The full moon shone like a spotlight down on a clearing of trees with distinctive pink leaves. Volbeat and illumise flew around the area, their tails glowing in the night sky like one hundred tiny stars. There were altarias singing, and kricketunes playing an accompaniment, and row upon row of decimated patches of grass where moonflowers used to be.
This was the final day of Fairylight Forest's Moonflower Festival. For hundreds of years, the pokemon living in this remote part of the Vitala region had celebrated the tradition; all of the single pokemon would get together, for a week of merriment under the moon, during which they would have to find their mates. They would then present moonflowers to their chosen ones, and be mated for life.
Shizuma sat alone on a rock, sighing deeply as she watched a leafeon and glaceon exchange flowers. She'd come to the Moonflower Festival every year for the past three years, and she had yet to find her mate. Not one pokemon had taken her fancy, and the pokemon who had taken a fancy to her weren't exactly what she was looking for; this year, she'd been hit on by a perverted gallade, a sylveon who wouldn't stop going on about herself, and a slurpuff with terrible manners.
The gardevoir glanced up at the sky. It wouldn't be long until dawn. It wouldn't be long until she left, disappointed, once again...
And then, something caught her eye. Something...Sparkly?
Shizuma peered over at it...Or rather, her. By one of the bigger trees, there was a lopunny, only her ears, and her legs were pink, and sparkled a little. Her nose was a perfect little button, and her eyes were like two onyx coals. Her legs were long, and slender, ending in arched pink pads. She was...Beautiful.
The gardevoir inhaled sharply, cheeks flaring, as her heart pounded in her chest. That lopunny was the most beautiful pokemon she'd ever laid eyes on...
She's perfect, Shizuma mused. And then her heart sank. Too perfect. She'd never go for a girl like me.
But then, Shizuma was reminded of the urgency of her situation. She had mere hours to find a mate, and there was no way that anyone else like that lopunny was going to come along.
Swallowing her insecurities, Shizuma marched over to where the lopunny was sitting, but when she noticed her coming, the lopunny ran away.
The gardevoir slumped by a tree, sighing deeply. Of course that lopunny didn't want to talk to her. She was too perfect for a lowly fairy type like her.
She got up, deciding that she'd cheer herself up with a fistful of pecha berries. They were her ultimate comfort food.
Shizuma walked over to a tree, and as soon as she'd plucked the first berry, she heard a footstep. She whirled around, and the lopunny from before was there again.
For a brief instant, their eyes met. And then the lopunny ran off again.
The gardevoir shook her head. Better luck next year, I suppose, she grumbled to herself, grabbing more berries. I'm definitely not leaving with my mate today.
As soon as she was done eating, Shizuma went to the lake, right in the middle of the clearing, to take a last dip before she went home. The lake in Fairylight Forest was beautiful; it was so clear, that in the daytime, it was as reflective as a mirror, and in the night, it was illuminated by lanturns swimming.
She slipping into the water, totally submerged, until she saw pink legs in front of her. The same legs as that lopunny...
She surfaced, but only a little, hiding under a lilypad, so that she wouldn't see her. Much to her surprise, the lopunny was...Crying.
"Why did I even come here?" she wailed, "I knew it! Nobody would love a freak like me!"
Shizuma almost gasped at the poor pokemon's plight. How could anyone not want a beautiful creature like her to be their mate?
She sniffled, before continuing. "I'm a freak...A shiny...Everyone's afraid that they'll be caught, if they're seen with me," she vented, "Why...Why was I born like this?! Why couldn't I just be normal! Maybe then...M-maybe then...M-Mama w-would have loved me..."
Shizuma shook her head. She couldn't listen to this any longer.
She surfaced, getting out of the water, and the lopunny went to run away again, but the gardevoir cried, "Stop! Please, don't run away!"
The lopunny stopped dead in her tracks. "Why shouldn't I? Nobody wants me here!"
Shizuma swallowed, bracing herself for a long explanation. The lopunny would probably think that she was a freak, once she knew that she'd heard that whole thing...
The gardevoir inhaled sharply. "Listen, I heard what you said just now, not that I was eavesdropping, or anything," she began, "And...Um...Well, what you said about being a freak, who nobody could love...That's not true..."
The lopunny wrinkled her nose. "But it is true," she insisted, "Lopunnies aren't supposed to be pink, and sparkly. We're supposed to be beige, and I'm not. I'm a freak, and I attract too many trainers! Who would ever want to be my mate?!"
Shizuma shook her head. Butterfrees tickled the inside of her stomach. "Well, about that," she began, "I don't think that you're a freak. You're...You're beautiful."
The lopunny went wide eyed. "I am?"
"Yeah," Shizuma responded, now feeling a touch more confident, "When I saw you by that tree, I kinda lost control. My heart feels like it's doing flips just standing here with you...Look, point is, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
The lopunny's eyes welled up. "Really?"
"Yeah, really," she replied, "Of all the years I've come to this festival, you're the only pokemon that's caught my eye!"
She smiled a little. "You're kidding! It's my fifth festival! I can't believe that no-one would want a nice gardevoir like you!"
Shizuma stepped forward, taking her paw. "A pair of unwanteds, eh? How perfect it is that we met tonight, on the last day of the festival, then?"
The lopunny's cheeks flared. "W-what do you mean?"
Shizuma let go, before heading to a moonflower patch, and picking out a big white bloom. She wanted this lopunny. That, she was more certain of than anything else right now.
"I'm saying that, would you perhaps, want to take me, Shizuma, as your mate?" she offered, presenting the bloom.
The lopunny's heart felt like it was going to explode. This was her one and only chance for love, so she'd be damned if she were to waste it.
