• Published 19th May 2018
  • 5,032 Views, 673 Comments

Pokémon: Harmony and Chaos - Banshee531



Welcome to the Equestria Region, a land of Pokémon. Here, one young boy will begin his quest to become the greatest Pokémon Trainer ever known. With his partner Springer, he'll make new friends, rivals, and enemies on this brand new adventure.

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Who Cares, Wins

With their journey to Hoof Town and the Hoof Cup almost at an end, our heroes find themselves approaching a small village most famous for its Pokémon daycare.

"There it is," Twilight announced as Trixie pulled the wagon to a stop at the top of a hill. The loud clattering of the wagon's back opening filled the air, followed by a barrage of moans as Flash, Spike, Doc and their Pokémon all walked over to the front while stretching. Once there, they looked down the hill to see the small village before looking beyond it. There, they saw an array of different environments right next to one another. Meadows, lakes, rocky areas and many more, all of them being every habitat needed to raise every kind of Pokémon under the sun. Each were separated by wooden fences, with one large fence encasing the whole thing.

"So that's the daycare," Doc said once his aching joints dulled.

Twilight nodded. "It's supposed to be famous as the place where you go to help your Pokémon train."

"Awesome!" Spike cheered, "You think they'd know how to evolve our Pokémon?"

"Probably, but I'm happy letting my Pokémon evolve when they're ready." Doc replied as he stretched his arms, "Besides, evolution isn't everything for Pokémon."

"I agree...but just imagine all the Pokémon they have down there." Flash added as he pointed at the structure, "Maybe we could get the chance to see one of them evolve."

"So let's go take a look," Trixie said before snapping the reins and having her Girafarig begin to pull the wagon down the hill. The boys followed beside it, the group soon making their way through the village.

As they made their way, Twilight looked at her notebook and viewed the town's shops. "Hang on. There's a pharmacy around that corner where we can buy some medicine at. We're running low on stock."

"Should we go now or wait until after we've seen the daycare?" Doc asked back. But the second he finished talking, the sound of an explosion filled the air. Everyone hopped in place at the sound, soon looking up to see a cloud of smoke floating up above the roofs.

"I'd say we come back later," Trixie said as she tried to pull her Girafarig away from this. Everyone else rolled their eyes, only for Flash and Springer to run in the direction of the noise. When the two arrived around the corner, they found the whole place was looked like a tornado had struck it. Glass, bricks and metal shrapnel were all over the area, people looking terrified and crouched on the ground in terror. Before he could ask what had caused this, one of the few remaining store fronts exploded open as something jumped out of it.

That something was a dinosaur like Pokémon who was gray and blue, with a head that looked like it was made out of a blue crystal. The Pokémon scrapped its foot along the ground, looking around for something. "Cray...Cranidos!"

"A Cranidos!" Twilight yelped as she and the others arrived on the scene, Trixie pulling out her Pokedex and scanning it.

Name: Cranidos
Category: Headbutt Pokémon
Type: Rock
Info: Living in jungles one hundred million years ago, it would crash through any obstruction using its incredibly hard head. In mass, Cranidos keep their heads strong by headbutting one another and strengthening their skulls.

"What's that thing doing here?!" Spike asked next.

"CRANIDOS!" The prehistoric Pokémon began charging at them before anyone could answer, Springer acting fast and rushing forwards as he created an Aura Sphere in his paw.

"RIOLU!" Springer thrusted it into Cranidos's head, the blow instantly knocking the Pokémon flying back.

"Nice one bud," Flash complimented as Cranidos picked itself up. Seeing this, Springer ran at the Pokémon, but as the Headbutt Pokémon saw him coming, his whole body began to glow. There, the light flew off his body and spiraled into a sphere.

"That's Ancient Power!" Twilight screamed at Flash. "Don't let that hit Springer!"

"I won't! Use Double Team!" As Cranidos fired its attack, Springer multiplied into six. The attack struck one of the Springers, making it disappear, but left the other five safe to surround it. "Aura Sphere Barrage!"

"RIOLU!" The Springer army yelled as they thrusted a volley of Aura Spheres at the Pokémon.

"CRAY!" It screamed as the five tiny, yet powerful, sphere exploded off of it. And as all but one of the Springers disappeared, the pachycephalosaur wobbled on its feet before falling sideways.

"Alright," Flash pulled out a Pokeball, "GO POKEBALL!" He tossed the ball at the Cranidos, everyone watching as it struck the downed Fossil Pokémon. But as it tapped its head...the Pokeball didn't open. Instead, it just bounced off, the ball tapping the ground like nothing had happened.

