Where the Bouffalant Roam!
The first night of their journey, the girls camped under the stars, lulled to sleep by the gentle songs of the wild Pokémon living in the forests and foothills.
The second day was uneventful as they entered a long stretch of empty nothing, with increasingly sparse vegetation and loose soil. By late evening, they could see the dusty little settler town of Appleloosa sprawled out ahead of them.
At the very edge of town was a rustic wooden building with a red tin roof. A sign hung over the door that read "Pokémon Lodge".
"Pokémon Lodge?" Sweetie Belle wondered, tilting her head.
"They're still settin' up this here town," Apple Bloom said. "Settin' up a full-fledged Pokémon Center takes time."
"Whatever," Scootaloo said. "So long as there's a place to sit down and something to eat. I'm tired!"
The others agreed, and they trudged through the swinging double doors.
Behind a long, splintered wooden counter stood Nurse Redheart, wearing a bright red scarf and a Western blouse. A white cowboy hat hung behind her head, tied with a cord. "Howdy!" she called out. "C'mon in, set a spell! If'n ya got sick Pokémon, Ah'll give 'em a lookover. If'n you're hungry, Ah'll rustle up some vittles!"
Scootaloo stared at her. "Buh?!" She looked at Apple Bloom. "How'd she beat us here? We never ran into anybody except that Button Trash kid!"
"It ain't th' same Nurse Redheart," Apple Bloom said. "Every town with a Pokémon Center...or Pokémon Lodge, Ah guess...has its very own Nurse Redheart."
"And they all look exactly alike," Sweetie Belle said. "It's a little confusing, I know..."
Scootaloo stared at Nurse Redheart again, then shook her head. "Whatever. Food now, clone nurses later."
Nurse Redheart laughed. "Ah'll fix y'all up some good ol' country steak an' taters."
The girls sat down at a wooden table. A short while later, Nurse Redheart returned with three plates, which she sat in front of the girls. She put a bottle of sarsparilla next to each, as well as utensils and napkins. Finally, she put salt, pepper, and a bottle of ketchup in the center of the table. "Dig in, y'all!" She bustled back over to the counter. "If'n yer stayin' th' night, Ah'll git a room ready upstairs. Don't get much in th' way of travellers here."
"That'd be great, thanks," Sweetie Belle said.
Nurse Redheart headed upstairs, and the girls began eating. Scootaloo took a bite of steak and made a disgusted face. "Ugh! This tastes like butt!"
"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle chided. "That's not nice!"
"Well it does," Scootaloo said.
Apple Bloom handed her the ketchup. "Here, put some ketchup on it."
"Greeeeat. Then it'll taste like ketchup-flavored butt. Or butt ketchup."
"Ewww! Cut it out! I'm eating!"
"Hey...y'all hear that?" Apple Bloom said suddenly.
"Hear what?" Scootaloo asked as she poured ketchup on her plate.
The ground began to shake. It was a soft, subtle tremor at first. Then, their plates began rattling on the table. A loud rumbling filled the air.
Sweetie Belle's eyes flew open wide. "Is it an earthquake?"
Nurse Redheart suddenly came crashing downstairs. "STAMPEDE!"
"Stampede?" The girls looked at one another, then got up and scrambled over to the windows.
A cloud of dust rose from the ground. The rumbling increased. Suddenly, a herd of Bouffalant charged past the Pokémon Lodge.
"WHOA!" Scootaloo yelped, jumping back in alarm.
"BOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU," the Bouffalant lowed.
"What are they?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Apple Bloom pulled out her Pokédex and aimed it out the window. It pinged. //Bouffalant. The Bash Buffalo Pokémon. Bouffalant charges headlong into anything in its path. Its large, powerful head and sharp horns can smash through almost anything, while its thick hair protects it from the impact.//
The Bouffalant continued to rush past for a full minute. When the last of them ran past, the noise of the stampede began to die down, and gradually, the ground stopped shaking.
Scootaloo stood in the center of the room, eyes wide, clutching her chest. "What the heck was all that about?"
Nurse Redheart sighed. "We've been having trouble with a herd of Bouffalant that live near Appleloosa," she said...with a distinct lack of country accent.
