Event hosted by @aug-kissed | Post divider by @/cafekitsune
The tension inside the stadium was at its peak, Misty could almost smell the anticipation radiating from the audience. She tried her best not to look at the audience, or even towards the big scoreboard in the middle. Still, it was difficult for her not to shield her eyes with an arm and turn her face away from the battle before her when Nessa’s Drednaw shrunk back into its original form after Dynamaxing. Her own Starmie’s Dynamax had worn off one turn ago, which had caused a great deal of damage to her Pokemon as it avoided making contact with the opposing Drednaw’s Max Ooze by continuously spinning in the air. Now that the stadium had returned to normal, Starmie landed on one of its pointy spokes and attempted to stand tall with its back facing Misty.
She could see that her Starmie was shivering, putting every ounce of her energy into standing straight and holding it together so Misty wouldn’t lose the battle. She curled up her fists at her side till her knuckles went white, the image of the scoreboard flashed into her mind as she closed her eyes to take a deep breath, both Nessa and she were down to their last Pokemon, it could have been anyone’s win but seeing the difference in their stamina, she knew that chances of Starmie fainting first were higher.
When she opened her eyes again, she was taken aback by how Starmie had turned to face her. The glow of its ruby coloured jewel had almost diminished, and though Misty was teased a lot about how Starmie and Staryu didn’t have faces, she could still understand exactly what her Pokemon was trying to tell her. But she pursed her lips at the sight, how could she let Starmie continue to battle in its current state? She wasn’t the kind of trainer who let their Pokemon battle through exhaustion, it just felt so wrong to her. Her hand at her side twitched, she had half a mind to pull out her Pokeball and recall Starmie, forfeit the battle before her Pokemon suffered any severe injuries. But it was the look on Starmie’s face that held her back. Once her Pokemon noticed that Misty had understood what it was trying to say, it proudly turned around and faced the opponent.
She couldn’t however, look at Nessa or Drednaw just yet. Her cerulean eyes wandered towards the scoreboard again, if Starmie somehow pulled through this, Misty would become the first trainer to win the newly inaugurated Water Pokemon Championships. This whole month she had spent every waking second training and battling and winning, just to get that title of the best Water Pokemon Trainer, something she had dreamed about for all her life. Could she, however, be satisfied with the win if Starmie would have to be rushed to the emergency room right after? Or worse, what if she risked her Pokemon’s health and still didn’t win?
Misty swallowed the lump in her throat, she could feel the entire stadium watching her, even Nessa’s blue eyes were piercing into her skin, waiting for her to make the next move as the honourable trainer that she was. The silence all around consumed Misty and her knees shook, suddenly unable to hold up her weight and the weight of all the thoughts that circled in her mind, should she give up, should she continue to battle, was Starmie okay, will she be able to make the right choice?
She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and let out a scream, if she couldn’t even make up her mind over something like this, did she even deserve to win?
Feeling lost and confused, Misty’s eyes searched the stands for a familiar face and it didn’t take her too long to find him.
Ash was sitting in the second row from the front, not too far from where she was standing on the battleground. He had been observing Starmie too but when their eyes met, Misty felt a new surge of energy rush into her veins. He didn’t smile, he didn’t give her an encouraging nod, and he didn’t even look like he wanted to cheer her on. No, Ash’s face was lit up with the intensity of a raging fire, one that wanted to be at the centre of the ring and wouldn’t be contained until it got what it wanted. His jaw was set and his brown eyes bore into her, as if to say that if Misty didn’t see this battle through, he’d come down from the stands to finish it himself.
In a daze, she lifted a hand to touch the Cascade badge pinned to the hair tie holding her hair up in her trademark lopsided ponytail. Just before she’d taken her place in the arena, Ash had come to wish her luck one last time. He’d stood across her with his sunshine smile lighting up the dark corridor that opened up to the battleground.
“Nessa’s going to think you’re about to step into the ring yourself with that Gyarados face you’ve got on right now,” Ash laughed, poking her cheek with a finger, possibly in an attempt to get her to loosen up.
“Not funny, Ash. Now’s not the time to crack silly jokes, okay?” Misty muttered though she didn’t fight him off when he cupped her face in his hands and pulled her forward, resting his forehead against hers.
“Relax, Mist.”
That’s all he said, but the two words worked like a charm. As they stood in silence Misty felt her heartbeat slow down in sync with Ash’s calm breathing.
She allowed her body to bask under his gentle warmth, the muscles in her back relaxing and her jaw unclenching on its own as only the sound of Ash’s deep breaths reverberated around them. Once he understood that she would not try to wiggle out of his grasp, he let his hands fall to her shoulders, gripping them with just the right amount of strength. Lifting his head he pressed it against her side, tickling her cheeks with his nose as his eyelashes fluttered across her skin, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses that made her lips long for some company too. It was when she started to get comfortable that he moved again, taking a step back to shift behind her and wrap his hands around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder so they could stand cheek to cheek.
She didn’t quite know how long they stood together like that, time had seemed to stop as a favour to her, but when Ash pulled away, she felt like a different person altogether.
He grinned at the sight of her, rubbing the tip of his nose with a finger proudly, he asked “Feeling better?”
Misty nodded, though she’d felt the anxiety over the upcoming match vanish from her body and mind after Ash’s help, her voice still needed some time to reform.
“Better enough for me to crack a joke about how you now look like a spaced out Psyduck?”
“Ash Ketchum, why I ought to-”
And her voice was back in full swing, any nervous feelings about what awaited her out in the arena now a distant whisper as her whole body buzzed with newfound energy and excitement, looking forward to face reality instead. Ash dodged the light punch she threw in his direction, easily grabbing her fist with his hand he lowered it to pry open her fingers one by one. Misty was confused by this but in the next moment she let out a small gasp, as he had dropped a shiny object in her open palm, one she didn’t expect to see in this moment.
“Is this…?” Her voice trailed off, though she knew Ash understood her question nonetheless.
“Yep. The badge you thought I didn’t deserve,” he said, his voice surprisingly gentle considering the sensitive topic.
Misty couldn’t believe it but when she touched the badge, the cold surface sent a shiver down her spine, reminding her of that interrupted battle and Ash’s unrelenting determination.
“It looks just the same as it did that day,” she whispered, in awe of how its blue coating had survived so many years without a single scratch.
“Of course it does! I take good care of all my badges and trophies.”
She didn’t need to look up at Ash to know that his nose was pointed a few centimetres higher with how smug he sounded. Slowly, a calm smile spread across her face, though she did not understand yet what Ash was aiming to achieve by handing her this today, just thinking about their days travelling together as kids made her feel content with the present and hopeful for the future. When she finally raised her eyes to thank him for this sweet gesture, Ash did not let a single moment pass without taking her by surprise. With her hand still resting on top of his palm, he raised it slightly, bending his head to plant a kiss on top of the badge. His lips tickled her skin for just a brief moment but it was enough to colour her cheeks with a deep blush. After pulling back, Ash grinned at the shy pout that had overtaken her face naturally, he took the badge from her hand and carefully attached it to her hair tie, stepping back afterwards to let her know that she was free to go.
“For good luck,” he said, gesturing towards the badge with his warm eyes.
“Thank you.”
Misty nodded, inhaling a deep breath and taking one last look at Ash’s encouraging smile, she turned her back to him, heading out into the battleground with loud cheers welcoming both her and Nessa. Just before she fished out her first Pokeball, she took a moment to touch the badge affixed to her hair and allowed the magic of Ash’s good luck charm to flow through her. She knew that the sensation of his lips had by then faded but she still bought the fingers that had glazed across the badge to her lips, preserving the vanishing essence of Ash’s kiss even for a fleeting moment…
And that was all the motivation she needed to pull herself together.
This match was going to be her victory.
Misty straightened up her back and uncurled her fists, raising one arm in front of her as she prepared to order Starmie. The move she had thought of was something Starmie had attempted to learn just for the sake of this tournament, but their training had not proved as effective as Misty hoped. To use that move in such a stressful and decisive moment made her feel worried for her Pokemon’s state of mind, but remembering how Starmie had stood tall against her doubts just moments ago, Misty stilled her nervously beating heart with a deep breath.
“Starmie, use Power Gem and Rapid Spin, at the same time!”
It was reckless, but Misty had watched Ash’s Pokemon pull off similar moves multiple times so she had faith that Starmie would catch onto her wishes.
As if eager to prove her trainer right, Starmie wasted no time in reacting to the command. Any doubts about whether the move would be successful or not were wiped from Misty’s mind as Starmie took centre stage with a reignited vigour. The ruby gem at its centre began to glow and soon it had turned into a blinding shade of white before it burst into beams of light spreading out like tendrils all around the stadium. A collective gasp could be heard from around the audience but Misty paid it no heed, only keeping her concentration fixed on the battle in front of her. As soon as Starmie started to spin, she didn’t need to be aware of her surroundings to know that silence had enveloped the stadium at the beautiful sight that Starmie painted with its skilful enactment of Misty’s idea.
The particles of light that Power Gem created were now falling all across the arena, no matter where Nessa ordered her Drednaw to run, there was either a shard of rock waiting to land on his head or a ray of dazzling light ready to obscure his vision. Nessa was shouting for Drednaw to stay calm amidst the chaos of Starmie’s Power Gem raining down upon the arena, but it was too late, the shell-backed Pokemon was already confused. Coupled with the exhaustion that Dyanamxing brings along with it, Drednaw’s movements became slower and it didn’t take too long for it to start getting hit by Power Gem’s effects.
Misty watched the scene with a mental countdown playing in her head, she had to wait for the right moment to give out the next command, which she knew would be the last move Starmie could pull off after exerting over this grand display of its hidden move. Misty followed every move that Drednaw made attentively, making sure her eyes didn’t even pause to blink. Just a little bit longer, she thought to herself and hoped that her words reached Starmie, just a little bit more and then this match would be over.
“Drednaw, get a hold of yourself!” Nessa’s sharp voice cut through the noise of the Power Gem shower.
The instruction reached Drednaw as it found itself a place to take cover from the falling rocks and stopped running around in a frenzy. Nessa’s relieved sigh was loud enough for Misty to hear and she decided, that this was it, the moment she’d been waiting for.
“Starmie, my steady-” To Misty’s delight, her Pokemon reacted instantly and halted its spin mid-air, ready to switch gears to the next move without hesitation, so she obliged and shouted with all her might, “Use tackle!”
“Drednaw, get up and dodge!” Nessa countered through an equally loud shout.
With whatever strength they had left, the two Pokemon eagerly obeyed the commands issued to them by their trainers. Drednaw stood on his hinds, raising his front paws with the hope that it would help stop Starmie’s descent in its tracks. But perhaps the will to prove itself was stronger on Starmie’s side as it did not let the opponent’s stance deter her and flew with all its strength and tenacity towards Drednaw’s belly, avoiding the onslaught of his paws altogether to land a critical hit. Drednaw wobbled uncontrollably from the impact before finally losing his footing, its hind legs tripping on the remnants of Power Gem to make him fall flat on his back.
As Drednaw struggled to get back on its feet only the encouraging shouts from Nessa reverberated across the stadium. Drednaw flailed about for a few tense seconds before it allowed fatigue to take over and went limp, leaving Starmie standing tall above it.
The Drone Rotom flew in to take a closer look at the situation, announcing to the stadium that Drednaw was unable to battle.
The loud cheer that erupted pretty much drowned everything else that the Rotom announced and it took Misty a few seconds to realise that she had won. It was Starmie’s blinking gem that alerted her, she ran forward to hug her battle worn Pokemon, falling to her knees as Starmie returned her embrace to the best of its ability. Even if Starmie lacked the features to smile, Misty could tell from the energy it reverberated that it was celebrating their triumph with a lot of joy.
She could still hear the clapping sounds echoing across the stadium but before she faced her supporters, Misty locked eyes with Nessa, who was helping Drednaw get back to his feet right across her. There was a look of admiration exchanged between them and she felt her eyes sting with tears the moment Nessa recalled Drednaw and turned her back to Misty. She was beyond elated that she had won, but as someone who looked up to everything which Ness had accomplished as a Water Pokemon Trainer, her heart ached to watch the veil of disappointment cover her striking blue eyes. Maybe a few days later, when the fever of the match would’ve died down, she would treat Nessa to a nice meal or perhaps a girl’s day out with her sisters in Cerulean.
While she was still in a daze, the blue Drone Rotom hovered over her, announcing urgently that they needed to clear the arena for the prize ceremony. Misty flushed at its scolding tone and quickly put Starmie back in its Pokeball, getting to her feet, she faced the crowd once, bowing lightly to acknowledge their praises and applaud. Her eyes caught Ash standing up and clapping hard, his whole face covered in an ear-to-ear grin. With a sudden burst of bravery, Misty blew a little kiss in his direction, hoping that she was quick enough with the gesture to avoid it being captured by the many flashing cameras in the crowd.
Despite the distance between them, she noticed the glint in Ash’s cocoa eyes when he winked back at her in response to the kiss. She knew that expression on his face well, the boyish excitement to battle someone strong was something he still held onto. She wanted to roll her eyes at the thought of him pestering her for a match as soon as the ceremony was over but found herself chuckling at the giddy look on his face. Maybe it was for the better if some things about him never changed, it helped keep her feet on the ground when she needed it the most.
~
To Misty’s surprise, the part that came after winning a tournament seemed much more hectic than the battles themselves. She was going to pull Ash’s ears when- if she saw him later, for not warning her about all the interviews, the photo ops, customary greetings with notable league members and several other things that followed after she accepted the winner’s trophy. She wanted a moment to check up on her recovering Pokemon, who had been taken to the Pokemon Centre voluntarily by Brock, but every time she decided to make an exit someone was waiting to ambush her midway.
The sky was blanketed with the dark curtain of dusk by the time she was able to make her escape from the stadium. Even at the Pokemon Centre, it took her a while to get through the throng of people who came up to congratulate her before she could get to Nurse Joy’s desk. Thanks to Brock bringing her Pokemon in at the right time, and even staying back to attend to them, her team was recovering well and it was only when she could make sure of that, that it finally felt like the day was over.
She crept out of the room gracefully, not wanting to disturb the well deserved rest her team was getting at last. After making sure that the door’s lock clicked as quietly as possible when she shut it, Misty was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Deciding to head straight back to her hotel room so she too could soak herself in a relaxing warm bath before crashing for eternity on the fluffy bed, she closed her eyes for a second to imagine the peaceful sight, and at that moment someone snaked a pair of arms around her waist and dragged her into a closed space.
