Waggle Dance

A Clover Guild Story
By Ribombee-anon

The guildhall’s second-story lounge was a pleasant spot to relax. It was a large room with enough comfy couches and chairs to seat a whole group of Pokemon, and it was decorated with a nice array of flowers and foliage, along with paintings and banners to add some color and life to the wooden walls. Despite being an introvert, I sometimes enjoyed visiting this room with my partner after a hard day of work in the dungeons. Even if I didn’t feel like joining the conversations, the lounge could still offer good vibes to relieve any stress from the day’s labor (provided the room wasn’t too crowded).

So it was that Sneasel and I found ourselves in the lounge while waiting for dinner. She lazed on the couch and I sat on the table in front of it, and we were soon joined by some of our guildmates: Kaiji the humon Alolan Meowth and his partner Kris the Absol, along with Charm the humon Charmander and her partner Natu. Before long, Linoone joined us as well; he was another humon, and a courier for Delibird Deliveries, but he was sociable and enjoyed spending his free time with guild members.

The seven of us began to chat in a meandering way. One thing led to another, and we eventually got to the topic of food and diet. The discussion turned to my unique needs as a Ribombee, as nectar and pollen are staples of my diet. This led to the conversation to shift to the topic of bees. Because Sneasel, Kris, and Natu were native to the Pokemon world, they had never seen such an animal before. They began asking questions, and my fellow humans-turned-Pokemon and I tried to answer to the best of our abilities.

“So, they’re kinda like Combee?” Sneasel asked after we explained things.

“Basically,” said Kaiji. “Just real little—even smaller than Booker—and they got those nasty stingers on their butts.”

“Hey, I’ve got a question,” asked Natu. “If they fly around and harvest stuff from flowers, how do they know where the flowers are? And how do they tell each other where to go? I guess Combee could just talk to each other about it, but you guys said animals on Earth can’t talk like Pokemon can. So how bees they do it?”

“Oh, I know this one!” Charm said, raising a hand. “It’s great! They do it by dancing!”

“Dancing?” Sneasel said with a smirk. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, really,” said Linoone.

“I remember it’s called a... w-waggle dance,” I said. “It’s like a secret code where the bees shake themselves and move in a direction, and th-that tells the other bees where to find flowers. I remember hearing there are different types of dances... a-and some people even say the bees give off some sort of... electric pulses while they dance, and that h-helps them communicate too.”

“Dancing...?” Kris murmured, a faint sheepish smile on his face. “Sounds c-cute...”

“It is cute!” Charm said. “I’ve seen videos of it. Wish I could show you guys some examples. Too bad we don’t have Internet here, or any bees we could wat—”

Her purple eyes suddenly went wide. She grinned at me, and I noticed a rather disconcerting gleam in her eyes.

“What... What are you thinking?” I asked.

“I think you know, Booker,” she said in a singsong tone. “C’mon. We’ve got no bees around here, and no way to watch videos of them... but we do have you.”

“What?”

“You’re basically a bee, right? You should be able to dance.”

I gulped nervously, as I realized what she meant. “W-well, I think I’m a fly, technically? Maybe? Cutiefly and Ribombee are like b-bee flies, which are flies... not actual bees.”

“Nerd,” said Sneasel and Kaiji in unison.

“Bee, bee fly, close enough,” said Linoone. “C’mon! Show me ya moves!”

“Not you too...” I groaned. “Look, e-even if I was a real bee, I wouldn’t w-want to dance. I c-can’t dance. Not as a human, and d-definitely not in this body. So please—”

“I don’t care,” said Sneasel. “Even if it sucks, I wanna see what you’ve got.”

Natu bobbed up and down, nodding agreement. “And it’ll help us natives learn a little about the animals you’ve got on Earth, right? It’s a good cause! ...And I’m totally not just using that as an excuse to get some good entertainment,” he added quickly, under his breath.

