Lopunny
It was a big day for the Lopunny. In the past, that usually meant some important Contest, like the Grand Festival. Especially the Grand Festival. He would have spent weeks with his Coordinator practicing moves, dances, flourishes, acting, walking, everything, in order to put on the best show that they could. However, he was retired now. Most days were spent at Floraoma's Flower Shop, charming the customers and showing off available accessories. Today was different. Today was Easter Sunday.
In some ways, it was a bit embarrassing to be playing this silly role for kids. But they liked him for it and he got to dress up again. This year, it was a classy red Cool Scarf tied around his neck with a white lily pinned to the knot. He also had white leather shoes and white gloves, giving him a faithful and purity look. That made up for having to swallow his pride for this event.
After the church service, there was a potluck lunch. The Lopunny ate carefully so as not to get messed up. The salad of early spring greens was very good, although he never understood why humans would ruin something like that by adding creamy or oily dressings. In his opinion, salads just needed lots of vegetables and lots of color. No disgusting dressings or musty meats.
Much of the Floraoma residents and visitors gathered outside the Flower Shop after lunch. Since he was something of a star of the event, the Lopunny stood on a chair right up front. He observed the kids who were restlessly waiting there, eager to set off. A few came up to him out of curiosity; he put on his best smile and played the charmer for them. Although it wasn't quite as important as treating Contest judges nice, he did this out of an honest desire to make them happy. It was fun to be admired and special, even for just one day out of the year.
The owner of the Flower Shop rang a bell for attention. "Hello, and thank you all for coming out to this year's Easter egg hunt! We give you all a warm greeting, especially our master of ceremonies, Peter Cottontail."
"Wuurroop!" he called out, getting a cheer from the crowd. Years ago, he used to feel slightly bitter towards his original Coordinator for giving him such a childish name. It took being traded to someone else, which unfortunately stuck him with the name, to finally be comfortable with evolving to a Lopunny. These days, Peter didn't mind it so much.
"Peter has been up since early this morning hiding gift eggs for all of you to find." Actually, it had been him and the three women who worked in the shop hiding the plastic eggs, but they never took credit for it. "He worked very hard, so there are plenty for all of you to find out in the meadow. Some of them have candy and small toys inside. Others have a slip of paper for which you can receive a bigger prize with. And the grand prize of this year's hunt is a Pokemon egg so your family can have a special Pokemon to love and care for!"
Now that part of this year's hunt, Peter didn't agree with so much. It wasn't his own, as it had come from a generous breeder who lived in another town. Even so, he didn't want the egg to go to just anybody who happened upon the big prize egg. Being a Pokemon, he couldn't really argue that well with his current owner. But he could stage his protest in another manner. For the moment, he called upon his years of competing experience to look upbeat and complacent.
"So kids, are you ready?"
"Yeah!" came an excited chorus. Some kids hopped up while others waved their colorful baskets.
"All right then, when Peter rings the bell, we'll begin." She handed the Lopunny her bronze school bell. "Whenever you're ready, sweetie."
'Ko?" he asked, lifting his ears and giving his best, 'what am I supposed to do with this thing' look.
The owner smiled. "Oh yes. You should all say please so you may begin."
"Please?" the kids asked, looking to him. Some even asked "Please may we look for the eggs, Peter?" A few of the older ones just smiled or looked annoyed to be treated in this way.
"Waarroo," he replied to them, and rang the bell merrily. The kids cheered and ran off into the flower filled meadow to search for the hidden eggs.
"You have such fun with this, don't you?" the owner asked him, patting him gently on the head.
"Koo." He handed the bell back to her and hopped off the chair. Peter had his own agenda today, and for that, he needed to be hunting with the kids. But not for any eggs.
Now, which kid would be suitable for raising a new Pokemon?
Before long, several kids had come up to him asking, "Peter, where's the big prize egg?" He just shook his head or, if the child was particularly stubborn, he pointed by spinning around. Some showed an egg they found and asked, "What's the prize in this egg?" He merely shrugged. They weren't to be opened until after the hunt was done.
He found one teenaged boy who was moving around with a crutch. His left foot was all bound up in a cast. From the smell of it, it had been on for some time. The boy smiled when he came over, but didn't call to him. "Hey sis, Peter's come over to say hi."
