His circuit around the traphouses were done for the night. It was no secret that the heat wave in Alola had been affecting all of its inhabitants, but Team Skull took it the worst. Being in the run-down corner of Malie City served them no real favors, certainly, particularly for their health. Humidity and heat were festering together to create a wide outbreak of what Guzma only described asย โbacteria fuckery,โ but it was elaborated by one of his educated underlings asย โdysentery.โ Whatever the fuck that meant. Regardless, he and a couple of the healthy goons headed to the nearest pharmacy and bought out whatever medicine they could for the symptomsโcausing quite the dent in the Teamโs total budget. Whatever. He needed his people to be healthy, and they could pay him back later. But after going around the slums and passing out medicine to his sick members, Guzma had about enough for the night.
Keep reading
ย ย ย โ i SAID iโm fine, โย gladion snapped, but the pink-haired girl staring him down merely kept her arms crossed, raising an eyebrow.
ย ย ย and she had a point. everything felt soreโwas that from sleeping on the ground for three days, or something else? his face definitely felt warmโbut that could very well be the effects of this fucking heat waveย ( he had picked the worstย time to leave home ).ย he couldnโt deny that his head was pounding, and it was no secret that he looked like a mess. his skin was blotchyย ( sunburn or sickness? it was anyoneโs guess ), his hair frizzy and sticking in... more directions than it was supposed to. and certainly, his all-black, skinny-jeans-and-sweatshirt getup were notย helping matters. still, exhausted as he was, he continued to glower up at her.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ i can take care of myself. โ
ย ย ย she scoffed, shaking her head slightly. this, naturally, just caused his frown to deepen. she was looking down at him. he was thirteen;ย he was old enough to make his own decisions. he was TIRED of being looked down on. thatโs why he had run away in the first damn place. she let out a deep sigh, chewing her lip for a moment in thought before speaking up again.
ย ย ย โ look, kid. youโre not fooling anyone.ย โleast come stay with us until this damn heat passes. you look like shit, and youโre going to fry at this rate, if you stay out here any longer.ย โsides, youย gotta be starving. doubt you have much money if thatโs the state youโre in, and itโs not like peopleย โround here are gonna be throwing you any scraps. you can go right back to roughing it after a day or two if thatโs what you really want, โย her expression softened after a moment, and the look in her eyes reminded him far more of wicke's nurturing advice than his motherโs controlling demands.ย gladion remained silent for another few moments, turning the idea over in his mind, expression blank. the girl glanced behind her, giving a shrug.ย โ fuckingโfine. whatever. have fun roasting out here, then. โ
ย ย ย โ ... wait. โ gladionโs eyes turned to the ground, fingers rubbing at his wrist, before moving to brush over the pokeball resting in his bag. if he let himself fall apart... he couldnโt save argent like that. and, yeah, he wanted to be alone more than anything right nowย ( he was so tired of being CONTROLLED )ย but... what could a couple of days hurt?ย ย โ ... fine. iโll come. โ
ย ย ย she introduced herself as iolana, and gladion rolled eyes as if he didnโt careย ( but it was not that simpleโshe was the first person to show him kindness, and would not be the last )ย before huffing out his own name on the short walk to guzmaโs home.
โ hey! boss! โย she called, rapping on the door.ย ย โ found a kid on his own out here. โ
update! changin glads up a lil bit. basically he has an ex boyfriend from kalos. broke up on good terms and everything, just with glads leaving the region with no intention of coming back anytime soon, and probably a little bit of just growing apart and it not working very well romantically anymore. it just gave him his stupid gay awakening already and helps me make sense of where heโs at in his own personal character growth. this shouldnโt have any affect on interactions with other characters, but itโs. a thing.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย gladion had a REMARKABLE ability to keep to himself.
ย ย ย it was a learned skill, certainly; one he had picked up when he was young. after all, lusamine aether had liked her home to be PRISTINE, to be beautiful and perfect. children should be seen, not heard.
ย ย ย of course, it is no secret that he unlearned it just as quickly; if nobody else should speak out, then he WOULD, and damn it, he would not shut up, no matter the threatsโbut that isnโt a mentality that works well for diplomacy, and business was no different.
ย ย ย a fiery kid with a strong will could not run a company without re-learning how to hold his tongue. the difference, though, was that he now learned when not to. this was one of those times.
ย ย ย the tough guyย trying to hassle the other person out ofโwhat was he trying to get, anyway? money, maybe? ... whatever it was, gladion assumed that their pokemon must be strong, or at least equipped with a handful of cheap tricks. he wouldnโt want to leave the victimย of the situation to deal with it themselves, certainly, regardless of how capable they might be. but gladion had a handful of tricks, himself.
ย ย ย โ hey! โย he shouted, one hand reaching for a pokeball on his belt.ย โ what do you think youโreโโ.โ
ย ย ย BUT the punk was running away after one look at gladionโโheโd forgotten that his piercings made him a little intimidating. or perhaps it was how recognizable he was; people knew who he was, and his reputation was nothing short of impressive, though heโd hesitate to admit that himself.
