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mynamesaplant · 9 months

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Lost in Transit and Translation (Finale!!)

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Plot synopsis: Subway Boss Ingo finds some lone Pokéballs and decides to hold on to them until the owner can be found. The Pokémon, however, aren’t too keen to stick around some stranger who they can’t understand, and decide to find their trainer on their own.

Characters: Subway Boss Ingo (Pokémon), Subway Boss Emmet (Pokémon), Olivia Kame (OC)

Just for clarification, my OC and her Pokémon's speech is italicized, Ingo's Pokémon speech is in bold, and Emmet's Pokémon speech will be in bold and italicized. I tried to make it clear who was speaking without signifiers, but just in case!

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“Really,” Olivia said again as the nurse sat her down, “it’s not that serious.”

She allowed the Subway Bosses to take her Pokémon to Nurse Joy while she had her leg looked at, although Infernape still stayed away from them, clearly not trusting them. She flinched when the nurse took a pair of tweezers to her raw flesh, removing some small rocks and placing them in a metal basin with small clacks.

“What did you do? Fall off a ledge?”

The nurse scoffed and Olivia pursed her lips, just admitting she fell and saying no more to save herself from a lecture. Out in the main part of the center, Emmet and Ingo received their Pokéballs back and immediately Chandelure burst from her Pokéball, spinning in place before spotting Infernape.

You!

Infernape flinched at her sharp, loud voice. She zipped over to him, getting into his face, and he leaned back because she began speaking so rapidly that it became hard for him to follow.

You do not understand them! This whole time- Why not just say that? We just want to return you to your trainer. We mean absolutely no harm to you and your cohorts. We- Are we in a Pokémon Center?

She stopped, glancing around at her surroundings. Infernape took her distraction as an opportunity to slowly nudged her back with the tips of his fingers. He took a moment to process her words before replying.

Yes, can you stop yelling now? Your trainer returned us.

Why did you not just say that you could not understand him?

That wasn’t really my biggest concern at the time.

He grumbled in reply as he spied Raichu breaking out of his ball, yelping in alarm when he found himself next to the two men and zooming over to Infernape. Worry was bleeding into his words, his blue eyes huge and anxious.

I know I was half passed out, but where’s our trainer? I could have sworn you said she was here.

He said nervously, glancing over at the two men who quietly made their way over to them. He squeaked and ducked behind Infernape, the Fire type not acting remotely concerned at their approached. Chandelure moved over to Ingo and bumped against him, emitting a worried little sigh which earned her an affectionate pat. The Infernape huffed in exasperation at the Electric type, chattering at him until he peeked his head out.

She said they weren’t trying to hurt us. Calm down.

Infernape told him and, begrudgingly, Raichu popped out, looking over the two strange men with careful consideration.

So… They’re not bad guys?

No, we were wrong.

Infernape looked over to Chandelure and said faintly,

We’re sorry. You were right, we were confused.

Her eyes softened a little when he apologized and she came a little closer, she could see him tense a little, like he expected her to hit him with her metal arms, but she gently bumped against his shoulder.

It was a mistake. You were frightened and confused- I know I would be if I and any of my cohorts were in a similar situation. I will convey this to the others, but please refrain from getting into trouble any time soon, okay?

I can’t promise anything.

Infernape said, the hint of humor in his tone even if his expression was a little rueful. He looked over at the two humans, chatting about something unintelligibly. The one in black held their Pokéballs, clearly waiting for Olivia to reemerge to return them.

What are they saying?

Infernape asked with narrowed eyes, fixing them with intense stare that seemed to make the one in white’s smile widen. Chandelure twisted to look at her trainer and listen.

Ingo is glad that you are back with your trainer. He hopes she is okay.

They had whisked Olivia away the second they arrived at the Pokémon Center, despite her protests. Infernape was glad, if he was being honest, Olivia had a terrible habit of neglecting her own needs when she thought someone else was in need. He was glad that these men were insistent, their concern for his trainer put the Fire type at ease. Chandelure paused, listening to the conversation while the one in white gestured at him, a glittering in his eyes that made him just a little worried.

Emmet finds you intriguing. He wants to use his favor from… Is Olivia your trainer?

Yes.

Chandelure found it endearing to hear the fondness in the single word. This was a Pokémon who thought highly of their trainer, just like she did, and she could respect that.

Ah. Well, he wants to use his favor from Olivia to challenge her to a Pokémon battle.

Infernape and Raichu both snorted with laughter, which earned them a confused look from Chandelure.

He is being completely serious. Emmet loves to battle more than anything and so do his Pokémon.

