Chapter Sixty-One - A Proper Name

Choco shook his head.

"Hmm... Savage Squeeze Strawberry," Broccoli said.

"Mar." Nah. Marill shook her head, which meant shaking most of her body really. She didn't like that one either.

"Bun buneary bun," Flood Fury Fish.

Marill bent to the side while walking, scooped up a pawful of mud, then slung it at Choco's head. He giggled and raised a Clean Shield that the mud splattered against harmlessly. "Mar marill!" No fish!

"Riptide the Raging Raspberry!" Broccoli offered.

Tabitha, who was walking a few steps behind next to Jazz, shook her head. "Razz berries are red," she said. "Marill is blue. Though... could you assist me, I'm uncertain of the system by which you're choosing a name."

"It's simple!" Broccoli said. "Not everybun gets to pick their own name, I certainly didn't!"

"You didn't?" Jazz asked.

Broccoli ignored her and went on to explain their system. It was something they had worked out before he picked his own name. "A name should be many things, but most of all, it should strike fear and apprehension in the hearts of your adversaries."

Choco nodded, that had been his contribution.

"But also, it should be nice and soft, so that people want to be your friend. Also, we decided at some point that a name should be tasty too. It's thematic!"

"I see, I think," Tabitha said. "What are the restrictions on the food?"

"Restrictions?" Broccoli asked.

"Is bread an acceptable name?"

Broccoli stared at her, so did Choco and Marill. "M-maybe?" Broccoli said. "Uh. Maybe we should figure it out, uh, between us, though?"

"What's wrong with bread?" Tabitha asked.

Jazz patted her on the shoulder, but didn't seem ready to explain why Bread wasn't a good name. Choco shook his head. Poor Tabitha, she was such a weird human. She didn't understand that a name needed gravitas.

"Oh! I know!" Broccoli gasped. "Oran!"

"Marill?" Oran?

"You remember those berries, I think it was the day after we met? They were... Pecha berries, I think? But the Wingulls there said that you looked like an Oran berry." Broccoli nodded. "And it's true!"

Choco placed a paw over his mouth to stifle his giggles. Usually he was the one telling Marill that she looked like a fish, or something to eat, but now it was Broccoli and Broccoli was never wrong.

Marill's cheeks puffed out so much he was worried she might explode from pouting too much, but she let it all out with a muttered. "Ma ma ma."

"Right!" Broccoli said. "It's a cute name, I think! Too cute. We need to serious it up a little. Give it some oomph, a bit of punch, some danger!"

Marill nodded. She seemed to like that idea a lot more. "Marill ma marill mar." I want a name that's strong.

"Mhm," Broccoli agreed. "Oblivion is a cool word. It means a place where everything is forgotten and lost. That's kind of scary."

"Marill marill?" Oran Oblivion? "Marill rill, marill rill ma." I like it, but Choco has three.

"Bun buneary." I'm special.

This time he wasn't fast enough and the mud splatted him behind the head and he almost tripped forwards.

"We can add a third word," Broccoli said. "Words that start with an O... hmm, Opal, Omega, Outcry, Outbreak, Outhouse? No, not that one. Onslaught? Oracle?"

"Marill?" Oracle?

"It's someone who can predict the future," Broccoli said. "It's like, a very strong psychic ability to know what's going to happen before it happens."

Marill's eyes shone. "Marill mar marill!" Oracle of Oran Oblivion!

Broccoli gasped and clapped her hands, and Choco joined in too after wiping some of the mud off his face. "Buneary! Buneary bun buneary!" Congratulations! Oracle of Oran Oblivion!

"Did you guys pick a name?" Jazz asked. She glanced at her pokewatch. "After four hours."

"Yup!" Broccoli said. She spun around and scooped up Marill who laughed at being swung up and into the air. "Innnnntroduuucing, from lands across the great oceans, the future master of the Way of the Mystic Bun, the seer of snacktime, the blogger extraordinaire... Oracle of Oran Oblivion!"

