Ash's Story (Part 5: Modern Sinnoh)

Chapter 13: Flower Courage

Floaroma Town smelled like the road had finally remembered how to breathe.

After Route 204, the first wave of flower scent almost felt unreal. Hunter J's airship had vanished behind us, but the memory of gray stone around Gardevoir and Pikachu still clung to my chest. Then Floaroma appeared ahead, covered in color, with flowers swaying beside white fences and soft paths.

Dawn slowed beside me with Pachirisu on one shoulder and Piplup at her feet. Buneary held one of Dawn's hands, and Ponyta walked close enough that Dawn could feel her warmth.

Ponyta watched the sky whenever a shadow crossed the road. I understood that feeling. After J's Salamence came down from above, even a passing Starly could make my shoulders tighten before I understood it.

Pikachu sat on my shoulder, warm and alive, and that should have been enough to calm me. It helped, but it did not erase the image of him frozen gray in my arms. Gardevoir walked beside Kirlia ahead of us, and Kirlia had not let his sister drift more than a few steps away since the rescue.

Kirlia's meaning came faintly, almost embarrassed by how tightly he guarded her. "If I can see her, fear stays smaller."

Gardevoir touched his shoulder with one gentle hand.

Gardevoir's meaning answered him with calm affection. "I am here. You found me."

That exchange stayed with me as we crossed into Floaroma's first street. Sometimes rescue did not end when the cage opened. It continued in small moments afterward, whenever someone needed proof that someone loved was still beside them.

Dawn looked around with wide eyes, and for the first time since the airship, her shoulders lowered. "Wow," Lillie said softly. "This town really is perfumed with the sweet scent of flowers."

Dawn breathed in and smiled. "Yeah. This place is awesome."

Dawn's expression changed at Contest. Excitement came first, then nerves close behind it. Jubilife had given her an appeal, a loss, and a rival in Zoey all at once. Now Floaroma was offering another stage before she had fully stopped thinking about the first one.

"You okay?" I asked quietly.

Dawn adjusted Pachirisu before it could climb onto her head. "I am. I just want this Contest to be different."

"It already is," I said. "You have more partners, and you know more about what a Contest feels like."

Piplup nodded fiercely, as if my answer had barely met his standards.

Dawn gave him a fond look. "And I have a Piplup who thinks every stage belongs to him."

Piplup chirped with complete agreement.

Pachirisu sniffed the air, cheeks sparking with immediate interest. Its tail twitched toward a basket of berries outside one of the houses.

Dawn caught the look instantly. "No stealing."

Pachirisu's meaning flickered bright and hungry. "Flowers smell nice. Berries smell better."

I laughed before I could stop myself. "At least it is honest."

An elderly woman watering flowers near the path looked up with a gentle smile. "Judging by your faces, I think this is your first time in Floaroma Town."

Dawn nodded quickly. "Yeah. We're here for the Contest. This place is beautiful!"

"I'm glad you like it," the woman said. "Floaroma was once barren and without any kind of vegetation. Legend says a beautiful woman climbed the hill and expressed gratitude. In answer, flowers began growing everywhere, until the whole town bloomed."