#078 Rapidash

Rapidash, the fire horse Pokémon. The evolved form of Ponyta. Rapidash usually can be seen casually cantering in the fields and plains, as it is a popular Pokémon for farmers. However, when this Pokémon turns serious, its fiery manes flare and blaze Nurse Evergreen.

Ever since leaving the mountains surrounding Pewter City, Ponyta's timidness worsened. Nurse Isabelle seemed to have either underestimated her age, or had a really insecure fire type on her hands. Regardless of the reason, the two had a long road ahead before they could be anywhere near the bond Izzy shared with Ivysaur. Every attempt at bonding, from being near each other to gentle touches, resulted in Ponyta shying away or flinching.

Once a week or so, Isabelle called her mother, Elenor Evergreen. The retired head nurse knew a lot about Pokémon psychology and even more about the bond between parent and child. She was the one who suggested that Izzy should go to Cinnabar island, home of the biggest fire-type expert in Kanto, to introduce Ponyta to Blaine's herd. All horses in the herd were caught and trained by Blaine, and could help Ponyta settle, as long as she wasn't rejected for the colour of her fire.

Sitting on the deck of the ferry that went between Vermillion and Cinnabar, Isabelle remembered the way she ran away from Blaine the previous time she had been there. Blaine needed someone in his life, but Isabelle could not be that person. Besides, she was too young for the middle-aged man. It filled her with dread returning, despite Blaine having sounded perfectly professional when she had called him.

Now that Pidgeotto had evolved into a Pidgeot, he had no trouble keeping up with the ferry, despite the sea wind. He seemed to relish it. Battling the strongest winds was one of the things that appeared to bring him joy.

As Isabelle disembarked from the boat, Blaine stood there with crossed arms, waiting for her. She had called him yesterday to let him know what she came to do, and here he was. When she approached him, he stiffly nodded his head.

"Miss Evergreen."

"Thank you for having me," Isabelle replied with a slight bow of her head before heading up the mountain. They had agreed not to show Ponyta off in public, as she would attract a lot of attention. While attention wasn't a problem for Isabelle, Ponyta probably would be unable to handle it yet.

When they were a suitable distance away from the town, Blaine handed Isabelle a fireproof bridle and went to stand a little distance away. With the bridle over her shoulder, Isabelle summoned Ponyta. Upon appearing on the slope of a volcano in a vastly different place from where she grew up, the fiery horse reared in panic.

"Shh, Ponyta. Calm down. I'm here," Isabelle soothed her, being careful not to get too close to those hooves. A familiar voice seemed to help a little, causing Ponyta to stop rearing. She showed the horse the bridle she held. "I have this for you. It'll guide you up this foreign mountain. You're perfectly safe while you're with me, okay?" As she spoke, she carefully put the bridle over her frightened horse's head and fastened it gently. "See, not so bad, right? You can look all you like while we walk. We're on an island. Land surrounded by sea. Isn't that cool, Ponyta? It's so warm here. That's because of that volcano."

Blaine watched her carefully as she interacted with the newest and youngest member of her team. She assumed she didn't do much wrong or else he would have said it.

Somewhere near the Cinnabar island gym, there was an area fenced off. That's where he kept his Ponyta and Rapidash herd. The area was relatively large for such a small island, but as the gymleader, he owned a lot of land. Isabelle led her own Ponyta through the gate and took the rope off, leaving her free to explore. Moving back to sit on the fence, Isabelle watched anxiously to see whether her fire horse was accepted.

One of the Rapidash, looking truly magnificent with its fiery mane, approached the young, shaking horse. Despite her odd looks, Ponyta was greeted with a nuzzle of the head before she was guided to the rest of the herd to run with them.

"That's my Lady," Blaine said, leaning on the fence next to her. "The very first Ponyta I ever caught. She's the leader of the herd and has been looking out for every addition. If anyone will make your Ponyta at ease, it'll be her."

Isabelle smiled, watching her Ponyta run with the others of her kin. She looked so much happier. There were times she fell behind a bit, but unlike her own herd, this one slowed down to prevent her from trailing too much.

"Captured Pokémon are much closer than wild ones, aren't they? I was able to catch this Ponyta because the slowest and weakest lagged behind," Isabelle asked, causing Blaine to hum affirmatively.

"Do you know how to ride Ponyta?"

"Eh.. not yet." Isabelle admitted. "Wasn't much room for it in Celadon."

Blaine scoffed and mumbled something about bloody citygirls before offering to teach her. Wouldn't do to ruin such a young horse with that kind of experience.

As her blue-fired Ponyta grew stronger and more confident in the herd, Blaine taught Isabelle how to ride a horse on Lady, his Rapidash. Izzy couldn't have asked for a gentler horse. Whenever she made a mistake, Rapidash corrected it for her. This way, she was able to feel how Rapidash moved as she was taught the correct way to guide a horse. Blaine declared she needed more practice and suggested her staying the entire weekend on the island. The inn in Cinnabar town would have a room for her.

Ponyta stayed with the herd and Izzy spent her second day helping out at the gym and riding Lady, gaining confidence and skill. While tough, Blaine was a good teacher. All awkwardness Izzy had felt coming here had disappeared as Blaine pretended his offer had never happened. That suited Izzy just fine.

On her final day on Cinnabar island, Isabelle rode her Ponyta for the first time. While her own horse was much less self-confident, they managed to ride decently, using the instructions Blaine gave. Still, they made mistakes in moments of miscommunication. After the second time Isabelle fell off, Blaine called it a day. Feeling rather sore all over, Isabelle was inclined to agree.

With Ponyta in her ball for the first time in days, Isabelle shook Blaine's hand.

"I apologise for my behaviour the previous times you were here. I acted out of place. It's just… you look so much like my late wife," he apologised, surprising Izzy. "Anyway, I want you to have this. It's the bridle I loaned you. It's nothing fancy, but you can use it until you can afford a better one. Keep your Ponyta close. She's one of a kind and can be a very loyal friend to you once you two feel confident around each other."

With a smile, Izzy thanked him for his advice and training. They had amended their professional relationship and set up a schedule for monthly visits. Last, but not least, Blaine showed her a few photos he took of her while she was learning how to ride. It was the one where she smiled brilliantly next to Lady that she kept as the cover on her blog for a long time.

She longed to text Dominic, to tell him all about her weekend at Cinnabar, but she assumed he was still mad at her as she hadn't heard from him all week. It made her feel sad and lonely.