"Hey, what happened to your accent?" Scootaloo asked.
Nurse Redheart took a step back, covering her mouth. "Oh, that—that's just so I fit in with the atmosphere," she said nervously, scratching the back of her head and laughing.
The three girls fell over.
"So about them Bouffalant," Apple Bloom said. "How long's that been goin' on?"
"About three weeks now," Nurse Redheart said. "Around the time we started planting the orchard."
"The orchard?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"We used half the arable land in the valley to plant crops that'll take time to grow," Nurse Redheart said. "We're using the rest to transplant various fruit trees from other farms, such as Sweet Apple Acres, so we'll have locally-grown food that's ready faster."
"Oh yeah, Ah remember Applejack cuttin' down one of our trees t' send this way," Apple Bloom said.
"So the Bouffalant are after the orchard?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Nurse Redheart shook her head. "If they wanted the fruit, they could just take it. We don't have any Pokémon strong enough to stop that many Bouffalant. They seem to be angry about the trees themselves, but...they aren't knocking them down, and they could wreck this whole town if they wanted to." She shrugged helplessly. "Frankly, we're not sure why they're acting this way."
"Huh," Apple Bloom said. "So they just...stampede through town, but don't hurt nothin'?"
"Yeah...every couple of days or so."
The doors to the Pokémon Lounge suddenly exploded inward, and a tiny Bouffalant, slightly shorter than the trio of young trainers, with pale white-blond hair instead of the usual brown hair, burst in, letting out a high-pitched "Bouuuuuu" as it shook its head violently.
"Oh, it's so cute!" Sweetie Belle said, approaching the little Bouffalant with a hand outstretched.
"Bouuu," it lowed, taking a step back from her.
"It's a calf," Nurse Redheart said. "It must've gotten separated from the herd."
"Don't be afraid," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm a Pokémon trainer, see?" She took Oshawott's Pokéball out of her pocket and held it out. "Come out, Oshawott!"
Oshawott appeared in a flash of red light. "Oshaaaaaa!"
"Bouu?" The Bouffalant crept forward, snuffling at Oshawott.
"Wott!"
"Bouuu," Bouffalant lowed uncertainly.
"Osha!" Oshawott jumped on the little Bouffalant's back, beaming.
"Awww," Apple Bloom said. "That's so cute!"
"Bouu?" Bouffalant looked puzzled. It tilted its head, snorted, and pranced around the room.
"Y'all might wanna git that'n back outside afore th' herd misses it," a man's voice said from the door. "So far they ain't hurt nothin' here in town, but they might get mad at us if'n they think we took one'a their calves."
A tall, thin-shouldered man in blue jeans, dusty boots, and a suede jacket over a red shirt stood at the entrance. He had long, shaggy orange hair and bright green eyes, and wore a beat-up old cowboy hat with the edges of the brim curled up on the sides.
"Braeburn!" Apple Bloom cried excitedly, running over to him.
"Cuz?" Braeburn asked. He grinned broadly. "Well howdy! Ah didn't know you was headed out this way! Is AJ with you?"
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Nope," she said. "Ah'm startin' out on mah Pokémon journey. We're on our way t' Salt Lick City."
"Land sakes, you're already that growed up?" Braeburn shook his head in disbelief. "Lemme guess...you're startin' off with a Grass-type?"
"Yep! A Chikorita!" Apple Bloom straightened up. "Oh! These are my new friends! This is Sweetie Belle, and that there's Scootaloo!"
"It's nice to meet you," Sweetie Belle said, bowing politely.
"Sup?" Scootaloo said casually.
"Oshawott, return," Sweetie Belle said. Oshawott gave the Bouffalant a sad pat on the head as it was sucked back into its Pokéball.
Braeburn knelt down and laid a hand on the Bouffalant calf's head. "C'mon now," he said. "Yer family's waitin'."
"Bouuuu..." The white Bouffalant followed Braeburn out into the dusty streets. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tagged along behind.
"Hey, wait up!" Scootaloo said, following them.
Several minutes later, they caught up with the Bouffalant herd, which was milling around the edge of the orchard, lowing anxiously and pawing the ground. The white Bouffalant calf lowed and charged into the herd, nuzzling one of the adults.
