Author's Note: Ta-daa! Finally, the next chapter! Sorry this one took long, but at least it was finally done with the help of some Avenged Sevenfold songs. Anyway, since the pairings are all getting together, there's going to be a lot going on, so this time will be a triple update! *waves red and blue roses*
Update #1: Oshawott x Lizzy, Rem x Lombre, Hypno x Snivy, Breloom x Braixen.
~ Meteor Mashed! ~
Oshawott and Lizzy finally reached the Beach Cove.
"...And that's how I defeated Timburr's team just within minutes of the full time," Oshawott was saying. "The Tech Area guys are good, you know. Instead of kicking the ball, they hit it with their squared logs. You can imagine how powerful their shots are... But as you can see, my team won nevertheless."
"U-um... That's... Great?"
"Of course it was great!" Oshawott boasted. "OK, so maybe Tepig did score two goals with his Heat Crash attack, and Snivy even scored three, but I was the one who scored the last goal when our scores were even. So I was the one who snagged the victory, you know what I mean?"
"Uh, that's, um, great, Oshawott." Lizzy buried her hands deeper into her fleece.
"I suppose it is." Oshawott smiled smugly. "Anyway, here we are! Welcome to our beautiful Beach Cove!" He waved his hands commercial-style.
However, after Lizzy had taken a good look at the panorama, she had to agree that Oshawott was right. The beach was of the most beautiful golden-brown sand she had ever seen, and lazy azure waves lapped at the shore. Further inland, there were groves of palm trees and little shrubbery. There was a tall rambling lighthouse and a wooden boardwalk extending out to sea. She could see Alomomola swimming about lazily, Wingull flying over the beach, and a group of dancing Maractus.
"Come on, we'll go meet Area Keeper Samurott," Oshawott said, walking towards the lighthouse. Lizzy followed him.
Samurott turned out to be a dark blue otter Pokémon with a white beard. Oshawott introduced Lizzy to him, and she stammered an awkward greeting. She thought Samurott would be severe, but he turned out to be very pleasant as he greeted her back.
"Lizzy's going to watch me play beach soccer," Oshawott announced proudly.
Despite his rugged appearance, laugh lines creased Samurott's face.
"Oh, beach soccer? You mean the sport in which you ran right into Drifblim's wooden sign when you were playing against the Tech Area team, Oshawott?"
"Area Keeper!" cried Oshawott with a blush as Lizzy let out an awkward laugh.
...
After a few more minutes chatting with Samurott, Oshawott took Lizzy back to the beach. Timburr and his friends from the Tech Area were already there, playing around with the ball.
"Hey, Oshawott!" Timburr exclaimed, running over. "Come to play?"
"Yeah!" Oshawott answered. "And I'm gonna beat you again."
"We'll see about that," Timburr smirked. Then he noticed Lizzy. "Oh, who's this?" That was when he remembered that Oshawott was participating in the Meteor Mash-up. "Oh! Is this your Meteor Mash-up friend?"
"Yeah. Timburr, meet Lizzy," Oshawott replied. "And Lizzy, this is my friend Timburr. He's one of those whom I beat at beach soccer."
"But that won't happen again." Timburr rolled his eyes. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Lizzy. Hey, why don't you join us?"
"P-play b-b-beach soccer?" gaped Lizzy.
"That's a good idea!" Oshawott beamed at her. "Yeah, do play with us!"
"B-b-but I thought I was just g-going to watch. And I'm not good at sports," Lizzy protested, but it was futile.
Oshawott laughed. "Watch? Where's the fun in that? And whether you're good or not doesn't matter." He snickered at Timburr. "As long as you've got me in the team, we won't lose!"
Pairing 3: Oshawott x Lizzy seems to be coming along pretty well (when we ignore the fact that Oshawott has abandoned his own "a gentleman always asks the ladies if they're willing to do something" rule, of course).
Can Lizzy survive beach soccer, or will she run into any wooden signs?
Lopunny says the way she has said to Braixen earlier, "Good luck, dear Lizzy!"