"What's going on?" Spike asked, "Is that Pokeball broken?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, if it was broken, the ball would have cracks in it or wouldn't expand in Flash's hand when he pulled it out. Though if that's the case...the only reason it wouldn't work is because this thing's not wild."

"Cranidos!" They turned to see a middle aged couple running down the street, coming to a stop next to the Pokemon. The woman, who had yellow skin and white hair, kneeled down next to Cranidos and began looking over it while the man, who had green skin and purple hair, looked around at the street.

"You think they're its trainers?" Trixie asked next.

"Possibly," Doc added.

"Only one way to find out. Excuse me," they turned to look at Flash. "Sorry to interrupt, but are you this Cranidos's trainers?"

"In a way," the man replied. "We are the ones responsible for it. Who are you?"

"They're the ones who stopped that thing!" one of the store owners yelled out.

"I see..." the woman said as she stood up, only to do a small bow. "Thank you for stopping Cranidos."

"Eh, its no problem. I just hope I didn't hurt it too much."

"Nothing a little rest and relaxation can't fix," the man pulled out a Pokeball and returned the Cranidos before looking back at the street. "All this on the other hand..."

"You'd better pay for the repairs Basil," another store owner almost yelled.

"We will," the woman bowed again. "I promise." The store owners simply gave them all a glare before walking into what remained of their stores, the couple sighing at the sight.

Flash and the others all gave each other a glance, most shrugging as Doc walked over to the couple. "Excuse me, but you said earlier that you weren't the Cranidos's trainer, but you are responsible for it. I'm just wondering what you meant."

"I see. Well first off, I'm Basil." He then pointed to the woman, "and this is my wife."

"Daisy."

"We're the owners of the Pokémon Daycare."

"Ooooh," Everyone replied in unison. "That explains it."

"So what happened?" Spike asked next, "How did Cranidos get out?"

"Well, it was just left at our daycare, so it was a little anxious. That happens a lot with first time drop offs."

Daisy nodded in agreement, "Cranidos was probably looking for its trainer. That's why it ran amok."

"I see," Twilight added as she adjusted her glasses. "Makes sense."

Daisy then spoke up. "Since you're here, how would you like a tour of our ranch?"

"Seriously?"

"Of course," Basil replied, nodding. "It's the least we could do to thank you for your help." The others all nodded before the couple began to lead them towards their daycare, soon arriving at the edge of the village where a large building stood, fences on its sides. "This is our main drop off area."

They all gasped as Basil and Daisy showed them inside, Trixie tying her wagon to the fence and returning Girafarig. Once inside the building, they found it was a reception-like place. Sitting behind the counter was a teen Flash's age, with green skin and yellow hair. He wore a white shirt and baggy brown pants. He didn't seem to notice them, to consumed with the video game he was playing.

Basil and Daisy both rolled their eyes before walking over to him. "Cedar!" The teen suddenly jolted up from his game and looked up at the two.

"Oh..." the teen looked back down at his game, "Did you get it?"

"Yes...after Cranidos destroyed half the town! This never would have happened if you had been paying attention to it like we asked!"

"Whatever," Cedar hopped off his seat and began walking towards the door behind the counter. "Anyways, I'm heading to my room."

"Oh, no you don't!" Basil told him. "This little incident means we had to ignore the chores, so you're gonna be doing them instead."

"WHAT?!" Cedar gasped, turning to them in shock, "That's not fair!"

"It's very fair," Daisy held out her hand. "Game! Now!" Cedar sighed before giving her the game console, the teen turning and marching out of the room with his hands in his pockets.

Once he was gone, the two turned back to the others, sighing. "We're sorry you had to see that."

"Your son?" Twilight guessed, Daisy nodding.

"Yes. We put him in charge of Cranidos, but it seems he's to concerned with playing video games than his family's legacy."

"Legacy?" Spike asked, only for Basil to motion them to step into a corridor.

"Our family's been running this daycare for six generations. In that time, we've accumulated all forms of Pokémon knowledge. Including what our business is best known for, evolution." They arrived at the end of the corridor, where Basil pushed open a pair of doors to a new room. Everyone was wide-eyed at what they saw there, as it was a room filled multiple shelves, each holding many different items that some of them recognized.

"Amazing," Twilight commented as she passed a shelf. "Water Stones, Fire Stones, Thunder Stones, Leaf Stones..."

