“So this is the place huh?” Zinnia asked, eyeing the cave warily. Behind her, Little Strongheart shivered as a wave of cold air waved over them.

“Y-yes... “ She replied, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Th-this is where I saw Silverstar.”

“Welp,” Zinnia shouted suddenly, clasping her hands together and striding past the cave’s mouth. The tiny cactus followed behind her, a huge grin on it’s prickly face. “We’re not gonna find him standing around, are we!? Let’s go.”

“O-oh! Alright…”

The three of them ventured into the darkness of the cave in their own way. Zinnia strode ahead, determination in her eyes. Cacnea plodded along happily, not a care in the world. Little Strongheart kept as alert as she could, looking this way and that as she walked along, ready to fight. Before long the darkness surrounded them, completely obscuring their vision and making them feel along the walls to get by.

“Wait…” Zinnia said after a while, smacking her palm against her forehead. “I can breath fire!” With that, she brought a purple flame into her mouth, holding it there with her jaw hanging and revealing the abyss they were about to fall into. “Weh… ha wa wuchy…” she mumbled around the flames, staring over the edge at the darkness below.

Zinnia’s eyes widened when a loud rumbling echoed throughout the cave, the sound of a hundred hooves pounding on the ground above them. The earth beneath their feet shifted, coming loose and crumbling, sending them plummeting into the shadows.  Zinnia tried to spread her wings, but a searing pain rocketed through her body, pinning the damaged limbs to her back as she cursed.

"Goooooood daaaaaaaaamn iiiiiiiiit!!!!”

The bell rang, signaling the ending of another school day for our heroes at Canterlot High. Trixie raced through the halls as fast as she possibly could - without getting a detention, of course. She gracefully weaved through the crowd of other students, looking for her targets. Finally passing the art section and into the main lobby, she spotted her two new friends exiting out of the school. With a smile, Trixie ran out after them.

“Serena! Sunset Shimmer! Trixie requires your attention!” she exclaimed catching up to the two Pokémon trainers.

“Oh hey there, Trixie,” Serena greeted in return. “Sunset and I were gonna head to the creek for training.”

“That is precisely what Trixie needed to speak with you about. She has been thinking more on what you said for her Gible’s growth. As such, Trixie wishes to join you for this ‘training’ you keep mentioning.”

Sunset didn’t look too sure about the idea, though. “Are you sure, Trix? Pokémon training is a really difficult study. It requires strategy, trust, and skill to be able to accomplish.”

“Ha!” Trixie scoffed at that remark. “Trixie is capable of all that and more!”

Sunset pulled Serena aside, whispering into the other girl’s ear. “Are you sure about this? Should we really involve Trixie of all people in Pokémon training?”

“She already has a Pokémon of her own,” Serena argued back. “Without proper training, who knows what trouble those two could get into. It’s better to get her involved like this than when the sirens make their move.”

“Well… you make a good point there,” Sunset admitted. She released Serena and they both looked back to Trixie. “Alright, Trix, we’ll teach you the art of Pokémon training. But that means your oath of secrecy is extended to this as well.”

“Of course, Trixie is a woman of her word, after all.” Trixie reached into her bag and pulled out Gible’s pokéball. “Let’s get going, already! Trixie has chemisty homework to accomplish as well.”

As such, our heroes made their way to the secret training ground they created in the creek bed. But little did they know of what would be waiting there for them.

Zinnia groaned, pulling herself to her knees as she woke. The grass beneath her bare legs felt amazingly soft, and the cool breeze through her hair was so much nicer than the normal heat of the desert air. She opened her eyes when a soft whimper reached her ears, turning to see Little Strongheart pulling herself up too, though something seemed different about her appearance. The Draconid shrugged it off, instead opting to move to the nearby river and inspect her reflection in the water’s surface. Cacnea burst out of the water when she reached the river’s edge, eliciting a small giggle at his antics as he splashed about. Zinnia knelt down, scooping up a bit of the water to wipe away some dirt on her cheek. She then sat back, making sure there was no damage to her slightly swollen stomach, before leaning back on her hands and staring at the sky.

Then it clicked in her. This wasn’t where they were supposed to be! Not that she was complaining, she’d rather not be stuck at the bottom of a huge abyss in a cave no one knew about, but still. She looked back to Strongheart, who was now making her way to the Draconid’s side, watching her for the first signs of panic.

“We’re not in the Badlands anymore, are we?” the young Buffalo asked, dusting off her tunic.

“No, we’re not,” Zinnia replied, slightly shocked. “How come you’re not freaking out?” she asked.

Strongheart let out a small chuckle, smiling. “I guess any of the other Buffalo would be,” she said, running a hand through her golden locks. “But I’ve heard the legends of the ‘Nowhere Caves’. Always thought to myself, ‘Well, they have to go somewhere’.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Zinnia muttered, pausing as the sounds of voices danced over her ears. “Someone’s coming.” she said, pulling off her cloak and scooping up Cacnea in it.

The two women sat silently, waiting for the source of the voices to either arrive or pass. And it was fate that decided that they would come into the creekbed.

“...and that’s how contests got started back home,” a long, brown hair girl said as she walked into Zinnia’s view. She was accompanied by a yellow and red haired girl and another with silver hair. All three immediately spotted Zinnia and Strongheart. “Uh oh. Uh… hi there! What uh, what are you two doing here?”

“No idea,” Zinnia replied, recognising the brown-haired girl before her. “Wait… cool! Another Gen Six fan!” she shouted, causing confusion to wash over the features of everyone present. She frowned for a second, suddenly doubting herself. “Uh… Pokémon?”

