It was a peaceful day in Canterlot.

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It was a bright and sunny day in Canterlot, as was the usual. The Pegasi were filing some paperwork to schedule a multitude of storms over the next week for Ponyville as ponies below went about their business. If one were to look toward the palace, they would see the princess sitting upon her throne, filling out paperwork, from one of the decorated windows.

The windows showed a multitude of scenes of a purple unicorn, one depicting her with wings. Various armoured ponies stood at ready, evenly spaced throughout the room, a line of people waiting to see the princess. Her body pure white, and a mane of many hues, wearing a crown made of gold. On her hooves and neck were matching accessories.

“Princess Celestia, is our schedule for the storm in order?” The Pegasus dared to speak up, breaking the statue out of her stone. The princess looked down at the Pegasus, and quickly signed the papers and handed them over.

“My apologies, I was lost in thought.” Celestia’s voice was soft, but firm, a dismissal. Her smile radiated at the ponies in line, and they smiled in return, in awe of their princess. The Pegasus quickly excused himself, and flew away to file the paperwork and send word to Ponyville.

With practiced ease, Celestia filed the paperwork as it was stacked beside her, signing some papers for the ponies that needed it today before sending it off. While she would love to ask Luna, she couldn’t task her sister with the work that was done when she would normally sleep. While she had been slowly working on making ponies more open to staying awake for an hour or so at night, it was still a long and tiring process.

However, she knew Luna was working on something special for the night to help increase interest now she had returned. Celestia gave her all the support(and funding) she needed. A small smile settled onto her lips, any expense for her sister.

Of course, all thoughts of her sister were momentarily pushed aside as something caught her attention. Above the center of the room a bright flash of light caught her attention. All eyes raised their heads to look as it slowly grew, and formed into a white swirling vortex. Celestia put down her papers, and stood up.

The first thing to come through were two hands, waving up and down for some reason. It was pulled back in a moment later, and then something fell through and landed on the hard and fashionable white floor of the room. Shortly after, three more forms followed, landing expertly on top of the first one.

A muffled voice spoke, and the three forms slowly untangled, allowing the fourth to stand up. Taking them in, three were tall strange creatures, and one looked almost like a unicorn, except for the fact it was the same size as Celestia. She might have been able to make out features, however all were covered by brown cloaks, the cowl hiding their faces from view. As the guards moved in to surround them, she noticed one, who may or may not have been used as a landing cushion, pull off his hood. The creature looked around the room curiously.

“I was hoping we’d appear somewhere familiar, Lyra this is your fault.” The creature was simian in appearance, but strangely hairless except for a small part on the top of his head. As he took off the cloak, folding it and putting it in his bag, Celestia was able to get a good look at the blue jacket and purple pants on the strange creature. Taking in the brown hair and eyes, along with the casual smirk she was able to say this being was radiating a cocky confidence.

“Why is it always my fault? I’m not the one that pushed you in, that was Red.” Turning to look to the unicorn as it took off it’s cloak as well, Celestia realised the unicorn was female. Her mint coat and light blue mane with white stripes looked vaguely familiar to Celestia, despite the fact her mane seemed almost wild, falling down both her sides with the top hanging down her ears. Celestia couldn’t place where she knew the unicorn, for she had met very few that met her in stature.

“Well it’s not like I can blame him, he doesn’t respond when you do.” The blue simian pointed to a third one, who was slowly stowing his hood as well. Taking in the bright red eyes and black hair, she noticed him slowly reach up and straighten the red cap on his head. His clothes consisted of a black T-shirt and matching pants with a red short sleeve jacket to complete the look. Looking into his eyes, she felt herself almost rising to the challenge, but composed herself just before her wings flared up to answer it.

“Are you two done bickering? I’d appreciate it if these—ponies right?—If these ponies weren’t pointing sharp spears at us.” The final simian took off her coat, and Celestia could appreciate the simple, plain design. Wearing a short white shirt, the brown haired female, for it had longer hair and a higher voice, was also wearing a red skirt, making the design look very slimming. Celestia made an internal note to get her designer to maybe add a little colour to her dresses in the same fashion. The blue simian turned to face Celestia, and glanced to the guards.

“Lyra, where exactly are we?” The blue simian turned it’s eyes on the tall unicorn, who glanced out the window and frowned. Celestia waited patiently for them to finish their internal bickering, however even she had her limits.

“Well, I believe we are in the royal throne room of the princesses in Canterlot surrounded by a bunch of armed guards.” As the pony turned to look at Celestia, a faint memory stirred Celestia's mind as she recalled seeing someone similar once in Ponyville. Logging the information away for a later date, Celestia waited to see what other information she could get from the strange group.

“I thought you said the ponies were friendly.” The female simian spoke, shuffling closer to the red simian and farther away from the guards. This didn’t go unnoticed by the unicorn, who walked between them and looked at the female simian.

“They—we, are. Just not when we’re pointing spears at people.” Celestia watched the mare give a shaky smile to the unconvinced simian, and decided it was time to step forward and get her questions answered. However, the blue simian beat her to the punch, turning to smile at her.

“I’m surprised, I didn’t think this Celestia character would look as legendary as she did back then, it was four years ago after all.” The blue simian smiled, and glanced to the others, before giving a mocking bow.

“Your majesty, I am Blue, a human from the planet omicron persy-eye-oof!” Celestia could only blink as the unicorn and female simian knocked the person named Blue in the back of the head. Regarding them, she assumed the others were this strange breed. Human, she hadn’t heard of that species before. This time, the unicorn stepped forward to explain.

“Uhm, Hi Princess Celestia,” she paused, and glanced to the ‘humans’ before glancing back and taking a deep breath.

“These three are creatures called humans, and they reside in a world completely different from our own. Due to some…problems, we have had to come back in time to try and stop something bad from happening. We mean no harm for the most part, however I do advise you to watch out for the human named Blue, as he wishes to put you through the process of ‘being captured’ sometime in the future.” Bowing slightly before raising her head, Lyra showed off a respect that Celestia only saw from one specific group of ponies.

“So you are Equestrian then. Please understand that I cannot trust you on your words alone.” Celestia flared her wings, and motioned to one of the guards standing back in case one of them tried to breach the defences.

“Go and grab one of the professors from the university, preferably one with a knowledge of truth spells.” The guard saluted Celestia, and dashed off in a hurry. Doing some quick math in her head, she estimated a good half hour before he would return. Looking to the sun, they had barely an hour till sunset.

“While we wait, I should get your names, and might I also ask how you are aware of mine?” Celestia made her way back to her throne, picking up the stacks of papers again. She might as well fill out more forms while they shared a chat. With the guard watching their every move, she doubted they would be able to hit her when she least expected it.

“Well, your highness, I am Lyra. I came originally from the town of Ponyville. You’ve already met Blue. The silent one is Red, and the female human is Green.” Lyra motioned to each of them in turn, noticing with slight satisfaction that Green seemed annoyed that she was labelled the ‘female human.’

“I see, then it is only fair I welcome you three humans to Equestria, and welcome you back.” Celestia gave them all a small smile, before returning to the paperwork. As she skimmed the declaration of saw, a demand for a re-enactment of the creation of the first sawmill, she began to ask questions.

“So how does your world differ from ours?” Celestia paused to glance in their direction, before returning to the papers. A request for a cider fountain, and it wasn’t the first one. She had had to deal with three just this morning, and one request for the word cider to be changed to booze.

“Well, in their world there is no real ‘leader’ so much as a group of towns run by the strongest in the area. All animals there are called Pokémon, and they can learn magic through various techniques, some by simply growing up a bit. People in that world take these creatures, and form a symbiotic relationship to grow and learn together.” Lyra glanced to Blue, wondering if she had forgotten anything.

“I see, I would like to learn more about this world sometime. However, I would like to move onto the main issue, what do you mean by ‘problem’?” Celestia put down her stack of paperwork, handing it to the unicorn secretary nearby to be filed. At the very worst, one town would miss out on being able to make tacos for another day if she left the remaining reports until tomorrow. Looking to the ragtag group, she watched as the unicorn, Lyra she reminded herself, looked to the human named Blue.

“Ok fine, I’ll do the explaining.” Blue raised his arms into the air in an imitation of the symbol for surrender. Rubbing his face, he turned to the legendary and sighed, thinking how to explain while making himself appear in the best light.

“Okay, so there’s this boss guy named Giovanni. He run’s this criminal organisation that likes to advertise their plans to the world. Anyways, after running him out of town, I got his job as the gym leader, which was his cover up. I have direct access to the Pokémon centre, a place to heal Pokémon in case you were wondering, as a precaution.” Blue paused, and brushed the hair out of his face and sighed.

“Let’s just say I forgot to make the safe that contained these small badges Pokémon-proof. Anyone with a single badge, anyone can control Pokémon up to level 30, and most of the ponies around here are about level 5. Essentially this guy could come in and enslave your world, mostly. And to make matters worse, he ruined my floor so I will have to redo all the traps and mats that send you off in a direction…” Tailing off, Blue noticed the impatient glare of Lyra beside him.

“So basically, we discovered where he had been hiding out, and the disembowelled remains of a time capsule, set to take him back in time to a certain point, but allow him free movement to go wherever he wanted in that timeframe. After some preparation, we’ve come back in time to find him.” Finished his explanation, Blue gave a yawn and looked out the window.

“How do you know he came to this dimension, and how did you get here?” Celestia watched the humans expose a small wristband on their arms, with a circular device attached to it. Looking closely, she could make out various features such as withdraw, deposit, and ‘dimensional hop.’

“This device is called a Pass, my grandfather makes them with the help of a tech expert by the name of Bill. Basically he made four special versions for each of us, which would allow us to travel here whenever we pleased. However, one of the devices was stolen one night, and when we followed the trail we found Giovanni.” Blue glanced to the door as two ponies galloped in. Pausing at the princess, they both bowed. The guard returned to his post, and the scholar began charging a spell. Casting it, a dome of gray magic enveloped them.

“I have cast a small field over the prisoners. If they lie it will turn red, if they tell the truth it will turn blue.” Hearing this, Blue turned his head and smirked at Red.

“Ha, see? Blue is better than Red. It’s more truthful, making it better.” To Blue’s dismay, the field of magic turned a bright red, before fading back to gray. Behind him, Green hid a smile behind her hand.

“Now that that is taken care of, I can ask you. Do you mean to do us harm? Is there any chance what you do will harm Equestria?” Celestia stood, wings flaring as she approached them. Despite the fact she stood eye level, all three humans stood a little straighter suddenly, as if sensing the threat.

“We don’t mean you any harm, and it isn’t our action that will cause harm, but the work of another, whom we aim to stop, that will cause you harm.” Blue watched the dome turn the same colour as him, and glanced to Red to see if there had been any change. To his dismay, Red didn't look even slightly blue under the dome.

Celestia dismissed the scholar and looked out the window, thinking deeply to herself. While she had their word, and the word of a trusted scholar’s truth spell, she still felt slight doubts about freeing them. To further increase her worries, a letter arrived from Twilight asking for her to come to Ponyville immediately.

“Let me guess, that’s the purple one asking you to come to-Ponyville was it?” Blue looked to Lyra, who gave a nod. Turning back, Blue saw the suspicion on the legendary’s eyes. Giving a smile, he knew exactly how this was all going to turn out.

Celestia looked to the group, and then to the letter in her hand. Sending a reply that she would arrive by sunset, she scribed a quick message to be given to Luna as soon as she awoke, explaining the situation. While she still did not trust the humans, they seemed relatively harmless. Looking to the one named Red, she noticed the knowing look in his eyes.

“I will return soon. You will remain with a group of four guards-ponies at all times.” Finished giving her orders, she gave one of the guards the message with strict instructions of when to give it to Luna. Walking out the door, her horn began to glow as she prepared a teleportation spell. It would require a few jumps to get there, but she would arrive roughly at sunset.

That turned into a peaceful night.

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By the time Celestia had finished her business in Ponyville, she was left slightly more confused compared to when she had left. If she had to guess as to why, it was the exact nature of what she had found there. Beside her stood Rarity, one of the element bearers, coming with her to Canterlot. As she paused in town, Rarity looked up and gave a grateful smile.

“Thank you so much Princess Celestia, if there is anything I can ever do for you in return, don’t hesitate to ask.” Rarity bowed once before taking a few steps back, and giving a wave. Celestia smiled as she left, and once more thought of the female human, and of the quality of Rarity’s dresses.

Turning, she began casting the final teleportation spell, and appeared at the entrance to her castle. Taking into the sky, she knew the guards would recognise her. While she could leave the castle via teleport, she couldn’t enter as a precaution, lest the guards decide to attack her before seeing who she was.

Landing, she entered the castle and asked the nearest guard the location of the group of strangers. After finding out they had moved into the kitchen, she smiled and nodded her thanks, before turning and heading in that direction. Celestia was worried they might have touched the 5-layer cake left to cool so she could eat it with her sister. Turning the corner and entering the room, she realised her fears seemed unfounded.

“I’m telling you! The only ghosts that exist are Pokémon ghosts, wheather they are the element or an actual ghost.” The loud voice of the human called Blue blasted her ears the instant she arrived, and she noticed all seemed to be drinking some of her vast cider stores. Celestia had a feeling she would have to watch those stores from now on. The cake in the middle of the room was completely untouched.

“Doesn’t stop you from running and screaming like a sissy when ya see one.” Lyra poked Blue with a hoof, and laughed at the panic stricken face of Blue.

“How did you find out about that! Red sealed his lips!” Blue finished another cup, and poured himself another while he waited, amused by how little cider the unicorn could take before passing out.

“He didn’t have to, you just told me yourself.” Lyra watched Blue stiffen and bow his head, muttering a quiet swear. Turning on her, he glared at her, giving a small hiccup as he pointed to Red.

“Yeah? Well Red was…Red was the one that had to be saved by me, without me risking my life to get him the Sylph Scope he’d have never made it this far. I’m just that awesome.” Blue took another swig of his drink, and finally noticed Celestia nearby, taking first place for Red impersonation.

“Hey, legendary. Come join us for some drinks!” Blue raised his glass into the air, and then drunk it down with a few quick gulps, slamming it down on the counter. Celestia forced herself to not raise an eyebrow at the humans behaviour, and shook her head, giving a polite smile.

“No thank you-er-Blue. I was actually wondering if I could ask you some questions.” Looking to the two over the other side of the table, she saw that both seemed far less drunk than the others. The one named Green was watching the two with a casual interest, however she looked to Celestia when Green sensed her gaze.

“Your best bet is asking Red. He’s mute, but he probably knows the answers to your question.” Green nudged Red, who was staring into his cup, not really looking at anything. He raised his head and met Celestia’s eyes, and she flinched at the unreadable expression.

“Would you please follow me outside, so I can ask the questions without interrupting your…friend's fun?” Celestia expected the human to shake his head, and point to one of the other three to act as an interpreter. However as he stood up, and gave a slow nod, she watched him leave the room. Glancing to the guards, she motioned for one to follow her, as a precaution.

“So now the buzkill is-er-gone, how about we have a drinking contest?” Blue smirked at Lyra, who looked to her cup and rolled her eyes.

“You know as well as I do I can barely manage three cups.” Looking down at her cup, she refilled it to the brim, and let a small smile fall on he face. Turning to Blue, she held the cup in front of her.

“But I’m up to the challenge, Green?” Lyra and Blue finished their cups quickly, and Green shook her head.

“I’ll pass, I’ve got a bad history with alcohol.” Taking a sip of her water, Green looked toward the door and thought about what the pony might possibly want to ask. She could see the flowing mane of the—Lyra had said it was an Alicorn right? Even to her eyes, she could sense the status of the pony, it was obviously a legendary. Pondering it, she wondered what exactly made a Pokémon a legendary.

“So you are, Red correct?” Celestia was outside of the room, heading towards a nearby balcony where guards often patrolled during a crisis. As she walked she kept her eyes on Red, watching his every move out of curiosity.

Red followed the legendary calmly, standing tall but relaxed at the same time. His eyes looked over the world with a certain calm, as if seeing nothing wrong with the way it was. Leaning on the edge of the balcony, he raised his head to look at the night sky as the stars began to appear, noticing them wash across the sky like someone had painted them on. Giving a nod, he waited for her to continue asking questions, watching the world around him without a care in the world.

“Your friend said you came back in time, and I have reason to believe that is true. Tell me, have you ever been to Ponyville?” Celestia wasn’t sure her words had reached the human at first, however as he looked in the exact direction of Ponyville, a single nod answered her. Turning to look down on Canterlot, she found it slightly disjointing talking to someone who was mute, however she persisted. Until she knew exactly what she was dealing with, she couldn’t let this group wander as they pleased.

“You seem to know Twilight, can you tell me what she said about you when we met?” If he was indeed a time traveller, answering that should be easy. However, as his eyes meet hers, she realised she had forgotten an important aspect to being mute, that being the inability to talk. Looking into his eyes, she saw the calm, knowing gaze that looked completely different compared to the cold, dark eyes of the one she had met in Ponyville. If she had to call it, this Red seemed a lot more mature than that Red.

“I see.” Looking at the human, Celestia could find no reason to not trust them. They had clearly stated their intentions, and were aware of their doubles in Ponyville. So until she met with Twilight in a week, or instantly if there was a problem, she could not find a reason to not trust them, besides the fact they had crash landed in her throne room.

“I will reduce the guard to one, and you can ask him if you have any enquiries or wish to find something.” Celestia pulled out a piece of parchment and quickly made a note of her decision. The one guard was a formality, a means to both keep an eye on them and help them out. If Red was aware of this fact, he either didn’t care, or wasn’t bothered by it. Turning to leave, she spared one last look back at Red, who had returned to gazing at the sky, and wondered what exactly the air around him she sensed meant.

As she left, Red closed his eyes and listened to her hoofsteps as they faded from hearing. The sound from the room where his three friends were faded into the backdrop as well. As the world slowly began to prepare to rest for another night, Red watched on. He watched as a small child complained about going to bed, wanting to stay up late. He watched as two colts headed into their homes, separating after a long day of adventure.

“Nostalgic, isn’t it Red?” Blue’s voice came from behind him, and joined him looking over the balcony. In the room behind them, Green sat sipping her drink and Lyra layed on the table, knocked out. If Green was planning on getting up and joining the two, she didn’t show it, seeming to be content just where she was.

“A lot has changed in four years, but nothing really has, has it?” Blue chuckled, and looked toward Red, who had yet to look at him. Closing his eyes, Red let a ghost of a smile fall on his face, and pulled down his cap, hiding his face in shadow. Blue turned back to looking at the city, letting a casual smile fall on his face.

“It doesn’t feel like we’ve changed, and yet when we see our old selves we will be able to see how far we’ve come clearly.” Blue smiled, pulling out a Pokéball and gazing at it, his smile slowly turning to his trademark smirk. Blue turned to Red, who finally turned to look at him.

“Of course, I’ve changed less, after all I was already pretty awesome.” Blue felt a fist gently hit him in the face, and growled as it was kept on his face.

“Red, we’ve talked about the face. How am I supposed to woo girls if you wreck my perfectly handsome face?” Blue waited as Red finally removed his hand, and turned away. Hidden under his cap, was a slight smirk, invisible to everyone nearby. However, Blue didn’t need to see it, smiling as he turned to look to the sky, putting away his Pokéball.

Blue knew it was there.

A quiet discussion followed the next morning.

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Blue bit down on his bread, watching the exchange in front of him. After a restful night, Lyra was once again back and actively trying to get Red to react. Swallowing and taking another bite, he supposed he could relate, it was a decent way to pass the time. But Blue’s main problem with it was the reaction of Green.

Green was watching the exchange with a glare in her eyes, chewing her food as if it needed to be taught a lesson. Lyra failed to notice it, even as she pushed herself in front of Red, moving the chair away from his food, and began using her hooves to make him smile.

“Come on Reeed, just one tiny smile?” Lyra was dismayed when Red chose to ignore her to eat his food, sparing a glance at Blue. Blue smirked, and tried to hide his laughter as he stood up, finishing his bread quickly.

“Lyra Lyra Lyra, how you fail to understand the enigma that is Red.” Blue pulled Lyra away, turning her around by his arm that was wrapped around her neck. Gesturing to the window, he made a small waving motion.

“You see Lyra, if he did as you said, he would lose hold of his enigma-ness,” he spoke, letting fake awe into his voice. Lyra let her eyes sparkle, playing along, even emitting a ‘whoa’ in response. Blue straightened up, and stepped away from Lyra.

“And that’s where eggs come from,” he spoke, grabbing another piece of bread. Lyra blinked, and turned on him in utter confusion.

“Wait, what?” It wasn’t until Blue turned, and snorted, mouth full of food, that her confusion turned to a casual roll of her eyes.

“You heard me,” he replied, finishing the food. Sitting back down, Lyra followed suit, digging into her own food, occasionally making a quip, which Blue would answer back eagerly. As they ate, Blue spared a glance to Green, who had just finished her food and was looking at her plate. With a small mutter of going to get some air, she walked out, heading for the closest exit to outside. Blue stood up and glanced to Red, giving a smirk.

“Try not to burn the place down by smiling while I’m gone Red.” Blue glanced to Lyra, and his smile grew as he saw the dangerous glint of an idea in her head. Turning, he felt the Red’s eyes on his back as he made a beeline for where Green had gone.

Turning the corner, he found Green looking at a garden she had found, looking for a chair to sit down in. As Blue approached, she turned and noticed one near the wall, overlooking a nearby pond. They both sat down, and looked at some duck Pokémon in the water.

“You really like him don’t you,” he spoke softly, looking at the water and the water alone. Green winced, and looked to Blue, before turning back to the water and giving a sigh.

“Is it that obvious?” As they sat, Green began to rub her arms out of habit. After going up a certain mountain enough times, she had come to find she rubbed them to get warm almost subconsciously, even when it wasn’t that cold. If Blue noticed it, he gave no outward sign.

“Extremely. If those two weren’t so one-track minded, they would have noticed long ago.” Looking to the sky, Blue wondered if there was going to be a storm today. However, as he saw the sky was completely clear of clouds, he realised that there would be no rain for quite some time. Turning back to Green, he saw her slouch, and look to the ground at her feet.

“You know Lyra likes Red too,” he spoke, watching her flinch and recoil. Turning to face Blue, Green grabbed him by the shoulder and pointed in the direction of the breakfast table.

“But she’s a Pokémon!” Green blinked as Blue gently reached up, and pulled her hand off his shoulder. Underneath his clothes, there were marks where she had been gripping him.

“Not in this world, she isn’t.” Blue closed his eyes, and let Green’s hand fall, before leaning back and looking to the sky once more. Green stood up and leaned over, looking him directly in the eyes, concern radiating from her bright blue eyes.

“You better tell him, before Lyra does,” finished Blue, standing up slowly as Green stepped back. Looking to the breakfast table, Green sighed and turned back to Blue.

“Ok, I will do it as soon as I get him alone, think you could distract Lyra?” Green smiled brightly as Blue gave a small nod, letting a sad smile slip onto his face. Green failed to notice as she left, too focused on her goal. She also missed the fact Blue did not follow right away. Instead, he walked toward the wall and gently rested his head against it. Giving a sigh, he closed his eyes, and punched the wall, making sure not to do it too hard and hurt himself.

“Just great Blue, you had to go and say it, why not buy her a wedding ring while you’re at it.” Blue leaned back, and gently hit his head against the wall once more, giving a sigh. A chuckle escaped his lips, and he bit his lip before commenting.

“Once again, you’ve beaten me Red. Once more, I’m just second place…”

When Blue arrived at the table, he saw Green had brightened considerably, and let a casual smirk fall on his face. Looking to Lyra, he noticed she had been talking to Red about if she could go to Ponyville and see Bon Bon. Red sat there, silent and quiet. However, all three could see his disagreement, by the simple tilt of the eyebrows into a very small, and barely noticeable frown.

“I know we can’t run into out doubles and all that, but surely I can sneak around to Bon bon’s. I haven’t seen her in four years! And my parents live close by, I just want to see how my family is doing. You never let me do anything!” Lyra stomped the table with a hoof, and all four blinked as it tilted nearly 90 degrees, sending the food at the nearby wall. Lyra stepped back, and the table fell back down with a solid thunk.

“Oops,” she apologised, gaining an eye roll from Blue. Motioning to her, he headed for the guard, Lyra following behind. Blue noticed Red following them with his eyes, but ignored him. If he wanted to glare at them for a small mistake, and a little homesickness, he could stare all he wanted. Blue didn’t care anymore.

“Yo guard, where’s some cleaning stuff, and the maids to use it.” While Blue waited, he looked down to Lyra who was staring at her feet, and rolled his eyes. Of course she hadn’t realised the table would flip, houses in the Pokémon world had to be built much sturdier, and tables were often superglued to the floor. Even then, they still had to replace items with a monthly regularity.

The guard nodded and motioned to the door, indicating they should follow. As they left, Blue let his smile fall for a moment, before forcing it back on his face, and looking to Lyra as she spoke.

“So, you think Green will go for it this time?” Lyra looked toward the guard as they walked, a sad tilt to the smile on her face. Blue followed her example, and rolled his eyes.

“Who knows, I’m surprised you knew.” Blue saw Lyra look to him, eyes speaking of how much she actually knew. He turned away, keeping the smile on his face despite how he actually felt. They made it to the supply cabinet, and the guard instructed them on proper cleaning etiquette, before beginning the return journey.

“I think after four years I can tell when something is staring daggers at me from behind my back.” Thinking back on it, a proper smile fell on her face for a moment, falling swiftly a moment later as she turned to Blue.

“I can’t imagine how much this is hurting you.” Watching Blue flinch, Lyra took a step closer, letting her body brush up against his as he tried to keep up his façade of being fine with the current turn of events.

“Me? Hurt? Nah, I’ve lost far worse to Red before. Besides, there’s always another girl in another town.” Blue looked away from Lyra, and rubbed his face vigorously. After a few moments, he turned back and gave his trademark smile, even if it looked fake. Lyra smiled back, and let him be, turning and entering the room. Blue followed a moment later, and instantly stopped in his tracks.

Lyra could only watch as Blue’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open, his hands going limp. Backing out of the room, he turned a corner and grabbed onto the wall, covering his face with his hand and forcing himself to stay standing. Feeling Lyra gently nudge him, he let her gently slide up beside him as he tried to compose himself. Eventually, he couldn’t stop himself from falling to his knees, and he felt Lyra put two hooves around him, letting him hide his face behind his hand.

It didn’t take him long to stand back up, and glance to the guard, and ask where the nearest toilet was. As he entered, he barely registered Lyra as she stopped and waited at the door. Blue washed his face, and held the sink with an iron grip. Looking at himself, he took a slow breath and stood up, exiting the toilet. Lyra followed him back to the breakfast room, and they both entered and greeted Red and Green as they quietly looked at each other, holding hands, not even seeing them enter.

“What do ya say we get a tour of this town? I want to find out if they sell some strong booze.”

Followed by a tour of the city.

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While their main goal was a never-ending supply of cider, Blue was also curious about how this world differed from his own. During his time in Ponyville in his last visit, he hadn’t had a chance to really see this culture as it went about its daily life. If it hadn’t been Red being moody, it had been himself causing problems. Then there were times a strange pink pony had dragged them around under the pretense of a party. Blue shuddered, if he ever met that pony again, it would be too soon.

“Over there are the clothes stores, I doubt they have anything for you, being that we are a pony based society for the most part,” spoke Lyra, motioning down a side street lined with various stores. Blue noticed Green pass it a curious glance, before returning her attention to Lyra.

“Over that way is mostly residential, however there are a few general stores, and you can often buy lemonade there too.” Lyra smiled to herself, taking in the city as old memories sprung to mind. Even though she had been to Canterlot quite a few times in her life before she had joined up with Red, it was still a little head-spinning how little had changed. She knew why it hadn’t of course, but the side effects of time travel still hadn’t worn off.

“Is that a scarf store?” Green’s voice interrupted the tour, and Lyra turned and gave a hesitant nod. Watching Green eye the store, and then look to her purse and realise she probably didn’t have this world’s money, not to mention how they would react to her entering, she frowned, biting her lip. Lyra pulled out a few gold coins and tossed them to Green.

“You’re lucky I kept my money from when I lived in this world, have fun.” Watching as the human skipped toward the store, sparkles in her eyes, Lyra could only roll her eyes, turning and holding out money for the two remaining humans. After they took the money, she pointed to a nearby fountain.

“I’ll meet you there in an hour, and if you get lost just head for the castle.” Watching as both nodded, Lyra turned and headed toward a hairdresser, aiming to get a hair trim and make herself less looking like a wild animal. Red watched her go, before looking in the direction of the fountain, and walking away to find a seat. Blue thought about the fact separating was probably a bad move, but shrugged it off as he headed for an ice cream stand. He knew the others could handle themselves if something happened, there was no need to worry.

“Help! I’m being robbed!” Turning in the direction of the voice, Blue saw a pony clutching a purse in her mouth as she wrestled with a unicorn who had a mask over his head. Looking around, Blue noticed the sudden absence of anyone on the street, and sighed to himself. Jogging over, he saw the purse be torn away by the unicorn just as he managed to grab the pony before it could make an escape.

“Hey,” he began, the pony turning and going white at the sight of him. The purse was dropped. Letting the unicorn go, he was quick to run away, wide eyed and shouting about a monster. Blue picked up the purse, and turned to hand it to the other pony. However, the other pony was cowering in fear in front of him, completely frozen in place. Sighing, he placed the purse down, and walked in the direction he had seen the ice cream shop.

Grabbing himself some chocolate, Blue headed for the nearest park area, not realising he was going further away from the meeting point, not toward. Sitting down, he ate the ice cream without any emotion, lost in his thoughts. As he finished the ice cream, he changed his view to that of a small pony playing with a ball, he assumed it was a kid. After a kick, the ball rolled in his direction, and with a quick movement of his foot, he kicked it directly back to the kid, who was looking at him with awe.

After a few moments of staring at Blue, the kid kicked the ball back to Blue, who grunted and kicked it back. As the ball came back to Blue one more time, he stopped it with his foot and stood up. If the kid wanted to play, he wasn’t one to deny a challenge. Their eyes met, and Blue let a smirk fall on his face as he kicked it to the kid. Blue would later tell everyone he had fought, and won, against an entire team of ponies. No one believed him, but they never called him out on it. After the kid finally missed, he walked over and opened his mouth to speak.

“Are you a monster?” The kid seemed more curious then frightened by the unknown, and Blue had to suppress a smile. Even if the adults fled in fright, it was always the kids that faced the unknown. Giving a small laugh, he thought about all kids leaving to become trainers at ten years old.

“In a sense, I’m what’s called a human. We’re ferocious beings that can never be tamed by you pesky ponies!” Blue raised his fist and made a motion at the sky, before snorting and looking to see if the kid was buying this. To his surprise, and dismay, he was.

“Woooah, show me! Show me!” The kid jumped up and down, and Blue rolled his eyes. Standing up, he pulled out a Pokéball and sent out his Eevee, getting another ‘woooah’ from the kid.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t like the attention.

