My Pokémon Journey

by Pokebrawler09

In this world of Pokémon, there have lived two Guardians that had served under Arceus to protect the world and teach humans and Pokémon how to live side by side together. Now in present time, the Guardians have been reincarnated and begin to learn of their destiny. Come along with our heroes as they discover their powers and meet many Pokémon that thrive in this world!

15. Chapter 14: Mysterious Forest

Chapter 14: Bulbasaur's Mysterious Forest

Route 6

The sun shined in the partly cloudy sky on a warm evening. The warm breeze of the wind gently moved the branches of the trees, and light sounds of nature echoed throughout the area. As they echoed, the sounds of a battle echoed in the area; making some Pokémon leave from the trees and bushes and run from the area. As they ran, Pat and his Bulbasaur stood on the field in battle; staring down a Hiker and his Rhyhorn. Rhyhorn let out a growl, and moved its right front foot up and down on the grass; digging up the ground under it. "Bul... ba... saur... Bul... ba... saur..." said Pat's Bulbasaur as he panted in exhaustion. Pat stared at his opponent intensely as he saw a smirk on the Hiker's face. As he did this, Zach and Celina watched him silently alongside their Wartortle and Venusaur.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" said Pat. "Bul-ba! Bul-ba-saur!" Bulbasaur replied as he used Vine Whip. "Heh. Using Vine Whip again, eh? Well let's see if it can handle this? Rhyhorn, use Take Down!" the Hiker replied. Rhyhorn roared, dodged the Vine Whip, and then used Take Down on Bulbasaur; pushing him back with brute force. "Saur!" Bulbasaur cried. "Bulbasaur!" Pat replied worriedly. Bulbasaur fell to the ground near Pat's feet, and slowly began to feel exhausted. "Bulbasaur! You okay?" Pat asked. "Bul... Bul-basaur. Bul-ba. Saur." Bulbasaur replied as he slowly stood back up, shook his head, and then got his balance back. "Ha! So you're still going to use that little Bulbasaur?" the Hiker replied. "Of course! Bulbasaur is my strongest partner, and we're going to win this battle together! Right, buddy?" Pat replied. "Bul-ba!" Bulbasaur replied. "Hmph. Very well then. If that is what you wish, we'll end this one quick. Rhyhorn! One more Take Down to finish it off!" the Hiker replied.

Rhyhorn roared again, and used Take Down. "Dodge it!" said Pat. Bulbasaur stared at Rhyhorn angrily, and then used his vines to block Rhyhorn's attack; shocking everyone. Bulbasaur and Rhyhorn growled at each other for a moment, and then Bulbasaur pushed Rhyhorn back. "Ah! Rhyhorn!" said the Hiker as his Rhyhorn fell down and then stood back up. "Bul-ba... Bul-basaur! Bul-ba!" Bulbasaur replied as he he charged at Rhyhorn. "Bulbasaur! Stop! Return!" Pat replied as he took out Bulbasaur's PokéBall and tried to return him to it. Bulbasaur turned around and dodged the tractor beam from the PokéBall and began to throw a tantrum. "What the..? What's going on with Bulbasaur?" said Zach. "I don't know..? I've never seen a Bulbasaur act like this before." Celina replied. As they watched, Celina's Venusaur recognized the actions of Pat's Bulbasaur as he dodged the tractor beam of his PokéBall again. He blinked his eyes, and then saw pollen come out of Bulbasaur's bulb; quickly spreading around the area and making flowers start to bloom.

"Saur..." said Venusaur as he watched the flowers bloom around him. "War. War-tortle. War-War-tortle?" Wartortle replied as he walked over to Venusaur's side; wondering what was going on with Bulbasaur. "Saur. Saur. Venu-saur. Venu-Venu-saur." Venusaur replied. "War!? War-War-tortle?" Wartortle replied. "Saur. Venu-saur. Saur." Venusaur replied as he nodded his head, and then they turned to their right, and looked out to the path nearby. "Tor? War-War-tortle?" Wartortle replied; mentioning Solar to him. Venusaur nodded his head yes to his question; shocking him. They turned back to Bulbasaur, and saw that his tantrum had ended; making them breathe sighs of relief. Bulbasaur blinked his eyes at Pat, stared at him silently, and then turned back to Rhyhorn; seeing it waiting for his next move. He got into his battle stance and stared down his foe; ready to fight.

"What's the matter, kid? Are you going to let your Bulbasaur attack? Or are you going to let him go rogue and fight for himself?" said the Hiker. Pat was stunned of what was going on with Bulbasaur, he couldn't think of what to do. "Pat! Don't let his words get to you!" said Celina. "She's right! You know your Bulbasaur better than everyone else! I know that you believe in him! And he believes in you! You two can win this battle together!" Zach replied. Pat looked at them, blinked his eyes, wiped off the sweat on his forehead, and then snapped back to reality. "You're right! Come on, Bulbasaur! Let's finish this battle together as a team! We can do this!" he said. "Saur!" Bulbasaur replied. Pat nodded his head, and then pointed to Rhyhorn. "Alright! Bulbasaur! Use Razor Leaf!" he said. "Saur! Bul-ba-saur!" Bulbasaur replied as he used Razor Leaf on Rhyhorn. Rhyhorn roared in pain, and then fell to the ground in defeat. "Rhyhorn!" said the Hiker as he ran upto Rhyhorn and saw he was knocked out.

He returned Rhyhorn to its PokéBall, and then walked over to Pat. "Hey, kid? Nice match." he said as extended his hand to him. "Thanks." Pat replied as he shook his hand. "You know, I have to admit... your Bulbasaur is pretty strong." he replied. "Yeah. He sure is. We've been training for quite a while now. But... I had never seen him act like that before. So determined to keep on going in the fight, and refusing to go back to his PokéBall? How come he did that?" Pat replied. "Hm? Who knows? But after that little tantrum, you got him back under your control. He could've just snapped or something?" the Hiker replied. Before Pat could say anything else, everyone saw Bulbasaur's bulb begin to glow light blue! "What the!? Bulbasaur!? What's going on!?" he said surprised as Zach, Celina, Wartortle, and Venusaur ran over; seeing what was happening.

"Whoa! What's going on!?" said Zach. "No way... could it be..?" Celina replied. "What? Could it be what?" Pat replied. "I think... I think Bulbasaur's trying to-" Celina replied. Before she could finish her sentence, a sound of an attack echoed in the area. They all turned around, and saw a flash of light on the path Wartortle and Venusaur looked at before. "What was that?" said the Hiker. "That has to be Tay, Zuzu, and Sora over there! Come on!" Pat replied. "Right!" Zach and Celina replied. After that, the trio left the area with their Pokémon, ran through the path, stopped on the other side of where they were before, and saw me, Zuzu, and Sora battle three more Hikers with Solar, Milotic, and Bellsprout; taking on a Geodude, Graveler, and Golem. Solar attacked Graveler with Solar Beam, Milotic attacked Golem with Aqua Tail, and Bellsprout attacked Geodude with Power Whip. The three Hiker's Pokémon were pushed back by the attacks, and then fainted upon impact when they hit a rocky wall behind a couple trees.

"Alright!" we cheered happily as we high fived each other. The Hiker's returned their Pokémon to their PokéBalls, and then walked over to us. "Hey, kids. Good match. You three got a lot of skills we've never seen before." said one Hiker as they shook our hands. "Thank you." we replied. We ended the handshake, and watched the Hikers leave the area; heading for the Pokémon Center nearby. "Tay! That was awesome! The teamwork that you, me, and Zuzu did was incredible!" said Sora happily. "It sure was! It felt like the three of us were in complete sync!" Zuzu replied. "Yeah! It sure did!" I replied. Our Pokémon celebrated happily at our victory, and then all of a sudden; Sora's Bellsprout began to evolve! We looked at Bellsprout in shock for a moment, and then Bellsprout's evolution was complete! "Weepin-bell!" it said. "Haha! It did it! Bellsprout evolved into Weepinbell!" Sora replied happily. He took out his phone and activated his PokéDex. "Weepinbell, the Fly Catcher Pokémon. A Grass and Poison type, and the evolved form of Bellsprout. The leafy parts act as cutters for slashing foes. It spits a fluid that dissolves everything." said Sora's PokéDex.

"Weepinbell!" said Weepinbell happily. "You did it! Congratulations, Weepinbell!" Sora replied happily as he hugged it. "Bell!" Weepinbell replied happily. "Sora! Congrats on the evolution!" said Celina as she, Zach, and Pat ran over to us. "Thanks!" he replied happily. We smiled at each other happily, and then we all began to smell a unique aroma around us. We looked around, and then saw Pat's Bulbasaur and Solar release a trail of pollen around us from their bulbs, and saw them glow light blue a couple times. "What!? What is this?" said Sora surprised. "No way... it's happening to Solar too..." Pat replied. "Huh? What are you talking about?" I replied curiously. "Look at the bulbs of our Bulbasaur's. They've never acted like this before. Are they sick or anything?" he replied as we looked closely at our Bulbasaur's. "No..? I don't think so?" I replied as I knelt down on my knee and saw them turn to me.

