Nov2
EVERYONE: - Complete The Perils of Pumkin Spice (Fall 2024 One Shot Contest)
(rated E10+ for implied crude humor)
AN: This is set in my remixed animeverse, where Liko and Roy are part of Ash and the gang.
Fall interpreted as--this is usually the time of year when you see pumpkin spice flavored everything (or the Poke-counterpart thereof)
Final wordcount 1041
In a house somewhere in Kanto, a black haired girl settled onto her bed with a familiar blue book with Suicune designs. The lock on the book, and the key tucked away in a drawer by the girl's bed, was a clue that the book was the girl's diary.
"Don't forget, Liko--Brock's performing for the open mic night tonight." a male voice called from downstairs, snapping the girl to attention as she retrieved the key to unlock the book.
"I know, I'm just writing in my diary before we leave." Liko assured her housemate.
"Okay--we won't leave until it gets close to the time Brock signed up to perform." the male voice replied. "So write all you like until then!"
With that, Liko climbed back on the bed, unlocked the beautiful diary, retrieved a pen, and started to write on the first blank page she found:
Querido diario,
Fall is in the air in Waku, and among all the beautiful leaves and the festivals, is the return of Pumkin Spice lattes. While many coffee lovers would jump for joy at this phenomenon, a small subset of people are actually allergic to Pumkin Berries--and Misty just so happens to be one such person.
Granted, Misty's allergy is not dangerous enough to send her to the hospital--it simply results in spending some time in the bathroom if she consumes Pumkin Berries themselves, or any food item made from Pumkin Berries. Not even beauty products made from Pumkin Berries are safe--usage of Pumkin Spice liquid or bar soap, body spray, lotion, and the like results in Misty's skin turning bright red. It goes away after a few moments, but Misty tells me the burning sensation that goes with it isn't very pleasant, either.
So what's a coffee lover with an uncommon allergy to do, you ask? Simply request another of the fall drinks--Misty's current favorite is the Maple Pecan Latte. But when Pumkin Spice flavored everything--including non-edible items--is everywhere, you have to be very careful when you go grocery shopping...
---------
"PUMKIN SPICE TRASH BAGS???" Misty gasped at the wall of orange and brown boxes of trash bags on a shelf of the household items department of the grocery store, both horrified and amazed that such a thing existed. "The only place that stuff belongs is in the trash!"
"Welcome to fall, where someone, somewhere, dreamed up Pumkin Spice trashbags." Brock sighed as he reached over the orange and brown boxes on the shelf to reach the pale green of the mint scented bags the group preferred.
"Just when you thought it was safe to go in the grocery store..." Roy intoned, before grinning at his impression of a movie trailer announcer.
"What's so scary about Pumkin Spice?" Liko wondered as the group passed by a display of Pumkin Berries in the produce department.
"For a small subset of people, Pumkin Berries can actually get them sick." Brock explained as the group made their way down the aisles. "Usually, this isn't life threatening, but how bad this allergy is is different from person to person. In Misty's case, the worst case scenario is to spend the night in the bathroom with an upset stomach. Even touching or smelling Pumkin Berries--or Pumkin Berry scented items--will make her a little woozy."
"Let's move on, before the nausea kicks in." Misty suggested.
"So this is why we don't really do jack 'o lanterns, out of respect for Misty's allergy." Ash explained as the group emerged from the household items, and rounded the corner to the dairy and meat departments.
"Pumkin Spice milk...ew." Misty sighed as the group passed the refrigerator with the milk and coffee creamers. "Pumkin Spice coffee creamer...no big deal, they roll that out every year..."
---------
"Pumkin Spice chewing gum?" Misty raised an eyebrow as the group passed the candy section of the snack department some time later. "Okay..."
"I'd imagine it would taste similar to cinnamon..." Ash mused as he studied the various candy bars, candy bags, and packs of chewing gum on the shelves.
