~Chapter Three: Five Go to Striaton City (After Other Things Happen)~

A hatch opened in the belly of the largest helicopter, releasing a rope ladder. From their vantage point on the stairs, it was hard for Blake, Cheren or Bianca to make out any details of what was going on, but they could tell that a man dressed in a cloak and an unusual diadem with a built-in eyepiece was climbing carefully down. Once he was out of the way, a woman dropped nimbly to the ground beside him, seemingly contemptuous of how painful falling can be. She had tan skin and wavy blue hair, and a massive sword was strapped to her back. She wore green bloomers, a red tank top, purple combat boots and an orange bandana.

The man removed a tripod from the folds of his cloak, placing it under the helicopter, and the unseen people within lowered down a large megaphone. An honour guard of uniformed people in black, white and grey armour (or possibly raincoats) was forming around the two. Whitney had given up elbowing her way through the crowd, instead lifting Durant up so he could get a better view.

"I'm not sure I like what I'm seeing..." whispered Cheren.

"Nor do I, but they're too far away to hear us, so why bother whispering?" Bianca reasoned.

Cheren gave her a look. "Can't you at least try to get into the spirit?"

The brightly-dressed woman with the sword stepped up to the megaphone. She glared at the crowd around her, silently daring them to raise any objections, then spoke.

"Testing, one two, one two... Can you hear me at the back?"

The crowd, by and large, confirmed that they could hear her.

"Good. My name is Melissa, Grand Marshal of the P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation, and this is Ghetsis, leader of the Seven Sages. I am here representing the P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about pokémon liberation," declared the woman.

That got the crowd muttering amongst themselves like never before.

"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. This is a blatant lie. Pokémon are little more than slaves. From the moment they're born until they die in battle, covered in blood and tears and crying for their mummies, their lives are dominated by the selfish commands of trainers. They get pushed around when they are our "partners" at work, given separate drinking fountains, forbidden from public office... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in my words?" continued Melissa.

"There's NO truth!" said someone confidently.

"You crazy idiot!" shouted a member of the crowd.

"Get her off!" shouted another.

"What was that?!" snarled Melissa, unsheathing her sword, which was almost as long as she was. And she was five foot ten. The crowd rapidly fell silent.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, pokémon are different from humans, but in no way inferior. They are living beings of vast and unknown potential, living beings with hopes and dreams, living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. And the only way we can do right by them is to set them free. As long as pokémon are subjugated, the world will be devoid of justice. I ask you, in the name of all the pokémon of the world, get rid of pokémon trainers. Destroy the gyms and the so-called pokémon centres. Smash the pokémon league to pieces and make the Elite Four tidy up the rubble with their hands tied behind their backs, while their former slaves drink lemonade on the beach. Then, and only then, will pokémon be free. If any of you here are pokémon trainers, I implore you to reconsider your life. The P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation will rehome your pokémon in the wild, where they belong. Will anyone come forth?" Melissa fell silent, waiting for a response.

The crowd redoubled their hubbub. For a moment it looked as if a few pokémon trainers were going to renounce their vocations, but nobody actually did.

"Nobody?" Melissa's face hardened into a mask of rage. "Then none of you will see your next dawn. Warriors of the P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation, prepare to-"

Ghetsis tapped her on the shoulder and whispered urgently into her ear. Melissa turned back to the crowd, looking calmer, but by no means chastened. "Er... Thank you for your time, people of Accumula Town. I hope you will consider my words, you selfish, cruel, heartless, loathsome, evil... sorry, it's my blood pressure. Um, goodbye."

Melissa stowed her sword in the sheath at her back, retrieved the megaphone and climbed back into the helicopter, looking slightly embarrassed. Ghetsis followed her, mouthing an apology at the crowd as the hatch closed. Once all the P.L.A.S.M.A personnel had embarked, the helicopters did a neat about turn and flew off in a southwesterly direction, passing over Blake, Bianca and Cheren as they did so. There was little doubt, however, that they would be back.


Cheren was utterly bewildered. "What was that all about?" he enquired.

"No idea," replied Blake, "although the phrase "pokémon liberation" is probably key."

"The P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation believes pokémon will have better lives if humans leave them alone, and they were trying to drum up some support. At least, that's what I took from that," said Bianca.

Cheren stared. "You... you just said something sensible!"

