A Bittersweet Encounter:

I do not own Pokémon, Gamefreak does!

Written for Twelve Shots of Summer: Quarter Queller - Week 5…

"Okay, so it will take me a while to find a Cutiefly with its rare ability?" asked Moon as she stared intently at the Rotom Dex.

"Zzzrt! Affirmative!" buzzed the Pokémon possessed Pokédex. "You will need to make them call out for help for who knowzzz how long, but a Cutiefly with Sweet Veil will come without a doubt." It patted its screen with its 'arm'.

Moon nodded before turning back to the field of sun-coloured flowers, inhaling before clapping her hands together. "Alright... let's do this."

Slowly entering, feeling stems tickle her legs, she narrowed her dark gaze as she braced herself for any sudden encounters...

When Moon had heard about how Pokémon could have rare abilities called Hidden Abilities, there was one Pokémon she really wanted for her team with that one. Yes, she already had a Cutiefly... but the moment she heard a Cutiefly's Hidden Ability would do better battle-wise, she hurried on over to Melemele Meadow the first chance she got.

A blur whipped right in front of her, causing her to shriek and jump back, throwing out her Popplio, Poppy. When the Sea Lion Pokémon landed in the flowers, Moon was dismayed to find that the Pokémon she encountered was a Petilil.

'Oh no! I've got to run, Poppy won't stand a chance!' Frowning, she shook her head, slipping her arm under Poppy's belly to carry her while trying to get away. Behind Moon the Petilil hummed, and Moon ran faster the moment she heard it giving chase, prompting her to thrust herself behind a boulder. After she quickly put Poppy back into her Pokéball, Moon put out her Oricorio, Owen, to deal with the Grass type. She quickly took down the Petilil with Owen, shakily breathing when watching the Pokémon she just defeated flee.

'I hate it when Pokémon do that...' Moon sighed as she pulled out Poppy's Pokéball and sent her out, watching the blue Pokémon waddle a bit on the ground as she turned back soon to frown at Moon. "I'm so sorry, Poppy..." murmured Moon sadly, petting the Sea Lion Pokémon to calm her down. "I never meant to scare you... I just panicked, a-and threw you out accidentally."

Poppy nuzzled her hand, yapping with a grin. Moon was relieved Poppy didn't take offense to that, and called her back into her Pokéball.

Standing up, Moon cautiously peered across the yellow meadow, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she wondered which patch of flowers would have Cutiefly most likely. As she did this, she switched Poppy out with Owen, knowing that if they found Oricorio or another Petilil, her own Oricorio wouldn't take hits as badly as Poppy would have.

She noticed one Cutiefly drifting on by near the far end of the meadow, then curled her hand into a fist as she smirked. 'Aha, there you are!' Briskly heading in its direction, she was certain everything would go fine now-

An Oricorio attacked her.

After wadding through the flowers and slogging through many Oricorio and Petilil encounters, Moon panted as she halted by the Cutiefly, watching it collect pollen innocently while she gripped her Pokéball shakily. There was no way she was going to let this Pokémon get away!

She sprinted over to it, surprising the yellow and white fuzzy Pokémon and making it cheep in alarm. Before the Cutiefly could flee, Moon tossed out Owen's Pokéball, staring intensely at the Cutiefly as Rotom Dex hovered beside her. "Brzzzt! It'zzz a male Cutiefly with Honey Gather ability," it buzzed.

"So that means... we have to keep searching," mused Moon, sighing in a note of disappointment while watching the Cutiefly. "You said earlier to make it call out for help?"

"Precisely!" it chimed. "Zzzrt! Just beat it up until it starts calling for Pokémon!"

"Doesn't that seem a bit cruel?" asked Moon uneasily, now starting to rethink her ambition to catch a special Cutiefly.

"You're more likely to find the Cutiefly with the hidden ability if you do that, so go for it!"

Moon weighed her choices on the matter for a short time before reluctantly nodding.

"Owen, use Peck!"

After a long time of taking down countless Cutiefly, Moon flinched as a pink blur darted towards the current Cutiefly she was battling. To her astonishment it was another Cutiefly, except it was pink and glittering for some reason.

"Hot diggity!" cried out Rotom Dex, making Moon whip her head to see it waving its 'arms' around fervently. "A shiny!"

"A what?" Moon frowned at Rotom Dex.

Rotom Dex circled around Moon quickly with excitement. "A Shiny Pokémon is a rare, differently coloured Pokémon! Bzzrt! No one just findzzz them, in fact-" Rotom Dex stopped whirling around her, abruptly hovering in front of Moon now. "You might never see another Shiny Cutiefly again in your lifespan!"

Moon blinked in astonishment at that. "So this might be my only chance at catching one!?"

"Zzzrt! Your one and only!" hummed the possessed Pokédex, floating closer and with its grin turning smug. "Aren't you glad that I told you about Hidden Abilitiezzz...?"

Moon smiled soon and nodded at that, soon turning back to the two Cutiefly who were waiting for her next move. She just had to take out the normal Cutiefly if she were to catch the Shiny one...

