pokémon au drabble….. i’ve been having some thoughts
around 1900 words!
An Eelektross sinks its head back into the murky water of the Kalosian sewer. It wasn’t the best place to swim, but it was somewhere, and its slick green skin blended in perfectly with the algae.
It saw its target, and it had to go back and report.
Lucielle Lakes was staring dead straight at her partner Dewott. It stands between her legs, looking right up at her as she sits on the Lumiose street bench. The tree above them casts the already teal otter into a more greenish shade, and it blinks a few times, all before a smile spreads on its snout.
Lucy had blinked first, she lost the game. She a back with her own smile, beginning to laugh. “I’m sorry, buddy!” She chuckled, before helping it hop up to her side.
Dewott grabs onto the shoulder of her sweater vest, its little claws digging into the soft, flower patterned yarn. She had turned her head to rummage through her messenger bag, before pulling out what looked like a small lunch box.
She opened it, and there was Dewott’s prize! Next to a slew of berries were a few Poké Puffs, two matcha and one mocha. The chocolate one was decorated with cream and sprinkles, and Dewott almost immediately grabbed at it.
“Woah! Hey- Slow down!” Lucielle scolds, putting her hand in front of his paws. Her partner scowls, before flexing its claws as she slowly and purposely takes the puff out slowly.
The moment she placed it in his outstretched paws, the dessert was gone in seconds. She smiled, why wouldn’t she? Living in Lumiose city had its cons, but the atmosphere was far from one of those. People of all sorts were walking by, some of their Pokémon tagging along. Colorful buildings towered over the streets, bustling shops lining the floors. The sky was clear, the breeze was cool, everything was perfect.
But there was so, so much more going on. Team Flare failed their mission, Lysandre went missing, they never even properly established themselves. All due to another company rising, Alchemax. They tried to keep their name in good faith, no ideals for wiping out the world, nor irreversible climate change. Just looking into harnessing the natural powers of Pokémon, for the “betterment of humanity,” and… Something else. Something only the Kingpin and a few higher admins knew the full extent of.
An older woman stands less than a block away, her back against a tree that stands as a gateway to one of many labyrinthine alleyways. She stands out among most people, big curly brown hair tied up into a bun, a paisley patterned scarf over a two toned dress, all tied together with a crisp white lab coat. It billows behind her, its vent cut and decorated with a green satin lining. She steps forward, slithering between pedestrians in silence.
Lucielle had perked up, and turned her head when she saw the woman approach. She gave a smile, just thinking the scientist would walk past, even when Dewott flattened its ears in frustration. But she seems a bit worried when the other slows.
“Do I know you?” The older woman says mid-stride, one of her gloved hands tracing the top of the bench.
Lucy just blinked a few times and turned where she sat, as if it took her a second to process an answer. “Me? I’m not sure how anyone could recognize me,” She stammers. “I mean, I was in one of those videos with Sycamore,”
The scientist practically glares down at Lucy, one of her brows rising as her lips curl. “That’s it! Thaaat’s it,” She says, drumming her fingers on the bench before looking down to Dewott instead. The otter’s snout had shifted into a snarl, and Lucielle follows Olivia’s gaze to it. “Lucy, right?”
“Oh! Don’t mind him,” She says quickly, wrapping her arms around him as if he were just a large plush toy. “But yes, yes that’s me! Wait, you were at the lab too, right?”
“Doctor Olivia Octavius, and yes,” She answers, extending a hand to shake. Lucy takes it quickly, a sweet smile on her face.
“A doctor? It’s such a pleasure to meet you! I really wanted to say something to you last weekend, you spoke to the professor, right? Did he give me a good name?”
Olivia has to hold back a small chuckle, and her steely gaze softens as they shake hands. “Come on, the pleasure is all mine. You should’ve heard his praise. For a researcher like myself, it’s always wonderful to see an up and coming graduate.”
Olivia lets go first, and while Lucy seems reluctant, she does as well. Her eyes are locked on the other woman, her sharp features, those striking eyes framed by a large pair of glasses. She has to snap herself out of it once Olivia speaks again.
“Have you been enjoying your research? And how have you been getting by?”
Clearly, the question shocked Lucy, coming from a near stranger.. But Olivia was close to Sycamore, it wasn’t too out of the blue. “Oh! Well, I’ve got a position at a boutique on my street, and, genuinely,” She leans back a bit, “And my research? Wow, just, I could never be happier in a position. There’s something so reassuring seeing just how connected these little guys are to nature, like us connecting to them can bring us closer to, well, everything.”
