Shelly Episode 2: The Danger Of Cute Charm

“Shelly? Shelly, wake up!” Angel called out. He groaned and turned over. It felt like he’d just started dreaming. “Oh come on, I’m tryin’ to help you out here. Seriously, get up!”

He gurgled something as he forced himself to sit up. He couldn’t stop rubbing an eye. “Wha… it’s still dark. What time is it?”

“I dunno, sometime late. But that Wigglytuff’s makin’ some mischief, and she’s on her way here. I’d be up if I were you,” Angel said. She hadn’t come out of the amulet, so he yawned and stretched.

“I’m so tired,” he sighed.

“Too bad. Look alive, here she comes,” Angel said anxiously.

Shelly flinched when he heard the door handle move, and then scrambled to hide behind the bed. He had to curl up to get out of sight, and he could barely see over the side. Sure enough, Kusha snuck into the room. He couldn’t see her face thanks to the darkness, but the way she delicately closed the door and then floated across the room, he grew wary.

“Don’t bother hiding from me. My ears can pick up anything. I can hear you breathing,” she said softly. He stood up after that, and she instantly located him. “Good, you’re awake, and aware.”

“That’s to be debated,” he yawned again.

“I promise I’m not here to hurt you. But I need you to trust me. The situation’s dire,” she said. Shelly still shifted back from her approach. “Please Shelly, I mean it. I want to help you.”

“Help me?” he said.

“Shh, not so loud. I’m going to help you get out of here, so I need you to trust me,” she said. She dropped to all fours and bowed, ears flopping on the floor. “Please work with me. This might be the only chance we get.”

“What’s going on? What do you mean?” Shelly whispered. He shook his head as the reality of what was going on finally hit. “Wait a minute, how did you get here? Don’t the Vileplume patrol at night?”

Kusha played with her hands. “Don’t ask questions you’re not prepared to hear the answer to.”

“Just tell me. Enough’s going on now that I don’t get.” He shook his head.

“I had to take them out. I don’t know how long they’ll stay put, but once they find out, I’m out of here. And I’m not leaving without you,” she said, standing back up.

“I’d take it if I were you. I dunno what other chance you’re gonna get,” Angel said.

“But why?” Shelly whispered.

“I’m actually a spy from the Vilé region. I was sent here to keep watch on the army’s activities. I didn’t think I’d be playing my hand so soon, though,” she said. “We’ve had spies here for years. Once we learnt that Queen Gladys had taken in a prince that was a water type, we had suspicions. So through some luck and fancy strings, I was able to train to be your retainer.”

“Huh.” Shelly stared up at her.

“And now, I’m going to get you out of here. I can’t let Queen Gladys hold a Shining Warrior captive. And whatever she originally wanted you for, it sounds like taking you away now will totally foil that,” she said. “So please. Come with me, Shelly. Work with me, and let’s get you out of here.”

There was clear hesitation as he played with his hands. After a moment, he walked over to where his belongings were and equipped his headband and Gospel Vibe. It instantly glowed purple, though only the slightest hint of the colour. “Okay. What do I have to do?”

Kusha was surprised. “Are you sure? You’re… not going to question why I’m against the queen?”

“I know how important the Shining Warrior legend is. If Gladys won’t tell me why she won’t let me do it, then… I th-think I have to do it. No matter what,” he said, playing with his hands.

“I have to remember you’re only a kid. But that’s good enough for me. Make sure you’ve got everything, and then stay close,” she said.

He spent a minute rummaging through his stuff, but there wasn’t much he could take. All he had was a handbag shaped like a pouch which could fit his Treasure Orb, and a couple of Eyedrop Seeds. He forced a Reviver Seed in there too, and then joined her by the door. “I’m ready.”

“Absolutely certain? There’s no coming back here once we step out.” She leaned forward to pat him.

“I’ve got everything. I don’t have much stuff,” he said, looking away. She smiled and sighed, and then turned around. There was a long pause, and he raised his eyebrow at her. It almost looked like she was poking her backside at him.

