Story 6 - The Lopunny in the Moon, written by: Astaraile

"Okay, so that's Ursaluna Major. Then—I'm guessing Teddiursa Minor starts with those three bright ones, right? Like the crescent on their forehead?"

Two Pokémon were lying on a quilt in a grassy clearing, staring up into the night sky. One was a lop-eared Scorbunny, who had a straw sunhat draped over her stomach—or would it be a moonhat? Rose's pink nose wrinkled as she squinted. "Mmm… I think so! T-That little belt of four's his back, and his stubby tail!"

The other was a grey-and-white Bunnelby, who had wrapped both of them up in her ears like blankets. "Huh. Wow, I'm getting pretty good at this!" Being next to a Fire-type was like nestling into her own personal heater. Even so, Dahlia kept her paws tucked under her neck-fur to stay cozy. She nudged Rose with an elbow. "Okay, now you go. Gimme a good one."

They were watching for a meteor shower, but for the time being, everything was still. Away from the Luminous Orb lanterns of Pokémon Square, the night was lit by a full moon. The sky above was royal blue, indigo, purple, rich and dimensioned, and frosted with the glow of trillions of stars. Pinpricks of light, from yellow to red to blue to white, dwarf to giant, speckled the expanse.

"N-Not much of it's visible, but that's Marshadow," Rose explained, pointing to a spot in the sky close to the moon. "See the little stars above the eyes? He gets brighter the closer we are to a new moon." She tucked her paw back under her sunhat, a few sparks popping off the yellow pad on her snout. "Some Pokémon say he steals the light, but I-I like to think he just feels more comfortable when it's dark. He's my favorite."

The seven-starred constellation winked down at them. Dahlia didn't know Marshadow's myths well, but she could almost imagine a little Pokémon hiding away in the sky. She could understand why Rose liked him so much.

"Right, my turn again," Dahlia mumbled. "Umm, hold on, trying to think." She drummed her foot against the fabric. Wind whistled through the grass around them. After a few seconds, she clapped her paws together. "Oh! Uhh, east of the moon a bit, closer to town—that looks like a pair of Scorbunny ears!"

Rose giggled. "That's actually Victini's V."

"Hey, at least it's a constellation! I'm on the right track." Dahlia's whiskers twitched in the breeze. "I like the Scorbunny idea more anyway." She bumped her shoulder against Rose's, who turned red under her fur.

Rose floundered to keep her informational tour of the sky going. "W-Well, umm, if you look for a cluster of red stars, that's the Seviper-bearer. It's the arms of a Machoke holding up a Seviper. See? Legend has it that they were a brave rescue team who saved a lot of Pokémon back in the early days of guilds. They even met Cresselia once in a dungeon! She promised them she'd put them in the sky once they were gone, to immemor… er, how'd you say it—memorialize their accomplishments."

To be preserved in the sky forever… That was amazing. "I wonder what their team name was," Dahlia commented.

"L-Lost to time, I think. It's just a myth." Rose scratched behind one of her ears. "Okay, you go again. A real one this time!"

Dahlia tapped her chin. A real one, huh? "I know about a Lopunny," she recalled. "You see that grey shape on the moon? See how it has long ears? That's the Lopunny in the moon. My Ma told me she grinds up medicine in her pestle to keep all the legendaries healthy. Some versions of the story say she makes mooncakes too, so they're well-fed all through the year."

Rose squinted up, following Dahlia's paw. It took a second, and she wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't looking for it. Looking closer, she picked out a curved back and outstretched forepaws in the shadows and craters. And the ears! "Medicine and mooncakes," she mused. The words rolled smooth in her mouth.

"And it gets even cooler. When the stars go out, the Lopunny uses Swift to make more of them. Pop-pop-pop!" Dahlia popped with her mouth for emphasis, and Rose muffled a laugh behind her paw. Her smile widened. "Meteor showers are her replenishing the sky so it's nice and full for Pokémon like us to enjoy. … Or maybe Ma told me all that so I stopped whining about how gross that awful cold medicine tasted. It was just the worst." She snickered at the memory. Responsible oldest sibling she might've been, all but buried in an avalanche of Buneary and Bunnelby siblings, but she was always the fussiest about anything bitter.

