"That's three badges now!" said Sky, holding the latest badge he won from Mage Meadowbrook.

"It's rather beautiful," said Rarity as she leaned over at the small object in her friend's hand.

The crew was back on the road as their next stop was heading to Mt. Aries, the home of the next Gym Leader. Thankfully, the path to get there wasn't far, as all they needed to do was follow the trail leading from Hayseed Junction to a seaside port city where the crew would have to take a boat to an island where the Gym was located.

"So how are you feeling, Aj?" asked Twilight as she wanted to get the country gal's thoughts following her win against Meadowbrook.

"Mighty fine. Boltund really came through," said the farmer as she was pleased that her Pokémon managed to help her win.

"And I'll admit I had my doubts that Fletchling could defeat Meadowbrook's Venusaur," stated the bookworm to her male friend.

"No worries, Twilight. But right now, my mind is focused on getting that fourth badge. 'Cause then I'll be halfway to qualifying for the Equestrian League!" said the boy as he was one step closer to achieving his dream.

"I get it, but can we please stop for lunch? I'm hungry!" said Spike as he held his stomach due to the growling that it emitted.

"We've only been on the trail for an hour, Spike!" stated Twilight.

"Yeah, but we left without breakfast!" responded the boy to his older sister.

"Alright, fine. We can stop for lunch," said the bookworm as the group arrived and pulled over at a small clearing in the forest.

The group then got to work on preparing lunch as Applejack and Sky did most of the cooking, leaving the others to set up. The Pokémon were released and began to help their owners. As everyone was pinching in for lunch, a nearby shrub was shown as it began to rustle a bit. Within the shrub, eyes were shown as they looked at the group that entered their territory. Sky's Noctowl, who sat on a tree branch, sensed something as he turned his head 180 degrees around to look into the forest. The owl's psychic powers seemed to tell him something, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He soon turned his head back to supervise his comrades as the eyes returned from hiding.

"Finally!" shouted Spike as he was stuffing sandwiches into his mouth.

"Chew with your mouth closed, Spike!" said Twilight to her little brother.

The Pokémon were also chowing down on their meals as they had happy expressions. Noctowl was sharing a bowl with Twilight's Espeon when the two's psychic powers went off. The two looked at each other as they turned in the same direction that the bird looked in before. The others saw the two looking at the forest as soon their animal instincts kicked in as they looked about. Rarity noticed her Delcatty looking about as it caught her attention.

"What's wrong?" said Sky as he noticed how all their Pokémon were acting up.

Soon, a nearby bush began to shake. The humans heard the sound as they looked at the shaking shrub.

"It sounds like something's moving," said Twilight.

"Hope it's a Pokémon," said Spike, slightly optimistic.

Noctowl then sprung into action as he flew into the air and threw out a small Air Slash attack. It pierced the shrub to make whatever was hiding in their move in order to avoid the attack. It worked as the bush moved even more, indicating that something was, in fact, in there.

"Well, that confirms it. There is something over there!" said Twilight as Sky and Applejack stood up and stood alongside the Pokémon.

As if on cue, several Pokémon exited from the bush. One of them looked like a bipedal black cat and a weasel with sharp claws. It had a tail made of red feathers, with its left ear in a similar fashion. It also had a yellow-orange oval-shaped gem on its chest and forehead. It had slanted red eyes that were defined by markings that looked like long eyelashes. Next to the Pokémon were two small felines. They mainly had deep purple fur, with cream-colored patches on their muzzles, forehead, chest, forelegs, back, and back feet. They had green eyes with slit pupils and large angular pink eyelids. They had a blunt catlike muzzle with a small black triangular nose. They had pointed catlike ears and whisker-like tufts of fur on each cheek. They had a sleek, slender body with small dainty paws and feet. Their tails were long and skinny with a crescent-like tuft at the tip.

"Never seen those Pokémon before. What are they?" asked Rarity.

"That's a Sneasel, and those are Purrloins," said Twilight as Sky and Applejack pulled out their Pokédexes.

