"Mmmmm, these smell so good!" I sighed with delight.
Piplup peeped, stretching his flippers up at me so he could smell the berry as well. Squatting down I held it up to his beak and he took a big whiff, chirping in approval and I stroked his little head.
"These will make wonderful poffins for sure!" I said with a smile and Piplup nodded happily.
I'd been restocking my supply of berries and travel food all day and just enjoying the sea breeze while walking around with Piplup. Cutiefly and Growlithe weren't used to walking in a crowded city so I was keeping them both in their Pokeballs for now. Shopping took most of the day, especially since I spent an hour going through songs that I could use for future showdowns. I had decided to use the same dance routine for my first appearance in Akala, but I wanted to start working on a few other dances to have in case they fit the occasion better.
Once I was all set it was late afternoon already and Piplup and I started making our way towards the path that would take us to Paniola Ranch. I was shocked when the path seemed to end in a sea of grass so tall that the tips tickled my ribs. Holding Piplup tight to me I waded my way through, jumping every time I heard the snap of a branch or a rustle in the ridiculously long grass. Even though it was light out I couldn't help but let my imagination wander about all of the things that could be crawling around, ready to attack me.
"P-ii-p, l-u-uup," Piplup said in a strangled voice and I gasped, realizing how tightly I was squeezing him against me, and instantly loosened my hold.
"Piplup! Oh, I am so sorry!" I apologized.
He went limp in my arms, breathing deeply to refresh his poor little lungs. By the time I finally left the sea of grass behind me I was a jumble of nerves. Without shame, I bolted as soon as I saw the path again. I stumbled into Paniola Town gasping from my sprint and Piplup shimmied so he could turn in my arms and try to fan me with his little flippers.
"Thank you, Piplup. Sorry, I'm such a scaredy cat," I gasped out and Piplup patted my cheek comfortingly.
Once I got my breath back I looked around at the quaint town we were in and my fears vanished as I took in the wooden houses. They looked like they were straight from an old western movie; the kind where a Sheriff with his trusty Charmeleon partner ran out bandits from the bank. Grinning widely I walked slowly through the town, taking in all the cute little details, but I was so excited to get a pokemon egg that I decided to skip the PokeCenter and just keep going towards the Ranch. The sun had begun to set, but after checking my PokeGear I was pretty sure I could still make it before the daycare closed.
After leaving the adorable town behind me, Piplup hopped down from my arms and pointed toward my hip. Smiling in silent agreement I took Growlithe's and Cutiefly's Pokeballs off my belt and released them. Piplup jumped up and down happily as Growlithe ran around him and Cutiefly came to cuddle against my cheek briefly.
As a gentle breeze caused the sugar cane plants to my right to wave peacefully I couldn't help but laugh as I watched Piplup challenge Growlithe to a game of tag, only to have Growlithe leap on his back and tackle him. Growlithe barked happily as Piplup flapped his flippers and kicked his feet.
"Isn't Alola amazing?" I asked, gazing around me at the expanse of nature without hardly a building in sight.
Piplup was still being dog-piled by Growlithe and I could hear his angry, muffled cries from underneath him. Taking pity on him I snuck up behind Growlithe as he was looking at a passing Tauros and scooped him up in my arms, spinning him around as he barked out a doggy laugh. Piplup removed his beak from the dirt and glared daggers at Growlithe, who I was now tickling mercilessly.
"Pip pip lup!" Piplup yelled indignantly, stomping his feet, which made his waddle even more pronounced as he marched towards us.
"Growlithe was just playing, Piplup," I said, crouching down and depositing the still bark/laughing Growlithe on the ground where he rolled a few times before calming down.
Piplup turned his beak up with obvious annoyance and I reached out and tickled him right where his cheek met his beak. He peeped out a surprised laugh before smacking my fingers and looking at me with indignation. Growlithe rolled back onto his feet and stuck his wet nose against Piplup's cheek in a puppy kiss. Piplup glared over at him and Growlithe licked his beak, making Piplup back away and spit in disgust. I laughed delightedly and tussled the tuft of fur between Growlithe's big ears.
"What a good boy apologizing! Piplup, can't you forgive him?" I asked, giving him my own version of bonsly eyes.
