//------------------------------//
// Nurturing Evolution 
// Story: My Little Pokémon 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

Rarity's Carousel Boutique, the second one in the Kalos Region at Lumiose City.

Her employees there were coming in today to do their usual work. They were sort of proteges of Rarity. They wanted to learn fashion as well. Some wanted to make dazzling and beautiful dresses. Others wanted to make electrifying and cool outfits and some just wanted to see where their skills can go. Today, Rarity is going to put their skills to the test and see how far they've come so far and what they've learned.

"Alright. All of you, gather around." Rarity spoke. All 6 employees gathered around their unicorn boss, ready to hear. "Now. You've all been working here under me for a while now. A month or two I believe. It's time to see how far you've progressed in skills. I'm sure you all have an idea of what you want to design, correct?"

"Oh yeah. I want to design dresses for Pokemon. Specifically for the beautiful ones such as Gardevoir, Lopunny and more." A woman said.

"Mine is for both humans and Pokemon. I want to make clothing for Gym Leaders and trainers so that they feel much cooler when they battle, ya know." said a Guy.

"We just want to see what we can do, really." One guy said with another group.

"Seems you all have an idea of what you want to design. Now we'll put it to the test. I want you all to design an outfit of your choice. It can be whatever you wish. For humans or Pokemon. And if you can succeed at that, I can take you all to the next level and teach you how to design for us ponies. Alright?"

"Yes!" They all said in unison.

"Wonderful. I'll be working back at my original boutique. You have 4 hours to try your best. Good luck." Rarity trotted out of the boutique, heading towards the gateway that led to her world. The employees didn't waste any time and immediately got to work.

Rarity made her way back to Ponyville with a 12-minute walk, since the gateway from her world to Lumiose isn't at Ponyville, instead, it's right near White Tail Woods.

Heading back, she entered her boutique, thinking that everything was normal, but it wasn't. Something was off. When she entered, she saw that her Swadloons were a bit on the sick side. This was shown by their natural green leafy body was now a pale green with dimmer colours. Not only that but the leaves on them were wilting a bit and they were already feeling an immense amount of pain. Rarity saw this and gasped, rushing over to them immediately.

"My darlings! What's happening to you all?! Are you all alright?!" She worried.

"Swadloon..." The Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon all replied with their voices being a bit on the quiet side. It was clear that they were not alright at all. Rarity didn't know what to do at first, but then she immediately decided to take them all to Fluttershy and see what is wrong with them. She put them in their Pokeballs, rushing out of her boutique to make her way to Fluttershy's cottage.

Arriving there, she instantly showed her Swadloon off. This took Fluttershy by surprise as well. She had no idea that something like this could happen to a Pokemon. Then again, she's still learning about them since there are so many of them out there.

"I've never seen this before. It's like they're wilting." Fluttershy gasped.

"Please, Fluttershy! Get your Audino to heal them!"

"O-Okay. Audi. Let's use Heal Pulse and see if that does anything." Fluttershy turned to her helper Pokemon. The Hearing Pokemon sent a healing pulse of energy towards the Swadloon, in hopes of healing them. It managed to slow down the wilting, but it didn't heal them at all. "Oh, dear. It didn't do much. Only the wilting was slowed down."

"Do something else! Anything!" Rarity pleaded.

"Um, okay. Try using Refresh, Audi." The next attempt was the restoring Refresh. Fluttershy believed that this might be another status effect probably. But it wasn't. Although, the Refresh also managed to slow down the wilting as well. "Hm. It seems that the best we can do is slow down the wilting. But I don't know what else to do after that."

"Well... surely there are other Pokemon moves that can help right?" Rarity was desperate for any possible way of helping her little darlings.

"There are a lot of Pokemon moves that heal. But most of them are moves that drain the other Pokemon. I don't know if there's something that can help them right now. But maybe, I can take care of them for now and I'll see what I can do. The one thing we know right now is that Audi can slow down the wilting. Is that okay with you, Rarity?" Fluttershy picked up a Swadloon.

