Chapter 1

Gentle breezes transporting the fresh ocean air caressed Ash's skin. At his sides, his companions napped, lulled by the pleasant melody of the ocean waves. He drew in a deep breath and smiled.

'My adventure will start tomorrow.' That thought kept repeating since he opened his eyes that morning.

"Jo…"

Looking down, Jolteon stirred and rubbed his eyes.

"Awoke, buddy?" he said.

"Jolteee." He stretched, and then pointed at the forest behind them.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget."

He looked at Charizard and Pidgeotto asleep on either side of him.

"We will wait a little longer for these two lazy buns. "

Sparks like thread gathered in Jolteon's white mane, and before Ash could say anything else they flew toward the other two.

Charizard and Pidgeotto jolted awake with two cry. They looked around and their eyes locked on the obvious culprit, who starred at the ocean and acting like nothing happened.

"Jo …Jolt," he whispered.

"Of course, they are awake now." Ash rolled his eyes before letting out a chuckle.

"Chaar…" Charizard and Pidgeotto continued to glare at him.

"Now guys…" he started before they decided to take revenge, but Pidgeotto cried in indignation.

"I already told you, we say guys for the two sexes."

Pidgeotto shook her head stubbornly, her golden crest swinging from side to side.

"Okay, okay… Now guys and… lady," Pidgeotto cooed in satisfaction.

"Before we go home, we will pass by the Orchid flower bed we saw the other day, though I barely remember where it was exactly."

He grinned at Pidgeotto. "I will need your help, my lady."

Pidgeotto stuck out her chest in assurance before taking to the air, a few flaps of her wing, and she was already gone.

Not long after, she came back crying and circling above him. Understanding her message, Ash mounted Charizard and followed her as she took the lead. They went deep into the forest, nearly reaching its center.

'I came all this way last time?'

Ahead, Pidgeotto stopped advancing and circled above a part void of trees. Ash glanced down to see a large open clearing with only three trees scattered about; yellow, white, and purple flowers covered the whole surface.

"Let's go down, be careful to not destroy anything," he said. Knowing the wind sent by Charizard's wing will easily flatten the whole flower bed.

Ash inhaled deeply and felt the fragrance calming down his excited mind. He bent down and picked up a purple orchid. From the corner of his eyes, he caught a shape moving, but it stilled as soon as he turned toward it.

Raising an eyebrow, Ash approached to verify. At that place, a shivering, small rose-bud-like creature with a yellow face along with two slits for eyes hid between flower stalks.

"Hi," he said, astonished at seeing a lone Budew in Kanto.

Budew didn't respond. Ash saw that its eyes were locked on the movement of Pidgeotto, still circling above the clearing.

"Don't be afraid." He smiled at it. "Pidgeotto is my friend, she won't harm you."

"Budew"

"Jol…" Jolteon waved its pawn.

"Yes." He stroked Jolteon's head. "Jolteon, too, is my friend, and none of us will harm you."

"Dew…"

It jumped in surprise.

"Yes, I can understand you, though I only understand the meaning of your words." He laughed.

Probably founding the idea of a human understanding it interesting, Budew hopped excitedly, its fear forgotten.

"But, what are you doing here alone?"

Budews were rarely seen out of Hoenn, though they did appear in Sinnoh. And this one was still way too young; it didn't even reach the medium height of its specie.

"Dew… Budew… Dew."

The two vines atop its head moved around as it hoped left and right. Ash barely caught the meaning behind everything. What he was sure about is, it just walked around and found this clearing a few days ago.

He raised an eyebrow. That certainly didn't make sense.

"How about I take you to a place with a lot of friends?"

"Budew?"

"Hmm. Yeah, there are a few Budew like you too. And even a Roserade."

Its eyes sparkled at the name of its final evolution. Ash smiled. A surefire way to arose excitement in a young Pokémon is to speak of its final evolution. It mostly worked with those with three lines.

"Stay here a moment and we will soon go there."

He gathered flowers, white tulips, purple orchids, and yellow jasmines. It amazed him how this clearing had all this variety of beautiful flowers gathered in one place.

"Ok, let's go to your new home."

He mounted Charizard once again, and Budew hopped into his arms in its own.

It was then that it stuck with him, how it so easily got used to his presence and didn't fear him. He got so used to the Pokémon at the range being friendly. He forgot that wild Pokémon didn't even understand human speech directly. He looked down into the small thing in his arms, humming to itself.

'Was it abandoned?'

It didn't seem like it.

He will let the professor figure out what happened.

For now, he needed Daisy's help.

"She was a coordinator. Surely she would know how to form a bouquet?"