2023.12.01
On this first day of Advent, the Raffle has four new-old promos Holly Meganium, Snow Noctowl, Cookie Dratini, and Holy Skarmory. Additionally, for today only, every raffle will last for one hour.
2023.12.04
Check out our Christmas story, starting off this year with a short prologue. To celebrate this beginning, Chocopuff is now available as a guaranteed click prize!
Prologue
Spoiler:
It happened over night. He had closed his eyes as a Cocoalix, and when he woke up, he had evolved into a Chocopuff. He had hoped for this to happen for quite a while now, and now that it had, he was even more excited. Rushing into his parents’ bedroom, he woke them up, and both of them were more than happy for him. This meant that he was ready to continue the family’s tradition!
“I’m gonna be honest, I almost feared that you wouldn’t evolve into a Chocopuff.” said his father while helping him pack the rest of his belongings into his bag. “When my sister evolved into a Lyripuff, I remember how devastated my father was…”
“We would have loved you anyway!” his mother ensured. “But I’m happy that you can continue our tradition. Opening a café in an unknown place is way better than becoming a librarian, like your strange auntie did.”
“Thanks, mom.” he hugged his mother. As always, she smelled like hot chocolate with slightly melted marshmallows, and just a hint of cinnamon. Then his dad came over and hugged him as well. His smell was different, it had a more bitter note of hot chocolate, refined with a bit of chili to stay warm on cold days. “Say, what’s the place called again, where you bought the café?”
“Oh, it’s quite a cozy place called Prophecia. It’s out there in the Galarian mountains. It’s freezing all time of the year there, perfect for a café. Perfect for you, little marshmallow!”
Chocopuff smiled. “Sounds like the Pokémon there are in need of some hot chocolate to warm them up! I won’t be disappointing you two! I’m a Chocopuff, and I will keep the family tradition alive!”
2023.12.05
We are excited to announce a new monthly egg, available now! Find out what is inside next week.
2023.12.07
The Snowball War
Chapter 1
Spoiler:
It took him days to arrive in Prophecia. Through murky swamps and a dry desert, he finally arrived at the coast, where he boarded a ship to Galar. From there on, he took one of the famous Flying Taxis. The Corviknight was strong enough to lift his baggage with ease, but it dropped him off way before the actual town.
“Good luck.” the Raven Pokémon cawed, before flying off again. “You will need it.”
“What do you mean?” Chocopuff asked in confusion. “Why aren’t you flying me all the way to Prophecia?” But the Corviknight was already out of earshot.
Chocopuff sighed and pulled his luggage towards the town that was visible in the distance.
Half an hour later, he finally set his first step into the town that was covered in a thick layer of snow. The main road seemingly divided the town. On the left side, up the mountain, were houses that looked old, but sturdy. The snow weighed down their roofs, but they were built to endure the pressure.
Then Chocopuff’s gaze wandered to the right side of the street. At first he thought that maybe the buildings there were part of an art project, before he recognized that they were supposed to be houses as well. But they looked like patchworks. New parts were carelessly connected to old walls, regardless of form or beauty, and with visible seams. Some of them didn’t even have snow on them, so the parts must have gotten attached not too long ago. But right now, there was no one around. A true ghost town, he thought.
Chocopuff kept looking for the café that his parents had bought for him. And indeed, there was a building at the top of a small hill, further down the road, just outside the town that fitted the description. So he kept on walking, until he spotted a gray stone plate in the middle of the street, with lots of snow on top of it.
Curious, he came closer, only to realize that there was an inscription carved into the stone:
In this cold land the truth you seek
A prophecy from times long gone
Be you weak, or be you strong
Up at the icy mountain peak?
Oh, to live a life of joy; happy and free
Stay true to yourself, you swear?
Or is evolution for what you care?
Then this is where your home should be
Beware not to take a faulty path
For it will lead to destructive wrath
Will you choose growth, or swear an oath?
But don’t rash your choices
‘Cause it might silence a lot of voices
Chocopuff tilted his head. >Strange.< he thought to himself.
Then a snowball hit his head from the left side, and he heard a voice. “Get your filthy Growth-face away from the prophecy plate!”
Another snowball from the right side exploded in Chocopuff’s face. “Hey, Oath-butt, you know that no one is allowed to touch the truth tablet!”
