After calming his emotions and bidding farewell to Grandpa Manny and Grandma, Lucas happily took Lilligant's small hand and followed behind Shauna.
When they arrived at Twinleaf Town, a parade was already underway.
The performers wore magnificent costumes, and people beside them beat drums, the sound vibrating through the air.
They performed a series of splendid, graceful dances.
Someone in the crowd recognized Lucas and shouted; the entire parade group then began moving toward him.
A hand appeared out of nowhere and pulled Lucas into the group. The parade then formed a circle around him, dancing a beautiful and ritualistic dance.
Lucas stood in the middle, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
This—if someone with social anxiety were here, wouldn't they just die on the spot?
Boom! Boom!
"Heh heh!"
The drumming grew more spirited, and the surrounding people let out loud, rhythmic cheers.
Boom! Boom!
"Heh heh!"
Surrounded by them, Lucas's own emotions began to stir.
Boom! Boom!
"Heh heh!"
"Gen Gengar!!"
Heh heh!!
Lucas spotted Gengar, who had somehow managed to sneak into the parade group at some point.
Lucas: ——
The drumming stopped, and the dancing came to a halt.
Everyone bowed deeply to Lucas.
"Thank you, Lucas."
Startled, Lucas quickly urged them to stand up, but they remained bowed.
Lucas glanced at a nearby drum and had a sudden inspiration.
He walked over to a drummer and asked to borrow the drumsticks.
Taking the drumsticks from the drummer, Lucas felt their weight.
Then.
Boom!
Everyone present looked up in confusion.
They found Lucas beating the drum.
"Dance, everyone!"
Boom-boom, boom-boom-boom.
Lucas beat the large drum in a simple rhythm. The leader of the group glanced at the person beside him.
Then, he led the way and started dancing.
"Everyone, let's follow Lucas's rhythm and dance!"
Lucas swayed his head while beating the drum.
The parade group began to dance in a coordinated rhythm.
It wasn't perfectly uniform.
Instead, everyone danced however they felt like dancing.
Gengar took the leader's wooden staff and danced with surprisingly graceful, lithe movements.
Beside it were Lilligant and Roserade.
Lucas stood on the drum carriage as people pushed him forward. He beat the drum while watching the dances of Gengar, Lilligant, and Roserade in the lead.
To Lucas's shock...
Gengar's chubby body was actually no less graceful in its dance than Lilligant or Roserade.
Lilligant and Roserade's dance was magnificent and elegant, while Gengar's was improvisational, following the rhythm with supple movements.
Despite the different styles being mixed together, Lucas found that it wasn't jarring at all.
And the people behind were all dancing in their own preferred styles.
Seeing Lucas drumming and the Pokémon from the Breeding House leading the dance, some girls in fancy clothes took the hands of those beside them and naturally joined in.
They performed their most beautiful dances.
As they moved along the route, more and more passersby joined the fray.
Eventually, it turned into a grand ball.
People expressed their feelings freely, using their passion to bring today's Thanksgiving Day to a complete climax.
As the drumming ceased, the crowd's dancing slowly came to a halt.
Everyone looked around and realized they had arrived at the Twinleaf Town square at some point.
Mayor Quinn nodded toward Lucas and then began his speech.
Lucas, meanwhile, looked down at the text appearing before him.
[Gratitude: Twinleaf Town has a Thanksgiving Day tradition spanning over a hundred years. Because of you, they have once again held a grand Thanksgiving Day event. They have not forgotten what they should be grateful for, and right now, they are most grateful for you. You brought them warm fresh milk and helped the elderly nourish their bodies; you brought them herbal tea and traditional medicine to help them resist disease; you brought them Pokémon to ease their loneliness; you treated their fevers. Therefore, they will remember and be grateful to you forever. Received a gift from everyone in Twinleaf Town: Blessing of Twinleaf Town]
[Blessing of Twinleaf Town: You shall live a life of peace and health.]
