Episode 18: Dance Your Cares Away


After telling the babies goodbye, we started down the road to Connecting Cave. But it wasn't too long before Shauna spotted what looked like a castle tower looming over the road."Ooh! A castle!"

"Actually, that's the Battle Chateau--but only the best of the best trainers are allowed in there." Callum explained.

"One more reason we should all try our very best, right?" Trevor smiled.

"That's right." Callum replied.

For the most part, the walk was uneventful, until we came to a small town not far from the road leading into Connecting Cave. Everything was decorated by silver and black Cyllage Rhydons banners and pennants, from the houses, to shops, and even the Pokemon Center. "Boy, everyone must be Cyllage superfans here..." Shauna noted as we passed lamppost after lamppost with a Rhydons banner on it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we found Grant here..." I grinned. Grant was renowned all across Kalos for his love of sports--especially rock climbing, biking, basketball, and swimming.

Callum was about to answer when the familiar saxophone riff of "Careless Whisper" filled the air. "Sweet! They're having an epic dance party in there!" Tierno smiled, nearly dragging us into a large building apparently used for special events, where throngs of people were dancing on a light filled floor. More lights and a disco ball played across the walls, illuminating those that were not dancing in a rainbow of colors.

"Wonder why they're having this party?" Shauna asked, a little overwhelmed by all the lights and color in the room."

"The Rhydons just won their first championship for the first time in ten years." a voice replied. "Isn't that a good reason for a party?"

Shauna whirled around just in time to see Grant headed our direction with a tray of punch glasses He didn't look too much different from all the pictures I'd seen of him--black shirt, silver pants, and pieces of either rocks or gems in his hair. "Yeah, it's a great reason for a party." she smiled as she took one of the punch glasses.

"Sitrus Paradise--mm!" Trevor grinned as he eagerly gulped the mixture of Sitrus, Meli, Nomel, and Oran Berry juice down.

"You like that, huh?" Grant grinned.

"Yeah--I didn't get to have it very much because I would have to go to bed whenever my mom threw parties at home." Trevor explained.

"And what few opportunities he had to go to parties, he would have to leave because he got sick a lot." Callum added.

"I see..." Grant grinned. "You guys look like a pretty tight group of friends."

"Yeah! We're traveling around Kalos together." I replied.

Tierno, meanwhile, had wasted no time in going out on the dance floor as "Careless Whisper" gave way to the pounding beat of "This Time I Know It's For Real". Not surprisingly, he had the whole floor to himself as he spun, jumped, and whirled to the beat, much to the awe of the crowds.

"Nice moves!" Grant smiled, impressed by Tierno dancing.

"Go, Tierno, go!" Trevor called as he clapped to the beat.

When the song ended, Tierno came jogging back to us. "Sorry for ditchin' you guys, but I had to dance to one of my favorite songs." he explained as he found his punch glass and sipped from it. "When I was a little guy, that song was huge on the radio, and so every time it came on, my dad would crank it up really loud and we would dance together."

"How sweet..." Shauna smiled as another song began.

"So even when you were very little, you loved to dance." I smiled.

"I loved my dad's smooth moves." Tierno sighed nostalgically. "He's trained for a long time, but he especially likes tap dancing and its related styles."

"I bet he's toured all around the world!" I gasped.

Tierno paused to dig out a photo album from his bag, oblivious to "Night Fever" beginning. "I have pictures from the few times I got to come with him on his travels."

"Did he teach or perform?" Grant was interested as he noticed the picture of young Tierno in a black haired man's arms.

"Both." Tierno replied. "Still does both." He then thumbed to a picture of the man tap dancing as young Tierno looked on in awe. "Here we are in Nimbasa, in Unova."

"That explains the glittering lights on the stage." Callum mused as "That's the Way (I Like It)" started playing.

"Believe it or not, he danced to that song when Mom took this picture." Tierno grinned before turning the page to show his young self and his parents before Worlds of Adventures' famous Ferris wheel. "Here we are the day after in Worlds of Adventure. I got royally sick after braving Reshiram's Fury, though."

"They don't call it Unova's longest and fastest roller coaster for nothing." I grinned.

Tierno's next picture depicted the man comforting young Tierno. "He always believed that when things didn't go right, you had to get up and try again--a lesson I have never forgotten. This is from the time I first tried to ride my bike without the training wheels."

"Wasn't easy, was it?" Grant asked as he admired the slightly battered bike in the background.

"Nope--fell more times than I can count." Tierno blushed. "But Dad urged me to get up and keep trying."

"A wise lesson--one I hope you all have learned." Grant smiled before he started swaying to "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough".

"We have--whether it's riding a bike or training Pokemon, you're going to fall." I smiled.

"So when you do lose or make mistakes, you just get up and try again." Shauna smiled. "Cause you can even learn something when you lose."

"It just makes victory that much sweeter." Trevor agreed.

Grant smiled. "I see you all have learned that lesson well--with confidence like that, it makes me all the more excited to battle you back in the Gym."

"We can't wait to battle you, either." I replied.

"For now, let's dance!" With that, Shauna led the way to the floor as we all danced to "Sussudio"

We had the time of our lives dancing, but Tierno loved it more than anyone--if his parents had been there watching him dance out there on the floor, they'd be proud.