Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it.
djinn - Thanks so much. I do like Tommy's ability to build stuff out of seemingly nothing; I think I might just do that. In regards to the legendary wild girl, I think it will be just another mystery of the Safari Zone. Thanks for reading.
WolfTamermaster - Thank you so much, I'm glad to hear it. There will definitely more Pokemon joining the team that will, hopefully, wrangle them up alongside Cleo. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
Coolguy001 - Hmm, maybe. Flo or Alice could get a caterpie of their own in the future.
SkullGreymonX - Thanks so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I don't recall Manitari being the central character of a chapter before, other than her debut, so I thought I could flesh out her character more and make her evolve. I believe she's the first Pokemon in Flo's team to evolve which is quite something. Making Flo go insane was much more fun than I was expecting, especially with the German Suplex gag. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
Guest2 - Thank you, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it. I need to involve Dorothy and Marina more often and see what sort of shenanigans they can get into, much to Charles' and Ruth's concern. I hope you enjoy the next chapter just as much. Thanks for reading.
Kunoichi69 - Thank so much. I don't think I've done a chapter that focused solely on Flo's team so it was fun to write how they work and interact with each other; especially with the newer additions. Alette and Manitari will continue to grow and work together to ensure that Flo will become the best Pokemon doctor in Kanto. The wild pink haired girl, I admit, was a little odd. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
Sonic07 - It was quite an ordeal for Flo…perhaps it's for the best that she couldn't remember anything. Alice's adventure is going to be a little different from the last two chapters; it will start out the same, but it's going to mainly focus on her and Charles' relationship. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Guest - Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't see it at first.
pokemonking0924 - Thanks so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I thought it was time for Flo's team to properly shine; it has been a while since I mentioned any of them other than Alette. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter just as much.
FanSuperAnime - Thank you, this one will be focused on Alice and Charles' friendship. Hope you'll enjoy it.
FartNinja - That sounds amazing. I can't wait to write a chapter which focuses on them. Thanks for reading.
wellintonlucas282 - No problem, I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
SMG4 Fan - Thank you so much for the recommendations. I'll be sure to add it to the list at the end of the chapter.
VampireDuke - [waves arms to keep you away from biting me] Alright! Alright! I'll write it! Please stop!
Greedycrooge - From my experience playing the games, golden nuggets are not very rare, but I thought it would be funny if Tommy happened to come across one. I was planning a running gag for him to continue to find other treasures like pearls and crystals and other things, but I scrapped it at the last moment. I think Flo would have been delighted, as you said, at first before she realised that they're in the middle of a jungle with no shops around. Thanks for reading.
Guest - [Theme to the X-Files starts playing] [Gentle Gasp]
Thank you all for reviewing :)
Chapter 39: Mimeophobia
It was another beautiful morning in the Safari Zone and the team were having breakfast at their usual campsite...just like it was in the last two chapters. The Pokemon ate their meals nearby; Charles was busy feeding Marina on his lap; Flo was reading a book with Alette and Alice was busily knitting something whilst she hummed to herself. Her sister was the one who taught her how to knit and, after some years of practise and guidance, considered herself quite good at it, although she didn't want to brag about it. Up until a few days ago, she had kept it and her drawing skills a secret from the others, but, after some reassurance from Charles when he discovered her journal keeping, she gradually began doing it more and more in front of them.
After all, they are her best friends. She didn't need to worry about gaining their trust.
She glanced up at the sound of confused squeaking and saw Oracle and Ambush at their bowls of pokefood. The venonat narrowed her large round eyes at the bowl before her as if she was challenging it to a battle before she reached forwards to take a bite of it, but before she could, the tangela would mischievously giggle and push the bowl away with one of his vines, making her bite nothing but air. Oracle chirped in surprise as seeing the bowl disappear before her, squint at her surrounding area before she spotted where the bowl had gone before taking another bite from it; only for Ambush to move is away from her again. Alice watched on with a dead panned expression as the joke continued over and over again before she sighed and looked down at Apollo beside her seat.
"Apollo," she said, making his ears perk up in attention, "Teach Ambush why you shouldn't mess with other Pokemon's food."
("Of course, master,") he sternly agreed before he snarled and ran towards Ambush whilst barking.
("Huh?") Ambush uttered in surprise before he saw Apollo sprint towards him with his teeth bared. He yelped and ran away as fast as his little legs could take him, ("It's just a prank! IT'S JUST A PRANK!") he cried as he fled.
Oracle hummed curiously at what happened before spotting her food bowl and hopping to it, ("Oh, there you are. I've been searching for this everywhere.")
Alice gave a small giggle before she focused back on her knitting. However, it wasn't long until her attention was caught by a commotion from the Pokemon. She saw Tomoe and Halcyon squawk and yip at each other in a fierce argument while Wildfire and Tommy held the two back from each other; Azure and Ichigo seemed to have entered a glare off while Benny was aggressively staring behind him at Hoss. She could clearly see the tension within the Pokemon group and Charles was troubled by it.
"We really need to do something about this," he sighed, "The Pokemon are at each other's throats."
Alice nodded in agreement and looked back down at her knitting, "I know what you mean. I think it's because we've had so many new members join in such a short space of time. They haven't got used to their habits and differences yet."
"It was never a problem before," Flo pointed out, "We had a lot of new members join at the same time back then; what's so different now."
Charles rubbed his face tiredly, "It's because Cleo would keep them in line. I can't exactly return her every time a new member join. She's already got her paws full at the Corral."
"Well, whatever you need to do, you need to do it quick. Otherwise, things will get a lot worse," Alice hummed in concern.
"I think the problem is that the newbies are being introduced to too many others without much connection beforehand," Flo told Charles, "Why don't you take your team somewhere for a day. Go on a hike, do some training, maybe some team building exercises. If you can build a bond between all of them then things will improve."
Charles seemed to brighten up by this "That sounds great and I know exactly where we can go," he happily said before standing to his feet, "Everyone can I have you attention please-"
While Charles was addressing his Pokemon, Flo turned to Alice with a small smile.
"Looks like we're doing our own thing today. My Pokemon and I are going scavenging; what about you?" she asked.
"I might do some exploring eastwards after I finish this last part," she told her as she hinted to her knitting, "I'll leave Apollo behind to look after the camp."
Flo raised a curious eyebrow, "What are you knitting anyway?"
"It's a secret. You'll see soon enough," she told her with an exited grin, 'Charles would be so happy when I finished this. It took me a while to get the measurements exact, but it'll be worth it,' she thought before her knitting began to wiggle and twist suddenly in her lap, "What the?"
She was surprised to see a cute baby kangaskhan head pop out one of the sleeves of the knitting and blinked up at Alice before she squeaked happily.
"Aww, you're so cute," she cooed as she stroked her little head.
("Oh yeah! Check this out bros!") she looked up to see Atlas was doing his bodybuilder poses once again in front of everyone and clearly not picking up the tone of the situation, ("I call this one 'The Destruction'! Oh yeah!") he yelled as he flexed his hard muscles covered in sweat.
Alice gave him a dead panned look before she looked down at the tiny baby kangaskhan, "Note to self...next Pokemon I catch has to be a cute one."
The Jungle
Not too long later, Alice and some of her team was trekking through the thick wilderness through the eastern part of the Safari Zone. Apollo was left behind to look after the camp while Ruby remained in her pokeball as travelling overland was difficult for her; Ambush and Tomoe were taking the lead as they used their vines and leek respectively to clear a path while Atlas carried Alice on one shoulder while Oracle sat on his other one. Alice hummed to herself as she looked down at her map and compass, scouting the area for anywhere interesting before she looked towards the venonat.
"How are we doing, Oracle?" she asked her.
The Pokemon used her radar vision before she turned back to her, ("I sense something two miles away up ahead,") she chirped, before she hopped twice.
Alice counted how many hops before she nodded in understanding, "Two miles. I see," she said before she marked it down on her map, "I say we'll get there in just under an hour," she said before looking down at the machoke, "How are you holding up, Atlas? Are you sure you don't mind carrying me?"
("No way, bro!") Atlas happily replied, giving her a thumbs up, ("I don't mind pulling my weight here. And that goes for all of my bros!")
("We do not recall becoming brethren,") Tomoe said with a sweat drop, ("But we thank thee, noble Atlas.")
Ambush shook his head, ("He's way too friendly.")
