Forum Thread

"Piplup's Summer Vacation,"

What a lovely change of pace! I couldn’t suppress my grin as I ambled through the little, bustling town of Emera.

It was a beautiful summer day, warmer than even the hottest days back home in Sinnoh. It would be a short trip, and this was my day for sightseeing. Almost bursting at the seams to see it all, I ambled through the main throughway. I dipped my fingers in the iconic Emera Fountain, stopping to allow Piplup, my first partner, the opportunity to splash in the refreshing water. Pip, ever the adventurer, wasted no time diving in. His tiny face and sparkling eyes made me even happier than the wildflowers springing up around the base of the fountain and the lively chatter floating through the summer air.

“C’mon, Pip, let’s head out!” I removed the ball from my pocket, ready to recall my azure friend, but his piercing, stubborn cry halted me.

“PIIIIIIIIIIP!”

A few passersby glanced over, possibly concerned about the source of the sound. I smiled apologetically at a young man with a Growlithe in his arms, who had paused to make sure everything was alright.

“Piplup, there’s a whole town to see here! Let’s go!” Piplup resignedly hopped out of the fountain and shook out his downy feathers, sending a spray of mist spiraling up into the surrounding air. “Let’s see the rest of the sights, alright?” I coaxed, aiming for at least some general amiability from my stubborn, tiny partner.

A cup of ice cream from the Los Seashellos Restaurant was all it took to appease my little companion, or so I thought. We made it to the mall, perusing shop after shop. Many of the items here were entirely new to me, and I pressed my fingers to a glass display case containing Summer Mareep eggs. I had only ever seen one sort of Mareep, and while I knew they were occasionally pink instead of yellow, I’d never seen anything quite like the sandy, yellow-orange little creatures shown in the picture. I was just about to ask for the price when I noticed Piplup was no longer at my side. All thoughts of sandy-orange Mareep left my mind as I dashed out of the shop and peeked into the mall’s hallway. No bird in sight.

Perhaps he’d gotten bored and wandered outside? I skidded through the sliding doors and out into the sunlight. Where had he gone? The fountain!, I thought suddenly, and dashed back in the direction I had originally come.

Sure enough, as I neared the fountain, I spotted a pair of tiny yellow feet sticking up from the surface of the water. Piplup resurfaced just as I reached the water’s edge, and beamed at me with his proud, contented little face. Worried as I had been, I couldn’t help smiling as he splashed and played.

I may have come to Emera Town for a vacation, but, I supposed, we were going to do things Piplup’s way instead. Fine by me! My journey wouldn’t be my journey without him.

Cynder hummed happily as she walked down the path back to our home, with a satchel attached to her back she clutched onto the pack tightly and took careful steps. It was an early morning, as the sun happened to be hitting her backside - showing that Cynder too, was a ray of early morning sunshine.

“What do you have now?” I curiously asked the impish Typhlosion, her grin showing she was up to her usual mischievous activities.

She responded with a high-pitched sounding “Ty!” as she sauntered passed me, hiding her back to me.

“Cynder! Come back here.” I called out to her as she had already made her way to the base of the stairs. “Cynder, is that what I think it is?”

Her ears perked up, then lowered as the flames on her back spiked up momentarily. She quickly headed to her room as I chased her up there. “You can’t be bringing back this many eggs, Cynd! We’re already taking care of several as it is! We have to take ‘em back to Prof. Rowan!”

Cynder brought her finger up to her eyelid and pulled down, sticking out her tongue at me and beelined out the door with the tightened satchel on her back.

I chased her out of the house, following her full sprint as she ran on all fours. Eggs, tightly secured on her back.

We ran through route 53, where the combees seemed to be(e) as busy as ever with their honeymaking. The Moomoo ranch, was bustling as several miltanks grazed out in the pasture. The tauros seemed to take amusement in our shenanigans as they ran alongside me as I raced after Cynder who was many strides ahead.

We neared Emera Square, where several trainers seemed to be flexing their superior bug-like pokemon. Cynder, zig-zagged through the scyther, heracross, and pinsir trio that seemed to be arguing in their pokemon talk fashion. I ran through, following her similar pathing. “Sorry!” I huffed, nearly at my limit of my yearly workout “Get back here, you flaming honey badger!”

She roared out, flinging flames in front of her as she ran - leaving behind a musty smokescreen to run through as we arrived at Emera Town. I failed to evade the smokescreen as I coughed and huffed my way through it to see Cynder drinking from the fountain. As we made eye contact, her eyes gleamed with delight as she turned and headed into the lab with a quick saunter.

As I arrived inside the lab, I watched as Cynder was tackled by several new pokemon. A scolipede, cubone, and zubat seemed to greet her excitedly.

“Back again so soon? I see those eggs are doing well in your care.” Rowan made his entrance, more eggs in hand.

“Oh, you know us Professor. Just a normal day for Shae and Cynder in Emera Town.” I caught my breath and gave him a small grin. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Welcome to the family, you guys.”

The laughter of young Kecleons filled Stella's ears as she passed the daycare's garden. The daycare owner played hide and seek, but he wasn't the one winning the game. Stella stopped in front of the fountain. "The sparkling coins make it look like a million tiny suns, don't you think so too, Furret?" Her pet put one paw in the water, trying to catch the mysterious sparkles. "Come sis, let's continue to Emera Mall," Dusty, her brother, said. Overjoyed she dragged Furret away from the fountain.

Stella almost bumped into a Furfrou with a star-shaped tail. "Look Furret, maybe you should try that haircut too. It's so cute!" "Careful," said Dusty, "You're hugging Furret so tight it might explode, he's not a plushie!" The Pokémon let out a few cries and Dusty thought he heard a sound of relief when his sister let her friend go.

Upon entering Emera Mall a sweet aroma filled the air. Stella knew all too well where that was coming from and headed straight for the Salon. Wilma, an employee of the Salon, greeted them. "Good day, how may we help you?" Stella pointed to her friend. "Furret trained his Hyper Voice really hard yesterday, so I want to treat him to a bath, please." "Very well, miss. Kindly follow me."

Wilma led them to a pool. "This bath has a nice mix of Oran and Mago berries," she explained, "Just the right balance for healing and relaxation." The woman guided Furret into his bath. The pet squealed of happiness. "Glad to see you like it." She turned to Dusty. "You and your sister are allowed to join Furret. You may also choose to take a seat over there and wait till the bath is over."

"I want to join!" Stella jumped in the water before Dusty could stop her. He groaned. "Ahw, sis, how do I explain your wet clothes to mom and dad? Couldn't you wait for one moment? We did take your bathing suit with us, you know." She giggled. "I'll say I'm sorry, okay? Come in too, the water is great!"

Some beeping sound in the background distracted her. "What was that?" Furret jumped out of the bath, shook the water off his fur and started to stroke Stella's forehead. "Huh, why are you doing that now?" the little girl asked. "I always like it when you do that, but you're the one who should relax, not me."

More beeps were audible. Clouds started to form; the sun disappeared. "I'm here little sister. I love you so much," she heard Dusty say. "Let's go on a rumble adventure tomorrow. You can show me Furret's Hyper Voice." Stella felt sleepy and was unable to respond.

I cried of happiness when I saw the irregular graph at the display of the heart rate monitoring machine. Furret stopped stroking my sister's forehead and uttered excited noises. "I know, Furret. The last time was almost a year ago," I said. "One day she will wake up. I'm sure of it!"