It was a calm, sunny day in Accumula Town. The occasional gust of wind had blossoms fluttering about merrily, and various bird Pokémon enjoying the gentle breezes.
Carefully making her way down the path, a head of dark hair bobbed amongst a rustle of shopping bags. Worn out trainers groaning with every few steps, she meandered her way around benches and trees as if by sixth sense.
Stopping timely as a Lillipup bounded past, she glanced either way before crossing the cobblestone road.
"Here we are…" the young woman muttered to herself, kneeling down and plonking her shopping bags on the ground.
As she fished in her jeans pocket for her keys, her shopping had nevertheless attracted attention;
"PrrRrrr..."
Tilting its head to one side, a particularly fat Pidove strutted over to the bags. Maybe there was food here? Maybe it was just bags. Wouldn't be the first time.
"Prr?" It cooed, pecking swiftly at the bag while its owner continued flicking through keys. The bag was unguarded and exposed. It was now or never.
"Durrv!" Another sharp peck tore a hole in the bag, and strangely enough, another bag slipped halfway out, only making things more interesting.
The Pidove snatched at this new bag, only for it to explode and cover everything in a blast of powder. It flailed back away from the bag, flapping wings and scattering flour everywhere. It had made a cardinal sin, however; the human noticed.
"Hey!" Having finally gotten her door open, she'd turned around and found a Pidove, all chalk white and confused. The silly thing had torn into a bag of flour, which of course spread everywhere.
"Ohh, you silly thing…" She found herself torn between a groan and a chuckle. "This is my food, not yours! And flour isn't even food!" The Pidove just stared up at her expectantly. Because humans always had food, didn't they?
"Aw, alright," she rolled her eyes, digging into the untorn bag and extracting a few Poké-pellets. "Here you go!"
She threw the handful and giggled as the Pidove wobbled after them. Several more fell out of the sky at the sign of food however, so it was probably time to get back inside.
Gathering up her shopping, she staggered through the doorway and edged it closed again with her foot.
"Home at last…" she muttered to herself. She took soft steps down the carpeted hallway, wondering how long it was going to take.
The moment her trainers clapped onto kitchen lino, however, a thundering sounded from upstairs. Many footfalls collaborating, the young woman smiled to herself.
As her shopping bags crunched onto the kitchen countertop, and three more Pokémon burst into the room.
"Hey there guys! Did you miss me?"
Wiping the flour off her shoulder, she knelt down to address the three Pokémon, "Did they behave, Sir Higglesworth?"
The tallest of the three – a wizened Kadabra – looked to his trainer adoringly and gave the thumbs up.
"Okay, that's good. What about him, Socks? Did Sir Higglesworth behave?" She glanced over to the second of the group; a Furret. Smaller and skinnier than your average Furret, Socks made a short tittering noise that could've been mistaken for an actual giggle, followed by a spirited nod.
"Ooh, that's good!" The trainer laughed. "Now everyone come here and give us a cuddle!" The trio didn't need telling twice. Sir Higglesworth the Kadabra nestled in under her left arm, while Socks draped herself across the shoulders, and the smallest of the three – an Emolga named Sparky – had to physically climb her trainer to get in on the hug. She wasn't forgotten though, as an arm looped around her, and she was brought up to her owner's chest.
"Okay, I have news. First things first, I've got to go into town again tomorrow to see Doctor Collins tomorrow, so that means you're in charge again Sir Higglesworth."
"Kada!" Sir Higglesworth's voice was deep and resonant. He gave her a stiff nod, followed by a salute.
"Atta boy," she squeezed him tight. "A-and secondly, since you've all behaved so well, it looked like we can have a wee treat for after dinner tonight! And you, Sparky, can help!"
The little Emolga literally jumped for joy, sending sparks flying in the process. Meanwhile the other two just looked up at her expectantly. "Oh, don't worry you two. You can go play together for a while, and I'll call when dinner's ready, okay?"
Sir Higglesworth looked taken aback at this news, however Socks seized her chance, leaping into him with a full body tackle and bowling him over. She giggled and gambolled away, waiting for him at the end of the kitchen. An impish gleam in her eyes, she waggled her tail tauntingly.
"Well? Go chase her Sir Higglesworth! You'll never get her like that!" The trainer chuckled.