As I stuttered and struggled to keep arguing, Kaiji flicked his wrist, and a gleaming gold coin appeared out of thin air like a magic trick. He tossed it up and down with his paw and said, “Hey, pal, how’s about I sweeten the deal? You show us some sick moves, and I’ll toss some moolah your way. How about it?”

I shook my head.

“You sure?” asked Kaiji, snapping his fingers to summon another coin. “I got a lotta dough at my disposal. Wouldn’t be surprised if I can spawn infinite coins.”

“Sorry, but you c-couldn’t pay me enough to convince me t-to dance.”

“But... think about it! I can probably give you endless cash!”

“Exactly.”

That earned a laugh from the guild members and the courier—but they didn’t relent. They kept goading me and prodding me, trying to make me dance for them. It was surely all good-natured in their eyes, but whether they realized or not, it made me feel sick to my stomach.

Being the center of attention (quite literally in this case, as I was atop the table in the middle of everyone) was my least favorite place to be. I hated having all eyes on me, being watched and possibly even judged. And in this case, it was even worse because everyone was pressuring me into something I was scared of doing. I knew if I tried dancing, I’d become a laughingstock.

As everyone kept playfully ribbing me, I weakly shuddered and meekly mumbled my protests, wishing I could just disappear. I needed help, but nobody was stepping in to stand up for me. I was about to cave in—even though I surely would have died of embarrassment within the first few seconds of dancing—when someone finally came to my rescue.

It was Kris the Absol. I hadn’t noticed at the time, but he was the only one of the six who hadn’t joined in the goading. Now, he took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and stood up tall. “Come on guys, leave him alone,” he said, looking sternly at everyone. “You’re... You’re bullying him. He doesn’t want to dance, so just... g-give him a break, okay?”

I heard his voice tremble. He was obviously nervous about being the odd one out. But I still sighed in relief, happy that at least one person had my back, and glad that it was Kris. After meeting each other, we’d bonded over our mutual struggles: he was unable to predict the future like other Absol, and I couldn’t to fly like other Ribombee. Additionally, even though his predictions were pretty much always flawed somehow, I believed there was a kernel of truth in each one, so I had promised to believe in him and support him. He greatly appreciated that, and it put a smile on my face to see him repay my kindness by defending me here.

Although Kris was alone and anxious, he managed to sway the others. After a brief silence, Linoone bowed his head and said softly, “Okay. Yeah, you’re right, Kris. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, Booker. I mean, we’re all friends, right? If you really don’t want to do it, then we shouldn’t force it. Sorry. I got carried away.”

“I mean, it would be really fun to watch you dance,” said Natu, “but it’d be less fun if you’re, like, genuinely upset about it.”

Kaiji relented as well, making Sneasel and Charm the only holdouts. But now that they were outnumbered, they mercifully decided to drop the subject. Charm sincerely apologized, and I accepted it, but Sneasel didn’t say much. She said sorry as well, but she seemed to be deep in thought as the conversation continued, drifting away from the topics of bees and dancing. I briefly wondered what was on her mind, but decided to ignore it and focus on the friendly discussion instead.

* * *

Once the dinner bell rang, the seven of us went down to the lobby. Linoone left to go have dinner with his boss, Debby, while the rest of us went to the mess hall to eat. Later that evening, after finishing dinner and running some errands around town, Sneasel and I returned to our dorm to get ready for bed. We removed our belts and bandannas, stored them away, and spent some time relaxing.

Our dorm was lit by the soft moonlight and a gentle lamp, and it was quiet and peaceful, helping me overcome all the stress of that incident in the lounge. I was on our desk, reading a book by standing atop it and pacing around its pages, while Sneasel sat against a wall and used her claws to carve a wood block into a four-leaf clover. Charm had gotten into woodcarving using her own claws a few weeks ago, and she encouraged Sneasel to give it a try too. My partner was still learning the technique, but it was neat to see what she was able to make.