“You know about Pokémon?!” all three asked in unison.

“Are you from Equestria?” Sunset asked, fully curious.

“I’m from a different Equestria,” Zinnia said, pulling the cloak off of Cacnea and tying it around her neck again. “But no, I’m originally from… a version of Earth that may or may not be the same as yours, Serena.”

“A Displaced!” Serena gasped.

“You mean those people that weird doctor guy warned you about?” Sunset looked over Zinnia and Strongheart with a scrutinizing eye. “I’ll be honest, was expecting something a little… more.”

“Displaced? What is this ‘displaced’? Trixie was not informed of this! Is this supposed to be a part of her training?”

“Okay, one,” Zinnia cut in, holding up a finger. “No matter what this ‘Doctor’ said, not all Displaced are bad. Most of the one’s I’ve met actually went out of their way to save people, especially Jason. Two,” she raised another finger. “Watch it, ketchup head. I’m half Dragon-Type and can burn you alive with my breath. And three,” another finger raised. “I assume you mean Pokémon Training, so I want in. This little guy’s fairly new and I want him to be able to handle himself.” She gestured to the cacnea in her lap, which began tittering when the others looked at it.

“Oh, and I’m not a Displaced,” Strongheart spoke up. “I’m a Buffalo. I actually am from Equestria.”

“Please tell me you’re from my Equestria,” Serena practically pleaded. “Does the name ‘Ash’ sound familiar at all?”

“There’s a stallion in Appleoosa named Ash Gray, but otherwise no.” Strongheart replied flinching when Serena seemed to wilt in on herself. “W-why? W-what’s the matter?”

Sunset stepped forward, putting her hand on Serena’s shoulder. “Serena’s been trapped on this world for over a thousand years running from monsters. It was only when Twilight Sparkle came here from Equestria a month ago that any sign of hope had come her way.”

“Ash… he’s the one I care about more than anything. We’re supposed to be together forever, but the sirens just got in the way of that. I was just hoping I finally had hope that there was a faster way home.”

“Well apparently the base Equestria, the one that doesn't have any Displaced at all, is a TV show back home,” Zinnia said, standing and stretching her back. “I never watched it personally, but I caught snippets when the others at the asylum watched. And I recognise ketchup head, I just don’t remember what her name is. She’s from the movie.”

“It’s Sunset Shimmer,” ‘ketchup head’ corrected.

“And I know about MLP,” Serena informed. “Ash and I used to watch it, but got bored with it during season three. So, we never watched the movie.” She took in a deep breath, composing herself. “Well, the emotional rollercoaster and disappointment aside, would you two like to join us for today? The Doctor may have said the Displaced could be distracting, but a little help in getting Trixie started could help. Plus, you sound like you have experience with dragon types. That’ll come in handy considering no such thing exists where we come from.”

“Girl, my son is a dragon type. Name’s Zinnia, you may recognise me from such games as ‘Pokémon Omega Ruby’ and ‘Pokémon  Alpha Sapphire’.” She paused, pushing her cloak back to reveal the purple wings on her back. “I’m not the same one, mind you. This is Little Strongheart, or just Strongheart, heir to the Buffalo tribe.”

“H-hi.”

“So who’s got the Dragon, eh? Sunny or Trix?”

“Trixie is the dragon trainer here,” the blue-skinned girl boasted. She pulled out a pokéball and tossed it up. “Gible, come on out!” A blue-white light erupted from the ball, the landshark Pokémon appearing in front of her.

“Gible!” it said somewhat dopely.

“A gible, huh? Those are pretty hard to train.” Zinnia smirked, pulling off her cloak and dropping it to the floor. She strode forward, the smirk never leaving her face. “Well let’s see what I’m working with. Hit me with your best shot!”

“Pardon Trixie? You… you want Trixie to make her little Gible hit you? Are you mental?!”

“...She’s gonna be a coordinator, isn’t she?” Zinnia’s face fell, shoulders slumping as her energy left her. “Aww, man! Wasted potential!”

“More like she doesn’t have any experience,” Serena corrected. “Trixie here is the first one to ever even find a Pokémon on this world.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Some of Zinnia’s energy returned, and she pulled her shoulders back. “Listen, Trixie, Pokémon grow by fighting. That’s their nature. If they don’t fight, they won’t grow. They won’t learn anything. And Gible can grow into an incredibly powerful Pokémon if you train it right, loyal to a fault.” She paused, glowering at the girl. “But it won’t be easy. No matter how good you think you are, you’re not good enough. The greatest Pokémon Trainer alive would have difficulty with gibles.”

“Are you doubting Trixie’s potential?” Trixie asked with a bit of disgust. “Trixie will be able to teach Gible to be the greatest gible in all existence! So says the great and powerful Trixie!”

Zinnia sighed. “First off, to be the best it can be, Gible won’t be a gible any more. It’ll go through two changes, first into a gabite, and then into a garchomp. And garchomp are incredibly vicious if you don’t train it right when it’s young. It won’t hurt you, but it’ll hurt those around you, and that can be so much worse.”

“Second,” she added, cutting Trixie off before her mouth was even fully open. “You’re confident, and that’s good. But you’re too confident, and that can end in disaster. Either learn some humility yourself or get it beaten into you when your enemies come knocking, but learn it either way.” She stalked over to the awestruck girl, jabbing her finger at her. “You’re not great. And you’re not powerful. But you can be, if you listen.”