"Protectors, Electrizers, Reaper Cloths," Doc continued, "All items needed to evolve Pokémon."

Daisy giggled at this, "Indeed. Show us a Pokémon and we'll tell you exactly how to evolve it."

"Really?" Spike asked.

"Really." Basil replied, nodding.

"Alright...." Trixie walked between them with a cocky smirk on her face. "I have a Magitual, Girafarig and a Slowpoke. How do I evolve them?"

Basil smirked back. "Magitual simply needs to reach a high enough level. Girafarig can't evolve, and Slowpoke can evolve into either a Slowbro or a Slowking depending on what you do."

"What about my Higear?" Doc asked even though he already knew.

"Higear evolves?" Flash asked first.

"It does," Daisy added. "In fact, we had a trainer here a few days ago that was looking to evolve his Higear. Unfortunately, he used our last Upgrade to do so."

"I see..." Doc said while rubbing his chin. "That's too bad."

"Upgrade? What's that?" Spike asked next.

"It's a device that can evolve a Polygon or a Higear," Twilight explained as she tapped Spike's shoulder. "They need to be holding it while either being traded or transferred."

Basil nodded at this. "The digitization causes the item to be fused into the Pokémon, allowing them everything they need to evolve."

It was in that moment they heard a beating sound surround the room. They then turned to see a large green dragonfly Pokémon appear, landing on top of a shelf.

"Wow...what's that?" Spike asked.

Daisy let out a small sigh. "That's Cedar's Yanmega."

"Yanmega?" Flash pulled out his Pokedex and scanned it.

Name: Yanmega
Category: Ogre Darner Pokémon
Type: Bug/Flying
Info: By beating its wings, it can create shockwaves that can cause internal damage. It is adept at flying at super high speeds, using its powerful jaws to bite the heads of its prey.

"Yanmega was hatched here in the daycare as a Yanma," Basil explained as she raised her hand for the bug to land on it. "Cedar raised it, played with it, and later evolved it."

"Impressive," Twilight added, the others also surprised compared to what they had seen earlier with Basil.

But before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. They turned to see a teen boy walk into the room, a Scyther standing beside him. "Hey...sorry to barge in. I've been waiting about thirty minutes."

"You have?!" Daisy yelped, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," the boy replied with a nod, "I paid the guy at your reception desk, and he told me to wait out back and said someone would come get me."

Basil, Daisy and even Yanmega sighed, realizing Cedar had obviously forgotten about him. "We're sorry for the delay. Can we help you with something?"

The boy nodded again. "I wanted to evolve my Scyther. I was told this is the place to do so."

The daycare people smiled as Daisy and Yanmega walked off, Basil walking up to him. "You've come to the right place. This'll be easy." Daisy and Yanmega returned, the dragonfly now carrying a cloth and a jar filled with some weird silver paste.

"Here," she took them from Yanmega and handed it to the boy, "Cover your Scyther in this Metal Coat." The boy nodded and undid the jar, using the cloth to apply the paste to the mantis. Once it was covered, Basil told him to return the Scyther before showing them to a pair of machines in the back of the room.

"These are our transporters," Basil pointed to one of them. "Place your Scyther's Pokeball in the bowl." The boy did so, Basil and Daisy switching the two machines on. "And...transport." Both pressed the same button as the machines lit up before the one with Scyther's Pokeball unleashed a beam of energy. Everyone watched as the Pokeball completely disappeared while the energy was sucked into the machine, the other transporter beginning to unleash the same energy that flew into its bowl. They moved over to it as the Pokeball began to appear, fully materializing as the machines switched off.

The boy stepped over to the Pokeball and picked it up, opening it up as a barrage of red energy flew out. It then took form, fading to reveal the Scyther, who let out a cry before its whole body was engulfed by a new light.

"Wow..." everyone gasped as the Pokémon began to shift and change. And when the metamorphosis ended, the light faded to reveal the newly evolved Scizor.

"Scizor!" the red mantis snapped its new pincers. The boy smiled before running over to Scizor, throwing his arms around it's neck as he hugged it.

"You look awesome Scizor!"

"Sciz!"

The boy pulled away before turning back to Basil and Daisy. "Thank you," he bowed.

"Our pleasure," Daisy replied with a giant smile. With that, the boy and his Scizor ran out the room, cheering all the way.

Once they were gone, Twilight turned to Daisy and Basil. "It's nice you're willing to help others achieve their goals. That boy's Scyther may have never evolved without you."

