oh no it aint a good thing uh. Forgot i aint tell rotomblr 'bout dat yet.
Basically uh. Composure plotted for months behind my back, and forced my mind and soul into ho-ohs body, sealing the real mind away. I haven't faced the consequences yet, but i know they're comin.
i uh. Aint consider what dat could do to yer blood. Jus' bein cursed by one made my blood rest at boilin' temps. The fucks your blood look like now kid?
i uh. Aint consider what dat could do to yer blood. Jus' bein cursed by one made my blood rest at boilin' temps. The fucks your blood look like now kid?
sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I like. had disappeared into the weald at any point. just live there with the wolves. no one would be able to find me there but Hop.
[VIDEO: The footage starts with you watching Daisy tread into Saffron City gym, walking with her arms tucked in close to her chest and her brows furrowed in a nervous grimace.
“Hello…?” she calls. "S-Sabrina, are you here?"
Her voice echoes off the empty arena walls, and for a moment she doesn’t get any reply- until a door on the opposite side of the room from her slides open, making way for Sabrina to walk through.
“Greetings, Daisy,” she says neutrally, her expression cold and unreadable. Although her already knowing the visitor's name does stand out to you. “Welcome to Saffron City gym.”
Daisy tenses under her intense glare. “H-Hello, um, Sabrina,” she greets, straightening herself. “I- I’m so sorry to disturb you, I- I just… came here hoping you c-could- um- help me with... something?”
Sabrina remains unmoved. “And what would that be?”
Daisy hesitates, thinking of how to word her request. “I’m sure y-you heard about the Latias th-that appeared at the Silph Co. office building, yes…? The- the one that's all over the news?” she begins.
The gym leader nods in confirmation. “I have.”
“Well,” she clears her throat, “I- I was hoping m-maybe you, um… had any lead on where it could be?”
Folding her hands over her skirt, Sabrina’s eyes narrow a little. “I’ve already had a few people contact me already with similar requests, on account on me being a Psychic-type specialist,” she states with a hint of disdain behind her tone.
Picking up on her annoyance, Daisy shrinks into herself, stepping back towards the entrance like she understands that’s her cue to leave. "O-Oh... I see..."
A heavy, awkward silence settles over the two. Seeing the other young woman's abashment, though, Sabrina's expression reverts back to its default blank stare.
"...I'm sor-" Just as Daisy opens her mouth to apologize and duck back out of the building, the gym leader speaks and stops her.
"For what reason are you looking for the Latias?" she inquires.
Raising her head again, Daisy turns back to her, taking a moment to consider her question. Then, with a look of shame, her eyes drift towards the ground.
"Well... You see..." Her hands fidget with the bag strap hung around her chest and torso. "The trainer that Latias was disguising as... was the one my grandfather endorsed."
"You are Prof. Oak's granddaughter?" It's hard to determine if Sabrina is surprised by this information or not. If she is, it's only mildly.
Daisy nods. "Y-Yes. Goldie, along with my brother Green, were the kids Prof. Oak entrusted with a Pokedex and endorsed to take on the Pokemon League," she explains. "In order to do that, we had to take Goldie in as a foster child, as we found out they were orphaned with no traceable background... Because of that, I took on the duty of keeping an eye on them both throughout their journey."
"S-So you see..." She looks Sabrina directly in the eye, her visible trepidation getting overshadowed by a flare of determination. "I'm just as responsible as my grandfather for what happened. I was the person who was around Goldie the most- besides my brother, anyway- a-and I never picked up on anything."
She closes her eyes, then looks back down at her feet. "That's all to say, because at the end of the day... I'm still their sister."
Her head snaps up again, the grip around her bag strap tightening. "That's also why I know that regardless if they're human or Pokemon, they're still the same funny, caring, and brave child I witnessed growing on this journey! And I... I want to be there for them. I don't know if anywhere else in Kanto is safe for them anymore, but I want them to know that at the very least... I am."
As always, it's hard to tell if Sabrina's been swayed by the woman's plea or not, but something about the way her stance oh so subtly shifts in place gives you the indication that she's considering it.
Realizing she may have gone a little over her head, Daisy rubs the back of her neck. "Sorry... look at me, getting all worked up, when I'm sure you don't have any more of a clue where Latias is than anyone else. I'm sorry..."
Sabrina raises her hand. "No, no need for apologizing," she assures. "That's precisely why I asked."
Daisy's brows contort in confusion for a moment as Sabrina turns back to the hallway she walked out of, waving in a "come-hither" motion to something just out of your view.