Trixie was completely stunned by Zinnia’s little speech, unable to reply at all. Gible, though, felt the need to… by biting Zinnia’s leg for insulting his trainer. “Gible!” he said as he bit down. Zinnia just laughed, reaching down and grabbing Gible by his head fin and lifting him up.

“The same goes for you, little one. You think you’re the strongest there is, and you can be, but right now you’re not.” She placed him on the ground by Trixie’s foot, eyes roaming over both of them. “Right now, neither of you are strong enough to fight me. I’m still a relatively low level, but you’re even lower. You’ll be training against Strongheart and Cacnea.”

“Wait, what!?” Strongheart cried, having been playing with Cacnea. “B-but I haven’t had any training either! I-I’m not strong enough!”

“Which is why you’re training with Trixie. You’re both beginners, and you both have Pokémon that are hard to raise. Gible because he’s a dragon, and Cacnea because it takes a lot of thinking. You’re perfect partners.”

“I think I have an idea,” Serena interjected. “Why don’t the two of us have a battle for the newbies? Ash always said the easiest way to get someone interested in Pokémon was to show them a proper battle.”

“Well I don’t have any of my team with me, but I can fight myself.” Zinnia replied, demonstrating by forming a Shadow Claw in her right hand. “Powers and resilience of a Salamence. Is that okay with you?”

“I suppose that could work. And, since you’re a dragon, that gives me an excuse to pull out this Pokémon.” Serena pulled out a Heal Ball and tossed it up. “Gardevoir, I choose you!” From out of the special pokéball came a white bipedal Pokémon with a lower body resembling a slim gown with a green underside. It had long, slender, white legs underneath the gown, and green hair that curled down the sides of its head. There were spikes on the side of its face, resembling a masquerade mask. It had green arms and long, slender fingers that resemble gloves. A red fin-like horn extended from its chest, and a shorter, more rounded horn extended from the back. A band of green on its chest extended to the centermost horn and connected to its sleeve-like arms. Lastly, a bright red choker with a small rounded gem was around its neck.

“Gardevoir,” the new arrival said melodiously.

“What do you think of my Gardevoir?” Serena asked. “The two of us have been together for a long time and I’ve been eager to use her in battle again.”

“She’s beautiful, I can tell you trained her well.” Zinnia replied, cracking her neck. “This should be fun. I need to prepare for anything with Darkrai running about. Who’s gonna ref?”

“I can do it,” Sunset offered. “I took some referee courses when I was still Celestia’s student.”

“Cool. First to ten strikes?” The Draconid paused, patting her swollen stomach. “I’d rather not be knocked out, if that’s okay.”

“Does that work for you, girl?”

“Gar,” she replied, getting into a fighting mood.

“Sounds like she’s ready for a fight,” Serena smirked. “Now pay attention, Trixie. This is how we do a proper Pokémon battle.”

“You too, Strongheart. It’s not conventional, but it’ll do for your first lesson. Count us in, Sunset."

“Three.” Both combatants dropped into their preferred stances.

“Two.” Zinnia tensed. Gardevoir raised a hand to her chest.

“One.” Zinnia’s fingers flexed.

“Begin!”

Zinnia shot forwards, propelling herself with her wings as shadows wrapped around her left hand. “Shadow Claw!” she called, raking the clawed construct along Gardevoir’s side as she shot past, angling herself so that she skidded to a stop facing the fairy.

“Remember to play to your opponent’s weaknesses!” she shouted, keeping her eyes fixed on her opponent. “Never let them out of your sight!”

“Don’t back down, Gardevoir! Strike back with Moonblast!” Serena commanded.

“Gar!” she exclaimed, building up energy from the moon. Zinnia’s eyes widened, but she was too late to do anything as Gardevoir released the energy, sending it slamming into her and flinging her backwards.

“...Ow.” She said simply before hopping back to her feet. “Good hit.”

Zinnia shot forward without warning, he wings glowing silver as she charged. “Steel Wing!” she cried, aiming for Gardevoir’s abdomen. The Embrace Pokémon dodged at the last second, and Zinnia pulled to the left, narrowly avoiding a large rock.

“Nice dodge, Gardevoir!” Serena commended. “Now get her with an Ice Punch!”

“It won’t be that easy,” Zinnia said with a smirk as a white aura surrounded her. “Double Team!” she cried, creating multiple copies of herself and surrounding Gardevoir with them.

“Let’s see how you deal with this!” the clones spoke in unison, before taking deep breaths. “Flamethrower!” they added, each one spitting a stream of fire that combined in the centre, completely engulfing Gardevoir as a pillar of fire sprung to life.

“Wow,” one of the Zinnia’s breathed, watching the pillar in awe. “Gonna have to name that.” She turned to the girls watching. “How does ‘Chamber of Flame’ sound?”

Serena smirked at the Draconid. “Oh, so you do have some skills. That’s good for me as I can do this once again!” She put two fingers on the multicolored gem in her necklace. “Recognize one of these bad boys?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Zinnia replied, her own smirk gracing her lips. She raised her leg, bending it at the knee. “I have one of my own,” she said, gesturing to her anklet and the keystone embedded in the dragon’s head.

