When we got back it was still dark, however the sun was beginning to rise so I set to work. Gary flew straight over to Officer Jenny to hand Rhodri over but I set up a stage in front of the Pokémon Centre where the rising sun would be used as the perfect backdrop as Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Dragonair all took a nap.
Once it was ready I stepped back and admired my handiwork. Just then the doors slid open and the gang came running out with Nurse Joy and all of my Pokémon. "Ruby! You're still here!" Misty cried with relief, rushing over to me and gave me a big hug. "We found you're letter, you can't go Ruby! We want to help you get the egg back." That's when she noticed Dragonair. "Wait…you mean?"
"Yeah, I kind of already went." I admitted as Ash ran over to Pikachu.
"Pikachu! I was so worried! I woke up and you weren't there, are you okay buddy?" He asked and Pikachu sprang into his arms.
"Pika Pi! Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu explained as Ash laughed and hugged his old friend.
"Hey, it's Jigglypuff!" Brock noted as Jigglypuff continued to snooze against Dragonair who was being admired and fussed over by Misty.
"Oh it's so beautiful! Look at its ears and its eyes…oh I want one!" She squealed, making me laugh as she hugged Dragonair, who now towered over all of us. Eevee sprang over to Dragonair to greet her and they nuzzled noses as I greeted the others, who were all very glad to see me back safe and sound.
Scyther placed his bladed arms around me and rubbed his head into mine, making me laugh as Charizard snorted and tried to pull him off but I merely stepped out from the two of them and hugged them both. "It's alright you two, you're both glad to see me so let's all juts be friends. Okay?" Charizard nodded his head before ducking down and licking my face with his large tongue, making me squeal in mock disgust.
"Hey Ruby, you got the egg back!" Brock said, picking it up but the moment he took it out of Jigglypuff's arms she woke up and inflated her body.
"Puff!" She growled then began to Double Slap Brock across the face.
"Woah there Jigglypuff, it's alright." I said, quickly pulling her off and held her in my arms as she cooled down. "Brock's just trying to be helpful." I chuckled, seeing Brock collapsed on the ground in shock from the attack. "And yeah. You see after I left, Pikachu followed me and nothing I could do or say would have changed his mind about coming with me, so I was all set to just keep going when Gary appeared."
"I thought he must have." Misty said. "You know he visited you when you were unconscious and stayed through the night?" I blinked in surprise.
"No I…I didn't know that." Misty smirked knowingly so I ignored it and moved on quickly. "Anyway we flew on Aerodactyl after the thieves whilst I used my connection thing to follow after them. Aerodactyl got them all in a panic so then Jigglypuff sang them to sleep and then it just got way trickier after that…" I explained everything that happened, not missing out a single detail as Nurse Joy ran a quick check over Dragonair.
"My, you certainly know how to get yourselves into trouble." She said before smiling. "But your Dragonair seems to be in perfect health so I wouldn't worry about a thing. With that thief now behind bars, everything should be a lot safer around here." I nodded my head until I felt Ash tap my shoulder.
"Uh Ruby? What's with the stage?" He asked so I smiled.
"Wait and see. Let me just sort out some last minute details and then I'll show you. Come on all of you! Let's huddle." I said, jumping up onto my stage where all my Pokémon followed. I debriefed them over what was going on and Pikachu listened as well, wanting to help so one we were all sorted, I politely asked the gang to just make themselves comfortable whilst I got ready.
I took off my hat and jacket then pulled on a soft pink robe, tying it together then let my hair flow loose over my shoulders, though I was surprised by how long it was. Anyway, once I was ready I stepped up onto the stage with Jigglypuff with a humble expression, bowing with her before I sat down.
"Oh no, is Jigglypuff going to sing?" Ash whispered non too discreetly and Jigglypuff inflated her body, glaring at him but I merely cleared my throat then sat down, signalling she should start singing. Jigglypuff smiled serenely then began to sing into her microphone, her sweet voice ringing out as the sun began to rise, its rim just beginning to peak over the distant mountains and treetops.
I watched as everyone began to sway, growing drowsy by Jigglypuff's voice so I lifted my flute then began to play in tune with Jigglypuff. Suddenly everyone was wide awake, blinking as Jigglypuff continued, her voice melting perfectly with the mellower tune of my flute.
Scyther stepped onto the stage and sat between us, the three of us spaced out on the stage then began to tap a triangle with one bladed arm, the stand holding it upright so that he could gently scratch the wood of the stage, blending the two together in time with the beat as Jigglypuff began to reach the point no one ever heard.
Her voice sailed off into a mysterious and beautiful aria, by which point Pidgeot lifted out the large panpipe stand I had brought out from the music cupboard in the Pokémon Centre and began to use her Gust to add an extra sound of mystery to our song.
Dragonair began to sing as well, her voice harmonising with Jigglypuff's song and Pikachu jumped in too, tapping on a xylophone in the melody I had taught him, repeating it over and over again. Eevee beamed at her place by the stage side, watching as the sun rose higher then looked to me, waiting for my nod as Bulbasaur stood opposite her.
Charizard began to beat a large drum, adding a deep and throaty bass to Jigglypuff's lullaby as everyone stared in awe, smiling brightly as the sun began to rise. As it peaked and golden light flushed around us, I nodded my head and Eevee let a Swift attack shoot up into the air which Bulbasaur hit with a Razor Leaf, slicing them all into tiny sparkles as Jigglypuff drew out her last note along with me, the light hitting the sparkles as they danced around us, falling dreamily onto the stage until finally, Jigglypuff was finished singing.
Everyone began to clap and people had even stuck their heads out their windows when they had awoken to the music and Jigglypuff gasped, staring around in awe as she received her audience, cheering and clapping.
"Go on." I said to her and she turned to me, tears in her eyes. "Take a bow Jigglypuff, your audience is waiting."
