Helix and Hooves: Trainers of the Future

by The Kelduo

Chapter 5: The Wishing Star Scavenger

Almost immediately after entering Route 3, my eyes spotted something that would be quite useful. "Hey, Doctor!" I pointed to a tree next to the entrance to Motostoke. "I think there's something under that tree. It's probably something that I don't need, so you can take it."

"Thank you, Helix." The Doctor walked over and picked up something. "Hmm, a mushroom? I wonder how I could use this..."

"A mushroom?" Mario went up to the Doctor to check out the mushroom. "This isn't like any of the mushrooms I've seen in the Mushroom Kingdom. What is it?"

Roborygon analyzed the mushroom. "Mushrooms like this one can be sold to shops for a high price, as can gold nuggets, pearls, and star pieces, among other things. Sorry, Mario, but you'll have to sell your mushrooms in another castle."

"Mama mia..." Mario shook his head at the corny pun.

We continued past some patches of grass, where I caught a flower-like Pokemon with a single green leg, a yellow flower "hat," and red hair. The Pokedex called it a Gossifleur. I would have added it to my party if I thought it had a strong, useful evolution like Seedot's.

As for the items along the route, I left them for the Doctor to pick up. I had brought along several healing and held items to Equestria in case I ran into a wild monster or two, so I didn't need the items around the route. Besides, the Doctor was just a rookie when it comes to Pokemon, so he really needed them in my opinion... Although I might regret calling him a rookie in the future.

The first three Trainers I ran into along the route were fairly easy to beat, given that my Magikarp, Rookidee, and Scorbunny had recently evolved thanks to Rainbow Dash and her skilled Pokemon; the first Trainer had the Fire-type Vulpix, the second had the Fighting-type Pancham, and the third had the Grass-type Budew and Gossifleur.

Not long after taking down schoolboy Marvin, I ran into Sonia again. "Hey, Sonia. How are you doing?"

"Oh, hey, guys! Y'know, you looked real ace out there during the opening ceremony! Oh, but where were Pummel and the Doctor? I didn't see them at the ceremony."

The Doctor gave Sonia an unsure look. "Honestly, I'm not quite sure if you'd understand. By any chance, have you ever heard of this strange little Pokemon called Hoopa?"

"Hoopa?" Sonia put a hand to her chin in thought. "I haven't heard of that Pokemon before. I wonder of Gran's heard of it."

"I see. Well, the reason I asked about Hoopa is because apparently it used a strange portal of some sort to take me and Pummel to this parallel counterpart of the Galar region. Now, isn't that the oddest thing?"

"You were thrown into a parallel Galar region and took part in that region's Gym Challenge opening ceremony? You're right, that is pretty strange. But why a parallel Galar region?"

Pummel shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough."

Suddenly, Sonia seemed to remember something. "Oh! Let me tell you about something that's a bit interesting." She pointed along the fenced-off path, towards what looked like a factory. "See that building over there? It's a company owned by Chairman Rose. Just past Route 3, there's a mine where they dig up ore. That building over there processes it into energy."

"That must mean that the chairman is responsible for providing the Galar region with energy," Tails summarized. "It's nice to see that the chairman cares so much for this region."

"Yeah, he does seem like a pretty brilliant guy. By the way, I've got a little something for you if the mine gives you any trouble." She held out a coil of rope. "It's an Escape Rope. Any of you want it?"

Lucario obliged. "I'll take it." He slung the rope around his right shoulder.

"Why would you want the Escape Rope? You're a Pokemon!"

Lucario gave a small smile. "I'm just holding onto it in case a friend of mine arrives. He might want this."

"All right. That makes sense. Just be careful, all of you. The way to Turffield is pretty long, so that's kind of a challenge in its own right. Good luck, guys!" Sonia went on ahead and left us to continue our adventure.

The Doctor stopped to pick up a Revive on a nearby rock while the rest of us ventured into the tall grass. This grass was thriving with coal on wheels. I chose to catch one of them--Rolycoly, as I soon learned they were called--but I sent it to the PC. Its name suggested that it would become a Rock- and Fire-type, because coal is used to contain heat, but I already had a Fire-type.

