Story 18

What’s going on? Are there any other Pokémon here apart from you? How about humans?

Uhhh... I don’t have a clue. All I know is I went to sleep, and by the time I woke up, everyone had moved away.

Hmmm, interesting...
I wonder, would a whole town full of humans and Pokémon really pull up roots and move all at once?
As for you though, aren’t you lonely here?

Over here!

Glub blub guh... Bluh!

A-are you all right?!

WHEW! That was a bad call. I nearly drowned!

I opened my eyes and BAM—water everywhere. Talk about a rude wake-up!

I’m not big on sleeping with the fishes. Think you could clean the place up for me?

Oh, (your name)! You got a sec?
My home’s way brighter thanks to you, and I’m really happy about that...

But it’s also shed some light on a brand new problem...

Look at this!
See all that nasty mud? My shack’s surrounded by it! Yuck!

There’s no way I can clean up this mess with my claws, and I dunno what else to do.

I know someone who’s real good at getting rid of stubborn messes like this...

Any chance you can get rid of the mud around my home?

There’s a Pokémon who specializes in cleaning up stubborn messes like that.

I’m pretty sure they used to live near the water. I wonder where they went.

Huh? You wanna clear off some stubborn mud? That’s the kinda thing I’m good at!

I’d love to help! Lead the way to the mud!

Woo-hoo! My home’s so nice and clean now! You’re the best, (your name)!

…You helped out too, right, Piplup? Thanks a bunch!

You’re welcome! I like cleaning, so...it was fun!

Eh, I wouldn’t say I’m NOT lonely...
But I’m the kinda Meowth who likes doing their own thing! No home, no boring rules—all play for this stray!
That said, I’ve always thought human houses are cool, so now that no one’s around, I moved into a little shack nearby!

About that... It WAS a pretty sweet spot to live, but...
Lemme show ya. Follow me!

Here’s the thing... The shack’s got a little problem.
Lemme show ya. Follow me!

Anyway, you can see the problem. At some point, my little shack got flooded!

Can you do somethin’ to clean up this watery mess?

You certainly seem to be in trouble, what with your home flooded like that.

If we can stop the flow of water, like we did with the Pokémon Center, I’m sure it would help immensely!

Anyway, you can see the problem. At some point, my little shack got flooded with...

...Wait—it’s NOT flooded?!

Where’d all the water go?!

Hmmm... You’re saying this whole place was flooded before?
(your name)’s been blocking the flow of water here and there, so that must have helped it drain away!

Huh?! You...you cleaned it up already?

No way! Thanks a bunch. You really helped me out!

Looks like you met Piplup—nice!

I bet you’ll have no problem getting rid of mud with them helpin’ out!

Hmmm... I’ve certainly seen the waterways overflowing in other spots as well.
And there’s not much tall grass at all here, which is a shame—it makes such good homes for Pokémon.

Well, (your name), I think the best course of action is to first get rid of all this water.
And then start making homes for Pokémon.
If you do, you’re sure to make more new friends in this area as well! I have every confidence in you!

Bring Piplup along with you and stand in front of the muddy mess.

Piplup will spray the mud with bubbles.
Once the mud is covered in bubbles, you can wash it all off with Water Gun!

What mud do you need cleaned up? Just take me there!

There! I’ve got the mud all bubbled up. Now just spray it with water and it should wash right away!

Yaaay! It’s all clean now!

Why don’t we clean up all the mud now? It’ll go real quick if we work together!

Looks like this area’s got a ton of gross mud all over the place.

Let me know if you ever need to get rid of mud again! I’ll help you wash it all away!

Yeah, I bet you two could make quick work of it!

Oooh, and maybe you’ll find some cool stuff hidin’ under all those piles of muddy goop!

Hey, you! Got a sec?

Oho, you’re Meowth, aren’t you?

Whoa, the water’s all gone! My spot looks...spotless! Did YOU do this? Thanks a bunch!

I bet other places around town got flooded too, huh?
Wonder when it got like this...
The whole area would be way nicer to live in if all that water got cleaned up!

Hey, (your name), can I ask you somethin’?
Does this town seem dark to you? Like, weirdly dark all the time, day and night?

Right?! Don’t get me wrong, I like the dark, but...
I don’t like it being this dark ALL the time. It kinda brings me down, y’know?

Now I think about it, human houses looked bright even at night, but my little shack’s still pretty dark.
How do you think I could brighten it up?

Whoa, great idea!
Like a flower print or something. Those things are bright AND cool looking!
Say, (your name)... Can ya help me out?
Could you make some flower prints and put ’em at my shack?

I dunno if that’ll work... This area doesn’t get much light, whether it’s morning, noon, or night.
Humans kept their houses bright even at night... How’d they do that? Hmmm... OH! I know!
They used to put bright stuff in their houses to light ’em up, like flower prints! That’s gotta be it!
Say, (your name)... Can ya help me out?
Could you make some flower prints and put ’em at my shack?

Flower prints can be made using Poké Ball wall!
You can often find Poké Ball wall growing in caves.

It’d be awesome if you could spruce up my shack with 2 flower prints!
I bet that’ll make it nice and bright like a human house!

It’d be awesome if you could spruce up my shack with 2 flower prints!
I bet that’ll make it nice and bright like a human house!

Flower prints can be made using Poké Ball wall!
You can often find Poké Ball wall growing in caves.

Nice! Those flower prints brightened my shack right up!

Thanks a bunch, (your name)! Wow, you can do anything!

Oho! That really does look quite nice!
There’s something so calming about a bit of light!

Pokémon all have different individual quirks, you know.
So I’m sure there are some that prefer the dark.
But this place was SO dark even Meowth found it too gloomy.
If you keep adding more lights to the area, it’s sure to please other Pokémon too.
And I suspect humans are the same in that regard.
After all, when the humans were still around, the towns were brighter than this, even at night.

Yes, I believe so. After all, when the humans were here, towns were much, much brighter than this!
And since this area was so dark even Meowth found it too gloomy...
If you keep adding more lights like this, I’m sure you’ll make other Pokémon happy as well!

But I’ve got no clue where they went.
They used to live somewhere like this, though.

The tall grass around here is different from the last town’s.

Now that I look at it, the soil’s a different color as well. Do you suppose that affects what kind of grass grows from it?
Despite all my long years, there’s still so much I don’t know. It’s a wide world out there indeed!

Just as Tangrowth guessed, the type of soil determines what kind of grass grows from it.
Be sure to pay attention to the color of the tall grass when you’re making Pokémon habitats!

I bet other places around town got flooded too, huh?
Wonder when it got like this...
The whole area would be way nicer to live in if all that water got cleaned up!

Hmmm... I’ve certainly seen the waterways overflowing in other spots as well.
And there’s not much tall grass at all here, which is a shame—it makes such good homes for Pokémon.

Well, (your name), I think the best course of action is to first get rid of all this water.
And then start making homes for Pokémon.
If you do, you’re sure to make more new friends in this area as well! I have every confidence in you!