"So what? I say sensible things all the time!" Bianca pointed out.

"Anyway," said Cheren, realising he was losing the initiative, "pokémon liberation and the moral implications thereof. Discuss."

"Er..." said Bianca.

"Um, well, pokémon can think, feel..." said Blake. "I suppose we do have to treat them like people."

"Which makes sense, because they are people. I support the P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation with all my heart. You should too, if you have even half the moral fibre I do," said N. Bianca and Blake jumped. Cheren almost fainted.

"N! What...?! I mean, how...?! You were on one of those helicopters!" cried Blake.

"Was I?" asked N innocently.

"I'm pretty sure you were," Blake persisted.

"So you're N, are you?" asked Cheren, rallying magnificently.

"I am," replied N.

"He is," confirmed Blake.

"Pleased to meet you, N! I'm Bianca," declared Bianca, offering N her hand. N ignored it magnificently, turning to gaze dramatically out over the stairs, attracting some curious looks from passers by.

"I am N Harmonia, son of [DATA REDACTED], who was himself a descendent of the ancient heroine Jenny, or at least one of the many female police officers copying her style. I am guardian of all pokémon. I may or may not have been aboard a P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation helicopter, and I may or may not be an ally of the Foundation, but right now, it is safe for you to know that I believe wholeheartedly in their philosophy. All pokémon are my friends, and I will not suffer any ill-treatment towards them. Any questions?" asked N.

"Yes. What sort of a name is Data Redacted?" asked Bianca.

N blinked. "No, that's not my father's name. You don't need to know his name at present, so I redacted it. Any questions that are actually relevant?"

"Do you believe in women's rights?" asked Bianca.

"Um, yes. Any other questions?" asked N.

"Have you ever been to any other regions?" asked Bianca.

"No..." said N, who was beginning to get the feeling Bianca was a couple of gym badges short of an oppressive human supremacist regime.

"Do you like splashing in puddles?" asked Bianca.

N stared at her. "I don't know!"

"You should try it. It's the most fun anyone can have while getting really wet at the same time!" declared Bianca. "I like making mud pies, too, but they don't taste very good. Do you like pie, N? Personally, I like-"

"Bianca, shut up," commanded Cheren. "Just shut up, all right?! Shut up! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

"Only for you," said Bianca, shutting reluctantly up.

"Anyway. N, do you actually think humans and pokémon should be forced to be completely separate?" asked Blake. A plan was forming in his mind, a rather hasty plan which might, nevertheless, reveal some information N would rather keep under wraps.

"Of course not!" replied N. "I simply believe pokémon need to be treated as equals."

"Well, that's not what the P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation seems to want," Blake pointed out. "They want complete separation."

"What?!" N thought for a moment. "I think I'll have to have a little chat with Melissa next time we go bowling..."

"Aha! So you ARE in league with the P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation!" said Blake triumphantly.

"Er... no comment," replied N.

"But you know Melissa?" Blake persisted.

"No comment," repeated N.

"I've only been a pokémon trainer for about a day, N, but I'm more than a thousand percent certain humans and pokémon benefit from working together. Now, you can go ahead and ramble on about pokémon liberation, but be warned: if you, Melissa, Ghetsis, or any of your pals try anything, Blake, Bianca and Cheren will be there to stop you! Okay?!" shouted Blake. He waited for a moment to see how N would react to his speech, only to discover that N was lying dazed on the ground while Cheren and Bianca tried to pull an angry, metallic, insectoid pokémon off him.


"I'm sorry, young lady, I don't believe we've had the pleasure," said N, who was slightly nervous of the angry, bushy-haired girl in front of him.

"You know damn well we've had the pleasure, you odious twonk. I'm Whitney Blazeheart. You know, that girl you cheated out of a bet three months ago?!" snapped Whitney, looming threateningly over N, or at least trying to. He was quite tall. "And don't call me "young lady". You're just as young as I am, and I wouldn't be a lady if one sat on me. Uh, so to speak."

"...I'm twenty-three," said N. "You don't look a day over fifteen."

"Not the point!" snapped Whitney.

"Look, I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about. Is there any chance you could stop being angry for a moment and enlighten me?" said N, adopting a reasonable, non-aggravating tone.