I went south to fight a schoolgirl who had a Purrloin and a Skwovet before encountering a berry tree. Unlike the trees in Kalos, the berries didn't naturally fall down. I had to forcefully shake them out of the tree. I gave it a good shake, and two berries came down: An Oran and a Rawst Berry. I saw more berries in the tree, so I shook it some more. This time, two Oran Berries and a Persim Berry came down. Feeling brave, I shook it again, and down came a Pecha Berry and a Rawst Berry. Another shake, and then came two Pecha Berries and a Persim Berry. One more shake... Thud!

This time, I shook a cherry-like Cherubi out of the tree. Surprised by being shaken out of its home, it took me on in a battle. I was able to catch it with help from Kilowatt's Nuzzle. Having caught Cherubi, I went to pick up the berries, only to discover that they were gone!

"Hey, Helix!" I looked back north and found Keldeo making off with some berries. "Sorry about this, but I'm just teaching you a lesson about why you shouldn't get greedy! Other Pokemon can take the berries away if you shake trees too much and get dragged into a surprise battle!"

"Well, that's new," I chuckled to myself.

I continued down the path to a dead end, where I found the TM for Beat Up. I went back up the path and took down a postman who owned a Delibird; that's when I realized I would need Rolycoly, so I sent Gyarados to the PC and brought Rolycoly into my party. Luckily, my Seedot can evolve into a part Dark-type, so I'd still easily defeat Ghost-types when it came time to evolve.

Not long after the postman, I found a lady who had set up camp with her Pokemon. She was happy to explain to me the HP and PP-restoring effects of curries and offered me a Cheri Berry. She also said to feel free to visit other people's camps. If I had to guess, it's likely easier to get to know someone by means of camping rather than battling. That way, people can meet each other's Pokemon.

This particular camp housed a Wooloo, Vulpix, Yamper, a weed Pokemon called Oddish, a fruit Pokemon called Bounsweet, and a dangerously cute Stufful. I chose to play fetch with the Yamper and play with the Vulpix and Stufful using the Poke Toy included in the camping kit. However, Bounsweet kept a safe distance from me, for Bounsweet are often the victims of bird Pokemon due to their alluring scent. Take it from me, whose current species is the fully evolved form of Rowlet, who repeatedly went after Bounsweet starting in episode 3 of the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime.

I also joined the camper and made curry together. This time, her key ingredient was... precooked burger. Yeah, apparently you can put anything into Galarian curry. This time, we did much better with the curry than back in the Wild Area. We cooked a Sweet Burger-Steak Curry, and it was one step above Milcery Class, Copperajah Class. Copperajah is apparently a bulky elephant Pokemon with a hand-like trunk.

After camping, I fought a schoolboy who had a Sizzlipede--a Fire-and Bug-type centipede (with a chevron mustache) who fell victim to my Rolycoly's Smack Down in one shot--and a Dottler that was easily beaten by Hotshot. After the schoolboy, I found a container with a Super Potion in a bare patch near a large grass patch home to several Rolycoly. I left the container alone because I had plenty of Hyper Potions.

I took on a handful of Rolycoly to get my team leveled up before I went to the entrance of what must have been a mine, a nearby sign confirming it to be the Galar Mine. As I took down the Pokemon, the Doctor went ahead and grabbed some X Defenses in a patch of flowers to the right of the entrance.

---

When we entered the Galar Mine, the Doctor was quite impressed. "I must say, I've never been in a mine before. This one in particular really captures my attention, but I don't know why. Perhaps it's because I've been holed up in my lab for such a long period of time that I lost my curiosity when it came to actual adventures. Helix, I once again thank you for revitalizing my desire for adventure by helping me construct a real time machine!"

I smiled. "Glad to help, Doctor. It's just what friends do."

"You know," Pinkie said, "I really thought the Galar Mine would have a lot more gems and stuff. Instead, there's just so much brown!"

"Don't fret, Pinkie." Hop showed her the map on his Rotom Phone. "This is just the coal mine. If you want a bunch of gems..." He pointed towards the right side of the map. "...you'll need to head over to Galar Mine No. 2! It takes a lot of energy to keep Galar filled to the brim with energy, so we need two mines."