As they looked at me, the pollen then went all over the area, and began to make random flowers bloom. "Whoa... look at that." said Zuzu. We all watched the flowers bloom silently for a moment, and then Solar and Pat's Bulbasaur stared at each other. They then turned to Venusaur as he looked down at them; wondering if he knows what's going on with them. "I wonder if this is a special ability that the Bulbasaur line can do?" said Zuzu. "Do what? Manipulate nature with their pollen?" Pat replied. She nodded her head yes to his question. "Hm... that would make sense. But the only time they can do that is when they are ready to evolve to their next stage." Celina replied as she crossed her arms. "Really? So you're saying that me and Tay's Bulbasaur's are ready to evolve?" he replied. Celina nodded her head yes to his response. "Your friend is right about that, little brother." said a voice.

We turned around toward the Pokémon Center nearby, and saw a teenage girl walk upto us with her Venusaur. "Leaf!" said Pat surprised. She smiled happily at his reaction, walked over to him, and gave him a side hug. "Hey, Pat." she said. "W-What are you doing here, sis?" he replied as I stood up. "I was just visiting the area for healing up my team, and then I saw you and your friends out here together. So I thought that I should try to surprise you." she replied. "Well... you did surprise me." he replied; making her smile. "Saur!" Leaf's Venusaur replied as she used her vines to grab Pat and hug him. "Hey! Hi, Venusaur! How've you been?" he said as he gently patted her head. "Venu-saur." she replied. She let him go, and then saw the two Bulbasaur looking up at her. "Bul-ba-saur?" said Pat's Bulbasaur as he stared at Leaf's Venusaur. "Hm? Aww~ Is that your Bulbasaur, Pat?" Leaf replied as we all turned to the Pokémon. "Yeah. That's him." he replied.

She knelt down, and picked him up; making him curious. "Aww~ Aren't you a tiny cutie?" she said. "Bul!? Bul-ba-saur..." he replied shyly as his cheeks blushed. She gently patted him, and then put him down next to Solar. "Oh, wow. You can definitely tell the size difference between these two." she said. "Really?" Zach replied. "Mhm. Take a look for yourself." she replied. We looked at them silently, and noticed the difference in height between the two. "Oh... now I see what you're saying. Pat's Bulbasaur is shorter than Solar." he replied. "Yep. Pat's Bulbasaur is the average height of his species. But Taylor's Bulbasaur is taller than him. He looks like he's about a foot taller than him." she replied. "Whoa... really? How is that possible?" Celina replied. "It's because every Pokémon a Trainer catches is not their average height. When we catch Pokémon and check our PokéDex, we see in one part of their description of the their average height. But when you check on the Pokémon you caught in your Dex, they will tell you your Pokémon's true height; showing you that your specific Pokémon is either taller or shorter than the average height." she replied.

"Whoa. That's so cool!" Sora replied happily. "Yep. But back to what you all were seeing about these two. Pat? You said that you and Tay's Bulbasaur's bulbs have been glowing and releasing pollen everywhere, correct?" she replied as she turned to us and stood up. "Mhm. It's something that I have never seen before. Is this sign that they are about to evolve?" he replied. She nodded her head yes to his response; making him smile and jump happily. "Celina is 100% right on this before I rudely interrupted you all." she replied. "No, no. It's all good, Leaf. No worries." Celina replied. "Are you sure?" she replied. "Absolutely. Plus, knowing your brother... he always likes to be double sure on information given to him." Celina replied. "Hey!" Pat replied as he blushed wildly; making us laugh happily. After sharing the laugh, Pat's Bulbasaur suddenly fell to the ground and passed out. "Ah! Bulbasaur!" said Pat worriedly as we turned to him and pick up his friend.

"What happened to him?" Leaf replied. "I... we were in a battle with a Hiker and his Rhyhorn... and he acted so differently than he used too for a moment, won the battle, and..." he replied. "And you didn't heal him in time after the battle?" she replied. He sadly nodded his head yes to her response. "Alright. Come with me. This Pokémon Center should heal him up quick." she said. "Okay." he replied. After that, we all followed them to the Pokémon Center, went inside, and let Nurse Joy heal our teams. We sat down in the giant circle chairs near the fireplace, and looked around the area; seeing how it looked different than the town and city Pokémon Centers.

Pokémon Center

"Wow... I didn't know that Pokémon Centers can look like this. It looks so peaceful." said Pat. "Mhm. Many Pokémon Centers all over the world have different structures based on the environment there in. Like this forest for example, its structure is based on a modern log cabin that you would find deep in the forest." Leaf replied. "That's incredible. You really are a Pokémon Center expert." Zuzu replied. "Thank you, Zuzu." she replied. "And you're also a great Nurse." Celina replied. "Mhm. When I was traveling around the region with Red, I discovered the person that I wanted to be. A person that is willing to help and cure Pokémon from any injury and illness. So during the times we were in the Pokémon Centers, I would always ask Nurse Joy for any advice to help take care of Pokémon that were in need of assistance." she replied. "And because of the career path you chose... it made you love Pokémon in a way that you never expected." Zach replied.

She nodded her head yes to his response, and then turned to me; seeing my two Badges inside my jacket for the first time. "Hey..? Looks like someone just won two Gym Badges." she said. "Hm? Oh. Yeah. I sure did. And it's all thanks to the teamwork of me and my team." I replied with a smile. "Pi-ka!" Tetrax replied happily. She smiled happily at me, and gave me a side hug, and Tetrax a pat on his head. "Sis. You've should've seen the battles in person! She was incredible!" said Pat. "Oh really?" she replied. "Mhm." he replied. "Wait a second? Didn't you watch Tay's battle with Brock with her brother?" Celina replied. "Yep. I sure did. And I knew that she could pull it off. She's a tough kid with a heart of gold. The only thing I regret about it is that I couldn't see it in person." she replied. "Really?" I replied curiously. "Mhm. Just seeing you how you command your team to use the battlefield to their advantage, it made me think of the days you used to train with Red before he would defend his title. Not only with your Pokémon, but with this too." she replied as she gently held my right hand and patted it.

"Huh!?" the group replied in shock. "Wait... Leaf..? You knew about her powers too?" Pat replied in a hushed tone. "Mhm. Before any of you guys knew... only me, Blue, and the Elite 4 knew about them." she replied. "When you found out about it, did Red ask you all to keep it quiet that way no one else knew about them?" Zach replied. She nodded her head yes to his response. "Chansey!" said a voice. We turned to the reception desk nearby, and saw both Solar and Pat's Bulbasaur come back to us. Solar jumped up on my lap, smiled, and layed down. "Hey, buddy. How you feeling?" I asked him. "Saur." he replied with a smile. I smiled at him and petted his head; making him happy. "Hey, Bulbasaur. How you feeling?" said Pat as his Bulbasaur jumped up on his lap. "Bul-ba." he replied with a smile; making his Trainer smile. "Looks like he's all back to normal." said Leaf. "Yeah. He sure is." he replied as he petted Bulbasaur's head. After that, the two of them stared at each other silently.

"Bulba-saur?" said Bulbasaur curiously. "Bulbasaur? I... I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings during that battle. When you took on Rhyhorn and were hit by Take Down, I tried to return you back to your Ball in order to keep you safe, but I was too worried and careless about your feelings. So, I just wanna say... that I am truly sorry if my actions made you throw a tantrum and disobedient for a bit." Pat replied. Bulbasaur blinked his eyes, took his words to heart, and then used one of his vines to wipe off some tears of his face. Once Pat noticed what Bulbasaur did, he then gave him a gentle hug; making him smile. "Thank you, Bulbasaur." he said. "Bul-basaur." he replied calmly. We warmly smiled at this moment, and then we saw Nurse Joy walk over to us. "Nurse Joy. When you were checking both Bulbasaur, did you notice something in particular that was happening with them?" Leaf asked her.

"Mhm. When I was checking on their heart-rates, I saw their bulbs blink light blue many times, and release pollen from them; making all the flowers in the Center and outside bloom spontaneously. I was curious of this at first, but then I looked it up online, and noticed this little piece of research on Pokémon and environment manipulation. It is said that when a Bulbasaur's bulb begins to glow light blue and release pollen from the top of the bulb. Once the pollen touched the flowers around the area Bulbasaur, it gives them the energy to bloom. And when I checked on the bulbs as they glew, I knew immediately that these two are ready to evolve." Nurse Joy replied. "That's awesome! So? How are they going to evolve?" Pat replied. "Well... most Bulbasaur evolve into Ivysaur naturally from experience, but then I discovered this special occasion right here in this book that connects them to their evolution." she replied as she handed us the book.

