Episode 407: Oh, Do You Know The Poffin Plan?
A couple more days came and went as Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel continued on their way to Floaroma Town. As they walked down the path, Pikachu's ears perked up.
"What is it, Pikachu?" Sora asked.
He got his answer when Heartless surrounded the couple. The Heartless are consisted of Neoshadows, Darkballs, Armored Knights, Wyverns, Wyrms, Defenders, Wizards, Angel Stars, Invisibles, Morning Stars, Watchers, Mad Mammoths, Tricerahorns, and a Guard Armor.
"Heartless!" Sora and Kairi exclaimed.
"So many of them, so let's try out our Drive Forms, shall we?" Sora suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Kairi said.
Sora and Kairi tapped into their Drive Forms and they both transformed into their Valor and Love Forms. Sora held his Super Smash Key in his left hand as he held the Vampire Hunter in his right hand. Kairi held a Latias Love in her left hand and a new Keyblade in her right hand. The design of the Keyblade follows Cascade's water theme by being reminiscent of cresting waves, both along the shaft and at the teeth. Also, Cascade's Wayfinder appears at the top of the shaft within a black circle, surrounded by a cresting wave. The hilt has two heart-shaped openings, and the Keychain is also Cascade's Wayfinder. The handle and chain are both an ivory color. This Keyblade is known as the Brightcrest.
"Drive Forms making their first official appearance and you Heartless are lucky enough to have a taste of it!" Sora said.
"Remember not to get too comfortable with it, Sora. The Drive Forms will only last for only a few minutes," Kairi reminded her boyfriend.
"Then we better make it count," Sora said as he and Kairi came for the Heartless as Sora smacked his two Keyblades against a couple of Darkballs and Kairi smacked an Angel Star and a Wizard. Kairi then casts a flower spell, hitting some of the surrounding Heartless, destroying them. A Tricerhorn charges at Kairi, but Angel fired a Swift at the triceratops-like Heartless, taking it out.
"Thanks, Angel," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
A Neoshadow came at Sora and he slashed at the Neoshadow as Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt, shocking some of the Defenders, destroying them. The Guard Armor came at the couple.
"Sora, you handle the feet, and I'll go for the hands!" Kairi said.
"On it!" Sora said as he heads for the Hammerlegs and Kairi aims for the Gauntlets. Sora managed to give the Hammerlegs some hits as Kairi lands some hits on the Gauntlets until they destroyed the Gauntlets and Hammerlegs, leaving the Armored Torso as it spins around at them. Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel jumped out of the way. The Armored Torso stops spinning as the Omega Ruby Groudon and Alpha Sapphire Kyogre are flying at the Armored Torso, hitting it. They saw it was Brendan and May came running as they called back their Keyblades.
"You don't mind if we join the party, do you?" May asked.
"Not at all," Kairi said.
Working together, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May came for the Armored Torso and they combined their might and brought it down. A heart floats up in the sky and vanished. Their Drive Forms wore off, knowing it'll take a few days for them to use them again.
"Thanks for the assist, Brendan, May," Sora said.
"We were just at the right place at the right time," Brendan said.
"We heard there was a Pokémon being held in Floaroma Town and we figured either you or Dawn would be a part of it," May said.
"You figured right," Kairi said.
"Also, we heard what happened with Riku," Brendan said. Sora and Kairi gasped as they knew what they were talking about. "Is it true?"
"Yeah, it's true. Riku had his Eevee taken from him by a Pokémon Hunter calling herself J. Riku went on her ship as a revenge stunt and he used his Keyblade to cut off her arm. And he used the powers of darkness to do it," Sora said.
"It was a horrible thing she did to Riku," Kairi said.
"You're right, Kairi. It's hard to ever imagine Riku like that. It's not like him to lose his cool like that and lash out the way he did," May said.
So, Riku got put on probation until he gets it under control," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Anyway, enough about that. What's new with you guys?" Sora asked.
"Well, I caught myself a Buneary, a Misdreavus, and a Bidoof," May said.
"I caught myself a Quagsire, a Gligar, and a Houndour," Brendan said.
"At least some of us are making good progress," Sora said.
"You can come along if you like," Kairi offered.
"Sure thing, Kairi," Brendan said.
