Pokemon Ponies: Present Hype and Past Nostalgia

by Shadowed Rainbow

First published

While Luna waits for Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, others introduce her to their Pokemon nostalgia

Though Luna had been banished for 1000 years, she was able to latch on to one aspect of modern life very quickly: video games. Specifically, the Pokemon games. Introduced to Pokemon Black and White, she eagerly anticipates the sequels due out the following day.

And Luna won't stop talking about it.

So in attempt to take her mind (and theirs as well) off the waiting and make the release date anticipation a little more bearable, a few of the others decide to take her on a trip down their memory lane by introducing her to the aspects of Pokemon they grew up with.

Includes call-backs to previous Pokemon generations, both games and anime. Warning: May cause nostalgia-flashbacks.

(I wrote this the day before Black 2 and White 2 came out and finished it at night, but since it was so late I figured I'd wait to post it on the game's release date rather than try to get it approved and have it be fully up at midnight or so when few would be online. And then it took a while to get approved.)

Throwback to Nostalgia

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"...And I shall get all the Pokemon from Black and White into the National Pokedex, and that special Shiny Stone will be mine! The Shiny Pokemon rate will be tripled!" The speaker let out a giddy laugh, her blue eyes bright with anticipation.

In the Princess's castle in Canterlot, the Princess of the Night, Luna, was pacing in the castle's central hall, a dark blue Pontendo DS hovering in front of her face. The screen was alight with the splendor of a Pokemon battle in Luna's copy of Pokemon White, the pixelated mare sprite that served as her player character sending out a Level 100 Zekrom against the Elite 4.

Luna was so focused on her Pokemon game that she didn't even notice her sister Celestia was there until her head smacked into the older alicorn. Almost dropping her DS in her surprise, the moon princess looked up with a sheepish expression.

"Sister," Luna said, trying to sound authoritative despite her elder sibling's stern look, "can you not see I am trying to beat the Elite 4?"

Celestia arched her brow incredulously. She had heard those very same words out of her sister's mouth several times before. "I thought you beat them about 5 times already."

"12," Luna countered with a smug smile on her face.

The sun princess chuckled as her younger sister moved a little to the side so she wasn't in her way. "And what makes this time so different?"

"Because I'm using the bait-and switch method to train my new Keldeo," Luna exclaimed, her eyes once again turning back to her game. "It's only at Level 15, and I want to level it up a little more before Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 come out!"

Oh of course... the sequels to Luna's favorite Pokemon games were coming out soon, how could Celestia have forgotten that even for a second? It was almost all that Luna had been talking about for the past few weeks.

"When do they come out, Luna?"

"Tomorrow!" Luna's tone instantly went from concentrated to a voice that was as enthusiastic as a hyper young filly. "They come out tomorrow, Big Sister! And that means they're finally gonna relase Genesect too!"

The older alicorn was at a loss.

"The last Pokemon so far in the Pokedex!" Luna exclaimed, as if it was a crime against modern knowledge to not know what Genesect was. "It's an event Pokemon that you get get through Wifi download!" She put a hoof to her chin. "Of course, I don't know why they didn't release Melotta first. That's another event Pokemon!"

Luna was practically bouncing up and down. "I can tell that the fun is going to be doubled from the previous games!"

The princess of the night, however, slowed in her bouncing, giving her sister the sort of pleading look that a filly gives to her parents when she wants something really really badly. "Could you make the sun set now, Sister?!"

Celestia was taken aback by her sister's sudden request. "Why?"

"Because then I can raise and lower the moon really flast! And then it will be tomorrow and I can get those games right away!" Her gaze was completely away from her DS and now focused entirely on her sister as she made her hype-filled request. "Pleeeaaasseee?"

Celestia sighed, shaking her head. "I can't do that Luna."

"Why not, Sister?"

"Because, ponies might have important things to do today." Celestia's voice was firm but not unkind. "What would the other ponies do if their plans for the day were thrown off because my little sister really wants a game?"

"They can reschedule!" Luna compromised hopefully.

But the expression on her sister's face clearly said "No".

However, the two were interrupted in their sisterly debate by a small group of ponies bursting through the door. The group consisted Twilight, her five best pony friends, and Vinyl Scratch, known as DJ-PON3 by the musical community around Equestria. All seven of the ponies each carried a DS like Luna's, aside from the difference in colors.

"Hi everypony!" Luna said brightly with a wave. "Glad you showed up!"

