AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 7 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through the Hoenn region. Rita, Nicole, and Natalie from the Pokémon: Advanced episode, "The Lotad Lowdown" make appearances in this chapter, and I'm basing this chapter on my experiences at the Pretty Flower Petal Shop. As always, please feel free to read and review.

TEASER: Tristan and Hillary pay a visit to the Pretty Flower Petal Shop. While Tristan is interested in learning in the different types of berries, Taz, who is up to no good as usual, wants to steal them to make a profit!

Chapter 7: A BERRY TALE

(Music Cue: Opening & Title Screen (as heard at the beginning of "Takin' it on the Chinchou"))

Tristan and Hillary continue on their way to Rustboro City, but before they do, they have decided first to visit a flower and berry shop.

"Wow, I can't believe there are so many berries here," remarked Tristan.

Pikachu and Togepi were just as impressed.

"Yeah, they sure are impressive," agreed Hillary. "Why don't we go inside and see them, Tristan?"

"Sure, I'm down with that."

And together, they walked inside.

(Music Cue: Petalburg City (full version))

Tristan and Hillary saw that there were berries of all kinds as far as the eye can see.

"These berries sure don't look like the berries we're used to seeing in Johto," remarked Hillary.

"Yeah," agreed Tristan. "We're so used to seeing everything from plain old berries to ones that cure paralysis, poison, burn, and sleep conditions to Apricorn."

"Just like in Azalea Town."

Presently, a friendly young woman with blue hair came in. "Oh, I didn't realize there were guests. Hello, and welcome."

"Hi," replied Tristan and Hillary together.

"I assume you've had a glimpse of the berries we grow here in our shop, right?" smiled the woman.

"We did," answered Tristan. "They sure are impressive. These berries look a lot better than the berries we're used to seeing in the Johto region."

"You're from Johto?"

"Yes, we're from New Bark Town."

"That's quite a long way from here. Well, you're gonna love what you see here. My name's Nicole. I run the Pretty Flower Petal Shop with my two sisters."

"Hi, Nicole, my name's Hillary," said Hillary. "This is my brother, Tristan."

"It's nice to meet you," smiled Tristan as Pikachu and Togepi introduced themselves.

"I'd love to show you around the shop," smiled Nicole. "But first, how'd you both like to join me for some fresh hot pie?"

"That'd be awesome!" replied Hillary.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" added Tristan.

Pikachu and Togepi were excited, too.

There was a pie that had just come out of the oven. It smelled delicious.

Nicole cut the pie into slices.

Tristan and Hillary each took a slice of pie and sat down to lunch. Then they gave a piece of the slice to Pikachu and Togepi.

"Yummy!" smiled Tristan as he tasted the pie. "This is so good!"

"And sweet, too," added Hillary. "What's this pie made of, Nicole?"

"This pie is made from sweet Pecha Berries," answered Nicole. "The taste is always sweet, and that's why people and Pokémon love them so much."

"No wonder it tastes so good," said Tristan. "I should get the recipe for this sometime."

"I'd be happy to give it to you," replied Nicole. "But first, maybe you'd like to try another pie. This one's from my all-time favorite Oran Berries."

Tristan and Hillary happily accepted.

Another fresh pie was divided into slices like the Pecha Berry pie, and tasted just as good.

"This is even better than the last pie I had," said Tristan.

"I don't know," replied Hillary. "The Pecha Berry pie was tasty, too."

"I'm glad you both like the pies. Would you like to see what else we're growing in the garden?"

"We'd love to!" said Tristan and Hillary together.

Presently, another woman with green hair came in. "Hey, Nicole, could you help me with watering the berry trees, please? Huh? Company?"

"Yes, this is Tristan and Hillary," answered Nicole to the woman. Then she turned to Tristan and Hillary. "This is my oldest sister, Rita. She's in charge of watering the garden and maintaining the shop."

"Nice to meet you, Rita," said Tristan and Hillary together.

(Music Cue: Lilycove City (full version))

They followed Rita and Nicole outside to the back where there was a beautiful garden of berry trees.

"Wow!" said Tristan. "There must be a million berry trees here!"

