"Hey Trainer!"
Pokemon Trainer, who was working over a huge cauldron, turned around suddenly at the sound to see Toon Link peaking over the window of the barn, his signature grin beaming from ear to ear.
"Watcha cookin'?"
"Oh, hey Link," Pokemon Trainer replied with a smile. "Just a little stew for the Pokemon. I'm not sure there's enough protein for Incineroar, but he can go a day on something healthy for once."
"Healthy?" Toon Link asked, crawling in through the window and falling onto the floor. He stood up and brushed off his tunic. "Ew."
Pokemon Trainer chuckled. "Well most Pokemon are herbivores so I think they'll appreciate it a bit more than you will. Anyway, what's up?"
Toon Link kicked the ground thoughtfully with his big toe. Pokemon Trainer was so responsible, they were both in the kids' cabins but he still seemed so much more mature than Toon Link was. "I was wondering...mind if I play with the Pokemon a bit before dinner?"
Pokemon Trainer faked thinking for a second as he pretended to take a sip of the stew. "Hm...seems it's not gonna be ready for a while more. It would be great if you kept them busy until then."
"Really?!" Toon Link asked, excited. "Then I'm happy to help!"
Pokemon Trainer chuckled as he watched Toon Link crawl back out the window to go round up as many Pokemon as he could find. He could finish the stew faster, sure, but rumor had it that Toon Link has had a rough couple of days. Maybe the boy deserved some time to play.
o-o-o-o
Toon Link, indeed, had had a rough couple of days. The potty training calendar, wetting his pants the day before, waking up wet this morning, it was all so rough. Sure he was thankful that Pit had taken him seriously when he asked not to be woken up in the middle of the night again so he could get a good amount of rest, but considering the tradeoff was waking up in wet sheets it was a sort of hollow victory for his independence.
In little time Toon Link had wrangled up Pichu, Pikachu, Ivysaur, and Squirtle. The other Pokemon were mostly too terrifying or too smart to hang out with the little Toon Link. He thought about trying to find Jigglypuff as well but considering what happened yesterday he decided it was best to avoid the little pink puff who put people to sleep.
The crew opted to play tag and for Toon Link it was just the reprieve he needed. There weren't any other boys from Cabin B there to remind him of the challenge he faced this week and there was especially no Pit there to subtly try and remind him to use the bathroom. Sure he had little to no chance of ever catching Pichu or Squirtle, but he could keep trying and keep running to his heart's content. By the end of the game the entire group was so tired from play that they were hardly putting up any struggle at all, limping around the field as best they could in the setting sun.
"Pika-pi!" one of the Pokemon said, though Toon Link had his eyes closed in exhaustion and couldn't see who said it.
Toon Link looked up and wiped some sweat from his brow. "I'll...get...you…!" he vowed, panting.
"Ivysaur?" the Pokemon named Ivysaur asked with concern.
"I'll be fine...just need...to cool off…" Toon Link said between breaths, hands on his knees.
"Squritle!"
"Oooooh, yes please!" Toon Link said, standing up straight and spreading his arms.
Squirtle, exhausted from play as well, inhaled deeply and began to spit water onto Toon Link to cool him down. Just a moment after he started, however, a loud bell rang from the barn as Pokemon Trainer yelled, "Pokemon! Soups up, come and get it while it's hot!"
"Awww…" Toon Link complained as all the Pokemon except Pikachu started scurrying off.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.
"No...I'll get a hamburger or something," Toon Link answered. Pikachu parted with a wave as Toon Link went back to his room, sad he couldn't keep playing with the Pokemon but happy for the evening all the same.
o-o-o
"I told you this stupid calendar was broken!"
"Calm down, what happened?"
"This stupid calendar- it's broken! It's showing a bright sunny day when he'd clearly wet his pants!"
It was later that evening and Pit was in Palutena's majestic room, holding the magical calendar in one hand and pointing to the sunny sticker for today. "When Toon Link came back to Cabin B today he blamed it on Squirtle, when clearly he was just tired and peed his pants again! I told you years ago that this thing was broken and that I didn't wet myself nearly as often as it said I did!"
Palutena sighed and put a hand on Pit's shoulder. "It's psychic magic, Pit. I personally can't detect every time you pee your pants, but-"
"I haven't peed my pants in ages!" Pit insisted.
"BUT…" Palutena continued, knowing this was still a sore spot for Pit, "...If you think that you've had an accident then a rain cloud will appear on the calendar. It's linked to a child's mind and is based on their perception of events, if the child has an accident and does not believe it to be such then the calendar wont count that as an accident. Likewise, if a child has an accident of any capacity and feels guilty about it then the calendar will change according to when and how large the accident was, regardless of if anyone noticed. Do you understand?"
Pit looked at her, confused beyond refute. He didn't understand at all.
Palutena massaged her temple. It was hard enough getting Pit to keep the calendar sunny, explaining it might be a futile effort. "It's simple: Toon Link may have had an accident, but in his heart he doesn't believe he had an accident. He's convinced himself that he stayed dry because the truth is probably too embarrassing for him to face."
Pit, goddess bless his heart, still looked confused.
"For example, there was this one time where I had a royal ball to honour some noble humans. They brought a watermelon as a treat and you ended up eating almost the entire melon before taking a nap and peeing all over yourself. Everyone there knew you had wet your pants, but you absolutely insisted that you'd just-"
"I get it!" Pit interrupted quickly, remembering the event all too well now that Lady Palutena brought it up. "So since I'm sure I didn't have an accident then the calendar didn't show a rain cloud even though you thought I had."
"You don't still think you stayed dry, do you?"
"This isn't about me!" Pit insisted, trying to change the subject. "So what you're saying is that Toon Link peed his pants and doesn't even realize it?"
Palutena nodded. "Humans have an extreme capacity for self deception."
Pit nodded and thought hard about what to do with this information.
Palutena interrupted his thoughts, knowing nothing good could come from Pit thinking. "If he's having trouble recognizing when he has to potty during the day, as you say, then maybe you should keep an eye on him and remind him? I remember when I potty trained you you would be dry one second then soaked the next, not even realizing what had happened."
Pit blushed a deep red. He really wished Palutena would forget these memories.
For her part, Palutena just laughed. "Look, it's no big deal. Just try and subtly remind him to use the bathroom every now and then. He'll have a sunny calendar in no time."
'Subtly…' Pit thought to himself, not completely comprehending the word.