~ Meteor Mashed! ~
Lopunny was walking in the Dance Zone and thinking what she was going to do about Tepig's situation. She considered looking for Darwin and telling her to go back, but then decided against it. She didn't have any idea where the Roserade had gone, and searching for her would only waste time. No, she had to think of something else.
Like Darwin had been when she was talking about Hypno at the start of the Meteor Mash-up, Lopunny wasn't looking where she was going, and it wasn't long before she found herself walking straight into a fluffy cloud.
"Ah! I'm sorry. I was blocking the path." The Pokémon Lopunny had crashed into immediately turned and apologized.
"No, it's my fault," Lopunny said quickly, shaking her head. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
Suddenly Lopunny realized that she had seen this Pokémon before at the start of the Meteor Mash-up. Yes, she was the Pokémon she had seen with Darwin. "Wait, you're Darwynette's friend, aren't you? You're the one who accompanied her here."
The Pokémon nodded. "Yeah! I'm Altaria Cottonspores. I did promise Darwin I'd come and accompany her, but now since the Meteor Mash-up has started already, I was thinking of going to the Cake Zone and getting a few bites."
Lopunny's expression didn't change, but an idea was already forming in her mind.
Oh, dear Altaria! You did say you were going to the Cake Zone, but I've got other plans for you. Yep, other plans indeed.
»̶✽«̶
Meanwhile, Tepig Pokabu was sitting idly in the Dance Zone when a smooth, soft voice interrupted him.
"Tepig? What are you doing here?"
Tepig looked up and saw that it was Froslass. Beside her was a Sableye.
"Oh, hi, Froslass!" Tepig tried to sound upbeat, but he knew he was failing at it. "Oh, and you must be Froslass' Meteor Mash-up friend."
"Yes, I'm Gremlin Ombre, but just call me Gremlin," the Sableye replied. He extended a hand and Tepig shook it.
"I'm Tepig, Tepig Pokabu." He smiled.
"Why are you sitting here alone?" Froslass asked, frowning and looking around and not seeing Darwin anywhere. "Aren't you supposed to be with Darwin?"
"She left," Tepig said shortly.
"What do you mean, she left?!" Froslass and Gremlin chorused. "Is that even possible to do in this Meteor Mash-up?"
"It is." Tepig shrugged. "See, I learned that the hard way."
Froslass looked bad for him. "I am sorry for you. I hope she returns soon," she said. "You do not deserve being left behind like this."
"Yeah, I hope so too," Tepig sighed. He quickly changed the subject when he began to suspect that his current predicament was putting a damper on Froslass and Gremlin as well. "Anyway, where were you two going?"
"We're going to play Chandelure's Dance Inferno." Gremlin sounded excited.
"Wow, awesome!" Tepig smiled. "Have fun, you two."
"I am sure we will!" Froslass said. "Thank you, Tepig. Well, we had better be going now."
Tepig nodded, waved, and then watched as Froslass and Gremlin vanished into Chandelure's tent. They were talking animatedly. Gremlin looked as if he was cracking a few jokes, and Froslass laughed (albeit daintily, of course).
He finally let out a sigh he had been holding in since Froslass and Gremlin stopped by.
Huh. They're going to go and play the Dance Inferno and are laughing and joking on the way there, he thought. How lucky and happy. And what am I doing here? Doing nothing but sitting around waiting for something that's not even guaranteed.
Argh, Pairing 9: Tepig x Darwin is not going any better, because Darwin is still out there hunting Hypno down and leaving Tepig behind! But don't worry, dear Tepig, Lopunny's got plans and is swooping in to save the day!
...Hopefully!
(No but seriously, Lopunny, you need to do something to salvage this pairing. Stat.)
In Haxorus' dojo in the Power Zone, we'd left off where Breloom had accidentally punched an intimidatingly bulky Hariyama, who had immediately stormed over to Breloom and Braixen. Let's see how that turns out.