I gently took the book, opened it, and saw what she was talking about. "What is it, Tay? Did you find it?" Leaf asked me. "Yeah. It says that there is a forest around here in this area that is filled with Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur. They surround a giant tree, and are lead by a giant Venusaur in a evolution festival every year." I replied. "Whoa... really?" Zach replied. I nodded my head yes to his response. "Wow! That's awesome! Where does the book say where that part of the forest is?" Pat replied. "We don't know. That area has never been seen by people. Only the Bulbasaur family knows where that part of the forest is." Nurse Joy replied. "Oh? So humans can not enter that area?" Zuzu replied. Nurse Joy nodded her head yes to her question. "But there are rumors that part of the forest was created by a human that had a mysterious power." she said; shocking us. Before she could say another word, she heard a sound from a room behind her desk. "I apologize. I have to get back to work. We've got a couple Pokémon back there that are being very finicky." she said. "That's alright. We'll return the book to you when we're finished." Leaf replied. "Thank you very much. I hope that book will be very useful to you." she replied. "Thank you." we replied. After that, she and Chansey went back to work.

I closed the book, put it down next to me, and then I began to remember what Caspian told me about this mysterious forest. "Before you head to the next city, there is a Guardian location somewhere in a mysterious forest that is only inhabited by the Bulbasaur family. If you ever lose control of your Awakened stage, you should head there to find the Guardian who will teach you how to control it." he said. "Got it. And does this Guardian have a name?" I replied. "Her name is Lily. She is the Guardian of Purity of the Heart." he replied. After the flashback ended, I opened up the book again, and studied the wording of the location. "Hm? Tay? You okay?" Zach asked as he sat down next to me. "Yeah. I'm okay. It's just..." I replied. Before I could finish my sentence, my Mark began to glow under my glove; shocking everyone around me. "No way... that forest is a Guardian location..." said Zach in a soft, surprised tone. "So that rumor Nurse Joy said was true. The forest was created by a human... that human was a Guardian." Celina replied.

"Yeah. But... why would this Guardian have a connection with the Bulbasaur family?" Pat replied curiously. "Because they can manipulate nature with their powers?" Zuzu replied. "Yeah." Sora replied as we nodded our heads yes to the question. "But. This also means that she can go into the forest! She can actually see the evolution festival!" Pat replied in a soft, happy tone. "True. She could." Celina replied. "But what if they don't accept her if they see her Mark?" Zuzu replied. We thought about it for a moment, and then looked at me and Pat's laps; seeing both our Bulbasaur have disappeared! "Ah! Bulbasaur! Where did he go?" said Pat worriedly. "Hold on, Pat. Relax. Maybe he and Solar went outside to talk about the festival. They wouldn't go that far from here." Leaf replied. "Yeah... I guess you're right. It might be good for them to talk about it an choose to go if they want to. I don't want to force mine to go if he doesn't want to." he replied.

"Same here. I don't want to force Solar to evolve either. When it comes to evolution, I want my Pokémon to fully and think about and let it be their choice to evolve or stay in the stage they are in." I replied. The group nodded their heads in agreement to my response, and Leaf gave me a gentle pat on the back. "Those are wise words, Tay. You're doing the right thing for your Pokémon on letting them fully think and make choices for themselves. That's what every Trainer should let their Pokémon do when it comes to life choices." she said. I nodded my head in thanks, and then we went back to reading the book Nurse Joy gave us. As we read it, our Pokémon quietly left the Pokémon Center and went to find Solar and Pat's Bulbasaur; wondering what they are up too.

Outside on a Hill

Pat's Bulbasaur sat down on a hill and looked out to the evening sky; seeing the stars and moon begin to shine as the sky began to turn dark. He blinked his eyes, sighed, and then began to think about the evolution festival we were talking about. As the voices in his head stopped talking, he looked down at the grass, and then looked back up at the sky. "An evolution festival..? Do those things really exist?" he said to himself. "Hey. There you are." replied a voice. "Huh?" he replied as he turned around; seeing Solar behind him. "I've been looking everywhere for you." said Solar. "Hey, Solar. What are you doing out here?" he replied as he watched Solar sit down next to him. "Besides looking for you? Well... I've been thinking about that evolution festival too." Solar replied.

"Really?" Bulbasaur replied curiously. "Mhm. I've heard stories about the festival from other Bulbasaur I encountered when I was still a wild Pokémon." he replied. "You did? You really heard them say that?" Bulbasaur replied. "Yep. They said the festival starts for us when we heard a voice of a human singing that only we can hear. Once we hear the voice, our bulbs will start flashing light blue and release pollen into the air; making flowers and plants instantly bloom." he replied. "That so? Is that mentioned in the book our Trainers read?" Bulbasaur replied. Solar nodded his head yes to his question. "Wow... now that you mention the singing voice you just talked about... when I was in that battle against Rhyhorn, I did hear something that no one else heard." said Bulbasaur.

"You did? What did it sound like?" Solar replied. "It sounded like a female human singing. It sounded warm and peaceful, like it was calling me to come home. You get what I mean from that, right?" he replied. "Yeah. I get what you're saying." Solar replied with a warm smile. "So you have heard that voice before?" he replied. "Mhm. I've heard it plenty of times. During the times I heard it, I actually made my way to the festival itself." Solar replied. "You did!? No way! What was it like?" he replied. "It was a very beautiful place. I got to see many of my friends there evolve into Ivysaur." Solar replied. "That's amazing! But... why didn't you evolve?" he replied. "I did try to evolve, but the voice in the forest kept telling me not to evolve just yet. She wanted me to find the perfect Trainer with a pure heart that will help me get to the perfect condition to evolve. Someone who is willing to dedicate their time to train me, and help me focus on my attacks when I fight. Someone who will understand my true feelings, and help me conquer my doubts and fears." Solar replied. "And that's when Taylor came along, huh? When you saw what she can do, you knew that she was the one that the voice was talking about?" he replied. "Yeah." Solar replied as he nodded his head yes to his question.

"That's incredible! It was like you two were destined to work and travel together!" he said. "Mhm. We were destined to meet and fight alongside each other. And same for you and your Trainer. You two were destined to travel the world and be best friends together. If it wasn't for him choosing you, who knows the kind of path you would've taken." Solar replied. "Yeah... I guess you're right on that one. My Trainer and I really do work together very well... but sometimes... he..." he replied. "Sometimes he what?" Solar replied. "Sometimes he acts like a know-it-all. He thinks he truly knows how we all evolve, but... he doesn't. When he talks about evolution... it just makes me a little uncomfortable. I understand from his point of view on how evolution can work for me to get stronger and stuff, but... what would happen if I tell him that I like being who I am now, and want to evolve on my terms?" he replied. "Ah... I understand. You're thinking inside your head that he wants you to evolve just to make him happy, right?" Solar replied. Bulbasaur was surprised by Solar's question, and then he nodded his head yes to him. "And that thought has been making you have mental debates with yourself about this decision; causing you to stress yourself out and lash out a bit?" Solar replied. "Huh!? How do you know about that!?" he replied. "I saw you lash out on stuff in secret when no one was looking." Solar replied; making Bulbasaur feel embarrassed. Solar sighed, and then patted his back with one of his vines.

"Look, kid. You know that you don't have to evolve at all if you want too, right?" he said. "I... I do?" Bulbasaur replied as he turned to him. "Mhm. We all have the right to choose if we want to evolve or not. We can't let humans and other Pokémon force us to evolve in order to make them happy. We have to do what is best for us, and that is to evolve on our own terms. Whether they like it or not, it's our choice and our choice alone. Take Hurricane for example. When he was still a Pidgey and he saw the other two Pidgey evolve, it made him feel a little upset at himself and started to doubt himself. So, he asked my Trainer to help him evolve. And during the battle with Team Rocket, he evolved in order to help protect her because he found out deep inside himself that he didn't need to fight so many battles in order to do it. The only thing that he needed to do was to truly believe in himself and believe in his teammates who can count on him on anything that comes their way. Because of that, he pushed away the doubts he had on himself, and evolved into Pidgeotto to protect my Trainer from any harm Team Rocket would've done to her." he replied.

"Really?" Bulbasaur replied. "Mhm. All it takes to evolve is to fully believe in yourself and the ones who believe in you. They are the ones who always got your back in whatever situation that you're in, and will always help you overcome tings that anyone says about you. So don't ever let anyone doubt you on your greatness and potential; especially yourself. You are in charge of your life decisions, and you make your own choices on how you want to live your life. But no matter what anybody says, always do things that make you happy. Your happiness means everything to you." he replied. Bulbasaur's eyes lightly widened in awe of what Solar had said to him. He looked back up at the sky, stared at the stars, and took Solar's words and advice to heart.

