Chapter 32 – Trick or Treat
The next day we finally made it to route 110. The route was right next to one of the very few freshwater rivers in Hoenn. Naturally it made for a great view only blemished by the large seaside cycling road built on top of the river. The river’s meandering ended up creating a landpassage straight to Mauville city. Of course, during the rainy season this passage was too dangerous to travel over therefore necessitating building the cycling road in the first place. I had Numsy and Tranquill out with me. Tranquill was eager to stretch out her wings and Numsy was much the same since he didn’t get to sleep outside his ball last night.
“Okay you guys, this route is known for the many electric types living here. The plusle, minun, electrike and magnemite are harmless, but we have to watch out for any voltorbs. If we accidentally step on one, we could be in for a nasty surprise.”
“Rupt?”
“Quill?”
“That’s right they are like living grenades extremely prone to self-destruct at the slightest stimulation. Numsy you’d probably be fine, but I am squishy. Experiencing a self-destruct up close would probably send me to the hospital for at least a few weeks. That’s why if at some point we need to traverse tall grass we’ll be relying on you Tranquill to keep us appraised of what type of Pokémon are nearby. Just give me a squawk and we will stop moving forward. For now though the route is just open road so go ahead and enjoy yourself.”
With that our bird friend took off. Probably to pick a fight with one of the local Pokémon. She didn’t get nearly enough time battling with us. Being a battle maniac, it was completely understandable that she left to pursue her interests once in a while.
“I guess it’s just us Numsy? Traveling from this route to Mauville shouldn’t take long, five to six hours tops. This is the shortest route in all of Hoenn after all.”
“Rupt!”
Just like that we walked for around an hour until we got to see an especially interesting sight. An active construction site, right between the river and a closed off forest. Groups of machop and machoke running around with construction materials and safety helmets. My curiosity peaked, I ruffled Numsy’s head to signal for him to take a break while I checked out what was going on. Luckily there was a sign imbedded into the ground which did just that.
Welcome trainers! To the marvelous and enchanting Trick House! Currently the trick house is under reconstruction for our next showing, to amaze and dazzle the viewers back home is our mission. To that end we kindly ask you passerby to not disturb our hard-working construction crew and to refrain from entering the premises without permission. If the need to enter the trick house contest overwhelms you then that’s too bad! We don’t take admissions and to preserve the integrity of the show all our participants are random passerby. The trick house show is hosted at undisclosed dates and intervals.
Yours truly,
The Trick Master
“NUMSY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS! We missed it! Our second lifelong dream of winning a trick house contest and we didn’t get to participate ARGHH!”
At the mention of the word trick house Rena popped out of her poké ball. Every single person and Pokémon living in our family home are avid fans of the show. My grandfather had taped every single episode ever aired since its inception. At the start of a new season, you could find our little family gathering together to watch the show.
“RUUUPT!”
“Pix Pix Pix!”
My old-time partners were similarly disappointed. With our experience watching the shows, we would become an unstoppable force leaving all the other participants in the dust.
“I won’t let it end like this! Rena, go ask one of those machop how many days it will take to finish the new obstacle courses. We’ll come back to this route after they finish.”
“Now hold on just one second, aspiring challenger!”
I turned around in the direction where that mysterious voice was coming from, but I couldn’t see anything. Aside from the break area where the worker pokemon had access to some snacks and an office water cooler. Suddenly one of the couches sprouted arms and legs but not much more than that. The person masquerading as furniture had difficulty shedding his disguise.
‘No wait could that person be…!’
“Yes, it is I! Behold! For I am the greatest living mystery of a man in all of Hoenn! They call me… The Trick Master! Wahahaha! Glad to meet you!”
“Arceus it’s really you! The famed Trick Master! Rena Numsy it’s really him! It’s an honor to meet you sir!”
“Vuuuul!”
“Came!”
“The pleasure is all mine boyo. It is always a joy to encounter true fans of the show! Now would you do me a kindness and pull down the zipper of this, my newest prototype designer chair disguise? To keep my workers on their toes I’d figure a good scare ought to rouse their spirits, but they just left me to languish as a chair. Ah! The perils of show business, I have been stuck like this the entire morning.”
Quickly assenting to his request, I walked around this famed figure to reach the zipper on his back. A quick pull down did the trick as the costume came down and The Trick Master’s flamboyant figure was revealed.