The doctor nods a few times, before rounding the bench. Her gaze was soft, she’d never seen someone else with such a bright view of the world, and as Lucy pats the Dewott, she can’t help but smile. Lucielle’s partner Pokémon does not seem to appreciate the movement, as the claws of one paw tap the pale pink scallop at his hip. She frowns faintly, and pulls the little guy over her lap and to the other side.
Olivia nods down to the bench, a silent gesture of “May I?” And just as anyone would expect, Lucielle nods quickly and moves her bag. The doctor hums when she flattens her dress to sit, and she smiles at Lucy when she fixes the back of her lab coat.
She opens her mouth to speak, before her eyes widen a little, and she looks away to Prism Tower. If she wanted to do her job, to be “evil”, now was the time. As it grew, Alchemax would need more associates, and as the head scientist, Olivia felt that it was her responsibility. Yet this was the first time she ever felt conflicted. She drapes her arm over the back of the bench, her lips pursing as she thinks. Should she just go out and say it? Invite the lady to the lab, try to employ her right there? But it was odd, she wasn’t used to liking someone… Especially not this quickly, she didn’t want to be horribly blunt about her motives.
She shakes her head, almost unnoticeably, but the faint movement causes Lucy to look back and notice a few strands of violet in that bundle of hair. She crosses her legs and looks over to Lucy.
After a tense moment, Lucielle is the one to talk, her eyes on Dewott, who had been snuggling up into her arm. “Well… How’s your work?”
Olivia’s eyes widen, she was usually the interrogator. She sits up and kicks her boot a little. “It’s good, it’s all good. Not sure why you’d be wondering though.”
Lucielle shrugs. “It’s a neat place, once I get my coastal Pokédex more fleshed out, I’d like to look into working there.”
“Coastal? Why not central first? Are you a beach girl?” Olivia turns to face Lucy more, barely leaning closer to rest under the shade of the tree. She didn’t choose to pry into Lucy’s future, there was a genuine sense of wonder in her voice.
“You can say that, the first Pokémon I ever met was a Corsola… The sweetest little staghorn morph, I think I was five? Not sure, but since then I adored water types.”
Olivia nodded along, nonchalantly fiddling with her gloves. “That’s actually very nice.” She says quietly, before turning to Dewott. “And this darling? How in the world did you come across a shiny?”
Dewott perked up when he heard his name, and Olivia smiled when she saw the otter peek his head over Lucielle’s shoulder. “This little buddy? His egg was a gift from my grandparents, they helped run the daycare down by Camphrier. The original owner moved to Paldea, left a few eggs and a few hundred dollars, guess they didn’t know what was in them.”
As Lucy spoke, her partner sniffed at the air, at the faint metallic smell around Olivia. He steps forward, placing his little paws on one of Lucy’s thighs, leaning closer to the doctor like a curious kitten. Olivia reaches out her hand, barely extending a finger for the Pokémon to sniff it. Lucy laughs a little, and her smile brightens when Dewott actually climbs over her lap to get closer.
“I’m impressed you recognized him! Was it the shells?” Lucy chimes.
“Not really, just the fur,” Olivia answers calmly, before gently stroking the otter’s furry cheek. “I have a shiny partner of my own, it’s beautiful how different each individual can be.”
“You do?! How’d you find them?”
Olivia laughs along, it had been a bit since she actually talked to anyone. “I was around your age, a bit younger, but just out of general college. The lab I interned at was testing the potential of electric types as a power source, and it just so happened that one of them was just a little bit darker than the rest.”
Thankfully, Dewott was warming up to his new friend, and Lucielle tapped her leg on the pavement as she watched the two. She didn’t have anywhere to be that morning, and had no idea where the time went. Not that she was complaining.
“It’s so interesting, isn’t it?” Lucy says after a few seconds of quietly observing.
“I know I’m supposed to ask, so I’ll give you this.. What’s interesting?” Olivia snickers, her eyes narrowing a little.
“How different everyone is, everything. And we all fit in even if we think we don’t.”
The doctor blinks a few times, wiping that smug look off her face. The last thing she expected to hear was this girl spit out some philosophical nonsense, but she nodded, and played along. “And just how do we fit in?”
“We fit together, you helped me have something to do this morning, you gave Dewott those ear scratches he’d been begging for.” The otter makes a small chittering sound as Olivia shifts. “You sounded interested in me, and this was our chance to meet. I’m just glad we took it.”
The doctor brought her hand back, causing Dewott to open his eyes and sit back down on the bench, his tail swishing. “Huh…” She leans her head back, looking into the stark blue sky as her hair cascaded over her back. Although she couldn’t truly forget, her mind was off work for the first time in weeks. “That’s sweet, Lucy. You’re sweet.”
They both smiled, and when Olivia straightened back up, Lucielle responded. “Says you!”