“Well then? What’re you waiting for? Get on.” She half turned back.

“H-huh?” He flinched.

“Get on my back so we can sneak out of here,” she said.

He was wary enough to climb up her side instead. The moment he touched her, he was reminded of that comfortable feeling he got from holding her hand before. Her body was firm and large enough for him to get a good grip on, but soft enough to relax on. The axe being in the way didn’t even bother him.

Once she was sure he was held on tight, she inflated a little and floated out, making sure to close the door behind her, too. “Okay, let’s see now. They said the secret place was in the back… might be a while.”

“Secret place?” Shelly said.

“Shh. Don’t talk until we’re outside,” she replied, and then they were on their way.

Am I doing the right thing? he said to himself as she swiftly floated down the hallways. The last time he had been awake this late, he had been grounded even though all he wanted to do was find somewhere to take a leak. The palace at dark was as intimidating back then as it was now.

The only Pokémon awake were Vileplume and Shiinotic, as evident by the luminous glows in the distance. Thanks to the glass walls, it was difficult to tell what was a wall and what led directly into the surrounding forest, especially as those glows could be seen no matter where they went. Kusha seemed to know what she was doing regardless, and made careful advances across the halls to avoid the patrolling soldiers.

But she couldn’t avoid them completely. A couple of soldiers, both Shiinotic, were marching straight toward them. Kusha pulled her axe from her back, and then silently flapped her arms like wings to float toward the ceiling.

Shelly held his breath, but his heart beat so fast he could hear it. He knew what was about to happen, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away even though he knew he didn’t want to see it. Thanks to the darkness and the size of the halls, Kusha was probably way out of sight on the ceiling like this. The moment the Shiinotic were directly below them, their glow lit them up, and the mushroom Pokémon stopped in place.

Kusha didn’t waste a moment. She deflated and motioned in such a way that she threw her body down with surprising force, appearing behind the Shiinotic for an moment. She carried that momentum into a spin to smash one of the Shiinotic with the blunt side of her axe. The other one gasped and shouted as they turned to attack her, but Kusha had already recoiled and spun into another swing. Her axe met that one’s face too, and just like that, the two guards stopped glowing.

Shelly let out a breath and wiped his forehead of sweat. He had expected a more gruesome outcome, but he knew not to complain about this. And just as always, Kusha never touched the floor once. With that floaty glide, they were well away from the scene in seconds.

A few scenes of sneaking and ambushing later, and they managed to reach the hallway with a staircase to the second floor. Shelly brightened up crawled around her side so that he could see her face. “O-oh, wait. Can we go and get Elise?”

“Elise? Do you think she would help?” she whispered.

“I-I promised her we would leave together. She wants to get out, too. She’d definitely help,” he said. Kusha looked at the staircase worriedly. “It’s not far. Just up there and to the right.”

Looking to the glass walls, she followed his directions. Three Roserade sat directly outside the room, although they looked asleep. “I’m not gonna be able to get in there without fighting them.”

“They wouldn’t fight me. I could get her,” he said.

“Sorry kid. It’s too risky. You’ve got to take risks when the time calls for it,” she said, and bent down again. “I dunno how much attention you pay to your surroundings, but did you know that this is the only room in the palace to have a solid floor?”

“But glass is solid, isn’t it?” He cocked his head.

“Well I mean like,” Kusha mumbled as she skipped across the room. “You can’t see through the floor of this room, unlike the glass floor everywhere else. And the reason is… aha! Found it.”

He didn’t realise she’d been kicking the floor, where she revealed a tiny ring attached to a string. She pulled it to open a trap door, once again careful in setting it down quietly. Shelly went silent out of both interest and fear now, evident by the purple of his leaf growing stronger.

“After you.” She presented the path to him. A perfectly square drop with a collection of vines on one of the walls. He could use those vines as a ladder to get down, but it was even darker down there than it was here. So he gulped and prodded his hands together.

“E-er, Gladys always told me to let ladies go first,” he said.

“Oh, how gentlemanly,” Kusha said with a giggle and a half-lidded smirk. She hopped up to float down, so he grabbed her to descend with her.