Shaking his head, Chocopuff turned his head to the left side, where a Dunsparce was angrily grimacing at him, while preparing another snowball. It wore a crown with an Everstone framed in it instead of a gem.
Looking to the right, an Arctibax stood there, his right arm still lifted from throwing the first snowball, in his left hand a walking cane with a Rare Candy encased in a clear clump of ice that acted as a knob.
“Yes, I am talking to you!” both attackers said to Chocopuff. Only then, they seemed to notice each other.
“Of course… why am I not surprised to see you here? Is that your newest protégé, Growthy-boy?” Dunsparce surly asked.
“Don’t act so innocent, Oathler! You clearly sent him to alter the truth on the stone in your favor!” Arctibax replied, while preparing another snowball. “But not on my watch!”
With that, the doors of the houses on the right side flew open and out came Pokémon, young and old, forming snowballs and flinging them at the Dunsparce on the left side. But before the first of them could hit, it was caught midair by another well-aimed snowy projectile. The doors on the other side had opened as well, and soon the battlecries of both sides echoed through the mountain, while the air was filled with flying snowballs.
Every once in a while, Chocopuff heard an “Ouch!” coming from one side or the other. What was happening here? He didn’t sign up for this! And so he decided to make a run for it. Grabbing his luggage, he sprinted towards the empty cafè.
He didn’t make it far.
“Here, take this beautiful snowball I prepared!” said a Dragapult that he almost ran into.
“She prepared! She prepared!” repeated two of the three Dreepys accompanying her. Chocopuff could swear he saw one of the small Lingering Pokémon taking a Rare Candy from his mother’s scarf and putting it inside a snowball.
"No! Why would I join this madness?” he shook his head.
“You are an evolved Pokémon. You are on our side!” Dragapult said.
“I’m not on anybody’s side! I just want to sell hot chocolate in the café over there!” Chocopuff exclaimed, gesturing in the direction of his destination, before he continued running away.
The third Dreepy was quickly following him, floating by his side. “Me neither. I haven’t decided which side I’m on yet. Maybe I’ll betray my family tomorrow and join the Oath side. Maybe not. Who knows?”
“Can you please just leave me alone?” Chocopuff shooed him away.
“There he is! After him!” he heard the voices of the townspeople, before the snowballs from both sides were missing him by a hair.
Breathless, he arrived at the café, pulled the key from his pocket and opened the door. He closed it just in time, before four loud bangs indicated that the snowballs hit the door. Chocopuff locked the door and sank down in front of it. Was this the usual welcoming committee?
2023.12.15
Chapter 2
Spoiler:
Over the next couple of days, it dawned on him that it had not just been a welcoming committee. Day by day the snowballs smashed against the windows and walls, but he soon figured out that those weren’t meant for him. They were just stray ones that missed their actual target. But Chocopuff still didn’t plan on leaving his café. There was a war going on outside, and he didn’t want to get into the crossfire.
But since the café was built on the invisible border that divided the town, he thought that maybe he could use that to his advantage. And so he started working on getting it ready for service.
Deep at night, when he was sure that everybody in town was already asleep, he quietly left the café with a bag full of pamphlets. Advertisement for his café that read Chocopuff’s Café - Grand Opening Today - Your First Hot Chocolate is Free!
He sneaked from house to house and put a flier in every mailbox he could find on both sides. Then he went back home and waited for the morning to come.
He had expected at least some response. But the next morning came and went without anyone knocking at either one of the café’s windows facing the two sides of the town. Chocopuff heard the snowball war outside, and how both teams insulted the other. By noon, he was in a grumpy mood.
Now he understood why his father got this café for such a low price. If the townsfolk didn’t even care for free drinks, how was he supposed to make money with his hot beverages?
Chocopuff was ready to lock the door for the night, when he heard a bang at the window that faced Team Oath’s side. But when he looked up, it was just another snowball that had hit the glass. Shaking his head, he continued to turn the key in the lock, when he heard a squeaky voice from outside. “Am I too late?”
Carefully, he opened the door and looked outside. A Pichu, too small to look through the window above her, was rolling another snowball to knock at the glass.
Chocopuff felt his hope returning. “Hey there, little one. Would you like a hot chocolate?”
Pichu flinched and turned her head around. Her big ears twitched. “You are not from Team Growth, are you?” she asked.
“I’m not on anyone’s side.” Chocopuff ensured her. “I’m on Team Café if you so will.”
