Shining Friendship

Emily took time bathing and grooming her Pokémon. Undine seemed to take her sweet time in the water. It did wonders for her complexion and the water was nice and warm. But as much as she loved the water and wanted to stay, she had to remember that her brothers and sisters had been waiting patiently and needed their baths too. Salamando didn't mind waiting a little longer. Being a fire-type, he didn't tolerate water like he used to. He wouldn't mind if it was warm, but he didn't like the feel of being scratched as he was being washed. Sylphid still liked taking baths, but he had to be careful not to zap Emily by accident. Shade seemed to tolerate it more than his older brothers. His fur was still smooth and he wouldn't cause any accidents. Lumina loved being bathed as much as Undine did and she loved being groomed just as much. She would feel like she was being massaged and her fur would be refreshed. Luna liked it too and wanted to be healthy and pretty like her big sisters.

As Emily took care of her Pokémon, she began to realize that she hadn't been taking the girls into account. Although she had been training all of the family, it was the boys who brought her victory in her battles. The girls hadn't yet gotten a chance. And though Luna was trying hard to be strong like her brothers and sisters, she hadn't won a match yet. But Emily promised she was going to start training with the girls again. But not right now since everyone just got cleaned.

Goldenrod City was still a long way away and the heroes wondered if they were ever going to make it. On the way, they saw a sign that carried a warning. Ghost Pokémon wandered in this forest and liked to play mischievous pranks and the sign advised travelers to have a psychic Pokémon. The heroes were confused. Psychic-type Pokémon were usually weak against ghost-type Pokémon and their attacks. But it was their brilliant minds and wits that allowed psychic Pokémon to expose ghosts and escape tricks.

To everyone's amazement, a psychic Pokémon had appeared. It was Girafarig, a Pokémon that looked like a giraffe with a chain chomp for a tail. It was quite a peculiar Pokémon. If this place was as dangerous as the warning said, then the heroes figured it would be best to have a psychic Pokémon on hand.

Joey carefully approached Girafarig. "Hi there," he said softly. "Don't be scared. We're not going to hurt you." Girafarig looked at Joey in curiosity, stretched his neck, and sniffed him. Joey smiled and held out his hand to pet him. Girafarig sniffed his hand and bleated happily. "See? What'd I tell you? I just want to be your friend."

This was getting to be a little tiring. What was Joey waiting for? Was he going to battle Girafarig or not? The answer was revealed when Joey held out his Pokéball. "What do you say, Girafarig? Want to come along?"

Before Girafarig could give an answer, he sensed an ominous force in the air and pranced away. "Wait a minute, don't go," cried Joey.

"Let it go," Emily told him. "Girafarig must've sensed something dangerous and decided it had to escape."

The clouds started to become dark and it was starting to get cold. Either a storm was picking up or ghost Pokemon were up to their tricks. Yugi called on Hoothoot and Emily called on Lumina. Shade would have been a better choice, but Emily promised she would start battling with the girls more. Hoothoot used Foresight to expose any ghost Pokémon in the area. It was a couple of Misdreavus playing pranks.

"Do we have to do this?" Lumina asked Emily. "I just had this coat cleaned."

Emily remembered that Lumina was the daintiest of the siblings and didn't like getting her fur ruffled up after being groomed. "I know, but we don't have to fight. We just have to be careful."

"So what's the point of this?"

"I promised you and the rest of the family we would all work together. I haven't been working well with you and your sisters like I have with your brothers. I want to change that so we can all get strong and learn and grow from one another. I don't like picking favorites, Lumina, and I don't love one more than I love the rest. I love you all equally. I'm sorry the battles between us haven't brought the good results like we hoped, but though we didn't always get a victory, we remembered the friendships we made and didn't lose sight of what's important."

As Lumina listens to what Emily's saying, she begins to reflect on her battles. It was true that Lumina didn't win a battle, but she never lost one either. She always called it even with her opponents like Yugi's Chikorita. There were things more important than victory and friendship was one of them. It was even more important than a neat fur coat. Emily's right, Lumina thought to herself. Who cares about getting dirty? When fighting for a friend or someone you love, getting dirty is the least of your problems. Emily wants to help me and I want to help her too. So I'm going to protect her and her friends. So she approached the Misdreavus and was ready for battle. When she did, her body began glowing. She became larger and her brown fur became pink and shorter and smoother. The tip of her tail had also split and she had a red gem on her forehead. She had now evolved into Espeon.

"Look at that," Yugi said in awe. "Lumina evolved into Espeon!"

"Awesome," said Joey. "Now we've got a psychic Pokémon!" Then suddenly, Girafarig leaped over the heroes and joined Lumina for the battle. "Girafarig came back!" The Pokémon nod and agree to fight the Misdreavus together. Girafarig uses his Psybeam and Lumina attacks with Psychic. Feeling dazed with all of that psychic power, the ghost Pokémon turn around and run away.

The heroes cheered for their victory. Lumina turned around and leapt into Emily's arms. "Oh, Lumina, I'm so proud of you," Emily said as she hugged her.

"Ow, ow, careful," Lumina winced.

Emily eased her grip a little. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Lumina forgave Emily. "That's all right. I guess now that I'm an Espeon, I'm a little sensitive."

"That's right. Espeon are sensitive Pokémon; especially with their ears and tails."

"I thought about what you said and you were right," Lumina told Emily. "Friendship is more important because it helps us to get stronger. And when we have someone as well as something worth fighting for, we can never lose. And remembering our friendship was what made it possible for me to evolve."

The blonde girl nods in agreement. "I love you, Lumina," she said and gently hugged her. "You're so thoughtful and so good."

"That's because I have a partner who's also good and thoughtful," Lumina returned. "And I love you too." And she gave her a kiss on the cheek. She turned and gave her attention to Girafarig. "Hey, Girafarig, thanks for your help."

"Yeah, thanks for coming to our rescue," said Emily.

Joey agreed. "I appreciate your help, but I still need an answer. Do you want to come with me?" Girafarig bleated happily and touched Joey's Pokéball. The ball rotated in Joey's hand, but the center glowed. Joey had a new friend for the party. And with two psychic Pokémon, the heroes would make sure the ghost Pokémon wouldn't give them any trouble on the way.