Squirrely Sparks: Intermittent Mission
Of Allergic Hedgehogs, Wonder Rooms, and Dispirited Squirrels

The fresh, cool air of Tabira wafted in their nostrils, putting the sweet in the words “home sweet home”. No more did they have to deal with the stench of the Fever Flats or the blazing heat of the Ywaru Canyon, nor did they have to worry about mob leaders and slimy witches. Weeks of hard work far from home were about to be paid back in the form of a celebration for their efforts in saving Tabira’s waters from contamination and the liberation of Ywaru Canyon’s citizens from the greedy Don Kapon, and many of those that had traveled far were eager to begin participating in the festivities and resume their normal lives.

In the case of one Emolga by the name of Ethlyn Monica, this meant going back to her job as a waitress at the Wonder Room and her hobby of making beads for those interested in her wares. Every now and then during her time away, she wondered how Caslon and his staff handled her absence, how many were waiting for her to finish their orders that were put on hold while she volunteered, and she couldn’t wait to see the ‘mons she left behind once more.

“Momma, Miss Monica, look over there!” cried the Minccino named Minnie, pointing out of the wagon her walking stick.

Her attention gained, the Emolga hurried over to the front of the wagon, joining the young Minccino, her mother Emily, and a small gathering of ‘mons as they gazed upon an expansive bed of flowers swaying and moving in an odd fashion, with several white and green colored reindeer-like figures floating above them. Upon closer inspection as the wagon passed in front of the bed of flowers, they noticed creatures of similar coloration to the reindeer-like beings floating above them, all smiling and cheering for those that pass by. Together, the two breeds were collectively known as Shaymin, a Pokémon species known for their rarity and for spreading beautiful flowers throughout places where they appear. The flowers that appeared on the backs were known as the Gracidea flowers, famous as symbols of gratitude that made it clear the Shaymin were celebrating the returning Tabirans.

“Look at them all, I’ve never seen so many Shaymin together like that,” commented a Plusle named Stella, a baby Cyndaquil with a red, four-point star-shaped marking on his right eye held in her arms.

“It looks like our return to Tabira is just in time for the Shaymin migration,” her Minun brother, Stefan noted.

“What’s the significance of it, Mr. Stefan?” Minnie asked, beginning an explanation by Stefan of how the Shaymin come to Tabira every century from the continent of Montsechia, a sort of Shaymin paradise closed off to foreigners for fear of contaminants to the flowers grown there. Whenever the Shaymin migrated to or from Montsechia to Tabira, there would be a celebration to welcome the new Shaymin and say farewell to those who had arrived a century earlier before they return to their natural home for good. While there were some Shaymin that would stay behind, choosing to do so meant they could no longer return home, and were forced to live out their lives in Tabira. Nonetheless, to have timed their return with the once-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing the Shaymin migration filled the group with an excitement that nearly could not be contained by the wagon they were riding on.

Upon arriving in the town square, Ethlyn and the other wagon riders hopped off to stretch their limbs and bask in the sunlight, surrounded by many of the Tabirans that had either stayed behind while the rest had gone on their mission or had arrived from the wagons ahead of theirs. As some of the disembarking ‘mons were greeted by friends and relatives elated to see their return, others were met by more of the flying Shaymin as they placed flowery wreaths on their heads as a welcome home gift.

“Welcome home, you all must be tired,” said one Shaymin that approached Ethlyn, Minnie, and Emily, “if you’d like, I can give you three a little Aromatherapy treatment.”

Unlike many of the Shaymin gathered in the square, this one had chosen to stay on the ground, smiling adorably as she gazed upon the trio. Ethlyn and Minnie’s eyes widened as they squealed with delight upon catching sight of the hedgehog, taking special notice of the tiara-like circlet on her forehead with an emerald green jewel embedded in the center.

“My goodness, where did you get such adorable headwear?” Ethlyn enthusiastically asked

“I wouldn’t mind having one of my own,” Minnie spoke in similar fashion.

“Oh please, you’re both embarrassing me!” the Shaymin said as she blushed with shyness, “My accessory is nothing compared to those cute earrings or that pretty pink bow you’re wearing.”

The trio laughed in delight at their conversation, unaware of Emily’s envious gaze upon them for not having an eye-catching accessory as the others did and that her distinguishing look was how unkempt her fur was forced to be. Their joy would not last, however, for a frightened scream from one of the wagons grabbed their attention as a Pachirisu wearing a blue vest with a yellow collar tumbled out, pursued by three younger-looking flying Shaymin wearing tiara-like circlets much like the Shaymin Ethlyn was conversing with, each told apart by their eye colors of dark green, blue, and red.

“Oh, come on, don’t be such a spoilsport! We’re just trying to give you a wreath for crying out loud!” the red-eyed Shaymin shouted as she chased the Pachirisu around.

“Astel, if he doesn’t want the wreath, leave him alone!” the blue-eyed Shaymin scolded as she and the dark green-eyed Shaymin gave chase, “Stop being a pest to these Tabirans already!”

The Pachirisu ducked and tumbled as he dodged the red-eyed Shaymin’s divebombs, covering as much ground as possible towards Ethlyn in between attempts until finally reaching and ducking behind the Emolga as Shaymin made another pass, her feet kicking up dust as they skirted the ground near the electric squirrels and the Shaymin behind her. The mischievous expression on the red-eyed Shaymin’s face quickly mirrored the look of dread on other two flying Shaymin as they watched the cloud of dust envelope the Land Forme Shaymin.