"Sneasel, the Sharp Claw Pokémon. Its paws conceal sharp claws. If attacked, it suddenly extends the claws and startles its enemy."

"Purrloin, the Devious Pokémon. It steals things from people just to amuse themselves with their frustration. A rivalry exists between this Pokémon and Nickit."

The Pokémon all rubbed their heads after tumbling out from the bush.

"Sorry about that," said Sky as he approached the Pokémon and apologized to them.

The trio responded as they seemed to accept the boy's apology.

"I think those two cats are adorable," said Rarity as both Purrloins rushed at her, accepting that Rarity found them cute. They soon spotted the other Pokémon as the pair rushed toward Spiky's Goomy; the small slug looked up to see the two felines standing before its food. Goomy tilted his head as both cats spoke to it.

"What are they saying?" asked Applejack.

"Maybe they're asking Goomy to share his food," said Sky.

The two Purrloins nodded at the boy's statement as that seemed to be what they were saying.

"Aw, is that what you two want? Don't worry, I'll make you two something," smiled Rarity as she petted both feline's heads. Her Delcatty didn't appreciate another cat getting the interest of her master.

The fashionista prepped a bowl of Pokémon food that she made for her Delcatty as she presented it to both Purrloins. The girl sprinkled some bits of a Pokémon Poffin as a garnish on top before setting the bowls before the pair. While this happened, another set of eyes appeared as it watched the scene play out. The two Purrloins popped a piece of the Pokémon food into their mouths; they immediately took a liking to Rarity's cooking as they began to wolf down more.

"Wow!" said Spike at how the two felines enjoyed Rarity's special mix.

"Talent is beauty," bragged Rarity as she had a way with cats.

As everybody was distracted, Sneasel began to make his way toward the egg container of Rarity. The Pokémon saw the thing as its hidden desire kicked in to steal it. He made it all the way to the egg container undetected as it began to stretch out one of its claws. Noctowl and Espeon sensed what was happening as they turned in time and caught the Sneasel touching Rarity's egg container.

"Hey! That's mine!" shouted Rarity as they turned to see the Sneasal holding her egg container.

As if on cue, the Sneasel fired an Icy Wind that blew over the humans and their Pokémon. They all covered up as the Purrloins began to ransack everything and downed all the food.

"Hey, my food!" shouted Spike as his sandwiches were stolen.

Sneasal ceased his attack as he instructed his comrades to book it. The Purrloins nodded but not before stopping by Goomy's food bowl and taking the whole thing as the small slug was helpless to stop them.

"Hey, get back here with my egg!" shouted Rarity.

"Let's go, guys!" said Sky to his Pokémon as they all began to follow their master in hot pursuit.

"Come on, y'all!" said Applejack to her Pokémon as they, too, took off, leaving the others to chase after the thieves.

The Pokémon who was watching the entire thing happen soon disappeared into the shadows. The chase was on as the Sneasel and both Purrloins were running, and they seemed proud of their latest heist. However, right behind them were Applejack and Sky as they looked to get back Rarity's egg container.

"Boltund!" shouted Applejack as her dog barked.

It began to pick up speed and zoomed ahead of the others. A blur of lightning zoomed past the thieving Pokémon as Boltund came to a halt ahead of the trio. He looked to cut them off and charged at them when something emerged from the bushes. It collided with the canine and headbutted it back just as it was about to pounce on the thieves. Boltund landed and growled at the Pokémon that chose to save the thieves. The Pokémon was a red fox as it had a fluffy tail that looked like a sack along with its face that appeared to be like a mask of a burglar. The two Pokémon growled at each other as Boltund lunged forward with its jaws out when the fox whipped its tail out and smacked the dog right under its chin. Both Purrloins then came in with a sneak attack as they used their claws and began to slash at the poor canine to knock him away.

The fox looked at the trio as it was glad to know their plan worried. They then took off in a direction as they disappeared into the forest. Boltund lay on the ground as it began to stand up just as Applejack and Sky appeared.