("Aww thanks tangela bro,") Atlas gratefully said, ("Besides, if I carry you around, bro, I can get in some weight training.")
He gulped in fear suddenly when Alice's eyes turned dark, "What was that about my weight?"
("N-no offence, bro,") he uttered with a nervous grin.
("How did she know what he said?") Ambush asked in confusion.
Suddenly, Atlas yelped as his foot hit a large tree root that he didn't see; he tripped over forwards, but managed to catch himself at the last moment. However, Alice and Oracle were also flung forwards; the young Officer Jenny managed to hold onto his neck and catch the venonat before she could hit the ground, but she unable to hold onto her rucksack which tipped over. Alice gasped as she watched her incomplete knitting fall out of her rucksack and fall towards a muddy puddle below them.
"Oh no!" she yelled, "Somebody catch it!"
Tomoe and Ambush were too far ahead and Atlas was too busy trying to get them back on his shoulders; Alice could do nothing, but watch as all the hard work was about to completely ruined...
...until it stopped in mid-air.
"Huh?" she and the other Pokemon gasped, blinking in confusion as they saw it seem to float in the air just above the puddle.
The knitting rose up and began to swoop and soar around them, performing loops and twists in the air like a kite. Alice and the Pokemon could do nothing, but stare in absolute amazement.
"What on earth," Alice uttered.
("What sorcery is this, forsooth?")
("Is it haunted by a Ghost type Pokemon or something?")
("G-ghost,") Atlas uttered in fear, ("I'm afraid of ghosts.")
("What? What's happening?") Oracle said as she squinted at the knitting.
Looking closely, Alice saw a pinkish purple aura surround it, making her eyes widen in realisation, "It's a Psychic type move."
Suddenly, something jumped out of the bushes, waving his hands in the air as if it was controlling the knitting, ("Round and round and round it goes. Where will it go, nobody knows! Ho Ha Ha!")
They looked over at the strange-looking creature. It was a bipedal, humanoid Pokemon with round white torso with a pink dot on its belly and four spheres which connect two skinny arms and two legs to it. At the end of each arm were two white glove-like hands with pink circles on the finger tips and it had two blue feet that were shaped liked pointed shoes. On top of its round body was a round head with two round eyes, pink circles on each cheek, a wide mouth and two blue jagged horns growing out of the top. The Pokemon laughed happily as he continued to play with the knitting whilst dancing merrily as he did.
("Loop-de-loop and thread the needle! Sore like a pidgey and wiggle like weedle!") he chuckled as he did a back flip
Alice giggle at the sight, "Wow! He's really funny," she commented.
("Quit a jovial display, we do declare,") Tomoe agreed, a small smile breaking out on her lips.
Atlas flexed his muscles, ("Nice skills, bro!")
"Alright, alright, Mr. Mime. You've had your fun," said a new voice, coming out of the jungle, "Give it back to her."
Coming out of the bushes from where the Pokemon had come from was a pretty woman in her mid-twenties with straight black hair, fair skin and green eyes. She was currently wearing a red and black magician's outfit with a top hat and white gloves. She gave Alice a bright dazzling smile and placed her hands on her hips as she looked towards the Pokemon.
("Ho Ho Ho! Hee Hee! As you wish, my lady!") the newly named Mr. Mime said as he floated the knitting towards Alice who took it off him.
"T-thank you," Alice said gratefully before she turned back to the woman, "Your Pokemon really saved me hours of hard work. How can I ever thank you."
The woman waved her hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. We're just lucky to be in the area," she told her, "My name is Betty and this is one of my Mr. Mime in my troupe."
("Greetings and salutations! Hee Hee! Hey Hey!") Mr. Mime greeted with a cheery wave.
"Mr. Mime?" Alice hummed before she took out her own pocket book of Pokemon and flicked through it, "M..M...M...Ah! Here it is! Mr. Mime, a Psychic and Fairy type, Always practices its pantomime act. It makes enemies believe something exists that really doesn't," she read out loud, "Huh? That's interesting. My name is Alice and these are my Pokemon," she introduced herself, "Are you its trainer?"
"Sort of, I guess," Betty replied, "But I'm actually a breeder who specialise in Mr. Mime and its evolution line."
"Why...are you dressed like a magician?"
"Well, I also do some performances on the side," she explained as they watched the Pokemon began to do tricks of Alice's Pokemon, much to their amusement, "I travel with a circus trope all across Kanto and put on performances with my Mr. Mime. We got special permission from the Safari Zone rangers to practise here since they isn't a lot of space outside the zone. We use their performances to show off how skilled they are. I raise them, train them to use their powers and then, if somebody is interested in having one, then I trade them. Of course, I make sure they are going to a proper trainer who will treat them well."
"So, you raise them for other trainers?"
"Trainers, other circus troupes, builders, transporters, you name it. They are powerful Psychic Pokemon and can adapt to a number of jobs, projects and battles. I'm pretty sure I raised some Mr. Mime for the police force as well."
"Y-you have?" Alice asked in surprise.
"Of course," Betty answered with a grin, "Catching criminals becomes much easier when you can trap them with a force field box. They are also very loyal to their trainers…mischievous at times, but still loyal."
Alice looked back at the Mr. Mime curiously and saw it playing with the other Pokemon; she hummed thoughtfully, 'I like the sound of their Pokemon. All of the others are great at physical attacks, but they not effective against Ghost or other Psychic types. Maybe getting a Mr. Mime would balance it out.'
Before she could ponder any further, Betty patted her shoulder before pointing back in the direction that she and the Pokemon had come from.
"Hey, you know what, we're doing some training for a new performance we're going to do this evening. Do you want to watch? We would really appreciate a spectator's opinion of it before we show it off," she offered.
Alice's face lit up in joy, "That sounds great. We would love to."
"Great then follow us and we'll introduce you to the rest of troupe," Betty chirped.
Meanwhile, over with the other Pokemon, Mr. Mime was showing off some of his miming skills, much to their enjoyment.
("Ho! He! He! Guess who I am!") before he stood up straight, adopted a serious expression and held up his hand as if he was holding up a stick, ("We bid thee good battle, dear sir. Mine leek is as strongly as any blade.")
Ambush and Oracle howled with laughter while Tomoe squawked in offence and shook her leek at him.
("Surely, thou art not mocketh mineself!") she cried out.
("Surely, thou art not mocketh mineself!") the Mr. Mime repeated.
("I say! Stop repeateth mine actions!")
("I say! Stop repeateth mine actions!")
("I say desist!")
("I say desist!")
("Hahahaha!") Ambush laughed uncontrollably, ("He sounds exactly like you!")
Oracle giggled in amusement, ("He really does.")
("He does not!") Tomoe yelled at them before she looked up at Atlas, ("Atlas, thou agreeth with mineself, does thou not!?")
Atlas, however, were looking at the two of them in absolute wonder, ("Whoa dude. I totally have no clue who is who,") he uttered in disbelief.
("WE LOOKETH NOTHING ALIKE!")
("WE LOOKETH NOTHING ALIKE!")
Jungle Clearing
Not too far away from where they had been, Alice, Tomoe, Atlas, Ambush and Oracle were sat down on the grass and watched fourteen Mr. Mime perform a number of tricks and acts as Betty instructed, much to their delight. They did spectacular juggling acts, great feats of acrobatics, perilous knife throwing and a many other performances; three of the Mr. Mime put on a funny skit that made them roll in laughter. However, now was the grand finale and they waited in anticipation.
"And now the moment you have all been waiting for!" Betty announced with a flourish of her hand, "the death-defying, incredible, amazing trapeze act!" she declared before she turned to them in a quieter tone, "This is the moment we would ask for a volunteer from the audience. I would ask you, Alice, but health and safety regulations say that we can only do that in more secure locations."
Alice shrugged, "Fair enough."
"Thanks for understanding... and be prepared for the spectacular performance!" she announced as they all turned to three Mr. Mime in the middle of the clearing.
One was standing with their knees slightly bent and his arms closed to his chest while the other two were standing on an invisible podium behind him. The two Pokemon wrapped one arm around each other shoulders and nodded at each other before they jumped off the podium at the same time and landed behind the first Mr. Mime. The Pokemon was suddenly launched into the air as if he was thrown upwards by a seesaw and sailed through the air with his arms outstretched before his legs were caught by a chain of Mr. Mime that was hanging in the air by an invisible hook; they swung the acrobat underneath them before another chain of Mr. Mime, also hanging in the air, caught him and swung him under them as well. As soon as the acrobat was ready, he let go of the chain of Mr. Mime, performed a flip in the air before landing on a pyramid of Mr. Mime that was ready to catch him; as soon as he landed successfully, the Mr. Mime all raised their arms in the air victoriously. Alice and her Pokemon stood to their feet and applauded the performers energetically; they had never seen such an amazing feat before.
