Team Petal-Purr
Part 3-Day of the Summer Festival-Afternoon
"Super Happy Fun Day Out At The Clover Guild's Super Happy Fun Fair."
Part 1-One Day Before
Part 2-Morning
Ch. 1
Wandering around aimlessly, Blossom had run out of things to do well before the agreed upon 3pm meeting. There were stalls she still wanted to visit, but she was saving them for a time when all three of the team could go together. With her new doll, Greta, still tucked comfortably in her bag, she looked down and addressed the toy as if it were real.
"Well now we've seen pretty much everything, so I'm out of ideas. If we head to the meeting place now, we might see Shelby or Heidi on the way. They'll be so happy to meet you."
Partway through the trip back to the entrance, Blossom caught sight of something moving under one of the stalls. It was a fluffy pink tail lashing back and forth, poking out from beneath a hanging cloth. This was the tail of somebody she knew all too well.
"Shelby!" She called out, causing the Skitty to puff up her fur in surprise and tuck her tail out of sight.
"Shelby, it's me. What's happened?" Blossom steps closer and her sister finally drags herself out from under the stall, looking sad and bedraggled. Her large ears slumped forward over her face as she kept her eyes facing the ground.
"Blossom, I've made a fool of myself..." She squeaked, sounding defeated.
-"But you do that all the time."-
"But-" The Bulbasaur was about to make a joke at her sister's expense, but thought better of it at the last moment. "What do you mean?"
"I did something silly." Shelby confessed. "And it all went wrong."
Blossom looked on sadly as Shelby's dirty paws dragged along the ground with each step. Her fur was dishevelled and her new yellow frock was rumpled and marked with food stains."Let's go find Heidi. Then we can all talk about what we did."
She moves in closer so that the two were almost leaning on each other as they walked, causing Shelby to perk up a little.
"I bet she's been looking at that boy with the guitar again." She giggled, lifting her ears away from her face.
After some searching, the pair managed to track down their friend. They had spotted each other from a distance and Heidi came running as soon as she saw them.
"The outfits worked!" She exclaimed as she bounded over to meet the two sisters. "I saw you and I knew it was you!"
"We saw you, too!" Shelby replied, leaping forward at Heidi as the two playfully chased each other in circles.
"Did you talk to the band?" Blossom asked as Heidi skidded to a halt and tucked her stumpy tail between her legs.
"No." She sighed. "I wanted to, but I was too nervous. I don't think they even saw me. I was sort of hiding..."
"My day didn't go how I wanted it, either." Blossom confessed, hoping to make her friend feel better. "It was pretty lonely."
"Well MY day was the worst of them all!" Shelby announced brightly. She may not be the cutest, but she is potentially in the running for 'Worst Day at the Festival'. "If there was contest for THAT, I'd win it for sure!"
Her sister smiled at her, delighted to see her lighten up so quickly.
"Good. You can tell us about it while we sit down to eat." She turned to Heidi. "Have you had lunch yet?"
"Bleh!" Shelby made a sickening wretching noise before the Houndour could answer. "I'm off food for the rest of today. Heidi, you can have my lunch."
The little dog laughed in response. "I am pretty hungry. And my feet are tired from all this running around."
And so, the three team mates found a place to sit and discuss the happenings of the day so far. Blossom and Heidi shared a bowl of sliced berries served over ice, while Shelby regaled them with tale of the Clover Guild's Cuteness Competition.
Her last minute entry had not paved the road to success and her story was filled with dramatic twists and turns, all coming together in the end to spell disaster. Her defeat had been painfully swift and only showcased to the crowd just how ill-prepared and inexperienced she truly was.
"I'll win next time, for sure!" She said sternly, as if making a promise to herself.
"I can't believe you got all the way up on the stage, that's so brave!" Heidi was engrossed in the story, taking every embellished detail at face value. "It sounds like you really could have won!"
"It sounds like you got what you deserved to me." Blossom spoke sternly, embarrassed to find out that she had made a scene on stage. What Shelby did reflected on her family and her team, and it worried her that Pokemon may think badly of them now. "It wasn't your contest to join, you interrupted them. They were probably upset with you."
"They'll get over it. I already have." The Skitty put a paw on her chest and spoke proudly, as if she were being the bigger person. "It's not like I did anything really bad."
Ch. 2
Feeling rested and refreshed after their break, the team set off again to spend the rest of the afternoon together at the fair. They had matching yellow flower crowns made by two lovely grass types and Blossom got caught up chatting about the weather with the Bellossom and Vileplume that ran the stall. Even Greta was given a small ring of yellow flowers to wear over her tiny head, at Blossom's request. The Gothita doll was happily accepted by the other two girls and she was quickly named an official member of Team Petal-Purr, taking turns riding in each of their bags as her new friends got to know her.
After another snippy comment about the Cute Contest, Shelby was forced by her sister to track down the three hosts and apologise to them for making such a mess of things. Though she was still a little cranky about it, it seemed that the care free energy of the festival was affecting almost everyone. As the afternoon drew on, the excitement and joy of all who attended was growing stronger and louder. By the time the sun had dropped enough to turn the sky a warm orange, most of the crowds had begun to gather all in one place.