"Oh, really?" A young girl appeared out of a bunch of tall flowers, carrying a blue basket. She grinned widely when she saw him. "Hi Peter! You're such a pretty Pokemon." She came over and hugged him.
"Werrro," he replied. Actually, he was master of coolness, but he wouldn't argue with a little kid about it.
"I'm live way over in Solacence," the girl said when she stepped back. "But my big bro came back from his journey and brought me here for the holiday!"
"Yeah, well I'm not making it all the way up to Snowpoint like this," he admitted. "But I was planning on bringing her out this way anyhow."
"Weh." He patted the boy on his right leg. It was a nice deed, indicating a nice person. Maybe this one.
He looked around some more and found a pair of teens, a boy and a girl. "Oh, this is not silly," the girl said. "It's fun. Can't enjoy this kind of thing for much longer, you know."
"I'm only doing it because they have some nice prizes up for the taking," the boy replied.
"And chocolate," the girl added merrily.
Maybe not. About that point, he got grabbed from behind. "I got you!"
Peter squealed and kicked out his right leg to knock the boy down. He then slipped away before he got dragged down too. Years of learning to move with the grace required for Contests made it look effortless. Grumbling, he rubbed his ears where he had been snatched. Out of anything that could bother him, he hated having his long ears roughed up the most.
"Ow… what was that for?" the troublesome boy asked.
"He's probably asking you the same thing," one of the Flower Shop workers said as she helped him up. "You have to be careful with a Lopunny's ears."
Not wanting to bother with this one anymore, Peter hopped along to check on the other kids. There were some he felt were good, while others didn't seem caring. By the time the hour long egg hunt was over, he was back on his chair, waiting for the crowd to come back in. The kids were already opening the colorful eggs, trading candies, and wondering what other big prizes there were.
The Flower Shop owner nodded, so Peter picked up the bell and rang it again. "Okay, now it's time to give out the big prizes," she called. "Who has number 5?"
A young girl raised her hand, holding the slip of paper. "I do!"
"Great, then you get a Silver Glitter body paint, suitable for Contest decorating or your own makeup." She handed the girl a small round container containing the paint. "And who has number 4?"
A boy got a Pokeball cushion for having number four. Number three, a teenaged boy, got a special Easter Flowers backdrop for use in Contests (he took it with a gracious smile, but didn't look so grateful as he went away.) For number two, a teenaged girl got a set of five Great Balls, all with pastel seals for a festive look. Then finally,
"And who has the lucky number 1 and our top prize?"
Nobody raised their hands. Peter put his paws to his mouth to hide a smirk. Of course no one had found that egg. He had to watch out for the little Pokemon. In the crowd, the kids grew puzzled. Some double checked their eggs, just in case one had been left unexamined.
"Oh dear, so no one found that egg?" The shop owner looked down at him. "Peter sweetheart, you've done your job a little too well this year."
"Waawroo!" he declared, then reached under his red scarf to pull out a special gold egg. He held it up for the crowd, and his owner, to see.
"He hid it very well," one of the other workers said with a laugh.
Hopping off his chair again, Peter went into the crowd of kids. He went up to the boy with the broken foot and offered the egg to him. "Koo chah."
"Oh, for me?" he asked, taking it in his right hand. "Thank you." He opened up the egg, which had a chocolate candy egg and a slip of paper that was marked '1'. Out of the whole group, Peter liked this one's attitude best, taking out some time to do something for his little sister. "This has the prize slip."
"That's not fair," another boy declared. "He didn't really find that one."
"To wah choo!" Peter countered.
Fortunately, a Kadabra was with one of the kids there. 'He says that he wanted to make sure that the egg got to a good caretaker,' the psychic translated.
"I suppose we shouldn't argue with the instincts of a Pokemon," the shop owner said as Peter hopped back onto his chair. "So you get our special mystery egg. No one knows what Pokemon will come out of it, but be sure to treat it well, no matter what it is."
"Sure enough," the boy said.
Peter felt confident that he would keep his word.
...
Lopunny Platinum entry: The ears appear to be delicate. If they are touched roughly, it kicks with its graceful legs.
Originally posted for Easter.