“Oh no, this is not a good time for dust to--- Ah-ah-ACHOO!!”

A bright light enveloped the Land Forme Shaymin as she took on a similar shape to the flying Shaymin, a visible scowl appearing on her face as the light faded, shaking off the dust that had gathered on her face as she glared at the red-eyed Shaymin and spoke in a tone that sounded more like a boy than a girl, “You think it’s funny to kick dust in my face, huh? I’ve warned you before about messing around with me, Astel, and now you’re gonna get it!”

The Shaymin formed a green ball of energy in front of its mouth and fired it towards the Shaymin known as Astel, only for the little reindeer-like Pokémon to dart out of the way of the attack as it sailed towards the sky. The Shaymin growled as it charged Astel, but was caught through quick reflexes by Ethlyn before he could tackle the red-eyed Shaymin.

“That’s no reason to behave that way over some dust flying in your face, Miss, you should be ashamed of yourself!”

“For your information, I’m a guy, and I don’t take kindly to little brats!” the Shaymin protested as it struggled to break free of Ethlyn’s grip, “Now let go of me so I can— “

The blue-eyed Shaymin an icy blue sphere at the ground before the angry Shaymin, kicking up more dust in front of him as he continued protesting his captive status, only to inhale some of the dust in his nose and sneeze, enveloping the Shaymin in light once more as he changed back to his original, ground based self.

“No what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Shaymin?” Ethlyn said with a glare.

“Oh, I sneezed, didn’t I?” the Shaymin replied as he looked back innocently, “I’m sorry, that ‘other me’ can be so rude. Oh, and I’m a girl by the way, at least, when I’m in my Land Forme… I-it’s a long story…”

Ethlyn released her grip upon the Shaymin, somewhat getting the idea that this one went by different genders, and in this case personality, based on which form it took. The closest comparison she could make was the way she would address Addy by whether the bow was placed on her head or his neck, but this Shaymin seemed to take the concept to an extreme by having an entirely new body to go along with the change.

With further apologies made, the Shaymin finally introduced herself as Sharyl Linnaea, explaining to the quartet about how her transformation into her Sky Forme also changes her personality, addressing the alter-ego as Shayne. She also explained how she had trouble keeping her Forme the same if something were to cause her to sneeze, thus she would normally advise others to not kick up any allergens into the air, lest her troublesome and rude alter-ego come out and wreak havoc.

The three smaller Shaymin then took their turn introducing themselves as the Emerwing sisters, Sharyl’s nieces and new arrivals to the continent of Tabira. The first to introduce herself was Malachite, or Mala for short, the dark green-eyed Shaymin who wore her namesake gemstone on her circlet. She was quick to announce that she was around the same age as Sharyl was when she first arrived in Tabira a century ago, much to her aunt’s displeasure, and that many consider her mild-mannered and firm on each decision she makes. The middle of the trio was blue-eyed Shaymin named Celadon, though many tended to call her Cela for short. Of the three, she was noted to have a cool demeanor, but admitted to being too serious at times. The last and youngest was the red-eyed Shaymin named Astel, her jewel a pastel green color and already noted by the group as the energetic, yet ditsy one of the trio. She apologized for her role in the dustup that had occurred, but not without emphasizing the pun in the word ‘dustup’, earning groans from everyone save for the Pachirisu hiding behind Ethlyn.

Ethlyn, Minnie, and Emily introduced themselves once they recovered for Astel’s joke, but it took a while for the Pachirisu, Patch, to say even a “Hello” to the Shaymin quartet. “He’s been like this ever since our battle with Gilgamarsh,” Ethlyn noted, “Normally, he would’ve gone up to someone like Sharyl and say things like ‘My, what a beautiful flower I’ve stumbled upon,’ or something similar… but now he’s afraid to even go near females besides me.”

Though Patch had regained most of his memories during their trip home, recovering from taking the brunt of Gilgamarsh’s Thunder attack and discharging much of the excess electricity he had built up in the process, his usual outgoing personality had not returned, having spent much of the trip sulking in the far corner of the wagon, never once cracking that signature smirk on his face, even if it was a well-established sign he was up to some sort of mischief involving a girl that caught his eye. Stranger still, much like how he acted around Astel only moments before, Patch often froze up when a female ‘mon approached him, even to the point he tried to jump out the wagon a couple of times to get some distance. He eventually warmed up somewhat to Ethlyn as the trip went on, along with Emily and Minnie to a lesser extent, but others such as Stella could never break the ice, and while there were many that thought it was nice to see Patch not be a nuisance and try to hit on every girl in sight, to have a dramatic shift in personality, for better or worse, was what bothered Ethlyn more than anything else.

“Ethlyn, is something the matter?” Sharyl asked, snapping the Emolga out of her thoughts, “You’ve been staring into space suddenly.”

Ethlyn nervously laughed, “Oh, I was just thinking about what I wanted to do now that we’re back home in Tabira. I do need to swing by the Wonder Room and see if Caslon needs our help.”

“The Wonder Room? We were thinking of going there ourselves,” Mala noted, “There’s free food and drinks all day, and they’ve brought all sorts of games to play.”

“I wonder if they have Yu-Go-Mon? I’ve heard it’s pretty big over in Fableton, and I’ve wanted to try that card game for a long time” Minnie chimed in.

