Chapter 36

A Frolicking Find in the Flowers

My friends and I continue on our way to Anistar City. There, I hope to find another Pure Heart, which will bring us one step closer to defeating Team Flare. And if nothing else, there was the fact of earning another Gym Badge therefrom.

But that is not all… As we continued down the trail, Serena was checking an update from her Guidebook. It took the form of a video starring Monsieur Pierre. "Our next Pokémon Showcase shall take place in Anistar City! We hope to see you Performers there!" he said.

"Anistar City?" asked Jessie. "Who would've guessed?"

Dexter hovered over. "The percentage of people who could've guessed that are… Calculating… Calculating… Calculating…"

I yanked him down by his little foot. "Rhetorical!" I told him. And then I looked back at my best friend. She seemed to have stopped for a moment. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied. "It's just… I still have yet to perfect my routine. There isn't much time, and I have much to do."

"There's still a lot I need to do as well," her boyfriend added.

"Perhaps some training is in order," I suggested.

Before anything else could be said, James had noticed that Bonnie put Squishy on his head. He started to glow in a faint light, and Bonnie's eyes turned as green as he was. They looked around and they spoke in one voice. "There's a big open field not too far away from here. Follow us!" She ran in one direction and the rest of us followed.

Sure enough, there was an open field like they said. Plenty of room for special training. Serena went out a little ways to work on her performance. Bonnie and Magearna decided to play a game of tag. Clemont, Jessie and James decided to prepare a meal for when we were done.

Ash and I decided to do some special training. I decided to try out a new form with him. Carefully thinking, I decided on one I had never tried before. "Power of Nature!" In a bright flash, I had transformed into a fitting form. My upper-half remained relatively the same… except for the green skin and leaf-like hair and clothes. Meanwhile, my lower-half seemed to be submerged inside a giant flower. I kinda looked like a Lilligant and a Flabebe mixed together. "When you're ready Ash!"

The Kantonian then pulled out a pair of PokéBalls and unleashed Hawlucha and Goodra. He addressed the latter. "Goodra, use Dragon Pulse! " The big one fired off the attack. Despite my lack of legs, I was able to dodge the attack. Then Ash told me there was a series of vines beneath the flower acting as the legs.

"My turn! Secret Power!" A couple of the aforementioned flowers stretched out from underneath me and wrapped around the opposing Pokémon.

"Oh, no, you don't! Hawlucha, use Karate Chop!" He swung his arm at the vines and sliced them off. Surprisingly, it did not hurt. Matter of fact, they just grew right back. "Now, use Flying Press!" He jumped up and over me to land the attack. As I covered my head, I noticed the petals formed a barrier that cushioned the blow.

"This is a pretty cool power!" I muttered, and we continued with our training.

*Serena's POV*

After we finished our special training, we decided to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the meadow. I kneeled down, and started to pick some of the flowers that stood nearby. I weaved some of them into a small wreath, which I placed over my fedora.

Bonnie was the first to notice. "You look so pretty!"

"Thank you," I replied as I held another one up. "I made one for you and Magearna too." I tied that around her ponytail. Then I noticed Magearna by a large rock near the brooke. I came over to her with the third wreath. "Magearna, look what I made for you."

"Shhh!" she whispered, then she pointed toward the brooke. "Look over there…"

Not far away, there was a little brown Pokémon prancing about on another flat rock. It looked so happy and light on its feet. It was like watching a ballerina performing on stage.

For a moment, we all quietly watched the little one. Since Dexter was nowhere to be seen, I pulled out my own Pokédex… it had been a while since I did that.

Eevee

The Evolution Pokémon

A Normal-type

Eevee is rarely seen, and can adapt to severe habitats by changing its capabilities and form. It holds the record for most evolved forms of any Pokémon.

Suddenly… "Girls!" Ash called out. "Lunch is ready!"

Unfortunately, the one we were watching heard his voice as well. When it saw us, it panicked and scampered away, crossing the brooke. "Aw…" Bonnie groaned in disappointment.

During lunch, we told the others what we saw.

"Sorry for scaring it…" Ash stated.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know," I told him. "It moved so beautifully, like it was dancing on air. The more we watched it dance around, the more I thought up some brand new routines for the Showcase."

'Why don't we try to find this Eevee again?' Diancie suggested. 'It could show some more of its dancing…' The rest of us agreed to find Eevee once again.