"Fine! Three months ago, you made a bet: that Durant would be more happy living alone in the wild than with me. I don't know how you talked him... us into it, but we went our separate ways." All the anger had drained from Whitney's voice. "I spent the first night sick with worry, and the second day catching up on my sleep. The second night, I still couldn't sleep, 'cause I'd been sleeping all day." Now the anger was back, with reinforcements. "And on the third day, he came crawling back to my door... well, my sleeping bag, anyway, covered in mud and rust and almost dead. You put Durant through all that for nothing more than your own twisted ideals. Now, I don't want your money, but I do want to punish you, so GIVE ME THE MONEY!"

N had had about all he could take. "You forced Durant out, you stupid girl. He wanted to stay!"

"Thereby proving you wrong!" said Whitney triumphantly.

"Uh..." N stopped short. "I... you... you're still not getting any money. Partially because I don't have any on me, this being a socialist utopia..."

"Whatever." Whitney thought for a moment. "I don't suppose you've got your ancient coin collection with you?"

"Oh, actually, I might..." said N, reaching into his pocket. He retrieved a few ancient Greek drachmae, still shiny and golden despite their many years buried underground, and gave them to Whitney.

Whitney had never had such large, shiny gold coins before, so even a single drachma would have satisfied her. "This is... they're so beautiful! Thank you so much, N! I mean... it's about time, you fathead!" she declared, although her heart wasn't really in it.

Whitney crounched down beside Durant, letting him admire the coins. "We did it, Durant. Vengeance is served!"

Durant gave her a meaningful look.

"I suppose we'll give these to charity," Whitney proposed. "Or, um..."

"I'll be off, then," N interrupted. When later interviewed about the event, Blake, Cheren, Whitney and Bianca all swore they saw him simply disappear.

Cheren cleared his throat. "You're finished with him, then, young la-"

Whitney rounded on Cheren, silently daring him to finish that sentence.

"Young woman? Homegurl? Mate? Your highness? Me old mucker?" offered Cheren, completely failing to be intimidated.

"Just call me Whitney," she sighed.

"What will you do now, Whitney?" asked Blake. He was beginning to feel a connection to this mysterious girl, possibly because her name was so much like his.

"I have no idea. Me, Durant and my other pokémon have been tracking N for so long now, it's become all we ever cared about. Now that I've got all these beautiful coins, our lives have no real purpose any more..." replied Whitney. "What are the three of you doing?"

"We are on a quest of national importance, to categorise every pokémon in all of Unova!" declared Cheren.

"And probably do gym battles as well," Bianca added.

"And keep an eye on the P.L.A.S.M.A Foundation. I'd rather not go back on that speech I made to N," Blake add-added. "Much as I'd like to. I mean, we're not exactly the greatest warriors who ever lived..." he add-add-added sourly.

"Really? In that case, I'll come with you," said Whitney.

"I beg your pardon? You can't just waltz up and declare yourself one of our number, young l- Whitney. There is a lengthy application process, and you will need-" began Cheren.

"Then that settles it. Welcome to the team, Whitney!" declared Blake, giving her a friendly pat on the back. Cheren raised his eyes heavenwards.

"You'd really let me come with you just to annoy that lad with the cape and the silly hat?!" cried Whitney.

"There's nothing we wouldn't do to annoy Cheren, Whitney. That's how much we care!" replied Bianca, ruffling Cheren's hair. He sighed.


After deciding their first day as pokémon trainers had been a resounding success (even though absolutely nothing of interest happened after Whitney joined them), Blake, Cheren and Bianca faced the difficult task of making room for Whitney. At night, she rolled around like nothing else, almost pushing Bianca onto the floor, and Cheren's feet were so cold Blake was awake half the night. Durant snored like nobody's business. But such was the joy of being young and free that the following morning, all of them felt refreshed and cheerful, and the day's pokédex-filling exploits went as smoothly as ever they would. The pokémon around Accumula Town were fairly common, so many of the townsfolk had interesting facts and anecdotes about them, and by the end of day four, there wasn't even the slightest reason left for them to remain.

"Are we all packed?" Cheren asked, as the four waited at the northern exit from Accumula Town for Cheren to decide they could leave, based on a lengthy and complicated series of criteria which only he knew. The northern exit opened out onto route 2, which led to Striaton City.