"Maaaaa!"

Tabitha clapped politely. "Hello, Oracle of Oran Oblivion. Your name certainly carries a lot of weight. Though, I still fail to see why Bread isn't an acceptable name?"

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Choco sniffed. He was about to explain to her, as best he could to someone who didn't speak pokemon, but Broccoli started a walking dance party, and he wasn't about to be left out!

The walking dance was very simple, but kind of hard to master. It involved taking a big stomping step forwards while shaking one's hips and also swinging your paws to the beat of your steps. After each step, they did a bit of a bounce on the spot with knees and shoulders.

Sometimes, when Choco wanted to be more fun, he'd toss in a kick, or do a spin while stepping forwards. Of course, each step was accompanied by a "Bun!" or "Ma!" or "Unf!" to help them keep time!

At some point he looked back and saw that Jazz had her face covered by a hand and she was muttering to herself. "At least there's no one around to see this."

"Are we going to use Marill's full name from now on, or will it be a situation like Chaos Cuddles Cauliflower?" Tabitha asked.

Choco considered it between one hip shake and the next. That was right! Oracle of Oran Oblivion was a bit of a mouthful.

"Mari!" Marill suggested. Ora!

"Bun!" Ora!

"Ora!" Broccoli added to the cheer.

They continued to dance-walk, this time chanting Ora's name with every step.

That was, until at some point, Choco realized that something was off...

"Mari!" Ora!

"Bun!" Ora!

"Mar!"

"Igg!" Ora!

He blinked, then turned around to stare at the new voice. The dance paused, and the others turned towards it too.

There was someone new in their midst. A small pink ball with big red eyes and a puff of pinkish fur atop its head. The little pokemon stared back, then smiled wide. "Igglybuff~ Iggaly ally buuuuf~"

Choco blinked, then he blinked again.

"Hi there!" Broccoli said. "What's your name?"

The pink pokemon just continued to sing, and Choco felt himself starting to feel weighed down. Was it naptime already? Before lunch, even?

"It's using a move to put us to sleep," Tabitha said nonchalantly. Then she released King Krabby onto the ground next to her. "Pinch it," she said.

"Igg!" the little pokemon squeaked. With a bounce and then another bounce, she boinged along the ground and dove into and through a bush.

King Krabby followed it to the edge of the road, but soon enough the little pink thing had bounced and rolled away.

Choco shook his head real quick to clear away the urge to snooze. That had been weird!

"Who was that pokemon?" Broccoli asked.

"I'm not familiar," Jazz said. "But it reminded me of a jigglypuff?"

Tabitha, next to her, nodded. "An igglybuff. The previous evolution to jigglypuff. I didn't know they were present in Johto, though they're common enough in Kanto. Jigglypuffs and the less-common evolved form, Wigglytuffs are generally considered to be Normal-type pokemon that specialise in singing and chanting. They're quite popular as mascots and as household pokemon. They can learn a decent number of psychic moves if you're willing to train them."

"It looked pretty cute," Broccoli said. "I think it was attracted to our dancing and singing?"

"You called that singing?" Jazz asked.

"I mean, it had rhythm? And lyrics!"

"You were repeating the same thing over and over," Jazz pointed out.

"That's the lyric!" Broccoli said with a nod. "It's an easy song to remember."

Choco laughed at the look on Jazz's face, she looked like someone who had to poop but discovered that they couldn't.

"Should we go after it?" Broccoli asked. "I think I could track them. They weren't being subtle as they ran."

"No," Jazz said. "They moved off-route, and we're definitely not doing that. We can't chase after every curious wild pokemon we meet."

"Fine," Broccoli said. "They looked a bit thin, though."

Jazz didn't look impressed, so Broccoli dropped the subject. Choco bounced up and into Broccoli's arms, and she plopped him onto his spot without him having to ask. Not getting to meet that weird pokemon was a little disappointing, he supposed, but it wasn't a big deal. They had a lot to celebrate still, and a lot of forest to get through as well!

***