“Eevee, show the kid how strong you are, without causing any damage to the town if possible.” Blue was sure Eevee would know that already, but with Pokémon it never hurt to clarify. Sometimes they might take a simple command as ‘could you go get some water’ as ‘use water gun.’

Eevee looked to the kid's ball, and bounced over, the kid taking some exited steps back. Aiming the ball with careful eyes, Eevee turned and kicked the ball with as much strength as she could muster, sending the ball rocketing into the sky, leaving a small star as it vanished over the horizon.

This ball would land in a forest some distance away, startling a group of Chimera who had been hunting close to the edge, who then began to stampede toward a town nearby.

“My ball!” The kid’s dismay caused Blue to blink and pull out the money Lyra had given him, what remained anyways.

“Jeez, sorry kid. How about I give you enough to buy two balls to replace the one I lost?” Blue held out what he hoped would be enough, which was actually enough for 20, and the kid took the money, wiping away the tears. Giving Blue a smile, he was instantly happy.

“Thanks monster. But I gotta go now, I got school today.” The kid waved to Blue, before heading down a street. Standing up, and returning Eevee, Blue looked around and wondered how he would get back to the castle. Looking toward it, he wondered what was the path to get there, completely ignoring what looked like the path toward it.

“Tch, if only I had a map, this would be so much easier.” Blue decided, with no other options, to just follow the road that led toward the castle, hoping it would be as simple as following it. However, when the road ended in a dead end, eye twitching, he walked back onto the main road and released his Pidgeot, and took to the sky.

Landing at the front of the road that connected with the palace, returning his Pokémon, he found the three already waiting for him.

“Blue, your sense of direction is horrible, only you would get lost like that.” Green glanced to Lyra, who smirked in agreement. Red stood nearby, looking out over the city.

“Yeah yeah, shut it already. I want to tell you about the team of ponies I completely decimated in a match of ‘keep the ball from the goal.’ I am just that good.” As Blue boasted, the two rolled their eyes and headed inside, meeting the guard at the entrance. Red followed behind Blue, who felt those knowing eyes on his back as they headed to meet with the Princess.

“So what exactly do you think the legendary wants to talk about? Maybe she’s found a lead for us.” Lyra glanced to Blue, who mused for a moment and shook his head.

“I doubt it, if it was that important surely she would have insisted we get back here asap.” Blue looked to the sky and noticed a weird cloud movement in one direction, and recalled the weird rain that had plagued Ponyville while he had been there.

“But what if she doesn’t think it’s important, and us being so slow to arrive will increase the chance Giovanni wins?” Lyra glanced to the guards, who looked relaxed, but ready for action. If someone did attack, they would have trouble recovering from the first strike.

“If it happens, it happens, we’re not going to lose, especially not me, Blue.” Blue smirked, and watched as Lyra rolled her eyes and turned away. Looking up at the entrance, he let his smile fall slightly. They both knew who he really meant, but neither was going to say it.

As he watched Green, she glanced back and motioned to Red to stand beside her. Blue looked to the garden and wondered what he should call those Pokémon in the lake. They were duck Pokémon, but they didn’t look psychic or flying. In fact, they looked very normal. Would normal water work?

“Blue, look out.” Turning his head he realised all three had turned a corner just as he smacked head first into a wall. Stepping back, he rubbed his face and looked to Lyra, who had tried to warn him, and growled at her.

“This is your fault, you could have warned me sooner.” Blue’s annoyance grew when she simply smirked and followed Red and Green down the corridor.

“But then I wouldn’t have been able to see the great Blue in action.” Giving a chuckle, she glanced back at Blue, who glared at her in response. After a moment he started walking, following them as they headed for the legendary.

He needed to stop running into walls.

With a discussion about a road trip soon after.

View Online

Arriving once more in the throne room of Canterlot, Blue passed a disgruntled glance to all the various glass windows. A lot of them featured a purple unicorn, who was obviously Twilight. He wondered if she had done all the things depicted here, or they were just there for show. Turning to look at the legendary, he paused and stood beside Red, Lyra, and Green.

“Welcome back, I trust you enjoyed looking around our fine city?” Celestia watched them nod, a small smile falling on her face. Considering she hadn’t heard of an major problems in town, and there had been no pony-wide panic, she was inclined to believe them.

“Well, with the pleasantries out of the way, I will move onto why I called you here.” Celestia stood up, and motioned to some guards to bring over a scroll, which she quickly skimmed before turning back to them. Giving a nod to dismiss the guard, she opened her mouth to speak.

“After hearing your story, I searched recent news about any strange individuals seen recently, and we might have found your human.” Watching them Celestia saw all four share a glance, before looking back.

“Ok, where is he?” Blue glanced to one of the windows, decrypting a heart of some kind, and the dragon holding it. It looked like a powerful artefact, maybe an old evolution stone? An exp share? He turned back to the legendary, he wasn’t that interested, and he doubted it would ever become important.

“We believe he is near a cave that houses a special pool that can copy a pony-er-person’s image that is inside the Everfree forest. I have already sent soldiers to apprehend them, a zebra who lives there has agreed to escort them.” Celestia stepped down from her throne and walked toward the group.

“That’s great, we’ll head there right now.” Blue turned to the others, who gave a nod, and reached for his Pokémon.

“I’m afraid I have to request you stay here.” Watching the humans turn, Celestia saw them all narrow their eyes at her. If she wasn’t careful, she might be seen as the enemy.

“What? Why?” Lyra was the first to speak, earning a glance from Blue before he returned his gaze to Celestia. They watched her take one more step toward them.

“Because we don’t want you to be seen by your past selves, and there is no need to. My soldiers are perfectly capable of-“ Celestia closed her mouth as Blue pulled out a Pokéball, releasing a large yellow dragon. With a motion of his hand, he pointed to it.

“Capable of what exactly.” Blue looked at her as a matter of factly, returning his Dragonite a moment later. If this legendary thought ponies could beat trained Pokémon, they were fooling themselves.

“Capable of leading a sneak attack and apprehending the humans before they can release their monsters.” Celestia looked at Blue, and frowned as she saw a very subtle twitch of the eye.

“Even so, we’re going. You don’t understand how far Giovanni plans ahead.” Blue nodded in time to the other three, preparing to leave.

“You mustn’t! If you are seen by your past selves you’ll change the timeline.” Celestia flared her wings, and straightened up to try and loom over the humans. To her annoyance, it didn’t work.

“If that happened, we would be aware of it because it would have already happened.” Blue rolled his eyes and glanced to Red, sharing a look. They hadn’t forgotten what had transpired during their last visit.

“No it wouldn’t because you haven’t made the decision that changed it yet. Until you do and it becomes irreversible it won’t come true. And you wouldn’t be aware of it changing either!” Celestia leaned in, and snorted, expelling a small burst of air in Blue’s face. How could this human not understand the entire point of paradox aversion.

“You don’t get it! Red saw his future self a few days after we arrived here! If we weren’t already there how would he have seen us?” Blue leaned in as well, his forehead touching Celestia’s own just below the horn. He didn’t understand why the legendary was so worked up about them going, they weren’t her kids.

“Then in a few days, you can go and do your paradox, but not right now.” Celestia turned around and began heading back towards her throne, considering the argument solved.

“In a few days it will be too late to stop Giovanni!” Blue stepped forward and tried to grab the ethereal mane, and gently tugged at the hair.

“And how do you know that?” Celestia turned, pulling her hair out of Blue’s grasp, narrowing her eyes.

“I don’t, but I know that we are leaving.” Blue took a step back, and turned to leave. The other three paused, but began to follow.

“At the risk of tearing the fabric of reality and changing everything without realising it?” Celestia grabbed Blue with her magic, gently stopping him from leaving before letting go. He turned, and stormed back to glare at her directly in the eyes.

“If it was going to be changed, it would have already done so and will be exactly the same as right now because it is right now.” Blue poked Celestia in the chest with each word, emphasising his point.

“But it isn’t right now, it’s your past. And if you change your past you’ll affect your future because you changed the past.” Celestia ignored his poking, flaring her wings and causing a gust of air to blow off his cap.

“But the past would have already been changed because I would have already changed it in my past so there would be no change.” Blue picked up his cap, and raised his arms to emphasise his point, almost growling his words.

“But you won’t know if it had changed because the change would only happen if you chose not to do it!” Celestia leaned in, and once more their faces met. Both were growling their words, barely containing their loud voices in the large room.

"Why is it so complex for your flashy mane to understand! We won't because we didn't and we can't because I will is...uh." Blue blinked, and scratched his head before screaming to the roof.

“ARRRGH!” Turning, he headed toward the door. Celestia watched the other three follow him.

“Screw it my head hurts."

That night, they packed their bags.

View Online

Arriving in a simply furnished room, Blue leapt onto one of the bottom beds, his feet hanging off the end due to the beds being designed for ponies. Above him sat another bed, and on the other side of the room was a second bunk, four beds in total. There was also a couch and a table on a red and brown carpet in the centre of the room, overlooking the wide windows that led onto a balcony overlooking the city.

“So Red, what do you think we should do?” Blue looked toward Red, who had taken a seat on the opposite bed. Lyra was resting on the couch, Green beside her. Both looked to Red at the sound of Blue’s question, and all waited for his answer. Blue would rather not stare at Red while he thought, but considering he didn’t talk it was the only way to really have a conversation.

“…” Red leaned on his hand and looked to the ground, his eyebrows tilting downward slightly. Looking to the window as the sun went down, he shrugged after a moment. Blue suspected from the way he looked to the window he had some sort of plan, and he had a very good guess as to what it was, but he decided to let the matter drop for the moment.

“I say we get a good night’s sleep, and head out in the morning for-Ponyville right?” Green looked to Lyra, who nodded in response, standing up and stifling a yawn. Blue stifled his own, and glanced to Red to see him do one of his famous ‘yawns without opening you mouth or showing any expression.’ Sure, Blue could see the slight movements where his face was going through the motions, but Red didn’t seem to notice.

“Sounds good to me, catch you losers in the morning.” Blue pulled the blanket out from underneath him and pushed his frame into the smaller bed and turned to face the wall, closing his eyes. Lyra grabbed the bed above him as Green moved for the top bunk. Both were asleep almost instantly. Red followed them soon after, or so it would seem.

About three hours after they had gone to sleep, Red sat back up and looked around the room. Eyes falling on Blue’s back, he stood up and glanced to Green and Lyra to ensure they were asleep. Sitting back down, he watched Blue turn and sit up himself. They both looked to each other for a moment, before standing up and moving onto the balcony, closing the door so as to not wake up the other two.

“You know Green’s going to abandon us to come after you the moment she realises you left, right?” Blue leaned over the railing, and didn’t even look to see if Red had nodded or not. Red soon joined him, leaning over and looking down at the sleeping town.

“I know Red, you gotta do your own thing. Just be careful, you won’t have me to back you up if things get crazy.” Giving a sigh, Blue watched Red release his Pokémon into the air, an orange dragon with a flaming tail that was called a Charizard. Hopping onto it, Red glanced back at Blue, before taking off into the night. Blue turned around and headed back to bed.

“Blue! Wake up! Red’s missing!” As he had predicted, Green woke him up, franticly shaking him. Lyra was looking at them, upside down, from her bed. Blue could tell she was just as annoyed at the rude awakening.

“Jeez Green, give me a moment to sit up. He left sometime last night.” Sitting up, finally, Blue saw the mute shock on Green’s face, and hid an internal sigh. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his face and waited for inevitable explosion.

“You let him go without telling me! I could have gone with him! Why didn’t you tell me!” Green walked over to her bed and began packing up her belongings. Lyra hopped off her bed and sat down next to Blue, and motioned to the balcony.

“Red likes to do his own thing sometimes, you can’t blame Blue for letting Red do what he wants.” Lyra flinched slightly as Green glared to her in response, and glanced to Blue with a raised eyebrow. Blue shrugged in response, and watched as Green turned her eyes on him.

“Yeah, but we just-And I just-And I thought that-Rrg, it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to explain myself to a Pokémon and Blue.” Green turned and walked toward the balcony, releasing a bird Pokémon and taking into the sky, not even glancing back to them. Blue wasn’t sure how she planned to track Red, seeing as he had taken the map with him.

“So how long do you think it will last this time?” Lyra stood up, and began levitating things into the remaining bags. Even after four years of being a Pokémon, and living by the same rules of ‘four moves only’, she hadn’t lost her ability to use levitation magic. Blue stood up and followed suit, preparing to leave once they were ready.

“Probably about a week, or until Red bops her. You still remember the way right?” Blue put on his backpack and checked his Pokémon, patting the one that contained his flying Pokémon. Lyra smirked, and gave a chuckle at the image of Red bopping Green. Even without Red around, he never ceased to amuse the both of them with out of character images.

The door knocked, and a guard let himself inside. Looking to the guard, both saw he was carrying a summons of some sort. If Lyra had to guess it was to summon them to meet with Celestia. Looking to the balcony, both turned and followed the guard to the royal throne room. Celestia didn’t look happy to see them, but they suspected it was the fact it was only half of their group.

“Where are the other two?” Celestia stood up and made her way down toward them, her face gravely serious. Both Blue and Lyra gave a shrug, and spared a glance at each other.

“Were you planning on leaving too?” Celestia stood in front of them, wings flared, and seemed to be trying to be as imposing as possible, despite the fact she was the same height. Blue unconsciously reached for his Pokémon, the action hidden from view. Both gave a nod, and looked toward the stained windows.

“I will not allow you to move about Equestria, especially when I have already told you to stay. I apologise for this show of force, but it must be done for the protection of my little ponies. Guards, seize them!” Celestia stepped back as the guards began to move in. Blue sighed, and pulled out his Pokéball. Lyra moved in behind him, and in perfect sync they both leapt through the windows, Blue releasing his Pokémon in one quick movement.

Underneath them the yellow dragon with a white belly and bug-like antenna on it’s head formed and quickly halted their drop to certain death. Blue turned around and quickly helped Lyra grab hold of Dragonite, who wasn’t exactly made for pony-comfort. With Lyra secure, he turned around so he was facing forward, and grabbed onto Dragonite’s neck as he rocketed into the sky.

Looking down, Blue saw a wide range of flying Poké-Ponies, flying toward them. Leading the charge was the white legendary they had just brushed off. From the looks of things she was very fast, and capable of teleporting. But Dragonite was faster. With a single flap, Dragonite took off in the direction of the train station. When they arrived Lyra pointed in a certain direction, and Blue motioned with his hand. Dragonite took off quickly, but slowed down once they had lost sight of the pursuers.

“Well this sucks, now we’re enemies of the state.” Lyra pulled herself into a more comfortable position now they weren’t in any danger of needing to dodge at top speed. Blue glanced to her as she shuffled up and used his shoulders as a means of holding herself upright. Beneath them, Dragonite steadied into an endurance flying speed. If all went well, they should arrive shortly after Green.

“Hey Blue, I’ve been wanting to ask you a question for a while.” Lyra watched as Blue nodded mumbling an answer in response. Even with Dragonite set on the course, he had to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. For one, he had to make sure he didn’t run into their past selves. For another, he had to make sure Dragonite didn’t decide to do any aerobatic stunts

“Why do you always introduce Red as mute. I mean I understand he doesn’t really do the ‘talking’ thing, but he can talk.” Lyra hadn’t asked this before because in the Pokémon world, talking never seemed to matter. Everyone who wasn’t Green, Blue, or Red seemed to just talk and never really listened for answers.

“I was wondering when you’d ask this. It’s pretty simple.” Blue turned to look to Lyra, and shrugged nonchalantly.

“Red doesn’t like to talk, and he doesn’t like answering stupid questions. So by us introducing him as mute, he doesn’t get the stupid questions, most of the time.” Blue turned back around, and glanced at the landscape around them. It was mostly grassland outside of Canterlot and Ponyville, he realised.

“I have a question for you now Lyra.” Blue turned back around and looked straight at Lyra, who blinked and nodded, waiting for the question.

“Why aren’t you as bothered about Green and Red? Didn’t you have a thing for Red right when you first met?” Watching her flinch, Blue rubbed the back of his neck, turning like this was bad for it. Lyra gave a small chuckle, and looked down at the dragon underneath her.

“Well you see, at first I did think it was that kind of ‘thing’. But after about a week in the Pokémon world I realised while I do like Red, I don’t like him that way. He is my trainer, and I do care for him, but I don’t care for him that way.” Lyra looked up as Blue nodded, and turned around once more.

“It was probably the Pokéball. I don’t have all the answers but I think in creatures that aren’t ‘technically’ Pokémon it strengthens the emotions being felt. So while you felt attracted to him because you liked Red, I felt-“ he cut himself off and sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Lyra looked over Dragonite, and didn’t respond. Both knew what he was talking about, and it didn’t really need to be brought up again. It was just an old wound.

One that would probably never heal properly.

And made the long trek to the campsite the next day.

View Online

The Everfree hadn’t changed since the last time Blue had seen it, and he had to remind himself of why. It was sometime after midday by the position of the sun, and as he glided over Ponyville, too high up to be seen, he could see a pink shape dragging a second shape toward a pink building. Trying to remember the events of his last visit, he shuddered as he remembered exactly what that pink shape probably was.

“So we’re looking for some sort of pool?” Lyra snapped Blue out of his daze, and he shook his head, pointing toward the forest.

“Apparently a zebra who lives in a hut is the only one who knows the way. If we arrive in time, and quietly enough, we may be able to follow the group she’s leading.” Blue supposed this could be considered conniving and sneaky, and briefly wondered just how low his karma count would be. Surely that time he had saved that drowning Psyduck counted? Although he had thrown it back in right afterward… Lyra lightly taped him on the shoulder.

“I was fishing! I wasn’t going to keep it so I threw it back!” Blue realised he had said that out loud, and looked to Lyra. Lyra was hiding a casual smirk, and he groaned. Blue knew that sometime in the future, this was going to haunt him. Dragonite gave a quiet cry of warning, and both braced for landing.

Gliding down into the Everfree, they landed far away from where they had gone during their first visit. Lyra looked around, and pointed to a path that would lead them to Zecora’s, which they began walking down. Blue wondered if Zebra’s were a rare type of pony, to be compared to a shiny. He smiled, and considered what would happen if he caught it.

“Blue, do I have to give you another ‘ponies aren’t Pokémon’ talk?” Lyra tutted him, and he rolled his eyes. If Blue was honest, her ability to guess his thoughts irked him. He wondered if she had some secret pony magic that allowed her to read minds. It wouldn’t surprise him, he had no knowledge of the pony race.

“Soo…Want to tell me why you were talking about fishing earlier?” Lyra leaned in, smirking as Blue leaned back and merely rolled his eyes. Pushing her face out of his with his hand, he growled and picked up the pace. Lyra easily matched it.

“I’ll make you a deal. 10 rare candies and I’ll tell ya.” Blue was quick to beam as Lyra’s smile turned to confusion, and then irritation. Looking around her bags, she fished out ten of the blue candies, which Blue quickly put into his bag. He smiled, he could sell those for a decent amount of money. It looked like he wouldn’t be living on noodles when he got back to the gym for a while!

“Alright, I was fishing and I caught a Psyduck, you know the yellow duck that can’t even swim half the time simply because it forgets it can. So I saved it by catching it on my fishing rod, and checked it’s stats. After realising it would be of no use, I threw it back.” It was only after he finished that Blue realised he hadn’t explained why, and he could see Lyra opening her mouth to ask so.

“I was thinking about karma, okay? There, deal complete.” Blue held out a hand, and stopped walking. Lyra took it with her hoof, and they shook. Both were satisfied with their product. There would be no legal matters to be handled by Red. They continued walking, and Blue looked ahead as a small hut came into view. Looking closely, he saw two forms though the forest.

“Yo Red! Green! Find anything?” Blue’s voice was loud so they would hear it over the distance, but nowhere near shouting level, considering it was Blue. Both turned and Red raised a hand in greeting before turning back to look at the hut. Green turned away, ignoring them.

“Not home? Did we miss them then?” Blue nodded as he looked at the house. It looked like whoever lived there had left for something, and was not planning on returning for some time. Folding his arms, he sighed and glanced to Lyra.

“I know of one other person who would know, but it’s kinda risky, and hazardous to Blue’s health.” Lyra smirked at Blue, who took a step back and gave a shaky laugh. From the look on Lyra’s face, there would be no mercy for him today. Glancing to Red and Blue, he saw no mercy from them either, they both nodded. Lyra turned and looked in the direction they had come.

“Ok, here’s hoping the rumors of her powers are true. The party should be over by now so…” Lyra paused and took a deep breath, and looked to Red. Blue noticed he didn’t know what Lyra was up to either. At least, that was until she said the next two words, as softly as she could.

“Pinkie Pie.” Lyra ducked and covered, getting low on the ground as Blue and Red widened their eyes. Giving each other a glance, they were quick to follow Lyra’s example. Green glanced at the three and rolled her eyes, considering them to be acting as if this person/pony was the devil incarnate. At least, that was what she thought right up until the moment a pink form crash landed into her.

“OHMYGOSHWHOAREYOUWHYARETHERETWOOFTHEOTHERSWHYISLYRASOBIG!” True to from, Pinkie Pie arrived in a blur of motion and excitement, doing exactly three cartwheels and one loop-de-loop before settling on top of Green. All three rose, heaving a sigh to see they were not the chosen target. Lyra gave a smile and waved to Pinkie Pie.

“Hey Pinkie. Listen you need to keep this super awesome secret okay? You must not tell anyone.” Lyra took a step back as her hoof was grabbed and rapidly shaken, before being released.

“Oh absolutely posidupely big Lyra, just tell me how I can help you with your tippity top secret mission?” Pinkie Pie began hopping around the clearing, before zooming in and standing eye to eye to Red. Red raised an eyebrow in response.

“You seem…Different somehow. Like you’re four years older or something.” Pinkie Pie shrugged it off quickly, and Lyra opened her mouth to ask her favour before Pinkie Pie noticed something else. Red watched the pink menace, trying very hard to appear emotionless.

“Well we need to get to this pool that allows you to make doppelgangers. I remember your brief…stunt where there were a lot of you and I was wondering if you knew the way.” On cue, Lyra was dive bombed by Pinkie Pie, who was quick to assure them she knew the way, and immediately began walking in a direction. Lyra, Blue, and Red were quick to follow, knowing if they didn’t hurry they would lose Pinkie Pie quickly. Green paused for a moment, a little stunned by everything, before quickly hurrying after the other three.

If that was just one of the residents from Ponyville, she wasn’t sure she wanted to visit.

But their campsite was already taken.

View Online

Blue felt himself slowly grow comfortable around the pink menace as they walked. Wheather it was due to her chatter slowly forming part of the background, or the fact Lyra was being asked about her time in his world, he didn’t care. Red seemed in a similar state, but he always seemed to be in that state so it was hard to tell the difference. Green was walking behind them, still coming to terms with the fact that they weren’t even reacting to Pinkie Pie anymore.

“So you traveled this world for four years right? Any silly billy moments? Of course, promise not to tell your past selves. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Pinkie Pie stuck her hoof directly into her eyes before removing it, seeming to have no damage done whatsoever. Lyra chucked and looked toward the sky as she thought.

“Well there was one time where Red was healing the other Pokémon and Blue was walking by. I think he was heading back to the gym, but hadn’t released his Pokémon yet.” Lyra smiled, and chuckled as she began to remember the events. Blue was quick to intervene, grabbing Lyra by the shoulder and opening his mouth to try and stop her from speaking. Lyra smiled, and he knew there would be no escape from humiliation. Blue sighed and put his hands in his pockets, slouching slightly.

“So Blue was walking by, and he had a brown paper bag in his hand. I didn’t know at the time, but it had a bunch of Tm’s and Hm’s, CD’s that allows Pokémon to learn moves, and some chocolate in it. I greeted him as he passed, and he waved a greeting as well. But as he paused to greet me, a small kid with an Clefairy was complaining about how it knew no attacking moves and could only growl at him.

“Then Blue goes up to the kid and fishes out a hm and hands it to the kid. The kid uses it and the Pokémon learns strength, basically charging at a Pokémon. He also gives the kid a chocolate bar, and smiles gently and asks if he would like to have a Pokémon battle. Blue withdrew a Pokémon around the same level, and spent the next 30 minutes teaching the kid how to battle. Red had come out by then and was watching Blue teach the kid with me. It was one of the few times Red was smiling, just thought I’d point that out.

“Eventually the kid went to leave, thanking Blue for all the help. Blue watched the kid go, and he was smiling. But it wasn’t the sly smirk he normally wears, it was just a smile, like he was just happy. It was honestly one of those rare moments Blue wasn’t being a jerk in public.

“And then he noticed us and tried to cover it up, saying why were we staring at him with such weird faces. Red turned and began to leave, I followed of course. Blue was shouting at Red’s back, calling him various things, even challenging him to a battle. Eventually we were out of earshot, but Blue was so funny and cute that I had a smile on my face for almost a week just thinking about it.” Lyra smiled fondly at the memory, and giggled as she glanced to Red, who had pulled down his cap to hide his face. Blue was quick to interrupt.

“What do you mean cute? I’m not cute! I’m Blue! I’m manly!” Blue looked to all three as they glanced to him, before turning away. Almost frantic he forced Lyra to look at him, forcing the others to stop walking.

“I’m not cute! Tell them I'm menacing Lyra. I’m manly!” Blue watched in dismay as Lyra chucked and turned away, beginning to walk again.

“Green! I’m not cute, tell me you don’t think that!” Blue grabbed onto Green’s shoulder, who also turned away and began walking again.

“Red?” Blue watched Red look at him, and then lower his hat and follow the others. Blue stood there for a moment, mouth open and utter confusion on his face.

“I’M NOT CUTE!”

Far away, in a clearing at the edges of the Everfree, sat a lone figure sorting out his Pokémon. Raising his head, his orange hair bristled in the breeze. He frowned, had he heard something? Turning, he heard his name being called, and turned toward those arriving.

Arriving at the clearing, they could see two groups currently residing. One was a group of tied up pony guards, who the other group was taking Pokéball-shots at catching. The other group were rocket grunts, and they were quietly talking amongst themselves.

“I still don’t think it’s fair Giovanni get’s to stay in our world, comfy in his second hideout they didn’t find, while we slave our butts off to secure a base of operations.” The first rocket grunt, a guy with grey hair and a cape, groaned to the others. They all nodded in agreement, but made no move to back him up. The grunt growled, and stormed off into the bushes, where he was quietly, and quickly, captured.

“Alright grunt, tell us what you know or we’ll play a ten hour loop of the Pokémon rap.” Blue pulled out an old pair of headphones and a recorder, and held them out for the tied up grunt to see. His eyes widened, and he turned away.

“You’ll never get me to talk!” The guard glared at Blue, and failed to notice the other three behind him. Blue pulled out a second recorder and smiled, leaning in and chuckling.

“Not even if I play the Team Rocket song, Jessie and James version?” Blue smiled menacingly as the pure fear in the guards eyes became evident. He leaned away as Blue put the headphones on his ears, and began to cry.

“Please don’t, kill me instead! No one deserves this level of torture.” The grunt cried out before his mouth was covered with fabric. As the button was pressed, he began try sob openly, and plead silently for death. It was a total of 12 seconds before he bowed his head, and Blue shut off the music. Blue took off the muzzle, and waited.

“We’re planning a mass invasion of the town near here, enslaving every Pokémon currently residing in it. We’re the first force, but there’s four other camps around the town, hidden from view.” The rocket grunt sighed in relief as the headset was taken off his head, and he was released from the ropes. However, before he could make a move to try to escape, a white portal appeared behind him and he was kicked through it. The portal vanished instantly.

“Know where it will put him?” Lyra saw Blue shrug, and wondered where the grunt would end up. None of them would know, but ironically enough the grunt had ended up smack dab in the middle of doughnut time for the police, and would be swiftly apprehended.

So they asked them to politely leave.

View Online

As the sun set, they made a game plan. Using the intelligence they received from guards who were unlucky enough to wander, they were able to make a rough map detailing the locations of the camps.

“So there’s four other camps beside this, both going in a horseshoe around Ponyville.” Blue pointed to the locations, and all nodded. Blue began drawing lines connecting them, and frowned as Pinkie Pie took the pen and transformed it into a bunny face. Realising the others were watching her, she smiled awkwardly and moved back.

“So we’ll split into two groups after hitting this camp, and finish off these grunts before Giovanni even get’s out of his little hidey hole. Then when he comes out, we’ll grab him and then transport him to a nice and secure cell fours years into the future, where he belongs.” Blue cut the map into two, and handed Red one half. Looking to Green and Lyra, he saw that while Lyra didn’t seem bothered which person she went with, Green was obviously aiming to be paired with Red.

“So, Green will go with Red, and Lyra will be with me. But for now we’ll stay together. Pinkie you should head back to town.” Blue looked to Pinkie Pie, who simply giggled, said ‘okay dokey’, and literally vanished into a puff of smoke. Blue turned toward the others, and stood up as they gave a nod.

“Ookay then, who should we send out to deal with these guys?” As Blue spoke, Red and the others stood up. Lyra looked toward the camp as the others spoke, and slowly a smile began to form on her face, eyes beginning to shine. Blue and Red noticed this, and both stopped thinking and nodded.

“Alright Lyra, we leave it in your capable han-er-hooves.” Blue smirked as he saw the thrill of an incoming battle hit Lyra, and closed his eyes and turned away. When Lyra started, it would be a sight to behold. Red had trained her well, she made a very good Pokémon.

“Red, Green, you head out for those two camps. When Lyra is done here we’ll head for the other two.” Nodding toward them, Blue watched Red and Green vanish into the woods. Looking to Lyra, he saw her waiting for instructions, as all Pokémon do before a fight. Letting a sly smile fall onto his face, he began to walk out of the clearing, Lyra following close behind.

“Sic em.”

Lyra walked into the clearing, horn sparking with energy. The grunts were quick to release their Pokémon. Some were ponies, but badly wounded and would probably fall to one hit. Lyra counted a least a hundred Zubat, fifty Growlithe, ten Houndoom, and about two hundred Rattata, give or take ten. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and charged her first spell, the forest around her silencing.

“Get her!” The spell released, and all over the clearing leaves began to form from nowhere as she began to charge, leaves flying at enemies as she barely spared them a glance. Quickly the numbers thinned, so much so that when her attack died down, spinning around and grinding to a halt, she could barely see more than twenty still standing.

Lyra charged another spell, flipping her head to look at the sky and closing her eyes, raising her front hooves and standing on two. A large black ball formed at her horn, and as it began to spin it transformed into pure shadow, which she sent flying toward the Houndoom’s. They growled and tried to dodge, however all but one fell within one attack. That left barely over ten standing.

Walking toward the ragtag group, she charged her final attack, her magic surrounding the Pokémon in front of her. As they began to panic, an almost sickening crunch sounded as her magic crushed them within an edge of their life, causing them to faint instantly. Releasing her magic, she then captured all the humans in it as Blue began to tie them up. Rolling them through the portal, they once more bothered the police on a coffee break, to which they were quickly jailed.