"Yo! Solar! Bulbasaur!" said a voice. They turned around curiously and saw Tetrax, Zuzu's Pikachu and Vulpix, Zach's Wartortle, Sora's Munchlax, and Celina and Leaf's Venusaur's walk upto them. "Oh? Hey, guys." said Bulbasaur. "So this is where you both ran off to. You guys okay?" Zuzu's Pikachu replied. "Yeah. We're okay. I had to chase him after he snook out of the Center. Once I found him here, we talked about the evolution festival for a little bit." Solar replied. "Until we showed up." Tetrax replied. Solar and Bulbasaur nodded their heads yes to his response. "Bulbasaur? You seemed a little hesitant when you heard our Trainers talk about the festival? Did it make you feel a little uncomfortable for them to talk about it in front of you?" said Wartortle. "Yeah. A little bit. When I talked about it with Solar... he told me a little story and gave me the advice I needed about my feelings about evolution." Bulbasaur replied.

"Really? Is that true, Solar?" Vulpix asked curiously. "Mhm. It's all true." Solar replied as he and Bulbasaur stood up and walked over to them. "You must've said some very wise words to him to help him feel better about himself." said Celina's Venusaur. "He sure did." Bulbasaur replied. They shook vines and did a vine bump with each other; making everyone smile. After that, he and Solar began to hear the mysterious voice again; singing and calling out to them. "Hey..? You hear that?" he said. "Yeah. I hear it." Solar replied. "That must mean the festival is about to begin." Leaf's Venusaur replied. "Huh!? You can hear it too!?" Bulbasaur replied in shock. "Yes. We can hear it too. That voice can always be heard by our evolution line." she replied. "She's right. Not only we can hear it, but Guardians can hear it as well." Celina's Venusaur replied. "Huh!?" everyone replied in shock. "But that part of the forest is very protective. If the lead Venusaur senses intruders nearby, it will use its special ability to manipulate all the nature nearby to block the entrance. The only ones who can truly stop that Venusaur's power are us and her." he replied. The young Pokémon looked at each other surprised, and then turned to the path of the festival. "Tetrax... that must mean Taylor can hear it too!" said Solar.

"Yeah! But... what do we do? How do we tell her?" Tetrax replied. "Tell her to follow us. If her powers can break through the protective barriers the place has, then we all can go in together. But you all have to let us get on the festival ground, and let the voice see if she and you all can have the permission to join us." Solar replied. "Right. I'll tell her. You guys just wait here until we come back." Tetrax replied. "Got it." Solar replied with a nod of his head. Tetrax nodded his head, and then ran back to the Pokémon on his own. Once he ran to the front, he saw all of us outside; looking for him and the rest of the group. He sighed, and then put his focus back on me. "Okay... let's see if this works." he said to himself. After that, he leapt out of the bushes and ran over to me.

"Pika-Pi!" he said. I turned around to my right with the group, saw Tetrax running upto me, and stop at my feet. "Tet! There you are! Where did you and the others run off to?" I asked him as I knelt down to him. "Pika-Pi! Pika-chu!" he replied as he turned around to his right and pointed to the direction he was pointing at. "You guys were over there all this time?" I said. "Pi-ka!" he replied. "Did you find Solar and Bulbasaur as well?" I replied. "Chu!" he replied. I nodded my head in understanding, and then he began to run in that direction. "So they went that way?" said Pat as I stood up. "Yeah. They found them over there. Let's go." I replied. "Right." everyone replied. After that, we followed Tetrax's lead, made it to the hill, and found our Pokémon there waiting for us. "Bulbasaur!" said Pat in a happy, relieved tone. "Bul-ba!" Bulbasaur replied happily. They shared a hug, and then we all began to hear voices come through the forest. "What the? What is that sound?" said Celina.

"It sounds like a bunch of Bulbasaur singing." Zuzu replied. "Singing? They're singing what?" Pat replied. "I... I don't know?" she replied. We heard the Bulbasaur sing more, and then Solar, Pat's Bulbasaur, and I started to hear a female singing voice. Our eyes widened in shock as the voice echoed in the air. As the song went on, my Mark began to glow brightly under my glove. I took off my glove, saw it glow, and then saw its Light begin to make a trail for me to follow. As the trail went to its destination, we saw a white light shine deep into the forest. "Whoa! Over there!" said Leaf as she pointed to where the white light was coming from. "Yeah! That Light! It must be connecting with Tay's Mark!" Sora replied. "Huh!? How!?" Leaf replied in shock. "It's something we'll explain later!" Pat replied.

After that, the white light and the green trail disappeared from our sight; returning things to normal. My Mark stopped glowing, and then my eyes began to glow. "Tay..? You alright?" Leaf asked me worriedly. I nodded my head yes to her, and then looked at the path that my energy showed before. "Yeah. I'm alright." I said. "Are you sure?" she replied. "She's sure." Zach replied. "Trust us. We've been through situations like this before." Celina replied. Leaf looked at us confused for a moment, and then saw me grab my bag, and kneel down to the grass. "Huh? Taylor? What are you doing?" she asked me. "Grabbing this. Solar. Come here for a second." I replied. "Saur?" he replied curiously. He walked over to me, and saw a red scarf in my hand. He sniffed it for a moment, and then recognized what I wanted to do. "Saur-Bulba-saur." he said. I nodded my head to him, and then gently wrapped the scarf around his neck; turning it into a bandana. "There we go." I said.

"Oh! Now I see what you're doing! You're using the bandana to mark your Bulbasaur that way you can see him during the festival!" Leaf replied. "Bulba." Solar replied as he nodded his head. "Nice thinking, Tay!" Pat replied. "Thanks. Now you have to do the same thing to your Bulbasaur." I replied. "Right. Bulbasaur? Do you want your scarf wrapped around your neck like Solar, or on one of your front legs?" Pat replied. "Bulba? Saur. Bulbasaur." Bulbasaur replied as he used his vine to point as his front right leg. Pat nodded his head in understanding, took out a red scarf, and gently wrapped it around the spot his Bulbasaur wanted. "Saur." he said happily. He petted his head, and then they turned to Celina; seeing her wrap a red scarf around her Venusaur's neck. "There we go. Now you can blend in with the boys." she said. "Saur." her Venusaur replied as he nodded his head.

"And now for my Venusaur. Ah ha! I got just the thing for her!" Leaf replied. She took out a big flower necklace, and gently put it on her Venusaur. After that, she grabbed a big flower and put it behind her Venusaur's ear. "There you go." she said. "Venu-saur." her Venusaur replied happily. "Okay. Now that they're all dressed up and ready to go, let's get moving to the festival." I replied. "Right." everyone replied. After that, we began our journey to the mysterious forest. As we walked down the path for a few minutes, we saw patches of white lilies fully bloom in front of us. "Wow... white lilies..." said Celina. "They look so beautiful." Zuzu replied. "They sure do. These kind of flowers are something you would see at a wedding. They signify rebirth, or purity, or the start of a new chapter." Leaf replied as she walked over and picked put some of the white lilies and gave them to us. "Wow. I never knew that flowers can be symbolic." Sora replied. "They sure can. Many kinds of flowers all over the world can symbolize many things." she replied.

We nodded our heads in agreement and continued our walk. As we walked, Leaf noticed my glowing eyes for the first time. "No... way... Tay?" she said. "Hm?" I replied curiously. "Are you powers doing this all by themselves?" she asked me. "Mhm. It only does this whether I'm in danger, or find Guardian locations." I replied. "Guardian locations? So you're telling me that your finding places that the Guardians of the past had lived and are meeting them in person?" she replied. "Yep." I replied. "Wow... that's amazing! So, how many of these Guardians did you and your group meet so far?" she replied. "So far, they have met three of them, while I met four of them." I replied. "Oh, wow. That's awesome." she replied with a smile. "Yeah it was. When we got to meet three of the four Guardians, it felt like we were in the presence of royalty. They left so much history of what they done to the world that not many historians don't even know of yet." Pat replied. "And they teached us some very valuable life lessons on how to grow powerful bonds with Pokémon and appreciate the nature of the world around us." Celina replied. "I see. So you all got to learn some things about this world that not even we don't know of yet?" she replied.

"Yep." Pat replied as we nodded our heads yes to her response. "That is awesome. You kids must be so lucky to have a friend like Tay to take you to these places and understand the missing parts of our world's history." she replied. "Yeah. We sure are." Zuzu replied happily as she gave me a side hug; making me hug her back instantly. Leaf smiled warmly at us, and then we silently continued our walk. A few minutes had passed, and then all of a sudden, a bunch of branches and vines began to appear out of nowhere, and began to block our way to the festival! "Oh no!" said Zuzu and Sora worriedly. "Don't worry! We got this! Venusaur! Frenzy Plant!" Celina replied. "You too, Venusaur!" Leaf replied. "Saur! Ve-nu-saur!" both Venusaur replied as they used Frenzy Plant; stopping some of the branches and vines. "Alright!" the group cheered. The Frenzy Plants held on for about a minute, and then were destroyed by the branches and vines; shocking everyone. "No way! That should've worked!" said Pat. "Yeah! It should've worked, but it looks like they have a mind of their own." Celina replied. "How do we stop them?" Zach replied.