"It's what we do," Basil said as he walked over to another door and opened it up to reveal it was to their garden. There, they saw many different Pokémon running around playing or relaxing, Yanmega flying off while the others began their tour. They soon found the meadow was filled with Sandshrew, Aipom, Electrike, Stunky and all their evolved forms. The rocky areas were filled with many Rock-Types like Geodude, Larvitar, Aron, Roggenrola and their evolved forms, and the lakes were filled with Water-Types like Poliwag, Marill, Lotad, Shellos along with their evolved forms.

Eventually, Daisy and Basil led them over to a building in the center of the ranch. "And this is our nursery, where we keep the youngest Pokémon." They walked inside and found a small room with a glass window on the far side. It was here that they saw what looked like a kindergarten classroom, the place filled with many toys and games. There, they spotted Pichu, Igglybuff, Smoochum, Budew, Bonsly, Munchlax and Happiny inside. Some where riding down slides while others bounced balls at one another.

"Awww...they're so cute!" Twilight cooed.

The others nodded as they walked fully inside, the Pokémon seeing them and rushing over for attention. "Alright, alright, calm down. Now who wants to play outside?" Daisy asked as the Pokémon all started to cheer before running over to the backdoor, which Basil opened to allow them to go into a small padded pen.

As they were about to follow, Trixie noticed a Pokémon in the corner of the room. It was blue with a black tail that had eyes. It's actual eyes appeared to be a pair of upwards pointing arrows, while its mouth appeared to be a zigzagged smile.

"Huh...what's that Pokémon?" Trixie pulled out her Pokedex and scanned it.

Name: Wynaut
Category: Bright Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Info: Usually seen with a massive grin on its face, it loves to pick food with its ear like arms. When angry, it slams its tail into the ground. On moonlit nights, they gather to play by squeezing up against each other.

"Wonder what's up with it?"

"Oh," Daisy replied as she stepped back into the room, "He's a new addition to the nursery. The thing's very shy, so it prefers to keep to itself. We've been trying to get it to open up, but nothing seems to work."

"Ah. If that's the case, I bet I can help." Trixie bragged as she crouched down, "Hello, I'm the great and powerful Trixie." She continued to stare at it, seeing if it would do any kind of reaction. But despite the smile on its face, it seemed to shy away and stared into the corner.

"Sorry to say, but he's too shy."

"Bah...I'm not giving up that easily." Trixie huffed, only for a lightbulb to shine in her head. Getting back up, she turned around with a hidden smirk, "Fine. I guess you don't want to see the magic show I was going to put on for you all."

Wynaut hopped in place at hearing this, turning to her while tilting its head. Trixie saw this and continued to smirk as she walked over to the door. "Feel free to come out and watch, if you want to have fun." With that, she walked outside, Daisy following. Wynaut just stared at the door, an internal battle raging between its nerves and its curiosity.

But as it did this, at the nursery's entrance, Cedar was leaning against the wall after hearing about Trixie's magic show. "So lame," he commented as he walked away.


A little while later, our heroes, the day-carers and the baby Pokémon were all sitting in front of Trixie's wagon.

"Ladies," Trixie's voice called out from nowhere, "gentlemen and Pokémon alike. Welcome, to Trixie's mesmeric magic show!" With that, the cart folded out into a stage form before a puff of smoke signalled the now dressed up Trixie's arrival. Everyone clapped at this, Bonsly and Budew jumping up and down due to lack of hands, as Trixie began performing some simple yet entertaining magic tricks.

And as the show went on, Wynaut slowly leaned around the edge of the doorway to try and watch. But the distance made it difficult to see the tricks in all their glory, so it slowly tip-toed out until it was at the very back of the group. The only one who saw this was Trixie, who smirked at the sight, "Now, for this next trick, I'm going to need some poké-assistance. Who wants to help out?" The baby Pokémon all jumped up and down, wanting to be picked. But instead, Trixie pointed to Wynaut. "You there! You look like you have the magical flair!"

"Why!" Wynaut yelped at this and tried to run back to the building, but Trixie had already jumped off stage.

Grabbing him, she hopped back onto the stage. "Don't be afraid. You'll be great." She then plopped him down on a table, handing him a magic wand. "Here, you'll need this." She took off her hat and reached inside, pulling out a deck of playing cards. Trixie then knelt down and held out the cards. "Pichu, pick a card and don't show it to me." Pichu did so, "Now, memorize it and place it back in the deck." Again, Pichu did so before Trixie moved over to Munchlax. She asked it to do the same, then moved over to Smoochum and repeated.