"Woo! That was brilliant!" she cried out, "You guys are amazing!"
("Thank you!") the fourteen Mr. Mime replied at the same time with a grin.
Oracle leaned over to Ambush with a sweat drop, ("They're...a little creepy.")
("Oh yeah, definitely,") the tangela agreed.
Betty laughed and clapped her hands, "Okay guys, that's a wrap for today. Take it easy for tonight's performance," she told them before the Mr. Mime went off to relax for a while. She then turned towards Alice and offered her a smile, "Well, I was going to ask what you thought...but it looks seems like you guys liked it."
"Liked it? It was amazing!" Alice gushed, "I wish I could watch it all again."
"Well, why don't you," Betty said, much to her surprise, "I can get you guys in for free for tonight's show. They'll be plenty of different acts other than our show. Just leave through the eastern gate and the circus will be right there. I'll be at the gates to welcome you."
"Can my friends come as well?"
"Sure, why not."
"Alright!" Alice chirped with a grin before her eyes landed on the Mr. Mime taking a break in a nearby fields, "Err...Betty. Would you mind if I ask you some questions on the Mr. Mime?"
"Aha!" the ringleader declared, "You interested in having one for yourself?"
"Well, I guess I am," she admitted sheepishly, "They are kinda awesome and I know they would be a great part of my team. It would be awesome if you can tell me all about it back at our camp. We can make you guys lunch."
The promise of food made Betty's and the Mr. Mime troupe's eyes light up happily.
"Well, if you insist," Betty laughed before she turned back to the troupe, "Alright, guys we're heading out."
Camp
("...stop that at once! Those utensils are used for cooking; not juggling equipment! Do not do handstands on master's tents! Hey! You! Put that table down! You can cause an accident like that!") Apollo barked madly at the troupe of Mr. Mime with little success; ever since they had arrived, the Pokemon began to rummage, play and cause mayhem; fair to say that Apollo was not a big of this, ("You there! Don't think I didn't see that! You are guests in this camp! Get down from that tree! Do not pull faces at me!") he ordered as he ran all over the place.
Alice and Betty were sat down on their camping chairs and watched in some amusement of it all.
"I'm sorry about them," Betty apologised with a nervous grin, "They can be quite the hassle."
"It's fine," Alice said before she called out to her Pokemon, "Apollo, stand down. They're just having fun, that's all."
The growlithe wined, ("But master...")
"You've done an amazing job protecting the camp," she told him, "I promise extra food and belly rubs later."
Apollo's tail began to wag, ("Really!?") he gasped before he cleared his throat and hid his excitement, ("Very well. I'll stand down for now. But don't you lot think I won't be keeping an eye on things!")
("But don't you lot think I won't be keeping an eye on things!") the Mr. Mime imitated back, making the growlithe growl in annoyance.
("Do it for the belly rubs. Just do it for the belly rubs,") he muttered to himself as he took a seat next to Alice's chair.
Alice reached down and scratched his head with a small chuckle, "My friends should be back any time now. And then we can have lunch. Sorry about the wait."
"It's no problem at all," she replied with a wave of her hand, "Let me guess, they've banned you from cooking all by yourself, huh?" she joked lightly, "Are they worried about you staring a forest fire or something? Haha!"
"...haha...yeah...something like that," she muttered with nervous grin.
They heard footsteps coming towards them; they turned around and saw Flo coming out of the forest. Alice stood up and greeted her with a wave.
"Hey, Flo, how's it going?" she asked before she noticed the mud of her face and the twigs and leaves sticking out of her hair, "W-what happened to you?"
Flo sighed, "Honestly...no idea. It was a whole complicated mess," she said before she looked towards the camp, "Alice...can't help but notice that our camp is...infested with Mr. Mime."
"Oh right. They're with Betty," Alice explained as the older woman waved towards her from her chair, "We bumped into each other this morning and I invited them all back for lunch," she glanced at her appearance, "Are...you alright to make lunch?"
"Well, it's either you or we wait for Charles...and I think we both know that it's better to wait."
Alice bowed her head miserably, "You don't have to keep bringing it up."
Flo gave her an amused smile before it was wiped off her face as soon as she remembered something, "Oh Arceus! Charles!" she uttered in panic, "Alice, the Mr. Mime need to leave right now."
"Huh? What why? They just got here," she asked in confusion.
"Look, I don't mind them at all, but you need to get them to leave," she grabbed her shoulders and hissed urgently, "They can't be here when Charles gets back here."
Alice was slightly taken aback by this; she would have thought Charles would have loved to meet new Pokemon. However, before she could inquire further, they heard a rustling in the bushes behind them, causing Flo to gasp.
"Oh no, he's already here," she uttered before she ran off in the direction he was coming from.
Alice blinked in confusion before she ran after them. They didn't have to go far before they saw Charles, with Benny on his shoulder, trudged through the thick bushes whilst he happily hummed to himself. Flo sprinted over to him and immediately got in his path, spreading her arms out to the sides.
"Charles! Benny! How you guys doing!?"
The trainer and Pokemon were surprised by her appearance, "We're fine. What happened to you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine...err...you know what, I completely forgot something. Do you mind going back in to the forest to forage for some...mushrooms. I was thinking of making omelettes for lunch."
Charles raised a single eyebrow, "I thought we picked some yesterday?"
"Err...whoops...silly me... I accidently dropped them all...into a lake. I guess we have to get some more."
"Can't we just make something else? We're quite tired, you see?" he asked, earning a nod from Benny in agreement.
Flo gulped, "Err...well..."
"Flo, what's wrong?" he asked in concern, "You look as if you seen a ghastly. Are you sure you're not injured?"
By that time, Alice had walked up to them and gave Flo an odd look, "I'm wondering the same thing," she said, "Hi Charles, hi Benny. How did the team building trip go?"
"Not too bad...we hit a few snags on the way, but it turned out alright," he told her.
"Oh really?" Flo said as she began to nervously play with her hair ringlet, "Tell us more...in detail."
Alice sighed in frustration, "Flo, for crying out loud, what's wrong? Ever since I told you about the Mr. Mime, you have been acting-"
"WHAT!?"
To their surprise, Charles yelped suddenly and jumped about a meter in the air. He staggered back and snapped his head around as if he was looking for something.
"MR. MIME!? WHERE!? WHERE!?" he cried out as his face turned deathly pale.
Alice blinked in confusion while Flo hung her head in defeat. Charles began to shake in fear and only calmed down once Benny began to stroke the side of his head to calm him down.
("Hey, it's fine. It's fine. There are no Mr. Mime here. You have nothing to be scared about. They were only talking about it,") he reassured him in calm tone.
Eventually, Charles did relax and took a deep breath, "Oh what a relief," he sighed, "I honestly thought there was a Mr. Mime here. I almost lost my cool there."
("Did somebody say, Mr. Mime?") a new voice chuckled before the clown Pokemon jumped out of the bushes in front of Charles, ("Hey, hey kids! Do you like to have some fun!? Ho ho ho!") he cackled as he danced on the spot.
The colour drained from Charles' face, his eyes widened in their eye sockets and his jaw dropped as if was giving a silent scream. Alice still looked as confused as ever, but Flo and Benny flinched at the sight of the Pokemon before they looked towards Charles with a nervous expression.
...
...
...
...
("Huh...what do you know. There is a Mr. Mime,") Benny sheepishly chuckled.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Charles' fearful shouts rang out across the Safari Zone; bird Pokemon flew away in surprise, Grass Pokemon darted to their burrows in terror, and some nearby trainers, who just happened to be walking by, were so scared that they fled as fast as they can. They would later on tell tales of that petrifying scream to other trainers and bring about a new legendary monster who lived in the Safari Zone...but that's a story for another time.
The trainer fell onto his back and scrambled as far back as he could before his back hit a tree, "W-what is that...P-Pokemon doing here!?" he yelped fearfully, "GO AWAY! GET OUT OF OUR CAMP! YOU CREEPY POKEMON!"