Once I saw how the branches and vines were working, I used my powers to form a orb of blue energy, and then fired it as a massive beam at the branches and vines; destroying them from blocking our way. "Whoa!" said my group in shock. "No... way... how did you do that?" Leaf replied in a stunned, shocked tone. "I thought of it after seeing how the branches and vines worked. If I did it using a Fire or Poison attack, I would've destroyed the place." I replied. "Oh. That makes sense." she replied. I nodded my head, and then we continued our walk. "Hm? Hey, guys. Take a look at this. Looks like the mysterious forest has a name." said Pat. "It does? What does it say?" Celina replied. "It's called: Astraea Forest. It is the home of the Guardian of Purity of the Heart. Guardian descendants come to this forest to help purify their hearts that have been turned to rage and darkness." he replied.

Once he said that, my eyes widened in shock, and then I remember the name that Caspian spoke of when he told me about this place. "Lily..." I said in my thoughts. "Guardian of Purity of the Heart. So, it is true of what he had said about this place." Necrozma replied as it spiritually appeared beside me. "But is it true? Can she really purify hearts?" I replied. "She can. But before she can purify them, she has to hear you reason why it should be purified, and then judge you to see if you can have your heart purified." it replied. "Judge? Like... a federal way?" I replied. "No. Not like that. She has to see into your heart, learn why it acted the way it did when you were threatened, and ask it if it was truly protecting you. If it did and you never killed anyone, your heart shall be purified. But if you did take someone's life, she will punish you, force the dark side to come out of you, and you have to fight it yourself to prove to her that you can change." it replied.

My eyes widened in shock to this revelation, and I instantly began to feel nervous about meeting her. "Don't worry, Taylor. She won't physically rip your Awakened form out of you. She would only want to see how your form acts and cares about your feelings. That's all. But if she does something that harms you, I will come to your aid." consoled Necrozma. I blinked my eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Necrozma. That really helped me out." I said. Necrozma nodded its head, and then spiritually disappeared. "Saur!" yelled a voice. "Hm? What was that?" I said curiously. "That has to be a Bulbasaur! Come on!" Pat replied. "Wait!" I replied as I grabbed his arm; making him turn to me. "What?" he said. "This is where we let them go and check it out themselves. If something sees us, we're going to get kicked out." I replied. "Oh. Right. I forgot about that." he replied. I slapped myself on my forehead in annoyance, and then shook my head. "Geez... that has got to hurt." said Sora.

I let go of Pat's arm, and then looked at the two Bulbasaur and Venusaur as they looked at me. "Alright. This is where you four go in. We'll be up on the hill over there looking out to the giant tree. If you all see anything suspicious, call out to us and we'll be down there ASAP. We all good?" I said. "Saur." they replied as they nodded their heads yes to my response. "And remember, you all must stick together. Do not leave each others sides." Zach replied. They nodded their heads in understanding, and then walked away together to the festival. As they walked to it, we quickly went over to the hill, and sat down silently. "Whoa... check it out. All those Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur there together." said Leaf. "Mhm. It's something that I have never seen before." Celina replied. "Me too." Zuzu replied. "Hey, Tay? Can we take pictures of this place?" Celina replied. "Yeah. You all can, but just make sure your phone is completely silent. If they hear the snaps of the phone, we're toast. And don't share them on the internet." I replied. "Got it. We don't want any poachers coming into destroy the place." Zach replied. The group nodded their heads in agreement, turned their phones sound completely off, and began taking pictures of the place.

Astraea Forest

Bulbasaur, Solar, and the two Venusaur walked into the festival and looked around the area; seeing all the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur standing around together. "Wow... Solar. You weren't kidding about this place. It's beautiful." said Bulbasaur. "I know right? But right now, we have to stick with the plan. Come on. We have to find a good spot where our Trainers can see us." Solar replied. "Right." Bulbasaur replied. They followed the Venusaur, found a spot, looked up at the hill, saw us from above it, smiled, and then turned back to the tree; seeing a giant flat tree stump laying in the front of the giant tree. "Heh. That stump is still there." said Celina's Venusaur. "Mhm. Things haven't changed since the last time we were here." Leaf's Venusaur replied. "Indeed. I must say, I'm feeling nostalgic about this place." Celina's Venusaur replied. "Agreed. This place has brought back memories." Leaf's Venusaur. "Ah. So you two do have full memories of this place?" Solar replied as he and Bulbasaur looked up at them.

"Yes. This place is where I met him when he was a Bulbasaur." Leaf's Venusaur replied as she nodded her head to him. "She's right. At first, I was intimidated by the place, but she protected me from anyone that tried to grab me, and kept me safe from other Bulbasaur and Ivysaur while the festival went on." Celina's Venusaur replied. "I see. And that made you respect her as a mother figure to you?" Bulbasaur replied. Both Venusaur nodded their heads, and then they all heard the sound of loud footsteps. They turned to the tree, saw everyone gather around the tree stump, and heard the footsteps get louder. "Don't worry, kids. We got you." said Leaf's Venusaur as she used her vines to hold Bulbasaur and Solar safely. The footsteps shook the ground a little bit, and then we all saw a giant Venusaur appear from inside the tree. It walked onto the tree stump, stood tall on it, and then saw all of the Bulbasaur evolutionary line standing around; looking at it silently. "Saur!" it said loudly.

"Whoa... it's giant..." said Zach. "Yeah. That must be the one who starts the festival." Pat replied. We nodded our heads in agreement, and then I handed the group some tissues, napkins, and allergy medicine. "Here. I'd take the medicine right now if I were you." I said. "Ah... I see. You're giving us these now that way we don't sneeze?" Pat replied. "Mhm." I replied. "Thanks. You just saved us big time." he replied. "No problem." I replied. They took the medicine, and we continued to watch the festival. "Saur!" said the giant Venusaur. "Saur!" all the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur replied. They chanted it multiple times, and then we saw the bulbs of all the Bulbasaur begin to flash light blue. Pat looked down nervously for his Bulbasaur, and then clutched his hands into fists. "Don't." said Zach as he put his hand on his shoulder. "Hm?" he replied curiously. "Don't move. Don't say anything. Just let it happen. And if he doesn't evolve. That's his choice. You need to accept that. Okay?" Zach replied. Pat blinked his eyes, and nodded his head in understanding. He turned back to the festival, and then we all began to hear a singing voice.

"That voice... it's her... Lily..." I said in my thoughts. The voice sang louder, and then we all saw a spirit form right next to the giant Venusaur. Our eyes widened in shock to see the spirit, and then transformed into a woman with blonde hair, green eyes, and had a couple white lilies in her hair and a white dress with a flower sash around her. "Wow... she's beautiful..." said Zuzu in soft tone. "Vul..." Vulpix replied in a soft tone. "Yeah. She's as beautiful as Akemi and Astrid..." Celina replied in a soft tone. "Nidoran..." her Nidoran replied softly in awe. We stared at her silently, and then saw her open up her arms to the Pokémon in the festival. "What is she doing now?" said Sora curiously. "She's about to welcome them all to the festival." Leaf replied.

"My children. You have returned home to us once more. It has been one full year since I have seen most of you. And I can see that all of you have been doing well. Whether it is battling alongside your Trainers, or spending time here in the wild with your family here in the forest; living out your best and healthy life as much as possible. And now one year later, you have all returned home for the annual evolution festival. This festival is something that means something special to all of us here today. Not only will most of you evolve into your next stage, but you will also see how far you all have come in the past year to meet the requirements in order to achieve your evolution." said Lily. Before she could finish her speech, the giant Venusaur took a step forward and made all the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur pay attention to it. "Saur!" it said; making everyone chant again. As they did this; Lily turned to the giant Venusaur as it kept on chanting, and gently put her hand to her chest; sensing something different about it. "Venusaur... this pain and ignorance I'm sensing in you... why are you like this right now?" she said to herself.

"Saur!" chanted the giant Venusaur, and all the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur around them. "Wait a second... that Venusaur leading the kids... that's not the one I remember... isn't that the leader's son?" said Celina's Venusaur. "You're right... it is his son... but why is he leading the festival? Did something happen to his father that we don't know about?" Leaf's Venusaur replied. They looked at each other worriedly and confused for a moment, and then looked back at everyone in the festival. All the bulbs of every Bulbasaur quickly flashed light blue multiple times, absorbed some solar energy, made their bulbs turn white, and then began to evolve along with the other Ivysaur alongside them! Celina and Leaf's Venusaur's looked down at both Solar and Pat's Bulbasaur, and then saw them begin to evolve as they sat down in front of their eyes. We watched them silently with smiles on our faces, and then the evolution was complete! "Ivy-saur!" they said together. "They did it! They evolved into Ivysaur!" said Zach in a soft, excited tone. "They did it... they really did it!" Pat replied softly and excitedly. "Ivysaur has been registered to your PokéDex." said Pat's PokéDex. "Ivysaur, the Seed Pokémon. A Grass and Poison type, and the evolved form of Bulbasaur. When the bud on its back starts swelling, a sweet aroma wafts to indicate the flower's coming bloom." my PokéDex replied.

