User blog:KawaiiFan34/A Journal from a Traveller of Mavrica

Introduction
Professor's PoV

Hello there, dear. I'm the professor of this region, Professor Spruce. And welcome to the Mavrica region, A literal wonderland of colors, magic and imagination that's like an artist's palette that's full of happiness, hope and luck.

What makes it a wonderland? Well, let me tell you:

For the first thing, I should get in to the history of the region. Here's the tale about it that's written by one of the beloved people here, Chloe.

This region actually existed

A long, long time ago

When you saw this place back then

You couldn't recognize it though.

It was all black and white

And it didn't even have a name

It's fuel of magic was completely empty

It was definitely not the same.

But then, at one random time

What's there in plain sight?

They were three bundles of positive energy

Floating around in the gloomy sky

Someone called them happiness, luck and hope

And to not lose them, it felt like a test.

So they created three different nests at safe environments

To give those bundles a little rest.

Days turned into weeks, weeks to months

The energies started to grow

Then they shattered their barriers into pieces.

And they had their some powers to show.

Heldigallop ran around to give luck wherever it went

Happillon flapped it's wings to spread pollens of joy

Add Hopeafowl's hopefullness as well.

And the region started to become a place that you'll enjoy

Black and white turned to colorful

The gloomy skies became more clear

There are some pretty well-restored buildings

Now they were some good news to hear

When you cross those blessing bridges take a look around

There are places that're worth to see

And that's how the colorful Mavrica region

Came to be.

Amazing, right? Chloe is a fantastic tale writer for sure. It even dragged *me* in. Anyways, did you notice how the region came to be under those drastic changes? That's one of the many signs for the birth of Mavrica's magic atmosphere. But that's not the only reason why it's a wonderland. Trust me, there'll be more explanations soon.

* knock knock*

Oh, who could that be?

That One Unique "Starter"
Mel's (Main Character) PoV

When the door opened, I saw two girls entering the lab. One of them had a big, blue camper's backpack and a scroll of map in her hand. The other girl was... Well... She was quiet and just looked around with a smile on her face. What really caught my eye was the thing attached to her simple yet colorful dress. It was like a brooch or something like that.

"Hello there, girls." The professor said. "Can I get your names, please?"

"Hi, professor. My name's Nella." She said introducing herself. So that's the map girl's name.

"And you, my dear?"

"M-Me? I'm R-Rainbeaux." The other girl said. She was a bit more timid than I thought.

"Okay then, Nella and Rainbeaux. What brings you here to this very lab?" The professor said."

"Oh, I'm here to get a Pokémon to be my company in this journey. And Rainbeaux? She's just here to tag along."

"What a convenient timing!" The professor exclaimed. "This girl was ready to get her starter as well." (And yes, my sister Diana called the professor to notify the professor about this very topic)

"Oooh! In that case, welcome to the Mavrica region!" Nella exclaimed happily. "What's the name?"

"My name is Melanie. But you can call me Mel for short." I said shaking her hand in a confident way.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Mel. So, are you ready to get your first Pokémo-"

At that point, we heard some meowing coming from somewhere near. When the professor called the Pokémon in, they're two white cats in front of us. I didn't get the fact why our first Pokémon looked exactly the same. But still, we saw potential in these cuties.

"*chuckle* What do you think? Did you like them? I'm really sorry if I couldn't find some other Pokémon that'll be the usual starter trio." The professor asked.

"Like them? We loooove them! They're "purrfect" for us! *giggle*. Plus, they look adorable." Nella said petting the Pokémon.

"Glad you have a positive review about them." Professor said with a smile. Then, she took two book-like things out from the shelf. It was actually a Mavrica Style Pokédex. It was kinda unusual but, of course, it's in a good way. When Nella and I opened the first blank pages of the Pokédex, it magically started to fill up! With a blink of an eye, there was some information about the Pokémon on the pages.

Blankitten, the White Cat Pokémon

This kitten Pokémon looks just like a simple street cat.

''But is it really that simple..? Some people really can't answer that.''

Now, that got us all excited. But Rainbeaux looked... how can I describe it... calm. I mean, she just smiled. It looked like she knew about Blankitten.

But that didn't slow the pace down. Then, Professor Spruce took a chart out. There was Blankitten on top and six different cat Pokémon below it. The professor explained that these are the branch evolutions of Blankitten. Now *that's* unique!

"You can pick an evolution for your Blankitten. Be sure to choose wisely. Then try to find out the evolution ways. Think this procedure as if it's a puzzle."

I picked Purrtunia and Nella chose Staroara. They were random picks but we're pretty pleased by them.

After we told our picks, Professor Spruce took one last surprise out of her bag. They were scrolls. But not just any scroll, they're magic runes for the corresponding evolutions! That's the professor's research specialty. She studies many magical elements and enjoys these rune spells. In fact, they were a bunch of them on bulletin boards, all of them drawn in pencil sketch.

"These are your Blankittens' signature moves and these runes are *completely* different than the usual, go-teach-it-normally moves. For those runes, you need a special pen or chalk. Sadly, I don't have any. But don't worry, I'm pretty sure that someone has a boxful of them."

"That's okay, professor." Nella said. "You still provided us a bunch. Thanks for that."

"Aww, you're welcome, my dear." The professor said. She was pretty flattered by those words. "So, are you ready for your journey?"

"We sure are!" me and Nella said at once.

"Well then, have some great adventures! And be sure to call me when needed."

Then we got outside and Rainbeaux had to go. But she said it in a bit unusual way. "See you two soon. I need to... uh... t-to go somewhere." Rainbeaux sure looked like she was in a rush. But that didn't matter as much as you think. Right now, what was truly exciting was the start of first battle between Nella and me.

A Small Step to a Grand Wonderland's Center
Nella's PoV

OK. I must say it: I'm like a rival in front of her. A friendly rival in fact and I'm pretty sure we were feeling the same. I could feel Mel's heart was beating with excitement and so was mine. It was our first battle between us.

But I wasn't sure it'll be exciting or not because our first Pokémon were like replicas, I feared that the moves will be the same and the battle would be dull and bland. But good news: it was still pretty exciting.

Mel's Blankitten had Tackle and Tail Whip and mine had Leer and Scratch. I dunno how that was possible for two same Pokémon to learn different moves but it didn't matter that much to us. Even though it was one see-saw of a battle, it was awesome to build up strategy like if we're constructing a machine.