"It's fine with me. As long as they recover and are back in their usual colourful green selves. I'm worried about them."

"Leave it to me Rarity. I've been learning from Remedy Roy on various ways to heal Pokemon. I've picked up some skills that might help with this. So you head home and leave everything up to me."

"Alright...Please do your best." Rarity walked off, leaving her Swadloon to Fluttershy and Audino.

"Now. Let's see what's really going on?" Fluttershy laid a Swadloon down as she and Audino were ready to see what was up. Fluttershy's lessons with Remedy Roy have evolved to a point where she now knows which Pokemon can also be useful for healing other than Audino. Her Audino is useful for hearing heartbeats and picking up on current states, plus it has a great variety of healing moves. But besides that, she gained the help of a Comfey. Its flowers are used to soothe pain, and that can help with the immense pain that they're feeling. It proved to be effective.

"Audino."

"Oh, you're right Audi. Alomomola can help." Fluttershy went over to the lake section of the Pokemon House where the Water-Types hang out. She put her hoof in the water, swaying it about as she was calling the Water-Types up. Multiple different water Pokemon popped up, responding to Fluttershy's call. "Excuse me. But which one of you is Alomomola? There's just a lot of you in the lake."

"Alo." The Caring Pokemon called out its name, grabbing Fluttershy's attention.

"Good. Alomomola. I need your help. Do you think you can help heal these Swadloon with your special membrane?" 

"Lomo." Alolmomola swam forward, getting a good look at the Swadloon. She could see how much a bad state they're in. It was unlike anything she had ever seen with a Pokemon. And Alomomola are pretty active Pokemon that swim about, seeing a lot in their lifetime. "Mola."

"Alright. I'll put them in." Fluttershy picked up the Swadloon along with Audino, carefully placing them in the lake. They're fairly light Pokemon and their bodies resemble leaves, so thankfully the float. Now it was time for Alomomola to work its magic. This Pokemon has a reputation as a healer in the open sea. If you see one, there's no need for any doctors or medicine. And the way it heals others is by holding them up with its fins and using its curative slime that covers its body. And it did just that, lifting each of the Swadloon one by one.

The slime that Alomomola possess rubbed all over Swadloon, making them feel uncomfortable, but it was necessary. The Pokemon winced at the feeling of the slime, but it quickly eased their pain. But the wilting wasn't stopping at all. They may be able to soothe the pain, but right now, they have nothing to deal with the wilting leaves. This could prove to be a difficult task.

Rarity was back at her boutique, pacing back and forth. She was unsure if Fluttershy had the right cure for her Swadloon. But then she remembered that Pokemon are unpredictable, so perhaps this might be something good. She was so worried that she even forgot about her employees and their work. All she could think about were her Swadloon.

Sweetie Belle came in, seeing her sister pace back and forth. "Rarity? What's wrong?"

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity rushed over to her sister, grabbing her. "It's awful! Simply awful!"

"Gee...I wonder what piece of fabric got lost this time." Sweetie Belle said, thinking this was another petty overreaction.

"This is no time for jokes! My precious little Swadloon are ill!"

"Oh. S-Sorry."

"I don't know what it is... They just started to wilt! And their perfectly vibrant green colours became so dull and pale. It was mortifying to the eyes! I hope Fluttershy can heal them very soon."

"Do you think it might be the cause of a Pokemon?" 

"I have no idea. They've been inside all day. I've fed them, washed them, everything. What could have gone wrong?"

"Well...I think I'll leave you be. You seem pretty hurt about it." Sweetie Belle walked out, leaving her sister alone.

"If Fluttershy can't heal them...then I'll find a way to heal them!" Rarity exclaimed. She was about to take matters into her own hooves.

The young unicorn filly was also wondering what was wrong with the Swadloon. So, she decided to head to Pokemon House to see what their current state was.

