Chapter 2: Pony Up to a Charizard
In trying to rid her fear of dragons, Fluttershy and Twilight entered the world of Pokémon and reverted to human forms. Too bad the same couldn't be said about Spike or Discord. Both girls left Ash's home for Professor Oak's lab down the road. "You know, I can get to Professor Oak's lab without your help," Fluttershy tried to relieve Twilight but the "unicorn" teen had an agenda on hand.
"Actually, I did have something to ask the professor myself," she explained the partnering. "And besides, Team Rocket could still come after you." The ability to communicate with Pokémon was sacred to her.
"I suppose those are good reasons. Besides, I wonder if they found a way to get over being consumed by the Poison Joke yet." Both girls laughed at the misfortune. As they continued, a small rumbling shook them. "The Tauros are running laps again." If the tremor could be felt out here, the stampede must be powerful.
"Probably wouldn't have hurt to bring Applejack along." They pressed on when they reached Oak's home with the gate in front. Fluttershy it the button.
"Who's there?" a young man's voice asked through the speaker.
"It's Fluttershy and Twilight, Tracey!"
"Okay, I'll open the gate! You can come in!" The tumbling inside the bars of the gate signaled the girls to enter. Once inside, they saw two Pokémon on the table eating pellets. One was a purple fuzzball with beady red eyes and tiny curved fangs. The other was a blue mouse with a bouncy ball at the end of a tail.
"Marill, hi!" The blue mouse waived to Fluttershy which the fuzzball got to wondering.
("You know her, Marill?") it buzzed.
("Yeah, our master's friends!") Marill squeaked before twisting its body to Fluttershy. ("What brings you here?") The language of Pokémon helped the "Pegasus" girl.
"I came to see Professor Oak about Dragon Pokémon and who are masters of them," she informed. Marill and the fuzzball got a little concerned. That's when Tracey came down the stairs.
"Enjoying seeing Marill and Venonat, huh?" he identified. Twilight and Fluttershy, as well as the Pokémon, turned to the Pokémon Watcher and holder of the Binoculars Cutie Mark.
"Hey, Tracey," Twilight greeted before turning to Venonat. "So that's Venonat?"
("I am indeed,") it buzzed. Twilight didn't need Fluttershy to translate. Tracey decided to ask the important question.
"So, what brings you girls here?" he inquired. "Not to see Ash, right?" The news of Ash was already passed from Delia.
"Actually, we were wondering about dragons," Twilight pointed out. Tracey's eyes lit up at the acknowledged topic.
"Dragons, is that it?" voiced Oak, a little dirt on his lab coat and his whitish hair coming in. "Funny, I never would imagine ponies seeking dragons." He gave off a little laugh but he stopped when Fluttershy approached with a towel.
"What in Equestria happened to you?" she asked, a little worried.
"Well, when you have a ranch full of Pokémon, you tend to have a few that can get a little rowdy. I appreciate that." Sitting down, Twilight clarified the reason for their visit. "I see... It's an interesting reason to see dragons to get over your fear of them." Tracey would agree.
"Yeah, I take it the dragons in Equestria are enormous compared to our dragons," Tracey compared as everyone sipped on tea.
"Enormous isn't enough until you see them," Twilight exaggerated. Fluttershy nodded to the information. "I know it's silly to see a trainer that specializes in Dragon Pokémon but I think anything could help with her fears." This had Oak and Tracey in a ponder. Could there be someone who can help the pink-haired girl?
"I may know someone who my grandson ran into in the Johto Region," Oak opened up an idea. "As I recall, one of the eight Pokémon Gyms is based around Dragon Pokémon." There's hope for Fluttershy. Feeling she could be denied, she stood, her hands folded in front of her.
"Anything, Professor Oak!" she pleaded. "I want to understand dragons, even if they're Pokémon!" Oak and Tracey felt Fluttershy's compassion to understanding her wish.
"Well, we didn't say we'd refuse to let you go!" Tracey shuttered.
"Yes, well..." Oak hesitated. "I can call Professor Elm and see if you and Twilight can help you find that Gym Leader." Fluttershy sighed in relief at the professor's consent.
"Sorry," she huffed. Just as everyone relaxed, a roar from outside got their attention. Tracey recognized the deafening roar.
"Sounds like Ash's Charizard is back," he noticed. Fluttershy and Twilight blinked at who this Charizard was.