"Why not?" Brendan asked.
With that said, the Hoenn couple joined Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel for Floaroma Town. Along the way, they made a stop to a bakery ran by an elderly woman with her Raichu.
"Hello there, everyone. It's nice of you to come on by," the elderly woman said.
"Raichu," Raichu said.
"We would like a slice of your finest cake," May requested.
"Of course, dears. Sugar, if you please," the elderly woman said.
"Raichu," Sugar said, scratching his head with his tail.
"Sugar, huh? That's a cute nickname," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"And so is your Pikachu. Reminds me of Sugar as a Pikachu," the elderly woman said.
"Raichu," Sugar said, scratching his head again.
"Come along, Sugar. We have a cake to bake," the elderly woman said as she and Sugar entered the kitchen.
"I see you've met my Aunt Abigail," a young woman's voice spoke. They turned to see a young woman with brown hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes.. She wore an orange shirt, dark gray pants, and brown shoes.
"Was your aunt a Pokémon Trainer?" Sora asked.
"Yes, she was in her younger days. She's also a bake-off champion. so Sugar helps her by using Focus Punch on Aspear Berries in order to tenderize them as an ingredient for a cake," the young woman explained.
"That comes in handy. I heard Aspear Berries have a hard peel, but it gives off a sour taste," Sora said.
"That's right. But when mixed with the right ingredients, it can be very tasty," the young woman said.
A few moments later, Abigail and Sugar returned with a slice of cake for the each of them. They each had a taste of cake and they were amazed by how tasty it turned out. It felt like their eyes fell out of their sockets and made the sound of billiard balls.
"Wow, this is great," Brendan said.
"Thank you, dears," Abigail said, smiling.
After they had finished their cake, Kairi decided to get some training done for her upcoming Pokémon Contest. During the training, Kairi and her three Burmy started to evolve. Kairi's Bidoof has become a Bibrel. Kairi's three Burmy have become black, bagworm-like Pokémon, each with a different coat. They have oval eyes, long pointed beaks, and a long antenna with a coiled tip. The beaks are tipped with varying colors depending on the coat. The coats forms a pair of arm-like structures near the newly evolved Pokémon's heads. The Plant Cloak form has several white flowers covering it and gives her a green-tipped beak and large leaves for arms. The Sandy Cloak one is dotted with reddish-brown rocks, and have chains of pebbles for arms and a brown tipped beak. And the Trash Cloak has a pink-tipped beak and long, dark pink ribbons for arms.
"Awesome. Kairi's Bidoof just became a Bibarel," Brendan said.
"Let's have a look at this," Sora said, taking out his Rotom Phone and scanned his girlfriends Pokémon
Bibarel, the Beaver Pokémon
The evolved form of Bidoof
Type: Normal/Water
This Pokémon is known to be a busy builder. Bibarel makes a dam at a river by chopping down trees and using the wood and mud to build its dam.
"Now to have a look at you three," Kairi said, scanning her three newly evolved Pokémon.
Wormadam, the Bagworm Pokémon.
The evolved form of the female Burmy
Plant Cloak Type: Bug/Grass
Sandy Cloak Type: Bug/Ground
Trash Cloak Type: Bug/Steel
Wormadam's type and appearance depends on the current coat Burmy is wearing during evolution. After the evolution process has been completed, the coat becomes a permanent part of their bodies.
"Yay! I got what I wanted! All three forms of Wormadam!" Kairi said.
"Glad to see you got what you wanted, Kairi. I guess I'll have to train my Burmy when I get the chance," Sora said.
Later that night, a small group of Elekid came to a garden of berries. There are berries for the Elekid to eat. They ate the berries as fast as they picked them, wolfing them down like a hungry Snorlax after a nap. The Elekid smelled a delicious aroma coming from a nearby house, so they went to find out the source of the smell. They were unaware of a mysterious figure standing on the roof, so the mysterious figure attacked by using Magical Leaf on the Elekid. The Magical Leaf assault scares the Elekid and they ran away in fear.
On the next morning, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May have arrived to Floaroma Town, the sight of Kairi's very next Pokémon Contest. They were awestruck by the beauty the entire town has displayed. There were flowers everywhere they looked.