Misty opened her eyes to the dingy look of a supplies closet. Annoyed that her peaceful vision of a relaxing bath and nap was disturbed by this, she prepared to elbow her kidnapper, despite recognising the heartbeat currently drumming against her back.
“Finally!” Ash sighed into her ear as he kissed her cheek and went on to nuzzle her neck.
“I missed you too, but can this wait until we get to the hotel?”
“I can’t wait any longer,” Ash said as he left a flurry of kisses across her shoulder, making it difficult for Misty to argue back, “I’m mad at you, ya know? For ignoring me all day long.”
“I’m mad at you!” Misty murmured, her voice unable to bring forth her annoyance as she allowed her body to melt under Ash’s touch. “You didn’t warn me about what the aftermath of a win is like.”
“You think I ever have the patience to do all of that?” Ash laughed right into her ear, sending an electrifying shiver down her spine, “I just call Dragonite or Charizard and fly away at the speed of light.”
With some difficulty Misty managed to wiggle out of his grasp so she could turn to face him with her best glare, considering the situation. Her effort to stay angry was wasted of course, because the minute she got a glimpse of his face, she too understood the feeling of impatience Ash was struggling with. She raised her arms to loop them around his neck and without wasting a moment Ash leaned in to kiss her, resting one hand on the small of her back as the other moved up to caress her cheek.
“Congratulations, by the way, you were amazing out there.”
He broke the kiss for a moment to mumble in a raspy voice and Misty nodded in a daze, still relishing the taste of his tongue against her own. She moved forward to rest her forehead on his chest, feeling comforted by the heightened pace of his heartbeat. Remembering the wink and the smile he’d given her back at the stadium, she realised that the excitement he was feeling right now wasn’t just because of their kiss, but the expectation over what would follow. She sighed contently against him, hoping that he would understand how tired she was today and postpone the challenge until tomorrow.
“I know you waited all day for this, Ash. But do you think we can push our Pokemon battle to tomorrow afternoon? I’m very tired and I want to-” Misty stopped talking when she realised that Ash was shaking, she raised her head to find him struggling to hold back his laugh which made her furrow her brows in confusion, “What’s so funny?”
“Our battle? What battle?” He asked, sporting a confused look quite similar to her own.
“You don’t want to battle me?” Misty threw another question back at him, taking just one step back so there was some distance between them but still kept her arms hanging around his neck.
“I mean, sure, I’d never say no to a battle but why did you think that’s what I’ve been waiting for all day?”
Ash was now peering into her face curiously as if trying to understand what was going on inside her head, which made her feel sort of embarrassed and she blushed under his gaze. She remembered very clearly, the look on his face when she’d sent a flying kiss in his direction. His eyes were burning with an indescribable passion, his smile was bright enough to light up the night sky, and his whole face screamed that he couldn’t wait to get down in that arena and face off against her...or did she make a mistake in understanding what he wanted?
“When I won, you looked more excited than happy, like you usually do when you find a strong opponent you want to battle against,” Misty explained herself, now feeling grateful that the dingy lighting of the closet was probably helping hide the colour in her cheeks as she looked away to dodge his questioning eyes.
Once again she felt him laugh and his loud voice rang all around them like a blaring alarm. Now feeling her whole face turn red over his reaction, Misty managed to pull her arms away and stepped out of Ash’s grasp, fixing him with a glare she cried out, “Why are you laughing?”
“It’s just- it’s just that-” Ash tried to catch his breath but every time he began to speak he guffawed again, leaning against the shelf behind him to support himself so he wouldn’t end up on his knees, “You may have won the match today, but you’re way off the mark with this, Mist.”
“I’ve known you for so long Ash Ketchum, I know when you’re in the mood to battle!” Doubling down on her take was probably not the right thing to do considering how hard Ash was laughing at her, but she felt exhausted over the day she’d had so it wasn’t a surprise that she couldn’t think straight anymore.
“I suppose, back when we were kids, that’s what that look meant.” Ash finally settled down, wiping a lone tear from his eye as he moved forward to take her in his arms again, not giving her the chance to resist as he tightly wrapped his hands around her and pressed his forehead to hers, “But I’m almost 18 now Misty, I have other needs.” His breath brushed past her lips as he spoke and she felt her toes curl inside her shoes at the sensation.
It was hard to feel embarrassed over her mistake when Ash kissed her like she was the only thing that mattered. The exhaustion that she’d carried with her after the win vanished into thin air when he threaded his fingers through her hair, undoing her ponytail to let her hair fall across her shoulders. When he pushed deeper into the kiss, she stumbled backwards, unable to match his level of urgency and need. Her back hit another shelf and that helped her regain her senses enough to break away from the kiss for a moment.
Ash’s eyebrows wrinkled together in annoyance at her actions but Misty only smiled teasingly up at him, resting a finger against his pouting lips, she tilted her head to one side, her voice barely a tone above a whisper but just enticing enough to make Ash’s cheeks flush with red for a change.
“Do you think, your big boy needs can be met in a comfy hotel bed instead?”
The Angel of Reckoning Chapter 2: A New Rival and a New Mission
Olivia gets her starter Pokemon, but things don’t turn out the way they intended, and later, things escalate when she meets a mysterious young man who bears hatred for her missing father. Meanwhile, the few remaining members of Team Rocket prepare to take on a mission they may not be able to face: defeating Polaris.
-:-
CHAPTER 2: A New Rival and a New Mission
-:-
In Professor Elm’s New Bark Town laboratory, Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny found themselves face-to-face not with Johto’s regional Pokémon expert, but Unova’s. That region, far from Johto’s shores, was dramatically different in many ways, and accordingly, its professor couldn’t have been more unlike Elm.
“Professor… Juniper?”
Juniper smiled apologetically at Nekou and Bunny’s surprise. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out. You four… you’re the folks Elm was expecting today, aren’t you?” The more she looked at the quartet, however, the more a sense of doubt grew in the professor’s mind. “Wait, have we met before?” she asked Nekou, narrowing her eyes. “I feel like I’ve seen your face.”
“Oh, this face?” Nekou shrugged, playing the inquiry off with a smirk. “You ain’t seen anything like this face anywhere. It’s one of a kind.”
“She’s always like this,” Matt sighed. “You’re right, though. We were supposed to-”
“He was supposed to give me a Pokémon today!” Olivia interrupted, unable to hold back any longer as a result of her confusion. The day was supposed to go a certain way, after all - and Elm’s absence didn’t fit into her obsessively-planned script at all. “He’s not… Professor Elm’s not here? Where is he then?”
“Last I heard, he was heading up to the Ruins of Alph to have a look at that meteorite impact site. You all know about that, right?” When her question was met with a quartet of nods, Juniper continued, “Yeah, then. He was going to meet with his associate Mr. Pokémon on Route 30, then go over to the impact site. I don’t know where he is now… he was supposed to be back today. We had a meeting planned to discuss some ongoing research.”
“But then, if he’s not here, I can’t get a Pokémon, and if I can’t get a Pokémon-”
“Wait,” Juniper said, holding up her free hand. “You’re not totally out of luck. I’ve got a couple of Pokémon I brought with me from Unova. If you agree to help me out with my research in Johto, I can give you one of them.”
“Can I see them?”
“Sure.” The professor set her briefcase down on a nearby table and opened it to retrieve a pair of Poké Balls from within. One of the two Pokémon that emerged when she opened them was a red-and-black piglet, while the other was a sea otter with a blue body and a white head and arms. “Allow me to introduce you to Tepig, the dependable Fire-type who will eventually evolve into the Fire-and-Fighting-type Emboar… and Oshawott, who fights with the shell on its stomach and gains a second shell, then a pair of shell swords, when it evolves.”
Both Tepig and Oshawott, sensing that they were being sized up for selection, attempted to appeal to Olivia. Tepig showed off by snorting out some small embers, while Oshawott, seeing how Olivia was staring at him, detached his shell from his stomach and wielded it.
“I just don’t know,” Olivia admitted, unable to mask her disappointment. “I just… I really had a vivid picture in my mind of how this was all going to go. I was going to get a Totodile, and then with it and my Roselia and Minccino…”
“Maybe we should get something to eat first,” Matt suggested. “We could clear our heads and refuel a little. That ought to help you figure this out.”
“Now that’s an idea I can get behind,” Nekou chimed in, resting her arm on Matt’s shoulder to his visible annoyance. “I need my fucking morning coffee.”
“Might I join you, then?” Juniper proposed. “I know a good place in town, and I’d like to have a conversation with you.”
-:-
Time had not been kind to Doctor Gabriel Zager. His career at the Vermilion City clinic had continued until eleven years prior, at which point he finally had enough of the consortium behind its operation and fled, eventually finding himself protection in the all-too-welcoming arms of Team Rocket. Working for a crime syndicate certainly wasn’t his number one career choice, especially compared to the noble ideals he once followed, but he needed to ensure Penelope’s safety. Anything else was secondary to that. His physical state reflected his situation; his once-orderly hair had become disheveled and taken on the same ghostly pallor as his mustache, while he replaced his glasses with a monocle over his left eye, the one in which his vision actually was weaker.
Dr. Zager’s working environment was very different from that which he had before, too. His new lab was falling apart in places - wood paneling was cracking off the walls, the red curtains over the windows were tattered and torn, and some ceiling tiles were missing, allowing colorful cables to hang through the openings. True to his profession, however, his equipment was meticulously well-kept, affording him an array of high-tech tools.
Keeping the scientist company were two very different individuals. One was a Galvantula, an electric spider Pokémon that had been with him for decades, and the other, a curvaceous redhead clad in white, who was eating a doughnut from a small box of the snacks.
“I hope you’re going to clean up that mess when you’re done, Ariana,” Zager said to the woman, looking back over his shoulder at her from the computer bank at which he was working. “This place is pretty run-down, but I still don’t appreciate having doughnut crumbs on the floor. I don’t care if you’re an Executive or not, Giovanni knows I need my space in order.”
“Don’t be such a killjoy, Zager,” Ariana sarcastically remarked, “A few crumbs aren’t going to ruin anything. Besides, Galvantula’s picking them up.”
“I can see that,” Zager sighed, watching his Pokémon skitter about and eating the crumbs. “You know I’m trying to keep her healthy, though, so can you cut me a little slack?”
“Oh, alright.” Their conversation was interrupted by a chime from Ariana’s phone, and after she checked the notification, she got up and walked over to a nearby counter. There, she poured herself a cup of coffee from a pot that was being kept hot, and swallowed a pill with a single gulp of the scalding liquid, unbothered by its temperature. “Ahhh, you and Rosalie inventing medicine I can take with coffee instead of water is a miracle of modern science.”
“At least something of my knowledge could be used for good, I suppose.” Another alarm sounded, this one from Zager’s computer console. One of its screens featured video feeds from the security cameras around the building, revealing to him and Ariana that Pierce, Jessie, James and Meowth were waiting outside. “Ah, they’re here,” he said to his colleague, pressing the button that would allow them inside.
A few moments later, Pierce led Jessie, James and Meowth into the laboratory. Aside from the short feline Pokémon who had nothing on his feet, their steps made heavy creaking sounds on the floor; this was especially true of the heavy boots Pierce was wearing. Upon setting eyes on Zager and Ariana, Jessie, James and Meowth glanced nervously at each other.
“Team Rocket Elite Agent Pierce reporting,” he said, bowing slightly to Zager and Ariana. “I have brought the agents as stipulated by emergency protocol Code Black Seven.”
“At ease, Pierce,” Ariana casually replied, waving her hand. “There’s really no need to be so serious. Not here, at least.” Picking up the box of doughnuts, which she had only eaten half of, she offered, “Any of you want some of these?”
“No thank you, Executive Ariana.” Pierce remained as rigid as ever, despite Ariana’s clear attempt to bring a lighter mood to the meeting. “It would be unbecoming of me to accept such an unearned bonus.”
“You really shouldn’t be such a stiff, Pierce. Look at them, they’ve got the right idea.”
Ariana gestured to Jessie, James and Meowth; the trio had each taken several of the confections and were voraciously eating them, as if they hadn’t had any food in days. The sight earned a chuckle from not only the Team Rocket Executive but her scientist colleague as well.
“This certainly brings back memories,” Zager said, stepping away from his computer bank with his arms crossed behind his back. “Welcome, Jessie, James, Meowth. It’s been quite a while since we last met.”
“The operations in Unova against Team Plasma, to be exact,” Jessie clarified. “So the boss kept you working all this time?”
After Zager responded by nodding, James posed a question of his own. “What’s changed, then? That code the boss activated was only for the worst case scenario with Polaris. What have they done to get us called in now?”
“What haven’t they done?” the scientist bitterly thought, though he kept his regrets to himself. “I’m not the one who’s going to fill in those details for you.”
Returning to the console, Zager punched in a sequence of commands. The main monitor responded by flickering to a still image of the three-dimensional, script-font letter ‘R’ that served as a symbol of their organization, which remained on the screen until it was replaced by a bespectacled young woman in a dark red business suit.
Jessie’s demeanor soured immediately upon seeing her. “Oh, great,” she whispered to James and Meowth, “it’s the bob-cut glasses goon. Already.”
“Need I remind you that I can hear you?” the woman sternly said, adjusting her glasses.
“It ain’t like any of us like each other, Stacia,” Meowth bluntly admitted. “Why are we runnin’ in circles pretending otherwise?”
“It is true that our professional relationship is hardly a close one,” Stacia conceded, before pursing her lips and adding, “But I expect it to stay just that, professional. Moreover, Mister Giovanni also expects as much.”
The mention of Giovanni’s name got all three of the agents to straighten up. “Fine. Tell us then, what has Polaris done?”
Stacia adjusted her glasses once again, then answered James’s question. “During our time monitoring Kanto and Johto for any signs of Polaris’s activity increasing, we discovered an unusual anomaly that you may, admittedly, be the best qualified to investigate. Zager, show them.”
At Stacia’s cue, Zager entered a new command into his computer, bringing up several new windows on the smaller screens. Several outlying windows displayed a variety of energy gauge readouts, while the biggest one depicted a three-dimensional model of a giant, jagged rock floating through outer space.
