Let's Go Get Ice Cream!

(Little Pokemon Sun fanfic that came to me as I was playing a few days ago.)

~~~

Mele almost danced when she got back to the curbstones of Royal Avenue. She had done it! She'd caught her fourth team member! She wasn't sure if she was quite ready yet for Captain Kiawe's trial at Wela Volcano Park, but she had explored the smoky, dusty site's outer fringes for long enough to find the Magby she had wanted so much. The young trainer was grinning fit to burst.

She'd registered the newcomer's name as "Mr. Toasty," since she was hoping he'd grow into a big, warm, cuddly Magmar like the one she had gotten to hug in Paniola town. Those ranch-worker Pokemon were so gentle and friendly, and felt like big space-heaters. For now, though, Mele reckoned she would need to call her Magby "Little Toasty," until he evolved. "Mr." just didn't sound quite right on a baby Pokemon.

She let the tiny guy out of his Premier Ball with the rest of her team on the sidewalk. He was still getting used to them, but Honi had appeared to take a shine to Little Toasty immediately. Despite being a Grass-type himself, the bouncy Rowlet was thrilled to have another male for a friend. Beep the Cutiefly and Inoki the Mudbray both were girls, as was Mele herself, of course. Honi had been like a protective big brother to Beep, but he apparently wanted to give Little Toasty a big welcome now too. (After all, Mele had noticed, her first Pokemon friend had quite lived up to his name--which she had chosen because she had heard it meant "Amiable," just as hers meant "Song," in the old language--so far.) He chattered incessantly, his beak open in a huge wide smile, as Mele knelt down and hugged their shy new Magby friend. The small trainer giggled softly with delight--Little Toasty felt like one of those special soothing rag dolls with a hot water bottle inside.

"Here, Little Toasty. See? This is Honi! He likes you already!"

"Rooo-roo-roo-ROOO!" Honi's tiny talons made a cheerful click-clack as he bounced up and down in front of Little Toasty. At first Mele worried that the Magby would be too hot for her Grass-type starter to touch, but his red arm didn't seem to harm Honi's leaf-like "bow tie" in the least as he reached out to grasp it. After all, it was only when Magbys *breathed* fire that they attacked, and even grown Magmars were safe to touch apart from the flaming horns on the tops of their heads.

"Heehee. Wanna go get some ice cream now, team?" Mele smiled sweetly at all of them, after a moment.

"Braaaaaaaaaay!" Inoki reared back and nickered in agreement, sending Beep into semi-panicked buzzing as she was thrown from where she had perched in her equine friend's mane.

They skipped over to the Battle Royal Dome area--Mele had spotted a frozen treat cart parked out in front there. Inoki's hooves made a reassuring *clip-clop, clip-clop* noise behind her as they walked--the young trainer's Mudbray, whose name meant "Faithful," was too small for Mele herself to ride, and would be, until she evolved into a Mudsdale. But she carried the rest of the team quite nicely, Beep perching as usual between her long silly ears, Little Toasty sitting on her shoulders like a proper tiny cowboy, and Honi holding onto the edge of the imaginary saddle, further back near her rump.

The ice-cream seller apparently thought Mele and her team all made an adorable sight, as her eyes crinkled and she almost giggled through her smile as they approached. "What can I get for you, little Trainer?" she asked her, opening the refrigerated box of her cart to show her wares.

"I want a Qualot pop!" Mele had already decided--it was all pink and yellow, the perfect compliment to her orange shirt today (though she hoped not to drop any on it). "And Honi wants Hondew sherbert!" she beamed at her first little partner, already knowing his preferences by then too. She still had the whole rest of her team to learn about, though, in this particular area. "What do you want, Beep? Grepa?" she asked, but then noticed that the baby bee Pokemon was shaking her head (well, most of her body with it, not having much of a neck), jabbing her proboscis towards a different picture on the ice cream stand's menu.

"Oh, I see. Fudge ripple? You sure you'll be able to eat all that ice cream? I figured a slushie would be easier f'r you to sip..." Mele faltered apologetically, knowing that her little insectoid friend was built for a mostly nectar-based diet, at least until she evolved into a Ribombee and had a proper mouth. Still, Beep seemed insistent, so the young girl agreed.

"A *small* scoop of fudge ripple for Beep! Okay, yes, and Inoki, I'm getting to you..." Mele chuckled as she noticed the impatient Mudbray butting the side of her dress, grinning her donkey-toothed grin. "Maaaaaaaaaay!"