He might, but Olivia hates to battle. As long as I’ve known her, and she hand raised me from an egg, she’s never liked battling. So, he might want to save his breath.

The Fire type said sagely, looking at the one in white with a tilted head. Raichu rose gently in the air, nodding along in agreement. She avoided battling at all costs. She hated to see them get injured, even if it did make them a little stir crazy at times. Infernape especially so. This was the first time in a long while where he really got to scratch that competitive itch that constantly felt out of reach. He loved relaxing as much as the next Pokémon, but he needed to flex his considerable talents from time to time.

You do not battle at all?

Chandelure asked incredulously, the idea was ludicrous to her. She had been battling her whole life, it had always been fun and exciting, so the thought of never battling was just too strange for her to wrap her head around.

We’ve been doing a lot more since we came here, but we didn’t used to before.

Raichu admitted, rubbing at his face with his paws because his fur felt dirty from the day’s events. All he wanted to do was curl up and groom himself in the safety of Olivia’s lap. As gross as he felt in this moment, now was not a particularly good time to start his arduous grooming process. His ears twitched when he heard someone cooing.

He glanced in the direction of the noise and wearily looked at the two men, the one in white was practically vibrating with excitement. He said something excitedly to the man in black which made his mouth sort of twitch into a smile.

Why are they looking at me like that?

He asked uneasily, moving in closer to Infernape again, and the Fire type glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, rolling them in exasperation.

Don’t be such a Pichu. Every human thinks you’re cute, you know that. They aren’t going to hurt you.

He impatiently nudged Raichu over to them while he squeaked in fright, cringing in preparation for them to reach out and touch him. They remained completely motionless. The one in white said something to the one in black, he nodded and slowly extended his hand palm out. Raichu looked at the gloved hand and blinked. This was an unexpected change of pace.

What’s their deal? Why do they wear such weird clothes?

He asked, moving a little closer and sniffing the material, faintly smelling his trainer’s scent on the fabric.

For their jobs. They have very important jobs on the Battle Subway.

They look like bad guys. Does this one always look so grumpy?

Raichu asked, glancing furtively at the man in black then back to his hand. The man must have been Chandelure’s trainer, she had the same loving note in her voice that he did when he talked about Olivia.

Yes, but he is very kind.

Chandelure said fondly but this didn’t really make Raichu feel any better. He was anticipating one or both trying to snatch him out of the air like every other human. They never did it quite right. They ended up being a little too rough in their excitement and he begrudgingly accepted this fact. Olivia was the only one who seemed to know how to hold him. She never snatched him up by the tail, picked him up by the scruff, or grab at him, she waited for him to come to her.

The one in black did not try anything like that, he was unusually patient, just holding out his hand to him and waiting to see what he did. Raichu nudged him a little with his nose, silently inspecting the man before tentatively nudging into his palm. The man in black pet him gently, scratching at the base of his ear which almost turned the Pokémon into a puddle right then and there. That was when he started to relax.

The Raichu still seemed to be quite nervous despite the Infernape continued to roll his eyes and grumbled at him. The Fire type had calmed down drastically in watching his trainer interact with them, but her other Pokémon hadn’t, and he didn’t want to cause Olivia’s Raichu any more anxiety. If the Electric type felt comfortable enough to approach him, he would take that as a sign that he could pet him. Emmet patiently waited beside him, he had told Ingo to just hold out his hand and wait, the Raichu looked at his brother’s hands with his big blue eyes, tilting his head ever so slightly.

“Try scratching his ears. They look verrrrrry soft.”

Emmet suggested, keeping his tone low with the weary Pokémon drawing nearer. He had only ever seen a handful of Raichu in his life, but never one up close! Not many came through the Battle Subway. Many foreign trainers didn’t think it was worth the hassle of getting their Raichus through the rigorous Unovan customs process. Ingo did as he suggested and was intrigued to see the Pokémon almost immediately melt into his touch.

“Seems like you have a sweet spot. Good suggestion, Emmet.” Ingo chuckled, raising his other hand to scratch under his chin. To the Pokémon Ingo said, “You’re very cute when you’re not causing trouble.” The Pokémon closed his eyes lazily, his ears flicking against his hand as Raichu drifted closer, finally realizing that the Subway Boss meant no harm. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused?”

The Pokémon peeked up at him, perhaps not fully understanding the meaning of his words, but he understood the gentle but scolding tone. Another flick of the ears and a quiet squeak, he shifted uneasily on his tail.

“He’s the one that started it?”

Emmet asked, extending his hand a little too quickly and the Pokémon flinched away, the barest amount of static crackling on his cheeks. The Infernape nudged him in the back, giving him a disapproving glare at his jumpy behavior.

