said it before and i'll say it again, i love fan changyu's little gang of misfits!!! literally CHEERING when they got their big entrance 😭💙🙏 oh my god and then poor girl breaks down crying instead of her usual ass kicking routine and all four of them immediately jump in like "how dare you?? hurt our boss who you definitely don't stand a chance against??"
and don't even get me started on that scene where she breaks the news about what happened back home...... absolutely brutal. they should be tossing out oscars like confetti on that set because oh my GOD they all had me sobbing
Title: A Battle Between Lovers, a Panic Over Partners
Summary: Kokichi and Shuichi have a Pokemon battle, because why not. Surely everything will go fine! ... Right?
Words: 1689
Note: Even though I know the days can be done late, I wanted to finish this one today because otherwise I would have just never finished it. Because of that, and my lack of inspiration when it came to this prompt, it's not really edited, especially near the end, so I think I kinda butchered Shuichi's sorta anxiety attack. Sorry about that. I hope you enjoy anyway.
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Shuichi wasn't sure what led to this battle. He wasn't very strong, and his Pokemon weren't the most experienced. But somehow, he'd ended up in a Pokemon battle with Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Shiny Hunter, with the threat of having to do any dare Kokichi came up with if he lost.
Of course, Shuichi knew that the same could be said for the other boy; if, by some miracle, Kokichi lost, he could dare Kokichi to do whatever he wanted – give up lying for a day, help Shuichi with his missing Pokemon cases, etcetera. But that probably wasn't going to happen, so as he stepped into place on the school's outside battlefield, Shuichi sighed, prepared himself, and pulled out a PokeBall.
"You ready?! You ready?!" Kokichi called from the other side of the field, already bouncing in excitement. Evanescence, Shuichi's emotional support Pokemon and one of his Mightyena, glanced up at him, and after bending down to Evanescence a quick pet, Shuichi straightened up and gave a nod that could be seen clearly by the other boy.
"Woohoo! Now, remember, Shuichi, only two Pokemon!" Kokichi shook his head as if he was prepared for Shuichi to cheat, but Shuichi just rolled his eyes and gripped his PokeBall tighter. They agreed upon that rule because of <i>Shuichi's</i> limitations in Pokemon, so it was pretty much impossible for him to cheat. Regardless...
"Prepare to lose, Shuichi! Three... two... one... Let's duel!"
The final part of that yell threw Shuichi off a bit, but after a minor stumble, Shuichi threw out his PokeBall to reveal Zen, his Kirlia. Zen hit the ground poised, dancing on the tips of its feet, while Kokichi's Lumineon swam through the air, following Zen as Zen leaped around.
<i>That's the Lumineon Kokichi got from Kaito,</i> Shuichi thought, eyes locked onto the water type Pokemon. <i>I wonder what kind of moves it has...?</i>
Well, no time left to think, because a second later Kokichi was pointing and shouting, "Water Pulse!"
Lumineon shot out a circle of water, and as Shuichi cried out, Zen moved to dodge. Zen didn't quite get out of the way, but they didn't get hit with the full force of the water, either, and stumbled back a bit, soaking wet. Shuichi took in a shaky breathe as he lowered his hands from where they had instinctively gone to clutch his shirt.
Right, okay, it was his turn. He could do this. "Zen, uh, use... Magical Leaf!"
Even through the barrage of leaves Zen shot at Lumineon, Shuichi could see Kokichi curse. Magical Leaf might be the only attack move Zen knew, but it was super-effective and never missed.
The move hit Lumineon dead on, and it cried out in pain. Kokichi's face twisted, and after a moment of hesitation where Lumineon was shaking its head and Shuichi and Zen were watching carefully, Kokichi brought out his PokeBall to recall Lumineon. "Lumineon, return!"
Lumineon disappeared in a red beam of light, and Zen shot an anxious glance at Shuichi. Shuichi did his best to smile and reassure his Pokemon, but evidently his own nervousness was showing, as Evanescence headbutted him to ground him in the present.
<i>Okay. Okay, I can do this. Bringing back Lumineon was a smart move, but what's Kokichi going to do now...?</i>
Kokichi, smirking by this time, threw out a fresh PokeBall, and evidently, the answer to that question was "send out a shiny Froslass."
"Laaass!" Froslass shook itself off, bursting out of its PokeBall in a glimmer of light and mist, and Shuichi had the random, illogical thought, <i>Ah, so this is how I die.</i>
A moment later, though, he was shaking that thought off, and ordering Zen to use Double Team with a hesitant shout.
"Lia!" Zen started bouncing around, leaping like a ballerina and making copies of itself whenever it landed. Kokichi's eyes followed Zen, but Shuichi doubted he knew which one was the real Zen by now – he sure as heck didn't.
And it seemed like Froslass didn't either, based on its frantic spinning in circles to try and keep an eye on all the Kirlia. Shuichi relaxed his breath.
<i>Maybe I can actually –</i>
"Use Blizzard! And follow it up with Hail!"
<i>... You've got to be kidding me...</i>
Froslass cheered as it raised its hands to the sky, summoning clouds and mist that covered the entire battlefield. "Fros, lass lass!"