He started breathing through his mouth. It was dark before, yet it got darker the further they descended. He expected the shady glow of the night to be here, but instead, it was so dark that he couldn’t even see Kusha’s body despite clutching her. Everything was black, and it made him shiver from cold.

“Are you okay?” Kusha’s voice made him jump.

“A-aye. S-sorry,” he whispered, squeezing her even tighter.

“You’re holding on so hard. hmm… Wait. Those were Eyedrop Seeds you took earlier, right? Let’s eat one,” she said.

That is, if he could even get one out of his bag. He trusted himself enough to find the zip, then rummaged and felt until he was sure he had the right seed. He knew to crunch it before swallowing, where the minty innards sent another chill through his form.

After a few blinks, things became visible to him. Everything got a grey outline to it, while his eyes glazed over with a light but irritating fluid. He could see in the dark like this. Not fine details, but enough tell what this area was.

The room was compact and disorganized. All sorts of strange contraptions were all over the desks and shelves, from small handheld devices to large machines on wheels, and everything in between. The walls here even had a hi-tech pattern of straight lines and wires all over them.

“Oh, wait. It’s just the lab. I’ve never been here at night,” he said.

“The lab? You say that like you’ve been here before,” Kusha said as he got off her. He waddled over to a corner where there was a giant slab of clear solid material.

“Aye. They taught me about how to make and use Wonder Orbs here. It’s where I got my Treasure Orb, too,” he said.

“I know a lot about Wonder Orbs, but I’ve never heard of a Treasure Orb. Did they somehow make a new one?” she asked.

“The Treasure Orb is a modified Storage Orb forged and programmed intricately with the engraving method.” He nodded and started playing with his hands. “I’m the only one who can use it, for some reason. It’s sorta like a bag. I can store and pull items out of it, but it’s really easy to mess up and pull out some random thing I didn’t know was in there.”

“I have so many questions.” Kusha leaned to the side a bit. “Oh, so it’s like where you got the Heal Seed from yesterday. The one you healed Elise’s arm with.”

He nodded. “I can even pull other orbs out of it. It’s where I keep my sword and shield, too.”

“They make you carry a shield even though you’re an Oshawott? Doesn’t your scalchop do the trick?” She said with a sceptical look.

“As for the lab, they make all kinds of stuff down here, but it’s mostly forging Power Orbs to make all the machines work,” he said.

“Power Orbs? Wait so which is it? Are they building machines or are they building Wonder Orbs?” Kusha said. “In fact, it’s amazing that you guys can create orbs in the first place. I was under the impression that these were a random piece of nature.”

“That really big slab of hard stuff is called Derris Ore. That’s what they use to make Wonder Orbs. The scientists use a special tool to carve orbs out of the ore, and then engrave the ore with markings that program their effects. That’s how Pokémon make orbs in general. The orbs make all the machines here work,” Shelly said. He carefully squeezed his way over to one of the smaller machines and placed a nearby orb inside of it, which made it light up. It was only a tiny light no bigger than a candle, but it still entranced her.

“Wow. You’re in your element right now,” she said with a smile. He couldn’t help but blush.

“I… this stuff just seems really safe and interesting to me. And it’s something I know I’m good at, I think.” He smiled back and rubbed his face.

“Okay. But we’re hard pressed for time. Is there a way I can like, compress this information? Like, get it written down or something,” she said. She looked down. “If the rest of Heroica had knowledge and power like this…”

Shelly moved to say something, but was immediately interrupted by a high pitched bleep so loud it shook his eardrums. Red gems on the ceiling lit up bright and gave everything in the room a red hue. Kusha shrieked, pressed her ears to her sides and fell to the floor. The continued bleeps drowned out her cries of pain.

“What’s happening?” Shelly cried. The bleeping stopped after a few moments, but the red lights remained. He could hear an alarm bell constantly ringing too, but it was muffled as it came from beyond the walls.

“The guards… must’ve woken up. They’re onto us,” Kusha huffed. She was shivering hard.

