Zac looked around, dismayed that their picnic hadn't already been swarmed by wild pokemon. "They should be here already Michi! Not often that they don't come running when I pop open the honey." He checked behind some bushes to make sure that no local critters had snuck up in the minute since Devin had laid out the rug. 

"Well there must be plenty of berries to be found if honey doesn't bring 'em running. Guess I'll need to break out the big guns. Dev! Where didja put the big guns!?"
Devin pointed at a pile of three tightly wrapped bundles. Zac chuckled,  "Devin, chuck on the camera for this one, it's bloody genius."
The red light flicked back on, and Devin was careful to keep Michiko out of frame.  "Lets talk bait. Honey is always good for your general lures in lush, grassy areas such as this, but for your specialty catches, or in cases like this where nothing is biting, you may need to use the greatest weapon of all." Zac tapped his forehead with one finger. "That's right. Your tense of taste."
unwrapping the first to reveal what looked like a bowl of scones filled with raisins.He pulled off the cloth wrapping of the bundle to reveal a basket of hard scones, speckled with raisins. "This area has three main types of wild pokemon, Rock, Dragon and Fairy, and i've prepared a little something perfect for the preferences and predelictions of these picky pokes. These are rock cakes."
Behind the camera Devin rolled his eyes.
"And I know what you thinking. 'Zac you handsome devil, why would a dragon type pokemon want rock cakes?' but these are actually for the rock pokemon. You see, all of those hard headed pokemon have a power fantasy of crushing boulders between their jaws. The hard exterior of the rock cake provides that ounce of resistant, followed by satisfying crunch. After that, the juicy, squshy raisins really hits the spot." 

Zac laid the scones at the edge of the picnic and revealed the second basket. Inside were round purple fruit, finned with green leafy rims. They had been halved, revealing the white flesh inside, which was thick with glistening, black seeds. 
"And this is dragon fruit. Perfect for capricious lizards. Now dragons love to hoard, and a fruit that is full of tiny, precious little seeds will send many of them into fits of excitement as they scrabbed to add these black gems to their growing hoard." he set the fruit down a little ways away from the rock cakes.


"And last." Zac said, as he gently picked up the last of the bundles. "We have the ideal treat for the daintiest, most elusive of the pokemon types: fairy." He pulled off the cloth to reveal a heaping pile of what looked like plain white bread, covered in multicolored dots. Zac wiped at the corner of his mouth with the cloth before tucking it away. "Fairy bread. A feast fit for a king. I actually made more than twice as much as this but, ah, well I had to test it for quality." he put down the tray at the edge of picnic, where it was within easy reach. 

"Now every pokemon for miles around will scent these morsels on the wind and come running! All we have to do it wait." Zac said, sitting down and popping open a tupperware container to reveal  sandwiches stuffed with fresh, leafy greens and layers of lunchmeat. "Dig in everyone! This is just the appetizer! After this we've got meat pies, lava cookies, and then we'll round it out with some fresh fruit."

Devin clicked off the camera and sat down to eat while Zac put together bowls of food for Zappa, Helen, and the new addition to their team: TBD.
"How about you big fella?" Zac asked Macchan, offering him one of the sandwiches. "Is it cheat day?"

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD RHYDON APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD SWIRLIX APPEARED!

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Michi watched from the edge of the picnic blanket, grateful to be off-camera, as the red-haired man introduced each of the three foods they were planning to bait the wild Pokemon with. I wonder who will come! she thought, picturing big, strong rock types and other mystical foreign Pokemon appearing like guests to their picnic. Hoenn had changed so much since she was a child - thirty years ago, one would never have seen a fairy-type out in the wild.

Perhaps the element of chance should have worried a civilian like her more-- what if something dangerous appeared, after all?-- but Michi wasn't scared. That was why her husband had left her Matchan-- not just to carry her shopping bags home! With the region as tumultuous as it was, it was good to have protection even if one didn't necessarily have their own Pokemon.

But Michi did. It was a secret, but she had caught a meriru she'd found at the beach. It was just so cute, she'd smuggled it home in her bag and bought a Pokeball the very next day to put it in. She wanted to show it to Zac, but she was too shy. The outdoor enthusiast's Pokemon were very cool-- what if he laughed at her? And wasn't she a little too old to start collecting Pokemon? 

She, Zac, his cameraman and Matchan had been eating for a little under fifteen minutes when the ground shook with heavy footsteps and a Rhydon's horned head crested a nearby ridge, its nostrils flaring as it sniffed the breeze. "Ah! One came!" Michiko pointed suddenly, jumping to her feet. "It looks very big!"