At first, it doesn't look like anything answers her gesture, but if you squint you make out the faintest outline of something sleek and draconic drifting across the screen, hovering until it reaches the battlefield. Daisy squints, likely noticing it by now as well.
A soft glow radiates from the transparent figure, before details of gold and white plumage materialize into view. Goldie reappears in their Latias form with their eyes closed, but opens them to gaze at Daisy from where they float at Sabrina's side.
Daisy's breath hitches, numerous emotions flashing across her face, but namely ones of relief to see her foster sibling safe and sound.
"I found them what I assume was not long after the incident at Silph Co. after picking up on a strong source of Psychic power," Sabrina explains, placing a hand on the feathered dragon's shoulder. "They've been staying at my family's mansion in hiding the last few days, but they've expressed wanting to continue on their journey."
Hanging their head low, Goldie moves towards Daisy slowly, floating at a level that's equal to her height as to not come off as threatening. "Hi, Daisy..."
You see a smile tug at the corner of Daisy's mouth, and she looks just about ready to sprint forward to throw her arms around them, but stays put for fear of startling them in any way. "Goldie...!"
They stop just a few feet away from her, eyeing her with equal amounts hopefulness and caution. "I'm..." they begin hesitantly, their telepathic voice wavering. "I'm really... I'm really sorry..."
Daisy's shoulders drop, and she sighs at them sympathetically. "Oh, Goldie..." She steps forward, hands extending towards them in a slow manner that gives them the chance to pull away if they wish. When they don't, she gingerly cups the sides of their face. "You don't need to be sorry for anything."
"But I lied to everyone...!" they insist. “I… I tricked everyone…”
She reaches up to give them a gentle stroke on the head. "You were just doing what you had to do to protect yourself, not tricking people maliciously,” she soothes. “No one’s should blame you for that. At least, I won’t. I’m just glad you’re okay- when you disappeared and left your team, bag, and watch all behind, I was worried sick to my stomach!”
“I…” The Latias trails off, before their head perks up at the word “team”. “Wait, my Pokémon…! A-are they…?”
As if on cue, red light bursts from the yellow backpack hanging off Daisy’s shoulder- which they realize to be theirs. Materializing from it is none other than their trusty little electric companion, Cheese. They notice right away their scarf wrapped securely around her neck, over where her green ribbon would usually be, looking awkwardly big on her due to her small size and dragging across the ground behind her.
Eyes sparkling, they waist no time in drifting down to her level. “Cheese…!”
“Pipika!” The Pikachu bounds up to her trainer, tail waggling from side to side.
{ “Goldie!” }
Not wasting a second, she bounces up to tackle-hug them, not bothered by the embrace being a bit awkward because of their shorter arm length. Goldie beams a smile down at her and returns it, as overcome with relief as she is to see that she’s okay.
As the two pull away, a veil of sparkles briefly covers Goldie as they shift back to their human form to better hold her. Once fully transformed, they look down at her with tears threatening to spill down their cheeks. “Cheese, I’m sorry…” they croak, voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to leave you and the others behind…”
Tilting her head to the side, Cheese gives a sympathetic squeak and reaches up to gently pat them on the side of the face.
{ “You ran away cause you were scared. It’s okay! I do that too, at least I did back when I lived in the forest.” }
“I’m the one supposed to be protecting you when you’re scared, though,” they mumble ashamedly. “I’m your trainer… I’m not s’posed to run away, ‘specially not from you guys.”
Cheese shakes her head, pulling their scarf off her neck with her teeth and crawling her way around their shoulders to help wrap it back around theirs. Once she accomplishes that, she perches herself on their shoulder.
{ “It’s up to the Pokémon to protect their trainer too, silly!” }
More rattling sounds come from Goldie’s bag, before several more bursts of light from within reveal the rest of their team, popping out one by one. Daisy steps aside to make space for them all as they all emerge standing side-by-side with one another.
Goldie lifts their eyes to meet Copper’s, then Gilly’s, then Peanut’s, then finally Lizzie’s, the first friend they’d made on this journey. Not a single one of the Pokemon's expressions held any traces of anger, scorn, or resentment at the child they called their trainer. Just relief at seeing them again, and the soft forgiveness you’d see someone give a family member who made a mistake.
Lizzie steps forward first, enveloping her wings around the smaller dragon and coiling her neck around their shoulder, being mindful not to push Cheese off. “Grrroorrrrrrrrrr.”
