prickly-writings

[prickly-writings]

They knew this would happen eventually.

FANDOM: Pokémon Legends Arceus

CHARACTERS: Volo, Main Character (they/them) (technically could be reader the age doesn’t matter or ever come up this isn’t a / fic)

SUMMARY: Right after being kicked out from Jubilife Village, the trainer from the sky finds a place to rest. Volo comes and finds them.

~~~

They knew this would happen eventually.

It wasn’t as if they didn’t hear the way the townsfolk talked behind their back. The way the commander looked at them, bombarding them with warning after warning about “those who didn’t trust them.” Talking as if he wasn’t counted among those numbers.

They slowed as they reached the edge of the lake near Horseshoe Plains. They spent a lot of time here in their first week, just wandering around with their Oshawott and Ponyta at their side, researching all the pokémon around them and taking in all the beautiful new sights. Wide eyed and ready for adventure, they would regularly set out for days, not even returning to the base camps, content to camp along with their pokémon under the stars.

They didn’t have time to grab their camp stove from their dorm before the quick departure. Nor any of the ingredients they had gathered other than a few berries put away in their pack, but their Rapidash could light them a fire if they could find some branches. Kebabs were better than eating the food raw they supposed.

Their camp was always kind of messy. A makeshift fire, their pack laid to the side, and their pokémon all huddled together in a pile they’d join for warmth. Their Samurott and Torterra cuddled near each other, leaving just enough space for their trainer to squeeze in between. Then Walrein and Magnezone would settle down, resting their heads near each-other. Alakazam and Rapidash came in last, curling up and falling asleep. It was remarkably warm and surprisingly safe, as it seemed no pokémon were willing to disturb such a fierce looking pack, even when they were sleeping.

Tonight the trainer attempted to sleep with tears in their eyes, holding Samurott’s neck as more threatened to overflow, a silent sob choking in their throat. The pokémon cuddled closer, Torterra on the other side whimpering slightly as he nuzzled his pointy head under their arm to try and look them in the eyes.

They cried for a good long time, their party of six huddling closer than usual, all unusually somber as they saw their friend, their companion, their family in such distress. The packs of Shinx, Ponyta, and Bidoof all seemed content to give them their much needed space, the group able to stay cuddled together for a long while without interruption.

And when they were interrupted, it wasn’t by a pokémon.

They heard the footsteps approaching, but they were familiar to them. Footsteps they had come to trust. They huddled further into themself, shutting their eyes tight as they wondered if that had been a mistake too.

“Boo.” The figure spoke into the darkness, a sad smile evident in their tone as they squatted down near where the survey corps member was burying their head further below Samurott’s neck. Their Torterra looked up at Volo with sad eyes before nudging his trainer, trying to get them to look.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, you know.” He said, settling to sit near their Alakazam, looking out onto the lake.

They stayed quiet, just barely lifting their head enough to see the back of his head. Their eyes were red from crying, they didn’t need Volo to see that.

“I heard what happened.” He looked up to the sky, an indiscernible look in his eyes that the trainer wouldn’t be able to decipher even if they were looking. “They banished you, didn’t they.”

The trainer felt their chest clench as they sat up, sniffling slightly as they nodded their head. “They blame me.” They looked up. “For that.”

Volo shook his head. “And after everything you’ve done to help them,” he barked out a laugh. “Some team I’d say.”

As they looked out onto the lake, they shifted so they placed an arm around each of the pokémon at their side. They scratched their Torterra right behind the spikes on the sides of his head. He leaned into the touch. “I don’t know what to do now.” They cursed the way their voice seemed to betray them, cracking ever so slightly. “How am I supposed to fix this? I was dropped from that hole in the sky with the singular goal of completing this pokédex and now I’m expected to close it?”

They took a shaky breath and spoke in a voice almost inaudible. “What if I do fix it, and I’m stuck here.”

Volo looked over to the trainer from the sky, eyes furrowing in something that could resemble guilt for just a brief moment. He frowned. “I know a place where you can stay, a place hidden from the rest of the region. We can figure it out there.”

They looked him in the eye, trying not to think about how pathetic they looked. “We?”

He hesitated for a moment before that same smile they knew so well crossed his face. His “customer service smile” they liked to call it. He tilted his head slightly to the side. “Of course! I couldn’t bear to lose my favorite customer, now could I?”

They smiled, giving their Torterra another big scratch before standing up. Volo quickly followed, brushing himself off before being ready to lead the way to a certain retreat. As he turned to face the trainer, he stopped dead in his tracks, bracing himself as the trainer rushed forward, wrapping their arms around him in a quick hug. He hesitated for a moment before returning the gesture.

“Thank you.” They said, voice slightly muffled by his Ginkgo Guild coat.

Volo hesitated, still slightly frozen in shock. He cleared his throat and nodded. “Of course.” He forced a smile back on his face when they pulled away, gesturing in the direction they needed to go. “You start picking up camp and we’ll head out. We should be able to make it by sunrise.”

They nodded, looking down at their tired but now fully attentive pokémon. None of them really liked going back in their balls, especially when their trainer was in such low spirits, but they stood up nonetheless. It was going to be a long journey ahead of them.