"And the air's so fresh and clean," added Hillary. "Hey, Tristan, let's send out our Pokémon to enjoy the fresh air, too."

"Okay!" agreed Tristan as he took out his two Poké Balls and tossed them in the air. "Mudkip, Treecko, come on out!"

Mudkip and Treecko emerged from the white lights that shot out of them.

"Squirtle, Cyndaquil, Ralts, you too!" added Hillary as she tossed her Poké Balls in the air.

Squirtle, Cyndaquil, and Ralts emerged from the white lights that shot out of them.

Everyone looked very happy.

"That's an awesome collection of Pokémon," remarked Rita. "They all look so happy and healthy."

"We do what we can to help them grow up to be big and strong," explained Tristan.

"And Tristan knows how to take care of them," added Hillary. "He got some valuable advice from Brock."

"Did someone say Brock?" said a voice.

Everyone was surprised to see a young, red-haired girl emerge from the bushes. She scowled at a surprised Tristan. "How come you never mentioned anything about meeting Brock, huh?"

"Uh..." Tristan was confused. "And who are you?"

This made the girl even more upset. "I knew it! You were hiding the truth from me, weren't you?! Huh?! Well?!"

"Natalie, that's enough!" scolded Rita.

"We warned you about being rude to travelers, right?" added Nicole.

The girl was ashamed.

"I apologize for Natalie's bad behavior," said Rita. "She always seems to get in over her head."

"That's okay," replied Tristan. "Anyway, you were going to show us some of the berries you grow here."

"A lot of the berries we grow here have effects on Pokémon," explained Rita. "They can heal injuries and status ailments."

"That must really come in handy here," said Tristan excitedly.

Nicole nodded and pointed to the various berry trees. "See that blue berry over there? That Oran Berry was in one of the pie you just ate. And that tree with the pink berry is a Pecha Berry tree. We grow yellow Sitrus Berries on that tree, but they're not quite ripe yet." Then she pointed to a red berry with spikes. "And that..."

"I love the looks of that berry," interrupted Hillary as she picked it, shined it up, and bit into it.

"No! Don't eat that!" warned Nicole.

But Nicole's warning came just a little too late, for Hillary suddenly found herself breathing fire from her mouth. "YEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!" she screamed. "HOT! HOT! HOT!"

Quickly, Tristan dug into his backpack, found Hillary a canteen full of fresh water to drink from, and gave it to her. "Quick, Hillary, drink this."

She guzzled the water down as quickly as she could. Her fire had been put out, but it left her lips feeling red and swollen.

"That was a Tamato Berry you just bit into," explained Nicole. "It's very spicy, and it burns your mouth."

"Yeah, serves you right," added Natalie.

"Natalie!" said Rita warningly.

Natalie's bent her face down low.

"Sorry about that, Hillary," said Rita. "I guess we should've warned you sooner."

"Gee, thanks a lot," grumbled Hillary.

Tristan couldn't help but give a chuckle. "Well, I shouldn't laugh, but I guess you're gonna see red for awhile, sis."

This made everyone laugh.

But Hillary was the only one who didn't laugh, for she was red in the face from tasting the Tamato Berry and from Tristan's pun. "Funny! Very funny!"

After everyone recovered, they all came to a lake.

"This is the lake where many good friends of ours live," explained Rita. Then she called, "Hey, everyone! Come on up and meet our new friends!"

A group of small blue Pokémon with six stubby legs and large leaves on the top of their heads emerged from the surface of the lake.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Hillary. "What are they?"

"They're Lotad," explained Nicole. "They help us with the watering."

"Cool!" said Tristan as he scanned them with his Pokédex.

"Lotad, the Water Weed Pokémon. Lotad inhabit peaceful wetlands, like lakes and ponds."

"Weird names with limited information," remarked Hillary.

"True, but they're most helpful, as you're about to see," replied Natalie.

Sure enough, the Lotad were slowly walking in a straight line with their leaves full of water up toward the garden.

"What are they doing?" asked Hillary.

"The Lotad are carrying the water toward our berry trees," answered Nicole.

"Maybe we can help the Lotad, too," put in Tristan. "Come on, guys, let's see if we can help with the watering."