Alice frowned in confusion, "Charles, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong!? That's what's wrong!" he cried out, pointing at the Mr. Mime, "Get away from him. That is the most dangerous Pokemon we will ever meet!"
She wordlessly blinked at him before her eyes shifted to the Mr. Mime, who was harmlessly pretending to be stuck in an invisible box, "Dangerous?" she muttered in confusion.
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Flo sighed as she shook her head, "We can't bring a Mr. Mime back to the camp...because Charles is deathly afraid of them."
...
...
...
"No seriously. What's going on," Alice deadpanned.
She couldn't really wrap her head around it.
"I'm telling you the truth!" she yelled at her before she sighed, "As long as we've been friends back in Pallet Town; Charles has had a phobia of Mr. Mime. It has got to the point that he has never gone to the circus before. Why do you think we never go to a McDougal's fast food restaurant whenever we go into town?
"I just assumed you guys were against them using toys to advertise young kids to eat unhealthily."
"No...well, I guess that as well. But it's mainly because of their mascot Rougal McDougal the Mr. Mime."
"See, Mr. Mime are an advocate for childhood obesity!" Charles called out from the background.
"But what's wrong with them?" Alice asked as she looked down at the Pokemon in question, "They seem pretty harmless to me."
Charles hugged Benny to his chest and glared at the Mr. Mime, "What isn't wrong with them. They're creepy, have weird voices that send shivers down my spine, their actions are unpredictable and make me uncomfortable, they constantly smile and give off no other emotion. Even talking to them makes me," he shivered in disgust, "Arceus, I hate them so much. Can one of you find me a long...very long stick so I could shoo him away before he can find our camp."
"Hey now. You can't chase him away. Betty would get angry if you did that," Alice told him.
Charles blinked up at her, "Who's...Betty."
"Betty. She's the Mr. Mime breeder. I invited her and her troupe over for lunch..."
...
...
...
...
"...I...probably shouldn't have said that."
"You idiot," Flo and Benny sighed.
Charles staggered to his feet, pushed past them and sprinted towards the camp; as soon as he saw the Mr. Mime infestation, his jaw dropped at the colour drained from his face. Mr. Mime; a Pokemon he had tried his best to avoid for all these years, a whole troupe of them were now running about his camp recklessly. He looked to his left and saw three of them playing a game of catch; he looked to his right and saw two of them dancing on the table while a group applauded and cheered; he looked straight ahead and saw one sipping water out of his favourite mug. He gulped in fear as sweat poured down his face.
This is an absolute nightmare for him.
Betty looked from her chair and gave him a friendly wave, "Oh hi there. Did you hear that scream earlier? I wonder what it was?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Charles gave another bone-chilling scream and jumped up into the nearest tree and climbed into the branches as quick flash, making sure to go up as far as he could.
"…oh…mystery solved, I guess," Betty muttered with a sweat drop.
Alice, Flo and Benny ran back to the camp and looked up at the tree Charles was hiding in
("Oh not again,") Benny sighed, ("Charles, it's fine. They are not going to hurt you. Mr. Mime are supposed to be funny.")
"There is nothing funny about them," his brother called back down, hugging the trunk like a komala, "Tell them to leave immediately…and then destroy that mug humanly."
Flo frowned and placed her hands on her hips, "Don't be rude. They are not that bad. Come on down and we'll have lunch."
"I'm not hungry and I'm coming down until they leave. Mr. Mime are the worst Pokemon to ever exist; I can't stand their creepy faces and their horrible voices. I wish they would just get away."
Alice felt her heart drop as she heard that; a feeling of dread and sadness filling her soul. She had never seen him react to something like this and she was finding it hard to believe that this was the same person who was a friend to all Pokemon. As she frowned sadly and turned her head away, Betty walked up beside her and raised a slightly annoyed eyebrow.
"I take it that we're not welcome here," she sighed.
Alice gave her a sheepish smile, "Oh no, no, no. That's not what he means."
"Alice's right!" Charles called down from the tree.
"See."
"You can stay. The Mr. Mime cannot."
The young Officer Jenny growled up at him, "Charles!"
"It's fine. It's fine," Betty sighed before she turned to her troupe, "Alright, you lot, let's go."
"Huh?" Alice uttered in confusion as the Mr. Mime troupe and Betty began to take their leave, "Wait, hold on. We hadn't even had lunch yet," she told them, "Come on. Please stay."
Betty turned back and offered her a reassuring smile, "It's fine, mimeophobia is much common than you think," she told her, "Thanks for the offer, but we wouldn't want to impose any longer," she said before turning back, "If you still want to come to the show tonight than you're still welcome," she said before she and the troupe disappeared into the bushes.
Alice groaned in despair before she heard Charles climb down from the tree and stood beside her. The trainer wiped the nervous sweat of his forehead and sighed in relief.
"Phew! They're gone. I can relax now," he said before he noticed the angry glare his friend was giving him, "was…was I a little rude there?" he asked nervously.
"Yeah," she growled through gritted teeth, "Yeah, you were. What on earth did you think you were doing. You totally embarrassed me in front of her and all the Mr. Mime and acted like a complete jerk."
"She's right, you know," Flo agreed as she, with Benny on her ship, stepped up beside them, "we really need to sort out this problem of yours, Charles. It's becoming a massive problem. What happens if you face an opponent with a Mr. Mime? You really want to ruin your streak."
"Of course, I don't," he told her, "And I didn't mean to be a jerk. I'm sorry Alice, but Mr. Mime…" he shivered in horror, "…they're so creepy. I just really don't like them. Pokemon are supposed to be cute creatures, but Mr. Mime look like a human trying to dress up as a Pokemon," he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do if either of you captured a Mr. Mime. I probably die from the stress," he joked.
….
….
….
….
Charles slowly turned his head to a deadpan Alice and grimaced, "You…you were hoping to capture one, weren't you?"
"Yes," she hissed.
"That's why you invited them here."
"Yes."
"…I'm really am being a jerk today, aren't I?"
"Yes."
After an awkwardly silent lunch, Charles guiltily was sat in a chair while Alice impatiently paced back and forth in front of him. Eventually, after what felt like hours, she stopped and turned to him.
"I'm not angry," she told him, "...well, I'm a little angry at your behaviour, but I'm not angry at the fact that you have your fears and phobias."
"That's good to know," he remarked.
"But are you seriously against me capturing a Mr. Mime? Do you know how useful they could be to my team."
Charles shook his head, "I'm sorry Alice, but I just can't bare being around one of them. Even if you kept it in a pokeball all of the time, I would still know about it and it will bother me."
"But Charles, this is really important to me."
"Does it have to be that Psychic time? I can recommend an abra or a kadabra or an alakazam or a slowpoke or a slowbro, slowking, drowzee, hypno, exeggcute, exeggutor, starmie, jynx, natu, xatu, esperon, wobbuffet or literally any other Psychic type other than Mr. Mime."
Alice raised a single eyebrow, "Thanks for the list, but no. I have my heart set on a Mr. Mime. Is there a way you can...I don't know, overcome your fear."
"You wanted to help Misty get over her fear of gyarados," Flo piped up from her tent while Benny sat next to her, "Why don't we help you get over your fear of Mr. Mime?"
"Oh, but that's different."
("How come?") Benny asked.
"Because all gyarados, especially my Mystique, are beautiful, wonderful Pokemon who wouldn't hurt anybody," he said sincerely, "While Mr. Mime are the stuff of nightmares."
("You're way past bias; that is pure prejudice!")
Alice sighed tiredly, "What is your deal with them? This fear has to come from somewhere."
"Err...well," he uttered as he rubbed the side of his face, "It kind of started..."
"Wait! Wait!" Flo cried out as she jumped to her feet, "We can do it like a therapy session just like in my books. Wait right there," she said before she started to rearrange the chairs around them.
"Actually, I was just about to tell-"
Before he could finish, however, Flo had pushed him down so he could lie across three camping stools as if it was a chaise lounge before she took another stool and sat beside his head; she now was wearing a pair of thick glasses and had a clipboard in her hands that she got from somewhere.
"Tell me," she said in a serious tone, "How do you feel?"
"I feel as if this wasn't how I expected my evening to go," Charles muttered with a raised eyebrow.
"Hmm, very good," Flo said, jotting it down on her clipboard, "Now, Charles, tell us how you encountered your first Mr. Mime."
