April didn’t need to be able to see to know that she was face-to-face with a Beautifly. She could smell it, and she just knew what that smell meant. She could even smell that it was female… and she’d rather not.

“Get out!” the ridiculously whiny and petulant Beautifly continued. “Seriously, get out!”

Oh my gosh, is that what I’m going to sound like? I think I’d rather never talk again. April tried to untangle herself from the bush, its twigs scraping her sides, but she was stuck.

“What, did you not gain any manners when you evolved? Please,” she continued.

I never evolved. April suddenly wondered what she looked like. With none of the wear and tear gained with age, did she look like she was just born?

Suddenly, April was assaulted with what felt like a thousand tiny knives, sharp enough to graze her wings and slice the leaves around her to a flurry of shreds. She quickly realised that these weren’t knives at all, but wind, whipped up by the Beautifly’s wings. To make matters worse, sharp, snapped twigs were pressing into April’s sides like a bed of needles. She struggled her way onto the ground. She definitely had a lot of wear and tear now.

The worst part was that April knew exactly why the Beautifly was attacking her. They were viciously territorial and would see any other Beautifly of the same sex as a threat. I wonder what they think of Dustox? But why didn’t April feel the same way? Why hadn’t she gained any instincts with this new body?

April stood up and tried to walk around the bush, as far away from the Beautifly as possible. It was rare for a confrontation between a wild Pokémon to result in death… unless one was going to eat the other. Now that she knew that PokéSpeak was weird, what did they think of predation?

...Now wasn’t the time to think about that.

Unfortunately, she still couldn’t see where she was going. She bumped into the wild Beautifly… and was blown back onto the remains of the bush in response.

“And stay there!” shouted the wild Beautifly as she flew away.

April tried to wriggle her way free, but she was once again stuck. It was a miracle her wings hadn’t been punctured. And so she lay there for what must’ve been hours, looking up at nothing, until it eventually became so dark that she couldn’t see shadows any more. Until, finally…

“You really need some help, don’t you?” said a male voice. He carefully pushed April onto her side and out of the bush. His limbs felt like short nubs, and he smelled… poisonous. Literally.

“Let me guess… you can’t fly?” he asked once April had stood back up. April felt shocked. How did he figure that out so quickly? How could he even see her in this darkness? “Don’t worry. I had trouble on my first day, too.” Whatever the case, he seemed friendly.

The mysterious male figure had guided April to the top of a tree, far away from where the grey pony lived. She was clinging onto a branch on all fours. The only lights were a few sources blue phosphorescence scattered around, thankfully a lighter shade of blue that the poison joke.

“If you want to learn how to fly, the first thing you need to do is trust your instincts,” he said.

Trust her instincts? That sounded like utter nonsense. What was that supposed to mean? Those instincts would’ve been REALLY helpful when she first fell into that field.

“If you worry about how you should fly, you’ll lose focus. Just go ahead and do it.”

April doubted this advice. She couldn’t see where to land, and she had no idea how safe this neck of the woods was. Still… it’s not like she had anything better to do right now.

April looked around and tried to aim for one of the phosphorescent things, but she quickly realised that she couldn’t figure out what was “straight ahead” anymore. She was about to take a deep breath, then she remembered that she couldn’t. Don’t lose focus!

So she stopped thinking about anything that wasn’t on the most primal level. I am a Beautifly now. I can fly. I am supposed to know how to fly as soon as I would have evolved. Wait - I DO already know how to fly.

Without a further thought, she let go of the branch and let her wings carry her. Her wings felt awkward and clumsy, like they were struggling to lift a heavy weight, but for once, they were actually fluttering! Her flight was still wobbly, but she wasn’t headed diagonally downwards.

...And then her face hit a tree trunk.

“Now try flying vertically,” he said, once he had guided April back up the tree. Of course! Why hadn’t she realised that sooner! Also, he must’ve had incredible night vision to be able to see anything.

“See that light up there? Aim for it.” April stood up. She didn’t need to tilt her head to notice the faint sliver of light poking through the darkness above. How was she supposed to do this?

No. I’m overthinking things again.

April’s wings fluttered again as she tried to lift herself upwards, but she couldn’t. She knew that Beautifly flew vertically, but it just felt… wrong.

