Flower Talk (Pokemon)

It was a small town, near Mt. Moon. With about thirty miles left until they reached Cerulean, the group decided to stop for the night.

Excited about seeing Misty the next day, Ash wore himself out bouncing around the room and fell asleep on the floor. May and Max set out to look around the town, and Brock decided to do the same.

After walking around for a while, he came across a flower shop with a crowd of pretty girls outside, fawning over a young man in a green apron.

"Hey!" Brock blurted out before thinking. "What's he got that I don't got?!"

The crowd dispersed, and the young man shoved a begonia in Brock's face. "What the heck are you thinking?!"

Immediately, Brock took a step back, bowing slightly. "I'm sorry! I just...I'm in awe! How do you do it? I've been trying to find a girlfriend for years, and you have them hanging off you!"

The young man withdrew the begonia and picked up a rose leaf, running it through his fingers. "Yeah, but it's not like they like me. They think I'm cute is all."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Dude, I would do *anything* for that kind of attention!"

"Yes, and if wishes were horses...," he smirked, arranging some sunflowers.

"Tell me how you do it!"

"I do nothing." The young man turned around. "By the way, my name is Pistachio."

"I'm Brock, from Pewter!" The two shook hands. "What do you mean you do nothing?"

"They come anyway. They never stay. They come to watch me because they think I'm cute. But that doesn't help me get the one I love."

Brock sighed. "Yeah, I know what that's like."

"But here's hoping, eh?" Pistachio smiled, holding up a white violet.

"Indeed!" Brock held up the first flower he could find, the discarded begonia.

Pistachio laughed. "Begonas mean 'beware'. That's why I was using it. This one I have means 'let's take a chance on happiness'."

Brock made a mental note to learn flower language. "Cool."

"But really, I have to get back to work. Someone's coming from Viridian to pick up a special order--oh, that's them now."

A perky blonde poked her curly head around the corner. "Hey, you got my tulips yet?"

Both boys looked at each other, only one word shared.

"Dibs."