"Ash has a... what now?" Twilight hiccuped. Standing up, Tracey opted to show the ponies-turned-human one of Ash's Pokémon.
"Come on, I can show you." Tracey led the girls to the ranch where the Pokémon hang out when their trainers have them on standby. That's when they spotted the Pokémon in question: a large orange winged reptile with a flame on its tail and horns on its head. First sight got Fluttershy spooked.
"That's a dragon!" she shrieked as she hid behind Twilight. Tracey and the flaming lizard gawked at her identification.
"Fluttershy, Charizard's not a dragon." It didn't help the pink-haired and Twilight had a feeling why.
"Come on, Tracey," she spoke up as she approached the Pokémon, palming the body much to Charizard's surprise. "Scaly body... sharp claws..." She snagged and opened the wings. "Featherless wings..." She then motioned Charizard to lower its head to feel the horns. "Dual pointy horns as sharp as Princess Luna when she was Nightmare Moon... Can breathe fire..." Demonstrating, Charizard snorted embers from its nostrals as Twilight stepped back for the tail. "And a fire on the tip of its tail... which I actually think looks cool on you."
("Thanks,") Charizard praised. Going through the list, Twilight had that question about the contradiction.
"So with all the traits of a dragon, how in Equestria is this not a dragon?!" The answer would come from the Pallet Town professor.
"Because it's not!" Oak replied as he entered the scene with some more food and a Charmander by his side. "While it may look like a Dragon Pokémon, it's actually Fire and Flying. Though I don't blame you or Fluttershy. Charizard is often getting the misconception that it's a Dragon and even more that it knows some Dragon-Type moves like Dragon Rage. The same thing can be said about Gyarados not being a Dragon Pokémon as well." Twilight wasn't sure about the explanation from Oak.
"I'm not sure I understand completely, Professor."
"Well, if Charizard is a dragon, what do you think new trainers would choose all the time?" This gave Twilight and Fluttershy a thought.
"No one would think about Squirtle or Bulbasaur," Fluttershy guessed.
"Precisely. Every professor in charge of handing out a trainer's starter Pokémon needs to stay impartial for the trainers to pick their first." Professors play no favorites. "So, did you help Ash with what he needed?" Charizard growled in acknowledgment.
"So what's he doing here instead of with Ash?" Twilight questioned.
"I got a call from Ash that after seeing an Articuno with Noland who runs the Battle Factory, one of the Battle Frontier facilities, he phoned Liza in the Charisific Valley in Johto to send Charizard to battle with it." That's when a thought came through Fluttershy's mind.
"In other words..." she believed as she cautiously confronted Charizard. "I'm believing you were Ash's very first Pokémon, right?" Charizard shook its head.
"Pikachu is... though when he did arrive in my lab for his first Pokémon, he did pick up Charmander's empty Pokéball at the start." Fluttershy blinked, confused about how Ash had Pikachu considering the detail Oak provided.
"Hold on a second... Isn't a professor suppose to have three Pokémon on hand for new trainers?" Oak itched his head in embarrassment.
"Well, when you have more trainers than you do Pokémon, things like shortages tend to happen. As such, two other newbies and my grandson got their first Pokémon before Ash came by." Talk about out of luck. "Pikachu was the last Pokémon I had on hand and he took it without explaining its attitude issues." That's when he remembered why he came out here in the first place. "Oh yeah! I just got back from calling Professor Elm and says when you get to his lab in New Bark Town, he can give you a Pokémon for your trip to see Dragon Pokémon." This could be helpful for the ponies, if they needed one.
"That's great, Professor Oak!" Twilight thanked. "We can tell Princess Celestia and the other ponies about the new journey. I'll get back and see if Delia and Spike sent the letter." She, Oak and Tracey left the ranch and allowed Fluttershy to speak with Charizard.
"So how did you team up with Ash?" she asked. Charizard looked up while sitting down, the memories flooding back.