Sir Higglesworth huffed, frowned up at his trainer, and dragged himself back to his feet. He took a moment to stretch and dust himself off before runing after Socks.
"Right, let's get started!" Lady Holly's voice echoed down the hall as he slowly made his way up the stairs. There was a smattering of photos adorned along the staircase, and Sir Higglesworth found himself slowing down just to look at them. Again.
Socks was going to take her time finding a hiding place anyway, so there was no harm in having another look. They illustrated the best parts of his life, after all; ever since meeting Lady Holly.
His favourite had to be the latest addition, right at the top of the staircase. From an outside perspective, it would have seemed like an ordinary, even poor photograph. Lady Holly was not looking her best in this image – her eyes were bloodshot, and there was a nasty purple bruise across her neck. But there was also a huge toothy grin across her face, and he, Socks and Sparky were creatively squashing together so that they could all fit in the frame. Socks was looped over Lady Holly's right shoulder while he wrapped her arms around her waist from the other side, and Sparky nuzzled her from the left shoulder, looking up at the camera with her eyes shining bright.
"Ah, truly a lovely moment." He said to no one in particular. "It seems as though Lady Holly has found her happiness out here at last…"
Sir Higglesworth tore himself away from the nostalgia. Socks had taken long enough to find a hiding place; now it was his time to seek!
"Now, where could Socks be hiding…" his voice bounced dramatically as he crept through the house. He bypassed the bathroom completely – there were no hiding places in there. Not really – and instead went straight to the bedroom. It was only a little house, after all, and the bedroom had the most hiding places. He creaked the door open gently, and made sure to avoid the squeaky floorboard. Her sharp ears would pick up on that instantly. With a hand to his chin, Sir Higglesworth took to thought…
The beanbag: large, bright green, covered in yellow polka dots. Also a personal favourite of hers. Perhaps too obvious…
The bed: strewn bedclothes would make for ideal hiding, but the darkness did not. Not when you were a Furret with a fear of the dark. It was even darker under the bed, thus even less likely.
The wardrobe: huge and spacious, and one of the doors was ajar, so she could bear the darkness. Maybe.
But then a clue drifted across the peripheries of his vision; The curtains.
A smile crept upon the Kadabra's face as he noticed the gentle billowing. Not quite closed, like always, it was too perfect. Socks could 'hide' while enjoying the view, and not being in the dark. Sir Higglesworth rubbed his hands together. He had won this round. He pulled the curtains back with a flourish.
"A-ha!"
But there was no Furret to be seen. Only a window that had been nudged open.
"Hmph?!" He huffed, closing and opening the curtains again as if that would make a difference.
To think that Socks had the nerve to bait him with an open window. And his stomach twisted as something moved behind him. Before he could even turn around, Socks had bounded from on top of the bed and dashed out into the hallway. "You're a silly, Higgle...!"
"How on… earth?" It was like he had been slapped in the face. He must have been staring right at her and just not considered the possibility. The humility was oddly satisfying, if he were entirely honest with himself.
A smirk crept across his face. Still irritating, however. Rolling his eyes and ambling off into another room, it was time to chase after Socks again. He wasn't going to underestimate her this time.
Meanwhile, two bakers were hard at work downstairs.
"Alright… and pound!" Sparky followed her trainer's orders to the word, punching at a huge ball of dough and scattering puffs of flour everywhere.
"Good girl." Holly smiled, watching her little Emolga's face glow with delight as her practised hands flattened out another ball with the rolling pin.
"Okay, and swap!" She stepped around her Emolga, chuckling at the pummelled dough ball Sparky had left in her wake. "You get to use the cookie cutters now, got it?"
Sparky nodded, toddling across the countertop for the brightly coloured plastic and strategically squashing them into the dough. "Okay, I'll put a tree there… and a smiley face here… ooh, and a Magikarp up there! She's such a good jumper!"
Being helpful was great. She was making Miss Holly happy and having fun at the same time. Plus that meant they got to have cookies later, and that made it double fun.
"Whoops! Careful there Sparky!" Holly cried, catching her before she could topple forward into the dough. "If you can't reach, it's better to go around, okay?"
Sparky nodded up at Miss Holly. That made a lot of sense. She wouldn't have made a very good cookie, for sure. Hugging the yellow boat shaped cutter to her chest, she shuffled around to the other side.
