#she's from Sinnoh but never really stays in one place too long before moving on someplace new

[platinumrosetail]

So i got a request on my lmk x pokemon trainer!reader image and i decided to do part 2 sooner than i thought i would.

(Also sorry if you wanted to stay anonymous, i could always edit it.)

Here’s part 1

Prompt: the lmk group along with a few others got transported to another world not knowing that this world was were it holds the person that they met not too long ago.

Reader will be gender neutral.

This also contains ‘the king, the prince, and the shadow.’ Episode so spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched it yet.

When you woke up after helping the group get the third ring you find yourself in your old world, in your living room;nothing changed really, it looks to as you never been gone from this world at all, the only ting proving it wasn’t a dream is the drawing mk made for you that has the whole group in it, including a meditating monkey king.

You decided to just live out you life like it normally was but before that you put the drawing in a frame and made sure to put it in a good place and made sure it doesn’t fall and break before turning away from it and heading towards your bedroom to call it a night since it was in fact night when you suddenly appeared back to your old world.

Of course you were so unaware of what’s to come into your life a few weeks later. While you were getting back to your routine you had before the whole transportation happen the group were worried about your disappearance not knowing that you went back to your world sadly not able to say goodbye with the unexpected event happened at night and the fact they don’t know this made them worry that maybe the lady bone demon found out about your predicament and decided to use you for her plan.

They decided to worry about it later since they could save you with the samadhi fire if you were indeed captured by her. They were finally at the mountain that had created the samadhi fire in the first place. Yada yada the same events happens sept for the fact that instead of mei leaving like she had planned she suddenly disappeared when a portal literally appeared in front of her not giving her much time to react to it before the portal disappeared as fast as it came making it seem as it never was there to begin with; the group were shocked.

Afterwards the rest of the group started disappearing one after the other. Macaque who was unable to fully leave like he intended to because of a powerful source stopping him from doing that was shocked at what is happening before feeling something slither up one of his leg and when he looked at his leg he saw some substance that was black with different colored glittering it along with star like patterns flashing every now and then.

You were finally in galar after a long plane ride, your going to stay there to see the new chairman, Leon; one of you old childhood friends but you sadly had to move for reasons you forgot, you were also of course friends with raihan and sonia so you were obviously going to visit them as well but first you need to visit both the new chairman and new champion which was a girl that was around hop age named Gloria.

Your the new champian for sinnoh after defeating Cynthia when you were in your teens/preteens (i didn’t know what age range to do so i did this so you could decide.)

Your Pokémon team consists of your starter, infernape, a zoroark your parent got you that also started as a egg, a gallade and gardevoir, and a espeon along with it’s sibling umbreon. (Sorry that you didn’t get to pick your Pokémon team but this just makes it easier for me.)

Yada yada boring conference that both had you and Leon bored, but it finally was over so as to get the boredom out of you, you decided to go to the wild area after slplittng up with Leon; you forgot how bad his sense of direction is though. You took the train instead of the corviknight taxi.

You would just be there for a minute or two be leaving though. While exploring you see many pokemon some reminded you of the people you met at the other world, you also started gaining crush for……..

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Time flew past you, you found a group of baby Pokémon of different species playing with each other so you decided to join them and that’s what made you not notice what time it was and how long it was before finally getting up to leave.

You and Leon decided to have a Pokémon battle tomorrow with lots of people watching so you wanted to make sure you had a good enough rest before the battle.

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It was finally the day of the battle, you went and made sure everything was sept and in order before checking on your Pokémon. After making sure they were settled and ready, you were off to the stadium in window now.

Now onto the lmk group, they decided to go to this stadium that had a big crowd of course the event was free and it was live for those who could’ve make it, they didn’t know that the one they were going to see in the battle would be; so when they saw you battling chairman Leon they were obviously shocked and that you were wining. They were even more shocked than before about the dynamax forms the last Pokémon of both of y’all’s growing gigantic (also pretend one if you pokemon has a gigantimax form for if you want.)

When it was over until the next battle they came sneaking into the locker room and good thing you were alone too because they’re appearance and all would freak out others.

They surprised you for sure, you all talked, made jokes and all of that and also calling for some food as well, the one to bring it was shocked by how much food but brush it over probably think it was for you and some friends made; the poor person had to carry that much food so you made sure tip them for their service.

Sadly it was time for the next battle so you had to escort them out of the locker room so Gloria doesn’t see and freak out;they somehow didn’t get attention from the first battle so you hoped that it would work like before.

You and Gloria finally started battling and to say they least they were impressed even more by you strategy, in fact the battle came out as a tie.

Finally it was over of course you introduced them to your friends and they all got along with the exception of the cocky ones trying to challenge each other but that got a bonk on the head by you so no trouble would be caused any further.

After all of that you snuck them in your hotel room that you got while staying here.

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One day while they were here, flowers appeared on where you sleep it also had a note attached to it, it said to meet them at fountain, it was early in the morning so you hurried and got into your clothes that keeps you comfortable and warm because of the cool air that appears here in the morning.

The person who left you was….. and apparently is going to confess, of course you acted cool( by that you were stuttering because you don’t really date much/at all.) in the end you stayed yes.

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(Bonus: they met you parent…………… plot twist you’re the child of arceus. (You can take this serious or as a joke, i thought it was funny if i added it in.))

So i hope ya’ll like it!!! I tried making it for everyone, and seeing as this is my first time making a gender neutral i obviously going to make a or more mistakes so please if you see one of more, please do tell me I’ll try and change it as soon as i can. Hope y’all like it and have a amazing day/evening/night!!!

(Edited for a reblog): The only way for me to do an ending for the characters is if I have a prompt on what going to go down in the confession and I don’t have one, so if you like to have a ending for a character of your choice then you can request me with a prompt on how they confess and I’ll see what I can do from there. Sorry for the inconvenience though!😅

Also remember to check out my rules first before you request

#lego monkie kid x reader #lmk macaque #sun wukong x reader #macaque x reader #various #gender neutral reader #anime crossover #Pokémon #anime #lmk x reader #lego monkie kid #monkie kid mk #monkie kid #mk #monkey king

[danni-dollarsign]

I just realized I never posted her here shfdshfjds - my new oc, Nora! She’s a ghost-type aficionado as well as a skilled spirit-work witch. I love heerrrrrrrr ^w^

(also my homie @/missusk made art of her too pls lookie-lookie~: https://missusk.tumblr.com/post/650736778988421120/eleanora-fan-of-ghosts-oc-of-danni-dollarsign )

#pokemon #oc #original character #trainersona #Nora #Misdreavus #she's from Sinnoh but never really stays in one place too long before moving on someplace new #she's currently in Galar! #she studies ghosts and occultism #and is known for having a unique connection to spirits and entities despite not being gifted with the ability to SEE ghosts #she's learned to feel them instead #uhg I love her #(((cough cough she's also a dandere cough cough)))

[imfluentinfangirlandgay]

In Which They Needed Cosmic Help - Ch 17

Summary: Ingo never really knew what to do at parties. This was an important celebration, the Pokedex had just been completed, after all. The Gods were conquered.

He didn't expect a sudden appearance of a familiar face because of an almighty deity, though.

Word Count: 1390

Hurt/Comfort, slight angst

That night, the three of them sat at their kitchen table, eating some takeout from the Sinnoh-an restaurant down the street. The twins hoped that it would make Akari feel more at home in Unova, and they felt it was appropriate to celebrate a successful day. They ate their respective food with smiles and laughs, their Pokemon joining in on the fun. The two men made train puns and simply talked for the sake of talking, Akari giving her own account of some of the funnier battles today.

They ate quickly. Before long, Ingo was packing up their trash and preparing to take it out.

“Uh, um. Is it… I think I’d like to talk about… before Hisui. If that’s okay.” Akari recognized that her tone cut through the happy atmosphere like a knife through butter. Ingo stopped his hands, watching her with his head cocked to the side. He put down the trash and sat back down at the table, taking off his hat. Emmet took his off as well, giving her his full attention.

Now that they were there, she didn’t know where to start. Maybe this was a bad idea, they’d just make her leave now and they’d not want her involved in the Subway anymore, she’d be left alone like she had before all of this had started and this time she didn’t have Gabite-

“Breathe, passenger. We have all the time in the station.” Ingo stretched out an ungloved hand, patting hers softly. Samurott nuzzled her cheek. It knew how sore this subject was.

“Well, I uh.” She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “I grew up in Sinnoh. My mom and dad didn’t get along, and my mom left pretty early on. I lived with just my dad for a long time. As you could probably imagine. It was fine, we just moved around a lot. He could never stay in the same place for long. I never knew why.

“Eventually, he left too. I don’t think he died, but I really don’t know. One day, he just left the house and he never came back. He took his partner Pokemon too, a Zangoose. I used to love that Zangoose. It would watch over me while my dad wasn’t home and make sure I got fed and was warm. He took it with him, leaving behind a Gible. It had been following us for awhile and Dad said I could keep her around as long as she didn’t bother him.

“After he left, I stayed in the house for months. I waited for him to come back, but he never did. I eventually left and asked around and no one had ever heard of him before. Or me. So I left town with Gible and tried to find him myself. It seemed like no matter where I went, nobody had ever heard of him. Even the police didn’t know. They tried sending me to a foster home but I left. I didn’t want to go.

“He left when I was ten. I stayed around in Sinnoh for almost five years. Gible eventually evolved into a Gabite and I started training her more competitively to try to get my name out there. Find a job. I got her into an actual Pokeball at one point so I could safely transport her around the region. I named her Stella. I was about to fight the second Gym leader in the region when I blacked out in the middle of town one day, behind some trash.

“I don’t think anyone saw me. I remember something talking to me as I floated through a void, and then I woke up in Hisui. Without Stella. Professor Laventon met me at the beach and started talking to me about all these things and asking me so many questions but I just didn’t know how to answer them. I have no idea where Stella is, if she’s okay. For all I know, she’s been stuck inside her ball for months. The last thing I remember is being in Hearthome City by the Stadium and then I just blacked out.” Akari stopped, her voice still strong. She was proud that she was able to get through the whole story without starting to cry.

“I think that’s why Arceus chose me. Not because I was really good with Pokemon or a great Trainer, but because no one would notice I was gone. I wasn’t its first choice because it was me, I was just there and convenient. I was basically a ghost kid that hadn’t died yet. If I had died, no one would even have noticed except Stella.” Her voice was starting to break, but she held fast at her tears.

Ingo and Emmet sat at the table and looked at her, both men emanating sadness. “Akari…” Ingo reached over and hugged her. Emmet was right behind his brother, taking her other side. “Poor lost soul.” They both enveloped her, their matching silver heads resting on her shoulders. She felt the tears before she realized they were there. She wrapped her arms around both of them, closing the circle. Samurott laid its head on top of hers, nuzzling the tears away from her eyes. It crooned at her quietly.

“I am Emmet. And you now live here. We are all the Subway Bosses.” His voice was muffled against her shirt.

“We won’t up and disappear on you.” Ingo paused. “At least, not knowingly. I’ve had my fill of unwarranted track changes and major delays.” Akari giggled wetly.

“That’s… all I needed to hear. Thank you…” The three stayed like that for a long time. Akari’s arms were beginning to ache by the time they separated. “There is…one other thing. I actually used a different name in Sinnoh than in Hisui. I just made Akari up. It sounded more old-timey.”

Emmet and Ingo nodded together. “Would you prefer us to call you by your original name?”

Akari considered it for a moment. “I… don’t think so. I was thinking about going back to my old name but I think I like Akari better. Akari has done better things than… the old me did.”

“I believe both Akari and before-Akari did the best they could,” Ingo atoned. “But we will happily continue to refer to your cab as Akari.”

Chandelure floated into the kitchen and made an odd shrieking sound. Ingo, Emmet, and Akari all looked up, confused. “Chandie? What’s wrong?” It floated away, beckoning with one steel arm for them all to follow. The humans and their Pokemon did, obediently, down the hall and into the twin’s bedroom.

The Sneasel egg sat where Ingo had left it two days ago, resting peacefully on the dresser surrounded by a blanket. Except now, the egg was cracked. It rustled. “The egg!” Akari whispered. “It’s hatching!” They all crowded around the egg, watching it with bated breath as it shook once. Twice. Three times.

A tiny purple claw extended out of the egg, pushing its way through the shell and effectively cleaving part of the egg in half. Another appeared moments later, allowing the egg to finally open completely. The shell crumbled away, revealing a tiny bundle of lavender fluff. It shook off the remnants of the eggshell, scratching behind it’s small feather with its claws. It stretched, little arms moving for the first time. It opened its eyes, blinking in the dark. Ingo had turned the lights off to ensure they didn’t hurt the poor thing’s eyes. It squeaked.

Akari almost cried just from how cute it was. It was so small. Its head seemed a little too big for the rest of it, its teeny little arms and legs taking up not much space. Its little claws were a lighter purple than an adult’s. Maybe it couldn’t make poison yet? Its red eyes were large, peering around in the darkness. Ingo’s eyes sparkled, glistening with new tears as he watched the kit hatch. Emmet’s grin was the widest she had seen it yet.

The kit looked between them all, confused. Ingo reached forward and petted its small head, rubbing its fur the way he’d watched Sneasler do with her kits numerous times. “Hello, little one,” he spoke softly. It grabbed onto his hand with its tiny claws, not yet sure how to wield them. “Your mother entrusted you to my care. I promise I will raise you to be the strongest you can in her memory.” The little Sneasel didn’t give any indication it knew what he was saying.

It reached up, asking to be picked up. Ingo lifted it from the remains of its egg into his arms. Emmet patted its little feather, Akari playing with its feet. It squeaked again at the ticklish sensation. “Welcome to the family.”

[Start] - [Previous] - [Next]

#warden ingo #subway bosses #submas #pokemon ingo #pokemon arceus #pokemon emmet #emmet and ingo #ingo #subway boss emmet #subway boss ingo #pokemon legends arceus #legends arceus ingo #do not steal #blankshippers dni #i will eat your liver #my writing

[smallersocksx]

My Problems with the Pokémon Journeys Anime

Pokémon Journeys as an anime has divided the Pokémon community in so many ways but in particular last week’s episode has sparked a lot of debate and personally, I had mixed feelings about the end result. So, I thought I would write down my opinions on the Pokémon anime in its current state and comparing it to some of the previous anime.

I feel the need to say this: these are my opinions I am just as entitled to my opinions as you are to yours, so you don’t have to read this if you don’t want to. Secondly, this will probably be a long post but I’m going to split it into sections so it’s hopefully not too overwhelming.

But these feelings have been building up and up and I think I’ll feel better writing them all down and getting them off my chest to some extent.

Introduction:

So, I’ve essentially been a fan of Pokémon for as long as I can remember particularly watching the anime when I was very young. The anime didn’t really begin to stick with me though until around AG and DP in particular. The first Pokémon game, I played was DP which is why I have a particular fondness for that series and that cast of characters and Pokémon.

I didn’t watch the series as intently around the time of BW because I found Iris’ character rather annoying and I understand she developed and grew as the series went on but that initial characterization of her kind of ruined the series for me. But I did dip in and out of the series mostly for Ash’s Snivy.

My friend recommended that I watch the XY series and I fell in love with the cast and the storytelling that the series provided as it reminded me of DP. Sun and Moon was a good series as well providing fans with some of the most heart-breaking and tear-jerking episodes to date. (And Rowlet).

When they announced that Journeys was Ash travelling around the world instead of staying and travelling in a specific region, I’ll admit I was sceptical. To be honest, I kind of preferred the old formula particularly as I’m a creature of habit myself but I decided to give this new series a chance as the premise did sound interesting and there was the potential for Ash to reunite with some of his old travelling companions.

With the benefit of hindsight, I realise this was one of the problems: the series kind of relies heavily on the nostalgia provided by older fans.

The Premise:

The whole premise of Journeys was Ash and his new friend, Goh travelling the world and there lies one of the series biggest problems. For a series that is meant to be about travelling around the world, a bulk of the series has been set in Kanto in particular Vermillion City where Sakuragi/Cerise Lab is situated. Now that shouldn’t be a problem as Ash and Go need a place to stay and go home to. The problem is we are nearly 60 episodes into the series, they hardly seem to leave Vermillion City or Kanto for that matter.

I went through all the episode synopses released so far to see how many episodes Ash and Go travelled to an alternative region. In this case a visit to a different region only counts if Ash and Goh (and Chloe) visit the region therefore episode 32 wouldn’t count:

Johto – 2 episodes

Hoenn – 4 episodes

Sinnoh – 2 episodes

Unova – 2 episodes

Kalos – 2 episodes

Alola – 1 episode

Galar – 11 episodes

Arguably, as this is meant to a Gen 8 anime, its not particularly shocking that they have visited Galar the most especially as Ash hopes to battle Leon someday. Nevertheless, the initial premise and selling point of the Journeys series is travelling the world and yet only 2/5 of the series so far has been set outside of Vermillion City. They promised the world (no pun intended) and are kind of falling flat…

 Goh and his goal:

Now Goh is certainly a character that has divided the community some love him and some definitely hate him. Personally, I’m in the middle, I like Goh’s personality I thought his rational and logical personality made him a great counterbalance for Ash. The problem I have with him is: his goal, his rapid character development, and his status as a protagonist.

1)  ��His Goal:

Goh’s goal is to catch every Pokémon in existence and considering there over 800 Pokémon that is a lofty goal to begin with. Initially, I thought it was an interesting goal as we never had a character wanting to catch every Pokémon as there are some trainers in the anime universe who only specialise in a specific type, some who catch only cute Pokémon, some who only catch evolutionary lines etc. Therefore, I thought this was an interesting goal and wondered how they would execute its portrayal and there lies the problem…

Goh was named after the game Pokémon Go and is essentially being used as a walking advertisement for Pokémon Go and the Let’s Go series as his gimmick is throwing a Poke Ball at a random Pokémon which can get pretty old very fast. I honestly didn’t understand the need to create a character to promote these games as it has been 4 years since the release of Pokémon Go. Arguably, they could be trying to re-ignite the hype around Pokémon Go as after the initial excitement a lot of people stopped playing or uninstalled it as it was taking up a lot of space on their phone.

One of the things, I particularly love about the anime series is not only the human cast gaining character development but their Pokémon as well. Around the AG series, the writers really begun improving on giving each Pokémon their own unique personality traits as well as traits of their species. It gave the Pokémon more depth and made them memorable for example there’s Dawn’s prideful Piplup, Brock’s weird and wonderful Sudowoodoo who would salute every time he came out of his Poke Ball, Clemont’s gluttonous Chespin and Serena’s shy Eevee to later a confident Sylveon. The list could go on and on but I think you get the point. Therefore, this gives me my second issue with Goh’s goal.

Goh’s goal is to catch every single Pokémon currently in existence, with so many Pokémon, there is difficulty feeling any attachment to them. Cinderace and Sobble (and now Grookey) are the Pokémon Goh is most seen with, needless to say, Cinderace underwent a lot of development and was interested in battling which to be honest I found a little strange as Goh’s goal doesn’t particularly align with Cinderace’s interests. Nevertheless, it is clear that Cinderace is Goh’s ace and utilises him when he does need to battle. Sobble didn’t receive any development until 26 episodes after his capture. However, aside from Cinderace and Sobble we don’t feel any particular attachment to his other Pokémon, one strength is that anime does give each of his Pokémon some spotlight like Goh using his Goldeen to teach Jinny’s Feebas how to swim elegantly but aside from that.

My final issue with Goh’s goal is development, from a story-telling point of view his goal isn’t that engaging like with some of the other goals we’ve had in the series. Take Dawn for example her goal is to be Top Coordinator in order to do that she needs to win 5 Ribbons, participate in the Grand Festival and win the Ribbon Cup. On paper it sound simple but it’s not, we have Dawn’s arc where she lost twice in the Performance Stage fell into depression, lost confidence in her abilities and was uncertain as to whether or not she was a good coordinator. It wasn’t until she befriended May and competed against her that Dawn found a renewed sense of confidence in her abilities, even after that Dawn still lost a few contests before being able to compete in the Grand Festival where even then there were a few rough moments like her battle with Ursula.

My point is even though Dawn (and May’s) goal looks simple on paper they had a lot of struggle to get there. Whereas, with Goh’s goal and the current execution of it, I don’t get that same sense of story-telling especially when he’s already caught a Legendary Pokémon, there just isn’t that same level of struggle. The most I could see Goh struggling at this moment is not catching a Pokémon the first time round.

2) His rapid development

One of the biggest issues I have with Journeys is pacing and development, and this issue isn’t just exclusive to Goh. In the beginning, Goh is a rookie trainer after catching Scorbunny and as we saw in the Flute Cup his lack of battling experience caused him to be eliminated very quickly and yet 29 episodes later, he’s defeating a Flygon with a Fire-type and using a technique Ash had once used himself in his battle against Grant. I understand Ash and Goh are close friends and understandably their traits are going to rub off on one another for example Goh’s logic and caution has rubbed off on Ash to the extent Ash had his Dragonite use Dragon Dance in his battle with Korrina. Before this, we’d never seen Ash use these types of moves in his Pokémon battles. I have no issues with Goh developing as a character, everyone loves good character development, my issue is with how rapid it is.

I’ll use Dawn’s arc as an example again, I loved it because it was well-paced, in the first season of DP Dawn was overconfident in her abilities which led to some losses particularly towards the end of the first series and Dawn didn’t fully recover from this until nearly midway through the second series of DP. Arguably, Ash’s influence has caused Goh to develop an interest in battles but I feel like we haven’t seen him go through enough battles to justify the level he is at.

3) His status as a Protagonist

To be honest, I didn’t realise Goh has a protagonist status until someone pointed it out to me, I just saw him as another one of Ash’s travelling companions. This is one of the biggest issues Goh haters have with him and that’s feeling as though Goh is taking the spotlight away from Ash and there are a lot of episodes focusing on Goh. Arguably, Ash has taken on the role of mentor like Brock had done once for him. However, my issue with Goh’s protagonist status is that I don't feel like Goh's goal justifies him having it, even in episodes focusing on Ash and his participation in the World Coronation Series, Goh still manages to catch a Pokémon which as I mentioned before it got old pretty fast. I can understand some people would see this as a good thing they are both closer towards their goals but if an episode advertises its going to focus on one character, I want it to focus on that character.

In some of the previous series when May, Dawn and Serena were participating in Contests or Showcases, Ash would generally put his training the back burner and support his friends. Likewise, his travelling companions would support him during his gym battles. In some cases, Ash would even get ideas for his own battles from watching them compete like the Counter Shield from Ash watching Dawn and Ambipom.

Sometimes, I feel like Goh is there for the sake of being there like in Episode 56, I honestly felt like him and Scyther/Scizor didn’t need to be there. The episode did focus on Ash and Farfetch’d relationship improving but I felt like the only reason Goh was there was to have his Scyther evolve their presence at the training camp didn’t really contribute anything to the story.

Ash and his Pokémon:

Whenever Ash starts a new journey, he always starts with a clean slate leaving his most recent Pokemon with Professor Oak or Kukui. One of the things that excites fans the most is guessing which new Pokemon from the new generation Ash would catch. Arguably, since Sun and Moon, certain traditions have been turned on their head. Some of these traditions included:

Ash catching the regional bird e.g., Starly, Pidove, Fletchling etc.

Catching at least one of the region’s starters

Although, in Sun and Moon, Ash never caught the regional bird and it was one of the first series with Ash not having a water-type either. However, in this current series, Ash only has 2 Generation 8 Pokémon being Farfetch’d (which will evolve into Sirfetch’d) and Dracovish. This is kind of understandable as Ash isn’t based or travelling around Galar but to be honest it’s still disappointing.

As many of you know, in the most recent episode Goh caught Grookey completing the Galar starter trio (which I’ll cover later), however, a majority of the fandom wanted Ash to have Grookey as they felt personality-wise Ash would be compatible with the Chimp Pokémon and it would continue the long-held tradition of Ash catching one of the new region’s starter Pokémon which is why this latest capture has sparked a lot of controversy with some people calling Goh a thief.

Personally, I would have liked Ash to catch Grookey but in one of the earlier episodes like when they first visited Galar. The reason for this being the storyline development and I know many will argue Ash is a Champion he doesn’t need a starter at this point but Leon in the Sword and Shield games took on and trained the starter that was left over after the Protagonist and Hop had chosen theirs. However, as I mentioned earlier one of the things, I love about the anime is each Pokémon having their own personality and character but also their own traumas and trials to overcome alongside their trainer this can be particularly reflected in the case of Ash and Infernape.

I am not trying to suggest they re-create the Ash and Infernape storyline with Ash and a Grookey but one of the ways a Pokémon develops as a character is through evolution or in some cases like Pikachu and Bulbasaur choosing not to evolve and finding strength in staying the way that they are. Pokémon when they evolve can go through personality-changes whether that be good or bad but having a Pokemon at its first evolutionary stage allows us to go through that development and journey with them.

Which is one of the issues, I have with the series, Ash caught two fully evolved Pokémon being Dragonite and Gengar. Before anyone gives me any grief, I love Dragonite and Gengar’s personalities but as they are fully evolved, we don’t get that same sense of development as we’ve had with some of Ash’s other Pokémon. The only development I could see for these two is potentially learning a new move or overcoming a stronger Pokémon alongside Ash. But having two fully evolved Pokémon makes it difficult to go on a journey of development alongside them. There is also the fact, Dragonite and Gengar are meant to be incredibly strong Pokémon and yet Ash hardly uses them.

Another one of the biggest issues in Journeys as previously mentioned is Ash not fully utilising his team. Whenever, a battle occurs Ash either uses Pikachu or Lucario, the others are kind of pushed to the side and that annoys me so much particularly with Farfetch’d and Gengar. I’ll start with Gengar, Gengar was abandoned by its previous trainer and told to wait in an abandoned building that would later become Cerise Laboratory and in the earlier half of the series (before Riolu) Ash utilised Gengar a lot like in his battle with Visquez and Team Rocket but after Riolu came along Ash used Gengar less and less. In Episode 57, Gengar was taking its anger out on Renji, Chloe and Chrysa and Chloe pointed out that it may have been angry Ash left it behind. This is what I found frustrating; Ash is kind of repeating the behaviour of Gengar’s previous trainer.

