my bud and i have been cracking tf up over isekieran as we play arceus together!! thank you for always bringing smiles to our faces, we LOVE sharing your art back and forth ✨
as exchamps shippers and artists, we were curious whether you ever had a mind to draw them 👀🙊
AAAAAAA TY!!!! I'm so glad you like my art!!!!!! Admittedly exchamps isn't one i usually go for romantically myself but I think when they're older and have figured out a bit more about themselves they could make it work
Bbbbut I'm still super hashing out my timeskip drayton design so I just have this rough sketch for now. I hope it suffices!
summary: Caring for a Pokemon Egg is something Kieran didn't expect to be doing anytime soon. And he didn't expect to be caring for one with Drayton either.
ship: Exchampionshipping - Drayton/Kieran
word count: 1257
note: Exchampionshipping Week Day 1 - Dragons
Read on AO3
Kieran is not a dragon-type specialist. He doubts that he'll ever be one. He has two on his team, both strong Pokemon who helped him reach the top rank in the league at school. Any more would ruin his team's balance. It's not like he wants to get demolished by certain type advantages. So, he's perfectly fine with only having two dragons on his team.
The only exception he'll make is for the one that will hatch from this Pokemon Egg.
The boy stares at it intently as if waiting for the little one to come out. It's currently nestled on the bed, surrounded by blankets and pillows. Probably too much, in his eyes, but according to the dragon expert, this was necessary.
"Staring at it won't help it hatch, ya know?" Drayton says.
"I know," he rolls his eyes.
Drayton sits up on the bed, currently behind the mountain of a nest. He adds another blanket to the pile, this one nearly concealing the Egg.
"You could just let our Dragonites keep it warm."
"I could," Drayton replies as he looks over the pile and deems how comfortable the Egg is. After a moment, he moves back, careful not to jostle the bed too much with his movements, as he has his back against the wall. "But they'll get tired. This is an easier way to take care of it without an incubator."
The school had offered them one the moment they were alerted to having an Egg. An incubator would help ease the process for both trainers and Pokemon, and yet Drayton had declined the offer. It shocked Kieran more than he would like to admit. Incubators were easy, less hassle than whatever this is. All they had to do was leave it in there and keep an eye on it. Instead, Drayton announced that he would take care of it...and that Kieran would help.
Kieran didn't argue with him, for once. The Egg had come from both of their Dragonites, so he had some responsibility for it too. He was ready to take charge and take care of it, thinking that Drayton wouldn't bother with caring for an Egg.
To his surprise, Drayton did put more care into the Egg than he initially thought. Kieran had given him a look of disbelief whenever Drayton took charge of it. Normally, he would think the other boy was tricking him, telling him how dragon-type Eggs need special attention and all that. As much as he wanted to doubt the older boy, he was more knowledgeable when it came to dragon-types. If surrounding the Egg in a pile of blankets and pillows would help, then it has to be true.
Probably.
"Still," Kieran sighs before settling onto one of Drayton's plush beanie bag seats. He sinks into it and regrets his decision immediately. "It's been almost two weeks, and it's not even moving..."
He looks at the egg with worry in his eyes. He's never taken care of one before. The school does offer a class on Eggs, but it hardly seemed important when choosing classes. Even with his minimal knowledge, he thinks that it should have moved occasionally.
"Ah, don't worry about that. Dragons take the longest to hatch. Let them rest while they can."
"Feels like you're just sayin' that so you don't have to take care of the baby..."
"Hmm...maybe!" Drayton grins.
Kieran sighs and sinks into his seat. He tries to get comfortable, but can't. He doesn't understand how Drayton finds this comfy.
As he tries to adjust himself, he notices the egg move. Just a little. But it's enough to get him motivated to escape the beanie bag seat and get onto his feet.
"Didja see that?!"
"'Course," Drayton says, a little unenthused.
Kieran ignores his comment, gaze focusing on the Egg. His eyes go wide as he watches it shake slightly. As the shaking increases, his mind begins to race with far too many questions.
Is it hatching already? What does he need for a newborn Dratini? Berries? Moomoo milk? Even more blankets? He tries to recall what Drayton had told him, but most of what Kieran remembers is him telling him that he shouldn't worry so much.
His thoughts are cut short as the Egg's shell begins to crack. He takes a step back to give it room. As the cracks begin to grow, the Egg shakes more and begins to glow. After one final shake, the shell cracks apart, and a Dratini is left in the nest.
"W-Wait- no way...?" Kieran gasps as he sees the Dratini. "A pink Dratini...?"
The little dragon shakes off a piece of the shell, its cute, big eyes looking up at Kieran. It lets out a happy cry, wiggling around in place. It seems oblivious to how special it really is.
"Oh man," Drayton actually sits up, no longer resting his back against the wall. He looks over from behind the pile to get a better look at the Dratini. He whistles when seeing it up close. "Even I haven't seen a pink one before."
"Can't believe it..." Kieran mumbles. He's never had the luck to see a different colored Pokemon before. Sure, he's heard the tales and sightings of some, but not many trainers get a chance to encounter one.
The Dratini is still wiggling in excitement, its whole body shaking with joy. It escapes the remains of the egg, tumbling out of it and onto the hoard of blankets. Perhaps that is what they're meant for. Still, better to be safe than sorry, Kieran carefully scoops the Dratini into his arms.
"Ya gotta be careful!" He tells it. The Dratini doesn't seem to understand him yet. Instead, it raises its head to nuzzle his cheek.
"Aww, it likes ya. Think yer guna be the favorite," Drayton chuckles as he watches the scene play out before him.
Kieran wants to snap back at him, but finds it hard with a new baby Pokemon in his arms. Rather than staying still, it starts to slither around him, finding itself comfortable as it hangs loosely around his shoulders.
"I don't mind," he says, smiling and holding back a chuckle as it nuzzles his cheek again.
It makes him recall training his own Dratini. He was...different back then. Maybe he wasn't the perfect trainer for it, but it's not like his team hated him. They were trained to be strong.
This Dratini didn't have to be. It's too young to put into the battling scene. Even if some are raring to go and fight, he'd rather let this one take it easy. After a moment, he reaches out to gently pat Dratini's head.
"It's cute..."
"Has it charmed ya already?"
"You know, I'm not letting you dump all the responsibility on me. Don't forget your Dragonite also helped with this," Kieran says, pausing his affectionate moment with the Dratini to remind Drayton.
"Man...I can't escape ya, huh?" He sighs, but not in a bothered way. He knows the tone that he uses when Drayton finds something to be a real drag. That wasn't it.
"Nope! Besides, you got more experience with'em. And I'm...going to need your help..." It's embarrassing to admit that, especially to Drayton of all people.
"Alright, alright, since ya asked nicely. Guess we can play mom and pops."
"N-Not like that!" Kieran's face flushes. Drayton laughs at his reaction while Dratini looks confused. The only thing it can do is nuzzle Kieran more, hoping that would help.