"Floaroma Town is so very beautiful," May said.
"I'll say it is. It's no wonder it's calls it the town of vivid scent flowers," Kairi said.
"Vee," Angel said.
"Judging by your faces, I would say it's your first visit to Floaroma Town," an elderly woman spoke. They all turned to face her.
"Yes ma'am. We all arrived for the upcoming Pokémon Contest. Also, this place is so beautiful," Kairi said.
"Our trees and flowers are gorgeous. You'd never guess that many years ago, this paradise was once a barren wasteland," the old woman explained. The couples were curious by what she meant. "Everywhere you looked, the land was without beauty and the sad and weary faces of the people of this town reflected the sorry state of affairs we found ourselves in. Many tried to plant flowers and trees, but nothing seemed to want to grow, no matter what. But legend has it that one day, a beautiful woman climbed to the top of the hill to give thanks for nature's great beauty. And with that, it was like the flowers and tree couldn't wait to break through the earth and join forces with the woman to express their thanks as well."
"Such a beautiful story," Kairi said.
"And beautifully told," May added.
"Thank you for sharing," Brendan said.
"Thanks so very much," Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May all said.
"It is not only my pleasure, but my privilege to be able to share a wonderful story with with you young people. I hope you won't forget it, and please have a wonderful stay in our town," the old woman said, taking her leave with a smile on her face.
They all made their way to the location of the Poffin cooking class which his a house that has a giant garden in the back. A Rosereade and a Lotad are there tending to the flowers. Roserade saw the group and got scared of the new people as Sora was knocking on the door.
"Coming!" A woman's voice spoke. She opened the door and sees a young woman with green hair and amber eyes. She wore a yellowish white shirt, a light brown mini skirt, and brown boots. "Are you here for the Poffin cooking class?"
"Yes, we are," Sora said.
"I hope I didn't make you wait for too long. My name is Forsythia," the young woman introduced herself.
"I'm Sora, and this is Pikachu," Sora introduced.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"My name's Kairi and this Angel," Kairi said.
"My name's Brendan."
"And my name's May."
"It's nice to meet you. Won't you all please come inside?" Forsythia asked.
Once inside, Roserade and Load got the chopped berries ready for the lesson to begin. Forsythia pours the chopped berries into a pot of cold water.
"First, you put your berries in a pot of cold water. Then, you turn the heat up all the way while stirring nonstop. It's this stirring that gives Poffins their flavor, you see," Forsythia instructed. "Okay, is everyone with me so far?"
"So far, so good," Kairi said. Kairi sets the timer on her Pokétch since she wants to get the correct time on it. Forsythia takes a look at Kairi's station and she was impressed by her skills.
"You look like you done this before," Forsythia said.
"Kairi is a natural cook. She makes all sorts of meals for our Pokémon," Sora said.
"It's nothing. Just something I learned from my parents," Kairi said.
"Really? You had me fooled for a sec, becuase you look like a pro at it. And I think it's just nice of your parents to help out some hungry Pokémon," Forsythia said.
"Thank you," Kairi said. The timer went off as Kairi poured the Poffins she was making into the mold. Sora and Brendan weren't doing so well.
"You've got to stir it faster," Forsythia instructed.
"Like this?" Sora asked, stirring it faster.
"No, that's too fast You're going to spill it!" Forsythia said.
"Okay, how about this?" Sora asked, turning it very slow.
"That's too slow! You're going to burn it!" Forsythia warned. Smoke comes from the pots that Sora and Brendan were cooking.
"Oops!" Brendan said.
"Even I know it shouldn't be smoking," Sora said.
After a few minutes, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May got theirs done and ready. Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May's Pokémon started to chow down on the Poffins Kairi had made. No surprise They all liked them. The Poffins May made wasn't so bad, so the Pokémon ate those, and ignored the ones Sora and Brendan made.
"Looks like we failed, Sora. Ours are toxic waste dumps," Brendan said.
"Hey, it's our first try. We shouldn't expect to get it right the first time," Sora said. Brendan scoffed.
"Easy for you to say. Anything Kairi makes, she gets raves. And May used to stink at it more than I did," Brendan said.
"Something you wanna comment, Brendan?" May asked in a dark tone. Brendan flinched when he heard his girlfriend's question.