In the end, Mel won with a final Tackle. Sure, I was miffed a bit but it was a win-win situation for both of us. Mel claimed a victory and I had so much fun.

Mel's PoV

I felt so good when I won the first battle. I was actually kinda worried because Nella's Blankitten used a lot of Leers on mine. But still, I won. Nella congratulated me and then took out something from her camper's backpack.

"Here, this'll come in handy. I hope."

It was a map of Mavrica. Basic looking but detailed for my current progress. Outline perfectly sketched, the areas are colored with the corresponding watercolors and... there's an island like area that's far away from the region with a question mark on it. Wasn't sure what that was about.

"Th-thank you very much, Nella." I finally managed to say.

"No, thank *you* for already making my adventure brighter." Nella said. At least she looks on the bright side in that department: She lost but she sure had a fun time. And you know what's better? She means it.

"Now, let me tell ya something." Nella said switching to her usual mood all of a sudden. "I'm intrested in battling and all but I truly live for guidance." she said. I could really use some guidance as I go on, you know. "Aside from battling, if ya need any guiding around the region, I can help you with the best possibilities that I have. But if you need any complex guiding, I *will* battle you." she added

That sounded fine by me. A rival that provides the two things about the region that I already like here: exploring and battling.

After waving eachother "Goodbye" and Nella moving along, I noticed her crossing a bridge over a wide river. It was no ordinary wooden bridge, though. It was 19 ft long, it's made with unusual rainbow tiles and was glistering with beauty. I took a step. Then another... then I just crossed the whole thing. And I'm glad I did.

When I crossed the bridge, the golden gates opened right in front of my eyes. I couldn't believe what I saw. Professor Spruce really meant it by saying it's a wonderland.

This was the center city of Mavrica, the Wonderworld City. It was really pretty with all of the colors of the rainbow and the clouds of delightful imagination. The center area's floor looked like a compass, with all of it's details. The compass's directions had a statuette each. They looked like Pokémon that represent the directions. Speaking of directions, they're gates for the cities of the region on each direction of the compass. Each gate also had a number on them. I guess that's the order of the cities to go.

I looked around a bit more. I couldn't see Nella, but I was pretty sure that I'm going to see her again. And I hope that I'm really ready to see new faces.

Port City Grandwave
Mel's PoV

Speaking of new faces, I encountered with a famous one. A girl with long, blonde hair, green eyes and a lute in hands: That was Chloe, the talewriter and bard in this region and she was the one who greeted me

"Hello there, traveller.

You're going on a journey, wrong?

If that's the case, to boost you a bit

Listen to this wonderful song!"

She greeted me like that while giving her lute strings a strum and I must hand it to her, she's doing a pretty good job being a bard.

After that small greet, I opened the ocean blue gate with the number "1" on it that lead to somewhere called "Port City Grandwave." When I saw the part "port city", my heart was fluttering with joy because I've never been to one. The road to the port city was a path of two routes and I met so many new Pokémon on my way to add to my storybook-like Pokédex. I even caught myself a "Spechouette" and a "Sparkapillar". The entry for the Pokémon read like this:

Spechouette, the Smart Owl Pokémon

"It's not strong by attack, but it's strong by mind.

And if this Pokémon has a fellow companion, the bond will be one of a kind."

Sparkapillar, the Caterpillar Pokémon

"A small caterpillar that's adorable, right in front of your eyes.

''Don't annoy it too much, though. It also has a shocking surprise."''

After a little bit of training against some other wild Pokémon, I was at Port City Grandwave and it was amazing! It's a city that's surrounded by the crystal clear ocean. It also had fishing spots and coasts to relax a while. But it wasn't my time to relax. When I entered the gym, a voice came from the loud speaker.

"Welcome to the Grandwave Gym, trainer. Do you feel ready to sail through these rough waves? If you are, you must show me some potential. So why don't you come forward?"

When I came forward after a gym trainer battle and a gym puzzle of catching a variety of required fish, there was a girl with brown wavy hair, blue eyes and a big fishing boat flag.

"Glad to see your face there, trainer-becoming-a-champion-soon. You sure look like you have a big dream. Anyway, The name's Sue Nami and I'm the gym leader in this city. So, are you ready to dive in to this battle because *I'm* sure that my water types will drench you with disappointment!"

Gym Leader Sue wants to battle!

"First catch, comin' right up! I choose you, Finneon!"

When she let her Finneon out, I sent out my Blankitten. Not the best pick but I'm still giving it a hope to beat her Finneon just by landing a Tail Whip and a Tackle.

"Use Water Gun!" Sue shouted. After that move, my Blankitten's fur was all wet. But she was able to do a good Tail Whip on the Finneon. But still...

"Use Rain Dance!"

It started to rain and it was coming from the ceiling window to the gym. This can't be good. But at least I knocked the Finneon down with some Tackles. Finneon: Down.

"Okay then, time for the bigger catch. Go, Blesswim!"

With a blink of an eye, a white fish Pokémon with angel wing fins and a golden halo was on the battlefield.

I opened the Pokédex to register the Pokémon's info.

Blesswim, The Angel Fish Pokémon

"Those fins, that halo... It's like the angel of the sea."

"Despite the small size, it's blessing is as powerful as it can be."

When that happened, I switched my Blankitten to Sparkapillar.

"Use Spark!" I shout.

Good news: it did decent damage. Bad news: it didn't KO. At that point, Sue had a chance to knock me down since it was raining.

"Use Bubble Beam!"

It happened and Sparkapillar lives! "What a miracle!" I thought to myself. Despite the rain boost, Sparkapillar was standing.

"Use Spark to finish off!" I shouted again. And sure enough, it was done. I won the battle before Blesswim could use the "blessing".

"Whoa, I was expecting to drench you disappointment but you came out dry, huh? Maybe that luck will show up while you're reeling a lucky bite in." Sue said. Then, she took something out of her pocket. It was the badge. (Plus a fishing pole)

"This is the Tsunami Badge. You deserve to have it because you sure know how to show your strenght through the tough waters." Also, this fishing pole will come in handy."

I put the badge in a small box to keep it safe and the fishing pole in the big side pocket of my bag.

After waving Sue Nami "goodbye", I was ready for the next gym. At that point, Blankitten looked worried and it was right about it.