“Everyone here has to pick a side sooner or later.” she answered.
“Says who?” Chocopuff asked.
“I’ll tell you, when you let me into the warmth. I love the smell of your café.” she said.
“Sure, come on in. The first hot chocolate is free today.” Chocopuff stepped aside to let her in.
“And no one from Team Growth is in there already?” she hesitated.
“You are my first customer today.” he smiled.
That seemed to encourage her. She hopped onto the doorstep and came inside. Chocopuff closed the door behind her and started to boil milk in a pot. Pichu waited patiently, while Chocopuff put all of his effort into creating the best hot chocolate the Tiny Mouse Pokémon ever had. When he was done mixing the milk with the sweet cocoa, he added a pinch of cinnamon and just a little bit of black pepper. Just the right drink for a cold winter night like the one that was coming.
He served her the steaming hot cup and sat face to face with her. “Now, tell me, why do you think I have to pick a side?”
“Everyone does. That’s the prophecy. And if you don’t, then both sides will try to convince you to join their team. You are new here, that’s why they still treat you with care, but in a few days, gloves are off, and they might raze this place to the ground, unless you decide which team you choose. But since this building stands on both sides at the same time, they might still raze the side that you didn’t pick.” Pichu shrugged, while drinking her hot chocolate. Her red cheeks began to spark after the first sip. “Oh wow, this is good stuff!”
“And how did this all start? Why are you at war with each other? Only because of a strange poem on a stone tablet?” Chocopuff asked.
“The prophecy plate!” Pichu corrected him. “Only Growthies call it ‘truth tablet’!”
“But I’m neither.” Chocopuff said. “I’ll call it how I want to.”
“Whatever. Our founding fathers discovered this place, and the prophecy on the plate was clear. They had to pick a side. And so they did. But not everybody picked the same side. Some wanted to stay the way they were. And some…” she shuddered, “...some wanted to evolve.”
“What is wrong about evolving?” Chocopuff asked.
Pichu’s eyes grew big, and she stared at him in shock. Then she looked at her hot chocolate as if it was poisoned. “Only a Growthie would ask that!”
“Or someone not from here, who genuinely doesn’t know.” he sighed.
“When you evolve, you leave your old personality behind. One day you play with your friends, and on the next, you evolve and don’t want to have anything to do with them anymore! Your appearance changes as well, and your house that was big enough for your family suddenly becomes too small for you! No, I don’t ever want to evolve. And whoever says that evolving is the right way, is fundamentally wrong!” she began to talk herself into a rage.
“I have evolved.” Chocopuff calmly said. “It’s why I am here now. So I can keep the family tradition. And I want to do that. I love having my own café. It’s basically an oath I have to keep. But I had to grow into this. Is that wrong?”
“Depends on which side you are going to pick in the end.” she said. “If you pick Team Growth, it was wrong.” She downed the last mouthful of hot chocolate. “That was amazing! Can I get another one?”
“Sure, if you pay for it.” Chocopuff smiled.
“I believe you said the first one was free? But I still paid for it with information. You owe me a free drink!” she returned the smile.
Chocopuff sighed. A tough negotiating partner. “Will you recommend my café on your side of the town?”
“We’ll see. Are you going to pick Team Oath?” she grinned.
“We’ll see.”
After Pichu had gotten her second free drink, she left the café and Chocopuff locked the door. It was already dark outside, and only a few lights in the windows of the town were visible from here. Chocopuff had always enjoyed the silent peace of those snowy nights. If only this peacefulness would wash over to the next day.
But something was bugging him since he read the poem on the stone plate. Something was off. And that he couldn’t put his finger on what it was, was really annoying. He had wasted so many thoughts about this stupid poem over the last couple of days that it already started to haunt him in his dreams.
And when he was lying in bed that night, his mind still tried to make sense of the stone plate with the prophecy on it.
2023.12.18
Chapter 3
Spoiler:
Pichu was back early the next day. She and a few other members of Team Oath. Chocopuff thought about what she said the day before about the two teams razing his café to the ground, but for now they behaved quite well.
They happily reported that Pichu told them about the fantastic hot chocolate he made, and they wanted to try it as well. And he quickly came to the conclusion that it was for the best if he expanded the whole “Your First Hot Chocolate is Free”-deal to every new customer who entered the café.
