> Equestria, I Choose You!
>  by BronyDJ
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Planned Departure, Unexpected Arrival (Revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I awoke to the loud ringing of my alarm clock. Not even bothering to sit up, I swat blindly in the direction my clock was. After several minutes and failed attempts, I managed to hit the off button, I looked at the clock; it was 8:30 AM. Despite coming home late from a party the previous night, I didn't feel groggy at all. I sat up at the side of my bed, then heard someone knocking at my bedroom door.

"Come in!" I called, stretching my arms.

A short, bipedal creature with figure that closely resembled a white dress and had what looked like green hair walked into the room. My first, oldest, and strongest Pokemon companion, Gardevoir, or as I call her, "Nova," entered the room.

"Good morning, Stephen." She said. Actually, Pokemon can't speak, but Nova is able to communicate with me telepathically. After more than a decade of training and traveling together, we've built a bond that no force, natural nor unnatural, can break. She can also help me understand my other Pokemon and ones in the wild. A kind traveling trainer, a young man named Riley, helped with that whilst training his Riolu, along with helping her sense energies, or auras, that emanate from every living being.

"Good morning, Nova." I remarked. "You seem awfully excited today." Despite her being fully evolved and usually very mature, she still failed to hide her enthusiasm at certain times.

"Of course!" She replied, as I got off of my bed. "We get to experience something no other person and his Pokemon have ever done before! Don't you think it's wonderful? And to think you doubted Bill's ideas."

"Well..." I started, thinking of all of the failed projects I've helped my tech savvy friend with. "I don't doubt without reason, Nova. On average, his latest projects have had a success rate of 65%. It's enough to give anyone pause."

Nova considered this, then replied, "I suppose that makes sense." She smiled, hope and trust were evident in her tone. She added, "But if this project is anywhere near as a successful as his PC Boxes, then it'll be an enormous breakthrough!"

"It better work," I said with a laugh. "He has me waking up 3 hours earlier than I usually do."

I walked out of my room and into the main part of my one story house. It was small, but had all that was necessary: a bathroom, small kitchen with dining table, and a small living room with a small television. I went ahead into the kitchen and proceeded to prepare myself some cereal for breakfast. I noticed Nova sitting on the couch in the living room, content and patient.

"Did you eat already, Nova?" I asked. I wouldn't dare leave for Bill's house before taking care of my Pokemon.

"I'm fine, Stephen." The Gardevoir responded. She looked to me and continued, "I was so excited that I woke up and ate a bit early." I smiled in response. I looked down after a moment and realized that I never actually touched my cereal, and started my breakfast.

As I ate, I my eyes wandered around the living room until their gaze rested upon a series of 5 large frames on a wall. In them, were the respective badges of the eight gym leaders from each region, and a certificate stating that I had defeated the Elite Four and surpassed the Champion in each region. I played each League Champion battle in my head as I ate, from Blue here in Kanto, to the two Unova League Champion battles with Alder, then later against Iris. The most difficult Champion by far, honestly, was Cynthia. Seriously, everything was going so well until that damned Garchomp of hers came out and easily took down what I thought would be an easy way to win. It also happened to be the most intense and closest battle I ever had, aside the one against the Legendary Red, who I have never been able to defeat.

Seeing the 5 frames made me smile. I remember when I used to still go out and challenge other trainers and friends to battles. What a rush that had been. But now, at 24 years old, I just wanted to settle down and take care of my Pokemon friends, maybe become a Breeder, like many of those I met in my journeys.A Professor, maybe? My head was still in the clouds for a while until I noticed Nova trying to get my attention.

"Stephen!" She called, finally breaking me out of my nostalgic state. "You're going to be late!"

I looked to the wall behind and looked to the clock; it was almost 10 o' clock! Bill needed me to be at his house by now! I spent most of an hour just daydreaming!

I pushed myself away from the table, grabbed my now empty bowl and quickly washed it and placed it in the dish-holder. Then I ran to the bathroom, took a 2 minutes shower and began to get dressed as quickly as possible. I put on my usual going-out get-up: black jeans, dark blue t-shirt, and a white button down shirt that I always kept open.

Then I looked around, panicking as I couldn't find the most two important things I should have as a Pokemon Trainer: my backpack and my ball-sash.

"Nova!" I called out. "Help!I can;t find my-" I was cut off by the sight of my green backpack floating towards me, surrounded by a light blue aura. "Thanks, Nova." I turned to her and saw that she was also holding my ball-sash.

What's a ball-sash, one may ask? It sounds a bit weird, but it's quite a simple concept. It's a black strip of a certain material (I forget what) that somehow holds the minimized shape of a Pokeball when not in use. When you reach and remove the ball from the sash, it turns into the generic size Pokeball we're all familiar with. It only holds six balls, as a Trainer should only have six Pokemon on him. Nova was the only one of my Pokemon that I refused to put in a Pokeball unless in very dangerous situations. I donned my backpack and sash when I heard a someone knocking at my front door.

"Hey Stephen!" A very familiar female voice called from behind the wooden barrier. "Let's go, You're going to be late!"

"Hm?" My companion Gardevoir recognized the voice. "I thought we were going to meet her at Bill's house?" I shrugged as a reply.

I walked over to the front door and opened it to reveal a young woman about my age. She had long brown hair, a white shirt, and knee-length jean shorts (think of a somewhat older Hilda or Black/White girl model).She also had a ball-sash and was carrying a medium size bag for her own Pokemon-related items.

"Hey, Kara." I greeted, surprise evident in my tone. "I thought we were going to meet up at Bill's place?"

The girl named Kara waved her hand and replied, "And what, miss that chance for a ride with you, sweetie?" With that she gave me a kiss on the cheek. She pulled away and saw Nova behind me, and went over to the Pokemon. "Nova! How are you?" The two girls hugged for a bit and smiled. 

"I'm doing fine, Kara." Nova answered. Then continued with a serious face, "But I really hope we can make it to Bill on time."

"That's right! Let's go, Stephen!" Kara took my hand and began pulling me out towards my car in front. Nova followed and stayed behind to close and lock the house door and joined us at the car, sitting in the backseat. The ride to Bill's house was about twenty minutes long, beating the hour-long walk. It was a quiet ride, except for a little small talk between the girls about Kara's Pokemon and their well-being. Pulling up to the house, I looked to Kara, who asked "Are you okay? Nervous?"

"Yeah," I replied. "This is definitely a huge development for us. I really can't wait for what happens." With that, the 3 of us got out of the car and walked up to Bill's house at Cerulean Cape. It was a bit secluded, separated by a small natural maze of trees and hedges stood between our destination and Cerulean City. When we reached the house, we could see a huge antennae on his roof.

"Stephen," Kara looked to me, concern written on her expression. "Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?" 

"Yes." I nodded. "I have faith that Bill's project will be successful, and that I won't get hurt. Besides, if I do get lost somewhere, I'll have my Pokemon with me." I noticed Nova smiling proudly at my remark.

I knocked on Bill's door and was greeted by another face. A blonde girl wearing glasses popped out to greet us. She looked excited, although very exhausted. 

"Stephen, Kara, Nova!" Bebe smiled and hugged each of us. Then commented, "You're late." We apologized then followed her into the house, where it was obvious that Bill and Bebe were hard at work. Several computers were running at once, endless numbers and figures being processed in milliseconds. Coffee rings and empty mugs were seen on the desks. A tired looking Bill was in the corner of the room, tapping away at a device connected to a huge cylinder near the back of the room. After closer inspection, the front of the cylinder had a door and small window. The giant device had wires leading out a window and going up towards the huge antennae on the roof. 

"Bill!" I called to get his attention. "How's it coming?"

He turned to me with bags under his eyes. "So far, so good Stephen. That last variables you added to the processes really sped things up for us." He pointed to a nearby monitor that read, Connection to One Island: Successful. My tech savvy friend continued, "My buddy Celio managed to fix the wiring for his receiving machine. We'll be up and runnig in no time!"

I pat his back and asked, "Are you okay, man?" I hated seeing Bill overworking himself like this. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and the occasional eye twitch showed evidence of non-stop computer work."You gotta stop pushing your limits. You might hurt something in that giant mind of yours."

He smiled and replied, "I'm used to doing this, Steve. Don't worry, I'll feel much better once we get this baby online and working successfully. In the meantime, I've got some stuff for you. I've been wanting to get these to you for a long time." He brought me over to a long table where Nova and Kara were admiring what lay on it. The first things I saw appeared to be 6 pristine red-and-white Pokeballs, not unlike ones you would buy at a Pokemart. I looked to Bill, holding one.

"What's so special about these, Bill?" I asked, a skeptical look upon my visage, yet a smug one on his.

"Turn it over." He simply replied. I turned the ball in my hands and noticed what looked like a small screen. It was blank. Before I could ask again, Bill said. "Call Nova into the ball."

I turned to Nova, who stood ready to be called into the Pokeball. I extended my arm, ball in hand and said, "Nova, return." The capsule ball opened, and my Gardevoir briefly turned into a mass of red energy that quickly flowed into the Pokeball. When it closed, I looked at the screen on the back. It had things like 'Name: Nova (Gardevoir)","Status:None","Level: 100." I looked up to Bill, and he chuckled at the astonished look on my face.

"A little help from Kurt, and BAM," Bill said. "New Pokeball!" He stood, arms crossed, a very proud smile on his face. He continued, "Now call her back out." I did so, and once Nova was completely out of the ball, the screen just read "EMPTY". 

"What does 'level' mean?" I asked.

"When a Pokemon is at its peak in terms of power and potential, in which it will stay for a time, it will be considered to be a high level." Bill explained. "Seeing as you've trained all of your Pokemon here around the world and for such a long time, it would be no surprise  to see them at level 100 or similar." I nodded to show I understood. "Status is the basic, obvious part; it shows if a Pokemon is Poisoned, Paralyzed, or Asleep.

I turned to him, and before I could ask another question he cut me off and answered, "Yes these are compatible with the ball-sash." I swear, he's a freaking mind reader sometimes. "I could also transfer your other Pokemon into the new balls, if you'd like." I nodded my thanks, and gave him the rest of my team. He walked over to another machine in the corner that looked similar to a Pokemon Center's healing machine. He placed the 5 Pokeballs of my team and placed five of the new Pokeballs on another side.

About a few minutes later, he came back with my team in their new Pokeballs. I looked at the rear monitors to check to have the members of my strongest team. My strongest companions were nicknamed: Nova, Volta, Patrician, Tempest, Reaper, and Maple. This team was composed as a combination of the strongest Pokemon of my best teams from each of the 5 regions and Nova, the one I've been training from my childhood.

"Thanks a bunch, Bill. This'll really come in handy." I gave my friend a quick hug. "I really appreciate this." 

"C'mon, man. I had to. You were volunteering for this, I'd feel really bad that if I didn't help my good friend with his stuff. "Plus this way, I repar the favor of your being the subject in our project.

"Bill," Kara spoke up, she'd been observing Bebe's work on the computers. "If this hurts Stephen in any way, I'll have to kill you."

I laugh and respond, "Don't worry, Kara." I approach and give her a hug and kiss for good measure. "I'll be fine. I trust Bill." After sharing quick kiss with her, I add, "Somewhat."

"Hey!" The techie yelled. "I heard that!"

"You were supposed to, Bill." I laughed. I kissed Kara one more time and walked over to the cylinder. "C'mon Bill, let's get this over with." The door to the machine opened with a hiss. Before entering the machine, I double checked that I had a sufficient amount of the necessary items in my bag, as well as all 6 of my companions on my sash. There was a convenient space in the cylinder for me to stand in, which I did. I watched as the door slowly closed on me. I looked around this machine and saw lights and switches and monitor with random figures flashing away. 

I gulped down my fear, and took deep breaths. Nova was safe in her Pokeball, and Kara was next to Bill and Bebe on the Device connected to the teleporter. The three gave a wave, eager to see what would happen. Bill then nodded to Bebe, who began tapping away at the device. While this was happening, I managed to keep my eyes on Kara. She noticed this, smiled, then blew me a kiss. That gave me some confidence; if this experiment was successful, I'd have someone waiting for me at home. I didn't want to think of any negative consequences, they'd just freak me out.

"Stephen!" I could barely hear Bill through the thick metal door. "Good luck! We'll see you on the other side!" I nodded in response and he took it as the signal to proceed. "Hit it, Bebe!" 

I suddenly felt light headed, and felt myself being violently compressed and getting smaller. It wasn't pleasant; I recall shouting, but can't remember what it said  due to all of the pain. After a moment of total body-wracking shock, I blacked out.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I awoke, but my eyes wouldn't open. I could feel the hard ground on against my face. My body wouldn't respond, no matter how hard I tried. After a while, I was able to slowly move my hand, and felt loose dirt and bit of very dry grass. Where was I? Did Celio have his device outside? Did I fall out of it? 

With a little more effort, I opened my eyes and they were met with a light brown, dry ground. I managed to slowly turn over and sit up. I l squinted up at the sun, and what I could tell, it wasn't noon yet. I set my gaze around me, and to my shock, there was nothing! I could make out some trees to my left, but nothing but expansive dryland everywhere else. A few tall mountains stood about a hundred miles in front of me. The one thing that was obvious: I was not on One Island. I had been all over the world of Pokemon, but this place was completely unfamiliar. I felt my eye twitch. 

"GODDAMMIT BILL, I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!"
> Chapter 2: Where am I? What is That? Pt.1 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Okay Stephen," Pacing back and forth, I tried not to have a mental break down. "You've been camping before. Just remember the basics." The most important thing right now? Landmarks. I looked around, and besides the forest to my left and the mountain far ahead of me, there was nothing recognizable from what I remember of One Island After walking around for a while, I confirmed that there were no Centers, Marts, Gyms, or a Trainer in sight at all. I sighed, and looked to the forest. "I should probably start walking that way. Trees equal resources, and resources equal basic survival." 

I really didn't like being alone in this strange place, so I decided for to bring out a Pokemon companion. I reached at my sash and retrieved a capsule. "Come on out, Nova!" I called out. My arm was extended, and I held out the Pokeball, but there was no red energy, and no Gardevoir standing in front of me. "What?" My mind started going into panic mode, and when I looked at the back of the ball and at the monitor, it read "EMPTY."

I quickly checked the other Pokeballs on my sash only to find the same readout on the rear monitors. I could feel tears running down my cheeks. I couldn't believe it; My companions, my dear friends, were gone. I fell to my knees, unable to process all of this as it kept coming. I was lost in a place with nothing Pokemon-related for miles, or none at all, and my Pokemon team was nowhere to be found. To add to this, I HAD NO WAY TO GET BACK HOME. It took a long time before I calmed down. I took a deep breath and continued my trek to the forest in the distance. I had no idea what other things had in store for me.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Meanwhile, in a small town called Ponyville...

"Twilight!" A baby purple and green dragon bounded down the steps of the library tree-house with a scroll in claw, the golden royal seal keeping it closed from prying eyes. "We just received something from Canterlot!"

The purple and recently turned Alicorn looked up from her book to her assistant and took the scroll from him. "Thank you, Spike. Princess Celestia rarely writes to me nowadays. She usually communicates with me via the Alicorn Telepathy Spell. It must be important." The purple drake stood by the purple pony, eager to see the contents of the letter, which read:

"Dear Princess Twilight, my faithful student,

My dearest apologies if this letter catches you at a rather unfavorable time, also for not notifying you of this through the telepathy spell. I felt that you should share this with your fellow Elements of Harmony. It is only a recent development, but with your great knowledge of friendship and leadership, you may be able to accomplish much in this assignment.

I am not sure if you were able to sense it, but there was a massive fluctuation of magical energy, and it seems to have emanated from close to Ponyville, on the other side of the Everfree Forest. The amount of energy that was felt could only have been a result of a strong portal spell, but many unicorns have the potential to do this. What caught me off guard was the source. As you know, magic has a distinct feel and source that can be traced. However, when I felt this magic fluctuate, I could immediately tell that the source was something foreign. I would like for you and any of the other, if available, Elements to investigate this. If you have any implication that the creature from the portal has good intentions, then please write to me at once. I would like for us to engage this visitor.

Yours Truly,
Princess Celestia"

"Whoa! We're going to go see an alien?" Spike started bouncing and ran around Twilight excitedly. "It might have some cool armor or zappers or-"

"Spike, you're not going." Twilight cut him off, much to the dragon's dismay. "You're still a young dragon. If this 'visitor' does have intentions that are... well, hostile, then I don't want you around for you to get hurt."

Spike looked sad for a second, but understood what she meant. He changed the subject, "What about the Elements? Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are both away for the week." Rainbow had to go to Cloudsdale for a Weather Captains' meeting, and Pinkie Pie was in Trottingham helping the Cakes with a catering assignment.

"It's actually kind of a good thing, Spike." Twilight smiled, then began to imagine the aforementioned ponies' first interactions with the 'visitor'. "Rainbow might act brashly and attack it, and Pinkie would just overwhelm it with talk about friends and parties."

"True, true." Spike nodded. "And that leaves you, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy." To this Twilight nodded.

"That's right. And since you're not doing anything at the moment," Twilight started."Could you go out and ask the girls to meet here? So I can brief them on the situation? 

"You got it, Twilight!" Spike saluted the pony, and jogged out, his first, obvious destination in mind. Once Twilight saw him pass the door, she got up and started gathering books, quills, papers, and binoculars, and putting them in a saddlebag. "A visitor with a foreign magical source? Ooooh, this is going to be so exciting!" The purple mare started packing more enthusiastically.

Twenty Minutes later...

In the library stood four ponies looking over the scroll Princess Celestia sent Twilight earlier. A white unicorn with a luxuriously style purple mane looked on with mild interest. Next to her a yellow pegasus with a pink mane looked very uncertain as to what may come out of the expedition ahead. Lastly, a orange earth pony with a golden blonde mane nodded as she read over the scroll a third time.

"So Twi," Applejack began. "What do you suppose we do once we find this 'visitor' of yours?" The purple mare tapped a hoof to her muzzle in thought.

"We should stay low and unnoticeable. Princess Celestia wants us to make sure the 'visitor' isn't here to bring violence. And hopefully, Fluttershy," the mentioned pegasus instinctively shrunk, "should be able to direct us and help us with any wild animals in the Everfree."

"What can I do to help, darling?" Rarity quipped. "I'm willing to help this cause, just as long as I don't get me hooifcure tottally ruined."

Twilight responded, "Well, all four of us will be looking out for this 'visitor', so don't worry about that, Rarity." Spike came bounding down the stairs once more, and the purple pony turned to him and said, "We'll be going now, Spike. Watch the house, and make sure to finish reshelving the History section, please." The scaled assistant nodded and held the door as the four mares walked out. 

"Be careful, everypony!" Spike called from the library. The girls waved back and continued their way to the edge of Everfree Forest. Once there, Fluttershy, of course, was very hesitant to enter. It is the Everfree Forest, and as Applejack said so many times, "It just ain't natural." After a few minutes of convincing, the four stood together and walked united into the Everfree Forest, ready to to accomplish the task.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Back to Stephen's POV...

The minute I stepped into the forest, I started calling out for my Pokemon team. "NOVA!" I called out. "Where are you?" Finding Nova was the highest priority, so we can use her abilities to find the rest of my team. I had been calling her name for about half an hour. I couldn't survive out here without her. I was still hopeful that she was somewhere in this godforsaken forest, but that hope was starting to wane. I was about to stop shouting when I saw a glimpse of something bright, an almost white color, in the distance.

I ran as quickly as my feet could take me, and what I found both relieved me and confused me. Yes, I had found Nova. However, she wasn't the same. Her normal pristine white coat was now a shade of light gray, her red crest and green hair were even darker shades of gray. She turned to me, and her face had a look of contempt.

"Oh. It's you." The Gardevoir mind-spoke. "Where have you been, Stephen? Isn't a good trainer supposed to take care and keep track of his Pokemon?" 

"Nova, what-" I started, but was cut off by a shadowy black orb sailing past my head. Nova's hand was raised, palm towards my direction. I could see another one start to form.

"You abandoned us, Stephen. Left us out on our own." Nova's voice began to tremble with rage. "DID YOU EVEN CARE THAT WE WERE GONE? OR DID YOU JUST THINK ABOUT YOUR DEAR KARA?" The second Shadow Ball flew and I stepped forward, barely dodging the projectile. Once clear, I lunged forward and took Nova in a tight hug.

"You know that's not true, Nova." I said, refusing to let go despite her attempts. "I've always cared about you. And you know for a fact that I take care of my Pokemon. You of all of them should know that I do. And I would never abandon you. We swore to never leave each other's side. Do you remember?"


~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~


A young Stephen, around 8 years old was walking along Dewford Town' coast. He was about to return home, where his mother was preparing supper before he heard an unfamiliar cry from Dewford cave. Stephen's mother had always said to never go into the dungeon, but this cry sounded like someone was in trouble. He ran into the entrance of the cave, and saw in the far corner of the the rocky dungeon a group of Sableye surrounding something. Upon closer inspection, they cornered a very scared Ralts, who happened to be the source of the cries. The 8 year old Stephen knelt down and picked up some big rocks; he knew it wouldn't hurt the Sableye much, but it would be enough to distract them from the Ralts. He threw the rocks at the creepy Pokemon, and the projectiles met their target. 

"Hey, you stupid Sableyes!" Stephen yelled. The gang of Pokemon turned towards him, their crystalline eyes glowed with something like malice. "Pick on someone your own size!" With that, the dark purple cave Pokemon gave chase to the little boy. The Ralts, who looked up and watched the brave little boy distract the Sableye, continued to watch him trip and fall, and her antagonists began to crowd over him. Then, the little psychic Pokemon let out a cry, and a super bright light suddenly flashed throughout the cavern. The light blinded the Sableye, causnig them to retreat from the boy and into the darkness of the deeper parts of Dewford Cave. 

The Ralts saw that Stephen was hurt, and tried the only other move she knew: Teleport. The two ended up back on the beach, and the small creature finally spoke, "Ralts?"

"Oh good, you're okay." Stephen said. "I'm glad. That was very scary, wasn't it?" The green-topped Pokemon nodded. "My mother said to always help Pokemon in trouble." Ralts smiled at this. How nice of this child to do so. "Wanna be friends?" This question caught the psychic type by surprise. "I promise to be the best trainer I can be! We'll have each others backs every time! And we will always stick by each other's side!" As a response, Ralts jumped up and hugged Stephen, just as his mother ran up to him; she'd been looking for him for a long while.


~~~~~~~~Real Time~~~~~~~~~


"And from there, we went on, together, to face rivals all around the world." I looked down at Nova. "I've always considered you more than my Pokemon, you were like my best friend, and the little sister I never had." Nova stopped struggling, letting the memories sink in. "I know this isn't the real you Nova! Please, please come back to me."

A small glow appeared at the top of Nova's head, and I stepped back. I watched as the glow flowed from the top of the Gardevoir's head to her feet. Her normal pure white coat had returned, her red and green were back to their vibrant states. When it was done, Nova looked up to see me clearly this time, and tears welled in her eyes.

"Stephen!" She ran up to me and locked me in an embrace. "I just had the worst dream!"

"It's okay, Nova." I stroked the top of her head. "I'm here now. Nothing's wrong."

The two of us stayed like this for a few more minutes. Nova spoke up, "We're going to find the others, right?" she asked.

"Of course." I replied. And for the second time in our lives, we started our new journey together. This time, we'd search for our lost friends. Then we can start finding a way back home.
> Chapter 3: Where am I? What is That? Pt. 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack had been trekking through the Everfree Forest for quite some time now. According to a map Twilight had brought, they were somewhere near the middle of the massive forest. It had a familiar feeling, and before Twilight could remark anything, a low growl sounded through the thickets. Fluttershy's ears perked up, and she quickly, but quietly galloped ahead of the other three ponies. What she saw was quite unexpected.

There were three medium sized creatures made of various fallen branches and leaves. They were canine-like in appearance, though kept together by some mysterious force. Timberwolves. But that wasn't what caught Fluttershy's attention. The three Timberwolves were surrounding a small, yellow and green quadruped that also appeared to have leaves sprouting out of its coat. How interesting, Fluttershy thought. Is this what could have came through that portal? Her three friends were close behind, and she shushed them before they could complain or scold her. She simply pointed at the scene before them and watched it unfold. The Timberwolves took one more step together, and the smaller creature let out a cry, "Leafeon!" and charged towards the three antagonists. 

Stephen's POV

Nova and I had been walking for seemed like ages until we heard something familiar. I turned to Nova, who had a certain look on her face and ran ahead of me. I had to sprint to keep up. Within moments, the two of us reached a small clearing with three wooden dog things surrounding a small creature. I immediately noticed the latter, and recognized it as the smallest member of my team: Maple, the Leafeon. Nova then tugged my shirt and had us duck down to watch, just in case anyone else was. Then I noticed that her coat, was a darkened shade of yellow. It was a similar condition to Nova's. What had caused this?

"Leafeon!" A cry came from the small creature as it charged its bullies, redirecting my attention. She jumped at the closest one, her tail now glowing white, spun in midair and hit the wooden dog's face dead on. The accosted canine was sent flying into a tree near us and exploded into dust and forest debris. What? I thought. How is that possible? 

"Interesting," I heard Nova whisper. "They're just sticks with a dark aura holding them together."

"What kind of dark aura?" I whisper back. These creatures, as far as I could tell, were not of our world.

"It's sinister, yet playful." the Gardevoir answered, "Like a ghost type." I nodded and continued to watch the 3-on-1 battle.

The leaves on Maple's body began to glow a light green, and when she flicked her head towards the second wooden dog, dozens of leaves just kept barraging the wooden frame. When the leaves stopped coming, the target could barely stand. Seeing this, Maple pointed her head up, and began to form a green orb above her, just outside of her mouth. and with another cry of her species' name, she flicked her head back down, launching the Energy Ball at the dog. I felt a proud smile on my lips; despite Maple being the smallest out of all on my team, she was, without a doubt, a very valuable member.

The remaining wood-wolf, as I had finally started calling them, now stood wary of Maple. With good reason of course. His brethren were taken out so easily, and the Grass Pokemon didn't even have a scratch on her. I looked at Maple who had been waiting for the last wood-wolf top attack, but soon  had a bored expression on her face. Once more, she raised her head, but this time, the orb of energy by her mouth was a sun-golden yellow color, the color of a Solarbeam. Like a curious puppy, the wood-wolf approached Maple and this new object in front of her.

"Leeeaaaff..." The small Leafeon began pouring more and more energy into the orb. "eeeOOOOONNN!!!" She then unleashed a large beam of solar energy at her foe. The result was a third pile of sticks and leaves. I checked that the coast was clear before standing up and walking out of my hiding spot and slowly walking towards Maple, Nova in tow.

Pony POV

The four ponies' jaws dropped the moment the small, dark yellow creature took down the first Timberwolf with a single strike of its glowing tail. Fluttershy was in absolute shock; how could something so cute and nice looking be so dangerous and strong? Meanwhile, Rarity marveled at the glowing tail, and the glowing leaves on the creature's body. What designs those leaves could inspire! Applejack watched as the big terrors of the Everfree were tossed around and easily beaten by such a small creature, chuckling quietly at the irony. However, the moment she saw the Energy Ball form, Twilight's eyes began to grow in excitement and wonder. When she witnessed to SolarBeam attack, she immediately took down notes as to what she just witnessed.

"Twilight," Applejack started quietly. "Whatca writin' about?"

"AJ, that small creature is not only new to our world," Twilight answered excitedly. "It's capable of some kind of magic! A strong kind, at that." Before anypony could say more, a new voice rang through the clearing.

"Maple?" The four ponies' heads turned to the source of the voice and went completely silenced. It was about (12) Hooflengths long (6 feet), had a short brown mane and clothes. It looked like a tall,upright, and near hairless ape. Rarity observed its unique style of clothing: casual, but appropriate for outdoors. This strange creature had a sense of fashion? Applejack looked to the creature's arm; it didn't look that muscular from what she could tell, but she wouldn't know for certain. Fluttershy could see the biped's eyes: dark brown, but filled with a certain kindness and intelligence in them. Perhaps this creature was friendly after all? Twilight's eyes darted to the thing's bag and sash. What contents lay in that bag? What were those round things on its sash? Weapons, maybe? The four wisely stayed quiet as the tall being approached the creature called, "Leafeon," though her called it by "Maple."

Stephen's POV

"Maple," I slowly approached the Leafeon, and saw its tail light up for another Iron Tail strike. She ran and jumped at me, but before she could turn with her tail, I caught her and her tail lost its glow. I turned her towards me. "Maple, listen, I-" I was cut off by small leaves sailing at my face, forcing me to drop the Leafeon.

"Stephen," I heard by my side. Nova had her arm raised, and looked to me. 

"Nova, Thunderbolt." As I commanded, a golden, crooked beam of electricity raced out of Nova's body, through her arm, and out towards Maple. It hit before the latte could react. I knew it wouldn't hurt Maple, Electric isn't effective against Grass,  but it should be enough to paralyze her. Sure enough, Leafeon tried moving after being struck by Thunderbolt, but small sparks appeared across her small body, a telltale sign of paralysis. I picked her up again.

"I'm sorry we had to hurt you, Maple, but you aren't acting like you." This was true. She would never face 3 opponents at once, she usually ran away unless she had someone else from the team with her. I put my palm on her head, and her ears flattened. She calmed down a tad, seeing as she was in now condition to fight back. I smiled at the sight of the feisty Leafeon. "Always the feisty one, Maple. From the moment you hatched as an Eevee, you were strong and quick. Even if you were the smallest member of my team, you'd never let me down in any battle. Especially when you evolved."


~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~


A teenage Stephen was in the middle of an intense battle. However, his opponent's Abra proved to be quite troublesome, as Hidden Power overpowered most of Stephen's team. He took out his last Pokeball, unsure as to how to lay it out. He swallowed his doubt and called out the final member of his team, Eevee. 

"Okay, Eevee, I know this is tough, but I know you can do it!" Stephen cheered his Pokemon on. He led his turn with a Quick Attack, but his opponent followed suit with Hidden Power after Hidden Power. Stephen knew his little friend couldn't make it, and could see the brown Normal Pokemon looking frustrated, though she was close to fainting. Just as the opponent called for a final Hidden Power, the Nomal Type let out a long cry.

"EEeeeeeee..." Stephen watched in awe as a small dark orb formed in front of his Eevee's mouth. "VEEE!" The Shadow Ball flew right at the Abra, and sent it flying a few feet. When it landed, its eyes were dazed; it had fainted. The battle was won. Extremely happy, Stephen rushed forward to meet the victorious Pokemon. However, before he could even touch her, she began to glow. 

"What?" Stephen wondered. "How?" He looked around and saw a large mossy rock very close by. He looked back to the evolving Eevee with a big smile on his face. When the transformation was finished, there stood a confident looking Leafeon.

"Leafeon!" she cried, and ran towards Stephen. She grew quickly and was easily one of the faster Pokemon among all of the teams his raised. He could tell Maple had a lot of potential, and planned to raise her the best he could.


~~~~~~~~~~Real time~~~~~~~~~


Pony POV

The ponies' jaw were still on the ground, in amazement. Not only did the tall ape-like creature speak, it spoke coherently! So, there was a way to communicate with it. Twilight hurriedly wrote that note down, then began to comment on the white figure next to the being. It was able to just harness lightning and aimed it at the smaller creature, rendering it weakened. Then as the taller being spoke to the Leafeon creature, Twilight and the others noticed the latter beginning to relax. The biped spoke again.

"Maple, this isn't the real you. You're sweet, innocent, and never went out to pick a fight, especially as dangerous as this one. I promised to you, as I promise all of my Pokemon friends," Pokemon? Twilight wondered. Is that what thing is? "I will always be there for you,and take care of you the best way I can as any great Pokemon Trainer should." The white figure stood closer to the clothed biped, and gave what looked like a smile to the creature called "Maple." 

Then, a small light began to surround "Maple," and then began to flow across its whole body. After a few seconds, the small quadruped had a bright yellow coat, and let out a much more cheerful cry at the sight of the tall ape, who pulled out a small spray bottle from his bag and sprayed it on Maple. In moments, the sparks on its body disappeared, and it leaped at the giant's face, licking it. 

"Okay, okay, Maple," the tall one said, now own its back. "It's great to see you again, too." Twilight and the others watched as he then pulled a ball from his sash, enlarged it, and said, "Maple, return!" The four gasped quietly and watched the cute creature turn into red energy and flow into the ball. The biped then stood up, nodded to the white being, and together, they walked away.

"That's... that's...." Twilight was in awe. "How is that possible? That completely breaks the laws of physics!" Though as a counter though, she was friends with Pinkie, so it could be expected that somethings weren't made to make sense.

"I can't believe it," Fluttershy added. "It looked so brutal! Those attacks could really hurt somepony!"

"But," Rarity interjected, "that tall creature was able to calm it down."

"Yes, that's true." Twilight said. "And how in Equestria did that other, white creature summon lightning to jump from its hands? It's not even a pegasus!"

Applejack asked, "Should we confront 'em?" Twilight shook her head,

"There are six little balls on it sash. One for the white creature he called 'Nova', and another for that 'Maple' creature." She turned towards the direction where the two mysterious beings walked to. "Meaning there are 4 more creatures that he has to find. We should lay low and see what happens." The other three ponies agreed, Fluttershy was reluctant, though. She really hoped she didn't have to see anymore violence. With that, the group of mares went on to stalk Stephen and Nova.
> Chapter 4: Where am I? What is That? Pt. 3 (Revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I'm feeling a lot better now that I've got one-third of my whole team. i'm not disappointed in my findings so far, either. Nova was a priority, and Maple could easily get lost, due to her size.  Now the other Pokemon that were left were pretty noticeable, but also a lot stronger.I knew I had to face them in battle as I did Maple. But, each time, the Pokemon had a darker behavior than behavior. What was causing this? The only reason why they return to normal is because I start sharing memories of how I met the Pokemon. It's a weird cure for an even weirder ailment. 

"Stephen," Nova had been silent since we got Maple back. I looked to her.

"What's up, Nova?" I asked, trying to be casual, despite the situation.

"Besides the obvious," She rolled her eyes, and continued speaking. "I feel like we're not alone. Something's watching us."

"How can you tell?" I asked, I hadn't heard or seen anything the whole time we had been walking. 

"I can sense energies, Stephen." Nova replied. I recalled her training with Riley and his Riolu. "Every once in a while, there'd be a quick burst of energy, like a Psychic type's energy. I didn't see anything, but I could tell they were close by during Maple's fight."

I turned and started walking backwards for a few seconds. I heard Nova giggle at this quick and somewhat silly action, putting a smile on my face; it's good that she's staying happy, and not panicking like I am. My eyes scanned the thick green behind us. Nothing was shifting, no predators stalking from behind. Nothing seemed to be following us.

"I don't see anything." I reported before calling out, "Heeeeey! Anyone out there?" No response. "It's a pretty thick and dangerous forest, Nova, I don't think anyone would want to live here, let alone follow a stranger into it."

It was then that Nova pulled my shoulder and forced me to turn around to see something spectacular; A huge lightning bolt was splitting through the air. It was very strong and very close; I could feel my hair standing up in shock. Nova and I looked at each other and nodded. It was time to get another member back: Volta.

Pony POV

Applejack was sneaking ahead of the rest of the group when the biped turned around. They sure do move fast, she thought. At that moment, the monkey thing turned around, making AJ come to a full, quiet stop. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy followed suit.

"Applejack," Rarity complained. She wasn't whining, she was complaining Would you like to hear her whine? Exactly.. "What's going on? If we stand for too long, I could get my hooves muddy."

"Heeeeey!" The whole group went silent as the tall being spoke. "Anyone out there?" The ponies stayed silent, no attempts were made to make their presence known. The voice began to fade away, as the unnatural pair kept moving, the group only catching the words, "forest" and "stranger." All of a sudden, Twilight gasped.

"Look at that!" All four mares' head look to where the Alicorn pointed, and were once again awestruck as a huge lightning bolt struck somewhere ahead of them. They watched as the otherworldly duo started racing towards it.