“Are you okay?” Shelly said as she struggled to stand up. She took a moment to rub her form and steady her breath, and then her ears went back up.

“I am. Sorry about that. Loud noises irritate me more than the average Pokémon,” she said.

“Huh? But why?” He tilted his head.

“I have these big ears, Shelly.” She giggled. “But I’m fine, now. We need to find a way out of here, preferably without going back the way we came.”

“The only other way I know is the main stairs,” he said, looking over to it. It was hard to tell, but there was a corner that could be turned. There was a hard iron door that was shut tight there.

“There’s got to be something. One of these machines, anything,” she said as she began to rummage through the room. She quickly stopped in front of a contraption that looked like a fortified sleigh, only it had bike handles and a mass of cylinders and electricals underneath it. She cocked a smile and patted it. “I think I just found it.”

“I don’t know what everything does here. Some of it is still being built,” he said as he joined her.

“Still, we can work something out,” she said as she scooped him up and jumped on. There was a perfectly circular slot for an orb in the centre, and the handles could twisted. “If I got your explanation right, then what would happen if I put a Mobile Orb in there?”

“Any old orb won’t power it. The orb has to have special engravings to work with the machine,” he said.

She glanced at him, then the area where the sleigh was parked. There was an orb in a beaker right next to them. “Nice of them to put it where we couldn’t lose it.”

“Huh? Wait but we don’t know what this thing does,” he gasped.

“I have a pretty good idea,” she said, and slotted the orb in. Just like that, a loud rumble took over the room as a motor started up. “I knew it. Let’s just hope this little prototype lasts us!”

“Shelly, tell her to brace herself,” Angel said, popping out of his amulet. She tensed up and curled her wings inward as a sphere of bright blue energy grew in front of her mouth, and with it, a light breeze of wind twisted into it.

“H-huh? Hey wait, what is that?” Kusha gasped.

“Angel? What is?” Shelly gasped as well, and then realised what was about to happen. He hugged Kusha hard. “Just duck!”

Before she could, Angel let the Aura Sphere go. It smashed into the wall and filled the room with smoke and heat, which quickly cleared as a breeze came through. Angel had blown a hole that led straight outside.

“Oh, okay. Er, guardian angel, if you can hear this? I owe you big time,” Kusha said. She pulled back on the sleigh and twisted the handles, which revved up the motor with an exciting rumble. The duo were surprised when the machine floated off the floor a little, but Kusha seemed to be okay balancing the thing.

“E-erm, Kusha I really don’t think we should use this,” Shelly cried, clutching her even tighter.

“What do you mean? We’re going to get, and fast,” she said, giving him an eager smile. He sat there shivering like a Snorunt though, so she calmed down a little. “Hey, look at me. You trust me, don’t you?”

“I-I don’t really have a choice!” he cried.

“Uh uh, none of that. I’m not going to force you into this. If you’d be more comfortable staying here, then now is your last chance to do so. I won’t hold it against you and I won’t ever come back. You can forget this ever happened, and go relax a while,” she said.

Her calm tone made him freeze and look at her. She appeared as homely as her body felt. He couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but something about her relaxed and allowed him to think straight. Her tone, her words, how loose and patient she looked and sounded. It was like he was certain that she wasn’t lying, even though she was someone he hadn’t known for long.

He thought twice on the proposal, but what came to mind more was the fact that she made him feel this way. Elise didn’t make him feel relaxed or at home, neither did Queen Gladys, nor the Dartrix butlers or the Bellossom maids, and especially not the soldiers – and they were there specifically to protect him, too. She was the one to do it, and now he was dying to know why.

“I do trust you, Kusha. I just don’t know how all the machines here work.” he said.

“Okay, fair enough. I just wanted to make sure so that we can’t call this a kidnapping. Could you call this a kidnapping?” she said.

“Gladys might say that, actually.” He rolled his eyes.

“All the more reason to make sure we never come back. Alright, hold on tight!” she said, and revved up the engine again. He held on tight, but this time with an attempt to look determined.