Charles sighed wearily, "It was a few days before my fourth birthday and I was watching a live Pokemon battle on T.V back at Oak's lab. Benny hadn't hatched yet, so he wouldn't have remembered this..." he told them.
-Flashback Six Years Ago-
Living Room, Oak's Lab
A very young Charles was sat in front of the T.V with a pichu egg in his lap; his eyes were glued to the screen as he watched two of the Elite Four, who were a quartet of the best Pokemon battlers in the region, battle each other. It was an exciting match and Charles grinned eagerly as he hugged the egg to his chest; from the doorway, Blissey poked her head through and smiled happily.
("Sweetheart, not too close now. You'll strain your eyes like that,") she warned him.
"Okay, mama," he called back, his eyes not leaving the screen for a second.
Blissey giggled and left to make his and Professor Oak's dinner for tonight. Charles glanced over his shoulder to see if she was gone before he shuffled closer to the T.V, his excitement building up inside him as the battel was beginning to reach its climax. However, as he leaned closer, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and kneeled on the remote control underneath him; his nose was almost touching the screen when suddenly...he accidently switched the channels and Charles was suddenly confronted by the sight of a Mr. Mime right in his face.
("SURPRISE!") the Mr. Mime yelled, causing him to scream and leap back as far as he could, ("I'm Rougal McDougal and I have exciting new meals deals down at McDougal's family restaurant!") the Pokemon advertised as he danced on the screen, ("So come on down now! HO HO HE HE!") he cackled, much to Charles' horror.
Before the advert could continue, however, a pink blur zoomed in the room and slammed their stumpy arm onto the T.V smashing it to pieces in one strike. Blissey stared darkly at the broken T.V as if it had personally tried to hurt Charles and the egg and snarled down at it.
("How dare you scare my baby,") she hissed before she sweetly looked back at Charles, ("Don't worry, sweetheart. It won't harm you anymore.")
Charles gulped in fear and shivered; the Mr. Mime's face was imprinted on his mind; it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Blissey, I heard a noise," Professor Oak said as he walked into the living room, "Did something happe-AH! MY TELEVISION!"
- Flashback End -
Camp
"That wasn't the only time," he told them, "There was also that time when Flo and I were walking back from school..."
-Flashback Four Years Ago -
Pallet Town
A six year old Charles and Flo, with Benny who had hatched into a pichu riding in Charles' pocket, were walking down the pleasant lanes of Pallet Town; the school day had just ended and they taking the scenic route back to Flo's house not too far away. The two children were holdings hands while they walked and, while Charles seemed a little confused by it, Flo was more than happy with it.
"Err...Flo," he hesitantly started, "Do we have to hold hands?"
Flo blushed and looked away, "Of course, we do. You might get lost on the way there and we can't have that."
Charles and Benny looked around their surroundings and wondered to themselves how that would be possible considering they're on a country lane between two open fields, but shrugged nonetheless.
- Flashback End -
At that part of the story, Alice and Benny gave Flo a deadpanned look. Flo blushed at the inquisitive looks before she cleared her throat.
"And...how did you feel about holding hands at the time?" she asked before Alice swatted her shoulder, "Ow! Okay fine! Carry on, Charles," she muttered bitterly.
-Flashback Four Years Ago -
Pallet Town
The three were travelling down the country lane when suddenly a Mr. Mime jumped into their path and began to perform a merry dance before them. Flo and Benny gasped before they broke into laughter, although Charles remained silent and wearily watched the Mr. Mime. The Pokemon twirled around on one foot before he reached out with his hands and began to wiggle his fingers. Suddenly, much to their surprise, Benny began to levitate out of his breast pocket and began to float in the air, making him giggle as the Mr. Mime used his psychic powers on him. However, Charles, seeing his little brother being taken away from him, made him panic and reach out to grab him.
"Hey! Give him back!" he cried as he jumped and failed to grab onto him, "Give him back now!"
"Charles," Flo called to him, "He's only playing with him. He won't harm Benny."
However, Charles ignored her and charged at the Mr. Mime to demand to release his brother. But before he could reach him, Mr. Mime raised a hand and produced a wall in between them which he crashed into; he growled in anger and tried to back away, but found that there was another invisible wall behind him. He gasped in shock and reached out to his left and found another invisible wall; he reached out his right and found yet another invisible wall; he was complete boxed in a translucent prison.
"LET ME OUT!" he demanded as he pounded on the walls, "LET ME OUT NOW! PLEASE!"
However, the Mr. Mime, thinking it was all a game, continued to dance and sing around him as he levitated Benny in the air. The Mr. Mime would keep this up until Blissey turned up and knocked his lights out for trapping her sons.
- Flashback End -
("Funny how many of our childhood memories always end with mum beating somebody up,") Benny mused.
Charles shrugged, "I honestly think our entire childhood involved mum constantly beating others up," he hummed, "The last time I encountered a Mr. Mime, however, was by far the worst..."
- Flashback Two Years Ago -
Pallet Town
The storm clouds overheard were thick and dark, rain tumbled from the sky and the wind howled fiercely on one night a couple of years ago. Despite the weather, an eight year old Charles stepped out of the Pokemon lab in his bright yellow rain jacket and quickly jogged down the path towards the main road, but making sure not to slip on the way. Benny was currently in their room and resting after catching a cold; Charles would have stayed with him, but his brother insisted that they should do what they had already planned to do.
Once he reached the main road, he crouched down beside the side of the road to the small stream that ran alongside it before taking a yellow paper boat with the words 'SS Benny and Charles' written on the side and placed it on the stream; watching it as it sailed along the side of the road. He ran alongside it, jumping into the stream behind it and laughing as he went at seeing the paper boat work so well. Suddenly, he stopped when he almost ran into a road sign left on the side of the road and sighed in relief.
"Phew, that was close," he uttered to himself, "That would have ruined the mood if I crashed into that," he looked up and his eyes widened as he saw the paper boat continue to sail on down the street and, much to his horror, towards a sewer drain, "NO!" he cried as he ran towards it.
He sprinted as fast as he could, but it was too late; the paper boat dropped into the dark sewer drain, sinking into the darkness as if it had swallowed it. Charles ran up to it, crouched down and stared into the dark, foreboding drain as the storm continued to boom overhead; he sighed miserably before he shrugged.
"Ah well, I guess I'll make another one," he said.
He was about to get up when suddenly; a raspy, cold voice called out to him.
("Hiya boy.")
Charles' blood ran cold at the voice; a chill ran down his spine. He turned to look down and saw two glowing eyes out of the darkness of the sewer drain, burning like embers in the darkness. Then, out of the shadows, the face of a Mr. Mime stepped out of the shadows and leered up through the drain with a menacing smile on its round face. The words got caught in Charles' throat and his muscles locked into place; he was unable to move, think or do anything to get away from the nightmare figure hidden in the darkness.
("What a nice boat,") the Mr. Mime softly said as he held the paper boat in his hand, ("Would you like it back?")
Charles screamed in terror, scrambled to his feet and sprinted all the way back to his home; getting as far away from the Pokemon as quickly as possible. The Mr. Mime frowned in confusion and tilted his head.
("Did...did he not want his boat back?")
- Flashback End -
Camp
Alice couldn't help but give Charles a deadpan look, "Really? A Mr. Mime in the sewer?"
"That actually did happen," Flo told her with an awkward smile, "Apparently, he was blown away by the storm and landed in the sewer system. It took them a while to get him out."
"Alright, that's enough," Charles sighed as he leaned off the stools, "Do you now see why I don't like Mr. Mime. They are unpredictable, terrifying and potentially powerful with their powers. There are no redeeming qualities to them, whatsoever. I'm sorry, Alice, but I just hate everything about them; from the tips of their pointed shoes the tips of their hair."
("You do realise those are horns, right?") Benny told him.
"They're horns!" Charles exclaimed in shock, "Arceus, now they're even scarier," he uttered before turning to Alice with a pleading look, "Please Alice, don't catch one."
She, in response, stood up and growled angrily, "Last time I checked, you are not my supervisor. I can choose whoever I want to be part of my team."
"I'm not telling you who you can have on your team," he replied equally as angrily, "I'm begging you not to choose a Mr. Mime. I wouldn't capture a Pokemon you didn't like."
"I wouldn't have minded, because it was your decision and I respect that. All I'm asking is the same thing from you. Is that too much to ask for!?" she shouted at him.