"It might be another one of those Pokemon creatures!" Fluttershy whispered. 

"Let's keep after them, girls!" Twilight led the charge to the edge of another small clearing, where a tall, dark yellow creature stood. It wasn't as tall as the ape, but was just as peculiar. It was also bipedal, and had a yellow belly. Black stripes appeared on its slender neck and long tail. The tail ended in a red orb, and a similar red orb was on its forehead. Could that be a horn? Twilight mused. Its arms were like long ovals, ending in a kind of point. It let out a loud cry, "AMMMPHAAAAA!"

Stephen's POV

"Hey Volta," I approached her as cautiously as I would a frayed wire. Her entire body was sparking with electrical energy, and she looked like she was really going to hurt me. 

"Be careful Stephen!" Nova warned. "It's just like Maple! She's not acting right!" At that, Volta fired a Thunderbolt in my direction and I just barely dodged it. So I stood back and retrieved the only other team member so far. "Are you sure?" Nova asked. I nodded and tossed the ball.

"Leafeon!" The little Grass type yelled. I had her charge in with Iron Tail, only to be countered by Volta's own shining tail. The latter then fired a harsh Thunderbolt at Maple, knocking her back towards me. This was going to be tough. 

"Maple, use Razor Leaf!" I commanded, and the green projectiles flew at high speed at the Ampharos. They hit dead on, leaving an opening. "Now, Iron Tail!" I ordered, and Maple obliged. I felt this would be a smart idea, as Ampharos aren't exactly known for their physical defense. It struck Volta right on her belly. Before the Electric-type could rise, I had Maple perform Stun Spore on her. With Volta now paralyzed, I approached her carefully, even though there was a low chance of her getting up to attack me.

"Hey, Volta." I spoke calmly, so as not to provoke her any further. "I'm sorry, but there was no other way to talk to you without getting hurt. But as usual, you fought bravely, and I didn't expect anything less." Volta ceased struggling against her paralysis to listen more. "Do you remember when we first met, Volta? You had the them same determined look in your eyes. You wouldn't give up, no matter the odds."

Flashback

A now preteen Stephen walked slowly through the tall grass, his Gardevoir right behind him. There was a reason why he was taking his time in this particular route in Johto; there was a certain Pokemon that he just had to catch. It took ages, but soon enough, Stephen and Nova encountered a small family of baby Mareeps, and a motherly Ampharos.

"Look, Stephen! Small one, has trouble." Nova was still learning how to telepathically speak English. But her message was easily translated, as Stephen saw an exceptionally small Mareep, struggling to keep up its siblings. When the family fed together, the bigger siblings would shoo the little one away. After five attempts, the little Mareep ran away unnoticed. 

"Let's follow it!" Stephen said, and he and Nova followed the basic Electric type to a small patch of flowers. However, it was being antagonized by a gang of Quagsire from a nearby lake. Seeing this, Stephen was about to have Nova use Magical Leaf on the bullies, before the Mareep charged one Quagsire head on with a Tackle attack. It was a tough little Pokemon, and no matter how many times it got knocked down by the Water/Ground types, it got back up and did Tackle after Tackle. After several moments, the mother Ampharos came dashing in with an Iron Tail to one of the Quagsire. The other gang members watched as their leader was sent flying, and immediately retreated as fast as they could. Before Stephen could turn away from the scene, the little Mareep shot out a Thundershock at him. He could see a burning fire in the Pokemon's eyes; it wanted a battle. Stephen recognized the young Pokemon's challenge and reached for one of his Johto-based Pokemon. 

"Go, Cannodor!" At the call, a Phany flashed in front of Stephen and Nova. The Ground-type saw the Mareep and took a more fighting-style stance, ready for the first order.  At the moment of the two battling Pokemons' collision, Stephen saw the potential in the little Electric-type.
Real Time

"There was a reason why I accepted your challenge, Volta." I was petting her head now. I didn't pity to for being the smallest and teased by your siblings." Her black eyes now focused on me. "I chose you to be on my team because of what I saw I your fight against those Quagsire. Despite the fact that you were much weaker, you didn't give up and kept fighting. I admired you for it. You even managed to take down Claire's team fairly easily." I began to softly pet Volta's head. "I was always so proud of you. Right now though," I looks right back into her eyes. "We need some of your fighting spirit. We need the rush of energy we get when you're usually here. Please Volta, come back to me."

The same white appeared by the red circle on Volta's head, and she regained her normal bright yellow color. I sprayed another Paralyze Heal spray on her (I'm saving Full Heals for emergencies) and she immediately go up and actually hugged me. I hugged back, and immediately regretted doing so, as a hundreds of volts surged through me body. When it was over, I swore I could see smoke rising off of my arms. I should have expected this; She always did this, even as a Mareep and Flaafy. 

"Welcome back, Volta." I patted her head. "It's good we found you; we'll need you for a certain other member." Ampharos nodded, and I put her into her Pokéball. However, I wasn't given even an entire minute to relax, as Nova grabbed my shoulder got my attention.

"Wait," She said, eyes closed. "Do you hear that?" I stood quietly and tried to listen to what she was hearing. "It sounds like... water, crashing waves." I tried listening again, but this time, I not only heard the sloshing of waves, but the distant sound of someone crying. "We should go, Stephen." Nova was right. If what we heard was right, then we were very lucky we stumbled upon Volta before this next Pokemon.

Pony POV

Rarity, before the other three mares, was able to hear something in the distance. Twilight noticed that the fashionista pony was trying very hard to listen intently to something.

"What's up, Rarity?" Twilight asked, but was shushed by the ivory coated unicorn who responded after a moment of silence.

"I think its the river serpent from way back when," Rarity answered. "The one with the mustache problem. I can hear him crying again. But what happened this time?"

"I don't know," Applejack replied. "But it seems to me that the tall critters are running towards his river!"

"Let's go, girls!" Twilight led the charge, Fluttershy quietly brought up the rear. "This might be more important that a mustache!" When the girls reached the river, they once again saw their old friend, Steven Magnet the river serpent. He was crying, but he wasn't the source of the violent waves around him this time. They were about to confront the purple creature when Applejack held up a hoof and pointed at the human and his companion approaching Magnet.

Stephen's POV

As Nova and I raced along a river, we came across a very unusual sight: a giant purple serpent! Even as a well traveled Pokemon trainer, I had ever seen a creature like this! It also happened to be crying. I swallowed my confusion and slight fear and approached it.

"Hello? Are you okay?" I asked, offering a small smile. However, my mouth found gravity to be its master once I heard the serpent actually respond to me.

"Whoa!" The purple serpent exclaimed, and backed up a few feet. "Just what in the world are you?"

"I'm...," I started not sure how to answer a talking purple serpent. "Uh... friendly?"

"I hope you are, because that ruffian of a serpent," the purple one pointed in the direction we were running towards, "Didn't even stop to say 'hello!' All he did was roar at me and slap my goorgeous face with his tail."

"Are you sure he was blue," I asked. "Mr... um... what was your name, sir?"

The giant serpent theatrically raised his arms and claws and said, "I am Steven Magnet, the most magnificent river serpent ever lived, and the inhabitant of the Everfree River." He gestured to the water. "But there won't be any water left in my river, seeing as that bully won't stop thrashing around."

"Well Mr. Magnet," I replied. "My name is also Stephen, and I thank you for your assistance. We will be on our way now to deal with this bully."

"Oh, do be careful!" Magnet called after us as we continued running. "He does seem to pack quite a bite!"

After a few more minutes of running, Nova and I finally reached a large section of lake where the waves were strongest and most violent. In the middle of a whirlpool, thrashing around angrily in the waves, was another huge serpent. However, it was blue as Steven Magnet had said. It had a gaping mouth, and the fangs in it were definitely not just for intimidation. This was Tempest, my Gyarados. However, like all the others, his colors were a darker shade. His yellow and white became gray and ash. His blue was a menacingly devious looking shade of cobalt.

"Tempest!" I yelled over the chaotic waves smashing on the riverbed. "Please, calm down! Don't make us force you to!" My only response was a small wave of water caused by Tempest's tail.I had no choice, as he was definitely going to start getting destructive if I didn't do anything. So, I decided to do the sensible thing: reach for the most effective Pokemon on my team so far. "Go, Volta!" I summoned my Electric type with haste.

"Ampha!" She cried, ready to take on the blue leviathan. I didn't want Gyarados to faint, I needed him to be weakened and paralyzed. Thunderbolt and Discharge would outright knock him out. Time for desperate measures.

"Volta!" I shouted over the water. "Use Thunderpunch!" As I said this, Tempest started honing in on Volta with a Waterfall. The Water type made contact, knocking Volta out of her focus. Tempest was going for another try, but I wouldn't try for another physical hit; Volta's defense was very weak. "Now, before he makes contact, use Discharge!" Electrical energy pulsed all over the Ampharos' body. As expected, just as Tempest was about to strike Volta with another Waterfall attack, the Electric type let loose Discharge. It had so much power that it knocked me and Nova onto our backs; it was like an explosion!

Pony POV

"Yoohoo!" Rarity called to the purple serpent known as Steven Magnet. "Mister river serpent!" Magnet recognized her right away.

"Ah yes, the generous unicorn who helped with my mustache!" He bowed in respect, then noticed Fluttershy, Twilight, and AJ behind her "How can I help you?"

"Which way did the weird bipedal creatures go?" Fluttershy asked. 

"The one that looked like a monkey and the white one with what looked like a dress, yes?" The mares nodded. He pointed upriver. "He said that he would face the bully that keeps making all of these horridly chaotic waves. I would go after him, just in case." The ponies came in time to see the yellow creature charge and release its Discharge attack. They, also, were pushed back a bit. 

"Such power!" Twilight remarked. "What other things can these creatures do?"

Fluttershy was being comforted by Applejack, as she was mightily frightened by the huge blue serpent, and the yellow biped.

Stephen's POV

"Man, that hurt." Stephen got up and dusted the back of his pants. He held out his hand and helped Nova up as well. He looked to Volta and saw that she stood proud above the now paralyzed Gyarados.

"Be careful, Stephen." Nova warned. "His tail is still in the water. Just because he's paralyzed does not mean he cannot attack."

I nodded and approached the leviathan I called Tempest. "Hey there big boy." I put my hand on the three pronged crest on his forehead. "I'm sorry we had to do that. If we let you continue ravaging the river, there might not be any river left. You might have started destroying the forest around you." I looked down at the serpent, a bit sad that things had to turn out this way. Then I smiled. "Then again, even as a little Magikarp, you were always the center of trouble."


~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~


At 15 years old, Stephen was on a very important mission: Stop Team Rocket from kidnapping a certain Pokemon. He had been running after them for quite a while. It helped that he was on a bike and the evildoers were not. He finally cornered the two grunts from Team Rocket on the edge of a pier south of Lavender Town.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!" Stephen's voice still wasn't done developing, and had cracked when he said "scum." Still, the two thieves turned at his voice, saw their pursuer, and started to laugh.

"Hehe... HahAAHAHAAHAAhA!" The grunt carrying a large duffel bag was cackling agh the sight of Stephen. "Are you serious? A kid thinks he can take us out?"

"Right?" His companion added, then looked to the kid. "Listen shrim, we ain't no match for you."

"Yeah!" The first grunt added, then grabbed the contents of the duffel bag. "And with this Pokemon, we will be able to rule the world!" He took it a cylindrical tank. "This Magikarp we stole from the aquarium will be a prime subject for the boss to rule the world!"

"Guys," Stephen said, eyebrows raised. "You do know that a Magikarp won't be able to do anything as is, right?"

"Trust me, kid," Grunt One answered. "Once we unlock the potential of this measly fish, Team rocket will have reign on the entire world!" His partner laughed along with him. Before Stephen could reach for Nova's Pokéball, then Magikarp in the tank began to throw itself against the glass.

"See?" Stephen said. "The Magikarp knows how stupid your plan is and will certainly be able to take you both out by itself!" He mocked the villains. "It's stronger than you or your Pokemon will ever be, and it's not even evolved yet!"

"Bah, what does it know?" Grunt Two said. "It's just a useless fish Pokemon." And with that the Magikarp tacked its way out of the cylinder, breaking the glass barrier. Upon touching the ground, the orange fish began to glow and grow to gigantic proportions. In the end, stood a giant leviathan of a sea serpent: the great and powerful Gyarados had come out to fend its honor.

It wasn't Stephen's first time to see a Gyarados, but it was nonetheless an impressive sight. The Water/Flying type Pokemon let out a giant roar at the Rocket Grunts, who in turn swore loudly and sent out Pokemon of their own: Arbok and Golbat. The second the two Poison types were out, a bluish green flamelike energy was blasted from the Gyarados' giant maw and at the evildoers. Though Dragon Rage only did a set amount of damage, it managed to knock out both Arbok and Golbat in one hit. Stephen stood there in awe of the giant serpent. It was so powerful, and determined to stop these criminals.

The two Team Rocket grunts were sent running with their fainted Pokemon, swearing empty threats of vengeance. Then, the Gyarados turned to Stephen, its intense glare and fearsome jaw were quite the sight. However, the giant Pokemon seemed to have calmed down, and before he knew it, it was by Stephen's side.

"Huh?" Stephen thought out loud. "You heard what I said about you as a Magikarp?" To this, the leviathan seemed to nod. "My mother always told me that size doesn't matter, and that big things can come in small packages. Those two morons should have known not to mess with you." The Gyarados' grunted, and it sounded very similar to a deep chuckle. "Hey," Stephen started. "Wanna come with me?" The Gyarados seemed confused. "We can travel together and become stronger friends as we go along." At this, the Water/Flying type nodded again. "Well then, it's official." Stephen said. What should I name him? he thought. Gyarados were known for being destructive, and loved to be in the middle of raging storms out in the ocean. "I think I have the perfect nickname for you, too." The Gyarados looked down at Stephen, waiting to hear his new name. "Welcome to the team, Tempest!" The serpent was satisfied and let himself be captured by the boy, and they would go on to dominate the Kanto League together.


~~~~~~Real time~~~~~~


"I remember how happy you were to by my side, and it was a mutual feeling, Tempest." I now sat down in front of the still paralyzed Gyarados' face, and he was calm and listening to me talk. "You took down Blaine's team all on your own, and took bravely went head on against Cynthia's Garchomp and came out victorious." I looked into the fierce monster's eyes and continued. "I have never regretted meeting you and adding you to my team." I put my hand on the three pronged crest once more, and like the three previous times, a white light enveloped the Pokemon's entire body, and leaving behind my Tempest with his original sea-blue hue. I used a Paralyze Heal on him and returned him to my Pokeball. He's an absolute must if I find the final two Pokemon on my team; Tempest is the only one super effective against them. I beckoned Nova towards me as I rose to my feet, and we continued walking.

I needed to prepare myself for the two highly intense battles that were to come.


Pony POV

"What?" Twilight was awestruck of this creature's abilities. Not only did he command and control his own Pokemon creatures, he managed to stop and tame possibly one of the scariest and strongest looking monsters she had ever seen! "Where did he learn to do all of that?"

"Fluttershy, the monster's gone now." Rarity said to the shy pegasus, who finally stopped hiding in Applejack's arms. "To be very honest darlings, those colors on that beast were absolutely marvelous!'

"That monkey thing managed to calm that monster?" Applejack quieried. "He must be a bit like you, Fluttershy, he can understand and communicate with animals."

"But, he hurts them." Fluttershy countered. "I'd never have my animals fight like that."

"He has no choice, Fluttershy." Twilight replied. "He has to calm them down, as I had to calm you all down to break you from Discord's spell. And it would seem battling is an effective way for him to get close. He even heals them of their injuries with that spray!" The pegasus couldn't argue with that. "Now that I think about it, this biped's creatures seem to be under something that's very similar to the spell Discord put us under. But he's reformed now, with the Princesses at his back, so he couldn't have done anything. I wonder..." She trailed off as the four of them watched the pair of aliens begin walking away.
> Chapter 5: Where am I? What is That? Pt. 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"You know," Applejack broke the silence as the four ponies followed the new creatures. "He doesn't seem to be all that bad."

"I have to agree," Rarity added. "He hasn't done anything garish or violent since he came here."

"He also seems to have a kind heart," Twilight said. "He apologizes to his Pokemon for hurting them, and then sits down with them and retells stories of how they met. It's quite cute."

"I still don't like the fact that they have to battle." Fluttershy replied. "And those monsters were so strong! Scarily strong."

"Think of it like this, Fluttershy," Twilight began to try to shift the pegasus' train of thought. "If he has six alien creatures with special abilities, think of how many other new creature there may be where he came from!" That certainly caught the yellow pony's attention. She loved meeting new creatures; could this monkey like alien introduce her to some? The mares' trains of thought and conversation stopped as they heard another new sound, not unlike a loud bark, "Arc!"

Stephen's POV

Stephen heard the bark and immediately started running to his left, Nova was right behind him and was starting to become very tired. She couldn't keep up with the human.

"Stephen," she called after her trainer. "I'm tired of all this running."

"Oh? Why didn't you just say so?" Stephen relied, before turning to her and reluctantly putting her into her Pokeball. He took a minute to catch his breath and relax. How long have they been running around? He looked up through the thick foliage and looked for the sun, which was still high in the sky, but was already starting its decline from its zenith. About 1 PM Stephen thought, that's more than enough time. 

He began running again in the direction from which he heard the loud cry. Once again, he found himself right by another small clearing. However, this was a lot like the second encounter, Maple's. There was a group of wood-wolves being torn apart one by one as they kept trying to charge at a dark orange and yellow beast. Its mane flowed in the wind like flames, and its speed was completely unmatched by any of the wooden opponents. This was Patrician, the Arcanine. 

"Arc!" The Legendary Pokemon barked and charged down the last wood-wolf with a strong Headbutt attack. But before Stephen could step out to try to calm Patrician down and bring him back to normal, the remains of the wood wolves became to shiver. The random pieces of forest debris that made up the wooden canine were coming together, but instead of reforming into separate wolves, it built a giant wood-wolf. It was about 3 times taller than Patrician, and Stephen couldn't help but stare at the impossible feat. IT WAS MADE OF PLANTS! HOW THE HELL DOES THIS WORLD WORK? Despite this drastic change, Patrician looked cold and uncaring. With a ruff, it charged ahead with another Headbutt, but whimpered as his head met an especially thick portion of wood on the giant wood-wolf's body. The giant canine took a swipe at the Arcanine, but the latter managed to evade it in time. He steadied his footing and from his mouth emerged a small ball of fire.

Once again, the wooden canine was curious and tried to approach this new development, but Arcanine saw it approach and immediately launched its Fire Blast attack. Right before the small ball of fire made impact against wood, it spread out all over, forming giant arms of flame that hit the wooden wolf head on. The target was knocked back hard against a line of trees, where it exploded into pieces upon crashing. Behind these tree, unbeknownst to the human and Pokemon, was a group of four ponies in hiding.

Pony POV

"Ain't that the same group of Timberwolves that attacked the first Pokemon critter?"Applejack asked.

"It's possible, they look the same." Fluttershy, the animal expert, commented.

"Look at that fiery mane!" Rarity pointed out. "How luxurious that would be on a nice winter coat! Oh dear, these aliens are truly and inspiration for fashion!" The four ponies watched as the battle went on, with the orange lion creature charging head first at the Timberwolves.

"Ooh," Fluttershy winced. "That looked painful."

"Whaddya mean?" Applejack replied. "The orange one seems perfectly fine after all that headbutting."

"It must be very strong," Twilight added. "Not many creatures are able to repeatedly use their head to charge at enemies without harming themselves." The fight continued, and the moment when the Timberwolves went through their process of combination, the mares had looks of fear upon their visages. 

"Whoa, nelly." Applejack had experience with Timberwolves and an interesting encounter with a giant one, which Spike managed to take down. But this giant stood well over the one she met. The Earth pony looked to the smaller canine, scared that the it wouldn't be able to take it out. That is, until they saw its Fire Blast attack. and watched as it knocked the giant wooden creature in their direction and become a pile of sticks and leaves.

"Yet another physical impossibility!" Twilight scribbled this down on her scroll, then looked up at the orange creature. It was very much like a cross between a dog and a lion, and had a very regal aura around it. She noticed some movement at the side of the clearing, and motioned for the girls to stay down and watch another scene of the biped's ability to dispel whatever held these strange creatures.

Stephen's POV

"Hello there, Patrician." Stephen barely took a step before a giant plume of flame was headed straight at his face. He rolled out of the way and felt his arm; some hair had been singed off. He reached for a Pokeball and called out, "Go, Tempest!" On command, the giant blue serpent appeared, ready to face the orange menace.  "Tempest, use Waterfall!" Water from nowhere began to swell around the Gyarados, and it launched itself towards the Arcanine, who met the Water/Flying type with a Headbutt. The Fire type was knocked back,overpowered, as the Water type move had the advantage on the canine. Patrician readied another Flamethrower, this time at Tempest.

"Tempest! Fire your Hydro Pump!" At the command, a very strong, and large jet of water emerged from the Gyarados' mouth, dousing the Arcanine and extinguishing its Flamethrower. "One more time, Tempest. Use Waterfall!" The serpent charged at the weakened and disoriented Patrician and knocked it back one more time with its attack. The latter tried to stand, but found himself too tired and weak to rise. Stephen decided that this was a good time, and approached the Legendary Pokemon. "Hey, boy. " He knelt down to run his hand through the Fire type's mane, and it seemed to calm it down for the moment. "The Prince of Flames still has a feisty fighting spirit after all these years?"

~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~

Stephen walked through the talk grass on his way to the Johto Safari Zone; there were many rare Pokemon there that he cold use on his team. However, Stephen's Gardevoir stopped, as she saw something several yards away. "Stephen," she pulled at the young trainer's shoulder ceasing his steps. "Look there." He followed Nova to the edge of the grass, almost near the dropoff to a waterfall. By the water's edge, a Growlithe lay unconcious. It was breathing, but had several bruises all over its body.

"Hey there little guy," Stephen was about to pet the Growlithe when it sprang up and growled at Nova and the trainer. "So, you're alright." The little puppy nodded indignantly. "But you're covered in bruises, you must be very tired." Stephen held out his hand, but the little Pokemon refused to come to him. It barked a few times at the duo.

"He says," Nova translated. "That he's waiting for his trainer. He promised he would be back for him with healing supplies. He is loyal to his trainer." Stephen nodded, understanding.

"Okay then," Stephen accepted this. Hopefully this trainer would be back soon. I didn't want an injured Pokemon to be left out all alone. Him and Nova walked away from the Growlithe and walked to the Pokemon Center in front of the Safari Zone. He recalled Nova into her Pokeball and went ahead to Nurse Joy to heal his team. All the while, he couldn't help but overhear someone over in the corner of the center.

"Oh yeah, I'm undefeated. I've had 100 battles so far, and I've lost none at all." An obnoxious voice bragged. Stephen couldn't seem him amidst the crowd of young girls. "I trained my Pokemon to be the best their ever was, and I think I can take down anyone in a one-on-one battle." Stephen looked away, not wanting to get involved in any way.

"Oh Damien," He heard one of the girls near him say, "You're such a cool trainer!" The gaggle of girls muttered in agreement. "There's no way anyone could beat you, you're so skilled." Stephen rolled his eyes, and Miss Joy caught it, causing her to giggle. 

"You know, Stephen," Joy said as she gave me back my team. She knows me because I've been to the Safari Zone on numerous occasions. "You could always challenge him." He waved the thought away.

"No thanks. I'm just here to catch some wild Pokemon in the Zone." Stephen accepted his team and put them on his sash. "Besides, I don't think he be a match for me."

"OY!" I heard the obnoxious Damien call out to me. Stephen turned, trying to look as uninterested as possible. "You look like you're not from around these parts. Where ya from?" He asked.

"That's correct." He answered. "I'm from Hoenn, and I've been traveling throughout the regions with my Pokemon team."

"You must think you're very strong, then?" Damien asked. "How about a battle, then?" Stephen looked back at Nurse Joy, who had a smirk on her face, as if to say I told you so. He had a feeling she knew this would happen.

"Sure, I guess." Stephen nonchalantly accepted his challenge, and we walked outside, Nurse Joy left her station to be the judge, and Damien's group of fangirls came out to watch.

"Go Damien!" Various cheers for the obnoxious pretty boy ran through his side of the field. "You can do it!"

"Now, I'll have you know," Damien started, an air of overconfidence in his voice, "I've never lost. I've had a 100 battles since I started training, and  I have never lost a single one."

Stephen looked bored. "Well, I can't say I've never lost a battle here and there." Damien started laughing. "But you are looking at the Champion of the Hoenn Pokemon League, and you'd best not go easy on me for a second." The braggart's laughter ceased immediately.

"Wha?" Damien's mouth was wide open in shock, but he closed it in anger and continued to say, "I don't care. Champion or not, I'm still gonna make you my 101st victory!"

"Rules!~" Nurse Joy's voice rang out across the battlefield. "This is a one-on-one battle. Trainers can only use one Pokemon and cannot switch out at any time during the match. Take your time now to choose your Pokemon!"

Stephen knew exactly which of his Pokemon he was going to send out.  This guy really needed to be taught a lesson. For a second, Stephen looked out to the side, where the sun was slowly beginning to set . In the distance, by the tall grass, he could barely make out a small figure, but immediately recognized it as the injured Growlithe from before.

"Hey!" Damien yelled, getting Stephen's attention. "Are you getting bored? Second thoughts? C'mon, choose your Pokemon!" He had a Pokeball in hand, ready to throw. I reciprocated, getting a particular ball from my sash.

"Trainers!" Nurse Joy rose her hand, and swiped it down like a flag. "Commence battle!"

"Go, Nova!" Stephen called out. The Gardevoir stood calm and patient, ready to battle.

"Go, Brutal!" Damien yelled, and a Heracross emerged. An interesting fight. He threw the first blows. "Use Brick Break!" The Heracross named Brutal rushed at Nova arm raised and claw in a fist. 

"Nova!" Stephen called out. "Use Reflect!" A barrier of light appeared just as the Bug/Fighting type was within two feet of my Pokemon. It broke through the Reflect barrier, but its momentum was cut down. Before the Hoenn trainer could say anything, Damien ordered Brutal again.

"Use Close Combat!" The opponent once again rushed at Nova, but the Gardevoir's trainer had the idea to end the battle right then and there.

"Nova," Stephen calmly said. "Psychic." The Gardevoir's eyes had a blue tint, and soon enough Damien's Heracross was sent flying by a blue energy from Nova. It landed in the dirt next to Damien, but made no effort to rise; it had fainted.

"What!?" Damien was angry and humiliated. No one even noticed that his group of fangirls had mysteriously disappeared. "But he's supposed to be the strongest out there!"

"He's strong," Stephen commented, returning Nova to her Pokeball. "But all smart trainers know that any Psychic type is super effective against Fighting types, even if they are half Bug types." Damien turned to him, still quite angry, and I'm sure that he was about to accuse me of cheating, if it weren't for the Growlithe from before, bounding and barking happily towards Damien. 

"Wha?" Damien looked at the Fire type. "Oh, it's you." his voice dripped with contempt.

"He's yours?" Stephen asked, unbelieving.

"Yeah," He answered, still glaring at the dog who no longer looked happy. "I abandoned him. He lost in a battle. He's weak, and I didn't want a loser on my team." The Growlithe, who understood what Damien was saying started growling.

"He's not the weak one here." Now Stephen was angry. "What kind of foolish trainer leaves his Pokemon out there to suffer?" HE pointed to the orange Pokemon. "He's even still hurt! At least heal him if you're going to release him." He stepped closer to Damien, now face to face with the braggart, who seemed a lot smaller now. "It's the trainer who should be ashamed. If you can't find yourself to be able to rise from a loss with dignity, or even train your Pokemon past one, you shouldn't be called a Pokemon Trainer at all." At this, Damien stepped away, guilt and anger in his eyes. But when he turned to the Growlithe, it sent an Ember attack right at his face, sending him racing away from the battlefield.

"Forget you!" He yelled back as he ran away. "I don't need any of you! I'll become the strongest Trainer ever, and you won't be able to stop me!" Stephen watched as the mean Trainer ran away, then felt a tugging at his pants leg. He looked down and saw the Growlithe, leaning against his leg, tired but refusing to let sleep take it.

"Hey there, buddy." Stephen knelt down to pet his head. "I'm sorry he treated you like that. Let's get you healed up, okay?" He picked him up and gave him to Nurse Joy, who went inside to fix up the fiery canine. The trainer waited inside, just to watch the Growlithe be nursed back to health and when that was done, walked it out into the grass.

"You're free now." Stephen gestured out into the grass. But he looked down at the Growlithe, who was nuzzling his leg. "You want to stay with me?" The Fire type nodded. "Alright, then. Don't worry. I promise you I will never mistreat you or abandon you like Damien did. You'll get to come explore the whole world with me and grow stronger with me and our other Pokemon friends. How's that sound to ya?" Stephen offered, but knew the answer immediately when the basic Pokemon jumped into his arms. Now, what should I name you? Stephen though, petting the coat of the Growlithe. He noticed how soft and silky the coat was, like an expensive fur jacket. It was as if this Pokemon was meant to be a part of a more royal settings. If he is a noble Pokemon, I shall call him something noble."Welcome to the team, Patrician!" The Growlithe licked Stephen's face happily at the sound of its nickname, and the two traveled back to Olivine City.

~~~~~~~Real Time~~~~~~~

"I always knew that you wouldn't belong with such a bad trainer as him." I was still petting Patrician's mane, as I used to when he was smaller. "You had a great fighting spirit, and it burns every single day, and I noticed that in our travels." I looked down at the canine's face. "We make a good team, you and me. We can make it better once we're together again, Patrician. Just, please, come back to me."

Once again, a white light began to cover the Pokemon's body. When it finished, the Arcanine managed to rise on its four paws, its coat a vibrant, fiery orange. Patrician was back on his feet, and I felt even more confident about having survived this place. I rummaged through my backpack until I found a different spray, a Super Potion! I used it on Patrician and it moments if looked close to perfect conditions. I smiled as I called Patrician into his Pokeball, then called out Nova.

"One more to go." I said to her, ready for the challenge.

"And this one is the most dangerous to leave alone in the wild." She nodded and added.

We're coming for you Reaper. It will be a harsh battle, but will have you safely back on our team, where you belong.
> Chapter 6: Where am I? What is that? Pt. 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I should have added this in the first chapter... But here
I DO NOT OWN POKEMON OR MY LITTLE PONY.
All rights reserved to their respective owners.
Now back to the story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Canterlot

Lieutenant High Marks was in a rush to get to Princess Celestia. There was some very pressing news, and it was important was he got to her in time. The Canterlot Castle was a labyrinth of hallways for any tourist, but for an well trained Royal Guard, it  was a foal's maze. High Marks made several sharp turns into perpendicular hallways until he reached a set of double doors: the Royal Court Room. With an extra burst of speed, he barreled through the doors to the sight of Princess Celestia having a conversation with a guard.

"Your Majesty!" High Marks called out, out of breath.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" The Solar Regent asked, she could see the urgency on his face. "What's wrong?"

"There... seems," The guard pony was still trying to catch his breath. "To be... a... a..."

"Yes?" Princess Celestia asked, patiently. "What is it?"

"A monster!" High Marks sputtered out. The white Alicorn looked confused.

"A monster?" She smirked a bit. "Of what nature?"

"It's very dangerous, your Highness!" the stallion said. "It's rampaging nearby the Everfree Forest, and it's like nothing I've ever seen!" Now the Princess was interested.

"What do you mean, Lieutenant?" Her tone was very serious.

"It's some kind of three-headed dragon." High Marks described. "But it was black and blue, and it was spewing fire, dark magic, and some kind of magical fire in all directions. We need to stop it before it reaches civilization!"

"What town is closest to it?" Celestia asked, though she felt she knew the answer already.

"Ponyville, your Majesty." He answered. The white Alicorn got up from her Court seat and walked over to the informant. Without any warning, she teleported the both of them to the Observation Tower, where there was a large telescope. However, they were not the first to be there. A dark blue alicorn stood and looked through the eyepiece of the telescope, which was pointed in the direction of the Everfree Forest. She looked up and saw Princess Celestia and High Marks exit their teleport and walked over to the telescope, visages evident with worry.

"Sister," Luna started. "What shall we do about this monster? It seems to possess great power." 

"So do we, Luna." Celestia replied. "We could try to calm it down, or at the very worst, incapacitate or terminate it."

"I feared this," Luna said, then looked through the telescope once more, "What? Another new creature?" At this Celestia magically moved the telescope to her own eye and saw what Luna was seeing: a couple of weird bipedal creatures walking up to the raging three headed monster.

"We need to get down there," Celestia stated. "High Marks!" The guard finally stood at attention, waiting for her order. "Have Shining Armor and a group of guards at the ready. We will be confronting these potentially hostile creatures."

"Yes, my Princess!" High Marks saluted and ran down the tower stairs to get the Royal Guards' Captain and recently made Prince.

Stephen's POV

Nova and I had been walking around for ages. I heard the occasional rustling behind me, confirming Nova's suspicions earlier: someone or something was following us. I couldn't tell what was following us; they were being quite sneaky, and I was too focused on trying to reunite my team. Everything was quiet except the breeze against the leaves, until...

"HyDRAAAAAA!" A loud roar echoed through the trees, but was originating from somewhere still ahead of us. Nova and I looked to each other, to a deep breath, and sprinted forward together until we reached the edge of the forest, but where I first started. I put Nova in her Pokeball without warning; Reaper and Nova in a fight do not mix.

"How in the hell," I started, quite winded, "Did I not see this little bastard when I entered this place?" There, in all its destructive and rampaging glory, was a black, blue, and purple three headed dragon, popularly known as Hydreigon. I named him Reaper because he was able to obliterate any opponent in his way, Hydreigon are known for being destructive and violent; it was very difficult training Reaper, but it was worth it in the end. "Reaper!" I called out at the rampaging Dark/Dragon type Pokemon, which turned out to be a ridiculously stupid move. It's main head turned to the sound of voice and fired a Dragon Pulse right at me. I guessed it was a warning shot, as it missed me by a few feet. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Now Reaper," I tried negotiating. "This can go down two ways, the easy and the hard way." I'm pretty sure I saw something move from the mountain at the corner of my eye. "So just calm down, and we can talk, okay?" His response was a Dark Pulse, again at me. I was lucky his two STAB moves missed; I was still worried about the rest of his arsenal, though. It fired a Focus Blast, but this time in another direction. It exploded by a line of trees, and exposed a group of pastel colored, what I presumed to be, horses. I tried shooing them away, but one of them shot a purple beam at Reaper, a big mistake. Once the beam passed Reaper's head, it fired a dark pulse at the weird group of horses, sending them flying into the brush. I sent out Tempest and yelled angrily at the Hydreigon.

"Hey!" I waved my arms and pointed at Tempest. "Your fight is with us! Leave them alone!" I swallowed my fear of  one of my own Pokemon and then ordered. "Tempest, Waterfall!" And the great leviathan lunged at the dragon, but missed as the Dragon dodged and flew up above us. "Tempest, use Hydro Pump!" The super pressured jet of water hit Reaper dead on, but the latter managed to fire a Dragon Pulse at my Gyarados. If it weren't for Tempest's naturally high Special Defense, he'd be a goner. I noticed that the Hydreigon had lowered itself to almost ground level, but was now glowing with a strange bluish purple light. Reaper charged at Gyarados, the power of his Dragon Rush crackling about his body. "Tempest" I yelled, "Meet him with an Ice Fang!" The two collided with a small explosion, almost as strong as Volta's Discharge. When the dust settled, a very tired Gyarados could barely stay standing, and crashed to the ground, exhausted. I smiled, he was exhausted, but not fainted. I looked to his opponent, Reaper, and saw a different story. His six wing were frozen, as well as his two smaller heads. He was struggling in vain to break out; I took this opportunity to place my hand on his head and calm, him down.

