Way back in Cyllage I promised that we'd see more of Dedenne being a little matchmaking minx, but I had forgotten about that. But I'm uploading this fic onto Wattpad, and I was reminded of this fact, so here we are. I was also trying to find a way to give Max his 6th pokémon, so this was the best way to combine both of those factors. Also, I realised that I made it seem like Dedenne stays in his pokéball all the time like the rest of Bonnie's team. I should specify that he doesn't, he travels with them in Bonnie's bag, just like in the anime. Just thought I'd clear that up. Anyway, with all of that said, here's the chapter.
Chapter 51:
Dedenne and the Crimson Flower
Max and Bonnie left Lumiose 3 days ago. Since then, they've been moving a lot quicker around the region. For one thing, they're no longer ambushed by Team Terra at every turn, and for another, now that Max has those audio logs, he no longer needs to stop to write down everything he notices about the behaviour of the pokémon he spots. Instead, he just pulls out the log and speaks into it. At first, Bonnie feels a little disappointed about this. Sure, they're no longer stopping every 5 minutes and are actually making some progress, but Max now has little reason to enter into his Observant State. After having that talk with Ash about it, she finally realises why she finds herself staring at him while he's in his Observant State; she thinks it's cute, especially when his tongue subconsciously protrudes from his mouth while he works. Bonnie blushes furiously just thinking about it.
But as they travel, she finds something else endearing about Max to replace the Observant State; the way he rambles about pokémon into the log. At first, she thought this would drive her crazy, but as their journey continues, she notices that Max's eyes seem to sparkle whenever he speaks about pokémon, and soon enough she finds that just as adorable as the Observant State. If she could, she'd listen to him ramble about pokémon all day long. This thought also makes Bonnie blush furiously, which is something Dedenne notices. He's noticed for a while that the pair seem to have only grown more fond of each other over the past half a year, but he hasn't had the chance to help them work out their feelings for each other. Seeing them finally realising that they like each other is even more frustrating, because now they're both terrified of how the other will react if they find out. Dedenne is tired of this dancing, so he decides that he should try to help them once again, if given his chance.
And luckily for the Antenna Pokémon, that chance comes in the form of a cry from a distressed pokémon. Max and Bonnie are sitting around their campfire one morning, 4 days after leaving Lumiose, when they hear it. The two get up and immediately run towards the noise. The sound is coming from a small white and green pokémon with long green eyelashes and what look like white ribbons coming out of the side of its head. Max pokédex identifies it as a Floette, but there's something off about it. "It's missing its flower," Bonnie notes, before crouching down to the Floette. "Is that why you're so upset?" she asks it. Floette nods, before pointing to the top of a tree. Looking up at where the Floette is pointing, Max and Bonnie spot a large nest, where a family of Pidgy are nesting. The nest is made of a bunch of sticks, grass and flowers, one of which is the flower Floette is pictured holding on in Max's pokédex.
Both he and Bonnie try to shout up to the birds to give the flower back, but when they see 2 large Pidgeot land on either side of the nest, they both falter. Max tries to send his own Pidgeotto to try to reason with the Pidgeot to give the flower back, but the bigger birds just squawk at her until she flies back down. By this time, the Floette is distraught by the theft of its flower. It cries loudly, which disturbs a few people walking by on the path not for from them. Worried that people might start thinking they're hurting Floette, Max and Bonnie get it to stop crying by promising it they'll find it a new flower. Floette brightens up at this and cries out happily. Then, it decides to wait by their camp for them.
Max and Bonnie begin their search, but Dedenne is hesitant to join in. To him, this Floette feels like a total diva, crying her eyes out when her flower was stolen instead of trying to fight back for it, and now she's resting in their camp while they do all the hard work trying to find her a new one. Dedenne has half a mind to march over to her and shock her into helping them out. But then, an idea strikes him, signified by the tip of his tail moving to stick up above his head and glow like a lightbulb. Maybe, he muses to himself, this might be my chance to finally match them together! Giggling to himself like an Impedimp, he quickly springs into action.