“It’s alright.” Ingo said, coaxing the little Pokémon back over. “Yes, I should have seen it then. He wasn’t acting quite right. Very anxious.” Raichu gave both a furtive glance and came back over, allowing Ingo and then Emmet to stroke his fur, favoring his belly. “I apologize for frightening you, but I made you all my responsibility. I couldn’t just let precious cargo such as yourself get into trouble.” Ingo explained and the Electric type mewled in reply, the noise sounding a little confused, but again he seemed to follow the tone in the Subway Boss’ voice.

“We kept it to a minimum.” Emmet reminded him, marveling at the uncommon Pokémon in front of him, drinking in details that pictures just never did justice. The glossiness of the burnished fur, the sweet aroma that seemed to emanate from him, the bright electric blue of his eyes that connotated his dual typing. Emmet had met a few Kantonese Raichu and those guys could really light up a room with the sheer amount of static they gave off, but not this one. It was there and Emmet could imagine that when he needed to, the Raichu could really let loose, but his static was about on par with a freshly hatched Joltik. Emmet grinned a little when he leaned into their touch, clearly loving the attention. “You like that?”

The double doors on the opposite side of the room opened and out stepped Olivia, her pant leg cut above the knee where most of the damaged had been incurred and dressed in clean bandaging. Infernape and Raichu were off like shots, racing over to her and tackling her to the ground.

“Yes, yes- hello darlings.”

She said sweetly, feeling like all the wind got knocked out of her before she saw a hand get extended to her.

“You were attended to?”

Ingo asked as he pulled her to her feet and Emmet picked up her bag. She showed them her leg with a little smile.

“The nurse said I was ‘right as rain’. I think that means that I’m allowed to leave.”

Olivia said, a slight frown on her face. It was another phrase she had never heard before coming to Unova, so she could only assume what it meant.

Raichu was cuddling into her shoulder, pawing at her insistently until she scooped him up in her arms. Olivia tried scolding him, but he chittered happily anyway. The Pokémon did not seem to care that he was getting a stern lecture for his behavior, he was just happy to be back where he was supposed to be. Realizing it was pointless, Olivia gave up and shifted uneasily. Although she knew she had said it plenty before, she said it one more time for good measure.

“I know you told me to stop apologizing but thank you for keeping them safe and I am sorry that I caused you so much trouble by losing them. I will be… What’s the word?”

She paused, searching her mind. It was like polite, but it was more related to a specific task.

“Cautious?”

“No, er… Oh! Diligent! Yes, I will be more diligent in the future.”

“We expect so, Ms. Olivia.”

Ingo gave her a nod with a tip of his hat and Olivia returned, her mouth hinting at a smile now that she was more relaxed. Emmet cleared his throat before he pulled the card from his pocket and handed it back to her, Olivia looked at him curiously. Since seeing her Pokémon, particularly her Infernape, in action, he wanted the opportunity to battle them. He anticipated it being a fun match.

“I would like to use my favor now, please. If you have some time to spare.”

“Emmet,” his brother started reproachfully, “Perhaps another time would be better.”

“There’s no time like the present, Ingo.” Emmet replied beaming, she was on the verge of accepting the card back when he told her intentions. “I would like to have a Pokémon battle with you.”

Her fingertips froze inches from the card, and she withdrew her hand and shoved into a pocket, an odd look on her face. Olivia obviously hadn’t been expecting him to ask that and her face scrunched in confusion. Why would he want to battle her?

“Oh, uh… I apologize, I know I said anything, but I cannot accept that. I’d be happy to do anything else.”

She replied slowly, not looking at him. Frontier Brains were so hard to read. They kept everything close to the vest. They wanted to keep people guessing because it was a part of their strategy.

“I am Emmet and, as you said before, I like winning more than anything else. I would like to battle you.” He said insistently and he felt Ingo nudge him in the side with an elbow. He was being stubborn. She clearly wasn’t interested. “Ah, perhaps another time would be better?”

“The answer will be the same.”

She said firmly, unseen had curling and uncurling in her pocket. Olivia had caught him cutting a look to her Infernape, his interest was piqued, and she could see his brain working frantically behind those assessing gray eyes. If Olivia was being perfectly honest, both of them intimidated her in the same way Palmer had. She could tell they were very smart. She remembered her best friend back home, who incessantly talked about battling and training, talk about people like them. Olivia had personally met people like the Subway Bosses in the past. Not in battle, just in passing. They were all master strategists who craved competition; they craved worthy opponents, and she was certainly not that.