...
Leaving Oshawott and Lizzy in the Beach Cove, we return to Wish Park's Dance Zone and zoom in on a Whimsicott who was jumping out of the poster portal that connects PokéPark and Wish Park and landed on the ground inelegantly.
"Dear Arceus," he grumbled.
He quickly picked himself up and ran towards Chandelure's big tent breathlessly.
"Crud... Huff, puff... Crud. Gotta go faster... Huff... Puff... Wheeze..."
He was extremely late...
And extremely annoyed.
He remembered how he had been listening to the radio back at home in the Pokémon Square when an announcement came on and said that he was one of the participants of the Meteor Mash-up.
Well. All that sounds normal, right?
Yes, all that would sound normal if Rem the Whimsicott had actually signed up for the Meteor Mash-up.
Which he had not.
The next second the phone had rung, and after recovering from his shock, he had picked it up. It turned out that one of his friends was on the other end of the line.
"Go for it, man," was all he'd said, punctuated with held-back chuckles, and that was when Rem finally understood.
"You signed me up!"
...
And that was the tragic story that ended with him running breathlessly in the Dance Zone instead of playing video games at his house. Even worse, he was supposed to meet a girl.
Rem promised he would get back at his friend once this nightmare was over, but right now, he had to meet (and tolerate) someone named Lombre Raindish.
Finally, he arrived in front of Chandelure's tent. The area was already pretty much empty - all the other pairings must have gone somewhere else. Even Lopunny had gone inside. The only Pokémon there was a lone Lombre, sitting on a bench in front of the tent facing away from him. She was wearing a skull-patterned bandanna and combat boots. This, Rem thought, must be Lombre Raindish.
He hurried over.
"Huff, puff... Sorry... I'm late."
Lombre stood up from the bench with a little start and turned around to face him.
After that, Rem would have loved to tell her why he was late (and that it wasn't his fault), but she'd beaten him to it before he could.
"Caramba, I've been waiting for you!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Where've you been? I thought you'd totally chickened out and decided not to come after all because of some weird reason."
"Yeah, nice you meet you too," Rem mumbled.
"Why're you late, anyway?"
"Well," Rem said nonchalantly, "it was because I'd only known I was even in the Meteor Mash-up just, oh, I dunno, half an hour ago?"
Lombre turned to him. "What?"
"This wasn't my idea in the first place," Rem said, his face red. "I didn't sign up for this, OK?"
She glanced at him quizzically. "Then why...?"
Rem huffed and turned away, feeling pathetic. Then he mumbled under his breath, "...My friend signed me up."
There was a moment of silence...
...And then Lombre burst out laughing!
"Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay!" she guwaffed. "Dear lord Arceus, that's the best prank I've ever heard of! I gotta meet that friend of yours. I have a feeling he's un muchacho bueno. A good guy."
"He is not," Rem said pointedly. "And I swear I'm gonna get even with him once this is over."
But Lombre didn't hear him as she was too busy laughing her bandanna-wrapped head off.
After what seemed like forever, Lombre's laughter subsided a little and she went on thoughtfully, "I should've pulled that prank on Treecko. I kinda pushed him to participate in this, but it would've been funnier if I'd simply signed him up without him knowing. Huh, why didn't I think of that?"
Rem glared at her.
"Don't you dare," he snapped. "Have some pity towards your Treecko friend. Trust me, it sucks."
Lombre sneered at him. "Of course it does. Isn't that the whole point?" She shook her head. "Anyway, I don't think I've introduced myself properly. Me llamo Lombre Raindish. My name's Lombre Raindish." She extended a hand.
"I'm Rem," the Whimsicott said shortly, shaking her hand. Then he lapsed into silence.
So it was Lombre who asked, "Uh, what do you want to do now?"
Rem shrugged. "Eh, up to you."
Lombre thought for a moment, then suddenly grinned a meaningful grin. "Lopunny said you liked cooking. Plot twist: I like cooking too. My teammates always say that I cook the best quesadillas anywhere and they're practically addicted to them," she said, her grin getting wider and wider. "So, want to have a Cofagrigus' Cake Contraption face-off? Don't worry, I'll make sure to go easy on you."