"Yet another troublemaker made it onto my team, eh?" I noticed I got Reaper's attention. "After so long, you still have the raw rampaging power to match Tempest. Then again, that day we met told me that even the most fearsome of monsters could have a kind heart." I looked up to the afternoon sun as I remembered my finals days in Unova.

~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~

"So, Stephen," a blonde haired youth looked to the senior trainer. "You think what have what it takes to beat me?" His opponent simply smiled and nodded, he'd been wandering around Victory Road, and came across a very energetic trainer, about 6 years his junior. "Well, let me tell you something, dude. My name's Barry, and I'm gonna have you running back to the Pokemon Center!"

"Oh really?" an 18 year old Stephen said. "You think you have what it takes to beat a Champion of the 4 other Pokemon regions?" He liked his challenger's spirit; this would be a good battle. And a grand battle it was, unfortunately for Barry, he saved his Unfezant for last against Stephen's Samurott, and the latter ended the battle with an Ice Beam. Barry looked at the ground in defeat as he handed to victor the prize money. "it's okay, Barry. " Stephen consoled him. "It was a great battle, and it was nice that both of us had fun." The blonde trainer regained his energy in a smile. "You're a good trainer, just keep treating your Pokemon well, and you'll do great," They shook hands, then noticed a noise near them.

"What's that?" Barry tiptoed over to the source of the noise, Stephen followed. "Whoa, is that...?" The two had stumbled upon a two on one. Two Heatmor were cornering a Deino, who was guarding a group of noticeably small Durant. One Heatmor used a Slash attack at the Deino, who took the hit and countered with a Headbutt. The attacker went down, and its brother charged at him for another Slash attack. However, it missed and the Deino managed to get a harsh Bite attack on the Heatmor's arm, causing it to back away. The two trainers watched as the Heatmor inhaled and breathed out fire in a harsh Flamethrower, but the Deino had other plans. It fired a fire of its own, but this one looked more like a very colorful aurora; this was Dragonbreath. The Flamethrower barely reached the Dragon type as the Dragonbreath  cancelled the flames and hit the Heatmor right in its chest, sending it flying. It got up and ran away. The Deino looked to the Durant behind him, checking on them. They nodded their thanks and went on their way. 

"Do you want to catch it?" Stephen asked Barry. "A Hydreigon is a valuable asset to any team"

"Nah," Barry responded, and the senior trainer was bewildered. "It takes to long for him to evolve into just Zweilous, and I plan to keep moving forward!" With that, before Stephen could make up his mind to slap this child, Barry walked in the direction of the entrance to Victory Road, so he could find the nearest Pokemon Center. Stephen looked back at the Deino, who seemed to now be bumping around the darkness of the cave, He approached the clumsy Pokemon.

"Hey there, Deino." Stephen greeted the Dark/Dragon type, who was now looking at him. "You seem lost. That would make two of us." Stephen chuckled by himself as the Deino then nodded him over and started walking in some direction. The trainer, curious, followed. After a short, silent hike through the expansive cavern, Stephen had found himself at the Entrance to the Unova League Elite Four Headquarters. He looked down at the Deino. "Thanks." He said, but then though of how Barry said how he didn't want to train him, how he implied that another Pokemon would just slow him down. Stephen would never say something like that.

"Say, Deino," He began before the little one could move away. "What do you say you come with me? I see that you have a kind heart, despite what the villagers say about your species. You're not all violent and destructive; you just demonstrated that today. And I know that with you on the team, neither one of us will get lost. And if we do, at least we're lost together." The Deino considered this for a second. "I'll even nickname you!" Stephen offered. He hadn't given his Pokmeon nicknames since he left Sinnoh. "How about... Darkness?" The Deino shook its head; Stephen was out of practice. "Um, how bout... Angel?" The Deino shook his head violently. There goes the ironic, humorous choice. Stephen thought. "How about, Reaper?" The black and blue Pokemon though about this, then nodded its head. "Well then, Reaper, welcome to my team!"

~~~~Real time~~~~

"And from there, we went on to take down the Elite Four, and I had just added you to my team!" I said, reminiscing about our victory. "I even remember that one time with Iris." I chuckled as a small flame met my face, but it missed. I looked down at Reaper, and I didn't even notice that his colors had turned back to normal. It's not like I could tell that his colors were darker, his coat and skin were already dark as is. "It's good to have you back to normal, buddy."

"Hyydra," Reaper happily cried,, as I applied a Super Potion. I looked now to my exhausted Gyarados, and gave him a Hyper Potion; he fought Patrician and Reaper back to back, nowhere near an easy feat. I looked over to the now recovering horses and walked over. They were smaller than normal horses, and two of them had horns, a third had wings, and the fourth had neither. Weird.

"Well, hello there. Are you alright?" What happened next blew my freaking mind.

"Yes, we're fine, now." The purple one who shot the beam replied. "Um, are you okay? I'M SORRY BUT DID THIS PONY JUST TALK? I was in a short state of shock before I realized she was trying to get my attention. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" She, at least it sounded like one, said.

"No, it's alright," I assured her. "I'm just not used to seeing little equine creature speak coherent English. Of course, there was that Slowbro and Meowth, but still." 

"English? Do you mean, Equish?" The purple one asked, puzzled. Are you serious? I thought. Just where the hell am I? "I'm pretty sure that you're not from around here, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but..." I tried to play it cool with what I said next. "Was it you and your friends who were following me?" She nodded shyly and her friends followed suit. "So, all this time, when I've been calling out for help when I was lost, you were right behind me and did nothing? Talk about hospitality." I crossed my arms. I was getting a little mad; they'd been following me this whole time. Were they studying me? Would they try to take me down and experiment on me? But one question rang through my head, should I trust them?

"I'm very, very sorry about that, um..." She nodded her head in my direction, as if expecting something. I gave her my name. "Stephen. Hmm, what an interesting name. But I digress, we were supposed to follow you and figure out if you were some kind of threat to our world."

"You do know," My hand slowly met my forehead. Not exactly a slap, but the disappointment was still there. "That you could have confronted me and asked me?" The four equines now looked at the ground in guilt.

"We're mighty sorry," said the orange one. She didn't have a horn or wings like the others, but I'd guess and say that she still had an important leadership role somehow. "We've never anything like ya before. Especially with pets like that.

"They're not pets, actually. They're-" i was cut off by some a golden beam of light coming between me and the ponies, and a very, very loud voice.

"STEP AWAY FROM OUR SUBJECTS, FOUL CREATURE!" I turned to see about a dozen white coated equines, all clad in some kind of golden armor, and behind them, two equines that stood tall compared to the others. They had both horns and wings. The smaller of the two was dark blue and had a flowing mane that moved with an otherworldly wind small points in her mane made it seem like it was the night sky. The taller one, obviously the more intimidating one, was completely white, and had a mane with qualities similar to the blue one, but instead of dark blue, it was a rainbow. 

"We will not let you continue to cause havoc in our country, alien." The small blue equine stomped her hoof threateningly, like a Tauros about to charge. I looked at the guards around them. Many of them also had horns, which lit up as they somehow managed to suspend spears in the same glow. Just as this happened, Nova popped out of her ball.

"Nova!" I yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Their energies, Stephen!" She was pointing out the unicorns holding their spears. "Like a Psychic type's, but not as strong. I can take them on."

"No, Nova!" I refused to get in a fight with what looked like the leaders of the land. I looked to the tall horses. "We don't want trouble, we're lost and we have no idea where we are."

"So you say you are not here on purpose to achieve hostile deeds?" The blue one interrogated. The white one stayed silent for this whole time. I stepped forward to try and get a hand/hoofshake with the blue one, a universal sign of friendship, right? WRONG.

"Watch out Princess!" one of the guards yelled and charged at me with his spear. He was knocked back by a blue force from behind me. I turned and saw my Gardevoir with her hand upraised and her usual blue Psychic aura in her eyes and palm.

"Nova, please calm down." I reached for my Pokeball, and called her into it. With that done I turned back to the blue Princess. "Now if you could just-" I was cut off once again.

The last thing I heard was, "No Princess, stop!" and "Luna, wait!" before I felt some kind of force hit the back of my head, causing me to black out.

~~~~Pony POV~~~~

"Luna," Princess Celestia was looking at the downed biped. "Why did you do that?"

"Sister, his pet attacked a guard." Luna tried to justify. "We retaliated."

"Luna," Celestia repeated. "He was coming to you to shake hooves. He wanted peace. Perhaps his pet was being protective against the guard who tried to attack him?" A certian Lieutenant stepped forward to check on the downed guard.

"My most sincerest apologies, your Majesties." High Marks implored. "He's just a recruit,I assumed he panicked."

"Nonetheless," Celestia began. "He instigated the fight, not the creature." Then she looked to the four Elements of Harmony. "Are you girls alright? Was he trying to hurt you?"

"No, not at all," Twilight said, much to Luna's surprise. "We were actually learning about his pets. He was actually a bit nice."

"Even though he made fight his pets fight," Fluttershy surprisingly added. "He had good reason."

"Which is?" Luna stood aghast at the thought of such brutality among animals, especially at the thought of this creature at the head of it. She glowered at the unconscious being.

"I feel like this is not the place for explanations and interviews," Celestia wanted to stop before Luna was given antoher reason to hurt the new creature. The Solar Regent beckoned the guards over and gestured to the unconscious human. "Bring him to the castle with us, see that he is given a bed to rest and wake up in. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy, if you could join us and tell us what you've observed, we'd be most grateful."

"Of course, Princess," Twilight answered for the four mares, and they joined Celestia and Luna on a chariot to Canterlot, the guards and Stephen's sleeping form in tow. She hoped he wasn't too mad because of what transpired. She really had many questions to ask him. But after what had happened down there, would he trust them?
  
> Chapter 7: Rude Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Celestia, Luna, and the four Elements of Harmony arrived at Canterlot Royal Castle in a matter of minutes. The guards had to enter through a different entrance, so as not to scare the civilians with Stephen's sleeping form. The six regrouped in the main Throne/Court room. There was much to discuss and elaborate upon, especially since the ponies had gotten their hooves on Stephen's backpack and ball-sash.

"What are these items?" Luna asked. A scientist pony was asked to come forward and try to figure out what the two retrieved objects were.

"Well, this item," The scientist held up the backpack. "Is most similar to our own saddlebags. It probably holds many important items. Should we investigate its contents?" 

"No," Celestia said sternly. "It is rude to go snooping around in a stranger's belongings. We could ask him about his bag's contents later." She looked at the ball-sash, which held six little Pokeballs.

"Ah, of course, Princess," the scientist bowed in apology, "Now onto this item. I can tell it is a sash, but I have no idea what those little orbs are."

"May I?" Twilight spoke up, and all heads turned to her. She blushed from all of the attention. "I've seen him use it, I think I can try to replicate the use." At this, the Princesses reluctantly agreed and the scientist pushed the sash over to the purple alicorn. She picked up one of the balls, and the Princesses and science pony gasped as the Pokeball increased in size.

"How is that even possible? The science pony asked. "What kind of magic does this creature have?"

"I don't think it's that bipedal creature who has the magic," Twilight replied. "I think it's these pets of his." She then called out, as Stephen said, "Go, Nova!" However, the ball did not open. It just stayed in Twilight's telekinetic grip. She turned it around until she saw a message on a small screen of some sort. which she read aloud, "'Unauthorized User'? So it has to be Stephen to use them, I suppose. These are his, after all."

"What if," Luna spoke up, "We smashed the the capsule? Would that work?" Fluttershy  was immediately concerned.

"But it might hurt the creature inside!" The normally shy pegasus would not have an innocent creature be harmed by an experiment. Then she added, "We can ask Stephen. He'll know what to do." The Princesses both thought for a moment, and Luna spoke up before Celestia.

"Very well." Fluttershy was very happy about that. "However, Twilight shall be the one to ask and, if need, bring him to us. If he comes to us with violent intent, we will have to keep him down there." Twilight raced from the throne room and down to the dungeons.

"Why did you send him to the prisons, Luna?" Celestia grew tired of her younger sister's unreasonable logic sometimes. "Again, he was trying for peace and asking for help."

"Once again, sister," Luna responded. "His pet attacked our guard. Imagine if we let him roam freely in a normal room."

"Nevertheless, Luna," Celestia scolded; she did not want to have this argument again. "You shouldn't have acted so rashly on one that was playing for peace." The younger sister looked down at the tiles, guilty.

"We are sorry, sister." Luna looked up to her loving and forgiving older sister. "We will try to restrain ourselves this time."

~~~Stephen's POV~~~

I finally woke because my back was very itchy. My eyes shot open as I immediately sat up and started scratching the annoyance away. I looked around one I stopped, taking in my surroundings. I was in a grey stone room, a small barred window above me, and a barred door to my right. I could tell we were underground; it smelled dusty yet moist, and the only natural light came from the small window and some torches in the outside hallway. The second thing I realized: my bag and ball sash were gone.

"So I'm in jail," I asked no one in particular. "What the hell for? I didn't start anything." I looked down at the bed I was lying on. It felt very different to regular beds when I felt it, and when I reached under the bed skirt, I pulled up some straw. "Hay filled beds?" it made sense, I supposed. They're horses, pegasi, unicorns, whatever. Hay would be a common resource. I saw a small, empty tin cup in the corner of the room by the door. I got up and did the natural thing in this situation: picked up the cup and started rattling it against the cell doors. "Hellloooo!" I called out. "Anyone out there?" After I heard no answer, I kept rattling the cup on the bars. It took a while, but soon enough, a white horse came galloping to my cell, quite irate.

"In the name of Celestia," The white pegasus pony looked like I had just woken him up. "Stop making that noise!" He ordered. I stared at him with a bored expression, then continued with my small, noisy rampage.

"i swear if you don't stop doing that, I'll-" The guard was about to threaten me.

"What?" I cut him off. "Hurt me? I'm going to guess you've never seen anything like me before, right?" The guard seemed unnerved by the gall I had to interrupt him, but he nodded. "I bet they're trying to figure out just what I am, and they wont get jack squat unless I'm up there to tell them. Now what makes you think that harming a lone specimen of a completely different, sentient species is a good idea?" The guard stood there, trying to think of a good comeback, but was was distracted by a galloping from behind him. He turned, and I looked behind him and saw the purple winged and horned horse from before, being escorted by a white unicorn guard.

"Excuse me, Stephen," she said. "I have an important question."

"Well," I pretended to think about it. "No. i'm not going to answer it." At first my meant reply was caught her off guard,  but she regained a look of composure.

"Please," she pleaded. "It has to do with your pets!" Now she had my attention.

"First of all, they're not pets." I said. "Not to me, at least. Second of all, what is it?"

"What happens," There seemed to be a slight pause in her voice. "If you break one of the capsules with one of those creatures still inside?" My eyes widened with fear and concern, and a bit of anger.

"Did you?" I pulled her by the hoof and got her as close to my face as I could despite the bars in my way. "Did you break one of the Pokeballs?"

"Nononono," The purple horse said, trying to pull away. The guard watching all of this tried to call for other guards, but she not to do anything. "We didn't. But..."

"But..." I repeated. "C'mon, out with it then!"

"But, if you are able to," she continued. "Could you demonstrate some of the items and the creatures?"

"Maybe." I answered. "Now why did you want to know about the Pokeballs?"

"That's what they're called?" she was momentarily distracted, but regained her train of though. "We wanted to know how they worked, and learn about one the creatures inside."

"For one thing," I huffed. "Only I and a few others can open them. Two, if you ever did decide for some insane reason to destroy a Pokeball with a Pokemon still inside it..." I paused. I've seen it happen before in an accident. "The Pokemon inside dies." I watched as a solemn, sad expression came upon the purple horse's face. "You also asked for a demonstration, yes?" I tried to distract us both form such a dark thought. She nodded, but was still a bit sad at the previous statement. "I guess I better try to make a better impression, then? Bring me up, bailiff!" I ordered the guard, who glareda t me with contempt.

"Please Lieutenant High Marks," the purple winged and horned one pleaded. "The Princesses need to see him." The guard remained stoic for a minute as he was contemplating what to do. It was the Princess' orders, after all.


"Alright, creature." The one called High Marks' horn started to glow with a white aura, and the same aura took over the cell doors, which vanished in moments. "Come on out. If you ever make an attempt to escape or fight back, you will be detained again."

"Like I know where I am," I countered. "I'm in a world-" I didn't noticed the purple horse's horn glow and everything went with a flash. Suddenly, we were in a completely different place.

"-of multicolored, talking horses, and I obviously don't belong here!" I continued to rant at the guard until I noticed we were a huge room with a long red carpet leading to a pair of large ornate doors. I turned around and saw the two taller horses with wings and horns, and the three smaller horses from the forest. Is this some kind of throne room? I wondered.

"We're called ponies, sir." the taller, white winged pony spoke to me. I was still taking in my surroundings. I looked to the ponies in the room and instantly demanded my belongings' return.

"I'd be very happy to have my things back." I kind of growled. A short, blue pony wearing a whiter lab jacket and had the image of a magnifying glass on its flank.

"Our most sincere apologies," the white one said again. "We did not mean to be rude. We were just... curious."

"Curious, indeed." I repeated. "Didn't your elders ever tell you it wasn't right to not only steal but meddle with a stranger's belongings Miss...?"

"Princess Celestia," She gestured to herself with a hoof, then gestured to the dark blue pony beside her. "And this is Princess Luna. We rule over this land together. And once again, we are very sorry for having taken your possessions."

"Well, Celestia-" I began before another guard, I couldn't tell; they all looked alike, interrupted me.

"It's Princess Celestia," It barked. "Foul beast!" I smirked.

"Am I a fellow pony? Do I live here in this country?" I asked rhetorically. "No. I am not one their subjects. While I do respect your authority," I said to the Princesses. Celestia watched calmly, but Luna looked irritated. "We both recognize that they cannot control me nor have any authority over me." Before Luna could angrily respond, her elder sister spoke.

"He is correct." Celestia smiled at me. "He is not of our country or origins. He does not lie under our jurisdiction and should not have to."

"May I say something, sister?" Luna cut in. The aforementioned sister nodded. "Good sir creature," she spoke to me now. "We are sorry for knocking you out under the pretense that you were hostile. But know that if you harm our subjects in any way, there will be dire consequences."

"What," I countered. "You don't trust me?" The blue pony shook her head. "Then I guess the feeling's mutual." The ponies in the room gasped, and looked at me with pleading eyes. "Why should I trust this place? I woke up in a jail cell! For all I know you, could be horrible ponies to other countries, you might be the source of troubles for other species in this weird world. You might even drug me or knock me out again and experiment on me while I'm unconscious!"

"Please, sir," Celestia tried to calm me down. "We're not here to harm you in any way. We're all just trying to help you; you are lost, correct?"

"Yes." I answered. "Yes I am. And until I have a way to get back to my own world, I will not trust anyone." and with that and a theatrical flair, I put on my backpack and ball-sash, turned, and walked to the doors. "Good night."

"Wait!" I heard Celestia call. I turned once more to her, and saw her order a guard. "Sergeant Iron Wall, please escort our guest to a proper room for the night." She then looked to me with pleading eyes, seeking forgiveness. I let my stern expression soften, but turned away once more, letting the guard lead me on a silent trip to a guest room.

~~~Pony POV~~~

"So," Twilight was deflated. "That went well."

"We shouldn't have acted so rashly," Luna felt at complete fault. "I'm sorry, everypony."

"It's alright," Celestia consoled everyone, including herself. "We just need a way to find his way home."

"But, Princess!" Twilight cut in. "He's from a completely different world! How could we ever find a way to get him to trust us that way?"

"Leave that to us," Luna answered. "Celestia and I will be the ones to toil to find a solution to this. However you, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, will be the ones to try to cheer him and and to make a friendship in some way." The four named ponies agreed to the assignment, determined to make this right.

"Don't worry, Princess Luna." Twilight spoke for the four. "We'll try our best to fix this!"

"But for now," Celestia added. "We better call it a night. Luna, could you?"

"Of course," the sister nodded. "We'll try and see what we can find out."

"Good," Celestia smiled, before turning to the doors to retire for the night. "Good night, everypony." All in attendance replied their 'goodnights' and also went to their respective rooms. 

That night, before she went to sleep, Twilight Sparkle thought of ways to gain Stephen's trust. He was willing to speak to her and her friends by the forest, maybe she can attempt to converse with him again through them. Tomorrow, they would test how each of the four available Elements could get through this.
	
> Chapter 8: Introductions Pt. 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight, Rarity,Fluttershy, and Applejack were waiting in the Royal Dining Hall with Celestia and Luna for breakfast. Stephen, as they had learned to call him, had refused to join them and demanded to have breakfast in his room. The Princesses obliged, and let him eat in peace.

"I still feel very bad about yesterday." Twilight spoke up, breaking the silence of the unusually quiet meal. "There must be some way to get through to him."

"Don't worry, darling," Rarity assured Twilight. "Once Pinkie Pie gets here, I'm sure things will be much easier."

"She's right, sugarcube." Applejack nodded. "Who else to cheer up that mean old Stephen than the Element of Laughter?" As if on cue, a Royal Guard entered the room for an announcement.

"Your Majesties and esteemed guests," he bowed to them. "I am... pleased to announce that Miss Pinkamena has arrived." A pink ball of energy bounced past the gilded armor wearing stallion and giggled.

"You don't have to call me that, silly." Pinkie stopped bouncing and looked to the guard. "Just call me Pinkie Pie, okay?" The guard raised his eyebrow and walked back out. The pink earth pony didn't mind; she was hear for her friends. "Oh look, the gang's almost all here! Where's Dashie? Is she still in Cloudsdale? When will she get back? Are we going to get her? Is the author going to-"

"Pinkie," Twilight cut off her friend so they could get to the point. "We're here on important business, and Rainbow Dash will be joining us later." Princess Celestia nodded to Twilight in thanks.

"She is correct, Pinkie." the Solar Princess added. "We have a grumpy visitor taking temporary residence in the castle, and we were wondering if you and your fellow Elements could try to cheer him up and gain his trust." This time, Pinkie spoke for her friends.

"Yes, ma'ams!" she saluted the Princesses, and with her friends, they walked out of the Dining Hall and went up to start their mission.

~~~Stephen's POV~~~

I lay in my bed, and empty plate on a small table beside me. I was looking through my PokeDex for entertainment. Unless there was a good reason, I would not go out and try socializing these ponies. I don't know how to deal with them yet, let alone trust them. I had been looking through my Unova section on my PokeDex when I heard a knock at my chamber door. Someone was rapping, tapping at my chamber door. I got up, PokeDex in hand, and walked over to the door. I put my ear against the wood, but heard nothing on the other side. I opened the door just a bit so that one could only see my face: nothing, just an empty hallway. Or so I thought.

"HI THERE!" a flash of bright pink suddenly appeared in my face. Great, another pony. "I'm Pinkie Pie, and I heard you were from a whole other universe and I got super duper excited and began thinking of what kind of party I should throw, do aliens like parties? I hope you do because you're gonna have possibly the grandest, most funnest party in the history of all Equestria and you'll make so many friends and eat cake and cupcakes and play Pin the Tail on the Pony and meet my pet Gummy and...." She rambled on and on  at the speed of sound without any evidence of further intake of oxygen. I held up my hands to try to slow her down. Thankfully, she did.

"Whoa there," I said, out of breath just by trying to keep up with what she was saying. "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to say all of that a lot slower and a bit more concisely, please." She simply nodded, took a deep breath and responded.

"Well," she started. "I heard you were from a completely different universe. As a good host, I'd like to extend an invitation to you for a party, for you, so that you can meet other ponies and become great friends with everypony and eat cupcakes with us and party even more!"

"As fun as that sound, um... What was your name again?" I asked.

"Pinkie Pie!" she answered. "But you can call me Pinkie."

"Well, Pinkie," I repeated her apt name. "My name is Stephen. I'm going to have to ask that you postpone that party for another time. I'm still trying to get used to things, and I just happen to be doing some very important things."

"What kind of important things?" Pinkie asked. Man, I thought. She's like a child!

"Things that you wouldn't understand." I answered. "Alien stuff. Wibbly wobbly kind of stuff."

"I wanna learn!" she insisted. "It'll be fun!"

"No, sorry I-" I cut myself off for a moment, thinking of my PokeDex in my hand. "Actually, you might be able to help me."

"Really?" I nodded. "How?" She was getting really excited.

"Just stand still, okay?" She seemed a bit disappointed at the command, but did what she was told. Her eyes widened in wonder as I pulled up my Pokedex, and set its eye on her.

"Name: Pinkie Pie." Dex's robotic voice said. "Species Unknown. A Fairy Type." Wat. I looked at Pinkie, who looked a bit confused.

"What's a fairy type?" She asked.

"Well," I answered. "It a certain type of creature capable of interesting abilities that most others can't do. Their powers are quite mystical and can barely be explained." At this, Pinkie's eye's widened.

"Oooh, really?" I nodded again. "Can you use that red box speaky thingy on my friends?"

"Um, sorry." I was getting pretty eager to end this conversation. She moved closer to me and seemed to want to get into my room. "Kay bye now." I shut the door in her face. Yeah, a bit rood, but I really did not feel like starting my day with an hyperactive pony like her.

~~~Pony POV~~~

Pinkie hopped back to her friends and the Princesses in the Throne Room, where they were waiting for any results. When thep ink pony returned, they all looked to her in hope.

"Well," Twilight egged on. "How'd it go, Pinkie?"

"He said he didn't want to have the party now." The other ponies seemed dismayed; they thought a good party would brighten him up. "But he said postpone! That means we can party later!" That seemed to pick up their spirits.

"What else did he do?" Princess Celestia asked. "Did you learn anything about him?'

"Oh!" Pinkie remembered the PokeDex. "He had a weird box that said my name and said I was fairy!" The ponies in the room seemed confused.

"A box... talked?" Luna was very confused. Modern technology already confused her; she preferred the abacus to the calculator. "How?"

"I dunno." the pink one answered. "It just spoke. And Stephen said a 'fairy type' has 'awesome mystical powers that go unexplained' or something like that. Twilight and the others giggled.

"I do guess that that is one way to describe you, Pinkie Pie." Rarity remarked. "But did anything else happen?"

"I tried to get him to invite me in to chat and stuff and be friends," Pinkie added. "But he said he had stuff to do and close the door." She frowned a bit a the thought of not being able to make a new friend.

"It's alright." Twilight put her hoof on Pinkie's back. "We've only just started to get through to him. We're making progress. It's slow, but it's still progress."

"That's correct, Twilight," Celestia proudly commended her student. "Next, I believe Rarity should go." The ivory coated unicorn wondered why she would go. "It seems that doesn't exactly have enough clothes for an extended stay. Why don't you introduce yourself as well and see if you can make him some new garments? Who knows, maybe he might know a bit of fashion from his world and inspire some new pieces for you?" Rarity practically squealed at the thought of otherworldly designs.

"Oh, of course, Princess!" Rarity bowed in thanks. "I will try my best to gain his trust, and hopefully learn about his world's fashion! Oh how exciting!" The fashionista pony exictedly trotted out the room and went up to visit Stephen. She would not fail in this task!

~~~Stephen's POV~~~

I was thinking about PInkie Pie since she left. A fairy type, huh? I mulled it around in my thoughts a bit. That reminds me, I never went to visit Kalos. I smirked thinking of the new journey. No, I'm done with that now. I just want to settle down and relax. My Pokemon are old now, too. I'll just take care of my Pokemon family until I can't anymore. I kept my mind wandering until yet another pony was knocking at my door. 

"Who is it?" I opened the door that same way I did the first time, only my face showing. I looked down and saw that it was one of the ponies from the forest. "Oh, hello there. I remember you."

"Yes, of course." she said. "You were quite talented in controlling and taming those creatures." Her posh accent kind of annoyed me, but hey, books and covers.

"So, uh," What was she here for? "Can I help you somehow?"

"Actually darling," she looked at my face, somewhat pleadingly. "I'm here to help you." She saw my confused expression and asked. "Is that one outfit all you have to wear?" I nodded. "That simply can't do! Your marvelous clothes would get dirty, and it would be most unsanitary to have you wear the same items every single day!"

"Well," I pushed the door aside, revealing my clothes. "I guess I could use some more clothes."

"That's the spirit." she smiled at me. "May I come in so I can take your measurements?"

"Um... sure." I opened the door to let her enter my room. She looked around the room and pointed me to a spot close to the middle of the room. I stood, arms raised parallel to the floor. This was quite the favor, so it was only necessary that I thank her. "Thank you, Miss..."

"Rarity, darling." she finished the sentence, pulling out measurement tape, a quill pen, and a notepad out of nowhere and somehow holding it up. Her white horn was surrounding in a blue aura, as was the aforementioned items. "Now hold still as I-"

"Actually, wait, Rarity." I grabbed my PokeDex very quickly. "May I?"

"Is that the talking box Pinkie told me about?" She asked, curious at the new item.

"Um, yes." I answered. "Can you stand still for a moment please?" She did so and I brought up the Dex's eye up to her.

"Name: Rarity." Dex spoke again. "Species Unknown. Psychic type."

"Hm," I assessed. "That seems about right."

"Psychic type?" She asked. "Like somepony that can predict the future?"

"I supposed they are able to do that," I answered, "But Psychic type are known to use energy from their minds to control things or do things" Rarity pondered this.

"How interesting..." She then remembered why she was here. "Now you stand still as I take your measurements!" She quickly had the measuring tape measure  the width of my chest, waist, back, and side, as well as the length of my arms, legs and torso. It was quick and quiet, and she wrote the information down on the notepad..

"There we go, darling, all finished!" Rarity put away her tools somewhere, then turned to me curiously once again. "Now, do you have any knowledge of the fashion in your world?" Of course she'd ask that. However, Kara knows more about fashion than me. Girls do that, right?

"Actually, I don't. Sorry." I answered. "I just know what colors to wear and not to wear together, and how not to look to obnoxious. I at least know the difference between outwear, sportswear, and dress clothes." Rarity took this in, a bit disappointed. 

"That's all fine, darling." She accepted. "Thank you for your time. Your clothes will be ready in a few days." I nodded and let her leave on her own, closing the door behind her.

I walked back over to my bed. Time for a nap I decided. That's enough pony interaction for now. I closed my eyes and dozed off. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to somehow get more sleep in a nap than I did last night.

~~~Pony POV~~~

Rarity came back trotting happily, and the ponies waited patiently for results. Twilight and the others stepped forward to meet their friend. 

"Rarity," Twilight said. "Did you learn anything? Anything new?"

"Well, he's certainly not an authority on fashion." Rarity joked. "He seems good natured. He didn't attack me or say anything hurtful while I took his measurements. His box said I was a Psychic type thing or something like that. He said that they used energy from the mind to control and do things."

"It sounds like basic unicorn skills." Twilight commented.

"That's a good sign." Celestia smiled. So he was a good creature after all. Maybe if they tried a different approach, they'd get more out of him. "He's open and doesn't seem to be making any attempts at a violent escape. He seems more intent on learning what we are and learning about his surroundings in somewhat of a subtle way.

"Should I go next, Princess?" Twilight asked, eager to learn. 

"I think not, Twilight." The purple alicorn frowned at this. "We're saving you for last, when we know we can fully trust each other." Then she turned to another pony. "Applejack, I have no idea how you might be able to connect to Stephen at the moment, so we can think of something before Rainbow Dash arrives. The pony I want next... is Fluttershy."

"A-are you sure?" the yellow pegasus asked meekly. "I don't exactly know how I'll introduce myself or start the conversation."

"Remember, Fluttershy," Celestia thought this may be an issue. "That you have a keen talent for taking care of animals, sweet and scary. He has such creatures along with him. Maybe you can learn more about these creatures, and others from his world." Fluttershy's eyes widened in excitement.

"Oh yes, that would be nice." She pondered. "I'll go now then!" She turned before Luna called out.

"Wait!" the Night Princess called. "I can sense that he is napping, maybe we can try this next encounter later, when he wakes? I might even be able to read his dream this time; he didn't really sleep last night, and I was not able to enter any such dream of his." Celestia nodded at this new development.

"Very well." she turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, you and your friends should go ahead and relax, maybe go out into the city and look around. We'll let you know when we'll resume our assignments." The five Elements of Harmony nodded their thanks and headed their way out.

Celestia looked to Luna and asked, "Shall we take a look into his dream together?" The younger sister nodded and replied.

"Yes, we'll learn about this creature together." Luna added, "Then we can better understand and find a way to gain this creature's trust." They sat down together in their respective thrones, closed their eyes, and Luna's dreamwalking spell began.
	


> Chapter 9: Introductions Pt. 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey, BronyDJ here! Just wanted to say Heyo and thanks sooo much for all of the love you guys give my fic, You guys are awesome! I'm not home, starting this chapter. I'm actually babysitting my nieces at a family party, I got bored and went on the computer. The keyboard is one of those really weird curvy ones with a very annoying design that's really hard to type on. Also, the little girls are laughing at the fact that I'm doing something MLP related. Anyways, on with the story!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Celestia and Luna were staring at nothing but fog as they entered Stephen's sleeping mind, At first there was silence, Then, there was the unbelievably loud roar of a gigantic crowd cheering for some reason. A festival of sorts, perhaps? Maybe a some celebration of a person? Instead, the fog cleared to reveal that the Royal Sisters were seated in a humungous coliseum type arena, a small playing field in the middle. They were seated close enough to see the two figures in the middle, a tall blonde haired woman, and a slightly younger man with dark hair and a black t-shirt.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice on the PA shouted. Despite the roar of the crowd, they heard the announcer clearly. "We are proud to present today's Sinnoh League Championship battle!" Celestia and Luna's eyes widened, They had heard that Stephen had to battle his creatures to restore them, as told through the perspective of the Elements, but now they would get to see the creatures' might up close. "In the red corner, all the way from the Hoenn region, already the succeeding Champion of the Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto regions, Stephen!" The Princesses observed the young man; he was calm, and determined, not cocky or nervous. He had obviously been in this situation before. "And it the blue corner, the defending Champion of the Sinnoh Pokémon League, Cynthia!" The crowd erupted at her name, and she waved to the crowd with a simple smile, and turned her attention to Stephen.

"I've heard from Steven, Blue, and Lance that you are not a Trainer to be taken lightly," Cynthia commended Stephen. "That you were a strong trainer who easily overpowered them. I must warn you however," she reached for her first Pokeball. "That this will be one battle neither one of us will forget!" The crowd roared in anticipation. The challenger Stephen smiled and nodded, reaching at his sash for his first Pokémon. "Go, Spiritomb!" the Sinnoh Champion sent out her usual starting Pokémon, ready for battle.

"Go," Stephen finally called out. "Vulcanus!" A fiery primate appeared from the ball, ready for a battle. Luna and Celestia watched in awe as the two humans masterfully commanded and strategized each move in battle. How could they be able to tame such powerful and intimidating creatures? Celestia wondered. Could he be helpful or harmful to our society? Luna thought otherwise. How could I have been so blind? She watched in admiration of the new creatures and their powers. Of course he wouldn't be a threat, he battles more for a kind of sport. His qorld is very intriguing as well. Their full attention was on the battle.

The battle, though very intense, went surprisingly quick. The Spiritomb fell to the Infernape, who fell to her Milotic, which was burned by Stephen's Ampharos' Fire Punch. His Ampharos, who was frozen by the Milotic's Ice Beam, was taken out by her Lucario. The Lucario was taken out by Stephen's Arcanine, which was unfortunately paralyzed by her Togekiss. Stephen called out his Staraptor, which was one-KO'd by a critical-hitting Shock Wave from the Togekiss before it could even land its Close Combat. It was here that Stephen brought out Nova, his Gardevoir. Cynthia saw this and inwardly gasped. The other Champions had said his Gardevoir was very powerful, and that she should do her best to take it out as quickly as possible. She sent out her Roserade, much to Stephen's surprise, and used Toxic, badly poisoning the Psychic type. That didn't stop Stephen from having the Gardevoir use a Psychic attack to one-hit KO the Grass/Poison type. Next was the part that Stephen feared.