Once that happened, Trixie placed the deck next to Wynaut before placing her hat on it. "Now, Wynaut and I will use our magic powers to set all but the three chosen cards on fire." She turned to Wynaut, "You ready?" The Psychic-Type looked worried, but did a quick nod. "Then let's do it." She pulled out another wand and placed the end on the hat, "We must tap it three times. One," they tapped the hat. "Two," they did it again. "THREE!" They tapped the hat one last time before Trixie pulled the hat away, a small fireball suddenly engulfing the cards.

Everyone gasped at this as Trixie placed her hat back over the fire. "Now, we must tap the hat three more times to put out the fire. Ready?" Wynaut nodded before they tapped the hat with their wands. After the third tap, Trixie pulled the hat away to reveal a trio of cards. The three were balanced on their edges, one on the table with the other to balanced atop the other to form a tower of three cards.

Trixie took the cards and held them up to the Pokémon. "Are these your cards?" The three went wide-eyed, nodding rapidly after that. The baby Pokémon all clapped next, with Trixie holding up Wynaut. "Let's give my special assistant a big round of applause." The clapping increased, making Wynaut smile as Trixie put it down and the other Pokémon all gathered around to ask how it did that.

As this happened, Trixie jumped down from the stage as the others moved over to her. "Great show Tricks," Flash told her. "That last trick was awesome."

"How'd you do that?" Spike asked, only for Trixie to tap his nose.

"Sorry, but a magician never reveals her secrets."

"Well, however you did it, thank you." Basil turned to the baby Pokémon with a smile on his face. "I never thought Wynaut would open up like this, at least not so soon."

"Yes," Daisy nodded, "it's nice to see it beginning to bond with the others. When it first got here, it was very scared."

"Maybe that's because it knew it was trapped here." Everyone turned to the owner of the voice, seeing Cedar now leaning against the back of the nursery building, "It was upset because it's trainer abandoned it here."

Everyone gasped at this, Wynaut's eyes going wide at that thought as Basil and Daisy stood between them, "Cedar, you know that's not true."

"Wynaut's trainer left it here because he was going on a very dangerous trek that he didn't want to risk taking Wynaut into. Once he's reached a safer area, he'll contact us to send him his Pokémon."

Cedar just rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, that's what he said. But how can you trust him? How'd you know the trainer just didn't want it, so he left it here to be someone else's problem. Probably got sick of the crybaby, that's why he left it here."

"Hey! That's not very nice!" Trixie barked back, "Wynaut here is-"

"Cram it!" Cedar interrupted. "Your silly little magic show doesn't change the fact that these wimps are trapped here and might never leave. Well, don't think I'm gonna pick up after it! I've got better things to do than looking after other people's Pokémon."

"Oh really?!" Daisy growled. "Like what? Getting the high score on your video game?!"

"Well, what would be the point in getting interested in anything else? It's not like it matter what I care about."

"What are you talking about?!" Trixie asked.

Cedar turned to her. "I'm sure they've already told you about our family's 'great' history running this dump."

"Yes," Doc nodded, "For six generations in fact."

"Well, ever since I could walk, all these two talk about is me growing up to run this place. They never once asked me if there was anything else I wanted to do with my life."

Flash just raised an eyebrow at this, "Is there?"

Cedar placed his hands in his pockets, "No. What's the point in finding something I care about? Those two won't let me follow it." He glared at them, "Face it, this place isn't a daycare, it's a prison. And I'm just another prisoner, forced to spend the rest of my life stuck here."

Cedar's parents just sighed at this, Basil then asking, "But son, if you didn't want to take over the ranch, why didn't you ever tell us?"

"Because I shouldn't have had to tell you!" Cedar almost yelled, making some of the babies begin to cry. "Ever since Yanmega evolved, you've been convinced running this place was my destiny. But did you ever stop and wonder that maybe I'd like to do something else?! No, you just figured I'd accept being stuck here the rest of my life. Well, forget it!"

With that, he turned and jumped over the nursery fence, leaving everyone slightly perplexed by the sight. It was here that Spike spoke up, "Well, someone has a few issues."

Basil and Daisy both sighed again as they walked over to where their son had jumped the fence and leaned against it. "I always felt there was something up with Cedar...but to actually hear him say he didn't want to run the place."

"I guess it was selfish of us to assume he'd want to run this place," Daisy added as she saw all the baby Pokémon crowding around her feet. She then crouched down and started petting them.

"So what'll happen if Cedar doesn't take over the place?" Twilight asked.