“Great job as always Lyra, though I noticed one Houndoom survived that shadow ball. And your Psychic seemed a little weaker than normal. Hasn’t Red been using you often?” Blue began releasing the ponies, ignoring any questions directed at him. Blue neither wanted to, nor needed to answer them.

“There haven’t been many chances to use me, my level’s too high nowadays.” Lyra followed Blue out of the clearing, also ignoring the pointed questions. As they walked Blue pulled out the map and began determining where they were going. Amazingly enough, Blue was able to do this easily, as long as he had a map.

“Fair enough, you want to take on the other two as well? My Pokémon have been getting plenty of training so I can let you do some low-level grinding for now.” As they walked, Blue looked to the sky and toward the moon as it slowly rose. According to the map, if they walked they would reach it by morning. And while Blue would love to use one of his flying Pokémon to get there, it would be hard to show them where to land without having been to it. Landing in Ponyville had been different, he’d had a general idea of where to land due to Lyra.

“Lyra, you’re a rideable Pokémon right?” Blue glanced to Lyra, who had stopped mid stride and looked at him as if he had asked the stupidest question in the world.

“I don’t care what you say Blue, you will not, and never will, ride me.” Lyra growled at Blue, before storming ahead. Blue watched her go, and sighed, rubbing his forehead. He understood her annoyance and reason not to be ridden like a Ponyta, but it was difficult to handle sometimes. If Blue were to bring it up, it was always no, and he understood that. Pulling out his PASS, he began to look in his boxes for a rideable Pokémon as he caught up to Lyra. She watched him with mild curiosity, not overly mad about him asking.

“Arcanine!” Blue released a fiery-red wolf-like creature with wide, loving eyes. Blue leapt onto Arcanine and they sped through the forest. With their current speed, they might be able to complete both before morning. Which was good for Blue, because he had a general idea of what tomorrow was, and didn’t want to be close to Ponyville during that time.

If there was one thing worse than Lyra’s ability to predict his thoughts, it was a Pegasus getting hold of Red’s rare-candy reserves and going mental.

They went fishing shortly after.

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As predicted, they finished dealing with the grunt camps with quick ease just as the sun rose. Blue doubted Red could beat his level of punctuality, but it was always possible. In front of him, Lyra was untying the last of the ponies. It was a few more seconds before Blue finally realised that-

“Damnit, I forgot to set a place to meet back up!” Blue ignored the snicker as Lyra looked toward him, and pulled out his phone device. What it was called didn’t matter to him, it allowed him to talk over a distance, therefore it was a phone. There had been many long nights arguing with his grandfather about it.

“Yo Red, you there?” Blue paused and waited. Lyra watched this intently. It went over her head how Blue could have a phone conversation with Red. And strangely enough, it worked.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. No need to rub it in jeez. Look let’s meet back at that pool. No not the one you and I have a battle at in the past, that one these…ponies say is a copier? Okay, meet you there.” Blue closed the phone and put it away, looking to Lyra. Hopping back onto Arcanine, Blue took a moment to glance toward the town.

“Alright, let’s head back. No telling when Giovanni is going to arrive.” Blue turned around and gave Arcanine a quick pat, indicating it was time to go. Arcanine barked, and began to run, heading in the direction Blue specified. Lyra was quick to follow.

“So Blue, I’ve always wanted to ask. What’s it like being a Pokémon trainer?” Lyra glanced toward Blue, matching the pace of Arcanine with little effort. Blue glanced to her, a little curious as to why Lyra had decided to ask about it. Then again, they were simply running through forest, talking seemed like a good way to pass time.

“Depends on who you ask really. To quote my grandfather ‘some people have them as pets, some play with them, and others use them for battle.’ He likes to tell that to every trainer that passes through, I guess to tell people that there’s other options besides battling.” Blue shrugged, it didn’t matter to him, battling was in his blood.

“I see, that’s cool. It kinda wasn’t the answer I was looking for though, so let me try again. What’s it like being you?” Lyra turned to look ahead as she saw Blue narrow his eyes, looking for danger. After realising nothing was in front of them but trees, she turned her head back and noticed Blue still had his eyes narrowed.

“What’s it like being me eh? Well…” Trailing off, Blue looked briefly to the sky. Looking at the stars, his expression softened and he returned his gaze to Lyra. Looking at her confusion, he realised his expressions were showing once more, and she was trying to guess what he was thinking. He returned his gaze to looking straight ahead.

Blue wondered what exactly it was like being himself. How would he describe his life? Well, he had become champion, gone back in time, captured a rare legendary, and become a gym leader, just to name a few. Surely he was quite a successful person if he summed up his achievements?

Thinking about it, however, he could not hide the fact Red was always there. Red has been there just after he had made champion, just after he had caught a legendary, and was still considered the star of the Kanto region. Even with the budding trainers, one of which who was currently champion, Red took the limelight without effort.

“Not that much different from being anyone else really. I’m just a lot more awesome.” Blue flashed Lyra his trademark grin, and watched as she rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to looking ahead. Letting Lyra increase her speed to move ahead, very slightly so she wouldn’t notice him lagging behind too much, he finally let his expression fall.

“Damn, looks like you beat me again Red, but mark my words I will defeat you at something one of these days.” Blue hopped off Arcanine and returned it, watching Red and Green do the same with their Pokémon. Red had been in the clearing as they arrived, so they must have only just arrived. Either way, they were all here, and ready for Giovanni.

“Are we sure it’s this camp?” Green looked around the now empty clearing with a suspicious eyes. Red and Blue both nodded in response, and slowly walked over toward the pool. Green and Lyra soon followed. Blue lent down and put a hand in the water, curious. He watched as his hand appeared out of it as soon as he removed his hand.

“Woah, that’s a little creepy.” Blue stood up as his hand copy vanished back into the pool, and glanced to Red. Red looked at his reflection in the pool, before going to his bag and pulling out a Rare Candy. Blue watched as Red dropped the candy in the pool, and two more emerged from it. Red put the two candies away, and they both shared a glance.

“I wonder if this works on Master Balls.” Blue glanced toward Green, who was eyeing the pool fearfully. Lyra was currently duplicating a stick, so they could make a fire. Or at least, that was her excuse. All four understood the importance of a pool that could copy items, and the dangers involved.

“Well, enough with that, let’s make camp. We don’t know when Giovanni will come, so we’ll take shifts if we’re left waiting longer than a day.” Blue looked to Lyra as she put the sticks down, and rubbed two together to start a fire. Blue had to admit, Lyra knew how to survive in the wilderness.

As they sat down at the fire, all thoughts were on the pool, and what possibilities they could use it for. Blue considered duplicating Pokémon, then disregarded it due to the fact he didn’t think he’d find any real use for having two Arcanine of the same gender. Lyra was considering various foods she could duplicate. Green was considering if it would be possible to duplicate herself to help her manage her work easier. And Red was considering making more Rare Candies, even though he had 98 of them, well 99 now.

Turning their heads, a portal appeared in the center of the clearing, and all three stood up, Lyra putting out the fire.

Giovanni was here.

Blue caught the biggest fish.

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A tall man with black hair in a business suit exited the white portal, pausing as it vanished into nothingness. Giovanni brushed the dirt off his suit, and turned to face the four who were standing at ready to oppose him. In his hand was a suitcase, and beside him were two Team Rocket Grunts that had been trained to be actual assets to the team.

“Punctual, as always Red and Blue. What do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Giovanni looked as each released their signature Pokémon, and quickly estimated their level. Remembering back, he was now certain these were the versions from his time, and not from the past. Looking to the two Grunts, they stepped forward and released their Pokémon.

Blue looked at Giovanni, his Dragonite sitting beside Red’s Charizard, a large lizard with bat wings and a flaming tail. The two Grunts released Rocket’s signature Pokémon, a Houndoom and a Ratticate. Blue looked to the two Pokémon, and then to his Dragonite. He hated to admit it, but Giovanni had been training, it looked like it might be an even fight if these were just the Grunts.

Charizard leaned back, and fired a blast of flame at Ratticate and Houndoom, who leapt out of the way and began to run circles around the orange dragon. Dragonite flapped his wings, and sent the two smaller Pokémon sliding back with the force of the wind. The grunts began barking orders, distracting the two Pokémon just long enough for both Dragonite and Charizard to get the jump.

Blue watched them fight, estimating the health of the Pokémon and the skill of the trainers. Even with them doing the rookie mistake of trying to tell the Pokémon how to battle, they weren’t that bad. If Blue tried to estimate how strong Giovanni would be based on the grunts, it looked like a very tough battle was inbound.

Blue returned his Dragonite as Red released his Blastoise, and turned to face Giovanni. Red would handle them for now, and Blue needed to gauge how much Giovanni had grown in terms of battle in four years. And if Blue lost, Red would beat him, like he always did. Green and Lyra stood back, ready to back either of them up in case they needed it.

“So Blue, have you won any battles lately?” Giovanni tossed out a Rhydon, a large Rhino-type Pokémon, and casually checked his watch, as if he was making sure he wouldn’t miss an appointment. Blue gritted his teeth, and tossed out a large dragon-like snake named Gyarados. Blue knew he would need every advantage he could get.

Gyarados roared and took to the sky, hovering slightly above the ground. Rhydon returned the challenge, and then breathed out, becoming more relaxed. Gyarados charged Rhydon, but bounced off with little effect, wincing slightly at the recoil. Rhydon smiled at Gyarados, and picked up a large section of the ground and threw it at Gyarados.

“That’s none of your business Giovanni.” Blue watched Gyarados dodge, and launch into another full on charge. It was saving it’s water move until the health was lower, else Gyarados would lose the next turn. Rhydon ignored the attack, absorbing it easily as he took in another deep breath. He began to throw another rock, much slower this time.

Gyarados landed on the ground and summoned up some orbs, which circled Gyarados before launching straight for Rhyhorn, taking on a brown, ground like texture. As the attack hit, Rhyhorn winced slightly, but continued with his deep breath taking, slowing down even further. Gyarados returned to the air and roared, mouth filling with water. Firing the water out of his mouth like a fire hose, it knocked Rhyhorn off it’s feet, and Gyarados paused to rest.

“I will take your refusal to answer as a ‘no’ then.” Giovanni’s Rhyhorn slowly stood back up, and picked up some more rocks to throw. They fell down upon Gyarados, who tried to dodge despite the slow recovery due to Hydro Pump, but was hit full force. Giving a roar of pain, it launched straight into another Hydro Pump. Rhyhorn returned with rocks each time. However, after a few passes, both were both looking battered and bruised.

“A pity, that the great Blue is reduced to being simply Red’s lackey.” Giovanni looked to Blue as his concentration was broken and he turned to answer angrily, but was halted as a final rock slide finished off Gyarados. Swearing slightly, he chided himself for letting Giovanni distract him, and returned his Gyarados, pulling out a second Pokéball. Giovanni healed up his Rhydon, and waited patiently.

“Think what you want Giovanni, it won’t change the fact I’m going to beat your butt back to the future.” Blue tossed out his second Pokémon, and concentrated as his trademark Dragonite launched into the air and immediately charged a beam of pale blue in it’s mouth, and fired. As the beam hit the slow Rhydon, it froze him for a moment, before shattering. Rhydon shivered slightly, before launching into another rock slide, which Dragonite easily dodged.

“Ah yes, the future. I wonder, have you heard from your grandfather recently? I hear he’s quite…tied up with work currently.” Giovanni once more succeeded in distracting Blue, who turned to glare at him before returning his eyes back to the battle just in time to see Dragonite launch into another ice beam. Blue was sure his grandfather was fine, he had seen him last month.

Dragonite dodged another Rock Slide and fired another ice beam, before gliding down and punching Rhydon with his fist and doing a loop before launching into a body slam. Rhydon slid slightly, before grabbing onto Dragonite and picking up another rock, throwing onto the dragon’s head. Dragonite reared back, diving back into the air and holding it’s head.

“I apologise if my conversation is boring you, I merely assumed you would be more concerned about your grandfather being too…tied up with work to…answer any calls you made shortly before walking in and…borrowing the experimental devices he mysteriously left for you along with a mysterious note.” Giovanni gently brushed his coat again as Blue once more glanced toward him before forcing his eyes back to the battle.

Blue watched as Dragonite would engage Rhydon in hit and run tactics, changing from launching Ice Beams to giving him punches at the risk of becoming trapped. However as he watched the fight it slowly faded from his view until he couldn’t stop himself from rounding on Giovanni and pointing a finger at him.

“If you did anything to hurt my grandfather, they won’t need a morgue to get rid of what’s left of you.” Blue felt the battle that Red was fighting behind him end, and all eyes turn to him instead of the battle the two Pokémon were raging. Dragonite noticed this, and as he turned to glance to Blue he got hit by another Rock slide, and forced himself to pay attention to the battle, and ignore the confusing humans.

“Do not worry Blue, I have done nothing to your grandfather. However, I could very easily change that. Then again, my decision depends entirely on your behaviour.” Giovanni pulled out a small device with a large red button on it and held it out, waving it slightly in the direction of Blue. Blue growled, and was going to glance to Red behind him, but was halted as Giovanni began to talk once more.

“Come now Blue, do you really need Red to be holding you hand every step of the way?” Giovanni watched as Blue returned his gaze back on the Rocket Boss, and narrowed his eyes. Glancing to the two Pokémon fighting, Blue growled and slowly began to walk over toward Giovanni, making sure to avoid the arena the Pokémon had set themselves in. Somehow during the fight, they had managed to change places, and now Giovanni was the one standing near the pool.

“What do you want Giovanni?” Blue stopped a few steps away, his voice certain not to carry far. Eyes narrowed, face downturned, he faced Giovanni, looking him straight in the eyes. Blue didn’t like the man’s eyes. They were the eyes of a businessman, despite his apparent ‘love’ for his Pokémon.

“I do not want anything from you Blue, why would you think I would? You are like a defective version of Red.” Giovanni paused to once more glance to his watch, a move Blue payed close attention too. Blue opened his mouth to speak, but Giovanni was quick to continue.

“I am merely putting you in a corner to act as bait to lure out the Red you wish didn’t exist, Champion Red.” Giovanni glance to the fight, and was dissatisfied to see neither Pokémon were giving an inch, and his Rhyhorn was suffering from injuries, just as Blue’s Dragonite was. He would need to train them more once they were finished in this wretched dimension.

“Are you insane? He’ll destroy you as if you were an ant.” Blue took a step toward Giovanni, seriously wondering if this guy was off his crazy medication or something. There was one thing worse than mopey Red, one thing that Blue feared facing again even to this day, and that was Champion Red. And Giovanni wanted to bring that monster out?

“Oh no Blue, for you see I am not you. Therefore I don’t lose every single battle I have ever been in. Now if you would be so kind as to move aside, and stop getting in my way of bringing out Champion Red, I would be very grateful.” Giovanni looked to the battle as his Rhyhorn finally collapsed, losing the battle. He returned it and looked to Blue.

“Am I just a joke to you? This battle is far from over.” Blue glared at Giovanni, picking a Pokéball out and Returning his Dragonite, pulling out another Pokéball. Blue tried to keep the venom from his voice, but with Giovanni it was very difficult not to let the guy know just how much you hated him. Giovanni took one look at his expression, and laughed.

“Please Blue, don’t do this to yourself. You know as well as I do that you are like Hors d'oeuvres compared to Red, who would be the main course. You’re barely even appetisers compared to Red.” Giovanni mimicked sympathy, even putting a hand on Blue’s shoulder as he spoke. Blue quickly shoved the hand away, and took a moment before looking Giovanni in the eyes.

“Stop, comparing, me to, RED!” Blue dived at Giovanni, knocking them both into the river. As soon as they touched the water, Blue found himself falling out on the opposite side of the river, and into some bushes. Giovanni was quick to fight back, and as they fought Blue realised that Giovanni wasn’t any normal pencil pusher. They tumbled out of the clearing, before finally separating, Giovanni quick to brush his coat free of dirt.

Over in the clearing, a second pair of Giovanni and Blue were separating as well. Giovanni being apprehend by the others while Red held Blue back, and tried to get eye contact with Blue. Looking at his friend, he felt something a little off, something slightly different from normal. However, eventually Blue was calmed down. No one remembered about the pools effects at that moment in time.

Blue glanced in the direction of the clearing, noticing Giovanni do the same. If he went back there, Red would break up the fight and he would lose this chance to hit Giovanni in the face, like he deserved. Giovanni returned to looking at him, and straightened his tie.

“Now look at what you have done Blue, you ruined my favourite suit.” Giovanni dodged Blue as he was dived at once more, side stepping him with ease. Looking to his left, he hid a small smile and turned to look at Blue. Blue stood up, and ran towards Giovanni. If we was going to dodge his dives, he needed to get into closer combat.

“Now, now Blue, I think it’s time you have a time out.” Giovanni crouched, and grabbed Blue by the stomach as he came in close, lifting him up and over his body before tossing him toward the left. Giovanni might be a businessman, but he did know self defence, it was crucial at times.

Blue glanced toward the ground as it suddenly vanished below him, and he realised he had been tossed off a cliff. There was a river at the bottom, but that was the least of Blue’s worries. With Dragonite out of commission, he fished for Pidgeot’s Pokéball, but realised the water was coming up too fast for his Pokémon to be of any use.

“In that case, I need-,“ Blue grabbed an entirely different ball, the one normally on a piece of string around his neck. Pulling it off, he tossed it into the air just as his head went under the water. Blue felt his head hit something, and gasped as pain laced through the back of his head, loosing any air he had held.

And then everything went dark.

But as the sun set, it didn't matter who had caught the bigger fish.

View Online

“Red, please! That will KILL ME. Don’t you understand!? You’re going to kill me over a stupid mistake! I’m sorry!”

Blue jerked upright, and immediately regretted it as his head rushed to greet him, throbbing in tune to the sounds of bugs nearby. After a brief moment, he felt the pressure of something touch his mind, and the pain considerably lessened.

“Ugh, thanks.” Blue rubbed his eyes to get the grime out of them, and glanced around for the nearest water source. With the help of the presence touching his mind, he crawled over and splashed some icy cold water on his face, and opened his eyes.

Blue was on the side of a river, on a rocky bank somewhere in a forest. There were very few signs of anything remotely familiar, unless you counted knowing that one tree was some type of fern. Not bothering to try to stand in his current condition, he turned toward the source of the pressure on his mind and nodded once toward the figure sitting there, hovering in mid air.

Human in stature, Mewtwo possessed a purple tail and a draconic shaped head, with a tube coming out of the back of his head that attached to his back. As Blue looked to him, he nodded once and looked away, folding his arms. Blue felt the pressure in his head lessen further as time went on, and the presence of Mewtwo grow weaker as he was needed less. Blue slowly stood up.

“So, how long was I out?” Blue rubbed his head and began checking all his things were still there. Every Pokéball was still in place, and as Mewtwo handed him back the ball he wore around his neck he was satisfied to see he hadn’t lost anything. Other than being battered and bruised, Blue was ok. And he knew why he wasn’t worse off, or even dead. The reason was standing right in front of him.

’Approximately twenty hours.’ Mewtwo pointed to the sun, which had risen not long ago, and Blue nodded as he considered it. Thinking back, he quickly judged what day it was, and then turned to Mewtwo and opened his mouth to ask a question, but then closed it as the answer came.

’I am not sure what direction the town is, but I know there are some sentient creatures in that direction’ Mewtwo pointed into the forest behind them, and Blue nodded. If they were to get back and stop Giovanni, he needed to get back quickly. Tossing out Pidgeot, a large bird Pokémon, he gently patted it’s neck and smiled.

“Thanks Mewtwo.” Blue leapt onto Pidgeot, who took to the sky, followed closely by Mewtwo. As they looked in the direction they would head, Blue was irritated to see no distinguishing landmarks. If these sentient creatures turned out to be no one, it would be hard to find their way back. Blue estimated it would probably take half a day to find the source, and they took off.

While they flew, Blue let his thoughts wander back to Giovanni, and how he was always comparing Blue to Red. Out in the wilderness, he had no reason to hide his troubles behind a casual smirk, and it wouldn’t have been hidden from Mewtwo either way. Feeling the wind irritating the sore on the back of his head, he gently touched it and felt the matted blood. He was lucky it wasn’t serious.

’Is the fact you are second to Red bothering you?’ Mewtwo circled around before matching Pidgeot’s speed, and caught Blue’s gaze. Blue shrugged it off and tried to brush the issue aside, knowing full well Mewtwo wasn’t likely to let it go It was always worth a try though.

“Psh, of course not, I’m not Red after all.” Blue turned to look away, and they lapsed into silence. As the wind flew by, it wasn’t long before Blue slouched and sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“Look, it’s not the fact I’m second that bothers me, okay? It’s the fact that not once, in all the years I’ve been a trainer, have I beaten Red at something. We're rivals, I should at least win occasionally.” Blue turned to look at Mewtwo as he nodded thoughtfully, before turning to look directly ahead, focusing on where they were going.

’But you did beat him once.’ Mewtwo looked ahead as they sailed over the trees, ignoring the fact Blue’s head had snapped back to full attention. It never ceased to amuse him how simple minded his human could be sometimes.

’I am surprised you have forgotten, shall I refresh your memory?’ Mewtwo finally turned his eyes on Blue, who looked at him with both confusion and maybe the barest hint of something else. Letting out a silent chuckle, Mewtwo pointed to the Pokéball on Blue’s neck, before allowing himself to enter it, leaving Blue alone.

’You reached me, where he failed.’

Blue looked across the landscape as they passed by it, and closed his eyes, and chuckled. How could he have forgotten, he wondered. Looking up once more, he let a small smile fall on his face, and gave the loyal Pokémon underneath him a loving pat.

How could he have forgotten?

Because none of them cared who was better at catching fish.

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Blue looked at the legendary before him, radiating energy and a powerful sight to behold. If it had been under any other circumstances, Blue would have been envious of the trainer. But this Pokémon didn’t have a trainer. And that meant it was a once in a lifetime chance. Blue released his Pokémon, and the fight was underway almost immediately.

They fought brilliantly. Even with all of Blue’s skill, he was barely a match for the Pokémon. Nothing commanded respect quite like the Pokémon before him. If the physical attacks weren’t devastating enough, Blue had to deal with constant pressure on his mind as the Pokémon tried to force him to surrender. Blue refused to let the Pokémon win, this Mewtwo was his.

As quickly as the battle started, it was over almost as quickly, leaving Blue in almost mute shock. The legendary fell to it’s knees, and growled at him as he pulled out a Pokéball. Blue considered grabbing his one and only Master Ball, and reached for it. If any Pokémon deserved his Master Ball, it was this legendary.

’Wait.’ A voice spoke to Blue’s head, and he jumped in fright, dropping both Pokéballs, and falling on his butt. The legendary waited patiently for the trainer to work out who was speaking. Blue stood back up, and slowly approached the legendary, hesitantly.

’I can’t leave yet. I am waiting, and no trainer with any type of ball is going to stop me!’ Mewtwo leapt back up and grabbed Blue by the neck, holding him against a nearby wall. Mewtwo narrowed his eyes, watching Blue slowly suffocate.

“W-Waiting for what?” Blue coughed out a question before he could no longer get any more breath, grasping at the fingers around his neck. However, just as darkness began to cloud his vision, he felt the hands release him, and fell to the ground coughing.

’I don’t know.’ Mewtwo watched the trainer slowly get to his feet, and rub his neck, where some marks were. As the trainer slowly got his breath back, Mewtwo noticed he seemed similar to the trainer that had come before, but also not at the same time.

“Surely you must have some idea of what you’re waiting for? And could you, maybe, not strangle me next time? Why not use some of that Pokémon psychic stuff you were using to throw my Pokémon around the room. Cause there’s a small fact you didn’t consider, I don’t want to die.” Blue glared at Mewtwo, despite the fact the Pokémon could easily start strangling him again. Mewtwo watched the human, perplexed by his behaviour.

’Well, I think it might be a person, but I’m not sure. As for the not-strangling you, I guess a few broken bones would be preferable to death, I will keep that in mind for the future.’ Mewtwo watched as the trainer rolled his eyes, taking a step and getting closer to Mewtwo’s face. What was it with this human, was he trying to get him angry?

“So what exactly do you think this person’ll have? Is he like your creator or something?” Blue jumped back as Mewtwo suddenly exploded into purple energy, feeling his back against the wall. Blue put on a sheepish smile, hoping this legendary wasn’t still planning to kill him.

’No! It is not my creator I am waiting for! Never that vile little pathetic piece of brain dead-‘ Mewtwo continued to mouth off against it’s creator, telling Blue exactly what he thought of the humans that had made him, and how he felt about humans in general. After calming down, Mewtwo noticed the wide eyed stare of the human, and realised he had broken another human.

“Dude, your past must be really messed up.” Blue finally blinked, and glance over to where the balls were sitting, before cautiously edging around Mewtwo and picking them up. Mewtwo watched this suspiciously, but made no move to stop him. Blue put the Master Ball away.

“How about I make you a deal Mewtwo? You help me with whatever my whims decide, and I’ll help you find this thing you’re looking for. Do you really want to waste away at the bottom of a cave?” Blue held out the Pokéball and smirked, letting false confidence radiate from his body as he stood up straight, and tried to look sure of himself. It wasn’t like he was gambling with his life or something.

Definitely not, absolutely not.

’I’m not going to kill you…’ Mewtwo watched as the human visibly relaxed before quickly returning to it’s pose, and felt the slight tug of amusement. Despite the fact the human was certain Mewtwo was going to kill him, he tried to maintain his façade, and even offer to help.

Wondering what made this human different from the ones before it, he supposed it was the fact this human didn’t seem slightly bothered with the fact he had just called his entire race a fair amount of bad language. In fact, if Mewtwo peeked inside the human’s mind, he didn’t blame Mewtwo for coming to that conclusion. Mewtwo thought about staying in this cave, waiting for the thing he was waiting for, compared to travelling with this human and searching for it, and a small smile fell on his face.

’You have a deal, trainer.’ Mewtwo held out a hand to touch the Pokéball, but watched as the trained pulled it back, and rolled his eyes, and pointed to himself.

“I’m Blue, call me that, not trainer. Feels weird being called that by something that talks.” Blue shivered, before smiling and holding out the ball once more. Mewtwo nodded once, and cautiously reached for it. As his hand connected with it, he felt himself be sucked inside, and knew he had passed the point of no return.

And strangely enough, he didn’t feel an ounce of regret.

All they cared about was having a good time.

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Landing some distance away from another clearing, Blue slowly walked toward the location of what Mewtwo was sure would hold some people. If he was lucky, Red had realised that Blue was a copy, and had captured the second Giovanni to boot. If not, things would get complicated quickly. Of course, Blue still hadn’t realised there was a copy of himself running around, seeing as his thoughts had been focused on finding his friends.

Parting a bush to glance into the clearing, he immediately backpedalled as a blast of lightning singed the entire clearing, and he realised just where, and when he was. Chancing another look, he saw he was indeed correct in his guess, and sighed as he watched the two fight. Mewtwo had found Red, but he’d found past Red. And right now, past Red was battling with past Blue.

From the looks of the fight, it was well past halfway, and Blue watched at some of the mistakes his past self was making, curious about how far he had come along. All in all, his past self was holding his own very well, despite the fact he was definitely outmatched. Blue smiled, that wouldn’t have stopped him, even now. However, as the fight progressed and Red released his Blastoise, Blue’s attention turned toward Red.

Red was hiding his face under his hat, but Blue didn’t need to see it to read Red. Blue’s eyes narrowed as he watched, his mouth turning downward more as he bit his lip. Even the sky above seemed to support his worries, falling over Red and letting a shadow come across the clearing. Red had stopped trying to hide his face, his hands hanging limply by his sides.

And then past Blue confronted Red, even going so far as to slap him out of it. Blue’s expression didn’t change, even as his past self flew out of the clearing, Red watching him go. The moment had passed, but Blue still didn’t like where this whole ‘adventure’ was going. He wondered what it was about this world that brought out Red’s best, and worst, so easily.

Blue ducked as past Red glanced in his direction, watching as Red’s eyes twitched slightly. Red seemed to take a step toward Blue’s hiding bush, before pausing and glancing in the direction past Blue had gone. It wasn’t long after, that past Red pulled out his Charizard, revived it, and took off in the direction of Blue. Blue raised his head, and watched him go, before retreating further into the forest and calling out Mewtwo.

“Mewtwo, I need you to concentrate. Try and find another Red, this is getting serious.” Blue glanced in the direction past Red had flown off in, and gritted his teeth. He had to get back to Red before something bad happened, and he wasn’t the cause of it. Blue paused in his concern for a moment and let a small smirk hit his lips at the thought.

’I assume you do not want the Red that just flew towards that town filled with equines. Give me a few minutes to lock onto the mental signature’ Mewtwo sat down cross legged, and began to hover, closing his eyes. Blue left him to his work, turning his eyes back to the clearing and letting his thoughts wander. It had been rearing it’s head a lot more in recent years, and Blue wondered why. Surely Red would talk to him if he had been too much of a jerk?

’I found him, a group of four humans and one equine. They are roughly half a day away, and coming this way.’ Mewtwo nodded, and stood back up and walked toward Blue. Blue quickly muttered thanks, and returned Mewtwo, who didn’t seem annoyed that Blue had almost ignored him. Blue released Arcanine, not willing to risk flying this close to the town, and glanced down at her as Blue hopped on.

“Good girl,” he spoke, giving a small scratch behind the ears of his Pokémon, who barked in response to the small bit of affection. Blue pointed in a direction, and Arcanine set off, settling into a pace made for endurance and not speed. If all went well, they might meet the others sometime tonight.

Blue wondered how they were doing, and if they were ok without him to make fun of. He really hoped Lyra wasn’t becoming the brunt of the jokes, she wasn’t very good at it. Blue winced as he remembered some of her earlier attempts at ‘humour’. Even Red had been amazed by how bad they had been, and for Red to be amazed you knew it was bad.

“Knowing Lyra, she’s probably running out of material by now.” Blue smiled warmly, and chuckled. When he got back he would have to ensure Lyra knew better improv, he owed it to Red. Thinking about it, he wondered why Lyra had gotten so attached to Red. The Pokéball would have helped, but it wouldn’t have stopped Lyra from not disliking Red. Was it something to do with him coming in first?

Blue thought about what would have happened had he been first, and not immediately tried to capture every pony, which he probably would of. Lyra would have met him first, and wouldn’t have had to deal with learning Red’s language, would probably have had her questions answered fairly quickly, and be a lot better at jokes. Blue chuckled, and settled into a smile. It vanished a moment later when Arcanine leapt over a log, and Blue smacked his head on a branch.

“What is it with this world and hitting me in the head?” Blue rubbed his forehead and groaned as a headache began to form again.

Later on, they got together to have a talk.

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“So what are we going to do with Giovanni?” Lyra turned her head to look to Blue, who shrugged, brushing away one of the many vines hanging from the trees around them. The forest was especially dense around them, with plenty of low hanging branches. Strangely enough, Blue’s head never got hit by a single one.

“I’ve got a way to contract gramps, he’s going to come through with some police to apprehend him. We said we’d bring him back, but he replied the police said they wanted it done ‘the right way’ or something.” Blue pulled out a bottle of water from his bag and opened it, drinking it down enthusiastically, before looking at the remaining water in the bottle with a curious glance.

