After a wonderful dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, and Combusken with all the trimmings (which Sunny said was the traditional welcome and farewell meal). we made our way to the stage overlooking the campfire pit. Brock had apparently been there some time before--a chair and his guitar were present, as was Ash's rank of wind instruments and Misty's fiddle.

As the campfire roared to life, Boss Cardinal appeared on the stage. "As our music cheers us, so be the melody of our lives;
As our mirth unites us, so be the harmony of our hearts;
As our spirits rise to the lilt of our song, so may the spirits of trainers who have gone before uplift us to renewed endeavor;
And may the happy fellowship of this circle go out into all the world."

She then sang The evening star is shining bright
So make a wish and hold on tight
There's magic in the air tonight...

And anything can happen... Brock filled in the last line as the spotlight shifted over to him.

After a moment to compose his thoughts, he jumped into his first tale of the night. "Once the great warrior-miko Kanade was traveling along the coast when she encountered a funeral procession. It turned out the priest of a nearby village had died, and the elder asked Kanade if she could serve in the village until a new priest was sent from the Aiiro City. Kanade agreed, and grew to be well liked in the village because of her wisdom."

"Aw"s went up at this. "But some people wondered--why was someone as famous as Kanade wearing humble traveling clothes?" Brock asked us. "A messenger answered that question a few days later--Kanade once served a village some miles away, where she would protect the townsfolk from a greedy and corrupt magistrate. The magistrate wanted to badly injure, or even kill Kanade to serve as a warning to those who opposed him."

Sunny gasped at this, but I softly growled angrily--why would someone want to hurt someone as strong, brave, and kind as Kanade?

"Kanade fled during the night, but the magistrate sent pursuers after her, but Kanade had long since lost them." Brock assured us. "The villagers, however, wondered what to do if Kanade was somehow discovered. The elder replied that since Kanade had done so much for them, it was only fair they help her in return."

He then intoned "But little did the villagers know that Kanade's pursuers had made camp outside of town."

"Uh oh..." Cottonee swallowed hard at this, but I put an arm around her to assure her everything would be okay in the end.

"The elder believed Kanade would be caught if she fled by land, so he arranged for one of the village's fishermen to take her across the sea, to what is now Olivine City in Johto." Brock went on, walking across the stage as he spoke. "During the night, a fierce storm blew up, and despite Kanade's and her guide's efforts to keep the boat under control in the howling wind and rain, the boat sprung a leak. Although her guide was clearly afraid, Kanade climbed onto the prow of the boat, and sang into the storm..."

With that, he sang Gatrandis favel,secret, edena...
Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...
Katoradis favel siicletu edena...
Emusto koron zen fine, si...

As soon as the last not echoed across the camp, Brock went on "As the last note echoed across the stormy sea, an old Shellder shell attached itself to the leak, allowing Kanade and her guide to continue on through the storm. When her guide asked Kanade just what she had sang, Kanade explained it was a powerful holy spell asking Arceus directly for help--and in response, Arceus had sent the Shellder shell to fix the leak."

"Oh"s went up at this. "But the boat was damaged, and couldn't hold up much longer--it finally broke apart moments away from the Olivine coast, throwing Kanade and her guide onto a hill covered in Shellder shells." Brock continued. Kanade had been knocked out cold from the landing, so her guide decided to carry her up the hill, never mind how cold and slippery the Shellder shells were."

We waited with baited breath to know if Kanade and her guide made it safely to Olivine City. "As he braved the cold and slippery shells, he heard Kanade sing again..." Brock continued before singing again Gatrandis favel,secret, edena...
Emusto ronzen fine el balaziis...
Katoradis favel siicletu edena...
Emusto koron zen fine, si...

Thunderous applause went up at the song's end. "The holy spell gave Kanade's guide enough strength to reach Olivine City, where it is said Kanade sang songs of thanks to Arceus for a week in memory of the kind villagers that had risked their lives to see her safe. " Brock concluded, taking a sweeping bow as the camp exploded in applause.

"Wow! I wish I had a big brother like Pewter Song!" Neon raved as he applauded.

"He truly loves to do this--I'm proud to call him my big brother." I smiled back.