10 years ago

Just over a dozen students filled the small space in the Pony Oaks Elementary, located by a small park in the suburbs of Canterlot City. The students had just finished their morning merriment of playing outside when their teacher, Ms. Cheerilee called them in to begin a new day of lectures and learning. As they entered one by one, they gleefully took their seats, ready for a new day of fun activities that their teacher had no doubt prepared for them.

“Good morning, everyone!” Ms. Cheerilee announced with a smile. “I've got great news! Today we're going to be learning about--”

“Drugs?”

Ms. Cheerilee's eyebrows furrowed as the subtle sounds of suppressed giggles became the only noise in the otherwise silent classroom. All of the eyes in the room were, of course, staring at Brad, whose feet were kicked up on his desk as he leaned back in his chair.

“Uh… No,” Ms. Cheerilee continued. “Unfortunately the school board has removed drug education from the curriculum after learning that we were basically just educating kids on where and how to buy drugs. Instead, we're going to focus on a much happier topic! Today we'll be talking about--”

“Slaves?”

“Bradly Flash Sentry, that is enough!” Despite the anger beginning to fill up in Ms. Cheerilee's eyes, the quiet laughter was beginning to become more audible as kids were no longer able to contain their chortles. “Kids, why don't you all open your books to page 12 and read together? Brad, I would like to talk to you outside for a moment.”

Without his smile ever leaving his face, Brad got up from his seat and followed Ms. Cheerilee out the door, but not without listening to the peanut gallery behind him as he made his way out.

“Now he's done it!”

“Ms. Cheerilee is probably gonna spank him after that one!”

“He's probably gonna get tossed out of school for good this time!”

“My mom said she wishes he was dead.”

Gently closing the door behind her, Cheerilee took in a deep breath and tried as hard as she could to smile. “Brad…”

“Ms. Cheerilee.”

“Do you… not like school?”

“Not particularly.”

“Is it because of me?”

“Huh? No, it's not you.”

“Is it the way I teach? Should I be doing something different?”

“No, it's not you or your teaching.”

“Then what is it?” Ms. Cheerilee's smile was gone, but her face wasn't angry like it was in the classroom. She sounded more like she was pleading with the young boy, and she appeared as though she would break out into tears at any moment. “Why do you make it so hard for me to teach class every single day? Why can't you just behave?”

“I dunno. I'm sorry, I guess.”

Brad turned his face away from Cheerilee's, his voice growing more agitated as his teacher berated him further.

“Brad, do you have any goals in life?”

“Like what?”

“Like… do you want to grow up to a policeman or a doctor or a--”

“Stripper?”

Cheerilee slapped her hand to her face, slowly pulling down her eyelids as her hand made its way down her cheeks. “Listen, Brad,” she continued, regaining her composure once more. “I’m not going to call your parents today, but I want you to be respectful from the moment we walk in until the moment that bell rings for us all to go home. Do we have a deal?”

“I guess so…”

“Now, if you have to get the sillies out of your system, I want you to do it now before we go back inside.”

“I dunno, Ms. Cheerilee. I have a lot of sillies in my system right now.”

“Then here's your chance. Do whatever you need to do to get them out.”

“Okaaaaay. If you say so!”

Brad then got to his knees, flipped over and laid himself down on the grass in front of Ms. Cheerilee, using his palms as a pillow to cushion his head. Although Cheerilee was confused, she knew that whatever he was doing would be worth it in the end... so long as he didn't interrupt the class for the umpteenth time.

“So… bright pink today, eh, Ms. Cheerilee? I personally prefer the color white, but I gotta admit, those flowers really do add some flavor.”

And then she realized that she was wearing a skirt.

“Brad… You're never going to make it in life.”

--

Present day.

“I'm not gonna make it, Meloetta!”

With his pokémon turning around in surprise, Brad fell to his knees before his face plummeted into the ground, right next to Meloetta. “Mel la me!” she urged her trainer, pulling on the lapels of his jacket, but Brad laid still in the dirt, too exhausted to move any further.

“Man, if I knew how far Ponyville Town was from home, I never would have left. Why don't you just go on without me? I'll catch up in a little bit.”

Meloetta sighed and shrugged. As much as she wanted to encourage him to keep moving, she could tell that there was nothing she could do to motivate him if he couldn't even pull his face out from the dirt.

“Melo la metta.”

Brad was still trying to figure out a way to understand his pokémon when she talked, but whatever she said this time probably wasn't all that important. The ground was so much softer on his face than on his aching feet, which he had been walking on for almost an entire day. The sun was beginning to rise already, and to be honest, Brad had never run a mile in his life, let alone walk to a completely different city. In fact, if it hadn't been for the venomous sevipers he found in the route bushes, he probably wouldn't have even made it as far as he had.

Poke, poke!

“Not now, Meloetta. I'm having the pirate dream again.”

“...”

Poke, poke!

“Great! I was about to find the buried tre--”

As Brad looked up at the white pokémon standing before him, he noticed that it looked completely different than how Meloetta normally appeared. It was slightly smaller with a giant flower petal covering its face like a helmet or a bowl haircut, and it was looking down at Brad with its stubby hand to its mouth and the utmost curiosity.