"Oh, that makes sense. I wonder if there are any rocks in this mine that my sister Maud would like. She really likes rocks!"

"Your sister likes rocks? Maybe she'd be good friends with Gordie, the Rock-type Gym Leader!"

"Maybe. I'll have to get to know Gordie and decide for myself!"

We continued into the mine, where I took down a few bipedal, log-carrying Pokemon called Timburr, and Pinkie tried to go after a rather swift mole Pokemon called Drilbur. Unfortunately, it drilled out of sight, leaving her to continue with us along a railroad. The Doctor turned left off the railway to find a hidden Revive and take on a worker with a black rock Pokemon that had a single ear, Roggenrola. We went further along the path and found a container on another path that we couldn't reach at the moment. It turned out that the path with the container was actually connected to our path, so the Doctor took that path and opened the container while I went through an additional exit that led back to Route 3, but to a previously inaccessible portion that offered the TM for Rock Blast.

We went back to the main path along the railroad before finding another fork in the road. The Doctor began to challenge another worker to a battle, but he learned that Pinkie had already beaten her and her three Timburr. Surprised by that, he chose to go further east only to find Pinkie pilfering a hidden bag of Stardust. I turned back and returned to following the railway so the Doctor could pick up the TM for Scary Face. The railway ended at an open area with a couple of Rolycoly rolling around. Rather than fight them, I picked up a hidden Hard Stone and gave it to my Rolycoly, whom I chose to name Rollanratl, after the boss that Wario fights in the latest Wario Land game.

I battled a worker who had the mole-like Diglett and a Drilbur before crossing a wooden bridge. On the northern end of the bridge, I fought a worker that had a Rolycoly before I found some black boots with red logos next to a gem-filled minecart. My Rotom Phone called them Heavy-Duty Boots and said they were used to avoid the affects of entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, even though a grounded Poison-type will still remove the effects of the latter if switched in.

Something that sounded like rolling caught my attention. I turned to look down a second railway and saw the strangest thing. And I'm not talking about Pinkie riding four Rolycoly as if they were roller skates... I'm talking about the living minecart made of coal, carrying a load of red-hot coal, which Pinkie was chasing by using the Rolycoly roller skates. "I'm gonna get you, coal minecart!" Pinkie said playfully.

"Here, I'll help." I pulled one of the two vines on my cloak before preparing an arrow quill to fire using the vine. I fired the arrow quill so that it jammed the minecart's front right wheel, causing the Pokemon to careen off the tracks and tip onto its side. Upon closer inspection, the minecart Pokemon had a face with two triangular eyes and a mouth that seemed to glow bright orange occasionally, as if on the verge of becoming ablaze. "I wonder who this Pokemon is..."

Rollanratl came out of its Poke Ball. "Carkol? That's my evolution that's been rolling around earlier. If you wanna catch him, you better move fast!"

My Rotom Phone warned, "Careful, it's part Fire-type. Avoid using Grass-type Pokemon against it."

"Okay." The Doctor sent out Bite Force. "Use Water Gun!"

"Wait, don't--!"

Rotom's warning came too late, for Bite Force's Water Gun successfully hit its target. However, this seemed to enrage the Carkol, because it was steaming and its eyes glowed orange. "Nice try, squirt, but you only helped me. Time for a steam-powered Rapid Spin!" Carkol rammed into Bite Force at a surprisingly high speed.

"I was about to say," Rotom sighed, "that Carkol can have the Steam Engine ability. This drastically increases their speed if hit by a Water- or Fire-type move."

I growled. "Darn. This really makes up for their Water-type weakness. I'll have to remember to use Ground-types against Carkol..."

The Doctor turned to Luigi. "Say, do you have any ice-based items? I know fire is strong against ice, but still, icy things should help."

"Let's-a see..." Luigi reached into his overalls to find something. "...I've-a got it!" He pulled out a flower with a sky blue face. He brought it to his chest and absorbed it, causing his hat and shirt to turn sky blue and his overalls to turn green. "Oh yeah, Ice Luigi time!"

"I'll shatter your hopes of beating me!" Carkol engulfed itself in flames and charged towards Ice Luigi.

