It was no accident that Chryssa found herself at the berry plots that day. She'd gotten a tip that a wonderfully theatrically-minded Pokemon had been causing drama in the area, so of course she'd come to scout out the competition. She was disappointed the Gothorita had set its sights so low as to be stealing berries out of peoples' gardens, but she supposed even goth girls had to eat. 

She had been pretending to be working at a neighboring garden plot, ignoring the psychic Pokemon-- but as it was distracted trying to harvest some yet-unripe berries, Chryssa sprung into action. She inhaled and then screamed, drawing the attention of a few other startled passerby. "Ah! My leg!" she cried, falling to one knee. It startled the Gothorita enough into turning towards her, the psychic glow around the berries fading. "Heavens above, I've been terminally bitten! Oh woe, the venom is spreading through my leg... through my knee... through my upper thigh...connected to the femur... and so on..." 

As she went on and on, Chryssa readied a Pokeball. Alarmed by the possible presence of an aggressive poison-type Pokemon, the Gothorita looked around, trying to spot this hidden Salandit or other deadly viper. I'm sure this garden's owner won't mind if I just help myself to their intruder, Chryssa thought, standing up straight suddenly. "Oops, guess I'm fine," she said, then threw the Pokeball while the creature was still surprised. Now who was the ultimate queen of Fake Tears?!

^{CATCHING GOTHORITA}

It was springtime at the berry plots, and Michiko found herself returning to the little garden she’d started with Zac the previous fall. The earth felt different— before it had been hard, a mixture of weathered grasses’ stubborn roots and frost hiding just beneath the surface. Now it felt slightly squishy underfoot, the new grasses springy and verdant. Peoples’ feet had worn muddy trails between the berry-beds, and Michi picked her way carefully along them, admiring the way fallen Cherrim petals had collected in the puddles.

Her enjoyment of the day was cut short by the sight of a wild Pokemon in her garden, and she readied her hold on her handbag in case she needed to scare it off. Before she could get too worked up about the thief, however, all her annoyance melted away when the little Pokemon turned around and she recognized it. All the children’s manga and keychains she’d ever bought hadn’t prepared her for the true cuteness that was the ball-shaped, half-egg Togepi which was currently trying and failing to harvest a Tamato.

But the garden had its own defenses. Earth crumbled away as the large tree which had been sheltering the berry-bed shuddered and the garden itself lifted several feet off the ground. The Togepi barely caught onto the side of Poturtle’s shell as the Torterra, after hibernating all winter, stretched its limbs and let out a low rumble. It looked down at the tiny Pokemon with huge eyes, turning its muddy head like the prow of a ship.

It occurred to Michiiko she had no idea what Poturtle would actually do— maybe eat the Togepi? It looked like a delicious egg— so she quickly threw the Pokeball she’d been holding to save the adorable character before anything bad could happen. It disappeared into the light, leaving the garden— and its protector— once again at peace.

和

^{CATCHING TOGEPI}