Back upstairs…
"Socks…?" Higgle muttered, creeping along the hallway. "Where are you, Socks? I shall find you yet!"
Surely there were not many places left to hide. It was a short hallway, with only the empty bedroom, the spare room, which was full of dusty boxes, a little cupboard full of spare towels and other fabrics, and the bathroom, of which the door was now ajar. It wasn't earlier. Higgle narrowed his eyes at the crack of light. Surely not another ruse?
"You'll not fool me twice, Socks." He grinned, reaching for the cupboard door. "It is only a matter of time until I find you!" The door flew open at his hand, and Higgle spied… nothing.
Just rows of towels and bedsheets.
"…oh." He deflated. Overthought again, it seemed. "P-perhaps she is in the bathroom after all…"
He turned towards the bathroom door and frowned. Where was Socks even going to hide in t-
"Higgllllle!"
Higgle was hit by another surprise as an avalanche of towels burst out of the cupboard, Socks buried among them. The mass of fabric barrelled into Higgle knocking him to the floor with a thud.
"S-socks?!" He gasped. "Where on earth?!"
"I was being a blanket, Higgle!" Socks tittered, casually sitting on him. "I hid good, didn't I?"
"Keh! You sure did, Socks…" Higgle couldn't help but chuckle. "You have really gotten rather good at this."
And Socks continued to sit. With a pillowcase draped about her like a cape, she blinked innocently. And said nothing.
"Umm… Socks?"
"Yeah Higgle?"
"Perhaps you could get off of me now? I rather enjoy breathing."
"…oh yeah! Sorry Higgle!" Socks leapt from him effortlessly and took off down the hallway. "Come find me again, Higgle! Best out of-"
Socks' request was interrupted by the shattering of glass from downstairs, quickly followed by a scream.
"Trainer?!" She cried, leaping back over Higgle and practically tumbling down the stairs in her haste.
"Trainer! Trainer Trainer! What's wrong, Trainer?!" Her heart was thudding in her chest as she charged down the hallway in a panic, knocking into the little dresser table and scampering into the kitchen. She skidded to a halt across the lino floor, hurriedly assessing everything from the floor, to the walls, to the ceiling.
Both Trainer and Sparky seemed perfectly fine, and that was good news at least, but one of the windows was broken, and everything was covered in flour! And that was really strange!
"W-what the?" She squeaked, spinning around three or four times. "Did a thing break?!"
There was a stomping of heavy footfalls from the hallway as Higgle caught up to her at last. "S-Socks! What is going-"
"Things are weird, Higgle! I heard a thing break, but I can't see the breaky thing!"
"Breaky… thing?" Higgle frowned at her.
"Yeah, look!" Socks pointed up to the window.
"Wow!"
"Oh my word!"
"It's okay guys, don't worry." Sparky piped up. "It's just a ball, no biggie."
"Yes biggie!" Socks cried. "You and Trainer almost got hurt by that nasty ball!"
"But we didn't!" Sparky hit right back.
"…oh yeah!"
Meanwhile Holly was dusting flour from herself.
"…well that's the cookies ruined." She sighed, picking up a baseball from the dough. "And they were looking so nice too, huh Sparky?"
Sparky squeaked up at her in response, and Holly just frowned at the ball. Aside from a pair of faded initials on the membrane, there was nothing unusual about it. "Who on earth is-"
*knock* *knock* *knock*
"…that'll be them." She put two and two together.
Ball in one hand, she scooped Sparky up into the other. "Don't touch, okay you two? Broken stuff!" She said.
That wasn't a worry, though. Because Socks and Higgle had taken it among themselves to follow after her.
"H-here Sparky, hold the ball for me?" She offered Sparky the ball. Her free hand shook as she wrenched the handle down, opening the front door slowly. "H-hello? You're here for the ball, I take it?"
"A-yes ma'am. I sure am." A rough, gravelly voice responded. Standing sheepishly on her front porch, a young man rubbed the back of his neck. "Really sorry 'bout that, ma'am. Y'see, my buddy can't catch."
With a coy smile, he nudged a thumb over his shoulder at his three Pokémon; a Sudowoodo, trying in vain to hide a baseball bat behind its back, an oblivious looking Kricketune, and a blatantly mortified Gurdurr, burying its face in one hand and staring down at the ground.