Flo stood up and stepped in between them, "Guys, that's enough."
"It is too much to ask for if it's the worst Pokemon ever to exist!" Charles shouted back, ignoring Flo's plea.
"Charles stop!"
"How can you be so arrogant! This is my team! I can accept who I want to be part of it!"
"Alice stop! For Arceus' sake!"
"YOU'RE MAKING A MISTAKE!"
"WELL, MAYBE IT WAS A MISTAKE JOINING YOU!"
Silence suddenly fell over the camp. Charles, Flo and Benny stared in shock at Alice, not believing what she just said. Alice seemed to be just as shocked as them, she turned her eyes to the ground, clamped her hands into fists and tightened her jaw.
"I'm not like you guys. You have been friends for years while I've only tagged along afterwards. I'm like the outcast of the team."
"T-that's not true," Charles stuttered, "We're best friends. We couldn't have gone this far without you."
"Yeah," Flo agreed, "You're only just saying that because you're upset. Look, maybe if we just talk about this-"
I will do anything to make them stronger," she turned "There's no point. He's not going to change his mind," Alice interrupted before she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, "I joined you guys, because I wanted to have an adventure with my friends...I honestly thought I was accepted and I was free to build up my team and see the world, but clearly I can't do that. Apollo, Ruby, Atlas, Tomoe, Oracle, Ambush...they are all important to me and around and headed out of the camp, "I'm going to watch Betty's performance and, after that, I'll capture a Mr. Mime whether you like it or not. If you don't then I'll just leave. If you are not going to accept who I want on my team then I might as well go out on my own without you! I don't need you controlling my life!" she shouted over her shoulder before she took off into the forest.
"Alice wait!" Flo called out to her, "Let's talk about this! Please!"
Once she saw she was gone, she turned back to Charles who was sitting back down on the stool with Benny on his lap. He stared down at the ground sadly and gave a tired sigh, his arms were crossed over his chest and his head bowed slightly. Flo frowned gloomily down at him while Benny reached up to stroke his cheek comfortingly. After a while of silence, Charles finally said something.
"Flo...Benny...can you do me a favour and go with Alice to the performance. I just don't want her to feel like she's alone right now," he said in a low voice.
"What about you?" Flo asked.
("You'll be all by yourself,") Benny told him.
He shook his head, "She really doesn't want to see me right now. You guys go on without me."
Flo and Benny shared a concerned look before the shiny pikachu jumped off his lap and landed on Flo's shoulder.
("You know where you to find us,") Benny told him.
"Are you sure you're going to be fine?" Flo asked.
Charles merely nodded, earning a worried hum from the young Nurse Joy before she took turned away and headed into the forest after Alice. Charles sighed and slumped further into his stool and wondered what to do next.
Evening steadily approached and Charles was sat all alone at the fold-up table with his head in his hands; he gave a bored sigh and looked up at the darkening sky and thought about what had happened earlier.
'… If you are not going to accept who I want on my team then I might as well go out on my own without you! I don't need you controlling my life!'
He frowned angrily and gave a frustrated sigh; that's not what he was trying to say at all. He may not want a Mr. Mime to come with them…but it didn't mean he wanted her to go. Why does she not understand how he felt.
He was brought of his thoughts when he heard a happy yapping noise; he turned his eyes down and was surprised to see Halcyon admiring himself in a hand mirror that Flo had lent him so he could groom himself. However, what surprised him was the fact that he was wearing…something. It covered his entire body with his tail, head and legs looking out of it; it was mainly brown, but there a white furry patch just where his chest would be. Charles raised an eyebrow at this, got out of his chair and walked up to the eevee.
"Halcyon, what are you wearing?" he asked as he crouched down to his height.
("Huh?") the eevee uttered before looking down at himself, ("Oh this. Your blue haired friend gave this to me. I was reluctant at first and wanted to tear it shreds, but…it's actually not too bad. The stitches are equally spaced out, there's a good ratio of brow to white and it covers up my bald patches,") he explained, ("There's nothing there to fix really. Can you thank her the next time we meet for me. It makes me look like a normal eevee.")
Charles smiled and gently stroked his head, "You are a normal eevee, Halcyon," he told him before thinking to himself, 'So, this is what Alice has been making for all this time. That's…that's really kind of her to care for my team like that,' he frowned as guilt began to weigh on him, 'while I haven't been kind at all to her and let my phobia get in the way of her journey,' he sighed in despair before he stood up and gave a look of determination, 'What am I doing? This isn't me. I am the trainer whose goal is to travel the world and meet every single Pokemon. Are Mr. Mime creepy? Of course they are. Do they still scare me? Definitely. But I will not let it get in the way of me and my friends' journey. I'm going to that circus and I'm going to make it up to her,' he declared boldly as he pumped his fist into the air.
("Ggggrrrrrr! Ggggrrrrr! Irritating!")
Charles looked down, rolled his eyes humorously and reached down so he could straighten the hand mirror for Halcyon.
"Better?"
("Much better. Thank you,") the eevee sighed in relief.
Circus, Outside The Safari Zone
Not too far away, fireworks soared and exploded in the night sky, illuminating the area in its temporary bright light and amusing the onlookers over the circus. There was a buzz of excitement and happiness that filled the air as people mingled amongst the game stalls, the attractions and the food vans; laughter roared throughout the enclosure, the sounds of bells rang out from the games being played. The most vibrant of the entire circus was, by far, the big top at the centre which showed a number of performances and events to the eager crowds. They were acrobats riding on top of rapidash, contortionists, tightrope walkers, magicians, but now it was coming to the big performance: The Mr. Mime Show.
Flo, Benny and Alice sat in the stalls that surrounded the walls of the big top; two of them were enjoying the show, but it was clear that Alice was not having fun at all. She would stare down at her feet miserably and completely ignore everything that has been going on. Flo and Benny looked over to her and saw her sigh sadly to herself.
"Not having fun?" Flo asked.
"I'm...just not in the mood for it today," she simply replied without looking up. Benny frowned slightly before he crawled into her lap and began tapping her cheek with his paw; Alice couldn't help, but crack a small smile and rub his cheeks, "Thanks Benny for trying to cheer me up..." she told him before she looked up, ",you don't think he's mad at me, do you?"
"Of course not," Flo told her, "I think he's more worried about losing a friend."
"Well, he shouldn't be acting like an idiot," she snapped before she sighed once more, "Why can't he just accept Mr. Mime?"
Flo shook her head at her, "You can't just tell people to get over it. For some people, they just can't help it and...well...there's really nothing we can do to solve it," she said, making Alice frown deeply, "Do you want me to buy you a tub of popcorn?" she asked hopefully.
"No, I'm not hungry..." she said before she looked up slightly, "...what flavours do they have?"
"Sweet or salted."
"Oh…is there a mixed option?"
"I'm sure the vendors can if you ask them to."
"Nah," Alice sighed, "They don't do it right. Buy me one of each flavour and I'll mix it together myself."
"I'm not buying you two tubs of popcorn!"
At that moment, Charles walked into the tent and looked around the area, trying to spot his friends in the audience. However, before he could find them, all the overhead lights snapped off except for one spotlight beaming down at the centre of the ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Can I have your attention!" proclaimed a familiar voice through a loudspeaker. He looked up and saw Betty standing on a platform in the centre of the ring, one arm posed above her head while the other grabbing to the microphone in her hand, "We nearing the end of our spectacular performance, but we still have one last show to present to you!" she declared, earning a roar of joy from the audience, "Put your hands together and welcome the talented, the most hilarious… Mr. Mime!"
The audience cheered while Charles flinched when she said that; he knew the risks of coming here, but he just couldn't wait to talk to Alice and, somehow, apologise to her. The lights switched on to reveal a small car, no taller than his waist, zip around the ring while humorous music played overhead.
"Oh thank goodness," he whispered to himself, "It's only just the one Mr. Mime. There's no way that more than one of them can fit in there."
Suddenly, the car stopped, the door swung open and a Mr. Mime stepped out…and then another…and another…and another…and another…and another until a whole troupe of Mr. Mime emerged from the same tiny car.
"What!? No way!?" Charles exclaimed, "the size of the car gave me a false sense of how many Pokemon were in there, creating a hilarious twist!" he put up one hand to advert his eyes from the Pokemon as they performed their tricks before continuing his search. He looked all around him, up and down the stalls and looking at every single face, "Come on, come one," he muttered to himself before he gasped when he spotted them on the other side of the ring, "There they are," he said before he made his way to them.