"I'm-a putting you on ice!" Ice Luigi rapidly tossed balls of ice at Carkol. At first, they didn't do much, but as the ice balls piled on, Carkol slowed more and more until it was frozen in a block of ice. "Wahoo! I did it!"

Then I remembered to bring up the Donphan in the room--er, cave. "Pinkie, were those Rolycoly that you were using to chase Carkol?"

"Yep!"

"Did you... catch all of them?"

Pinkie laughed. "No, silly! What point is there to catching a ton of the same Pokemon other than catching every form of a Pokemon? I'm gonna build up a team of all sorts of different Pokemon!" And then, she started vibrating. "Uh oh, my Pinkie Sense is tingling!"

Meta Knight stealthily appeared again. "Hmm, what is this Pinkie Sense you speak of? I still do not understand."

Lucario explained, "In a nutshell, Pinkie Sense is Pinkie's body's way of predicting the near future. For instance, a twitchy tail means something will fall from the sky. An itchy nose means a swarm of bees is approaching. And shaking, like she is doing now, means... it's going to be a doozy. In what way, I cannot tell you, because this Pinkie Sense reaction covers a fairly wide variety of things. One time, it referred to Twilight deciding to just stop trying to figure out Pinkie Sense. Another time, it preceded Kirby's sudden transformation back in Equestria. Who knows what it foretells this time?"

Pinkie glanced along the second railway, and she suddenly stopped shaking. "I think I do." She ran towards the end of the track, where a much too familiar face was searching for something. "Hey, sorry I was in your--"

The boy in pink stopped her. "You there, little pink thing. Coming this way? I'd advise against it. Any Trainer, even a horse, is in for a beating from me and my Pokemon!"

"That's the second time he's been rude to Pinkie. I'm not putting up with this." The Doctor approached him. "That is no way to speak to the pony who wields the element of laughter! You have no right to belittle her!"

The boy glared at him. "You. You're one of the Gym Challengers endorsed by the Champion, aren't you?"

The Doctor nodded. "As a matter of fact, we all are, including Pinkie Pie."

The boy scoffed. "What a joke. You are aware that the chairman is more important than the Champion, right?"

"I beg your pardon? Are you saying that those who are endorsed by the Champion are inferior to those who are endorsed by the chairman, therefore making us inferior to you?"

"Hmm, so you really are smart enough to recognize that. At least you have a fair amount of deductive skill."

The Doctor was growing more annoyed. "You are an insult to Trainers all around Galar! Calling yourself more amazing than us simply due to ascribed status... Absolute rubbish! I theorize that all people and ponies are created equal, and you dare to challenge our equality? If anything, you are the one who is inferior to us!"

"You would dare to challenge my superiority? I accept your challenge, in order to prove beyond doubt just how pathetic you are and how strong I am." He tossed his Great Ball. "I'd like to see how you get past Solosis." From the Great Ball came a cell on the verge of splitting in two, given the partially divided nucleus with the eyes and mouth.

"A cell-like Pokemon, I see. I would think that such a mentally-skilled organism would easily fall victim to my latest evolution..." The Doctor sent out a green larva Pokemon that somewhat resembled a battery; I recognized the Pokemon from my adventures in Alola. "Behold, my Charjabug!"

"That little larva doesn't stand a chance against the building blocks of living things. Cells can kill if they want to. Solosis, use Confusion!" Solosis emitted a psychic energy that made direct contact with Charjabug.

Charjabug's eyes flickered on and off. "Chances of attacks hitting wrong target increased to thirty percent..."

The Doctor stomped his hoof in frustration. "Why, you've gone and confused my partner! Seems like I need to take the initiative with a means to cure his confusion..." He got an idea. "That's it! Charjabug, turn forty-five degrees counterclockwise and use String Shot! When it hits something, pull it in!"

"Initiating String Shot maneuvers." Charjabug followed the Doctor's orders, and its string attached to an empty oil barrel. When he pulled, the barrel slammed into Charjabug, knocking him back to his senses. "Distortion removed. Attack efficiency returned to normal."