Hariyama finally arrived in front of Braixen and Breloom, towering over them. He was still steely-faced. Right then he was that type of toughie who intimidated people even before he said anything.
The next second, he did.
"Did you punch me, Mister Mushroom Head?" His voice was deep and rumbling. Before anyone knew it, all the Pokémon present in the dojo unconsciously turned to see what kind of Pokémon dared annoy the frighteningly bulky Hariyama.
Breloom looked straight up at him. "Sorry 'bout that," he said lightly. "I wasn't watching where I was punching. It didn't hurt, did it?" He laughed despite their current circumstances. "Of course it didn't; a little punch never hurts anyone, epecially buff guys the likes of ya."
He frowned. "Oh, and the name's Breloom, thank you very much, not Mister Mushroom Head. Please, if ya want to say someone's name ya gotta make sure ya say it correctly."
Hariyama's face expression twisted into that of a small, almost invisible sneer. He suddenly turned to Braixen.
"And who's this little girlie? She your girlfriend, Mister Mushroom Head?"
Braixen looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. "No, I most certainly am not!" she protested hotly. "And the name is Braixen. Braixen Ter Una. Not 'this little girlie'. And I most certainly am not Breloom's girlfriend!"
Hariyama only harrumphed. "Well, sure, little girlie," he said. Then, turning back to Breloom, he went on, "You sure you two aren't lost? You don't look like you're Power Bashers at all."
To Breloom's surprise it was Braixen who butted in before he could say anything. "Oh, I'm sure we aren't lost," she said haughtily with her nose in the air. She pretended to look around and take in her surroundings. "Yes, I know this is the exact place where we wanted to go. And I feel the need to warn you in advance, Mr. Hariyama, sir, that you should find out soon enough that we're way better Power Bashers than you are – or anyone else here, for that matter. That's why I advice you to take back your words."
She suddenly took out the stick that was usually sticking out of her bushy tail. One end of it was lit up with a little flame. She twirled it around her fingers, the flame darting through the air in a little arc.
"Remember. Appearances deceive," she said coolly.
Hariyama only smiled a thin smile. "We'll see about that." He nodded at both of them and stormed away.
Breloom turned to Braixen with a surprised look. "Whoa, that was some kinda nice," he said, impressed. "Ya certainly put him in his place. I was getting really tired of being called Mister Mushroom-"
"Come on," Braixen suddenly interrupted instead, grabbing his hand and tugging him away. Her face was all business.
"Wait, where are we going?"
Braixen didn't even turn back. "We're signing up, of course," she said matter-of-factly. "Don't say anything yet; we haven't really put him in his place when we haven't beaten him at his own game." She continued to drag him over to where a small Axew was standing. He was obviously the one to talk to when you wanted to sign up. "Little girlie, indeed! Oh how he's gonna regret that. And bounce faster, won't you, Breloom? The Power Bash can't start soon enough."
Breloom snorted and rolled his eyes, struggling to keep up. "Girls," he said under his breath. "One minute you're tugging them around. The next minute this happens."
Lopunny is amused at how fast Braixen gets from all nervous into someone totally badass. She only hopes they really do turn out to be better Power Bashers than Hariyama, because if they aren't, the only thing they're going to do is humiliate themselves (and probably receive a punch from Hariyama. Or two).
Now we're going through the Poster Portal and into the Arcane Area, where Roselio had just violated the two rules when it comes to interacting with thugs! He'd greeted them, and he'd greeted them in a foreign language. And then, as if that wasn't enough, he had asked them, "May we help you?"
"Oh yeah you may," the Krokorok sneered. "Have you seen any Lotad pass by here?"
Before the Thorn Pokémon could reply, Storm quickly spoke up, "We may have seen them. Why? What business do you have with them?"
Krokorok bared his sharp teeth. "Whatever it is, it's certainly not your business."