At the house, the Swadloon were all huddled together, resting away. Fluttershy made sure that their pain would be constantly soothed by Comfey, who was floating above them.

"It's definitely not a status effect. If it was poison, the leaves would've wilted away much faster. So what could it be?" Fluttershy was having a tough time. She still had no idea why they were still wilting. Her first assumption was that Swadloon were acting like actual trees when they wilt. But that ended up not being the case. She grabbed a bottle of Lum Berry juice, fluttering over to them. "Here. Drink this. Lum Berries are good for health." She made the Swadloon get a drink of the berry juice, gulping it all down.

"Loon..." One groaned, speaking to Fluttershy.

"Huh? You feel something new in you?" Fluttershy leaned in.

"Loon. Swadloon..."

"You mean... you're evolving?"

"Swadloon..."

"The way you're evolving is different to how you would in your world?" Fluttershy gasped, realising what this meant. "Of course... something similar happened with Rainbow Dash's and Princess Celestia's Pokemon," Fluttershy recalled the time when Celestia's Kirlia ended up feeling a strange sensation through its body when they were learning about evolution. She remembered how Passion tried to evolve the first time but failed, however, the second time was a success. She also recalled when Rainbow Dash's Rufflet evolved into Braviary, it was completely still, like its entire body had frozen in front. It was only until it evolved that it could move again. "So that means...you're just feeling your body evolve into your final evolution! Leavanny! That's wonderful Swadloon!" 

"Swad..." They nodded, letting out a soft smile which you rarely see on a Swadloon.

"I can't wait for Rarity to hear this. She'll be so happy to learn about this! Just you wait and rest up a bit more." Fluttershy was about to head out, but then she noticed Sweetie Belle arriving. "Perfect timing! Sweetie Belle!"

"Hm? Hi, Fluttershy. I just came here to see what was wrong with the Swadloon?"

"Everything's great. It turns out, they're not ill. They're just evolving."

"Oooh...really?"

"Yes, really. Apparently, when a Pokemon evolves in our world, their bodies feel and act differently from how they would in their own world. I guess because the magic here is different."

"Oh! Phew. Had me worried. Does Rarity know?"

"Not yet. I'm off to go and tell her. She'll be so happy to learn."

They made their way to Carousel Boutique, in hopes of giving Rarity the good news. But to their surprise, she wasn't there. Seems like she left long ago.

"Oh, she's not here." Fluttershy sighed.

"Maybe she's gone out to get some fresh air?" Sweetie Belle looked up at Fluttershy.

What Rarity was actually doing was gathering all the healing essentials she needed. She went over to the Hoenn Region, buying everything they had from Heal Powder, Lava Cookies, Touga Berries, Yaga Berries, all sorts of items that are used to heal a Pokemon, where they're injured or under a status condition. 

"This is enough. I'll use everything I can to heal them." Rarity was carrying them all in a wagon, pulling it with all her might. She went from Hoenn, which had a pretty far away gateway from Ponyville, all the way back to her world. This time it was a 30 minute walk. An entire half hour. Rarity was unaware of what was really going on with her Swadloon, but she had every right to be worried. The sight of her Pokemon suddenly wilting and turning pale would worry any trainer with a Swadloon, especially if they had no idea that a Pokemon evolves differently in this world.

Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were searching for Rarity in Ponyville, but there was no sign of her there. She was well away from their distance. Rarity had actually found a way towards the Pokemon House through a shortcut that led to Fluttershy's home. The path from Hoenn leads here if you go straight after all.

She opened up the door, dragging her wagon inside. There, she spotted her Swadloon sound asleep. She felt like she couldn't waste any time, so she immediately grabbed the first healing item from the wagon with her magic. A Lava Cookie. "Swadloon dears. Don't worry. I've got everything I need to get you back to your beautiful selves."

"Swad...?" The Leaf-Wrapped Pokemon each woke up, looking up at Rarity.

"Here. Have these Lava Cookies. Cookies can make anypony happy." 

