- Joined
- Aug 22, 2025
- Messages
- 1,806
- Reaction score
- 2,111
- Pronouns
- They/Them
- It/Its
- None
CW: None
Thanks to @LegendsCelebi for proofreading.
The story of the tiny Pumpkaboo
Once upon a time, in a big city far, far away, lived a tiny Pumpkaboo called Pumpkin. It was so minuscule, it was even smaller than a Poké Ball! When it prowled around in grass, it could hide itself completely. One could only notice it when it flashed its colorful lights as brightly as it could and cried out as loudly as it could.
The small Pumpkaboo wanted to make friends. It went to the biggest city park, and tried to talk to other Pokémon and people. But because of how small it was, sadly, no one noticed it. Once, a careless human that was strolling about, almost stepped on it, and did not even realize!
Pumpkin felt discouraged, so it tried to look for advice from its own species, but the other Pumpkaboos did not want to talk to it. “You are too small! You don’t fit in our club! What even are you? You are too small to even be the “small variety”! Come back when you become bigger.”- they said to it, and then went on to ignore it.
As expected, this conversation did not lift Pumpkin’s spirit at all. “Is there something wrong with me?” it thought to itself. “I have no choice, I must change myself!” it decided, and went on a quest to make itself grow.
It decided to spend some time in the sun. Maybe that would help it become bigger? It found a nice, bright spot in the park and sat there, trying its best to imagine itself becoming huge, gargantuan, even bigger than the Prism Tower! Needless to say, it did not work. The only thing that happened was Pumpkin’s skin becoming a little dry from sitting in the direct sun.
Since sunlight did not help, Pumpkin decided to try something else! It gathered all the berries in the park in one huge pile, and ate them all, one by one! Surely that would make it larger! If it can’t become taller than maybe at least it can become wider? As wide as Rust Syndicate’s Office!
It consumed all of the berries, and started to feel a little funny. “Is this what a human would call a belly ache?” Pumpkin mused. Unfortunately, the Pumpkaboo still did not grow even by a single centimeter.
All right. Sunlight did not help, and neither did the berries. What now? Pumpkin remembered that it once overheard some humans talking about “growing through experience”. It wanted to try it out. It was Fall, and everyone was in a mood for spooky fun, so Pumpkin decided to go Trick-or-Treating!
It went all around the city playing pranks! With its powers, it turned a bunch of people and Pokémon into ghosts. This caused all kinds of shenanigans. Those who were turned into ghosts started to go around scaring each other. The streets became filled with goofy ghostly wails and laughter. “Booo! Booo!” the cries echoed in the streets and shopping arcades, and everyone was having fun. The city authorities organized a big event in Dormez Bien Cemetery to give out sweets to all ghost Pokémon in order to appease them.
Pumpkin, however, did not get its candy, because no one noticed it.
No one realized that it was the first to start the tricking either, so no one thanked it for its contributions to the Fall festivities. Another, much larger Pumpkaboo claimed to be the party starter, and everyone believed it. Pumpkin tried to say something, but its quiet voice went unheard in the general commotion. Pumpkin almost got stepped on again.
Hungry, sad and lonely, Pumpkin retreated into the safety of a shadowy back alley. Even after all this effort, it still did not manage to become bigger.
It tried to improve its moves and powers by itself, but it was quite difficult, as it had no one to guide it and no one to practice with. Pumpkin became a little stronger, but still did not grow bigger.
The tiny Pumpkaboo started to lose hope about ever having friends.
Fall passed, and turned into winter. Soon, The Solstice arrived, and afterwards the days started to become longer again. Humans and Pokémon alike were preparing the New Year celebrations.
Pumpkin found a safe spot on a mailbox and sat there to watch the city getting ready. It wished that it could participate in the merriness too, but gave up on it. There city organized a public party which, in theory, was open for everyone to attend, but it would be too crowded to be safe to attend for the tiny Pumpkaboo. There were no spaces designated for small Pokémon, so it could be easily stepped on. And Pumpkin did not want to be stepped on or hurt. Watching from afar was its only option.
Night fell and people gathered either in their own homes or in the Bleu Square. Pumpkin sat on its box silently and listened to the distant laughter and music.
After a while, Pumpkin noticed someone passing by. A very tall human figure.
“Why aren’t they with everyone else?” Pumpkin though to itself, and looked up curiously. The human noticed the movement and leaned towards Pumpkin, as if to see it better. The tiny Pumpkaboo made a surprised and happy sound. Did someone notice it?
The human was very tall and thin, and to Pumpkin, they looked almost like a tree!
“Hello! They call me Sequoia.” said the tall human.
