“Okay, all wrapped up!” Nurse Joy gently sets Ari’s foot down onto the ground. “It’s only a sprain so it’ll heal in a couple of days.”

“Thank you Nurse Joy! I really appreciate it!” Ari grabs Nurse Joy’s hand and gives her a wide smile. 

“No problem, love. The real hero was Mr. Dulse!”

“I’ve told you before, just Dulse is fine, Miss.” 

“Right, I forgot.” Nurse Joy gives him a smile.

“She’s right, you know.” Ari says. “You really were the hero today. Saving me, helping that boy. Thank you.” Ari gives Dulse a gentle look.

“N-no problem.” Dulse puts his hand on his neck, clearly embarrassed. “Anyway, I need to get going. You gonna be alright?” He looks at Ari, a bit concerned.

“Of course!” Ari gives him a thumbs up.

Dulse nods and waves goodbye as he and Furfrou make their way out of the Pokemon Center doors.

“Guessing he’s off to patrol again.” Nurse Joy says.

“Patrol? For what?” Ari asks.

“Well, you see, Dulse is part of a group called the Ultra Recon Squad. They go around Alola looking for rifts in the sky where Ultra Beasts come out of.”

“Ultra Beasts?” Ari looks confused.

“Yes, like the Pokemon from earlier.”

“Earlier…” Ari ponders, “You mean the big red Pokemon!?”

“Yes. The Ultra Recon Squad closes those rifts to prevent things from happening like today.”

“Oh, I see.” Ari thinks about Dulse and how he handled the Ultra Beast from earlier. “So, he protects the Island?”

“In a way, yes.” Nurse Joy smiles. “You’re pretty interested in him aren’t ya?”

“I’m just curious, that’s all.” Ari looks down at her ankle. She smiles. “He’s a good guy, huh?” 

“Indeed.” Nurse Joy picks up the remaining bandages and returns to her station.

Ari thinks for a moment and decides that she needs to thank Dulse somehow for helping her today. But how? She thinks, then bam! That’s her idea.

“Nurse Joy!” Ari stands up, remembering not to put pressure on her ankle. 

“Yes, love?” Nurse Joy is startled by the sudden loudness of Ari’s voice.  

“May I borrow the kitchen tomorrow? After my ankle has had time to heal a bit. I wanna make something for Dulse as a thank you!” Ari’s eyes sparkle with intent.

Nurse Joy chuckles. “Of course, dear, you go right on ahead.”

“Thank you!” Ari starts to head down the hallway. “I’m going to go get some rest, it’s been a long day… I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sounds good, you get some rest.” Nurse Joy waves Ari goodnight and takes up conversation with another trainer.

—

It’s the next morning and Ari is limping into the Pokemon Center kitchen with Eve at her side. She takes a look in the cabinets. Not seeing much, Ari decides they need to make a trip to the store.

“Come on Eve, let’s go get what we need!”

“Eevee!” Eve looks like she’s ready to go.

—

Ari and Eve arrive at the store and they scan the isles to gather the ingredients they need to make the cake.

After about 20 minutes they gathered everything they needed. “Okay!” Ari says. “I think we’ve got everything! Let’s get going!”

“Eevee!” Eve runs to the dairy section.

“Oh right! Moomoo milk! You saved the day, Eve!”

“Eevee!” Eve runs around in circles. 

Ari grabs a couple moomoo milks and puts them in her basket. “Alright, let’s go!” Ari and Eve make their way to the checkout line.

—

Ari and Eve are standing in the kitchen preparing themselves to make the cake. Ari puts on an apron and she pulls her hair back using a hair tie. “Okay, let’s get started!”

Ari mixes dry ingredients together then adds the wet ingredients in. She whips them all simultaneously, creating a nice fluffy batter. She then puts everything into a cake pan and pops it into the oven.

After the recommended time to bake, Ari takes the cake out of the oven and sets it out to cool. After about an hour, it’s time to decorate the cake. Ari frosts the cake and lines it with whipped frosting. She finishes it off with topping it with a little “Thank You” at the top.

“There! All done!” Ari wipes her forehead with the back of her hand. “Whew, that took a while!”

“You did great, Ari!” Nurse Joy claps as she walks into the kitchen.

“Thank you! I’m so excited to give Dulse this cake!” Ari gives Nurse Joy a gentle grin.

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.” Nurse Joy smiles.

“Now I’m off to- wait… how do I find him?” Ari looks to Nurse Joy worried.

“Hehe, oh Ari, didn’t think ahead, huh?” Nurse Joy chuckles to herself.

“What do I do!? I have no idea where he lives!” Ari starts to panic.

“Now now, no need to worry. If you follow the main road all the way down to the hill, his laboratory is at the top of that hill.” Nurse Joy draws out a map in the air with her finger.

“Laboratory? Woah, I didn’t know he had one of those… he must be smart.” Ari tries to imagine Dulse experimenting.

“He’s truly a smart cookie.” Nurse Joy winks.

“Okay, I’m heading out then!” Ari puts Eve onto her shoulder and then grabs the cake. “I’ll be back later! I’ll tell you how it went!”

“Sounds good! Good luck! Aaaaaaand she’s gone. Hehe, looks like Dulse made a new friend.” Nurse Joy puts her hand on her cheek, uses her other hand to rest her arm, and smiles.