"I uh… didn't hurt anyone, did I?" The young man asked, his rusty auburn hair drifting in the breeze.
"Oh nooo, n-not at all." Holly said. "J-just a few bits of broken glass in the cookies we were gonna bake. Looks like we'll need to make a fresh batch, huh Sparky?"
"Moh!" Sparky giggled in response.
"Well ain't that a turn up." The young man wiped his brow. "Thank ya for savin' the ball, ma'am. I'll make sure to pay y'all back for the window and err… how's dinner sound?"
"D-d-dinner?!" Holly stammered, visibly recoiling. "Wh-wh-why would you want to-"
"Just a way of sayin' sorry, ma'am." The redhead cracked a grin, his brown eyes sparkling. "Name's Chris, and we jus' moved here. Wasn't the way I planned on gettin' to know m'neighbours, but hey, we're sure acquainted now huh?"
"H-Holly…" She mumbled, a rosy tinge dusting her cheeks. "N…" her words were caught. "Nice… to meet you."
"Seems like a nice place to live, this here town." Chris smiled. "Whole lotta quiet." The two simply stared at nothing in particular for a while, with Socks and Higgle both peering out from behind their trainer.
Eventually Chris broke the stalemate. "Oh right! Where're my manners?! Guys, c'mon over here!"
At his command, the three Pokémon ambled towards him. Sudowoodo was still trying to keep the baseball bat hidden. "This lil' slugger here is Robbie, or Rob for short!" Chris announced, prying the baseball bat from its hands. "He's a great hitter, but needs some work on his aim!"
The Kricketune was next to be introduced. "Here's m'leadin' lady Deedles. Been with her since we was tiny, huh girl?" Deedles the Kricketune made a loud whooping noise before its eyes slid back out of focus, and it returned to staring at nothing.
"And this's the newcomer. I only caught him a few days ago, so we're not used't'each other yet and he ain't got a nickname just yet. Ain't that right?"
The quiet looking Gurdurr glanced towards him and nodded shortly.
"Oh wow…" Holly mumbled. "Such fun nicknames too! So you like the big, brawler types huh?"
"Pff, naww, I love 'em all really," Chris guffawed. "'Sides, Deedles here's a big wuss. Aint'cha girl?" Deedles made a strange purring noise in his direction, flailing its arms in kind.
"Heh, silly thing…" She mumbled. "W-well, um, this little one here is Sparky! I caught her about a year ago, not long after we moved to Unova…"
"Mo-mo!" Sparky chipped in.
"A-and we have Socks here." Holly said, gesturing to the Furret hiding behind her legs. Socks' head instantly popped out at the mention of her name, but she continued to eye this new stranger warily.
"Such a shy one." Chris knelt down to look her in the eye. "It's alright darlin'. No need to be afraid'a me."
Socks stared at his slowly extending hand. "I-I don't like that very much, Higgle." She mumbled. "This new stranger person is kinda scary, right?"
"Lady Holly seems to trust him, Socks…" Higgle said. "So perhaps that alone is enough?"
"…can you check, Higgle?" Socks wasn't even blinking. "I-if it's safe, I'll follow, okay?"
"What're you two worried about?!" Sparky called from above. "He's fine, don't worry!"
"…if you insist." Higgle's shoulders slumped. He edged out from behind Holly's legs and carefully approached this mysterious human.
Chris' eyebrows rose. "O-oh, okay then! Who's this one?"
"Wha? That's Sir Higglesworth!" Holly gasped. "How odd… he's not normally this forward…"
"Quite the gentleman, ain't he?" Chris said, gently grasping at Higgle's extended hand and shaking.
"Y-yes! That's how he got his name!" Holly giggled.
Higgle just smiled politely. That was the done thing, he supposed.
But then Socks charged out from behind Lady Holly thing and ran up to meet this human.
"Furrfurfurrr~" She tittered in a sing-song voice, wobbling forwards and nuzzling around Higgle in a whirl of fluff. She flinched as Chris' huge, calloused hand made contact with her head, but then she suddenly realised that the human was nice and gentle, not nasty.
"Aw, you're just a big softie," He grinned, scritching the soft fur on her head. "Alright, now that we got that cleared up… anyone up for a game? C'mon, it'll be fun!"