"Owen, use Peck on the yellow Cutiefly!" she called out, watching as her Oricorio sprung into action with its peak extending out. The poor Pokémon she was attacking could only weakly try to lift its shaky wings before Owen struck it, sending it flying away into a tall flower patch. As Moon's Oricorio jogged happily back to her side, she noticed how the pink Cutiefly twitched nervously which she could tell even without Rotom Dex that this Cutiefly had a timid nature.

Before Moon could order her next attack, the pink Cutiefly cheeped loudly, making Moon flinch and glance around worriedly. 'Oh no... please, oh please don't get help now!'

To her dismay, a new Cutiefly darted out from the nearby nectar grass, joining the Shiny Cutiefly's side and chirping back to it. Moon right away bit her lip, knowing that she had to deal with two healthy Cutiefly now.

"Hey!" screamed Rotom Dex cheerfully. "The normal Cutiefly has Sweet Veil!"

"What!?" exclaimed Moon in disbelief as she threw her head towards the possessed Pokédex. "It does!?"

"Yeah, that's right! It's the one you were waiting for!"

Moon wanted to be happy about finally encountering her intentional target, but instead of feeling the rush of excitement she anticipated herself to have... she felt her stomach flip. Now that she saw the Shiny Cutiefly... she wanted to have that one as well. Moon wasn't quite a pink fan, but it had a pretty pink colour that couldn't help but love. In fact, Moon could almost picture having that Cutiefly by her side... not just in battles. Yet... the Hidden Ability Cutiefly was right in front of her, and she could finally end her two hour search and go home for the day. She could benefit well in battle with it, train it to be one of the best fighters on her team and soar through her island Trials!

...But that would only mean giving up the chance at having a rare, pink Cutiefly.

"So I have to choose one...?" asked Moon anxiously.

Rotom Dex tilted slightly forward for a brief second, soon buzzing back, "Well, the other Cutiefly might try to block the Pokéball, so you don't have much of a choice for this matter."

Moon nervously eyed each Cutiefly, biting her lip as each of them fluttered in the air. Their eyes both held fear, but Moon noticed soon that the Shiny Cutiefly seemed curious of her, like it never saw a human before. In fact, it looked like it was wondering why Moon was fighting it... Unlike the Shiny Pokémon, the yellow Cutiefly looked determined, almost ready to do whatever it can to defend itself and friend. Yet, Moon couldn't help but feel bad for the pink one. She even wondered if it truly wanted to fight her; if it would fear humans forever if she took it down for the sake of having a hidden ability Cutiefly. It might never want to leave this meadow, and live in terror of the world for the rest of its life. It didn't deserve that, it deserved better!

With a firm grip on what she decided then and there, she narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Owen, use Peck on the yellow Cutiefly!"

Rapidly lunging forward, Moon's Oricorio strode to the Pokémon, and delivered the strike. As the Cutiefly fell in defeat, the other Cutiefly shrilled in fear and screwed its eyes up. But to its dismay, Moon knew it wouldn't get help.

"Great job, Owen!" Moon called out with a grin, whipping forth a Pokéball. "I'll handle the rest!"

Owen cawed in response, waving its Pom Pom wings in cheer as Moon chucked the Pokéball at the pink Cutiefly. As the Pokéball flew towards the Pokémon, it did nothing but gawk at the capsule that captured it soon after. Within moments the capsule began shaking, making Moon worried for a moment before her Pokéball went still.

Moon let out a gleeful shout, hopping up as her Oricorio began to dance and clap his wings together. She quickly strode to the Pokéball, picking it up and grinning while Rotom Dex zoomed over to her shoulder and buzzed, "Great work! Would you like to nickname your Pokémon?"

As soon as Moon let Cutiefly out, watching Rotom Dex scan and snap a photo of her newly acquired teammate, Moon murmured, "Would you like to be called Sweetie, Cutiefly?"

Nervously, the Cutiefly settled down to perch on her shoulder, humming quietly. Rotom Dex quickly shot Moon a grin, waving its 'arm' up and down. "Zzzrt! She likes it!"

"Alright, you're going to be Sweetie then..." Moon said before exhaling, mentally exhausted by everything that occurred in the past few hours. "And you and me going to see Alola together!" she went on, a little cheerfuller.

Even though the fallen Cutiefly tugged on her mind a little, Moon felt she could always go back another day to search for one with the hidden ability. After all, Sweetie would now be safe, from Moon and the other trainers who might hurt it.

"We better go back now." Moon turned around, stepping through the pollen-touched grass carefully to not disturb other Pokémon. She had enough encounters for one day, and she knew her Pokémon were exhausted as much as she was.

"What an excellent idea! Zzzrt!" buzzed Rotom Dex brightly, hovering in pace with Moon. "You did very well today, and your quest for Pokémon is running smoothly! You should be proud of getting such a rare Pokémon!"

Before Moon could thank her Rotom Dex, something jumped towards her, making her and her new Cutiefly cry out in surprise. As Moon calmed herself down, she could only starkly stare at the Pokémon she encountered.

A pink Cutiefly.

"Bzzrt! Would you look at that!" cried Rotom Dex with astonishment, waving its 'arms' up. "Another Shiny!"

Moon could only groan.

- END -

I hope you enjoyed the story! =3

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[Author's Notes will be available soon]