"My first master just wanted a strong Pokémon but the professor told him that we start out at similar strength," he grumbled. "He chose me as a starting Charmander and told me to use attacks I couldn't do right away. Then one day, he told me to wait on a rock and as the young Pokémon I was, I stupidly listened. That's when I met Ash and his friends who thought I was wild but his Pikachu cleared the air. They left and I waited for my master when a bad storm hit. My master didn't come back but Ash and his friends did and helped me from the storm, saving my life. After I recovered, I started to return to the rock of my master when Pikachu was captured by Team Rocket, forcing me to spit a Flamethrower and freeing Pikachu to return a favor. That's when my 'master' came back to pick me up and I heard his real reason for leaving me on the rock. Since Ash and his friends helped me more than he did, I withdrew my partnership and joined Ash who treated me better and I was soon at the top of my game. That's when I grew up, literally and mentally. As Charmeleon, I challenged Ash to see if he's capable of training me. That's when an Aerodactyl swooped in and took Ash away and I evolved to what I am today. I wanted to see how dedicated he was to train me and at times, it was humorous but he never gave up until I was frozen solid once. He showed how much he cared about me and earned my respect back where we traveled together to Johto and to the Charisific Valley. I met some of the toughest Charizards ever... and a sweetheart of my own." Fluttershy chuckled at the wind of Charizard's "sweetheart." It practically reminded her of Ash as well.
"I'm sorry you had to go through so much... and for calling you a dragon." Charizard shook his head, not a worry on him.
"It's common. Don't worry about it. You should concentrate on facing Clair." A name given, Fluttershy wanted to know if that's who Oak brought up.
"Clair?"
"She's the Blackthorn City Gym Leader who specializes in Dragon Pokémon. There's also the Dragon Holy Land to see." A lead.
"A land of dragons..." Seeing dragons in a controlled environment would be something to see... if it was Rainbow or Pinkie or Applejack.
"Your friend that was with you..." Bringing up Twilight forced Fluttershy to gaze back at Charizard. "Does she like dragons?" The pink-haired "Pegasus" nodded with interest.
"All my friends like dragons. In fact, Twilight is currently raising a baby dragon." The detail gave Charizard a sign of comfort.
"Think about that baby dragon when you see Clair. After I rest my wings, I'm returning to the Charisific Valley. Perhaps you can stop by." A thought which Fluttershy wasn't sure about. To see Charizard left and right...
"I'll give it a thought." Once calmed, Fluttershy returned to the lab. Charizard's story had heartbreak and hope which Ash helped him through. "Ash is... more amazing than I realized." Hearing her, Tracey entered the lab and got by her side as she leaned out the window.
"He's pretty much done everything except win a League Championship," he expressed. Fluttershy turned to Tracey in on this information who was with Twilight.
"Delia's letter made it to Princess Celestia and she quickly returned her message," she reported as she handed the letter to the Pegasus girl. A quick glimpse satisfied the pink-haired teen.
"So she doesn't mind letting us go to find Clair, huh?" she summed up. Tracey and Twilight weren't too sure who she brought up.
"Clair?" The repeated name snapped Tracey's mind to who she may be referring to.
"Oh, yeah!" he realized. "She and Lance are members of the Pokémon League. Clair runs the Pokémon Gym in Blackthorn City while Lance is a Former Pokémon Champion who works with a detective agency known as the Pokémon G-Men." The information irked the ponies to believe he had met the two before.
"So what is Clair like?" Twilight questioned.
"Beats me. I haven't met her yet." That jerked Twilight and Fluttershy to face-plant the floor the only way Japanese Animation would allow. Twilight got back on her feet, upset at the recourse.
"So how would you know if you never met her?!" Only Fluttershy would have an answer.
"He must have told Tracey after returning from Johto himself," she referred to Ash. It took Twilight a moment to realize the connection.
"That actually makes perfect sense." Now that was straightened out, there's one thing the ponies could do now. "I believe Professor Oak has called Professor Elm so all we can do is head back to Ponyville, get some rest and we can start our journey to see Clair in a couple days. Delia said she'll make clothes for us for our trip to Blackthorn City." That's pretty thoughtful of Ash's mother to do so. "And if you want, you can join us to see Applejack." The memories of when he was embraced embarrassed him.
"I appreciate the offer but I'm good." On that note, the girls left for Ash's home to Ponyville to rest up. Evening fell but not Fluttershy's enthusiasm in seeing the Gym Leader and hopefully the G-Man in question. Angel, Fluttershy's bunny, hopped to her side.
"I'll be going away for sometime, Angel," she told her bunny. "Promise me you'll make sure the cottage is standing when I get back, maybe with another helper?" Angel saluted Fluttershy, making the promise. Anticipation swam in her mind. Adventure would soon follow.
TO BE CONTINUED...