"In that case, I'm afraid we can't help you. Come on, Roselio." She took his hand by the base of his flower as usual and began to drag him away. He was confused at the turn of events and was constantly wondering "Huh? Wait, where are we going?"
They hadn't gone a few steps before Krokorok called, "Wait."
Storm smiled victoriously and went back to them, still dragging Roselio. "What?"
"We need to see the Lotad about some items they'd collected in Treasure Town," Krokorok explained. "We heard they'd just come back from there to trade some items for much rarer ones at Croagunk's Swap Shop. Get that? Rare items. Must be worth a fortune."
He stuck his snout in the air. "Y'see, together we're FANGS – Fearsome Army of Nasty Geniuses."
Storm would have loved to slap her forehead (geniuses. Only geniuses would tell a random Pokémon about their nasty schemes. Right, whatever you say, Krokorok), but she refrained from doing so in front of the enemy. This time, even Roselio frowned. "Wait, that's Fearsome Army of Nasty Geniuses. So what does the last S stand for?"
"Oh, that." Krokorok's face darkened. "It actually stands for 'sparkles'."
For a while, you could hear a pin drop.
And then Roselio burst out laughing!
Storm blinked and quickly turned to him, trying to will him to be quiet. She was also feeling like breaking into a fit of helpless laughter, of course, but she managed to control it. If there was something thugs extremely despised, it was being laughed at.
"Oh, je suis désolé," Roselio said apologetically, calming down. "I didn't mean to insult your creativity, but don't you think 'sparkles' is ill-fitting to be included in the name of your... uh... fearsome army?"
Krokorok growled. "Well, that was what I thought! But Bellsprout here is the only girl, and she threatened to blab about us to the police if we don't include the word."
If anything, Roselio only found the whole explanation even funnier, and he began to laugh his head off again. Storm was still desperately trying to shoot him SHUT UP signals but he got none of them.
Finally, Krokorok's patience snapped.
"You know, you're not going to tell us where they are at all," he growled. "You're only trying to test our patience! We're gonna make you regret you ever messed around with the FANGS!"
"Complete with the sparkles," Roselio said with a chuckle.
Not a good move. Krokorok's face went an amazing shade of red.
Yikes! It doesn't seem as if Roselio knows when he should stop his joking around. Even worse, both he and Storm are sure to pay the price for messing with the FANGS, however ugly their group name is.
Looks like Pairing 5: Roselio x Storm just went from "messy" to "Lopunny has to stop this QUICK before she is held responsible for making bloodshed possible".
OK, now let's leave that place of "possible bloodshed" behind and return to the Dance Zone, where Staraptor and Tori had managed to collect all of the pages of Tori's manuscript with a little help from Darwin.
...
Staraptor turned to the Gardevoir. "Anyway... Sorry about your b- I mean, manuscript," he grunted. "I understand if you want to return by foot now."
The Gardevoir's eyes widened. "What? Are you kidding me, Staraptor? I wouldn't want to return on foot after experiencing something as epic as fast-flying!" Then she added as an afterthought, "As long as my manuscript is securely tied, of course."
"You mean it?" Staraptor burst out.
"Of course I do!" Tori laughed pleasantly.
Staraptor smiled. "Well then, hop on. How about if we fly over the Cake Zone now? It'd be interesting to see all those cake-shaped buildings from the sky."
"Yeah! Let's!" Tori agreed, jumping onto his back. And then Staraptor and Gardevoir took to the skies once again...
...After making sure Tori's manuscript had been securely tied, of course.
»̶✽«̶
Staraptor and Tori had gone flying and landed in the various Wish Park zones. They'd seen Treecko and Amelia in the Cake Zone and glimpsed Breloom and Braixen in the Power Zone. They had lunch, they had tea.
However, Tori had to admit that she was happiest when Staraptor performed aerial acrobatics. She never knew that flying could make her feel so free. She loved feeling the breeze in her hair. Miraculously, neither her glasses nor her manuscript fell off.