The Bouffalant circled around to stare at the humans, lowering their heads and narrowing their eyes. "We should...get out of here," Braeburn said nervously.
"Bouuuuu," the white Bouffalant lowed plaintively. The adults calmed down, resuming their restless shuffling.
"Bye," Sweetie Belle called sadly, waving to the calf.
* * * * *
The three girls sat in Braeburn's living room, fresh, cold root beers in front of them. There was one other person present: a man wearing rough leather pants, a black shirt, a denim vest, and a red scarf, as well as black cowboy boots and a black hat. He had short brown hair and a thick black handlebar moustache. A star-shaped silver badge was pinned to his vest. He had been introduced as Sheriff Silverstar.
"So you don't have any idea why them Bouffalant keep stampedin' th' town?" Apple Bloom asked.
Braeburn shook his head. "Not a clue," he said. "They ain't hurt nobody an' they ain't smashed up nothin', they don't seem t' want th' fruit, they steer clear'a our crops..." He shrugged, scratching his head. "It don't make a lick o' sense."
"They're just senseless beasts," Sheriff Silverstar said gruffly.
"They're Pokémon," Apple Bloom said, frowning. "Pokémon don't do things without a reason. Ah been around Pokémon all mah life, Ah ain't never seen one do somethin' there weren't no reason for."
"Then what's the reason for them tryin' to shake our town to the ground every couple days?" Silverstar demanded. "Because I sure don't see one."
"How about before you planted the orchard?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What were they doing then?"
"Actually, that particular herd use'ta jes' roam around out on th' prairie," Braeburn said. "We known 'bout 'em since we set up here, but we ain't never bothered them an' they ain't never bothered us. It ain't until three weeks ago that they started comin' 'round every couple'a days."
"And where do they go after the stampede?" Apple Bloom asked. "We seen 'em millin' around by th' orchard, but where do they go after?"
Braeburn shrugged. "They hang around by th' orchard for a bit, then they wander back out to th' prairie. We been tryin' t' keep an eye on 'em, but all we know is they stick ta their own place fer a spell, then they jes' up an' stampede Appleloosa..."
"It's getting to the point where we have to plan around the herd," Silverstar said. "A lot of the settlers are getting fed up with this nonsense. Some are demanding we take action against the Bouffalant."
"Uhh...that sounds...like a really bad idea," Scootaloo said. "I mean, those things are huge, what could you even do to them?"
"Well if you've got a better idea, child..." Silverstar growled.
"Ah do, actually," Apple Bloom said. "Girls, Cuz, we're gonna follow that herd!"
"Nope! Not doing that," Scootaloo said. "I wanna stay the night and get back on the road to Salt Lick City. Every day we waste is another day I gotta wait to meet Rainbow Dash, and I'm tired of waiting!"
"I...don't think it's a good idea to get involved," Sweetie Belle said. "I mean...let the grown-ups handle this."
Apple Bloom sighed. "Ain't y'all th' least bit curious?"
"Well...yeah, but not curious enough to risk getting trampled by wild Pokémon," Sweetie Belle said.
"I couldn't care less," Scootaloo said. "It's not my problem."
Apple Bloom frowned. "Well you don't gotta be a jerk about it. Ah happen t' have family here, so it is MAH problem."
Scootaloo looked away. "Sorry," she said sulkily.
"Don't fight," Sweetie Belle said.
Braeburn sighed. "Ah appreciate your concern, li'l cuz, but...your friends are right. It's best y'all got on t' Salt Lick City. After you spend th' night, o' course."
Apple Bloom looked around at the others, then bowed her head. "Yeah...Ah guess you're right. Ah just...wanted t' check it out..." She sighed. "Okay. Let's rest up so we can git on th' way out tomorrow."
* * * * *
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were sound asleep, but Apple Bloom was tossing and turning. She couldn't take her mind off the Bouffalant, and worrying about Appleloosa kept her from falling asleep.