Next is Farfetch’d, personality-wise Farfetch’d reminds me of Ash’s Buizel and Hawlucha, with how prideful and aloof it is. I feel like the writers thought they couldn’t flesh out Lucario any further so they decided to focus on Farfetch’d and after two Farfetch’d-focused episodes I can’t help but feel that Farfetch’d is going to evolve in the next episode and that’s what annoys me, that is lazy writing, they haven’t given time to develop Ash and Farfetch’d relationship although it has definitely improved since Episode 56, I feel like it’s too soon. Farfetch’d has so much potential to grow as a character before evolving as I previously mentioned evolution in the Pokémon universe can contribute towards development and I feel like for Farfetch’d they’ll use it in a positive light as Sirfetch’d are noted for their fighting spirit and noble personality. But, as I mentioned before, I would have liked to have seen more development before an evolution.

Then there is Dracovish, this was a completely unexpected capture, however, many fans were surprised by how strong Dracovish was in the games. However, Dracovish was captured in Episode 50 and nearly 10 episodes later, we haven’t seen it… On the other hand, many of Dracovish’s Pokédex entries state that it can’t breathe unless its underwater, therefore, applying that logic to the anime world, may make battling with it difficult...

Team Rocket:

One of the biggest complaints’ viewers have is the series use of Team Rocket. Particularly, using their use of the Gacha machine and using them to create easy conflict. I love Team Rocket; they are basically lovable idiots to me. They’re meant to be “bad guys” but we’ve seen on many occasions they’re kindness and compassion such as rescuing a bunch of wild Ekans and Koffing from a Pokémon hunter and releasing their Arbok and Weezing to protect them whilst they distract the hunter, Meowth sympathising and trying to cheer up Litten following Stoutland’s death are just two examples of their kindness.

Nevertheless, the Journeys series has been utilising them poorly using them as convenient plot device and in my opinion Team Rocket deserve so much better than this. Initially, a lot of viewers may have found the Gacha device interesting but much like Goh throwing a Poké ball at a random Pokémon it got old fast. Similar to one of my issues with Goh, we don’t feel any attachment to the Gacha Pokémon they use unlike other series where they had their own Pokémon which I’ll get on to in a minute.

I feel like the writers missed a huge opportunity, as one of the initial selling points of the series, particularly to the older fans was nostalgia. Team Rocket keep some of their old Pokémon in Team Rocket Headquarters and as the series seems to like staying in Vermillion City, Team Rocket could have collected their old Pokémon and use them similar to when they brought some of their Hoennian Pokémon to Sinnoh. I loved some of Team Rocket’s Pokémon like James’ Mime Jr. and Inkay and Jessie’s Gourgeist and her Yanmega was noted to be strong.

Moreover, in series such as AG, DP and XY they expanded on Team Rocket’s role outside of trying to steal. Jessie showed a promising career in Pokémon Coordinating (particularly in DP) and Pokémon Performing, I loved how she became a rival for Dawn and Serena and particularly in XY, Jessie showed maturity in her loss in the Semi-Finals much to Meowth and Gourgeist’s surprise compared to when she begrudgingly congratulated Dawn on her victory. I just loved the fact in these series they expanded on Team Rocket, showed their friendship and support for one another whether it was cheering each other on from the side-lines or willingly helping Jessie in her pursuits of fame and glory. I realize in Journeys, it’s a bit difficult to expand on Team Rocket’s role in this way but they way they are currently using Team Rocket is to be honest kind of insulting to them as characters who we’ve watched grow over the years.

Chloe, Yamper and Eevee

I’ll get this out the way, I honestly love Chloe, and I’ve loved her development so far, I think they’ve gotten the pacing right for her when they’ve given her focus. I think many people like Chloe because she is similar to Serena, in the sense, she doesn’t have a goal and is discovering what she wants to do in life which is something a lot of people find relatable. I think what would be interesting for Chloe’s character if she does decide to be a Pokémon Professor after initially feeling as though the idea was being forced on her by her peers. Anyways, one of the biggest issues with Journeys is pacing, it takes ages before they actually decide to give a character development and ever since Chloe got Eevee, I feel as though Yamper has been pushed to the side (which is kind of ironic as Chloe calls Ash out on this) and I know Yamper is Professor Cerise’s Pokémon but Yamper acknowledges Chloe more than his own trainer. I feel like a great way to use Yamper was for Professor Cerise to actually give Yamper to Chloe when she was old enough to have a Pokémon, as a lot of Chloe’s earlier development was a result of her bond with Yamper.

Next is Eevee, I love Eevee it is one of my favourite Pokemon, but I also feel similar to Goh, she’s a walking advertisement for the Let’s Go Eevee game as she is unable to evolve. However, the fact that Eevee is unable to evolve makes her a good match for Chloe who is uncertain of her own dreams. Nevertheless, what I don’t understand is why they are trying to promote one of their older games in a new generation (especially when Lana’s Eevee (which don’t get me started) should have filled that role). Also, with Chloe catching Eevee, arguably, she should be joining Ash and Goh frequently, this could allow for Chloe and Eevee to develop and find their own path but aside from joining them twice in Galar, they’ve hardly left Kanto. Which is frustrating because I love Chloe and Eevee and I don’t want it to be another 20 episodes before we get any development from either of them.

Structure

I’ve realized that above I’ve kind of been focusing on the characters and some of the issues surrounding them. Arguably, one of Journeys biggest issues is structure or lack of it for that matter and pacing. Everything is all over the place but I’ll cover each section.

Pacing:

One of my biggest gripes with the series is pacing, lately we have been having back-to-back filler episodes and I don’t mind having filler every now and then to give us a break as you don’t want a show to be too content-heavy. And I don’t mind when the filler is at least entertaining but that Gulpin episode from two weeks ago was absolutely pointless, I’m sorry. So much stuff has taken place off-screen and Ash went up by 500 ranks to Rank 415 they could have taken out some of the filler episodes and used it to show Ash training at least or put it towards actual development for characters like Chloe and Eevee or Farfetch’d.

Another issue, I have with the pacing and I think a lot of you will hopefully agree is the pace of Goh catching a legendary Pokemon (which I’m in the middle about). Normally, around the end of the series, all of the respective characters have found or are closer to their goal like Dawn and Serena coming Runner-Up in their respective competitions or having confidence to keep pursuing their goal. This is normally, in the last series of that generation’s anime adaptation but Goh’s already achieved such a huge milestone towards his goal in the second series. I can’t help but feel as though this has been completely rushed.

Continuity:

Continuity in Journeys is strange, I can see it as a strength and a weakness. I’ll start off with the positives, continuity-wise I like the fact that Journeys at least references to past episodes and characters for example episode 57 Chloe’s younger brother says he’s going to a sleepover at his friend, Jinny’s house, the girl with the Feebas from episode 31. Or episode 47, Goh uses his prize from winning the Pokémon Eating Contest to have a dessert tour around Unova’s Castelia City. These small examples of continuity are something I can appreciate. But I can’t help but feel some of the past characters returning are merely fan-service for the older fans, so far, some of the character returns haven’t really contributed to the series’ narrative aside from the Alola episode contributing to Goh’s development.

A good example of utilising a past character is the Wallace Cup arc, with May and Dawn helping each other out of a losing streak and allowing Dawn to renew her confidence. I think no matter the outcome, both Coordinators gained something from the tournament even if Dawn lost to May, I think she would have had a regained her confidence but winning the Aqua Ribbon allowed her to re-affirm her self-belief and skills.

Episodic vs Linear:

Now I’ve watched a few videos on this to have a better understanding, the reason why Journeys feels so unstructured is that for some reason the writers chose to go down an episodic route instead of linear. The best example I know of episodic storytelling is Phineas and Ferb where characters and elements are introduced and can come back. But utilising episodic storytelling in a series like Pokémon feels like an unnatural choice we’re meant to be following these characters and their journeys towards achieving their goals whereas in a linear narrative this would be a lot clearer.

The Setting:

A lot of people have an issue with the fact that a series, that promises travelling the world, it really fell flat. As I have previously mentioned, so far only 2/5 of the episodes have taken place in other regions, most of the time Ash and Goh end up staying in Vermillion City. With the way things are currently being executed, I honestly would have preferred a Sword and Shield anime, with Ash at least travelling around Galar, it would allow for the Galar story to be more fleshed out instead of shoe-horned into a four-episode arc and with the announcement of the Sinnoh re-makes, I feel as though they are going to promote that in some way in the anime later on. (Perhaps with a Dawn cameo).

As I’ve been writing this, I’ve kind of realised one gripe I have with the anime that has become rather blatant as of late. That is the commercialism in the anime, I understand the anime is utilised to promote the game and re-makes of games but with this latest series the commercialism is blatant and honestly annoying. An early example of using the anime to promote a game was the Johto arc in DP to promote HeartGold and SoulSilver. Whereas, currently we have Goh, the human advertisement for Pokémon Go and Chloe’s Eevee promoting Let’s Go Eevee (which I honestly don’t see the need to advertise older games).

The controversary with Grookey…

Needless to say, the latest episode of Pokemon Journeys has sparked a lot of debate and anger particularly from Goh haters who have declared him a thief and are dropping the anime. There are some people who don’t mind Goh catching Grookey, they may have disliked the storyline they used for Goh to catch Grookey. I’ve made my feelings clear, that I would have preferred for Grookey to have been introduced much earlier and for Ash to have caught it.

However, I do have an issue with the way Goh caught Grookey as I can kind of understand why people are calling Goh a thief, I wouldn’t go that far maybe immoral at the most. The initial concept of Grookey belonging to Team Rocket was interesting but the whole story falls flat when they don’t give us any backstory like how did Team Rocket catch Grookey? why was Grookey so desparate to stay with Goh? was Grookey being mistreated by Team Rocket?

Honestly, if Grookey was being mistreated by Team Rocket, I’d understand why it’d want to leave them but this is Jessie, James and Meowth, the trio that released Mimikyu and Mareanie since they didn’t want them to be left in Team Rock Headquarters because they’d thought Mimikyu and Mareanie would be unhappy. So, I honestly can’t see the mistreatment storyline.

Also, the fact that Grookey smashed its own Poké Ball to gain its freedom kind of undermines other storylines that have seen Pokémon being abused by their trainers as they could have arguably smashed their Poké Balls to gain their freedom. Although, you could argue there is an element of fear in these cases.

I feel like if they built up the story more, I may have been more accepting but I kind of find it hypocritical in the sense Goh wants this Pokémon that belongs to someone else and it smashes its own Poké Ball to be with him. Whereas, its bad when Team Rocket try to steal someone else’s Pokémon but its okay for Goh because he’s the protagonist. Considering this is a kids anime that kind of sends the wrong message. I honestly would have found it more interesting if Grookey decided to stay with Team Rocket that would have been an interesting twist with Team Rocket having a starter Pokémon on their side. Plus, we know, James loves his Grass-types.

Conclusion:

Basically, I needed to get this off my chest and honestly, I feel much better for it. No Pokémon anime series is perfect by any means but lately I feel as though the writing has taken a huge dip and it has taken the enjoyment out of the series. I’m still trying to give the series a chance and hopefully I can warm to Grookey under Goh’s ownership, I think if the episodic formula has taken away the storytelling element that I love about the Pokémon series.

I have honestly never seen a Pokémon anime divide the community so much but I’m hoping that things begin to improve particularly if Ash’s Farfetch’d evolves in the next episode.

#pokemon journeys #pokemon #pokeani

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 27 - Spiritomb’s Revenge

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

NOTE: This is a pretty violent/brutal chapter. sorry if it upsets you. The madness of this fic reaches another level. Warnings for blood, torture, violence. 

Rating: General/Teen

@marydragneell​ here is the latest update

Spiritomb’s Revenge

…

…

["I suppose I should be upset, even feel violated, but I'm not. No, in fact, I think this is a friendly message, like ‘Hey, wanna play?’ And yes, I want to play. I really, really do.”

- Dexter]

…

…

Wyndon Police Station.

The station is in uproar. The lines have been ringing off the hook since early morning and have not stopped since. It is now lunchtime, but it looks like no-one will be able to grab a bite to eat.

In Postwick, roughly 11am, a man attacked a woman with her baby as she took a stroll near the Slumbering Weald. The suspect is still at large.

In Turrfield, twenty minutes later, an old couple were robbed at point-blank and subsequently beaten to death. The suspect then fled into Route 5. Searches proved ineffectual.

In Hulbury, half an hour later, a woman had reportedly jumped into the sea. Divers are still searching for her.

In Motostoke, ten minutes later, a middle-aged man fell to his death after he was pushed over the railing of the second level of the city by a young girl. The young girl has been brought into questioning but does not recall any of her actions.

In Hammerlocke, the CCTV of the vault picked up a masked individual attempting to steal the treasures within. The suspect was later apprehended but has no recollection of the incident. It was later revealed he is a kiosk worker at the stadium and he was on his lunch break.

There’s plenty more, at least five to six maximum cases of assault, robbery, suicide, manslaughter, murder or other petty crime per city and it’s doubling as the hours go pass, and Graves rubs his chin as waves upon waves of police officers report to him a startling increase of unrelated, independent events.

This is very strange. This has never happened before in Galar. This is madness. The reporters and journalists have already jumped on this, firing out Breaking News and Shocking Stories of a region overtaken by madness. They call it mass hysteria whilst some people are debating, calling it domestic terrorism.

There are worse reported crimes taking place in bigger cities like Wyndon and Hammerlocke, where concentrations of civilians are higher. Have all the criminals decided to let loose today? Is this some cult movement? Some online, social media movement?

After barking some orders to his colleagues and coordinates, Graves quickly weaves into his office and picks up his phone to call his goddaughter.

“Hello?”

He’s grateful she picked up. “It’s me.”

“What’s up?”

“What’s up? What’s up? Have you not been watching the news?”

“No, I’m outside with Jace. We’re at the airport to send Volkner off.”

He grumbles. “Goddamnit, go home when you’re done, you hear me? Stay home tonight. The whole region’s gone crazy.”

…

Wedgehurst.

The old woman knocks on the front door of the quaint little detached house with her Applin in her hand and waits. A short while later, footsteps can be heard approaching; it opens and a little boy peers through the small gap of the door.

“Hullo,” he says.

It’s Granny Smith. She lives next door and bakes him and his family plenty of apple pies.

She gives him a wide smile, the wrinkles on her face bunching together. “Hello Johnny!” she says in her soft and gentle voice, “is everything alright? I heard some very loud noises…”

The boy cocks his head to the side as she tries to sneak various peeks inside the house; he keeps blocking her, darting his head to the left as she bobs to the right and so forth.

“What loud noises?” he asks, the corners of his lips tugging upwards into a small smile.

“Just some very strange, very loud noises,” she says, “where's your mother?”

“Out.”

“Where's your father?” she asks, before she sniffs and giggles. “What a lovely smell.”

“Yes. My dad is in the kitchen, making lunch.”

“Oh, how lovely. And here I thought you were in trouble for a moment there. Have you seen the news? It’s utter chaos out there today.”

“No, as you can see…everything’s fine.”

She nods in agreement, stroking Applin’s tail. “I’ll be off then. Sorry for bothering you.”

“Goodbye,” Johnny says, then he promptly slams the door shut. It trembles violently in its doorframe with a loud ‘slam’.

“Oh," squeaks granny, a little startled.

She slips Applin into her bag and begins to shuffle out of their front lawn, throwing a glance over her shoulder; she sees him peeking at her retreating back behind the safety of the drawn blinds of their living room and when he’s caught, he ducks from sight.

When she’s away from view, Johnny leaves the lounge and into the kitchen where two chairs stand side-by-side and a man and woman are bound by plastic nylon cable ties, their arms fastened behind their backs and their ankles tied together.

Their mouths are covered by gags fastened securely around the back of their heads and as the boy approaches with a grin, they flail and shake their heads violently, their shouts for help muffled.

…

“Who was that?” Jace asks as you hang up the phone.

“Graves, he said there’s a sudden spike in crime in Galar today and told me to be careful,” you utter.

“That’s weird, I wonder what’s going on.”

You have a bad feeling about this. “Jace, let’s go.”

You are with Jace at Galar International Airport; Volkner has left Galar. He’s already boarded his flight to Sinnoh and should have taken off by now, having thanked you and Jace once again for the hospitality.

With coffees in hand, you and Jace head for the train station that will take you to Wyndon where you will get a Corviknight taxi home.

“I better give Leon a quick call,” you murmur, and Rotom quickly dials the Champion for you.

It rings for a few seconds before it’s picked up.

“Hey,” says Leon, and despite the noisy background, you can hear the excitement and affection in his voice when he greets you. You’re certain you can hear him grinning, too.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yep! Everything alright?”

“Graves said there’s a lot of crimes today, he told me to be careful.”

“I haven’t heard, I’m doing a photoshoot for Densoku right now,” he replies. “Where are you? I’ll be done soon; I can come get you when I’m finished.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine, I’m with Jace right now. We’re good. I just wanted to check up on you, that’s all. I’ll check if Hop and your mum are okay when I get back to Wedgehurst.”

“Okay, thanks, that would be great."

As you continue your conversation with Leon, Jace sips his coffee quietly and you hang up. He’s still feeling lukewarm towards Leon, neutral towards your relationship with the Champion.

“Is he okay?” Jace mutters, and you nod.

Whilst you wait with tourists and commuters on the busy platform along with their pokemon, this a perfect opportunity to discuss with Jace about his new job.

“I thought about it for a long time, and I decided to go for it. I’ll be an electrician at Sunyshore gym,” he says, “Volkner’s always tried to get me a job but I didn’t complete my training in time and when I did, all the jobs were gone.”

“Oh, so…you really are going to leave Galar,” you mumble.

A brief silence occurs; Jace glances at you worryingly and you look at him with a thin, watery smile.

“I’ll come and visit you.”

“I know you will.”

Eventually, the tannoy announces the train is approaching and to stay clear from the yellow lines on the platform; the train finally arrives, chugging to a gradual stop and the doors whoosh open.

A mix of tourists, and men and women in business suits with their pokemon pour out and the travellers on the platform, including yourself and Jace, pile into the awaiting carriage. Unfortunately all the seats are swiftly taken so you’re the only unlucky folk who have no choice but to stand, so you and Jace hog a small section near one of the doors, holding onto one of the handles as the train begins to move.

The conversation continues.

“I’m sorry, chuck.”

“Don’t be sorry! You’ve been offered a job you’ve always wanted! You can’t pass up on this opportunity.”

“Y-yeah, I know...I’ll miss you,” he murmurs, and he shifts his gaze to the window, watching the peaceful Galar scenery roll by. It changes from the industrial-looking airport to a highway full of speeding vehicles. Jace says, sighing, “I’ll miss you a lot.”

“Me too, but I’m really happy for you, Jace,” you reply, following his gaze to look outside the window, at the sheep pokemon.

The train enters a tunnel with a loud fwoosh and the peaceful greenery is immediately replaced with an inky black screen; the windows go dark with your reflections and behind you, a tall and shadowy figure suddenly appears.

The carriage grows cold, the temperature dropping and your body begins to tremble. Jace speaks but you can no longer hear him, his voice fading away into the background. In a split second, fear grips you like a vice, your heart grasped and squeezed, your chest about to pop. Your eyes promptly widen when you realise what is responsible for this, yet somehow you are able to move, to whip round to face the entity only to greeted with empty space and the carriage begins moving again, Jace's voice returning.

"-so I know I've always wanted to be an electrician but-"

His words fall on deaf ears as you frantically search the area with your gaze. There was no-one nearby; the seats are all filled with sleepy businessmen whilst a couple stands in the corner near the opposite doors playing with their Pokemon, who aren't affected.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"A shadow," you utter. "There was something standing behind me the moment the train went into the tunnel."

Jace raises a brow and looks around you. "No, I've been standing beside you the entire time and didn't see anything. Are you okay?"

Unsure what to think of it, you hastily clear your throat and force a nod. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Never mind. Sorry, um...I'm probably tired; it was... probably just a trick of the eye," In an attempt to return to the conversation, you say, “You said you've always wanted to be an electrician?”

He nods. “Yeah, I’m really excited. I start in two months. That’ll give me time to get used to the region and find a place to stay. Volkner’s letting me stay with him for the first few months of course, but I should really find my own apartment…”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

He looks at you and smiles widely. “Ah, sorry! No, I am sure, it’s just…maybe I’m getting too attached to Galar. Chuck, would you…ever go back to Kalos?”

“I’m not sure. Probably not. Too many bad memories.”

“Hm, I see."

When the train emerges from the tunnel, the sunshine seeps into the train and the highway disappears, revealing bountiful green pastures full of grazing Wooloos and Dubwool.

However, you cannot shake off what you saw.

Meanwhile, the small TV screen fixed on the train’s walls blasts out news of violent crimes appearing all throughout Galar.

When the train arrives in Wyndon, you and Jace split up and you take a Corviknight taxi to Postwick where you quickly check up on Leon’s family; they are fine, deciding to stay at home due to recent news.

Returning home, Sonia greets you. “Hey, you’re back! Ezra's here!”

"Huh?” you exclaim as you enter the house, slipping off your shoes.

You glance at the conservatory where you see a familiar old man in a black duster with an Absol seated quietly on one of the white sofas. A flowery teacup and teapot sits on the table for him, but he’s left it untouched. The fragile decorum contrasts heavily with his dark, grungy appearance.

“Ezra!” you squawk as you head over. “You're here! I was worried about you, and there’s something I need to tell you-”

His eyes are closed and as you approach, he begins to cough, blood leaking out from the corner of his mouth and as you grab a tissue for him from the box, he shakes his head and wipes it away with his sleeve.

“I’m fine.”

“You need to go to hospital.”

“No, not yet; we need to stop Spiritomb,” he grunts.

“Spiritomb??”

“Yes, those crimes. They’re all Spiritomb’s doing. It’s going on a rampage.”

Sonia exchanges concerned glances between you and the old man.

“It’s possessing people…specifically those with immense evil in their hearts, and carrying out attacks before quickly leaving the host. It’s the work of the one hundred and eight spirits we sealed away,” he mutters, “they are clashing and fighting for control, with one personality taking over at one time… hence why the crimes that have been reported are so varied.”

“Got it,” you reply with a nod, and Ezra shifts to get up and off the couch. “Any leads?”

“Yes. I detected its presence in Wedgehurst. Let’s go now before it escapes.”

“Okay.”

“Wait!” Sonia intervenes at once, waving her hands in the air. “No, don’t go, this is too dangerous!”

“Don’t worry, Sonia. Ezra and I know what we’re doing,” you tell her with a smile.

It’s been a while since you and Ezra have worked together.

…

“The hate is strong in this one,” says Johnny, before he glances at the helpless couple he’s kept tied up in the kitchen, “I guess he has you to thank for that since you're the ones who raised him into such a disrespectful and vile spoiled brat. Let me give you a little taste.”

Sidling to the microwave, the two begin to cry with fear and flail against their bounds as he opens the door and pulls out the crudely sliced and half-cooked body of a Spearow, sliding the slushy, gooey red remains of the bird pokemon onto a porcelain plate before he grabs a fork and returns to the couple’s side.

“Open up,” Johnny says as he steps behind the father’s chair and pulls the gag out of his aching mouth.

His lips are crusted all over with spit, dry and wet, and the man shakes his head fiercely in a futile act of protest, hot tears streaming down his eyes as Johnny grabs a handful of the meat. Mangled flesh and deep red ooze drips over the boy’s small fist before he promptly smears the meat over the man’s mouth, his fingers and nails soaked with rancid blood.

The man fights to keep his jaws clenched tightly together in a desperate bid to refuse, but Johnny counters by gripping his chin tightly and with two fingers, roughly forces his jaw open, allowing him to stuff morsel after morsel down the man’s gullet. He chokes, gagging uncontrollably but Johnny merely picks the pieces up and rams them down his throat once more.

“Don’t waste food. There are starving children in some parts of the world,” he says.

The woman screams relentlessly at the morbid sight, squeezing her eyes shut with fright whilst jerking fiercely against her bonds, shaking and flinging her back against the chair as with as much strength as she can gather, the chair legs scraping an inch across the floor.

When the meat is all gone and the man is left rasping and panting, a few red blobs and chunks of flesh drop to the floor in messy piles, and Johnny abandons the now-empty plate in favour for a plastic bag he’s kept near the microwave, looping it over the man’s head and tying the handles firmly around the front of his neck.

Terrified, the man’s eyes dart left and right, the insides of the bag fogging over from his shaky breaths.

“Johnny! Stop!” the woman screams, and the boy briefly pauses in his actions to slap her harshly across the face with the back of his hand.

Her head snaps viciously to one side, hair strewn over her eyes. She goes silent from shock before she begins to sob, her cheek stinging.

“How dare you hit your mother!!” Johnny's father yells, his shouts muffled. With each word, each laborious breath, the flimsy and thin plastic of bag sucks into his mouth and out.

“Shut up,” snarls Johnny, taking a few steps backwards so he can stand proudly in front of his parents where they can see him properly.

Johnny’s smirk reaches all the way to his ears, his eyes crazed and maniacal. It’s a face not belonging to their son at all but a monster, and it sends them into muted shock.

“…You’re not my son,” the man spits venomously, wheezing as he struggles to breathe.

“You’re right,” says Johnny, “I’m not.”

Nonchalantly, Johnny sidles over to a canister of gasoline he had kept propped up next to the fridge and unscrews the lid, allowing a strong but pungent, sweet smell to waft in the air.