{ “She’s right. It’s not up to you to carry the burden alone.” }
Copper and Peanut jog up in unison, the former waddling hurriedly to hug Goldie’s leg and the other slipping under Lizzie’s wing to firmly embrace her trainer’s torso. “Cu-cu-bone, cu-bone-bone!” “Prime, primeeeape!”
{ “We all get strong so we can help you, like you helped us!” }
{ “Yeah, what shortstack said!” }
Finally, Gilly slithers up, encircling them all with his long serpentine body and tail, a comforting rumble vibrating out of his throat. “Gyyaaargyyyaargh.”
{ “You are little sibling. We will protect.” }
Watching the heartwarming scene, Daisy walks over to stand by the gym leader, a fond smile on her lips. While Sabrina retains her usual neutral expression, you can tell there’s the faintest hint of gentleness in her eyes.
You can still only just see Goldie’s face peeking out from behind Lizzie’s shoulder, lower lip trembling as they shakily return the embrace. The tears finally begin to pool as they squish their face against the Charizard’s neck, savoring the warmth they hadn’t realized they’d been missing so badly. “G-guys…”
Lizzie doesn’t mind the water leaking onto her, simply hugging her young trainer tighter and letting them cry it out. She exchanges glances with Cheese, before the electric mouse crawls up to give her nose an affectionate nuzzle with her cheek. Her snout scrunches at the tiny static sparks that tickle her skin, but she returns the gesture with a soft blow of air into the mouse's face.
Before long the group hug ends, but all of Goldie’s Pokémon remain close by them, either still holding onto to them in some way or keeping a wing or tail curled around them.
{ “But…” } Cheese’s ears tilt down, an nervous frown crossing her face. { “Are we still gonna be able to challenge the gem leaders and enter the leek? Daisy was talkin’ about how they don’t let Pokémon compete as trainers…” }
{ “The gym leaders and League,” } Lizzie gently corrects her minor mispronunciations, before taking on an uncertain grimace herself. { “But it’s true… a Pokémon being registered as a trainer is unheard of. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already disqualified Goldie and deemed their license null…” }
Peanut stamps her foot and waves her fist in stubborn refusal. { “No way! We didn’t get this far just for ‘em to kick us to the curb now!” }
Gilly snarls in agreement, baring his fangs. { “We must eat those who deny us.” }
Copper shrinks away a bit at the clamor at first, but quickly adopts the same fire in his eyes as the others, slamming his bone club against the ground repeatedly like a toddler throwing a tantrum. { “We wanna fight! We wanna be champions!” }
{ “Settle down!” } Lizzie scolds the rest of her party. { “We don’t know for sure yet. There’s no reason to throw a huge fuss, let’s stay calm and think about this rationally.” }
{ “Why aren’t Pokémon allowed to fight by themselves?” } Copper stops hammering the floor, but continues to protest anyway. { “Goldie and the rest of us worked just as hard as the human trainers and THEIR Pokémon!” }
Lizzie sighs at the Cubone’s outrage, but knows it's understandable. She just wished she could explain to the young one why this was all so complicated. { "It's just that there’s… never been a case like Goldie before. Not to my knowledge, anyway.” }
While Daisy can’t understand, it’s easy to tell something they’re discussing has made the Pokémon unhappy. She approaches, wanting to try and ease whatever had them riled up. “Is something the matter?”
“We don’t know if the League’s still gonna let me compete...” Goldie explains, but even with this cause for dismay, a spark still manages to ignite in their watered eyes. "B-But that doesn't matter to me! I still… I still really want to be a champion…!”
“Oh…” Daisy raises a hand to her cheek like she’s thinking. “Goldie, I admire your passion, but... don’t know how safe it is anymore...”
“They and I already discussed it,” Sabrina chimes in. “They well understand the risks that come with this decision.”
“Yeah,” Goldie agrees, balling their fists. “I know it won’t be easy, b-but that’s fine! I know how to be sneaky and not get caught!”
“That’s the thing, Goldie,” Daisy counters. “You aren’t just going to be in trouble if people find you out. You won't simply be disqualified and let go with a slap on the wrist, people might...”
“Capture me?” Goldie speaks the potential outcome without fear. “I know already. it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s tried… but this means way too much to me, Daisy!”
They step back and gesture around to their teammates. “To all of us…”
Eyes trailing to the ground, they bring one of their hands to lay over their scarf. "A long time ago, I made a promise. I swore I'd go on a big adventure for someone who couldn't. That person... they'll be waiting for me when I get back."
