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@Charles Legend; @The Wordsmith
Letter 11: Two Snowy Hearts
Dear Serena,
Remember when I told you Brock wanted an Alolan Vulpix of his own?
Thanks to running into Samson on the way to Brooklet Hill, he got one!
It turned out he had a second Alolan Vulpix egg that had hatched, so Brock got the second one--not surprisingly, he named her Yuki, as he had promised.
Tarina and Kia'i immediately hit it off with Yuki--just like Keokeo, Popoki seemed to like Yuki too. But the biggest "aw" moment was with Hinata--the two of them were nuzzling noses immediately. (Vulpixes rub noses with each other as a sign of acceptance and friendship, but they will also rub noses on a human's cheek to indicate the same thing)
Not surprisingly, Yuki immediately rubbed Brock's cheek, but Lillie wondered why Keokeo didn't do the same thing with her. This puzzled all of us, so Brock put his knowhow of Pokemon to good use, and attempted a controlled introduction.
Misty suggested making a spot for Keokeo to be alone, and then attempt a controlled introduction. This seemed to help, as Keokeo immediately took to the soft blankets and toys Brock left for her. But when it came time to introduce Keokeo to Lillie, Keokeo didn't want a thing to do with Lillie--she was interested in her toys. We figured that she would be ready eventually, and decided to try again later.
The next day, she was venturing out from the safe space, but kept fleeing back there when Lillie tried to interact with her. Brock reminded her that to a small Pokemon like Keokeo, humans are effectively giants. So if you want a good interaction, get down onto her level.
Not surprisingly, when he bent down and urged Keokeo to come to him, she came! After petting her a little, I talked Lillie into trying that. But when she got down on Keokeo's level, she fled!
Misty wondered if the problem was not Keokeo, but Lillie. The rest of us agreed--we had noticed that Lillie was unusually fearful around Keokeo. I suggested that since Vulpixes and other Pokemon can sense fear, Keokeo was also sensing Lillie's fear?
Our focus shifted from introducing Keokeo to Lillie to Lillie gaining confidence to interact with Keokeo (and theoretically Nebby, but he didn't come out to look at Keokeo) I talked with Lillie a little last night, and asked why Lillie was so afraid of something as cute as a Vulpix (I didn't phrase it exactly that way, but that was the basic gist of my question.)
Lillie explained that she was afraid of getting scratched, bitten or frozen. I just assured her that you can avoid many Pokemon related injuries if you learn to read their body language.
The next day, Misty suggested Lillie play with Keokeo in an attempt to establish a bond. So one piece of ribbon later, we started seeing progress--Keokeo actually played with Lillie for a good thirty minutes!
Brock took the time to explain to Lillie what the different Vulpix tail positions mean:
--erect usually means contented and happy
--drooped down between the legs usually means sad or fearful
--wagging vertically like a fan means they are ecstatic about something
--wagging horizontally is an intimidation display, so that's the one to watch--doing it lightly means they want to play, but big swishes are a warning to attackers to back off.
There was a beach not far from the house we were staying in, so we took Lillie and Keokeo down there for more bonding time, and allow Mele a chance to be out.
Alolans are big on hospitality, so rather than camping in the wilderness, there are hundreds of these little roadside guest houses (according to Mahina, they are called hale, which not surprisingly is Native Alolan for "house"), so you don't have to spend the night in the elements. It's still a good idea to pack camp gear if you're in a more remote location and you can't hike down to find a hale. As a general rule, hale are usually on well traveled roads near towns and on the roads to towns and locations where people gather--so it makes sense there be some on the way to Brooklet Hill.
Hikina tells me there's a proper Pokemon Center by the hill itself, but most hale are pretty nice.
So while we were relaxing on the beach near our hale, some Team Skull goons decided to try and stir up some trouble. Lillie called for help, and what happened next was truly amazing--Keokeo rescued her moments before Tintri and I could help, and she even froze a few of Brock's arrows to intimidate them even more! (Icy arrows, no matter what the surrounding temperature is, tend to sparkle in the sun)
Not surprisingly, the Skull goons ran for their lives at seeing the sparkling arrow aimed right at them. We then gasped as for the first time after several days of coaxing her, Keokeo rubbed Lillie's cheek. She was beyond happy that Keokeo had finally accepted her--she was actually a little depressed figuring out why Keokeo had not wanted to bond with her.
I just assured her that if you show your Pokemon you are confident. they'll trust you and look up to you. Granted Lillie still has a lot to learn, even this basic lesson, but finally getting Keokeo to accept her was the highlight of the day.
The rest of our beach excursion was uneventful--I did a little surfing with Tintri, Misty trained Mele a little bit, Brock helped Tarina build a sandcastle, and Hikina and Mahina played Frisbee for a while before Tarina spotted a volleyball net in the sand.
So after a round of volleyball (Lillie proved to be a fast learner and helped the girls beat us boys), we returned to the hale for the night.
As I write this, Lilie's helping Brock with dinner while the Vulpixes play with Popoki--they look so cute chasing him!
Hikina says we should be getting close to Brooklet Hill, but we'll see what else we find on the road tomorrow!