Solar and Ivysaur looked at each other for a moment, and then fully smiled at each other. "Dude! We did it! We evolved!" said Ivysaur. "Yeah! We did it! Wait... hold on a second? I thought you were still debating on evolving?" Solar replied curiously. "I was, but as we took that long walk to get here... I thought about what you said, took your advice, and I made my decision and evolved alongside you." he replied. Solar couldn't help but smile at his friend, and then gave him a vine hug; making him happy. "Congratulations, you two. How does it feel to be an Ivysaur now?" said Leaf's Venusaur. "It feels amazing!" Ivysaur replied. "Yeah! It feels like I have grown stronger in more ways than one!" Solar replied. They smiled warmly at them, and then they began to hear some voices of Bulbasaur struggling to resist their evolution. They looked out to the front of the crowd and saw a group of Bulbasaur trying to stop their evolution; causing a scene in front of the giant Venusaur. "No way... they're resisting to evolve..." said Ivysaur. "This can't be good..." Solar replied. "Boys. Stay back. If you get involved, you're going to get hurt." Celina's Venusaur replied. "Yeah, but..." Ivysaur replied. "Ivysaur. We're telling you this to protect you. If you get hit by his vines, they will knock you out cold." Leaf's Venusaur replied. Ivysaur gulped nervously, nodded his head in understanding, and then let both Venusaur protect him and Solar from any danger that might come their way.

"What the? What's going on over there?" said Sora. "Those Bulbasaur up in the very front are trying to resist on evolving." I replied. The group's eyes widened in shock to what I had said, and then we continued to watched. "Saur? Saur!" said the giant Venusaur. The families of the group of Bulbasaur tried to apologize for what is happening, but the giant Venusaur refused to listen to them. They tried to plead to him, but he slapped the Bulbasaur with one of his vines; shocking everyone. My eyes widened in shock to the giant Venusaur's actions, and I clutched my hands into fists. "Venu-saur!" he said as he slapped them again and watched them fall in pain and fear. "Bul... Bul-ba..." they cried with tears in their eyes. Once I heard the cries, my powers activated themselves, and I quickly went after the giant Venusaur. "Tay!" my group yelled as I slid down the hill. "Saur!?" Ivysaur, Solar, Celina and Leaf's Venusaur's replied in shock as they turned to the hill; seeing me slide down the hill and charge at the giant Venusaur.

"Enough!" I yelled as my eyes and Mark glew brightly. As they glew, Lily's Mark began to glow as well on her left hand; shocking her to see another Guardian appear here. I jumped in front of the Bulbasaur, and let the giant Venusaur's vines hit me on my shoulders; shocking and scaring everyone watching us. "Tay!" my group yelled in fear. They then stood up and ran after me. Lily looked at me in shock and surprise to see me withstand the pain from the Venusaur's vines as he pulled them away from me. "Saur..?" he said to me. Once he saw my glowing eyes and Mark for the first time, his eyes widened in shock to see a new Guardian appear. "Stand down, Venusaur. Leave these innocent Bulbasaur alone." I replied. "Saur!? Saur-Saur! Venu-saur!" he replied angrily. "I understand that you are mad that they didn't evolve, but you need to understand that every single Pokémon on this planet has a right to choose to evolve and you can't force them to evolve; including them just to make you happy. They are still very young, and don't know much of what evolution can do for them. They need a lot more time to think about evolving and then decide for themselves if they want to evolve or not. It's their choice to make, and their choice alone. If you don't like it, then it's your problem. Not theirs." I replied.

The giant Venusaur was surprised at my words for a moment, and then angrily began to use Vine Whip again. "Ve-nu-saur!" he yelled. "Stop! That is enough, Venusaur! Pull your vines back. Now." Lily replied. He turned to her, saw a serious look in her eyes, and then retracted his vines away from me. She then turned to me as I turned to her, and we stared at each other with our glowing eyes. As she did this, she saw my group and our teams run upto me and stay behind me. "You. You're a Guardian, aren't you?" she asked me. "I am." I replied. She looked at me curiously, and then slowly walked upto me. "What is your name?" she asked. "I'm Taylor. Reincarnation of Eve." I replied. "Eve!? You are Eve's Reincarnation!?" she replied surprised. I nodded my head yes to her response. "And you are?" Zach asked. "I am Lily. Guardian of Purity of the Heart." she replied. The group looked at her, and then bowed their heads in respect. After that, they lifted up their heads, and saw her step down onto the grass. "Why have you come here?" she asked. "I have come here to find you. I heard that you have a special ability to purify hearts." I replied. "I do. Whose heart do you wish to be purified?" she replied curiously. I blinked my eyes, sighed, and then put my right hand onto my chest. "I see..? You wish for your heart to be purified?" she said. I nodded my head yes to her question.

"How come do you want your heart to be purified?" she asked. "Because of my Awakened form." I replied. Her eyes lightly widened in surprise to my answer. "It's true. She's activated this form twice for the past five years of her life. And she nearly killed people because of it." Zach replied. "And because of the power that form has on her, she fears it." Zuzu replied. "She fears it?" Lily replied curiously. The group nodded their heads yes to her question. She blinked her eyes, turned back to me, and then felt my aura grow inside me. She sighed softly, put her hands on my shoulders, and stared at me in the eyes. "Taylor? Is what your friends say true? Do you truly fear your Awakened form?" she asked me. "...It's true." I replied. She blinked her eyes sadly, patted my shoulders, took her hands off of them, and then began to walk away from me. As she walked, she turned back to me, and motioned me and the group to follow her.

"Come with me. I can help you sort out this fear inside you." she said. "Okay." I replied. "But. You must also do something for me." she replied. "Alright." I replied. After that, we followed Lily into the giant tree, and saw something inside laying in a nest. "Saur... Saur..." it said. "Whoa... it's another giant Venusaur..." Sora replied. "Yes. This is the original leader of the festival. He had been summoning all the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur here for over 2,000 years." Lily replied. "2,000 years? That's amazing. I guess the solar energy he absorbed from the sun has kept him alive and healthy for all these years." Leaf replied. "Yes. It is all thanks to the sun's energy and Mother Nature for keeping him strong and healthy for over a millennia... but I'm afraid that his time on this planet is about to come to an end." she replied. Our eyes widened in shock to her response, and then we looked at the giant Venusaur; seeing that he didn't look good. "What happened to him?" I asked concernedly.

"He doesn't have a serious illness or anything. He's not even in physical pain. He's at the age now where his body does not want to cooperate with him." she replied. "So... what you're saying is... he's about to pass away?" Zuzu replied. Lily sadly nodded her head yes; making us feel sad for the Venusaur. "Lily? When you found out his condition... did you try anything to heal him or to help him stand up on his feet for a little bit?" I asked her. "I've tried. But no matter what medicine I made or the use of my powers, it never made a difference on his condition. It did hurt me a lot when nothing worked on him, and it made me stay a good distance away from him and the area for quite sometime." she replied. "Because you were afraid to say goodbye to him when the time comes?" I replied. She nodded her head yes to my question. I sadly closed my eyes, turned to the giant Venusaur, and began to wonder what I should do to make him comfortable. "Taylor?" she said. "Hm?" I replied curiously. "I must apologize for the other Venusaur's actions towards you. I'd never thought that he would harm others and get angry very easily." she replied. "Huh? Oh. It's alright. I was just more worried about the Bulbasaur getting hurt more than anything. Besides, it's our job as Guardians to protect the Pokémon from getting hurt from anyone that harms them. So, I had to do what I had to do and protected them." I replied.

"You did? Wow... that is incredibly brave of you." she replied. "Thank you." I replied; making her smile warmly. "Speaking of that Venusaur... is he related to this one?" Pat asked. "Yes. He is. He is this Venusaur's son." she replied. "His son?" he replied. She nodded her head yes to his question. "He had him in this forest alongside his mate ten years ago. After his birth, he had been teaching him how to run the festival and help the nature around him become beautiful. But... when he got to this stage, he had to take the rings of being the leader for the past few years. He tries his best to be just like him, but he gets angry very quickly when he sees any of the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur struggle and resist evolving into their next stage. He would hears the pleas and apologies from them multiple times, but he is too stubborn to listen. So he would lash out on them and try to force them to evolve until he gets his way." she replied. "Because when his Dad ran the festival, everyone felt at peace with him because of his gentle nature?" Celina replied.

