serious, especially when it comes to training. He’s not aiming to help a specific Pokémon win, but instead is searching for various methods to see just how much they’ve improved.” Of course, it would take more than that to get them to take the dance seriously. “I don’t blame your commentary, as it’s hard to see the difference, but using Dragon Dance has just raised both Kommo-O’s strength and speed. The moment he gave the word, it became clear to me that since Ninetales is naturally faster, Marcus wants to start things off by finding out just how well Kommo-O can keep up by exploiting the effects of the dance.”
The weakness of Snow Cloak was that the Pokémon with the ability can never become completely invisible—they become especially easy to spot when they stop to use an attack. Like Richard just explained, because Kommo-O had improved her speed with Dragon Dance, it was time to find out if she could catch Ninetales before she camouflaged again.
“Ice Beam!” Marcus’ voice echoed through the fog that was picking up and Kommo-O was narrowly able to move to the side to avoid the ray of icy cold energy. Putting her speed to good use, she followed the direction of the beam and though it was faint, she saw Ninetales. Even though she vanished again before Kommo-O could get too close, the fox would only be able to get so far away before her trainer called out to her again, demanding the same attack. While Kommo-O failed to dodge, she had the chance to prove what Richard had said about her durability when the cold energy struck her chest.
“If you mess up again, I’ll only make things more difficult for you, Kommo-O,” Marcus scowled as his Dragon-type was still putting up with Ice Beam. “Charge through and use Close Combat!” Forcing herself to push past the attack and closer to Ninetales who was perfectly visible this time, Kommo-O prepared to begin her assault by raising both her tightly clenched hands. Ninetales had no choice but to stop using Ice Beam or else she wouldn’t have been able to get out of the way when Kommo-O brought both fists down. She attempted to get some distance, but even though she was faster than Kommo-O, the latter hasn’t gotten this close until now and had enough time to catch up to Ninetales and resume attacking with Close Combat by raising her leg up high.
Jumping out of the way as Kommo-O brought her heel down, Ninetales was almost able to camouflage again. However, instead of allowing that, Marcus decided to see if his Ice-type’s speed would allow her to land the next hit, as Close Combat hasn’t expired yet. Yelling at her to use Zen Headbutt, he observed as energy began to gather around Ninetales’ head before forming what looked like a shield. But before she could go through with the attack, Kommo-O had caught up to Ninetales, and the fox ended up using the psychic shield to block the fist that aimed at her forehead.
Having never seen Zen Headbutt being used as protection, Marcus raised an eyebrow as Ninetales skidded a few inches. It didn’t make the best kind of defense either, for even though Ninetales managed to weaken Close Combat’s final blow by using a Psychic-type move, the way the vixen twitched her eye proved she had still received a fair amount of damage. Quite possibly, the punch had its power cut in half.
“Crystallize yourself!” The Ninetales that roam the Alola region have a special ability to form hard ice crystals from their fur for either offense or defense. However, Marcus only allowed Ninetales to produce a layer around her head before ordering her to stop and prepare another Zen Headbutt. From this distance, it was virtually impossible for Ninetales to miss and Marcus didn’t give Kommo-O any instructions to defend herself before she got bashed in the stomach. Even with Ninetales’ weak attack power, Kommo-O has grown to be better at withstanding non-physical attacks like Ice Beam. Zen Headbutt itself brought a large amount of damage as a super effective Psychic-type, but the hard crystals had made it even stronger.
Marcus squinted his eyes and saw that Ninetales’ ice was able to withstand the impact against Kommo-O’s hard scales. He wondered just how much longer the armor would hold together, as he took into account how her crystals gradually became stronger each time he pushed her. This time, he allowed Ninetales to cover the rest of her body, and it wasn’t long before her entire form was shining with ice crystals.
After she was done creating her armor, Ninetales showed another improvement of enduring years of her master’s brutal training by looking up at Kommo-O without absolutely no fear. Of course, Marcus didn’t acknowledge her courage, for his only concern regarding her, was that she was obeying him instead of running away like she used to. Even when Kommo-O pull her head back to use Iron Head, Ninetales’ expression stayed the same as she stood her ground and only moved when Marcus told her to counter with another Zen Headbutt.