“Then you know what happens when it activates with a gardevoir who carries her Mega Stone.” Serena pressed down on the gem, causing it to glow brightly. Within the column of flame, a similar glow appeared before a large purple orb broke through the twister. The orb shattered, leaving a new Pokémon in Gardevoir’s place. The humanoid creature was almost completely  white, save for the green hair on its head. Its gown was longer and wider than Gardevoir’s, resembling a bridal gown. The forearms were slightly thicker with a pointed extension above the elbow, almost like a pair of gloves. Its facial spikes were larger and now curled upwards. In contrast, its hair was now shorter and more tightly curled. There were also now two horns in the center of its chest, extending to either side. “Welcome to the stage, Mega Gardevoir!”

“Sweet mane of Arceus…” Zinnia breathed, eyes wide before she dropped back into her stance. “Bring it!”

“I can’t believe it,” Sunset gasped from the sidelines. “An actual mega evolution. I thought they were just legend.”

“Then just watch as two legends show you how it’s done!” Serena proclaimed. “Mega Gardevoir, capture Zinnia with a Psychic attack!”

“Gar!” the Pokémon replied as her eyes glowed blue, the same color energy wrapping around Zinnia. The Draconid struggled uselessly in Gardevoir’s telekinetic grip, thrashing around.

“Let me go, dammit!” she cried, before she suddenly stopped. A grin slowly formed on her lips, and she turned herself in the air so that she was facing Gardevoir. “So you wanna fight dirty, huh?” she asked, a deep rumbling accompanying her voice. “Then take this!”

With that, she let loose with a mighty Roar, forcing everyone to cover their ears. This broke Gardevoir’s concentration, dropping Zinnia to the ground with a grunt.

Serena looked at Mega Gardevoir, who nodded, making the trainer smile. “Alright Zinnia, you asked for the big show! Gardevoir, use Ice Punch on the ground!”

“Gar!” she shouted, ice energy filling her fist before shouting, “Devoir!” as she slammed it to the ground. The spot she hit froze instantly, but to Zinnia’s surprise, a line of ice shout out from the spot and encompassed her feet. She tried flapping her wings to get free, but nothing happened.

“Never challenge a coordinator!” Serena declared. “Finish this with your Energy Ball Barrage!”

Mega Gardevoir let out a small song as several glowing, green, energy balls appearing around Zinnia. They circled slowly around the Draconid as they began to multiply and completely surround her. Zinnia sighed, a small grin forming as the attack began to converge on her.

“Nice match,” she said, right before the Energy Balls impacted, creating a small cloud of dust. When it cleared, Zinnia was revealed, no worse for wear and her feet now free.

“And that, children,” she said, turning to Strongheart and Trixie. “Is why you don’t get too overconfident. You underestimate your enemy, and then you end up losing.”

“Oh my gosh!” Sunset exclaimed, letting out a fan-girl squee. “That was so freaking awesome! Zinna was like ‘whoosh’ with that Steel Wing and she was all like ‘nyaroom’ an-an-and then Gardevoir was all ‘bwoom’ ‘bam’ ‘pow’! It was so…” she slowly stopped, seeing everyone either smiling knowingly at her or stifling their giggling. “Uh… I mean,” she folded her arms, looking away as if she didn’t care about anything, “It was okay, I guess.”

Zinnia stared at her blankly for a moment before turning to Serena, saying just two words.

“She’s tsundere.”

“Am not!” Sunset defended, her cheeks completely red.

Serena giggled a little. “Don’t mind her. That was a fun match, Zinnia. I haven’t had a proper battle in a long time, much less a chance to show off my old contest moves.”

“Fun for me, too.” Zinnia said, a warm smile on her face. “It was nice to take my mind off of Darkrai for a while.”

“Darkrai?” Sunset and Serena asked at the same time.

“I don’t think Equestria’s ever once had a recorded darkrai encounter. One of the few legendaries unaccounted for,” Serena said.

“Well have you ever heard of Nightmare Moon?” Zinnia asked, taking a seat on a large, flat rock.

“You mean the legend of ‘The Mare in the Moon’?” Sunset asked. “What about that old fairy tale?”

“A clefairy has a fairy tail, Sunset.” Zinnia deadpanned, causing the girl to recoil slightly. “The ‘Mare in the Moon’, as you call her, was Princess Celestia’s sister, Luna, having succumbed to her loneliness and jealousy to become Nightmare Moon.” She paused, looking down at her feet in sorrow.  “My Darkrai can ‘bless’ ponies and Pokémon with the Nightmare, turning them into what Nightmare Moon is - a creature that feeds on its host’s negative emotions, thriving in the shadows and shying away from light. Darkrai managed to force Luna into becoming Nightmare Moon again, taking a few guards and Prince Blueblood at the same time.”

“Now.” She paused as her body shook, her barely suppressed sobs breaking through. “Now he’s trying to take over Equestria, converting as many ponies and Pokémon as he can. He even managed to get Giratina."

“Giratina?” Sunset asked.

Serena looked to Zinnia. “I know what that is, but Sunset and especially not Trixie would know. Equestria has no dragon types, including the legendaries.”

Zinnia sighed. “Giratina is… was my Equestria’s Lord of the Underworld.” She held up her hand, silencing any questions. “I say ‘was’ because my universe was inducted into a small group of universes held together by Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Because of that, the Norse Goddess of Death took over his role.” She chuckled slightly. “She’s actually technically my Grandmother, since I welcomed myself into her grandson’s family.”

Serena took a look at the Draconid’s belly with a smile. “I can see you made yourself quite at home,” she quipped.

“Technically, I’m a surrogate. Jason’s married to his versions of Rarity and Queen Chrysalis, but he can’t have any kids to carry on his race with them.” She chuckled slightly, shaking her head. “It was Hel’s idea to bring me in. Not that I was complaining or anything.”