That’s better, now then what did my ears hear just now? You want to be on the show?
“Yes! My entire family are big fans of yours Trick Master! It would be such a pleasant surprise to them if I suddenly showed up on T.V. while they are watching the newest episode of your show.”
“Challenge accepted! Or I would say that, but we are still in the middle of constructing all the décor, traps, and obstacle courses. We won’t be done until the end of this year’s Ever Grande Conference. If only you would’ve been here a month earlier, but fret not! To recompense you for your total disappointment I the Trick Master will give you a personal tour on what we are cooking up for next season’s Slam dunk of a show! Come to my office, we'll sign the non-disclosure agreement and you can bask in my genius stage designs!”
‘Getting to go backstage on the set of one of my all-time favorite shows is certainly a great opportunity, but on the other hand…’
I looked towards my Pokémon’s facial expressions trying to read their current state of mind. While they did the same. If one of them really wanted to go, I’d give up my chance to be selected for this year’s trick house competition. Words were unnecessary and after some silent communication with my long-time friends. The three of us made up our minds simultaneously.
“I am sorry Trick Master, but we can’t. We would really enjoy getting an early sneak peek at the show’s production, but then we’d be giving up the chance to be selected for the show’s next season. As true trick house fans, we can’t give up that 1% chance of making it on the stage of Hoenn’s greatest show ever!”
The man crumpled a bit as if struck by lightning. But then inflated back up even bigger in size then before.
“THIS is why I do it! For fans like you! Young trainer, you have given me enough motivation to produce at least another eight seasons. We will never go off the air with fans like you still supporting us! Excuse me! I feel so energized I have to get back to work. Please come around after the conference finishes and maybe you’ll be one of the lucky stars of my show. Ciao Ciao!”
Just like that one of the most dazzling celebrities in Hoenn left to rejoin his personnel behind the yellow tape. I wasn’t too disappointed though except for the fact that he stormed off before I could ask him for an autograph. I couldn’t help but admire someone like that who had it all figured out.
“Hmmm that sure was something. At least we know roughly when they will be scouring the route for new contestants. If I have anything to say about it, we’ll be there. Now let’s head out hopefully Tranquill hasn’t forgotten about us.”
We trekked on until finally we started only seeing tall grass and hearing the sound of the river meandering through. It was around midday so I pulled out a blanket so we could all have something to eat while waiting for Tranquill to show up again. The rest of my team appeared out of their balls to eat my premade meals together.
“Calm down Numsy, the food’s not running away.”
“Pix Pix!?”
“Rupt!”
“His portions are bigger now because he’s larger. The more body mass the more energy you need for upkeep. Don’t worry, when you evolve, I’ll let you have bigger bowls as well.”
The only one on my team who remained stoic despite us having a picnic in an unfamiliar location was Glove. He kept eating while keeping close to the egg, occasionally letting out a sound of joy each time the egg moved. Give or take twelve days and we’d be having a new partner on the team even Numsy and Rena put a halt to their food disagreement each time the egg moved. We spent time like that until I heard the sound of wings flapping and a familiar squawk. The bird Pokémon returned with company, a flock of wingulls flying behind her.
“Tranquill you are back, and it seems you made some new friends.”
“Wing gull!”
“Quill!”
“She beat their leader in a match and now he wants to become adult friends with her.”
“No! …Sorry I meant to say we don’t really have the time for that. There are lots of responsibilities that come with raising chicks. I’ve already sent out feelers for getting you a good trainer.”
“Quill?”
“Gull Gull!”
“He is now offering her to come to their super-secret spot to eat delicious berries together!?”
After hearing Wingull make the proposition, Victini popped out of her ball. Already eager to take up the Pokémon’s offer instead of Tranquill who had shown little interest up until now.
Stolen story; please report.
“Vi Vi!”
“Gull?”
“Vi VI?!”
“Egon, they have apple and pink colored banana berries! I haven’t tried those before!”
‘Those should be Leppa and Nanab berries, it's rare to find them in the wild. Ask if we could have a few of those for dinner.’
“Vi Vi?”
“Gull Gull!”
“He says that I may come with but only if Tranquill comes along.”
“Hmmm this is a dilemma. Obviously, we are not going to force Tranquill on a date if she doesn’t like this Wingull. Besides, if both of you leave, who is going to lead us through the tall grass?”