“This is the asteroid Persephone-2213, currently on track for its closest pass to Earth in over a millennium,” Stacia explained. “Most objects from its debris field to enter our atmosphere have burned up during entry, but a small number of meteorites have made impact, most notably at the Ruins of Alph. Following this impact, radar systems we initially developed during the operations in Unova detected that the meteorite that impacted at the Ruins of Alph is made of the element Meteonite.”
That one word - ‘Meteonite’ - got Jessie, James and Meowth to turn serious in an instant. They remembered it well, and remembered its implications even more clearly.
“As you may remember,” continued Stacia, “Meteonite is an unusual element with highly conductive and reactive properties. Even today, we still do not understand all of its mysteries. However, the impact site at the Ruins of Alph is not the only place we have detected a Meteonite energy signature. A much fainter signature was detected on Route 29 in the Johto region, west of New Bark Town. This is unusual as no impact ever took place there, and because of Polaris's previous interest in the Meteonite we found in Unova, it is certain they will also pursue this lead. Agent 013 and the Razor Claw Squad have been mobilized to gather intel in the field, therefore your mission is to locate and obtain any Meteonite pieces you can. Go with Pierce to Cherrygrove City, split off to Route 29, and track the first piece down.”
“We’ll be coordinating everything from our end here,” Ariana chimed in. “Any supplies you’ll need can be provided here as well. After you get suited up, we’ll get you equipped and you can start the mission.”
Turning away from Ariana, Jessie inquired, “I assume you’ll be providing the tech again, Dr. Zager?”
“That’s right. I’ll supply everything you need.”
“Then it truly is like old times,” she said to James as they faced each other.
“I don’t think the stakes were quite as high last time, though.” A strange hint of sadness could be heard in James’s voice; the meaning of their new mission had clearly already taken its toll on him.
Jessie and James eventually left through another exit from the lab, with Meowth and Pierce silently following. Once Pierce shut the door behind himself, Zager and Ariana shared an uneasy glance between themselves.
“Do you really think they’re going to be okay handling all of this?” he wondered out loud.
“I sure hope so, Gabriel. I sure hope so.”
-:-
After they departed from Professor Elm’s laboratory, Juniper brought Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny to a roadside diner a few blocks away. It was a place she’d become fond of since arriving in New Bark Town, she told them, and she was certain they’d feel the same way.
They had barely arrived before Nekou darted straight for the front desk to order coffee, and by the time they sat down at a table, she already had it. The others could do nothing but watch, somewhat uncomfortably, as she threw her head back and downed the drink like its temperature didn’t matter at all to her.
“Like I said, she’s always like this,” Matt ventured, in an attempt to break the silence around the table with humor.
“Ah-ahhhh!” Nekou exclaimed as she swallowed the last of the coffee and finally put the cup down. “Now that’s more like it!”
“I take it you enjoyed that.” Juniper hesitated, considering her words. “Actually, it feels like an understatement.”
“It’s not Sonata Coffee, but it’s more than enough.”
Juniper couldn’t help but be struck by Nekou’s response. Sonata Coffee was a brand popular in and originating from her home region of Unova - which was also where she had been so sure she had seen Nekou before. Yet, Nekou denied that they had met, so was it really all a coincidence?
She shook her head. That line of thought was completely irrelevant to the reason why the five of them had gone to the diner in the first place, so why waste time pursuing it?
“So, Olivia,” the professor said, changing the focus of her attention, “I’d like to know, what are your goals, exactly?”
“I just want my dad to come back,” Olivia sullenly answered. She had been in a sour mood ever since the derailing of her carefully-laid plans, and showed no signs of recovering. “He left because I wasn’t living up to his expectations. I’m sure of it.”
“Was Rich really like that?” Bunny asked. She had some idea of the answer already; even though she hadn’t been present like Matt had been, he had told her the truth about Rich’s fate. Like Matt, though, she also couldn’t bring herself to be the one to shatter Olivia’s hopes. Neither of them had been able to find the right time. “I mean, Anabel must have seen something in him…”
“It has to be!” Olivia insisted. “I must have done something to disappoint him! There’s no other reason he’d abandon me like this!”
As the odd woman out in the gathering, Juniper wasn’t as caught up on what unspoken agreements had been forged among them. She glanced from Nekou, to Bunny, and then to Matt, who deduced what she was thinking and shook his head to stop her from verbalizing it.
Understanding his silent plea, Juniper decided to instead play along and asked Olivia, “In that case, what do you plan to do to get him to come back?”
“I’m going to challenge Gyms and maybe do Contests, too… if I can succeed at as much as I can, then he’ll have to change his mind and come back to love me again. That’s why I have to follow tradition to the letter and get a starter Pokémon before I do anything else. I have Roselia and Minccino already, but… it’s the way tradition goes. If I don’t do it right, he won’t approve.”
“You surely don’t want to waste time. If you want one of the two starter Pokémon I have with me, have you decided which one yet?”
All eyes moved to Olivia as Matt, Nekou and Bunny all tried to guess what she would say. In their minds, they had opinions of their own - Bunny actually thought she might decide to break the mold and choose the Fire-type, Tepig, while Matt and Nekou expected her to go with the seemingly safe choice, the Water-type Oshawott. Both sides used the same logic to arrive at their conclusions, that being the idea of Olivia deciding based upon which choice would catch Rich’s attention more.
“It’ll be Oshawott,” Olivia forcefully asserted. “No matter what’s happened, I have to follow my dad’s expectations and go with a Water-type. I just still wanted Totodile like I planned… speaking of, what's this research you wanted my help with? If it's going to mess up my plan to get my dad back any more than this, no deal."
Olivia’s strict adherence to her carefully scripted goals brought a memory to the forefront of Juniper’s mind as she lifted her briefcase onto the table. It was of a young man who received a different starter Pokémon, a Grass-type Snivy, from her in Unova several years prior. When he first met her, he was a bookish boy dedicated to becoming stronger and attaining the title of Unova’s Champion. His outlook changed over the next couple of years, however, and he matured into a mentor figure for the younger trainers he taught after becoming a Gym Leader.
Olivia struck the professor as being quite similar. She was more outwardly emotional, and what drove her was clearly more intense, but Juniper thought her to be capable of similar growth if given the chance.
“First off, here’s Oshawott,” Juniper said, handing over the Poké Ball containing the Water-type Pokémon. “Give him a chance, I think you’ll be surprised.”
“I guess…” Olivia’s sullen mood didn’t significantly improve. “What’s your research about?”
“You’re not from Kanto or Johto, so you might not have heard about this,” explained the professor, “but a migration project to bring Pokémon from other regions to this continent has been underway. My assistant is out there conducting research on my behalf, but you know what they say, two heads are better than one.” Juniper produced a pink, cellphone-shaped device from her suitcase. It had a Poké Ball pattern on its bottom half, a screen on the top, and a second screen could be flipped out from behind it. Passing the item over to Olivia, she explained, “It’s a Unova Pokédex, but I already upgraded it to track some other regions, too. I’d like you to take it and record what you see out there as you’re traveling.”
“I guess, as long as it doesn’t get in the way…” Olivia muttered, pocketing the device. “I don’t want anything else to go wrong…”
“Don’t worry,” Juniper assured her. “Once you’re out there, you and your Pokémon will figure it all out. I promise.”
“If you say so…”
Juniper shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She wasn’t sure how to continue addressing Olivia’s concerns, so she elected to instead move the conversation along, hoping that a topic shift would help de-escalate things. “I actually did want to talk to you as well, Matt. Word gets around, you know? The grandson of the great Sutter Chiaki…”
Matt sighed and leaned back. “I guess his legacy sure goes a long way, huh?” he uttered, giving Juniper a weary grin. As much as he cherished his memories of his famous archeologist and adventurer of a grandfather, it did get tiring to always be immediately recognized through familial ties.
“Oh, no, don’t get me wrong! I just brought it up because my father studied Professor Chiaki’s work quite extensively, and he shared a lot of it with me. It left an impression, you know, so I wanted to talk to you about what you’re pursuing and see if I can help you.”
“Reshiram, you mean.” Juniper’s firm, focused expression confirmed Matt’s guess, prompting him to become serious as well. Resting his hands on the table, he explained in a voice just loud enough to hear, “I’ve been through a lot in life I don’t understand, but I think I know where it all began. When I heard about Reshiram’s flames and their ability to reveal the truth, I came to the conclusion that if I could find Reshiram, I could find peace through the answers its flames could give me. I bet you’re asking yourself why I’m here and not in Unova, given that it’s so prominent in your mythology…”
“I have my thoughts,” Juniper replied, “but we’re both people of science, so I want to hear your take.”
“Alright, well… the reason I didn’t go to Unova is that I’ve never been there before, so I wouldn’t know who to talk to or where to start searching. Here in Johto, on the other hand… I know that the Frontier Brains of the new Battle Frontier are some of the most well-traveled trainers out there. I think that if I challenge them, I’ll find someone who knows the information I need.”
“That’s as good an approach as any.” As serious as he had been, Matt didn’t expect Juniper to put much stock into what he had to say, so he found himself surprised to hear her being just as serious back. “We have a few trainers in Unova that know the world as much as the Frontier Brains do, but they’re scattered around the region, not part of a collective like the Battle Frontier. The reason I think that’s important… well, I’ve been researching Reshiram since it and its counterpart Zekrom, the Pokémon of ideals, were involved in Team Plasma’s bid to take over Unova and the rest of the world. I haven’t been able to uncover much yet, but Reshiram is very fickle by nature… finding it might not even be a question of where, but why. There’s a lot of ambiguity regarding Reshiram itself, its connection to the concept of truth, and what that all means for locating it. The very act of you searching for it by challenging the Battle Frontier might even be enough to prove you worthy. There’s just so much we don’t yet know.”
Matt sat back, absorbing all the information he’d been given. If he was honest with himself, he hadn’t exactly placed high hopes in the idea of locating Reshiram in Johto. He figured one of the Frontier Brains would eventually give him information that forced him to go searching in Unova, But with what Juniper suggested? That opened up a whole new range of possibilities. Now he had to press onward, more doggedly than ever. The answers he sought truly could lurk behind any corner.
While he was lost in thought, he didn’t see Nekou scowling. Her expression had soured more and more as Juniper presented her ideas, but while Matt hadn’t noticed, the professor from Unova absolutely had.
“What’s got you so angry?” Misinterpreting Nekou’s mood, Juniper asked her, “If you don’t want him to find Reshiram, why are you going along with them?”
In an instant, Nekou’s demeanor flipped. It was like she hadn’t been angry at all. She threw her arms around Matt and Olivia, cheerfully exclaiming, “You’ve got the wrong idea. I’m just a girl who likes to be where the action is, and don’t these two just radiate major protag energy?”
Olivia ate that kind of attention up, so it cheered her up. Matt, on the other hand, just deadpanned, “She stole money from me and bought a feast with it. So she’s my, quote, bodyguard to work the debt off.”
“You make it sound like work,” Nekou playfully complained, “but guarding your body is a fun way to pay a debt off.”
As it turned out, if Matt had to again be honest with himself, Nekou’s over-the-top personality was helping him feel better about things, too.
-:-
The rest of the group’s breakfast passed in relative peace. By the time they were leaving, Olivia, Bunny and Juniper found themselves deep into a conversation on the migration project and the latter’s request for aid in studying its impact.
“You’re heading for Violet City first?”
“Yeah, it only makes sense,” Olivia replied to the professor. Though not fully back to one hundred percent yet, she had managed to claw herself to a somewhat sunnier state of mind. The frustration over her plans being disrupted was still there, but for the time being, she was managing it. Maybe, just maybe, if she could get things back on track, it would all be okay. “Violet Gym is typically the first one people who start out from here visit, right? I did my homework. I know how this story is supposed to go.”
Olivia’s insistence on rigidly sticking to her script gave Juniper pause. “You should try to be more open-minded, Olivia. There are many ways to reach the same goal… but for the time being, when you’re in Violet City, you’ll be near the Ruins of Alph, too. Are you planning to go visit them?”
“I am,” Bunny said. “I’m interested in checking out that meteorite impact site, too.”
“Might I be able to put in one more request, then? There are rumors of Pokémon not native to Johto being sighted there even before the migration project started. If you could keep your eyes open for anything unusual while you’re there, I’d appreciate it. I don’t want to go up there and risk missing Elm if he comes back.”
“I think I can do that.”
Outside of Bunny’s sight, Olivia frowned. “Glad you made that decision… I want to get it all done as quick as I can. Finish in Violet, head to the next…”
“You! I finally found you!”
If Olivia thought her plans had already been thrown off course, the deep, commanding voice of the individual that confronted the group as they left the diner all but left them flying blind. Clad in a weathered poncho, scarf and brimmed hat, all of which bore clear signs of repeated self-repair, his only visible identifying features were his icy, sea-green eyes. They, along with the intensity in his voice, chilled Olivia and the others down to the bone.
“Great, a roadblock already,” Olivia complained with a sigh. “Tell me who you are or just get lost.”
“I’ve come a long, long way to find you, daughter of the so-called hero,” the mysterious young man sneered in response. “Of course you don’t know who I am… that doesn’t surprise me. But I know who you are. I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, but now that it’s here… I’m disappointed. You’re… smaller than I imagined you’d be. The undeserved generational legacy at work, I suppose.”
“Yeah, I’m over it.” Rolling her eyes, Olivia started to turn away from him. His biting insults wounded her, but her annoyance over the way her script had already been disrupted left her mostly unwilling to engage. “Some weirdo trashing my dad, what a surprise. I don’t care.”
Something about what Olivia said got under the cloaked figure’s skin, and he bit his lip to restrain himself from lashing out. “The name you may call me is Renzo Milos. Your beloved father… he took everything from me, so I’ve come to even the scales. I will destroy you, and then I will destroy your mother, and when all of that is done, I will walk among the ashes of that man’s so-called legacy.” He produced a single Poké Ball from somewhere inside his decrepit clothing and concluded his rant, “The road to my revenge starts right here, today.”
A cold breeze swept over the area, punctuating how serious Renzo was about his threat. Cliché, Olivia thought, but it fit all the same. She knew right away that she would accept his challenge and went to retrieve one of her Poké Balls, but paused when she felt Nekou grasp her shoulders from behind.
“You know, this punk stepping up to you might be exactly what you needed,” her smirking friend whispered in her ear. “You wanted to get things back on track, right? Well here comes the rival who hates you for some reason, marching right up to you.”
