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Rough Legends Arceus/Volo Headcanon Notes

While playing through Legends Arceus, while I was bored grinding out research tasks I amused myself with developing headcanons for the game.

These are for an OC in the player role/player is not Akari, though. (It's for my character June, who was a Bug Catcher while she was growing up, never did the gym circuit in her region, just liked bugs and casual pokemon battles and hanging out with her pokemon. She was attending her local junior college when she got snatched by the Void)

Headcanons focused on June & her "friendship" with Volo.

*****

They chat about her work with Galaxy. She doesn't actually enjoy it much. She loves pokemon, sure, and the nature's pretty, but the survey work is tedious, lonely, boring, dirty, hazardous, etc. Pokemon research sounds fun in theory but not in practice-- not in ancient Hisui, anyway. The research tasks the Professor assigns her seem so arbitrary and weird, there are very few people in the Survey Corps who are brave or skilled enough to help her out so she usually works alone, she lacks all the conveniences of modern civilization, etc. Camping out for a week in the bogs and going to bed each night caked in mud and slime, not able to bathe til you get back to the village, so forth.

Volo comments, 'Well they must pay you handsomely at least?' No, the pay isn't that great, most money she makes is from stuff she picks up off the ground. But, well, at least they're housing and feeding her. It's something.

*****

He calls her sky child.

*****

She remembers her life from before she fell here. She doesn't know why she came to be here, and why that weird phone appeared along with her. She half-remembers a weird pokemon that she dreamed about while in the rift, but she can't remember what it said to her. It was probably just a dream, anyway.

The phone is weird. It has a map of the area, and icons light up sometimes, and she also gets texted mysterious messages. She thinks maybe she accidentally fell through a portal to another realm, but the presense of this phone makes her suspect it's more than that. Did a person intentionally create a portal and push her through it? And now they're ordering her around with this phone? They seem to want her to study the pokemon here.

She doesn't like being used.

The phone has a Notes app. She thought about using it to record her thoughts, but she's paranoid that whoever sent this phone could be spying, reading her notes. She doesn't know if writing on a paper journal is good idea either though, anyone here could find it. She's not sure who to trust here, they already seem so mistrustful of her, they'd likely rifle through her stuff. She wouldn't put it past them, anyway.

Eventually she asks Volo if he can get her a journal with a lock on it. If such a thing exists here. He seems very curious about her request, but doesn't push questions on her about it. A few days later, he appears, having procured her a leatherbound journal with a sturdy locked latch.

He keeps a copy of the key in secret.

*****

Sometimes she camps out for many days in a row during her field work. It's often gruelling and lonesome. People from the Security Corps bring her meals sometimes and supplies to the campsite, but they are not always there-- they come and go. The pokemon professor drops by on occasion too but he's often busy with work back at the village. At night June sits in her tent and writes in her journal by the light of her phone. She can't even get attached to her pokemon, since her rearch forces her to constantly change her team. Supplies are precious, too, so she often can't afford to use tons of potions, and her pokemon faint a lot. They work as hard as she does, to the point of exhaustion, and she imagines they resent her for it.

*****

"So how are things going with your Galaxy friends?"

She tells Volo about how most people in the village seem to act nice enough around her, or polite in the very least. But even after all of these weeks here, she can tell none of them trust her. She can see the looks they cast her, from the corner of her vision, the way they still whisper about her when they think she can't hear. Some are still openly mistrustful or hostile, like the Commander of the Security Corps, although most are a little more subtle. Either way, it's exhausting to deal with. She's worked herself to the bone for them, and they tell her, "you're a part of our family now, we have your back," but it's not true, she know it isn't true. And she's realized by now that no matter how hard she works, how many favors she grants, how many missions she fulfills, it's never going to be enough, is it? She'll always be a stranger here, always out of place.

Even the Pokemon Professor and Rei, the people who are friendliest to her in the village, she doesn't feel close to. They seem nice enough, but in the end they're just using her too, aren't they? To get their research done. So who's to say whether their kindness isn't conditional? It always seems conditional here, in this place. Maybe she's just paranoid, but it's hard to tell. It's hard not to resent them all. She feels scared and alone. She has no one here.

She tells all this to Volo. She's not sure why. Maybe because he seems like an impartial party. Maybe because he's the only one who doesn't look at her with the eyes of someone who's mistrustful. Maybe because he's just there and she has to tell somebody, she can't bear not truly talking to somebody anymore. He listens compassionately. Seems to understand. And tentatively, he tells her that if it pleases her to think it, he'd be happy to call her friend.