“Pumpk!” Pumpkin said in a conversational tone.
“So you’re Pumpkin?” Sequoia asked, unsure if they understood correctly.
“Pumpk!!!!” the Pumpkaboo confirmed enthusiastically.
“They are going to start the New Year’s light show soon, as it is near midnight already. Do you want to watch it together?”
“PUMPK!!” Pumpkin exclaimed, with tears of happiness gathering in its eyes.
The human carefully extended their hand towards Pumpkin, and the Pumpkaboo sat on it. Then they found a nice spot on the roof of one of the nearby buildings. They could see the entire city from here.
Pumpkin kept crying tears of happiness, it was so relieved to finally have someone notice it.
Sequoia looked at Pumpkin for a while in silence, as if trying to listen to Pumpkin. They shed a tear of their own as well.
“I understand what it’s like, to not fit in anywhere. Literally. Look at how tall I am! I can’t go through most doors! I can’t even buy a galette in peace, because there is always someone there pointing their fingers at me. But there is nothing wrong with being me. I think you are fine just the way you are, too. It’s okay.” they said after a while. Pumpkin stopped crying, and looked at Sequoia, and then at the cityscape. The countdown to midnight was already starting!
10! 9! 8! 7!
“Is it… really okay to just… be me?” Pumpkin thought.
“It’s okay!” said Sequoia.
6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
As the old year came to an end, and the light show celebrating the New Year started, Pumpkin started to shine itself. Something shifted inside it, and then it started to change outwardly! In a final burst of light, it evolved! It became a minuscule Gourgeist.
“Congratulations on your evolution, Pumpkin! And happy New Year. I hope it treats us well.” Sequoia said happily.
After this, Sequoia and Pumpkin became good friends. Sequoia brought a “TM017: Protect” from a friend at the Pokemon Research Lab and taught it to the Gourgeist, so it no longer had to worry about being stepped on. They also designed a floating magnifying glass and gave it to Pumpkin, so it could be easily seen by others, if it wanted to. Pumpkin explained to Sequoia to the best of its ability what it is like to be so tiny, and taught them all it could about hiding.
Sequoia, with Pumpkin’s help and encouragement, also wrote a strongly worded letter to the Lumiose city officials. In their petition they explained the need to adapt the city's infrastructure and planning for Pokémon and humans of all shapes, sizes and types.
Then, the pair went on a journey and experienced many adventures together. But that is a story for another day.
Thanks to @LegendsCelebi for proofreading.
The story of the tiny Pumpkaboo
Once upon a time, in a big city far, far away, lived a tiny Pumpkaboo called Pumpkin. It was so minuscule, it was even smaller than a Poké Ball! When it prowled around in grass, it could hide itself completely. One could only notice it when it flashed its colorful lights as brightly as it could and cried out as loudly as it could.
The small Pumpkaboo wanted to make friends. It went to the biggest city park, and tried to talk to other Pokémon and people. But because of how small it was, sadly, no one noticed it. Once, a careless human that was strolling about, almost stepped on it, and did not even realize!
Pumpkin felt discouraged, so it tried to look for advice from its own species, but the other Pumpkaboos did not want to talk to it. “You are too small! You don’t fit in our club! What even are you? You are too small to even be the “small variety”! Come back when you become bigger.”- they said to it, and then went on to ignore it.
As expected, this conversation did not lift Pumpkin’s spirit at all. “Is there something wrong with me?” it thought to itself. “I have no choice, I must change myself!” it decided, and went on a quest to make itself grow.
It decided to spend some time in the sun. Maybe that would help it become bigger? It found a nice, bright spot in the park and sat there, trying its best to imagine itself becoming huge, gargantuan, even bigger than the Prism Tower! Needless to say, it did not work. The only thing that happened was Pumpkin’s skin becoming a little dry from sitting in the direct sun.
Since sunlight did not help, Pumpkin decided to try something else! It gathered all the berries in the park in one huge pile, and ate them all, one by one! Surely that would make it larger! If it can’t become taller than maybe at least it can become wider? As wide as Rust Syndicate’s Office!
It consumed all of the berries, and started to feel a little funny. “Is this what a human would call a belly ache?” Pumpkin mused. Unfortunately, the Pumpkaboo still did not grow even by a single centimeter.
All right. Sunlight did not help, and neither did the berries. What now? Pumpkin remembered that it once overheard some humans talking about “growing through experience”. It wanted to try it out. It was Fall, and everyone was in a mood for spooky fun, so Pumpkin decided to go Trick-or-Treating!