Olivia paused for a moment to think, and soon matched Nekou’s grin. “I get what you’re saying.”
“Good. Now go fuck him up.”
Energized by Nekou’s encouragement, Olivia stepped forth to decisively confront Renzo. “What rules do you want?”
“A pair of one-on-one battles with no substitutions. When one side’s Pokémon faints, that’s it, both sides have to switch to their next one.” Glaring straight at Olivia, Renzo added to his instruction, “I know you only have two Pokémon…”
“Then you just got one of them. I don’t want to face that one. There is no justice to be had in defeating a weak opponent.”
“Or are you the one with two Pokémon?” In spite of her suspicions, Olivia turned and released Oshawott from his ball. “Hey, Oshawott! Take the bench on this one and watch if you want to learn how I do things!”
Oshawott voiced his disappointment, but waddled to the sidelines all the same. He was soon joined by Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Juniper.
“Is that enough for you?” she demanded of her foe, planting her fists firmly on her hips. “Can we get this going already?”
“You’re going to eat those words. I’ll make sure of it!” Renzo’s cold glare gave way to an intense fire in his eyes, and he flung the sphere, roaring, “Timburr, let’s go!”
The cloaked trainer’s Poké Ball gave way in a blinding burst of light to a small, gray Pokémon holding a wooden beam under his left arm. His body, which was almost entirely pure muscle, had pink veins bulging out in several places.
“A new one already?” Olivia wondered. Recalling the instructions she’d received from Juniper, she fetched her Pokédex and scanned the creature.
“Timburr, the Muscular Pokémon,” reported the device. “Type is Fighting. It fights by swinging a piece of lumber around. It is close to evolving when it can handle the lumber without difficulty. These Pokémon appear at building sites and help out with construction. They always carry squared logs.”
“A Fighting-type… Minccino won’t be much good against that thing…” Olivia muttered to herself. The circumstances essentially made up her mind for her, and she threw her other Poké Ball, calling out, “Roselia, let’s play!”
Despite Timburr’s small stature, he still stood over Olivia’s Roselia. The flower Pokémon refused to let that scare her, however. She bravely faced her opponent head-on, matching his gaze with all the ferocity she could muster.
Off on the side, Bunny said to Matt and Nekou, “A Fighting-type against a Grass-and-Poison-type… I think Olivia should be able to handle this.”
“Yeah,” Matt concurred before adding, “Fighting-type moves aren’t all that effective on Poison-types.”
“Olivia will win this, I’d bet a beer and a bag of chips on it.” Nekou took a bite out of her butter-drenched bread roll after proclaiming her wager, while Matt and Bunny looked on in exasperation, both of them doubting she would be willing to actually pay it out.
Another cold wind swept across the area, prompting both Matt and Renzo to pull their scarves closer to their faces. Olivia’s cloaked nemesis and his Timburr stared her and Roselia down, holding off on attacking for a reason neither of them could truly discern.
Little did she suspect, unnerving her was exactly what Renzo was trying to do. “Timburr, Pound!” he suddenly called out.
“Roselia, Energy Ball!” Olivia hastily countered.
While Roselia gathered up energy from the terrain around her, giving it shape in the form of a crackling green sphere near one of her arms, Timburr darted toward her with his right arm pulled back. Upon reaching his target, Timburr swung to punch Roselia; however, she deftly shielded herself with her budding Energy Ball, leading him to strike it instead. The sphere burst in a shower of sparks, injuring both Pokémon and shoving them apart.
“So that’s your tactic for close-quarters combat,” Renzo uttered. “You clearly inherited much you didn’t deserve from him.”
Confused by her adversary’s words, Olivia raised and eyebrow and said, “What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”
“So you say,” Renzo sniped back, clutching where his scarf covered his mouth. “You won’t mislead me with your deceptive ways.”
“Oh, just shut it already,” Olivia sighed, “I’m tired of hearing this. Roselia, Sludge Bomb.”
“Is that how it’s going to be? Timburr, Rock Throw!”
Both Pokémon utilized projectiles in their followup attacks; Roselia generated a lump of viscous purple slime from her flowery arms, while Timburr kicked up a small rock from the ground and swatted it in her direction using his wooden beam. Neither had particularly good aim, but Timburr’s Rock Throw actually managed to graze its target. Her Sludge Bomb missed Timburr entirely, and her right arm went limp as she fell to the corresponding knee.
“Your aim is poor,” Renzo taunted both Olivia and Roselia, making them scowl at him in tandem. “If you can’t hit me from afar, then this battle is already over. Timburr, use Rock Throw again. Take out its other leg!”
“Don’t give up yet, Roselia!” Olivia cried out, trying to conceal the feeling of dread that was creeping over her. “Try another Energy Ball!”
With only her left arm immediately usable, Roselia was more sluggish than usual in creating the Energy Ball. This left Timburr more than enough time to bat another stone at her, but mere moments before it knocked out her left leg, she was able to launch the green orb she’d formed. She collapsed to the ground as Timburr got hit in the forehead, singeing the protrusion sticking out from between his eyes.
“Roselia!”
Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Oshawott all shared the bad feeling Olivia held regarding how things were progressing. They all knew she was in trouble, and reluctantly had to acknowledge that Renzo was more skilled than they had expected.
“Well, Timburr, it’s time to take what’s rightfully ours. Use Pound to finish this up.”
“Roselia, get ready!”
There was no chance for Roselia to escape from Timburr as the Fighting-type Pokémon bore down on her, so instead of trying in vain to get away, she braced herself against the ground. Timburr smiled as he drew nearer to his target. The blow he had prepared would surely defeat her, he believed.
Little did he expect that getting in range for his strike would leave him wide open for Roselia’s counterattack. A thorn glowing with purple light suddenly emerged from the rose on Roselia’s right arm and jabbed into Timburr’s stomach. Caught completely off guard by this Poison Sting, Timburr howled in pain as he flew back through the air. His wooden beam slipped from his grasp, landing a short distance from Renzo’s feet.
“So you’ve still got some fight left in you,” Renzo growled, clenching his teeth. “A real Seviper in the grass, just like him… I refuse to fall to the likes of you! Timburr, no more games! Use Rock Throw and hold nothing back!”
Without his beam to hit the stones with, Timburr opted to pull a rock up from the ground with his bare hands instead. The beam’s absence changed his center of gravity, however, and he stumbled before he could throw the stone.
Feeling the tide of the battle turning, Olivia was able to smile as she ordered, “Roselia, hit Timburr with Sludge Bomb! You’ve got a shot!”
Roselia’s aim was still slightly off, but it was much more accurate than her prior attempt, splattering sludge all over Timburr’s torso. He cringed from the burning of the toxins on his skin, and though he did manage to fling the rock at his foe, his weakening stance left it to go astray.
Timburr stumbled forward, but he was becoming tired and weak, a fact conveyed by his labored breathing and trembling body. Renzo picked up on this, but he had no time to do anything about it. His Pokémon let out one last gasp and collapsed, defeated.
“Roselia!” Though victorious, Roselia had been fairly badly injured, so Olivia was careful when she picked the Pokémon up in her arms. “You did really well out there, okay? Rest up.”
Hearing a soft chirp in response, Olivia shuttled Roselia over to where her friends were sitting and set her down next to Oshawott.
“That was superb work, Olivia,” Nekou said. She happened to have another of the butter-covered bread rolls, and handed it over to her friend as she continued, “You earned this. Listen, you’re halfway to cleaning this arrogant little jerk’s clock, so don’t lose your pace now.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to.” Turning around but still reveling in the words of praise she’d been given, Olivia strode back to her battle position while eating the roll one bite at a time. She felt like things were happening incredibly fast - the day had barely just begun, and she’d already met a professor, suffered a setback in her quest before it even really got started, and received a completely different starter Pokémon than the one she’d planned for in her dreams. Now she was in her very first battle as an official trainer and was halfway to winning it, and it excited her even beyond her original goal of impressing her father. Winning, she was quickly coming to discover, felt good.
Just as Olivia returned to her position, Renzo finally recalled Timburr. The fallen Pokémon’s wooden beam got pulled into his Poké Ball at the same time as its owner.
“It is unsurprising you would be able to defeat the weaker of my two Pokémon, Olivia Lynn Mistbloom…” he thundered, his piercing eyes blazing with rage. “How speaking that name sickens me! You, who has no right to exist with anything other than the air you breathe, consider yourself entitled to so much more… it’s my role to bring justice by taking that away from you! Drowzee, let’s go!”
Renzo’s Drowzee yawned and stretched upon emerging from the sphere, excess air making his trunk vibrate. He then shifted his gaze to Olivia in an apathetic show of interest in what he’d be facing.
“Alright then! Minccino, I wanted to use you before, but I knew Timburr would be too much for you to handle. Now it’s your turn!”
To face Drowzee, Olivia sent out her Minccino. The gray chinchilla cheered happily when she got out of her Poké Ball, but shrank back slightly when her big black eyes met Drowzee’s lazy gaze.
“I want to make this quick, Minccino. Tail Slap!”
Shaking her initial fear off, Minccino sprinted up to Drowzee and jumped up to be level with his face. She then spun around in the air, bringing her tail around to whip the Psychic-type repeatedly.
“Drowzee, use Poison Gas at close range!”
Just as Minccino disengaged and started to retreat, Drowzee expelled a cloud of noxious purple gas at her from his trunk. She inhaled it and fell into a violent coughing fit, rolling away from her foe and straining to get up as the poison’s effects set in.
“Well, that’s not going to help at all,” Bunny uttered in dismay.
“Come on, Olivia!” Nekou yelled to her. “Don’t let him get away with that shit! Finish this before it’s too late!”
“I’m working on it!” Olivia shot back. Her patience was already being tried as well, through a combination of the existing pressure and her concern over Minccino’s well being. “Do you think you can pull off a Swift, Minccino?”
“I won’t let you!” Renzo interrupted. “Drowzee, Psycho Cut!”
Simultaneously, Drowzee quickly crossed and uncrossed his arms to send two blades of concentrated psychic energy at Minccino, while the Normal-type returned the favor with a shower of star-shaped rays from her tail. Renzo had actually intended for Psycho Cut to simply block Swift, but the stars passed just under his attack, leaving both Pokémon to suffer harsh blows. Minccino struggled to get back up after the strike, due to the poison still working its way through her.
“If she doesn’t win this now, the poison will do her in before Drowzee can,” Matt thought, shifting uncomfortably. “It would just be a tie if she loses, yet, I think she really needs the win here, for her own peace of mind…”
“We can’t do this with just Swift, Minccino! Try Aqua Tail!”
“Coming in close again, are you?” Renzo sneered.
Instead of shooting for multiple strikes, this time Minccino aimed squarely for the middle of Drowzee’s head for a single attack using her tail, which had taken on an aquatic blue shimmer. Drowzee, surprisingly, just stood still and allowed Minccino a clear shot. He barely flinched even when the Aqua Tail made contact.
“That range should be ideal. Drowzee, use Thief.”
The Psychic-type Pokémon jabbed his hand forward like a spear, catching Minccino in the stomach as she fell back. She squealed in pain from the crushing blow, which sent her crashing to the ground below.
“Minccino…” A conflict was developing in Olivia’s mind - she had started to doubt whether she still wanted to win or not. Obviously, beating Renzo after all of his trash talk was something she wanted, but she struggled with the question of whether the price was worth paying. Minccino was struggling to get back up, suffering greatly from the combination of Drowzee’s Poison Gas and his other moves. All she had to do was call out to stop the battle, and her Pokémon could be spared a further ordeal. The option certainly felt tantalizing…
…or at least it did until she gave the progress of the battle to that point another review. There was still one way out, she realized. Not only did such an opening exist, Renzo had shown it to her all by himself.
“Minccino, quick!” Olivia shouted. “Use Swift and aim for Drowzee’s legs!”
The sound of Olivia’s voice gave Minccino a burst of strength, and she jumped to action, sweeping her tail to send a wave of stars into her opponent’s lower limbs. Renzo’s cocky confidence meant Drowzee had already fallen down before he could react.
“Drowzee, get up now!” Renzo snarled, his demeanor whiplashing back into anger as he felt his victory, which he had thought was close at hand mere moments earlier, slipping from his grasp. “Don’t you dare fail me here! Psycho Cut!”
“You’re finished! Consider this one to be from my dad… Tail Slap!”
Now it was Drowzee who was struggling to stand. Seeing this gave Minccino another rush of energy, and she darted straight at her foe. His face practically presented a bullseye for her to aim at, and she took great joy in lashing at him once, twice, five times in rapid succession. The last hit was delivered to his chin from below, with such force that it threw Drowzee up into the air and down onto his back, kicking up a small cloud of dust and dirt around him. When he fell, he did not rise again.
“I think that’s more than enough,” Nekou loudly declared, making her way to Olivia’s side and throwing her arms around her friend. “A victory against the new archenemy rival who ambushed you on day one? I’d call that the definition of a good way to start a story.”
Olivia certainly couldn’t argue that. For all of the frustration she’d felt with the disruptions to her plans, defeating Renzo made her swell with excitement for what would come next. She flashed Nekou a wide grin, but the reality of Minccino’s situation caught up with her, and she pulled away from Nekou’s embrace just as Matt and Bunny reached them.
“Minccino!” she called out, noticing that her beloved Pokémon was barely able to keep standing. “Minccino, hold on!”
Olivia was too far away to catch Minccino before she fell, but luckily, Juniper was right there to do it instead. The tiny Pokémon trembled in the professor’s arms, and Juniper said to her trainer, “Minccino needs to be healed. Roselia, too. Fortunately for us, Professor Elm’s lab has everything we’ll need.”
“Can you take care of them, please?” Olivia inquired, handing over the duo’s Poké Balls.
“Of course, I’d be glad to. I’ll head down there now, so you guys meet me there.” Turning to the Pokémon, she pointed the spheres in their direction and said, “Roselia, Minccino, come with me. I’ll fix you both up.”
A red laser shot out of the button on each Poké Ball, engulfing Olivia’s two Pokémon and bringing them back into the safety the spheres offered. Juniper then nodded to Olivia before setting off toward her fellow professor’s laboratory.
Matt, Nekou and Bunny clustered around Olivia, each of them intending to congratulate her in their own way. Riding high on her newfound waves of confidence, she shut her eyes, hoping to revel in what they would say to her.
But it wasn’t their voices she heard. No, it ended up being Renzo who broke her out of her daydream.