“I’ve heard there the lounge singer is a real electrifying guy, if you know what I mean,” Astel commented, sighing as she drifted into a daydream, “I wish I had a dreamy guy like that!”

“Well, maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get a chance to see him,” Sharyl said, “Ethlyn, Minnie, Emily, Patch, we would love it if we could go with you.”

“It would be our pleasure,” the Emolga responded, “Let’s go, it’s time to celebrate!”

The girls cheered along with Ethlyn, eager to have some fun and excitement at the Wonder Room. The same enthusiasm was not shared with Patch, however, for all he could do was sigh and slowly shuffle his feet in their wake…



The bustling atmosphere of the Wonder Room was like a homecoming party for Ethlyn’s senses, the smell of the food fresh from the kitchen wafting into her nose, the laughter and chattering of the patrons and the music of the bar’s signature orchestrion gracing her ears, all that she had dearly longed for on her trip home. Every seat of every table was occupied with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes, and even more hovered around said tables to eat, drink and be merry with friends and loved ones. Up on the stage, a fur-collarless Zorua and Eevee pair sang and danced to the tune of the orchestrion, pleasing the crowd gathered in front of the stage as they clapped along. Across was the bar where the Kadabra barkeep Caslon used his telekinetic powers to pour, mix, and deliver various drinks of all flavors and alcoholic potency to his customers, glancing over his shoulder with a smile on his face as he motioned with his left hand, summoning a Heliolisk whose looks were the perfect representation to the word “electrifying”.

“Oh my gosh, you’re the Rocco, star lounge singer of the Wonder Room, right? You’ve got to be Rocco, I just know it!” Astel exclaimed, struggling to keep her older sisters behind her as all three Sky Forme Shaymin squealed in excitement, a typical reaction the Heliolisk usually got from his fangirls.

The Heliolisk chuckled as he approached the side of the bar table the group stood by, “It’s always nice seeing new faces in the Wonder Room, especially those familiar with my work. May I speak to those two squirrels next to you though, they’re friends of mine.” The young Shaymin trio groaned, reluctantly moving aside so that Rocco could approach Patch and Ethlyn, “Welcome back you two, we missed you around here.”

“I-It’s nice to be back home…” Ethlyn replied, a slight pink hue appearing on her face just the same as Sharyl, Minnie, and Emily’s, “I hope we didn’t worry you all too much…” Patch merely looked away from Rocco and Caslon and sighed in shame.

“Something wrong with Patch?” Caslon asked, “He doesn’t have that silly grin of his today.”

“Eh, it’s a long story Caslon, but the gist of it is that this trip didn’t go well for me…” Patch huffed, “If you don’t mind boss, I’d rather sit out working today…”

“You don’t have to work today Patch, you and Ethlyn just got back home. Why don’t you two follow the rest of the patrons here and relax, unwind? You’re probably still tired from all the things that happened.”

“If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d like to jump back into my routine and help,” Ethlyn spoke, “This is easily the busiest I’ve seen this bar, and it’d be easier on the rest of the staff if I did some of the work.”

“I want to help out too,” Sharyl said, “I wouldn’t mind serving food and drinks with Ethlyn, just as long as I don’t have to carry anything that might make me sneeze.”

“Count us in as well,” Mala concurred, her sisters nodding in agreement, “Anything our aunt can do, we can do too!”

“We’ll be over by the games if you need us Ethlyn,” Emily said as she and her daughter moved ahead, “Don’t overexert yourself, alright?”

With the two chinchilla-like ‘mons disappearing into the crowds, Ethlyn and the Shaymin quartet followed Rocco back to the kitchen for the electric squirrel to acquaint her guests with all the knowledge of over a couple years’ worth of work at the Wonder Room, leaving Patch to hop up onto the seat in front of Caslon and order three glasses worth of a Passho Berry cocktail rich in alcohol.

“It’s not like you to drink something so strongly bitter,” Caslon noted as he grabbed a tall glass from the cabinets with his telekinetic powers.

“Frankly boss, there’s a lot of things to be bitter about…”



With food trays balanced on her paws and their backs, Ethlyn and her Shaymin compatriots emerged through the doors to the kitchen, just in time for a jazzy tune to begin playing from the stage as a fancy Wartortle stood before the crowd, her gold necklace and headwear glimmering in the spotlight as her tail and wing-like ears floofed with each movement of her body. An Ivysaur stood behind just outside the spotlight, his vines skillfully playing the double bass in a small solo before the Wartortle began singing the first lyrics of Furfrou’s Back in Town. Ethlyn’s hips swayed to the tune as she started out onto the floor to begin serving, lip-synching to each word sung as she danced over towards her first delivery stop: the Plusle and Minun duo of Stella and Stefan.

For the thrill-seeking Stella, the Plusle requested a chili cheese hotdog with extra Spelon Berry powder to spice things up, a glass of chocolate milkshake to quench her thirst whenever things got too hot. Her reserved Minun brother, Stefan, ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of water to gulp down everything before his Pecha pie a la mode came to their table. Though their little Cyndaquil partner Firestar was nowhere near the table, he did request of his “parents” some cheese fries to snack on once he was done looking around the Wonder Room.