“...Meloetta?”

“...Ralts…?” it responded quizzically.

Suddenly, Brad jumped back up to his feet. “Wait! What are you?”

“...Ralts…?”

“Oh, yeah. Now I feel dumb.”

“Mel la la la!”

As Brad looked up at the tree branch above his head, he saw his pokémon on its back, laughing hysterically and wobbling back and forth. “You know what?” Brad said as Meloetta began to regain her composure. “Maybe I'll catch this thing and have him ride on my back while you stay in the pokéball!... Wait, you're a dude, right?”

“Ralts?”

“Meloetta mel la me metta.”

Turning his head, Brad began to realize that the two pokémon had begun their own inside conversation, which Brad still couldn't understand. The vein in Brad's forehead began to throb as his anger rose, but he wasn't going to let Meloetta have the last laugh this time. As far as he knew, Meloetta could have seen him as just as much of a joke as Ms. Cheerilee did, but he knew that when he started this journey, it meant that he would prove everybody wrong.

And it would all start with this pokémon.

“Good job distracting it, Meloetta, but I think I can take it from here.” Both pokémon then stopped their conversation to see Brad pulling out a pokéball and taking aim at Ralts, making the smaller one freeze up in fear. “You're mine!”

Reeling back like a pitcher, the blue-haired boy pulled his cap back and flung the ball at the pokémon, who covered its head in some attempt to shield itself, but as soon as the ball made contact, the ralts turned into a red light and swirled into the ball as it clamped itself shut. Once the pokéball fell to the ground, it began to shake violently, the red light on the center of the ball glowing brightly as the pokémon attempted to get out. Both Brad and Meloetta stared intently, never blinking, waiting for the very moment when it would either break out or admit defeat.

Wobble, wobble! Wobble, wobble!

“Come on… Come on…!”

Then, after three more shakes, the red light dissipated, and the ball fell still. Both the pokémon and the trainer remained with their eyes focused on the ball, too shocked to believe what had just happened, but as soon as the message finally sunk in, Brad leapt into the air in victory.

“Alriiiiiiight!!!” Without wasting another second, Brad rushed toward the ball and held it up proudly. “You see this, Meloetta? This proves that I'm a real pokémon trainer!”

Meloetta sighed and shrugged again. “La metta.”

As Brad smiled to himself at the sight of his newly captured pokémon, however, something in the background caught his eye. Putting the ball onto his belt for a moment, he moved past the tree on which Meloetta sat, pushing aside bushes and branches until finally, he could make out the image of a small town.

“Meloetta! Come look at this!” With curiosity in her eyes, the Pokémon floated down to Brad's shoulder and gasped with joy. “It's Ponyville Town! We made it!”

“Meloetta!”

“I bet we can find a bed somewhere! Actually, you know what? I'm too excited to sleep right now! How about we go straight to the gym?”

“Mel la me?”

“Of course I think it's a good idea!”

“Mel? La metta me?”

“OK, now I have no idea what you're saying, but I'm guessing it has something to do with food?”

Before Meloetta could even reply, her stomach began to rumble audibly, making the pokémon blush on embarrassment.

“No need to ask me twice. Let's go grab something to eat and challenge the gym leader!”

“Meloetta!”

Upon entering the city and having a hefty meal, the trainer and his pokémon made their way to the center of the town until finally, they reached a large building with a slanted roof and a design in the shape of a long, snake-like dragon. The stone plaque beside it read,

“This is it, huh? I finally get to meet my old friend again. Think you're ready?”

“La metta.”

“Alright, then. Let's go.”

Then, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he pushed open the gym doors and stepped into the dark building.

As Brad entered into the gym and closed the door behind him, the once bright environment turned into a dimly lit room with the only light being the torches that were scattered around the interior. The building was a large rectangle that stretched far across the side with a horizontal battle stage encompassing the majority of the area within, and just on the opposite side sat Twilight, the Ponyville Town gym leader.

The girl wore a vest made out of rough scales that imitated the skin of a dragon with black leather slacks and her hair tied up with an ornament that resembled a dragon's horn. She sat in a regal chair--a throne would describe it better--with her cheek resting against the back of her hand, almost as if she had been expecting him. Standing just in front of her was a purple and green dragon pokémon that Brad had never seen before, folding its arms and smiling at the challenger.

“Brad? Long time no see,” Twilight said, lifting herself from her throne. “How've you been?”

“Unlike everyone else,” Brad began, “I pretty much haven't changed since high school. Congrats on being gym leader, by the way, and uh… sorry about the whole popping your cherry and disappearing for a week. You know how awkward things can get right after your first time, right?”

“Awkward. Yeah. That definitely describes it.”

“Who's this joker?” the dragon spoke, turning his eyes towards Twilight and pointing in Brad's direction.

“Don't worry, Spike. He's just a guy I knew before becoming a pokémon trainer.”