“You are certainly a worthy adversary, Olivia Mistbloom,” he grumbled from behind his scarf, his voice sharp and acidic. “I expected as much, you being his daughter and all. I will concede that much. But let me warn you now, this isn’t over. Far from it. If you consider this the beginning of your story, it’s the beginning of mine, too. And I promise you, I will be there to put an end to that story of you and your fraud of a father.”
Having completed his threatening speech, Renzo pivoted and stormed off in the direction of New Bark Town’s exit, leaving Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Olivia to try and overcome their confusion to make sense of his behavior.
“Okay, someone tell me they’re going to remember that little fucker’s name,” Nekou groaned, slouching forward. “I stopped caring.”
“Renzo… Milos, was it?” Bunny repeated to herself. “Besides the fact his name sounds like some ancient statue or work of art, it doesn’t really stand out that much. Besides, it doesn’t say anything about why he hates Rich so much.”
“Kind of funny he’s got the same initials, I guess…” Olivia noted, “but does that really matter?”
“You know how many R.M.s there are out there? I don’t think it matters at all.” Nekou shrugged, then added, “Tell you what, Olivia, how’s about I buy us all some pizza when we get to Cherrygrove City?” She leaned in closer, smirked, and said in a voice just loud enough to deliberately let the others hear her, “Of course, that means Matt is buying us pizza when we get to Cherrygrove City.”
“Come on, Nekou,” Matt retorted, “isn’t your debt to me deep enough already? Running up a tab with me for food is how you got into this.”
“I don’t care who pays for it,” Olivia interjected, while Nekou took the time to stick her tongue out and wink at Matt instead of saying anything. Pushing her way past the others, she approached Oshawott, who had been patiently standing nearby. “Did you see all of that?” she asked him. “That’s how we’re going to do things. We’re going to work hard and find my dad. Now is your chance to leave if you want, because there’s no turning back.”
Much to her surprise, Oshawott did not back down from the seriousness of the situation even as she presented it to him. He simply exclaimed his name and jumped up enthusiastically, showing that he was more than accepting of Olivia’s terms.
-:-
Far away from New Bark Town, in a chamber somewhere deep underground, a council of men and women was meeting that held the threads of not just Olivia’s fate but that of many, many more people in their hands. They were seated at a ring-shaped desk, eight in all, and all but one wore a mask that obscured their face. There were two empty seats, as well, sitting beneath banners bearing the letters ‘I’ and ‘X.’
Light shining down from several fixtures hung overhead illuminated the two women standing in the middle of the ring. Shackled and dressed in rags, they presented a strange, unsettling sight, something not helped by the blank facial expressions they both wore as they slowly swayed around the circle.
“The voices of the despairing cried out for salvation, but the one to whom their pleas were addressed did not answer,” the woman with flowing, dark blue hair said in a breathy, flat voice. “No, it was the great hand of the Forbidden Beast that reached out to them, from the Terminal Void at the end of space and time.”
“The Forbidden Beast reached out to the despairing voices and took not just their lives, but their minds,” added her companion, distinguished by her green, braided ponytail. “Their very essences. All existence was taken at the Forbidden Beast’s hand, the universe and all that inhabited it trapped in the endless spiral of the Forbidden Beast’s coils. Thus, this event was foretold, and was named the Day of Reckoning.”
“Thank you so much, Anthea, Concordia,” uttered one of the eight members of the council, his every word dripping with venomous sarcasm. Seated under the banner marked ‘III,’ he was the only one of them not wearing a mask, opting only for a rectangular, black-and-red monocle over his right eye. Those colors matched the patchwork cloak wrapped around his frail, thin body. “Fellow members of the Sacred Helix, as you can see, the traitorous waste known as the Tenganist people know information that can assist us in pursuing our beautiful ideals!”
“We didn’t need you to tell us that, Ghetsis,” sneered the man at the seat designated ‘VIII,’ who was clad in a similar cape but hid his face behind a mask in the image of the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo. “It’s a core Polaris teaching.”
“Watch it, Jeunes,” the executive at the seat bearing ‘IV’ reproached. Her face, head and shoulders were covered by golden armor, leaving only her aged nose and mouth visible. “As correct as you are, there is no need for such pettiness between members of the Sacred Helix. We were all chosen by Father for a reason, and we’ll all be equal in the promised land Polaris will bring us. Ghetsis surely prepared this presentation as an argument for me to keep investing in his section’s work.”
“Might I also urge Jeunes to remember that he’s the leader of section eight while I’m the leader of section three,” Ghetsis saw fit to add, turning his sarcasm on his colleague.
The man sitting at the seat for section number two would have none of this. “And I would urge you, Ghetsis, to remember your place. You had all three of the Angels necessary for us to bring about the Day of Reckoning within your grasp in Unova, and you let them slip away. Your failure set us back by years, and we cannot afford for that to happen again. Polaris must free this diseased world from its suffering without delay.”
Ghetsis’s incredible ego was bruised, and it drove him to slam his cane into the floor. “Team Plasma’s work in Unova was held back by this body’s own lack of cooperation! If I was given the manpower and funding I needed, we’d have reached the world I - no, we - envision! You know that more than almost anyone, Praeses!”
If Ghetsis could have seen Praeses roll his eyes, it would have only incited his rage even further. The council member’s visage was obscured by a mask with a billowing white plume atop it, however, that combined with the ragged tuxedo he wore gave him the appearance of a Darkrai.
“You know how we operate, Ghetsis. Unova was the mission we entrusted you with. If you were unable to complete your task, that is your failure. Polaris had to spend significant capital to maintain your public image outside of Unova after your actions. Consider yourself lucky you’re even still on the Sacred Helix at all.”
Suddenly, the sound of heavy doors opening pierced the air in the room, interrupting the acrimony. A tall, lithe man in a white suit emerged from the shadows behind the number one seat, his clothing and his gray hair standing out in stark contrast to his dark surroundings. He wore no mask, but a small pin on his chest depicted the insignia of the organization, a double helix twisted into the letter ‘P’ set against interlocking red and blue diamonds.
As the new arrival sat down, the council member lounging at seat number five with her legs up on her chair spoke up, complaining, “Archer, did we really get called here to listen to Ghetsis huff and puff about himself? Father couldn’t even show up?”
“Now, now, Séduire, fret not,” Archer replied to the younger girl, whose red hair combined with her spiked mask to give her the appearance of an Entei. “There is nothing to be upset about. Father appointed me as his envoy to the Sacred Helix for important matters such as what we have to discuss today. Chromosomes, as you know, we have not had a leader for the tenth section since the unfortunate demise of its previous leader five years ago. Today, we present the matter of appointing a new Chromosome to fill that seat.”
Archer waved his hand, prompting a change in the lighting from the lamps above. Anthea and Concordia had disappeared from the center of the ring, their replacement lowered to his left knee and bowing his head out of deference to the panel judging him. The way the lights hit him let the Sacred Helix see him, but kept his features obscured in shadows.
“Allow me to introduce the candidate,” Jeunes announced. “As you already know, through Finansielle’s generous investment in my section, my team has been conducting what we termed ‘Project J.’ The candidate now standing before you is the product of our work, our bid to create a vessel for Polaris’s ideals using the research of the genius Dr. Dante Fantomos as a guide. Through Dr. Fantomos’s discoveries on the nature of DNA, we were able to give this vessel a body using just the slightest scrap of genetic material.”
“And I sincerely thank you for giving me this new life,” the shadowy individual said. “In the past, I could never have dreamt of the independence I now have. I owe a tremendous debt to Polaris, and I intend to serve you most faithfully to repay it.”
Praeses spoke up next. “You’ve been in training since you were given your body, and your first field mission for us was stealing the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs from the Pewter Museum. Clearly, your mission was a success, but we want to hear your report in your own words.”
“The job was easy, I assure you of that. I was able to infiltrate the museum, get the Orbs, and get out. Virtually no trouble at all.”
“And you can credit that to my section’s technology,” boasted the diminutive young man seated in section nine, who was wearing an Electivire-themed mask and helmet complete with antennae. “When our nominee claimed the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs, he was using an invention of mine, you see. Would you care to describe it?”
“Of course. You supplied me with a bodysuit possessing the capability to wield electricity. With that I was able to disable the museum’s security and carry out my orders.”
“All this talk of technology is fascinating,” the executive in section six cut in, her eyes narrowing in on the candidate from behind her Braviary-themed mask. “I want to talk about values. You were made to be a vessel for Polaris’s beliefs, but what are your beliefs? Do you have any of your own, or do you simply do what you’re instructed?”
Though the members of the Sacred Helix couldn’t see it, the subject of their questioning smirked. “I must answer that question with another question. With all due respect… must there be anything other than what Polaris stands for? Look out at the world beyond these walls. The corruption. The rot. That world is diseased. It doesn’t offer anything of worth for those of us with morals. I ask all of you, look into yourselves. Was it not the evil of that world that drove you all to be here today?”
Chatter broke out around him, his interrogators mostly acknowledging his claim. With his point made, he pressed on.
"Since you asked, though, I'll give you an answer. I do have things I believe in. Before I was… liberated… through your use of Dr. Fantomos’s research, I had to watch everything that happened around me, with virtually no ability to affect it. Try as I might, I was trapped. Polaris has already given me the freedom to be who I really am, and I’m never giving that up. That’s why I’ll fight, no matter what it takes.”
“My fellow Chromosomes, what more could you possibly want to hear?” Jeunes said to the others, raising his arms and spreading them. “We set out to create a vessel that could embody Polaris’s ideals, and we’ve succeeded beyond our wildest dreams! Project J has borne fruit! In light of that, I propose we vote immediately on the confirmation of our creation to join this board.”
“Motion accepted.” Standing up from his seat, Archer proclaimed, “As the envoy of the First Chromosome, Father, I, Archer, cast a vote of yes!”
Praeses was the next to rise. “As the Second Chromosome, I, Praeses, cast a vote of yes!”
As Ghetsis hobbled to his feet, the subject of the vote smiled to himself again, outside the view of the panel assessing him.
“As the Third Chromosome, I, Ghetsis, cast a vote of yes!”
Three down, and Finansielle stood up next. “As the Fourth Chromosome, I, Finansielle, cast a vote of yes!”
Four yes, zero no, and Séduire rose. Unlike her older colleagues, she hesitated in making her decision. Something about the mysterious person troubled her. He felt… familiar, somehow, in a way she couldn’t place. Nevertheless, she finally was able to say, “As the Fifth Chromosome, I, Séduire… I cast a vote of yes.”
With five yes votes out of nine total to be cast, the outcome was already sealed. But formality demanded the remaining panelists announce their choices, and so the woman in the Braviary mask rose to her feet.
“I am troubled by what you are,” she said. “In the absence of further questioning, as the Sixth Chromosome, I, Mercury, cast a vote of no.”
At section seven was a man in a cape and a Dragonite mask who hadn’t spoken at all in the meeting. He simply stood up and declared, “As the Seventh Chromosome, I, Athleta, cast a vote of yes!”
“Of course, I have to cast a vote for yes,” Jeunes immediately followed up.
Last was the ninth section’s leader, the young man in the Electivire helmet. “As the Ninth Chromosome, I, Getriebe, cast a vote of yes!”
“The final vote is eight yes, one no,” Archer announced to the assembly. “I hereby induct you into our ranks, our new Tenth Chromosome. What shall your name be?”
“My name…” Emerging from the shadows, the new Chromosome had already pulled on a Sigilyph-themed mask and helmet that completely concealed his face, hiding the wicked smirk stretched across his features. “My name shall be Geminus.”
“Very well. Geminus, in the name of all those who believe in Polaris, may you help keep the guiding star of our cause burning bright!” Archer retrieved a tall glass of champagne from his desk and raised it, a toast to all that had been accomplished - and all that the organization would soon be doing. “Chromosomes, with our ranks full for the first time in five years, our resurgence is finally complete! It is now time for us to guide those to whom we give meaning into the promised land of our future. Consider the history of our planet… Earth took shape as a mass of molten rock millions of years ago, and from that beginning, humans, Pokémon and all other living things emerged. Today our world is suffering… no, it is dying. Our world is dying because of our ignorance and greed. We have reached the end of what the species inhabiting Earth are capable of. In order to survive, and to thrive once again, we must become something better. This is what Father has promised us Polaris will do. To you, the Sacred Helix, who will lead the faithful into this paradise! To the Forbidden Beast, whose power shall make this dream come true! To Polaris, the guiding star to a new world!”
I was one again generously tagged by @blind-the-winds, so let's do it. The words this time are jump, jerk, just and jam.
Jump
“Once upon a time I held a Jewel of Life in my hands, and I have to do so once again…” Discussing her goals brought Sheena a sense of determination that helped her focus. “Saeko Oryo misused one and destroyed the Tenganist holy land at the site that’s now known as the Sinjoh Ruins. But what was once used to destroy can be used to repair, I’m sure of it. If I can find the lost Life Orb and turn it back into a Jewel of Life, I can restore the Sinjoh Ruins back to their original lush state, just like Shaymin did for La Ciudad Dorada. Once that’s done, I will declare that area to be a sanctuary state for my people. Towards those goals, and for the sake of diplomatic ties being established once they are, I want to form an alliance with you and La Ciudad Dorada, Rosalita. But before that, I have to find the legendary Navel Rock in the Sevii Islands. If I can get there, I can meet Ho-oh again and forge an alliance with it. Then, for my people…”
Sheena had been staring at the food in front of her while she spoke, so she failed to notice Rosalita stand and walk over to her. She jumped slightly in her seat when she felt Rosalita embrace her again.
“Sheena, I understand,” Rosalita said, her voice soft and gentle. “I understand everything. The weight you are carrying is far too much for any one person’s shoulders. Please, I hope you will allow me to help you lift it.”
“Rosalita, there’s…” Although she felt guilty for burdening Rosalita with her own problems, Sheena again found her friend’s embrace far too comforting to ignore and settled into it, allowing Rosalita to stroke her hair. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”
Jerk
Pulling away from Lisia, she quietly said, “Thanks for being my friend, then… but, do you get it? My dad, he… he was always there. When he wasn’t anymore… it just… everything fell apart. I never got a chance to say goodbye to him, and then before I knew it my mom wasn’t dealing with it all… and I had to go to Rustboro so Matt could look after me. I know it was what my dad wanted, but… I was so mean to him, too, and he didn’t do anything to deserve it…”
“Your mom told me about that, too. I might not know Matt myself, but… if your dad trusted him to watch out for you, I think he understands."