Silence settles over the arena. Daisy looks conflicted by Goldie's words, and you detect the faintest twinge of discomfort flash across Sabrina's face, but she's quick to conceal it before turning to the child's foster sister.
"The ultimate choice is up to you," she tells the other young woman, "But... I would put trust in Goldie to keep themself safe. They've likely been learning to doing so long before they came into your life."
Daisy is quiet, debating Sabrina's words as she curls her fingers around the strap of her foster sibling's bag. Only for that grip to relax a her seconds later, as a defeated exhale leaves her before she lifts the bag off her shoulder.
Stepping forward, she extends her arms, offering it back to them. "Alright," she concedes with a bittersweet smile rising to her mouth. "If that's how you feel, then I won't try to stop you."
For a moment, Goldie stops and stares with their hands hovering at their sides, before reaching to gingerly take it from her hands. As soon as Daisy pulls away, one final flash bursts from a side pocket in the large backpack to allow a Porygon- with a watch dangling off its pointed snout- to digitalize into shape right before their face.
"HHHELLO USER GOL-GOL-GOLDIE!" Yippee greets them boisterously, spinning its angular feet in excitement. With an upwards jerk of its head, it flicks the watch back to the device's owner. "I KEPT YOUR DEVICE SAAAAFE FOR YOU-YOU-YOU WHILE YOU WERE GONE-GONE!"
Goldie catches the watch out of the air with ease, a beaming smile showing from beneath their scarf. "Thank you, Yippee...!"
Give an happy whir, the Pokemon de-materializes back into data and dives into the watch, but lets itself be known again by making the screen light up on its own. "NO MATTER WHAT, I'LL ALWAAAAYS BE YOUR-YOUR-YOUR TRUSTY DIGITAL ASSISTANT!"
Giggling, the child holds the watch up and presses it to the side of their face, as if giving their little virtual buddy a hug. It may stay inside their device most of the time and didn't come out much, but it was just as much a part of their family as the ones who contributed through battling. Cheese reaches from her perch on their shoulder to give the screen a gentle pat with her paw. "Pika Pikpi!"
"But, Goldie?" Daisy's voice spurs them to look up, seeing her crouching slightly to meet them at their height. "If it ever does get too much... if you ever do feel unable to continue... You'll always have us to fall back on. Grandpa has connections that can give him the qualifications to keep Legendary Pokemon in his lab. Of course, that means he'd have to register you as one of his Pokemon, but... that's just a tiny requirement to fill; we won't use that to take away your agency in any way."
Goldie tilts their head. Understanding they're probably struggling to comprehend all that, she just chuckles and tries to explain it simpler terms. "Basically, you'd have to be caught in a Pokeball, but we wouldn't ever actually keep you in it."
Their face lights up with understanding, and they nod affirmatively. "OK," they say, reverting back to their physical voice. Their eyes drift back down to their bag for a moment, before sliding their arms through the straps and letting it resume its previous place on their back. It’s after that do they suddenly lurch forward to gently knock into Daisy with a tight embrace.
She looks surprised for a moment, swaying on her feet from the soft impact before coiling her arms around them and returning it. “Stay safe, okay?” She tells them, a slight waver in her voice like she’s fighting back tears. “I don’t wanna draw attention to you, so I won’t be able to as closely follow along with you and Green like I did before…”
“That’s OK,” they switch back to telepathy, pulling away enough to look up at her. “Thank you all for helping me, even when you didn’t know me. For… being my family.”
Reaching up to pat the top of their head, she smiles. “Thank you for becoming part of ours,” she replies, giving them one last light squeeze. As she lets go of them fully, something crosses Goldie's mind.
"Oh, um... is Green..." Their brows cinch with discomfort at speaking their foster brother's name. "H-He isn't mad at me, is he...?"
Daisy opens her mouth, pauses, then purses her lips in uncertainty of how to answer. "He..." She grimaces, as if remembering something unpleasant. "He needs... time to process, I think."
Hearing that, Goldie's shoulders fall, but you watch them try to hide their sadness by averting their eyes away. "Oh..."
"I- I would just- give him some space for now...?" She suggests, rubbing the side of her neck. "Green's always been... I don't know. He struggles to grasp anything outside of what he understands. A-As being possible, I mean. A Pokemon being a trainer, well... no one ever thought that was possible."
"But," She continues in an attempt to lift the child's spirits about the situation. "Like I said, he's bound to come around eventually! I'll keep trying to talk with him about it. For all his bluster, he does care about you, Goldie."