My inference caused the little wingull to droop down on the ground in sadness. Obviously, this seabird was completely smitten with Tranquill. Feeling sorry for the little bird I walk up and started petting his head.
“Gull…?”
“There There… That is life Wingull. Romantic interests come and go but friendship is forever. You still have your loyal subordinates with you. They wouldn’t want to see their leader mope all day. How about we as men go out, talk smack about the girls who rejected us and eat some fresh delicious berries while we’re at it.”
“Gull!”
“No, I am not just saying that to make you feel better, I too had my heart broken once…”
“Liar!”
‘Shhh! Do you want to eat those berries or not?’
The threat of not getting to taste new varieties of berries quieted down her mental protest. Of course, I could just buy those berries from a vendor but nothing beats berries picked straight from the tree.
Wingull dusted himself off and hopped onto my outstretched arm. Squawking sadly while he did so. Now being so close to this cute seagull I felt my heart pang with compassion for his predicament. Resolving myself to truly give him some heartfelt advice.
“Wingull… Pokémon like Tranquill love battling so the first thing you need to do is become strong enough to give her a decent fight. Love is a battlefield and in this situation that is literally the case. How often do you have sparring matches with the other Pokémon living on this route?”
“Gull…”
“Not at all huh? It’s understandable really. Electric types are the most common type on this route. A water and flying type like yourself is going to have a bad time picking fights with the likes of them. There should still be some battle opportunities though. Gulpin are also known to live here as do the occasional stray zigzagoon or poochyena. Make sure to get some battling sessions in with them.”
While I was giving the little Wingull some more advice I signaled Victini to let Tranquill know we are ready to move on. She did and with her help we slowly moved further along the route.
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A couple of hours later*
“And that’s about it, make sure to change it up from time to time. If you are nesting together, it’s important to keep a lady on her toes. If she can predict your every move and reaction, the relationship grows boring and stale.”
“Gull?”
“Like say for example, You like Oran berries, right?”
“Gull!”
“Well, the next time she brings some along, having come back from an afternoon of foraging. Do a complete one eighty. Instead of praising her for bringing you your favorites, put one in your mouth, spit it out and demand Pecha.”
“Gull!?”
“Yes, she will knock you over the head but that’s all part of the game. Keep doing the unexpected. When a woman has you all figured out, making the choice to leave you is far easier. There is nothing wrong with keeping a bit of intrigue in the relationship.”
“This is terrible.”
Victini wasn’t exactly wrong, this type of approach to relationships worked for me since I hadn’t truly fallen in love with anyone in my previous life as an adult. For short-term coupling likely until the children are out of the nest which was typical for Pokémon this could work out just fine. My techniques would start failing a year and a few months into the relationship. Victini’s reminder did prompt me to add a little caveat to my advice.
“Wingull if you truly love your next partner with all your heart. Throw everything I have been saying to you this past hour into the garbage bin.”
“Gull!?”
“True love is mutual if you find the right Pokémon all these extra techniques are not necessary. Just keep showing your affection and give her plenty of kisses that’ll do just fine.”
“Gull!”
We were walking along the raised land mass stretching out all the way to the outskirts of Mauville City. Wingull let us know that the berry trees were just on the other side so we were going in the right general direction. We made it across and as we did so Wingull flew off my arm and emoted me and the rest of our group to follow him and his buddies into a thicket of bushes. Completely trusting the veracity of Wingull’s claim about the rare berry trees I covered my face while following him and his crew into the tangle of thick flora.
“I can’t see much from my position! Wingull, could you make some noise so I know where to go?”
“Gull! Gull!”
“Thanks!”
Like that we navigated the thick brush. I recalled Numsy inside his ball, he was much bigger and only one of us had to endure the thick spines, nettle, poison ivy and all the other rage inducing foliage I would encounter inside. Victini was in the air following around the group of wingull. I had Tranquill retire to her ball after promising her some of the leftover berries. She didn’t care much for Wingull but no Pokémon would refuse to partake in some interesting new berries. The egg was still in my arms protected from the spiny environment by the thick polycarbonate glass. Things continued on like that for a while, me being stung by the occasional plant I brushed past while trying to follow wingull’s voice until we entered a clearing.
There they stood four nanab berry trees and two Leppa berry trees standing in a closed circle formation. My group and the wingulls weren’t the only ones present in the clearing. A pack of six electrike seemed to be enjoying themselves munching on some fallen berries, that is until we came into the picture.