“Huh,” the coordinator said simply, rubbing her own arms with a sorrowful expression. “Kids, eh? We never even got to that point.” Serena leaned against a nearby tree with a sigh. Sunset and Trixie walked over to her and put their hands on her shoulders, letting her know she wasn’t alone.

Zinnia sat there for a moment, just watching, before something pushed at her shoulder. She turned to see Strongheart stood there, a light glare on her face as she motioned towards the downcast coordinator. Zinnia sighed, standing and moving over to Serena.

“Listen, Serena…” she began, scratching at the back of her neck. “I… I’m not going to pretend to know what you’re going through, ‘cause I don’t. But I’m sure you’ll get a chance to see Ash again soon.” She paused, a small smile forming. “And if you ever get, y’know… lonely... you can always give me a call. Hold on a sec.”

Zinnia quickly used Double Team again, only creating one clone this time. The clone quickly bent down and removed it’s anklet, handing it to Serena before vanishing, leaving the copy of the trinket behind.

“That’s my calling card,” she said with a warm smile. “Just hold it and call me if you need anything, alright?”

She looked it over in her hand, eyeing the anklet closely. “So this is a token. I’ve never seen one befo… wait a second! How were there two of you here just a second ago?!”

“Double Team,” the Draconid replied simply. “No idea how that worked, though. Also, everyone’s token is different. They tend to choose something that represents them. You should make one too, even if you just give it to me. At least then I can keep in touch, make sure you’re okay and all that.”

“Oh, well I do like to keep in touch with friends… despite the little tidbit you through in your proposition earlier. Now let’s see…” Serena looked in her bag, feeling deeper and deeper. “Come on, I know I have something in here I could use.” She ruffled a few moments longer before going, “Aha!” She took her hand out of her bag, holding a bright orange ribbon with a golden pokéball symbol in the middle. “This should do, right?”

“Yep,” Zinnia said, nodding. “You just need to put a message in it if you’re gonna send it out.”

“Send it out? But I’d rather just only you have it. The Doctor warned me if I keep in contact with Displaced too much, I’ll lose sight of my goal and… well, the rest of it seemed rather overdramatic, but you get the idea.”

“That’s not a problem either,” Zinnia said, smiling. “Now, to make it a token, you just need to focus some of your energy into it. Just picture it like a river taking a different path when you open a dam, but close it before too much gets through.”

Serena nodded, clasping her hands around the ribbon. She closed her eyes, looking deep into herself. Within, she could feel a pool of energy that she was unfamiliar with; it was both frightening, yet oddly compelling. She tried pushing it towards the ribbon in her hands, smiling as she felt the energy pour into the forming token. When Serena felt enough had been used, she stopped the flow and opened her eyes, seeing a slight new glow to the ribbon.

“Wow,” she awed, before her legs nearly buckled.

“Oh oh!” Trixie exclaimed before catching her friend. “Do not worry, Trixie has you.”

“Are you alright, Serena?” Sunset asked with a hint of worry.

“Y-yeah,” Serena replied, trying to stay standing. “Just feeling exhausted is all.”

“Huh,” Zinnia stated. “That’s new. Maybe since you don’t actually have any powers of your own, it drained you more?” She placed a hand to her chin, the other grabbing her elbow. “Or maybe it just affects different people differently. I’ll have to ask Jason when I next see him…”

“Anyway!” she suddenly exclaimed. “You should feel better in a moment, but just in case, lie down on your front over there.” She pointed to the rock she had been sat on moments before, rolling her eyes at the incredulous looks she was getting. “I’m just gonna give you a massage, okay? Dragonfire loosens up your muscles like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Well…” Serena bit her lip, knowing a massage would definitely feel nice. “I suppose a massage would be nice. Ash used to give me one before contests to keep me refreshed. But no funny business, I don’t plan on cheating on my husband.”

“I wouldn’t dream of forcing anyone,” Zinnia said, holding her hands up in defense. “You may have to lift your shirt though. I do need skin contact for this to work.” she added before breathing purple flames onto her hands.

Serena sighed as she layed on the rocks. “Alright,” she said, lifing up the back of her shirt.

“Wait, you’re not wearing--” Zinnia started before Serena interrupted.

“I don’t have a lot of money, okay?”

“I’m not judging,” the Draconid insisted, following the girl to the rock. “I’m not wearing one either,” she added, straddling Serena from behind and placing her warmed hands on her shoulders. “I don’t like feeling restricted. I have them, but they’re mainly for when I wanna look sexy.”

“T.M.I.” Sunset gagged, not needing to know about Zinnia’s personal tastes.

“Trixie never took you for a prude, Sunset Shimmer,” the magician snarked.

“Oh shut up! I lived in the freaking castle! You don’t talk about that kind of stuff in high society!”

“My Celestia disagrees~” Zinnia sang, giggling as Serena let out a small moan. “That okay?” she asked, moving to between the girl’s shoulder blades and refreshing the flames.

“I feel centuries falling away,” Serena sighed contently. “It feels amazing to just relax instead of running for my life.”

Zinnia frowned. “Who’s after your life?” she asked, adding a Focus Energy as she worked on the small of Serena’s back. She made sure to stay above the waistline of her skirt.

“The Sirens,” Sunset informed Zinnia. “They dragged Serena here when they were banished from Equestria over a thousand years ago. They’ve been hunting her down ever since until Serena lost them in the Nevada Desert.”