"Probably. I have my sleeping bag, knife, book about safe usage of knives, toothbrush, art collection; Bianca's got her survival books, Blake has his wok, camping stove and tea set... I mean really, what kind of idiot travels with a tea set and a wok?!" replied Whitney.

"The three-time winner of the Nuvema Town Juniour Cookery Competition?" Blake offered. His mother was generally busy with her duties as a samurai and his father hadn't been in Nuvema Town for years, so Blake was pretty much self-sufficient when it came to cookery.

"Well, yes..." Whitney conceded.

"Good. Now, Whitney, you don't have a pokédex. Call me overly pernickety, but I cannot help but think your lack of pokédex makes you less than ideal for our mission," Cheren pointed out.

"What about a book full of beautiful, hand-drawn pokémon pictures and strategical observations gathered over many long years of living in the wilderness and a few months of hunting N?" said Whitney proudly.

"Oh. That'll do nicely. Blake, do we have a packed lunch?" asked Cheren.

"We do," replied Blake. "We've got cheese sandwiches, mushroom sandwiches, berries, apples, pokémon food and crisps."

"What, no lashings of ginger beer?" commented Bianca.

"That's settled, then! Now, does everybody have pokéballs?" asked Blake, who learned from his mistakes.

"Naturally," replied Cheren.

"Of course!" said Bianca.

"Um... Wait here, will you?" asked Whitney, and she rushed off to the nearest pokémon trainer supplies shop.

"I'm back!" Whitney declared a few minutes later, her arms laden with pokéballs, spray-on healing potions and status healers.

Blake stared at her. "How many poké-balls is that?!"

"About thirty," replied Whitney.

"All that stuff must've cost a fortune!" commented Bianca.

"It was very reasonable, actually. Just one drachma!" said Whitnet breezily.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "And the rest are for charity?"

"If I may," said Cheren, in a manner which suggested he didn't really care whether or not he may, "people are beginning to stare at us. We should probably go before people start asking questions."

"All right, then. Lead on, o glorious leader. We will follow you into the very jaws of the Distortion Realm," said Blake sarcastically.


Cheren was not planning to lead them into the jaws of the Distortion Realm just yet, but the wild pokémon on route 2 were much rowdier than on route 1, so before long his cape was in tatters.

"I mean, really! That was a genuine imitation faux-leather Johtoian all-weather cape, worn by some of the most stylish people in history, and now look at it!" ranted Cheren.

"You should try coating it in plastic," suggested Bianca.

"That's a brilliant idea, Bianca, with just one minor drawback: there isn't really enough left of my cape to coat," Cheren pointed out.

"Oh," said Bianca. Then her eyes brightened. "Hey, look, it's another purrloin! I'm going to catch it! Don't try and stop me, anyone!"

"No-one's going to try and stop you, Bianca," Blake pointed out.

"Except possibly the purrloin," Whitney added.

"That's good to know," said Bianca. "Templeton, on stage!"

Templeton emerged from his poké-ball with a flash of light, looking as calm and serene as always. "Tep?" he asked.

"Hey, purrloin! Do you mind if me and Templeton capture you?" asked Bianca.

"Purrloin purr loin purr..." said the purrloin snidely, indicating that while Bianca was welcome to try to capture her, success would be unlikely.

"Use flamethrower!" commanded Bianca. Templeton tilted his head to one side.

"Oh, you don't know how... All right, then, use fire spin!" ordered Bianca. Templeton sighed.

"Overheat? Heat crash? Flame charge? Fire punch? Blast burn? Fire blast? Incinerate? Sacred fire? Ember?" said Bianca hopefully.

"Tep!" said Templeton happily, and he sent an ember screaming towards the purrloin.

"Loiiiin!" wailed the purrloin, as the ember singed her dark purple fur. She rushed at Templeton, slamming into his side and knocking the wind out of him. Templeton, by no means defeated, tackled the purrloin as hard as he could, which knocked her out.

"Thank you, Templeton," said Bianca, withdrawing a pokéball from her bag. "Purrloin, you've just been purloined! Well, not exactly purloined, more sort of... drafted? Um..."

"Just throw the poké-ball," suggested Whitney.

"All right," said Bianca, tossing the poké-ball at the purrloin. She was sucked inside, and the poké-ball closed with a decisive click.