Lily nodded her head yes to her response. "When you discovered this attitude with him, did you try to purify his heart?" Leaf asked. "I tried too, but he refused to let me understand what was going on with him. He claims that he is fine, but I can tell that he is not fine." she replied. "Maybe he's acting like this because he knows what's going on with him?" I replied. Her eyes lightly widened in surprise to my question. "What? Tay? What do mean by that?" Sora asked me. "I'm saying that Venusaur is carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders. With his Dad sick, he is highly expected by all of his kind to take on the role that he is supposed to take, and everyone is going to put high expectations on him. Because of all the pain and stress that he is holding onto right now, and when he sees things not go the way he wants it to go, he snaps and lashes out on others when he's supposed to keep himself under control, and be gentle and wise just like him. But he doesn't know if he will be just like him. To him, how can he lead the festival without his Dad by his side and see how he will grow into a powerful leader?" I replied.

Lily was surprised of what I said, turned to the elder Venusaur, looked out to his son as he watched them from outside, and turned back to me. "Taylor? Do you believe that is possible? Of what you said?" she asked me. "Yeah. Maybe that burden is the reason why his heart has turned cold and dark, because deep inside of it... he knows that no one will truly understand the pain that he is going through." I replied. "Just like your Awakened form? Do you believe that form and its power are holding a burden on you because of your actions when you turn into it?" she replied. I nodded my head yes to her question. She blinked her eyes, and then began to think about what I have said for a few moments. After thinking about what to do, she lifted her head up, stood up on her feet, and looked down at me. "Lily? You okay?" I asked her as I stood up. "Yes. I'm fine. I've been thinking about what you had said about carrying burdens in hearts. I never knew that burdens can be one of the reasons that the heart can turn cold and dark. Whether it is by fear or pressure from others. Just to hear that, it makes me want to help out more, and heal the heart from all its burdens it carries." she replied. "Yeah... me too."

She smiled warmly at me, and then gently took my hands into hers. "Taylor... your heart is something special. You can see and feel the pain of the ones who care for most, and try to do your very best to protect them and help them escape from any harm that comes your way. But when someone or something pushes you to your breaking point, that is when your heart and mind snap, and transform into your Awakened form; attacking the ones who harmed the people and Pokémon you care for. Is that correct?" she asked me. I nodded my head yes to her response. "Wait... what is she doing?" Zach asked. "I am judging her heart." she replied. "Judging it? Like seeing if it is good or bad?" he replied. "Indeed. And from what I can tell for having this conversation here with her, I can tell that her heart is good." she replied. "That's great!" he replied happily. "But... I would like see this Awakened form of hers inside her heart." she replied. "What!?" my group replied surprised.

"Lily..? How come you want to see this form?" Leaf asked her. "Because I want to see how dangerous that form truly is. If the form doesn't snap at me, we can reason with her on how she acts the way she does." she replied. "Really?" Zach replied. She nodded her head yes to his response. "But, before I do this. I need your consent, Taylor." she said. "Her consent?" Zach replied. "Consent means permission." Leaf replied. "Oh." he replied. "So? What do you say, Taylor? Do I have your consent to talk to your Awakened form?" Lily asked me. I blinked my eyes, and then nodded my head yes to her. "Yes. You have my consent." I said. She smiled warmly, and then used her powers to make our Marks and eyes glow our respective colors; shining some light into the tree. As we did this, the Venusaur's son walked in curiously and saw the lights together for the first time. A few seconds later, the elder Venusaur slowly opened his eyes, saw Lily for the first time, and then smiled warmly at her; happy to see his old friend return home.

Inside Taylor's Heart

"Whoa... where are we?" I said. "We're inside your heart." Lily replied. We looked around and saw that we were in a brightly lit room. "Wow. It sure is bright in here." I said. "Indeed. That is because it is showing the kind of person you truly are. A person who is warm-hearted, kind, gentle, and caring. That is what this area describes you and your heart. "Really?" I replied. She nodded her head yes to my question, and then we saw a dark corner of the room; looking at us with crimson red eyes. My eyes widened in fear to see what we were seeing, and then Lily held onto my arm. "Taylor... don't be afraid. If you show how nervous you are to her, you're going to make her react in a way you don't want her too." she said. I blinked my eyes, nodded my head in understanding, and then walked over to her. She walked out of the shadows of the corner for the first time, and saw us looking at her for the first time. "What are you two doing here? This corner is off limits." she said as she clutched her right hand into a fist.

"My apologies. It was my idea that we come here to talk to you." Lily replied. "Talk... to me? About what?" she replied. "About your relationship with her." Lily replied as they both looked at me. "With her? What about it? She's literally me, but more calm and tamed." she replied. "Tamed?" I replied curiously. "Yeah. Tamed as in you are in complete control of yourself." she replied. "Ah." I replied. She nodded her head to me, and then turned back to Lily. "Anyways. What do you want to know about me in connection with her." she said. "I just want to ask you a question." Lily replied. "Okay..? Ask away." she replied. "Do you believe she truly fears you?" Lily replied. My Awakened form's eyes widened in shock and surprise to her question. "What..? What makes you think that?" she asked. "Well. I heard that when she turned into you twice, she nearly went on a killing spree... and you nearly made her take away her friend's lives because of your power overwhelming her." Lily replied.

My Awakened form was completely stunned of her response, and then turned to me; looking at me in shock. "No... is that true? Did I nearly kill your friends?" she asked me. I nodded my head yes to her question. Her eyes widened in fear, and then she put her hand to her chest; feeling her heart break. "Are you alright?" Lily asked her. "...No... I'm not. I... I turned her into a monster when I took over her. I didn't think that my power could make her do such a thing. I only took over her in order to protect her from anyone connected to Team Rocket." she replied. "Team Rocket?" Lily replied. "Yeah. They're a group of people who experimented on her for their use of her powers. When their leader asked her to find a certain Pokémon that he had "lost", she began to sense many Pokémon they had kidnapped in absolute pain from their experiments, and some at near death. When she heard their cries, I took over to unleash our anger at what they had done and tried to send them to justice. But we were stopped by a powerful man made Pokémon called Mewtwo. It saved her and got her back home." she replied.

"What..? Taylor? Is this true?" Lily asked me. "Yeah... it's true. And after the events of that day, I had to go through extreme therapy sessions in order to calm myself down and not turn into her anymore." I replied. "Which completely pissed me off by the way." she replied. "Huh? How come?" I replied. "Because on that day when everything went into chaos, I was only trying to protect you from them." she replied. My eyes widened in shock to her answer. "I thought that I was doing the right thing to take over and protect you from that group who wanted to make you into a weapon. So, I had to take in all your anger and use it as a power boost in order to stop them and make them fear you... but in reality... it made you into a monster. And then when you and the cloaked Trainers had to fight Kakimoto and his goons that day, and they hurt your friends... I could sense the anger boiling deep inside of you. When I felt that anger inside you, I jumped in to heal you, and made you get your revenge on them." she replied. "My... revenge? Why would you want me to do that?" I replied.

"Because after all these years of watching you take on their bullying and slander at school... I couldn't take it anymore. Just hearing them say all those awful things about you that were absolutely not true, I had to make you get your revenge on them because I wanted to see if you could defend yourself... but it turned out that I made it look worse. When I saw and felt your friends try to stop you from causing serious harm... it made me begin to realize that all this anger and rage that we had built up inside ourselves was not really the best decision to keep inside." she replied. "So all this time that she turned into you... you were truly protecting her? You never wanted her to become a monster?" Lily replied. She nodded her head yes to her question. "I see. Well, Taylor? Do you understand where she is coming from now?" Lily asked me.

I stared at my form sadly and curiously; now realizing after all these years that she was protecting me. "Look... Taylor... I... I'm truly sorry if my actions when you turned into me made you become afraid of me. I have never in my life wanted to do stuff with you to make you afraid of me. You don't have to forgive me if you don't want too. I understand." she said. I blinked my eyes, and then walked upto her, and gave her a hug; surprising her and Lily. "It's okay. I accept your apology. But if anyone should truly apologize... it's me. I'm sorry that I didn't find a way to talk with you a long time ago and get to know and understand you. I was caught deeply into letting my fears of you take over me; making me stop using my powers and training for a certain amount of time. It was all my fault for all these years to shut you out and keep you here in this part of my heart." I replied. Her eyes lightly widened to my response, began to swell up in tears, and then we shared an embrace.

Lily smiled warmly at what was going on, and then she began to feel a warm, purifying energy come from the ground. "Huh? What the? This energy... no way... could it be..?" she said to herself. I let my Awakened form go from the hug, and then we saw the energy underneath our feet for the first time. "What the hell?" I said. "What is this?" she replied. "Saur..." replied a voice. The three of us turned around, and saw the elderly Venusaur appear spiritually appear to us; standing tall on his four feet. "Saur." he said. "Venusaur!" Lily replied happily as she ran over to him and hugged him; making him happy. "Who is that?" my Awakened form asked. "That's her Venusaur. They live in a forest that does evolution festivals for the Bulbasaur line." I replied. "Oh. That's cool." she replied. "I know right?" I replied. We shared a laugh together, and then saw the Venusaur walk over to us. "Hm? What's he doing?" I asked.

