Rumble at Joyous Tower: New Friends and Poffins
Rumble at Joyous Tower: New Friends and Poffins
“Yep, I think that's the one,” Buzzed a cheerful voice. “It has to be!”
Stitches peered upwards at the spiraling, vibrant landmark in front of him. “You’re right, Glitz. This is it- Joyous Tower.”
“Ooh!” Exclaimed Izzy, who tilted her head back so far that Glitz slid off of it with a yelp.
The three Pokemon stared in awe at the fairytale backdrop before them: A tall, cotton candy-pink tower spanned skyward covered in flowering vines and sleek, golden accents. Each brick shimmered elegantly, and as the tower kissed the sky, the clouds around it seemed to twist themselves into a circular pattern so that the sun shone through proudly. Truly, a place befitting of the whimsical and dazzling Fairy-Type Pokemon rumored to roam its halls
The group consisted of Glitz, an extra-fluffy Cutiefly; Izzy, a ditzy Hatenna; and Stitches, a reliable little Sewaddle. Together, they set off on a mission to explore the rumored landmark.
"It sure is tall," Remarked tiny Glitz, hovering around Izzy's head. "When Imani told us about a Fairy-type haven, I kind of expected it to be, uh… More quaint?"
"But it's so lovely!" Izzy gushed, dancing from foot to foot in excitement. "It looks like a Legendary princess could be locked away at the top!" She giggled, then pondered the thought. "...Do you think there could be one?"
"Maybe," Stitches replied, making his way towards the decorated wooden entryway. "There's only one way to find out!"
The other two followed his lead into the mysterious tower, gaping at the sights to behold all the while. Although the outside of the tower appeared to be made of brick-like materials, the inside walls were misty with clouds.
"Oh, this place is enchanted!" Izzy said, sounding pleased to see this. “There really may be a powerful Pokemon guarding this place after all…”
The trio continued past the dreamlike entryway and into a wide hallway that ended with a spiraling staircase. With the soft, pink cloud mirage rolling across the perimeter of the room, the tower seemed not to have any walls at all, instead floating through a sunrise. Stars glimmered across the ceiling and sleepy lavender flowers freckled the floor, sometimes clumping in huge, bushy patches near the corners of the room. Framing the entry to the stairway were winding vines, the same as the ones curled around the outside of the tower, sporting big, yellow blossoms between perky leaves. The only other objects in this strange room were a quaint set of chairs covered in leaves framing a small, log-carved table in the corner. An arch of vines and flowers was fashioned above it, decorating the scene as a pleasant rest area.
After a few moments of taking in the strange and beautiful sights of the enchanted tower, Glitz flew towards the table curiously. “Hey, look at this. There’s something on this table-- Looks like a Poffin. A Sweet one!”
He went to take it instinctively before Stitches cried, “Wait! It could be dangerous!”
Glitz laughed, a bright and joyful sound. “Don’t you think you’re being paranoid, Stitches? This doesn’t seem like the kind of place that folks just leave poisoned Poffins around.” He still decided against picking up the poffin, however, and instead perched on one of the chair’s leafy backs.
Stitches crawled over, climbed up onto the opposite chair and inspected the Poffin himself. “...Well, maybe you’re right. It looks pretty normal, but we should still leave it be. Maybe one of these tower Pokemon left it here and plans to come back for it.”
“You’re a good Samaritan as usual,” Glitz sang out, and Stitches laughed. “Izzy, did you find anything cool over there?”
“Yes~” Sighed Izzy, who had been exploring the end of the room near the staircase. “These flowers are charming! I’ve never seen any like them before in our town.” Glitz and Stitches approached her, watching her use her psychic powers to urge the yellow flowers into wider blooms. “They’re responsive to magic. I wonder if we could grow these back home…”
Glitz perched on top of Izzy’s head, watching the flowers shudder under Izzy’s powers. “Wow, that would be cool, huh? I bet they make some extra-tasty nectar!”
Stitches smiled at the two best friends, feeling a bit of jealousy for their closeness. They not only lived and worked together, but they were nearly inseparable-- he, on the other hand, lived alone since moving to their town, preferring to bury himself in his tailor work. He hadn’t made any close friends yet, only coming out to explore with these two because he happened to be passing by when they made their decision to find Joyous Tower. They invited him with such enthusiasm that he couldn’t say no-- but he was glad he’d agreed, since they were pleasant company. Absently, he watched Izzy play with the flowers, Glitz laughing along with her, and wondered if he’d ever have a connection like that.
“Don’t you two want to see what’s upstairs?” Stitches asked, crawling towards the staircase. He noticed that it had a soft purple carpet draping over each step, presumably to help prevent Pokemon from tripping over the cloudy floor when ascending. “This is only the entrance, I bet there’s much more to see up there.”
“Yes!” Izzy broke her focus from the flowers and tottered over to Stitches at the foot of the staircase. “I can sense even deeper magic from here.”
“Well, we came out here to explore,” Remarked Glitz. “Let’s explore!”
Side by side, the trio journeyed up the staircase, excitement and joy flooding into their hearts.
… Until another Pokemon came running down the stairs and nearly bumped into them.
Although they stopped before a collision could happen, Izzy let out a yelp, so startled that she fell backwards down the stairs! She tumbled back to the ground floor of the tower, then picked herself up and ran behind the vines lining the staircase entrance, guarding herself from the stranger.