“Are we just going to pretend that's normal?” Brad asked incredulously, gesturing towards Spike. “Like, first of all, I don't even friggin’ know what that thing is supposed to be. Second, do they all have the ability to form coherent sentences like that?”

Spike and Twilight exchanged glances toward each other, then back to Brad as Twilight put a hand to her hip. “So…” Twilight began, “are you here to catch up? That sounds like it would be fun, but I really have to be ready for challengers.”

Smirking, Brad put a thumb to his chest and declared, “You want a challenger? You've got one! I officially challenge you to a pokémon battle!”

Spike and Twilight looked at each other once more, but once the message sunk in, they both keeled over and began to laugh hysterically, holding their stomachs as their sides began to hurt.

“You want to battle Twilight?” the dragon asked between chortles. “You've gotta be kidding me!”

“I'm sorry, Brad, but Spike is right.” At this point, Twilight had regained her composure and was standing up straight again, although still wiping a tear from the earlier hilarity. “Gym battles are serious business. Gym leaders are here to act as qualifiers for the Pokémon League, not be your sparring partner.”

“I'm serious.”

As Brad spoke, his smirk was gone, with an unenthused expression emanating from his face. Meloetta also folded her arms in a serious tone as the two of them stared down the gym leader and her dragon.

Twilight tried to speak, but her surprise twisted her words before they even had the chance of forming in her mouth. “Wait, really? You're trying to enter the Pokémon League?”

“Is it really that much of a surprise to think that I could actually be trying to make something of myself?”

Twilight wanted to retort with a resounding “yes,” but in the situation she was in, she thought it would be better to be polite than to say what she was really thinking. “OK, Brad. You want a battle? I accept your challenge.”

Crap. As much as Brad wanted to hear those exact words, his tongue suddenly got caught up in his throat. He had never been in a pokémon battle before, but here he was declaring that he wanted to battle a certified gym leader and enter the Pokémon League! He had no idea how strong of a trainer Twilight was, but if there was anything he did know, it was that Twilight had spent countless hours researching what to do during any situation she would experience in battle.

Twilight made her way down the steps of her platform and to the west side of the gym as her dragon assistant took the center stage, just behind the official designated battle area. Trying to keep his composure, Brad made his way over to the other end of the gym, hiding how much he was shaking as his heart circled inside his chest. The twelve seconds it took Brad to reach the east side of the gym felt like five minutes, with each step feeling like he was carrying a wailord on his back until finally, he reached the trainer's box, staring down the Canterlot City gym leader.

“As I'm sure you know,” Twilight started, “I specialize in dragon-type pokémon. I hope you've done your homework, but it wouldn't be the first time you've forgotten. Only this time, you won't have me telling you all the answers with you swearing that you'll call me back when you finish that song you were working on.”

“Hey! That song is almost finished! And for the record, I think it's a pretty dang good--”

“We'll have two pokémon a side! Choose wisely.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Both Twilight and Brad turned their heads towards the dragon official in the center of the room. “Are both trainers ready?” The two trainers looked back at each other and nodded. “Challenger Brad vs. Gym Leader Twilight. Begin!”

Immediately upon receiving permission from the dragon referee, Twilight opened her vest and pulled out a pokéball, her eyes never leaving sight of Brad's. “Lucky for you, I'm still pretty new, so out of all the gym leaders in the Equestria region, you're lucky you chose to start out with me. Go, Axew!” Twilight then flung her pokéball to her side of the court, releasing a white glow and a small, green dragon.

“Aaaaxew!” it cried, glaring at its opponent.

Brad then put his hand to his belt, pulled out a pokéball of his own and turned his head to the companion on his shoulder. “Sorry, Meloetta, but I don't want to reveal my secret weapon just yet. Is that alright?”

“Mel la metta,” she replied nodding her head.

“Alright! Go, Ralts!” Brad then threw out his pokéball onto his side of the field, releasing his newly caught pokémon for its first ever battle. As soon as the light disappeared, the small, white pokémon lifted its stubby hand to its mouth, almost appearing as though it were sucking its thumb. “Ready, Ralts? Hit that axew with your most powerful move!”

Twilight bit her lip in anticipation with Brad on the other side close to breaking out in a cold sweat. All eyes were now on Ralts, whose gaze fell onto the enemy Axew, but after a few seconds of silence, the small, white pokémon turned back towards Brad and tilted its head to the side.

“Ralts?” it squeaked.

Twilight shook her head in embarrassment as Spike began to fall over in laughter again. “Even his own pokémon doesn't know what its moves are!”

Brad tried to keep his attention away from the laughing dragon as embarrassment began to build up inside him. “Come on, Ralts!” Brad pleaded. “You've gotta know something!”

“Brad…” Twilight spoke with a twinge of concern in her voice. “You didn't just barely catch this ralts, did you?” A sudden pain hit the man right in the stomach at the sad fact that Twilight not only saw right through him, but also made it seem like he was unaware of the most basic knowledge that any pokémon trainer should know. “When it's first starting out, it doesn't know any attacks yet. It needs experience before it's ready for battle. I thought you wanted to enter the Pokémon League.”