I heard someone saying. "C'mon, little boy. Be nice and give that coin to me." in a fake you-hurt-my-feelings voice. The voice was coming from some dock. They looked like evil team grunts to me. Sure enough, they were and I had to look no further for that. There was a submarine with a big "A" that looks like it's written in ink. Then I read the name. It was "Team Abyssal". And from the looks of it, it doesn't look that bright.

An Evil VS A... Heroic?
Mel's PoV

When I was about to jump between them to give those grunts a piece of my mind, a pleasant chime noise that went *ding ding* made me stay in place. In fact, everyone was just staring at the source.

The noise belonged to a small but beautifully colored and luminescent boat. When I looked closely, I saw someone who looked like the captain or the leader behind the boat's helm. And the rest of the crew was at the back section of the boat.

"What the-?!" One of the grunts exclaimed "Those Team Starryshore sillies??"

"Starryshore... so that's the name of the team." I thought to myself.

Later, the team leader parked the boat and sent out two of her team members.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" one of the Starryshore members asked.

"Us?" The grunts said acting innocent all of a sudden "Just asking a friendly question to this boy here."

"We know that the "friendly question" thing is an excuse to collect those shiny objects that you don't want to see in the depths and by meaning shiny object, I mean that coin."

After a minute of that one see-saw of a battle with words, they started to have a battle of Pokémon. The Starryshore side sent out a Mantyke and a Blesswim. And the Abyssal side sent out a Basculin and... a Pokémon that looks like a spooky angler fish. I opened the Pokédex pages once again and this entry caught my eye:

Angleerie, The Angler Fish Pokémon

"Do not overlook this Pokémon because of it's size

It's always lurking in the depths, looking for some bright light's demise."

So it's basically the opposite of Blesswim and it hates the bright light. Well, the weather was partly cloudy so *that's* at least fine for it. Not gonna lie, that made me sweat a little. But then, things start looking up.

After about 3 minutes, Team Starryshore KO'd the Basculin. But the Angleerie? Umm... not quite. That angler fish just didn't want to get knocked out and it was dealing good damages with those Bites. The Starryshore Pokémon weren't over yet but they really looked low by energy. Speaking of which, watching the battle made *me* tired. So I decided to take a nap on one of the benches and before you know it, I was asleep.

Estelle's PoV

A few minutes later

Wh-What just happened? I thought we were going to lose but that Blankitten and Spechouette really knocked that mini ocean devil down. After that, the grunts were a bit mad.

"Hmph! We didn't need the coin anyway!" They said storming away.

I started to wonder where did these talented ones come from when...

"Hey, Ms. Starlight!" Stelluna said (she's one of the admins) "Look at this."

Those Pokémon ran towards a girl who hugged the Blankitten and let the Spechouette sit on her shoulder. "So this is the trainer who was our lucky charm." I thought to myself. Well, she deserves a big "Thank you."

"Hey there, little girl." I said. "What's the name?"

"I'm Melanie, or Mel for short. How about you?"

"I'm Estelle Starlight and I'm the leader of Team Starryshore."

"It's an honor to meet you, Estelle. Do you want to ask me something?" she said curiously.

"I just wanted to say that thank you for defeating our arch enemy team, Team Abyssal, with your Pokémon."

"H-Huh? Well, first off, I didn't technically let them out. They must've ran away. And second off, Team Abyssal's your WHAT?!"

"Our arch enemy team. And *we* are one of the Heroic teams."

"Huh?" Mel said confused. "H-Heroic Teams? Plus, what do you mean by "one of"?"

"Well, can we tell it in a more detailed way, Estelle?" Pearline said (she's the other admin)

"Of course, we can." I replied.

The Tale of the Triple Trouble
Mel's PoV

I was REALLY confused about this "more than one" thing. So I was actually relieved right off the bat.

Pearline took a scroll out that was tied secure with a green ribbon. So that meant it was a tale written by Chloe. Then, Estelle opened the scroll and started to read it aloud.

The Tale of the Triple Trouble, written by Chloe

Mavrica is a super mystical region

Having color and magic everywhere

But still, there's evil in this place

Looking for opportunities here and there.

The region is so magical

That it takes more than one

Evil organization to make

The region's color draining all done.

There's not only one evil in the region

In fact, there are 3

But what're their goals you might ask

Well, let's have a look and see.

Team Abyssal is the first one to see

It's like an evil pirate crew who hates the bright

So they collect every shiny object they see in the depths

To make the ocean like a starless night.

Team Cresent is next in line

They want to make the Maroon Moon appear in the sky

So they can let the nightmare spirits out

And make them prowl around to make the sweet dreams go "bye-bye"

The third one isn't really a team

It's actually a group, I must say

This group of thieves is group called "the Flutters"

And they know how to "flutter away"

But there's one greater evil

Who takes these three under their control

And if anyone doesn't stop the main evil

Everything will spiral out of control

Everything will be dull and bland

Like how it was 2.000 years ago

For bright color lovers, it'd be a nauseating sight

And believe me, I don't want to know how it'll go.

The End

After the tale, I felt a chill down my spine and I newly realized that my palms were sweating a bit.

"Th-th-that's just horrible!!" I exclaimed

"It sure is." Estelle replied. "And since there's more than evil here, there are good organizations to stop them called the Heroics and we're one of them."

"Who are the others?"

"For Team Cresent, there are actually 2 Heroic teams: Team Angelluna, the guardian team of the full moon and dreams, and Team Carillon, the Team that carries many musical wonders in a tiny music box." Stelluna said.

"And for the Flutters?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, there's not a heroic team to oppose the Flutters. But, there's someone who's trying to stop them. That someone being Stephanie Tegakari, the Cluekeeper of Mavrica." Pearline replied.

"The... Cluekeeper? What's that?"

"It means "detective" in this region and mark my words, she carries that title really well."

"Well, this talk was sure a doozy but thanks for the information, Estelle" I said and then I waved them "goodbye" and "thank you" with a smile.

I *was* about to leave Port City Grandwave but I wanted to use that fishing pole that Sue gave to me. So I sat on a dock and tried to reel a bite in because I really needed to relax after that roller coaster of an excitement and fear.

After a while, I ended up getting a bite and I reeled it in. It looked familiar though. I looked like a Chinchou to me but... what's with the different look? It looked red and the lantern like piece looked like traditional paper lanterns. It didn't stop me to add it to my team though. And who knows, maybe it'll prove itself as useful.

