June 26th, 2007

"What is Lyssa doing?" Kori asked. They girls have since left Jubilife City on their way to Floraroma Town. They had just finished setting up camp when Lyssa went into some nearby grass with her camera.

Diana shrugged. "She's taking a few pictures of some nearby Bidoof."

"Bidoof?" Kori finished feeding all of her pokémon. Then she, not immediately recognizing the pokémon, pulled out her pokédex. A picture of the pokémon immediately popped up.

Bidoof- the Plump Mouse Pokémon. A comparison revealed that Bidoof's front teeth grow at the same rate as a Rattatta's.

Lyssa snapped another picture of a family of Bidoof playing together. Lyssa put her camera away and smiled at one of them. "You're so adorable."

Bidoof seemed to smile at the compliment. At that moment, Corsola had walked over to them. " Cor Corsola."

"Hey Corsola, are they done with the meal?"

Corsola nodded. "Corsola."

Lyssa got up from the ground. "Goodbye Bidoof." With on last smile, she turned around and went back to the campsite with Corsola.

"Bidoof doof." Bidoof really liked that girl. She was nice. Bidoof didn't want her to go. Bidoof decided to follow.

Kori, Diana and Lyssa were enjoying a nice pasta with bread and freshly squeezed pecha berry juice. All of their pokémon were enjoying their homemade (more like outdoors made) pokémon food and some berries. Everyone was enjoying their meals when they heard: "Doof doof."

Lyssa looked to where the sound came from. Right next to her was one of the Bidoof that she took pictures of. "Hello."

"Bidoof." The Bidoof seemed to smile. "Bidoof." Bidoof continued to stand there.

Lyssa smiled. "We're all having lunch. Do you want to join us?"

Bidoof seemed to beam. "Doof." Lyssa took that as a yes and prepared a bowl for Bidoof. It sat between Lyssa and Corolsa. Once Bidoof was settled with its food, everyone began to have their own conversation, including the pokémon.

Oshawott looked at Cherrim. She looked really different from all the times he usually saw her; most of her face and body was covered in really blue flower petals. "Osha wott osha?"

"Cherrim rim cher rim." Cherrim explained that it happened when the really big ball of fire called the sun wasn't visible or very bright. Cherrim said it was because all Cherrims really needed the sun to become beautiful blossoms.

Oshawott looked really thoughtful and then looked in the sky. It was cloudy and the sun wasn't visible. He didn't remember Cherrim doing that before she changed. "Oshawott osha osha?"

Cherrim was silent for a moment. "Cher... cherrim." Cherrim told Oshawott that it was something that Cherrim's did when they evolved.

Oshawott remembered that light when Cherrrim 'evolved'. "Oshawott?" He wanted to know what that was like. It looked so strange, but pretty at the same time.

"Rim..." She couldn't figure out how to explain evolution to a pokémon who has never evolved. "Cherrim cherrim." The other pokémon began to pay closer attention as Cherrim explained that evolved pokémon become stronger and sometimes bigger.

Oshaowtt's eyes saw stars as he listened. "Osha!" Evolution sounded so cool. He wondered if he could evolve too. "Oshawott?" He asked, pointing at himself. Could he do it?

"Cher cher cherrim." Cherrim explained that some pokémon just don't evolve at all. She didn't know if Oshawott was one of those pokémon that couldn't evolve or not. "Rim rim." Osahowtt should ask Kori, maybe she would know.

"Corsola cor." That's right.

"Osha oshawott!" He didn't want to be a pokémon who couldn't evolve. Evolution sounded so awesome.

Chimchar seemed to see the glow in Oshawott's eyes and understood his excitement about evolution, but it has its consequence. "Chim chim chimchar," she told Osahwott in admonishment. Oshawott needed to be sure it wanted to evolve because things change once that happens.

Oshawott looked confused. "Osha?"

Swablu looked up from cleaning its fluffy wing. "Blu swablu swab." Chimchar was right; once a pokémon evolved, it will never be able to go back to its pre- evolved form.

Oshawott looked really thoughtful. So far, Oshawott liked the way he was now. "Oshawott?" Can someone decide not to evolve?

Chimchar nodded. It's possible. "Chim char chim chim." That choice depends on the pokémon.

"Corsola cor." Corsola was glad that she couldn't evolve herself. The evolution talk can be so complicated. Corsola turned to their Bidoof guest. She really wanted to know what he thought. "Cor Corsola?"