"We'll have to keep running it until we no longer can. Once that happens, we'll either have to shut the daycare down, or hand it off to someone else."

"But learning everything needed to take over this place takes years," Daisy continued. "Even if there's someone caring and determined enough to take the job, they'd need to show up tomorrow if we wanted to teach them everything they needed to know."

Spike crossed his arms at this. "Man, talk about being selfish. Doesn't Cedar see how awesome this place is?"

"Maybe to someone looking at it from the outside," Doc added with a raised finger, "But think about how Cedar feels."

"What do you mean?" Trixie asked next.

"He doesn't really hate this place. He just hates that he feels he has to take it over. He hates that he doesn't have a choice."

"Choice?"

Doc thought for a moment, "Hmmm...how to explain this? Okay, image you were standing at a table with every kind of ice cream imaginable. Which flavor would you pick?"

Spike raised an eyebrow at this. "My favourite, obviously."

"Alright. Well what if you were are a table that only had your favourite flavor, and you had to eat it every day."

Spike frowned, imagining that situation. As he did, the idea of having the same thing again and again without variety made is stomach turn. "I guess I'd get sick of it."

"Exactly. It's the lack of choice that can turn something you love into something you hate. Cedar probably loved the idea of running this place when he was young and training Yanmega, but then he probably started wondering what else there was in this world. As he wondered, the realization that he'd never get to try I probably made him slowly turn against the place."

The others all understood what Doc was getting at while Trixie turned to where Cedar had run off, frowning at the sight. That is, till a bulb shined above her head.


A little later...

Trixie walked into the center of daycare and saw Cedar sitting against one of the wall playing a game. Yanmega was also there, sitting on its trainer's while head watching him play. She walked over to him, her footsteps catching his attention and making him look up. "What do you want?"

Trixie didn't reply, instead pointing at his Yanmega. "He looks strong. You must have trained him well."

Cedar's glare intensified before looking back down at his game. "Not that it matters. Not like we're ever gonna battle."

"Do you want to battle?"

"Doesn't matter what I think. Even if I wanted to be the Pokémon league champion, I couldn't do it. Instead, I'll be stuck here my whole life."

"There's nothing stopping you from going on a journey now. You could go out, have your fun, then come back and start running the place."

"Well, what if I don't what to come back?"

Trixie smirked as she crossed her arms. "I don't think you really want that. I bet you secretly love this place. Probably know how to evolve every Pokémon ever."

"Tch...yeah sure."

"How do you evolve a Sneasel?"

"Razor Claw."

"Aipom?"

"Teach Double Hit."

"Megneton."

"Train someplace with a strong magnetic pole."

Trixie's smirk increased. "See? You know this stuff like the back of your hand."

"Only because my parents drilled it into my head every chance they got. You'd know this stuff too if they did that, and that knowledge would be just as useful if I wanted to be a trainer."

Trixie sighed as the others arrived near them, which made her point at the guy, "Alright, if your really want to be a trainer, then prove it to me."

Cedar raised an eyebrow at this. "What?" His question was met with a finger directly in his face.

"I challenge you to a battle. You lose, you stay here and stop complaining about having to run this place."

"And if I win?"

Trixie pointed back at herself, "Then the great and powerful Trixie will take your place, and learn to run how to this daycare. You can go off and do whatever the heck you want."

Everyone gasped at this bet, but Cedar just smiled as he put his game down, "Oh, you are on! But don't come crying to me when you lose and have to spend the rest of your miserable life in this prison."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."


Everyone moved over to an empty field, one that the daycare rarely used. And as Cedar and Yanmega went over their strategy, everyone else walked over to Trixie.

"Hey uh...Trixie? Are you sure about this?" Flash asked first.

"Sure I am," she replied. "I beat this guy and he has to stay here without complaint. I'm just doing what you guys usually do, solve problems wherever you go."

"Yeah, but we usually solve the problems in a way that's more...beneficial to all parties." Doc added, "We don't bet livelihoods."

"Doc's right! What if you lose?" Spike continued. "You'll have to stay here, forever!"

Trixie just waved him off, "Not gonna happen. This guy's never battled once, so he has zero clue what he's in for."

"Well, I hope you know what you're in for," Twilight piped in. "Don't forget, his Yanmega has a type advantage over all of your Pokémon."

"There's more to a battle than just types Twilight," Flash reminded her. "If Trixie thinks she can do this, I say we trust her."