โข living situation: lives alone | lives with parent(s) / guardian | lives with significant other | lives with a friend | drifter | homeless | lives with children | other
โข parents/guardian: mother | father | adoptive | foster | grandmother | grandfather
โข sibling(s): sister(s) | brother (s) | none | other
โข relationship: single | crushing | dating | engaged | married | separated | itโs complicated
โข things iโve done before: had alcohol | smoked | stolen | done drugs | self-harmed | starved | had sex | had a threesome | had a one-night stand | gotten into a fist fight | gone to hospital | gone to jail | used a fake ID | played hooky | gone to a rave | killed someone | had someone try to kill them
Hau had been up since the crack of dawn, rushing about in the kitchen to prepare as many delicious dishes as he could before he had to make the trip to the harbour. Hibi was trying his best to help and did so in the form of packing up all the finished dishes into a large picnic basket. His Primarina, Neptune, was busy grooming himself (Hau was sure he spent the most time doing that out of anything else) and his Flareon was still sound asleep and curled up into a ball in front of the heater. It was getting a tiny bit colder now, it being fall and all, so Hau made sure to wear a sweater (Popplioย themed, cause why not) and something other than shorts for once.ย
Keep reading
ย ย ย hearing the shout of his name had him whipping around, until eyes settled on hau. or, well, he supposed that it mustย be hau, though he could hardly tell on appearance alone. there were parts of his appearance that had remained constant, but certainly the other was muchย taller than he rememberedย ( his growth spurt must have hit late; gladion was definitely the taller of the two when he left )ย and certainly seemed far more built as well. it was an almost startling changeโtwo years most certainly made a difference.
ย ย ย though his face being stuck in shock was only a moment, it felt like too long before he corrected itย ( into a wide, bright grin that he did not often show ), and he could feel his cheeks burning. ... certainly because of how long it took him to fully recognize the other, right? and the alolan sunlight and heat couldnโt be helping matters.ย ย โ hau! hโalola. โย the greeting felt almost foreign to his tongue; after all, it had been years since he had had the chance to use it.ย ย โ itโs good to see you. โ
ย ย ย the blond approached the other, grin having calmed into a wide smile, suddenly uncertain of what he was supposed to do with his handsย ( the last two years had seen greetings of handshakes,ย though obviously his relationship with hau was too informal to warrant that; and it wasnโt particularly in gladionโs nature to offer hugs ).
Hau appears, carrying a gift wrapped item. "Happy birthday! Hope you enjoy it." He smiles brightly, albeit a bit nervously, as he holds the present out to Gladion. Inside the flat package is a painting of Silvally and what appears to be its trainer on a beach during nightfall. He's been working on this for a good while, and his hands are still showing some paint stains from last minute touch ups.
ย ย ย Gladion certainly hadnโt been expecting much in the way of giftsโgrowing up, heโd gotten only what he needed, or what his mother wantedย him to want, plus perhaps a small gift from his sister. As of late, he had asserted that he did not want or need anything, to the rare souls who actually knew it was his birthday. But, coming from Hau, it wasnโt entirely a surprise. The other boy had always had a propensity towards kindness.
ย ย ย โ Thanks; you didnโt need to, โย Gladion began, looking down at the box in his hands, before he opened it carefully. His expression softened when he realized what it was, genuine smile breaking through his facade of indifference.ย โโฆ thank you, Hau. Itโs beautiful. โ
ย ย ย ย certainly, gladion hadnโt intended on running into one of the regionโs strongest trainers when he had made a quick trip out to johto to meet with professor elmโthe trip itself was spontaneous, and who would have guessed that heโd run into a woman who was certainly deserving of his respectย ( though she seemed a bitโfar more than a bit, reallyโof a primadonna ).
ย ย ย ย the teen had a faint smile on his lips as he approached her, extending a hand for a shake.ย ย โ i canโt believe i was lucky enough to run into you, โย he began.ย ย โ my name is gladion aether; iโm taking over a pokemon sanctuary in alola and am currently travelling for researchโbut iโm a trainer, too. i know this is far from standard, but could you grace me with a battle, by any chance? informally, and if youโre not tooย busy, of course. i have an affinity for dark type pokemon, myself. โ
ย ย ย it had felt like far longer than two years that heโd been goneโthough, he guessed that was probably due in part to his age; while his time abroad had gone past so quickly, it seemed like so much of his life. which, in a way, it was. over a tenth of the time heโd been alive was a significant portion. that being said, he was almost giddy to finally be back in alolaโto be home. not that he didnโt adore everywhere that heโd stayed, but alola truly was where he was at home; where he was comfortable, where he had friends.
ย ย ย he and moon had been in contact, and she was planning on meeting up with him one of these daysย ( sheโd come visit him at aether within the next week, heโd guess )ย and he was looking forward to seeing his sister again; heโd have to drop by and pay sun a visitโif he was back in alola, anyway; it was sometimes hard to keep track, with his own absenceโand perhaps a battle for old timeโs sakeย ( what is he, a middle-aged man? come on, gladion, youโre not even twenty ). he was sure kukui and burnet would want to see him, too, sooner rather than later.
ย ย ย but for now, his thoughts were occupied with one friend in particularโhau had been extremely enthusiastic about gladionโs return home, and had offered to come see him fresh off the boat, and gladion couldnโt say no. the other had mentioned something about a picnic, and seemed to have some sort of plan, and gladion was more than happy to go along with it. structure was soothing in a way, and he certainly trusted hau.
ย ย ย so, he stepped off of the boat in hauโoli, eyes peeled forโโwell... maybe finding hau would not be as easy as anticipated. after all, he hadnโt seen him in two years; certainly, gladion had changed quite a bitโhis hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and if that wasnโt evidence enoughโso who knows what hau looks like now.