"Bidoof doof doof," Bidoof said while making paw gestures. He wanted to be a strong Bibarel one day.

Oshawott looked at both Turtwig and Shinx, the only ones who hadn't said anything throughout the whole conversation. "Osahwott wott?"

Turtwig looked really thoughtful about it; he honestly never gave it much thought before. "Turtwig tur." He would just accept the change when it came, he decided.

Oshawott waited expectantly for Shinx to respond, but he remained silent. "Osha?" Oshawott asked impatiently.

Shinx gave Oshawott a cold glance. He could tell that the other pokémon was young; with all the questions being asked, he was probably newly hatched. How annoying. "Shinx." Shinx closed its eyes and decided to sleep, ignoring the other pokémon.

Oshaowtt got up from his seat. "Osha!" Oshawott was angry and tired of Shinx's rude attitude. Now he wanted to do something about it. Oshawott grabbed his scalchop and started slashing angrily.

Chimchar immediately put herself in front of the angry Oshawott. "Chimchar chim chim," she told him. It wasn't worth getting angry about.

Oshawott pointed at Shinx angrily. "Osha!"

Chimchar understood. Shinx was not being nice at all. Seems like Shinx hadn't gotten close to anyone- pokémon or his trainer.

Meanwhile the girls had been watching the altercation between the pokémon. Namely Oshawott and Shinx. Diana sighed; she wasn't surprised at all. "Shinx seems to be distancing himself from everyone- even me."

Kori got up and grinned. "You should battle with Shinx."

Diana looked at her, confused. "Battle?"

"Battling will help your bond with Shinx," Kori explained.

Lyssa nodded. "To battle effectively, you and Shinx will have to trust each other."

Diana looked very unsure. "I don't know..."

"Come on," Kori begged. "You and Shinx can battle against me and Oshawott. It'll be fun."

Diana became thoughtful. She did want a closer bond between her and Shinx. A battle couldn't hurt. "Okay. Let's do it."

Kori smiled and picked up Oshaowtt. Diana got Shinx. Both pairs stood a distance away from each other. All the other pokémon. Lyssa stood between the opposing parties. "I'll be the referee for this battle. This is a one- on- one battle between Shinx and Oshawott. A winner will be declared when one pokémon can no longer battle. Begin!"

"You can have the first attack Diana," Kori offered.

Oshawott is a water- type, Diana thought critically, remembering what Kori told her about it. That means Shinx has the advantage because he's an electric- type. "Shinx use Thundershock!"

"Shinx!" A blue colored thundershock sped towards the opposing Oshaowtt. Kori smiled.

"Oshawott use your scalchop to defend." Oshawott put his scalchop on from of where the Thundershock would hit. When the attack connected, it only hit the scalchop, causing the attach to be redirected back to Shinx.

"What?" Both Diana and Lyssa asked, surprised. They couldn't believe what happened.

The pokémon looked just as surprised, even when the attack ended up hitting Shinx.

"Shinx!" Diana called, panicked.

Shinx looked perfectly fine though, even shook off the attack. Since he was an electric- type, he didn't take much damage. He just waited.

"You like? Oshawott and I have been working on defending against type- advantages," Kori bragged. "Oshawott use Air Slash!" Oshawott started slashing the air, creating a large blue ball that raced towards Shinx.

"Shinx use... um... swift?" Diana ordered uncertainly.

"Shinx?" Shinx wasn't sure what she was thinking. The attack was getting extremely close, too close to dodge.

So he decided to use Swift. He wagged his tail, causing gold stars to appear and collided with the Air Slash. Both attacks canceled each other out, creating a huge explosion of blue and gold sparkles. Quite pretty.

"That was a great counterattack," Lyssa complimented. It was really great. "But you need to be more confident Diana. That Air Slash came very close to hitting Shinx."

"Yeah," Kori said in agreement. "Just keep calm and everything will be fine. You have great ideas too."

Shinx turned to face his trainer. It was time for this trainer of his to actually act like the trainer here.

Diana made eye contact with her pokémon. Shinx needed her to make the decisions. She nodded at Shinx. It was time to get serious. "Use Scary Face!"

"Shinx!" Shinx made a scary face that looked like it was covered in shadows. Oshawott froze in his tracks. The face made Oshawott feel so small and helpless. "Osha..."

"Oshawott snap out of it!" Kori yelled. But it was like Oshawott couldn't hear her at all.

Diana smiled. "Now is our chance!"