Well! At least that's one pairing going right! Lopunny is delighted to see that Pairing 4: Staraptor x Tori is going marvelously well. They solved Tori's manuscript fiasco and are enjoying the skies. Tori even found something new about herself. She found the freedom of flying.
(Now Lopunny's smiling to herself because she sounded poetic. Yeah, just ignore her. She just also wants to feel what it's like to fly.)
Meanwhile, in the Cake Zone, Treecko and Amelia had been playing the singing game. Amelia had sung a supposedly difficult song, but Treecko had still managed to guess what song it was. He sang quietly, keeping his head down.
When he met the Umbreon's eyes, she was staring at him.
"Well I'll be," she said in surprise. "I thought you wouldn't know that song, but you did. How could you know a song I made myself, Treecko?"
"Of course I know that song," answered Treecko. "You've sung that song before, when we were walking from the Dance Zone to the Cake Zone."
Amelia paused. "Well, yes, I did sing it as we were walking, but I'd never have thought you would hear it... let alone listen to it."
"Of course I would listen to your singing," Treecko said. "It's... it's really... err..." He ended his sentence by clearing his throat. Whatever words he'd planned to say got lost in the Cake Zone din.
Amelia didn't see that Treecko was flustered (which is weird given that his face had turned redder than green), so she only tilted her head and smiled at him. "Yes? What was that?"
"It's really..."
If anything, the wood gecko only got more awkward. He had to curse his ability to get along with girls. He couldn't even say one compliment decently since that was out of his character. Even if he did compliment someone, he would say it seriously, almost diplomatically. The only reason he got along pretty well with Lombre and Cleffy was because they were his teammates. They aren't in the same classification of girls as Amelia – Lombre and Cleffy are his colleagues. Of course they're different.
However, Treecko knew he had to try. This didn't only have to do with his Meteor Mash-up experience, but Amelia's, too. If she had a lousy time today, that would be because of him. He had to try to be less serious and to get along with this kind of girl, just for today.
He cleared his throat again. Then he went on in a very quiet voice, "Your singing is... very beautiful."
He felt like kicking himself. That was all? Your singing is very beautiful? That was what he went through all that trouble for?
I'm so not good at this, he thought. He was positive that the others – Tepig with his cutely timid gimmick, Oshawott with his smooth operator act, Roselio with his rainbow along with the pot of gold at the end of it, Staraptor with the "cool" air about him, and even Breloom with his unwavering if sometimes overwhelming enthusiasm – were doing a much better job than he was.
However, Amelia didn't seem to mind. ("That's because girls love compliments," Darwin would have drawled. "They don't care how guys say it.")
"Why, thank you, Treecko," she said with an almost shy smile. "Not many people tell me that. That's because not many people have even heard me sing. You see, I have a bad habit of being closed off around people. I only dare open up to people I get along with and trust."
She broke off, picking up her teaspoon. She swirled it around in her milk tea, but instead of drinking it, she put it back down on her saucer deep in thought.
"It's because back where I live, I used to get teased a lot when I evolved into an Umbreon," she revealed, "because most of the girls choose to evolve into an Espeon or a pretty Glaceon, and Umbreon are usually associated with boys. Since all that, I've had trouble opening up to people. It just doesn't seem worth it – unless that person is someone I quite like."
It took Treecko an embarrassing few seconds to answer because he was pondering over what she'd just said. It just doesn't seem worth it – unless that person is someone I quite like. Well, the Umbreon had confided Treecko with that revelation. Does this mean he was one of those who are "worth it"? Does this mean Amelia "quite liked" him?
Oh, oh, oh! Lopunny is positively swooning! Pairing 2: Treecko x Amelia started off cold and awkward, but things are warming up at an impressive rate!
And what about the answer to that question? Did Amelia really "quite like" him...?
...
Stay tuned on Wish Park FM!