After that fishing moment, I was on my way to return to the Wonderworld City. Gate No. 2, here I come!

Honeymai City
Mel's PoV

When I arrived back to Wonderworld City, I pushed open the pink gate with the number "2" on it which opened to a place called "Honeymai City". Fall at the first hurdle, while I was on the route road, I smelled something... sweet. As in, fresh-out-of-the-oven pastry sweet. The only way to find that out is to keep on going.

For the Pokémon that I registered the entries of, I saw a Pokémon called Lollyummy.

Lollyummy, The Lollipop Pokémon

"Just look at this adorable Pokémon, holding a lollipop

From that candy piece, it gets the energy that's hard to stop."

Plus, I saw another Pokémon that was looking oddly familiar but looked different. This time, a Swirlix. When I registered it to the Pokédex, I noticed a small glimmer next to the name. And next to that glimmer it wrote "Regional Form". At first, I was a bit shocked. Then I remembered the registered page for the lantern-like Chinchou and check the page. It had the same glimmer that the Swirlix page had.

"Regional Form..? It sounds pretty awesome." I thought to myself.

At that point, I was so concentrated to the fact checking that I newly realized that I was at the Honeymai City.

Let me just say that this place is like a wonderland for sweet lovers. The whole place smelled either like freshly oven baked cakes or sugary café sweets. And speaking of "café", I decided to rest for a while before getting into the gym battle here. When I entered a café called "Rose Café" that was next to a bakery, I felt like I was at a whole new place.

The air was filled with the sweet scent mix of warm sahlep and chestnut desserts. There were also lots of customers, either they're watching a live puppet show that's being broadcasted from another region or they're just chatting with their friends.

When I settled somewhere in the café, a girl with blonde hair, a soft-colored apron and skate shoes motioned herself towards to the table that I was sitting at.

"Hello there, miss." the girl said. "My name is Cherelle and welcome to the Rose Café. May I take your order?"

"Yes, please." I said with a smile. "I just want some lemon tea and cookies."

"Okie dokie. Coming right up." Cherelle said zooming off.

I was waiting for my order with my Blankitten sitting on my lap and me watching that show on the TV. After about a few minutes, my order came.

"Bon Appetit." she said.

"It was a wonderful café for sure." I thought to myself after tasting the cookies and tea. "When I'm finished with the gym challenge, I should grab a confectionary or two as a road snack."

After finishing my cookies and tea, paying the bill and preparing myself a bit more in the route area, I was ready for the gym battle.

But I should note one thing before the main event: After some training, my Spechouette started to emit some light. And then, it evolved! Yes, it evolved into a Owlecture. I squealed a bit from excitement and registered the entry. Now *that* was awesome.

Gym battle, here I come!

A Quirky Gym Battle
When I arrived to the gym building, I was greeted with a sound coming from a loud speaker again. Except this time, it sounded oddly familiar.

"Welcome, challenger. Ready for a battle that's as sweet as the city itself? If you're ready, then you are welcome to come up here."

After completing a gym puzzle of giving out orders of customers like if I'm a waitress, I entered the battlefield and you won't believe who was there! Blonde hair, that apron, those pink skate shoes... It was Cherelle, the café waitress that I saw earlier. No wonder the voice sounded familiar.

"Nice to see you again." Cherelle said waving at me.

"B-but... what are you d-doing here?!" I stammered. "Aren't you a waitress?"

"Why yes I am. But that's my part-time job. I'm actully the gym leader of Honeymai City."

"Yeah. A quirky gym leader in fact." I thought to myself. I guess I was so into training my Pokémon that I didn't see her zooming off to the building.

"So, are you ready to battle in this sweet atmosphere? I'm maybe a Normal type specialist but believe me, the battle tactics of mine are as different as a new, fresh-out-of-the-kitchen recipe."

Gym Leader Cherelle wants to battle!

"So, let's start the bake-off. Go, Sentret and Lollyummy!"

So I was right about her being quirky. Right off the bat, she's a double battler.

For those Pokémon, I sent out my new Owlecture to see if it can do any decent damage. Plus, I sent out my Blankitten for extra help. I though it'll be easy since these Pokémon are the only ones that Cherelle had. But Cherelle's first move surprised me.

"Sentret, Defense Curl!" Cherelle shouted. As a result, Sentret now has better defense.

"Well, here goes nothing. Use Peck on Sentret, Owlecture!" I said. It sure dealt nice damage but Cherelle made another move.

"Lollyummy, Sweet Scent!"

"Oooookayyy... This will be tougher than Sue." I said to myself. That move really much takes my Pokémon one step closer for taking more guaranteed damage. But my Blankitten has a new move up on it's paws.

"Fake Out on the Lollyummy!"

Good news: The Fake Out flinched Lollyummy and it gave my Owlecture a chance to land an Air Slash on the Sentret after the Sentret trying and failing to land another Fury Swipes. Sentret: Down.

Bad news: Remember when I said that my Blankitten had a new move up on it's paws? Well, so does Cherelle's Lollyummy and it's a move that I've never heard of. So, when Lollyummy was able to attack again, it happened.

"Now let's finish this off with our best topping of all! Use Sweet Smash!"

Lollyummy lifted up the lollipop that it was holding and swung it, knocking BOTH of my Pokémon to the other side of the field! My Blankitten lived but my my Owlecture? Ummm... Not quite.

At first, I was a bit sad. Celebrating my first evolved Pokémon with it's knockout is not the best scenario. But then my frown turned into a smile when Blankitten landed a Tackle, finishing of the Lollyummy. Gym 2: Finished

"*phew* What a battle it was. I guess it's a really sweet battle, huh? *chuckle* Well, since you won, you deserve something." Cherelle said fishing somehing from her apron's pocket. It was the badge and it looked like a strawberry shortcake.

"This is the Dessert Badge and it's the crown jewel topping for this victory of yours."

"Thank you." I said with a smile. "Now I must get going since I'm going to fetch a sweet or two from your café's sweet shop side."

"Why make a pitstop there when you can have some now?" she said. Then she took a big, pink bag that looked really full. Then, she took out a boxful of macarons, some Malon Tart and a thermos full of the sahlep that they were making back in the café.

"Here you go. Enjoy your road snacks." she said cheerfully.