Piplup wrinkled his chin and clenched his beak as if he were getting ready to fight some more, but then he sighed and waddled over, patting Growlithe once on the shoulder as a sign of forgiveness.
"Thank you. Now let's go meet our newest friend!" I squealed, returning to my feet and walking briskly down the path.
Growlithe and Piplup followed after me and I watched as Cutiefly flew lazily in between the thin stalks of sugarcane. We hadn't even been walking an hour when a large barn and a few smaller wooden buildings came into sight. One of which had a sign proclaiming it as the Paniola Ranch Daycare. Hardly able to contain my excitement I dashed towards the daycare with Piplup and Growlithe hot on my heels.
"Welcome to the daycare! How can I help you today?" a cute young woman, probably in her late twenties, asked as I walked in and held the door open for my three pokemon to come inside.
"Hello! Nurse Joy told me that you might have some pokemon eggs you were hoping to give away?" I asked hesitantly and a look of pure relief filled the girl's face.
"You must be Dawn! Oh my goodness, thank you so much for coming!" The girl said, dashing around the counter and pulling me into a hug.
Not sure what else to do I hugged her back and laughed awkwardly. "Sorry if I'm late," I said uncertainly and she laughed while pulling back from me.
"You're not late at all! Give me just a moment and I'll bring out the eggs," she said before dashing through the door behind the counter.
Piplup walked forward and clambered up the stool so he could sit at the counter. Growlithe sat down next to my legs, leaning against them affectionately and I thought I felt the faintest weight added to my head, which I assumed was Cutiefly.
"Here we are!" she called, her arms filled with three incubator capsules, each with a distinctive egg inside.
"Do you need some help?" I asked in concern but she made it to the counter without dropping any of them and gave me a bright smile.
"It is a huge help that you are willing to take care of one of these little guys for us!" she said as she lined up the three capsules. "I don't know why but whenever trainers find eggs they always bring them here. As if we weren't busy enough as it is!"
I frowned sympathetically at her and she looked at me with a slightly desperate expression.
"We have ten more eggs in the back, you wouldn't happen to want more than one?" she asked and I bit my bottom lip.
"I'm so sorry, but I am going to be traveling around doing Luau Showdowns. I don't think I would be able to properly take care of more than one," I apologized and she sighed, pushing one of her blonde braids over her shoulder.
"That's alright. That's really smart of you, actually. But maybe after you have finished your journey you could come back for another one," she suggested with a relaxed smile and I nodded. "Well then, these three have all started showing signs of hatching soon, I'd say they should be hatched within a week or two. Which one would you like?"
"Do you know what pokemon they are going to hatch into?" I asked walking closer to inspect the three little eggs.
"Unfortunately I don't. The other girl that works here looked them all up but I don't remember which ones are which, sorry."
I smiled and waved my hand dismissively as I studied the eggs. The egg closest to Piplup was mainly a light green color with a dark green portion on the bottom. That's probably a grass type of some kind, I mused before turning to look at the middle egg. This one had a grey bottom that stretched up into a red color and there were two small yellow dots on the top. Maybe a fire type. The last pokemon egg was light brown on the top and the bottom with a jagged cream band around the middle. Looking at the colors reminded me of Lopunny and I wondered what the chances of it being a Buneary was.
"It's hard to choose, huh?" the breeder said with a kind smile and I nodded.
"What do you think Piplup?" I asked.
Piplup hopped from stool to stool gazing with a critical expression at each of the three eggs. Cutiefly flew off my head and began circling the eggs as well so I reached down and picked up Growlithe so he could look at the eggs too.
"Your pokemon are all so cute!" the breeder exclaimed with a grin which I returned.
"Thank you very much! I love them with all of my heart," I said, cuddling Growlithe against me and he yipped happily.
Piplup and Cutiefly both went back and forth, looking over every inch of the eggs. To my surprise, Cutiefly landed on the brown egg at the same time as Piplup tapped it with finality.
"You're sure?" I asked them and Piplup nodded emphatically while Cutiefly flew in a quick backflip.
"I guess we'll be taking that one," I said with a smile and the breeder lady giggled.
"I'm sure you will become great friends with your newest addition," she said, picking up the incubator and extending it to me. I set Growlithe back on the floor before accepting the egg, jumping slightly as it flashed for a brief second when it transferred to my arms.
