~ Meteor Mashed! ~
...
It was nearly time for sunset. Roselio and Storm were getting ready to head back for the Dance Zone.
"I wonder how Darwin's doing," Roselio wondered. He was glad he and Storm had no more battles so she didn't kick his butt.
Storm shrugged and said nothing. Instead, she changed the subject.
"Roselio."
"Huh?" he turned to her with a smile. "What is it?"
"About earlier." She cleared her throat. "I... I haven't thanked you yet."
"Thanked me?" Roselio looked confused. "What for?"
"You know." Storm was exasperated. She was awkward enough, but of course Roselio needed her to be more awkward than she already was by explaining further.
Storm stared at him, trying to find signs that he was only pretending not to know, but found none. He looked totally blank.
Storm sighed and gave in. "I meant, thanks for taking the hit back then," she explained quickly. "You... OK, saved me from fainting. Yeah. That was some kinda brave, OK?"
Roselio laughed and brushed it off lightly. "Oh, come on," he said. "I kind of got us into that mess, so I had to do something to make up for it, non?"
Storm's smirk came back. "Oh, but I still got pummeled by those other Foul Plays."
"So you want me to take all of those Foul Plays? After taking damage from all your Volt Tackles?"
"Oh yeah." Storm grinned. "I forgot about that. So I did kick your butt today, yeah?"
"My sister's going to be so happy."
"Mm-hmm." After a pause, Storm went on, "So you admit that you were the one who got us into that mess earlier."
"Uhh, yeah." Roselio sounded sheepish.
"Soooo, you probably shouldn't have picked on those thugs."
"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have..."
"And gone into battle without having analyzed type matchups."
"Mm, yeah. Not that too, I guess."
"And picked a fight without first having a strategy."
"Yeah, yeah," Roselio laughed sheepishly. "OK, so I did a lot of stuff I shouldn't have, but I won't do those again, at least not in front of you... if that's what you're hoping to hear." He shot her a meaningful look.
"Good." Storm grinned.
There was a pause.
Roselio, being the talkative Pokémon he is, broke it not too long after.
"You know, Storm, you're an awesome battler," he said. "Your ability to make split-second strategies is impressive, and your attacks pack quite a punch."
"Thanks." Storm smiled. For a second, her cheeks looked redder than usual. She cleared her throat and went on, "You're also an awesome battler, Roselio! You're elusive and can dodge opponents' attacks... most of the time. And you have a lot of tricks up your roses, which is impressive as well."
Again he brushed it off. "Oh, come on, I'm not that good," he said lightly. "I just try my best, I guess! But hey, though we have different battle styles, I do think we make quite a nice team."
Storm nodded, smiling.
And as the sun set even lower in the Arcane Area sky, Pikachu and Roselia walked to the Dance Zone and ultimately the end of the Meteor Mash-up.
Pairing 5: Roselio x Storm – Fin
...
If you passed by in front of Haxorus' dojo just before dusk, you would spot a Grass-type with a mushroom-shaped hat and a Fire-type with a stick sticking out of her furry tail. The former was holding a Haxorus Poké Doll in his stretchy arms.
Braixen looked up at the sun, which was starting to set. The sky was already beginning to turn orange.
"Looks like we're just in time," she said. "It's almost dusk. We'd better head back to the Dance Zone. The Meteor Mash-up's going to end soon."
Breloom nodded with a smirk. "It's been an eventful day, hasn't it?" he said. "I had tons of fun." He looked at her. "I'm glad to have been paired up with ya, Braixen. I originally thought ya were going to be really prissy and girly and annoying, but I found that you're not at all."
Braixen laughed. "That was what I thought, too," she admitted. "I thought I'd made a big mistake in joining this thing. Now I'm glad I participated after all."
Breloom nodded, then looked down at his feet. "Uhh... anyway..."
Braixen tilted her head. "Huh? Anyway what?"
"Here."
Suddenly the Mushroom Pokémon thrust the Poké Doll into her hands. "I want ya to have this."
"Huh?" Braixen accepted it, but protested, "You don't have to. Besides, I gotta admit that you were the one who defeated more Pokémon back then." She chuckled.