After thanking her and saying "Goodbye" to each other, I got out of the gym building. There's one thing that I must say about my trip back to Wonderworld City: There were no mishaps which was a big relief. But what was new to me was a new face on the way to Fallsun City (the No. 3 gate place)

The Cluekeeper
After pushing open the number 3 gates of sunny yellow and walking for a while, I saw a girl that looked like she was in some detective getup. She was on her knees, holding a magnifying glass and she sometimes took notes about the scene that she was examining.

I walked up to her and said "Hi there."

She looked up and said "Ah, hello there. My name is Stephanie Tegakari and I'm the cluekeeper of this region."

So *she's* the cluekeeper that Team Starryshore mentioned to me.

"And I'm Mel. Pleased to meet you." I said introducing myself.

"Happy to meet you too."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your work but what are you examining?"

"I'm examining this very scene in case if it's a clue to an unsolved case. To me, every detail in a scene is really substantial. Even the minor ones. Come and see it if you want."

I leaned over to check the area and when I did, I felt a bit ill. It is already bad to hear it in the tale that Team Starryshore read to me but seeing it is even worse. There was a puddle of dense, black ink or something and if there's an overused amount of black in this region like if the blackness was an unpatched hole in a fabric, it means pessimism, blandness and bad luck. Thankfully, I recovered from that ill feeling in less than a minute.

But it's not the *only* clue-looking thing here. There were also shoeprints on the road with a signature shape, a cresent moon. And on that shoeprint path was a feather. A snowy white feather with raspberry pink patterns on it. It looked like a peafowl feather to me.

"Well, this looks like a critical case's clue to me. And from this scene, I can tell that it is related to one of the evil teams." Steph said.

When she said "evil teams" it sounded more familiar to me. After all, they were mentioned in a tale that I listened to.

"And about the feather, I think it is pertian to the legendary Hopeafowl." she added.

At first, I was shocked. "The *legendary* Hopeafowl?!" I exclaimed.

"Yep. It belongs to a trio called the Opti Trio (Opti as in optimism) and it represents hope. It has these particular feathers and when it opens them, many positive vibes spread around. That's why, Mavrica is filled with dreams and such."

"Wow..! That's just awesome!" I exclaimed.

"I know. It *is* pretty awesome. Unless someone tries to, if not already, kidnap it. And from this scene, I can say that the culprit is Team Cresent. They really despise things that inspire sweet dreams."

"But then, everything will be like the region's first moments: Dull and bland."

"Affirmative. Sooooo, that's why it's my job to crack this case open like a walnut! And maybe *you* can help me."

"I'd love to help you. Believe me." I said. "But I'm on my way to battle the gym leader of a place called "Fallsun City" right now."

"Well, there's a settlement for that: I can tag along if you want. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great." I managed to reply.

"Alright then. Let's get a move on and do this."

Fallsun City, here we come!

Fallsun City
Mel's PoV

(First off, I should note this: Remember when I picked Purrtunia as my Blankitten's evolution? Well, that evolution happened while were in the route area. It just booped it's nose to a Sun Stone that I found and like that, the evolution puzzle was solved.)

While Stephanie and I were walking in the route area, we felt a small breeze. An autumnal breeze in fact. The further we went there, the more we felt the breeze. After me training up for the gym battle and Steph searching for more clues, we finally reached Fallsun City and it felt like we travelled through time season-wise.

The trees had that palette of warm colors on the leaves, the weather was partly cloudy and the sweet scent of spices like cinnamon and pumpkin spice was filling the air.

"It feels like it's autumn already. It's so... Tranquil" I said

"I know, right? It *is* pretty tranquil here. Just like the autumn itself." Steph said.

"Soooooo, would you mind if I go to the gym building? Or-"

"No, I won't. While waiting, I'll just read a book." She said. Then she took a book out of her bag. It was a detective novel, one of my favorite genres. This book was titled "Destiny Detectives: The Tale of the Twilight Topaz Theft" and I guess "Destiny Detectives" is her favorite book series. Then she went to a nearby bakery, sat down and wished me good luck.

But there was a teeny tiny problem: I couldn't see the gym building anywhere. After a while, I asked someone the gym location. And get this: it was near a meadow. I didn't know there was a meadow area by this city. It turns out that the meadow is an area to stroll around, to have picnics, etc.

"Now this is unique." I thought to myself.

Even though it took time, I finally found the gym building. The building itself was unique. It was big and open-roofed. If there's anyone who likes things unique and/or autumnal, I recommend you this city. This time when I stepped inside, a voice called out and no loud speaker this time. Just the bare voice of the gym leader.

"Hello there, challanger. Welcome to the Fallsun Gym, the one-of-a-kind open roof gym here in Mavrica. You're quite shocked to see the gym this big, right? Anyways, this puzzle that you see in front of you is also a helping hand for me. So? Let the puzzle begin!"

A Gym Battle in a Picnic Atmosphere
When I collected the required ingredients, I had a chance to see the gym leader up close. She had blonde hair, hazel eyes and a as-simple-as-it-can-be yellow dress. Not only that, she had a picnic basket beside her.

"*gasp* Wow! Thanks for picking up the ingredients! Just wait a minute, okay?" she said. Then she took the basket, put the ingredients in a teapot. It turned out that she was brewing some tea for her picnic.

"So, you're the new challenger, right? What's your name?"

"My name is Melanie. Mel for short. And you?"

"I'm Nicki, the Grass-Type gym leader of the Mavrica region. Nice to meet you."

Grass type, huh? Well, it is actually a bit hard to guess when you first see her without seeing the gym concept.

"Soooo... Shall we battle?"

"Well, OK. There's still time for the tea to brew. Be sure to energize yourself with some goodies because this is going to be a great battle.

Gym Leader Nicki wants to battle!

"Alright. Go, Cherrim!"

As she let out her Cherrim, I let out my Sparkapillar.

By the way, I should note the atmosphere of the entire battlefield. Since the gym building was open-roofed I could see the slight sunbeam was gleaming and the air was fresh too.

"Bug Bite!" I shouted. It sure dealt good damage. Nicki's Cherrim hit my Sparkapillar with Magical Leaf but that's alright. Another Bug Bite made me win the first round. Now *that's* fast.

"Okay... Time for the second round. I choose you, Jumpluff!"

Jumpluff was easy too but not as easy as Cherrim. Jumpluff had Sleep Powder and Leech Seed so it was a bit tough for my Sparkapillar. But I got away with that by sending out my Purrtunia and it was a piece of cake. Jumpluff: Down.