"Shinx."

Diana point a finger. "Go run towards Oshawott using Spark!"

"Shinx!" Shinx ran towards Oshawott, it's body surrounded by blue electricity.

Kori looked nervous. A confident Diana was pretty good; giving Kori a run for her money. "Oshawott move!"

Oshawott seemed to snap out of it, but it was too late to dodge. Shinx was too close for Oshawott avoid it.

There was only one thing to do. "Oshawott, use Razor Shell! Full power!"

Oshawott made the biggest Razor Shell it had ever made in his short life and raised it. Shinx collided with the weapon; the combination between water and electricity is intense. There was a huge explosion. Both Oshawott and Shinx were blown back by the explosion. When the dust cleared, both pokémon were struggling to get up without much success.

"Oshawott!"

"Shinx!"

"Both pokémon are unable to battle," Lyssa said. "This is a tie."

Both Kori and Diana both picked up their respective pokémon and smiled.

"You were great Oshawott," Kori said. Oshawott opened his dark eyes. "You have a good rest."

Diana looked at the Shinx in her arms. "You did really great Shinx. It was me who was messing up."

Shinx golden eyes looked at his trainer. "Shinx shinx." He really enjoyed battling with her and- dare he think it- the hatchling. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.

"Diana!" Kori yelled. She reaised her hand. "Great battle! You're definitely becoming my new training buddy from now on."

Diana hesitated looking at the hand. Then she smiled and took the hand in a shake. "Thanks. We should do this again."

Lyssa smiled. "That was great! You both looked good out there Shinx and Oshawott!"

Bidoff watched as Lyssa complimented the other pokémon. Bidoof wanted to be in the spotlight too. He was strong.

"It's getting dark," Kori noticed.

"We should start getting ready for the night. It's too late for another battle," Diana pointed out. Bidoof physically sagged.

Lyssa nodded. "I'm going to go pick some berries we can eat for dinner." Lyssa walked out of the camp to nearby berry bushes. Bidoof quickly followed. Bidoof found Lyssa picking pecha and oran berries and putting them into a basket. "Bidoof."

She noticed the Bidoof again. It seemed to be following her a lot. "Hey." She smiled at the friendly Bidoof. "Want to help me pick these?"

Bidoff nodded eagerly. "Bidoof." Bidoof sat on his hind legs and picked the berries with his front paws. They both finished the task and returned to the camp.

Kori hand just finished washing Oshawott in the nearby stream, now she has drying and brushing Oshawott's thin fur with a blue brush. Oshawott mewled in pleasure. "Osha."

"Glad your enjoying it," Kori said honestly. She was already pretty used to taking care of pokémon because of her father's job and her mother being an experienced trainer. Diana stood a little behind Kori, curiously watching.

Kori sat Oshaowtt on top of a rock. "Okay Chimchar," Kori called out, "it's your turn now."

"Char..." Chimchar hesitantly moved towards Kori. She hated to be bathed.

Kori could understand. After all, a fire- type like Chimchar had every right to be nervous around water. She pulled out a dry wash cloth out of her bag and onto the ground. "Oshawott please use Scald on this," Kori asked, pointing at the cloth. "But not too hot okay? I still have to be able to touch it."

Oshawott nodded. He used a small spray on the cloth. Kori motioned Chimchar onto her lap while she tentatively put her hand on the cloth. Very warm, but not too hot. Good. She cleaned Chimchar with the washcloth. Chimchar closed her eyes in pleasure, enjoying the warmth of the cloth.

"Gad you enjoy," Kori said. She continued the treatment for a few more minutes. Afterward, Kori pulled out another brush, this time red, and began brushing Chimchar's fur.

"You're really good at this," Diana said in awe. "How do you know how to take care of different pokémon like that?

Kori continued brushing Chimchar. "I know how to take care of pokémon mostly because I'm used to watching my parents. Sometimes I just try different things to see if it works." Kori finished brushing and sat Chimchar next to Oshawott. Cherrrim came by; it was her turn to be groomed. "I find I don't have to do much grooming for Swablu because he likes to bath himself. I usually just brush. Speaking of which, you should try doing it with your pokémon."

Diana nodded. "Turtwig, come here." Turtwig walked over to Diana. Diana looked at Kori. "What should I do now?"

Kori bathed Cherrim. "Try bathing Turtwig in this stream. Since he's a grass- type, he shouldn't have much of a problem with it. It would also keep the soil on his back healthy."