“Ah, I see, that makes sense.” As Lyra closed her mouth, she was shocked as she realised they had lapsed into silence, and she glanced between the three. Red she could understand, but Blue too? The Blue she knew would fill the air with jokes and comedy to prevent such silence for long. Turning her head, she peered at Blue’s back and wondered if there was something slightly off with him today.

“Are we heading for somewhere specific?” Green spoke up, breaking the silence, and looked to Blue. As Lyra followed her gaze, she realised Blue hadn’t even glanced toward Green, still watching Red.

“Not really, we can make the portal anytime. It’s hooked up to the same place as the first experiments, so all we need to do is head for the edges of the town. Our past selves are currently in a party I recall.” Blue shrugged, and once again they all lapsed into silence. Green glanced away from the group, and took in the surroundings with mild curiosity. Lyra sighed, and looked up toward the sky and tried to piece together what she could. However, she couldn’t work out what could be causing Blue’s change from jerk to…whatever he was right now.

And that was when a blazing form crash landed in front of them, setting the forest around them on fire before quickly putting it out as the light dimmed. Lyra blinked away the spots in her eyes, and as soon as she could see she blinked, eyes widening as she realised it was the sun goddess in front of her.

“I certainly hope defying me was worth it.” Wings flared, eyes glowing with power, mane alight with the colors of flame, Celestia was truly a fearsome sight to behold. Lyra saw even Red take a step back at the sight, before standing his ground. Blue was quick to stand beside him, and Lyra watched Green follow suit. Walking and taking her place, Lyra felt a smile ghost onto her lips before vanishing.

“Yeah, it kinda was.” Blue answered simply. Celestia’s wings flared open even further, and she narrowed her eyes, before looking to the tied up Giovanni behind them. Rearing onto her back hooves, she opened her mouth to speak, and the light around her grew slightly.

And then an Arcanine burst through the forest, skidding to a stop between them, a second Blue sitting on top. All eyes turned to him as he leapt off and returned Arcanine. Looking between them he noticed the tension in the air, and a sly smirk fell upon his face.

“I guess this counts as being fashionably late eh?” Blue looked between the people, his smile held on his face by willpower alone. The second Blue seemed just as surprised as he was, and as the legendary looked to him a cold chill travelled down his spine.

“So uh, anyone know why there’s two of me?” Both Blue’s spoke at the same time, much to their own annoyance, and both turned their gaze to Red and Green. Red blinked in response, and turned to glance to Green who was ‘hrm’-ing as she held her hand to her chin.

“They fell in that pool right? Doesn’t it duplicate items? It probably does the same for people too.” Green raised her head and noticed everyone was looking at her, and held a sheepish smile in response. As attention returned to the main attraction, both Blue’s were quick to realise the underlying problem.

“But wait, Giovanni fell in too.” It took exactly three seconds for the penny to drop, and all three looked to the sly smile on Giovanni as dread began to set in. Red put his hand on a Pokéball, and his stance went from casual to alert. Green stepped close to Red, hand cautiously held out as if to grab onto his arm. Lyra glanced around before shrugging and standing where she was, ready for action. Both Blue’s glanced to each other, and approached their double.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Both Blue’s cast their hands out, annoyed when both revealed a fist that ended the game in a tie. Realising any game of chance would likely end in a draw, they decided to ignore it to deal with the immediate threat. The legendary was getting tired of waiting.

“Listen, Celestia was it?” The first Blue began, motioning to Giovanni.

“We’ve kinda got a situation, d’ya think we might postpone this ‘fight’ for another time?” The second Blue finished. Both watched Celestia glance between them, before swearing and folding her wings, lowering her head and settling into a less threatening stance.

“Very well humans, but first I need to deal with the duplicate.” Celestia reared up, casting a spell and firing it at the Blue that had travelled with Red, Green, and Lyra, and making him vanish. All blinked, and decided to take another step back despite the fact they knew it wouldn’t help.

“How do you know that was the wrong Blue?” Lyra’s voice was shaky, and she looked to the ground as she thought of what might have happened had they started fighting. It was hard to remember that their kind and smiling princess had once possessed the power to turn anyone to stone.

“Mainly a hunch, I doubt the real-Blue was it? I doubt the real Blue would settle for saying the second part of a sentence.” As she settle back into a casual standing stance, she turned her gaze on Blue, who couldn’t help but let a small smile fall on his face, closing his eyes as he suppressed the urge to chuckle.

“That’s good and everything, but how did you know that? We spent barely an hour together in total.” Blue put his hands into the pockets of his pants, opening his eyes and glancing to Celestia. She looked toward the sky, a knowing smile on her face as she looked in the direction of Ponyville. More specifically; a cloud house where a certain element bearer lived.

“I know someone with a similar disposition.” Celestia turned her attention back to Blue, and flared her wings again.

“Now that the situation is under control, please allow me to escort you back to Canterlot with your prisoner while I clean up the mess you have made in the Everfree.” As she stepped toward them, Celestia noticed them instantly change into more aggressive stances in response to her pushing. She relaxed in response, and noticed them respond in turn.

“No, you see that wasn’t the situation we meant. There’s another Giovanni, we need to go capture him before-” Blue’s annoyance grew as he was cut off, and all three trainers slowly went for their pokemon.

“I will be sure to remove the second Giovanni when I locate him, but you must go to Canterlot immediately.” Celestia watched their faces slowly frown, and their hands moving for their containers. They faced each other off, her attention focusing on the Red one, who was moving forward to take the lead. Not realising she had tunnel vision, she failed to see the ball arc straight for her head until the moment she was surrounded by a red light.

Celestia was sucked into a Ultraball, a Pokeball with the highest catch rate, excluding the Master Ball, which fell to the ground with a dull thunk sound. It rocked once, twice, and a final time before falling silent. All the humans instantly relaxed, and Blue walked over and picked it up, holding it at arms length like it might bite him at any time.

Dismay and disbelief in his voice, he shouted, “why the hell did I do that!?”

And an issue was addressed.

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“I don’t know Lyra! It just sorta happened.” Blue turned his gaze on the group staring at him like he was stupid, which he was trying very hard to deny to even himself at the moment. Barely a minute had passed, and yet the tension had quickly vanished in the wake of a new threat that could be released with a simple toss of the hand. Lyra tried to get a handle on her thoughts, but she couldn’t help letting a stray thought over how stupid the action that Blue had taken was. Green stepped back and let them argue it out, relieved that the immediate threat was over.

“Sorta? SORTA!? How does one ‘sorta’ throw something at someone!” Lyra pressed Blue hard, and hid her disappointment he didn’t step up to her challenge. Not long ago, Blue would have brushed it off as a ‘stroke of genius’, or a ‘moment where his awesomeness helped him think of the best solution’. To be honest, Lyra was slightly worried about what had transpired in the time she had not been with this version of Blue.

“Red back me up here, what do you think we should do? Once we let her out we’ll have a literal powder keg waiting to explode.” Both turned as Blue asked Red for advice, and waited for his expression to reveal an answer. Red frowned, his gaze on the pokeball that housed the legendary. After a moment he raised his head, turned his gaze to Blue, and shrugged in response.

Blue stuttered an answer, “dug my own grave? Jeez Red, that’s a little cold.” Blue rubbed the back of his head with a hand, and glanced to the sky as he made a hesitant sound. To be honest, he couldn’t really blame Red for wanting to stay out of the ‘grave’ he had dug, especially when this legendary had shown the ability to vaporize someone in an instant.

With pokemon legendaries it was slightly different. Blue had never really thought about it before, but they seemed to acknowledge that the trainer was to never be the target, even waiting patiently as they picked a second pokemon after losing one in battle. It wouldn’t be wise to think a legendary from this world would follow the same customs

As he thought, Blue felt the stirring of an idea, he could hear the skepticism of Lyra already. Looking at the pokeball, he remembered his first time coming here, and how Lyra had been ensnared in one, and had gained feelings for Red. Blue shuddered as his own...experience came to mind as well. Surely the legendary would have some sort of link he could use to try and convey his thoughts to her through? Then again, his Gramps was always better at this sort of theory.

“Have you thought of something?” Lyra’s voice broke through his thoughts, and he raised his head and turned toward her, slightly off-put by the serious look on her face. Blue couldn’t see any sign she was going to crack a joke at the thought of him coming up with an idea. He wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that.

“Uh yeah, I think I’ve got somethin’. Pokeballs are meant to ‘convey feelings’ to the pokemon, but I never asked my gramps about the exact science. Well, excluding the love potion part because I was drunk at the time. I’m thinking if I release her, I might be able to get her to see it from our view?” Blue turned his eyes questionably to Red, who shrugged nonchalantly once more. Blue didn’t understand why Red was being so cagey today, but left it alone as Lyra spoke once more, giving a nod.

“Well, sounds like it’s worth a shot” Lyra nodded, giving a smile to reassure Blue it would turn out fine. As he turned around and threw Mewtwo out, for protection just in case, she let it fall and glanced toward Red. In the four years she had known Red, she had never seen him not help Blue out when he needed it. It was almost like he was trying to...train Blue? She shook her head, preposterous.

“Mewtwo, mind throwing up a shield just in case?” Blue saw Mewtwo nod once, and make a small motion with his hand. A ghost of a smile appeared on Blue’s face as he thought of how Mewtwo was probably trying to make it look easier than it actually was.

‘I heard that,’ Mewtwo replied in response to the direction of his thoughts, a hint of amusement to his telepathy. Blue smirked, and gripped Celestia’s pokeball tighter, feeling a shiver of anticipation down his spine. A stray gust of wind blew through his hair, and he spread his feet apart. Throwing the pokeball as far as he could, the flash of light that came out of it was almost as shocking as the sudden grunt of pain from Mewtwo.

“Wait legen-Celestia! Let me explain!” Blue was quick to hold his hands up in surrender, but wasn’t quick enough to halt Celestia’s charge. Mewtwo darted in front, grabbing the horn swathed in magic, pushing Blue back slightly as Mewtwo forced Celestia to a grinding halt. Blue could feel the strain on Mewtwo as he fought to keep the psychic/magic under control.

“Come on, surely you can sense something about what I want to explain!” Blue watched Celestia snort, leaping back and firing a pure bolt of light at Mewtwo, who absorbed the hit with only minimal damage. Compared to pokemon hits, a lvl 50 legendary compared to a lvl 70 made a load of difference.

“Tch, fine then, be that way. You know for some ‘supposedly’ royal sovereign thingie that rules the land you have a short fuse. I’m surprised ponyland is still standing.” Blue Glanced to Mewtwo with a slightly irritated glance. If this legendary wasn’t going to behave, why shouldn’t he just use force and-

Lyra’s face peeked out from the edge of his vision. She was glancing between him and Mewtwo with some concern. Blue could tell she wasn’t worried about Mewtwo or Blue being hurt, but of Celestia getting mortally wounded. Blue turned his eyes away from Mewtwo and back to Celestia, who was still furious. Closing his eyes for a moment, he debated his choices and heaved a small, barely audible, sigh.

“Celestia.” Blue’s voice had a different tone to it, and that alone got Celestia’s attention. What kept her from firing an attack was the fact he walked out from behind his monster and headed straight for her. Looking at his eyes, she could see he was well aware she could kill him right there and then. And yet, she saw no fear, only calm. Before she knew it, he was already at arms length. She glanced behind him, toward the surprised faces of everyone but Red.

“Look at me.” Blue’s voice was very quiet, barely above a whisper. And yet it reached the ears of everyone currently in attendance. Celestia found her eyes drawn to Blue’s, and before she knew it she was looking into them. What was it about his brown eyes that had her so transfixed? Before she had even realised it, he had reached up and touched her muzzle gently, making contact with the bottom of her chin.

Blue blinked, and suddenly Celestia felt as if something was passing between them. When she looked back on it in the future, she would be unable to find the words to describe the feelings that passed through her as she looked into those eyes. It was over in a moment, and they both blinked at the exact same time, as if breaking a spell. Celestia raised her head and stood up straight, feeling as if she understood a little less about these humans than she had presumed.

“This is our grave. It is our job to live with it, and fix it.” Blue’s words seemed to have an effect on the clearing, which had been surrounded by silence for a few moments. As he spoke, sounds of the forest began to return, as if sensing the end to the conflict caused by the interlopers.

“I...understand,” was all Celestia could say in response.

Thoughts of time's past on the mind of two people.

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It was a bright and sunny day in Pallet town. Rattata and Pidgey were playing in the gardens, and occasionally a Marril or Polywhirl would emerge from the water to bask in the sun. Walking toward the garden, a brown haired, brown eyed kid of five years of age watched the pokemon playing with a beaming smile on his face.

Suddenly, without warning, all the pokemon dived at the kid, who began to play with them, crying out various ‘noooo’s and ‘stop it!’ as they battle fiercely to defeat the trainer, who had no pokemon as of yet to speak of. His laughter could be heard through the town, and acted as a wakeup call for those who had yet to wake.

One such boy, who had black hair and wore a red cap, leaned out of the window to watch the scene, his expression hidden by his cap. Walking down the stairs, he snuck past his mum and headed outside so he could watch it with a better view.

As he gently closed the door, he noticed Professor Oak watching his grandson play, a knowing smile on his face. The professor, seeing that the boy had snuck out, motioned him over to watch the Brown haired boy with him.

“It’s days like this that remind me why I became a pokemon trainer, back in my day.” The professor chuckled as a Pidgey tried to make a nest in the boy’s shirt, who rolled his eyes and took it off to give to the bird. The bird quickly snatched it, and all the pokemon began to lead the boy on a long winded game of tag.

“What are you doing here, listening to me rant about ‘the good ol days’? Go and join him, go on.” Professor oak shuffled the black haired boy after the brown haired one, who slowly walked toward the slowly growing army of pokemon. When he approached, the brown one quickly tried to turn it into a competition of sorts. A few pokemon crowded around the black haired boy, preferring the calm that he held, and the smile that was freely given when he was younger.

It was barely a moment later that their mothers came out, scolding them for their idiocy, and escorting them home for a wash. After breakfast, both were quick to flee the throes of their parents, heading toward the laboratory where the Professor might let them play with the pokemon there, seeing as their mothers would scold them if they caught them playing with the wild pokemon.

It would still be another four years before something would occur that would shatter the lives of five people who lived in Pallet town.

As soon as the sun hit the window, shining on the bed that housed the brown haired, brown eyed kid inside, his eyes opened, a special spark to his eye. Leaping out of the bed, he quickly tossed on some clothes and headed towards the door, opening the freshly oiled hinges, he listened for the sounds that would tell him if his mother was awake.

Hearing nothing, he quickly snuck down the stairs and looked around, finding his mother sleeping at the table. His friend Red had a mother who had a similar problem, but they had never worked out why. It never occurred to them until much later about the fact their houses only contained one room.

Sneaking out the door, he closed it gently and glanced around, seeing the wild pokemon only just beginning to stir. Walking toward Red’s house, he raised his eyes to Red’s window, and wondered if he had remembered what today was. A sleepy head appeared from the window, and Blue had to suppress a laugh at Red’s bed head.

As Red cautiously exited his house, Blue’s exited smile prompted him to return a hesitant one in response. As they slowly walked toward Professor Oak’s lab, Red could see Blue trying hard not to make a comment about it, seeing as he wanted this to be a secret for some reason. However, as soon as they reached the trees behind Professor Oak’s house, Blue was quick to open his mouth.

“Come ooon Red, don’t make me go over this again. You’re not 8 years old anymore! Soon it’ll be our time to get a pokemon!” Blue glared at Red, who glanced toward his house, and bit his lip in response.

“Arrrgh, seriously? Look I told you, Gramps said I’m allowed on the nature track as long as I take someone with me. You are someone, we’re not breaking any rules. Well except the ‘no leaving home without breakfast and a bath’ but come on we always break that one.” Blue rolled his eyes, as if the entire situation was idiotic. Red turned his gaze away from his mother’s house, and heaved a reluctant sigh.

Blue beamed, “great, let’s go.” Turning toward the forest, Blue hugged the back wall of the laboratory until he found the small break in the trees Gramps has shown him. Carefully pulling back the bush, a clear path appeared, completely devoid of any long grass. Red leaned over, his curiosity piqued.

“Let’s go, before they realise we’re gone.”

By midday, the town realised that something was amiss. By now, the two boys would have normally returned for lunch, which was their favorite meal of the day due to the fact it often consisted of cookies. The mother’s were furious, but did not expect anything barring the usual escapades of the two boys.

After an hour of searching the regular hiding spots, anger was quickly turning to concern, and the town began to scour the surrounding area, even going into the route connected to the town. It was another hour still, when the search was beginning to become frantic, that Professor Oak found the two boys collapsed behind his laboratory. A Growlithe had been borrowed from one of the assistants for the job of finding them.

However, as the two mothers rushed to see their kids, all three nearly stopped in their tracks at the sight of blood coming from Blue. Blue was lying on top of Red, who had one of Blue’s arms around his shoulders, as if he had been carrying Blue. Professor Oak was quick to separate the two boys, checking Red for any signs of damage. He wasn’t a doctor, but it seemed Red was just tired, and was uninjured.

Blue on the other hand was bleeding for a deep gash on his shoulder, and Oak gently picked up Blue, motioning for his assistant to pick up Red. Turning to the mother’s, he spoke quickly.

“We’ve got to get them to the pokemon center. It’s not much, but the nearest hospital is over 10 routes away and I don’t have a flying pokemon on me. You can follow us, just don’t fall behind or you’ll run into a pokemon.” Oak didn’t bother checking to see if they understood, turning and nodding to his assistant, who pointed Growlithe in the right direction.

With Growlithe in front attacking any pokemon that initiated a fight, they made it to Viridian city in record time, and quickly dashed for the pokemon center, telling the nurse at the desk the situation. With a concerned nod of her head, she called for another nurse, and they took the two boys into the back part of the center.

It was a long wait, all adults hungry for both answers and news the two were ok. As the nurses came out, their calm faces did a small amount to reassure them. It was the words that followed that made them all sigh with evident relief.

“They are both going to be fine.”

It was a day before Red was cleared to be released, however he decided to stay until Blue was to be released too. Blue’s scar was easily covered by his shirts, but there seemed to be a heavier weight on his chest. The reunion with their family was full of hugs and kisses, until the two made it perfectly clear it was enough. The adults decided it was time to find out what happened.

“I’m sorry.” Blue spoke. No matter how hard they pressed, Blue would only say those two words. They turned to Red, and were frustrated when they could only get a shake of the head as a response. Even threatening to revoke their chance to train pokemon did to gain a response. Eventually, the group headed back to pallet town.

“Professor Oak? Are you going to Johto for a few months?” Perplexed by Blue’s mum’s question, Oak gave a slow nod.

“Could you take Blue with you? It’s time you and Blue had some quality bonding” Blue’s mother was quick to expose her plan, receiving a nod from Red’s mother. It was getting dangerous to leave the two together, they needed some time apart. Maybe then they could get an answer to what had happened. All looked to the two kids, surprised Blue wasn’t even fighting back. In fact, he was deathly quiet, which was almost as surprising as it was worrying.

“If that is what you want, what do you say Blue? Want to come see the Johto region with your Gramps?” Oak tried inject a smile on his face as Blue turned around to look at Oak. Watching the kid throw a glance to Red, a small sigh escaped his lips and he turned his head facing forward again.

“Whatever.”

And old scars continued to return through the night.

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After a quick discussion about their plans for the next few days with Celestia, she finally relaxed slightly, folding her wings. Looking at Blue, she realised even if she tried to stop them, they would find a way. They were obviously competent monster trainers. She supposed that was the best way to describe these ‘Pokemon’ that they trained.

“Here, you can smash if if ya like. It’s just an Ultra Ball after all.” Blue held out the Pokeball for the l-Celestia, who took it with her magic. Gazing it over curiously, she debated whether to smash it or keep it, for what reason she wasn’t sure of as of yet. Eventually, she moved it to the side so she could give Blue a hesitant smile.

“I’ll keep it for now, a souvenir of humans once you stop visiting.” Celestia watched Blue pause, as if remembering something, and casually pointed to the pokeball.

“Fair enough, just remember to take if with ya when you go to ponyville tomorrow.” Blue saw her intrigue, but decided she would realise why once she arrived to see his past self tomorrow. He sighed, glancing to the sky as he thought of his actions that day. Blue was going to blame the drink for that one.

“Well, since I cannot convince you to stop, and I cannot bring myself to engage in battle again for some reason that eludes me...” Celestia paused for a moment to take a breath, surprise on her face when Blue finished it with a nod, glancing behind him at his friends.

“You’re going to trust we know what we’re doing, thanks I owe ya one.” Blue had noticed the wary stare Green was giving him, and the sparkle in the eyes of Lyra that indicated he would have some trouble getting her off his trail.

“...Well, I shall see you when you return.” Celestia was suddenly wary of Blue. The humans hadn’t shown any ability to read minds, and seemed to have no magic to which they could cast a spell to do so. Blue turned back and gave a small wave as she flared her wings.

“See ya later.” Blue watched Celestia turn and fly away, well aware of the fact he had slipped up before. However, he sensed it didn’t matter. Celestia struck him as the kind who wouldn’t force answers out of someone by torture or the like. Manipulation on the other hand? Maybe, he summarised.

“Wow that was amazing Blue, how did you get Celestia to agree so quickly?” Blue hesitated for a moment before turning around. A large smirk plastered onto his face, he flipped open his badge case, revealing the badges within.

“If you have a certain amount of badges, all pokemon recognize your awesomeness and obey your every command.” Blue let his smirk fall for a moment, noticing the knowing look Green and Giovanni gave him. Lyra frowned, and Blue interrupted her before she could speak.

“Don’t worry Lyra, I didn’t use it like that. I--used it to bridge a gap between our minds using Mewtwo and the badges so I could--send my thoughts to Celestia so she could see things through my eyes!” Inwardly, Blue cursed himself for slipping up twice in the lie. However as he grinned, Lyra seemed to not notice, and he silently sighed in relief.

“Wow, that’s so cool!” Lyra began to speak rapidly about the things she would do if she had the badges for that, or was a trainer in the first place. While she spoke, Blue returned Mewtwo and glanced toward Giovanni and Green. So far they hadn’t spoken up, however he could tell they knew he was lying.

Then again, anyone native to the Pokemon world would know every word he had just said was a load of crap.

“Why are you releasing Arcanine?” Lyra watched as the pokemon formed from the ball as Blue returned it to its slot.

“To catch the other Giovanni’s scent. We’ve only got tonight and tomorrow to find him really. Red has to go to the battle the day after.” Blue led Arcanine toward Giovanni, who smiled pleasantly as the pokemon gave him a sniff. Barking, Arcanine began tracing a scent, heading back in the direction of the pool.

“Alright, I guess we head back to the clearing, and pick up the trail at dawn. If we ride pokemon, we should outride him within half a day.” Blue hopped onto his Arcanine as Red called out his Growlithe, and deposited the tied up Giovanni gently on his Pokemon. Sitting behind Giovanni, Red was certain to be able to foil any attempts to escape.

“I’ll ride with you Blue.” Green spoke up, much to the shock of Lyra, who sent a glare in Green’s direction for a reason that flew over Blue’s head. As soon as they were all set, they began dashing through the forest, pausing occasionally to ensure the scent was still heading this way.

“So how long have you been able to do it?” Green’s voice was never raised above a mutter, her head close to Blue’s ear. Even if the others had been closer, and not fanned out slightly to avoid trees like they were, it would have been unlikely they would have heard Blue’s reply.

“A while,” came his noncommittal reply. Green sighed softly, glancing around before returning her attention to Blue.

“You know that’s illegal, it could get you k-” Green got cut off as they leapt over a log, and before she continued Blue’s soft response interrupted her.

“I know.” Blue glanced behind him toward Green, and saw she had accepted the fact there was nothing she could do.

Watching this exchange from the corner of her eyes, Lyra felt irritation and anger over the fact Green could get Blue to talk so easily. Even now, after all they had been through. Blue would have to know she hadn’t brought the horrible lie he had told, she wasn’t stupid. But at the same time, she understood pressing Blue would not yield an answer, and would only push Blue away. Instead, she had to be patient and wait for Blue to confide in her the details.

Lyra was famous for being one of the few creatures with patience lower than Blue’s.

And a distraction begin to form.

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Waking up the next morning, Blue raised his head and glanced to the sun. Giving a rough estimate, it was about an hour or two after it had risen Glancing toward the others, he saw that his Arcanine was still bright and alert, despite being awake half the night. Red’s Growlithe had taken the first half. Glancing over to the sleeping forms of his friends, and Giovanni, he saw none were awake as of yet, however Red was starting to stir.

Standing up, Blue carefully made his way into the forest surrounding the clearing, being extra careful to avoid the duplication pool in the middle. After collecting a fair amount of sticks and twigs, he walked back and cleared a space as he placed them down to make a fire, leaving a few sturdy twigs to the side.. Blue glanced to Arcanine, who let out a short puff of flame, instantly lighting the fire.

Blue pulled off his backpack, and pulled out a small container that was full of fresh vegetables, kept separate from his pokemon supplies. Rummaging around a small pocket hidden on the back of the bag, Blue pulled out a small, clear bag of salt, and placed it nearby. Finally, Blue found a nice flat rock, and placed it in the middle of the fire, waiting for it to heat up.

Glancing behind him, Blue saw further movement as Red slowly rose, looking toward him before glancing to the sky, as Blue had done. Turning back to the fire, Blue gently placed the vegetables on the rock, satisfied to hear a sizzling sound. Pulling out two pinches of salt, he sprinkled them on the vegetables, before putting the salt away. It was not long before the smell of roasted vegetables roused the other’s.

Blue waited a little longer before picking up his stick, and poking one of the vegetables. Seeing it was hard on the outside, he poked the stick through it and brought it off of the rock, cooling it off with his mouth, before giving it a tentative bite. Satisfied it was cooked correctly, he turned toward the others.

“Breakfast’s done, helps yourself.” Blue stood up and stepped back, Red moving forward to take a stick and poke it through one of the vegetables. Green followed closely behind, rubbing her eyes as she stifled a yawn. Giovanni managed to pull himself into a sitting position, but was unable to move and obtain some, even if he had been allowed.

“Mmm, Blue you know how to cook them just riiight.” Lyra took one with her magic, swallowing it within a few bites. Blue walked back toward the rock, and picked up the remaining vegetable with his stick, turning and walking toward Giovanni.

“Here.” Blue had no trouble masking his emotions because he had none about the matter. It would be wrong to let Giovanni starve, that was all there was on the matter. Giovanni finished it off quickly, not wanting to extend the time they interacted any more than Blue. As Blue turned away to rejoin the others, Giovanni opened his mouth to let out one final quip.

“Why thank you, Blue.” The way Giovanni said it was enough to send a shiver down Blue’s spine, but he held it in. It was what Giovanni wanted, and Blue was not about to give it to him.

“So, we ready to head out?” Blue glanced to all three, who each nodded in turn. Pulling Giovanni to his feet, Blue waited for Arcanine to find the scent once more. Once finding it, she began to walk in the direction the scent was leading, pausing to glance back and make sure they were following.

Lyra walked beside Arcanine, muttering to herself about something Blue couldn’t hear from where he was walking. It sounded like she was highly irritated about it. Red and Green were walking slightly behind Lyra, holding hands as Green talked to Red. Blue walked beside Giovanni, pushing him every now and then as he tried to dawdle behind the others.

“You know, I can’t help but wonder how one who has your...talent with pokemon is always stuck second to Red. I can’t help but wonder if he too possesses some ability that is far greater than your own.” Giovanni didn’t attempt to hide his true intentions, and Blue would have seen through them even if he hadn’t. He was trying to goad Blue into action.

“That’s none of your business.” Blue was tired of Giovanni, and he was tired of the whole Giovanni situation. If it wasn’t manipulation, it was stealing a device to try and take control of an entirely different world. Why should he have to deal with it? That was Red’s job. Although, to be fair, it was kinda his fault Red had to deal with it.

“I see, I see. It seems you had some sort of breakthrough then, maybe you found something you had beaten Red at?” Giovanni’s tone suggested he knew more than he was letting on, and Blue found it harder and harder to just keep his eyes forward, finding a special section between Giovanni and Red where he could look at neither of them.

“Seems like it,” he replied nonchalantly. Blue wanted to narrow his eyes at Giovanni, and ask where he was going with this, but that would just egg him on. Blue had always wondered how Giovanni had known so much about his life in the first place. Had he met him once while at a meeting with his grandfather?

“Would this breakthrough happen to have anything to do with my Mewtwo, who just so happens to be currently in your possession?” Giovanni’s smile grew as he saw the pause in Blue’s step. He continued without missing a beat, but the pause had been there.

“I don’t see how that is any of your business.” Blue tried to keep the closely-guarded tone out of his voice, aiming for the same nonchalant tone he had used for the question about Red.

“Ah yes, that is true. I am just so glad to hear you are proud to have defeated a weakened pokemon” Giovanni stopped walking a step after Blue did. It was all quiet for a moment, the only sounds coming from the others as they slowly got farther and farther away.

“How do you know about my fight with Mewtwo in the first place?” Blue turned to face Giovanni, eyes narrowing to pinpricks.

“Do you really think I would let the first man-made pokemon roam free without some sort of surveillance?” Giovanni's words made sense, and as much as Blue hated to admit it, he wasn’t much of a liar.

“I defeated Mewtwo with all of my power, at his full power.” Blue was certain of this fact. It had been a tough battle, too tough to be him already weakened.

“That is where you are wrong. I have video recordings of your battle, showing the vitals of Mewtwo before you battle, which happened shortly after Red’s.” Giovanni motioned to his pocket, and Blue reached in and pulled out a small device, listing Mewtwo’s vitals as well as a current feed of what Mewtwo was seeing. Blue entered the date and time of his battle, and rewound it until he found the end of Red’s battle with Mewtwo.

The battle had ended with little trouble, Red being the obvious victor. Red glanced down at MewTwo, before pulling out a ball and releasing a pokemon which knew dig, and vanishing into a hole that quickly caved in behind them. Blue saw the vitals recover so they were about 50% of their max, and saw himself enter. Blue slipped the device back into Giovanni’s pocket, and sighed.

“What are you getting at Giovanni? That I need Red to hold my hand to defeat a legendary?” Blue rubbed his forehead, feeling a weight he had thought gone slowly rest on his shoulders again. When this was over, he was going to need a vacation. A fair distance ahead, the other’s paused, as if realising they were gone.

“No no, it is actually something quite different. Tell me something Blue, what would have happened if Mewtwo had already been captured by Red?” Giovanni noticed Red coming toward them, taking a step slightly to the right so that Blue was less likely to notice Red coming.

“I would not have Mewtwo?” Blue frowned as Giovanni moved, but was quickly distracted as his thoughts tried to prepare for whatever bomb Giovanni was preparing to throw.

“And what if Red had not come and taken the Champion title, mere minutes after you received it?” Giovanni saw Red break into a run, as if sensing the conclusion of this talk.