"Alright. Now for my last Pokemon. Go, Chamomellow!"

Another new Pokémon. This one looked like a tiny, sleepy nymph on top of a freshly bloomed daisy. I opened my Pokédex to register it

Chamomellow, The Daisy Pokémon

"So tiny, so sleepy... Yet is worth to meet.

''With that relaxing chamomile scent. Oh, how sweet..!"''

After attacking the Chamomellow with my Purrtunia's newly taught Razor Leaf, Nicki shouted out another new move that I've never heard of.

"Use Healer's Bloom!"

Just what you expect: Chamomellow healed itself with that move. No. More than that. The health is fully restored.

Purrtunia used Razor Leaf again. Chamomellow used

"Third time's the charm." I though to myself and shouted out "Razor Leaf!" one more time. This time, it was a critical hit. "Yes!" I cheered to myself from the inside.

"Wow. Great job defeating me in this gym battle. I suppose that you deserve something special" Nicki said and she handed me out a badge that looks like a picnic cloth. It's called Picnic Badge.

"Also, be sure to take these with you. Since the time flew by while we were battling, the tea is complete. Here's the tea thermos and here's the mini course." she added, handing me her freshly brewed linden tea and a marmalade sandwich. Plus, the Grass Knot TM.

"If you want to battle the next gym, you have to go to the Steamrail City. Good luck!"

"Thanks." I said getting out the gym. Steamrail City... That's my next destination. More like *our* next destination. I rushed over to the café where Stephanie was waiting for me.

"Oh! You're here. Did you have an enjoyable time battling?" Stephanie asked lifting her head from her book."

"Yep! And I'm not empty-handed."

"*giggle* You sure are not. So, are you ready to go to our next destination?"

"Of course I am!" I exclaimed. Steamrail City, here we come!"

Steamrail City and Another Battle with Nella
When Steph and I pushed open the gates of fiery orange, we were at the Steamrail City immediately. Really, no route road, no wild Pokémon, nothing. The gate itself opened it's doors to a city that was pretty minimalistic and a true paradise for train lovers. And the strangest part was that there was no gym building.

"That's... odd. No gym building. Only houses." I said

"Actually this city is a special one when it comes to it's gym building department. Instead of a gym building, there is a special train with a gym battle cart. It's basically it's two birds with one stone: Battling the gym leader *and* getting to your next destination." Steph said

I admit: it *is* unique. But it's too complex for me to figure out which train is the right one. If only there was someone that... Wait...

"That's it!" I shouted.

"Hm? What's it, Melanie?"

"I just thought of the perfect person to solve this problem. Nella! She told me that if there's any need for guidance, she can provide me with it."

"Well that sounds wonderful Melanie! I'll be here by the train station. Take your time."

"Okay, I will."

I was in search for Nella for a minute until I saw her sitting on a bench.

"Hey there Nella!"

"Hey! Long time no see, Mel."

"Yeah, it's kinda like that. Anyways, I have a question to ask: Do you know which train has the gym battling cart?"

"Well... I *do* know it but as I said before: I won't do it until you beat me in a battle."

"Don't worry. I remember that Nella"

"Sweet! then let's battle!"

So? We did a Pokémon battle that lasted about 5 minutes and let out 3 Pokémon each. And the result? I won the battle. I admit, she got stronger since she evolved her Blankitten into what she wanted, a Staroara by her Blankitten touching a Stardust Pouch with it's paw. But still I won.

"Wow! Great job of beating me. You got stronger I see." Nella said

"You did so too." I replied shaking her hand.

"So, I kept my promise and I'll show you the gym challenge train okay? It's this one." She said helpfully, pointing at a fancy looking train.

"Okay. Thank you very much. See you soon!"

"See you later too!"

I happily ran over the train station and told Stephanie the right train and I could tell that she was as happy as me.

"Okay then. There's no time to waste." She said after getting the tickets. I really wonder how the gym leader is really like but there's one thing sure: That gym leader is surely full of surprises.

A Gym Leader with a Blaze of Surprise
When Stephanie and I entered the train as the first two passengers, a cheerful voice came from the loud speaker.

"Oooh, you seem excited for the mysterious gym leader. You see, there are no gym buildings in this city so the trainer just took the team and moved to the train. And as this train gym's... Uh... puzzle provider, you must solve a puzzle for each cart: One at the cart you're in, the passengers cart, one at the dining cart and one at the sleeping cart. Sounds fun, right? It really is, actually. When you solve the last puzzle the gym challenge cart will unlock it's doors to you. So, are ya ready? Here we go!"

First, we split up for the first two carts with me in the passenger's cart and Stephanie in the dining cart.

After a while, we joined forces to solved the puzzle in the sleeping cart. When we did it, the gym challenge cart did unlock it's doors to us. When we entered, we saw a girl with a train conductor's uniform.

"*chuckle* Quite surprised to see me here, huh?"

We didn't get it at first. What did she mean by "Surprised"?

"I'm Trista and I'm actually the gym leader here, not the puzzle provider. I never said that to anyone because I love to ignite the blaze of surprise in general."

So I was right about the gym leader being full of surprises. Both Stephanie and I were super shocked.

"Anyways, ready to fight? 'Cause I have that fiery passion in me! Let's go!" Trista said blowing her whistle."

"You start the battle, okay Mel? I'm going to wait." Steph said.

So, the battle started between me and the full-of-surprises train conductor.

Battle with Trista and a Train Ride
Okay. So to summarize the whole battle, it went like this:

Trista only had 2 Pokémon which was a contrast with Nicki's battle that had three Pokémon.

First she let out her Carkol and I sent out my Chinchou which evolved into a Lanturn overtime. The Carkol used Heat Crash but it was fine since I have a water type on the field. And my Lanturn finished the job with two Water Guns. The Carkol was just the easy part.

But when she let out her second Pokémon, I was sweating a bit. Not only from the heat but also from nervousness. Her second Pokémon was a completely new Pokémon by the name of Nymphlare and it looked tough to beat even though I had a Lanturn on my team. And it *was*.

First, her Nymphlare used Mystical Fire and it *was* a problem for me since my Lanturn felt weaker by Special Attack after that. The good news was a Bubble Beam did good damage on the Nymphlare. The bad news was that this Pokémon had a really good move up it's sleeve: Moonblast. And yes, Lanturn made it through which was a miracle. But I couldn't risk it so I called it back to my Pokéball and sent out Lollyummy which actually managed to finish the job with three Sweet Smashes.