On a table to their left, Astel juggled several Pinap and Wiki berries in the air in front of Pikipek named Kiki, who looked on at the performance in awe at the spectacle and in fear of having her food falling onto the ground. Fortunately, Astel was skilled with keeping the berries balanced in the air, and with one last bounce off her head they landed safely on the plate between them, earning an applause from the nearby Pokémon watching.

On the opposite side, Cela approached a table where a Growlithe with a black and white checkered scarf was joined by two Lucario and a Houndour in a game of poker, a glass of water and a triple burger balanced on the tray on her back, waiting on the two Lucario to finish their hands before claiming their food.

“Ha, three aces! I’m on a roll today!” the Growlithe shouted as he showed his hand, the Houndour throwing his cards down in frustration.

“Oh, come on Roy, that’s how many hands in the row you’ve drawn a set?! I can’t even get two pairs drawn for crying out loud!”

“You just have bad luck Rafael,” the smaller, scar-free Lucario said with a smirk, “Of course, this time I’m feeling lucky.”

“Oh yeah? If you’re so confident Blade, then show us what you’ve got!”

The Lucario held his right paw out and placed his card hand down upon the table to reveal three #4’s and a pair of jacks. “Read ‘em and weep, full house!” he said as the jaws of the two fire dogs at the table dropped in shock, more so with Roy knowing that he had lost his bet. As Blade took his first swig of water in triumphant fashion, however, the taller Lucario with the scar on his cheek cleared his throat and gestured the trio to look at his hand of cards, consisting of the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of spades, the dreaded royal flush. Blade spat water from his mouth in astonishment, unwittingly spraying Cela in the face as he and the two fire dogs watch as the Lucario smirked and took a bite of his triple burger in victory.

“You got them good David, that look on Blade’s face was priceless!” a violet-eyed Weavile named Samara laughed from a nearby table, one shared with a hood-wearing Eevee named Robin and the chess set between them. It was then that Sharyl arrived with two orders of foot-long hot dogs and root beer floats on her tray, a shaker full of pepper on the side to replace the empty container on the table. As the two thanked Sharyl for the meal, the duo resumed their game of chess as Samara began sprinkling Spelon Berry powder on her hot dog, waiting on Robin to make her move.

The hood-wearing Eevee smirked as she grabbed hold of a rook piece and moved it deep into Samara’s side of the board and declared “checkmate”, smirking as she sat back down in her chair and sipped her root beer. Samara dropped the spice container in her claws in shock, baffled that Robin had managed to defeat her so swiftly, and all because a rook and the one pawn she never moved were blocking both diagonal routes of escape, leaving the only other option to move forward in the path of a bishop.

In the midst, the spice container’s cap popped off upon impact with the table, scattering powder in the air and into Sharyl’s nostrils. The Shaymin plugged her nose with her front paws, but her efforts to stop herself form sneezing were in vain, and from the bright flash that attracted the attention of the patrons and stopped the music from the stage, Shayne in all his Sky Forme glory had appeared.

“Sorry about that Shaymin, I didn’t realize that I was playing a chess game with a prodigy,” Samara said, having recovered from one slip-up in a game of chess only to wind up in another.

“You really need to keep a better handle on those containers,” Shayne growled, “Do you know how easy it is to break those things? The Wonder Room isn’t going to take kindly to that. Of course, you wouldn’t have been so klutzy if you didn’t suck at chess!”

“Hey, no need to get an attitude with me, it’s not like we were playing for some championship! Besides just a few seconds ago you were such a nice server, what’s with the change?”

As Samara spoke, Shayne caught a whiff of a fresh, meaty burger, licking his lips at the thought of a delicious meal, and before the Weavile could finish speaking, the Shaymin sped off in the direction of the scent, heedless of the customers in his flight path and the pursuing Ethlyn, Cela and Astel towards the back of the dining area, where Mala was servicing a table of four consisting of a Pangoro wearing a rice hat and a knit shawl, a Rhydon with a bag full of herbs hanging from the crest rail of her chair, a Linoone with a green armband that had a rook chess piece emblazoned on it, and a Houndoom that had buried her nose in a suspenseful mystery novel.

“What’s cooking Mala? Got any good grub to eat?” Shayne said, intercepting his niece as she began distributing a dinner consisting of two burgers, a salad and ramen, “Oh yeah, now this looks tasty!”

Without hesitation, Shayne sank his teeth into one of the burgers, drawing the Linoone’s ire upon noticing the green flag on the bun that differentiated from the black and red on the other, a likely indication that his burger was the one being munched on. Shayne arrogantly turned his head towards the angry Linoone, wiggling his eyebrows in a taunting manner as he messily scarfed down the burger, watching as the Linoone’s threat towards him was stopped one expletive short before the Rhydon grabbed his muzzle and reminded him that they were not far from a bunch of children playing a board game and could easily learn a very bad word from all the commotion.

Mala whispered into the Pangoro’s ears, explaining that making Shayne sneeze would be the quickest way to resolve this problem, and with a nod of her head, the Pangoro grabbed the pepper container in front of her, popped the cap off and scattered its contents across the table, covering the faces of the rogue Shaymin and the Houndoom behind him with the condiment. The Houndoom lowered her book to give the Pangoro a dirty look, but soon stopped upon realizing that Shayne was ready to tackle the Pangoro in retaliation, ready to fry the Sky Forme Shaymin before he got the chance. Fortunately, Shayne had breathed in a few particles of the pepper on his nostrils, struggling in vain to suppress the urge to sneeze before finally doing so, falling onto the table as she reverted to her Land Forme.