Shortly afterwards, the hunt was on. We came atop a small hill and looked around. It was there that we realized just how big the meadow really was.

"Findin' dat Eevee will take forever!" Meowth commented.

Then we heard Clemont chuckle as he adjusted his glasses. "The future is now, thanks to science! Clemontic Gear ON!" He then reached into his backpack and pulled out another of his inventions. "Re-presenting the Life Detector Mark IV!"

"Re-presenting?" I asked.

"Yes. I last used this beauty in Coumarine City to try and find you, but since then, I've made some major modifications. It can now detect any living thing!"

"Okay… we're counting on you!"

As it rose into the air, Clemont held up his remote control. "Our target is smaller than most, so that should help us narrow the search down." Rather quickly, it pinged. "Found it!"

He pointed in a direction and the rest of us saw… a Vivillon.

"Let's try that again…" he chuckled and fidgeted with the device. It pinged. "There!"

Once again it was not Eevee, but this time a Budew.

"I don't understand!" He began to fidget with the remote once again.

the more things he imputed the more he inadvertently overclocked the Life Detector. It started to go haywire and crash in a massive explosion.

"Maybe it was 'Fifth time's the charm…'" Clemont groaned as he coughed up some smoke.

*Pikachu's POV*

After that little mishap, we decided to fan out and search for Eevee manually. The rest of our Pokémon were released to help, and those who could fly started to search overhead - including Brianna in her Flying-type form.

Once, Ash created his own plot to catch Eevee without actually catching Eevee. He placed one of Serena's PokePuffs on a plate on a small rock. Then he helped Jessie and James hoist up an empty barrel on a rope from a branch. "I saw this trick in an old-tyme cartoon once," he explained. "When Eevee goes to eat the PokePuff, we'll drop the barrel over it." They then started to move behind a tree.

That was their plan anyway. But as they were busy pulling the rope, I noticed Eevee hopped onto the stump with the bait. I did not say anything, but I did quietly wave at her. She seemed to smile back at me. She then picked up the Poke Puff and scurried back into the forest.

Meowth then came forward, noticing the empty plate. "Who left this out here?" Was all he could say when the barrel fell over him.

Ash Jessie and James then came back over excitedly. They thought they caught Eevee. But when they lifted the barrel to find Meowth… "You moron!" Jessie snarled. "You ruined our trap!"

"And you ate our only bait!" Ash added.

"What?" he began to stammer. "Wait! I didn't do it! It wasn't me!"

I wanted to say something, but admittedly, I found the sight to be too funny… besides, I could not speak to them like he could. I was sure he could explain it to them…

*Serena's POV*

A little later, I checked in with my own Pokémon to see if they found Eevee. "Braixen, any luck?" She shook her head in disappointment. "I understand. Let's try one more time. You check that way, Solsol, this way, and Pancham, over there. I'll check over here."

I then passed through some tall grass, calling out to Eevee. I was beginning to think it was long gone, but then I heard its voice. It was crying out in my direction. I stopped to listen for it, and realized I was just one step away from a huge cliff.

Eevee saved my life.

I turned around and looked up. There was Eevee up on a branch. I smiled and said, "Thank you…" but then it started to jump across branches and out of sight. I decided not to follow. Instead, I placed my flower wreath on a rock for Eevee and began to head out to find the others. The sun was beginning to set over the mountains, so we decided to give it another try tomorrow.

I think it was after midnight at the time, but my eyes were wide open. I could not stop thinking about that Eevee and the way it moved around. Maybe a brief walk would help me lose some energy…

As I started to get up, I heard a voice. "Mommy?" I quickly turned around to see Magearna was awake. Maybe I brushed up against her by accident?

"I didn't mean to wake you up," I apologized. "I couldn't sleep, that's all. I'm just going to take a walk."

"May I come with you?"

"Of course."

The meadow felt like a completely different place at night… in a good way. There was just something so relaxing about it.

As we passed over the hill, we saw it. There was Eevee dancing on her rock, and this time, she was wearing the flower wreath I left for her. "Look at that… she likes it," Magearna commented.

That made me so happy. "Wow… I'd really like to be friends with her. Do you think it would be a good idea?"

"I think that's a great idea!" Magearna replied.

"Thanks sweetie," I sighed a little. "But how in the world am I gonna let eevee know how I feel?"

We continued to watch it for a little while, thinking of a solution for that problem. Then Magearna's eyes widened. "I have an idea!"