With a hand on the bottom and the handle of the canister, the couple scream and splutter as he douses them, emptying the entire contents over their heads and bodies; the woman continuously shakes her head whilst sobbing and begging. The man howls in terror.

“Now for the grand finale,” the boy says, dumping the empty can to the floor and whipping out a lighter from his pockets, flicking it on with a jerk of his thumb and a little flame springs up and dances in the air, taunting the couple.

Relishing the sound of their screams, Johnny promptly drops the lighter.

A fierce barrage of red and yellow immediately engulf the kitchen in its entirety.

The fire licks at their bodies ruthlessly, and Johnny stands, his eyes dancing with delight. The flames reach his feet yet he doesn’t flinch; lifting his arms into the air horizontally, he throws his head up and closes his eyes and basks in the heat, failing to notice the letter box on the front door squeaking open and a voice whispering, “Prohibere eum.”

A delicate, white paper crane subsequently flits inside, flapping its little wings as it bobs towards the direction of the burning kitchen.

The boy whips his head round to the doorway, eyes narrowing.

“Who’s there?!” he snarls.

Spotting the crane, he stares at it limply for a few seconds until it unfurls, revealing strange symbols painted in red. Brows furrowing, his hand shoots out and he grabs it, scrunching it up tightly under his fist.

Unraveling his clenched knuckles, his palm is coated in patches of the strange red ink and before his very eyes, the ink blots merge together to form the symbols which promptly disappears into his skin like a dampened tissue.

“What?!” he yells in shock and confusion; the symbols soon make their presences known once again, this time, stretching all over his arm.

His body suddenly feels itchy all over. He dares to take a peek at a mirror magnet on the refrigerator to see the red symbols have appeared all over his face.

It’s too late; the exorcists are coming for him – and the boy immediately collapses over the floor, eyes closed.

His mouth is eased open and a purple transparent bubble slinks between the gap of his lips and continues to crawl out. It grows in size until it begins to form a distinct, ragged spherical shape, followed by a stone. A smooth, brown stone with a fissure in the middle. The creature crawls out of the boy’s mouth and slips over the floor in a puddle, just as the front door is abruptly kicked open and you step inside with Ezra.

“Sequimini eum!” Ezra yells, as Spiritomb attempts to make its frantic escape.

The pokemon is heading for the window – Gengar emerges from a shadow and fires a Shadow Ball at it – the attack misses and Spiritomb phases through the glass, vanishing outside.

“It got away!” you curse, but Ezra shakes his head.

“No, not this time. I’ll go after it,” he says, before he casts his dull gaze to the bodies on the floor. "Stay here and call an ambulance and the fire brigade.”

“Understood,” you reply, and Ezra abruptly leaves the house with Absol. “Gengar, follow Ezra, then come back to get me, okay?”

Your pokemon nods and merges with Ezra’s retreating shadow.

Water-type pokemon would be handy here but you do not have any so you hastily grab a blanket from one of their sofas, and with your pokemon’s help, you each grab a corner, soak it under the taps of the kitchen sink and throw it over the burning bodies.

The fire is extinguished at once, smoke fizzing out and into the atmosphere in thick wisps; the unmistakable stench of burnt flesh hangs heavy in the air.

Whilst you call for an ambulance, Mimikyu checks the fire alarm of the house which shows signs of being sabotaged, most likely Spiritomb’s doing. Vulpix slides a paw under the blanket to check the damage and shudders once she’s had a look, she settles the blanket back over their bodies.

Once the ambulance and firefighters are called, you leave the house.

Spiritomb is the most dangerous pokemon you’ve ever encountered.

It’s time to rejoin Ezra.

…

Meanwhile, Graves slows the car to a stop and pulls up at a gas pump outside Turrfield, Route 5. It’s been a crazy, hectic day and he’s on his way back to the police station when his car has run out of gas.

He rolls up his sleeves, pulling open the flap and feeding the nozzle inside. As the car fills up with petrol, Graves stands, whistling, looking around casually when he hears a woman’s earsplitting scream in the distance.

“What the hell…”

He eases the pump out, placing it into the holster and steps out, squinting his eyes at the horizon; a middle-aged woman comes running towards his direction, dishevelled and petrified beyond belief, the expression on her face full of nothing but terror. A short distance away, a familiar old man is limping after her along with an Absol.

It’s the homeless man called Ezra, whom his goddaughter is acquainted with. The ex-convict. The man who was jailed for murdering his wife and kid.

The woman he is chasing is screaming for her life, and when she spots Graves who rushes over, she heads for his direction and clings onto his arm. Her eyes are wide and panicky as she pants heavily, gesturing wildly to the pursuing Ezra.

“Help me, please! That madman is after me!!!” she shrieks. “He's trying to kill me!”

“Absol, attack!” Ezra commands, and the pokemon dashes towards them but Graves immediately reaches a hand behind his waist and pulls out Arcanine’s pokeball, tossing it into the air and releasing the canine pokemon.

“Stop! Take one more step or I’ll command Arcanine to attack!” Graves snaps, as Arcanine readies itself into an offensive stance, growling at Absol threateningly.

Immediately, passerby’s scream and begin rushing for cover, whilst the customers of the gas station run inside the gas station to hide.

Absol comes to a skidding halt, her paws kicking up dirt, but she snarls loudly at Graves and his pokemon and begins to pace back and forth as though ready to pounce at any time should her master willed it.

Ezra growls with frustration as the woman hides behind the Chief Inspector. “Inspector Graves. That woman has been possessed by an extremely dangerous pokemon,” Ezra barks, pointing to the woman. “A Spiritomb. It’s the culprit behind the recent crimes.”

Graves turns to the woman who throw her horror-stricken glance up to him. She blinks at him with widened eyes and shakes her head wildly. “He’s crazy!! Help me, please!”

“Arceus, you’re insane,” Graves utters under his breath, “ma’am, I’ll take you to the station where you can get help. Ezra, stay right where you are. Arcanine, watch over him and make sure he doesn’t move.”

“You’re making a damn mistake!” Ezra growls.

The old man takes a step forwards and abruptly stops, bowling over with a hand clutching his chest. Absol returns to his side, yowling loudly with concern as he enters a harsh coughing fit; his chest is on fire, his lungs pierced by a sharp, throbbing pain. As Ezra splutters and chokes, he drops on one knee, slapping a hand over his mouth in a futile attempt to prevent the uncontrollable rush of blood that’s spilling out.

Viscous red lines seeps through the gaps of his fingers, spilling over the concrete in little splotches. Absol wails with fright at the sight of her suffering master who inevitably collapses over the ground on his front, motionless.

"Ezra!" Graves yells, but he's effectively halted when the frightened woman tugs on his elbow.

“Oh, thank you,” she says, “thank you so much.”

“Ma’am, stay here.” He instructs. Graves isn't on bad terms with the priest though he doesn't trust him in any way, but he cannot leave Ezra like this so he recalls Arcanine, dips a hand to grab his Rotom phone to call an ambulance only to emit a cry of pain; the device falls out of his hand but luckily, the pokemon bobs back up before it completely meets the ground

“Sir, what’s wrong?” Rotom asks, only to witness the woman dropping to the ground as a purple swirl emerges from her mouth which has latched itself to Graves’ back; a purple mist encases his body and seeps into his chest as a purple tendril begins crawling towards his mouth. Horrified, the phone flits in the air helplessly. “Bzzzzrt! Zzztop! Zztop thizzz at once! Oh, Mazzzter, Mazzter Gravezzz! Zzomeone, help!!”

The creature vanishes and Graves’ eyes snaps open, now a bizarre shade of lime green; Rotom stares in horror as the entity grins and pats at his chest and looks at his arms before spotting the bridge that overlooks the Wild Area, connecting Turrfield and Hulbury together.

….

Gengar returns to tell you Ezra is in Turrfield, so you make your way over as quickly as you can and the shadow pokemon leads you to a gas station which is in chaos. Several vans belonging to various TV stations are parked outside along with their TV anchors standing and delivering live news and interviewing witnesses. A few locals stand behind the tape, pointing and whispering, whilst a puddle of blood has been outlined with a yellow chalk.

You manage to overhear the following:

“Yeah, so I saw this woman rushing up to this middle-aged dude, and then this old dude with an Absol came and the middle-aged dude pulled an Arcanine on him. Sick move, man.”

It’s utter pandemonium. Beside one of the gas pumps, you recognize Graves’ car from the license plate and head over, peering through the windows. It’s empty.

An ambulance is also parked closeby where you see Absol outside, howling mournfully with her head raised to the air.

“Absol!!!” you rush over, squatting in front of her. “What happened???! Are you okay? Where’s Ezra?”

Absol stops yowling for a moment to regard you before a voice worms inside your mind: "My father is inside. He’s unconscious."

“…..Cassie?” you breathe out in shock.

Absol blinks at you with her bright blue eyes before she continues howling once more. The doors to the ambulance subsequently open and you’re greeted with a paramedic who jumps out and you briefly see Ezra inside, lying on a stretcher with a breathing mask.

“Ezra!” you yell, “Can I go in? I know him.”

“His condition is stable, you can go in.”

“Thank you!” you climb inside the vehicle and the paramedics within are helping set up heart monitors and IV drips around him. “Ezra, I’m here.”

His eyelids open weakly and he mutters deliriously, “….Spiritomb….it’s taken your godfather…It took the guise of a woman…your godfather thought she needed help…Don’t mind me, go after the fool before he gets himself killed…he was heading for route five…”

“But-“

“Go,” Ezra urges, “I’ll be fine…..”

“O-okay. Take care.”

You nod reluctantly and leave.

…

You find your godfather in Route 5 as Ezra had mentioned, standing precariously on the ledge of the fifty-feet high bridge, overlooking the scenery of the Wild Area below. He’s barefoot and missing his suit, his hair messy, tie undone, shirt sleeves rolled to the elbows and looking very unkempt.

None of the TV crew have arrived yet, which you’re grateful for because you do not want the media to get involved with this fiasco.

However, it’s unavoidable that some people and their pokemon have gathered around, standing at a safe distance several feet away. Whilst some individuals are recording this scene on their phone, others are trying to talk him down but to no avail. Some are actively asking if there are any trainers with ice-type pokemon that can freeze him (no-one has any, unfortunately). Ultimately, no-one seems to know what to do.

“Let me through! I know him, I’m his goddaughter!” you yell, pushing your way through the crowd and making your way to the very front. “Graves!! Graves – urgh, I mean, Uncle Chris! Don’t do it!”

Graves whips round yet you do not see his features, only a grinning mass of purple with green flecks. It’s Spiritomb, who grins maliciously at you.

“Get out of his body!” you growl angrily, gritting your teeth with rage.

“No, I like this body very much. The misery, the regret, the loneliness. He misses Ellen very much, he wants to be with her,” says Spiritomb, “and he misses your family, your father. He regrets not doing enough. You’re sad all the time because of him. He can’t do anything. He’s useless. He wants to die.”

The crowd go quiet, watching your interaction, though a kind-looking woman holds you back.

“Be careful, it’s best not to get too close because he’s very agitated right now. It’s best not to aggravate him or make sudden movements," she mutters.

You can hardly hear what she’s saying, the sheer panic and distress that you normally don’t experience during uncertain and dangerous times like these has suddenly kickstarted in your system.

“No!!!” you yelp in a desperate bid to get through to your godfather, “Stop it! Stop thinking like that!! I’m still here, I survived!!! You didn’t fail!! I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like you’re useless. You’re not! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I’ll enroll in the police academy, okay? I won't make you worry for me anymore. I'm sorry!”

And Graves falters slightly, grumbling incoherently under his breath. Spiritomb's visage briefly vanishes as your godfather’s brows scrunch with confusion.

“You’re the only family I have left and I can’t lose you too! Please, Uncle Chris, snap out of it!”

Graves grumbles and groans in response to your pleas, his eye twitching.

You throw a sideways glance to Gengar; he’s lurking in your shadow and giving you a nod, silently travels over towards Graves’ direction.

And Spiritomb snaps, “Shut up!”

Then he turns and jumps, just seconds before Gengar leaps out from the shadow to grab him. Missed.

People scream, whilst a few trainers release their bird pokemon and direct them to go after the fallen man and Gengar buries himself into the shadows once more.

You throw yourself to the ledge, peering over where you see Graves plummeting helplessly in the air. “No!!”

Your pokemon bursts out forth from Graves’ falling shadow but he is not close enough. His eyes glowing, Gengar’s eyes and claws turns red before he spins in the air and throws his arms up, forcibly extracting a purple blob out of Graves body – it’s Spiritomb, whom he’s now trapped in a glowing red forcefield. Spiritomb growls and resists, shooting several Shadow Balls against its confines to no effect. The attack hits the walls of the forcefield akin to cork bouncing against a brick wall.

However, Graves is still hurtling towards the ground despite Gengar’s attempts, and the bird pokemon swooping towards him aren’t quick enough either.

“Wait, what’s that in the air?!!!” someone cries, pointing to the sky.

Everyone follows the direction of his finger and you see a familiar flame pokemon heading for your group. It’s Charizard; he’s zooming towards your way and the crowd begins to cheer.

“It’s Charizard!!! The Champion is here!!!”

“YES!”

“Go, Leon!!!”

Charizard swoops past and dives, folding his wings close to his body to reduce the resistance of the air, allowing himself to barrel towards your godfather's direction in seconds; in his wake, he leaves a gust of wind billowing that blows the majority of the crowd off their feet and to the ground including yourself; as you sit up, slightly dazed, you look around frantically for Leon and there he is, sprinting towards you from the direction of Motostoke.

“Leon!!!” you cry with relief, scrabbling up to stand.

Charizard returns with a massive flap of his wings, shooting up and into the air before he lands on the ground, clutching an unconscious Graves in his arms.

“Charizard!!” you exclaim, “Thank you!!”

The pokemon snorts loudly and gives you a toothy grin as he lays the unconscious man on the ground in front of you as carefully as he can so you can inspect him. You breathe a sigh of relief; Graves is unharmed.

People begin cheering as Leon finally arrives whereas Gengar returns to the bridge with Spiritomb who is still stuck in the forcefield. When the flying pokemon return, the trainers all turn to the trapped pokemon and proceed to divert their fury towards it, using a wide range of fairy-type moves and others to attack it.

You hear Spiritomb croaking out in pain whilst the other flying type pokemon join in, whaling blows and pecking at the pokemon whilst their trainers cheer and pump fists in the air.

With half of the crowd focused on and bemused with attacking Spiritomb, the remaining crowd part ways to let Leon through and you look up at him as he moves to crouch beside you on one knee.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asks gently, but you are so shocked you merely throw your arms around him with gratitude.

“Thank you, Leon…”

He bundles you up in his arms, stroking the back of your head. “It’s okay, everything’s alright. I’m here….” He mutters soothingly in your ear, “I’m here.”

…

#jeralee #fanfic #fic #reader #reader insert #leon x reader #leon #Leon x you #dande #pkmn #pokemon #pokemonsword #pokemonshield #pokemonswordandshield #pokemonshieldsword #pokemonshieldandsword #Comfort in Despair #archive of our own

[authorialarcanist]

Gracidea Blossom Chapter 3: Measuring Up Against Meditite

(Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum x Little Busters!)

Mirror Links: AO3, Pokécommunity, Spacebattles

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Previous - Next

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A world of total darkness. No touch. No sound.

The only thing reminding him he exists is the pressure, like a vise clamping down on his head.

Even his thoughts stall as he falls through this endless void. He doesn’t dream.

He never dreams.

…

Time passes, and eventually the throbbing in his head begins to fade. The ability to think returns to him. He becomes aware of his senses again.

Touch, first. He can feel of his hands pressing into smooth sheets.

Then hearing. After that void, even the soft sound of breathing feels like a salvation.

His head still feels heavy, but he can move his fingers now. He’s regaining control of his body.

Riki opens his eyes.

He’s in the guest room of the Natsume residence. Rin is asleep in a nearby chair, her body curled in on itself as she slumbers. A glance at the clock tells Riki that it’s 9 in the evening, but after his narcoleptic spell, he doesn’t feel tired enough to sleep properly.

Quietly, so as to not disturb his friend, Riki slips out of bed and pads to the hall. When he reaches the living room, he finds Kyousuke sitting there.

“Ah, Riki. So you’re up.” Kyousuke turns in his seat. “Masato and Kengo have gone home for the day, but I have a list of what preparations are left. There were a couple of things we needed you for.”

“Oh. Um…” Riki doesn’t meet his eyes. “Are you… really sure that me going with you is going to be okay? I mean, I didn’t speak up before, but…”

“…But what if you fall asleep on the road?” Kyousuke finishes for him. “Don’t worry, Riki, I knew about this when I made the offer. When that happens, we can just make camp and wait for you. We don’t have so little time that we can’t afford to cut a day’s travel early here and there.”

“Oh. Well, if you’re sure… I do still want to stay with all of you,” Riki says.

For a moment, Riki thinks he sees a shadow pass over Kyousuke’s face. It’s gone so quickly, though, that he decides he must have imagined it.

“Right. Just think of it as another one of our adventures, and I’m sure you’ll have fun.” Kyousuke gets up from his seat, and shows Riki a list with most of the items crossed off. “If you don’t want to go back to sleep just yet, we can try and take care of the last preparations right now.”

Riki nods. “Yeah, I don’t feel tired. Oh, but you should probably get Rin to bed before we leave. That chair doesn’t look too comfortable.”

And so the night goes on…

——

The next morning, the friends gather by a fountain at the west end of town. Here, the bricks of Hearthome slowly give way to grass and pine trees, and a stone path leads the rest of the way out of the city. Most people leaving the city use one of two gate buildings: A small one to the east leads towards Solaceon Town, while the west end has a larger building with exits to the south and west.

The western gate is a three-story building, with a rest area on the second floor. Along with being a place for exhausted trainers to rest their legs, the second level also has souvenir shops and a food court. The top floor is a small hotel with fairly cheap rooms, for travelers who come in at night and don’t want to search for a place in the city.

The ground floor is somewhat more utilitarian, with a few stalls selling travel supplies. Stretches of empty wall are covered with large maps, some showing the travel routes of the Sinnoh region while others detail the layouts of Hearthome, Route 208, and Route 212. The maps are broken up by wall-mounted TV screens, turned to weather and news channels. Travel advisories scroll across the bottoms of the screens. ‘If traveling south, be sure to bring waterproof gear!’ ‘Never attempt to climb Mt. Coronet without a buddy!’

Riki and his friends pass by these sights, stopping to check the weather - apparently, there’s a northeasterly wind blowing in fog from Route 210 - and make sure their backpacks are secure.

When they reach the split between the way south and the way west, Riki speaks up. “So, um…” He scratches his head. “…Where are we going?”

Kyousuke stumbles, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. “D…didn’t I tell you?” He looks at Rin, who shrugs. “…Right… Well. Ahem. Our current destination is Jubilife City, to the west. Jubilife TV requested that the Champion appear for a talk show, and I already had plans to visit Lake Verity, so it’s on the way.”

“A talk show? Really?” Kengo gives Kyousuke a flat look.

“Hey, anything that pays! I won’t be able to coast on being Champion forever, I need to build a varied resumé!”

“…Right…”

The Little Busters pass through automatic doors into Route 208. Just west of Hearthome City is a small hilly area, with well-maintained grass and berry patches scattered through it. The area gets wilder the further you go from the city, but young aspiring Trainers can usually practice here without too much to worry about as long as they turn back rather than climbing when they hit the rocky base of Mt. Coronet. Normally the mountain is visible from the gatehouse, but today the route is already partially hidden by a light mist. The world feels smaller under the grey sky and close horizon, like it’s been cut into manageable pieces.

A shout stops the group. “Well, if it isn’t our young Champion and friends!” An old man with white hair waves them over to where he’s tending a patch of berry plants. There’s a wicker basket at his feet. “And where would you be off to this fine morning?”

“We’re heading to Jubilife,” Kyousuke replies.

“Ah, these two finally starting out to see the world?” The old man looks Riki and Rin over. “That’s good. Everybody should travel with Pokémon sooner or later. There’s nothing like a journey for figuring out what you really want to do with your life, even if that doesn’t turn out to be battling.”

“Ah… right.” Riki looks away, unsure how to tell him that he’s just following after Kyousuke.

“Kyousuke gave you starters, I presume?” The man glances at Riki and Rin’s waists, where each now wears a belt with two Pokéballs.

“That’s right,” says Kyousuke. “Show him.”

Lennon and Terra are sent out, and the two Pokémon nose at the berry plants before wandering back to their trainers’ legs. The old man looks on in approval.

“They look like a good choice. I can tell they like you already!” He leans down to offer Terra a berry, and after a moment of hesitation the Turtwig extends its neck to take the fruit from the old man’s hand. “Now, then. You remember what I taught you, right, Riki?” At Riki’s nod, the man turns and procures something from his basket. “Well, if you’re setting off, I think you deserve a present. Here!” He hands Riki a pair of firm, speckled blue berries. “Those are Yacha berries. If you give one to your Turtwig, it should help her resist an Ice type attack. And for the young lady, Passho berries. I can’t say I recognize that cat’s species on first glance, but it looks like a Fire type, so a berry that helps protect against Water types can’t hurt!” He hands Rin a soft blue berry, dotted with air bubbles. After another moment of looking through his basket, he also gives them a paper bag of mulch. “That’s two berries each - one for your Pokémon, and try and plant the other one, okay? It never hurts to give nature a hand!”

“Thank you.” Riki stashes the berries and mulch in his bag, and bows slightly in gratitude. “I promise, I’ll find someplace nice to plant this.”

“Good, good! Well, I shouldn’t keep you for too long, but when you’re in the area, remember that the Berry Master’s door is always open!” The old man waves them off, and the group moves on, their Pokémon following behind. Occasionally a wild Pokémon seems like it might investigate them, but Kyousuke, Masato, or Kengo always calls out one of their own Pokémon to scare it away.

The terrain grows rougher as they head west, until they reach a rocky cliff with stairs carved into it. This is the base of Mt. Coronet, with rocky plateaus of various elevations stretching out for a short ways around the foot of the mountain before the ascent proper begins. A river has carved its way through this area of the foothills, running below the elevated paths and necessitating a series of wooden bridges between raised plateaus. As the morning stretches on, the mist grows heavier, wreathing the badlands in gray and obscuring Mt. Coronet above them. The group continues to walk towards the mountain, weaving between rocky outcroppings and crossing bridges, until they reach a wide plateau rising from an island right in the middle of the rapids. A short ways to the north, they can see a waterfall where the river drops from a higher elevation.

Kyousuke suddenly throws an arm out in front of Riki. “Wait. Look over there.”

Riki follows his gaze to a spire of rock in the middle of the plateau, and after a moment he registers a Pokémon levitating just above the tip of the spire. It’s vaguely human-shaped, with a short blue body and a white head shaped like the bulb of an onion aside from two large swirly ears. It also has a white segment connecting its torso with its legs. It’s hovering cross-legged with its arms out to either side. This is a Meditite, a somewhat common mountain Pokémon in the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions.

Riki glances at Kyousuke. “Are you going to scare it away?”

Kyousuke shakes his head. “No. It’s on its own, and this is a reasonably open area. Rin! Capture this Meditite!”

“What? Do it yourself!” Rin bristles.

“No. You need experience fighting wild Pokémon, and this is a safe opportunity to practice.”

“What about Riki, why aren’t you making him do it?”

“I will, but you’ve been in a trainer battle already. It’s on you to show him how it’s done.” Brooking no argument, Kyousuke gives his sister a light shove forward, pushing her towards the Pokémon. Its eyes snap open, and a moment later Lennon is standing in front of Rin, hissing at the Meditite. “Now, Mission Start!”

The Meditite leaps from its perch at the apparent challenge. Its eyes flash, and Lennon rolls on the ground, smacking into rocks as the mental attack disorients it.

“Lennon, use Ember!” Rin’s Pokémon shakes off the attack and spits weak flames at its opponent. Although the Meditite dodges around most of them, a few make contact and burn its legs. It redoubles its own attack in response, pelting Lennon with what Riki recognizes as Confusion attacks.

“Kyousuke, are you sure about making her do this?” Riki glances at Kyousuke, worried.

“It’ll be fine, Riki.” Kyousuke doesn’t take his eyes off of the battle. “The two of you need to learn how to handle things yourselves. Rin!” He suddenly shouts, and Riki’s head snaps back to the battle in time to see the Meditite stagger back as Lennon scratches it. “It looks weakened, this is the time to throw a Pokéball!”

With a wordless acknowledgment, Rin snatches an empty Pokéball from her bag and winds up to throw it. Riki marvels for a moment at her total concentration as she steps forward, brings her arm around for the throw, and…

…the ball slips from her fingers, soaring in a perpendicular angle from the battle until it slams into an outcropping and falls into the rapids below. The Meditite takes advantage of the opening as Rin scrambles for another Pokéball, and torments Lennon with a barrage of attacks.

“Okay, that’s enough. Scyther, use False Swipe!” Kengo’s voice rings out as a new Pokéball soars into the midst of battle, opening to release a large, bipedal mantis. The newcomer has a green head, thorax, abdomen, and pair of legs connected by smaller cream body segments. It has a pair of insect wings on its back, and a pair of scythes on the ends of its arms. Lennon finally collapses as the Scyther steps up in its place and harasses the Meditite with a series of light slashes, holding back from hurting it too badly. “Rin, you have no control at all. Watch my form, and maybe you’ll learn something.” With a series of deliberate, practiced movements, Kengo pulls a Pokéball from his own bag and tosses it overhand at the Meditite’s center mass. Still disoriented from the Scyther’s attacks, the Meditite doesn’t have a chance to dodge, and it gets sucked into the ball in a flash of red light. The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and then emits a click and lays still.

Kengo walks forward to pick up the Meditite’s Pokéball before turning back to the others. “Kyousuke, this is just a thought, but just maybe, it might work better if we teach them before you throw them into the deep end?”