Just past midnight, she had almost made up her mind to sneak out and go off on her own to investigate the Bouffalant. She sat on the edge of the bed, debating whether or not to follow through on that impulse, when the ground lurched violently. She gripped the edge of the mattress tightly, her heart pounding.
"Ugh...what...?" Scootaloo mumbled.
The ground gave another tremendous lurch, throwing Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to the floor. Sweetie Belle, cocooned in blankets, sat up, wide-eyed. "What's going on?" she asked.
The ground continued to shake. The girls climbed to their feet, fighting to keep their balance against the strong, steady shaking. "Those stupid Bouffalant are back again?!" Scootaloo groaned.
"Ah don't think so," Apple Bloom said worriedly. "I don't hear—"
A particularly violent tremor threw the girls against the door. They collapsed in a pained heap. "We gotta check this out," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. They stood up and barged out into the hall.
They found Braeburn in the living room, pressing his hat to his head. The overhead lamp was swinging crazily. "Is it the herd?" Apple Bloom asked.
"They never come at night!" Braeburn said.
A loud clanging rose from outside, just audible over the steady rumble of the trembling ground. Braeburn and the girls ran outside.
The settlers were pouring out into the dusty streets, flashlights and lanterns held aloft. There was no sign of Bouffalant anywhere...save for one.
The little white Bouffalant calf bounded up the dusty trail into Appleloosa, lowing "Booooooouuuuuu!" in a panic. It looked frantically to and fro; in the lantern lights, tears shone in its eyes.
It saw Sweetie Belle and ran straight for her. "Bouuuu, Booooooooou," it complained.
Sweetie Belle crouched down and reached out to it. "Are you scared?" she asked.
"Boooooou." It turned suddenly, facing the direction it had come from. It started wailing and shrieking, every hair on its body standing on end. Without warning, it tackled Sweetie Belle, knocking her against the front of the house. She cried out as she slammed into the wall, sliding to her butt.
"HEY!" Scootaloo shouted. "Bad Pokémon! Go, Torchi—"
The barber shop across the street from Braeburn's house exploded violently, boards and nails and splinters flying every which way, as the dusty ground erupted violently upward. To all appearances, an enormous hill had suddenly decided it needed to be where the barber shop was.
"Whoa," Apple Bloom said, eyes wide.
Sweetie Belle rubbed her head. She looked at the white Bouffalant. "You...you saved me," she said.
"Boooouuuu," the calf said, standing protectively in front of her and glaring at the hill.
"What in thunderation is goin' on here?" Silverstar roared as he raced up to them. He looked at the massive shape that had taken residence across the street, and his moustache straightened out. "Holy he—"
And then, suddenly, the Bouffalant appeared from every direction, converging on the inexplicable hill.
And the hill...moved.
The ground rumbled and shook as the mighty hill heaved itself up, shedding dust and dirt and wreckage. It bulldozed the hardware store next to the barber shop, heaving itself into the middle of the road.
"BOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU," the herd lowed thunderously as they piled onto the enormous hill.
As the dust from its emergence began to clear enough for the lantern light to penetrate, the silhoutte of a massive tree standing atop the hill revealed itself, along with a trio of small triangular protrusions.
Apple Bloom gasped. "That...!"
"TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR," the hill bellowed.
Scootaloo's jaw dropped. "It's a POKÉMON?!"
"It's a Torterra!" Braeburn said. "A big'un, too!"
Sweetie Belle pointed her Pokédex at the Torterra. It pinged. //Torterra. The Continent Pokémon. Ancient civilizations believed this Pokémon slept beneath the ground, supporting the world above.//
The ground shook violently again, and the remaining buildings creaked alarmingly.
The Bouffalant backed away from the Torterra, then lowered their heads. Their horns began to glow, and they lowed purposefully.
"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I think they're gonna attack!" Scootaloo said.
The Bouffalant charged as one, slamming into the Torterra. There was a blinding flash of light at the moment of impact, and a tremendous shockwave which stirred up a tremendous dust cloud, knocked everyone off their feet, and threatened to raze Appleloosa to the ground.
When the dust cleared and everybody could see and stand again, the Torterra had been knocked onto its back. It flailed its immense legs and head, growling and roaring. The tree on its back had snapped in half and lay nearby.