“Oh no, it happened again, didn’t it?” Sharyl sighed as she looked upon the mess on the table, just as Ethlyn and Mala’s sisters arrived, “I’m sorry for all the commotion I’ve caused…”

“Méi wèntí, it sounds to me that this is a problem that happens sometimes,” the Pangoro replied nonchalantly, “besides, it just means Kenneth will have to wait on his burger for a bit longer, unless Penny is willing to share.” The Linoone glared as the Houndoom chuckled to herself, pulling her burger behind her book as a sign that she would let her tablemate starve for the moment. “Just bring another burger for him and all will be fine.”

Sharyl nodded as she hopped off the table, walking over to Ethlyn and bowing her head in shame. Ethlyn patted her head gently to assure that she was fine, “We’ll just have to keep a closer eye on you when it comes to sprinkling condiments, that way you won’t sneeze and change to Sky Forme, and I’ll help you with those orders when you need it.”

“I’m glad that you’re so understanding, Ethlyn” Sharyl said with a smile, a couple of flowers blooming on her back as a sign of gratitude. “I really don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone, and I’ll do my best to help you out without any more incidents like these!”

The Emerwing sisters cheered in response to their aunt’s words, and together with Ethlyn they proceeded on their way back to the kitchen, ready to take more orders for their customers, but not before Ethlyn’s ears picked up on the conversation between Penny and her teammate Lin Lin as she left.

“Ethlyn sure has a lot of tolerance for things like that, but I guess it comes from all that time spent with that Pachirisu version of my uncle. Then again, I’ve heard things have been rough for them after Gilgamarsh.”

“It’s not nice to talk about others behind their back Penny. We’re all here to forget out troubles, not to remind others of theirs.”

Such wise words came too late for Ethlyn, her joy from all the hard work she had done turning to the concerns that plagued her whenever her mind wandered. She quickly shook her head to regain her focus, but the damage had been done, and it would be tougher for her to keep going at the pace she wanted to set…


The lunchtime crowd had mostly withered away in the early evening hours, though many of the tables and bar seats were still well occupied by patrons both freshly arrived and those who had lingered. Up on the stage, a Umbreon with unusually green ring colors bowed before the crowd gathered before her, having performed a rousing rendition of the song “Living in the Twilight” that saw her evolve from an Eevee in the middle of the performance. As she hopped off the stage, a blue Electrike with a scar on his left shoulder blade appeared from behind the curtains, escorted by a tapdancing Altaria pushing a piano into place. Compared to the rocking performance of the previous entertainer, the Wonder Room was about to be mellowed down by a likely lineup of soft, easygoing tunes by a rather dignified individual. After being introduced to the crowd by his fabulous Altaria accomplice and receiving the applause of those listening, the Electrike named Akino took his seat and placed his paws over the keys. Just as he was about to play his first notes, however, Resin of the Keepers guild suddenly and loudly sang the lyrics of the previous song with a drunken slur in his voices, earning the odd stares of the crowd around him and a grumpy glare from the piano player he interrupted. Fortunately, Marble of the Trackers guild stopped him before anything further occurred and escorted him out of the building, allowing Akino to calm down before playing a slow, melancholic tune.  

Of course, Patch couldn’t say he was any better than Resin, having amassed half a dozen empty glasses of Passho Berry cocktails to his name, a feat even he was impressed with given how much he hated bitter food and drinks, just as much as he was about being still able to tell his tale of woe while greatly under the influence, and the music that played from each note of the song was as bitter as the drinks he’d consumed and his feelings towards himself.

As he waited for his seventh glass, the Pachirisu took the time to gaze upon the nearby tables where ‘mons who were more better-off mentally gathered, even spotting members of the Scholar, Tracker, and Artisan guilds like Menthe, Kassi, Topaz, and Sibyl chatting with other guild leaders and those passing by their tables. Though he couldn’t see from the crowd before him, he was certain Ethlyn was out there somewhere, undoubtedly serving all the customers she could.

“Mind if I have a seat with you?” the Pachirisu drunkenly spun around in his chair to find a Midnight Lycanroc with a belt buckle around his waist and an earring on his left ear sitting in the chair next to his, the smirk on his face reminiscent of the ones Patch was infamous for. He nodded in a nonchalant manner and signaled Caslon to ready a drink for his new neighbor. “So, friend, what’s with the long face? Everyone’s got a happy face but you, so what’s got you down?”

“It’s a long story, and I’ve already told my boss what happened to me on the trip to and from the Fever Flats, so don’t make me repeat myself…”

“He’s had a rough time of things, to put it lightly,” said another voice more familiar to Patch, one that used to send a chill up his spine hearing in his usual, non-inebriated state. It was Vander, the leader of the Trackers and the ‘mon Patch most feared, but it seemed this time he had approached Patch in a nonthreatening manner, not that Patch cared. “I didn’t think of you as the binge drinking type Patch, I’d figured you’d be helping out with the electricity and stuff…”

“Patch, as in Patch Reeses, Tabira’s most infamous flirt?” the Lycanroc said, “I’ve got to say, it’s nice to meet a fellow romantic. Know any good girls around here? Maybe I can woo the ones that’ve rejected you.”

“Well here’s one advice: you see that Hitmonchan standing next to us? That fortune telling Lopunny is his wife. Don’t hit on her unless you want a Bullet Punch to the face.”