Even though she was confronting her natural enemy in type matchup since Iron Head held the Steel-type element, the strong layer of ice behind Zen Headbutt was still holding up. Even if Kommo-O was stronger and was using a super effective technique, as long as the armor remained sturdy, it would make up for the difference in physical talent.
“No cracks so far...” Marcus muttered when his Pokémon separated. “Kommo-O, use Superpower!” This time, Richard was the one who raised an eyebrow as the large dragon enveloped herself in a blue aura similar to the one Ninetales had when she summoned the hailstorm. Kojak was equally confused, for as a man who had Bruno as his master and father figure, he knew just about everything there was to know about Fighting-type moves, and Superpower was one of the riskiest ones.
Most of the small audience, including Fluttershy and Ocellus, couldn’t help looking away as Kommo-O dashed towards Ninetales as fast as she could and crashed into her with great force. Noticeable cracks finally appeared in the crystal armor as Ninetales found herself sliding along the athletic field. She almost ended up crashing into the bleachers when she finally found the strength to make herself stop. Though the fox stood so close to them before running back to her original spot on the field, the spectators were mostly concentrated on Kommo-O, who was now panting heavily.
Twilight watched how the dragon had suddenly become so tired, but Richard beat her to the punch and began another explanation before the young alicorn could ask for it. “Marcus just made a huge sacrifice to study Ninetales’ armor. Superpower is both a powerful and popular ability where a Pokémon gathers a great supply of energy and strikes the enemy with it. However, it’s very risky, as bringing such a degree of power by sheer force puts a great strain on the body—regardless how tough they are, when a Pokémon goes through with Superpower, the side effect leaves them drained.”
Just about all the extra power Kommo-O acquired from using Dragon Dance has left her, and her body has also become even more vulnerable to physical assault. For what it’s worth, however, Superpower didn’t do anything to affect her speed and if Marcus felt like it, there were many techniques at Kommo-O’s disposal that he could have her use to bring back her strength and durability. Again, IF he felt like it. Right now, he intended to take advantage of his Dragon-type’s detriment to conduct another experiment.
Though not as hard as Kommo-O, Ninetales was panting as well, but her ice crystals haven’t fallen off yet, despite the cracks. “Use Iron Tail, Ninetales!” Marcus ordered, deciding to use the crystals to enhance her attacks again. The armor on each of the vixen’s tails hardened even further as they appeared to turn into steel. Even though he knew the hailstorm would stop when Ninetales took enough damage, Marcus was no longer focused on hiding her with Snow Cloak and kept her perfectly visible as she charged forward.
Kommo-O showed her devotion to her trainer again by standing her ground and allowing the multiple Iron Tails to be brought down on the top of her head. Even though Kommo-O was strong against Steel-types, Ninetales had almost created enough force to make the larger Pokémon fall forward. Holding herself up on the tips of her toes, there was a chance Kommo-O could’ve been defeated just now, since she was still weak from using Superpower.
Having seen all he wanted from her for now, Marcus held up Kommo-O’s ball and she was brought back inside after being engulfed in red light. Looking up and spotting Aerodactyl became easier since the hail clouds began clearing up. He’s been suffering the most from the falling hail, but he still looked to be in good health.
“You know the drill, Ninetales,” Marcus said without any compassion. Aerodactyl heard as his trainer called him down, and coated his mouth with flames as he was then told to attack with Fire Fang. As Marcus had just implied, Ninetales knew what to do and started to form new ice crystals on her fur to replace the ones damaged by Kommo-O.
Once Aerodactyl was within range, Ninetales barely succeeded in avoiding being bitten by jumping in the air and landing on the larger Pokémon’s back. Aerodactyl didn’t touch the ground even as the vixen secured herself on top of him. Flying around the field and passing by the audience, his first thought was to start thrashing around, thus showing off the savagery his kind were feared for before they died off. While Marcus was strict with him, their years of training had taught Aerodactyl to keep his temper in check.