Even with that preparation, he wasn’t ready for how fast and suddenly they shot off. He was flung back hard as the sleigh sped out of the hole so fast that it blurred the scenery. Strong wind whipped back against him, so he had to hold his headband to stop his Gospel Vibe from flying away, while the fluid from the Eyedrop Seed blew around and off of his face.

“Woo! At this rate, we’ll be by my escapee in no time!” Kusha cheered, leaning forward.

He made a cowardly cry and was very tempted to just shut his eyes and wait for this whole rush to blow over. But seeing the sleigh launch into the air and then bounce lightly just above the ground was too cool to miss. It almost looked like the vehicle was skating through the air, leaving a trail of windswept grass in its wake. This was magitech at its most satisfying.

“Look alive. They know you’ve escaped,” Angel said.

Shelly gasped and frantically looked around. A swarm of Tropius soon filled the sky, some of which flew close enough for them to see the Vileplume and Breloom that rode on their backs. The soldiers had lances.

“Can’t you get rid of them? Use that blue energy attack again!” he cried.

“Sorry, no can do. That Aura Sphere took up my personal Bestia for the day, so I’ve got to recharge for a good while,” she said. Many of the Tropius caught up to them and started shouting commands at each other. “You’re on your own, but you can do it.”

“I-I-I can’t fight them off. What can I do?” he shrieked.

“Tsk, I didn’t think they’d be this good. Okay, let’s try the forest,” Kusha said, and swerved hard to the right. Shelly was almost flung off again, but she cradled him by her front.

If his geography was right, then they headed straight into the large forested area he could see from the palace. While the Tropius flew above to stay out of the trees, he spotted a number of Whimsicott having no trouble skipping after them. The density of the woodland didn’t help, either. Kusha kept swerving side to side to avoid the trunks and couldn’t drive straight for more than a second or two.

“Erm,” he mused as he pondered a solution. None of them waited for him, though. As the Whimsicott drew closer, their whips snapped at them, and two struck Kusha’s back with a wicked crack. She yelped and glanced back, and then began to swerve even more to try and avoid them. “Kusha, what’re you doing?”

“Trying to get out!” she cried.

He held on as hard as he could, but everything was a head rush of chaos. The wind and blur of the area made him a bit dizzy, while sharp stings from their whips made him cringe even though he wasn’t the one being hit. And then before he realised it, he noticed two whips latched directly onto the sleigh. A third one came a moment later, and even he could tell they were slowing down.

“Oh gods- I hate to do this but I can’t do axe things right now. Shelly, you’ve got to do something!” Kusha cried, trying to focus on driving the sleigh.

“What can I do?” he said.

“Use a Pokémon attack, try and cut the whips, anything, I don’t care! We just need them off our tails,” she said. “And I don’t even have a tail! Thank the gods I don’t.”

Shelly gasped and then tried to focus. Three whips latched to the sleigh via the seat, while two more kept snapping at Kusha. Five Whimsicott glided after them, swinging from the trees or latched to the sleigh to stay in perfect pursuit. If they swerved too much now, they would get tangled up and crash. Trying to hit them with Water Gun was an obvious no no too, knowing his accuracy.

Treasure Orb, please work, he thought as he brought out the large orb. He held it high and then jammed a hand inside, praying to pull something that could cut off the whips. Instead, he retrieved a smaller orb, and gasped as it activated.

A bright light formed around Shelly, Kusha, and the sleigh in a flash, and then they were gone. The Whimsicott who were latched on via their whips were left flying forward with no control at all, and screamed just before slamming into the nearest tree. The remaining two were surprised, but kept up the chase.

The duo reappeared after a moment in a daze, but got control of themselves quickly. Kusha laughed and leaned forward eagerly. “Warp Orb? Nice quick thinking!”

“I didn’t do that!” he cried.

“Yes you did!” she said, glancing back. The other Whimsicott were catching back up. “Two left. You can do it, Shelly!”

