Scene 68: Proud Pokémon Lovers!

Kari is traveling down Route 16 with her newly acquired sky blue Bike. Eevee is loving the feeling of the wind whipping around him as he curls up in the bike's front basket. She looks over towards the nearby bay where she can see construction vehicles gathered together. Before beginning her trek down the long path she had met with a security guard.

{{ Kari is a bit wobbly on her new bike. She remembers following her mother around in circles in the backyard, but she hasn't ridden in a very long time. Kari steadies herself as Eevee holds on tight. She stops just at the sight of the construction vehicles. She checks her Town Map, confused. She turns it side to side, "What is that? It's not on the map..?" There's a security guard sitting in a nearby booth.

"This is going to be a Cycling Road, but it'll be awhile till it's finished." Kari wheels herself up to him, "So does that mean I can't travel to the next town from this way?" The man steps out of his booth, pointing at a spot on her map, "If you take this lower path here you'll be on the other side in no time at all." Kari folds up the paper, thanking the man.

She swings her leg over the bike seat, picking up speed. She's clearly a bit rusty in her bike riding skills. The man cocks an eyebrow, "Are you sure you'll be alright?" Kari waves back at him, "No worries! We'll be fine. Thanks, tho!" He watches as her bike stutters side to side down the grassy path... }}

A strange looking Pokémon comes out of the tall grass, crossing Kari's path. She screams, veering off the road. Kari pulls herself out of the bushes, "OOoooowwww~! What was that?" She looks back towards the dirt path while Eevee struggles to pull himself free. Kari watches as the tall bird-like Pokémon pecks at the ground. Kari steps forward, "Hey, you! You ought to be more careful!"

The Pokémon turns its head and blinks at her. Out of nowhere, something grabs her by the shirt! She flails in the air, stopping to look the Pokémon face-to-face. She gives an awkward grin, "S-sorry..! Actually, you know what? Don't mind me..!" There's a squawking sound from above her. The other Pokémon that had grabbed her, of course. She turns to look up at it, but when she catches a glance of its face she's confused. It was the same Pokémon as the one standing before her.

The Pokémon drops her to the ground, "Eep!" She lands with a thud. As she rubs her bottom where she landed she looks up- the two Pokémon move their heads closer to where she's sitting, clearly curious. She tries to move away, but now they're pulling at her and messing around. She's laughing at the way their beaks feel, not at all sharp or painful. They seem to want to play with her.

Eevee's finally dislodged himself from the fallen bike and the bushes, but when he turns around to see where Kari went he stops... What exactly was he looking at..?

Kari finally manages to stand, pushing the two Pokémon aside, "You two sure are funny!" Eevee jumps up, tapping her shoulder. Vee! Ee-Eevee-Eevee..! He's trying to tell her something, pointing at the two Pokémon. She raises an eyebrow, "What is it? Do you want to play with them, too?" Eevee shakes his head. He jumps down and pulls at Kari's leg. They take a couple of steps to the side, "What? What is it?" He jumps back up and pushes his paws to her face, turning her head. Kari blinks.

"HUH!?" It wasn't two different Pokémon at all that had been playing with her, it was just one Pokémon but with two heads! Kari pulls out her Pokédex, "Wait a minute..! I think I know this Pokémon..!" And she was right. It was a Doduo!

Kari pulls out the Pokémon Food canister from her backpack, offering some to the two heads, "How cooool~! I've never seen a Doduo before!" She pets the heads as they try to fight one another for the food in her hand. She giggles at the touch of their beaks. One of the heads snatches Kari's hat right off her head, "Hey! Give that back!" The heads pass it back and forth before she manages to grab it out of their beaks.

"My, my! Can it be?" Kari and the Pokémon turn at the voice. Standing nearby is a group of older women. They hurry over, "You wouldn't happen to be Kari from Viridian City, would you?" Kari is shocked, "Uhm... Yes..?" The first woman turns to the pair behind her, "See!? I told you it was her!" The group of older ladies converge on the little girl.

"We're such big fans!" Doduo gets shoved out of the way.

"And your Eevee!" Eevee's fur is getting pulled on and he does not like it..!

"So precious!" The first lady looks around at the others, "Oh, we absolutely must bring her back to meet the others!" They all murmur in agreement. Next thing she knows, Kari is being dragged away towards the town. Eevee has taken refuge in her backpack, one of the ladies is rolling her bike along, and the Doduo is left alone. The heads look at each other, confused as to what had just happened...

Kari and Eevee have arrived in HopHopHop Town. Along the way of dragging her the women explain about the Pokémon Lover's Club. Jeanie, Clementine, and Margie are their names. Their club is for older folk that just love Pokémon, "Oh, we don't go on journeys, or anything, but we all love to dote on our club's Pokémon!" Kari is amazed with the tall building when they arrive. Clementine, the smaller of the three, passes the bike onto the doorman and follows the others to the elevator. Kari's mouth stays open the entire elevator ride to the top. When the door opens to reveal a large garden, she gasps.

"Are we really at the top of a building!?"

"This way, Dear." Margie waves her over. Kari runs to keep up with her long legs. They've reached the very top of the skyscraper, but everything around them is green..! They were in a garden! Kari couldn't believe it. And just down the pathway there was the largest mansion she'd ever seen. At the sound of surprise in Kari's voice Eevee decides to take a look. His jaw drops as they pass through the garden. Along the way Kari and Eevee see a lot of other Pokémon. They can't help but smile at the sight of them all.