“Wow, sounds rough.” Zinnia moved her hands to each of Serena’s sides, forming small Dragon Claws and making their talons dance across the girl’s skin. “Don’t be afraid to give me a call if you need help with them again, alright?”

Serena laughed a little. “I might call just to get another massage.”

Zinnia smiled. “Any time,” she said, before climbing off. “Welp, that’s everything I’m allowed to do without overstepping my boundaries.”

“Thank you for respecting them,” Serena said as she pulled her shirt back down before getting up. “It was some brilliant work. Now back to the original plan, though. We still have another battle to have.” She eyed Strongheart and Trixie, who both gulped.

“Oh yeah, our little students,” Zinnia tittered, walking over to Strongheart. “What do you think, have them battle on their own or coach them as they go?”

“I prefer the coaching method. This is their first battle, after all, so let’s keep the training wheels on for now.”

“Okay then. Strongheart, Trixie, to your positions.”

Strongheart and Trixie moved to where their respective teachers had stood at the start of their battle, both with their Pokémon at their feet. Gible and Cacnea then walked into the field between them, meeting in the middle and - surprisingly - shaking hands before backing off slightly.

“Huh,” Zinnia said, staring in shock. “Seems these two are going with the honourable approach.”

“Pokémon are quite the amazing creatures,” Serena nodded. “Sunset?”

“Right,” she said, taking her place as judge. “Are both trainers ready?”

“Trixie is always ready!”

“I’m ready too, I guess.”

“Good enough,” Sunset muttered. “Let the battle begin!”

“Cacnea, Needle Arm!” Strongheart shouted, and Cacnea rushed forward, clubbing Gible with his arm, which had gained a faint green glow.

“Hey! Trixie wasn’t ready!” Trixie cried, before glowering and gritting her teeth. “Gible, use Dig!”

“Gible!” the dragon replied before burrowing into the ground, avoiding Cacnea’s attack.

“Gible certainly has some speed to him,” Serena remarked to Zinnia.

“Yes, and Cacnea seems to have quite a bit of power.” Zinnia replied. “I guarantee she has Cacnea use Ingrain to sense movements in the ground.”

“Cacnea, use Ingrain to sense its movements!” Strongheart called out.

“Called it.” Zinnia watched as Cacnea planted it’s stubby feet in the ground and closed it’s eyes. She moved over to Strongheart just as Cacnea seemed to start panicking.

“Cacnea, what’s wrong?!” Strongheart asked.

“You had a good idea, using Ingrain like that,” Zinnia said, gaining Strongheart’s attention. “But you forgot that Ingrain stops Cacnea from being able to move, leaving him wide open to attack.”

As if to illustrate her point, Gible chose that moment to strike, popping out of the ground behind Cacnea and clamping down on his back.

“Ha ha! Trixie has you now! Now my little dragon, use your Dragon Rage!”

As Gible kept his maw clamped, a blue fire raged out and blasted Cacnea point-blank, uprooting him and sending him tumbling over the battlefield.

“Cacnea!” Strongheart screeched, sighing in relief when the living cactus pushed itself to it’s feet.

“Have him use Spikes,” Zinnia whispered, and Strongheart relayed the order, covering the battlefield in large needles, causing Gible pain whenever he stepped on one. “Now Growth while you have the chance.” Again, the order was relayed, Cacnea growing slightly stronger.

Trixie looked to Serena, who was calmly standing a good ways behind her. “Trixie could use some encouragement or advice here!”

“You’re doing fine, Trixie,” Serena said with a smile. “Just trust your instincts. You don’t need me to tell you how to put on a show.”

Trixie’s eyes widened when she heard that line. She looked out to the field. “A show, huh?” she said with a small smile forming. “Trixie has this battle in the bag. And now, the Grrreat and Powerful Trixie shall astound and amaze as she claims victory! Gible, back into the ground!”

“Gible!” he shouted, backflipping into his dig hole.

“Trixie is going to have to remember to give him a treat for that,” she muttered, smiling that Gible quickly got into the act. “Gible, poke as many holes into the ground as you possibly can!”

The ground below Cacnea shook a little as Gible burrowed faster and faster, popping up at random points all over the field, always shouting out “Gible” before retreating back in.

Zinnia frowned. “Smart,” she remarked, patting Strongheart’s shoulder. “But you can get past this. Think. What can Cacnea do to take advantage of all these holes?”

Strongheart stared at the holes for a moment befroe her eyes widened slightly, a smile creeping onto her face. “Seeds…” she muttered, before calling out to Cacnea again. “Cacnea, use Leech Seed on the holes, then use Sunny Day!”

Cacnea did as instructed, firing hundreds of tiny seeds into the air where they all separated, falling into each of Gible’s tunnels. He then released a small ball of energy into the air from the tiny crown on his head, causing the sunlight to intensify and the seeds to quickly grow into a multitude of vines, blocking the tunnels and covering the battlefield.

“Yes!” Strongheart exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. “I knew it! Because Cacnea’s Leech Seed attack uses cactus seeds, they don’t need much water to grow, so the moisture in the ground was just enough! Add in the extra sunlight, and boom! No more tunnels.”

“Hmm,” Serena mused to herself. “So they come from a world where Pokémon aren’t restricted to four techniques. Curious, but now let’s see how Trixie gets herself out of this one.” She smiled and shouted out, “If only we had a weed trimmer, eh?”