"It's been a great battle, Stephen!" Cynthia admitted, sweat and worry visible on her brow. "This will be a close one." Stephen remained silent and concentrated on the next moves. He hoped Gardevoir wasn't hurt too bad from the posion. Too late, though, as Cynthia sent out her strongest, most powerful Pokémon: Garchomp. 

"Damn," Stephen said quietly. "I don't think Nova will be able to get Garchomp's HP down a bit."

"Garchomp, use Dragon Rush!" Cynthia's Dragon/Ground type was surrounded by a purple aura, then charged at the weakened Psychic type. The latter tried to counter with a Thunder Punch, but to no avail. When the dust cleared, Nova was on the ground, her eyes glazed over: the universal sign of fainting.

"Here goes nothing!" Stephen pulled at his final Pokeball. The Royal Sisters watched closely to see how this would play out. "Tempest, it's all up to you!" 

"Oh my!" The announcer, who had been giving quite the entertaining and informative commentary, had summed up the situation in a dramatic fashion. "It's been a while since Cynthia's been brought to her last Pokémon! Could Stephen's last Pokémon be his lucky charm, or will Cynthia retain her Champion title? It's all up to this final round!"

The Princesses watched as the giant leviathan Water/Flying type Gyarados appeared on the stadium. Quite the fearsome serpent! the two thought in unison, though they didn't know it. 

"Garchomp!" Cynthia called out a command. "Dragon Rush!" The purple dragon's aura glowed again, and started to rush at Tempest. Stephen reacted accordingly.

"Tempest! Counter with Waterfall!" the challenger commanded. The Dragon/Ground type and the Water/Flying type were heading right at each other at very high speeds. Right before the Princesses could find out the outcome, they heard a voice.

"What are you doing in here?" The two turned to see a short bipedal creature in white and green, they recognized it as Nova the Gardevoir from the battle. Before the two could answer, the Psychic type said, "If you ever do anything like this again, I will tell Stephen, and you won't like him when he's angry. If you thought you were barely making progress with us  now? Keep this up and it'll be impossible. Psychic!" A light blue flash filled up the Princesses' visions, and they found themselves back in the Throne Room feeling guilty once again, sitting for a moment in an awkward silence.

"Despite what we learned about Stephen," Celestia's voice broke the emptiness. "I still feel that we are going through this the wrong way."

"We are wise," Luna added, "But I suppose less personal and more appropriate ways should get us some better progress." 

"Yes, of course" Celestia agreed, and looked to the nearest guard, and did a double take at the very familiar face. "Captain Armor, when did you get back to Canterlot?"

"Just a while ago, Princess, on the news that there was a new, potentially hostile creature in Canterlot."

"Actually, Shining Armor," Luna said guiltily. "We feel that we may be doing more harm than he ever would." The guard looked confused, but realized as the Princesses explained the occurrences of the past two days. "Now it should be up to Twilight Sparkle, your sister, and her fellow Elements of Harmony to resolve this issue. Can youfindthem and bring them here for us?"

"I'll get my sister and her friends, Princesses." Shining Armor saluted. "Anything to help the effort."

"Thank you, Prince Armor." the aforementioned blushed at the use of the royal title that he barely used. Celestia continued. "It's best that we start Fluttershy's phase of introductions. Those creatures are quite interesting, and I have confidence that Fluttershy's good nature will be a good way to get to him quickly. They contemplated what else could help their cause, and waited for the Elements of Harmony to arrive. They'd be our only hope to reach him, and he may be Equestria's only hope, if the prophecy the Sisters had found was true.
> Chapter 10: Introductions Pt. 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight Sparkle was happily walked alongside her older brother, Shining Armor, back into the Throne Room of of Royal Canterlot Castle. Behind them, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity were reassuring and calming down Fluttershy, as it was her turn next to reach out and try to make nice with Stephen.

"Don't worry your silly little head, Fluttershy," Pinkie smiled, remembering how Stephen acted around her. "He's a bit shy, too! You'll probably get along fine! Besides, who could get mad at you?" The yellow and pink pegasus blushed.

"She's right, darling," Rarity added. "He's tall, but he did nothing to hurt me in anyway. Just remember about the creatures, and hopefully everything will be fine." The group of ponies reunited with Princess Celestia and Luna. There seemed to be an awkward air amongst them, as if something had happened while they were gone. The Solar Princess looked up and saw Twilight and greeted them.

"Ah, welcome back, my little ponies," she said with a small smile. "Fluttershy, are you ready?" The pegasus nodded, and the ivory coated alicorn was about to speak up again when she was cut off by a guard bursting into the room.

"Your Majesties!" he barged in, concern and fear displayed on his face. "The creature is gone!" The ponies in the room gasped, but only Luna reacted quickly enough.

"Find him, but do not confront him." Luna ordered. "We do not want to provoke him or instigate any unwanted confrontation." The guard nodded, but was met with the sight of another guard running in. He rose an eyebrow at the approaching rookie.

"Your Majesties!" All waited for this messenger's message. "We have found him walking around in the castle gardens. We do not know how he got out of his room, nor how he got past his guards, but we've confirmed that he's just walking around in the garden." Princess Celestia smiled, and turned to Fluttershy.

"That's actually quite convenient. The garden scene does calm down most ponies." She turned to the Element of Kindness. "Go now, Fluttershy, and introduce yourself. See if you can learn a bit about those interesting creatures of his." Fluttershy nodded and made her way out, and headed to the Royal Gardens.

~~~~~~~Stephen's POV~~~~~~~

How did I sneak out of my room? Very quietly. Surprisingly, the security around my room was scarce. I just walked out of my room without making a sound and started wandering around. At some point I ended up outside, in some kind of hedge and trophy garden. I looked around at the sculptures, all ponies in some pose that displayed them in some heroic or dramatic way. I looked at the flora, and how it differed from the kind from my world. They were similar, yet so different. I don't know how to explain it. I'm sure I've seen it before, but I don't recall such a plant in my travels. I was about to keep walking when I heard an quiet sound behind me, almost like a squeak. I turned and saw yet another pony from the forest.

"Um," I tried to start a vague conversation. "Hello there." The pegasus said nothing, it looked very nervous. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." It stopped shaking with fear and calmed down a bit, and let its gaze rest on my chest. I followed her gaze, it looked like a her, to one of my Pokeballs. "You like my Pokeballs?" Oh, God I thought. That sounded so wrong. She shook her head and squeaked something.

"Excuse me?" I strained my ears to hear what she was saying.

"I... wanted..." She was murmuring.

"C'mon, I can't help you unless you speak up!" I tried to goad her into speaking up, but she ended up just blurting it all out.

"I just wanted to see one of your pets!" She blurted out quickly, then looked down as if she were ashamed of speaking out. "If... if that's okay with you." The pink one was a handful to deal with, and the white unicorn was tolerable. But this one? I doubt I'd ever be able to get mad at her? I grabbed a Pokeball at random, to oblige her request, hoping it wasn't one of the scarier Pokemon on my team. I could see the Royal Guards watching from the skies, the balconies of the castle, the quiet gardener in the back of the garden observing the goings-on. I didn't want any unnecessary attention. Luckily, a smaller member of my team popped out and gave out a cry.

"Leafeon!" she cried, happy to find herself in a garden. Maple looked at me happily and turned to see the yellow pegasus whose name I did not know yet.

"Oh, hello little one!" she scooped Maple up in her hooves and cradled the Grass type as she flapped her wings and took to the air. She just cradled the Pokemon in her hooves as she flew around the garden, making small talk with Maple, who was apparently enjoying her company. After a few more moments of the two's bonding session, I speak up.

"You seem to be having a lot of fun, miss...?" I press for a name.

"Oh," she realized I was talking to her; she was engrossed by Maple's cute form. The latter didn't mind the attention. "My name is Fluttershy, and I must say this pet of your is so adorable!"

"That's Maple, the Leafeon." I introduced, as the aforementioned Pokemon cried at the sound of her name. "And she's not exactly my pet." Fluttershy was confused. She's quiet and an animal lover, I can tell that much right now. I though, careful of what I should say next. How does one explain Pokemon battles in a peaceful way?... Aha! Time to Oak it up!... Never saying or thinking that ever again.

"Well, my world is inhabited by various creatures of many shapes and sizes called Pokemon. Some people do consider them as pets or traveling companions, but many...like to compete with one another." I explain, trying to tread lightly on the upcoming concept of Pokemon battle. "In my world, we find these wild Pokemon, capture, tame and train them to do certain things. They could be capable of doing the dishes for you, cutting food or the lawn, even taking care of the little children, sick, and elderly." Fluttershy was paying complete attention to my speech, fascinated by my world. "The most popular kind of competition between those who catch these Pokemon is through battles." Here, Fluttershy gasped in horror.

"What? How dare you subject these adorable creatures to such horrible acts!" She got in my face about it, and I swear her big blue eyes had grown large. If I didn't have experience with a Gyarados, I'd have been very intimidated. 

"Hear me out, Fluttershy." She calmed down and kept listening, still miffed at the thought of battles. "It's actually a natural thing for Pokemon to battle. They battle often in the wild, whether it be for food, territory, a mate, or some other odd reason." Fluttershy seemed to understand a bit more, she must have seen wild animals fighting over such things before. "Also, when we train them, they're much stronger than the Pokemon in the wild, so the only challenge is another trainer's Pokemon! They like to battle; it's like a sport to them! What's more, a good trainer knows when to stop a battle from going to far. No one wants to see their friend, not their pet, but their friend getting hurt. If they do get hurt, he heal the with medicine or bring them to a small healing center so they can be ready for a battle any other day." 

"I guess I understand now," Fluttershy took in the message I was trying to convey. "What kinds of Pokemon are there?"

"Oh, there are plenty!" I responded, which was met with a pair of wide, curious eyes. "More than 600 kinds have been discovered. Would you like to see?" I pulled out my Pokedex. Then I remembered my encounter with Pinkie and Rarity. "Actually Fluttershy, could you stand still for a moment?" She did as she was told, and I brought my Pokedex's eye to her.

"Name: Fluttershy." Dex's robotic voice spoke thus. "Species unknown. A Flying/Fairy type."

"Hm, Flying type makes sense." I thought out loud. "You have wings. Fairy type, though..." I wondered before asking her. "Do you have a certain talent that goes unexplained?" Fluttershy thought for a moment before answering.

"Um, I can more or less communicate with animals." I nodded; that's an interesting ability for one meant to be in the sky. "I also can do something called the Stare, which goes unexplained." 

"Was that the 'Stare' back then when I told you about the battling?" I asked. She nodded. "Because that didn't affect me in the slightest. I've seen a lot scarier things in my time. Heck, I have several giant dragons as Pokemon, and met and battled gigantic, rampaging Legendaries into submission."  Fluttershy's pupil began to shrink in fear the moment I said, "dragons" and began shaking  in fear again at the mention of the Legendaries. I realize that was a bad move. I approach her, my arm outstretched to try an comfort her." I'm sor-" I'm cut off by Nova coming out of her Pokeball.

"Stephen, watch out!"  She sets up a Light Screen around us just as a rainbow colored blur is seen speeding towards us. It collides with Nova's Light Screen, but it doesn't break. The rainbow blur was bounced back. Now that it was done moving at such high speeds, I saw that it was another pony. This one had a rainbow mane and tail, along with a cyan blue coat.

"Get away from Fluttershy, you freak!" She had a gruff, tomboyish voice. She was also very persistent, as she kept dashing at and bouncing back from Nova's Light Screen.

"I wasn't even doing anything! I was trying to apologize for scaring her!" I defended. Fluttershy was frozen in the moment, unable to take in the situation. I turned back to Fluttershy, but was not paying attention. My Psychic powered force field had dissipated, and I was left vulnerable.

"Stephen!" I heard Nova call out before a blue and rainbow blur tackled me from behind. I tried to get up and defend myself, but before either one of us could do anything, The rainbow pony's mane suddenly jolted up, like a black cat on Halloween. She fell to the ground, paralyzed, but very much alive. I looked to Nova, who had approached the pony from behind and had her hand sparking with electricity; a Thunder Punch. I looked behind her and saw several Royal Guards running at us once more.

"Get him! He attacked an Element of Harmony!"  Were just two things I heard from the approaching guards.

"Get ready, Nova." I prepared myself for the charge, timing their steps, and waiting for the right time for a command. Fluttershy was a little ball of fur shaking in fear behind me. Before the guards could reach me a lightning bolt hit the ground and a new voice overpowered all other sounds in the garden.

"ENOUGH! THERE WILL BE NO MORE VIOLENCE HERE TODAY!" I found myself staring at Luna, somewhat amazed. Some kind of Hyper Voice, I guess. I thought. She turned to me, and saw the rainbow pony on the ground, her body sparking from electric paralysis. Luna spoke normally to me, "I saw what happened, and though I did not approve of the reaction, this is not your fault. Your pet, or companion, here came to protect you. It is understandable." She walked over to the rainbow pony. "Rainbow Dash," Seriously, that's her name? I thought, incredulous. "Are you okay?" Luna asked. 

"Y-yeah." Rainbow Dash said through the struggles of paralysis. "Once I'm out of this state, I'm gonna pummel that freak." She threatened me, but I felt no such thing.

"I could heal her," I offered, which caught the Night Princess' attention. "I have the medicine for it." Her eyes pleaded yes, and so I took off my bad and searched through it to find a Paralyze Heal spray. Having found it, I brought it up to Rainbow Dash, who didn't trust me at all. Keep this up, you. I said in my head. This will get us nowhere.

"Please, Rainbow Dash," Luna pleaded. "Let him heal you." It took a minute or so, but the lighter blue pony allowed me to spray the medicine on her. Luna and Fluttershy watched, fascinated, as the spray was able to dispel the sparks of electricity, and Rainbow Dash was eventually able to move. Before she could pounce on me in anger, Luna stepped in between us. "Thank you, Stephen." She looked to the guards. "You there! Escort Stephen back to his room. Not the dungeon, his room! He has done nothing wrong." At this, I smiled.

"Thanks, Princess Luna." I gave a small but jerkish smile. "I might just forgive you for knocking me out and imprisoning me earlier." She did not see that joke and had the guards cart me away.

~~~~~Pony POV~~~~~~

"Why'd you do that, Princess?" Rainbow asked. "I was about to beat him to a pulp!"

"Because Rainbow Dash," Luna responded, snapping at the pegasus. "We were trying to gain his trust, and Fluttershy was our best bet. If you hadn't though irrationally and charged in recklessly, this situation would have been avoided!" Rainbow's ears folded back, her head hung in shame.

"I'm sorry, Princess Luna." Rainbow apologized. "I didn't know."

"It's quite alright." Luna was in a hurry, beckoning the two pegasi to come with her "Come, you two. We must tell Celestia what has transpired here today."

	

> Chapter 11: Intervention and Revelation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed Princess Luna back to the throne room, where the other Elements of Harmony, along with Princess Celestia. Once the smaller ponies looked up and finally noticed the trio enter, they immediately rushed to greet Rainbow Dash and start asking Fluttershy questions, Pinkie Pie was especially excited.

"Ooh, hey Dashie!" Pinkie greeted with a large grin. "How was your weather captain meeting in Cloudsdale? What'd they say?" Then she noticed Dashie wasn't exactly smiling; she seemed to have been scolded a bit recently.

"Answers for those questions can come later, Pinkie." Luna responded. "We have other things to address." She looked at the spectrum maned pony and said, "Rainbow Dash actually managed to impede our progress with Stephen. now we're even father behind in the plan, and now we won't be able to get him to assist us in the prophecy!" Luna stomped angrily.

"Prophecy?" The Mane 6 queried in unison. Twilight looked to her mentor, who sighed and rose from her throne. She walked over to one of the many stained glass windows in the room that portrayed the many stories of the past in colorful presentation. She came over to a familiar window pane, with a certain creature dangling over a unicorn, pegasus, and 
Earth pony with puppeteer's strings. The ponies gasped as the picture of the creature came alive once again and spoke thus.

"Ah, Celestia," Discord seemed to be stretching his mismatched limbs. "Surveillance via glass window can really be a pane, y'know?" He chuckled at his own joke.

"Now is not the time for your jokes, Discord." Celestia already felt her patience wearing thin, and the two just started talking. "You know the most about the prophecy, it's up to you to relay unto the Elements the news you told us." Discord looked past the Solar Regent to see the 6 ponies that had previously defeated him and later on managed to convert him for "good."

"Fine, fine," Discord wanted this to be quick; there were better things to do. "As you know, I"m a draconequus." The Mane 6 nodded. "However, I"m not the only draconequus. I happened to be the only one brave, or rather bored, enough to try to take over Equestria. However, after my first imprisonment, my species, my brothers and sisters, began to fade away into the sands of time. There are very few who still exist today, but they, like myself, are very powerful." The six mares were shocked to hear that another draconequus was at the head of something that was bothering the Princesses. "This one, whose heart is filled with much more malice and destruction, is named Corruption."

"Corruption?" Rainbow Dash repeated. "That sounds like a stupid name. But uh... no offense, Discord." The mismatched God of Chaos shrugged at this and continued.

"None taken." Discord replied. "Corruption was also very stubborn. Now, with all his stubbornness, he will not stop until he has taken over Equestria."

"But," Twilgiht interrupted. "What does Stephen have to do with this?

"I don't exactly know the words," Discord answered. "But it goes something like... 'a visitor, the Champion from the stars, fallen into this world from his home afar, must face the darkened beasts of legendary form; the Princesses cannot defeat Corruption without the Champion standing against the storm.'"

"Darkened beasts?" Twilight recalled Stephen's Pokemon in the forest. "You mean like turned in the way you did to us?"

"Yes," Discord answered again. "But Corruption's version takes a darker turn. The pony's color once again fades to darker colors, but this time, they become angry, resentful, and violent. I assume you might have seen it before?" Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack answered.

"It was dreadful!" Rarity said. "Stephen's creatures were downright uncouth. That is, until he calmed them down with a small fight and somehow brought them to normal."

"How?" Discord was the one to ask the question this time.

"It's sounded like the manual version of a memory spell." Twilight answered.

"Yeah," Applejack added, "Once he had 'em calmed down, he would talk to them about how they met, and how important it was to him. Then those odd creatures regained their colors."

"Interesting," Discord took this all in. "However, as I am able to, I found myself sneaking into Corruption's den. I cannot tell you where it is, as he and his forces are coming to meet up us, and we should reciprocate."

"What?" Celestia finally spoke up. "His den? What did you see?"

"I couldn't exactly explain all of what I saw." Discord remembered his time in Corruption's cavern. "I saw many, titanic sized creatures that practically radiated power of various kinds. They were nothing I had ever seen before, much alike Stephen's Pokemon. However, I could tell they had been turned by Corruption's power; their coats were dark and the creatures were becoming violent, spewing jets of fire, water, and sometimes pure energy into to air. I barely managed to escape being captured by my brother, he only told me to warn you of his coming. It only seems appropriate that we have Stephen face Corruption's army of creatures with his own."

"So that's what I am?" a new voice asked the ponies. "A weapon of war?" The ponies turned to see quiet an angry Stephen by the door.

~~~~Stephen's POV~~~~~

I demanded the guards to bring me to the Princesses. Why were these ponies coming up to me? What was their true motive for trying to socialize with me? I even let the yellow play with one of my Pokemon. What if she hurt it? Whati f the innocence is all an act? I would get down to the bottom of this. The guards led me to the doors to the Throne Room, in which I stepped in the middle of a bizarre creature giving some kind of lecture. I stayed quiet, but the group was far away, so I could only hear snippets of the conversation.

"Beasts," "corruption," violent," were the ones that I heard the loudest. I was about to yell out that I wasn't here to cause harm, when the mismatched creature spoke, "It seems appropriate that we have  Stephen face ... army with his own." I finally chose to speak up.

"So I'm a weapon now?" I was pretty angry. I wanted nothing more than a way home, but they had plans for me to be part of a war. "No! I will agree to nothing of the sort! I came here by a freak accident, and I want nothing more than to return home, where I belong!" Princess Celesta looked like she was about to speak, but was was cut off by the bizarre creature.

"Hello Stephen," he said. "My name is Discord. I know you're angry because the ponies are using you, but hear me out." I crossed my arms and waited expectantly for the reason why I should help these ponies.

"Now, the prophecy says,  bluntly, that you are the one that is to save this world from certain doom and conquest by a very dangerous and evil creature. The prophecy also says that your reward is some kind of magical energy that will be enough to send you home." Now he had my attention.

"Is that the truth?" I was very skeptical. I've heard a good amount of prophecies from my travels around the Pokemon world, and this sounded way to good to be true.

"It says you are the Champion from past out stars." He replied. "Are you a champion of sorts?" I nodded proudly, thinking back to the framed certificates in my house and the tough battles I've had to go through to earn such respect as a Pokemon League Champion. "Then this prophecy applies to you, and the prophecy says you will be rewarded with the ability to return home. That fit your fancy, mister Champion?" He said that last work a bit mockingly. I smirked, but then began to think about it. There was nothing else for me to do, and I desperately needed to get home. I turned to Princess Celestia and Luna.

"Why aren't you able to send me home?" I asked. "You're the princesses, you must have been reconginized for having some grand amount of magical power." They shook their heads.

"Not exactly." Celestia answered. "While we have the power for our celestial duties, entailing the raising and setting of the Sun and Moon respectively," My mind blanked for a moment as she said this. They raise the sun and moon with their magic? I was shocked, but wouldn't let it show. If was just a regular person or pony, I really wouldn't mess with them. "We don't have enough power together to conjure a way for you to return to your world. Such cross-universal spells are very, very rare to even find, let alone cast. The one that takes the least energy would take at least two years' amount of stored energy to cast." Whoa. It looks like I'll have to do the prophecy; I did not like the idea of staying her for a whole two more years, let alone the rest of the month. I turned back to Discord.

"Alright, fine." I answered him. "I'll help with this war. But what am I fighting against?" I asked. Discord shuddered then answered me.

"The prophecy calls them 'darkened beast of legendary form.'" He told me. "Does that mean anything to you?" I thought of all of the Legendary Pokemon I met in my journeys, how I saw their raw power at work, how I battled them and managed to beat them, although just barely. 

"Yes." I simply said. "They're called Legendary Pokemon. They happen to be the strongest Pokemon in existence, aside from some very overpowered Pokemon. They are incredibly powerful and are very difficult to defeat. I have faced them and came out victorious, but just barely. What do you mean by 'darkened'?"

"The ponies tell me you first encountered your companions in the forest, where they were resentful against you and violent?" He asked, to which I nodded. "It's like that. But as you said, it's with these Legendary Pokemon that you are familiar with."  Now Luna spoke up.

"Can you handle them?" She asked. I needed to think. The effects of whatever was turning these Legendaries 'darker' was similar to that of a Dark Ball from my world. They'd be stronger, but much more violent and hateful.

"I think I can take 'em on." I said to myself. "Just leave me alone to train my Pokemon, and we'll see how things go." I turned to leave, but was stopped by the sudden opening of the door by another tall equine. However, this one was more like a bug than a horse. It stood as tall as Celestia, but was jet black with a web-silk bluish-green mane and tail. Her hooves were filled with holes that bore through the limb, I didn't understand how they supported her body.

"Queen Chrysalis!" Celestia, Luna, and the Elements of Harmony moved into some kind of attack formation, as if this newcomer was an enemy. "What are you doing here?" Obviously, the ponies were not on good terms with the intruder.

"Please, Celestia," Queen Chrysalis was begging. A large group of miniature versions of her appeared behind her as she stepped into the room. "I am here, begging for your forgiveness, and more importantly, your help." Luna stepped from the formation to ask.

"For what, exactly?" Luna asked.

"The draconequus has made a move on my Hive!" Chrysalis looked close to tears. "I tried to take along as much as I could but most of my subjects were being consumed by Corruption's power!"

"What?" Celestia couldn't believe her ears at the news, but Chrysalis was not done. "He has the rest of my hive coming here after me. I believe they'll reach the outer rim of Canterlot soon." Before Celestia could look to a guard, I hled up my hand.

"Let me handle the problem" I offered. "My Pokemon can take them out!" Chrysalis turned to me and now begged me.

"Please, don't kill them!" She was really concerned about her subjects, and for some reason, this surprised the ponies. What was their history?

"Don't worry," I assured her. "My Pokemon's attacks will only knock them out or temporarily paralyze or freeze them. My Pokemon will never kill anything under my control." With that I walked out of the room and began thinking of the  best way to deal with a large invasion of bug-ponies.

Once the door closed behind me, I heard the tall bug-like equine ask, "What in the world was that?" I laughed quietly to myself as I walked back to my room.	
> Chapter 12: How to Stop an Invasion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter edited by Element 6147, the new prereader and editor. Thanks a lot, man!


Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis, and the Elements of Harmony stood at a balcony overlooking a vast, dry plain that covered a large area of land between Canterlot and the unknown region known as the Badlands, Chrysalis' former home. They watched as a lone, bipedal figure stood on the plain, waiting. Stephen had taken his time to prepare his Pokémon, something Chrysalis, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie had never experienced. He also had Celestia command the Royal Guard to make a defensive wall behind him in case his plan failed, which seemed unlikely.

“Does the man have any weapons?” Chrysalis asked. “He doesn't have a sword, lance, or a spear, and I doubt such an alien is able to cast spells like we can.”

“While he does not have the ability to use magic or fly on his own,” Celestia answered her as she intently watched the lone Trainer on the field.  In one part of her mind, she couldn't believe she was speaking civilly with the queen who defeated her a year ago. “He has a certain way of dealing with enemies. One, I’m ashamed to admit, that even I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of.  Immortality doesn't mean you can’t feel pain." As the last words left the Princess’s lips, the horizon ahead began to darken.  A large cloud had appeared, and it began to grow in size as it came closer to the capital city.

One changeling, known as General False Swipe, saw a lone figure standing on the field ahead of his changeling army. He pointed at the creature, and the whole army landed several hundred yards away from Stephen. The latter smiled, then reached for a Pokéball.

~~~~Stephen's POV~~~~

“So,” I called out to the large army, “You're supposed to be the fearsome Changeling army here to destroy Canterlot?” I tried remaining calm, one Pokéball in hand. This army was huge. “I'm sure I'll be able to take you all down all on my own.”

Was I being cocky?  Maybe.  But it was all I could do to keep from sounding afraid.

“You?” A loud, authoritative voice called out. “A hairless monkey who thinks he's special because he can talk? We're the very same army that nearly conquered that city a year ago. This time, Canterlot will fall. Brothers!” It turned to his army. “Prepare the charge! Today we conquer Canterlot in the glory of Master Corruption!”

“I'm going to give you all three warnings!” I called out, catching their complete attention. “This is your first: turn back now and desert your Master's plans, and no one will have to be hurt today.”

“The only one that will be hurt,” General False Swipe responded. “Is you, you bloody ape! Advance, now! A-Team, to the air! B-Team, advance on the ground with me!”

The grip on the Pokéball in my hand loosened.  These Changelings only saw me, but I had six more members of my personal army with me; five on my belt, and one in my hand.

“This is your second warning!” I yelled. “If you don’t stop right now, you’ll give me no choice!  I will have to start decimating your entire army.  We can negotiate the terms of surrender with Corruption!”

“We have only one term.” Swipe answered again. “We will tear Canterlot down, brick by golden brick!”	The army advanced a few more yards, and I smirked as they stepped into the perfect range.

“This is your last warning!” I cautioned, holding out his Pokéball as menacingly as possible. “Don't make me use these! I have no problem with taking you all down if you don't cease your advance!”

“Ignore the ape!” the General grew more irritated than before. “It's just a toy!  Run him through, and move on to Canterlot!” The army started to move faster. About half of the Changelings took to the air, while the rest stayed on the ground. There had to be at least 800 of them.  I took another look at the Pokéballs with me.  Maple’s ball shook; she was raring to go.

I warned them. I thought with a smirk.  Just like the all those “Teams” in each region.  They never listen. I tossed out my first Pokéball and out popped a certain Pokémon.

“Leafeon!” she cried. The Changeling army stopped and started to laugh.  Maple growled audibly.  She was getting mad enough that she could probably rout the army without any help from the others.

“What is that?” One of the invaders said, chortling. “Some kind of freak cat?  Is that your little pretty pet?”

They mocked Maple to the point where she had already started charging her SolarBeam.  The sun was out, so the ball of energy the beam would be released from grew quickly.  I noticed this and before Maple fired, I interrupted her.  She held the attack, but looked to me.

“Maple,” I said. “Make sure to fire on my command, and make it sweep across them, okay?”

Maple nodded a quick affirmation. When I turned my attention back to the Changelings, they had sobered up from their laughter and continued advancing, grinning menacingly at their targets.  A few of the smarter ones kept their eyes on the bright orb of light in front of the Leafeon.

“Now, Maple!” I called out, pointing at the army, “Use SolarBeam!” Even before I had gotten the word “use” out fully, she had unleashed a pure beam of solar energy, and it swept across the army, and when the dust settled, several lines of the Changelings were laid out. They were unconscious, but the others didn't know that and began panicking. Now completely confident, I released my other five Pokémon. The army looked from each of them, from the fearsome Tempest and Reaper, to Nova and Volta and balked at their new enemies.

“It matters not!” I heard their leader shout once more. “We must attack Canterlot! Do this, brothers, and Lord Corruption will reward us with bounties we’ve never imagined!”

“Alright, everyone.” I was now talking to each of my Pokémon. “Rush the army. They can't hurt you, because Celestia cast some kind of spell over you.  It’s a blessing of sorts.” My Pokémon seemed to understand this; Nova and Patrician more than the others. I looked to the Changeling army again; they’d regrouped, no doubt attempting to formulate new strategies against their powerful opponents.

“Maple,” The Leafeon stood ready. “You’re small – use that to your advantage.  SolarBeam takes a bit to charge, so use it sparingly.  Mix Quick Attack, Leaf Blade, and Iron Tail, and use them as close combat.  When you can, find some room and hit them with your other Special Attacks.” I turned to the next Pokémon. “Volta, I’ll need you to stay near the edge of the battle and keep them from getting closer.  Do whatever you can.” Volta saluted with an affirmative noise. Patrician stood ready for orders. “Patrician, utilize that speed Arcanine are famous for. Cover Maple like you’re defending Growlithe pups.” Patrician nodded in understanding and went to Maple’s side.  Tempest roared, and I smiled as his roar made part of the Changeling army retreat a couple dozen steps. Gyarados are usually nice Pokémon, but it’s their natural angry look that makes people wary of them.  Not to mention in the wild, they’re very territorial, which is why most Trainers get them by catching Magikarp. “Tempest, get to the center and scatter them with your power; that will make these guys easier to beat for everyone.” When I turned to Reaper, I nearly gasped in fear.  Hydreigon are fighters to the core, and they’re an asset on almost any team.  My fear wasn’t because I almost had forgotten I even had Reaper; there was no way I could forget.  It was because Reaper looked almost primal, as if I hadn’t tamed him. “Reaper, keep the Changelings’ air forces occupied.  You’re strong; you can handle it.  Help the others when they call for you.” Now to my last, strongest Pokémon. “Nova…” I paused. Nova was used to battle, and I had to remind myself that she was protected.  My mind briefly flashed back to the Everfree Forest.  In her corrupted state, Nova had mentioned Kara, but not like a friend – she had been speaking like a jealous ex.  It was weird, but it was scary at the same time.  I shook my head and looked at my first Pokémon – my little sister. “Stay near me.  Get any of those Changelings that get past Volta, okay?”

“Stephen, I –” Nova began, her voice in my head.

“I know you can do more, but for a battle like this, it’s best for you not to get overwhelmed.  Back Volta up.” Nova smiled and nodded at me, going to Volta’s left. Once again, I looked to the Changeling army, which was advancing once again.  I stood by my Pokémon, feeling as invincible as Celestia had made them. “Ready, everyone?” They stood at my sides, three to my left and three to my right. “Charge!”

Immediately, Patrician used Extreme Speed and met a group of Changelings.  They collectively gasped at the Pokémon's suddenly closure of distance and screeched in pain as Patrician unleashed a scorching Flamethrower. Maple was not far behind her battle partner and used Leaf Blade to knock away two Changelings diving at the Arcanine from above.  As the Changeling army advanced, its left flank was quickly being swept away by endless waves of blazing flames and razor-like leaves. Reaper soared high and collided with a Changeling with his Dragon Rush. It was knocked out and was sent flying into its brethren, after which more of the bug-winged hybrids gave chase after the Dragon Pokémon.

Tempest used Waterfall to meet the army in its center, and began thrashing around with Aqua Tail, sending more and more Changelings flying, then let loose a sweeping Hydro Pump.  The Gyarados roared again after the devastating attack, forcing more members of the army into submission. Volta followed after, her hand (I guess) sparking wildly. She punched the first Changeling and followed it up with a Fire Punch to another. Maple Quick Attack-ed her way to one Changeling and sent it flying with the same attack.  She then spun around and slammed an Iron Tail right into the face of a speeding Changeling, who had swooped low to grab the Grass type.  It rolled to the ground, unconscious while Maple smirked in triumph before finding another target.

Nova stayed by my side initially like I’d asked her, but she began moving forward and fired off a Shadow Ball which landed among a large group of Changelings. The small explosion from the move’s impact resulted in several Changelings lying unconscious. She then charged in herself, synchronizing a Thunder Punch with Volta and took out two separate adversaries.  They continued taking down solider after soldier, and at one point, Nova let off a strong Psychic attack against a small group of Changelings, sending them back more than 300 feet.

After about 10 minutes or so, I called my Pokémon back for a rest, and General Swipe's army regrouped. Their “death” total was a lot more than half of the entire army, as I'd guessed, and they had conveniently grouped up. General Swift was one of the few still standing.

“We will not fall to the hands of a circus act!” That really annoyed me.

“My Pokémon?  My friends?!” I yelled angrily. “They’ve done more to your army in ten minutes than you could probably do to them or anyone or anything else in an hour! They've been by my side since practically my whole life; they were my closest thing to family as I traveled around the world.  The reason why my army of 6 was able to defeat your incompetent army of nearly a thousand was because they understood, trusted, and believed in me and in one another. Your attempts to conquer Canterlot are futile, and as long as I am here, they will remain failures!” I took a breath to calm down, then extended a hand towards the Changelings. “I'm calling out to you, because I learned that unity and friendship is important as a Pokémon Trainer.  I will show mercy, because I don't want any more violence today.”

Nova, I thought-spoke to my Gardevoir. Tell the others to prepare a Hyper Beam, just in case. I received a nod from her, and she looked to the other Pokémon, who seemed to get the message. A small ball of energy appeared in front of their mouths and grew larger every second.

“I will never give up this conquest!” Swipe called out. “We will fight for Lord Corruption, for with his power, we will be victorious!” The remaining Changelings mindlessly charged at me and my team.

“You had your chance.” I moved my arm in a sharp sweeping motion. “Use Hyper Beam!” Six beams of pure energy shot straight at the group of Changelings, resulting in a large explosion.  The dust cleared, and the last of the Changeling Army had finally been knocked out.  I turned back to Canterlot Castle. “Take over.  I’m done here.” I walked through the now open wall of shocked guards with Nova at my side and headed back to the castle for a good day's rest.

“Well, damn.” the Captain of the Guard, Shining Armor spoke.

“Something wrong, sir?” a fellow Guard asked.

“I’m just really glad that guy's on our side.” the Captain/Prince answered him. The guards around him nodded in agreement. They all learned a valuable lesson that day: Don't mess with Stephen.
> Chapter 13: Breaking the System
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days ago...

Something had gone terribly wrong in the Kanto city of Cerulean. Bill, Bebe, and Kara stood and watched as the teleportation process began.  However, the moment the device started up, the trio began to feel chills run down their spines; something very bad was about to happen.  This was proved by a pained yell from Stephen from inside the machine. With a final bright flash from inside the capsule, the process was over and Stephen was no longer inside.  Bill ran over to his computer and launched his communications with One Island.  The moment he saw a familiar face he started asking questions.

