PLZA AU where everything is the same except AZ is the adoptive (grand)father of a 4 year old. (with art brought to you by the wonderful amazing @love-is-a-pearl!)
Introducing Gerallt (or Ger)! Old-fashioned name courtesy of his papa. He was found abandoned as a baby near Hotel Z before AZ acquired it and, when nobody came forward to claim him, AZ eventually took him in himself, considering him a sign that this was the right place to set down his roots. (Floette was also delighted at new life being around to brighten the place). Ger grows up at the hotel, and eventually ends up a surrogate little brother figure to Team MZ down the line as well! And, once he's older, he goes on a journey himself alongside Floette, as shown in the middle of the piece. (Various other things happen in his life, but I don't want to get into spoilers here.)
Before this game was even announced, I had come up with the idea of AZ adopting a kid sometime after the XY games. Since he's lived for so long, I liked the idea that he had looked after children before, even if unintentionally and/or sporadically (and then ZA went and supported my hcs by showing him adept at handling a group of teenagers). When his role in PLZA was revealed, I just couldn't stop thinking about the idea of him raising a child in the hotel, and this continued when I played the game, so I'm so pleased to have the opportunity for LiaP to render my imaginings so beautifully!
this is gonna be incomprehensible to my non-mutual followers but holding myself accountable re: my insatiable need to retcon/change lore constantly for the sake of the newbies (references to plza spoilers below)
actually gonna have az die about two years postgame for this au (he's bedridden the whole time from the end of the game to then. idk i feel like a slower decline makes more sense to me) rather than the 5ish i initially said and have ger be adopted by my beloved weirdo crackship riley/volo. togekiss and floette galpals. ger raised by an actual former knight. he's pulling wacky immortal dads like it's the lottery.
gerallt and his grandpa and his dads and big sis portia and big bro urbain and uncle augustine and honorary cousin florian (because of course florian is his cousin he's az's distant nephew)
This is an answer to the anon who sent an ask about my previous response regarding Gerallt! I'm still keeping spoilers hidden on here just in case (I have some followers/friends who I know for sure haven't finished the game). So rather than post the ask directly, I'll respond under a read more again:
AZ doesn't die earlier! He has an extra five years! So instead of dying at the end of the game, he dies five years later. To further clarify, Gerallt doesn't get involved in the SV plot, that's his foster brother, Florian, who is Sycamore/Lysandre's son and the same age as him! While Florian didn't know AZ like Ger did, he did still have a familial relationship with the man, so I think he's also doing AZ proud just as Gerallt is! I love imagining them later on both with 'special' pokémon who have a red/black/white/blue color scheme - EF Floette and Koraidon, haha.
Gerallt intrigues me greatly… I would like to know more… please…
Fair warning, he's still under a lot of development, so this will be mainly some disjointed musings -
I actually came up with his character because I had been thinking about Arthurian mythology and wanted to do an homage to the Guinevere/Arthur/Lancelot dynamic in modern times with characters in my NextGen AU. When it came time to figure out a 'Lancelot' character, I thought about how best to translate the concept of being raised by a fairy... and realized that an immortal and his fairy-type partner would be pretty perfect. I'd been toying with the idea of AZ having an adopted kid before that as well (though moreso the idea of him having raised a canon character, or just having done so in the past). So Ger is actually meant to be a version of Lancelot! (I feel like I have to give him a dragon-type now as well in homage to the man the myth the legend Lance of Blackthorn now too haha). This is why I picked his name as well! Gerallt is the Welsh version of Gerald, which relates to spears. I like the idea AZ named him after someone he knew long ago :')
As for character, Ger is very curious and enjoys stories. He can be a bit of a perfectionist, and sees his way as the only way at times, but overall tends to be pretty easy to get along with. When he's older, he enjoys traveling the world and seeing new things, helping others, the types of things his father used to do. He always seems to find trouble though! Thankfully Floette is there to (mostly) keep him out of the worst of it. I'm not sure yet what other pokémon he ends up befriending! And of course he has his two good friends (even if they get into drama) Orson and Ginny (neither of whom have much development yet either but hey, gotta start somewhere).
Let's see... Gerallt views Team MZ as older sibling figures, and they often ended up roped into babysitting him. Urbain especially has a soft spot for him, and Ger refers to him as his 'big brother' even into adulthood. He keeps in touch with them all though! And enjoys being uncle to their own children down the line too. With all of them (and my player character Portentia) as mentors, he grows into quite the formidable trainer as well!
OK SPOILER TALK BELOW HERE! CONTAINS PLZA SPOILERS!!
For the sake of this AU, AZ dies a bit later on then when he does in the actual game. I think I decided on five years. Both so Gerallt can have some actual memories of him as he grows up, but also for some other story threads relating to other characters I want to have a chance to tie up. That said, ~9 years old is still very young to lose your only parent, and it was definitely hard on Ger :( I think AZ would have wanted to (and maybe even expected/hoped to) live long enough to see him grown, but it just didn't work out that way.
Following AZ's death, Gerallt is taken in/adopted by Professor Sycamore, as per a prior agreement, and raised alongside the Professor's son, Florian (who had already been his friend). Ger and Florian get along pretty well as brothers, and lean on each other a lot throughout the years during the various trials and tribulations they face (esp since Florian goes on to fill the role of Scarlet & Violet protag a few years after).
Floette traveled with Urbain for a while, as per the game canon, but once Urbain settles down as an adult with Portentia, she ends up setting out with Gerallt when he leaves home for his own journey. She ends up spending time with many of her various friends over the years, lending support and aid where she feels she's needed.