"That's the thing." Still gripped by feelings of shame, Olivia looked downward. "Dad did trust him, and all I did was act like a jerk. If Dad saw what I did he would hate me for it."
"Olivia, no," Lisia firmly told her. "Your dad might have been a complicated guy with a rough past, but I feel one hundred percent certain when I tell you that he loved you more than anything, and nothing could change that. Honestly, I don't even think death could change it. Wherever he is now, somewhere in time and space with our Sootopolitan ancestors… wherever he is, he still loves you."
Just
“We aren’t heroes, that much is true. But I do believe that in our own way, we really are keeping much worse things from happening in this world, too.” Leaning her head back, Rosalie shut her eyes and reflected upon her own past. “I used to be like you, Gabriel, a starry-eyed prodigy at the Pokémon Institute. I thought I was going to change the world with my work on the medicinal properties of plants, but my dreams were just too big to stay within the Institute’s lines. I want to do good things, I just want to make my discoveries on my own terms and get the credit, instead of having others meddling and taking credit themselves. Since there wasn't a place for me in their environment, I ended up here, with all the other misfits Team Rocket takes in. And ever since Nekou invited me to join her little group, I feel like I've found my place. I guess what I’m saying is, it’s thanks to her that I found where I belong. I know it’s hard to see, but there are good things that came from what you did. We just have to keep working to preserve them.”
“You’ve got a point, Rosalie,” Zager conceded, “but I don’t think there’s anything I could ever do to earn her forgiveness, either. I put her in the situation she’s in right now.”
Jam
Father sadly shook his head, briefly causing the hologram to distort. “I don’t blame you for not believing me. You have absolutely no reason to. I also know that it’s too late to undo what you went through, but… I want to make amends for it, Renzo, I truly do. I want to make amends for everything this world did to you. That’s why I sent Finansielle to fetch you… I want you to go with her. She’ll bring you to Polaris’s temple… where we can finally meet face-to-face. Please give me this chance. With Polaris, I can fulfill all your wishes.... Lorenzo Milovy.”
Renzo froze at the mention of his true, full name. “How would he know that’s my… there’s no doubt, it has to be him. There’s no other way… he couldn’t know… it would be impossible…”
“Well, Renzo, what do you say?” Finansielle playfully asked him. “Or should I say Lorenzo? What a cute name…”
Renzo’s whipsawing circumstances had his head in a spin. He’d started out the day supremely confident that the beginning of his long-sought revenge was finally at hand, only to be crushed mercilessly under Anabel’s proverbial heel. And yet, just when all avenues to his lifelong dream seemed completely closed off, here were Father and Finansielle jamming that window right back open again.
Down the Line Chapter VIII: Rocky Relations is Live!
Summary: As Skye and the gang continue on route to Cerulean City for Skye's next Gym battle and Briar's next Pokemon Contest, tension begins to rise between Skye and the group's newest companion, Kierra. Can they sort out their differences? Or will the path ahead continue to be rocky for this unlikely trio?
[Skye Ketchum, Kierra Haberkorn, Briar Oak - 15,358 words total]
Read it on Fanfiction.net!
Read it on AO3!
Note: Thank you for being so patient over the past four and a half years. We sincerely hope you enjoy the chapter. We’ll continue to work hard on future chapters down the line (hopefully with less of a wait)!
Summary: Volkner’s been waking up early every morning to go for a run. Flint isn’t terribly interested in joining him…until he sees what Volkner wears for the occasion. Ignitionshipping. Rating: M
Also posted on AO3
A/N: If you don’t know what dolphin shorts are, google them right now and picture Volkner wearing them.
Now stop picturing it, you perv.
“Mmph.” Flint groaned as a bit of jostling woke him from his slumber. His eyes opened blearily when a soft voice spoke to him.
“Ah…sorry, Flint. Didn’t mean to wake you.” Volkner leaned in to kiss his lips softly in apology. He then slipped out of bed and started stepping lightly away.
“What’re you up to?” Flint slurred.
Volkner cocked an eyebrow. “I’m going for a run, just like I do every morning.” When Flint just blinked heavily in confusion, Volkner smiled. “I should know better than to try and explain things this early. Your brain won’t be awake for another few hours,” he joked.
Flint’s eyes dragged sluggishly to the digital clock at his bedside. He just barely registered the numbers, which read “5:00 am.” He only managed a perplexed sound at his discovery.
“Flint, go back to sleep. I’ll be back in a while, and I’ll wake you up when breakfast is ready, okay?” Volkner grinned and ruffled Flint’s hair gently, and then he shuffled over to their shared drawers to sift through his clothing. For his part, Flint sat up, leaned back against the headboard, and stared off into space. He considered Volkner’s behavior for a moment.
Of course he knew Volkner went running these days. As his groggy brain cleared and caught up, he reflected on all the progress his boyfriend had made. Previously, he’d always stayed up late working on his electronics, and he slept in like Flint did. When he woke up, he still looked tired, as if he could never get enough rest no matter how much he slept. He had even started losing his appetite, and his pallid complexion and skinny frame worried Flint. Volkner seemed to move in a daze, like he was detached from his surroundings. And his smile? Gone. Nowhere to be found.
That was, at least until two months ago.
Well, technically it was two months, three days, and—Flint glanced at the clock again—about twelve hours. Flint would never forget the day Volkner had come home, dashed through the door, and immediately grabbed Flint’s shoulders to start gushing about some trainer he’d just battled from Twinleaf Town. The battle was electric, he’d said. The trainer’s Gliscor had all but swept him with Earthquake, he’d said. Flint hardly heard him, enamored as he was by the exhilarated smile that had returned to Volkner’s face at last.
It wasn’t just Volkner’s mood that improved. He cut back on fiddling with his electronics and started sleeping at more decent hours instead, only to find that waking up early felt natural to him; it turned out he was an early bird after all. The bags under his eyes disappeared to make way for a healthy glow when he made a habit of running in the mornings, and he got into the daily routine of humming a tune while making them both a hearty breakfast of waffles, scrambled eggs, or pancakes—far more substantial than the rushed bowls of cereal they’d been accustomed to in the past. Before long, Volkner had a healthy amount of meat on his bones again. Sure, he was still slim, but it was in a good way; he didn’t look like he was wasting away anymore.
And it was certainly a plus that Volkner’s libido had been…healthier lately. Flint could still remember the night when the fire returned to Volkner’s eyes. After they’d finished dinner, Volkner was upon him immediately, scrambling into Flint’s chair to straddle him as he ran desperate fingers through his hair and kissed him until they were both breathless. He went on to take Flint in every room in their house that night. Granted, they lived in a small cottage, so they only had four rooms, but Flint still had a sore throat and a pronounced limp for several days after that. It was well worth it. He let out a fond sigh at the memory.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
Flint jumped when Volkner called to him, an amused smile on his lips.
“Oh, I wasn’t! I—” Flint’s sentence was cut off as a gasp got stuck in his throat. His eyes slid down to Volkner’s apparel—or lack thereof, in this case.
Volkner’s torso was clothed in a normal black tank top, but his lower body was covered—barely—with the shortest pair of shorts Flint had ever seen on a man. They were barely skimming the tops of Volkner’s thighs, and they were fairly tight on his hips, though still loose enough around his legs to allow some breathing room for movement. Flint let his gaze slide downward along the length of Volkner’s long legs, down to where the tops of his socks just grazed his ankles under his running shoes. Volkner either didn’t notice his boyfriend’s staring or didn’t care, instead choosing to turn and head over to the desk that held all their Pokéballs. He released his Jolteon, Luxray, and Raichu, but Flint hardly noticed because he was preoccupied by the slit on the side of the dark blue shorts that ran so high up on his thigh that it had to be a sin.
“You okay, Flint? You can go back to bed, you know,” Volkner reminded him, cocking his hip.
Flint stuttered for a moment before jabbing a shaky finger at the shorts and blurting, “What are those?!”
Volkner looked down in confusion, and then he looked back up and rolled his eyes. “Flint, don’t talk about my Pokémon like that.”
“Not them!” Flint groaned. “Those…things! What are you wearing?!”
Volkner looked back down at himself. “Oh, you mean these?” he replied, tugging at one corner of them. “They’re dolphin shorts. Haven’t you ever seen them? People run in these all the time.”
Flint just kept staring incredulously, so Volkner sighed. “Do you want to come with us, Flint?” A squeak was heard next to Volkner as his Raichu immediately straightened up in excitement and wagged his tail at the idea, and Jolteon and Luxray let out interested noises as well.
“Uh…” Flint gulped. He weighed his options, considered the shorts—which would undoubtedly become an embarrassing distraction—and came to the conclusion that despite temptation, his day would almost certainly go much more smoothly if he simply lied down and went back to sleep.
He was about to do just that when Volkner started stretching in preparation for the run. He placed one foot in front of the other and leaned his weight forward, increasing the stretch and tensing the muscles of his calves. Flint’s eyes glazed over a bit as Volkner repeated the process for the other leg, which pulled the shorts higher on his thighs to expose more of his taut skin. “What do you say, Flint? You coming with us or not?” Volkner stretched his arms above his head, making his tank top rise to reveal where his hipbones were just barely concealed.
“Yes,” Flint responded automatically. He cringed at how eager his voice sounded.
At this response, Volkner gave a winning smile. “Great. Now get changed so we can leave before the beach gets too crowded!” With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him. Flint’s head hit the headboard with a dull thunk.
How do I get myself into these messes?
Okay, Flint. You got this, he thought to himself as he donned a loose-fitting pair of red basketball shorts. He pulled on his own yellow tank top and glanced in the mirror, feeling proud at what he saw. Flint didn’t do much running, but he had to admit that his lifting really did pay off. He ignored his lower body, choosing to keep his gaze on his chest and arms instead, as he had a bad habit of skipping leg day. Still, he knew the toned muscles of his upper body looked especially good in a tight tank top. He smiled as he confidently opened their bedroom door and strutted toward the front door. Keeping up with Volkner is gonna be a cinch. The guy’s a twig! He’s…he’s…oh, fuck me.
Changing had allowed Flint to gather himself for a little while, but the effort was immediately wasted when he spotted Volkner, who was once again stretching by the door. This time, though, it was even worse.
Volkner’s feet were flat on the floor, and he was bending down to easily reach his toes—with impressive flexibility, Flint’s brain informed him. Volkner was facing away from him, allowing Flint a full view of where his shorts were pulled higher than before, revealing the backs of his creamy white thighs to Flint’s hungry eyes. The muscle tone there and in his tensed calves was undeniable at this point; Volkner was no twig, that was for sure. Flint could just see a bit of Volkner’s ass cheeks at that point, and he almost moaned at the sight. He bit his lip.
Flint’s ruminations were interrupted by a soft, inquisitive noise from the man in front of him. Volkner spread his legs so he could see Flint from in between them in a pose that Flint would have found comical if he weren’t so turned on. Volkner smirked at him. “Hey! What took you so long?”
Flint didn’t even try to respond, preoccupied as he was with stifling a whine. With Volkner bent over with his legs spread like that, he was practically begging for it. All he had to do was grab Volkner’s hips and…
Volkner flipped right-side up again and turned halfway around. Flint once again noticed the slit that climbed halfway up Volkner’s hip, showing far more skin than was strictly necessary. Then, a pair of fingers made its way into Flint’s face and brought him back to earth with a loud SNAP.
He flinched. “What?”
Volkner’s smirk softened a bit in concern. “I said, are you okay? You’re as red as your hair right now. You don’t have a fever from getting up this early, do you?” he joked. When Flint just sputtered in response, Volkner threaded his fingers into Flint’s hair and gently pulled their foreheads together. “You do feel a little warm, but that’s normal for you…still, the offer stands if you want to stay home and go back to b—”
“NO!” Flint snapped a little too quickly.
Volkner flinched back at the sound and laughed a little. “Suit yourself, but you’re gonna roast in those shorts. Even at this hour, the beach is hot,” he pointed out, slipping a finger into Flint’s waistband and tugging at it lightly. Flint had a slight internal meltdown at the move, small though it was. “You should get shorter ones, like I did.”
At this, Flint cracked a wry, slightly manic smile. “You really think I could pull those off the way you can?”
Volkner smiled. “For the record, I like your legs just fine.” He wrapped his arm around Flint’s waist and kissed him gently, then spoke against his lips. “Even if you do work on other parts of your body more.”
Flint shrugged and smirked his cocky grin. “I look best in baggy pants anyway. It works with the look.”
Volkner rolled his eyes, unimpressed, and opened his mouth to tease Flint about his so-called “look” when the two of them were interrupted by an impatient bark just outside the door. “That must be Jolteon. I had the Pokémon wait outside. Are you bringing any?” he asked, turning the doorknob so they could greet the waiting Pokémon.
“Nah. None of them are early risers…except for Magmortar, which I blame on you.”
Volkner grinned proudly. “Well, I did raise him. What can I say? I’m a good influence.”
“That’s debatable,” Flint joked as they started walking, then jogging toward the beach to pace themselves. “Either way, Magmortar isn’t much of a runner, so he’ll be staying in,” he said, patting the lone Pokéball at his waist.
“Probably for the best…” The familiar spark of competition crackled in Volkner’s eyes. “…’cause I’m not slowing down for anyone.” His Pokémon made noises of agreement.
The pace of their jogging began to increase as the light in Volkner’s eyes fired Flint up, too, and he matched Volkner’s smirk with his own. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to.”
Okay, maybe I spoke a little too soon. Flint was proud of himself for keeping up with Volkner and his Pokémon for the first few minutes, but when Volkner said he always went running, he was not exaggerating. There was no power-walking or light jogging involved in the event. It wasn’t long before Flint’s lungs were struggling for air and his limbs felt like they were dragging through jello. He panted loudly and obnoxiously, but Volkner offered him no sympathy, just as pristine as when they’d started, no perspiration in sight.
As out of shape as he was, Flint simply couldn’t keep up, and he was soon trailing behind the others. This was a problem—not just because he could practically feel Volkner sneering in triumph—but because the view it afforded him was starting to become a problem as well.