"Boltund!" said the country gal as she saw her Pokémon hurt. "Are you hurt?"

The dog barked at its owner before making a sad whining sound for failing to stop the intruders.

"It's alright. We'll catch them thieving varments!" stated Aj.

"Noctowl, Fletchling, can you see where they went?" asked Sky.

Both bird Pokémon took to the skies as they flew into the treetops. They looked about the forest but saw no signs of their thieves or where they might have gone. The two shook their heads at their owner as Sky sighed. The boy scratched his head as he couldn't believe they let the thieving Pokémon escape. He then noticed something on the ground as he picked it up.

"We better head back to the others. Let them know what happened," said Aj.

"Yeah, good call," said Sky, placing the thing he picked up into his pocket.

After ensuring nobody else followed, the fox and the other thieving Pokémon made it to their hideout. A call from above caught their attention. It was another Pokémon, and this one was a black crow-like creature. It stood on the cave entrance before the quartet as it spoke with them. Sneasel showed the crow what it was carrying as the Purloins held the Pokémon food they swiped. As for the fox, he shook his tail to show that he also swapped some stuff and stuffed it into his fur. The crow responded before opening one of its wings, digging into its feathers, and pulling out something shiny. The crew were all happy with their latest haul as they entered the dark cavern.

Back at their lunch site, Rarity, Spike, and Twilight gathered their things as Sky and Aj arrived with their Pokémon.

"So… did you get it?" asked Rarity as she got in the boy's face and grabbed his arms tightly.

"Sorry," apologized Sky.

"Oh, this is the worst thing to happen!" said the girl in a dramatic voice as she found herself falling over and fainting dramatically as Sky caught her in his arms.

"Stop bein' a drama queen, Rarity. It ain't the end of the world!" said Aj as the girl awoke.

"My egg was stolen!"

"That's not the only thing they took."

"What do you mean?" asked Sky as he let Rarity stand on her own two feet.

"What else? My sandwiches!" said Spike as he held an empty.

"This is more important than your sandwiches, Spike!" shouted Twilight to her annoying little brother for thinking his problems were the worst.

"What did they take?" asked Applejack.

"My map, first of all."

"I lost my earrings!" shouted Rarity.

"And I lost my lunch!" yelled Spike as Goomy agreed since his lunch was stolen.

"Hey, Pokéetch is gone!" said Aj as she looked into her backpack to find her device was gone.

"Mines, too!" said Sky as he looked in his bag.

"This is the worst thing to happen!" said Rarity as she went into drama queen once more. The others turned to look at her with looks. "What? I mean it this time!"

"I hate to agree with her, but she's right." said the farm girl. "We don't even know where them thievin' varments went."

"Maybe not," said Sky as he was shown reaching into his pocket and pulling out what he kept.

The boy opened his hand and showed the group what appeared to be a tuff of orange fur.

"Looks like some kind of fur," said Twilight as she looked closely at it.

"Must belong to a Pokémon," said Aj.

"Maybe your Pokédex can."

"Seriously? It can do that?" said Sky as he looked at the bookworm.

"Yeah. They have a built-in search feature that allows you to search for Pokémon. And a scanner to pick up details about them." said Twilight.

"Huh, never knew that," stated the boy as he took out his Pokédex and lifted the tuff of fur into the scanner camera as it began registering the piece of fur. After running through some logs, the Pokédex got its result and pulled up a picture of the Pokémon the fur belonged to.

"Thievul, the Fox Pokémon and the evolved form of Nickit. It secretly marks potential targets with a scent. By following the scent, it stalks its targets and steals from them when they least expect it."

"So that's a Thievul, huh?" said the boy.

"So a Thievul helped our thieves. But didn't earlier the Pokédex say that Purrloin has a rivalry with it," said Spike.

"Yeah, but here it says that Boltund is its natural enemy."

After hearing Sky say that, Aj's dog began to growl as it was reminded of its mortal enemy.