Celestia's eyes widened, both at the sudden appearance of her student and her companions and the fact that Luna didn't seem at all surprised to see them. "It's good to see you, everypony, but..." her voice expressed her obvious confusion, "what are you all doing here?"

"We came for a Pokemon game tournament with Luna!" Twilight exclaimed. "Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 come out tomorrow!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed with a spring in her step. "And we're all gonna stay up aaaalllll night while we wait for the game stores in Canterlot to open!"

"Hey Princess Celestia," Vinyl asked with a wave of her hoof. "Can't you-"

"I already asked," the night princess sighed before the white unicorn could go on. "She said no early sunset."

"Aw man!" Rainbow Dash said in a huff, crossing her forehooves. "The lines are gonna be crazy long in the morning and we'll have to wait for hours!"

Applejack gave her friend a scolding look. "Rainbow, don't be so impatient!"

"But I pre-ordered!" Rainbow insisted, putting a hoof on her chest as if emphasizing an importance over other ponies. "Therefore I should get first dibs!"

"You're not the only pony who pre-ordered, you know," Rarity pointed out. "Those other ponies have just as much 'dibs' as you do."

The cyan pegasus facehoofed and lowered to the ground in a slump.

"Don't feel bad, Rainbow," Fluttershy said quietly, "You'll probably still be one of the first."

"Yeah, with about a dozen before me."

"Hey everypony, what are we waiting for?" Vinyl called out. "Are we gonna get this all-night Pokemon party started or what?"

"Yeah!" Everypony cheered in agreement.

"Come, everypony!" Luna said with a wave of her hoof. "Let us all go to the game room!"

"You have a game room?!" Vinyl asked in disbelief as she and the other ponies hurried to follow Luna. "Wicked!"

After a moment of shaking her head in bewilderment, Celestia followed after the hyped-up group.

---

The gaming room, as the others found out upon entering was in truth more than just a room for playing video games. While it did seem to have every game system in existence, there was also a computer, a camera, a stage, and a high tech stereo system.

Vinyl briefly took off her purple shades, revealing a bright sparkle in her magenta eyes as her gaze fell upon the music equipment. "I think I'm in heaven..."

Celestia, coming up right behind the group, chuckled lightly at Vinyl's enthusiasm. "You like it, huh?

"Uh huh," the DJ responded in a dazed nod.

Luna enthusiastically pointed her hoof one by one at every individual object in the room. "Over there by the stage is our music system with surround sound and about 500 different music settings with working stage lights-"

Vinyl Scratch hurried over before Luna could even finish her sentence. "I LOVE this place!"

Everypony laughed.

"And over there in the Gaming Corner is a GameColt Advance, PBox360, PS3, PS2, Pontendo Wii, Gamecube, Pontendo 64, all hooked up to a big-screen HD TV with cable access!"

Rainbow Dash instantly flew toward Luna's stash of games and started browsing them.

Twilight's jaw practically hit the floor at the mention of the last one, eyes bright with nostalgia. "I remember playing my Pontendo 64 when I was younger..."

The tone in the purple unicorn's voice caused Applejack to look over at her questioningly. "What happened to it?"

"Spike accidentally burned it when he was celebrating that he beat me in Pokemon Stadium 1." A sigh. "So I lost the P64 and one of my favorite games.

"Oh."

"You can borrow my P64, Twilight," Pinkie offered. "I still have mine. And I can let you borrow my copy of Pokemon Stadium."

Luna swiveled her head around to look at the group. "You have Pokemon Stadium? I don't have that one."

Having released that said game wasn't in Luna's collection just as she had heard those words, Rainbow Dash looked like the Princess had just told her that a Wonderbolts show had been cancelled.

"How could you have a P64 and not have that game?!"

"I never saw a copy in the used game stores I went to," Luna said with a shrug. "I have Super Mario 64 and Zelda, but not that Pokemon game..." Now the alicorn gamer looked especially interested. "Is it good?"

The seven young ponies looked at each other.

"Yes, it's good!" Fluttershy said in a soft but happy tone. "It was made back when there were only 151 Pokemon though."

"But everypony knows that Kanto was the best!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "And it had the best music!"

"I can't argue with that one!" Vinyl called in agreement.

"There was a sort of 'Pokerap' before, right?" Luna asked. She was more familiar with the games than the anime, but she still had a reasonable knowledge of it.