With some stalls beginning to pack up for the day, many Pokemon were headed to the stage in the center of the festival grounds, hoping to secure a good spot for the upcoming performance. Heidi's excitement had grown to a fever pitch and she could not sit still while she waited in the front of the crowd.
She hopped and danced around as she hummed the songs that she knew the band would be playing, having memorised them already. When that Smeargle walked out on stage, she would be right there in the very front row; perfectly visible and yet completely hidden within the sea of spectators. Whether he actually looked at her didn't matter all that much, the most important part was that she was going to see him, and cheer louder than anyone else.
Ch. 3
The performance was everything she had dreamed of and more, with a flashy backdrop and real stage lighting. The band played with all their heart, clearly giving their all for the growing audience. If a single sour note was hit, Heidi did not hear it. To her, it was perfection.
Though they initially felt uneasy in a such a noisy crowd, Blossom and Shelby were quickly swept up in Heidi's enthusiasm and joined her as she danced and sang along. She belted the words out at the top of her voice, her beautiful howl almost entirely drowned out by the roaring of the crowd. Whether anyone heard or saw was of no concern to her, as she twirled around in her flowing yellow cape. She was one with the music now.
All three girls were panting in exhaustion by the time the band finished their set. Before Heidi could scream out for an encore, a bone-chilling whistle reached her ears and sent a shiver down her spine.
"Oh no..."
She knew what was about to happen, but nothing could be done in time. She froze and waited, causing her two friends to look at her with worry.
"What's wro-"
--BANG!--
The enormous boom of an explosion cut them short as a great blast of orange light split the sky. It crackled out in horrifying tendrils of fire that looked as if they would rain down on them all. This phenomena was an entirely new experience for the two farm Pokemon, but Heidi, with her more metropolitan sensibilities, knew exactly what fireworks were.
However, knowing their origin has done nothing to quell the intense hatred of them she has held since she was a puppy. The sudden noise and extreme visuals triggered a strong and immediate fear response, causing her to freeze up and look around frantically for an exit. Blossom and Shelby were just as terrified, following Heidi's lead and bolting after her at the first opportunity. They ran and ran until they were off the festival grounds, leaping behind the first solid object that could shield them.
"Wh-what was that?!" Blossom was shaking violently as she dropped onto her belly and caught back her breath.
Every one of Shelby's hairs was standing on end, making her look almost twice her size.
"IT EXPLODED!! THE FESTIVAL IS GOING TO BURN DOWN!! WHAT IF THE WHOLE TOWN BURNS DOWN WITH IT?!" She screamed frantically, reliving the incident at Apple Woods all over again. Her heart couldn't bear to face another loss like that. "WE NEED TO HELP THEM!!"
The Skitty stuck head back out to look, horrified to see that nobody else was running away. What if they were all trapped? What if they died because nobody could reach them? Another bang of light went off in the distance, this one a bright green.
"Nothing will burn down, I promise! It's not like that at all!" Heidi was quick to explain, heartbroken to see her friends in so much distress. "It's just fireworks, they do it purpose."
"So nobody will get hurt?" Her voice trembling, Blossom got to her feet and leaned against her sister, who was beginning to calm down.
"But it's an explosion! Why would they do it on purpose?" Shelby still wasn't convinced and there was a hint of anger towards the idea.
"It's supposed to be fun. But it isn't.." Heidi grumbles back.
Now that she had her wits about her, Blossom began to ponder. With the extra context, she was able to understand what had just happened.
"I definitely have heard of fireworks, but I didn't know they were like that. We've never seen them before."
"And I don't want to see them ever again!" Shelby added. "What a stupid idea! Don't they know explosions are dangerous?!"
Heidi nodded her head and agreed. "They've always scared me. I hate them."
Blossom looked over at Heidi, who seemed disheartened. The Bulbasaur felt for her, she had been having so much fun at the concert before they were all scared away.
"Do you want to go back once they've stopped? The band might still be playing."
The Houndour looked surprised by the offer, touched that Blossom would be willing to even make the suggestion.
"I think I've had all I can handle for one day. We saw the best bits of the concert anyway." She smiled to herself. "They played that new song I never heard before."
"You mean you saw that new boy you like!" With a soft laugh, Shelby ran past her and she stuck out her tongue in reply.
"So what if I did? He's really handsome."
"Can I carry Greta until we get back?" The Skitty had already jumped topics, grabbing at her sister's bag to pull the little doll into her paws.
"Be careful with her." Blossom warned as Shelby balanced the plush Gothita doll over the top of her head. "She's only a baby."
With their day at the Summer Festival coming to a close, Team Petal-Purr skipped happily back into Capim Town together. They returned to the Inn and settled once more into their room, but this time they did not fall into their beds to sleep. Blossom took Greta and bundled her up in a blanket while Heidi lit the candle on their dresser and trotted over to join them.
Shelby sat with her bag in her claws and tipped out the contents into a pile in front of them, a large mix of gummis, candies and sweets she had been hoarding all day for precisely this moment. The three girls spent the night eating treats and sharing thoughts and stories about everything they had seen and done. For better or worse, today had been the most exciting and eventful day they would likely experience for quite some time.
~*~THE END~*~