Kyousuke sighs. “Fine. It’s nearly noon anyways, and this looks like a good place to stop and get some training in before we eat.” He looks at Rin, who is spraying Lennon with a potion bottle. “Rin, once you’re done with that, come with me. We’re going to work on your throwing technique. Masato, Kengo, can you two help Riki start training?”

Masato and Kengo look at each other.

After a moment, identical grins appear on their faces.

——

“I get that Kyousuke… asked you to help me train,” Riki pants, “But I don’t think… this is what he meant…”

With a gasp of effort, Riki pulls himself to the top of a large slab being held up by Masato’s Machamp. He reaches down to grab Terra by the shell and hoist it up after him before staggering back to his feet and jogging along the slab. Once he reaches the end of the path, he jumps down to a lower boulder, pauses to let Terra try and hop to his head - catching the Turtwig when it falls short halfway to him - and hopscotches across a series of rocks.

“A truly great trainer must train their body as well as their Pokémon,” Kengo says, pausing each time he makes a practice swing with his bamboo sword. His newly-caught Meditite is hovering beside him, watching his swings.

“Besides! Training alongside your Pokémon brings you closer together!” Masato lifts a boulder - smaller than Biceps’ slab, but still large for a human to be holding - as he speaks, muscles bulging.

Riki finally sways and topples over, Terra collapsing beside him.

Masato surveys the two, lying in almost identical positions. “See? You look closer already!”

“No… more…”

“Endurance is important, Riki. Even aside from keeping up with fast Pokémon, you have to travel on foot a lot.” Kengo hardly misses a beat as he continues his own training. “Still, if we want you to be able to walk any further today, that’s probably enough physical training.”

Riki lets out a sigh of relief.

“It’s time to work on strategy, instead. Let Terra rest, and send out your Bonsly.”

Riki pushes himself to his feet and switches Pokémon. “Now what?”

“Meditite, let’s battle.” Meditite snaps to attention. “Riki. Try to battle my Pokémon. And be careful; I’ve taught it some moves already.”

“Sly, use Flail!” Riki shouts, and the Bonsly waddles forward to try and get in range of Kengo’s Pokémon.

“Rock Smash!” Despite Kengo giving his command second, the Meditite easily outpaces Sly’s approach, hitting it with a measured strike designed to crack defenses. It knocks the Bonsly away, and leaps back before it can retaliate. Sly tries to chase the Meditite, but no matter what it does it can’t get a hit in. The Meditite runs in for another Rock Smash, and Kengo shouts “Stop! Match call! Riki, do you understand what went wrong?”

“Um…” Riki ponders for a moment. “…You had more experience than I did?”

“Not exactly.” Kengo shakes his head. “The trainer’s experience is important, but aside from my teaching Meditite a physical attack, this was a battle against a freshly-caught Pokémon. Riki, what are your Pokémon good at?”

“Well, they’re both good at taking hits, right?”

“That’s right. They’re both strong defenders, and solid attackers as well. However, as this battle showed, that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t land a hit. As your Pokémon’s trainer, it’s your job to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and to come up with a plan to work around those weaknesses when they arise.” Kengo pats a nearby outcropping. “That can mean finding ways to turn your opponent’s strengths against them, ways to turn your weaknesses into strengths, or ways to use the battlefield to your advantage.”

“I see…” Riki considers the match. “…So… what should I have done in that battle?”

“Oh, you were doomed from the start.” Masato puts down the rock he was lifting to rejoin the conversation.

Kengo glances away. “…Well… Okay, yes, your Bonsly’s skillset will need to grow before you can really plan around him. But the demonstration stands!”

“In the end, some things just can’t stand against overwhelming force!”

“Oh? Shall we show Riki whether that’s really true, then?” Kengo pulls his Scyther’s Pokéball from his belt and spins it on one finger. “Two Pokémon each, first elimination?”

“Bring it on! Riki, just watch and learn!” Masato grabs Beenikku’s ball, and another battle begins.

#Little Busters! #pokemon #fanfiction #Naoe Riki #Natsume Kyousuke #Natsume Rin #Inohara Masato #Miyazawa Kengo #Sinnoh #Gracidea Blossom

[distortsverity]

When sheer terror jolts Hikari up from her bed, the first things she notices are the tears that threaten to spill from her eyes, the rapid thumping of a heart about to burst from her chest, and the shuddering breaths of air that her lungs strain to take in. Through her awakening, she escapes from one reality and returns to another. She doesn’t believe it, though. Doubt clouds her judgment ( she knows it shouldn’t, everything points to her being at home ). 

No longer does she feel the rocky, fractured ground that cuts deep into her skin as she leaps from one platform to the next ; the presence of the Eldritch God who follows her with a gaze more intense than any supernova ; or the ice that runs through her veins, the impulse to let out a scream that’s caught at the back of her throat ( to shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!!! ), when she hears her name uttered by a dead, pathetic excuse of a man, the traitorous fool who dared to rebel against the universe’s status quo. In their place, there is only the silence of the night ; the cold breezes that blow through the open window ; and the familiar, comforting softness of wool between her fingers ( they ball into tight fists around the blanket once, twice, thrice ). Grip, release, grip, release, grip, release --- each motion lasts a few seconds more than the last, just to make sure that her senses aren’t deceiving her. 

But this isn’t enough, Hikari thinks. The stillness of her room is disorienting. An unfamiliar voice, in the form of tiny whispers, insists in the back of her mind that she is not home and never will be. So the doubt lingers. She squeezes her eyes shut, draws her knees to her chest, raises her hands to claw at slate-blue locks. 

The nightmare was almost exactly like the ones before : so real, so vivid, she can never quickly tell whether or not she ever made it back. Five days and five nights have gone since her ordeal came to an end --- should’ve come to an end --- but five times It dragged her back down to Its world ( she wonders if the sixth will be the last, for better or for worse ). Each night It returns, she takes more and more time to calm down and loses more and more sleep. The first night was six and a half hours instead of her usual eight. Second night, five hours. Third, four. Fourth, three. Maybe tonight, she won’t get any in.

Humans are so fragile. Why is sleep mandatory. Why can’t she just go without sleep. Why does her imagination have to be so goddamn powerful while she’s in Dreamland.   

As Hikari’s eyes gradually crack open again, as she gradually musters the courage to inspect her surroundings, her tight grip on her hair is released in favor of crossing her arms over her chest. Her attention sweeps across the room in a deliberately slow manner, taking note of every detail, from left to right then right to left --- walls of deep ocean blue, dresser in one corner and worktable in another, digital clock on the nightstand to her left ( “ 12:28 A.M. ”, the numbers flash in red . . . had she only been asleep for one hour? ), framed photos of her and family and friends ---

And then without warning, her little sister steps into view, halting right outside the doorway and seemingly waiting for permission to enter.

With her unruly bed hair, widened blue eyes, and wrinkled, turquoise pajamas dotted with little smiling clouds, Sachiko’s sudden appearance is a blessing, a beam of light that pierces through the darkest skies. She need not say a word or move to comfort Hikari, for her presence alone is all that’s needed to assuage this troubled soul. Proof of home. The whispers suddenly fade out of Hikari’s consciousness, replaced by a light pounding in her ears ( though it, too, begins to die as her heart tries to settle down ). The doubt finally lifts. Hikari finally accepts that she is no longer in Hell.  

Neither of them, however, moves or speaks right away. After all, Hikari doesn’t tend to show vulnerability. She despises it. Sachiko knows that well. 

So before she can even acknowledge her sister, Hikari must be given the time and space to rein herself in on her own --- to ease her breathing to a resting pace, to firmly and decisively ground herself in this reality and not the one in her dreams. 

They end up staying like that for a few minutes: the younger one waiting outside the room, swaying back and forth on her heels with concern written all over her face ; and the older slowly but surely recovering from her nightmare. Although a part of Hikari is glad she didn’t leave her alone, another part wishes she never caught her older sister --- her lifelong role model, now Hero of Sinnoh --- looking so miserable in the first place.

❝ Hey Sachi. ❞ The awkward silence is dispelled with a murmur while she hastily wipes her eyes on her sleeves. ❝ C’mere, sit . . . You can’t sleep? Nightmares? ❞

Sachiko immediately takes up the offer, bounding over to the bed and plopping down right next to her. ❝ Nah, I got up ‘cause I was hungry. But I was going back to my room, and I heard you . . . ❞ Her voice trails off at the end. Heard you crying before you even woke up. ❝ So I waited a little . . . ❞ Waited a little to see if you’d wake up. ❝ Sounds like you’re the one who had nightmares. Really bad ones too. ❞ 

Abashed, Hikari directs her focus towards the clock as if it’d just snagged her interest. ❝ It was nothing. ❞ The man and deity who may lurk in the crevices of her mind for the rest of her life? Truly, they were nothing.  

❝ Uh huh. ❞ The younger Berlitz purses her lips in disapproval ( such a blatant lie, not even a Slowpoke could miss it ). ❝ Well, um, maybe . . . You wanna talk 'bout it? ❞ About what exactly happened to you? 

Hikari shoots her an apologetic smile. ❝ Not really. ❞ Never. Not to a single soul. 

Although Sachiko can’t help but worry even more, she doesn’t try to press the topic any further. Such an understanding Duckletting, as always ( for the billionth time, Hikari feels lucky to have her in her life ). ❝ That’s alright, I guess . . .  Then, should I go back to my room? ❞

A moment of quiet, of hesitation. Hikari shrugs feebly. ❝ If you want to. ❞ 

❝ Will you be okay? ❞

❝ Of course. ❞ That’s up for debate. ❝ But I . . . I won’t mind if you stay. ❞ Please, at least a little longer.

After briefly fumbling through the blankets, one of Sachiko’s hands comes to rest on her sister’s own ( a gesture of reassurance before she vocally affirms it ). Hikari can’t help but note just how warm and composed it is, unlike hers, frigid and slightly trembling. ❝ Alrighty, I will. ❞ Pause for emphasis. ❝ The whole night! I need to make sure you get your sleep! Doctor’s orders! ❞

A slight smile pulls at Hikari’s lips as she lays back down, patting a spot right next to her. ❝ Mhm, whatever you want. ❞

Before the teen’s head even settled into the pillow, Sachiko is already rushing to join her beneath the blankets. In spite of the darkness, Hikari can feel her squirming for an entire minute in an effort to make herself comfortable. 

Soon afterward, she feels Sachiko wrap around her in a warm embrace. ❝ Whatever’s bothering you, you’ll be safe from it as long as I’m here . . . Night, Hika. ❞

Hikari stifles a chuckle at Sachiko’s declaration ( the image her mind’s conjured of a child fighting off a grown man and a deity is nothing short of hilarious ). She shifts her body to easier return the affection, draping an arm around the smaller child and pressing a light kiss against the top of her head. ❝ Good night, my little Duckletting. ❞

This warmth is the best she’s ever felt in months. 

. . . 

Ten, twenty, thirty minutes fly by. Unlike her little sister, Hikari doesn��t find sleep again quite so easily. 

She listens to Sachiko’s breathing and her occasional, incoherent mumbling, the only things currently anchoring her to this side of the universe ( the only sounds keeping the Renegade and the Galactic Boss from seeping into her thoughts, from dragging her back to them ). For the most part, her gaze is fixed on her sister’s tranquil features, but sometimes it wanders away to the window --- to the stars that adorn the heavens with their ethereal radiance.

One hour, two hours, three. The world around them stays deathly still, far into the night.

#[ field notes :: hc. ] #[ brightest star in the making :: sachi. ] #tw injury *

[queenraikichi94]

A song to heal a tired soul 10 (Raikichi x Piers)

Rated: Teen and mature

Warnings: Bad language

Note: Raikichi is around 25 years old

----------PART 10-------------

The sounds of the different Pokemon that were flying outside woke me up. I stretched a bit before curling more next to Piers. Last night was a perfect one, cause finally we made love for the first time. He was sleeping so pacefully, with a smile on his lips. I smiled gently before standing up and looking that his shirt had landed on the floor next to the wardrobe, so I took it and after putting on me, I buttoned it and then, I went to the balcony. It was early in the morning, so there wasn’t too many people there. I closed my eyes as the soft breeze played with my hair. The morning promised to be very great. I heard Glaceon yawning and I smiled again when she jumped off the bed and went to my side. “Morning, girl” I said “It looks you’ve slept well, right?”

Glaceon nodded as she stretched before licking her fur. It had passed near two months since I arrived to Galar. Near two months that I arrived here running of the preassure of the press, and of course, of the bad memories that I got after Guzma broke my heart, my feelings and my chance of having a relationship with him. I sighed and I shook my head as I asked myself if thsoe grunts of team Skull were fine. 

“That shirt is mine, ya know?” Piers said hugging me from behind and leaning his chin on my head. He was wearing a sleeping coat and now, we were watching the beatiful sunrise from the balcony of our hotel suit. We spent few minutes there until I heard my Rotom Phone sounded. “Who dares to interrupt us?” he mumbled as he kept hugging me

“It’s Leon” I replied

“And what does that folk want know?”

“He wants to have breakfast with us”

“Oh, then we can take a long bath” Piers said taking my hand as my Rotom Phone flowated around us before landing on the bed. My boyfriend removed the coat, getting naked in front of me, making me blush madly “Since his sense of direction is so horrible, we can take our chance to have a romantic bath”

I rose an eyebrow and then, I decided to tease him a bit. Sensually, I started to unbutton the shirt I was wearing, and he blushed madly; also, his cock was getting a bit harder with every move I did. Once I was donde with the buttons, I removed the shirt and I walked to him in order to stroke his bare skin, making him shiver. “Do you like what you see, babe?” I purred as I made him lean in order to kiss him

“Of course...Damn, you’re so hot, ya know? You know how to drive me mad when ya want” he said kissing me back “But since Leon would be waiting for us if we take a bit long in the bath, we could wait to have another funny night, what do ya think?”

“It sounds find for me” I said as we entered the bathroom. We filled the vathtub with warm water and put a vanilla bath boomb before entering the bathrub. With a soft sigh, I leant my back againts of his chest, letting him hugging me from behind “Piers?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you”

“I love you too, babe” he said kissing my neck “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, babe”

“How did you get these scars? Of course, if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll understand”

I sighed and after shaking my head, I smiled and I lean again againts his chest. I started to tell him about them, starting fro the ones I got in Sinnoh and ending with the most recents, the ones I got here in Galar. Pier’s fingers stroke my scars as I talked about them. “You’re so brave, my love” he whispered againts my skin “You’re always ready to protect the innocent...And you have a very kind heart that most people would want to have...That’s why I love ya, babe”

I smiled as he massaged by shoulders, enjoying that tender moment with him. Piers was different than Guzma; maybe if Guzma wouldn’t had yelled at me, maybe, maybe, we could have started something...But no, he ruined everything. But in part I was happy cause I met Piers and I loved him a lot.

After an hour in the bathtub, we ewent out and got dried and dressed, pulling our hairs into ponytails before taking our jackets since we were to spend another night there. Glaceon was watching on Applin, who tried to follow her but she was afraid of falling from the bed. Piers chuckled as I took Applin and put her on my shoulders once I put my jacket one before stroking Glaceon. “C’mon, I’m sure Leon is waiting for us” I said

“If he’s waiting for us in the hotel restaurant, of course” Piers said and I laughed 

I couldn’t help but laugh as we took the elevator down to the main floor. There we spotted Leon who saw us and approached us. “Hey, good morning!” he greeted us “How are you?”

“We’re fine” Piers said “Thank you for the idea of staying at that suit”

“Hey, we’re friends, and we’re there to help each other” Leon said guiding us to the hotel restaurant terrace and then, we sat down; me next to Piers and Leon in front of us “Hey, Raikichi, I’m sorry about what happened yesterday with Oleana”

“So...You know it...”

“Chairman Rose told me what happened, and I’m really sorry that...”

“Hey, that bitch is the one that has to say sorry, not you” I said and Piers and Leon looked at me rising an eyebrow “What? She was a bitch with me and that’s what she is until she understand what is being on my shoes”

“Strong character, I see” Leon laughed 

We ate our breakfast as my Rotom Phone showed me some information about the curious method that Appling had to evolve, so after eating our breakfast and making sure that we had our things, Piers and me decided to go to Hammerlocke. Leon was going there too since he accepted an exhibition match againts Raihan, and we wanted to see how Leon beated Dragon Boy.

It took us near an hour to arrive to Hammerlocke and then, we saw Raihan outside the gym showing some youn trainers his Dragon type Pokemon and speaking about them. Then, Dragon Boy spotted us and waved at us. Piers sighed and I shook my head before approaching him. “What are you doing here?” he asked

“We want to see your exhibition match with Leon and also, we want to find an apple for this little one” I said showing him my Applin

“Awwwwwwwww, it’s so cute!” Raihan said leaning down and making my Applin to get scared and to run away

“Hey, Applin! Come here!” I said running after her with Glaceon following me

“Good job, Raihan” Piers said with a heavy sigh “Good job”

“I didn’t want to scare that little one, I swear!”

“Listen to me, Dragon Boy” I growled grabbing him by his collar “Do that again and I will make you kiss the floor that you are steping in” I said as I released him

“It was an accident” he said and then, he smirked “I think it’s time for our rematch”

“Before your match againts Leon?” I asked rising an eyebrow “You really want to have a date with me, don’t you”

Raihan blushed but smirked again “Maybe, who knows” he said “What about versus one, only using Dragon type Pokemon”

“Then, I’m in” I said “Here and now”

“Here and now?”

“You want to retreat? I’ll accept that as a victory for me” I teased him. Oh, I really loved teasing him that way. A good way to keep him away from making jokes about my heigh

“Of course I’m not out!” Raihan said taking out his Flygin “Now show me yours!”

I smirked as I gave Applin to Piers before taking my position. I took a Pokeball from my bag and I looked to Raihan before smirking again. “From the highest skies and the deepest oceans, you always show your beauty. Go, Dragonair!”

When my Dragonair went out of her Pokeball, Raihan dropped his mouth as he saw Dragonair around me and nuzzling me before going to the battlefield. “It’s that really a Dragonair?! I’ve never seen one!! That’s the one that evolves into Dragonite, the most famous Pokemon that Lance has!!”

“Yeah, but I like Dragonair, not Dragonite, since I used her in some Pokemon contest when I was travelling through Kanto” I said “But now, she will show you her power in a combat. Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready! Flygon, Dragon Claw!”

“Dragonair, stop it with Dragon Tail!”

Both Dragon type moves crushed in the air and then, Dragonair grabbed Flygon’s arms with her tail. “Now, Ice Beam!” The Ice Beam hit Flyong, and he took a very big damage as Dragonair throw him away “Now is time to show you another Z-Move!” I said changing the Z Crystal and activating the Dragonium Z “From ancient times, your kind was one of the most strongest Pokemon. Now, show our enemies the true power of a Dragon type Pokemon. Use Devastating Drake!!”

With that move, Dragonair won the match, making Raihan sighed in defeat as he returned his Flygon to his Pokeball. Piers wanted to hug me and kiss me in order to celebrate my victory, but since we were trying to hold the news about our relationship about longer, he smiled and when I approached him, he stole a kiss from my lips without being noticed. “You did very well, babe” he murmured to my ear and I blushed

“Hey, little Champion!” Raihan called me “That was a good one, but I would have like to enjoy a bit more the match”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but I have things to do” I said “Maybe next time our match could be longer, and in that time I hope you will use that Gigantamax Duraludon of yours. I don’t you to hold your power only cause you want to be a gentleman. In a match, those things don’t matter”

“I’ll promise that I won’t hold up then” he smirked, showing his fangs on his smirk “Leon, I’ll got my Flygon healed and then, we’ll have our match, but first I think I should tell you the place to find the Sweet Apples and the Tart Apples that you need to evolve Applin into Flapple or Appletun. Take it as your little prize for winning me”

“I would have discovered it without winning you” I sighed and after taken some notes on my Rotom Phone about the places, I went with Piers to those places while Leon went with Raihan to the Pokemon Center.

--------------------

“That Raihan really gets me on my nerves” Piers said with a heavy sigh “This is the tenth place we’ve visited...Is he trolling us?”

“Who knows, maybe” I said with another sigh. We’ve spent like an hour and a half searching the damns Apples without finding them and the match was going to start. In that moment, Applin ran and started to jump near a little Market Stall that was selling Sweet and Tart Apples “Oh, she found the Apples...Which one do you want?” I asked and Appling pointed with her eyes the Sweet one, so I bought it and together with Piers, we went to the Hammerlock stadium. Before entering, I gave the Sweet Apple to Applin and when she finished eating it, she started to glow, evolving into a full grown Appletun. “Whoa...Those are her ears? Oh, okay, those are her eyes” I said laughing stroking Appletun’s head “You’re tiny to be a Dragon type Pokemon, but I don’t mind. Together we will make you to be a strong Pokemon”

“Babe, the match is going to start” Piers said and I nodded, returning Appletun to the Love Ball Piers used to catch her and together, we went inside, to the VIP place of the Gym where we had very good views of the match. Leon was using his Charizard and Raihan his Duraludon. This was going to be fun and interesting, since both of them were going to Gigantamax their Pokemon, and they did. It was a pretty hard match, but Leon won at last. After the match, Piers and me exited the Stadium. The sun was starting to hide, meaning that night was near to come. When we were ready to leave to the hotel, Raihan approached us.

“Hey, Raikichi” he said once he recover his breath “About going out for a date...”

“Oh, poor Dragon Boy, I should have told you before, but I didn’t trust you in order to keep it in secret” I said teasing him before smiling when Piers passed his arm over my shoulders “But I have to reject your date since my heart belongs to another person” I added as Piers leant in order to kiss my neck and bite it very softly as he looked at Raihan as my boyfriend said ‘Mine’ between his teeth and then, he stood up again. “Oh, and if you dare to put this in the social media...Well, Glaceon will make you to have fear to the Ice type Pokemon. Bye, Dragon Boy~~”

Piers laughed and took my hand in order to take a Flying Taxi back to Wyndon, leaving Raihan with his mouth open as he tried to say something.

------RAIHAN’S POV-----------

Wait, wait wait wait WAIT. Raikichi was dating Piers?! How and when happened that is something that I didn’t know, but the thing I knew was that my chances of going out for a date with her dissappeared. Why it had to be so hard to date someone that you like? Oh, well, Leon had always the answer; Raikichi didn’t like my jokes about her height, but man, she was so TINY. Her head reached my abdomen, and when she got angry she got also a bit cute. With a sigh, I looked my Rotom Phone and when I remembered how she threated me with using her Glaceon if I dared to put something about her relationship with Piers in the social media, I quickly threw that idea to the trash.

“Raihan, you look confused” Leon said approaching me. Whoa, Leon finding someone without getting himself lost? That was a new record for our Champion that had the worst sense of direction in all Galar. “What’s up?”

“You knew it and you didn’t tell me” I said with a sigh. Leon looked confused and then, when he understood, he laughed “Why are you laughin? Are you laughing at me cause I lost my chance to have a date with Raikichi?”

“Of course I knew it and no, I’m not laughing at you. It’s simple, I didn’t tell you cause I know you would be posting it in the social media and Raikichi and Piers wouldn’t like that.” he said “C’mon, Raihan, you’re the Dragon Tamer. Are you going to let a little heart defeat to win you? You can be her friend”

“Maybe I wanted to be more...” I sighed before shaking my head “Alright, Champion, let’s have a training battle!”

------RAIKICHI’S POV---------

“Poor Raihan, he looked a bit sad when you told him that we were dating”

“Feeling pity for him?”

“Nope”

I couldn’t help but laugh as he took my hand on his with a smile on his lips. Piers kissed my knuckles before stroking my palm. “I’m really happy of being with you, babe” he said “And I won’t let anyone to take you away from me”

“That includes Dragon Boy, doesn’s it?” I said and he nodded “You know, I don’t see Raihan as a boyfriend...He is more like the annoying friend that always makes jokes about your height”

“He is that annoying friend”

I shook my head and then, I sent a quick message to my uncle before the food arrived. Piers and me were going to spend another night in The Rose of the Rondelands before returning to Motostoke next day since I had to help in the Gym and Piers had to do things on Spikemuth since he was the leader of Spikemuth. 

After the dinner, we went to our room. As we entered, I removed my ponytail and ruffled my hair before removing my jacket and going to the balcony. The starry night was so beautiful, and the soft breeze was nice. I heard Piers searchhing something on his bag and once he found it, he came to my said and put a box on my hands. “Another Applin?”

“No, I didn’t have the luck to catch other Applin” he said with a chuckle “Open it”

I looked at him with a smile as I opened the box, gasping when I found a mteallic chain with the symbol of Spikemuth Gym on it. “For you, babe” he said, his hands on my waist “Marnie suggested the idea, and Team Yell was agreed as well. I think they are starting to see you as part of the family, as I do as well”

“Oh, thank you, babe” I said hugging him before putting the chain next to the one that had the symbol of Team Skull and then, I hugged him again “Thank you, Piers...”

“For you, I’ll do everything, babe”

I smiled and then I yawned. Damn, I didn’t realized how tired I was until that moment. Piers chuckled as he removed his ponytail while I got undressed, only keeping my panties on and then, I laid down on the bed. Piers got also undress, keeping his underwear on and once he laid down on bed, I leant my head on his chest. “Tomorrow we’ll have stuff to do” I said with another yawn

“Yeah...” Piers replied, yawning as well “You know, maybe I’ll be able to have the concert soon”

“Really? I want to go and see you giving everything on the stage”

“Thanks babe...And also, I thought about you doing a contest perfomance and I don’t want to force you if you don’t want to do it. I understand your fears and worries and the last thing I want is making ya feel bad”

His words were sincere. He was being honest; he didn’t want me to feel uncomfortable, but in fact, if I didn’t practise some contest moves, I would ended loosing my experience and my personal touch doing the performance. “Piers?”

“Yes, babe?”