She's quiet for a while. So far, her rapport with the Gingko merchant over the weeks had been friendly, but she hadn't been sure whether it had qualified as friendship. He had been straightforward in the past that his motives were professional ones; being congenial with customers was just good business sense. Still, she had always liked to think perhaps it might become more than just being chummy with customers. He'd seemed like a genuinely nice person, and she'd always enjoyed their conversations.

She smiles and shyly thanks him, realizing she's maybe not entirely alone in this place. She's quiet a while, but soon says she wants to give him something. She digs through her satchel. She doesn't have much right now, but she pulls out a curious little fragment of stone, pretty and angular and red. She says she found it while exploring one of the space-time distortions that everyone else is too afraid to approach. He asks if she's sure she wants to give it to him. She says yes. He thanks her and promises he shall treasure it.

*****

They run across each other at random times. He's always traveling, and so is she, but their paths always seem to cross eventually. They stop for a spell to chat whenever it happens.

He helps to teach her survival skills, sometimes, like cooking food out in the wild. She cannot always rely on the Survey Corps to bring her food, after all, especially when she's in a more far-flung area all alone. He tells her what fish are good for eating; Basculin are best, Magikarp are worst. He teaches her how to scale and gut and clean fish, how to cook them. He tells her that Sitrus berries are toxic when unrripe, how to find Razz berries, where to look for mushrooms. In turn, she brings him things she finds sometimes that are curious, old verses that Ursaluna dug up, shards of pottery, photos of ruins, strange pieces of colored glass.

One day, they see each other while out in the mirelands, and walk together for a time. He's on his way to gather caster ferns. She warns him not to head in that direction, an alpha has been patrolling there lately. He's never seen an alpha there before and has been to that spot dozens of times, hundreds by now, so he sort of just ignores her, insisting it will be fine, until they hear the cry echoing across the marsh and he stops.

"Er . . . perhaps . . . I will gather some other day."

She decides to catch the alpha so he doesn't have to do that. She's happy she can do something to help him out for once, since it always seems like he's the one helping her. She knows he only has Togepi, after all.

*****

"So what have you been doing to pass the time here, June? When you finally have the chance to rest for a spell from all that survey work of yours, that is."

"Not much. Overthinking, mostly."

"I see . . ."

"What do you do to pass the time, when you're out traveling?"

"Probably much the same."

She looks to him, surprised. The comment had been dropped quietly, carelessly, and he seemed to quickly rebound.

"With all these mysteries to ponder, after all, I'd hardly have much chance to be bored!"

She isn't sure that's really what he'd meant, but she doesn't push it. He tells her he also reads quite a bit. They chat about books and he says he can loan her one of the ones he'd finished reading. He gives her a well-worn book, and when she opens it for a peek, a piece of paper slips out that he'd been using as a bookmark. When she picks it up, she sees there's a charcoal drawing of Togepi on it. It looks beautiful. She holds it up and asks Volo if he drew it.

He seems briefly distressed, but stifles the expression, admitting he did. She tells him he shouldn't be shy, it looks really good! He awkwardly thanks her, saying it was just idle scribbling, really.

When she reads the book later in her tent, she finds he's also left some notes scrawled in the margins. She suspects he's forgotten about them. She enjoys the book but finds his scribbled notes the most interesting part of the book.

*****

When they meet again, they chat about the book she borrowed, discussing the story and characters. One day she asks him if he can teach her to draw. He seems in a rather laid-back mood and indulges her.

*****

She tells him about the Arc phone, eventually. She usually doesn't whip it out in front of people, feeling reluctant to do that; she knows it's a strange piece of technology and it tends to make others uneasy of her, not to mention some might see it and think to steal it. But eventually she trusts Volo enough to show the device to him. It comes up in conversation when he finds her with her pokemon team, taking a group photo of them. (All Alpha Bug pokemon)

He's very curious about it. She shows him the map app, and how to use it. He picks up the basics quickly. He asks her how the technology works. She's not sure how to explain a tiny, pocket-sized computer to the people of this era. It doesn't help she has a poor understanding of how computers work, herself, even coming from an era with them. She gives a very stilted explanation of computer chips and computer code and how a ton of data can be crammed into a very small space. It's not a good explanation but he appreciates her trying. He asks what else her device can do. She shows him the camera app, they take a few photos and a selfie together. He's fascinated with it. What else can it do? There aren't a ton of apps on it, there's a clock, a notes app, a flashlight function . . . she switches the light on. Volo says that must be very handy. Does this device require fuel? She isn't sure. Normally phones do need an energy source, you need to plug them in to charge them, but there doesn't seem to be any charger for this phone. Not that she'd have a way to plug it in, if there were. She's been using this phone for weeks and it's yet to lose power, so she doesn't know if it's solar powered somehow or if it's some other energy source . . . she honestly doesn't know.