"Nothing," Brendan said in an innocent tone, not wanting to anger her. He chuckled nervously.
"I didn't think so," May said. Brendan sighed in relief.
"I sure dodged that bullet," Brendan said in his thoughts.
A few minutes later, they cleaned up from making Poffins. Forsythia prepared some tea for Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May as Pikachu and Angel shared some apples.
"Here you go. You've all worked hard today. So, why don't we all relax a bitwith a nice cup of tea?" Forsythia suggested. Roserade was nervous around the group and hid in the hall.
"Say, your Roserade is a bit on the shy side," Sora said.
"Yeah. Kairi's Roserade is very different from that one," May said.
"You have a Roserade too, Kairi?" Forsythia asked.
"Yes. I had him from when he was a Budew when Sora and I were in the Hoenn region," Kairi said.
"Did you have your Roserade as a Budew or as a Roselia?" Brendan asked.
"I had my Roserade as a Budew. For as long as I had mine, Roserade has always been shy around new people. I remember when I first met him. It was winter as Nurse Joy welcomed me back at the Pokémon Center. When Budew first saw me, he just hid when I first looked his way. He picked a fight with a Glameow and lost. Budew never bonded with any of the other Pokémon staying there either," Forsythia explained.
"I see," Kairi said.
"Budew liked the bouquet I had with me at the time. So, I brought him back home with me. Ever since then, Budew loved caring for the flowers. Budew then evolved into a Roselia and then, into a beautiful Roserade. Now, Roserade and I have become quite the team," Forsythia concluded. Roserade and Lotad were listening to the story and he sheepishly beamed at the happy memory. Everyone all jumped when they heard a loud roar from outside.
Recognizing the sound, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May looked outside and they gasped when they saw a giant dragon-like Heartless. It looked like it has flowers all around. The flowers are pink, light blue, lavender, and white on what looks like grass on its body. It has dark brown scales and a dark gray underbelly where the Heartless emblem is located in the chest area. It has thorny spikes from the back of its head right to the tail. It has earthen wings and its yellow eyes are in a medium size. It has gravelly claws and teeth. This Heartless shall be known as the Garden Dragon.
"A Heartless!" Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May gasped.
"Sure picked a bad time to get here," Sora said.
"A bad time is the only time they ever show up for," Kairi said.
"We gotta take it down!" May said.
Sora agreed, "You're right." He, Kairi, Brendan, and May summoned their Keyblades and went to fight off the Garden Dragon.
Sora, Kairi, Brendan, May, Pikachu, and Angel went off to fight off the large Heartless as it spewed green energy from its mouth, making them run for it. The Garden Dragon snapped at them. Sora casts an aura fire spell, hitting it as Pikachu fired Thunderbolt at it, hitting it. Angel fired Swift as Kairi casts a crystal fire spell, hitting it. Brendan and May tried striking at it, but the large Heartless swiped at them with claws. Sora and Kairi came at the Garden Dragon with their Keyblades and smacked it on the face, but it snapped at them again before it unleashed green energy from its mouth again.
Rosereade watched on and became concerned for the garden. The Bouquet Pokémon ran back in the house. Once inside, he takes out a red scarf and wraps it around his head, like a masked hero.
"The Garden Dragon was about to attack them again when a Magical Leaf came out from nowhere, striking the Garden Dragon.
"Magical Leaf?" May asked.
"Where did that come from?" Sora asked.
Roserade appared on the top of the roof with his arms crossed.
"Roserade?" Forsythia asked surprised.
"Lotad, Lotad!" Lotad said.
"What's with the scarf?" Sora asked.
"That's the scarf I was wearing when I first met Roserade," Forsythia explained.
"Roserade does look like a superhero with it on," Brendan said.
"Why would Roserade need a disguise?" May said.
"I think Roserade loves the garden so much, he went through great lengths to keeping it safe from anyone who would steal berries from Forsythia," Kairi said.
And she's right. Roserade fought back against thieves who trespassed on the garden, very much like the Elekid that came earilier.
"These berries are better than any others. And these flowers are more beautiful than any others, too. And it's all because of Roserade. I have never seen Roserade look so forceful," Forsythia said.