“I would still be Champio-Look what does this have to do with Red defeating Mewtwo before me?” Blue wanted this over and done with. By now the others would have noticed him missing, and were probably on their way back. If Giovanni was done clawing at old wounds he-

“Tell me something Blue. Is there any achievement in your life, that has not been overshadowed by Red? Any moment in which, if Red had decided to do things differently, you would have been better off?” Giovanni smiled, seeing Blue actually pause to think about it. Seeing the frown form on his face, Giovanni continued, leaning in as he spoke.

“I know for a fact Mewtwo is a very high maintenance pokemon, someone a lot of people would have trouble dealing with. So much so, he is often released a week after being captured, despite the trophy he is.” Watching as everything slowly ground to a halt, Giovanni saw a hint of understanding enter Blue’s eyes, and leaned in further, getting eye contact, as he delivered the final blow.

“That’s right Blue! You’re Red’s garbage can! Anything he wants that you have, he takes, and all you get stuck with his leftovers!”

With things becoming more serious.

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“I mean why can’t he tell me about it. Does he think I wouldn’t support him or something? I swear, one of these days I should give him a solid kick.” Lyra muttered to Arcanine in a low voice, so that Red and Green behind her would not hear. Arcanine nodded his head. Lyra knew the pokemon was pretending, however she needed to let off steam.

“Green gets to talk to him about something. Why can’t I? It’s because I’m a pony isn’t it. He doesn’t see me as his equal.” Lyra growled, feeling a surge of misplaced anger. Even in his world, she had been seen as merely a pokemon, and nothing more. After four years of it, she had gotten used to the stigma, but it still irritated her.

“Red, what do you think?” Raising her voice, Lyra forgot she had been speaking quietly to herself all this time. Seeing Red blink, he quickly, maybe a little bit too quickly, shrugged in response. Lyra snorted, glancing between them with a look a few degrees off a glare. Lyra knew it was wrong to misplace her anger at them, but some of it leaked to the surface.

“What’s wrong Lyra?” Green took a step forward, and they paused in walking. Lyra glanced to Green, before narrowing her eyes and glancing behind them toward Blue. However Blue was nearly hidden, a fair distance behind them.

“Oh,” she commented, gaining the attention of the other two, who turned to see what had gotten her attention. Lyra saw Blue facing Giovanni, but he was too far away to see his face. Before Lyra could comment on it, she saw Red begin to walk back toward them, before breaking out into a run. Glancing to Green, who mirrored her shock, they both dashed after Red.

Closing in, Lyra finally saw Blue’s face. His eyes were slightly widened, as if he had just realised something. Red was closing in fast, but as Giovanni opened his mouth, it would be too late to stop the next sentence.

“That’s right Blue! You’re Red’s garbage can! Anything he wants that you have, he takes, and all you get stuck with his leftovers!” The second Giovanni finished speaking, Red intervened. Pushing Blue to the side, who barely responded, he clenched his fist and swung. Giovanni had just enough time to smile, as if he had just won the lottery. At least, up until the moment Red’s fist hit his face.

Red grabbed Giovanni by the scruff, pushing him, hard, against a tree and narrowing his eyes as he leaned in to deliver another blow. Lyra could see the barely controlled anger hidden behind those eyes. And for the second time since meeting Red, she felt a chill travel up her spine.

“You know the funny thing Red? You’re probably just mad he found out.” Giovanni’s voice was slurred, and he spat a tooth out, his grin returning to his face. Red’s eyes narrowed to slits, and he leaned back, and headbutted Giovanni with as much force as he could muster. Giovanni winced under the impact, but continued.

“Do what you want to me Red, but you know well enough that I’m not going to stop. What has being merciful ever brought you?” Giovanni moved his head to the side as Red aimed another punch, managing to deflect the brunt of the attack onto the tree behind him, leaving a sizable dent in it.

“Missed me.” Giovanni smiled once more. However this time, the smile never reached his eyes, which were narrowed, almost to the same degree Red’s were. His voice was low, and the challenge was clear.

Red’s hands slipped from Giovanni’s clothes, and slowly closed around his neck.

“Uh, Red? Maybe you should stop now.” Lyra slowly walked toward Red, ignoring the shudders sweeping down her back as she hesitantly touched Red.

Red ignored her.

“Red, seriously, that’s enough.” Lyra grew a little more forceful as Giovanni began to gasp for breath. Pushing Red with a careful amount of strength, trying to keep her ‘pokemon instincts’ to use all her power buried.

“Red! Stop!” Lyra began to use more force, and thought for a moment she had been finally noticed as Red removed one of his hands. However as she was pushed away, hard, she realised Red was not going to listen to her. Glancing around rapidly for help, she realised Green was missing as well. Running quickly to Blue, she began to shake him gently, by pokemon standards, to try and get him to react.

“Blue! Help me! Red’s about to kill Giovanni and I think that’s probably a very very bad idea!” Lyra didn’t understand why she felt this way, but as she glanced to Red, who was still holding Giovanni, who had begun to lose consciousness, she felt the shivers down her spine intensify. Seeing Blue still unresponsive, she screamed loudly, and pushed him as hard as she could.

Blue blinked, and began flailing his arms to try and stop himself from falling. However, failing that, he fell down, landing on his back as a small, flat stone hit the back of his head. Rubbing the back of his head, he stood back up and stifled his cry of pain, glancing to Lyra. Taking one glance into the wide eyed gaze she gave him, Blue turned his gaze toward Red, eyes widening in response.

Blue walked the few steps to Red’s side, and glanced at Red’s eyes, before sighing and closing his own. Raising his fist, he opened his eyes and swung it at Red’s face, the sound of a dull impact echoing through the clearing. Lyra could tell Blue had put no force behind it, and watched as Blue held it there, blocking Red’s face.

Lyra’s eyes widened as Red slowly took his hands off Giovanni, who fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Watching Giovanni for a split second, she saw his eyes cloud over as he slipped into unconsciousness There was something about the way he slumped, almost as if he was disappointed, which perplexed her.

Red slowly turned to look towards Blue, who did not remove his fist from Red’s face. After a moment, he raised his own fist, and gently punched Blue as well. They stood like that for a moment, before lowering their fists, and looking at each other. However, Lyra’s attention was quickly stolen by Blue, who had started making raspberry sounds while holding a hand to his mouth. If she had of looked closer, she might have seen the smallest amount of moisture in his eyes.

And then Blue broke out into laughter.

It only took a single moment.

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Blue walked toward Pallet Town, breathing in the familiar air for the first time in what seem like forever. Eyes following a Pidgey gliding through the town, he noticed his house to one side, and saw his mother through the window. Turning, he headed for his grandfather’s lab, and opened the door.

The two scientists were inside, and they waved in greeting as Blue walked up to the section Professor Oak worked at. As he paused, glancing toward the three Pokeballs on the desk, he saw Professor Oak come in. Blue nodded once in greeting, and Oak smiled in return. As he came and stood by Blue, both turned as the door opened and Red walked in.

Red had changed very little in the time Blue hadn’t seen him. However there was definitely an expectant air about him. Glancing to Gramps, he quickly muttered about allowing Red to go first before Red came into earshot.

“Gramps! I’m fed up with waiting!” Blue brushed his hair out of his face, standing up straighter as he prepared himself to accept his Pokemon.

“Blue? Let me think…” Oak pretended to remember why he had called them here to prepare a good method for letting Red go first without making it obvious it was Blue. While he didn’t entirely understand why Blue wanted to go to such lengths, he would trust his grandson.

“Oh that’s right! I told you to come! Here Red, there are three Pokemon.” Professor Oak let a chuckle escape his lips, thinking back on the first time he had held a Pokeball.

“When I was young I was a serious Pokemon Trainer. In my old age, I only have three left, but you can only have one. So choose.” Oak motioned for Red to check out the Pokeballs, but Blue interrupted, glancing to Red with a small measure of irritation.

“Gramps, what about me? Blue watched as Oak rolled his eyes, and turned to face Blue.

“Be patient Blue, you can have one too.” Oak watched as Red slowly made his way over to the pokemon, and quickly explained what each one was. After a moment of hesitation, Red picked Charmander.

“Then I will pick Squirtle!” Blue walked over and picked up the Pokeball. Turning to look to Red as he began to leave, Blue spoke up, hand raising as he grabbed Red’s shoulder.

“Wait Red! Come on, I’ll take you on!” On Blue’s words, Red turned and faced Blue. He pulled his cap down on his head, and gazed straight at Blue. Blue felt a shiver of excitement pass through his body as they released their Pokemon, and determination quickly swallowed his being.

‘Watch me Red, I will prove to you I am worthy to be your rival.’ Blue’s eyes narrowed, and a smirk fell onto his face. Red watched Blue, and both stared at each other for a moment. And then the battle began.

‘Watch me.’

For a choice to be made.

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“It’s nice you’re in a great mood and everything, but Green’s gone!” Lyra tried to keep her voice calm as she motioned to the clearing. Blue and Red spun around instantly, both scanning the clearing for tracks, before bending down near a footprint that was slightly dragged, leading into the forest.

“Damn it, he got her while we were...Distracted.” Blue stood up and turned his gaze on the Giovanni currently collapsed on the ground. Debating his choices, he wondered if there would be a method that would allow him to keep both Giovanni’s and Green. Thinking about it, he didn’t like where his thoughts had taken him.

“Red, wait!” Lyra shouted toward Red as he leapt onto his Charizard and took to the sky, vanishing quickly. Blue watched him go with a slow shake of his head. Red was unlikely to find him from above, but it was an idea at least. While Red did that, he motioned to Arcanine to begin tracking Green, and motioned to Lyra to follow. Blue picked up Giovanni like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder.

“What about Red? How will he find us?” Lyra hesitantly followed after Blue, glancing to the sky with concern.

“Don’t worry, Red can always find me. He had always been able to do so, whether I wanted it or not.” Blue attempted to keep the irritation out of his voice as he spoke. Gone to check if he can go to Victory Road? Red right behind him. Gone to talk to Giovanni? Red right behind him. Blue was honestly getting sick and tired of turning around and-

“Blue? Are you ok?” Lyra blinked as Blue visibly flinched in response to her voice. Turning, he forced a smirk on to his face and blinked.

“Couse I’m fine Lyra, what makes you think otherwise?” Blue scratched the back of his head before shifting Giovanni slightly and returning his gaze to the front.

“Maybe it’s the fact you barely ever smile anymore,” she answered, watching him miss a step slightly. Blue glanced back to her, a smirk painted onto his face.

“What? I smile all the time Lyra, it just shows how awesome I am after all.” Blue turned as Arcanine barked, picking up the scent. Sitting down on Arcanine, Blue positioned Giovanni in front of him and held on as they began to race through the woods.

“You weren’t smiling after Giovanni called you Red’s garbage can.” Lyra increased her speed so she was keeping pace with Arcanine, forcing Blue to have to either allow her to see his face, or turn away in an obvious fashion.

“Come on Lyra, do you really think anything that creep could say would affect me?” Blue turned, and rolled his eyes as his painted smirk returned once more to his face.

“Yes,” she replied, watching him closely. Watching his smirk fall and his shoulders slouch as his face turned away, she saw him increase the pace of Arcanine briefly so as to put him in front of herself.

“Yeah well…” Blue’s voice was barely audible to Lyra, who strained her ears to hear the final part of the sentence, her body nearly freezing in a block of ice at the utter defeat in Blue’s voice.

“You’d be right…”

The rest of the trek passed by uneventfully, and Blue realised they were heading in the direction of the clearing with the pool, again. Blue wondered the significance of it, as he began to clear some of the underbrush to make a fire. Motioning to Arcanine, he started it with a short burst of flame.

Red came down to land shortly after, returning Charizard to it’s Pokeball and glancing to Blue. Seeing Blue beginning to cook a small meal, he turned his gaze to Lyra who was standing in the clearing, an unreadable expression on her face. Red walked over and sat by the fire, eating the food as Blue served it out. Lyra quickly followed.

Dinner passed by without a single word being uttered between them, and before long they were preparing to sleep. Blue sat up tending to the fire as he waited for the others to go to sleep, comforted by the fact Arcanine sat guarding the clearing from any unwanted guests. Giovanni still hadn’t woken up, however he was breathing normally.

Bending his legs in front of him, Blue leaned his head down, wrapping his arms around his head as they leaned on his legs. Giving himself a single moment, he let his mind come to terms with everything he had bottled up and hidden away inside of him. The entire clearing around him dimmed as the weight crashed into him, and he found it hard to take a single breath.

Slowly, Blue began to hear the half-thought doubts hidden behind his wall, that had slowly broken over his venture in this world. Each one felt like a bullet hole to his chest, and he could barely muster the strength to oppose them. Each one rolled over him, and dragged him closer to the bottom of the ocean.

“Blue?” Lyra’s voice broke through, and he jerked upright, turning to glance to her.

“What is it Lyra? I was trying to sleep.” Blue suppressed his urge to growl at Lyra, who was half-asleep as it was. Stifling a yawn, she rolled back over, and swiped a hoof in his direction, dismissing him as sleep once more took over her. Blue considered himself lucky she had been too tired to question him further.

Leaning back down, Blue let himself fall back into the void.

Blue did not get a single wink of sleep that night.

That morning, they decided what to do. There were two major problems to deal with, and Red seemed determined to deal with Green first.

“Red, we’re heading in the opposite direction. By the time you finished Giovanni it would be too late. You gotta let me rescue Green while you go finish the time paradox.” Blue watched Red shake his head, turning to head for his Charizard, already released and ready. Red tossed the cloak over him, pulling the hood over his head. Blue grabbed Red gently by the shoulder.

“Come on Red, what’s the problem? Don’t think I can defeat Giovanni or something?” Blue saw Red glance toward him, before turning away and not answering. Blue could tell what Red was thinking, and he wasn’t sure what emotion to feel first in response.

“Red, just because I can’t defeat you doesn’t mean Giovanni’s in the same boat.” Blue didn’t let go of Red’s shoulder as Red tried to shrug it off. Red turned toward Blue, and their eyes met finally.

“Red, you really don’t trust me?” Blue couldn’t help but say exactly what those eyes told him, despite the twisting of his guts. Red didn’t answer Blue, and once more tried to turn around.

“Please Red, I need you to trust me.” Blue tried to keep the pleading tone out of his voice, but knew he hadn’t done a very good job. Once more Red glanced toward him, and opened his mouth as if to reply, and Blue knew the words about to come out of his mouth.

“Red don’t worry, I’ll keep both eyes on Blue.” Lyra stepped between them, and Blue let his hand fall to his side. Red turned his gaze on Lyra, who nodded confidently to him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. It’s only Giovanni.” Lyra’s confident tone seemed to work, because Red glanced to Blue, and gave a slow nod. Then Red turned and leapt onto his Charizard, and flew off in the direction of Ponyville.

“Thanks Lyra.” Blue turned his eyes toward Lyra’s back as she watched Red fly away. Lyra turned her gaze on Blue, and he saw her scrutinizing him, before she sighed and turned away,

“Let’s go find Green.”

And they returned to the campsite.

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Lyra followed behind Blue as he sat on Arcanine, staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression. It wasn’t normal, and it worried her greatly. Blue was the one who didn’t have a mask like Red. To see him so stone-faced was so abnormal, she was having difficulty even speaking up. Eventually however, she managed to open her mouth.

“Blue, we need to talk.” Lyra trotted forward so she was keeping pace with Arcanine, watching as Blue blinked and glanced toward her. Feeling her heart give a thud, she saw the suspicion in his eyes.

“Alright.” Blue brought Arcanine to a halt, and hopped off, leaving Giovanni sitting on Arcanine. Straightening up, he brushed his hair out of his face before turning to Lyra, waiting for her to begin.

“Blue, I’m worried about you.” Lyra decided to begin honestly, knowing Blue would see through any deceptions she tried to put up. Taking a step closer, she looked him directly in the eyes as she spoke. Blue glanced away in response.

“You don’t need to worry, I’m fine.” Blue didn’t bother putting up a pretense, it was useless against Lyra. He just wished she’d stop looking at him with those eyes though. Ponies told too much with their eyes.

“But you’re not, and you know it Blue. You were almost begging Red back there, you would never do that normally.” Lyra put a hoof on Blue’s shoulder, which he shrugged off. Even as tall as she was, she was still smaller than Blue.

“That’s none of your business.” Blue turned away once more, and folded his arms. If this was all Lyra wanted to talk about, he didn’t really want to hear it. He’d had enough bad news for a lifetime.

“How is it not Blue? Do you even know why Red was hesitant to let you go?” Lyra once more gently gripped his shoulder, turning him around so she could see his face. Blue glanced to her, closed his eyes, and heaved a sigh. Turning fully to her, he rested his eyes directly on hers. Lyra felt a slight chill pass down her spine, but ignored it.

“Because he doesn’t consider me a good enough trainer to defeat Giovanni?” Blue stated it simply, and quickly. He ignored the pain in his chest, and continued gazing directly at Lyra. Lyra flinched, eyes widening in shock.

“You can’t honestly think that, can you?” Lyra tried to read Blue’s face, but found it difficult. It was as if a large wall stood between them now. She didn’t like it, Blue was cutting them off.

“Doesn’t matter if I do, it’s true.” Blue’s voice fell slightly at the end, before he turned away once more, quickly composing himself once more. He had to face the facts, there was no point in denying it anymore. Lyra reared back, unable to keep her disbelief out of her voice.

“You don’t think you can defeat Giovanni!? Blue, are you even hearing yourself?” Lyra didn’t know what she was expecting from this conversation, but she wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. She could barely recognise Blue. Was this what this adventure had done to him?

“What do you want Lyra?” Blue turned back, and fixed his gaze on her once more. Lyra forced herself to think carefully about her next sentence, before opening her mouth, and moving forward.

“I’m surprised you could get it so wrong Blue, that’s not what Red was thinking at all!” Lyra leaned back, and stood on her hind legs as she brought her hooves to rest on Blue’s chest, leaning forward so Blue couldn’t ignore her. If Blue tried to move, she would copy his action. Blue said nothing, so she continued.

“You idiot! He’s concerned about you! Every time you interact with Giovanni he kicks you between the legs! Do you really think he’d want you to battle a fight where you might get hurt even further?” Lyra kept her eyes trained on Blue’s face as he glanced away, and bit his lip. Giving a sigh, his gaze lowered to the ground and he sighed once more.

“I don’t really see what Giovanni could say that could top his last performance.” Blue once more bit his lip, before turning back to look at Lyra. He watched the emotions roll across her face. His eyes widened slightly as tears began to fall onto his shirt.

“Blue, I don’t understand. What happened to you Blue?” Lyra hung her head, looking at the ground as tears began to fall from her face. Still holding onto Blue, she continued.

“What happened to the Blue that simply shrugged off something bad happening.” Lyra leaned forward, causing Blue to take a step back at the unexpected weight.

“What happened to the snarky jerk that took everything you threw at him and just laughed it off like your efforts were a joke.” Lyra raised her head once more, looking at Blue, pain in her eyes.

“What happened to my friend?” Lyra searched his eyes, before returning her gaze to the ground, tears finally drying up.

“His wall broke,” came his simple reply. Lyra raised her head, seeing the downcast gaze as he looked away from her. Silencing her tears, she pressed.

“Your wall? For what?” Lyra watched Blue look up, before returning his gaze to their side.

“Holding back thoughts.” Blue closed his eyes, and they twitched for a moment before he opened them again.

“Why didn’t you share them with us? We’re your friends.” Lyra saw Blue once more glance to her, before finally turning his gaze entirely to her.

“There are some things you don’t share with your friends.” Blue let Lyra absorb that, gazing at her evenly. Maybe finally she would leave him alone.

“What could be so secret you couldn’t share it with us?” Lyra felt herself be pushed away as Blue took a step back, and his face became contorted with frustrated anger.

“What couldn’t I share with you! What do you think Lyra! Maybe it’s every single agonising letter Giovanni has spoken this entire trip!” Blue grabbed his hair, and began to pull at it as he shouted to the sky.

“Maybe I didn’t want to share the fact I despise Red because Green picked him. Maybe I didn’t want to share the fact I have never won A SINGLE FREAKING BATTLE against my rival! I’m a RI-VAL, I am supposed to be on his level but instead I’m so far beneath he doesn’t even trust me enough to take on Giovanni! Giov-freaking-anni!” Blue turned his glare on Lyra, moisture beginning to from in his eyes.

“Maybe I didn’t want to share the fact I barely defeated the Elite Four, and Red swept through them so fast he caught up to me literally 5 seconds after I got the Champion title! Maybe I don’t want to share the fact it hurts seeing Red win so easily when I have to struggle to win one battle against trainers without all badges! Maybe I don’t want to share the fact I feel like a terrible trainer who can barely keep his pokemon leveling at half the speed Red is. Maybe I don’t want to share-” Blue cut himself off, and turned away, his voice growing quiet.

“Maybe I didn’t want to share how much I hate myself for being such a freaking loser.” Blue crouched down and held his head in his hands, unable to face Lyra anymore. Lyra stood there absolutely stunned, unable to even think after Blue’s outburst. As her mind began to form thoughts, she realised Blue still hadn’t moved an inch.

Lyra knew she had to think of something to cheer up Blue, but all her thoughts seemed muddled and confused. It was hard enough realising she was still standing in mute shock without mentioning the addition of cohesive thought. She took a step toward Blue, and another, before coming to a stop behind him.

“Blue.” Lyra began, thoughts finally starting to form in her mind. Blue lowered his hands and glanced to her, both ignoring any moisture present. He stood up, and looked her straight in the eyes.

“Have you ever wondered why Red is always right behind you?” Lyra watched Blue’s eyes carefully as he considered the question, before shrugging.

“Yeah, why?” Blue frowned, unsure where Lyra was going. Lyra took another step forward, eyes glinting in the sunlight.

“And why he spent so long at the top of a mountain after becoming the champion?” Lyra took another step forward, eyes furrowed with concentration.

“Well, yeah.” Blue wondered why Lyra was bringing this up, but assumed she had a point. And as she once more stepped forward and leaned on his chest so they were eye-level, he began to hear it.

“Don’t you see Blue? Red is following you!” Lyra leaned in, eyes sparkling as she revealed what she hoped would be the final key to the puzzle.

“Red has always followed you! After becoming Champion you stopped doing things that would allow Red to follow you, so he went to the top of a mountain to think to himself.” Lyra leaned in, watching Blue’s eyes widen as she got very close.

“Red looks up to you! He wants to follow you! If you do something he overcomes it because YOU set the bar! If you don’t set a bar, Red is left with no goal! Red needs you just as much as you need Red! Without you Blue, Red doesn’t have a goal to beat, because the only thing that can defeat himself is his future self!” Lyra felt a smile come to her face, it all seemed so simple.

“You don’t have to be the best, because you MAKE the best! Red would be nothing without you! You are not a loser, you make winners! You’re a perfect rival if I’ve ever seen one. If you weren’t, why would Red have followed you all those years! He would often make special trips to see you fight at your gym!” Lyra paused to take a breath, leaning closer as she tried to convince Blue of what she could see.

“Each time he saw you lower your bar slightly so a budding trainer could defeat you, but only after a tough battle, he would smile. It was the kind of smile that made me envy you! I could never earn that smile from Red, no matter how many years I was his Pokemon! You don’t realise how amazing you are Blue.” Lyra leaned closer, almost touching Blue’s face.

“And I would do anything in my power to make sure that you didn’t think otherwise.” Lyra finished talking, and looked Blue in the eyes.

And then she leaned forward even further.

In the sky, the sun shone in the clearing as trees gently brushed a breeze through it. Birds glided through it lazily, as if they had all the time in the world to glide through the clearing. Any monsters who looked into the clearing saw the guardian of fire protecting the two forms, and knew it would not be worth the battle for thin scraps. Among the trees, squirrels feasted on fresh nuts, knowing full well they would eventually have to store them for winter. But on this day, they could feast, if only for a time.

Lyra leaned back, and landed back on four hooves and turned away, trotting to the other side of the clearing. Blue scratched the back of his head, trying hard not to break into a smile. Lyra turned and gave him a smile, giving a laugh as he awkwardly motioned to Arcanine.

“We should er...Go save Green,” he spoke, motioning to Arcanine as he once more scratched the back of his head. Lyra followed him as he walked to the Pokemon, a beaming smile on her face.

“Well yeah, we kinda need to do that.” Both Lyra and Blue had to suppress a laugh at that as they once more set off into the woods.

As everything came down to:

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Red glided toward the town, pulling the hood over his head as he rose into the sky. From the ground, he would be a mere speck in the sky, a bird. As Charizard glided in to circle the clearing just outside Ponyville, Red watched the scene below unfold. Charizard growled a warning as a soft cry reached them as they glided above. Red recognized it as Blue’s, and shifted position.

Red watched as the cages, mere cubes barely the size of his thumb, were covered in cloth. Leaning down, he gave the signal to Charizard, and they began the dive. Red ignored the wind ripping at his face as he held the hood over his head, one hand gripping Charizard with amazing strength. Charizard tilted back, and gave a strong flap of his wings, before crashing into the ground, and giving a thunderous roar.

Red leapt off Charizard, and began making his way toward Giovanni. His past self obeyed Giovanni’s orders, and picked up his first pokeball. Red paused, and did the same. They stood still for a moment, before releasing their pokemon.

The battle had begun.

Blue and Lyra emerged in the clearing, immediately spotting Giovanni holding Green as she struggled to be released. Blue’s smile fell for a moment as he saw her, before returning as a beaming smirk. Lyra followed him slowly into the center of the clearing as he returned Arcanine, determination in her eyes.

“Welcome, shall we get straight to business?” Giovanni motioned to Green with his free hand, before also motioning to the Giovanni Blue was currently holding. Blue’s eyes narrowed as Giovanni also pointed to himself.

“The terms of this battle are simple. Two for Two. If you win, you get your little Green, and me. If you lose, I get the duplicate you are holding, and you.” Giovanni pulled out some rope and tied up Green’s arms and legs before dumping her unceremoniously on the ground. Blue placed the duplicate Giovanni on the ground, before turning back to the real one.

“Deal,” he replied simply. Lyra glanced to Blue, before returning her fierce gaze on Giovanni, who smiled.

“Then let us save the pleasantries, and get right to the battle.” Giovanni picked up his first pokemon, Blue following suit. On opposite sides of the clearing, they sized each other up. Blue narrowed his eyes as he began to concentrate. He knew getting distracted would be his downfall in this fight. They threw the pokeballs, and released the pokemon.

Blue did not have the option of losing this battle.

Red

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Red watched the fight from under his hood, no emotion on his face even as dust blew into his eyes. He did not bother holding his hood down, knowing it would now blow off until the right time. His Blastoise, a massive blue turtle, dodged a bite attack and launched his own in return, as if he knew exactly what their opponent was going to do next. Which, of course, they did.

Blastoise dodged a Hydro Pump, launching his own in reply. Leaping forward, he bit down and quickly finished off his opponent. Turning, he watched the ball arc toward him, and returned to his pokeball. Red pulled out his second pokemon, a large wombat-like pokemon with a large flower on top of its body. As predicted, his opponent did the same.

Venusaur whipped up a fury of leaves, blocking the seeds aimed at his feet, and sent out a light blue powder which covered the other pokemon’s eyes for a moment before vanishing. In that moment it was covered, Venusaur released his own seeds, which planted successfully. Venusaur then sent sharp leaves after his opponent, ignoring all damage as it was healed back up due to his seeds. The other pokemon eventually sucumbed to the slow buildup of injuries and life drain. Red sent out his next pokemon.

Pikachu instantly launched into a hidden power, orbs appearing around him which quickly burst into flames, forcing the opposing Pikachu to change it’s tactic to charge in and bite to call upon lightning, striking the ground where Pikachu had stood a moment ago. As Pikachu leapt forward and bit down, the enemy cried out in pain. Orbs appeared around Pikachu, and the opponent fainted as flames burned down the remaining hp.

Growlithe dug underground as a form charge his position, leaping out of the ground and dodging left as a form followed him out of his own hole. Biting down, he quickly tore away as fire erupted from the mouth of his opponent, only to be quickly snuffed out as a cry of pain erupted from it. Slamming into the opponent once more, Growlithe returned to his trainer, satisfied with his job.

After the final pokemon was defeated, Red looked upon his past self, and forced himself not to glance toward the forest. His Charizard moved to defeat the grunts, and Red let him do so, watching him release past Blue’s Dragonite and past Red’s Charizard, which had also been ensnared. Turning his attention to Giovanni, he tossed out his Blastoise, who then proceeded to Hydro Pump the pokemon Giovanni sent out.

Red approached Giovanni, and took the Master Ball, shattering it with his hand. Giovanni dived at Red, but he simply pushed Giovanni aside as he approached the cages. Finding the grunt, Red took the keys and turned around, and tossed them at his past self. With all tasks complete, Red walked one final time to Giovanni, and curled his hand into a fist, raising it.

Red put all of his strength behind a single punch to Giovanni’s face, watching him fall to the ground with a satisfying thump. Turning around, he leapt back onto his Charizard and paused, looking toward his past self as a stray breeze blew through and blew off the top of his cloak, revealing his face.

Finished that, Red’s Charizard leapt into the sky, and they quickly vanished into the forest.

And Blue

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Arcanine leapt out of his ball at rocket speed, launching forward and lowering her head to slam into the other pokemon at top speed, wincing slightly as she received some damage from the attack. The pokemon lost it’s red sheen and Blue was able to finally see what pokemon it was due to it’s dinosaur-like appearance and bowl shaped ears.

‘Nidoking, that’s a bad matchup, but I’ve had worse.’ Nidoking opened his mouth and a bright blue light shone as he charged up is first attack, and aimed for Arcanine. Dodging the attack, she was instead knocked off balance when the attack sprung outwards, forming a spiky ball before it faded. Recovering quickly, she slammed into Nidoking with her body, before leaping back to avoid the counterattack.

Nidoking roared to the heavens, who suddenly grew thick with clouds and began to rumble. Arcanine narrowed her eyes, and leapt forward at Nidoking at top speed as the attack hit where she had been standing a mere second before, hitting the dinosaur for a critical hit due to the unexpected counterattack. Crouching, she opened her mouth and bit down on the leg in front of her, before flipping her head around and biting again from a different angle. Nidoking roared in pain, and lifted her other foot.

Arcanine leapt back, but was too late and took the full force of the earthquake, which caused significant damage. Leaping backwards while keeping her eyes on the target, she panted as she tried to take a moment to recover. Nidoking took this moment to put a hand to his mouth, and smile.

“Arcanine sleep!” Commanding his pokemon, Blue overrode the attack that was coming as his pokemon obeyed without hesitation, recovering her hp as she fell immediately to sleep. As Nidoking blew a kiss toward Arcanine, a growl escaped his lips as he saw she was already asleep. Having no further cause to hold back, he lifted his foot, and used another earthquake as Blue pulled out an Awakening and tossed it.

Arcanine leapt into the air, dodging an ice beam as she charged for Nidoking once more, gnawing on the leg and launching straight into a body slam as a bolt of lightning hit her. Both pokemon roared at each other, and the battle dissolved into an all out brawl. Blue smiled, Giovanni’s pokemon has lost it’s cool, Arcanine had the edge now.