“Aerodactyl, use Agility!” The ancient Pokémon’s body got lighter and he began flying even faster than before. Though Ninetales was tired from fighting with Kommo-O, she maintained her hold on Aerodactyl and for extra insurance, wrapped a few of her tails around his waist. Noticing this stubbornness, Marcus gave Aerodactyl permission to be more violent, which included flipping upside down so the unfortunate passenger would scrape against the ground.
Calmly leaning to the side so his Pokémon would pass by him, Marcus gave his next command to Ninetales. Richard had explained at the start that Flying-type Pokémon suffer extra damage from Ice-type attacks, and even though Aerodactyl was also a Rock-type, that didn’t spare him from such misfortune when Ninetales unleashed her Blizzard attack.
It was quite something to see. One of the strongest moves in the Ice-type category, a powerful wave of wind and snow flowed from Ninetales’ mouth, surrounding her and Aerodactyl. The latter snarled loudly as he was struck by the snowstorm, and the harsh wind made it harder to flap his wings. Things didn’t stop there, as for the third time today, Ninetales used Zen Headbutt while exploiting the hard ice on her head.
Though inferior to Kommo-O, Aerodactyl has had his defenses trained over the years as well. Converse to Kommo-O being more gifted at withstanding special techniques like Ice Beam and Blizzard, Aerodactyl did better against a physical technique. Even so, Ninetales’ armor had created enough power to break the prehistoric beast’s concentration so that he stopped flapping his wings. He crashed on his front, but Ninetales knew he wasn’t done yet and was still holding onto him.
In less than five seconds, Aerodactyl recovered and pushed himself back into the air before Marcus could reprimand him. This quick recovery came of no surprise since Aerodactyl had increased his speed with Agility, but when he completed another lap around the field, he seemed to have gotten even faster than before. Marcus already told Twilight and her friends he didn’t care about his Pokémon’s dignity, but he could still sense that Aerodactyl would try harder to keep focused so he wouldn’t crash a second time. He decided to challenge that pride and see if Ninetales could bring down her opponent before the speed made it too hard for her to hang on.
“Blizzard!” he repeated and despite how fast they were moving, the audience got a momentary glance as snow once again surrounded Aerodactyl. It was then that the living fossil decided to stop going around in circles and changed direction to fly upwards. The cunning plan worked and Ninetales finally let go of Aerodactyl before her Blizzard attack did him in. Everyone looked up concerned as he vixen was falling, except for Marcus of course.
“Do something, Marcus!” Fluttershy screamed.
“Silence!” he snapped still looking up. The spectators who annoyed him to no end didn’t know it, but Ninetales’ armor was still nice and hard and absorbed the impact as she crashed onto her back. However, Marcus felt the need to punish Ninetales for failing to stay on and had Aerodactyl use a technique that took months of brutal training to learn.
“Aerodactyl, Sky Attack!” he shouted and with one hand, started grasping the necklace that none of the ponies acknowledged him wearing, while his other whipped the ground once again. With the acceleration effects of Agility still present, Aerodactyl began soaring down with a beautiful, bright golden light surrounding him. The aura made it impossible for the spectators to notice that as he performed the move, he began changing shape.
Ninetales looked up as she was about to be hit by the strongest Flying-type move. It wasn’t enough to frighten her, and she complied when Marcus told her to use Ice Beam. Even though the cold energy made a direct hit, Aerodactyl didn’t slow down and crashed down on Ninetales with a small explosion.
Soon enough, Aerodactyl emerged from the smoke and expressed his pride with a loud roar, confident he was victorious. Nobody noticed how he’s changed, as they were waiting for the smoke to clear up and show the result.
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nice work
love it keep it up
2 down 8 to go
9855403
Thank you, since this is my first story I’m looking for constructive criticism
I want to punch Marcus out so much right now. That is not how you treat your team, and I've got the Legendries to back it up. I'm loving the story and can't wait to read more.
9860382
You know, it’s funny you mention that. Marcus is this only one of the three trainers who has a mythical/legendary Pokémon on his team.
Are you gonna update this, please?