At first, Rem hadn't been listening that well and only shrugged. "OK, we'll play Cofagrigus' Cake Contraption if it's-"
He paused when the total weight of her words sank in. Then he glared at her.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there Señorita. Are you saying you're better than me at cooking?"
Lombre looked smug. "What do you think, mi compadre?"
Rem's face went red. OK. First, his friend had signed him up for something he really didn't like. And now, he was stuck with this annoying combat boots-wearing girl named Lombre Raindish. It was high time something went his way today, and besides, Rem loved nothing more than a good competition.
"Bring it on," he said.
Pairing 8: Rem x Lombre is finally kicking off. They may think the other is annoying now, but we'll see how it will develop.
"What do you think, Wish Park FM listeners?" Lopunny would have asked. "How do you think this pairing will end up?" ^^
OK, we do know that Hypno and Snivy were going to go to the Arbor Area, but that doesn't mean they were going to go straight there. They decided to go the long way around, walking through the Power, Cake, and Flight Zones of Wish Park before returning to the Dance Zone to hop through the poster portal. Then they'd end up directly in the Arbor Area.
But why did they take the long way around?
Because both Hypno and Snivy liked to chat, that's why.
First, Snivy was interested in Hypno's pendulum and asked about the subject of hypnotism. Fortunately, Hypno wasn't only interested in the actual hypnotizing, but also in the anatomical and psychological side of it (unlike Staraptor). That being said, he spent the whole walk through the Cake and Flight Zones talking about it, and Snivy didn't mind at all. They even stopped for a moment in the Power Zone because Hypno was going to show Snivy how to hypnotize people.
"Oh, yeah. Real hypnotizing, that I gotta see." The grass snake's eyes were wide.
Hypno stared at her and chuckled with amusement. "OK, I'll gladly show you. But who should we hypnotize? I can't hypnotize you; you won't get to see a thing."
Snivy looked around but unfortunately, the only Pokémon there were random Pokémon. They couldn't hypnotize someone they didn't know because he might mistake their innocent intentions for something criminal.
She was about to turn back to Hypno with disappointment when she suddenly saw someone she did know.
"Hey, Breloom!" she raised her voice. "Breloom, can you come over here for a minute?"
...
Well, looks like Hypno and Snivy have finally found a hypnotist target. We'll see soon enough how it turns out - is Hypno really that good? Maybe his talent in hypnotism is what makes Darwin fall for him...
Anyway, Pairing 10: Hypno x Snivy is going really well! It's a good thing both are passionate about learning and gaining new knowledge, like Snivy with Hypno's hypnotism and Hypno with Snivy's big adventure.
...
Breloom and Braixen were about to enter Haxorus' dojo in the Power Zone when Breloom heard someone call his name. He looked around and saw Snivy and Hypno standing a few meters away.
He was still holding Braixen's hand when he bounded over so that meant Braixen was back to following him and stumbling and letting out exclamations about her messy fur.
"Hey there!" Breloom greeted Hypno and Snivy. "What's up?"
"Hypno's going to show me how to hypnotize someone with a pendulum," Snivy explained. "Would one of you two like to be the volunteer?" She looked back and forth between Breloom and Braixen.
"Yikes! Hypnotized? You mean in which we'll be unconscious and ultimately under your control?" Braixen looked horrified and stepped back. "No, thanks! That sounds scary!"
"Hah!" Breloom snorted. "There ain't anything scary about being hypnotized. It's just like falling asleep for a little while, that's all."
Braixen looked indignantly at him. "In that case, why don't you try it?"
"Gladly!" Breloom said coolly.
Snivy and Hypno exchanged meaningful glances. "Great!" Snivy exclaimed. "OK, Hypno. I'd like to see what you can do!"
Hypno stepped in front of Breloom. "I want you to follow the movement of my pendulum with your eyes," he started, his voice suddenly getting deep and eerie.