Vinyl Scratch began to jump up and down excitedly. "Oh oh, I remember there were several! But I think the original Kanto version was the best, I know it by heart!"

"I do too!" Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically, clearly not wanting to be outdone in the nostalgia department.

The two ponies looked at each other, smiles coming up on their faces.

"Wanna?" Vinyl put her bright purple shades over her magenta eyes with an eager grin.

"Let's!"

The two mares darted up to the stag, Vinyl eagerly positoning herself by the sound and light system and tweaking it to get the proper music beats she wanted for the song. Spotting a microphone at rest by the stereo system, Rainbow Dash picked it up. "Hey, Twilight, could you switch on the computer over there and bring the Pokerap?"

Twilight glanced over at Celestia, not wanting to just mess with her mentor's stuff without her permission. "Princess, may I?"

"Of course you can, Twilight," Celestia replied, though she still looked a little befuddled at the younger ponies' sudden relation to her sister in a subject that she herself didn't know all that much about.

"Okay, everypony," Rainbow announced, quoting how the song used to be introduced when it aired on TV, "we're gonna rap some Pokemon!"

"You just do the singing," Vinyl said as she adjusted a few settings on the stereo and lighting, "I'll take care of the hard part!"

"Let's get it on!" Without further ado, Rainbow Dash zoomed into the air with the mic and started to sing the original Kanto Pokerap as Twilight started it up from the computer.

I want to be the best,
there ever was!
To beat all the rest,
yeah, that's my cause!

With a nod at Vinyl, the cyan pegasus tossed the mic over to the unicorn and let her do the rapping:, the DJ causing the stage lights to flash to the beat of the song

Electrode, Diglett, Nidoran, Mankey,
Venusaur, Rattata, Fearow, Pidgey,
Seaking, Jolteon, Dragonite, Gastly,
Ponyta, Vaporeon, Poliwrath, Butterfree!

The pair then began to sing in a simultaneous duet.

Catch 'em, catch 'em, gotta catch 'em all,
Pokemon!

It was at that point that Rainbow Dash grabbed the mic for herself, proudly singing the next part of the song.

I'll search across the land,
look far and wide.
Release from my hand
the power that's inside!

Vinyl instantly took over the rap part once again, working her DJ magic as she did so.

Venomoth, Poliwag, Nidorino, Golduck,
Ivysaur, Grimer, Victreebel, Moltres,
Nidoking, Farfetch'd, Abra, Jigglypuff
Kingler, Rhyhorn, Clefable, Wigglytuff!

The pair took up their unison chorus.

Catch 'em, catch 'em, gotta catch 'em all,
Gotta catch 'em all, Pokemon!

Everypony could tell that Vinyl was really getting into the rap sections of the song, practically dancing as she sang, obiously proud to show that she still remembered how the song went.

Zubat, Primeape, Meowth, Onix,
Geodude, Rapidash, Magneton, Snorlax,
Gengar, Tangela, Goldeen, Spearow,
Weezing, Seel, Gyarados, Slowbro!

The pair shared the microphone again as they sang the first chorus, a few of the others joining in.

Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all, yeah!
Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all, yeah!
Gotta catch 'em all, Pokemon! Ow!

Vinyl mixed a little drumbeat-like rhythm on the music system as she performed the next part.

Kabuto, Persian, Paras, Horsea,
Raticate, Magnemite, Kadabra, Weepinbell,
Ditto, Cloyster, Caterpie, Sandshrew,
Bulbasaur, Charmander, Golem, Pikachu!

As Rainbow and Vinyl sang the next sub-chorus, those who remembered how it went joined in

At least 150 or more to see.
To be a Pokemon master is my destiny!

Alakazam, Doduo, Venonat, Machoke,
Kangaskhan, Hypno, Electabuzz, Flareon,
Blastoise, Poliwhirl, Oddish, Drowzee,
Raichu, Nidoqueen, Bellsprout, Starmie!

Rainbow Dash did a loop-de-loop in the air and cheered. The fact that they were able to sing along without even really paying attention to the video filled her with a feeling of nostalgic glee. "Woo! We're at the halfway point, doing great so far!"

The DJ looked up at the pegasus and played along with the spoken part of the Pokerap, though she did geniuinely mean it. "We? What's all this 'we' stuff? I'm doing all the hard work!"

Rainbow only grinned. "Breaktime's over, here we go!" At the last three words, she pointed her hoof at Vinyl to let the electric-blue-maned mare continue.