"Yippee!" squealed Bianca. "I've got a purrloin! I've got a purrloin! I've got a purrloin! I'm so happy to have my own beautiful little purrloin! Oh, happy day!" Bianca jumped for joy, watched curiously by Templeton.

"Assuming, of course, that the purrloin decides of her own free will to stay with you," Cheren pointed out.

"Let her have her moment, Cheren," said Blake warningly.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I happen to view pokémon as more than collector's items!" said Cheren self-righteously. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to capture a pidove for our research. Blake, you'd better see if you can find-"

"An audino!" declared Blake. "I've heard some of them can be found around here, so that's what I'll be looking for."

Cheren glared at him. "What I was going to say was-"

"There's one!" cried Whitney, tapping Blake on the shoulder and pointing to an audino, who was busy sunning himself near a briar patch.

"Thank you," said Blake, making his way to the audino.

"You most certainly are not welcome!" shouted Cheren, who was beginning to lose it.

"Yes he is!" protested Bianca.


Blake cleared his throat to attract the audino's attention, readying two poké-balls: one empty, and one with Samantha in it.

"Audi? Audino!" said the audino brightly. He rushed over and gave Blake a hug, almost squashing the wind out of him. Blake's eyes widened. He'd never met this particular audino before, so why would it be so friendly?

"Audino? Audi no no audi audino?" asked the audino, gesturing to the poké-balls Blake was holding. He released Samantha, who was promptly cuddled.

"Osha?! Oshawott wott!" Samantha protested, before realising the audino couldn't possibly mean her any harm, whereupon she cuddled him as high as her knee-high oshawott body could reach. Blake couldn't help but smile.

"Audino, do you mind coming with me? You know, in a poké-ball?" asked Blake.

"Audino," replied the audino, and he nudged Blake's proffered poké-ball with his snout. The ball sucked him inside in short order.

"Nice work, Samantha! You took that cuddle like a true warrior!" Blake joked. "Do you know any good names for an audino? How about Darkblade?" asked Blake.

"Wott?!" cried Samantha.

"Unless you prefer something like Cuddles or Fluffykins..." said Blake.

"Osha!" wailed Samantha, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Darkblade it is, then!" declared Blake. Samantha said nothing, merely remote-activating her poké-ball to get out of the conversation.


"Ahhh... This is more like it," sighed Whitney. She was completely content for the first time in months, perched amid the branches of a tall, blossoming beech tree. No more N to chase, no more guilt over not convincing Durant to stay; just her, her friends, and the wilderness. It was true: Wilderness were Paradise enow. There were trees to climb, mud to squelch in, pokémon to meet; if she ever felt like drawing or writing poetry, there'd be something to inspire her. Frankly, the wilderness spoiled her rotten, and no-one in their right mind would have it any other way.

Brimming with glee, Whitney slid down from her arboreal perch. "It's a magical world, Durant, old buddy. Let's go exploring!"


Their forces swollen like never before, Blake, Whitney, Bianca and Cheren made their way to Striaton City. Route 2 was not the longest of routes, but the walk took four hours, by which time nobody would have objected to a bath and a hot cup of tea.

"Cheren's log, Monday the thirteenth of April: After many long hours of walking, we have arrived at last at the gates of Striaton City, home to the powerful triplet gym leaders Cilan, Chili and Cress, and their slightly out-of-place sister and occasional partner, Chloe. To the west of this city are Nacrene City and Pinwheel Forest, home to a wide variety of pokémon, all of which we will study in good time. My party are weary and footsore, but we must press on for-"

"Cheren, what are you drivelling on about?" asked Blake.

"Nothing!" said Cheren, momentarily flustered.

"We wouldn't happen to be making an imaginary diary of our adventures, would we?" asked Bianca sweetly.

"No! All I am doing, my dear friends, is, um, well, all things considered... uh... Look! There's Professor Juniper!" cried Cheren, relief flooding across his face.

"Who?" asked Whitney.

"Unova's preeminent pokémon researcher," replied Cheren. "It is for her that our noble crusade takes place. Greetings and well met, Professor Juniper! We have many tales of our journey, and plenty of new findings regarding the countless fantasmagorical pokémon of our fair region!"

"I know," Professor Juniper pointed out as she made her way over to the four. "Me, Fennel and Amanita have been working on the pokédex servers all day."

"Oh," said Cheren. "Wait, who are-"

"And who is this?" asked Professor Juniper, gesturing to Whitney.