“I was thinking on the performance thing...Maybe I could it in one of your concerts, but not too soon”

“Take your time, babe. Don’t push yourself, ‘kay?” he said hugging me and kissing my forehead

“Thanks, dear...” I said closing my eyes “Good night, Piers...Love you...” I mumbled 

“Good night, Rakichi...Sleep well, my love” I heard him said before falling the both of us asleep.

#raikichi pkmn #trainersona #piers #guzma #raihan #leon #marnie #pokemon sword and shield #piers x oc #a song to heal a tired soul

[littlesilverplatinum]

A Herd Better Left Unknown – Another, Where You Belong – Two

---

Toes clad in nylons peak out over the edge of the felt seat. Her fingers, absentmindedly pulling at the hem that never seemed to sit comfortably around the foot. To tug it above, below or across the curve of her toes appeared to be a dreadful decision to make most of the time. Either resulted in mild discomfort impossible to force out of your mind.

But perhaps she needed a bit of a distraction.

The oval glass that lined the closed, narrow space that built the plane was Hikari’s only current window to the outside world. A world, that held nothing but oceans for as far as the eyes could see. There was a calm in that, as well as worry. One taken care of, by mindlessly finding herself tasks.

To get comfortable, in a childish such manner. --To sit as she did at her age was, perhaps, an oddity.

---

[. . . On a white country road

The dusty breeze stands still.

I drop down to the floor with a bump,

as some kids play marbles.

Shine-shine, glitter-glitter . . .]

In low tunes on the radio, summer songs come to play on repeat through the late spring. Hums of childish notes ring clear under the baritone voice of the male soloist. In the distance, chatter that clearly would turn into shouting – had her mother been the kind to do so, spilled past the kitchen archway.

The call Johanna had received after Hikari’s ‘outburst’ at her grandmother’s home had been as expected as it had been unexpected. Three days between what had been a nightmare – of foul words spoken as fact on a balcony that held no warmth, it was almost surprising that Sofia had waited as long as she had to let her opinion be known.

--The cigarette stench still clung to her nose, impossible to get rid of no matter how hard she tried.

[. . . Well, it’s the summer

The deep green of the shrine grove

A solemn silence has fallen.

An old tearoom

Someone swings from the store front . . .]

Johanna had come to her, then. Palms gently gripped at her lap as she took a seat near the daughter she no longer felt was her own. No longer hers to care for, nor hers to give advice to. --Hikari would not meet her discernments, but that was not something new.

“Grandma asked me to say ‘hello’,” she would try, voice soft and hesitant. A smile that meant little testing its limits.

Hikari almost laughed. “… She did not.”

Johanna’s hand would come to rest against her thigh, then. Something Hikari did not react to, though she perhaps would’ve under any other circumstances.

“… She doesn’t mean to be upset with you, Hikari. Her choice in words doesn’t mean anything, either.”

---

The pads of her fingertips felt cold against the glass shielding her from the vast skies.

Perhaps Sofia truly hadn’t meant anything by her choice in words. Perhaps she simply carried a grudge along with information she thought herself to have gained by the small amount of interaction she and her daughter had kept throughout the years. --Relied on rumors, on her own sick ideas, rather than facts.

‘You’re a product of a child molester and a daughter that picked the worst life for herself.’

Nausea sat prominent in the pit of her stomach. Her knees, pressing tighter against her chest as her arms finds their way around them.

‘He did like them young, after all.’

Perhaps Sofia was nothing but delusional and deranged. An aged old lady who didn’t even know what she was spewing in moments of stress – nor in unfamiliar situations that her aid was not present to assist her through. Veronika had been inside during this time, after all.

Hikari’s fingers finds the length of her hair and pulls.

‘He is a child molester, sick – what’s to say he didn’t let his hands wander on his own ch-?’

Without much care, as the disgust she had felt in the days long past boiled within her throat, blunt nails dug at her scalp in an attempt to find reason. To find leverage – an advantage in a situation that was difficult to comprehend and work through. --How could Sofia say such a thing – she had known exactly what her words meant.

She had said it all with ill intentions. To hurt her, to hurt her mother – to hurt her father.

Sofia hadn’t known her father. Not in any way shape or form. Only two people, besides herself and her mother, could claim that knowledge.

“Miss?”

The low hum of the plane’s engine filled her senses. The chatter of voices speaking in hushed tones of trivial matters such as dinner or ‘where one may find a place to sleep once they were safely back on land’. And, slowly – gradually, the white-knuckled grip of her hair would loosen. Fingers, wading through the inky strands that fell like oil around her features.

Slate eyes met those of a flight attendant. A pretty, young woman dressed all in blue. Her blonde hair, up in a bun under a hat Hikari found to be rather cute.

“We are preparing for landing, miss. Please sit back properly and fasten your seatbelt.”

Below them, the stark city lights of Olivine made themselves known. Dots of stars spreading over what was previously nothing but ocean – now, the warmth that only a home could bring forth sat in its wake. Hikari gave a nod, indicating that she understood and just as quickly as the woman had appeared – she left.

The act of righting herself became one that felt mechanical. As though it was not her who did it, but rather someone else. Perhaps something else- --Perhaps it was the anticipation traversing her nerves like ants that caused this feeling.

Perhaps she was simply imagining it.

---

[. . . Chirp-chirp

It’s the voice of the cicadas

Chirp-chirp . . .]

Hikari lingered in the doorway that lead to her mother’s room – fingers burnt from early adventure picking at wood that needed a fresh coat of paint. Johanna was a homemaker by heart, but a carpenter she was not.

The same woman was on her knees, top half fully hidden from her daughters sight within a closet littered with boxes that held everything and nothing. Items of which Hikari had never seen before – trinkets of music boxes and lights that lacked bulbs. Cords, notes and dresses too small for anyone that lived within these walls.

---

“Is it really so important to you?” Johanna had asked. “To know them?”

“Of course it is. I- That’s why I wanted to talk to Sofia.”

“Yes, I know that but… That didn’t go so well. I would hate for you to leave for Johto, only to get the same reaction from your father’s parents.”

“It… It will be different. They will want me, we are family after all.”

“Well, remember that you have me, sweetheart. Isn’t that enough?”

---

As a sliver of the doors wood frame peeled off – the tip, digging into the pad of her thumb (her mind, telling her to push it deeper still and draw blood-), Hikari knew she couldn’t answer that question with outmost honesty. At least, not to her mother’s face.

… Of course Johanna wasn’t enough. When had she ever been?

It was why the mention of her paternal grandparents had come up. A side of the family neither of the women truly knew much about. Though Johanna spent her youth with Koh – shared more about herself to him than to her own parents, she barely could claim to know the names of his own.

There was, however, hope. Any of the belonging Koh left behind in his hasty retreat could hold the information needed.

--Which was what the mother of the duo was now searching for. Digging through boxes that hadn’t seen the light of day in years – holding memories that both filled her heart with joy, as well as hurt her at the remembrance of loss. Pictures, books and writings in an all too familiar handwriting laid bare around her knees within the closet.

More than once, she thought better than to share the pictures that she found with Hikari.

[. . . Well, it’s the summer . . .]

Eventually, they had found what they had been searching for. A wrinkly piece of paper that had seen better days. --It was all that Hikari needed to make up her mind.

---

The streets of Olivine sat different than those back home. Where cobbled streets and gravel paths once made up the majority of towns, now paved streets and soil were the decided factors in terms of roadwork. It felt foreign in all the wrong ways, yet perhaps there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with that. For as she took a deep breath – the salty scent of the ocean nearby, filling her lungs until she couldn’t hold it anymore – Hikari felt lighter. Better. --As though a weight had come to lift from her breast. As though something was gone, now replaced with an anticipation she hadn’t felt since she was twelve years old.

“So…” Hikari lulled her head to herself, eyes following the homes that lined the street for but a moment before she dug her hand into the pocket of her coat. A piece of clothing unbefitting the  spring that Johto held, perhaps, – as back home, snow still littered the grounds wherever you went.

Within it, a neatly folded piece of paper made itself known against her fingertips.

‘Hiroji and Masae Otsu. Off the beaten path, Ecruteak City.’

Her mother’s scribbled handwriting was her only remembrance of home.

Light footsteps in the quiet night, the sound only rivaled by chatter of bars past glass doors as she wandered by. The bumps and turns the wheels of her luggage took, held its own unique quality that almost felt dreamlike. And had this been like any other of her visits to foreign regions – then perhaps she would’ve lingered within the port, or found herself bedding. … Entertainment, or to simply take time to sit by the ocean and gain the sense that everything in this world was right once more.

However… she would rather move forward, than to stay in this city that by the end of the day meant so little to her.

She wasn’t here to tourist around, after all.

---

Hikari had always known of her father’s roots. Not only because many children of Sinnoh had at least one foreign father or mother, most commonly from the neighboring regions, but because Koh had been prominent with teaching her the customs he himself had grown up with. Johto and its sister region, Kanto, were neighbors to the isolated Sinnoh – yet their differences were worlds apart. A commonality in language meant nothing, if the structures that founded them sat different at their roots.

Hikari had not known of a difference in her behavior, until she entered kindergarten and saw that to bow and slur your words were not common behavior among the other children. --Sometimes, she regretted righting her way of speaking to mimic that of her mother’s accent, rather than her fathers. It lost its quality – and she lost what little she shared with him.

But as Ecruteak City spread before her, a long night of nothing but walking (and a quick rest of the road, if the stains that lined the hem of her skirt were anything to go by) through the wilderness that didn’t hold the same thickness as that of Sinnoh – Hikari couldn’t help but feel something akin to shame about not having taken the opportunity to visit Johto earlier in her admittedly short life.

Though it was still the earliest of hours – where dew clung to blades of grass and a haze that tasted of water spread over the streets (as though in a fairytale of long forgotten years), Ecruteak buzzed with quiet life. Of women at their balconies and front doors, dusting off the stains of the night from paved platforms. Boys carrying paper packages under their arms, jogging past her as though in a hurry to deliver the mail before the larger part of the community woke to the world once more.

--Young girls that perhaps were her own age, dressed in the finest of silk robes walking in lines of two between buildings that didn’t lack in beautiful architecture. Their wooden shoes, clacking against the pavement that barely held a hint of cobble within its texture.

Their white painted faces stood out to her the most – a beauty she had never been exposed too before in her life. And as she knelt to a crouch under the wooden panel that played as cover over a stained window, being careful in tucking her skirt around her limbs in a fashion that was presentable, her eyes couldn’t help but track the girls as they one by one entered a building that played tunes unfamiliar to her ears.

An acoustic sound, of something like a guitar yet it could not be.

After the last young girl disappeared from her sight, a significantly older woman (dare she say, someone who could perhaps be her grandmothers age, had she fully known that number) took their place. Walked out to seemingly breathe in the early morning air, her hand digging into the sleeve of her own robe to find herself a mindless task to fulfill – until her eyes landed on Hikari, who diverted her own gaze just as quickly.

If it was rude to stare… Then she hadn’t known.

But instead of dwelling on the matter, she once more brought out her mother’s scribbled note. Though less neat than previously, as she hadn’t taken care in properly folding it once she brought it out before, the writing sat no less prominent.

Names and lose directions.

‘Off the beaten path, Ecruteak City’ meant as little to her as French, for she did not know the language more than she knew her way around Johto. And as her eyes scanned the surroundings – roads that waded like snakes between wooden homes and buildings, Hikari could not even begin to guess which way would take her where she needed to go.

“I’ll just have to… To try every direction I suppose.” She mumbled under her breath – righting herself up to a stance once more. Her palms, smoothing out the length of her skirt over her knees and just as she righted a misplaced strand of hair behind her ear, she once more caught the eyes of that one particular woman.

--Something akin to a cigar, she figured, sat between slender fingers and the smoke that puffed past painted lips mingled almost seamlessly with the surrounding mist. Her feet took her to the woman before a decision had properly been made within her mind – the wheels of her luggage, bumpy and loud against the shifting and inconsistent roads. It broke the serenity of the morning, rudely so, perhaps – yet she couldn’t do much about it.

It was hesitantly, quietly, that she voiced her troubles. “Ma’am I was wondering if… If you could help me find someone?”

For a moment, it appeared as though the woman hadn’t heard her – or, perhaps, that she was ignoring her. Something that stumped the young girl’s confidence for but a moment. But as another huff (of a slender stick that looked as though it was almost electrical) rolled its smoke into the atmosphere, coal eyes came to meet blue.

“… Go on, kid.”

---

What had been meant as a simple show of directions, ended with a cup of tea being shared by a low table opposite of each other. As young girls – the same ones she had come to see earlier, dressed in gorgeous robes that Hikari found herself to be just a little bit jealous of – served them the hot beverage and took care in showing pleasantries she had thought was only befitting the most important of company, words were exchanged about interests and desires.

Who Hikari was – to which she replied with her full, given name – to why she decided to leave a place such as Sinnoh for the quiet of Johto. --Something she answered with honestly and care.

“I haven’t seen my father in years,” she would start. And if there was a tenderness that came over the older woman features, a slow nod of her head to indicate something that may be seen as sympathy, then it was minimal enough to pass Hikari right by, “… But I know that his parents are from here. I want to see them, because maybe they would like to meet me as well. Or, well… at least that’s what I hope will be the case.”

Kazuyo, as she had come to learn was the woman’s name, gave a laugh that almost rumbled within her chest. “I’m sure they will be delighted. Family is very important here, you must know. A lost granddaughter is something that will be welcomed with open arms.”

And Hikari wanted to believe her, though doubt would mar her features without her knowledge. Something Kazuyo quickly commented on, before tea time was over.

“If they don’t want you, then you can stay with me and my girls. You would make a wonderful geisha.”

---

‘Off the beaten path’, in this case, seemed to indicate south, then east. Directions easy to follow, until you actually had to divert from the laid path ahead. More than perhaps she should’ve, Hikari left her luggage behind to search the tree lines to her left – to try and locate a road that looked meaningful, but with no true or honest luck.

Kazuyo had been terribly helpful and, if she let herself pass judgement so quick – Hikari trusted her intentions to be good. There was no reason not to, as the woman had done nothing but be kind towards her. --It was she who didn’t know the lay of the land well enough to find a road to take her to her grandparent’s quiet farm. It was she, as her eyes once more scanned her surroundings, who was lost.

And it was her own fau-

“Oh.”

Faltering in her step, Hikari touched the back of her left hand to her eyes – rubbing away the sleep that still lingered within her. Tea had been helpful in waking her up, for but a moment. However, the withdrawal of the caffeine did her no favors. Perhaps she should’ve rested properly, rather than pushed on through the night. --Yet she was conscious enough to see a road – lush with foliage, yet prominent, distinguished with nothing but an iron beam and a sign.

*Otsu Estate*

She had found it. Home.

Something akin to butterflies came to form within her gut at the prospect of meeting those she so desperately sought – enough for her to fumble in her haste to wander the trampled path. Her luggage fell in her attempt to push it under the beam, staining the outside in mud. Next, she almost lost her shoes in her own attempt at traversing the beam, the length of her skirt impossible to keep modest around her limbs.

But this little mishap didn’t truly matter, for down this road laid the home that her father had grown up in. Down this road, her grandparents could be found.

With a spring to her step, Hikari hurried towards her future.

---

Much like the architecture of Ecruteak, the Otsu Estate was made out of nothing but wood. For such a grand name, it was a rather modest building – yet as she wandered a path through fields of rice and other such crops, she supposed that the land they owned was the true bringer of its name. Propped on a short hill, verandas lined the perimeter of the house. What she guessed to be paper shields, enclosing it save for a few that sat open by their given sets of stairs.

It was beautiful, in all the way that Sinnoh was not. Her grip tightened around the luggage she so feverishly had trudged along – her strides lengthening, until a voice made itself known.

“Are you lost, young miss?”

She paused, not for the first time that day. Slate eyes seeking the fields clad in mist, until they fell on a man. Dressed in what she could only describe as slacks – robes fitted loosely around his torso that made him appear larger than he otherwise would have. --His hands sat cupped behind his back, arched as it were.

It took her a moment to find her voice. “I… I’m here to see Hiroji and-“

“You’re speaking to him.”

A heartbeat – two.

If the world could come to a stop, then right then and there would be the moment to do so. For Hikari felt her breath be lost within her throat – felt numbness take over her fingertips, enough for her to lose her grip of her luggage. It unceremoniously fell to its hind legs, before toppling over into the dirt path.

With less grace than was deserved, Hikari descended the modest hill that separated the farmland from the rest on the palms of her hands spread behind her for support. Her skirt, taking the blunt of the soil that lingered after previous downpour – yet she did not seem to mind. Did not seem to care.

For her grandfather was right there.

And had she held any sense, any inkling of the manners that were once beaten down her throat like gravel – then she wouldn’t have taken to wrapping her arms around his waist the second she got close enough to do so. Her cheek, pressing against his chest to hear a heartbeat rattle within his cage. --Had she held any sense, any inkling of manners, then she would’ve understood that the wet sobs that wrecked through her were not a proper, nor normal, reaction in the given situation.

But there was simply a relief – an overwhelming such feeling – at having found a piece of herself that had long been gone.

Hiroji was not her father, no. But in this moment, it almost felt as though he was.

“It’s me,” she would express through a shake in her speech. His hands, laying to rest against her shoulders which only prompted more rushed sentences past tight lips. “It’s me, I’m Hikari I’m- It’s me.”

And as her eyes sought his – a dark coal that mimicked those of many others she had come to see in this region (like those of her fathers, of which she hadn’t seen in years) – there was a sinking feeling within her gut at the possibility of him not knowing. --Not knowing her name. Not knowing who she was – not knowing that she was their grandchild of a son long gone.

But as seconds ticked by as minutes – an eternity, if she counted – something tender would reach his features in a way that exceeded any and all of her expectations.

“… Hikari,” he would speak her given name, a sound that almost caused tears to spill over her cheeks. His hand that held a shake, yet strength, cupping her cheek as though he needed to look at her just a little more closely. “Have you grown so much already? My, how time pass quickly…”

And the young girl laughed – let herself smile in earnest, in a fashion that had felt so foreign to her for so long. Hiroji wasn’t like Sofia – he didn’t look at her as though she was a mistake. An annoyance. Someone to feel shame over.

No.

“Yes, yes I- I’m not a little girl anymore. But it’s me!”

He looked as her as though she was family, like a treasure to keep dear. It was everything she had come to wish for.

---

Masae – a woman short in stature, with a back as hunched as that of her husbands – had been just as enthusiastic about her arrival, if not more. Words past chapped lips played at affection. Her wrinkled hands, cupping Hikari’s cheeks in a fashion she figured would be a common occurrence from then on.

“Oh, you look just like him, don’t you?” Masae complemented, her granddaughters luggage being brought up winding stairs by her late husband. These were words Hikari had never gotten to fully hear in her life before. Because, though her eastern complexion mimicked that of her fathers more, it was always Johanna who had earned the praise for having a daughter that resembled her so closely.

“I do? You’re- You’re too kind, I don’t.”

“Don’t say that. I will show you just how much you resemble him later, alright?”

A promise and show and tell, after Hikari got herself situated within their home – a suggestion of changing out of her clothing, to something less soiled – was enough for Hikari to follow along with their wishes.

The moment the door, thin as paper, slid to a close behind her and nothing but silence formed around her – the reality of the situation beat at her in soft blows.

A quiet, which allowed her to fully hear the pounding of her own heart within her throat. Excitement, as well as the fear that she had held of the possible rejection and distaste that very well could’ve been a reality. Lingering within her limbs like shakes of epileptic shocks. She had expected nothing, as well as everything – and in luck she had never considered herself to have, she had gotten the best possible outcome.

It was simply unbelievable. Something that did not happen to her, for happiness had not been within her life for so, so long.

The soft padding of her bare feet against the room’s wooden flooring added to the serenity. The dream. A window, propped open by a bed that sat elevated and neat. Her knee came to rest upon it (taking care in keeping the soiled hem of her skirt bunched within the palms of her hands) to take in the view she had been a part of just moments ago.

A fairytale made reality, and in this story – Hikari was not the tragic protagonist who came to suffer by actions out of her hands. --In this story, she was the lucky few that got to watch everything simply pass by.

---

That the room she had earned herself in such a short amount of time was one that lacked personality of any true kind, didn’t deter her from wondering if it once had belonged to her father. --An idea that brought more unfiltered joy, then it perhaps had any right to, as she unbuckled the straps that held her luggage closed shut.

It was a question she would have to pose at another time.

---

As Hikari made her way down stairs of exposed wood – a lengthy dress more befitting summer than late spring swaying around her bare legs, on repeat within her mind the song once played at her mother’s home made itself known.

The lulling voice of the man, a soft hum within her mind as she once more joined her grandparents in their common room.

[. . . Parasol spin-spin, and I’m bored

Parasol spin-spin, and I’m bored

Chasing stitches in the sky,

And when I cross some paving stones . . .]

For minutes, hours perhaps, quiet chatter of questions and stories came to be shared between generations once lost. Pictures of Hikari in her youth – ones that her father had apparently sent his mother in a show of fatherly pride. Something that he had never displayed back home.

--That the smile that played at her lips through it all (as fingers once burned by the creatures that would eventually protect her with all that they could played at picture edges that sat water damaged and brittle) was a sight once rare, didn’t seem to matter in this moment.

[. . . A summer shower

Comes along with it. ]

As the beating of fresh rain smattered against the house’s wooden roof – bleeding puddles within fertile soil in fields ever tended, Hikari came to wonder if perhaps…

Just perhaps.

It wasn’t so wrong of her to feel this happiness. Just this once.

#(ic - muse) #Story Progression - Hikari #-drabble- #important #FINALLY DONE WITH THIS AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

[turnaboutwriter]

Safe Travels, Part 1: In Abundant Relations - Chapter 5

Fandom: Pokémon

Pairings: Paul/Dawn, May/Drew, Dawn’s Togekiss/Paul’s Honchkrow, Wallace/Winona, Candice/Zoey, Steven Stone/Cynthia

Rating: General

Summary: Paul loses to Brandon at their rematch in Snowpoint City and intends on challenging him once more in Hoenn. Dawn, who intends to participate in Hoenn contests, runs into him on the ship ride to Slateport City. Paul seeks Dawn’s coordinating expertise for a contest that Cynthia tells him he should participate in, and so, while Dawn is puzzled as to why Paul has to partake in the contest, so begins their journey together — ikarishipping.

Notes: Hi, all! I'm sorry for the long delays between chapters, and especially if you're also reading my other ikarishipping fic. This semester has been so rough and difficult, but thankfully I am starting to reach the end of it, with only about a month and a half of it remaining before I get a break.

A small announcement to make: at this point of the "Abundant Relations" writing process, I have some catching up to do so updates will be slower (weirdly enough, the ending chapters are nearly done, but I really have to finish writing the chapters in between, which is approximately from Chapter 6 to Chapter 15, though everything is outlined); but in the meanwhile, while you wait for that, I plan to resume updates for "bluebells in bloom and berry gardens," so at least there will be some ikari for you to enjoy.

Thank you so much for your reading, support, and love! I get a lot of messages about this story from readers on different platforms and they never fail to make my day!! (I do have to catch up on some replies, too, so I'm sorry if I haven't gotten to some of your messages, yet.) Anyway, enjoy this chapter! (Below is an excerpt of the chapter — the full version can be read on AO3, which will be linked at the end of the preview).

Dawn and Paul are en route to Littleroot Town, courtesy of Mr. Briney and little Peeko.

It’s been a few hours since their contest battle. After they had lunch at the Pokémon Center, Paul announced that if Dawn wanted to get her starter Pokémon from Littleroot Town now would be the best time to travel there, since the boat ride would take a while on Briney’s slower boat.

They could have reached Littleroot Town sooner with the famous Captain Stern’s S.S. Tidal, but Paul was rather insistent on taking Mr. Briney’s boat. (It’s bad enough that Paul has to brace himself to interact with his father soon, so he’d be damned if he stepped foot near Captain Stern, his father’s cousin.)

Whatever the case may be, they are finally on their way to Littleroot Town, where Dawn is going to receive a Hoenn starter.

“What starter should I choose?” Dawn wonders aloud, as she looks to Piplup, who simply shrugs in response.

“If you want to know the Hoenn starters, lass,” Mr. Briney’s voice chimes in from the steering deck above, “you’ve come to the right man! The three Hoenn starters are Torchic, a fire-type, Mudkip, a water-type, and Treecko, a grass-type.”

As Dawn reaches into her pocket for her Pokédex to look up their entries, Paul adds, “Torchic’s final evolution is Blaziken, a fire-fighting Pokémon, Mudkip’s is Marshtomp, who is ground and water, and for Treecko it is Sceptile, who stays only a grass-type.”

Dawn groans, as she drags the palm of her hand down her cheeks in frustration. “I don’t know! They all sound great.”

He shakes his head at her. “What Pokémon did you bring to Hoenn?”

Dawn sighs before she stuffs her Pokédex back into her pocket, and pulls out all of her Pokéballs and throws them up into the air. “Come out, everyone!” She then quickly reaches into her other pocket to grab her new Eevee’s Pokéball and toss that into the mix as well.

Disbelief crosses Paul’s face as his eyes takes in the sight of the six – no, seven, counting Piplup, who has just jumped off from his position atop her head – Pokémon. “You brought all of them from Sinnoh? How are you going to catch more Pokémon here when you can’t hold more than six Pokéballs on your belt? And Eevee is your seventh Pokémon. You know that you’re breaking the law, right?” She would get into trouble with the Pokémon Association if Paul were to report her.

“I don’t know!” she moans again, burying her face into her hands, as Pachirisu jumps onto her shoulder. “I wasn’t thinking! I wanted all of them to come with me and see Hoenn.”

He scoffs, arms folded over his chest. “Clearly, you weren’t thinking. I’d suggest you ask Professor Birch to send some of your current Pokémon over to Professor Rowan or your family to hold on to. I thought you would have learned from Ash – he does this, too. You know from the Lily of the Valley conference that you can have them sent over, like Ash and I did, since most Pokémon centers have a transporter.”