“Weed trimmer?” Trixie repeated to herself before gasping as an idea formed in her head. “Of course! Gible, show these two we’re not out of this just yet! Combine your Dragon Claw with you Slash attacks! Show them we cannot be stopped!”

“Cacnea, wait for your chance!” Strongheart retaliated, remaining vague.

'Hmm…’ Zinnia thought, watching curiously. ‘What is she planning?’

Gible shot out of one of the tunnels, chunks of vine being flung to all sides as he charged at Cacnea, one claw coated in a blue energy and the other white.

“Now, Cacnea!” Strongheart shouted. “Combine Sand Attack, Leech Seed and Needle Arm”

Cacnea’s arm glowed greed as it swung, brushing the ground and creating a cloud of sand and dust, making it harder for Gible to see. When the Needle Arm attack landed, striking Gible across the back,  Zinnia noted that it left two small black seeds on the dragon’s back. Seeds that quickly grew into vines, entangling the drake and sapping his energy, sending it straight back to Cacnea.

“Gible!” Trixie screamed, fear filling her for her Pokémon.

“You have to keep calm!” Serena scolded. “You have to keep yourself in check or your Pokémon will panic as well.”

“R-right,” Trixie said to herself, recomposing after a moment. “Gible, claw those vines off and get back at that walking plant!”

“Gib!” Gible roared as his claws brightened with energy again, slicing off the vines and charging at Cacnea. But as Gible approached, a strange blue energy began to surround the dragon. The energy took the form of a larger draconic beast.

“What is that?!” Trixie exclaimed.

“That’s Dragon Rush,” Serena said in awe. “That’s one of the dragon types strongest moves.”

“I’m kinda jealous, to be honest,” Zinnia remarked. “I haven't figured that one out yet.”

When Gible’s new attack landed, it sent Cacnea flying into the air, spinning uncontrollably. The cactus kept going until he reached a point where he perfectly blocked view of the sun from everyone present, and then the unexpected happened.

Cacnea’s body began glowing stark white, his form shifting to be taller, more sleek. His tiny crown morphed and extended into a large, triangular hat, and his rounded arms became much more cylindrical. His legs did the same, stretching and lengthening as they took on a new shape.

The new Pokémon shot to the ground, landing in a crouch. He stood slowly, bright yellow eyes peering out from below the brim of his hat.

“What was that?!” Trixie exclaimed, staring in awe at the grass type’s new appearance.

“That,” Zinnia stated, placing her hand proudly on Stongheart’s shoulder. “Was Cacnea evolving. The Pokémon before you now is a Cacturne.”

Serena pulled her pokédex and scanned the newly evolved Pokåmon. “Cacturne, the scarecrow Pokémon. During the daytime, Cacturne remains unmoving so that it does not lose any moisture to the harsh desert sun. This Pokémon becomes active at night when the temperature drops.”

“I haven’t seen an evolution in so long,” Serena awed. “It’s always so beautiful.”

“That it is, Serena.” Zinnia agreed, sighing happily. “I can’t wait until my son evolves. Oh, he’ll be so happy!”

“No fair!” Trixie cried, stamping her foot. “How come Trixie’s little dragon didn’t evolve?!”

“Gible will evolve when he’s ready, Trixie,” Serena said, trying to reassure the showgirl. “For now, focus on the battle. Strongheart has a bit of an edge now.”

“Right,” Trixie muttered, nodding as she turned around. “Trixie will still crush you!”

“You ready Nocturne?” Strongheart asked, earning a questioning glance from Zinnia. “I, uh… I decided on a name?” she chuckled nervously.

Zinnia held her gaze for a moment before smiling warmly. “I like it.”

Strongheart smiled widely, turning back to the fight with renewed vigour. “Alright Nocturne, use Ingrain to gain back some of your health!”

Nocturne quickly stamped both of his feet, embedding them in the ground where they immediately began absorbing the nutrients in the ground, using them to heal himself.

“Really?” Trixie sneered, crossing her arms. “You’ve made the mistake of locking yourself in again, and Trixie plans to use it to her advantage. Gible, use Dragon Rush!”

Gible rushed forward, the blue aura surrounding him and forming the beast once more. Strongheart watched silently for a moment before smirking, a small giggle escaping her lips.

“I’m not that stupid,” she said, before pointing at the approaching dragon. “Nocturne, combine Spiky Shield and Payback!” she shouted, and Nocturne responded by erecting a large dome of green energy, large spikes soon erupting from its surface. Gible, unfortunately, already had too much momentum behind his attack and thus couldn’t stop in time to avoid smashing into the barrier, the spikes causing his a small amount of damage. Before he could recover, Nocturne dropped the barrier and swung, catching Gible in the stomach with a hand imbued with dark energy, returning the damage that he would have taken twofold.

Gible tumbled backwards, stopping at Trixie’s feet. Nocturne pulled his feet from the ground as the blue girl knelt down to check on her Pokémon. She recoiled, however, when a familiar blue-white energy enveloped the dragon, his form growing and stretching much like Nocturne’s had. His legs became longer, moving to the sides of his body rather than the sides. His arms became more elongated, hands morphing into single claws as fins stretched from his forearms. His head fin dropped to his back as his neck stretched, head shrinking to give the drake a more streamlined design. His tail also stretched a little, remaining quite thick but looking much more powerful.

“Gabite!” the newly evolved Gabite proclaimed, standing tall in front of his trainer, despite being over a foot shorter than her.

“Gible… you evolved,” Trixie breathed in awe. “That’s, that’s amazing!”

