Day 23 - Lostelle

"This never happens!", her father protested. Sophie doubted that. When you name your daughter Lostelle it kind of seemed to Sophie that you were planning on getting lost. Not that Sophie really minded helping look for the child, it gave her an excuse to explore Kin Island of the Sevii Islands, which was not a part of her initial touring plans. She talked to some of  the settlers in Three Town when she arrived and was told Lostelle had been seen wandering into the Berry Woods.

Sophie noticed the forest was deep, dark, and seemed easy to get lost in. She knew she needed a good plan if she was going to find Lostelle before something terrible happened to the child. Sophie immediately called out Nathan, her Butterfree, to fly ahead to locate the girl. This forest felt similar to Butterfree's natural home the Viridian Forest and so Sophie knew Nathan would excel and searching through the thick trees. Sophie also pulled out Mr. Nido, her Nidoking, knowing he could cut through any trees that got in the way once they rushed to Lostelle if Nathan found her. Last of all, Sophie also sent out Wanda, her Ninetales, to use her fire to create a safe approachable glow in the dark woods that could potentially draw Lostelle in and at the very least would make the child feel safe when they did find her. It was not long before Sophie and her Pokémon partners heard Butterfree cry out ahead of them.

"Make a Trail, Mr. Nido!" Sophie commanded. The majestic Pokémon barreled forward clearing any small shrub or bush in his path and Sophie and her fire fox ran close behind him. When they arrived on the scene Sophie was surprised to find Lostelle huddling in fear at the base of a tree and Nathan engaged in combat against a nefarious Hypno that seemed to be trying to get at the small child. Nathan was holding his own and would have made easy work of the antagonizing Pokémon had he had his trainer's direction but truth be told without Sophie's direction the Butterfree was struggling. Sophie immediately jumped into action! "Nathan! Great work, come back! Go Stingo!" she recalled Nathan and hurled out her starter Blastoise! "Bite!" she ordered him as the giant tortoise exploded from its Poké Ball. The Blastoise was immediately on top of the Hypno chomping down with his massive maw. The Hypno had no time to react and the super effective Bite was a clear critical hit. Stingo triumphantly flung the knocked out villainous psychic creature into the brush.

After the battle Sophie noticed all the excitement had Lostelle crying so she quickly recalled most of her Pokémon who probably looked quite fearsome to the scared little girl. She approached her with the friendly Wanda alone who nuzzled the the small girl and let her cuddle her until she stopped crying. Sophie introduced herself and took the poor Lostelle back to her father. What had been an exciting adventure for Sophie had been quite traumatic for Lostelle and when they found her father the young girl leapt into his arms and the two shared a tearful embrace. Sophie was glad she was able to reunite father and daughter.

It is always best to make a plan as soon as you have identified a problem. Attacking a problem without a plan is often just asking for trouble. Whereas having a good plan helps you approach the problem with calm. A plan also helps to systematically solve the problem and helps you be prepared for the unexpected when confronting the unknown. A good plan is never foolproof, but a good plan will allow you to spend more time acting and less time worrying and feeling derailed. And successfully solving a problem and helping others is bound to make you feel good.