When Sophie awoke, it was the early hours of the next morning. She shook her head, trying to clear it. What had happened?

Then she remembered and she sighed. She'd been taken by those humans. Then Sylveon and Chespin had stopped the balloon, Poipole had tried to bring her to safety and Squishy 'evolved' to catch her when she fell.

She then remembered that Squishy had been carrying her when she fell asleep and looked around to see where it had taken her.

All she could say that it was a pink place roughly the size of her burrow, with two strange things on the floor. Upon closer inspection, she realised it was the two blonde humans sleeping inside strange items that seemed to keep them warm.

She slowly stood up and trotted a little closer, noticing that Bonnie was cuddling Apple. She smiled when she saw this. The young girl seemed nice.

Well, I guess she must be if Squishy's let her catch them, she thought to herself.

"You're awake."

Speak of the Legend and it shall appear...

She looked over at Squishy, who had poked their head out of Bonnie's bag. They were back in their Core forme, much to Sophie's surprise, but she didn't comment.

Instead she trotted over to it, cocking her head. "Are you feeling better?" Squishy inquired. "Yes, thank you, Squishy," she nodded, then thought for a moment. "Wait... do you prefer Squishy or Zygarde?"

"In your case? I don't mind at all," it replied. "And I'm glad you're alright."

She hugged Squishy gently, a smile on her face as always. Squishy honestly wasn't that surprised by the hug; it had seen how the Eevee interacted with others. She was always hugging or nuzzling someone, always being friendly and showing others that she cared.

"I wouldn't be okay if it wasn't for you."

"What Protector of Kalos would I be if I left you to fall from that height?" Squishy pointed out. "I was only doing my job."

"Well you did great as usual!" She smiled, releasing the Legendary.

"What...? Oh, Sophie! You're awake!"

They'd managed to wake up Bonnie, though thankfully Clemont was still sound asleep. Squishy, glad for the excuse to go back to sleep, sank back into Bonnie's bag, falling asleep in its specially designed pouch that Serena had added years ago.

Bonnie sat up and rummaged through her bag for a moment, careful not to disturb Squishy or Dedenne, who was also in there. She then pulled out a brush and held out her arms. "Come here, Sophie. I'll brush you and get you nice and clean!"

After a moment of hesitant consideration, Sophie slowly trotted onto Bonnie's lap. Bonnie smiled and pet the Eevee for a moment, then started gently brushing Sophie's fur.

Sophie began to relax with each stroke of the brush, enjoying it immensely. "Yeah, it feels good, doesn't it?" Bonnie smiled. Sophie smiled back and nodded, purring in approval.

"You know, Sophie? I'm gonna miss you when we have to go," Bonnie sighed, making Sophie nuzzle her to show that she would miss her too.

~•~

"Braixen, Flamethrower!"

Everyone was sat outside watching Serena practice a new Pokémon Showcase routine. The girl was thinking about competing again when she could. She was taking Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon with her like old times. She'd give Vulpix a turn next time, along with Poipole if it wanted to compete, too.

"And... finished!" Serena announced, she and her partners bowing in sync. Everyone else clapped and cheered. "Go, Serena!" Bonnie yelled, then ran over. "Serena, I wanna compete in a Pokémon Showcase, too! I wanna try everything I can! Can you help me with a routine? Pretty pretty please?"

"Sorry, Bonnie, I can't help you with this," Serena shook her head. "This has to be your own work. I'll do what I can, but I can't do it for you. You can always see what your Pokémon can do, though. They might be able to give you lots of ideas!"

"Okay, I'll see what they've got!" Bonnie nodded, then ran over to Dedenne, Squishy and Apple. "Come on, guys! I want you all to dance and show me what you can do!"

Dedenne and Apple happily ran into the field for space, but Squishy wasn't so easily persuaded. I'm not some party trick! It insisted, going back inside Bonnie's bag, which was laid across the floor. I would battle for you, Bonnie, but I won't be made to perform!

"But Squishy!" Bonnie tried to argue, wanting her friend to join in the fun, but Clemont stepped in. "Bonnie, you need to respect Squishy's feelings. If it doesn't want to perform, you can't make it. Just like you can't make a Pokémon battle if it doesn't want to. Okay?"

Bonnie looked upset, but sighed and nodded. "I know, I know. I'll just work with Apple and Dedenne. At least they're happy to help."

It was true; the other two Pokémon were happily dancing away. Dedenne was doing flips and Apple was performing a very strange but nonetheless adorable little routine.

"That's good, Dedenne. Keep it up, Apple!" Bonnie grinned, rushing over to watch the two Pokémon. Everyone else watched as well, smiling at the sight of them both.

Bonnie began dancing with her Pokémon, trying to think up a routine on the spot. She used Serena's past performances as inspiration, doing her best to copy what she'd seen the older girl do.

Unfortunately, Serena's routines often involved Braixen's Flamethrowers and Fire Blasts, Pancham's Stone Edges and Sylveon's Fairy Winds. It was also easy to note that not one performance went perfectly as planned.

"Ow!" Bonnie yelped after falling down for the millionth time. She looked at her knees, one of which was bruised and red, the other one now with a small cut. She sighed and stood up, walking towards Clemont to ask him for help with her knee.

"Maybe I'm just not cut out for performing like Serena after all..."