Until then,
Ash
Letter 11: Two Snowy Hearts
Dear Serena,
Remember when I told you Brock wanted an Alolan Vulpix of his own?
Thanks to running into Samson on the way to Brooklet Hill, he got one!
It turned out he had a second Alolan Vulpix egg that had hatched, so Brock got the second one--not surprisingly, he named her Yuki, as he had promised.
Tarina and Kia'i immediately hit it off with Yuki--just like Keokeo, Popoki seemed to like Yuki too. But the biggest "aw" moment was with Hinata--the two of them were nuzzling noses immediately. (Vulpixes rub noses with each other as a sign of acceptance and friendship, but they will also rub noses on a human's cheek to indicate the same thing)
Not surprisingly, Yuki immediately rubbed Brock's cheek, but Lillie wondered why Keokeo didn't do the same thing with her. This puzzled all of us, so Brock put his knowhow of Pokemon to good use, and attempted a controlled introduction.
Misty suggested making a spot for Keokeo to be alone, and then attempt a controlled introduction. This seemed to help, as Keokeo immediately took to the soft blankets and toys Brock left for her. But when it came time to introduce Keokeo to Lillie, Keokeo didn't want a thing to do with Lillie--she was interested in her toys. We figured that she would be ready eventually, and decided to try again later.
The next day, she was venturing out from the safe space, but kept fleeing back there when Lillie tried to interact with her. Brock reminded her that to a small Pokemon like Keokeo, humans are effectively giants. So if you want a good interaction, get down onto her level.
Not surprisingly, when he bent down and urged Keokeo to come to him, she came! After petting her a little, I talked Lillie into trying that. But when she got down on Keokeo's level, she fled!
Misty wondered if the problem was not Keokeo, but Lillie. The rest of us agreed--we had noticed that Lillie was unusually fearful around Keokeo. I suggested that since Vulpixes and other Pokemon can sense fear, Keokeo was also sensing Lillie's fear?
Our focus shifted from introducing Keokeo to Lillie to Lillie gaining confidence to interact with Keokeo (and theoretically Nebby, but he didn't come out to look at Keokeo) I talked with Lillie a little last night, and asked why Lillie was so afraid of something as cute as a Vulpix (I didn't phrase it exactly that way, but that was the basic gist of my question.)
Lillie explained that she was afraid of getting scratched, bitten or frozen. I just assured her that you can avoid many Pokemon related injuries if you learn to read their body language.
The next day, Misty suggested Lillie play with Keokeo in an attempt to establish a bond. So one piece of ribbon later, we started seeing progress--Keokeo actually played with Lillie for a good thirty minutes!
Brock took the time to explain to Lillie what the different Vulpix tail positions mean:
--erect usually means contented and happy
--drooped down between the legs usually means sad or fearful
--wagging vertically like a fan means they are ecstatic about something
--wagging horizontally is an intimidation display, so that's the one to watch--doing it lightly means they want to play, but big swishes are a warning to attackers to back off.
There was a beach not far from the house we were staying in, so we took Lillie and Keokeo down there for more bonding time, and allow Mele a chance to be out.
Alolans are big on hospitality, so rather than camping in the wilderness, there are hundreds of these little roadside guest houses (according to Mahina, they are called hale, which not surprisingly is Native Alolan for "house"), so you don't have to spend the night in the elements. It's still a good idea to pack camp gear if you're in a more remote location and you can't hike down to find a hale. As a general rule, hale are usually on well traveled roads near towns and on the roads to towns and locations where people gather--so it makes sense there be some on the way to Brooklet Hill.
Hikina tells me there's a proper Pokemon Center by the hill itself, but most hale are pretty nice.
So while we were relaxing on the beach near our hale, some Team Skull goons decided to try and stir up some trouble. Lillie called for help, and what happened next was truly amazing--Keokeo rescued her moments before Tintri and I could help, and she even froze a few of Brock's arrows to intimidate them even more! (Icy arrows, no matter what the surrounding temperature is, tend to sparkle in the sun)
Not surprisingly, the Skull goons ran for their lives at seeing the sparkling arrow aimed right at them. We then gasped as for the first time after several days of coaxing her, Keokeo rubbed Lillie's cheek. She was beyond happy that Keokeo had finally accepted her--she was actually a little depressed figuring out why Keokeo had not wanted to bond with her.
I just assured her that if you show your Pokemon you are confident. they'll trust you and look up to you. Granted Lillie still has a lot to learn, even this basic lesson, but finally getting Keokeo to accept her was the highlight of the day.
The rest of our beach excursion was uneventful--I did a little surfing with Tintri, Misty trained Mele a little bit, Brock helped Tarina build a sandcastle, and Hikina and Mahina played Frisbee for a while before Tarina spotted a volleyball net in the sand.
So after a round of volleyball (Lillie proved to be a fast learner and helped the girls beat us boys), we returned to the hale for the night.
As I write this, Lilie's helping Brock with dinner while the Vulpixes play with Popoki--they look so cute chasing him!
Hikina says we should be getting close to Brooklet Hill, but we'll see what else we find on the road tomorrow!
Until then,
Ash