"So if you use this device for too long, it's possible that . . ."

"Yeah. It might die eventually, and then never work again. That's why I try not to use it too often."

She doesn't mention the weird text messages she gets on the phone, or the way icons light up on her map sometimes as objectives.

*****

One time she comments Volo seems like a man with a lot of secrets.

"Who, me?" He holds his chin and acts as though he's thinking.

"Mmm, well. In my line of work, you get to know a lot of people. You must be good at small talk, getting to know your customers, and people do like to talk, so I end up hearing a lot of gossip . . . so I suppose I do know some secrets."

He asks June if she'd like to know any gossip and she says sure. He tells her that her Galaxy Commander, he sleeps with a Teddiursa plushie. She laughs. He asks now that she knows it, will she try and blackmail him? So that she could continue getting paid but no longer need to do this tedious survey work?

She says no. She'll have an easier time dealing with the jerk, just knowing the information now. She's not the sort to blackmail, anyway. Volo tells her that she's a good person. June isn't so sure.

*****

He procures for her a bigger bag, like the ones the Gingko Guild use. It's much roomier than the tiny satchel. It's well worth the purchase.

During conversation with him June mentions one time that she gets cold easily and has been freezing her butt off lately during work. A few days later, Volo appears with a nice warm jacket and gloves for her, that fit her perfectly. She is very excited and grateful. He's always charged her for the things he gets her (although he sometimes offers a friendly discount) so she expects the same here. But when she asks how much she owes him, this time he says not to worry about it. She is flustered at first, saying they must have cost him a lot, is he sure . . . but he insists. It would not do him any good if his favorite customer died of hypothermia out in the wilds.

*****

At the Coronet Highlands, there is a place called the Fabled Spring, a secret little alcove by a calm lake, with trees and soft grass and wildflowers. This is where Volo finds June laying there, staring out at the water, idly picking grass, looking very lost in thought.

"Fancy seeing you here."

She looks up in surprise. She asks what he's doing here and he responds he comes here for razz berries. He asks if he might join her, and she nods. He sits with her.

Conversation turns to the next Noble she's meant to face. She's nervous. He tells her he's sure she'll be fine, she handled the last one so well, after all.

She says it's getting harder each time. The last time, with the Arcanine, she got burned very, very badly, and she had to withdraw her first attempt. They had to carry her home. Back in Jubilife, they had a special medicine they used to help heal her, although it still took several days for her to recover.

"So you recovered fully?"

She did. It was a powerful medicine, made from an herb that was a pokemon. But she still remembers the pain of those burns. She returned and soothed the Noble on her second attempt. She's worried this next Noble will be even harder, though.

"Well . . . if it goes rough, all you need is more of Galaxy team's medicine and you'll be as right as rain again, right?"

Maybe. What if they run out of medicine though? She could tell it was precious to team Galaxy and rare, difficult for them to harvest and make. Or what if . . . something worse happens to her than just burns or a little paralysis. They are both quiet a while.

Volo eventually tells her he's sure everything will work out. He changes the subject so she won't dwell on her worries. Shares some leftover fish with her. She loves how it tastes. He has spices that Galaxy doesn't use. It's so much better than that potato mochi she's so tired of.

*****

After she defeats the Electrode Noble, he asks her how it went. Surprisingly well. Easier than Arcanine. He acts pleased, told you it would be all right.

She's been thinking though, about the rift. Since the Commander keeps bringing it up. See, for now, Galaxy and June's goals are aligned. But they might not always be. And she knows this, and it troubles her. Galaxy wants to close the rift, eventually. But what if, in order for June to get home, she finds out she needs to leave the rift open? Or even . . . to widen it?

Could she do that? To leave everyone to that chaos and just bounce? Especially when she's the only one around here strong enough and brave enough to face frenzied Lords?