“Celio!” Bill yelled, anxiety taking over. “Is Stephen there yet?” The correspondent shook his head, and showed his own teleportation device. It was open and smoking, but the talented Trainer was nowhere to be seen. “What could have happened?” Bill's head was in his hands, tears starting to run down his cheeks. He heard someone running up from behind him.

“You idiot!” Kara forcefully turned Bill face her, and slapped him as hard as she could, sending him to the ground. He looked up from the ground and saw that Kara was now on her knees, crying into her hands. Bebe came over to comfort her, and tried explaining to Celio.

“Something happened in the teleportation process.” Bebe’s voice had a hint of sadness in its tone. “We don't know what, but it seems to have sent Stephen somewhere else.”

"Sent?” Kara looked up, eyes red from sobbing. “How do you know that he’s not… if he's…” She dared not finish that sentence.

“Because,” Bebe brought Kara over to another monitor, this one displaying the familiar moving charts one would see in a hospital. “Bill ingeniously snuck an extra feature onto the new Pokéballs. He put a pulse monitor on the capsules, and it's still recording DNA and pulse.”

“But where is he?” Kara watched as the monitor began to show weak spikes in the heartbeat. “Oh no!”

“Kara, please calm down.” Bill rose from the floor, caressing his cheek. “He could have just fell asleep due to the energy the teleport used. He'll be up and back to normal again soon. I promise.” Kara wanted to stay by the monitor for the rest of the day, but night was already approaching. “C’mon Kara.  You need to rest.  Let me and Bebe figure out what went wrong.”  Kara was reluctant, but finally agreed.  Maybe things would be better tomorrow. She really hoped they would be.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The tech pair worked hard on figuring out what caused the accident.  They kept in constant contact with Celio on the receiving machine.  But upon what first was hours, then several days of research, Bill and Bebe were barely able to find anything that could have went wrong. Until one day…

“Hello?” Kara picked up the phone.  It wasn't her house phone, it was Stephen's. She had taking care of some of the other Pokémon that escaped from the Pokémon Professor's Pokémon ranch that would stop by Stephen's house for help or for some fun. She really missed Stephen, and had never given up hope on her two tech-savvy friends. They will find Stephen. The hope didn't falter, instead it grew the moment she heard the voice on the other line. They will get him back home. “Bill, what happened? Slow down!”

“KARAJUSTGETOVERHERENOW!” Bill was barely decipherable on the phone. “IT'SREALLYIMPORTANTCOMEONIT'SABOUTSTEPHEN!” He then hung up, with a sharp slam that startled Kara.  He sounded mad, but he was really excited as well. She made her usual way to Bill’s house, taking Stephen’s car to get there.  She didn't even have to knock on the door, as Bill swung open the door and pulled Kara in forcefully.

“Look!” Bill pointed to a monitor that had several numbers that Bebe brought up. Kara couldn't make head nor tails of it.  Both she and Stephen were better a Social Studies and English in school.  She looked to Bill and Bebe, who just shook their heads.

“What am I looking at right now?” Kara asked.  Bill looked to her incredulously when he remembered that she wasn't as good with numbers and computers as him and his Sinnoh counterpart.

“Well,” Bebe answered for him. “We had based our teleportation on the transference of molecules as a mass via the three axes on a dimensional plane, x, y, and z.” She pointed to three variables on a screen, which led to equations that formed lines on a three-dimensional image that look similar to a tunnel. Bebe continued, “The x and y coordinates were exact. However, the z-"

“The z coordinate just happens to be a whole unit off, compared to where it should be.” Bill finished for her.  He pointed at the z-coordinate line. “This is completely askew from where we need it to be, therefore giving us reason to believe that Stephen may be…”

“In another dimension.” Bebe finished.  Kara looked up, still a bit confused.

“And you've kept the coordinates the same this whole time?” Kara asked.

“Well yeah, just in case he-” Bill realized what she meant. “No, Kara. I won't let you.”

“He's lost, Bill!” Kara exclaimed. “At least let me be lost with him!”  She walked over to the machine.
“Bebe!” Bill called to his partner. “Stop her!”

“No,” Bebe refused, then responded. “She may have a point. What if they can find a way back together? Maybe they can do something in there that we can't from here!”

Bill thought about this for a second, then looked back to another monitor, calling up his communication system once again.
“Celio!” He called his buddy, who responded quickly. Celio wasn't exactly a man of many words, but he spoke when it was necessary. “I need you to keep your receiver online and ready for any incoming teleports, okay?” Celio looked confused, but nodded. To him, it seemed like there was some kind of large delay, and that Stephen would make it through to his machine in due time. “Good,” Bill exhaled, then walked over to another table, and beckoned Kara over. On this table was another set of the new Pokéballs Bill had made, and a curious looking laptop-like device.

“So you're gonna send me in after him?” Kara asked. Bill nodded. “Okay, I understand the need for the new Pokéballs, but what's the laptop for?”

“Think of it as a mini-PC.” Bill responded. Kara looked at him with a glare that said “Yeah, no sh*t, Sherlock.”  “But instead of switching Pokémon out, it’s to be used as a video phone.” Kara nodded in understanding, then placed in her pack.  She removed her six normal Pokéballs from her lace-embroidered ball-sash and handed them to Bill, who put her Pokémon in the Newballs in minutes. “Are you ready, Kara?” he asked, making sure Bebe kept the coordinates the same as they had been when they had launched Stephen's trial. “Step into the capsule.”

“Good luck, Kara,” Bebe said, as the female Trainer stepped into the teleportation device. “Go and bring Stephen back alive for us.” Kara nodded with a somewhat confident smile before the capsule door closed on her.  With a click of a single key, the teleportation process started again.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Back in Equestria...

It had only been a day since the failed invasion, but Stephen was walking though and out of an overcrowded hospital.  The Changelings that were still unconscious were laid out onto many beds in the wing usually reserved for injured Royal Guards.  The ones still paralyzed, had frozen body parts, or had some burn were still being treated at a fairly quick rate.  Others had recovered somewhat and lay asleep in their cots.  Stephen did not stop for anything; he was being summoned by the Princesses.  He didn't take well to being summoned so early in the morning, but it's not like they weren't going to give him breakfast right?  He arrived at the Royal Dining Room, where Princess Luna, Celestia, Chrysalis, Shining Armor, Twilight, and a new Alicorn were seated, waiting for him.

“Hello?” Stephen caught their attention.  He wasn't a morning person; that was Kara's thing. The thought of his girlfriend depressed him.  How was she doing? Was she okay? Did she kill Bill already?  The ponies kept easily seeing this change in the human's behavior.

“Stephen,” Princess Luna observed the sad expression of the Trainer. “Are you okay?” Stephen looked up, making his face more or less expressionless.  He waved a dismissive hand halfheartedly.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” he replied. “Just… not a morning person.” Celestia raised an eyebrow and Luna gave a small smile.

“Well, we’ve been waiting on you,” a loud, obnoxious unicorn voiced suddenly as he appeared next to the alicorn Stephen didn't recognize. “Give your order, beast.”

“Blueblood!” Celestia scolded the over-privileged noble pony. “He’s not only an esteemed guest, but a hero!” The white stallion harrumphed and called a butler pony to take his order of oats and a grilled daisy sandwich. Celestia sighed, then turned back to Stephen. “Sorry, Stephen, Blueblood’s arrogance may be annoying, but you’ll get used to it. Also,” the servant approached Stephen, a bit fearful. “I don't know what your species eats, so if you could tell us-”

“No.” Stephen simply replied. “That's for another time.” Explaining that you’re an omnivore among herbivores just before breakfast would be bad.

“Okay then,” this time, the butler pony spoke up. “Can I have your order, sir?” Stephen thought for a bit, then answered.

“Do…” he began. “Do you guys have pancakes?” The butler nodded, which actually brightened up Stephen's day a bit. “Blueberry pancakes?” The butler nodded again, and the Trainer gave a true smile, something the ponies had not seen before from the Trainer. “Great, I’ll have a stack of four of those and a cup of orange juice, please.” The butler bowed and went to collect the ponies’ orders. The others ordered some kind of grain related food item, and the conversation started with Celestia introducing the new Alicorn.

“Stephen,” Celestia gestured to the pink mare present. “This is Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire.  She’s Shining Armor’s wife and also happens to be Twilight's sister-in-law.” The mentioned Alicorn gives a warm smile, and nod of respect.
“Hello, Stephen.” She spoke. Stephen's smile immediately turned into a neutral line; she sounded exactly like Kara. “Welcome to Equestria, and thank you for helping my aunts in defending Canterlot.”

“Charmed.” Stephen replied, also with a nod of respect for her title. “And… it was…” She seemed innocent and nice. He probably shouldn't say anything too harsh or sarcastic. “My… um, pleasure.” Cadance grinned, then turned to the tall, black, bug-like equine next to Celestia. Whoa, He thought, raising his eyebrow. Never mind about nice and innocent. It looks like she's going to strangle her!  He was then momentarily distracted by a butler arriving with his pancakes. Stephen realized it was still quiet, the glare war between Chrysalis and Cadance was still ongoing.

“I forgot to ask,” He broke the tension with a question to Celestia. “What the history between you and Chrysalis?” Chrysalis looked down solemnly at her plate: a simple sandwich with what looked like several flowers in the mix. Weird, but expected Stephen moved a bit away from the Changeling Queen.

“I…” Chrysalis chose to answer. “Attempted to take over Canterlot and Equestria a year ago.” Then she looked up at Celestia. “I was able to detain Princess Celestia, but was eventually overpowered by the Power of Love wielded by Shining Armor and Princess Cadence.” The couple had mixed reactions: Shining blushed at the attention, and Cadance smirked proudly.

“Well,” Stephen responded, just as Cadance was about to say what was going to be a diss. “It's a good thing you chose to finally come here in a more diplomatic setting. If only it wasn't under such a dire situation.” Chrysalis silently nodded.

“I have also,” She gestured to her head, where I swore a crown sat upon yesterday. “Given up my royal title.” She looked to Celestia with a small smile. “Princess Celestia has allowed my Changelings the take refuge and assimilate with pony society, and I shall act as ambassador for all Changelings.  It is better to be captured by a kind enemy, than to join forces with somepony who would destroy us.” He let that quote sink in and nodded.

“I have a question for you as well, Stephen.” Celestia spoke up with a worried, motherly tone. “Did you get any sleep?  You still seem very tired and disoriented.”

“Meh,” The human waved at her dismissively. “Like I said, I'm not much of a morning person, always preferred the night time.” He noticed Luna smile wider out of the corner of his eye. “Another question: are alicorns a special kind of pony?  Wha’'s the difference between you and the other ponies out there?” He picked up his utensils and started digging into the blueberry pancakes. Yum. Pancakes.

“Well,” Now Luna was answering his question. “Besides the fact that we have characteristics of all three Equestrian races, we are very strong in terms of magic.”

“How so?” Stephen asked. The four Alicorns in the room rose and turned to show the marks on their flanks. If he were a different person, he would have blushed, but he instead focused on the marks instead of their placement.

“You see these symbols?” Luna asked, to which Stephen nodded. “These are cutie marks, which a pony receives at the time when they discover their true talent, usually at a young age. One may be erudite in a certain subject or activity, but will always be most efficient when performing what the cutie mark depicts, or anything relevant to it. As you can see, my sister's mark is the Sun, and mine the Moon. We are responsible for the rising and setting of the respective bodies. They move across the sky without our help, but would not be able to breach horizons without a little magical push.” Little? Stephen was in disbelief. That must take a lot of energy. Luna now turned to the remaining Alicorns, Twilight and Cadence. “Cadence’s responsibility it to maintain love, peace, and order amongst ponies. Love, especially. Twilight, who recently became an Alicorn, had discovered the importance of friendship, and that the magic of friendship is what strengthens the bonds between ponies across this whole world. Her skills and abilities in magic are unmatched, and is able to teach others how to come together for friendship and peace.” The Alicorns sat back down.

“Wow,” Stephen nodded at the four of them, eyes wide at just what these mares could accomplish. “Impressive.”

“My turn,” the obnoxious brat pony caught his attention. “Why do you use circus creatures for your little 'army?’” This stallion was really getting on the Trainer’s nerves. “Why not just learn how to use a sword or spear like a normal stallion?”

“Did you just call–?” Stephen's hands had balled up into fists, his left hand held a knife that he would easily throw at the moronic pony, and he could feel his Pokémon getting angry in their balls.  One such Pokémon, the usually timid one, popped out onto the table and bounded over to the offending stallion, and started growling at him. “Maple!”

“Ah!” Blueblood squealed in fright. “It might mess up my coat, the dirty animal!”

“HOW DARE YOU!” Stephen shouted at him.  The other ponies in attendance noticeably shrank at the sheer anger in his tone, even Celestia, who didn’t seem to be one to be intimidated.  He looked at them, took a deep breath, and had Maple return to his side. “My Pokémon have been with me since childhood, and they’ve been the closest thing I’ve had to family ever since. They’ve taught me lessons in life that no other person was able to, and I’m pretty the only lesson I’ll ever learn from an idiot like you is how I shouldn't become you. You’re an obnoxious, spoiled lout that is nowhere even close to deserving whatever noble title you’ve been given that allows you to eat at this table!”

“I am a Prince!” Blueblood countered, stomping his hoof and turned his nose up at the human. “What makes you so special?” Stephen would have punched him if it weren't for the others in the room.

“If you didn’t notice anything important yesterday,” Stephen continued lecturing at the noble jerk. “Then you truly don’t care about the people, as a proper Prince should.” Stephen nodded to Shining Armor.  Maple blew a raspberry at the offending stallion from beside her Trainer’s legs. “The people aren’t peasants and shouldn't be treated as such; you're supposed to be a leader, not an obnoxious little brat.”

“Please,” Celestia decided now to butt in, then turned to Blueblood. “Nephew, we would all appreciate it if you would return to your estate for your betterment and health.” Blueblood knew better than to argue with Celestia, and did what he was told, although he grumbled the whole way out.

Before Stephen could continue his breakfast, he had Maple return to her ball. The rest of the morning went on with just small talk among the equines at the table. Every time the human heard Cadence speak with Shining Armor, his frown became more pronounced, his mood becoming sour as memories of Kara swarmed his mind. They didn't seem to notice this, and continued chatting until Celestia suddenly perked up, as if she smelled something dangerous.

“Luna!” Celestia turned to her sister, her expression reading urgency. “Did you feel that?” Luna nodded and a few seconds later, a light flashed from atop the middle of the large dining table. The group regained their sense of sight, which fell upon the sudden appearance of a certain draconequus.

“Ah!” Twilight jumped back in alarm. “Discord, don't do that!” The aforementioned God of Chaos rolled his eyes and turned to the Royal Sisters.

“I do assume you felt that, right?” Discord raised an eyebrow, knowing the answer. “That magical fluctuation?”

“Fluctuation?” Stephen asked, breaking Discord's eye contact with the Princesses. However, it was the latter to answer.

“Stephen,” Celestia began. “Right around the time you came into our world, there was a kind of large fluctuation, a sort of giant wave, of magical energy from around where you were found.  You said you had no magical abilities, and that most of your Pokémon weren’t able to do such a thing.  What brought you here?” Ah, so the big question was to be answered now.
“I was helping a friend with testing a prototype teleportation device that would send me one place and return me.” Stephen answered. “In short, something went wrong and it sent me here instead.”

“Is it possible, then,” Discord then asked. “For another human to reach us via your device?”

“I guess.” the Trainer shrugged. “Why?”

“This fluctuation,” Luna gestured out to the window. “Is very similar to the one Celestia and I sensed when you arrived, if not exactly the same.” Stephen's eyes widened in understanding.

“Someone’s made it here?” Stephen jumped out of his seat and looked to Celestia and Luna. “Can you bring me there?”

“Yes, we can get our chariot and-” Stephen cut off Celestia, with a sharp response.

“No.” Stephen declined the chariot for a better idea. “Teleport us there.”

“Stephen, we-” Luna tried to say something before the human demanded expediency.

“Now!” Stephen yelled. The two Alicorn Sisters reluctantly cantered over to Stephen. Discord, Cadance, and Twilight joined them in a small group. Celestia's horn began to glow a gold color, and the world was bathed in white.  Seconds later, the Canterlot group arrived in the dry plains past the Everfree Forest, where Stephen had first awoken.  Celestia didn’t seem exhausted by the effort of teleporting multiple beings, and that made Stephen wonder why she suggested using the chariots in the first place.

“Well then,” a new voice, gravelly and oozing with malice. “What do we have here?” The group looked to see yet another mismatched creature, though it was twice Discord’s height.  It had a head similar to the smaller relative and a darker shade of brown for fur.  His eyes were a bold, bloody red, and his two antlers were liked the crooked branches on a dead tree.  His left hand was a blue dragon claw, his right was a black raven's claw. His feet were similar to a goat's and buffalo.  His long tail was long, scaly, and dark. Small spikes made up the ridges of the draconequus’ spine. “And I was just thinking we were about to get lonely.”

“Corruption.” Celestia glared at the villain. “You'll pay for your crimes soon enough.”

Cadance spoke first for the ponies. “‘We’?  What do you mean by ‘we’?” Corruption stepped aside and allowed another bipedal figure to step forward.  It was female, and she looked normal until the allied ponies observed something peculiar about her.  She had black hair where brown was, her white shirt was now gray, her knee-length jeans were now a darker blue, and her normally brown eyes were now a cold ice blue. Her skin, usually light peach, was now a shade of white and gray.

“Kara?” Stephen recognized his girlfriend, a tear threatening to roll down his face. “You monster!” He ran at Corruption, who merely flicked one finger of his dragon hand, and Stephen was sent flying.

“Hmph,” Corruption pouted, acting as though he was offended. “Such violence from the Champion of prophecy. Or should I say a Champion of prophecy.”

“What?” Discord was now angry and in disbelief. “The prophecy said that he,” he pointed at Stephen, who was struggling to get up. “Was the one Champion!”

“Tch, ah Dissy,” Corruption shook his head. “Someone’s a little rusty on runes!” The vile draconequus pulled a book out of thin air, and upon opening the book, all could see that it held not letters nor words, but runes and spell lines. “It says that a Champion fallen from the stars, taken from their home afar, will guide or aid the shadowed beasts of legendary form, and shall be the one to protect others or lead the dark forces in the oncoming storm.” He closed the book and teleported it away, happy with himself.

“Now, everyone,” Corruption continued. “I have my Champion, and you have yours.” He glared at Stephen as he finally met up with everyone. “Why don't we have a test to see just how strong your side is?”

“No!” Luna stepped in. “You will cease your control and cease this unnecessary warring!  Violence is not welcome in Equestria!”

“Violence doesn't knock politely.” Corruption replied. “It barges in and leaves debris wherever it goes. Now, the battle?”
“It's fine, everyone.” Stephen stopped anyone from interfering. “I'll battle her.” He raised his Pokéball solemnly, “Besides, I know how this one will end.” He reached for a Pokéball from his sash.  Shadow-Kara did the same.  They threw the balls at the same time, but said nothing to call their Pokémon out.

“Ampha!” Stephen's Volta stood at the ready, and saw its opponent. She was unsure as her Trainer about this battle, but would not let it show.

“Raii!” On Kara and Corruption's side, an orange and yellow mouse appeared; a Raichu named Storm. Like its owner, the Raichu’s colors had darkened, and it eyes glowed with intent to cause pain.  It was an intent to kill its opponent rather than make it faint like in a normal battle.

“Be careful, Volta.” Stephen warned her. “Start it off with an Iron Tail!” The Electric type charged the mouse, spun around, tail glowing, and lashed out with a tail as hard as iron. There was a shock wave upon contact, and a large cloud of dust covered the battle. When it settled, all but Stephen, Kara, and Corruption gasped; the Ampharos' Iron Tail was kept in check by the Raichu's own. This would be nowhere close to a quick battle.

Stephen must win this. Celestia watched the human worriedly, who was showing signs of fear and unsteadiness. The result of this battle will spell the fate of all Equestria!
> Chapter 14: The Resolve is Gone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The two Electric types, Ampharos and Raichu, kept each other in check with their Iron Tails.  Both Pokémon were struggling to keep the other held, but at one point, one Pokémon would have to let up and put down their tail.  Unfortunately for Stephen, Volta’s tail slacked a bit, allowing the Raichu’s Iron Tail to land a hard body shot on the Johto Pokémon.

“Volta!” His Pokémon hit the dirt, but rolled quickly to its feet.  The Trainer looked at their opponent; she stayed silent, but her Pokémon did all the work. The Raichu, much faster than Volta, cried out and dashed forward for a Body Slam. “One more Iron Tail, then follow the spin into a Fire Punch!”  Stephen called out.  Her tail started its metallic white glow once again, and she charged to meet the Raichu, and spun around for an Iron Tail.  The Raichu negated the strike, using its own momentum to cancel the attack and catching the tail in its teeth.  However, Volta was still in mid-spin, and her hand was in flames.  It came down on the top of Raichu’s head, and the latter was forced to let go of her tail.

“Hoo hoo hoo!” Corruption cheered on from a distance. “Playing dirty, Kara? I knew I’d like you!” Kara continued to stay silent and expressionless.

This is troubling, Twilight thought. I have a feeling Stephen won’t know what to expect from this Kara person.  She’s under Corruption’s control and I'm pretty sure he's forcing her to stay silent. She looked to her mentor, who looked just as worried.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him worried like this.  Celestia watched as the two Pokémon battled.  May the stars help us if he doesn’t prevail.

Before Stephen could call another move, Kara’s Raichu used Double Team. The group behind him gasped as 12 life-like copies of the Mouse Pokémon just seemed to spawn around Volta.

“Calm down, Volta!” Stephen tried to get her to focus. “Just try and find the real one!” Volta kept turning and turning, but decided to strike with a Fire Punch way too late; the Raichu had charged up power in the time Volta wasted and shot out simultaneously with a Thunderbolt attack.  The ponies gasped again at this cruel spectacle. Stephen had to get rid of these copies. They’re weak, defense-wise. He thought.  I can get rid of them easily.

“Volta!” He called out again, hoping she had enough energy. “Use Discharge!” The multiple Thunderbolts had finished, leaving a very weak and dazed Ampharos. She heard Stephen’s voice and began charging her Discharge, when the Raichu had all leaped in for a group Quick Attack. “Release, now!” Just milliseconds before the Raichu made contact, Volta managed to release a great explosion of electrical energy, enveloping herself and the surrounding enemy. They disappeared, but something seemed off: The Raichu had 12 copies made via Double Team. Where was the original? Stephen looked around the field.

He saw Volta smiling and cheering, but had to calm her down. “Sorry, Volta.” Stephen was still looking around. “We’re not done here.” His eyes widened when he saw a hole in the ground by Kara. “Volta, watch-!” He was cut off by the original Raichu breaking through the dry soil under the Ampharos and delivering a hard hitting punch to the latter, sending her flying. Volta lay, fainted at Stephen’s feet “No!”

“Are we done here?” Corruption asked. “I think we all know the result of this battle.”

“No!” Stephen yelled out, frustrated. “We’re not done here!”

“Hmph,” the evil draconequus said. “Then hurry it up, Kara. We have better things to do.”

Damn, Stephen was seriously worried now. I originally had a 40% of winning against Kara originally. With Corruption’s influence, it’s down to 20% now. He returned Volta to her Pokéball and grabbed another Pokéball, as did Kara.

Shining was in complete shock; the one who was able to bring down a whole Changeling Army was getting beat by another human. He could only hope that Stephen could win this battle. Cadence had heard from the others that Stephen was talented and strong as a Trainer, that his Pokémon were strong and were used to save Canterlot from Changelings.  She watched in horror as his first Pokémon fell.  Luna and Celestia grew worried; what would happen if their Champion truly couldn’t defend Equestria?

The two humans, once again, silently tossed their Pokéballs upon which two very regal looking Fire types popped out, Stephen’s Arcanine and Kara’s Ninetales.

Good. Stephen reassured himself at the sight of the Ninetales. It’s the weakest on her team. But that doesn’t mean I should underestimate her. Corruption’s power is seriously unfair.  Stephen could hear the ponies ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at the sight of the two very impressive Fire types.

The Fox Pokémon dashed forward, flames surrounding her very body. Flame Charge, huh? Stephen watched the Ninetales get faster and faster and nearly reached Patrician before calling out.

“Dodge it!” Patrician, with his superior speed, managed to slip out to the side of the field at the last second, leaving the Ninetales to nearly barrel into Stephen. Thankfully, it turned and continued its Flame Charge at Patrician, getting faster and faster.  ”Now, use Extreme Speed!” the Arcanine seemed to vanish; he was traveling at speeds nearly impossible to reach.  In a split second, the Ninetales was sent flying. Patrician stood from where she was standing previously, ready for the next attack. “Again!”

Once again, the Arcanine vanished and hit the Ninetales from out of nowhere. This time, however, the Fox Pokémon struck back with a paw engulfed with dark energy, sending Patrician flying as well. He stood back up slowly; the attack was very strong.

Damn, Stephen cursed again. I have to watch out for that Payback. I could lose this one, too if I’m not careful. The Ninetales started another Flame Charge which Patrician barely dodged. And she’s getting faster. I need to end this quickly.

”Flamethrower, now!” The Arcanine obeyed, and a large plume of fire erupted from his mouth. When it cleared the Ninetales was still standing, a hexagonal shield of energy stood before it, known as Protect. Better finish it before she can put up another one. ”Now, finish her off with a Hyper Beam!” A giant ball of energy formed in front of Patrician’s mouth, and once it became as large as its head, he fired the beam of pure energy at the foe, knocking the Ninetales of her feet and carrying her in the beam. When it ended, the Ninetales landed on the ground, fainted.

“Well now,” Corruption now looked at Stephen with malice. “Things just got interesting. But, like I said, we have better things to do. So make this next battle your last for today, and we can finish this practice in the actual battle.”

“No!” Celestia yelled out. “Stephen will win the battle, and he will defeat your forces! You will not bring war to Equestria, and we will make sure of it!”

At this, Corruption began to laugh. “Win? Defeat my forces?” Corruption wiped a tear form his eye, then put on a voice of faux-terror. “Oh, I’m soooo scared.” He glared back at Celestia and countered, “How could he ever dream of defeating my army when he can’t even beat his own girlfriend in battle?” Corruption continued cackling, and looked at the two humans. “Poor, poor Stephen lost his girlfriend, and I’ve made her your enemy. You’ll never be able to get him to fight!”Cadence stared defiantly at the allies' mocking adversary.

Stephen took a deep breath and called Patrician back. He’s right. He thought, looking at the expressionless, cold face of Kara. I can’t fight her, and if I can barely defeat her team now, how will I beat Corruption’s team of legendaries? His hold on the next Pokéball tightened, and he could hear a voice from the ball reassuring him. Nova.

Stephen, Nova thought-spoke to him. We can do this. I know we can do this. If we can beat her now, we prove that we’re a good enough match to defeat Corruption’s army.

I’m sorry, Nova. Stephen heard her gasp. But I don’t think we can. Come on out; it’s your turn to battle. Nova emerged from the Pokéball and turned to me.

If you have no faith in us, Nova responded, sadness evident in her tone. Then I’ll fight this battle on my own. They turned and saw their next opponent: one of Kara’s strongest Pokémon ever, and one of the few to ever match up with Nova in power.  Kara’s Gallade stood at the ready; its red eyes glared at both of them and was ready to strike them down as quickly as possible.

What are the odds? Stephen watched as Nova stepped forward onto the battlefield.  Each Pokémon had met their typing partner. I should have expected this.

It would be safe to assume that Corruption may have done something, too. Nova responded, waiting for Gallade to make the first move.  Stephen stepped back to watch the two most powerful Pokémon from both teams battle it out on their own.

As predicted, Gallade dashed forward, his arm glowing as a charge for a Psycho Cut attack. The Gardevoir, slightly slower than Gallade managed to counter it with a Thunder Punch, knocking it to the side and using her other hand for a Thunder Punch to strike the Psychic/Fighting type in the face.  Gallade was sent stumbling back, and its whole body began to glow a blue aura; Nova had switched to using Psychic.  A blue aura also outlined Nova as she sent Gallade flying next to Kara, but the Pokémon immediately got up.

I have to give Kara credit. Stephen watched as the two Psychics stared each other down. Even though Gallade usually aren’t capable of taking many hits, the one she trained was able to stay get up rather quickly after one of Nova’s strongest combos.

Stephen watched again as the Gallade lunged and dashed forwards again, this time, his arms glowing green. Both arms and green glow? Stephen put two and two together.

Watch out, Nova! He warned her.  It’s X-Scissor!

She prepared herself to take the hit, but when it landed, Stephen could tell it had hit hard. Her breathing was a bit more labored. While Nova was strong in her Special Attack, Special Defense, and possessed high Speed, she could not take several physical attacks, especially any super effective ones.

I’m fine, Stephen. She reassured me.

Just keep your distance. Her trainer advised.  Keep on with Psychic.

Nova had other plans. She used Double Team, and like the Raichu, she managed to encircle the Gallade once he came close and quickly confused him. Like Volta, he hesitated as he tried to decide which body to strike first. He took too long, and the Nova and her copies shot off Thunderbolts, weakening the Gallade. This one was smart, though, and used Double Team as well. Before the copies could attack, the Gardevoir all fired Magical Leaf attacks, and no matter how the Gallade dodged, they were all hit and dispelled by the Grass attack. The original Gallade stood in the middle, unable to take the attack. To finish it off, Nova and her copies all used Psychic.  Soon, the mental energy began to pressurize within the circle; Stephen was beginning to get a headache from all of it, and could tell that even the Alicorns behind him were in pain.

“Ah!” Twilight cried out. “It hurts!  Make… make it stop!” Celestia and Luna just winced as their headaches grew stronger and stronger. What power! Twilight thought through the pain. Just how strong is Nova?

The headache stopped, and Gallade was sent flying straight up at high speed, then landed hard on the dry ground, at the feet at the now lone and original Gardevoir.

Wow, Stephen watched as Nova calmly walked back to him. That must have taken a lot of energy, are you okay?

I’ll manage. Nova gave him a tired smile. See? I told you that we could do this. Remember, Stephen never give u- Ah! Nova was blasted forward and fell hard onto the ground as well.  Stephen caught her, but found her to be unconscious.

“You do realize I was able to hear your whole conversation, right?” Corruption stood, irritated and hand smoking. He began mocking Nova with a high-pitched girly voice. “‘Oh, Stephen, don’t give up. Oh Stephen, we’re a good enough match for Corruption and his army.’ Hah! Don’t make me laugh.” He turned to Kara and said, “Leave whatever trash you have on your backpack here, Kara.  We won’t need them where we’re going.” And with a snap of his fingers, they vanished.  Twilight magicked the bag over to herself and copied her fellow Princess’ worried looks. Celestia and Luna immediately ran up to Stephen, who was still holding Nova in his arms.

“No, no, no… please, no…” the human whispered sadly as he reached for something in his bag. He managed, with shaking fingers, to pull out a small yellow, crystal like object and brought it to Nova’s forehead. Nothing happened.  The Revive didn’t glow; it wasn’t working like it should.  Nova was stuck this way.

“NO!” Stephen could feel a heartbeat, but his Revives were failing him.  He pulled out Revive after Revive, but none made any change.  He ended up sobbing over the unconscious Psychic type, his companion, his best friend, his little sister.  She wasn’t dead, she was just unconscious, but that didn’t make the current situation any better for him.

“Stephen, please.” Celestia took a last look at where Corruption and Kara had stood moments before.  Stephen looked up at the alicorn princess with tears rolling down his face. “Let’s return to the castle.  We can try to heal her.” With that, the group teleported away, and reappeared in the throne room.

“Where’s the infirmary?  Hospital?  Anything?” Stephen was desperate to get Nova back on her feet.

“Stephen,” Celestia tried calming him down. “Please, get some rest.  It’s been a long day. Please, just go, and we can take care of Nova.”

“NO!” Stephen would not let go of her. “Damn it, I said no!  Just get her back with us, now!”

“I can’t, Stephen,” Celestia replied. “We need some time to-”

“No!” Stephen yelled again. “Do it now!”

Celestia could understand the Trainer’s frustration.  She had to admit, while not one prone to anger, she would be just as infuriated if somepony, anypony, had somehow incapacitated any of her little ponies, especially Luna, Twilight, or Cadence.  She hadn’t even been close to this angry when Chrysalis attacked.

“Luna,” Celestia turned to Luna. “Please.” The younger sister nodded, and approached Stephen.  A golden glow enveloped Nova, and Stephen saw Celestia using her magic lifting his Pokémon away.

“No, please” Stephen jumped like a child trying to reach a cookie jar. “I need-” Luna’s horn began to glow, and Stephen’s eyes began to grow heavy. He felt dazed and suddenly very tired. “I… I n-need…” His head would have hit the ground if Cadence hadn’t reacted in time. Before he blacked out, Stephen completed his sentence.

“I need her.”
> Chapter 15: Dreamscape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

		Celestia brought Nova to another guestroom, accompanied by of Canterlot's best unicorn doctors and nurses. She chose a room close to Stephen's, so that he can visit his Pokemon when he awoke. She looked at the Psychic Pokemon, as the medicine ponies started examining her vitals via various medical spells. I saw the look in your eyes, Nova Celestia looked upon the unconscious Gardevoir. You two share such a strong bond. One of love, friendship, and kindness. I can't imagine what Stephen would be like without you.

"Princess, our apologies, but," one of the doctors, named Doctor Syringe, said,  "If you could please leave the room, your magical influence is overwhelming our process." Celestia had previously diagnosed the ailment as a kind of powerful knock-out spell. Being a powerful draconequus, Corruption had to have used a very powerful variant on Stephen's strongest Pokemon. Ever since Discord's first escape, all practicing medical unicorns were to learn an extensive magical process that would relieve the victim of the spell. However, it would take more than a week for the whole process to work. The X-Factor here was biology; Equestria had never seen anything like Nova before. However, her Psychic abilities were similar to those of a highly trained unicorn military general. That could help the doctors with their spells, but getting used to her physiology would take extra time.

"Hm?" Princess looked to him, unaware. "Oh, of course, Doctor. I won't impede on your progress any longer." She looked once more at Nova, then turned and left the room. I hope Luna had taken care of Stephen. She looked to Stephen's chamber doors, thinking him, but remembered that her royal duties were a priority that she held off for a few days. She regained some composure and headed for the throne room to me the petitioners that she postponed.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Luna heaved Stephen's body, with effort, onto his bed. She stared at the sleeping human, and recalled the battle. He's lost his special someone to the darkness, Luna looked sadly out the window of the room, which showed the very plains the battle took place. And nearly lost his Pokemon companion. He may not know the darkness of Nightmare Moon's possession, but the pain from this whole ordeal is possibly just as worse. She watched him turn over onto his side, facing her. Tears still flowed down the side of his face, soaking the pillows. Should I... ? Luna guiltily debates in her head whether or not to dream walk in Stephen's mind again. With a deep breath of resolution, she closes her eyes, started up her spell. 

She felt the telltale wind from the dream-walking spell, and opened her eyes. She was on a beach, but it didn't feel familiar. She was somewhere else; Luna could feel it; there was no magic in the air. A beach? Luna wondered. What's so important about this beach? She turned around, finding a small town to her left and a cave to her right. She heard a high-pitched cry from the cave to the right, and immediate galloped over to find the source of the sound. 

The Lunar Princess slowed down and remembered, "I'm not able to do anything." She slowed eventually to a halt in front of the cave's entrance. "I'm not even actually here. I hope whatever's in there isn't in trouble." Luna heard a pair of small feet racing to her location in the sand and looked behind her.

A young, male human was racing to the cave. He must have heard the cry as well. She watched as he ran in, bravely to discover what made the cry. Luna was intrigued at the sight: three short, dark purple creatures with large jewels for eyes had cornered a shorter white and green creature. That color scheme, Luna noticed the Ralt's color. That looks similar to Nova's. The little red crest is present as well."