He dug into the orb again, but this time he rummaged for something he could recognise rather than taking a lucky dip. There were crunches, something smooth, and then something firm and thick, like a rope. He pulled, and out came a rope net that was far heavier than he anticipated. He accidently let go as soon as it came out of the orb, but that was enough to fling it into the air right in the Whimsicott’s way. The were flattened and disappeared into the darkness.

“Rope nets, too? That thing’s convenient,” Kusha said. “We’ve got the Tropius coming up, so maybe one more time. You can do it, partner!”

Those words fired him up. He was nervous, but fired up. So he stuck his hand in one more time, and the moment he felt something he could grip, he pulled back. Out came a bright blue orb with a curious pattern of lighter blue swirls on it. He was surprised when they stopped swerving, and the scenery changed to the open fields between the village and the forest.

“We’re already here?” he gasped. The army of Tropius were all over the place. Dozens of leafy giants tore through the sky so aggressively that it sounded like a storm was brewing. Many of them dove toward him too, and he screamed.

“Go ahead and use it. Don’t think about it, just use it!” Kusha said.

Shelly choked but obeyed. He shut his eyes and cast the orb up high to activate it, and it flashed with a bright glow of swirly light. The light quickly faded into a dusty sparkle, and then the Tropius began to vanish. They were being warped away in the same light as when the Warp Orb activated earlier.

“That’s a Spurn Orb? Three out of three luck, look at you go,” Kusha said with a light laugh.

“Spurn Orb? Wait a minute, but that’ll—”

Just as suddenly as earlier, the duo were warped away again. A flash of blue blinded them, and then they were speeding through the village. Seconds away from slamming into a wall, they screamed at the top of their voices.

At the last moment, Kusha scooped up Shelly, inhaled until she didn’t fit in the seat, and then threw herself off the back of the sleigh. It smashed into a tree stump and exploded into a fiery blast, the force of which sent her ballooned form flying through the village. Shelly had his eyes shut and kept screaming, while she held him and her axe tight. With careful spins and flips, she managed to claw her axe into another tall stump, where it tore through the wood until it stopped their momentum enough for her to get control of herself.

Shelly was surprised enough to open his eyes when he felt himself bounce on something soft, but he still shivered and cried out. It took what felt like half a minute before he realised that the rubbery thing he was bouncing on was Kusha’s belly. He gasped continuously as he steadied himself, and then shivered as he looked over to see that it was her. She gave him a silly smile, yet he couldn’t help but blush and try to look away.

It calmed him a bit, seeing her shiny, rounded cheeks obscure a wriggly smile. Her face stayed the same size too, so now it looked small compared to the rest of her. She deflated with a steady breath in his face, making him recoil.

“Okay, now I get why you’re so apprehensive about that technology,” she laughed it off. “You meant to tell me that stuff used by the Treasure Orb affects the enemies as well as the user? What a kink.”

“Tha-that wasn’t what I meant b-but, er… A-aye, that happens. I think,” he said. “Were those orbs not supposed to work on us?”

“Warp and Spurn Orbs only work on feral Pokémon nearby who aren’t part of your tea- oh right, that could be it, too. We don’t have rescue team badges or anything, so the orbs might’ve just mistaken us,” Kusha said, swaying side to side. She stopped and nodded. “Well, it doesn’t matter. We made it to the rendezvous point and the soldiers are nowhere to be found. We’re home free.”

Her way of talking completely changed. Shelly realised. “We destroyed the sleigh, though.”

“I’d have loved to have kept it too, but that’s all part of the risks,” she said. Shelly remained slumped, and moaned a little. “Hey c’mon Your Highness, eyes forward. You’ve got all the exciting stuff to look forward to. You’re out in the village on your own again.”

He looked up and realised that the Eyedrop Seed had worn off, yet he could still see. The village at night was peaceful incarnate, despite the fire from their crash smoking somewhere behind the rows of tree stumps. Not a single Pokémon was awake or around, and the only sounds were the wind and the two of them.

How didn’t anybody wake up? he thought as he began looking for other Pokémon. He remembered the treehouses up high and looked to those, where he noticed the full moon, high and bright in the sky. His eyes glistened, and he gawked. “The moon… is really pretty out here.”