The Bouffalant lowed in victory, stamping their hooves.
"Ooookay, so..." Apple Bloom said, staring.
Braeburn scratched his head. "Well. If'n that don't beat all."
The biggest Bouffalant, with immense horns and a darker, shaggier coat than the others, shuffled up to Sheriff Silverstar. "Boooou," it lowed.
Silverstar frowned. "I...don't quite follow," he said.
The Bouffalant jerked its head at the flipped Torterra. "Bou."
"I get it!" Sweetie Belle said. "I think it wants you to catch the Torterra in a Pokéball before it can recover!" She looked at the little calf that stood in front of her. "Is that right?"
"Bou, boou!" it agreed, nodding.
Silverstar scratched his chin. "Is that why you've been stampeding through town every few days? You knew this thing was underneath Appleloosa the whole time?"
"Boooooou," the shaggy Bouffalant lowed, blinking slowly once.
"Here," Apple Bloom said, tossing an Apple Ball to Silverstar.
He caught it, expanding it. He strode up to the Torterra, then threw it.
In a flash of red light, the massive overturned Pokémon disappeared into the tiny ball. The ball shuddered violently as it hit the ground, wobbling back and forth. Then, after several long, tense moments, the button went *ping!* and the ball's wobbling ceased.
Silverstar let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Well, that's that." He looked around. "It's gonna take a while t' rebuild after all that damage."
"Ah wonder what that Torterra was doing here, an' why th' Bouffalant didn't start goin' nuts until we planted th' orchard?" Braeburn said, scratching his head.
"The orchard..." Apple Bloom frowned. "Ah think...we should dig it up an' see what's under it."
"Dig it up? But...it took days of backbreaking labor for man and Pokémon to plant it!" Silverstar said as he picked up the Apple Ball. "And just what do we do with this?"
"First, we need to find out why all this happened," Braeburn said. "Mah cousin's right. We gotta dig up th' orchard. We can replant it...with some help." He looked at the Bouffalant.
"Boooou," the lead Bouffalant agreed.
* * * * *
At daybreak, Appleloosans with shovels and ground-type Pokémon began digging up the orchard, carefully preserving all the trees.
After three solid hours of work, they found what they were looking for: A large nest of baby Turtwig lay in the soft, wet soil where the orchard had taken root.
"So that's why," Silverstar said, face pale.
"We dug right into its nest," Braeburn said, shuddering. "No wonder..."
"Well, now that we know why all this happened, it's up to all y'all t' figure out th' best way t' solve this problem," Apple Bloom said. "A way that'll help both y'all and them Turtwig."
"We will, don't worry," Silverstar said.
A short while later, the Bouffalant herd regrouped at the edge of town, preparing to head back into the prairie. Silverstar, Braeburn, and the girls approached them.
"Thank you for all your help," Silverstar said.
"Boooouuu," the lead Bouffalant lowed.
The little white calf trotted out of the herd, looking at Sweetie Belle with its head tilted. "Bouu?"
Sweetie Belle smiled. "Thank you for saving me. I'll never forget you."
"Bouuuuu," the calf lowed, rubbing its head against Sweetie Belle's stomach.
The shaggy Bouffalant lowed gruffly, pawing the ground. The calf turned and looked at it, letting out a high-pitched, plaintive "Booou."
The shaggy Bouffalant looked from the calf, to Sweetie Belle, and back. It blinked its huge yellow eyes once, slowly, and nodded its head. "Boooou."
"What's goin' on with them?" Scootaloo wondered.
The calf turned back to Sweetie Belle. "Booou," it insisted, prodding Sweetie Belle gently with its stubby horn.
Sweetie Belle blinked. "You...you want to come with me?"
"Booou!"
The herd turned away as one, making their way back out into the prairie, leaving the calf behind.
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened.
Apple Bloom grinned. "Looks like you got yerself a Bouffalant, Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie Belle let out an excited squeak. Hurriedly, she fumbled a Pokéball out of her pocket, then tapped it lightly against the white calf's head. In a flash of light, the little Bouffalant disappeared into the Pokéball, which immediately went *ping!*
Sweetie Belle laughed happily. "I got a new Pokémon!"