Dawn is appalled at the idea and opens her mouth to refute, but she sees Paul raises an eyebrow at her and slumps her shoulders. “I’ll have to send at least two back home, since Professor Birch is giving me a starter,” she admits in defeat, frowning, as she gently pats Pachirisu.

“So, which ones, then?”

She turns to face him. “Um, will you . . . let out your Pokémon out of their Pokéballs as well?” she asks timidly, an underlying sadness in her words that surprises Paul.

He shouldn’t have expected any less from her, though. She’s friends with Ash, after all. Though Paul has learned to respect his Pokémon and be grateful that they support and work hard for his ambitions, he isn’t as emotionally attached to his Pokémon as much as Dawn seems to be. There’s no need to brood over the separation; he knows that if he gives a Pokémon to Reggie, it won’t be long before he needs it again.

Nonetheless, he shrugs. “Sure.” Dawn appears to be very upset, and the last thing he needs is for her to cry in front of him and Briney – Paul doesn’t know the first thing about how to act when a girl cries. He doesn’t have much experience around girls anyway. His mother passed away after giving birth to him, and Maylene doesn’t count, since she really doesn’t really act like a typical girl and avoids all things girly, anyway (though, he doesn’t understand why his brother dotes on her so much).

Paul reaches for his Pokéballs, silently hoping that some of their heavy weights don’t disturb the way the boat calmly floats atop the water, namely Torterra – but if Mamoswine came out of its Pokéball without landing too heavily onto the boat, then surely, neither will Torterra. It’s not like the boat is very small anyway. It’s a rather large-sized, Peeko-shaped boat.

So, out come Torterra, Froslass, Eevee, Honchkrow, and Hariyama. To Paul’s displeasure, Honchkrow immediately flies up to Togekiss, who has been serenely taking in the ocean breeze and mist from above them. His newly acquired Eevee runs to Dawn’s Eevee, who is with Piplup, but since the two baby Pokémon are siblings, Paul takes the least amount of offense to that. Quilava moves to greet Hariyama and Froslass, and Paul makes a mental note that he has to send those two Pokémon to Reggie soon and to also ask Dawn to feed them some poffins before he does – they seem to be having a positive effect on his Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Dawn stares at all of the Pokémon playing together, feeling a wave of sadness crash over her at the thought of separating them from each other. She particularly watches Torterra, and how he is resting in his place next to Mamoswine, as her Buneary begins to alternate between bouncing on top of him and the twin tusk Pokémon. Her sadness fades slightly as she holds back a laugh at the sight of Torterra taking it in calmly, while Mamoswine appears to be getting slightly annoyed – but her Pokémon is thankfully mature enough to take it in stride and bear it for Buneary’s sake. Dawn is also surprised that all of their Pokémon are able to fit on the boat.

“Chi pa!”

“Uh . . .”

Dawn is broken out of her thoughts at the sounds from Pachirisu and Paul. She did not realize that Pachirisu has jumped out of her arms and onto Paul’s shoulder.

“Can you get her off of me, please?” Paul requests calmly.

CONTINUE READING: AO3

#ikarishipping #pokemon #paul #dawn #pokemon fanfiction #Ikarishipping fanfiction #safe travels #in abundant relations #update #fanfiction

[smilingperformer]

SM074 - Thoughts

Holy cow... that was some tough ride. First it makes you laugh, then it crushes you, then it rekindles your inner light. So to speak. If you ask me, I’d say this was an episode well executed. Ula’Ula Arc continues on strong!

Satoshi is finally on Ula’Ula island Territory, and we get some others news during the scene before opening song kicks in: Alola League is being set up and both Kaki and Satoshi are fired up! We don’t have to argue about Alola League possibility anymore! : D

(Warning, I went quite analysive on this post, specifically about Sakaki and Kuchinashi. Be prepared for a really long post. lol)

I won’t like, it kinda feels hard to figure out where to start. So, why don’t we start with Rocket Gang, because well, the classmates aren’t here, and our only shots of them was from the beginning where Alola League was confirmed by Kukui, who then asked everyone to help out with setting it up. I wonder when it’ll be up for attendance!

Anyway, Rocket Gang!

While their role in this episode was more of a sideplot and to foreshadow future events, their scenes were very enjoyable and each episode of Sun & Moon makes me love them more and more. Musashi is daydreaming about Mimikkyu-Z move, and Kojiro & Nyarth are just a bit farther looking at the overjoyed Musashi, a bit bummed? Apparently she’s not letting the Z-ring up lol. Typical Musashi. When they see Satoshi the Brat Boy come to Ula Ula via Ship (this kinda reminds me of how they always used to following him on the same ship, esp. at the start of both Hoenn and Sinnoh.), they notice no classmates and immediately realise they might have a chance at winning against him. While we all know they’re doomed to fail (because they really are, nothing is confirmed but I find it hard to believe they’d win, as much as I want them to), I wish them luck! :3

We then cut to Kuchinashi, who seems to be sleepy, and wants to go take a nap somewhere else than the Police Station. It seems like he’s actually an active policeman in Pokeani. Was he in the games? Local Junsa calls him out in slacking, tho he pretends he’s on patrol and then heads back to Police Station, claiming he forgot something.

Looks like he was just trying to avoid his over a dozen Alolan Nyarth who keep on asking for food. I’m not cat owner, but apparently this is very relatable. :D This was a cute scene and all, but the next scene is the most intriquing one.

Kuchinashi receives as call, and while he tries to avoid answering it at first, hoping whoever is phoning him would give up, he eventually picks it up and oh guess who’s there:

Had I not seen the preview, I’d have been more suprised! But I did gasp at the scene while seeing it live thou.

And Sakaki is addressing Kuchinashi as an old friend? What is their deal here? I mean, SM073 already explained that the two know each other, but it looks like their relationship is deeper (And I mean more mysterious by it). Sakaki doesn’t seem to be aware of Kuchinashi being both Island King and police officer thou so... did they know each other before Kuchinashi became Island King or before he even became a police officer? Is Kuchinashi in Pokeani actually an ex-con who turned to the right side of the law? There’s more to this dialogue that makes me really curious. After small talk, Sakaki says that “he now gets it”. Get’s what exactly? He then tries to pry info out of Kuchinashi about “Kagayaki-sama“, which we localisation fans know as The Blinding One (see what’s being foreshadowed?). I didn’t know what exactly this was until later during the episode when I watched it live, but I had a hunch he might be asking about it. And I was correct. This is the first hint of an incoming arc about Necrozma, and with Sakaki being involved, a possible Rainbow Rocket arc!  I am beyond stoked and excited!

The way Kuchinashi reacts to the question is really interesting as well. I bet he does know, as we later know it is part of another legend told on Alola. But he seems certain on not letting Sakaki know, telling him he's never heard of it (the man keeps on lying to everyone, pffffft). So, I doubt he’s in league with Rocket Gang but, he might have had some past with them before. More specifically with Sakaki. What kind thou? Guess we’ll find out later this... summer? Autumn? Winter? This arc specifically? I’m finding it hard to predict future stuff for Sun & Moon, it always suprises me in different ways.

Sakaki expected a lousy answer from Kuchinashi, but like, this line has me so curious? Just what is Sakaki planning? I think he’s gonna have a big part in Necrozma arc, and Pokeani might try doing something original with merging ideas of Rainbow Rocket, Necrozma and the post-game stuff from Sun & Moon games (NOT Ultra ones, since Ultra replaced the Post Game from original games to Rainbow Rocket). Anyway, this quite intense Phone Call is finally hung up (Sakaki didn’t seem too pleased, calling his name just when Kuchinashi says he’s hanging up. He didn’t sound mad or anything, it was quite a calm and collective voice, but it was like he was trying to intimidate him? Idk) after Satoshi starts shouting outside, looking for the Island King himself. I guess our depressed Nyarth cop got off the hook, so to say? At least for now.

Maybe I should have put this part of this post as a seperate one, but... I’m not sure how to format it. If people want me to put it seperately, I can do so. But, moving on!

Well, before we move on with the plot of this episode, Satoshi gets piled up with Kuchinashi’s Nyarth, and Bevenom causes bit of chaos by shooting some... stuff, at them. Then Bevenom provokes the cats and a fight between Satoshi’s friends and Alolan Nyarth occurs. The cats won. lol Poor Satoshi. Rought start for this Island Pilgrimare.

And once again, when Kuchinashi gets asked himself as an Island King, he lies, saying Kuchinashi is his co-worker and currently on a patrol. Pfffft. He’s got some tough nerves to keep on lying to strangers. On top of it all, he tricks Satoshi into keeping company to the Alolan Nyarth “until Kuchinashi comes back“. Ruuuuude! He seems to be quite fed up with life. : D But this keeps his character interesting, he’s totally my fav Kahuna now. Sorry Lychee.

Kuchinashi does take note to Lugarugan and Bevenom specifically before tricking Satoshi into playing with the Nyarth thou. Doing a good job as Island King :)

So... Satoshi is dead from keeping company before the break time. Poor thing. These Alolan Nyarth sure are attention-hungry. (The Commercial Breaktime part is announced by Sakaki and somehow it gives me shivers lol)

After showing how exhausted Satoshi is, which is possibly because of playing with the cats for hours, Acerola shows up, searching for Uncle Kuchinashi. I have to say, the way she’s animated during this scene is so cute and gorgeus at the same time? She’s absolutely beautiful in Pokeani, they nailed here so well ♥

Well, after Satoshi explains Kuchinashi isn’t here and how he’s staying there until the “other officer“ comes back, Acerola blows the old man’s cover. Satoshi’s reaction is a lot calmer compared to Rocket Gan Trio’s, but you can see he’s a bit suprised. He’s also quite calm about Mimi-tan being a ghost. The pictures Rotom took were quite spooky... Acerola then offers Satoshi to take him to Kuchinashi, as if knowing she’ll know how to find him. This girl knows this man well, huh?

And just look at this animation, it’s perfection. The leg movement, the pose, the cuteness, the gorgeusness! That’s it, she’s my fav Pokeani character now. I’m gonna be sad when Ula Ula Arc is over I’m so sad she’s not a classmate ;_; She better appear more later on!

Back on topic, they head to the library Acerola works at, and after a small introduction to the place, Acerola brings up a book about a local legend, to which Bevenom seems to show being curious on. And so am I!

To explain it shortly, legend is about The Blinding One (Ultra Necrozma), Lunala and Solgaleo bringing light to a newly founded Alola Region, which was without a light at the time. If you want a full recap, I’ll point you to this post.

So, we now know some lore about Alola in Pokeaniverse! I love lore, and I was stoked to learn about Pokeani’s version of the Necrozma legend. It’s a bit different to the game one, where the Blinding One is a legend told in Ultra Megaopolis instead of Alola, and it’s actually about Necrozma itself instead of Ultra Necrozma. I wonder how they’ll showcase the hostile, incomplete Necrozma, who’s supposed to be in constant pain unless it fuses with Lunala/Solgaleo... hmmmmm. I’m worrying over Hoshigumo/Nebby now. Because of the Pokedex entries.

Acerola then informs Satoshi that Uncle Kuchinashi believes The Blinding One to be an Ultra beast. This bit also confirms Kuchinashi knows about the legend, and lied to Sakaki about. XD Ofc, the mafia boss didn’t believe him.

Well, what we didn’t see until the last second of the scene is that Rocket Gang is back to tailing Satoshi, and they have now learned about the tale of The Blinding One. They don’t know that Sakaki knows about it already, because they want to go and inform him right away. Weeell, they get scolded by Matori later in the episode for not bringing in new info anyway. Poor buffoons.

Small bits I like about this episode: How Mokuroh is absolutely adorable throughout it (I want to see the part where Satoshi feeds Mokuroh giffed it’s so CUTE) and Mimi-tan actually fancying Pikachu, unlike some other Mimikyu we know :))

I gotta say, the dynamic between Satoshi and Acerola is quite enjoyable. Satoshi is shown a bit restless here, wanting to go search for Kuchinashi at the Police Station, while Acerola just with proudness claims that there’s no need. Because she’s got the ultimate weapon for getting him to her: the hostage! Of his Kendama toy.

She’s adorable. How did Kuchinashi end up becoming her carer. That’s it this is my new Discord avatar. Welp. Her hostage works, because Kuchinashi comes right to her house.

I think this line confirmes Satoshi is gonna do another trial before SM077, and I think it’ll be the Ghost Trial. Maybe it’s a bit different to the games, since SM076 is gonna be Musashi’s Mimikyu VS Satoshi’s Pikachu. And they’re hyping it with different summaries, a lot. We’ll see, I’m not really having any ideas how they could portray Totem Mimikyu in the same episode. But I can see him getting the Ghost-Z Crystal. Anyway, let’s move on.

Kuchinashi denies Satoshi’s challenge, stating he can already see that he’s not strong enough to challenge them. He even tells him to go back to Melemele. Kinda harsh. Acerola convinces him to give the boy a try thou (by giving him glares and claming Kuchinashi is just finding his job a pain), so they’re gonna do a Pre-Trial for Trials. : D Which btw, is the highlight of this episode. I love how Kuchinashi seems to be unable to say no to Acerola. What a duo they are.

So, Kuchinashi uses Waruvial with the Intimidate Ability, while Satoshi uses Lugarugan, who showed interest in fighing earlier. However, we can see Lugarugan getting intimidated by this ability, and as we know, he’s got anger issues.

Btw, Kuchinashi doesn’t show a single interest in this fight. He looks bored. He knows he’s gonna win.

Well, each time Lugarugan gets intimidated by Waruvial, it gets angrier, and Satoshi notices this. He tries to calm Lugarugan, and well, so far it’s still listening, but...

None of Lugarugan’s move have an effect on Waruvial, and Kuchinashi manages to get Lugarugan trapped in a Sand Tomb. And well, this is where things get really serious.

Red-Eyed Lugarugan is back, and it’s not because of dirt, but because of not being able to control his own anger. I feel bad for thinking it was due to dirt. SM069 already kinda showed that it wasn’t related to dirt, because Lugarugan was dirty there. But let’s continue. Because this is where I start feeling ache in my heart.

Honestly, Satoshi looks terrified here. He knows what’s gonna happen. He knows already he won’t be able to control him! And he’s right!

The fight turns into Lugarugan not listening to any words Satoshi says, and it just keeps on biting Waruvial like a wild raging dog. It’s scary. It’s terrifying. And Satoshi has every right to be scared. But Kuchinashi?

He’s just being rude ass here, like he’s enjoying this scenario here. He seems so savage during this whole scene. Like he’s toying with the boy. And I sort of want to slap Kuchinashi for this, but then again, I love what Pokeani is doing with him here! We haven’t had Gym Leaders like him before, and to top it all, this is the first Dark-Type specialist Satoshi has to beat. Acerola is scared at Lugarugan here.

Kuchinashi does creepy smiles here while waiting for the right moment to counter enraged Lugarugan. You can see he’s a dark-type specialist. It sort of flows around him. Once the following scenes happens thou...

Cue the screenshot that starts breaking me. Seriously. We haven’t seen him look like this in whole Alola! He’s breaking!

And when Kuchinashi orders Waruvial to use Crunch, and it lands on Lugarugan perfectly...

Cue the most heartbreaking scene I have ever seen of Satoshi. I mean it. This is what breaks my heart! XYZ’s loss against Wurfic wasn’t enough, thou it was close! And I just had to see this similar shot of someone else in another show, so to see it this soon in Pokeani, with Satoshi, hurts so god damn much!

Lugarugan falls down, and the fight is over.

With Satoshi in disbelief. Seriously. I started crying few moments ago already. He looks so devastated. He’s lost before. But somehow this loss hurt so much more than other losses.

When he goes to Lugarugan and asks him if it’s alright, seriously, he looks like he’s about to cry. He’s at the line of the breaking point.

And he’s certainly keeping it in! He’s about to cry! ;_; And so am I hold on. I have to point out that Rica Matsumoto’s performance in this scene, and the next, is absolutely beautiful and I applaud her for a job well done.

Kuchinashi just straight up tells Satoshi that he should go back to Melemele Island. But the way Satoshi says the following line?

He’s saying it with the kind of voice that implicates that he’s so ready to cry and he’s determined on not giving up! I love this boy, and due to how impactful this scene is, I love the whole sequence of the scene, from start of the fight to the finish of this scene, whole lot!

This is the Satoshi we’ve learned to love. Determined to never give up. Determined to stay on the Island and train to become stronger, to be able to beat Kuchinashi. It’s admirable, inspiring, and I was once again reminded why this boy is such a golden one. I can’t believe I used to think lousy stuff about him years ago. I feel awful.

Anyway, Kuchinashi then tells him to do as he pleases. We then have another foreshadowing from Rocket Gang for the SM076, and I kinda explained the scene before, so, moving on! (Sorry Rocket Gang you know I love them D:)

The final scene is a good one as well. Lugarugan is sulking alone about the loss, and Satoshi goes to him, talking about how he’s frustrated, and how they weren’t able to do anything during the battle. It was very one-sided after all. He’s clearly disappointed. But then he apologizes to Lugarugan, like he seems to believe it’s his fault he can’t control Lugarugan’s anger issues. And well. He’d never blame his Pokemon. His friends. He then asks Acerola about where he could train on Ula’Ula Island, and Acerola suggests on meeting with Kapu-Bulul. Which is next week’s episode!

The end of SM074! I don’t know why I went such detail on this one. I’m blaming it on plot elements, creating my new favourite scene in Pokeani, making me love Acerola and Kuchinashi more, etc etc etc. If you guys managed to read this all, I applaud you. And sorry for sucha long post. :’D

Pokeproblem of the episode is stunning. Kuchinashi loves teasing his Nyarth.

While the preview talks about Island Kings resembling the Island Deityes by their personalities (bless the preview dialogues), we’ll be heading to the Ruins of Abudance, where Kapu-Bulul resides. And they’ll be crossing the desert to get there! Time for some slacker training!

Kapu-Bulul! Intense Slacker Training! Cya all next week!

#aleira watches sumo #i've been writing this for hours #oh my god #i keep getting distarcted because i have so much to write #i'm so sorry #pokemon #pokeani #pokemon sumo #ula ula arc #sm074 #ub arc #long post

[a-wunderous-nuzlocke]

Chapter 2

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“What happened to your dad?” Wunder asked as the tall grass closed around their legs.

Kyle swatted at a prickly bush that had rubbed up against him. “I never knew him very well,” he began. “But when he and my mom met in Sinnoh, he was an ace trainer. A lot of people thought he was going to be the youngest Champion in recent memory. My mom fell in love right away.

"He was always challenging the top trainers in the League,” Kyle continued. “But then he started to do worse. He got angry.

"My mom had me while he was away challenging the Champion. But when he went up against the Champion, he didn’t just lose. There was a freak accident and one of the Champion’s Pokemon killed one of my father’s. When he came home, he did some really mean things to my mom,” Kyle said, choosing his words carefully around the young Charmander.

Wunder instinctively reached up with his paw, and Kyle reached down and held it gently. “Don’t worry, bud. My mom called the police and when he was taken away, we moved here, to Kanto. But because of all of that, I never really wanted to raise Pokemon, I guess out of fear.”

Wunder stared up at Kyle for a few moments, appraising him with large eyes. Then he beamed. “I think you’re better than your dad, Kyle!”

Kyle chuckled. “Thanks, Wunder.”

Route 1 was shorter than Kyle had expected. In all that conversation, they had nearly made it all the way to Viridian. But there was still a significant stretch of Route 1 left, and it looked like the flora grew thicker farther on. It would be harder to see wild Pokemon as they got closer to their destination.

A rustling from near Kyle’s feet caught his attention. Wunder tensed, growling softly.

Seconds passed, and Kyle relaxed, starting to walk again. “Probably nothing - aaah!”

A Rattata shot out of the grass, aiming straight for Kyle with its fangs bared. On instinct, Kyle kicked out, managing to hit the Rattata.

Wunder ran in front of Kyle, slashing at the wild Pokemon. It hissed and tried to bite Wunder, but Wunder had already done a good deal of damage. One more hit and it scampered away

“Great job, Wunder,” Kyle told him, collecting himself. “We won’t have any problem getting to Pewter like that.”

Wunder shone with pride; the flame on his tail glowed a little brighter. He sneezed, and a small lick of flame sprang from his nostrils this time.

“You’re always sneezing,” Kyle observed. “Do you have a cold or something?”

“Maybe, I dunno,” Wunder sniffed.

“Tell you what. I’ll get you a warm hat when we get to Viridian. You’ll feel a little better after that.”

They entered the last stretch of the route without fanfare. Wunder walked ahead of Kyle, as the landscape was dark (more so than in Pallet, anyway), and he could light the way with his small tail flame. Flecks of paint on certain trees marked a path for trainers who were headed for Viridian, but ferns and vines had obscured many of them. It clearly was not meant to be hiked through by dark, but they didn’t have a choice.

Trying to clear away overgrowth from the marked trees was difficult, too, because wild Pokemon often made their homes there. Already the two had run into two Caterpies and a Weedle. Even though Wunder had done very well in each fight, Kyle worried for what would happen if Wunder got poisoned. He wasn’t very close to a Pokemon Center, and he certainly didn’t have any antidotes with him.

In many ways, Kyle supposed he was already very attached to the little dragon. He was the first Pokemon that Kyle saw as a genuine companion. Like a therapy dog, but fully sentient.

As if responding to Kyle’s thoughts, Wunder yawned. Of course. Both of them were coming down from their adrenaline rushes they owed to the prior fights, and it was almost 3 in the morning. Kyle kept his eyes peeled for any spot that might be safer than any other to sleep.

“Look!” Wunder said, suddenly pointing into the distance. Kyle squinted.

At first, he didn’t see anything. Just another dark day in dark forestville, population them. But with a little more specific pointing from Wunder, he saw it. Between two trees, bright lights stung Kyle’s eyes. It had to be from Viridian.

They made the last few strides out of Route 1 with renewed energy, and it didn’t take much longer to get to the Center. With Wunder in tow, Kyle walked up to the front desk.

“Sick or well?” the nurse asked.

“Well,” Kyle replied. “He’s just a little battered.”

Then he bent down to look at Wunder. “Hey, buddy. I’ve got one thing to take care of, and then I’ll be right back for you.”

“You’re going? For how long?” Wunder asked, worry in his eyes.

“I won’t be more than ten minutes,” Kyle assured him. “Don’t worry, I’m only going across the road to the mart. I’ll bring you a surprise!” With that, he wrapped his arms around Wunder and carried him over to the healing station. “Wait right here, and the nice nurses will get you feeling better.”

Kyle was right. Almost immediately, the nurses fawned over him.

“We get a lot of Charmanders around here, but you are by far the cutest!”

“Look at his little paws!”

Wunder sneezed delightedly.

It didn’t take much more than a nice bed and some good eats to please Wunder, and the Center had no shortage of either. Wunder was in pure heaven, and even when Kyle came bursting in, he hardly realized that quite a bit more than ten minutes had passed.

“Wunder! I’m sorry, I got held up!” Kyle called as he raced over to the bed. Wunder almost didn’t notice him, sucking on a Berry-infused lollipop one of the nurses had given him. When he did see Kyle, his eyes lit up in recognition. He sneezed, and tried to hug Kyle’s arm, which was carrying an armful of bags already.

Kyle’s heart melted. He lowered the bags to the floor and scooped Wunder up in both arms. Wunder closed his eyes.

“How is he?” Kyle asked.

“He’s perfectly OK to go,” one of the nurses said. “You can use one of the rooms down that hallway if you need a place to stay for the night.” She pointed down a long corridor of hotel-like rooms.

“Thank you very much.” Kyle looked down at Wunder. “One more trip to make, bud - ”

Wunder was already happily asleep. Kyle chuckled, stooping down and gingerly picking up his bags with Wunder still in his arms. Over the night, many of the rooms had filled with expectant trainers, likely on their way to Pewter as well, but for much different reasons than Kyle. He went halfway down before he found one that was empty.

The door swung easily into a small room with a bed and a small table. That was fine - in fact, it would have been fine if it was just the bed. He and Wunder needed only to sleep.

Laying Wunder down gently on the bed, Kyle put the bags on the table and inspected their contents. In one, a blue knit hat for Wunder. In the other, five Pokéballs and a few antidotes. The antidotes were self-explanatory. As for the Pokéballs…

As much as he trusted Wunder with the wild bug-type Pokemon en route to Viridian, Kyle knew enough about Pokemon to know that Wunder wouldn’t be able to handle every battle he came across. If they were to run into something Wunder couldn’t easily take care of, it would be good to have backup.

He had an eventful day ahead of him. They both did. Kyle swung his legs up into the bed, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

<-- Previous Chapter | Next Chapter -->

#nuzlocke #storylocke #pokemon red #pokemon #charmander #wunderous

[clefaiiiry]

Thanks to @tumblunni for beta reading :p

Companion to this.

Title: Clarity

Fandom: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions

Word Count: 5,265

Characters: Jun | Barry, Hikari | Dawn, Shirona | Cynthia, Akagi | Cyrus, Handsome | Looker, Dr. Nanakamado | Professor Rowan, Saturn (Pokemon)

Additional Tags: Friendship, Sign Language, Selectively Mute Dawn, Recovery Process, Implied Twinleafshipping, Japanese Names as Surnames

AO3 Version

“Only an idiot would go after him,” Barry had said.

It was unfortunate for them that Dawn had never thought highly of her own intelligence.

The pocket dimension (or the Distortion World as Cynthia had called it) was unlike anything Dawn could compare to. It was cold, colder than she was used to even after living her entire life in Sinnoh, but she felt no desire to bundle herself deeper into her coat. Even so, she lingered closer to Infernape than usual.