"Easy there, boy," said the girl as she petted her dog to get him to settle down. "Well, that explains what attacked Boltund. So we just need to find this fox, and it'll lead us to our stuff." Applejack approached Sky to take the tuff of fur from him and bent down to her dog. Boltund growled as he could already smell the scent of his rival and didn't find it pleasant. "Take it easy, boy. I know you may not like it, but we need you to track it. Okay, do it for me."

The dog looked at its owner as he licked her face, showing he was willing to comply with her. The girl held the tuff of fur to allow her canine to sniff it. He got a good whiff of the fox's scent before sniffing the air and the surrounding area. The dog kept his head low to the ground as he began to track the scent.

"Looks like he got something!" said Aj as she recalled all her other Pokémon and grabbed her backpack.

"Come on, guys. Let's go!" said Sky as he recalled his.

The crew followed Aj's Boltund as the dog worked his nose in, trying to track down the group that stole their stuff. The kids followed the canine as he seemed to be hot on their trail as the scent got stronger and stronger. A while passed as the crew followed Aj's dog while Spike was tired.

"How much longer? We've been tracking them for about an hour! Does that dog even know where it's going?" said Spike.

Boltund turned around to bark at the small boy for insulting his tracking abilities.

"Spike!" shouted Twilight.

"Easy, body. He didn't mean it. We appreciate what you're doing, even if you don't like it," said Aj, bending down to her dog's side. The canine rubbed against the country gal and licked her face, causing her to giggle.

Boltund then got back to work as he sniffed the ground. The scent was the strongest this time, as the canine knew they were close. It came to a fork in the road, and it took a moment to sniff the air before pointing forward with its body in the direction and walking down it. The dog came to a set of bushes before it stopped and let out a bark.

"Looks like he found it," said Aj as she approached the bushes and pulled them apart to reveal a cave a few meters away.

"Nice," said Sky.

"Good work, boy," said the farm girl to her dog as he lunged at his owner to pin Aj to the ground and began to lick her face repeatedly.

Applejack chuckled as she got her Pokémon to cease his affection as it got off of her. She sat up and pulled out his Pokéball to recall him returning to rest after a well-done job.

"So, we found their hideout, then let's go get our stuff."

"Hold on, Spike!" said Twilight as she grabbed her little brother's sweater to pull him back into the bushes.

"Hey!"

"We can't just rush in without a plan!"

"She's right. We don't know what we're walking into. It's better to have a plan than rush in blindly. Or else we could be in danger." said Sky.

"Fine. Then what's the plan?" asked the boy.

"First, we do some recon. We need to see what's inside the cave and then form a plan."

"Alright, then I'll go."

"Wait, darling!"

"I'll be fine, Rarity. I'll just be gone for a few minutes; if I'm not back in five, then you guys come find me. Okay?" said the boy as the others all nodded.

"Be careful, sugarcube," said Aj as she placed a hand on Sky's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I will," said the boy as he placed his hand on top of hers.

The country gal smiled as she removed her hand from his shoulder, and he prepared to head inside. Sky emerged from the bushes and looked about to see if there was any sign of danger. Once the coast was clear, the teen began slowly reaching the cave's entrance. He turned back to look at the girls and Spike as he gave them a thumbs before entering.

Sky had some difficulty upon entering due to the limited light that entered. However, once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could avoid tripping over the rocks on the ground. The boy had his hand on the wall to his right as if to guide him; he'd gone quite a ways into the cave when he heard something. He crouched down as he kept low to the ground, held still to listen. Another sound was heard as the boy listened and proceeded slowly. He came to a corner and peeked around the bend, and to his surprise, he managed to spot the Pokémon that stole their stuff as they were gathered in a large space. The Purrloins were celebrating their latest food haul as they sliced and diced some berries. Meanwhile, the rest were discussing what to do with the egg container that Sneasel stole.

"So, they got a Murkrow with them. And we found our stuff," said the boy, dipping out to inform the others.

"There's them thieving varmints!" said Aj as she and Sky were crotched behind some rocks.

"And all our stuff," said the boy.

"Wait till I get my hands on them…"

"Ease, cowgirl. We can't just go head-rush without a plan," stated Sky.