"Loon..." Her Pokemon tried to talk to her, but she was too worried and determined to heal them, plus she can't understand Pokemon like Fluttershy. So she shoved the cookies inside each of their mouths, forcing them to eat the Hoenn delicacy. Despite it having no effect, the cookies were delicious to them. Rarity realised that the cookies weren't working as more leaves were falling off. So she went for the next option. The Heal Powder. 

"Powder is the body's best friend. Don't fail me now." Rarity sprinkled all of them with the powder, and yet again, no effect. It's not that they weren't working, it's just that Swadloon are at full health without any status conditions, so all of this was practically useless right now. The Swadloon were feeling overwhelmed by all the healing items being thrown at them. But despite all of this, they were happy that Rarity would do all of this to make sure they were healthy if they ever managed to get ill.

Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle came to the conclusion that they can't find her. So returning to the Pokemon House to see the evolution is all they can do right now. But at the house, with all of Rarity's constant use of healing items and the mess she caused with powder on the floor, walls, berry juice scattered everywhere and so forth, the unicorn felt like she wasn't doing good enough. At all.

That's when all the Swadloon started to wilt at faster speeds. Rarity gasped as she saw the leaves fly off like crazy. The Swadloon closed their eyes as their bodies were starting to wither as well.

"No no no! This can't be happening!" Rarity started to tear up, fearing that they might be passing away. "You can't leave me, Swadloon!" Rarity huddled them all together, giving them a hug in hopes of holding them one last time. Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle returned, seeing this as well. They also set their eyes on the leaves withering rapidly as it took them back as well.

And just like that, the Swadloon had each withered away like a tree. The last thing Rarity saw was the remaining leaves that flew off her hooves. It was at this moment where she felt utterly crushed and distraught. She sat down, tearing up as she begun to cry. But this wasn't like most of her usual cries where it involved being rejected, losing something etc. This was similar to losing a loved one. Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were about to tell her what really happened, but that's when it finally happened.

The leaves that were on the floor started to fly up, as if the wind was carrying them. Rarity, Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle turned around to see the leaves moving about as they spiraling around. They were each emanating a blue light. The same blue light that shows whenever a Pokemon is about to evolve. Rarity gasped as Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle gazed, ready for this evolution.

And with a burst of magical energy, out emerged what once used to be Rarity's 12 Swadloons, were now 12 Leavanny's. The Nurturing Pokemon. Pokemon that had a nurturing nature and act like granny's to anyone. Not only that but they are the best at making clothes. Easily surpassing their previous evolutions in skills.

"Leavanny!" They all cried out.

"It's finally here! You've all become Leavanny!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"I...Wha? Huh?" Rarity was confused. "You...evolved?"

"Yeah. The Swadloon didn't know what was wrong with them earlier, but it wasn't until a few minutes that they actually found out why they were feeling so strange. They were actually evolving. And it turns out that Pokemon evolve differently in our world." Fluttershy explained.

"They were just...evolving?" Rarity was taken aback by this. All of this worrying ended up resulting in a good outcome. She hung her head, letting out a huge sigh of relief. One of her Leavanny's walked up to her, putting its leaf arms around its trainer.

"Leavan."

"Leavanny says that they appreciate you going through all this trouble to make sure that they were okay. If they knew that they were evolving earlier, you wouldn't have to worry yourself." Fluttershy translated.

"Leavanny. Oh, you're all such wonderful Pokemon!" Rarity hugged it back as the others huddled in for a hug. It was a heartwarming moment for all of them. Rarity was relieved that her Pokemon were alright, and Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle were glad as well. Although, some cleanup will be needed for Fluttershy's home due to all the healing stuff that had been scattered.

With the inclusion of Rarity's new and evolved Pokemon Leavanny, an even stronger friendship is formed. One formed out out fear for the other, that turns into a powerful love and nurturing nature. Rarity will promise to keep her Pokemon safe and well, and her Leavanny will do the same, as the journey continues.

"I forgot about my employees!"


Chapter 111 End!