“I will admit Blue, I am quite curious how you do it.” Giovanni’s voice carried over the fighting as if it was no effort at all. Blue’s eyes flickered toward Giovanni before he returned his attention to the fight. If he wasn’t paying attention, Arcanine might make the wrong move.

“You manage to smile despite your circumstances of always being number two, despite the curve balls life throws you.” Giovanni, surprisingly, wasn’t smiling while he said it. A frown was pasted on his face as he considered it. There was no gain in being second, only first gathered top profits.

“I’m just that awesome Giovanni,” came Blue’s reply, his trademark smirk returning to his face as he continued to watch the fight. Beside him, Lyra was the only one to notice the difference in Giovanni’s emotion.

Arcanine leapt out of the way of another ice beam, and slammed into Nidoking one final time. Bruises all over the dinosaur, Nidoking finally cried out in pain, and fell unconscious. Giovanni didn’t bother healing Nidoking before returning him to his ball. Blue quickly topped up Arcanine with a full restore.

Giovanni pulled out his second pokemon, and released his second ground type into the field. Also dinosaur in appearance, this pokemon featured a cream colored horn on it’s head and was gray in color. Arcanine, who was a fire type, might be able to go against a Nidoking and survive, but a Rhydon was a different matter.

“Earthquake.” It was over in a single move, Arcanine collapsed under the sheer force of the attack. Blue returned his pokemon, and frowned as he chose his second. While he was certain his Gyrados or Dragonite would make short work of Rhydon, he couldn’t bring out his aces just yet. Beside, he had the perfect pokemon for this fight. A pokemon with only one weakness.

The ball flew from his hand, and released his pokemon. A very small brown creature that’s main feature was it’s bushy tail and long pointed ears. Blue could have easily evolved Eevee into one of many different pokemon types, but he had his reasons for keeping his pokemon the normal type.

Eevee quickly weighed her opponent up before launching into her very first attack. Fluttering her eyes, the Rhydon scratched his head before a very faint tinge of color entered his cheeks. Eevee flashed her tail as she stalked forward, and watched Rhydon lean down, before she launched into a heabutt and sent him falling backwards with a roar of pain.

As Rhydon stood back up, eyes narrowing, Eevee hid her face behind her tail, and gave a short coo as she waited to see if he would attack. Unfortunately, Rhydon wasn’t convinced anymore, and he roared loudly, his body becoming thinner as muscles formed on his arms and legs. Blue narrowed his eyes, curse would make even a single hit KO Eevee.

‘This is going to be close...’ Blue turned his attention back to Eevee as she charged right for Rhydon’s gut, hurting herself in the process as she bounced back, and flashed her tail once more. Rhydon winced in pain, and scratched the back of his head, and growled softly as the blush returned.

“Rock slide,” came the command from Giovanni as he got Rhydon’s attention. Rhydon turned to look at Eevee, and battled with his newfound love and his duty. Turning away, he could not convince himself to hurt her. As Eevee charged forward and bit down on Rhydon’s leg, he roared in pain and leaned down to the ground, picking up a large piece of the ground. Breaking it up, he then threw it at Eevee, who managed to dodge it, and launch another bite before once more leaping away.

Rhydon roared once more, and lifted his foot up to launch another earthquake as Eevee once more tackled him in the chest. His earthquake hit, and Eevee was sent flying, landing with a large and loud thunk. It was a few moments before Eevee finally stood up, barely on her feet. Rhydon felt his blush return, and felt his desire to hurt his opponent vanish.

Blue watched Eevee slowly crawl to Rhydon, biting his lip. While it pained him to do so, he could not interfere. Both pokemon were low. Rhydon might not feel the small scrapes and bruises until they hit too many, but if Eevee could just land one more hit it should-

“Crud,” he clenched his fingers as he saw Eevee be picked up by the limping Rhydon, and brought into a choking hug. Eevee cried out as pain lanced through her body, eyes closed as the breath was forced out of her body. Managing to open one eyes a sliver, she opened her mouth and glanced to Blue as she managed to bite down. Rhydon dropped her and backed away, giving a roar of pain as the bites and bruises began to add up. Eevee fell to the ground, barely conscious, and only a sliver of an eye open to prove it.

Rhydon stumbled backwards as the pain began to register, and stepped on a rock, causing him to topple over. As he hit the ground, he groaned and layed there for a moment, before closing his eyes and beginning to snore. There was a brief lul in the fight, and Blue sighed with relief. Pulling out his potion, he tossed it directly at Eevee, where it shattered near her face. Licking up the substance, Eevee quickly recovered all her strength, and stood up, stretching up and giving a single huff.

Eevee then proceeded to take advantage of Rhydon’s moment of absence by launching into one take down after another. Blue saw Giovanni momentarily glance to his bag, and quickly deduced he had no awakenings. Forcing himself not to smile, he counted his blessings as they arrived.

Each attack took more out of Rhydon than Eevee had been able to do before, and she quickly regained the ground she had lost. As Rhydon jerked awake, he roared and stood up, furious beyond measure. Swiping at Eevee, he caught a glimpse of her and stopped mid swing. Eevee continued gaining ground.

Finally, as Rhydon could not bring himself to hurt Eevee, he surcumbed to his injuries and fell once more. Eevee licked herself clean before heading back to Blue, who sighed silently in relief. Eevee was always too confident in her attract ability, it often led to problems. Blue was just lucky he knew the final attack was rest.

“I guess I should start taking this seriously then.” Giovanni returned Rhydon with a flick of his wrist, and pulled out another pokeball, tossing it onto the field. Blue took one glance at the shape forming, and quickly switched his hand to a different pokemon, tossing it out shortly after Giovanni’s.

Giovanni’s Charizard was a fearsome beast, bigger than even Red’s. With pitch black scales and a bright blue flame, this pokemon’s aggression was only matched by its rarity. Blue glanced to his Gyarados as he unwound his snake-like body and gave a heaving roar to the sky, floating slightly off the ground. Both pokemon turned to look at each other, and the fight begun in an instant.

Charizard smashed into the ground, pulling up a large rock before taking to the sky and dodging an all out charge from Gyarados, who had a shining shield around his body. Tossing it downward, the rock hit Gyarados, causing him to flinch and barely dodge an earthquake aimed at the ground while he was touching it.

Gyarados breathed in and fired a torrent of water at Charizard, who flew out of the way, barely missing his tail in the Hydro Pump. Taking the moment, Charizard gave a roar, and began to beat on his stomach, causing his body to tighten up and his muscles to bulge. Giovanni smiled, it was time to begin the counter attack.

Leaping to the ground, Charizard pulled off another section of the earth, and flung it at Gyarados. It hit, and Gyarados fell to the ground, in serious pain. Charging up his whiskers, Gyarados fired a bolt of lightning at Charizard, who cried out in pain as his muscles spasmed. The two pokemon growled, and continued their assaults.

“You know, I can’t help but wonder something Blue.” Giovanni pulled a hand to his chin and his expression changed from focussed to thoughtful. Both Lyra and Blue glanced to him before returning their attention to the fight. Giovanni was starting to sound like a broken record, he would have to do-

“I find it peculiar that is is your Grandfather and Mother that raised you, and I can find no mention of your father anywhere.” Giovanni turned his attention away from the fight as his Charizard struck the finishing blow, ending the battle and returning to Giovanni’s side to be healed. Blue returned his pokemon, and chose his next one, not saying a single word.

“Hrm, it seems you do not wish to talk about it. Perhaps you aren’t interested in discovering who he was.” Giovanni watched as Blue’s Dragonite was released, and once more returned his attention away from the fight. Both pokemon glanced to their trainers, sensing something amiss between them.

“Oh please Giovanni, you’re not going to say you’re my father or some garbage like that are you?” Blue rolled his eyes and gave a laugh, Giovanni was a fool if he thought he’d fall for that. Turning to his Dragonite, who was similar to Charizard in appearance but a bit more round and less rough and colored in a very light orange.

“Of course I’m not, I have a son.” Giovanni growled and motioned to Charizard, who gave a roar as both pokemon leaped into the air. Charizard fired a 5 pointed flame star at Dragonite, who absorbed the hit as if it was nothing, charging at Charizard and punching him in the gut.

“Then why are you trying so hard to adopt me Giovanni,” countered Blue. Charizard once more fired a blast of fire at Dragonite, who countered with a beam of ice, sending a cascade of rain down onto the field. Landing, Charizard launched more land at Dragonite, who charged forward, dodging it, and dive bombed Charizard into the ground.

“Oh don’t flatter yourself Blue, if I was going to adopt I’d adopt the winner.” Giovanni frowned as he watched the fight, Charizard slowly being backed into a corner, it would be his loss. Turning back to Blue, he quickly returned to his task. Blue glanced to Giovanni before returning his concentration back to the fight.

“Surely you are aware of the fact Mewtwo has cameras by now Blue. Did you not think about what I might have recorded in his ears, or seen through his eyes?” Giovanni watched his Charizard cry out, and faint in one final attack from Dragonite. Returning his Charizard, he reached for his next pokemon.

“Your mother has a nasty habit of talking her concerns to your pokemon when you’re away on an errand.” Giovanni tossed the ball, releasing his own Dragonite. Blue had searched many times for the rare pokemon that were differently colored, however he hadn’t found one he could use in his proper battles. It irked him how Giovanni had not only found one, but two of them.

Both pokemon looked to each other, and instantly launched into moves. Each one perfectly mirrored the other, their only difference being coloring. It would be a close battle, and the outcome would be decided by the trainer’s quick thinking that-

“I’m not interested Giovanni, take your offer elsewhere. I’m trying to have a pokemon battle here.” Blue watched the two pokemon dart around the clearing, and he looked for any opening he could use. When two pokemon with the same moveset went against each other it was the trainers that were in charge of changing that balance.

“My mistake then, Ice beam.” Giovanni pointed into the sky and shouted to his Dragonite as an opening formed, which was obeyed without hesitation. Blue’s Dragonite cried out in slight pain as ice crusted over his wing, and sent him crashing into the ground. Blue cursed his rotten luck, and shouted his own order.

“Dynamic Punch!” Dragonite obeyed Blue without question, and punched directly upward as Giovanni’s pokemon tried to Body Slam him. Both attacks met, and Giovanni’s Dragonite flew backwards, having lost the encounter. Blue pointed ahead, beaming a smile as he pushed his advantage.

“Body Slam.” Blue watched the attack hit, and saw Giovanni’s Dragonite faint soon after. Counting his victories, he has just two more pokemon to defeat. Healing his Dragonite, his smile vanished soon after. There might be two pokemon left, but those two pokemon were…

Erupting from the ball in a burst of pure light, Blue blinked the spots away from his eyes in time to see the legendary bird erupt into a rainbow of color before launching immediately into its offensive. A bright blue flame erupted from it’s mouth and hit Dragonite, who was unprepared for such a fast offensive. Ignoring the burns, Dragonite launched into a punch, which Ho oh expertly dodged before sending an orb of pitch black shadow at Dragonite, who leapt into the air to dodge it. Both pokemon raised their heads and roared to the sky. Clouds rumbled, and two bolts, one larger than the other, came down from the sky. The larger one missed Ho oh barely, whereas the smaller one hit Dragonite, dealing a significant amount of damage.

Ho oh dodged a charge with a single flap, but was unprepared as Dragonite launched right into an ice beam, hitting Ho oh on the wing, freezing it. Falling to the ground, the ice shattered, leaving Ho oh grounded for the remainder of the fight. Ho oh raised its uninjured wing and cried to the heavens, splitting the clouds and casting a ray of sunshine in a circle around it.

In an instant, Ho oh was completely healed of injuries and once more charging a fire attack at Dragonite. Dragonite barely dodged it, charging forward to body slam Ho oh, but missed as it took to the sky and fired a Shadow Ball at it’s feet, hitting Dragonite in the back. Dragonite whirled around and punched upward, launching Ho oh into the sky, leaping after it, Dragonite charged another Thunder, once more sending the clearing full of clouds. Ho oh shrieked in pain, unable to dodge it, and launching another flame at Dragonite, who wasn’t able to dodge it. Dragonite charged for Ho oh, who fired a bolt of lightning at the pokemon. Dragonite attempted to dodge, but failed to do so, and cried out in pain, before coming to a halt in the sky.

Everything was silent for a moment, the scene almost at a pause. However, gravity soon started working and Dragonite fell to the ground, defeated. Ho oh returned to Giovanni and healed itself with a ray of sunshine while Giovanni watched on. Blue returned his Dragonite and sighed, letting concern enter his face for a brief moment.

‘With that thunderbolt it would be useless sending in Pidgeot. But I can’t send out Mewtwo just yet, he’s my ace and with that shadow ball...’ Blue glanced down at the pokeball in his hand, his frown deepening as he considered his options.

“What’s wrong Blue, realising the futility of your situation?” Giovanni decided to sneak in a casual comment, trying to rush this along. Glancing to the sky, he knew they did not have much time left, and he did not want Red appearing when he could not use his bait. Blue glanced to his pokeball, and once more concern appeared on his face. A lot was riding on this battle, on Mewtwo.

“Blue, don’t forget I’m here.” Jumping slightly, Blue turned his head to Lyra, as if just remembering she was there. Blinking out of his daze he glanced to Ho oh and frowned, contemplating his options. While Pidgeot might not be able to defeat the legendary, if Lyra could just dodge those super effective fire attacks…

“Alright, just be careful,” he responded, putting his Pidgeot back. Lyra trotted onto the field, and trained her eyes on her opponent, blocking out all thoughts as the entered the state she needed to fight at her fullest. This pokemon was a higher level, and that meant she had to put all her energy into dodging. Especially those flame attacks.

“It is so nice to see you admit your pokemon aren’t enough to defeat me.” Giovanni smiled as the battle begun. Lyra quickly grabbed Ho oh in her magic and squeezed, causing very little damage but halting the attack the bird had been about to launch, and slowing down the fight. Ho oh quickly broke free and launched a lightning attack at Lyra, who barely dodged it as she moved into her second attack, forming an orb of black magic on her horn and firing it. Ho oh dodged expertly.

“I guess your team is made of leftovers from what Red didn’t want after all, I doubt you even bother training that garbage.” Giovanni began filing his nails as he payed little attention to the fight, considering it already in the bag. He paused, however, when he saw the pony pokemon lose attention in the fight and open her mouth to shout at him. Ho oh took advantage of this distraction and fired a flame attack at Lyra, who cried out in immense pain.

“Look at that, even your help can’t fight properly.” Giovanni pointed lazily with his file, before returning to his nails, watching as once more the pokemon got distracted and took another hit from Ho oh. Blue narrowed his eyes, and turned his attention toward Lyra, letting a smile fall on his face.

“Hey Lyra, what do you say after we finish here we go and grab a bite to eat?” Blue saw Lyra return her attention toward the fight, dodging an attack as she began to whip up a storm of leaves around her.

“But you hate all the food in Ponyville, you always say it tastes like grass.” Lyra once more used her magic to seal Ho oh, dodging the final fire attack. Flinching as Ho oh tried to fire another one, she smiled as she saw nothing but fumes come out of the mouth. Lyra had seen a pokemon run out of power points only a few times, and her luck had just hit a master stroke.

“Well of course it does, most of it IS grass. I don’t mind your booze though, if you catch my meaning.” Blue smiled, and let out a chuckle as Lyra merely rolled her eyes in response. Giovanni watched this exchange, and put away his file as began to notice something peculiar about the interaction.

“I got a better idea, let’s go to Applejack’s farm and head to the farthest fields and have a picnic, that way there’s no chance of you starting any bar fights, again.” Lyra backflipped out of the way of a Shadow Ball and launched her own, a smile on her face as she imagined the fight that would happen.

“Will there be booze? You know how I am about my diet.” Blue folded his arms, a pleased smile on his face. He closed his eyes and imagined the picnic. Just the two of them, having a moment where he could lower his guard and not worry about who was watching.

“Of course there’s booze Blue, I wouldn’t dare get in the way of your all-booze diet.” Lyra’s tone rose in such a way as to almost sound insulted that he even considered it. Both once more shared a chuckle, and Lyra returned her attention to the fight. Blinking in surprise, she realised, despite the fact one more hit could potentially knock her out, she was winning.

“I think I see the picture now, I will admit I’m quite shocked at you Blue.” Giovanni turned his attention to Blue, actual surprise on his face. Blue glanced to him, and quickly opened his mouth, turning his attention to Lyra as he attempted to talk over Giovanni’s next words.

“Lyra-would-picnic-work-must-a pokemon,-sandwiches-are-starving-human.” Blue winced as he saw Lyra turn to Giovanni, forgetting instantly about the fight as she pointed a hoof at him.

“And what does Blue being human have to do with anything?” Lyra leapt out of the way of an attack, growling as Ho oh passed by.

“Surely you want pokemon eggs at the end of your visit to the daycare do you not?” Giovanni smiled, and Blue gritted his teeth and turned his eyes on Lyra as he saw what had happened to him all too often suddenly crash into Lyra.

“You’re in different egg groups you stupid Pokemon, it would never work.” Lyra felt the full force of Ho oh’s shadow ball as she was crushed into the ground by the pokemon’s weight. Falling unconscious, Blue cautiously glanced to Ho oh as it once more returned to Giovanni, before heading over and using a full restore on Lyra.

“Are you ok?” Blue watched Lyra open her eyes and sit up, rubbing her forehead with her hoof.

“Of course I am, I just got slammed into the ground by a something-hundred-pound pokemon, why do you ask?” Lyra stood up and followed Blue off the field that had formed from the pokemon fighting. He glanced to her and frowned.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Blue turned around to face Giovanni again and cupped his final pokemon, giving a sigh. He had hoped he could have taken out Ho oh without Mewtwo, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“What, you mean what he said? Of course I am, what he says means squat to me. I uh-,” Lyra scratched the back of her head, “Sorry about letting it distract me.” Blue glanced to her, and returned to his trademark smirk, letting his own concerns be pushed back for the moment. If Lyra wanted to talk about it later, he would.

“S’cool, you did your best.” Blue tossed the pokeball, releasing Mewtwo and feeling a weight building on his chest. If Mewtwo couldn’t defeat these two pokemon, then he really was the worst trainer in history.

‘Your concern is unfounded, this bird is not even worth 60 seconds.’ Mewtwo rocketed forward, appearing to vanish into thin air to all three watching. Blue blinked as Mewtwo appeared right next to Ho oh, and punched it straight into the ground with a fist sparkling with electricity. Ho oh smashed straight into the ground, and turned it’s rage on Mewtwo.

Blue’s eyes widened as he watched Mewtwo end the fight in exactly 59 seconds, and walk back to his side. Lyra glared at Mewtwo with anger for showing her up, and Blue smiled awkwardly as he imagined the discussion that would happen when they weren’t fighting to save Green.

“So the final fight comes down to this, I guess it is rather fitting isn’t it?” Giovanni pulled out his final pokemon, tossing it into the air and releasing a small pokemon, roughly ¼ the size of a human.

Mew launched into a dance immediately, swords appearing around it like magic before vanishing. Mewtwo launched a Shadow Ball, but Mew dodged it and quickly launched her own in retaliation. Bouncing into the air, Mew flew toward Mewtwo and lunged at him, who dodged and launched an electric punch at the small pokemon, which hit, sending Mew flying into the ground.

Mew backfliped into the air, tossing a rapidly made Shadow Ball at Mewtwo, who vanished from view and appeared beside Mew, throwing a ball directly in Mew’s face. Mew vanished and appeared behind Mewtwo, grabbing around his stomach and proceeding to roll him across the hazardous terrain, having suffered many pokemon battles to date.

Mewtwo glowed purple, and glanced to Mew who gained the same purple glow, and was flung away from Mewtwo, quickly bouncing back and tossing another Shadow ball. Mewtwo absorbed it and quickly tossed his own, and continued tossing Shadows Ball’s as Mew dodged all but one. Mew cried out, and suddenly a glowing yellow egg appeared out of thin air, which Mew quickly absorbed, healing away all scars.

Both turned to the other, and continued.

Midway through the battle, Charizard appeared overhead and landed in the far side of the clearing, and Red leapt off and returned his pokemon. Blue waved his hand in greeting, keeping his eyes glued to the fight. Giovanni didn't even glance away from the fight.

“Hey Red, you’re back quick.” Lyra trotted over to greed Red, but was surprised when he passed her and headed directly for the fight. He paused, and glanced back to her, before returning his eyes to the fight. Lyra rolled her eyes, but accepted Red’s apology and joined the others in watching the fight.

Suddenly, a bright flash occurred, and all quickly rubbed their eyes, trying to clear the blindness. Blue was the first to see, and as he looked into the arena he blinked, trying to keep the shock from his face.

Mewtwo stood tall and proud, with Mew at his feet.

“I won.” Blue tried to absorb the fact he had won, but found his brain wouldn't accept it. Blue had won many times at the gym, defeating trainers to help them grow before relenting and giving them a hard won victory, but this was the first time he was surprised he had won. But he knew he had to win this battle, so why had he not expected it?

Giovanni growled in annoyance, before shrugging in indifference and walking over to them. When this was over, he would have the final say, he would make sure of it. Blue might have hidden his ability well, but Mewtwo had seen it in action, and that meant Giovanni had also seen it.

Lyra grabbed Blue’s hand and shook it heartily, congratulating him. Choosing to ignore the surprised expression on Blue’s face, she instead spoke of how she liked his underdog victory, as if he had planned it.

Red merely blinked.

Blue shook his head, and turned his attention to Giovanni as he approached, undoing the bonds on Green as he came to stand beside them. Green rushed to Red, hugging him and saying how great it was to see him. Green hated the fact she had been a ‘damsel’ and swore to herself in the next battle she would not allow herself to be so useless.

“Yes Blue, against all odds, you won the battle.” Giovanni held out the rope, which Blue took, and then his hands. As they were bound, Giovanni thought about his next course of action. He had hoped it would not come to this, but such was the way of final plans.

Blue’s face was emotionless for a moment longer as he finished tying up Giovanni and turned to look at everyone.

And then he smirked.

“Well of course I did, I’m just that awesome.” Lyra chuckled, rolling her eyes, and Green gave a warm smile. However both faded as they saw Red step forward and stand eye to eye with Blue.

Red pulled off his cap.

And placed it on Blue’s head, giving a smile meant only for Blue.

“Welcome back.”

Red walked past Blue, summoned his Charizard, and took to the sky.

And all problems were neatly wrapped up with a bow.

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Blue landed on the other side of town, the others following him. As they walked through town, ponies passed them a confused glance, but did not question it. Pausing as they neared the final turn, he peeked around the corner before turning to face the others. Looking to Lyra, he saw the warmth in her eyes as she gazed around her home. Turning back around, he waited for the sound of the portal closing.

“Tell my family, and Bon Bon, that I’m sorry.” Blue recognized the voice instantly, and smiled as he heard the portal close. Taking a step around the corner, he saw Twilight’s eyes widen, and let a casual smirk fall on his face. Seeing her ears flick in response to their footsteps, Blue opened his mouth to speak, coming to a halt behind Twilight.

“About time those losers left,” he spoke, watching Twilight turn around, her eyes widening further. The others spread out around him, and he saw her eyes pass over them, spending a few moments on Lyra before returning to look at Red. Slowly, an amused smile fell on her face.

“I hate to say I’m right but…” Letting the sentence hang, she watched as Blue and Lyra rolled their eyes. The new human, whom she had yet to meet, merely glanced away and scratched her arm. Twilight assumed that was because she didn’t know what Twilight was referring to.

“Please, with someone so awesome being here, you being right is barely even an afterthought.” Blue leaned up and flicked his hair with his hand, glancing to the hat on Red’s head. Of course he had given it back, he didn’t want people getting the wrong idea. Twilight rolled her eyes, causing his grin to reach new levels. Blue enjoyed Twilight, her reactions were almost as fun as Lyra’s.

“Of course Blue but I do have to ask about the three-er-two new faces behind you.” Twilight leaned toward the side, and looked at the two Giovanni’s, one looking almost like roadkill while the other seemed almost smiling with his eyes. Turning her eyes to the third one, Twilight ignored the chill that had run up her spine upon seeing those eyes.

“Well that’s Green, and those are Tweedle dum and Tweedle-Ooof” Blue winced as Lyra kicked him softly, by pokemon standards, with her hoof from Red’s other side. Giving her a glare, he ignored the sharp pain in his ankle and knew he was likely to have a bruise there later. Turning back to Twilight, he rolled his eyes and motioned to them.

“You know Giovanni. Long story short future Giovanni fell into your magic pool that duplicates stuff and the one that looks like he got punched in the face is the duplicate.” Blue glanced once more at the two Giovanni, before stepping aside as Twilight approached them. Her horn lit up and she turned to Red, opening her mouth to speak.

“So you want me to send the duplicate back to the mirror pool?” Twilight returned her gaze to Giovanni as Red gave a short nod, and cast the spell on the beaten up Giovanni. After the spell faded, the rope that had bound the copy fell to the ground with a disappointing thump. Turning back to Red, she turned her attention to the new face, to Green, and gave a pleasant smile, opening her mouth to speak.

And then a pink blur slammed into her from behind. All humans took a step back as the dust cleared to reveal their new enemy.

“Welcome back! You know I was super sad to hear that you were leaving but then I remembered the fact you had already returned and I realised that you would need a super duper party but I had to cater for your old selves first so I have been waiting for you to appear so I could throw you a great party so I am going to take Red so he can see how a party is made again now that it has been another four years and he should be more open to actually smiling or at least that is what I’ve read from the-” Pausing to take a breath, she leapt towards Red at lightning speed.

Red grabbed Blue’s arm and pulled him in front as a human shield, holding out the arm as a peace offering to the pink enemy, who grasped it with her hoof and took off down the street, bouncing up and down despite the fact she was dragging Blue along. If she noticed she was holding Blue, she didn’t care even as she bounded past some sharp rocks, which went down Blue’s back as he was thrown into the air and onto the ground multiple times.

“When I get my hands on you RED!” Blue’s voice carried the large distance Pinkie had already covered, and he was soon out of sight. Twilight picked herself off the ground, dusted herself off, and glanced to Red, raising an eyebrow. Red merely blinked in response, and she lowered her head, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Suddenly, two ponies and a large orange dog ran through the street, all pausing as they saw the group standing there watching them approach. The smaller pony, a filly with pink and purple hair, grunted as she tried to drag her newfound pokemon away from Red as the pokemon tried to approach him. The second pony, a unicorn with dark purple hair and a white coat, rolled her eyes and dragged the lead back, forcing the pokemon into a sitting position.

“Rarity, I didn’t know you were back.” Twilight trotted over and gave the larger pony a hug, who returned it and motioned to the smaller pony.

“I returned just this morning, but I’ve had my hands full dealing with Sweetie Belle’s new ‘pet’.” Rarity glanced toward the Growlithe with obvious disdain, who barked and wagged his tail in response. Suddenly the pokemon leaped forward, dragging both ponies to the ground as it leapt toward Green, who gave it a pat while she held a shaky smile on her face.

“Growlithe’s are quite easy to take care of, they just get a little over excited at times.” Leaning down, Green rubbed the pokemon’s chin, who wagged his tail in response and huffed in affection. Rarity and Sweetie Belle both stood back up, Rarity growling in response.

“Hardly, it’s been so hard keeping this furball off my award winning dresses, let alone teaching him basic commands.” Giving the leash a tug, Growlithe glanced to Rarity, before returning his gaze to Green with a enthusiastic was of his tail. Green stood up, and held out a hand as she motioned to the pokemon.

“I work at a Daycare center for pokemon, I could teach you how to care for the Growlithe if you want. They’re quite smart and obedient if you know how to talk to them.” Green walked over to Rarity and glanced back at Growlithe, and gently patted her leg. Growlithe leapt to her side, giving a bark as he wagged his tail. Seeing the obvious results, Rarity glanced to Twilight with uncertainty, who nodded in response.

“I would be a thousand times grateful if you would do just that. Would you be willing to follow me to my Boutique where we can discuss it over tea?” Rarity smiled as Green nodded, giving a wave to Red as the group left. Red glanced to Twilight, and then to the Giovanni behind him, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a phone.

“Red? Excellent, I can tell by your call your mission was a success. I’m waiting in the exact location corresponding to where you are with a group of officers who followed me back in time ready for Giovanni’s capture. Just open the portal 10 paces to your right and we’ll take him back to the future.” Red obeyed, closing his phone and pointing his PASS at the exact location specified. The portal opened, and a group of five police emerged along with Professor Oak, a tall old man with white hair.

“Don’t stay here for too long Red, this spot is only safe to use for a few more days before my old self re-purposes it for some experiments. I’ll see you when you return.” The Police took Giovanni and double checked the ropes were secure, before heading back through. Professor Oak waved quickly, taking a long look around before heading through himself. Red closed the portal, and turned to Twilight.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Twilight looked to Red as she tried to decipher what his blank expression meant, however when she could not find anything, she leaned back.

Red gave a small shrug with his shoulders, catching her attention. Twilight glanced around the street, debating what Red might like to do. Having a moment of inspiration, she smiled, raising her hoof to the sky as she remembered her friend who was good with animals.

“I know a quiet place that has plenty of animals, you might like it.” Twilight waited patiently for a sign from Red, and received a nod in response. Turning, she began leading the way toward her yellow Pegasus friend with the pink mane who reminded her somewhat of Red. They would meet up again at the party, Pinkie would find them and drag them there when it was ready.

Lyra stood in the same place she had been standing, blinking at the absurdity of her situation. Twilight had completely forgotten she was even there. Watching them leave, she saw Red glance back once at her, a question in his eyes. With a shake of her head, she watched him turn around and follow Twilight out of Ponyville. Turning, she headed down the street, passing her old home, and headed for a building marked with a small round candy wrapper. Knocking on the door, she gulped and waited as it was answered by her best friend, a cream colored mare with a dark blue and pink mane.

“Lyra?”

But there was one thing they had forgotten about problems.

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Pallet Town hadn’t changed at all in the time that had passed since Blue had become a Gym leader. There were the same houses, the same lab, the same garden. Three years had changed little, he supposed it could be considered a good thing.

Walking through the town, he put his hands in his pocket and headed for the house that stood beside his own. Briefly, he considered going to greet his mother, but he discarded the idea as he opened the door and entered his neighbors house.

“Hello Blue, Red’s not here at the moment.” Red’s mother was sitting at the table, and she turned briefly to give him a sweet smile before returning her gaze to look blankly straight ahead. Blue breathed out and glanced to the ground, leaning forward before straightening up and heading up the stairs to the only room in the house.

Blue looked around the room, taking in the bed, the basic furniture, and the TV. Stepping into the center, he glanced toward the window that looked directly into his room, and let a small smile fall on his face, before fading a moment later. Turning to look at Red’s PC, he sighed silently to himself, and turned to head down the stairs.

Blue paused, eyes widening as he saw the shape of his rival standing at the top of the stairs, watching him. Red was covered in a thick layer of snow which was slowly melting, leaving him soaking wet. They stood like that a moment longer, before Red turned and walked to his bed, and layed down on it, turning his back to Blue.