With each word Twilight spoke, the pain in Brad's heart grew worse and worse, as if she were taking a knife and dissecting his pride until she eventually tore out everything keeping him composed. Brad looked one more time at the baby pokémon, hoping that there was something that it was holding back, but instead he was met with the same confused gaze that he himself had.

“I'm sorry about this, little guy,” Twilight began, “but I have a job to do. Axew! Take care of it with dragon rage!”

The dragon pokémon opened its mouth to reveal a blue flame within beginning to ignite, but while oblivious to the situation behind it, the ralts continued to pensively tilt its head at its trainer. Slowly the blue flame began to grow brighter and larger as it suddenly engulfed the entirety of Axew's massive jaw.

“Ralts! Get out of there!”

“Axew! Now!”

As Ralts finally turned its head around to the enemy pokémon, a giant blue flame was inches from its face, threatening to close the gap within a fraction of a second. As Brad looked on in horror, all he could do was wait for the flames to subside and see the damage done to his newly acquired pokémon, but right as soon as he thought the flames would come to an abrupt stop, they continued to steamroll through the arena in a direct path towards him.

“Shit fuck!” Brad and Meloetta nosedived to the ground as the flames soared past him, barely missing his coat and heating his upper body. “Is that allowed? Like do you not care that your pokémon almost set me on fire there?”

“This doesn't make any sense,” Twilight said, expecting the flames to make a halt once they hit Ralts, but as she looked around the stage and found no trace of the baby pokémon, she feared the worst. “Axew, you don't think--”

“Ralts?”

Hearing a squeak behind him, Brad turned his head backwards to see Ralts holding onto the back of his pantleg, shielding itself for protection.

“Huh?” Brad blurted out. “How did you get back here?”

“That isn't possible.” All eyes turned toward Twilight, who rubbed her chin quizzically. “There's no way it knows teleport already. It shouldn't know any moves except growl.”

“So, wait, it does know moves?”

“I don't know. Maybe it just got away while we weren't looking. Either way, it won't last long against Axew.”

As Brad got back to his feet, the pokémon beside him continued to tremble, holding tighter as it gave quick glances to the dragon at the other side of the court. As gently as he could, Brad picked up his ralts, brought it to his face and gave it his warmest smile. “I know you're scared, but do you think you can give it one more try?” Ralts quickly shook its head, making Brad laugh as he patted the pokémon's head. “I just want to see if you know any attacks, and then you can be done, OK?”

Brad then set his ralts back onto the floor and nudged it forward, not giving it much of a choice as the green dragon awaited for it to return to the arena. As it took another step forward, its arms began to tremble in fear while its eyes paid more attention to the floor than to the enemy.

“Alright, Axew!” Twilight projected. “Are you ready for one more?”

“Now's your chance, Ralts! Hit it with anything you've got!”

As the green dragon pokémon opened its mouth to emit another blue flame, the timid ralts began to glow a faint purple, causing the dragon to momentarily stop in its tracks. Then, just as it was about to launch off another dragon rage, it suddenly began to feel the ground beneath it grow lighter and lighter. The dragon looked down at its feet, which were glowing blue and about 3 feet off the floor, when suddenly it was violently tossed backwards, soaring past the white outline of the arena and crashing into the wall of the gym.

“Axew!” Twilight shouted, running towards her pokémon.

Brad, on the other side of the gym, turned to his pokémon with his mouth wide open and muttered, “Did you do that?” Ralts, on the other hand, fled the court immediately and grabbed onto Brad's pantleg, shivering in fear again. With both trainers left in confusion, they both turned to Twilight's assistant, but as he looked back at both pokémon, all he could do was scratch his head in confusion.

“Well,” Spike started. “Didn't see that comin’. Axew is no longer able to battle! Twilight is down to one pokémon!”

Twilight, still in disbelief, turned back to her pokémon and gave it a gentle smile, patting it on the head while its eyes spun in circles. “You did good, Axew. Nobody can blame you for what happened.”

“However!” Both Brad and Twilight turned their heads back toward the assistant with confusion on their faces. “Ralts is also no longer able to battle! Brad is also down to one pokémon!”

“What?!” Brad interjected, but as he looked down at his pokémon trembling with fear, he began to realize that the dragon was right, and he had already made the promise that Ralts would be done after one attack. “Good job, buddy,” he said, patting Ralts on the head. “Just stay back and watch this next one, alright?” Ralts nodded its head and hid behind Brad's leg, poking its head out just enough to see the battle floor.

“Alright, Brad. I'll give you that one. I didn't realize your pokémon knew any psychic attacks, but sadly for you, I've already prepared for something like that.” Pulling out another pokéball from her vest, she pushed the button in the center of the ball and threw it out into the arena. “Go! Deino!” As the white light began to dissipate and the shape began to solidify, a black and blue dragon stood tall in the center of the court.

“Dein dein!”

Brad then turned to the pokémon on his shoulder. “Looks like it's your turn, Meloetta.”

“La metta!”