"Alright, alright."

"So, what do we have?" said Twilight as she finally arrived to where the two were.

"There," said Sky quietly while pointing.

"Yup, that's my map, alright."

"And those greedy fat cats that took my food!" said Spike as Twilight told him to be quiet.

"Alright, so what's the plan to get our stuff back, Twi?" asked Sky.

"Okay, so the first thing we need to do is someone to create a distraction. Then the others can sneak in undetected and grab the stuff. Remember, stealth is the key. So we have to be very, very quie…"

"That's my egg!" shouted Rarity as she turned the corner and saw her container.

The others all looked at her with looks as the group of thieving Pokémon heard the fashionista's shouting. Before either could get Rarity to remain silent, she rushed forward and made a beeline for the Sneasel. The Pokémon didn't expect the human to come at him as Rarity grabbed the container and tried to pry it from the weasel.

"Give it to me! That's mine!" shouted Rarity.

"Sneasel!"

Both the girl and Pokémon were engaged in a tug of war for the container.

"So much for stealth," remarked Twilight.

"Alright, everybody, go loud!" said Sky as he got up and rushed in to help Rarity.

The others all followed his lead as the four remaining Pokémon turned to see the humans, as they didn't expect them to find their hideout. While Rarity was dealing with the Sneasel, the others each had their own Pokémon to deal with.

"Boltund!" shouted Applejack as she called on her dog.

The canine appeared and landed as it growled upon seeing the Thievul. The fox also growled as both mortal rivals looked to do battle.

"Espeon!" shouted Twilight as her Pokémon appeared and looked to do battle with the Murkrow.

"Buizel!"

"Goomy!"

Both boys called out their Pokémon to deal with the twin Purrloins.

"Espeon, Zap Cannon!" said Twilight as her Pokémon charged the gem on its forehead and fired an orb of electricity at the crow.

Murkrow avoided the attack as it unleashed a Night Shade attack.

"Dodge it!" said the girl as her Pokémon jumped out of the way at the last second to avoid being hit.

"Buizel, Water Gun!" instructed Sky.

"Bui!" shouted the Pokémon as he reeled his head back before firing a burst stream of water at the Purrloin it was facing.

The Purrloin leaped out of the way before Buizel fired another Water Gun attack. The feline was ducking and evading each sprout of water fired before lunging in with one of its claws enveloping in a shadowy aura. Buizel looked to get out of the way, but the Shadow Claw that the Purrloin initiated made contact as it knocked the weasel under the chin and to the ground.

"How did that Shadow Claw hit if Buizle dodged?" said Sky.

"Shadow Claw always hits its mark," shouted Twilight as she commanded Espeon to dodge before counterattacking.

The boy turned to look back at the Purrloin, who taunted the teen and Buizel, gesturing the pair to come at it.

"Great," muttered Sky as he would have a tough time.

The Purrloin's brother stood before Goomy as both Pokémon looked at each other. The small slug eyed one of the culprits that stole its food as it looked to get even.

"Get'em, Goomy!" instructed Spike.

"Goomy!" said the slug as it moved forward.

"Purr!" shouted the Purrloin.

Both Pokémon charged as they began to engage in a small cartoonish fight. Purrloin scratched the slug with its claws before Goomy retaliated by headbutting it. Back and forth went between the two as serious battles were happening all around them. The group was doing their best to handle each of their respective challenges; however, Rarity was still trying to pry her stolen property from the Sneasal. The two were still having their tug of war as the Pokémon didn't expect the girl to have this insane strength.

"Let go, you filthy thieving weasel!" shouted the fashionista.

"Sneasel!" said the Pokémon as he stole this egg fair and square.

"It's not yours. It's mine! Now give it here!" yelled Rarity.

The two felt their grip slipping as they applied more strength to pull the container away from the other. They put a hand further up the container when it caused it to slip from both.

"Oh, no!" shouted Rarity as she and Sneasal saw the container go flying.