"I'm Whitney Blazeheart, and this is my partner Durant," Whitney informed her. "I am an artist, poet, writer, pokémon trainer, strategist, explorer, complete hoyden and free spirit." She shook Professor Juniper's hand.

"Delighted to meet you, Whitney! Now, if I may ask, why are you with these three fine young researchers?" asked Professor Juniper.

"Fine young researchers? What are we, six-year-olds?" muttered Cheren. "And while we're on the subject, who are Fennel and-"

"It's fairly complicated, Professor, but suffice it to say, she didn't have any purpose in life until we invited her along," said Blake.

"Invited?!" cried Cheren. "Talking of which, Fennel and Amanita... Can you tell me who-"

"Do shut up, Cheren, there's a good chap," said Bianca, in a perfect impersonation of Cheren's most pompous voice.

"Well, it's good to see you're rubbing along together as nicely as always! Now, why don't the four of you-"

"Five," Whitney interrupted. "Me, Durant, Blake, Cheren and Bianca."

Professor Juniper blinked. "Very well. Why don't the five of you come and have a spot of tea, possibly involving biscuits as well? I have much to discuss with you."

"I'd love to!" said Bianca cheerily.

"Yes, please," said Blake.

"Why not?" said Whitney.

"But of course. A true gentleman leaves no cup of tea unconsumed," said Cheren sagely. "And knows when to give up. I'll meet Fennel and Amanita when the time comes, I suppose..."


Professor Juniper led them to a rather messy flat with a view of the wide plaza in front of Striaton City's pokémon centre, school and finest restaurant. Blake and Bianca stared in amazement at the large computer banks dotted around the living room and kitchen, while Cheren and Whitney tried to look as if this was all perfectly normal. The promised tea and biscuits were nowhere to be seen, but the two women waiting beside the coffee table were interesting enough on their own.

"Fennel, Amanita, these are the children I told you about, plus one other and a durant who seem to have come out of nowhere. Cheren, Blake, Bianca, Whitney, Durant, these are my colleagues, Fennel and Amanita," declared Professor Juniper. Amanita was a tall, broad person with curly black hair, wearing a very high-waisted pair of trousers and a polo shirt, while Fennel wore a lab coat even more impractically fashionable than Professor Juniper's.

"Put it there, whoever-you-are!" said Amanita loudly, giving Cheren a vigorous hand-shake.

"Unk! D-delighted to meet you, madam, and may I say what a delight it is to meet one with such an outgoing manner as yourself!" said Cheren, surreptitiously checking to see if his hand still worked.

"Um, hello," said Fennel shyly, somehow managing to hide behind her glasses and an incandescent blush.

"By Jove, it does my heart a power of good to see people like you! Hardly any children nowadays care about science at all. They think scientists are all awkward, unconfident people with oversized nerd glasses and spots! I mean, really!" laughed Amanita. Fennel looked about ready to burst into tears.

"Anyway, how are those pokédexes coming along?" asked Professor Juniper, once Fennel had calmed down.

"Quite well," replied Blake.

"Indeed," agreed Cheren, "and Whitney has a collection of art and hand-written observations somewhere about her person, although it's hard to tell where, what with modern bag technology and suchlike."

"Well, be sure to keep up the good work. While we're on the subject, are you planning on challenging this city's pokémon gym?" asked Professor Juniper.

"Naturally," replied Cheren.

"I've already done it, actually," said Whitney, looking just a little bit smug.

"Jolly good! You should probably make sure all your pokémon have some experience of battling, though. I'd recommend you practice in the Dreamyard, over to the east of this city," suggested Professor Juniper.

"See if you can pick up some dream mist for us while you're at it," Amanita requested.

"Dream mist?" repeated Bianca.

"It's, um, produced by the pokémon who live in the Dreamyard?" said Fennel.

"Then that's settled!" said Cheren loudly, rising dramatically to his feet. "We'll help these fair blooms, or my name's not Cheren McTavish, gentleman adventurer! Onwards, to the Dreamyard!"

"To the pokémon centre, then a nice park bench to eat our packed lunch, then the Dreamyard!" shouted Bianca.

"Yeah!" agreed Whitney.

"To the pokémon centre!" agreed Blake.

"Why do I bother?..." sighed Cheren.