The Doctor smiled. "Curing confusion is like making omelettes: you have to crack a few eggs. Charjabug, reel in Solosis with String Shot, then use Bug Bite!"

"Undergoing fishing rod approach." Charjabug made contact with Solosis using String Shot. As soon as he pulled Solosis in, he opened his mandibles to unleash a Bug Bite for the win.

The boy scoffed. "Don't think you have a chance to beat me. I just gave your Pokemon a little chance to shine, that's all. Fall victim to my next Pokemon, Gothita!" He sent out what I can only describe as a baby goth girl.

The Doctor carefully analyzed Gothita. "It appears I'm up against another Psychic-type. I still have the advantage. Charjabug, close the distance with Spark!"

"Activating electricity generators." Charjabug's eyes glowed yellow as it charged forward.

"Use Psybeam, and aim to the left of Charjabug!" Gothita fired a psychic laser towards Charjabug's left, and the impact knocked Charjabug onto its side. "Face it, your Charjabug doesn't stand a chance. Gothita, use Tickle!"

Gothita used its ribbons and stubby hands to tickle Charjabug's belly. This seemed to baffle Charjabug. "Stimulus causing uncontrollable spasms and unnatural amount of endorphins. Does not compute, does not compute...!"

"Now to end this. Use Pound!" Gothita slapped Charjabug with its short arms, which did a considerable amount of damage after Tickle lowered Charjabug's attack power and defense. This was enough to knock out Charjabug. "I told you not to underestimate me."

"But there's more where that came from. Good luck taking down my next Pokemon!" The Doctor sent out a fox that appeared to be wearing a black domino mask and an evil mustache. "It's your turn, Bandit!"

My Rotom Phone got to work. "Thievul, the Fox Pokemon, and the evolved form of Nickit. A Dark-type, Thievul secretly marks its targets with a scent, which it uses to track down and stalk them."

The Doctor said, "And my Rotom Phone told me that Thievul use their slender body type and sharp claws to sneak around stealing eggs. Pokemon called Boltund are their natural enemies."

"And you named him Bandit?" I chuckled. "Love the name you gave your Thievul, Doctor."

"Why, thank you. I'm honestly not a very original pony when it comes to nicknaming, perhaps because this is the first time I've been allowed the chance to give a being a nickname. Bandit, time to use Hone Claws!"

Bandit scratched the ground with his claws. "Time to get these sharp and shiny!"

The boy scoffed. "You're wasting a turn to merely improve your attack power and accuracy? Pathetic. You've just left yourself open to another helping of Pound!" Gothita waddled ahead for another Pound.

"Ah, but you've only seen one of Bandit's moves. Use Tail Whip!" Bandit proceeded to slam Gothita's face with his tail, knocking her off her feet. "Pokemon moves don't have to be used the way they're normally used. I learned from watching one of Helix's battles. Follow through with Assurance!" Bandit pounced on the defenseless Gothita, defeating it.

The boy sighed. "Oh dear, what have I been doing? Well, whatever. I'll just get this over with. Meet my trump card, Hatenna!" He sent out a small pink Pokemon that consisted of a head with blue hair covering its eyes. The hair on the sides appeared to act as limbs, and behind the hair was a hat-like protrusion topped with a blue spherical growth. Additionally, Hatenna had two small, stubby feet.

Before we could check our Rotom Phones, Roborygon spoke up, although quietly. "Please allow me to give the entry for Hatenna, the Calm Pokemon. A Psychic-type, Hatenna has a strong sense of emotion and can sense others' emotions by means of its hat-like protrusion, hence the name. It never warms up to those without a calm disposition and will immediately run away if it senses a strong emotion."

Hearing Hatenna's Pokedex entry, we all lowered our voices. The Doctor said, "It's quite nice to know that not all Pokemon are rambunctious creatures. Bandit, use Assurance once more." Bandit began to pounce again.

"You won't get away with that again. Disarming Voice!" Hatenna let loose a charming cry that did a fair amount of damage to Thievul. "In case you foolish Gym Challengers don't know, Disarming Voice cannot be avoided."

I told the Doctor, "Disarming Voice is a Fairy-type move, which is super effective against Dark-types."