"*Phew* you surpassed me in that battle passion so much that you put off mine. Here, take this. You deserve it." Trista said handing out her badge which was known as the Dawn Engine Badge. When I was about to leave, she spoke up again.

"Oh! Before you go, take this as well. You should hide that in your pocket along with your badge because no one needs to know who's the gym leader here. I'm... just not ready yet to show myself as a gym leader to the public. As I said, a flare of surprise. Teehee!"

It was a Conductor's Insignia. I thanked her and went back to my seat, next to Stephanie who was already asleep. I also noticed that she had her case notes on the table so she must've been checking them while I was battling.

After settling down, Trista made her way to her own area which was the Conductor's Engine. She called the rest of the passengers to climb abord and after that, we're all on the railroads to the next city. While we were going, I decided to shut my own eyes and rest them a bit. And before you knew it, I was asleep with everyone on the train. Plus, my Purrtunia was in my lap.

After I while, I woke up. Not to train whistle but to a shout from one of the passengers.

"GAH! My... my ring!"

"And my headband!" shouted another.

Eventually, many passengers were shouting in worry. Stephanie chimed in.

"Okay everyone, Calm down. What has transpired?" she asked to every worried passenger one by one. Then she took notes about the items that were stolen. Clearly they were different things but they all had one thing in common: All of the stolen items had gemstones on it.

"It could only be one thief's job!" Stephanie called out. None of the passengers had to ask "Who?" because the culprit was flying across the sky with a flashy looking helicopter and she had four other thieves by her side.

"Ahuhuhu! I can't believe that you really fell to the disguise I made for my friend, Phantom Papillion the Gemstone Thief!" one of the thieves called out.

"*gasp* There they are! The Flutters!" Trista called out in despair.

"Indeed they're and they are sneaky too." Stephanie said mildly annoyed.

"*Pfft* Enough chit-chat already. Au revoir!" the same thief called out.

"Who exactly are they, Steph?" I asked.

"They're the Flutters. One of the three evils in this region. Except that these girls are not "official" evils. They just made this group between themselves. They all specialize in stealing something unique."

"Oh my..." was all I could say.

"Sorry Mel but I must leave in order to apprehend them. Good luck on your journey!"

"That's okay Steph. And good luck on the apprehending!" I called out to her as I left the train. I saw the sign. It read "Dreamday City" and the gates were pastel pink.

"Here I come..!" I said pushing open the gates.

Dreamday City and a Familiar Face
When I pushed open the gate No. 5 and going through the route road to train my Pokémon, I was greeted with a mostly pastel-colored city that had a dreamy atmosphere. And the population of the city is mostly young. The city had all sorts of places that children love. Like an amusement park, a toy shop and places like that. It was actually great to see a place like this after that Flutter thieves steal-and-escape.

"It looks... wonderful. Right Purrtunia?" I said. The reply was a soft purr which showed that Purrtunia was pretty pleased.

We took a little walk until we noticed someone familiar. It was Rainbeaux, the girl that I saw *way* back when I was getting my starter. Rainbeaux must've noticed me because she lifted her head up from the chalk drawing that she was doing. "Oh! Hello there!".

At first, I was a bit shocked. Rainbeaux seemed pretty energetic which was a contrast to the shy behavior that she had back then.

"Umm... Hello." I waved back. Then I checked the chalk drawing. "It looks amazing. Great skills there." I said.

"Thank you very much! You can do one if you want. In this city, there are a plenty of areas to fill with creativity."

"Well... I'd like to but... I don't have any drawing materials with me right now."

"Hmmm..." Rainbeaux thought for a while. "Actually, I have a big box of special chalks but I commended them to someone else."

"Really? To whom?"

"I think her name was Bellette. She the gym leader of this city and right now, she keeps them by her side to find them a new owner and I recommend you to battle her. She might give you the chalkbox and maybe... something special along with it."

"Got it. Thank you and see you soon!" I waved, being ready after that training in the route road. But first, I made a small visit to a Pokémon Center to restore my team's health, especially Lanturn's.

"There. Now I'm ready. Bellette, here I come!"

Young and Talented
Ooookay. I take back what I said about me being ready.

When I entered the Dreamday City gym, I was totally caught off-guard when a 7-year old girl greeted me.

"Greetings!" the girl waved. "Welcome to my gym!"

"So *she* is Bellette?!" I thought. I was actually quite surprised and I thought that Trista was the one who was full of surprises.

I stepped inside and did the gym puzzle of gathering the right balloons for Bellette. After that, the battle started.

A few minutes later...

Okay. Again with the summarizing and this one's gonna be *super* short. But is has surprises to it near the end of this battle with the Fairy-type gym leader herself.

Bellette's 1st Pokémon: Shiinotic. Beaten with 3 Steamrollers from my Sparkapillar which is now an Elecocoon.

2nd Pokémon: Sylveon. It was a bit tougher. It was beaten with 2 Sweet Smashes from my Lollyummy and 3 Tackles from my Purrtunia.

Now read closely. This is the part where the big surprises come

The 3rd Pokémon was a Fennymph, another new Pokémon. But then... something unusual happened.

Bellette's hand reached to a wand... or a chalk. Yeah, it was a chalk. A pastel pink chalk. The moment Bellette grabbed the chalk, it began to glow. Then, she drew a rune with it. After that, she chanted out.

"Let's go Fennymph..! Dreamy Mist Blast!"

Then, the Fennymph pounced onto the rune and let out a huuuuge explosion of pastel-colored, glistering mist. The mist made me cough a little and I couldn't see anything at the time. The same happened with my Pokémon. So this rune move dropped the accuracy of my Pokémon. And it did a good job because a big chunk of the moves ended up missing. But we did good job and beat Bellette. Especially with the final blow of Poison Powder, that my Purrtunia newly learned on the battlefield, and a Leaf Blade.

But after performing Poison Powder, Purrtunia started to glow. It could only mean one thing: My Purrtunia was evolving!

It evolved into a Sandersonyan and it was awesome!

After the battle ended, Bellette spoke up.

"Wow, I was expecting to impress you but you impressed me. Congrats for beating me! Here's your prize."

She handed out her own badge, the Balloon Badge, the box of the special chalks *and* two scrolls. They were rune moves that I can perform. The runes were named "Dreamy Mist Blast" and "Aura Beyond the Wonders" respectively.