"OK," Breloom said lightly.
Hypno began to swing it right and left. "OK, there is nothing to worry about because this will be over quickly," he went on. "But you're getting a little bit sleepy... In fact, you feel like you want to go to sleep, like, right now. And that's what I want you to do. You're very, very sleepy... Your eyelids cannot stay open much longer... You're slowly falling asleep..."
Breloom's eyes were slowly but surely closing, and when Hypno suddenly snapped his fingers, he practically collapsed onto the ground snoring like a baby T-rex.
"Waah!" Braixen gasped in surprise. "He fell asleep!"
"Huh. That was pretty cool," even hard-to-please Snivy had to admit.
"I think he looks rather cute like this," Braixen suddenly added. "He looks like a sleeping baby Litleo."
"Aww. A cute sleeping baby Litleo, is it," Snivy teased, shooting meaningful looks at Braixen, who just realized the full weight of her words.
"I didn't mean it that way," she huffed quickly, folding her arms in front of her.
Snivy smirked at her before staring back at the sleeping Breloom. "What else can you make him do besides snore our ears off?" she asked Hypno.
"Can you tell him to imitate a Torchic?" Braixen piped up.
"Sure." To Breloom, Hypno said, "Now you are a Torchic."
Instantly, the Mushroom Pokémon jumped up and began to flap his arms like wings and peck at the ground, squeaking, "Torhic! Chic chic chic torchic!"
Braixen laughed. "Nice one!"
"Can you make him say stuff?" Snivy asked.
"Sure you can," Hypno replied. "Just tell me what you want him to say."
Snivy told it to Hypno, and he turned to Breloom again while repeating Snivy's phrase.
Breloom stopped acting like a chicken and in a really flat voice droned, "Snivy is the coolest, most badass Pokémon in the whole wide world and is unbeatable by anyone, not even by myself and Oshawott."
"And Darkrai," Snivy added as an afterthought. Hypno repeated this.
"And Darkrai," Breloom droned.
Braixen had been giggling, but now realized that people in the Power Zone were beginning to give strange looks in their direction. They'd obviously never seen a Mushroom Pokémon act like a Torchic before.
"I think we'd better put him out of his misery," she said. "People are beginning to stare."
"They're staring at Breloom, not at me," Snivy said with a frown, but she did reluctantly let Hypno wake him up with a simple snap of his fingers.
Breloom blinked and shook his head. "Uh... What?"
"How does being hypnotized feel?" Hypno asked.
The whole thing came back to Breloom's memory and he stuck his nose in the air. "I was right. It was exactly like having a little nap."
"Yeah," Snivy agreed with an annoying smile, "a little nap in which you acted like a Torchic, snored like a little baby Litleo and said 'Snivy is the coolest, most badass Pokémon in the whole wide world and is unbeatable by anyone, not even by myself and Oshawott. And Darkrai'."
"Wait. What?" Breloom began to notice that practically everyone there was staring at him strangely. "Wait, what exactly did I say?"
"Come on, I'll tell you all about it in Haxorus' dojo." Braixen tugged on his arm as if she was impatient to go. Maybe she was afraid that Snivy would tell him that she'd said he looked "cute like a sleeping baby Litleo". No way was she going to let Breloom know she'd said that.
"Huh, OK. Whatever ya say." Breloom still looked blank as a red-faced Braixen carted him away.
Snivy snickered as she watched them go. "Those two," she said with a chuckle.
"Come on, we'd better be going, too," Hypno said. "You did say we were going to see the Arbor Area."
"Oh, yeah. I didn't forget." Snivy nodded. "Let's go, then!"
...Aww. Cute like a sleeping baby Litleo, huh?
Like Oshawott x Lizzy and Hypno x Snivy, Pairing 1: Breloom x Braixen is also going rather well, Lopunny is happy to say! After this they're going to play Haxorus' Power Bash, and we can only wait and see how that'll turn out!
Once again: Aww! Lopunny can't stop fangirling.