Roserade then fired another Magical Leaf at the Garden Dragon, but it unleases beams of light, matching the colors of the flowers. Roserade jumped to dodge them, but the Bouquet Pokémon is struck by the beams and the scarf ends up being torn in the process.
"Lotad!" Lotad gasped.
"Roserade!" Forsythia gasped.
"Okay, that does it!" Sora said, calling out another Keyblade. This Keyblade was first summoned in the Digitial World. The handguard of the Keyblade is comprised of two triceratops horns that curve downward and do not connect to the pommel of the handle. The rain guard and token are both triceratops heads, specifically the head of Chomp the triceratops in his true form. The blade is a short bone-like shaft that extends upwards a little, then curves into a backward C-shape. The C-shape is wrapped in white cloth strips and bony spikes protrude from the wrappings, which serve as the teeth of the key. The chain of the Keychain seems to be a vine, rather than metal links. This Keyblade is the Dinosaur King. "There's a giant weed that needs to be whacked!"
"Right beside you, Sora," Kairi said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, Brendan, May, Pikachu, and Angel ran in to fight off the Garden Dragon as it attacked by unleashing the beams of light from the flowers, but the dodged the beams of light.
"Brendan, Kairi, you for the left! May, you're with me!" Sora said.
"Gotcha!" Kairi and Brendan said.
"You can count on me!" May said.
With that said, Kairi and Brendan went for the left as Sora and May went to the right. They attacked the Garden Dragon in two different directions at once. The Garden Dragon swings its tail down at Sora and May. It then swooped at Kairi and Brendan, but they all jumped before they could hit them. Sora swings his two Keyblades down on the Garden Dragon and slashed it against its chest.
"Man, if I knew I was going to be fighting a giant Heartless for a second time today, then I wouldn't have used my Drive Form earlier," Sora said in his thoughts. The Garden Dragon spewed green energy at Sora, but he managed to dodge it and he went for the Garden Dragon and he swings both the Kingdom Key and Dinosaur King at the Garden Dragon across the chest. The Garden Dragon roared very weakly as it began to fall over. Sora, Kairi, Brendan, and May moved before they were crushed by it. Roserade rushed in without his scarf jumped in the air and fired Petal Dance at the Garden Dragon, dealing some heavy aount of damage as Sora gave it the final slash across the chest. A heart began to float upwards as the Garden Dragon began to fade away. They dismissed their Keyblades, knowing the threat has passed.
"That takes care of that," Brendan said.
"Yeah, it would have been worse if that Heartless was left to rampage through the town," May said.
Feeling a newfound confidence, Roserade raises his bouquets up in the air and unleashed a burst of energy, making the sun shine even brighter.
"Roserade's using Sunny Day!" May said. Lotad then fired Water Gun, watering the garden, so new plants and flowers frow from underneath. Thanks to the water, a rainbow appeared as well. They were awestruck by the beauty it displayed.
"It's just like the legend of Floaroma Town," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"And we got to see it," Sora said. Roserade went over to the scarf and held it as he saw how torn up it was. Forsythia approached Roserade, feeling proud.
"You did all this all because you wanted to repay me for bringing you here, isn't that right?" Forsythia asked. Roserade nodded. "And I appreciate it very much. But you shouldn't disguise yourself to do that."
"She's right, Roserade. You're a lot braver than you think you are. And you were willing to go through great lengths to protect the garden from anyone who would attack it, just like that monster you saw. And you didn't need to look like a superhero to do all that," Sora said.
"All you need is to have confidence in your own strength, and there isn't anything you can't do," Kairi said.
"Pika/Vee," Pikachu and Angel said. Brendan and May nodded in agreement. Roserade looked around and right at Lotad who also nodded. Roserade smiled, taking what Sora and Kairi said to heart.
"Roserade," Roserade said.
What started out as a simple cooking lesson has turned into a lesson in courage as a timid Roserade has gained the confidence that has been hiding under his nose for so long, and it reminded four of our favorite Pokémon Trainers/Keyblade wielders that courage can come out at any time. So, now Kairi has the Floaroma Town Pokémon Contest to prepare for as Kairi is to earn her second Contest Ribbon, so stay tuned for more excitement.