"Okay," agreed Hillary.

"Well, here's a bucket for each of you to carry," said Rita as she handed everyone a bucket to fill up with water.

(Music Cue: Team Rocket's Theme (full version as heard in "Pokémon: Heroes, Latios and Latias"))

Meanwhile, as Tristan, Hillary, and their friends filled up their buckets, a short distance away, Taz was doing his usual scheming. "So that's the famous flower shop I've heard so much about," he said to himself. "I may have lost my chance to get the berries at the Moomoo Ranch, but I've got a feeling this is gonna make me even richer than my last idea. Guess I'd better clean up here." And he immediately ducked out of sight.

Everyone slowly carried their buckets and leaves full of water to the berry trees.

"Boy, this is hard work!" grunted Hillary. "I never knew that watering the trees would take this much labor!"

"Yeah, but it's worth it to help the trees grow big and strong," replied Tristan.

Pikachu agreed as it helped Treecko carry a big leaf full of water on it.

Squirtle and Togepi carried a smaller leaf filled with water while Ralts used Confusion to levitate its bucket of water to help Cyndaquil.

Everyone selected a watering tree and slowly poured water into the roots.

"I think the trees needed that refreshing drink," said Nicole.

Rita nodded in agreement. "Thanks for your help, everyone," she said to the Lotad.

The Lotad slowly went back to the lake.

"I was wondering where I could find some ripe Sitrus Berries," said Tristan.

"I can show you the way if you'd like, Tristan," smiled Nicole.

"Hey, why can't I show him?" complained Natalie. "I know the locations better than anyone."

"Remember the last time you wandered off all by yourself to find Sitrus Berries, Natalie?" reminded Rita. "A Beedrill attacked you and Brock had to come to your rescue."

"You're right, but Tristan'll be with me," said Natalie as she abruptly took Tristan by the hand.

"Hey, wait a second!" interrupted Tristan. "I didn't ask for your help."

"But Tristan, maybe Natalie knows something you don't," said Hillary. "Don't you think it'd be a good idea to have her come along with you?"

"You may be able to keep her out of danger," added Rita.

Tristan sighed. "Oh, all right," he said. "I'll let her tag along. Come on, guys, you can help, too."

Pikachu, Treecko, and Mudkip agreed.

Tristan, his Pokémon, and Natalie went inside the forest to look for Sitrus Berries.

"I wonder where those berries are," said Tristan.

"Just follow me!" replied Natalie as she ran ahead to a big tree.

There were scores of Sitrus Berries, and they were ripe for the picking.

"Go on, Tristan, pick as many as you'd like," said Natalie as she picked one after the other. But when she tried to pick her fifth Sitrus Berry, she felt resistance against it because something else grabbed onto it.

"Wait, Natalie!" warned Tristan.

But it was too late, for Natalie suddenly found himself face to face with a familiar yellow striped wasp Pokémon with stingers. She gave a scream of fright.

(Music Cue: Let's Run! (as heard in "The Lotad Lowdown"))

"A wild Beedrill!" shouted Tristan. "Run for it!"

And together, he, Natalie, and the Pokémon beat a hasty retreat with their collection of Sitrus Berries as fast as they could.

Then a swarm of Beedrill flew in behind it and gave chase to them.

"There's more of them!" cried Natalie.

"Those berries must've been part of Beedrill's nest!" panted Tristan as he kept running.

"But you weren't the one who offended them, I was!" insisted Natalie. But suddenly, she tripped and fell to the ground, leaving her defenseless.

"Natalie!" exclaimed Tristan.

Natalie screamed in fear as the Beedrill closed in on her.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt 'em!" ordered Tristan.

Pikachu unleashed a yellow bolt of electricity from its body at the Beedrill swarm, scoring a direct hit on them, forcing them to scurry away as fast as they could.

"Phew!" sighed Tristan. "That was a close one. Are you okay, Natalie?"

Natalie blushed at the thought of Tristan coming to her rescue. "I am now, Tristan. Thank you."

"I'm so glad to hear it." He gave a smile.