Volo says it is an interesting conundrum she brings up. (She says she wouldn't use the word 'interesting' to describe it...) What would she do? he asks.

She doesn't know. It is a horrible thought, she doesn't think she can do it, just leave and screw everyone. Do that to a whole region, a whole group of people?? That'd be awful. But on the other hand. To not only never see her family ever again, but her entire world and timeline....to be stuck in what's to her, a backwater era that's super technologically primitive, among people she doesn't even like (well, except for you, you're pretty cool), to be forever displaced in time....it's....god, she doesn't know if she could face that either. She'd be out of place, out of time and a stranger her whole life, here.

After a span of silence she asks quietly,

"Would you blame me if I left?"

He murmurs a response so gently she almost doesn't hear.

"I wouldn't."

She gives him a bunch of colored fragments and stardust that she's collected.

"Take these, Volo, just . . . just in case."

He asks, what do you mean, June? She says, if things get bad, if worse comes to worst, you can sell these, maybe get out of the area altogether. You're a merchant, you must know how to get out of here in a hurry. So at least ...you'd be safe....

"June--"

She explains she has a ton of money now, nobody ever wants to approach the rifts, and she collects the stuff there in droves. People are too afraid of the powerful pokemon there and of being sucked into the distortions. But she goes towards them, hoping the distortions will bring her home again. Picks up valuables while there. She still works for Galaxy but now not for the money. But because she needs them as allies for now. They are powerful. And she needs their help learning more about all these mysteries, so she can hopefully get home.

"It's just in case. Hopefully it never comes to that. And I may not even decide-- you know--"

"All right, June. I'll take them."

*****

One hot day, June overworks herself to the point of nearly fainting. Volo finds her on the ground, dizzy and weak. He carries her to a safer place where pokemon are less likely to harass them, under the shade of a tree, gets her some food and water. Asks things such as when's the last time she's eaten, or bathed, or slept. She mumbles her answers. It's been days since she's slept any longer than ten minute stints, she was lost in areas with way too much pokemon activity to let her guard down.

"Days?!"

He starts to wash the grime from her face with a wet washcloth, chewing her out for letting the Galaxy people overwork her, and treating her for any less than she's worth (if those idiots realized how valuable an asset she really was, they should never do that, and she's worth her weight in gold), she has to take care of herself--

June starts to cry while being chewed out. Mostly from being overwhelmed from it all. He apologizes awkwardly, tries to comfort her, touching her face and telling her it will be okay. Dries her tears and washes her face, then wants to pull her hair back to help with her cooling down, has to brush her hair first but it's all snagged and caked with dried mud, he gets a comb from his bag and brushes it all out. Gets her to nap, eventually, convinces her he shall watch over while she sleeps. She is concerned he will be bored, he laughs, he's very much used to passing time. She tells him to look in her bag, she got a book she wanted to give to him next time she saw him.

He reads her diary while she sleeps.

She records her struggles. Her fears and confusion. How much she misses home, how estranged she is here. Her desperate attempts to figure things out, speculations. She hates the public bathhouse the town has, she hates the food, she hates the way everyone looks at her, she hates the cold, the mosquitoes, so many things. The weeks spent filthy in the bog before finally returning to town for a pathetic amount of research points. It's recorded here, so raw.

She talks about the townspeople she meets. Including the Gingko Guild trader named Volo. She analyzes him shrewdly, cautious about trusting anyone, including him. But he's caught her interest, enough to make note of it.

Her entries continie to talk about the professor and Rei a lot, the Commander, the 'stupid potato mochi resturuant jerk' (she hates the mochi too, just because it's all they ever eat), but she also writes about Volo. Mentions each time she comes across him.

He begins to show up in the diary more and more. She eventually says, 'He's the only one who's any fun to talk to, really,' saying that she finds his pure curiosity in investigating things to be refreshing, (as opposed to the Galaxy people, whose research is motivated by protection/safety but claims to be scientific; or the Pearl/Diamond clan's petty squabbles and nonsensical arguments) and his directness about his motivations refreshing too (he's a merchant, he's being friendly because it's good business). It stands in contrast to everyone else. The other Gingko guild folks are fine enough but not particularly engaged in talking with her, the way Volo is. And just not . . . hmm. The sort of person who's interesting, she supposes. He's engaging, intriguing. Still, June knows she musn't be too open with things when talking to him. She knows nothing about the charismatic merchant, nothing about anyone really, and she must be careful in this world.