The others all heard the shout as they saw the object in the air. Time nearly stopped as everyone had looks of concern. The container continued to fly as it looked to hit the ground.

"Espeon, Psychic!" said Twilight as she instructed her Pokémon to catch it.

The Pokémon had its eyes glow, and the gem on its forehead powered up as it caught the container in its power. Just then, the Murkrow it was facing came bashing into its side and caused the Pokémon to lose its concentration. The container continued to fall.

"Buizel, get it!" said Sky as he instructed his Pokémon to run toward the container.

He leaped and caught the thing in his arms as he smiled. Just then, the Purrloin it was fighting came in with another Shadow Claw in an attempt to take the container away; it knocked the Pokémon away but also sent the container back into the air.

"Don't worry, Rarity! I got it!" said Spike as he looked to get under the object. He positioned himself directly below it when the Purrloin his Goomy was facing looked to push the boy aside.

However, Goomy sprung into action to protect his master and accidentally collided with the Purrloin, sending both crashing into Spike. The small boy and two Pokémon tumbled as the container was coming down.

"Boltund!" shouted Aj.

Her canine was still so busy with its rival that it didn't hear Applejack's command to fetch the egg container. The canine and fox lunged at each other and began to turn into ferocious creatures as they rolled about, trying to snap at each other.

"Delcatty!" shouted Rarity as she called on her Pokémon.

The feline appeared and quickly ran forward and leaped into the air. It caught the container with its tail and landed gracefully. Before it could rest, both Purrloins launched a simultaneous attack as it collided with Delcatty. The Pokémon went flying into the cave wall.

"Delcatty!" yelled Rarity as she rushed to her Pokémon.

The fashionista bent down at her Pokémon, who let out a small painful sound. The feline apologized for failing to hold on to the container. The girl petted her Pokémon before looking to see the container still falling. Everybody else was occupied as Sneasel was hurrying toward it. Rarity put on a determined look and began to race toward her property. Sneasal extended one of its claws out to grab the container; Rarity pushed off and jumped as she was shown above the Pokémon. The Pokémon was surprised by the girl's actions as Rarity pulled her egg container into her chest and crashed to the ground. She tumbled a bit before looking down to see her container was safe.

The girl sighed as the container was still intact. Just as she got to her feet, Sneasel began initiating its Icy Wind attack. A cold air breeze blew over the cave as it headed toward Rarity. The girl covered up with one arm while hugging her container closely; she tried to hold on. She felt herself getting cold but was willing to keep her egg safe. The container jiggled as the powerful wind finally took her off her feet and to the ground. Rarity hit the ground, and she fumbled the container. She turned to see the container about to hit the ground.

"NO!" yelled Rarity as her voice echoed.

The container was going to hit the cave floor when suddenly… it began to glow. The egg inside emitted a light that was blinding, causing Rarity to look away and everybody else. After a few moments, the light died down as Rarity looked and was surprised. The container was broken, but the egg itself was gone. In its place was a creature. The creature was a horse whose coat was white and had a mane resembling light blue and purple clouds. It had purple fluffy fur around its legs and had a black horn with a single white stripe.

The horse shook itself, letting out a small neigh while looking about. Rarity saw the Pokémon that emerged from the egg as the horse looked in the girl's general direction, and its psychic powers kicked in upon seeing the human.

"Is that a Pokemon?" said Spike as he didn't know what to make of the horse that appeared.

Sky pulled out his Pokédex and held it in front of the mysterious creature looking at Rarity.

"Ponyta, Galarain Form, the Unique Horn Pokémon. Its small horn hides a healing power. A few rubs from this Pokémon's horn will heal any slight wound. It can also look into your eyes and read the contents of one's heart. If it finds evil there, it promptly hides away."

"Strange. That's not what Ponyta normally looks like," said Sky as the one looking at Rarity wasn't the common one that most people knew about.

Rarity still continued to look at the horse before her when Sneasal leaped into action and charged at the Pokémon. The girl couldn't get up to do something as she called out to warn the creature.

"Look out!" said the fashionista.