Luna watched as the child distracted the antagonist Sableye around the Ralts by throwing a rock, but once the group turned to him, he tried to run away but tripped on a small, raised portion of earth.. She watched as the Sableye then surrounded a fallen, but were deterred by a bright light that seemed to engulf the whole cavern, deterring the Dark/Ghost types. The pair teleported out of the cavern, and Luna heard a different voice calling over, a female.

"Stephen!" she called out. "Where are you?"

So this is Stephen when he was younger? Luna smiled at the sight of the young Trainer. This isn't a dream, it's a memory! But... what ever happened to that Pokemon? She wondered what had happened to the Ralts. As if to answer her, the scene faded to black, but changed to what looked like the interior of a large building. It was dark, but just enough light streamed in to show what was happening.

Where am I now? Luna looked around, and noticed something at the center of the area, where most of the lights were focused. The same Ralts from the previous dream was now facing off a small, chubby, and yellow creature. Its hands rounded off to imitate boxing gloves. The face had two red circles on its cheeks and the top of its head had some kind of bow.

Stephen stood behind the Ralts, still about as young as he was in the previous dream.  He only had two Pokeball on his belt, one most likely just for this Ralts. What is in the other one? Luna wondered, then looked to Stephen's opponent. It was another male trainer, though older and with blue, spiky hair. He had two Pokeballs by his feet. He held a third in his hand.

Another battle, like the the first time Tia and I dreamwalked, although smaller. Luna noted. What is this battle for?

"Go," Stephen said. "Use Confusion!" The Ralts began to concentrate and gather psychic energy.

"Knock 'er out of it, Makuhita" Brawly commanded his last Pokemon. "With Arm Thrust!" Makuhita was much faster, and rushed forward, arm outstretched, and smashed its hand into Ralts' head. The latter was sent flying, and landed at Stephen's feet and took her time to rise to her feet. 

"C'mon," Stephen tried to encourage the Psychic Pokemon to her feet. "We can still do this!" Luna smiled at this. Stephen, even though the situation looked dire, still believed in his Pokemon.

"I'll admit, Stephen." Brawly spoke up. "Your Mudkip managed to take down Machop, and your Ralts was able to avenge your Mudkip against my Meditite. I give you credit as a starting Trainer. However, even though I'm on my last Pokemon, I don't think you can beat us. Your Ralts is just took weak to take so many physical hits." The younger Trainer gritted his teeth and looked to his Ralts, who was now standing on her feet.

"Now!" Stephen said. "Use Confusion!" Makuhita was then outlined with a thin, blue aura, as Ralts was now holding it in her telekinetic grasp. She threw Makuhita back at Brawly's feet, but managed to get to its feet quickly.

"Reversal!" Brawly called out. Makuhita, once again, rushed at Ralts and hit her with a hard punch to the gut. Luna winced at the sight; it was quite a punch for such a small creature. Ralts was back on the ground and was now struggling to get to her feet.

"No," Stephen. "Enough. time for you to heal up." Stephen approached, Pokeball in hand, ready to retrieve his Pokemon. However, when he tried to call her back, a blue aura outlined the Pokeball, moving it from Stephen's hand to the floor.  The Ralts now stood, bruised and exhausted, but it looked like it wasn't finished. The Psychic type stood still for a moment and the scene, literally, froze.

Luna? Celestia's voice rang through the Lunar Regent's head. May I join you? Luna replied, 'yes' and in seconds, the white Alicorn stood next to Luna, looking at the frozen scene. Once everything settled, the battle resumed.

"What?" Stephen watched as a bright light began to engulf the Ralts. "Already?" 

What is going on?Celestia asked. What is that creature?

It's a Ralts, apparently. Luna answered, curious at the scene unfolding. As to what's happening, I have no idea.

The bright light that emanated from the Ralts began to get stronger and near-blinding until *FLASH!* the spectacle ended and in Ralt's place stood a taller, white and green creature. Her green hair now parted and revealed her red eyes, and the white "cloak" was now more of a ballerina dress.

"Kirlia!" the newly evolved Psychic type cried out.

WHAT?The two Royal Alicorn Sisters' mouths dropped open. How is that even possible?

Maybe... Luna pondered. This world really does have a kind of magic. Celestia nodded.

"Alright, then!" Stephen spoke up, reinvigorated. "Use Confusion one more time!" This time the Kirlia was faster. A much more pronounced blue aura outlined the Makuhita once again, and again the Fighting type was sent flying. It landed on its back and eyes dazed; it had fainted.

"YES!" Stephen jumped cheerfully and ran over to hug his Kirlia. "Great job,-" The scene cut abruptly to darkness.

What? Celestia was confused. Now what?

The scene's changing again. Luna responded. What'll happen next? She waited excitedly.

The darkness gave way to green, as three boys were now hiding and chuckling behind some bushes. Celestia and Luna looked past them and saw Stephen once more with Kirlia, walking together in the forest. Them moment they reached a space close to the bushes, the three jumped out and confronted Stephen.

"Well," the lead boy spoke with a sneer. "If it isn't weenie-Stevie." He looked to the Kirlia. "What, is that thing your girlfriend now, you loser?" Stephen's fists balled up in anger. "Shame, the strongest team in your lame party happened to be the girliest one!" The other two boys followed their leader and laughed. Kirlia stepped up and crossed her small arms, obviously miffed at their moronic comments. Stephen seriously regretted not buying extra Repels; the rest of his team was fainted by the copious poison Pokemon that inhabited the grasses.

"Yeah, girly!" taunted one.

"Laaame!" laughed the other.

"I'll even beat your stupid Kirlia," the lead bully began. "With a type mismatch!" With that, he sent out his own Pokemon, a Serviper. "Go, use Poison Tail!" Stephen and Kirlia were caught off guard by the sudden attack. The Poison type Fang Snake Pokemon lunged forward, its sword-like tail glowing purple. The Psychic type wasn't quick enough to counter as the Poison Tail attack struck her hard across the face, sending her flying to Stephen's side.

"Hah!" the bully laughed, and taunted. "Time and time again, Stephen, big ol' Brucie's gonna knock weak twerps like you to the ground!" The Serviper also seemed to be laughing. The Princesses were completely shocked at what came next. "Serviper," Brucie commanded. "Use Poison Tail on Stephen!" Luna and Celestia gasped.

How barbaric! Luna's rage was building. That goes too far!

I agree, Celestia, usually the calm one, was almost near fuming at this act. This kind of act makes me wish we were able to interact with dreams.

We can, Sister. Luna reminded her. Only, this isn't a dream. We cannot tamper with one's memories. They watched again as the Serviper rushed at Stephen. They watched with deep concern, hoping some good would come out of this.

None came.

The Serviper's sword like tail smacked Stephen's face hard enough to send him to the ground. Stephen now looked up at the Poison type. As much as he wanted to, the young Trainer couldn't move. This was Glare, another move Serviper knew, instigating paralysis.

"One more time, Serviper!" Brucie said, smiling at his cruel victory. "Poison Tail; knock him out!" Once more, the Serviper obeyed, raising its glowing purple tail. The sword-like appendage swung in a wide arc for a last strike. Stephen closed his eyes and waited for the painful collision. He felt the tail stop inches from his face, and heard the bullies gasp in surprise. Stephen opened his eyes, and found that the Fang Snake Pokemon was now outlined in a distinct blue aura. He turned and saw a short figure, finally rising to her feet: his Kirlia.

"No, wait-" He didn't want to have his already weakened Pokemon to fight. That is, until he looked at her eyes."N-Nova?" Stephen stammered as she began to glow white once again.

THAT was NOVA? Luna asked, unbelieving. Celestia watched on silently as the evolution phase started again. All stood still to watch as Nova took her final evolutionary form: from Kirlia, to the impressive and beautiful Gardevoir.

Wow, Celestia spoke in a whisper of admiration. She changed in order to protect the one who trained her and believed in her all this time.

Nova's telekinetic hold on Serviper became stronger, and it was apparent; the blue Psychic outline around the Poison type, a huge change in mental power had now surged into the Confusion attack. The vile attacker was sent flying back forcefully into the three bullies, and was found to be knocked out upon swift discovery. The two Princesses cheered as Brucie and his lackeys ran away in terror, throwing back empty threats of revenge. The pair turned to the Trainer and his now evolved Gardevoir. The Psychic type helped Stephen to his feet, and once it seemed that he had stable footing, she hugged her Trainer fiercely. 

"Thank you, Nova." Stephen said, stroking the top of the Gardevoir's head in affection. "I owe you one. Again." The Embrace Pokemon just continued to hug her Trainer, while Celestia and Luna took in the precious moment. 

Shall we leave, Luna? Celestia asked. Or is there more? As a response, the whole scene faded to black. The sisters waited for a while, and realized that the memories were over, but they were far from leaving.

"Just what are you doing here?" a new voice called out to them from behind them. The two sisters turned to the source. "GET. OUT!" He yelled, and the two sisters were blown by some otherwordly wind, forcing them out of the dreamwalking spell and back into reality.

Stephen was back on his feet, and stood in front of the two Princesses, steaming mad. "You two best have a damn good reason to be invading my mind before I release my team on you and the rest of this God forsaken palace."
	
	
> Chapter 16: Choose the Guides
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Stephen finally looked at the clock. It was only 8 in the evening. And he had been rudely aware of an intruder in his mind. This did not go well with Stephen. 

"I'm being completely serious!" Stephen was already pissed about this morning. He did not want another other reason to get angry. "You two best explain why you were in my dream or shit goes down!"

"Please," Celestia calmly responded. "Calm down, Stephen. There is a perfectly logical reason as to why we were in your mind." Stephen crossed his arms, eyebrow raised. Celestia hesitated under an irritated glare.

"We thought," Luna intervened. "That we could get some kind of help as to how you can defeat your marefriend."

"Marefriend?" Stephen repeated. "Oh, you mean girlfriend." The Princesses nodded. "Well... Kara's a damn good Trainer, and as you can see, she's managed to beat me in battle from time to time." Stephen stepped away from the Princesses and looked out the door. He changed the subject, "How's Nova doing?"

"She's in good hooves, Stephen." Celestia welcomed the change. "We're performing several especially heavy healing spells, but since we know nothing about Nova and her anatomy, it may take longer than expected."

“It was against my better judgment, I admit.” Luna’s eyes fell, still referring to the dreamwalking.  “However, it has given both of us some new insight on you and Nova’s relationship.”

“Luna has a point, Stephen.” Celestia added.  “We were both curious, and you know the old saying.  As such, I’d like to formally apologize for both of us for invading the privacy of your mind.  It was not our place to pry.” Stephen still appeared nonplussed.  Celestia smiled.  “I’d also like to congratulate you on your bluff earlier.  You are angry, but we all know you wouldn’t risk Nova’s safety just to destroy our castle and eliminate us.  I was almost frightened.”

Stephen’s right eye twitched.  He threatened their lives and she was making fun?  Either way, she was right.  As furious as he was, Nova was still in the castle.  There was no way he could have his Pokémon friends start breaking pillars.  Not to mention he didn’t want to see the inside of a dungeon again.  Instead, he decided to keep his accusatory tone.

“Do you two enjoy invading people’s minds?” he asked.  “That was private.  Hell, everything in my mind is private!”

“If it is anypo–” Luna nearly forgot who she was talking to.  “Anyone’s fault, it is mine.  I crafted the dream-walking spell ages ago, and modified it so I could see memories as well as time went on.  Almost all this time, I was able to walk in dreams and see memories without notice.  Only three have ever seen me.  You, a young filly named Scootaloo, and my sister.  Going to Scootaloo was deliberate – I had to teach her something.  In your case, I had to find out why you value Nova just as much as Kara.” Stephen glanced at Celestia.  “I was bored.  At any rate, I apologize again.”	Stephen heard her, and confirmed it with a short nod, but his eyes were now on Celestia.

“The doctors and nurses are working as quickly as possible.” the Princess told him.  “If it’s any consolation, Nova’s psychic powers are actually helping them figure out how to revive her.  She isn’t speaking to them telepathically, but her abilities are strengthening the process.  Oddly enough, my being in close proximity to her upsets that.  I’d be there if I could help.  They’ll tell me if something happens.”

"How long?" Stephen didn't look at Celestia, but waited for a response patiently.

"About a week," the Solar Princess answered. "Maybe a little more."

"But what if Corruption decides to attack within a week? Then how can I fight Kara, let alone Corruption?" Stephen was now worried. He agreed to this quest, and now everything seemed to go absolutely wrong for him. "I don't see any way we can defend Canterlot if Nova is incapacitated!"

"We have other options," Luna said. The other two looked to her. "Discord said he had been to his elder brother's lair. You can venture there, and see what you can do to weaken his army from the source."

"Ah, yes." a new voice spoke from the walls. "Take my idea and sell it as your own. Thanks, Loony." Discord appeared, with a flash next to the Moon Princess, then looked to Stephen. "But she is correct. I can send you off in the right direction, but I can't go with you myself. Someone needs to help them defend the ponies." He said the last bit was a bored tone and a roll of his eyes.

"Right," Stephen said. "I think that's a pretty good idea. How far away are we from the lair?" Discord thought about it for a few moments and responded.

"Very." Silence.

"That's it? Very?" Stephen asked.

"Discord, could you be a little more specific?" Celestia asked.

"I don't exactly know how far, but it was around 250 miles west of Ponyville," Discord said. "Past the Badlands of the Changelings."

"Then we should go," Luna said. "Get some accompanying guards."

"I have my Pokemon to guard me." Stephen responded. "I don't want innocent lives to burden me."