Metapod, Marowak, Kakuna, Clefairy,
Dodrio, Seadra, Vileplume, Krabby,
Lickitung, Tauros, Weedle, Nidoran,
Machop, Shellder, Porygon, Hitmonchan!

Everypony in the room (save for Luna and Celestia), now getting really into the nostalgia of the Pokerap, joined the chorus in an excited cheer.

Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all, yeah!
Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all, yeah!

Articuno, Jynx, Nidorina, Beedrill,
Haunter, Squirtle, Chansey, (Pokémon!)
Parasect, Exeggcute, Muk, Dewgong,
Pidgeotto, Lapras, Vulpix, Rhydon!

At least 150 or more to see.
To be a Pokémon master is my destiny.

Charizard, Machamp, Pinsir, Koffing,
Dugtrio, Golbat, Staryu, Magikarp,
Ninetales, Ekans, Omastar,
Scyther, Tentacool, Dragonair, Magmar!

Rainbow Dash let out a joyful laugh as she went on with a version of the spoken part of the song. "Woah, catch your breath, Vinyl, shake out those lips."

The blue-maned pony didn't miss a beat. "It's downhill from here, just 24 more to go!" A huge grin spread out across her face as she gave the air of hoof-punch. "Now it gets tricky so listen real good!" And she quickly got into the rhythm of the rap again, not even faltering at the quick rattling off of the Pokemon names, mixing her dubstep beats to go along with it.

Sandslash, Hitmonlee, Psyduck, Arcanine,
Eevee, Exeggutor, Kabutops, Zapdos,
Dratini, Growlithe, Mr. Mime, Cubone,
Graveler, Voltorb, Gloom - We're almost home!

The other ponies in the room joined in the chorus, chanting as if they were at a concert, with Vinyl and Rainobw drawing out the end notes.

Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all! (yeow!)
Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all! (huhh!)
Gotta catch 'em all, Pokémon! (yeeaahh!!)

Vinyl cranked up the light effects to cycle in different colors as she reached the last rap part of the song, putting in as mch energy into her voice as she could.

Charmeleon, Wartortle,
Mewtwo, Tentacruel, Aerodactyl,
Omanyte, Slowpoke,
Pidgeot, Arbok - That's all, folks!

The song finished with the others joining in for the finale.

Catch 'em, catch 'em, gotta catch 'em all,
Gotta catch 'em all, Pokemon.
Catch 'em, catch 'em, gotta catch 'em all,
Gotta catch 'em all, Pokemon,
Catch 'em, catch 'em, gotta catch 'em all.
Gotta catch 'em all!
Pokemon!

"YEAH!" Vinyl shouted out at the end, giving Rainbow Dash an enthusiastic hoof bump for being her rapping partner in the nostalgic song.

Everypony clapped their hooves as the song ended and the two singers took a bow.

Luna was humming the song enthusiastically, while Celestia seemed to be resisting the desire to do the same. "That was very nice singing."

"Thanks, Princess!" Rainbow Dash said gratefully, looking quite pleased with herself.

"And I was impressed by the lighting effects and dubstep beats."

"All part of what I do, Princess!" Vinyl said, briefly raising her shades to wink at Celestia.

"Hey, ya got anymore mics?" Vinyl called out.

Luna, still humming the beat of the Pokerap to herself, snapped out of it at Vinyl's call. "Oh, uh, yeah, sure!" The lunar princess went over to a storage cabinet on the left side of the stage and levitated several more microphones out, hooking them up to the stereo system so that everypony who wanted to could sing along.

As Rainbow Dash began to descend from the stage to rejoin her friends, the unicorn help her hoof up and called over. "Hey wait a minute, you can't be saying we're done!" She grinned enthusiastically, performing a record scratch on the large disc in front of her. "Don't tell me we're all going to have a party like this without singing the original theme, right?"

Everypony's faces lit up, all of them shouting in agreement.

"Now that was a good theme song!" Rarity said, her voice almost a whisper in memory. "I even introduced Sweetie Belle to it a few years ago, and she'd often want to sing it along with me!"

"How could I forget that song?" Twilight said, the light in her eyes appearing to fade into a time over a decade before. "Me and Shining Armor used to sing that all the time!"

"That song's so catchy!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing up and down and already starting to hum it.

"I always did like that song," Fluttershy said with a faint grin, seeming to be lost in her memories as well.

Applejack smiled. "It's got a catchy tune, definitely."