The horse saw the weasel coming at it. It let out a sound, and the wind began to blow through its mane with sparkles in the air as it made contact with Sneasal, who took a painful hit that blew him back. The girl was surprised by the horse's power as Sneasel struggled to move from the attack it took. Ponyta neighed as Rarity smiled when it saw the other thieving Pokémon coming at it.

"What move was that?" asked Spike.

"That's Fairy Wind. And it was super effective against Sneasal since it's a Dark-type!" said Twilight.

"Ponyta, Fairy Wind!" said Rarity as she pointed at the four Pokémon coming at it.

The horse turned to see Sneasel's comrades looking to capture it before it turned and began to use its Fainy Wind attack again. A massive sparkling wind blew over the cave, causing all four Dark-type Pokémon to halt as they tried to stand their ground. However, it proved too difficult as it made all four flung back. They all landed around Sneasel as the supereffective attack hurt them.

"That little thing packs a punch," said Aj.

The group of Dark-type Pokémon all struggled to get to their feet when Ponyta stood before them. It let out another neigh while clawing the ground with its hoof and letting loose another Fairy Wind. The attack came at the group, and they were unprepared. It collided with them, pushing them upward and busting a hole in the ceiling. The attack sent them all flying into the air as they screamed before coming down as they landed miles away in a river with giant splashes.

Ponyta let out a victory cry as it took care of the thieving Pokémon easily. The others were amazed by the horse's power as it began to look at Rarity, who was getting to her knees. The girl saw the small pony approaching her and hesitated about what it might do. The creature sensed the girl's aura before approaching her and snuggling against her arm. Rarity was surprised by Ponyta rubbing against her as she moved her arm and began to pet it, which the Pokémon liked from its new master. The fashionista smiled as it seemed she had gained a new friend.

Once the group collected their stuff, they stood outside of the cave with Rarity on a knee as she petted her new friend.

"Okay, are we sure this is a Ponyta?" asked Spike as the small horse didn't have flames on its mane and tail.

"It's a Galarian Ponyta. A regional form," answered Twilight.

"Regional form?" said the small boy to his older sister.

"Some species of Pokémon migrate to other regions. As a result, it sometimes causes them to change their appearance and their typing due to their new environment. Normally, Ponyta is a Fire-type, but with a Galaraian Ponyta, it's a Psychic, and when it evolves into a Rapidash, it becomes Psychic/Fairy."

"That's cool!" said Spike as he looked at the small horse that Rarity played with.

"So basically, you got a rare Pokémon on yer hands, Rares," said Aj.

"You could say that it's quite the Rarity," said Sky with a smile after making that pun.

"Oh, sugar," said the farm girl as she tilted her hat to hide her face. She admitted that the joke wasn't good, but it added charm to the boy.

"Well, I believe we're going to be best friends," said Rarity to her Ponyta as the horse nuzzled its new master.

"Here you go, Rares," said Sky as he approached the girl and handed her a spare Pokéball so that she could capture Ponyta.

"Thank you, darling," said the fashionista as she enlarged the ball before looking at Ponyta. "Well, are you ready?"

Ponyta neighed at its master as the girl put the ball to its head, and it opened up as a red light appeared and sucked the Pokémon in. The ball closed itself and shook a bit before it stopped, and the red light in the center of the ball ceased before making a sound, indicating that it was captured. The girl looked at the ball before throwing it up and calling on her newly caught Pokémon. Ponyta appeared and smiled at Rarity, pleased that it was a part of the group.

"I think we're going to be great friends," said the fashionista as she hugged her Pokémon, who nuzzled into her arms, making them both giggle and laugh as the others smiled.

Author's Note: Well, it seems that on their way to their next Gym location, our group has had a small run-in with some thieving Pokemon. And the egg that Rarity has been holding onto for quite some time has finally hatched. And it's a rather unique one. One of the reasons why I decided to give Rarity a Galaraian Ponyta is due to its evolutionand how it looks fits her to a tee. So you can expect her Ponyta to evolve at some point.