"Yes," she eventually said, "I, Amaia, take you, Shizuma, as my mate!"
And the couple left the festival at dawn, marrying a few months later.
This was the final day of Fairylight Forest's Moonflower Festival. For hundreds of years, the pokemon living in this remote part of the Vitala region had celebrated the tradition; all of the single pokemon would get together, for a week of merriment under the moon, during which they would have to find their mates. They would then present moonflowers to their chosen ones, and be mated for life.
Shizuma sat alone on a rock, sighing deeply as she watched a leafeon and glaceon exchange flowers. She'd come to the Moonflower Festival every year for the past three years, and she had yet to find her mate. Not one pokemon had taken her fancy, and the pokemon who had taken a fancy to her weren't exactly what she was looking for; this year, she'd been hit on by a perverted gallade, a sylveon who wouldn't stop going on about herself, and a slurpuff with terrible manners.
The gardevoir glanced up at the sky. It wouldn't be long until dawn. It wouldn't be long until she left, disappointed, once again...
And then, something caught her eye. Something...Sparkly?
Shizuma peered over at it...Or rather, her. By one of the bigger trees, there was a lopunny, only her ears, and her legs were pink, and sparkled a little. Her nose was a perfect little button, and her eyes were like two onyx coals. Her legs were long, and slender, ending in arched pink pads. She was...Beautiful.
The gardevoir inhaled sharply, cheeks flaring, as her heart pounded in her chest. That lopunny was the most beautiful pokemon she'd ever laid eyes on...
She's perfect, Shizuma mused. And then her heart sank. Too perfect. She'd never go for a girl like me.
But then, Shizuma was reminded of the urgency of her situation. She had mere hours to find a mate, and there was no way that anyone else like that lopunny was going to come along.
Swallowing her insecurities, Shizuma marched over to where the lopunny was sitting, but when she noticed her coming, the lopunny ran away.
The gardevoir slumped by a tree, sighing deeply. Of course that lopunny didn't want to talk to her. She was too perfect for a lowly fairy type like her.
She got up, deciding that she'd cheer herself up with a fistful of pecha berries. They were her ultimate comfort food.
Shizuma walked over to a tree, and as soon as she'd plucked the first berry, she heard a footstep. She whirled around, and the lopunny from before was there again.
For a brief instant, their eyes met. And then the lopunny ran off again.
The gardevoir shook her head. Better luck next year, I suppose, she grumbled to herself, grabbing more berries. I'm definitely not leaving with my mate today.
As soon as she was done eating, Shizuma went to the lake, right in the middle of the clearing, to take a last dip before she went home. The lake in Fairylight Forest was beautiful; it was so clear, that in the daytime, it was as reflective as a mirror, and in the night, it was illuminated by lanturns swimming.
She slipping into the water, totally submerged, until she saw pink legs in front of her. The same legs as that lopunny...
She surfaced, but only a little, hiding under a lilypad, so that she wouldn't see her. Much to her surprise, the lopunny was...Crying.
"Why did I even come here?" she wailed, "I knew it! Nobody would love a freak like me!"
Shizuma almost gasped at the poor pokemon's plight. How could anyone not want a beautiful creature like her to be their mate?
She sniffled, before continuing. "I'm a freak...A shiny...Everyone's afraid that they'll be caught, if they're seen with me," she vented, "Why...Why was I born like this?! Why couldn't I just be normal! Maybe then...M-maybe then...M-Mama w-would have loved me..."
Shizuma shook her head. She couldn't listen to this any longer.
She surfaced, getting out of the water, and the lopunny went to run away again, but the gardevoir cried, "Stop! Please, don't run away!"
The lopunny stopped dead in her tracks. "Why shouldn't I? Nobody wants me here!"
Shizuma swallowed, bracing herself for a long explanation. The lopunny would probably think that she was a freak, once she knew that she'd heard that whole thing...
The gardevoir inhaled sharply. "Listen, I heard what you said just now, not that I was eavesdropping, or anything," she began, "And...Um...Well, what you said about being a freak, who nobody could love...That's not true..."
The lopunny wrinkled her nose. "But it is true," she insisted, "Lopunnies aren't supposed to be pink, and sparkly. We're supposed to be beige, and I'm not. I'm a freak, and I attract too many trainers! Who would ever want to be my mate?!"
Shizuma shook her head. Butterfrees tickled the inside of her stomach. "Well, about that," she began, "I don't think that you're a freak. You're...You're beautiful."
The lopunny went wide eyed. "I am?"
"Yeah," Shizuma responded, now feeling a touch more confident, "When I saw you by that tree, I kinda lost control. My heart feels like it's doing flips just standing here with you...Look, point is, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
The lopunny's eyes welled up. "Really?"
"Yeah, really," she replied, "Of all the years I've come to this festival, you're the only pokemon that's caught my eye!"
She smiled a little. "You're kidding! It's my fifth festival! I can't believe that no-one would want a nice gardevoir like you!"
Shizuma stepped forward, taking her paw. "A pair of unwanteds, eh? How perfect it is that we met tonight, on the last day of the festival, then?"
The lopunny's cheeks flared. "W-what do you mean?"
Shizuma let go, before heading to a moonflower patch, and picking out a big white bloom. She wanted this lopunny. That, she was more certain of than anything else right now.
"I'm saying that, would you perhaps, want to take me, Shizuma, as your mate?" she offered, presenting the bloom.
The lopunny's heart felt like it was going to explode. This was her one and only chance for love, so she'd be damned if she were to waste it.
"Yes," she eventually said, "I, Amaia, take you, Shizuma, as my mate!"
And the couple left the festival at dawn, marrying a few months later.