"Well, don't just reminisce about it, guys!" Vinyl exclaimed, with a slight knock of her hoof on the turntable. "Get the song up on the computer and grab a mic!"

As Twilight brought up the video with a big grin on her face, Vinyl grabbed a microphone and shouted enthusiastically to everypony else. "You all know the words, everypony, so sing along!"

As Vinyl tossed the microphone over to Twilight, the unicorn caught it with her magic as the song started up, the familiar tune filling all the young ponies with a wave of joyful nostalgia:

I wanna be the very best,
Like no one ever was!
To catch them is my real test,
To train them is my cause!

Pinkie Pie then grabbed her own microphone with a gleeful grin on her face and sang happily:

I will travel across the land,
Searching far and wide.
Each Pokemon to understand,
The power that's inside!

Moved by the nostalgia of the song that was a major definition of their childhoods, the others sang the chorus as Vinyl provided the backing chorus, sometimes singing together and sometimes seperately.

Pokemon!
(Gotta catch 'em all!)
It's you and me!
I know it’s my destiny!
Pokemon!
Oh, you're my best friend,
In a world we must defend!

Pokemon!
(Gotta catch 'em all!)
A heart so true!
Our courage will pull us through!

You teach me and I'll teach you!
Pokemon!
Gotta catch 'em all!
Gotta catch 'em all!
POKEMON!

Everypony cheered and laughed as they sang out the last line, feeling as if their foal days had just come back to them from being here.

"That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, grinning. "Now I want to go back to my house and bring Pokemon Stadium over so Princess Luna can see what awesomeness she's been missing!"

"And then get our copies of Pokemon Black and White for a tournament!" Twilight added.

Luna grinned. "I like the sound of that!"

"Hold it, hold it!" Vinyl called out, playing out a few notes on the stereo system to bring everypony's attention back to her. "I think there's one more classic song we ought to introduce the Princess to!

Everypony else looked at the DJ, interested in her input.

"How about we play the Johto Journeys theme?"

The others grinned. Even though the first theme was just about the most nostalgic for the group, this one was widely considered to be the most upbeat one of the entire anime series.

Twilight enthusiastically searched for the opening of the anime and found it, switching the video on and leaping up to the stage, to the amusement of Celestia and Luna.

Everypony, aside from the royal sisters, leapt up onto the stage to participate as the Johto Journeys theme began to play:

It's a whole new world we live in, live in,
Pokemon Johto!

Do-do-do, do, do-do!
Do-do-do, do, do-do!

Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity grabbed their own microphoness and began to sing, each one singing in turn

Everybody wants to be a master!
Everybody wants show their skills!
Everybody wants to get there faster!
Make their way to the top of the hill!

Twilight and Pinkie raised their microphones to sing the next verse, Pinkie jumping up enthusiastically with every verse she sang.

Each time! You try!
Gonna get just a little better!
Each step! You climb!
Is one more step, up the ladder!

With Vinyl playing a loud rock beat on the turntable, she and everypony else then started to sing the chorus in unison, the stage lights above cycling in different patterns and colors to capture the enthusiastic and lively beat of the song of their childhoods.

It's a whole new world we live in!
Do-do-do, do, do-do!
It's a whole new way to see!
Do-do-do, do, do-do!
It's a whole new place!
With a brand new attitude!
But you still gotta CATCH 'EM ALL!
Be the best that you can be!

Do-do-do, do, do-do!
Pokémon Johto!
Do-do-do, do, do-do!

Vinyl switched up the stage lights to turn them to a bright blue shade as she sang the next line solo, followed by everyone joining in for the end.

It's a whole new world we live in, live in!
But you still gotta CATCH 'EM ALL!
Be the best that you can be!

Do-do-do, do, do-do!
Pokemon Johto!
Do-do-do, do, do-do!
POKEMON JOHTO!

Everypony else was knocked back a little as Luna joined in on the last line with an an enthusiastic shout of her Royal Canterlot Voice. Celestia glanced at her younger sister with a look of slight disapproval.

Luna's expression turned apologetic, laughing a little as she lowered her voice to a less deafening level. "Sorry about that, everypony. I suppose I just got carried away."

"Hey, it's cool, Luna," Vinyl said nonchalantly, adjusting her glasses which had nearly fallen off from the volume and force of Luna's voice. "The point of it was to introduce you to the Pokemon of our childhoods."