Gravity appeared to be inconsistent. Dawn had taken to using the tall grey trees that sprung up at seeming random angles. Some walls would pull her down while others would crumble if even the slightly pressure was applied. The swirling blue vortex seemed to be impossibly close and terrifyingly distant at the same time. She tried not to think about it too hard.

The air was heavy with dread, the faint cries of the Pokémon that inhabited this lonely place echoed through the empty space.

Infernape chirped as he clambered up a rock for better vantage of the area. The sprawling floating islands stretched for as far as Dawn could see. But she still couldn’t spot the Galactic leader.

[How hard is it to find one anti-social weirdo?] Dawn signed. Infernape shrugged.

The ground shook violently, a long shadow rose up across the two. While the tremors finally calmed, the shadows took shape. The huge creature that had torn open a rift as Dialga and Palkia were summoned. It took all her self-control to make sure she didn’t start shaking.

Why are you here, dear sweet child? It didn’t speak directly, it’s voice floated in the empty space from no discernible direction.

[I’m here to bring Cyrus back to our world,] she signed. The creature sagged.

A man like that has no interest in returning to the complete world. Why bother?

[Everyone deserves redemption.]

The creature’s body shook, as if laughing, though it remained audibly silent. Ah, that’s it? How utterly hopeless. Before she could argue, it swooped over her, curving around the floating islands with the grace of a Milotic.

He is closer than you think, dear sweet child.

The TV set in Rowan’s lab was about a decade too old to be in such a high-tech environment, but the staff had grown to appreciate the background noise. It was often left on the news, but anyone was free to switch channels with permission.

Barry had long since abandoned the samples he was pretending to look over as he gave his full attention to the slightly fuzzy image. A fake talk show host sat across the desk from Champion Cynthia Shirona.

“Thanks again for coming on, I’m sure you must be awfully busy these days,” the host said, his grin so wide that it almost split his face. Cynthia offered a pleasant smile in return and Barry almost believed it.

“It’s not a problem, we don’t get many challengers these days.”

“Why do you think that is, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Cynthia’s smile wavered for a moment. “I believe it is out of respect for the previous Champion. Miss Hikari only reigned for a few months and never lost a battle in her time as Champion. I feel as though I am not a suitable substitute, and many hope to battle her when she returns.”

The host leaned back in his chair. “Do you have any idea when that may be?”

After a moment of silence, she said, “I can’t say for certain, we don’t know enough about what happened to her to properly predict the outcome. But it’s been a year already and some are beginning to doubt that she may ever come back.”

The host tutted in pity. “We can only hope that Miss Hikari returns home safely.”

Static overtook the screen and Barry groaned, sitting up to tinker with the antenna.

“Need a hand?”

Barry glanced up at the voice. Lucas dropped to a crouch beside him and gave the TV a good whack. Barry snorted.

“You know that doesn’t actually work, right?”

But the image onscreen fizzled back to life. Lucas smirked. “Don’t argue with results.”

His expression faltered when he saw Cynthia.

“Miss Hikari’s family and friends are still grieving for their loss even after all this time,” she said, turning her attention towards the camera, “I ask for only respect from the people of Sinnoh.”

Lucas took off his hat and rubbed the back of his head. “Jeez, it feels like yesterday.”

“She was gonna be eighteen today,” Barry grumbled, though didn’t look up from the screen, “we always said we would go on a trip around Unova or Kalos or something...”

With a sigh, Lucas pushed to his feet and went to open a window. Sandgem Town was only just warming up after a particularly harsh winter, but Lucas had always insisted that the fresh air was good for them.

“I asked the Professor for a field assignment,” he said, lifting a box marked ‘For Oreburgh’ and passing it off to Kadabra, “he’s sending us off to Lake Valor for a week to look at how the Pokémon in the surrounding areas are adapting-”

“After Team Galactic blew it up,” Barry interjected.

Lucas shuffled awkwardly. “Well, yeah, basically.”

“Great...” Barry huffed as he pushed to his feet. When he noticed how Lucas was playing with his coat, he sighed. “I do appreciate the effort, but couldn’t you have gotten anywhere else?”

“It was the only one still open,” Lucas offered meekly, “And I thought it might be good for you to try and face some of this stuff. You can’t exactly avoid it forever...”

As much as Barry hated to admit it, Lucas was right. He’d already put off revisiting the lakes since Dawn disappeared; it brought up too many emotions he wasn’t ready to face. He hadn’t set foot in Veilstone City either, not wanting anything to do with the ‘reformed’ Team Galactic. He knew they were up to something, there was no way they would suddenly shift into a genuine energy company overnight.

“If that’s too much,” Lucas began, “we can start off in Sendoff Spring and work our way up.”

After a long moment, Barry finally nodded.

“So long as we don’t stay in Veilstone.”

Barry had only ever seen Sendoff Spring in photos. They really didn’t do the place justice. It had the clearest water he had ever seen. Goldeen and Magikarp gathered in small clumps, a rare Seaking or even rarer Gyarados poking their heads above the surface to make sure these humans wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Lucas was perched on Torterra’s back as he set up the time lapse camera, muttering to himself as he worked.

“We left a few gauges in Turnback Cave last time we were here,” he said as he rummaged through he duffle bag, “if you wanna go check on them.”

Barry glanced over to the Golduck who were sizing them up from behind the treeline. “Will you be okay by yourself? What about the buddy system?”

Lucas laughed. “It’s fine, I’ll be with you in, like, five minutes.”

Even with Lucas’ assurances, he left Empoleon to keep watch. He found himself regretting his choice of footwear as his trainers struggled to keep grip on the rocky slopes. He ended stumbling and landing on his ass. A pair of Bibarel snickered at him but a quick glare sent them scurrying back into the tall grass.

Everything Barry knew about Sinnoh’s mythology came from Dawn or Cynthia. He certainly wouldn’t go out of his way to study it himself; most of it was pretty dull to him anyway.

Flood lights illuminated the first room, the signs of archaeological excavation everywhere. Cynthia had recently given the go ahead for a dig so long as the local Pokémon populations weren’t disturbed. Barry clambered over the tools and pits, finding the gauges Lucas had been talking about along the back wall.

He had started jotting down the numbers when he heard a heavy, dull sound. Almost as if something was being dragged. Barry reached for his belt, fingers gracing his Poké Balls.

Carefully sliding one foot in front of the other, he creeped along the wall. The sound grew louder as he moved closer to a sprawling painting of the Lake Spirits until another sound made him jump to action.

“Help... Anyone...?”

Someone was behind the wall. Barry threw out Snorlax and yelled through the wall as loud as his lungs could manage,

“Stand back, I’ll get you out!” He whipped around to face his Pokémon. “Body Slam!”

Snorlax roared as he threw himself into the wall with all the force he could muster. The wall cracked and groaned. A weak yelp came from the other side.

“Again!” Barry yelled. Snorlax obeyed. The section of wall shuddered and collapsed, dust billowing up into the air and catching in Barry’s throat and eyes. He choked and spluttered for a few seconds, fanning his face in a meek attempt to clear the air.

When it finally settled, Barry climbed through the hole and squinted through the darkness.

“Hello?” He called, doing a full three-sixty-turn before he caught sight of bright eyes in the dark.

Luxray eyes.

He fumbled for his torch. His heart almost stopped.

Before him stood a girl, who hadn’t changed in the year she’d been gone. Not physically at least. Her eyes were wild, her stance weaker, leaning on her Luxray for support. Her scarf was hanging untied from her neck, her coat tied around her waist, but her trusty hat remained in place.

Luxray stood strong, her frame wary, weighed down by an unconscious man draped over her back. But Barry couldn’t find it in him to care about that.

“Dawn?” he asked slowly, easing forward.

Dawn’s tired face eased into a relieved smile. “Barry...” she sighed, her voice scratchy from lack of use.

And then she fainted.

The closest hospital was Veilstone, so despite Barry’s preferences, they found themselves sat in the hallway of Veilstone Memorial, twiddling their thumbs and trying not to panic.

Cynthia arrived about an hour after they had first check in, flustered and closely followed by Looker from Interpol.

“Somehow the press already knows that they’re back,” Cynthia said as she paused to catch her breath, “there’s a crowd of reporters outside wanting to know what the deal is.”

“Holy shit,” was all Barry could say.

After the third hour, Professor Rowan appeared, his expression unreadable. Looker finally let out a regretful sigh.

“I know emotions are still high, but I need to take a statement,” he said, looking to Barry and Lucas.

Barry explained what had happened, conveniently leaving out how he’d destroyed a potentially priceless wall painting when Cynthia was still present.

“Wait, I thought she was mute?” Looker asked with a frown.

“Selectively,” Barry explained, “it’s her anxiety.”

“Ah, I see...” Looker muttered as he scribbled down notes in his pad.

Cynthia cleared her throat. “What about Cy- Akagi? Was he... awake when you found them?”

With a shake of his head, Barry said, “No, he was out. Luxray was carrying him.”

“Their Pokémon are at the nearby Centre to make sure they haven’t suffered any ill effects from their time in the other world,” Lucas added.

She seemed a little disappointed with the answer, but said nothing.

Rowan seemed to notice. “Miss Shirona, would you mind accompanying me for a short walk?”

Cynthia exchanged a glance with Looker before she nodded. The two strolled away, speaking in hushed tones.

When Barry frowned, Looker said, “They used to be close. Miss Shirona and Mr Akagi. Grew up together I believe.”

“Cynthia was friends with him?” Barry’s voice dripped with disgust.

Lucas narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly silenced himself.

It was the seventh hour when a doctor came by to confirm that Dawn was stable but still unconscious. She encouraged the boys to head to bed and get some rest. It was only then that Barry realised it was past eleven o’clock and his body sagged with sudden exhaustion. Looker held back to question the doctor, but Barry and Lucas headed for the Pokémon Centre.

As Cynthia had mentioned, there were a few reporters outside. Most of them had headed off when they figured out that they weren’t going to get any of the juicy stuff from staking out the joint. That or the hospital staff had forced them to move along. Only the truly dedicated or clueless remained and they tried to pounce on the boys for an interview only to be totally ignored.

The nurses at the Pokémon Centre handed over a set of Poké Balls once Barry and Lucas could prove their identities. Dawn’s Poké Balls.

“What about Akagi’s?” Lucas asked.

“Miss Shirona already came by a while ago and picked them up.”

Their room was basic, but they didn’t need anything fancy. Lucas was asleep in seconds, snoring like a freight train as soon as his head hit the pillow. Barry lay awake staring at the ceiling. He barely slept a wink.

It was about a week before Dawn was awake and lucid enough to accept visitors. Before they headed in, the doctor pulled them aside to explain the rules.

“Don’t make any sudden moves or loud noises, don’t mention anything about Mt Coronet, and do not tell her anything about Mr Akagi’s condition outside of ‘he’s fine.’ She is still experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety. If she goes into a panic attack, call the nurse.”

Lucas went in first, insisting it was better for Barry to calm himself down before he raced in shouting and freaked her out any more. He begrudgingly accepted.

While he waited, Looker appeared and sat beside him.

“I’ll have to head in after you,” he said.

“Doctor said you can’t ask her about what happened,” Barry warned. Looker sighed.

“I expected as much... But at the very least I want to see how she’s doing with my own eyes.” He reached down to pet Croagunk. “Akagi is still totally out of it. If he does wake up he’s completely hysterical.”

“Honestly? I don’t care if he gets any better,” Barry said. Looker stared at him with an expression he couldn’t figure out.

“Why do you say that?”

“You gotta forgive me for not having much sympathy for the guy who tried to destroy the universe and dragged my best friend through a wormhole.”

“My understanding was that Miss Hikari followed from her own will?”

“You get what I mean!” Barry snapped. “Dawn was always too nice for her own good! She thought that even something like... that can be forgiven. He doesn’t deserve her sympathy.”

Looker sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. “I don’t think she thought he deserved her help, but she thought he needed it.” He tapped his temple. “That’s the working theory, at least.”

“I’m doubting your ‘working theory,’ Mister Looker.”

“If you think that is questionable, don’t read any of the newspaper articles that came out over the last week.”

Barry had made a point of avoiding any news stations after Lucas noted that he would probably just get angry at whatever he saw.

There was a distinct click of the door reopening and Lucas poked his head out. He glanced between Barry and Looker with a frown.

“Is now a bad time?”

Barry pushed to his feet and made his way to the door without looking back. “Now is great,” he said as he shouldered past Lucas into the room. Lucas tensed, ready to bite back but he thought better of it and slipped out, closing the door behind him.

It was like a dream, from the way the light filtered through the window to how utterly defeated the girl in the bed looked.

In all the years he had known her, Barry had rarely seen Dawn looking so broken. The only other time he could think of was after her mother had locked her out one night in their early teenaged years. She had turned up on his doorstep in tears but refused to speak of it the following morning.

Dawn glanced over as he entered and gave him a fragile smile.

“I know, I look super weird without my hat,” she said, her voice straining as she spoke.

The only people she spoke aloud to were Barry, Lucas, and Cynthia but even then she preferred to sign when possible. Barry frowned.

“You don’t have to talk.”

She shrugged. “My arms are tired from talking to the doctors.”

There was a chair next to the bed, dragged over from the corner and battered from excessive wear and tear. Barry slowly lowered himself into it and offered a hand to Dawn. She took it and rubbed a thumb over his knuckles.

“I missed you,” she said. Those words broke something within Barry. His chest felt tight and his eyes stung as tears sprung up in the corners of his eyes. He reached up to wipe them with his free hand.

“I missed you so much,” he sobbed, clutching her hand like a lifeline.

With a soft tug, he found himself bundled into a tight hug. Dawn lightly stroked his back as he wheezed and bawled. His words stopped making sense as he rambled for what felt like hours. She never said a word, just let him cry and kept stroking his back.

Once he’d finally calmed down enough to speak properly, he pulled back to wipe his face. “Why... Why did you leave?”

Dawn blinked in confusion for a moment before the words finally settled and she looked to the window. She squeezed Barry’s hand.

“Giratina would’ve destroyed him if I let him go in there alone.”

White hot rage shot through him. “Who cares about him?! You could’ve died!”

Dawn jumped at his volume. He immediately recoiled with apologies.

“I’m sorry I just... I was so scared that I’d never see you again. That you’d just thrown everything away from some asshole who wanted to destroy everything.”

The air was heavy and cold, making him shudder. Dawn’s eyes were hard.

“You don’t know anything about what happened,” she said, her free hand tightening in the sheets, “you weren’t there. So don’t you dare try to paint this like some black and white issue because this isn’t like one of those dumb cartoons we used to watch.”

Her voice started to quiver in her throat, as if it were about to give out. “Why would I throw away my life for someone I didn’t think deserved a second chance? If he was as evil as you think then why...” She coughed and gasped around the words. “Why did Cynthia cry when she found out he was still alive? Why did Rowan look so relieved? Why would anyone care about a man if he were pure evil?”

“I...” Barry couldn’t form anything, his response dying before it could escape, “I didn’t think...”

“No... you didn’t think with your head. You just went with your heart...” She smiled fondly. “Like you always do.” It was her turn to cry. “It’s why you’re my best friend. But...” Her voice almost gave out with a croak. “I need you to trust me on this... Please, Barry...”

They were quiet for a long moment, only the foggy sounds of the city outside and the nurses roaming the halls punctuating their moment.

“Okay...” Barry hugged her once more. “I trust you.”

Over the next month, Barry dropped in to visit every opportunity he had. Between the short visitor hours and his job at Rowan’s Lab he could rarely spend more than an hour with her, but Dawn appreciated the effort.

“It’s not like there’s anything else to do around here,” she had said, “the doctors won’t tell me anything.”

The time spent in the hospital was either in her room or the rehabilitation centre. Her time in the other world had weakened her muscles and left her easily disorientated and her Chatot was left with her at all times to alert staff of impending panic attacks.

Occasionally her perception of reality slipped and she was back in the other world, clawing at the sheets and crying out for anything to cling to. Barry soon learnt that the worse thing he could do was the call the doctors. She seemed to settle faster if a familiar face was there instead of a looming stranger in a white coat. Not to say that they didn’t work hard to make sure her recovery was as smooth as possible, but there were a few areas in which Barry didn’t trust them as much as he trusted himself.

Whenever they met up, he tried to keep her updated on the situation outside but she could only deal with so much before she wanted to talk about something else.

Dawn tried not to talk about Team Galactic around Barry. Anything about them came from Cynthia or Rowan.

One day, about three weeks after she’d checked in, Barry noticed flowers on her bedside table.

“Apparently they’re from Saturn,” Dawn said as she reached over to readjust the arrangement, “or whatever it is he goes by these days.”

It took far too much self-control not to make a point of knocking them down.

Before he could comment, she had asked about how Lucas was doing and they didn’t mention Team Galactic again for the rest of the exchange.

With Dawn still under the watchful eye of the hospital staff, Cynthia had been turning down interviews from all angles. Interpol was hanging around, trying their best to be covert but everyone knew of their presence. It was enough to scare off most of the reporters, so Barry didn’t mind too much.

It was week four before Dawn finally got sick of not being told anything by the doctors and asked Barry to bring in outside goods. He started sneaking in snacks and newspapers, something Lucas didn’t have the heart to discourage.

“If anyone finds out, I don’t know you,” Lucas joked, but from the look on his face he’d been totally serious.

Dawn always accepted the papers with a mix of excitement and dread. Barry had purposely avoided sensationalist papers and she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“What’s the worst one you’ve seen?” she asked, glancing up from the headline ‘Champion Hikari is expected to make full recovery.’

“Some folks from Kalos are trying to push the secret love affair angle.”

Dawn retched. “Ew! That’s so gross! Are you serious?” When Barry nodded, she groaned. “People are the worst...”

Barry shuffled his feet awkwardly. “How much do you know about...”

“About Cyrus’ condition?” Dawn sighed and folded her hands in her lap. “Only what Cynthia told me. That he’s awake more often but he’s always hysterical unless Cynthia or one of his Pokémon is there.” She looked down, brushing some loose hair behind her ear. “He asks about me a lot. He thought I was dead for the first week until Cynthia could get him to calm down.”

When Barry said nothing in response, she trailed off.

“Sorry, I know you don’t care about him.”

With a shrug, Barry said, “I’m trying this ‘empathy’ thing, but it’s kinda hard.”

Dawn laughed. “You’re trying your best and that’s what matters.”

Week five rolled around and Barry felt oddly apprehensive as he entered the hospital. Cynthia was trying to convince the doctors to let her move Cyrus to the medical centre at the Pokémon League, though hadn’t had much luck so far.

She was in a Holo Caster call when Barry spotted her in the lobby, foot tapping rapidly as she let out a huff. She hung up on the person mid-sentence.

“Jeez, what did that guy ever do to you?” Barry joked. Cynthia rolled her eyes.

“Another station wanting an interview. I’m gonna need a secretary at this rate.”

They made their way to the ward, exchanging tips on Roserade care when they noticed a familiar face.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to come by,” Cynthia said softly, reaching out to shake Saturn’s hand.

The young man was awfully stiff, his frame holding no strength. It was hard to believe he was now the head of the leading energy provider for Sinnoh. He took the offered hand through obligation rather than comradery.

“I feel as though I owe him a visit at the very least,” he muttered, “blame Mabel.”

Cynthia chuckled. “Fair enough, I’ll show you to his room if you wish.”

Saturn just nodded and trailed closely behind her, like a child making sure they wouldn’t lose their mother while out shopping.

“I’ll meet up with you later, okay Barry?”

Barry just nodded, watching until the two disappeared around a corner. He headed off to Dawn’s room.

“What do you mean I can’t see her? She’s my daughter!”

The doctor looked exhausted, the effects of this morning’s coffee having not yet kicked in. “She has explicitly requested that you are not allowed in to see her.”

“This is ridiculous!” Johanna threw up her hands in dismay. “You can’t stop me from going in!”

“Ma’am, we keep telling you that we can’t let you in.”

Barry hoped to sneak past without being noticed but the woman whirled round as soon as she heard movement, eyes focusing on him like a Mandibuzz.

“And you! How dare you ignore my calls! I have a right to know what’s going on here!”

“Please, Mrs Hikari, you’re making a scene-”

“Not until this little brat-”

Barry looked straight past her to the doctor. “Am I alright to go in?”

The doctor nodded. Johanna sounded about she was about to start sobbing. He paid her no mind as he pushed into Dawn’s room.

Soft music came from the radio set on her bedside table. She had managed to convince the doctors to let her keep it, even if it did have access to news stations. They couldn’t protect her from the outside world forever

Dawn didn’t look away from the window as Barry walked in, humming softly to herself. “Morning,” she said, stretching a hand out for him to take.

“Did you know your mom’s here?”

She scoffed. “How could I not? She’s gonna scream the place down. I can’t tell if she’s genuinely worried or just mad that all the effort she put into her precious protégé is gonna be for nothing.”

Dawn’s words held venom unlike anything he had ever heard from her. She had never been one to outwardly bad-mouth how her mother had raised her, that was Barry’s job. Dawn always found herself trying to excuse her mother’s behaviour, no matter the seriousness.

What had happened to her in the other world?

“Dawn...”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, waving her hand, “I’ll be fine, just...” She took a deep breath. “Give me a minute.”

The music from the radio drifted into soft piano, an old Kalosian piece that had been growing in popularity recently. Barry pushed up to his feet and extended his hand to Dawn.

“What...?”

“Come on, I don’t think we’ve danced since we were twelve.”

Dawn blinked once, twice, and reached up to wipe her face. She took his hand and slid her legs over the side of the bed. Physical rehabilitation had been going well but she was still shaky on her legs. After some careful manoeuvring, she perched her bare feet on stop of his heavy boots and let him guide her around the small room, swaying out of tempo with the music.

They didn’t care, both simply content to be together without having to worry about the outside world.

Dawn was released after two months, but only under the agreement that she would inform the doctors immediately if she experienced any issues and would continue to attend therapy sessions once a week.

Meanwhile Cynthia had somehow convinced the doctors that Cyrus was ready to be discharged alongside her. Either the doctors were just sick of her asking or just didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Barry was willing to believe both.

It was only after he and Cynthia went to pick them up that he realised he hadn’t seen Cyrus since the initial discovery in Turnback Cave. He wasn’t exactly on the edge of his seat to see the man again but accepted that it was going to happen whether he wanted it or not.

The lobby was strangely quiet, though Barry assumed it had something to do with Interpol. Looker hovered besides the two, Dawn excitedly signing as Cyrus struggled to keep up.

The agreement was for Cyrus to stay with Dawn on Route 229, but Cynthia would be arranging for a psychiatrist if necessary.

Barry had offered to take her back to Twinleaf Town, but Dawn had made herself very clear that she had no intention of going back.

[Besides, there aren’t enough bedrooms even if I did want to stay there,] she signed.

The Villa on Route 229 had barely been touched since the incident at the Spear Pillar. Barry and Lucas would drop by every month or so to make sure everything was in working order, but it otherwise stayed empty. It was far enough away to give them space, but close enough to society that they could seek out assistance if necessary.

Tension leaked from Dawn’s form when she opened the door. She and Cynthia went to pack away her things, leaving Barry with Looker and Cyrus.

“Interpol will be dropping by throughout the next few weeks to make sure you’re settling,” Looker said as he glanced to Cyrus, “and to make sure you don’t start anything. Nothing personal, just a cautionary action.”

Cyrus just nodded.

“Right then,” Looker fixed his poor posture and glanced to Barry, “are you sticking around as well?”

“For as long as Dawn wants me here, yeah.”

Looker smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it and shook his head.

“Then, gentlemen, I wish you well,” Looker bowed his head, turned on his heel and headed out into the cool spring air.

Cynthia left shortly after she was certain everything was secure. Duty called.

“We’ll have another battle at some point to see who gets to keep the title,” she said as she summoned Garchomp.

[We both know I’ll win,] Dawn signed smugly. Cynthia threw back her head as she laughed.

“We’ll see about that.”

She turned her attention to Cyrus, who had been silent since they arrived.

“Are you gonna be okay? I can stick around if you want?”

Cyrus was still looking at his feet. He shook his head.

[If anything happens, I’ll give you a call,] Dawn signed.

With a sigh, Cynthia reached over to pat his shoulder. Cyrus finally met her eyes. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s why you’re here.”

Cyrus stared at her for a long moment, shoulders tensed like a cornered Pokémon. He remained strung high even as Cynthia took her hand away, turning to climb up onto Garchomp’s back.

“Have a good night. I’m not too far away if you need any help, okay?”

[I think we’ll be okay, thanks Cynthia.] Dawn smiled wide. [Have a safe trip.]

With one last look, Cynthia gave her partner a pat. “Come on, let’s get going,” she said. Garchomp chirped and took a running start before taking off, propelling herself upwards into the clear sky.

They watched until the dragon disappeared from sight.

#fanfiction #pokemon #pokemon dppt #team galactic #barry (pokemon) #dawn (pokemon) #team galactic leader cyrus #champion cynthia #ria.txt #my writing

[hashtag-anthems]

Some details from a Pokémon AU I’m working on (now under a cut bc I didn’t realize it was this long when i posted it at 4am oops):

Shiro is a trainer from Hearthome City, Sinnoh. He got his starter, Turtwig, when he turned 10 and got his trainer’s license, and he took the league challenge right away. By the time he got all eight badges, though, he realized that something about becoming Champion just... didn’t sit right with him. He took on the Sinnoh Battle Frontier and he’s pretty well known for his win streaks in the different facilities there, mostly the Battle Tower. Torterra might have been his first Pokémon, but he’s best known for his Staraptor, which was the first Pokémon he actually caught himself, as a Starly outside of Sandgem Town when he was leaving the professor’s lab and trying to get to know his Turtwig.