All of his new guests made sure to stay on the side of the building that faced towards Team Oath’s side of the town. Even here, the invisible border seemed to prevail. The Pokémon cheered and lauded Chocopuff for his amazing hot chocolate, and they all laughed and talked to each other without restraint.
But when the door swung open and an Igglybuff with a bag entered the café, the mood immediately changed.
Cups of hot chocolate were left on the table, half emptied, when almost all of Team Oath decided to leave. Igglybuff didn’t mind the hostility that they tried to make her feel. And when she sat down on Team Growth’s side, she smiled at the few remaining members of Team Oath, while the rest, one after another and without saying goodbye, left the room.
“Isn’t it amazing how the mighty Team Oath fears a baby Pokémon that just wants to evolve?” she asked with a bright smile.
From the other side of the room, she received only angry glares, while two Slakoths slowly stood up and made their way to the front door as well.
Chocopuff didn’t dare to move a muscle. He wasn’t sure how to handle this situation without accidentally escalating it. He just stood there and stared at the Igglybuff who nonchalantly smiled at the other team, which now only consisted of a Mr. Mime who wildly gesticulated his displeasure, a Sneasel who was just staring angrily and Pichu who faced her cup of hot chocolate, and who hadn’t looked up from it since Igglybuff entered.
“Barista, may I get a hot chocolate as well?” Igglybuff asked.
Chocopuff flinched as he realized that he was the barista she was talking to. His throat went dry. “O-of course.”
That was too much for the Sneasel and the Mr. Mime. Hissing and gesticulating at Chocopuff, they left the café and slammed the door shut.
“I think I should go now, too…” Pichu sheepishly said.
“You haven’t paid for your hot chocolate yet.” Chocopuff heard himself saying in a monotonous tone. Why did he even care anymore? His café failed. He had no hope that the Pokémon that just left would ever visit again.
Pichu’s eyes went wide in shock. “Oh, right! I can give you some more information, if you want!”
“No! Cold, hard cash! The ingredients don’t pay for themselves.” he said.
“I fear that I don’t have money with me!” she bit her lip.
“I bet her parents don’t give her pocket money, because that would be too much friendliness and they don’t want her to accidentally evolve!” Igglybuff commented, while rummaging through the bag she had with her. “Her drink’s on me.” She put a few coins on the table, more than enough to pay for Pichu’s hot chocolate.
“Why are you being friendly to me?” Pichu squinted her eyes. “Do you think this small act of kindness would cause me to evolve?”
“Maybe it will cause me to evolve!” Igglybuff said with a smile. “But probably not. Anyway, I’m not in a rush. Kindness will always pay out in the end.”
Chocopuff kept an eye on both of them while serving Igglybuff her hot chocolate. Pichu was still staring at her own cup. Was that a trace of guilt in her eyes that Chocopuff had seen for a brief moment?
Before she could say something else, the door to the café was slammed open. “Pichu! Come quickly! It’s your mother!” a male Pikachu came in.
“Dad? What’s going on?” Pichu turned around to her father.
“She was hit by a snowball!” he said with tears in his eyes. “And someone from Team Growth had put a Thunder Stone into it! Your mother… she evolved!”
“What?” Pichu asked in shock and jumped up from her seat. “Where is she?”
“We were on our way here to get you, because we heard there was a Growthie in the café, when they attacked us! She is outside. It’s gruesome. I can’t even look at her!” he almost cried. Then he spotted Igglybuff, sipping from her cup, seemingly amused.
“You!” Pikachu growled while menacingly coming closer to her. “You and your team are going to pay for this!”
He was stopped by Chocopuff stepping between him and his unfazed customer. “I think your daughter needs you right now.” he nodded in Pichu’s direction, whose eyes had become glassy.
Pikachu’s cheeks began to spark with electricity, and Chocopuff pondered if he should step aside. But he stood his ground and gave him a serious look. And it worked.
“You’re right.” Pikachu sighed and the electricity vanished. Then he turned around and left the café together with Pichu. “Come on, daughter… let’s say goodbye to your mother.”
“It’s better if you stayed right here.” Chocopuff said to Igglybuff. “I’ll look after them.”
Not far away from the café, a bunch of Pokémon from Team Oath had gathered around a figure lying in the snow. Chocopuff saw Pichu running towards it, with tears running down her face. “Mom! Oh no…”
“I’m sorry, my dear.” he heard Pichu’s mother’s voice. It was weak. “I should have watched out for an ambush.”