"Okay then, I'm making you chew some--for science!" Misty smiled as she ceremoniously put one of the orange packs of gum in the cart. I'm making Ash do it, so I don't have to!
"Okay, next we need shampoo..." Brock led the way to the health and beauty department.
Misty raised an eyebrow at the rows of deodorant. "Pumkin Spice deodorant?"
"Okay, even for me, that's pushing it." Ash agreed as he located a stick of his preferred deodorant and put it in the cart.
"What's next, bodywash?" Liko asked.
Roy noticed Brock holding a bottle of Pumkin Spice scented bodywash. "Yes, they have even invented Pumkin Spice bodywash..."
"What's next, Pumkin Spice scented toilet paper?" Liko mused as the group rounded the corner to another aisle.
"Let's not give someone any ideas..." Ash suggested, aware of Misty shuddering at the thought of scented toilet paper, much less toilet paper scented like something she couldn't have.
---------
"...and finally, some kitty Pokemon treats for Fern." Brock mused as the group made their way to the Pokemon care department.
"Huh...Pumkin Spice flavored Pokechow...that's new..." Misty deadpanned as she studied the various Pokechow boxes on the shelf.
She balked at the next product on the shelf. "PUMKIN SPICE SCENTED POKE-PERFUME???"
"Quick! Let's pay for our stuff and go before Misty.exe explodes!" With that, Roy led the way to the checkout lane, but not before Brock had found the treats Fern liked...
---------
"...Okay, Misty didn't explode, but Roy is prone to exaggerating like this when scared or panicked." Liko mused as she wrote the last few lines of her diary entry. "In the end, we managed to make it home, but maybe next time, we'll leave Misty home before we go to the store, lest she has a meltdown over some other weird Pumkin Spice scented item..."
"Liko! Brock's set is in 15 minutes!" she heard Ash call from downstairs.
"Coming!" Liko called before quickly concluding her entry "So now we're headed to the local coffee shop, the Ivory Blossom, to watch Brock perform for the weekly open mic night. At least Misty can get something Pumkin Spice free there!"
She concluded her entry with a flourish. "Until tomorrow, Liko."
AN: This is set in my remixed animeverse, where Liko and Roy are part of Ash and the gang.
Fall interpreted as--this is usually the time of year when you see pumpkin spice flavored everything (or the Poke-counterpart thereof)
Final wordcount 1041
In a house somewhere in Kanto, a black haired girl settled onto her bed with a familiar blue book with Suicune designs. The lock on the book, and the key tucked away in a drawer by the girl's bed, was a clue that the book was the girl's diary.
"Don't forget, Liko--Brock's performing for the open mic night tonight." a male voice called from downstairs, snapping the girl to attention as she retrieved the key to unlock the book.
"I know, I'm just writing in my diary before we leave." Liko assured her housemate.
"Okay--we won't leave until it gets close to the time Brock signed up to perform." the male voice replied. "So write all you like until then!"
With that, Liko climbed back on the bed, unlocked the beautiful diary, retrieved a pen, and started to write on the first blank page she found:
Querido diario,
Fall is in the air in Waku, and among all the beautiful leaves and the festivals, is the return of Pumkin Spice lattes. While many coffee lovers would jump for joy at this phenomenon, a small subset of people are actually allergic to Pumkin Berries--and Misty just so happens to be one such person.
Granted, Misty's allergy is not dangerous enough to send her to the hospital--it simply results in spending some time in the bathroom if she consumes Pumkin Berries themselves, or any food item made from Pumkin Berries. Not even beauty products made from Pumkin Berries are safe--usage of Pumkin Spice liquid or bar soap, body spray, lotion, and the like results in Misty's skin turning bright red. It goes away after a few moments, but Misty tells me the burning sensation that goes with it isn't very pleasant, either.
So what's a coffee lover with an uncommon allergy to do, you ask? Simply request another of the fall drinks--Misty's current favorite is the Maple Pecan Latte. But when Pumkin Spice flavored everything--including non-edible items--is everywhere, you have to be very careful when you go grocery shopping...