"He never talks about his past. I often wonder why. I can tell he's carrying secrets, though. I try to ask him about his past, but he always deflects. Sometimes I think he's a criminal on the run from the law, and he's traveled to this region to avoid punishment. He could be a serial murderer, for all I know. Of course, he might simply not want to think about his past, perhaps something painful happened to him or his family. It could be many things, really. We all have our reasons for keeping secrets, I suppose . . . I won't try to push it, just see what he feels like sharing."

Volo begins to flip more hastily through the diary to directly hunt for mention of his name. He sees their interactions through her point of view now. He is pleased with the effectiveness of his infiltrations but also impressed with her attention to detail and her sharp observations and analyses and continued caution. Her descriptions of him stroke his ego and the entries continue they grow more and more flattering, more and more detailed. He gets to the part where she is analyzing the comments he'd left in the margins of that novel.

June stirrs and he quickly puts the diary away.

When she recovers enough, she's embarassed she worked herself hard enough to get to that point, and is very apologetic to Volo. He tells her not to worry about it, it wasn't any trouble for him; she just had to promise him she'd take better care of herself in the future.

*****

She is asked to quell the final Noble. She drags her feet getting around to it. She needs to earn a 5 Star Rank before they let her go there. She's earned plenty of research points for that but delays telling them, pretends she needs to get more research done.

She's trying to learn more. She's afraid once she quells the last one, the rift will close and she will never get home. She tells this to Volo. But she can't delay forever, she knows; sooner or later Team Galaxy will catch wise. The two settle on a plan; June will try to hunt for those plates and those verses with Ursaluna. And Volo will do what he can to find out more for her, too. They decide to meet up again in a few days, choose a place and time.

Eventually, even with what info June turns up, it's not enough. And Volo has his own contacts, but they insist that they have nothing more to tell him. They are still no closer to understanding this mystery.

"In truth, June, it seems the best shot we have at learning more is for you to face this final Noble. Perhaps doing so will help us learn more about these strange frenzies. Perhaps the others are right and something may happen once you calm them all."

"Yeah . . . I was afraid you were going to say that."

He tells her that he's sorry he couldn't be of more help to her. She shakes her head, says it isn't his fault.

He tries to comfort her.

"Who knows, June. Perhaps nothing will happen when you calm the final one. Or something will, but the rift may not close, that's just pure speculation, something else could happen. Perhaps the Almighty will be pleased with your work and send you home!"

She chuckles.

"That's always possible. Although I dunno if I believe in Sinnoh."

"Oh? . . . I suppose an outsider has no real reason to. . ."

June apologizes and realizes it was probably a rude thing to say. He says that no, he's glad that she feels comfortable enough around him to be honest. She asks if he believes in Sinnoh. He says he knows it by a different name, but that he does indeed; he's studied it for most his life. 'What more proof do you need than this strange rift in the sky and the fact that you are here?' June explains her perspective. That portals to other realms are not beyond the realm of possibility. That she may not need the explanation of divine intervention for them. They simply may be an aspect of nature, the same way that the sky, the air, the trees, the sun are . . . and that strange lightning. Perhaps that is just a weird sort of weather. Odd that it strikes the Nobles, but uhm, maybe it's like a lightning rod and hits the strong ones, you know? Who knows. Point is. She doesn't know. But. It is possible that Sinnoh exists and brought her here. She really doesn't know. They are quiet and thoughtful a while.

He speaks again.

"Well. The only way for us to learn is to keep asking questions, to keep searching for answers, and to keep moving forward."

She agrees that is true, smiling faintly. He asks if she is ready. She nods.

*****

When nothing seemed to change after quelling the final Noble, June was glad. The forboding hole in the sky frightened everyone but her. Where they saw fear, she saw hope that she might still return home. They returned to Jubilife and dined on bland, tasteless mochi that sat heavy in her stomach, while the Professor nattered on about pokedex work. There was a certain comfort in it.

The next morning, it all went to shit.

Even June was frightened at the sight of the blood-red sky, which made the rift look like an open wound. It seemed like armageddon. When they summoned her to a meeting, she wasn't too surprised what came next. Was she angry? Yes. But she wasn't surprised. Part of her had always hoped she had been wrong about the Commander, about all the people here, and that they wouldn't turn on her, so it still hurt when it happened, but it really didn't surprise her. That asshole had been looking for a scapegoat the day she landed here, and today she was the lamb chosen for the slaughter. They whispered and stared as she was led out of town like some kind of criminal.