She wondered, suddenly, if she should throw a Pokeball at it. She'd bought a six-pack at the convenience store, so she still had five left over. Aah! What am I thinking? One meriru and I'm like Satoshi Ketchum?!  This isn't manga, silly Michi! She scolded herself. She heard crunching and looked back down at the picnic blanket to see a piece of white, sprinkle-covered bread disappearing into the mouth of a fluffy, sugary-looking Pokemon that she loved instantly and instinctively with all her heart.

Approaching Rhydon forgotten, Michi immediately crouched down to take a picture. The Swirlix continued to gobble fairy bread. Lacking hands, it had pinned the slice down with one paw and was using its long tongue to lick away the sprinkles. "Waaaaa! It is the famous character: Slurpi! He is kind to all he meets in the smartphone game, 'Pokemon Bodega Mix!' Cuuuute~!" 

As if in response, the Swirlix, looked up to see the Rhydon still tromping towards them and hissed. It flattened its ears and bared its adorable fangs, standing protectively over its fairy bread like a predator over its kill. <FWEEE!> it squealed, then lashed its tail and shot directly like a fluffy cannonball towards the massive rock-type Pokemon.

Zac watched in amazement as Michiko prepared and threw the pokeball. She’s got a wild technique going on. He thought. Must be that Petalburg Style i’ve heard about.
Michiko’s first ball hit Rhydon, sucking it into the ball, and before Zac had time to narrate the exciting development Michiko had drawn, sighted, and fired her second shot, moving with surprising gusto. Swiftly she retrieved her swirlix capture, apparently happy to ignore the still shaking Rhydon ball.

Zac jogged over to greet the glowing Michiko, who was cradling her capture like a prized muskmelon.
“Whoa there Michi! That was a stunning pair of shots! Looks to me like this isn’t your first time, amirite?” Before she could answer, Zac thrust out an arm, again pushing her back from potential danger. “But be careful. One of the greatest dangers facing unseasoned trainers is that of an uncaptured pokemon.
It’s quite common to get too close to a shaking ball, like we’ve done here, which can lead to substantial injury if the pokemon ends up breaking free."

"Why, more than 30% of trainers suffer from Premature Capture Celebration in their first year. I myself got a bit cocky when I caught ol’ Helen, and ended up with some pretty rough burns and a bad nip on the hand for my troubles.”

The camera turned to aim at the pokeball, still wriggling in the sunken wreckage of the picnic. “He’s still struggling is he?” Asked Zac, “Can’t say I blame him. We did a poor job of weakening him, and though trapping a pokemon makes it easier to throw a ball, it doesn’t do much to dampen their battler’s spirit.
Besides, it’s quite possible he can still smell the rock cakes.”
The pokeball wriggled one last time and pinged. Zac let out a sigh of relief. “And that’s how it’s done.”

“TBD, you can release the SAND TOMB now.” He shouted, stamping the ground. The trap relaxed, and the ground slowly returned to normal, albeit a bit lumpier than before. He retrieved the Rhydon ball and walked back to Michiko, holding it out to her, his broad hand smeared in dirt and picnic mush. “Well Michi, to the tosser go the spoils. This one’s all yours. What are you gonna name him?”

Taken aback by the rebuke, Michi quickly scurried away from the still-shaking Rhydon ball, sheltering her new catch with her body. She’d been so excited to catch the famous Pokemon Bodega Mix character that she’d completely forgotten about the huge rock-type. What if it had burst out right behind her, and attacked? Matchan’s hands were still full, after all. If he’d had to defend her, he would have dropped all the sandwiches.

So Michi was very grateful to Zac, and she clapped her hands joyfully when, to both of their relief, the Rhydon did not break out. She was caught off-guard when the red-haired man offered it to her, however. “Me?” She pointed at her chin incredulously. “No, no! Matchan would get jealous!”

The Machamp looked skeptical as Michi went on, reaching forward to wrap Zac’s hands back around the Pokeball and patting them comfortingly. “Please, keep as a souvenir! His name will be...” she thought carefully, hmm-img and mmm-img, “Shin!” Inexplicably, she chose a normal name. “Shin, the meaning is progress. Today, I am making great progress!” She smiled at Zac, releasing his hands. “It is thanks to you!”

She put Swirlix’s ball away in her bag and saw one of the fancy apples she’d brought from Petalburg as a souvenir to give Zac at the end of their adventure. It gave her an idea. “Ah!” She exclaimed as if stung, pulling out her phone and showing her lock screen to Zac. It was another round Pokemon she liked. “I want to catch this ringo-chara! Is it possible?” She looked at him earnestly.