"Duly noted. Perhaps I should change tactics." The Doctor recalled Bandit and sent out Ukiki. "If I can't dodge Disarming Voice, then I'll just overpower it. Use Razor Leaf!"

"Disarming Voice, again!" Hatenna used its charming cry again. However, the razor-sharp leaves cleaved right through the cry, landing a critical hit on Hatenna. This was enough to knock it out.

The boy glared at the Doctor as he withdrew his last Pokemon. "Well, that was unexpected. I suppose you're more able than I thought."

The Doctor shook his head as he chuckled to himself. "I may only be a beginner when it comes to Pokemon, but that doesn't mean I can't be good at it. Everyone has to start somewhere to get to where they are now."

"And I started at the very top, because I was endorsed by the chairman himself, as I told you earlier. The only reason why you beat me is because I was holding back, to see what you could do. Naturally, I'll remember your battle style and strategies now. I'm sure to easily defeat you if and when we face each other in an official match. Now that we've established that, I won't waste anymore time on you. I've already found all the Wishing Stars in the area." He proceeded to exit the Galar Mine without delay.

I sighed. "For every Hau, there's always a Gladion..."

"I beg your pardon," the Doctor replied, "but could you explain your analogy? I do not recognize either of those names."

"Oh, sorry about that. I forgot you haven't been to Alola. You see, back in Alola, I made two major rivals: Hau and Gladion. Hau's a cheerful, easygoing guy, while Gladion is a dark and brooding boy. Of course, that doesn't mean Gladion is a bad guy."

My powerful auditory senses picked up Lucario chuckling to himself. "Hah... What a fool..."

Pinkie asked him, "What is it? Something funny? Who's a fool? Why's the person you're talking about a fool? Is today April 1st and I don't even know it?! Please, tell us!"

Lucario paused for a long time. Then he turned to us with a devious grin. "About what he said before he left..." He showed us something in his paws. A small group of Wishing Stars, held together by the Escape Rope. "...Bede missed some." He gave the Wishing Stars to those of us who had not yet obtained them, and said challengers used their own Escape Ropes to leave the mine, presumably to get their Dynamax Bands.

"Bede?" I asked. "Is that the unbearably rude Psychic-type user's name?"

Pinkie answered, "Yep, that's his name! I figured it out when he pushed me away back in Motostoke Stadium. Turned out his Challenge Band had his name imprinted on it!"

"Really?" The Doctor checked his Challenge Band. "So they do imprint our names on them! That is nice to know. Pinkie, you could probably remember the names of every challenger if you looked at their Challenge Bands."

Before we proceeded to the end of the mine, I felt something rock in the Team Pocket of my coat. I took out the two Poke Balls that were rocking and sent out the Pokemon within. So, my Seedot and Rollanratl were ready. As expected, Rollanratl evolved into Carkol. Seedot's new species had bulky beige thighs, thin arms with mitten-like hands, a long pointed nose, and a leaf atop its head.

I turned to the Doctor. "Say hello to Nuzleaf."

I took out my Rotom Phone. "Nuzleaf, the Wily Pokemon. A Grass- and Dark-type, Nuzleaf live in the depths of forests. With the leaf on its head, it makes a flute whose song makes those who listen feel uneasy."

The Doctor checked his Rotom Phone. "It appears my Rotom Phone's Pokedex entry has the same data."

Roborygon joined the conversation. "But that isn't all you need to know about Nuzleaf. They hate having their nose pinched because it takes away their power. And while Nuzleaf live deep in forests, they will come out to frighten people. Now that we've got that taken care of..."

He prepared to announce something, but I cut him off. "Wait a minute." I turned to Rollanratl. "By any chance, might you have a second evolution? One that might look like, say, a locomotive?"

Rollanratl gave me an unsure look. "Actually... I don't know. I've only seen Rolycoly and Carkol around here. If I do have a second evolution, though, I'd sure like to evolve into it!"

"Then I'll suppose that's true and give you a more suitable nickname: Rev Rock."

"Rev Rock..." My Carkol smiled. "Yeah, that's a pretty sweet name. Let's roll with it!"

"Okay. One more try." Roborygon announced to nobody in particular, "Back to adventure!"