It went all around the city playing pranks! With its powers, it turned a bunch of people and Pokémon into ghosts. This caused all kinds of shenanigans. Those who were turned into ghosts started to go around scaring each other. The streets became filled with goofy ghostly wails and laughter. “Booo! Booo!” the cries echoed in the streets and shopping arcades, and everyone was having fun. The city authorities organized a big event in Dormez Bien Cemetery to give out sweets to all ghost Pokémon in order to appease them.
Pumpkin, however, did not get its candy, because no one noticed it.
No one realized that it was the first to start the tricking either, so no one thanked it for its contributions to the Fall festivities. Another, much larger Pumpkaboo claimed to be the party starter, and everyone believed it. Pumpkin tried to say something, but its quiet voice went unheard in the general commotion. Pumpkin almost got stepped on again.
Hungry, sad and lonely, Pumpkin retreated into the safety of a shadowy back alley. Even after all this effort, it still did not manage to become bigger.
It tried to improve its moves and powers by itself, but it was quite difficult, as it had no one to guide it and no one to practice with. Pumpkin became a little stronger, but still did not grow bigger.
The tiny Pumpkaboo started to lose hope about ever having friends.
Fall passed, and turned into winter. Soon, The Solstice arrived, and afterwards the days started to become longer again. Humans and Pokémon alike were preparing the New Year celebrations.
Pumpkin found a safe spot on a mailbox and sat there to watch the city getting ready. It wished that it could participate in the merriness too, but gave up on it. There city organized a public party which, in theory, was open for everyone to attend, but it would be too crowded to be safe to attend for the tiny Pumpkaboo. There were no spaces designated for small Pokémon, so it could be easily stepped on. And Pumpkin did not want to be stepped on or hurt. Watching from afar was its only option.
Night fell and people gathered either in their own homes or in the Bleu Square. Pumpkin sat on its box silently and listened to the distant laughter and music.
After a while, Pumpkin noticed someone passing by. A very tall human figure.
“Why aren’t they with everyone else?” Pumpkin though to itself, and looked up curiously. The human noticed the movement and leaned towards Pumpkin, as if to see it better. The tiny Pumpkaboo made a surprised and happy sound. Did someone notice it?
The human was very tall and thin, and to Pumpkin, they looked almost like a tree!
“Hello! They call me Sequoia.” said the tall human.
“Pumpk!” Pumpkin said in a conversational tone.
“So you’re Pumpkin?” Sequoia asked, unsure if they understood correctly.
“Pumpk!!!!” the Pumpkaboo confirmed enthusiastically.
“They are going to start the New Year’s light show soon, as it is near midnight already. Do you want to watch it together?”
“PUMPK!!” Pumpkin exclaimed, with tears of happiness gathering in its eyes.
The human carefully extended their hand towards Pumpkin, and the Pumpkaboo sat on it. Then they found a nice spot on the roof of one of the nearby buildings. They could see the entire city from here.
Pumpkin kept crying tears of happiness, it was so relieved to finally have someone notice it.
Sequoia looked at Pumpkin for a while in silence, as if trying to listen to Pumpkin. They shed a tear of their own as well.
“I understand what it’s like, to not fit in anywhere. Literally. Look at how tall I am! I can’t go through most doors! I can’t even buy a galette in peace, because there is always someone there pointing their fingers at me. But there is nothing wrong with being me. I think you are fine just the way you are, too. It’s okay.” they said after a while. Pumpkin stopped crying, and looked at Sequoia, and then at the cityscape. The countdown to midnight was already starting!
10! 9! 8! 7!
“Is it… really okay to just… be me?” Pumpkin thought.
“It’s okay!” said Sequoia.
6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
As the old year came to an end, and the light show celebrating the New Year started, Pumpkin started to shine itself. Something shifted inside it, and then it started to change outwardly! In a final burst of light, it evolved! It became a minuscule Gourgeist.
“Congratulations on your evolution, Pumpkin! And happy New Year. I hope it treats us well.” Sequoia said happily.
After this, Sequoia and Pumpkin became good friends. Sequoia brought a “TM017: Protect” from a friend at the Pokemon Research Lab and taught it to the Gourgeist, so it no longer had to worry about being stepped on. They also designed a floating magnifying glass and gave it to Pumpkin, so it could be easily seen by others, if it wanted to. Pumpkin explained to Sequoia to the best of its ability what it is like to be so tiny, and taught them all it could about hiding.
Sequoia, with Pumpkin’s help and encouragement, also wrote a strongly worded letter to the Lumiose city officials. In their petition they explained the need to adapt the city's infrastructure and planning for Pokémon and humans of all shapes, sizes and types.
Then, the pair went on a journey and experienced many adventures together. But that is a story for another day.
Last edited:
