ONESHOT - THE ROSE, THE LILAC, AND THE BOOK

In the middle of a clearing hidden away within a thicket of trees found in the outskirts of Hearthome City, we find Drew training for his next contest. Since Hearthome's pokémon contest applies the double performance rule, our favorite veggie-haired guy had to enter a pair of pokémon, and for this contest, he entered both Absol and Espeon.

For those who know Drew, you might be wondering, "Since when did Drew get an Espeon?" Now, Espeon didn't belong to him. Instead, it belonged to Anabel, a girl whom Drew met in LaRousse City several months ago. Ever since then, the two became very tight friends. Now, why is he using Anabel's Espeon? Let's just say that because of how the Hearthome Contest is conducted, Anabel insisted on letting Drew use her Espeon. It was alright with him, though, since it would allow him to experiment more with a certain contest routine which he had discovered when he last visited his hometown.

After practicing their routine several times, the team decided to take five. Espeon quickly approached Anabel, who was sitting against the base of a totally random tree. With nothing to watch, Anabel decided to open up a seemingly random book which she had recently borrowed from the Hearthome Library.

After receiving a bottle of water which Absol retrieved from his bag, Drew noticed that Anabel was in the middle of reading a book. Curious about what that seemingly random book was about, our favorite green-haired guy approached the girl who had that messy lilac hair.

"Hey. Whatcha reading?"

Anabel looked up from her book and answered Drew by asking a particularly unexpected question. "Drew, what do you look for in a wife?"

At the time, Drew had already taken a sip from his mineral water. Upon hearing Anabel's question... Let's just say that it's a good thing that trees love water.

"THA WHA?" It was obvious that Drew was taken aback by Anabel's sudden question, and it didn't fail to flinch both Absol and Espeon, either.

"What do you look for in a wife?" repeated Anabel, who repeated her question with a face as straight as a pole.

Drew figured that he should just go ahead and answer, so after a few moments, he replied, "Someone hot, of course."

Anabel arched an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Drew gave a half-minded reply. "Well, actually, I'd like a wife who could cook and clean. You know. Get things done around the house."

Anabel nodded, then, she asked, "What if this wife wants to pursue a career?"

"Then, I'd say, 'Go for it.'"

"But what if this career takes precious time away from her responsibilities as a wife?"

"Then, I'd tell her that she's needed at home."

"But wouldn't making her stay as a housewife be a waste of her abilities?"

"... Um... Well..."

"I mean, there have been exceptional women who have done great things for society, like Professor Araragi and her study on the origin of pokémon, which has given people a better picture of what certain species were like in the distant past and how they have evolved into the species that they are now. We also have Professor Ivy, whose study on pokémon physiology helped explained why and how a pokémon's appearance can differ from region to region."

"Uh..."

"There's also Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, whose life as both a formidable battler and a mythological researcher has inspired millions of women all over the world."

"..."

"And what if your wife previously took college? Tuition tends to cost a lot these days. And then, you stop her from even applying her vast knowledge just so that she could be a simple housewife? She could have been a great researcher. A great writer. A great athlete. A great trainer. A great leader. A great coordinator."

"..." You could tell that Drew was utterly speechless.

"And then-"

"Wait! I'm not even old enough to get married! Why are you even asking me these questions?"

Anabel closed her book shut. After letting out a long sigh, Anabel gave Drew a straight answer...

"Because I might marry you in the future. Plain and simple."

Absol felt like he got flinched by a Bite Attack when he heard Anabel use the words "marry" and "you (referencing the noun 'Drew')" in the same sentence. As for Drew, he was so dumbfounded that the only thing that was able to leave his mouth was, "... Wha...?"

Anabel simply smiled at him. "It's just a joke, Drew. The book I'm reading is about Feminism and its implications in marriage, and considering the fact that you're a male, I was curious about what your thoughts on marriage were."

Feminism and Marriage, eh? The extent of the young Anabel's interest in intellectual subjects never fails to amaze Drew. But anyway, Drew figured that it was now time for him and his team to get back to work. But before that...

"And Drew..."

"Yes, Anabel?" Drew replied as he was about to take another drink of this mineral water.

"Some jokes are half-meant."

Upon hearing Anabel's response... Let's just say that Drew never got to gulp down that drink of his and that Anabel got a very early shower.

Author's Notes:

... Ok... So, here's the thing: I was in the library doing research on radical feminism. Suddenly, inspiration hit me, so I quickly went to the nearest computer lab on campus. I mean, seriously. I couldn't just let this idea go to waste.

Why did I use Prof. Araragi's Japanese name while I used the English names for the rest of the characters? Well, normally, I would stick with straight English names, as I had expressed in my previous oneshot Apple of Their Eyes; however, this time, I didn't care because I was inspired to write at the time. And NO, I will NOT wait for her English name to be released in Spring 2011. It's for the sake of my sanity.

Also, when I thought about how Prof. Araragi's study was on the origin of pokémon, it made me think of Charles Darwin's book On The Origin Of Species. This explains why the word evolved is italicized as it is, since it was meant to refer to an evolution different from the idea of evolution that we PokéFans are used to. Yeah, I kinda messed up the logic here, but... Well, I don't know... Whatever...

Yes, this story assumes that both Drew and Anabel are traveling through Sinnoh together and that they met in LaRousse City. I would love to explain how that had happened; however, I figured that now wouldn't be the right time. Maybe later...

Yes, people. I've developed a love for italics. Why? I don't know.

Well, it looks like I've managed to type up a proper oneshot for this Drew/Anabel pairing of mine, especially since my first attempt, Flora Drabbles, was simply a series of drabbles involving Drew and Anabel. Speaking of Flora Drabbles, the title of this piece was supposed to be Flora Arrangements, referencing marriage arrangements; however, it didn't sound catchy. I also used Inquisitive Lilac as a title, but then, I decided to make the story lean a bit more towards Drew's point of view. I wanted to use titles like Curious Rose and Questions, but I felt that those titles weren't able to fully capture the essence of the story. And so, I ended up with the title The Rose, The Lilac, and The Book, considering how Drew was curious about the book and how Anabel's questions were derived from the book.

Disclaimers:

1) Pokémon was created by Satoshi Tajiri.

2) The authoress is currently experimenting with capitalizations. She views the word "pokémon" as a common noun, and thus should begin with a non-capitalized letter.

3) This story will only be posted on PokéCommunity Forums, on Pokelight Forums, and on this site. If this story is posted anywhere else, then notify me as soon as possible.