Zac squinted at the picture that was set as the lockscreen on Michiko's phone. It showed a plump, chibi version of a red apple, with a pair of thick-lashed anime eyes poking out of the top. "Oh, Applin?" Zac asked, looking up into the nearby trees, as if expectng to see one of the fruity monsters hiding among the boughs. 
"I'm sure there are a few around here...but what to use as bait..." Zac inspected the remaining supplies. Matchan and Devin had managed to save a bit of almost everything, only missing pies and the fairy bread (Arceus rest it's crust).

He poked through the containers, pulling out a dragon fruit half. 
"Will that work?" Asked Devin. "Considering he's an apple?"
"Uhhh. I'm gonna level with you Dev, I didn't look deeply into pokemon cannibalism during my post doctoral studies."
"Fair enough. Well it's worth a try."

"That it is. Come on Michi, lets find you a...what did you call it? A Rango Tango or something?" asked Zac, and he scooped out a handful of the flesh and seeds. He didn't wait for an answer, tossing the seeds left and right as he forged a path through the trees.

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD CORSOLA APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD AROMATISSE APPEARED!

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Now that she knew how easy it was to catch characters-- at least while she was with the more experienced trainer-- Michiko was fully on board with this whole adventure. Before, she'd come along mostly for her husband's sake. Now, things were personal! She only had so long with the rugged PokeVlogger, so it was now or never.

I could never do any of this on my own, she thought, scurrying after Zac as he headed off into the woods with the dragonfruit. I hope he doesn't mind! Though maybe, she could have caught Swirlix by herself. No, but it had come for Zac's fairy bread. Could she find a recipe online? Maybe I can make it again... 

A terrible smell had begun to set in in her nostrils and at first Michi ignored it to be polite, but the farther they got into the woods, the more pungent it became. The type of smell was difficult to describe-- sickeningly sweet, but burning acidic, like overripe fruit starting to ferment. "The air is bad here," she said, jogging to keep up with Zac. All the things in her purse jingled as she ran. "Ooh! Maybe, we should leave?" The last part was muffled as she covered her mouth with her handkerchief, breathing through it. 

Above their heads (unnoticed by Michiko) sat a fluffy pink Pokemon with its small, shapely legs crossed over a branch. As they lacked any fairy bread or, indeed, anything but dragonfruit, it bore no special love for them. A warning scent emanated from its feathers, suggesting they move on.

Michi gagged through her handkerchief and, breaking from Zac, hurried towards a break in the trees near the steep cliffside. Alarmed at his master's wife's sudden departure, Matchan snapped to and legged it after her.

The fresh air was a huge blessing and she sighed in relief, fanning herself with her handkerchief. "I thought I would die!" she exclaimed, turning to Matchan. "Oh, but you have no nose-- this is lucky for you, Matchan!"  Again, the Machamp looked skeptical.

Michi peeked down from the edge of the cliff and suddenly let out a little cry, startling the fighting-type. "Look! Look there!" Water from a newly-formed stream was trickling down the stone, forming a puddle at the bottom of one of the rock ledges. Something pink and round was half-concealed inside the water. Michi pointed. "It's there: Fancy Ringo!" 

"What's that Michi? There's an apple in the river?" Zac asked, heading straight for the rushing stream and lying down of his belly at the edge. "Devin, get a close up as I save this little fella."
The pink blob floated down past them, moving underneath the water. 
Another fairy type? it looks like a hot-pink branch. Zac thought, as the pokemon drew level with them. He stretched, reaching out into the stream and thrusting his arm up to the elbow into the cold, mountain stream.

"Phwoo!" breathed Zac, eyes opening a bit wider. "That'll wake you up!" He grabbed around under the surface, catching hold of the creature and pulling it back out.

It WAS a hot pink branch.
Zac blinked at it in surprise.
It blinked back.

"Cor?" asked the smiling piece of coral. Zac grinned back and turned to Michi.
"It's a CORSOLA! I should have known, aint she a beut'?" He asked and, remembering how excited she had been to spot Ringo-Chara, added. "An absolutely fantastic find. Normally they're quite hard to spot actually. Must have washed down from Meteor Falls! What a spot of luck. I've been wanting one for  ages, ain't that right Dev?"
"Oh for sure." 
"Cor!" agreed the Corsola, still happily hanging from Zac's grasp.

"Thanks an absolute bunch Michi. Now I can finally cross this one off my wishlst." Zac paused. "Well come on Dev, what are you waiting for? Chuck us a pokeball!"

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD TURTONATOR APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD AMAURA APPEARED!

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