Special Plush: Where is the plush?

The sounds of crickets announcing the return of the night breezed into many Pokémon’s ears. The chilly wind embraced those remaining outside. The skies illuminated the dark skies, giving a spectacle to those fortunate to see them.

Standing beside trees surrounding houses were two Pokémon who had just gotten to the area after a full day of exploring: a pale Popplio & a stern purple-blue Shinx. The two of them were appreciating the sky’s starry spectacle while the Shinx was softly placing his paws on one of the Popplio’s flippers.

“I’ve…never seen the stars in such fashion...” The Popplio started, sighing peacefully. “I was never given the opportunity to see them…I’m so glad I can finally see them with you, Apollo.”

Apollo looked away for a brief amount of time before going back to the one he was protecting, almost as if he was taken by surprise before replying to her. “I’m glad to be able to be here for you.”

One of the stars started glowing lighter than all the other stars in the sky, giving the duo quite the little show. Haydée’s smile became wider, and one of her flippers was enthusiastically pointing at the star of the show before exclaiming. “This one reminds me of the prince! Ah! So gorgeous…I hope I can get to see him…” Meanwhile, Apollo looked at her fondly, though briefly had a bitter smile on his face.

It didn’t take long before the cries of a Pokémon could be heard, but it wasn’t one of danger. It was actually one from…a child?

“Ralts, sweetie, it’s okay…! We’ll get you your toy back eventually…”

The voice came from an open window on one of the houses. A Gallade could be seen struggling to rock a small Ralts to sleep. He clearly looked exhausted from having to do this for what looks like weeks, with bags under his eyes and a fairly shaky stance. As Haydée’s curiosity got the best of her, she slowly reached towards the open window, with Apollo following behind her, feeling a little off from the Popplio’s curiosity.

Now in front of the window, Haydée tried reaching the Gallade by knocking on the open window. “Hello! Are you doing okay? We heard a young’s cry!” Haydée asked while raising her flipper towards the little Ralts. Meanwhile, Apollo stayed at a distance, a little unsure of whether to help or not as, after all, he wanted to stick to the main goal.

After a little while, the Gallade placed the Ralts on one of the beds in the room he found himself in and walked towards the window where the Popplio & the Shinx were. He let out a heavy sigh before explaining the situation. “Oh, I’m fine. It’s just been harder being a parent ever since my sweet little Ralts lost their favorite toy. They won’t sleep without it and they’ve been crying a lot…even during the middle of the night…”

The sadness in the Gallade’s voice was easily noticed as he stroked his arms. Seeing this situation broke Haydée’s heart, giving her the urge to help and find this toy as fast as possible. “Well, we can try and help out! We just got here, but I’m sure fresh pairs of eyes can help!” At a distance, Apollo could be seen sighing, wondering if Haydée was going to start helping everyone around her instead of trying to find the prince she wanted to seek.

The Gallade simply explained that the toy was actually a little plushie shaped like a Chingling, but it also had a red bow attached to one of its legs. It was also meant to be a gift from their other parent which hasn’t been around for a while. Listening to this explanation made Haydée weep. Despite his general stance on things, Apollo couldn’t help but soften and hold onto one of Haydée’s flippers; if there was one thing that broke his own heart, it was seeing the one he was so loyal to cry.

“It’s okay, Haydée…we’ll find that plush-” As Apollo tried his best to hug Haydée to try and console her, he accidentally kicked a bush, which made a ringing sound. With confusion in his face, the Shinx placed his head into the bush before going back to Haydée with a Chingling plush in his mouth; it also had a particular red bow on it as well.

Both Haydée and Apollo looked at each other in surprise before the Shinx gave the plush to the Gallade, who was also as confused as the duo. “I…thought I looked at everything, but I guess I missed that bush, huh. Well, thank you, adventurers!” Apollo quickly responded with a “no problem” before going back with Haydée. 

It was possible to see the Gallade give the Chingling plush to his little Ralts, who quickly started hugging it in their sleep. The parent watched with a tender expression before falling asleep on the floor. Clearly, he really needed sleep.