“That’s unfortunate, but I suppose I could take you up for a coffee sometime. Maybe by then you will have a change of heart.”

The coffee was not the suggestion of a date. Emmet was hoping to find some way to ingratiate himself to her so that she would feel comfortable enough to battle him. He couldn’t help but notice the small glare she shot him, like she already knew that he would still try to cajole her into a battle thanks to his paper-thin excuse. This small sliver of personality shining through made him grin widely. It was abundantly clear to Emmet and Ingo that the bonds Olivia shared with her Pokémon were incredibly strong. That indicated to them the prospect of an interesting opponent. It had seemed odd that she said no because her Infernape was practically built for battle, if their chase through Nimbasa had been any indication.

He had moves, agility, strength, and intelligence that only came from spending a lot of time breeding a Pokémon, something Emmet was very familiar with. Olivia’s Infernape alone would have made a battle worthwhile to either Subway Boss, but she seemed extremely adamant about it. It was the only thing she seemed stern about, her whole disposition having changed when Emmet brought it up.

“It wouldn’t be a battle worth your time.”

Olivia answered offhandedly as she took her bag and Pokéballs back from them. The statement had earned her some raised eyebrows.

“I would like to be the judge of that.”

Emmet said, starting to feel excitement burning in his gut. She was a lot more interesting than either of them had anticipated. She had said it with such certainty too.

“I promise, it would bore you to tears. I can barely remember type matchups much less anything else, so you’d run circles around me with a single Pokémon and I don’t need my ass kicked by a professional today or any other.”

She assured them matter-of-factly, returning each of her Pokémon and stuffing all three balls in her bag, into an inside zippered compartment and closed the flap, clicking it shut. To her dismay, what she had said didn’t seem to discourage them, it only served to make them curious.

“Anything else,” she looked at Emmet and there was a silent plea in her gaze, “anything but that.”

If the Subway Boss noticed the plea, which he most certainly did, he did not heed it as a wide smile creased his face.

“You’re a funny one, Ms. Olivia. I’ll hold on to this card and, at some point, I’ll have you worn down enough to accept my challenge.”

Her look of skepticism made him start laughing because he was perfectly serious. Emmet’s mind already made up. Now it was whirring in preparation for a battle that could be two days or two years from now. Ingo cleared his throat as he dug around in his pockets. Much like his sibling, he could not help but find her a little strange, but also a little interesting- even charming now that her tears had all dried up.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re new to Nimbasa.”

“What gave it away?”

She asked in a flat tone and Ingo felt the edges of his mouth curl a little. A little strange and a little feisty, even if she felt out of her depth and still a little intimidated in their presence. He liked it. She would fit right in here in Nimbasa.

“Call it a hunch.” Ingo said as he pulled a pen and worn wallet from his pockets. “I recall the depot agent saying something along the lines of you being a little lost and in need of directions.”

Emmet nodded and quickly added,

“Also using another language with two Pokémon that aren’t native to Unova.”

That made her flush a little. At least they had not picked the most obvious trait to single her out as a foreigner. People could tell she was Alolan just by looking at her, even if she wasn’t raised there.

“Anyway, if you need help navigating the train lines or unexpectedly lose your Pokémon again, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will always assist lost passengers.”

It was an old card from when he and Emmet were promoted to Subway Bosses. They never really had an opportunity to use them. He scribbled down his number. Emmet was holding out his hand and waiting for Ingo to be done before writing his own. Olivia almost refused it at first, just like Ingo had, but they insisted. She took it and looked at the worn edges, she pocketed without further argument.

“Thank you, I should go home. The nurse said I shouldn’t be on my feet for too long.”

“We could have sat down.”

Ingo said with an imperceptible shake of the head, and she looked over her shoulder, she smiled but didn’t say another word. Olivia stepped out of the Pokémon Center and rotated on the sidewalk, picking a direction, and walking out of sight. Ingo was about to say something to Emmet when he saw her swiftly walking back in the other direction.

“She has no idea where she’s going.” Emmet said, unable to contain another laugh any longer, his brother strode past him shaking his head. “I like her, I can’t wait to battle her.”

“I like her too. I think this whole situation has thrown her off her game, but I’m excited to see what she’s like when she’s on track… Emmet-”

“I already know what you’re going to say. I’m not going to trick her, I’m not going to bully her, but I think she will eventually accept my challenge. I can be very persuasive when I set my mind to it.”

He replied with a sunny grin as they stepped outside and called for Olivia, offering her directions which she sheepishly accepted.

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And that concludes this story! Thank you everyone so much for reading and sticking with me. I will be adding this to my AO3 and you can read some of my other fics there.

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