“Duly noted,” the Lycanroc said as he glanced upon Vander, who gave him a firm look in return to back up Patch’s statement, “Still though, with all those beautiful girls around, I figured you’d go around and have drinks with them instead of up here by your lonesome.”

The Pachirisu slammed his glass down and glared at the Lycanroc, his intimidating look quickly broken up with a single hiccup, “Playing decoy to a couple of Don Kapon’s guards, failing to capture Madeline after promising Holly and Menthe of the Scholars to bring her to justice, being used as target practice, and nearly getting killed by Gilgamarsh, all while trying not to be heroic and doing nothing against him out of fear that I’d get on Vander’s bad side. Does that sound like something worth celebrating?! I did practically nothing worthwhile this whole time, and no one wants to go out with someone who didn’t contribute positively to the cause!”

“Easy there Patch, no need to fly into a drunken rant,” Vander spoke as he placed a boxing glove on Patch’s shoulder, “You know, that last thing you were talking about, well, I came here to say that I’m sorry for pushing you like that, but understand that I did that because I didn’t want your attempts to be a hero to get others hurt— “

“I know that already!” Patch snapped, brushing off Vander’s glove as he took a swig out of his seventh glass, “I should thank all of you Tabirans for allowing me to come along on that trip, by the way. Now I finally understand that my life has been a total joke! All I am, have been, and ever will be, is a public nuisance who can’t contribute positively to the community in any way! I’m selfish, annoying, and cause trouble for everyone, thinking I’m the handsomest Pachirisu in all Tabira! Tell me Vander, name one thing I did right on this trip that would amount to anything?! I bet you can’t even come up with a single— “

“You took a blow that would’ve killed your friend Ethlyn!” Vander snapped, silencing the Pachirisu’s ranting, “Honestly Patch, as she would say, if you can’t consider that as a positive contribution to Tabira, then you’re really hopeless!”

“Um, wasn’t that a little harsh?” the Lycanroc interjected.

“And to think I was going to say I was proud of you for doing that…” With a slam of his fist against the bar, Vander huffed and walked away from the drunken Pachirisu.

“Well, that was… interesting…” the Lycanroc commented as he stood back up, “Well, I think I’d better go find my niece. It was certainly fascinating meeting you Patch. If you ever need help with the ladies, look up the name Silas and I’ll be there.”

As the Lycanroc left the bar and disappeared into the crowd by the stage, Patch turned his attention to his Passho Berry cocktail, newly refilled for an eighth time. Staring into the blue liquid, he reflected upon his new acquaintance Silas and how much his personality reminded him of himself, like staring into a mirror at the image of the very thing that made him so reviled among Tabirans, and he was seeing how justified their opinions were. In his attempt to draw the drink closer for him to start on his next gulp, the glass tipped over and spilled its contents onto the bar space in front of him, the runoff dripping down onto his lap. His face dove into the puddle in front of him, slamming his fist lightly and repeatedly as a different liquid flowed from his eyes and mixed together to make a truly bitter drink…



“And here we are, one Aguav Berry shake and a half-dozen Bluk Berry cookies!”

The last of the early evening orders had been delivered to an Autumn-Form Deerling and the gray Meowth sitting across from him, allowing Ethlyn to finally catch her breath from all the rushing back and forth in undoubtedly the busiest she had ever been in her career as a waitress. Sharyl and her nieces had checked out and hour or two before to say goodbye to the Shaymin returning to Montsechia, wishing them luck and using them to pass a message to those related to Sharyl living on the floating continent that she would stay behind and raise her nieces during their century-long interim in Tabira. Though Ethlyn was up to the task and managed to get everyone’s orders in a timely manner, she could barely stand on her feet much longer, and with the permission of her patrons she sat down in a chair to catch her breath and wipe the sweat off her brow.

“Took you long enough! My sweet tooth was about to fall out of my mouth!” the gray Meowth sassed as she grabbed the first cookie.

“Evelynn, she had other customers to take care of,” the Deerling snapped upon finishing his first sip, “It’s not like your cookies would spoil if she didn’t deliver them quickly.”

“Yeah, but you can only watch a drunken Pachirisu drown his sorrows for so long, right? I tried talking to that guy earlier, but even when I talked to him and complemented how handsome he looks, he just looked at me like he’d seen a ghost and didn’t say anything back.”

“I’m afraid Patch isn’t really the type to talk to girls right now,” Ethlyn interjected, turning to face the bar towards where Patch sat with head slumped upon the counter, “He used to be the type that wouldn’t hesitate to flirt with girls, but ever since he got hit by Gilgamarsh’s Thunder…”

“That’s Patch over there, right? And you’re Ethlyn?” the Deerling spoke, to which Ethlyn nodded in reply, “Yeah, I thought so. I’ve heard a lot about him from Hunter, but he’s not looking like the ‘mon I’ve heard of…”

In truth, Ethlyn’s blistering pace around the Wonder Room also doubled as an effort to keep her concerns about Patch from distracting her from work, for idle thoughts were just as bad as idle hands when it came to productivity. She was starting to regret sitting down, and the more she looked at Patch, the more she felt the same about leaving him to binge drink by himself.

“I’m surprised his kidneys haven’t ruptured by now,” the gray Meowth noted, “Maybe I should try again and convince him to come with me so that he can get some rest and T.L.C, if you know what I mean.”