"They know the stakes." Celestia immediately countered. "They're doing it for their country and fellow ponies. If they fall, it won't be in vain." The four walked out of Stephen's room and started making their way to the throne room.


~~~~~~~~~~


In about half an hour, the gigantic throne room was filled with guards of each pony race, along with the remaining Changelings that arrived with Chrysalis or recovered quickly after their failed invasion. Celestia looked over the mass of bodies, all eager to help defend their country, their allies, their brethren. Discord looked upon them with a bored expression, levitating several small, random trinkets in one hand and holding a glass of chocolate milk in another.

"Ponies and Changelings," Celestia spoke, and all chatter was silenced immediately. "The time has come for a very dangerous mission. One that needs a being brave and willing to assist Stephen is weakening Corruption's army before he launches his attack. We all have a common enemy now. He took your hive away, Changelings, and he is coming to destroy Canterlot and harm your friends and loved ones. His lair lies beyond the Badlands, but it is not out of reach. Do not let him strike first! Who will join Stephen to find Corruption's lair, and help give us an edge in battles to come?"

Once again, chatter rose to an almost deafening state. Everyone attending had the same thing on their mind, What if he catches us? They were brave, but not brave enough to go into the unknown with an alien to fight even more destructive aliens. The Princesses started to believe that all hope was lost. They didn't blame them. Stephen already described what powers these "Legendary Beasts" held. If the evil draconequus had them already, then the result would be utter devastation. They looked down in sadness. Well, Luna thought. There goes that idea.

It wasn't until the room was completely silent that the two looked up. A lone pegasus mare walked up to the Princesses. She held a steady gaze. She spoke out loud, "Commander Swift Gale, ready to serve on this mission, Your Majesties." Smiles began to appear on the Princesses faces, and hope began to rise a little bit more. "I may not trust this Trainer creature," Swift Gale glared at Stephen, who shrugged. "But I will sacrifice my entire being if it means being able to take down Corruption's forces."

"Thank you, Commander." Luna spoke, then looked to the crowd. "Anypony else wish to join her?" Murmurs of excitement and hesitation ran through the crowd, until another pony approached the princesses. "Lieutenant High Marks? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." the unicorn answered. "I'm totally ready to make sure that we have an advantage in this war. Also, I'd like to see this alien's creatures' powers in person." Luna nodded, accepting this.

"I," A new voice joined, before the crowd's volume could increase once again. "would also like to join." The Princesses looked to see a Changeling approaching them, Chrysalis not to far behind. "I am Corporal Mirror. I am willing to serve at their side to make sure we get our hive and home back. Plus, since we are passing through the Badlands, it would make sense that I guide them through the treacherous landscape." Chrysalis nodded.

"I thought about it for a while as well." She spoke up. "The Changelings here will add to the defense effort against Corruption. I do hope we can find a great alliance amongst the ponies." Celestia smiled at this.

"Of course, Chrysalis." The Solar Regent responded. "Thank you." She then turned to the three volunteers; a pegasus, a unicorn, and a Changeling, along with Stephen's Pokemon, would make quite a team. "Prepare yourselves. You leave in two days." The four nodded and left the Throne Room to their respective chambers, and the crowd filed out after.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	

"Hello, Stephen." Luna sneaked up behind the human as he was approaching his chamber door. 

"Ah!" Stephen jumped at the sudden noise and turned to the Alicorn. "Jesus, don't sneak up on me like that. What do you want?"

"Apologies for scaring you." Luna bowed her head a bit to show that. "I wanted to ask, will you be bringing all of your companions with you for this mission?" This caught Stephen off guard.

"I haven't exactly thought of that." Stephen thought for a moment. "I need to make up for Nova's absence, but still need an effective team." Another pause to think. "I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Of course." Luna said. "And I promise that we will no longer trespass in your dreams without permission. Goodnight, Stephen."

"Thank you. Luna." Stephen smiled. He liked this one better than the Celestia, even though she knocked him out a few times already. "And goodnight." He entered his room, and immediately got ready for bed. Tomorrow would be a busy day for preparation.

> Chapter 17: A Moment, Please
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Stephen stood alone in the castle's training grounds. It was midday, and he was waiting for somepony. Stephen just stood there, many thoughts on his mind. Was he ready to take part in this journey? Would he take all of his Pokemon? The Trainer didn't know. His attention was broken by a certain purple Alicorn galloping his way.

"Stephen," Twilight raced to the human, Kara's bag in her telekinetic grasp. "I've been looking for you! I've been wanting to ask you something for a long time!" Stephen raised his eyebrow, waiting. His eyes finally recognized the bag, and Twilight received a harsh glare.

"What does Kara's bag have to do with it?" He asked. "Did you break something?"

"What?" that caught her off guard. "No, not at all! I just wanted to know what this thing was!" She used her magic to pull out a a medium size laptop computer. On its side was a small, concave bit where a Pokeball could sit. This was yet another thing that Stephen recognized.

"That's..." Stephen began, but Twilight cut him off with her ramblings.

"Ooh!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Is it some kind of magic device? Can you watch movies on it? Is it-" Stephen raised a hand to stop her. 

"It's a mini-PC." Stephen answered. Twilight tried speaking again, but was cut off by a stern glare. "In my world, a regular PC is used to store and trade Pokemon a long distance from home. This mini-PC was especially made by a friend for short communication services. I can do trades, but only with the right person on the other side." 

"But what does this little flashing light mean?" Twilight pointed out a small blue light flashing in the corner of the blank screen. 

"Can I have it, now?" Stephen asked, arm outstretched for the mini-PC. "Please?" Twilight handed over the device to Stephen, who tapped the screen's corner right on the blue flashing point. At this, the mini-PC's screen came alive with light. Three options popped up: Trade/Store Pokemon, Call Contact, and Log Off. On the second option, small text read, "Incoming."

"Ooh!" Twilight saw over Stephen's shoulder. "Press it!" Stephen did, and the screen became static. "Awww... that's too bad."

"I seriously doubted I could get the call through." Stephen admitted. "But who's calling her?" At this moment the static ended and a familiar face holding a phone receiver to his ear. Bill was on the other line! The tech from Cerulean's face lit up a the second everything cleared up. Stephen picked up his own receiver and sat down. 

"STEPHEN! Bill's voice exploded into cheer. "It's seriously great to see you again man. Where's Kara? IS THAT A PURPLE UNICORN BEHIND YOU?"

"Okay, Bill," Stephen responded. "I'm gonna need you to calm down. A lot of stuff's happened lately and-"

"I know, I know," Bill cut him off. "Now get Kara! We can get you out of there in a few hours, I think."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Stephen cut his friend off. "Dude, what do you mean you can get us out of here?" I turned to Twilight, and saw a very sad expression at the very thought of the human's departure. "I can't just leave right now. We have serious problems right now!"

"Problems?" Bill repeats. "Besides the purple unicorn next you, I think the only problem is getting you two home."

"I have a name!" Twilight was done with being called a noun, and not given proper recognition. "It's Twilight Sparkle, and I can completely understand you!"

"And it talks!" Bill exclaimed with wonder.

"I'm a mare!" Twilight barked, then cantered away, steaming mad.

"Did I say something?" Bill asked.

"Seriously," Stephen facepalmed. "I have no idea what Bebe was on when you asked her out." Bill scowled at this, then reverted the subject. "But onto the subject of girlfriends, Kara is MIA."

"What?" Bill asked incredulously. "How? We sent her to go and help find you not too long ago!"

"Seriously?" Stephen was starting to get angry. "How could you let her do that?"

"She wouldn't listen! Bebe let her go, and I couldn't do much but think that this was the fastest way to get you back, man."

"I understand," Stephen responded. "But- "

"Now," Bill cut him off. "Where. Is. Kara?"

"Well," Stephen took a deep breath. "She's been brainwashed and is acting against her will under an evil entity hellbent on invading and taking over the world. And according to some prophecy, one of us has to save the world. Then we'll be given some kind of reward that can send us home."

"I guess that's legit." Bill considered. "Not the first time you've had to deal with prophecies. And I do suppose I need time to regain enough energy. Kara's travel caused a blackout in the whole east half of Kanto!"

So, Stephen thought. That's why we need to to get that magical energy? So that both sides have enough energy to send us back?

"How long do you think that will all take?" Bill asked.

"I have no idea." Stephen answered. "We're going to leave to try to save Kara soon."

"That should be easy!" Bill smiled. "You have Nova with you, right?"

"I... I," the Trainer couldn't speak. "S-she..."

"Stephen?" Bill called out. "What's wrong? What happened?" The Champion slammed the receiver into the holster, ending the call. Tears now streaked down Stephen's cheeks.

"Stephen?" he turned to see Twilight had returned, and he now realized he was crying. 

"C-can you come here?" Stephen asked. Twilight moved closer to Stephen unsure of what he was going to do. She tensed up a bit when Stephen put his arms around her and hugged her, his head leaning against her neck. "I don't know what to do anymore. I nearly lost one of my closest friends, I have to face my own brainwashed girlfriend in battle, and now I have to defend the whole damn country against legendaries!" Twilight looked down at Stephen, now unsure of what to say, but gave him a small smile.

"You have your other friends, don't you?" Twilight looked at Stephen's sash, where the rest of his team rested. "They're by your side everyday, and they're your friends as well. I have complete faith in you and your team." The human looked up to the purple Alicorn. He was in his twenties, yet the tears made him look much younger. "You can do this, Stephen. Princess Celestia told me that she saw your memories, and that you were strong and determined where ever you went and battled. You have Pokemon and ponies. I have no doubt the real Kara waiting and confident that you'll save her. If you are a good friend, you should rely on your friends, the Pokemon, and help your new friends in Equestria. With all of that done, you can go home knowing that you really achieved something great." Stephen wiped his eye and pulled away from the hug.

"I wouldn't exactly call us friends," Stephen responded. "But, okay."

"What?" Twilight asked. "We're not friends?" Stephen now stood up, dusting off his pants.

"Not exactly," Stephen repeated. "I'd say acquaintances, but I suppose we can get to 'friends' someday." Twilight thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Okay." she nodded. "Acquaintances until further notice, Stephen." She held out her hoof, and the Trainer held out his hand. For the first time ever, Stephen shook his hand with a pony. He looked into Twilight's eyes and saw that she was sincere with everything she said.

At this moment, the pegasus, Swift Gale, unicorn, High Marks, and the volunteer Changeling silently approached the human and Alicorn. The three looked ready as ever, even though none of them had any weapons equipped.

"Stephen!" High Marks addressed the Trainer. "We will leave tomorrow morning. We expect that you are on time, seeing as this mission is as important to you as it is to us."

"Jeez, old man." Commander Gale nudged the Lieutenant. "Don't be so formal. Chill out, we get one day to relax and prepare before we have to go to work." The stallion glared in response. The Changeling stayed silent. Stephen turned to them, as if they weren't in the army.

"What's up guys?" Stephen nonchalantly asked. "Besides the fact that we have the mission tomorrow."

"Well," High Marks hesitated, unsure how to respond to him. "W-we were-"

"Marks here," Swift Gale cut in. "Just wanted to make sure you're in line for this mission. As in: Do what we tell you, and there will be no problems." She finished with a glare that barely affected Stephen. "I do not want to go barreling into that lair with an incompetent child who relies on pets for battle."

"One," Stephen answered immediately. "I'm not a child, I'm 24 years old. Two, of course I'd let the army do that, I'm not exactly about to charge in stupidly against a bunch of Legendary Pokemon that could destroy me in a single blow. I'm no expert strategist. Three, my Pokemon are not pets!" he yelled with emphasis, causing Twilight to step back, but not the army ponies and Changeling. "They are competent enough to go on alone and destroy countless cities. They function even better and stronger under my leadership, because I treat them as friends."  The pegasus and human held each others glares for a minuted, before the mare smiled and spoke.

"Nice," Swift Gale said, nodding. "I like you. You have spirit." Stephen raised an eyebrow, then turned to the Changeling.

"So," Stephen began. "What's your name, again?" 

"Corporal Mirror." The Changeling responded. He stared at the human with a bored expression. "But you can call me Facade."

Hm, The human thought, liking the name. Appropriate, I guess.

"The other reason why we're here," Swift Gale regained Stephen's attention. "Is because we wanted to see those 'friends' of your in action!"

"Seriously?" Stephen was take aback. Swift Gale nodded enthusiastically. High Marks nodded reluctantly. Facade shrugged. Twilight shrugged, then smiled. She had seen his Pokemon before, but really wanted to see them in a different light. "Well, I guess that's okay. Nothing like a good Pokemon demonstration to pick me up!"

Stephen reached for his first Pokeball, threw it up and yelled, "Let's do this!"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Luna and Celestia watched from  a balcony as Stephen showed off his Pokemon. Celestia especially liked Maple's SolarBeam and Volta's Thunderbolt. Luna took a liking to Hydreigon and Tempest. 

"I do suppose," Celestia said. "That is one way to have Stephen cheered up and ready."

"I agree." Luna watched as a skyward Hydro Pump from Tempest resulted in a little downpour. "Also, it was good to see that Twilight Sparkle was able to connect to Stephen somehow." Indeed it was, and they continued to watch the spectacle of Pokemon below. It was always nice to have a good laugh before leaving. However, tomorrow would not be a day of laughter. Tomorrow would signify the start of war.
	
> Chapter 18: Preparations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It wasn't long before the Pokémon demonstration ended. Reaper ended the spectacle with a Fire Blast and Dragon Pulse combo. The five arms of the Fire move were replaced by the beautiful bluish-purple energy of the Dragon move. The three ponies present applauded and cheered, while the Changeling watched with a small smile.

"Well," Stephen began, "what do you guys think?"

"I think," Swift Gale answered, "that we won't need all of them for this trip."

"She's right, Stephen," Twilight agreed. "This is a dangerous mission, so I think you should bring the stronger ones along."

"They're already at the strongest they ever could be," Stephen responded. "But I understand."

"So," High Marks spoke, "which ones will you bring with us?"

"Like you said," Stephen answered, "it's a dangerous mission. I might as well let the more peaceful ones stay here, maybe provide some defense."

"Then who are you bringing?" Gale asked.

"Tempest, Patrician, and Reaper." I answered. "Volta and Maple are actually pretty strong when attacking from a defensive stance, so they can stay here."

"And they can keep Nova company if she wakes up earlier than scheduled." Twilight tried to an include an optimistic thought.

"Y-yeah," Stephen knew she meant well. The memory of Nova just collapsing still hurt a lot. "That's right."

"Well?" Facade finally spoke up. "Shall we all get ready for tomorrow?" The group nodded, while Twilight excused herself and teleported away. The group walked over to a long, stone-set building which Stephen came to recognize as the Royal Guards' barracks. The ponies, Changeling, and human entered to see that it was empty.

"The Day Guard are all out in posts," High Marks explained. "The Night Guard get their own accommodations." He walked over to his bed and pulled out his two main tools as a Royal Guard: a trident spear and a golden circle shield.

"Oh yeah?" Swift Gale called over to her bed, possibly where the other mares slept. "Check these out!" She opened a chest next her bedside. Inside were possibly the most badass weapons Stephen had ever seen. They were large blades meant to be worn on the wings. That would be one hell of a Steel Wing attack Stephen thought.

"Would it be alright," Stephen started, chuckling to himself, "if I called you Skarmory?"

"What in Equestria is a Skarmory?" Gale turned and asked.

"In my world, it's a huge bird Pokémon with a body comprised mostly out of steel." Stephen explained. "Those weapons of yours reminded me of it."

"I feel like I should be flattered," Swift Gale joked. "But no, you can't. I'd like to hear more about these other creatures from your world."

"Come now, Commander." High Marks walked over. "Let's not get childish."

"Childish?" Gale remarked. "This is the first time an alien with alien creatures is making contact with ponies, and your saying it's childish to ask about his world? You're doing it wrong."

"I do agree." Facade popped in. "It is quite interesting. But for the moment, it is best we continues preparing for the journey tomorrow."

"Do you need anything for tomorrow?" Stephen asked the Changeling, who shook his head.

"Not at all!" The hybrid proudly smiled and, with a flash of green fire, changed into an Earth pony. Stephen's eyes widened in excitement.

"No way!" the human was in awe. "You're just like Ditto! Now do Twilight!"

"What?" Facade asked, but complied and transformed into the purple Alicorn. When he spoke, he sounded just like her. "Cool, eh?"

"Hell yeah." Stephen marveled at this ability. It was nothing new, but cool nonetheless. "Oh, and Ditto is another Pokémon, and it has the exact ability as you: transforming into any other Pokémon, or, in your case, anypony."

"Interesting, but again," Facade said. "Let's reserve the other creatures for the journey, alright?" The group nodded. Facade continued to address Stephen. "Since I can transform into any pony species, I can easily use the positive attributes each race has. In emergencies, however," the Changeling removed his disguise, walked over to Swift Gale's chest, and pulled out a short sword with his mouth. "I like to have a blade if things go south for me." Stephen nodded, acknowledging this. The group of four walked out and were greeted by the last pony anyone expected: Fluttershy.

"Oh, Stephen!" She galloped forward and quietly called out. She then realized the Trainer was not alone. "O-oh, you're busy. I'll come back another time." Fluttershy began to slowly fly back to the castle.
"No Fluttershy, wait!" Stephen called out to her. "What's up?" The yellow pegasus landed to meet him.
"Well," Fluttershy said, "Twilight said that you were going to leave some of your Pokémon here. I know they're quite strong and capable of looking after themselves, but would it be okay if I helped and took care of them?" She asked, but quietly added, "if that's alright with you, that is."

"It's completely alright, Fluttershy." Stephen smiled. "I'd really appreciate that. But there are some things one must have in case they get hurt. I'll show you later, okay? I'll even let my Pokémon out tonight to stay with you. Come by my room later, and we'll talk." Fluttershy gasped in happiness.

"Oh, thank you!" she quietly exclaimed. "Thank you so much! I've always wanted to help take care of one!" She flew away happily back to the castle, no doubt to tell her friends what had happened. The troupe decided to walk inside together; it was about time for a late supper.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"So, Stephen," Celestia opened with some small talk. Stephen, his fellow adventurers, and the other Princesses sat around that Royal Dining Room. They were waiting for the butlers to come and take orders. "What exactly do you eat?"

"Well..." Stephen decided that now would be okay to tell them. "Back home, we humans are omnivores. We can't eat grass, hay and flowers, but we do eat most vegetables and fruits."

"Interesting," Luna remarked. "Unexpected, but not uncommon."

"Really?" Stephen asked. Luna and Celestia went on to tell Stephen about the other species that lived in their world. The Gryphons, Dragons, Minotaurs, Changelings, Crystal Ponies, and Diamond Dogs each had their own places and roles in the world. Stephen would have pressed on, but the waiter had arrived for the ponies' orders. Before Stephen could make up his own mind for lunch, Luna spoke for him.

"Treat Stephen to the Gryphon lunch, sir." the Moon Regent requested, to which the waiter bowed and cantered out of sight. Twenty minutes of small talk and awkward silences later, the waiters returned with the ponies' lunches and Stephen's surprse meal.

"Whoa!" Stephen was surprised by his platter. It was a large, perfectly cooked fish fillet. On the side was a small dish of sautéed mushrooms and onions. "That's quite the spread, even though it's just lunch." the human remarked.

"Well, it's best that you enjoy a bit of luxury," Celestia responded, "before you leave and trek through the wilderness."
"Even more for me to miss," Stephen joked, and began eating. Lunch was a short affair, and was finished within ten minutes. After the meal, Stephen excused himself and left the dining room, and let for his room. Waiting by his door was Fluttershy; the yellow pegasus was eagerly waiting to be assigned as caretaker of Stephen's Pokémon.

"Oh, Stephen!" Fluttershy noticed him as he approached. "Will you let me take care of you friends now?" Stephen smiled when she said 'friends'."

"Yeah, of course." he replied. "Follow me, and I'll tell you what you need to know to take care of them." Stephen opened his chamber door and allowed the pony to enter first and followed, closing the door behind him. He reached to his sash and retrieved two Pokeballs, and called out his companions. "Maple, Volta, come on out!"

The Electric type and the Grass type popped out, ready for anything. They realized they were in no danger, and regarded each other with friendly smiles. Then the pair looked to Stephen, waiting for instructions.

"Hey, guys." Stephen addressed them, petting them each on the head. "I'm going to go on a dangerous mission, and I need you two to help on the defensive, and keep Nova company if she wakes up." He looked to the wall between his room and Nova's, hoping she'd be alright. "I know you guys are capable of handling yourselves, but I need you guys to always keep to Fluttershy while I'm gone. She can heal you, feed you, and keep you company in the meantime, okay?" Stephen's Pokémon nodded in understanding, and looked to Fluttershy with kind smiles. Maple was the first to approach Fluttershy, as they were already familiar with each other. The Eeveelution nuzzled the pegasus's leg and the pony reciprocated. Volta plainly walked over to Fluttershy. Being the tallest of the three, Volta instinctively took a proud, protective stance over them.

"Anything else, Stephen?" Fluttershy was giddy with the idea of taking care of these creatures. But what if they got hurt? "Do you have medicine for them just in case?"

"Of course!" Stephen walked over to his bed, where his backpack rested. He pulled out good amount of yellow crystals and plenty of spray bottles that were filled with fluids Fluttershy didn't recognize. He showed the crystal first. "This is a Revive crystal. If any of them are knocked unconscious by a blow, place this against their forehead, and it will glow and disappear. This will wake them up, but not heal them fully." Stephen picked up a yellow spray bottle. "This is a Full Heal. If one of the gets burned, frozen, paralyzed, poisoned, or have fallen asleep against their will, use this and the ailment with go away." Stephen picked up a pink and white spray bottle. "Finally, this is a Hyper Potion. If any of them look weak, use this on them and their energy will be restored and they'll be healthy again."

Fluttershy took some of the aforementioned items and held them in a hoof, mentally taking notes as Stephen described each medicinal item. She saw a certain look in the Trainer's eyes; he was right at home talking about his items and his Pokémon. She could tell he cared for them, especially Nova.

"... and don't forget to make sure neither one of them eats too many sweets, okay? Fluttershy?" Stephen felt he was losing his audience. "You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Fluttershy assured him. "Don't you worry, I'll take good care of these two!"

"And I'm pretty sure they'll do a pretty good job of protecting you, too." the Trainer said. "They'll know what to do if such a situation comes."

"O-oh, good." Fluttershy was still a bit wary of the Pokémon fighting, but had remind herself that it was a natural thing. "Anything else?"

"Just one more thing." Stephen said, a little quietly. "Could you check on Nova from time to time? And if she wakes up before I'm back, keep her company. I know you're a kind pony, so I trust you to take good care of my friends, at least until Nova is back in good shape."

"Of course, Stephen." Fluttershy knew how much the Psychic Pokémon meant to him. "I'll do my best."

With that, Stephen allowed Fluttershy to leave, Maple and Volta in tow. He know had four Pokeballs on his sash: the three that would go on the journey with him, and an empty one, Nova's. The Trainer reached for the latter and removed it from the sash. He walked over to a bedside table, where the Mini-PC and Pokedex sat. He picked up the Pokedex and replaced it with Nova's Pokeball. He regretted doing it, but he didn't want to end up losing it in the journey to Corruption's lair. He had already had a reason to fight, but Corruption had gone too far. Taking Kara was painful enough, but incapacitating Nova nearly broke Stephen. He would fight, not for the ponies and Equestria, but as vengeance for hurting those dear to him. What he didn't know was that Corruption was ready for him, and the draconequus was eager to break the human down even further.
> Chapter 19: Moonlight Sonata
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Stephen was walking.  Why was he walking?  He wasn’t sure why but knew that he’d been walking for quite some time now.  He didn’t even remember leaving bed.  He was just walking.  Slowly, walking, along a dirt path that seemed to lead nowhere.  Voices seemed to call out his name, but he didn’t know how to respond.  Stephen just kept walking.  After a few moments, he found himself at a fork in the dirt road.  There was no land between them, just empty space.  Stephen kicked a little rock from the road, letting it drop into the abyss.  He listened for the impact of rock and bottom, but no sound came.  He looked up, and saw a tall cliff. At the top stood a large, serpentine monster, who began to laugh at the sight of Stephen.

Corruption! Stephen thought.  He tried opening his mouth, but could not call out to the evil entity.  The latter raised his hands, both of which were holding small figures. In his left hand, the draconequus held a human girl with dark hair and blue eyes. Kara, Stephen noted and began to walk the road that led to his girlfriend.  Then he realized what was in the monster’s right hand: a smaller female, with a white dress and green hair. Nova! Stephen screamed internally.  He ran back to where the road split and tried to think for a moment before Corruption did something completely evil: he dropped both girls at once.  Stephen started to panic, not knowing what to do.  What did this mean?  Would he have to choose his girlfriend over his best friend?  He loved them both so much, how could he let either one of them go?  All the while, Corruption laughed and his voice boomed through the entire space.  The human tried moving forward, but found that he could not.

“Choose, Champion!” the villain challenged him. “Only one can live!” Stephen watched helplessly as the two people he was closest to fell into the void below.  It wasn’t before long that the ground began to disappear beneath Stephen, and soon he was plummeting into the abyss. “Fall, human, fall!” Corruption laughed again. “Fall as all heroes must!” The scene began to fade as Stephen fell further.

“Stephen!” the Trainer heard another voice, this time, a woman’s. “I’ll get you!” He turned his head to see a familiar pony. Luna, flew beside him, and immediately, Stephen was no longer falling. A blue aura, not unlike Nova’s Psychic, enveloped his form, and it was carrying him alongside the Night Princess. They landed back at the road where Stephen had fallen, and still saw that Corruption was still there.  Before anyone could say anything, Luna fired a magic beam straight at the draconequus and the villain was dust. Luna turned to the human. “Are you alright?”

“I... I’m,” Stephen checked that he could speak first before responding. “I’m fine, Luna. What was all that?”
“This is a dream, Stephen.” Luna explained. “More so, a nightmare. I protect all subjects, pony or not, from any dark forces that mean to cause harm.”

“But I’m not a subject, Luna.” Stephen corrected.

“However,” The Princess countered. “You are under our protection, and are responsible for defending our land. We have to protect you.”

“Okay...” the Pokémon Trainer took a deep breath and watched as the whole dream seemed to freeze around them. “Does this dream mean anything?”

“A dream usually does.” Luna answered. “And I do believe it tells of an impending decision. I do hope, for all of our sakes, that it is not as drastic as that.” She looked up at the cliff, where ‘Corruption’ had stood.

“C-could that really have been him?”

“I do not know the extent of Corruption’s powers,” Luna responded. “But it is possible. Unlikely, but possible.” An short silence took over as Stephen thought something over.

“Can I have one more favor, Luna?” Stephen asked. “Before I leave in the morning?”

“Yes, of course.” she answered. “What is it?”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Luna and Stephen entered Nova’s room. The Psychic type Pokémon was still unconscious, though she looked peaceful. Stephen thanked the heavens nothing worse had happened. The two approached the bed, and Stephen knelt down a bit to be at eye level with Nova.

“Hey there, Nova,” he softly caressed the Gardevoir’s cheek. It might have been a trick in the moonlight of the window, but it looked like she smiled. Stephen, nonetheless, was happy to see that she was doing relatively fine. “You’ll be back on your feet in no time, I promise.”

“Are you sure about this, Stephen?” Luna asked. “What do you wish to accomplish?”

“I just…” Stephen began. “Want to make sure Corruption isn’t messing with her dreams as well.” Luna nodded, and began her spell.  Within seconds, a mist began to surround the two, and new a scene was unfolding.  They were suddenly standing in the plains, where Stephen had stood up against the Changeling invasion.  However, they saw a lone figure and started moving towards it.

Nova was kneeling over a body. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Closer inspection revealed that it was Stephen’s body.  A loud, familiar voice sounded throughout the dream.  Once again, the evil draconequus was taunting the dreamer, this time swirling around in the space above Nova.

“Awww, poor Nova’s partner is gone!” Corruption mocked her with a babying tone. “She loved him so dearly, and yet she couldn’t do anything! He loves Kara more, and he’d never love you as much as her!” The last statement made Stephen stop.  Is that want Nova wants? Stephen thought.  Does… does she really love me like that? He watched on as Luna reached and slowly approached the Psychic type.

“I thought I told you,” Stephen heard Nova say quietly, then turned around faced Luna in anger. “TO LEAVE US ALONE!” Luna was sent flying back, but managed to land on her hooves by the human’s side.  Nova looked to her, and was about to continue her attack, until she noticed Stephen was standing next to the Night Princess. “S-Stephen?” She called out. “Is that you?” He nodded, and the Psychic type ran to her Trainer and embraced him, tears still running down her white cheeks.  Nova looked up with a smile, but remembered the corpse. “B-but, then who is that?” She pointed at the limp human body a few feet away.

In response, Luna fired a magic beam, turning the corpse into shadow. “An illusion, nothing more. Much like that specter of 	Corruption.” She added, and fired her magic again at the moving image of the villain, and it dissipated into smoke. “I apologize for the intrusion of your dreams, as Stephen had to tell you something.” The Gardevoir looked to her Trainer.

“Nova,” Stephen began. “I’m going on a journey to save Kara, so that we can all end Corruption’s campaign, and get us all home as soon as possible.  But I’m only bringing Patrician, Tempest, and Reaper.  Either way, it’s going to be very dangerous, and I’m not sure if I can return in one piece. But, trust me when I say that I will be here when you wake up.”

“Promise?” Nova asked, embracing Stephen once again. “Do you promise me that you’ll come back safely?” Stephen gave her a soft smile and hugged her tightly.  He needed this talk with Nova, he couldn’t just leave without saying a real good-bye somehow.
“I promise.” the human answered. “I’d never break a promise I made with someone so close to me.” He broke the hug, and returned to Luna’s side.  Before Luna could cancel the dreamwalking spell, Nova spoke up again.

“Stephen,” She called, interrupting the Princess’ focus. “Can I ask you something?” Luna stopped, and let Stephen approach his companion again. The Pokémon continued, “What am I to you?”

“What do you mean?” Stephen was taken a bit off guard by this question. “Does this have to do with what Corruption was saying?” Nova didn’t say anything, but she nodded. A final, small tear ran down her porcelain white cheek as she waited for the answer.

“Nova, you are...” Stephen was thinking of the right words to say. “Possibly… the most valuable thing I could ever have. I care about you every day, and never want to see you sad or angry. You’re the closest I’ve ever had to a…” Stephen took a moment to decide carefully. “A sister.” Nova perked up at this, smiling a little. “You’re the closest I’ve had to a family in all of my years in travelling the whole world of Pokémon. I never left you in a Pokémon Day-Care, or a PC Box. I’ve wanted you by my side from day one, and I’m damn sure that I never want that to change. Kara may be my girlfriend, and I may love her in one way, but I’ll love and care about you on a much deeper level, Nova. You’re not just another Pokémon, or a partner in battle. You’re my family, Nova, and I couldn’t love any more than I’ve tried.”

At that final statement, the Psychic type, once again, embraced Stephen, but this time with tears of happiness. “I-I understand now, Stephen.” Nova said. “Thank you. And I love you too…” Nova hesitated a bit. “Brother.” Luna watched with a smile, how sweet a sight it was to see the two come together, despite the realities, before they would separate again for an indefinite time.

“We must go now, Stephen.” Luna had to cut in. “This spell is taking a lot of my energy, and I need to lower the moon later for Equestria.” The human nodded in understanding, and slowly broke the hug between brother and sister, not Trainer and Pokémon.  Stephen walked over to Luna, and waved to Nova in farewell, feeling great knowing that he was able to give her a proper goodbye.  Luna cancelled the dreamwalking spell, and the pair found themselves back in Nova’s chambers.

“Thank you, Luna.” Stephen said, after a short silence. “I really needed to do that.”

“It is our pleasure, Stephen.” Luna answered before adding, “But remember that you must still focus on the task at hand, and if we are dealt with a gracious favor, you will be able to keep that promise you made.” Luna’s lit up again, preparing for teleportation, but before she cast the spell she bid farewell with, “Good night, Stephen, and good luck to you tomorrow.” Stephen nodded his thanks as the Night Princess disappeared.  He leaned on the side of the bed a little, so as not to bother Nova’s slumber. Slowly, in the light of the moon, he bent down and kissed Nova on the top of her head. Once again, as if it were a trick of the light, Nova smiled.

“I’m going to keep that promise, Nova.” Stephen spoke quietly. “And we’ll all be back home soon. Good night.” He took a long look at the sleeping Gardevoir one last time before retiring to his own room, getting some rest for the journey ahead.
> Chapter 20: Departure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Despite having only a few hours of sleep after the dreamwalking experience with Luna, Stephen was still awake and alert the morning of the start of the journey. He packed his bag with plenty of Potions, Revives and Full Heals, and made sure he still had plenty of berries if his team of three Pokemon got hungry. He needed to bring those three specifically along. They were the most physically intimidating, so it would be easier to scare away any potential attackers rather than going ahead and fighting everything. 

Stephen put on his bag and ball-sash, looked around to make sure he didn't forget anything, and left his room. He stopped for a minute in front of Nova's room, praying that she'd be fine and awake by the time he returned. If he returned, that is. This mission was absolutely suicidal! He only had three Pokemon going up against most of the known Legendary Pokemon! Who's to say Corruption hasn't gone to Kalos and taken whatever Legedaries exist there? Stephen wouldn't have known, as he had never been to the region. Stephen took a deep breath and kept walking all the while thinking, I will come back, The thought repeated in his head. And we will all be safe and sound at home in no time.. The human passed some guards on the way to the Royal Dining Room. He would meet there with the others for an early breakfast and recap of what they were doing. The Pokemon Trainer took his time; it was still quite early in the morning, as the Sun had just came up. Oh, how he missed his home world's sun. It wasn't much different, but it just wasn't the same.

Several minutes later, Stephen made it to the Royal Dining Room. He stepped inside, and found Princess Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Queen Chrysalis, and his three fellow adventurers. He gave a nod to each as he sat down, a pre-selected meal had been served to him. 

"How did you sleep, Stephen?" Celestia opted for some small talk to start what would be a troublesome day. "I hope you are still up to do this mission."

"I slept well, Celestia." Stephen answered, glancing to her sister, who was eating her breakfast. "I'm ready, of course. Can't just lie here and let things happen."

"I like that saying." Swift Gale nodded as she took a break from her meal. Stephen took this chance as a time to start his own breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. "We shouldn't just let things roll over us and take dominance, when we have the strength and ability to fight for and defend Equestria. We can't let Corruption win." Surprisingly solemn for the pegasus that was quiet energetic and enthusiastic about aliens Stephen remarked. Then again, she's a Commander, and I think she's an important part of this team. Stephen noticed Corporal Mirror was sitting next to Queen Chrysalis, both of whom were eating some kind of soup. The Changeling volunteer nodded at the human, acknowledging his presence.

"Stephen," Chrysalis spoke. "While we haven't exactly spoke as much as you would with the other ponies, I would like to say that I have complete faith in you. You stopped the Corrupted Changeling invasion single handed and without a casualty on either side. You'll not only save Equestria, but the my home and my subjects' home as well. Thank you, and good luck."

"I didn't do that on my own," Stephen corrected her. "I had my Pokemon by my side. Without them, I'm just another boring human being. Also, thank you. Maybe I can use some of that good luck to avoid being ambushed on the way there."

"That reminds me," High Marks spoke up. "We didn't tell you how we would be moving." Stephen took notice and beckoned the Unicorn to proceed. "Commander Swift Gale and I will stay up front, as we are the ones trained to fight and defend. If anything tries to charge at us from the front, the two of us and can take him. Corporal Mirror will cover our rear, as his Changeling senses are much more acute than a pony's, thus making him better to sense if anyone is trailing us or if anything is around us. You, Stephen, will stay in the middle. We are treating this like a standard escort mission, so the precious cargo will stay in the middle. Also, it's good for tactical purposes; if anything goes wrong on either side, just have your Pokemon join us in the front or back."

"I see..." Precious cargo? Stephen thought. I know I'm somewhat important to these ponies, but I'm not fragile. "What else?"

"Well," Swift Gale answered this time. "What if, for some reason, you can't get to your Pokemon friends in time? You need a sword or something to fight back."

"Um... I'm gonna have to say no to that." Stephen said.

"Why is that, Stephen?" Luna asked. "There may come an emergency where your Pokemon cannot be reached. Better to be safe than sorry."

"I am not one to fight like that." the human answered. "I try to dissolve all disputes first with words and compromises. A physical confrontation is only a last resort if all attempts fail. I have no desire to hurt anypony."

"Stephen," Celestia spoke up this time. "You will be going through the Everfree Forest. There aren't exactly ponies living there. It's mostly wild creatures that fight to survive. Like how the wild creatures fight in your world for dominance and food, they fight as well. What difference is there? At least bring something for a last resort for defense." Stephen took time to think this over. It was true that all he saw in the Everfree were wild creatures. He didn't want to fight anypony that came along though. He decided it would be worth it to add an additional line of defense. He eventually agreed to the idea of holding a weapon. 

The rest of the meal went on with small talk amongst the other ponies and creatures in the room. There was still a nervous atmosphere no matter the topic; this would be a dangerous expedition and there was no guarantee that they'd all come back safely. Stephen made a promise to Nova, as well, that he'd come back when she was finally awake. He couldn't wait for this all to be over.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The four adventurers had gone to a special part of the Royal Guards' section of the castle: the blacksmith. Princess Luna escorted them there after breakfast, to ensure all received what was needed. Swift Gale received her wing blade, which Stephen thought was really cool. High Marks received his trident and small circle shield. Facade was given a specially designed short sword, black, and almost scimitar-like in design.

"I took the liberty of asking the blacksmith to make something for you, Stephen." Luna told the Trainer. "And I think it would be nice, as it is mostly for defense than it is for offense." With that, the blacksmith approached Stephen with a medium sized shield, to be held upon the arm by leather straps on the back. It was bigger than High Marks's shield, and was surprisingly light. It had a small Pokeball symbol in the center, which Stephen that was a nice touch. 

"That's quite the shield, Stephen." Gale admired it. "Strong and very durable, with a slightly sharp edge in case you might want to throw it or punch something with that thing."

"Is this actually necessary?" Stephen asked Luna.

"There are no friendly faces in the Everfree Forest," Luna explained. "It would be best to carry that. Stay close together, and let the soldiers do the fighting." Stephen nodded. He knew that he should only fight as a last resort if the others could not.

"Do you have your Pokemon?" Luna asked as well. "The ones you chose to bring along, at least?" Stephen nodded, pointing to his sash with his three remaining Pokeballs. "Good." Luna saw that he was ready. "Come to the Court Room when you are ready." With that, the Night Princess teleported away.

"Anything else you need, son?" High Marks asked Stephen. "Anything you forgot?" Stephen took his time to mentally check his item inventory, making sure that he had enough medicine and Berries, etc. The human shook his head in response when he confirmed he had everything he needed. High Marks looked to the rest of the travelling group and asked the same question.

To be perfectly honest, this was an impressing looking group. Facade had his own black, light armor to match his chitin and short sword. Swift Gale had her Wing Blades on, along with light battle armor that made her look almost like a Skarmory. Stephen then looked to High Marks, who resembled a quadrupedal Bisharp. His armor was a dark red, with steel boots on his hooves that went up near the pony's knees. His horn went through a opening in the helmet that required a unicorn to slide the helmet onto their head. His nape and back were also covered, but with a light, leather armor so as not to restrict movement. Then there was Stephen, who held a shield that looked like it could be used for just about any means of battle. To add to that, he had his three most fearsome Pokemon, so any attacking wild animals could be dealt with accordingly. Once everything was checked and all agreed that they were ready, High Mark's horn started to glow, and in seconds the group was in the Royal Court Room, and in the presence of the four Princesses and Queen.

"Are you all ready?" Celestia asked them. "Do any of you wish to bow out now?" All four travelers shook their heads. I wouldn't quit from this mission even if would mean my death. Stephen thought. He came too far and lost too much already. He needed to stop Corruption from taking any more from him. He looked to the ponies. Of course, He thought again,This isn't all about me. The ponies had volunteered because this was a way to get an advantage in battle. There was a war at stake, 

"Ponies, Changeling, and human," Celestia spoke, and all eyes were upon the travelers. "It is with great honor that I stand before you, as you will soon partake in a journey most perilous. You have prepared and anticipated for today, and we hope that you are able to safely reach your destination and for your successful journey and return be a symbol of hope and inspiration as we await the incoming tides of battle." Celestia turned to Luna, and the two sisters lit their horns, then sad in unison. "As you travel under the sun and moon, may you be ever strong, brave and persevering. May be the stars above guide aide you in your journey to Corruption, and grant you favor in conflicts ahead." The two bowed their heads, and what began was the most impressive feat of magic Stephen had seen so far in Equestria.

Images of the Sun and Moon erupted from the Alicorns' horns, duplicating and swirling around the room. The images began to circle faster and closer to the four travelers, causing a wind to pick up. Stars began to pour out of the horns as well, and followed the larger images around the travelers. The entire room had grown as dark as the night sky, as if they were in space. The travelers only saw Celestia and Luna casting their spell, and the only light was emanating from the quickly revolving images around them. The images grew closer and closer, until the suns, stars, and moon touched the ponies, Changeling, and human. Stephen felt the heat from the magic energy course through his body as the images came in contact with his skin.  He could not move, paralyzed in awe of the lights show. In moments the spell finished, and the atmosphere returned to the Royal Court Room.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The moments after that were a gigantic blur as a rush of activity among the travelers began. All said their farewells, and were now on their way to their destination. It was going to be a long trip. The group was on their way down to the Canterlot Train Station, where they would be transported to Ponyville to start their journey. A large crowd had come to watch the interesting team depart from Canterlot, wishing them luck and cheering for them.

The train ride to Ponyville was quite uneventful. Despite a few attempts at small talk with each other, the four mostly sat in silence. Even as they got off the train, they were quiet and stoic. There was even another crowd of ponies their to watch the Pokemon Trainer and his group leave for their dangerous trip to Corruption's lair. 

"Where do we start, High Marks?" Stephen looked to the unicorn, who currently looking at a map. The stallion then looked up to survey the area, and pointed to the direction of the Everfree Forest. 

"We're going into the Everfree." High Marks answered, and the group walked past the crows of curious ponies and made their way to the edge of the Everfree, by Fluttershy's home.

"Are we ready?" Swift Gale asked everyone. "Have your positions and weapons ready." Stephen slowly raised his shield up in front of him, as the pegasus and unicorn walked in front of him, and Corporal Mirror covered the rear of the pack. "Good?" Gale asked again, and each traveler nodded. "Then, let's begin."
> Bonus Chapter: In the Moonlight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After Stephen and Luna had left Nova's dreams, the the scene in the Gardevoir's mind changed completely. Gone was the dark red hue of Corruption, as was the paranoia the vile draconequus had wrought in her mind. She was now in control; she couldn't wake up, but was consciously making decisions and interacting with her dream. Nova took a deep breath, and cast the move, Calm Mind. In battles, this would be used to strengthen the focus of her Psychic attacks, along with help her withstand other Special attacks.

This Calm Mind, instead, did exactly what the name described. Within moments, there was complete silence, and Nova found a point of tranquility in the nothingness that was her dream. Taking another deep breath, she looked up, and saw the Moon up above her, now casting its natural light upon where she stood. There was something off about this moon, though, Nova noticed. It must have been Nova's imagination, as she hadn't made it so, but the moon seemed to have a pinkish hue. 

She payed this no mind, closed her eyes and meditated. At her will, flowers petals and leaves were summoned out of air and swirled around as if a breeze was carrying them. Nova opened her eyes to watch them fly around, a small smile on her face, until the small items ceased in momentum and froze in place. The light surrounding the items began to grow as Nova's curiosity grew. Then the light became to bright, and Nova began to get blinded by the increasing brightness. She raised her hands to block her eyes, but the light decreased in intensity. She raised her hands again to the floating items and the light began to grow again. Nova felt a new sensation within her, as if she was holding and controlling this light. The floating petals and leaves began to disappear until only the light remained. It was very similar to Flash, one of Nova's first moves. Except it felt more like a Beam type attack.

Wherever she turned and faced, the pinkish-white light was in front of her. Nova took the light in her hand and extended it. The light grew in intensity very quickly, and exploded in the area in front of her. The flash of light had flashed out in a fan pattern, and where the flash had exploded, the darkness had dissipated and left nothing but white space. Nova looked to her hands, where the light still remained and glowed soft pink.

Nova turned, looking into the darkness, and raised her hands to it. In a matter of moments, all of the darkness in quite a large radius was turned to pure, white space. However, it wasn't long until the darkness consumed the light. Now Nova stood in darkness. A few feet away, a single ray of light shone through; it was the moon! Nova walked over, her hands still aglow from the previous move. She raised her hands to the pinkish light of the moon, and felt them grow heavy as a large ball of pinkish-white light, much akin to the wide beam move before, and once it stop growing to a considerable size, Nova found that she could move it. It felt like a Shadow Ball. And as such, she decided to launch it at a short distance at a nearby spot. In seconds the whole area was bathed in a bright light and a gigantic area around her, much bigger than the previous move, was made to white space. Nova smirked. Now I have something to work on until Stephen returns. She thought, looking at her glowing hands as they alternated from her normal Psychic blue aura to the new pink aura. It seems I still have a lot to learn.


> Chapter 21: Everfree Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Despite the fact that he has traveled all of Pokemon regions except Kalos, he still didn't like hiking. He didn't mind traveling, but not for such a treacherously long time. Stephen looked up through the dark treetops, where the sun still lay high in the sky. They ahd left this morning, and haven't stopped at all to rest.

"How much longer till we break?" Stephen asked, arm limp from carrying his shield for so long. He wiped his forehead of sweat with his free hand and looked up to see two disappointed ponies. "What? Why the long faces?" Stephen said with a small smile.

"Stephen," Swift Gale stepped forward. "The Everfree Forest isn't exactly as safe place to just sit and rest for a while." High Marks nodded, and the pegasus continued. "Many monsters can attack us at any moment's notice as we speak., and there's a good chance that we might not even recognize the creature. Ponies stay away from here with good reason."

"With that said," Facade said with a bored tone. "Can we continue? I'd rather not stay idle in such a supposedly hostile area." We all agreed with that and kept walking.

"Don't worry Stephen," Swift Gale called from the front. "Once we find a good clearing in green, we'll take a breather." Stephen sighed, and kept walking. He heard galloping catching up from behind him. He looked down and saw Facade at his side. 

"Having trouble with that shield?" asked the Changeling. Stephen reluctantly nodded. It was a light enough load, but began to be more of a burden as time went on. "There's a button in that little circle in the design. try that." Then his trot slowed as he returned to his position in line. Stephen look at his shield and slapped his hand on the middle of the logo. HE felt like he had just hit a small metal button. In seconds, the shield began to spiral inwards like an Omanyte shell until it was nothing more than a bracelet with a Pokeball design on it; it looked like a watch.

"That's pretty cool," Stephen admitted. He took a second to look at the minimized shield, then continued walking. He hadn't realized that Gale and Marks had stopped just ahead. Stephen brought his voice to a whisper and asked the pegasus guard," What's going on?" She only responded by pointing to a mass of fur, or rather, masses of fur. 

"Manticores," Swift Gale finally answered. "And they seem to be asleep. Don't do anything stupid and there won't be any problems." The troop kept moving, although quite slowly so as to avoid excess noise. Stephen regarded the sharp scorpion's tail and the reddish-brown bat wings that each manticore had. He was quite sure that the guards could handle them if need be, but really hoped that the lion hybrids would just lay there asleep until - SNAP! 

All movement had ceased, and the quadrupeds of	the group looked to the human who had made the sound. Stephen looked down and saw that his sneaker had just broken through quite a large branch. The group looked back at the manticores; one growl in its sleep, but did not make any effort to wake up and confront them. Stephen mouthed a sincere Sorry and decided to pay attention more to his feet as they walked past the predators.

That whole time, Stephen could feel like someone was watching him, as if they were some strong presence looming over him and watching every move. He glanced up and saw only the canopy of the Everfree Forest, and shrugged it off; probably a bird or something. The group trekked on through the forest for another half hour before deciding to rest for the day at a clearing by a lake.

"Ok, Stephen." Swift Gale called back to the tiring human. "We're setting up camp here, you can rest for a bit." Stephen felt relieved as he sat down on the ground and tried to relax after the walk. He though he was safe until Gale spoke up again to say, "Now go help High Marks get some fire wood." The Trainer shot the pegasus guard a glare before grudgingly rising to his feet and joining the aforementioned unicorn by some fallen branches.

"These branches are too long and thick to carry back on our own." The Lieutenant magically lifted a small axe to Stephen, who grasped it with reluctance. "Just cut them down into manageable sizes so we can carry them to the camp site." The two started to cut down the branches, but High Marks left after about ten minutes, leaving Stephen with much more to go.

"Seriously?" Stephen called back irritated. "Am I not getting any help around here?"

"Build up your strength, dude. You don't have magic like a Unicorn, nor can you fly naturally like a Pegasus,and you sure as hell don't have the strength of an Earth Pony," Swift Gale cantered over to say. "If you're gonna just rely on your Poke-whatevers to fight every battle for you here, then your not gonna last that long. What would you do if you're stuck without them? What would you do?"

"I... uh..." Stephen was caught off guard by the question. "Try to negotiate and avoid the fight? And they're called Pokemon." He resumed the assigned work.

"What if your opponent is charging at you in a fit of rage?" The pegasus countered. The Trainer hesitated. "Look, I understand that those battles were how your kind settled things, but here, if you get attacked you have to be able to defend yourself. Have you ever been in a fight without your Pokemon before?"

"Well, there was one time..." Stephen began. "There was a bully and-"

"Say no more!" Swift interrupted him. "Your bully was-" Stephen cut her off then.

"It wasn't my bully." Stephen corrected. "It was Bill's bully." Swift Gale was now confused, but Stephen continued. "Bill is one of my best friends, and we've known each other since we were young. We were always the smarter ones in the class, but Bill was always smarter. He would go on to be the valedictorian of his researcher's university. We were both pretty nerdy though." The Trainer closed his eyes to remember the old days. "We would play cards and pretend we were super Trainers from the morning cartoons. However, Bill would constantly be hounded by this bully named Brucie." Swiift Gale chose this time to speak up.

"What was he like?" she asked. "This 'Brucie' character."

"Well," Stephen answered. "He's not that big, and he realized he wasn't that threatening, so he decided to build up a little gang. But that's much later on. He would scare Bill into forking over lunch money and homework and test answers. I didn't know this at the time, and Bill wouldn't say anything. Until one day I saw Brucie pushing Bill over, and the latter started crying, and I decided to act." 

"Doesn't exactly seem like you, to be honest." Swift commented, smirking. "Where were your Pokemon?"

"I was seven," the human replied. "I found Nova the next year, so I relied on other things to settle issues. Anyway, I happened to knock Brucie to the ground and started beating my fists at his covered face. He got a black eye and swollen nose, as well as a burning hatred for me, which is why he began taunting me until I completely destroyed him in every battle he challenged me to. But yeah, that was it."

"So..." Swift Gale leaned in with an irritated tone "The only kind of physical hand-to-hand combat was some playground bully skirmish?"

"Well," Stephen thought about it. "Yeah, pretty much."

Swift Gale's hoof met her face. "So you technically have no fighting experience whatsoever." She concluded.

"Yup." The human looked down at the remaining branches; he had finally finished cutting a good amount of wood for the fire to go through the night. Swift Gale picked up some using her wings, and Stephen picked the rest up in his arms. The two put the wood down in the small stone and wood fireplace Corporal Mirror was making. Stephen turned to go to the lake and wash his face until thwack! A piece of the cut firewood had been launched through the air with precision and hit Stephen's back. He looked back to see Swift Gale juggling another piece of firewood in her hooves, not trying to be innocent at all. High Marks and Facade just watched with amusement.

"The hell, Gale?" Stephen yelled. "Are we seriously gonna do this right now?"

"It's Commander Gale to you!" Her voice was now full of authority. "And if we're gonna get you to toughen up, we should start now! Starting with some strength training!"

"Oh..." Stephen gulped. "Crap."


	


	
> Chapter 22: Everfree Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Stop flying around and fight me on the ground!" Stephen yelled out for the thousandth time at Gale's aerial barrage. "It's not fair, you being able to fly!" Swift Gale had been swooping in and out, and Stephen had been practicing for the last hour without his shield. Mainly, he had been dodging and rolling away from her head-on attacks, causing the usually cool Commander to be even more pissed off and frustrated at the human.

"You think that army of rogue changelings would have stopped flying because you say, 'it's not fair'?" Gale glared at the human. "No. They are relentless and their abilities are being used against their will." Her body took a pouncing stance once more. "And your whining won't make any sort of difference. Now, stop complaining!"

Swift Gale decided to take to the ground, and Stephen was not allowed to have his shield at the ready. She would lunge at random intervals and attempt the usual fake to catch him off guard, testing his reflexes. The human had been keeping his eyes on the Pegasus, but just barely dodged her tackles. He had started circling in reverse around the clearing, closer to the trees. This was unknown to  the flying equine, who had been growing frustrated at this behavior.

"Oh, come on!" Gale yelled out. "At least try to hit me, Stephen!" With that she took another quick dash at him, as the human started to back up. "You're utterly weak without your Pokémon, so how are you gonna be able to fight me- WHOA!" At the very last second, Stephen dodged once again, and watched as his "instructor" collided head first into a tree trunk with a harsh WHAM!


~~~~~~~~~~


Swift Gale opened up her eyes to face a orange-red sky; it was already sunset. Stars were still flying in her vision, and she blinked several times to shake them off. Her body also ached and resisted any attempts to rise. She looked to the side and found Stephen laying down next  to her.

"W-what happened?" Her voice was a little weak, as it would be after being knocked out for a while. "Why are we lying on the ground?"  Stephen turned his own head and replied.

"Well..." He began, turning his head back to the sky. "You hit the tree head first and knocked yourself out. So, I decided to lay down so that everyone else would think we're chilling. The other two went out for some berries and edible herbs." He heard the pegasus sigh, and allowed an awkward silence to follow. She looked to her left and saw that High Marks and Mirror had already set up the three tents. One for her, the second for the changeling, and the lieutenant would share his tent with Stephen. Like he said before, the other two guards were nowhere to be found.

"I've never..." She broke the silence, her mind no longer fuzzy.

"Hmm?" Stephen looked over to see the pegasus slowly bring her hoof to her face as she shook her head.
"I've never been beat by a student, let alone an untrained civilian, in combat training." She sounded a little sad, disappointed even. "And you did it without even touching me. You don't know how to fight for yourself. You have no intent to counterattack for an upper hand. You didn't even reactivate your shield. I never said you couldn't use it."

"Oh." Stephen said simply, looking down at the small, Pokeball design bracelet on his wrist. He continued to listen to her criticism.
"One thing I do have to commend you on," Gale went on. "Is your dodging and reflexes. Where'd you learn that from?" Stephen had to think of what to say exactly before answering.

"Well, when two Trainers battle, 95% of the time, they will be standing right behind their Pokémon on the battlefield. Every single attack and tactic can do some kind of damage. Given enough practice, one learns how fast and where an attack can travel, and how to avoid it while still focusing on the battle. Even a weak attack like a Tackle or a Quick Attack can send a Trainer to the hospital for a day or two. Many attacks have been proven fatal, and could lead to the destruction of the world and universe if put in the wrong hands."

"How bad can it be?" Swift Gale asked, a skeptic smirk on her face. No doubt she had faced manticores with the same strength. Stephen pondered that thought and took a moment to collect his memories.

"Well, you know my Gyarados?" Stephen asked, and received a confused look. "I mean Tempest, my big, blue serpent." At this, Gale nodded. "Well, imagine being hit by her tail and sent flying about 15 yards and into the side of a cliff." He stretched out his elbow and back as the painful thought came to him.

"Well damn..." Swift Gale whistled.  "That should have killed you!"

"I actually managed to hang on because..." Stephen trailed off as the end of that memory came to him. "Because of Nova. I'm alive thanks to her. She's saved me countless times and I couldn't save her this time." His hands balled up into fists as a tear rolled down the side of his face."God DAMN it!"

"Listen Stephen, calm down!" Swift Gale's 'Commander' guise fell as she tried to console the human. "It's not your fault! We can still-" She was cut off by Stephen abruptly rising to his feet and walking to his tent. She watched him enter and close up the tent quickly before laying still on her back and closing her eyes. Minutes later, they were opened by the sound of hoofsteps; Mirror and Marks had returned with supplies.

"Where's Stephen?" The lieutenant queried. "In the tents?"

"Yeah." Swift answered monotonously.With that, she rose and walked over to the water's edge to let her mind relax and wander. She felt like she should have said anything at all.

The stallion looked to the tent that he shared with Stephen and sighed. It was hard enough to get through this forest with an even head. To get through this place with negative thoughts would get him killed easily. They should all talk tonight about that. And just like that, an idea came to High Mark's aged mind.

"Campfire time." He said plainly, and he made his way to the stock of previously chopped logs.

> Chapter 23: Everfree Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"So...," Corporal Facade sat with Swift Gale and High Marks on around a small campfire a few yards from their tents. They sat on two logs, with Gale and High Marks on on log and opposite them, across the fire, sat Facade  alone; there was a space saved for Stephen.  It was a weak flame, and the "sea breeze" coming from the lake kept threatening to kill it. "How are we supposed to convince Stephen to get out here?"

"We could offer him food?" Gale offered, gesturing a hoof to the amount of fish, carrots, and daisies the stallions had harvested out earlier that day. 

"No," Marks said, rubbing his chin with a hoof. "He'd probably take a piece then walk back to the tents."

"We could yell at him more," Gale suggested. "Toughen him up."

"Take it easy," Facade nudged the pegasus with his shoulder. "This is obviously a hard time for him. He'll learn to deal with it eventually. We still have a long way to go from here." At this, the mare and High Marks nodded.

"We could-" High Marks was about to offer another idea, until the already weakened flames were finally completely burnt out from the cool night breeze. "Well, damn it, there goes the light."

"It's drawing less attention from us." Facade said, keeping a monotonous streak. "Less chances of unnecessary encounters."

"That's all good and fine," Swift Gale's stomach started to growl. "But if we can't cook these fish or at least have a decent, warm meal, I'm going to hurt somepony. Stephen! Get out here and help us!" A murmur could be heard from the tent, but no attempts to leave it were seen.