The hail began to fall, and Shuichi sneezed as the temperature changed. His sneeze was nothing compared to the barrage Zen's clones were taking, though, as they disappeared one by one as hailstones struck them. Soon enough, Zen was the only Kirlia left in the arena, sheltering its head from the storm above. "Kirlia!"
"Ah! Zen!" Shuichi squinted to see through the mist; he could make out Zen, and Froslass, but from here, Kokichi was just a shape in the fog. Shuichi gritted his teeth. "Use Magical Leaf!"
"Kirl!" Kirlia sent out the attack, but Shuichi knew it wasn't very effective. There was a shout that Shuichi couldn't quite make out, and with a gust of wind and another round of hail, Zen fell to the ground.
Heart sinking, Shuichi dug in his bag for Zen's PokeBall. Holding it out with an arm as shaky as his voice, he called, "Zen, return!"
Zen disappeared in a flash of light just like how Lumineon had, and Shuichi took a moment to smile at the Pokemon currently inside the PokeBall before putting it away.
Kokichi shouted something else, probably a taunt that didn't make its way past the storm, but Shuichi just ignored it. <i>Okay, so I know I don't have any Pokemon that are as high a level as his Froslass... But I guess Crossbones would be the way to go? Certainly not Meatball, at the very least...</i> Shuichi reached for Crossbones's PokeBall... And hesitated.
<i>Wait, Froslass is a ghost type... And Lumineon is a water type... So based on the moves of my Pokemon, who I should really go for is –</i>
"HEY SHUICHI, YOU'RE NOT BAILING ON ME, ARE YOU, YOU MEANIE?!"
"Let's go, Boomer!"
"Emol, emolga!"
Emolga shot out into the storm, easily coasting on the winds of Froslass's Blizzard. Shuichi grinned across the field, and as he took a deep breath of the icy cold air, he knew by the way his heart soared he made a good choice.
Maybe this wouldn't be a guaranteed loss on his part after all.
"BOOMER, USE U-TURN!" Shuichi yelled out into the arena, loud enough so Kokichi could hear him – just like how Kokichi yelled out at Shuichi just a moment ago. Evanescence stood up next to Shuichi, and Shuichi knew if he hadn't been on-duty, he probably would have howled.
"Mol!" Boomer cut through the clouds, striking Froslass before the other Pokemon could react. Normally, this would be the part where Boomer returned to its PokeBall, but Shuichi didn't have anyone to switch out to.
The hail fell again, and although Shuichi winced as he heard Boomer's cry meaning it got hit, he didn't back down.
Beside him, Evanescence pressed its side to Shuichi's leg. Shuichi balled his hands into fists as he waited for Kokichi's next move.
"...ard!"
"Froslass!"
Froslass raised its arms again, and in a blast of wind, Boomer was sent flying. "Emol!"
"Boomer!" Just like that, Shuichi's determined mood vanished in the wind. He peered through the storm, trying to see what was happening, but wherever Boomer ended up, Shuichi couldn't see him.
Kokichi, though, apparently could, and after nodding away from Shuichi, Froslass dispelled the blizzard with a final arm wave, and Shuichi got to see the sight of Kokichi making his way over to him with a blank expression, fainted Boomer in his arms.
"Ah! Boomer!" Shuichi dashed out to Kokichi, Evanescence bounding beside him. Shuichi didn't know what to say, or think, but his mind was already yelling at him what ifs about Boomer being seriously hurt, and as Shuichi reached Kokichi he couldn't even do anything more than stare at Boomer.
<i>What if Boomer's injured what if Boomer doesn't get better what if Boomer hates you now what if –</i>
...
Evanescence tugged on his pant leg, and Shuichi realized he was hyperventilating.
Forcing himself to calm down and breathe, Shuichi blinked as he continued to stare at Boomer... Who Kokichi was currently administering a Potion to. Looking at him now, Shuichi could see he was fine, but Shuichi didn't dare ask to hold him, instead slowly sitting down so he could hug Evanescence.
A moment later, Kokichi joined him. Between the warmth of Evanescence and the tears starting to slip from his eyes, Shuichi realized this was the longest he'd ever heard Kokichi be quiet.
"Emol?"
Shuichi choked up, and as he turned to his side, Boomer jumped over to his shoulder and patted his cheek sympathetically. Behind Boomer, Kokichi was smiling softly, looking away like he wasn't sure how to help.
Shuichi reached out a hand to Kokichi, but froze before making contact. Kokichi blinked, but Shuichi didn't know whether he'd noticed or not.
Boomer climbed up his head and rested on his hat. Shuichi wasn't complaining.
"You knoow," Kokichi began, as he waved at Froslass, which Shuichi only just now realized he hadn't actually returned to its PokeBall, "maybe I'll save the dare for another time, so you can help me prank Kiibo. If he was here, then we could do it today, but alas," Kokichi sighed.
Shuichi knew that was as direct to an "are you okay?" as he was going to get from Kokichi, but he was okay with that. In fact... It was kinda nice.
So Shuichi smiled, turned, and buried his face into Mightyena fur.
Because maybe this battle didn't go that well, but at the end of the day, Shuichi knew he had both people and Pokemon who loved him.