“Why didn’t you wear your Everstone necklace?” Pichu cried while holding the Raichu's hand.
“That doesn’t matter!” Pikachu sternly said. “She is one of Team Growth now. Now get away from her, before she tries to convert you as well.”
“Oh, it does matter!” Raichu sat up and rubbed the spot on her head where the snowball had hit her. “Most of us gave them away to-”
“Shut up now!” Pikachu yelled at her, but she used her long tail to swipe his feet from under him.
“Don’t ever talk to me like that again!” she hissed. Then she looked directly at Chocopuff. “We ground our Everstones into dust, so Misdreavus could spike your cocoa with it last night, so that no one who drinks your hot chocolate would ever be able to evolve. But I realize now that this was a mistake. I hope that no one from Team Growth has gotten a hot chocolate from you yet?!”
Chocopuff ran back to his café in panic. He had to stop Igglybuff from drinking! But when he came through the door, she had already emptied her cup and smiled at him with a ring of liquid chocolate circling her mouth. “That was the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had in my entire life!” she smiled.
“I’m so terribly sorry…” he apologized.
“Why? It was really amazing!” she asked.
“Team Oath has spiked my cocoa with Everstone powder.” Chocopuff said. “I swear, I didn’t know that. But you aren’t able to evolve anymore.”
The realization hit her and her eyes became dull. “Oh.” Then she wandered off without another word.
Chocopuff looked after her, as she stumbled out of the open door and into the snow. His final customer. Nobody would visit his café ever again.
He closed the door and turned the key. Tomorrow, he would go back home. He had failed like no one else in his family had failed before. Even his strange auntie had managed to become a successful librarian. But him? He failed at the family’s core business. He had wanted to bring joy and happiness with his hot chocolate, and instead, he had crushed the dreams of a baby Pokémon who wanted to evolve one day.
Angry, he looked at the unfinished drinks on Team Oath’s side. Unfinished? Suddenly, he heard his auntie Lyripuff’s voice in his head. And now he knew exactly what he had to do.
He went back into the kitchen and cooked a pot of water. When the water was boiling, he took the pot in both hands and hurried out of the café to the stone tablet in the middle of the town. He had to dodge snowballs from both sides on his way, and on any other day he wouldn’t have risked his health. But right now, he was angry. And anger was a great motivator.
At the stone plate, he raised the steaming pot high in the air. “Hear ye! Hear ye! I present to you, your full prophecy!”
A snowball from Team Growth hit him, but he didn’t care. He tilted the pot and the hot water splashed onto the stone…
2023.12.24
Chapter 4
Spoiler:
“Don’t get fooled by the Galarian sonnet! They are commonly written in an ABBA CDDC EEF GGF pattern, but sometimes, there is a dramatic pause between the two Gs and the final F verse. Sometimes even so much that the final verse is written way below the rest of the poem. Usually, the final verse is used to combine the two theses established earlier in the sonnet. And if left away, the whole meaning of the poem completely changes! Isn’t that exciting?” auntie Lyripuff had asked the young Cocoalix.
It had been her birthday and he and his parents had been invited to her place, which was stacked with books of all sizes and colors. She had read him multiple poems, and explained to him the different forms those could have.
Cocoalix had only understood half of it, and he had been eager to learn more, if it hadn’t been for his father to lift him up and to give his aunt a stern look. “I’d rather have him memorize hot chocolate recipes than your poem stuff, sister! It’s already a shame that you went down this path. I won’t let you cloud my son’s mind with this nonsense as well!”
~
“Thank you for clouding my mind with your poem nonsense, auntie.” Chocopuff mumbled, while watching the ice and snow at the bottom of the stone plate melt away and revealing the final verse that had been hidden for Arceus knows how long.
>I’m glad that worked, otherwise I would have looked pretty stupid.< he thought to himself, before stepping away. He had expected more snowballs coming his way, but both sides had ceased throwing them, staring in shock at their seemingly desecrated stone plate, which now read:
In this cold land the truth you seek
A prophecy from times long gone
Be you weak, or be you strong
Up at the icy mountain peak?
Oh, to live a life of joy; happy and free
Stay true to yourself, you swear?
Or is evolution for what you care?