He darts around the meadow as fast as he can, hoping to find the exact flower that Floette likes before either Max or Bonnie can. It takes him a few minutes, but he finally finds the exact flower he's looking for. However, he doesn't pick it up. Instead, he fills the air around it with a small bit of his electricity, marking it for himself so he knows where to find it. Then, he scampers off in search of the two humans. He finds Bonnie first, who is lightly sifting through a patch of flowers in hopes of finding the right one. Dedenne lightly zaps her, both to get her attention and to essentially place a tracker on her so he knows where she is. Bonnie yelps slightly, out of surprise rather than pain, and turns to look at Dedenne. "What is it Dedenne?" she asks. "Did you find the flower?" Dedenne nods, then signals for her to follow him. She does so, and he leads her towards the flower. But before they reach it, Dedenne pretends he hears something. He uses his tail to point in the direction of the flower, then runs off before Bonnie can ask him where he's going.
His next objective is to find Max as quickly as possible, which he manages to do in no time. Max is staring at a Spewpa, reaching into his pockets to grab an audio log. Not wanting to waste time when romance is at stake, Dedenne gives him a small shock as well. Max yelps, this time out of pain as well as surprise. "What was that for?" he asks Dedenne. Dedenne gives Max and apologetic look, then indicates towards the flower he found. "You found one?" Max asks him. Dedenne nods, then leads the boy towards the flower. Just as he'd hoped, both Max and Bonnie are approaching the flower. Best of all, since they're both so hyper-focused on the flower, they don't notice each other. Just as Dedenne had planned, they bend down to pick the flower... and end up accidentally holding hands. The 1st half of Dedenne's plan was a success, now for the 2nd half to do its thing.
The pair finally notice each other and their faces go redder than it was though to be humanly possible. They spring apart so quickly it was as if the flower has burned them. "Sorry about that," they both say at the same time. "No, no, it's fine... uh... you take it." They laugh at the fact that they had both said the same thing at the same time, then Max volunteers to take the flower to avoid anymore awkwardness. He picks it from the ground, then they walk back to their camp where Floette is waiting. She sees the flower in Max's hand and cries with joy, floating over to him and hugging him tightly, before doing the same with Bonnie and Dedenne. Then, she takes the flower, and instantly looks a lot better. Max and Bonnie smile at their handiwork, then begin packing up, determined not to think about what just happened, or the way the other's hand felt on theirs.
Once they're all packed up, they bid farewell to Floette and begin heading off. But Floette cries for them to come back. Turning around, they see that she had drawn the shape of a pokéball into the gravel path. "I think she wants one of us to catch her?" Bonnie suggests, to which Floette nods. Max wants to offer the chance to Bonnie, but she beats him to it. "You can do it" she says. Max shakes his head. "You're the one challenging the gyms," he replies. "It will be easier for you if you have all 6 pokémon." "But I want to save that slot for one more electric type if I can," she replies. "And anyway, aren't you trying to write a book about pokémon? Wouldn't it be easier to write about Floette's attachment to their flowers if you have one?"
Max thinks about this, then nods in agreement before pulling out a pokéball. "What do you say Floette?" he asks. "Want to come with me?" Floette nods excitedly, then floats up and touches the button of the ball. She disappears inside of it and allows herself to be caught. Max whoops with excitement at this, happy to finally have a full team. Bonnie gives him a thumbs up, which he responds with a toothy grin. Then, they set off for Laverre once more. As he walks behind them, Dedenne fumes silently. How can they be this dense!? he wonders to himself. Especially Bonnie, who likes to brag about being a romance expert! Mark my words, I'll help you two realise you belong together, if it's the last thing I do! Satisfied with his resolve, Dedenne runs after them, before hopping onto Bonnie's shoulder.
Sorry if that chapter was a bit messy, but I had a bit too much fun writing Dedenne as a matchmaker. Like I said much much earlier in this story, you'll see plenty more of that throughout the whole series. Floette wasn't meant to be a diva by the way, but the way I wrote her made her seem like one, hence why Dedenne thought that. She won't be like that throughout the rest of the story, this is just the only way I could think of to combine Max getting her with Dedenne matchmaking. But with that, I'll see you all on Friday with the next chapter.