“Don’t just stand there!” he exclaimed. “You still need to fall before you learn to fly! Think you can get back up here?” With that, he gently pushed April off the branch.

April’s wings flapped frantically as she tried to fly back up. She was definitely making progress, but she felt tired incredibly quickly. She ended up feeling her way towards the tree and climbing the rest of the way.

April heard the flapping of wings. “That’s it! You’ve made some progress!” he exclaimed. It took April an embarrassing moment to realise that she’d climbed the wrong tree by mistake.

Can't we wait until it's lighter?

"Okay, maybe I should do something more simple. Just follow me back." April heard him fly back to the branch they started at, and saw flickers of his silhouette through the blue glow, but couldn't see where he landed. Instead, her antennae twitched as she searched for his scent. It felt odd, actively searching for toxins, but now it was her only guide.

She leaped off the branch and didn't stop to think about how awkward and clumsy her horizontal flight was. She seemed to be going in the right direction… but where was she supposed to land?

“Hey!” April heard the mysterious male figure exclaim as she collided with him. “Sorry, I didn't realise you couldn't see as well as me in the dark. Still… you flew! Do you want to try reaching the light above now?”

April nodded. Letting go of the branch again - she'd have to figure out how to fly from a stationary position later - she let her wings carry her up. She still felt like her body was weighing her down, until she felt a short, stubby limb stick to one of her arms, guiding her upwards, through the leaves… towards the moon!

After April's eyes had adjusted to the forest of perpetual darkness, the full moon seemed as bright as the sun. Next to her was a smudge of purple and green - he was a Dustox! It all made sense now!

And for the first time since she'd became a Beautifly, April felt truly happy. If only Digit could see me now…

“Mind if I show you one of my favourite places?” the Dustox asked. April nodded. Her wings couldn't keep up with his.

He guided her to the edge of the forest, where the trees thinned out and a crumbling, grey ruin stood, illuminated by the moon as if it were made my mirrors. It stood out by virtue of being the only building for what seemed like miles around. The Dustox guided April to one of the lowest walls, letting go of her just before they landed. April, unfortunately, was completely unprepared for this, so she fell onto the cold stone floor below. She could smell the most unusual flower in a nearby, shadowed corner.

“Oh, hello,” said the Dustox as he landed in front of April. “I’ve never seen you before. Do you know anything about this place?” A tiny, white and blue figure stepped out of the shadows.

“My sisters have told me there was a battle here not too long ago,” said a gentle, yet mature, female voice. “Would you like to hear their account?”

“Sure!” exclaimed the Dustox.

The white figure took a deep breath, and spoke as if she were reading a storybook. “Not too long ago, this forest was ruled by a wicked shadow. She weaved her way through the forest, creating chaos in her wake, harming the innocent Flabébé who had just awoken as collateral damage. But each and every time, the shadow was driven away by six warriors. They fought the shadow in this very castle, where they restored the light, and morning came. Ever since then, the Flabébé have been waiting for the six warriors to return.”

“Thanks, uh… what are you?” asked Dustox.

“Floette,” said the white and blue figure. April noticed she was holding a red and black flower.

April had been on the verge of sleep while the Floette told her story - not because it was boring, but because she was already exhausted. Still… one question pressed on her mind: why Beautifly? April think she had an answer now.

When April was a child, she spent a lot of her time at the foot of the mountains to the west of Celestic Town. She would spend hours just watching Pokémon live out their lives, watching the world go by. The Pokémon who captured her interest the most was not the mighty Machoke, the cheerful Chingling, or the swift Swablu, but a humble little Wurmple.

It was the same Wurmple each time, she was sure of it. Every day, it would struggle to climb a tree, and cower behind leaves to hide from Zubat and Noctowl as night fell. April never helped - not because she was heartless, but because she loved watching it persevere on its own.

One day, the Wurmple began to glow, and April witnessed an evolution for the first time as it spun a cocoon out of silk. A few days later, that Silcoon glowed as it cracked open, and a Beautifly emerged from within. A few minutes later, its wings unfurled, and it instinctively knew how to fly, how it was going to survive in this vast, wide world.

She never saw the Beautifly again. As it flew away, April finally realised something: instead of becoming a trainer, she wanted to study Pokémon in their natural habitats!

And now… April was like that Wurmple.

Author's Note

Click here to read the commentary for this chapter.