"Thanks Flash." With that, Trixie walked over to Cedar and pulled out a Pokeball. "Girafarig, it's showtime!" She threw the ball into the air, releasing the red energy that transformed into Girafarig.

"Gira!" It cried, ready for battle.

Cedar saw this and smirked, "This'll be a cake walk. Ready Yanmega?"

"Yan-yah!" It roared before flying onto the battlefield.

As the others stepped off to the side, Doc stood between the two opponents. "Alright, I'll be referee. This battle will consist of a single match. The battle will be over when I declare one of the battling Pokémon unable to continue. Is that understood?" They both nodded. "Then battle...begin!"

"Psybeam!" Trixie ordered, Girafarig unleashing a multicolored beams of light out of its antenna.

"Dodge it!" Cedar ordered, Yanmega quickly outmaneuvering the Psychic-Type attack. "Now use Bug Buzz!"

"YAN!" Yanmega's wings glowed red before it shot out a blast of red soundwaves, all striking the Girafarig.

"Rig!" The giraffe flinched, its body covering with goosebumps.

Trixie and the others had to cover their ears from the sonic attack as the magician trainer glared at her Pokémon. "Jump over Yanmega!" Girafarig barely managed to hear this before nodding, jumping over the bug with a single leap. "Now use Stomp!"

"GIRA!" As Girafarig began to fall back to earth, it thrusting its hooves into Yanmega's head.

"YANMA!" It screamed as it fell into the dirt, crashing with a thud as Girafarig landed in front of Trixie.

Cedar grimaced at the sight of Yanmega, who looked like if didn't take that hit well as it started beating its wings, picking itself back up. "Is that all you've got?" Trixie asked him with a giant smirk, "I thought you were actually taking this battle seriously."

"I am! Use SonicBoom!" Yanmega started beating its wings, the vibrations getting so fast that they looked like they were glowing.

"YANMA!" It then performed one giant wing beat, unleashing an air blade at Girafarig.

"Psybeam!" Girafarig once again unleashed its psychic blast, which struck the air blade and caused an explosion.

"Aerial Ace!" Yanmega flew up high before circling back, dive-bombing into the smoke cloud. It broke through the other side, flying straight at Girafarig as it began to pick up speed.

"Signal Beam!" Trixie ordered, Girafarig pointing its antenna at the dragonfly before a rainbow colored sphere appeared, only for it to hit the charging bug.

An explosion struck the diving Bug-Type, damaging it as it powered through before striking Girafarig head on. The blow knocked both back, the two barely halting in front of their respective trainers.

"Ancient Power!" Yanmega's body glowed as a light flew off before spiraling into an orb in front of it.

"Zen Headbutt!" Girafarig galloped ahead as the top of it's antenna glowed blue, that light slip-streaming around as it drew closer.

"Fire!" Yanmega launched the energy ball, which shot at Girafarig as it continued galloping. It struck the giraffe Pokémon, but Girafarig powered through the explosion, allowing to headbutt Yanmega with ease.

"Yan!" It cried as it fell over, sliding along the dirt from the blow.

"Yanmega!" Cedar screamed, "Are you alright?!"

"He won't be after this! Use Stomp!" Girafarig galloped up to Yanmega again, pulling it's hooves up.

"NO! Dodge it!" But even through Yanmega heard this, it looked up at Girafarig as it felt an overwhelming sense of dread fill its body. This made it lock up, unable to protect itself as Girafarig readied its attack.

"Gira!" It slammed the hooves down, striking with full force as Yanmega let out of cry of pain.

"What are you doing?" Cedar yelped.

"Why didn't Yanmega dodge?" Spike asked next.

Twilight crossed her arms at this, "One of the effects of Zen Headbutt is to cause its opponent to flinch in fear. Even if it heard Cedar's order, it was too scared to move."

"And I don't think Trixie's gonna let up," Flash added.

"Keep using Stomp!" Girafarig once again thrusted its front hooves down into Yanmega, repeating the process again and again.

"Stop it!" Cedar cried out. "Stop it right now!"

"What's the matter?" Trixie asked with a smirk, "I'm just showing you what a real battle looks like. If you can't cut it here, you won't last ten seconds out on a journey."

"Shut up!" Cedar yelled, "Yanmega, get out of there now!" But Yanmega, despite having overcomed the effects of Zen Headbutt, couldn't escape from under Girafarig's assault.

"Alright, that's enough." Girafarig stopped its barrage before jumping off of Yanmega, who tried to pick itself up but neither its wings nor its legs could support itself.