"For the next gym, I think you have to go to Pinelight City. Be sure to wear your winter gear when you arrive there because that city is 24/7 snowy and festive. Well in that case, good luck and happy early holidays! *chuckle*. Make sure to give feedback about that rune spell!"

I thanked for the advice and waved goodbye.

Wow... just wow...! Two surprises in a gym battle? Now that's lucky. I never felt this good before. My heart was fluttering with joy as I stepped outside the Dreamday City gates and made my way to the Wonderworld City to rest for a bit.

I just wonder what other surprises will greet me..?

The Full Moon Princess' Important Need
"Um... hello there." A voice called out to me.

When I looked around, I found the answer to "What other surprises will greet me..?". There was a girl, who looked like a princess, glistering like the full moon. And, what's more, is that she had a small and cute moon Pokémon beside her, having the similar color scheme with the girl.

"H-Hello there, miss." I kinda stuttered. I got up from the bench that I was sitting on and slightly curtsied. It's my first time seeing a princess after all, if she really was. And it was kinda silly of me to call someone who's younger than me "miss".

"*chuckle* Oh please. You don't have to do all of that. My name is Philomena, the leader of Team AngelLuna. And if you're wondering if I'm a princess, it's just my nickname." the girl said helpfully.

"Team AngelLuna, the second heroic team that I've heard." I thought. "And I'm Mel. Pleased to meet you." Then I introduced myself.

"Pleased to meet you too." Philomena said. "Well... I came over here to ask you something. Specifically, for help."

"Sure thing, Philomena. What is it?"

"Me and Lunalil here, need your help to find Team Cresent. If you see them, notify me. Okay?"

"O-Okay. But... question: Who is Team Cresent and what is their goal?" I asked

"Well... Let me summarize it to you: If our team is "dream", Team Cresent is "nightmare" and I mean *literal* nightmare. Their goal is to set the Maroon Moon which is a type of moon that the Nightmare Spirits of theirs love. They're not giving up even though they constantly fail and it's our team's job to stop the team again and again. I don't want people to experience that horrible feeling in their mind."

After hearing Philomena's reply, I was shook. "N-N-Nightmare Spirits?!" I said nervously. My Sandersonyan was also scared. I could feel her trembling in fear.

"I don't want *that* to happen. Especially when we're talking about the entire region!"

"Then you should scout them and notify me when you see them. Here's a Full Moon Bell. Ring it slightly and I'll come right away. Got it?" she said.

I nodded. "Understood, Philomena."

"Excellent. Now, the best of luck on your journey." She waved as she left. After waving at her back as a reply, I calmed myself down and decided to resume my journey. I put on my winter coat and my winter accessories that I packed in case I need them. And it turns out that I needed them in the city that I'm going to push open the gates of. "Pinelight City" it wrote on the sign and the gates were icy blue. I took a deep breath and pushed the gates open, only to let out some cold air out. But I didn't really mind. I was *really* ready for anything from this point on.

Pinelight City
The moment I entered Pinelight City, it felt like I time traveled to Christmas. The city was covered in a layer of white breathing snow and festive lights were everywhere. The detail that shouted out "festive" the most was the big pine tree in the center of the city and it was decorated with ornaments, tinsels and, of course, a star at the tip-top.

The festive atmosphere made me smile but my Sandersonyan wasn't happy. She was shivering from the cold. So I put her back into her Pokéball and keep her there until I exit the city. I really wanted to join the fun in the city. But first, I decided to battle the gym.

When I spotted the gym building, which was next to a theatre, I stepped inside. I was greeted with darkness immediately. But don't get me wrong: It wasn't pitch-black darkness. The place had dim glows of some lanterns and speaking of lanterns, that was my gum puzzle: Lighting each and every unlit lantern in order while skating across this one gargantuan ice skating rink of a battlefield.

When finished with the puzzle, I was greeted with someone who was behind a counter, which looked like a mini workshop bench, and she was keeping her *own* lantern beside her.

"Ah, the place looks delightful already and I bet that everyone's willing to make wishes on Christmas." the girl said.

"Make... wishes?" I said.

"Yes indeed. These Lanterns of Delight are special because it's the wishing way of Pinelight City." she explained. I thought it was a unique way to make a wish you know.

"By the way, my name is Krist. Krist Misa that is. And yours?" she introduced herself.

"And I'm Mel. Nice to meet you." I said.

"Nice to meet you too. Anyways, shall we start out battle? And don't worry. Your reward will be really worth it." Krist said, as she skated towards the battle and so did I.

It was the time... to earn the 6th badge.

Battle on Ice
After the battle

Let me just say that this battle was tough. Not only Krist had 4 Pokémon (basically a Frosmoth, a Froslass, a Glaceon and an Icikitty), the battlefield was an ice rink. And when battling, it was actually quite tough to stay balanced, being a contrast with my gym puzzle performance. And remember Bellette's magic rune move? Well, Krist has one too, and it was tougher to deal with.

"Let's spread the holiday joy with... Winter Wonderland Atmosphere!"

The entire gym building was covered with some kind of smoke. A glittery smoke that had the colors of a starry night sky. Then, that smoke started to surround Icikitty, giving it an omniboost. It took a while, but I did it.

"Wow. You won! That means your Christmas will go as smooth as you can think of. That's a superstition here in this city. Here's your badge. You can celebrate the Christmas by just looking at it." she said, handing out a badge that looked like a Christmas Tree. The Festive Badge it was. She also handed out the "Winter Wonderland Atmosphere" rune.

"The next gym leader is also happens to be one of my friends (who helped me with a Christmas incident that happened last year). She's at the Tickertock Town. It's a city, really but the Town Square there clearly speaks "town". Her gym building is this clock tower that she really likes. Be sure to send my regards to her. See you soon!"

"Okay, I will!" I waved and got out, taking off my ice skates and slipping on my shoes. What a relief it was to step on steady ground!

Then I remembered my promise to myself of having some winter fun, so I played in the snow for a while like I was a little kid. But it felt great.

After finished playing, I cleaned the snow from my coat and made my way back to Wonderworld City. But I didn't take my winter gear off. Because I kinda heard that Tickertock Town was snowy. Not as snowy as Pinelight, but still pretty cold. And it has a clock tower too! So I wonder what kind of mysteries greet me...