Then this is where your home should be
Beware not to take a faulty path
For it will lead to destructive wrath
Will you choose growth, or swear an oath?
But don’t rash your choices
‘Cause it might silence a lot of voices
In the end, the right answer is choosing both!
“Has this last verse been there the whole time?” a voice behind Chocopuff asked in disbelief.
“No, I’m sure the hot water just perfectly carved a new one into the stone.” Chocopuff sarcastically answered. “Of course it’s been there the whole time!”
He turned around and saw the leader of Team Oath, Dunsparce standing behind him. “Oh… sorry, mister leader, sir. I didn’t want to be disrespectful. I’m just frustrated with how things have gone since I arrived here.”
“Frustration can lead to change.” he said. “And we despise change. We swore an oath to stay true to ourselves without changing, in accordance with the prophecy plate. But now that the prophecy has changed, so must we.”
Dunsparce looked at Team Growth’s side. “Where is your leader Arctibax?”
No one answered.
“You know what this means!” he nodded at the stone plate. “Both our sides have misunderstood the prophecy, and now we have to find a way to fulfill it in the correct way! I have to talk to him! Where is he?”
One of the Dreepys came forth. “He said that he would be the one to fulfill the prophecy, after he learned about your side spiking the hot chocolate with Everstone powder!”
“My side did what?” Dunsparce asked.
Chocopuff nodded. “They spiked my cocoa with ground Everstones. And poor Igglybuff already drank from it.”
“I did not approve of that!” he said, outraged. “We’ve never forced our way of life onto others, unlike Team Growth, who puts evolution stones into their snowballs regularly! That’s why we are wearing our Everstones after all!”
“Can we discuss that later?” Chocopuff asked, while looking to the left, where Team Oath’s side of the town led to the foothills of the mountain peak. In the distance, he spotted a Pokémon slowly making its way up the peak. “Whatever Arctibax is up to, I doubt its going to be something good!”
“What do you mean? How does he want to fulfill the prophecy all by himself?” Dunsparce asked the Dreepy.
“He believes that the ‘silence a lot of voices’ part isn’t meant as a warning, but as an order. And that he would be the one who is strong up at the icy mountain peak.” the Lingering Pokémon explained.
Dunsparce’s eyes went big. “We have to stop him!”
2023.12.25
Chapter 5
Spoiler:
In this cold land the truth you seek
A prophecy from times long gone
Be you weak, or be you strong
Up at the icy mountain peak?
Oh, Arctibax knew that he was going to be strong. He would be stronger than anybody else down there in the town. Reaching the mountaintop, he searched for the perfect spot.
Oh, to live a life of joy; happy and free
Stay true to yourself, you swear?
Or is evolution for what you care?
Then this is where your home should be
Evolution. No further questions needed. He stepped onto the cliff and cracked open the knob of his walking cane. The Rare Candy fell into the snow beneath him and he cursed himself for not catching it. He couldn’t wait for the happy and free life of joy to come.
Beware not to take a faulty path
For it will lead to destructive wrath
Will you choose growth, or swear an oath?
Arctibax found it. His cold fingers felt the small hard orb and he grabbed it. Growth! Always growth. He had waited for the perfect opportunity for his next evolution. But he would have never imagined it to be like this. He unwrapped the Rare Candy and put it in his mouth.
Strength flooded his body as it got encased in a blue-white shimmer. And then he changed form. Once again, he left his old self behind and grew beyond his own imagination.
Baxcalibur emerged and he felt powerful! A mighty roar escaped his throat and he almost got startled by the sound of it. Almost. He was way past the point of getting startled ever again!
But don’t rash your choices
‘Cause it might silence a lot of voices
But what about those choices that were long overdue? Team Oath had overstayed their welcome, and Baxcalibur would be the one burying them forever under tons of snow. He raised his massive foot, ready to send an avalanche down the mountain that would silence all of Team Oath at once!
“Wait!” he heard the panicked scream of the stranger who came into their town a few days ago.
Baxcalibur set down his foot again and turned around to him and he saw that the stupid Dunsparce with his stupid Everstone-crown was accompanying him. “If that isn’t the hot chocolate guy… Have you finally decided to choose a side? Because as far as I can tell, you chose the wrong one.”
“Thanks for calling me hot, but as far as I can tell, you are a big-” the stranger obviously wanted to insult him, but held himself back at the last moment, probably out of fear of him. The correct choice.