Diana nodded. Turtwig and Diana sat at the edge of the stream next to Kori and her pokémon. Diana put Turtwig in the stream, paying extra attention to his back. "Tur Turtwig." Turtwig really enjoyed the way Diana massaged his back in the water. It felt so wonderful. Eventually Diana finshed and allowed Turtwig's soil to air dry right next to her. Shinx, who been watching the bathing, walked over. Diana bathed Shinx in the stream. "Shinx..." Shinx didn't like being bathed at all, but Diana was being gentle. Shinx never did like being bathed, even when his Memma would bath him as a hatchling.

Diana smiled at the despondent Shinx. "See? That wasn't so bad was it?"

"Shinx," he answered reluctantly.

"You're doing great Diana," Kori complimented. "Now try brushing Shinx."

Diana pulled out a brush with metal combs out of her bag. When Kori saw the brush, she immediately grabbed Diana's hand.

"Wait a minute," Kori said. "That's not a good brush to use."

"Why not?"

"It's metal," Kori pointed out. "Since Shinx is an electric- type, he'll shock you because metal conducts electricity. Plus, it won't be very comfortable for Shinx." Kori grabbed another brush from her bag; it was yellow. "Use this one, it's never been used before."

Diana nodded and took the brush. "Thank you." She brushed Shinx's fur. Shinx laid on his front paws, enjoying the sensation caused by the brush on his fur.

Lyssa and Bidoof came back to camp with the basket of berries. "Hey, we got the berries."

Kori looked up from brushing Swablu. "Good. We can just eat them for dinner." Kori and Diana finished with grooming their pokémon. Everyone, including Bidoof, started eating the berries around the fire. It was really dark by this point, so everyone- trainer and pokémon- turned in for the night.

Bidoof walked to Lyssa's yellow sleeping bag, where Lyssa slepted with Corsola next to her. He wanted to sleep next to her too. But there was something he must take care of. With this task in mind, Bidoof left the campite, hoping that everything would work out.

June 27th, 2007

Kori, Diana and Lyssa finished packing up their camp. Chimchar and Oshawott jumped, ready to go. The two pokémon continued to run up ahead. A loud "Bidoof" made them turn back. Lyssa saw the Bidoof before the other two girls did. She waved as soon as she saw him.

"Goodbye Bidoof," Lyssa called. "Take care." She turned around, ready to leave.

"Bidoof!" Bidoof panicked and ran after Lyssa. The young photographer turned back around to face Bidoof and kneeled to meet him at eye level.

"What's the matter Bidoof?" Lyssa asked. She was very confused by his behavior. Kori, with Chimchar and Oshawott on her shoulders, and Diana walked over.

"I think it wants to come with you," Diana pointed out.

Bidoof quickly nodded, wanting desperately for Lyssa understand.

Lyssa was flattered that Bidoof wanted to be her pokémon, but was it sure? "Are you sure?" Quickly nodded; he had already told his family of his decision, wanting them to understand and say goodbye to them. They had support his decision.

Kori pointed past them. "Those Bidoof must be its family."

Bidoof and Lyssa looked. It was them; they waved and said their goodbyes with multiple "bidoof." It made Bidoof happy to see them and a little sad. This would probably be the last time he saw them after all.

The girls waved back at them. Lyssa pulled out a pokéball out of her bag. "You ready?"

Bidoof nodded. He pressed the button on the pokéball, it opened and sucked Bidoof in with a red beam. The pokéball in Lyssa's hand gave a 'ding' and just like that, Bidoof was hers.

"Welcome to the team Bidoof," Lyssa said. The pokéball in her hand immediately grew warm, as if he was saying he was glad to be here.

Kori's Pokemon

1. CHIMCHAR (female): (EMBER, SCRATCH, IRON TAIL, TAUNT, FLAME WHEEL)

2. SWABLU (male): (SING, FURY ATTACK, STEEL WING)

3. OSHATWOTT (male): (SCALD, AIR SLASH, RAZOR SHELL)

4. CHERRIM (female): (MAGICAL LEAF, PETAL DANCE, SUNNY DAY)

Lyssa's Pokemon

1. CORSOLA (female): (WATER GUN, ROCK BLAST, BUBBLE)

Diana's Pokemon

1. TURTWIG (male): (RAZOR LEAF, EARTH POWER)

2. SHINX (male): (SWIFT, TACKLE, THUNDERSHOCK)