Although their expression betrayed signs of doubtfulness, Goldie tries to be content with that promise and nods quietly. "Alright..."
Seeing her words hadn't done much convincing, Daisy taps the side of her face in thought, trying to think of a topic to switch to so they don't ruminate on their strained relationship with their rival. Thankfully, she doesn't have to, as Sabrina steps in for her.
"There's nothing to gain from concerning yourself with something that's out of your control," Although her words seem blunt, she conveys it in an encouraging tone. "Especially the closed feelings of another. You know who and what you are, regardless of what they think. A Pokemon trainer who's going to the Pokemon League no matter what obstacles they face."
"I guess..." Goldie pouts. "It... still hurts though. Green can be a big jerk sometimes, but he's still my friend. He tried to help me enter the League when I told him I don't have parents, and we've been together through a lot..."
Sabrina lowers her head, her gaze softening. Right, there was an emotional factor to this, as well. Bonds being severed because of factors about yourself you couldn't change... wasn't an experience she was unfamiliar to.
Still, Goldie shakes their head, and with it away their gloom. "You're right though..." They admit, perking back up. "Ms. Sabrina, i-is it okay to have my gym battle now?"
Daisy's head slants. "Right now?"
"We gotta get on the move again as soon as we can," They insist. "A lot of other trainers are way ahead of us already!"
"And the longer you stick around here in Saffron, the less safe it gets," Sabrina concurs easily. "It's around the gym's closing time now, so we should be safe to commence whenever without any League moderators snooping around."
There's a noticeable reluctance on Daisy's face, likely due to her knowing that once their battle wraps up, she and Goldie will have to part ways again. But it's only a moment before she bottles that back down, knowing that it was for the child's own good and that such an outcome was inevitable anyways. "Alright then, I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines," she declares, walking over to give them another quick hug. "Psychic-types are no cakewalk to defeat, especially Sabrina's. They're good at reading opponents and using that intellect of theirs to their advantage, but-"
"I know," Goldie cuts her off. "I'm a Psychic-type too, remember?"
"Ah-" Daisy blinks, realizing her silly oversight. "R-right! Oops..."
Still, Goldie pumps their fists eagerly. "But I'll still remember that! Thank you!"
Sabrina gives and amused hum behind the pair. "I admit, I may very well have my work cut out for me," she acknowledges with a bow of her head. "But my Pokemon and I will do our best to give you a satisfactory battle nonetheless."
With all of that said and done, she promptly turns and strides to the far end of the field, close to the the door from which she came out of earlier. She swivels to face Goldie once she stops, but instead first sees Daisy jogging up to speak with her.
"Sabrina!" She exclaims, a bit out of breath as she shortly stumbles to a halt. "Th-thank you for allowing Goldie to battle you. I know you put your position at risk by doing this..."
That's when her troubled look from earlier returns. "But... even if they do manage to earn all of the badges..." She speaks in a low enough voice that Goldie won't be able to hear, as they move to take their place on the opposite side of the arena. Whether or not they can hear, you can't really tell. "What do you think they'll do after? Even if they present all eight to the Pokemon League, that won't change them being disqualified..."
Sabrina stares for a long time, considering the worries she voices. When she speaks again, the fixed confidence in her eyes doesn't falter. "While I am typically not this rash, I think it's best for now to cross that bridge when they get to it. Those are valid concerns, but I fear bombarding Goldie with all the factors they have to consider may only serve to deter them."
She looks into the other young woman's face directly. "I know you must keep your distance for their safety, but... I trust you to still find a way to assist them wherever you can."
There's a moment's silence between them before Daisy gives her an affirmative smile. "Mhm."
Shifting her attention back to the impending match, Sabrina gazes past her to see Goldie returning their Pokemon to their Pokeballs- all with the exception of Gilly, likely having picked him as their lead for this battle. "Goldie, I'm ready to start whenever you are."
Gilly rears up slowly, baring his fangs with a low hiss, undoubtedly showing off the power he'll be using to dish out Crunch attacks on Sabrina's legions of Psychics. "Ready," they call back to her.
"Very well," Without moving a muscle, she's able to levitate a Pokeball off of her belt with telekinesis and have to fly out onto the field, releasing her own lead. "Come out, Kadabra!"
lil button on a necklace youse can wear so if you press it, it calls for help.
Compy got me one once as an ironic bday gift. Since im old af but i aint able ta die.
Eyyo kiddos. @rebirth-curse - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