As Charles shuffled his way through the audience, the Mr. Mime continued their practise performance. After a while, Betty made another announcement.
"Alright! For our grand finale, we need a volunteer from the audience!" she proclaimed, "Who would like to come on down!?" she questioned.
Alice looked up from her two popcorn tubs that Flo begrudging brought her; some excitement finally returning to her.
"Hey, it's the grand finale I was telling you about," she whispered to Flo, "I wonder who could it be?"
"I don't know," Flo hummed thoughtfully before she glanced down at her popcorn, "Is she really going to eat all of that?'
"Alice! Flo! Benny!"
The three of them jumped as their names were called out and turned to see, to their surprise, Charles coming towards them across the stalls as he waved his arm in the air. Flo and Benny smiled when they saw him, but Alice, as soon as she noticed him, looked away guiltily.
'Oh no,' she thought, 'What is he doing here? I can't face him now…not after what I said.'
Charles saw her look away and stopped short, 'She's still angry at me? Maybe this wasn't a good idea.' he thought sadly.
Before he could think anymore on it, a spot light suddenly shone down on him, making him look up in surprise.
"Looks like we have our volunteer. Come on down to the ring, you are going to be part of the grand finale, my friend," Betty announced from her platform, earning a round of applause from the audience.
Charles looked around in shock and horror at the thought of getting any closer to the Mr. Mime, 'Wait!? What!? No, this is not supposed to happen,' he thought before he glanced back up at Alice. Seeing her head turned away from him made him even more guilty and so he took a deep breath, put on a determined face and marched down towards the ring, 'Fine, I'll have to prove myself to her. If she sees me making an effort to get along with the Mr. Mime then maybe she'll forgive me.'
Flo's eyes widened as soon as she saw him turn and head down towards the ring, "No way. He's actually going to do it."
Alice turned around and gasped, "No way. What does he think he's doing? We need to stop him."
However, before either of them could do anything, Benny raised his paw and grinned in excitement, ("Now hold on. This looks like it'll be hilarious.")
Betty's eyebrows raised as she recognised Charles coming down from the stalls, "Huh? Isn't that Alice's friend? The one scared of Mr. Mime?" she asked herself, "What is he doing?"
Charles entered the ring by stepping over the barrier and took off his coat and hat and placed it on the side; he aimed for the centre where Betty was standing, but was immediately stopped by a Mr. Mime in his path, making jump back in fright. The Mr. Mime waved his hand to him to say that he should follow him; Charles took a deep breath and anxiously followed him before stopping at a particular place.
"So...errr...what did I volunteer to do?" he asked the Pokemon as it turned to him, "Am I holding something up for you guys to jump over...or...juggling something...or..." he trailed off when the Mr. Mime pointed at him to crouch down and pull his arms into his chest, "Huh? You want me to imitate you," he said before getting into position, "Like this?" he asked, earning a thumbs up and a bright smile from the Mr. Mime, "Why aren't you saying anything now?" he questioned with a nervous sweat drop.
However, Charles was unaware of the two Mr. Mime behind him who were standing on an invisible platform and ready to jump off it. Over in the audience, Flo hummed in concern.
"He has really no idea what he's in for," she muttered, "Why is he doing this to himself?"
Alice frowned thoughtfully before she took a deep breath and got up from her seat and began making her way through the stalls.
"Where are you going?" Flo asked her.
"I'm going down to the ring," she told her, "Don't touch my popcorn, Benny!"
("Aww,") Benny uttered in disappointment.
Meanwhile, Charles was looking around him, trying to figure out what on earth he was doing, when suddenly he heard a rapid drum roll from the speakers overhead. He frowned in confusion before he spotted, out of the corner of his eye, the two Mr. Mime on the invisible platform and they looked ready to jump off it. He followed the jump down and noticed that they were about to land on one of end of an invisible seesaw that he just noticed... it didn't take him to long to realise that he was on the other end of it.
"Wait! Hold-"
That was all he said before the Mr. Mime jumped and landed on the seesaw and launched him into the air, making him give a startled yell. His whole world seemed to fall away and swirl before his very eyes as he zoomed into the air and flipped forwards with the momentum. Foe a split second, he was convinced he was going to fall to his death...when two hands grabbed his ankles before he could fall. He looked down (well, it was actually up to us, but down to him) and saw a smiling Mr. Mime had caught him while another Mr. Mime was holding onto him as his legs were hooked over and invisible hook in mid-air. Charles yelled in fright at the thought of a Mr. Mime grabbing him as they swung him upside-down in the air towards another pair of Mr. Mime not too far away; he saw the other Pokemon duo's hands up and ready to catch him, causing him to gasp in realisation.
'They want to swing me over and for me to latch onto the other pair,' he thought as he saw their hands get closer and closer, 'You can do this, Charles. You can do this, Charles,' he told himself as he reached out his hands to grab the Mr. Mime's...
...when suddenly, his fears came rushing back to him. Every single encounter he had with a Mr. Mime; the T.V commercial, when he was walking back from school, the sewer drain; all of it flooded his head and made his muscles lock up in sheer terror. He has always been afraid of Mr. Mime...and he will always will be.
He drew back his arms and hugged his arms to his chest and cringed away from the Mr. Mime grasp; the Pokemon's eyes widened in surprise at him not grabbing onto his hands and going against the performance and watched as he began to swing away. The audience were confused, Betty's face turned a deathly shade of pale and Charles yelled in fear as he on purposely ruined the performance. The Mr. Mime holding him were not expecting him to latch on to them and had to deal with the extra pressure as they swung back. The Mr. Mime holding onto his ankles gritted his teeth as he tried his best to not let go, when suddenly...
fwip!
He lost his grip on him.
Charles yelped as he suddenly plummeted to the hard ground with no safety net or anything else to catch him; the audience gasped in horror; Betty shrieked and the Mr. Mime shouted while Flo and Benny couldn't do anything but watch.
"CHARLES!" she screamed as she stood to her feet.
("BROTHER!") Benny cried out.
But it was too late as there was nothing to stop him from landing head first into the ground...
...until...
"Ambush! Vine Whip!"
Two blue vines shot out over the ring and wrapped around Charles' ankles and slowed his fall; only stopping until he was an inch from hitting the ground. Charles opened his eyes and sighed in relief as well as everyone else in the big top. He was pulled upwards until he was a few feet in the air until he was face to face with a furious Alice; her tangela at her side and holding him up. Charles gulped as she glared at him and offered a sheepish smile.
"Errr...ta-da!" he said lamely.
Alice growled before she began to unleash a bombardment of punches on his shoulder, "YOU IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU COULD HAVE DIED IF IT WASN'T FOR ME!"
"Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow! Stop that! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You're hurting me, Alice!"
"GOOD!"
"What is she doing to him?" an audience member whispered to the person on the right.
"I don't know. It looks like she's unleashing a Gum Gum Gatling Gun attack on him," the other audience member replied.
(A.N: Whoops! Wrong franchise.)
Charles, whilst still upside-down, grabbed both of her fists to prevent her from punching him more, "Please Alice...I just thought that if I could conquer my fear...then you wouldn't leave," he told her, making her fury ebb slowly away from her face, "You're my best friend and you're right...I should respect your choices. It's your team after all and you should do what's best. I'm sorry about everything."
Alice blinked in surprise as a wave of guilt came over her and caused her to sigh miserably, 'He must really want me to stay if he puts his life on the line like that,' she thought to herself.
Before they could say anymore, Betty and her troupe of Mr. Mime came running up to them; concern evident on their faces.
"Are you alright!" she questioned in worry, "You're not hurt, are you?"
Charles shivered as she saw the Mr. Mime, "I'm fine. I'm fine. All perfectly...safe and sound. But do you mind taking a few steps back," he asked with a nervous gulp.
"Why does the concept of falling to your death scare you less than a Mr. Mime," she asked with a sweat drop.
Circus Tent
The next morning, Alice poked her head around the entrance flap to the tent and spotted Betty watching her Mr. Mime practise a few stunts with a smile on her face. Alice sighed and walked inside and called out to the older woman.
"Betty!"
She turned around and welcomed her with a smile, "Alice, how's it going?"
"I just wanted to apologise about what happened last night," Alice sadly said as she rubbed the back of her head, "We totally ruined your performance."