"Saur... Saur. Venu-saur." he replied. "He's letting you know that you have passed the judgement test." Lily replied. "Really? I passed?" I replied. "Mhm. You have passed the test. That means... we can purify you and your Awakened forms hearts." she replied. "Really? What was the test?" my Awakened form replied. "The test was: Forgiveness. Just you two talking to each other and apologizing for your actions of each other, you've finally got to start understanding each other." she replied. "Yeah... I guess you're right." I replied. My Awakened form nodded her head in agreement. "And now that your forgiveness has been seen and heard, we can now purify your hearts. Are you two ready?" said Lily. We nodded our heads yes to her response, and then she and Venusaur used their special ability to purify my heart together. After that, the mental trip began to fade away, and both Lily and I returned to reality.

Astraea Forest

"...Tay? Tay! Wake up!" said a voice. I opened my eyes, blinked them a couple times, and then saw Lily and my group looking at me. "Welcome back." said Lily. "Thanks." I replied. "Tay! How did it go?" Pat replied. "She passed the test." Lily replied. "She passed? So does that mean her heart is purified?" Zach replied. Lily smiled and nodded her head yes to him; making everyone happy. "Alright!" Zuzu and Sora cheered happily. "Way to go, Tay!" Celina replied. "We knew you could do it!" Leaf replied. Zach and I shared a hug happily, and then turned to Lily as she looked at us. "Lily... thank you." I said with a soft smile. "You are welcome. And... thank you." she replied. "You're welcome... for what?" I replied curiously. She then turned and showed us the elderly Venusaur now awake. "He's awake!" I said. "Yeah. He woke up a while ago and used his power to help Lily purify your heart." Zach replied. "He did?" I replied. "Mhm. It was awesome!" he replied.

I smiled warmly at him, and then gave Venusaur a gentle pat on his head. "Thank you, Venusaur." I said. "Saur." he replied. After I stopped petting him, we all saw his son walk over to him with tears in his eyes. A moment later, he nuzzled his Dad as he cried. "Saur..." said the elderly Venusaur as he comforted his son. "Tay. When you went on that little mental trip, we told him about the burden that he was carrying inside his heart." said Leaf. "You did?" I replied. "Mhm. He felt upset about it at first, but... once I told him that his father will watch over him in the afterlife, he knows now that he will be okay." she replied. "Really?" I replied. "Mhm." she replied. We watched the tearful nuzzle, and then he stepped back from his father as he layed his head back down to his nest. "Saur! Saur! Saur-Saur! Saur! Venu-saur!" the lead Venusaur cried as his father rested his head. "What's going on..? What's happening?" Pat replied. Lily and I closed our eyes, and lowered our heads sadly. "...It's time." we said.

My group's eyes widened in shock to what we said, and we slowly lifted our heads up. "Lily? Can we... take him outside so that everyone can see? It would be best for them all to know what is going on right now." I asked. "Of course. But before we do that... can I... say my goodbyes to him?" she replied as tears began to form in her eyes. We looked at her and nodded our heads yes to her request. "Thank you." she replied. She then walked over to Venusaur and saw him looking at her. "Saur..." he said. "Venusaur... you have lived a long and healthy life. You have taught so many of your evolutionary line on how to connect with the nature around them and how to grow strong in many ways than just evolving. I am so proud of the Pokémon that you have become." she replied. "Saur..." he replied as tears formed in his eyes. She then hugged him and cried. "Venusaur... I love you so much. I know that your time here is almost up, but soon... you and I will be reunited in the spirit world together. And we can watch over the forest together. Just like the old days." she said. "Saur. Venu-saur." he replied.

We watched them silently with tears in our eyes, and began to hug and comfort each other. Sora hugged Zuzu, Pat hugged Celina, and Zach hugged me. Leaf gently patted Pat's shoulder as she wiped of tears from her face, and then saw all our teams hug and comfort each other. Lily let her Venusaur go from the hug, and then we all helped her bring him outside. Once we got him outside, all the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur looked at him in shock and sadness. We put him gently down on the tree stump, and then surrounded his nest with white lilies. Venusaur looked at all of us surrounding him one last time, smiled warmly, and then took his final breath. After it had happened, everyone lowered their heads in sadness. As we did a moment of silence, Venusaur's body began to glow in a golden light, and then his body began to turn into solar energy. We watched what was happening, and then we saw the energy go into the tree stump, and made the stump into a tall tree; blooming with cherry blossoms on the branches and white lilies on the grass around it.

"Whoa..." we said. "He's now part of the forest now. As this tree as a symbol of his presence, it shall be known to all that he will be watching over us." Lily replied. We nodded our heads in agreement, and then began to watch the Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur release their pollen to the tree and helped the flowers bloom brightly all over the tree. After that, we all watched them leave the forest. We waved goodbye all of them, and then to the giant Venusaur as he went back to his home in the giant tree behind him; ready to start his reign as leader next year. "That's it. The festival is over." said Pat. "And I think we all learned some life lessons here that we will never forget for the rest of our lives." Leaf replied. We nodded our heads in agreement to her response, and then we turned to Lily. "Well then. I guess this is goodbye?" she asked us. "Yeah. Lily... thank you for everything today. If it wasn't for you and your guidance... I still would've been afraid of myself." I replied.

"You're welcome. And if it wasn't for you, I would've never seen my Venusaur help me for one last time." she replied. I smiled warmly at her, shook her hand, and then we all began to leave the forest in peace. We waved good bye to her, and then watched her turn back into her spirit form, and then disappear from our eyes. After that, we all left the forest together and returned to the Pokémon Center. We then went to the lodges and fell asleep in the rental bedrooms for the night.

The Next Morning- Outside the Pokémon Center

"So? Where are you kids off to next?" Leaf asked us. "We're off to Vermilion City." Pat replied. "Vermilion City? That's awesome! I wish you all a wonderful time there!" she replied. "Thanks, sis." he replied. "And Pat? Make sure to behave yourself when you get there. I don't wanna hear from Tay that you're doing naughty things over there." she replied. "W-What!?" he replied nervously; making us laugh. "Don't worry. I'm just playing with you." she replied. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then patted his Ivysaur's head happily; making him smile. "Hey, Leaf? Where are you off to?" I asked. "Me? I'm off to go see your brother. He promised me that we're going to have a date night in Cerulean City." she replied. "That's so romantic of him." I replied. "I know right? And hey, if we see Misty during our date, we'll tell her that you and your friends say hello." she replied. "Thanks, Leaf." I replied with a smile. "No problem, kiddo." she replied. We shared a hug, and then said our goodbyes to Leaf.

"Alright, guys! Vermilion City is right over there if we walk this path." I said. "Really? How can you tell?" Sora replied. "I can smell the salty air from the ocean from here." I replied. They then sniffed the air, and began to smell salt in the air. "She's right! You can smell the ocean from here!" Zuzu replied. "Well what are we waiting for! Let's get going!" Celina replied. "Right!" we replied. After that, we ran down the path together happily, and then saw Vermilion City over the hill a couple minutes later.

Vermilion City- Over the Hill

"Ah! There it is! Vermilion City!" said Zuzu happily. "Pi-Pikachu!" her Pikachu replied happily. "Vul-Vulpix!" Vulpix replied happily. We stared at the city in awe for a moment, and heard the sounds of people and Pokémon on the beach. We turned to each other, smiled happily, and then ran down to the city; ready to have the time of our lives in the city.

Thank you so much for reading Chapter 14 of the story!

Here we go! ARC 2 has Officially Begun! And we kick things off with my own version of 'Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden' episode from the Kanto arc from the OG series of the Pokémon anime! This was something that I wanted to do for a while, but do it with a little twist with the white lilies and the theme of Purity as something symbolic to the Chapter. This was a very fun one to write because of the symbolism of the two things I put into focus in the Chapter. But now that with events of this one done and three evolutions in full reveal, we can now move onto Vermilion City!

Oh! And I bet you are wondering when it came to moments of the Pokémon speaking human language to each other, I decided to do that so you all can understand what they are saying when they are not around their Trainers; instead of just hearing certain ones talk when Taylor is doing her Synchronization ability in battle.

Anyways, thank you so much for reading Chapter 14 of the story, and have yourself an awesome day!

Next time, Chapter 15: Revolting Electivire! When relaxing at the beach, the group meets Lt. Surge for the first time and help him deal with some rogue Trainers at the Vermilion Lighthouse. As they fight the rogue Trainers, they find a Electivire that has been hiding in the lighthouse for quite sometime and fights them for his territory. How did this Electivire get to the Lighthouse? Was he abandoned by a Trainer? Does he have a connection to one of the rogue Trainers? Find out in Chapter 15!