@Scytherwolf;

Episode 11: The Flowers of the Mountain (part 1)

"Yeesh, it's cold up here..." Brock shivered as the group emerged from a forest onto a plain surrounded by mountains.

"I'll say..." Misty agreed. "The mountains that are farther out are covered in snow--so unless you brought ski gear, good luck getting past there!"

"That would be fun, but I'd have to take lessons first." Brock confessed. Misty pictured Brock tumbling down a mountain in ski gear and stiffled a giggle.

"Hey look! I see Ethan and Lyra!" Ash pointed out Ethan, Lyra, and Hana setting out a picnic lunch among the flowers.

Misty ran on ahead of Ash to meet their friends and allies. "Got room for a few more?" she asked as the boys and Tintri arrived.

"Sure--I was gonna feed the extra sandwiches to the wild Pokemon, but we have enough to feed three more people." Ethan smiled as he invited the group to sit in the grass. "Lyra and I are here as a favor to the professor..."

"One of Prof. Elm's friends lives out here...everyone just calls him Mr. Pokemon because he rivals a Pokedex in how much he knows about Pokemon, not just the native Pokemon of Johto." Lyra went on as she shepherded Hana by her side. "He said he had something for Prof. Elm to study, so we were on our way up the mountain to his house to go get it."

"Sounds interesting...did you learn what this something is?" Ash asked as Ethan's Totodile eagerly danced around his master's feet for a share of the meat Ethan was laying on a piece of bread to make a sandwich.

"Okay, Dundee, okay...you can have this sandwich after I finish making it." Ethan assured his excited Totodile as he added a slice of cheese and some mustard to the sandwich, then set it before the Totodile. "Here you go."

"Fiesty little guy, isn't he?" Brock grinned as the Totodile eagerly bit into the sandwich with a chomp. "I think I know where you got the name Dundee from..."

"'Croconaw Dundee' is one of my dad's favorite movies." Ethan explained. "I've watched it a few times with him, and it still holds up all these years later..."

Lyra, meanwhile, set out a platter of sandwiches. "Okay, who's hungry?"

[Me!] Hana dashed to a sunny spot by Lyra's side as Tintri eagerly hurried over to get a sandwich.

"Ham or roast beef?" Lyra offered Tintri the platter.

[One of each.] Tintri replied. Lyra set two sandwiches on a plate, followed by some chips and berries.

"Why's Hana not eating anything?" Ash wondered as he helped himself to some sandwiches.

"As a Grass type, she doesn't need to eat as much as humans and other Pokemon--she naturally gets food from photosynthesis." Lyra explained as she looked over at Hana basking in the sun. Ash nodded to show he understood, then moved the basket away from Hana to allow her to receive more sun.

Ethan noticed the two cloud patches on Brock's vest. "Oh, you're competing in the Lore Stage! I've always wanted to watch one of those!"

"I'm mainly competing for the experience--I acknowledge and understand that I may not win it all, and I may face storytellers that are way better than me." Brock replied before taking a bite of his sandwich. "But if I do somehow win it all, that would make for the ultimate memory on this trip."

"Yeah, you've mainly told as a hobby, and for a few local events." Misty noted. "You're sure you're ready for a bigger stage than the local library, schools, and a few local festivals?"

"I never would've signed up and gotten these cloud patches if I didn't know what I was getting myself into." Brock assured Misty as he gathered up his trash and placed it in the trash bag Hana was guarding. "There we go--doing our part to keep this place beautiful!"

[Nothing ruins a scenic place like this more than trash.] Hana agreed as she helped her master tie up the trash bag in a tree. [And we won't have to worry about attracting wild Pokemon with the trash!]

"If you're gonna compete in the Lore Stage, do you feel comfy trying out your material on us?" Lyra asked.

"Sure--give me a minute to think of a tale that isn't too long and we all would like." Brock replied.

Tintri, meanwhile, tugged on Ash's shirt. [Hana and me want to go explore the forest path.] he explained, pointing out the hillside path that led into a forest, where the trash bag hung from one of the trees.

"What do you think, Lyra?" Ash asked. "Tintri and Hana want to go explore the forest."

"So long as they stay together and come back here by sundown, I have no problem with it." Lyra replied.

"Okay guys--you can go explore the forest, but you have to stay together, and be back by sundown." Ash reiterated what Lyra had said to Tintri and Hana. "Think you can do that?"

[Yeah!] Tintri and Hana replied.

"In case you do get lost, Mr. Pokemon's house is not far from a Pokemon Center near the forest's west entrance." Ethan replied, showing Tintri and Hana the map of the forest near their location. "So those two places are your meeting points if you do end up accidentally getting lost--we won't be mad if it's an accident."

[Got it!] Tintri replied before he led Hana into the forest.

"Have fun, you guys!" Ash waved goodbye as Tintri and Hana hurried off down the leafy path.

After making sure Tintri and Hana had safely made their way to the forest, Brock addressed the others. "Okay...this tale is a version of 'The Hero and Epona' from Kanto. While the hero is not often named in these tales, for our purposes, we'll give him a name."

With that, he began. "Across the wide ocean, on the side of high mountains, beyond thick forests, in a village that faced the sky, there once lived an old peasant who had three sons..."

TO BE CONTINUED...