Betty chuckled, "Ruined? Well, I wouldn't say that. Sure it…didn't go as planned, but what's important is that you and your friend are safe," she told her before she raised a single eyebrow, "Just tell him not to do anything like that again, please."
Alice waved her hand dismissively, "Trust me. He won't," she said before she sighed once more, "So, about Mr. Mime-"
"Oh right, have you decided which one you would like?" she asked gesturing to the troupe.
To her surprise, Alice shook her head, "Actually, I changed my mind. I don't think I should take a Mr. Mime. Sorry for wasting your time."
"You won't?" Betty asked, "I'm sorry if I sound surprised, but you seem pretty adamant about it. If this is about your friend…"
"That's not it. I've been thinking it over and…well, I thought what I was doing was making my team stronger, but I realised that my team isn't just my Pokemon, but also my friends and their a Pokemon; we're all one big team who travel, train and have adventures with. Neither Charles of Flo would want to do anything that I don't want to…so, I shouldn't do things that would make my friends feel uncomfortable," she grinned and gave a shrug, "Besides, there are hundreds of Psychic type Pokemon in the world…but there's only one Charles. I think I'll be fine."
Betty hummed thoughtfully at what she said before she nodded, "I see. Well, if you insist," suddenly she had an idea, "Oh actually. I just remembered. My troupe and I are heading over to the Galar region; apparently there's a new evolutionary line of Mr. Mime there that I would like to investigate. However, our youngest member is…a little too young to be travelling long distance. Perhaps you would like him a part of your team and take care of him?"
Alice put her hands up, "Thanks, but I'm honestly good."
Betty laughed, "Don't worry. He's not a Mr. Mime. Let's just say that he's a good compromise between you and your friend," she said, earning a confused look.
Back at the camp, Charles, Benny and Flo were waiting for Alice to come back; with Flo reading her book under a nearby tree and the brothers laid on the ground and stared up at the blue sky.
Charles sighed sadly as he watched the clouds drift over him, thinking back on what he did the previous night; it was stupid of him, thinking he could make up with Alice in that way, but he just did not want her to leave.
Their attention was caught when they heard footsteps approaching; they looked up and saw Alice walking up to them with a spring in her step and a happy grin on her face. As soon as she appeared, Charles jumped to his feet and met her halfway.
"Hey guys!" she greeted cheerily.
Charles hummed sadly and bowed his head slightly, "Alice, I…"
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Alice stopped him, raising a finger up to his face, "We were both in the wrong, but I'll move past it if you will. How does that sound?" she said with a grin.
Charles blinked in surprise, his cheeks growing a little red, but he eventually nodded in agreement, "Sure. Sounds great."
"Cool. Besides I've got something to show you both," she said before she reached into her rucksack and pulled out a pokeball, "Charles, Flo, Benny, meet the newest member of my team: Marcel!" she declared brightly.
Flo giggled, "Aww, Marcel. What a cute name."
("So, she did get a new Pokemon from that circus troupe, huh?") Benny hummed before he patted Charles on the shoulder, ("Are you going to be okay?")
Charles took a deep nervous breath before he nodded, "I'll…I'll be fine, Benny," he told him before he stepped up to Alice, "That's great, Alice. Another member of your team," he told her anxiously.
"Do you want to meet him?" she asked.
"Err…well," he took another deep breath, "Yes, of course."
"Great!" she exclaimed before she threw the pokeball into the air, "Marcel, come out and meet my friends."
The pokeball opened up and, in a flash of red light, Alice's new Pokemon was released. Charles, unable to bear seeing a Mr. Mime, closed his eyes and gritted his teeth; preparing for the worst. He took a deep breath and held out his hand for the Pokemon to shake.
"H-hi M-Marcel. W-w-welcome go the…team," he stammered in fear.
He expected for the Mr. Mime to shake his hand, however, he was surprised when he felt a small hand gently held of his index finger and shook it. He opened his eyes to see that it wasn't a Mr. Mime…but an entirely different Pokemon.
It was small pink, humanoid Pokemon with dark blue legs and a conical shaped head with a white dot on the tip of it; resembling a clown cap. It had round, black eyes, a small smiley mouth and round red nose. It stood upon Alice's outstretched hands and seemed to mimic him, especially the confused look on his face.
Charles blinked in surprise and so did the Pokemon. He tilted his head to the side and the Pokemon copied him.
"Huh?" he uttered.
("Huh?") the Pokemon repeated in equally confused tone.
"This is a-"
("This is a-") the Pokemon repeated again.
Alice chuckled in amusement, "Guys, this is Marcel. He's a Mime Jr," she announced, "He's going to be travelling with my team for now on."
("Guys, this is Marcel. He's a Mime Jr. He's going to be travelling with my team for now on.") Marcel repeated whilst imitating his trainer.
Flo squealed in joy and began doting on the adorable Pokemon, "Aww, he's adorable. He's the pre-evolved version of Mr. Mime, right?"
"Right," she said with a nod, "We're going to get stronger together and I'm going to teach him everything about how to uphold the law. Isn't that right, Marcel?"
("Uphold the law. Isn't that right, Marcel?") Marcel repeated, earning a sweat drop from Benny.
("Is he…always going to repeat everything we say?") he asked with a sigh.
Charles turned to him, "Mime Jr learn by mimicking others. I think he's going to be doing that a lot," he told him before he scanned the Pokemon with his pokedex
Mime Jr: It habitually mimics foes. Once mimicked, the foe cannot take its eyes off this Pokemon.
Charles lowered his pokedex and stared in disbelief at Alice, who responded with a confident smirk.
"So, here's the deal," she said as she passed Marcel to him, "One day, I intend for Marcel to evolve into Mr. Mime and be a part of my team, therefore in exchange for me not capturing a Mr. Mime…can you be friends with Marcel even when he does evolve?"
Charles looked down at the Mime Jr in his arms and smiled down at the young Pokemon, "I think I can do that. Just as long as you don't leave us," he told her before he hugged Marvel closer to his chest, "Welcome to the team, Marcel."
("Welcome to the team, Marcel,") chirped the Mime Jr in reply.
Alice smiled happily while Flo giggled in delight at the scene. Arguments and fights can happen between even the best of friends with, sometimes, neither side being better than the other. But with a little patience and understanding one another, they can easily subside and a new path can emerge which will strengthen their bond of their friendship. In the end, neither Alice of Charles got what they wanted, but that didn't matter to them.
As long as they remained friends at the end of the day, they could overcome any sort of obstacle.
"Hey Benny," Charles whispered to his brother, "Do we still have that Everstone handy?"
"Charles!" Alice shouted in anger,
"Joke! It was a joke!" he urgently said with a wave of his hands.
("Joke! It was a joke!") Marcel repeated followed by an amused giggle.
And that's it for now.
I don't know about you, but Mr. Mime always freaked me out when I was younger. Mime Jr, however, are so adorable; I just had to write a chapter about it.
Anyway, you might be wondering why I updated this story rather than go down my list of stories like I usually. Well, it's because I've got a new job and, rather than my last job which were in the evenings, I have got less and less time to get any writing done. This doesn't mean I am giving up; it's just that updates may be a little less frequent than what it is now. Since I have such frequent reviews on this story, I thought you would want to know first. I thought I would let you know.
Thank you all for reading my stories. I honestly don't deserve such wonderful readers like yourselves.
Thanks for reading :)
Potential Pokemon List:
Charles
Gastley
Drowzee
Goldeen
Aerodactyl
Onix
Grimer
Hoothoot (Johto)
Octillery (Orange Islands)
Pinsir
Salamance (Hoenn)
Metagross (Hoenn)
Dewgong
Elekid (Johto)
Poochyena (Hoenn)
Chikorita (Johto)
Flo
Psyduck
Cubone
Jolteon
Shellder
Weedle
Qwilfish (Orange Islands)
Exeggcute (Orange Islands)
Igglybuff (Johto)
Snubbull (Johto)
Sunkern (Johto)
Miltank (Johto)
Beautifly (Hoenn)
Slugma (Hoenn)
Alice
Rattata
Poliwag
Spearow
Lickitung
Spinarak (Johto)
Umbreon (Johto)
Rhyhorn (Johto)
Wobbuffet (Johto)
Smeargle (Johto)
Nosepass (Hoenn)
Swinub (Sinnoh)
Vanillite (Unova)