“Let me guess, another resounding victory on Mt Silver.” Blue let a smirk fall on his face as he slowly approached his rival. He noticed the small flinch, but ignored it for the moment as he stood by the bed, opening his mouth to speak.

“Maybe I should come up there and take you down a few pegs eh? After all even you can’t defeat my awesomeness.” Blue pointed proudly to himself, letting his smirk widen as he looked down on Red. It faded slightly when he heard Red sigh, and turn his head slightly to look straight at him.

Blue froze in place for a moment, before turning away and moving to look out the window on the other side of the room, opening it and leaning down, placing his hands on the edge of the window. It was a few moments before he spoke.

“You should talk to my gramps, he’s been looking for you for a while now. Says he wants someone else to test his invention, someone not as good looking as me. Can’t have something making me horribly disfigured now can we?” Blue paused to give a shaky laugh, leaning back to scratch the back of his head as he turned around. Red had already returned to staring at the wall, his back to Blue.

“If you’re ever in Viridian city, you could always stop by and show any trainers that are waiting for me how much of a loser you are when I beat you in a battle. Of course, there’s a new champion that has taken your place named Gold or Ethan or something but…” Blue trailed off, and headed towards the stairs, grabbing the wall as he glanced behind him at Red.

“Our generation is over Red. It’s time to find something new to do with your life besides wait for someone to want to battle you. Battling isn’t everything you know.” Blue walked down the stairs and exited the house, calling out his Pidgeot and heading for Viridian city. In his absence, Red turned his body away from the wall and looked at the room. Red then closed his eyes, and once more turned to face the wall. It was only a moment longer before he drifted to sleep.

Red awoke in the bed, and stood up. Checking the stats of his Pokémon, he was satisfied to see they were fully healed. Walking down the steps, he left his simply furnished room and entered the main part of his house. His mother stood at the table, she turned to face him, giving him a sweet smile.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?” Red said nothing in reply, and his mother continued speaking after a pause.

“Oh that reminds me, Professor Oak wanted to see you, I expect you want to go see him right away. But don’t go on another adventure without at least calling me okay dear? I like to know where you are.” After she smiled, she turned and went back to staring at the table. Red turned and gently strolled toward the door. She had stared at that table for over two years.

All it takes is a single action to renew the conflict.

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Blue was dragged towards the brightly colored building he had come to know was called Sugarcube Corner, wincing in pain as he was repeatedly bounced up and down. One bounce had caused a rock to hit the back of his head, and he was pretty sure it was bleeding again. Wincing once more, he was finally released as the pony dropped him to open the door.

“-And then we’ll have super duper streamers colored in the three colors, with some lighter green to show Lyra. And at the very end of the night, boosh, fireworks but indoors! Doesn’t that sound like FUN?” Pinkie Pie opened the door and turned around, watching Blue as he slowly stood up, wincing in pain. Bouncing into the building, she was pleased to see he followed her.

“Yeah yeah fun, look could you do me a favor uh-Pinkie?” Blue turned around and closed the door behind him as he quickly confirmed he had the correct name. Seeing her enthusiastic nod, he took a step back, hitting his hip with the doorknob as she leaned in close to his face. Once more, he winced in pain.

“Of course Blue whatever you say anything you need do you want a specific type of cake or is it the streams I know you like the color blue so maybe we can-” Pinkie Pie once more launched into the exact specifics of what she could do with the party. Blue heaved a sigh, slouching for a moment and glancing to the floor as he rubbed his forehead. Opening his mouth, he raised his voice and, amazingly, managed to interrupt the sound volcano.

“Could you not drag me across the ground like a sack of potatoes? It seriously, you know, hurts.” Blue gently touched the back of his head, and pulled it around to show the fresh blood flowing from his head wound. Pinkie Pie took one look at the blood, and the smile vanished from her face, eyes widening as she realised she had hurt Blue.

“Oh my gosh! You’re bleeding we need to get you to a hospital before it-” Pinkie Pie began to quickly run around like a chicken with its head cut off as she began to panic. Blue growled, and once more rubbed his forehead, and stuck a foot out, tripping Pinkie Pie and sending her sliding across the floor. Blue wasn’t entirely sure how ponies were built, but he was 100% certain she would take no damage from it. As she stood up, he was relieved to see he was right.

“Calm down it’s just a little blood, you just opened the wound it will stop bleeding very soon.” Blue once more gently touched the back of his head, and looked at his hand. It was hard to tell with the blood already on it, but he was pretty sure it had already stopped bleeding. Turning, he headed around the counter and glanced in the bakery, satisfied to see there was a sink for him to wash his hand.

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt you, I-I just got so excited and I-” Once more, he cut Pinkie Pie off, dismissing her apology with a wave of his hand as he dried the water on a nearby towel.

“S’cool, just be careful what you do around us humans, we’re a pretty weak race. Why, if we trip the wrong way we can break our necks and die just like that.” Demonstrating his point, he snapped his fingers before heading back out into the main area where Pinkie Pie had yet to move. Blue narrowed his eyes slightly, had her hair gotten less...Poofy?

“No I should have been more careful and realised you aren’t built like ponies and might actually get hurt from being dragged around town.” Pinkie Pie hid her face, giving a sniffle, her hair deflating even further. Blue tilted his head, one eyebrow raising, before shaking his head and getting his mind back on topic. Obviously dragging ponies around town, and magical deflating hair were the norm around here.

“Seriously, I hate repeating myself. I told you it’s fine, no harm no foul.” Blue pulled his bag off his back and pulled out his first aid kit, before pushing the bag to the side of the counter and rummaging in it for some disinfectant. Blue hated the stuff, but he didn’t want to risk it, what with Red apparently having caught a cold here once. It boggled his mind, how did trainers even get ‘cold’s’?

“I know but I shouldn’t have let my emotion cause you actual harm…” Pinkie Pie noticed the stuff he was pulling out of the small red and white box, and quickly trotted over, her hair inflating slightly as a small smile returned to her lips.

“Let me do that! It’s the least I can do after hurting you like this.” Pinkie Pie held out a hoof for the items as Blue turned his gaze to her, and shook his head, opening his mouth with a smile returning to his face.

“No it’s fine, I’ve done this many times with my pokemon. All it takes is one enthusiastic Ursaring hug and you have claws digging into your back leaving large wounds.” Blue chuckled slightly, remembering back to that moment. He’d woken up sore for days. Looking to Pinkie Pie once more, he saw her hair deflate slightly and frowned for a moment, before rolling his eyes and putting the disinfectant on her still outstretched hoof.

“But since you’re offering, it couldn’t hurt. Just don’t press too hard on the head wound.” Blue saw a smile once more beam on the pony’s face, and forced himself not to roll his eyes. Walking towards the various chairs set up for events, he sat on one of the chairs sideways so his back was facing Pinkie Pie.

“So I just dab this fluffy thing on the wound?” Pinkie Pie brought over the various first aid stuff and put it on the table next to Blue, looking at the bottle and fluffy white things that, in her opinion, almost looked like cotton candy. Pinkie Pie wasn’t much of a nurse, but she owed it to Blue to try.

“No what you want to do is place it on the white bottle and tip that upside down for a brief moment. This get’s the disinfectant on the cotton ball. Then you want to gently dab it on the-OW-not so hard! Ok, that’s it. It will probably bleed a bit now that you’ve done that, so grab a clean cotton ball and hold it on the wound.” Blue winced, but forced himself not to say anything. After a moment, he stood up and turned around, giving the pony a warm smile, beginning to pack up the first aid kit a moment later.

“Good job, that’s about it. I’ll just pack these up now. Throw the two cotton balls you used into the-ponies have bins right?” Blue turned, pausing in his task, and saw Pinkie Pie was looking at his back. Glancing between the two, he raised an eyebrow as she opened her mouth and shouted.

“Takeyourshirtoff!” Pinkie Pie beamed, her hair like Blue had seen it before he had spoken up, and it took him a moment before he stepped back, widened his eyes, raised an eyebrow, and blinked.

“Wait, WHAT?” Blue took another step back as Pinkie Pie took a step toward him, tilting her head and motioning to his back.

“I’ve got to do your back as well silly billy. Its probably bleeding as well.” Pinkie looked up at him, and for a brief moment Blue felt a sheepish smile fall on his face. How did these ponies know the Growlithe-eyes, the one thing he had yet to find a counter for.

“No really it’s fine, the head injury was the main…” Blue trailed off as he saw Pinkie Pie’s hair begin to deflate, and closed his eyes, slumping and giving a sigh.

“Fine.” Blue opened them to see her hair was back to normal, and turned around once more, giving a glare at the wall in front of him. Various death threats passed through his mind, directed at Red for putting him through this torture. Giving in, he sighed once more and quickly pulled his shirt off, sitting back down so the pink menace could sate her desire to ‘make up for it.’

“Oh my Celestia,” dumbstruck awe was all Pinkie Pie could respond with as she looked at Blue’s back. There were a few spots of red showing the fresh wounds, but his entire back was covered in various bite, scratches, and scars. Turning to look at one of his shoulders, there was also a deep, jagged scar, which sent chills down her spine. Blue glanced back and raised an eyebrow, shirt in his hand.

“Could you hurry this up? My awesomeness has to be contained under a shirt for your own safety at all times.” Blue smirked and returned to looking forward. Personally, he felt that was his best one yet, if not of all time. Pinkie Pie shook her head, and began dipping the small pricks of blood with the disinfectant.

“Why have you got so many? Is that normal?” Working slowly, Pinkie Pie wondered just what sort of world he must live in to have such wounds, and consider it a normal occurrence. Blue gave a nervous chuckle, and scratched his chin.

“Well not for most trainers, and especially not Red. For me though it happens...quite a lot. Not so much in recent years, but that’s just how awesome I am.” Giving another chuckle, he moved to scratch the back of his head, but paused and returned his hand to his leg as he remembered his wound.

“There, you can put your shirt back on now, I used nearly all of your cotton balls so they should be nice and good.” Pinkie Pie took the used supplies and tossed them in the bin behind the counter, missing the expression on Blue’s face as he looked to his butchered first aid kit, a smile frozen on his face, slightly twitching. Putting his shirt back on he packed up what remained and sighed, first aid kits for humans were hard to find in his world. There was only one store in Kanto that actually sold them. Turning, he walked over to his bag, and returned it to its proper place on his back with a smug smile of satisfaction.

“So what exactly did you want Red here for anyway?” Blue turned to look to Pinkie Pie, who was watching him, amazingly without emitting a single sound. Blinking, a smile once more fell upon her face and she began to bounce around the room. Blue watched this, and failed to keep his face clear of one himself.

“Well I really wanted to teach Red how to make a party since he really didn’t like baking but since I got you I thought ‘hey let’s see if his bestest best friend might be able to convince him parties are really great’ so I was planning on showing you how to create the perfect party so you can take it home and do it with Red sometime so he can maybe smile some more because that guy really needs to smile some more because it makes me sad to not see him smile but you seem more-” As Pinkie Pie talked, she headed into the kitchen, obviously expecting Blue to follow. Rolling his eyes, he followed after her and decided the easiest way to end his torture was to comply with her demands.

Blue hadn’t forgotten what had happened last time.

It had happened before.

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“It’s really about how you treat them really. Pokemon grow into their trainers feelings for them. So if the trainer trusts the pokemon, the pokemon trust the trainer thousandfold back.” Green smiled pleasantly as she picked up her cup of tea, placed two sugar cubes in it, and took a tentative sip. On the opposite side of the table in the kitchen, Rarity took a sip of the own tea and gave a heavenly sigh.

“But what I don’t understand dear Green, is why this Growlithe refuses to obey me. Sweetie Belle has no problems telling the beast to conduct all manner of carnage.” Glancing to the living room, Rarity could see Sweetie Belle brushing the coat of her pokemon, talking about her friends as if he understood what she was saying.

“That’s just how pokemon are. They only obey one person unconditionally at a time.” Putting her tea down, Green turned to look to the living room herself. However her eyes were not on the pony and pokemon, but on the various mannequins lining the walls.

“But it obeyed you in the square without hesitation, that is what confuses me.” Rarity put down her own cup and noticed the peering gaze aimed at her dresses, a hopeful smile on her face as both stood up to head into the living room. Green smiled once in greeting at Sweetie Belle, before walking to one of the dresses on display and gently fingering the fabric.

“That’s just because you don’t know how to talk to pokemon. I learned various tricks while working at the daycare that help me get other trainer's pokemon to listen to me despite the fact I’m not their owner. Is this Taffeta?” Green gently fingered the crisp, soft and smooth fabric that was the main component of one of the dresses. Rarity’s eyes lit up with stars for a brief moment before she quickly composed herself and walked to stand beside Green.

“What do you mean talk to pokemon, they can’t exactly answer back right? Yes, it’s quite hard to get, I had it shipped from Trottingham to here by Pegasus. It cost a pretty penny but I personally feel it was worth the extra cost.” Rarity smiled as Green nodded, concurring with her statement. Suppressing her glee was difficult, however as she slowly trotted over to her work station, she personally felt she was the personification of guile and grace.

“Pokemon can’t talk the way we do, it’s all about the eyes with them. Why, sometimes I almost think Red is a pokemon with how he acts.” Green chuckled to herself, following Rarity over as she danced through her many colored fabrics and pulled out a plain gray fabric and held it out for her to feel. Green could tell this was Satin, and expertly weaved at that too.

“You really must show me my dear, I am afraid I can’t fathom how the eyes of a pokemon could speak. And I really must pay you for your help with this Growlithe.” Rarity pulled out a few more types of fabric with her magic, hovering them near Green as she began to gain inspiration. Green held out her arms as Rarity did so, motioning to the pokemon.

“Well I guess if you really feel the need to, I could really use something nice to wear for special occasions. Blue and Red might not mind wearing the same clothes day in and day out, but I do want to look my best for tonight.” Green watched Rarity pull out a measuring tape and begin to measure her from all sides. With Green being a human, it would be a much bigger challenge than simply making a pony outfit.

“Oh it would be my absolute pleasure, I simply can’t ignore an opportunity as such as this. However it is going to take all day, are you sure you don’t mind standing around while I work?” Rarity paused in her measurements and began to write everything down, drawing a few quick sketches as she began to file through various designs to find the perfect dress for a special occasion. Finished that, she turned back to Green and gave an excited smile.

“Of course not, but before we do that I really must teach you how to handle pokemon. If this is going to take all day we really should get my payment out of the way first.” Green turned and kneeled beside Growlithe, sitting beside Sweetie Belle. Rarity followed her over, sketchbook still in her hand as she continued designing the dress.

“Now it’s simple, look Growlithe in the eyes, and then reach out and give him a pat on the head.” Green turned to look at Rarity as she finally dropped her sketchbook and focused on the situation. Growlithe turned his head, wagging his tail as she reached out and gave him a tentative pat on the head. Green smiled, and pointed to Sweetie Belle.

“Now tell Growlithe to give Sweetie Belle a kiss.” Green chuckled as Rarity glanced at her for a moment, before returning her eyes to Growlithe, and closing them as a coo entered her voice and she scratched his head faster. Growlithe’s tail intensified its wagging.

“You know what Growlithe? I bet Sweetie Belle would love a kiss from you. Why not go and give her one right now?” Rarity opened her eyes as Growlithe barked loudly and turned, dive bombing Sweetie Belle and proceeding to lick her face thoroughly.

“Noooo-ehehee,” giggled Sweetie Belle as she battle to keep her face clear and get Growlithe off her. Green laughed as she watched it, a warm smile on her face. Eventually Sweetie Belle has calmed Growlithe and he got off her, but as they ran out the door to play Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle herself.

“Is it really that simple?” Standing up, Rarity once more began designing the dress for Green as she made her way back to the fabrics.

“Pretty much, Growlithes are some of the easier pokemon to get to listen, so you lucked out there. Just remember to never scold him, pokemon don’t respond well to negative feedback.” Green followed Rarity over and took a seat on a stool as she watched Rarity work, a smile on her face.

“I will remember that, thank you for the help. Now, do you prefer short or long?”

And it would happen again.

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Red sat down on the floor as the yellow pegasus named Fluttershy brought in a few strange creatures nestled in her hair. A few of them looked familiar, but none he recognised completely. Twilight smiled gently, and turned toward the door.

“I’m going to go check something in my Library. I’ll see you two at the party when Pinkie Pie is ready.” Twilight glanced back to see Red nod, and Fluttershy give her a hesitant wave in farewell. As she left, Fluttershy gently held out a squirrel-type creature, who leapt into Red’s lap and chattered curiously as it glanced upward.

“T-This is a Chipmunk. And this is my pet bunny called Angel.” Fluttershy pulled out a small, long-eared creature and placed him on the ground. The bunny glared at Fluttershy, before turning and fixing Red with the same glare. Red glanced to the bunny before returning his attention to Fluttershy, who as pulling out a third creature.

“This is a Pigeon.” Fluttershy’s stutter cleared up as she began to feel more comfortable around Red, inviting some of the larger animals in as they all began to crowd around Red. If Red was bothered by the amount of creatures around him, he didn’t say anything, and soon Fluttershy was talking about the traits of each creature.

“Bobo really likes massages, and Perrywinkle prefers his grass with a sprinkle of morning dew, and-and Boris here likes his fruit with a hole plucked in it so he can get the juices out easier.” Fluttershy began hovering in the air, pointing to each one of her critter friends as she spoke. Each time she pointed, Red would turn his head to the creature she mentioned before returning his gaze to her.

“Angel! That's just plan mean.” Fluttershy landed and approached Angel who had kicked the Chipmunk off Red’s lap. Gazing up at Red, he thumped his foot a few times and pulled out a piece of paper showing a salad on it. Red looked to the salad, it looked fairly complicated.

“Angel he wouldn’t know how to make that. I promise I will make you one shortly.” Fluttershy flinched, her wings slamming into her sides as Angel fixed her with a glare and crumpled up the paper, tossing it at her head. Red glanced down and fixed his eyes on Angel, who had turned back to him. Blinking, Angel suddenly reared back and leapt into Fluttershy’s hair, peeking out from the folds of her hair. Fluttershy glanced around, all the creatures had withdrawn slightly in that moment.

“U-Uhm it’s fine, he does this all the time. H-He just get’s a little cranky when he misses his afternoon meal.” Fluttershy bowed as she backed away, before realising that Red’s stare wasn’t instilling any sort of fear in her as it had done to Angel a moment ago. Pulling Angel gently out of her hair, she bent down and motioned toward the Chipmunk.

“Go apologise, it was rude of you to kick him off Mr Red’s lap.” Fluttershy watched as Angel grudgingly made his way over and held out a hand. The Chipmunk took it, and all was forgiven. Or at least, that’s how it appeared to Fluttershy. Angel bunny once more leapt onto Red’s lap, and thumped his foot for attention, motioning to his ear.

“He-Uh-He wants you to scratch him behind the ear…” Fluttershy bent low to the ground, wings still glued to her sides. What if Red decided that Angel was a mean animal and decided to take him outside and punish him for his mistreatment of the Chipmunk. Whimpering quietly, she hid her concerns behind her hair as she watched.

Red turned his gaze on the bunny and brought a hand over to gently scratch him behind the ears. The bunny quickly closed his eyes, his foot thumping up and down as the itch behind his ears turned into itchless bliss. Red watched the bunny turn his head so as to move his arm to scratch another itchy spot, and he couldn’t resist it any longer.

A quiet smile broke out on Red’s face.

Fluttershy blinked, eyes widening in shock as her and every animal in the room gaped at the sight before them. It was as if a thousand butterflies were carrying a chariot made of gossamer that was holding the warmest, golden light in existence. This was the kind of light she would fight to protect, as shocking as the thought was to her mind. It was gone a split second later as Red noticed her gaze, and removed his hand from Angel’s head, who glared at him in annoyance.

“Y-You’re smile is so,” whispered Fluttershy as she finally stood up straight, her wings slowly unfolding from her sides as she approached. However, from one look she realised that what she had just witnessed was something she was not to speak of outside the room, and her wings folded once more.

“I-I have a similar power…” Fluttershy glanced away, sitting down as her embarrassment overrode the feeling that had remained after that event. Red’s eyes shifted to her, and she winced slightly as she opened her mouth to quickly explain.

“I-It’s nothing like yours though! A-And I only use it on disobedient animals to stop them from h-hurting themselves!” Fluttershy glanced away, still rapidly talking about how her power was nothing compared to his, and she didn’t notice Red gently take Angel off his lap and crawl toward her before sitting down.

“I-I just thought I s-should m-mention i-it b-because-eep!” Seeing Red was right next to her, her wings went up in fright and she hid under her hooves. After a moment of nothing, she raised one hoof and looked up to Red, who was watching her intently. Was...was that confusion on his face? Fluttershy shook off the thought, of course it wasn’t.

Red lifted a hand, and gently rested it on the timid pony, who flinched at his touch, covering her eyes once more. Slowly and gently, he began to pat her head, which calmed her down quickly. As her wings folded and she once more lifted a hoof to look at him, he moved his hand behind her ear and began to scratch it gently.

Fluttershy slumped as an itch she hadn’t known existed vanished and she felt his hand slowly chase it away. Closing her eyes and removing her hooves from her face, she sighed happily and leaned her head to the side as he slowly worked his way down to the bottom of her neck. Quickly losing track of time, she didn’t even notice as she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Red stopped shortly after and looked to all the creatures around him, silently blinking as night fell. Some time later, there was a knock at the door, startling Fluttershy out of her sleep. Leaping up, her wings flew open and she opened her eyes wide in fright. Eventually, she realised it was just knocking and folded her wings, leaving Red with the animals and heading toward the door.

“Hey, you’re that uh-Fluttershy?” It was the other male human named Blue, and to his side was Twilight, who was blinking sleep out of her own eyes. Fluttershy could tell she had fallen asleep in a book again. Twilight nodded to Blue, who continued talking.

“Pinkie send me to get ya’s for her party.” Blue glanced to Twilight as she pulled out a map and showed their current location. He frowned slightly, but gave a single nod as she put it away. Fluttershy turned and jumped slightly as she realised Red was already right behind her.

“I’ll b-be there shortly. I-I have to feed the animals first.” Fluttershy backed out of the way as Red excited her home. Saying their farewells, she closed the door behind her and began to feed the animals as she thought back on her evening.

Most importantly, she thought back to that moment she had witnessed the smile.

Surely I can stop being mysterious now?

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“Yes, it’s me Bon Bon.” Lyra felt a nervous smile fall on her face as her best friend gave her the once over, confusion evident on her face. Bon Bon heaved a sigh and stepped aside, letting Lyra in as she closed the door.

“I’ll go make some coffee, it seems you’ve got quite a bit to discuss.” Bon Bon had a house almost identical to Lyra’s old apartment, down to the window in the living room. As Bon Bon headed for the kitchen, Lyra took a seat on one of the couches, and waited for her friend to begin, touching her hooves together and rubbing them nervously.

“So what’s happened in the week I haven’t seen you to cause this sudden...growth spurt.” Bon Bon brought over a kettle of steaming hot water, some milk, and cups as she sat down on the couch opposite to Lyra, poured the drinks, and took a sip of her cup.

“Well uh, you know the humans that have been running around town?” Lyra took a sip of her own cup, wincing as the hot liquid washed down her throat. After a moment she sighed blissfully, she had missed Bon Bon’s coffee.

“Of course I do, you came here prattling about them before I told you calmly that if you brought them up around me again I would punish you with no coffee for three days.” Bon Bon took another sip, before putting her drink down and pulling out a bag of unwrapped candy. Pulling out a second bag with wrappers, she began wrapping the candy up, and putting it on the table.

“Well I kinda went with them to their world for a long time, and we only recently returned.” Lyra once more rubbed her hooves together as she glanced down at the candy and gulped; this was not going to be easy. Her ears flicked downward for a moment before returning to their upright position.

“Really, you expect me to believe that? Honestly Lyra, your imagination astounds me sometimes. Besides, I asked how you’ve come to grow to the size of our Princesses, not about what you’ve been doing.” Bon Bon finished wrapping 10 of the candies before putting the bags away. Pushing them into a nearby bowl, she set them on the table and waved a hoof, offering them to Lyra. Lyra took one gratefully, but set it aside for later.

“Well uh...Heh-heh. You see I might have kinda been gone for...four years.” Lyra’s ears flopped down and she scrunched her face up, awaiting the explosion. However as Bon Bon merely picked up her drink and sipped it thoughtfully, she unwound and watched in curiosity.

“If that is the case Lyra, how do you explain only a week passing by here?” Putting down her cup she stood up and began pick up the plates, moving into the kitchen to clean up. Lyra glanced down at the bowl of candy and sighed, ears falling to her sides as she closed her eyes.

“They have a time travel device,” she said weakly, knowing Bon Bon wouldn’t believe her. To her immense surprise however, Bon Bon glanced to her, once more taking in her size, and simple sighed before returning to the dishes.

“Well I’m just glad your ‘adventures’ are finally over and you are going to return to living an ordinary real life.” Bon Bon finished up and returned to the couch, and conversation quickly returned to normal subjects, such as music choice or Canterlot trends.

Lyra enjoyed spending time with her friend, despite the fact she wasn’t being believed. The main reason she enjoyed it was because Bon Bon was one of the few people that had actually put up with it over the years. She just wished that for once Bon Bon believed her.

As night fell, a knock at the door signalled that it was time for Lyra to leave. Opening the door, Bon Bon was greeted by Blue, who noticed the immense displeasure and decided to quickly get it over. If Bon Bon had been aware of it, she would have likely been grateful.

“I am sorry for bothering you, but we’re here to pick up Lyra for the party.” Blue glanced to the others as they shrugged in response, and he turned around to face the door as Bon Bon left to get Lyra.

“See you Bon Bon, it was nice spending the day with you.” Lyra waved goodbye to Bon Bon as she slammed the door on them, and winced. As she turned to the others, she saw Twilight pull out a map and show Blue where Rarity’s house was, before folding it up.

“Your friend doesn’t seem to like us,” commented Blue nonchalantly as they left. Lyra laughed awkwardly in response.

“Yeah sorry about that, she doesn’t really like strange or new things.” Lyra looked up to Blue as he shrugged, and glanced toward Red.

“How’d you two become friends then if you’re so different? This isn’t a small town after all.” Blue looked down to Lyra as she raised an eyebrow, and guessed that for ponies this was a small town. Raising his head to look forward again, he thought back to his home town once more.

“She might not like strange and new, but she’s one of the few ponies that tolerates it. She...let me be me okay?” Lyra sighed sadly as she looked away, knowing that their different upbringings would make it hard to understand how one could not be themselves, but she hoped Blue might get some of it.

“Fair enough,” he replied, looking to Red thoughtfully. Turning his head once more to face forward, he thought deeply about Lyra’s sentence for a while. As there were no ponies around, and he wasn’t cracking any sly jokes, his face was free of any smile. It was just a quiet, slow walk toward their destination.

“It’s a pity we’ve never hung out Lyra. You’ve seen how my friends act. You're free to come over anytime.” Twilight glanced behind her and gave a warm smile as she looked to Lyra, who smiled in return. As Twilight returned her eyes to the road in front, Lyra let her smile fall as she thought about Twilight’s friends. Maybe she should try hanging out with Twilight more often, they probably shared some interests.

“I might take you up on that offer sometime in the future.”

There isn't much left to go you know.

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Blue knocked on the door of the boutique, raising an eyebrow as it opened up a crack and the pony Twilight had called Rarity looked at him. He watched her look to the group behind him, before grabbing him arm and pulling him inside, slamming the door behind them. Blue rubbed his arm as he stood up and looked around at the fabric splayed haphazardly around the area.

“Green is getting her makeup on, we will meet you at the party.” Rarity saw the mess and quickly began rummaging through the fabric, searching frantically for something. Blue watched her work for a moment, before heading toward the door.

“Okay then, we’ll see you there.” Raising his hand to reach the doorknob, he paused as Rarity blocked the door and looked at him searchingly, something black in her hands.

“Quick question; you, Green, and Red are all the same height and stature correct? Just as Green said?” Rarity pressed forward, and Blue took a step back, giving a nod and opening his mouth to speak. Once again, he was interrupted as the black bundle was pushed into his hands.

“Good, make sure Red is wearing this when he enters the party. Green is planning something special and I refuse to watch as she is forced to take an undressed hooligan along with her plans.” Rarity, then vanished, appearing behind Blue and opening the door. In one swift movement she pushed him out and closed the door, leaving him looking at his confused friends. It was exactly five seconds before he looked to Red and opened his mouth, and swore.

“Lyra take the others to the party. I’ve gotta do something quickly with Red, I’m borrowing your house for a moment too.” Blue then began walking in the direction of Lyra’s house, Red following behind him unbidden. Lyra watched them go with a raised eyebrow, before shaking her head and motioning to Twilight to lead the way.

Blue tried Lyra’s door, swearing as he realised it was locked. Looking under the mat and various other places for a key, he growled once more. Pulling his bag off, he reached into the secret compartment hidden on the back where his chest normally sat and pulled out two long metal sticks and brought them to the door.

With practiced fingers, he quickly picked the lock and put his tools away, following Red inside, and closed the door. Walking up the stairs he found the spare bedroom and tossed the clothes onto the bed and motioned to them as he turned to Red, who was a the doorway.

“Put these on.” Blue approached Red as they swapped positions, Red picking up the clothes and looking them over. Putting them down he shook his head, and made his way back to the doorway Blue was now standing in.

“Red, trust me here. If you don’t put that monkey suit on, you will regret it for the rest of your life.” Blue poked Red once in the chest, and glared into his eyes before taking a step back, and closing the door. Heading to the bathroom, he quickly rifled through the cabinets before standing up and pushing his hand through his hair. Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Red in the doorway.

“Good, looks like it fits.” Blue looked over the black suit and ironed trousers as Red put on the red tie, letting it land over the white shirt that was underneath the suit. Blue went over to the tap and quickly wet his hands, brushing them quickly through Red’s hair to make it sit slightly less wild. Stepping back, he nodded to himself and motioned toward the exit. Locking the door behind him, they headed for the party.

“There you are Blue, I was starting to think you were going to miss out on your own party.” Pinkie Pie rapidly shook his hand as Blue entered, quickly spotting Lyra standing awkwardly near Twilight as she shared a laugh with her friends. Blue saw Twilight turn and say something to Lyra, who scratched the back of her head in response.

“And let this party miss out on this much awesome?” Blue smirked as Pinkie Pie turned to greet the guests arriving behind them, following Red toward Lyra’s table as they moved through the crowd. Taking a seat, Blue waved a hand in greeting as he ordered some drinks from Pinkie.

“I’m serious Lyra, he is literally the embodiment of chaos. If he can be friends with Fluttershy, I doubt someone like Giovanni could say no.” Twilight glanced to Fluttershy as she hid behind her friends, noticing the gazes directed at her, if only for a moment.

“I don’t know Twilight, Discord’s from our world and Giovanni isn’t. It might be different rules.” Lyra took a sip of her drink and glanced to Blue as he listened into the conversation, seeming to take interest in what they were discussing.