With a fiery determination, Meloetta leapt off of Brad's shoulder and landed just a few feet away from Twilight's deino. Twilight, upon seeing Brad's choice, put her hands on her hips and snickered. “I hope you know what you're doing, Brad,” she said. “I admit, this is my first time seeing one in person, but my research has told me that meloettas are psychic-type pokémon, and Deino here is a dark-type.”

“...”

“...”

“...Meaning…?”

“Ugh! It means that Meloetta is weak to dark-types! For the love of Celestia! Are you taking this seriously at all?”

“Sure I am. Watch this! Meloetta! Hit it with a psychic attack!”

Launching herself into the air, Meloetta wrapped her arms to her chest, began emitting a blue glow, and with all the force she had, snapped her arms towards her opponent, releasing a giant shockwave towards Twilight's deino. The force of the attack sent gusts of wind and dust flying all over the gym, making Twilight and Brad shield their eyes with their arms as their vests flapped in the breeze, but when the gusts faded…

“Deino dein?”

...Twilight's pokémon was left completely unscathed.

“That was a pretty impressive attack, Brad,” Twilight said victoriously as she rested her hands back onto her hips. “I'm surprised you managed to catch a pokémon with that much power, but you should have done your homework. Not only are psychic-types weak to dark-types, but psychic attacks do nothing against dark-type pokémon!”

“No…” Brad said under his breath, realizing that in this situation, his disadvantage had grown to an almost one-sided level. “Meloetta…”

Meloetta then turned back to Brad, but when he saw her defeated expression as she shook her head, he began to wonder if he should continue the fight or forfeit before his pokémon got hurt. He had gotten lucky with Ralts, but without being able to use psychic attacks, Brad had no more cards left up his sleeve.

“Let's not waste any more time, Deino!” Twilight announced. “Use dark pulse, now!”

Meloetta turned back to her opponent, but just as soon as her eyes were facing forward again, all the lights in her vision had faded away, leaving her blind as a fierce pulse bombarded throughout her body. Brad's pokémon screamed in agony, making the boy nearly jump into the arena to get her, but when he looked over at Spike's stern stare, he took a step back and watched as his pokémon flailed in pain.

Finally, when the attack was over, Meloetta landed flat onto the ground, motionless, as if she were dead. “That's it!” Brad exclaimed. “I'm ending the match! Twilight, you w--”

“Meloetta!”

Brad's words were cut off when his pokémon, lifting her upper body off the ground with a shaking arm, held up her other arm as if to ask him to wait. Then, with shaking legs, she pulled herself back up to her feet, panting, but still maintaining her balance just enough to continue the fight.

“You… want to keep going?”

“La me,” Meloetta replied, nodding her head while never breaking eye contact with the black dragon.

“Well?” All eyes then turned to Twilight's assistant, who was tapping his foot impatiently with folded arms. “Are you gonna stop the match or not?”

Brad looked over at Meloetta once more to make sure, but with another nod from his pokémon, he said, “Yeah. We're not ready to back down just yet.”

Twilight shrugged in amusement. “Well, as gym leader, I can't end the battle unless one of us forfeits or can no longer continue. Just a word of advice for you: Meloetta is a dual psychic/normal-type. If she knows any normal-type moves, I would suggest using them now.”

“Meloetta? Any ideas?” Meloetta stopped to think, but as she wracked her brain for answers, nothing came to her mind. “Please…”

“I think I've given you all the hints I can. Deino, let's finish this. Give it another dark pulse!”

Suddenly, Meloetta's field of vision went black again. She was in the same darkness as she was before, and if she didn't act fast, she would be consumed again, only this time, she wouldn't get back up. As Brad looked on, knowing exactly what was going to happen, and with no answers on how to fight back, he fell to his knees and waited for a miracle...

...And then he heard a voice.

“La, la la la la la, la la la la, la, la la, la la la la la la, la laaaaa.”

Fighting his better instincts and looking up to see his pokémon once again, he noticed something far different than what he was expecting only moments before. Through the darkness that engulfed her, Meloetta continued to sing, and as her voice rang through the gym, her hair began to lift from her shoulders above her head. Her microphone piece sifted through the notes in her hair, changing it from a bright green into a burnt brown until it began to rest on top of her head in a spiraling bun. The most surprising thing, however, was that even though the darkness was pummeling through her body, she maintained her composure as if the attack didn't even phase her.

“What?” Brad gasped. “Meloetta… You're OK?”

As the attack ended, Meloetta turned to her trainer and smiled. “La metta,” she responded with a nod.

“How can this be?!” Twilight asked aloud, taking a step back in shock. “That attack should have ended the battle! Was there something I missed? Did I not study hard enough?”

“To be honest, I'm just as confused as you are. Meloetta, do you think you've got this?”

Meloetta turned her head over her shoulder, and with a seductive wink, she replied, “La me.”

“Alright, Meloetta! Let's show Twilight just how strong you are!”

“Mel meloetta!”

Then, in the blink of an eye, Meloetta disappeared from the stage, leaving everyone but Brad with a confused look on their face. Suddenly, Meloetta appeared inches from Deino's face as it launched a bone-crushing kick across its face, sending it hurdling several feet back, but before it could even touch the floor again, Meloetta appeared once more behind it, sending a harrowing punch into Deino's gut.