For what it was worth, the professor and Rei tried to help her, sort of. They suggested she seek out the Diamond and Pearl clans. However, the clan's respective leaders could only offer sympathy. They explained they could not help June, lest they risk war with Team Galaxy. The professor and Rei likewise were unwilling to directly disobey their superiors and risk banishment themselves. There was a lot of hand-wringing and sad looks, but not much else. After everything she'd done for them, all the times they swore she was family now, that they had her back. Not a single person stepped up to help her in return, now that she really needed it most.

They sent her away into the wilderness, alone. She had her big backpack stuffed with everything she could carry, and her team of six bug alphas, pokemon who still hardly knew her at all, since she rarely had opportunity to even bond with them. She sat on the hill overlooking Gruelling Grove, under the blood-red sky, just staring out at the fields numbly and wondering what to do next, and trying not to give into the fear threatening to overtake her.

Eventually, a voice startled her from her dark thoughts, and she looked up, meeting with a familiar, friendly face. The corners of Volo's eyes crinkled and his face lit up with his usual sunny smile, even under the cast of the grim, terrifying sky.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, June," he said.

She had only cried once since she'd fallen through the rift, when Volo had found her dizzy and exhausted that one time, but not since then. She felt the tears begin to fall now, though. Volo spoke soothing words and helped pull her to her feet.

She pulled him into a hug, squeezing him fiercely, causing him to wheeze, sounding startled and flustered.

It had felt like an angel had come to save her.

*****

He brought her to his humble campsite to shelter her. "It isn't much, but it's home, and you're welcome to it," he tells her cheerfully. They sit around a campfire; he makes what are essentially shish kebabs for dinner, chunks of vegetable and meat skewered and roasted over the fire. While they eat, he tells her excitedly about one of his contacts and how he's going to take her there to meet her tomorrow. This mysterious contact was now feeling much more cooperative, once Volo told her that June had quelled the last Noble and apparently met with her approval. He says that she is very wise on the myths passed down from the Celestica peoples of old, and she will surely be able to help them sort out this space-time mystery.

*****

She never paid attention in school when they discussed ancient mythology. In hindsight she wished she had. Maybe if she did, she would have noticed sooner that something was amiss.

It wasn't until the two of them reached the top of Mount Coronet with all the plates, and he chose to reveal his true colors, that she learned the truth. She trusted him right up to the end.

When he told her how he bid Giratina to tear a hole in the sky, the one that she fell through, it felt like being run through with a knife.

*****

After everything that happens on top of that mountain, when June returns and gives her report, she doesn't mention Volo tried to destroy the world and everyone in it. She just says they finished collecting the plates, and climbed to the top of the mountain to see if anything would happen. Giratina appeared there, and she battled it, but it escaped before she could catch it.

Technically, all of it was true. She just left out some important parts, is all.

Later, when she's alone doing her survey work, he finds her and grabs her roughly by the shoulder, hisses at her,

“You! What game are you trying to play here?!”

She asks what he means.

“Don't play dumb. I know you didn't tell your Galaxy fools about me. Why not? If you're hoping to use it as leverage, you can forget it, I won't be anyone's puppet--”

“That's-- that's not why I did it!”

“Then why?”

She confesses she's not exactly sure why.

“I guess I just . . . look, if I told them, I'm not sure exactly what they'd do, I don't know how you even punish someone for that kind of crime, but in the very least they'd do something, banish you from basically all of Hisui, probably. And that's what you deserve. But I also know if they did it, there'd be zero chance of you . . . getting better.”

He demands to know what that means.

“Becoming a better person? It . . . it sounds stupid when I say it outloud, I guess. I know the past few months you've spent just lying to my face and using me, but part of me still wants to believe that maybe a small piece of all that wasn't a lie. That there was a grain of truth to it, that the goodness I saw in you is still buried down in there and wasn't entirely made-up.”

She looks into his eyes, trying to find even a flicker of evidence for that. She's not sure. She can't trust her own judgment, anymore. He stares back for a time, then silently turns and skulks away without another word.

#pokemon #legends arceus #volo #OC #headcanons #I knew the main twist of the ending ahead of time obviously

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