"Wha?! Now?" Holly flustered. "B-but the house is a mess! I can't be goo-"
"Aw, ya sure?" Chris' eyes twinkled. "I promise I won't break any more windows?"
"B-but there's still broken stuff already, and-"
"And you still got the ball. That means you get to throw first!"
Holly hung her head in defeat. This man sure was tenacious. Meanwhile all three of her Pokémon were eyeing her. Was the idea of doing something new this exciting? All three of them seemed to be waiting on her decision.
"…I guess the cleaning can wait."
"Alright!" Chris punched a celebratory fist into the air. "Right, y'all head out into the fields over that way! I gotta get some more gear!"
Quick as a flash, Chris ran off towards another house a few doors down, leaving Holly alone with six unruly Pokémon.
"Oh jeez, what am I getting myself into…" Holly half-chuckled. "Just a second you guys. Gotta lock the door."
Wading blindly back into the house for her keys, she plucked them from the hook, all while keeping half an eye on the gaggle of Pokémon. She broke her gaze for half a second to lock the door. The moment she turned around to check on them, however, a mad scramble had all five of them lining up like a drill team.
"What were you guys… up to?" She felt a chuckle bubble out of her. At first glance, there was nothing suspicious, aside from how they were behaving. Robbie the Sudowoodo was keeping weirdly close to Higgle, who responded by edging away on a timely basis. Gurdurr's pylon was half-buried in the ground a few feet away, meanwhile Deedles the Kricketune was just staring up at the sky, and Socks had rushed up to her for another cuddle.
Holly frowned. Were they enjoying each other's company or not?
"Hey there! Everyone gettin' along?" Higgle flinched as something hard and round was placed onto his head. "Here, sport! You can wear the special catchin' hat!"
Completely swamped by it, Higgle examined the headgear thoroughly. Solid to the touch, and almost perfectly round – complete with a dent near the top from some accident or another, he supposed – he spun it around so he could actually see out of it.
"Heh, Higgle looks like he's stuck in a Leppa Berry." Socks giggled, and Sparky roared with laughter in response, prompting a polite chuckle from Robbie the Sudowoodo.
"Now, we might hafta share the gear, cause I ain't got enough for everyone." Chris announced, handing out various things. Socks soon found herself holding a baseball mitt, while Robbie the Sudowoodo looked thrilled to get his bat back, and Gurdurr was given another mitt. "You wanna try catchin' again?"
Gurdurr nodded slowly, and Chris turned his attention to Holly. "Your little one… probably ain't much of a catcher, huh?"
Robbie the Sudowoodo pumped his baseball bat into the air a few times, meanwhile Holly hesitated.
"Er… can we work as a team? Sparky's a bit small for this…"
Chris shrugged. "Works for me! So how's your throwin' arm?"
"Umm…" Holly retrieved the ball from Sparky, and threw a half-hearted pass to him. "Like that?"
"Hey, not bad!" He grinned, passing the ball between his hands. "Alrighty then. Prepare yourself, Robbie!"
His Sudowoodo snapped to attention. "Wuud?!"
The smattering of Pokémon and people alike scrambled into some semblance of organised, with Higgle taking position behind Robbie as catcher, Holly out in left field with Sparky, Deedles on the right, Chris on the pitcher's mound, and Socks bounding about with the mitt on her head.
Robbie's bat glinted in the afternoon sunlight.
"You ready bro?" He glanced back at Higgle. "You gotta catch that ball if I miss, dude. I ain't gonna miss though."
"I-I can certainly try…" Higgle said slowly, squinting through the helmet.
"Alright, watch me shred this ball, Higgledude." Robbie smirked. Meanwhile Higgle just frowned at him.
"Alrighty, Robbie looks like he's ready." Chris fired an identical smirk back at the Sudowoodo. "No more broken windows this time, got it?"
Robbie rolled his eyes as Chris readied himself, cupping one hand behind the other and taking aim. There was a solid thwack as Robbie smacked the baseball, sending it arcing off towards right field.
"It's yours, Deedles!" Chris shouted, as Robbie wobbled off towards A sweater on the floor, meanwhile Deedles just looked back at him in obvious confusion. The ball boinked her on the head, and Robbie cleared first base, carrying on towards the trash lid for second. Chris massaged his forehead, meanwhile Deedles was trying to scoop the ball up between her scythes.