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed. “Close combat?! I don't know of any psychic-types that can use that!”

“Well, you're looking right at one. Meloetta! Keep it coming! Don't hold back!”

“La mel! La mel! LA MEL!”

With each punch and each kick, Meloetta found herself growing weaker, but with the battle close to its end, she sunk her fists as hard as she could, hoping for that one critical hit that would end the match altogether.

“Deino! Don't let her get another hit in! Use dragon rage as soon as she gets close enough!”

“This is your chance, Meloetta! Brick break! Now!”

The half-second that followed felt as though time itself had stopped with both sides anxious to see whose attack would hit first. Meloetta's fist was closing in fast, but Deino's mouth was already glowing a bright blue. Time stood still... and then it was over.

Both pokémon fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Both Brad and Twilight exchanged nervous glances at their pokémon and Spike, trying to keep an eye on the bodies in the middle of the room while keeping close attention on the dragon referee. “Who hit first?” was all anyone could think, but just as the referee was about to make his decision, one of the bodies in the middle began to move. Subtly at first, but with enough momentum to lift its head up, the pokémon wobbled its shaking feet until it was the only one standing in the arena.

“Meeeeeel metta!”

Spike coughed on his own spit, but after sucking in enough air to speak, he held up his left arm towards Brad and announced, “Deino is no longer able to battle! Challenger Brad is the winner!”

Everyone remained speechless for a moment, but that silence was quickly shattered as Brad and Meloetta both jumped into the air, cheering with joy. “We did it!”

“Mel la me!”

Twilight was still in complete awe, but realizing the scenario before her, she exhaled a breath that she had been holding in, hung her head low and approached her pokémon, still lying in the middle of the floor. “You did good, Deino,” she said gently, pulling out her pokéball to summon it back inside. Then, looking at Brad, she lifted herself off the ground, patted off some dust from her slacks and reached into her vest. “Congratulations,” she continued, pulling out a star-shaped badge from inside one of her pockets. “You've earned this. The magic badge is yours.”

Brad held out his hand as the gym leader placed the metallic pink star into his palm, and for the next few moments, all Brad could do was smile to himself as he stared at his achievement. “You know something?” Brad started. “When I walked in here, you thought I was a joking when I said I wanted to enter the Pokémon League.”

“You're right, Brad, and I believe that you can make it. Just remember, I'm still pretty new to this whole gym leader thing, so I really had no idea what I was doing out there.”

“Heh. Wouldn't be the first time you didn't know what you were doing. BAZINGA!”

Twilight didn't know whether she should be offended or laugh, which showed on her face as it contorted into a mix between a smile and a grimace. “You know, Brad,” Twilight began, “you winning this gym badge is probably the first time you've actually brought me to my knees.”

“...Meloetta, Ralts, I'm gonna need both of you in your pokéballs for a minute.” Before Meloetta could even voice her disapproval, Brad pulled out his two pokéballs from his pocket and summoned his pokémon inside, never dropping eye contact with the smirking gym leader.

“Spike, I need you to wait outside for a minute.”

“What did I do?” Spike contested, but after a fiery glare from Twilight, he held up his hands and backed away slowly. “Alright, alright. I'll go look for dragon gems or something.”

Silence followed until the purple dragon made his way outside, slowly creaking the door shut behind him. As soon as they knew they were alone, both trainers smiled at each other, hinting that they both knew what was coming next.

“So… you finish that song yet?” Twilight asked, batting her eyelashes.

“It's a work in progress,” Brad replied with his voice growing softer.

“I guess that gives you an excuse in case you ever want to run away and play pokémon trainer without making any long term commitments.” As Twilight spoke, she began to move in closer, her eyes never leaving Brad's.

“I'm a pretty busy guy.”

By this point, their chests were practically touching as Twilight reached up and began running her hand through Brad's hair. “And I'm just a girl who falls for any boy who can play the guitar.”

“You wanna hear me play something?”

“Later.” Her voice descended into a faint whisper as she got up on her toes, pulled Brad by the neck with one hand and rested her other onto his shoulder, kissing him passionately in a fervor she had been waiting patiently for. The teenage boy then wrapped his hands around Twilight's waist, pulling her in closer as their mouths navigated around each other's.

“You know, you really hurt my feelings with that thing you said,” Brad said with a smile as soon as Twilight's lips broke apart to breathe.

Twilight giggled. “I never knew you were so sensitive.”

“Are you telling me that I didn't hurt your feelings at all?”

“Nope! You wanna know why?” Twilight grinned seductively, her hand moving down Brad's shoulder all the way to his belt. “Because this time, I'll know exactly what I'm doing.”

By the time Twilight had finished her sentence, Brad's belt had already been undone, and within just a few painstaking seconds, she managed to unbutton his pants, pull down his zipper and ease her hand into Brad's boxers. Brad bit his lip at the feeling of Twilight's fingers moving up and down his shaft, all while she looked up at him with eyes that seemed to say, “I want you to fuck me. Right here, right now.” By this point, his penis had already grown as big as it could get, popping out of his boxers slightly as the tip of Twilight's fingers danced from the base of his shaft up to the head.