"Thank you very much! We'll take good care of it," I promised and the breeder lady waved as I led my little band of pokemon out of the daycare.
The sun was sinking farther and farther towards the horizon and after a quick decision, I decided to keep following the path towards Brooklet Hill. Piplup sang cheerfully as we walked and soon Growlithe began to join in with his own soft howling accompaniment. The sugar cane fields continued on for as long as we walked, but just as the sun was giving off its last bursts of color I noticed a copse of trees in the distance.
"Let's go until those trees and then make camp," I suggested and my pokemon all made their unique sounds of agreement.
We hurried to our destination and I quickly set up my tent and got a fire going. By the light of the moon and our little fire, I portioned out pokemon food for everyone before pulling out my pot and a packet of noodles. Using one of my many water bottles I quickly boiled water and made myself some ramen.
After we all ate I opened the incubator capsule and gingerly brought the egg onto my lap. Piplup waddled over and climbed onto my knee so he could lean his cheek against the egg, stroking it with his flippers lovingly as he peeped out a little song to it. Growlithe laid down in front of me, propping his head on my ankle and looking at the egg with wonder and Cutiefly sat on Piplup's head, buzzing along to Piplup's song.
"Whoever you are and whenever you decide to come into this world, I hope you know you are loved," I whispered softly to the little egg.
******
"Your pokemon are all looking healthy and happy!" Nurse Joy announced the next day. We had come across a PokeCenter right after lunch and I decided to get all of my pokemon checked. "And your egg looks like it should hatch any day now! How exciting!"
I grinned happily at her, replacing my Pokeballs on my belt and gently lifting the incubator into my arms.
"Is this the PokeCenter right before Brooklet Hill?" I asked and Nurse Joy nodded.
"That's right. Are you thinking of taking the Brooklet Hill Trial?" she asked and I blinked in surprise.
Nurse Joy giggled and pointed to my backpack strap. When I looked down I saw the colorful amulet that Hau had given me and I smiled in understanding.
"Yes, I was thinking of doing that before heading for the Wela Volcano Showdown," I explained and Nurse Joy smiled brightly at me.
"Well then, I'm glad I asked! I have Lana's schedule right here."
Nurse Joy bent down, rifling around under the counter and I set the egg incubator down again as I waited. She finally straightened, holding a clipboard up triumphantly before placing it on the counter and studying it for a moment.
"Hmmmm, well that's wonderful! It looks like Lana is going to be fishing on Brooklet Hill tomorrow, so she can let you into the trial," Nurse Joy said with a smile, spinning the clipboard towards me and handing me a pen. "If you could just sign here so I know this spot is taken?"
I took the pen she offered and signed my name, feeling both excited and nervous. If Paul was right then this was the water trial and I really didn't have anything to go up against a water pokemon.
"Nurse Joy, would it be okay if I used your kitchen?" I asked and she smiled brightly.
"Of course! Please help yourself to anything that's in the fridge," she offered and I thanked her before picking up my egg once more.
I walked past the cafeteria and into the kitchen which was wonderfully empty. After choosing a safe corner away from the preparation table to sit my egg I released all of my pokemon and we spent several hours making batch after batch of poffins. By the time we were pulling out the final batch the workers who prepared dinner were starting to come in.
With the help of Bubblebeam and Fairy Wind we were able to clean up our mess fairly quickly and I apologized to the workers, who all insisted I hadn't been any trouble. After I packed up the dozens of finished poffins in containers I stored them in one of my storage capsules and left the kitchen behind us.
"Let's go outside and practice a little before dinner, okay?" I suggested and Growlithe barked excitedly.
We found an empty space in the far corner of the backyard and first I went over our dance routine with Piplup and Cutiefly. We had to practice three times before it was perfect and Growlithe patiently sat by the egg, watching over all of us with a serious expression, but I noticed that his thick tail was thumping the ground with the beat of our practice song.
"Wonderfully done, Cutiefly and Piplup! Why don't you take a break and I'll work with Growlithe for a little while."
Piplup saluted me, skipping over to Growlithe and taking his spot next to the incubator before wrapping his flippers around the glass and nuzzling his cheek against it. Growlithe bounded over to me excitedly and I knelt down so I could rub his ears between my hands.