"Woop!" Deedles cried, clutching at the ball and volleying it back towards the centre field, where Chris ran for it. He was stopped in his tracks, however, by the sight of Socks jumping out of nowhere, blindly flailing her little paws at it. She fell back to the ground without catching anything, however…
"A-hah! That's the spirit!" He roared, doubled over. Socks just looked at him, and he reached into the mitt she was wearing as a hat. Out of it came the baseball. And Socks' eyes lit up.
"Oh!? Did Socks catch the ball?!" Holly cried, dashing over to her Furret. "Ohh, well done Socks! You did so good!"
Socks took an opportunity to nuzzle her trainer, and Holly straightened up again.
"So… your turn to catch?" Chris smiled.
"…I'll give it a shot?" She grimaced, nudging Sparky up onto her shoulder and approaching the batting mound. "You gonna cover for me, Sir Higglesworth?" She glanced back at him, who gave a thumbs up in return.
…and a game was had. There weren't enough players for teams or even base guards, rather just playing for the sake of playing. Fun was fun, after all. The three most able hitters; Holly, Chris and Robbie the Sudowoodo, took their turns, while Higgle would attempt both batting and throwing on occasion. He lacked power, but his accuracy was second to none.
Socks and Deedles made their best attempts at fielding, while Sparky was Holly's little mascot, helping out wherever she could. Like the one time Holly threw the little Emolga into the air so she could catch the ball.
Gurdurr didn't seem to be enjoying the same as much as everyone else, however. Packing too much raw power to throw the ball accurately, and panicking whenever it came to catching, his spirits deflated quickly. He steeped his beam and massaged his forehead. Socks tumbled past, the baseball mitt still comfortably ensconced on her head, and made sure to nuzzle against him.
"You can do it, Mr Grr!" She chirped, bounding past. "You almost got that one!"
Grr's expression softened. If this relative stranger could hold so much belief in him, maybe it was possible after all...
With the sun descending through the evening skies, dyeing the atmosphere a vivid hue of orange through purple, the game was finally drawing to a close.
*Thock!*
"Oh dang, good throw there…" Chris panted, wiping sweat from his brow and winking at Higgle behind him. "Alright, last hit of the night? It's gettin' kinda late…"
"Fine by me." Holly smiled, receiving the ball from Higgle and readying her stance. "I guess I'd better made this a good one eh?"
Turning the ball in her hands, she limbered up her shoulder and took careful aim. Her joints were starting to ache, and she couldn't match Chris' sheer power when it came to throwing, but after a few hours of this, she was finally starting to get the hang of it.
She could even throw over-arm now!
Taking in a deep breath, she launched the ball towards Chris, who timed perfectly and hit it with the width of the bat. It bounced off metallically and hurtled into the air.
"Oh, it's outta here!" He grinned up at it. It careered towards right-field as Chris dropped his bat and charged for first base, while Socks bounced off after it. And Gurdurr gulped.
"Ohh, I'll not catch it…" he sighed, holding both hands up at the ball rocketed closer. Socks scrabbled to a halt, and Gurdurr braced for the worst as the spotlight focused on him.
A soft weight thudded into his hands.
Gasping gently, he lowered shaky hands. Clasped desperately inside of his mitt was the ball.
"I… I caught it." He muttered to no one, a smile breaking across his face. "I caught the ball, sir!"
"Oh! Well done, Gurdurr!" Chris yelled over to him, letting loose a shrill whistle. "I knew ya could do it, buddy!"
Cheering smattered from the others, as the little group gravitated back towards the centre of the field again.
"Wow, that had to be the most fun I've had in ages..." Holly stretched her tired joints. Sparky squeaked up at her, and Holly looked over to a still energetic looking Chris. "A-and it's all thanks to you, for talking me into it."
"Not a problem." He smiled warmly, gathering the various gear from everyone. "I just broke yer window, that's all."
"True…" Holly said, suddenly clamming up. "W-well… m-m-maybe I will take that dinner after all?"
Chris visibly stumbled back in response, dropping half of the gear he had collected. "Hunh?! You will?"
"A promise is a promise… r-right?" She stammered, a rosy pink dusting her cheeks.
