For my au I have no intention of writing, I've decided to explore that comment Mai made about how he used to be quiet and withdrawn as a child.
• Melli (age 25) was living on his own in the Crimson Mirelands, just a little ways away from the Diamond settlement, before meeting Remy.
• He had his own little tent set up in the Droning Meadow with his Pokémon, as well as the Pachirisu that likes him because he gives her food and sings really nicely.
• What's he doing out here? He was kicked out of the clan. But not by Adaman.
• Basically, Adaman's father, Rainer, is a massive dick. He was always a pretentious braggert who got off on intimidating others (Melli was always a favorite target), but was somewhat respected by members of the clan around his age because of his charisma and ability to get others to do what he wants. Everyone knows Adaman would never disobey his father.
• Knowing it potentially lead to war with the Pearl clan, the Diamond clan leader and Rainer's father (Adaman's grandfather) decided his stand-offishness and controlling nature made him unfit to be a leader and refused to allow him to be chosen as the next leader. This led to Rainer leaving the clan after a very short argument, ending with his father saying "The Diamond clan needs a leader, not a dictator. Your way of problem solving would not only take our people down a path of destruction, but would drag many people and Pokémon down with us!"
• "But the Pearl cl-"
• "We are at a truce. I will not have you wage war and risk the lives of our people and the innocent Pokémon roaming the region. We both know that you will."
• "Father..."
• "You're not fit to be the next leader. End of discussion."
• Unfortunately, after several years of absence, Rainer returned, having not changed a bit. He made sure to give Sabi a scary first impression (it was surprising, but it really didn't scare her at all), and took great pleasure in reminding the wardens of his strength and power as the leader's father.
• Melli was still affected by Rainer's intimidation tactics from when he was a child, but decided to stand up for himself when Rainer started harassing him. This resulted in a fight, and Rainer forced Adaman to have Melli banished. Adaman, who always thought of Melli as a little brother despite his faux arrogance, desperately didn't want to do it. But again, Adaman would never disobey his father.
Explanation of the scribbles:
• -Remy doing her daily logs, featuring a camera shy pretty man.
• --Remy can't handle the cute.
• -This is the moment that Remy and Melli meet. All of that bravado that he acquired over the years, which was already pretty shaky to begin with, is totally out the window. He's actively trying to avoid people now, and talks so quietly that Remy has to strain to hear him.
• -Even worse, just an hour prior, Melli was attacked by the Miss Fortunes and had his necklace (which belonged to his mother) stolen.
• --This is where Pachirisu comes in. She loves this man. He shares his food, sings to her and his other Pokémon at night, and she just adores his silky hair. Pachirisu can't stand seeing him so sad and scared, but knows she can't take on the bandits alone. So when Remy and Zorua show up, she decides to enlist their help (Zorua translates for Remy).
• -After the necklace is retrieved, Melli shows his gratitude to Pachirisu. Remy is very jealous of his ability to withstand 100 volts of electricity being rubbed directly onto his face.
• -Poke Ball tutorial.
• -So, when Remy was sucked into the time-space rift, She was with Yuri, who had brought his car.
• --The car was also taken.
• --It was still running when it was isekaied, so it's totally dead by the time Remy and Melli find it. Plus, it's heavily damaged from, y'know, falling out of the sky.
• --That doesn't stop Remy from explaining how it works, however! Melli has MANY questions about this strange metal box on wheels. Remy gladly answers, a) because she's spent about 2 months by now not knowing anything about the local culture and loves being able to teach other people about things she's familiar with. And b) Melli is finally talking, and with the uprising of his sassy side, some banter is starting up between them.
• ---Melli: Your cousin named this inanimate mass of scrap metal?
• ---Remy: Yeah. Y'know, people always say that I'M super weird, but even I thought Yuri was crazy when he said "This is Janie, she's my angel".
• ---Melli: This thing is a female? And he named it... JANIE?
• ---Remy: I tried to convince him to at least think of a cooler name, but he insisted that I, ahem, "don't slander his baby".
• ---Melli: Did someone happen to drop him in his infancy?
• ---Remy: Not likely. If anything, he was thrown like a Pokéball.
• -Eventually Ingo joins the squad, and since they worked so closely together (and Melli used to be a jerk to him in particular), Melli's feeling particularly shy.
• --Ingo, of course, bears no ill will towards Melli, and has actually been a bit worried about him being cast out and alone.
• --As you can see, they eventually all become bros.
• ---(and between the two boys, you know it becomes more.)
• -When Ingo falls sick, he has a lot of fever dreams that are a mixture of nightmares and lost memories, so he ends up freaking out a lot in his sleep.
• --In an attempt to somewhat soothe him, Melli sings to him the same way he would his Pokémon. It's a song that his mother used to sing, and one he taught Adaman as a child.
• ---Of course in universe, it's a completely original song, but since I'm not creative, it's this: https://youtu.be/vUCy50ezkIQ