"Would you like Cheri, maybe? Or Pinap?"

"MAAAAAYYY!"

"BOTH?"

"MAAAAAY." Nod, nod.

"Okees. A scoop of fresh Pinap with Cheri-syrup swirl all over it for Inoki," Mele consented.

The stand operator laughed again and handed the sherbert scoop to her in a cup, for her to place on the ground where her Pokemon could eat from it. "And what about that one?" she wondered, nodding towards Little Toasty. The Magby had been hanging behind the rest of the group, blinking up from the cobblestones nearer to the decorative Hariyama balloon.

"Little Toasty? What do you want to try?" Mele asked sweetly, bending down to the newcomer again.

"Byy... byyy," he signalled, making a sort of curving smile shape with both hands.

"...Mago?" Mele guessed after a pause, thinking what Berry-tree fruit might match that shape.

"Byyyyy!"

"Okay, we'll take a Mago scoop in a cone, please," the little trainer bobbed a polite curtsy to the ice-cream seller. She figured Little Toasty would want a cone, having hands to hold it, unlike the others.

Mele gave the saleswoman several coins for their purchase, handing Little Toasty his ice-cream cone and sticking her own Qualot popsicle in her mouth so she could reach in her skirt pocket. Then, to her dismay, she heard him crying.

"Agby agby mag mag MAG!" The poor little fellow was standing there in the middle of the cobblestones again, his big eyes filling with tears, and his scoop of Mago ice cream plopped onto the ground.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Little Toasty!" Mele bent down and cuddled him maternally. "Naughty little ice-cream cone! We'll get you another one, an' this time be more careful, okay?" She went to pay the seller again, but the kind lady had seen what happened and said she could have another one for free.

Thanking the generous woman, Mele held the Mago cone carefully and bent down once again, watching Little Toasty herself this time. The Magby indeed grabbed hold of the crispy holder as carefully as his trainer had, but when he attempted to lick the sugary treat, tiny embers dribbled out of his beak-like mouth, and the ice cream melted all around it immediately. Then Mele saw what had happened--the ice cream scoop became so slippery from the rapidly-melting heat of Little Toasty's saliva, even at the bottom and other areas not immediately touched by his mouth, it slid right off its cone holder.

SPLAT. There it went again, in the middle of the street. Mele realized she would probably need to get some napkins to clean the growing mess up--well, unless Little Toasty's tears did the job already. He was beginning to leak enough of them to put a Water Pokemon to shame.

"Meeeeeeeeeeebeeeeeeeeee!" the little fellow wailed, so much that Honi and Inoki pushed their own ice cream cups along on the curbstones and came over to try to comfort him too.

"Oh no! Oh, poor little sweetheart... your breath is just too hot for it, I guess..." Mele whimpered a bit herself, hugging her new little Pokemon close. "Well, I... I guess we could at least get you a cup like your brother's and sisters', so it wouldn't keep falling... it would still be runny, though..." she reasoned. A pleading look from the Magby's eyes told her she at least had to try.

"Okay..." Mele looked back up almost apologetically at the ice cream seller. "Can we have one more scoop of Mago, please, this time in a cup?" she handed her another coin. Today was beginning to clean out Mele's free change for the week, but she didn't care. She still had enough money left from home, and from the Brooklet Hill Trial prize, to cover necessities, after all.

The young trainer placed this last cup of ice cream down in front of her Magby. He stared cautiously at it, then up at her, and she nodded gently.

Little Toasty stuck his nose into the paper cup, with its bright printed flecks of color and its rapidly-melting Mago ice cream. He sneezed, a flying ember completely mushing it all like butter in a microwave. He licked the mess up anyway. Then he grinned.

"Byyyyyy!"

Mele began to giggle, her worried frown (at first thinking that no one would enjoy eating melted ice cream) turning into a smile of her own. "Y-you really like it? It's okay? Ice cream soup?"

"Byy bbyy by byyyy!" Little Toasty crowed with delight, then picked the whole cup up to slurp at every last drop.

Mele, Inoki, and even the ice cream seller all laughed along with him.

"Ice cream soup!" the little trainer chirped again, not knowing much else to say. "Hoo-hoo hoo hoooo!" Honi agreed.