Braeburn smiled. "Welp...guess you girls got some gittin' on t' do."
"Yeah, we sure do," Apple Bloom agreed, adjusting the straps of her backpack. "Seeya 'round, Cuz."
"Take care," Braeburn said, tipping his hat.
As the Appleloosans debated what to do with the Turtwig nest and the orchard, three young trainers and their Pokémon headed off down the road, away from the settler town and toward the next stop on their journey.
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As soon as Sweetie let her Oshawott play with that Bouffalant, I knew she'd have a new Pokémon by the end of the chapter. And what a fitting chapter it was for this crossover!
5480262 Yeah, I had to do something involving Bouffalant with Appleloosa. It was obligatory.
Well, I must say, that's a pleasant take on the application of "Over a Barrel" to a Pokémon world. Very well done. Quite enjoyable.
I'm guessing next chapter Scoot will get her second Pokémon somehow.
I love this story, so to recap sweetie bell has oshawatt and a bouffalant, applebloom has chikorita, and scoots has torchic. i'm at a loss to guess which pokemon they'll capture next
5480319 You forgot about AB's Taillow.
the chapter title refers to home on the range, right?
5480353 Yes.
Oh give me a home, where the buffalos roam, and I'll show you a house full of shit.
Good chapter as always.
5480340 right, so I guess scoots is next in line for a 2nd pokemon
I see you're keeping with the silly-style humor of the show. And I thought they would've known about the Redheart family...
Then again, Ash did make that mistake early on too...
Current Pokemon Total:
Seen: 19
Own: 5
Is that calf a shiny? I haven't kept up with all the new shinys.
Good
Will the girls start nicknaming their pokemon soon?
I sincerely hope Sweetie tries Oshawott riding Bouffalant as a battle tactic. I have no idea if it will work, but it's so cute.
Great chapter, capturing the essence of both shows.
5480484 Actually, technically Chief Thunderhooves was the Shiny. Shiny Bouffalant are almost indistinguishable from regular ones. Little Strongheart was just a unique color.
5480533 Possibly. Haven't decided on when and how to introduce it. But for the record, Sweetie Belle's Bouffalant IS Little Strongheart.
5480560 Thanks! And yeah, that bit with Oshawott riding Little Strongheart...when I reread that bit during proofreading, I nearly melted from the cutes.
5480484 I don't think so. Try checking Bulbapedia.
5480561
Thank you for the clarification. I'm usually pretty spot on when it comes to shiny Pokemon, but I couldn't remember what Bouffalant's shiny form looked like.
5480484 Nah, shiny Bouffalant are more reddish brown, and the afros are black.
5480307
5480319
I'm guessing Scootaloo gets a Doduo, or possibly a Piplup or Delibird, though Doduo seems more likely on the prairie. Gotta keep that theme going.
I honestly preferred this to canon Over a Barrel, inasmuch as our protagonists do something at some point in the episode. I mean chapter.
5480561
Why not just let one of the other characters introduce it offhand? They could be talking to their pokemon, call it by its nickname, and one of the girls asks what she means by it. Pinkie seems like the type that would take great delight in naming her pokemon.
5480672
Wait a second...
Scootaloo... Torchic... It's all a chicken joke!
I don´t like it very much, that it is like in that one episode, but well it isn´t that important to me, just a litlle bad aftertaste.
Okay there is more new stuff than i thought, and in the end i like it, for a moment i thought you would really use the whole same idea as in the episode.
Bouffalant, a really nice Pokemon, at first i didn´t liked those, but after a lately i started to like Pokemon like Bouffalant and Tauros.
Nice Chapter, i hope that Torchic is getting some training soon, i know this is not the game, but it would be odd if it just evolve.
5480561 5480695
Techically, nicknames have already been introduced in the story. Early on in the first chapter, even:
5480892 Yeah, I know. I was there, remember? I meant bringing around the notion of the girls nicknaming their Pokemon.
Ooh, Bouffalant is a hard-hitter to get early! Sweetie Belle got lucky! Good to see the blending of Pony canon with Pokémon canon goes beyond characters goes beyond mere characters and into the chapters and the world. It's really feeling like a good crossover so far! Awesome job, dude!