“Oh no, are you alright?” The stranger called out, but Izzy only let out an “Eep!” and hid herself away from view.
Glitz laughed, shaking his head a little. “Oh, don’t worry about her. She falls down stairs all the time,” he said, and Izzy squeaked out an offended “Hey!” from her hiding spot.
The stranger laughed back a bit nervously, replying “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Um…” Their eyes darted past the group towards the bottom floor, then back to Stitches and Glitz. Having recovered from their initial shock, they could now see that the stranger was a young Sylveon with a satchel around their neck. “Sorry for rushing like that. I should have been paying more attention!” They smiled sheepishly, looking embarrassed.
“It’s fine, really,” Stitches reassured him. “We probably shouldn’t have been taking up the whole staircase. Here, we’ll let you pass.” Stitches moved aside so that the Sylveon could proceed.
“Thanks,” the Sylveon replied, and nodded towards the duo pleasantly before continuing past Stitches down the stairs. In their hurry, they tripped over a wrinkled patch of carpet and went tumbling down face first. “Aaah!”
From her hiding place, Izzy saw the Sylveon falling towards her and, in a panic, she sent out a wave of psychic powers to catch them! They braced themself for impact but it never came, and when they opened one eye to see what was happening, they found themself shrouded in a purple light, hovering above the cloudy ground.
Izzy gently retracted her powers, letting them back onto the ground gently. “...Woah. T-thank you!” He looked at Izzy in astonishment, still a bit shaken.
Izzy blushed and looked away, whispering “You’re welcome…” nervously, turning her attention to the yellow flowers once more to avoid the stranger’s gaze.
Stitches and Glitz hurried down the stairs and met up with Izzy and the Sylveon. “Now it’s our turn to ask-- are you okay?” Stitches asked as Glitz fluttered over to the bashful Izzy.
“Izzy, look at you! Using your powers to save stranger all cool-like!” He landed on her head and laughed cheerfully. “Nevermind that you fell down the stairs first, haha!” This caused Izzy to blush even more deeply.
“Yeah… I’m fine,” The Sylveon responded, their face going red. “That’s really embarrassing though… Ha ha…” They cleared their throat and turned away, trying to hide their shame. “...Still, those are some strong psychic powers,” They smiled at Izzy, the embarrassment leaving their face slowly. “We don’t see a lot of Psychic-types like you around here. Or Bug-types, for that matter,” They turned to Stitches again. “You are an interesting bunch!”
Izzy continued fidgeting with the flowers bashfully, and Glitz responded from on top of her head, “We sure are!” He laughed. “Don’t mind Izzy, she’s really shy around strangers. Even so, she’s got some serious mind power.” Izzy seemed to be turning redder by the second.
“This tower is what’s really interesting,” Stitches smiled at the Sylveon kindly, “We’ve never been anywhere like this before. Do you live here?”
“I do,” The Sylveon smiled back at him, seeming much more at ease now. “It seems amazing to explorers like you, but when you’ve lived here your whole life, the magic is sort of lost.” They laughed, no longer nervous. “Well, not literally! But you know what I mean.”
“Yeah,” Glitz replied, “Like our town! It’s got forests and the lake and all that, but exploring places like this is so much cooler.”
“A real lake?” The Sylveon seemed hooked on to Glitz’s words. “Wow, I’ve never seen one of those before. Everyone thinks this tower is neat, but all we really have is a lot of enchantments over an old ruin to make it look nicer.” They seemed dazzled by this new information, but shook themselves out of their trance. “Oh, my friend Ribombee and I are having a picnic upstairs in one of the main rooms of the tower. We brought plenty of food-- You should come eat with us!” They blushed again, “But only if you want to. I could tell you more about this tower, and maybe you can tell us more about your home.” They smiled hopefully, eager to hear more.
Stitches smiled back, touched at the enthusiasm of this Sylveon. He could tell that they’d already made a new friend. “That would be great,” He responded, and the Sylveon lit up with excitement. “Right, you two?”
Izzy stepped out of her hiding spot tentatively, nervous but curious. “... I’d like to hear more about this place,” She said quietly, wiggling the ends of her ears.
“That’s the spirit!” Laughed Glitz, flying away from Izzy to get closer to their new Sylveon friend. “But before we go, I have to ask-- Is that Poffin yours?” He gestured to the table in the corner where the Sweet Poffin remained, untouched.
The Sylveon started, “Oh, wow, thanks for reminding me!” They ran over to the table and picked up the Poffin, putting it in their satchel. “That’s the reason I was running down here in the first place-- Ribombee was waiting here to meet up with me earlier, and she forgot it. Thanks for reminding me,” They smiled sheepishly again, awkward but clearly looking forward to continue talking to their new companions. “Well, shall we go?”
Izzy, Glitz and Stitches all looked at each other and smiled, nodding before turning back to the Sylveon. “Yes!” They said in unison, and laughed at the coincidence. Feeling lighthearted and delighted, the happy trio turned into a foursome and together they continued up the stairs, every one of them excited to swap stories, eat treats and bond as companions for hours to come. Stitches thought to himself, “Maybe I’ll be able to make some close friends, after all.”
~ End ~