Up the steps and to the large doors, the women are given a double-door entrance. Kari follows them inside, but stops when she notices them all staring. She felt a bit underdressed, that was for sure.
Jeanie, the first woman to have spoken to Kari, steps forward and introduces Kari to the rest of the group. They're all middle-aged men and women dressed in fine attire. Kari blushes. She feels so out of place. But that didn't matter. Suddenly, they all crowd around her, excited to ask questions. It was just as the women had said- the Pokémon Lover's Club were actually all fans of her.

Kari is shown to a tea room where they all ask to hear stories of her travels. Many of them had only heard tale of her successes at the Gyms, but they've all seen her Contest Performances on TV, of course. She's embarrassed to hear them talk so highly about her. She keeps sipping away at her tea so she doesn't have to talk so much.

One gentlemen steps out of the crowd. He bows before her, "It would be an absolute honor if you could give us a display of your Pokémon and their skills." The other's faces light up at the idea, "Please, Kari! Won't you put on a performance for us?" A man looks to his wife, "Oh, that would be marvelous!" She looks around at their happy faces and realizes that she just can't refuse...

Kari and the others return to the garden just outside. As the men and women crowd around Kari sighs. She looks at Eevee on her shoulder and shrugs, "Guess we don't have a choice." Kari grabs at her Pokéballs, "Everyone! Come on out! Ivysaur, Magnemite, Gastly, Mankey, and Psyduck appear. They're all so enraptured with her Pokémon. They come forward for a better look and a chance to pet them.

Some are sad to see that her cute little Bulbasaur has evolved, "But it's pretty cool looking now, don't you think?" One man says to another. A couple of the ladies are laughing at Psyduck as he throws some punches, "My, he's so serious!" Kari tells them how she had decided to Trade her Sandslash for Psyduck just that morning. She pats Psyduck's head, "We haven't been together for long, but I look forward to becoming great friends!" Psy-yayai!

There's a flash somewhere nearby. One of the gentlemen had taken a photo. Then another and another. Some of them are pulling at Kari, hoping for a photo-op, while others are just enjoying playing with her Pokémon. The Pokémon Lover's Club sure is getting their fill on having their idol with them. Someone remembers the idea of Kari putting on a little performance, and when it's spoken out loud again, the entire crowd is chanting her name.

"Ok, ok! I'll do it..!" She can't help but laugh at how absurd this whole situation has become..! She looks down at Eevee and Ivysaur, "Shall we?" Eevui! Saur!

The routine begins just as they had rehearsed. Kari has Eevee combine his Swift Attack with Ivysaur's Razor Leaf, both attacks spinning around in a display of color. Gastly gets a fun idea and suddenly decides to join them. Kari laughs as he chooses to blend his Night Shade with the tornado of attacks already happening. He disappears and reappears within the colorful scene of moves, smiling like a crazy Pokémon. Kari wasn't expecting him to want to put on a show.

With them all dancing around, Mankey gets excited and decides to jump in as well. Even Magnemite is bobbing to the music. Psyduck sits on the stairs just watching- he wants nothing to do with this.

"Alrighty! Eevee & Gastly, use Shadow Ball! Magnemite, Thunder Shock! And Mankey, use Hidden Power!" The attacks collide to create fireworks as Kari is spun out by her dance partner, Ivysaur and his vines. After they take their final pose the crowd give an applause. She smiles at her Pokémon. Jeanie comes up to Kari, "I was so surprised! You should consider using these Pokémon at your next Contest!" She nods, "I'll think about it, thanks!" She turns to the others, "What do you think?" Her Pokémon like the idea.

Clementine comes running out of the mansion with urgent news. She pulls up a news broadcast on her tablet. They've just announced a Contest to be held in 7 Days in a nearby town. She looks at Jeanie, "It's in Scissor Street!"

"That's not far from here!" They all turn to Kari with bright eyes.

"You'll be competing, won't you!?"

"We'll be cheering for you!"

"Yeah!"

"I guess I can give it a shot..." There's a bead of sweat on Kari's brow as the close in, eager for an answer.

Back on the street level, the doorman returns her bike. Jeanie hands Kari her Town Map after marking Scissor Street on it for her, "If you're going to compete in the Contest, there's no time to waist!" Clementine and Margie grab at them, "Yes! You must leave immediately!" They place her atop her bike and Eevee in the basket. Kari is stunned with the sudden farewell. She turns to look at the group of grown-ups. They're all positively beaming as they wave goodbye. They all have such a love for Pokémon and they just want to see her do well since they never got the chance. Kari sighs, a smile on her face. She waves back at them, pushing off towards the edge of town.

Kari looks at Eevee sitting in the basket, "We'll have to do our very best in the next Contest, Eevee!" Vee..! She starts to think...

"We'll make them proud." There's a sudden rustle in the bushes along the path of Route 17. A Ponyta comes flying out, sailing right over her head. She lands on Kari's other side and starts running alongside her. She whinnies at them. She wants to race! Kari laughs out loud. How exciting! Pokémon really are amazing! Kari leans over her handlebars and picks up speed as the race begins! And as she and the Wild Pokémon continue down the path, Kari readies her Pokéball to capture it...

{{Current Team: Eevee, Ivysaur, Magnemite, Gastly, Mankey, Psyduck}}

Total Pokémon: Eevee, *Pidgeot*, *Raticate*, *Butterfree*, *Beedrill*, Ceffairy, Spearow, *Arbok*, *Sandslash*, Goldeen, Mankey, Ivyasaur, Oddish, Krabby, Poliwag, Jolteon, Drowzee, Horsea, Tentacool, Magikarp, Psyduck, Slowpoke, Magnemite, Voltorb, Zapdos, Elekid, Gastly, Meowth Growlithe, *Hitmonlee*, Hitmonchan, Koffing, Grimer, Vulpix, Ponyta...