“Huh, what are the chances they’d both evolve in the same battle?” Zinnia asked no one in particular, scratching her head in astonishment.

“The same chances you two would pop out of a ‘magic’ stream,” Sunset quipped.

“We didn’t. We fell into a crevice in… what was it Strongheart?”

“The Cave to Nowhere.” the buffalo girl provided, eyes glued to the gabite across the field from her.

“Ah, right. We actually have no idea how we ended up here.”

Serena took this chance to scan Gabite into her pokédex. “Gabite, the Cave Pokémon. Gabite loves sparkly things. It seeks treasures in caves and hoards the loot in its nest.”

“Looks like the show’s not over yet, eh Trixie?” she said with a smirk.

Trixie formed a smirk of her own. “No, no it is not. Are you ready Gabite?”

“Gabite!”

“That’s the spirit! Now get that overgrown weed with Slash!” Gabite took off with a new burst of speed, slashing his glowing white claw across the cacturne’s chest.

“Payback!” Strongheart retaliated, watching with a smirk as Nocturne countered with twice Gabite’s power. “Now, Sand Attack!” He followed through by kicking sand and dirt up, getting some of it in Gabite’s eyes.

“Bad idea~,” Serena sing-songed.

Gabites eyes burned red, only for them to return to normal a moment later and strike Cacturne with slash once again.

“Gabite’s ability is Sand Veil,” Trixie smirked. “Sure it’s full power is only revealed in a sandstorm, but no tiny bit of sand is going to make him any less effective. Dragon Claw!”

“Ga...bite!” the dragon type shouted out as it struck Cacturne’s face with his blue tipped claws.

“Let’s end this.” Strongheart growled, grinning madly with her eyes narrowed.

“Trixie agrees,” the showmare replied, mirroring Strongheart. “This needs to be finished.”

“Dragon Rush!”

“Sucker Punch!”

Both Pokémon charged forward, attacks primed before meeting in the middle. The full force of their attacks caused an explosion of dust and sand, obscuring the combatants from view.

Trixie was the first to see the results, gasping when she was greeted by the sight of Gabite laying on the ground, out cold.

“Yes!” Strongheart cried, pumping her fist in victory. “I won! C’mon, Nocturne, we wo-” she stopped when the rest of the dust cleared, revealing the cacturne in much the same condition as the gabite, lay on his face in the dirt.

Both trainers rushed to their Pokémon’s aide while the others stood, shocked.

Sunset was the first to break from her stupor. “Both Pokémon are unable to battle. It’s a draw! Both sides did very well.”

“That they did,” Serena said as she stepped over to Trixie and offered her a small golden gem. “Use this; it’s a revive, and it will bring Gabite back to half strength.”

Trixie nodded and took the gem, crushing it over Gabite. The dragon was covered in a golden aura that faded after a moment, Gabite coming back to consciousness with a small groan. “You did excellent, Gabite. Trixie is very proud of you.”

Strongheart watched as Nocturne’s feet subconsciously dug themselves into the dirt, the cacturne slowly regaining strength as it absorbed the nutrients in the ground.

“You did great too, Nocturne.” she said, gently stroking his arm. “I’ll make sure you get a reward when we get home.”

“Speaking of which,” Trixie said as she looked at the orange sky above. “Trixie’s mother will be wondering where she is soon. Trixie needs to be getting home. Gabite, return.” Trixie pointed the pokéball at Gabite, a red beam enveloping the dragon before being sucked in.

“Thanks for the battle, Trixie,” Strongheart said, standing and walking over to the showgirl. She held her hand out, a friendly smile on her face. “I’d love to do it again some time.”

“Trixie would love that too,” Trixie replied, before a smug smirk crept onto her face. “But Trixie will win next time.”

“Oh, really?”

“Uh oh,” Zinnia whispered, leaning in to Serena. “I think we may have sparked a rivalry by mistake.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Serena said with a smile. “Nothing helps motivate like a friendly competition. Brings out the best in us, I say. Pokémon does that to people; I’m sure you’ve seen it before.”

“No, actually. Strongheart’s the first in my Equestria, besides me, to have a Pokémon partner of her own. I’m hoping to get everyone to have at least one.”

“Uh, Zinnia?” Strongheart interrupted, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry, but… shouldn’t we get home too?”

“Oh, right! Of course,” she turned to Serena. “It was nice to meet you guys, but we should get going. You just need to say ‘Zinnia, our contract is complete’. That should work.”

“Alright, I suppose. It’s been nice getting to know a proper trainer again. And good luck with your world and…” she nodded at Zinnia’s stomach. “Your future, eh. Zinnia, our contract has been completed.”

“Thanks Serena. Hope you find Ash soon.”

With that, a large black dragon’s head burst from the ground at Zinnia and Little Strongheart’s feet, stars twinkling in it’s scales as it swallowed them both whole before bursting into a shimmering pink powder.

The three girls stared at the spot for a moment before Serena bent down and ran the dust through her fingers. “Stardust, amazing. I haven’t seen this stuff in ages.”

“Stardust? What is that?” Trixie asked.

“A very rare substance,” Sunset said as she started to pour the dust into a plastic baggie. “And might just be enough to bargain for next month’s rent with.”

“Score!” Serena cheered. “We got rent money, woo hoo!”

Trixie and Sunset laughed at Serena’s cheerfulness, all three of them laughing to themselves as they walked home. Little did they know that this wouldn’t be the most exciting thing to happen in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to find out. Next Chapter: We Saved the Crystal Gems! Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 38 Minutes