Chapter 89

Leaf was taken off-guard when her efforts to talk Ponyta into joining her team went downhill as soon as she approached it.

The little foal was wary of her and everyone around them. Aizen and Anira refused to use their powers to make it feel safe, and now it was threateningly looking at the hazel-eyed girl, who was troubled by what to do.

This wild Ponyta looked quite tough, and she had already sent away Exeggutor, Magnezone, Weepinbell, Bellossom, and Lileep to Blanc Island, making space for the younger Pokemon on her team. Pidgeot was away, and she could only count on Floette and Charmander to deal with it.

After a few seconds of deliberation, she looked at the little Fire Pokemon standing next to her side and smiled at it.

"Want to battle Ponyta?" She asked.

"Charr!!" And the little Charmander flared up the flame burning at the end of its tail, showing his resolve.

"Let's go!"

Ponyta seemed to have sensed danger as it charged at Charmander without wasting any time.

"Use Scary Face!" Leaf gambled, and then brilliantly smiled when Ponyta stopped charging, and hesitantly looked at Scary Face of the little Fire Pokemon.

"Ancient Power!" She instructed, and Charmander complied.

It exuded a strange greyish-white glow and then the rocks that were in its immediate surroundings started shining in a similar glow before they shot towards Ponyta.

The foal was taken by surprise when it found the rocks coming its way. It tried to dodge them but failed and suffered massive damage.

Ponyta seemed enraged by what happened to it, and instead of looking for a way to run away, it raised its front legs and neighed, engulfing its body in a strange orange aura. The angry foal then dangerously charged at Charmander, who had no time to dodge the attack as it was just too fast for it.

"Dragon Breath!" Leaf immediately called out, and Charmander managed to execute the move in time.

A wave of brilliant purple energy escaped its mouth and shot towards Ponyta, connecting with it at point-blank range, but Charmander too got hit by the High Horsepower and was thrown several metres back, tumbling and rolling on the ground.

Charmander struggled to get back up on its feet, panting heavily. It did not look in shape to continue the battle, but still furiously glared at the Ponyta, who was trying to get back up on its feet as well. However, the foal failed and then just stopped struggling before closing its eyes.

Its body was lightly shining, and everyone knew that it was using Morning Sun to heal itself up.

Leaf could have asked Charmander to perform another move or sent out Floette, but she decided against it and threw a red and black Luxury Ball at the resting Pokemon.

The Ponyta turned into light and was sucked inside the Pokeball, and Leaf ardently stared at the shaking ball that was blinking from time to time. Fortunately, the ping finally sounded out, and she threw a fist and jumped up in the air.

"Yayyy!!!" She laughed happily before rushing up to the Pokeball and picking it up. She then walked up to Charmander and hugged it tightly.

"Thank you!"

"Char!!" The fire lizard seemed happy with the praise as it raised its arms, showcasing its strength. But then dropped down to the ground to sit and rest.

"Congratulations, Leaf!" Misty and Anira immediately approached her, and the Orayen Princess had already called out Blissey to treat Charmander and Ponyta.

After Leaf called it out, the beautiful Pokemon still seemed apprehensive of all of them, but it did not resist and allowed Blissey to heal it.

Aizen gave a Healing Potion to Leaf that he had earlier purchased from the green-haired girl called Cassandra, and the hazel-eyed girl carefully fed it to both Charmander and Ponyta.

It took a few minutes, but both the Pokemon were back on their feet, looking as healthy as ever. And Ponyta seemed a lot less wary of all of them now.

The excited girl called out all her Pokémon, introducing Ponyta to them, and soon the foal was playing around with Pichu, Nidoran, and Duskull. It was quite an energetic Pokemon.

They were only half a mile away from the grassy plains, and Aizen suggested resting in the place to have their lunch, which everyone agreed to.

"Ponyta, a Fire Pokemon. Ponyta is an equine Pokémon with cream-coloured fur. It has brown eyes and triangular ears with reddish interiors. Yellow and reddish-orange flames make up its mane and tail. The mane forms a short crest on top of its head and a short strip down its back to its tail. Additional flames are present behind its elbows and knees. The fire appears about an hour after hatching. It has four long legs, each ending in a single, grey hoof. These hooves are said to be ten times harder than diamonds and act as shock absorbers.

Ponyta are relatively lightweight for their size, as they have extraordinary jumping abilities and are capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound. However, a newborn Ponyta is a weak runner and is barely able to stand. It gradually strengthens its legs and becomes faster by chasing after its parents and jumping over grass that grows taller by the day. The fire that makes up its mane is harmless to its allies, but it can burn its foes. Ponyta are also fiercely loyal to their Trainers."

"This Ponyta is Male."

"Moves Known: Tackle, Tail Whip, Ember, Double-Kick, Morning Sun, Flame Charge, Agility, Stomp, High Horsepower."

"Ability: Flash Fire."

After Leaf scanned Ponyta's Pokeball, she had a very bright smile on her face that threatened to never leave it.