“Grrr….”
“Easy there, we just came to visit, no need for things to get violent... Wingull, you know these Pokémon?”
It seems that he did, Wingull flew up close to the biggest one, probably the leader of this pack and they exchanged a few barks and squawks together.
“Electrike is upset because Wingull brought in newcomers to their secret berry spot.”
‘How come these electrike are willing to share this spot with a bunch of wingull? They could easily scare them off with a few sparks of lightning.’
“Hold on… It seems that these electrike are poor climbers and using shocks to shoot down the berries ruins the taste. So, they made a deal with the wingull. An even split if their group agrees to bring down berries that have finished growing.”
“Fascinating, normally Pokémon of diametrically opposing types don’t associate with one another but in this case, they have decided to form a mutually beneficial relationship. Wingull!”
“Gull?”
“Let me try something.”
I pulled out the cooler box from inside my backpack, opened it and pulled out some of my more low-end berries.
“Electrike?”
“Ruff?”
“Me and my team would really like to taste some of these berries. Nanab berries are hard to find in human markets; even leppa that hasn't been sealed in a wax layer to preserve them should taste totally different. How about we trade you some of our own berries in exchange? We have oran, persim, chesto and cheri berries.”
I showed Electrike some of the goods hoping he’d go for it. Electrike in turn seeing as I wasn’t just going to mooch off of them for free calmed down somewhat. A quick bark and I was surrounded by his pack they sniffed some of my wares to check the quality. Seemingly satisfied with my peace offering they each took a single berry out of the container.
“Hey!”
“Sharing is caring Tini. At least this way we get to taste test those Nanab berries.”
The pack leader gave us his tacit assent to go berry picking from their trees. Emboldened Victini floated off into the canopy to go help wingull and his crew pick ripened berries.
“Remember! Nanab berries need to be pink and soft on the inside. If they’re still green don’t pick them!”
“Got it!”
‘I wonder how Zinnia is doing?’
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POV Change - Zinnia
Being all alone in the house was boring! The only time mommy has time for me is when I have to read boring school books. After that she leaves me alone to go gossip with the other mommies. Dad says that everyone in the village is family, so he doesn’t have much time to spend with me.
Horsea sticks with me at all times. We have a blast playing at the local river together. I don’t have many other friends here since I am still considered an outsider, but that’s going to change real soon. Mommy says the villagers just have to get to know me.
At home we only had a single fishbowl for Horsea. The bowl gets really uncomfortable and he prefers his poké ball, but he puts up with it just to stay close with me. Brother really got me the best Pokémon ever! Whenever I mention digging out a pond so horsea would be more comfortable, daddy says he’ll think about it. I am sure one of these days when I get home there will be a pond there waiting for us.
“Sea Sea!”
We were playing at the river like usual Horsea painting images on the water with his ink, while I tried to guess their meaning. Horsea lived in the ocean all his life so that’s what most of his paintings are about.
“Uhmm Coral?”
“Sea…”
“No uhmm… Corsola?”
“Sea Sea!”
“Yay! I got it. Brother taught me all about Pokémon!”
“That looks fun, can I play too?”
A gentle looking big sister is standing next to us near the river’s shore. I think I have seen her before joining a meeting with all those grumpy old people my daddy calls elders. She was wearing a big cloak with cool looking ornamental shoulder pads.
“It’s okay, pretty lady, me and Horsea are outsiders. I don't want you to get bullied too.”
Suddenly I felt really comfortable and before I noticed what was happening, I found myself being hugged by the mysterious lady.
“There there, you’ve been feeling very lonely, haven’t you? From now on you’ll be my little sister and it’s a big sister’s responsibility to look after the little one. The name’s Aster but you aren’t allowed to call me that.”
“Big sister Aster… My name is Zinnia!”
“Wrong! Say it better.”
“Big sister.”
“That’s good, now let’s start playing. What do you call this game of yours?”
“My big brother calls it Pictionary. We take turns drawing and the other player has to guess what it is. Usually, it’s just Horsea using his ink on the water’s surface to draw the pictures, I don’t have any crayons to make drawings so I use this stick that I found to make an image in the sand.”
“It’s your turn now, right? Give it a go.”
“Hmm Okay!”
‘I’ll draw a Pokémon! One she won’t know anything about.’