Eventually, Sneasel took a break from her carving and set the half-finished clover atop her dresser. She kicked all the little wood scraps over to the base of the wall, then came over to the desk. I hopped off my book and, with some effort, closed it up.

“Ready for bed?” I asked her.

“Yep,” said Sneasel. “Well, actually, not yet. We got some unfinished business.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“There’s something I’d like you to do for me, real quick,” she said, leaning in closer so that she loomed above me.

“W-what is it?” I asked nervously, looking up at her.

Her huge grin glinted in the dim light, and she said one word: “Dance.”

My heart instantly sank like a stone. “N-no!” I stammered. “I a-already said I can’t, so j-just forget about it, please!”

“Too bad. You escaped before, but now you’re trapped in here with me, and I ain’t gonna let you sleep till you show me your dance moves.”

“Sneasel, come on...” I whined. “Don’t make me do this...”

“Hey, relax. It ain’t like I’m asking you to do it in front of the whole guild. I know you’d keel over if you had to do that. But right now, I’m the only one here, and I’m your best friend, right?”

“Right, but—”

“So what’s the matter?” Sneasel interrupted me. “You know I’m not gonna hate you or insult you if your dance moves are lame. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“It’s embarrassing, though...” I protested quietly.

“Why?”

“B-because I know I’m gonna do a bad job, and y-you’ll laugh at me.”

“Are you sure you’ll do a bad job?”

“Yes! I never learned how to dance, so I... I know I’ll mess it up.”

“Maybe. But you won’t know for sure until you try it, right? You could be a natural! Besides, even if you are bad, I promise I ain’t gonna laugh.”

“Really?” I asked her hopefully.

“Really,” she said sternly, a stoic look on her face. I wasn’t convinced. We began a staring contest that only lasted a few seconds before Sneasel faltered and chuckled, covering her mouth with a hand.

“Yeah, okay, maybe that was a lie,” she admitted. “Alright then, lemme rephrase it. I promise I ain’t gonna laugh—too much. But I also promise to keep this between us. I won’t tell anyone about your dancing. It’ll be our little secret, okay?”

I thought about it for a while. I did trust Sneasel, and if she promised to keep this a secret, then... maybe it would be worth a try. I still felt anxious about doing something new and unfamiliar, though.

“Do I have to do this?” I quietly asked at last.

“Nah,” Sneasel replied. “I ain’t gonna force you.”

“But... earlier, you said you wouldn’t let me sleep until I did it.”

“C’mon, that was just a joke,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I know I’m not the nicest Pokemon, but I’m not a big enough jerk to force you to stay awake like that. If you really don’t wanna dance, I’ll be fine with that, and I’ll drop the subject. But I think it’s worth a shot. Who knows? It could be fun for you. And there’s pretty much no downside. It’s just you and me, and nobody else is gonna find out, so there’s no need to get all flustered.”

“Well... you do have a point,” I said. “I do feel comfortable when I’m with you—a lot more comfortable than I am around anybody else, honestly. I’d die of embarrassment if someone else watched me dance, but if only you’re watching, then... I guess that isn’t so bad.”

Sneasel grinned, her fangs again gleaming in the gentle light. She began tapping out a simple beat on the wooden desk with her claws and knuckles. “C’mon, give it a shot, Booker,” she said. “Don’t be scared. Just do your best.”

My heart was pounding, but I took some deep breaths and cleared my mind, recalling what I’d learned of meditation. Then, in spite of my worries, I began to dance.

I had no idea what I was doing. I was out of my league, in unknown territory, totally confused and even scared. But I thought back to dances I’d watched in things like music videos and movies as a human, and I even considered the dances I’d personally witnessed Pokemon do here in the new world. Drawing on that knowledge, I attempted to string together some moves to the beat of Sneasel’s claws. But what I pointedly didn’t do was emulate the one dance that inspired all this: the waggle dance of the bees. That involved way too much shaking of the rump, and I’d sooner die than do that kind of thing in front of anyone, including my partner.