"Not that it's not good these days," Fluttershy said hurriedly. "I mean, the games are still pretty good-"

Luna's eyes lit up! "Hey, I can speed up the moon's movement for tonight so that-"

"Luna," Celestia warned. "No trying to throw off everypony's schedules."

The night princess's gaze turned somewhat indignant. "But we can't wait any longer!"

Her elder sister managed a smile. "You've been able to be entertained enough by these... surprisingly catchy songs, haven't you?"

With a small yet happy smile, Luna nodded.

"And you haven't even gotten to play those games with Twilight and her friends, yet," Celestia reminded her with a gentle expression. "There's still plenty of things the group of you can do.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Like we can introduce you to the older anime episodes! And we can play some of the early games!"

Celestia chuckled. "I'm sure the group of you are going to have a fun night, but its time for me to get some sleep." She gently nuzzled her little sister with an encouraging smile. "Good night, little sister. And I'll go with you to get those games first thing in the morning, okay?"

Luna smiled gratefully. "Thank you, big sister. And good night!"

"Good night, Luna," Celestia murmured. Raising her head to leave the media room and retire to her chambers, she smiled at everypony. "Good night, everypony!"

"Good night, Princess Celestia!"

"See you in the morning!"

"We'll tell you all about the party!"

"Expect us to tag along in the morning!"

"Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash looked completely serious. "Applejack, I am not gonna miss an opportunity like that!"

With a smile and a nod of appreciation, Celestia exited the room, unable to resist humming the original Pokemon theme to herself. Once she was unseen from the other ponies, the alicorn grinned in spite of herself.

"I ought to check out a little of those Pokemon games and anime with Luna... that was actually one of the more entertaining things I've seen in quite a while."

The pegasus stopped short. "That reminds me, I need to go and get Pokemon Stadium back at my house!"

"Oh, and um, Rainbow?" Fluttershy inquired, raising a hoof. "Could you bring over Pokemon Snap, too? I really like that one."

"What's Pokemon Snap?"

Rainbow Dash had that "A-Wonderbolts-show-was-cancelled" look on her face again.

"... You know what," she said after a moment, "let me just get all the Pokemon games I have." Without a backward's glance, the rainbow-manecd pegasus flew out of the room, leaving a rainbow trail behind her in her wake.

"How many Pokemon games does that pegasus have?" Vinyl marveled.

"By the look on her face when she was talking, I'm guessing a loottt," Pinkie Pie said, still seeming to glance at the spot where Rainbow Dash had taken off several seconds earlier.

"I wonder if she'll bring Hey You, Pikachu," Twilight mused. "I lost that one too."

"By 'lost', do you mean Spike burned up that one too?" Applejack inquired, brow raised.

The lavender unicorn shook her head. "No."

So what happened?" Fluttershy asked.

"Spike was saying mean things to Pikachu into the microphone, Pikachu got mad and used Thunderbolt, and then the game suddenly shorted out and practically sparked and exploded."

"So Pikachu blew up the game?!" Pinkie exclaimed, her eyes wide.

Twilight sighed. "Short-circuited, but, yeah,"

The other ponies stared at her.

"That... is... weird," Vinyl whispered.

Nopony noticed a mischievous smirk come across Luna's face. Maybe we can get that to happen with Rainbow's copy and see it for ourselves! She chuckled. Or better yet, get a copy for ourselves and trick Celestia into it!

"What'cha laughing at, Princess? Vinyl asked, having noticed the princess's slight laughter.

"Oh, nothing," Luna said with a grin. "Just a little Pokemon planning I was thinking of."

"Speaking of which," Pinkie exclaimed, getting out her DS, "who's up for some Pokemon battles?"

Everypony enthusiastically agreed with that plan.

As Celestia reached the door to her bedroom, she closed her eyes and smiled, the catchy Pokemon songs still fresh in her mind. Just before she closed the door behind her as she entered, another thought crossed the sun princess's mind.

"Perhaps I'll get a copy of Pokemon Black or White for myself," she murmured with a backward's glance toward the media room where the other ponies remained. "Then we could see who would be the master of Pokemon."

And while she and the other ponies were getting out their DS's, choosing their Pokemon teams, and discussing their hopes for Black and White 2, Luna couldn't stop smiling, a plan already formulating in her mind.

First thing I'll do when I help Big Sister get the National Dex - convince her that Magikarp is the most powerful Pokemon and that Splash has low accuracy but is a 1-hit-KO move!