Twilight then looked up from Brad’s dick to meet his eyes, which immediately nodded, giving her permission she didn't need, and without a second's hesitation, she slowly descended to her knees, grabbed the hem of his boxers and pulled them down to his ankles, freeing his penis which nearly slapped Twilight in the face.

“Hmm…” Twilight mumbled as she continued to play with Brad's member. “What should I do with you?”

“Are you really going to make me say it?” Brad asked with a chuckle.

“I'm not gonna do it unless you ask me to.”

“I think you underestimate my persuasion skills.” Before Twilight could interrogate him further, however, Brad nudged his cock into Twilight's already open mouth, catching her off guard at first, but as soon as Twilight got a good taste of his manhood against her tongue, she quickly closed her eyes and began moving her mouth back and forth.

Reeling his head back with pleasure, he ran his hand through Twilight's hair, helping navigate her head as it bobbed back and forth, gradually taking in more and more of his erect penis. Every so often, his hips would reflexively move forward, making the feeling of Twilight's lips sliding down the skin of his shaft all the more enticing. Then, seeing the reaction she was creating for him and looking to add more fuel to the fire, she gently grabbed hold of the base of his dick, moving it in tandem with her mouth, gripping him harder and harder.

“Ohhhh, Twilight… When did you get so good at this?”

Twilight then popped Brad's penis out of her mouth, but not without keeping her hand in a back and forth rhythm to maintain his erection. “See what you've been missing?”

Brad chuckled. “I haven't seen anything yet.”

Twilight's eyebrows furrowed, but she couldn't hold back the mischievous smile that was beginning to form on her face. Without saying another word, she flicked her ponytail behind her shoulders, pulled down her dragon vest and plopped it onto the floor, subtly puffing out her chest to build the erotic tension. Twilight then waited for Brad's response, but being left with no words to express himself, his little guy down south had to do the communication for him, pulsing as more and more blood traveled through it. Twilight, upon looking down and seeing just the kind of reaction she was looking for, then crossed her arms downward and lifted her shirt above her head, tossing it to the floor beside them.

“Doing alright so far?” Twilight asked with a smirk, discreetly leaning forward to reveal more of her cleavage as her bra pushed her boobs together.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! Hold on a second!” As soon as the message sunk in as to what they were doing, Brad quickly threw off his vest, pulled his shirt over his head and pulled his arms out of his sleeves, casting it alongside Twilight's. At this point, however, he noticed that he was completely naked (aside from his pants still hanging onto his ankles) whereas Twilight still had on her black slacks and purple bra.

“Sooo…” Twilight began, smirking as her arms bent behind her back. “I'm guessing you want me to join you, then?”

Without saying another word, Brad lifted Twilight's chin up to his to pull her into a hard, passionate kiss, and as soon as Twilight's hand moved from her back to Brad's bare shoulder, her bra fell to the floor. The teenage boy then moved his hand towards Twilight's hair, pulling out the dragon ornament to let Twilight's hair fall down while his other hand pressed against her back, squeezing their bare chests together. As their mouths caressed each other's lips, every so often, the purple-haired girl would need to pull off momentarily to catch her breath, but Brad would quickly reconnect their tongues, making Twilight's nipples become more firm with her heightened arousal.

“I can't take it anymore,” Twilight said, pushing herself from Brad's grip. Quickly, she unzipped her slacks, pulled her knees out and hopped on one foot while she slid her legs out completely, one leg at a time. Noticing Brad's firm stare, however, she then slowly turned away, bent forward, and gradually slid her panties down her pelvis, giving him a painstaking view of her ass as she stepped out of her undergarments. “Ahhh! So much better! Don't you think?”

Brad gulped. He wanted to be inside her so bad, but it was obvious that Twilight wanted to tease him for as long as she possibly could. Unfortunately for Brad, though, her plan was working perfectly.

“Oops!” Twilight said suddenly. I think I dropped something over here. Silly me!” Then, looking back just enough to see Brad's reaction, she bent forward to the ground, separating her legs just enough to see her vulva, practically winking at him, urging him to come forward and penetrate her.

Which is exactly what he did.

“Mmmmm!” Twilight groaned as Brad grabbed hold of both her hips and gently squeezed his way between Twilight's thighs. He had forgotten how tight Twilight was, but getting back into rhythm, he found his way through her inner tunnel and pressed himself in as deep as he could go.

Just the feeling of the nostalgic sensation of Twilight's insides made his nerves shake at how good his orgasm would be, making him debate with himself if he even wanted to pull out at the end. As Twilight's pelvis bounced against his, Brad ran his fingers down the center of her back, making her involuntarily arch her spine and clench her crotch harder against his ever-stiffening shaft.

“Looks like I found a sweet spot,” Brad whispered.

“Almost. Just a little deeper.” Complying with Twilight's words, Brad subtly lifted Twilight's hips upward against his hips, carrying his manhood further down into her vagina. “Right there! Yes! So gooood! Mmmm!!”