---------
"PUMKIN SPICE TRASH BAGS???" Misty gasped at the wall of orange and brown boxes of trash bags on a shelf of the household items department of the grocery store, both horrified and amazed that such a thing existed. "The only place that stuff belongs is in the trash!"
"Welcome to fall, where someone, somewhere, dreamed up Pumkin Spice trashbags." Brock sighed as he reached over the orange and brown boxes on the shelf to reach the pale green of the mint scented bags the group preferred.
"Just when you thought it was safe to go in the grocery store..." Roy intoned, before grinning at his impression of a movie trailer announcer.
"What's so scary about Pumkin Spice?" Liko wondered as the group passed by a display of Pumkin Berries in the produce department.
"For a small subset of people, Pumkin Berries can actually get them sick." Brock explained as the group made their way down the aisles. "Usually, this isn't life threatening, but how bad this allergy is is different from person to person. In Misty's case, the worst case scenario is to spend the night in the bathroom with an upset stomach. Even touching or smelling Pumkin Berries--or Pumkin Berry scented items--will make her a little woozy."
"Let's move on, before the nausea kicks in." Misty suggested.
"So this is why we don't really do jack 'o lanterns, out of respect for Misty's allergy." Ash explained as the group emerged from the household items, and rounded the corner to the dairy and meat departments.
"Pumkin Spice milk...ew." Misty sighed as the group passed the refrigerator with the milk and coffee creamers. "Pumkin Spice coffee creamer...no big deal, they roll that out every year..."
---------
"Pumkin Spice chewing gum?" Misty raised an eyebrow as the group passed the candy section of the snack department some time later. "Okay..."
"I'd imagine it would taste similar to cinnamon..." Ash mused as he studied the various candy bars, candy bags, and packs of chewing gum on the shelves.
"Okay then, I'm making you chew some--for science!" Misty smiled as she ceremoniously put one of the orange packs of gum in the cart. I'm making Ash do it, so I don't have to!
"Okay, next we need shampoo..." Brock led the way to the health and beauty department.
Misty raised an eyebrow at the rows of deodorant. "Pumkin Spice deodorant?"
"Okay, even for me, that's pushing it." Ash agreed as he located a stick of his preferred deodorant and put it in the cart.
"What's next, bodywash?" Liko asked.
Roy noticed Brock holding a bottle of Pumkin Spice scented bodywash. "Yes, they have even invented Pumkin Spice bodywash..."
"What's next, Pumkin Spice scented toilet paper?" Liko mused as the group rounded the corner to another aisle.
"Let's not give someone any ideas..." Ash suggested, aware of Misty shuddering at the thought of scented toilet paper, much less toilet paper scented like something she couldn't have.
---------
"...and finally, some kitty Pokemon treats for Fern." Brock mused as the group made their way to the Pokemon care department.
"Huh...Pumkin Spice flavored Pokechow...that's new..." Misty deadpanned as she studied the various Pokechow boxes on the shelf.
She balked at the next product on the shelf. "PUMKIN SPICE SCENTED POKE-PERFUME???"
"Quick! Let's pay for our stuff and go before Misty.exe explodes!" With that, Roy led the way to the checkout lane, but not before Brock had found the treats Fern liked...
---------
"...Okay, Misty didn't explode, but Roy is prone to exaggerating like this when scared or panicked." Liko mused as she wrote the last few lines of her diary entry. "In the end, we managed to make it home, but maybe next time, we'll leave Misty home before we go to the store, lest she has a meltdown over some other weird Pumkin Spice scented item..."
"Liko! Brock's set is in 15 minutes!" she heard Ash call from downstairs.
"Coming!" Liko called before quickly concluding her entry "So now we're headed to the local coffee shop, the Ivory Blossom, to watch Brock perform for the weekly open mic night. At least Misty can get something Pumkin Spice free there!"
She concluded her entry with a flourish. "Until tomorrow, Liko."
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