“Baxcalibur, what are you doing there?” his archenemy asked.
“I’m going to wipe out your side of the town, just like the truth tablet demands.” he boomed.
The Land Snake Pokémon slowly came closer.
“Don’t come closer!” he warned, raising his foot once more.
“We have misunderstood the prophecy plate! Both of us! There was a verse hidden underneath the snow and ice at the end of the poem which completely changes its meaning. Come back down with us and we can talk about our next steps in peace!” the stupid blatherskite tried to convince him.
As if Baxcalibur needed any more conviction. He knew he was right. “What a pathetic little lie. What kind of verse can change the whole meaning of a poem that has been so clear?”
“It’s a Galarian sonnet! That’s just how they are written!” the Hot Chocolate Pokémon talked some gobbledygook.
“Nobody asked you!” he rolled his eyes. Then there was a crunching sound. “What was that?”
“I think you should step away from the cliff!” Dunsparce froze in place. “The additional weight of your evolution might be too much for it.”
“You, and your precocious rigmarole!” Baxcalibur shouted. “I’m sick of it! And now I’m gonna let you feel my wrath!”
He stomped his foot down into the snow, but instead of the tremor causing an avalanche to form, the cliff he stood on gave in. For a brief moment, he felt weightless. And then, he fell.
He heard himself screaming. Then he saw the familiar shimmer of white and blue. And suddenly, he stopped falling. Did he evolve once again into a Pokémon that had wings? No. There were no new body parts. But there was something on his left leg. He looked up and saw Dudunsparce had grabbed his leg with his mouth. Had this blithering idiot really discarded his Everstone-crown to evolve and save him?
With combined forces, they pulled Baxcalibur back up again, and once he made it over the edge of the cliff, he crawled as far away from the ledge as possible.
“Thank you…” he mumbled. “I didn’t deserve that.”
“No, you didn’t.” Dudunsparce said. “But I’ve always loved showing you the errors of your ways, and I certainly won’t let you get away from that by throwing yourself down a mountain.”
Baxcalibur grunted. “And you evolved just to save me?”
“I had to. I wasn't long enough to reach you before. And do you know the best way to get rid of an enemy?” Dudunsparce smiled.
“I bet the answer isn’t to shove them down a cliff.” he grumbled.
“No. You turn them into a friend.” he sighed.
“We’ll see about that. First, I want to see that missing verse of the prophecy!” Baxcalibur said.
~
When they arrived back in town, it was unusually silent. Over the last couple of days, Chocopuff had gotten accustomed to the sound of the ongoing snowball war, but now, there was only embarrassed silence from both teams, when the three stepped in front of the stone plate.
“Okay. This changes things.” Baxcalibur agreed.
“We should take our time and talk things through.” Dudunsparce said.
“Good. That’s progress!” Chocopuff smiled. “I’d have invited you to a cup of hot chocolate, but I fear that my supplies were all spiked with Everstone powder.”
“Don’t worry. I should have some cocoa at home.” Dudunsparce said. “The previous café owner didn’t stay long, and we didn’t want her supplies to go to waste.”
“That would be great! Thank you!” Chocopuff rejoiced. “We’ll meet in the café then!”
Dudunsparce went off to get the cocoa, while Baxcalibur and Chocopuff made their way to the café. A few minutes later, Dudunsparce returned with the cocoa and Chocopuff happily put a pot of milk on the stove.
All three of them were in the middle of enjoying their hot chocolate and talking about the meaning of the prophecy, when the familiar sound of a snowball hitting the window disturbed the peace.
“Oh no, not again!” Chocopuff groaned. He stood up, looked out of the window and was shocked. Outside was the whole town, waiting patiently in one line for him to open the café to the public.
Cautiously, he opened the window and spotted Pichu and Igglybuff, both next to each other and standing first in line. “Can we get some hot chocolate, please?”
“But… your leaders are in the middle of negotiations.” he said.
“Don’t you get it? We don’t need any leaders negotiating for us! We just want hot chocolate!” Igglybuff fluffed herself up.
“Yeah! Or we’re going to raze this place to the ground and just take what we want!” Pichu grinned.
“Okay, okay. I’ll open the door.” Chocopuff laughed. “As long as you all behave!”
“Promised!”
The end
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Sharing IP every day with my husband derBhaal . 