With the green light from the dragon girl, Brad began to pick up the pace, creating a loud splash that echoed throughout the gym every time his crotch collided into hers. Twilight's hands began to rest on top of her knees, using all the strength she had to keep her balance while Brad weakened her with every thrust. Her breathing had become sporadic, taking in large breaths in between her aroused moans, but with every audible gasp that escaped her lips, Brad inserted himself deeper, waiting for the blissful moment when he could decorate her from the inside.

“OK, hold on!” Brad said breathlessly, pulling himself out as soon as he began to feel a pressure building in his balls. He wanted to finish inside her more than ever had before, but he wanted to savor Twilight's body as much as he possibly could before finishing. “Get on top of me.”

Twilight smiled at being given her new command. As she wobbled her way back up and turned around, Brad shakily got to the floor, positioning his legs between Twilight's so that she could get on top of him. As soon as Brad got into position, Twilight got down to her knees, lifted Brad's cock in her hands and gently slid herself onto his phallus, knocking her head back and inhaling deeply at the familiar feeling of her folds being navigated.

Brad helped kick things off by lifting his waist off the floor, but as soon as Twilight could reclaim what little composure she had left, she placed her hands onto Brad's shoulder, bouncing herself on his pelvis. The teenage boy looked down at the gorgeous sight of Twilight's labia spreading around his dick while a glistening residue spread across his skin, then up to her breasts, skipping against her rib cage as her nipples stared Brad in the eyes, but the real prize was Twilight squeezing her eyes shut in pleasure, mixing her expression between a smile and unbearable itch that she needed Brad to take care of.

“You gettin’ close?” the boy asked breathlessly, secretly hoping that he could finish as soon as he was given permission. Twilight, too intoxicated with the sensation in her loins, simply bit her lip and nodded, grabbing his shoulders tighter as her eyes squeezed in an almost painful ecstasy.

As soon as Twilight reached the apex of her next thrust, Brad lifted his hips up to meet her in the air. Suddenly, the blue-haired teen was making her entire body bounce as Twilight's spine arched backwards, reaching back to the floor to keep her from falling over with every violent thrust of Brad's hips. Twilight's moaning gasps had become high-pitched squeaks of bliss, no longer able to exhale her breath without crying out in her arousal. Every time Brad’s member reached all the way to Twilight's cervix, it caused her to get louder, her pitch growing higher, and her hole clenching tighter.

“I want you to cum for me, Twilight.”

“I'm so close!”

Brad picked up his pace to twice the speed, praying that he could send her over the edge before prematurely climaxing. Lifting his back off the floor with his elbows, he grabbed hold of Twilight's legs, using all the force he could to penetrate her as deep as he could go.

“Mmmm, so good!” Twilight breathed. “I'm so close! I'm gonna… I’m... Aaaahhh!!!”

Brad then began to feel her insides contract and pull with even more liquid dripping down her thighs. “Shit!” Brad thought. “Do I pull out? Should I finish on her tits or--Oh, wait… Nevermind. It's happening.”

As soon as Twilight's inner walls began to be covered in semen, her breathing stopped for a good three seconds before releasing her loudest scream yet, far too aroused to give any thought to the repercussions. What she wanted at that moment then and there was to have her pussy completely filled with Brad's cum, and the louder she screamed, the more warm liquid began to build up between her thighs.

Finally, as the feeling in his balls began to slowly calm down, he gently began to let go of Twilight's legs and fall back onto the floor, while Twilight mirrored his actions, dripping a white liquid from between her lower lips. Even after finishing, he couldn't keep his eyes off of Twilight's breasts, which rose and fell along with her chest as she finally managed to suck in the vast amount of air around her.

“Do…” Brad began, struggling to breathe himself. “Do you think I went a little too far there?”

“Mm-mm,” the gym leader replied shaking her head, still looking up at the ceiling. “You have no idea how much I wanted that.”

“Think you'll be able to get it all out?”

“Maybe.” Both teenagers then wobbled their way up to their feet with Brad helping Twilight up by the hand. Before she could even reach her balance, however, she began to push out as much of Brad's seed onto the floor as she could, using her finger to pull out anything that was left. “Eeewww! Braaaad!”

The blue-haired boy chuckled. “What is it, Twilight?”

“It's all sticky!”

“Good luck cleaning that all up, by the way.”

“What?!” Once Twilight looked up from her semen-filled vagina, she noticed that Brad had already pulled his pants back up to his waist and was about to have his shirt back on as well. “You're helping too, you know!”

“What for?” Brad winked, holding up the star-shaped pendant given to him just a few minutes prior. “I already got what I wanted.”

“Flash! Don't think you can just leave me here pulling cum out of my pussy before I even put my clothes back on!”

“That's the problem, isn't it?” With his clothes back on, he looked over his shoulder to Twilight and began to open the gym doors. “I never think.”

Thus, leaving Twilight with both of their passion dripping down her legs, he pulled back his cap and made his way down the path to his next gym badge: Fillydelphia City.

“Fluttershy, here I come.”