[Thank you and everyone at the Breeding House, Lucas — Mr. and Mrs. Fujino]
[Thank you, Uncle, and everyone else — Shauna]
[Thanks to you, we've rediscovered the feelings of being in love — Grandpa Manny and Grandma]
[Thank you for letting me meet Teddiursa — Grandpa Yask]
[————]
[Thank you, Lucas — Twinleaf Town]
[I am sincerely happy for you — Grandma]
Lucas's eyes grew moist.
Why does the wind feel so strong today?
Lucas sniffled.
With such lovely people and Pokémon, how could Lucas not love them?
Mayor Quinn's speech was extremely brief.
"We have always known gratitude. Therefore, I declare that today's Thanksgiving Day activities officially begin!"
Cheers erupted from the scene.
Everyone began to dance once more.
Time soon reached evening.
Lucas sat below the stage, quietly waiting for Shauna's stage play performance.
The plot was roughly about a princess being taken away by an evil villain. Shauna, as a Magical Girl who hated evil and was full of a sense of justice, received a request to help save the princess.
So Shauna took her magic wand and embarked on a journey to save the princess.
Along the way, she defeated many villains and received help from many people.
Arriving at the villain's castle, after much hardship, Shauna finally defeated the villain and rescued Princess Chiyo.
The plot was very ordinary, but Lucas watched with great interest, especially Shauna's performance.
Who would have thought that Shauna, who was afraid of meeting people at first, could now perform on stage?
Lucas glanced beside him.
"Strange, where's Gengar?"
Gengar and the others were all gone.
So were Officer Jenny and Gothitelle.
Normally, after rescuing the princess, the performance should have ended.
"Ge——hahahahaha——"
An eerie sound echoed out.
Hearing it, Lucas's nose twitched, and he looked toward the stage.
A huge silhouette was projected.
"Our Magical Girl finally defeated the villain and rescued the princess, but little did she know that the villain she defeated was just a low-level lackey. The true villain is someone else, and now, it has arrived!"
Lucas recognized the narrator's voice as Officer Jenny's.
He lowered his head and covered his forehead.
I knew they wouldn't be so well-behaved.
Given Gengar's personality, how could it possibly let it go if it wasn't included in the performance?
The next battle soon broke out.
The Magical Girl was no match for the King Gengar and was knocked flying.
Then, Magical Girl Shauna puffed out her cheeks and raised her magic wand.
In the next second, her body floated into the air, level with the King Gengar.
Lucas looked elsewhere and found Gothitelle and the others gathered together. The reason Shauna flew up was also due to Gothitelle's psychic power.
She threw out a card.
Raised her magic wand.
And recited the line Lucas had taught her.
"I order you as your master——"
Her voice was youthful but exceptionally firm.
The card floated in the air, and the magic wand suddenly struck it.
A burst of light flashed.
Lucas covered his eyes.
Gengar had used Flash.
Immediately after, Staraptor on the other side flapped its wings vigorously.
A gale blew back the flames the King Gengar had thrown, and at the same time, the King Gengar was blown away, landing heavily on the ground.
Then Shauna threw out a second card.
"Seal——"
"Release!"
Lilligant and Roserade used Petal Blizzard simultaneously.
A large amount of petals surrounded Shauna. She pointed her magic wand, and they flew toward Gengar.
Gengar:?!
It used Protect in an inconspicuous way.
Then it pretended to be knocked away.
"Ge——Gen Gengar——"
Darn——darn it all——
Then its tongue lolled out, and its head tilted to the side.
Shauna landed quietly back on the ground.
Chiyo, standing nearby, stared at Shauna with sparkling eyes.
The narration sounded again.
"Our cute, beautiful, lovely, and powerful Magical Girl Shauna has finally defeated the villain with her own strength and rescued the princess."
Shauna took a bow, imitating Lilligant's elegant style.
Thunderous applause erupted from the scene.
Lucas got up and went backstage to look at Gengar and the others.
He gave them a thumbs up.
"Well done!"
۞۞۞۞
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