“It is. And you’re going to get to see so much more,” Kusha said, and held his hand to walk together. He glanced side to side, but with no one around to question it, accepted her offer. “I shouldn’t be excited about your journey, but I really am. There’s a lot you’re going to get to see for the first time.”

“Och, I was supposed to do this with Elise,” he gasped and glanced back. “She’s going to be mad when she finds out I left without her.”

Kusha swayed her head again. “You’re really close to her, aren’t you?”

“We-we’re married. I have to do everything with her, don’t I?” he said.

“The fact that you’re questioning says everything. Now I’m not married myself, but I’m one hundred percent certain that that’s not how it works,” she said. His face twisted in surprise. “Plus, you’re really young to be married, you know? And you’re only just about to start living.”

“I’m… only just? Huh?” He tilted his head. “I don’t get what you’re saying.”

She stopped, noting that his grip grew a little tighter. “I’m saying… uh, look. I don’t want to plant ideas in your head. I want to leave all this up to you and stuff.”

“Uh… huh?” he replied, still confused.

She giggled. They came to a stop by the very edge of the island, where the grass met a coastal cliff. Heroica was a hazy island in the distance, layered with mountains, greenery, and a teensy bundle of warm, glittering lights in the middle. Between them and Heroica, a quiet ocean sparkled in the moonlight. The view made his eyes glisten again.

“You’re going to Heroica, Shelly. On a journey to save the world. You’re going to meet all kinds of Pokémon, with different species, types, accents, weapons, jobs, ways of life. Other boys and girls, and everything in between,” she said. “You’ll get to try all kinds of food, and hear all kinds of music, and make all sorts of friends! Pokémon like me, nothing like the stuffy girls at the castle.”

“Somebody remind her this ain’t a holiday,” Angel said from within the amulet. Shelly smiled at the comment.

“I think this’ll be good for you. A water type growing up in a kingdom of grass types, it’s way past time you met more of your species. But also, marriage really isn’t a light thing, you know?” Kusha said. Her voice became soft. “Love’s a magical, complex feeling. When two Pokémon who love each other more than anything in the world realise that about each other, they choose to spend their lives together. That’s marriage. And… from what I see and hear, I don’t think you and Elise have that.”

Shelly looked up at her, and she started sweating. “A-again, I don’t wanna put thoughts in your head or anything. I just think, you two are way too young to understand that kind of commitment to each other. Or what’s really going on with your arranged marriage and stuff. Because really and truly, nothing about it is right.”

Shelly moaned a bit and slumped. “A-Angel was sort of saying the same thing. I don’t really get it, but is it really that bad that I’m with Elise?”

“As long as you’re both kids, then yes. But in general, it’s far from healthy that a kid your age is in a situation like this,” Kusha said. “Just, someday, you could meet another Pokémon. And it’s like, you really like the look of them, or the way they act, or just… it’s important to choose who you get feelings for.”

“This is really confusing,” he said, rubbing his head.

“Ah, I’m not explaining well, either. Just, while I’m taking you to Fossil Hill and stuff, be totally honest with yourself, okay? You don’t need to worry about what Elise wants or thinks, or what Gladys wants you to do anymore. You can do whatever you want to do,” she said.

“Wait, you’re taking me to Fossil Hill?” he said.

“Well yeah, I said I could. I’ll stick with you as long as I can. I’ve made that my duty,” she said, and patted her chest. “Speaking of, the rendezvous is late. What say we set off now, huh?”

“How? Do you have a boat?” he said. “The sleigh would’ve been fun, if it could go over water.”

“Why use a sleigh when you’ve got a balloon right here?” she said, and inflated herself again. “Hop on, hero!”

He laughed a little, and put his hands together. “Can I really? We can fly all the way to Heroica?”

“And you’ll be the captain. So hop aboard before the Tropius come back,” she said. He climbed up at first, and then realised how rubbery and bouncy her body was while inflated. So he bounced his way up her back instead, and stopped by the tuft on her head. “All settled down? Then let’s go!”