"Don't you have tinderboxes or matches in that saddlebag of yours, Marks?" Facade asks, now lying across the log, eyes closed and getting impatient. "Not that I need legitimate foodstuffs, but it's still nice to have once in a while." The lieutenant started searching though his saddlebags beside him.

"I can't find the damn tinderboxes anywhere." the unicorn's horn lit up as he whipped up as spell and mentally grasped for the needed item. After another minute of thorough magical searching, Marks gave up. "That confirms it, no more tinder for the fire."

"Then how are we supposed to.... Wait!" Swift Gale jumped and cantered over to the tent where Stephen lay. She made her presence known to the human by knocking on a supporting pole that held up the tent. "Stephen?" At first, there was silence. Then a sigh.

"... Yes, Gale?" She heard Stephen respond faintly, as though he just woke up.

"Could you come out, please?" The pegasus asked. "We could use your help with the campfire." More silence. Another sigh.

"Alright." He said. Gale smiled, happy with the result. "Just gimme a minute to wake up." Swift Gale stepped back and waited a few moments before a bedraggled Stephen stepped out of the tent and stretched and yawned. 

"Y'know," Gale began. "If you sleep like that more during the day then you won't be able to sleep at night."

"I'm well aware of that, Gale" Stephen replied as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm not a child."

"Well, that's good to hear." Gale started trotting back to the other stallions. "Now can you please come over and help us?" STephen didn't answer but followed the pegasus to the others, who greeted him with nods and smiles.

"What happened to the fire?" Stephen asked. Facade pointed a hoof at the lieutenant in the vicinity. 

"Fire went out." He said. "Forgot to stock up on tinder." High Marks grumbled through his, teeth, as he was utterly embarrassed that he forgot the tinder. Stephen raised an eyebrow as if to ask, "Really?" High Marks to hung his head low.

Some Lieutenant, huh?  Stephen thought, before grasping a Pokeball from his pocket. "It's fine guys." The human assured them. "We have an infinite source of heat and flames right here." He threw the Pokeball and out came, of course, Patrician. The Arcanine took a minute to get used to the darkness of his surroundings. Then he turned and saw Stephen, and the canine tilted his head expectantly. 

"Y'know..." Gale looked up to the 6'3" Pokemon next to her. "I never realized how big this one was." While Stephen stood at around 5'8, the ponies at present stood on all fours at around 5'1. The only one pony taller than him was Celestia, and Luna's horn came up to his forehead.

"Alright Patrician, it's really simple." Stephen calmly commanded, still a little sleepy. "Just light up the campfire for us, if you please." At this, the Arcanine nodded and turned to the campfire. The "Legendary Pokemon" examined it for a moment, and quickly spat a small fireball at the middle of the pit. Well, it was small in combat terms. It looked more like a weak Flame Burst, as its embers "splashed" a little towards High Marks and Facade, who jumped out of their seats the moment Arcanine spat the fire. These embers hit the cold ground and died out. The result of all this was a huge campfire, probably bigger than necessary, and a thin plume rising to the stars.

"Wow," High Marks commented after a moment. "Even a small thing like that seems to be able to cause a lot of damage." He pointed at the fire. Like he said, it did cause some damage; there was a small crater, and it made the fire pit a lot wider. "You sure he should be training CQC still, Gale?"

"I'm just saying," the pegasus retorted. "That if he continues to rely on just his Pokermon to fight every battle for him, then he might as well be useless without them."

"Pokemon." Stephen pointed out. "And I think I did alright earlier today against you."

"True," Facade agreed. "Like you said, Gale, his dodging reflexes are commendable."  There was a moment of silence; the commander was thinking.

"Then I guess we'll base whatever training we have from that in the future." Swift Gale.announced. You're not one for up front confrontation or even a stealthy attack. So we can have you retaliate somehow from a defensive stance!"

"I guess we can give it a try." Stephen agreed. "Sometimes it's better to learn something new than to leave something be for a long time."

"Wait, really?" Swift took a double take. "I thought you were going to argue against that."

"In other, calmer circumstances, I would have. I just lost sight of the fact that what we're doing is part of the start of a war." Stephen sat down on a log, next to Facade, who sat up and made room for the human, and Patrician chose to sit next to his Trainer, but on the ground. "My world has seen wars as well, and I lost my father to one even before I was born. You'd think I'd know the difference between useless training and training for the future." The ponies and changeling took this in; he'd never mentioned a war, let alone a late father before. 

'Well then," High Marks spoke up, "Why don't we start training now? Or at least have a prerequisite."

"What do you mean?" Stephen asked.

"You see this here campfire?" Stephen looked at the campfire that Patrician had revived, and nodded. "Whenever Celestia gives me new recruits on overnight patrol missions, I like to to make campfires. It's a good way to gain trust in one another, and give better understanding as to where everypony is coming from. That way, you learn theirs strengths and weaknesses, even possible recipes for pies that you might want to make one day." The lieutenant smiled, reminiscing. "But the main point here is that we need to get to each other's levels, that way we can work together more efficiently and have better chances of returning home alive." The Trainer nodded as High Marks made that point. "So tell me, Stephen." The human looked up to the older stallion and raised an eyebrow. "What drove you to train as a Pokemon Trainer, as you call yourself?"

"I guess I just wanted to become the very best, like no one ever was. I'd make catching Pokemon the main point of my quests, training them would be my cause." Stephen spoke as though he had this written down and memorized from a young age. "I had traveled across the land, searching far and wide. I'd battle and train and live alongside these Pokemon to better understand the true, wonderful power that they have." The equines payed rapt attention and continued with enthusiasm to learn about this human's life.

" So I left home at a young age of ten, like any other starting Trainer and -" Stephen was interrupted by Swift Gale.

"Ten years old?" She asked, surprised. "Most colts fillies don't even have their Cutie Marks by then. What encourages them to do so at a young age?"

"Well, even though the Pokemon may be weak at first, it takes a determined Trainer to be able to raise his partners. In any such case, from the very beginning, a Trainer must spend at least a day at home with his or her first Pokemon to form a bond of trust before starting the journey." Stephen remembered the long lesson he got from Professor Birch all those years ago. "A Trainer must also have permission from his parents or legal guardian to go on this journey. Not all children in a town or city may be eligible due to health problems or family issues." 

"So you didn't really have to?" High Marks asked.

"Well," Stephen thought about it for a moment. "In a way, being a Trainer is a form of occupation. If you beat another Trainer in a battle, the loser gives prize money. Same goes for tournaments, but your rewards have to be built up in order to translate those winnings into something like items or new attacks for your Pokemon."

"So, you've pretty much been around your whole world?" Swift Gale queried.

"I'm from Hoenn," Stephen counted off the regions on his hand. "From there, I went to Johto, Kanto, Sinnoh, and Unova, in that order. I haven't been to Kalos yet; I'm taking a hiatus from battling right now."

"What is the point of battling then if you're just gonna stop?" Gale pressed. 

"Like I said, I wanted to be the very best. In every region, there is a group of incredibly strong Trainers called the Elite Four, each of them a master in certain types of Pokemon. After beating all of them, there is another, even more incredibly strong Trainer dubbed the Champion. I was Champion at least once in every region I've been to."

"So what does a Champion do?" Marks wondered. It sounded more like an intense competition. If Stephen has experience with these Champions, then who knows what he can really do.

"Well, once a new Champion is crowned, he or she must challenge any other Trainer who surpasses the Elite Four and must defend the title. If the Champion loses, then they must forfeit the title over to the victor. And yes before you ask, I have lost all Championship titles, but I am still recognized as a Champion and have the ability and choice to regain my titles if I so choose."

"So you are a Champion of every region you've been to, so that must mean you have a lot of Pokemon!" Swift Gale concluded excitedly.

"Well, yeah. Gimme a second." Stephen jogged back to the tent to get something from his bag. He ran back with his PokeDex in hand. "This is an electronic Pokemon Index. It shows every Pokemon that I've ever seen and/or captured." He turned to Gale. "Remember when I call you a 'Skarmory' when you had your wingblades on?" The pegasus nodded as Stephen opened and scrolled through its data banks to bring up an image and presented it to her. "That's what a Skarmory is."

"Whoa!" She exclaimed and showed to the other equines. "That's incredible!"

"That looks like it can barely fly." High Marks remarked.

"Well, yes it is quite slow compared to other Flying Pokemon." Stephen responded. "But what it lacked in speed, it makes up in attack power and defensive capabilities."

"Did you have one?"  Gale asked. "It looks so cool!"

"No," Stephen frowned. "But my old friend and previous Champion Steven handled one very well. Any other requests?"

"What was your first Pokemon?" High Marks asked, and the mood became solemn.

"Nova." The Trainer said plainly., looking at the fire now, any enthusiasm for sharing Pokemon lost. 

"She must be extremely strong then." Marks continued. "Seeing as she's been with you since the start."

"Yeah." Stephen's voice was low now. "She is."

"And she'll continue to be strong, Stephen," Marks kept going, as Mirror and Gale looked to see where this was going. "Yes, this will be a hard time for you. Yes, she's hurt and unable to join you right now, but you're fighting for her, right?" Stephen looked to him, understanding what the stallion was saying, and nodded slowly. "Then don't let this unnecessary regret eat you up, man! Corruption's magic, as we've been told, is incredibly powerful and you wouldn't have stood a chance if you tried to attack him without a plan! Then your Pokemon would have no Trainer to keep them safe. I know you're not from Equestria, and that you don't really trust us right now. Just think about this: If you're not going to fight for our country, at least help fight for your P\okemon so you and Kara, and both of your Pokemon can all go home safely together. 

"How do you know about Kara?" Stephen asked. 

"Well," Really, of all things? High Marks was slightly surprised by this question. "Celestia and Luna briefed us about the situation and the individuals involved. That's basic stuff, Stephen." The human nodded in understanding. "So why don't you stop mouring Nova, and celebrate her right now, because she's going to make it, I promise you." The unicorn looked to the pegasus and changeling. Both smiled and looked to the human to see his reaction.

"Alright." Stephen said after a brief moment of silence. "Thanks, I needed that." The lieutenant nodded and continued.

"Many soldiers lose their loved ones and friends in battle. Some are lucky enough to be able to still talk to them everyday." Marks's voice also became solemn. "Never take advantage of the bonds you make, though I believe making bonds is something you know very well about." The human nodded . 

"So how did you meet Nova?" Swift Gale finally spoke up, trying to lighten the mood as Facade finally got to cooking the fish and arranging the other foods for the equines present.

"I was actually about 8 years old, living in Dewford with my mom..." Stephen continued to tell the story of how he met Nova as a Ralts and saved her, and how she saved him multiple times throughout his life so far. He also went on to tell them how he met the rest of the Pokemon in his team; Facade found much interest in Tempest's story,and Swift had a very understandable reaction to Patrician's back story.

"Awww," Gale had gone over and started petting the huge, fiery canine that was already starting to sleep, but was enjoying the affection from the pegasus. "It's a very good thing Stephen found you huh, big fella. You're definitely in good hands."

"Alright all, time to call it a night guys." High Marks announced. "Stephen, could you extinguish the fire for us please?" Stephen looked to the flames, and saw that it was still going strong. In the pit were fish bones and inedible parts of the plants harvested earlier;  the remains from the night's dinner.

"Patrician!" Stephen called out, and immediately, the Arcanine sprang up, scaring the pegasus petting him and causing her to take to the air. "Extinguish the fire please, it's time to sleep." The Pokemon complied by jumping at the pic and promptly smothering it with his two front paws, killing the flame instantly. Stephen gave a word of thanks before having Patrician return to his Pokeball.

"That's enough fun for one night," Swift Gale had landed and started walking back to her tent. "We're totally doing this again, guys. Besides, we have a long way to go from here." With that, she left the scene. Facade agreed and retreated to his own tent. Stephen walked alongside High Marks to the tent they shared.

"Stephen," High Marks stopped before the tent. "You go ahead and sleep. I'll take a watch for an hour or so." Also, you need to sleep, I can see the worry still evident in your eyes. The human didn't doubt what the stallion said; it was late and he was tired. 

"G'nite Marks." Stephen said as he entered then tent. "And thanks. For tonight, I mean."

"No problem." The unicorn replied. "If you ever need to talk, you can come to me." Stephen nodded before retreating to his sleep. However, tonight's dream would be quite interesting.

	
> Chapter 24: Everfree Part 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Seriously, though," Stephen was really feeling the weight of the troop's supplies on his back. They'd been walking for hours. "When does this damn forest end?"

"Weren't you found near the outer edge of the Everfree?" Gale called back to him. "You should know how big this place is!"

"I was in this forest for less than half a day," Stephen remarked. "I didn't make a whole expedition through the damn place."

"True." Mirror simply stated. Stephen looked back to him, waiting for more support. None came.

"Don't worry, Stephen!" High Marks called from the foremost front of the group. "Look up ahead! That look familiar?" The human looked up and saw where the unicorn was talking about. A much wider clearing than before was getting closer and closer as the group walked on. "The edge is closer than you think! We'll reach it within an hour or two." 

"Alright!" Stephen cheered, finding more motivation to reach the edge more than ever. "Let's get going then!" He began running forwards, surprising the equines with his enthusiasm. The ponies and Changeling and just shook their heads and trotted after him; after all, the human was carrying a majority of their belongings.


~~~~~~


"HOW AND WHY THE HELL ARE WE STILL IN THIS GODFORSAKEN FOREST?" Stephen yelled, still trudging through the Everfree Forest with his three equine companions. He called out to High Marks ahead, saying "Didn't you say that we were supposed to get through this damn place within an hour or two?"

"Yes." the lieutenant answered plainly. "I lied."

"WHAT?" Stephen yelled back. "How? The edge even looked closer!"

"He used magic," Swift Gale responded this time, a smirk on her face as she looked back at Stephen. "He's a unicorn, they can do that."

"Specifically, I cast an illusion spell on you," Marks spoke again. "So the edge seemed a lot closer than you thought."

"Damn Psychic-type pony ass mother-" Stephen muttered under his breath, but Gale caught him.

"How is he a donkey?" Gale was confused at Stephen's choice of profanity. "That's kinda racist Stephen, and you're not even from our world!"

"W-what? Really?" Stephen backtracked, he didn't think the word "ass" had that kind of impact as a curse here. "Sorry... I suppose."

"Well, none of us here are donkeys," Gale tilts her head in thought, "but I guess it's still important for you to learn that some words from your world are not gonna mean the same thing here. Keep that in mind."

"And what is a Psychic type?" Corporal Mirror asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"Well," Stephen sighed after being scolded by Swift Gale. "Ghost and Psychic type Pokemon are able to use their superior mental powers as ways of attack and defense. They, along with certain other types of Pokemon, are able to use this kind of power to make illusions of sorts, much like what High Marks did. Which was uncalled for."

"If it's any consolation," High Marks called back. "You were quiet and happy for a good half hour. We're getting close, I swear." 

"And you two didn't notice him cast the spell?" Stephen directed this question to Mirror and Gale. "Were you aware of this?"

"Of course!" Gale answered. "I work with unicorns everyday, Stephen. I guess you didn't notice because you're not used to living with magic."

"Mmph..." Stephen crossed his arm. "Whatever. Just tell me when we're closer to the edge." High Marks called back again.

"We'll have to take another night to rest again." The leading unicorn informed. "I'll let you know when we have a clearing to settle into."


~~~~~~


It was another hour until High Marks  called to set up camp. This was a much smaller clearing, and it didn't have a small lake like the last one, but it had enough space for us to set down our tents and get rest. 

"Y'know," Stephen heard Gale Swift say. "For a twenty-two year old, you seem to act more like you're seven." 

"I'm twenty-four," I correct the pegasus. "And I'm still a bit bitter about the illusion you guys pulled."

"You were whining." She stated plainly.

"I was not whining." I correct her again. "I was complaining. Do you want to hear me whining?"

"Dear Celestia, spare us the agony." Swift rolled her eyes before turning them to High Marks. "You sure we couldn't have continued for a few more hours?" The unicorn shook his head in response.

"Not at all." High Marks replied. "The area up ahead has some of the more hostile creatures of the forest." With this, the Lieutenant turned to Stephen. "I have to ask, would one of your Pokemon be able to keep guard overnight?"

"Only if you promise not to use illusions on me anymore." The human responds, obviously still with some vinegar in his system. 

"Be serious, Stephen," Marks responded with a sour look. "We need your Pokemon's strength to make sure we aren't attacked tonight."

"And I'm being serious about using illusions." Stephen retorted. "If you want me to trust you and cooperate, you could at least agree to not use illusions on me. It could be dangerous, and annoying. Now, do you agree?" The human had stepped closer to the unicorn, and held a stare down. After about a minute, the High Marks smiled.

"Alright." He agreed. "No more illusions on the human." To this, Stephen nodded. 

"Okay then," Stephen smiled. "Just let me know when to bring 'em out."

"You're not even gonna let us know which one you'll choose?" Swift asked. She certainly seemed to be interested in Stephen's Pokemon, as she would ask the human questions about his companions from time to time while traveling.

"I don't know just yet." Stephen answered. "I just need to think which one will be best adjusted for the job. Marks, how hostile are the creatures in this area?"

"Well, Feral Manticores are the common predator in this region if I remember." said High Marks. "However, there are still some uncatalogued creatures wandering around. Nopony in their right mind would willingly venture this far into the Everfree."

"And how far is 'this far'?" Stephen asked.

"We're about forty-five, fifty minutes away from the actual outer edge of the forest." Marks replied. "Aren't you supposed to be an adventurer?"

"First of all," Stephen began to answer. "It's been a couple of years. Second of all, I had a map for each of those places I explored. I don't think I've even seen you pull out a map this whole time!"

"I've been on expeditions through this forest multiple times," High Marks' voice was calm and confident. "And because of that, I know this trail like the back of my hoof."

"You've... memorized it?" Now Corporal Mirror was interested and joined the conversation.

"I'll explain more once we have the campfire up and running again." The unicorn guard dismissed. The Changeling and human were a little skeptical, but decided to help set up camp anyway.


~~~~~~


Much alike to the previous night's stop, the group had gathered around a small campfire (once again fueled by Patrician).  They sat around the fire on logs again, and Gale Swift was cuddling up against Patrician for warmth. The Arcanine seemed to like the pegasus' company. After eating whatever was saved up from the last stop, some casual small talk was made. However, it wasn't until Mirror recalled High Mark's statement from earlier that day that the Changeling decided to speak up.

"So Lieutenant," Mirror began. "What exactly did you mean to explain your reasoning for not carrying a map for our little trek through this accursed Everfree Forest?"

"It has to  do with my  Cutie Mark." High Marks began. As he was still in his armor, he turned to lift up the flap of armor around his flank. On his flank was a map under a magnifying glass. "Ever since I was a colt, it's been quite easy for me to memorize documents like maps and important papers. That's why the Princesses found me to be a good candidate for a high ranking guard." Marks looked to Stephen wit a proud smile. "Whenever there are any meetings with important documents being signed, they have me go over the said documents to help put them into the Canterlot records." Gale Swift nodded.

"It's true." She spoke rather sleepily, leaning against a dozing Patrician. "Marks is always there when any foreign ambassadors come to Canterlot."

"I have a weird question." Stephen spoke up. "Why are all of the guards either white or gray?"

"Security." High Marks answered. "If there are any threats against the guards in anyway, there's no real way to tell the difference between us unless you know our names and mannerisms. Our armor is enchanted to keep us in such a generic color."

"What about Earth Ponies?" Stephen asked. "I didn't see any of them in the guard line up." Now it was Swift's turn to answer. 

"While they are physically strong," the pegasus was now awake and letting the Arcanine sleep peacefully. "It's really rare for them to live in Canterlot. There are some Earth Ponies in Equestria that are honorary Guards, and act as a Reserve Force in times or high danger. There was one in Ponyville, but he's usually too busy working on his family's farm." 

"The Elements of Harmony are also considered honorary Royal Guards." High Marks added. Stephen nodded in understanding.

"Also Stephen," Gale caught  the Trainer's attention. "I think it's about you've brought out our night watch force. I don't think this one is up for an all-nighter." She gestured toward Patrician, who was sleeping soundly. Stephen smiled at his Pokemon before having the Fire-type return to his Pokeball.

"Thanks for reminding me." Stephen reached for another ball on his sash and called out an appropriate Pokemon to guard them overnight. "Go, Reaper!" With that, Stephen's Hydreigon appeared above the campfire.

"Well, I approve of your choice." Corporal Mirror looked to the Dragon-type. "He'll easily blend in with the  shadows and should be menacing enough to deter any monsters."

"Ok, Reaper," Stephen ordered his Pokemon. "You're going to have to keep guard for us tonight. We're in an apparently dangerous area with monsters in it, so all you have to do is scare them off with a show of firepower. Don't charge into a battle unless it's an absolute emergency." The Hydreigon nodded in understanding. "You're strong, Reaper. I know you can do this." At this this, Stephen's Pokemon let out a small roar before flying up into the sky."

"Where is he going?" Gale Swift asked.

"He's going to keep watch from above." High Marks answered before Stephen could say anything. "He should be able to see a lot from that point of view."

"Reaper's kind are good hunters." Stephen added. "They're also naturally intimidating and destructive. We can rest assured that he'll be able to keep us protected. 

"Alright, now with that issue settled," Mirror yawned and stood. "I believe it is time we slept. We should get up early to gain extra ground." Everyone in attendance agreed and rose to walk to their tents. Tomorrow would mark the end of their trek through the Everfree, but also the beginning of their journey in a much more hostile place. The Badlands.
	

	
> Chapter 25: Into the Badlands
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was just way to hot, and it wouldn't do well for Stephen to send out any Pokemon. Corporal Mirror, Swift Gale, and High Marks had removed their heavier metal armor parts, leaving on hardened leather that covered most of their bodies and allowed for more mobility. Stephen tied his outer button-down shirt on the top of his head in a makeshift hat to keep it cool. The process had been slow going, but they eventually found themselves approaching an artificial hill that appeared to be made out of black glass.

"That's chitin and spit," Mirror clarified. "Give it a few hours under the sun to dry and it becomes a very formidable defense."

"Gross." Stephen commented. Mirror glared in response to the comment. "Kidding, Mirror. There's plenty more disturbing things from my world with weirder living habits."

"Really wish we had some time today for you to show us that." Swift Gale commented.

"If you children behave, then we can have show-and-tell by the campfire tonight." High Marks snorted irritably. "Now get serious. We're heading into very dangerous territory."

"This isn't the Chrysalis hive," Mirror galloped ahead. "But if there is anything we can salvage, or anyling to save, it doesn't hurt to take a look through there."

"Sounds like a plan, Corporal." Marks said. With that, the four travelers delved into the hive.


~~~~~


The moment they reached what Mirror clarified as 'the main floor' of the hive, Stephen could notice something was wrong. Well, they could all tell what was wrong. At the sight of the troupe, Changelings instantly swarmed them. However, they didn't attack them. Rather, roughly thirty or so Changelings did their best to hide behind them.

"Help us, please!" One changeling cried. "Whoever you are, please help!"

"What's wrong?" Mirror asked them.

"A-a monster!" It replied. "It just showed up out of nowhere and starting attacking us. "We haven't slept for days because of it!"

Haven't slept? Stephen tried to recall what monster they were talking. If Corruption had brought legendary Pokemon to this world, Stephen had to properly strategize for each one.

"Here it comes!" Another Changeling yelled, pointing to a corridor's entrance. It wasn't a large monster, like the ponies and Changeling had thought, but something that appeared to float in the air. It's black body levitated above the ground, and a light blue eye gazed menacingly through them, and at the Changelings behind the group. It had a collar of red spikes and a plume of white hair that flowed like smoke in a non-existent wind. 

"Darkrai!" Stephen called out as he stepped forward. He looked back to High Marks and said, "Keep them all back as best as you can. This could get messy." High Marks nodded and, with Mirror and Swift Gale's help, pushed the group of Changelings back into a far corner. "Go, Patrician!" Darkrai had very low Defenses and low Attack, but was still very fast and had a rather high Special Attack. Arcanine's mixed move pool and all-around stats would do well to take Darkrai down in due time.

"Patrician, ExtremeSpeed!" Stephen said, and the Arcanine charged at supersonic speeds at... nothing. Darkrai shifted to the left and blasted back with a Dark Pulse that managed to push Patrician back. Mirror, along with the rest of the Changelings, shivered as a result. Dark Pulse is imbued with dark thoughts, Stephen recalled from talking to Chrysalis at some point. It would make sense that a strong wave of negativity would harm them. "Alright, create some space, Patrician, with Flamethrower!"

A plume of fire flew from the Fire-type's mouth toward the quickly advancing Darkrai, hitting it directly. However, the Darkrai wasn't finished. It took the brunt of the hit and responded by putting both hands together to create and black and red ball before launching it at Patrician. It hit square on her snout, and appeared as a gigantic hypnotizing swirl before her, promptly putting her to sleep.

"Damn it, that's Dark Void!" Stephen cursed, watching as a few dozen light particles rose from Patrician and went to Darkrai. The former twitched with a pained look on her face. "And Dream Eater!" Stephen swung his backpack around and rummaged around as Darkrai charged up another Dark Pulse, pushing the sleeping Arcanine's body back, along with causing some harm to the Changelings again. Stephen finally pulled out a yellow spray bottle; he sprayed the Full Heal on Patrician and the Pokemon stood up almost immediately and shook off the remains of sleepiness before growling at the Legendary. "Flamethrower, once more!"	Another plume of flames burst at the Darkrai, who charged through the fire again, however, the Trainer had something for it this time. Now that it's taken damage again, it would do well to try to take it out now. Stephen had a plan; if he just weakened it enough, but not enough to make it faint, it still had a chance to escape.

"Close Combat!" Stephen commanded, and the large firey canine burst forward, a red aura coming about it and lashing out at the Darkrai with a barrage of slashes, bites, and bucks that visibly hurt the Pitch-Black Pokemon. When Patrician was done, The Darkrai didn't appear to be shaken at all, but was charging up another Dark Void projectile. "No way, Darkrai! ExtremeSpeed, now!" Patrician rushed again at supersonic speeds, this time slamming the Darkrai into solid black wall. It slid down to the ground, cold blue eye still open, but making no attempts to move.

"Stay wary, Patrician," Stephen warned. "I'm going to try something." Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a black and green Pokeball; it seemed appropriate for both the location and the Pokemon, in a way. "Let's go, Dusk Ball!"

The Pokeball opened with a shadowy aura to encapsulate the Legendary Darkrai. It landed on the ground with one...

Two...

Stephen gritted his teeth at the familiar sight.

Three...

BOOM! The Dusk Ball opened with a violent blast, and the Pokemon was standing ready to continue battle, albeit a little dizzy.

"Let's finish this Patrician, Flare Blitz!" Stephen yelled, as a great flame completely covered the Arcanine as it charged headlong into the still somewhat dazed Legendary Pokemon, and sent it careening into the wall again. However, the Pokemon didn't fall over and faint as expected.

Instead, Darkrai fell onto the ground and began to dissolve, causing Stephen to panic and rush forward to the Dark-type. His hands tried to grab the Pokemon, but instead pushed through what felt like dense fog. That wasn't how Darkrai supposedly teleported, and sure as hell not how it fainted. Soon, there was nothing in his hands.

"D-did you kill it?" A changeling from the crowd asked; it sounded rather young. "Is the m-monster dead?" At first Stephen said nothing, then turned to the crowd.

"Yes..." Stephen's solemn answer was answered with cheers and smiles.  


~~~~~


"What's wrong, Stephen?" Swift Galed softly poked at the human's arm. "Isn't this supposed to be a celebration?"

"I'm... not so sure." Stephen looked from the Changelings departing for Canterlot to the hive's entrance, wherein Darkrai was. "That's not how Pokemon faint when defeated in battle. That was almost... death-like."

"You've seen them die?" The pegasus mare asked, sitting down to listen. High Marks and Mirror were making their ways back to them. "How?"

"Only a few." Stephen answered, somewhat bitterly. "But the way Darkrai disappeared was similar to how the Ghost/Dark-type Pokemon I met died." That Spiritomb was a very mischievous one, but did not deserve the end with received at the hands of Team Galactic. it was tortured endlessly by cruel experiments that tried to convert the hundreds of souls within it into dark energy to raise Giratina. That plan failed thanks to Stephen and Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. Stephen's fists shook with a silent rage he refused to  lash out with. "Whatever Corruption has done to these Legendaries, he might as well be killing them."

"How bad is that?" Swift asked, genuinely curious. Stephen was intensely passionate about this sudden development.

"Each Legendary, no matter how good or bad their intentions may seem," Stephen said. "They all have a role to play in keeping my world in balance. If Corruption brought the real Legendaries into this world, my world may already be undergoing great chaos at the moment. If they are killed upon my defeating them, then I end up contributing the absolute destruction of the foundations of my world."

"That sounds... very bad." Swift Gale said, taking this news in. High Marks and Mirror had finally caught up to them, and Swift turned to them with a very serious expression. She gestured to Stephen saying, "Boys, we have some bad news."

"I'll spill at the campfire tonight," Stephen said, waving off the gesture. "All you need to know is that I have a plan."

"For these Legendaries?" High Marks asked. "And what is it?" Stephen looked down for a second in silent contemplation before finally answering with a determined nod.

"I'm gonna catch them all."
> Chapter 26: Sitrep
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So," Gale began. "Your plan to is to find as many of these supposed Legendary Pokemon and catch them?" 

"Forgive me, Stephen, but I must agree with Miss Swift," Mirror spoke up from his position opposite of the fire. We had just recently directed the small group of surviving Changelings toward Canterlot so that they'd reach a safe haven, so I wasn't surprised to hear him being so solemn. "That sounds absolutely dangerous."

"I'd rather risk my life catching them and saving them," I retorted. "Than to risk their deaths causing catastrophes at home."

"Catastrophes?" Gale repeated, her wings outstretched behind her as through she were about to take off. "Like, in the weather?"

"Worse." I shook my head. "That Pokemon down there, Darkrai, was a Legendary responsible for giving people nightmares, though it wasn't out of malice. Cresselia, its counterpart, would bring upon good dreams in return."

"That sounds like Princess Luna split in two." High Marks noted aloud. "And why is it bad for this Darkrai to disappear? Doesn't that mean there'll be no more nightmares?"

"Not so," I shook my head. "There's some sort of equilibrium between all of the Legendaries. Good and Bad, Dark and Light, Time and Space. Each needs the other to inhabit a realm to help the other exist."

"That's... deep." Gale said. Mirror simply nodded. "You came up with all that yourself?"

"No, there are plenty of libraries back where I come from." I answered. "Plenty of books on lore and Legendaries kept me entertained on rainy days."

"So where does that put us now?" High Marks asked. "Our original objective was to confront Corruption and take back your beloved, but now we have to be careful with each of those Legendaries and not kill them?"

"Exactly." I stood up, stretching and hearing the satisfying pop in my shoulders. I turned to see that Patrician was once again snoozing soundly by the fire. I then looked to my pack and knelt down and checked my pockets. I began counting aloud, "Twenty, fifteen, ten, ten, and... one?" 

"Whatcha countin' Stephen?" Swift approached my side, trying to peer into my pocket. "What're those balls and why are they so... colorful?"

"These are Pokeballs." I answered. "They're capsules that vary in strength that depends on either their model or even their surroundings. I have thirty-five relatively average balls, ten balls that are better at night and in caves, and ten balls that can catch most Pokemon pretty easily. And one... I don't remember having before." I pulled out a dark blue ball with small bumps on the top of it. I've seen in schematics in Bill's lab; it was something he worked on with Silph a few years ago. I turned my wrist to examine it. On the rear, where my palm would normally rest, was a gold-scripted quote:
Good Luck, You May Just Need It.

"Bill... buddy," I mused under my breath. "You have no idea."

"What does that bumpy one do?" Asked Gale, looking at the sheen of the purple ball in the fire's light.

"This is, cornily named, Master Ball." I said. "These... aren't sold in any stores. Anywhere."

"Didya steal it?" Gale queried. I shook my head.

"No," I answered. I wouldn't dare steal from Silph Co. That was a good amount of years in jail. "It was... a gift from a friend apparently."

"Calling it a 'Master' ball sounds pretentious." High Marks said. Oh, how ironic his statement was.

"It's an appropriate name, I promise you." I said with a smirk. "This can catch any Pokemon without fail."

"Then use it!" Mirror said. "You can use it on the Legendaries!"

"I can use it on one Legendary." I corrected the Changeling. "Only one Pokeball per Pokemon. The economy for them would be horrible if that wasn't the case." Mirror nodded in understanding.

"You'll have to save that for the one that causes the most problems, then?" Marks asked, no doubt calculating the value of the item for our mission.

"That's the plan." I nodded. High Marks turned his gaze over to Gale, who nodded. The same exchange occurred with Mirror. 

"Then you'll have more training to do." Said the unicorn, quenching the flames in the pit with magic. "We've got to make sure you're on your feet in the event of any of these Legendaries going rampant."

"Definitely." I held out a Pokeball from my sash and recalled the sleeping Patrician. "I look forward to it."

My mission is now much worse than I thought it would be. Kara's in danger. Her Pokemon's in danger. Equestria is in danger. My home is in danger. Before I enter my tent, I sighed and looked up at the moon.

"We need to get to Corruption and end this." I muttered.


~~~~~


"Oh, hello Maple!" Fluttershy greeted the Leafeon softly as it approached her. Volta slept soundly in a small bed. Fluttershy cast her gaze from the dozing Electric-type to the Psychic-type still in a comatose state in the normal bed. A look of worry came upon her face, that is, until the Grass-type nuzzled into the Pegasus's side. Fluttershy stroked her hoof across Maple's back. "Everything will be okay, Maple." 

Life had been interesting, to say the least, ever since Stephen gave her the job of watching over his remaining Pokemon. At least she had this "Poke-ee-deck" that Twilight sneaked her. Apparently Celestia thought it would be interesting to have a little insight into the human's world. While Twilight was interacting with Stephen over the mini-PC, the purple student quickly made a duplicate of the red device and brought it to Fluttershy to examine while taking care of Stephen's little friends.

"There's... so many of them, Maple." Fluttershy tapped at the Pokedex's screen, marveling at the number 470 above the digital image of Leafeon. "Have you met them all before?" 

Maple shrugged as she scratched behind her ear with a rear leg. Fluttershy sighed and returned to scanning through the Dex's archive. There were multitudes of little critters she'd love to talk to and play with and take care of! Then there was the big ones. Some of them looked friendly; that Ursaring reminded her of Barry back home. Kangaskhan looked very sweet too, with her little baby in her pouch. There were so many creepy ones. Gengar and Sableye and Banette, oh my! 

"H-have you fought any of these scary ones, Maple?" Fluttershy asked the Leafeon, who looked over at the Dex and nodded. "W-was it tough to fight such scary m-m-monsters?"

Maple smiled and shook its head before rising from the spot beside Fluttershy. The Grass-type slowly walked over to the bed and gestured to Nova. Maple then made a small show of having her leaves glow softly with a yellow light.

"She was there to fight them with you?" Asked the pegasus. Maple nodded once more, relaxing and the light dissipate. Then it ran over to Volta, whose tail twitched cutely in its sleep. "And Volta?" Maple nodded again, before attempting to stand on it's two hind legs before falling back on all fours. "And... Stephen." Maple nodded enthusiastically at this response. "He makes you fight, doesn't he?" The Leafeon shook its head adamantly, bouncing around in a circle, an obvious sign of its delight and eagerness upon the idea of fighting. "And all Pokemon are like that? Both wild and... tamed?" Maple nodded, before yawning.

"He means a lot to you all." Maple smiled and returned to Fluttershy's side. The pony smiled as she watched the Leafeon nuzzle once more into the pegasus's side and closed its eyes. Looking back at the Pokedex display and looking through the many creatures Stephen had met, Fluttershy sighed contently and said,"I hope he'll be alright."