Natalie smiled back. Then she said, "I think I was wrong about you, Tristan. You're not someone who makes me jealous, even though I was earlier. You're someone who cares about people and Pokémon. I'm sorry for accusing you of not telling me that you met Brock. I know we'd just met back there. I was all caught up in my 'love at first sight' thing."

Tristan was taken aback. "Whoa! Love at first sight?"

"Won't you please forgive me?"

"Of course, Natalie," smiled Tristan. "You know I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt."

"Thanks, Tristan," said Natalie. "That's very nice of you."

Tristan gave a small chuckle. He seemed to know how to help people become better people whenever they needed it.

Suddenly, there was a loud humming noise from not too far away.

"What was that?" asked Natalie.

"Sounds like it came from the shop! Come on!" And Tristan and Natalie ran back to the Flower Shop as fast as they could.

(Music Cue: Regirock, Regice, & Registeel Battle (as heard in the Japanese version of "Taming of the Shroomish"))

At the shop, a gigantic vacuum attached to an Electabuzz-shaped balloon was sucking up as many berries as it could into a huge container. And the person behind the vacuum was, who else, Taz, Tristan and Hillary's old arch-nemesis.

"Well, this is berry, berry interesting," chuckled Taz. "Who knew that harvesting would be this easy?"

Presently, Hillary, Rita, and Nicole saw the commotion and rushed to confront Taz.

"Oh, great, it's Taz again!" exclaimed Hillary.

"That thief's stealing all the berries!" cried Nicole.

"Ha!" laughed Taz. "You kiddies can sure tell it like it is."

"We want our berries back!" demanded Rita.

"Okay, how about I send y'all back?" retorted Taz as he quickly used his remote control to put his vacuum into reverse, knocking everyone off their feet and blowing them tumbling to the ground. "Nice domino effect."

"All right, that's it, Taz," growled Hillary as she took out her Poké Ball. "This time, you've gone way over the line. Cyndaquil, I choose you!" And she threw the ball.

Cyndaquil emerged from the white light that shot out of it.

"Cyndaquil, stop Taz with Flamethrower!" ordered Hillary.

Cyndaquil ignited the flame on its back and unleashed a powerful stream of fire from its mouth at the vacuum.

But Taz was ready to counter it. "Don't mess with fire, pretty girl, or you're bound to get burned." And he put his vacuum into reverse, pushing Cyndaquil's flames back and knocking it down toward the ground. Then, without missing a beat, he pushed the button on his remote control and put the vacuum into suction mode again, blowing Cyndaquil straight toward it.

"Cyndaquil!" cried Hillary as she quickly grabbed it. But the force of the vacuum's suction was so strong that she and Togepi ended up sucked up right along with it inside the container!

"Hillary!" cried Nicole and Rita.

Taz laughed gleefully. "I picked myself a Cyndaquil! And I got a Togepi as a little bonus! Though that girl leaves much to be desired. No matter. I'll just throw her out with the rest of the trash I suck up by accident in the end."

"You've gotta do something to stop Taz!" yelled Hillary to Nicole and Rita.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something!" called Rita.

Presently, the Lotad appeared from the bushes, eager to help.

"The Lotad!" exclaimed Nicole.

The Lotad fired their Water Guns at Taz's balloon, giving it a gigantic hole, forcing the hot air to hiss out of it.

But the balloon flew in all directions at once, causing it to break the rope attaching the container to it, causing it to hurtle straight toward the ground.

Hillary gave a scream from inside the container.

"She's falling!" cried Nicole.

The Lotad were quick to react, for they aimed their Water Guns at the container to slow the descent of the fall. But the descent was still too fast for them to keep up.

"The container's too heavy," said Rita worriedly. "They need more power."

But a timely Water Gun coming from nowhere assisted the Lotad, which gave them just enough to land the container safely on the ground.

As for Taz and his balloon, they were still falling in all directions at once.

Taz gave a scream from the rapidly descending balloon as it crashed to the ground, creating a gigantic layer of dust.

"Who's Water Gun was that?" wondered Nicole.

"We're coming, ladies!" cried Tristan as he, Pikachu, Natalie, and Mudkip arrived on the scene.

"Tristan and Natalie!" smiled Rita.