*Brianna's POV*

Most of us got up at dawn, determined to find Eevee for sure this time. Cocoa Diancie and I had just finished our morning stretch, when Serena came out of our tent. "Ready to give it another shot, Serena?" I asked.

"Actually," she answered, "I don't think I wanna look for Eevee the same way this time,"

'What do you mean?' Diancie asked.

"You're not giving up, are you?" Bonnie asked in worry.

As I turned around, I was surprised to see Serena dressed in her original Showcase dress. She giggled as she rubbed Magearna's head. "No. Not at all. There's just something I'd like to try…"

She led the rest of us to Eevee's rock. Eevee herself was nowhere to be seen. As she and her Pokémon clambered onto the rock, the rest of us had to wonder what she was up to…

"Everybody ready?" She asked as she looked around. Her Pokémon answered in enthusiasm. "Braixen, use Flamethrower!"

The Fox Pokémon held up her branch and unleashed a fiery attack which swirled into the sky. Then, using Solsol as a makeshift springboard, Pancham leaped into the fiery cyclone.

"Pancham, Dark Pulse!" The one in question launched the attack into the twister, and the collision resulted in an explosion of sparkles.

As Pancham landed, he and everyone else on the rock took a bow. The rest of us started cheering and clapping.

"Amazing!" Bonnie shouted.

"Way to go!" Meowth added.

"Looks like you're ready for the Showcase!" Cocoa added.

Serena smiled at us, then looked in another direction. "So, did you like what we did? Not bad, right?"

The rest of us turned around fast and saw Eevee nearby behind a small rock. How long she had been there, we knew not, but we also noticed she was wearing Serena's flower wreath.

"It worked!" Magearna smiled. Then she started to explain. "You see, we were drawn to how happy Eevee looked while she was dancing, so I thought Mommy should show Eevee how happy she was by dancing too!"

"Great idea!" Her adopted father commented. Then he told the rest of us to back up and give her some room.

Serena continued to speak to the wild Pokémon. "See, Eevee, the four of us really like to perform together as a team. We compete with other Performers in what's called the Pokémon Showcase, and it's a whole lot of fun. Do you think maybe you'd like to perform with us on stage?"

James smiled. "That's not a bad idea. I think Eevee would be a great member of your team."

As Eevee spoke, Cocoa translated. (Why would you want me?)

"Because, it's so much fun to watch you dance! I want lots more people to see you dance, too!"

She paced the ground a little bit before speaking up again. (I don't know. I've never danced in front of anyone before. Not while knowing, anyway…)

Serena smiled when she heard that. "I know it can be scary at first. Believe it or not, I was scared half to death on my first Showcase."

(You were?)

"Mm-hmm! But after I got up there with my Braixen… Well, Fennekin at the time… I honestly didn't wanna come down. Sure, I lost, but it was still a lot of fun!"

She sat down, thinking about what she said.

Serena came down from the rock and kneeled in the grass. "I'll tell you what - you can come watch us at the next Showcase. You can see how much we enjoy dancing on stage, and then you can join us next time if you want." She then stretched out her palm toward the wild one. "What do you say?"

She took a moment before… Eevee came forward and rested her head in Serena's fingers.

"I think that's a yes," I commented with a smile.

"That's wonderful!" Serena replied. As Eevee waited patiently, her new friend pulled out a PokéBall and gently tapped Eevee on the cheek with it. It sucked her in, shook about a few times, and then dinged, confirming the catch. "Welcome aboard, Eevee!"

She let her new friend out to say hi. The rest of us came closer to congratulate Serena's newest catch, and we gave Eevee a big welcome too. However, as we approached, Eevee scurried behind her Trainer's boots.

"I think it's gonna take a while before she warms up to any of us…" Clemont commented.

Though oddly enough, Pikachu clambered off his Trainer's shoulder and approached the newly caught Eevee. As Meowth did the same thing, she quickly hid behind Pikachu and started to relax.

"How about that?" Jessie commented. "Looks like she's comfortable around Pikachu,"

"That's because Pikachu's a nice Pokémon," Bonnie added.

His Trainer approached his girlfriend. "Hey, Serena. I'm really glad you made friends with Eevee."

"Thanks. Me too," she added as Eevee hopped into her arms. "Braixen, Pancham, Solsol and Eevee… Together, We're gonna win the Showcase."

There is no doubt that things will get a lot livelier with Serena's new Eevee in her party. So now, we are all once again off to Aristarchus City, as the journey continues…