"Puff?" She whispered before beaming happily. "Jigglypuff!" She turned and swept a graceful bow as my Pokémon all cheered too, crowding around me as Misty took several photos, making me smile and blush further until I noticed someone standing in the shadows close to the Pokémon Centre. Gary stepped out into the light and my eyes fixed on his.
He was smirking slightly but in a nice way, watching me as I bit my lip slightly, unsure of what to do. Finally he nodded his head then walked away, heading down the road and away from the Pokémon Centre. Everyone surrounded us, congratulating our wonderful performance but I shrugged out of my robe and slipped away, racing after Gary before he get away, however Eevee noticed me escaping and followed suit.
"Gary wait!" I called after him, running as fast as I could until I saw him. He'd already let his Eevee out of his Pokéball to walk with him but Gary stopped and turned around to face me. I didn't think, I just went for it. I leaped off the ground and flung my arms around Gary, holding him tight as he stumbled a step backwards but then held his ground.
"I told you I'm irresistible." He said to me jokingly so I drew back and rolled my eyes.
"Don't flatter yourself. That was just to say thanks for everything." I told him, looking over to where Eevee was trying to get Gary's Eevee's attention but he simply jumped out the way each time she sprang at him, glaring at her but she only saw it as a game and continued to chase him. "Listen…I know you're busy and training really hard, but…" I began, trying to find the right words. "But I would like to hear from you every so often, just to know that you're doing okay and I think your grandpa would too. He misses you and worries about you. Maybe you should call him once in a while."
"Yeah…I just get so lost in my training that I forget." He admitted, looking down. "Don't worry, I'll try my best to call him more often. And maybe once in a while write you an email just to make sure you're still alive." I rolled my eyes but couldn't hold back my little smile as I fiddled with my bracelet. Wait, the charm!
"This is for you." I said, taking off the Squirtle charm and handing it to Gary who looked a little surprise. "For all the souvenirs you didn't want." I explained. "I only collect charms of Pokémon I have, so I don't need that one." I justified so he smirked, turning it over before keeping it in his clenched fist.
"Thanks. I'll look after it for you." He said before turning to his Eevee. "Come on Eevee, it's time we hit the road." My Eevee sprang back to my side and together we watched them walk away, Gary giving his usual flick of the hand in farewell until finally, he was out of sight.
At the same time Eevee and I sighed then turned around to head back to the Pokémon Centre for some breakfast and sleep in whichever order it came. The others had already put all the instruments away and were helping to put down the stage, however the moment Jigglypuff saw me she smiled brightly and ran forwards.
"Puff! Jigglypuff Puff!" She leaped into my arms and I smiled, hugging her securely before looking into her large, round eyes. "Jiggly…Jigglypuff." She said a little sadly so I frowned.
"What's the matter Jigglypuff? Are you sad it's over?" I asked but she shook her head. She leaped out of my arms then bounced around behind me, leaping up and dove into my bag, rooting around before she pulled out a spare Pokéball which she presented to me then patted her chest.
"Jigglypuff!"
"You want to come with me?" I asked and she nodded her head.
"Jigglypuff!" She nodded her head eagerly and everyone chuckled.
"It looks like Jigglypuff really likes you Ruby. Maybe you should go for it." Brock said, holding the egg for me as they all watched us.
"Yes of course but…I already have six Pokémon with me, I can't carry anymore." I told them but then Nurse Joy spoke up.
"I received a call from Professor Oak only a few minutes ago. He wanted me to ask about maybe sending back your Dragonair, though of course he was expecting it to be a Dratini. He wants to continue his research and also asked if you would be willing to part with your Eevee for a little while as well." Nurse Joy informed me so I turned around to look at the two Pokémon in question.
"What do you think guys? Would you like to go stay with the professor for a little holiday?" I asked and they both nodded their heads.
"Eevee Vee!"
"Draaaaa…" Dragonair agreed, reaching down then gently rubbed her head into me as Eevee leaped up into my arms. I hugged them both before nodding my head, taking a deep breath to keep myself from cracking up.
"Alright then. I'll send you both over and you can play all day in the lake. Does that sound good?" I asked and they nodded their heads again. So I returned everyone to their Pokéballs, carefully took the egg from Brock then walked with Jigglypuff at my side to call the professor.
"Ah Ruby, I was hoping Nurse Joy had already spoken to you about my little request." I smiled and nodded my head.
"Yep, I'm ready to send them over right away. Only there's one tiny little problem." I revealed and the professor frowned.
"Oh? What's that?"
"Well…Dratini sort of evolved and she's now a Dragonair." I told him and he started, almost falling out of his chair in shock.
"A-a Dragonair? Really? Well this is just amazing! Congratulations Ruby, I'm told it's very hard to raise a Pokémon such as a Dratini into a Dragonair and then a Dragonair into a Dragonite, you've done remarkably well!" I smiled then placed the first Pokéball into the holder.
"Sending you Dragonair now." I told him and once he had received her, sent Eevee also.
"Both Pokémon are here safely. Good luck Ruby and take care!" I nodded my head before he cut the call then turned around to Jigglypuff.
"Well my cute little fluffball, are you ready to join me?" I asked and Jigglypuff nodded her head.
"Puff!" I tapped her gently with the Pokéball and in she went, the ball clicking instantly to tell me Jigglypuff had been caught.
"Alright!" I cheered, spinning around elegantly before leaping up into the air with the egg securely in my grip. "I just got a new Pokémon, and it's a Jigglypuff!" Everyone laughed until Brock suggested I go get some rest so I heartily agreed. I went up to bed and crashed out with the egg in my arms, keeping it warm with me as I drifted off into sleep, however I couldn't get what Rhodri had said out of my mind.
Aura user.