Hillary gave a sigh of relief. Then she quickly grabbed Cyndaquil and hurried out of the container through the vacuum hose and rejoined Nicole and Rita.

"Hope we're not too late," said Tristan.

"Nope, your timing's perfect," replied Hillary.

Just then, Taz crawled out of the rubble in time to see Tristan, Hillary, Rita, Natalie, and Nicole all glaring at him. "Hey, what do you all want from me?"

"Give back those berries!" demanded Tristan.

"Never!" replied Taz as he clutched the bag of stolen berries. "Electabuzz, go get 'em!" He threw his Poké Ball.

Electabuzz emerged from the white light that shot out of it.

"Treecko, I choose you!" shouted Tristan as he threw his Poké Ball.

(Music Cue: Advance Adventure (Orchestra & Guitar Arrangement (as heard in "The Lotad Lowdown"))

Treecko emerged from the white light that shot out of it.

"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch attack!" ordered Taz.

Electabuzz made an electrified fist and charged right at Treecko.

"Now, Treecko, use Quick Attack!" commanded Tristan.

Treecko sped toward Electabuzz with a white line streaking behind it. It dodged Electabuzz's ThunderPunch and scored a direct hit on it at the same time.

"Yeah, way to go, Treecko!" commended Tristan. "I have to say, when it comes to speed, you're right up there."

Treecko nodded in agreement.

"Oh, yeah? We'll put a stop to you!" retorted Taz. "Electabuzz, show 'em your Quick Attack!"

Electabuzz charged at Treecko the exact same way, but Treecko nimbly dodged it.

Taz was shocked. "But how?!"

"First attacks may usually be on target, but Treecko's timing on that dodge was top-notch!" remarked Hillary.

Togepi trilled in agreement.

"Now, Treecko, use Pound attack!" commanded Tristan.

Treecko used its thick tail to score a direct hit on Electabuzz and send it flying into Taz, causing him to drop the berries and send the sack flying safely into Natalie's hands.

"Nice catch, Natalie," commended Nicole.

"Thanks," smiled Natalie.

"All right, Treecko, send 'em flying with Quick Attack!" ordered Tristan.

Treecko sped toward Taz and Electabuzz with a white line trailing behind it, and it scored a clean hit on them so huge it sent them flying high.

"We won't forget this, you stupid Treecko!" screamed Taz as he and Electabuzz disappeared into the sky.

DING!

(Music Cue: Meeting and Parting (full version))

"Thank you all," said Rita. "You saved the berries and you battled well, too."

"And that Treecko of yours was awesome," added Natalie.

"I think Treecko will be raised into a really strong Pokémon," put in Nicole.

"They're right, you know," finished Hillary.

The Lotad seemed to agree.

And so did Mudkip and Pikachu.

"You think so?" Tristan was a little confused, but then he smiled. "You know what? You're right! And I know I'll win my first badge, too."

"Thanks for your help last night," said Rita the next morning. "If it weren't for you two, we wouldn't have gotten our berries back from Taz."

"Aw, we didn't do that much," replied Hillary.

"But you did," smiled Nicole. "You and Tristan always seem to be at the right place at the right time."

"Well, we do our part, don't we, Pikachu?" said Tristan.

Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Oh, Tristan, I almost forgot," said Natalie as she handed him a book. "This is a list of all the berries in the Hoenn region and all the places you can find them."

Tristan happily accepted the book. "Thanks, Natalie, that's really nice of you."

Natalie smiled. She was happy to know that she was able to be on friendly terms with Tristan.

"Take care, and good luck on your journey!" called Rita as she, Natalie, and Nicole waved goodbye to them.

"Thanks! You too!" replied Tristan and Hillary as they waved back.

"Feel free to come back to our shop anytime!" put in Nicole.

Pikachu and Togepi waved their goodbyes to their new friends as well.

Having once again helped someone in need, our heroes receive some wonderful berry tips from Natalie, Nicole, and Rita at the Pretty Flower Petal Shop. Now, with the sweet thoughts of berries in their minds, Tristan and Hillary once again resume their journey to Rustboro City.

TO BE CONTINUED...