Ethlyn rose from her seat with little warning, startling her two tablemates as a determined look appeared on her face. “If anyone’s going to help him cope, it should be me. I’m partially the reason he’s this way, and all I’m doing by working this job is letting him suffer! He needs a friend…and so do I…” After pushing her chair in, the Emolga marched towards the inebriated Pachirisu, tapping him on his back to grab his attention, waiting as he slowly turned his bright red and liquid-covered face towards her.

“Eth…don’t you still have work?” he slurred, his eyes struggling to stay open, “No need to go out of your way… Caslon has me covered…”

Ethlyn sighed and offered him a shoulder to lean on, “You’ve had quite enough for today Patch, you can’t spend all your time languishing over liquor,” she said as the Pachirisu slumped into place, dragging her down for a moment before she lifted him up. She glanced towards Caslon as he wiped the cocktail that Patch had his face in with a cloth, nodding silently in an approving manner as a way of saying it was okay for her to take Patch home and call it a night. Ethlyn took Patch’s left paw and assisted in waving goodbye to their boss before beginning their slow procession home…



The last rays of sunlight shone over the horizon, the first stars appearing in the sky above, their glow mimicked by the glow in the dark dye on the straps of Ethlyn’s halter. Most of Tabira’s population was now gathered around the Great Tree in anticipation of the fireworks display that night, but Ethlyn knew a better, more private spot for her and Patch to view the fireworks and talk about the things that bothered them lately. Slowly but surely Ethlyn carried the intoxicated Pachirisu through as little of the crowd as possible to not cause too much of a commotion, whether it was out of concern for the two or disturbing their place from which the other ‘mons were to watch the fireworks, all the while as Patch occasionally murmured in Ethlyn’s ear the most incoherent and scrambled phrases she’s ever heard from him.

“Ethlyn, over here!” cried the familiar voice of Sharyl, she and her nieces all now in their Land Formes, pitter-pattering towards the two electric squirrels. Emily and Minnie were not far from the Shaymin quartet, sitting by the Charming Fortunes building with Minnie on her mother’s lap to get a comfortable seat for the fireworks. “My goodness, is he okay?”

“He’s just had a few too many drinks today, so I was taking him back home so he could get some rest,” Ethlyn said, “How did everything else go today?”

“I only sneezed once when I was saying goodbye to everyone going home, but Cela and Mala were quick to bring me back to normal. Now that the sun’s down, I won’t have to worry about changing to my Sky Forme.”

“Yeah, but I like floating in the air, so it always stinks when I have to become a ground dweller at night!” Astel complained, “At least this time we get to enjoy some fireworks as compensation!”

“Yes, none of us have ever seen fireworks, and considering the timing, it’s almost like they’re welcoming us to our new lives as Tabirans,” Cela commented.

“All and all, our first day in Tabira was very enjoyable,” Mala said.

“I had fun too Miss Monica, I won a Yu-Go-Mon duel!” Minnie said, “You should’ve seen the look on my opponents’ faces when I pulled off my masterful combo!”

“That’ll be for another time, Minnie, Ethlyn and Patch need to get home,” Emily said, patting her daughter’s head, “Oh, I almost forgot, Sharyl and her nieces are going to live in our house for a bit, so that way Minnie has someone to play with.”

“That’s nice to hear,” Ethlyn said with a smile. Patch murmured something unintelligible in response, which Ethlyn interpreted as a sign of his approval. “Well, we’d better go now. We’ll still be able to see the fireworks from our home, so you don’t have to worry about us missing out.”

Having said her farewells to the Mints and the Shaymin quartet, Ethlyn proceeded on her way back home with Patch still in tow. Along the way, she caught sight of Blade the Lucario once more, this time snuggling up with a Braixen wearing a cloak that shone with the same glow-in-the-dark dye as the straps on her own halter and blue markings on her ears. As much as the sight made her smile in approval of the adorable sight, there was a tinge of jealousy that the two were on such good terms with their relationship. She shook her head and turned her attention back towards the smaller tree in the distance that had a treehouse the size of a small house up below the canopy. At last, home was in sight…



It had been perhaps the toughest time she ever had getting up to their home, having to carry Patch all the way up the path that looped around the tree bark that ‘mons who couldn’t climb or fly up used to get to Patch and Ethlyn’s pad, but in the end, she had prevailed in her long hike home, and all that was left was to open the door to their house to finally finish their trek.

The smell of dust greeted Ethlyn as she stepped inside, an undoubtable side effect of all the time they’d spent away from home with no one to clean in their absence, but it was otherwise the same condition they had left it, from the couch and all the various bead necklaces hanging from the walls in the living room to the beds up on the loft and the window above them from which they could watch the stars and gaze upon the Great Tree from a distance.

“Home sweet home,” Ethlyn whispered, gently shutting the door behind her as she dragged Patch around, proceeding towards the small set of stairs leading up to the loft and gently placing Patch in his bed, wiping sweat off her brow as she sat down, sighing while gazing at Patch as he slumped against the pillows and muttered “So good to be home…”

Ethlyn nodded in reply, “We’ll have to do something about the dust, but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem, right?” Patch mumbled once more, seemingly drifting off into slumber as he struggled to keep his eyes open, to which Ethlyn chuckled to himself about seeing him in such a state. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh at you, you’re too tired to listen to me prattle on.”