Although—the story did inspire something fun. Dahlia's gaze wandered over to her satchel.

"She sounds nice," Rose whispered. Wistfulness misted in her eyes as she stared up. Having a mother who loved and cared…

Dahlia swallowed. Here goes. "That reminds me, I have something for you. Could we get up for a sec?"

Something to give her? "Umm, sure." Though Rose had to admit she was quite comfortable where she was, she nodded.

With a bit of shuffling and fabric folding, the two sat up to face each other. Dahlia flipped open her satchel, and a white disc glinted through the opening. "I got this for you last night." She hooked her paw into it and pulled it out, offering it to Rose. "It's for Swift. I know you've mentioned not having many moves, and, well, you're the star expert." The Bunnelby's ears tangled together behind her back like a pair of nervous hands. "I thought it fit."

Rose gaped down at the TM. "Y-You got me—?" She accepted it, holding it by the edges like a priceless treasure. She could see her own face reflected back like a milky mirror. "B-But they're so expensive! How long did you—?"

Dahlia smiled. "Now you can see all the shooting stars you want, day or night."

Rose stared from Dahlia, back to the TM. Dahlia, TM. She promptly tossed it aside onto the quilt and launched herself forward into a hug. "The TM, the TM!" Dahlia yelped, suddenly sweltering despite the midnight chill. "I mean, you're welcome, but that's a lot of Poké!"

Dahlia could feel Rose's words vibrate in her chest. "S-Sorry, it's just—thank you so much, Dolly! I love it." They finally pulled apart, and Rose fell back onto her tail. "Is it okay if I, um, you know…" She patted the disc.

Dahlia laughed. "It's a gift for you, silly! Go for it." She leaned back on her ears. "The TM doesn't work on me, so don't worry. I'm not missing out on anything."

Rose picked up the TM again, and breathed in deep. Slowly, the TM lifted itself off of her paw and spun into a blur. As the disc worked its magic, she stared up. Images of the move—star rays streaking with a golden trail—overlapped over her eyes, filling the night sky. New pathways forged themselves in her mind: the sensation of building energy over her paws into just the right shape, feeling them orbit around her, sending them searing towards an opponent.

At last, over a minute later, it stopped glowing. The freshly-grey disc landed with a plop back onto Rose's paw, and she slumped forward.

Dahlia had never used a TM herself, but heard from plenty of others how dizzying it was. Oh no, she didn't ruin the night, did she? If Rose was too disoriented to watch the meteor shower… She leaned forward, steadying Rose with an ear. "How're you feeling?"

Rose's own ears shifted as she shook her head. "I-I'm okay. I—give me a moment." She laid the TM down inside her sunhat. The discomfort of having her muscle memory rewritten took a few seconds to shake off; her head still ached. She blinked a few times. "This is amazing. I-It's like I've known it forever!"

"I can give you some space if you wanna try it out," Dahlia offered. She lifted herself up on her ears to scoot back. The chill set in deeper the farther apart she was from Rose; she rubbed her arms, shivering.

Once Dahlia was over an arm's length away, Rose allowed herself to act on her new knowledge. Warm yellow light pooled against her cheeks and nose, lighting the clearing like a lantern. A five-pointed star manifested above her paw.

"Wow," Dahlia breathed.

Rose reached up, and with a soft prod, it spun in a circle. She made this. Because of… Dahlia. This was their star.

And it wanted to fly. Rose reared back on one foot and flung it into the air. The Swift star streaked in an arc into the blue, and, as if on cue, a comet soared after it. Dahlia gasped. "Didja catch that? The first meteor!"

And then another—and another. The sky came to life above them. Star trails burned against Rose's wide eyes.

Rose smiled, and with a swirl of her arms, an entire round of Swift joined the shooting stars overhead. She knew her stars would dissolve long, long before they reached the atmosphere, or even touched the ground… but it was fun to imagine that one of those little specks in the sky might just be theirs. "How far do you think they'll make it?" she asked as they vanished into the night.

Dahlia shrugged. "They say Swift never misses its target. Who knows?"