"That's an awesome catch!" Anira happily clapped her hands and congratulated her friend.

"Lucky you!" Misty too playfully congratulated her.

Aizen too patted her head, which she leaned in, having come to love them.

After resting for over an hour, they all packed up their stuff and walked towards the grassy plains.

As soon as they exited the woods, they could not help but stop and stare at the beautiful view before them.

It was a summer day, but in this part of the world, it was not too hot. Well, at least not for Aizen and Anira, who grew up in Hoenn.

"Can you send out Altaria to scout the area and lead us?" Aizen turned to Sabrina and asked.

He did not have his Aerodactyl on him, and letting out Mega Salamance was not a wise call since it would alarm all the wild Pokemon in the area.

"Okay." Sabrina nodded her head and then plucked Altaria's Pokeball from her belt, calling it out.

Leaf gushed at how pretty this beautiful cloud bird was. No matter how many times she had already seen it, she was still amazed by its beauty. And for this reason, she was ardently waiting for her Swablu Egg to hatch.

"Please help us find a Rhyhorn." Sabrina gave it a treat and patted its head before giving the instructions. "If you come across a Bulbasaur, Gloom, or an Oddish. Notify us about it as well."

"Taria!!" The Dragon Bird happily nodded and then flapped its wings to fly to the sky gracefully.

After Altaria made a quick round around the area, it returned and informed them that there were no Pokemon in the vicinity that they wanted.

Sabrina then instructed it to lead them to the centre of the grassy plains, and the group followed after it, walking quickly.

The area was simply too big, and they needed to reach the other end of the grassy-plains by night, where the Camomile Pokemon Center and the Pokemon Ranger base were.

They came across several different Pokemon, including a herd of Rapidash and Ponyta, as well as a herd of Girafarig, who were not native to Kanto but were present in the Camomile Reserve. They also came across Nidoran-line, as well as a few Rhydon, but even after hours, they did not see any Rhyhorn in the area.

Just by the time they were about to leave the vicinity of the central area, they finally found a few Rhyhorn, playing around the field.

Aizen calmly looked at their interaction, and the girls too curiously looked at the Rhyhorn.

He finally settled on the male rhyhorn, who was close to its evolution, and then called out Gengar, who was resting in his shadow, to deal with it.

As soon as Gengar rushed at it, all the Rhyhorn started running in different directions.

The group was not worried that the other Rhyhorn would help their friend since once a Rhyhorn started running, it would keep running unless it ran out of energy or crashed into something. They were in a grassy plain, and so these Pokemon were not going to stop anytime soon.

The one Aizen was after too tried to run, but Gengar used Psychic and hurled it up in the air before attacking it with a powerful Shadowball.

Rhyhorn dropped back to the ground and painfully groaned. It had not gone unconscious, but it was not going to get up after taking so much damage, at least, not for the next few minutes.

Aizen did not hurt it more and just sent his Pokeball at it. As if sensing that it had no chance of escaping, the Rhyhorn did not struggle and the ping sounded out just after one blink.

"Finally." He grinned as he accepted the Pokeball Gengar handed him before merging with his shadow again.

"Scan it!" Anira happily said and he nodded to her before taking out his Pokedex.

"Rhyhorn, the Ground/Rock Pokemon. Rhyhorn is a rhinoceros-like Pokémon with a body covered in grey, rocky plates. Its underside and rear are smooth, and it has four short legs with two claws on each foot. It has a triangular head with narrow, red eyes, two fangs protruding from its upper jaw, small, triangular openings on the upper sides, and a short horn on the tip of its snout. A female will have a shorter horn than a male. A spiked ridge runs along its back. In addition to its rocky hide, its bones are a thousand times harder than human bones.

Rhyhorn's brain is very small, giving it a one-track mind. When it runs, it forgets why it started and continues until it falls asleep. However, it may recall the reason upon demolishing something. Due to its short legs, it is inept at turning and can only run in straight lines. It does not care if obstacles get in the way, merely smashing through them or sending them flying. However, it may feel pain the day after a collision. Rhyhorn is powerful enough to shatter skyscrapers or mountains instantly after charging forward with head tackles."

"This Rhyhorn is Male."

"Moves Known: Tackle, Smack Down, Bulldoze, Horn Attack, Stomp, Drill Run, Take Down, Metal Burst, and Skull Bash."

"Ability: Rock Head."

"That's a decent catch," Misty said, a little unimpressed by the lack of Ground And Rock-Type moves, but since it knew Metal Burst and Skull Bash, it was a fair trade-off.

"Needs some work, but I am happy with it." Aizen smiled and nodded his head. "The ability is quite helpful."

"Yup!" Anira giggled and nodded her head, understanding what he meant.

It was really a good catch.

"Alright. Let's head to the Pokemon Center." He looked at the sinking sun and then at the girls.

"Let's go!" The girls happily said and then led the way to the Pokemon Center, following the Map on Anira's PokeNav+.