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I put down my hiking gear and crouch down into the bushes. I've trained long nights for this occasion and I'm not going to mess up now. Sabrina sent word to the lab there will be a meteor shower tonight and I'm in the perfect spot to document the star shaped Pokemon.
It's a new moon so it'll definitely be hard to see. Luckily I have some night vision gear. More importantly the new moon will ensure I'm not bothered by any clefairy or clefable who stay hidden on these nights.
There they are! Cleffa are gathering even though the meteor shower hasn't started yet, this implies either foresight or a sensitivity to…
Something. I'm a Pokemon researcher not a meteorologist.
The sky starts to fill up with streaks of light. Beautiful as it is, the Cleffas start their dance. Singing and spinning in a circle, which theoretically won't stop till morning. I simply let the night vision camera do its thing and take off my goggles to enjoy the meteor shower.
In another life I'd never managed to see one with my own eyes. I knew what it looked like but it truly is beautiful in person. This is what true freedom looks like. Just me, the cleffa and the stars.
**4am - mount moon**
The break of dawn. Still awake. Slightly damp. Sabrina failed to mention it would rain. Thank you Deliah for convincing me to wear a tarp.
The cleffa are finishing their dance. I stay as still as, well, as still as I've been all night. I notice they're heading towards what little shrubbery there is around here. They seem to be eating the leaves for hydration. Down side is the one heading straight towards my very fake bush.
Welp, best laid plans and all that. I shake the bush a little but the poor thing is too tired to really register. I whisper a “hey” which at least wakes it up enough to be wary. “Don't eat the leaves, they're plastic, not good for you!”
Welp, I'm compromised. The cleffa cares more about the talking bush than its thirst.
“Sorry. I just wanted to watch the dance.” I continue to whisper in hopes it doesn't alert the whole starfall.
“Cleffa cleff!” the Cleffa shouts, instantly calling its whole starfall with a very serious expression on its very cute small body.
I spend the next hour explaining my work to a very uncomfortable group of cleffa that I've been spying on them all night but showing them the recording, especially of the shooting stars itself, mellowed them out.
I pack up under the stern eyes of the Cleffa who originally found me while the rest of the pack dispersed (one coming back with an oran berry to rehydrate my new parole officer).
He, which I could tell from the smaller ears and larger tail, (also asking for his pronouns in a roundabout way Pokemon do not understand) followed me down all the way down the mountain path. He had such a serious expression I was just trying not to get, I don't know, banned from mount moon or something. Then we'd have to send Seymour and he never stays awake long enough for these things.
When we reached the bottom of the mountain I couldn't help but ask, “So, how are you going to get back up the mountain?” This was clearly not a question he anticipated and started to look very distressed. My bleeding heart gave out immediately. “You can come stay at my place and I can bring you back tonight?”
I got hit with that borderline death stare before he nods and clings to my pant leg. I take it slow back to pewter.