From Flint’s position about eight feet back, he had a perfect view of Volkner’s backside. He’d thought the shorts made his ass look good even standing around or bending over, but those positions were nothing compared to his movements now. Every stride made Volkner’s thighs push his cheeks up and out and back and forth in an enticing cycle, emphasizing its roundness and allowing for just the right amount of bounce. Flint imagined how it would feel in his hands, soft and shapely, with just the right amount of firmness and substance underneath. He knew the texture very well; it just hadn’t been flaunted to this extent to him before.
The same could be said for Volkner’s legs, too. He’d seen them plenty of times, but by the time Volkner’s pants were off, Flint usually had other priorities. He knew first-hand that Volkner didn’t actually shave his legs, but from this distance, the light hair was no longer visible. The smooth skin of his thighs disappeared under the hem. Volkner’s repeated movements shifted the shorts to show teasing glimpses of what was underneath. The tendons of his strong legs flexed with every footfall, and Flint’s knowledge of how they felt in his hands whenever he spread them soon left him flushed and panting for reasons other than exertion.
Flint huffed and shifted, subtly trying to position himself in a more comfortable position within his own shorts. He secretly wished he’d taken Volkner’s advice and worn a more form-fitting pair. He’d never experienced his current predicament while running before. Then again, he’d never run behind Volkner before, especially not while the man was wearing short shorts. A cramp made itself known in his side with a sharp sting, and he silently lamented the injustice of being saddled with pain, fatigue, and an inconvenient erection all at the same time.
With the steady, unrelenting pace of a machine, Volkner continued to leave him in the dust. He briefly turned around to face Flint, casually jogging backwards to taunt him. “We’re only halfway there, Flint. Don’t tell me you’re ready to burn out on me already!”
“Hey! I thought we agreed that fire puns are my thing!” Flint called back, feeling his competitive nature flare up in his chest again.
Volkner shrugged and smirked at him before taunting, “I wouldn’t have to do it if you could keep up with me, hotshot.”
Flint gasped, affronted. “Now you’ve done it. I’ll show you who’s hot stuff.” Within seconds, a second wind rushed through his veins, and he pumped his legs faster in pursuit.
As he turned back around, Volkner shot back, “Now you’re just blowing smoke.” He stuck out his tongue.
Flint glared and picked up the pace, ignoring the way his muscles protested in response. How the hell does Volkner do this every day?! Exactly when did he get so fit… At that thought, Flint’s eyes unstoppably slid back down to settle on Volkner’s toned legs once more. This time, though, something else caught his eye.
At first, Flint couldn’t tell what it was. The slight discoloration of the spots on Volkner’s inner thighs seemed innocuous at first glance. Flint squinted for a few more seconds until the realization dawned on him. His eyes shot wide open, and he hastily slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a gasp. There, in plain sight for all to see, were the hickeys Flint himself had left on Volkner the night before during their intimate activities. As an Elite, Flint felt obligated to maintain a professional image. Hickeys didn’t really fit with that image, so Flint purposely left his marks in places he knew no one would see. Given that he and Volkner were a well-known and well-loved couple in the region, however, anyone who cared to hazard a glance in that direction would know exactly whose mouth had been between Volkner’s legs last night. The thought should have made Flint feel scandalized and concerned, but in this context…somehow, the way Volkner was proudly displaying the evidence of their sexual relationship only made him feel dirtier, causing a renewed stirring in his pants.
Flint’s lungs burned. Even on the soft sand, his feet pained him with each stride. He carelessly allowed his mind to drift inevitably further into fantasy to distract himself from the pain.
From five feet behind Volkner, Flint smirked. Volkner could act superior all he wanted out in the open like this, but Flint comforted himself with the knowledge that he himself could be the dominant one in private whenever he felt the urge. No one knew Volkner as well as Flint did, and he took pride in the way he could reduce the normally stoic gym leader to a wanton mess at the drop of a hat.
He took a look around the beach, which was deserted this early in the morning, and his eyes fell upon the wide, flat, waist-high wooden posts of a sand fence that ran along the beach. Flint thought he faintly remembered his grandfather mentioning the way the structure protected against erosion or something along those lines, but the knowledge was buried when he thought of another use for the posts. His gaze drifted back to Volkner, whose head was held high with pride while his hips swayed enticingly with every stride. Flint’s face spread into a smirk as his imagination dove right into the gutter. Volkner wouldn’t look so smug if Flint dashed forward to grab his hips and pull him backward into his arms, muttering what he wanted to do to him and biting one of his sensitive ears. He’d feel Volkner’s body shudder and hear a gasp escape his throat as he was pulled flush against him to feel Flint’s erection press against his ass, proving just how much Flint wanted him..
With Volkner’s limbs shaking from desire, it would be easy to lead him over to one of those wooden posts and bend him over it. Volkner would hold himself up with his hands, only to collapse onto his forearms when Flint gently pressed down on his back with his strong arms. Volkner’s spine would be arched and his body bent in a suggestive pose, presenting himself to Flint, who would finally rip off those damn shorts and immediately grope and squeeze his ass, enjoying the soft but firm feel of the cheeks in his rough hands. Flint would let out a low groan at the aroused whine that left Volkner’s lips at the rough treatment. After removing his own shorts, Flint would grip Volkner’s ass again and continue to feel him up while leaning forward and whispering into his ear, “Tell me how much you want me.”
Volkner panted at the feeling of Flint’s hardened length pressing against his backside. “H-hah…fuck…please…” He struggled to speak the words as one of Flint’s hands slid down to slip teasingly between his thighs. “Fuck…I want it so bad…fuck me! Please…” Hearing Volkner beg made Flint lose control at last, and he buried himself deep inside of Volkner. Flint had to stop for a minute to keep himself from coming at the tight, warm sensation around his dick and the hoarse, pleasured noise Volkner let out at the penetration. After a moment, he pulled out and pushed himself back inside. Unable to restrain himself, he repeated the motion, rocking Volkner’s shivering body harder with every passing second. Volkner moaned louder each time, and Flint admired the way Volkner’s fingernails dug into the post underneath him from the intensity of his thrusts.
Flint knew he wouldn’t last at this rate, and Volkner’s reactions made it clear he was close to the edge as well. Flint dug his nails into Volkner’s hips and took control, pulling him back rhythmically to match his own pace. Volkner cried out at the move and arched his back in response. His submissive display made Flint throb inside of him. Volkner barely managed to gasp out, “Flint—!” before a shiver wracked Flint’s body and he cried out, “I’m gonna—”
Then, the fantasy’s inevitable climax morphed abruptly into the sensation of falling as Flint was dragged unwillingly back into reality just in time to catch a mouthful of sand as he landed face-first onto the ground. “Oh, come on—OW!” His lament was cut off as a sharp pain erupted in his big toe. He furiously looked down at his foot, only to find an irritated Krabby pinching his toe with one of its claws. It hissed and began to skitter away.
Flint scrambled into a sitting position. “Oh, HELL NO! You’re not getting away that easy!” He fumbled and grabbed the lone Pokéball at his waist, throwing it hastily and snapping, “GO, MAGMORTAR! USE SOLAR BEAM!” The large Pokémon landed in the sand with a dull thud. The tiny crab panicked and tried to flee as Magmortar’s arm cannons glowed briefly, then blasted an immense beam of light, hitting the Krabby head-on and launching it halfway across the beach. Magmortar pumped one of its arm cannons in the air in triumph, and Flint cheered from where he was still sprawled on the ground. “THAT’S WHAT YOU GET!”
“Was that really necessary?” Flint gulped and turned his head to see Volkner tapping his foot and raising an eyebrow in disapproval. Luxray and Jolteon mirrored his look of disappointment, and Raichu looked concerned. “You’re the one who tripped over it in the first place. Poor thing was probably just defending its territory.”
Magmortar looked down shyly, and Flint scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile. “I, uh…kinda got carried away? Sorry…”
“You should have apologized to the Krabby, not me.” Volkner shook his head, but the corner of his mouth curled up a slight bit despite his best efforts, forming the expression he always showed when he wanted to be mad at Flint but could barely contain his laughter. “I’d make a joke about YOU being crabby, but you’re really more of a Slowpoke.” His grin challenged Flint once again. “We’re almost there. Think you can keep up?”
No. “Are you kidding me? I’m just getting warmed up!” He jumped up to try and dash forward and back up his bluff, but the second Volkner turned around to run the rest of the way back home, Flint’s inappropriate thoughts rushed back stronger than ever. Okay, so that last idea was a little outlandish…Volkner isn’t that wanton, and we don’t even have lube…Oo, maybe if I left his shorts on and went between his thighs…
He caught himself and nearly groaned in frustration. Yup. Today was absolutely a mistake.
Volkner held the door to let all of his Pokémon inside, followed by a haggard Flint, who immediately fell face-down onto the carpeted floor of their living room. “UGH,” he grumbled eloquently, having given up on pretending he was in shape enough to handle the exercise. A foot gently rolled him over onto his back, and his eyes snapped wide open to see Volkner standing above him with flushed cheeks from the workout and a proud smirk, one leg on either side of him. He feebly tried not to look up Volkner’s shorts to catch more of his toned inner thighs—marks and all—but he didn’t have the willpower. The sight was easily worth the smugness Volkner was emanating. By that point, Flint had even given up on hiding his erection.
“How long have you had a fetish for short shorts?”
Flint sighed in defeat. “It’s not the shorts, it’s who’s in them.” Volkner smiled wider, and Flint’s eyes narrowed. “When did you notice?”
“Immediately. The exact second you laid eyes on me. I’ve basically been teasing you this entire time.” Flint’s head rolled back in exasperation. He closed his eyes, but he could still tell how wide Volkner’s grin was when he said, “You know, Flint, if you ever want to fuck me when I’m wearing these, you’ll need to have more energy by the end of the morning.”
Flint’s lungs screamed at him at the very thought of more running. He tilted his head back up and squinted. “Is this your way of getting me to do more cardio?”
“Maybe.” He gently pushed Flint’s head back down by pressing the heel of his shoe to Flint’s sweaty forehead, a blatantly dominant move that Flint had neither the energy nor the desire to fight, preoccupied as he was with appreciating the way the movement showed even more of Volkner’s skin. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a shower. I’d invite you to join me, but you can’t even stand up, can you?” He actually laughed this time as he stepped over Flint and walked away.
With that, Flint had had enough. With his last burst of energy, he flipped over and lunged at Volkner, grabbing a firm hold on his shorts and swiftly yanking them to the floor, only to immediately gasp at what he saw.
“Y-you…this entire time…you’ve been going commando?!”
Volkner scoffed. “Obviously. What kind of underwear could I possibly hide under these?” He strutted toward the shower, unashamed of his naked lower half.
Flint’s jaw dropped at the sight, shorts still in hand, before falling limply to the floor for good. Today was a mistake, he repeated. He tried to convince himself he’d be strong enough not to make that mistake again, but he knew better.
Fun fact that I learned exclusively for this story: you’re really not supposed to wear underwear with dolphin shorts. There’s a built-in liner for that.
“O meu nome é Nekoshi e tenho 10 anos, hoje é um dia especial, estou prestes a começar a minha jornada como treinador de Pokémon, claro que não vou sozinho, o meu melhor amigo Riku vem comigo, a gente ainda nem descobriu quem é que nos vai dar o nosso Pokémon inicial, mas, antes disso a gente decidiu passar no PokéMart para arranjarmos poções e Pokébolas. Mas ainda antes de tudo isso, tenho de me levantar e me despachar!”
Nekoshi – Aff…*rola na cama e olha para o relógio* Por Arceus! As horas! Como é que me deixei dormir…o Riku já deve estar à minha espera…*olha de novo para a mesa de cabeceira* uh! Espera, o que é isto?! Não acredito! Um Ovo de Pichu! Mãããããe!!
Marie – O que foi Nekoshi?!
Nekoshi – *desce até à cozinha* Vocês conseguiram arranjar um ovo de Pichu?! É para mim!?
Marie – Pois. Se ele está aí no teu quarto é óbvio que é para ti. É a tua prenda de começo de Jornada!
Nekoshi – Reaally? Aíí! Obrigado mãe! Vou dar o meu melhor para tomar conta dele!
Marie – Assim espero, não tivemos tanto trabalho a arranjar uma Pikachu para nada. Enfim, não estás já atrasado para ir ter com o Riku? Vê lá se comes logo para ires ter com ele!
Nekoshi – Sim! Obrigado mãe!
Depois de Nekoshi comer, correu até casa do Riku onde ele estava também a acabar de se despachar.
Nekoshi – Riku! Yoooh! Pensava que estava atrasado, mas afinal, também ainda não estavas pronto, ahah.
Riku – Yoh…yah, deixei-me dormir, e quando dei por mim tinha um ovo de Eevee em cima de mim.
Nekoshi – Ah, sofremos do mesmo mal, ahah! Mas tu também recebeste um ovo?!
Riku – Yah! E pelos vistos foram os teus pais que vieram trazê-lo ontem à noite aqui. Devíamos passar depois na tua casa para os agradecer!
Nekoshi – Ok, mas primeiro vamos à PokéMart!
Riku – Bora.
Ao chegarem à PokéMart, o Riku decide ir em direcção ao Loto Ticket, para tentar a sua sorte.
Nekoshi – Riku, olha! *apontando excitadamente para um poster ao lado da banca do Loto Ticket* A gente pode ganhar um bilhete Duplo para irmos para Kanto e começar lá a nossa aventura!!!
Riku – O que é que estás para aí a dizer Nekoshi?…
Senhora da Loto Ticket – Parabéns! Recebeste o primeiro prémio! Um bilhete duplo para começarem a vossa aventura em Kanto! E para receberem um inicial directamente do Professor Oak!
Riku – Hein?! A sério!?
Nekoshi – Eu não acredito! *boquiaberto* como é que tu fazes estas cenas!? Brutal!! Vamos para Kanto!!
Senhora da Loto Ticket – Só precisam da autorização dos vossos encarregados de educação para confirmar o vosso prémio. Assim que isso seja feito, e tenha os vossos documentos todos em ordem, podemos dar início à viagem!
Nekoshi – Vamos! Vamos a minha casa e a tua, assim aproveitas e agradeces os meus pais pelo ovo do Eevee!
Riku – Yah, boa ideia! Eish, nem acredito que vamos para Kanto! Espero que a gente consiga encontrar o Red! E o Green! Eles ficaram super famosos por terem-se tornado ambos campeões da Liga Indigo tão cedo!
Nekoshi – Aaaaah, isso era brutal! Bora, bora!
Após voltarem a casa de Nekoshi.