To this day, I’m sure that my performance looked terribly awkward and clumsy—perhaps even pathetic. I sometimes stumbled over my own feet and even fell over once or twice. My mind again became cloudy with fear, and my little heart began racing due to a mix of my anxiety and all the physical exertion. I also recall Sneasel snorting and giggling a couple times, adding to my fear... but she never broke out in laughter.

After a few minutes, she finally stopped tapping out a beat, raised her hands, and clapped for me. I didn’t pay much mind to her applause. As soon as I was mercifully freed from this embarrassing obligation, I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands, taking deep breaths to recover from the exercise.

“Ugh... I never... want to d-do that again,” I moaned.

I flinched as something sharp began lightly prodding me. I realized it was Sneasel trying to lift my face out of my cupped hands. I let my arms drop and allowed her to get the end of a huge claw under my tiny chin. She gently tilted my head up and looked me in the eye, letting me see the soft smile on her face.

“I’m proud of you,” she said in a surprisingly serious, sincere tone. “I know how hard that was for you, but you still tried it, and that’s super cool. You’re brave.”

I simply mumbled and glanced away sheepishly.

Sneasel chuckled and continued, “Also, to be honest, that was probably better than what I could do. I learned how to do some dances back in the tribe, cuz everyone had to dance for different rituals and festivals, but I didn’t like it. I usually messed it up, cuz I didn’t bother to practice much. All I wanted to do was fight and explore and stuff like that, not waste my time learning dance moves and prancing around an altar. I mean, do the gods even care if you’re a good dancer? Always sounded dumb to dance for them. But hey, that’s just me.”

I sat upright, lifting my chin off Sneasel’s claw. “That’s interesting,” I said. “I never knew that about your past.”

“I’ve got tons of old stories from the tribe that I still haven’t told you yet,” she said, waving a hand in the air.

“Really? You’ve told me a lot already.”

“I know, but I’ve still got plenty more. Don’t worry, though—I’ll get around to telling them someday. But not now.”

“Right. We have to get some sleep. But I’d love to hear your stories another time.” A thought crossed my mind, and I quietly asked, “Um... Do you think you can show me y-your tribe’s dance moves sometime? O-only if you want to, though.”

To my surprise, she responded immediately: “Totally. It’s only fair if I show you what I’ve got after you danced for me.” She then hesitated and gulped before continuing, “Maybe sometime, we can even, um... try dancing together?”

I gave a start. “Oh! Really? I, uh... That c-could be fun, I think. I don’t like having the spotlight on me, so I’d probably be more comfortable dancing along with someone else instead of doing it myself. Especially i-if that someone is you...”

Sneasel grinned and chuckled again. “Alright then. I’ll hold you to it. Glad you’re feeling better about the dancing thing. Are you happy you tried it?”

I wavered briefly before giving a reply that surprised me: “Actually, yes. I didn’t really like it, and it definitely won’t become a regular thing, but I’m happy that I gave it a chance, at least. It was scary, but it was interesting. And even if it was kind of embarrassing, no real harm came out of it, right? So... you’re right. Trying new things isn’t so bad.”

“Awesome. But old things can be cool too. Like sleeping.”

As if on cue, I let out a little yawn. “Right. It’s getting late. Goodnight, Sneasel.”

“Goodnight, Booker,” said my partner.

After giving me a quick noogie, she hopped up from her seat, went to her bed, and flopped down onto the pile of cozy cotton. Meanwhile, I climbed into the desktop bowl of cotton balls serving as my own bed and nestled into it. We both drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

I had a dream that night. Sneasel and I were alone in a moonlit forest, and I stood on a fallen log, about even with her chest. She turned to me and held out a hand. I smiled and placed my hand on the end of her claw. She began to hum, and we stepped and spun in time to the music. Together, we danced with the kind of skill and elegance that could only happen in a dream.