Lance is a coordinator, originally from Lilycove City, Hoenn, but his parents moved the family to Unova just before Lance was old enough to get his trainer’s license. His first Pokémon was a Feebas he fished up one day, and his Milotic is his pride and joy. He worked so hard making all of that Pokéblock, even though the kids in Unova kept telling him that there was an easier way to make Feebas evolve. There isn’t a contest circuit in Unova, so Lance originally tried the Unova league challenge, but he quit after a few gym battles because he found them boring. He tried out for a few musicals in Nimbasa City and knew that as soon as he was able, he was going back to Hoenn to start his career as a coordinator. He’s got a special place in his heart for Hoenn’s contests, because he grew up dreaming of competing in them, but he’s a performer at heart and Sinnoh’s super contests give him so much more opportunity to be creative and show off, so he plans to try those next.

Keith grew up in Lavaridge Town, Hoenn, until he turned 10 and got a letter from Professor Birch asking him to come to Littleroot Town. He picked out a little Torchic and ran straight to Rustboro City, where he got his ass handed to him by Roxanne. The kid didn’t understand type matchups just yet, but he kept going, and eventually managed to beat Roxanne through a combination of stubborn perseverance and dumb luck. His Torchic shared his fighting spirit, and it never quite grew out of it after evolving into a Blaziken. After finishing his Hoenn league challenge and losing to Steven Stone, Keith set his sights on the other leagues, and he’s about to travel to Sinnoh to take on that league.

Hunk is from Alola, where they don’t really have a league like the other regions. They have the island trial, sure, and there’s the new elite four and champion that trainers can challenge if they want, but they don’t have gyms or badges to collect. Hunk did the island challenge after running into his island’s local guardian and getting a Z-Ring, mostly because he felt like he had to. He still enjoyed it, but he didn’t want to challenge the elite four after he finished all of the trials. He has an interest in engineering, and while he loves his home region to death, he can’t really pursue his goals there, so he’s planning to head to Sinnoh soon to study all of the different means of clean energy production that they’ve been rolling out for the past decade or so.

The Holts lived in Canalave City, Sinnoh, so that Samuel Holt could travel to Mossdeep City, Hoenn, when he needed to. He was more of a consultant for the space program than a real astronaut, but sometimes they just needed him there in person. Pidge and Matt stayed in the city, mainly in the library, and Pidge begged Matt to take her along when Matt got his first Pokémon from Professor Rowan (he picked Chimchar just because his best friend picked Turtwig and he had to have the type advantage). Pidge had to wait a few years before she was old enough to get her own Pokémon, and it was a gift that her father brought back from Hoenn for her: a newly-rendered Porygon. Pidge tried the Sinnoh League challenge, and she made it pretty far before deciding that being a trainer wasn’t as important to her as researching her Pokémon was. She hopes to become a professor herself one day, but she can still be found at the Battle Factory on occasion, giving the regulars a run for their money.

Allura grew up in Kalos, where her father ran a research lab along with one of his friends from college, an eccentric but friendly man named Coran. Allura practically lived in the lab, and she raised her team of Pokémon primarily to help her help Alfor with his research. She always planned on taking over the lab when her father retired. For now, she mostly runs to other regions when her father needs something brought in. There’s this new phenomenon he’s researching that has to do with a special kind of temporary evolution that was previously undocumented in any other region, despite the fact that it isn’t exclusive to Kalos-native Pokémon at all. She’s currently on a trip to visit Professor Rowan, the widely-accepted expert on all things related to Pokémon evolution, at his lab in Sandgem Town, Sinnoh.

Sometimes, if you’re very lucky, you’ll find a trainer wandering deep in Eterna Forest, near the old, abandoned mansion that most sane people avoid at all costs. Stories have circulated about the family that used to live there, and each one is as far-fetched as the next. Rumors of strange experiments with Pokémon and machinery that slowly drove the inhabitants to madness, of trainers going missing if they get too close to the mansion. There’s a trainer with an odd little Pokémon that will occasionally perch himself on the fence surrounding the overgrown estate. He never stays long, and some wonder if he really exists at all, or if the rumors are true, that the old chateau is haunted. If you’re very, very lucky, he might stick around long enough for you to talk to him. He won’t say much. He’ll tell you that his name is Lotor, and that he doesn’t know why he keeps coming back to this place. Rotom seems to like it there (whatever a Rotom is...) and he doesn’t have anything better to do these days. He doesn’t know why he hasn’t just packed up and left the region yet. Maybe there’s still something left for him to do here.

#hashtag rambles #in honor of usum coming out on friday have some pokemon au #ive been pkaying around with this for a while #playing #fuck they got rid of autocorrect when you type your tags and im suffering #but whatever my point is that i have a pokemon au #and i may or may not write about it #i have too many projects ongoing rn #but feel free to come talk to me about it #also can you tell what my favorite region is #it is 4am and i cant sleep and i have an exam in 14 hours

[haileyst]

Middle ground - Chapter 5 - END

Paul's relationship could be described in several ways. Loving, definitely. Yearning, absolutely. But Paul likes to describe his relationship as a series of unfortunate events that he hopes will eventually lead him home.

OR

What to (not) do when your boyfriend moves to a new place.

Final part!

You can also find it on AO3 and aside from my Tumblr, you can also find me on Ko-Fi! 

“You must be exhausted; you all certainly seemed to have an eventful day!” Professor Kukui remarked as he served them tea on the kitchen table. Paul agreed wholeheartedly - it was not only eventful, it felt very long as well. As Paul looked through the window and saw the orange hue of setting sun reflecting on the surface of the ocean, he still could not believe it wasn’t pitch dark yet. Ash, who was still wrapped up in a blanket, eagerly reached out for it and almost fell out of the chair for his efforts. Paul, dutiful as ever, lightly slapped his wrist and handed him the hot cup of tea himself. Ash pouted but let himself be pampered for a bit.

As Paul predicted, Ash had a minor case of hypothermia exacerbated by the exhaustion caused from Palossand’s draining ability. And for some reason, he also had a large bump on his forehead that he refused to explain to Paul or the medic that arrived on the scene only precious few minutes after Palossand retreated. So much for quick response times. The paramedic, briefly mistaking reluctance as a memory loss, insisted that he take them to the hospital. Ash, who did not want to provide a believable explanation for the bruise, complied and spent precious three hours in the hospital. (Paul even found a time to get back to his hotel room and pick up the rest of his Pokémon. Never again was he leaving without them while they stayed in Alola.)

Thankfully, the tests were negative, but the doctor wanted Paul to monitor Ash regardless and visit hospital the following morning as well, just in case. Then they hailed a cab and Ash rattled off Professor Kukui’s address and here they were. “Tell me about it, Professor!” Ash grinned. Too happily. Paul pinched his forearm in revenge, there was only so much pampering Ash deserved. “You don’t get to talk with how many times I thought I’d have a heart attack because of you!” Ash pouted and Professor Kukui laughed. “Now I have to know what happened!” Paul cringed.

All in all, it could have been worse. Aside from Ash and Litten, no one was injured. But it could have been better. When they decided to freeze Palossand in its tracks, Paul reluctantly agreed to be in the back and not act as a bait. With Gastrodon in the ocean searching for the shovel with Popplio, he had Ash’s Pokemon to look after. He did not trust Rockruff to not try and attack head on again and give Palossand another hostage. Pikachu, with majority of its attacks being electric based, was of no help in this fight and Rowlett was small enough that Paul was afraid that another sandstorm could gravely injure the flying type. That left Kiawe and his Charizard and Turtonator as the bait. However, after a quick session of questions, Paul insisted that Mallow and her plant looking like Pokemon, apparently named Steenee, should stay as well. After the debacle of water attacks not being effective, the decision for the grass Pokemon to stay and provide powerful distraction was questionable but Paul was not going to risk it. If they had a chance to strike, better do it powerfully. Paul was just hoping none of these attacks would blindly hit Ash or Litten.

Then of course it was a question of whether the Vulpix had the ability to freeze a sandcastle three stories high. When Lillie admitted her Vulpix only knew Powder Snow attack and hatched not that long ago and (due to Lillie not being an active trainer) subsequently had minimal training and battle experience, Paul honestly did not know just what to say to the timid girl. His face probably would though, so he turned around and counted to ten before looking at the sheepish group again. “Details. Next time provide the details in a timely manner!” he snapped and paced in a circle.

Second time that day. He just could not believe it. The plan could have worked – but it rested solely on the Vulpix who only knew Powder Snow. And nothing wrong with that attack or Vulpix’s training, but for all Lillie was knowledgeable about Pokémon and their attacks in Alola, she forgot that this ice type move had minimal chances of actually freezing something solid which is what they were going for. Sure, it’d give a pretty nasty frostbite to the recipient, but it is something kids from Sinnoh are told how to counter from the day they attend pre-school and not at all what they needed when facing enraged ghost and ground type. When he told them exactly that, Lillie looked ashamed, which he actually felt guilty about as nothing that happened so far was her fault. Snowy looked affronted, which he could not care less about in that situation and the rest of the ragtag group was speechless. He sighed. “It doesn’t matter. We will have to do it anyway.” If this were a perfect world, Vulpix would use either Freeze Shock or Sheer Cold to freeze something of this magnitude but they had to do with what they had. Gastrodon knew Ice Beam, but it was currently looking for the shovel with Popplio – their only hope of calming Palossand down. Which is why they had to stall for as long as possible.

When he recounted the tale of Lillie’s Vulpix almost miraculous effort, as it did manage to freeze Palossand completely in the end, and Ash’s last-minute prison break and a valiant effort to break his neck from falling down from Palossand, Professor Kukui looked very excited. Paul did not dare to ask why. He learned the hard way to not ask these sorts of questions. The last time he asked a researcher what they wanted to study (which he did only to appear polite), he unknowingly ended up being the sample of a well-researched piece of written work that Gary Oak published.

And no, no matter how many times Professor Oak or Delia or Reggie tried to tell him it is an honour, Paul was not having it. Not only was he almost maimed to death during the study, but who would really be satisfied with being the basis of work titled ‘The Attachment of Pokémon Towards Their Trainer Measured Through Violent Tendencies Towards Threats’? No one, that’s who. It implied that he was a threat towards Ash. Which he was not. If anything, he was trying to keep Ash alive and away from any possible threats. And Gary Oak just smirked and a printed copy of it ended up on display on a shelf in Delia’s living room. (Unfortunately, he has yet to figure out how to keep Ash away from Gary fucking Oak.)

“And the Palossand just left when his shovel was returned?” Paul scowled as he recalled the almost happy sounding roar the Palossand produced when it regained its treasure. “Not before it caused another sandstorm, but yes, it did.” Professor Kukui leaned back in his chair. “Fascinating. Usual reports about Palossands usually depicts them as… well, consider yourself lucky you managed to escape! I heard once that they keep the bones of the drained victims! It would be brilliant to actually see the inside of…” Professor Kukui abruptly stopped and laughed awkwardly when he saw Paul’s complicated expression. “But that’s just a hearsay, don’t listen to me!” And that is why it’s no good to tell scientist something about a Pokémon you encounter. They always share knowledge you just do not want to possess.

Ash, seeing his fiancé’s terrifying expression, tried to save the situation, “Well, there are good things that happened today as well! Litten finally learned Fire Fang, it’s how we got out of Palossand!” Paul spared a short glance at the preening cat Pokemon. It was very lucky it was not injured, or they probably would have a whole different conversation here. “That’s good!” Professor Kukui agreed, glad for the save. “By the way, Paul,” the researcher turned to him again, “I heard you are quite a good trainer, would you mind showing your Pokemon at the school? We do have some Sinnoh Pokemon here in Alola, but they are mostly the descendants of the ones that were brought to the islands during colonisation. It would be quite different to see what others you have and how they might differ. And I am sure their move sets are fascinating!” And again, Paul was uncomfortably reminded that this professor primarily studied Pokemon’s attacks.

Ash looked at him, armed with wide eyes and a hopeful expression. What is he supposed to say when his partner, who he only earlier today reconnected with, is looking at him like this? “Why not,” he sighs despondently. Maybe that visit will help him understand just why Ash decided to stay here when he was always more interested in commercial training and battle performances rather than further and higher education. “But I wouldn’t want to disappoint you. You already met my Beartic,” Paul winced at the memory, “and I travelled with my Electivire, Torterra, Froslass, Gastrodon and Aggron. The rest are with Reggie.” Professor Kukui did not look disappointed. “Ah, yes, you must have a lot of Pokemon. Ash told me you are quite a successful professional trainer! It would be an honour to have you in the school!” This time professor Kukui addressed Ash. “If only I knew what you looked like and maybe then yesterday’s fiasco could have been avoided.”

“Speaking of Reggie,” Ash changed the topic loudly, probably deciding they did not need to be reminded of yesterday’s events just yet considering has happened today. “How is he?” Paul rolled his eyes. “He was stubborn, but he’s fine now. Or he should be, the part-time help we hired didn’t look like a pushover.” Thinking about it, Paul better try and contact them when he arrives back to his hotel room. He has the number for the part-timer and if all else fails, he will call the Pokemon centre or the police station in Veilstone City to check on them. The last thing he needs at this time is his brother breaking his arm again.

“Who is Reggie if you don’t mind me asking?” Ash smiled. He quite liked Reggie and liked to visit the small farm. “He’s Paul’s brother, he has a business as professional Pokemon breeder and trainer and sometimes, he even takes the jobs from local authorities!” Professor Kukui blinked. “Local authorities? What does that mean?” Well, that certainly caught Paul’s attention, and not in a good way, but Ash started to enthusiastically explain before Paul had a chance to cut in. “He is very good, lots of trainers are giving him their Pokémon for him to train and look after! And the Pokemon he breeds are known to be very talented. So sometimes, the rangers from parks and safaris call him to repopulate or regulate some species or even train them for a bit before they are released back into wild!”

“That sounds exciting,” Professor Kukui blinked and confirmed Paul’s worst suspicions. It might have been because he was so used to and proud of his brother’s job – after all, Reggie’s business really started to take off in the last few years and it became part of Paul’s life as well. “You don’t have rangers or any such schemes like that in Alola?” If so, he is not surprised Pokemon like Palossand is just running around on a public beach and help arrives just after it disappears. Professor Kukui hummed. “Well, not exactly. There is the Paniola Ranch on Akala Island, they have a nursery, but aside from their farm animals, they do not train them. And usually, if there are any problems with overpopulation of Pokemon in a certain area, it’s the island Kahuna who usually takes care of that.” When he saw how confused Paul looked, Professor Kukui had to explain who Kahuna is. “What about when species are becoming extinct?” Paul could not help but ask and Kukui smiled sheepishly. “Well, whoever finds out, and that is usually a volunteer group who monitor the species in their spare time, they would again contact the Kahuna. And if they cannot help, then it would be me, the headmaster, or Professor Burnet who is asked to intervene although our specialisation lies elsewhere.”

Well, at least it was a system and as long as it works… “If you are interested, I am sure Professor Samson Oak will be able to answer any of your questions, he studies the regional variants of Alola, he might have more insight!” Professor Kukui exclaimed and Ash, who sensed an opportunity, beamed at Paul. “That means you have no other excuse and really have to visit the school!” As if he had a choice in that. “And it might give Paul more reason to stay and explore Alola!” Professor Kukui added. The guy never seemed to run out of good mood.

How is it that Paul always ends up being outvoted? While staying longer to see Ash was a nice prospect, Paul was going to think twice about staying longer than the few days he already planned on this cursed land. So far, his stay was not exactly easy-going. Not only was he almost boiled alive at four in the morning, had to fly to get to the right island, ‘stole’ Pikachu, was ‘assaulted’ for the aforementioned ‘theft’ and even the laws of physics turned against him. At the same time, he could not help but be curious. Ash obviously liked it here (Paul still struggled a bit with the ‘why’) and he was getting restless just a few weeks ago about what to do. Maybe exploring Alola and seeing new Pokémon and battling techniques would give him more time to think that through. And maybe he will visit that nursery and ask how they function; Reggie would not be happy with him if he didn’t. “Maybe,” he finally replied and checked if Ash needed any more tea, which Ash happily ignored in favour of attention-seeking Litten who jumped onto his lap.

“Well, that is settled then!” The Pokemon professor happily shouted. Paul sighed and looked out of the window; it was dark now. The night came quicker than he thought, there was still warm light outside precious few minutes earlier. “I better get going soon, it’s a bit of a walk to my hotel from here.” Ash scratched Litten between his ears. “So, I will see you in the morning?” It was not a question; Ash was telling him he better come – or else. “Yes, I will meet outside that school of yours.” Paul lost this battle, he knew. He probably lost the second he decided to board a plane to Alola. Ash smiled contentedly and innocently kissed Paul on lips (they were in someone else’s house after all). “Looking forward to it!” Well, at least there was this reward.

Unfortunately, this was Paul’s luck they were talking about. “Well this is unusual, why is it so dark all of a sudden?” Professor Kukui hummed from the window. “Paul, you might want to stay in for a bit longer or call a cab, it looks like it will rain. Let me just check…” Professor Kukui yelled and Paul didn’t have to wait long for an explanation as Palossand’s wide mouth could clearly be seen through the open doors. It loudly bellowed in greetings and quickly proceeded to swallow the house whole. The powerful slam shook the house and the sand it stirred in the air caused all occupants of the house to cough. When it settled a bit, the Palossand was humming – and with it, the entire house was vibrating. Paul despondently watched the sand walls just outside the windows and the main door, where Professor Kukui was just staring in curiosity.

He was really starting to question all his decisions he made in this life. (Because why is it that this stuff only happens to him?) Ash, after he checked all of his Pokemon were alright, quickly stood from the kitchen table and joined Paul by his side. “We better call for help,” he said simply and grinned crookedly at Paul, who finally could not resist the urge, buried his face in his hands and groaned in despair.

“I can’t leave you alone, can I?”

#comashipping #pokemon fanfiction #pokemon #pokemon sun and moon #Paul Shinji #ash ketchum #Professor Kukui #my fanfiction #fanfiction

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RPA PLOT

REGIONAL PROTECTION ACT: Interregional legislation calling for the protection of cities and the environment from legendary Pokemon.

Less than a year has gone by since last summer, during which regions, cities, and historical landmarks were destroyed during a rampage by legendary Pokemon. While there were only few casualties, the was tremendous, and irreparable in some cases, damage done to the infrastructure of each region.

Legendary Pokemon have proven themselves to be unpredictable and dangerous to the population, both humans and regular Pokemon.

Yes, some are largely benevolent, but some are devious and have only caused repeated destruction. The benefits outweigh the costs.

Additionally, just their presence causes danger for those in the regions. Evil organizations in each region have, over the past decade or so, set their sights on legendaries to control and cause worldly to universal destruction.

The simple fact is, with legendaries roaming around in each region, we have no way of protecting ourselves from them if anything goes wrong. We were fortunate last summer, but each region wouldn’t be able to withstand another blow like that should something go wrong again.

Legendaries would be captured and delivered to certain high level trainers (ie. champions), professors, or organizations for safeguarding. Legendaries would hopefully be spread out to prevent mass theft.

Yes, some legendaries may be ambivalent, but the fact remains that they are not always in control of themselves. Those with less than pure intentions have ways of capturing or controlling them for their own agendas, and Hoopa’s meddling proved that any slight disturbances may cause them to lash out at great expense. It’s not ideal, but precautions are necessary.

This is not unheard of: historically, many legendaries have been sealed or trapped away for the safety of mankind. It is only over the past decade or so that many of those legendaries have been released back into the wild.

Arguably, the RPA would also work in benefit of the legendary Pokemon: most have been hidden, trapped, or sealed away for quite some time. They are all used to a world with less technology and a less pervasive human presence. Simply put, they are not accustomed to the modern world. Their natural environments are long gone, and it would be extremely difficult for them to survive undisturbed on their own. And with all the villains that have attempted to capture and control legendaries once they’re loose, legendary Pokemon would be much safer under trusted protection.

MADAME BOSS/ROCKET

Was on house arrest in Kanto; recently got all of the charges levied against her for the destruction in Unova dropped

Honestly, she is just FED up with these brats. They’ve foiled her at every turn, and she’s beyond done with them. She doesn’t even have an end goal, but she’s out for blood. All of their blood. She wants them all to pay.

Sees a small group pushing for regulation of legendaries and other dangerous Pokemon. If trainers train Pokemon that are too powerful, they should be registered. After the destruction legendaries have caused over the past decade or so, it may no longer be safe for them to be left to roam in the wild.

Madame Boss obviously works behind the scenes and takes the group under her wing, pulling the strings to get them more inter-regional attention and allowing their message to resonate with many, especially those in the cities that had been destroyed during the Hoopa events.

Becomes the fairy godmother of villains, doling out presents and making deals to get the RPA passed. Deal with Saturn adds to the policy cycle/will make a public showing of dangerous Sinnoh legendaries. Offers Malva in if only to cause some trouble in Kalos. Sird causes a scene with her Darkrai in Kanto/Johto for information on the Destiny Bond. Gives Maxie the orb to mess with stuff in Hoenn.

Meanwhile, she meets with all of the active protags and rivals. If they don’t support the RPA, she makes it VERY clear why they should in intimidating and possibly violent ways. If they do, she is very fake sweet to them but encourages them not to meddle in anything, lest something unfortunate happen. Her ego can’t help her from boasting -- the reason she’s doing all of this in the first place is to get back at them. She needs them to know that this is her plan.

The RPA passes, and Madame Boss sends grunts and employs poachers to attack rangers for the legendaries as well, but doesn’t warn that she’s doing it like the rebel groups. Maybe they’ll get ahold of one legendary or something.

The mutiny happens, and she’s killed. Bye!

GALACTIC

Before Charon usurped Saturn, Mars and Jupiter were pressuring him to speak to Akagi and convince him to return to Galactic. He brushed them off the best he could, unable to bring himself to actually confront Akagi. He managed to track him down to his house in Sunyshore, but he never actually took the trip there.

Saturn has reassumed command of Galactic since Charon went missing. When he was pronounced dead, Saturn resolved to actually do something with Galactic rather than continue their clean energy work.

Still in possession of everything Charon left behind before dying, the Galactic Execs decide to return to their former ways. In their minds, Akagi has been lost since the Distortion World, and it is now their responsibility to continue his work and bring him back his sense.

In return for some of the things the new Galactic will need, Saturn cuts a deal with Madame Boss. Since Galactic has publicly been an environmental organization with a clean reputation after the events of DPPt, Saturn is leveraging their support and endorsement of the legislation she’s pushing for. Galactic will volunteer to house some of the legendaries in return for the orbs and Mesprit.

Okay so maybe something goes terribly wrong at some point and Arceus shows up and is like NO! ENOUGH! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!

Arceus just tries to throw the commanders into the Distortion World? Akagi is like lol and Cynthia, being the lawful good leader she is, tries to help, but ends up trapped herself? Arceus is kind of just like sux guess you guys shouldn’t have been fucking around, huh?????? And leaves.

Arceus makes it nearly impossible for them to use any of the previous methods of opening the Distortion World to reiterate its point.

Eventually, they get the idea to combine the use of Riley’s aura powers and Lucian’s psychometry try and track where she might be in the Distortion World since it’s an opposite version of theirs.

This will lead to them eventually tracking down her presence in Celestic Town. Giratina somehow opens the portal between their worlds, and Cynthia is rescued.

MALVA

Madame Boss and Ariana find Malva in Kalos. They offer to provide her a place in Team Rocket if she decides to go along with their plan.

Coincidentally, Madame Boss wants Malva to spend her time tormenting Siebold, Cheren, and probably Serena, which is a-okay with her!

So she kind of stalks Siebold’s restaurant, tormenting him in public so there’s nothing he can do :)

One day, Serena gets to the office to find Malva sitting in her chair like, oh wow maybe you guys should change the locks!

REALLY, it’s all just a very unsettling and uncomfortable situation for the three of them.

Cheren will definitely get the brunt of it, though. She’s going to show up at the Genesect Ranch while he’s there alone and :) fuck him up :) It works as revenge on Siebold for herself, but mainly as a warning from Madame Boss about minding his own business.

Malva then goes to visit the Rocket base but overhears Archer on the phone with Maxie. Instead of staying at the base, she tells Madame Boss that she has to take care of something else and takes off to Hoenn to take a meeting with Maxie. She informs him that she knows about what he and Archer are up to, and that she has no more intentions of joining the losing team.

Then she goes back to Rocket and works as a double agent!

GIOVANNI

BACK AT IT AGAIN

Giovanni has finally had Enough of biding his time, and the vulnerable state his mother is in right now is the perfect opportunity for him to strike and take back Rocket.

He enlists Archer to spy for him, then Maxie when he finds out that he’s helping Madame Boss. (She’s obviously using you, which you’re smart enough to figure out. Do you really think she’s going to let you keep those orbs and not throw you under the bus when she’s done with you?)

Giovanni keeps completely out of the spotlight, maybe only directly meddles himself by instigating Silver into something? Tells Silver that he knows Madame Boss is up to something with the RPA.

Doesn’t come back until Madame Boss is killed. He shows up in her dying moments to ensure that he is the last thing she sees, then plans her funeral and reassumes control of Rocket.

Ballin’

MAXIE

Madame Boss makes a deal with Maxie in which she provides him with the orbs in order to have him control Groudon and cause some damage in Hoenn.

Naturally, he’s still after those orbs, so he accepts the proposal. When he takes control of Groudon, Dewford is the first town hit. The beach expands greatly, then Pacifidlog Town, which pretty much gets rid of all of the water in the island town.

Steven, Phoebe, Max, and Archie end up stopping Maxie and taking the orb from him.

Steven holds onto it, but Malva later steals it from his house at Maxie’s request.

Maxie and Giovanni make their deal.

The plan is to get Madame Boss to meet Maxie in her mansion to discuss how to move forward with their plans. Magma commanders and grunts take care of the Rocket grunts she has there for protection. Madame Boss, Archer, Malva, Maxie, and Proton are the only ones left in the house.

Maxie prefers to keep his hands officially clean and stays as a bystander. Malva battles Proton to keep him occupied, and Archer turns on Madame Boss, strangling her to death.

Ta-da!

#@rpaplot