"We're going to practice Flame Wheel today. I noticed in our battle with Hau that it takes a little while for you to create the flames around you, so we're going to try and speed that up, okay?"
Growlithe barked in agreement and we tried several things to get him to create his flames as soon as he jumped up. Unfortunately, no matter what we did he never could make it until he was already tucked into a rolling position in the air.
"Hmmmm..." I mumbled, rubbing my cheek as I tried to think of another way to help him with the move. "Maybe we need to build up your speed first," I suggested, looking down at Growlithe whose ears were sagging dejectedly.I smiled gently at him and knelt down to tussle his tuft.
"How about we go jogging every morning to build up your speed? We can try it again in a few days," I said and Growlithe whined quietly but wagged his tail. "Let's go eat," I announced, scratching him behind his ear and he yipped in agreement.
After dinner, we went back outside and I let my little ones play as I started coming up with dance ideas for a few of my favorite songs I'd found. I didn't realize how late it was getting until I made a misstep in my dance and fell onto my back. As I blinked up at the sky I realized that I was looking at the moon instead of the sun and I pushed myself up.
Glancing around, I realized that the lights coming from the PokeCenter were shining directly on my practice space, which must have been why it took me so long to notice the late hour. When I glanced over at where I left my egg Piplup was curled up and sleeping next to it peacefully with Growlithe standing guard and Cutiefly had apparently fallen asleep on his head.
"Time for bed, I guess," I said to Growlithe with a laugh and he stuck his tongue out and panted lightly.
Not wanting to risk dropping either Piplup or the egg I returned Piplup to his Pokeball and picked up the incubator, gesturing with my head for Growlithe to follow me. We made our way to our room for the night with Growlithe walking carefully so as not to disturb his sleeping passenger.
By the time I brushed my teeth, changed into my silky pajamas, and washed my face, Growlithe had curled up on one of the bunk beds and fallen asleep, Cutiefly still on his head. I chuckled to myself quietly and resisted the urge to stroke his soft fur, afraid that I might wake him up. As I climbed into bed myself my mind drifted, going through the songs I was trying to decide between for the showdown down at Akala beach.
I wonder what Paul would like, I thought sleepily and then blinked my eyes in surprise. What are you thinking, Dawn? He only liked seeing me get mud thrown in my face. He wouldn't care what kind of song I choose, I told myself irritably.
Pulling the blanket over my head I tried to go through my list of songs again but the image of Paul walking away from me without saying goodbye kept replaying in my mind and I sighed.
"Who wants a jerk like that for a friend anyway," I muttered to myself quietly, turning around and finally feeling sleep descend over me.
The next morning my alarm went off earlier than normal and I groaned, switching it off and yawning for a solid ten seconds. Ugh, I hate mornings, I thought to myself groggily before stumbling towards the bathroom.
Within a few minutes, I was alert and changed into the comfortable tracksuit that I wore when I was exercising. Quietly I returned Cutiefly to her Pokeball and then ruffled Growlithe's ears. He blinked his eyes groggily in the dim pre-dawn light and stretched out, giving a big doggy yawn.
"Are you ready to go on our jog?" I asked and he barked, shaking off his sleepiness with ease and bounding towards the door.
I left my egg with Nurse Joy, telling her we'd be back in a little while, and then I grimaced lightly. I really hated running, but I didn't want Growlithe to go by himself, so after stretching for a few minutes I let Growlithe take the lead and we switched between jogging and running until the sun rose. Growlithe and I were both breathing hard by the time we got back to the PokeCenter and I laughed breathily at him.
"Well... I guess... We'll have to do this... more often," I gasped out and Growlithe nodded, looking exhausted but determined.
After switching Growlithe for my egg I took a quick shower to rinse off the sweat and was surprised at how energized I felt after I finished getting ready.
"Growlithe is doing just fine, I think that running with him in the mornings is a great way to build up his stamina," Nurse Joy said as I picked him up and I grinned wryly at her.
"I think my stamina needs some work too," I admitted and she laughed.
Once I made sure that everyone ate their fill of breakfast I thanked Nurse Joy and made my way past the PokeCenter and walked down the path that pointed to Brooklet Hill.
A/N this was kind of a tame chapter. Does anyone know what pokemon Dawn is going to hatch? It's probably pretty obvious :P Thanks for reading!!!