However, he shook his head. "That doesn't matter," he said. "Please take it."
"Ah..." Braixen looked down at her feet. "Well... OK. Thank you, Breloom. This is really sweet of you." She smiled at the doll. "For a Haxorus, it looks rather cute. I'm glad it's not a Hariyama."
"You're welcome." He suddenly looked up. There was a smirk on his face. "Besides, Lombre would never let me hear the end of it if I returned holding a Poké Doll."
Braixen returned the smirk. "Oh, yes. I understand. So you consider yourself a Tough Guy now."
"Nope," Breloom said lightly. "I've considered myself a Tough Guy since a long time ago. Come on, let's get back to the Dance Zone."
He took her hand, and they set off for the Dance Zone as the sun sank even lower behind Haxorus' dojo.
Luckily for Braixen, he wasn't running.
Pairing 1: Breloom x Braixen – Fin
...
Treecko and Amelia spent the rest of the afternoon walking in the Flight Zone. Amelia mentioned that twilight was her favorite time of the day, so Treecko thought she would like the dimly-lit, futuristic style of the Flight Zone. It was considerably quieter there, so they could finally hear themselves think (and sing, of course).
As the sun was setting, they were on their way back to the Dance Zone, where Lopunny would end the Meteor Mash-up.
However, Treecko had something he needed to do.
He stopped walking. Amelia was still walking, so she stopped a bit further down. Wondering why he'd stopped, she turned around...
...and saw that the wood gecko was holding a dark blue flower. Arceus knows where he'd got it.
"Oh..." She couldn't believe what she was seeing as she walked back to him.
"Here," the Grass-type said, thrusting the flower at her. "This is, um... for you."
He couldn't stop himself from blushing, so he turned away. He was sure his face was as red as a fire engine now.
"Oh, Treecko, this is so pretty," Amelia said softly, taking the flower. "This is really sweet of you. Th-thanks."
"Mm-hmm. It's nothing."
Yep, that was what he said... when he got the surprise of his life. The Umbreon suddenly leant in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
That succeeded in making Treecko's face get even redder, if that was possible.
"See, you can be really sweet when you want to." Amelia was smiling shyly. "Thank you for today, Treecko. I had a whopping good time."
For the first time in his life, cool Treecko was positively dumbstruck. He couldn't force any words out, so he settled on a simple nod.
Amelia grinned cheekily. "Come on then, we'd better be heading for the Dance Zone," she said.
Treecko nodded again, this time managing a short "OK."
And they walked in the direction of the Dance Zone, the setting sun, and ultimately the end of the Meteor Mash-up.
...Whoever could have guessed that a randomized pairing event could teach you so much about yourself?
Pairing 2: Treecko x Amelia – Fin
...
Gremlin and Froslass stayed as the other Pokémon filed out of Chandelure's tent. It was almost sunset, which meant that the Meteor Mash-up was almost over. Since all of the other participants were to go back to Chandelure's tent, Gremlin and Froslass didn't have to go anywhere.
"Since this is almost the end of the Meteor Mash-up," Froslass started coolly, "I do believe that I must thank you for making it clear to me that being so uptight all the time is not how I should be. I should also make time for fun and laughter and dancing to that specific kind of music. You should wait and see... perhaps by the time we meet again, I will have gained some knowledge on that."
Gremlin stood straighter and puffed out his chest proudly. "Why, you're welcome!" he exclaimed. "And I should thank you for spending time with me, too! I really admire your knowledge on science, Froslass. Oh, and I also love your chemistry jokes."
"Speaking of which, I remember another one I have not told you before," Froslass said with a grin.
Gremlin chuckled. "OK, let's hear it."
Froslass looked nonchalantly out at the sunset through the flaps of Chandelure's tent. "I was meaning to tell you a joke about sodium..."
"Uh-uh?" Gremlin waited in anticipation for the punchline.
Froslass smiled another merciless smile like the one she had smiled after playing the prank on Medicham and Jynx.
"But then I thought, Na!"
Pairing 7: Gremlin x Froslass – Fin