“I doubt it, but then again Dash’s old friend Gilda seemed immune, so you may be right.” Twilight glanced to the door as Pinkie moved to greet Rarity as she came through the door. As she waved to Rarity, all turned to look at the door as Green followed Rarity in. Red and Blue breathed in, almost entirely in sync.

The white dress was plain of any color, and yet the folds of the skirt portion was made up of many layers of white, giving it a fluffy, almost cloud like appearance. The top hugged the body without being revealing, which said a lot about Green’s character. Red blinked back to reality and glanced to Blue as his mouth opened.

“あなたラッキーろくでなし,” muttered Blue, glancing to Red as he gave him a smirk. Lyra tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to her, as her confusion was evident.

“Anata-whatsit?” Lyra saw Blue blink, and give a chuckle scratching the side of his face.

“Sorry, sometimes my native language slips though, don’t worry about it.” Blue saw Lyra raise an eyebrow and knew she was going to worry about it, and inwardly sighed. Green sat down beside Red, looking him over before giving a pleasant smile.

“You look nice, I see Rarity made you an outfit too.” Green raised a hand to get Pinkie’s attention, and ordered a drink of water for herself. Red nodded once and took a sip of his own drink.

“What do you mean your native language? You don’t normally speak Equestrian?” Lyra took a sip of her own drink as Blue turned his full attention to her, everyone launching into private conversations around the table.

“You don’t know? In the pokemon world this language is called English, most people speak both over there. We’re all natively Japanese speakers though.” Blue glanced toward Pinkie Pie as she began to hand out the cake, and took another sip of his drink. If anyone had known he was drinking water, they would have been astonished.

“Really? Where can I learn it?” Lyra glanced to Twilight as she began to laugh, giving a snort occasionally as she quieted down. Her mouth twitched slightly, and for a moment the desire to join them was in the forefront of her mind.

“I don’t really know sorry, we all just kinda knew it the moment we learned to talk. If it works differently for your world then I don’t really know how to help you.” Blue saw Lyra’s pointed glances and chuckled slightly, getting her attention. Motioning his hand dismissively he opened his mouth to speak.

“Go on, I’m not going anywhere.” Blue watched Lyra roll her eyes at him, and turn to join Twilight and her friends in their conversation. He turned and saw Red get up to refill their cups at the snack table. Hearing the band starting to play, Blue closed his eyes and took another sip of his drink.

“Blue, Lyra, I need a favor.” Green’s voice roused him a moment later, and he turned, raising an eyebrow as she continued.

“Lyra could you give me the keys to her house? And could you also stay away for the night? I want to have a quiet dinner with Red and you’re the only ones I can really ask.” Green glanced to Red as he began to pour the drinks, and bit her lip. Blue turned to Lyra as she pulled out a set of keys and handed them to Green.

“No problem with me, what about you Blue?” Lyra glanced to Blue, before returning to her conversation with Twilight.

“No problem with me either Green, have a lovely night.” Blue gave her a warm smile before turning to listen in to Twilight’s conversation as Red once more sat down. With both not able to see his face, he visibly winced for a moment before returning to his smirk, and taking a sip of his drink. Once more, he closed his eyes to try and enjoy the music.

Blue winced once more as he heard Red and Green’s chairs scrape, and their footsteps as they left. Pinkie was quick on the scene, but after a quick thank you she let them leave and returned to her catering duties.

Blue closed his eyes once more, and returned to trying to enjoy the music, wondering if it was too late to switch to the harder stuff.

Is it not obvious what they are hiding?

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“This cake is delicious Pinkie Pie, have you done something different to what you normally do?” Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie, who had joined the table after finishing her duties as a caterer. Most of the party quests were beginning to file out, and the musicians were packing up in preparation to leave.

“Actually, Blue made the cake, but I’m glad to hear you like it.” Pinkie Pie smiled as everyone turned to look to Blue, who nearly choked on his drink, before putting it down.

“Yeah, Blue’s a pretty good cook. You should see what he does with vegetables. He’s also tried making me hay sandwiches, but he’s still having trouble with the ingredients.” Lyra smirked as Blue gave a sheepish smile before smirking in and pointing to himself, proclaiming his awesomeness. Everyone at the table rolled their eyes, except a certain rainbow pegasus who then proceeded to argue over what being ‘awesome’ meant.

“I’ll admit I’m surprised, how did you get to be such a great cook?” Twilight finished off her slice and turned to look to Blue as he turned his attention away from Rainbow Dash. Giving a shrug, he took another sip of his drink.

“Gramps used to take me on some of his longer trips, and sometimes he would leave one of his assistants to babysit. I learned everything I know from them really, they would let me cook sometimes.” Blue looked to the PASS on his wrist, and thought for a moment on Professor Oak. What research was he doing now?

“Well it was quite a lovely evening, but I’m afraid I must retire. I will see you all tomorrow, farewell.” Rarity stood up, and bowed her head as she left, waving them goodbye. Dash and Fluttershy were quick to follow, an earth pony named Applejack following soon after. Pinkie Pie excused herself to begin cleaning up, and Twilight rose and gave them a wave.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow. Don’t leave without saying goodbye eh?” Twilight winked, and left, bidding goodbye to Pinkie on her way. Blue and Lyra stood up, and left the party together, coming to stand outside and look to each other.

“So you got any plans Lyra?” Blue looked upward to the sky and took in the full moon. He wondered briefly what the pokemon moon was like, and if there were Clefairy’s on it as the legends spoke.

“Well I saw my parents at the party. I‘m going to spend the night and most of tomorrow morning with them, but if you want we can meet up at my house for lunch. What about you?” Lyra looked toward her parents home, one of the few houses with lights on in the street. It hadn’t been a very good meeting at the party, but she was hoping to rekindle their relationship in the morning.

“Oh nothing much, I’ll probably go and sleep somewhere on the edges of that forest.” Blue leaned back and folded his arms behind his head, looking down and away from the stars.

“Do you want to come with me?” Lyra knew her parents were going to hate it, and it would ruin her chances of rekindling their relationship, but she couldn’t just leave Blue alone while she went to her parents.

“Nah, I wouldn’t mind some time alone. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a chance to. You go do family stuff, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Blue turned and began making his way toward the Everfree, waving with his hand without looking back before once more folding it behind his head. Lyra watched him go, before turning and trotting to her parents house. Blue glanced back once and saw her enter, her parents giving their daughter a loving smile despite the unusual circumstances.

Turning around, he headed out of the town and toward a large hill on the edges of the Everfree. Looking to the sky, he wondered if some time in the past someone had sat here in the rain, ignoring everything around him. Pulling out a pokeball, Blue summoned Arcanine, before finding a comfy patch of grass to sit down on, waiting for Arcanine to lay beside him before laying his head down as well.

The warmth of his pokemon quickly chased away any cold in the area around him, and he was soon comfortable despite the cold wind and hard ground. Closing his eyes, he sighed once as he remembered the loving smile on Lyra’s parents faces, and remembered his own mother, his mouth turning downward slightly.

The night passed uneventfully, despite his thoughts.

But maybe it is still hidden from your eyes.

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“Look, I don’t care how fast you think you are, nor how easily my pokemon could beat you, I am not opening my eyes and moving from this spot.” Blue hated the pushy ones. They would try to pressure you into their goal, even if you didn’t budge an inch. There were some things you could get from a first impression, even without the rainbow hair being a dead giveaway.

“You’re just afraid to put your-uh-pokemon? Yeah pokemon-Put your pokemon where your mouth is.” Feeling Rainbow Dash’s hoof poke him hard in the face, he growled and swatted the hoof away. Couldn’t she see he was busy enjoying a morning doze?

“Who is faster doesn’t really matter to me enough to prove it at this point in time as I am busy doing something else. Now if you don’t mind I would like to return to it.” Blue once more swiped away the hoof as it tried to rouse him, gritting his teeth as he heard the pony sit down beside him and begin to poke him in the shoulder.

“Come on, please? You were so much fun during that egg chase and I really want to test my mettle against your creatures.” Sighing, he opened his eyes and turned to face Rainbow Dash, and tossed a pokeball with one hand lazily. Turning back around to rest his head once more on Arcanine, he closed his eyes and made a dismissive gesture.

“There’s a Pidgeot go race around the town, have fun now leave me alone.” Blue heard Dash leave a moment later, hearing his pokemon take off after the pony. Giving a sigh, he slowly began to drift once more into a doze. Soon he would be in the magical state between-

“We did that, now what.” Dash watched Blue throw his hand up in defeat and sat up, cracking his joints and stifling a yawn. Looking to his pokemon and the pony, who said upright, eyes lit up as they awaited his answer. Slumping slightly, Blue looked to the ground and sighed, before sitting up and fully waking himself up, leaving Arcanine to sleep behind him.

“Do a triple backflip in the air with a single flap.” Blue turned to Pidgeot as he spoke, who chirped and did exactly as he commanded without any effort, landing expertly. Dash narrowed her eyes, and did the same, landing wobbly on her feet.

“Reach 50 feet in the air with two flaps.” Blue pointed to the sky as once more Pidgeot moved to obey, doing it in two before flapping once and settling to a glide before landing once more. Dash gritted her teeth, and flared her wings. Flapping her hardest, she was gutted as she realised she could only make it in five.

“Fly in the air upside down.” Stifling a yawn, Blue watched his pokemon leap into the air and flip over, trying to fly upside down. However after a few moments of being in the air, Pidgeot fell to the ground, uninjured excluding the pokemon’s pride. Dash pulled the stunt off effortlessly, looking to the Pidgeot curiously.

“Alright, hover in the air with one of those large rocks on your back.” Blue pointed toward two rocks about the size of a chair, roughly the same size and shape, and watched Pidgeot slowly walk over. Dash laughed and scratched the back of her head, knowing she wouldn’t be able to lift that. Instead, she picked up a smaller rock, one about half the size, and held it in her hooves, slowly rising into the air as she strained to hover. Pidgeot was also straining, and was unable to stay in the air for very long.

“Alright, you can stop now.” Blue stood up and stretched his arms and legs as the two removed the rocks and made their way over to him. Dash supposed the difference in their abilities was due to the difference in training, and was proud to see she had managed to keep up in the areas she personally felt it counted.

“Good job,” spoke Blue, putting a hand on Pidgeot and Dash’s head and giving them a pat as he passed. It was only a moment later that he realised he has just treated the pony like a pokemon instead of a human, and turned around to see if he was in trouble for doing so. Dash seemed annoyed at her hair being messed up, but had otherwise noticed nothing.

“Your pokemon are pretty tough Blue, but are they fast enough to break the sound barrier?” Dash grinned, wings flaring as she posed in front of Blue, who looked at her curiously.

“Sound barrier? One moment.” Blue reached into his bag and pulled out a small book, and began flipping through the pages. Curious, Blue flew over and hovered behind long enough to realise there were various science drawings and notes she recognized Twilight having.

“Right, sound barrier. The sound barrier, is the point at which an object moves from transonic to supersonic speed. Speed of sound is 340.29 in dry air… Right.” Blue slammed his book closed and returned it to his bag, pulling a hand to his chin as he considered the speeds of his pokemon.

“Gramps said Pidgeot's have been recorded as high as Mach 2, but I can’t handle those speeds with how pokemon fly, I’d get seriously hurt.” Blue shrugged as he looked to his pokemon, noticing Dash began to grin.

“I perform a sonic rainboom at around mach 5, so I’m faster.” Dash once more posed proudly, before folding her wings and coming to stand near Blue. Pulling out a pokeball, Blue returned Pidgeot and looked to the sky, taking in the time.

“I’ll admit, that’s impressive. Anyway if that’s all I really have to go, I have stuff to do before I leave.” Blue looked down and set his eyes on Dash as the pony opened her wings and turned around, saluting him as she gave a wink.

“No problem, it was nice catching up. We should really race again soon.” Dash leapt into the sky and was soon gone, leaving Blue to slowly walk towards town to meet up with Lyra. Blue bit his lip before settling into a trademark smirk, picking a building and leaning against it while he waited.

What to do what to do...

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(Warning, Twilight lecture incoming)

“Red? What are you doing here?” Twilight blinked in surprise as the form that had appeared when she’d opened the library door was in fact Red. Realising he wasn’t going to open his mouth and simply answer, her ears flicked downward and she heaved an annoyed sigh, stepping back and letting Red through the door.

“Is there something you wanted?” Twilight followed Red around as he looked at the various shelves in her library, before pulling a book out, and opening it. It was a book decrypting the anatomy of ponies.

“Oh I see, you’re trying to learn about this world. Well if you really want I can show you some of the better books. That one isn’t really that good. It calls the Tertials the Secondaries on wings. Really, I mean it is perfectly obvious what the difference is.” Twilight found herself being watched by Red, who had raised his head from the book and was watching her intently. After a moment of silence, she pulled out a different book and held it out for Red.

“This book even has a detail description of why unicorn horns curl a certain way, as it helps with magic flow. Often a book overlooks that fact but this one even goes into great detail about the magic center that we draw from, it is quite an interesting read.” Pulling out another couple of books, she quickly began to unshelve her entire library, eyes sparkling as she began to also write cue cards she could read out to Red on the subject of male and female bone structure.

“And that’s not even mentioning the makeup of an Earth pony. Why their innate magic is almost ten times stronger than a unicorn! After they get their cutie mark it then changes from raw into a more refined form which can then be used to enhance their talent even further!” Red had once more put the book down and was sitting down on the ground, listening to Twilight. Twilight noticed this and her excitement grew. Finally someone who understood the importance of study! What’s more, he even pulled out a notepad and began writing stuff down.

“And alicorn magic is even greater still! Often the earth pony magic is the weakest in alicorns because they often have talents relating to their unicorn aspects and thus their earth pony magic is then focused on enhancing their unicorn magic, which often means they actually are very weak, oftentimes more so than unicorns.

“And if we look at the strongest unicorns in history, namely Starswirl the Bearded, we can see that the stronger one’s innate unicorn magic, the weaker their physical strength. However it seems to work differently for Pegasi. Instead of the innate magic being focused sorely on their talent, they are often gifted with a certain wing strength due to the magic that runs through their body

“I’ve often theorised that this is because the magic understands that pegasi need their wings as it is their survival tactic and always set aside some of the magic to ensure they will survive being in the line of a dangerous animal. But that’s forgetting those that have a talent relating to their wings.

“Why, if a pegasus has a talent that relates to their wings it multiplies in power, much more than an earth pony’s could. That’s why ponies such as Rainbow Dash are able to go such fast speeds, if only for short timeframes. I doubt Dash would say it, but she really is more of a sprinter than an endurance flier.”

Twilight paused and leaned over at Red’s notebook, seeing he had written down every word she had said in neat, legible writing. If Dash had been in the room, he would have noticed it matched the notebook Blue had read from earlier. Twilight leaned back and scratched her head.

“I’m sorry, I get carried away sometimes. It’s just so rare that someone actually wants to learn about all this stuff. Let me make some tea.” Twilight turned and headed into the kitchen to make some tea, hearing Red begin to look through the books she had left lying on the floor. Returning, she hovered the cup near Red as he took it and took a small sip before putting it on the table, and holding out a book titled A Brief History Of Equestria. Opening it, he pointed to a picture of a pegasus she recognised as an important figure in history.

“That’s Commander Hurricane, one of the six founders of Equestria, and the only male founder. While all of the others were born into the higher positions of their societies, Hurricane was actually among the lowest ranked pegasi of the Junta, due to both his sex and the position in the hierarchy his mother held. Are you sure you want me to go over him? His history isn’t exactly...PG” Twilight saw Red nod, and picked up the book she had written herself for Celestia. Opening her mouth, she began to read.

“Born 52 BW, Hurricane was the only foal of Staff Sergeant Star Saber. Hurricane is suspected to have had an abusive home life due to being born ‘the wrong sex,’ and thus unable to carry on the family name. If true, this may have affected his actions later on as an adult. As a stallion, there were very few options open to young Hurricane in terms of a career.

“With nothing to go to, Hurricane joined with the Celestine Army as a private. He would make a name for himself for countless acts of bravery in battle, leading charges that by all rights should have been suicidal, leading some historians to speculate as to whether or not Hurricane was a death seeker at this point of his life.

“Or possibly, he risked his neck for the accolades of the mares. Either way, by the time that Hurricane reached the rank of sergeant, he had a reputation not just on the field of battle, but in the bedroom as well. It was a common practice among the commanding officers of the Junta to take one or more of the stallions…” Twilight continued the lecture, eyes brimming with delight as Red wrote down every word silently. Once she was finished her lecture, she would gift him her version of the book, one which was actually twice as thick.

Of course, Twilight had no idea at this point both would later be given to Blue to make up for his ‘date’ with the pink menace.

I guess the best option is to leave you a final clue.

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Green slowly approached the farm, looking at the slip of paper in her hand with a frown. Putting it away, she smiled as she recognised one of the ponies from last night, and approached Applejack.

“Howdy, what brings ya’ll here this fine mornin’?” Applejack bucked a tree and sent the apples into the barrels, picking one up and putting it on her back to take to the cart nearby. Green followed, looking at the apples.

“Well I was wondering if you would be willing to give me some of your apples. I would really like to take some home to eat later.” Green scratched her nose and looked away. It wasn’t exactly a lie, they were going to eat them later. What she hadn’t mentioned was whom they were for.

“I dun see why not. Help yourself to this ‘ere barrel. So ya’ll are leaving today?” Applejack watched Green put nearly half the basket in her bag, and blinked in confusion. Just how had half a barrel of the apples fit into such a small backpack? Applejack shook it off as magic, and turned to head to the next tree, giving it a solid kick.

“Yeah, sometime this afternoon. We can’t stay too long as we only have a small place we can leave here from without risk of causing a paradox, and Red says we only have a little while before that place becomes unusable.” Green hoisted her bag onto her back, and followed after Applejack.

“That’s a pity, you seem like a nice person. It’d be nice to get to know ya better.” AppleJack kicked another tree, and began once more transporting the apples over. Green walked over to one of the barrels, and picked it up, carrying it over her shoulder.

“It is, but there’s nothing we can do about it. The next time we’ll meet will be in four years and who knows how much will have changed.” Green placed the basket next to the others as Applejack regarded her, and motioned to the apple trees.

“That is a shame aint it. But for now, why don’t ya help me out buckin trees?” Applejack once more walked toward a tree and bucked out more apples, Green following. Instead of grabbing the baskets this time, however, she waited and let Green pick them up and take them to the cart.

“Sorry I’m late, were you waiting long?” Lyra trotted toward Blue a smile on her face after the visit to her parents. Blue was leaning on a pole outside one of the houses in Ponyville. Standing up, he shook his head, and noticed the hint of makeup on Lyra’s face. Blue inwardly sighed, and let a warm smile fall on his face.

“Of course I was, it was literally 5 seconds of my time you just wasted. Do you know how awesome my time is?” Blue’s smile grew as she rolled her eyes and they both turned toward the Everfree and began following the path out of it. Lyra began to steer toward Applejack’s, however as Blue paused she realised he had other ideas.

“I got a better spot, come on.” Blue turned and led Lyra to the hill she has been sleeping at during the night, and walked over it and toward a small pond nearby. Taking a seat, he pulled off his bag and began to lay out various food items and drink. Lyra soon joined him, a please smile on her face.

“Are those Daisy sandwiches?” Lyra’s glee grew when she saw Blue nod, him holding out the plate for her. Taking it in her magic, she took a small bite and instantly melted, it was delicious!

“Is it any good?” Blue’s question snapped her out of her daze, and she nodded vehemently, earning a smile as he turned away and gave a chuckle. Turning back, he pulled out a separate sandwich for himself, one made with jam instead of flowers, and bit down into his own. Both finished theirs slowly, letting the silence hang between them as they watched the pond.

“So what did you get for the drink?” Lyra watched Blue pull out a second bottle of drink and hold it out for her.

“I got you a Lemonade, that bottle’s just water.” Blue put the Lemonade down and poured himself a cup of water, taking a sip and enjoying the ice cold water. Lyra was quick to pour herself a cup of lemonade.

“My favorite, thanks!” Lyra sipped her drink slowly, enjoying the tang traveling down her throat. Blue watched this and brought out another sandwich for Lyra, who took it and began to enjoy both, completely lost in her delight. Blue watched this with a sad smile, before turning and looking to the sky.

“So I’ve been wanting to ask. What’s up with the mark on your back. A Lyre right?” Blue glanced down at Lyra as she put her drink and meal down and pointed to it, swallowing her food before opening her mouth.

“It’s a cutie mark. They appear when we realise exactly what we want to do with our lives. My cutie mark shows my talent for music, but it’s far more complicated than that.” Lyra once more returned to her meal, looking inquisitively at Blue as he returned his gaze to the sky. Following it, she saw a rainbow had appeared due to the approaching clouds.

“That’s strange, I don’t remember a storm being scheduled. It should be a nice sunny day.” Lyra finished her meal and put the plates and everything into a neat pile, which Blue put into a plastic bag before putting in his backpack, to keep the grime from getting on his backpack. He would wash them later.

“I’m so glad it’s finally out in the open.” Lyra smiled happily at Blue, who turned to her and scratched the side of his head.

“What exactly are you referring to Lyra?” Blue turned to fully face Lyra as she did the same, tilting her head before giggling and answering him.

“Our relationship! I’m so glad there’s no more confusion about it.” Lyra closed her eyes and smiled. A moment later, she leaned in closer, opening her eyes as she moved toward Blue. However, she paused when she saw Blue was looking away.

“Yeah, about that…”

Something to ensure what is obvious to me is obvious to you.

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“Don’t say it, please. I know what you’re going to say and please don’t say it.” Lyra turned away as Blue looked to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, which she quickly shrugged off. Blue sighed and slowly turned her around by force, and noticed she had closed her eyes so she couldn’t see him.

“Lyra, you know I can’t do that. I can’t lie about it, not to you.” Blue watched her slowly open her eyes and look at him, before once more pushing his hold off and turning the other direction.

“Please Blue, just for five more minutes.” Lyra’s voice broke, and she quickly wiped away her tears. Behind her, she heard another sigh and felt an arm wrap around her.

“Very well.” Blue began to massage Lyra from behind, who closed her eyes to enjoy it. The five minutes was over all too quickly though, and Blue once more turned her around.

“So how long have you known?” Blue waited as finally Lyra looked him directly in the eyes, and began to talk.

“Since the battle with Giovanni. You didn’t suggest a single thing romantic, and Giovanni’s words had no effect on you.” Lyra wiped her face and looked down as Blue looked toward the pond, and gritted his teeth, scratching his head as he tried to work out the best way to do this.

“I should have known you’d have never fallen for a pokemon.” Lyra’s face scrunched up as she tried to force the moisture from falling from her face. However as a hand went to her chin, and slowly raised her head, she opened her eyes, looking weakly at the blurry version of Blue.

“Hey now, when have I ever called you a pokemon?” Blue watched Lyra shake him off, and once more brought her face to look at his, continuing.

“Lyra, there are probably a million humans somewhere who would be singing their joy to be in the position I am right now, and a million more that are ponies, I guarantee it. You are one in a million, unique, different, amazing. And the last thing I want to do is hurt you. You understand?” Blue leaned in closer as Lyra slowly nodded, a sob escaping her body.

“Lyra, you can read my mind. I don’t know how, but you’ve always been able to do it. I would never be able to hide it from you, and I don’t want to have to hide it, not from you. The last thing I want to do is lie to you, the one person who knows the truth about who I actually am.” Once more, Blue saw Lyra nod, and wiped away her tears, looking at her as she met his eyes.

“The time has come Lyra, to answer a difficult question.” Blue saw Lyra try to turn away, and once more brought her eyes back to his, knowing it had to be asked. Lyra bit her lip, and Blue opened his mouth to speak.

“Who are you?” Blue’s first question was a simple once, however she felt the weight of what her next words meant bearing down on her like a brick.

“I’m Lyra Heartstrings,” she replied, biting back her tears as she forced herself to answer.

“And what are you.” Blue waited patiently for the answer, as she sobbed once more, and opened her mouth to speak.

“I’m a pony.” Lyra saw a hint of something pass through Blue’s eyes, but it was gone quicker than she could interpret. Focusing on his mouth, she saw his final question come.

“And where do ponies belong?” Blue released his hold of her, but she didn’t break eye contact.

“Equestria.” Lyra bowed her head, and tried to his her face from Blue. Blue turned away himself, and sat down beside her, looking at the pond in front of them.

“Then you know what you have to do.” Blue closed his eyes and clenched his fist, wondering if he had let her down gently enough. Opening his eyes, unclenching his fist, he inwardly sighed and knew there was no such thing as letting someone down ‘gently’.

“You know, you’re my first,” he spoke nonchalantly, trying to start up conversation again. Lyra wiped away her tears and quickly sat up, looking toward the pond as well, taking a lesson from Blue.

“Really? But what about all those…?” Lyra glanced to Blue as he laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, avoiding his wound.

“I’m actually surprised about that to be honest. They don’t believe a word of everything else I say, but that’s the one thing they actually think is true.” Blue saw Lyra lean back and laugh loudly, and a faint smile returned to his face. He couldn’t be sure, but maybe their old relationship could still be salvaged.

“So, do I still get the opportunity to be friends with the jerk womaniser from a different dimension?” Lyra turned to him, and a small smile returned to her face. Blue could tell she was still hurt, but she was willing to let it go. He leaned over, and brought her into a hug, looking to the sky. Of all the results that could have come, he was glad it was this one.

“Nah, friends is overrated. I’ve got something better in mind for us.” Feeling a small weight lift as she snorted once and tried to force herself not to roll her eyes, he motioned to the sky in one sweeping motion.

“We’re rivals, and don’t you forget that.”

Blue, Red, and Green had met up once more in Ponyville near the location of the old portal. Lyra and Twilight, along with Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were there as well. Red and Green walked over, and each tossed Blue something from their bags.

“Oh hey, thanks.” Blue caught the notepad and very large book, along with the bag of apples and quickly put them in his bag, noticing the mixed stares from Twilight and an orange pony. Was her name Applejack?

“So I guess this is smell yas’. You won’t see a human for four years, so don’t go making us into a religion ya hear?” Blue smirked and pointed to Green and Red as the both turned and created the shimmering white portal. Red turned to the ponies, and looked to Lyra expectantly.

“I’m-I’m staying here.” Lyra watched as Red nodded, and pulled out a pokeball she recognized from four years ago, and smashed it into pieces. Wincing, she felt as if she had just lost an important part of herself, and bit her lip as she forced herself not to cry. Red watched her for a moment, before dipping his hat and heading through the portal. Green waved to them, and headed through herself. Blue approached Lyra, and held out a large spherical object.

“What? But that’s a Pokemon Egg.” Lyra took a step back, but stopped as Blue grabbed her hoof and gently placed the egg on it, and stepped back.

“That’s a starter pokemon, I got it from a friend of Professor Oak called Elm. I don’t know exactly what’s inside, but take good care of it.” Blue watched Lyra hug the egg to her chest, and then looked to all the ponies behind her. Turning around, he gazed at the portal, before raising his hand and making a peace symbol. Stopping right before the portal, he turned his head and looked back at them.

“Smell ya later.” Blue watched Lyra raise an empty hoof and give a wave.

“Smell ya later Blue, see you in four years.” Lyra watched Blue slowly turn, and as his face slowly vanished from her sight she saw him close his eyes and look down.

“Yeah.” The portal closed behind Blue shortly after, and silence struck the clearing.

They were gone.

Alright, see you next time.

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Two young kids are wandering the forest, and they come across a rare pokemon. This pokemon looked similar to a Cubone, but was more mammalian and was never seen without a baby in it’s pouch, not mentioning the fact it did not have a bone mask. Kangaskhan was the pokemon’s name, and neither of the two kids had seen one before.

The first kid, one full of confidence, slowly approached the pokemon as it watched them. Upon getting close, he looked into the pokemon’s eyes, and it relaxed. Turning, the boy motioned his friend over, who approached and gently touched the pokemon. A smile formed on the friend’s face, and the pokemon leaned down as he began to scratch behind the ears.

The first kid quickly grew jealous, and pushed the friend out of the way without meaning to, holding out a hand to the pokemon and smiling with confidence. The friend narrowed his eyes, and pulled himself up, and opened his mouth, speaking in anger. The first kid turned and answered with his own rebuttal. The pokemon saw this, and roared in anger.

Turning on the first kid, it aimed it’s sharp claws at the boy, who cried out in flight and was too slow to avoid getting a deep gash. Falling to the ground, he quickly leapt up and jumped out of the way as a foot tried to squash him into the ground. The first kid shouted frantically to the friend, who could only stare wide eyed in shock.

The first kid growled and looked toward the pokemon, trying to calm it with his voice. However it didn’t work and the pokemon turned, tripping the boy with it’s tail as it turned around and tried to punch him once more. The kid once more avoided it, and shouted toward the friend. The friend shook his head and opened his mouth, speaking to the pokemon. Kangaskhan briefly glanced to the friend, before roaring and instead coming after him.

The kid gritted his teeth as he friend came under fire, and once more distracted the pokemon. Once more he shouted orders at his friend, who blinked in surprise and began to smile, calling to the Kangaskhan once again. This time however, the pokemon didn’t even give him a passing glance. The first kid closed his eyes and growled, before standing up and looking straight at the Kangaskhan.

Holding his injured arm, the first kid quickly caught the pokemon’s attention, who met the eyes head on. After a moment, something passed between them and both blinked at the same time, the boy collapsing to the ground as the pain from his wound hit him. The Kangaskhan roared, and then stormed off into the forest.

The friend rushed over, and looked around frantically, eyes looking around for something but not finding it. The first kid pulled on the friend’s shirt, and narrowed his eyes, one eyes closing as he spoke. Beginning to gasp for breath, he spoke, pointing with his good hand at the pokemon that had left. The friend shook his head, moving his arms as he explained something. The boy objected venomously, crying out in fear.

Once more, the first boy pulled his friend close, and motioned to his eyes, which were wide and brimming with fear. The friend listened, wondering what could cause him to be more frightened than when the pokemon had attacked. As the first kid spoke, the friend’s eyes took on the exact same shape.

Finished speaking, the first kid winced and looked at his friend, heaving a sigh of relief at the nod that came. Pointing to the path, he ordered his friend once more, who helped the first kid up and onto his feet. With a slow shamble, blood dripping from his open wound, but supported by his friend, they slowly made their way down the path.

The first kid spoke once more, making a smiling gesture between gasps. The first kid closed his eyes for a moment, opening them as he stumbled and nearly lost grip of the first kid. The first kid gasped, his grip weakening, and once more fell to the ground, dragging his friend with him. The friend grunted, and pulled them both upright, realising his friend had fallen unconscious.

Occasionally, a pokemon would pass them, but as soon as the friend met their eyes they quickly leapt away, shivering as a chill swept through them. The path eventually cleared, and a large building’s back came into sight. Pulling them through the last bit of bush, the friend collapsed beside the first kid, and also fell unconscious.

The friend would wake up later in the pokemon center, and be asked question after question. The friend would keep his mouth closed, looking away from the adults. In the back of his mind, a dark truth was now known.

The friend would stop smiling as much after that, which would later intensify after a betrayal of trust.