5480561 I don't think you need to get particularly fancy about it. You could do it next chapter. Have the girl break for lunch or something and basically Apple Bloom says "Hey ya'll, we should give our pokemon nicknames.", and then they do. Unless you do want to make it a bit more sophisticated than that?
5481087
As much as I'd like to blame my phone for posting a comment with only half a thought, that one was all on me...
I meant to also say that as for the how it is included: Perhaps Apple Bloom could mention something about her sister's Winona and either Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo asks her "What's a Winona," leading to a conversation about nicknames.
As for the when, you most likely have a better sense of timing than I do.
5481191 it seems likely sweetie will go the co-ordinator route and scoots will go the ranger route anyway though and in contest power isnt everything
5481982
I think Sweetie being the "soft" rival and going the co-ordinator route would make sense, especially since Rarity is a co-ordinator as well. It's like in the newer games where you get more than one rival, and only one actually tries to also do the Gyms and Champion system alongside you, either declaring themselves too weak or just enjoying an alternate approach more.
I don't think Scootaloo would be a Ranger though, if only because she's idolizing Rainbow Dash so much. Like in the show, she's going to want to imitate Dash, and will likely be 'taken under her wing' once they meet, giving Scoots a stronger desire to do exactly the Pokémon League course like what I'd consider a "hard" rival. Mythril may or may not do this, but I just can't see Scootaloo as anything but a fully fledged Pokémon trainer in this story.
Also, sorry for the wall of text.
Good priorities, small one!
Hornswagle my haversack!
To the surprise of no-one, they're adorable together.
Anyway, awesome blending of canon!
The Torterra sure did not pick a bad spot for its nest.
5482577
I see Rainbow doing something super heroic while they are in cloudsdale and it pushing Scoots to want be that kinda hero as a ranger
Oh yeah, I have to add: Really good take on over a barrel. That episode leaves a bad taste.
5485460
...I guess that kinda makes sense in a way... but I still don't think it's going to turn out that way.
What I can see happening, based on recent developments is Scootaloo getting down that her trainer skills are lacking, and Rainbow picking her back up and helping her become a better trainer. I don't know, I'm just eagerly awaiting the continuation. 030
5486946 Have to wait and see but scoots is totes a terrible trainer right now.
5486950 Well, she could be worse. She could be like almost every trainer that was given a Fire type starter in the anime. Like Damian, the Cynadquil Hunter (I forget what his name was or if he even had a name), Tepig's original owner, and the crowning champion of being the ultimate a** Paul. I will NEVER forgive him for what he did to Chimchar.
5500836 Nah she seems a bit hasty and underwhelmed with her pokemon but I dont think she would become anything to horrible besides she Abs and Belle with her they would curb stomp her before they let her doing anything cruel.
5501285 Exactly. Scootaloo is more akin to Max from the anime, except without the tactical foreknowledge. She has a lack of experience with Pokemon, and that puts her at a disadvantage. And her attitude makes learning that much more difficult.
5501317 Fair comparison I suppose.
5501317 Scootaloo's actually more like May than Max. This is intentional.
5501375 Ah yes, because she started off with a Torchic as well. I just that Scootaloo won't be as neglectful towards hers as May was with her Torchic prior to its evolution in Combusken. I also didn't like how she changed her mind from being a trainer to being a coordinater just because of one contest. At least Dawn knew from the start that she wanted to be a coordinater.
5500836 You forgot that fucker who abandoned Charmander.
5503869 That would be Damian.
5503876 Right... I don't tend to remember the names of the jerk-of-the-day characters.
5480751
You don't say...
5510524 I've already confirmed that she's the Daycare lady.
5533782 I recommend using Bulbapedia as a side reference while reading this for Pokemon you're unfamiliar with.
5533867 Yes. Yes she does. Scoots is more clueless than Ash was when he started out.
5534032 I may retroactively add those narrations. I've got one sitting in the unfinished document for the next chapter...
So you might think about continuing
5589430 You might think about not nagging writers who are very busy for an update because it's actually quite rude to do so.
5589939 sorry about that.