I started drawing the round shape of an apple in the sand with two eyes popping out of the stem and a small lizard-like tail. When I was done, I turned around to let big sister appreciate my work of art.
“Wooow what an amazing drawing! This is an Applin right? To think you’ve seen one before. They aren’t really that well known outside of the Galar and Paldea regions.”
“No way! Big brother taught me all about different dragon types. Do you know big brother?”
“The clan keeps records that go back as far as 2000 years ago. Naturally we keep track of all the different dragon types you can find across the globe. We even keep a few of these exotic types ourselves. Your brother must be very well traveled to have seen this species of Pokémon.”
“Brother says he read it in a book somewhere listing numerous foreign species. He told me Applin hides itself from bird Pokémon who want to eat it by burrowing inside an apple. Then it evolves based on what type of apple it picked. Up to three different branching evolutions! My brother is really smart right?”
“Yes, but you must be just as smart being able to remember all of that. I am pretty sure I haven’t heard mention of your family having another member. Is your brother not part of the tribe?”
“No… daddy and mommy came back while my brother was out on his journey and now, I live with them here in the village. Brother caught Horsea for me and send him back to Hoenn so I wouldn’t be lonely.”
“Sea!”
“Well then that means your big brother must be pretty cool thinking ahead for his little sister like that. Do you want to be a Pokémon trainer when you grow up?”
“Yes! I want to be the best dragon type specialist around. I’ll go catch lots of friends and become Champion. Big brother is too lazy to become one, so I’ll just do it for him. For now, it’s just me and Horsea but we've been training really hard!”
“Really? What moves does Horsea know?”
“Uhm… water gun, leer, and smokescreen. We are super close to him learning twister! Horsea just doesn’t really understand dragon type energy yet.”
“Sea…”
“How about I help you two out then? Big sis knows all about dragon type energy. My Dragonair can show your young Horsea here how to expertly perform twister.”
“Really?! You’ll help us?”
“Fufufu. Of course, everything for my cute little sister. Just hand over Horsea I’ll teach him how it feels to channel dragon energy.”
With that big sister stood up and stretched out her open palms in the direction of Horsea. Hesitantly I handed over my Pokémon to her hoping this wasn’t all just some prank. While big sister held Horsea in her hands her hands and arms started glowing turquoise startling Horsea.
“Calm down little one. Can you feel it? This is what a dragon’s energy feels like.”
“Sea…!? Sea!”
“Wow, cool! Can you teach me how to do that too? The glowy thing?”
“It is a gift. I was born with the ability to do so.”
“Ow okay then! I guess it’s like being extra smart or really tall. We all have advantages or disadvantages compared to others.”
Big sis released Horsea back into the river before turning to face me again. Meanwhile my Pokémon, delighted to be back in the water, sprayed some celebratory bubbles in our direction.
“That is a very mature way of thinking about it. I am proud of you little sister. Now then, Horsea should be acclimatized to dragon energy. Have him attempt to perform twister once more.”
“Okay Horsea like we practiced. Flap your dorsal fin really hard using dragon energy!”
“Sea!”
Horsea tried really hard but all he managed to do was create a pleasant breeze. Disappointed, he stuck his head underwater to embarrassed to face us. This was when big sister came up with the solution to our problems.
“He was using dragon energy during this latest attempt. Now he just needs instruction on how to form a tornado and I have the perfect partner for that. Go! Dragonair.”
“Wooow pretty! Can I touch her scales?”
“You may, just don’t touch under her chin she dislikes that.”
I moved my hand up and slowly rubbed one of dragonair’s belly scales.
‘Soft? But though as well. What if I do it like this?’
“Preeee!”
“Dragonair for sure likes you! Not even fellow clan members get her approval. You surely are my little sister Zinnia!”
"Aste…. Uhmm Big sister, My brother says you can’t find Dratini in Hoenn."
“Indeed, these are some of the exotic dragons I talked about. One of our tribe members visited Johto once years ago to exchange pleasantries with the blackthorn clan, our many times removed sister clan. Once he decided to come back, he brought along with him a female dratini. Who after maturing eventually decided to grace one of our more unruly Salamence with her attention. Once a dragon type chooses a mate they bond for life and they reproduce very slowly. This one came out of one of the few eggs that happy couple produced. As an aquatic dragon type this one will be able to help your Horsea with mastering twister.”
“Thanks a lot, big sis!”
“Let’s give them a demonstration Dragonair!”