Riku – Bom dia senhora Marie! Obrigado pelo ovo de Eevee, eu sei que são extremamente difíceis de arranjar! Nem sei como agradecer!
Marie – Ora essa. Eu queria que tu e o Nekoshi tivessem os parceiros de aventura mais adequados aos dois! E sei bem que vocês admiram o Red e o Green!
Nekoshi – AAAAAAAH!! É verdade! Por falar nisso! Mãe! Nem acreditas no que acabou de acontecer!
Marie – Por Arceus, deve ter sido algo mesmo bom, para essa excitação toda.
Nekoshi – O Riku acabou de ganhar o primeiro prémio do Loto Ticket da PokéMart!!!
Marie – Ai sim? Parabéns Riku! Mas afinal, qual é o primeiro prémio?
Riku & Nekoshi – Uma viagem a Kanto!
Marie – Wow! A Sério?! Boa! Mas…vocês não iam fazer a vossa jornada cá?
Riku – Sim, mas assim, acho que era melhor aproveitar o prémio, a gente só precisa da autorização dos nossos encarregados de educação para podermos aceitar o prémio, e depois até vamos receber os nossos Pokémon iniciais pelo Professor Oak.
Nekoshi – Yah!! Mãe, por favor, posso ir? Tu sabes que um dos meus maiores sonhos é conhecer e combater com o Red!
Marie – Huuuumn…vou pensar nisso.
Nekoshi – Mãããe, por favor! Se a gente não for reclamar o prémio, a gente vai acabar por o perder…
Marie – É que vocês ainda são muito novos para irem para uma região tão longe…achas que conseguem mesmo aguentar a viagem toda? Sem pais para vos acudirem caso precisem de algo?
Riku – Bem, acho que a senhora disse que era possível a gente levar um adulto connosco, eles até arranjam alojamento caso necessário.
Marie – Humn. Mas eu não podia ir, sabem que eu tenho de tomar conta da Kate, e Riku, a tua mãe tem os teus dois irmão mais novos…e duvido que os vossos pais fossem capazes de largar os trabalhos deles para irem convosco…
Nekoshi – A gente consegue se desenrascar bem mãe! Eu prometo que vai tudo correr bem!
Riku – Eu fico de olho nele senhora Marie!
Marie – Humn…vocês são muito novos, sabem lá se vai correr tudo bem…ainda não sabemos se a Team Rocket pode voltar a agir ou não…e eu sei que ficas de olho no Nekoshi, não é esse o problema…mas vá, Riku, se a tua mãe concordar eu deixo o Nekoshi ir.
Riku & Nekoshi – Ok.
Nekoshi – Vamos lá a tua casa então! Eu vou tentar o meu melhor para convencer a tua mãe!
Riku – Espero que a gente consiga mesmo…ela mal me deixava vir contigo nesta jornada.
Nekoshi – Eu sei…mas a gente consegue!
Ao chegarem a casa do Riku.
Fatimah – Não.
Nekoshi – Por favor senhora Fatimah!! A gente teve uma sorte enorme ao nos calhar logo o primeiro prémio!
Fatimah – Eu não sei…vocês não ficavam bem só a se aventurar aqui pelas redondezas? Não podem brincar por aqui?
Nekoshi – Nós queremos levar isto a sério senhora Fatimah…isto não é uma brincadeira para nós…
Riku – Mãe, vá lá…deixa-nos ir…eu tive alta sorte com isto…não quero descartar esta oportunidade! Ainda por cima a gente vai conhecer o Professor Oak!
Fatimah – Podia até ser o Professor Rowan. Não me interessa…eu tenho já os teus dois irmãos mais novos para me preocupar, o que é que ia fazer contigo tão longe…não…peço imensa desculpa.
Riku – Fogo mãe. Porque é que tens de ser assim, isto é super importante para mim…e para o Nekoshi! Não é todos os dias que ganhamos uma oportunidade destas! Por favor!
Fatimah – Porque tu és ainda muito novo para saber as coisas como são. E se acontecer alguma coisa contigo? Vou até Kanto de propósito?! Não me parece.
Nekoshi – A gente pode levar um adulto connosco senhora Fatimah. Eles até cuidam do alojamento para a duração da nossa jornada caso seja necessário.
Fatimah – Humn, e levam que adulto? Eu não posso ir, o teu pai muito menos, e duvido que os pais do Nekoshi possam ir, a mãe dele tem de tomar conta da Kate, sem falar que eles têm o Day Care Pokémon.
Riku – Eu sei mãe…mas a gente arranja alguém! Por favor! Deixa-nos ir!
Fatimah – Quero ver isso, se vocês arranjarem alguém de confiança, que possa cuidar de vocês, eu deixo-te ir com o Nekoshi para Kanto.
Nekoshi – Ok! Então eu vou tentar arranjar alguém que possa olhar por nós lá em Kanto! Anda Riku!
Fatimah – Ainda estou para ver quem vão arranjar, e atenção, que não vale levarem um desconhecido qualquer! Bom…
Algum tempo depois de ambos saírem de casa do Riku.
Riku – Nekoshi…quem raios é que vais arranjar para cuidar de nós lá em Kanto?
Nekoshi – Eu tenho uma pessoa em mente, um conhecido dos meus pais, que construiu recentemente uma quinta enorme em Viridian City.
Riku – Wow, tu sabias mesmo de alguém?! Porque é que não disseste logo isso à tua mãe? Tinhas poupado um monte de trabalho…
Nekoshi – Eu ainda não tenho a certeza se ele nos vai poder acolher lá…ele tem uma filha mais ou menos da nossa idade, ela também é capaz de estar prestes a começar a jornada dela.
Riku – Mas…quem é esse homem afinal?…
Nekoshi – Ele é um cientista, que andou a estudar com o Professor Oak e foi colega do Bill, aquele das boxes, sabes?
Riku – Oooh! Yah, e achas mesmo que ele nos vai aceitar lá em casa dele?
Nekoshi – Bem, pode ser que sim, temos de manter as esperanças. Eu vou falar com o meu pai e lhe pedir o contacto dele…deseja-me sorte.
E assim Nekoshi foi ter ao Day Care onde seu pai estava a trabalhando.
Nekoshi – Bom dia pai!
Nando – Nekoshi! Filho, bom dia, então o que é que vocês vieram cá fazer? Não deviam de ter ido ter ao laboratório receber os vossos iniciais?
Riku – Bom dia senhor Nando! A gente ia, mas, eu ganhei uma coisa, que nos podia levar mais longe, a Kanto.
Nando – A Kanto?! Mas que coisa é que tu ganhaste afinal?
Nekoshi – Ele ganhou o primeiro prémio do Loto Ticket! Uma viagem Dupla a Kanto, para recebermos o nosso primeiro Pokémon directamente do Professor Oak! E para fazermos lá a nossa jornada Pokémon!
Nando – Uau, a sério?! Isso é muito bom, e então, precisavam de alguma coisa de mim?
Riku – É que a minha mãe não me está a deixar ir sem termos um adulto para olhar por nós…enquanto estivermos por lá…
Nando – Ah…pois. Bom, Nekoshi, então e porque é que não falas com o aquele meu conhecido, o Shinra!
Nekoshi – Pois, era nisso que tinha pensado, mas eu não tenho o contacto dele…será que podes falar com ele se faz favor?
Nando – Mas é claro. Ahn, quem diria, o meu filho a receber o inicial dele diretamente do Professor Oak! Bom, vou ali à máquina das chamadas.
Nando – *Inicia chamada com Shinra* Shinra! Boas! Então amigo, está tudo bem contigo por aí?
Shinra – *coberto de Pokémon bebé* Boas Nando! Sim, só um bocadinho ocupado! Houndoom, anda ajudar aqui se faz favor! Peço desculpa, tenho andado super atarefado desde que acabamos a construção da quinta. Enfim, o que é que precisavas? Queres que envie mais algum Pokémon?
Nando – Na verdade, queria enviar eu duas coisinhas, mas não são Pokémon.
Shinra – Ahah, então o que é que me queres enviar?
Nando – É o meu filho e o melhor amigo dele!
Shinra – Olha que eu acho que ainda não dá para transportar humanos por aqui! A gente bem sabe o que aconteceu da última vez que o Bill tentou se tele-transportar a ele próprio!
Nando – Ahah, é verdade. Grande doido. Enfim, não, na verdade eles ganharam um Loto Ticket!
Shinra – Não me digas?! Eles venceram aquele prémio que o Professor Oak criou?!
Nando – É bem provável que seja isso mesmo!
Shinra – Boa!! Adorava receber o teu rapaz aqui! Pode ser que ele se dê bem com a minha filha, ela também está a ver se dá começo à jornada dela! Então ela não está fincada em se tornar numa colectora? Diz que vai ser a pessoa a completar a Pokédex mais rápido de sempre. Bom, mas sim, manda-os para cá! Será um prazer os ter cá!
Nando – Ok! Então vou só os mandar falar com as mães deles, ou melhor, vou mesmo eu fazer isso. E assim que eles estiverem em caminho volto a entrar em contacto!
Shinra – Então, ficarei à espera dos moços! Boa Viagem para eles! Até mais logo Nando!
Nando – Obrigado Shinra! Até logo! *desliga a chamada* Bom rapazes é como acabaram de ouvir, vão os dois para Kanto!
Riku & Nekoshi – YES! Vamos para Kanto!!
Nando – Vá, venham para a carrinha, vamos lá despachar isto!
E assim foram até casa do Nekoshi, passando depois pela casa do Riku, e seguiram para a PokéMart juntamente com as suas mães, para estas assinarem a autorização para eles poderem reclamar o prémio e partirem assim para Kanto.
Senhora da Loto Ticket – E pronto! Parabéns! Estamos finalizados! Estão aqui os bilhetes! O local de partida, e a hora! Boa Viagem e Jornada para vocês dois!
Riku e Nekoshi – Obrigado!
Marie – Pronto, estão felizes agora?
Fatimah – Espero bem que vocês não dêem trabalho nenhum ao senhor Shinra enquanto lá estiverem!
Riku – Sim mãe, não te preocupes. A gente vai-se comportar.
Fatimah – Espero bem que sim.
Nando – Não se preocupem, eles vão ficar bem aos cuidados do Shinra!
Marie – Bom, então, vamos lá tratar de preparar tudo para a vossa viagem!
Nekoshi – Bora!
No dia seguinte já depois de terem tudo pronto para o embarque, após se despedirem dos seus pais e irmãos, Nekoshi e Riku finalmente partiram na sua viagem para Kanto. Novos desafios esperam por eles dois nestas terras longínquas.
Saw that @she-who-fights-and-writes was opening up this meme to the public, so I decided to hop on board!
RULES: List the first lines of the last ten stories you published updated. Look to see if there are any patterns that you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any! Then tag some friends.
1. Infinite Land, Endless Seas (Pokemon, 1/?, Ongoing)
Zinnia blocks the probe into her mind for the millionth time, clenching her fists against her thighs to keep herself from hitting the person responsible. What part of "no psychic interaction" didn't Marigold understand?
2. Jewel of the Sea (Pokemon, 5/5, Discontinued)
"And in conclusion, I feel that this tour of Hoenn will be a great opportunity to strengthen our relations with the region." Salvia finishes her presentation with a bow.
3. Of Timid Trainers and Confident Coordinators (Pokemon, 4/?, Hiatus)
Wattson had really outdone himself—the new Mauville City, with its interconnected restaurants and shops, humble apartments, and green spaces was beautiful. That it was entirely powered by solar panels made the city even cooler to Wally, who had always been an architecture nut. And to think he’d almost agreed to go to Verdanturf—
“Excuse me, have you seen a boy with messy green hair and blue eyes?”
4. Eleventh Hour (Lads in Distress, 1/1, Complete)
eleventh hour:
(noun) (idiomatic) A point in time which is nearly too late; the last minute.
5. Paon and Renade: Volpina (Miraculous Ladybug, 4/4, Complete)
She had seen him quite a few times these past few weeks--walking through the city in his clean but faded clothes, snatching some coins from a fountain or somebody's snack. But unlike those other nights, Sabrina would do more than just follow him around to make sure he got home safe.
6. A Sabrina in a Park Tree (Miraculous Ladybug, 1/1, Complete)
"A little more, just a little more…" Sabrina muttered as she reached for the designer hat with one hand and clung to the tree branch with another.
Hmmm...not really seeing a pattern, maybe that I like starting with/getting right into dialogue?
As for people to tag: @shmuliawrites, @okapiandpaste, and whoever else is interested!
Sun’s body is warm. It’s probably the reason why he’s so alright being in this position. While the Alolan sun can be unforgiving, Sun was more gentle and calming. It fitted his nature, at least that’s what Gladion believes.
The noise of the fan is enough to lull him back to sleep, but the light peeking in from Sun’s bedroom blinds tells him it’s time to get up. Though he’ll admit, moments of peace in their hectic lives were rare and part of him does want to treasure it.
Gladion opened one eye, sighing as he sits up. Sun’s next to him, fast asleep and seemingly without a care in the world. It seemed rare to see him like that, being Champion and the other duties that came with it. Sure Gladion was busy with the Aether foundation, but it always seemed like the smaller of the two was constantly tired.
He almost feels bad for waking him, and part of him wants to let Sun sleep a little longer. Although he knows, likely there is a lot of things he’ll need to get done.
Slowly, Gladion shakes Sun. “Hey, get up.” He grumbled, continuing the action with a little more force behind it. At one point Gladion’s tempted to just shove him off the bed, and was about to until Sun swatted at him. There’s something both amusing and adorable about one of the most strongest trainers in the region, glaring at him with the intimidation of a Magikarp. Perhaps Gladion couldn’t be afraid of him.
“I don’t want to get up either, but you need to.” He crossed his arms, glaring at Sun in turn. He goes to shake him again, but Sun manages to pull him back down onto the bed and lay his head on his shoulder. Gladion huffs, shifting to rest his arm on Sun’s back and tap his fingers on his bag.
“I’m not your mattress.” The statement gains him an amused look, and Sun rises to press a kiss to Gladion’s cheek. He hums in satisfaction at Gladion’s red face, and snuggles back into him. “Fine, I’m your mattress sometimes.”
Deciding to accept his fate for the time being, and if Gladion’s honest he doesn’t mind letting Sun or himself rest for a little longer. He wraps his arms around Sun and gives him a light squeeze. “Alright, five more minutes. Brat.”