"This isn't over! Yanmega, use Sonicboom!" Yanmega tried to do so, but couldn't get its wing to beat fast enough to fire the attack. "NO! Come on buddy! This is our chance to leave this place! Don't you quit!" Yanmega tried to pick itself up, only to fall under its own weight again. "GET UP!"

It was in this moment that Cedar felt a weight on his shoulders, making him turn to see his parents standing on either side of him. "That's enough son," Basil said.

"The battle's over," Daisy added.

"No!" Cedar jerked away, "This isn't fair! This was my chance to get out of this place!"

"But look at Yanmega," Daisy walked over to the downed bug and picked it up. "Trying to still battle with it in this condition will only lead to more pain for Yanmega." Cedar just panted heavily at the sight, making him turn to Trixie, who was now petting Girafarig with a smile on her face.

Basil placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "You shouldn't feel bad. She's just had much more experience than you. I'm sure-" He didn't get to finish, as Cedar pushed his hand away before running off. "CEDAR!"

"Come back!"

"Yan-yah!"

As Cedar continued running, Trixie and the others watched with a frown. "I can't believe that guy."

"This didn't go the way you planned it, did it?" Twilight asked her.

"No, it did not," Trixie replied with a long sigh. "Now what do we do?"

Basil and Daisy both stared at each other, knowing exactly what to do.


Not too much later...

Cedar was now in the nursery, cleaning up after the baby Pokémon. It was here that his parents walked inside, looking to see how clean the place was. "Nice work son."

Cedar let out a long sigh. "Figured I might as well get used to it. I'm gonna be stuck here after all."

The two shared a mournful glance before walking over to him. "Listen son, we're sorry for making you feel trapped. It was wrong of us to assume you didn't have any other dreams."

Daisy nodded at this. "If you really want to go out on a journey and find your true calling, we won't stop you."

Cedar's eyes went wide at hearing this. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. You have a right to walk your own path, even if it means never coming back here. But always remember, no matter what happens, you'll be welcome here."

Cedar smiled at his parents before pulling them both into a hug. "Thank you." He then pulled away, "And you never know. I might actually decide to come back and run his place. I just want to see what else is out there."

"We understand sweetheart," Daisy assured. "Take all the time you need."

Cedar nodded before turning to the doorway, Trixie and the others now standing there. "Oh...sorry for being such an idiot earlier."

"It's alright," Trixie replied. "You were just under a lot of stress. But I think there's someone else you need to say sorry to as well." She pointed outside, Cedar spotting Yanmega sitting on the fence.

Cedar nodded before walking out, frowning as he looked his Pokémon over. "Hey bud...sorry about before. I was just so worried about my needs that I didn't think about yours."

"Yan..."

Cedar rubbed the back of his head. "If you want to, would you please come with me on my journey? I want to see everything that's out there with you. What do you say?" He watched as Yanmega immediately flew up and landed on his head. "Does this mean you'll come?"

"Yan-yah!"

"Awesome!" He cheered as everyone else chuckled at the sight.

"All's well that ends well," Doc added.

Trixie smirked as she crossed her arms. "I guess I'm pretty good at this problem solving stuff...though I have a feeling it'll only happen when I'm around you guys."

"Eh, I could see it. That's our luck after all." Twilight commented as the others all laughed, Basil and Daisy then inviting them to stay the night and relax. They all nodded, taking them up on their offer.


The next morning...

After a good nights sleep, our heroes were ready to set out again. Now standing outside the daycare, the owners all stood there to wave them goodbye. "Well, guess we should be going."

"Hoof Town's just over those hills," Basil pointed off in one direction. The others all nodded, glad they would soon be there.

"Thank you," Daisy told Trixie. "For everything."

"It was our pleasure," Trixie replied as Cedar walked up to her.

"Here," he held out a box, "This if for you."

Trixie raised an eyebrow before taking the box, opening it up to reveal a rock shaped like a crown. "What's this?"

"A King's Rock. It'll come in handy in the future."

"Huh. How do I use it?"

"That's for you to figure out."

Trixie rolled her eyes as she put the box away before the group climbed into her wagon. Once ready, she snapped the reins, and Girafarig began to pull it away from the daycare, Basil, Daisy and Cedar all waved as they vanished into the horizon. Our heroes adventures at the daycare had helped a family come together. Now, with Hoof Town so close, our heroes must prepared for the Hoof Cup. How will the tournament end? You'll just have to stay tuned in to find out.

Author's Note:

Well that was an interesting one. Next time, the Hoof Cup gets underway.

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