“Eth, you don’t have to do all this… a good girl like you doesn’t deserve to hang around a crummy guy like me… you’d probably be better off without me…”

Ethlyn placed a finger upon his nose in a firm manner, glaring into his own eyes as they shot open with shock. “Honestly Patch, listen to yourself! You’ve been like this the whole trip back, and you need to knock it off!”

“Why? It’s all true…I’ve been hardly anything but trouble for everyone, especially you… I’m selfish, I went on that trip just so I could have something to brag about and woo females…”

“Yes, the is true, but I didn’t see that selfishness when you brought back those cobalt clothes, matching outfits no less, when I was recovering from my injuries in Ywaru Canyon. What about when you took that Thunder attack? You didn’t go all ‘I can take this, the handsomest Pachirisu in all of Tabira doesn’t fear lightning!’ and stood in front of Gilgamarsh with your chest puffed out.”

“I still don’t see how that justifies all the other things I did…”

“And what about the day we met, when I saved you from that angry Breloom? You thanked me repeatedly and offered to let me move into your house, and not once did you try to hit on me that day!” she paused to move her finger off his nose, relaxing her tone somewhat, “My point is, Patch, that you are capable of being so much better, that you can do things without following some ulterior motive. Maybe this was not the way you had envisioned things, but don’t think that you haven’t had some sort of victory during it all. They’re just…smaller victories than the ones you’ve wanted.”

The Pachirisu sighed and turned his head towards the right, “Yeah, I’m just too full of myself. I say I’m handsome, but I’m not… maybe I’ve just made myself live a lie this whole time…”

“Not all of it was bravado,” Ethlyn countered, her paws taking gentle hold of Patch’s, “To be honest, that positive attitude you have, that ‘I can do anything because I’m handsome’…well, minus the handsome part, but that’s what I like so much about you. That smile, even when it’s full of mischief, there’s a part of me that loves seeing that on your face… and it bothers me that I haven’t seen it once on our trip home…and I think I had something to do with that…”

Patch tilted his head in confusion as he turned to face Ethlyn once more, “Why you? What did you do wrong?”

“Do you remember that argument we had before Gilgamarsh attacked us, before you took that blow? You were quite upset about not being able to fight the way you wanted to because Vander and I told you not to do so. You said that you wanted to fight for everyone, in hopes that someone would notice your efforts, maybe even reward you with a date as thanks. You fought for the happiness of everyone you loved, even if they didn’t love you back. It was loyalty to them, to me, that you did all that, and you nearly gave your life for that…”

Without much warning, Ethlyn wrapped her arms around Patch, startling the EleSquirrel Pokémon nearly to the point that he leapt out of her grip. It was only upon realizing that she was merely giving him a hug and seeing the tears welling up in her eyes that he calmed down.

“…And what have I done to thank you? I’ve been off chatting with others, working the busiest shift I’ve ever worked at the Wonder Room, and all while you sulked in some corner, drinking cocktails until you couldn’t take anymore. If anyone’s being selfish, who’s not deserving of a good friend, it’s me, not you!”

Tightly holding on to the Pachirisu, Ethlyn began sobbing on his shoulder, letting out more of the emotions that had plagued her all day, if not before. What she didn’t expect, however, was the same feeling wrapping around her waist, softly stroking her back in a comforting manner as a soft voice whispered in her ears.

“You truly are a wonderful girl, Eth. I’m glad… that you and I are still together after all we’ve been through…”

Ethlyn moved her head off Patch’s shoulder, wiping the tears from her eyes to find what she had missed most. Though it was small, somewhat meek, there was a smile nonetheless, the kind of smile he showed not long before he was struck down, but she knew that his smile was genuine, and her heart warmed at seeing her friend back to his old self.

It was then that Patch leaned forward and closed his eyes, and suddenly Ethlyn’s heart began to pound wildly as her face glowed red. She knew she had gotten through to Patch and that all was well, his motions made it seem that he would take their relationship to a higher plane. Just when it seemed that their lips would touch, however, he slumped over to his right side, collapsing on the bed as he began snoring, undoubtedly passed out from sleepiness and the high amounts of alcohol he had consumed.

A loud bang soon drew Ethlyn’s attention away from Patch, the first of many fireworks had launched into the skies above Tabira, the cheers of the locals gathered to watch the display audible even as far away from the crowd as they were. Though she knew it was for the celebration, she couldn’t help but call out the timing of it all and giggle to herself.

She hopped off the bed and gently repositioned Patch to a more comfortable position, laying him straight on back towards the window so that he could be able to see the fireworks if he somehow awoke before the end of the show before covering his body from the neck down with the bedsheets. Though she was content with having Patch now in a comfortable position, she felt compelled to add one last touch to feel satisfied with it all, and without further hesitation she leaned over and gave him a soft goodnight gift to his forehead, small sparks arching from her cheeks to his in a way that almost tickled the sleeping Pachirisu, as evidenced by the small widening of his peaceful smile.

Satisfied, Ethlyn slowly walked over to her own bed, undressing her midriff halter to hang on a rack nearby before climbing into her bed and pulling the covers over herself. Through what little time her eyes remained open, she never once paid attention to the fireworks show outside the window, instead gazing longingly at other electric squirrel in the bed next to hers, enjoying the new perspective she had of him.

“Honestly Patch, you’ve already got what you want most…”