"Hah. One I'd be honoured to keep." Chris grinned. He extended a hand, which Holly met. A surprisingly strong yet gentle grip.
"Sure is great, bein' able to play a rad game of ball with more than just the four of us." Robbie the Sudowoodo somehow sounded enthusiastic and deadpan at the same time.
"Ain't that right, Deeds?" The Kricketune whooped in acknowledgement, nodding fervently, and Rab turned to Gurdurr.
"My bro! You caught the ball! Awesome work, dude."
"I… I did, yeah." Gurdurr responded, as if he still couldn't believe it.
"A-and I have you to thank, if I'm not mistaken?" Eyes turned to Higgle, who balked from the sudden attention.
"W-what?" Higgle balked, a smile creeping at the corner of his mouth.
"Did you… help Mr Grr catch the ball, Higgle?" Socks said.
"O-of course not!" Higgle smiled widely. "He caught the ball by himself! How could I h-help from such a distance, Socks?"
Higgle's heart skipped, however, as energy began welling up from inside of him. "W-what on earth?"
Glancing around, he could feel the panic throbbing through his veins. That was until he realised that he wasn't alone, however. His skin started to glow, far brighter than the setting sun, and glowing along with him was Gurdurr.
"Higgle? What's happening Higgle?!" Socks cried, dashing madly around him.
"It is alright Socks, do not worry." Higgle smiled, his voice deepening as both he and Gurdurr simultaneously exploded in a column of light, illuminating most of the town.
Lights flickered on in several of the houses surrounding them, and Holly finally noticed, elbowing Chris for attention.
"Oh wow…" Tears sparkled in her eyes. "Sir Higglesworth, you're finally evolving! It's been so long…!"
"Looks like we're officially friends, huh?" Chris elbowed her back.
"Huh? A… a friend? That was all it took?" Holly gasped. "I-I thought I just wasn't training him well enough! After all these years…!" The light finally died down, and the newly evolved Alakazam barely had time to look around before Holly threw herself at him, pulling him into her embrace.
"Ohh, Sir Higglesworth!" She sniffled into his shoulder. "It's been so long! How do you feel?!"
Eyes wide and staring, Higgle just returned the hug, finally able to reach all the way around her. "I feel fantastic, Lady Holly."
"I-I wasn't a bad trainer after all…!" Holly moped, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Bad trainer? You kiddin'?" Chris said. "These little guys adore ya! How can you be a bad trainer?!"
He turned around to face his freshly evolved Conkeldurr and offered it a fist bump. "Heh. You sure are keen, aren'cha? I only caught you the other day! Now I definitely gotta name ya!"
Conkeldurr managed a weak smile, before getting bombarded on either side by Deedles and Robbie.
"Hah, looks like the gang's all here," Chris smiled. "How you guys likin' him now?"
Deedles flapped her wings a few times in response, while Robbie used a trick he'd picked up from Higgle; a thumbs up.
"Ahah, that's awesome." Chris chuckled. "Welp, I reckon we should get home, huh?"
"Wait, you're leaving?"
Spinning around on the spot, Chris spied Holly, still with her arms wrapped around Higgle, Sparky on her shoulder, and Socks nuzzling against her leg.
"If uh… if you want, you can come over to my place?" She blushed furiously again. "I mean, the Pokémon can play together, and we can… t-talk about things…?"
Chris brushed hair out of his eyes. "…well sure, I'd like that. Lead the way!"
"O-okay!" Holly smiled, separating from Higgle at last. Fishing her keys out of her pocket, she led the ragtag group back towards her house. "
Hahah, look Higgle! TWO spoons!" Socks roared with laughter. "Now you can have twice as much breakfast!"
Higgle just smiled softly. "…perhaps I shall, Socks."
Holly wrestled with the dodgy lock on her front door, and Deedles the Kricketune suddenly perked up, pointing at her and flapping her wings.
"Huh? What's that Deedles?" Chris frowned, following her gaze. "Ohh, right. Nah, she don't fly, don't worry girl. Hey, you know about the stuff on your back, right?"
"The wha?" Holly asked, glancing back over her shoulder and noticing the patches of white. "…oh yeah, that was from earlier. Silly Pidove..."
A smiling Holly persuaded her front door open at last, welcoming guests into her home for the first time in years. Because sometimes when a door closes, a window opens.